Opinion

Tale Of The Tape – Charlotte Flair vs Roman Reigns

Published

5 years ago

January 2, 2019

Breaking things down tale of the tape, MMA title fight style. Rob gives us a comparison of two very similar WWE Superstars.

Since you guys liked the first Tale of the Tape I did last week, I figured I’d give it another go round. This time I’m going to look at two more people who I’ve seen lumped together a few times, Charlotte Flair and Roman Reigns. I got inspired to do this a while back because I saw an article on some website (I don’t remember where, to be honest) saying that Charlotte was going to get the ‘Roman Reigns treatment’ and get pushed to WrestleMania whether we like it or not (never mind that a lot more of us do like it than Wrestling Twitter would have you believe). Now unlike last week I did find a lot more things in which they do have in common but ultimately it’s silly to just say that they are two examples of the same thing. So let’s dive in and take a look, shall we?

The Obvious Stuff

First a few things that are pure undisputed facts. Both are children of WWE Hall of Famers. Neither of them worked in the indies before coming to WWE. Neither of them initially sought to be in the wrestling business before changing their minds and diving in. Both have athletic ability that sets them apart from a lot of their peers, and moved ahead of the people they came to the main roster with who were more highly touted by fans on the internet (with Roman that would be his Shield mates Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, and for Charlotte that would be Sasha Banks). And both of them are among the favorite people the WWE loves to send out for media appearances, be it local news hits, award show stuff, etc. Whatever narrative your trying to tell about either or both of them, these are things that are cut and dried without any room to debate. Which of course means we get to the things that are, shall we say, up for interpretation.

The Bad Raps

Both of them are constantly accused of being where they are because of their family connections. Both of them are accused of having been given too much, of being shoved down our throats, and of getting a spotlight that is equally or more deserved by others. Both of are accused of benefiting more having the right look than their ability. How much of that is true, and how much is nonsense? Well, being from a wrestling family will get you a look and get you in the door. No one’s disputing that. But if it were as simple as that then we’d be celebrating the World Championship reigns of Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, and Tamina Snuka (who gets a different kind of flak for being from the same family as Roman). The Colon Brothers would be SmackDown Tag Team Champions instead of paycheck All Stars. Ted DiBiase Jr might still be working there. The list goes on and on, and we can go back for generations and find no shortage of people who came into the business by way of who their parents were and did not succeed simply by being in the right bloodline. And at the same time there doesn’t seem to be any problem with Randy Orton or Bray Wyatt being the sons of former wrestlers (one day we’re going to have that conversation about why so many of the wrestlers who get hit the nepotism charge are women and people of color).

As far as the look? There have been plenty of men who looked the part, got a chance, and flamed out. The early and mid 2000s in particular saw a parade of body guys who didn’t amount to anything – Tyson Tomko, Luther Reigns, Chris Masters, Heidenrich. If it what was that simple those guys wouldn’t have all flamed out. And as for Charlotte, yes she both looks good and like a dominant athlete. In both cases, so what? If either or both of them were terrible it wouldn’t matter how much they looked the part. Wrestling is a TV show, a visual medium, and they are always going to put people out front who fit the aesthetic of a champion and are pleasing to look at in some way or another. That’s not just true for WWE either. New Japan has several prominent guys who look like they could leave the arena and go straight to a movie set. Impact Wrestling is banking a lot on the sex appeal of Scarlett Bordeaux. And look, if you’re bashing either of them for being on top due to looks while you tout Finn Balor or Seth Rollins or Becky Lynch for the top spot, or for Toni Storm to be the next big female star once she eventually gets called up…..just stop already. How many of y’all worshiped at the altar of Shawn Michaels or Trish Stratus? How many of y’all were entertained by ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude back in the day knowing good and well what they going for? Lie to me if you want to but don’t lie to yourself, ok?

