#everyone's been losing their mind over this ppv and yet he's just been out and about vibing in glasgow without a care in the world

[d-lanx]

Punk’s Glasgow Photos

[liamhaydn-blog]

Joshua & Fury: reading of the resumes.

You can’t read any discussion about Anthony Joshua for long without seeing reference to his resume. The resume is usually brought up as the first line of defence to any criticism slung his way, and is perhaps the only line of attack that is still being used by AJ fans as to why their man still deserves more credit and praise than Tyson Fury. 

The resume line is used by noone more than Eddie Hearn, who mentions it before every fight, after every fight, win or lose. The names by now reel off his tongue, and near everyone from what I have seen is in complete agreement that AJ has put together one hell of a record. 

This has always somewhat baffled me, and I will explore why here. First of all since April 2016, every fight he’s had has been a World title fight. His last 8 fights have been for 3 organisation’s belts. When you are the champion of those 3 organisations, you will have to fight decent fighters, to justify you holding onto so many belts. Also these organisations want you to face their mandatory challenger now and then, the chances are someone ranked #1 will be a pretty good fighter. Does a unified World Heavyweight champion really deserve so much credit for fighting fairly solid opponents?

Comparison is often made to Wilder’s defences for example, and for sure it does seem that Wilder is a bit of a flat track bully, who didn’t seem to particularly mind some easy knockouts over less than stellar opposition. Though it still remains hard to fairly compare his level of opponents to Joshua’s. Joshua gets bigger crowds than anyone in world boxing, he’s for years now sold out big stadiums in a matter of hours, he’s simply one of the biggest stars in boxing with huge PPV numbers. This to say, they can afford to pay opponents big money. The big money that is required for a credible opponent. I don’t think that has always been the case for Wilder, who himself was not getting anything like big money until having been World Champion for a while, let alone his opponent. 

This is not to completely excuse Wilder, the fact an agreement was never reached to fight Dillian Whyte in all the time he was mandatory challenger, its quite bizarre to me why Wilder seemingly did not ever fancy that fight. And I do think that unlike Wilder, AJ has and always will be willing to face anyone, be it Wilder, Fury, I don’t think him a coward or someone who would doubt himself enough to not fancy them fights. 

The reason for the AJ-Wilder fight never materialising whilst both were champion, I don’t believe was down to AJ himself, though I believe its possible his team and promoter wanted to keep him away from Wilder for a little longer, to further build up his experience. But for Wilder’s part, I never got the impression he was particularly falling over himself to get the fight either.

I digress, but the point is that though I believe AJ has been more up for a challenge and a real fight than Wilder has, it’s not quite as simple as just looking at who their opponents have been for defences and not including the context.    

The most common comparison presumably in the whole of boxing is AJ’s resume against Tyson Fury’s. As stated earlier, this is often something used by AJ fans, and Fury’s resume is the one main critique levelled against him by virtually everyone who wishes to put him down. 

Again, it often seems a little without context. A man who has defended or attempted to defend his world title 9 times is always likely to have fought more decent fighters than someone who has never defended before, that seems obvious. Fury is mocked for never having attempted a World title defence, (aside from the fact its not really his fault from a boxing standpoint that he was unable to defend his belt for 2 years due to being side-lined from the ring for medical issues, nor was it his fault he was robbed by judges in Los Angeles in his first fight with Wilder, therefore delaying his ability to make a first defence) and yet also mocked for a supposedly weak resume, when the two things kind of go together as one rather explains the other. Your resume is unlikely to be great without a world title defence.

Looking at Fury’s resume, his best opponent prior to fighting for the World title was Chisora. Now the fact is, this was already not a great time for Heavyweight boxing, swathes of very average Heavyweights were getting the chance to lose to the Klitschko’s, so it shouldn’t be too surprising Fury didn’t have to fight off many stern challenges to become the top contender. One challenge could have been former Cruiserweight and Heavyweight World Champion David Haye, again not really Fury’s fault Haye pulled out of the fight twice. One man he did face though was Chisora, who in their first fight was 14-0 and 27 years old. The 22-year old Fury went into the fight as the underdog. They fought again 3 years later, inbetween these bouts Chisora became one of only 4 men to lose to Vitali Klitschko without being stopped. 

Chisora is regarded as a journeyman for the 11 losses on his record, but the fact is nobody has ever had an easy night with him, barring Fury in their rematch. Chisora arguably won a very close first fight with Whyte, and was having another very close fight with him in the rematch before Whyte found a great knockout in the 11th, Usyk did not shine against him in the same way he did against Bellew and Joshua, and he was very unlucky to not win a decision against former World Champion Joseph Parker. Not bad for a journeyman. But Fury certainly made him look like a journeyman in their second fight, showing exactly how a big man should fight against a little man, he didn’t let Chisora lay a glove on him and beat him up all night until Chisora’s trainer finally took mercy on him and pulled him out after 10 brutally one-sided rounds. 

The next ‘name’ on Tyson’s resume is Wladimir Klitschko, who was on a run of 19 successful wins in World title fights, and hadn’t lost for 11 years. On the Champions adopted home patch of Germany, Fury won a unanimous decision infront of 50,000 Klitschko supporters, to give the Ukrainian his only defeat by decision in 69 fights. Not a bad win I suppose. 

Often used to mock Fury’s resume is the name ‘Sefer Seferi’ and yes the fight was a joke and a bit of a waste of time, but it was Fury’s first fight for 2 and a half years, yes he could have fought someone a bit better ofcourse, but I don’t think it would have been wise to fight anyone fans would consider a decent fighter on his very first step on the comeback trail. 2 months later was Pianeta, again I don’t think it’s that surprising that when you’re fighting for the second time in 3 months after a long absence, and your plan is to fight for the World title less than 4 months later, that the level of opponent you’re facing is not that high, that seems to be fairly logical. I think facing Deontay Wilder for the WBC title just 6 months into the comeback made up for it in fairness. 

Going into their first fight, Wilder had faced 40 men and knocked them all out. It’s fashionable now after the beating Fury gave him in the rematch to dismiss Wilder as a bum, a never-was. But it’s simply not true. He’s 6 foot 7, incredibly heavy-handed with one of the most concussive punches in Heavyweight history. Fury fought him in his prime after the best win of Wilder’s career, an 8 round stoppage of Luis Ortiz, who at the time was for sure a worthy contender. Fury himself was 6 months back after a 2 and a half year absence, mostly spent trying to damage his body to the same extent his mind was damaged. After outboxing him for 9 rounds, Fury picked himself off the canvas to box his head off some more, until in the 12th round Wilder landed one of the hardest and best 2-punch combos he’s ever thrown. One of the only true knockout punches ever landed to somehow not result in a knockout. Fury won the fight but as we know was robbed and given a draw.

Between this fight and the rematch, Fury is again mocked for the two names he fought inbetween. Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin. First of all it was kinda strange why these 2 fights were even necessary and they didn’t just do an immediate rematch, or even 1 fight inbetween, 2 seemed excessive. But financially it worked out great for both men, Wilder who was able to cash in for 2 more fights as Champion, and for Fury he could get into a run of real activity which helped him immensely for the rematch with Wilder. Schwarz was rolled over as expected, but Wallin inflicted 2 huge cuts on Tyson which left him fighting nearly the whole fight with only 1 eye, still winning nearly every round. Which is surely quite impressive, given Wallin is now deemed by Hearn a highly credible opponent for Whyte, one of the division’s top fighters. 

In the Wilder rematch, Fury produced what was I think the best performance by a Heavyweight this century. He did what noone thought he could do, which was bully the bully, beating him with power not just cunning. As I said, now Fury has done it so easily, people will talk about how Wilder was rubbish all along, never beat anyone etc. but if anyone thinks AJ or Whyte or anyone else would just as easily stand up to Wilder’s power, speed and explosiveness, I think they are very mistaken. Whether Wilder will be the same fighter with his air of invincibility shattered after defeat remains to be seen, but it would be great to see him in the ring against Britain’s other top fighters. My prediction is, it would see Fury’s win and performance elevated even further. 

Fury now faces Wilder for a third time, and whilst I like most consider it a shame Fury wasn’t able to move onto new challenges, if he wins, it’s another excellent win. I don’t consider it any easier than a fight against AJ would be. It’s true that AJ is a better boxer than Wilder, but still vastly inferior to Tyson, so I don’t see how he provides much greater threat from a boxing standpoint, he’s not going to outbox Fury in a million years. So the only threat to Tyson posed is power, Wilder has a higher KO % than AJ despite fighting nearly 20 more times, lets his hands go more, hits harder, is more dangerous with a single shot than AJ, so therefore I feel the most dangerous fighter to Fury, as he himself has said many times, remains *to this day* Deontay Wilder. 

Now to really the point of the article, Joshua’s resume. After amassing 14 knockouts in 14 fights, all coming in the 3rd round or sooner, the Olympic Gold Medallist had become Britain’s most talked about and hyped prospect ever. His 15th opponent was Dillian Whyte, a 16-0 fighter with 13KO’s. Whyte has since gone on to garner a deserved reputation as one of the division’s toughest and respectable fighters, but that’s now. Going into when AJ actually fought him, he had faced absolutely nobody. He had 6 amateur bouts including a win over AJ, moved to kickboxing, came back to boxing and had 9 pro fights before being banned for drugs. Whyte was out the ring for 2 years, had 5 fights back then fought Joshua. 

So at the time of the fight there is no doubt that whilst AJ was seen as a future World Champion, Whyte was not seen as anything of the sort, just an ‘opponent’ there for AJ to get another fast and emphatic knockout. The emphatic knockout came but not before experiencing adversity for the first time, as in fight number 15 of his career AJ faced someone who could take his leather and land some of his own, before succumbing in the 7th. Despite the rawness of Whyte, he still had enough heart and talent to provide Anthony with his first career test. 

Next fight, AJ fought for the World title, facing what most regard as a terrible World Champion, Charles Martin. He may have walked this earth like a God, but he fought in the ring like a Big Bum Dosser, against AJ anyway, who took him apart in 2 rounds. Martin appeared for all the world like a man woefully out of his depth, dutifully accepting his beating for a good payday. A win over Gerald Washington has since seen an attempt at the rehabilitation of Martin’s image from Eddie Hearn no less, who now lists the conquest of this man as proof of AJ’s greatness, who next Gary Cornish? 

