#he’s not getting that title at WrestleMania either way. he’s got too much ground to make up he has to earn that

[dayone-ish]

unpopular opinion I’ll be so pissed if punk wins the rumble

[xoxowrestlinggyrl]

Backlash.

Requested: Yes

Pairing: Dominik Mysterio x Afro-Latina Reader

Word Count: 2341

Warning[s]: Just one curse word! That’s all.

Summary: You are a wrestler with ten years of experience and a friend of the Mysterio family. Dominik has a massive crush on you. He asks for your help with training before Wrestlemania Backlash.

A/N: I'm back and better than ever. I hope you all loved this! Sorry for the wait to the person who requested this.

Days before Wrestlemania Backlash Rey and Dominik Mysterio were declared the number one contender for the Smackdown Tag-Team Titles. They will face the current champions, Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler at the upcoming PPV. You could not be happier for the father-son duo. The past few years, you have gotten close to the Mysterio family. Coincidently, it was during the time Dominik began his professional wrestling career. You have seen improve so much from when he first got in the ring to today. Since you already had your match, you were sitting on one of the crates backstage, checking your phone. When you heard the familiar voices of Dominik and Rey, you slipped your cellphone in your jeans pocket and hopped off the crate.

“Hey, future champions.” You greeted them with a smile on your face.

Dominik let out a small chuckle, “Future champions? Already predicting the results of Wrestlemania Backlash?” He teased.

You shrugged your shoulders, “Only this match since I am not on the card. I have to live vicariously through my favorite father-son duo.” You were joking with them. Seriously, you were excited about the match. Rey and Dominik have the chance to make history if they win the titles. Also, it will be Dominik’s very first title reign.

“I hope we don’t disappoint you, Y/N.” Rey let out a laugh as well. He looked between you and Dominik. “I have to go call Angie. She wanted to talk to me about renovating our house.” You and Dominik looked confused. This is the first either of you have heard about them wanting to remodel their home.

“That’s the first time I heard anything like that, padre.” Dominik looked at Rey.

Rey looked at Dominik, “It’s something your mother and I just started to talk about.” He “subtly” signaled to his son. Maybe, it is something you were not supposed to notice. You ended up noticing it though. Is there something going on? You did not want to think they are hiding something for you. They are some of your closest friends. You decided to dismiss any thoughts you had. It is not anything important, right?

“Hasta luego, hijo and Y/N,” The man told the two of you abruptly before walking away. Rey was in a hurry. He must really have to talk to Angie about the renovation, right?

Now, you and Dominik were left alone together. “Are you excited for the upcoming PPV?” You nudged him a little bit.

“I am.” Dominik stated before he looked down at the ground for a moment. There is something wrong with him. It concerned you a bit.

“What’s wrong, Dom?”

Dominik looked up from the ground, “I am just not sure if I am ready yet.”

“Dom… don’t doubt yourself, okay? You are more than ready and for this.” You placed your hand on his shoulder, looking up at him. “I have seen you improve so much over the past two years. You are amazing in the ring. I know Rey is so proud of you.” A smile grew on his face as he listened to you.

“Thank you, Y/N. I really appreciate it. I do have to ask you something…”

You watched as Dominik grew shy. Honestly, you were not sure what to expect for him to ask you. “Yes?”

“I was wondering if you and I could train together? It will help me get ready for the PPV. You are the great, Y/N, after all.”

You felt your cheeks start to warm up just a bit. You are thankful for your brown skin. It helped masked the blush a little bit.  “I’m not that great. I just have ten years of experience.”

“Ten years is not anything to sneeze at. You are so talented. It would be an honor to have you train me.”

You smiled at Dominik, “Yes, I would love to train you, Dominik. I’m going to go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Dominik grinned at her.

“Are you free on Tuesday? If so, let’s go to the Performance Center to train.” You suggested to him.

“I am actually. Tuesday is perfect. You got yourself a date, Y/N.” Dominik’s eyes widen when he realized how it sounded. Your heart skipped a beat when he called your training, “a date”.

“I-I’m sorry. I-I I did not mean it that way. Uh, I was confirming that we are going together. You know? I mean, it’s not like you wouldn’t be bad for anyone to date—”

A slight laugh fell from your lips, finding this adorable. “I know what you mean. Don’t apologize.” You assured him. “It’s a date,” You were sure it was just a mistake on Dominik’s part.

~~~~~

It was Tuesday. The day you and Dominik were going to meet up at the Performance Center. You were running a few minutes late because you overslept. When you pulled up to the center, you see Dominik waiting outside. Since it is early in the morning, you managed to find a parking space. You got out of your car, grabbed your bag, and rushed to the front of the building. Your hair flowed in the Florida wind as you ran over to him. He smiled as he seen you. Dominik greeted you with a hug.

You hugged him back, “Sorry, I am late. I overslept.”

“That’s okay. It was just a few minutes.” Dominik stated, casually. He pulled away from the hug.

“Are you ready to train?” You asked with a grin on your face.

“Ready as I will ever be, Y/N.” Dominik opened the door for you, letting you into the Performance Center first. He entered in right after you.

The training is going smoothly. Right now, the two of you decided to take a break. You have no doubts in your mind Dominik is going to do great. However, you cannot deny the chance to help your friend. You were sitting in the middle of the ring, sipping on your water bottle. Dominik stared at you from the other side of the ring. He was not very subtle about it. You closed the bottle as you looked over at him.

“What? Is there something wrong?”

Dominik was thrown out of the trance he was in, “Your water bottle is shaped weird.” Your eyebrows raised, looking at the bottle and back at him. He had a playful tone in his voice.

“Oh yeah? Those are fighting words. This bottle is expensive!” The bottle is not expensive. It was at an average price. You and Dominik joked like this, constantly. You set it down to the side, getting up from where you were seated in the ring.

“Well, let’s fight then.” Dominik joked as he got up.

The two of you began “fighting”. Dominik began tickling you. You let out a loud laugh. “You’re a cheater!” You exclaimed in between laughs.

“You’re the veteran here, Y/N.” Dominik joked as he continued to tickle you. An idea popped into your mind. You launched yourself at him. You and Dominik landed on the mat with you on top of him. Laughs fell from both of your lips.

“You got me,” Dominik stated while laughing.

“Yeah! I do.” You were still laughing to. Your laugh started to fade a bit as you both stared into each other’s eyes. His dark brown eyes are just so beautiful and inviting. He began to lean in to kiss you, and you did just the same. Your lips nearly brushed his when you were quickly reminded how wrong this would be. You are so close with the Mysterio family! How will they react? Then, you pulled away before you both could kiss.

“We should get back to training.” You began getting up. Dominik looked confused, but he nodded his head. Even though you both went back training, it was so awkward. Neither of you could handle it, so the training was cut short. You hightailed out of the performance center, getting into your car.

“Shit.” She huffed under your breath as you slammed your fist in the steering wheel.  Why did you have to make things so awkward?

~~~~

The night of Wrestlemania Backlash came. You avoided Dominik through the week.  Honestly, you did not know how to talk to him about this. You wrecked things by pulling away. What if he is mad? Avoiding him probably made things a whole lot worse. You were dressed up casually since you were not scheduled tonight. You felt a tap on your shoulder. When you turned around, you gasped when she seen Aalyah. It has been a while since you have seen her. You pulled her into a hug instantly.

“I can tell you’ve missed me,” Aalyah joked as you hugged her.

You nodded her head, “I really have. There is so much we need to catch up on.” You both pulled away from the hug.

“I couldn’t agree more, Y/N.” The two of you began walking down the hall together. The PPV hasn’t started yet. Rey and Dominik’s match is the third one on the card. It gives you ample amount of time to catch up with Aalyah and talk.

While the two of you were catching up, Aalyah decided to address the elephant in the room. “What is going on with you and Dom? He told me what happened.”

You looked down at the ground. This is the conversation you were dreading. However, you should have known this was going to happen.

“Y/N?” She looked at you.

A sigh fell from your lips as you looked at her, “I totally ruined it with him. I panicked when we were about to kiss. I was afraid of what your family would think because I have been so close with you all for such a long time now. I don’t want you all to think the only reason why I wanted to be friends with the family was to get to Dominik.”

Aalyah looked at you, “Come on, Y/N/N. You know way better to believe we’d think that. We’ve been friends for way too long to believe that was your intent. If you want to know, Dominik has a massive crush on you. He fell for you the first time he met you. He is going to be pissed I told you, but he should have said something a long time ago.” The young woman let out a slight laugh. A Cheshire grin formed on your lips, knowing Dominik feels the same way about you. You got to make this right.

