#bit rood /ref

[honkygay]

“draw your babygirl like this” say less shawty

[devilbunzz-moved]

Another oc ^_^ lol

[hazyheel]

WWE Friday Night Smackdown 10/4/19 Review

The season premier of Friday Night Smackdown basically ended up being a normal smackdown that just had a bunch of spectacle around it. Although we had the Rock, who had a good segment, all the other people who came to the event weren’t involved. But we have some interesting setups for some future matches, whether that is in the immediate future or Wrestlemania, along with a couple upsides, so there were some things that ended up promising. Here is my full review of this week’s Friday Night Smackdown.

The set for this show is actually awesome. I love the little tube thing that they have on the entrance ramp, it looks badass. Waaaaaaaaaay better than the Raw set, let me tell you. Stephanie and Vince McMahon came out first. They popped the crowd with a quick “Welcome to fox” type thing, before throwing it to the new theme song. This was all kind of a pre-show thing, so I’m not gonna grade it. And possibly the most exciting thing: A TWO MAN ANNOUNCE BOOTH. Corey Graves and Michael Cole were holding it down, and I’m so excited to see how well they do without a third wheel. 

Becky Lynch Promo: She thanked everyone at smackdown for boosting her up to title level. King Corbin interrupted and walked down to the ring. He told Lynch that she wasn’t the Man anymore, to which she said “step in the ring and we’ll find out.” He did, and I was excited to see Corbin get his comeuppance for attacking her at Extreme Rules, but The fuckin Rock came out instead, which is also good. He and Lynch slapped up in the ring as he posed in the corners, and even without talking, he exudes charisma. It is crazy. Rock talked about how he was the guy who invented the word smackdown. He put the show over a bit, before calling Corbin a Broke Ass Burger King on Crack. Then he hit his catchphrase, saying that he is back home. He was gonna keep going, but Corbin cut him off. Corbin said that Smackdown isn’t his home, and he isn’t the great one anymore. Corbin told him to shut up, so Rock told him that he wasn’t a King, and called him a 35 yer old version who hangs out at Comicon. He said that winning King of the Ring doesn’t make him a King, and just because Becky is the man doesn’t mean she is gonna carry a pair of testicles. Lynch said “yeah, but if I did, they’d be bigger than his.” Corbin kept heeling on LA, before Lynch hit the whole “it doesn’t matter what you think.” Rock then put him over a bit, before calling him a Super Tough Dude (STD), and the crowd chanted it, which Lynch said would stick with him for life (which it won’t but that was clever). Rock then told him that he was getting mad, and told him that Lynch and Rock would kick his ass. The two of them beat him down, and Rock hit the People’s Elbow, followed by a Rock Bottom. 

Grade: B. I liked this promo, and of course I loved the Rock. It was perfectly fun, and Lynch actually carried herself really well in this segment. She wasn’t groveling for the Rock at all, she was on equal footing with him, which was good. I don’t like when today’s stars stand shoulder to shoulder with attitude era guys and act like excited little kids. Becky is a star, and she caries herself like one. So yeah, really fun. Sucks that Corbin got the crap kicked out of him though, that kinda hurts him. Highlight of the night. 

Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley: Bayley and Charlotte started things out, with Bayley giving Lynch a cheap shot on the apron, before Charlotte put her down with some strikes. Bayley quickly took control back, and tagged in Banks, only for Charlotte to nail several chops to the chest, and a big boot off the apron. Charlotte went to the top, and Bayley tried to push her off, but Lynch intercepted with a forearm. The ref yelled at Lynch for it, so Bayley was able to push Charlotte off anyway. We cut to commercial, and as we came back, Charlotte was able to give Lynch the hot tag. Lynch took down Bayley with a series of strikes and a huge superman forearm. Bayley was able to fight back by hanging her up on the top rope, but Charlotte got the blind tag. She kneed Bayley in the stomach to take her down, and hit Natural Selection, but Banks broke it up. Everyone then started to brawl in the ring, with the faces coming out on top and throwing both heels to the outside. Charlotte nailed them with a moonsault to the outside, and then threw Bayley back in the ring for the tapout win with the figure 8. 

Grade: B. These four together always make for a really good match. This was short, but it did what it had to do. It teased the violent Hell in a Cell match, while setting up a Smackdown Women’s Championship match as well. Good stuff, and a fitting first ever smackdown match. 

New Day Interview: Erin Anderson interviewed them, and I wasn’t going to emphasize her at all, but holy crap she is way better than most of WWE’s interviewers. She actually had a personality, so that was refreshing. Kofi Kingston said that he will win despite being the underdog, and Big E and Xavier Woods confirmed that they wouldn’t be in Kingston’s corner in the main event. Hopefully we will get more Renee Young backstage, with a similar amount of personality. 

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Before the match, Bray Wyatt came on the screen, and introduced his puppets. Ramblin Rabbit told Rollins not to fight the Fiend, but Wyatt interrupted him. They then showed Mercy the Buzzard killing Ramblin Rabbit in a Hell in a Cell representation. He told Rollins that was what will happen to him in their match on Sunday, before leaving. Nakamura came out with Sami Zayn. The match started, and Nakamura immediately tried for an armbar. Rollins powered him up and nailed a buckle bomb, followed by a pair of suicide dives. The two then fought back into the ring, where Rollins nailed a springboard knee, and then a superkick to the face. He had Nakamura set up for the Curb stomp, but the lights went out. Rollins booked it to the top of the stage, where the Fiend was able to lock in the mandible claw once again, before throwing him off the stage. 

Grade: C+. The match was going pretty well, and the attack was cliche at this point although somehow managed to be fresh with a bit of fight from Rollins. But this was just good enough in my opinion. 

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon in a Career vs. Career Ladder Match: As the announcer was giving Shane his huge introduction, Owens attacked, and the match was off. Owens took Shane down by smacking him into a ladder bridge, and tried to get up the ladder. Shane pulled him off and hit a side Russian leg sweep. The two brawled beside the ladder, until Owens took it down and threw it at Shane, who ducked. Shane took control after nailing Owens in the back with the ladder, and then set Owens up on the table. He smacked Owens in the head with part of the announce table, before putting him through it with an elbow drop. We cut to commercial, and when we came back, Owens put Shane through a ladder bridge with a huge frog splash. Owens started to climb up, but Shane got back up and started to attack him with a chair. He beat the hell out of Owens with it for a bit, before putting him down in the corner and then setting up a Coast to Coast with the ladder. He was able to nail it, and Owens rolled out of the ring. Shane then started to climb the ladder slowly, but Owens grabbed his foot, and pulled him down for a powerbomb into a ladder that was set up in the corner. Owens then grabbed the briefcase and got the win. 

After the match, Owens told Shane that he was fired, and gave him a stunner. 

Grade: B-. This match was fine, it had a few big spots. This was just good enough to be in the positive, and the right guy won. Good stuff. That splash through the ladder looked brutal though. 

Paul Heyman interview: He just yelled a little bit about how Kingston was gonna lose to Lesnar. 

Heavy Machinery, Braun Strowman and The Miz vs. AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode: Miz and Ziggler started out, and Ziggler nailed a Zig Zag almost right away, but Miz countered back with a DDT. Strowman then tagged in, and took out Ziggler a couple times with huge tackles, only for Roode to break up the pin. Everyone hit a finisher real quick, and landed on the outside. Stromwan then ran around the ring to give everyone a shoulder tackle. Strowman then started to yelled at Tyson fury in the front row, and they playfully jaw jacked a bit, until he threw Ziggler into him on the barricade. Fury then started to scream at him, allowing Ziggler to nail a superkick. That only made Strowman more mad, and he gave Ziggler a Running Powerslam for the win. 

After the match, Fury tried to ump the barricade, but a bunch of security ran out to stop him. Eventually, after swearing a lot, he backed down.

Grade: C-. I’m bumping this down for celebrity involvement. The match was just kinda boring and simple, but the real story of this match is Fury and Strowman. I smell a Wrestlemania match, unless they wanna blow their load early. 

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan in a Lumberjack Match: Daniel Bryan was on commentary, and Luke Harper wasn’t at ringside at all. They all both put each other on the outside early on, but when Rowan was on the outside, he fought off the lumberjacks, and even caught Reigns as he came in with a flying splash and threw him into the barricade. When we came back from commercial, they fought each other a bit with their signature offense. As they were fighting, Luke Harper started to walk down. Bryan met him in the ramp and they brawled, and the lumberjacks tried to gain control, only for Reigns to take everyone out with his splash into the crowd. Rowan then powerbombed Ali into Reigns, before bringing him into the ring with a running splash. He was about to hit the iron claw, but Reigns countered and hit a superman punch. Harper then ran in to save Rowan, only for Bryan to nail a Running Knee. Rowan then went to give Bryan the iron Claw, but Reigns nailed a spear for the win. 

After the match, Reigns and Bryan shook hands. 

Grade: C. I don’t really like lumberjack matches, but we need these types of Lumberjack matches in order to have a good one once in a blue moon. The closing stretch was pretty fun, with Harper and Rowan getting involved. Although this match did get me excited for the tag match on Sunday, so it did what it had to. Not a great match though. 

Kofi Kingston vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship: Kofi actually came out last, which was good, because I didn’t expect him to. Kofi tried to jump at Lesnar, only for him to catch him on his shoulders and it one F5 for the win. 

After the match, Rey Mysterio and CAIN FUCKING VELASQUEZ came down to the ring. And took him down, and started to hammer him with shots. Lesnar quickly retreated, and contemplated fighting Velasquez for a bit, before ultimately walking away with fear in his eyes. 

Grade: C. So, at first I was pissed about the match going so quick, but honestly, it was kinda effective. I think that, if they were gonna just give Lesnar the WWE Championship, they should’ve had him cash in on Kingston to win it here. Disappointing, and a real missed opportunity, but the squash was a good way to get heat on Lesnar. That being said, that was a very unexpected debut, and I definitely popped for it. That is a big get, even if he is just freelancing for them. Quite the way to close the first Friday Night Smackdown. 

Overall Grade: C+

Pros: The Rock and The Man promo; Lynch & Flair vs. Bayley and Banks

Cons: 8-man tag; lumberjack match; main event

[deepdisireslonging]

Family Found Part 37: Planning the Rumble and Beyond

That last matches are set for Sunday. Several things get out of hand. Is the Reader losing control of Monday Night Raw? Is anyone noticing?

Warnings/Promises: wrestling violence

Word Count: 3266

Note: Hell yeah, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans, EC3, and Heavy Machinery joined Raw last week! Going forward, they will be included in storylines. Woohoo! (Gotta figure out where to put them… but I will find a spot…) And for reference: Graeters is a Cincinnati-specific ice cream brand. Any and all feedback is super appreciated. It can be with a reblog, or an ask on anon. Please let me know how you are liking this series. Enjoy!

Part 1: Welcome to the Team

Part 36: Choices

Monday Night Raw – January 21, 2018

The show hadn’t even started yet, and you knew it was going to be a long night. You ran in front of the referees and flock of wrestlers, following the sounds of a backstage brawl. You threw your hands in the air once you found it. Seth Rollins was helping Dolph Ziggler throw Drew McIntyre into a stack of crates. The second the Scotsman was inactive, they turned on each other, sending steel rods clanging and ladders crashing to the ground. You let the refs and others break them apart. The new arrival, EC3, dodged a punch and was able to pin Seth’s arms behind his back long enough for you to grab control. “Seriously, guys? If you wanted to fight, you know where to find me-“

“There wasn’t time,” Seth cut in. “Drew attacked me, then Dolph hit him-“

“And Drew tossed me into the wall,” Dolph added. They began to talk over one another, oblivious to the tall man getting back to his feet behind them. You pushed them apart and kept Drew from getting engaged.

“Oy! Stay right there.” You quickly retracted your hand from his stomach. “None of this is acceptable. From any of you,” you said, looking pointedly at Seth. “But, we still need to work this out. Seth, I can already tell you upfront that you’re not going to like this. But you will be defending your Intercontinental Championship at the Royal Rumble.”

Seth shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I like that? I’m a fighting champ.”

“It’s going to be against both McIntyre and Ziggler.” You cringed as Seth’s face fell. Then you were surprised to see the other to men not as happy as you thought they would be. “Why are you two so glum? I figured-“

Drew growled, “how come Dolph gets to be in the match? He lost fair last week. At least when I lost it was because of interference. From him. The Rumble match would have been my rematch.”

With a nod of his head, Seth agreed. Dolph pushed at Drew’s shoulder and went to add his piece but you beat him to it. “It’s because of interference that I’m putting all three of you in the match. No use getting the title match disqualified because someone gets involved where they shouldn’t.” You sighed. “If you have any questions… you know where my office is. Don’t let me get another call about you three.” Gritting your teeth, you walked away not really caring of their glaring at each other.

***

Ember Moon paced back and forth in the ring with the title on her shoulder. “All this week, really all month, I’ve been thinking about the Royal Rumble. What I would do depending on who won the tournament if any of them were more a threat than the others. And do you know what I realized?” She stopped and looked at the crowd. “I don’t care.” Ember smiled. “I don’t care which woman is coming down that ramp on Sunday. As a matter of fact, it could be any of the guys too and I wouldn’t care. And you know why? Because I am the Raw Women’s Champion. I clawed and bled to earn this title.” She raised it above her head. “And no one is going to take it from me.”

She had to stop as Rhonda Rousey’s music interrupted her. “That’s all very nice, Ember. But it’s not just anybody who's going to be in that ring with you on Sunday. It’s going to be me.”