AJ made his first World title defence of his IBF crown against Dominic Breazeale, who was at the time ranked #13 with the organisation. Joshua won in the 7th round. His second defence was against Eric Molina, who AJ dispached in 3 rounds. Another 2 men recently listed by Hearn to demonstrate AJ’s strong resume. In the same interview, he criticised Wilder for having beat noone..except he’s also knocked out both Breazeale (in 43 seconds) & Molina. A decision win over Breazeale was also enough to show Hearn that Wallin was a worthy PPV  opponent for Whyte, so are they good wins or not? I’m not sure, I guess it depends on who we’re talking about, AJ or Wilder. 

Next up saw AJ transition into a UK stadium fighter when he met Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium to attempt to add more belts to his collection that had recently been vacated by Fury. Having been soundly beaten by The Gypsy King, Klitschko had gone from 39 to 41. The feeling for a lot in the UK at the time was, it’s a good time to beat a good name to earn some credibility against an old, past it champion. That looked to be the case when AJ dropped Wlad in the 5th but there was still some life in the old dog yet when the very next round AJ hit the canvas for the first time in his career. Wlad took control of the fight with AJ struggling for a second wind having used up a lot of energy, with stamina issues affecting the 250-pounder. There was a few rounds where AJ was too tired, not throwing, concentrating everything on trying to recuperate, that you’d think Klitschko could have stepped it up and gone for the finish.  Whether age stopped Klitschko from pushing on the gas or he felt confident he could see out a decision, he didn’t do it and AJ found the best punch and single moment of his career in the 11th with a huge uppercut which signalled the end of Wlad’s chances. It was a great fight which AJ did very well to win, but it had been by the skin of his teeth. 

After Pulev pulled out of their proposed fight, Carlos Takam stepped in as a late replacement. Given the lack of time, this wasn’t a terrible replacement, he is tough and comes to fight, ensuring the fans will atleast get to see a few rounds. But he has lost to every name fighter he’s faced, including Journeyman Chisora. So Chisora isn’t a good name on Fury’s record, because he loses to every good fighter he faces, but Takam is a solid name on AJ’s record, despite the fact he was knocked out by Chisora. It’s all very confusing. 

To hold 4 belts, AJ then faced Joseph Parker, the holder of the WBO title, winning the vacant belt with a home decision against some chubby kid, Andy Ruiz. At the time, Parker had a very good reputation, but the fight was a stinker, with AJ disappointing his legion of fans as he was taken the distance for the first time. Parker has since lost to Whyte and in my opinion deserved a draw at best with Chisora having been dropped in the first round, and now will have to fight a rematch for a more emphatic win. Since the AJ fight, he’s looked a fairly average heavyweight, seemingly quite lucky to have ever held the World title, having not done anything since to make anyone believe he could ever hold it again. 

The next defence came against the small and light for a heavyweight 39-year old Alex Povetkin. Looking at him, not much of a threat would perhaps be expected to a man of AJ’s size and stature but for 6 rounds he gave Joshua a very competitive fight until the fight was ended by the Champion’s power in the 7th. Povetkin had gone the distance with Wladimir Klitschko despite being dropped four times, and probably deserved a second shot at the world title sooner than 5 years after that. The 39-year old was still a credible challenger but with his best years behind him. 

Then on June 1 2019, came the infamous AJ US debut. After a fight with Big Baby Miller collapsed due to his drug use, in stepped Andy Ruiz, who had a similarly large belly but 4 inches less in height than Miller. It was obvious what would happen next, AJ would announce himself to US audiences with a quick knockout. Ruiz hit the canvas for the first time in his career in round 3. AJ, one of the best finishers in the sport, jumped on him. What happens next usually, is roared on by tens of thousands of Brits, AJ punches and punches until his opponent goes down and stays there. This time infront of an audience of stunned Americans, Ruiz comes off the floor to land a shot to AJ’s temple which changes the course of the fight and both men’s destinies. Ruiz puts AJ down and the champion never recovers, unable to regain authority or control in the fight, he is victim to Ruiz’s barrages and decides not to fight on in the 7th, recognising after being dropped yet again, that it’s not going to be his night. 

After losing the Brawl In Montreal, Sugar Ray Leonard knew he had to get his conqueror Roberto Duran back in the ring as quickly as possible, whilst he was out partying, piling on the pounds and not training. AJ applied the same thinking, and like Leonard in the ‘No Mas’ fight took on a completely new approach for the rematch. Andy Ruiz has very fast hands, its not wise to trade with him up close. He does not however, have fast feet or particularly long arms. AJ maintained his discipline in the rematch to comfortably outbox Ruiz for 12 rounds, boxing from distance, never tempted to go for the knockout. Ruiz weighed in at an enormous 284 pounds, 16 pounds heavier than before. 

Performance and result wise, the Ruiz rematch in Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most impressive of AJ’s career to date. The 32-year old Ruiz still has to prove however, if he is truly a top class fighter, or whether he just produced the performance of a lifetime and got AJ on the right night. If AJ had beaten Ruiz first time round it would not have been seen as a particularly significant triumph, but due to the credibility he only gained as a result of beating AJ, this conversely amplified the achievement of Joshua gaining revenge in the rematch. 

Joshua’s first defence of his second reign came against Kubrat Pulev after just over a year out the ring. Like Povetkin, Pulev was approaching 40, had fought for the world title whilst a younger man and lost to Wlad Klitschko (Pulev being stopped in 5), he was also quite a short and light man in comparison to the giant figure of Joshua. With only 14KO wins in 29 fights, Pulev looked the ideal opponent for AJ. He was durable and well conditioned, and came to win but he stood right infront of AJ, with no head movement, so AJ moved his head for him with brutal uppercuts. If you stand infront of Joshua and don’t have much of a punch or speed to threaten him with, he looks brilliant and he did at times on this night, despite even against this opponent being reluctant to fully commit to power combo’s, the memory of Ruiz at MSG clearly not yet banished, but the win came in the 9th round, AJ’s first stoppage win for over 2 years. 

AJ’s second reign as champion was alot shorter than his first, defeat coming in his second defence against former Cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk had come under vast criticism it shouldn’t be forgotten for his first 2 performances at Heavyweight. Many people, though I personally don’t agree, thought that his fight with Chisora was very close, he certainly wasn’t sending fear into the hearts of the division. But Usyk has only failed to win 15 fights out of over 360 amateur and pro for a reason, and he thoroughly outclassed Joshua. The fight would have been hard enough, and not a guaranteed win even if Joshua hadn’t got his tactics so completely wrong, but he atleast would have been in with a chance. Usyk, thought to be too small for a heavyweight, didn’t look small in with one of the divisions giants, because he didn’t fight like a small man, he didn’t allow Joshua to feel physically superior, and showed no fear or respect for his power. 

I won’t be suprised atall if Joshua rights his wrongs in the second fight, by doing what he obviously should have done in the first fight. Being rough and nasty, throwing as the saying goes, with bad intentions. But why it takes a 2-time World Champion with his experience a second fight to realise this I have no idea. Having a “chess match” fight with Usyk is maybe something you do in sparring to learn some useful things, you don’t do it infront of 70 thousand with your belts actually on the line..It was one of the most incredibly naive things I have seen from an experienced champion. It struck of a man in a bit of an identity crisis, who can’t decide what type of fighter he is inside the ring, nor what his boxing persona is outside it, in the lead-up to fights.

As another mistake AJ seemed to repeat from the first Ruiz fight was he seemed all pally with Usyk and too relaxed in the build-up. It could just be a coincedence but he was nice and pissed off with Pulev before getting in the ring with him, and he produced the right performance. I know Usyk is a difficult guy to dislike, but he’s gonna have to try. 

Strangely, Hearn also listed Usyk on AJ’s resume. I don’t see much good of having good names on your resume if you lose to them, otherwise we may aswell declare Kevin Johnson a great, as he’s fought everyone (and lost to everyone, but I guess that doesn’t matter). If AJ wins the rematch, he deserves credit for it, as it would for me be the best win of his career, given the age of Klitschko and Joshua’s personal circumstances of 2 defeats in his last 4. But I don’t really get this thing of “give AJ credit for taking the fight”. Its the mandatory challenger for one of his belts, he has to fight him, or else give up that belt. Why would you become world champion just to give a belt up because you have to face someone good? talk about giving credit for the bare minimum.

This questioning of AJ’s resume, is not to criticise him personally. I have no doubt before he retires he would if up to him fight Wilder, Fury, whoever else who is up there at the time, and if he does so he will lose plenty more times, because his chin and tactics are not of the standard of some of the other guys, but he will lose and come back and keep trying, and I respect that. But in conclusion I think up to this point, with no Fury or Wilder under his W column, he is getting a lot of credit for wins against guys who when listed as a collective are fairly solid names, but when taken individually, are not so great. Whilst Fury’s list has less solid names, there are names who can be taken individually and are great standalone wins. 

The way I would describe it is would you rather take a couple of 10′s to bed, but not many 6,7 or 8′s? or would you rather take a few 6,7 or 8′s but never a 10. I know which I would prefer. 

[nicolewoo]

The Wrong Locker Room

Pairing: Joe Anaoi X Reader  (Roman Reigns X Reader)

Warning: SMUT SMUT SMUT You’ve been warned.

Money In The Bank was my first Pay Per View on the main roster, and I was stoked! I got to take place in the Women’s Ladder Match, and I felt that I’d made a great showing, especially for my first PPV match.

As soon as I got through the curtain, people started congratulating me. Even HHH! I showered quickly and went to watch the men’s ladder match from the common area. There were more congratulations when I arrived.

I sat down, checking my cell phone. I’d missed a text from Stacey, my best friend from home. She offered her congratulations and said I looked great. I knew she didn’t follow wrestling at all, so when she took the time to watch my match, it meant more to me than she could ever know. I quickly texted her back.

Me: Awwww you’re too sweet. How is everyone at home?

Her: Well, we’re not out chasing our dreams and crushing it like you, but we’re good. I had to smile at her confidence in me. Any chance you’ll be home for July 8th?

Me: I’m not sure. Let me go get my schedule. I headed back to the locker room, texting the whole way. Her son was graduating from high school, and she was inviting me to the picnic after. I was really hoping I could make it but knew I probably couldn’t.

I got to the locker room and walked in, still texting with her. Once inside, I headed toward my suitcase, while I texted her about how things were going on the main brand. You’d be surprised. It’s really more like a family than NXT was, but there’s the expectation that you’ll be amazing. It’s almost too stressful.

Her: Well, from what I just saw, you’re already amazing.

My mind registered that someone was walking out of the shower. You’re biased, I teased.