“I doubt he is going to be pissed when he knows I feel the same way.” You slightly joked. He can’t be mad, right?

~~~~

You and Aalyah were sitting backstage, watching Dominik and Rey’s match. The two of you were on pins and needles now. The father and son tag-team had to dig deep in this match. It was a close one. Rey hit Bobby with the 619 and tagged in Dominik. He climbed on the top rope and landed a Frog Splash on Roode. (Eddie would’ve been so proud). He went for the pin. The referee began counting. Dominik got the three-count. You and Aalyah jumped up from your seats, screaming. You and Aalyah hugged each other before hurrying up to the guerrilla. The two of you managed to make it up there before anyone else. The father and son tag-team walked up the ramp. Dominik smile faltered a bit as soon as he seen you. He looked surprised to see you here.

Rey looked at Aalyah. The two of them began walking away. They know you and Dominik needed to talk.

“Congratulations, Rey.” You stated before turning to look at Dominik. “Hi, Dom. You did amazing. I told you that you could do it.”

Dominik grinned, “Thank you, Y/N/N for believing me.” He had his tag-team belt on his shoulder. There was an awkward silence between you two.

“I am sorry about the other day. I crossed the line, and I never intended on making you feel uncomfortable around me.” Dominik apologized as he looked at you. He looked into your eyes.

You looked up at him, “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry for avoiding you the whole week. It wasn’t anything you did. I was scared…” You began.

Dominik’s eyes furrowed in confusion. “Scared of what? Talk to me, Y/N. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

A sigh fell from your lips, “It’s stupid. I was worried your family might think I only became friends with them just to get to you.” You told him. Dominik eyes narrowed a bit. “I know, it doesn’t make any sense.”

A small laugh fell from his lips, “Not at all. They were waiting for the day you and I would get together. I’ve had a big crush on you since the first day we met, Y/N. I never said anything because I didn’t think I had a chance.” Dominik cheeks started to blush just a little bit as he said this. You couldn’t stop the smile from forming on your lips.

“Dom, you have always had a chance with me. I’ve liked you for a while now. As you know, I was nervous too.” You admitted as well.

Dominik’s beautiful brown eyes were staring into your eyes. He leaned in to kiss you. This time around, you didn’t pull away. You and Dominik kissed, and it felt right. This was meant to be.

“Finally! We’ve been waiting on this forever.” You and Dominik pulled away to see Rey and Aalyah standing there.

Dominik sighed, “Dad, come on. This was a moment with Y/N and I.” He pointed out to Rey.

“Not anymore. We have to celebrate winning the Smackdown Tag-Team titles and your relationship with Y/N finally blossoming.” Rey stated while Aalyah nodded her head.

“He’s right. This is night we have to celebrate.” You held Dominik’s hand.

“You are right about that one, beautiful.” Dominik agreed with you as you both began walking down the hall, following Rey and Aalyah.

[danwhobrowses]

WWE Wrestlemania 37 Day 2 - Review

And we are back! Wrestlemania hit hard with Day 1, good shit and big moments fitting of the show

So let's see if Day 2 can match up to it, lots of big matches on the card, we'll see how it goes.

See the Night 1 Review Here

Spoilers for Night 2 and References to Night 1 included, you have been Warned

Pre-Show Like the last Night, no matches on the Pre-Show, just drivel and promos. So the same criticisms really, Lawler saying 'Wrestlerainia' doesn't make it any better than when Cole said it, his attempts at jokes were awful even when they were his material. When they recapped Night 1 though they should've shown footage of Ford celebrating with Bianca rather than just say it - a Picture says a Thousand Words. Standard Promo Package lies apply too, 'Rhea Ripley has brutalized everyone she's come through' ...except Io Shirai and Raquel Gonzalez, similar went down for the second half of HOF because Great Khali is only there to pander to India - also what did the Mayor of Knox County ever do for WWE? Sonya also popped up again, strangely to talk about the Nigerian Drum Fight - which Booker T talked about the most, if I wanted to watch a bunch of old dudes talk over Sonya Deville I'd be drinking bleach. She also stuck for Sami vs KO, and barely talked in that too.

Also the promo they had about Kofimania was rough to watch, considering how it ended and how Kofi fared on Night 1, all this to promote a cheesy Cricket commercial about him not touching the ground...

The 24/7 title even got a continuation of ads, but it was more a 'to be concluded on Youtube' - honestly the belt has run its course, Truth has ran out of jokes and it's been reduced to an Old Spice ad crossover.

Main Card Starting once more with 'America the Beautiful', replacing the boob window with a bright yellow hat. It was fine, as a Brit 'America the Beautiful' does nothing for me.

They then did the same intro package as night 1 just with some different clips, skippable. And the shoddy camera switching is still there.

Hogan and Titus came out again this time in pirate outfits, there was noticeable boos in Hogan's bits with cheesy pirate puns. In the end the host concept was wasted on them. Reminder that names in Bold are those I predicted to win.

Randy Orton def. The Fiend [w/Alexa Bliss] (Pinfall via RKO) Orton opened night 2 in white tights and a fairy long-winded entrance, the melted Fiend then walked through a corridor of fire LEDs as CGI burned away into his original Fiend look...but Alexa's Firefly Funhouse music hit. Cutesy Bliss approached a giant Jack in a Box commentary act like just 'appeared'. The Fiend arose from the box in a combat vest, posed then dove right at Orton. Red lights cover the match throughout, Uranage and a neck snap started the match as the Fiend continued to do his spooky thing, it looks like he was gonna set up the punt but Randy rolls out of the ring. Randy hits the back body slam on the Announcer's Desk but it's no sold into the Mandible Claw, rope break and apron DDT from Orton only staggers the Fiend but rebounding his neck off the ropes grounds him momentarily. Orton tries to methodically beat down the Fiend but the monster hits back hard, a missed Senton and a senton follows some head kicks and another apron DDT, he sets up for an RKO but the Fiend gets the Mandible Claw (which commentary no sold even though he has won titles with that move), he sets up Sister Abigail but the ring posts pyro like Kane and before Fiend is Bliss with new makeup, dripping in black goo she extends her hand to the Fiend from the jack in the box, RKO and...3!? Post match Fiend and Alexa stare down, the electricity shorts out and both members disappear.

That's it? That's what we got? The Fiend was burned alive and survived but 1 RKO does it? The Fiend no sold so much in his career and one RKO felled him. The fuck man, this was as bad as the last time these two went at mania, you'd think like the brilliant Firefly Funhouse Match last year we'd get some course correction. But nope, Fiend's story is just being taken over by Alexa and this daft-ass black goo stuff, I don't get the motivation either. Fiend helped Alexa straddle Orton for a 3 count at Fastlane, talked all big for months about how the Fiend was going to obliterate Orton and it lasted about 8 minutes, the entrances lasted longer! Last year the Fiend was great with a cinematic match, but WWE have somehow managed to systematically destroy one of their most inventive characters time and time again, not a good start.

Backstage once again Bayley gets buried by the Hosts and this time Eric Bischoff as she tried to push Ding Dong Hello and got jealous of them talking up Bianca vs Sasha from last night.

WWE Women's Tag Championship - Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax (c) def. Natalya & Tamina (Ref Stoppage Submission by Baszler on Natalya via Kirufuda Clutch) Not a promising sign to follow the opener with this match, the challengers entered quickly with Natalya having a slightly altered attire. Jax and Baszler came in with red, black and gold. Natalya and Baszler start the match with some mat wrestling, Natalya almost gets the Sharpshooter so Shayna tags Nia in, Nia shoves Natalya and demands that Tamina - her old tag partner - be tagged in. Both trade headbutts, Tamina almost lifts Nia but fails, she tags in Natalya for the double back body drop and drops the blind tagged Shayna onto her partner. Natalya tries a Sharpshooter but is schoolboy'd for 2, Natalya retaliates with a German Suplex, whipping Shayna into a Clothesline, then launch pad into a superkick. As Shayna strikes back an advantage she stiffs Natalya in the mouth with a knee (legitimately, there was a picture of a welt before) Nia brawls with Tamina outside, hitting a powerslam outside of the ring. Another knee strike floors Natalya for 2 as Shayna works on the leg, kneebar and then an ankle stomp, Nia follows up with a Legdrop over the injured leg, another kneebar and then combos of swing/knee strike and irish whip/powerslam. Nia runs into the turnbuckle as Natalya floors Nia with multiple lariat attempts, Nia though hits back with a Chokeslam/Powerbomb thing they called a Spinebuster but the pin is broken by Tamina. Tamina gets the hot tag against Shayna, Baszler tries to weaken the leg, then the Kirufuda clutch but Tamina powers into a Samoan Drop. She goes up for a Superfly Splash but Shayna kicks her, Nia looks to do an Avalanche Samoan Drop but Natalya pulls Tamina away, she lariats Baszler but Nia hits the crossbody on both opponents for 2, favouring the knee after. Talking trash to Tamina she gets hit with a slam, Nia's repositioning couldn't be missed by the wide shot as Tamina goes for the Superfly Splash, but nobody home. Natalya's tagged and she goes for Baszler in the corner, Baszler counters and blind tags as Nia lifts Natalya up, but she wriggles out, floors Baszler again and sets the Sharpshooter on the now not legal Nia. Baszler cinches in the Kirufuda clutch and the match is over.

The fact that this was more eventful than the opener speaks volumes. It was a match, I don't think there's many people who feel like Nia and Shayna deserve this spot. Shayna was great in NXT but she's not doing herself any favours stiffing her opponents, Nia's rubbing off in a bad way. I had the challengers to win because I'm bored of them still being champions - only briefly giving it to Asuka and Charlotte so Charlotte can add that to her list - they should've either dropped to NXT or let the Riott Squad win, there was nothing in this match to invest in.

Rey Mysterio is used to promote 2K22. A surprise since we thought WWE and 2K's partnership was done, I am a huge fan of Rey so it was nice to see, much nicer if he was actually on Wrestlemania and getting a push...

Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn [w/Logan Paul] (Pinfall via Stunner) JBL is the guest commentator for this...for some reason. Sami struts to the ring in dark green trying to pull off a Che Guevara look, a mini tantrum at the ramp before heading to the ring and grabbing the mic to introduce Logan Paul, who walks to the ring as Sami dances super embarrassingly in the ring. Owens then charges into the ring with vigor to get the crowd amped up. The bell rings, Sami tries the Helluva Kick and gets hit with a Pop-Up Powerbomb. KO punishes Sami in the start, dropping Sami gut-first on the ropes, corner clothesline and Cannonball as the camera awkwardly keeps cutting to Logan Paul. Sami gets a suplex on the apron to get back some momentum as he demands for Owens to be counted out, Owens rolls in at 8 but Sami continues to club at KO's head. Cole calls a Michinoku Driver a Blue Thunder Bomb but this time gets called out on it, pinfall is 2 and Sami gets into the ref's face. Attempted Superplex leads to a fistfight in the corner, Owens headbutts him off and Frog Splashes for 2, tries the Pop-Up powerbomb, Sami leapfrogs, Sami tries the Michinoku Driver but Owens reverses it into a meaty Pumphandle Neckbreaker for 2. He goes for the Package Piledriver but Sami hits the corner exploder, tries for the Helluva Kick but misses, KO tries the Stunner but it's reversed into a Blue Thunder Bomb for 2 as well. Two Exploders and a Brainbuster for 2 frustrates Sami further, brawling in the corner, he tries for a Superplex but gets hit with an Avalanche twisting Fisherman's Suplex. KO hits Sami with some corner clotheslines but as he runs to bounce off the other corner he runs into a Helluva Kick, Sami catching his collapsed friend as he sets it up again, 2 Superkicks from Owens and a Stunner finishes Sami off as Logan Paul applauds. Post-Match Logan checks on Sami and congratulates Owens, which Sami takes umbrage with. Logan shoves Sami as he storms off, Logan holds KO's arm in the air to boos, cheers start to rumble as Paul is hit with a stunner to a pop.

KO and Sami rarely disappoints, I don't think they really got to get out of second gear but it was still a good match. The Logan Paul stuff though was stupid and unnecessary, sure we got him to eat a Stunner but the ends don't justify the means. Also why was JBL there?

Backstage Riddle scooters across to Great Khali, stoner comedy doesn't land as Khali no sells it, RVD shows up to wish Riddle luck. Segment was meh.

US Championship - Sheamus def. Riddle (c) (Pinfall via Brogue Kick TITLE CHANGE!) Sheamus arrives blinding white but no special gear, Riddle scooters down in an Evil Knievel jacket, hologram doves with pirate hats and eyepatches adding to the cheese. Sheamus uses his power to start, but Riddle comes back with some chops, Sheamus hits back in each of his attempts; knee to the gut, then driving Riddle's sleeper in the corner, then a reversal swinging slam. Irish Curse gets 2, Riddle tries a Tarantula Armbreaker but Sheamus hits his Beats of Bodhran, he goes up high but Riddle reverses with a Spanish Fly Belly to Belly on the top turnbuckle. Riddle rallies with strikes, hits a Pele Kick and a Senton, to slight Goldberg Riddle hits the Jackhammer on the second time of trying but only gets 2. He tries the Bro Derek but Sheamus rolls back, Riddle kicks Sheamus away but in his slingshot lands into a Brogue Kick, 1, 2, No. Alabama Slam, 1, 2, No. He tries a White Noise on the Apron but gets pushed into the Ring Post and then German's on the Apron. An Apron PK and Moonsault keeps Sheamus down enough for Riddle to hit the Twisting Moonsault, he locks in the Reverse armbar but it's reversed into a deadlift powerbomb, Riddle then latches the sleeper for the rope break. Sheamus tries again for a Top Rope White Noise, Riddle tries to Sunset Bomb but fails, Riddle tries the Spanish Fly Belly to belly again but Sheamus grabs him. A stumble means that the two hop off the Turnbuckle for a normal White Noise, Sheamus goes up with a Knee Drop but it only hits 2. Sheamus calls for the Brogue, gets rolled up but catches the Knee strike, Riddle dodges the lariat, goes for a Springboard Moonsault but lands into the Brogue, 1, 2, 3. Post match Riddle is bleeding from the mouth, he angrily stares at the gleeful Sheamus who leaves with the title.

A good title match and much deserved from Sheamus, who has delivered in many matches on the later stages of of the Wrestlemania year, shame he was on the wrong brand to complete the set, he only needs the IC title to win everything. Riddle doesn't do it for me in this gimmick (which as I gather is mostly himself stoned) but credit where it's due, he put a good performance and that was a strong finish.

An odd package followed where Triple H handed Bad Bunny a golden briefcase with a skull microphone, which he opened atop his truck. The briefcase says Tour 2022 to promote his future tour.

Nigerian Drum Fight for the IC Title - Apollo Crews def. Big E (c) (Pinfall via Dabba Kato Chokeslam TITLE CHANGE!) The promo really hurt my ears to hear Apollo's accent devolve into this foreign heel gimmick. Wale though performs to enter Big E, more questionable camera cuts to E and the Fireworks. E's jacket represented Feeding Tampa Bay as a nice nod to the food bank, Apollo came out in Nigerian colors with his scarf and Spear. Commentary's line saying 'this isn't about percussion' falls kinda flat when there's drums around the ring.

Both men roll out to grab Kendo sticks, trading blows which E gets the power advantage over. E grabs the giant cymbal but Apollo knees it away, hits E with some more Kendo Shots back into the ring. You can hear the WAFT of Apollo's missed shot as E knocks him away and then does the out-of-ring spear. E sets up the lower steps near the apron but gets hit with a DVD on the apron, pinfall gets 2. Crews grabs the top half of the steps, lays E on the one he sets up and throws the other steps at it, but E rolls away just in time. On the apron Apollo hits a big boot, but on the second attempt falls into an Uranage onto the flat steps (which Cole called an Uranage Suplex for some reason...), after some trash talking E gets a table set up in the ring near a corner. Apollo kicks back and flurries E with a Kendo Stick, he rolls E onto the table to go for the frog splash, but E rolls away sending Apollo crashing through the table. E hits the Big Ending, but Dabba Kato/Babatunde in a military jacket breaks the pin, a sorta Samoan Spike and a Chokeslam leads to him dragging Apollo onto E for the win. Apollo gets a lot of unnecessary pyro and shakes his new comrade's hand.

Bit short that, the gimmick didn't really come into play. I mean, I'm glad Apollo gets a chance to hold another title and E can look towards the top of the card but I don't think this was really the way to do it. It didn't need to be a 'Nigerian Drum Fight', could've just been a No DQ, Dabba Kato gets his third repackaging since Greatest Royal Rumble probably as Apollo's 'General' which is kinda no different to what AJ and Omos are doing just with more foreign heel-isms. But yeah, bit disappointing on the means of it but the outcome was right, just...kinda stop faking a thick accent it's getting you nowhere acting like you're on the set of Black Panther.

Again we look back at Night 1, this time with minor clips of Ford congratulating his wife, but should've been a segment on its own rather than a flash-through recap. Stone Cold Mania 38 Texas promo and the HOF promo they did on this Pre-Show happens again which is unnecessary but the hologram of a ghost ship was cool, the HOFers come out and Kane gets the entrance, he does his pyro and that's it - that's how you do it, Hogan.

Raw Women's Championship - Rhea Ripley def. Asuka (c) (Pinfall via Riptide TITLE CHANGE!) THIS IS MY BRUTALITY! performed live as Rhea wastes no time coming out, leather biker outfit this time, no Vegeta costume. Silly camera cuts to Rhea and the Singer AGAIN though, stop it WWE it's distracting. Asuka dances down the ring in a bit of a Jason mask, but the camera keeps cutting to Rhea which is off-putting. Also commentary on 'she has never seen Rhea Ripley up close and personal', they were in a tag match together a week and a half ago and in Survivor Series 2019 she faced her in Team NXT as part of Team RAW, seriously WWE...

Asuka starts hot with her athleticism, dropkicks, rebounds and rollups met with more shoddy camera cuts, Rhea leaves the ring to take a moment as Asuka taunts her, she baits Asuka out of the ring as she rolls in but her leg is caught, pop-up knee strike returns Rhea to the ring but she misses the hip attack, gifting Rhea the slamming facebuster for 2. Rhea wears the champion down and taunts her with leg scissors and hits a couple of clotheslines, Asuka reverses the third into an ankle lock but Rhea rolls into a Release German Suplex. Rhea grinds away at Asuka's back and sets up for a super German but Asuka elbows her away and lands the Missile Dropkick, Release German, Hip Attack, a strike combo, another Hip Attack but it only gets 2. Asuka goes up top but is dropkicked to the outside, Asuka tries a PK on the apron but is caught into an Electric Chair position and dropped chin-first onto the apron. Trying to roll Asuka back into the ring, the champion returns to hit a DDT from the apron to the outside, after breaking the count Asuka only gets 2, stomps at Rhea but her running knee gets caught, Rhea stomps at Asuka and sets up the Texas Cloverleaf, Asuka rolls out and into the Armbar but Rhea swings Asuka into the bottom turnbuckle. Deadlift suplex back into the ring for 2, Asuka reverses a waistlock into two armbar variations and then an Asuka Lock, Rhea rolls back for 2 and the hold to break but gets gutted with kicks to the chest, Rhea demands more so Asuka runs to the ropes, Rhea catches her, Riptide, 3!

That finish came out of nowhere, which was not a good thing. We were having quite an enjoyable match which ended around the 15 minute mark, it wasn't short but the narrative wasn't quite there yet. I'm happy for Rhea, who I predicted to win but like Sasha/Bianca it came with the heavy heart. Like Sasha, Asuka has often been slighted especially at Wrestlemania, she deserves her moment too, especially Asuka who carried the Women for most of the Empty Arena era.

WWE recapped the opener which was a bad idea, Hogan and Titus thanked all the viewers at home and the fans but were interrupted by Bayley who demanded and got her pyro, then out came the Bella Twins. Bayley got a good zing by calling them Elmo but then Nikki slapped the mic away from her when she says 'John Cena isn't here tonight', Bellas said 'Ding Dong, Goodbye' and beat down Bayley. This was shite really, Bayley had been buried across 2 nights and her 'comeuppance' is the Bella Twins, not the woman beginning with B I was hoping for, and the John Cena comment was heavily forced, fans know they broke up ages ago Nikki has a kid with her husband who is not John Cena, fans aren't stupid WWE.

WWE then promoted 'Wrestlemania Backlash' for May 16th, a whole month away. They say it'll be a whole new season for WWE so I'm wondering if it's just a storyline reset...y'know how Wrestlemania is supposed to be, slapping Wrestlemania on other show names doesn't make it Wrestlemania-tier guys.

Universal Championship - Roman Reigns (c) [w/Paul Heyman & Jey Uso] def. Daniel Bryan and Edge (Pinfall on Edge and Bryan via Con-Chair-To) To the Main Event, one of the few storylines in Mania's card that was consistently good in build. Bryan comes out first, camera angles flashing during the YES! chants. Huge pops and smoke rage for Metalingus and Edge enters in white and Red (bookending with Orton), fireworks camera shots though. For once, Roman Reigns enters the Main Event without a chorus of deafening boos, but he takes his time to come out, in his red wreath flanked by Jey Uso and Heyman, cameras cutting to each opponent's faces a bit too much, especially to Bryan. Bad call not to bring in Justin Roberts to announce Edge either. Roman makes sure to hoist the belt while facing both his opponents before the bell.