“And what of it?” Ember scoffed. “I don’t care who you are or what you burned to get here, I am going to keep you from holding this championship again.”

Rhonda’s jaw clenched. “Is that so?”

Now Ember knew she had her. “Yes. Yes, it is. But… we don’t have to wait until Sunday.”

“You know, I have to agree.”

A referee was there a minute later to officiate the match. Jojo stayed in her seat, listening to your orders over the headset. Renee passed the information along once it reached the announce table. “Y/N still wants the title to be defended at the Royal Rumble.”

“More practice for the women, I guess,” Corey quipped.

The women fought tooth and nail. The longer the match went on, the longer it took them both to get back to their feet. Ember climbed for a Total Eclipse, but she was ripped from the turnbuckles. Rhonda just about had Ember in an armbar when the referee was pulled out of the ring. Ruby Riott slid in, breaking the two women apart. She attacked Rhonda first, tackling her to one side. By the time she moved onto Ember, the referee had recovered and called for the disqualification in favor of Ember. Ruby rolled out of the ring with a cackle, barely making it to the floor before Rhonda made it to the ropes. She watched as Rhonda helped Ember to her feet.

“Good to see who you consider a threat around here, Ember,” she called back. “But Rhonda shouldn’t hold all your focus. That’s how you lose sight of a worthy opponent… me.” She walked backward up the ramp with a sneer. At the top, she laughed one more time at Ember and Rhonda angrily holding onto the top rope, then disappeared backstage.

***

Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan were waiting for her. They shared a hug and a flurry of giggles as you walked up. “Too bad it wasn’t a title match, Y/N,” Ruby said, “or I could have filled in for the loser on Sunday.”

“For the person you disqualified, you mean?” Huffing your emotions back into control, you crossed your arms. “And that’s assuming I wouldn’t just set them a rematch on Sunday. But that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about. You’ve got a singles match against Alicia Fox next, but you haven’t said who is going to be fighting.”

Liv snickered. “That’s assuming we were going to tell you at all.”

“It’s not Sunday yet. I could suspend you and let Tamina and Nia win by default. But I would rather not do that. Who is fighting tonight?”

The Squad bristled. They side-eyed each other, coming to an unspoken agreement. Sarah spoke up. “I am.” She shuffled on her feet. “Tamina got one over on me last week. I’m not going to let that happen tonight.”

You nodded. “Thank you. Have fun.” You walked away with your head held high. And you didn’t look back, even when you started to hear screaming. Though it did make you pause. But just for a second.

What you didn’t see was Sasha Banks and Bayley attacking the Riott Squad. Sarah was beat up the most. When Sasha and Bayley made their retreat, she wasn’t able to make it to her feet. Her teammates rushed to her side, followed by a referee. He shook his head. Ruby and Liv pointed between each other.

“Stay with her,” Liv said as their music started to play. Then she rushed off to replace Sarah in the match. Lacey Evans rounded the corner, stopping to one side of Ruby. She snorted, then made a show of stepping wide over Sarah’s outstretched legs.

When Alicia entered the arena, she was flanked by both Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. Though they weren’t in the match, they did their part. And they did it well. If Alicia wasn’t holding Liv’s attention, Alexa or Mickie was. Alicia stuck to staying in the ring, distracting the referee when Liv rolled out and was caught in a blind attack. Cole mentioned how similar the plan was to how the Riott Squad operated. And like with their planning, the strength of numbers was too much for Liv alone. Though, to her credit, Alicia moved with a bit of a limp, even as the ref raised her hand in victory.

Liv didn’t stick around. She rushed backstage to check on Ruby and Sarah.

***

In catering, the various tag teams were abuzz for the match later that night. For the number one contender spot, Chad Gable and Bobby Roode were going up against the Ascension. Whoever won that match, would face AOP at the Royal Rumble. But first, they would have to survive tonight’s lumberjack match.

Tyler Breeze walked into the fray with a smile. The glow disappeared as most everyone turned their backs on him. Shrugging, he walked around to include himself in a circle, but they split up and walked away. He tapped Bo Dallas’s shoulder. “Hey, why is everyone’s acting weird? It’s not like Dango and I are handing out fashion tickets.”

Apologetic, Bo explained. “That’s kind of the problem. Fandango has been out for months. As far as tag team events go… you can’t really participate.” He brightened up with an idea. “But if you could find a partner, then yeah, I’m sure you could join the match tonight. But until then… sorry, Breeze.” Bo turned away, leaving Breeze stunned. Stunned, but wheels turning. He left the room like a man on a mission.

***

“Come on, Y/N, tell me.”

“Nope.”

Dean wiggled his shoulders trying to think. “Hey, I’ll promise you Graeters. Is mint chocolate chip still your favorite?”

You had to smile. “Yeah, it is. But I’m not going to tell you your Rumble entry number.” You stopped him before he could ask again. “Nope. Now, do you mind? I do actually have work to do.” Dean punched lightly at your shoulder but left your office. Your face fell as another knock came to your door. “Come in.”

Elias entered. “You wanted to see me?”

With a nod, you wrote down something on a piece of paper. “Yes. I have a proposition for you, a kind of reward for helping out. This is your scheduled entry to the Royal Rumble.” Elias glanced at it, his eyebrows raising in slight approval. “But win your match… and you can enter at this number.”

He whistled.

“Just… It won’t be easy. Your opponent is Baron Corbin.” You took his relaxed strumming to mean that he wasn’t worried.

***

Nearly thirty minutes later, Elias had the better spot. He never left the ring, even though Baron had. Briefly. And he had sling-shot himself back in for a speed attack. But the new golden number was at the front of Elias’s mind and he did everything he needed to get that spot. Everything but use his guitar for anything other than making music. Elias sat back on his haunches and whistled again.

“What are you so chipper about?” Baron groaned as he sat up against the turnbuckles.

“No reason. But… my future just got a little bit brighter.” With a smile, Elias proudly let his hand be raised in victory. He shot one last triumphant grin at Baron before leaving the ring. Baron watched him leave, then focused his attention on Gorilla.

***

Curt Hawkins twirled his baton. “Are you interested?” He nodded at Dean, who tapped his collarbone deep in thought.

“Let me get this… correct. We have a match tonight. If I beat you, I get your later spot at the Rumble if it is later. But if you beat me, you get my later spot. If it is.”

“That’s it. No strings. No stipulations. Just two of the best in the business.”

Dean tilted his head back. Considering. “What do you get out of this? What do you really have to gain?”

Hawkins chuckled and shook his baton at Dean’s face. “You’ve been hanging out with your cousin. Good question. Let’s just say I really liked the feel of the Universal Championship on my shoulder. What do you say?”

With a grin that said he was sure in his choice, he shook Hawkins’s hand. “Deal. See ya in the ring.”

Then he could hear cackling. They both turned and saw Nikki Cross with her knees hooked over a trellis, upside-down and swinging back and forth. She laughed and clapped her hands. “You gonna play? Nikki likes to play. Mhmm. Play. Play. Play. Play!”

Hawkins kept his eyes on her and leaned towards Dean. “She looks crazier than you ever got.” He flinched with an ‘ow’ as Dean smacked the back of his head.

“We’re not crazy. Just living and wrestling at a higher frequency than you.”

***

The match didn’t go like Hawkins had hoped. Even his distraction by tossing his baton into Dean’s face, and then his vest, didn’t give him enough of an upper hand. Apparently, his earlier comment about Dean being crazy had ignited something in Dean. Like he wanted to live up to the description. So he did while staying within the legal constraints of the match, despite eyeing Hawkins’s baton to use as his own. Then, he flipped. Crazy men don’t break down their opponents with submission moves, right? He dashed Curt Hawkins’s dreams with a Dirty Deeds.

***

“Why is Y/N already making matches for the Elimination Chamber? It’s bad management,” Corey said as Zack Ryder entered the arena.

Renee scrunched up her nose. “Why is it bad management? After the Rumble, there’s only three Mondays until the Elimination Chamber. I think it’s great planning. We’re on the road to WrestleMania and she’s properly thinking ahead. And it’s only the second spot in the Universal Championship chamber match. It’s not like all the spots have been filled.”

As Braun Strowman entered the arena, and then the ring, Corey was still grumbling. “How can anyone plan if they’re thinking about two pay-per-views at a time?”

Michael Cole tried to redirect the conversation to the match, but Renee had one more comment. “Well, that just shows how brilliant Y/N is. And how small-minded you are, Corey.”

“And they’re off,” Cole said, cutting through Corey’s rebuttal. “How do you think Zack Ryder is going to do against Braun tonight?”

He was doing well. Mostly his strategy seemed to be dodging any kind of hits at all. A game of keep-away with his own body on the line. In the meantime, Ryder kept Braun going in circles, quickly moving in for attacks once the larger man was dizzy. Then Braun caught him. And threw Ryder through the ropes before stepping through them himself. Each time Ryder tried to escape back into the ring, Braun would pull him back out. And when the 10-count would get close, Braun would roll in and back out to break it.

Ryder began his dodge and weave again. Where Braun tried to run him over, he soon found Ryder wasn’t there and ran his own shoulders into the ring posts. When Braun caught him again, he tried to throw Ryder into the stairs, only to have it reversed. Braun was getting agitated. He finally met Ryder back in the ring, where they nearly demolished one another. The referee went to check on Braun after he had missed Ryder again, crashing into the ring post.

That was when Dr. M struck. He rolled into the ring, then Vaccinated the oblivious Ryder and spun him to the canvas. By the time Braun was back on his feet, Dr. M wasn’t visible by anyone in the ring. He only emerged from the bell booth after Braun pinned Ryder.

***

Ryder rolled out of the ring and was helped up the ramp by the referee. Braun stayed where he was, standing still as a statue as Dr. M joined him in the ring.

“Do you see it?” Dr. M asked the audience. “Do you see how easy it is to weed out the afflicted? Pride, a deadly sin, is also a disease. It builds with each accomplishment, no matter how short it lasts. And then when it is conquered, it spreads to the conqueror. There are times when small doses of pride are required. They give strength and direction, like with the Authors of Pain. Their pride helped them into the championship light. Then I gave them the last dose they needed to win the Raw tag team titles.”

Braun’s stoic face flickered. His eyes darted to the back of Dr. M’s head as he wondered what credit he was going to get. He received none as his teammate continued.

“But they are not yet finished. When the time is right, they will save the division. Healing it, showing the teams who have the real power.” He laughed. “And I cannot wait for the cleansing bonfires.” In a flicker of lights, they were gone.

The lighthearted music of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode replaced them. Next came the long line of tag teams to circle the ring. Tyler Breeze was at the end of the line. The Revival stopped him. With a smile, he took a step back and waited. Dana Brooke’s music hit, and she entered the arena. She stopped at Breeze’s side, then they shouldered past the Revival to join the others at ringside. Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic of Heavy Machinery helped start a “Lucha” chant with the Lucha House Party. They were interrupted by the entrance of the Ascension.

They fought. When one team member was thrown out, they were roughed up a bit then thrown back in. Even Dana did her part. She received hearty pats on the back and welcoming handshakes. It was an even spread. For once, no side battles on the floor took away from what was happening in the ring. The whole tag roster reacted with cheers and jumping as Roode pinned Viktor.

Bodies of teammates started dropping outside of the ring. There was snap pandemonium, then Akam and Rezar slid into the ring, gunning for the victorious wrestlers. Drake tried to follow, but he was pulled back into the fray on the floor. In the ring, AOP made quick work of Gable and Roode, and of Viktor and Konnor. Except Konner didn’t go down as easily. He stumbled back to his feet just as Drake was finally able to escape into the ring. He turned right into an oncoming punch. Akam and Rezar shifted their attention to getting him out of harm's way but were attacked by teams as they flooded the canvas.

Drake punched back at someone grabbing him by the back of his vest. It turned out to be Rezar, who dragged him through the ropes. Drake continued to shout at the teams straining against the ropes. He looked back, expecting to see his teammates glaring at them. He was alone. And AOP was halfway up the ramp. He rushed to catch up with them while Gable and Roode were congratulated in the ring.

***

You stared at the number on your screen for a long minute before answering it. “Yes, Mr. Heyman?” You listened as he talked, rolling your eyes as he began to drone on. “I’m going to stop you there. No. Your client made it very clear that he wanted no part of this company. He can stay gone.” With a hiss, you stopped. He had started talking again. “Go ahead and talk to Hunter and the McMahons. Go for it. See if it makes a difference.”

With that, you hung up on him. Then tossed your phone across the room. This wasn’t good. You bit at your lip, trying to come up with a solution. You tilted your head. “That’s an idea,” you said to yourself. “No. It would be too easy. Right? Hmm. Maybe not.” You nodded. It was half a plan anyway. It would require just a tiny change to another plan, but it was one that might just help everyone.

Part 38: Squirrels in a Row (Royal Rumble)

Series Masterlist 

Masterlist 

Forever Tags: @blondekel77 @hallemichelles @laochbaineann @lavitabella87 @ramblingsofabourbondrinker @savmontreal @southsidebucky @tinyelfperson @zuni21798 

WWE/Series Tags: @a-home-for-stray-stories @kingslayers-queen @top-1-percent @mother-forker @neversatisfiedgirl @racheo91 @roman-reigns-princess @secretagentfangirl @thetherianthropydaily @wwe-smutfics @scuzmunkie @likeisaidwhatever @cait-kae @ramsaypants @sony-undead18 @brianaraydean @st4yingstrong @dopeybubbles @crystallizeme @jessica91073 @denise8691 @stalelight @kenyadakblalock @1dluver13xx @lauren-novak @lunatic-desert-child @littledeadrottinghood @livelifewondering 

[wwevampireamongkpop]

Showing Off Isn’t Phenomenal

Pairing: soon to be AJ Styles x reader, Baron Corbin, Becky Lynch, and some of the other superstars

Warnings: mentions cheating, cussing (normal for me)

A/n: this is my first AJ Styles fic and my first completed wwe fic. Go easy on me please.

