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| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 12:07pm On Apr 28, 2022 |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by DanieBlinkz(m): 8:30am On Apr 30, 2022 |
How was SmackDown? cause I missed it this morning. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 10:03am On Apr 30, 2022 |
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Drew McIntyre finally got to have a straight up match with Sami Zayn, the poetic finale to their little feud coming in a steel cage match that ended up being a microcosm of the feud itself. Zayn spent the entire match trying to escape, and McIntyre beat em up each time he kept him in the cage. Eventually, he hit the Claymore and scored the pinfall. It was entertaining for what it was, a way to heat up McIntyre while utilizing Zayn in ways he’s most effective. It turns out, McIntyre needed heating up because later in this very show, he was going to come to the rescue of RK-Bro, who needed an assist because The Bloodline had them outnumbered and were putting the boots to them. Roman Reigns acted shocked McIntyre confronted him, but as Drew himself screamed to him, “this has been a long time coming.” It’s an interesting choice, all things considered. McIntyre has clearly been pretty well protected for a while now, quite obviously in anticipation of his shooting back up to the main event to square off with Reigns. Doing it now would seem to indicate they aren’t as high on McIntyre as they once were. In a strange twist, they changed the tag team title unification match by having Paul Heyman intimidate Adam Pearce into making it a six-man tag team match. It would seem the unification is off the table now, and McIntyre won’t be getting a title shot either. That could change before WrestleMania Backlash, but for now, the announcement did not include anything about any titles being on the line. Weird! And maybe indicative of McIntyre not quite being ready for this yet? Or, and this is entirely possible and maybe even likely, an issue related to WWE’s lack of long term planning. All the Rest They tried to make a big deal of Happy Corbin using a sledgehammer to smash Madcap Moss’s Andre Battle Royal trophy. This would work better if said trophy meant a whole lot more than it does. Moss disguised himself and snuck in to stop Corbin anyway, sending him packing after a short beatdown. Then he laughed at Corbin. Ricochet beat Shanky in an Intercontinental championship match. There wasn’t much to it, which is tough considering Ricochet always has fun matches, no matter the opponent. It turned out to be a way to put strain on the relationship between Shanky and Jinder Mahal. We’ll see where that goes. Raquel Rodriguez won a glorified squash match for her debut bout on the blue brand. It was a taped show, so difficult to gauge how well she did here, but she certainly didn’t bomb. Shayna Baszler & Natalya, who are getting another tag team title match because there are no other teams, never did anything to earn that position beyond existing. Here, they had Naomi beat Baszler clean, then had the rule breakers beat down the babyfaces, with Shayna doing the arm breaker routine. I guess that’s one way to go about it! Kofi Kingston said “get up in them guts” on this show, word to Jason Mewes. Xavier Woods beat Ridge Holland while Sheamus beat Kingston in singles matches, putting Woods through a table on the outside afterward. Far more important in all this? WHERE’S BUTCH?!? A “Beat The Clock I Quit” Challenge was booked for this show, with Ronda Rousey beating Shotzi in 1:41 and Charlotte Flair being unable to match that time against Aliyah. She blamed the timekeeper who was, surprise, Drew Gulak trying out something else. He got roughed up and treated like crap again. Poor fella. I wonder what he’ll get into next week! This was a taped show that didn’t actually feel like a taped show, which is to its credit. Grade: C+ |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 10:03am On Apr 30, 2022 |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 10:21pm On Apr 30, 2022 |
Dem don sack Dakota and Dexter Lumis with 8 others including Malcom Bivens(he refused to renew). My advice, since it's a developmental, get NXT off TV. The inconsistencies now will be glaring. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 8:10am On May 02, 2022 |
ValeeLove: Apart from Bivens none of them were doing anything Dexter Lumis Malcolm Bivens Dakota Kai Harland Persia Pirotta Raelyn Divine Draco Anthony Vish Kanya Mila Malani Blair Baldwin |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 10:32am On May 03, 2022 |
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Bullet Club Leaders Unite? Devotees of this column know I’m a huge fan of what’s happening with Edge and Damian Priest right now. Their name aside, it just works for me. That streak continued this week as a returning AJ Styles wrestled performed against Damian Priest for the chance to fight Edge on the dolo (shoutout to the Mobb Deep fans) tip at WrestleMania Backlash. Edge’s prematch promo proved he not only needs to be a heel, but this specific heel. Edge is a heat magnet when there’s a little bit of truth to what he’s saying. As fans, we kinda do hold back the good guys. If the goal is to win the match by any means necessary, there are limits someone like babyface AJ will cross so the fans won’t boo. That need for adulation sometimes is the difference between a W and the L. This entire angle makes Priest more interesting as well. He has a purpose in the ring, while both AJ and Edge bring out the best in him. Even this week, Damian looked good in defeat. There’s never any shame losing to AJ, but there’s definitely no issue with Styles getting a win by the skin of his teeth. In fact, one might argue the win only happened because Edge distracted AJ to help his protege. Edge wasn’t so much protecting Priest as he was ensuring his insurance policy remained at ringside for his upcoming match. That didn’t happen, and we’re getting AJ vs. Edge one-on-one. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE... Finn Balor, he of “poor Finn” fame, came out to save AJ Styles from a frustrated Edge and Damian. Finn has his own issues with Judgement Day—the group, not the PPV—and picked this moment to save his Bullet Club bruv. And it was very dope! But I do hope there’s more here and we’re going somewhere. Finn and AJ giving each other the Bullet Club salute is cool but it better lead to something. It’s the most interesting development for Finn since going to NXT and becoming a Prince. The Rest Kevin Owens is a Gem I know, I know. I sing KO’s praises every week but how can I not? In the brief interaction we got between The Street Profits, Ezekiel (ELIAS), Alpha Academy, and the previously mentioned KO was pure gold just for his reactions and side comments. We got another entertaining match between all six men. In a good narrative moment, KO got the upper hand on Ezekiel very briefly, allowing Chad Gable to pin Zeke with an Oklahoma roll. I love this story maybe a bit too much. Blood Feud Raw was all about crew love when it opened this week. We got the Bloodline, featuring the Undisputed Universal champ telling Greensboro, NC to acknowledge him, followed by RK-Bro with a surprise attack on The Usos. Out came Drew McIntyre with sword in hand, to square off against Roman Reigns. This is wrestling so you know a brawl ensued between all six men. Rather than give the people what they want, Adam Pearce and a bunch of other people came through to stop the brawl...and that was it. Seriously, nothing else happened. A hot start with zero follow up elicits both a yawn and a meh. Sonya, Sonya, Sonya The main event was underwhelming. We got a six-woman tag, which sounds exciting. Right? Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley, and Sonya Deville taking on Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, and Asuka! There’s plenty of beef to throw on the grill with these women, so let them fight and let it get violent. But that’s not what we got. The match was fine but it didn’t feel special. It definitely didn’t feel like a match for a go home show. Even with all those different issues, this was about Sonya Deville’s fall from grace. She lost her “WWE Official” status for the night, she’s still under investigation, and Liv Morgan pinned her. The babyface team celebrated while Becky, Rhea, and Sonya stewed. Veer Squash While I do enjoy Veer—and his hair—I grow tired of the squashes at this point, After months...and months...and months announcing his coming, we need a little more than squash matches from the guy. Let’s hope he’s still not demolishing local talent one month form now. Marriage on the Rocks The 24-7 title scene keeps entertaining. R-Truth is the worst husband in history because he not only allowed his wife to succumb to a sneak attack from Nikki A.S,H. but also tried to pin her for said title after getting Dana a rematch with Nikki to “save the marriage”! Truth is a mess of a husband and Dana is 1000 percent correct to demand a divorce like she did this week. As the world turns... Seth Insults The Dream To quote another Marcus, “this sh*t just got real.” Seth Rollins wanted his own appreciation night. Cody Rhodes said “nah.” Seth wanted his flowers from Cody, Cody said “nah” again! Seth insulted Dusty Rhodes and that was enough for Cody to snap. One thing you never ever ever do is insult someone’s dead parent. If you do, you better break fast like eggs and bacon because the beating is coming faster and more furious than Dom, Brian, and crew. This was a good angle to get a lot of heat on Seth before their upcoming match, and get the crowd even more behind Cody. Stop Evoking The Hurt Business If there’s one black eye on this show, it’s Cedric Alexander taking on Bobby Lashley in hopes of impressing MVP. Mostly because it continues this thread that Cedric—and Shelton by proxy—are desperate losers clamoring for the old days. Yes, we needed to make Lashley look strong before taking on the Big Man, cool. But Cedric isn’t a threat to Lashley. And, once again, it reminds me of something I miss and something much better than what we’re getting. Ali x Ciampa part deux Theory and Miz beat Mustafa Ali in handicap match because of course they did. Adding insult to injury, Ciampa attacked Ali again this week. Doing the same thing as last week with no explanation isn’t story progression; it’s running in place. Stringer Bell once said no one cares about a 40 degree day. This episode of Raw was a 40 degree day. It was average, some cool things happened, but it was just there for the most part. I expected more for a go home show. Here’s hoping we have a great episode of SmackDown on our hands this week. Grade: C |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 11:44am On May 03, 2022 |