At the end of the day bashing anyone in the wrestling business for succeeding because of how they look or who’s child they are is doing too much. Yes those things get you in the door. But all those body guys I mentioned got released. Eva Marie is long gone. And while that happened the women who came in during the Divas era and are still around all managed to be become legit wrestlers even though they were brought in mainly to look good. Once you get in the door you have to be good to reach the top and stay there, and if you’re terrible your last name or physical appearance are not going to save you. If you’re out here pushing either one of those lines in regards to either of them then you are barking up the wrong tree and the only question is whether you’re being disingenuous for attention or are just not seeing the forest for the trees.

Getting ‘too much’

There’s more to the complaints about both Charlotte and Roman than the what I just ran through. The other big ones are that they have both been given too much. And this is a weird thing where people are confusing Charlotte Flair and Roman Reigns with Ashley Fleihr and Joe Anoai, and are acting as if their feelings about the people warrant not playing along and booing the characters even though neither of them has been a full fledged villain for some time. For Roman it’s the WrestleMania events, the other Pay Per View main events, and the Royal Rumble victory. And for Charlotte it’s mainly about the number of title she’s won, but also about her inclusion in so many of the big historic women’s matches that have taken place over the last couple of years. But here’s the thing; by my count Roman has been in 14 one on one main events since winning the Royal Rumble in 2015 and 10 multi-man main events. and he’s about .500 in all of them. Over that same period Seth Rollins has been in 8 of each despite missing 8 pay per views combined due to injury over that same period. Brock Lesnar has 10 solo main events despite not working anywhere as many dates. AJ Styles has 6 despite being in the company for one less year than anyone else. In essence he’s about where you would expect someone to be who is considered a top guy for the company.

As for Charlotte, the elephant in the room is her first year and a half on the main roster. She won the Divas Title once, and the RAW Women’s Title four times. She also had a ridiculous 16 match winning streak on pay per view, including the first Women’s Hell in a Cell match in 2016. But since January of 2017 she’s been roughly 50-50 as far as wins and losses on pay per view and went almost all of 2017 (February to mid-November) without a title. She also didn’t win any of the three Money in the Bank matches she was in, was not in the first Women’s Elimination Chamber match or the first Women’s Royal Rumble, and did not win the first Women’s TLC match. So she got a huge buildup to start with, and since then they’ve leveraged that to get other people over while still booking her to win enough to keep her strong. Which is exactly what you’re supposed to do with whoever the Ace of your division is. They were restarting a division from the ground up and were needed to establish someone as the standard bearer. If it hadn’t been her it would have been Sasha Banks instead; either way one of them was going to get that kind of booking to start with. It’s not like they were going to have her going 50/50 with Alicia Fox or Natalya, come on.

In both instances, the problem some people seem to have is that they were chosen to occupy that spot in the first place and were kept in it. Given the circumstances (Cena becoming a part timer, Brock already being a part timer, Seth and Finn both injured for a time, Daniel Bryan out for years, Styles just getting there in 2016) what exactly were they supposed to do? Somebody had to carry that load and be the man to face; who else was going to do it? On the Women’s side it was either Charlotte or Sasha; Sasha had some injuries herself that would have made doing that with her pretty difficult and before this year no one else had risen to the challenge when they got a chance (and that includes Becky Lynch; let’s not get all revisionist history and act like she was stuck in catering for three years). When someone who stands out is also the one that is most readily available you don’t go around fishing among everyone else to make sure they all get a turn; you ride the horse and go. If you think otherwise, it’s a good thing you aren’t running a wrestling company.

