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WWE Week in Review: November 5-11, 2018

As WWE leaves the controversy of Crown Jewel in the rearview mirror, all eyes turn to Survivor Series. What happened this week?

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Chairshot WWE Week In Review

SmackDown

Survivor Series: Smackdown kicked off with Paige introducing Shane McMahon as ‘The Best in the World’, which was NOT popular with the Manchester crowd. McMahon was surprisingly humble, saying that he didn’t deserve that title, he’d just stepped in to make sure SmackDown wasn’t beaten by RAW and that the World Cup trophy belonged to the SmackDown locker room.

That settled, he and Paige turned their attention to Survivor Series. They are both determined that SmackDown will come out on top this year. With that in mind, they name the team captain for the SmackDown Men’s Team: Daniel Bryan!

Bryan is happy to be named the SmackDown Team Captain and can’t resist taking a small dig at Shane, thanking him for admitting that he’s NOT the best in the world. Before he can announce who he’d like to have on his team, Miz came out, still limping from his injury from Crown Jewel. As far as Miz was concerned, his performance at Crown Jewel makes him more qualified to be Team Captain than Bryan, even suggests that he and Shane be co-captains of Team SmackDown.

Shane declined to be co-captain of Team SmackDown with Miz, pointing out that if Miz hadn’t been injured and lost, he would’ve been fired but suggested that Bryan and Miz be co-captains instead.

Miz didn’t like that since he hadn’t been so injured that he couldn’t wrestle, which made him better than Bryan, but Bryan welcomes the challenge.

Given their near decade long rivalry, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Miz and Bryan couldn’t agree on who should be on Team SmackDown. Miz shot down Bryan’s suggestions and Bryan was skeptical of Miz’s. Finally, Shane stepped in, and it turned out that he was the one person both team captains could agree on and Shane agreed. Miz was so happy, he ‘offered’ to let Bryan get the next pick.

Bryan’s pick was Rey Mysterio. Miz was skeptical, probably because of his two encounters with him, but he was willing to let Mysterio on the team if Mysterio managed to impress him in a match with someone Miz had an eye on: Andrade Almas! They then agree to each pick one more person and have those picks also compete in a match with the winner becoming the final member of Team SmackDown.

Rey Mysterio vs Andrade Almas: With a chance to be part of Team SmackDown, Mysterio and Almas had a lot on their plates on top of being a dream match.

The match lived up to expectations and then some, which is extremely rare in wrestling. Mysterio has had a long career and a lot of injuries, but he was still able to keep up with Almas and they put on a great match. Mysterio would pull out the victory over Almas, seeming to stamp his ticket to Survivor Series, much to Miz’s chagrin. Even worse, Mysterio got jumped by Randy Orton yet again. Orton hasn’t been mentioned in the Survivor Series conversation and he seems quite unhappy about it.

Jeff Hardy vs Samoa Joe: In a rematch from the World Cup qualifier, Bryan’s pick of Jeff Hardy took on Miz’s pick, Samoa Joe. This match was a lot better than the match from the qualifiers since Joe’s leg seemed to be in much better shape than last time.

It looked like Miz was going to have to deal with being the only heel on the SmackDown team, Samoa Joe was able to counter the Swanton Bomb with his knees before locking on the Coquina Clutch for the win.

Afterwards is when things get squirrely. Joe, not forgetting Bryan not wanting him on the team, rubbed the victory in Bryan’s face and Bryan, not forgetting that Joe had attacked him after his match with AJ Styles, attacked Joe and got him in the Yes! Lock. Miz and Shane tried to break things up and ended up on the nasty side of Bryan’s temper, leaving Bryan’s future as co-team captain of Team SmackDown in doubt. 

WWE Championship: It was announced that AJ would face Brock Lesnar in a rematch from last years’s encounter. Styles cut a promo, reflecting on taking on the Beast for a second year. He’d fought Lesnar with everything and come up short. This year, he said that he would defeat Lesnar and that wasn’t a mere promise, it was a spoiler.

WWE United States Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura addressed his upcoming match with Seth Rollins. He commented that he felt bad for Seth Rollins because of how his life is burning down around him with Reigns being sick and Ambrose turning on him. Nakamura promised he’d make Seth feel better by giving him a knee to the face.

SmackDown Women’s Division: On RAW, Ronda Rousey cut a promo in which she, rather arrogantly, dismissed Becky Lynch as a threat, saying that Becky had her respect, which sounded ridiculously hollow.

On Tuesday, Becky fired back at the RAW Women’s Champion. Dismissing Rousey’s warning, Lynch said that Ronda Rousey might HOLD a championship, she is not a champion. Why? Because she’s never been tested. True champions endure struggles, doubts, and hardship. Champions overcome adversity, something Ronda Rousey has never had to do, which is why she’ll lose at Survivor Series, she’s too weak-minded to understand what true adversity does to a person. That’s why Becky is a champion and Ronda is just a title holder.

Becky then fired back at Rousey’s mockery of her path to WWE. Yes, she had a lot of different jobs before WWE, so what? No, Becky wasn’t the one the company wanted to be champion, she wasn’t the one who was supposed to be the true main event of Evolution, she wasn’t supposed to be the one everyone in wrestling was talking about, but here she is, all of those things and more. Ronda Rousey may CALL herself the Baddest Bitch on the Planet, but at Survivor Series, the only bitch Rousey’s going to be is Becky’s.

