#IICON stage

[rollin-up-the-walls]

[tsukasapilled]

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS EVERYONE!! MY NAME IS KASA!! ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

HAHAHAAHAHAHAAHA!!!! I AM NEW TO TUMBLR AND I HAVE FOUND OUT HOW TO CHANGE MY PROFILE IICON!!! THE SMART COOKIE I AM!!!

ANYWAYS HERE IS SOME MAGNIFICENT ARTWORK I HAVE CREATED OF AKITO SHINONOME FROM HATSUNE MIKU COLORFUL STAGE!!!! I AM TRULY ON MY WAY TO STARDOM,, I CAN AALREADY TELL!!!! >:DDDD

[dalekofchaos]

My hopes for WWE & AEW in 2021 and things I hope changes  for WWE and AEW in 2021

Hopes

WWE

Roman Reigns stays dominant and reigns supreme as the Tribal Chief

Keith Lee wins the Royal Rumble,  joins The Hurt Business and brings the WWE Champion to the Hurt Business

Naomi returns and joins The Hurt Business and dethrones Asuka to take home the gold

The Hurt Business DOMINATES Raw

Bianca Belair wins the Royal Rumble and dethrones Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania

The Riott Squad win the Women’s Tag Team Champions

Unify the men’s Tag Team Championships 

Unveil a new Title and give us WWE’s very first Television Championship. It should be styled similar to the NWA and WCW’s TV belts, but on the sideplates it should include USA and Fox on the plates. Shelton Benjamin or Ricochet should be the TV Championship 

Big E reigns supreme as Intercontinental Champion and finally gets to face Roman for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 38

Rhea Ripley gets called up and goes to Smackdown

Mercedes Martinez dethrones Io Shirai and becomes NXT Women’s Champion

Karrion Kross reclaims the NXT Championship

Anyone but Johnny Sameface as NXT North American Champion

Queen Of The Ring. The amount of female talent available on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK is quite something. It's clear that this is the richest women's division in WWE history. They really should do something with all those workers. The 'Mae Young Classic' tourneys have been fine, but people would trip over themselves to see a fully-fledged 'Queen Of The Ring' epic staged across multiple nights. If booked correctly, this tournament could help establish a new contender for top titles. If she isn't Champion by then(though she should be) the perfect person to become Queen Of The Ring would be Bianca Belair! Bianca Belair would have unparalleled credibility for her 'StrongEST, FastEST, ToughEST' mantra if she whipped a bevy of skilled workers to become the first 'Queen'. WWE could also get creative by linking the event in with Charlotte Flair's nickname and spinning off into a feud between her and the winner afterwards.

Form Full-Time Female Tag-Teams and keep them around. The Women’s Tag Team DIvision is a mess. Keep creating makeshift Tag Teams and breaking up established tag teams and your tag team division is dead. The current champs and their predecessors haven't even been "proper" full-time duos - Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler were shoved together awkwardly in the summer, and they've since been replaced by the unlikely Asuka and Charlotte Flair combo. This cannot be allowed to continue. It's damning that WWE don't have more fully-formed pairings ready to go. The Riott Squad are perhaps the only actual twosome who are presented as a tight-knit collective weekly. Other than that, who is there? Considering the belts have been around for a few years now, that's unacceptable. The IIconics split, so did Sasha Banks and Bayley, and the scene is littered by 'odd couple' tandems like Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce, and Billie Kay teaming with the likes of Natalya or Tamina when it suits.

Ensure NXT is treated like a proper third brand rather than a quasi-development league for Raw and SmackDown. NXT has been on USA Network for over a year now, but it's still very much behind both Raw and SmackDown as a priority. Need proof? Look at the way Keith Lee was handled when he was "called up" after SummerSlam 2020. The former NXT Champ had to start all over again, and he's had several teething problems on Monday nights. It'd be nice to see WWE move away from positioning NXT as a 'feeder' for the other two shows. Changing someone's gimmick when they leave makes the brand look less-than, and there's simply no need for that anymore; NXT should be an equal to Raw and SmackDown, not a development league. Sadly, it still comes across as that. Lee's stop/start plight and the (mis)fortunes of others like Aleister Black and Ricochet should be a lesson to WWE. Some workers are better off rocking the black and yellow, not the red or blue.

AEW

Darby Allin becomes AEW World Heavyweight Champion

Adam Page costs Kenny the title and Page gets revenge and DESTROYS Kenny

MJF destroys the inner circle from within and when Jericho realizes what just happened, that’s when MJF and Wardlow destroys Jericho

Which is when we get a Sammy Guevara babyface turn and we get MJF vs Sammy

Arn Anderson turns on Cody

AEW’s Four Horsemen is formed. MJF, Shawn Spears and FTR with Tully and Arn managing as the JJ DIllon mouthpieces

Darby Allin and MJF feud for the title

The Women’s Division is improved. The girls get more time to shine on Dynamite. Your champion actually appears(shocking, I know) and build feuds and stories for your women’s division. There’s still some time to do what’s right for your women’s division, but the only thing that remains to be seen, does the powers that be of AEW even care?

Get a new title design for the Women’s Championship. It looks like a toy for a child. It’s plastic, not gold.  It should be as big and beautifully designed as the men’s titles. It should be as big as the NWA’s title or even the WWE’s title. The title is symbolic as to how AEW treats it’s own women’s division and that needs to change with a fresh new design.

Sign Thunder Rosa. It may not fix everything with the women’s division, but it gives you your needed star power. Tony Khan should be begging on his hands and knees to sign Thunder Rosa in 2021 after her time with the NWA is up, his women’s division is getting their asses kicked by what his EVP refers to as a “developmental brand”

If you can’t sign Thunder Rosa. My solution is Push Anna Jay and  Britt Baker as the top face and heel of the women’s division and either of them dethrone Shida.

Changes

WWE

Leave whatever that monstrosity of a creative team they have for RAW is. Let the Wrestlers dictate what they want their characters to be. Ditch the scripted promos. Let promos feel organic and real. Let the wrestlers be characters who feel real and genuine. Get rid of a “Creative” that isn't creative and let the wrestlers be creative and let them be free of terrible creative.

Get rid of the Gimmick PPV. WWE has ruined gimmick matches by turning them into themed PPVs. none of these matches are organic or special anymore. The matches themselves are great but are booked to fit a theme of a pay-per-view, when they should be used organically at the height of feuds. no one cares about the name of PPVs, so i don’t understand why WWE does this. the only one that actually works is MITB, because it makes sense as storylines reset after Mania.

