NXT: Triple threat!

Just a few thoughts and results on what many fans feel is WWE's best product: NXT!

1. Blake and Murphy (w/ Alexa Bliss) vs. American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan). 

Some see Gable and Jordan as being similar to the former "Team Angle/World's Greatest Tag Team" Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin. Don't think it's going out on a limb saying the newly christened "American Aplha(s)" are going to be even more successful. They definitely have learned the "entertainment" aspect moreso than what Haas and Benjamin ever did. Jordan is agile but is thicker and stronger than Benjamin and ,as stated,Gable is entertaining for different reasons but including his insistence on saying the catchphrase, "Ready,willing and...Gable." 

For this match,Blake and Murphy did fine. And Alexa Bliss looks...very firm. 

American Alpha over Blake and Murphy in about 7:30.

2. Nia Jax (w/ Eva Marie) vs. Liv Morgan. 

It's good to have some plus size women on the shows if for nothing else than to show not every "diva" needs to be a traditional Barbie type. However,they need to gives us more backstory on Nia. 
Have read quite a bit about Eva Marie but have not seen enough to form an opinion on her ability. The only thing I'll say to criticism is NXT is supposed to be where they're training,right? So have some patience. 
Liv Morgan looked like a college freshman who jogs a lot and decided to get in a wrestling ring.

Nia Jax squashed Liv Morgan in about 2:10.

3.  Bull Dempsey vs. Alex Riley.

When his music hit,it sounded familiar but couldn't place who it was for. It's been quite a while for Alex Riley. He looks ready with a great physique,long hair and beard now. Really feel he's one of a long line of guys of which they dropped the ball. Hopefully,this will be a resurgence for him.

Alex Riley beat Bull Dempsey in about 2:00.

4. Elias Samson vs. John Skyler

Elias Samson is being called "The Drifter" and portrays a brooding guy who is "mysterious." At least he's shown that he can actually play the guitar he carries with him! 

Elias Sampson pinned John Skyler in about 2:00.

5. Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe to determine the No. 1 Contender to the NXT Championship. 

End result:Zayn caught Corbin in a Sharpshooter in the ring but Joe ran in and hooked on the crossface. Corbin submitted, but it was while he was in submissions by both opponents.

Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe forced Baron Corbin to submit in about 12:00.

A convoluted finish to keep the question of #1 contender going. NXT G.M. Willaim Regal said he's have to review the tape. Guess he wasn't watching the match? 

There were some brief videos in-between the matches such as Carmella talking about her match next week against Bayley. Carmella is okay but the tag team she is with-Enzo Amore and Big Cass- are a fun team. 

The Vaudevillains had a vignette with them trying to make sinister faces.

The Hype Bros-Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder- another guy they have totally misused-with the crux of it being that Mojo dosn't understand the Vaudevillains,so we should expect that match. 

Overall,mostly squash matches and a weak ending to the main event. I understand why they did it but still don't like it. 

One last thing: If WWE really wanted to seem fresh and new with RAW to viewers they should put Renee Young on play by play and Corey Graves as the heel announcer he is right now on this show.

Thanks for reading!

"Big Money Matt's" IMPACT!

As of last week, with a predictable yet well done and  dramatic heel turn, Matt Hardy is now a two-time TNA World heavyweight champion!

Opening the show,"stylin' and profilin' looking only as he can look- WHOOO!"-is "Big Money" Matt Hardy with his wife Reby Sky,new bodyguard Tyrus-who was also instrumental in helping Matt defeat the former champion and Tyrus's former employer- Ethan Carter III (EC3) for the title- and their infant son. (for some reason)

Matt's brother Jeff is not happy with big brother,"Big Money" and his new "Mattitude." Reby calls out Jeff for abandoning his brother by acting like a "redneck Evil Knievel" and costing the Hardy Bros. the tag team titles. (POV:I'm glad someone finally pointed out how immature and irresponsible that was of Jeff)

The crowd chants for the former champ with an "EC3" chant and Jeff agress with them saying that the last time Ethan won the title he,unlike Matt,won it fairly.

Matt tells Jeff he loves him but wipes his hands of what will happen since Jeff doesn't agree with him and wants a World title shot.

Main even tonight:Brother vs. brother! Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy for the World Title!