Tag list: @ladyjayelehnsherr

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

               To say you were surprised was an understatement. You should have seen it coming but here you were, bags and all making your way to the arena for that nights Smack Down Live. Your now ex, Dolph Ziggler, at the hotel regretting his current actions. Your phone on silent with numerous calls and texts from the very man who you found cheating on you.

               You pulled in to a spot and took a deep shaky breath in as you try to will the tears away. With a more even breath, you climbed out of the SUV and grabbed your bags. Tonight was going to be difficult to face him but you knew you had those who you could brothers and sisters to help.

               As you rolled your bags in, none other than Baron Corbin was the first one to notice your lack of happiness. He looked you over before walking up to you.

               “Hey, is everything all right?” You stopped and looked up at him. Your eyes red, cheeks stained with tears. It didn’t take him long to figure it had to do with Dolph. “What did he do?”

               “I” You were unable to say it outload and started to tear up even more than before.

               Seeing you like this, Corbin pulled you into a hug. His large frame engulfing your tiny form. To say that Baron was like a brother to you would be the understatement of the year. He threatened guys when everyone went to bars after shows and he even threatened Dolph when he found out that you were dating.

               “He’s gonna pay for this.” He said without looking down at you. “He won’t be walking after our match tonight.” He pulled himself from you to look you in the eye. “Now, go get settled. Everything will be okay.”

               With that he walked away. Leaving you standing there for a moment staring after him. It took a moment but you continued to roll your bags to the women’s locker room, silently thanking god that you were alone. You decided to change into your gear for the night. Your gear normally consisted of ripped jeans, kneepads, fingerless gloves, a sports bra built for support, and normally a Ziggler shirt that had been cut to show off skin at the same time fit your upper body better.

               You had everything on except the shirt. You were digging through your bag to find something to wear for the time being when the door behind you opened. Turning around, you locked eyes with Becky. In that instant, she knew something was wrong. She knew by the way you turned around and the look in your eyes.

               “Whatever he did, I’m gonna kill him.” For the first time all afternoon, you smiled not quite a full smile but a smile none the less.

               “You may have to wait till Baron is done with him.” A smirk played across the Irishwoman’s face in front of you.

               “Oh so it’s that bad that Corbin is getting involved?” You nodded your head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone knows by the time that bleached rat gets here.” At that you laughed. “There’s my happy girl. I was getting worried that my fellow lass kicker wasn’t gonna show.”

               “I’m glad I have friends like you Beck.” You gave her another smile and a hug. “You don’t happen to have a shirt I can barrow so I can get another merch shirt? I don’t want to wear his shit tonight, which looks like I have to due to our story line.”

               She held up a hand and quickly dug through her bag, finding a Lass Kicker shirt. You slipped it on as soon as she tossed it to you. You gave her another quick hug before walking out of the locker room.

               You walked around like you always did before the night really started. You managed to avoid some people and you were able to make your way to Shane’s office. Knocking on it and waiting for him to say you could come in. As soon as he said it, you stepped through the door.

               “Hey there (Y/n), what can I do for ya?” You looked at the man in front of you as you wrung your hands together.

               “I was, um. I was wondering if it would be possible to kill mine and Ziggler’s story line.” He looked a bit shocked because just last week you were all for seeing where it would go. “I know last week I was excited about continuing it but I don’t think I can continue with it.” A tear slipped passed your lashes as you looked down to the floor.

               “Well, it just happened that I got an email from Creative and come to find out that you are going to turn on Dolph after he loses tonight.” He gave you a small smile which only caused you to smile as you looked up at him.

               “Thanks Shane.” He nodded his head. With a small smile on your face, you walked of Shane’s office.

               Later that night, you were standing ringside for Dolph’s match against Baron. Just before the ref signaled to start the match, Daniel’s music hit and he stepped out to the top of the ramp. Dolph and Daniel hadn’t seen eye to eye in the story line so this was expected.

               “I completely forgot something. Oh, right. This match is a Lumber Jack match.” With a grin on his face as he stepped aside to let the other superstars make their way to the ring. The Usos leading the group followed by the New Day, AJ, Fandango, Breeze, Roode, Dillinger, Nakamura and bringing up the end of the line was Randy Orton. None of them seemed happy, all of them looked pissed off. You looked up at Corbin and saw him smirk. He knew this was going to happen and with the looks Styles, Orton, the Usos, and the New Day were giving Dolph, this wasn’t going to end pretty. Most of the guys saw you as a little sister that most never wanted.

               As the match went on, Dolph tried to run a couple times but that didn’t work. One time Big E and Xavier beat the shit out of him as AJ stood in front of you, the second time the Usos double kicked him into Orton’s RKO. Nothing was able to keep the smile off your face, knowing that these men treated you like you were a little sister.

               You could hear Corey talking about something but at the moment, you weren’t paying much attention to him. You looked back to the center of the ring as you saw Corbin holding Dolph by the neck, he whispered something to the blonde that no one heard which caused him to look at the lone wolf with an almost terrified look on his face. Then he hit Dolph with an End of Days and picked up the win. That was your queue to step into the ring.

               Walking up the steps, you looked at Dolph as he started to stand up in the far corner of the ring. You stepped through the ropes and made your way to him. He had a sad look in his eyes but you didn’t care. Raising your hand to rest it on his face, to the outside world it looked like a sweet sentiment to those who still stood ringside knew otherwise.

               “Oh Dolph.” A small smile creep onto his face. Before he knew what was happening, you removed your hand and slapped him. The crowd went silent, waiting for what you were going to say next. “I have stuck by you through every loss for months. I stuck with you through everything that the past year.” You took in a deep breath and as loud as you could shouted “We’re through!”

               The blonde in dropped down to the mat, rubbing his face as his ass hit the mat. You turned away from and made your way back through the ropes which to find Baron holding the ropes open for you to step through. The superstars who were the Lumber Jacks waited ringside before following you back towards the back. As you stepped through the curtain leading to the back, you hear the crowd erupt in cheers. You looked at a monitor and saw Dolph laying on his back in the middle of the ring with Baron standing over him with a satisfied look on his face.

               Shaking your head in amusement. You turned to walk back towards the women’s locker room and walked right into a wall of muscle. Looking up, you saw AJ looking down at you with worry etched into his face. In an instant he wrapped his arms around you and your arms snaked around his, pulling him as close as possible. Baron and AJ were the only ones, besides the girls and the man who is now your ex, who knew about your past relationships before making it in the WWE.

               “We’re all going to the hotel bar after the show, wanna come with?” He ran his gloved hand over the back of your head as you rested it against his chest. You thought about it for a moment before pulling away from him slightly to look at him. “That is if ya wanna.”

               “After the day I had, I think it would be good to be around friends. Besides having my girls to cheer me up, I’ll have my favorite Southern boy by my side to make sure it’s a Phenomenal time.” You winked at him before pulling him in for another hug.

               “That sounds like a, what. Wait a sec.” He looked down at you confused for a second. “I thought.”

               “Calm down, Styles.” You patted him on his vest clad chest. “Go get ready for your match.” You slipped from his grip with a small smile on your face. “Good luck big man.” You walked by him with a quick smack to his ass which caused him to jump a bit but smirk as he watched you walk away.

               Some of the other superstars saw your interaction with AJ but at the moment you didn’t care. You felt a bit better after the day you had earlier, especially after what had happened out in the ring.

               You walked through the halls and you had a feeling like you were being followed. Next thing you know, lights went out and you felt two pairs of hand against your shoulders just before hitting the brick wall shoulder first. When the lights came back on, you felt a shooting pain in your shoulder and heard shouting companied by the sound of running footsteps. Just as you sat yourself against the wall, you felt a pair of gloved hands on your arms.

               “Y/n are you ok?” Concern filled his voice.

               “What the fuck happened?” You looked at him as you winced in pain from your shoulder.

               “Let’s get you to trainers.” He helped you up carefully, making sure he didn’t aggravate your shoulder any more than it already was.

               The two of you made the trek to the trainers fairly quickly. The trainers looking over your shoulder and lightly pressing on it all while asking questions.

               “All I know is the lights in the hall went out and I was thrown into the wall by at least two guys.” You looked at one of the trainers.

               “You know for a fact it was men that did this?”

               “Yes, they were men. I know the size difference of a man’s hands and a woman.” Despite being in pain, you sassed the man in front of you. You looked at AJ as he stood there worried. “Go get ready for your match. Don’t worry about me I’ll be fine.”

               “But..”

               “Don’t but me.” You looked him in his gorgeous blue eyes sternly. “The only but I want from you is yours walking out of here to prepare for your match.” You winced as the trainer touched a tender spot. “Your match is against Owens with Zayn in his corner.”

               “I’ll be fine.” His hand on your thigh.

               “Boy.” You looked at him almost pissed. “I swear I’ll kick your ass if you don’t go prepare for that match. I may be shorter than you but I’ll still kick your ass.” This earned you a chuckle from AJ. He patted your leg.

               “Fine. I’ll be right back after my match.” He had his hands up knowing if he didn’t listen soon, you’d smack him hard. You gave him a triumphant smile as he walked out of the room.

               The trainers told you that you had a bruised shoulder about five minutes after AJ left. They even told you that the pain will subside soon. You thanked them before walking out with your shoulder wrapped. Walking past everyone as you made your way down the halls once again. Only to see that Owens and Zayn on one of the monitors that were close to the curtain.

               Owens being him rambled that he was better than AJ which made you scoff and eventually AJ went out to shut him up. But no one expected what Sami was about to say.

               “We” pointing to him and Kevin “we were the ones who attacked Y/R/N.” The look on AJ’s face morphed into rage as did yours.

               You turned away from the screen, tearing the wrap off your arm as you made your way to the curtain. With the look on your face, no one tried to stop you from walking towards the curtain. Baron saw you and all he did was hold his hands up while standing off to the side.

               Just before you walked through the curtain your music hit. Your eyes never leaving Zayn as you practically ran to the ring. Not caring about the pain in your shoulder, you slid under the bottom rope and tackled Zayn. All you heard was Owens yelling to get you off Zayn and the roar of the crowd. AJ laughed for a moment before he managed to pull you off of Zayn, holding you back with one of his thick arms wrapped around your waist.

               “You need to keep her under control.” Owens managed to say while pointing at you after him and Zayn rolled out of the ring. You stopped fighting against AJ’s hold which caused him to loosen his grip.

               “Me” You took a deep breath to help even out your breathing “under control.” You stood there as AJ let go of you. “Zayn, you’re lucky Styles pulled me off you.” You took a few steps towards the ropes in front of the two men which caused Zayn to jump behind Owens. You smiled at his action just before you turned to look at AJ and nodded to him.

You both walked over to the corner of the ring and AJ helped you step through the ropes. Standing where you stood about 30 minutes prior as you kept an eye on Sami across the ring as he stood in Kevin’s corner. Sure you were smaller than Zayn but you knew you could take him especially if you could take on Tamina.

The match went on, Sami would try to step towards AJ after he was thrown out of the ring but you were right there bruised shoulder and all ready to take him down. As you would step closer to the man, he would hold his hands up and back away. That was when you had an idea. Chase Sami around the ring. Which caused him to scream as he ran.

AJ started laughing as Kevin started yelling at you asking you what do you think you’re doing. Kevin slid out of the ring and you ended up running right into him causing you to fall backwards on your ass. He started to step towards you when AJ launched himself through the top and middle rope, doing a flying shoulder tackle to Owens. AJ knelt next to you seeing if you were ok and all you did was nod just before he grabbed Kevin, dragging him back into the ring.

He hopped up on the side of the mat, the look he had he was about to do his Phenomenal Elbow. Owens managed to get up after the elbow but he wasn’t able to stand after the Styles Clash and AJ was able to pick up the pin. The crowd goes crazy as stood there clapping for the Phenomenal One as you walked up the steps before stepping through the ropes to raise AJ’s hand in victory and to give him a hug.

You both made your way towards the locker rooms. Walking in comfortable silence except people stopping AJ to congratulate him on his victory. You’d shake your head with a smile on your face whenever AJ got stopped and you continued to walk, signaling him you were heading towards the women’s locker room.

Making it to the women’s locker room with an actual smile on your face for the first time. Adrenaline fading and the pain from your shoulder returning which was forgotten as soon as you felt a pair of arms wrap around you causing you to hit the door just you walked through it. The bright orange hair told you it was Becky.

“Beck, take it easy on me girl.” She let you go for a moment. “Zayn and Owens attacked me earlier.” You slowly rotated your arm wincing a bit from the pain.

“Still. The way you slapped Ziggler was amazing.” She smiled from ear to ear with pride. “I would call that a Stephanie McMahon slap. I heard some of the guys back here react to it. It was awesome.”

“Thanks Beck.” You gave her a quick hug. “Y’all going to the hotel bar tonight?” You looked at everyone in the room. Charlotte, Becky, Nattie, and Naomi nodded while the other ladies shock their heads and saying something about an early morning flight. “After the day I had, I’m glad I got at least four of you to hang with among the guys.”

Charlotte and Naomi walked over, hugging you before they walked out of the locker room with their bags. Nattie did the same moments later with a see you later just before walking out.

