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November 23, 2020

WWE SURVIVOR SERIES 2020 [Review]: One More ‘Last Ride’.

Here we go again…again.

I’ve always enjoyed the idea of WWF/E’s Survivor Series. The original 4 or 5 man team concept was fun and they got creative in how the matches would play out, but nowadays they rely on a ton of tropes I can do without after 33 years of the damn things.

Following a stretch of Survivor Series events doing mostly away with the elimination matches, the current version finally hit its stride format-wise the last few years with two Raw vs Smackdown elimination tags and then the rest of the card Champion vs Champion on the two brands. That makes the event feel important and have stakes, even with the WWE being terrible about sticking to their own rules of the brand split, and it makes more sense at a major event like SS instead of a secondary throwaway like Battleground.

This years’ Thanksgiving Week Tradition marks yet another tribute to the Undertaker, who has had the longest retirement tour without any actual matches than anyone in any sport ever; but he’s awesome– so I’m not hating on it.

Sidenote: WWE’s Thunderdome is “award-winning” now? If Cuomo can be nominated for an Emmy for his Covid briefings, I guess anything’s possible…

Preshow: Raw vs. SmackDown Battle Royal – Every battle royal you’ve ever seen. If the booking on this thing were any lazier, 2K would turn it into a videogame. Miz gets tossed but doesn’t actually get eliminated. Comes back in at the end and eliminates Dominik Mysterio. Wow. Never seen that before. – 1/5

Men’s Team Raw vs. Men’s Team SmackDown – More paint-by-numbers storytelling — and those godammned colored t-shirts for the idiots at home — where Team Raw can’t get along, because apparantly they’re children and not trained professional athletes in a fight. I actually was enjoying this initially until Rollins tags in for SmackDown and dramatically kneels down and lets Sheamus Brogue Kick him into oblivion for…reasons?

(This is the perfect example of the writing team trying to be too cute for their own good. This is how they write Rollins off of TV so he can go home to his pregnant wife? Didn’t elevate or help anyone.)

Owens hits everyone with Stunners and immediately loses to AJ’s Phenominal Forearm in another trope in these matches. This had some good exchanges, with Otis being a standout. Ends up Jey Uso for SD against the entire Raw team. He loses to Keith Lee and Raw sweeps the match. Blah. – 2.5/5

The New Day vs. The Street Profits – I love the Street Profits when Vince isn’t writing their dialogie for atrocious backstage segments. Interesting thing with New Day is any great match they’ve had that I remember has been Kofi and Big E, while tonight we have Kofi and Xavier. Different dynamic, but all four delivered with classic tag-team storytelling that never fell into “stupid trope” territory. (See above.)

Montez Ford is a star. Great athleticism and story as Ford’s ribs were injured, so he couldn’t do an immediate pin after the frog splash and it cost him. He countered Kofi with his own Trouble in Paradise as well. Awesome. Profits win with a Doomsday Blockbuster. (Street Sweeper?) – 4/5

Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn – The heel vs. heel dynamic didn’t work here as Zayn did every cowardly heel trick he could to win by trying to force a Lashley DQ, but Lashley is unsympathetic and legitimately does outnumber Zayne with the Hurt Business at ringside, so who are we supposed to root for? Mostly a squash with Lashley submitting Sami, who is criminally underutilized. Zayn’s antics at least made it the best Lashley match I’ve seen. That’s something, right? – 2/5

Roman is angry at Jey Uso. THIS was the Roman we needed when he first left the Shield. Better late than never, I guess.

Asuka vs Sasha Banks – These two get three Bibles just by stepping in the ring with each other. They’re both so good that I’m immediately more invested than at any time in the show outside of several moments of Profits/New Day. They didn’t disappoint. Maybe not as “blow the doors off” awesome as their SummerSlam encounter, but still enjoyable start-to-finish with great psychology and an actual clean finish. Banks wins with a modified rollup, defeating The Empress one-on-one for the first time. Great stuff. – 4.25/5

Akira Tozowa traps the Gobbeldy Gooker to win the 24/7 title and gets flattened by R-Truth, who regains the belt. 6 Bibles. Greatest match in the history of our great sport.

Women’s Team Raw vs. Women’s Team SmackDown – God, what a mess. So Lana is supposed to be a sympathetic babyface, which she’s never done well, and her entire team hates her and don’t want her there. (Be a Star, WWE!) What little she does in the match is as awkward as a monkey fucking a football, and the much more talented women in the match have to carry her dead-weight to try to do something somewhat passable.

Bayley does a dive where everyone on the outside decides they have somewhere else to be, so she goes splat in a rough moment. She then gets pinned by… Peyton Royce? Bianca Belair and Shayna Bayzler were the big stars here to me, with some great athleticism and clever spots right up until Shayna got disqualified for being a moron.

I despise Nia Jax since she gives no shits about anyone else’s safety and when she and Lana are two of the focuses, the match gets dragged further down than what Bayzler and Belair can pull it out of. Screwy count out at the end means Lana, who has stood on the ringsteps crying for the majority of the match, is the Sole Survivor and she starts celebrating like she just body slammed Andre the Giant. And she’s the babyface? What the hell is happening? – 2/5 (3 Bibles for athleticism, 1 Bible for storytelling.)

Why is there no score tally for Raw vs Smackdown matches this year? This all lacks any sense of stakes.

Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns – I had completely forgotten these two had a match at WrestleMania 35, and that match was just kinda there. What a difference a Covid makes. Drew is one of the only legit stars that WWE has properly elevated/treated seriously in recent times and Roman is finally what he always should have been, and it’s easily the best run of his career. They could realistically main-event Mania 37 minus a hail-mary Rock/Roman match, so I’m surprised they’re doing it here since I thought Orton had briefly won the Raw belt to avoid this confrontation.

As for the match, great, great stuff. They started slow, really built things up and told a story and that’s where Roman has excelled since his return, and McIntyre kept up with him in that regard. The heavy-hitting stuff felt earned, and while WWE does kick-outs of finishers way too often, it felt justified here with these two. Screwy finish made sense in this instance with a ref bump off a Claymore Kick and Uso interfering to help Roman pull it off. They’re primed for a rematch down the road should WWE pull the trigger on it. – 4.5/5

Goodbye, Undertaker. For the Last Time. Again. The Sequel – Taker’s had more retirements than Conor McGregor. A mish-mash of people come out (with full entrances) that are all connected to Undertaker somehow. Some will seem random to casual fans (The Godwins as an example) since they were tight with Taker in real life but never had any significant on-camera interaction with him. Even Kane was there, in the only time he’ll wear a mask these days…

Another video package, but WWE is always so good at these things so I’m here for it. (WWE could release an entire Blu-Ray of all the Undertaker career retrospectives they’ve done at this point.) Ring is now empty except for Vince, who announces Undertaker. Taker has the full entrance, and WWE turned the fan videoscreens into a virtual graveyard in a really cool visual. Paul Bearer appears in hologram form in a welcome surprise. Taker says a few words and walks out. Kind of anti-climactic, but what else could they do? If it meant something to Taker and he wanted to do it, he certainly earned it.

Matches = 2.75-3/5
Entertainment = 3.5/5

Overall: 3/5 Bibles

A couple great matches and some talented performers in otherwise disappointing matches slightly elevate Survivor Series 2020, with the Taker appearance not really affecting anything, but certainly not a waste of time either. I doubt it’s the last time we see Undertaker on WWE TV again, but he’s earned as many Last Rides as they want to give him.

-Dave Beaudrie

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018

THE APOSTLE AWARDS [Best Wrestling of 2018]: Assassins’ Creed.

Calling all smarks across the globe: It’s the third annual Apostle Awards! To come up with the very Best of Everything in Pro Wrestling for 2017, we asked 11 members of the Ringside Apostle congregation to vote. And, damn did we have answers — answers that ranged from the highest mountaintop of World Wrestling Entertaiment (N-X-T!?!?!!!) to the epic tradition of the New Japan Pro Wrestling rising sun, right down to the fancy new downtown nightclub home of Pro Wrestling Guerilla (P-Dub-G!).

We hope you and yours had a #OneSweet Christmas Holiday.