I mentioned earlier that Charlotte has roughly a .500 record on pay per views over the last two years. The same is true for Roman. This is a two edged sword in that the losses they’ve taken haven’t hurt them but at the same time the people who are inclined to take a dump on both of them can’t seem to remember them every happening. This year Roman jobbed clean not just to Brock Lesnar but to Bobby Lashley and the Revival in two tag team matches. He also lost to the Miz twice on RAW and got pinned by Seth Rollins in a gauntlet match. And that’s after putting Braun Strowman over multiple times in 2017 and taking the pin in the main event at SummerSlam 2017. And while that was going on Charlotte lost the RAW Women’s Title to Bayley and jobbed to her again on two straight pay per views, then jobbed to Nia Jax on her last night on RAW before moving over to SmackDown. Then she didn’t win anything of any consequence until November when she beat Natalya for the SmackDown Women’s Title. Then this year she did jobs to Becky Lynch, to Carmella, and even did the job at the house show I went to in Baltimore. But if you ask their detractors it’s likely you’ll won’t hear about any of that, just a bunch of complaining about the times they won and who they beat.

As far as both of them being forced down or throats….just stop it already. They’ve been getting a top guy/gal push (more on that in like two seconds), nothing more. Be honest, you’re not mad at the nature of the pushes you’re mad because they’re the ones who got them. Just two weeks ago some Becky Lynch fans were mad because she didn’t win the TLC main event, after three months where she’s won damn near everything, and are going to revolt if she doesn’t win the Royal Rumble AND beat Ronda Rousey one on one at WrestleMania. I even saw one person tweet that she should win the SmackDown Title back and the Rumble on the same night, then challenge Ronda and unify the titles at WrestleMania. And they said that without a hint of irony or sarcasm. And that’s along with the people who have been tweeting for a year sans evidence that Vince should ‘just give’ Finn or Seth the Universal Title already. So on the one hand two people are being shoved down our throats but your solution is to shove the people you prefer down our throats instead, while the rest of us just have to shut up and deal with it. OK then………it’s fine to want someone else to get the top guy/gal push but just be honest that you want them to get it and that the push itself isn’t your problem. Anyhow………I’ve run through all these similarities so I’m done, right? Not so fast, I’ve got one more thing.

The Big Difference

There is one huge difference between the two, and that is how they were booked at the beginning of their runs. Charlotte got booked for a year and a half the way some people think Roman gets booked all the time. I’m of the opinion that it was the right move for her, but he should have gotten similar treatment. Instead after WrestleMania 31 Roman got moved down to the midcard for several months before moving back up at the end of 2015 and mostly staying there, but even then his pay per view matches have been 50/50 in terms of wins and losses. And for the last two years Roman has mostly been paired with guys who needed elevating or a good opponent, while this year Charlotte got to show out in big matches against the best in her division – Lynch, Asuka, and Ronda Rousey. The last time Roman got to do anything like that was in 2016 when got to face AJ Styles in back to back months followed by a returning Rollins. Now I know that sometimes your top people have to be used for that kind of thing, but it is pretty damn frustrating to see that constantly for almost two years while other people get mad on the internet and say they’re being handed everything. I’m of the opinion that your best people should get the best matches and everyone else needs to try and keep up, so four straight WrestleMania main events for Roman was fine and Charlotte getting all the big opponents and matches in 2018 was fine, too. When he comes back I hope he finally gets the unquestioned run that he should get as the best full time performer in the company the way that she did early on.

In Conclusion

Roman and Charlotte didn’t take the exact path to get were they are, and they damn sure haven’t been booked the same way, but from where I’m sitting the intentions with them have been pretty close to the same thing. They both get a lot of flak for things that any booker with half a brain would do with them if they employed either of them. But in Charlotte’s case Vince has been much more inclined from jump to stick entirely with the plan whereas with Roman there seems to be this constant hedging of his bets, be it perceived or real, to try and appease a loud minority. He’s put other people in the main event and shuffled Roman down to the midcard and yet the people make more noise during the midcard match with Roman than the main event, whereas with Charlotte if she’s on the card it’s in a big match and if you don’t like it you can STFU. I believe that over the long haul excellence shines through and if someone else has it in them to show then they eventually will, and the people will respond. Becky Lynch is getting a chance to do that just and we’ll see if she’s up to it over the long haul. Seth Rollins appears to be getting that chance in Roman’s absence and we will see how that plays out. In both cases they’re trying to do something that both Roman and Charlotte have been doing for over three years, and that’s live and perform out in front with all the heat and criticism that brings with it. While they’ve been booked very differently at the beginning of their runs I do think that they are going to be linked together in a way for the rest of their careers. So in total, they’re a lot like but also very different at the same time.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Daily DeMarco: 2018 Chairshot Man Of The Year

Coverage

Greg DeMarco’s 2023 WWE SummerSlam Review

The biggest party of the summer comes to Detroit, when WWE SummerSlam 2023 delivers an action packed event that easily exceeds expectations.