Something was wrong. I could feel it in my gut. A split second later I realized the person walking out of the shower was much bigger than they should have been. I quickly looked up to find Roman Reigns walking toward his cubby…. He had a white towel on his head that he was using to dry his hair, and nothing else. He was naked, and I gasped silently when I saw him. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. His chest, his arms, his abs, his hard dick. I knew I should go, but I seemed to be frozen in place.

I should leave. I should just turn around and pretend I never saw this, but I stood trying to memorize every inch of his glorious form. He was tall and tan and covered in water that ran in rivulets down his back, changing their path as they curved around his muscles. He bent down rummaging through his bag, his ass on full display for me. When he stood, I surveyed the muscles in his back, his legs. He was too perfect.

I should leave.

I should leave.

Just turn around and leave.

He’s going to see you, LEAVE!

Sitting on the ledge of his cubby, he finished drying his hair and looked up. “Fuck!” He turned away from me and pulled the towel over that giant, rock hard dick. “What are you doing here, Y/N?” He asked, softer than before.

I became aware that I was standing with my mouth ajar. I must have looked like a deer in headlights. I quickly closed my mouth and tried to get control of myself. “I… uhhhh.” I held up my phone. “I was texting,” I looked around the room. This wasn’t my locker room at all. “I… went in the wrong door.” I tried to explain it.

He stood, wrapping the towel around his waist. “Really? The wrong door? Your locker room is two doors down. That’s a pretty big mistake.” He gave me a smug smile as he took a step toward me.

“I’m sorry,” I FINALLY tore my eyes away from him and looked down at the floor, while fighting the thought that this will probably be the only time I can see him naked, and I shouldn’t waste the chance to memorize his body.

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked as he walked up to me, still smirking at me.

“Uhhhh…. Since you got out of the shower.” I admitted, embarrassed.

He hooked a finger under my chin. “Look at me.” As if I had a choice. He raised my face to meet his, “So you saw everything?” I nodded yes. “You saw my cock?” I tried to look down, but he wouldn’t let me, so I looked to the side trying to get away from his stare. I nodded. He smiled big. “You saw that I was hard?” I nodded again. I wanted to shrink back into nothing-ness, but he wouldn’t let me. “Don’t nod. Tell me.” He insisted.

“Yes…..” I said firmly. “I’m sorry, but yes.”

He released my chin, and I looked down at the floor. I expected him to be mad, but instead, he smiled big. “Did you like what you saw?” He asked as he adjusted the towel around his waist, somehow making his hard cock easier to see through the towel.

I looked up shocked. “I….. What?... I…..” I stammered.

His voice was authoritative now, a tone I’d never heard from him before. “Did you like my cock? Did it make you wet?”

Oh fuck! The new tone of his voice, the tent in the towel…. He was standing so close to me, I swear I could feel the wet heat coming off his skin. “I’m sorry. I’ll just go to the right locker room.” I turned to leave.

“No.” He grabbed my wrist gently, but with enough pressure to stop me. He walked up behind me, pushing his body against mine. His chest was still wet, and his cock pushed into my ass. “Do you want to know why I’m hard?” He whispered into my ear, and his hot breath sent a chill down my spine.

“I…. uh…” I couldn’t think straight. His low voice, his breath on my ear, his wet chest pressed against me, his cock against my ass… It was all too much, and I wanted to…. What did I want? To leave? To stay? I couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t think!

“I was thinking about you in the shower.” He pressed his cock harder against me, wrapping an arm around my waist. He let his lips press against my neck. I gasped again, unable to say anything. “Ever since I saw you on NXT, you’re all I can think about.” He sucked my neck for a second and my head lolled to the side, allowing him more access. His hands explored my sides and stomach as he pulled me back harder. I moaned. “I can’t stop thinking about your body, your hair, your ass. I want you.” One of his hands roamed up to gently squeeze my breast. I gasped and felt him smile against my skin. “Do you want me?” He flicked his finger over my now hard nipple.

“I….” I tried to clear my head, but the feel of him against me, the smell of his body wash, his fingers twisting my nipple…… “I can’t think…. I….”  

He pulled away from me, causing me to moan in disappointment. “I understand.” He calmly walked around me, stopping inches from my face. “Will this help you think? If I’m not touching you?” Although his words seemed innocent, the sultry look in his eyes was anything but. If I stared at him long enough, I could almost see every touch, kiss and caress he was thinking about.

I tried to still my breathing, “A bit.” I lied.

He stood staring at me. “Good. Now what are you thinking about?” His smirk was proof that he knew exactly what was on my mind.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. “You’ve made an interesting proposition.” Yes, that sounded stronger.

Somehow, he seemed closer than he was a second ago, but he hadn’t moved. How did he still have this much pull on me? “Interesting?” He chuckled. “I was hoping for irresistible, or even tempting.”

I stared at him for a second. “Oh, it’s tempting. Very, very tempting.” He gave me that incredible panty dropping smile.

He placed his hands on my hips, “How about this? If you want me to stop, just say so, and I will.” He pressed against me again and brushed my hair over my shoulder, exposing my neck. He kissed my pulse point so softly I wasn’t really sure he had. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my lips. “Just tell me if you want to stop.”

“I… but…..” He pulled away from the kiss slightly.

“Do you want me?” he reached to his waist and undid his towel, letting it fall to the floor and exposing his erection. “Do you want this?” he pressed his dick against me

I was quickly losing the strength to deny the way I felt. “I do. I just…..” his hands slid down to my ass, gently massaging my cheeks before pulling my body against his harshly.  

“Just…. Scared of what other people will think?” He whispered it in my ear, causing my core to clench. “Nobody has to know.” He kissed me again. “Tomorrow, I’m going to ask you out in front of someone. You’re going to say yes, and then we’ll start dating.” He was certainly sure of himself, but by this point my reservations had died, and I felt like I was under his spell. He was telling me… not asking, and yet he was right. If he did ask me out, I would say yes. I’d say yes to just about anything at this point. “Once we’re dating,” He kissed me before continuing, “everyone will just assume we didn’t sleep together until after we were dating. Your reputation will remain intact.”

His plan made sense. He slid his tongue in my mouth as one of his hands reached under my shirt, slowly inching its way up to my bra, slipping under and pinching my nipple. “Y/N, do you want me to stop?”

He knew I didn’t. He was just toying with me. “No.” I said as I slowly shook my head. “Please. Don’t stop.” With that said, every objection dissolved, and I felt free to do anything I wanted.

He smiled big. “Come here, baby girl.” He pulled me to a couch and sat me down before going to the door to lock it. When he came back to me, he knelt in front of me, pulled my shirt over my head and instantly replaced his hands with his mouth, sucking, nipping and pleasing my nipples. His hands ran tantalizingly slowly up and down my thighs, each stroke closer to my core. I was moaning in pleasure and wriggling in desire. He reached to my pants, hooking his fingers in the waistband and beginning to slowly pull the fabric down. I lifted my hips to help him.

I took a deep breath, “Do you have…”

Before I was even close to finishing the sentence, he was already digging through his suitcase. He returned with a box of condoms. “Yes. I do.” He said, setting them down next to me on the couch. He knelt again in front of me, placing his hands on my knees and spreading them wide as he took a nipple in his mouth. I moaned in pleasure. His hands resumed exploring my thighs, his thumbs getting closer to my core, driving me nuts. “Are you sure?” he asked, looking me in the eye.

I nodded, “Yes. I’m positive.”

He smiled for a quick second before taking my other nipple in his mouth, while his thumb explored the entrance to my core. He was teasing me, brushing against my lower lips as he gently nipped my breast. When I’d adjusted to his thumbs teasing my entrance, I involuntarily bucked my hips up to meet his hand and he smiled.  “Patience, baby girl.” He slowly began kissing down my stomach. Slowly, much too slowly. I needed him, and he was taking his time, leisurely kissing lower and lower. I bucked my hips up to try and meet his mouth, but his hand pressed on my hood, holding me still.

I thought I was going to explode with this raw need inside me, but when he placed a kiss on my clit, I moaned, and he smiled before licking my clit. His tongue circled around my clit twice before settling in to flick over my bead. He was so good at this. I was completely under his control in a couple of minutes as he licked and sucked me. When he slid a finger in my entrance, I felt both relief and more need.

“Joe,” I cried out, not knowing what I was crying for exactly, just knowing I needed relief.

Hearing my cry, he knew he had me on the brink of orgasm, and he started kissing up my stomach, reaching to open the box of condoms. His fingers fumbled with the box as he sucked on a nipple, before devoting his full attention to the box and its contents. Pulling out a condom, he quickly tore the top off and put it on before I could even offer.

Wrapping his large, strong hands around my waist, he pulled me to the end of the couch and lined his penis up with my entrance. He pushed inside me, stretching me slowly to fit. Neither he nor I could contain the sounds that we made. My dainty little whimper was drowned out by his primal grunt. Once he was all the way inside me, he stilled and kissed me passionately. “Are you ok?” he asked.

“Yes. Absolutely yes.” I cried, and he pulled out of me a bit before snapping back into me quickly. I moaned at the feeling of him filling me completely. He pulled back to watch his dick slide in and out of me, and his hand slid up to tease my nipple again. My body gave way, a warm white tingling rushing through me as I exploded around him. He slowed his thrusts and extended the orgasm, a sweet smile on his face.

He kissed me. “Are you ok baby?”

I was spent and completely compliant to him now. I sighed in pleasure and he smiled at me. He bucked his hips, burying himself inside me again.

“Can you cum once more for me?” He asked between kisses. “I want to cum with you this time.”  I nodded as he laid me down on the couch and climbed on top of me. He began pumping into me at a steady pace. It felt amazing, and I never wanted him to stop. After a few more minutes, he slid his hand between us, rubbing my clit as he fucked me. I screamed in joy. “Are you close, baby?” he pressed his forehead to mine. I nodded yes just as I came, my core clamping him tight. “Fuck, baby. Fuck.” He lost control, bucking into me wildly and growling as he came.

When he finally stilled inside me, I couldn’t speak. He reached up to brush some hair out of my face. We laid together kissing, caressing and catching our breath.

“Joe?” My voice was scratchy.

“Yeah, baby?” he said softly.

“Did you mean it? About asking me out or did you just say that to get in my pants?” I was scared to hear the answer, but if he was going to break my heart, it was better to get it done quickly.

He looked deep in my eyes as he said, “Of course I meant it. I want you to be my girl.” There was a hint of fear in his voice. “Do you want that too?”