***MATCH OF THE YEAR***

1. *TIE* Okada vs. Omega IV (NJPW Dominion) / Ciampa vs. Gargano (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, Chicago II, Brooklyn 4)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15vFgX-_X_g

Destiny “Evangelical” Edwards
@mochaloca85

2018 may have been a dumpster fire of a year in general, but it was an excellent year for wrestling. So much so that we had a tie for Match of the Year! No surprise that the fourth meeting between Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada made it — they don’t call Kenny the Best Bout Machine for nothing — and their match at Dominion was sheer perfection. And to cap it off, Kenny went home with the IWGP title? This Omega mark was so overcome with emotion she cried tears of joy and relief on the sofa afterward.

https://youtu.be/UhfA56vGnS0

(cont.) Our other MOTY winner was Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano. ALL OF THEM. Much like last year’s winner (Okada vs. Omega I-III), each match was superb, but together they told a story that couldn’t be beat. The rise of Tommy Sports Entertainment. The fall of Johnny Wrestling. The attack of Aleister Black. Gargano’s heel turn. And now the reunion of #DIY. It’s a Greek epic. It’s Steen and Generico. It’s the Shield, except we actually care.

-Destiny Edwards

3. North American Championship Six-Man Ladder Match (NXT TakeOver: New Orleans)

Honorable Mentions: Super Elite Bros vs. Impact Wrestling 10-Man Tag Match (Chris Jericho Rock ‘n Wrestling Rager At Sea), Kota Ibushi vs. Cody vs. Kenny Omega (NJPW Kings of Pro Wrestling), Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax 28), Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi (G1 Climax 28).

***BRAND OF THE YEAR***

1. NXT

I wanted to write this one so badly, seeing how I’ve been one to sing the praises of New Japan as the “Be All, End All” in professional wrestling. NXT had such a grand 2018 that it’s hard to fathom that this is, indeed, a WWE product. It’s like fucking night and day from the main roster. Led by Paul “Hunter” Levesque and William Regal, NXT is essentially, literally and figuratively “PWG with WWE’s budget”. The amount of wrestlers signed by WWE’s “performance center” that I’ve grown to love and adore at a 350-seat armory in a little town 20 miles north of Los Angeles is astounding. Thankfully, NXT hasn’t ruined too many of them yet, with Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, Adam Cole and Ricochet leading the charge, holding on to much (if not all) of the persona that got them over in the first place. Moreover, you could also argue that any of NXT’s TakeOver shows belong in the conversation for the best wrestling events of 2018. TV was bolstered with a surplus of ROH/indie/IMPACT pick-ups (Punishment Martinez, Velveteen Dream, EC3), an outstanding and ever-improving tag team division (War Raiders, Street Profits, Heavy Machinary), and the best female wrestling roster on American soil (Kairi Sain, Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair). I can’t say enough about NXT and with its plethora of talent ready to blow for 2019 (Dijakovic, ACH and Trevor Lee?), it appears the rich only about to get richer.

-Travis Moody

Honorable Mention: PWG.

***PPV/EVENT OF THE YEAR***

1. All In

All In was a very hard thing to judge, a pro wrestling event that focused more on giving the fans what they wanted than G1/BOLA-level match quality. But fans got that too; every match delivered, and delivered in many different ways. Variety was a key to success, so even if you thought the Cody/Magnus match was boring, you had your Dominion main event-style match later with Okada/Scurll. If the old WWF shenanigans of the Battle Royal/ROH title match weren’t for you, you had the insane Lucha-style efforts of Omega/Penta and the 6-man tag main event. Even a guy who dresses up on TV as a DC Comics superhero had a good match. The Chicago crowd was amazing, the selection of refs and ring announcers were outstanding, and the commentary on the iPPV was top-notch. All In was such a success that The Elite — Cody, Matt and Nick Jackson, Adam Page and Kenny Omega — have decided to “Change the World” in 2019 and superkick-start their own wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling. And to think they didn’t even need CM fuckin’ Punk…

-Travis Moody

2. NXT TakeOver: War Games
3. *TIE* NXT TakeOver: Chicago II / NXT TakeOver: New Orleans

Honorable Mentions: WWE Evolution.

***MOST IMPROVED WRESTLER OF THE YEAR*** (new category)

1. Hangman Page

Is there anyone on Earth who would object to most improved wrestler being Hangman Adam Page? Rounded by his hotly contested TV title match at Final Battle against Jeff Cobb, dude hasn’t put on a bad match in ages; and while his work in this year’s G1 Climax was rock-solid, it was matches against Joey Janella (All In) and Kota Ibushi (Supercard of Honor XII) that helped elevate his status in the industry. To boot (pun most clearly intended), Page has been entertaining in promos and on Being the Elite. Even in the an AEW full of “Elite” wrestling pals, there’s no way Page won’t be a world champ sooner than later.

-Gene Selassie

2. Shayna Baszler
3. Roppongi 3K

***MANAGER OF THE YEAR***

1. Lio Rush

“LASH-LEY! LASH-LEY! LASH-LEY!” The people took notice to Lio Rush when he first hopped onto the indie scene (he straight killed it in CZW, did his thing in PWG), and when he got “called up,” we continued to look on, nervous as to what MeekMahan would do with him. And, even with a minus-205 lb. division — what did Vince do? Made him a damn manager. But, Lio is doing quite fine in this position, and I think the people are just happy to see him getting air time. But still, he’s got a certain IT factor to his swagger that hasn’t gone unnoticed. At least not by us marks.

-Craig Chisolm

2. Brandi Rhodes

Honorable Mentions: Zelina Vega, Gedo, Eddie Kingston.

***COMMENTATOR OF THE YEAR***

1. Mauro Ranallo (NXT, Showtime Boxing)

Felipe “The 3rd Deacon” Crespo
@F7ovrdrv

I hate this rambling idiot. Enough of the congregation voted for Mauro, but I’m the one to write this category– so here we are. I told the Apostles I wasn’t going to praise him. Anyway, I guess in 2018 he continued to hone his craft of sounding like an overexcited stroke patient trying to be a poor man’s Jim Ross. He also has a great knack at trying to use pop culture references to try to seem cool… Ugh, what else? Oh, and he’d be rich if yelling “MAMMA MIA!” during big matches payed $10,000 per instance. Thank you, Ciampa for the best moment of 2018: You throwing his notes in his face at TakeOver. I love you. Hopefully he doesn’t cry about you bullying too.

-Felipe Crespo

2. Kevin Kelly (NJPW, RevPro)
3. Renee Young (WWE Raw)

***CRUISERWEIGHT/JR. HVYWT OF THE YEAR***

1. Buddy Murphy

After Blissy went to the main roster, we’d seen neither hide nor hair of Buddy Murphy. (Unless you watch Total Divas. Or follow their pet pig on Instagram.) So imagine our collective shock when the guy who had exactly one televised match last year, showed up as part of the tournament to crown a new a cruiserweight champ after the title was vacated by that dumbass who got himself fired and then banned. Murphy didn’t win, but he quickly established himself as the new breakout star on 205 Live. After an unsuccessful attempt against Cedric Alexander, he captured the Prince Memorial Championship in his hometown of Melbourne and hasn’t looked back since.

-Destiny Edwards

2. Will Ospreay
3. Ricochet

Honorable Mentions: Mustafa Ali, Darby Allin, Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh)

***HEEL OF THE YEAR***

1. Tommaso Ciampa

He’s always been a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I, like many others were just waiting for Ciampa to show his true colors. His teaming with Gargano was a timebomb waiting to explode. Now that Ciampa has his prize, for the latter half of 2018 he has his darkness deeply wrapped around that belt. He’s not wrestling for the fans. He’s not there for the accolades. He’s there for himself and himself only (hell, Tommaso’s not even in WWE 2K19 and he’s the damn champion!) From walking out for weeks with no ring music because the fans don’t deserve it, to manipulating opponents into major matches just days before they have to challenge him for his prize — there are many heels in pro wrestling — but there is only one Tomasso Ciampa: “The Greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time”.

-Sean Farrell

Honorable Mentions: Shayna Baszler, Daniel Bryan, Trevor Lee, Jay White, Chris Jericho.

