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northstatenerd · 5 years

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WWE Fastlane 2019 Preview

WWE’s Fastlane takes place this Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio and it is the last big stop before Wrestlemania. For the most part this event will further the storylines we have seen over the last few weeks, but it will also launch a few others that will likely culminate at “The Grandest Stage of Them All” in April. Here are the biggest stories to keep your eye on.

1. The Shield will reunite for, what is supposedly, the last time ever. Roman Reigns returned last week to announce that his leukemia is in remission. He wasted no time reuniting with his Shield brother, Seth Rollins. However, since he left after his diagnosis, Dean Ambrose turned on Rollins and the two have been at odds ever since. This week, Reigns asked the two to put their differences aside and team up again. Ambrose finally agreed late into Monday’s episode of Raw. They are touting this as the last time ever, because Rollins will be preoccupied at Mania with Brock Lesnar and the WWE Universal title to team up again, and it has been announced that Ambrose will not renew his contract when it runs out after Wrestlemania. The interesting part of that is that WWE, as far as I know, has never announced a wrestler will be leaving before they actually do. So this could all be an elaborate work, and maybe we see the ‘Hounds of Justice’ back in action again, but I would plan on this being their last match together for a long time at least.

2. Somehow, the WWE has been able to keep the Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair story interesting for most of this year. After Becky was suspended until post-Mania, Ronda laid her title down and said she wouldn’t compete until Becky was reinstated. This week, Becky was reinstated and a match was set for her to face Charlotte Flair this Sunday at Fastlane. At the contract signing on Monday night, Ronda attacked Becky from behind and reclaimed her title. The stipulation was added that if Becky wins on Sunday she will be added to the Wrestlemania match. The best part of this entire feud is Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey going at each other on Twitter. The two of them do not seem to be holding back at all and it is fun to watch. WWE is not known for being able to maintain a compelling story over a long period of time, but so far so good here, and hopefully they can keep it up for another month.

3. The Ronda/Becky story is so nice, WWE decided to do it twice! After Elimination chamber, Kofi Kingston was awarded a championship match against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane. Vince McMahon came out before the contract signing and replaced Kofi with Charlotte Flair. Sorry I mean Kevin Owens. Déjà vu. The crowd was so firmly behind Kofi and him finally getting a shot at the title, that we have to assume this is a placeholder until Mania. There isn’t currently a clear path for Kofi to earn his shot, and hopefully they don’t continue to follow the Women’s story, but I do believe Kofi will face Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship, and I believe he will win it. It is absurd at this point that WWE has never had an African American champion, and someone who has been with the company for so long like Kofi would be a perfect choice for that honor.

The Card

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

If Becky Lynch Wins, She is Added to the Wrestlemania Match for the Raw Women’s Championship

Prediction:

Becky Lynch has to win this. This is the best way to set up the Wrestlemania match we all want. After several weeks of surprise attacks and beatdowns to both Charlotte and Becky, I’d imagine we’re going to see a great storyline in this match of both competitors working specific body parts of the other. Becky will work Charlotte’s arm, to set her up for the Dis-Arm-Her, while CHarlotte will focus on Becky’s already injured leg. With how hot this storyline has been, I expect this will main event, and Ronda will be involved at some point. Possibly even helping Becky to win.

Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kevin Owens

WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Prediction:

Daniel Bryan retains. I expect this to be an excellent match between two of the best wrestlers in WWE, but I am going all in on Bryan holding the belt going into Wrestlemania, and dropping it there to Kofi Kingston.

The Shield vs. Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, & Bobby Lashley

Prediction:

This match goes one of two ways. This gets treated as a feel good moment to have the Shield reunited, we get the entrance through the crowd, the old music, and they win after a triple powerbomb to probably Baron Corbin. If that’s the case, Reigns will likely face one of the men from the losing team at Mania. However, there is another road to take. Dean Ambrose screws over his brothers and costs them the match, setting up Ambrose to face Reigns at Mania. That scenario gives us a much better match, but WWE is in a delicate position, where they finally have fans cheering for Reigns and putting him against Ambrose in what could be his last match in WWE could jeopardize that.

Asuka (c) vs. Mandy Rose

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Prediction:

For as exciting as some of the storylines are going into Sunday, this one is nothing. There is absolutely no reason for this match to happen, and even less reason for Asuka to lose the title. Asuka is arguably the best female wrestler in the WWE, and making her drop her title to Mandy Rose would be disappointing to say the least. But then again, Vince McMahon loves blondes....

The Usos (c) vs. The Miz and Shane McMahon

SmackDown Tag Team Championships

Prediction:

Usos retain here and this will create the friction between the Miz and Shane that will lead them to their match at Wrestlemania against each other. Shane will probably attempt another move he is too old to do, like a Coast-To-Coast or a jump onto a table that will look cool, but will still not earn Vince’s love and respect.

Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) vs. Tamina & Nia Jax

Women’s Tag Team Championships

Prediction:

Bayley and Sasha will retain. They will likely keep the belts until Wrestlemania where they will face off against a pair of legends, likely Trish Stratus and Lita. Tamina and Nia do seem to be formidable opponents, but after Bayley beat Nia Jax on raw last week, they have proven that it is possible to overcome the size disadvantage.

The Revival (c) vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet

Raw Tag Team Championships

Prediction:

This match could steal the show. Aleister Black and Ricochet are 2 of the most entertaining guys on the roster right now. The fact that this is a triple threat means there are no count outs, so there will be plenty of time spent outside of the ring, with everyone diving out of the ring onto everyone else. I think this will be a fun match but ultimately the Revival will retain. I hesitate to now include one single title change on this card, and if there is one I could see Roode and Gable reclaiming the titles here. I would be surprised if Black and Ricochet win, just because they are better off as singles competitors, and do not need to be stuck in a tag team. I imagine the only reason they are in this match is to promote the upcoming Dusty Rhodes Classic Tag team Tournament on NXT. I put the over under on flips performed in this match at 12.

Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

Prediction:

Andrade and Mysterio have had some great matches over the last few weeks and this will be no different. I do think they will want to get Andrade closer to a title picture heading towards Wrestlemania though. With a guy like Mysterio, he really doesn’t gain or lose anything whether he wins or not, so I see Andrade getting the win and starting to move away from Rey and focusing on the new United States Champion, Samoa Joe.

#WWE #Wrestling #fastlane

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wrestlinghasmelike-blog · 7 years

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Monday Night Raw review November 27th, 2017

Hi everyone! Sorry I was super inactive last week and didn’t post a ton, I was house-sitting for my Aunt and I couldn’t connect to her WiFi at all. I’m back for Raw tonight, and it feels really nice to have WiFi again!

Please let me know what you thought of this review, and feel free to leave any kind of feedback! Also, let me know what you thought of the show! I always want to hear what you guys have to say and what you thought of the show.

Roman Reigns Opening the Show

Of course he was starting off the show tonight, he just won a title! He got a pretty good and mixed pop tonight, and there were more cheers than boos, which is what he normally gets. People seemed pretty pleased that he is the new Intercontinental Champion, which is a surprise to me since it was my understanding that no one really liked Roman. As I’ve said before in my reviews and posts, I’m not a huge fan of Roman, but I think he’ll do great things as IC champ, and I really liked what he was saying about the IC title deserving respect. I believe that should be said for every title, and after Roman’s run as US Champ, this is a better mindset for him to be in. The Miz-tourage fooled me! They came out to Miz’s entrance! The entire weekend I thought Finn would be challenging Roman tonight since they teased it on twitter, but I guess it’s Elias now? Good for Elias, I’m sure they’ll put on a great match later, but as a Finn fan, he should be in this spot.

Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro

Wait, what happened to the “burn it dowwwwwwnnn” lyric in Seth’s entrance music?? Why did they add it to just take it out again? I think the Shield and The Bar have put on some really great matches as of late, especially the match at No Mercy where Cesaro knocked his teeth up into his jaw, but after they have another title match, it’s time for another team to come into the picture. I’m done seeing these guys wrestle match after match. Let another team have a shot! This match had some really great moments! The first sequence with the little flip that Seth did in the beginning was sweet, and it had me instantly tuned into the match. Booker T had a line during the match where he said, “They can wrestle, and then they can turn it into a fight.” I totally agree with Booker here. I think Seth and Cesaro, and even Sheamus and Dean (even though they aren’t here) can really bring it all to the table and put on a show. This match had high energy the whole time, and even when there was a commercial break, you saw that the energy was still there. There was a great moment where Seth was trying to lock in an abdominal stretch on Cesaro, but Cesaro reversed it with a hip toss! A very powerful looking hip toss! This match could be a main eventer, why is it so early in the show? Seth had a great leg drop on the apron onto Cesaro, but he made it look like a different leg drop because he like, flipped in the air and then dropped. Cesaro was going for the neutralizer, and I don’t understand why, but he “cracks” his neck before he goes for it? It’s a weird move that I don’t totally get. Seth got the “W” with a superkick and a knee to the face, which seemed like a weak finish for a great match like this one. Seth’s post-match interview with Charlie was weird, and I didn’t know he could bring up Renee and Dean being a couple? After next week, I hope we see a change in the tag division.

Samoa Joe vs. Titus O’Neil

When was the last time we saw Titus put on trunks and wrestle? And are we just dropping the Joe/Finn feud? That was a great idea, but hopefully they’re saving Finn for Brock so he gets his rematch. Titus went right for Joe, and that shows everyone that these two came to work to fight tonight. Titus was being really aggressive the entire time, which you need to do when you face Samoa Joe. Joe hit an overhead kick to Titus in the corner, and I love that Joe has this move in his arsenal because not a lot of big guys like him do any high kicks. Joe hit the coquina clutch, and I’m not surprised he won, but this was a good match and I’m impressed!