Scrap the Brand Warfare/Brand Supremacy. WWE should scrap the tired brand warfare format at Survivor Series and move away from Raw vs. SmackDown completely. Booking around a calendar has become company law in WWE over the past decade or so. Perhaps McMahon always formatted things this way really, but it's more glaring now that gimmick bouts like Elimination Chamber, Hell In A Cell and Money In The Bank have their own pay-per-views. Survivor Series, with it's played out Raw vs. SmackDown vibes, also needs a rethink. "Brand warfare" is boring now, and it has been for several years. Although 2020's event was fun, it's nonetheless true that the month-long build to Survivors feels like a repetitive slog fans are forced to sit through every November. Hopefully, 2021 will change that. It is possible to book traditional elimination bouts without some sort of false show loyalty - WWE did this almost every single year until the first brand split in 2002. Their over-reliance on Raw vs. SmackDown is plain lazy. Survivor Series should be revolved around great rivalries between stables/factions. It’s really not that hard. Or at the very least if there IS a Smackdown vs Raw themed Survivor Series, at least add a damn reward. Give the brand a head start in the Rumble,, give the winners of the match number one contenders for their brand’s respective titles or ANYTHING better than just “brand supremacy lol”

Get rid of the 24/7 title. It has run it’s course. R-Truth is funny, but even he can’t make it work anymore.

Stop. Breaking. Up. Tag Teams. Stop killing your Tag Team Division. For the love of god just stop!

Cut Akira Tozawa’s ninja bullshit. It’s not funny, it’s annoying

Kill Retribution. It’s complete garbage. It has been consistently terrible ever since Retribution began. Mustafa Ali cannot save Retribution, he’s trying but no one can save it. 

Stop the 50/50 booking

Stop rewarding Nia Jax, the living botch machine for injuring her fellow wrestlers

Stop pushing Lars Sullivan. Absolutely no one wants him. 

They should cut raw to 2 hours because 3 hours is unbearable

Stop the overreliance of part time wrestlers. I don’t want to see Goldberg being pushed at the expense of today’s talent and I don’t want to see Goldberg period. I don’t want to see Brock Lesnar return at the expense of today’s talent. I don’t want to see Legends return. Push your current fucking wrestlers and make stars. You idiots!

Do not rush Becky Lynch back to the ring, she just had a baby. I read the reports that Vince wants Becky back by Wrestlemania. That is a terrible decision

Stop killing pushes because Vince changed his mind

Enough with “creative has nothing for you” if your “creative” has nothing for a certain wrestler, then they are not creative. Either let the wrestlers appear on the show or release them if you don’t want them anymore, it’s simple as that.

Do. Not. Put. The. Title. On. Goldberg. Goldberg should not have beaten Bray Wyatt's 'Fiend' for the Universal Title at Super ShowDown in February - that was a huge mistake, one that set Bray back and felt totally unnecessary. In 2021, WWE should outright avoid any temptation to repeat the trick and give ol' Billy another go-around with one of the top titles. If anything, Goldberg's only purpose should be to play victim for a quick Roman Reigns squash. Get through that elusive match then turn Bill into a company ambassador. He doesn't need to pretend it's still 1998 all these years on.

AEW

Leave the overabundance of spots just for the sake of spots and enough with the false finishes. Jim Ross was right, like it or not, the spots for the sake of spots and the false finishes need to end. This is my major problem with AEW and why I can’t stand The Elite in general. Everyone just needs to  get their shit in. Everything looks fake. No one can look strong or credible and we have to see garbage Indy wrestlers and the spot monkeys make everything look fake and phony. The champions never look credible and everyone is on the level of job guys. This needs to change

Stop leaving your Women’s Champion off the show. It is downright insulting how dirty they are doing Hikaru Shida. She deserves as much time to shine as the other champions deserve.

Stop putting the NWA Women’s Champion as more of a priority than your own Women’s Champion

Enough with Brandi. Why is the women’s division given absolutely 0 screentime and barely anytime to develop their stories, but Brandi is ALWAYS THERE! Everything has to be about her. When a feud between Cody and Shaq was close to happening, of course it had to be about her. She’s turned heel/face as much time as the Big Show. I’ve grown tired of Brandi Rhodes. Stop shoving that attention whore down our throats. WE GET IT! You wanna be Stephanie so bad!

Enough with Cody’s big dramatic midlife crisis entrances. We get it, you wanna be Triple H SO BAD!

Stop the petty bullshit shots at WWE. It was fun at first, but it’s getting annoying. This is Eric Bischoff giving away the results and “That’ll put butts in the seats” level of petty bullshit. AEW had the fucking nerve to tweet a fan’s post saying they did a better tribute for Brodie Lee than WWE. HE JUST DIED! AND YOU ARE MAKING IT ABOUT YOUR FUCKING RIVALRY? GROW THE FUCK UP!

[wwecouplequotes]

Andrade: Eres uno para mi (You're one for me)

Charlotte: *smiles*

Hunter: Charlotte, you're on in 10

*Charlotte heads towards her locker room to get ready*

Becky: *Looks at Seth* Am I the one for you?

Seth: Of course,you are babe

Kids: Lier! Cheater!

Jon: Shut up! You dumbasses!

*Charlotte gets out of her locker room and heads towards to the stage*

Andrade: *kisses Charlotte*

IIConics: Awww!

Kids: Eww

Seth: *tries to kiss Becky*

Becky: *slaps Seth*

Chris in the background: Uh haha

[rezwrites]

Tonight the stars aligned and everything is right in the WWE universe

•Seth is Universal champion and we are free from Borks iron grip

•The demon won

•Kofi won and is champ

•Triple H still has an in-ring career

•The IIconics are Tag Team Champs

•Becky is Double Champ

•R•••• suffered a loss on the Grandest Stage of them All

[aaronpullinteeth]

Becky, Alexa, The Iiconics and Nikki all on the stage at once. If they had Liv Morgan there too all my dreams would come true.

[hazyheel]

WWE Smackdown Live 7/16/19 Review

Before the show started, Shane talked to Kevin Owens about how he is having a smackdown Town Hall to talk about people’s grievances. However, despite having that, he said that Kevin Owens has the night off because of his insubordination. Security was right there, but Owens did not attack. He walked out, and then we started with the Town Hall meeting. 

So, oddly enough, this stupid meeting was the debut of Buddy Murphy. He was just standing around with the rest of the cast. Others that I noticed that are almost never on TV include Liv Morgan, Asuka, Kairi Sane, AOP, Ali, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable. 

