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| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 9:48am On Feb 21, 2022 |
WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2022 REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Kick in the Door I often complain that WWE only cares about a four or five people. And while that complaint is valid and clearly hurts a lot of storytelling and booking, I completely understand why Brock Lesnar is one of those people. Dude is pure, unadulterated spectacle. His presence alone changes every match or segment. Brock brings a quality that no one else on the roster can, even on their best day. It’s an intangible not easily defined, so I won’t even try. That’s one of the reasons Brock is facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and one of the reasons he is the new WWE champion. That said, the men’s elimination chamber match was a mess. Mostly because it was all built around a man who clearly has no equal in this match. I say that because Bobby Lashley, the former WWE champ, was escorted to the back by WWE officials after Seth Rollins launched Austin Theory into the All Mighty’s pod. We were told Lashley was in concussion protocol, which is funny since he was limping to the locker room, implying it was a leg injury. But hey, WWE is a billion dollar organization who clearly has no time for details. With that snark out of my system, we got Seth vs. Theory vs. Riddle for a while, which was upstaged by the officials—hey, Jason Jordan!—tending to Lashley in the corner. AJ Styles entered the match, which resulted in a cool sequence where Rollins and Styles fought over the right to suplex Riddle from the top rope. They stopped bickering to settle on a double suplex, only for Theory to slam them both to the mat, then catch a Floating Bro from a recovered Riddle. More stuff like that and the match is worth talking about. Unfortunately, once Brock came in kicked open his pod and business picked up, the match went downhill. Brock is just positioned to look stronger and better than anyone in the ring. Even the way he enters the match outclasses the wrestlers around him. So it’s believable he proceeds to eliminate EVERYONE. Annoying as hell? Yes. But credible. First Seth, then Riddle, then AJ. The final two were Austin Theory and Brock Lesnar. And this was another huge sin of the match. Austin Theory and Brock? Word? AJ vs. Brock at least gives some suspense on the winner, while bringing some credibility to the match itself. But nope, we went with Vince McMahon’s pet project—I know what I said—who got thrown around like a rag doll. Austin tried to escape the cage but the Beast had other plans. Brock climbed to the top of the cage in two steps, put Theory on his shoulders, and sent him straight to hell courtesy of an F5 to the cage floor. You know what happened at that point. Brock’s the new champ, and it’s either champion vs. champion at WrestleMania or title vs. title. WWE sent mixed messages meaning they’re not entirely sure as of yet. I already said the match was a cuss show and I stand by that. I wish I had more to say but it is what it is regarding the WWE championship picture, the participants, and the booking. I’ll say this for Theory though: At least he got more offense in on Brock than Kofi Kingston. sigh. EST Stay the EST To all the ladies in the place with style and grace? Props for putting on a very dope match while encumbered in ways they normally aren’t. And those are ways the men on WWE’s roster don’t even have to think about. Rhea Ripley’s attire reminded Sean and I of Venom. We are brutality? The elimination chamber match is always tricky to judge because there are so many different things going on and at times, those things are colliding with each other. This one was a bit more controlled though, and I appreciated the change of pace. Liv Morgan and Nikki A.S.H. set it off, with Nikki doing her best to put Liv away early before anyone else intervened. Yeah, but then Doudrop showed up and, to quote a certain chairman, plans changed. Doudrop dominated and I mean DOMINATED the match. Which makes sense when she’s facing the likes of Liv and Nikki. But, as per usual the case with Doudrop, her momentum was used against her as she would eventually hit the showers courtesy of Liv Morgan and a top rope power bomb. Nikki was undone by Rhea Ripley. Nikki got in Rhea’s face early, claimed she wanted the smoke, but ran away as soon as the furnace started cooking. And come on, let’s be real: Any match between these two over the past few weeks always ends the same so this was no shock. I thought for a second Rhea might be distracted by Nikki but she treated her like a boot treats an ant. Alexa Bliss was the the wild card here. As soon as she entered, Rhea stepped back and got wide-eyed. Alexa’s past makes the women’s roster look at her funny. And therapy, as we all know, is a long process. A few sessions with Dr. Glasses doesn’t mean she’s completely cured. What Rhea got wasn’t crazy, but instead a more traditional Alexa Bliss. No theatrics, no Shang Tsung parlor tricks, just straight five feet of fury. But when it’s Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan in the ring with Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley, it’s only a matter of time before the latter two assert their power. We got a feat of strength tandem from the two. Their convenient marriage dissolved mad quick, and their wrestling showcased devolved into a serious brawl. A long-term feud between Rhea and Brianna could light up the spring/summer, so count me in as down for that. Bliss eliminated Liv with a Twisted Bliss, while Bianca’s second K.O.D. attempt on Rhea was more successful than her first, sending Rhea to the locker room and setting the stage for Alexa and Bianca. Honestly, we all knew this was coming, right? Bianca and Alexa put on a pretty good show themselves, with Bianca showing just how powerful she is and Alexa selling her ass off to make it look great. The reason Bianca is going to WrestleMania and Alexa currently isn't, is because the latter refused to hit the Mandible Claw to finish the job. Alexa’s therapy worked so well that she refuses to give in to her inner demons. That’s an interesting note to play and I’m curious to see how it works going forward. Like I said, therapy isn’t a “few weeks” thing. Alexa still needs to have a full transformation. She still uses the same theme music and same hairstyle, so clearly she’s not as cured as she wants us to believe. That hesitation cost her and one K.O.D. later, Bianca Belair is the number one contender for Becky Lynch’s belt. Rowdy in Saudi YO! People! You’ll never guess what happened? WWE Official Sonya Deville was faking this entire time! Gasp. Shock. Pearls clutched. Her arm was never broken, so Naomi and the one-handed Ronda Rousey were, effectively, fighting at a disadvantage. Sonya took most of the punishment here for obvious reasons. Charlotte was disinterested, while Naomi and Ronda both have bones to pick with Ms. Deville. Naomi, as per usual, looked great. Especially when taking out months of frustration on Deville. Ronda, decked out in a cool judo gi she donned at the Olympics, did what she could with one arm. Which is to say, plenty of hip throws and arm bars. To show just how many F’s Charlotte was fresh out of for this match, she didn’t even intervene to break up Ronda’s submission attempt on Sonya, even when Rousey begged her to do something. Naomi and Ronda made the crowd happy, Charlotte barely broke a sweat on her way to WrestleMania, and Sonya took a very well-deserved L. The match was okay as they weren’t clearly going for anything great. Low expectations? Maybe You’re Next The Universal championship match between Roman Reigns and Goldberg was all about