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Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House - TV/Movies (270) - Nairaland

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Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 9:38am On Sep 17, 2022
ValeeLove:
So Ezekiel has been taken off the roster. Upon how 'entertaining' his character was it didn't last. Who would have seen this a mile away. If I had said it, y'all would have disagreed. Next on the line is MMM and I heard they were squashed last night. One day, maybe 50 years from now, y'all would understand what I've been saying.

No, next in line is Veer Mahan
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 9:40am On Sep 17, 2022
pu7pl3:


No, next in line is Veer Mahan
I doubt. Veer is not a joke. He's a serious athlete. He's big, strong, charismatic. Needs just a little work before being a top guy, but is definately not on his way out.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 9:41am On Sep 17, 2022
ValeeLove:
I doubt. Veer is not a joke. He's a serious athlete. He's big, strong, charismatic. Needs just a little work from being a top guy, but is definately not on his way out.

Ezekiel is also big strong and Athletic
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 9:44am On Sep 17, 2022
pu7pl3:


The title doesn't make the man
The man makes the title
I'm not talking about the title but the physical belt. Presentation is key and AEW with all their criticisms surprisingly got that very well. Go and look at their belts on the net, you would be shocked. WWE has never made such attractive belts in their history with all their good designs in the past. Only the Big Gold Belt rivals them.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 9:47am On Sep 17, 2022
pu7pl3:


Ezekiel is also big strong and Athletic
Elias(the man behind the character) is big strong and athletic. Ezekiel acts like a joke. The first thing you notice in him is the phony character unlike Veer which is the in-ring ability. His bad character over shadows any in-ring ability he might have. Again, we don't need the over-the-top characters. Keep it simple 'good guys'/'bad guys'.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 1:27pm On Sep 17, 2022
ValeeLove:
I'm not talking about the title but the physical belt. Presentation is key and AEW with all their criticisms surprisingly got that very well. Go and look at their belts on the net, you would be shocked. WWE has never made such attractive belts in their history with all their good designs in the past. Only the Big Gold Belt rivals them.

Well okay
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 1:28pm On Sep 17, 2022
ValeeLove:
Elias(the man behind the character) is big strong and athletic. Ezekiel acts like a joke. The first thing you notice in him is the phony character unlike Veer which is the in-ring ability. His bad character over shadows any in-ring ability he might have. Again, we don't need the over-the-top characters. Keep it simple 'good guys'/'bad guys'.

Okay boss
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 3:56pm On Sep 17, 2022
pu7pl3:
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


It really is easy to hate Logan Paul, isn’t it? Not just for the YouTube schtick, the whole “I’m young and successful and willing to do anything for views” gimmick, but just the way he carries himself. He’s the kind of guy you’re glad to see get his ass whooped when he inevitably overextends himself against an actual tough guy.
Speaking of…
Paul kicked off Friday Night SmackDown this week to bring up the fact that he set up a match with Roman Reigns on his podcast, and he wants to have a press conference with him. Another Paul showed up to answer him, as Heyman made his long awaited return to television after a layoff to sell injuries he sustained at the hands of Brock Lesnar.
Somehow it feels like we’re a long way from all that.
Indeed, Paul’s pitch for a WWE title match, which he didn’t official lay down a challenge for but made clear was coming, is that he could maybe land a lucky punch and be the guy to end Reigns’ long run as champion. After all, the great Floyd Mayweather couldn’t put him down in a boxing match. Maybe Roman Reigns won’t be able to do so in a pro wrestling match.
It’s the kind of laughable claim that works in a setting like this, namely because plenty of the fans watching wouldn’t know better. And, hey, it’s a heel program, even if Paul fancies himself the babyface.
The real babyface in all this is Sami Zayn, who stepped in to handle things and got his clock cleaned by the apparently devastating punch Paul plans to use to beat Reigns for the strap. The fans didn’t like it, and you shouldn’t either.
Sami was instantly thrown into a bout with Ricochet and the two put together a beauty of a TV match. In it, Jey Uso once again butted heads with Sami, this time costing him a win and Zayn getting good and fed up with it and confronting him. Ricochet used the distraction to take everybody out with a big dive and followed up with the shooting star press for the victory.
Before The Bloodline could attack, Madcap Moss hit the scene with a chair to even the odds, standing alongside Ricochet and Paul. It was a very well put together open that made sense all around, considering Ricochet had a previously match with Zayn and Moss also had a North American title shot booked for later, and they furthered Zayn’s issues with Jey.
Just not sure how crazy I am about Paul vs. Reigns coming off this.
Ronda Rousey and Liv Morgan had a confrontation backstage during an interview segment, and it was actually pretty damn good:
Rousey still doesn’t respect Morgan, despite having lost to her twice, no matter the circumstances of those defeats. The way WWE has played this, Rousey is absolutely right to act this way. Morgan is still fighting for respect, so much so that she’s the one who asked for an Extreme Rules match in their next battle.
“It’s your funeral,” Rousey responded after a chuckle.
It’s as good a setup as any for yet another showdown between the two, and the added stipulation will almost certainly give us a better match than we would have gotten otherwise.


All the Rest
Karrion Kross got the black and white grainy film along with some spooky music to tell us he changes the tides and rewrites history and he’s going to be sure to take Drew McIntyre out. Hey, at least this time it was a vignette and not black and white picture while he’s in the ring, right?!?

Max Dupri was back and immediately made note of the fact that Anaheim is just a stones throw from LA. YEAH. Maxxine got him back on track to showcase the 2022 school collection. Naturally, while they were modeling, Braun Strowman decided he wanted to assault a bunch of people unprovoked again, and ran right on through Maximum Male Models. After he was done, Alpha Academy hit the scene to ambush him, with Otis attacking from behind and actually managing to get the better of him. BigBrong McMeatSong demanded a fight as the heels backed away but didn’t get one. I’m mostly just wondering when we’ll get some semblance of story here.

Bayley beat Raquel Rodriguez thanks to some shenanigans from Damage CTRL. The match was fine, it just seemed strange they would book it at all, considering Bayley has been set up as the next top contender to the Raw women’s championship and Rodriguez is so clearly being groomed for bigger and better things as a singles star on the blue brand. Why beat her here, even with the cheating? Beats me. Shotzi came out to assist her during a post-match beatdown, for reasons that were never made clear.

Drew McIntyre, good and pissed off about Kross attacking him, showed up unannounced, no entrance music, seemingly from nowhere, by jumping on the announce desk and making threats, namely that he’ll count down from three on him. You don’t want that, buddy!