I gotta say tho, despite all these stories being mid or head scratchers I want to commend the crowds for going wild and keeping the energy...I like that. Not everyone has to be a critical poop basket like me and that's beautiful. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 10:26am On May 04, 2022 |
WWE NXT spring breakn' REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS This the Year of the Grimey fella. Is Cameron Grimes a true champion or just a guy who got lucky? That was the question going into Spring Breakin’. The Grimey one, in an effort to prove himself, took on Solo Sikoa and former North American champ Carmelo Hayes in a triple threat match. How could it not be dope, right? As assumed by anyone with eyes, this match, unlike the post office lately, delivered. It started with Carmelo throwing shots at both men, as he usually likes to assert his dominance as soon as we hear the ding. Rather than team up against the A Champ—yup, still calling him that—Solo and Cameron quickly turned to fight each other the second Hayes was out of the picture. Melo’s insistence at beating everyone at their own game defined his run as champion. Grimes, at least so far, is focusing on doing everything on his own. His emotional motivation for obtaining NXT’s prettiest belt motivates him to prove to his deceased father that he really can carry his own. Admirable if maybe a tad foolish, but I get it. In fact, that very idea of doing it dolo played into the ending. But we’ll get there. While the first two acts of the match were good, the third act took it into greatness territory. Yes, we got false finishes and awesome counters, like Melo countering the Cave In with a Codebreaker or Sikoa just overpowering both men with ease, but it was the build to these moves that made a difference. Every gesture felt important and like a realistic ending. The actual ending, however, was indicative of the man Cameron Grimes wants to be as champion, and the fact a match of this caliber is still new-ish territory for Solo. Sikoa lost track of Grimes and hoisted Hayes onto his shoulders for a Samoan Drop. Grimes, out of nowhere, hit Sikoa with a Cave In from the top rope, stunning the solo act and discombobulating the A champ. 1-2-3. Cameron Grimes retains in his first big test as North American champ. The crowd, and this writer—were incredibly satisfied. Now, what does it all mean for the two losers? Solo took the pin, meaning Melo has an out for a one-on-one rematch IF they choose to go that direction. I think it’s time for him to move on to bigger and better things. Especially if it means giving Bron Breakker something good to do as an act of redemption for this travesty of an angle with Joe Gacy. Solo proved he can hang with the big boys, so look for him to stay in this title picture for the foreseeable future. Diamonds Aren’t Forever Malcolm Bivens is no more and the Diamond Mine continues coming a part at the seams. Before we get to that, the tag match between the Brothers Creed and the Viking Raiders was quite the slobberknocker. The main story was the Creeds looking for redemption after their loss in the tag gauntlet a couple weeks ago. And they were on the verge of doing just that. They refused to give up or give in, taking every shot the Raiders threw their way. Ivar and Erik even isolated Brutus for several minutes and gave him the beating of a lifetime. Ivar power bombed Erik onto Brutus, followed by Ivar taking to the skies for a gigantic splash. Even with all that, Brutus refused to quit. The Creeds eventually got the W but it was thanks to Roderick Strong’s interference. Neither the ref or the Creeds saw Strong, so Julius and Brutus were beside themselves when they saw the replay. This is the way for Roddy to exit the Mine eventually. Who gets to beat him down or beat him in a match to send him on his way? Frazer FTW Nathan Frazer. That’s the guy who gave the crowd something to cheer about when he defeated Grayson Waller, public enemy #1. And it was quite the match as well. While the ending didn’t completely do it for me, as Andre Chase blew an air horn that threw Grayson off of his game, it was a great moment watching Frazer get the pin and the W. Not Quite a Team Nikkita Lyons and Lash Legend wrote another chapter in their feud this week. Nikkita teamed with Cora Jade while Lash hooked her wagon to the star that is Natalya. And it was a fun match with plenty of emotion from all women involved. At times, it seemed like both teams really disliked each other, which I always appreciate. Two things here: Nikkita can really move in that ring and is incredibly agile. Two, the ending played perfectly into Nattie’s arrogance. While Lash had an upper hand, Nattie went the extra unnecessary mile and dropkicked her partner instead of her opponent. That was the start of the ending for Lash and Nattie, killing all of their momentum. Cora Jade picked up the win for her team. This is Stupid Bron Breakker and Joe Gacy’s feud is, to quote the late great Big Punisher, “triznash.” That’s “trash” for you non rap fans. I hoped against hope their NXT Championship match might salvage their beef. Yeah, it didn’t. Not only was the match incredibly abrupt, but it had no pop. Nothing was sloppy, their timing was good, and they did what they needed to do. But the chemistry was barely existent and the story going into the match just made it even more of a dud. I don’t blame either man for that. Their hands were tied going into this match. To say nothing of the fact they only had about 10 minutes to tell a story which really isn’t anything for a world title match. Making matters worse, the ending! Besides the fact the match just ended on the flattest of flat notes, we got more people in hooded robes. Did they do anything? Who knows. The camera cut off before we got to see if they attacked Bron or if Bron attacked them or if they’re a part of Gacy’s spooky entourage. The whole thing is a mess and it was an awful way to end a pretty good show. booooo. Godfather Part IV I’m always down for mafia stuff. Even if it’s silly mafia stuff with no defined stakes. What “business” are Santos Escobar and Tony D’Angelo warring over? Not entirely sure. Taking over NXT? Are they working on some importing/exporting business? It’s undefined but I love seeing it in action. Even if it went a tad too long and both guys started repeating themselves. There was no truce, even though both parties agreed to one. LdF kidnapped—of course—AJ Galante in a...parking lot...after their meeting. Not even getting my hopes up there’s a resolution here. High School High I joke about NXT feeling like a high school movie or sitcom at times. We got that in full effect this week with anything involving Toxic Attraction and Wendy Choo. Wendy ruined Mandy’s visit to a tanning salon, and then Choo and Roxanne Perez ruined Jacy Jayne and GiGi Dolin’s beach trip. Nope, not feeling it. The main storylines for the most important belts in NXT are barely written for children. This was an uneven show. It started off incredibly, as NXT often does. But was inconsistent at best afterwards, with a terrible main event that, sadly, looks like one battle of a prolonged and agonizing war between Bron and Gacy. Grade: C- |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 1:12pm On May 07, 2022 |