***FACTION OF THE YEAR***

1. Undisputed Era

Anthony “PriestMode” Holloway
IG @Grumpykore

The Undisputed Era faction has taken NXT by storm. The emergence of the “Messiah of the Backbreaker” Roderick Strong as the fourth member has made the team more powerful and diverse as ever. As if the star-studded cast with leader and initial North American champ Adam Cole and his relentless cronies Kyle O’Reilly (one of the best technical brawlers in the game) and Bobby Fish (on the shelf for most of the year but has made an immediate impact in multi-person matches and a solo outting with EC3) weren’t dangerous already. The chemistry between former ROH/PWG vets is *****-worthy each and every week. While this Era is the present (and perhaps future) of NXT, it would have been great to see the Raw roster shaken up with their invasion. Ah well. That said, there hasn’t been a faction this dominant in the WWE since The Shield’s original run, bay bay!

-Anthony Holloway

2. The Elite

***WOMAN WRESTLER OF THE YEAR***

1. Becky Lynch

The woman of the year is most certainly The Man. After years of marks screaming about how underutilized Becky has been, they finally got a glimpse of what the Irish Lasskicker is capable of. She spent the first half of 2018 as just another woman on the roster but at SummerSlam she turned on her best friend and never looked back. She became an antihero that hasn’t been seen in the PG era of sports entertainment with a social media game second to none. But when Nia Jax botched her nose with an ill-advised stiffy, Becky became the hottest thing in wrestling with blood gushing from her face. A blood-soaked and concussed Lynch didn’t skip a beat, whooped Raw woman’s champ Ronda Rousey and left through the crowd covered in blood, arms outstretched, much to the delight of everyone in attendance. 2019 should continue Becky’s meteoric rise to the top and the rumor of her main eventing WrestleMania is not at all far-fetched.

-Tony Valenti

***TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR***

1. *TIE* The Shawn & Sean Show / The Rascalz

Of course the Ringside Apostles’ Sean & Shawn Show was voted Best TT of 2018. Did you expect otherwise? Somehow, those pesky wittle Rascalz were able to tie us for votes. A great year on the Indy circuit (AAW, PWG) and an Impact contract to end the year makes them the team to watch in a sea of great tag teams right now, I guess. That alley-oop finisher though…

-Shawn Puff

Honorable Mentions: Mustache Mountain, The Young Bucks, War Raiders, Ringkampf, Lucha Bros., Undisputed Era, Golden Lovers.

***COMEBACK/HEEL TURN OF THE YEAR***

1. Daniel Bryan

I don’t know what was going nowhere quicker: Bryan‘s “fight for your dreams and blah blah” catchphrase, or his “nerd trying to intimidate” one of “I want to punch you in the face”. Thankfully, he took a training camp at Nakamura’s Nut-kicking Heel Turn Dojo (it was refreshing for Bryan, but not anything we haven’t seen before.. this year). Since Naka’ing AJ’s balls for the 40th time this year and grabbing the title, Bryan has been a vicious and entertaining champ, showing no mercy and introducing new moves (love the double wrist hold face stomp). On the mic, he’s gotten annoyingly preachy, infusing his real life beliefs into his on-screen persona (a-la CM Punk’s straight edge savior). The “New Daniel Bryan” thing is lame; we don’t do that when people turn heel and it’s fucking stupid. Second, I feel it’s a huge misstep to not incorporate The Miz into Bryan’s behavioral change considering that not even a month before they were fueding over Daniel’s “you don’t have to cheat to win” and Miz’s “you have to do anything it takes”. They could’ve done something great with Miz coming out and starting with “Thanks for proving me right, Daniel…”

-Felipe Crespo

2. Roderick Strong (Heel Turn), PCO (Comeback)
3. Chris Jericho (Comeback)

Honorable Mentions: Becky (Comeback), Johnny Gargano (Heel Turn).

***GIMMICK OF THE YEAR***

1. Velveteen Dream

Velveteen Dream started the year as a midcard heel but is ending it as the top face of the brand, and he didn’t have to change his character or attitude to accomplish that. All he did was steal the show week after week with solid skills and off-the-charts storytelling. The Dream went from defeating Kassius Ohno on the undercard of TakeOver: Philadelphia in January to stealing the show in the classic North American Championship Ladder Match at TakeOver: New Orleans (ultimately won by Adam Cole) to having one of my favorite feuds of the year with Ricochet (which included a MOTN at TakeOver: Chicago II) to finishing 2018 with a great match for Ciampa’s title at TakeOver: War Games. As we enter 2019 he is the most over person on the NXT roster and it’s only a matter of time before he gets to showing off “the experience” to the mainstream.

-Tony Valenti

Honorable Mentions: Daniel Bryan (“Fickle!”), Becky (“The Man”).

***JOBBER OF THE YEAR***

1. Finn Balor

Hey Finn! You’re finally over!! Someone in the back loathes Finn Failure as much as I do and decided to make this guy nothing more than a glorified spot monkey that just doesn’t win. I’d like to shake that man’s hand, whoever he is. Balor Club is for Everyone because winning isn’t. Loser. At least the former most vicious heel ever (Prince Devitt) can say he won something this year.

-Shawn Puff

Honorable Mentions: Fabian Achner, Sasha Banks, Dakota Kai, Kassius Ohno.

***BREAKOUT WRESTLER OF THE YEAR***

1. Bandido

It was almost a no-brainer that Bandido wins our breakout star of the year. He was an instant success when he suddenly popped up at the new homebase for Pro Wrestling Guerilla (downtown LA’s Globe Theater). By the end of his first match, a team-up with Mexiblood partner Flamita against The Rascalz at Time Is A Flat Circle, the crowd had completely lost its mind with the innovative luchador. Bandido would go on to shine at PWG’s All-Star Weekend the following month in matches against Ishimori and Rey Horus (a match that gave his top rope fallaway slam instant legendary status). Bandido would go on to compete in several must-see tag and 6-man tag matches for PROGRESS, WrestleCon, RevPro, AAW and, hell, was even in the main event of All In. Bandido was everywhere. Enter Battle of Los Angeles 2018 just a few months later, and the PWG faithful reacted as if he were a returning legend. He’d go on to have 5 matches in 3 nights, highlighted by a heartbreaker of a BOLA finale against Jeff Cobb and Shingo Takagi. This guy deserves max respect, and I’m anxious to see how this worldwide sensation fairs in Ring of Honor in 2019.

-Craig Chisolm

2. Becky Lynch
3. Jeff Cobb

Honorable Mentions: Tommaso Ciampa, WALTER, Flip Gordon, Drew McIntyre.

***RIVALRY OF THE YEAR***

1. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

The best rivalry in the entire industry has to be Ciampa/Gargano. The matches, the promos, the heat.. this storyline has been aces. With a series of classic Unsanctioned, Chicago Street Fight and Last Man Standing matches, never has the chant “Fight Forever” been more apropos. Rounding on this year-long storyline was a reunion of sorts for #DIY at the tail-end of Gargano’s grueling catch match with Aleister Black on last week’s NXT TV. Without hesitation, Johnny Wrestling accepted his former best friend’s calling. 2019 could be a mega-year for #DIY as a heel team, and who knows — maybe these former brothers-in-arms can obtain the Tag Titles again in addition to both solo straps? Would make for one hell of a story, that’s for sure.

-Gene Selassie

2. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

Honorable Mentions: Alpha vs. Omega, Okada vs. Omega.

***DEBUT OF THE YEAR***

1. Ronda Rousey

Every so often there is a debut that us a wrestling fans dream off: to make it in the WWE and the stay on top. As a champion in the Octagon as Ronda was, we always had a feeling she would eventually end up in the squared circle. And it’s worked due to her impeccable athletic talents and the gift of being a plain ol’ badass. With a booming in-ring presence and steady improvement — both in the ring and on the mic — Rousey has been able to carry the (in)arguably weaker of the two WWE Women’s divisions on her back. She’s been so good, her work has even inspired “The Man” to drop the SD title in search of bigger and better things, as we’ll soon see at the Royal Rumble. It has been fun watching the “Rowdy” one grow as the WWE Superstar; here’s to her keeping it up.

-Anthony Holloway

2. Ricochet

Honorable Mentions: Matt Riddle.