Reigns starts by suckering Bryan and then going after Edge. He throws Bryan out of the ring where Jey superkicks him and sends him into the steps thanks to Triple Threat rules. Edge eats a superkick from Uso too when he's thrown out as Roman cleans up the announcer's table, as Edge is grabbed by Uso, Reigns is hit by Bryan's suicide dive but eats an Uso superkick, this gives Edge time to throw Uso into the steps, pinballing Reigns against the barricade and apron until bouncing off of the ring post. Edge then sets his sights on Uso, hitting a DDT on the steps to take him out of the equation, medical team swarm Uso as Heyman halfheartedly looks concerned. Edge chases Heyman away and enters the ring with Bryan - a moment which would've been sold better if the camera didn't cut to a close up of Roman alive and well on the outside. Bryan gets the Yes Kicks in the corner but his Super Rana is reversed into a sunset flip, Edge-o-matic but it's only 2. Roman comes back on the apron both men attempting to suplex the other, Bryan slides under Roman and cuts Roman's legs from under him - jawbreaking Edge on the ropes - he hits the Missile Dropkick on Edge, kips up and hits the uppercut, after dodging the lariat he tries to suicide dive Roman but he's caught by the champion and hit with a belly to belly suplex. Edge brings Roman to the ring but gets hit with a clothesline, Roman sets up the Superman Punch but Edge turns it into an Edgecution. He sets up the Spear but Roman knocks him down, Roman sets the Spear but it is reversed in a Sunset Flip, both men collide with spears to take each other out. During a wide shot Bryan goes up top, he lands a diving headbutt on Edge, then on Roman, he pins Roman but only gets 2. Yes Kicks to both men, Roman dodges one and pushes him towards Edge, but Bryan ducks the Lariat and hits the Buisaku Knee, Roman tries the Superman Punch but is kicked in the gut, Buzzsaw Kick! 1, 2, No! Bryan stomps on Roman's head and sets up the Yes Lock, but Edge breaks the hold, so Bryan puts Edge in the Yes Lock and Roman breaks the hold, clubbing at Bryan and powerbombing him onto Edge. After dumping Bryan, Roman pauses before setting up half the steps near the Announcer's Table, he's incited by the 'Roman Sucks' chant and powerbombs Bryan through the Announcer's table, but is then blindsided with a Spear! Edge goes to bring in a chair but Roman keeps his foot on it, he pulls the chair away and tries the Guillotine but Edge locks in the Crossface, as Roman powers out Edge grabs a part of the chair leg that fell off and uses that in his Crossface - a humorous face from Reigns as I pause the vid as well XD - he's about to tap but Bryan grabs the hand, and locks in the Yes Lock! Annoyed that his win is stolen, Edge demands he break the hold, but Bryan refuses, leading to a headbutt fight and Bryan pounding at Edge. Bryan then stomps at Edge's head and looks for the Buisaku Knee, but gets hit by a Spear! Roman tries a Spear but Edge hits one of his own! 1, 2, Bryan pulls the ref out of the ring. Furious, Edge introduces more chairs, hitting Bryan and Edge one after the other. He sets up Con-Chair-To to both men, hits it on Bryan but Jey Uso returns to attack, eats a Spear and a load of Chair Shots, Reigns hits the spear on Edge, hits the Con-Chair-To, drags Edge over Bryan and pins both for the win.

The show closes with pyro and Fireworks as Roman talks trash on his opponents and holds the title aloft, ending Wrestlemania 37.

It was a very good back and forth match, Roman of course relying heavily on Jey's interferences and the animosity between Edge and Bryan to come out on top. Keeping the Spear and the Con-Chair-To for last was the right move and the latter was definitely impactful enough to ensure that Bryan could sleep for a few minutes, especially with his and Edge's history of neck injuries. I bet on Roman because of his past record, how after finally turning heel he gets the right heat and because in Triple Threats involving a Heel Champion and 2 Faces, you either bet on the third man or the heel champion, since the story was that Roman could lose without being pinned I chose the latter, the heel often finds the escape. All three men had great chemistry together and I hope for more, SD's world title scene having an absolute slew of competitors waiting to challenge the head of the table.

Conclusion Overall another good night of wrestling...just not better. There were some super baffling and poor moments in the first half of the show and 3 title changes in a row (as well as 2 live performances in a row) was probably not the best card layout Night 2 could've done. Overall it was still a good show though and as a whole Wrestlemania 37 was a success, if not without its glaring flaws. But it goes to show that a 2-Day Wrestlemania continues to flourish as a new season of WWE kicks off.

[meghan-huntergirl-winchester]

A Twist in Fate (Hardy Boys X Sister!Reader)

Request: Hi, I was wondering if I could get a WWE imagine where you’re the Hardy's little sister and you work in WWE but it's kinda of weird for Y/N because her brothers aren't there. At WrestleMania 30 she has a match for the diva's championship and wins but she didn't know her brothers would be backstage waiting for her when she came back and she's really excited and happy to see them since they hardly get to see each other. Can you make the ending sweet? Please and thank you! Love your writing btw. :)

A/n:  Hello Sweetheart! Thank you so much for your request! I wanna say that I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get this to you. I got this request sooooo long ago. I had really lost my passion for writing, but I didn’t wanna leave you hanging forever. I am so sorry ☹. I really hope you enjoy it! I had to go back and watch some old Hardy matches to get into the groove of writing this one so thank you for making me go back and watch some! Enjoy!

Y/n= Your name

Y/n/n= your nickname

Word Count: 1565

Warnings: None except for Violence and Language

WrestleMania 30….who would have thought that I would be a part of the Diva’s Title match at WrestleMania. My name is Y/n Hardy. That’s right, I said Hardy. That means my brothers are Matt and Jeff Hardy. Tonight was going to be the hardest match of my life. Tonight is the “Vicki Guerrero Diva’s Championship Invitational Battle Royal” or something like that. Almost all of the active Divas are participating in the match and I’m dying to get my hands on that Divas Title. I just really wish that my brothers were here to see it. With my traveling schedule with the WWE and their traveling schedule with other things, it’s almost impossible for us to see each other. A knocking on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Ms. Hardy? 5 minutes to gorilla position.”

“Thanks Tom!”

I turned back to the mirror and smiled at my reflection. I truly was a Hardy. Being that tonight is WrestleMania 30, I took extra care into my ring gear. Since my brothers couldn’t physically be with me tonight I was going to take a piece of them to the ring with me. I was wearing one of Matt’s Hardy Boy shirts, and before I left home I had the chance to steal Jeff’s favorite sets of arm warmers to wear to the ring. With one last look in the mirror, I put the finishing touches on my black eyeliner and headed towards the gorilla.

As I approached gorilla and saw several of the other Divas making their way to the ring I started to stretch and do a few warm ups before my music was played.

“Hey Y/n! Good luck tonight!” I heard my friend April, otherwise known as AJ Lee, say as she passed by.

“Thanks April. Don’t go too crazy on me tonight okay?” I said with a laugh as I stood up and stretched my arms over my head.  I heard April laugh and felt her hand pat me on my shoulder.

“Deal! Only if you promise no Twist of Fate!”

Before I could say anything else, April’s music hit and I watched as April slipped away and AJ Lee came to the front. I couldn’t help but shake my head with a small laugh. I loved that girl but she was fucking crazy sometimes. Knowing that my music was up next, I grabbed my ‘Hardy’ necklace and an extra T-shirt to hand out to the audience before getting into position.

Moments later my music blasted through the arena and I smiled at the crowd reaction. As I made my way down the ramp I pulled my necklace off and placed it over the head of a little girl who was holding a “Y/n Hardy” sign and handed my T-shirt to one of the Make-A-Wish kids who were sitting in the front row, before leaping up on the ring apron. Staring down the Divas for a moment, my eyes met Aprils and I saw her nod slightly with a barely noticeable smile. I hopped up on the middle rope and posed for a moment before hoping down and getting ready.

“The following contest is the Vicki Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational! The first Diva to score a pin fall or submission will be declared the winner and the Diva’s Champion!”

The bell rang and immediately AJ and I were thrown into the center, all of the other Diva’s surrounding us. For a moment, no one made a move until a foot suddenly slammed into my stomach and all hell broke loose. I could feel Tamina stomping on my back with her foot as Nikki Bella stomped on my left knee. With a harsh kick to my side, Tamina kicked me off the apron and onto the floor. I could hear the ref making counts but none were even close to a 3 count. I pulled myself off the ground by holding on to the apron and I watched as The Bellas knocked everyone out of the ring and then did twin suicide dives through the ropes.

Nikki and Brie were the only ones standing and I watched as they slowly turned on each other and began to fight amongst themselves. Across the ring, Aj was slowly getting to her feet and she made her way into the ring along with Natalya, Naomi, Tamina, and Alicia Fox. They brawled for a few moments until AJ got Naomi in the Black Widow. I could tell that Naomi was about to tap so I quickly jumped into the ring and pulled Aj off of Naomi before kicking her to the floor. Now only AJ and I were left in the ring.  We stared down each other for a moment before we locked up. AJ caught me in the black widow but I was able to power out and reverse it into a twist of fate.

The crowd was electric as I climbed to the top rope to do my finisher. The swanton bomb. I hit it perfectly and rolled AJ up for the pin. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brie and Nikki fighting to get to me.

1….

2…

The Bella’s had climbed under the ropes and were in the ring.

3!

The ref slammed his hand down a third and final time right before the Bella’s reached me and the bell rang.

“Here is your winner and the New WWE Diva’s Champion Y/N Hardy!!!”

Sitting there with my mouth wide open, it hit me. I was the new Diva’s Champion. The ref handed me the belt and all I could do was stare at it. I could hear Nikki and Brie yelling at the ref in outrage but I didn’t care. I did it…..I was champion. I stood on the turnbuckle and hoisted my title over my head. After celebrating my win for a few more minutes, I made my way backstage. All the women from the match and a large group of superstars came over and congratulated me on my win. Soon enough I broke away from the crowd that had gathered and made my way back to makeup and hair.

“Hey hun! You need a touch up for your championship photo shoot?” Leslie asked as she got off her phone and tossed it to the table.

“Yeah, they want me to go ahead and do the pictures that way I can relax for the rest of the night.”

I hopped up into the chair with my title in my lap. Leslie started fixing my hair and my face and I couldn’t help but wonder if Jeff and Matt got to at least watch my match.

“All right honey. You’re all set. Let me give you a final spray with this setting spray and you’re good to go.”

“Thanks Leslie! You always do an amazing job.”

Hopping out of the chair I quickly headed to my photo shoot. I saw my friends the Shield coming down the hall with some food, and I snagged a cookie from Seth’s plate before scurrying down the hall.

“Hey! Get your own cookies champ!”

“Sorry! I’ll buy you coffee in the morning!” I called down the hall only to receive a thumbs up from him. He was so easy to please. Buy him a coffee or agree to work out with him and he is set.

“Ah Ms. Hardy, congratulations! We need to get photos for WWE.com and for upcoming promotional posters.”

“Let’s get this party started then!”

The photographer tapped the play button on the radio to fill the silence in the room and got to shooting.

“Good, now can you raise the title up with your right arm and give us the Hardy symbol with your left?”

I did as told and even stuck out my tongue during it.

“That looks awesome! Come take a look.”

Relief swam through me as I finally got to drop my arm for a few moments, and I stepped forward to glance at the screen. Joseph, the photographer, turned the screen to me and I gasped in shock. It was me throwing up the hardy symbol and my title but standing on either side of me were my brothers Jeff and Matt.

“Congrats sis!”

I whipped my head back around to where I was just standing and there were Matt and Jeff.

“Wha- I thought you wouldn’t be able to make it! You lied to me!”

Jeff launched forward and wrapped me in a tight hug.

“We got here right as you were making your entrance. Matt and I were able to rearrange some things and get here just in time.”

Jeff released me just in time for Matt to wrap me up in his arms as well.

“You did it sis. We’re so proud of you! There’s a new champ in the family.”

Joseph spoke up, startling me out of my thoughts.

“How about we do a few photos of the three of you now that you know that they are here? We can show the photos to Vince and maybe he can use them on WWE.com.”

So, the three of us posed together for a bunch of photos and this time the smile on my face was as genuine as it could get. My brothers got to see me wrestle and win my first title at WrestleMania. What more could a girl ask for?

[emblem-333]

Let’s Save The Hitman

In my eyes wrestling is corny, formulaic, and whenever someone tries something creative for the sake of change it is immediately the worst. There’s a fine line between PG and PG-13 the WWE walks today. In some ways for the better. The women, while often forgotten, aren’t treated primarily as sex objects. Wrestlers of various ethnicities are treated better, at least in their on-screen portrayal. The Attitude Era content fans yearn to return never will. No matter the platform WWE finds itself on they want to appeal to children to obtain mainstream credibility they enjoyed for a very brief time in the Hulk Hogan-era, and in 2000. You can gauge how in-vogue wrestling is with the casual audience with if one of them hosts Saturday Night Live.

As of today, the WWE doesn’t know what it wants to be. Every year they beg celebrities to show their faces for WrestleMania for that mainstream appeal. They are also grooming Shane McMahon to be the edgy, son of a billionaire heel to fill his father’s shoes from The Attitude Era. Women are challenging man’s masculinity on live television on Raw, then on Smackdown the champion is hugging little children on the way to the ring. C.M Punk is right when he describes wrestling as the most “bipolar” industry.

In 1997 the WWE appealed solely to the crowd who wanted the edgier product. The rejection of the clean-cut Babyface Bret Hart and his stereotypical tendencies, despite his superior in-ring and fine promo skills, the days of the black and white were long over. In ‘97 World Championship Wrestling simply was kicking WWF’s ass. The New World Order was setting the landscape on fire. Heel Hogan rejuvenated his career. It didn’t even matter the wrestling matches featuring the nWo were subpar. The characters were just that great. Meanwhile, the WWF in late in the year knew what had to be done, only they lacked the funds to do it. It wasn’t enough to give the red hot “Stone Cold” Steve Austin the title. Vince McMahon needed more juice in the building for the occasion. He set his eyes for heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. His expensive price tag was paid after McMahon ran Bret out of the WWF into the arms of WCW. WHAT A COINCIDENCE!

The first hurdle McMahon had to conquer wasn’t simply getting the belt off Bret. It was the squeeze a pay day out of the illustrious Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart rivalry before The Hitman walked out the door. The two have worked in singles matches only twice prior. The first time at Survivor Series, 1992, and the famous Iron-Man Match at WrestleMania XII. Each match a four-in-a-half star affair. The two were penciled to have a rubber-match for WrestleMania XIII. Except the champion Michaels “Lost his smile”.

Translation: “I’m the champion. I don’t have to do jobs for anybody. Also, my knee hurts.”

As you can imagine, this caused a rift between The Heartbreak Kid and The Hitman. Prior to Survivor Series, in 1997, all Hart asked McMahon was he’d end his WWF career with his dignity. McMahon insisting he drop the championship to Michaels. Hart won the title from The Undertaker at Summerslam earlier in the year.

The infamous Montreal Screwjob ruined the life of one of the greatest performers the business had ever seen. While simultaneously catapulting the cutthroat McMahon above his competitors to the point he currently holds a monopoly on the wrestling industry. (We’ll see how All Elite Wrestling does)

So what-if a compromise was reached? Or if the whole scene was avoided all together? Obviously the Monday Night War continues into the 21st century. Even as WCW decayed under the inmates running the asylum (*coughs Hulk Hogan*) if the company never felt the need to try anything different after losing their lead in the ratings maybe the company is still around today? With no “Mr. McMahon” character to act as a foil for the anti-Hero Austin how much of what made Stone Cold so great is missed?

How do we arrive at such an occurrence? Simple. Have The Undertaker go over Bret Hart at Summerslam. Referee Michaels catches Bret using a chair on Undertaker and disqualifies him. The stipulation for this match was if Hart were to lose he would no longer compete on American soil. This is earth shattering to the WWF world in 1997 if Hart had to adhere to this stipulation. Hard to imagine this not being an appropriate end for Hart’s WWF career if his heel run comes to a screeching halt at the hands of his arch nemesis. The Madison Square Garden crowd goes bonkers obviously buying the now anti-American Hart.

With no Monday Night Raw scheduled for Canada we probably never see Hart wrestle for the WWF again. Fun fact: his contract was expired by the time Survivor Series rolled around. He didn’t have to work the show. Being the champion at the time he felt obliged. If we do arrive at Survivor Series in Montreal with Hart and Michaels main eventing HBK is the one with the belt. You need this match to have the belt at stake. Is the sting of Montreal still momentous if Hart is screwed out of the title he did not have? I have no clue. It’s awfully hard to believe Hart refusing to do the job if Michaels was already champion at Survivor Series. The circumstances would be different. Michaels could retain via D.Q. McMahon wouldn’t be so hellbent on destroying Hart’s reputation Canada. Perhaps a more dignified exit means no racist angle involving the D-Generation X vs The Hart Foundation vs The Nation of Domination? People forget how clumsy and nonsensical the early stages of The Attitude Era was. HBK and Triple H frequently would crack unfunny, immature jokes. They would blabber on and on and find themselves miles away from the initial subject matter.

Hopefully, in this universe, Undertaker retaining washes all of that away. As for Undertaker, Michaels probably gets the belt at either of the In Your House PPVs prior to Survivor Series. ‘Taker’s younger brother Kane was scheduled to debut at Badd Blood. So his appearance can cause ‘Taker to lose the belt to Michaels and transition both participants to the next story.

Scenario Number 2: The Patriot Defeats Bret at IYH: Ground Zero

Hey! Remember The Patriot? Of course you don’t! Nobody does. But for a brief time (oh, so brief) Del Wilkes was red hot debuting in the WWF after stints in Japan and WCW, popping in just as Bret got one over on Michaels and won the belt from ‘Taker at Summerslam. The Patriot didn’t take too kindly to Hart’s defaming America and challenged him to match on July 14th edition of Raw is War. With a little help from The Showstoppa' Patriot scores a monumental upset win over Hart. Sgt. Slaughter acting as commissioner later ordered The Hitman to defend his recently won title against the Patriot at Ground Zero: In Your House.

Funny side-note: this is the feud that turned Vader face. While Vader and Hart were slugging it out for the title on Raw the Hart Foundation attacked Vader, The Patriot ran out to make the save. The next week The Patriot found himself triple-teamed by Bret, Owen and the British Bulldog where Vader repaid the favor by saving Patriots’ bacon.

Del Wilkes was an average wrestler. He spoke in a slow southern accent, lacked charisma and his backstory never was a mystery despite wearing a mask. His gimmick didn’t make much. Why was he wearing a mask if he was a Lucha Libra? The video package prior to the match tells us who The Patriot is. Informing us he played offensive tackle for the South Carolina Gamecocks with Heisman Trophy winner running back George Rogers.

Watching the match I’m convinced Bret could make me look like a thousand dollars because he made The Patriot look like a million. While the crowd chanted “Austin! Austin! Austin!”, I found myself engrossed. Even though I was well aware of the outcome, with each near-fall I wondered if the upset was possible.

I’m sure Wilkes was a hard worker, but he was not championship material. That all being said, if there was ever a night to crown a Cinderella it was right then and there. Even if it was for ONE NIGHT no matter the aftermath the WWE today could have benefited from an out of nowhere challenger turn champion back when their belts meant something.

In his promos after conquering Michaels, and ‘Taker, Hart still is nagging about how the American fans don’t appreciate him. It’s so bizarre. He is on top of the world and can’t transition from complaining to gloating self-righteousness. I don’t fault Hart for this. Creative just saw him as a whiny heel. But then why give him the belt if you were only going to write him a certain way?

You can have Hart win the title back on Raw (even on the night after Ground Zero), or turn Vader heel and take advantage of a weakened, naive Patriot. Be nice to see what Vader could have done with the WWF World Championship around his waist.

To close out this scenario, I searched for Wilkes on Twitter. He is unverified. Also, he’s a MAGA chud. What is it with wrestlers having terrible political beliefs???

Scenario 3: Owen Hart defeated Shawn Michaels to face Bret at WrestleMania XII

We never really did get that Bret vs Owen rubber-match. The two put on absolute clinics to open WrestleMania X in 1994, and a couple months later at Summerslam. Owen winning the first in an upset over his brother. Bret won the steel cage rematch for the world title. It was Owen’s only world title match. The little brother would never rise outside of the mid-card for the rest of his career. It’s unfair for a great many reasons. Owen was the most technically sound wrestler - even more than Bret. Arguably, Owen was superior on promos because there’s more depth in his heel persona than Bret’s portrayal as a face. After his victory at ‘Mania Owen delivered a stuttering, delusional promo. Owen simply didn’t know how to handle the success overcoming his big brother, feeling he’s finally escaped The Hitman’s shadow — only for Bret to win the world title hours later over Yokozuna.

In 1996 in the run-up to WrestleMania XII the red hot Shawn Michaels recently turned face and was gearing up to take the torch from Bret, having won his second straight Royal Rumble; in his first win, he did it coming in at number one. But Owen earned the right to challenge Michaels’ #1 contender status at In Your House: Rage In The Cage. The two put on an absolute show ending in HBK solidifying his status as the one to challenge Bret at ‘Mania. HBK would go on to win the strap, Bret would go on to dip his toes in acting.

But what-If Owen beat HBK? What-if his manager Jim Cornette waffled Michaels with his tennis racket while the referee was distracted and Owen got the cheap pin?

Well, for starters: it will be the first year where the Royal Rumble winner wouldn’t have gone on to challenge for the title at ‘Mania. A scheme McMahon didn’t concoct until the Rumble Rey Mysterio won in the prelude of WrestleMania XXII a decade later.

Owen relinquishes his brother of the strap, as Bret would not have any qualms doing the honors for his brother like he did in their first matchup since he was already leaving. This wipes away Michaels losing his smile, and Owen nearly killing Austin at Summerslam ‘97.

Owen and Bret meet for WrestleMania XIII, so no iconic submission match for Austin (we’re just cutting off Stone Cold’s legs right now). Austin probably finds himself challenging the white-meat Babyface Rocky Maivia for the I.C title. He probably does the job for Rocky. No feud with Bret means no heat for Austin.

If either of these scenarios became reality we’re watching WCW right now. There’s no way without sacrificing Hart the WWF could have overcome the Atlanta base promotion. At the end of the day, the bad guy did win. It’s a damn shame. But that’s the real world.

[hazyheel]

WWE Stomping Grounds 2019 Predictions

Super Showdown Part II is what this show should be called, as most of the matches on the card are rematches from Sweet Saudi Money 3, more blood money for me. Even still, that card looks okay, and so does this one. It doesn’t look like it will be one of the greatest shows of the year or anything, but there is no reason that it shouldn’t be good and fun. So here are my predictions for Stomping Grounds 2019.

