Opinion

Bobby’s Good, Bad and Ugly Extreme Rules 2019 Review

Here we are at WWE Extreme Rules 2019 in Philadelphia PA, an honorable Wrestling city with rich history and very passionate fans.

Published

4 years ago

July 15, 2019

Bobby Fernandes

Here we are at WWE Extreme Rules 2019 in Philadelphia PA, an honorable Wrestling city with rich history and very passionate fans.

We have a very important card tonight with a ton of possible title changes and a lot of potential big moments that can shake the foundation coming up before a major PPV at SummerSlam. Heyman and Bischoff at the helm of Raw and SmackDown and all of the new things WWE is trying out as of late could make for huge events tonight on what could normally be called a worthless PPV. Will we see success or will be have the fans crying foul after another let down? Let’s get down to ringside!

GOOD

WWE Intercontinental Championship Title Match- Kickoff

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Finn Balor (C)

Wow, there are going to be a lot of people upset if they aren’t watching the Kickoff. This is criminally insane to be a Kickoff Match. Two of the best in WWE, period. As expected we saw a ton of Good things here. This had it all! Strikes, high risk, and a ton of amazing quality Pro Wrestling. Of course though WWE wasted screen-time on promos for the PPV we are already watching. As usual when it comes to Balor/Nakamura anyone could take the victory. Shinsuke hit a well placed “Kinshasa” for the win, and is your new WWE Intercontinental Champion. Whatever this was it was Good, and I can’t wait to see what is next!

WWE Cruiserweight Title Match- Kickoff

Drew Gulak (C) vs. Tony Nese

205 Live is consistently Good, and consistently overlooked. They don’t care though, it hasn’t stopped them from clawing and fighting their hearts out every chance they are given. Gulak was having a homecoming and of course got a hero’s welcome. This one was red hot, and had a sick energy the entire time. This is one of the best Kickoff Shows I’ve ever seen and could and should be recognized as elite Professional Wrestling. The unsung heroes put it all out there, with complete chaos and immense precision in all they do. I cringed a little when they advertised the Shane match during this. Back to the match though, nothing slowed them down, it was just all Good. You never know what you will see with 205 Live. Masterful match, again, either one could win, Gulak then got a rare moment and hit a Cyclone Crash for the victory, retaining the Cruiserweight Championship!

No Holds Barred Match

The Undertaker & Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon & Drew McIntyre

Although it is always a great experience seeing the Undertaker I don’t know many who are thrilled about this one. McIntyre is in a position to have a torch passed on by the big man. If he takes down Taker, that means he is in line for a major push. Early on it was very enjoyable, everything was coming on strong. McIntyre dominating, then Roman dominating, a great dosage of Undertaker. Taker and McIntyre were more than substantial and great content as was Roman/McIntyre! We saw some life in the Deadman. He was going full steam without hesitation, it was amazing to watch! As it looked over for Shane McMahon, Elias came out of nowhere with a well placed guitar for the save. Roman dealing with Elias got kicked off the screen by McIntyre. The numbers were the Undertaker’s demise as Elias, Shane and McIntyre teamed up beating down the Deadman. Shane put a nail in the coffin hitting Taker with a huge elbow off the top through the announce table. Then for more carnage Shane hit a Coast to Coast with a garbage can, but Take would not stay down. The Undertaker sat up, hit a choke-slam on Shane, then Elias. McIntyre came in hot but was speared by Reigns. Undertaker then his a match ending Tombstone for the victory. This was surprisingly a very solid, and a very entertaining, hot match. Huge opening, and very successful.

Cesaro vs. Aleister Black

I can’t wait for this one. We have a winner here. Watching Aleister Black come out, how soon can we get him vs McIntyre going? Anyway, just wow here! This is awesome! The strikes, the variety and the energy were what WWE needs to be all the time. We had constant, consistently great action. Near falls and both guys showing true grit, Aleister Black slammed Cesaro with a perfectly executed Black Mass across the face for the well fought, victory. This is and was what we need to see, well done WWE.

WWE Smackdown Women’s Title Handicap Match

Bayley (C) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross

As expected we had a 1 sided double team on the Champ, nothing much to write home about but constant action. Bliss and Cross just dismantled Bayley. Of course a hero like Bayley doesn’t give up and fought back taking it to both Bliss and Cross and started gaining momentum. She got Cross and Bliss in a double submission but was bitten by Alexa Bilss to escape. She then made the save helping Cross escape her hold. After an ill timed Twisted Bliss Bayley got a break and got Cross down for a huge elbow drop for the win, retaining her SmackDown Women’s Title! Good showing by a ton of talent!