6-Woman Tag Team Match

I had a feeling that this match wasn’t going to happen, which is a bummer, but I knew they weren’t going to put Paige in a match this early. Paige is really good on the mic, and it seems very natural for her to be this heel character. And she’s right, she pretty much was the starting point for the Women’s Revolution, but I don’t think anyone forgot, at least her fans didn’t. During this segment, and I don’t know if it was just my TV, but it seemed like the crowd was edited out and some parts were changed around? While Sonya and Mandy were talking is when I noticed it most, but I could be wrong. The name Absolution sounds cool, but I need an explanation for it before I can decide whether or not I like it. I know she won’t, but if Sasha joined with Paige, it would be an interesting heel turn for her. I think I’d like to see that.

Bray Wyatt vs. Matt Hardy

Bray is just gross, but it just really works for who he’s trying to be. Bray is another person who’s great on the mic, and he looks like he believes in what he’s saying. He’s crazy, and that’s the only thing I like about him. His whole, “You’re all dead!” slides past Vince and is over with him but Finn apparently isn’t okay okay (if you aren’t sure what this is, check twitter) It’s so great that Matt is getting TV time since Jeff is gone. With Jeff being gone, it’s really hurting Matt’s chances of getting anywhere in WWE again, but I hope he gets to break out in his character more, and then they can bring Jeff back in when he’s cleared. A win for Bray, but are we possibly seeing the start of Matt getting into the broken character?! Let’s hope so because it’s what everyone has wanted to see since he came back.

Cruiserweight Fatal Four Way

Again, maybe my TV is acting up, but this match and the crowd felt like it was super edited while it was going on. I thought Tozowa and Swann had a great sequence of flips and pins in the beginning that impressed me, and this match overall was really impressive. There were two great suicide dives and a lot of great top rope spots. During the match, Michael Cole brought up Starcade, which happened over the weekend, but it was a live event only, so I don’t think a lot of people got his reference. Just a weird plug, Cole. The Phoenix splash that Swann did to get the win was great, a little messy at the end, but still really cool! I’m glad that this match impressed me, I hope this division does it again!

Roman Reigns vs. Elias

Wow, I’m surprised that this is not the main event. This was a great match actually! I hated how much time it took to start because Elias had to do a song, but the Miz-tourage with the harmonicas was actually pretty cool. I don’t know if they were actually playing them, but that was at least a good moment. Both Roman and Elias were looking great, but Elias did really well! He had a lot of good moves, especially that huge elbow drop he had over Roman! Great height and great impact! I think because of the guitar, people assume that Elias doesn’t know how to wrestle, but he does and he’s good at it! Elias had a great sit-up powerbomb, but it wasn’t enough to get him the win, but I would say that this was my match of the night! Samoa Joe came and attacked Roman afterwards, so I guess I know what’s happening next week.

Asuka vs. Dana Brooks

I’m sorry to these two women for the waste of time and bad match that they were put in. Asuka especially doesn’t deserve this booking, and I guess Dana’s mother had surgery today and they made her miss it for this 3-second match? Paige and the Absolution came out at the end, but even that wasn’t worth it.

Jason Jordan vs. Kane

Never ever give Jordan a mic again, I hate hearing him talk. This match didn’t last either, so I guess Braun and Kane are going to hash it out. Again, I feel like Jordan is favoring different knees each week, but maybe since I don’t like Jordan at all I’m not paying him any attention to what he’s doing. OH WAIT IT’S FINN AH MY BOY THE BOY! I was waiting for him to show up, and I hate that I had to wait so long! Finn doing his entire entrance is so extra, and it shows Vince and the entire WWE that he is 100% over and deserves his rematch for the Universal Championship. Now I love that this turned into Finn vs. Kane for the main event. This is much better than Jason Jordan. No, not the chair! I know that wrestling is fake and everything and this is just acting, but good god I hate seeing Finn in pain. It hurts my heart. Oh god Kane put Finn’s head in the chair he’s gonna jump. OH BRAUN I’VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER TO SEE HIM. This Kane/Strowman idea isn’t something I cared for at first, but I’m happy with it now, and I can’t wait to see what they do next week with it.

Overall I thought this was a decent show! Again not the best, but I’ve seen worse! Match of the night was definitely Roman and Elias, and I don’t think I’ve ever had Roman be in a favorite match for me! I’m glad that Finn eventually came out, too. I’m glad the crowd was super into it as well, that always helps the show.

Stay tuned for Smackdown tomorrow, and other posts throughout the week!

-Casey

#wwe #monday night raw #wwe monday night raw #kane #braun strowman #roman reigns #wrestling reviews #wrestlinghasmelike #finn balor

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Squared Circle Otaku: How Anime Inspired Wrestlers

Two rivals stand across from each other, ready to throw down. This is the culmination of weeks of blood, sweat, and tears of high emotion and raw power. Everything fans have been waiting for is about to happen in an explosive, no holds barred battle, where only the strongest survives! If you had to pick whether that passage described your favorite anime action series or professional wrestling, you might have a hard time picking between the two of them; the fact of the matter is that wrestling and anime have a lot more in common than most people think they do.

