₦airaland Forum

ValeeLove:
yep, me too. Discovering other wrestling like NJPW also helped making love the sport more.

ValeeLove:
Cena is thriving, but is it just me cos I'm not feeling his acting there. He acts robotic. He's making money anyways.

ValeeLove:
the name of the movie is Universal Soldier.

pu7pl3:
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


WWE stretched out this story of Paul Heyman’s questionable allegiance for four months, which doesn’t seem like all that much but might as well be a lifetime by current WWE standards. The way they did so and kept it entertaining has been the performance of those involved in it. They all do the little things so very, very well.
Heyman has been the perfect enhancement talent to facilitate a new beef between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
Reigns, by the way, feels like the only true star in WWE anymore. This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown was held in Chicago and it felt like there wasn’t much hype for anything all night — until Reigns showed up and demanded to be acknowledged.
That’s what really makes all this work. Reigns is the only star, and he’s been on an unbelievable run of dominance that genuinely feels like it could extend for the next couple years. Would it really be that surprising if he was champion until, say, 2025? Why not? Who else could possibly be positioned to stop him.
“I’m not protecting Brock Lesnar from you. I’m protecting you from Brock Lesnar.”
That’s what Heyman said to Reigns on SmackDown this week to finally sever their relationship. It acts as a clean endpoint — or, if not that, one they can write around to come back from later if they so choose — while also reminding us once more that if there is one guy out there who could put an end to Roman’s reign as champion, it’s Brock Lesnar.
It’s not just Brock Lesnar, it’s Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman by his side as his hype man.
This has been a beautifully told story that works as is and works just as well when you get all meta with it. Because, yeah, maybe Vince McMahon would put Lesnar over Reigns once again.
Meanwhile, I’m intrigued to see how Reigns looks without Heyman, who couldn’t have been better in his role over the past year-and-a-half.


All The Rest
Toni Storm & Sasha Banks teamed up to take on Charlotte Flair & Shotzi to kick off this show, and the match saw Storm use a sneaky tag the SmackDown women’s champion didn’t see to get the edge with a crossbody off the top. Shortly after, she managed to pin Flair, ensuring she’ll be challenging for the title again. Sure enough, they announced she’ll get that shot next week. Running the tag here got Banks and Shotzi involved and reminded us they were in or around the title scene not long ago. Which is good, considering Storm still doesn’t look like much of a threat here.

WWE had The Viking Raiders do their entrance before sending us to a commercial break with the promise that they would be in action “UP NEXT” against Jinder Mahal & Shanky, which was great because it gave us Pat McAfee enthusiastically saying “Viking Raiders and Shanky?!? Let’s go!” As though that’s all the reason in the world to stick around through the commercial break. If you did, you were welcomed back with a long ass video recapping Bobby Lashley overcoming all the odds to earn a title match on Raw this week, and then Mahal & Shanky making their entrance before WWE, oh yes they did, again hit us with the “UP NEXT” before sending the show to commercial once more. They really stretched that hard for a Viking Raiders vs. Mahal & Shanky tag team match. Ivar pinned Shanky after a short match.

Xia Li’s big debut was followed up with a brief backstage interview where Natalya reminded us all she thinks she’s the best of all time.

Madcap Moss is still telling bad jokes, and this crowd in Chicago reacted to them with “CM Punk” chants. It felt truly uncomfortable watching Moss and Happy Corbin fail so hard, even when that failure was intentional. It wasn’t heat they were getting, it was second hand embarrassment. I don’t really think that’s how you want to build to a match. Meanwhile, they weren’t strong enough to pull Drew McIntyre’s sword out of a desk, but he was, so I guess he’s Thor? I don’t know, this was all painfully dumb and bad and made me feel bad for spending my Friday night watching it.Ridge Holland beat Cesaro with help from Sheamus. There wasn’t much to this.

Naomi managed to beat Shayna Baszler despite not being ready for her attacking from behind while Sonya Deville provided a distraction. We should applaud WWE for giving Naomi a win here but this program is moving painfully slow and still doesn’t have enough depth to feel like it matters at all.