***OVER– USED MOVE OF THE YEAR***

1. Codebreaker

Far removed from Noah’s Naomichi Marufiji, or Sugar Shane Helms’s double knee finisher or even Chris Jericho’s famed Y2J finisher — what was once a visual treat and a deadly move has been overused so much it’s almost a weak front grapple preset for generic wrestling set #1. One episode of IMPACT Wrestling (a now much better product than a year ago, mind you) or SmackDown Live and a surplus of all-too inspired lucha/spot-monkey doin’ these stomach kneebusters will surely urge you to start the new wrestling drinking game (#CodebreakCity). Thankfully we didn’t have to suffer though Codebreaker Parties.. yet.

-Sean Farrell

2. Superkicks

Honorable Mentions: Destroyer, Suicide Dive, V-Trigger, Cutter.

***WRESTLER OF THE YEAR***

1. Will Ospreay

I’ve always been fond of Will Ospreay as a super athlete who could do things in the ring that no one (but arguably Ricochet) can do. But it’s been a joy to watch the growth of Ospreay as this high-spot driven super junior attraction into a full-fledged heavyweight marquee talent. Submissions, selling, and psychology: who knew Ospreay had it in him? Hell, he even got a 4+ match out of fucking Taichi. Os’ tremendous year-long growth initially had us more concerned for his health than match quality; the Aussie took too many stupid/dangerous bumps no one ever should, nearly cracking his skull during a Spanish Fly spot on the apron in a classic with Marty Scurll at Dontaku. He miraculously recovered (we think) and Ospreay had the greatest WrestleMania Weekend long performance of all time, with 5 of his 7(!!!) matches earning a 4-Bible score or higher.

(cont.) While things got a touch quieter following his 5-2 record at Best of the Super Juniors in June (where he was just ousted by Hiromu — who Ospreay had legendary matches with this year at New Beginning (Osaka) and Dominion, and Ishimori — who he saw on first day of BotSJ), that was all part of the plan. Evident by his match with fellow CHAOS pal Okada at the 46th Anniversary, Ospreay used his brief downtime (a.k.a. touring Britain’s indies and having bangers with everyone from Jordan Devlin to Jimmy Havoc to Chris Ridgeway to WALTER) to get ready for the heavies. Tall for a “junior” heavyweight, Ospreay was also disciplined enough to put the pounds necessary to compete with the Omega’s and Ibushi’s of the world. Our 2018 Wrestler of the Year finished 2018 just like that, teaming up with Hiroshi Tanahashi to have a 5-star classic againt the Golden Lovers just months after an incredible team-up with Ishii against the same team. For 2019, sky’s the limit for the Aerial Assassin.

-Travis Moody

2. Pete Dunne

Honorable Mentions: Kota Ibushi, Bandido, AJ Styles, Rey Fenix, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura.

November 18, 2018November 18, 2018

WWE SURVIVOR SERIES 2018 [The Sean & Shawn Show]: Red & Blue Turkeys.

“The Pastor” Shawn Puff: Holy shit! We’re doing the main show this time!!! We’re baaaaaaack!!! No more curtain jerkin’ for us ! I think we might be over!

“Father” Sean Farrell: It’s that time of year again where WWE insists on telling us that no matter what, RAW is better than Smackdown. Yippie. No matter who wins, we lose. Champion v Champion only works when you’re going to unify the belts Otherwise you end up with a champ, and a loser with the belt.

Shawn: It’s the Thanksgiving Night Tradit… oh wait… the Thanksgiving week tradition?? Yeah. Let’s run with that. Get yourself some eggnog, and you can skip the turkey because this one might just put you to sleep on it’s own. It’s time for the Survivor Series!!!!

Sean: Man, I used to love Survivor Series ! Teams vs Teams ! It was one of the first PPVs I can remember being allowed to order ! I miss that format.

10-on-10 Tag Team Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match

Shawn: So the pre-show is going to be a complete clusterfuck it seems. 5 teams on 5 teams. If you get eliminated, so does your partner. So the faces and the heels are gonna get along? Hasn’t the Ascension been feuding with Roode and Gable? Wait… the Colons are on SmackDown?? God.. this is going to be hard to watch. I can’t even with this one. I guess there will be a lot of action but despite that, it’ll probably be so hard to follow. I might just take that nap right from the beginning of this one. Does anyone really even care who wins this?? The real winners are going to be the people who are still in line at the concession stands.

Sean: Oh look, a traditional elimination match filled with all those fellas who are midcard or below. I didn’t even know the Colons were still with the company. I’m gonna guess the Godwinns win ? Are they still with the company too ? So much wasted potential in this group.

**Raw Tag Team Champions AOP** vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar (w/ Big Show)

Shawn: Soooo they’re going heel versus heel twice tonight. Seems legit. I hate this entire idea of champion versus champion because someone has to come out looking week. I expect the Big Show to get involved somehow. By the way, this is his 342nd turn isn’t it? The AOP will be made to look like monsters when they devastate him at some point in this one. Something tells me Drake Maverick is going to take a bump too. It’s inevitable isn’t it? They have to do something to keep us all awake. But I think it’s safe to say if either of these two can take a loss without it hurting them, it’s the Bar. I mean, you have to keep the AOP looking strong right? Bonus: Cesaro will pull off a Cesaro Swing on one of the AOP. They need pops somewhere.

Sean: Well now, I’m not going to beat a dead horse to death twice with how Title v Title ends with a Champ as a Loser…. but whats the outcome here ? The newly minted AOP lose their first match with the belts ? They’re chumps who shouldn’t have won it in the first place. Oh wait. They beat one dude for the belts. Yeah, strong start for a once promising team. Y’all miss Ellering too ? Meanwhile we have The Bar, a team that kicks ass and takes names on the daily – they shouldn’t be losing to two young guys who they won’t have any chance of getting their heat back from. Who wins ? Going to guess it’ll be the AOP because yanno, Raw is best blah blah blah.

*WWE Cruiserweight Championship* **Buddy Murphy (c)** vs. Mustafa Ali

Shawn: I really don’t like Mustafa Ali. He did have a couple of great matches against his former tag partner, DJZ and Darby Allin down in Evolve last weekend. But all that included, I’m just not a fan of Muslim Roman Rollins. I was pretty excited when Murphy took the title from the only man on 205 Live I dislike more, Cedric Alexander. I hope we get to see more of Ali in Evolve and more of Murphy as the champ. It’s too soon to end Murphy’s title reign. It’s just getting started. I don’t even know if he defended it yet. I know, 50/50 booking, but you can’t do that here. Buddy Murphy has to win. Right?

Sean: Well, at least this one makes sense – Buddy will retain. Ali is good, but not good enough. 205 is still a solid hour of wrestling each week. As the good booker intended.

Men’s 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match **Team Raw** v. Team SmackDown

Shawn: Ok. So I’m a mark for the old school traditional Survivor Series elimination match. And not that weak ass 4-on-4 shit they did for a while. Teams of five, strive to survive. You can’t even come up with a witty tag-line for 4-on-4. Teams of four each need one more?? I guess that works. I heard that Orton was going to replace Shane. Guess that was just a rumor. Damnit. Why is he in this match again? It’s not like they don’t have the talent to put someone else in this spot. Shane, you’re not the best in the world. Go away. Jeff Hardy sucks, so hopefully he isn’t in this for any real amount of time. Finn Failure sucks too, with his smiley good boy Finn Freezing cornball character. so they cancel each other out I guess. But beyond that, it’s night and day. Rey Jr., Samoa Joe and team captain, the Miz just are no match for Braun, Drew, Dolph and Lashley (Lash-ley! Lash-ley!). Plus they already promised Braun he’d get Baron Snorbin in a cage and Brock for the title if they win. This is going to be the closest thing to a squash match you’ll see on this one. Team RAW wins. And hopefully Shane gets put through a table. And maybe the beginning of that Miz face run we’ve been hearing about in the rumor mill.

Sean: Raw wins so Braun will get to beat up Big Lots Kane, ahem, Baron Corbin. Then have his third match against Brock because that’s what everyone else gets to do, get beat twice by Mr Witness Protection Title Holder then lose to them due to something screwy and go away, again. Braun, Drew, Lashley, Finn all should be gunning for the belt, not working as a team to beat up on the Miz.

