Sanity, survival, and superkicks - WWE stuff for the week of 10/13/16

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Another week of fine WWE programming has come and gone, beginning with the No Mercy PPV on Sunday and ending with last night's NXT. (Apologies to the hard working men and women of Superstars and Main Event, but a man can only watch so much!) Dolph Ziggler put his career on the line against The Miz, Paul Heyman called out Goldberg on behalf of Brock Lesnar, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic raged on, and the King of Strong Style returned to get his revenge on Samoa Joe. Here's my obligatory two cents on a few of this week's stand-out moments and matches:

No Mercy was an odd PPV. Medical complications kept Smackdown Women's champ Becky Lynch from defending her title, and the card seemed to be shuffled around at the last minute because of this. In a ballsy move, the triple threat title match between WWE champ AJ Styles, John Cena, and Dean Ambrose went on first, kicking off the show with a bang. This was a solid match that built to a bit of an awkward finish. Two of the clunkier spots stick out in my mind-- 1) When all three men bounded off the ropes and tried to clothesline each other, it came across as one of the softest bumps I'd ever seen. I wonder if it's that new camera angle they've been using suring the brand split? It makes some moves look very strange, especially since I'm used to seeing the same three or four camera angles for most of my wrestling watching life. It's great that they're trying new things from a production standpoint, but that new "over the turnbuckle" cam really exposes some moves. 2) The double submission spot, with both Cena and Ambrose applying holds to Styles may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but looking back at the match a few days later, I don't think it was really necessary. Aside from those two fumbles, it was a good match and the right guy won in Styles.

As happy as I was to see Luke Harper return during the main event between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton, the match itself didn't seem to generate much hype. Since they had a non-starter at Backlash, perhaps the creative team felt this would be a hotly anticipated match, but it just didn't deliver, at least as a big main event. (I've had my reservations about this feud since it started, see my earlier posts about Smackdown for more . . .) The far superior Ziggler/Miz match probably should have gone on last, especially since the stakes were much higher and the build over the last few weeks has been great. Miz equating Ziggler to Daniel Bryan in his promos was a great heel move, and Ziggler's passionate promos never really felt corny or forced. His real-life frustrations seemed to be showing through his mic work. The match itself saw Ziggler sell his ass off, especially while locked in The Miz's Figure Four submission. (Woooo!) Ziggler won the match, saved his career, and put on what could easily have been a great main event.

The involvement of Ziggler's former teammates from the Spirit Squad bled into this week's Smackdown, culminating in a handicap match where Ziggler got to look strong. He's a fighting champ. Where does this leave Miz? Perhaps he could take on another "internet darling" in AJ Styles while Cena and Ambrose branch off into their own feud? Other Smackdown highlights include the return of everyone's favorite jobber James Ellsworth and the announcement of a Smackdown vs. Raw 5 on 5 Survivor Series match. (I love 5 on 5 elimination matches and the roster is so stacked right now I can't wait to see what both brands cook up for teams, should be fun.)

Oh yeah, there's that other show too . . . Monday Night Raw. The Kevin Owens Show continued this week with a triple threat between Owens, Rollins, and Jericho being teased. The Owens/Jericho tandem is so good, I don't want the split to happen yet, but something tells me K.O. is going to get . . . . . "it" sooner than later. Raw's next big show is Hell In A Cell, hitting at the end of the month, and then I *assume* both brands are going to merge for Survivor Series, since that's traditionally been considered one of the "big four" PPVs, along with Mania, the Rumble, and Summerslam. Charlotte and Sasha blowing off their feud in a Cell match is an exciting prospect, but it bugs me from a storyline perspective to see Foley encouraging it. Of all people, he should be cautioning against them having a Cell match, since it took years off his life. But hey, the ladies main evented Raw the previous week and they'll have a Hell in a Cell match soon, so at least they're making history.

Other Raw highlights include the massive Braun Strowman using a dropkick (!) and Brian Kendrick on commentary during TJ Perkins' match.

Finally, NXT was a lot of fun this week, with Eric Young's new stable, "Sanity", debuting and beating up on poor Mr. Ten Tye Dillinger after Bobby Roode left him to rot. This bit surprised me, as I thought the "Glorious Ten" team would stick for at leasta  few matches before the inevitable betrayal. Roode's backstage comments and cowardice cemented him as my heel of the week, denying any wrong-doing and trying to hide his own fearful response to Sanity's appearance. TM-61 also advanced in the tournament after knocking off a team of newbies. One of the new guys, former NFL player Tino Sabbatelli, really impressed me with his demeanor and offense. Nothing mind-blowing, just great working punches and stiff shoulder blocks. Caught me by surprise.

Back to Sanity for a sec: this stable could kick some serious ass. You have E.Y. in the lead role, two brutes whose names I don't remember as their tag team representatives and the brutish Nikki Cross as their female member. They've got a rep in each division of NXT and I'm all for seeing a faction like thise take over the show for a while, as long as they can get it done in the ring.

Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy (remember these guys?) tried to settle their differences in the ring, only to be interrupted by Samoa Joe, who continued his crusade to attack anyone he feels like until William Regal caves in to his demands. Instead of the NXT General Manager, he got the champ himself, Shinsuke Nakamura. This was a fun brawl, even if the "security guards" were a tad awkward. Shades of Steve Austin when Nakamura started taking out security, by the way. The crowd popped hard for that. Their next match will surely be a barn-burner (duh), but I'm anxious to see where we go from here. Will Joe be moved up to the main roster in time for the Rumble or Mania? Will Shinsuke have Roode, Young, or even a recently turned Andrade Almas as challengers? I wonder who he'll face next, honestly. They aren't in quite as dire straights as the NXT Women's divison though. Asuka has almost no one to really grapple with, aside from Ember Moon. (Yeah, I don't see her dropping the title to Billie Kay or Peyton Royce anytime soon.)

What do you see in NXT's future? Let me know in the comments or hunt me down on Twitter (@ChrisBComics). Thanks for reading!

No debate here - Raw and Smackdown delivered the goods this week

Raw and Smackdown have wrapped for the week. I'm not going to go segment by segment this week, but here are some highlights from both shows:

Raw was up against the Presidential Debate, so the show had a strange pace to it. Two big rematches from the previous night's Clash of Champions took place at the start of the show. Roman Reigns and Rusev fought over the US title again to start. Snore. Their match in Corpus from a month or so ago was great, but every subsequent segment between the two has floundered. This match in particular was a very plodding power vs. power match that lacked anything truly interesting. And I think this feud will continue . . . yeesh.

The New Day scored another win over Gallows and Anderson on their 400th day as tag champs. This was a step up from their match at Clash, and was given a little more time as well. (Man, I'd be a tad peeved at these PPV rematches if the WWE Network wasn't such a good value. But if I was paying old PPV prices, I'd be very turned off.)

Bolstering the Raw tag division was the addition of a new team: Sheamus and Cesaro. I like the idea of these two developing as a begrudging duo if the creative team has a long term plan. I don't think it quite makes up for the non-ending to their Best of Seven series, however. Still, the booking here is keeping me on my toes and I expect (based on fan reaction) they'll be the ones to dethrone New Day. File this one under "We'll see what happens next."

Cruiserweight champ T.J. Perkins took on Tony Nese in a ten minute match. Nese is pretty good and he's walking proof that not every Cruiserweight needs to be a circus acrobat. I'd like to see more of him in the future or even as a mid-boss kind of guy on NXT or something. Perkins and Brian Kendrick also exchanged words backstage, and T.J. promised to pay him back for the headbutt he received the previous night following their title match. Perkins will face Kendrick at least one more time and it'll be awesome, count on it! 

Seth Rollins will be nursing some bruised ribs for a few weeks at least, so Chris Jericho and Universal champ Kevin Owens resumed their placeholder feud with Enzo Amore and Big Cass. I'm cool with this - it moves them up on the card temporarily and they get to work with two of the best in the business, which can do nothing but good things for their development as wrestlers. Enzo and Cass are both solid on the mic and Enzo plays a great babyface-in-peril, but they're going to need a few more arrows in their quiver if they're going to make it long-term. If you're in the ring with Y2J and K.O., you can't help but pick up a few tricks. We all know the betrayal from Jericho is coming, which will probably lead to a triple threat, it's just a matter of when . . .

On Smackdown, the Miz continued to be one of, if not the, best heels in the company right now, gloating about his accomplishments in a "homecoming" segment since Smackdown was in Cleveland this week. Dolph Ziggler interrupted him and after a pretty great exchange of promos from both men, put his career on the line for another shot at Miz's title. That's right, at No Mercy, Miz and Ziggler will go one on one in a title vs. career match. I expect Dolph to finally cinch this one out, but even if he loses, don't fret. I lost count of all the times John Cena was "fired" in various storylines over the years. 