Only a couple non-title matches on this show, and we are starting with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Big E and Xavier Woods of the New Day. Both Owens and Zayn have feuded with Kofi over the WWE Championship a bit in recent months, with Owens even going as far as re-injuring Big E in storyline. This is a tough one, because nothing is really on the line, but I’m actually going with Owens and Zayn on this one, because they lost in tag matches two nights in a row. They need something, unless WWE is really trying to bury them, which they very well could be. If this is booked as a back and forth contest, then it should be good, but it probably will be a lot of rest holds and a hot tag or two. I’m not really looking forward to this. 

Then we have Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre. They have been feuding really since late last year, and even going into Wrestlemania, but the latest chapter in their feud stems around Shane McMahon. McIntyre is Shane’s little helper, aiding him in a match against Reigns at Super Showdown. So, Reigns and McIntyre are now having a match, probably a placeholder until Reigns can really finish off Shane. I’m going to go with Reigns on this one, but it is another toughy. I don’t know when they will pull the trigger on Shane/Reigns II, whether it be at Extreme Rules, Summerslam or later. Hell, there is a distinct possibility that Shane will be the one to beat Kofi for the WWE championship at some point, and then Reigns will take it off of him. I am hoping that we are just going to get Reigns vs. Shane at Summerslam, not for a belt, and that this match and Extreme Rules will just have some placeholders. I think that Reigns is going to win here, and he kinda has to. I mean, he lost to Shane fucking McMahon at Super Showdown. Yeah, McIntyre was the reason for the win, but still. Dude needs some momentum. I think that he wins here, although it could easily be McIntyre. This match will definitely be full of interference and shenanigans, so I don’t expect much from it, which really sucks considering how talented they both are. 

Into the Cruiserweight Division, and the first of our title matches, we have Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. This is an interesting story, where Nese originally asked Drake Maverick to allow Tozawa to challenge for his championship, but Drake did not book the match. Instead, he booked a Fatal 4-way, Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak vs. Humberto Carillo vs. Oney Lorcan. Gulak had also gotten a sort of career resurgence, after severing ties with both Carillo and Jack Gallagher, returning to action as a more vicious wrestler, introducing a lot more strikes and power moves into his repertoire. During that fatal 4-way, Tozawa and Gulak pinned each other at the same time in a cradle, giving us an indecisive finish. So in response, Drake Maverick booked this Triple Threat. There is also some history between Gulak and Nese, as they were once friends in the Zo Train (Enzo’s Amore’s terrible heel stable), only for Gulak to betray him when the group broke up. So there are a lot of moving parts here, and I think that this is Gulak’s time to shine. He has gotten a new attitude, he has two people that he really hates against him, he is a bit of an underdog against two face opponents, and I think that he can and should win here. It is cutting Nese’s run as champion a bit short, but three months is still pretty good. Gulak should win here, and really reign terror down on the cruiserweight division. This match should be fast paced and awesome, so I’m really looking forward to it. 

And in the tag division, Heavy Machinery challenge the Planet’s Tag Team Champions for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. Tucker and Otis challenged the champions a while ago, but since Bryan refuses to go to Saudi Arabia, the match hasn’t happened yet. But the only real background for this match is that Bryan and Rowan said there was no one left for them to beat in the tag division. So, now we have this match. I think that the champions will retain here, probably by some nefarious means, and then we can have a rematch with a stipulation for Extreme Rules. Because who better to beat some snobby environmentalists than a team that is literally named after something they hate. But for now, they will probably lose here, allowing for a bit more time with Daniel Bryan’s awesome promos. 

Into some midcard stuff, we have Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet for the WWE United States Championship. This was simply built, with Ricochet winning a Fatal 5-way elimination match to qualify. Also, it’s a dream match that a bunch of people want. And while Ricochet definitely deserves the belt, I don’t think now is the right time. Joe hasn’t really established himself as a strong champion just yet, given that he kinda sorta lost it to Rey Mysterio via some shoddy officiating, but then got it back because Mysterio was injured. He needs a good defense, and Ricochet is the guy to beat to do it. This is a battle of a couple awesome workers, and is also the match I’m most looking forward to. I’m really excited for this one, and Joe should win here. Although I suspect Ricochet isn’t too far away from the title. 

Then we have the women’s division, we have Bayley vs. Alexa Bliss for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. This story revolves a lot around Bliss being manipulative, and making everyone think that Bayley is awful. She is mainly working her magic on Nikki Cross, who is convinced that Bayley is a bad person on the inside after Bayley screwed them out of a Women’s Tag Team Championship match. Admittedly, Bliss did attack Bayley first, but it was still Bayley’s fault that they lost. Bliss was also spreading rumors about Bayley being mean to fans, which was starting to get to some of the other ladies. As for this match, I was kinda torn here, until I realized that Bliss was on Raw, so she should lose. I don’t know where the Cross and Bliss story goes from here, maybe they continue to feud with Bayley, but Bayley needs a big title win on Pay per view. The match could be good, but Bliss is a bit too hit or miss for me to get my hopes up. I hope Bayley wins here, because I still think about how badly Bayley was buried during their feud in 2017, and I do not use that word lightly.

On the Raw side it is Becky Lynch vs. Lacy Evans for the Raw Women’s Championship. Evans challenged Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at Money in the Bank in a losing effort. During her next match against Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, Evans got involved and screwed Lynch out of her second title. So they are still feuding, despite the audience getting bored of it. Becky has to retain here. She is still riding high after her win at Wrestlemania, and even though she isn’t as white hot as she was when they wrote her like a heel, she is still doing awesome and kicking ass. There is more money to be made with Becky, so she should win here. Not looking forward to this match because Evans hasn’t shown me that she is on Lynch’s level in the ring. I hope she proves me wrong, but I doubt she will. So I really don’t care about this match, but I definitely will if Becky loses. 

And in the world title picture, we have Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler in a Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship. Dolph still says that he should be the WWE Champion rather than Kingston, and he has doubled down on it since Super Showdown. Ziggler was admittedly screwed at that show, as he superkicked Xavier Woods on the outside, only for Woods to then get involved and give him an ensiguri to the back of the head as he hit the ropes. Ziggler was furious and demanded a rematch in a cage, so that no one could interfere. Normally this story is reversed, with the face asking for a cage match to prevent interference, but whatever. Kingston will still win, because Ziggler is just a placeholder feud, and he will not beat Kofi. This could be good, but Ziggler and Kingston have never seemed to have a really good match together. They are both really good, but don’t have that chemistry for whatever reason. I hope this is good, because they deserve a good match. But no way Ziggler is winning this. 

And finally, we have Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin for the WWE Universal Championship, with Corbin allowed to pick the referee. This all stemmed from a weird story, where the two had a match at Super Showdown, in which Corbin continuously yelled at the referee. In the finish, the ref yelled back at him, so Rollins rolled him up for the win. Corbin then said that the ref beat him, not Rollins, and demanded a rematch with a ref of his choosing. It was booked that way, but then Rollins went on a damn warpath. Anyone who even considered being Corbin’s referee was viciously beaten down by Rollins, with a chair no less. So going into this match, we do not know who the ref will be. I figure that I will make that part of the prediction, because why not? Part of me thinks that it will be Lesnar, but I don’t think that they will write Corbin that stupid, because Brock would cash in on either of them at the end of the match. So maybe, instead of Brock himself, it’ll just be Paul Heyman. That would make sense, because while Corbin isn’t so stupid to put Brock as the ref, he is booked just stupid enough to put Heyman in that role. Because heels are all friends. Anyway, it doesn’t matter who the ref is, Rollins is winning. Corbin isn’t on Rollin’s level, and while he is a believable challenger, he is not a believable champion. Again, this could be good. Like, Corbin is capable of having good matches. But he hasn’t had a good match in months, so I don’t think it will be. That’s just the truth.

So, these are my predictions. I don’t think this will be the best show in the world, but it isn’t supposed to be. It’s a B-Show. So lets hope that it is good, but lets not get our hopes up. 

[gamerssphere]

The last stop before Wrestlemania is here and you can check out what happened during this event below. This is WWE Fastlane.

Kickoff Show

New Day vs SHinsuke Nakamura and Rusev is a match that makes absolutely no sense. We do get to see this match during the kickoff show and it feels to be a match to fill some time on screen.

Interestingly enough, by the time this match takes place, the crowd is already in the arena so it doesn’t feel like a match with no crowd at all. Of course, the WWE feels like this is a worthless match too, because they keep interrupting with backstage videos and conversations.

This match simply reminds me of the good old times when Nakamura was in NXT. I want those times to be back. Please don’t mess with Aleister Black and Ricochet too…Of course, in the end, we see The New Day defeating Rusev. Let’s just keep burying him.

Main Show

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match

I just can’t get used to a babyface Miz. We need Miz to have his heel-turn sooner rather than later.

This match focused on attacking Shane. The Usos started failing and getting hit all the time, but as soon as they hit one punch, everything changed. We saw them making their great twin-combinations during this match.

At one point, Miz gets a double super kick and Shane saves him, but he remains inside the ring fighting until he gets taken out. At this point the referee paid attention to Shane while Miz hit his finisher and started the count, but the referee took a couple of seconds to start that count.

Will we see The Miz turning on Shane later on?

Right after this, Miz was going to be hit, but Shane saved him with a Coast to Coast against a flying Uso, hitting him mid-air and turning this into an amazing match. Now Miz tries to hit a Frog Splash but the Usos defend against it and pin him.

Of course, in the end Shane turns on Miz attacking him and his father. This is awesome!

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match

Mandy Rose comes with her friend Sonya Deville to the match, but will this be enough to beat Asuka? We certainly don’t think so.

Mandy has come up a lot since moving to the main roster. Her wrestling skill has improved significantly during this time. This doesn’t mean she is ready to take on Asuka. The entire match feels like Asuka just playing cat vs mouse and playing with her food.

Asuka wins after Mandy slips on the mat because of Sonya’s mistake.

WWE Championship Match

We see The New Day asking Vince McMahon to add Kofi to the WWE Championship match. He agrees and sends Kofi Kingston to the match.

At the time Kofi is in the ring, they announce the WWE Championship match will take place later on. Now we have a Handicap Match for Kofi against The Bar.

Handicap Match

How will Kofi do it? This is a handicap against The Bar, both at the same time, not a 1 vs tag, a 1 vs 2. The Bar is brutalizing Kofi. I can’t even understand why Kofi didn’t just tap out early in the match. He won’t be in shape for the title match.

In the end, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to win. But not only did Kofi get destroyed, his friends tried to help him and also got attacked by their opponents from the Kickoff show. The New Day was destroyed.

RAW Tag Team Triple Threat Championship Match

Let’s be clear here. Ricochet and Aleister have two of the best entrances in WWE. On the other side, Chad Gable doesn’t fit in that “Glorious” persona. The Revival is the only real team here.

This match was everything we’d expect from a triple threat tag team match. Dynamic, everyone having their moment. In the end, the champions retained, but got hit by Roode, Aleister and Ricochet. I don’t understand why this happened, because even the music at the end wasn’t Revival’s, it was Aleister’s.

Fatal Four Way US Championship Match

This is a great match. To some extent, we may believe it is an easy one for Samoa; however, the agility and speed of his opponents is going to be key to get that title.

We see a super fast match with everyone going with everything they have. Joe seems to be slower than everyone else, but that’s something we’d expect to happen. Keep an eye on Rey Mysterio. He is, after all, a wrestling legend, and he is ready to prove why.

We see a super hurracarrana being hit to Andrade. Zelina and Carmella get into a fight ringside. In the end, Rey hits a 619 on Samoa Joe, but Joe ends up putting Rey to sleep to retain the belt.

Women’s Tag Team Championship Match

The first title defense for the inaugural champions. They will fight against Nia Jax and Tamina.

Let’s be honest here. I got bored of this event after Kofi’s handicap match. The US Championship match was good, though, but overall, the event has been rather sleep-inducing.

We see Nia and Tamina hitting the champs with everything, and Bayley defending the belts with her life. Tamina was one of the powerhouses from SmackDown; however, I see a really weak version herself now. Easy to take down, easy to get her to miss. Not only is Tamina really bad as compared to her former self, Nia wasn’t even able to stand still when Tamina threw Sasha’s body to her for a Samoan Drop.

Then, it was Tamina’s time. Sasha threw herself from the corner to ringside, Nia was standing and holding her, but Tamina fell to the ground. This is disappointing from the challengers. Bayley ends up pinning Nia Jax to retain and this is the first time in which the challengers actually fight. This is boring!

Now that they are finally fighting, Beth Phoenix gets in there to defend Bayley. She hits Tamina and gets destroyed by the team. Natalya comes in to help but is annihilated as well. This is the birth of a new tag team for the division. Interesting how the most entertaining piece of this match was after it was over.

WWE Championship Part 2

We still have a triple threat match. First one coming to the ring has the best intro music of them: Kevin Owens. We truly missed him these months he was away. Second one is, interestingly enough, the champion, Daniel Bryan. What an awful belt!

The last entry in the match: Mustafa Ali! This is awesome!

The crowd is yelling to get Kofi Kingston. “We want Kofi!”. We do. I’m glad Mustafa Ali is here, though. I hate Daniel Bryan. This “Champion of the World” persona is stupid. Erick Rowan is being masterfully misused here as well.

The match itself is interesting. Kevin Owens brings some spice to the match. Mustafa brings amazing speed and Bryan is the perfect heel. All three of them have their moments in the match, unfortunately, the way Mustafa was introduced made the crowd not like him. People wanted Kofi. This is unfair hate against Ali.

I love how Kevin Owens brought the Stone Cold Stunner back. We see a fighting Ali, an interference by Erick Rowan, and Daniel Bryan retaining. No surprise here, besides Mustafa’s return.

Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch

We know how this all came to be. Lana was injured during the Royal Rumble match of her husband. She couldn’t enter the Women’s Royal Rumble and Becky took her place. Becky defeated Charlotte to earn a championship match at Wrestlemania either against Asuka or Ronda Rousey. Becky chose Ronda. She got suspended and the opportunity was handed to Charlotte. Now, Becky must re-earn her Wrestlemania match, but as a third entry there, turning it into a Triple Threat match.

Do you see why this is unfair?

The match starts with so much trash talk that it hurts. It doesn’t look like Becky will be able to win this time. She needs to pin or get Charlotte to tap out, it isn’t as easy as throwing her out of the ring.

Charlotte puts Becky in a half-crab position and for some odd reason, it doesn’t seem as if it hurt that much. You’d expect different signs of suffering when someone is hurting your injured knee. Is this injury real?

We see Charlotte dominating by inflicting damage to Becky’s knee. But when the figure 4 is ready, Ronda Rousey comes in, attacks Becky and gets her to Wrestlemania. Thank you Ronda!

This is the face of someone who accomplished what they wanted.

This isn’t.

Intermediate-ish

Elias plays a song. Lacey Evans appears, Randy Orton RKO’s Elias, AJ Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm on Randy. The most enjoyable pieces of Fastlane have been outside matches. Interesting.

.@RandyOrton and @AJStylesOrg have appeared from out of nowhere caused MAYHEM at #WWEFastlane! pic.twitter.com/SxjAmenf26

— WWE (@WWE) March 11, 2019

Main Event: One Last Time

The Shield’s last run is here. The crowd went crazy when they came back together to the ring. I wish this match was a tornado tag instead of a normal teams match. Still, this is rather good, and even against their differences, The Shield is working like the first day they were together. Flawlessly.

This wasn’t supposed to be easy. Drew McIntyre was able to stop Seth Rollins, and following him, his team was able to decimate The Shield. We almost saw a defeat for the faces, but Dean Ambrose was able to evade getting counted out and pinned.

We see action everywhere, this is crazy! Ringside we have Dean and Seth against Drew and Bobby Lashley, in the ring we have Roman against Baron Corbin. This is exactly what we were expecting.

The match went out of control and the referee isn’t even counting anything anymore. This is sports entertainment for sure. Seth hit the curb-stomp on one of the announcement tables, roman a spear ringside, then the triple bomb to Drew through the announce table.

In the end, Roman Reigns pins Baron Corbin and The Shield says goodbye with a victory.

This was a good run for The Shield. I know I won’t be the only one missing them as a team. Many people have been hating on Roman Reigns and The Shield for a long time, but tonight, everyone in the arena cheered for them. That’s not a reaction you get for anyone. This was great and we now have to wait and see whenever a new dominating stable appears to feel this way again.

Now on to the “Greatest Stage of them All”, Wrestlemania!

#WWEFastlane 2019: One Step Away from #Wrestlemania The last stop before Wrestlemania is here and you can check out what happened during this event below. 1,955 more words

[bastardnev]

My King

i dealt with nev losing the title the only way i know how -- through ANGSTY FIC

also shoutout to @cruisingforcruiserweights for being A+++, im already difficult enough to understand past 12 AM on a GOOD night, but last night was just...... A Lot

(crossposted from ao3)

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: World Wrestling Entertainment, Professional Wrestling Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wade Barrett/Pac | Adrian Neville Characters: Wade Barrett, Pac | Adrian Neville Additional Tags: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, or.... happy-ISH, listen it's as happy as a fic with a sad neville can be, Kayfabe Compliant, even tho wade being around is kinda AGAINST kayfabe but shhhhhh Summary: Wade helps Neville deal with losing the Cruiserweight title. Set during the 8/14/17 edition of Raw.

Wade felt his heart drop when he saw the referee count to three.

Never did he imagine that that night's episode of Raw would end up this way. Neville had been so confident, so sure going into his match with Tozawa that he would come out on top. He the was the King after all, and there was no damn way that royalty would fall to a peasant. Wade remembered how Neville was holding the belt on his shoulder almost lovingly, like it was one of the most important things in the world to him -- hell, it was one of the most important things to him. He had no intention to ever lose it.

Fate had other plans, clearly.

Wade wasn't even sure what to think after he heard the bell ring, his mind barely processing the sight of Tozawa being lifted on to Titus's shoulders in celebration. People around him were celebrating and cheering, some of Tozawa's fellow cruiserweights heading over to greet him and congratulate him on the big win, but Wade was completely lost. Had had no idea how he should feel.

Christ, and if he was dealing with this anguish, he couldn't even begin to imagine how Neville felt in that moment. His whole world has suddenly come crashing down around him all because he got a little overconfident and tried to hit a Red Arrow. Neville was too damn sure of himself, too damn cocky. Wade had told him before that he needed to slow down, but he never listened, and it ended up costing him greatly in the end. He bought into his own hype and ended up losing one of the greatest things to have ever happened to him.

But now wasn't the time for any "I told you so's". Right now, Wade was dead set on doing whatever he could to help him.

Wade immediately began to search the hallways, trying to think of all the places where Neville could have possibly gone. He wouldn't have gone to the locker room since there were too many people (who would all no doubt have some smartass remarks to make about the 'fall of the King'). Likewise, he wouldn't have gone to catering either. Even if no one would say anything there, the looks that he would be getting from everyone would be too much to handle. Wade cursed himself for signing with a company filled with so many inconsiderate bastards.

He stopped dead in his tracks a few minutes later when he caught sight of a few backstage workers crowding around a person. A little more investigating revealed that that person was Neville, who wasn't even reacting to whatever it was that he was being told. It didn't look like he was being harassed, but Wade could tell just by Neville's posture and his fists clenching and unclenching that he was close to breaking down. Fake well wishes coming from people who Neville barely even knew was the last thing that he needed at that moment, and Wade knew that he needed to step him, a surge of anger rising in him.

"Hey, hey, back off, would you?!" Wade stormed up to them and shoved them away, defensively putting an arm in front of Neville. "He's not interested in whatever the hell you have to say. Go on now, get out of here!" Wade shooed them off.

It was only after they had left that Wade turned to look at Neville, whose eyes were still glued to the ground. Wade gently rested a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to finally look up. Wade could see that his eyes were slowly filling up with tears, and his grip on his shoulder tightened. He had only ever seen Neville cry one other time, and that was at Wrestlemania after he retained. Those were tears of joy. These were anything but.