Solo Sikoa successfully defended the North American championship against Madcap Moss, the first time that title has been defended on SmackDown. I quite enjoyed the match they put together. They started with the old collar-and-elbow tie-up stalemate and worked a power match from there. It was slower, but well executed on both sides. I don’t really buy this version of Moss as a babyface, but his work is pretty damn good and you can see why they use him. Besides, this was more about Zayn successfully helping Solo win and further driving a divide in The Bloodline.I want to love anything as much as The New Day love Imperium’s entrance:

The main event number one contenders Fatal 4-Way match was a lot of fun. I love chaotic matches like this, where you can hardly keep up with all the action and guys are just flying all around doing anything to entertain. This was great.

I enjoyed the hell out of this
Silkoa defending his recently won North American title on Smackdown is a joke. Anything just to stroke The Bloodline's ego. I hope he appears on NXT and also defends it were it actually should be.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 4:25pm On Sep 17, 2022
ValeeLove:
Silkoa defending his recently won North American title on Smackdown is a joke. Anything just to stroke The Bloodline's ego. I hope he appears on NXT and also defends it were it actually should be.

Ofcourse he will

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Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 8:01pm On Sep 18, 2022
So people are calling Paul Logan's "you might me the head of the table...but I am the table" at the press conference cringe. I don't get it. Even if it is, I think it's getting too much attention than it should. Pu7pl3 the linguist help me out here.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 8:09pm On Sep 18, 2022
ValeeLove:
So people are calling Paul Logan's "you might me the head of the table...but I am the table" at the press conference cringe. I don't get it. Even if it is, I think it's getting too much attention than it should. Pu7pl3 the linguist help me out here.

It's cringe cos it was coined from what ladies started replying on twitter when they were asked what they bring to the table in a relationship.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 8:11pm On Sep 18, 2022
pu7pl3:


It's cringe cos it was coined from what ladies started replying on twitter when they were asked what they bring to the table in a relationship.
lol. But it might just be a coincidence don't you think. Logan Paul can hold his own verbally, he even owns a podcast. It's still funny though.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 8:32pm On Sep 18, 2022
ValeeLove:
lol. But it might just be a coincidence don't you think. Logan Paul can hold his own verbally, he even owns a podcast. It's still funny though.

That whole phrase would always be cringe to me bruh grin
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 9:51am On Sep 20, 2022
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS

I’m Not Looking at You Dudes, I’m Looking Past You
Seth Rollins didn’t expect his U.S. championship match against Bobby Lashley to go very long. The challenger came into the match with the crowd serenading him—as they always do—and high on his own supply. For a brief moment, Seth’s plan to attack fast and overwhelm the All Mighty with a bunch of offense might work. Seth put Bobby in the perfect position for a Curb Stomp only for Lashley to block it with his arms. And I don’t mean he used an arm to swat Seth aside. No, I mean his arms stopped his face from hitting the mat because he’s apparently strong enough to not go down when a grown man jumps onto the back of his head with the full force of his weight behind a foot.
That’s one of the illest things I’ve ever seen in a wrestling ring and a fantastic illustration of Lashley’s strength.
After that, we got a very fun, crisp match with a well-told story. Which is kinda the main reason we’re here, right? Seth really proved he was a step ahead of the “MMA guy” in Lashley. Seth countered a spear into a Pedigree. He turned the Hurt Lock into his own pinning combination. And when Lashley refused to break the hold, Seth low-blowed the champ while the ref wasn’t looking.
That’s when the story dovetailed into Seth’s beef with another MMA guy in Matthew Riddle. Riddle’s music played, he showed up on the ramp to talk his trash, distracted Seth, and Seth caught a spear from Lashley and an L as a result. The guy who claims he’s 10 steps ahead the MMA guys like Lashley and Riddle got proof he really isn’t, and furthered the story between Riddle and Seth. Great opening match.
And as a result of Riddle’s machinations, Seth finally gave him the rematch he clamored for and it’s happening at Extreme Rules. However, it’s on Riddle’s turf: a fight pit.
That’s another good way WWE illustrates Seth is off his game since he agreed to any match Riddle wanted. Now he finds himself in a match Riddle made famous on Riddle’s terms. Hardly the sign of a supreme strategist. But it is the sign of good storytelling.


Extracurriculars
Turn Me Back to the Old Me
Damage CNTRL talked a lot of ish this week. Rightfully so after Kai-N-SKY won the tag championships and Bayley effectively got into Bianca Belair’s head. But Bianca wasn’t Bayley’s target this week as she set her sights on Alexa Bliss. Bayley, like a lot of cagesiders reading this, doesn’t believe Alexa is anything closed to what she used to be. Bayley said Alexa used to torment her but now Lilly is the only one with bite.
For a lot of reasons, Alexa isn’t the same person she used to be many moons ago. Her match with Damage CNTRL’s leader signaled the start of her journey back to the way things used to be.
Maybe.
With a lot of help from her friends, Bayley finally got a W over her longtime enemy in a solid main event. What’s clear within the story is Alexa might need to go back to the old her to not only stand a chance on her own against Bayley, but for her, Bianca, and Asuka to deal with Damage CNTRL. Would the old Alexa fall victim to outside shenanigans from Dakota Kai? Of course not. This is a story worth watching.
While we didn’t get a definitive answer on Alexa, we finally know when Bayley gets her championship match. Damage CNTRL beat down Asuka and Bianca after the match, giving Bayley the opening to tell the fallen champ that she wants the Raw Women’s championship at Extreme Rules. The more interesting aspect is the shape the match takes since the fact they’re fighting in Philly isn’t a surprise.

Yo I can punch arse in his face...
Last week, Kevin Owens broke Austin Theory’s nose in one of Raw’s best segments. This week? Theory is out for revenge and his own pound of flesh. More importantly, Theory wanted, no, needed, to show KO he’s more than just a pretty face with a glide path to a championship. By design, Theory took a lot of punishment this week. Austin showed determination, grit, and any other synonym for “heart” when fighting a guy who just loves a fight. KO had nothing to prove here, because he’s already a made guy and he’s confident enough in who he is and what he stands for. Austin? Ladies and gents, this match was everything to him.
Which is why in the middle of a good match he went for his MITB briefcase. No matter how much he wants to prove he can hold his own, he is compelled to take shortcuts, thus, proving KO’s point. The problem with his plan was Johnny Gargano showed up out of nowhere to take said briefcase. A distracted Theory walked right into a Superkick, then a Pop Up Powerbomb, and the fat lady hit her high notes for the night.
Adding insult to injury, Gargano dropped the briefcase right on a fallen Theory’s stomach and pranced around the ring in celebration. I chuckled.