Bray Wyatt led Randy Orton on a sheep masked-themed wild goose chase for the extent of Smackdown. This was a pretty goofy series of backstage skits, but I think a younger me (who was a HUGE Undertaker mark) would have eaten them up. I'm not sure if I've warmed to this feud yet, and their non-starter at Backlash was a pretty "meh" affair. At least Eric Rowan got to do something this week.

The main event saw Dean Ambrose get his rematch against A.J. Styles for the WWE title. This was a fantastic match with John Cena at ringside providing commentary and getting involved a bit at the end. "Big Match" John is looking to win his 16th world title, and following the match (in which Styles won) he stood tall, nailing both Ambrose and Styles with an Attitude Adjustment. The three men will meet in a triple threat at Smackdown's next exclusive event, No Mercy. I'd have to review both Styles/Ambrose matches again to be sure, but I think this one fell just short of their encounter at Backlash, although from the crowd's reaction throughout, you can tell there was some continuity. I like when subsequent matches between performers build up over time. Tanahashi and Okada did that very well in New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom 9 and 10.

I gotta mention NJPW once per post, I just gotta.

Those were the stand-out bits for me. What jumped out at you from WWE this week? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @ChrisBComics. Thanks for reading!

You got a friend in me - WWE Clash of Champions results and nitpicking

Raw's first brand-exclusive PPV/special, Clash of Champions, took place last night in Indianapolis. Here's a brief recap and some fanboy nitpicking to start your week!

Big E and Kofi Kingston started the show, defending their tag titles against the former Bullet Clubbers, Gallows and Anderson. This match was fast-paced and a had a few good character moments from members of both teams, but was too short to stand out as anything substantial. The takeaway here for me was how dominant Gallows looked. He seemed to tap into his New Japan self for a bit there. Woods clocked Anderson with the trombone, paving the way for Big E and Kofi's team finisher. The New Day retained, and as of last night, passed the 400 day mark as champions. This was a "meh" match that continued what has been (surprisingly) a "meh" feud.

Next, cruiserweight champion T.J. Perkins faced Brian Kendrick. I'm glad Kendrick got called up to the Raw roster and it's fitting to see him as the first challenger for Perkins' title, as his story on the CWC was one of the most endearing, even though he played the villain role in most of his matches. This was a ten minute match with the usual impressive feats from both men, although they seemed to have slowed down a notch from their CWC performances. This doesn't surprise me, as being on the road and working a much harder schedule means those cruiserweight barn burners we saw on the CWC will be a rarity. Kendrick tapped out to a knee bar submission, and Perkins' reign as the top dog in the cruiserweight division continues. Kendrick kept it classy by headbutting Perkins during the post-match interview. Salty.

The Best of Seven series between Cesaro and Sheamus reached a conclusion in match seven. Well, sort of . . . Both men battered one another so severely that the match resulted in a double count-out. This one got a little more time than the first two matches, and I really like how the wear and tear on both men has been emphasized during the series, resulting in a very stiff, desperate conclusion here that reeked Japanese strong style. Cesaro nearly killed himself during the match performing a Tope Suicida through the ropes to Sheamus at ringside. He landed on his head and it looked pretty nasty. This series has been up and down, but the non-ending here is a real disappointment. As good ol' J.R. likes to say on his podcast, "Fifty/fifty booking isn't gonna help anybody." This could have been a special match, but the ending nuked that.

A grudge match between Sami Zayn and Chris Jericho was the next encounter. Another fifteen minute affair with some really great action from two of WWE's best wrestlers. Sami's swinging DDT through the ropes move didn't connect as smoothly as it usually does, but other than that, these two seem to have great chemistry in the ring. Jericho won the match with a Codebreaker to the back of Zayn, which he surprisingly did not kick out of. Both of these men are waiting in the wings for K.O. to dismiss Rollins. Zayn is his eternal rival and Jericho has the built-in storyline of turning on his "best friend" Owens. Good but not great match last night, but great stuff in the future from both men, I'm sure.

Charlotte defended the Raw Women's Championship against both Bayley and Sasha in the next match. This match went for what felt like about 12-15 minutes as well, and was as great as you'd expect, given who was involved. After being booked to look very strong since her debut, Bayley ends up getting beaten by a simple kick. Something about that felt off to me. Good drama throughout the match with Dana Brooke intervening on Charlotte's behalf as least once and the champ managing the ring well by constantly keeping one of her two opponents out on the floor. Charlotte retained. Good match, but I feel like I got my fill of these particular match-ups on NXT. For viewers who didn't see NXT, this must be pretty thrilling, but by this point I feel like I'm watching all of 2014's best on a 2016 Raw stage.

U.S. Champ Rusev and his opponent Roman Reigns had the crowd restless during their match, resulting in more than one baffling "CM Punk" chant. This was an okay match, but their main event from Raw a month ago was much more exciting. I'm thankful for this feud only because it's kept Roman out of the main event scene for a bit and hopefully will continue to do so. That sounds harsh, but it's only because I'd like Roman to simmer in the undercard for a while; maybe build up a win streak like Goldberg or find something organic about his persona that catches on with people. They want him to be The Rock, but right now he's still Rocky Maivia. Roman won. Rusev was mad. Lana was mad. This felt like the longest match so far.

A commercial aired for Hell In A Cell, which will be the next Raw exclusive special. I wonder if Smackdown will get TLC?

And finally, the main event! Seth Rollins tried to take the Universal title from Kevin Owens in what would have been a really great match, if not for some clumsy interference and overbooking toward the end. They won the crowd over with some high spots and Jericho's intervention set the stage for a triple threat match down the line. Jericho hampered Rollins, resulting in K.O. nailing a Pop-Up Powerbomb to retain the title. Seth seems to be getting over as a babyface, which is good. K.O. continues to be a chameleon that can play any role given, which is outstanding. And now Jericho is involved. The brief bit of action between the three of them at the end has me thinking this will make a good three way match for either a Raw main event or Hell in a Cell.

If I did number grades for show reviews, this would be a solid 6/10. There was some great action here, a very concise card, and the right people went over (except Jericho, but hey). The issues here are the non-ending to the Sheamus/Cesaro match and the decision to have both major title matches end with outside interference. It was a slightly overbooked transitional show, and I feel like the 'E is holding their cards for later shows like Hell in a Cell. Or maybe they plan to save some special moments for Raw, as football season heats up. Anyhoo, thanks for reading. Follow me on Twitter @ChrisBComics for more blog posts and whatnot.

Fast forward to the end - Catching up with a week's worth of WWE

It was quite a week for WWE programming. We saw the crowning of a cruiserweight champion, the announcement of a triple threat match for AJ's title on Smackdown, and a certain Bulgarian Brute returning to (literally) kick Roman Reigns out of the main event. Due to a work-related injury to my right hand, I wasn't able to chronicle things as they occurred this week, so today I'm playing catch up.

The Kevin Owens show chugged along on Raw, with the challenger Seth Rollins getting physical with his opponent before their inevitable match at Clash of Champions, which will be the Raw brand's first exclusive special. I think Rollins as a babyface is working well enough, and if anyone can draw some heat, it's K.O. Meanwhile, the New Day/Gallows and Anderson tag title feud dragged on and Rusev returned from his honeymoon to knock Roman Reigns down a peg. This is good: keep Roman at the U.S. title level for a while and rebuild his character during the fall so he can move up in time for mania next spring. Nia Jax and Bo Dallas continued to dominate in their roles as well, with the latter utilizing a new finisher and bringing a harder edge to his character.

Charlotte's relationship with her "student" Dana Brooke crumbled last Monday night as well. I don't know if Dana being on her own is going to help or hurt her, and I still think she needs a little more seasoning on NXT. (Also, the NXT women's roster needs all the help it can get right now. Asuka alone does not a good division make.)

Smackdown saw the continued evolution of the Usos as heels, as well as the next chapter in the Ziggler/Miz feud. The tag division on this show is very strong, but the midcard/IC title-level stuff is hurting. Baron Corbin is waiting in the wings, Jack Swagger is there, and Apollo Crews is catching on the way I imagine they thought he would.

John Cena made his return and showed the usual fire in his promo exchange with the new WWE champion AJ Styles. Not to be outdone, Dean Ambrose inserted himself, which led to Cena ripping on him as well. These three men have no love for one another and their triple threat match at No Mercy could blow the roof off the place. Both Cena vs. Styles and Ambrose vs. Styles were great matches, so I'm banking on a combination of the two resulting in something even better. Great main events on both brands.