Now all fired up, Becky says that she’s in the mood to fight and issues a challenge to anyone in the back to come out and fight the champion. After a minute, SAniTy comes out, which is bad news for anyone, but the gentlemen of SAniTy weren’t there to fight Becky, they were bringing out the person who DID want to fight, Nikki Cross!

Becky wasn’t sure what to make of the, undeniably, unhinged Cross and made the mistake of mocking her. Nikki means no harm, she just wants to play with the champ. Let’s play, Becky!

The match between Lynch and Cross was amazing. Cross’s gimmick of being bats**t crazy might obscure it sometimes, but she’s undeniably talented and was able to give the Champ a run for her money. Becky would get a submission victory over Nikki, but it was far from a sure thing.

With the Men’s Survivor Series team on its way to formation, Paige turned her attention to the Women’s team. Forgoing Alexa Bliss’ decision to have matches to see who should be allowed on the team, she announced the team right away: Carmella, with R-Truth in tow, Naomi, Sonya Deville, Asuka, and Team Captain, Charlotte!

Problem was, Charlotte didn’t come out, but Mandy Rose did, stating that her entry to the team was an upgrade. When Paige told Rose that she wasn’t getting Charlotte’s spot, Rose’s rage boiled over. She got on the mic and started bashing the whole team. Carmella was just like her dance breaks, short and useless; though Carmella fired back that she, at least, had had a title reign. To Naomi, she claimed that no one was feeling the glow anymore… including Naomi’s husband, Jimmy Uso.

That was a stupid thing to say and Naomi made her pay for it with a punch in the face. The fight is quickly broken up, though it took Asuka and Carmella to pull Naomi off of Mandy. Deville got Mandy away and the two argued before Mandy stormed off, rather than face more wrath from a furious Naomi.

Where’s Charlotte? No idea, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d guess that the Golden Goddess had something to do with it.

SmackDown Tag Team Division: It was announced on Monday that the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, the Bar would be facing the RAW Tag Team Champions. When RAW started, those champions were Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, but things change. Now, the Bar will be facing AoP instead.

On top of that, it was announced that there would be a traditional Survivor Series match for the Tag Teams, 10 vs 10. So, on Tuesday, the Usos took on New Day to determine who would be the team captains.

It’s common for teams who have met as often as the Usos and New Day had, to put on the same old match, but these two teams put on a great match. It looked like New Day might pull one out to be team captains again, but the Usos would be the ones to get the pinfall and become team captains.

In a display of sportsmanship that belies the fact that New Day was going to be on the team anyway given the small number of tag teams on SmackDown, the Usos invited their long-time rivals to be on the team as well, which the New Day accepted after a moment of hesitation.


NXT UK

 Episode 5

NXT UK Championship: A few episodes ago, Danny Burch threw down the gauntlet to Pete Dunne over the UK Championship, which Dunne accepted.

This match was amazingly good. Both men have justifiable reputations as brawlers, but they put on a very great technical match, including an incredible Super German Suplex. Ultimately, Pete Dunne would triumph over Burch, but it was almost by the skin of his teeth and only by BREAKING Burch’s fingers.

It’s hard to put into words just how great this match was. It should be a starmaking match for Burch who proved himself to be a worthy contender for the NXT UK Championship. After the match, Dunne gave Burch a nod of respect, but I have the feeling that Burch isn’t done with Dunne.

NXT UK Women’s Division: Since episode 1, we’ve been seeing promos for Jinny, who made her first appearance in the first round of the Mae Young Classic this year, going up against Toni Storm. I can’t say I was very impressed with her from that match, but they seem to be pushing her as a big deal.

Toni Storm gave an interview and it was announced that she and Dakota Kai will go one on one in the next episode. Storm said that she wants that NXT UK Women’s Championship, but it hasn’t changed her preparation for Dakota Kai, who is on record as saying she wants that yet-to-be-announced championship too. Storm said that she was aware of Kai’s comments, but she’s Toni Storm and Kai’s ambitions aren’t going to get very far.

At this point, Kai interrupted. Kai asserted that she had a lot of respect for Toni, but warned her that when Dakota Kai says she will kick heads off to get what she wants, she’s not kidding and promises that she’ll be better than Toni, even with as good as Toni is. The two shake hands, but the stage for a barnburner is set.

Dave Mastiff vs Damien Weir: The Bomber has been making a big splash in his previous appearances with his massive size and amazing skill. He took on Damien Weir, who looked scared to death at the prospect before the bell rung.

To Weir’s credit, he tried REALLY hard, but he was basically dinner for Mastiff, who wasted little time in squashing his opponent. At least he gave Weir an approving thumbs up, though whether it was for the effort, or his hilarious squeals of pain and terror remains to be seen.

El Ligero vs James Drake: The Leeds Luchador took on the debuting James Drake. Ligero had been part of the first episode of NXT UK, racking up a win, but Drake is hungry to prove himself.

The match was pretty good. Ligero and Drake were pretty evenly matched in height and weight, but Drake is more of a brawler compared to technical and high-flying Ligero. Ligero would pull out the win after a thunderous tornado DDT.

