What's up everyone? Welcome to the latest edition of UnWrest. Thank you all for clicking on this. As promised, this is the beginning of a new era for UnWrest as I go completely insane and cover another 2 hours of wrestling a week! My Friday Night was spent catching up on 4 hours of TV shows from the week I missed while working. So, in addition to the Rewind and Podcast Recommendation, you will get an analysis of over 9 hours of weekly wrestling. If you are enjoying this blog, gimme a "Hell Yeah!"
So, without further ado, LET'S DO THIS!!!!
Raw Thoughts
To be honest, Raw didn't really bother me too much this week. And I think most people somewhat agreed with me. Out of 12 who answered the poll on Twitter I posted, half gave the show a C grade. 25% gave a D or F grade. And 25% gave it an A or B. All these grades are justifiable as Raw hit all these levels at one point or another. So, to switch things up, let's give some segments an A, B, C, D, or F.
A
- Renee Young was back on commentary. My ears thank WWE for this reprieve from Coach. As I said earlier, Renee would be great in this role. Coach should be hosting his own show on the Network like a Sportscenter/Prime Time Wrestling type show.
- Undertaker and Shawn Michaels showed the world what a great promo can be. They touched on their history and Shawn's turmoil over never going back on his retirement. They seemed to set up something with the two of them after the match with Taker and Triple H, but they may never go that route. And that's ok. It's one of those carrots being dangled in front of us that I'm good with never getting to or finally getting to.
B
- I'm putting the AOP/Drake Maverick segment here simply because WWE finally acknowledged that AOP needed a mouthpiece. Is Maverick the best choice? I would have rather liked Ellering to come back. But let's give Maverick a chance... and a suit. Seriously, let's hope he never wears that Riot Gear again. He looked like a kid at my door saying "Trick or Treat."
- Speaking of tag teams, I wasn't a fan of The Revival not watching their own brand's show to figure out they were about to be attacked. But I'm glad that the tag titles are now on Ziggler and McIntyre. The fact that The B-Team no longer has the belts elevates the championships, but putting the titles on an act in the upper mid-card/main event elevates them that much more. And let's face it: We all know Dean and Seth are challenging for those titles at or after Hell in a Cell.
C
- Bobby Roode and Chad Gable as a tag team. This is a slapped-together tag team. But they absolutely reek of heel heat. Why are they faces? ("Because Bobby Roode is a face, pal!")
- The opening segment was ok. I'm glad to see McIntyre and Ziggler in the main event level. And I get Strowman wanting to have backup in the face of The Shield. But I'm sick of the locker-room pull apart being used so regularly. It should be used sparingly. The post-main-event beat down did a good job of getting heat on the heels. I just wish the main event was a little more special.
D
- Finn Balor jobbed again. Seriously, his credibility is shot as a main eventer. WWE has masterfully just undermined this guy to where only a heel turn or a one-night demon return are the only things that can resuscitate his career.
- The Boss and Hug Connection continue to bore me. And they sacrificed Ember Moon in a tag team match to advance both that and the Titus Worldwide split next to no one gives a damn about. Ugh.
- I didn't really dig the Elias/Alexa/ Women's Match segments. I'm bored with Alexa at this point. It's not her fault. It's her writing. The "misdirection" promo schtick was old weeks ago. We get it: You butter the crowd up by pretending to be nice. Then you are smarky. Golf clap. Do something to add on it now. Advance it. Do something different. And the match afterwards meant nothing as we were all waiting for Ronda to do something. (Bonus point for Ronda throwing Alicia like a rag doll again. That never gets old.)
F
- The Bella Twins just did nothing for me in their match against The Riott Squad. I've heard people defend the Bella Twins and destroy them for their performance. First, I'm glad Nikki didn't hurt herself too badly. But I will also say that this match just did nothing for me, botches or not botches. The botches just solidified a failing grade for me. The Riott Squad cause me to tune out anyways. The Bella Twins just amplify that. (Ironically, I like both Bella Twins as separate wrestlers than I do as a unit.)