Several weeks ago, we did a video on that very subject, focusing on the ways in which these two seemingly different types of entertainment crossover with one another frequently. But were you aware that many wrestlers are big anime fans? Whether its wearing gear inspired by their favorite series, special attacks with homage names, or simply wearing their love for anime on their sleeve, many of today’s titans of the ring have a deep love for anime. If you’re curious about some of them, we’ve got a few wrestlers to grapple with here, but trust us when we say this is just the tip of the iceberg!

If you’re already a fan of both wrestling and anime, you may have immediately thought of Xavier Woods, member of the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions, the New Day, as well as host of video game channel Up Up Down Down. Xavier is a well known fan of anime and games, and the New Day’s Dragon Ball Z themed Wrestlemania entrance is legendary! But aside from that nod in the ring, Xavier has talked about his deep love for anime and gaming for a long time, and he regularly attends conventions such as Dragoncon in full cosplay, pulling off an impressive Sailor Mercury cosplay last year!

On his YouTube channel Xavier routinely plays anime themed and inspired games and occasionally talks about anime with his guests, such as one episode devoted to the Sailor Moon fighting game featuring fellow WWE wrestler and huge Sailor Moon fan Sasha Banks! Sasha has routinely mentioned her love of Sailor Moon in interviews, even stating that she identified the most with Serena/Usagi when she was watching the show while growing up. Longtime readers here at Crunchyroll may even remember that Sasha and Xavier appeared on an episodes of our very own Lighting Round back in 2016, answering our burning anime questions for them, which you can check out here and here if you’re curious.

Xavier and Sasha are far from the only WWE talent that wear their love for anime on their sleeve, though. NXT Superstar Brennan Williams is another longtime anime fan, whose original signature move in the ring was the “Nico Nico Knee,” an homage to everyone’s favorite Love Live idol and gremlin Nico Yazawa. Williams is perhaps even more obvious about his love of anime than most, and with a Twitter handle like “GREATBLACKOTAKU,” it’s hard to argue with that! Brennan’s Twitch channel has a Pop Team Epic inspired logo, and he regularly posts about anime and games that he’s playing and watching when not training or entertaining in the ring. His streaming partner and fellow NXT Superstar Shane Thorne shares similar enthusiasm for anime, even having a Brand of Sacrifice tattoo on his abdomen and professing his love for Berserk on Twitter.

Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, and Berserk seem to be big hits amongst wrestlers, as shown by WWE wrestler and former NXT North American champion Ricochet, who back when he wrestled mostly in Japan dressed up as Frieza for Halloween, accompanying fellow wrestler (and now NXT Superstar) ACH, who had dressed up as Ash Ketchum. ACH is perhaps another go to for wrestling and anime fans in the know, as he’s been combining his two loves into his performances for a long time. ACH’s signature ring entrance pose is inspired by One Piece’s Franky, would be introduced as hailing from the Planet Vegeta, and he even wears a Naruto ninja headband with his gear as well! In my own experience, I even got to see ACH after a show cradling a brand new Naruto figure he picked up while in town for a show, keeping his work life and hobby life alive at the same time!

Loving anime on your free time is one thing, but incorporating that love into your moves in the ring is quite another. Although some like Brennan Williams have found some success with it, there’s probably no greater nod to a love of anime than Samoa Joe, whose signature move the Muscle Buster is a very obvious homage to the famous Kinniku Buster from Kinnikuman! Although he hasn’t used the move in quite a while, checking out replays of his matches in NXT will give you a chance to compare the two; we have to say, Joe’s version is quite authentic and just as devastating as Kinnikuman’s signature finisher. Joe also posted back in 2017 that his youngest child had become interested in boxing anime Hajime no Ippo, and there’s nothing quite as heart warming as seeing one of the most destructive wrestlers in the world share his love of anime with his kids like a good dad.

But which wrestlers are the MOST anime? That is a bit of a hard question to answer (and, for the sake of simplicity, we’re not including wrestlers who are literally based on anime like Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask), but for this particular article we’ll leave you with two very special people: WWE’s Asuka and NJPW’s Minoru Suzuki.

Asuka, who wrestled in Japan under the name Kana, has a long history of enjoying anime and manga, as well as video games. Aside from her wrestling career, Asuka owns a hair salon named Another Heaven, and worked as a graphic designer and video game journalist. Her background in these, coupled with her love of anime, leads to some pretty amazing moments, such as her Twitter re-creation of the infamous stand off between Dio and Jotaro, with herself and WWE’s Charlotte Flair taking the roles! Asuka has always had a flair for the dramatic, flashy, and colorful, and her non-wrestling related tweets tend to involve games (she’s a huge fan of Okami and retro games!), and just recently posted that she’s anxious to read the newest issue of Manga Action that’s due out in May. Asuka’s twitter is routinely filled with various games, anime, manga, and art that she enjoys, making her one of the most vocal wrestler anime fans by far!

