Welcome to the first ever edition of UnWrest. The format of this blog is going to be simple: I'm going to cover the big wrestling events for the week (before and after the post) and reveal the first ever REWIND (the match from the past you should watch for the week). I'm going to divide the blog up into company sections. So, if you don't like New Japan, skip to WWE. Also, check the bottom of the WWE TV thoughts as I will be posting my predictions for both NXT Takeover and Money in the Bank. Simple, right? By the way, in the future, I will be adding in Ring of Honor stuff as well. I just don't have much to say about this week about ROH (other than the Briscoes and Rappongi 3K had a fun match).
Let's try this out.
NJPW
Dominion Thoughts
- What else can be said about Omega vs. Okada IV? These guys have produced the modern equivalent of Flair-Steamboat in terms of match quality from match to match. Okada and Omega are the best of this current generation (along with AJ Styles). Kevin Kelly and Don Callis did a great job calling the match as well, with Callis's "Hook the Leg, Hook the Leg, Hook the Leg, Hook the Leg..." stuck in my mind as a great call to the finish. It's still too recent for me to classify it as my favorite match of all time, but it's on the Top Ten for sure at this point. As far as the Okada/Omega series, I'd put this as their best, followed by the G1, Wrestle Kingdom 11, and then Dominion from last year. But honestly, is there a wrong choice for the best match of their series? No. And that's why this series is going to stand the test of time.
- Naito vs. Jericho was awesome in its own way: a war of attrition. Jericho is The Undertaker of this era, a modern day chameleon who will change his gimmick up at a moment's notice to stay modern. This New Japan Jericho is awesome in a completely different way from the "List" Jericho we got in 2016-17... or the "Man of 1004 Holds" Jericho from 1998 for that matter. New Japan has a jewel on their hands. His match with Naito was uncomfortable for all the right reasons. And hats off to Tetsuya Naito, who I think is vastly underrated for his ability to tell a story regardless of what language you speak. Naito's entire character is deep if you look into his history.
As for where we go, if I'm fantasy booking this, Jericho will face Evil at King of Pro Wrestling and then face Naito in the Tokyo Dome. Naito will then utterly destroy Jericho in front of 40,000 people, which will push Naito to a whole new level and can lead to him winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship later that year.
- I also enjoyed the Young Bucks vs. Evil/Sanada match. I think the Bucks get a bad rap for being spot monkeys who aren't willing to tell a good story. If you watch their matches at Strong Style Evolved as well as many of their matches this year alone, the Bucks are excellent storytellers. Matt Jackson's back has been a constant issue throughout the year, and Nick was selling the foot during this match. The Bucks know how to put on a show. Granted, they do ham it up with spots a little too much in ROH, but when they want to tell a story, they are very good at it. As for Evil/Sanada, I look for BIG things from both of them during the G1 this year (like last year). Here's a bold prediction: Sanada pins Omega during the G1, leading to a match at King of Pro Wrestling for the belt. (Sanada vs. Omega, Evil vs. Jericho, maybe even Okada vs. Naito... that'd be a hell of a card.)
- I miss Daryl. But between Mr. Belt and the Super Junior trophy, Hiromu is going to have a hard time carrying Daryl around, let alone Carol and Daryl Jr. :) Here's another bold prediction: Hiromu will be competing in the heavyweight division in 2 years. Will Ospreay should be in the G1. Seriously. He can transition between the two divisions easily.
Overall, Dominion was an excellent show top to bottom I would recommend to anyone to watch. If you are limited on time, I'd check out the last three matches (Ospreay/Takahashi, Jericho/Naito, and Okada/Omega) first. Then, I'd go back and check out the Bucks/LIJ tag team match as it was excellent as well. Was this better than NXT Takeover: New Orleans? Tough question. I'm leaning towards Dominion, even though Takeover was stronger from a match-to-match perspective.
Next week, I'll talk more about the Kizuna Road cards, the G1 Special event at the Cow Palace, and the upcoming G1 Climax.
WWE
Raw Thoughts
- The Raw opening was very hokey with everyone on the ladder at once. I get that they wanted to put a spotlight on everyone entered in the Money in the Bank matches, but I wasn't a fan of the execution of this opening segment of Raw. When you try to be too cute, it becomes easier to fail.
- At 9pm, two polarizing figures entered my TV screen who are hated by the masses. And I hear Roman Reigns and Jinder Mahal were on TV too. I ended up seeing just pieces of it, but I know this: Chicago is going to eat these two alive Sunday.