- Jinder Mahal... I actually feel sorry for the guy. Congratulations, Vince. You did it. I actually care enough for Jinder Mahal to feel sorry for him for you saddling him with a stereotypical Indian self-help guru gimmick. And even worse, Bobby Lashley continues to wonder aimlessly enough to get in this position. Then, Kevin Owens' quitting the company storyline lasts exactly 7 days. I'm hoping the Owens-Lashley storyline is good because this segment absolutely sucked.
So, again, Raw gets a C from me overall. Next week's the go home show for the Hell in a Cell PPV. Here's hoping Raw does better. (I know it won't. But here's hoping the power of positivity helps.)
SmackDown Live Thoughts
While I did not give a poll for this week's show on Twitter, I will go ahead and grade this show as well. (Hey. I started the gimmick. Might as well finish it, right?)
A
- R-Truth. It's 2018, and R-Truth tops the list. Why? In this era where we question everything written by WWE's "creative team," this was a home run. Why? WWE has difficulty in getting great comedy across its multiple demographics. This was universally a slam dunk, I would imagine. R-Truth calls Maryse "Carmella." He gets Maryse and Carmella at odds, and he reveals to Tye Dillinger that he used The Miz and the two women to get himself into the main event of SmackDown. It was brilliant for a character being seen as crazy that he used everyone to his advantage in such a sly, clever way.
- Almas vs. Bryan- Yes. They did some of the same moves over again from last week, but is that a bad thing? I would have rather seen them hold off another match until later down the road, but that's not what was booked. As is, this was another very fun, entertaining match. And again... PLEASE put this on PPV one month.
- AJ Styles and Samoa Joe segment- Samoa Joe is having a hell of a run with this storyline. Other than the feud with Brock Lesnar, I can't remember Samoa Joe looking this good since being called up to the main roster. I'm not sure if Joe will get the nod over Styles at Hell in a Cell or in Australia next month, but I'm looking forward to seeing Joe and Styles go at it again and again either way.
B
(None)
C
- Hardy vs. Orton Hype- Video packages tend to bore me. This was no different. The Hardy one was more intriguing just because we all know Jeff is probably going to dive off the Cell. And it's the shock value of that that gets you slightly more interested in hearing him say his peace for the program.
- Backstage Interview with Charlotte and Becky- This was probably better than the alternative of doing it in front of the live audience. But still, I don't think there was anything groundshaking about this at all. In fact, I'd argue it would have been more effective to have Renee interview both women at different points of the show instead of directly having them interact.
- 3 Way Tag Team Match- How many times must I see Sanity lose? They might as well wear "JOB SQUAD" on their way down to the ring. That being said, of the three teams involved, I think they were the better choice. The Usos don't need to be losing senselessly since they are likely going to be contenders after Survivor Series time. And Rusev Day is a fresh tag team in this division.
D
- IIconics vs. Naomi/Lame Jokes- The IIconics arrival on my TV becomes my bathroom break of the show. I'd rather see The IIconics feud with The Bellas for Evolution. And poor Asuka. The Empress of Tomorrow is the Afterthought of Today thanks to Vince McMahon. She and Nakamura probably like the money. But the money only goes about as high as the ceiling management puts on it. Speaking of which...
F
- No Nakamura. No promo. No mention. Nothing. Your United States Champion is MIA. While I get him being off for 1 week, he's been off for 2 weeks now. What gives?
- Plot Devices from Raw used again- I hate it when storylines have similar steps on both shows. The Shield leaving the building and coming back at the end of the show was basically copied this week when Daniel and Brie left and returned at the end of SmackDown. We notice these things. I hope WWE does take notice and maybe spaces them out a week apart at least.
Overall, SmackDown Live was a better show, but they don't have a 3rd hour as an anchor either. We're about 6 weeks away from the 1000th Episode of SmackDown. I have to wonder if there will be a 3rd hour to SmackDown Live that week. If so, I wonder how our perception of the blue brand will change with an additional hour even for just a week.