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS We’re just days away from the next WWE pay-per-view (PPV) on the schedule, WrestleMania Backlash, and while that was made clear on Friday Night SmackDown this week, very little was done to actually create some damn hype for the matches on the show. That may have a lot more to do with the fact that the show itself is suffering from a decided lack of interesting matches, with a main event being a six-man tag with no titles on the line when we were originally looking at a title unification match in the tag team division and maybe Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre for the Universal title. The fact that at no point have we been given an explanation for why Reigns demanded The Usos go unify the titles and then ripped up the contract for the match where they would do so is an annoying footnote to all this. The story here kind of sucks. What carries the day is the fact that everyone involved here is incredibly entertaining even without having much of a story to work with. Tell me you didn’t enjoy that entire “acknowledge” bit RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre did. You liar. Meanwhile, they had a really sun sprint of a physical confrontation to close the show out. Reigns’ sell of the Claymore from McIntyre was particularly special. They all did really well here with what they were given to do. It’s just not enough to make me want to bother with the PPV this weekend. I suppose that’s the price we pay to have every PPV on Peacock for such a cheap deal. It’s a show, it will probably be fun, a few interesting things may happen, but it’s ultimately not nearly as relevant as most normal weeks of WWE television. That’s kind of a shame too. All the Rest Charlotte Flair called Long Island the armpit of New York, an insult many have used and one that cracks me up every time. She promised to beat up Aliyah as a preview for WrestleMania Backlash, then cheap shot her. That brought Ronda Rousey out for a good old fashioned pre-PPV pull apart brawl. As far as brawls go, it wasn’t terrible. Rousey’s makeup got smeared all over her face and they were screaming at each other while being held back. Flair assaulted some officials. It felt a little more like they genuinely dislike each other, so that’s good! Shayna Baszler cheated her way to a win over Sasha Banks, using an assist from Natalya on the outside to do it. The babyfaces stood tall by the end of the segment, but I’m not sure if that bodes well for them or not. The idea here was to show they can be had with less than honest tactics, and, to be fair, Naomi was a bit slow on being where she needed to be. OF COURSE they were gonna cheat! Let’s just hope the match is good this weekend. Madcap Moss’s material got much better this week. Instead of cheesy dad jokes, he was dealing pointed barbs that actually hit at Happy Corbin on a personal level. It felt like maybe the start of some character development, where he’s a bit more serious with his comedy, if that makes sense. Less cheese, more fire. Corbin walked off without even picking a physical fight looking legitimately hurt by it. That’s a lot more interesting than what they were going with prior. I’m intrigued, at the very least. Moss is still a big ol’ goof, but there’s some potential to be more here. Drew Gulak was back for more punishment this week, this time in the form of actually getting to wrestle a match! That’s great for him! Oh, wait, it was against GUNTHER. Gulak got absolutely pummeled, He was the utter professional we can always count on him to be. Love that guy. WHERE THE HELL WAS BUTCH?!? UNDER THE DAMN RING! THAT SON OF A SON OF A! I don’t know when tables became the most exciting thing, something the live audience absolutely adores at all times and even chants for in any gimmick match, but it makes for great fun when we actually get them. Here, we got a Tables match that saw Sheamus & Ridge Holland beat The New Day because BUTCH was hiding under the ring and showed up at the most opportune time. It was fun. Sami Zayn is still Wile E. Coyote, cooking up schemes to best position himself to achieve victory, and wouldn’t you know it, he actually managed to score one over Shinsuke Nakamura this week. He didn’t mean to get into a match with him, and it looked like Adam Pearce would send him into a brick wall like usual, but he actually pulled a fast one and got ahead for once. You almost feel happy for the guy. Almost. This was a perfectly decent show, it was just deeply underwhelming as the go home show to a pay-per-view. WrestleMania Backlash couldn’t have any less hype if it tried. Grade: C+ 1 Like |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 11:13pm On May 08, 2022 |
Ali seems to be having fun https://twitter.com/AliWWE/status/1523345023961640963?t=1fh8hCZzrQXM0UM56Qugzg&s=19 |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by MorataFC: 3:54am On May 09, 2022 |
Mtceeeew, Blood line wins |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 6:42am On May 09, 2022 |
WWE Wrestlemania Backlash REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Kick in the Door “Kick in the Door” was the Notorious B.I.G.’s warning to emcees everywhere. Between the release of his first album and his second, Biggie took a lot of heat from several emcees. Some prominent and some more underground, but he heard all and saw all. “Ain’t no other kings in this rap thing they siblings/nothing but my chil’ren one shot they disappearing.” That’s how BIG rolled and I imagine those words float through Roman Reigns’ head as well. WrestleMania Backlash was Reigns’ “Kick in the Door” moment. Or at least that’s what the Tribal Chief wants us to think. The most fascinating aspect of Roman’s persona is his insecurity. That weakness doesn’t just show on the microphone either. During the six-man tag main event, Roman refused to tango with Randy Orton or Drew McIntyre. Randy’s a psychopath on a hot streak and Drew is...well, you know what Drew looks like. Roman showed his colors early when Drew tagged in and wants all of Reigns. Reigns hesitated for a bit, tagged in, squared off Drew O’Mac, and tagged out. Not only was he denying the crowd what they wanted, but he got to continue hiding. Roman wanted Riddle because he doesn’t take Randy’s tag partner seriously. Roman punching below his weight is a common theme. Jimmy and Jey Uso contribute by beating his opponents down and letting him get the literal flowers in the end. That works here because like most RK-Bro matches, Riddle was the whipping boy. I realized it’s a great role for him because he’s sympathetic. Riddle is just a regular guy out here doing regular guy things. He took offense from The Uso’s, double teams, cheap shots from Roman, and played his role perfectly. The Bloodline did everything in their power to keep Riddle in the match. Seriously, every wrestler performer in WWE knows Riddle is the weak link of the team. It’s my favorite running joke in the territory. Eventually, Riddle got in enough offense to buy some time. Roman, once again showing his desire to pick his spots and be a chicken sh*t, tagged himself into the match seeing a downed Riddle. Riddle tagged in Drew at the very last second, and Roman had nowhere to go with both of his cousins laid out. WWE didn’t give us a lot of Roman and Drew, but just enough to whet the appetite. While I wasn’t excited about the prospect of a match before, I am intrigued now. Roman’s obvious apprehension in fighting Drew is a great wrinkle, while Drew will dive headfirst into any challenge without thinking. Roman’s calculation vs. Drew’s gut instinct? Sign me up. But before we get to that, here’s a case for Randy Orton getting a shot at the title. The man is extra over in every arena, and that was no different in Rhode Island. He was easily the biggest favorite in this match, and the RKO he hit on Roman when the match broke down was not only out of nowhere, but a thing of beauty. Roman eventually got his revenge with a Superman Punch to Randy’s jaw on the outside of the ring, but there’s a good story and good matches here if WWE walks down the path I really want them to choose. As the match devolved into more chaos, Riddle became the legal man while both of his partners were knocked out. Jey and Riddle traded educated feet, Reigns blind tags his cousin, and nails Riddle with a spear. You know the outcome at that point. I’m not sold on the Bloodline getting the W here, as Jimmy or Jey taking a pin from Drew makes a lot of sense. That being said, they laid a lot of groundwork for Roman’s potential opponent (s) for down the line. Great main event for a pretty damn good show. Rhea of Omnipotence Let’s not bury the lede: Rhea Ripley is the newest member of Judgment Day. There’s a gif of Bernie Mac in a church that comes to mind. But the match leading to her reveal was worthy of Edge and AJ Styles. So, let’s talk about that and then get back to Rhea. Shall we? On the most recent episode of Monday Night Raw, I wondered why Damian Priest barely touched AJ’s shoulder. I mean, the man’s left shoulder was wrapped in Kinesio tape, which is basically a bullseye. But with Damian effectively wiped off the board as a result of that match, I didn’t think about it too long since it didn’t matter. Whatever I missed on Monday, Edge and AJ more than made up for it at WrestleMania Backlash. Edge attacked AJ’s shoulder almost immediately. Edge was like a rabid dog with a dog or postal worker in his chops. The first act of this match was mostly all Edge, all the time. Any time AJ got even a little offense in, it did more damage to him than his opponent. Left hand punches? Pain. Pele Kick where AJ landed on his left shoulder? More pain. AJ and Edge colliding in the middle of the ring after double cross body blocks? Extra pain. AJ did his best to get Edge into a Styles Clash but it was obvious he just didn’t have the strength for it. Last I checked, you need two good shoulders to lift a grown ass man by his waist. After trying in vain, AJ smartened up the next time around. It was my favorite moment of the match AJ mustered his remaining strength to hang Edge over the top rope, then putting him in the position for the Styles Clash. Using the ropes as leverage and do the heavy lifting was ingenious. The only reason Edge kicked out is because