Btw,Jeff, Matt's shoes cost more than your house! WHOOO!

POV:Matt and Jeff have been at odds before and was half expecting Matt to bring up Jeff's heel turn from 2010. Guess TNA thinks everyone has forgotten that.

FEAST OR FIRED! : Yep,it's back. The slightly different "Money In the Bank" match where 4 briefcases hang on hooks on poles.With one change-you can either get fired,a tag team title shot,a World title shot or, this time, instead of an X division shot you get- a chance to win the -*ahem* -prestigious-King of the Mountain title. (Note: Booker T. made himself a "Legends" title that then became the T.V. title and now it's the KOTM title)

Participants: Beer Money-"Cowboy" James Storm and Bobby Roode,KOTM champ Eric Young and Bram,Drew Galloway,Eli Drake,Robbie E.,Jesse Godderz,Aiden O' Shea,Rockstar Spud,Chris Melendez and Grado.

Some great action along with a spot befitting Grado's comedy act where he stands on the shoulders of Aiden but can't quite get the briefcase off the hook! After fumbling, he finally retrieves it!

The others to succeed are Drew Galloway, Eli Drake and James Storm who,of course,had help from his tag partner,Roode. Unlike Eli and Godderz who are ,at least,supposed to be buddies but were out for themselves.

POV: This idea isn't horrible but could be better with 1 simple change- make it Feast or Famine and simply have 1 of the cases be empty. Having someone fired in the storyline makes it hard to justify if you want to bring them back later and having them fired for real is awful. The horrible announcing was on full display as the importance along with several obvious calls were missed. I'd say it should still be for the X Division title but at this point they have about the same importance. Speaking of which...

X Division Title Match: Champion Tigre Uno vs. D.J. Z vs. Mandrews.

POV:One fun spot was Mandrews riding a skateboard down the ramp before performing a huracarana. Somewhere the Dyanamic Dudes are weeping.

After Tigre Uno retained the title, Gregory "Shane" Helms came down and challenged for title next week.Uno accepted.

POV: If you've seen one high flying cruiserweight match....It's completely forgettable. They definitelyneed to do a lot of work on introducing these guys and their motivations. A video package,a promo,something. Helms challenge was supposed to be a big deal but this division has needed a lot of work for a long time so,unfortunately,it looks like Helms might be the champion of a divsion no one cares about- just like his Cruiserwieght championship stint in WWE on Smackdown.

Godderz and Drake contemplate opening the briefcase backstage.

Kurt Angle confronts Matt Hardy about his actions and hypocrisy abounds again as the former Main Evnt Mafia member/leader can't believe Matt's actions. Matt tells Kurt if he sticks his nose in his family's business,he'll get it broken.

Awesome Kong now leads the Dollhouse,which is comprised of Jade,Marti Bell and Rebel, and tonight fights Velvet Sky of the group,The Beautiful People.

POV: Why are there two female factions made up of 3 or more women when there's only 1 championship? Because WWE did it? Naaah,surely not. (Note:There was a Knockouts tag team championship but that seems long,long ago.)

WINNER: Awesome Kong in about three minutes

After the match, Kong begins to beat on Velvet some more. Madison Rayne rushes the ring to help Velvet and out comes the Dollhouse for a four-on-two attack. They lay Velvet in the middle of the ring. Kong climbs the ropes and hits a big splash while Rayne is held by the Dollhouse members and forced to watch.

POV:Looking on the bright side,maybe this is the beginning of making Kong look dominant again.

All the FOF winners join Jeremy Borash in a room for the big reveals. Roode has a quick but funny joke telling J.B. he has a six pack and Rode lifts up his shirt with six beer bottles tucked around his waistline.

"The Miracle" Mike Bennet and his wife Maria interrupt- because it's not like they drag this out enough already or anything- and Bennett chastises everyone for taking such a foolish chance. Galloway gets irked saying sometimes you only have one chance and should take it and that Mike clearly wasn't the brains behind the two. Bennett warns Drew to never insult either of them again. 

POV:Bennett talks like a heel should using a harmful truth to upset others. Too bad it still looks like he raided the closet of former WWE manager Armando Alejandro Estrada. And what did he mean insult both of them? Drew clearly complimented Maria. 