Alexa Bliss became Becky Lynch's first challenger after slithering her way to a victory in a five woman #1 contender match. This is light work for Lynch; a placeholder opponent until the next challenger (Carmella) finishes her current feud. Like I said last week, I think Becky being away from Charlotte, Sasha, and Bayley is helping her character shine similar to Dean Ambrose being away from his former Shield brethren. Bliss is a work in progress, but after watching her on Talking Smack, I think there's potential for her to play a great opportunistic heel. It's going to take time though . . .

NXT wasn't half bad this week. Samoa Joe challenged Shinsuke Nakamura to a rematch, then attacked him in as brutal a fashion as possible without any bloodletting. As good as their first encounter was, it felt like the first match of a series, with both men holding just a little back. Shinsuke's probable next opponent, the equally flamboyant Bobby Roode, scored a decisive win over Andrade "Cien" Almas in the main event, cementing himself as the next man to watch in NXT's main event scene. His GLORIOUS theme music has been stuck in my head for several days. The music department at WWE deserves major kudos for that piece.

The best thing to happen this week was the conclusion of the CWC. This two hour special saw the final four men finish out the bracket to crown the inaugural Cruiserweight champion, as well as a tag match to keep the crowd warm and give the finalists a chance to rest for a few minutes. Maybe it's the I've we've been following this tournament week in and week out for the last couple of monthes, or maybe it's the alternative look of the program, but this felt more important than Backlash last Sunday or even the recent SummerSlam show. There were no harsh words or corny storylines here, just great in-ring action by some of the most diverse group of competitors on the planet.

The results of the CWC also surprised me, as I was sure either Zack Sabre Jr. or Kota Ibushi would be taking the title to Raw next Monday. ZSJ was eliminated by Gran Metalik in a fun encounter, but the match of the night had to go to Ibushi and TJ Perkins. The slow burn of this match, with Perkins blocking Ibushi's kicks and both men wrestling like they've been watching a lot of tape, was an example of how the matches near the end of a tournament bracket should go. I'd easily put this semifinal match in my top three next Dean Ambrose vs. Triple H from Roadbloack and Shinsuke vs. Sami Zayn from two Takeovers ago.

The finals saw Gran Metalik and TJ Perkins put on quite a show, but that Ibushi match overshadowed it for me. Perkins won the match, the tourney, and the title, to close out the show. (The title belt design needs a little work IMO, but hey.) This has been my favorite weekly wrestling show for it's entire run, eclipsing even NXT. The real test will be seeing how the cruiserweights are handled on Raw going forward. I don't want to see them fed to Rusev or Sheamus. I'd like them to stay within their own division, at least for a little while. Anyhoo, it was a great week of wrestling and this is the first year in a while I think the 'E could have a serious shot at taking on the NFL for ratings, as along as they remember what made NXT and the CWC so successful and apply that to their two main shows.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) and be on the lookout for other content generated by yours truly, including my comic book blog, Back Issue Diving!

The new face that runs the place - Styles triumphs at WWE Backlash

WWE Backlash was not only the first Smackdown exclusive special following the brand split, but it also saw one of the two main shows adopt the NXT philosophy of "a smaller card is a better card". Despite Randy Orton not being able to compete against Bray Wyatt, the show delivered on all of its promised matches and set things up for the fall season quite nicely I'd say. Let's break it all down and see where the roster stands after last night's show.

Baron Corbin defeated Apollo Crews on the pre-show. This makes sense, since Corbin is on the rise as a monster heel destined to blow through Kane on his way to Ambrose, while Crews is in a rut right now, waiting for that right little something to kick-start his character. I'm not sure what they should do with Crews at this point, since there are two many active heels right now to turn him and he's already exhausted his feud with The Miz. More intensity, more something.

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon opened the main show, hyping up the crowd and boasting about Smackdown's new titles and big match-ups. This wasn't really necessary, but it didn't drag on for too long either.

Becky Lynch, Natalya, Nicki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Naomi, and Carmella competed in an elimination style match for the new Smackdown Women's Championship. Putting this match on so early in the show kinda bugged me, especially since they did the same thing at SummerSlam, but once the action got going, I forgot all about it. There were okay entrances for the ladies, with Naomi's dazzling glow in the dark look being my favorite. Alexa Bliss went for what I think was a Harley Quinn look, but didn't commit enough to the cosplay to pull it off. While the action was a little awkward at times (which is often the case in any match with more than three people), each woman settled into a role and found a part to play. Alexa was the opportunist, Becky was the underdog hero, Natalya was the physically dominant heel, Naomi was the show stealer, Nicki Bella was the expected winner a la John Cena, and Carmella was the aggressive heel. The match came down to Becky and Carmella, the latter of whom tapped to Lynch's Disarmer submission. It's a good move to have Becky be the first Smackdown champ, and she's also the last one of NXT's "Four Horsewomen" to finally hold a title. Cool match.

Backstage, we saw Bray Wyatt attack Randy Orton. He slammed a door onto his leg several times. Nice character move for Wyatt, tough break for Orton.

The Usos changed their manner of dress and demeanor to fit their new heel personas. Their match against the Hype Bros. to advance in the tag title tournament saw then unveil a harder edged style, with slightly less acrobatics and more targeted offense. They haven't gone full "Revival" mode yet, but they did seem to stick to the mat a little more in this match. They beat the Hype Bros. to advance in a pretty good match. Mojo and Ryder have been a fun team on NXT and Smackdown, but I don't see this particular tandem (or at least this version of it) being champs anytime soon. They're babyface gatekeepers for any heel team on the climb.

The Miz and Dolph Ziggler had a great match for Miz's IC title. Miz might've taken some of Daniel Bryan's words to heart as he showed a little more recklessness than usual and even did some things I don't think I've ever seen him do. Ziggler was his usual badass self. Miz's wife Maryse nailed Ziggler with what looked like pepper spray, allowing Miz to finish off the challenger with a Skull-Crushing Finale and retain his title. Great mid-card match and I hope Miz keeps that belt for a looong time.

Bray Wyatt made his entrance for his match against Orton next. Ring announcer Greg Hamilton informed us that Orton would not be able to compete, but Wyatt would have to face Kane in a No Holds Barred match instead. I saw this whole segment as WWE trying to make the most of a lousy situation. The crowd wasn't wild about it, either. (Orton probably sells a lot of tickets, so him not wrestling no doubt irked more than a few fans.) Kane and Wyatt made good use of the no holds barred stipulation, battling all around the ring anf even bringing a chair into play for a sec. Orton did a run in (well, more of a hobble really) and surprised Wyatt with an RKO, allowing Kane to put Wyatt away. It sucks Wyatt had to lose to Kane, but they did announce him as the winner of the Orton match by forfeit, so there's always that, right?

The tag title tournament finals went down next, with Heath Slater and Rhyno taking on the Usos, who advanced earlier in the night. This was a showcase match for Slater in particular, and he proved his ability to draw sympathy from the crowd. There was actually a legit pop late in the match when Slater tagged himself in once Rhyno's own power meter had been depleted. I kept expecting American Alpha to run in and interfere with the Usos, but it never happened. This is good, because with all the interference in the IC title match and the previous Wyatt match, it would've seemed a bit much to have another match settled due to outside interference. Slater and Rhyno triumphed and celebrated int the ring together. Man, the rise of Heath Slater might be the best wrestling story line of 2016 once its all said and done.

The main event WWE title match between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose was nothing short of incredible. We all know AJ is a monster in the ring by now, but Dean really seems to turn it up a notch for some of his title matches. This reminded me of his match against Triple H at Roadblock earlier in the year. Styles busted out some of his New Japan arsenal, giving the paying fans a little something extra for their coinage. Dean employed his usual bag of tricks, but really carried the acting side of things. While Ambrose might not be the technical wunderkind that Styles is, he has the face of a champion and can be really compelling in long, physical matches. Continuing the theme of nut shots, Styles nailed Dean with a sneaky low blow, allowing him to hit the Styles Clash and win the title. I thought for sure Dean would walk away champ from this one, and I was wrong. I like both guys so I'm okay with the outcome. I also liked how they teased the Styles Clash several times during the match and built to it. That reminds me of AJ's time in New Japan, where the Clash was considered a near-lethal move and put several wrestlers on the shelf (kayfabe). Protecting finishing moves is one area I wish the WWE would improve on.

This was a good show, aside from Orton not getting to wrestle. I would've put the women's title match on later, but in retrospect, it was a really good opener. The small card and the longer matches made this feel like an NXT special, which is perfect. Less filler, more wrestling, matches that matter; these are the things that will help both "brands" build a more trusting, enthralled fan base.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @ChrisBComics, where I plug all of my other stuff like Back Issue Diving and occasionally make a funny.