I smiled broad, “Yes. Of course, I do.”

@lclb13​ @snowtroopergirl​

[sheerbeautyreigns]

DESIRE

Part 35

Things get heated in Vegas.

Paul gently stroked Joe's cheek, hoping to wake him. He groaned, moving his head off Paul’s chest. “Baby,”

“Huh?” Joe moaned, keeping his eyes closed. “Let’s go to bed. It’s almost one.” Paul nudged him a little more urging him to get up. He was so cute when he was tired, eyes squinting, trying to avoid the light, his hair messy. He threw off the robe that he had been wearing and crawled in under the covers, closely followed by Paul. His face warmed seeing Joe immediately pull the covers up over his naked body. Paul lay behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist. Joe nodded off pretty quickly while Paul was just happy to lay holding him until he eventually drifted off.

It was almost 8:30 when Paul woke up. He rolled onto his back and looked to his left. Joe was lying on his stomach, head turned to face him. Strands, of hair had fallen in front of his face. Paul could just about see the fresh stitches on his temple. He knew it was a simple accident but it didn’t stop him being pissed off about it. That and the fact that he didn’t find out about the Wyatt attack until the last minute. He had to contain his anger sitting next to Vince watching it all unfold. He knew Joe could take it but he had become so protective of him in recent weeks that he would do anything in his position of power to give him anything. He could also see the fresh scratches and bruises that had appeared throughout his arms, side and back.

Paul had always found marks sexy but only when he was causing them. It made him think about the first time when he looked at Joe in a different way. It was back in 2014 when The Shield were up against Evolution at the Payback PPV. That time when he, Randy and Dave beat Joe with kendo sticks, followed by a steel chair. Not only that but the very next night when he was beaten with a steel chair. It turned him on immensely and he had been paying special attention to him since but he never made a move until after they got to know each other better during their 2016 feud.

“What are you thinking?” came Joe monotone voice against the pillow. Paul’s eyes trailed up to his. “Just looking at your battle scars.” A lazy smile crept across Joe face. “I dread to think what they look like this morning, much less feel.”

“At least you can rest until Sunday.” Paul said trailing his fingers gently down his spine, down to the base of his back. “I’ll need it.”

“It’ll be worth it baby, to see you with that title again. It’s been too long.” Paul re-assured him. Joe cast his eyes downwards. “It is what you want, isn’t it?”

Joe hesitated before answering. He turned on his side, wincing a little. “I just feel bad for Drew.” He pursed his lips. “I mean, it was meant for him wasn’t it?”

“Yeah but he doesn’t know that. It wasn’t fully decided until I spoke with creative.”

“He’s worked so hard for it-” Joe started. “Hey, look, we all know how hard he’s worked. He’ll get it one day but not just yet. It’s your time understand?” Joe really did feel troubled by this whole set up. He felt that this was just being given to him because of his relationship with Paul and he knew a few people would realise that. Joe always wanted to work for his title shots. “Do you understand?” Paul asked again. Joe nodded.

“I don’t want you overthinking this whole thing or losing sleep about it. Just rest up this week and do what you do best on Sunday.” Paul said placing a kiss on his lips before crawling out of bed, naked. Joe turned on his back and smiled, checking out his sweet ass as he went into the ensuite.

He listened as Paul ran the bath and thought about what he had just said. Seemed he would have this no other way. Joe himself agreed that he had busted his ass for almost a year with no sign of a title shot so true, it was his time. He just felt bad that he was getting in over Drew considering how well they had become acquainted in the last month.

Paul came out of the bathroom and came towards him. “I’m running you a nice relaxing bath baby. It’ll help, if only a little.” He said sitting at Joe’s side as he sat up. “You’re too good to me.” The young man told him. “It’s only temporary, while you’re hurt. Wait until I get you to my place next week.” Paul smirked with a dark glint in his eye. “Can’t wait.” His lips curved into a smile as Paul’s hand curved around the back of his neck and motioned him towards him for a slow, sensual kiss. Joe got up off the bed. “Check on the bath.” Paul advised, smacking him on the ass.

Joe eyebrows furrowed as he checked out his back in the bathroom mirror. It was as bad as he thought it would be. Hopefully creative didn’t have any nasty surprises in store for him come Sunday.

Carefully he eased himself into the bath. The heat of the water increased the pain in his back initially but he started to feel more relaxed as he lay back. He cupped the water in his hands, releasing it onto his chest and lay with his head back, eyes closed. It was so relaxing, he almost fell asleep again. Paul appeared at the door. His face softened when he saw Joe in the tub. He looked so peaceful. He couldn’t imagine wanting to hurt him like he’d done in the past but maybe he’d feel different in a week.

Paul watched with pride as the referee counted 1, 2, 3 when Joe pinned Bray. A huge smile spread across his face as the referee handed him the Universal Title. Joe was so overcome with emotion as he took hold of the belt. He had worked so hard for this and had just taken part in one of the hardest fought and best matches of his career. He felt banged up, still sore from the attack on Raw but he didn’t care.

His eyes met Paul’s first as he arrived backstage. Paul nodded at him with a smile just as he was bombarded by the other wrestlers congratulating him. Once he worked his way through the crowd, he got to Vince, who was almost on the verge of tears as he hugged him and finally Paul, who pulled him into a bear hug. “So proud of you.” Was all he said. Joe knew he was just keeping things low key as not to draw any attention. There would be plenty of time for talk later. All Joe wanted to do now was shower. He made his way, with his belt to the men’s locker room. A few of the guys were already in there, Colby, Tom, Matthew, Claudio, Kevin and Drew. Joe immediately went over to Drew and hugged him. “What a match!” Drew said with a smile, clearly glad that it was over. “You guys put on a hell of a show.” Claudio chimed in, putting his arms around both men. “We must celebrate!” He said throwing his arms up in the air. The others agreed, even Colby. Joe only had plans to go back to the Venetian with Paul. “Whaddya say Joe?” Drew asked. He couldn’t deny that smile. “Sounds a plan.” He said giving in. He barely ever went out for drinks with the guys and they were in Vegas. He grabbed his phone from his bag and quickly called Paul.

“What’s up?” Joe hated interrupting him while he was working. “Listen, some of the guys want to take me out for drinks. They kinda goaded me into it. Do you mind?” Paul was quiet for a moment. “No problem babe, I’ll be here another while anyway and you deserve it. Where are you guys going?”

“I’m not sure yet, somewhere on the Strip I’m sure. It’ll only be for two or three anyway.”

“OK cool, let me know where you end up.”

“Love you.” Joe told him to which Paul replied “Love you too.”

Everyone agreed go to the Dorsey at The Venetian since it was central Strip. They all freshened up and agreed to meet there around eleven. While Joe was changing into a his black suit and black shirt, he heard the door open. Paul was early. “Look at you.” He cooed seeing how good Joe looked. He rarely got to see him in a suit. “Makes me wanna keep you here.” He said pulling him in for a kiss. “I won’t be late. Just thought it’d be nice since we’re in Vegas. You wanna join us? We’re just actually going to the Dorsey downstairs.”

“Aww babe, I”d love to but its been a long day so I’ll just have a drink here.”

“You sure?” Joe checked. “Yeah, I’m good. Who’s out anyway?” He asked. “Kevin, Tom, Matthew, Claudio, Drew and Colby. Just a few of us.” Paul pulled away. Joe could see the look change on Paul’s face. He placed his hands on his hips. “I thought you and Colby were no longer on speaking terms?” Joe shifted. “Well, there’s just the odd hello here and there. It’s kinda unavoidable since we work together.” Joe tried to reason with him.

“Doesn’t sound like it.” Paul said. He looked annoyed. “Claudio just suggested drinks when we were all in the locker room. I could hardly say no?” Paul walked out of the bedroom into the living room area with Joe in pursuit “Look, I should’ve told you when I first mentioned drinks but I…” Paul stopped and turned to face him “You what?” Joe backed away a little “I was worried you might be annoyed.” The young man was frustrated. “You’re right. I am. I specifically asked you not to get involved with him-”

“We’re just going for drinks with friends. That’s all! Don’t you trust me?” Joe asked, searching his eyes. Paul’s eyebrow furrowed “Don’t you?” Joe asked again, his eyes starting to look a little glassy. Joe swallowed, backing away and going back into the bedroom. Paul’s look said it all. He could hear Joe starting to gather his things in the ensuite. “What are you doing?” Paul asked coming into the bedroom. “You clearly don’t trust me so I’m done.” Joe was visibly upset. “I’m sorry baby. Don’t go-” He said grabbing Joe arm. “No, not this time. I was so fucking stupid to think I could try this again.” He said zipping up his bag. He was angry now. Paul grabbed his arm again, this time not letting him go. “Look, look! I’m sorry I upset you. You know how I feel about Colby.”

“There’s nothing going on. I can’t believe you don’t trust me with him.” At that moment, Joe phone rang. He took it out of his pocket. It was Drew. Paul eyed the phone before Joe answered. “Hey, I’m just held up a little. I’ll be down soon.”

Paul took a few steps back. “Y’know what? You do what you want. See if I care.” Joe scowled at him before grabbing his bag and leaving the room. He was seething. He blinked his eyes hard as he walked towards the elevators, trying to ward off tears. Luckily, reception was quiet since it was Sunday night and he was able to get himself a room. He quickly dropped his bag off and went down to the bar. The guys were all sat around a table in the corner. “About time!” Tom announced as he approached the table. “Sorry guys!” Joe apologised forcing a smile. “Have some champagne! Time to celebrate!” Claudio said, already filling a glass for Joe. They all toasted to his win and a good night for them all in general.

“Where’s Paul?” Drew asked whilst the others were all chatting amongst themselves. “He’s upstairs.” Joe simply said, taking a swig of his beer. “Didn’t care to join us for a drink?”

“You know what he’s like. Anyway, I don’t wanna talk about him.” Joe called to the passing bartender “Can I get another round?” The bartender got to work immediately. Drew looked Joe over. Something seemed off, like he was hiding something.

An hour passed and everyone was moderately drunk. Joe was in mild conversation with Colby when his phone rang. Colby could see it was Paul, just before Joe put it away. “Aren’t you gonna get that?”

“No, It’s fine.” Joe shrugged. “Listen man, tell me if I’m out of line but…you seem different tonight. Are things OK with you and Paul?” He asked cautiously so the others wouldn’t hear. “No, they’re not.” He said before sighing. “Do you want to talk about it?” Joe looked him in the eyes “Actually, no. I just wanna have a good time with you guys and forget about it.” Colby backed up “It’s cool man, whatever you want.”