E. Li. Drake. gets tired of waiting and opens his case first revealing a KOTM title shot.

The Wolves are backstage talking about last week when Crazzy Steve and someone else hit them from behind and took their tag titles.

In-arena: The Wolves enter the ring and call out Crazzy Steve, saying they want their Tag Titles back. Out walks a woman in very strange make-up. “Riddle me that,” she said. “Riddle me this. In our world, where are all mad here. Decay, decay, decay.” Steve comes out,the Wolves start after him and -unless you're under the age of 10- out comes his "surprise" partner,"The Monster" Abyss. 

They have an impromptu match which was okay and the lady- Decay,I guess,-distracts the Wolves by shambling to the ring with their tag titles in hand and then Steve sprays them with mist and Decay end up biting one of them! Told you she was a zombie! 

The Wolves win by dq in 7 minutes.

POV:Steve has yet to show any wrestling skill of any kind,he seems to have very little experience. Abyss needed something new to do but not sure this should have been it. 

Back in the FOF room,Roode and Storm act like it might be goodbye. Storm even (stupidly) tells Roode if it's a World title shot he'll let Roode have it! After opening it,they act downcast for a few seconds then celebrate as they get a World Tag Team title shot.

Instead of dragging it out more they go to Grado who says he has no idea what is going on here. Drew Galloway opened his case to show he won a World title shot. They had Grado open his anyway and had it sink in that he was fired and he broke down and cried that his dream was over. (Note:Curry Man a.k.a. Christopher Daniels did something similar a few years ago pretending that he didn't understand he was fired but that was played more for laughs where this was supposed to be more serious. Can't say I'll miss Grado)

POV:Josh Matthews being the horrible announcer he is flippantly says "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy." Except for touting EC3 during his rising heel run,Josh is supposed to be the babyface announcer.It was him doing a heel Michael Cole from 5-6 years ago. This is why TNA can't shake that WWE "inferiority complex." 

Main Event:World title match:World Champion "Big Money" Matt Hardy with Tyrus and Reby Sky vs. "The Charismatic Enigma" Jeff Hardy. 

POV:If by any chance you were looking at the time you could tell this wasn't going to go long.

KOTM champ Eric Young interrupts and rigtfully demands to know how Jeff Hardy is the No. 1 contender!? Eric states he's the #1 contender and there's nothing they can do about it! 

At that point, Bram hits the ring and attacked Hardy. E.Y. and Bram continue the assault while Matt Hardy and Tyrus watch from the corner.

WINNER: Jeff Hardy via disqualification in about 35 seconds.

Hardy and Tyrus get out of the ring while E.Y. sets up a table on the outside. Bram continues to assault Jeff, who is clutching at his injured leg. Matt continues to just watch. Beer Money runs down and attacks Young and Bram while Jeff is clutching his leg in the corner.

Crazzy Steve and Abyss run down and attack Beer Money. Everyone is brawling, except Jeff Hardy who is down hurt and Matt Hardy, who is watching. Storm and Abyss are brawling up the ramp. Roode is throwing punches at Steve and they fight to the locker room.

Matt Hardy stands over Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle comes down to help Jeff. Tyrus attacks Angle from behind. Matt Hardy hits Angle with the World Title. Matt Hardy screams to the crowd that he is iconic. Matt Hardy and Tyrus walk to the outside and begin walking up the ramp with Reby.

Back in the ring, E.Y. picks up Jeff Hardy and tries for a piledriver btu Jeff fights back. Matt is watching. Jeff goes for a Twist of Fate on Bram but E.Y. cuts him off. E.Y. sets up Jeff Hardy on the apron and piledrives him off the apron and through the table that was set up on the outside.

On the ramp, Matt Hardy kisses Reby and they walk off.

E.Y. and Bram stand over a motionless Jeff Hardy as several replays of the piledriver are shown. Hardy is pointing at his neck to the officials. Bram and E.Y. are walking up the ramp as Mathews says the inmates are running the asylum. Mathews says that Jeff Hardy did not deserve this as the show goes off the air.

No title change because as (arguably) the greatest wrestler of all time said a long time ago: " To be the man,you have to beat the man!" WHOOO!

POV:Matthews or "The Pope" D'Angleo DeNiro should have covered for Angle since he stupidly ran down to confront Matt with Tyrus still there. 