Finally, that brings us to Minoru Suzuki. Infamous for his extremely threatening aura and physical style in the ring, Suzuki is also a diehard manga fan, especially One Piece! There may not be a wrestler that is a more avid and open fan of anime than Suzuki, who has been such a vocal fan of One Piece that he’s even appeared in it, voicing the character Minoru Kazeno (A combination of Suzuki’s own name and reference to his classic theme song, “Kaze ni Nare”). If you want to see Suzuki in anime form, you can check it out right here on Crunchyroll! But it doesn’t quite stop there with Suzuki; he’s such a huge fan of One Piece that he shaved the Devil Fruit design into his hair, and has appeared on a few shows to discuss his love of the series. In an episode of the variety show SMAPxSMAP, Suzuki showed up as part of a trivia challenge, walking away the victor after a series of grueling superfan questions!

And that’s still not all; Suzuki has even had his own official One Piece themed spin-off in Saikyo Jump’s One Piece Party, known as One Piece Corner, where he discussed things going on in and coming up in One Piece at the time. Suzuki also hosted a podcast called “Manga King Minoru Suzuki,” where he talked about manga he was reading and his opinions on them. And his classic theme song, “Kaze ni Nare,” is famously sung by Ayumi Nakamura, who has performed theme songs for shows like Magic Knight Rayearth. When it comes down to it, it’s pretty hard to beat Minoru Suzuki when it comes to that marriage of anime and wrestling, but take it from us, I think I’d let him win any manga debates he wanted to have…

As anime and manga become more popular, its only to be expected that more and more people come to love and appreciate them, but it is certainly interesting to see the mixture of wrestling and anime take form in the way wrestlers bring their love of the hobby into the ring with them. And we’re sure that there are many more anime loving wrestlers out there, as this list is by no means exhaustive, but simply a way for you to see that anime really is for everyone! Now, we suggest you follow Suzuki’s advice, “be like the wind,” and settle down for some anime and wrestling binge watching! Nothing says anime marathon break like a few hours of amazing wrestling, right?

Did you find out anything about some of your favorite wrestlers? Maybe considering giving wrestling a chance if you haven’t before? Know of any wrestlers we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments!

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Nicole is a features writer and editor for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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placetobenation · 7 years

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August 21, 2017 From the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY Your hosts are Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Booker T

Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman start off the show by coming out to the ring. We see still photos from last night’s Fatal Four Way Universal Title match at SummerSlam that Lesnar won after hitting Roman Reigns with the F5 after leaving on a stretcher at the beginning of the match due to Braun Strowman. The crowd chants “Suplex City” before Heyman reminds us that Lesnar retained the Universal Title at SummerSlam. Heyman then tells us how he has been telling us for years about his predictions being correct. He also tells us for the first time in Lesnar’s life he was carted off during competition but neither of other three men could get the title because Lesnar refused medical testing and came back to keep his title. The crowd cheers and even starts the “yes” chant after Heyman reminded us Lesnar pinned Reigns last night then says if there is beating or conquering that needs to be done its peformed by Lesnar but Strowman comes down to interrupt. The crowd chants for Strowman as he stares at Lesnar. Strowman tries for a chokeslam but Lesnar floats over then is able to boot Lesnar down and hit a powerslam. Strowman then follows with a secomd powerslam before yelling out and grabbing the title as the crowd goes nuts, doing the “yes” chants.

After last night, and even something you could see last week on RAW, its clear Lesnar vs. Strowman is the direction of the next title match. There wasn’t much to this segment but it was effective and the crowd went mental for Strowman, which was to be expected after his performance at SummerSlam. This is a title match that all fans will want to see. Forget Reigns, Strowman is the guy people want to see and is more charismatic. He should be the future of the company.

Back from commercial, we get a replay of Strowman destroying Lesnar.

We are shown still photos of Cass beating Big Show last night with Enzo suspended above the ring in a shark cage, even after Enzo escaped. Enzo’s pre-match promo was about Cass stabbing Enzo in the back and promises their story will end where it started. He heads out back then comes out with a shopping cart filled with weapons.

Brooklyn Street Fight: Big Cass vs. Enzo Amore

Enzo, as we are told by Cole, has requested this match. Cass runs up the ramp and knocks Enzo down. He tosses Enzo down the ramp then rams him with the cart. Cass tosses Enzo into the barricade then into the ring. Cass grabs a chair then gives it to Enzo to help him out as Enzo charges only to get booted in the face. We head to break then return with Cass still in control. Enzo manages to stun Cass with a jawbreaker then crawls towards the car but is pulled away. Cass follows with a corner splash then raises his hand as the crowd boos while Booker tells us that Big Show is not here tonight. Enzo swings but Cass picks him up and unloads in the corner. Cass charges but Enzo low-bridges him and spills outside. Enzo crawls towards the chair and picks it up but Cass runs in and stomps on the chair then limps around. Cass hits a slam but his knee gives out then he starts getting pissed as he is in pain. A trainer comes over and the bell rings as Enzo wins by forfeit (8:52) *. After the match, Enz dances around the ring then at ringside.