It was around 1am when the guys decided to call it a night and go to their respective hotels. “Hang on for a moment.” Joe told Colby as the others left.

“I didn’t want to come off as a dick earlier. You know that’s not me.” Joe started apologising as they stood in the lobby area. “Hey man it’s all good. Despite what’s happened between us over the past month or so, you know I’m always here for you.”

“Appreciate it man. Where are you staying?” Joe asked. “Here. I’ve never stayed here before, thought I’d treat myself.”

“Well It’s been a long day. I’m shattered.” Joe said as they walked towards the elevators. “At least were here tomorrow for Raw so can chill for a bit.”

“Well, this is me.” Joe said as they stopped at the 10th floor. “You gonna be OK? I don’t mind keeping you company…” Colby offered. Joe eyes trailed in his direction as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. He didn’t need to say anything. Colby stepped out into the hallway and walked to Joe’s room in silence. Nothing had been touched. It just looked like he’d left his suitcase in and came down to the bar which meant that he had probably been in Paul’s room beforehand.

Joe closed the room door behind them and set the key card aside. Colby walked into the living room area and looked out the window, taking in the night view. Joe followed, taking off his jacket and setting it on the back of the chair. Quietly he moved behind Colby and placed his hand on his right shoulder, urging him to turn around. Without a word, he kissed him gently on the lips. Colby reciprocated momentarily but moved away slowly. “What’s the matter?” Joe asked. “I don’t want to regret this.”

“You won’t.” He leaned in to kiss him again, more forceful this time. “Joe, please-”

“I thought you wanted this?” Joe searched his eyes. “I do but, you’re drunk…pissed off with Paul. I just…you’ve gotta understand where I’m coming from?” Colby was being reasonable. Joe moved away, lowering to the sofa. “I do. It’s not fair on you man.” Colby joined him on the sofa. “Do you mind me asking what happened?”

“Things got a little rocky a couple of weeks ago when I went to stay at his in Connecticut so I left earlier than I had planned. I thought that was it but last Friday, we talked and ended up spending the weekend together in Denver.”

“When I told him I was going for drinks tonight, he was fine at first but he got pissed off when he heard you would be there.” Colby rolled his eyes “It’s just drinks with friends. What does he think is gonna happen between us?” Colby shook his head in amusement. “He doesn’t trust me when it comes to you and I can’t live like that. I had to make a choice.”

“So that’s why you walked out tonight?” Colby pursed his lips. “Yeah. I had enough.” Joe let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m just tired man.” Joe leaned forward and lowered his head into his hands. Colby could see that he was starting to cry. He moved closer and put his arms around Joe “Aww man, don’t cry.” Joe buried his head into his friends shoulder and sobbed quietly. “I hate to see you like this.” He stroked the back of his neck, gently rocking him. Joe moved away, rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just feel like a mess.” Colby took hold of his shoulders. “Listen to me. I don’t want to see you upset. You’re not a mess. You’re a brilliant man and my best friend. You deserve the best.” Joe blinked and nodded. He felt ashamed. He didn’t want Colby to see him like this. “Just get some sleep man.” Joe nodded standing up. He stood up and got undressed down to his boxers while Colby pulled back the covers on the bed and moved the cushions aside. Joe brushed his teeth and came back into the bedroom. Colby forced a smile. “Will you stay a while. Just until I fall asleep? I don’t wanna be alone.” Joe as asked timidly.

“Of course.” He nodded. Joe got into the bed and watched as he undressed, neatly setting his shirt and trousers aside before turning off the lights. The room was now bathed on a red glow, coming from the nearby Hi-Roller outside. Colby climbed in next to Joe, who was lying on his back, eyes lowered to his chest. Colby moved closer, allowing Joe to lean his head into his chest for comfort. He placed his hand on Joe abdomen. There was something so soothing lying with Colby, hearing his light breaths and feeling his heartbeat that it didn’t take Joe long to nod off.

Joe awoke around nine the following morning. The room was bright since the curtains hadn’t been drawn. He had been lying in the same position as he had fallen asleep in. Colby started to stir, moving his head. He groaned, opening his eyes slowly.

“What time is it?” He asked groggily. Joe grabbed his phone from the night stand. “It’s just gone nine. Thanks for staying.“ Joe turned in to face him. “No worries. You feeling a bit better?” Colby asked, stroking his cheek. “Rested. So glad we don’t have to travel today.”

“I know. What are you gonna do?” Colby asked, stroking Joe forearm. “I don’t know. I never made plans. I normally just chill with Paul.”

“Why don’t we go somewhere for a big breakfast. There’s a place I’ve been to before called the Peppermill. Wanna go there?”

“A big breakfast sounds perfect about now.” His stomach rumbled at the thought. Colby laughed upon hearing it. His hand trailed down to Joe stomach where he tickled him. Joe laughed aloud, squirming, trying to fight him off as Colby climbed on top of him, continuing to tickle him. He grabbed Joe by the wrists and pinned him to the mattress. Joe could feel his cock getting very hard as Colby did this.

“What are you gonna do now?” he teased, lowering his head closer to Joe. Their eyes met. Without hesitation, Joe lifted his head off the pillow and kissed Colby. Within seconds, they were entangled in a passionate kiss, hands roaming each others bodies, scrambling to take their boxers off. Joe rolled over onto his stomach, arching himself up on his knees. Colby climbed behind him and prized his ass cheeks apart, leaned forward and started to tease his opening with his tongue. Joe moaned at the warm wet feeling. “So good…” He looked behind and all he could see was Colby’s head buried in his ass. He dripped his saliva around the opening and lined the head of his cock up with the opening of Joe’s hole. He eased his way in as Joe lowered his head, breathing deeply. In no time their bodies were rocking the bed, slowly at first, then becoming more steady as Colby picked up the pace. “Aaaah fuck. Jesus!” Joe let out, trying to maintain his balance. All Joe could hear was the slamming of Colby”s balls every time he thrust into him along with his grunts. He sure had stamina when it came to fucking. Colby gripped his pelvis tightly, steadying him as he came hard in his ass. Joe buried his head into the pillows below as Colby shuddered behind him breathlessly. He eventually released Joe, rolling back onto his heels. He watched as Joe rolled over onto his back, strands of hair strewn across his damp forehead. He smiled lazily at Colby, watching as he leaned down to kiss him.

“I don’t know about you but I need food.” Colby said getting off the bed. “I’m gonna go freshen up in my room and I’ll meet you at like 10:30 in the Lobby?”

“Sounds perfect.” Joe said getting off the bed. He followed Colby to the door. “Hey.” Colby turned around. “Thanks man.” Joe kissed him again before letting him leave. Joe smiled to himself as he walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He went to the bedside to plug in his phone. He pursed his lips upon seeing a couple of unread WhatsApp messages from Paul. A horrible feeling invaded the pit of his stomach as he opened them.

11:30pm - I’m sorry about tonight. I do trust you. I don’t want to lose you again.

8:45am – Hope you’re OK? I want to make things better. Can we talk?

Joe exhaled setting the phone down and went to take his shower. All he could think of was that it was too late for Paul to say he trusted him. Why didn’t he say it to his face last night? Again, Paul had him wrecking his brain. He didn”t know how things might pan out with Colby since he was known to sleep around. He probably wouldn’t want anything serious. It was too soon anyway. He decided he was gonna just play it cool in the meantime and see how things pan out.

When he came back into the bedroom, his phone had just stopped ringing. It was Paul. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

One thing that was certain, Paul wasn’t the type to give up on something so easily. He would probably see him this evening for Raw and part of him wanted to get this over with.

“I was wondering if I’d hear from you at all.” Paul started. “I’m not long up.” Joe said walking over to the window. “Good night?” Joe hated this small talk. “Yeah, was a nice change.” There was a moment of silence. “Are you at the Venetian still?” Paul asked.

“Yeah.” Joe started pacing around the room.

“Can I see you?” Paul eventually asked. “I have to head out soon.”

“When you’re free?” Paul pushed. “OK. I should be around one.” Joe told him. He was already dreading this conversation. “OK come up to my room.” Paul said before ending the call.

[corbo-florbo]

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Retirement (Fantasy Booking)

I’ve been sitting on this for a while, but I’ve been feeling the writing and wrestling bug, so I figured why not put this here? This is how I’d envision and book a retirement angle for Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn of the WWE.

So, some context. Kevin Owens is a top guy, a main eventer, having had main evented Wrestlemania. He has essentially stayed the same person, but not as volatile since his face turn against Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre back in early July 2019. Throughout the rest of his career, he has shed more and more of the same Kevin that would turn on his allies and accepted that he is deserving of friendship and teamwork. He lets people in more. Kevin, who knows exactly who he is and has since the beginning, has become the superstar he is meant to be.

That isn’t the case for Sami. Through face and heel turns, it is evident he is lost. He may have found some middle ground in managing Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, but in this fantasy booking, Cesaro moved on, and Shin turned on Sami shortly after dropping the IC title to Braun Strowman. Incensed by the betrayal, Sami attempts to get back in the ring again, vowing revenge, with the crowds behind him again. I mean, who can hate Sami when he’s such a good guy? 

Come a ppv (one of the big four), Sami goes against Shinsuke, and though he does not prevail, the two put on a banger of a match (hopefully making Shin a big deal again and gets him a push). Meanwhile, Sami is still at the bottom. Where does he go from here? His former client Shinsuke is becoming a big deal without him, and Sami is struggling. 

Fast forward to Wrestlemania season, Sami has officially moved out of the managerial role and once more back into wrestling. Things look up for him, as he beats enhancement talent, until after one victory, he demands he faces an actual member of the roster. He’s cocky and confident again, and feels he’s ready to make a splash again.

Unfortunately for Zayn, that splash would merely look to be a small raindrop in a vast ocean as he is greeted in this promo by a Firefly Funhouse segment, featuring none other than Bray Wyatt. Bray states that Sami should feel at home beating the enhancement talent. That sometimes it is important to stick with what you know, and to Bray, he sees Sami as “generic”. That there isn’t anything special about him, and that’s okay. But Sami doesn’t agree. It’s not okay, it’s less than okay. Sami was on the fast-track to being a big deal. However, Sami doesn’t express this, as fear has lumped in his throat. “Why are you going after me? I’ve done nothing to you. I’ve no past with you - nothing. When I see you, I only know one thing, and that’s to RUN.”