the spear. Surprisingly, this wasn’t a quick affair and Goldberg managed to at least look like he can hold his own against the Tribal Chief. For my money, the match went a little too long because there’s nothing anyone can ever do to make me believe Goldberg has a shot on this earth, or the 51 other earths, at beating Reigns. I mean, the match started with a collar and elbow tie-up for goodness sakes. It eventually became the brawl it should be, but even then it strained credulity. For me anyway. The crowd in Jeddah ate it up and I loved that for them. I say that with no snark and my tongue firmly out of my cheek. Goldberg had two moments to make the crowd think he was ready to, no pun intended, reign supreme. And those were the two spears he hit on the champ. The first time resulted in a dodge by the champ, while the second resulted in a sweet counter into a Guillotine. No, not the flying guillotine, although that would be very dope. Goldberg didn’t tap but he did pass out, which makes him look strong enough to do this again next year, while making Reigns look like the god he says he is. All in all? Meh, not offensive by any means but still meh. No PlayStation for You Gotta love The Miz. Seriously, dude does the Lord’s work. Miz is one of the best at getting the crowd to detest him more than tax season, while making his opponent look like a conquering hero. It also helps when his dance partner is Rey Mysterio. This was a fun match that always had one ending: Miz getting his ass whipped by Rey and Dominik. Miz had a moment where he pulled an Eddie Guerrero and got Domink thrown to the back for seemingly interfering on his dad’s behalf. The problem is the match ended shortly after Miz’s chicanery, so there was really no drama. Especially since Dominik wasn’t even halfway up the entrance ramp before the ref counted three to give Rey the W. After the match, Miz teased a partner. A partner of similar status, just as handsome, with many superlatives to his name. He used a lot of words to say “Cody Rhodes.” Right? Go get WWE 2K22! Not Ready for the Big Time The story narrative is Becky Lynch survived this match against Lita, winning by the skin of her teeth. The reality is this was a sloppy affair that didn’t do either woman justice. I love Lita and maybe it was the jet lag or the heat, but she wasn’t on her A game. Not even her B or C game. Lita was several steps slow, there was very little fluidity, and it clearly took a long time for the match to find its rhythm. Unfortunately, it ended just as soon as it got out of first gear. And it was a rather abrupt ending too. Becky hit two Manhandle Slams. Lita escaped the first one by putting her foot on the ropes. No such luck the second time. I wanted to like this match. No, that’s a lie. I wanted to love this match. Alas, it didn’t work for me. Maybe in a different setting under different circumstances. these two can do something great. Grand Opening, Grand Closing I’m not even mad The Uso’s didn’t defend their titles against the Viking Raiders. As the challengers made their way to the ring, puffing their chests out and looking real tough, Jimmy and Jey attacked them. Screaming that the Raiders “aren’t on their level,” the tag champs issued a critical beatdown—shoutout to the Ultramagnetic MCs—and that was all she wrote. No match, no contest. Hope you didn’t watch for this match. Salute Moss The match wasn’t the best and truthfully, it didn’t hold my interest. BUT, big shouts to Madcap Moss for even finishing the match. If you missed it, the falls count anywhere match didn’t truly take advantage of the stipulation. And yes, Happy Corbin interfered at times because the rules allowed for such treachery. None of that mattered after Drew McIntyre’s Alabama Slam gone really bad. Somehow, Moss landed square on the top of his head. It wasn’t malicious on Drew’s part, but it looked really nasty and scary. Even more amazing was the fact Moss kept wrestling! Seriously, the dude kept going. And they didn’t slow down the match or avoid anything. Moss took the L because, duh, and Corbin almost got beheaded by Angela. Nope, not even going to talk about the irony there so let’s move along. I didn’t think the match was great. It was perfectly competent. But Moss gets all the props in the world for finishing what he started. Let’s pray he’s okay. Elimination Chamber gave us two real stinkers. What’s most unfortunate is they were high profile matches. The rest of the card either lived up to high expectations or settled neatly in the “it’s cool” realm. An average show that rarely punched above its level. But Lord have mercy is the show hurt by the last match. That’s the lasting impression and as any good director or writer will tell you, sticking the landing is probably the most important aspect of any story. This landing didn’t stick so much as it slipped on several banana peels and tumbled down 30 flights of stairs. Grade: C- |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by KCes: 7:26pm On Feb 21, 2022 |
good to know, thanks! |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 10:28pm On Feb 21, 2022 |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 7:51am On Feb 22, 2022 |
Veer is here guys...just kidding. Veer is still coming. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 8:15am On Feb 22, 2022 |
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS If you’re anything like me, when someone asks you “what you know about..” you’re answering said question with “rolling down in the deep” because WWE played that song to death. Even tonight during Monday Night Raw, which came to us live from South Carolina. With Elimination Chamber firmly in the rearview, WrestleMania is everyone’s focus. How did Raw establish a path forward? Who needs something to do at the two-night show? Will Veer ever show up and will Logan Paul wrestle before he does? StrongEST Not sure if I used that headline before but sue me if I have. I normally don’t like rerun matches on Raw. Or in general. Bianca Belair dismissed Doudrop at least three times in the not-too-distant past. And the matches weren’t really close. But my eyeballing stopped mid-match because Bianca and Doudrop put on an entertaining match that told the story of Bianca’s raw—pun intended—power. Doudrop, to her credit, looked like a force, a thread continued from previous matches. She ate forearms from Belair, refused to get bulled around, and made Bianca work this W. More importantly, she made Bianca look fantastic in at least three big moments during the match. First, Bianca suplexed Doudrop, which was followed later by a powerbomb off the top rope by the former champ, and then, finally a K.O.D. What made those last two moments shine was the fact Bianca managed to hold Doudrop long enough to truly showoff her strength. Of course, it was all made sweeter because Becky Lynch was ringside. Every time Bianca did something incredible, Becky started to sweat. At one moment, she said the heat was because of her jacket—hilarious—and needed Graves to fan her. Becky thinks this will be an easy go against Bianca because she thinks her smarts will win the day. But Bianca, through this match, and since last year’s SummerSlam, showed how tough of a challenge that is for anyone, let alone Becky. Props to Doudrop for helping Bianca go over even bigger with a crowd she already eating out the palm of her hands. And not for nothing, but they proved me wrong. Friends Forever Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins want spots at WrestleMania. You know what that means? Challenge for the tag team championships. The two best friends convinced Adam Pearce—world’s worst boss—to add them to the RK-Bro and Alpha Academy tag title match if they defeat RK-Bro this week. It’s really easy to hustle or convince Pearce. KO