Imagine That No Gun, No Knife. It’s a One-on-One Now We Gots to Fight
“Calm his butch ass down” made me laugh out loud and I’m still laughing. Even if you’re reading this on Tuesday evening, just know I’m laughing. What made it funnier was he said it while two-thirds of the Brawlin’ Brutes welcomed Raw to Fight Night. Which, I understand, is far removed from Fright Night, a fine ‘80s horror flick with a 2010s remake that works a lot better for me as a film and concept.
But anyway, the Brutes came into the match with the Street Profits with one thing in mind: Send a message to Jimmy and Jey Uso.
And that they did.
Look, you know the two teams involved so you know it was a solid match. WWE wanted the Brutes to look strong going into their tag title match on SmackDown, so mission accomplished. They played their game rather than even try to do what the Profits do.

Grim Reaper Calling, Judgment Day
First off, the crowd loathes Dominik. If you missed Judgment Day’s segment before their match against Riddle and Rey Mysterio, go back and watch. Dom barely got a word in edge wise with the crowd throwing boos at him like they were in Philly and he was good taste. That’s a testament to everyone involved, along with the goodwill everyone has for Rey. I’m not the only one into this family story mixed with Rhea Ripley turning boys to men on bended knee ‘till the end of the road.
Riddle interjected himself into this story with Edge’s absence, meaning he too found himself in Papi’s clutches for a mean back suplex when the referee turned his head. Riddle is fine but this match was all about Rey getting a taste of revenge. Especially since it was only a matter of time before Seth made his way into the match for some payback on Matt.
The entire match built to the moment where Rey, after fending off Seth, was face to face with his son. Dom approached his father and dared Rey to hit him with the chair in Rey’s hand. Dom even knelt down to make it easy for his father. Rey, of course, declined. That was the end for Rey and Matt, as Rey took the finisher from Finn. The L didn’t matter much here because it’s all about Dom and Rey. Captivating stuff and Dom is playing it beautifully.
AJ Styles, after being on a milk carton for weeks, showed up and got into a verbal spat with Finn Balor. I like teasing tension between these two, along with wondering whether or not AJ will accept Finn’s Judgment Day membership offer.

So I Creep...
Miz TV. Miz rightfully indigent about Dexter Lumis being in his house. Miz calls him out. Dexter shows up underneath the ring and Ciampa hits him with a microphone to send him back to where he came. Meh.

This was a very solid episode of Raw. Once again, nothing life-altering or the most newsworthy show. Just solid wrestling, solid storytelling, and a fun night.

Grade: B

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Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 10:12am On Sep 21, 2022
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS

Ladders, Ladders Everywhere
NXT kicked off its semi-new era tonight in a puzzling way. Shawn Michaels, who I assume is firmly an on-screen authority figure now (welcome back, sheriff!) stripped Solo Sikoa of his North American title. Why you ask? Because Solo was an unsanctioned competitor in an unsanctioned match. The fans didn’t pick him therefore the match results are null and void.
That means Carmelo Hayes lost the title to Solo for basketball reasons. WWE wanted a cliffhanger moment and something to talk about, so they put the title on someone they never intended to keep said title. For those of you saying maybe they just figured that out today or within the past few days, NXT is pre-taped this week, which makes it more than likely taking the title off Solo was always the plan. Yes, it was a hell of a moment, but now it’s utterly meaningless. The only thing it did was create an opening for a ladder match in six weeks at Halloween Havoc.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m looking forward to a ladder match. Especially after the last time NXT held a ladder match for the North American championship. But Melo didn’t need to lose the title for that. Solo is not only officially gone from the black and gold brand, his title reign win officially never happened. There’s a better way to do this where they don’t make a title enhancing hands look like a stunt.
However...what I do like is the fact Melo looks off his game right now. He and Trick went to the ring to talk their talk and Chase U interrupted. A good tag match ensued between Trick & Melo and Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward. Peep this: Melo took the pin. Not Trick, but Melo. Andre Chase got a surprise victory over Carmelo Hayes, proving Melo is losing momentum going into this ladder match to get back a title he never truly lost. He’s so focused on the unfairness of Shawn taking the title from him as punishment for bending the rules—irony—that he found himself on the wrong end of a teachable moment.
Last week I said Melo is NXT’s main character. This week only underlines that fact for me.


Extracurriculars
Strong Returns
JD McDonagh and Tyler Bate started their match perfectly: Several pin fall attempts illustrating how well they know each other. After they felt each other out, the fun really started. This NXT championship number one contender’s match had everything I want in a wrestling match. Character-driven moves, back and forth action, 3rd act near falls, and the feeling that either competitor can win. Tyler didn’t come into the match overconfident or arrogant, but he did aim a little too high. In a fight where the opponent knows every move before it happens, then the logical thing is to surprise them with the unexpected.
JD didn’t expect Bate to go for a Tyler Driver ‘97 off the top rope but he was prepared. JD blocked the move by putting his own body on the line—perfectly in character—with a headbutt and went for an amazing Spanish Fly off the top rope. One Devil Inside later and JD walked away with the victory.
But he wasn’t happy about it. While JD and Bron Breakker squared off, Ilja Dragunov made his triumphant return to Florida! He was sorely missed and immediately inserted himself into the championship picture. While Bron welcomed the extra competition, JD seethed at the mere sound of Dragunov’s music.
This is a good thing because it gives Bron more to do, provides a very worth foil for the seemingly unfazed JD, and makes everyone involved a bit more interesting.
This was easily the match of the show and one of NXT’s best main events in quite some time.

Diamonds in the Rough
Toxic Attraction and Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley wrestled a solid match with a nice story. Toxic Attraction is on a mission for dominance while Ivy is doing her best to hold her focus with all the Diamond Mine drama happening. Different stakes for different folks, and I bought it.
Ivy just couldn’t focus long enough to be her normal self, and she took the pin for her team while letting her partner down in the process.

Damon’s Story
There’s a better way to do this, right? WWE is usually really on point when it comes to relaying story beats so all the particulars are clear. But Damon Kemp isn’t skilled enough yet to shoulder that load. Much like last week, his delivery is stilted and he doesn’t sound convincing. He’s a work in progress but maybe they put him in a position to win?

Night Night
Cora Jade and Wendy Choo have good chemistry together. They didn’t get a lot of time—most matches on the show didn’t—but they clearly work well together. Wendy is a babyface everyone loves and that makes her the perfect opponent for Cora. Cora got the win thanks to a DDT, and Lash Legend attacked Wendy after the match. Lash working with Wendy is a good look for her on multiple fronts. Hopefully it works out.

Still a Good Team
We rather see Tyler Bate as a cult leader than Joe Gacy. Bate looks the part while Gacy...well, yeah. Also, why was Malik Blade wrestling in an argyle sweater vest and trunks?! Steve Urkel had better fashion sense than that.
Whew, fix it, Jesus.
Those things aside, this was a pretty good tag match all about showcasing the Dyad. Edris Enofe & Malik started strong, hitting the ring like sneaker shoppers on Black Friday, but once the Dyad slowed the pace, they, ironically, couldn’t keep up. The Dyad, without the Joe Gacy shenanigans, are still a dope team capable of really good matches. This was another example as they simply outsmarted and outmaneuvered Enofe & Blade.
More of that crisp tag action and less hugs with Gacy.