Bray says that’s exactly the point. Sami runs. “Why do you think you’re always moving from being good to bad so much, Sami? You’ve become stagnant! Wait, Fireflies, that’s the word of the day! Stagnant!” 

This taunting continues, until grows tired of the mockery and challenges Wyatt’s alter ego, The Fiend at the Showcase of the Immortals, where Kevin is having a bout against Bobby Lashley, feeling there is unfinished business, from being out of commission through most of 2018 because of him, and becoming embroiled in Lashley’s feud with Rusev, albeit briefly. This is a “Loser Retires” match, which Kevin wins. He’s retired Lashley and is still on the fast-track to the top. 

As for Sami vs The Fiend, it goes as expected. Fiend dominates Sami every step of the way. Cue the “Ole!” chants, which inspires Sami. They’ve never left him, the Sami Zayn band has his back and he must fight for them. Then he gets some good offence in. As usual, Fiend laughs it off and continues to shrug it off. Mandible Claw, 1...2...3...done. 

The upcoming draft occurs, and The Fiend and the Universal Title is drafted to Raw, the same brand as Kevin, Seth Rollins, etc. Yet Sami is nowhere to be seen. Debuting on the Red Brand is a masked luchador. The audience, those familiar with this man, sing “Ole!” like they did when Sami was around. This masked luchador is thrust into feuds with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Humberto Carillo, and Andrade. They don’t take him seriously, and mock that he doesn’t appear to speak fluent English, OR Spanish for that matter. They and commentary are oblivious as to who he is. As for the World Championship, McIntyre takes that to Smackdown and loses it to Shinsuke Nakamura. 

Kevin is back in the Universal Title picture, against his usual rival, Seth Rollins. Kevin and Seth are still worlds apart, yet both are competing at the chance to face The Fiend. Seth wants to redeem himself, Kevin wants to reclaim what was his, what was taken from him by Goldberg via Jericho. Kevin still knows who he is and who he wants to be. Seth is still struggling to find his own identity, his career rife with finding where he stands. As such, Seth loses the title opportunity to Kevin. 

SummerSlam approaches, and Kevin faces off against The Fiend, who it seems has finished collecting the debt owed by those who wronged him.  None of the mind games got him, none of the usual: “You’ve turned your back on everyone! You’re sick and you’re going to do it again! Jericho, Sami, The New Day! You almost turned on Samoa Joe! You are a Judas, and you know it. And come SummerSlam, HE is going to stop your reign of terror.” Pot calling the kettle black. Despite all odds, Kevin gets the win over The Fiend.

Survivor Series, it is World Title vs Universal Title. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Owens. A match that starts of slow, but gets more and more intense. Shinsuke targets and takes apart Kevin Owens, yet he doesn’t get up. “FIGHT OWENS FIGHT! FIGHT OWENS FIGHT!” the fans chant. As Kevin gives a Stunner to Shin, his pin is denied as he is assaulted by the mysterious masked luchador, as he also incapacitates Shin as well. Kevin comes to, sees the masked man, and asks loudly, “SAMI?!” A kick to the face knocks Owens out. No contest. 

The next week, Kevin calls out Sami. But there is no Sami, just that same masked man. “Cut the crap Sami. You’re not him anymore.”

“I am... I am El Generico!”

“No! No you’re not, you’re not that confused lucha guy from the indies, the bingo halls. You are Sami Zayn. ‘Ole, ole ole, oleeee!’ Remember?”

Nothing decipherable comes from El Generico. Kevin realizes he is getting nowhere right now. He ignores every advance. But he can’t ignore forever, as he puts his title on the line and at #1 at the Royal Rumble of that year. He goes through everyone, and even has his moments against people he had a past with. Joe, Cena, Fiend, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, even Shane McMahon makes an appearance. A quiet Sami Zayn comes in, not seen for the first time in a while, and no number of people in the ring is going to stop them. Owens dispatches them and Sami all the same. Then it comes down to #30. Who is it going to be? Is it a debut? A return? It is the latter, as Generico makes his way to the ring, and the final four are: El Generico, Kevin Owens, Tomasso Ciampa, and Johnny Gargano. Fitting, as the latter two have their own intense history. Ciampa and Gargano do not make it, and neither does Generico. Kevin retains, becoming the third man ever to last throughout the entire Royal Rumble match and win. 

Kevin cuts a promo the next night on Raw, stating he feels he’s done all that needs to be done, and that’s to help his friend Sami. He needs to do it at Wrestlemania. If he wins this, he will end his career on this note. If not, he will keep fighting as only he can until Sami gets the picture. He clarifies he doesn’t mean win, as in winning the match. He means winning back his old friend. Generico, still hard to understand, attacks Kevin. 

Yet another Wrestlemania approaches, with Generico and Kevin are the main event. Kevin fights long and hard against Generico, and it gets bloody. It gets painful to watch, yet nobody can look away. Tables, ladders, chairs, the ring bell, the stairs, all are strewn about as these men batter each other. After a weak Kevin Owens frog splashes from the tallest ladder, he gets the pin on Generico. Generico, enraged, throws a tantrum. Kevin grabs him, hoists him up and looks him dead in the eyes. Commentary lets this moment breath, Kevin lets this moment breath. Nothing is said verbally, but so much is said in this post-match staredown. Generico backs away from Kevin, looks at his feet, and back at Kevin. Slowly but surely, Generico removes his mask, and now Kevin finds Sami’s eyes looking back. Sami, with tears in his eyes, embraces Kevin in a hug. Confetti falls around them as the two men are surrounded by cheers from teary-eyed fans. Kevin holds Sami’s hand up.

The next night on Raw, Kevin relinquishes the title, riding off into the sunset. Sami starts his own slow climb to the Universal championship, until he finds himself the winner of the Royal Rumble that upcoming January, against the champion at the time, Aleister Black. Through some shenanigans, the Universal Title is defended in the Elimination Chamber. Aleister gets the win and retains his title against Zayn, Fiend, Roman, Ciampa, and the recently Main Roster debuted Damian Priest. 

Through it all, Sami still is dead set on winning the title off of Black at Mania. Aleister, confident, allows Sami to choose the referee of his choosing. Who does he choose? Is it Mike Chioda? Jessica Carr? Nope, it’s Kevin. Kevin, though retired, accepts on one condition. That caveat is that Sami retires and lets newer wrestlers get their chance. He’s seen Sami through his ups and downs, and wants this win for him. But he reiterates over and over again that he will strictly call it down the middle. “So don’t mess this up, Sami.”

A hard fought battle at Mania in the second to last match on the card, with both men tired. Has Aleister met his match? Near fall pins and near submissions ensue. Sami has dodged the Black Mass over and over again, with his own color-coded finisher, the Blue Thunder Bomb. This is enough to knock down Aleister. Could this be it? It turns out to be so, as Kevin’s hand slaps the mat for a third time, and Sami Zayn is your new Universal Champion.

Sami and Kevin are in the ring on Raw the next night as Sami thanks the WWE Universe, relinquishes his title and is serenaded by “Ole!” as he and Kevin leave. They are inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the next year.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope if you’ve stuck around reading this, you’ve enjoyed it. 

I want to thank my inspirations, @adriennegabriella for pushing me to execute this idea and @mith-gifs-wrestling for reigniting my passion for writing and wrestling as well as discover the wonders of fantasy booking. I know I don’t know you, Mith, but your passion for this business is infectious! Part of the reason I started watching wrestling consistently, so thank you! 

[jwgammuto]

Raw Recap 2/11/19

Forgive me, lil Golden Fleece diapered Baby Jesus, for what I say. The go home Raw for Elimination Chamber is over and I have some things to say. Here’s The Good, The Bad, and the WTF: #FTR Edition.

The Good: It happened. It actually happened. Dash and Dawson are the Raw tag team champions and there’s a small chance the division might not be embarrassing for a few months. What an amazing match between these guys and Power and Glorious. Credit to Roode and Gable. I never liked the gimmick but they really gelled as a team while they had the titles. This was a match worthy of a PPV and almost made me forget about what i had watched from 8-1015. #TopGuys are back and this fan couldn’t be happier.

Rollins and Heyman square off on the mic. Paul always makes for a good segment but Seth really shines here as well. This was significantly better than if Lesnar had actually been there. The weird moment with Ambrose being a babyface again was unnecessary but who knows what the hell he’s doing since he’s leaving the company shortly. I will say this, I don’t want a cluster of run ins helping Rollins win. Let Seth win clean at Mania. Please.

Kevin Owens blasting the product and telling us he’ll be back in a month. Then throwing a gutter ball. A welcome addition to either show but Raw needs him. Too many heels on Smackdown.

Ruby Riott vs Nikki Cross. It wasn’t anything special but they did book this right. Ruby looked like a viable and vicious contender who can win without the Riott Squad. I hope she is allowed to have a great match with ArmbarCity Sunday.

The Bad: The crowd. Hot crowds make for better shows. It’s irrefutable. It’s why it’s so damn important to kick off the show well so the ticket holders are engaged from the jump. Grand Rapids, Michigan, you failed us. Granted they watched a lot of trash that we’re about to get into, but they could have done something. It felt like everyone was tweeting about the badness rather than watching it.

Dean Ambrose vs EC3. It took exactly two weeks for them to make EC3 irrelevant. Now he’s 1-1 against the same dude, who coincidentally also has no creative direction, and he STILL hasn’t said a word. Can it be salvaged? Sure. Turn him heel. Will they? Of course not.

Triple threat ladies tag match to determine EC order. Hey look. Another potential tease for a Bayley/Banks split. I think I’ll wet my pants. Two straight weeks, Banks has left Bayley on an island to defend herself alone due to “injury”. While Bayley has made the best of this and looked pretty damn good and capable in the ring, it has this feel as though it’s going to be another long dragged out “will they/won’t they fight” program that never pays off. Ugh. Also, I want Nia and Tamina to lose at EC as much as I wanted the Revival to win the titles. I guess that means they’re doing their job. Logan and Morgan don’t get enough credit for their ring work because they’re always losing but watch them. Not bad stuff by any means.