AJ wasn’t strong enough to hold Edge down with one arm. Also makes sense. AJ used his brains again when going for the Phenomenal Forearm. Knowing there was no way to pull himself into the launch position, he simply climbed the top rope. And you know what? It almost worked. But along came Damian Priest. AJ lost focus and complained to the referee about Priest’s presence. Damian, of course, wasn’t exactly at ringside; he was in the aisle. Finn Balor rushed to ringside and brawled with Priest. Full disclosure, I figured Finn was out for the swerve. But we got something even better. While the referee, a downed Edge, and a perched AJ looked at Priest and Finn, a hooded figure stepped into the picture. We found out after the match this person who pushed AJ off the ropes, allowing Edge to finish AJ with a sleeper/crossface, was none other than Rhea Ripley. Whew. Dope match with a satisfying conclusion. While some may balk at AJ losing twice in a row to Edge, I think it’s okay here. AJ looked very strong in defeat here. There were enough distractions and shenanigans to make the L acceptable in the eyes of fans, plus the story is nowhere done yet. Of course, the next episode of Raw might prove me wrong and I’ll eat every single one of these words. But as of now, I’m excited for the future of this beef, and even more amped about an inter-gender stable featuring Rhea Ripley and Edge. WWE needs more stables for moments just like this. All The Rest Queen B*tch Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey did their best to make us forget whatever that was at WrestleMania. This was a chaotic fight and I enjoyed every moment of it. Charlotte threw a camera at Ronda! I repeat: Charlotte threw an expensive, heavy, industrial camera at another human being. There was even a kendo stick fight that ensures neither woman will get a call from LucasFilm anytime soon. Charlotte lost the match when Ronda slapped her in armbar through a chair. Yup, you read that right. Charlotte was hoisted on her own petard since she not only brought the chair into the match, but planned to break Ronda’s arm in a similar fashion and gave the most sinister Happy Mother’s Day wish this side of the movie Mothers’s Day. Ronda is your new SmackDown Women’s champ. And let us pray for Charlotte’s fracture of the radius aka her broken arm. The match was insane and played to Ronda’s strengths. Good work all around. The American Cheater First off, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins put on a very hot opening match. The two tangoed for about 30 min. in a match filled with great character work, smooth wrestling, and a controversial finish. That last part is important as it ensures this feud is nowhere near over. The story here was very simple: Seth proved a much harder task for Cody now that the former was properly prepped. Seth countered Cody multiple times throughout the match, and those counters played into the finish. Cody’s offense came in fits and spurts through the first two acts of the match, but Seth answered every challenge. Seth went for his traditional double suplex only for Cody to counter into a Cross Rhodes. It was the first clean Cross Rhodes Cody hit after several attempts. However, Cody pinned Seth way too close to the ropes, meaning Seth’s foot dangled right on the bottom rope while Cody went for the intense roll up pin. Both men suffered breaking points during the match. That moment was Cody’s and Seth’s got his shortly after. After reversing or blocking several Pedigree attempts, Cody fell victim to one right in the middle of the ring. But, to Seth’s chagrin, Cody kicked out. Needless to say, but I will, Seth was beside himself. Seth gave in to all of that frustration, anger, and resentment for Cody. He insulted Cody by mocking Dusty Rhodes’ famous punches, daddeh. That was several steps way too far. The two devolved into a brawl and Cody hit another Cross Rhodes. Not satisfied with just one, and justifiably angry, Cody went for another. Seth countered, of course, with a knee to Cody’s face. The two went back and forth, Seth went for a pin attempt with all of Cody’s tights in his hands, only for Cody to reverse that with his own pin attempt. Is turnabout fair play? Cody believes so because he pulled Seth’s tights and got the W. While I understand the “good for the goose good for the gander” philosophy, I’m not entirely sure what they’re saying about Cody. More importantly, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel. Overall, the match was dope. But the ending left me scratching my head. Which isn’t good because I washed my hair this morning. The Joker Madcap Moss is an impressive cat. In fact, he’s more impressive since he moves the way he does in the ring while wearing suspenders. As someone with an affinity for suspenders, I know it’s not easy to do all of that. But I digress. Corbin and Moss work well together in any capacity, but I’m digging them as opponents. Moss got a rollup W, meaning Corbin was embarrassed. That embarrassment means this story is nowhere near over. If Corbin keeps making Moss look this good, while telling an even deeper story, I’m all for it. Nigerian Nightmare Do with that headline what you will. Omos is now billed as The Nigerian Giant. Talk about telegraphing the winner. Omos got the W in a very meh match. MVP was the X factor, which makes sense because that’s the story. MVP jabbed Bobby Lashley in the eye with his cane behind the ref’s back, and Omos capitalized. I said it before and I’ll say it again: Meh. There was one negative on this show. But lo and behold, WWE put on a great show for an event I cared very little about. The rematches were better the second time around, and the main event gave me everything I need in my professional sports entertainment wrestling. Grade: A- |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 6:52am On May 09, 2022 |
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| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 7:38am On May 10, 2022 |
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS THE Judgment Day You know the group or person is dope when they get an article like “the” in front of their name. The Batman. The Wu-Tang Clan. The Infamous Mobb Deep. And now The Judgment Day. Edge’s group was the focal point for most of Raw’s first hour. First, we got the explanation promo from Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and Edge. The trio put it plain and simple: Rhea joined Edge’s movement because she grew tired of fighting for fans who really don’t care about her. And fighting for those fans made her lose sight of herself. Edge informed us all he got into Rhea’s ear weeks ago, which is the reason your “favorite tag team” is no longer a thing. After crowning Damian “the punishment” and Rhea “the executioner” of The Judgment Day, Edge said he’s not done recruiting. Curiouser and curiouser. It was then time for a match between Rhea and Liv Morgan. Rhea basically dismantled Liv. Morgan had a moment or two of a little offense, but this was a necessary drubbing. After winning the match by submission, Rhea went the insult to injury route and slapped on another cloverleaf while Liz screamed in agony. It was a little hard for me to watch but that’s the point. Of course this was on Edge’s instruction, which shows his power over the group and how much they believe in his message. I love all of this. You know what else I love? Well, lots of things. But specifically AJ Styles and Finn Balor coming to get them some. Finn’s scheduled match with Damian was interrupted by an Edge spear and then a Judgment Day beatdown. Rhea showed her smarts when she stepped to AJ knowing hitting a woman isn’t AJ’s style. AJ’s hesitation was his undoing. Edge and Damian finished the job and left Balor and Styles licking all of their wounds in the middle of the ring. Look, this just works. Will there be more members joining the group? How deep will they roll? Do AJ and Finn stand a chance? Will one of them betray the other after getting seduced by Edge’s message like a snake in Eden? So many questions and so many answers I can’t wait to find out. One more thing: shoutout to Edge’s new haircut. I like it and it fits the vibe of the group. The Rest RK Airlines I’m always conflicted when RK-Bro faces The Street Profits. My love for Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins notwithstanding, I don’t see the benefit in their constant Ls. Especially when their main point is the tag champs overlook them. But on the other hand, they put on very dope matches. This week’s Raw opener was no different than any past contest between the four men. The key narrative moments were a little miscommunication between Riddle and Randy that led to the latter taking the brunt of his partner’s offense. The second was Riddle hitting a beautiful RKO on a top rope-leaping Montez. It was perfectly timed and Tez sold it incredibly well. RK-Bro’s opening promo let us know they have bigger fish to fry in the form of The Usos. My fear is what that does to Raw’s tag title scene, directly or indirectly. Meet Ken Kevin Owens is a Canadian treasure. He introduced us to his older brother Ken Owens. Ken’s match with Ezekiel wasn’t a match so much as it was “Ken” berating Zeke on the mic and then issuing a beatdown with Alpha Academy’s help. ALSO? Chad Gable’s plan to test Zeke’s DNA at the “DNA lab” is genius. Chad knows people who work at this imaginary place, meaning he is our true hook up. Holla if you hear him. Welcome back