The New Day beat The Usos in yet another fun match between the two teams. They’ve done this a million times before but they just keep delivering the goods, be it on TV, PPV, a house show, whatever. They’re really good at this.

I generally like SmackDown but this show felt very much like WWE was just trying to throw out some content to fill in two hours of programming time instead of putting together a meaningful show with actually interesting stories/matches. They did have an extra taping on this show, so it’s somewhat understandable, but we aren’t here to excuse bad shows.
Were it not for the main event segment, I don’t think this show would have even registered enough to grade.

Grade: C-

pu7pl3:
I think out of all the wrestlers in Hollywood right now only Batista has more range, and I think maybe it's due to the roles they've given them/ they decide to take on

As long as it works tho

pu7pl3:
I've only watched other promotions in bits, be like say I sign life contract with WWE

ValeeLove:
lol. You didn't give us the details...Reigns attacking Heyman, Usos hyping Reigns, Brock making the save and decimating the Bloodline... Meanwhile I don't know how well Reigns fends from here on. Heyman in his life has been a blessing. Without him there now I don't know. Will they still work together off TV or that's it?

Nezzjnr:
So dey don sack my Guy

pu7pl3:
Your guy fvcked up

Nezzjnr:
Him no do anything??

pu7pl3:
I don't understand

Nezzjnr:
Sorry.... I meant he didn't do anything na

pu7pl3:
Didn't you read/watch what he did last week while Roman was away?

Nezzjnr:
I didn't put my attention to the last SmackDown episode because Reigns wasn't around

pu7pl3:
He betrayed reigns, you can read the recap nau

Nezzjnr:
Pu7pl3 do you think Lesnar will accept Paul as his advocate?

pu7pl3:
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS


Hard Knock Life
Bron Breakker is a freak. Some might say of the genetic variety, though I hear that designation is already taken. That athletic ability isn’t enough to get what he wants from Tommaso Ciampa. At least not yet.
Bron knows this, so he eagerly accepted Roderick Strong’s challenge. Strong, wanting to get his own shine, issued the challenge knowing Bron is big time and an automatic main event spot. Both men used each other to move to bigger and better things. Unfortunately, they both got more than they bargained for this week.
Bron showed he can handle a match with one of the very best. Strong didn’t take it easy on him and probably underestimated his younger opponent. In another example of old school vs. new school, Roderick figured the technique and skill that took him to great heights in NXT might work against an inexperienced Bron.
Nah ah, as Steve Austin used to say.
Bron survived everything, even the Stronghold, and put on a clinic of his own with a shoulder tackle, belly-to-belly suplex, Frankensteiner, and then finally, his favorite military press powerslam.
Strong did get more eyes on him, including Carmelo Hayes. But he took an L for his troubles. Bron did prove he’s not a flash in the pan and can beat someone with experience. But he ended the show on his back after Ciampa attacked him post match and trash talked him in the process.
“Welcome back to the deep end. Just remember Bron: Sharks swim here.”
And Ciampa finished it with a kiss on the cheek, Don Corelone- style.
Ciampa wants another match with Bron, but he wants to embarrass him first.
Eventually, we’ll get a changing of the guard. Stevie Wonder can see that. Before we get there, the champ wants to build Bron into what he believes is a worthy opponent.


The Rest
Man on the Moon
Cameron Grimes danced with Duke Hudson in a No Holds Barred (brother) match. Grimes won the show opener and revealed that, shock of all shocks, Hudson is newborn baby bald underneath that ridiculous wig.
A fun opener that Hudson dominated until his attitude and cockiness got the better of him. Grimes capitalized and hopefully both men can move on now.

Me Against the World
Grayson Waller didn’t set my world on fire with his promo, but it was effective. The NXT faithful barely let him get a word in edge wise as he played the typical notes a heel in his position plays. He’s better than us, we’re all envious of his success, and he’s a star on social media. He tried getting the fans on his side but now he doesn’t care and doesn’t need us. Well, guess what Grayson? We don’t need you either.
Grayson found himself ostracized by the locker room before beating up LA Knight, then stealing his car and (apparently) his date. It’s not doing a lot for me even though I get what they’re going for.

