Welcome to the latest edition of the main blog post UnWrest series. This week, I'll look at the crazy week that was WWE programming, ROH, NXT, and Impact Wrestling. Plus stay tuned to the bottom for this week's Podcast Recommendation.
Let's Do This.
Raw Thoughts
- I liked the opening segment of Ambrose continuing to plant seeds of what could be coming up in the future. He presented several different possible futures, but he didn't say that any of them wouldn't happen. It also needs to be said that Baron Corbin is doing his job well as the heel GM. Whatever anyone thinks of his wrestling ability or the character in general, he's doing exactly what WWE wants him to do.
- Braun Strowman faced Dean Ambrose next in a little bit of a typical big man vs. smaller man match. It needs to be mentioned that Braun has grown as a wrestler over the last two years. A match like this would have been unwatchable. Now, in 2018, Braun knows how to pace a match, tell a story, and execute moves when needed to get the maximum impact. He's no Ric Flair, and he doesn't need to be. He's just a better wrestler than most of us give him credit for.
- The match itself was pretty good. Both guys came away with something. Dean showed how tough he was to fight off and have some success against Strowman. Strowman proved that he was a monster. Plus, Roman and Seth finally saved Dean for once. Win-win. After the match, they set up matches for the rest of the show, including an immediate Ziggler/Reigns match. Plus we got more teases of dissention within The Shield when Dean says "I could be Intercontinental Champion right now" to Seth Rollins.
- Dolph Ziggler's career is hilarious to me in terms of the ebbs and flows he's had to go through. On SmackDown Live, he got a resurgence and then dropped off the face of the earth. Now, on Raw, he's one of the main eventers week after week on the show, involved in the big storyline on the show. I'm happy for Ziggler. He's had this coming for a long time.
As for Roman, I've had to come to the conclusion that he is a much better in-ring worker than I really care to give credit for. I think he's really miscast and could be the biggest heel in wrestling history. But that's not in the cards now or likely ever. But regardless, The Big Dog is actually a solid wrestler all things considered. He's much better than others given his push like "Warrior" or "Diesel." So, let's cut The Big Dog some slack while we BOO him out of the building. Lol.
- The first hour of Raw was very solid. A good opening promo to set up the next hour and another match later in the show. The Dean-Shield rift storyline continued as well. Thumbs up.
- I also enjoyed the match between Ruby Riott and Ronda Rousey. They didn't job Riott out. Instead, she got some good offense in and almost caught Rousey a couple times. Good match as far as I'm concerned.
(Side Note: One thing Brie Bella can do to end this controversy around her is to work with Liv on Saturday during the tag match. If Liv works with Brie, that should eliminate any fan complaints. It'd be her stamp of approval on working with Brie and proving that she holds no ill will. Wrestling is not ballet and stuff happens. Unfortunately, with some of the spotty botches that Brie's been involved in before this and the fact that she's a Bella, Brie's getting more criticism than others in her position would.)
- Knowing WWE, Konnor will be WWE Champion on SmackDown next year for 8 months and sweep Nakamura in a few WWE Championship matches.
- And after looking awesome last week even in defeat, The Revival lose another one to The B-Team. AOP beat up The B-Team afterwards, but I'm seriously worried about The Revival's WWE future after this one.
- I wasn't impressed by Seth and Drew's match. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't terrible or anything. It was just normal. It could have been more in my opinion, and I hope we get a big event match sometime between the two.
- What followed next will have to go down as one of the biggest moments in Raw history. It was the night Elias and Kevin Owens got one of the biggest heel reactions in wrestling history. They dared to bring up the fact that Seattle no longer has a professional basketball team. And the fans just let them have it for 10+ minutes of continuous loud, electric booing. It was incredible. As big as Hogan getting a standing ovation in Montreal the night after WrestleMania X8, this was equally as mesmerizing. This crowd would not stop booing. In that moment, Elias and KO thrived. Rick Rude would have been proud.
As for the finish to the Lashley-Owens match, they needed to do something to get some heat (there's that word again) on the big tag match in Australia Saturday. So, they needed to rough up Rush and Lashley a bit.
- Finn Balor and Bayley continue their partnership with a Bayley win over Alicia Fox.
- The last segment of Raw was well done with HBK cutting another promo about supporting his friend. Undertaker and Kane both attacked HBK and Triple H, with chokeslams to both men and a Tombstone to Triple H. Good way to end the show to build to SuperShowDown.