Ring of Honor Thoughts
- Madison Rayne and Sumie Sakai wrestled. I honestly didn't think much of the match. It was ok. But I've seen too many great women matches in the last few years to think much of this.
- Shane Taylor and Josh Woods had a decent MMA style match with Woods' competitiveness actually costing him the match.
- Jeff Cobb broke up another Top Prospect Tournament match. Cobb is an absolute beast and monster. I'm anxious to see what he does in ROH.
- The main event saw The Best Friends reunite to defeat Bully Ray and Silas Young. It was really cool to see Baretta back in the ring. He's been injured for a while. As for Bully Ray, he and Silas Young, two Alpha Male grumps, did not get along too well. I thought Bully was actually pretty awesome here as a character peeing off everyone from Colt Cabana to the cameraman to his own tag team partner. Something tells me we're getting a Silas vs. Bully match. And I actually would love to see that.
ROH, overall, was a mixed bag. On one hand, nothing major happened in the main event level programs. But at the same time, there was some fun stuff worth turning into.
NXT Thoughts
- Kassius Ohno seems to be being set up as the NXT door. In other words, any new talent the brand gets must go through him. I smell a Ohno-Riddle match at NXT Takeover: WarGames in LA.
- Nice tag team between the Street Profits and The Forgotten Sons. Decent amount of screen time and some cool stuff from these two teams.
- I liked Kairi Sane pulling the championship out of the treasure chest. I liked it even more when Shayna Baszler pushed the chest over in disgust later.
- Velveteen Dream and Johnny Gargano had a very good main event here. Dream has grown so much in this last year as an in-ring performer. I'm looking forward to seeing what he has in store next. As for Johnny Failure... I mean, Johnny Gargano, I'm sure self-loathing and turmoil await. The a good part of crowd absolutely turned on Gargano at the end of the show with Johnny Failure and Goodbye Song chants.
Again, another fun week of NXT.
Impact Wrestling Thoughts
- Impact opens with a rematch from last week between Petey Williams and Rich Swann. I continue to enjoy Swann more in this company than I did on 205 Live. They set up a future program with Matt Sydal (who's doing a guru gimmick) and Petey Williams broke out the Canadian Destroyer! Good opener overall.
- I also want to say that Don Callis is adding a lot to Impact as a color commentator. I love his work in NJPW. And just as he does there, he's adding so much to this brand. Of course, he's running the show as well. That kinda helps. But again, Callis is the gift that keeps giving for Impact.
- Grado and Joe Hendry take on The Desi Hit Squad in a tag match. I think I saw Hendry wrestle a match once in ROH. The singing gimmick is a hoot. He sang about his "Platonic Love" with Grado's girlfriend. Then, the Hit Squad wins. After the match, Grado's girlfriend breaks up with him and kisses Hendry. Hendry basically calls her the problem, and she slaps him. Well, that's your garbage segment of the week.
- Eli Drake has a segment with Stone Rockwell, an "adventurer" dressed like Indiana Jones. (I'll agree with Eli Drake here: Dummy. Yeah.) Well, he answered the challenge of Stone Rockwell, who was looking for an adventure. The match lasts literally 6 seconds when Drake hits his "Gravy Train/White Noise" finisher on this goofball for the win.
- Decent match between Tessa Blanchard and Su Yung. I've only watched 2 matches with Su Yung in it, and I'm not really that impressed. I'm going to give her more time to win me over. But I'm not feeling it right now. As for Tessa Blanchard, oh yeah. She's a main event women's wrestler. WWE were a bunch of FOOLS for letting her slip out of their fingers. Blanchard vs. Baszler or Sane on NXT would have been phenomenal.
After Blanchard beats Yung, the Zombie Brides come out with a casket. Yung reanimates herself in the ring, beats down Blanchard, and puts her in the casket. But Allie and her friend come out to stop Yung and save Blanchard. Blanchard yells at them saying she doesn't need their help.