The WTF: Balor Club, Beardy Ryback, and Our Aging Olympic Hero vs Black Chris Masters, 1/3 of 3MB, and the current champion of cheap heat, Baron Corbin. Remember when Vince, Steph, and Trips told us we were in charge and we’d be getting fresh matchups and better programming? Pepperidge Farm remembers. The roster is crowded. I get it. But all 6 of these guys have nothing to do of interest so they’re stuck in a cycle of fighting each other and it’s just awful now. And worse, the IC title is starting to have that US title stench of uselessness. Has Lashley defended it yet? He will Sunday....finally. McIntyre is rapidly losing momentum and assuming Rollins wins the title in April, they better have Drew first in line or he may have to actually reform 3MB. This match was a cluster and had to be restarted. Everything about it was sub par. Nobody looked great. Even Balor eventually winning was meh. Although he did jump halfway across the ring for The Coup de Gras. That’s always fun.

Elias vs Guadalajara with party llama in tow. A disturbing recent trend is the company forcing turns and reactions rather than allowing them to happen organically. Elias can be a great heel just by cutting promos. He’s done it before. The interruptions are part of his Schtick and that’s fine, to a degree. It’s starting to get overdone and it’s hurting his character. Everything feels forced. Side note: Kalisto can actually play guitar and that was fun.

Vincent. Kennedy. McMahon. Clearly I’m not the only one watching Raw Replays from the Attitude Era in the evenings. The beauty of Becky Lynch’s rise in popularity was the fact that it was pretty organic. Similar to how Steve Austin did it. That’s where the parallels should have stopped though. It sure feels like they are doing much more to mold old Stone Cold roles into Lynch and I’m not loving it. The entire apology segment was weird but felt predictable right? She would opt for defiance and the HHH and Steph would make her life miserable until her peak triumph against insurmountable odds at Mania. Instead, they had Lynch apologize, albeit reluctantly. *Scratching head*. “That’s it?” Becky exclaims. Enter Vince, who still believes he’s the Mr McMahon of 1999. He suspends Lynch (which we all know won’t keep her off TV) and inserts his shiny new corporate puppet, Charlotte Flair, into the match. There’s a million reasons to hate this and none of them are because Charlotte doesn’t belong. Flair is perfectly capable of being a top heel without being a corporate stooge. Save that shit for Rollins/Orton/Corbin. A lot of people don’t like the idea of a triple threat at Mania for the Raw women’s title. I really don’t mind it, but this is a lazy and garbage way to set it up. For starters, it’s been done. Flair is the Heel Rock and Lynch is Austin. Oh yeah, and there’s the actual champion, who is becoming an after thought in this mess. Another concern is the Smackdown Women’s title. Who the hell is going to face Asuka at Mania? Mandy f**king Rose? She’s the only female heel with even close to enough heat on the show. This is a complete cluster and I have to believe there are differences in opinion at Titan Tower on how this should have been booked. Save us, HHH. Please.

This show was a general disaster and following a trend of piss poor go home Raw show for big events. I have tix for the go home Raw for Wrestlemania and based on this trend, I might be really drunk by 915. They really sucked me back in with the Revival’s win and then pooped in my cereal with that last segment. 2 Belt Whips because #TopGuys.

[placetobenation]

Are you ready for the busiest week of the year in the WWE? That’s right, it’s time for WrestleMania week where the WWE has something going every single night for the WWE Universe.

On Monday, it’s RAW. On Tuesday, it’s the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. Wednesday and Thursday bring the live NXT TakeOver: Stand & Delivery two-night event. Friday brings a special SmackDown with the return of the Andre Giant Memorial Battle Royale. Finally, on Saturday and Sunday, it’s the extravaganza we know as WrestleMania back in front of live fans at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium.

Damn, I’m tired already. So, before we recap the week that got us this far, let’s see where the cards stand as of Saturday morning.

WrestleMania 37 – Updated card:

Night 1:

Bad Bunny vs. The Miz

Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro

Steel Cage Match: Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon

RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. AJ Styles & Omos

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair

WWE Championship Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre

Night 2:

The Fiend vs. Randy Orton

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley

Intercontinental Championship Nigerian Drum Fight: Big E vs. Apollo Crews

SmackDown Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan

Expected to be added: WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. TBD (winner of night 1’s four-way match between TBD)

NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver updated card:

Night 1:

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: MSK vs. The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado del Fantasma

NXT North American Championship #1 Contender’s Gauntlet Eliminator Match: Leon Ruff, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Bronson Reed, Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, LA Knight

NXT UK Championship Match: WALTER vs. Tommaso Ciampa

KUSHIDA vs. Pete Dunne

Night 2:

NXT Championship Match: Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross

Unsanctioned Match: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

NXT North American Championship: Johnny Gargano vs. TBA

NXT Cruiserweight Championship Unification Ladder Match: Jordan Devlin vs. Santos Escobar

NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell

For sure, there will be surprises along the way over the next 7 days. If I’m the WWE, I’m starting off the event with something that will make its first live crowd in over a year pop so loud it will feel like a packed crowd instead of about 25,000 fans at Raymond James Stadium. Yup, I’m starting WrestleMania with Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair. They’ll get the night off to an awesome start and set a standard for all those to follow. Now, will the WWE do it or will they save them for the main event? Time will tell, but as those that have fought in the ring say, if you’re not last, you want to be first.

Finally, before we get to the show recaps, let’s talk about Friday’s shocking announcement from the WWE: Chris Jericho is going to be the next guest on Steve Austin’s Broken Skulls Session Podcast Sunday, April 11th immediately after night two of WrestleMania. That’s a jaw dropper my friends. After all, Jericho is currently one of the founding fathers of All Elite Wrestling, the WWE’s main rival these days and he’s been none-too-shy about blasting the WWE at any given chance since leaving the company to embark on his journey through New Japan Pro Wrestling and AEW. It will be fascinating to watch and yes; I applaud Vince McMahon for letting it happen on his watch.

RAW

RESULTS

United States Non-Title Championship Match: Sheamus defeated Riddle

Braun Strowman defeated Jaxson Ryker

WWE Championship Non-Title Match: Bobby Lashley defeated Shelton Benjamin

Xavier Woods defeated AJ Styles by DQ

Naomi defeated Shayna Baszler

Drew McIntyre defeated Ricochet; McIntyre defeated Mustafa Ali

Needless to say, RAW felt a little flat for me with just under two weeks to WrestleMania.

As far as @Sheltyb803 and @CedricAlexander go, The #HurtBusiness is OVER.#WWEChampion @fightbobby is looking out for no one but #TheAllMighty on The Road to #WrestleMania! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/KFyCjxWPiY

— WWE (@WWE) March 30, 2021

King @BaronCorbinWWE of #SmackDown shocked everyone by showing up on #WWERaw to take out @DMcIntyreWWE! pic.twitter.com/kWnAPj6lOg

— WWE (@WWE) March 30, 2021

I didn’t quite understand the need to break up The Hurt Business before the PPV. Pitting Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin against WWE Champion Bobby Lashley doesn’t make much sense to me. Who knows, maybe it’s a big rouse by MVP. And speaking of Lashley, if he’s such a badass, why does he need the help of King Corbin, fresh off SmackDown, to beat down Drew McIntyre to end the show. Now, while we’re at it, why would it be Ricochet and Mustafa Ali as the ones to take a shot at McIntyre and not a guy like Braun Strowman, who was just begging for a title shot a few weeks back. A little thing like a match with Shane McMahon shouldn’t sidetrack him.

Want more?

Why have Rhea Ripley and Asuka fighting as a tag team less than a week before their RAW Women’s Championship match? Well, because that’s what the WWE does – put all their challengers in a tag team with each other. Done. Too. Death. Oh yeah, it’s also because the Women’s Tag Team Champs, Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler have such little interest, they’ll just throw a bunch of teams in against them with no storyline. YAWN.

Need a US Title Match? Here’s Sheamus to beat Riddle.

Want more? Need to fill a few segments.

Well, here’s The New Day Game Night and a DQ win by Xavier Woods over AJ Styles to whet your appetite. How about seeing Omos actually wrestle ONCE in a ring before WrestleMania? Nah.

The less said about The Miz and John Morrison’s “Hey Hey Hip Hop” music video the better.

The same can be said about McMahon’s report card flashback to make fun of Strowman. Damn, Shane, you can’t even read the words that are on the card to match the screen. It’s amazing that the WWE, with all its anti-bullying messages allows this storyline to go any further.

NXT

RESULTS

Cameron Grimes defeated Roderick Strong

NXT Cruiserweight Championship Non-title match: Santos Escobar defeated Tyler Breeze

Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell defeated Gigi Dolan and Zeda Ramir

Raquel Gonzalez defeated Zoey Stark

Xia Li defeated Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter

LA Knight wins NXT North American Championship Gauntlet Eliminator Battle Royale

Needless to say, NXT is the show that I hoped RAW would and could be. Instead of the non-sensical booking and wasteful segments, NXT was all business Wednesday night with the go-home show before the historic two-night NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver event coming up this week.

Cameron Grimes vs. Roderick Strong turned out to be a case of two guys going in opposite directions. Grimes has his money on his mind and distracted Strong just enough with that The Undisputed Era armband to get the victory. Yes, Roddy’s been down lately and it looks like he’s walking away.

Kudos to Santos Escobar and Tyler Breeze for continuing to raise the bar in the cruiserweight division. Breeze proved more than just a warm-up match in Escobar’s Open Challenge before his unification match against Jordan Devlin at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed by someone losing three matches than Zoey Stark. In dropping decisions to Io Shirai, Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez the past three weeks, Stark has looked up to the task and the moment’s not too big for her against some of the best in NXT. There are good times (and wins!) ahead for Stark.

Xia Li continues to be a badass, that’s for sure. But, what’s also evil is Tian Sha and the stronghold she put on Kayden Carter before blowing that mysterious mist into Carter’s face. Whatever that force is between the two, I’m ALL IN! Li gets the win in the ring over a returning Kacy Catanzaro while her friend gets taken out on the ramp. This story gets better and better each week.

This brawl does not, and will not, end.

#WWENXT @RaquelWWE @shirai_io pic.twitter.com/UvGkbfHIDX

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 1, 2021

The third time definitely was not the charm for Io Shirai. All night long, the NXT Women’s Champion tried to attack Gonzalez heading into their NXT TakeOver match, but all three times, she got the worst of it including finally being thrown through a wall to seemingly end her night. Yet, still we get Shirai in the ring to end the show, flying off the top rope to take out Gonzalez and most of the women’s locker room as well. Beware of the female giant Gonzalez, my friend. She’s coming for your NXT Title!