“So, what are ya gonna do with his shit when you finally get home?” Becky knew Dolph had stayed at your place a few times resulting in him leaving some of this things there.

“Honestly, I think I may mail him his shit.” You started to change out of your gear. “Talking about home, I can’t wait to actually sleep in a bed that is mine.” Becky smiled at your response. “I’m due for some time off here soon so” after zipping up your bag and started to walk towards the door “I’ll be able to relax and get shit faced for a couple nights at home.” As you walked out the door you practically ran into someone. Becky didn’t miss a beat though.

“What do you want, Dolph?” Her tone said what you both were feeling as you looked at the blonde in front of you.

“I was hoping I w-“ You held up your hand and was about to say something.

“She doesn’t want to talk to you. Why don’t you leave her alone.” Becky stepped in front of you which forced Dolph to take a couple steps back. He had a sad look on his face and in that moment you didn’t care.

“Can I.” Just then a hand landed on his shoulder along with someone clearing their throat.

“Why don’t ya listen to them, Ziggler?” AJ stood next to Dolph with a look that looked like he was getting pissed.

“Why don’t you mind your own business, Styles.” Dolph snapped back at AJ.

“Why don’t both of y’all move and stop blocking the damn door.” Both men looked at you, almost shocked but none the less moved away from the door.

“Thank you fellas.” Becky looked at both men then back at you. “See ya at the hotel, gotta catch Charlotte before she completely leaves my arse behind.”

“TTFN.” You smiled and nodded her a goodbye. All you heard as she walked away was a ta ta for now which made you smile and cause the men in front of you confused a little. “Dolph, whatever it is you want to talk about I really don’t want to hear it.” You walked passed Dolph without even a second glance.

Walking to your SUV, loaded it up and just before you climb in you hear your name being called. You look up and you see AJ with The New Day walking towards you.

“There’s my sista from another mista. How you doing, especially how your whole day went?” Big E practically running up to you and giving you a bear hug. Squeezing a bit too tightly.

“E,” you tapped him on the shoulder the best you could which caused him to look down at you, “I. Need. Air.” As soon as the last word left your mouth, he let you go causing you to take in a deep breath. “You guys did great earlier in that LumberJack match.” You looked at Kofi, Xavier and Big E who all had big grins on their faces.

“Not as good as that slap must have felt. It sounded like it hurt.” Kofi chuckled a bit as Xavier rubbed the side of his face.

“Thanks guys.” You smiled at them. “Hey, I’m gonna head to the hotel. I’ll meet y’all at the hotel bar” Kofi, Xavier and Big E started bouncing with joy. They walked away only to shout back at you saying see ya.

You started to climb in once again and felt AJ’s hand on your waist. You looked up at him and you couldn’t help be almost get lost in his eyes.

“What’s up A?”

“You know if you ever wanna talk, I’m here for ya. Just like you were with me.” You’re heart started thumping harder.

“Thanks babe.” You stood straight up and wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your head on his chest. His arms slipping around you. Corbin’s hug felt like family but AJ’s felt like home. “You hitchin a ride with someone or driving yourself?” You asked him as you pulled away

“Driving myself.”

“I was gonna say. Whoever rides with you must be crazy.” You laughed a bit. “I’ll meet ya at the hotel.” You let go of him completely as you climb in. “See ya in a few my Phenomenal Southern boy.” You sent him a wink before closing your door, starting your vehicle and pulling away to start your drive to the hotel.

[wrestlinghasmelike-blog]

Monday Night Raw-April 30th, 2018: First Hour

Hey what’s up, fam? Happy Monday to y’all. I had a stressful and anxious, but productive day. I hope you guys had a better day than I did, and I hope that we’re all ready for Raw!

Also, this week is going to be a busy week for me, so I don’t know when I’ll have my G.R.R thoughts up, or when I’ll get a chance to watch it. When I do, you’ll know!

Please let me know what you thought of the show! What was your favorite match? Favorite segment? Leave some comments, I’d love to hear from you! Please share the posts if you have a moment!

Opening- Roman Reigns

Wow, what a not warm welcome at all for Roman tonight. That was a massive amount of boos for Roman. I’m a little shocked, to be honest. I mean he’s not my favorite, but with all the shit he’s been going through with Brock and the company lately, I think he deserves at least some appreciation.

...when are we going to get our full-time champion? I’m not waiting another year for a new champion. 

Canada really does not like Roman oh dear. This is what happens when you force a guy to be the face of the company when no one wants him.

Samoa Joe came on the screen so suddenly it scared me honestly. He and Roman will be facing off at Backlash this Sunday, one-on-one. I’m predicting that Roman will walk away with a win. WWE needs to build him up again, make him a strong force again.

Jinder is now confronting Roman, claiming that he will beat Roman tonight? Are they fighting? Can they not? 

SAMI ZAYN IS OUT AND THAT POP HE GOT HAS WARMED MY HEART I ADORE THIS MAN

AND NOW KEVIN OWENS IS OUT AHHH THIS IS ALSO ANOTHER AMAZING CROWD REACTION AHHH

I live for Kevin and Sami speaking French to the crowd and them chanting French back to them.

They’re all fighting about who’s gonna face Roman, but I know as well as everyone else that this will somehow turn into a tag match.

Bobby Lashley has come to the aid of Roman, as well as Braun Strowman.

...I smell a 6-man tag, don’t you...

Elias vs. Bobby Roode

Apparently, the newest rumor surrounding Elias is that he is on his way to being the newest boy to get a push. I have mixed feelings on that, honestly. He can get behind all the other guys who deserve the push more than he does. Like Finn, as I keep saying. Where’s his push dammit?

Roode is doing okay on Raw thus far. He’s pretty much won every match he’s been a part of, except the loss to Elias last Monday, but he is a title-picture guy, not a mid-card competitor. WWE needs to treat Bobby appropriately, or they’re going to lose a great athlete.

Bobby just landed a picture perfect dropkick to the jaw of Elias. Bobby is so goddamned calculated with his moves. Dropkicks, blockbusters, Bobby will nail them every time. I think he’s being paired with Elias right now so Bobby can rub some of his veteran skills off on Elias. Elias is coming into his own as a wrestler, if he could only move away from the guitar a little bit.

Elias has taken the momentum away from Bobby in the match now, literally chucking Bobby all the way across the ring. Elias’ aggressive personality and in-ring work could help him if he gets a push, but I don’t know if he’s ready for the Universal Title push. Like he could beat Brock anyway, but still.

These guys are putting on a better match than I anticipated. Bobby and Elias were given time to fight, they’ve used it well, and this is a great match. Bobby is bringing the fight, but he can’t get too frustrated, or Elias is going to take that control back, like he just did.

A small package sequence led to Bobby being thrown into the ring post neck first by Elias, and he just bounced off the post and flew onto the floor, clutching his neck and chest in agony. I hope that this is not a true injury to Bobby, because he’s honestly selling it so well I cannot tell. The ref never really counted out Bobby, but Elias took a microphone anyway and announced himself as the winner. Elias is a good heel and all, but let’s actually finish a match for once, shall we?

Authors of Pain vs. Local Talent (Jean-Paul and Francois?)

Ugh, alright.

Stop with the local talent, and give AoP the tag titles now.

AoP slammed these guys. Next!

Seth Rollins

Well, in what I heard was a pretty good match last Friday, Seth retained the title and Finn was very upset and got a really bad cut on his eye. My brother texted me that Finn was bleeding really badly and I was ready to lose my shit at work. But congrats to Seth anyway, if Finn can’t get the title, then I’m glad Seth can.

It’ll be Seth vs. Miz, who is on Smackdown now, this Sunday. I can’t help but wonder if Finn will insert himself in that match at all. If he isn’t, he won’t have anything for this Sunday, and I absolutely hate that.

Seth is hyped up tonight. He is the true champion of Raw, and the greatest one we have right now. The crowd is so behind him, it’s insane. The crowd is truly amazing tonight, I wish I was there in person, but I’m feeling the emotion through my screen, and it’s amazing. As much shit as the WWE gives us, these are the best moments.

Finn is out now, sporting a black eye that just breaks my heart. And he spoke French! I’m dead!

FINN CHALLENGED SETH FOR THE TITLE TONIGHT GODDDDD

FINN JUST FUCKING SAID I LIKE THAT BUTT BUT HE MEANT BUT OH MY GOODNESS THIS SHOW

The title match is set!

The Miztourage is out now, presenting Seth and Finn with a new “business opportunity” to become the new four horsemen of the WWE. 

OH MY GOD FINN SNEAK ATTACKED SETH IS THIS PRINCE DEVITT WE’RE SEEING PLEASE GODDD PLEASE

I can’t wait for the title match now.

Sasha Banks vs. Ruby Riott

I am very exhausted with Sasha Banks. She was never a favorite of mine, and currently, I think she’s losing her pull with the fans. She’s got to step up her game somehow and win the crowd back, or at least turn heel and rewrite the character a bit.

I’m also feeling a little exhausted with the Riott Squad and Absolution alike. They bring the exact same things to the table, and they show no originality in their respective groups. I get excited with these women factions for a good while, but when they become stagnant like this, I lose interest. They cannot do the same things every week.

The crowd seems more into the match after a commercial break, and it looks like Ruby brought out some aggressiveness to bring Sasha down a bit. 

This match has a lot of false finishes, it’s...getting to be too long. 

Ruby just did this awesome backwards cannonball jump off of the top rope it was so cool! Sasha also kicked out of that how in theeee helllllll

With the help of Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan, Ruby was able to overwhelm Sasha and kick her off the top rope and pin her. 

That wraps up the first half of Raw. An interesting show for the time being, and that Finn/Seth segment oof my heart. The crowd is awesome tonight. I’m excited for that title match later!

[wrestlingisfake]

Here’s some thoughts about attending Takeover: Chicago live.

All night long the crowd did the thing where they count with the ref but say “TEN!” instead of the actual number.  But the added twist (which is new to me, anyway), is that a couple of guys in the building would follow up with the actual number, as if to note it for posterity or to ironically correct the ironic chant.  So it’d go like this:

Ref: Four!

Crowd: TEN!

Some guy: ...FOUR!

I thought this was kinda funny and it started to catch on as the night went on.  So I fully expect one day fans will go all the way around the horn to just saying whatever number the ref says, in the most convoluted way possible.  Wrestling is pretty cool, you guys.

Between the taping for next week’s show and the start of the Takeover broadcast, they sent a guy in to sweep the ring with a broom.  I can’t remember ever seeing anybody sweep the ring unless it was full of thumbtacks or bits of glass, so I don’t know why they needed to do this unless Wesley Blake is shedding his skin or something.  Anyway, the fans get bored and start doing goofy chants, and when the broom guy finishes they chant “ONE MORE SWEEP!” to be funny.  I could see the ring announcer getting into it, and eventually they got the guy to just get back in there and do a little more sweeping.  That got the pop of the night.

There seemed to be a tension throughout the Roode/Itami match, about whether anyone would chant for CM Punk when Itami went for the GTS.  I found the tension considerably more annoying than the actual chants (or the boos that shut them down).  Like, you’re in the Allstate Arena surrounded by self-important wrestling dorks, of course someone’s going to say something you don’t think is funny, so just relax and let it happen.

The Ciampa turn was insane.  They screens in the building were showing us what was on camera as DIY left the ring, so I was kinda looking to see if they showed the watermark and went off the air.  Y’know, like “The show’s over now, so they can’t do the turn, we’re safe.”  But the screens all cut to a static logo just as DIY got to the top of the ramp, so I thought they were doing a curtain call just for Chicago.  When Ciampa attacked Gargano I was dead certain the WWE Network broadcast had ended, so I was completely shocked.  You’d think after the Owens/Zayn turn WWE couldn’t pull this off again, but they did.

After the turn it wasn’t really clear when the show was over over, y’know?  Nobody came to the ring to tell us to have a good night or anything.  In my section you couldn’t see where Gargano was dropped, so people just started filing out as the guys came out with the stretcher.  We could see Ciampa sitting on the table staring down at Gargano, though, so a lot of us were turning back as we went upstairs to watch him, wondering how long he’d sit there.

There was one guy yelling at the top his lungs “YEAH, YOU JUST SIT THERE!  YOU SIT THERE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE!  LOOK AT ALL THESE PEOPLE YOU’VE DISAPPOINTED!”  That guy was great.

[jwgammuto]

The Good, The Bad, and the WTF for WWE Fastlane 2019

The Road to Wrestlemania leaps over its final PPV hurdle in the often forgettable Fastlane. What did we get in 2019? Onto The Good, The Bad, and the WTF: All The Swerves Edition

The Good: The WWE Title match. The confused Cleveland crowd reacting to the announcement of a triple threat, assuming it would be a battered Kofi (more on that later), gets swerved when Mustafa Ali’s music hits. The crowd, predictably, does not receive poor Ali well. Fortunately for him, he worked his absolute ass off in this match and won them back fairly easily. WWE should be ashamed of themselves for not making this the main event. Not that the Shield return match was offensive, but this was deserving. So many incredible spots. Bryan was at peak heel with screaming “you don’t deserve to be here” while slapping Ali. Mustafa had too many insane moves to name them all here and everybody sold perfectly. The ending with Bryan hitting Ali in mid air looked insane. A number of near falls made this fun and the specter of how much more insane this might be if you added Kofi in four weeks was too hard to ignore. Aside from Recyclable Rowan’s awkward spinning heel kick on Owens, this was near perfection. Bravo.