Published

2 months ago

August 7, 2023

Greg DeMarco

The biggest party of the summer comes to Detroit, when WWE SummerSlam 2023 delivers an action packed event that easily exceeds expectations.

WWE presents SummerSlam 2023 live from ford field in Detroit in front of over 59k fans–who provided an electric atmosphere. Overall the card featured either matches, many of them delivering at or above expectations.

Read on for my thoughts, and even some ratings!

How I am rating segments:

I am using “The Line of DeMarco-cation,” which is for entertainment. the line is if I was entertained. You can have three main results:

ABOVE the Line of DeMarco-cation
AT the Line of DeMarco-cation
BELOW the Line of DeMarco-cation

If necessary, i reserve the right to go WAY ABOVE or WAY BELOW. Significant segments can be rated. individual and overall ratings are totally subjective.

It’s simple: ENTERTAIN ME!

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

Welcome to the biggest match of Ricochet’s career.
Samantha Irvin’s outfit matches Logan Paul, not Ricochet — SWERVE, BRO!
Ricochet is a star, and I love seeing him treated like one.
Rocket Mortgage is donating $5k for every move off the top rope? This match alone might accumulate half a million.
I know Logan Paul needs to catch a private jet to Dallas and that’s why this is on first, but this is the perfect opener.
If you didn’t know who Logan Paul was, you’d think he was just another member of the roster–and that’s the biggest compliment you can give to him. He’s a damn good heel, too.
Paul using Braun Strowman’s powerslam–will we get Logan vs Braun?
LOGAN MUST POSE!
SPANISH FLY STICK THE LANDING.
This might be the best match either have had in a LONG time.
Logan Paul just hit a Buckshot Lariat over the top rope and to the floor. Sorry Hangman.
I love that refs continue to have names – like former Greg DeMarco Show guest Eddie Orengo (as El Bandido Jr).
I’d love to know Ricochet’s powerlifting numbers. Dude is deceptively strong.
Logan Paul flew two-thirds of the way across the ring on the Springboard Froggy Splash
This match is spotty–yes–but watch and learn Young Bucks. They are strung together by psychology and it all makes sense,
LOVE that finish. Logan Paul wins (as expected), but Ricochet is protected.
Think about that – RICOCHET IS PROTECTED.
Hell of a match.

Winner: Logan Paul (pinfall brass knucks shot)

WAY ABOVE The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes

That video package–amazing. It likely telegraphed Cody’s win, but I don’t think many expect Cody to lose.
I love when people question Brock’s presence. Did you hear that pop?
Cody got a hell of a pop, too.
You can tell how much Brock Lesnar respects Cody Rhodes, as he opens up the arsenal for him.
I love that Brock simply stands center ring as the ref counts Cody out. Brock wants to win–doesn’t care how. That’s a little detail that shows how brilliant of a character Brock Lesnar is.
This is the fifth time Brock has gone for the count-out–and I love the psychology.
Now Brock does care how he wins–he wants to break Cody’s will.
Wait, is this Cody Rhodes’ mystery twin brother Cory Rhodes?
That top rope Cody Cutter was fantastic.
Not sure when Brock’s shorts got ripped, but it adds to this fight.
That’s what this is, a fight. And that is Brock Lesnar at his finest.
It might have been a happy accident, but Cody’s hand bouncing off the bottom rope before he finally grabs it to break the Kimura is another amazing little thing.
Brock is so slow and methodical, but snatches people up for the F5 in a flash. So good.
Cody Rhodes wins, after THREE Cross Rhodes. Good shit.
Interesting that the show of respect from Brock to Cody is considered Cody’s arrival.
Or maybe it’s just the arrival of “The American Nightmare.”
I will be very interested–as will all of you–to see what’s next for both men.