Ashton Smith vs: Ashton Smith was SUPPOSED to have a match tonight, but he never got that far. He was jumped by the Coffey Brothers and Wolfgang. After leaving Smith in a heap, the Sinister Scottish Trio came to the ring to cut a promo.  They seemed quite pleased with their work over the past couple of week. Joe addressed the Wolfgang situation and said that he’d had a revelation, he and his brother needed others like themselves, so they turned to the Last King. They vow to make NXT UK into their kingdom and woe to those who stand in their way!

As for previous victims, Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster, they were busy talking to GM Johnny Saint about getting a match against the sinister Scotts.

Eddie Dennis vs Sid Scala: Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen vignettes of Eddie Dennis. Dennis was a childhood friend of Pete Dunne and Mark Andrews, and actually gave up his job as schoolteacher to become a wrestler so they could stay together, but while Dunne and Andrews have found success, it seems like Dennis hasn’t been so lucky in his career and certainly seems to have an ax to grind.

The match between the angry schoolteacher and Sid Scala was a pretty good one. Dennis certainly seemed pretty pissed off and used poor Scala to vent his frustrations. Scala put up a pretty good fight, but Dennis’ rage and frustration proved the deciding factor, earning Dennis the pinfall win. I hope Dunne and Andrews are looking over their shoulders.

Episode 6

 Dakota Kai vs Toni Storm: The long-awaited battle between the two New Zealanders happened this week. Both ladies have been vocal about wanting to be in contention for the yet to be announced NXT UK Women’s Championship.

The match was amazing! Babyface vs Babyface matches are always tough, especially with two fan favorites, but Kai and Storm worked really well together and put on a real brawl with each other while the fans chanted for Australia.

Storm would pull out a victory with Storm Zero, but it was made clear that the Captain is more than a match for the Lightning from Down Under. The two women shook hands and hugged, but as Kai was leaving, she was attacked by the debuting Jinny, who declared that this was HER NXT! Jinny was chased away by Storm, who helped the injured Kai to the back.

Zack Gibson vs Amir Jordan: Liverpool’s Number 1 has been talking a lot of smack lately, especially about Amir Jordan, promising to not let the Bhenga Bad Boy deter him from taking his place at the top of NXT UK.

The fans were on Gibson’s case from the start, threatening to suffocate him with their foot odor. The match was good, but pretty quick. Gibson put on a dominating performance, but that didn’t stop Jordan from putting up a fight, hoping that Gibson’s aversion to the fans’ foot odor would work in his favor. Unfortunately for him, Gibson overcame the stink and forced Amir to tap out to the Shankly Gates.

Once the vanquished Jordan was out of the ring, Gibson cut a promo talking about NXT UK and the sheer amount of talent coming in, but as far as Gibson is concerned, he’s NXT UK’s #1, not just Liverpool’s and he puts the locker room on notice that he’s not sharing the top spot and that he’s the guy the brand should be built around, not Pete Dunne or Danny Burch.

At this point, Trent Seven came out, saying that Gibson is giving him a headache and asks the audience if Gibson is delusional. Seven points out that it was himself, Dunne, Burch, and others who kicked off the craze for a UK version of NXT, not Zack Gibson.

It looks like a fight was going to break out, but Gibson backs off. He’ll deal with Seven on his time.

Kevin Williams vs Jordan Devlin: This match between the Luckyan (Williams) and Ireland’s Iron Man was random but pretty good. Devlin definitely learned a lot from Finn Balor and dominated the match. Williams gave him a pretty good fight, but the Iron Man was not to be denied, and put the Luckyan away with Ireland’s call for the win.

Six Man Tag: Mark Andrews, Flash Morgan Webster, and Ashton Smith vs The Coffey Brothers and Wolfgang: The issues between these six men goes back to the 2018 UK Championship Tournament, when the Coffey brothers made their presence known in the battle royal. The surprising turn of Wolfgang last week only adds to the Coffey’s fearsomeness.

This was less a match than a fistfight, but it was very good. The Coffey’s and Wolfgang are big guys, but they move extremely well. Andrews, Webster, and Smith, for their parts, were able to hold their own against the Scots.

In the end, it would be strategy, not muscle, that would decide this match. The Coffeys and Wolfgang were able to use teamwork a little better than the Andrews/Webster/Smith contingent and pulled out the victory, effectively declaring themselves the dominant faction on NXT UK, at least for now.


205 Live

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy will be facing Mustafa Ali at Survivor Series, but this week, he took on NXT UK’s Mark Andrews in a non-title match for brand pride.

The match was excellent! Andrews was EXTREMELY over with the Manchester crowd, but Murphy was able to filter out the crowd and put on a great performance. Andrews, for his part showed why he should be included in the NXT UK Championship conversation.

Ultimately, Murphy would get the win with Murphy’s Law, but Andrews definitely proved himself a worthy contender for a top title.

Mustafa Ali, who will be facing Murphy at Survivor Series, cut a promo discussing how everyone had written him off as ‘a maybe’. He talked about coming so close to being Cruiserweight Champion and yet coming up short at WrestleMania. He vowed to change that at Survivor Series by leaving as Cruiserweight Champion.

As for former champion, Cedric Alexander, he’s gone back to basics. He was filmed at the Performance Center, training with the rookies, hoping to get back to his winning ways to get the rematch Maverick robbed him of.  He also threw some shade at Lio Rush, saying that if Rush stopped worrying about Lashley, he’d be champion.