Wade looked around and saw that there were still a few people loitering about. He knew that they needed to get away. "Hey," he started softly, taking Neville's face in his hands. "Let's go somewhere else, yeah? Somewhere more private." He took hold of Neville's hand, his own being gripped almost unnaturally tight as he led him over to an empty corner of the arena.

He let go of his hand when they arrived at some equipment crates. Neville took note of a gap between one of the crates and the wall, and he sauntered over to it, leaning against the wall and slowly sliding down until he was sitting. He pulled his knees up close to his chest, burying his face in them. Wade saw that the gap was big enough to fit the two of them and he sat down next to him. It was eerily quiet, so the sound of Neville's choked sobs seemed even louder, even more mournful, and Wade's heart hurt in his chest.

Slowly, Wade wrapped one of his arms around Neville's shoulders, holding him close. He could feel that Neville was shaking, hard, and his hold on him tightened. Wade wanted to kick the ass of whoever the hell decided to do this match tonight instead of at Summerslam, where it was originally scheduled. Neville was suddenly told out of the blue right as the show started that he would be defending, and he had hardly any time to prepare himself. He was so sure that he was going to win still, but he had no time to come up with an effective strategy. He was put in an unfair position from the very beginning.

Neither of them said anything for a long while, Wade ultimately being the one to break the silence. "I know you'll win it back," he said. "You're the King. You can do anything."

"I can't fucking retain, that's for damn sure," Neville replied, his face still down. "I'm no King."

"Don't stay that," Wade gently admonished him. "You've been busting your ass for months and helped the fans start to see the cruiserweights as important. You've been carrying the damn division on your back. You're definitely the King."

"How can I be the King if I... don't have my title?" Neville hesitated saying the second half of his sentence, like the realization that he was no longer champion was hitting him all over again.

"The title isn't what made you a king. You don't need a damn purple belt to tell people that you're important -- people already know that through your actions. You've more than proven your worth."

"But I want it." Neville lifted his face, his eyes puffy and red. "I don't care if I don't 'need' it, I want it." His fists clenched. "I'm invoking my rematch clause for Sunday. I'm gonna get it back even if it fucking kills me."

"I'll be watching. And I'll be right there to congratulate you after you win it back." Wade smiled reassuringly, giving Neville's shoulder a small squeeze.

Neville swallowed, resting his head against the wall. The cool stone felt good against his burning face, but it did nothing to help with his mood. "Wade..." He asked, his voice a little shaky. "Do you think that it's... bad that I lost the title now? Right when I was so close to two hundred days?"

"You really were close to that milestone, weren't you..." Great. Another reason for Wade to be pissed off at management. They forced Neville to retain right when he was so close to hitting such an important mark. They knew there was a chance he could lose, and they did it anyway.

"I couldn't hold on to it for three more fucking days..." He went to put his face back down, but Wade stopped him by cupping his cheek.

"But you held it for one hundred and ninety seven days. You didn't hit two hundred, yes, but you made it that far. Look at the other guys who've been champion -- TJ, Kendrick, Rich... They weren't champ for even half the amount of time that you were. You are so goddamn amazing for keeping this up for so long."

"Wade..."

"I am so fucking proud of you, you know that? And I always will be. You went from someone who no one cared about to one of the most feared guys on the whole roster. You truly are spectacular, and you're always going to be the King -- my King. Title or no title."

At that moment, Neville wordlessly leaned in and pressed his lips to Wade's, whose eyes shot open wide in shock. It took him barely any time to recover, and he kissed him back, his hand sliding up to rest on the back of Neville's head. The kiss was sloppy, desperate, but they didn't stop or pull away. They couldn't.

When they finally did separate, Wade let out a small, awed breath, and he noticed that fresh tears had started rolling down Neville's cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumb, offering him a small smile.

Neville took a deep breath, resting his head on Wade's shoulder and saying, "I... I need to go lie down."

"Go wash up and get changed, okay?" Wade stood up and offered his hand to help Neville to his feet. The show was almost over. In the time it would take Neville to gather himself, it would be time for them to leave. "Then we can go back to the hotel together."

"I'd like that." Neville took his hand and slowly got up. "Wanna walk with me?"

"Of course." Wade pulled Neville into his side. Wade wouldn't dream of leaving Neville alone, not when he was in such a vulnerable state. Not when there were people around who wouldn't think twice about messing with him while he's hurting this much. No one was going to hurt his King.

No one.

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 Special in USA Day 1 preview

This is airing live Saturday night on AXS TV and the Fight Network at 8pm EDT.  It’ll also be streaming on NJPWworld.com, but the stream is region-locked for the US, to get Americans to watch it on TV.  I’ve heard you can get a free trial of Sling TV and watch the AXS broadcast that way, but I need to look into it.  The show will be available on demand  at NJPWworld for everybody the next day.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Cody Rhodes - Okada holds the IWGP heavyweight championship, the premiere title in New Japan Pro Wrestling.  Rhodes recently captured the ROH world champion, making him the top titleholder in Ring of Honor.  Only Okada’s title is on the line in this match, so Cody has a chance to become a dual champion.  It’s probably not as big a deal as when the NWA champion would wrestle the AWA or WWF champions, but the spirit is there.

If you’re new to New Japan Pro Wrestling, Okada is the top guy in the promotion, having held the top championship for most of the last five years.  He’s tall, young, and a little bland, with no obvious personality beyond being cocky and rich.  If JBL were on the New Japan announce team, he’d trot out that line about “building a WWE superstar from the ground up” for Okada.  Like Roman Reigns, Okada catches some heat from fans who think he’s not the best guy in the company and is overpushed because of his perceived marketability.  Unlike Reigns, Okada has racked up an impressive series of match of the year candidates (especially in the past year alone) that have largely silenced the naysayers.

Cody probably needs no introduction since he’s wrestled for WWE, New Japan,  TNA/Impact/Global Force, Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, EVOLVE, and WhatCulture just in the past year.  Cody’s story--a lackluster push in WWE, the death of his legendary father Dusty Rhodes, and his dramatic decision to become a free agent--has set the tone for his act as an underrated blue-chipper on the cusp of greatness.  After working freelance for a while, Cody has settled into NJPW and ROH as a heel in Bullet Club, an NWO-style faction founded by Finn Balor and once led by AJ Styles.

This is a match that could have major ramifications on New Japan and ROH booking through the end of the year.  If Cody wins the IWGP title, it will upset the balance of power in Bullet Club, where he nominally takes a back seat to Okada’s top rival, Kenny Omega.  It would also play into Cody’s ROH storyline, where he’s supposedly a free agent that could walk away at any time with their world title.  The angle will clearly be to find someone who can beat Rhodes, and that’ll sound like a taller order if he’s the champion of two promotions.  Something else to consider is that Cody is not scheduled to participate in the G1 Climax this summer, which the IWGP champion traditionally does.  Basically, if Cody wins, it’ll be big news.

That could be trouble for New Japan, in that an Okada win would preserve the status quo and might be disappointing for a lot of fans, especially fans attending this event.  An American promotion would probably sense that and hot-shot a title change, but I don’t get the feeling New Japan is so capricious.  If they didn’t plan for Rhodes to win six weeks ago, they probably won’t change those plans now.

Ordinarily I’d be skeptical that Cody has a prayer of winning the title.  But the underlying angle for Okada all year is that he’s survived some brutal wars, and it’s starting to wear him down.  It would be deliciously tragic for him to fight his greatest opponent to a stalemate, and then have nothing left in the tank to stop his greatest opponent’s flunky from stealing the win.  That alone gives Cody a chance.  Now that he’s ROH champion, I’d say he’s got a bigger chance.  But I’m not ready to count out Okada just yet.

Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin - This is part of the first round in the tournament to introduce the new IWGP United States championship.  The winner will face either Jay Lethal or Hangman Page in the semifinals on Day 2.

Omega is the rising star of New Japan, and definitely the man who benefited the most from the departure of AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura last year.  He took over Bullet Club from Styles, elevating the meta-heel style that he’s cultivated alongside guys like the Young Bucks, Adam Cole, and Kevin Owens.  Kenny and the Bucks are “The Elite,” a stable-within-a-stable that frankly may be getting too big for Bullet Club.  A schism could be coming, based on what we’re seeing with Cody Rhodes lately.

Elgin has the look and background of a journeyman wrestler, but he’s only 30 and has made impressive gains in the past few years, winning the ROH world title and getting a pretty good push in New Japan.  In WWE his size and strength probably wouldn’t get a second look, but in NJPW it’s enough to get some big reactions from the Japanese audience, which loves power spots.

We’ve seen these two fight throughout 2016, most notably in New Japan’s first-and-only ladder match.  Either would be a strong choice to hold the US championship, even though both are Canadian.  Omega is more pivotal to the company’s plans, but we don’t yet know how exactly.  If he’s going to win the world title to be a non-Japanese face for the entire brand, he can lose here to set up Elgin as a future contender.  If he’s just going to be the face of the non-Japanese arm of the brand, then it makes perfect sense for him to steamroll through this tournament.  I’m just not sure which is more likely, so I’ll pick Omega to advance and save the intrigue about his future for the semifinals.

Tetusya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii - Another first round match in the US title tournament.  On Day 2 the winner of this match will go on to face the winner of Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Juice Robinson.

Naito is most easily explained as the anti-Roman Reigns of pro wrestling.  Imagine, if you will, Roman being pushed hard and made to look strong, winning the Royal Rumble and being set up as the inevitable challenger for the world title at Wrestlemania, getting a tepid response the whole way.  Now imagine WWE actually runs a poll asking if the intercontinental title match should headline Wrestlemania instead, and then actually doing it.  Now imagine Roman actually getting angry about this, forming the coolest heel faction in the company, and becoming a hundred times more over than he ever was as a babyface.  This is pretty much what Naito went through from 2013 to 2015.

Ishii is a rugged fireplug of a man, hard as fuck and dour as hell.  He will have no time for any of Naito’s bullshit.  It’s tough to think of anybody to compare to Ishii, but I guess you could say he’s sort of like Tazz or Samoa Joe, at least in terms of persona.

On paper Naito is a top act and Ishii’s role is to put guys like that over.  But New Japan likes its upset tournament wins, and Ishii would make sense advancing in the tournament as a threat to the eventual winner.  Naito is coming off a big loss to Hiroshi Tanahashi last month, so another loss here would be pretty significant.  On the other hand, if he wins I don’t see any particularly interesting tournament opponents for him, except perhaps Kenny Omega, and I doubt they’re giving that one away again for  a while yet.

Bottom line, Naito doesn’t need to win here unless he’s getting the US championship, and there isn’t much point in that since it would be a retread of his recent run as intercontinental champion.  And if anyone’s going to knock him out early, it’s bound to be Ishii.

Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa vs. Raymond Rowe & Hanson - The Guerillas of Destiny used chairs to beat Rowe and Hanson for the IWGP heavyweight tag team title at Dominion, so this is the rematch.

Hanson and Rowe have been wrestling as War Machine for a few years now, and they’ve got a good thing going as two big dudes doing flashy moves.  They’d be a great fit in WWE, and I’d be very surprised if WWE isn’t keeping an eye on them.  Tanga Roa is best known to American fans as Camacho from WWE a few years back, and for being the biological son of Haku.  Tama Tonga, one of Haku’s adopted sons, is best known as the bad guy from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, as well as your darkest sexy fears.

These are two good teams but I’m not sold on the idea of seeing them wrestle again so soon.  It might be that New Japan moved the title onto GOD for the sole purpose of putting it back on War Machine in their native country.  I’d like to think that, since War Machine has a good thing going and there’s no reason to interrupt their momentum.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA & David Finlay & Jay White vs. Billy Gunn & YOSHITATSU & Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka - Tanahashi is the IWGP intercontinental champion and, no bones about it, NJPW’s equivalent to John Cena--the franchise player who carried the company for years, now reducing his workload as he enters his forties.  Kushida is the IWGP junior heavyweight champion (and ROH television champion), and plays a similar role of a white-meat babyface in the New Japan lightweight division.  Finlay and White were both rookies until recently, working opening matches in their generic black trunks, but White was sent to Ring of Honor to develop a gimmick while Finlay managed to break out of the pack without leaving Japan.

Gunn, a noted ass man who loves to pick ‘em and kick ‘em, needs no introduction.  In New Japan, he’s been an occasional ally to Yoshitatsu, who had a forgettable 2007-2014 run with WWE.  Tanaka and Komatsu have been on excursion in Mexico wrestling as Raijin and Fujin, the Tempura Boyz, for CMLL.

This looks to be a filler match to get Tanahashi, Kushida, and Gunn on the show without actually having them work very hard.  We know Gunn is challenging Tana for the IC title on Day 2, and I gather Kushida will defend the junior title as well, so they’ll be saving the best stuff for then.  (I realize Gunn is 53 and doesn’t have that much “best stuff” to save, but you get the idea.)  If it was up to me I’d book Billy to score the fall to build to the title match, maybe on Finlay.

Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Juice Robinson - One of the first round matches in the US title tournament.  Whoever wins gets Naito or Ishii in the semifinals on Day 2.  Sabre is the current RPW British heavyweight champion, but that title is not at stake.

Sabre may be best known to most American fans for his run in last year’s WWE Crusierweight Classic, where he was a heavy favorite to win assuming he signed with WWE, but he didn’t.  He’s held the Rev Pro title twice, beating AJ Styles and Katsuyori Shibata--I didn’t see those matches but that sounds pretty fucking impressive.  I’ve been particularly intrigued by his style of wrestling his way out of holds instead of powering out.  Of all the guys who have never held an IWGP singles championship in this tournament, I think he’s the strongest choice to go all the way.

Juice is familiar to WWE fans as CJ Parker, the guy Kevin Owens beat in his first NXT match.  He’s had a good run in New Japan working his way up the ladder, and if you’ve been watching this guy for a few years you start to feel a little pride when gets little pushes here and there.  Juice has a score to settle with Sabre from the Dominion show, where Taguchi Japan eliminated Suzuki-gun in a trios gauntlet match, but then Sabre jumped back in the ring and twisted Juice like a pretzel, leaving him easy pickings for Los Ingobernables de Japon.

The only thing going against Sabre here is that I don’t see him being matched with Naito in the semifinals or Omega in the finals.  (New Japan seems to limit interaction between their big three heel factions.)  If those two get eliminated early on, the tournament is Zack’s to lose, but that’s a tall order.  Juice makes more sense if you need somebody expendable to do a job later in the tournament, against literally anyone in the field.  It’s tough to call, so I’m going with Sabre for now.

Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page - Yet another first round US championship tournament match.  The winner of Omega/Elgin will meet the winner of this match on Day 2 in the semifinals.

Lethal’s big claims to fame are his run in TNA as “the guy who does the Macho Man impression” and his run in ROH as “the guy who demands to be taken more seriously.”  Lethal was laid out in an angle at the ROH Best in the World show last week, and ROH has already taped a month of TV where he’s supposedly MIA, so it’s very possible that he will be either scratched from the tournament or show up with bandaged ribs and get obliterated.

Adam Page is a midcarder in ROH and a prelim guy in New Japan.  He’s in Bullet Club and carries a noose around to hang his opponents, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen him win a match.  I consider him the least likely to win this tournament, and that’s knowing his first round opponent may not even make it to the show.

Assuming Lethal is swapped out for a last-minute replacement, Page is the perfect guy to get blindsided and squashed by a big surprise.  I really don’t see any outcome where he advances to the next round unless they want to do Omega vs. Page to set up some Bullet Club shenanigans.

Hiromu Takahashi & EVIL & BUSHI & SANADA vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Dragon Lee & Volador, Jr. & Titan - Takahashi and his teammates are members of Naito’s faction Los Ingobernables de Japon, the Japanese spinoff of CMLL’s Los Ingobernables stable in Mexico.  Evil, Bushi, and Sanada are the current NEVER six-man tag team champions, but this is an eight-man tag so the title won’t be at stake here.

Jushin Liger is a 30+-year veteran and a legend among light heavyweights, who’s wrestled at the first WCW Monday Nitro and the first NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.  Dragon Lee, Volador, and Titan are all CMLL guys, and Lee in particular has a long-running rivalry with Takahashi.

I’m guessing this is going to be a throwaway match to get all these guys on the card for Day 1, and then maybe on Day 2 the LIJ guys will be doing more important stuff.  New Japan and ROH love to show off their partnerships with promotions around the world, but in practice the CMLL guys tend to just be treated like interchangeable nobodies in the undercard.  So I’m pretty sure LIJ will win, and I just hope the finish involves Bushi using the poison mist.

Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson & Marty Scurrl & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta & Will Ospreay & Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe - This is another multi-man match with little purpose except to set up the IWGP junior heavyweight tag title match on Day 2, with the Young Bucks (Nick & Matt) defending against Roppongi Vice (Romero & Beretta).

The Bucks are the 500-lb gorillas of the non-WWE wrestling world, and they can basically do whatever they want, wherever they want.  Marty Scurrl is the guy who dresses like a plague doctor and carries umbrellas around like he’s auditioning to be the next Batman villain.  Fale is big and fat and wears sunglasses.  Yujiro thinks he’s a pimp and is friends with this nice lady, but I don’t know if she’s coming to this show.  This is pretty much everybody else from Bullet Club that isn’t higher on the card (except Chase Owens, but I’m not even sure Bullet Club remembers Chase Owens is in Bullet Club).

Beretta and Romero are a part of Okada’s stable Chaos, as is Ospreay, but I guess there weren’t enough Chaos guys left to team with so they got the Briscoes.  Rocky is a cool dude who knows the best places to party in Japan.  Trent used to be a WWE jobber and is friends with Rocky.  Ospreay is one of the hottest names in light heavyweight/flippy-floppy style wrestling, and seems to make Old Man Wrestling Twitter blow up at least once a year.  The Briscoes are toothless hillbillies from rural Delaware.

This is probably gonna be a clusterfuck of a ten-man tag, and I think that favors the Bullet Club.  The Bucks always seem to win unless there’s a good reason not to, and I don’t see a good reason here.

[danwhobrowses]

NXT Takeover: Stand and Deliver Day 1 - Review

It is Wrestlemania Week, and every company wants their shot

but alas, I can only do so much, so we’re gonna be sticking with Mania and Stand & Deliver for now. I do also have some other WWE post-mania stuff planned which I’ll also do for AEW Double or Nothing in May

but in spite of Dynamite still doing a decent ‘not gonna try to top it’ show, the night belongs to NXT so let’s get into it

Spoilers for Stand & Deliver Day 1, you have been warned

Pre Show I had to add this in because Sam Roberts really laid in thick the bravado, NXT is great but chill man. Seeing Io and Raquel enter the building was a good touch though. The Samoa Joe interviews were good too but damn I miss this man in the ring, it kinda threw me how well-spoken WALTER is, he’s kinda giving me the same vibe as Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo currently is in Falcon & The Winter Soldier, also interviewing Io proves that if the company’s hot on you promo game isn’t necessary to be a great champion, also Io has put Rey over more than the main roster has in the last 3 years. The shoehorned Prince Harry comment was not needed that’s not gonna get a pop but mercifully we moved on to other interviews, LA Knight still does a great promo and hearing that Mickie James will be on commentary for the pre-show match was interesting.

Zoey Stark def. Toni Storm (Pinfall via Inside Cradle) Zoey Stark has been making quite some noise since her NXT Debut, similar to Utami Hayashishita’s start in Stardom and Leyla Hirsch in AEW it was mainly revolving around Zoey getting over even in defeat to big names. She started fairly even with Toni Storm with some solid chain wrestling, Toni was able to keep Stark grounded with submissions, which worked well for Zoey to feed off the babyface comeback, landing a big superplex. A flurry of an exploder and running knee hit two but then Toni came back with an electric chair facebuster, Toni tried Storm Zero but failed, so went for the Germans, tried the Storm Zero again but Stark counters it into a cradle for 3. It was a decent pre-show match, Stark gets a rub from winning but I get the feeling the rub should be bigger, Toni Storm is still good but her stock has dropped since her heel turn designed merely to lose to Io, the match finished a bit abruptly too.

Main Card Nita Strauss then guitars the anthem, ‘Merica and stuff on a PPV themed around Pirate and Highwayman motifs, as well as an Adam Ant song. The Skull is awesome though.