and Rollins started the match on their back feet. RK-Bro is too seasoned as a team and an actual unit. KO and Rollins? Not so much. RK-Bro was all about fast tags, cutting off the ring to do as much damage to Seth as possible, paying attention to KO every now and then for a quick punch of a back suplex on top of the commentary table. KO and Rollins played desperate the entire time because, well, they are. That desperation showed when Randy was sidelined, leaving Riddle to fend for himself. KO and Rollins came up with a few tandem moves, with a top rope swanton bomb followed by a frog splash being the best of the bunch. KO and Owens saw Riddle as the weak link and, no diss to the man, but they were right. The match—and the gameplan—hit its apex when Randy tagged in after seeing his partner get beat down for far too long. Orton came in coiled and ready to strike because snake references, and looked ready to end the match on his terms. But as the saying goes about best laid plans... Seth and KO, again, desperate as hell, avoided Randy’s double DDT and threw the Viper off his game if only a bit. Rollins escaped and KO fought back, causing Riddle to make a tag as his partner stumbles to the mat outside of the ring. Rollins, ever lurking, picked his spot for the curb stomp to neutralize Randy, while KO stunned Riddle. And just like that, a triple threat tag team championship match for next week is a thing. What gives this match its edge, besides the title on the line, is the fact all three teams know their spots at Mania are written in pencil—no seriously—unless there is gold around their waists. While KO and Rollins were the ones with that hunger this week, all three men are fighting for the limelight and the big payday on February’s last Raw. Exciting. Right? Extracurriculars NXT, NXT! We have a Finn Balor showing, people! Weeks after suffering a beatdown courtesy of Austin Theory and his weird relationship with Mr. McMahon, the Prince returned to partner with an old rival: Tommaso Ciampa. For those of you who don’t watch NXT 2.0—yeah, I know—Ciampa and Dolph Ziggler have a match on this week’s episode. Ciampa believes Dolph disrespected NXT and Ziggler doesn’t disagree. In a bit of logical storytelling, when Ciampa needed a partner to fight the Dirty Dawgs, he reached out to Finn. Finn and Ciampa work pretty well as a tag team too. Ciampa got the pin for his team when Big Bob Roode reversed the Fairytale Ending and Ciampa countered with a pinning combination. BUT, the story here for me was Finn. Balor got enough offense in on Roode to show why he’s a missing element of Raw. If there’s one nitpick with this match, it’s that Finn has nowhere to go once the bell ding dinged. Dolph and Tommaso? NXT this week. Bobby? He’s part of a tag team. But what about the Prince? Right? Well, keep reading. Live Forever Edge wants a WrestleMania dance partner and, if his “I’ll make ya live forever” challenge is any indication, that partner might be Cody Rhodes. OR, even better, AJ Styles. TBD. But a good promo from the R-rated one and an intriguing prelude of things to come. The Champ is Here...for Now WWE Champion Brock Lesnar opened the show this week, and I was highly sports entertained. His presence meant Paul Heyman wasn’t far behind, telling Brock—and us—that the champ has a rematch with Bobby Lashley in Madison Square Garden next month. Therefore, there’s a good chance Brock won’t have a title at WrestleMania. Yeah, sure, Paul. Of course, all of this is assuming Lashley “passes concussion protocol” and isn’t injured. This is a weird announcement considering the rumors over the weekend about Lashley’s health. Maybe those rumors were, in fact, just that. Or, WWE is just messing with us and the swerve is a foot. High Priest This Damian Priest thing just doesn’t work for me. Combine that with the fact Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander are wasted. This was a boring match that—surprise—Priest won, and only served as set up for a returning Finn Balor to accept Damian’s “championship caliber” challenge. Next week, Finn and Damian will battle one-on-one for Damian’s United States championship. One interesting thing from the match: Priest might be gaining control of his Damian side. Cedric Alexander interfered a couple times and in the past, Damian would let that send him over the edge. But this week, he managed to focus that rage into getting a clean victory. I don’t know where they can go with that fro a story standpoint, but it’s at least some development. Thank Youuuuu! Alpha Academy is gold right now. It’s crazy this tag team works as well as it does, and both men deserve credit. The chemistry Chad Gable and Otis share with the Street Profits makes for good matches. This one was no exception, with Angelo Dawkins showing out. The best moment of the match was Dawkins showing he’s just as explosive as his partner. Alas, the Profits took another L, although Alpha Academy chicanery was the reason. Otis pinned Montez—nice haircut, Tez—while Chad held Montez’s foot, stopping him from kicking out. There are a few teams gunning for the Academy on Raw. The Street Profits, as of now, have a legit claim to being hustled, cheated, and in need of an actual title shot. We are Brutality So here’s what I don’t get: Why are we still doing this Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. thing? Rhea’s beaten this woman more times than the Harlem Globetrotters beat the Washington Generals. It says something when the most interesting part of the match was Nikki screaming at the commentators that Rhea is the real villain based on how she bullies Nikki. There was something here initially when Nikki sucker punched Rhea weeks ago. Now? It’s boring and ridiculous. Clearly they don’t know what to do with Rhea right now so yeah. Miz’s Partner Miz is teaming with Logan Paul to wrestle the Mysterios at WrestleMania. Okay, cool. Feminine Wiles 24/7 I have very complicated feelings about this segment. So, Reggie wanted to apologize to Dana Brooke for sneaking a pin on her on Valentine’s Day. He also lied down to give her the title. But then he was messing with her and kicking out of pin attempts. At that point, Dana kisses him, leaving enough makeup on his face to make him look like Al Pacino’s extra in Scarface, and then they kiss for a pretty long time. Was he holding her to force the kiss at that point? Was she down with it? Then they ran away together to escape the three 24/7 stooges. While there were a few things I didn’t like about this week’s Monday Night Raw, I was sports entertained through most of the three hours. One segment overstayed its welcome but most of the matches were solid, stories progressed, and a running theme of wrestlers doing whatever to make sure they’re on the WrestleMania card was a great touch. Grade: B+ |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 4:06pm On Feb 22, 2022 |
I don't know how, but can someone tell Bianca to wrestle and not showoff every 2 seconds. If she wants to show how strong she is, she should go and do weights lifting at the Olympics. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 6:08am On Feb 23, 2022 |
'3 million dollars a year' is what's on AJ Styles' renewed contract with WWE. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 8:20am On Feb 23, 2022 |
It's all part of showmanship abi you want her to perform 30 canadian destroyers and 50 v-triggers before you satisfy? ValeeLove: |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 8:44am On Feb 23, 2022 |
Secure that bag ValeeLove: 1 Like |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 10:42am On Feb 23, 2022 |