Rush, who heard the comments, wasn’t impressed, commenting that a match with Rush would get Alexander the title match he wanted. Alexander was even less impressed with Rush, but Rush persisted, asking Alexander to think about it.

Lucha House Party vs TJP and Mike Kanellis (with Maria Kanellis): For the last several weeks, the Lucha House Party have had their hands full due to TJP’s blatant disrespect for the Luchador tradition. Last week, TJP seemed to have made an alliance with Mike Kanellis.

The match was okay. Kanellis and TJP sound like a great team on paper, but their dueling egos were definitely a hindrance to their success. However, they managed to keep it together to give the Lucha House Party a run for their money. However, TJP’s obsession with stealing the Lucha House Party’s masks would cost him. He unmasked Lince, but the Golden Lynx had a second mask and the distraction as enough for a hurricanrana to get the wind.

TJP and Kanellis were furious and each blamed the other, but Maria played peacemaker, reminding them that they had the other masks, though the fact that the Party guys probably have an unlimited supply of masks doesn’t seemed to have occurred to anyone.

 Lio Rush vs Josh Morell: If you listen to Lio Rush, he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread in 205 Live, or in wrestling. However, since he took on the momentous task of hyping Bobby Lashley, he hasn’t had as much time to focus on 205 and, as Alexander pointed out, hasn’t earned himself a championship shot.

This week, Rush took on Josh Morell, a local Manchester talent. Rush doesn’t respect his opponent, which Morell makes him pay for by giving the Man of the Hour a serious run for his money. Rush would get the win, but only by sheer luck, rather than better skill.

After the match, Rush got on the mic and again taunted Cedric Alexander, restating his offer of a match, and warning Alexander that time was running out.

NXT

NXT Women’s Division: Some NXT interviewers caught up with Candice LeRae, asking her about her AWOL husband, Johnny Gargano, who hasn’t been seen since he’d been exposed as the man who took out Aleister Black. LeRae refused to comment, complaining about being exploited.

She had more important things to think about, namely Nikki Cross, the woman who had seen Gargano attack Black. Apparently, Mrs. Wrestling has it in her head that Cross owes her answers about her revelation about Johnny Gargano. Last week, she’d tried to get answers from Cross, only for Cross to laugh at her. She’s going to talk to William Regal about getting a match with Cross and get the answers she thinks she’s owed. Or does she have another reason for wanting to get her hands on Cross?

NXT Women’s Champion, Shayna Baszler was feeling pretty smug going into Survivor Series. Her buddies, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, were with her, still proud of their parts in robbing Kairi Sane of the NXT Women’s Championship at Evolution. When asked about Kairi Sane invoking her rematch clause, Baszler was dismissive, wondering how many times she had to beat Sane before people understood that Sane was a nobody and that the bigger news was that the Queen of Spades was the rightful champion again.

Then William Regal came in with some news: Kairi Sane WILL get her rematch at TakeOver: War Games. Then he adds a little twist: Due to Baszler and Sane’s history and the shenanigans of Evolution, the match will be two out of three falls. That wiped the smile off of Baszler’s face.

The Captain of Team Kick, Dakota Kai, took on the Black Belt, Taynara Conti, in one-on-one action. Both ladies were pretty evenly matched in terms of skills. Anyone thinking that Conti was just a pretty face, was disabused by that when watching her wrestle. That black belt isn’t just a great marketing gimmick. Kai would pull out the win with a Kai-de-Grace, but Conti definitely put the NXT world on notice about her skills. While Kai, for her part, not only added another win to her long list of them, but has put her name in the Women’s Title picture on two continents.

Mia Yim came up a little short in the Mae Young Classic, but fate, and Triple H, gave her another chance by signing her to the WWE. Yim said that she was enjoying the Performance Center and Full Sail, and is living her dream.

The interview was interrupted by Bianca Belair, another Mae Young alum, who was less than impressed with the attention given to Yim. Belair is undefeated and hasn’t been given a title shot, and somehow thinks Yim has gotten things handed to her, despite the evidence to the contrary. As far as the EST is concerned, Yim can go back to the indies.

Yim is a little confused as to why Belair has such an attitude, but fires back that the EST hasn’t met the HBIC, Head Baddie in Charge. Belair laughed it off, but I doubt she’ll be laughing when she deals with Yim one on one.

Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano: Ever since it was revealed that Johnny Gargano was the one to attack Aleister Black, the question on everyone’s lips has been Why? Why did Gargano attack Black? Last week, Gargano had promised to explain everything on NXT.

The explanation, as given in a video promo, is that Johnny Gargano has gone to the dark side of the Force, but, like Anakin Skywalker, or the Death Eaters, he doesn’t see it that way. As far as he’s concerned, Aleister’s terribly confused. Gargano is the HERO of this story, not the villain. Sure, attacking Black wasn’t heroic in the strictest sense of the word, but the attack wasn’t anything personal, just business. Black was in the way of Gargano getting his hands on Ciampa. Besides, who is Black to complain? He hands out Black Masses to people left, right, and center, and no one complains or whines about him being a coward or a villain.

According to Gargano, he’s the same person he’s always been, he’ll still fight the good fighting, but the place he’s in is just a little darker, and Gargano likes it that way. He warns Black that he’ll leave him laying in a heap at War Games, just like he did right before TakeOver: Brooklyn.