to the big time, Asuka Adam Pearce granted Asuka a title match against Bianca Belair. Guess who wasn’t feeling that? Becky Lynch. So when Asuka and Bianca squared off in the main event, guess who was ringside? Ding ding ding, Ms. Lynch! This was another match not really about the match. Asuka and Bianca didn’t have a lot of time to really get busy but they did enough to show there’s potential there in a one-on-one situation. Why didn’t they get enough time? Because Becky Lynch was ringside, duh. Less than halfway through the match, after complaining on commentary the whole time, Becky interfered, got Asuka disqualified, and then put both women on their butts to end the show. An Asuka x Becky x Bianca triple threat is my type of hype. Asuka is a great wrinkle to this Bianca and Becky angle, adding some flavor to keep it from going stale. Seth Wants to Run it Back...Again Cody thought he was done with Seth Rollins. Apparently Cody doesn’t watch wrestling. During his United States championship match against Theory, Cody suffered a brutal attack courtesy of Rollins. Because of course he did. This was a pretty okay match between Theory and Cody but it was hard getting into it knowing what was coming. You knew Seth was coming, I knew Seth was coming. It was just a matter of when. And there was no way Theory loses the title this week. So that left this match in limbo. Blissful Alexa Bliss is back in business after WWE officials decided Sonya Deville was bad for business. Deville lost her position as a WWE official for all the obvious reasons, and lost to a returning Bliss in less time than it took me to write these couple sentences. Miz is Official like Starter What do we make of this thing between Mustafa Ali and The Miz? I like it in theory—no pun intended—but I don’t like Ciampa used as a pawn in their beef. He’s not talking, he’s not getting his theme music played on TV, and he’s clearly not important. Despite that, Ciampa and Ali put on pretty damn good show! I just wish we were getting a story focused on those two rather than what we’re getting. I want it to be one way but it’s the other way. Shouldn’t Be a Super Hero Doudrop is tired of Nikki’s crap. I am too, Dou. I am too. After the two lost their tag match to the Boss and Glow, Dou screamed on her partner wondering when she plans to take this seriously. The women didn’t get much time here but the point of the match was never a truly competitive match. We’re going somewhere with Nikki A.S.H. I just hope we get there sooner rather than later. Poor Loman Local CT man, Frank Loman, was on the end of another Veer squash. Like I said last week, I’m yawning with these now. After the dopeness that was WrestleMania Backlash, Raw was surprisingly meh. Sure, this episode was a lot of set up but it also hit the same beats for some angles too. Randy and Riddle don’t take the Profits seriously. Cody and Seth. Veer squashes. Lashley wrecks everything to get his hands on Omos. There was nothing awful about anything but if you missed the episode, you’re really not missing anything. Grade: B- |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 8:02pm On May 10, 2022 |
Movie storylines don't belong in wrestling. It never did and never will. Have a typical sports based story of a good and a bad guy facing off to find out who's better and you'll have yourself the only storyline you need. Build it like would any normal sports match, with interviews and that will cut it. The more sports based it is, the better. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by DanieBlinkz(m): 9:35am On May 11, 2022 |
ValeeLove: It's not just wrestling but an entertainment based show, it's called WWE for a reason. 1 Like |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 9:48am On May 11, 2022 |
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Cora Gets Her Moment While I refuse to call her “The B.O.A.T.,” I acknowledge Natalya’s greatness. The woman is dope, point blank. Her match with Cora Jade this week is another example of her skill and the reason why working double duty on NXT and SmackDown. Nattie’s job was simple: Make Cora look good. And that’s exactly what she did. For those late to the party, Cora Jade idolized Nattie. Nattie showed up to NXT one week and surprised Cora with a sucker punch. Her way of issuing a challenge to Cora and the rest of the women to step up or get F’d up. The choice is theirs. Cora stepped up big tonight. Cora started the match trying to outwrestle Nattie. Not the brightest move, but it was right for her character. Nattie didn’t take the challenge seriously, so a few headlocks, a Frankensteiner, and even a Sharpshooter attempt went a long way to proving Neidhart wrong. I love stories where the torchbearer doesn’t just pass the torch; they make the recipient prove they deserve the fire. Nattie, while definitely playing the heel, is really just bringing an energy the NXT women lack at the moment. Cora showed she’s ready and did everything in her power to take that torch from Nattie. She even withstood a lot of punishment to her knee as Nattie used the ring post as a weapon and mimicked her uncle’s famous Figure Four around the post as well. It was at that moment the match gave me Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 vibes. No, not the quality of the match so relax, but I realized that’s what Cora and Nattie were going for. Nattie playing the role of her uncle, the legendary vet refusing to give up their spot, while Cora played Austin, the new hotness who needs the W over someone they believe is the best. That played out with the finish as well. Cora tried again to put Nattie in a Sharpshooter and almost succeeded. But her knee didn’t have the strength to supply any leverage and she broke the hold. When it was Nattie’s turn, she slapped on the Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Any time Cora got close to the ropes, she pulled her back in the middle. This happened twice so the crowd assumed Cora had a third trick up her sleeve. No such luck. Nattie synched in the move while Cora was helpless. But she didn’t tap. She simply passed out. Much like Austin in Chicago that fateful night, Cora’s body gave out due to the pain. Nattie thought Cora tapped but was stunned when she saw her opponent unconscious. “They all tap,” Nattie said to herself. Rather than walk out of the ring triumphant or cocky, Nattie picked up Cora, shook her cobwebs loose, and embraced her in the middle of the ring. Not exactly what Austin and Bret did, but hey, it different stories call for different measures. This was a great moment for Cora. Who knows where this story goes now but Nattie just turned her into one of NXT’s biggest and brightest. The Rest No Toxic Avengers Toxic Attraction defended their tag titles against Wendy Choo and Roxanne Perez this week. Did I think Wendy and Roxy stood a chance? No. But I was sports entertained with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne’s aggression. Far too often, Toxic Attraction get pigeonholed for their looks. And yes, these are gorgeous women. But illustrating the tag champs have mean streaks to go with killer looks—thank you—is a great character touch. This was a solid match with a weird ending. With Toxic Attractions on the ropes, Mandy walked into the ring and saved Gigi from Roxanne’s top rope dive. Wendy and Mandy brawled so naturally, the ref focused on that instead of the legal combatants in the ring. Mandy Rose isn’t a part of the match so if Wendy wants to beat on her, cool, let her rock. While the most inept referee this side of AEW looked one way, Jacy Jayne laid Roxanne out with a superkick, allowing Gigi to get the pin. Way too much going on in that finish, but clearly TA isn’t done with Wendy. Breakout Numero Uno Fallon Henley and Sloane Jacobs fired the first shot in the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament. This was an even matchup for a while, despite the amount of TV time Fallon receives. Briggs & Jensen came ringside to support their homegirl and that apparently was the boost Fallon needed. Her aggression hit another level and she showed some cockiness too. I dug it. Eventually, the woman you picked to win the match delivered on that faith. Fallon moves on to the next round of the tournament. While not the most exciting match, it was competent, sound, and an okay way to start the tourney. Wrestling Soloist Solo Sikoa cut a promo this week and it wasn’t great. The young cat is clearly working out the kinks on the mic even though he’s got it made in the ring. Sikoa challenged Cameron Grimes or Carmello Hayes, for the North American title. He doesn’t care which one of them has it, he’s “got next.” Grimes made his way to the ring and got an interesting crowd reaction. The NXT faithful chanted Grimes “got lucky” in his last title defense. Keep your eyes peeled on this going forward. Grimes promised Solo a title shot if he successfully defends against Hayes. As Solo walked off, Trick and Melo attacked Grimes. The most fun moment here was Solo looking back to the ring as Grimes got decimated. He hesitated to help and looked like he had no desire to lend a hand. Once Melo and Hayes looked ready to severely injure Grimes using a chair, Solo stepped in for the assist. Solo’s cousin and brother surely let that beatdown happen if they’re in Solo’s sneakers. Nice way to illustrate his honor and continue carving out his own identity apart from his bloodline. The Fyre Rises Say bye to Kay Lee Ray and give a warm welcome to