Women’s 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match Team Raw v. **Team SmackDown**

Shawn: I hate that Alexa can’t be in this one because of a past concussion. Weak. But Baron Snorbin put her in charge of captaining and managing the team. The one thing that really gets me is the mystery spot. You couldn’t have just told us who’s going there? It hope it’s an NXT call-up. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Nia’s going to hurt someone else. I mean, that’s why we even have a vacant spot in the first place. I hope she doesn’t hurt Asuka or Mella, cause you know, Mella is Money. And can somebody please tell me why we have to have Sonya Deville in this match. Hasn’t her fake MMA angle been played out since there are now four actual former MMA stars in the company now? #ShitShow Who cares who wins? This match is going to be a bathroom break and you aleeady can’t keep your eye lids up. Make it stop!!

Sean: Smackdown’s only clean win will be here. The Raw Women will fall apart and beat each other with Smackdown picking the bones.

Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. United States Champion **Shinsuke Nakamura**

Shawn: Well this is clearly going to be the match of the night. And I’m not a fan of The King Whiner Seth Rollins in the slightest bit. I’ll give him credit though. He can wrestle and I’m glad they gave him the Stomp back. Shinsuke is my girlfriend’s favorite wrestler. That means I should hate him right? Nah, it’s fine. I actually hope he catches Seth with a low blow followed by, knee… to… face. Either way these two can and will put on one hell of a match and it will be the highlight of an otherwise tryptophan filled card. I wish they’d stop treating women like they’re not equal and let The Man get her hands on Seth instead, to be honest. She’s owned him on Twitter as of late. Oh wait, Seth loves to injure people. Never mind. Let the Career Slayer stay in his lane. We don’t need anybody hurting Becky Lynch any more that Nia Flap-Jax already did. Since they’ve strapped a swing to Seth’s unmentionables and treat him like the second coming, I wouldn’t expect him to lose, unless Dean Ambrose decides to get involved. When he does, Shinsuke will capitalize and get the W to help lead us into that Seth/Dean feud.

Sean: I remember when Naka had a rocket strapped to him blasting him into the main roster. His debut was an interruption as the crowd went…. mild. Never really recovered from that. He had a feud with AJ where all he did was ball punch and try to win. The King of Strong Style has become the King of Stall Style. Seth is someone who works hard, just makes bad decisions in his personal life again and again. I’d like Naka to win and win clean here and keep him on the path back towards greatness , but instead we’ll have Ambrose come out and cause this match to be DQ’ed.

**Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey** vs. Charlotte Flair

Shawn: I’m not going to lie to you. I have a special place in my heart for Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch and I was REEEEALLY looking forward to The Man and The Baddest Woman On The Planet getting it on the ring. My two favorite women on the roster right now. But of course Nia Flap-Jax had to not listen to what she was told and hit Becky with a closed fist instead of the forearm she was told to and broke her nose. Nothing will happen to her because she’s Samoan royalty in the WWE. Now we get Charlotte Flair in her place. Hold on … I think I just puked in my mouth a little bit just typing that. So this match went from being the match that everybody wanted to see to the match that nobody cares about at all. I would have rather them just have someone else be “injured” on Team Raw and stick Ronda in that match. This whole champion versus champion shit is stupid anyway. Guess this is last run to the concession stand time. If they even think about putting Flair over in this match… It just doesn’t make sense at all. Actually, who booked this shit?? Ronda wins or we riot. Maybe we riot anyway.

Sean: Don’t. Care. About. Part. Time. Wrestlers. Ronda wins. She was always going to win. They’re throwing this “dream match” away with less than a week’s build. Unless they have a long term plan to build to a Four Horsewomen v NXT Horsewomen match at next year’s Survivor Series ? What am I saying ? WWE doesn’t book long term anymore. Sorry Flair, you’re going to tap out because RR may dress up and cosplay as Piper but she’s booked like Brock.

Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan

Shawn: Speaking of the Beast Incarnate… Ok. So we all know I’m a heel at heart. So I’m behind this D.B. heel turn. Let’s see if he can be less annoying and more entertaining. Everybody hates Brock at this point and even I wish they didn’t put the title back around his waist. Some people are suggesting that this match is punishment for Bryan refusing to go to Saudi Arabia. That has to be the stupidest thing I’ve heard since … Well since this stupid ass card. You people think his “punishment” is a WWE Championship reign and main eventing Survivor Series? Stupid Idiots. But it’s ok, whoever booked this shit is just as much of a stupid idiot. So we take a guy who was on the shelf for a few years because of a concussion and put him in the ring with the human concussion machine?? Does that even make any sense at all?? I couldn’t care less to see Brock Lesnar v. AJ Styles II, but seriously, who wrote this shit?? I’ve never longed for Roman Reigns in the main event so bad. I’m thinking Braun gets involved and costs Brock the match. That’s how this has to finish, right? It sets up the next Brock/Braun feud and Daniel Bryan looks strong as a heel, taking advantage of the Monster Among Men’s interference. Vince needs to hire us to write this shit already. One thing is for sure, our eggnog will definitely be spiked for this one.

Sean: Still. Don’t. Care. About. Part. Time. Workers. Sorry D-Bry. This was once a dream match. Now it’s a throw away match with even less of a build than the women’s match got. The American Dragon v The Next Big Thing ? The Conqueror vs The Eternal Underdog ? Man this match would of been 15 Stars if we didn’t have Mr Sleepwalks and doesn’t care as I throw sloppy Germans and F5’s be the guy who shows up. But that’s all we’ve got from Brock since the Cena feud. Brock shoulda lost to Joe, to Roman, to AJ, to Braun. AJ had the best match with Brock last year and instead of giving us the only rematch that makes sense, they slip in a now Heelish Daniel Bryan ? Welcome to Suplex City ? More like Greetings from Swerve-burg. Here’s hoping Daniel makes it out alive. Enjoy your first match with the title as you’re looking up at the lights, like the loser on the SD brand that Vince wants us to never ever forget. Brock wins.

Now that’s how you close a show. Thank you once again for this opportunity to hang with my brother from another mother ! I had planned on filling this report with anger and fire, unleashing the full wrath and fury that is HeelSean. But, I just couldn’t even fake it long enough pretend to care about this throwaway show. When Becky’s nose broke and then AJ was removed from
The show ? All it did was make Takeover look even better than it already did. Maybe next year will be better ?

July 1, 2018July 1, 2018

BEST WRESTLING MATCHES of 2018 SO FAR [Top 100]: Dem Boyz.

TOP 100 MATCHES (through July 1) of 2018:

(Red font denotes added new matches.)

1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega (IWGP Hvy – NJPW Dominion) – 6.5/5

2. Andrade Almas vs. Johnny Gargano (NXT Hvy – NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia) – 5/5

3. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Unsanctioned Match – NXT TakeOver: New Orleans) – 5/5

4. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori (NJPW Battle of the Super Juniors Finals) – 4.75/5

5. Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream (Ladder, North American Hvy – NXT TakeOver: N.O.) – 4.75/5

6. Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega (No DQ – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12) – 4.75/5

7. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Hvy – NJPW Sakura Genesis) – 4.75/5

8. Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll (IWGP Jr – NJPW Sakura Genesis) – 4.75/5

9. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Hvy – NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, N2) – 4.75/5

10. Ilja Dragunov vs. WALTER vs. John Klinger (wXw Unified Championship – 16 Carat Gold, Night 2) – 4.75/5

11. Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Jnr – NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka) – 4.75/5

12. WALTER vs. Timothy Thatcher (Atlas Hvy – PROGRESS Chapter 62) – 4.5/5

13. Golden Lovers vs. Young Bucks (NJPW Strong Style Evolved) – 4.5/5

14. Keith Lee vs. Matt Riddle (PWG Neon Knights) – 4.5/5

15. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (IWGP Hvy – NJPW WK 12) – 4.5/5

16. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Chicago Street Fight – NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2) – 4.5/5

17. Will Ospreay vs. Matt Riddle (EVOLVE Hvy – WWN Supershow: Mercury Rising) – 4.5/5

18. Io Shirai vs. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls 4/19/18) – 4.5/5

19. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay (IWGP Jr Hvy – NJPW Dominion) – 4.5/5

The Os has been tossed into some pretty great matches this year.