Shane could hardly get a word out over the crowds insistent booing, but he eventually just asked who wanted to go first. Roman Reigns came out and said that no one respects Shane, and told him to kick his ass. Since he was disrespectful, Shane fined Reigns, and then asked for Charlotte Flair to talk. Charlotte just said that she was grateful to the McMahon family for all they have done for her, because she deserves it. As Charlotte was talking, Liv Morgan actually got on the mic and called Charlotte a phony, prompting Charlotte to ask who she was and if she actually works on Smackdown. Ouch. Morgan then started to say because of people like her, they don’t get enough opportunity, but Shane cut her off. Shane then welcomed Buddy Murphy to the mic, and Murphy said that he doesn’t Owens help, and would be happy to fight Owens if he kept mentioning his name. Cool, so Murphy loses his first match. Shane was happy to say that Murphy will be getting a match soon, and then welcomed Apollo Crews to the mic. Crews said that everyone agreed with what Owens said, but Zelina Vega interrupted and called him a coward, and challenged him to a match with Andrade for later in the night. Elias then interrupted everyone with a guitar strum, but he was quickly interrupted from the New Day, who called him a jackass. Kingston then said that Owens made some good points, and that the people on the stage were not getting enough opportunities. Shane then cut off Kingston’s mic and then concluded the town hall meeting. However, Cesaro then came out, and requested a rematch with Aleister Black. Shane granted it, and I was happy with that. But as Shane was about to leave, Kevin Owens showed up and nailed a slightly wonky stunner to leave Shane laying there. 

Grade: C+. Not the greatest segment in the world, unless they are actually going to change something. It set up quite a bit of the show though, so it was certainly a productive segment. I don’t know how self aware WWE is, but if they are willing to acknowledge their problems, then they should be willing to solve them too. Give this a slightly negative grade because I am skeptical, but it could be a step in the right direction, maybe. And that is a big maybe. I think it is super clear that Owens vs. Shane is happening at Summerslam too, so thats nice.

We went right into that rematch, Cesaro vs. Aleister Black. Black destroyed Cesaro with kicks early on, sending him to the outside. The match was much shorter than their pay per view match, but Black nailed Cesaro with a high knee and then a black mass that sent Cesaro’s mouthpiece out of his mouth. Nice visual. 

Grade: B-. Harmless extended squash. Black should be getting over soon. 

Backstage, Dolph Ziggler talked to Shane about having a match with Owens. Shane was apprehensive, but Ziggler said that they both were hit with stunners recently, and Owens needed to pay for that. Shane said that he would do it, if Ziggler could get Owens to compete. 

The then showed Daniel Bryan being absolutely pissed off about losing his Tag Team Championship, saying that if he wants to change the world, he has to aim higher than he ever has before. He looked crazy, it was really cool. I wonder where this is leading him. 

Then we went into Charlotte Flair vs. Liv Morgan. Morgan was showing off some of her offense, including a nice double foot stomp to the back of the head which looked brutal. However, she was mostly a sacrificial lamb. Charlotte nailed a huge powerbomb, and then tapped her out with the figure eight in under five minutes. 

After the match, Morgan stole Graves headset and said that Charlotte was right when she called Morgan fake, so when she comes back she will be real. How fun, but I like her gimmick, so this may suck. 

Grade: B-. Another extended squash that was fine. Nice to see Morgan back, and Charlotte too. I don’t know where this story with Morgan will go, probably a simple gimmick change, but I don’t know what it will be. 

Then we had Fire and Desire vs. Ember Moon and a mystery partner. Her mystery partner ended up being Bayley. Right at the bell the heels attacked quickly, taking Moon off the apron and then beating down Bayley. However, the faces quickly got the advantage and started to beat down the heels. Ember went up for the Eclipse on Mandy Rose, and Sonya Devlle ran in to attack her. Bayley caught Deville with the Bayley to Belly, and Moon hit Rose with the Eclipse. 

After the match, Bayley was interviewed about who her next challenger will be. She wanted someone who deserved the belt and someone who she never fought before. She then looked at Ember, who accepted the challenge.

Grade: B. Another match that wasn’t much of anything, but that announcement after the match definitely bumped it up. Moon deserves this, she is a great wrestler, and she did just win a match against some of the top women in the division. I hope she gets some wins on TV leading up to it to establish her as a more legit competitor to the rest of the fans. Should be a great match, and one that I have wanted for a long time. 

Backstage, Shinsuke Nakamura was interviewed about winning the Intercontinental Championship, and Ali walked up to congratulate him, and then ominously walk away. I would so be into that. 

Then we had the New Day come out, with all their gold. They put themselves over for both defending the WWE Championship, and winning the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. They then said that they are willing to accept Daniel Bryan and Rowans tag team rematch for right now. Bryan and Rowan came out, but they walked backstage.And then they came back out, but Bryan seemed oddly out of it and refused to speak, and went back. He came out one more time, looking absolutely pissed at the pro New Day crowd. He then dropped his mic and left for good. However, Samoa Joe then came out, and said that as long as the New Day is giving out title shots, Kingston should too. Elias then came out, and asked for a title shot of his own. Randy Orton came out to ask for the same. Elias pointed out that they can’t all have championship matches tonight, and suggested a 6-man tag. The New Day accepted, but Randy Orton wasn’t into it. Until Kingston insulted him for not wanting to fight. 

That 6-man tag was next, New Day vs. Orton, Elias and Joe. The new day showed off their 6-man tag team prowess, before the heels bent the rules a bit to get control. Woods was beaten down a bit, but eventually hit a huge missile dropkick to get back in the ring, and gave Kingston a hot tag. Kofi hit a crossbody on Orton, only for Elias to break it up. Big E then gave Elias a belly to belly, only to eat a lariat from Joe, only for Woods to attack Joe. He fought him a little bit, before low bridging Joe and hitting a tope con hilo. Woods was going to get back in the ring, but Joe pulled him off the apron and into a coquina clutch. Big E tried to break it up, but ran right into a high knee from Elias. Elias then ran in the ring and ate a trouble in paradise to the kidney from Kingston, but Kingston then ate an RKO for the win from the heels. 

Grade: B. Pretty good match, definitely picked up in the end there. It gave Joe some of his momentum back, and made Elias look good too. Orton was the next logical challenger, and although I am not usually a fan of champions losing, at times like this it makes sense. I need this feud, and although I think Kofi should drop the championship soon, it shouldn’t be to Orton. We will see though, I may change my mind. This was the match of the night. 

Backstage, R-Truth was hiding in a broken washing machine, and Carmella had to help him get out of it. She then suggested that they go to Comicon. That will be fun. I can’t wait. 

Then we had a match for the Women’s Tag Team Championships. The Kabuki Warriors vs. The IIconics, Asuka and Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce and Billie Cay. The Kabuki warriors started out with some high speed offense, only for the heels to slow it down a bit. Asuka knocked Cay out of the ring, and the IIconics opted for a count out loss to retain.

After the match, the faces beat the crap out of the heels. And stood tall.