Pete Dunne def. KUSHIDA (Pinfall via Bitter End) Technical masterclass would of course be an understatement for this match. A minute in it was quickfire joint manipulation and reversals. Dunne took the early advantage after catching KUSHIDA and landing an X-Plex onto the apron, the injured arm didn’t slow KUSHIDA too much who did the handspring elbow and the Muta pele kick on the ramp. Dunne tried for the Kimura and the Bitter End but KUSHIDA escaped twice over, the latter catching a Back to the Future (small package driver). Dunne resumed control though in handling the arm, it might just be me but the audio was cutting out at this point. Cross Armbreakers traded and escaped as the arm began to slowly come into play, but KUSHIDA started handling Dunne’s arm too, a Top Turnbuckle Hoverboard Lock Spanish Fly also led to an armbreaker escaped by the ropes, another Hoverboard lock almost led to a pin. Dunne manipulates the digits of the other hand, which hurts KUSHIDA’s punch attempt, stomps on both hands twice over and then a Bitter End finishes the night.

That did not feel like 10 minutes, it was a great and well-paced match, wish it went longer. I anticipated that Dunne would win but one has to worry for KUSHIDA, even on his best WWE run he’s not able to win a feud, he didn’t leave NJPW for that.

Bronson Reed wins the Eliminator Gauntlet (Pinfall via Tsunami Splash on Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott) At first I thought Leon Ruff had botched his entrance until Swerve showed up, looking far different to the Killshot of Lucha Underground. Before the bell rang Ruff got hit into the barricade a lot and then an ad!? Dude, come on, the bell rings and they’re outside the ring again... Of course, it’s hard to start a pace for a Gauntlet, Ruff hit a lovely twisting Cutter as commentary ignored how his NA Title win was mainly a segue in the Gargano/Priest feud, a super frankensteiner was the big move before the next man came in: Bronson Reed. Ruff’s dive is caught and thrown back in the ring, Swerve planted with a combo suplex/crossbody before Ruff foolishly tried to attack Reed again, getting sat on a few times before Reed german’d Ruff and Swerve at the same time. Grimes came in next, delaying his entrance to distract Reed and land a moonsault, he bribes Swerve for a partnership which works for a decent while, Ruff got a big ouch suplex on the turnbuckle pads after some very slippery escapes. The arrival of Dexter Lumis involved super creepy eyes inside the Skull model but we missed most of Swerve finishing off Ruff. Lumis cleaned house until Reed recovered from the ramp DDT, Lumis even lifting Reed on the second time of asking before another big ouch ring-out with Grimes. LA Knight was last, his diss promos not as good as his earlier promo as Reed cut him off short and cleaned up house himself. Knight does get a good spur including a quickfire superplex but pauses when Lumis shows up, Grimes’ cheap shot misses and the Silence is locked in, but Knight rolls him for 3. Bit deflating that really, Lumis was the only one with story against Gargano and he kinda got chump pinned because he didn’t wanna release his finisher. Knight fell quickly after though, Grimes and Reed teaming up to end him, Lumis then locking the Silence onto him - probably setting up a feud there.

The final three ended all chance of alliances, Reed comically flattening both men when after a delayed fall from a superkick. Grimes and Swerve both try a handful of tights to pin each other, but Swerve’s one pays off. Swerve also powerslams Reed onto the apron and then hits a 450 for 2, two House Calls don’t drop Reed, a third gets 2, but a slap wakes Reed up. Powerbomb, Beach Break (idk the technical name) and Tsunami Splash for 3.

Liked the match, Reed is a worthy winner but I just wish they dealt with Lumis and Grimes better, Gargano came out the ramp to stare down his opponent and we moved on to the next.

NXT UK Championship: WALTER (c) def. Tomasso Ciampa (Pinfall via Knife Edged Chop) Reminder that the UK title is WWE’s best looking active belt because good god it’s glorious.Ciampa stayed on the turnbuckle to stare down WALTER, completely unafraid of the mountain he faces. They lock up but WALTER uses his muscle, looking for those monster chops, one on the turnbuckle preludes a messy drop for Ciampa, Walter’s hand is injured though by the chop of the announce table gimmick breaking, Ciampa works on it but the champion’s big boot earns a reprieve, his submission attempts are futile with the injured hand though so he applies his power and weight to keep on top. A flurry of lariats finally chops WALTER down for an Air Raid Crash, but it’s only for a 2. WALTER northern lights reversal’s a Fairytale Ending for 2 but could not escape the second, still a 2 count though. WALTER’s submission attempts neutralized by the fingers again as Ciampa continues to lay into WALTER’s hands and head, an Avalanche Air Raid Crash then hits for 2 as well, Ciampa at a loss for what he can do, opting to throw his own blistering chops, WALTER gets nasty with a neck twist and two powerbombs but it’s 2 again, Sleeper Exploder and one massive chop gets the 3.

I had heard great things from this match, and it was very well done narratively and physically, but a chop as the finish? Dunno, Ciampa had already taken chops, 2 powerbombs in succession and yet what ends it is a chop from an injured hand? Feel like it could’ve ended more emphatically.

No Thatcher present either, instead we get a Franky Monet (Taya Valkyrie) promo and a Reed/Gargano backstage argument.

NXT Tag Championship: MSK def. Grizzled Young Veterans & Legando del Fantasma (Pinfall by Wes Lee on Zack Gibson via combo Spinebuster/Spinning Blockbuster) Another ad break during LDF’s entrance was disrespectful, the mask was awesome though. Gibson likely not in the best of moods with Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champion’s League first leg but he still flies the colors. LDF control the match at the start with tag offence, Gibson going for MSK off the bat until LDF get in the way. Drake and Carter get some time in the ring but Lee remains on the apron awaiting the hot tag, after a dive LDF comes back to do a dual dive themselves, double Coast to Coast on Carter is broken by Gibson who gets dumped out by the duo and another commercial break (wtf come on!). LDF were getting some great combo moves and rotating in quick tags as Carter continues to be the feeder, Drake almost catches Wilde with a roll up though and Lee gets another hot tag, first clear the ring, then out the ring to Gibson, then to LDF, somersault Pele Kick, combo move for 2. Gibson and Drake almost catch Carter with a Doomsday Device on the outside but Lee nails Drake with a knee, GYV neutralize Lee by hurting the hand as well, Carter holding Lee’s hand to prevent a tap as LDF come back in. They clear the ring, hit the combo move but it’s 2! GYV and MSK take out LDF leaving the two left to fight, a double cutter by Carter takes Drake out of the ring, leading to MSK finishing Gibson with a twisted blockbuster/spinebuster combo. Very much earned for the new champions, exciting match, LDF got a lot of shine too I hope they win the titles later down the line.

NXT Women’s Championship: Raquel Gonzalez def. Io Shirai (c) (pinfall via One-Arm Powerbomb TITLE CHANGE) If Raquel Gonzalez doesn’t win rookie of the year for 2021 it’ll be a travesty, her current run has been built amazingly. Before we started though we see Steph in the crowd with Sarray (Sendai Girls and SEADLINNG’s Sareee). The tunnel cam of the two competitors and the names on the LEDs sold the huge Main Event feel of this match. Side note though, while NXT does tout the most stacked Women’s Division out of the major wrestling companies they shouldn’t peacock themselves, most of their talent are ready made acquisitions with a few like Ripley, Belair and Gonzalez who gritted to the top, just because your division is stacked doesn’t mean that there aren’t cracks, and let’s not forget that ROH barely has a women’s division and NJPW doesn’t have a division at all, if we’re comparing the actual competition Stardom still gives WWE a run for their money having made their stars in Natsupoi, Guilia, Utami, Konami, AZM, Tam Nakano and others.

The match kicks off with a flurry, picking up where they left off last NXT of Gonzalez just boomeranging Io with her size and strength and Io flying back with vigor and athleticism. The champion takes control with a dive out the ring but Dakota rakes her eyes, leading to Dakota being kicked out of ringside immediately. Io hits the apron moonsault but Gonzalez lawn darts her into the ring post, a lovely Dominator-esque move with extra flip brings the advantage fully in the hands of the challenger. Io uses her flexibility to frustrate Raquel and hits a picture perfect hurricanrana, misses the 619 but arm drags into another 619, Yoshi Tonic for 2, tries for the Moonsault but Raquel sets up the One Arm Powerbomb, Io wriggles it into a crossface which is ended by a rope break, Moonsault on the ramp and then a running meteora leads to Io doing the ‘jump off the NXT arena prop), after slowly rolling Raquel into the ring it’s the Moonsault, but it only gets 2! Raquel flattens Io with the One Arm Powerbomb outside of the ring, rolls Io in with some trash talk, Shotei is responded with a Lariat, One Arm Powerbomb and that’s 3!

That was a solid main event, recurring problem though: it was too short! That match went under 15 minutes and while it was jam packed with high spots and power moves we could’ve had more time with Raquel’s crowning moment. I feel like Io could’ve resisted more offence seeing as her Skull crossbody and Moonsault should even out Raquel’s two One Arm Powerbombs. Also they overdid the smoke on her celebration we could barely see her. That being said, this was definitely a worthy usurper to Shirai, Gonzalez at the top of the division will be an interesting new landscape after a year of Shirai as champion. She’s had a good run, I do wish it didn’t involve the Charlotte skulfuckery at the start but she has done well to keep on top of the division during the COVID era and she’s done a good job in making sure the next champion is over.

Conclusion Good wrestling is all you need, and NXT Stand and Deliver stood and delivered strongly on Night 1, there is of course room to top it but that may be the intention. Do wish that some matches went longer but I’m not mad at all with who won, so once more a job well done as NXT end their Wednesday Night Campaign on a high.

[dreamspeardreams]

Royal Rumble 2017 Predictions

This post will detail the storylines leading into all the matches for the Royal Rumble 2017 card, as well as my predictions for these matches.

Pre-Show:

Cesaro and Sheamus(c) vs. The Club (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) for the RAW Tag-Team Titles in a ‘two referees are present’ match Why this match is on the Pre-Show I have no idea. This is a fantastic match to have to open the show. Anyway, Cesaro and Sheamus are fantastic as a team. They were a great choice for the team to end The New Days reign, and their dynamic is something fresh that we haven’t seen for a while. These two started off having a best-of-seven series, the last match of which was incredible and have since found their footing as a tag team. The Club is one of my favourite tag teams at the moment in WWE, their music is great, their aesthetic is great, their promo skills (particularly Anderson) when not being fed crap like the Old Day is great, and their in-ring work in incredible due to the massive amount of time they spent in Japan. Before Sheamus and Cesaro emerged, these guys were my pick to end New Day’s tag title reign. This match is mostly a simple title match. There have been some shenanigans the past few weeks in their singles matches, and particularly in their title match where The Club won the titles before Cesaro and Sheamus were disqualified for attacking the ref and retained the titles.

My Pick: The Club (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson).  Cesaro and Sheamus’ animosity hasn’t been played up in recent weeks, so I don’t think this will factor much into them losing the match, however the dominance the club has displayed recently leads me to think that they would just look weak to not win cleanly here. With two refs it is harder to have a dusty finish, and as such I think Cesaro and Sheamus will drop the titles here, although I could see these guys continuing the feud until Mania.

Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks Nia Jax made a statement by legitmately injuring Bayley and denying her her rematch against Asuka, taking the spot at TakeOver: The End. She lost to Asuka and since coming to the main roster has been booked as a monster heel. She’s strong, but she’s still very much a B player to the top of the RAW women’s roster. Sasha Banks just got out of an incredible feud with Charlotte for the Women’s title, which saw the belt swap back and forth between them. She’s an incredible wrestler, often taking cues from Eddie Gurerro, and she’s great on the mic too. She has an injured knee going into this match, a remnant of her last match with Charlotte. Sasha has been off for a few weeks with an injury, and recently Nia Jax attacked Sasha’s knee during a performance review, and beat her in a tag match which saw Sasha compete with the knee broken. Nia wants to make a statement and Sasha wants to prove that she can still put up a fight even when she’s hurt.

My Pick: Nia Jax. Sasha doesn’t lose a whole lot by eating a pin here, she’s got a bum leg, she’s just come off an intense feud with Charlotte and she’s recuperating. Nia has a lot to gain however. She started out taking on jobbers and hasn’t had a meaningful feud with anyone at the top of the card yet, so taking down Sasha would be a good rub for her.

Alexa Bliss, Mickie James and Natalya vs. Becky Lynch, Nikkia Bella and Naomi in a 6-woman tag match This match is one that should definitely be on the pre-show. There’s nothing at stake, no side really loses in a 6-man tag and no story here is probably going to be advanced. The only real story going into this is Mickie James’ return. On the go-home show she cut a pretty good promo aligning herself with Alexa Bliss, who has been feuding with Becky ever since she took Becky’s title. Naomi also wants a shot at the title, and Nikki Bella and Natalya are in an ongoing feud. 

My Pick: Alexa Bliss, Mickie James and Natalya. I think the heel team will take this as a showcase of Mickie James. We saw that she is still very good in the ring in her match against Asuka at TakeOver Toronto, but the mainstream crowd has yet to see her compete after her return. Establishing Mickie James and Alexa Bliss as a dominant duo will do well for the story, and give them both good heat.

Main Card:

Rich Swann(c) vs. Neville for the Cruiserweight Championship Rich Swann was a great choice to take the title in the debut episode of 205Live. He has a fun gimmick and can give a decent promo, though he still needs a little work in that department. Neville is an incredible performer in the ring, and recently with his heel turn has become the single best thing about the Cruiserweight division. I’d never seen Neville’s promo ability while he was playing face, but he has a perfect face to be a heel and his accent compliments it stellarly. His claim to be the King of the Cruiserweights is founded on solid ground. Neville has been absolutely devastating the Cruiserweight division as of late. He has taken down both former champions TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick, and I don’t think he has lost a match since his turn. Rich Swann has been booked strong, but personally I think his time is up as champion for now.

My Pick: Neville. This is the closest thing to a lock on this card. Neville has been so strong recently, and he absolutely needs to win this in order to keep looking strong. If anyone can manage to look realistic as they take his title, it will be an amazing rub for them. Bonus points if he comes out next week wearing the belt around his head like a crown.

Charlotte Flair(c) vs. Bayley for the RAW Women’s Championship Charlotte has been a dominant heel ever since she won the diva’s title. She has a 15 PPV-win streak, was the other half of the amazing feud with Sasha Banks, and is great in all respects. Bayley is the most relatable person on the roster right now. Super over with the fans, and an adorable gimmick and promo style, she’s definitely next in line for this title. The lead-up to this match involved Bayley getting a few wins over Charlotte while she was still feuding with Sasha, and taking a claim to the title now that Sasha has stepped out of the picture. Charlotte has been tormenting Bayley recently about her life-long fandom of the WWE, and Bayley has been getting super over because of it.

My Pick: Charlotte Flair. Charlotte should continue her PPV winning streak here. This is Bayley’s first match for the title, and she still needs to earn her win in the eyes of the fans (even though she’s one of the best on the entire roster). This makes a lot more sense for Bayley to lose to Charlotte until Wrestlemania where she can finally break the Queen’s winning streak and have a huge Wrestlemania moment that is great for every fan as well.

Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship in a ‘Chris Jericho Suspended above the ring in a Shark Cage, No Disqualification’ match Kevin Owens has been champion since shortly after Finn Balor vacated the title due to injury right after Summerslam. He won it in a Fatal 4-Way with Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Big Cass, as Triple H handed him the title. Since Battleground he’s been best friends with Chris Jericho and the two have been a nearly unstoppable duo, with Jericho helping Owens win most of his title matches through interference. Roman Reigns recently lost his US championship to Chris Jericho, putting him in prime position to reclaim the top belt on RAW. After his suspension just before Battleground he seemed to get somewhat de-pushed, but now he’s back at the top of the card and ready to headline shows once again. The story leading into this match has been long and slow, although not without it’s interesting moments. Before Reigns, Rollins was gunning for Owens’ title, and before the stipulation of this match being a No-DQ match, I was certain Roman was going to win. The only reason I can see them having added the No-DQ match is to protect Roman if he loses. Two world title changes in one show is a lot. Even though the Rumble is one of WWE’s big four, it’s not Wrestlemania so I find it hard to believe both title’s will change hands. This is something of a tough call.

My Pick: Kevin Owens. I think there’s enough working against Roman that he could conceivably lose this match. Chris Jericho can definitely interfere now that the match is No-DQ, and they might be wanting to save Roman’s title win for Mania. I can however absolutely see Roman winning this as well.

AJ Styles(c) vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship AJ Styles has had one of the best first years of anyone in WWE. He wrestled Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania, competed for the WWE Title soon after, then entered into a program with Cena, beat him clean at Summerslam, and has since been the WWE Champion. John Cena is the institution of WWE, and the clear heel in this feud. He has been showing AJ major disrespect and not giving the fans any reason to cheer him, apart from his long heritage in the company, and his entertaining in-ring work. This match came about with Cena coming back and simply saying he wanted a title shot. Getting the title here means he would tie Ric Flair’s record for the most World Championship reigns, which would allow him to easily break it at a later date, and Cena having the title gives him a lot of options for people to feud with if someone from Smackdown wins the Rumble.

My Pick: John Cena. When in doubt, always bet on Cena because Cena wins. I’d love to see AJ carry the belt til Mania, but his reign has been long enough for a first reign for a guy of his caliber. This is a huge toss-up, I could see Cena wanting his big win to come at Wrestlemania, but I can also see him wanting to take the belt now, which would make the Rumble pretty special. Either way this should be a great match.

The Royal Rumble Match: First, here’s the list of confirmed entrants: Goldberg Brock Lesnar Big E Kofi Kingston Xavier Woods Chris Jericho Braun Strowman Baron Corbin The Undertaker (not assigned to one brand) Dean Ambrose (second time entering both the Royal Rumble PPV and the Royal Rumble match as IC Champion) The Miz Dolph Ziggler Cesaro Sheamus Bray Wyatt Randy Orton Luke Harper Big Show Sami Zayn (recently took Seth Rollins’ entry into the Rumble) Big Cass Rusev Mojo Rawley (Won a Battle Royale on Smackdown Live this past week)

There are 8 spots which have yet to be claimed, and all of the NXT roster is reportedly going to be backstage for the show.

I have a few predictions here.

Unnanounced Entrants: Tye Dillinger (at number 10) Samoa Joe Pete Dunne Bo Dallas Cedric Alexander R-Truth/Goldust James Ellsworth Heath Slater

Winner: Samoa Joe. I think this would be a fantastic rub for Samoa Joe, debuting at the top of the company, headlining Wrestlemania, and most importantly I really want it to happen.

5 People I’d be okay with winning otherwise: Sami Zayn: This would simply be incredible. Sami can have a great match with anyone at the top of the card, and hearing his music play at the end of the show as he points to the Wrestlemania sign would be an incredible feel-good moment. Bray Wyatt: This only works if he continues in his feud against Randy Orton. Orton winning the Rumble would also be good, but would likely mean that Orton would take the title off him at Mania, and I’d prefer to see the huge blow-off of Wyatt and Orton (which will definitely happen at Mania) to be for the title, and for Bray to take it on the grandest stage on them all. Chris Jericho: This answer also has a caveat, and it will never happen, but I’d love if he continued in his planned feud with Kevin Owens, and they feuded for the US Title in the Main Event, perhaps if they even had a Title vs. Title match where the winner becomes a dual Champion if Owens keeps the Universal title until then. The Undertaker: The Undertaker has some many fantastic oppurtunities for great matches at Wrestlemania. He could feud with Cena for the belt, or with AJ or even Samoa Joe if he wins the WWE Championship. The other huge possibility is him facing off against Finn Balor, which would be an incredible supernatural-off, and with Finn being such a great worker this match could be gold, especially if Finn takes the Universal Championship back right after the Rumble. I hope he doesn’t win if he’s going to feud with Reigns however. Baron Corbin: Lastly, Baron Corbin. I think this could be the start an interesting push for Corbin. I don’t know if he could realistically challenge for the title and have anyone believe he would win, against guys like Cena and AJ, he’s still slightly below their level, however it would be a very interesting turn to say the least.

Let me know what you guys think of the Rumble and I’ll see you on Monday with a recap and results.

[hazyheel]

NXT UK 4/24/19 Review

The night started out with a match between Ligero and Kassius Ohno, with Ohno just not taking the match seriously at all. He just begged Ligero to show him what he had. Ohno had an answer for a lot of Ligero’s offense. At one point, he countered a somersault senton off the apron by forcing him to over rotate with a shove, sending Ligero into the ring steps. Ligero fought back, attempting to chop down the bigger man with shots to the legs. Ligero seemed to have the match won after a sliced bread on the outside, but when he went for the slingshot stunner, Ohno caught it and attempted to remove his mask. Ohno loosened it just enough to distract him, and then he nailed Ligero in the back of the head with a rolling elbow. Ohno got the win.

Grade: C. Match was a bit slow, and the crowd didn’t care. I really didn’t care either until the end. The fact that Ohno went for the mask makes it seem like they will continue this. Masks are very important in luchadore culture, so unless Ohno is just getting pushed as a strong heel, which he probably isn’t, we will probably see another match between the two. It was slow this time, but I have confidence in them down the road. Especially if Ligero really gets going with his flying.

Backstage, Jordan Devlin was given an interview about his match with WALTER next week, which he was surprisingly unhappy about. He said that Johnny Saint made the match non-title, in order to protect the big rematch between Walter and Pete Dunne. And even though he gets it, he deserves a title shot, and getting the win next week will secure that match. I like this story, because Devlin really should be one of the divisions’ top stars. Looking forward to the match next week. Devlin is a great heel, but he could go tweener any week. I like that about him.