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Show Off Survives Dolph Ziggler is a really good wrestler. That’s not earth-shattering news but he got a chance to remind everyone this week in the NXT main event. Ziggler and Tommaso Ciampa put on one of the best matches of the year so far. One man wanted to embarrass his opponent while the other wanted to defend their turf. Ziggler was the aggressor while Ciampa was on the defensive. Well, his version of defense, which is still pretty damn violent. Ziggler started the contest with a lot of headlocks. Besides grounding Ciampa, this was also his way to make a mockery of the man. Ziggler never believed mat wrestling Ciampa was the way to win. He did believe it was the best way to make Ciampa his son, talk trash to the crowd, and get in Tommaso’s head. Ciampa, seemingly realizing he was on defense, found his groove with a stiff knee to Ziggler’s head that knocked the former champion outside of the ring. From that point on, it was dead even, with each man gaining or trading the advantage. Dolph goes for a superkick that Ciampa counters into a powerbomb (dope sequence), while Dolph later hits a Zig Zag on the outside of the ring, hoping to get a count out victory over the former NXT champ. Like I said, it was back and forth with neither man wanting to give ground. But here’s the thing: Did Ciampa really think Dolph showed up to NXT without a plan? Like he really wanted to leave Florida without the W? After all the trash he popped before the match, or even to start the show, he has to win this match and any match he has in NXT. Bron Breakker offered to have Ciampa’s back earlier but Ciampa seemed uninterested. Of course, that’s the thing that bit him in the ass. As the match progressed, it looked like they were finally done trading blows and Ciampa was in full control. Both men fought on the apron to a standstill until Ciampa hit an Air Raid Crash. After rolling Ziggler’s lifeless body back into the ring, Ciampa was mere seconds from getting the victory until a cameraman attacked him! Shock! Saboteur! Who could it be? None other than Big Bob himself. Bobby Roode made his way back to NXT to have his partner’s back because duh. One superkick later and Ziggler not only has a victory over Ciampa, but possibly a future championship match with Bron Breakker. Rather than celebrate his unethical victory, Ziggler, along with Roode, stuck it to Tommaso with a bunch of post match fisticuffs. Bron made the save and challenged the Dirty Dawgs to a tag match next week. The show faded to black as all four men chose violence for this week rather than wait until next. Like I said, this was a great match with the right ending and a perfect setup for more. Bron and Tommaso continue their uneasy alliance, while Dolph does everything in his power to rule the NXT roost and put his money where all of his very fancy words—and bad Wilt Chamberlain jokes—reside. Ciampa and Dolph both want what Bron has. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is a classic wrestling trope that most companies can do in their sleep. Since we know sleep is WWE’s numero uno enemy, this should be easy for them to do really well. The Rest Pyrrhic Victory LA Knight finally got his hands on Grayson Waller this week. The only problem? Well, a very large one outside of the ring in the form of Sanga. Why, you ask? Well I’ll tell you. Knight and Waller started very even but then Grayson controlled most of the match. It showed just how sad it is that he cheats and is a genuinely awful person. The kid has the moves and can get busy with the best of them. So, yeah, like any heel, he just has to do whatever extra to gain an advantage even though he has the ability to win any match fairly and squarely. Once the tables turned and Knight found his mojo, Grayson resorted to his usual tricks. Sanga interfered when Knight went for the B.F.T., allowing Grayson to score the W on a rollup and with a handful of tights. Of course Knight managed to hit the B.F.T. on Sanga and Grayson in the post match chicanery, but folks, this feud isn’t over yet. Not by a long shot. Views from the Toxic Lounge Yup, Toxic Attraction have their own ringside lounge. Mandy Rose and friends looked on as Io Sharia and Kay Lee Ray faced Lash Legend and Amari Miller in the Dusty Cup quarterfinals. First off, a Lash Legend sighting! Secondly, not sure why it wasn’t Lash and Amari vs. Wendy Choo and Dakota Kai since Wendy was a little in her feelings about Amari picking someone else as her partner. But I digress. I wish this matched lasted longer. What we got was pretty good in a short amount of time, but that’s also the breaks of having a two hour show that packs a lot in 120 minutes. KLR and Io advanced because, well, they got a televised entrance and their opponents didn’t. Trick or Treat? Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams came out to talk a good game. Skeet Pete Dunne and Cameron Grimes came to walk a great game. Trick Williams said the only way to get to the A Champ is through him, so Cameron Grimes excepted his offer. For a guy wrestling in church shoes, Trick did a damn fantastic job. This was all Grimes though, with Trick getting some offense, including a pretty dope pump kick. But Grimes wasn’t losing to a man in church shoes. Trick took his eye off Grimes as Grimes was at the top turnbuckle, and he never saw the splash coming. That was the prelude to the Cave In and just like that, Grimes has a W over Williams, much to the chagrin of Hayes. Oochie Wally or One Mic? Look, I’m a complicated man but the simple things get me happy. Malcolm Bivens randomly throwing Hip-Hop phrases and slang into his promos? Gets me happy. Malcolm Bivens throwing in a line from one of the greatest Hip Hop battles in history? I almost fainted. For those of you unfamiliar with the bolded reference, Bivens was referring to the seemingly contradictory messages from Imperium. Are they really about that action and defending the titles or do they want to duck and hide since their last title defense was weeks ago? Are they really ready for a fight or do they want to continue hiding behind “Gunna”? These are important questions that need answering. Imperium—with GUNTHER in tow—made their way to the ring to meet the Brothers Creed and their manager. Before GUNTHER got his hands on a very scared Bivens, Solo Sikoa stepped in to make good on his word from last week. YOU GOT THE JUICE NOW, UCE! Look, the segment got me the minute Bivens uttered that Jay-Z line, so I’m happy with everything I saw and heard. Nikkita La Femme Nikkita Lyons made her in-ring debut this week and she was pretty damn good. I’m doing my best to keep my *ahem* other opinions about her to myself because this I'm told kids read this thread. But yes, Nikkita did her thing, looked very impressive, and even the Sonya Blade cosplay wasn’t enough to stop her. She showcased her power, agility, and...yup that’s the end of that sentence. Go, Nikkita! Dusty Quarter Part Deux I really thought this match would go longer. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro faced Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley and it was okay but, again, short. The two women representing Diamond Mine eventually found their footing and delivered a couple tandem moves to get a brief advantage over the former women’s tag champs. The match turned when Ivy tagged herself out for a double team move that didn’t get the victory. Ivy got launched out of the ring after a breakup of the pin attempt leaving Tatum to fend for herself. Yeah, that didn’t go well. Carter and Catanzaro will face Io Sharai and KLR in the semifinals. Ivy wasn’t happy about the loss, going to work on Paxley after the match only to get called off by Roderick Strong. Curious and curiouser. The Duke Dante Chen came out with fire in his belly like a young Baryshnikov. But apparently it takes more than belly fire to beat Duke Hudson. Even after getting attacked during his entrance, Hudson found a second wind against the young cat he wronged with habitual line stepping. Everything went south for Chen with one big boot from Hudson. It was academic from there. I think the point of this match was to, obviously get Duke over as a heel against someone sympathetic. Hopefully Chen gets more time to shine as well. All that said, this was a fine match that accomplished its goals. This was a good show! Minus the silly dating app stuff with Jensen and Briggs, everything moved and had a larger purpose. An uneasy alliance between the Diamond Mine and Solo Sikoa was teased, Dusty Cup semifinals were set, and we got not one but two rap references in the same show A good first step on the road to Stand and Deliver, which comes to us live on the longest wrestling day of the year. But that pain is for later. For now? Props to you, NXT 2.0. Grade: B+ |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 10:44am On Feb 23, 2022 |