Bloodshot
I can’t even talk about this ladder match qualifier match between Grayson Waller and Oro Mensah. And I enjoyed the match! You know why I can’t? Because Apollo Crews showed up with one eye bleeding. Yes, blood dripping from his eye. Understandably, this stopped Waller in his tracks and Mensah took advantage. Mensah moves on to the ladder match at Halloween Havoc, while Apollo has yet another gimmick. As Valeelove pointed out, the man has a new gimmick every week.
No, I don’t like it.

1-1
I know what NXT is doing with Nathan Frazer and Axiom. I get it completely. Get them over through wrestling a few dope matches. But it’s not working for me. I barely know who these two are other than the fact they love comics and challenged each other. I just need a bit more juice to get emotionally involved.

The main event really boosted this show. And the surprise return at the end put the cherry on top of the sundae. While some of the action throughout the two hours left something to be desired, and there’s still too much Gacy, the show finished very strong.

Grade: B+

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Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Kaycee7(m): 11:03am On Sep 24, 2022
I don't think anyone in pro wrestling has more heat with the fans right now than Dominik Mysterio.

Wendy Choo losing a seemingly unimportant match coming off her big win in her feud with Tiffany Stratton just doesn't sit right with me. Hopefully this doesn't end up affecting her momentum in the long run.

Roman totally had me in the first half, ngl.

I still don't really get how I'm supposed to see Dexter as anything other than a heel at this point.

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Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 11:11am On Sep 24, 2022
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Honorary Uce
I am but a simple man, folks. I find it necessary to point out how grateful I am that WWE actually bothered to give an explanation as to why Solo Sikoa came up to the main roster to join The Bloodline. They did so on Friday Night SmackDown this week, with Paul Heyman explaining that the elders of the Samoan Dynasty sent him to assist the family in the face of many conspiracies.
Reigns, in a show of dominance, established as much by demanding that Solo acknowledge him.
He did.
It was a moment.
Naturally, Sami Zayn interrupted the end of this to say a few words. He, too, wanted to publicly acknowledge The Tribal Chief. He did so but was met only with scorn. Reigns rebuked him in the strongest possible terms, demanding he take the Bloodline shirt off and when he wouldn’t, ordering Jey to rip it off his back.
“You ain’t ever going to wear that shirt again … because I got you a new one.”
Reigns threw him a shirt that read “HONORARY UCE” and everyone — except for Jey Uso — celebrated. Sami acknowledged him once more and finished with a hug, one Reigns laughed at but reciprocated with a tap to Sami’s back.
It might as well have been the world.
It isn’t quite the right time to do the breakup, and I found myself breathing a sigh of relief they didn’t do it like this. That they aren’t rushing this and taking the time to tell the story right is every reason fans are excited about Triple H being in charge of creative. It doesn’t mean the end result will be a hit but they’re earning a lot of points with how they’re going about this.
Ah, what the hell am I saying, Sami Zayn will make damn sure it’s a hit.
Later, Madcap Moss and Ricochet were having a go at Zayn, calling him out and belittling his position in The Bloodline, when Sikoa showed up from nowhere and laid in a brutal beatdown on both. It looked stiff as hell, exactly the kind of aggression you’d hope for from everyone but works especially well considering how he’s been introduced here as the muscle for the group. They did a hell of a job of getting him over here.
This whole story has been fantastic.
The show closed with The Usos retaining their tag team titles — Imperium kept their issue going with the Brawling Brutes to assist them — and Solo & Sami stood tall alongside Jimmy & Jey.
The Bloodline is all.


All the rest
Liv Morgan, the current SmackDown women’s champion, was given half a TV entrance on this show, for what that’s worth. Then she worked a somewhat sloppy match against Lacey Evans but one that told a story, notably how she can indeed get extreme to win a match. After, she laid into Evans with a kendo stick to further prove her point. The fans were behind her for this, and then they were REALLY behind her when she pulled out a table, and then they went bonkers for her for coming off the top rope to put Evans through that table. This was pretty damn good.

The Maximum Male Models lost to The New Day and Max Dupri got good and pissed off about it, close yelling at everyone and throwing his blazer all about. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hopped a jet straight to LA!

That Braun Strowman vs. Otis match was way better than it had any business being. I’ve long been a big Otis supporter but BigHuge McBiggerShoes was maybe even more impressive. They haven’t asked much of him just yet but for what they have asked, he’s delivered.

Drew McIntyre challenged Karrion Kross to a Strap match at Extreme Rules, good and fed up with getting attacked from behind. He was immediately attacked from behind by Karrion Kross. Scarlett used a fireball to help Kross get the advantage and we’re to understand there’s no reason to think she won’t do so anytime necessary moving forward. It’s worth noting they didn’t use the noir filter for Kross during all this.

Raquel Rodriguez defeated Dakota Kai thanks to Shotzi showing up to help fend off Damage CTRL. It certainly appears as though Aliyah has been phased out and Shotzi has been phased in. Feel how you will about that decision.Hit Row partied it up with The Street Profits backstage — among others — and they had some fun. It was ultimately a set up for Los Lotharios to attack Top Dolla and set up a future match. I kind of love the idea that the locker room is just one big get together for the roster and anyone who isn’t booked on the show but made the city gets to have a good time for doing so. Let me live in that belief, please.

Another good show from the blue brand.

Grade: B

1 Like 1 Share

Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 7:27am On Sep 26, 2022
They said the bloodline and AJ are having issues. Is that true?
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 7:31am On Sep 26, 2022
pu7pl3:

The Maximum Male Models lost to The New Day and Max Dupri got good and pissed off about it, close yelling at everyone and throwing his blazer all about. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hopped a jet straight to LA!
admit it that I was right about MMM. And if I'm right about that I wonder how many other things I'm right about.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 10:11am On Sep 26, 2022
ValeeLove:

admit it that I was right about MMM. And if I'm right about that I wonder how many other things I'm right about.