Last Man Standing Match

Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley

These guys are freaks of nature. Pure athletic phenomena and mega powers. Where’s the beef? Right here. As expected this was brutal. It went all over the place, which is always awesome to watch. Lashley really looked solid in this match, completely malicious with every move. Strowman didn’t hold back at all either and the crowd was on fire for it! Twisted metal and multiple collisions throughout the arena, this was one hell of a fight. Strowman hit a devastating powerslam through a stage area and bursted out of the wall, as the Winner and the Last Man Standing. Hell of a showing by two amazing athletes! Still flying high in this one.

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Triple Threat Title Match

Daniel Bryan & Rowan (C) vs. Big E & Xavier Woods vs. Heavy Machinery

Right off the bat, great call letting Bryan and Woods open. Can’t do it better than that. Woods was just being destroyed by Rowan and Bryan but got a much needed tag to Otis who danced and kicked ass. Otis is one entertaining big guy and didn’t disappoint a loud Philly crowd. Even Big E had issues with the big duo. Everyone went crazy spilling to the outside, taking turns diving on to the pile of bodies, even both members of Heavy Machinery crashed in. This was all over the place and could have been anyone’s match. New Day riding off the beast mode of Big E, slammed The New Daniel Bryan with an Up Up Down Down and are the 6 time Tag Team Champions! New Day Rocks and this match rocked!

WWE United States Title Match

Ricochet (C) vs. AJ Styles

We don’t deserve this match but I’m happy we got it. Those of you who don’t like to give WWE the proper respect, and that is your right, don’t realize this is the level that is incomparable. The club got in their licks before the bell even rang which showed the clear lines of heel and face. We saw precision and mastery of the craft, an actual clinic here. Ricochet did some unreal moves and just surprises me more and more. These are two tough guys and just put it all out there every single time. It just doesn’t get old, this is a fight forever type of deal. All things must come to an end, AJ Styles hits an impressive Styles Clash off the second turnbuckle and with the help of Anderson and Gallows is your new WWE United States Champion. This was a great match! This was another level! Standing ovation.

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kevin Owens is simply blazing hot right now. Ziggler needs this type of fued and a fire Owens possess’ to make an impact. K.O. isn’t having any of that though, with a Stunner out of no-where, we had an equally quick 3 count for the win. K.O. went on to drop some more knowledge on his opinions of the distaste of the roster and audience on the normal WWE experience. K.O is awesome and his firebrand experience is gaining momentum and interest. This will be Good and I can’t wait to see more.

WWE Title Match

Kofi Kingston (C) vs. Samoa Joe

Right from the start things didn’t look good for Kofi Kingston. Joe was precise, vicious and methodical. He had an answer for every attempt the Champ had. Joe was unforgiving and brutal to Kofi. Anything can happen in the WWE and even with all of the cards stacked against the Champ Kofi Kingston shocked everyone and won retaining his title and surviving a severe one sided ass kicking. Another Good one! By the way, No Beast in the Bank in sight.

Winner Take All Mixed Tag Team Match

Seth Rollins (C) & Becky Lynch (C) vs. Baron Corbin & Lacey Evans

When The Man comes around I’m watching. Also Lacey Evans tonight, Wow! This match with the winner take all is definitely interesting as so many things can happen here. Not to mention, is Lesnar here? So much uncertainty going in. The tandem offense of Lynch and Rollins was Good stuff, and besides some of the early on misfires it rolled pretty smoothly. Becky Lynch came out hot after Rollins took a ton of punishment and went nuts on Evans. Lacey Evans is one tough lady. This had some really Good stuff in it, and gave everyone a hell of a show. Things looked lost for the Champs, but fought back hitting two huge moves off the ropes through tables onto their opponents. Corbin still came back almost finishing Rollins off. Lynch made the save but later was hit with an End of Days by Corbin. Rollins then snapped on Corbin going crazy hitting him with everything he had. Rollins wasn’t satisfied with just winning hitting 3 Stomps for the victory! Out comes Brock Lesnar.

WWE Universal Championship Match- Money In the Bank Cash In

Seth Rollins (C) vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar took complete control and dominated Rollins, cashing in the MITB. F5, Lesnar Wins the Universal Championship!

BAD

WWE Raw Tag Team Title Match

The Revival (C) vs. The Usos

As far as tag team matches go, this had so much potential going in to be a classic. The problem is it also had potential to be boring. We saw a lot of the same old stuff here that we always see, and if any logic exist, this would have been better on the Kickoff show. Everyone is extremely talented but this just was flat. Obviously it had some Good moments as guys at this level are bound to do, but nothing special. Jimmy Uso got the hot tag and took out both members Tag Team Champs, but was Power-bombed by Wilder but came back again. This was a toss-up, and still super slow and uncoordinated. The Revival hit a well-timed Shatter Machine, to retain. Honestly, it was safe, and slow, and the first of the night in the Bad column. Too Bad.