samistry:no, she should just wrestle. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 7:18am On Feb 24, 2022 |
Keith Lee debuted on AEW two weeks ago. Buddy Murphy debuted last night. AEW currently has one of the best rosters but it's getting pretty cramped up. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 9:13am On Feb 24, 2022 |
samistry: I wonder how they plan on developing all these characters... Is Daniel Bryan injured? |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 10:22am On Feb 24, 2022 |
Nope, Daniel Bryan has been brutalizing opponents in the ring and will now have a ppv match against Jon Moxley. pu7pl3: |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 10:23am On Feb 24, 2022 |
samistry: Okay, it's just cos I've not heard about him since |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 11:35am On Feb 24, 2022 |
You claim to be a "wrestling" fan and you don't watch AEW. That's not right. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 10:13pm On Feb 24, 2022 |
Cesaro is gone from WWE. He's contract expired so no 90 day non-compete clause for him. He rejected a contract offered to him. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 6:28am On Feb 25, 2022 |
Everybody dey run go AEW. Soon we will be left with only roman and brock  ValeeLove: |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by luizpippo(m): 8:44am On Feb 25, 2022 |
ValeeLove: Paul Heyman, the best hype man ever |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by luizpippo(m): 9:03am On Feb 25, 2022 |
pu7pl3: Nikky ASH screaming at the commentators in that her accent..........I told you, she is a bully ....was my moment of the week..Closely followed by Becky emergency sweating. Love Becky to bits. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 9:43am On Feb 25, 2022 |
It can't be only me noticing this. Grayson Waller is a helluva heel. Some guys in this business need to take notes from this young man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNmcSEhNlUE |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 11:07am On Feb 25, 2022 |
ValeeLove: No time, I'm even slacking in the WWE department nowadays |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by samistry(m): 2:48pm On Feb 25, 2022 |
Mjf cut one hell of a promo. You can check it out. pu7pl3: |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 4:15pm On Feb 25, 2022 |
samistry: That one is now synonymous to cutting mad promos |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 11:35am On Feb 26, 2022 |
WWE SMACKDOWN REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS WWE has taken to selling the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar title vs. title match at WrestleMania 38 as “The biggest WrestleMania match of all time.” And I actually think they may have some claim to selling it as such. What was bigger? Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant? Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior? Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock? John Cena vs. The Rock? I legitimately believe you could argue in good faith that these two, with the feud they’ve put together, and the stakes at play, at the venue they’re having the match in, could be called what they’re selling it as. Feel free to tell me how full of shit I am, if you think I am. A quick note on all this, by the way: both The Usos and Paul Heyman called it not just a title vs. title winner take all match but a title unification. Might we finally be moving away from a title for each brand and down the path of one major championship like it always should have been? As for the contract signing they did here, I want to note just how much I love that Lesnar has shown this new side to himself, with the cowboy hat, the turtleneck, the jacket, the whole style of it and WWE has made sure they haven’t lost sight of the absolute monster that lies underneath all that. It makes me think of the first John Wick movie. That movie was about revenge, sure, but it worked so well because while Wick was methodically breaking down everyone in his path to get that revenge, they made sure to do a lot of character building throughout, all designed to continuously remind you of one thing — this is a baaaaaaad dude right here. That’s what they did with Lesnar in this segment. Yeah, he’s out here smiling and yucking it up with fans and having a blast, sure. But he also cut a hell of a promo calling security guards skid marks (lol) and reminding Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman that nothing could stop him from jumping over that table and kicking their ass. He’s also a mammoth of a man who can pick up a big ass table and hurl it at three fully grown men like it didn’t weigh an ounce. This big sum bitch picked a chair up and threw it at a guy’s face, barely breaking a sweat in the process. He easily handled like nine guys rushing him and they did nothing to stop him because they could do nothing except take the ass whooping he was giving to them. That’s how you build up a badass. And that’s how you build to the biggest WrestleMania match of all time. Reigns did his part too, perfectly playing the role of the arrogant boss who has lorded over everything and everyone on this show for nearly two years and believes himself above it all. We’ve seen him make good on his words time and time again. But he’s gotta deal with a whole different beast now. WrestleMania can’t get here soon enough. Hey, Johnny Knoxville is back! You know, my bar for celebrities in pro wrestling is pretty low. You’re a success in my book as long as you take it seriously enough that you don’t make a mockery of it and/or you genuinely seem to be having a good time with it. This shit is supposed to be fun, after all. Knoxville clears that bar easily. Because he’s an absolute madman willing to hurt himself very badly for our entertainment one would think he’s perfect for this pro wrestling thing but I get a little worried for the guy when I see him get absolutely hammered in the face with his Helluva kick Sheesh! If they’re really planning on giving us Zayn vs. Knoxville at WrestleMania, I’m a little scared of where that might take us. He’s going to have to do something to make that match worthwhile in front of 100,000 people and he can barely take a bump. Oh, this is going to be nuts, isn’t it? All the Rest Michael Cole interviewed Ronda Rousey to kick off the show, and they went pretty heavy handed with trying to get her even more over as a babyface. They garnered sympathy with injuries and a pregnancy and her desire to return and be great again and tap out Charlotte Flair. And it worked well enough. When Flair herself showed up to say she would make Rousey tap for the first time, she was roundly booed and it was clear Ronda had the full support of the