Smackdown flies solo - looking forward to Backlash

Tomorrow night, the first benchmark of WWE's New Era will be reached when Smackdown has its first brand-exclusive special on the WWE Network. (Or on pay-per-view. I guess maybe some people are still doing that.) It will be interesting to see if they take the NXT route and focus on the six listed matches or if they plan to pad out the show with additional segments or surprise matches. Maybe Baron Corbin could have another match with Kalisto or have his first run-in with Kane?

Last month's challenger Dolph Ziggler gets a shot at Miz's intercontinental title. Personally, I think Miz will be keeping that belt for a while longer, especially with the added heat he has after his savage interview on Talking Smack a few Tuesdays ago. Ziggler is striving for relevancy here, even though he has been on fire lately. The KFC stuff and the weak title match at SummerSlam hasn't done him any favors. He's already wrestled Corbin a few times and there's nothing between him and Apollo Crews, so there isn't much of a place for him to land on Smackdown. Meanwhile, Miz is a greet heel right now and Maryse makes him the full villain package. Let him cheat and scheme his way to a long title run, a la Honky Tonk Man.

Randy Orton takes on Bray Wyatt in a match that has had a so-so build thus far. Like I said on my Smackdown review the other day, I'd like to see how Orton's rematch against Lesnar plays into this feud before I can really call it interesting; there's been nothing but the usual posturing and gimmicky threats so far. If they carry this into the fall and up to Hell in a Cell or something, I imagine they're holding back the physical stuff for later. This isn't the normal formula, but I think Orton should get the first win here and spark something in Wyatt. (Also, what happened to Eric Rowan?)

The Usos big heel turn and their attack on Chad Gable Tuesday has resulted in a semi-final match against the Hype Bros. in the Smackdown tag title tournament. I think if the tourney comes down to the Hype Bros. vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno in the finals then things will really fizzle out, so I think the Usos will beat Ryder and Mojo pretty soundly. Maybe Jordon (or Gable if he's done selling his leg) will intervene during the finals of the tournament. Slater and Rhyno as tag champs while their potential challengers are busy sabotaging each other could be a fun story, but the Usos will most likely win, resulting in either a heel turn by Slater or Rhyno, or a follow up match on Smackdown where they have to fight for their contract in a rematch. I dunno, there's a few ways they could go and they all seem fresh compared to the New Day/Gallows and Anderson stuff on Raw.

Six women will compete for the new Smackdown Women's title at Backlash, and out of the pack, Becky Lynch or Natalya have the momentum to become the inaugural champion. Nikki Bella is helping get Carmella over right now, and Naomi and Alexa Bliss aren't quite there yet. Lynch and Natalya can resume their current feud as a title feud to give this new belt a kick in the pants. Lynch is a fan favorite on the rise who can finally shine since Charlotte, Sasha, and Bayley are all on Raw. I guess she's in a similar situation to Dean Ambrose, who is now a show away from Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.

Speaking of Dean . . .

Ambrose will take on AJ Styles for the WWE title in the first main event of the first Smackdown brand special. Styles is the best performer in the company right now and the only flaw to his character is that the fans love him too much to hate him, no matter how much he flaunts about his victory over Cena. Much like Ziggler, AJ is a challenger for Dean that will force him to keep up. The build to this match has been an exchange of solid promos and nut shots, but the potential for this to be a great match is much higher than if it'd been on the SummerSlam card. This is also why I'm in favor of keeping the card small--this match could be a barn burner if they let it breathe. I'm expecting Ambrose to retain and for this feud to continue.

Just some quick predictions for Sunday's show as I'm looking forward to it quite a bit. Who do you think is going over? Let me know on Twitter @ChrisBComics. Thanks for reading!

Future Classics - NXT and CWC Quarterfinals results and praise

After a sub-par episode last week, NXT was back to being pretty awesome this week, with two great matches and a pair of showcase matches for Ember Moon and Shinsuke Nakamaure. New guy Steve Cutler got a brief chance to shine as well. CWC did its thang, as usual, and delivered two fantastic matches. WWE Network is killing Wednesday nights.

NXT started with a really great tag match between TM-61 and the team of Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari. Nese and Shane Thorn in particular were impressive in terms of mixing power and agility. The upcoming cruiserweight division on Raw is going to give the main event guys something to really compete with. Thorn and Miller picked up the win with their Thunder Valley double powerbomb thing. It's a slick finishing move.

The next match was where I realized how much I really like Ember Moon and should look up her earlier work in Ring of Honor. She seems like an all around good wrestler with a variety of offense; almost half high-flying anf half- power moves.. Moon took down Leah Von in a near-squash match here, but I'd like to see what she can do in a longer match.

Andrade "Cien" Almas took on Austen Aries again. This match was very good and I would have liked it to go on a little longer actually. Aries is one of the best bumpers this side of Dolph Ziggler and he bounced off of Almas's offense nicely. The match shifted in main event mode with the two exchanging blows while staggering. Aries won with a smoothly applied Last Chancery submission. Great match, and I think the crowd may have cooled off on hating Almas.

Steve Cutler got a shot at the NXT champ Shinsuke Nakamura for some reason. Maybe now he can afford to wash that vest. Shinsuke toyed with him for a bit then Cutler got to have the upper hand for a minute. The King of Strong Style turned it around and finished him off with a crunchy inverted exploder suplex and a knee to the dome. Samoa Joe (on commentary) got to watch the champ raise his former title belt at the end. Joe and Nakamura has such an intense main event and I don't know how they'll top it short of turning things into a bloodbath.

Meanwhile, the Cruiserweight Classic chugged along with quarterfinals action between odds-favorite Zack Sabre Jr. and his longtime rival and training partner Noam Dar. This was a well-paced wrestling match between two technically sound and very patient competitors. There is a stigma against the cruiserweight style among some of the "old school" and it centers around an imagined lack of psychology in matches like this. ZSJ and Dar proved them wrong with this encounter, building to a crescendo by having both men pick a limb and work on it in ways that were effective looking and made sense. Daniel Bryan even called it a "chess match" on commentary, and he wasn't wrong. The technical stuff built to some great near-falls and then some desperate submission attempts by ZSJ. When they rolled out of the ring together in a leglock, I marked out. ZSJ finished off Dar with a brutal Rings of Saturn submission and advanced to the semis to face Gran Metalik.

Rich Swann took on T.J. Perkins in the second match of the show. This was more of a trapeze act than the first match, but they settled into a nice story about Swann's leg giving out over the course of the match. It kept him from scoring several potential pinfalls and it made Perkins' win a bit bittersweet. While the display of respect at the end bordered on touching, it didn't have the personal feel of the ZSJ/Dar match. Perkins goes on to face Kota Ibushi next week.

I'm think Ibushi vs. ZSJ in the finals, but as the news of WWE's cruiserweight signings revealed, we haven't seen the last of the others either. Neville seems like the obvious pick for an inaugural Cruiserweight champ, but will the title be awarded to the winner of this first tournament? Whatever they do, I can't wait to see the cruiserweights on Raw and NXT moving forward.

As always, thanks for reading and follow me on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) for more heedless commentary on geeky things.

A tale of two nut shots - Smackdown Live marches toward Backlash

Smackdown's first brand exclusive network special (are they still called "pay-per-views"?) is this Sunday and last night's edition of the blue show was all about hyping those new titles and progressing a few feuds that are starting to take off. The first segment saw Daniel Bryan host an "open forum" where all six women in the Smackdown Women's Championship scramble got to plead their case. This led to the heels, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella cornering poor Becky Lynch before her fellow babyfaces Nikki Bella and Naomi could make the save. This set up a six-woman tag match for later in the night. I'll echo what I said last week: it's good to see all the Smackdown women get a chance to display their characters and evolve a bit from where they were pre-brand split. Lynch is the obvious fan favorite here, and it's hard not to love her. Carmella's heel turn has done wonders for her, but her in-ring stuff is still a bit soft. Alexa tried some interesting stuff in her brief promo during the forum, but she still feels underdeveloped, a la Dana Brooke on Raw.

Daniel Bryan continued to be a thorn in the Miz's side, putting him in a title match against Dolph Ziggler at Backlash. Ziggler sat ringside for Miz's match against Apollo Crews. Crews put in some work here, still impressive as an athlete but lacking in the intensity that I think would make him a real contender. Miz used Ziggler's distraction against him, scoring a pinfall in a formulatic villainous famous. I loved the bit where he used his wife Maryse to retrieve the title for him; she's a human shield against Ziggler's superkick. Shades of Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth. Miz might be Smackdown's best heel right now.