You're right about many things man.
But I still see hope.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 1:03pm On Sep 26, 2022
Someone gotta do the job in the tag team division, brother. grin
The current AEW tag team champions. The Acclaimed pretty much started out as jobbers. Heath Slater's I have kids gimmick resulted in him and rhyno being crowned the first Smackdown tag team champions in 2016.
Who knows what may happen
ValeeLove:

admit it that I was right about MMM. And if I'm right about that I wonder how many other things I'm right about.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 1:24pm On Sep 26, 2022
samistry:
Someone gotta do the job in the tag team division, brother. grin
The current AEW tag team champions. The Acclaimed pretty much started out as jobbers. Heath Slater's I have kids gimmick resulted in him and rhyno being crowned the first Smackdown tag team champions in 2016.
Who knows what may happen
yes I agree. Someone's gotta do the job, some guys that are unknown, just come in and lose to the stars or future stars. We know LA, he's not a jobber, we know Monsoor, not a jobber; his people will be angry at what he's turned into next 2 months at crown Jewel(lol); and the other guy who they've tried to push in the past. They've put too much on these guys for them to just be regarded as jobbers. They were given plenty airtime which I said wasn't worth it cos they were doing ridiculous stuffs. But what do I know? My prediction came to pass and the group is going to be disbanded soon. I'm still shocked no one complained about LA's name and character change like it wasn't obviously stupid, now they are retracing their steps. Way to go wasting our time WWE. Nonsense and industry leaders.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 1:24pm On Sep 26, 2022
pu7pl3:


You're right about many things man.
But I still see hope.
no hope here. I can bet it.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 7:50pm On Sep 26, 2022
ValeeLove:
no hope here. I can bet it.

Do you mean just with MMM or WWE in general?
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 8:40pm On Sep 26, 2022
pu7pl3:


Do you mean just with MMM or WWE in general?
MMM.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 8:44pm On Sep 26, 2022
pu7pl3:


Do you mean just with MMM or WWE in general?
it's bad that we are in 2022 and are still having discussions like this. Na small time remain. Everybody eye go open. WWE is selling out big arenas and having TV deals. Na small time remain. Soon people will start asking "what am I even enjoying in this thing?". AEW is not exempted, not even New Japan. By that time, industries will start giving true sports based entertainment, but it will take a while again for the public to trust the product.
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 8:08am On Sep 27, 2022
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Whodini
Last week, Finn Balor approached his former friend with an offer to join the Judgment Day. AJ Styles rejected but it wasn’t a firm rejection. This week, AJ’s mouth got him in trouble Sami Zayn and the Bloodline, so Roman sent Sami and Solo Sikoa to Raw with orders to break AJ’s Twitter fingers. I added that last part but you get the point.
Another match where it was obviously going to be a good one, so the intrigue was all about the post match IF AJ lost.
Well, he lost. At that point, Finn and the rest of the JD approached with the same offer in hand. If AJ joins their crew, there’s no need for him to play these away games and go solo against entire crews. AJ’s response was a lot more emphatic this week then last, as a middle finger tends to be an exclamation point at the end of any sentence.
Finn didn’t approve of said finger, so a beat down ensued. The most intriguing part was Finn refusing to drop the hammer on AJ with the latter’s neck in the vice grip of a chair. Why? Because “that’s not what friends do.”
AJ may or may not join the group but they’re making the ride compelling as this story between he and Finn plays out.
Finn wasn’t the only one dealing with a former friend tonight, as Damian Priest found himself tangling with Riddle. On Damian’s birthday no less, a fact he yelled during the match for those who weren’t aware.
Damian and Riddle was a much more physical affair than AJ and Sami, which fits sense Riddle and Damian are old friends. The spot of the match, possibly the night, was Priest suplexing Riddle across the barricade onto his back. I loved it, I winced, and it showed just how far Damian wanted to go to prove former alliances mean nothing to him. Which works even better when contrasted with how Finn handles AJ.
Even with the Judgment Day running interference and hoping to throw Riddle off his game, young Matthew still got the win. So why am I talking about this match here? Because it’s a part of a larger story with Edge, who made his triumphant return tonight. After shocking the Judgment Day and saving Riddle, Edge challenged Finn to an I Quit match at Extreme Rules, which sounds incredible.
But will AJ make an appearance? The stage is set for AJ showing up and helping out his old friend against Edge, which gives Finn’s mercy play some meaning. See? Told you it all tied together.


Extracurriculars
Queen of the Hill
Sometimes—note, just sometimes—Alexa Bliss and Asuka look weird standing next to Bianca Belair. I don’t always buy those two women as subordinates who say nothing while Bianca does all of the talking. For all the work WWE in establishing Damage CNTRL as a legitimate heel stable, I see less work done when it comes to their counterparts. It’s a minor quibble but a quibble nonetheless.
After Bianca and Bayley raised the stakes on their Extreme Rules match by adding ladders, Bianca said it was time to get “extreme” with IYO SKY. She said it much better with more innuendo than I can type, so just imagine it or watch a clip.
IYO and Bianca set a high bar for the rest of the show with their opening match. But you already knew that, right? This was a smooth match with a story built around IYO doing Bayley’s dirty work, while pushing Bianca to the limit. Bianca pulled out the victory but IYO didn’t make it easy on her, which is just a warmup for the ladder match with Bayley in Philly.

Mrs. Wrestling
Candice LeRae is back! I was happy to see her. Edmonton was happy to see her. Nikki A.S.H.? Not so much. In fact, after Candice beat her—and looked fantastic in the ring—Nikki pulled off her mask. Is the almost superhero finally realizing almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?
Props to Candice though, who, again, looked like she didn’t lose a step. Can’t wait to see more of her and I predict we will since Trips apparently loves the Garganos more than his own kids.

King of the Pit
Anytime Rey Mysterio is in the ring, it’s about Dominik. Even when wrestling Seth Rollins this week, it’s about Dom. So, naturally, Dom made his way ringside during the match’s early stages, chair in hand, for a little observation. Seth and Rey put on a hell of a show too! This is no diss to their work but the story is what I’m here for and Rey, Dom, and Rhea is the story. Rhea came out right when it looked like Rey had the match in hand and tilted the scales in Seth’s favor after dealing Rey a nasty blow from behind. I know how that sounds but I’m sticking with it.
Of course, we got one more moment of Dom begging his father to hit him with a chair, but Rey refused, which provided Rhea the opening she needed.
I’m not sure how this ends without Rey finally putting hands on his son and maybe that’s what we all want. Right?

Sit Your $5 Ass Down Before I Make Change
This was yet another match where I knew going into it what to expect. KO & Johnny Gargano tagging against the Alpha Academy? Yeah, that’s a dope match. The question was when would Austin Theory show his face. Right when Gargano and KO had the advantage, Theory interfered. Luckily for KO & Johnny, they still got the win and the hometown standing ovation for Owens. But it’s a good move that clearly shows Gargano is in Theory’s head. Even when Theory interferes in his matches, Johnny Wrestling still prevails.
Theory put Johnny in Otis’ sights for next week, which is clearly him just putting as many obstacles as possible in front of Johnny to avoid handling business himself. I like it.

Squash
Omos beat up some local guys. Yawn

Psycho
Miz created Miz Force to protect him from Dexter Lumis. Lumis destroyed them, then pulled off a pretty good slasher move dressing as one of the hockey mannequins and surprising Miz with a sleeper and then...petting him. I don’t know, it’s weird now.