This helped set up a lot of things-Matt's full heel turn by just standing there and letting his brother gt seriously hurt so there's a future match along with one between Matt and Kurt Angle. And even Kurt vs. Tyrus and Bram and even Jeff vs. Bram. And,of course,we''ll get Matt Hardy vs. EC3.

OVERALL POV: TNA needs to impove in a lot of areas. They need to resolidify the importance of the X division.Again. Or,quite frankly,do away with it. And the Knocouts division. Again. And they need more tag teams. Beer Money helps but now that's...2. I'm not counting the odd pairings of Bram and Young or even Drake and Godderz. Thankfully,Beer Money was fun this week as the in ring segment a couple of weeks ago had me fearing it would be a lame,watered down version nostalgia trip ala DX of 2006. The announcing definitely needs to improve. 

There is a lot of potential here but the key,as always,is the execution. 

Thanks for reading.

WHOOO!

Monthly Mania

Some of the things going on in the past month:

The Undertaker returns; seeks revenge on Brock Lesnar.

A lot of fans were excited to see the "Deadman" since he's seen even less than Lesnar as both are considered "special attractions" and therefore have limited appearances/matches. However, certain pundits question WWE having to use them as the main event of their second biggest show of the year-Summerslam-instead of using those on the full time roster for that coveted slot. Also, some question the storyline behind Taker's return as he's back to settle a clean loss to Lesnar that happened 18 months ago which, if you look at it that way, makes Taker out to be a sore loser, possibly even a crybaby. Meanwhile, Lesnar is still presented as  a remorseless machine with Paul Heyman as his obnoxious mouthpiece. So, in purely black and white terms, this could be considered a heel vs. heel match. But most fans aren't digging that deep as they simply want  see, what is for many, their childhood hero come back again and achieve the seemingly impossible in slaying the "Beast" Brock Lesnar.

The WWE Divas "Revolution."

3 women from WWE's developmental group/show NXT- current Women's champion "The Boss
 Sasha Banks, Ric Flair's daughter, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch- are now mixed in with the other main roster Divas. So far, that's all that has happened. And the way they did it was also played as something huge as Stephanie McMahon in her authority figure mode- this time seemingly as a babyface as it goes back and forth from that to heel depending on how they feel is best for the story which really just makes it confusing-made a huge presentation of the 3 women now being there. The key here is following through on what sounds like a promise to actually make the women and their matches on their shows matter to all the fans who, for years if not decades, have been conditioned to think of the women only as "eye candy" and their matches as bathroom breaks.

It's a very telling statement that they had written themselves into a corner and had to use Stephanie McMahon's character to bring about some kind of supposed change instead of having the main babyface of the group leading this "revolution." It's mainly because there really isn't a main bayface/heroine. Some may say Paige but even the commentators have mentioned several times that no one trusts her as she had turned on every partner she ever had. They need to learn to follow though on their promise but first need to realize their mistake was in not having  a clear cut hero vs. villain dynamic the fans can rally behind otherwise, it's just 3 more women being presented in a muddled mess.

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens.

A very simple formula-heel Owens vs. hero and current U.S champion Cena-and it has given us some great moments and 3 great matches.

Cesaro gets to shine.

Cesaro has finally started getting a singles push a lot of fans wanted for a long time. Even though he's lost more than he's won, his performances have been outstanding no matter whom he was fighting and it definitely to finally get a semi-big win on Smackdown by pinning Kevin wens in a tag match.

R.I.P. Roddy Piper.

Lots of great moments, matches and memories from a wrestling legend.

EC3 wins TNA wins TNA World Title.

One of the best things TNA has done has been building up the character of Ethan Carter the Third,the fictional nephew of TNA president Dixie Carter. His clean win over Kurt Angle has definitely helped solidify his main event status. The somewhat unfortunate part was it happened on an episode of Impact on Destination America and didn't happen on a bigger stage such as their second biggest ppv- Slammiversary.

SLAMMIVERSARY XIII

TNA's annual pay-per-view came and went without too much fanfare due to poor booking decisions. The most notable thing to happen was Jeff Jarret coming back to win another "King of the Mountain" match which, apparently, is now a championship. Why? Because WWE has a King title so they think they should too. Seriously, that's what is seems like. Speaking of Jarrett...


