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Steve Cook’s Fave Five: May 2021

Cook dives into May to list out which wrestlers captured his attention the most, at least for now. Anyone you think he overlooked?

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It’s almost the end of May! You know what that means!

Yeah, it’s a little later than usual. Stuff’s been going on, what can I say? Never mind all that, it’s time to look at my five favorite wrestlers of the moment! These are subject to change the moment after this gets posted. If you’ve got your own favorites, or suggestions for me in general, hit me up on the Twitter!

5. Dalton Castle

We know that Ring of Honor has never really been known for its compelling characters. It’s always been about the workrate there, including recently during their television show taped in an empty arena. It’s solid pro wrestling and the matches do well in the star rating department, but sometimes the show suffers from a lack of people that seem like actual stars. Lots of guys that want to be wrestlers and get the win, but not many that jump out of the television screen.

Castle has always done that, to the point where many wonder what he’s still doing in ROH. Some worry that other promotions would sap him of his charisma & uniqueness, but he’s done pretty much everything he can do in ROH. Except be the Champion of Television, which appears to be his next goal. It’s something to keep an eye on.

4. #InDex

Up until recently, I haven’t been a big fan of Dexter Lumis. Neither his work in NXT or from back in the day in TNA when he was Sam Shaw, Gut Check Winner turned Creepy Stalker did much for me. The moment I saw him pop up in NXT he became an automatic channel-changer.

That is, until he started working with The Way, Johnny Gargano’s happy family of miscreants. Something about how Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae are creeped out by the guy while Austin Theory thinks he’s cool & Indi Hartwell is in love just works. It’s become the most entertaining part of NXT, which makes it my current favorite thing going on in WWE. With the possible exception of Roman Reigns trying to prove he can be a serious actor. It’s a pretty simple story, but it works very well.

Hopefully Dexter & Indi can get things right. If there’s no hope for them there’s no hope for any of us.

3. Anthony Ogogo

I’ve always believed that the best finishing moves are the least complicated. Sure, we love a good Canadian Destroyer or Meltzer Driver or all these other moves that contain needless flips & whirlybirds, but there’s also something to be said for a good legdrop or a thumb to the throat. For Anthony Ogogo, a gut punch is all that’s necessary. First of all, if you’ve ever taken a good punch to the gut you know that it knocks the wind out of you. Secondly, Ogogo is an Olympic bronze medal winning boxer, having taken third place in the middleweight division at the 2012 Games. An eye injury forced him to retire from professional boxing, but he’s making the transition to professional wrestling pretty well so far.

Part of Ogogo making the list this month is that Cody Rhodes promo from a couple of weeks ago that made little sense and turned anybody wrestling him into a tremendous babyface. I don’t know why Cody has chosen this moment to start a political career with a feud against England, but it’s an odd choice. Especially since Ogogo can just punch the daylights out of him. Technically, Cody is the “good guy” in this feud, but Ogogo seems like the better person. Even if he’s cast his lot with QT Marshall.

2. Taylor Wilde

There are few things I love more in pro wrestling than random comebacks. Remember when Ricky Steamboat made an in-ring return in 2009, fifteen years after his original retirement? It was pretty unexpected, but one of the cooler things that happened that year. Now, I’m not equating Wilde with Steamboat, because she didn’t steal the show at WrestleMania III or have classic matches with Ric Flair, but it’s still pretty nice to see her back in the Impact Wrestling ring after a ten year absence.

So far, it doesn’t seem like she’s lost a beat. It might not be long before we see her holding championship gold again, as she seems like the biggest threat to Deonna Purrazzo’s Knockouts Championship at the moment. It’ll be a good match whenever it goes down.

1. Brian Pillman Jr.

Let’s be honest: the odds against Brian Jr. becoming a successful wrestler or anything else were pretty steep. One parent died very early, and the other had so many issues she could have had her own magazine. There were issues with the stepfather that weren’t widely reported until the Dark Side episode. One has to wonder why Brian Jr. would have gotten into a business that ended so poorly for his father.

Then again, you wonder why Brian Pillman Jr. wouldn’t have become a wrestler. Some of these things are just in the blood, you can’t really explain it. So far, Junior has shown the potential to equal his father’s feats. People say he has the same good qualities his dad had, and they hope the bad qualities don’t come out. I think that’s what we’re all rooting for. His Varsity Blonds tag team with Griff Garrison got a shot at the Young Bucks last week, and one has to figure it won’t be the last.

If you watched the Dark Side of the Ring episode on Brian’s father and don’t want to root for this kid, you have no soul.

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Opinion

Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE

Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.

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Wyatt Sicks WWE

Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.

It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions, 

The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight. 

This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail. 

The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions. 

After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama

gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania. 

It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company. 

We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!

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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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Opinion

Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?

Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns 

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WWE Jacob Fatu Roman Reigns Backlash

Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call. 

Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story. 

The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line. 

 In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years? 

Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus. 

I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?

Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!

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 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Nefarious Means

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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