I really enjoyed Raw this week. Top to bottom, minus a few quibbles that didn’t take up enough time in my head or the screen to ruin my good time. I love the progression with the major stories and this Judgment Day story keeps rocking my world. Plus we got a night full of great wrestling with decisions that made sense.

Grade: A

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Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 10:01am On Sep 28, 2022
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Threats
When NXT kicked off this week, IIlja Dragunov basked in the glow of the crowd and stated his reason for being: Bron Breakker. Ilja doesn’t want to wait in line because he never lost his title, nor is he concerned with the current number one contender, JD McDonagh. Which, I get because that cat is an entire mess. Dragunov sees a lot of Gunther in Bron and believes he can work his magic one more time.
Long story short, JD came to the ring, Bron came to the ring, used some Steiner math and called for a triple threat match at Halloween Havoc. Any time a Steiner does math, it’s always an adventure. And I can relate, because me and math go together like Barcelona and winning Bayern Munich teams.
Dragunov’s arrival meant the guy who believes he’s the cock of the walk, Xyon Quinn, feels a bit insecure. Quinn got in Iilya’s face, challenged him to a match, and a match we got.
Quinn is a perplexing cat right now. Months ago during the heyday of the 2.0 days (remember those?!), he looked prime to blow up. Now he’s a running punchline. Quinn is the guy who talks about how good he is and how he has the “X factor” but loses big match after big match. Which includes this match with Dragunov. And it was a good match with the outcome never really in question, but it’s just hard getting excited for anything involving Quinn these days. It’s fun seeing Ilya do his thing but I wish his first match on NXT in several moons involved someone truly worth caring about.


Extracurriculars
Puff, the Magic Dragon
So this was weird. Mandy Rose wrestled Fallon Henley, she of “Yee-Haw, bitch” fame, and Henley held her own. This was a solid match between the champ and a young challenger who showed she has enough skill and character to go far in this business-ah.
But then Mandy won and that’s when things got strange for me. Mandy has a date with Alba Fyre, so naturally she called out her next challenger after dismissing Henley. Fyre showed up on video, bat in hand, and lit fire to a display that read #AndNew. That shocking display of fire and calligraphy sent Toxic Attraction into a tizzy.
Huh? That’s the big thing? She lit up some words with her bat because she prefers to let her actions do the talking? Meh. And that’s the thing that intimidates the champ? No, sir, I don’t like it.

Pub Crawl
I’m not even going to try to recap this Pub Rules match between Briggs & Jensen and Gallus. Just know it was fun, violent, an absolute mess, and the country boys won. Oh, and Gallus got “arrested” after the show.

Moving On
Wes Lee qualified for the ladder match at Halloween Havoc due to the ref stopping the match. One drop toe hold sent Tony D’Angelo into the middle turnbuckle, and Tony D immediately clutched his knee (peep those rhymes). So, yeah, not much to say here other than Wes didn’t want to win this way but he did.

Sol Debut
Sol Ruca made her NXT debut in a match against Amari Miller. All I can say is Amari deserves better. Sol has some interesting moves using her gymnastics background, but this was a rough first match. More tread on her tires might help and put some steak behind the sizzle.
Tough seeing Amari take the L here since she has more potential and feels destined for developmental hell at this point. Or maybe I’m just taking it hard since I go hard in the paint for Black women. Shrug.

Pretty Workouts
Pretty Deadly’s video this week might be the funniest thing I’ve witnessed in wrestling in quite some time. 

To the Mat
Look, everyone. I’m sorry, you know I can’t get into Joe Gacy for the most part. And that’s acknowledging that the man can go in the ring too. But this thing between him and Cameron Grimes is going on way too long now and with Gacy’s win tonight, thanks in part to the Dyad, it shows no signs of ending. Meaning I show no signs of being less annoyed.

Hear Me Roar
Kayden Carter and Nikkita Lyons put on a solid and entertaining match this week. Both women showcased their athletic ability, agility, and their other assets in a couple fun spots. the story going into this was whether or not Lyons and Zoey Stark even know how to be tag partners. Especially when compared to the NXT tag team champs. If Stark and Lyons are Carter and Katana Chance’s next challengers, then Lyons’ victory here is the right call. Establishing Nikkita and Zoey as worthy challengers to the champs is paramount. Color me interested.

Can’t lie to you, ladies and gents. This was a hard show to get through. There were solid matches, most definitely, but not much grabbed my attention and demanded my eyes. This wasn’t one of NXT’s better outings and just didn’t connect with me on the levels I hoped. That said, Halloween Havoc is shaping up to be quite the event, which is my light at the end of the tunnel.

Grade: C

1 Like 1 Share

Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 1:13pm On Sep 29, 2022
pu7pl3:
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Threats
When NXT kicked off this week, IIlja Dragunov basked in the glow of the crowd and stated his reason for being: Bron Breakker. Ilja doesn’t want to wait in line because he never lost his title, nor is he concerned with the current number one contender, JD McDonagh. Which, I get because that cat is an entire mess. Dragunov sees a lot of Gunther in Bron and believes he can work his magic one more time.
Long story short, JD came to the ring, Bron came to the ring, used some Steiner math and called for a triple threat match at Halloween Havoc. Any time a Steiner does math, it’s always an adventure. And I can relate, because me and math go together like Barcelona and winning Bayern Munich teams.
Dragunov’s arrival meant the guy who believes he’s the cock of the walk, Xyon Quinn, feels a bit insecure. Quinn got in Iilya’s face, challenged him to a match, and a match we got.
Quinn is a perplexing cat right now. Months ago during the heyday of the 2.0 days (remember those?!), he looked prime to blow up. Now he’s a running punchline. Quinn is the guy who talks about how good he is and how he has the “X factor” but loses big match after big match. Which includes this match with Dragunov. And it was a good match with the outcome never really in question, but it’s just hard getting excited for anything involving Quinn these days. It’s fun seeing Ilya do his thing but I wish his first match on NXT in several moons involved someone truly worth caring about.


Extracurriculars
Puff, the Magic Dragon
So this was weird. Mandy Rose wrestled Fallon Henley, she of “Yee-Haw, bitch” fame, and Henley held her own. This was a solid match between the champ and a young challenger who showed she has enough skill and character to go far in this business-ah.
But then Mandy won and that’s when things got strange for me. Mandy has a date with Alba Fyre, so naturally she called out her next challenger after dismissing Henley. Fyre showed up on video, bat in hand, and lit fire to a display that read #AndNew. That shocking display of fire and calligraphy sent Toxic Attraction into a tizzy.
Huh? That’s the big thing? She lit up some words with her bat because she prefers to let her actions do the talking? Meh. And that’s the thing that intimidates the champ? No, sir, I don’t like it.