audience. Sonya Deville showed up to help Flair with a sneak attack and the fact that she’s pulling double duty like this has become the height of hilarity. Ronda fought her off and sold a knee injury. We quickly learned this was just to set up Rousey vs. Deville for next week. She’ll need matches like this to keep her strong en route to the big one. Los Lotharios scored a win over The New Day and appeared poised for a push up the ladder. So this week Big E threatened to run Humberto over with his four wheeler in order to distract Angel enough get the victory. The match was really good for a TV tag.We’re definitely getting a five-way tag title match at WrestleMania for The Usos’ straps, aren’t we? Xia Li finally wrestled on this show, and the match was such that fans in the arena started chanting “Hershey’s chocolate.” Pat McAfee responded by saying “Pennsylvania is saying ‘Xia Li’s got it,’ and they’re 100-percent right.” She won the match, and those same fans cheered. It was fine in the end.Sasha Banks is back! She scored a dominant win over Shotzi, smiling wide while submitting her with the Bank Statement. Naomi was out on commentary and revealed they are a team now and plan to win the women’s tag team titles. I quite liked Drew McIntyre teasing another Alabama Slam on Madcap Moss and Moss freaking out in response, wildly grabbing at the ropes to save him from being dumped on his head again which, I will remind you, was entirely his fault. I love pro wrestling sometimes. I also love that WWE advertised McIntyre vs. Moss initially, then changed it to McIntyre vs. Corbin hours before the show, then during the show changed it back to McIntyre vs. Moss. Does that mean McIntyre vs. Corbin is being saved for WrestleMania? Do we feel good about it if so? Having said all that, this was great: This wasn’t a particularly thrilling show until that absolute banger of a main event segment. Grade: B- |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 1:56pm On Feb 27, 2022 |
Vince McMahon will be on Pat McAfee's podcast "The Pat Mcafee show" this week. Plus, there are news that WWE is planning a program with Pat Mcafee and Mr McMahon for WrestleMania. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 11:00am On Mar 01, 2022 |
WWE RAW REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Whip You with a Strap Whew, Becky Lynch is a G for taking those strikes from Bianca Belair’s hair. Before we even get into the six-woman tag match, those words must be said about Lynch. Becky’s stomach now features a red X, courtesy of Bianca’s hair. She’s tougher than me, that’s for damn sure. But I digress. The previously mentioned Belair and Lynch led teams into battle this week. Belair brought Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan to the ring, while Lynch teamed with Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. Shoutout to Corey Graves for noticing Liv waiting 30 seconds before the match to talk strategy. Tsk. I’m shocked her team won because of that egregious error. The match started as a cluster cuss. Just a bunch of shenanigans between six women who really don’ like each other. The babyfaces got their moment to toss the heels out of the ring and taunt while the crowd hooted and hollered. The match reset itself to tell the story of, like I said, a bunch of people who don’t like each other while keeping its main story of Bianca and Becky well within its sights. We got quite a bit of Bianca vs. Becky. Much more than I figured beforehand. But it wasn’t enough to spoil anything for their upcoming match. Instead, every woman had their moment to shine. Doudrop showed her power, while also doing her best to make Rhea and Bianca look great. Nikki finally got the leg-up on her former partner, Rhea, even if it didn’t result in a pin. But their feud is more one-sided than Superman fighting a common thief, so even if it was just a cross-body splash getting Rhea on her back for just a few seconds, good for Nikki. Almost doing some dope sh*t but not quite dope enough. During the match, Becky kept going after Bianca’s hair. She even tugged at it to breakup Bianca’s pin attempt on Nikki at a time where it looked like the faces were on their way to the W. Fittingly—and painfully—the next time Becky went for the hair in a tug of war with Bianca, it didn’t end so well for the champ. Those whips and whelps I mentioned earlier? Just look up, it’s there. That was Becky’s punishment for going to the well too many times. Becky, incensed and in pain, walked out of the match, ditching her partners in the process, and allowing Bianca to pin Nikki for the 1-2-3. Fun match that established for the second week in a row that Becky is in trouble. Phenomenal Edge Edge got his wish tonight. AJ Styles answered Edge’s challenge, and the two will dance at WrestleMania. I hear from various sources this Mania is stupendous, but take that with a grain of salt. Now, a simple answer from AJ wasn’t going to end the show. Seriously, that’s not enough. Instead, we got the version of Edge who was on vacation for a while. Edge happily accepted Styles’ offer but insisted he get “the bulldog” AJ Styles, not the “tag team bitch to Omos” AJ Styles. Ya know, the AJ on our tv for most of the past year. To really get that side of AJ, the side Edge needs for true WrestleMania greatness, Edge switched gears. Rather than shake Styles’ hand, Edge attacked. A mini scuffle broke out but Edge’s low blow altered the equation. As low blows often do. From that point on, Edge was rabid. The former champ feasted on a writhing AJ with a cold, psychotic look on his face. Edge thought about leaving the ring, but came back for a concerto after a very brief discussion with himself. The beauty of this is it’s all steeped in character. We know Edge’s history so we can see the wheels turning in Edge’s head. We know what he’s thinking when he looks off in the distance, mutters to himself, and shakes his head. We know Edge is doing all of this because to beat the AJ Styles he wants to face in Dallas, he has to be this version of himself. And that’s why one concerto to the Phenomenal One just wasn’t enough. Edge is his best as a heel, and, despite what Jimmy Smith says, WrestleMania brought out the best in Edge, not the worst. I want to see how AJ responds because, to Edge’s point, AJ didn’t look like championship material lately. Maybe he lost his edge—no pun intended. Here’s hoping we get a story of two men getting back to their best selves for their big match. Edge doesn’t need the W but a win for AJ might serve as a springboard back in the championship picture. Solid first chapter of this tale. Let’s just all pray to whatever deity we pray to that there’s a compelling narrative that can withstand the next month. The Rest A Thank Yeeeeew The KO Show kicked off Raw this week. We got an entertaining segment between Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and the Alpha Academy. But through all the hijinks and chuckles, Chad Gable spit a nugget of truth. Gable took all the umbrage with Seth and KO trying to take WrestleMania away from him and his larger partner. Besides the fact Rollins and Owens have plenty of WrestleMania history between the two of them, there’s also the fact Alpha Academy worked their butts off to get the tag titles and earn a spot on a show they previously only saw from behind the curtains. That’s very real and very babyface-ish. Of course this led to a very good opening tag bout between two teams who will see each other next week with the tiles on the line. Not only did the match serve to heat up Rollins and KO as a tag team, but show just how great they work together. There were several moments where they worked in tandem to doll out punishment to the tag champs. A particularly dope sequence saw KO toss Chad to Seth, who