Grade: D-. Why the hell do they still have those belts? I don’t want them to lose them at summerslam, because the IIconics do not deserve to have a Summerslam match. They aren’t good enough. The Kabuki Warriors should win on TV sooner rather than later. The only reason that this isn’t an F is because Asuka and Sane showed some really good stuff before the bullshit ending. 

Then we had Apollo Crews vs. Andrade. Andrade attacked as Crews got in the ring. Right when the bell rang, Andrade attacked again with some stiff knees and kicks. Andrade nailed the double knees in the corner, but Crews reversed a pinfall into a crucifix for the win.

Grade: B-. Jeez, are any of these matches going to be legit? Again, a harmless short match, but there are a lot of these this episode. 

And in the main event, we have Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler. Owens went for the stunner right away, but Ziggler was able to avoid it by rolling out, so Owens nailed him with a Tope con hilo. Owens did not stop there, hitting two swanton bombs throughout the match, but only near falls. After the second swanton, Shane came out with the entirety of the heel lockerroom. They surrounded the ring, and as Owens yelled at Shane, Ziggler nailed a zig zag for a close near fall. Owens continued the match, with dodging a superkick and nailing Ziggler with a stunner. Shane pulled him out of the ring, only to eat his second stunner of the night. The heels then chased Owens out of the arena, and presumably lost by countout. 

Shane then was interviewed about Owens, and said that he could definitely pay.

Grade: C. A pretty meh main event that didn’t even really have a winner. The feud with Shane is not being built up in the best way that it could be, but it is still kinda entertaining. The match was alright, but not particularly need to see. Should be an interesting Smackdown next week.

Overall Grade: C+

Pros: WWE may fix the product; Bayley vs. Moon for Summerslam; 6-man tag

Cons: too many squashes; women’s tag team championship; main event

[bossnhugfirequeen]

#SMACKDOWN LIVE RECAP 6/18/19: -#alexabliss came out with #nikkicross for #amomentofbliss. #bayley then came out. Bliss starts asking about her coffee and Bayley ends up coming out drinking it. Bliss was pissed Bayley was drinking her coffee, Bliss then said Bayley isn't who she says she is. Bayley then says that she never talked smack about Bliss. Then she tells Cross that Bliss is just using her and isn’t her real friend. Bliss then says Bayley back in NXT and everyone treated her like garbage. When she turned to the supposed “nice” person in the locker room, Bayley, even she made her feel worthless. The only women who gave her the time of day was Charlotte. Then said Bayley is out there with her Bayley buddies acting like a lovable hugger. Bayley replies that Bliss is making up things to gain sympathy. Bliss says Bayley could never have achieved what she has without help and Bayley retorts that she’s earned everything she has. This went on for a littel bit and then Bayley charges Bliss and starts to beat her down. Cross jumps in and throws Bayley off and yells at her for costing her the Tag Team Championships last night. Bliss capitalizes on the distraction and blindsides Bayley. Bliss and Cross leave, with Bayley laid out on the stage. -#embermoon confronted #mandyrose and #sonyadeville backstage after last week they came up to her and broke her Nintendo Switch. Sonya and Mandy were eating donuts until Moon knocked them out of thier hands and stated a fight backstage. -#theiiconcis, #billiekay and #peytonroyce were walking backstage when they came across #paige, #kairisane and #asuka who were standing in the hallway. Paige asked why the IIconics don't defened those titles, then she suggusted that while they are in Tokyo next week they should have a tag team match and if Auska and Kairi win they will get a championship opprotunity on the next Smackdown Live. MY THOUGHTS: -Good epidsode. -Bayley and Bliss sgment was great, I can't wait to see them on sunday. -I can't wait to see more work from Auska and Kairi -I like the Sonya, Ember, Mandy story going on too. #wwe #wwewomensdivision #womenswrestling #sdlive (at Ontario, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/By-wxxAg2pz/?igshid=1f2eck5tdx007

[rollin-up-the-walls]

Opening for @block9official this year! 🍾💥👯‍♀️ @glastofest w/ the NEW #3dsurroundsound 6-point #ambisonicsound #IICON #stage & #sculpture #AV #3D #artinstallation CANNOT WAIT fully blessed 🙏🏽🚜🏕🥰 (at The Glastonbury Festival) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByDLmzvJJ7E/?igshid=1ftt2v75ytf3x

[theonlyblackcanary]

I just realized the IIconics stage graphics are pink, purple, and blue

Y’know what else is pink, purple, and blue?

[happenable-blog]