20. The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes (ROH Tag – Best In The World) – 4.5/5

21. WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (EVOLVE 99) – 4.5/5

22. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Keith Lee (British Hvy – RevPro Epic Encounter) – 4.5/5

23. Bandido vs. Rey Horus (PWG All-Star Weekend 14) – 4.5/5

24. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi (NJ Cup, N6) – 4.5/5

25. WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov (wXw World Unified Hvy – Superstars of Wrestling) – 4.5/5

26. Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (WWE WrestleMania 34) – 4.5/5

27. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (New Japan Cup, Finals) – 4.5/5

28. Andrade Almas vs. Aleister Black (NXT Hvy – NXT TakeOver: N.O.) – 4.5/5

29. Chosen Bros. vs. The Rascalz vs. Young Bucks (PWG World Tag – ASW 14) – 4.5/5

30. Aleister Black vs. Adam Cole (Extreme Rules – NXT TakeOver: Philly) – 4.5/5

31. Minoru Suzuki vs. Hirooki Goto (NEVER Open – NJPW WK 12) – 4.5/5

32. Gran Guerrero vs. Niebla Roja (CMLL World Lt – NJPW Fantastica Mania, N1) – 4.25/5

33. Will Ospreay vs. KUSHIDA (IWGP Jr – NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, N2) – 4.25/5

34. Kento Miyahara vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Triple Crown Hvy – AJPW Power Series) – 4.25/5

35. Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC – NJPW Dominion) – 4.25/5

36. Flamita & Bandito vs. Rey Fenix & Rey Horus (WrestleCon Super Show) – 4.25/5

37. Will Ospreay vs. Matt Riddle (OTT Scrappermania IV) – 4.25/5

38. Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA (IWGP Hvy – NJPW TNB in Osaka) – 4.25/5

39. AR Fox & Myron Reed vs. Curt Stallion & Jake Something vs. Stephen Wolf & Trey Miguel (#1 Contender Ladder Warfare – AAW Never Say Die) – 4.25/5

40. Bullet Club vs. The Kingdom & Shane Taylor (Ultimate Mayhem – ROH Manhattan Mayhem VII) – 4.25/5

41. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Matt Riddle (PWG Time Is A Flat Circle) – 4.25/5

42. Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay vs. Kushida vs. Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Jnr Fatal 4-Way – NJPW WK 12) – 4.25/5

43. Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (NJ Cup, N3) – 4.25/5

44. Ringkampf vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Munenori Sawa (EVOLVE 102) – 4.25/5

45. Cody vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW WK 12) – 4.25/5

46. Young Bucks vs. Roppongi 3K (IWGP Jnr Tag – NJPW TNB in Sapporo, N2) – 4.25/5

47. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Michael Elgin (NJ Cup, N1) – 4.25/5

48. CHAOS (Will Ospreay, Rocky Romero & Chuck Taylor) vs. Kota Ibushi, Flip Gordon & Shane Strickland (RevPro “Live in New Orleans”) – 4.25/5

49. British Strong Style vs. The Undisputed Era (WWE UK Tournament, N1) – 4.25/5

50. Pierre Carl Oulette vs. WALTER (Joey Janella’s Spring Break 2) – 4.25/5

51. Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks (PWG Time Is A Flat Circle) – 4.25/5

52. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii (Undisputed British Hvy – RevPro “Live in N.O.”) – 4.25/5

53. Kota Ibushi vs. Yoshi-Hashi (NJ Cup, N3) – 4.25/5

54. Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP IC – NJPW TNB in Sapporo, N1) – 4.25/5

55. Charlotte vs. Asuka (Smackdown Women’s – WrestleMania 34) – 4.25/5

56. WALTER vs. Travis Banks vs. David Starr vs. Ilja Dragunov (wXw Unified – We Love Wrestling: London) – 4.25/5

57. Momo Watanabe vs. Io Shirai (Wonder of Stardom – Queen’s Fest) – 4.25/5

58. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. David Starr (PROGRESS Ch. 68: SSS16, N2) – 4.25/5

59. Naomichi Marufuji vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW Champion Carnival, N13) – 4.25/5

60. Chosen Bros vs. Ringkampf (PWG Mystery Vortex) – 4.25/5

61. Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW BOTSJ, N6) – 4.25/5

62. Ringkampf vs. Violence Unlimited (PWG ASW 14) – 4.25/5

63. Keith Lee vs. AR Fox (WWN Hvy – EVOLVE 100) – 4.25/5

64. *TIE* WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (PROGRESS Ch. 67 / wXw We Love Wrestling: Hamburg) – 4.25/5

65. Matt Riddle vs. Keith Lee (EVOLVE Hvy – EVOLVE 105) – 4.25/5

66. Kento Miyahara vs. Shingo Takagi (AJPW Champion Carnival, A-Block, N1) – 4.25/5

67. Pete Dunne vs. Zack Gibson (WWE UK Hvy – WWE UK Tournament., N2) – 4.25/5

68. Jay Lethal vs. Cody vs. Dalton Castle vs. Matt Taven (ROH Hvy – ROH Fairfax Excellence) – 4.25/5

69. Keith Lee vs. Jonah Rock vs. WALTER (PWG World Hvy – ASW 14) – 4.25/5

70. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Matt Riddle (EVOLVE Hvy – EVOLVE 102) – 4/5

71. Kota Ibushi vs. Adam Page (ROH Supercard of Honor) – 4/5

72. WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov (wXw Unified World Hvy – True Colors) – 4/5

73. The Young Bucks vs. EVIL & SANADA (IWGP Hvy – NJPW Dominion) – 4/5

74. Dalton Castle vs. Jay Lethal (ROH Hvy – ROH 16th Anniversary) – 4/5

75. Ricochet vs. The Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: Chicago 2) – 4/5

76. Will Ospreay vs. Taiji Ishimori (NJPW Best of the Super Juniors, N1) – 4/5

77. Matt Riddle vs. Shane Strickland (EVOLVE 104) – 4/5

78. Momo Watanabe vs. Io Shirai (Wonder of Stardom – Stardom Gold) – 4/5

79. Sammy Guevara vs. Rey Fenix (PWG Mystery Vortex) – 4/5

80. Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy (CW Title – 205 Live) – 4/5

205 Live has had some Lit matches this year.

81. Hung Bucks vs. SoCal Uncensored (Six-Man Tag Street Fight – ROH 16th Ann.) – 4/5

82. AR Fox vs. Will Ospreay (EVOLVE 102) – 4/5

83. Jeff Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii (WrestleCon Super Show) – 4/5

84. Barbaro Cavernario vs. Volador Jr. (NWA World Historic WW – NJPW Fantastica Mania, N2) – 4/5

85. Tyler Bate vs. Kassius Ohno (PROGRESS Chapter 68: SSS16, N2) – 4/5

86. Bandito vs. Robbie Eagles (PWG Bask In His Glory) – 4/5

87. Matt Riddle vs. AR Fox (EVOLVE Hvy – EVOLVE 107) – 4/5

88. Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto (NEVER Open Hvy – NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku, Night 12) – 4/5

89. Aussie Open vs. Chosen Bros (RevPro Epic Encounter) – 4/5

90. Jordan Devlin vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (OTT Championship – Scrappermania IV) – 4/5

91. Darby Allin vs. WALTER (EVOLVE 106) – 4/5

92. Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander (CW Tourney Semis, 205 Live) – 4/5

93. Jay White vs. Adam Page (IWGP US – NJPW Strong Style Evolved) – 4/5

94. Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW BOTSJ, N4) – 4/5

95. Will Ospreay vs. Adam Brooks vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Shane Strickland (WrestleCon Super Show) – 4/5

96. Suzuki-Gun (Sabre Jr. & Suzuki) vs. Mustache Mountain (RevPro High Stakes) – 4/5

97. Brian Cage vs. Tessa Blanchard (Ringmaster v Sideshow – WrestleCircus: Show Must Go On) – 4/5

98. Zachary Wentz & Desmond Xaver vs. Bandido & Flamita (PWG Time Is A Flat Circle) – 4/5

99. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Marty Scurll (NJPW BOTSJ, N2) – 4/5

100. Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly v Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan (NXT Tag – TakeOver: Chicago 2) – 4/5

The great surprise TT match of 2018? Likely.