Jeff Jarrett returns to TNA; inducted into HOF.

He definitely deserves to be in their Hall of Fame. His new promotion Global Force Wrestling (GFW) will be co-promoting with TNA and other promotions. Hopefully, this is good news for everyone as a whole.

Bully Ray named new TNA authority figure.

Much like WWE did last year after Survivor Series, TNA has also decided to fall back on the tired authority figure storyline. Sigh.

Serena comes to TNA; joins James Storm's "Revolution."

Not exactly huge news but she is an interesting adversary for Mickie James. Haven't seen her since she parted ways with WWE after being part of C.M. Punk's "Straight Edge Society."

That's all this time. Thanks for reading!

THE BEAST IS BACK! :RAW 7/6/15

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Aired live from Chicago, Illinois at Allstate Arena

A video package focused on Seth Rollins giving gifts to his lackeys on last week's Raw. Michael Cole, JBL, and "black nerd" Byron Saxton were on commentary.


Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman open the show to remind everyone of Brock's past accomplishments and what is in store tonight.  Heyman:"Lesnar is a god and hallowed be his name. Brock Lesnar is a god of violent retribution and it will come at the expense of Seth Rollins and anyone who sides with him!"

The crowd chants "suplex city."

Heyman is obviosuly great on the mic. But then I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.
(Some might remember that catchphrase from years ago)

1. Intercontinental Champion Ryback vs. Big Show in a non-title match. 

Miz was at ringside again but this time had a mic in hand and did what he's known for, shouting obnoxious comments to both competitors. Ryback missed a top rope splash when Show moved. Show chokeslammed Ryback and then performed an elbow drop on Ryback from the second rope. Miz hit the ring and attacked Show, then Ryback for the DQ.
After the match, Ryback and Miz both recovered and surrounded Miz, who begged off by telling them it should be saved for Battleground. Miz then suggested he and Ryback take out Show. Ryback gave Miz Shellshocked, then Show chokeslammed Miz. Ryback gave Show a clunky looking clothesline, but the crowd popped for it...
Ryback fought Big Show to an apparent no-contest in 9:30.

Guess they didn't feel like waiting until the next "special event" Battleground to have the payoff of Show and Ryback getting their hnads on Miz.

2. Paige vs. Brie Bella (w/Nikki Bella, Alicia Fox). The Bellas and Alicia Fox were already in the ring so no booty shaking entrance by Nikki this time. Booo. Naomi and Tamina were shown watching the match on a backstage monitor. Tamina had a Bride of Frankenstein hairdo. It looked like Paige had made herself an opening to possibly pin Brie when she avoided a missile dropkick, then ran Brie into Nikki to knock her off the apron. Paige knocked Alicia off the apron. However, Brie hit a facebuster on Paige and pinned her. Nikki and Fox attacked Paige afterward...

Brie Bella defeated Paige in 3:15.

This will eventually have a payoff of Paige finally finding a partner or two to fight the Bellas Three,right? Maybe two women called up from NXT?

3. Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus.

A decent match with a good pace. Much faster outing for Sheamus than last week. Reigns set up for his finisher when Bray Wyatt's music played.

A lantern carrying man headed to the ring. Wyatt cut the man off a ringside and then pulled his wig off and acted surprised. The real Wyatt appeared on the big screen and laughed before saying, "Anybody but you, Roman." The lights in the building turned on and Sheamus won via countout...
Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns via count out in 12:00.

It's the Viper! Randy Orton is back and goes right for Sheamus. Orton quickly gets Sheamus in the ring and nails him with an RKO.

Through HHH's prompting Seth Rollins decides to call out Brock Lesnar. I'm sure that'll work out well.

Rusev and Summer Rae come to the ring and naturally run down Lana and Dolph Ziggler. The latter two come out to confront the other pair.
Lana vs Summer Rae is the best Divas feud right now since there seems to be a clear babyface and heel. After Ziggler tells Rusev ,"Remember that song you butchered a few weeks ago? Don't know whatcha' got till it's gone? It's gone,gone,gone." After Ziggler makes out with Lana in front of him,Rusev attacks Dolph with his crutch. Rusev took off his walking boot which was obviously just to cover up a no longer injured foot. Ziggler makes a very brief comeback until he's thwarted again by the former Bulgarian brute. Meanwhile,Summer and Lana had taken off their heels and Summer kicked Lana and threw her to ringside.