then lifted the champ above his head and crashed him into the corner with a Buckle Bomb. The ending saw Gable take Stunner/Curb Stomp combo that’s more notable for how it happened more so than what happened. KO didn’t just stun Chad; he flipped him the double bird then stunned him. If we didn’t know before that KO and Steve Austin are doing business in Dallas, we definitely know now. The tag champs look vulnerable going into their big match next week, while KO and Rollins have all the momentum. And all the stealing of moves and mannerisms. The Winner...and NEW United States Champion... What would Bad Bunny think?! Won’t someone please think of Bad Bunny! Damian Priest turned heel tonight. After losing a very solid match between him and Finn Balor for the United States championship, the former champ complained about his supposed lack of support from the crowd, got a cheap shot in on Finn, then launched him through the commentary table to the sound of boos from the Ohioans in attendance. But that’s the ending. How we got there was one of the few fun matches of the night. Neither man looked dominant at either point, but Damian was clearly frustrated when a South of Heaven didn’t put Balor away. That was actually the moment Finn found his second wind. Balor blocked The Reckoning, launched a Shotgun Dropkick in the corner, and followed with a Coup de grâce to become U.S. champ for the first time in his career. Priest didn’t fully embrace his dark side since they seemingly dropped that. He just got fed up with fans and used them as an excuse for losing a match he wanted. True heel sh*t and I approve. Although WWE seemingly dropping his new gimmick—which he didn’t need—after pushing it so hard for months is mad sloppy. Music Won’t Survive Last week on NXT 2.0, Dolph Ziggler and Tommaso Ciampa put on a hell of a match. Ziggler walked away with the W thanks to the cheating of Big Bob Roode. Ciampa got his revenge this week, getting an opportunity to get his hands on Roode and repay him in kind. You know what else he got? Awful theme music. I don’t know if that’s a tune just for Raw or a permanent change, but that ain’t it. WWE shoots themselves in the foot way too often with their tendency to change what works. Ciampa’s new music didn’t work and neither did the match. Roode and Ciampa are both good at their jobs, but they hardly got any time to make magic here. Or even an illusion. Ciampa won with a quick-ish schoolboy, then got beatdown by the Dirty Dawgs. Weird Bron Breakker didn’t come to the ring to have his partner’s back. Especially since Ziggler mentioned the NXT champ by name. Very unlike Bron as a character to just sit back and observe that type of foolishness. Distracted Mysterios I wasn’t digging this either! Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin wrestled The Mysterios. No, I’m not calling Cedric and Shelton by the name WWE wants me to use. Not happening. It’s silly and they look pathetic. The match itself was technically fine. Although, Dominik hits the ropes like Kelly Kelly. Do with them what you will. Miz interfered in the match, served as a distraction, and Shelton Benjamin got the surprise pin for his team. Maybe it’s the Miz and Mysterio beef that isn’t thrilling me so I can’t get interested in anything in its circumference. RK-No I expected a lot more from this match. The Street Profits and RK-Bro put on bangers. This match didn’t bang. It barely registered as a cymbal clash. The tidal turned when Montez Ford blocked Randy Orton’s RKO. Tez showed off his insane hops with a very high enziguri, followed by his patented Frog Splash. Dawkins kept Orton from getting his foot on the rope, and the Profits of the Street were victorious in a weird and disjointed ending. Obviously, this is the moment the Profits can point to when they want their shot at the tag champs—whomever they may be—but the match itself was no bueno. This Was a Thing... Omos beat up T-BAR. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. Other than it wasn’t great nor enjoyable in the least. Love is in the Air? So, the Dana Brooke and Reggie romance is blossoming. Tamina and Tozawa also possibly at thing. You know what’s not happening at all? Me enjoying any part of this story or their matches. And I’m a romantic sap! I should adore all of this. But nope, it’s wasting space and time. Veering Off I rarely talk about the Veer videos because, c’mon. But I really hope he’s coming for all of 2022. This is the best running joke on Raw and it only gets better as the calendar turns. This was a very lackluster Raw. Lackluster might be putting it nicely. Despite the few shining moments, the show overall just never worked for me and felt lethargic for most of the three-hour runtime. In fact, I felt every second of these 180 minutes, which is never a good sign. As of next week, we’re about a month away from the biggest show of the year. Let’s hope they deliver better than this. Grade: D |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 10:37am On Mar 02, 2022 |
WWE NXT REVIEWS RECAPS AND REACTIONS Melo Don’t Bruise If there’s one chink in Carmelo Hayes’ game, it’s that he sometimes lets his ego force him into beating opponents at their own game. Rather than wrestle his style, which is more finesse, he blends like a chameleon to prove he can not only do what he does, but he can do what his opponents do as well. And do it better. On one hand, that’s very dope. I get the cockiness and the need to embarrass your foes when they come at you. On the other hand, it makes him more susceptible to trouble. And that’s why he almost lost his North American championship tonight. For most of this week’s main event, Melo and Pete Dunne matched each other blow for blow. And I mean that literally. In one instance, both men tried in vain to clothesline the other, both throwing clubbing blows simultaneously. They both refused to back down but Melo, again, refused to wrestle his game because he was obsessed with out-bruising the Bruiserweight. That also makes for a compelling match because the path to a Dunne victory is easy to see. Pete did his best to dissect Melo. Armbars, submissions, stomping his fingers, and basically using every part of his body as a weapon. One moment saw Melo, who thought momentum was on his side, springboard directly into Dunne’s elbow. That moment epitomized the fact neither man ever truly gained an advantage. And that’s how it should be with someone of Dunne’s caliber wrestling the current A Champion—yup, I said it. They created real drama with both men in jeopardy during the match, but countering almost everything thrown at them. That’s why it made sense when Dunne, after hitting a Bitter End, just couldn’t cover Melo in time to get the belt. After taking a beating from Melo and working that hard to put him away, he just didn’t have the energy. Without everything that came before it, stuff like that just isn’t believable. Hayes was tired as well, which came into play when we went to the top rope to finish the match. He took way too much time to get situated, which gave Dunne the second wind he needed to climb the ropes and possibly finish this thing between he and Melo. But, as per usual, Trick Williams was the X factor. We all need friends like Trick. Ones willing to put their lives—or fingers—on the line for our advancement. Trick risked Dunne “breaking his fingers” to give Melo just enough time to recover, knock Dunne off his perch, and get the 1-2-3 courtesy of the Guillotine Leg Drop. It was a great match that showcased everything that makes both of these guys great, along with their character flaws. Dunne gets distracted too easily and lets his desire to punish everyone for everything cloud his judgement. Melo’s ego is going to bite him in the ass one day, which might be something Trick