- Drew McIntyre is quickly becoming one of the few reasons I continue to watch Raw. His intensity since his return has been spot on, and once he's unleashed on the singles division, I have no doubt that he'll be jobbing to Roman Reigns at a PPV one day.
- I try to tune out commentary these days. I mean the bar has been set so high by Michael Cole (face and heel), Booker T, and Byron Saxton. But Jonathan Coachmen taught us a valuable lesson this week: John Mayer is a hip-hop artist. A hip-hop artist. Look, Coach would be good in a format similar to Sportscenter where he's behind a desk hosting a show, but he is just not great as a commentator. Why continually set him up for failure when he can actually succeed in the right environment? I actually liked his role in the Rousey/Jax segment later in the show. That's something I'd like to see Coach do more instead of actual commentary.
- The first thought I had when I saw the obstacle course on Raw was "NXT 2010 is back. God help us all." In all seriousness, I can't wait until this program is over between Zayn and Lashley. Both have looked worse as a result of this feud and need distance from each other. But I will say this: Lashley nailed that course in 45 seconds. He is truly a great athlete.
- I liked the Fatal Four Way main event well enough. It put over Strowman more, which you need to do as he is now, in my mind, the top babyface on Raw. Keep the momentum going, keep the fire hot, and, regardless of whether he gets the briefcase or not, set him up to beat Brock at SummerSlam.
SmackDown Thoughts
- Is it sad that when I saw the women were not sitting on ladders at the beginning of the show, I said "Oh, thank Christ!?" That in and of itself is a sad commentary on WWE these days. But I hate these multi-person segments where people just talk over each other. Nothing gets accomplished, and it causes more eye-rolling than good. I will say this: Once the IIconics came in, the segment improved a little bit.
- The wrestling on Smackdown was solid. I'm glad WWE found Shelton Benjamin. His match with Daniel Bryan was a technically sound, entertaining match. Rusev and Joe had a hard hitting match mixed in with the Miz/New Day shenanigans. (By the way, even though I roll my eyes most of the time at the New Day's pancake schtick, I loved Miz's reaction to the briefcase of pancakes. NEW DAYYYYY!!!!!!) I was a little less warm to Nakamura and Hardy up until the end. They seemed to me to have a bad meshing at the beginning, but I enjoyed the closing sequence up to the low blow. The Nakamura heel turn has been amazing and completely reinvigorated Nakamura.
- Nothing about Big Cass entertains me. Period. His promos do nothing for me. His in-ring stuff does nothing for me. He's not Jinder Mahal level terrible or Roman Reigns hate-worthy. He's more like a vacuum. And I'll leave it at that. This whole "I'm a big guy; therefore, I'm better" schtick has gotten old quickly. God bless Daniel Bryan. He's probably doing the job Sunday to help put this guy over, but I don't see any way to keep this from being mediocre.
NXT Thoughts
- The War Raiders... I liked them better as War Machine. War Raiders sounds really generic. War Machine sounds like something you can fear. They are both very talented, as they put on good matches in ROH and New Japan. I just think that, in this industry, presentation is everything. And that name... ugh.
- Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O'Reilly was an excellent match, best this week on WWE television. Counter wrestling, mixed with strong style wrestling, makes for greatness in my eyes. Pete Dunne is definitely an amazing young wrestler as we learned last year during the UK Tournament and the match with Tyler Bates. As for Kyle O'Reilly, he is vastly underrated as a wrestler. It's easy to get lost in the mix in a collective group as awesome as The Undisputed Era, but I'd like to see more attention given to O'Reilly as he is a great wrestler.
Predictions
I. NXT Takeover: Chicago
- I have Shayna Baszler beating Nikki Cross. And it hurts me because Nikki is my kind of crazy. But I see Nikki either going to the main roster or challenging Baszler again at Brooklyn in a hardcore match. Bottom Line: Now's not the time.
- Ricochet will defeat the Velveteen Dream in the match of the night. Both of these guys are going to bring the best in each other, and I can see both challenging for titles before too long.
- O'Reilly and Strong will beat Lorcan and Burch. Enough said.
- Aleister Black will retain the title against Lars Sullivan as I see Black defending the title at Brooklyn.