It's time to BO-LIEVE!  Bo Dallas said that was a horrible thing that just happened to Dolph Ziggler but bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people. Like himself. All you have to do is Bo-Lieve!

Bo Dallas vs. Dean Ambrose: A dueling chant of "Let's go Ambrose-Just Bo-Lieve!" breaks out in the crowd.Ambrose dominated the match and won it with Dirty Deeds...
Dean Ambrose defeated Bo Dallas in 2:55. That's all there was to it. Made Ambrose fans happy.


King Barrett vs. R-Truth. Truth has come out  again wearing a towel as a cape and carrying  a plunger instead of a scepter mocking Barrett. Is R-Truth supposed to be the "ghetto king?" Seriously,WWE has been horrible with low brow stereotypes of minorities over the years. Maybe it was supposed to be a tribute to the old Eddie Murphy claymation series the P.J.s? Anyone elese remember that?
Barrett does a good job acting as though he's truly offended by this even thoug he's just wearing  a more colorful outfit and has the title of "King" that doesn't mean anything.The Chicago crowd is really hot for anything tonight. Good for them having fun. Truth comes off the second rope and Barrett nails him with the Bull Hammer and then gets the pin. 

King Barrett pinned R-Truth in 8:50.

The broadcast team recapped the Rusev attack on Ziggler. Byron said Ziggler suffered "a crushed larynx or some type of throat damage." JBL said the good news is that Ziggler's breathing was not deterred.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins comes out carrying an ax handle and then waves towars the side of the stage and J & J Security drives the new Cadillac Rollins gave them last week into the arena. They'd been showing them driving it around throughout the show. Both Jmaie Noble and Joey Mercury also had ax handles.

Rollins says he is the man nd the undisputed future of WWE,proving it over and over including when he reunited the Authority and they all left Brock Lesnar lying like a whimpering dog. Rollins claims to have conquered the conqueror and that Brock can't defeat a thinking man's champion. Rollins said there's no one else on earth who can beat Lesnar. He said he will walk in with the title and walk out with it. The Chicago fans started chanting C.M. Punk and then chanted Justin Bieber. Rollins asked."Is Lesnar  the beast everyone says he is or is he just Paul Heyman's bitch?!" The live crowd reacted in a shocked manner. 

Brock Lesnar comes out with Paul Heyman but Heyman walks to the back and Brock goes to the ring. He stops and then walks backwards up the aisle as Heyman comes back out with a stage trunk. We can clearly see two fire extinguishers but Brock leans in and pulls out two very shiny and sharp axes! Brock gets one to stick in the side of the door, smashes a window and the back window with the other. Brock eventually rips off the driver's side door and flings it several feet off to his side away from the audience. Noble tries to stop Lesnar only to get a Kimura arm lock for his troubles. Mercury gets thrown onto the hood and after a loud chant of "SU-PLEX,SU-PLEX,SU-PLEX!," Mercury is indeed given a back suplex onto the hood with his feet cracking the windshield. Brock Lesnar stands triumphantly on the hood of the Cadillac then goes after Rollins int he ring. Rollins runs out through the crowd. Lesnar chased him a little but then went to the ring to hold up the WWE champonship belt.

The Lucha Dragons vs. New Day-Big E. & Kofi Kingston w/Xavier Woods:WWE World Tag Team Champions The Prime Time Players-Titus O' Neal and Darren Young are sitiing in on commentary. The Lucha Dragons are a fun high flying duo and i'm sure the masks sell well like they did for Rey Misterio. The champs look good in some sharp outfits. Darren's is more business casual than Titus'. Titus puts JBL in his place when JBL knocks Titus's alma mater as Titus tells JBL he has two degress-a masters and an undergraduate degree. All agree they're proud of Xavier going for a PhD. Titus unfortunately got tongue tied a couple of times. All of the verbal sparring distracted from the action in and around the ring. The Dragons knocked Woods off the apron and then flipped off the top rope and onto Kingston and E at ringside.Sin Cara scored a couple of near falls on Kingston. They went for simultaneous suicide dives, but crashed and burned. New Day hit their finisher for the win.
Kofi Kingston and Big E beat The Lucha Dragons in 10:20.