Honorable 4+ Bible Mention:

101. Munenori Sawa vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (WWN Supershow) – 4/5

102. Shingo Takagi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (AJPW Champion Carnival, N14)

103. CHAOS (Okada & Ishii) vs. Suzuki-Gun (Suzuki & Sabre Jr.) (NJPW Strong Style Evolved)

104. Los Guerreros Laguneros vs. Dragon Lee & Mistico (CMLL Brother Tag Finals – NJPW Fantastica Mania, N3)

105. Sasha Banks vs. Asuka (WWE RAW)

106. Kento Miyahara vs. Naomichi Marufuji (AJPW Champion Carnival Finals)

107. The Young Bucks vs. Super Smash Bros. (ROH War of the Worlds Toronto)

108. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tyler Bate (PROGRESS Chapter 63)

109. Chuck Taylor vs. Ricochet (Guerilla Warfare, PWG Hvy – Mystery Vortex V)

110. Mustache Mountain vs. Undisputed Era (NXT Tag – WWE UK Tournament, N2)

111. Golden Lovers vs. Cody & Hangman Page (NJPW Sakura Genesis)

Will next wknd’s G1 Special match top this tag match? Let’s hope.

112. ACH vs. Rey Fenix (AAW Hvy – The Chaos Theory)

113. AJ Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura (Last Man Standing Match, WWE Hvy – Money In The Bank)

114. Shane Strickland vs. Penta El 0M (WrestleCircus Raise The Curtain)

115. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW BOTSJ, N8)

116. So Cal Uncensored vs. Flip Gordon & The Young Bucks (Ladder, Six-Man Tag – ROH SCoH)

117. Bandido vs. Taiji Ishimori (PWG ASW 14)

118. Mike Bailey & WALTER vs. Bobby Gunns & John Klinger (wXw 16 Carat Gold, Night 1)

119. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi (CEO x NJPW: When Worlds Collide)

120. Shingo Takagi vs. Yuji Hino (AJPW Champion Carnival A-Block, N7)

121. Will Ospreay vs. Dezmond Xavier (CZW “Welcome to the Combat Zone”)

Don’t be surprised, Will; 2018 is yours for the taking.

122. Young Bucks vs. Roppongi 3K (IWGP Jr Tag – NJPW WK12)

123. Alexa Bliss v. Bayley v. Sasha Banks v. Sonya Deville v. Mandy Rose v. Mickie James (RAW Women’s – WWE Elimination Chamber)

124. Jay White vs. Kenny Omega (U.S. Hvy – NJPW TNB in Sapporo, N2)

125. Besties In The World vs. Aussie Open vs. The Rascalz (AAW/PWR Tag Hvy – “Pancakes & Piledrivers 2”)

126. Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto (205 Live)

127. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Austin Theory (EVOLVE Hvy – EVOLVE 100)

128. Punishment Martinez vs. Adam Page (Street Fight, ROH TV – Best In The World)

129. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev (WWE Fastlane)

130. Cody vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, N1)

131. Austin Theory vs. Joey Janela (WWN Hvy – EVOLVE 106)

132. Daniel Bryan vs. Big E Langston / DB v Samoa Joe / DB v The Miz / Miz v. Rusev (#1 Contenders Gauntlet – SmackDown Live)

April 18, 2018

WWE SUPERSTAR SHAKE-UP [Review]: Layeth the Smacketh Down…

This is the WWE’s 13th Superstar Shake-Up/Draft since 2002 (or 12th if you want to ignore the 2 man draft of 2006 / E C Dub! E C Dub!) where traditionally RAW gets stacked with “names”, leaving SmackDown with it’s bones picked and stuck with cast offs. But this year?

They swerved us all.

This year, SmackDown Live “won” the lottery. As a disclaimer, note that for all we know, there are more changes coming, as well as the fallout from The Greatest Royal Rumble (aka Mania Night 2 aka Mania in Arabia) and Backlash (first week of May) the first Co-Branded PPV. Now, we can–and we will–ignore that 7 wrasslers were moved from SDL to RAW via Social Media (it’s the future folks!), as well as 2 of SDL‘s biggest “gets” were not live in the building. Why Because in the long run, it doesn’t matter how they get there. It only matters that they are there now. Good? Good.

SDL‘s first draftee is THE MIZ. The true workhorse of the WWE. Sure sure, John Cena does more Make-A-Wishes, and sure The New Day sell more t-shirts — but The Miz can’t stop, and won’t stop. His promos are nothing short of… ahem… AWWESOME, and nobody can draw heat as fast and sustain it as long as Miz does. Putting him on SDL immediately puts him on a direct path to go head to head with Daniel Bryan. For damn near the entire time DBry was on the shelf/forced to retire, there was the Miz — taunting him relentlessly. Some say it was Miz’s off-the-cuff promo attack on Talking Smack that got Miz moved up to RAW in the first place. Now Daniel is back in the ring, and Miz is back on SD? Sparks are going to fly.

RAW‘s first draftee? Jinder. You could literally feel the excitement get sucked out the arena. Nobody wanted him to win at Mania, and yet he did. So he comes to RAW as a former Heavyweight Champ, and the (then) current US Title Holder… until an impromptu match with The Charismatic Enigma himself, JEFF “no no, you drive” HARDY swoops in, gets the 1-2-3, the win, the belt itself, and then slips away to SDL! A rematch for the title is set for “Mania in Arabia” so who knows what will happen. Will Jinder get his belt back and take it to RAW? That leaves SDL short a title. Unless they plan on moving current IC Title Holder Seth Rollins over (buy those Monday Night Rollins shirts while you can!) — but i digress …

You’re not foolin’ anyone (but Ronda), cat lady!

RAW gets the RIOTT Squad (Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) to ensure that Ruby and Paige are never seen in the same place at the same time? SDL gains Sonja Deville and the very easy to look at Mandy Rose. You don’t need Sonja (a make believe MMA fighter) when you have Ronda Rousey. RAW gains Kevin Owens as well as his white shadow Sami Zayn. Sami hasn’t had much luck on RAW, here’s hoping this go around works out for him. For some reason, the Monday brand has started collecting tag teams, gaining BREEZANGO, The Ascension and former pals with nothing really going on Mojo and Ryder. SDL? They may have lost their comedy skits — but get to fill that void with both THE CLUB Anderson/Gallows as well as THE BAR (Sheamus & Cesaro)! Usos ? New Day ? Epico & Primo? Y’all gonna get got.

Nattie comes over from SD to RAW to be the next challenge for Ronda. The crazy cat lady is one of the best there is and will be a solid mechanic to help RRR move her way up the card. SDL has gained ASUKA to be added to the Women’s division. Methinks she has her sights on the fresh meat currently holding the gold, Carmella. Lucky for Carm — BIG CASS has joined SDL! How you Doin’ Cas ? Who’s that behind you? Its R-Truth! What’s Up?! RAW countered with mid-carder-forever Dolph Ziggler who brought along Drew McEntyre! I don’t know what worries me more, the fact that now all the former members of 3MB are on RAW, or that Drew — who’s worked so hard to get back to where he belongs — is saddled with Dolph. It’s a toss-up at this point.

Mike Kanellis and Chad Gable come to RAW, both looking for fresh starts. Mike never got out of the gate, so we’ll see what’s done with him. Chad? Uh, I guess Kurt’s bastard kid must be headed back soon. Jason Jordan floundered in NXT forever — and only shined and got noticed once he was paired with Chad. Here’s hoping lighting strikes twice.

Speaking of NXT call ups.. RAW might of gained Drew, but SDL made out like bandits. SAnitY! Eric Young (EY if ya nasty) is here with his two bruisers Killian Dane and Alexander Wolfe! A trio that can go head to head with The New Day, as well as match power with the Bludgeon Brothers and the newly arrived BAR. Sadly, it doesn’t look like Nikki Cross is coming. Once again she’s left behind in the women’s division on NXT, which is currently in the middle of a restocking phase. She deserves a title run before she’s called up to beat up all those who left her behind. Twice.

NXT’s final call up is former NXT champion Andrade “CIEN” Almas with Zelinda Vega! Cien has been nothing but money for the past year and is a welcomed addition to SDL. Vince is always looking for that star to fill the void left behind by Rey. Sin Cara couldn’t do it, Alberto failed twice at it; so let’s see how far Cien makes it.