War Games: William Regal announced that next week on NXT, one member of Undisputed Era and one member of Team Hate Undisputed Era will meet in one on one action.

Lars Sullivan vs Velveteen Dream: To say that Lars Sullivan wasn’t happy when Velveteen Dream was given the title shot against Tommaso Ciampa is putting it mildly. The Leviathan was LIVID over the snub and vowed to make Dream pay for Regal’s snub.

Dream definitely paid the price in his one on one with Sullivan, who was still mad as hell. However, the Dream put up a hell of a fight, but there was no stopping an enraged Sullivan, who put Dream away with Freak Accident for a win, making a dominate case for being included in the Championship match at War Games.

For Dream, the trouble wasn’t over. Tommaso Ciampa came out of nowhere and attacked his challenger, vowing that Dream wouldn’t steal his title or his spotlight. Dream rallied and fought back before the two were separated by the refs, but Dream got free and attacked the champion and hit the Purple Rain Maker. Will Dream walk out of War Games as Champion or does Ciampa have more tricks up his sleeve?

Heavy Machinery vs Forgotten Sons: Heavy Machinery has been making quite a name for themselves as they’ve mown through the NXT Tag Team Division, looking for another shot at the tag titles. Forgotten Sons, lead by former tag champion Wesley Blake, are looking to get in the same spot.

The match was really good. HM are both huge guys, and Dozer doesn’t always seem to have both oars in the water, but they’re a great team, as are Sons, especially since Blake knows what it’s like to be Tag Team Champion.

Ultimately, the match came down to who was the better team, and this time, it was Heavy Machinery, who would put away the Sons with a pop up powerslam by Dozer, which is really amazing to see such a huge guy do. Heavy Machinery has made quite a statement and Undisputed Era would be well-advised to hear it.  


Tiffany’s Takeaways

RAW: The story of Nattie bringing her dad’s sunglasses to RAW and the Riott Squad breaking them is such nonsense, I’m stunned people actually bought it.

Strowman vs Corbin is a good feud, but it’s a poor substitute for having a top title on RAW.

Alexa Bliss as non-competing team captain for the RAW women is a better use of her since she’s better on the mic than she is in the ring.

The women seem to view Alexa as a joke, if the chuckles and smirks while she was talking were anything to go by.

Ronda Rousey’s promo actually made me want to slap her for being so arrogant.

Renee Young is starting to come into her own as a commentator, and I enjoyed it.

Crews/Mahal was BORING!

 SmackDown: I like that Shane went the humble route to explain his win over Ziggler.

Miz/Bryan as co-team captains is either brilliant or the dumbest idea ever.

I want Becky Lynch’s next big feud to be with Nikki Cross.

Mandy Rose’s complaining would’ve sounded better coming out of someone else’s mouth because Mandy is not an impressive performer, in my opinion.

Miz/Bryan as a reluctant team is extremely intriguing to me. If we had more time to build it, I could see Shane making them team up to prove they can get along well enough to be co-Team Captains, but since the build to Survivor Series is ridiculously short compared to previous years, this is what we get.

Mysterio/Almas was SOOO good.

NXT UK: I get why WWE is giving us two episodes of NXT UK a week, but I can’t say I get why they both have to be on Wednesday, on top of 205 Live and NXT.

Storm vs Kai was definitely the match of the night and Dunne/Burch was a close second.

I’m glad to see some storylines starting to really take shape and make sense.

I do NOT get the Gibson/shoes thing! Someone explain this to me because it’s not translating well.

205 Live: I’m not sure why TJP is obsesses with taking the Lucha House Party’s masks and keeping them. He must realize they probably have an unlimited supply of them.

The Rush/Alexander thing is starting to get interesting.

I don’t know if Mustafa Ali will walk out of Survivor Series as champion, but I’ve got my fingers crossed.

NXT: The Candice/Nikki thing is interesting. Why is Candice so mad at Nikki? Was Candice in on the plan and is mad that Nikki spilled the beans? Is something else going on?

Yim vs Belair? Yes, please!

Taynara Conti has really impressed me in her last few encounters. She’s a great heel and can legitimately kick anyone’s ass.

Gargano is going to help Ciampa retain at TakeOver.

Tiff’s Tantrums

Kudos to Paige for clapping back at a ‘fan’ who complained that women in WWE dressed like whores and should be dressing more modestly, and for not backing down when the same fan whined that she was being rude.

To the ‘journalists’ trying to get a hold of Roman Reigns’ medical records to ‘prove’ that he and WWE are faking his leukemia diagnosis: Fuck. You! First of all, that is illegal and a violation of HIPPA. Secondly, WWE and Roman Reigns have too much to lose to pull a stunt like this. All you’re doing is making everyone look bad. I get that a lot of you are short on material since your favorite source of click-bait articles is undergoing treatment for a life-threatening illness, but this is taking things too far. I’m sure you can find something else about WWE to complain about constantly until Reigns comes back.

The ‘fan’ who made the video claiming that Renee and Seth had an affair and that was the cause of Dean’s heel turn, is a fricking idiot! It’s a storyline, not real life!