UGLY- No!

FINAL

Good- 12

Bad- 1

Ugly- 0

OVERALL- GOOD! Very Good! This was an extremely successful night for the WWE Brands. What a show, and a lot to talk about for the future. This was a solid show almost flawless. It was fun, and had a ton of variety. If they can continue this, we have a lot to look forward to in coming weeks.

Hell of a night for the WWE Universe. We had ourselves a very satisfying event with a ton to talk about. This was amazing, and with a lot coming up before a huge event like SummerSlam, I expect WWE programming to be jam packed, NXT included! Until next time folks, hope you enjoyed! See you next time only on thechairshot.com.

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

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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s Good, Bad, & Ugly: WWE Smackdown On FOX (November 3, 2023)

It’s the go-home show for WWE Crown Jewel, and Smackdown is in full force! As is Greg’s Good, Bad, & Ugly review!

Published

4 weeks ago

November 4, 2023

Greg DeMarco

It’s the go-home show for WWE Crown Jewel, and Smackdown is in full force! As is Greg’s Good, Bad, & Ugly review!

WWE Smackdown On FOX sends us home for the Crown Jewel premium live event, so it has to be strong. But is it? Maybe it’s Good. Possibly it’s Bad? I sure hope it isn’t Ugly.

Let’s find out!

If you haven’t checked out Mitchell’s Results & Review for this episode of Smackdown, go and check it out now!

Good

Roman Reigns & LA Knight In Ring Promo – Last week LA Knight got the better of Roman, so it made sense for Roman to get it all back this week. And he did just that. “Redneck Cosplay of my cousin” was a fantastic line from Roman Reigns, but “I ain’t here to finish something” from LA Knight got a bigger reaction from me. Roman calling himself the megastar was also a phenomenal line. Good stuff all around.
Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory – Kevin Patrick keeping “The 150 million hit man” schtick going for Austin Theory is so great. Milk that for all it’s worth! “What is your issue with Kevin Owens’ face?” “LOOK AT IT, MAN!” Absolutely brilliant shit. “How’s that feel, idiot?” Grayson Waller should be on commentary every week, for every match. And this match, by the way, was really good. Austin Theory has settled into his current role, showing he understands the WWE cycle. And Owens is Owens.
Backstage Series Of Events – We had the Bianca Belair interview where she was attacked by Damage Ctrl, followed by The Street Profits & Bobby Lashley running into Logan Paul and then B-Fab. Flowed well, no issues for me.
Chelsea Green & Piper Niven vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Charlotte Flair – No surprise that Charlotte Flair was the partner, and no surprise that Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn made an appearance. This was a perfectly fine TV match–didn’t set the world on fire, but also wasn’t Bad or Ugly. This was a step in this story, and an effective one.
The Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly in a Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook! – Shout out to Sheamus, whose return I look forward to seeing. With Ridge really coming into his own, we’re to the point where all four of these guys range from good to great to fantastic on any given night. Putting Pretty Deadly into any “manly fight” is always guaranteed entertainment. Really, Pretty Deadly in anything is typically guaranteed entertainment. Pretty Deadly picking up the win was not a shock, although I’d have loved to see Butch and Ridge Holland pick up a win here. Given the rules (or lack thereof) of this match, Pretty Deadly basically won clean here.
Rey Mysterio vs. Logan Paul Crown Jewel Weigh-In – A very effective way to pretape something, which saves time as part of a double taping. It was essentially a go home promo, but done in a different way. I liked it. It also smoothly transitions into the rundown of the card by the commentary team, which I always appreciate.
Bianca Belair vs. Bayley – If you know me, you know that Bianca can be hit or miss for me. She can’t “work with anyone,” but she can definitely work with Bayley. Bayley, of course, is money with anything she does. Both women delivered a main event quality match, and no one should complain that Bianca Belair won. She’s challenging for the Women’s Championship in less than 24 canon hours, so she needs to win. Bayley is a made woman, losing here doesn’t hurt her one bit.
“Just Enough Nick” Nick Aldis Usage – Triple H has done an amazing job of establishing Nick Aldis. Three weeks in and he already “belongs.” Much of that is attributed to how Aldis carries himself. But they are also using him to the right degree. It’s not too much, but it’s also not too little. Adam Pearce could miss two weeks of Raw and when he shows back up, it all makes sense. For Aldis, he needs to be very present, but not overbearing or “shoved down our throats.” They have the right balance.

BAD

Solo Sikoa & John Cena In Ring Promo – John Cena, lost voice and all, completely buries Solo Sikoa. He “cooks” Solo, as promised. And, as Cena does, he makes Solo look like crap. Bargain Basement Tazz Rip Off? C’mon man, you’re better than that. But here’s the real problem: what happens if Solo loses? Cena made him look like a loser, and then proves that he is? Solo has to win this match. If he doesn’t, and Cena is gone, then Solo is left out in the cold. And you don’t want to do that to Solo Sikoa at this point of his career.