Bray Wyatt sent a spooky message to Randy Orton via pre-taped video. Nothing new here, it's the same shtick Wyatt's used before. This feud seems like a good idea on paper, but I don't know what it'll do for either guy going forward. The outcome of Orton's upcoming rematch with Lesnar might add an interesting wrinkle to the story line.

The six woman tag match got a lot of time, which is always a good sign. Everyone played their parts well, but obviously Becky and Natalya were the stand-outs. Carmella did secure the win for the heels by getting a submission victory over Nikki Bella, so management must be high on her. Nikki got a questionable reaction when she got the hot tag, leading me to think some crowds aren't exactly going to embrace her as the main babyface. Not having Bayley or Sasha or Charlotte around makes this division look second rate, but if they keep giving the women time to grow like this, they'll be able to give the Raw gals a run for their money.

The Smackdwon tag title tournament continued. American Alpha beat The Usos in a surprisingly short match which led to a heel turn attack from the Samoan brothers. Their heel turn has been telegraphed for some time, and I look forward to a long feud with many awesome matches. Expect them to cost American Alpha the titles in the tournament finals.

Randy Orton responded to Wyatt's message. "At Backlash, Bray Wyatt won't know what hit him." He looked sleepy during this segment.

Kane squashed Fandango. The crowd really ate this segment up. Kane's beatdown of the week is becoming a recurring segment until his thing with Baron Corbin takes off.

AJ Styles was acting like a jerk backstage, repeating the mantra he stole from John Cena. "I'm the face that runs the place." Good stuff. Heel AJ has been fun to watch thus far.

Heath Slater and Rhyno beat The Hype Bros. to advance to the finals of the tag title tournament. Slater's saga seems to be catching on with fans, and there was some endearing stuff with his family and kids at ringside. Hopefully he'll get that contract and Rhyno will get that above ground pool he mentioned a couple weeks ago. So . . . if the Usos cost American Alpha the match at Backlash, then that means out inaugural tag champs will be Heath Slater and Rhyno. Huh. What a world we live in.

 WWE champ Dean Ambrose and his challenger AJ Styles faced off in the ring before their match on Sunday. Dean presented AJ with an old bowling trophy and taunted him about getting crotched on the ropes last week. There was a heated exchange of words and both guys are competent enough on the mic to pull it off. AJ paid him back with a kick to the nuts which left the champ lying. I'm liking this feud and I hope we get more than one match out of it. The show ended with Styles doing his "gun to head" Bullet Club gesture over a prone Ambrose. Sunday can't get here soon enough!

While Raw was the easy pick for top show last week, this week both brands seemed to be on equal footing. There are some good talkers on Smackdown and a few talents that are great on their own, but seemed to be locked into feuds that don't work (Wyatt vs. Orton). Overall, good show.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) and check out my other blogs like Back Issue Diving, Age of Mega, and Gotham Animated.

The K.O. Show

This week's Raw wasn't quite the emotional roller coaster that was last week's, but aside from a rough segment between Gallows/Anderson and the New Day, it was a pretty good show and a nice start to Kevin Owen's reign as Universal champion.

The show started with some backstage politics between Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley. Foley has a little more gravel in his voice this week and seems to be weary of Hunter and Stephanie's possible scheming. Is this the first sign of a return to the ring for Mick? Probably not, but he could nominate a surrogate in his place or even take Seth Rollins under his wing; we'll see how this unfolds.

With K.O. poised as the top dog for the time being, this week was about establishing his challenger, Seth Rollins, as a babyface. I'd say it was a success, especially after his match with Jericho. Rollins has that kind of dynamism built into his move set that works great for a fan favorite; I like the new role for him. Jericho is still playing besties with Owens, but I expect that to implode in on itself. That's two great challengers and countless great matches to look forward to. Factor in Roman at some point and Finn's return sometime next year and I think it's safe to say the Owens title reign could be epic. 

The Charlotte/Dana Brooke stuff isn't going as well as I'd hoped. Dana might need to temper her skills a bit longer in NXT. Bayley came out looking strong for the third week in a row, scoring a victory over the women's champion Charlotte. This match got almost fifteen minutes, a far cry from the Diva matches of yore. Good stuff between the competitors, but like I said, Dana isn't adding anything here.

A more intense version of Bo Dallas got a quick win over a jobber last night. I don't know what the ceiling is with Bo, to be honest. I loved the "Bolieve" gimmick and his upbeat, oblivious mannerisms, but they seem to want to try him out as a more serious heel. He's got the mic skills, and if given time to build his character, could be taken seriously as a U.S. title contender.

Sheamus pulled ahead 3-0 in the best of seven series with Cesaro. Apparently, some of the future series matches will take place at live events. Coupled with the upcoming Orton/Lesnar rematch, I see the 'E is taking serious steps to make their live events matter. The ongoing story here, with Sheamus slowly wearing down Cesaro's back and shoulder, has been great. It feels very old-school, no doubt the brainchild of some of WWE's great backstage talent and road agents like the legendary Pat Patterson. Cesaro has to start picking up some V's here or he's done. It should make for a very tense couple of match to finish the series.

The Shining Stars, Primo and Epico, picked up a surprise roll-up win on Enzo and Big Cass. (I hope this isn't a sign that management is cooling off on these two.) This sets up a TV feud that may get a pre-show match at the next PPV or something. This week's Enzo promo was especially strange. I love it when they go really far outside the box with their trash talk. It's refreshing and a nice change from the usual jibber jabber you here between feuding teams. 

Nia Jax destroyed another local girl, then started a tiff with Alicia Fox. I like Jax calling out the Total Divas girls and destroying them one by one; could be a fun role for her. Like her song says, "She's not like most girls." Braun Strowman also beat up another smaller opponent, although he seems to be making some progress on the card since he actually got to take on someone on the main roster (Sin Cara) rather than a jobber. We have two archetypal monster heels for both the men and womens' divisions. Jax is food for Bailey or Sasha, but I don't know where Strowman is headed yet. Maybe fighting with Roman over the U.S. title if he takes it from Rusev? I dunno . . .

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson led a segment with the New Day that nearly put the otherwise peppy crowd to sleep. Follow that with another chapter in the Darren Young/Titus O'Neil feud no one cares about, and you have your mandatory half hour of lackluster wrestling content. Both segments were a bust. (WTF are they doing with my former Bullet Club guys? C'mon, man!)

Sasha Banks pulled a fake-out on Twitter yesterday, teasing "bad news". It turned out the bad news was for Charlotte because Sasha is back! (I feel like she never left, but hey.) Dana Brooke came out and they started talking and I got kind of mesmerized by the two beautiful women on my screen and forgot what was going on. 

Longtime rivals Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn met in the main event. These two could wrestle every night for a year and have a unique match each time. Needless to say, it was a good match and a nice epilogue to their spring feud, this time with Owens wearing gold around his waist. Zayn has been teasing a leg injury for his last couple of matches, and he continued that here. I like the week-to-week continuity as it makes the whole thing look less like a circus and more like a series of contests. Plus, with people still reeling from Balor's injury, it stokes the flames of Sami's sympathy inferno. Roman Reigns interjected himself at the end, and Foley gave him the opportunity to fight his way into the title match between Owens and Rollins at Clash of Champions. Do not like. Keep Roman where he was; Owens, Rollins, Jericho, Zayn, and Cesaro will be just fine.

Good show, but obviously not as memorable as last week's with the huge fatal four way and Owens winning the title. Raw has two weak spots right now, in my opinion. One is the undercard stuff that doesn't seem to be catching on and the other is the wonky New Day feud with Gallows and Anderson. Both can be remedied by canning the bad acting and letting the guys tell physical stories in the ring. Look at what Zayn is doing. Or Cesaro. Their providing the weekly soap opera, but without the corny skits.

Thanks for reading! I can be found on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) and on my myriad other blogs, including but not limited to, Gotham Animated. See you tomorrow for some Smackdown results! 

Wrestling word vomit to start the week

That's not a "worked" hug. That hug is a shoot.

Time to play catch up with some recent WWE happenings. First up, the Cruiserweight Classic, which is down to six competitors as of the most recent episode, delivered two big matches last week that were on par with anything you'd see in ROH or New Japan. Gran Metalik defeated Akira Tozawa, eliminating the man who eliminated my favorite, Jack Gallagher. This makes Metalik my new favorite to win. After a fifteen minute highlight reel of both wrestlers' best moves, Metalik finished Tozawa with his finisher, the Metalik driver, to win. I hope Gran Metalik makes future appearances, since the 'E's recent attempts at having a lucha presence on their roster with Sin Cara and Kalisto have kinda flopped. Rey Mysterio left big shoes to fill for anyone taking over the masked man role. Metalik could also probably pull off the "super hero" gimmick that they like to saddle other wrestlers with.