Then they showed a video package about Wild Boar and Primate, a new tag team. Looking forward to that. Next was a promo from the European Union, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel, from Wrestlemania access. They talked about how fans who have belts are a problem in the world, because they haven’t earned them, and that the mat is sacred. I like these two a lot, and their pretentious attitude is fun to listen to. Entertaining heels.

Toni Storm then cut a promo in the ring. She talked about how stacked the division is right now, saying that some of the best wrestlers in the world are her competition. But then she said that it didn’t matter, because she would be a champion for a long long time. Kay Lee Ray then came out for her match, squaring up with Storm on the entrance ramp. She told Storm that she forgot about Ray, because Storm mentioned a couple wrestlers by name. Xia Li was her opponent, and the two changed holds on the mat, but came up in a stalemate. Li had a clear strength advantage, as well as a striking advantage, Ray was playing it safe for much of the match, taking shots when she could. Li went for a move off the top, but Ray dodged it and hit a chop, superkick and widows’ peak for the win.

Grade: D+. They didn’t seem to have too much chemistry here. They didn’t have a lot of time, and it was clear from the get go who would win. Ray is getting a Women’s title match sooner rather than later. I don’t really know how good either of them are, but I’m sure they can do better than this.

Piper Niven was interviewed about Rhea Ripley, calling her a bully and that she would take her down a peg. Cool, I’m into a feud like that. The Grizzled Young Vets then were filmed throwing Kenny Williams’ and Amir Jordan’s gear out of the locker room. They said that they don’t deserve a title shot, nor to be on the roster or get a title shot. Fair enough, I like this old school heel dynamic.

And the main event, Mustache Mountain vs. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster. Bate and Andrews started the match, testing the waters with each other via arm bars and waist locks. Webster and Seven eventually fought each other, having a test of strength that Webster couldn’t possibly win. Mustache mountain gained the advantage, working over Andrews in every way possible. There was an interesting spot where Seven went for the seven star lariat, but Andrews rolled under it and dove for the tag. I liked that, unique. Andrews and Webster held there own throughout the match, with Webster countering a Tyler Driver with a hurricanrana, and Andrews wrecking both opponents with chops and a double flip kick. Mustache mountain hit their lariat assisted dragon suplex, only for Webster to break up the pin with a huge senton from top across the ring. Webster and Andrews hit an awesome knee lift assisted reverse rana, but then Seven broke it up. However, the match came to an end after a wicked right from Bate to Webster, then a dragon suplex, and a knee drop assisted burning hammer for the win. Andrews nearly broke it up, but Bate ran across the ring and just tackled him to the ground to get the win.

Grade: B. Really good match here. Almost a tag team classic, but their were some noticable botches, and the crowd was so quiet (as they were all night) These guys have a lot of chemistry together, and I am really into Andrews and Webster as underdog babyfaces. I really want them to be the ones to dethrone grizzled young vets, but it seems like they are building to a rematch with Mustache Mountain. Good stuff, very exciting.

Overall Grade: C

Pros: Devlin’s heel work; main event

Cons: Ohno vs. Ligero; Ray vs. Li; terrible crowd

[placetobenation]

*** Scott & JT’s Vintage Vault Refresh reviews are a chronological look back at WWE PPV and TV history that began with a review of WrestleMania I. The PICs have revisited these events and refreshed all of their fun facts that provide insight into the match, competitors and state of the company as well as their overviews of the match action and opinions and thoughts on the outcomes. In addition, Jeff Jarvis assists in compiling historical information and the Fun Facts in each of the reviews. Also, be sure to leave feedback on the reviews at our Facebook page. Enjoy! ***

Monday Night Raw #118

July 3, 1995 (June 26, 1995) Danville High School Danville, PA Announcers: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

1) 1-2-3 Kid defeats Mike Bell with a spinning heel kick at 2:40

Scott: We start the show with the return of the 1-2-3 Kid, who had a major neck injury that has kept him out for the past few months. That included WrestleMania, as even though he was on camera he didn’t wrestle. I just realized they’ve never announced what building they’re actually in. As a matter of fact I’m trying to find where Danville actually is. The crowd is pretty hot for even this second episode of the night. Vince is going way over the top of Jerry Lawler’s “bad breath” from the Kiss my Foot match. That will be beat into the ground for the next several weeks. Meanwhile the Kid doesn’t show too much ring rust against this bum, and he gets the victory. Grade: 1/2*

JT: Welcome to this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw where we are coming at you via videotape from Danville, PA, now two weeks removed from King of the Ring. Vince McMahon is rejoined by Jerry Lawler, who took last week off to visit his dentist and friend, Isaac Yankem. We open things up with the 1-2-3 Kid, who is making his return after some time off due to a neck injury. As Kid is working over Mike Bell, Vince is still ragging on the King for his bad breath as a result of his loss to Bret Hart in Philly. King is swigging mouthwash and promises to introduce us to Yankem later tonight too. Bell’s candy striper tights certainly are something.Vince reminds us that Jeff Jarrett and Roadie were the ones that injured Kid’s neck earlier this year. Kid makes swift work of Bell, finishing him with a spinning heel kick. Good to see the Kid back in action. Grade: DUD

*** Todd Pettengill is here with an In Your House report as the show is three weeks away, live in Nashville. Here are the matches discussed:

Diesel vs. Sid – WWF Title Lumberjack Match Sid’s Lumberjacks: IRS, Kama, Eli Blu, Jacob Blu, King Mabel Diesel’s Lumberjacks: Adam Bomb, Razor Ramon, Savio Vega, Billy Gunn, Bart Gunn Shawn Michaels vs. Jeff Jarrett – WWF Intercontinental Title 1-2-3 Kid vs. Roadie Lex Luger & British Bulldog vs. Yokozuna & Owen Hart – WWF Tag Team Title Match

Jeff Jarrett will be also performing “With My Baby Tonight” live and in addition to that, twenty more lumberjacks and more matches are still to be revealed, so be sure to stay tuned to the WWF network of programming as the days and weeks move along! ***

*** We check out the official music video for Jeff Jarrett’s hit single “With My Baby Tonight”. ***

2) Bob Holly defeats Brooklyn Brawler with a cross body off the top rope at 2:30

Scott: We just got our first IYH report, and after having NO TITLE MATCHES at the KOTR, all three belts are on the line July 23 in Nashville. Speaking of Jeff Jarrett, “With My Baby Tonight” just debuted, and it sounds… lip synched. Interesting. Vince can’t stop with the Lawler bad breath jokes and it’s ruining the matches, even if they are crap squash matches. The weird thing about the two title feuds going on right now is that the champions are chasing the challengers. Diesel is the WWF Champion yet he’s chasing Sid around, thus the Lumberjack Match stipulation at IYH. Same with Jeff Jarrett, who gave an IC Title match to Shawn Michaels. So weird. Holly wins. Grade: DUD

JT: We head back down to the ring as Bob Holly jogs out to take on the erstwhile Brooklyn Brawler, who is still milling around. Vince and King talk about the “With My Baby Tonight” music video and then we get back to more bad breath and foot jokes, the running commentary theme for the past five weeks. Vince also plugs the Superstar Line, where Jim Ross has details on potential lumberjacks that Ted DiBiase is trying to pay off. Brawler gets a little bit of offense in but Holly easily finishes him off with a high cross body. This has certainly been the best stretch of Holly’s career as the first half of 1995 has been filled with PPV appearances and regular TV appearances. Grade: DUD

*** We head back to Superstars where Adam Bomb battled Henry Godwinn. The match ended in a double countout but after the bell, Godwinn emptied his slop bucket on the back of Bomb. ***

3) Henry Godwinn defeats Barry Horowitz with the Slop Drop at 2:15

Scott: It really seems like Barry Horowitz is getting a weird “jobber push” from Vince, who is continuously saying that Horowitz has never won a match. Although now he seems to be a fan favorite only because he’s wrestling heels instead of faces. That makes me laugh. But Barry gets some moves in and the crowd is getting behind him, however Henry ducks a drop kick and hits the Slop Drop for the victory. The rest of match time is spent with Barry Didinsky shilling t-shirts. Grade: 1/2*

JT: Next up, Henry Godwinn slinks to the ring, slop bucket in hand, as he takes on Barry Horowitz. Barry gets little pockets of offense as Vince reminds us that Horowitz has never won a match in the WWF. He also says that DiBiase is a bit enamored with Godwinn and may be recruiting him soon. After more fucking talk about Lawler’s breath and a flurry by Barry, Godwinn takes control and lands the Slop Drop for the victory. It seems as if the Hog Man’s stock is on the rise of late. Grade: DUD

*** Barry Didinsky is in the aisle shilling Shawn Michaels, Adam Bomb and Bam Bam Bigelow t-shirts, available for Raw viewers tonight. Get on the horn NOW! ***

4) Psycho Sid defeats Bam Bam Bigelow after Henry Godwinn shoves Bigelow off the top rope at 5:38

Scott: I already know where this is going. This is either going to end in a schmozz or Sid’s going to win. Sid has his second World Title match in three weeks and he’s not going to job to Bam Bam. Bigelow & Henry Godwinn start brawling up the aisle as it looks like the hog farmer is in Ted DiBiase’s employ based on the non-verbal cues between the two of them. After that putrid KOTR PPV disaster, complete with “ECW” chants and batteries flying everywhere, this IYH coming up seems like a pretty good show. As expected Bigelow is pretty much wrestling a handicap match as Sid and DiBiase are beating Bigelow down in and outside of the ring. I have to say I’m not a fan of this heel Sid, begging off babyfaces and acting like a Federation Era heel. Even in the late 80s-early 90s when Sid was in the Horsemen or in the Skyscrapers in WCW he didn’t act like this. Vince’s philosophy has practically emasculated him and made him one of those old school heels that doesn’t fit the mold. He shouldn’t be in this awful Corporation stable of losers, he should just be on his own. Bigelow starts to get some momentum late in the match but I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sid goes for a powerbomb but Bigelow reverses into a back drop. Bigelow was going for the flying head butt but Godwinn shoves him off the corner and falls on his head. Sid gets the cheap pinfall for the victory and then Sid hits a powerbomb for good measure. Grade: *1/2

JT: We head right back to the ring where Psycho Sid stalks out with Ted DiBiase for our marquee match of the evening. Henry Godwinn is still milling around ringside and DiBiase gives him the sexy eyes and mimes telling him to stay near by. After a break, Bam Bam Bigelow chugs out but Godwinn gets in his path and shoves him. Bigelow fires back and the two hosses brawl briefly until officials break them up. Bammer regroups and slowly hits the ring to disrobe as Sid and DiBiase stand around on the floor. Vince says Sid spends a lot of time out of the ring and there are questions of cowardice surrounding him, which explains the IYH stipulation. Bigelow lands a few blows early and then buries Sid with a leaping shoulder block. Sid tried to use a DiBiase distraction to sneak up on Bammer but that backfired. Bigelow dodged a charge in the corner and hit a DDT but as he headed up top, DiBiase baited him down to the floor. That allowed Sid the chance to regroup and head out as well where he clubbed Bigelow down and then kicked him hard in the gut. Back inside, Sid continued to worked Bammer over with hard right hands and boots and controlled right through the break. After we returned, Bigelow powered out of a seated chinlock and spiked Sid to the mat. Bigelow tried to charge to the corner but ate a big boot and a chokeslam. Sid then loaded up the powerbomb but Bigelow blocked it with a back drop and then headed up top again. However, this time, Godwinn showed back up and shoved Bigelow hard to the mat. Sid crawled over and covered Bigelow to nab the win. After the bell, Sid hit the powerbomb as DiBiase cackled on the apron. Tough loss for Bigelow but the bigger alarm bell is that is seems like Bigelow is being transitioned over to feud with Godwinn, which would take him out of his main event slot. He did look strong in the match but like kind of a bum after it. This booking of Sid has really deteriorated since KOTR. Before that, he was still booked pretty strongly, but since he walked out of that match he is being presented as a cowardly pussy that needs DiBiase’s money to keep him ahead. Dominant monster Sid is a much superior option. The match was solid and the crowd was pretty hyped but the finish didn’t really show promise for the future prospects of either man. Grade: *1/2

*** We check out footage of the WWF’s recent involvement with the kick off of the Special Olympics World Games. ***

5) Waylon Mercy defeats Jeff Hardy via submission with a sleeperhold at 2:50

Fun Fact: Dan Spivey trained in Florida, primarily by Dusty Rhodes with some additional work with Barry Windham and Rick Martel. Rhodes made a deal with Jim Crockett to bring Spivey and tag partner, Scott Hall, into the Carolinas when they were ready to debut, which took place in 1984. The team were called American Starship, a masked duo made up of Eagle (Spivey) and Coyote (Hall). After working with Crockett and some other NWA territories, Spivey went on his own and signed with the WWF in late 1985. He teamed with Mike Rotunda to replace Windham in the US Express. After Rotunda left the WWF, Spivey started a short and unsuccessful singles run as “Golden Boy” Danny Spivey. He stayed with the WWF until the spring of 1988, mainly paired with others in tag team action. Spivey left and started touring with All Japan Pro Wrestling, which he would do on and off until his return here. He also spent time in WCW starting in 1989, where he became a member of the Varsity Club. There he later teamed with Sid Vicious to form The Skyscrapers, a pair that would feud with the Road Warriors. In 1995, Spivey returned to the WWF under the new character, Waylon Mercy, based on a character from the movie “Cape Fear”. This is Spivey’s first WWF PPV appearance since WrestleMania II, where he appeared in the Battle Royal. Waylon Mercy was a very deep character, deeper than you would have expected from 1995 WWF standards. He was a happy go lucky, yet kind of creepy guy who acts like a face but wrestles like a crazed heel. He was set for a big push, but injuries began to plague him and he was forced to the sidelines, thus bringing an aborted end to one of the more intriguing gimmicks of the mid-90s.

Scott: The mysterious Waylon Mercy makes his Raw debut, and I kind of dig his entrance theme. It has that Florida white trash feel. Vince won’t even let Lawler do the USA Movie read (The Star Wars trilogy incidentally) without a stupid bad breath joke. Mercy works a big time squash, hitting a brain buster and hooking a sleeper for the win. Vince is dumbfounded that a heel can be nice to the opponents and the referees before and after his matches. Perhaps this deep character may go over 1995 wrestling fans’ heads. Grade: DUD

JT: It is time for our final match of the evening as Waylon Mercy saunters out to make his Raw debut. Vince talks about what Mercy is all about, as he is kind to fans before the match and even shakes hands with the referee and his opponent, Jeff Hardy. However, once the bell sounds, Mercy turns a bit darker and just starts beating the piss out of Hardy. This is a very intruiging gimmick and his look and music is great too. He is just a very unique wrestler, something that we really needed right now after the parade of cheesy, antiseptic gimmicks that have been showing up since mid-1994. Jerry Lawler promotes the Star Wars trilogy, which airs on USA starting this Wednesday and then he and Vince talk about their July 4th plans. Mercy eventually finishes Hardy with a nice brains buster and a tight sleeperhold, during which he bugged his eyes out insanely. This was a solid debut for ol’ Waylon and brighter days seem to be ahead for this potentially maniacal oddball, ya know what I mean? Grade: DUD

*** We check out footage from earlier today where Jerry Lawler was tormenting children in a waiting room. He ripped on Bret Hart and put over his buddy, Isaac Yankem, DDS as well. Yankee then appeared in the room and told the next patient to enter as he smiled menacingly. ***

Final Analysis

Scott: This show is all about the trashing of Bam Bam Bigelow and the debut of the awesome Waylon Mercy. He really is a character that may go over the heads of most of the fans, particularly the younger ones. Let’s talk about Sid. The 1991-92 Sid was somewhat like the Sid that was awesome as a heel in the late 80s in NWA/WCW. Now the WWF has turned him into a piece of shit heel who backs away from a fight. That’s awful, and totally takes away the one thing that helped those forget Sid is terrible in the ring. Poor Bigelow sacrificed himself for Lawrence Taylor, and in return he gets beaten down by the weaker heels. Not a bad episode, but I feel bad for the guys in the main event. Final Grade: C

JT: We follow up a solid Raw last week with another good effort here tonight. Again, we didn’t really get much a quality anchor match but this Danville crowd has really added a good atmosphere to anything going on during these tapings. And maybe the audio sweetening has improved too? The commentary was again way too focused Jerry Lawler and his fucking breath and it seems like this issue is really far from over at this point. That said, we haven’t even seen Bret Hart around here as the King is solely pushing the issue. The pacing continues to be really good and makes these shows fly by. The squashes were fine this week and I really enjoyed the debut of Waylon Mercy and hopes he gets a good push here. Finally, the IYH card looks pretty strong too thus far so hopefully we can quickly move past King of the Ring, which left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth… ya know what I mean? Final Grade: C+

[junker-town]

Ric Flair's 30 for 30 doesn’t tell the whole story, and it's Ric Flair's fault

13 thoughts on the big, messy life of one of wrestling’s greats.

1. The Ric Flair documentary Nature Boy features a story about Ric Flair surviving a plane crash. The plane was a Cessna 310 headed from Charlotte to Wilmington, North Carolina, and it overloaded at takeoff with beefy wrestlers and a promoter, David Crockett. The pilot dumped fuel to compensate for all the extra weight and tried to switch to the tanks in the wings—empty fuel tanks, it turns out—and the engine died. The plane fell rapidly, narrowly missed hitting the water tower of a prison, and hit the ground just short of the runway in a stall at around 100 miles per hour.

The crash cracked three vertebrae in Ric Flair’s back. When Flair healed and got out of the hospital, he became Ric Flair, the flamboyant, rhinestone robe-wearing, trash-talking, luxury brand wrestler completely. There is before the crash, when Flair would live as Richard Fliehr off camera, and there is after the crash. That’s all in the movie.

What isn’t in the movie: The time he was struck by lightning and lived while another man died, or the time a well-past-sixty Flair got pantsless onstage Myrtle Beach bar and ordered drinks on the house, or the time he went overseas for a tour where he desperately needed the money, but found a bar on arrival and bought drinks for the bar with money he didn’t have, or...oh god, the spaghetti incident. The spaghetti incident is not in the movie, and if the spaghetti incident isn’t in the movie, well, it has to make you wonder what other lunacy sits on a cutting room floor somewhere.

2. That is not the fault of Nature Boy as a documentary. Like almost everything in the documentary, that is Ric Flair’s fault. Ric Flair is at fault for so many things, according to the principal witnesses in Nature Boy. Ric Flair is to blame for losing the money, all of it, every night to bartenders, to attorneys, to the former Governor of North Carolina whom he bought a limo from after bragging about having a limo, and then realizing he didn’t have one. Ric Flair paid a random teenager in Charlotte $25 a night to drive him around and called him “his driver.” That’s not in the documentary either, by the way. Ric Flair told the audience that afterwards in the Q and A in Atlanta. Ric Flair can’t even tell all of Ric Flair’s stories at once.

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

3. The witnesses detailing this include a legendary roster of wrestlers and friends, sure, but the principal witness—and most damaging one—is Ric Flair himself. He is situated front and center, interviewed by director Rory Karpf sitting just off camera. Flair looks like someone who treated his body brutally, but honestly given what wrestling for forty years while drinking heavily could do to a person, Flair—on the outside, at least—looks great.

4. He starts to look even better when he talks about what being Ric Flair entailed: at least ten drinks a day, to start, along with wrestling two or three times a night for years on end, the aforementioned random plane crashes and other perks of constant travel, all while somehow staying in wrestling shape year-round. Despite attempting to destroy himself with prejudice in his prime (and well beyond it), the documentary brings in heavy hitters and bit players in wrestling to all acknowledge the same thing: for most of his career, Ric Flair was a brilliant technical wrestler who made everyone around him better.

5. That part might be the most comfortably compelling part of the entire documentary. A genuinely humble-seeming Hulk Hogan shows up just to admit he could only wrestle four kinds of short matches, while in comparison Flair could go full-bore for an hour in any scenario you liked. Ricky Steamboat talks about Flair’s unreal stamina and the brutal workouts they endured as rookie trainees in Verne Gagne’s wrestling camps. The Undertaker not only talks, but thoughtfully and approvingly breaks down Flair’s technique in the ring. That’s not surprising to anyone who knows Mark Calaway outside of the ring, but is still jarring for the casual viewer used to only seeing his face rise ominously out of a coffin or glowering from under a hat.

The file footage backs that up brilliantly, too. When Sting laughs and says Ric Flair was “the biggest whiner in the ring ever,” there’s a fantastic cut to scenes of Flair operatically flying to the mat, pleading to the referee, and taking a theatrical beating from Sting. There’s also the follow-up by Sting: That as a young wrestler, Sting wasn’t owed any of that. Yet Flair went out of his way to coach up-and-coming wrestlers in the ring, and sold their moves with complete commitment to the bit, all out of a real generosity he showed to his partners in the ring. If anything in a story about wrestling is real, it’s that. Flair, at least in the ring, appears as the most caring, charismatic, and giving man who ever eye-gouged someone in a Loser Leaves Town match.

6. The rest of his life is the expected disaster—maybe more so than expected, actually. There are all those interviews and file footage, but Most of Nature Boy is told by Flair himself, in his own words. Note: Not told by Richard Fleihr, but Ric Flair. According to Flair, the guy with his birth name was “some guy who couldn’t last one year at the University of Minnesota.” The interviews with his first wife, Leslie Goodman, are particularly haunting for that switch: At some point after the plane crash in North Carolina, the persona of Ric Flair took over, and Richard Fleihr ceased to exist.