Overall, this was a VERY Good episode of Monday Night Raw. Very well put together first hour. A action packed second hour, and an excellent third hour propelled by a great Seattle crowd reaction during Elias and Owens' promo. It'll be hard for any show to beat Raw this week as WWE booked this very well.
SmackDown Live Thoughts
- Nice opening with Paige addressing the actions of Samoa Joe. I like that they went Old School by saying AJ dropped all the charges in order to get his hands on Joe this Saturday. That adds more value to the match and the storyline.
- R-Truth is brilliant in storyline. He's maneuvered the whole brand to get on TV every week after being off TV for years. Also, I loved the pop Carmella got in the victory for her team. Wrestling is so funny in how someone can be booed one month and cheered the next.
- New Day and The Bar destroyed 25,000 calories in their segment this week. And I still don't give a damn for Mr. Bootysworth. I was disappointed he didn't get Brogue Kicked.
- Randy Orton tortured Tye Dillinger. No worse than how Tye has been tortured since being called up from the main roster. But at least he is on TV now. Where's Nakamura?
- How stupid is WWE for thinking that fans won't get that the pause job on One Night in Milwaukee was stopping Lana from saying "Aiden, I want you to stop (insert Rusev reference)?" Are they trying to get Rusev to be so hot-headed as a character that it leads to a greater problem with Lana and Rusev due to his reaction? DISAPPOINTED!
- Daniel Bryan losing to Shelton Benjamin thanks to a distraction by The Miz was really good storytelling. It added more fuel to the feud between Miz and Bryan and gave Benjamin a nice victory.
- I'm like that Becky and Charlotte got to end the show again this week. WWE is listening, folks. Otherwise, Becky wouldn't be champion or main eventing TV. The fans were booing Charlotte heavily during that beatdown of Becky. If they aren't turning Charlotte heel, she's still not exactly the face of this program either.
Overall, SmackDown Live was the WORST show on WWE TV this week. I can't believe I'm writing that, but it happened here. Raw won easily thanks to a lot of factors, including that MEGA heat moment.
ROH Thoughts (9/28/18)
- Eli Isom vs. Shane Taylor vs. Flip Gordon vs. Chris Sabin- Not only just Chris Sabin, but SUPER ULTRA MEGA Chris Sabin. Lol. (Hey, the ring announcer said it, folks. Must be true.) Really good opening match here to start us off this week. The three smaller guys were able to do some really cool high-flying moves. The big man 330lb Shane Taylor held up his end of the match with a great Cannonball Dive on all three men off the apron. Another nice exchange between Taylor and Flip where Flip kept getting out of Taylor's grasp, but Taylor ended up getting him with a big clothesline. Sabin is still an incredible athlete as well after a couple decades in the business. He doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves for being a high-level wrestler.
Isom impressed here with a big Samoan Drop on Taylor. The announcers put over Isom for being able to reverse the Cradle Shock, pick up Taylor, and for doing veteran moves (like breaking up a pin cover, tagging himself in, etc.). And the shocker: ISOM rolled up Taylor for a surprise win!!! Taylor goes mental and goes after everyone. Flip kicks Taylor back. That was an excellent opening match that built and built to a nice finale. This was a great exhibition for all four men, especially Isom who now has more than just a fluke win over Christopher Daniels. He now has won a very competitive Four Corners Match. It may be the best match of the week. (I just spent two paragraphs on it. That should tell you something.)
- Dojo Pro Black Belt Winner Aaron Solow got his opportunity to face the ROH TV Champion Punishment Martinez on this show as well. (Dojo Pro is on Amazon Prime for anyone that wants to catch up on that.) Punishment just recently finished up with ROH and will be going to NXT soon. (ROH seems to be the training ground for NXT these days. If The Bucks and Cody go to WWE or NXT, they're in for a world of hurt.) A fun match for the most part that didn't outlive its usefulness. I don't think anyone bought Solow getting the win in this one. But they did a couple things in here like a Belly to Belly suplex/pin attempt by Solow to give him some rub. But Martinez wasn't going to drop the title before his match with Sabin on a big event.
- Silas Young and The Bouncers challenge The Young Bucks and Cody for the ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Championships. Cody comes out with his wife Brandi and Burnard the Business Bear. (I love how different Cody is between all the different promotions that he works for. He's a heel in New Japan Pro Wrestling (in a face faction), a serious face in NWA, and a face with heel tendencies (and a frigging bear mascot) in ROH.)