I'm not covering all of their commercials but this one caught my attention.We see someone out in a feld in the distance as though he's digging a grave. My first thought is it's the Undertaker but nope,it's "Stone Cold" Steve Austin unearthing a WWE champonship belt as he'll be on the cover of the new WWE video game.

The Champs Is Here! It's time for the John Cena U.S. Championship Open Challenge. 

The hot Chicago crowd does the sing along of "John cena suuucks" as he came to the ring. 

Cena wants to know if some are upset that Kevin Owens lost the NXT championship? (to Finn Balor in Japan on Saturday on the Beast in the East special) Cena warns whoever comes out better bring their A game.

Kevin Owens music hits and out comes the former NXT champ. Owens says every week the worst part of RAW is when Cena comes out and spews out the same crap over and over and he's sick of it and is going to shut up Cena tonight since he no longer has the NXT championship. As Owens gets in the ring Cesaro's music hits. Cesaro says no one wants to hear Owens whine about losing the NXT championship. Cesaro says he would have beaten Cena last week if it hadn't been for Owens. and if Owens doesn't leave he'll have a problem with Cena and himself. Owens goes to the back.

7. John Cena vs. Cesaro for the U.S. Championship. Lilian Garcia delivered the in-ring introductions for the title match. They cut to a quick commercial break just after the match started.

Cesaro applies for the "Million Dollar Dream" sleeper hold as we go to break. A lot of back and forth with each man hitting what would normally be their finishing move. Not going to cover every hold as it's best to just watch it for yourself. I thought it was great! If you dislike Cena this match might change your mind a little. 
John Cena defeated Cesaro in approximately 30 minutes to retain the U.S. Championship.

Michael Cole said  it was a " classic." Usually I would almost hate Cole saying anything was a classic as it might ring hollow but this time I think he's right. 

After the match, Kevin Owens attacked John Cena and went for a Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Cena quickly fought him off and performed an AA that cleared Owens from the ring.

Overall analysis: The show was saved by a classic 30 minute main event and a very pasionate Chicago crowd who were into everything. The Brock Lesnar segment with Heyman at the beginning and then later with Rollins and J&J could have been edited down to just one segment. And,even though this has been said many times before,why do we need such a long overrun anyway? The Monday Night Wars were a long time ago.

6/29/15 RAW Review

Welcome to my first blog about professional wrestling. Been watching pro wrestling regularly  since about the latter part of 1986. Decided to start with the WWE and their flagship show,Monday Night RAW.:

WWE World Heavyweight Champion-"The Architect" Seth Rollins gives away gifts to his teammates in the Authority-"Director of Operations" Kane and J & J (Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury)Security-including Appple watches for all three,a Hawaiian vacation for Kane, and a new Cadillac for J &J.  All of this is to try and ensure their loyalty so they'll continue to help Rollins against "The Beast" Brock Lesnar like they did last week as Lesnar's "advocate" Paul Heyman looking on helplessly at ringside.

Rollins is a good talker and great in his role as the cowardly heel champion. J &J have their moments also but Kane should go to Hawaii and stay there. And the tradition of having a long 20 minute promo every week has gotten as stale as having heel authority figures-thankfully, HHH and Stephanie McMahon weren't there to bigfoot and emasculate the others as they've been known to do in the past.

Does anyone really care what Big Show or Mark Henry do anymore? There's a reason Show has been getting chants of "Please retire" from the crowds. Show pinned Henry within a few minutes.

Miz is a good hand,solid in the ring but something about his character has never clicked with me. Maybe a little when he teamed with John Morrison years ago. Ryback has once again caught on with the crowd even though he has a limited moveset. Fans love to chant "Feed me more!" with him. Letting Ryback talk about his personal life a few months ago seemed to help connect with some fans and they should do it with other talent more often. Intercontinental champion Ryback won by count out in a non-title match.

The Divas division is a mess. Paige is still popular with most fans but bad booking has hurt her and no one else is presented as likeable. They've been giving the women more time to show off their abilities but it doesn't matter if the fans aren't emotionally invested in any of it. Although it is nice to see Alicia Fox get another chance by pairing with the Bellas,dobut it'll matter. Paige pinned Alicia Fox. I miss AJ Lee. 