Alba Fyre! The artist formerly known as KLR wrestled Amari Miller in her first official NXT 2.0 match as Alba Fyre. Miller was sidelined for two months (!!) and just showed up with little fanfare. Not saying she was one of the brand’s big stars, but she was a consistent part of the show. Plus, the woman got a stretcher job on her way out the door, so maybe a little pop is appropriate. But alas. The match didn’t do much for me. And that’s not because either woman half-assed it; there were just no stakes involved. Why is Alba wrestling Amari Miller after she was going for Mandy Rose not that long ago? And beating Amari Miller doesn’t exactly scream to the world that she’s ready to scale the highest mountain. Mother Chase U Andre Chase wrestles in black Air Jordan Retro 11s aka the Space Jam 11s. No matter what he does at this point going forward, he is forever good in my book. Anyway, this union of Tiffany Stratton & Grayson Waller are a match made in hell. They have beef with Andre Chase and Sarray individually, and talked a lot of trash about both during their “shopping day” vignette. Sarray proposed she and Chase team up for an inter-gender tag match. Besides the fact Chase agreed, the best news of that quick segment was the fact Bodhi Hayward speaks Japanese. Why? Because Chase U has a foreign language program that even its owner knew nothing about. I chuckled heartily. But then the match happened and they lost me. All four wrestlers know what they’re doing but it became too chaotic in the end. To make matters worse, the ending made no sense. Follow me: Tiffany hits a corkscrew bomb off the top rope. While the ref is counting three, Bodhi sounds the air horn in his ear, effectively stopping the count. BUT, Sarray put her foot on the bottom rope also. So why are we doing two of these things? If Bodhi is blowing the horn, there’s no need to put a foot on the rope. If there’s a foot on the rope, there’s no need to go for the comedy moment with the horn. It was nonsensical and my brain checked out at that point. Professional wrestling has very simple narrative devices. When moments like that are done so sloppily, it shows someone is overthinking and overcomplicating. Breakout Numero Dos I agree with Wade Barrett here: Nikkita Lyons doesn’t belong in a Breakout Tournament because, well, duh. But we’re here now and the anticlimactic nature of the match played into my viewing. I knew the outcome before the bell rang—just like you did—and the two women didn’t have much chemistry together. Arianna Grace and Nikkita have very similar styles, meaning we lost the styles clash most matches benefit from. Nikkita won but, again, not sure she needs this right now. Joe Gacy... Look, I tried. I gave Joe Gacy all the chances I have to give but I’m done. Gacy cut a promo this week, flanked by his hooded men, imploring Bron Breakker to join his movement. You know why this stinks? Because like everything else involving Gacy and Bron, it makes no sense. The only reason something like this works is if there’s a chance the champ is tempted. Or is truly in jeopardy. Bron Breakker isn’t in jeopardy! And, once again, NXT shows us or tells us the best parts of the story happened off air. Bron was kidnapped last week, driven to a grassy knoll, and just left there. That’s it. Now Gacy wants to know if Bron is down for Gacy’s cause. Here’s the short answer for you, Joe: No. And neither am I. Mafia Flicks I previously said I love mafia stuff, even if it’s silly. But the stuff this week between LdF and Tony D’Angelo was dumb. Tony kidnapped Cruz del Toro—that damn parking lot—and we suffered through several cheaply produced segments. Next week, Santos Escobar and Tony D settle the score. NXT crams a lot in two hours. This week, it was way too much. We got a Wes Lee sighting, more Von Wagner for some reason, the tournament, and whatever the hell the Ivy Nile challenge is. Seriously, who booked that crap? Ivy challenging a group of guys to fitness challenges? Le sigh. The opening match and main event were the bright spots on a dimly lit show. Grade: C- |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 3:28pm On May 11, 2022 |
DanieBlinkz:it's actually a sports and entertainment based show and not just entertainment. I don't spend years learning how to work a match with rules and skillsets involved to be called an entertainer at the end. That's a sports entertainer. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 12:47pm On May 14, 2022 |
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Pat McAfee said it best: “Sami Zayn backs himself into TERRIBLE situations ALL the time.” He did so again on Friday Night SmackDown this week. Well, McAfee actually called him “Rusty,” because Riddle, who came over with Randy Orton to try to get that tag team title unification match they still want, decided Zayn’s hair is the color of rust. So it’s a whole thing now, much to Sami’s chagrin. Zayn was only out there trying to court favor with The Bloodline by convincing RK-Bro just to go back to Monday Night Raw and do their thing over there. They don’t want to get involved with anything on the blue brand. That was coming from a self-professed “locker room leader.” Of course, Orton tried to turn that into Riddle vs. Zayn with a title unification match on the line, and Adam Pearce went along with the idea, at least in the sense of making the match. Wouldn’t you know it, Riddle won that match, because Zayn cannot win anything ever while he is still this version of Sami Zayn. Poor Rusty. After, a defeated Zayn was walking backstage and ran into Shinsuke Nakamura, who gleefully told him “Roman is the head of the table but you? You are the table’s ass!” Incredible. I remain deeply entertained by Sami in this role. He actually believes he’s a genius who just keeps getting unlucky or treated unfairly, and seeing him constantly slam into a brick wall he himself was responsible for will never be anything other than amazing to me. I’ll pop for it every time. As for The Bloodline, they responded to all this as you might expect — they completely ignored Zayn’s delusions before a turf war mentality overtook them with regards to RK-Bro’s invasion. They promised to hit the scene later and did so in the main event. Orton told Reigns he’ll never be the wrestler John Cena is or ever was, and it was one hell of an insult that hit hard with the live crowd. Frankly, it kind of made me want Orton vs. Reigns. Effective. Orton made clear the idea they had — unify the titles and call them the undisputed WWE tag team championships. The Usos immediately accepted the challenge for this unification match, but they’ll do it next week on SmackDown. They went out on Riddle kneeing Reigns in the face. They did a great job of maintaining as much hype as possible for the tag title match but I would be remiss if I didn’t note that they’re doing very little for the WWE Universal championship right now. Drew McIntyre wasn’t even on this show, and Orton may have inadvertently established himself as the best possible option there. Shrug. All the Rest Ronda Rousey decided she wants to be a fighting champion, so instead of talking too much (which she’s getting better at, by the way!) she simply issued an open challenge. Raquel Rodriguez, fresh off a win in her single SmackDown match a couple weeks ago, answered the call. They had a match that was a million times better than anyone could reasonably expect it to be, with Rousey ultimately retaining but shaking hands with Raquel before leaving the ring. It was a nifty way to help give Rodriguez some shine before there are any real plans for her to be in the main event scene while also putting over the champion of the division. Very simple, very effective. Also enjoyed Shotzi and Aliyah arguing backstage about why they weren’t the ones to answer the call, with Shotzi claiming Rodriguez pushed her out of the way and Aliyah saying Shotzi locked her in a room. They bothered to explain a fringe detail while also kick starting an issue with a simple backstage bit. It’s the small things. Madcap Moss was given the top of the second hour to continue his issue with Bum Ass Baron Corbin, who used the Andre the Giant Battle royal trophy to slam a chair into Madcap’s neck. There were a ton of boos, who knows how many of them were piped in, because the crowd mix sounded awful for the entire segment, but Moss did a stretcher job. Before he got in, Corbin stopped him and said “you’re going to the MOSSpital.” Ha ha. He he. Ho Ho. Sasha Banks & Naomi successfully defended the women’s tag team titles against Shayna Baszler & Natalya in a match that didn’t quite live up to what most women’s tag matches have been of late. It was good enough for what it was, but It makes sense why it was put on this show where it was. Butch won a match and just straight up took off into the crowd. He came back and celebrated while maniacally smiling. Butch is great. A decent enough show. Grade: C+ |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 11:25am On May 17, 2022 |