What do you think, are you ready for another week of WWE action and stories? Sound off on Twitter @TiffanyMC and @theCHAIRSHOTcom using the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Opinion

Our Chairshot Take – Releases, Forbidden Door, Women’s Wrestling, LFG, and The Bloodline

Welcome to Our Chairshot Take! This week, 5 of your favorite contributors answer questions about the WWE releases, the Forbidden Door alliance, women main eventing WrestleMania, wrestling competition shows, and The Bloodline!

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Welcome to Our Chairshot Take! This week, 5 of your favorite contributors answer questions about the WWE releases, the Forbidden Door alliance, women main eventing WrestleMania, wrestling competition shows, and The Bloodline!

 

Welcome to a new weekly wrestling column featuring some of your favorite Chairshot contributors (and some outside of Chairshot as well) – Our Chairshot Take! Every week, we’ll have 5 contributors answer 5 of the most interesting, intriguing, and relevant questions that you want answers too. Please, feel free to tell us why we’re right or wrong, and most importantly, let us know YOUR take!  And don’t forget, #AlwaysUseYourHead!

 

How do you think professional wrestling companies should handle releases?

 

Greg: It’s hard, because personally I don’t know how they could do it any better. It’s the wrestling media who jumps on the news–and they’re just doing their job. As Booker T says, don’t hate the playa, hate the game. For wrestling news, that’s the game. Plus, some talents are going to tell the media, and that’s their prerogative.

 

So instead, I offer you some other solutions:

 

Come up with a longevity threshold where a talent can keep their name. Call it 6 years. We released Apollo Crews? He can go and be Apollo Crews elsewhere. WWE still retains ownership over the name, but they provide him permission to use it. Because, yes, they owned it and developed it, but he made it real. Let him keep it alive, if he chooses to.

 

Guarantee main roster deals for two years. In the case of Aleister Black, it’s easily plausible that 3-6 months from now, we’ll all see a glaring hole that he could have filled. Some things take time to get right. 

 

Finally, leverage that TNA partnership. Keeping with the same example, imagine sending Aleister Black & Zelina Vega to TNA as a shocking surprise. It helps everyone. Work out something where TNA covers a portion of the contract. Elevate the partnership, and rise that tide that raises all ships.

 

Andrew: The way they’re done now is fine. There’s no pomp and circumstance for normal people when they get fired, and some traditional sports stars find out they’re traded or cut because of ESPN. Wrestling ain’t special or fancy. News nowadays is about first out, not moral high ground. Deal with it.

 

Kyle: Unless someone asked for their release, there really isn’t a good way to handle it. Inevitably, there will always be a section of fans who are unhappy with one of their favorite stars being released. That being said, I do think it’s generally good business to grant releases to people who ask for them, and I’m definitely not a fan of adding time onto someone’s contract who no longer wants there just because they may have been injured at some point.

 

Karl: I’ve never been a big fan of the announced releases. I think it brings too much unwanted attention to the employees during an already difficult time. I’m not one to defend a corporate entity either, and it’s no secret that companies fire and hire employees all the time on a daily basis whether for good reasons or bad. That said, I would find it better, or perhaps more palatable that releases are done quietly with little drawn attention. Allow that privacy for the employee being released. If they want to announce that they’ve been let go, that should fall to them, not on wrestling journalists looking for a scoop.

 

Rob: There should be no leaks before the wrestlers themselves are told by the companies. And I’d give people a chance to ask for theirs if they want to leave before we make any roster decisions.

 

Has the Forbidden Door alliance – AEW, CMLL, and New Japan – worked?

 

Greg: For who??? That’s rhetorical, and it’s also the point. AEW’s “strategic partnerships” haven’t benefited anyone other than AEW. Look at New Japan today: struggling. Bouncing the title around to see who sticks. Konosuke Takeshita was a perfect option for IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Didn’t have it long enough to gain traction. Send people out on longer tours, let them truly impact someone else’s business. THAT is how you build a strategic partnership. 

 

Yes, no one from TNA has held a WWE NXT Championship outside of the Hardys. And yes, someone should. Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry signed with WWE? It was always going to happen. At least TNA got some bump out of it. Guess what? Mike Santana and Leon Slater are gonna sign at some point, too. But their presence in WWE NXT helps TNA.

 

AEW’s partnerships — TNA, New Japan, and CMLL  — have only benefited AEW. And that’s now how this is supposed to work.

 

Andrew: Hahahahahaha, oh, you’re serious? NJPW has become a farm system. Their main event scene has been in tatters and I’ve seen rats leave a sinking ship slower. NJPW went from arguably the second biggest company in the world to a footnote in where a new person comes from to the general audience. Also, AAA has been more relevant in the conversation of wrestling media in the last 6 months, as compared to CMLL in the last 5 years. This Alliance is the Go Bots of pro wrestling. Discount, K-Mart, wannabe super group, that is about as significant as Damnocracy.

 

Kyle: It’s worked out for AEW, but I don’t think it’s really worked for CMLL and especially not for New Japan. I can’t remember the last time that NJPW has been down as bad as they are right now. The “alliance” such as it is essentially functions as a way for AEW to test the reactions that foreign talent receive and decide whether or not to poach them from CMLL or New Japan by throwing money at them.