Winner: Cody Rhodes (pinfall, three Cross Rhodes)

WAY ABOVE The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

NOTE: Very interesting that Roman Reigns was featured in the PayBack promo, as well as Logan Paul. I wouldn’t expect either to be on that card.

Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal

I have to admit, it just feels right to have Slim Jim back in my wrestling.
This better be good since it cost us Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus.
I hope Sheamus got a full entrance for the crowd.
Oh look, Omos still works here!
Chad Gable is so damn good.
Austin Theory is in this match? And didn’t get an entrance?
At WrestleMania 30, Big E was in the Andre The Royal Giant Memorial Battle Rumble, didn’t get an entrance, and didn’t even get to carry his Intercontinental Champion. And I don’t even think his elimination was mentioned by commentary (I’d have to go back and check).
Santos Escobar eliminating Austin Theory at least makes sense.
LA Knight barely breathes and the crowd gets ELECTRIC.
I haven’t made as many bullet points because this has actually been a really good battle royal!
I’d love to know who the agent was–fantastically done.

Winner: LA Knight (last eliminates Sheamus)

AT The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

MMA Rules Match – Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

Some of the shots during the entrance make me want WWE to get rid of stages altogether, and stick with this type of entrance.
Also, it’s a reminder that I hate major wrestling events in daylight.
This being an MMA Rules Match seems to be a missed opportunity at having a special guest referee.
The fans DO NOT CARE About this match, and I see why.
I am all for Ronda being able to go out how she wants to go out, and the talent pushing their own idea forward. But sometimes, you gotta say no.
Some matches also play much better in an arena instead of a stadium (Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair from WrestleMania comes to mind). This is one of those matches.
Whenever NXT had an “unsanctioned match,” the ref wore all black. That’s what we should have done here.
Now we have doctors checking on Shayna? Really? I know we want to put over how tough she is, but…..
The crowd pops out of relief when it’s over.
Do this on Raw, not here. Give Becky and Trish this spot.

Winner: Shayna Baszler (technical submission, Kirifuda Clutch)

BELOW The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

Intercontinental Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. GUNTHER (c)

My Peacock membership doesn’t let me see the video package here, and I am fine with that–it’s been a while since I’ve seen that AFLAC Duck, though.
Ludwig Kaiser must love doing the entrance, but honestly the act might be getting stale?
Corey Graves very poetic in pointing out that “records are meant to be broken.” That’s one of the core values of WWE at this point.
It does appear GUNTHER will be going it alone tonight as Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci are headed to the back. Let’s see if they stay there.
Interesting placement for this match, right after the ill-received MMA Rules Match.
Didn’t the internet tell us Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor was going on fourth?
Btw, this match is brought to you by Rocket Mortgage. Money talks, BAYBAY!
GUNTHER truly lives the “Ring General” gimmick.
As the match progresses, I honestly can’t see Drew winning here.
The simplicity of the finishing sequence really adds to GUNTHER: top rope slap fest, McIntyre crotched on the ropes, splash, lariat, powerbomb. Nothing fancy–trademark GUNTHER.