WWE Raw - March 18, 2019: Highlights and Review

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman open the show This week WWE Raw got opened with a promoas usual. What wasn't usual though, was that Brock Lesnar made an appearance on Raw after god knows how long. He got booed by the Chicago crowd as he made his way down the ring. Heyman starts the promo with his usual schtick introducing Brock Lesnar to us. He challenged the statements made by Rollins the previous week. He said Brock Lesnar defeated all the man that Rollins said he had a hard time with. In the end, he was the victor against Styles, Bryan and Balor. He hyped the main event of the show saying that what was Rollins thinking challenging a career killer like Drew McIntyre for a match days before his match with Brock Lesnar. This brings out McIntyre who is happy that he is finally getting the respect that he deserves. McIntyre suggests to Heyman that he must find another opponent for Brock because after McIntyre is done brutalizing Rollins, he won't make it to WrestleMania. Seth Rollins comes from behind and hit McIntyre with chair shots on the back. He looks at Brock and heads towards the ring with the chair in his hands. Lesnar just jumps out and leaves. This was a fine segment. It is always nice to see both the competitors hyping up their match instead of the same promo by only one of them. Also did a decent job to hype the audience for the main event of the show. Rating: 3.5/5 Finn Balor is out next. He will be in a tag team match with a mystery partner against Lashley and Rush. Blair grabs a mic and said that he wasn't a lucky Irish last week when he lost his Intercontinental championship match to Bobby Lashley. He said he wouldn't be a former champion for too long though. Lashley and Rush interrupt. Lashley poses with the title. Balor said he will get his hands on the title very soon. And his partner will get his hands on both them. Brain Strowman us revealed as Balor's tag team partner Finn Balor and Braun Strowman vs Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush Lashley and Rush dominate Balor. Balor gets very little offence in the match. The heels tried to avoid Baloe tagging in Strowman into the match. Strowman finally gets in the ring with Rush. He throws Rush across the ring before stomping him on the chest. Rush almost made a comeback when Lashley hit a spear on Strowman. But Braun kicks out after a frog splash attempt from Lio. Rush tried to run away but he is caught by Balor. Balor got shoulder tackled by Lashley, who got run over by Braun. Braun throws Rush into the ring for a chokeslam and then a running powerslam for the win. Winner: Finn Balor and Braun Strowman I am not that much invested in the IC title storyline. The match was fine. They are still booking Lashley to be strong. Balor barely got any offence in the match which is not great. Rating: 2/5 Backstage, Ronda Rousey is walking into the arena with her husband, Travis Browne. They walk into the referee John Cone who told Ronda that she is late. He also told her that in addition to the fine on Ronda, they have also increased security. Rousey just ignores and walks away. A Moment of Bliss w/ Elias Bliss hyped herself up as a great talk show host. She said she has inspired Lily Singh to be a talk show host before she introduces Elias. Elias comes out playing his guitar. He announces that he will be the headlining musical act at WrestleMania. He made some field goal reference which I didn't get. But the Chicago crowd did who booed him. He is talking about how if someone interrupts him at Mania he will... But before he can say anything else he is interrupted by the No way Jose's conga line led by Otus and Tucker. One of the members hit Elias and it was revealed that No way Jose was an intruder in his own conga line. Okay... No way Jose gets into the ring for a match with Elias. Elias vs No Way Jose Some back and forth action in the match. The crowd was dead for this one. The conga line tried to rally the crowd chanting his name but no one else made a sound in the arena. The finish came when Elias hit Jose with an elbow drop led by the drift away. Winner: Elias I guess this is a feud now. No one is interested in it but it is a feud. The match in itself was nothing special. Rating: 1/5 Kurt Angle announces his WrestleMania opponent Kurt Angle reminded us that he will have his farewell match at WrestleMania. He also said that his farewell tour will continue tonight. A "Thank You Kurt" chants by the crowd to which Kurt thanked the crowd back. He went on to thank the McMahon family to allow him to choose his WrestleMania opponent. And he announced that he will face the man who made his life living hell when he was WWE Raw General Manager. And that man is... BARON CORBIN. The crowd booed hearing his name. He said he will make Corbin tap out at Mania. Oh it's true... It's damn true. I will give this announcement and the following match separate rating. With all the dream matches that you could have had, with the roster depth that you had to choose an opponent for Kurt for his last match. They seriously went for Baron Corbin?! This is furious. The crowd booed not because he is a great heel but because we don't want to see this match. When Kurt said those line, that felt so scripted and badly acted too. Rating: 0.5/5 Kurt Angle vs Chad Gable Gable shaped Angle's hand and said that Angle is his hero. They did some technical wrestling in the ring. Kurt delivered a belly to belly suplex to Gable. Angle tried to go for the Angle Lock but Gable gets out and rolls him up for two. Kurt tried to hit three German suplexes but Gable got out of the second one and locks in Angle lock which got booed by the crowd. Angle gets out and tried to go for Angle Slam, Gable countered with a DDT. Gable went on the top rope for a moonsault. Angle moved out if the way and applies Angle Lock. Gable tries to fight but taps out. Winner via submission: Kurt Angle I will take this match over Angle vs Corbin at any damn time. This was not a great match. Just an average match with some spots. But still, Gable is a great wrestler and deserves much better. Rating: 2.5/5 Corbin comes out in a sea of boos by the crowd after the match. He said he will humiliate him in his last match. The crowd chanted for Cena. And I also wanted Cena to come out, but he is nowhere to be seen. In-ring interview with WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Boss & Hug connection Before the segment, Baron Corbin is talking to The Revival backstage. He is interrupted by Apollo Crews who challenged him for a match later tonight. He said that no one likes him to which he replied that The revival likes him. Revival just walked off saying "Hell no!" Carly Caruso is in the ring to interview Boss & Hug. She mentions that IIconics think that Banks and Bayley are ducking them by not appearing on SmackDown. Bailey announces that they will fight anyone. That's why they will appear on SmackDown tomorrow night and It'll be iconic, mocking the IIconic's pose. Natalya and Beth Phoenix interrupts them and gets in the ring. Beth said that Nia and Tamina ignited the fire inside her and now she is ready to step out of retirement to fight for the one thing that she has never held - The women's tag titles. Bailey and Banks cut a bit heelish promo on their opponents. They said that Competition is now evolved and Beth should take more time to prepare. This got heated and led to a mild brawl between the teams. Sasha Banks w/ Bayley vs Natalya w/ Beth Phoenix This was a short match. Both the women hit some of their signature moves. Banks is out recovering after a discus clothesline from Natalya. Nia Jac comes out on the stage. Nia mocks Beth and said she had accomplished more in her 3 years than Beth ever did in her career.. This was all a distraction as Tamina comes out from the crowd and throws Beth to the post before super-kicking Baykey and Banks to end the match. Winner by Disqualification: Sasha Banks Tamina ran away from Natalya back to Nia. They both laughed on top of the stage. Fine segment Beth Phoenix stepping out of retirement didn't feel like a big thing as we all saw it coming. The match was nothing. This was just to build a multi-team match at Mania, I believe. Rating: 2/5 Mojo Rawley is talking with himself in the mirror. I can't recall what he said. But I don't think it matters either. Ricochet vs Jinder Mahal w/ Singh Brothers Mahal dominated some of the match with chin locks and with the help of Singh Brothers. Ricochet made a comeback later he hit a running shooting star press. Mahal was pulled out by the Singhs. Ricochet got everyone with a dive on the outside. He throws Mahal in the ring and hit 630 for the win. Winner: Ricochet I hope this is not a feud. If it is it will be a lacking one. You can't even say it was a squash match as Mahal did get some offence in it. It was just there to showcase Ricochet's moves. Rating: 2/5 It was announced that Sue Aitchison will receive the warrior award at the Hall of Fame Ceremony. WWE Raw Women's Championship Match: Ronda Rousey (c) vs Dana Brooke Brooke had a backstage interview with Charly, who said that Ronda beat the likes of Becky and Charlotte and she is... Dana get what she meant and said that she might not be better but she needs to be better than Ronda for three seconds. The match starts. Dana blocked on a kick from Ronda but she caught Brooke with a jumping knee. She hit some more knees before applying an armbar for the win. Winner via Submission and still Raw Women's Champion: Ronda Rousey Rousey didn't let go of the armbar even after the bell rang. Dana was shouting in pain. She finally let go as a ref ran down the ring. She pushed him away and more security ran down. Ronda went to kiss her husband in the front row and slapped a security guy down. Travis pulled her in the crowd and calmed her down to walk away with her. This was more of a segment after the match than the match itself. I didn't mind the badass Ronda it is always good. I hope she just does it without reminding us that wrestling us scripted off TV. Loved how she just squashed Dana too. Rating: 3/5 Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews Apollo dodged a slide out clothesline from Corbin. Corbin did his deadly move - the chin lock. He also hit his secondary moves like Deep Six but Crews kicked out. The crowd was chanting for Cena. Corbin went for end of days but Crews countered into a roll up for the win. Winner: Apollo Crews Not bothered by this match if they are working as they are doing a great job as I was bored by this match and hated them for this. Angle joined Crews on top of the ramp. Rating: 1/5 Interview with Batista via Satellite Michael Cole is conducting the interview with Batista who is live from Tampa, Florida. Barista said that he just doesn't like Triple H and he never did. Cole asks if it goes back to their Evolution days. He said it goes way beyond than that. He said Triple H just uses people to make him look good. Whether it was DX or Evolution. Cole asked why he quit in 2010. Barista replies he didn't quit. He was not getting opportunities that he deserved by his Boss Triple H. That's why he quit. He made a huge name for himself outside of WWE after that and become famous. He just hopes that Vince McMahon fires Triple H and end his professional career. At WrestleMania, he will end his in-ring career. He announced the interview to be over and demanded that camera crew got out. This was a great promo by Batista. He has just one goal and that is to end Triple H's career at Mania Rating: 3.5/5 Brain Strowman announced that he will be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in a backstage interview. Drew McIntyre comes out to cut a promo before his match against Rollins. He said that he wants to talk to Joe the man, not Roman Reign. Joe, the father and the husband. He challenged him for a match at WrestleMania and said he may have been able to beat leukaemia but he won't be able to beat him. Rollins and McIntyre brawls midway in through the ramp as the match is going to start next. Drew McIntyre vs Seth Rollins There was action all around. Rollins avoided getting thrown to the steel steps and hits a moonsault, but Drew moved out if the way. McIntyre was going for a powerbomb in tge ring but Rollins countered with a hurricanrana. Rollins tried to go for a suicide dive on Drew but Drew caught him and throw him into the barricade. Later Rollins did two consecutive suicide dives on McIntyre and even hit him with his Superplex into a falcon arrow for a near fall. Rollins stomps his feet on the ring calling for the curb stomp. Before he could hit it Lesnar music hits and he comes out with Heyman to distract Rollins. As Rollins turns around to take care of Drew he ran straight into a Claymore. Winner: Drew McIntyre This was by far the best match on the show storyline wise as well as wrestling wise. I didn't like the booking though. You could have had Lesnar just laying out Rollins to end it a DQ or some way. I know you want to build Drew up for Reigns but you gotta build Rollins up as well. Rating: 3.5/5 This week's WWE Raw was very boring and frustrating tbh. It felt like a lot of fillers and boring matches. The bits I liked were the opening segment, Batista's promo and the main event. The rest was very poor. WWE Raw Rating: 2/5 Do let us know what you thought if WWE Raw this week. If you want to contact us you can do so here. Catch all the past WWE Raw Reviews here. Read the full article