The USO Penitentiary vs McMiz for the SD tag titles. Finally. They picked a perfect spot for this McMahon turn. I have faith that Shane’s explanation will be fully ego driven and worthy of the family name. I kind of wish the attack would have been more brutal or Shane would have employed Luke Harper to do this, but it still worked. Shane, true to his brand, caught Jey mid/air with a drop kick that looked totally insane. The Cleveland crowd ate up the heel turn in favor of its Favorite Son, but I am a little worried about what you do with babyface Miz after Mania.

Fatal Four Way for the US Title. Rey Mysterio is truly a legend. This dude is still innovating moves at this stage in his career. When he’s in the ring, every move feels reversible in some epic fashion. It’s a joy to watch and they cherry on the cake it how well these other guys sell it for him. This was exactly as high impact and the exciting as we’ve come to expect from these four. Truth’s continued nods to Cena are still hilarious, Joe’s power game melds so well with the other guys’ skill sets, and it really makes for entertaining tv. Glad Andrade didn’t take the loss here because he continues to impress and needs the momentum. As far as I’m concerned, Joe should be the champion until at least SummerSlam.

The Revival vs Power and Glorious vs BlackOChet for the Raw Tag Titles. Another great match that was given the proper time and storytelling. Everyone looked strong at one point or another. Ricochet predictably did insane things that only this guy is capable of, Aleister Black blew people up with kicks and knees, Gable continues to be as fluid as anybody in the company in the ring, and The Revival played their part perfectly by selling brilliantly and taking advantage when the perfect moment came. SHATTER MACHINE! 1-2-3. And still. The melee after included a visibly frustrated Roode hitting the Glorious DDT and Black/Ricochet eventually standing tall after clearing house but Dash and Dawson still have the belts. Not sure I could have booked this better myself.

HugBoss vs Samoan Pain Train for the womens’ tag titles. This makes the Good column for exactly one reason and that’s Bayley. I tweeted this last night and stand by it. Bayley is an absolute workhorse and has been on fire for about three months. She really shined in this match. I don’t know if they’re protecting Banks given her injury history or they’re purposefully booking her like this for an angle, but Bayley is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for this team. Pretty good match though with the champs retaining and Nia not hurting anyone. Win/Win. After the match, the situation devolved and ill discuss that later because it’s not “good”.

The Shield vs The Legion of Mediocrity. We all knew this was going to be a Shield/Roman lovefest so I was prepared to roll my eyes for 25 minutes or so. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I maintain that Baron Corbin, while a dick, is really a very talented and smooth performer in the ring and it showed in this match. This thing was all over the place and honestly a little overbooked but was still enjoyable. Plenty of big moments from Ambrose, Rollins, and even *vom* the BIG DOG (my god I hate Cole). Rollins leaping out of the stands was nuts. Reigns looks like he’s about back to what we’ve come to expect from him ring wise. And Dean still wrestles like his hair is on fire. If Ambrose is to leave the company, that will be sad because I like Dean, but on the bright side, we’ll never have another Shield Bros reunion. Everyone involved in this feud is a capable individual performer, split this nonsense up and give them all some direction. This thing has particularly hurt McIntyre.

Elias owning the Cleveland crowd all night with mic drops.

The Bad: NakaRusev. There is 100% no reason to have these guys together as a team just to lose. Remember when Nakamura won the Royal Rumble and was fighting for the WWE Title for months? Or when Rusev was arguably the most over performer on Smackdown with Rusev Day? At minimum they should be winning pre show matches against the New Day.

Lacey Evans/Rando RKO/AJ spot. This really felt like an attempt to cram some shit in and give some small stories some face time just for the sake of doing it. AJ and Randy could have waited until Tuesday and Lacey’s bit would have been better served during the Asuka/Rose Title match.

Speaking of which. A show with so many great things going on really left a bad mark on Asuka’s legacy and the SD women’s title here. Rose is nothing special in the ring and it showed. Asuka looked pretty sharp but didn’t get much besides the insane spinning heel kick that won it. I can’t imagine Creative thinks anyone is terribly interested in a Rose/Deville split. All I can gather is that they want to push Deville and get Mandy some more heat but they can do that outside the title picture. The deepest fear here is a WM triple threat with these three. *Snooze*. Asuka tapped out Becky Lynch just a couple months ago. Do better.

The WTF: Lynch vs Flair. What a colossal waste of time and energy. I can’t wait for this to be over. While I did enjoy Flair taunting Becky in classic heel fashion, watching Lynch hobble around and believably have a chance to win anything is pathetic. Everyone knew this would end with some sort of Rousey interference that led to a Lynch win. It felt unnecessary. Also, is Lynch just going to be miraculously healed by April? Because she’s been limping since the Royal Rumble and it only seems to get worse since, you know, she constantly being kicked in the knee. Ronda simply coming down to get Charlotte DQ’ed was lazy. Ronda would have been better served to just come down, knock out the ref, destroy them both, and leave Becky lying on Charlotte’s fallen corpse for the “win”.

Kofi in what equates to a wrestling hate crime. I don’t really get the compulsion to make Kofi look like a desperate character who overcame all the odds. They have that story barely hanging on by a thread with Lynch. He’s already crazy over with the crowd and positioned to get a shot. The only reason for Vince to book him in a complete destruction of a handicap match like this is to get heat on himself. Is that the point? Does anyone on earth not know what a huge dick Vince McMahon is? We’re all assuming Kofi is going to be in the title picture at Mania. This isn’t making that journey more fun or interesting. The guy already earned it. He’s over. Doesn’t need your help, Vince.

Nia and Tamina pick a fight with the Glamazon and eventually Natalya too. No.

Overall this was a wonderfully surprisingly good PPV. Not everything was great but holy cow was the good stuff great. Particularly given its proximity to the biggest show of the year, this was well done and I’m ready for the final push to the Granddaddy of Them All. 4.25 Hogan Belt Whips. I think the pre show starts in a couple of hours. Who’s ready?

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2017 WWE Conflict of Champions outcomes, recap, grades: Did Daniel Bryan lastly flip?

Whereas the construct towards WWE’s last pay-per-view card of 2017 was nothing wanting pedestrian, Sunday’s Conflict of Champions card delivered above expectations as a complete. AJ Types exited his second full-time 12 months in WWE as the corporate’s high champion following an thrilling primary occasion towards Jinder Mahal, and a pair of multi-person matches that opened the cardboard produced drama and power in entrance of a sizzling Boston crowd.

However the greatest reveal popping out of Sunday was additionally essentially the most anticipated storyline coming in as Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon proved unable to coexist as referees. Ultimately, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens retained employment and a powerful cliffhanger was created heading into Tuesday’s SmackDown Stay episode concerning whether or not Bryan’s actions have been that of a heel flip or just the blue model’s common supervisor standing up for what’s proper.

Both approach, it has our consideration because the sluggish construct towards WrestleMania 34 continues.

Massive fan of WWE? Remember to subscribe to my podcast In This Nook with Brian Campbell the place I break down the whole lot it is advisable to know every week.    

2017 WWE Conflict of Champions outcomes, grades

Mojo Rawley def. Zack Ryder through pinfall (Kickoff Present): Rawley continued to construct his intriguing heel persona on this grudge match following the implosion of the Hype Bros. Rawley talked trash all through – “The place is your killer intuition, huh?” – whereas handing out a deliberate beating. Ryder rallied late however his pin try following a pair of Broski Boots got here up quick when Rawley put his leg on the ropes. Mojo adopted with a chop block and working forearm to get the pin. Grade: C+

United States Championship — Dolph Ziggler def. Baron Corbin (c) [via pinfall] and Bobby Roode to win the title: This one actually heated up late, incomes “that is awe-some” chants from the Boston devoted whereas setting a powerful tone for the night. Close to falls and late interference turned the norm, together with an obvious Roode pin on Ziggler damaged up by Corbin pulling Roode out of the ring from behind. Ultimately, Corbin’s try for an Finish of Days on Roode was concurrently interrupted by a ZigZag from Ziggler in a sizzling end that arrange the pin. After the match, Corbin minimize a promo on Ziggler backstage saying, “I did not squander something, I used to be cheated” earlier than throwing a rubbish can. Grade: B

Two refs too many? Basic supervisor Daniel Bryan was proven backstage asking a referee jersey that regarded prefer it was made for Earthquake be returned for a smaller measurement. Commissioner Shane McMahon then walked up and gave Bryan the enterprise for inserting himself into the primary occasion as a second referee. The 2 then agreed they might work out find out how to name the match collectively as each need to be within the ring concurrently.

Tag Crew Championship — The Usos (c) def. Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin [via pinfall], The New Day and Rusev & Aiden English to retain the titles in a Deadly Four-Approach Match: For as hectic and messy as this match was all through with 4 (and typically eight) males within the ring directly, it positive was enjoyable. A collection of sturdy performances late from the likes of Chad Gable and Rusev helped save issues total. The Usos finally prevailed in opportunist trend after a collection of failed rallies from all three of the difficult groups. Gable’s tour de drive of rolling German suplexes on three totally different opponents got here to an finish when Jimmy Uso hit him with a pair of superkicks. Jey Uso adopted with a splash off the highest rope for the 1-2-Three. Grade: B

Girls’s Championship — Charlotte Aptitude (c) def. Natalya through submission to retain the title in a Lumberjack Match: Discuss a sizzling mess of a match with psychology everywhere. The lone vivid spot was Carmella’s tease towards a money in of her Cash within the Financial institution briefcase as Natalya laid susceptible within the ring, however she was intercepted by Ruby Riott. As anticipated, the lumberjacks performed a key function in continuously beating Aptitude outdoors the ring (whereas performing because the cushion for Naomi’s springboard splash and Charlotte’s moonsault). After chaos took over outdoors the ring late, Aptitude countered a sharpshooter try to use her Determine Eight for the tapout win. Afterwards, Natalya fought again tears as she berated the viewers for disrespecting her. The promo felt like a heel flip, and the truth that it was delivered by somebody who was already a heel summed up the missing high quality of this match. Grade: D+

Backstage — The Singh Brothers: The duo minimize a promo stating that Jinder Mahal is so poised to win again his WWE championship from AJ Types that he does not even want their assist in doing so. Requested by Dasha Fuentes whether or not meaning they will not be a part of him at ringside, the brothers mentioned she must see for herself.

The Bludgeon Brothers def. Breezango through pinfall: The Harper and Rowan squash tour continued because it took them mere minutes to beat down Breezango outdoors the ring earlier than hitting their finisher on Fandango. After the match, each heels repeated the quick promo they ship every week on SmackDown promising carnage. Grade: D

Backstage — Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn: The perfect mates promised that “The Sami and Kevin Present” is not getting canceled anytime quickly and that the “Yep! Motion” would proceed. After being challenged by Fuentes about what occurs in the event that they do find yourself dropping and get fired, the 2 heels gave soiled seems to be and walked away.

Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura through pinfall: McMahon and Bryan have been each particular visitor referees. If Owens & Zayn misplaced, they might be fired from WWE. The vast majority of the time on this match was spent build up the storyline, which made it really feel lengthy and typically dragging match. Fortunately, the story — on this case — was a superb one because the frustration between dueling referees McMahon and Bryan slowly elevated. With their counts not in sync and every taking part in favorites, McMahon determined to attract an imaginary line within the heart of the ring so that they did not bunch. It is a technique, after all, that went out the window late.

In a match largely dominated by relaxation holds, Owens delivered one of the best spot when he hit a working frogsplash on the announce desk on Nakamura. Shortly after, Orton hit a DDT and RKO on Zayn contained in the ring however McMahon’s pin depend was interrupted after Owens pushed Bryan into him. McMahon received revenge when he refused to complete his depend on Zayn’s roll up of Orton. Tempers flared as Bryan and McMahon argued and pushed one another. The end got here when Zayn blocked an RKO and rolled up Orton, permitting Bryan to depend a fast three earlier than a diving McMahon may break it up. With the victory, Zayn and Owens had their jobs saved. Take into account this an uneventful match with an awesome story that, whereas informed a bit clunky down the stretch, nonetheless set the desk completely for what’s to come back subsequent. Grade: B

WWE Championship — AJ Types (c) def. Jinder Mahal through submission to retain the title: For a feud that had grown stale and seemingly went on for a month too lengthy, Types and Mahal saved their finest for final. In reality, Mahal put for the best effort of his primary occasion run. In a match that was booked much like Types’ basic with Brock Lesnar at Survivor Collection, Mahal bodily dominated all through the primary half. However Types’ eventual rally introduced dramatic close to falls and a slowly constructed electrical energy from the gang. The Singh Brothers made their presence felt late by saving Mahal from a 3 depend after Types hit a springboard 450 splash. That is when chaos ensued. After Types made each brothers pay outdoors the ring with a Phenomenal Forearm and Types Conflict, he was compelled to kick out of a pin try seconds later when Mahal hit The Khallas. The end got here when Mahal tried to mock the Types Conflict finisher however A.J. reversed out of the it right into a calf crusher and compelled the previous champion to faucet within the heart of the ring.

Types was at his finest right here, serving to elevate Mahal to an awesome match. Contemplating how a lot he has delivered to shut the 12 months — producing high shelf pay-per-view matches towards Finn Balor and Lesnar in losses — it was additionally good to see him win a giant match once more. Whereas Mahal’s experiment as champion produced just a few vivid spots and positive elevated him, seeing Types enter 2018 with WWE’s high championship marks a return to much-needed sanity for the blue model. Grade: B+

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10/24 SMACKDOWN LIVE!