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Things Done Changed Whew. Drama on Raw tonight all over the Women’s division. If you’re reading this, you more than likely know but in short: Raw cancelled its six-pack challenge for the number one contender spot when Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out. There is a whole bunch of scuttlebutt as to why it happened or whether it’s real or make believe for several reasons. Either way, it is what it is and we move forward with Asuka and Becky Lynch in our main event with Bianca Belair sitting ringside. Without burying the lede, Asuka is going to Hell in a Cell. The Empress of Tomorrow and The EST for the Raw Women’s championship sounds like music to my ears. The match that got us to this point, however, was lacking something. Maybe because this was a last minute change, meaning the two women prepared on the fly. Don’t get me wrong; I liked the match but the ending and its overall story felt disjointed. Asuka and Becky started fighting each other. Becky is on her comeback tour, so destroying Asuka is the first of many steps back to glory. Asuka believes Becky dishonored the title and herself in Asuka’s absence, so she was ready for the smoke. The action damn near immediately went outside of the ring, which makes sense based on the history and the stakes. Back in the ring, the two wrestled each other to a stalemate. Asuka countered a Manhandle Slam. Becky reversed an Asuka Lock into a pin, so Asuka released the hold. Asuka slapped an armbar submission on Becky and the former champ refused to give up. Then they went outside the ring again and that’s when Bianca got involved. At least, that’s what Becky wanted. Becky antagonized the champ in hopes of earning a DQ victory and an easy road to a championship match. How did she mess with Bianca? Well, she threw Asuka at her, for starters. After throwing Asuka back in the ring, Becky kicked Bianca in her face. Luckily, Bianca took off her glasses by this point, so no frames were harmed in the making of this match. Bianca finally gave Becky what she wanted. Or so she thought. With the ref distracted by Bianca’s anger, Becky grabbed Asuka’s umbrella. Faster than you can say “Welcome to the Big Time,” Asuka pulled a Great Muta on Becky, spraying the champ with green mist. One swift roundhouse kick later, and Asuka gets the W. Becky covered in green, crying to the ref, Asuka celebrating on her way to the locker room, and Bianca smiling watching her archenemy suffer were the last images on Raw this week. While I love Asuka getting her shot, as of now, this story still feels like it’s all about Bianca and Becky. Hopefully that changes next week but Hell in a Cell is only two weeks away. An Asuka and Bianca feud deserves some real runway, not just be the side story to a larger epic between Becky and Bianca. An okay match with the right woman winning although my spider sense is going crazy at the future prospects. What’s Beef? Indulge me for a bit, dear reader. The crux of the Bobby Lashley vs. Omos feud makes sense. MVP’s feelings are hurt because Lashley created a moment without him. Cool. MVP sides with Omos as a result of said hurt feelings, and wants nothing more than to make Lashley’s life a living hell. Also cool. But their opening cage match this week illustrated there are a bit too many elements at work here, along with booking that makes neither core participant look good. The cage match started with a brawl before the actually match started. Cedric Alexander showed up, once again making him the most pathetic character on Raw. Why? Glad you asked. Nobody wants Cedric here, and he’s taking away from the main story. Even commentary calls him a nuisance. Why does a giant like Omos need Cedric’s help? Why does Cedric keep coming around when MVP said he has no use for the man? Before those questions got the necessary answers, the cage match actually started. And it went about the way you imagine with a limited big man and a talented Lashley. Omos dominated the first act, beating Lashley from pillar to post using nothing but raw power. A fact made more amazing when one considers he wrestles with that chain around his neck. But this isn’t really about Omos; it’s about MVP. Omos’ new manager poked his nose where it doesn’t belong—well, his hand—with Lashley stunned against the turnbuckle. The Almighty made MVP pay, because of course he did, and was truly the moment of the match. While Omos might get some rub from this story, the crowd wants MVP crying underneath Lashley’s considerable boot. Cedric interjected for basketball reasons after Lashley found his second wind during the match’s second act. Again, why? Real talk...why?! With Cedric dispatched like a gnat at a cookout, Lashley and Bobby fought a somewhat even match. Lashley’s spear only got a two-count, and it was all Omos from that point. Then the match turned when Omos, in a show of strength, threw Lashley so hard into the cage, it broke. Lashley stumbled onto his feet and won the match because his two feet touched the floor. This isn’t a new finish. In fact, Lashley knows this finish really well. But it makes Omos look dumb and makes Lashley look lucky. I’m not cheering for the lucky guy, who I’m told is “Almighty” and I know I can’t cheer for the dumb giant because he’s the bad guy. Also, he’s dumb. This is the same note of the same song WWE wrote the Monday after WrestleMania. MVP is mad at Bobby. Omos is MVP’s proxy. Omos and Lashley fight. Shenanigans ensue. Something dumb or silly happens as a result. And I’m bored. The Rest Warning RK-Bro picked up some momentum this week. Riddle wrestled performed against Jimmy Uso this week as a prelude to the tag title unification match coming our way on SmackDown. Look, you know these two put on a good match, so I’m not wasting words there. But I will talk about the ending. Jey Uso got involved twice, once pushing Riddle off the top rope, and then adding extra leverage to his brother’s pin attempt. The ref saw the second thing and ejected Jey as a result. Riddle caught Jimmy sleeping and got the three-count with a pin attempt. The Usos are not only defending their titles this week, but now need to answer to the Tribal Chief for this loss. Everyday Struggles Theory and Miz fed Mustafa Ali to Veer. You know how this went. It was fine, but it definitely engineered a lot of sympathy for Ali. Three vs. one isn’t fun and he looks like a dead man walking at this point. Long Kiss Goodnight Establishing AJ Styles and Finn Balor as a credible tandem and threat to The Judgment Day is paramount. That started this week when the pair took on Los Lotharios. On Raw, but let’s not worry about that detail. Liv Morgan was the added wrinkle. AJ hit her with the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” logic and, for some reason, Liv hesitated. Of course, all of that tension went away immediately since her music played first before the tag match. Not the way I handle that if I’m running the show, but hey. I liked the story here: Lotharios as a well-oiled machine while Finn and AJ work into their chemistry. They picked up the W and celebrated after AJ hit a Phenomenal Forearm and Finn hit a Coup de grace. Liv celebrated with the babyfaces. Here’s the thing though: I need this story to hit another gear. Edge, Rhea, and Damian Priest made Finn and AJ an offer they can’t refuse. Join The Judgment Day or the beatings continue. In other words, to quote a man who just hosted the Billboard Awards, “the sh*t that y'all started is never gonna stop!” I want to see some temptation, some flirting with temptation, or at least true consequences for not accepting Edge’s offer. We need an interesting, psychological story here worthy of the talent involved. One More Chance Last week, Alexa Bliss surprised Sonya Deville in the former’s first match without the “WWE official” designation. Sonya lost because, of course she did. This week, Sonya got another shot at Alexa, this time with more than a few minutes notice. And she almost had the W too, but her own heelish behavior bit her in the ass. Sonya untied the turnbuckle padding, no doubt preparing a meeting between the metal and Alexa’s skull. Turns out, she didn’t need to use it. After hitting a huge spinebuster on Ms. Bliss, Sonya missed pinned the former champ. But the ref noticed the turnbuckle and retied the padding. No three-count for you. One DDT later and Alexa walks away 2-0 since returning last week. Sonya, frustrated, beat up an actual WWE official and will probably pay the cost. This wasn’t much of a match. If you’re happy seeing Alexa back then it was a good moment hearing her new theme and just seeing her in the ring. But the story itself is very meh right now and the match did nothing to enhance it. Somebody’s Gotta Die Seth Rollins. Cody Rhodes. Hell in a Cell. Dead Wrong Chad Gable says he’s the smartest man on Earth. Apparently, he can’t outsmart Ezekiel, Otis, and BBQ sauce. Otis’ penchant for ribs contaminated Zeke/Elias’ DNA sample, stopping the DNA people dead in their tracks. Kevin Owens was hot. Taking on Zeke as part of his redemption, Chad still came up short. No pun intended. Another good match because Chad Gable is incapable of bad matches. And Elias is still good and handles anything thrown at him with aplomb. We got plenty of Elias trademark moves, as KO pointed out on commentary. Incessantly. The best part of the presentation was KO constantly interjecting with “Elias” every time someone said “Ezekiel.” Chad lost when Otis once again got in the way. The Tree Trunk interfered but Elias handled him and then reversed Gable’s attempted roll up. KO ran into the ring for the traditional bad guy beatdown, but Elias escaped with his life. This is still the most entertaining thing on Raw and I love every moment. The World is Filled R-Truth handed out more divorce papers—to Tozawa—and told Dana Brooke he wants his compensation. The title, of course. Dana ran, bumped into Carmella, they threw shade at each other over marriages, championships, and relevancy. Mella and Truth, in a moment of continuity, rekindled their friendship with cross purposes. Mella helps Truth get his belt, and Truth delivers Dana to Staten Island’s former princess. Raw was fine this week. Clearly, the drama behind the scenes affected the drama in front of the camera. Lacey Evans returned and cut an interesting promo for someone supposedly a heel, most of the stories moved along, and Hell in a Cell is taking shape. The match quality, however, wasn’t the best but nothing was abjectly terrible either. Average show. Grade: C |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by dahmie2013: 7:45pm On May 17, 2022 |
