@LauraNMauro
Since my job is currently eating my life, my week in wrestling has been nowhere near as exciting as I’d like it to have been. I caught up with Hell in a Cell, which was a surprisingly well put together PPV (with the usual surfeit of dud endings). Rollins/Ambrose Vs Ziggler/McIntyre was a highlight – all four performers seem to bring the best out of one another, and it’s a joy to see Ziggler revitalised. He’s always had so much potential, but precious little opportunity to live up to it. Other highlights included Becky Lynch Vs Charlotte Flair, though why they didn’t utilise the cell I’ll never understand.
Elsewhere, NXT continues to chug along nicely. It feels very transitional right now, which isn’t necessarily bad – it seems as though some interesting storylines are being set up, and another high profile feud for the Dream is always a cause for excitement. Dunne vs Ricochet was every bit the high-octane thrill ride you’d expect, with both performers on top form, but ultimately let down by a predictably messy ending. Hopefully they’ll get another shot at it at the next Takeover – their chemistry and ability deserves a bigger and better showcase.
And the Mae Young Classic continues to surprise. I knew Mia Yim would be a joy to watch as always, but the sleeper hit was surely Karen Q Vs Xia Li. Shades of hard-hitting Joshi wrestling in this gruelling match, in which both wrestlers emerged looking highly impressive.
My priority for next week is to catch up with NJPW – let’s hope I find the time…
@TheCiaranJames
My week in wrestling has been like a very long car journey from one weekend to another, from WWE HIAC, NXT, MLW War Games and PWTorch I’ve managed to fit it all in. I kicked started the week by interviewing a new rising women’s wrestler in the UK, I then secured another interview with a prominent young talent from Preston City Wrestling (PCW).
So Monday morning I listened to the PW Torch review of HIAC with Wade Keller, Todd Martin & Bruce Mitchell, that combined with the PWJ review from Rox made me decide to watch the show. I enjoyed 3 matches from the PPV, Becky/Charlotte, RAW Tag Team Title match and AJ Styles/Samoa Joe, these matches alone elevated the event beyond what would have been just a mediocre PPV. Becky Lynch vs Charlotte was a thoroughly entertaining affair, with a good back story and great audience interaction this made for a very competitive contest, possibly the best since Charlotte/Asuka at WrestleMania. The RAW Tag Team Title match was a flawless example of tag team wrestling, the build, heel tactics from Dolph/Drew, the hot tag and all round storytelling was exceptional. Styles/Joe was just a tough, classic wrestling match, these two have been working together for the last decade so they know what works, I wasn’t keen on the finish, especially Styles tapping out but I can overlook that….just. Just to finish, the Brock Lesnar appearance in the HIAC was the only highlight from that match.
I also caught up with the latest MLW offerning ‘WAR GAMES’, this wasn’t an all time classic match but it did offer some exciting moments, it was a shame that Shane Strickland was out of the contest for long periods but the match was fun. It cannot be compared to NXT War Games in 2017 or previous classics in JCP/WCW, however this was a spirited effort from all involved. After watching this and finally managing to catch up on all the MLW action, ProWrestlingJournal have decided to add MLW to the promotions we already review and delivery weekly coverage to the site.
NXT was very good this week, the build to NXT War Games is slowing taking shape, the evening was built around Pete Dunne vs Ricochet, which although good failed to be what I thought it could be. Both have been better and can be better, I think maybe the did not go full throttle to save some stuff for a future rematch, I can see these two locking horns again. I wish for Pete Dunne to be a fully fledged heel in NXT, I find his mannerisms and cocky attitude off putting when trying to play a heel, I’m sorry Pete but you’re a natural heel bro. Good episode, I am looking forward to the incoming Riddle/Hero contest which will surely take place at War Games in November.
Kamikaze Pro have announced their next show for Coventry on October 5th, a handful of matches have already been announced and the card is looking exceptional. The Birmingham based promotion are unarguably one of the best promotions in the country, their shows contain a mixture of academy talent, established British talent and international names, the matches are always highly competitive and feature some of the best wrestling I have ever seen. Definitely a wrestling promotion you need to check out.
@TWF87
This week Stardom’s 5 Star Grand Prix entered it’s closing stretch, with the final show coming on September 24th. Both blocks are still finely poised going into the final day. In the Red Stars Block Kagetsu and Rachael Ellering both sit atop the block with 9 points each, with Jungle Kyona and Utami Hayashishita on 8 points apiece. The final matches see Kagetsu take on Tam Nakano, while Ellering takes on Kimber Lee. Given that she holds a tiebreaker over Ellering, Kagetsu looks to be in the driving seat, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Tam may pull off an upset and let Ellering move on to the final.
In the Blue Stars Block Mayu Iwatani and Kelly Klein both have 8 points, followed closely by Momo Watanabe and Hazuki on 7 points each. Mayu faces Momo on the final day in what should be a great matchup, whereas Kelly has Shimmer champion Nicole Savoy. I have a feeling that Mayu will win the Blue Stars Block and the whole competition this year, to win her first 5 Star Grand Prix. There have been some great performances in the tournament so far, and my favourite match has been the all out war between Momo and Hazuki. It’s definitely worth seeking out for another excellent match in the rivalry between the two.