Smackdown Live Commissioner Shane O'Mac opened the show, remarking on his match at HIAC and his recovery from that. He went on to talk about Smackdown's siege of Monday Night RAW and how RAW General Manager Kurt Angle basically dug his own grave with his remarks about how much better RAW's talent is than Smackdown's.

[hazyheel]

WWE Monday Night Raw 8/12/19 Review

Seth Rollins Promo: He came out in normal clothes, which immediately worried me. He talked about how he wasn’t sure if he would win at summerslam, and he put Lesnar over a bit. He talked about how the crowd fueled him through the match. He only won with the love from the crowd, which sounds corny but it was a pretty good line in my opinion. AJ Styles then came out to interrupt, with the OC in tow. They congratulated Rollins on winning his match, and threw his hat in the ring for title contention. He challenged Rollins to a match tonight, to prove that he is a better champion. Rollins told him that all his respect for Styles is gone. He then accepted the challenge. Styles then extended a hand for a shake. Rollins refused, and Styles called him scared as he let the ring. Tensions were high.

Grade: C+. Started out pretty good, but I felt that Styles didn’t really make sense to throw his hat in the ring. He has his own thing in the midcard. If you want him to go in the main event, then give him a real reason. He should be allowed to compete in the midcard. If you want him to move up, then he can win a multi man match for #1 contendership while still being the champion, and then lose the belt. There are better ways to emphasize your top stars that to screw over the midcard. 

Street Profits Backstage: They put the show over, but Dawkins was tired and dehydrated. Sami Zayn then came up to give advice. He told them that the crowd will suck the soul right out of them. He said that everyone flames out, and the fans don’t care anymore. He started to talk about Samoa Joe as an example, but Joe was behind him. Joe then challenged him to a match, and I think Joe turned face. He shoved Zayn into the crates and walked away. 

Before we came back, they talked about how the King of the Ring is back for 2019. That’s actually pretty exciting, but I don’t know what the stakes are. I will make a separate post for predictions and my thoughts on the tournament at large, so watch out for that. 

Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe: I am pretty confused about Joe’s character at the moment, but maybe this match will help me with that. Zayn attacked before the bell, and Joe totally destroyed him after that. He put him on the mat with some power moves and strikes before choking him out for the win. 

Then he got on the mic. He talked about how he was still pissed about how people accused him of attacking Roman. He said that he won’t forgive anyone in the crowd for all the hate. 

Grade: B-. Inoffensive squash, and they clarified that he is still a heel. Double wammy.

Dolph Ziggler vs. the Miz: Miz was wearing a new shirt, saying Toronto is Awesome, which is a nice babyface touch. Ziggler came out in normal clothes. I think he had a Kabuki Warriors shirt on, but I don’t really know. Ziggler then got on the mic and called Miz a coward. He complained about how wasn’t cleared to compete. He said that Miz screwed Miz. After saying that it was too bad that he wouldn’t have the match, he beat the crap out of him. He beat him down as they cut to commercial. 

When we came back, they were in the middle of the match. Ziggler was competing in jeans, so there was that. Right when we came back, Miz started to take the advantage. As Miz was delivering Yes Kicks to Ziggler, Graves compared him to a man who can walk away from a horrific car accident, which was so weird. Ziggler then nailed a Zig Zag, but Miz somehow kicked out. It seems like they are moving that down to a signature rather than a finisher. Ziggler then went for a superkick, but Miz caught his leg and put Ziggler in the figure four and won the match. 

Afterwards, Ziggler got on the mic and said that he was a coward. He told Miz to finish him off, and as he was talking, Miz nailed a Skull Crushing Finale.

Grade: C+. A watered down and less awesome version of what happened at Summerslam with Goldberg. Ziggler’s new “I have more pride than is good for me” gimmick is going to get old, unless it was legends kicking his ass on pay per view. But the match was okay, although I know they can do much better. 

Becky Lynch Interview: Becky immediately grabbed the mic and talked about how she wanted her next challenger. She said that she just beat Nattie, but she isn’t going to rest. She wants to kick the next person’s ass. 

Elias Concert: He talked about how he knows someone will interrupt him, and he wants them to come out right now. That way it is right out of the way. He counted down a couple times, but no one came out. “I’m begging you, please don’t change the channel,”- Corey Graves. Nice call. Then Ricochet came out with a mic right as he was about to start. They both called each other lame, and Elias challenged Ricochet to a match. 

We went right from that into Ricochet vs. Elias, where they started out with a quick pace. They delivered a lot of high impact moves right away, but then they went back into rest holds. At one point, the two botched some sort of move, and the crowd seemed to turn against it quick. Ricochet then threw Elias out of the ring, but when he went for a suicide dive, Elias dodged and Ricochet landed right on his back. The two then battled in the ring, and Ricochet won with a sunset flip into a pinning predicament. Elias had his shoulder up, but the ref called for the bell anyway. 

Grade: D+. Jeez this was rough. Two botches and a horrific bump. This was a very unpolished match that did not showcase the strengths of either guy. They are much better than this. 

Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio, 2 out of 3 falls: the match started right away, with a stiff shot from Andrade. He went for a powerbomb, but Mysterio countered to set up the 619, but Zelina Vega tripped him up on the outside. Andrade then rolled him up, and Vega held his feet on the ropes to win the first fall. 

They started the second fall, and Mysterio quickly gave Andrade a rana to the outside, which looked pretty rough. Mysterio then continued the offense, hitting a slingshot powerbomb which looked like he planted Andrade on his head. Once again when Mysterio went for a 619, Vega distracted him and he didn’t get it. But after a third set up, he nailed the 619. Still, Andrade got his knees up and hit the hammerlock DDT for the win. 

Grade: C+. Another fine match. I liked that Andrade got a 2-0 victory, way to put over new talent. I don’t know what they will do with that, but it was a huge victory. Good on them, but not their best match. 

Steve Austin interview: Austin talked about how Rollins had a whole bunch of heart to get his win at Summerslam. He put Rollins over. Then he put over his own show. Shameless plug here. 

Rey Mysterio Interview: He talked about how frustrated he was losing two falls in a row. He seemed like he was about to cry, and muttered about his family. Interesting, not sure where this is going at all. 

Street Profits Backstage Again: Montez Ford told Mysterio to keep his head up, and gave him some encouragement. Ford then woke Dawkins up, and hyped up the Women’s Tag Team Championship match, and Cedric Alexander vs. Drew McIntyre. But Dawkins was too thirsty to help him, so Ford walked away. Funny, but they need to do something soon. 

Drew McIntyre interview: he talked about how he was going to end Alexander, and their rivalry in the match. He called Alexander’s run a fairytale. He said that he was going to cave his skull in and end the rivalry once and for all. 

Cedric Alexander vs. Drew McIntyre: the two started right away with some nice striking, and Alexander flying right away. He nailed McIntyre with a tope con hilo, but McIntyre fought back into it. While Alexander was up on the top rope, McIntyre grabbed him in a crucifix, and then gave him a high angle buckle bomb that looked hard to take. McIntyre took control from there, absolutely tossing Cedric all around the ring. At one point, the two were on the top rope, and McIntyre nailed Alexander with a sidewalk slam off the top for a near fall. The two started to fight on the outside, where Alexander pushed Mcintyre into the post, and then hit the lumbar check on the outside. The two were nearly counted out, but Alexander slid back in and attempted a suicide dive. But McIntyre caught him out of the dive and gave him a rough belly to belly onto the ring steps. The two then fought back into the ring, again on the top rope, but this time Alexander delivered a top rope spanish fly for a near fall. That brought the crowd alive, Mcintyre went for the inverted Alabama Slam, but Cedric countered into a rollup. McIntyre kicked out, and the two ran the ropes, only for McIntyre to decimate Alexander with a Claymore for the win. 

Grade: B+. Really good stuff between these two. They showcased a great clash of styles match, as well as showing McIntyre’s agility as they did so. Cedric sold just as well as he always does, and was a really good underdog here. He was smart enough to get the advantage several times, and he knew what he had to do to win. Any of those rollups could have been it, and Cedric knew that. McIntyre was a great bully here, and actually seemed to respect Alexander a bit. Really good stuff between these guys, I knew that they could put something like this together. Match of the night. 

The OC Backstage: the group were talking about how Rollins beat the odds when he beat Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Gallows and Anderson then said that not even Styles could do that, to which Styles responded that he only had one chance to beat him. Then he just talked about how he would win the champion vs. champion match later on. 

No Way Jose vs. Robert Roode: a bit of an odd match. I’m not really sure why they are having it. The two started with a lock up, before Roode pushed Jose back into the corner and wailed on him with strikes and kicks. Jose was being beaten for most of the match, before Roode won with a Glorious DDT.

Grade: B-. Inoffensive squash. Cool to see some underutilized stars get TV time.

Paul Heyman Interview: Heyman talked about how Lesnar is not allowed any rematches against Rollins. He was so pissed off that he couldn’t even get the words out. Then he walked back into Lesnar’s locker room. Interesting.

The Lucha House Party vs. The Revival: This was an incredibly fast paced match right from the start. The Revival gained the advantage after forcing Lince Durado to the mat, but as they were fighting, R-Truth and the 24/7 guys ran down to the ring. The bell rang, and the Lucha House Party started to dive onto everyone around ringside. The Revival hit Truth with a Hart Attack, and pinned him together to become co-champions. However, Kalisto then ran in and hit a Salida del Sol on Dawson, only for Wilder to break it up. Carmella then pulled a half conscious Truth onto Dawson to win the belt back, and the two ran away. Backstage, Carmella and Truth were celebrating when Elias walked up and smashed Truth in the back with his guitar, and stole the championship in the process. 

Grade: C+. I was actually into having co-champions for a while, but it is clear that Truth is their guy for this belt. Anyway, this was fine. Nothing too exciting.

Natalya promo: Nattie came out with her arm in a sling, which was a nice touch. Still selling a beating from a night ago is pretty smart.  The crowd was chanting “you tapped out.” She said that although she lost, she won’t take back anything that she said. She wants to fight Becky Lynch again, but she will earn it before she does. Then she talked about her dad, Jim Neidhart, but as she started to talk, Sasha fucking Banks returned to interrupt. She seemed pretty genuinely happy to be back, and she gave Nattie a hug, but then sucker punched her and tore off a purple wig that she had on. She started to beat the crap out of Natalya, even tearing off her sling. The crowd was absolutely loving it, and everyone remembered how great of a heel Banks is. She even grabbed a chair, but as she was about to use it, Becky Lynch ran out for the save. The two brawled in the middle of the ring, with Banks coming out on top. She wailed on Lynch with the chair, and it looked incredibly painful. Eventually, some refs came by and broke everything up, but the damage was done. Looks like we have a challenger for the Raw Women’s Championship, and someone who can actually win it at that. 

Grade: B+. What a return! I have wanted heel Sasha for years, although I always wanted her to turn on Bayley. This is perfect though. A brutal assault to bring back one of the best heels in the women’s division. Welcome back Banks, thank you for saving the women’s division and keeping things interesting. 

Viking Raiders Squash: before the match, the Viking Raiders cut a promo about how they will destroy anyone in their way, and the tag division will kneel before them. Naturally, the Raiders messed up the poor jobbers. At one point, Erik gave one jobber a huge uranagi onto the back of the other. The two were about to win at one point, but Erik pulled his shoulders off the mat, and they gave him the Viking Experience for the win. 

Grade: B-. Always entertaining squash. 

Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss Interview: The two talked about their upcoming title defense against The Kabuki Warriors. They were actually being really nice to each other, so I guess Bliss has turned face. I don’t know where this is going, but they better hate each other eventually. 

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs. the Kabuki Warriors for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: So, then during this match, Corey Graves was talking about how much he loves Bliss and Cross now, so I have no idea if they are face or heel. The Kabuki warriors had the advantage early on, running roughshod over the champions and completely annihilating them. The heels didn’t really get the advantage back until Bliss got a blind tag on Cross. At one point, Nikki was about to be hit by the Insane Elbow, but Cross rolled to the outside. Sane nailed her with a crossbody to the outside. Sane then rolled her back in for the Insane elbow, but Bliss broke it up. Asuka then tried to take out Bliss, but Bliss ducked a kick that landed on the ringpost, taking Asuka out. In the finish, Cross nailed Sane with a swinging neckbreaker and then Bliss finished it off with Twisted Bliss. 

Grade: B-. This was a fine match, nothing too special. I hope that the Kabuki Warriors actually get some TV time, because they are a great team that deserve some more time. Bliss and Cross look strong, so that is good. These titles will need a lot of help to be built back up to the level they were once at, but they can do it with some time and patience. 

AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins: Rollins still had heavily taped ribs, but Rollins actually assaulted Styles’ ribs to start the match off. Early on in the match, Rollins opted to take out the rest of the OC on the outside, but that distraction only allowed Styles to attack the ribs more. At one point, Styles even went for the Styles clash on the apron, but Rollins slipped out and swept Style’s leg out from under him. When the two got back in the ring, they started to transition into heavy hitting strikes. At one point, Rollins tried for a reverse superplex, but AJ pushed him off. He then tried for a phenomenal forearm, but Rollins ducked it and nailed a superkick. He then went for the frog splash, but Anderson distracted the ref while Gallows pushed Rollins off the top rope. The two were then banned from ringside, but they just ran in and caused a disqualification instead. Ricochet then ran out to Rollins’ aid, but it didn’t help him much. The OC was about to give Rollins a Styles Clash from the middle rope when Braun Strowman ran out and decimated all of the heels, giving Styles a spinning powerslam, followed by a running powerslam. After the OC retreated, Strowman grabbed Rollins’ Universal Championship and handed it to him, but not before eyeing it a bit. The faces then stood tall together to close out the show. 