The second match of the show started with a pretty emotional backstage interview with Brian Kendrick. Kendrick has managed to draw some sympathy from the viewers, although he's wrestling like a heel. The announcers have also done a good job of detailing his life story in little bits during his matches. He's had run-in with the WWE's wellness policy before and that's hampered him, but I think he has a lot to offer as a Chris Jericho-esque mid level villain who can put on great main event style matches when called upon.

His opponent, Kota Ibushi is on the opposite end of his career. I've only seen a handful of his matches (most notably his recent Wrestle Kingdom appearances), but it's pretty obvious this guy is wellspring of potential and if treated seriously as a contender the way Shinsuke Nakamura and Finn Balor have, he could be a main event level star.

Kendrick switched from a heel role to an underdog babyface role as the match wore on. Ibushi played the young lion while Kendrick used opportunistic tactics to stay on top, eventually culminating in a wicked Bully Choke submission. Despite wrestling like a heel, Kendrick's promo before the match and his ties to Daniel Bryan and Shawn Michael's wrestling school swung the crowd in his favor. Ibushi was able to play to this without turning himself either; he's a young internet darling foreigner wrestler that the hardcores want to see make a big splash, but those same hardcores also want to see Kendrick succeed. It must've been a tough call for the "smarkier" members of the audience.

The CWC kicks ass. I'm all for presenting the King of the Ring tournament in this fashion or even a second Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The short run "season" format of airing a tournament this way is a nice compliment to the weekly soap operas of Raw and Smackdown.

NXT was alright too, with the Revival being more dastardly and Shinsuke Nakamura starting off his reign as champion. (The Revival interview on Steve Austin's podcast was great; both guys are wrestling nerds who come from families of wrestling nerds. They're very old school in their thinking and are trying to emulate old southern wrestling more than Japanese strong style or Lucha Libre.)

Alberto Del Rio has stepped away from the WWE, this time even allegedly turning down a hefty sum to stick around. (They're all hefty sums to me, so maybe it was a low-ball offer, I dunno.) As a fan, it's a shame to see him go, but the roster isn't short of talent right now, so I don't think this is a huge blow. If the WWE is worried about their Latino demographic (as they should be, or any North American content generator for that matter), they have Kalisto doing not much at all and he's already proven himself as a guy who can pop the crowd. (Or give Gran Metalik a call!) I like Del Rio, but I feel like he isn't being used when he's there anyway, so it's for the best. Maybe he'll have a real run at ROH this time . . .

Both the possibilities of a Lesnar/Goldberg match or a Lesnar/Shane McMahon match are both pretty tired. As a longtime fan of the WWE, there are always, regardless of which "era" we're talking about, there are always things you can see on the horizon that you know are going to get shoved in your face for months and months of buildup. I never though the Lesnar saga (especially with Paul Heyman on the mic) would become one of those things. I liked when he destroyed John Cena and made a mortal enemy of the Undertaker but I feel like he's hitting that point that Triple H hit for me in the early 2000's where I just can't bring myself to care about his matches. He should be having real matches with Orton, or Rollins, or even a rematch with Reigns. Lesnar vs. Shane is guaranteed to be my sandwich break segment of Raw and/or Smackdown. Same with Goldberg. Do Goldberg fans remember watching Goldberg? Don't let the rose colored lenses of the Monday Night Wars era fool ya.

Thanks for reading my ramblings and follow me on Twitter @ChrisBComics where I shake my groove thing and plug my other blogs.

"Ow, my balls!" - A touch of Idiocracy on Smackdown Live

After a humdinger edition of Monday Night Raw, Smackdown came out of their corner swingin' with a couple of fun Dean Ambrose/AJ Styles confrontation, some new feuds teased, and the continuation of the Smackdown tag title tournament.

First off, the women's divison on Smackdown is starting to define itself through some great character tweaks. Naomi's new look and entrance is very "fire", as the kids say, and hopefully that will help her stand out from the pack. Also, I just like glow in the dark stuff. Carmella's heel turn seems to be working, as picking on Nicki Bella week after week is slowing turning her into a heat magnet. They have an uphill battle ahead of them, with fan favorites like Bayley and Sasha Banks on Raw, but protraying these women as fierce competitors rather than eye candy is a good start. I'll admit I was worried the Smackdown divison was going to be the more "Total Divas" of the two, but there's some good rasslin' in there bah gawd.

Ziggler called out Miz while he continued his ranting that started on last week's headline-worthy edition of Talking Smack. Miz played his part perfectly, portraying the hypocritical heel while I *think* people still want to love Ziggler after his brief title feud with Dean. The Dean/Ziggler match never lived up to the build, but this is a good spot for him right now since Miz talking trash about the beloved Daniel Bryan makes him a hated man in the eyes of fans, and Ziggler's style represents the opposite of the "cowardly" style Miz has been accused of employing.

A little bit of 90's Attitude entered the tag title tourney this week in the form of the returning Headbangers. This is a tag team I'd forgotten about almost completely, but once they got in the ring and mixed it up with Slater and Rhyno, I was immediately transported back to the good old days, when all I had to worry about was a spelling test and whether daddy would come home drunk or not. Slater and Rhyno went over (as they should) and Heath's quest to earn a Smackdown contract continues. I said it last week, but I like what they're doing with Slater.

Apollo Crews challenged AJ Styles and came up short after a backstage confrontation. Crews is wasted potential at this point and I think he'd be better served by a character change, as his smiling babyface persona lacks intensity and he's building a losing streak. The point of all this is really just to put over the fact that AJ Styles wants to remind us every chance he can get that he sent John Cena packing at SummerSlam a la Paul Heyman when Brock broke The Undertaker's streak. I like the story, but the crowd loves AJ too much to ever boo him, as least for the time being.

Kane beat a jobber calling himself The Milkman. I'm loving the use of jobbers on both shows; that's another throwback and it's better than burying guys on your regular roster. He had a little staredown with Baron Corbin as they crossed paths on the ramp. They did pretty much the exact same thing with Corbin while he was on NXT. He likes to hit his music before the other guys have cleared the arena. Expect alpha male shenanigans to ensue.

Corbin's match with the champ Dean Ambrose was a timid affair compared to Raw's main event last night, but both guys put in some work. Styles was at ringside for this match and his attempted interference at the end concluded with him getting crotched and Dean mocking him with a handshake. It was a funny ending to a so-so match. I think these two are going to knock it out of the park when they finally meet, but for now everything they do is going to rest in the shadow of Owens surprise victory on monday.

In conclusion . . .

Smackdown tried valiantly, but I'd say Raw put on the better show this week with that huge four way main event and the surprise turn with Hunter and K.O. at the end. Still, both brands are doing things that make me happy as a viewer and the emphasis on both brands has been on WRESTLING. It's a good time to be a fan and a hard time to be a hater.

Thanks for reading!
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Surprise eliminations - Raw hits Houston, Tx

WWE Raw invaded Houston, Texas this week. Big doings with the main event being a four man elimination match for the vacant Universal title. Let's see how things played out.

The show started with a promo from the four men in the Universal title match: Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, and Big Cass. Rollins took easy jabs against his other competitors while Owens and Cass killed it in the comedy department. Reigns opted for deeds over words (good move) and cleared the ring. This was a nice way to set up the main event, and it was wise to let the talkers talk and not cap things off with an awkward Reigns promo.

Chris Jericho took on Neville, coming out on top with a Lion Tamer submission. Jericho did a great backstage interview before the match, mixing his usual pomous "gift of Jericho" stuff with some amausing antics. This is that match on Raw; the good one you want to see more of where they stick a commercial smack dab in the middle of it.

Nia Jax beat down another local gal. Like he entrance music says, she's not like most girls. Similar to Braun Strowman, they haven't put her in a proper feud yet, she's just squashing smaller wrestlers every week.

Gallows and Anderson did another skit, this time about sending the Dudleys to a retirement home. I've heard these guys on the Talk is Jericho podcast and they are quite funny when left to their own devices, but stuff like this doesn't always translate well with wrestling fans. I hope it doesn't hurt their momentum.

Sami Zayn beat Jinder Mahal in a short match. Mahal is already jobber status with his lack of a televised entrance.

Bayley and the New Day beat Dana Brooke, Gallows, and Anderson. This was a formulatic six person match designed to keep Bayley looking strong. This one got some time so everyone got to contribute a little something to the match. Nothing mind-blowing here.

Backstage, we learn that the winner of Cesaro and Sheamus's best of seven series gets a title shot. (I forgot this feud was even happening, silly me.)