RAW‘s final two “gets” were Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode. Baron, a former Andre The Giant Battle Royale with Cheese winner, Mr. unable to successfully to cash in MiTB, and he held the US Title for a hot minute. He’s big, he’s got a bad attitude and been stuck in first gear no matter what they do for him. Hopefully Baron gets to finally make his mark on Monday’s. Bobby Roode? The Glorious One! Roode debuted not too long ago on SDL. He may have a GLORIOUS entrance, but he seemed to get lost in the shuffle too easily. But it is very hard to escape the black hole that is Randy Orton. You’re free now Bobby. Just in time to go head to head with your old nemesis Bobby Lashley! Roode vs Cena? Roode vs Seth Rollins? Sign me up.

But as I stated at the beginning – SDL won this year. Why? Two words. SAMOA. JOE. The Samoan that crowds don’t boo. The one man wrecking machine who’s held gold everywhere he’s been. The man who’s had legendary title runs in ROH. The man who was one of the only things worth watching in TNA/IMPACT. Who? Samoa Freakin’ Joe. Joe is now in the same building as Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles. These guys go together like chocolate, peanut butter and a hundred dollar bill. Joe vs AJ ? Gold. Joe vs D Bry in ROH? Literally put them both on the radar. Joe vs Rusev? Come on. That’ll be a blast. Joe vs Nakamura? Bruh, I’m dead already. Can. Not. Wait. You’re all on notice SDL, Joe is here; and Joe is going to kill you.

SmackDown Live Draft: 5/5 Bibles
Monday Night RAW Draft: 3/5 Bibles

-Sean Farrell

January 25, 2018

WWE ROYAL RUMBLE 2018 [Ringside Apostle Preview]: Empires of Tomorrow.

*SmackDown Tag Team Champions* The Usos vs. **Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin** (*2-out-of-3-Falls Match*)

The Tag Division has been one of the few bright spots left on the blue brand over the last year (seriously, remember when SD was Brand of the Year?). After winning the excellent triple threat match for the No. 1 contender spot back in December, American Alpha 2.0/Team Angle 3.0 got screwed. Their title match was restarted after Benjamin and Gable’s win because neither man involved in the pin was legal. So what does Daniel Bryan want them to do, beat the Usos twice in one night? As it turns out, YES! YES! YES!

PREDICTION: AND NEW…The Usos don’t need the titles anymore and Jey got himself into a spot of trouble, so the clear choice is to put the titles on American Beta. Benjamin and Gable get the first and third falls; Usos get the second by banking on no one being able to tell them apart besides me and their family (tattoos, y’all, use the tattoos).

-Destiny Edwards

*Raw Tag Team Champions* Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan vs. **Cesaro & Sheamus**

Jason Jordan has been a heel for a long minute now, but with nothing for him to do and Dean Ambrose heading to the shelf, RAW GM Kurt Angle (a.k.a. Vinnie Mac and Kevin Dunn) saw fit to throw this oddball teaming of Jordan & Able together. “The Bar”, after months of trying and trying to get over, are — by far — the far superior team, recent jobs withstanding, and I expect Seth Rollins to go on a bit of a singles run until Dean comes back or Vince retires/dies and Hunter finally makes Roman the tag match superstar we all know he NEEDS to be. Expect Jordan to walk out on Seth or fuck him over somehow and erase this current silliness from the brand.

PREDICTION: New champions, The Bar. And can The Revival come out and “revive” their careers by beating the living hell out of Sheamus, Cesaro and Rollins post-match? Come on, man; they got the AARP “rub” on Monday, didn’t they?

-Travis Moody

*Universal Champion* Brock Lesnar vs. **Braun Strowman** vs. Kane (*Triple Threat Match*)

Well NERDS, the 3 Biggest Baddest Bohemis is on the Main Event dish. You have Monster, a Beast and Demon fighting for the richest prize in the WWE: The Universal Championship. This seems like it has been brewing for months but the wait is finally over. The destruction that will take place in the squared circle can only be stated and I quote, as Good Ol’ JR would say, “A Slobber Knocker”. The path that Braun Strowman has took the past year to make himself the face of RAW–a giant pleasure to watch. Kane has come back to do one thing and go out in style.. but “the reigning, defending” champ, Brock Lesnar, is the pickle too. He has met his match and everyone sees it. Being Triple Threat (no DQ), this will be a fight and it will be nasty: Tables..Chairs..Ladders.. Semi Trucks..Carnage.

PREDICTION: I’m sure Strowman can survive a Choke Slam from Hell and F5s all over the Arena. It’s his time and a Mania match featuring Cena or Reigns vs. Braun would be epic. (I also have a feeling The Big Show will make an appearance to make a 4-way Bash for the start of WrestleMania Season).

-Anthony Holloway

*WWE Champion* **AJ Styles** vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn — *2-on-1 Handicap Match for the WWE Title*

“The Champ That Runs the Camp”, A.. J.. Styles, will defend against the former ROH/PWG team of Owens and Zayn. Styles sarcastically suggested that he could beat both Sami and Kevin (a.k.a. “Kami” *sigh*) at once and Smackdown Live GM Daniel Bryan made the match official. We could leave Sunday with WWE Co-World Champions, but I don’t see that happening. Hopefully, we get a show-stealing performance from 3 of the best wrestlers in the world but something tells me they will just be the pawns in the continuing Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan saga.

PREDICTION: Styles by DQ.

-Tony Valenti

*The first-ever 30-Woman Over-The-Top Royal Rumble Match*

The first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match is set to be a huge success or gigantic failure. Giving the women equal importance and respect is awesome. I have serious concerns about how they are going to fill all 30 spots. With the entire Women’s roster there are still only 18/30 slots filled. Should they go as far as to give the entire NXT roster a slot as well, it would make 27/30. This means that no matter what there will have to be surprise entrants — the best part of the Rumble. That anticipation of who’s going to come out when the countdown hits 0 and losing my damn mind when a huge debut like AJ Styles happens is EVERYTHING! This would be an amazing opportunity for WWE to introduce some amazing indy talent like Santana Garrett or correct their #RAW25 mistake and give us a Lita appearance. However, given WWE’s track record we’re more likely to see some disappointing entrants like Brie Bella or Stephanie McMahon getting up from the announce table. I want them to take this match seriously and put on a real contest and not a bunch of joke picks and hair pulling like we’ve gotten from past “diva style” battle royals. I hope they are smart in their match order so we don’t get a bored crowd sitting through 2 hour long matches in one night. Either way this match is going to make history.

PREDICTION: The only entrant I feel is a lock to be in the Rumble is NXT champion, Ember Moon. As such it would be awesome to see her and Asuka go at it one more time for the final slot. If this doesn’t happen it will be Nia vs. Asuka in the end and Asuka coming out on top.

-Jenn Casals

*The 2018 30-Man Over-The-Top Royal Rumble Match*

Here we are ladies and gentlemen, the sports entertainment spectacular free-for-all, and my personal favorite event, where stars are made, unlikely dreams come true, and everyone raucously boos Roman Reigns. Last few years we’ve had the likes of Blue- I mean Bautista, Triple H, and Randy Orton winning it all, essentially three years of the Rumble dominated by Evolution, you’d think we’re in the early 2000s! If the ‘E is pushing hard for this New Era, they so desperately need, they’ll be smart to crown some new blood. My early favorite was Samoa Joe until his foot injury, but the two favorites that stand out are Nakamura and Balor; besides, with Balor there’s sure to be Club shenanigans afoot. There’s a number of scenarios you can play with both superstars, whether a David/Goliath story with Finn seeking the Universal Championship against whatever monster retains or attains the belt or going full on heel and The Club invading Smackdown. With Shinsuke, that long awaited face off with Styles. So far there have 17 of the 30 entrants announced to participate, expect surprise entrants from rumors swirling with EC3, Daniel Bryan to Batista and *gasp* Kenny Omega! (Smarks will shoot me down but Jericho is the key to all this, I’m telling you.) Vince wouldn’t let a future hall of famer work one of the biggest shows for a rival company without some sort of return, quid pro quo. There has to be some working relationship between NJPW and the ‘E!

My stone cold lock of the century of the week…

PREDICTION: “The Demon” Finn Balor.

-Lauro Rojas