Good story to start us off here with The Bucks being unable to use a lot of their offense on the much larger Bouncers. They start getting some of their offense in with some help from Cody as well. Story being told here is that Silas' partnership with Bully Ray may be affecting his relationship with The Bouncers. Cody takes a turn working with The Bouncers, and they take control. Burnard ends up taking a bump thanks to a senton splash through the ropes by the Beer City Bruiser. Nick Jackson continues to be the best "Hot Tag" wrestler in modern wrestling (he's up there with Billy Gunn on my list of best "Hot Tag" wrestlers ever). Really great action once this hot tag happens with everyone getting some moments to shine. Beer City Bruiser does a HUGE dive off the top of the corner to the floor on all the guys. A Wheelbarrow LEGDROP by The Bouncers only gets a 2 on Cody. The Bouncers go for their own version of The Power & Glory PowerPlex, but THE BUCKS HIT BOUNCER COMING DOWN WITH A DOUBLE SUPERKICK! Wow. The Superkicks are going around. SILAS YOUNG WALKS OUT ON THE BOUNCERS! The Bucks and Cody win the match with Superkicks and Cross Rhodes.
Overall, this may be the best overall episode of ROH that I've seen in months, perhaps ever. From beginning to end, nothing but complete action. No fluff. For 51:02, you are going to get some really fun wrestling from this company. While Raw had the bigger moment of the week, I'm saying ROH just took the lead for Show of the Week thus far.
NXT Thoughts
- Nikki Cross cuts a fun opening promo talking about wanting to face Bianca Belair again and not wanting to behave in their match. Speaking of not behaving, she knows! She knows! She goes crazy in this dark room bouncing off the walls and grabbing the camera itself and breathing heavily in it. Well done overall. Nikki needs to be on TV more often as she has a unique character. Here's hoping her involvement on NXT TV continues to grow.
- Lacey Evans and Candice LaRae wrestled. Don't expect a great review from me. I don't really care for etiher one. Lacey got off an insult on Gargano which po'ed LaRae leaving her open for a big punch from Evans for the win. (During this match, I discovered that MLW WarGames is on YouTube. Maybe I'll cover that one later.)
- Video package plays with Adam Cole, Pete Dunne, and Ricochet putting over the Triple Threat Match for the North American Championship at next week's NXT. They hype it up as a match that will determine NXT's future.
- Ciampa cuts a promo about Velveteen Dream. Dream pointed out that he thought it was Ciampa who attacked Aleister Black. Ciampa warns Dream that he will turn the Dream into a Nightmare.
- Next we get 3 jobbers against the new NXT faction project, The Forgotten Sons. And Jobbers Gonna Job!
- 205 Live's Tony Nese takes on Johnny Failure... I mean, Johnny Gargano. I know this is not going to be popular, but I'm done with Johnny Gargano as a character. They need to do something with him to evolve him to the next level. Right now, he's just Daniel Bryan-Lite. I want more from him than just wrestling Ciampa and walking in circles. As for Tony Nese, he must be excited wrestling for a crowd that actually cares, much less in front of people actually caring at home.
As for the match, it's definitely the highlight of this week of WWE TV. These guys worked a very good style of match, mixing in a bunch of different styles into this. Very good close falls and submissions between the two. Nese never looked better in my opinion as far as wrestling in the ring, which of course means nothing since I don't watch 205 Live. But still, he was very good in this match. Gargano wins after a very good back and forth match with his submission maneuver.
- EC3 jobs again, this time to Lars Sullivan. Has EC3 won any big matches since coming to NXT? I'm trying to remember. He needs something soon. Otherwise, fans will start seeing him as a joke. It was a good match, but these losses are starting to mount too high to be ignored.
I will say this: the NXT camera crew does a GREAT job making Lars Sullivan look like an absolute monster with his entrance coming out in the red light and blocking the spotlight in the ring. Sullivan also has the look in his face that plays off that monster character. During the match, Sullivan powered through 3 shots to the steel steps at ringside and took some damage to his back in the process. He's definitely someone Vince will go NUTS for in a few months. "My God! He'd be PERFECT for Roman to beat!" (Hey, monsters are made to be beaten. Roman Reigns is the big dog. Sullivan screams 350lb bag of Purina to me.)
Overall, this was a decent episode of NXT. But it wasn't great. The last two matches (last half hour) are the only things you need to watch. Otherwise, this is a skippable episode to me.