UGLY

Misstep for Theory – Referencing Halloween as if it hadn’t already happened. You can edit this episode–c’mon, man!
Kevin Owens’ Crotch Chop – C’mon, man! We’re better than crotch chops in 2023.

The Verdict

Good – 8
Bad – 1
Ugly – 2

In all honesty this was a damn good show. Milwaukee showed out considering they’d already seen 2 hours of Smackdown before this was taped. Good on them, and good on WWE for a great go home show for Crown Jewel.

Interesting of note – the pictures for this show that are posted to the WWE website are uploaded in the order the matches and segments were recorded, not the order in which they aired. Just a little tidbit that I found interesting.

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

News

Greg DeMarco’s Wrestling Ratings Report: Monday Night Raw (10/30/2023) & WWE NXT (10/31/2023)

Greg DeMarco takes a look at your Monday and Tuesday night TV ratings. What do they mean? Do they matter?

Published

1 month ago

November 2, 2023

Greg DeMarco

WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 2 Carmelo Hayes Ilja Dragunov

Greg DeMarco takes a look at your Monday and Tuesday night TV ratings. What do they mean? Do they matter?

Settle in for a look at this week’s ratings for WWE Monday Night Raw and WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 2! Both were up against some stiff competition–let’s see how they fared!

WWE Monday Night Raw (October 30, 2023)

Hour #1 – 1.466 million viewers, .44 demo rating, #6 for the night on cable
Hour #2 – 1.450 million viewers, .46 demo rating #5 for the night on cable
Hour #3 – 1.256 million viewers, .39 demo rating, #8 for the night on cable

WWE Monday Night Raw for October 30, 2023 faced some stiff competition on Monday night. You had Monday Night Football as normal–which aired on both ESPN and ABC–along with the usual peripheral shows (Monday Night Football Postgame, Monday Night Football Kickoff, SportsCenter, and the Monday Night Countdown, which factored into the Top 10). 6.851 million people watched Monday Night Football on ESPN, a number that more than doubles when you factor in ABC.

What does it all mean? It means that outside of Monday Night Football–on cable–WWE Monday Night Raw was the top rated show. If you take away all things NFL, Raw finishes #1, #2, and #3 for the night. Viewership did drop off for our 3, but that’s the 10 PM hour that sees kids go to bed and people checking on the Monday Night Football and World Series games.

Speaking of which, that’s another factor to consider–the World Series! 8.126 million people watched the World Series on FOX (not really that good), with another 8.356 million watching Monday Night Football on ABC (yes, more than the World Series) for a decent-at-best Lions vs Raiders match-up.

In summary, it was another successful night for WWE Monday Night Raw, which was the go-home edition of the program. You can check out my Good Bad & Ugly look at Monday’s Raw, where I gave the show an overall “Good” rating. Haven’t watched yet? Give Mitchell’s live coverage a read.

Listen to this week’s edition of Bandwagon Nerds!

WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 2 (October 31, 2023)

Entire Broadcast – 674 thousand viewers, .20 demo rating, #6 for the night on cable

WWE NXT (Halloween Havoc Night 2) for October 31, 2023, had to deal with a myriad of external factors this week. First is the most obvious–it was Halloween! Many people had plans, Trick-Or-Treat escapades and more. That right there will be a detriment to any ratings results. Add in two live NBA games, each drawing over a million viewers for TNT. Combine it all together and WWE NXT was the top rated program that wasn’t sports programming on TNT or ESPN. Hell, the entire Top 12 consisted of ESPN and TNT sports programming, plus NXT.

It’s easy to call this a failure since viewership was lost week over week. But that’s very shortsighted. The fact remains that NXT was among the most watched programming for the night, holding its own against live sports and sports-peripheral programming. If you’re WWE and USA Network, you’re nothing but happy with these results.

NXT, of course, featured the second week of Halloween Havoc, headlined by Ilja Dragunov defending the NXT Championship against Carmelo Hayes in the third match of their trilogy. Along with that you had The Creed Brothers in a Tables, Ladders, and Scares (Chairs) match with Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo, Lola Vice vs. Kelani Jordan in the finals of the Women’s Breakout Tournament, and much more.

I’d call the Tuesday program a ratings success. My Good, Bad, & Ugly review of NXT Halloween Havoc Night 2 is available here, where I called it “Good” overall. If you haven’t seen the show yet, check out Mitchell’s play-by-play.

As the weeks roll on, I will compile some historical data and look more about week-over-week (and beyond) patterns in all of my ratings reports.

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