7. It would be possible to watch the entire documentary and take it as a standard sports dramatic cycle of rise-excess-fall-tragedy-redemption. That could be done, if you wanted to watch it that way. There is a fantastic segment about Flair’s rivalry and in-the-ring creative partnership with Dusty Rhodes. There are all the stories of Flair’s drinking and profligacy and his distant relationship with his parents. (Who according to Flair saw him wrestle a total of three times in his life.) There is—with some careful editing—the redemption of Flair’s failure as a father with his son, Reid, through his daughter Charlotte’s entry into professional wrestling.

8. Nature Boy can go that way, if you want it to. It’s also possible to see Flair slowly sink into the horror of his later career and demolished personal life and see a person so devoured by his onstage persona he never recovered. Seeing Flair talk about his son Reid—who overdosed at the age of 25 trying to start a professional wrestling career like his father—is excruciating. It’s also made excruciatingly clear that Ric Flair had no ability whatsoever to parent his children, much less deal with their problems when they became adults and needed real help. The attention to detail and generosity in the ring translated to outright negligence outside it.

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

9. Worse: By the time all 90 minutes of Nature Boy rolls by, it’s clear that there really is no difference between the in-ring character and the man. It’s not that the tears aren’t sincere: It’s that at every point in the interviews with Flair—even the most emotional, vulnerable points—it feels like Ric Flair is selling. It’s genuine, but it’s the kind of genuine you get from someone with a overpracticed, stage-ready genuine. At the end Nature Boy has Flair holding his daughter’s hand up in triumph in the ring after Charlotte wins her first WWE title. The scene is heartrending: he’s clearly a proud father, but also Ric Flair basking in the role of being Ric Flair in the spotlight.

10. The most moving scene in the documentary, appropriately enough, involves his other family: Wrestlers. More specifically, it involves a wrestler, Shawn Michaels, chosen to retire Flair in a Career-Threatening Match at Wrestlemania XXIV. Present-day Michaels is interviewed for the segment. He sounds little like his in-ring persona, and openly mourns for what Flair had become: A wrestler who stayed too long, gave almost everything to the business, and let whatever was left leave with his alter ego. For Michaels, Ric Flair went from an idol to a warning.

Then Nature Boy lets the scene roll: The retirement match, after nearly thirty minutes of classic Flair struggle, ending with Flair eye-poking Michaels, nearly pulling off a pin out of nowhere, then taking a massive counter hit and staggering in the ring waiting to be finished. Michaels plays the role of remorseful finisher to the hilt, even pulling a move before it starts, too overcome to end a legend’s career.

Michaels then says “I’m sorry, I love you,” and ends the match with a pin, a post match kiss on the forehead, and a grief-stricken retreat from the ring.

It’s not real, and it’s also as real as anything else in Nature Boy.

11. That’s probably Ric Flair’s fault, too. With no separation between the ring and real life, Ric Flair in Nature Boy is never off duty. Everything is a sell, or a work. It’s bad enough when his ex-wife or his son says as much. It is much, much worse when the bulk of the evidence comes from the man himself through on-camera interviews. Flair happily admits to the excess of Ric Flair being completely real, but also shows no ability to introspect and consider why it all happened in the first place. Rory Karpf tries gamely and repeatedly to get Flair to talk about his chilly relationship with his parents. He gets nothing. The overwhelming sense is not that he’s stonewalling, but that after years of embracing the act there might not be anything back there anymore.

13. This wasn’t in the movie, either. After the screening I attended in Atlanta there was a Q and A with Flair, where he talked about the aforementioned spaghetti incident, how he got drunk after a match in Philadelphia, went to dinner, screamed “I GOT ELEVEN OF THESE” at the table and threw his $30,000 Rolex watch into a plate of spaghetti. The next morning, he had to go through the trash trying to find it. This is also when he told us about the time lightning struck his umbrella while he was getting off a plane in Charlotte in 1983, bounced to the man behind him in line, and killed that man. He explained neither of these, and then offered to buy everyone drinks next door.

12. TL; DR: It would be very hard to write a wrestling version of Sunset Boulevard and not cast Ric Flair as Norma Desmond. Nature Boy’s biggest fault is being too short to encompass the extravagant, rhinestone-dotted plane crash that Ric Flair’s life evidently was and still is. But after 90 minutes you get the point: Ric Flair was ready for his closeup, and after 90 sometimes hilarious minutes of looking at it, the face looking back after a lifetime of hard-lived wheelin’, dealin’, and kiss-stealin’ can be a terrifyingly empty one.

13. In conclusion, say it with me in a sad, low Ric Flair voice after considering the impermanence of humanity’s greatness, and and the hollowness of fame writ large on a single man rendered incapable of taking care of the ones he loves through ego-driven self-deletion and alcoholism: Woooooooooo.

[deepdisireslonging]

Family Found Part 49: Wrapped Up

After WrestleMania, a lot of things need to be addressed. Most importantly, Dean has a big decision to make now that his brotherhood his saved.

Warnings/Promises: wrestling violence

Word Count: 3410

Note: The things in this chapter wrap up the pretty much all of the title storylines I had to keep up with. Next week will be a super short chapter because it will focus on the main cousin!Ambrose storyline. And you guys are going to hate me. So, enjoy this one, while you can! Comments and reblogs are appreciated.

Part 1: Welcome to the Team

Part 48: WrestleMania  

Monday Night Raw – April 8, 2019

“Burn it down!”

Seth walked out onto the stage triumphantly. The defended title bright and bold on his shoulder, he smiled brighter than ever before. Down in the ring, he picked up a mic. But he wasn’t able to talk for some time. Between the continued ‘burn it down’ chants and ‘slayed the beast’ and ‘you deserve it,’ Seth couldn’t do anything but bask in the moment. The gems bit into his hand as he did his best to ground his flying emotions. Finally, he raised the mic to his lips.

“Thank you.” He bit his lip. “All of last night, all everything it took to get here, and the only words I can find… are thank you.” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “Thank you, for watching my back, for watching my story, and for sticking around through all the highs and lows. Last night could have been a big low. I could have lost everything. My career… my brother.” He choked back before he could say ‘Dean.’ Then it would be too real. Seth slapped on a smile. “But we slayed the beast. And the best part about last night? He is never coming back.”

That earned a big cheer, as it should.

Taking a few steps around the ring, Seth worried his fingers through his beard. “Now, that was last night. And tonight, like with any night, any time, any place, I am going to continue to show that I am a fighting champion. After all… I am the reigning, defending, beast-slaying, Universal Champion. Nobody back there has enough aces on me to even consider taking this from me, much less the skill to do so. Unless there’s someone back there who wants to prove me wrong.”

He didn’t have to wait long. Another smile, soft and knowing, spread across his face as Finn Balor made his entrance.

“Seth, Seth, Seth. First of all, congratulations.” That much needed to be said and briefly applauded. “But you’re wrong about a few t’ings.”

“Really?” Seth leaned forward on the ropes. “Enlighten me.”

Finn stepped to the top edge of the ramp. “There is someone who has the skill to beat you, and someone who ‘as the aces. There is no ring, no accolade of yours that can protect the Universal from me. Clash of Champions was a fluke. An’ it was weighed down with the Intercontinental championship. I tried chasin’ after that, tryin’ to see what the fuss was about. But nothing is goin’ to be like holding that title there,” he pointed at the Universal on Seth’s shoulder. “I will give you tonight. Slaying the beast was a lot. But I will ‘ave my Universal back. And then I’ll have it fer keeps.”

“Is that so?” Seth nodded, curling down the sides of his mouth. “I will accept your gracious gift of not having to defend against you tonight. Thank you.” He encouraged the applause. “But when do you want it back? Might I suggest… Backlash?”

Now it was Finn’s turn to nod. “Backlash sounds great. What about being a defending champion?”

“Oh, I’m still going to defend it. But I’m not going to deny others a chance. No, no, no, no, no. After I beat you at Backlash, I’m going to need a number one contender. Or several, but I doubt there’s even going to be one.”

“So be it.” Finn bowed, then turned on his heel and left.

***

“Nia, Tamina,” Charly caught up with the two women just outside Gorilla. “Last night you two were taken out fairly early in the preshow. You didn’t even make it to the arena for the challenge-“

Knocking the mic away from her face, Nia took a second to compose herself. “Look, our moment wasn’t in WrestleMania. That’s fine. Last night wasn’t the last one ever.”

“If anything,” Tamina added, “it means that Sasha and Bayley are weakened. They’ve been saying since they got those titles that they’ve been friends for life despite their tiffs. But those “tiffs” always seem to hit when gold is on the line. It’s about time for one of them to turn on the other again.” She was cut off by the sound of Sasha Bank’s music.

In the arena, Bayley’s followed, and they walked down to the ring together. They both took a mic, circling back to the center.

Tapping her fingers on her thigh, Bayley talked first. “We did it. The Boss n’ hug Connection had their WrestleMania moment.” She bent with a smile. “How awesome is that?”

“But we know some people,” Sasha popped the ‘p’ and smiled, “are upset that they missed theirs. We don’t need the Universal champion’s well-earned week off. We can and will face anyone who missed their moment. And you ladies might want to catch it quick. Because next week is the shake-up, and who knows where these titles might go.”

Dropping their mics to techies, Bayley and Sasha waited to see who would answer, though they had a good idea. Fulfilling that guess, Tamina and Nia Jax came to the stage, and then to the ring to answer the challenge. The match that followed was worthy of the inaugural WrestleMania weekend. The women put it all out in the ring, sparing nothing. Not their bodies, their voices, or their lungs. By the time it came down to the wire, they were all panting and heaving to suck in enough oxygen to continue.

Tamina came around the corner and clotheslined Sasha. She flipped through the air, landing hard enough for Bayley to hear it. The Hug part of the Connection turned away to check on her friend. Nia took advantage, ripcording Bayley and nearly felling her. But the lithe form was quick, and Bayley reversed the hold into a pin, kicking off the floor until the count of three. Even though they’d lost, Nia and Tamina left the arena smiling. They were smiling because Sasha and Bayley were not. And Sasha was not letting Bayley comfort her. All according to plan.

***

Another tag match followed. Last Monday, the team of Tyler Breeze and Dana Brook won the tag battle royal. They earned their match as the number one contenders and they weren’t going to wait another week to use it.

The new champions met them in the ring, happily handing their titles to the referee to hold up. The victory made them blissfully proud. And blind. Dana’s first offense caught them by surprise. Sami was on his back and Kevin was out of the ring before they could blink. Throughout the match, they didn’t know what to do about here. Breeze, they had fought at one time or another. And beaten. Dana? Did they treat her like a woman, with softer hits and gentler moves? She wasn’t giving them the same charity.

By the end, after several close calls, they made their decision. Dana was a wrestler. She was fighting in this division because she could handle it, receiving and dishing it out. After the bell rang with Kevin’s pin on Breeze, they circled back to where Dana was helping him stand back up.

“This isn’t over,” Sami said, holding out his hand. “If we challenge you to a rematch…?”

The partners shared a look. Breeze took his hand. “We’ll accept.”

***

Roman caught Seth in a big hug. “I know I said it last night, but congratulations, man.” He chuckled as Dean gave their brother a slight hit to his chin.

“Thanks. It was rough though.”

Dean agreed, eyebrows arching with the memory. “Yeah.”

“I wish I could have been in the match. It’s been a while since it’s been just the three of us ripping it up.”

“I’m kinda glad you weren’t.” Seth laid his title aside. “If it had been the three of us, there’s no way Hunter would have changed the stipulation back. Two of us would be out of a job, and the last one would be… devastated. No title is worth that.”

Dean kept his eyes on the floor, flitting around to the sides and checking the hall so they weren’t disturbed. “You don’t think he’ll try to control her again, do you?” Suddenly, the tape on his hands was very interesting. “I mean, we were all almost in the palm of his hand there for a second. If he gets control of Y/N-“

“That won’t mean that he controls us.” Both men patted his shoulders and the back of his head, and Seth continued. “Even when he did have her under his thumb, she’s a fighter. An Ambrose. And now she knows what to look out for. You don’t have to worry about her. Trust me.”

Roman caught the rest of his worried expression. “And I handled Dr. M. I have a feeling he’s not going to focus on her again any time soon. He’s gonna have Braun chasing him down for not holding up his end of the ‘bargain’ in getting his title back.” He jutted his chin at Seth. “You and Finn might need to watch your backs.”

As the conversation fizzled and the two of them wondered away, Dean couldn’t help but keep picking at his tape. He’d been wrong before, but life never wrapped up with this nice of a bow. If he was right, and he was afraid he was, if you were in danger then they were all threatened. With that in mind, he walked way in the opposite direction for some isolation.

***

Corey laughed. Inside the ring, Curt Hawkins faced off against No Way Jose. “What does Hawkins think he’s doing? One lucky win doesn’t mean anything.”

“How can you say that?” Renee gasped. “That ‘lucky win’ was in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Don’t be such a jerk, Corey. What if this is the start of a new streak for Hawkins?”

“What if this is the start of the second losing streak for him?”

After a hard throw that sent him to the far corner, Curt crawled into a seated position against the corner. He glanced to his trophy sitting by the bell box. Nodding, he psyched himself up to his feet and went back into the fight, catching Jose unawares. The dancing, neon-braided wrestler knew what this match meant to him, but he wasn’t going to give it away either. If anything, Jose worried that if he lost that the losing streak might pass onto him. Superstitious, yes. But he didn’t want to risk it.

Jose almost ran into the referee. He stopped in his tracks, apologetic. Curt took the moment to sweep him up from behind, holding him down for a pin like his life depended on it. He survived the three count. The referee had to catch up with him to raise his hand. It was going to take some getting used to, sticking around for that part of a match. Especially if this really was the start of better days.

***

In the next match, Natalya had requested some time to work out what happened in the battle royal with Rhonda. Not five minutes before then, Rhonda had requested time to work out the problems they had backstage before then against the other tag teams. When they met in the ring, it wasn’t to talk. The bell rang instead, and the referee did his best to stay out of the way.

Someone who also wanted to stay out of the way was Ruby Riott. But she wanted a close seat. She took a chair from the bell box and planted it outside the ring. At the commentary table far up on stage, Corey snorted. “She’s not here because she’s worried. Look at her! She’s enjoying this.”

“But of course. Who doesn’t like a good fireworks show,” Renee asked.

Ruby remained unmoved as the match collapsed outside the ring. Natalya was sprawled on her stomach by the stairs. Rhonda was on her back, the only sign that she was still alive was her chest rising and falling with a stutter. The referee counted to ten, ruling a double loss by count-out. The champion shrugged and took to the ring. She held her title overhead as if claiming their broken friendship as her genius plan.

“Where’s Ruby’s Squad? It’s unlike them not to help her cackle over fallen victims.”

***

They were backstage. Hunting. Mickie James and Alicia Fox tried to go the other way, but they were caught by their shoulders and then their hair.

“Where are you going?”

“Yeah, we just want to talk.”

The captured women yelped as they were thrown into crates and the wall and to the floor.

“Not so hot now, are ya?” Sarah kicked at Mickie’s stomach.

Liv picked Alicia up again and tossed her over her tag partner’s body just as security ran up. As they were being separated, she shouted, “you’re going to for stealing our moment!” They shook themselves loose and hurried down the hallway. On the ground, Alicia and Mickie held onto their heads and their bruised sides.

***

“Ladies and gentlemen: the new Intercontinental Champion, Elias.” Sitting smugly with his rewon title around his waist, Elias set to strumming an upbeat tune. The crowd started to clap along, but as soon as they got off rhythm, he ended it.

He shook his head. “Was there any doubt that I would once again save the WWE from McIntyre’s mediocrity? If you just have faith, you will see that I am the light in this business. I can lead you through the rabble and the dim-witted that fill the locker rooms of both Raw and Smackdown.” He laughed. “Yes, I am already planning far ahead. While I do not have the power to decide who moves between the brand next week, (even though I should; I would do so much better than Y/N or Paige in rearranging the rosters), I can name who I think would be a worthy opponent. Not that’s much to pick from.”

Strumming his guitar once again, Elias began to rattle off names of who he wanted to face in the coming months. Some names like Jeff Hardy and Aleister Black got a cheer. Others, like Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan, received boos laced with awe at the thought. “And any of these are more worthy of my time because Drew is home, too cowardly to face me instead of licking his wounds. Or perhaps he is avoiding the Brooklyn slime.”

While the crowd was booing the dig on their city, the stage erupted with flames and music. Baron Corbin waltzed out. The crowd immediately shifted their hate to the Lone Wolf. He twiddled his mic. “You know what I dislike about you the most, Elias? It isn’t your misplacement at the top of this business, or even your tuneless music; it’s that you can’t see the real talent that should hold that championship.” He shrugged. “I didn’t hear my name on that list.”

Elias shrugged back. “That’s because one: you’re not on Smackdown. And two: you are also not worth my time.”

That made Baron’s blood boil. But he breathed the comment away, continuing to the ring. “And yet, I’m here. Right here and now. And none of those guys are, if they ever will be. Who knows. Maybe nothing will change. I wouldn’t put it past our managers to throw that curveball.”

“I’m going to stop you right there. You are not worming your way into a match.”

Baron paused at the bottom of the ramp. “I’m not worming my way in. It’s official. Looks like you’ve fallen out of favor with Y/N.” To emphasize his point, a referee slid into the ring and shrugged.

“So be it.”

Elias tossed his headset and his scarves outside the ring, but he set up his guitar in the corner. He had planned to use it. It was the perfect target to throw Baron through. But Baron caught himself on the ropes before kicking back into Elias’s chest. Kicking it from its perch, Baron paused with his boot raised above it. Elias lurched forward, but his boots slipped. The guitar crunched and Elias roared. It was a short rage and pride-fueled match after that.

The referee struggled to hold up Elias’s wrist, but the champion snatched it away. He circled Baron, growling while he rolled around on the canvas. Elias seized him by the shoulders and pushed him away.

It was supposed to be a ripcord of sorts. But as Baron was pulled in, he dodged the raised knee and caught Elias around the neck and waist. The momentum was enough to help reverse into a Deep Six. The ring bounced as Elias fell. Stunned, Baron took in the view.

After not even a second’s more hesitation, he snatched the title off the canvas and rolled out of the ring. He didn’t look back until he was at the top of the ramp. Then he hurried backstage through the side entrance leading to the garage.

***

That was where you caught up with him. “Baron. Baron!”

“What?”

“You have to give it back.”

He curled his grip tighter over the Intercontinental title. “No, I don’t. The way I see it, I’m the one that walked out of that ring. I had the last say, the right to take this championship-“

“You lost the match. And you went over my head in the first place. Hunter signed off on this, not me.” You blocked his path and crossed your arms. “If this had been the other way around, you’d be screaming bloody murder.” Taking the initiative, you reached up to take the title. Probably a mistake.

Baron backed away with a snarl. He readied a fist to fly towards your face. While you were prepared to defend yourself, someone else stepped in between you. Dean puffed up his chest against Baron’s and kept you safely behind him. The arrival of the elder Ambrose sparked Baron’s memory.

“I don’t know why you’re so eager to stop me, Y/N. Your cousin did the same exact thing with Seth Rollins a few years ago. He beat him in a match, with Roman’s help, and then ran off with the WWE heavyweight championship. How can you ‘call me out’ if your own blood has done the same thing?”

That stopped you cold. It was a good point. Dean didn’t think so. “I at least won my match.”

“Let him go.”

Dean whipped around, his brow creased. “What?”

You stepped forward, pushing your cousin behind you and maintaining eye-contact with Baron. “He does have a point. Not to put Seth down or anything, but I think Elias is going to be a lot less patient to get his championship back. So, you should probably run.” It took no small effort not to grin as Baron’s face fell. He was soon gone, allowing you the space to chuckle. Until you saw Dean’s face. “What?”

“That’s supposed to be my question. What was that about?”

You shrugged. “He made a good point. And really, I’m not too worried about it. Elias will make him pay for it.”

Dean grumbled. “You were about to pay for it. One Corbin knuckle sandwich, order up for Y/N Ambrose,” he added teasingly.

Looking down and away, it didn’t make you smile. “I have a lot to pay for.”

“No, you don’t. It’s… we’re past that. It’s done, finished, signed, sealed, and wrapped with a bow. You did what you set out to do. Lesnar’s gone and-“

“And it almost cost you everything.”

“But it didn’t. Seth is still champion. And I’ve still got a place here. Now I’m always ready to kick Baron in the teeth, but you don’t have anything else to pay for. You never did. Not in my book.” As he’d spoken, your head dipped lower and lower into your chest. Dean flicked your nose to make you look up. “And I’ll be damned if anyone tries to use that against you. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he said resolutely. “Alright. Now come on, great important manager of Raw. Seth owes us food. Let’s go.” He wouldn’t take no for an answer, so you let him sling an arm over your shoulder and guide you down the hall. A few steps down, he kissed the top of your head and you felt ten pounds fall off your shoulders.

You were forgiven. And now you could be a family again.  

Part 50: One Last Time (Finale)

Series Masterlist

Masterlist 

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