This week also saw New Japan return with two Destruction shows in Hiroshima and Beppu. I’ve written about them elsewhere, but I’ll just say that I was quite disappointed overall with the two shows. Naito vs Suzuki particularly felt underwhelming, although seeing Taichi become NEVER Champion was a bright spot. Hopefully Tanahashi vs Okada can salvage the Destruction tour when they face each other on Sunday in Kobe.
I was able to watch WWE’s Hell in a Cell before my Internet decided to go down, and to be honest I enjoyed what was a decent show. Saying that the show did start off really well and then plummet as the show reach an end. The pre-show I missed, as I usually do, I can’t be bothered to be honest and maybe I should make the effort as I hear it was a decent match. The opener was sick, watching Randy Orton losing skin on his leg was as memorable as Orton twisting a screwdriver into the ear of Jeff Hardy! The end, the spectacular drop from Hardy onto the table where he supposedly suffered internal injuries but is still wrestling on house shows this weekend was somewhat of an anti-climax and I felt this was just a match to create memorable moments. Enjoyed Becky Lynch still getting over has the WWE Universe continue to refuse to boo her and keep the heat on Charlotte who is not over and nice to see Becky win the title and refuse to shake the hand of her former friend! The tag title match was tremendous with great effort from all four men who produced one of the best WWE tag matches of 2018, however not the best! Styles and Samoa Joe put up a really good match with a good ending with AJ tapping out as he bridged to gain a surprise win with the ref not noticing! So a submission match for them next, oh no, we have a no DQ match!!!! The rest of the show fell away for me then, Bryan and Brie against The Miz and Maryse was just a match to promote Total Divas, The Bellas and whatever The Miz and his wife’s TV show is!
Ronda Rousey should have put Alexa Bliss away in under a minute and not the twelve minute cluster with Rousey selling her ribs being beaten by a four foot eleven Bliss! The main event was atrocious! Why two monsters spent eight minutes lying on the canvas after being subjected to routine moves they take on every Raw show was beyond me! What was the point of Ziggler and Rollins climbing the cage in a match they were not part of just to take a ‘memorable’ bump into the announce table? Brock Lesnar’s appearance was the only saving grace in a ridiculously over booked match.
Yesterday, I attended a local show in Birmingham that featured no names most people would know on the regular British circuit. K-Star wrestling is a small local promotion, emanating from a gym in the Great Barr area of Birmingham. A gym where Rockstar Spud/Drake Maverick used to train no less! A five match card with a room full of children the show catered especially for them! Not the best wrestling I have seen but a lot of fun with old fashioned cartoon gimmicks, an Undertaker ripoff in the form of Rigamortis who is the most over in the promotion and is actually a pretty decent wrestler whose finisher is, of course the Tombstone Piledriver. Amongst the others we have the current KSW British champion Titan, a superhero type who defended his title beating local heel Carlos who is also pretty decent. A rock star using his girl to protect himself as he also successfully defended his West Midlands title. We also had Two German’s winning the tag titles in a flag on a pole match which was crazy! A short show not to be taken seriously but is entertaining too. Next week they host a show at a social club in Bromsgrove with Billy Gunn, yes that Billy Gunn as their special guest!
@RoxBlackburn
This week was mainly focused on WWE HIAC and the aftermath of that. For me (bar the last 5 minutes) it was one of WWE’s strongest PPV’s in a long time. They have a tendancy to oversaturate their PPV card but this felt different. Each superstar was given a decent platform and timeframe to put on a strong showing. Raw was pretty none commentary to be honest.
As the weeks go by, I dislike Corbin and his character more and more. I miss Finn Bálor. I actually went back and watched his Raw debut this week because I simply wanted to see his face.
Also this week I’ve fired up some nostalgic WWE entrance music. Here’s my top 5.
Story of the Year – Just Close Your Eyes (Christian)
Finger 11 – Slow Chemical (Kane)
Boy Hits Car – Love Passion Energy (Lita)
Mercy Drive – Burn In My Light (Randy Orton)
Killswitch Engage – The Fire Burns (CM Punk)
My week in wrestling has seen me primarily enjoying the new book by Tim Hornbaker ‘The Death of the Territories’. Picking up where he left off after his last book, Tim looks at the rise to prominence of a Vince McMahon Jr.-led WWF, alongside the various machinations that saw other territories fall by the wayside. For anyone who is a fan of old school wrestling, or just want to see how the wrestling landscape changed forever in the 80s, check it out.
As for watching, my time has been limited to more action from 1984 primarily. As I near the end of my project that aims to review as much of the weekly television from that year, I can see the sands shifting as WWF, Mid-Atlantic and other promotions try to consolidate power. It is a great time to watch, especially with the knowledge I have now acquired from Hornbaker’s book. Of note this week, Skandor Akbar in Mid-South used a fireball on Ricky Morton – such an old territory staple.
I dug even further back in time to also watch some 1973 Memphis. There isn’t a lot out there, but what is showcases Jerry Lawler around three years into his career. To see him at that point, and realising that he still is able to draw a crowd in that city to this day, speaks volumes for his popularity. No-one even came close to matching his longevity in one place.