What was Omos thinking sef...#Raw |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 8:38pm On May 17, 2022 |
1 Like |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 8:30am On May 18, 2022 |
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS The What? Time to talk Bron Breakker and Joe Gacy. Again. As a rule of thumb, any time a wrestler reiterates the beats of a story, that means it ain’t working. Guess what Gacy did this week? All of this en route to challenging Bron to another championship match. BUT, this time, if Bron gets DQ’d, Joe steps away with the NXT championship. Which makes for a good story if we saw Bron lose his cool over time. He didn’t get DQ’d during their first match, and even when he does “lose his cool” against Gacy, it seems like controlled chaos. He never goes over the line or needs any NXT officials intervening. Once again, no legwork done here to give the stipulation stakes. Especially since no one believed for a nanosecond Bron thought joining Gacy’s cause was a great idea. There was potential for this feud, even with Gacy’s knack for annoyance. But NXT skipped the most interesting parts every single time, leaving us to fill in the blanks like a twisted game of Mad Libs. No thank you. The Rest Respect For some matches, even when you know the outcome, they still deliver. The Brothers Creed and The Viking Raiders put on one of those matches. A bunch of meaty or semi-meaty men slapping meat, and two of them can fly. The story going into the match is the Creeds believing they don’t need Roderick Strong’s help to beat anyone. And after he interfered in their last match with the Vikings, this week was all about atonement. There was one moment where Brutus hit a Brutus Bomb onto the Raiders but he didn’t hit all of the move. While he didn’t get hurt, he didn’t exactly land gingerly either. He finished the match, so no harm no foul. But let’s hope he doesn’t wake up in a lot of pain. Both teams battled to a standstill, dishing out their respective best that just wasn’t good enough to get the job done. And then Roddy did what Roddy does. Strong jumped into the match with his sights set on attacking the Raiders. Julius blocked his attack, threw Roddy out of the ring and exclaimed, “We don’t need you, Roddy!” Of course, that was all the time the Raiders needed to go all War Raid on Julius and Brutus. And that was all she wrote. While the Creed Bros. get their tag title match at In Your House against Pretty Deadly, they clearly have something else standing in their way: Roderick Strong. Very good match with the right finish. Hypnotize I’m still not sure what Tony D’Angelo and Santos Escobar are fighting over. Which family runs NXT? Do either of them actually run the place with no championships? And no one showed us what “running NXT” looks like. That said, Tony D and Santos put on a damn fine match. There was tension, great moves, Santos brought the best out of Tony D, and it told a story of two bad men. Santos isn’t a saint. Just because he’s focusing his might on Tony doesn’t mean he dances on the side of the angels. Neither man cheated during the first two acts of the match, but they both showed ruthlessness and a will to do whatever for the W. Santos in particular targeted Tony’s hurt left arm in ways that aren’t exactly sporting. That idea of two demons duking it out played into the ending. With both men in opposite corners, Tony went for his crowbar. We know the drill by now: Tony reaches for the crowbar, uses it when the ref’s back is turned and goes to the pay window. But that doesn’t work when battling someone just as devious. Tony searched for that crowbar and found nothing. Turns out, Santos’ LdF brethren beat him to the punch. And right on cue, Escobar loaded a punch of his own with a pair of brass knuckles. Santos, for at least one more week, still runs the bingo in NXT. The finish, along with the appearance of LdF and Tony’s goons let me know this is far from over. Playa Hater Guess what? Solo Sikoa, Cameron Grimes, Carmelo Hayes, and Trick Williams put on a good tag match! Shocker, right? It started with Solo and Grimes going extra aggressive because both have a lot to prove to themselves, each other, and Hayes. Therein lies their problem as a tandem. Or at least potentially. Both men tried one-upping each other, most notably when Grimes signaled the Cave-In and Sikoa tagged himself in the match. Weirdly, that didn’t play into the finish, making for a bit of a jarring narrative towards the end. Another issue, one hindering the match on the scale of goodness to greatness, is the the fact Hayes took the pin. Trick is his fall guy, even though he’s an entertaining cat in his own right. With a big triple threat match coming up for the North American title, Melo eating the pin rubs me the wrong way. That’s kinda the beauty of a tag match, right? Grimes and Solo teased more tension at the end of the match, with Solo clearly owning all of the momentum. Good match but a few booking moments away from a great one. Victory Lash Legend needs some momentum right now. After taking numerous L’s to Nikkita Lyons, this first round of the Breakout Tournament is a big deal for Ms. Legend. No wonder she defeated Tatum Paxley pretty handedly. It was too quick to get a feel for any type of quality, while also acknowledging the length was necessary. Friend of Mine Tiffany Stratton demanded Grayson Waller nip this Chase U thing in the bud. And that he did. Grayson and Andre Chase were back and forth for a while, until Andre accidentally tossed Grayson onto Bodhi Hayward. Chase, showing humanity, worried more about his boy’s health than his opponent. And he paid the price. One More Chance (Remix) Roxanne Perez and Kiana James put on a pretty entertaining Breakout Tournament match. Both women worked smoothly, nothing felt too rehearsed, and they showed some real emotion when it devolved into a fight. Roxanne got the W with Pop Rox and now Lash Legend is squarely in her sights. Looking forward to it. Last Day Von Wagner ruins my enjoyment of things. Wes Lee and Nathan Frazer were doing the damn thing. Then along came Wagner. The big oaf blew up their match and I just can’t get with any of this. The most interesting thing was post match when Wes Lee, in a moment of insecurity, challenged Sanga after he felt the big man disrespected him and Frazer. Frazer knew it wasn’t a shot but Wes, clearly finding himself and that chip on his shoulder, stepped to the big man. This was a fun show with good matches and a solid pace. The NXT championship story is such a black hole for this show and, mercifully, it will end soon. It’s the one thing truly bringing the show down this week as they doubled down on everything this week, along with tacitly acknowledging it ain’t working. Aside from that, there’s legitimate intrigue going into next week and In Your House. Grade: B+ |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 9:16am On May 18, 2022 |
This Sasha and Naomi walkout has got the wrestling world talking? It's rare for WWE to acknowledge events like this in public. I don't think they made statements on CM Punk quitting. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 1:30pm On May 18, 2022 |
samistry: Me I'm just hearing walkout walkout, is it that they walked out of the building or they have walked out of WWE generally? |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 3:06pm On May 18, 2022 |
I still can't believe if you want to watch something remotely close to a good wrestling show in person, you'd have to go all the way to Japan, cos the American Wrestling companies believe entertainment over sport is what's best for business. I'm enjoying New Japan right now and it's not even perfect, it's just more sports based than a regular American pro-wrestling show. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 9:36pm On May 18, 2022 |
ValeeLove: update us on what's happening there nau Gee |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Kaycee7(m): 7:46am On May 20, 2022 |
Had to skip my catch up and jump to this page because of the walk out. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 9:11am On May 20, 2022 |
Kaycee7: Just Vague news everywhere no tangible news on the real situation of things  |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Kaycee7(m): 11:10am On May 20, 2022 |
Purpl3:Make we just siddon dey look sha. Everything go still comot for sun las las |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Purpl3: 1:06pm On May 20, 2022 |
Kaycee7: Yes it will...I read somewhere that they have heat with some talents especially the lower placed talents considering how that spot is where most of them would like to be and they feel Sasha and Naomi are taking it for granted. |
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