NXT champion Kevin Owens is,quite possibly, the best heel in wrestling right now

Cesaro vs. U.S. champion John Cena-now we're talking! For too long Cesaro has been booked horribly for whatever reason. He's been given bad gimmicks like yodeling instead of just letting him be a serious ass kicker like he should be. I'd make a dominant heel stable with Orton,Cesaro,Barrett and Sandow,the latter two of which have also been saddled with ridiculous cartoon gimmicks. 

A great 20 minute match between Cesaro and Cena. As mentioned on commentary,working with new people seems to have given new life to Cena,he's even incorporated a couple of new moves in the last few months. Cena wins by dq and keeps the U.S. championship when Owens interfered in the match as Owens wants to be the one to take the title from Cena at Battleground. 

I don't care about Bray Wyatt anymore. His promos can still be interesting at times but there's only so long you can go without winning until you're just a loser. This could help Roman Reigns though as a father out to protect his daughter might show him in a better light and connect with fans who were afraid he was turning into the next "Super" Cena.

The Lucha Dragons are a fun, high flying team. Even the New Day has potential but need to start racking up more wins,otherwise what's the point? Nice t-shirts for the tag champs, The Prime Time Players, as it pays tribute to the show that existed on Monday nights before RAW existed-Prime Time Wrestling. Darren Young should have a bright future ahead of him. Unfortunately for PTP,they were given horribly corny segments to do even before they became champs,hopefully they can make fan forget about them. The WWE tag team champions The Prime Time Players & The Lucha Dragons def. The New Day & Bo Dallas when Titus O' Neil pinned Kofi Kingston. A good 8 man tag. 

The Rock made a surprise appearance at a live event in Boston. That's cool.

My friend,Kev Lyerly is still waiting for Bo Dallas to team with his real life brother,Bray Wyatt.

Even though Dolph Ziggler was defending his girlfriend,Lana, his threat to cripple Rusev was a heel statement. Guessing they're keeping Rusev on camera so when he comes back and ends the feud with Ziggler,he can move on to I-C champ Ryback.As popular as Lana is right now,if she could wrestle it could help the babyface side of the Divas division. If she doesn't go back to Rusev. Summer Rae has now joined Rusev and slapped the taste out of Lana's mouth. And,then CAAATFIIIGHT! 

I like Dean Ambrose as, in a PG wrestling world,he's a close to a rebellious babyface as you're going to get but some of the dialogue he's given is awful. The "Lunatic Fringe" standing there talking to Terminator cardboard cutouts doesn't help. The move where he leans back into the ropes and then springs forward i'm calling the "lunatic lunge." 

Sheamus vs. Neville. Neville is ripped but it's basically bigger guy vs.smaller guy. Neville looks like a Lord of the Rings elf and Sheamus an extremely pale,red headed cockatiel. Neville is enjoyable but it didn't hold my interest. Sheamus's style reminds me of what the late Gorilla Monsoon used to say about Greg "The Hammer" Valentine:" It takes him 10 to 15 minutes just to warm up!" Shemus pins Neville. Is anyone except the most die hard Sheamus fan looking forward to him trying to use his "Money in the Bank" title shot to try and become WWE world champion?

"King" Barrett pins Jack Swagger in a few minutes. Wow,Swagger has definitely fallen on hard times! (R.I.P. Dusty Rhodes.)

Wiith all of the talent WWE has they keep putting Kane into main events. 

The Authority-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Kane def. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns in a No DQ tag match after Kane chokeslammed Ambrose and Rollins followed up with a pedigree for the winning pinfall. Rollins' surrogate daddy HHH should be proud.  During the match Bray Wyatt attcked Reigns because...well,whatever mumbo jumo reason he has for hating Reigns. I think it's because Wyatt is jealous of what Reigns has and that Bray wasn't his daddy's favorite. Shouldn't Bray be beating up Seth Rollins instead then? You know,since Rollins is sugar daddy HHH's favorite? After the match,The Authority beat down Reigns and with J &J helping,Rollins powerbombed Reigns through a table set up in the corner. Wyatt came back down and gave Reigns his finishing move,"Sister Abigail",again then stood over him in a crucifix pose. 

Overall,another long 3 hours and some change. RAW would definitely benefit from being a 90 minute show. The only true "must see" match is Cena vs. Cesaro.