Grade: B. A pretty good match with a fun brawl to close everything out, plus Braun Strowman looked pretty strong in the process. This was a good look at what the top of the card on Raw should be. Get the US championship out of the mix, and these four guys could easily carry the show a bit. Give some lower down guys the US Championship, like maybe Cedric Alexander. Throw Bray Wyatt and Drew McIntyre in towards the top, and you have yourself a strong main event scene. This final stretch gives me some hope that maybe we will have some improvements on WWE going forward. Things seem to be looking up. 

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: Alexander vs. McIntyre; banks return; main event

Cons: ricochet vs. elias

[oracleadyton-blog]

Messed up sleep schedule so i’ve been trying to get into the groove in the past few days. I’ve ordered a nice (? it’s IKEA) rug for my bedroom and it should be here next week. Hopefully it’ll warm up my room a bit and will create a bit more space to place microphones and whatnot. This is the last week before i have the house for my own for the coming year and hopefully i’ll be able to work a lot more consistently. Also i hope this is the last chunk of my life i spend here but hey who knows. But today it’s a busy day. 

Hell in a Cell just finished. It was good! And KING OF PRO-WRESTLING will air in a couple of hours. And it’ll be awesome. But first!

Hell in a Cell 2017. Didn’t caught the pre-show. Yawn.

The Usos defeated The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) (c) in a Hell in a Cell match for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship.

The show started quite strong with twenty minutes of good action; unfortunately the match had the kind of violence that would greatly benefit from some blood in order to really click but it was fine anyway. Right from the beginning the cage played a huge role, as it should. Huge tope from Big E, then some 2 on 1 action. This was kind of the leitmotiv of the match, as the two teams kept outnumbering each other. Weapons also played a huge part giving it a sort of hardcore/Lethal Lockdown flavour. After a moment of Usos dominance Big E started a comeback but was stopped by a superkick. A couple of cool double team manoeuvres - Uranage+backstabber from the apron, a huge UpUpDownDown - and a kick out. The Usos brought out some kendo sticks and start torturing Woods in front of Kofi. Consecutives top rope splashes on Big E who kicks out. After that Langston with a huge come back and power moves with good psychology. You could read in his face he wanted to punish the Usos for going hard at Woods. From this point on the selling becomes kinda weird, as huge moves won’t really matter. More weapons, more back and forth until the Usos manage to do a double top rope splash with a chair on Big E for the win. 

Very entertaining match. Crowd was kinda cold but i understand the idea of putting HiaC on both ends of the show. The unconsistent selling towards the end really didn’t do it for me so yeah. 3.75 starz.

Randy Orton defeated Rusev

Right from the beginning Rusev is great at selling his anger towards Orton for crashing his Rusev Day celebration a couple of weeks ago. While this was a classic WWE style match and so a bit predictable i didn’t mind much, as the two guys are good and work well enough with each other. The problem is that the fued doesn’t have much in it so for the majority of the match the crowd wasn’t into it. For the first 3 quarters of it the pace was also - very - slow, as usual in most Orton matches, but there were a couple of good spots. Rusev did a nice spinning heel kick that got a nice pop - it’s a shame he doesn’t do athletic stuff more often - while The Viper hit a backdrop on the barricade outside. Rusev didn’t sold it much. In the last quarter of the match the action really picked up and the crowd was into it: the Bulgarian went for the Accolade but Orton escaped outside. They made their way back inside the ring and Randy hit the elevated DDT. Goes for the RKO taunt but Rusev catches him in the Accolade again. Orton counters, RKO, 123.

I don’t like the idea that all that matters to a match are entrances and finishes but the duo managed to leave a good impression on me by doing exactly that. Formulaic for sure but i have to give them props. Not sure where this leaves Rusev tho. 3.25 starz.

Baron Corbin defeated AJ Styles (c) and Tye Dillinger for the US Championship.

So the match was made a triple threat in the pre-show as Tye went to Daniel Bryan and asked for a chance, since he defeated Corbin last week. The GM agreed and they made the cheesy 10/YES! chant. Great tv moment. The problem is that when Tye came out nobody cared. Some booos, even. But hey, personally i find Corbin 1-on-1 matches boring as hell so this was an improvement. We have seen these guys going at each other for weeks now so the sparkle, in pure main roster fashion, in gone but having it a 3-way kept it fresh. In the beginning AJ and Tye teamed on Corbin and then went to do some nice chain wrestling between themselves. The match had a very long and slow mid section with Baron going at the two guys one-on-one alternately. This was clearly a showcase match for Corbin and i’m not sure it worked. AJ made a huge comeback and managed to warm the crowd a bit. He’s truly great: worked Tye as a heel and Baron as a face at the same time. Another cool AJ-Tye section with reversals. A 450 splash on Corbin and Dillinger breaks the pin. Then a Phenomenal Forearm on Tye but Baron is able to throw AJ to the outside and pin Dillinger himself.

It wasn’t bad as it could. Tye is weird, it has good moments but wasn’t really able to put Corbin over who won stealing the pin which is interesting. He’s clearly not portrayed as a monster anymore. Hopefully AJ moves to better things. 2.75 starz.

Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya (c) via disqualification for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship.

From a pure wrestling standpoint this was my match of the night. The finish was a screwy mess but that’s what they do so yeah. Charlotte got a uberface promo package with his dad and all that jazz and Nattie really carries that belt well. She looked great. Match starts with Flair having fun, showing her physical talent but Natalya commences working her leg viciously. Charlotte’s selling was so great during the course of the match and really made it for me. Cool sit out power bomb by the Canadian, Flair kicks out. Charlotte went for the Moonsault two times without success but finally hits the third on the outside. At this point i had the match bordering four stars, considering its unfavourable position on the card, being given short time - 12 minutes, good for fourth best on the card and tied with Mahal-Nakamura but still - and a pretty dead crowd (not their fault) but they went for a DQ finish. Nattie grabbed a chair and hit Flair. 

With little time they managed to tell a clear story balancing spots and psychology. Natalya is a very solid performer, hope they have more time down the line. The finish didn’t do much for me, i think Charlotte could have eaten a pin given the good selling. 3.5 starz.

Jinder Mahal (c) (with The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship.

If Jinder’s push was for the US Championship i could be behind it. He’s a good cartoon villain, has a great entrance and looks intense. Plus his trunks are great. But he’s astonishingly boring. He’s only capable of working the WWE style and it doesn’t mesh well with the limitations they put on Nakamura’s working ability. But the crowd was enough into it to create a nice atmosphere. Mahal did a nice suplex and basement dropkick early on. After a couple of interferences both Singh Brothers got thrown out by the referee (Lil’Naitch). Kinshasa by Nakamura but it takes time for the ref to come back in the ring so Jinder has time to recover and reaches the ropes. Shinsuke goes for another one but Mahal dodges an catches him with the Khallas for the pin.

The belt means nothing. The match was fine. Serviceable. Given the history and the supposed prestige of the belt it’s not enough. Not sure where this leaves Nakamura though. Technically he lost clean and i absolutely get why someone who has never seen him in NJPW is rather puzzled by the anticipation that preceded his arrival. Jinder looks weirdly strong and we are left wondering. 2 starz.

Bobby Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler. 

Dolph came in dressed in black with no music or titantron. Maybe he’s really going away. Maybe it’s best for him. Roode got his usual reaction, although is strange seeing him smiling so much. Match started with hard hits by Bobby but we rapidly transitioned into the beatdown of the face phase of the match. The two have good chemistry but the program is so empty. Some weird “Let’s go Ziggler” chants at this point. In the end Ziggler goes for a Sweet Chin Music, Roode evades and tries a Glorious DDT but Ziggler escapes. Some back and forth as they exchange roll ups as Roode finally wins with a handful of tights. Right after the finish Ziggler catches him with a ZigZag. 

A heel turn? With Ziggler? Weird. Maybe they’re planting the seeds. Maybe the fuel will go into the later part of the year. They both need a strong program so maybe it’s time to move to better things. 2.15 starz.

Kevin Owens defeated Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere Hell in a Cell match.

It’s always difficult for Owens to generate some legit heel heat. I mean the guy is almost right in his quest to kill Shane McMahon. They brawl outside right from the get-go then they come into the cage and start working it. Shane is a really bad worker but if he’s with someone good enough to carry the match for him, he can tell a good story. Hit a nice DDT, tries the shooting star press (again) but fails (again) as KO evades. Cool powerbomb countered with an armbar by SOM and then a Coast 2 Coast! With a garbage bin. Poor Owens. So the structure was pretty classic as a brawl leads into a KO beatdown of the face and that led to Shane (long) come back. They go outside of the cage and as Owens sets SOM con the Spanish table and prepares for some sort of splash from the barricade he decides that no, it isn’t enough. Stares at the top of the cage, points at his elbow (great touch) and starts climbing. So Shane eventually reaches him and they fight on top of the cell. This was cool but went forever. Basically they teased breaking the cage and falling a bunch of times until KO falls on a table while climbing down the cage. Shane doesn’t pin him and goes for the elbow from the top but El GenerIMEAN SAMI ZAYN pulls Owens away then lays him on top of Shane, 123.

As for the tag match, it would have been better with a bloodbath. But, luckily, they don’t do that kind of stuff anymore. They told a clear story and Sami Zayn involvement was interesting, to say the least. Lots of emotions. 4 starz.

So yeah! That was it. A really enjoyable show! I’m not sure i’ll keep doing this longish reviews though since i’m the only one reading them. Probably i’ll stick to rating and a couple of general thoughts. Next: King of Pro-Wrestling, from Tokyo Sumo Hall. Spoiler: it was awesome.

[wrestlinghasmelike-blog]

Smackdown Live! Review: April 3rd, 2018

WHOAAA WHAT’S THIS? AN ACTUAL SMACKDOWN REVIEW?!

Hey guys, I know it’s been awhile since I’ve done a Smackdown review, but it’s Mania week so I figured why not, right?!

Please let me know what your thoughts on the show were, your Mania predictions, and what you thought of this review. Any type of feedback is welcomed!

Daniel Bryan- Opening

Holy shit, Daniel has the biggest pop in the company right now, without question. 

Daniel and Shane, partners this Sunday against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, have returned to the ring after vicious attacks from KO and Sami. They’re probably here to talk shit against their opponents and talk about the show.

Wow, Shane got a pretty hype pop, too!

Shan rightfully congratulated Daniel on being cleared to compete again. But what I think he meant to say was “hey thanks for letting me be involved in Mania again’. I don’t personally need Shane as a wrestler anymore. I think what he’s done since he’s been back has been satisfying enough, but I don’t need to see another jump off a cage or West Coast on a trash can. I’m fine with him being a GM still, I actually love that, but wrestling Shane, I’m done with.

Daniel referenced Team Hell No I love it. He and Shane actually hugged it out.

Ooooh, I’m loving Daniel on the mic again. I think he’s always had some great mic skills, but he’s owning it now.

Charlotte vs. Natalya

This Sunday, Charlotte will be taking on Asuka for the title, and I think the thing I’m most excited for right now about that match is for the new gear that these women will probably debut at Mania.

Natalya, however, will most likely be participating in the women’s battle royal, and I think Nattie deserves better than being in the battle royal. She’s had a pretty great year in my book, and her abilities in the ring should have her in the title picture. 

Charlotte and Nattie lock up, and it’s Charlotte who takes the upperhand in the lockup with a hip toss. Nattie now gets Charlotte on the ground, but Charlotte breaks, and both women are back on their feet. Charlotte tried for a roll-up, but was unsuccessful. Nattie has now locked Charlotte in a headlock.

I love seeing these two paired up. I think both of them are matched in strength and ability, and they’ve always put on great matches when given the time/opportunity.

Charlotte and Nattie keep going back and forth, locking each other up and throwing each other down. Charlotte is doing some amazingly athletic flips with Nattie between her legs, and this makes me think that her match against Asuka is going to be highly athletic. I’m really looking forward to seeing this match.

Both women are still keeping this match at a fairly medium pace, which I think is working well for both of them. It’s not a super intense match, but it’s also not super technical, which would also be an amazing match if these two women participated in a submission match.

For the last few minutes, Nattie has been all over Charlotte, knocking down Charlotte’s strikes and bringing her down every chance she gets. Charlotte finally fires back with some chops to Nattie, followed by a neck breaker and a big boot to the face. Charlotte was doing well, but then Nattie countered with a sleeper hold. Charlotte countered that with a nice drop to Nattie’s tailbone, and she attempted a moonsault, but Nattie brought her knees up in time.

Both women are down, and now Carmella has made her way to the ring and wants to cash in her money in the bank! But it goes nowhere as Charlotte kicks the briefcase away from the ref in time. Charlotte throws Carmella out of the ring, and Nattie tries to roll Charlotte, but Charlotte locks in the figure eight, getting Nattie to submit. Victory Charlotte.

ASUKA IS HERE

...Charlotte and Asuka had a weird moment on the mic? Asuka hyped the crowd up, but maybe Charlotte forgot her lines? I don’t even know, but I’m excited for their match on Sunday.

Rusev vs. Jinder Mahal

These are two of the competitors in the fatal four-way match on Sunday for the U.S Title, along with Randy Orton and Bobby Roode. This is a big case of “we’re trying to fit everyone into the show as we can”. I think this match could’ve waited until the next PPV after Mania or something. I know WWE probably wants Rusev on the card, and a big name like Randy cannot be missed at Mania at this point, but this match just seems like too much. And it’s copying the IC title match!