[darcyroden]

iicon stage in the southeast corner // 26.06.22 

[placetobenation]

In a normal year, Extreme Rules would be the set-up PPV for another major show of the year, SummerSlam. But, as we know, this is no ordinary year. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of booking plans on hold since there are no crowds to entertain live and feed off of at the arenas. Plus, you have major superstars like Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns who have missed most of the virus show. Add to that the fact that Charlotte Flair is taking time off for surgery and personal time and you’ve got a watered-down summer here in the wrestling world.

Still, having said that, the Horror Show at Extreme Rules is a bit intriguing to me. The championship matches are stacked and I’m not so sure what to make of the stipulation (cinematic?) matches between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt along with Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio. Are we really going to see a match wrestled in a swamp? Are we really going to get an eye ripped out of the socket? I hope they wow me, but I’m not banking on it.

We’ll get to the predictions at the end of the column, but for now, here’s how the card looks:

The Horror Show at Extreme Rules PPV – Updated Card

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler (stipulation to be announced)

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Universal Championship Wyatt Swamp Match: Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

Eye for an Eye Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins

United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews vs. MVP

Tables Match – SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The New Day vs. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura

RAW

RESULTS

Tag Team Elimination Match: Angel Garza & Andrade defeated The Viking Raiders (Angel Garza last man)

Bianca Belair & Ruby Riott defeated The IIconics

Aleister Black defeated Buddy Murphy (DQ)

Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins

Randy Orton defeated R-Truth (24/7 Championship not on the line)

Bobby Lashley defeated Ricochet

Women’s Tag Team Title Match: Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated Asuka & Kairi Sane

.@HEELZiggler got DECKED by @DMcIntyreWWE on the #VIPLounge! THIS SUNDAY…the #WWEChampionship is on the line at The Horror Show at #ExtremeRules!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/LEbEw0sRJD

— WWE (@WWE) July 14, 2020

What’s the stip?

Drew vs. Dolph – What will the stipulation be? I guess we’ll find out Sunday night! All we know right now is that Ziggler is teasing something that’s NEVER been done before in the WWE. Watch out McIntyre!

Good vibes:

We kid, we kid.@AngelGarzaWwe just WON this thing for himself and @AndradeCienWWE … and @Zelina_VegaWWE LOVES IT! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/bqqSQAGiOo

— WWE (@WWE) July 14, 2020

Zelina’s Zen – Yes, at least for the past two weeks, Zelina Vega has her men, Andrade and Angel Garza on the same page and ready for a shot at the Tag Team Championship. They are far better looking strong and a force on Monday nights than the whiney boys they have been previously. Here’s hoping a feud and future gold is coming to Miss Vega and her team.

Kevin Owens – Yes, I’m a big KO Fan. Always have ever since the days of seeing him wrestling in person as Kevin Steen in Ring of Honor. A forceful Owens is a good thing for RAW and for the WWE Universe. He’s got stroke in and out of the ring!

"Are YOU willing to sacrifice your friendships so @RandyOrton can be the #LegendKiller?" – @WWETheBigShow to @RicFlairNatrBoy #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/xoBEX4tMTx

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 14, 2020

Legend Killer vibes – OMG! Can you just feel the tension of Randy Orton one day taking out Ric Flair! It’s coming folks and it will be magical in its power! And speaking of Flair, that was an amazing conversation between the Nature Boy and The Big Show. You could feel the realness to it!

Welcome back:

W: @RubyRiottWWE & @BiancaBelairWWE L: @BillieKayWWE & @PeytonRoyceWWE #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/tUFdRKdfAJ

— WWE (@WWE) July 14, 2020

Bianca Belair – It’s nice to see BB back on Monday nights. Sure, we all thought it would be Liv Morgan coming to the aid of Ruby Riott against the IIconics, but it was a nice surprise to see the EST of NXT on RAW once again.

She's back. Watch out.#WWERaw @QoSBaszler pic.twitter.com/sfyVKRMTdb

— WWE (@WWE) July 14, 2020

Shayna Baszler – Damn, I so wanted Baszler to pin R-Truth for the 24/7 Championship! But, barring that, the badass is back baby! Here’s hoping they let her loose his time and try not to tame her. Let her run free and be true to her dominant self.