Hardcore
At a certain point, Ivy Nile needs to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship, right? They’re keeping her away from all the big players for some reason and letting her beat up on everyone else. She was in a bit of jeopardy this week with Amari Miller, but the end was never in doubt. Even though Miller got an entrance!
If we’re building Nile into a killer, she needs to hunt bigger game sooner rather than later.

Death Certificate
Harland finally hit the ring and, obviously, made proper quick work of his opponent. This weird thing between he and Joe Gacy is just that, weird. I’m not into it but I’m curious? Weird, right? Harland finished his night tossing Brian Kendrick down a flight of steps. They’re doing a lot to make this the wrestling version of fetch.

Midnight Marauders
Another lesson from MSK’s Shaman, more development for two cats finding their way back to tag team glory after losing the titles. Randy Orton will not be happy with Riddle’s detour, but I’m coming around on these segments. They’re giving MSK an interior life, which always helps for investment.

Queen
Cora Jade and Dakota Kai put on a rough match this week. Dakota is dope as always but Cora still needs more polish. Jade got the lucky win after Dakota bit off more than she can chew and went for the shovel. Wasn’t like she needed to go for it but hey, that’s what she did.
Mandy Rose was on commentary and after the match, her Toxic Attraction sisters, along with Raquel Gonzalez, came ringside with their own agendas.
Raquel has her sights on Dakota for revenge, but eventually she and Cora will deal with each other since they both want the title. Before their match, Dakota told Cora to watch her back as long as Raquel is standing behind her, but the rookie wasn't hearing it. Me thinks she’ll rue the day she ignored that advice.
And before we exit this segment, let us acknowledge the word “simp” was said on a WWE program, followed by “simpin’ ain’t easy.” That is all.

Goodfellas
Tony D’Angelo and Andre Chase put on a competitive match. Chase never had a shot because he’s pure comedy right now, but it served to get Tony D more over and further his story with Pete Dunne.
Speaking of the bruiserweight, Dunne made his presence known when Tony D got on the mic and called him out. A scuffle ensued, tough words were thrown, and Dunne got his mouthguard back.
Wish that was the prize at the end of the rainbow for Dunne rather than the thing he gets before the two even lock up.

Unpredictable
Not sure what they’re doing with Edris Enofe. He got one of those personal video packages WWE excels at, lost his first match against Solo Sikoa, then lost his match this week against Boa. Sikoa was backstage watching for what I assume was to keep an eye on a guy he respects. That guy is Enofe, not Boa. Two losses in a row, especially after picking this fight with Boa, isn’t a good look.

Strictly Business
Jacket Time got the W over Grizzled Young Veterans in a good tag match. The Creed Bros. showed up to scout the competition, distracting GYV, and allowing Jacket Time to go home happy.
I like the idea of different teams scouting every week. Makes the division feel alive and connected rather than just disjointed matches happening for the sake of it. While Imperium rules the roost, NXT is doing all it can to prove several worthy teams can knock them off any given Tuesday. Or Sunday.

Good show! What I like most about NXT 2.0 is the wrestlers have interior lives. They’re fleshing them all out and giving them more than just monikers or catchphrases. NXT 2.0 is home to legitimate honest-to-God characters who just so happen to wrestle.
Grade: B

samistry:
Is Veer Mahaan still coming to raw? Even CMPunk AEW debut no hype reach this one.

pu7pl3:
He betrayed reigns, you can read the recap nau

luizpippo:
Looks like the firing was a ruse to decieve Lesnar so that Heyman can betray him at Day 1.

pu7pl3:
You think so?

luizpippo:
Yeah

Lol, okay let's see how it unfolds

ValeeLove:
Kyle O'Reilly is All Elite.

samistry:
re-dragon reunion or undisputed era 2.0