- We also get a bit of a reality based video (think Lucha Underground type footage) between King and Konnan with a tribunal of some sort. There is a decision that the OGs and King will face LAX and Konnan at Bound for Glory in NYC. I'm not opposed to this sort of video in Impact. As long as it meets the narrative of what they are trying to get to and doesn't go too over the top, I'm cool with it.
- oVe is another act I need to get into (I have an autograph from Sami Callihan from Pro Wrestling Crate despite watching 0 of his matches until last week). They had a good TV match against some jobbers that went about 2-3 minutes total. Cool work in the promo afterwards by targeting Cage and the Lucha Bros. Pentagon Jr. and Fenix. One of the other members did an excellent job miming every action of Callihan like a true devoted Kool-Aid drinking cult follower.
- Aries, Kross, and Moose come to the ring. Moose explains that he turned on Edwards because Edwards didn't bother to check on him while he was injured. Meanwhile, Aries checked on him every day. Afterwards, Johnny Impact (Johnny Mundo/John Morrison) comes out and mocks the heels. He announces he and Aries will face off for the World Championship at Bound for Glory. Then, the heels gang up on Impact and attack him in the ring. They wrap a chair around his neck, and Aries slams another chair into the chair while Morrison is up against the ringpost. Wow.
Overall, Impact advanced a few storylines, but it wasn't nearly as entertaining as last week. Still, it was a LOT better than what I saw before I stopped watching. So, it gets a pass from me.
The best show this week was probably SmackDown Live all things considered, but this week didn't exactly set the world on fire as far as televised wrestling goes. All In was the highlight of the overall week.
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<< Rewind << Match of the Week
This week's Rewind match takes us back to September 1992. 26 years ago, WWF Champion Macho Man Randy Savage faced challenger Ric Flair in a championship match taped for Prime Time Wrestling. This was coming off of the big Warrior-Savage SummerSlam match where Flair and Perfect injured Savage's leg.
And that's basically the story here: Savage has a bum leg the entirety of the match. Throughout, he's constantly trying to fend off Mr. Perfect from the outside while trying to fight off the healthy Ric Flair in the ring. For the most part, this is basically a one-sided match with Flair having most of the advantage. In one part where Savage does get Flair on defense, Razor Ramon (who had just debuted earlier that year) comes out and beats down Savage while the referee is distracted. This leads to Flair locking in the Figure 4 Leg Lock on Savage in the ring. Despite holding on longer than any other man in history in the move, Savage succumbs to the pain and passes out. And after a rare 3-count in the submission hold, Ric Flair is declared the new WWF Champion. This match wasn't exactly on par with the other Flair-Savage matches in history, but it wasn't meant to be. It's more a storyline than anything, and it put over both Flair as a strong heel you need to be 100% for and Savage as the brave hero who fought against all odds. Therefore, the segment seen through those lenses is an unqualified success. It just isn't much of a match. (Found on WWE's Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story DVD.)
Next Week: Sting and Vampiro take their feud with Luger and Flair into the Atlantic Ocean.
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Podcast Recommendation for the Week
Sassafras. 83 Weeks almost got the nod this week, but I'm going once again with Good Ol' J.R., Jim Ross, and The Ross Report. This week's podcast included his STARRCAST Ringside show with Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes, and questions asked from the audience with Matt Striker. And as usual, J.R. goes through his thoughts, Pet Coon Crazy Award, and Slobberknocker of the Week. Check it out. (And then check out 83 Weeks for a great watchalong episode for the first ever WCW Monday Nitro.)
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That's going to do it for this edition of UnWrest. Coming up tomorrow will be a review of NJPW's Destruction tour show from Friday. Also, I'm watching some STARRCAST shows now that they aren't lumped together in a ridiculous way. (By that, I mean I'm not paying $100 for 25 shows when I only want to watch about 5-6 of them. I love Marty Scurll. I'm not paying $10, much less $100, to hear him karaoke.)
Hope you all enjoyed this. Please leave a comment or +1 if you liked it. And share the page at will if you found it worthwhile.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness. And if you haven't already, go ALL IN. You won't be disappointed.
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