Pub Crawl
I’m not even going to try to recap this Pub Rules match between Briggs & Jensen and Gallus. Just know it was fun, violent, an absolute mess, and the country boys won. Oh, and Gallus got “arrested” after the show.

Moving On
Wes Lee qualified for the ladder match at Halloween Havoc due to the ref stopping the match. One drop toe hold sent Tony D’Angelo into the middle turnbuckle, and Tony D immediately clutched his knee (peep those rhymes). So, yeah, not much to say here other than Wes didn’t want to win this way but he did.

Sol Debut
Sol Ruca made her NXT debut in a match against Amari Miller. All I can say is Amari deserves better. Sol has some interesting moves using her gymnastics background, but this was a rough first match. More tread on her tires might help and put some steak behind the sizzle.
Tough seeing Amari take the L here since she has more potential and feels destined for developmental hell at this point. Or maybe I’m just taking it hard since I go hard in the paint for Black women. Shrug.

Pretty Workouts
Pretty Deadly’s video this week might be the funniest thing I’ve witnessed in wrestling in quite some time. 

To the Mat
Look, everyone. I’m sorry, you know I can’t get into Joe Gacy for the most part. And that’s acknowledging that the man can go in the ring too. But this thing between him and Cameron Grimes is going on way too long now and with Gacy’s win tonight, thanks in part to the Dyad, it shows no signs of ending. Meaning I show no signs of being less annoyed.

Hear Me Roar
Kayden Carter and Nikkita Lyons put on a solid and entertaining match this week. Both women showcased their athletic ability, agility, and their other assets in a couple fun spots. the story going into this was whether or not Lyons and Zoey Stark even know how to be tag partners. Especially when compared to the NXT tag team champs. If Stark and Lyons are Carter and Katana Chance’s next challengers, then Lyons’ victory here is the right call. Establishing Nikkita and Zoey as worthy challengers to the champs is paramount. Color me interested.

Can’t lie to you, ladies and gents. This was a hard show to get through. There were solid matches, most definitely, but not much grabbed my attention and demanded my eyes. This wasn’t one of NXT’s better outings and just didn’t connect with me on the levels I hoped. That said, Halloween Havoc is shaping up to be quite the event, which is my light at the end of the tunnel.

Grade: C
no Grayson Waller?! What that...
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 8:28pm On Sep 29, 2022
ValeeLove:
no Grayson Waller?! What that...

Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 11:49am On Oct 01, 2022
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Maybe I’m still stuck in the past as far as how WWE TV shows used to be presented, but it feels jarring to me that we could be this close to the next major pay-per-view and have a show like what we got with Friday Night SmackDown this week.
It wasn’t bad, per se, it just sort of existed.
The show was headlined by a match that was put together earlier in the evening when Austin Theory was trash talking Drew McIntyre and Alpha Academy just so happened to have also been there to back up Theory but Johnny Gargano & Kevin Owens also just so happened to be there to back up McIntyre.
You got it! A six-man tag match pitting the two sides against each other closed the show.
It was perfectly fine for what it was. Maybe I’m the one in the wrong for being so used to opening with a promo from the big star you’re expecting to see and that being what leads to the main event match featuring said big star. This just felt like a way to get through this week’s show. The ratings have been fantastic lately, so clearly what they’re doing is working.
Still, when Roman Reigns isn’t around, you really feel his absence.
Anyway, the good guys emerged victorious via a fun finish that we didn’t really see. Owens hit Otis with a Stunner on the announcer’s desk — and they weren’t on it — and then McIntyre hit Theory with the Claymore — and they weren’t on it — for the winning pinfall. We had to see them both via replay.


Ronda Rousey called herself the “most dangerous unarmed woman on the planet” before asking a simple question: “what do you think I become wielding a baseball bat?”
The most dangerous being in the Universe?!?
Get it?
I’m so sorry.
Anyway, she wrestled Natalya in a match designed to heat her up for Extreme Rules in just over a week. The match they had was short and Rousey sold a bit more than I expected her to but Nattie tapped to the Ankle Lock in the end.
After, Liv Morgan showed up dragging a baseball bat and they had a staredown before rushing each other. Morgan, despite having a bat, got kicked in the gut. A quick battle ensued and eventually they fought over said bat, going full Roman Reigns/Brock Lesnar and having a tug of war over it.
Yeah.
Naturally, security hit the scene and despite the fact that Rousey had gotten the best of Morgan, she decided to leave the bat and walk out without causing a fuss. The champ, of course, wouldn’t stand for that and rushed her through the security detail, with commentary making clear this is how extreme she could get.
This all fell flat, and failed to accomplish what they hoped it would. Morgan came in with a bat and somehow looked weak anyway and Rousey feels so far above this despite feeling like less of a major star than she ever has.
I’m not entirely sure how the women’s division on the blue brand got here but it could badly use a few talented stars like, say, Sasha Banks and Naomi? Hell, when is Charlotte Flair coming back?



All the rest
This show opened with Solo Sikoa & Sami Zayn teaming up to score a win over Ricochet & Madcap Moss. The heels cheated their way to victory in a fun opener that further established Sikoa as the enforcer of The Bloodline. He’s the kind of muscle that demands respect not just for being willing and able to throw some heavy blows, but because he goes so far in his zest for doing so. If you stub his toe, he’s breaking your leg. He’s perfect for the top group in all of WWE.
Meanwhile, Jey Uso says he sees through Sami. Who knows what that means, but he gave him a warning shot this week.

Anyone else far prefer Karrion Kross with hair to the bald look? Just me?

Max Dupri is inching closer to becoming LA Knight once again but I will say I’m greatly enjoying how absolutely fed up he is with the Maximum Male Models and all their bullshit. It’s entertaining enough that I’m not worried about them taking their time on this one. In fact, they should!

Hit Row scored a relatively easy win over Los Lotharios. There wasn’t much to this one.Imperium left Sheamus a battered mess, but his response was to ask “is that all you got?” That got over big with the crowd, who chanted his name in response.

Shotzi got her tank back! It didn’t help her win a match, as she was beaten by Bayley, who is getting ready to challenge for the Raw women’s championship. Speaking of, Bianca Belair was on this show to save Shotzi from a ladder attack. There was a brief back-and-forth with Bayley to tease out another contract signing for Raw next week.

This was one you could skip.