Impact Wrestling Thoughts
- We get another match between Rich Swann and Matt Sydal. Swann and Sydal had a very fun back and forth match to start the show. Both guys working very hard to get the show off on the right note. I continue to say that Swann is looking 100% better than he ever did in WWE, even as its Cruiserweight Champion. Someone interferes in the match and powerbombs Swann behind the referee's back. 1-2-3. Ethan Page is the man's name apparently, and he's now with Sydal. Good match which seems to set up a tag team match at Bound for Glory.
- Eli Drake comes out yet again to call out another "Dummy. Yeah." And out comes... LA PARKA?! The Chairman of WCW is on American TV again. (Granted, this is being from the Mexico City tapings.) La Parka takes an awkward landing in a neckbreaker. Eli Drake brings a chair into the ring, and that's stupid to do around La Parka. Drake walks out of the ring and goes to the back rather than face La Parka once he gets the chair. Ho-hum segment, but it was good to see La Parka back for the nostalgia moment of the night.
- LAX is in the back talking over the "cease fire." Konnan refuses to break it. Here come The OGs and King. They start mocking Konnan. They take down the flag from behind them and take LAX's tag titles. Again, Konnan refuses to break the "cease fire." Konnan to King: I basically raised you. And this is how you repay me? King: Yeah. You raised a snake. You should have known better. Then King takes a drink of the Tequila and SPITS IT IN THE FACE OF Konnan, all while LAX begs Konnan to let them start fighting back. Great segment here to add even more fuel to the fire of the feud.
- And Joe Hendry gets destroyed by Murder Clown during the match and afterwards when he's put through a table.
- Eddie Edwards' wife has been taken hostage by Moose. They meet in some random place in Mexico City in this lit-up white walled room to talk about their feud. Moose blames him for abandoning him when he was injured, which Eddie admits to as well as being a bad friend. Things go downhill from there, and Eddie gets away from Moose and Killer Kross. He calls Johnny Impact and tells him that if he wants Austin Aries without the interference of his boys, now's the time.
- Impact calls out Aries to meet him out in the ring to just talk. Aries walks out with a sling. Aries agrees that there will be no interference because he doesn't need it. Impact doesn't know who he is himself and is all show and not a real wrestler. Aries is, and he's going to show Impact why he's the Impact World Champion. He tells Johnny Impact that he doesn't want to end up being Johnny "205," he should do what Moose did: Join Aries. Impact tells him "Hell no." A cheap shot by Aries using the sling arm which is perfectly healthy. Impact gets the advantage and hits Starship Pain. Decent couple scenes in all. But I felt like they rambled a little too much in this part. They could have gotten to the point a lot quicker than they did on TV. And part of the problem here is the company not finding a way to edit it down. If this were live, that'd be one thing. But since it's been taped for a while now, they could have found a way to snip part of it off.
- Kiera Hogan gets put into the casket by Su Yung after losing to her in a match. This sends Allie in a frenzy as she failed again to save someone from Yung's casket.
- The Main Event sees oVe take on the Lucha Brothers (Fenix and Pentagon Jr.) and Brian Cage. This was pretty bland for a main event. The match ended in a DQ by oVe, who basically set up the match to get one up on the Lucha Bros. and Brian Cage. Even at that, they failed as Cage and the Lucha Brothers were holding their own in the end.
Overall, this was just an ok version of Impact Wrestling with a couple highlights.
The best show of the week for me was Ring of Honor with Raw coming in second based on the heat-seeking missle that was that Elias/Kevin Owens promo alone. After that, I'd probably go NXT. Then SmackDown Live. Then Impact Wrestling would come in last.
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Podcast Recommendation of the Week
83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff wins this week's Podcast Recommendation of the Week for the episode revolving around Roddy Piper. It was a really fun look at Roddy's time in WCW while Eric Bischoff was in charge. There are some fun stories about Piper, Eric's experiences working with Roddy, and the impact that Roddy had on everyone around him while in WCW. Great listen and worth taking the time to hear.
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Reminder that Rewind has now become part of UnWrest Focus. I'm working on an other classic match to post later this weekend. Here are your clues:
1) It's on WWE Network
2) It's on one of the many Collections.
3) It involves two men who were involved in WarGames during their career.
4) Ric Flair beat both men to win a World Championship.
5) It was on WCW Saturday Night.
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That'll do it for this week's UnWrest. Until next time, take care of yourselves. And spread some awesomeness.
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