Thoughts: The Cass injury was reported as being legit on WWE.com and he will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. Not much to this match before the injury as it was incredibly dull and boring for a streetfight but the big story is the injury to Cass. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery.

Emma is backstage with Dana Brooke. She is on her phone and pissed about Sasha getting a title shot over her while Dana reminds her she tapped out. Emma goes on and on while claiming she started the “Diva’s Revolution” but Nia Jax interrupts to tell her they have a match tonight and the fans will be chanting for her to get CPR when its over. This was basically the same promo Emma did last week with Mickie James.

Nia Jax vs. Emma

Emma slaps Nia across the face then hammers away. Nia runs her over and drops a few elbows before tossing her in the corner. Nia then hits an avalanche but misses a second charge as Emma fights back. Nia catches Emma and hits a Samoan Drop for the win (1:07) 1/4*.

Thoughts: An easy win for Nia as they are keeping Emma’s gimmick of wanting to get a chance and getting embarrassed at each turn. After getting called up 3.5 years ago and a demotion to NXT, she has failed to get over. It might be about time to cut bait.

Elias is in the ring. He asks who wants to walk with him then makes fun of Brooklyn and starts to sing but R-Truth interrupts.

Elias vs. R-Truth

Elias backs Truth into the corner and tries a cheap shot but Truth fights back. Truth hits a spinebuster then an avalanche before hammering away. Elias catches Truth with an elbow but Truth comes back with a leg lariat then more punches but ducks his head and gets hit with the Drift Away as Elias picks up the win (1:23) 1/2*.

Thoughts: Elias is the one getting a push and picked up an easy win. This played out exactly how it should have.

Kurt Angle heads out to the ramp. He talks about promising us a surprise tonight then welcomes John Cena to RAW. Cena sprints out to the ring then plays up to the crowd. He lets the crowd partake in a dueling chant and smiles before saying “Why am I here?” He mentions seeing Angle at SummerSlam and getting asked if he wants to come to RAW. Cena said he immediately said yes not because Smackdown is bad but for a long time he wanted to come to RAW and go face-to-face with a certain superstar as Roman Reigns’ music comes out. The crowd chants as Cena says Reigns is who he was looking for on RAW. Reigns tells Cena to stop running his mouth on Twitter then says since he is in “his yard” then say what he wants to his face. The crowd chants for Undertaker as Cena says he did not come here to talk. He rips off his shirt and the two look ready to throw done but Miz & The Miztourage interrupt. Miz jokes about this is how the Barclays looks when sold out as Cena makes fun of how he pronounced the arena name. Miz goes off about having to wrestle in a nearly empty arena last night on the pre-show before saying he is sick-and-tired of Cena and Reigns always getting their moments as the crowd is going crazy. Miz is upset over the fact Angle thinks RAW needs an addition while the Intercontinental Champion “rides the pine” at SummerSlam. He then asks the crowd is RAW needs Cena and they mostly chant no as Miz chastises Cena for treating this as a joke. Miz goes off on the crowd for not knowing when to cheer or boo Cena and Reigns then demands his moment as the crowd chants “you deserve it” and “where’s his moment” happen. Cena then decides to make a main event on RAW where Miz can pick anyone one of his lackeys to go up against Reigns and himself. Miz doesnt go for it as he calls out Cena for being selfish but Samoa Joe’s interrupts. Joe stares down Cena then says he has a strong opinion about the situation and tells Miz if he has a partner, its not going to be the Miztourage as Joe says he will be in the match. Joe is sick of Reigns telling everyone how this is his yard then tells Reigns he “owns” him before attacking Cena. Reigns fights off Miz and the Miztourage while Joe slips off of Cena’s shoulders and locks on the Coquina Clutch until Reigns makes the save with the Superman Punch. Cena and Reigns are left in the ring as a “you both suck” chant breaks out.

This was quite the segment. The crowd was red-hot and Miz was gold on the mic. What he said was mostly true and that is why the crowd ate it up, even though he was the heel. Cena really hammed it up and came off obnoxious here while Reigns blended in like background scenery. The guy really does not stand out as a star and the corny “my yard” stuff is way too forced and shoehorned into everything he says. Joe’s arrival seems like they are going to possibly build to a triple-threat match between the three. Anyway,this leads to an intriguing main event of the show and is worth catching for the Miz alone.