Winner, #ANDSTILL the Intercontinental Champion: GUNTHER (pinfall, powerbomb)

ABOVE The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

World Heavyweight Championship: Finn Balor vs. Seth “Freakin'” Rollins (c)

I presume we will get a bunch of Judgment Day shenanigans here, but I really needed Seth to go on last to further establish his championship. Instead, we are smack in the middle of the event (according to the Peacock slider, anyways)
Seth Rollins’ entrance + 58k people = a beautiful sight
The worst thing about this, to me, will be when Balor and Rollins are partners after Balor turns babyface.
Love Rollins tossing the vest at Balor.
Love the more unique start to the match.
Interesting that Rollins, with a win, moves to 5th all time for SummerSlam wins? I had no clue! Mr. SummerSlam anyone?
We keep naming refs, and I love it,
If you want an “inside look” at a match, start paying really close attention for a few minutes starting with the triplicate of dives from Seth Rollins. You’ll see a few things that the cameras picked up.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Buckle Bomb into the barrier from Balor to Rollins. Should have known they’d do that, but it never crossed my mind. Brilliant.
Decent amount of overlap in the offense of this match and the one prior–in hindsight, they may have wanted to put GUNTHER/McIntyre on before Rousey/Baszler.
Fans boo’d the crap out of Damian Priest when he came down–but popped like hell for Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley.
I really enjoyed the story told with the Judgment Day. When Priest called for the briefcase to be used, it would have worked. When Balor called for it, it wasn’t going to work, and Damian Priest knew it. But he let Finn Balor sink himself anyway. That will definitely play again later when they fully implode.

Winner AND STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Seth Freakin’ Rollins (pinfall, Stomp on the Money In The Bank Briefcase)

WAY ABOVE The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

WWE Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (c) Bianca Belair

Very odd having Asuka enter second.
Charlotte Flair with the ode to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 35 (IYKYK)
Did I miss the C4 ad read? I saw that Bianca Belair entered with some, which made me thing THAT was why she came in last, and now the C4 branding is around the ring, but no real mention? Or did I miss it? Was it only for Peacock Premium subscribers?
Very choppy match so far–and Charlotte has to basically stop the match to have Jessika Carr fix her outfit, leaving Belair and Asuka in the corner waiting until Asuka realized what was happening and tried to cover. The Double Natural Selection that followed was quite clunky.
Bianca nowhere near Charlotte Flair when the moonsault hit–is Bianca really that good? I seem to ask myself this during every big time Bianca match, dating back to WrestleMania 37 when I felt like Sasha Banks had to carry her.
I find myself wanting to fast forward to the finish, here. I’m not, but I kinda want to.
ANOTHER REF NAMED! Thank you, Michael Cole.
If IYO SKY cashes in here (which is easy to expect), I really hope it’s not right after Charlotte wins, getting her to #15. Granted, she could cash in DURING the match and make it a 4-way. But of everyone, I think Charlotte needs to eat the pin tonight.
We have now had medical personnel tending to one of the participants in the middle of each women’s match tonight–first Shayna Baszler, now Bianca Belair. Seems like a misstep on someone’s part.
Bianca with the heroic comeback, and a beautiful 450 Splash on Charlotte during the Figure Eight.
Charlotte gets misted but Bianca gets the pin???
Makes sense if we do the cash in here. as Bianca is hurt.

Winner, AND NEW WWE Women’s Champion: Bianca Belair (pinfall, small package)

Aaaaaaaand here comes IYO SKY.
I love Corey Graves telling Bianca to get the hell out of dodge.
IYO and Bayley take out everyone, and she is indeed cashing in.
Over The Moonsault, new champion, and the crowd goes nuts. Women’s Money In The Bank briefcase is still undefeated.
Nice World Of Stardom reference by Michael Cole, too.

Winner, AND NEW WWE Women’s Champion: IYO SKY (CMITB cash-in, pinfall, Over The Moonsault)

AT The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

There were some rough spots, but the cash in saved it for me.