knows. Melo promised us a ladder match at Stand and Deliver. Against whom? No clue. The very end of the show was weird and felt haphazard. But the match before they faded to black is well worth your time. Once again, Melo don’t miss. Steiner Reclining This isn’t the end of the program between NXT Champion Bron Breakker, Tommaso Ciampa, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode. Not even close to an ending. But, each chapter on NXT television is more than worth your time. Last week, it was Ciampa and Ziggler owning the entire show with their main event match. This week? These four kicked off the show with an impressive tag team match that held my attention from the first ding to the last. For starters, the match didn’t open with a collar and elbow tie-up. Based on the bad blood between these cats, along with the beatdown Ciampa suffered at the hands of the Dirty Dawgs on the most recent episode of Monday Night Raw, it makes no sense for this to start as a traditional wrestling match. Break tradition by breaking jaws, and that’s exactly what Ciampa and Bron did while decked out in Steiner Bros. attire. The NXT wrestlers attacked the Raw invaders before they even got into their entrances. Eventually, the match actually started and for a good while, it was all Dawgs of Dirt. And that makes sense because, well, they’re former tag champs. Bron and Ciampa just got on the same page about five minutes ago, and one questions how much they even agree what’s on said page. The Dawgs knew this and took turns isolating both man, picking on the younger Breakker, then later picking on Ciampa. Steiner 2.0 had their comebacks, only to get those hopes stomped out almost every single time. Ironically, the match turned when Bron, while going for a tag, was tossed into the front row by Big Bob. The champ used that time to ponder life and get his head back in the game, resulting in a white hot tag, a spear that knocked Ziggler into catering, and an old fashioned Steiner Bulldog from the top rope that warmed my heart. Unfortunately, the match didn’t end on that big ode to Bron’s family. But Ciampa did deliver a Fairytale Ending to Ziggler, which was still satisfying. We know Ciampa and Bron can not only coexist, but can also handle two former tag champs at the top of their game. But Ziggler and Ciampa want a shot at the title. Bron is more than willing to give both men what they want, even at the same time. I don’t see the champ losing that match, but Bron’s eagerness to take on all comers is writing a lot of checks at the moment. Does he really stand a chance beating both of those cats? At once? That’s a huge test for the champion, who needs to follow his partner’s lead and be more strategic. Ziggler hustled him and he fell for the trap. Not saying he’ll lose the title any time soon, but if he does, his own ego will be the cause. The Rest GUNTHER Goes Solo GUNTHER felt disrespected. Solo Sikoa called him out and wanted a match. GUNTHER obliged him and made him pay the price. Solo never really stood a chance. I mean, he got his offense in, but GUNTHER countered everything. Which is the right call because Solo isn’t on GUNTHER’s level within this NXT universe. The match was okay because it wasn’t really compelling. It was never in question GUNTHER was winning, and the match didn’t make me believe Solo had any chance of getting a W. Lash is the Word Props to Lash Legend for wearing those eyelashes. No way they were comfortable. Lash and Amari Miller wrestled an okay match. Clearly, they’re both working out the kinks, with Miller being more ahead than her opponent. That said, Miller made Lash look great. It looks like we’re headed toward a Lash Legend and Nikkita Lyons feud. Lyons is more polished than Lash, but it should be fun because both women clearly have big personalities and want to outshine everyone. And next week, we get a Lashing Out segment with these two... I’ll keep my comments to myself. Tag Team, Back Again Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo are a pretty good team. They’re fun together, they can both go, and there’s just enough of a personality clash to make one wonder if one false move will tear them apart. Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell aren’t on point right now because they’re both distracted by the men in their lives. Indi checked with her partner before the match to ensure she was focused. Persia assured her she was good to go. Apparently not because Persia took the L for her team, while Wendy and Dakota move on to the next round of the Dusty Cup. I still believe women being distracted by men—especially when one of those men is as toxic as Duke Hudson—is a retrograde move. It’s one of NXT 2.0’s features though, harkening back to the late 1990s-early 2000s stories and character motivations. The match itself was okay but I really dislike the story we’re seeing with Indi and Persia acting like teenagers instead of, ya know, adult women. More Dusty Finishes Cora Jade teamed with Raquel González to take on Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon. The match had a couple bumpy moments but Feroz and Leon really are exciting to watch. I knew they’d lose because, duh, and because Gonzalez is too strong, but I want to see more of these two. The high moments of this match, all high risk maneuvers to the outside of the ring, show Feroz and Leon need to show up on TV more often. But, alas. Jade and González move to the semifinals. Chase You There was a moment in this match where Andre Chase had an advantage on Von Wagner. Chase worked the knees, got the big man down, and looked dominant for a bit. But Chase’s compassion got the best of him when Bodhi Hayward took a punch from Von—accidental of course. Chase lost focus while checking on his prized pupil, resulting in a loss. It’s an interesting character beat for Andre, one reason he’s more compelling than Wagner. The match itself was decent. Nothing mind blowing. But a lot of that is due to Chase making Wagner look good, along with his subtle and not so subtle character work. Hug it Out Harland beatdown Draco Anthony. Beat him down like Draco owes him money, only to hug his opponent after the match. I guess Draco is the next member of Joe Gacy’s stable. Right? Still not into the Joe Gacy/Harland story, and this match didn’t help. If it’s your thing, I’m happy for you. Truly. LA Says He Stands Tall LA Knight cut an energetic promo that lured Grayson Waller to the ring. LA is such a prototypical ‘80s or early ‘90s wrestler, and I mean that in the best way. He just has a cadence and rhythm that takes me back to childhood, but he’s modern enough to not feel like a nostalgia act. Next week, we’re getting a Last Man Standing match between Knight and Waller. My money is on Knight. Much like last week, the main event elevated the rest of the show. Carmelo Hayes and Pete Dunne took this from an average episode of NXT 2.0 to a good one. NXT Roadblock has potential dopeness up and down the card, so let’s hope they, ahem, deliver. Grade: B+ |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 11:00am On Mar 03, 2022 |
Tony Khan just bought ROH and it's library. |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by pu7pl3(m): 4:29pm On Mar 03, 2022 |
ValeeLove:nice one 1 Like |
| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by ValeeLove(m): 6:46pm On Mar 03, 2022 |
If you're not following CM Punk and MJF's feud going into Revolution as a wrestling fan, I don't know what you're following.
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| Re: Purpl3's WWE (and Pro-wrestling in general) Discussion And Banter House by Debroslink: 8:04pm On Mar 03, 2022 |
ValeeLove: Best feud in all of wrestling. It's gonna be brutal this Sunday. |
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