Gran Metalik & Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari & Noam Dar & Tony Nese

Gulak grounds Metalik with a side headlock to start. The announcers talk about how Neville winning the Cruiserweight Champion opens up the doors for a new challenger. Metalik runs wild then Daivari and Ali tag into the match. Ali comes back with a crossbody for two then uses a front facelock. Swann is in and sends Daivari scurrying after using a roundhouse kick. Dar refuses to tag in so we get Nese as Swann dropkicks him outside. Nese runs in to cut off a dive attempt then counts his ab muscles as we head to commercial. The match returns with Gulak working the leg of Swann, who eventually comes back with a enziguiri as the crowd is now doing the wave. Hot tag to Cedric as he runs wild on everyone until Gulak makes the save on a pin attempt. Gulak gets dumped then Metalik hits a ropewalk moonsault to the floor. Back inside, Nese gets two with a backslide but Cedric comes back with a handspring enziguiri then the Lumbar Check for the win (8:42) **1/4.

Thoughts: I feel for the Cruiserweights. They try but the company has no clue how to get people into this division. The crowd was disinterested too. With the win they might be building up Cedric as the next challenger for Neville but at this point there are no credible challengers left on the heel or face side I can think of besides him. Although a future NXT callup (Itami or Strong) could be in the works.

Backstage, Charly Caruso is with Neville. She asks him about beating Akira Tozawa at SummerSlam to regain the Cruiserweight Title. Neville puts down the crowd for thinking a “Japanese punk” like Tozawa could win last night. Titus O’Neill interrupts with Tozawa and tells Neville they can use verbal insults too and calls Neville “gargoyle” before saying Tozawa will have his title rematch tomorrow night on 205 Live. And we now have our 205 Live main event as these three will have their third match in an eight day span.

Angle has Jason Jordan backstage with him. Jordan says he is not looking for preferential treatment but wants to face Finn Balor. Angle asks if he is ready for that level of competition ten gives him the match. There is no chemistry whatsoever between these two in this storyline and its failing to get Jordan over. It was a terrible idea to begin with and the longer it goes and worse it gets nothing good will happen from it.

Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins come out to the ring proudly wearing the RAW Tag Team Titles. They pump up the crowd by talking about how they reunited and won the belts. Ambrose says they know Cesaro & Sheamus have a rematch coming and will face anyone at anytime. However, the Hardy Boyz come out and head into the ring. We get a “delete” chant as Matt teases that before Jeff congratulates the new champions. Matt says that they know about brothers fighting and when they reunite it is a beautiful thing and have come out here to challenge them to a match. Seth asks if they are serious since they grew up idolizing them but Matt says they have been revolutionizing the Tag Team Division and want to do it tonight in Brooklyn as the champs agree and ask for a referee, who comes out as Cole wonders if this mach will happen as we head to commercial.

Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz

This is a non-title match. Matt and Ambrose start this off. The Hardy Boyz work over Dean until he makes the tag. Rollins kicks Jeff down for a two count as we see Cesaro & Sheamus watching backstage on a monitor. The Hardy Boy come back and hit Rollins with a pendulum slam that looked nasty. Rollins stops a charge and sends Matt into the corner then tags out as the champs take control briefly until all four men enter and we get a stalemate. Everyone brawls until then champs are on the outside with Jeff taking out Seth from the apron as we head to break. The match returns with Rollins kicking down Jeff then making the tag. Ambrose runs wild on Matt until missing a pescado. Matt backdrops Rollins outside then Jeff flies out with the Poetry in Motion. Back inside, Jeff hits a corner splash on Ambrose then tries the Whisper in the Wind but Rollins pushes Ambrose out of harms way as Jeff crashes and burns. Rollins tags in and works a front facelock. The champs now cut off the ring as Matt rallies the crowd behind his brother. Jeff finally comes back with the Whisper in the Wind then tags out as Matt runs wild on Rollins. He gets a two count with a bulldog. Ambrose makes a blind tag then holds up Matt so Rollins can hit a sling blade as Jeff breaks up that pin attempt. All four men are brawling but the Hardy Boyz get dumped while the champs fly out with stereo topes. Matt then slams Rollins on the apron and runs inside where he hits the Side Effect on Ambrose after a reversal sequence. Matt heads up top but Ambrose cuts him off then Ambrose heads up and knocks Matt off. Jeff makes the blind tag and tries to hit Ambrose with the Swanton but Ambrose got his knees up as everyone is down. Ambrose is up first but cannot hit Jeff with the Dirty Deeds so he makes the tag and the champs hit Jeff with the ripcord knee smash/Dirty Deeds combo for the win (16:49) ***1/4.

Thoughts: This was fun and a competitive win for the champs. I thought Rollins was knocked loopy during the pendulum slam spot but he was able to finish the match. The crowd liked both teams and they wrestled it as a babyface match too and did it well.

Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title is announced for No Mercy

Miz & The Miztourage are in the locker room with Samoa Joe. Miz is flattered Joe wants to part of the Miztourage and says he has Cena’s number and knows his weaknesses but Joe tells him to shut up. He tells The Miztourage to keep their presence and orders them what to do before walking away.