The best:

INCOMINGGGGGGGGGG#WWERaw #TagTeamTitles @itsBayleyWWE @SashaBanksWWE pic.twitter.com/G7mzggI9c4

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 14, 2020

The main event – It just keeps getting better and better with Sasha Banks, Bayley and the Kabuki Warriors battling each week. The champs get the win heading into Extreme Rules and keep the dream alive of all the gold going around the waist of the BFF’s. Plus, on RAW Talk after the show, we get a hint that maybe Asuka will take on Kairi Sane down the road.

NXT

RESULTS

Damien Priest defeated Cameron Grimes

Indi Hartwell defeated Shotzi Blackheart

NXT Championship & North American Championship Match: Keith Lee defeated Dominik Dijakovic

Timothy Hatcher defeated Denzel Dejournette

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Io Shirai defeated Tegan Nox

Bask in the Glory

For he is LIMITLESS…@RealKeithLee is STILL your NXT Champion AND NXT North American Champion! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/T623wlAyXc

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 16, 2020

Lee’s 1st defense – Nothing but respect for Keith Lee in granting his very first defense of the NXT Championship & North American Championship to his friend and former rival Dominik Dijakovic. The two didn’t disappoint and continues their physical battles from a few months ago on center stage Wednesday night. Plus, it’s a nice appetizer to Lee’s upcoming feud with Karrion Kross.

Who’s next:

Has @RealKeithLee's time run out?

#WWENXT @Lady_Scarlett13 @WWEKarrionKross pic.twitter.com/SJmsCzqmgM

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 16, 2020

Kross vs. Lee – Which brings us to this – Scarlett Bourdeaux made sure Lee didn’t forget that Tick. Tock. Remembers everything including the hourglass Lee smashed before coming champion. This could be one of the biggest feuds of the year if they let it be. Let it breathe and develop NXT! First up, Kross takes on Dijakovic this Wednesday night.

Meh:

Timothy Thatcher – I like the gimmick, but just not sure anyone knows where it’s going. It needs a direction and a foe to focus on.

50/50:

AND STILL. @shirai_io #WWENXT #NXTWomensTitle pic.twitter.com/XtGD8m1dPx

— WWE (@WWE) July 16, 2020

Io vs. Tegan – Don’t get me wrong, Shirai vs. Nox was pretty good. Maybe it’s the lack of crowd or emotion. Maybe it’s coming after Lee’s title defense. But it just lacked a certain something watching it live. It just didn’t feel as big as it should’ve been. Let’s see how Dakota Kai plays into the picture now with her attack on Shirai to end the show.

WAIT A MINUTE!!!!?!?!

#WWENXT @DakotaKai_WWE @shirai_io pic.twitter.com/hHJSxcx4xE

— WWE (@WWE) July 16, 2020

I’m a fan:

Fantastic Fantasma – I am an unabashed fan of Santos Escobar, Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde. These three could dominate and would love to see a lucha libre spectacular with Andrade & Angel Garza someday. I need them to take the next step and really own the heel mentality to take out Drake Maverick, Breezango and the entire Cruiserweight division. They need to channel their inner Horsemen mentality for it. I think they have it in them!

Missing:

Come back Ciampa – How can creative not have anything for Tommaso Ciampa? The guy is gold and there should be room for him at any time in NXT. The fact that he’s not around makes the show that much less of a show to watch.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Cesaro defeated Big E – Cesaro picks the stipulation for the Tag Team Title Match at Extreme Rules

Women’s Tag Team Championship Non-Title Match: Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated Asuka & Nikki Cross

Universal Championship Non-Title Match: Braun Strowman defeated John Morrison

Lacey Evans defeated Naomi

Intercontinental Championship Match: AJ Styles defeated Matt Riddle to retain title

Money:

.@NikkiCrossWWE is crushed.#SmackDown #WomensChampion @itsBayleyWWE pins her #ExtremeRules' opponent just days before their championship collision! @SashaBanksWWE pic.twitter.com/Ym1Ct9sJ3V

— WWE (@WWE) July 18, 2020

The ladies – It’s like printing money each and every show. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Asuka and whomever you want to put in the ring with them. Highlight material each and every time. Having Nikki Cross get pinned again by Bayley, leaving Nikki to doubt herself could lead to an unhinging Sunday night for Miss Cross.

Misplaced:

Bow down to your King @BaronCorbinWWE, @SuperKingofBros! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/Xj6VJyBqbM

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 18, 2020

Styles vs. Riddle – Granted, the IC Title Match, mostly dominated by Matt Riddle, was a very good one and I wouldn’t mind seeing them go at it again for the tiebreaker, the match itself was a bit misplaced. As the main event on the go-home show to Sunday night’s PPV, it had nothing, zero, nada to do with the making me want to see Extreme Rules. The number one thing the go-home show has to get done is to make me want to watch the PPV in two days. Sure, with King Corbin attacking Riddle after the match, it furthers that feud and the match may give us another Styles vs. Riddle battle down the road, nothing in the final 30 minutes of SmackDown gave me a reason to watch Sunday night. And that, my friends is an EPIC failure. Win the battle, but lose the war with that booking my friends. Maybe they’ll add a match before the PPV but that’s neither here nor there as it’s a missed opportunity on broadcast TV to hype the night.

Saw it coming a mile away

The SmackDown Tag Team Titles will be on the line at #ExtremeRules in a TABLES MATCH! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/a1T1ARUzb0

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 18, 2020

Tables Match – The obligatory tables match at Extreme Rules honors this year go to The New Day and Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura. It was a foregone conclusion.

I like it:

The open to the show – Instead of a 10-minute in-ring promo that we normally get each week, we got a pre-produced preview to the night’s events with all of the superstars chiming in. A nice touch, with some groovy backbeat tunes and a solid way to start the night. Brings a sporty feel to it too. Hope they keep using it every once in a while.

Filling time:

"Once you enter, you can never truly leave. Part of you will live here forever." – @WWEBrayWyatt #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/QElQi5uDcy

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 18, 2020

Braun vs. Morrison – Did it make you want to watch the Swamp Match any more this Sunday? And for that, it failed to deliver. Predictable match and outcome.  At least Bray Wyatt’s pre-produced promo from the Swamp had some meat to it.

Parting shots:

Predictions for the Horror Show at Extreme Rules

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre defeats Dolph ZIggler to retain title

Swamp Match: Universal Champion Bray Wyatt defeats Bray Wyatt to retain title

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks defeats Asuka to win the title

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bayley defeats Nikki Cross to retain title

Tables Match: SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeat Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura to retain title

United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews defeats MVP

Eye for an Eye Match: Seth Rollins defeats Rey Mysterio

Upcoming this week:

RAW: Unsanctioned Match: Randy Orton vs. The Big Show

NXT: Karrion Kross vs. Dominik Dijakovic Dexter Lumis vs. Killian Dain

SMACKDOWN: Bar Fight: Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

[emmaspatialhonours]

Immersive and alternative reality executed through set and stage design for Glastonbury Festival 2019 Stage IICON by block9.