 

Karl: I don’t particularly follow these companies, but I think the answer is probably somewhere between yes and no. Defining what would make the alliance successful would be the best way to break it down. What were the goals? If the goal was to get a million dream matches on the docket, I think it’s a success. It’s a great way to get wrestling matches you couldn’t always get otherwise. If the goal was some monetary gain or bringing eyes to compete with the big dog on the block, then it’s probably less of a success. So with that, I’d probably say it’s both successful and unsuccessful depending on what your expectations were/are of the idea.

 

Rob: For AEW, absolutely.  They’ve gotten to use people from New Japan for various things.  I don’t know if it’s worked great for New Japan given how many people AEW has signed that were theirs first.  CMLL has gotten to use some AEW talent on their shows so I’d call that a win for them.

 

What will it take for there to be another women’s main event at WrestleMania?

 

Greg: Intent. That’s it. It’s a quick answer. “We put the most deserving match in that spot” is a bullshit cop out. You have the ability to book and showcase the product based on your plans. If you come out of every WrestleMania with the non-negotiable that women will be in the main event of one night of WrestleMania, then you will make it happen. 

 

You build guardrails and parameters to follow. It’s not rocket science. I book my local independent and I have had women in the main event multiple times, and had a woman win our annual Rumble and use that to win our Heavyweight Championship. I made it happen because I had an intentional plan: before, during, and after. And that’s on the indies!

 

It can be done, you just have to want to do it.

 

Andrew: A compelling story and the ability to draw the crowd in. Anyone who thinks workrate matters is a fool. If Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey had their match at Mania instead of a Netflix special, THAT would’ve headlined the show. We are a long way away from any personalities being Earth shattering enough to move a main event needle. Maybe when Bianca Belair comes back from pregnancy, but that depends on her dance partner. 

 

Kyle: It would have to be both the right combination of major stars and a strong story that the crowds are invested in. If anyone on the current roster who’s healthy could pull it off, it’s probably Rhea just because she’s massively over still.

 

Karl: Given the ownership group, a miracle probably. I just don’t think that TKO understands the company they own. This isn’t anything new. We see it time and time again when larger corporations purchase companies just to have more assets on their balance sheet. The quality dips because suits have hijacked what made the product great in the past. Wrestling is no different. That’s not to say that having women main event WrestleMania is the exact thing that makes wrestling great, but the idea that anyone can get to the top, or break down a barrier, especially in sport (scripted or otherwise) is part of what makes entertainment in this format so wonderful. I don’t trust the people in charge to have their finger on the pulse of what makes wrestling great, so therefore, I think even if the women’s stories demanded top billing, they wouldn’t get it anytime soon. I’ll be happy to be wrong.

 

Rob: The men’s side will have to clear out a bit. As long as Roman, Cody, and Punk are still there, forget it. Especially now that Oba will be there as soon as next year and Trick is coming up. Throw in Seth and Randy, and those spots are taken for the foreseeable future. To even get in the conversation though, they have to book some kind of compelling story between two or three women that rivals what the men at the top are doing. That requires treating one or two women as equals to Rhea creatively, even if they aren’t as popular, and not just booking for pops and title wins on big 4 PLEs.

 

Why do you think the winners of wrestling competition shows aren’t usually successful?

 

Greg: The most important word in the phrase “wrestling competition show” is the last one: show. It’s a show first, a true competition later. Pumping out true successful talent isn’t actually it’s job. it’s job is to payoff for whoever is paying for the show. That’s driven by results: viewers and advertising dollars. A&E doesn’t care of Shiloh Hill main events WrestleMania unless it means more financial payoff for their investment in WWE LFG. I do think we are too quick to thrust talent into a primary role after winning. Give them time.

 

For my eyeballs? I’d rather see true reality style coverage, think NFL Hard Knocks, or schools like Cody Rhodes’ Nightmare Factory and Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling. With the WWE machine behind it, it can work. But in the current format, it doesn’t exist to put out TV ready talent–that’s what Evolve and NXT are for.

 

Plus, who is making the decisions in the end? If it’s not Triple H, Bruce Prichard, Michael Hayes, and Tony Khan (for AEW, obviously), then it doesn’t matter who wins.

 

Andrew: Because they aren’t wrestlers. Why aren’t most American Idol winners successful? Talent does not equate to understanding the business you want to be in. We all know of music artists we wish were more well known, but they don’t understand the game well enough to play it. It’s easy to fake it for 8 weeks on camera; it’s another thing to have the determination and resolve to live it 24/7.

 

Kyle: I think most of the competition show winners aren’t successful because the writing team for the competition show and the creative team for the wrestling show usually aren’t the same. Add to that the fact that the winners of these shows are usually rushed to television too soon because the company wants to capitalize on the popularity of the show, and you have a recipe for a lot of winners ending up released sooner rather than later. Arguably the most successful wrestling competition show winner was John Morrison, who won Tough Enough III, and he was given a couple of years to develop in OVW and wasn’t put on TV until he was ready and creative had something for him. Most winners don’t get that opportunity to grow, and thus, they end up failing in the long run.

 

Karl: Much like the winners of American Idol or The Voice don’t typically amount to a hill of beans, I see wrestling competition shows in the same vein. Sure, you’ll have the occasional standout, but it’s just really hard to be consistently great at anything without working at it. On a competition show, you’re all in, all the time, because otherwise you’re going home. But what happens when you win that show? Does the drive stay high? It can be difficult I think, because once you’re in the door, you’re no longer looked at as someone special. You’re now just like everyone else. Or, the flip side, you’re put under the bright lights too quickly and it doesn’t work. Not to mention, there are people in the locker room who have been working their whole life for this thing you achieved in a matter of months. It’s going to naturally devolve into jealousy by your peers. I think competition show winners fall prey to the pressure of sustained success.