Sasha Banks heads out to the ring as we look at still photos from SummerSlam where she defeated Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Title. She talks about being from Boston but for the past three years she has left her heart in Brooklyn. She mentions facing Bayley at the first Brooklyn Takeover and faced Charlotte last year, even wishing Ric Flair best wishes, before saying we do not need a “fake goddess” like Alexa. Sasha says she does not need to talk her way out of a match and does not need Nia Jax but Alexa interrupts. Alexa then laughs about Sasha saying she will defend a title as she has never made a single Women’s Title defense despite four title reigns. Sasha then says Alexa has run away or tapped out in all of their matches then suggests she use her rematch clause right now. Alexa says maybe she should but will not as none of these “Brooklyn fan boys” deserve her celebration and does not want to break Sasha’s heart but will use her rematch clause for next week, where Sasha will not be the “legit boss” but rather the “legit loser.” The story for Sasha’s fourth title reign, which they were hyping as a big deal earlier in the show, is that she has yet to make a successful title defense. If you have Alexa win next week then you are using the formula that got Bayley to were she is today as storylines designed to prove the heel right does nothing but kill off your babyface. And, while Alexa’s promo was good overall the last line was just awful.

Jason Jordan vs. Finn Balor

Jordan grounds Balor to start. He stays in control using mat work until Balor catches him with a dropkick. Jordan extend his hand but Balor kicks it away then takes him down before using a side headlock. Jordan gets dumped outside but rolls back inside to avoid a running soccer kick as we head to break. The match returns with Balor in control as he keeps kicking out Jordan’s leg. Jordan fights back and gets more aggressive. He gets two with a butterfly suplex then uses a butterfly lock. Balor gets to his feet and eventually escapes and hits a basement dropkick as the crowd is focused on something else. Balor runs wild then tosses Jordan outside. He dropkicks him then connects with a soccer kick before heading inside where Jordan tosses Balor with an overhead suplex. Jordan tries his finisher but Balor falls on top then Balor hits an overhead kick as both men are down. Jordan picks up Balor and keeps ramming him into the corner but gets kneed on a charge. Balor connects with a sling blade and a shotgun dropkick before the Coup de Grace gets the win (11:42) **3/4.

Thoughts: The crowd was distracted by a beach ball and did not pay any attention to the match itself, which was actually good. The longer this Jordan storyline continues the less over he will become as he is not getting any reaction whatsoever and no one bought him as having a chance in this match. I have no idea what they do with Balor but a move to Smackdown Live might be for the best as Cena added to RAW means he is further down the card.

Miz w/ Maryse & The Miztourage & Samoa Joe vs. John Cena & Roman Reigns

This match started during the break. Axel tags out after Cena hit him with a bulldog then we get Joe and Cena as the camera shows security taking away the beach ball in the crowd. Joe beats on Cena in the crowd as an “asshole” chant is directed towards security. Miz is in and he beats on Cena too. Cena catches Miz with a clothesline as the crowd is entertaining themselves with a wave. Cena even joins in with them but gets hit with a DDT as Miz nearly put him away. Cena is isolated in the corner but fights back and tags out as Reigns runs wild on Joe. Reigns misses a Superman Punch and gets hit with an uranage then Miz tags and tosses Reigns outside. Bo clotheslines Reigns then Miz tosses him back in for two. Reigns fights back and lifts up Miz with one hand for a powerbomb as both men are down. Joe tags in and targets the neck of Reigns and Miz does the same but Reigns escapes and tags out as Cena runs wild. Joe puts Cena in the clutch but that gets broken up when Joe ducked a Superman Punch that ended up hitting Cena. Joe tosses Reigns outside but is hit with a Superman Punch while attempting a dive then Cena blocks the Skull Crushing Finale and puts Miz away with the AA (13:07) *3/4.

Thoughts: Take away the crowd being distracted and this was still a subpar match. Cena really just seemed like he was fucking around out there and his selling was abysmal if you ask me. Despite the miscommunication, Reigns & Cena were able to win but I’m sure a pissed off Joe will confront them both next week. Poor Miz had to eat the pin here after wrestling in front of a nearly empty arena last night.

Final Thoughts: The big news is that Cena is back on RAW and Strowman vs. Lesnar will take place at No Mercy. The top of the card on RAW is looking good as Cena vs. Reigns is going to be a major match when it takes place. They also set up a match for next week and for 205 Live too. However, the women’s and Cruiserweight Divisions are short on credible title contenders and the Jordan/Angle should probably be scrapped entirely at this point because I cannot see anyone caring in the near future. The crowd became distracting at the end and its a little weird to get that preoccupied by a beach ball but like Bryan Alvarez said on “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Cesaro ripping the beach ball might encourage more people to bring them to the shows. Anyway, RAW at least came out of SummerSlam in much, much better shape than Smackdown and have the next month to build towards No Mercy.

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Squared Circle Otaku: How Anime Inspired Wrestlers

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