Grade: C-
Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 9:43am On Oct 04, 2022
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


I’m Your Only Friend
J Styles is joining the Judgment Day. Right? I’m stating that as a declarative but with a small caveat because Lord knows I’m wrong my fair share of time on this planet. This one feels like we’re headed towards Styles becoming the next member. Last week, WWE started the story of AJ as a man without a country. The Phenomenal One thought that maybe, just maybe, Rey Mysterio was not just a friend, but someone trustworthy enough to have his back in a fight.
Yeah, well, about that.
This week, AJ & Rey teamed against Finn Balor & Damian Priest, with Dom & Rhea Ripley ringside. Two things about this: Finn Balor is the Judgment Day’s “official” leader. Those quotes are because the faction’s true leader is Rhea, since she’s everyone’s papi these days. And secondly, shoutout to Cory Graves for referencing The Witch! Not sure if quoting the devil does much for his argument that Styles should join the group but hey, E for effort and T for nice try. And it’s Spooky Season so showing love to dope horror is always appreciated.
During the match, which was good, not great, Rey once again found himself distracted by Rhea and his erstwhile son. And once again, Dominik begged his son to punish him, but Rey refused. I admit, there’s only but so many more times they can play this card, but as of now, it still works. In fact, it works more because Rey’s emotions effect other people.
Rey’s brief detour with his son left Styles high, dry, and on the wrong end of a coup de grace. AJ, understandably upset, took his frustration out on an apoplectic Mysterio, pushing him out of the ring after screaming at him for not being there when AJ needed him. This left A all alone and susceptible to an attack from, you guessed it, the Judgment Day. Finn, while pummeling AJ, kept yelling he’s AJ’s only friend. And you know what? He’s kinda right. I’m not saying my friends beat me up as an act of mercy, but I am saying Finn has a point because there’s no one else on the Raw roster who AJ knows for a fact can hold their own, whom he has a deep history, and actually extended an olive branch.
And I believe Finn. I believe he cares about AJ and that he wants the best for his friend. Does he have ulterior motives? Most definitely. He is a bad guy, after all. But I get the point he’s making and I’m sure AJ does as well.
This is pretty compelling stuff and I’m really looking forward to the next chapter at Extreme Rules.



Extracurriculars
Seth’s Breath Be Kicking
Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle just need to get this thing over with. They squared off tonight, again, and got in each other’s faces, again. Daniel Cormier, the special referee for their match at Extreme Rules, provided the wrinkle this week. Cormier appeared on the titantron and told both men he respects them both for different reasons but they need to cut the sh*t and wait for Sunday. Yeah, nothing more to be said.
The segment did get a little spicy when Seth went personal talking about Riddle’s kids, divorce, and child support payments. But it’s nothing we haven’t seen or heard from these two.
Except the part about Seth’s breath kicking like Van Damme. Both dudes are great in their respective roles here and regardless of the outcome at Extreme Rules, I hope they both maintain this momentum.

Dopeness
Bobby Lashley. Mustafa Ali. That’s all you need to know. If you missed the match, watch it now. This was the match of the night and even threw in some story. Ali earned Lashley’s respect with his refusal to stay down. This coming after Ali demanded a shot at the U.S. champion, a move that Lashley felt was incredibly disrespectful. Seth Rollins ruined a good moment between the two with his post match sneak attacks but this was fun and an alliance between these two, or at least elevating Ali, is in order.

Let Them Fight
There’s an interesting angle between Bianca Belair and Bayley that they really just played up this week. During their contract signing, Bayley told Bianca that she used to be her. The ponytail, the bright clothes, the smile? She did the same thing and the fans loved her for it. But that love went away and everything changed for her. Bianca believes that nothing “changed” Bayley; she was always pretending to be someone else.
This, this Bayley we see in front of our eyes today, is who she always was. The fans rejected her because they knew she was faking the funk. As always, I wish we got a lot of this earlier in the feud. Too often, we get to the juicy psychological stuff right before the match. Le sigh.
Anyway, while Bayley and Bianca were in the ring, Dakota Kai and IYO SKY attacked. Asuka and Alexa Bliss found themselves on the wrong end of a beatdown, with Asuka taking the worst of it. Good segment all around.

CNTRL, Alt, DELETE
Been waiting a long time to use that one. Raw gave us Dakota Kai vs. Candice LeRae this week. Yup, those aren’t typos or a bits of a fever dream. Unsurprisingly, they put on a good show. With Damage CNTRL ringside, the story was just how long would it take them to interfere. As soon as Candice got some momentum., Bayley’s presence paid dividends for Kai when she nailed Candice with a sneak attack, allowing Kai to get the pin.
Damage CNTRL’s domination continued when IYO SKY defeated Alexa Bliss in a solid main event. Dakota not only beat Alexa, but she and her crew pummeled Bianca and friends. Even Asuka, hobbled with one leg, did her best to fight but was clearly no match for those three women. And the giant ladder they pulled out from under the ring.
I complained about Damage CNTRL looking weak several weeks ago but no more. They’re a dominant group now overpowering seemingly every woman in Raw’s locker room. I say that because we rarely see anyone else now, minus Candice. I’m surprised she didn’t show up during the post match beatdown to make the save but I suppose we gotta leave something for Extreme Rules or the most ridiculous “season premiere” ever. Ridiculous because you have to actually be seasonal to have a season premiere. Prepare to hear me complain about this a lot next week. But not too much.

Bloodline Drama
When Roman’s away, the kids will play. Solo Sikoa, Jimmy & Jey Uso, and the honorary Uce Sami Zayn showed up at Raw to tell everyone Roman is coming next week. While Jey and Sami got into it, as they usually do, the Street Profits stepped onto the scene to talk trash. This led to Solo vs. Angelo Dawkins, a very physical contest overshadowed by the outside drama between Sami and Jey. Jey stepped in every time Sami lent his cheerleading expertise and wrestling knowledge to Solo.
It almost cost Solo the match too, as both men argued on the ring apron, distracting the ref in the process, while Solo put Dawkins down for at least 10 seconds before the ref finally turned around and only got to a count of two. Solo eventually got the W but the Bloodline is messy. How long before Jimmy, Solo, and, more importantly, Roman interject? Like the human drama and this is chocked full of it.

Oh No
After Johnny Gargano took an L—thanks to Austin Theory’s outside chicanery—to Otis, Braun Strowman appeared. And by that, I mean he roared, ran, and wrecked shop. Strowman beat up Chad Gable then demanded the match ring the bell to start their match.
But I don’t want to talk about all of that. We’re here to talk about WWE teasing Omos vs. Braun. During the match, Omos and MVP were standing and watching television in that most awkward way wrestlers do, which made me roll my eyes for multiple reasons. I have no desire to ever see these two wrestle. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. Do. Not. Want.

Raw is hitting this groove where I’m always impressed with the wrestling, the flow, and come away liking the show. But nothing there’s nothing exciting about it. It’s just a good wrestling show, which isn’t a problem at all. It rarely grabs me by the throat and demands my attention. After years of inconsistency, I’ll take it.

This was a good go-home show and Extreme Rules should rock.

Grade: B

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