Throughout the night, they aired video packages about the four men in the main event. Nobody does video packages like the 'E. NOBODY! But seriously, these were all pretty good.

Sheamus furthured his lead in the best of seven series by defeating Cesaro using a slam against the ring post and a Texas cloverleaf submission. Cesaro is starting to sell the wear and tear on his body. I like the progression of that and I hope both men keep it up as the series continues.

They showed a video honoring Mr. Fuji, who passed away on Sunday. The man was a legendary manager with a lengthy in-ring career of his own. Combine that with Gene Wilder passing yesterday and it's been an emotional week so far. 2016 has been harsh.

Braun Strowman beat and unmasked a wrestler named Americo. He's continuing to dominate guys until they find a babyface for him to feud with. I heard Strowman interviewed on Steve Austin's podcast and he sounds like a guy who really wants to develop his character and do something unique with his size. We'll see if he gets the chance; for now he's just your usual monster heel.

Sasha Banks did a pre-taped interview about her lingering injuries and was shut down by Charlotte. Banks didn't look very strong here, but Charlotte got some cheap heat and I guess that's what matters.

It was announced yesterday on social media that Brock Lesnar will have a rematch with Randy Orton at an upcoming live event in Chicago. That was never mentioned during the in-ring segment with Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman. This soap opera continues, probably culminating in something lame like Shane vs. Brock. I really don't want to see that. Heck, I've been bored to tears by Lesnar in his last couple of matches. He's going to need to give us a little more than Suplex City next time around.

Finn Balor status report: He'll be out for six months at least. He'll be back by Wrestlemania, so take that as some minor consolation. The Raw "brand" is really missing something special without him on it.

Dareen Young beat Titus O'Neil and no one seemed to care. This feud would be much more impactful is the Primtime Players had gotten a title run or at least been a team for a longer period of time. Bob Backlund has been the best part of all of this. I wrote a little about Backlund vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine the other day. You can find it HERE.

The main event elimination match started with 20 minutes left on the show. Owens capitalized on Reigns kicking Cass in the head and Frog Splashed him to score the fir elimination. (I like how they set that up earlier.) Then things got interesting when Triple H appeared and hit a Pedigree on Reigns on the outside. This helped Rollins eliminate Roman. (I guess we know where they're going with Reigns for the time being.)

Wait. Nevermind!

Hunter turned on his old protege Rollins and helped Owens win the title. I guess Owens is Triple H's "guy" now. That caught me off guard, whoa. Raw ended with Owens celebrating his win and the crowd chanting "you deserve it!" That was great, I really thought Reigns was going to win. Good stuff, WWE.

Alright Smackdown Live, you have your work cut out for you this week! Thanks for reading, and as always, you can hit me up on Twitter @ChrisBComics.

I'm not crying, I have salt in my eyes

The wrestling world lost another legend yesterday. I knew Mr. Fuji as the heel manager of wrestlers such as George "The Animal" Steele, the tag team Demolition, and of course, Yokozuna. He would toss salt into the eyes of his opponents, "blinding" them and helping his client score an underhanded victory. Yeah, he was often portrayed as an "evil foreigner", but hey man, jingoism is all part of the grand tapestry that is professional wrestling.

I'll be the first person to admit I'm a dumb mark. It's only in recent years I've come to appreciate wrestling from the pre-WWF era. Wikipedia has informed me that Mr. Fuji got his start by partnering with the gruesome King Curtis Iaukea and winning the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championships in the 60's. A Google image search shows me they were quite a fearsome pair. 

This is going to perhaps seem like a weird tangent, but whatever. When I was born my mom was already in her late forties and my pop was even older than her. My dad was already an "old man" by the time I was around. We had a house fire when I was very little (pre-kindergarten) and one of the worst things about it is we lost a lot of pictures and personal effects. There weren't many photos of my dad from his younger years. 

(Oddly enough, friends and family would often tell me my mom and dad looked a lot like Sam and Diane from Cheers when they started going out.)

As a teenager, I finally got to see some pictures of my dad from "back in the day". My brain couldn't handle it. My dad had always looked a certain way, and this suave-but-rugged guy in the photograph just looked like an entirely different person. Cognitive dissonance much?

I had that same reaction to seeing the younger Mr. Fuji. This mean little man, who tormented my childhood heroes and occasionally parodied old TV shows with Don Muraco was once a fierce competitor. This man, who accepted his WWE Hall of Fame induction from a wheelchair due to having over nine (!) knee surgeries was once a cobra clutch applying, lariat throwing badass.

Respect your elders, and if you see an old timer you like at a con or a wrestling show, make the effort to say hello and let them know you appreciate what they've done. Some of these guys and gals don't make it out of the buisness with a lot of money, but they can at least know that someone cared.

Rest in peace, Mr. Fuji. I loved to hate you.

Getting our buzzards in a row

When Bray Wyatt moved up from NXT to the main roster, it felt like the second coming of The Undertaker. (Well, for me it did.) He had a spooky/cool entrance and an aura built into his character that every new wrestlers hopes for. He was a preacher, a doomsayer, and a harbinger of destruction. During his SummerSlam debut in 2013 against Kane, it felt like there was a new "big bad" in the WWE. It's been a bumpy road since then; feuds against Chris Jericho and John Cena and the like that were intended to increase his star power ended up backfiring in weird ways, and eventually the crowd started reacting not out of fear, but out of admiration for the self-proclaimed Eater of Worlds.

Many times on his podcast, Jim Ross has made an argument for Bray becoming what he calls a "character babyface". It does make sense. Wyatt is good on the mic and fans really seem to dig the whole "firefly" gimmick. It is pretty staggering to see all those iPhones light up when his music hits. Flanked by various iterations of his family, Bray is designed to be a bad guy. They can intervene on his behalf, help him escape danger, or even act as a wall against babyfaces like Roman Reigns. But his role as a "heel" doesn't seem to want to take. Maybe his persona and his sermons appeal to our lesser urges? Maybe it's a counter-culture thing.

As of last Tuesday night, Bray has been pitted against the recently Brock-battered Randy Orton. While I like the idea of these two mixing it up, this seems like a recipe for disaster for two reasons. The first is inconsistency, which the 'E is no stranger to when booking matches and angles. It seemed like Bray was set to turn on his acolyte Eric Rowan after walking out on him during a match the previous week. They seem to have let that loose end remain loose in a manner reminiscent of Chris Claremont's X-Men. Is he going to play the spoiler during a Wyatt/Orton match. Maybe, but I doubt it. Cynical little "smark" that I am, I fully expect the WWE to leave this hanging and hope we forget about it.

Reason number two: this might actually hurt both performers. Not physically, like a Seth Rollins powerbomb onto the apron, but it will hurt their perceived characters. Fans want to interact with Bray in the form of fireflies and they want to cheer Orton as well because of the sheer awesomeness of the whole "RKO outta nowhere!" bit. Babyface versus babyface matches can work under certain cricumstances, but here it's not the intention. WWE wants Bray Wyatt to play the villain, but he's too cool. He's too "alt".

In this wrestling fan's opinion (and I have it on good authority that Vince McMahon checks this blog every day), Bray should do away with the cool entrance. Or any kind of entrance at all. Bray should just appear, call out the people for being sheep and avoid Orton or any other opponent like the plague. A good heel should never do anything to appease the vox populi. He should taunt, sneer, laugh, and run like hell. He should slip out of the RKO nine out of ten times.

Bray Wyatt shouldn't care about the conventions of WWE's televised product. It bugs me that he and his former "family" even adhered to the recent brand split at all. (I though they would be pretty interesting as outliers anyway.) He should regain his villain status by doing everything possible to make you hate him. We don't need another beloved heel running around--we already have that in Kevin Owens. In short: less "kewl", more nasty.

Bray probably has a bright future ahead of him in the WWE. His character is gradually evolving over time and he seems to be able to retain some fan interest, even when he isn't in a big feud or booked on a pay-per-view. We've yet to see the ceiling for his potential. His offense is savage, his mannerisms are strange, and his promos are just on the cusp of being truly great. I just don't want to see him become the next Kane or Big Show, flip-flopping between heel and babyface roles with no clear direction. And that's not a knock on those men either, it's all about the booking.

Or just listen to Jim Ross. He seems to know a thing or two about rasslin'.

Thanks for reading! As always, you can find me on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) or on the Facebooks (chris.bearden.98). I also like to let my geek flag fly in a number of other places, including (but not limited to) Back Issue Diving and Gotham Animated.