There wasn’t a bunch to say about this match, and neither did the crowd honestly. It was a lot of back and forth mostly, but Rusev took the win in the end. The most exciting thing that happened was one of Jinder’s buddies tried to sing, and Aiden did a little rap. And Randy came out at the end. That’s it. I’m not really thrilled about this match, but I hope Randy comes out on top again.

Corbin/Primo/Mojo/Dolph vs. Ryder/Breeze/Fandango/Dillinger

All of these men will be participating in the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal on Sunday, and I feel like this match right now is just filler for the show? It seems like it’ll be messy, but I love seeing Zack on the show! That makes me happy!

I almost forgot that Smackdown does that split screen thingy that plays commercials at the same time as the match. I’m seeing Ziggler and Dillinger fight it out, and it looks really intense! But I can’t focus all my attention on it because the commercials are very distracting! 

I also think everyone forgot that Primo is still a part of WWE, and that Fandango is actually a legitimate wrestler. He was very impressive against Primo tonight.

This was, as I figured, just kind of a cluster of talent showcasing their moves to get the crowd hyped up and give them a show. Baron was the one to pick up the win for his team. Will he be winning the battle royal on Sunday?

Styles/Nakamura vs. Gable/Benjamin

Let’s see how much wrestling AJ will be doing tonight. The rumor over the past few weeks is that AJ is injured in some way? He hasn’t been wrestling at house shows as far as I know, and he definitely hasn’t been wrestling on Smackdown as of late. I hope that this time off has been very beneficial to him, and that he’s able to put on a great match on Sunday. I know a lot of people will be let down if that match doesn’t happen.

Hey! Kevin and Sami showed up! I love them so much :))))

I don’t see the need for this match tonight. I’m pretty much sold on the story of AJ v. Shin for Sunday, so I really didn’t need to see them in action myself. I do think that this will be a pretty low-key match for them tonight, so hopefully neither of them over-exert themselves.

Shinsuke did tag in AJ, but Gable took advantage and attacked them both. It looks like AJ’s taking bumps? Gable’s beating on him pretty hard it looks like.

Back from commercial, and AJ looks to be doing well. He landed a huge Pele kick, and just tagged Shinsuke back into the match. Gable and Benjamin really attacked Shinsuke when he got into the match with some great teamwork, and now Shinsuke needs to get out of Gable’s grasp in order to get the victory.

Benjamin is now in against Shinsuke, and both men are down after Shin finally rallies back. AJ is back in the match as both men make it to their partners for the tag. AJ makes it in and saves the day for him and Shinsuke, getting them the win for the match. 

At the end, Shelton Benjamin came and attacked Shinsuke, and AJ came in to help out, and threatened Shinsuke with the phenomenal forearm, but he missed on purpose to scare Shinsuke, and he patted him on the head. I’m very looking forward to seeing this match on Sunday, I cannot wait to crown Shinsuke my WWE Champion.

That does it for the final Smackdown before Mania! I didn’t think this was a bad show, but I also wasn’t super entertained by it either. I think the show did fine, and if you compare it to Raw last night, I think Smackdown did a bit better honestly.

Thanks for reading this review! I hope to make another post for NXT tomorrow since it’s Mania week, but we’ll see!

-Casey

[daleisgreat]

TNA Lockdown 2005

To commemorate the recent news of the highly-desired, long-overdue, better-late-than never, name change of TNA to GFW, I finally have my first TNA/GFW DVD review of the inaugural Lockdown PPV back in 2005. For those not familiar with TNA/GFW (Global Force Wrestling) , it has been around since 2002 a year after WCW was bought out by WWE. Essentially all in-and-out of the ring WCW talent that was not picked up by WWE came together with a number of indy wrestlers to form Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA since has went on to acquire a lot of star indy wrestlers and a good chunk of wrestlers who ran their course or who got lost in the shuffle in WWE. TNA’s first two years on the air were kind of hard to track down since their shows were only available as weekly PPVs for $10 each week. Lockdown took place in April 2005. TNA was just several weeks away from winding down their first year of their flagship TV show, iMpact! (I will now reference ‘iMpact!’ as ‘Impact’ for convenience sake) on FSN. I loved Impact in this era from 2004-07. It was then on at an oddball time of 4pm on Fridays on Fox Sports Net back then because TNA bit their teeth and took the only major cable deal they could get so they could get their foot in the door to more viewers and off weekly PPVs. Lockdown was TNA’s third or fourth traditional monthly PPV at this point. TNA had a roster size comparable to WWE at the time, but only an hour timeslot to work with for the first few years of iMpact so TNA branded the show ‘the one hour adrenaline rush.’ All matches had 10-minute time limits with a ‘Fox Box’ at the top of the screen to keep track of time and who was in the ring so that made it have a nice sports-like feel. Since TNA tried to cram so many wrestlers in each week, there were a lot of quick cuts during and immediately after matches to other backstage skirmishes or interviews so each piece of talent could get their camera time in each week. It was pure nonstop chaos each week, for better or worse.

In April 2005, good ‘ol Dusty Rhodes was the commissioner of TNA, and he was the mastermind behind the Lockdown concept where every match on the PPV would take place in a cage. It did not matter if it was the main event, a semi-main, the mid-card or opening acts, all matches would be in the ‘six sides of steel.’ For those unaware, TNA has primarily used a six-sided ring throughout its existence. I recall this lead to all kinds of crazy outcomes in matches to make them try and stand out from the rest of the cage matches on the card. Sometimes this lead to crazy spots and weaponry getting involved, or sometimes to outrageous gimmicks and interference that took away more from the bout than it added. It is because of the unique gimmick and unpredictable nature of a Lockdown PPV and the fact I never saw one before in its entirety I decided to kick off my venture to review every Lockdown PPV TNA/GFW has released on DVD from 2005-2014. The first ever Lockdown match had unforeseen dire consequences. In what was supposed to be a no-frills tag encounter between Chris Candido & Lance Hoyt against Apollo & Sonny Siaki a freak botched landing in the opening minute lead to Candido legit breaking his leg and getting stretchered out mid-match. The wrestlers improvised and Siaki pinned Hoyt minutes later with a top rope splash. Several days later, a post-surgery blood clot led to the untimely passing of Chris Candido. They did tape one more episode of Impact before his passing where Candido was a manager for his tag team buddies, the Naturals, and Candido assisted them in winning the tag titles from America’s Most Wanted in the closing moments of Candido’s last on-screen moment being him celebrating the title change, immediately followed with an ‘in memory’ image of his passing. I vividly recall watching that moment back then and just being in a different headspace upon learning the news. Props to TNA for including that tag title match along with a couple other Candido moments in his TNA run as bonus features on this DVD.

Back on track, I am a big fan of Mr. Glorious and current NXT champion, Bobby Roode. Well, he was a TNA mainstay for over a decade and you can see him here representing the villainous Team Canada faction against Dustin Rhodes in a ‘2-out-of 3 falls, Prince of Darkness Deathmatch.’ This was a No DQ match where if a third fall were to transpire, it would happen with both wrestlers being blindfolded. Sure enough, there was a third fall and both Roode and Rhodes did their best to top the Jake Roberts/Rick Martel Wrestlemania VII classic. We are still several years away from the CTE/Concussion controversies leading to safety changes in football and wrestling, and this is first of several matches that made rampant use of unprotected chairshots to the head, and is how Dustin Rhodes won the match in the final fall. I have to admit, it was kind of shocking to see that kind of chairshot several years after both TNA/GFW and WWE has banned them. The next match would be an annual Lockdown tradition, the ‘Xscape Match.’ It featured stars from the X-Division, which is essentially WCW’s cruiserweight division, but with no weight limit to make room for the occasional bigger competitor also capable of high-flying moves that most Cruiserweights are associated for. This match featured Matt Bentley, Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin and Shocker. It is a Fatal 4-Way Tag Elimination match, but when it comes down to the final two competitors, the rules change into a WWF-style ‘escape to win’ cage match. The finish here came down to Chris Sabin and Shocker in a photo-finish to escape, with Shocker’s feet barely touching the floor first in an entertaining high-flying affair start to finish. The next bout saw Jeff Hardy take on Raven in a tables match in a bout that would be my match of the night. That is kind of surprising to say since both Hardy and Raven washed out of WWE at this point in their careers, but both found new success in TNA. Raven gets busted open, and Hardy misses a Swanton through a table off the top of the cage in my pick for spot of the night because of how effortless Hardy made that daring move seem. Raven would later stack four tables together, only to see them used against him as Hardy would drive Raven through them with a leg drop from the top of the cage to the delight of a raucous crowd for the victory.

The tag titles were up for grabs next with the team of America’s Most Wanted (Chris Harris & James Storm) defending their gold against Team Canada’s Eric Young & Petey Williams. I am smiling right now realizing how far all four of these guys would evolve throughout their TNA runs, but we will get there in forthcoming Lockdown reviews. For now, Young & Williams are evil Canadians, and AMW are good ‘ol butt-kickin’ cowboys. Match has a nice story with Storm getting jumped outside early on and Harris having to fend for himself 2-on-1 for awhile. There is a nice finish here with a failed powder-toss spot that lead to Petey Williams getting pinned following AMW delivering their ‘Death Sentence’ finisher. The X Division title was at stake next with Christopher Daniels defending against his former tag partner, Elix Skipper. The video package preceding it was a nice refresher of their rivalry and was a good reason for the hot crowd and intensity between the two in this match. Skipper got a nice splash off the top of the cage, but ultimately it was Daniels who got the win with his Angel’s Wings finisher in another good X division match. The Lethal Lockdown followed, and it is essentially TNA’s version of War Games/Elimination Chamber with two teams of three squaring off. It starts one-on-one for five minutes, and then another competitor would enter every two minutes. After the final entrant is in, the team that scores the first fall is declared the winner. This match saw TNA champ, Jeff Jarrett teaming up with Monty Brown & Kip James (who was new to TNA at the time and fresh off renaming his character of ‘The Outlaw’ because of how close it resembled his old WWE Tag Team name) against Sean Waltman, Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash. In a twisting shock, Nash was injured on match day, and got replaced last minute by BG James, aka The Road Dogg. I have no idea what was going through BG’s head, but on his way to the ring he brought a bedpan and clocked the cameraman with it for no apparent reason, and in the highlight of the night would proceed to clock the ref on the head with the bedpan. To top that, when most normal refs would be incapacitated indefinitely after a spot like that, this pudgy, scrawny TNA ref would get up and shake off the weapon attack within 60 seconds, just in time to make the surprise pinfall count when Sean Waltman would pull off a victory roll on Monty Brown that he botched mere seconds earlier. Brown would be the third person to bleed of the night so far. Like most War Games/Elimination Chamber style matches, this was another chaotic match that kept me on my toes to see who would come out next. Throw in the TNA-X-Factor of surprise weapon spots, and refs that no-sell and it made for a one-of-a-kind encounter TNA is only capable of delivering.

The main event saw AJ Styles face off against Abyss. For those unaware, Abyss is another TNA veteran still with the promotion today that I look forward to covering his unique evolution throughout the years with. I always considered him a hybrid of Mankind and Kane, and he always had a unique lust for weapon spots that usually went against him. For fans of AJ Styles today unfamiliar with his 12 years of TNA work, if you thought he is killer in the ring today, you should have seen him back in 2005 where he moved with the grace of a young Rey Mysterio and it seemed like AJ was capable of damn near anything in the ring. After brawling all over the arena for awhile, the two eventually clash in the ring where Abyss busts out the thumb tacks, but only to see them used against him when AJ would deliver a Styles Clash on top of them(!). AJ would follow that up with a sunset-flip off the top of the cage onto the tacks (!!) for the awesome finish to end the first Lockdown PPV. Random final thoughts on the show: It was fun seeing Dusty with a couple of the TNA ‘Knockouts’ (TNA’s term for ‘Divas’) backstage as he drew names out of a hat to determine the order of the Lethal Lockdown entry. Shane Douglas was retired from wrestling at this point of his career and was the innocuous backstage interviewer which I did not mind him in. One constant in TNA’s history is there usually being a few botched camera angles on each show with them missing a key move/moment in a match, and sure enough that happened tonight.

I forgot to mention this took place at the Universal Studios lot in Orlando, FL where TNA has recorded a majority of their shows since 2004. It is the same arena where WCW use to tape their old syndicated Worldwide show for about a decade. I always thought TNA did an admirable job at getting the most out of that recording studio and making it come off with good production effects and clever camera angles to give it as close to a big-arena vibe as they could on their budget. Aside from a half hour of assorted Chris Candido extras, there is another half hour of extras on the DVD primarily consisting of quick preshow interviews and alternate camera angles of the primary spots of the night. Thanks for sticking with me on this debut Lockdown blog. Apologies for the length, but I felt obligated to include a little TNA/GFW history at the beginning for those who are not that familiar with the promotion. Like I said at the beginning, TNA released these on DVD through 2014, but Lockdown specials after that moved to premiering on cable as Impact specials and thus have not been released on video. I will try and knock one of these out every several months, so stay tuned for the next installment later! Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold RoH Supercard of Honor V RoH Supercard of Honor VI RoH Supercard of Honor VII RoH Supercard of Honor VIII RoH Supercard of Honor IX RoH Supercard of Honor X ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Sting: Into the Light Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania 3: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28 Wrestlemania 29 Wrestlemania 30 Wrestlemania 31 Wrestlemania 32 The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017