[charpenterie]

Block9 reveals "monster" IICON stage at Glastonbury 2019 https://ift.tt/2FURGxr July 05, 2019 at 02:00PM

[hazyheel]

Smackdown Live 4/9/19 Review

The night started out with a big championship celebration from the New Day. Kofi was showered with you deserve it chants, along with just general Kofi chants. Kingston seemed to be emotional right off the bat, as Xavier Woods and Big E hyped him up to the crowd. Big E even did another split for the crowd, which very much excited them. It was a pretty basic promo, but then they talked about Kingston’s win in a very heartfelt promo. Woods even said that Kingston was one of his heroes. Kofi even slightly broke the fourth wall by saying that his victory was not in the script. Kofi thanked his family, who was there. But then the Bar interrupted, to huge boos. They demanded thanks for causing a DQ last night, because he was going to lose his belt in the first defense. The Bar then challenged New Day to a 6-man tag, with McIntyre as their third. That match will happen later

Grade: B+. Even though it was a basic promo, it was an emotional one. It is still so hard to believe that Kofi Kingston is WWE champion, but it feels so right. His family was there and very happy, Woods and Big E were still emotional too. It was just great. And I was looking forward to the 6-man tag later on.

Speaking of 6-man tags, Ricochet, Aleister Black and Ali took on Rusev, Shinsuke Nakamura and Andrade. It was pretty fast paced and enjoyable. And even the commentators called Ali “Mustafa” at one point. The finishing sequence was awesome, with Ricochet taking out Rusev with a splash off the barricade, only for Nakamura to hit him with the Kinshasa. Black then hit Nakamura off the apron with a Black Mass, only to get hit with a massive back elbow from Andrade. Ali then nailed Andrade with the best reverse rana I have ever seen, and a 450 splash for the win. However, when the match was over, Ali was ambushed with an RKO from Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens attacked Rusev with a stunner. What the hell is happening?

Grade: B. I wasn’t a huge fan of this basic TV match, but the finisher fest in the end was really awesome. Plus, I think 2 feuds were set up? Maybe? Idk, but Orton vs. Ali would be awesome. Fun closing sequence, and just an odd amount of set up for the future.

Backstage, The Usos had a quick interview, congratulating Kingston and then saying that they need to prove they are the best tag team in WWE history by beating the Hardy’s in a championship match later on.

In the ring, R-Truth and Carmella cut a pretty basic Promo to pop the crowd. R-Truth said that Carmella defeated Andre the Giant in the Royal Rumble. It was funny, and Carmella then attributed her face turn to R-Truth. She said her Battle Royal win is just the beginning for her, and she has big things in her future. Samoa Joe then came out, and he attacked R-Truth. Samoa Joe said that he would fight anyone right now, and Braun Strowman responded, and the two attacked each other in a crazy brawl. Joe locked in the Coquina clutch for a bit, but Strowman broke out. Strowman went for the powerslam, but Joe was too heavy and slipped out.

Grade: C+. A little too chaotic for me. Why was R-Truth involved in this? I really don’t know. But Joe vs. Strowman would be really fun, if they only had one match. I can’t really see a series between them being very entertaining, but as an oddball match, it would be fun for a pay per view. Huge match too.

The IIconics then came out for their first title defense of the Women’s Tag Team Championships. They said that they will be fighting champions, and they announced two jobbers, who were supposed to be the best women’s tag team in Brooklyn. Corey kept messing up their names too while saying they were one of the best tag teams in the world, it was funny. The two women were actually really good, selling their ass off for the new champions. 

Grade: C. Average squash match.

Backstage, Paige was watching the the women’s tag match, and announced that next week, she would be bringing in her own tag team. Could be fun to see Paige in a managerial role, she was a great authority figure. I look forward to that.

Next out was Shane McMahon to talk about his victory at Wrestlemania. Shane said that during the match, Mr Miz gave him a black eye, and claimed that beating down George was self defense and nothing more. Shane called himself best in the world, to which the crowd chanted CM Punk. Shane just said “please.” Shane tried to tell Greg Hamilton to give him a great introduction, but Greg simply said that people had threatened him if he called Shane best in the world. Shane was not satisfied, and dragged Greg away by his tie. When they got to the stage,

Grade: F. Stupid promo, weird ass feud, and no plot progression.

Next up, the Smackdown Tag Team Championship match between The Hardy’s and The Usos. The match started out surprisingly quick, with the Hardy’s moret than holding their own with the younger Usos. The crowd was also into this one, probably because of the fast tags. Jeff kicked out of a superkick and then splash, a shocking kickout for a TV match. They went up for the double Uce (how do they spell that.) but Jeff rolled away. Jimmy Was then hit with a twist of Fate and Swanton bomb to win the Smackdown tag team championships. After the match, Lars Sullivan came down to confront them, hitting Jeff with a Freak Accident, Matt with same sort of Powerslam, and a flying headbutt to Matt afterwards.

Grade: B+. Wow, surprising title change, but I am into it. Obviously, the Hardy’s will be around for a while, but if this is to give them one last title reign, I am into it. It was a good match, and the beatdown afterwards was fun too. Some people in the crowd tried to do a “you can’t wrestle” chant. They don’t even know, he is a good wrestler. I look forward to seeing his first feud, because he is shockingly good. They should at least be giving him jobbers soon.

Next up, the Man came out to talk about her win at Wrestlemania. She actually didn’t talk about it much, and then talked about Lacey Evans attacking her. Lynch said that she will still take on all comers for her belts, including Evans. As she was walking out, Evans attacked her again. Evans had the advantage this time, hitting the Woman’s Right and leaving.

Grade: C+. Rehash of yesterday. Still fun to see Lacey finally doing shit again.

And we came to the main event. The New Day vs. The Bar and McIntyre. For some reason, Sami Zayn came out to cut a promo on the crowd, and just said that smackdown wasn’t worth it. Big E and Cesaro had an interesting showdown, ending with Big E on top. Big E did eat a White Noise driver, only for Woods to break it up. However, Kingston got the win after a Trouble in Paradise to Sheamus. Kingston once again celebrated in the ring with his kids. And even his wife.

Grade: D+. Most of this match was during a commercial break, so I could barely see anything. Finishing sequence was kinda interesting, but not much more than that.

Overall Grade: C-

Pros: opening promo; 6-man tag; Smackdown tag team championship match

Cons: Terrible Mcmahon promo; main event; no new debuts