Blading a match open - Bob Backlund vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (WWF, January 1982)

The "blading" part of the title is literal today folks, as Mr. Valentine gets busted open in this one. This edition of Work/Shoot might not be for the faint of heart. Also, The Hammer's do is pretty fabulous in this match (I had the same thing goin' when I was in junior high), so be forewarned if forearmed when it comes to that as well.

This match is the culmination of a feud between the then-reigning WWF champ Backlund and his erstwhile nemesis Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. They had clashed for over four months, with Valentine stealing the title belt itself from a dazed referee and holding it captive as he toured other territories.

(It turns out this is something that used to occur quite a bit back in the day. Before wrestling events were broadcast nationally, there would be a bit of wool pulling with the fans. This is was a promoter's trick that allowed them to get folks from other territories to become invested in their storylines. Meanwhile, in the "home" territory, the title would change hands and new angles could press on.)

Their rivalry was set to end once and for all inside of a steel cage at the Philadelphia Spectrum arena. Ah, the steel cage match. It's an old standby, a way of telling your audience, "He ran off last time before your hero could get his revenge, but this time there's no escape!" The cage being used here is pretty primitive compared to the sturdier stuff the 'E uses now. Heck, this is even from before the blue barred cages were in use. It looks flimsy, dangerous, and I don't envy the man who attempts to climb out of it.

(You only get one pair of God-given testes, kids. It's up to you to determine what manner of metal structure you mangle them on.)

Oh yeah, Bob Backlund's here. Younger readers might recognize him as the strange man that follows Darren Young to the ring on Raw and yells at him, but he used to be a pretty big deal. Before Hulk Hogan was brought in by Vince McMahon, Backlund was their number one white-meat babyface. His temperament was something to behold, which would often result in some unintentionally hilarious facial expressions and spastic movements. On this particular night, however, he looks a bit more collected and focused than in his previous big matches with greats like Ken Patera and "Superstar" Billy Graham.

Greg Valentine, the challenger claiming to be champ, had developed a reputation for breaking the legs of his opponents. Classic stuff; drawing heat by fighting dirty. Nowadays you have heels like Seth Rollins who just go in there and bust people up for real, but I digress . . .

The match starts with a hungry Backlund on the attack but quickly the men separate. This is a bumpy start to me, since such a vendetta between two guys should mean a more ravenous lock-up to start. It isn't long before Backlund is back on the attack. It occurred to me at this point that Valentine really is here just to drop the strap. He's almost helpless for most of it and the whole point of this encounter is cathartic release. Catharsis for Backlund who want to put this phony thug down for good and catharsis for the fans who want to see their hero bust up Valentine, a man who'd taken out such greats as Chief Jay Strongbow with his dirty tactics.

As you well know, there are two methods of winning the match in a cage: climbing over the top or stepping out the door. Valentine goes for the latter once he finally breaks away from Backlund. This sequence brings about one more gasp of "Oh God no!" from the announcers and the crowd as Valentine is inches away from getting to the floor when Backlund grabs his leg. This is my favorite bit of the match. Backlund straining to hold onto Valentine foot and prevent him from tumbling out onto the floor.

Finally yanking Valentine back in, Backlund gets to have his way with the heel for a bit longer. This is such a simple match, but it perfectly demonstrates the roller coaster of emotion that any self-respecting main eventer strives for. The crowd is back from the brink of despair, cheering Backlund on as he gets to wallop The Hammer for a bit more, made all the more impressive since Backlund's persona was wearing thin with fans at the time. Valentine's manager, The Grand Wizard, even dubbed Backlund "Howdy Doody" in a promo during the buildup. Sick burn.

("The Grand Wizard" That name might not fly in these tumultuous times. One love, guys.)

Bob scoops him up super fast and seals the deal with a piledriver. A really painful looking one, to boot. A simple match like the last one I bladed, with the heel/face dynamics thrown for a loop. Since this was the feud capper, Valentine didn't really need to draw anymore heat. Backlund is your champ once again, regaining the stolen belt that commemorates his ranking.

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, I'm going to divulge some ideas for WWE's current boogeyman Bray Wyatt a.k.a. fan fiction.

Twitter: @ChrisBComics
Facebook: chris.bearden.98
E-mail: backissuechris@gmail.com

Don't call it a comeback - Impact is slowly getting better

Impact Wrestling is an easy target for snarky wrestling fans. Or normal wrestling fans. Or anyone who has ever watched television. Even with all the recent improvements in developing talent and in-ring action, it's still a tough sit. There was a period where TNA was a pretty solid alternative to the WWE, particularly around '05 to '08 when Vince's circus was getting stale. The don't-call-them-cruiserweights X division was on fire, great main eventers like Kurt Angle, Christian, and Sting were at the top of the card, and tag teams like LAX and America's Most Wanted were putting on 4-5 star barn burners.

Not unlike the implosion of the WCW, the blame for TNA/Impact's fall from grace could be laid at the feet of a few key figures: Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan. Yeah yeah, there are a lot of other factors, but it is an eerie coincidence that the waters were all icebergs once those two arrived in the Impact Zone. Now that era has passed us by for the most part and we can breathe a sigh of relief as things (hopefully) get better. It's been a long road to recovery, but the future looks bright.

Well, bright-ish.

I've been doing my due diligence, catching up on Impact's summer output, and there are some fun things going on over there that are worth highlighting. So, in the spirit of positivity, here are a few of the reasons you might actually want to seek out Pop TV and give Impact's "new era" a shot.

First, let's get THE FINAL DELETION out of the way. In the spirit of a Tim & Eric skit or perhaps Tommy Wiseau's The Room, the big feud between the Hardys has been surreal to say the least. Matt Hardy has emerged from a gruesome near-injury as "Broken" Matt, complete with an inexplicable accent and references to cosmic forces that would make the late Ultimate Warrior scratch his head in confusion. Their outdoor match at the Hardy estate was something to behold and the best part of it is . . . I think the Hardys are in on the joke. This is a wrestling angle with a touch of "meta", a real-life recreation of what you're average teenage Hardy fan would find "deep" or "disturbing". When you learn to relax and laugh along with the people involved, you'll see this is a pretty ingenious angle.

Willow still baffles me though. Put down the model airplane glue, Jeff. We've all been there, man.

As Ric Flair famously said, "To be the man, you have to beat the man!" The Man in Impact right now is Bobby Lashley. If that name rings a bell, it's because Lashley did have a pretty good run with the 'E, even challenging John Cena for the strap at one point. He's always been a force to be reckoned with in the ring, but now he has some mic skills to back it up. His braggadocio is similar to how AJ Styles has been acting on Smackdown lately, but he's got three(!) title belts dangling from his massive frame to reinforce his words. I'd like to see him stay on top for as long as possible. He's a former serviceman, a legit amateur wrestler, and a "damn good hand in the ring" as Stone Cold would say.

Ethan Carter III (EC3 for short) and Drew Galloway are the next two that deserve a shout-out. Carter is the nephew (?) of Impact Wrestling figurehead Dixie Carter, who until a few minutes ago I was certain was the same lady from Designing Women. Nepotism aside, he's developed into quite a persona over the last few years in and out of the ring. (I especially like his "political campaign" shtick from when he was feuding with Mr. Anderson.) Drew Galloway was a solid worker who the WWE passed on. He's found his footing in Impact now, improving as a wrestler and exuding confidence and swagger on the mic. He has that "intensity" that's so hard for certain guys to fake.

The tag division is plentiful, but I'm sorry to say many of the teams aren't all that memorable to me. I do really like the American Wolves team of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Both are lean, fast "internet darling" types who would be right at home on NXT or in the Cruiserweight Classic tourney. They're getting over with fans in a way not dissimilar to another old TNA tag team, the Motor City Machine Guns. Both guys are fantastic in the ring, I just wish they had a stronger division surrounding them.

I want to rave about the Knockouts divison, but I can't say it's made much of an impression on me. Gail Kim is still great (and always has been), but like I said about the tag division, there just aren't enough contenders to surround her with. Her and Jade did have a pretty good match last week, though. The "Knockouts" branding for the female wrestlers is a bit hard to swallow now, especially since WWE has ditched the whole "Diva" thing. I'd like to see them follow suit.

I'm well aware that I'm not quite qualified to make projections like these, but if Impact just stays the course, avoids inconsistent booking, and is careful of frivolous spending on guests and washed-up talent, they can turn things around. I want them to succeed. I want ROH to succeed. I want NJPW to succeed. I even want Vince McMahon's evil empire to succeed. It means more opportunities, more jobs, and most importantly, more money for everyone trying to make a living in and around this business.

Thanks for reading! Next update I'm going to blade another match open and do some analysis. Hit me up on Twitter (@ChrisBComics) or via e-mail (backissuechris@gmail.com).