 

Rob: Winning the competition isn’t the same as succeeding in the real world. The competition is a closed space and its own entity. Just like how Star Search and American Idol winners are often not the most successful people from their group.

 

Has the Bloodline storyline jumped the shark?

 

Greg: In a word: no.

 

In a few words: absolutely hell the freak not.

 

In more words: do you know what the phrase “jump the shark” actually means? Look it up. It comes from the old TV show Happy Days, where Arthur Fonzarelli, aka “The Fonze” and “Fonzie,” actually jumps over a shark on his motorcycle. After that, the show was never really the same again. Jumping the shark was the moment. That’s what it means.

 

Now circle back to The Bloodline. What’s their “jump the shark” moment? There isn’t one! Are we producing “cinema” like the height of the  Sami Zayn story? No, not at all. But we haven’t jumped the shark. Instead, we’ve evolved. Roman Reigns’ ascension back to the world title saw Jimmy & Jey Uso get slowly infused back into the fold, but what did Roman do after? He said that they now stand together. They are more equal now. There’s no wiseman, there’s no outlier Sami Zayn character, no solo as the right hand man. 

 

It hasn’t jumped the shark, it’s evolved. And I want to see where it goes next.

 

Andrew: Bloodline should’ve been dead when Jacob and Solo split. I don’t think there’s been anything egregious enough to imply it “Jumped the Shark,” as in, a desperation ploy to keep it going. But it’s just outlasted it’s welcome. While Roman will always be my OTC, and I’ve been ride or die with the Werewolf and G.O.D., we can stop dragging it on into perpetuity. Let people go their own ways without a reference every other month, and no more Honorary Usos. That LA Knight shirt was ALMOST a shark jump…but the angle was so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter enough to even register anywhere near the Island of Relevancy.

 

Kyle: I watched Jacob Fatu put the Tribal Chief in a Tongan Death Grip. You’re not gonna catch me in these streets disrespecting any of the Polynesian wrestlers or their storylines. I don’t want NONE of that smoke.

 

Karl: The Bloodline story is probably running out of juice, for a lot of the same reasons big time storylines run out of juice. There’s not much left to squeeze. There are only so many ways you can take a story. You can try to keep it fresh, and on a smaller scale, you can run into the old nWo problem of too many cooks in the kitchen. The Bloodline ran with a lot of new members, and new introductions. It helped build some of them to important status, but at a certain point, new pathways need to be created for all involved. You can always revisit what made the stories great. I’ve always thought the way the Shield was handled post-break up has been well done. Callbacks here and there to what made them great, to what broke them apart, etc., were always fun ways to remind the fans, but continuing with the angle will always fall flat, especially with how short the attention span of most people can be.

 

Rob: It all depends on whether or not they have some good enemies this year. If they’re just running back all of the bits they did last time then yes. But if they can find some new things to do, then they’ll be fine.

 

Greg – @GregDeMarco44

Andrew – @IWCWarChief

Kyle – @OutsidersEdgeCS

Karl — @OutsidersEdgeCS

Rob – @rbonne1

 

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Chris King: Too Soon For Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breaker?

Is WWE Backlash too soon for Bron Breakker vs Seth Rollins? Chris King weighs in! 

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Seth Rollins Bron Breakker WWE Monday Night Raw

Is WWE Backlash too soon for Bron Breakker vs Seth Rollins? Chris King weighs in!

‘The Visionary’ Seth Freakin’ Rollins and Bron Breakker opened Monday Night Raw in an extremely intense face-off. Both superstars traded barbs at each other. Rollins, being the veteran, was trying to show the young up-and-comer Breakker that he isn’t ready to become the next big-money superstar in the WWE. Breakker told his former Vision leader that he never needed him and got sick and tired of fighting Rollins’ battles. 

Rollins threw out the challenge for Backlash, but I am questioning whether it’s wise to give away the one-on-one match so early. Breakker made his shocking return at WrestleMania, taking out Rollins and costing him the match against Gunther. 

The following night Breakker broke his rival in two, delivering two massive spears. Last week, The Street Profits returned to help Rollins against The Vision, and that made me believe WWE was heading in a different direction. I was thinking that WWE should book The Vision vs. The Street Profits and Rollins in a six-man tag team match, but this week, Montez Ford said that they didn’t return for Rollins and they want the tag team titles. Rollins will face Breakker in a highly anticipated singles match at Backlash, where I am predicting Rollins to get the win. I can easily see Rollins’ fourteen years of experience getting the better of the young up-and-comer to outsmart him. 

While The Street Profits attempt to win the championships from Austin Theory and Logan Paul, I don’t see a title change happening anytime soon. If that’s the case, then I can see Rollins and The Street Profits teaming up in a few weeks or possibly at Night of Champions. This would also extend the rivalry between Rollins and Breakker all the way into SummerSlam, where Rollins will take the loss. I am happy that WWE didn’t rush this and add it to the Mania card because now this feud has time to develop properly.

Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

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FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)


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