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns (c) with Paul Heyman

I am timing this from the second Jey Uso’s theme hits through the end.
Man, Mike Rome is on one, and I am not sure if that’s a good thing. He doesn’t sound as fantastic as he usually does.
12:34 from Jey’s music hitting to the bell ringing.
Roman is so slow and methodical, I don’t know if he realized Jey was going to dive so soon. Jey connected with Roman’s back, but that could have been really really bad.
I know this is Tribal Combat, but given the use of stairs earlier tonight, we might as well consider the stairs legal.
You know it’s an important match when Roman Reigns hits The Drive By, as he did on Jey Uso.
Table, Kendo Stick, and more early.
Jey clotheslining Roman over the top rope (with the Kendo Stick) and hitting the dive makes me think Jey got slightly lost earlier when he did the dive to a kneeling Roman’s back.
That was a MASSIVE powerbomb onto the chairs!
35 minutes in (remember, since the start of Jey’s entrance, so 23 minutes into the match) and this is definitely just a touch slow. The story is amazing, so that’s my only complaint so far.
I have to wonder if Roman knew he was bleeding when he hopped the barricade to go into the crowd.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand here’s Solo Sikoa. That should surprise no one. We gotta get the whole family involved, right? At least the whole Bloodline.
Solo declining to help Roman up might be starting Solo’s arc in the story, but it wasn’t apparent enough and commentary had to fill in the blanks.
50:22 since Jey’s entrance is the point where Jimmy shows up (pulling Jey out of the ring).
Jimmy hits the Superkick and leaves.
Spear through the table that was set-up about a week ago and Roman Reigns pins Jey Uso at 52:09 (from th estart of Jey’s entrance).

Winner AND STILL Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Roman Reigns (pinfall, spear through the table)

AT The Line Of DeMarco-cation.

“At” might surprise you, but this was WAY too slow. Bell-to-bell it was roughly 40 minutes, and that was about 10 minutes too long. But the story is worth it in the end.

WWE SummerSlam 2023

Total Matches: 8

ABOVE the Line of DeMarco-cation – 4 matches (3 WAY ABOVE)
AT the Line of DeMarco-cation – 3 matches
BELOW the Line of DeMarco-cation – 1 match

One “bad” match and seven “good ones, four of those I’d call “great.” Three of the great ones I labeled as “WAY ABOVE” the line, which easily makes up for one match that was lacking. Hell, when even the Battle Royal is good, you know you watched a damn good show.

Overall Rating for WWE SummerSlam 2023: 9/10

Let me know your thoughts! Drop a comment and tell me your ratings, and what you think of the Line Of DeMarco-cation.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

King’s WrestleMania Rewind: Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka from WrestleMania 34

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

Published

6 months ago

April 2, 2023

Chris King

WWE WrestleMania 34 Charlotte Flair Asuka

Chris king is back with one of the most underrated matches in WrestleMania history–Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka!

We look back at Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka at WWE WrestleMania 34. ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’ put her unprecedented and historic undefeated streak of 914 days on the line against ‘The Queen’s’ SmackDown Women’s Championship.

For years, this was considered a dream match while Asuka dominated the roster in NXT, while Flair won numerous championships on the main roster on both Raw and SmackDown. The Empress made her long-awaited debut on the September 11th episode of Raw and began to tear through the competition.

Asuka outlasted all twenty-nine other women in the historic first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match to challenge for the title of her choosing. At Fastlane, she made her choice.

The WWE Universe was so excited for this match myself included. Both superstars delivered a fantastic performance on the Grandest Stage of Them All executing counter after counter. Asuka showed off some nasty-looking kicks to her opponent, and Flair hit a thunderous Spanish Fly off the top rope. Flair was seconds away from defeat at the hands of The Empress but she locked in Figure Eight and Asuka was forced to tap out.

I can’t even begin to explain how shocked I was at this outcome, as nearly everyone expected The Empress to continue her undefeated streak and walk away with the women’s title. This controversial decision was the downfall of Asuka’s momentum. She would ultimately win the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the 2018 TLC pay-per-view in the triple-threat ladder match.

Fast forward to this year when Asuka has recently returned with her Japanese-inspired persona Kana. Kana is dangerous and ruthless and is heading into a championship with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39. The Empress has regained all her momentum and is highly favored to walk away with the Raw Women’s Championship. Let’s hope that Asuka and Belair can tear the house down and deliver an A+ grade match both women are fully capable of.

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