- I'll be honest: I'm not a huge fan of Gargano. I don't see the appeal everyone else does. Just my opinion. That being said, I've liked (not loved) his matches with Almas and Ciampa this year. But Gargano will do what he does best: lose. Ciampa wins to extend this feud in what I'm sure will be a very good match.
By the way, no EC3. No Adam Cole, Bay Bay. This fact saddens me. Adam Cole should be defending his title or challenging for the NXT Championship. EC3 could cost Gargano the match since he did interfere in EC3's match to challenge Ciampa a few weeks back.
II. Money in the Bank Predictions
- The Bludgeon Brothers defeat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson's abs.
- Big Cass will beat Daniel Bryan because Vince McMahon sees something in Big Cass. "Damn, pal! He's 7 feet tall! You can't teach that!" "Boss, I thought we weren't talking about Enzo." "Who's Enzo? Isn't he on Sesame Street?" "He was here 6 months ago." "Hmmm... I must have missed that while I was talking to Roman."
- Bobby Lashley destroys Sami Zayn and puts us all out of our misery.
- Chicago will beat Jinder Mahal and Roman Reigns. But Mahal will get the cheap 1,2,3. Chicago, release the kraken on this match! If I can hear Michael Cole, you aren't yelling loud enough to drown out this garbage.
- Asuka should win the Smackdown Women's Championship, but I see Carmella winning it. Asuka continues to fall.
- Ronda Rousey will beat Nia Jax for the Raw Women's Championship.
- Natalya wins the Women's Money in the Bank.
- Samoa Joe will win the Men's Money in the Bank, but I can see multiple people winning. This will be a fun match.
- How can I not say Shinsuke Nakamura finally wins the WWE Championship by beating A.J. Styles? Nakamura HAS to win this title to have any credibility after losing/not winning the championship after so many attempts.
<< (Rewind): Throwback Match/Event to Watch
I'm choosing perhaps my favorite match ever this week to kickstart this blog. So, for this week, you will need to find on WWE Network (or Google) the Career-Threatening/Career-Ending/Retirement (you get the idea) match from WrestleMania VII between Macho King Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior.
Why? Because if you want to know what the WWE formula is at its core, what Vince McMahon aspires for his matches, and what WWE can be at its best, there is no better example than this whole presentation. Are there better technical matches? Sure. But that's not the story here. I hate to break it to you, but if you are looking for a wrist lock from the Ultimate Warrior, you are going to be sadly disappointed. Instead, what you'll find is a wrestling presentation unparalleled. From the beginning, the announcers (Gorilla and Bobby, who were excellent here as well) point out that Savage's ex, Elizabeth, is in the audience around the aisle and dredge up the emotional connection she has to what's happening. Savage and his current manager, Sherri, are carried to the ring in a sedan, dressed to the finest clothes and gear. But the thing that puts this over the top to start: The Ultimate Warrior does not run to the ring as he usually does. Instead, in a creepy sort of way, Warrior just walks to the ring slowly as if he realizes the gravity of what he's going into. His gear represented the stakes: "Means much more than this" with the championship belt on his tights and his and Savage's faces on his kneepads.
What follows is a phenomenal back and forth match with Savage doing every underhanded thing in the book to try to stop the Warrior, including Sherri constantly getting involved. Both men hit their finishing maneuvers (Savage multiple times) only for the other guy to kick out, which wasn't done back in 1991 as much as it is in 2018. Both enter into a state of disbelief, and in the end, Savage gets mowed down by a remotivated (is that even a word? If it isn't, it is now.) Warrior. And then there's the after-match stuff with Savage, Elizabeth, and Sherri which results in the iconic moment of Savage reuniting with Elizabeth. Everyone in this presentation plays their roles to near perfection. The emotion is played up to the nth degree to the point where, even looking back, you have no choice but to become invested in it. Bottom line: This is Vince McMahon at his best at a time when the storyline execution and the in-ring presentation merged to create this masterpiece. If you haven't already, check out this match. (Network subscribers: It is included in the Macho Man collection, titled "A Career Changing Reunion".)
Clue for Next Week's Rewind Match: Gang Warfare in London.
That's it for this week's post. I thank you all for reading this. I am working on the site, including getting an About Me set up hopefully in the coming days. Next post will be a special reaction post to the Takeover and Money in the Bank events (and may include some quick thoughts on the Ring of Honor shows happening Friday and Saturday). Feel free to leave comments or questions below. Until next week, take care of yourselves and spread some awesomeness.
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