It's GOOD to be LAST. #BattleRoyal #WWENXT Wednesday's Night 1 #NXTTakeOver: Stand & Deliver #GauntletEliminator Order: 1. @LEONRUFF_ 2. @swerveconfident 3. @bronsonreedwwe 4. @CGrimesWWE 5. @DexterLumis 6. @LAKnightWWE pic.twitter.com/XOErxHZz8M

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 1, 2021

How about that Battle Royale? Can we make Austin Theory look any sillier with that elimination of himself? Dexter Lumis made it to the final six by standing in the corner like a statue. Heck, he didn’t move until the final 3. It’s a shame that KUSHIDA and Pete Dunne eliminated each other to miss the final six. But at least we’ll get a solid match added to NXT TakeOver night 1 between them. I like LA Knight getting the win, taking out Lumis after going through the middle ropes instead of over-the-top rope like Lumis did. Now, it’ll be Lumis and Knight starting off the gauntlet match Wednesday night to see who fights Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship on Thursday night.  And oh yeah, is Roderick Strong really leaving? He didn’t even make it into the battle royale as expected.

That Prime Target setting up Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly was intense! It’s definitely worth a watch if you missed it and a second look if you saw it live.  

What’s up with the dog? Well, it’s the debut of Taya Valkyrie folks! Or should we same Franky Monet?

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Otis, Chad Gable, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode defeated The Street Profits & The Mysterios

Natalya defeated Shayna Baszler

Bianca Belair defeated Carmella

Street Fight: Daniel Bryan defeated Jey Uso

The road to #WrestleMania hasn't been easy for @WWEDanielBryan, but he makes one hell of a statement after his victory tonight to @EdgeRatedR AND @WWERomanReigns! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/BsHDdQPboa

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2021

I’ll be honest, when I saw them previewing yet another Daniel Bryan vs. Jey Uso match, I was like again, really? But a street fight with one week to go before WrestleMania isn’t a terrible idea. It lends itself to an anything can happen atmosphere. Granted, it wasn’t as brutal as it could’ve been but it left no doubt that it lifted the stock of Bryan. First, he gets the win over Uso by making him tap out. Then, he knocks some sense into Edge, banging his head into the ring post before taking aim at the Universal Champion himself by putting Roman Reigns into the YES lock to end the night. They’re doing a really good job at building this triple threat match into one that we have no idea who’s the favorite going in and coming out of Tampa.

Good job by the tag teams to start the night. Otis got the flying bulldozer on Montez Ford to get the win for his team of Chad Gable, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode over The Street Profits and The Mysterios. They made me believe that anyone can walk out as champions when they face off in a fatal four-way on the night before WrestleMania.

What’s the point of having a 30-second match between Shayna Baszler and Natalya when you know it’s only there to set up the post-match melee between all the women tag teams? There’s got to be a better way. Speaking of a better way, how do Carmella and Bayley NOT have a match at WrestleMania? At the very least, put them together to win the titles.

Good to see Cesaro given a bit of mic time in the middle of the ring against Seth Rollins. Here’s hoping the push continues even after next weekend.

All @SamiZayn wanted was a calm red carpet experience with @LoganPaul. @FightOwensFight wasn't about to let that happen! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/5z0WjSc0rG

— WWE (@WWE) April 3, 2021

Justice for Sami? More like Stunner for Sami! That Red Carpet Premiere with Logan Ryan didn’t exactly go how Mr. Zayn planned did it? Either way, we’ll have Ryan at WrestleMania in the middle of the Kevin Owens/Zayn match.

Can Corey Graves drool over Carmella any more on the mic? Just admit they’re a couple off camera already! In the ring, Carmella held her own but couldn’t avoid being pinned by Bianca Belair, who then shielded off a surprise attack from Sasha Banks. At this point, there’s nothing more to be done between these two, let’s get to the match.

What exactly is a Nigerian Drum Fight? Looks like we’ll find out when Apollo Crews takes on Big E for the Intercontinental Championship.

Parting shots:

So long Charly Caruso, we’re going to miss you! With Caruso’s WWE contract expiring and a full-time move to ESPN announced, it’s the end of the line to Caruso’s time in wrestling. It’s a shame that Angel Garza and Charly never got to take things a bit further than their backstage flirtation. Now, she gets more time to hang out with Stephen A. Smith and the gang at First Take.

Coming up this week:

RAW: WWE Women’s Tag Team Non-title Match: Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka & Rhea Ripley Drew McIntyre vs. King Corbin WWE Championship Non-title Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Cedric Alexander

NXT: NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Nights 1 & 2 (Wednesday and Thursday)

SMACKDOWN: Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale SmackDown Tag Team Championship Fatal Four-Way Match: Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. Chad Gable & Otis vs. The Street Profits vs. The Mysterios

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

[imaginingandwrestling]

Seth Rollins - Unrequired Help

Tonight was your night. 

You’re getting ready to get out this ring as the freaking champ, and that’s nothing less than you deserved, be the champ. 

You have been in title road for quite sometime now, but creative keep holding that for no apparent reason, took you to the point you pretty much was just about to tell they to fuck off when they told you: You’re finally getting it at the PPV.

It’s no WrestleMania, but screw it, it was a PPV and you’re on it. 

You usally travel along Ambrose, he’s the one that show you off at WWE and gladly they take you in, befriend with Ambrose mostly means deal with his insanity most of the times, they don’t call him lunatic for nothing, yet you loved it. To be honest, he looks out for you like you’re some short of little sibling or maybe pupil, you’re not sure. He’s always telling you stories, about past shows, and mostly about his time on SHIELD, and sometimes, looks like he really miss it, even if he don’t admit the fact. 

He avoid speaking about Seth Rollins, its a off topic and you know why, you know damn right why. As profissional, you have nothing against him, but as yourself, you don’t really like the man, not just because he hurt Reigns and Ambrose, but also his cocky way piss you off. He just mind himself and himself only, and really, in this business? You need to me smart, yes, but not a freaking bastard. 

You was warming up in backstage, Ambrose was cheering for you, keep telling you you’re going kick they asses to the moon, you can’t avoid but chuckle. That’s right when a staff comes up and knock at the door, handing you over tonight script, you frown. “ I already got mine... “ You trailed off as he shook his head. 

“ They charged something, Y/R/N. “ He informed you, you grumbled, great, you lost your title now. You grabbed it and open up at your match, thanking the staff boy that smiled a bit and closed the door again. 

The room stay quiet for a bit. 

“ What? The bastards are taking ya title away? I’ll-- “ Dean started, looking all ready to go and beat creative up when you shook your head, also confused about what’s going on. “ So? Don’t leave me hangin’ sweet” 

“ Sorry. “ You muttured as you hand it over to him when you’re done reading. “ They are going send someone to help me get the title, it’s a no disqualification match after all. “ Completed, looking at Dean. 

“ Who? “ Ambrose asked, also looking confused. “ That’s not me, ya know. “

You stood there quietly, if not him, then who? You’re have other friend in roster, yes, many of they, but no one would really come along and help you like this. “ I don’t know? Maybe it’s a excusse to start a feud? “ Dean nodded after a moment, that’s sounds right, yes. You groan, already having to put the title you don’t won yet in line? Man that’s sucks. 

That match goes as you expected, it’s really long one, lot’s of spots that you and your opponent are making sure to not lose, but you’re already tired, forcing your body up and up again to keep going, you’re bleeding, they are bleeding, the universe is going crazy, keeping chanting ‘fight forever’ and ‘this is awesome’, maybe that’s the only thing that are keeping you going. Yet after a few more moves, you got yourself in a suplex, not sure if you’re going to be able to kick out this time, but when the count reach two, someone pulled you off, they song blasting as soon the cameras captured his smirk down at you. 

Seth freaking Rollins.

“ What the hell Rollins?!” Your opponent snarled, going for Seth as the man shoved you asides and dodge. You learned against the ring, everything so blurry that you’re not sure about what’s happening until Seth start to pull you up back to the ring, like if you’re a child and weight nothing, he put your body above your opponent and grabbed the referee, demanding him to count. 

One... Two... Three. 

Your theme started playing, and you can’t really believe it all, not your winning, but him, what is he doing here? Why is he helping you? 

“ And here is your winner, and champion, Y/R/N! “ it’s real, fuck it’s actually real. Seth grabbed you and helped you to stand, you shoved him asides, grabbing the title as they hand you it, looking warily at the man as you stood it high, mostly at him. 

“ I’m the champion. “ You growled quietly, and he grin, you’re just wating for him to attack you, or someone on his side doing so, but then, he simply grabbed your wrist and make sure you’re holding it high enough, poiting at you, as he tells the universe, you’re their champ now. Even so, you struggle your way out his grip, not caring that you’re breaking the script a bit, you’re suppose to be happy with his help?  You get out the ring, narrowing your eyes at Seth that paces around, keeping his eyes at you, what are he planning? 

Everyone around is giving you congrats, huggind and pulling you closer, just making sure you feel good, you did a hell of a match. You thanked everyone, smiling as you can, even if you’re tired. then there was Dean, arms wide open as he pulled you on a hug and bumped his head at yours a bit to hard. You whimpered a bit but chuckled softly. 

“ Ya did it, sweet! “  He said, patting the title at your shoulder, but then he looked a bit in doubt. “ With his help... “

“ I know, Deano. “ You groaned, shaking your head as you ran your fingers through your hair. “ What are they thinking?! Put me and him in a feud? I’m going lost everything! He’s the face of the company Deano and -- ” 

“ I’m not taking anything from you, Y/N “ The voice sounds firm from behind you and Dean, you two turned, you just had time to grab Dean beafore he charges at Rollins. “ Yeah, beware the dog, please. “ 

“ Spit it out Seth. “ You told him, narrowing your eyes. “ Are you behind this? “ 

“ Maybe. “ He grin, crossing his arms as he looks at you two pretty much amused. “ You deserve better push than a freaking lunatic pupil shit. “ 

“ What push then? A traitor one?  “ Dean rolled his eyes, as he spit the words. “ Y/N have nothing to do with a sold out like you. “ 

“ It’s not up to you, Ambrose. “ Seth told him back, in the very same tone. You limited yourself to roll your eyes, your head hurts, you’re still bleeding and there is so much pain all around your body. 

“ Enough! If you two will keep going like kids, go on, I need to rest. “ You growled, letting go of Dean, that quietly nod at you, but keep his eyes on Seth, to just when you’re about to pass Rollins, he grab your arm, pulling you closer. “ Let me fucking go, Rollins. “ 

“ You still own me a thank you. “ There it is, the cocky smirk of his. “ I saved your title there, and I’ll be sure you’re going to keep it for a long time. “ 

You frown, staring at him confused, what does that means? 

“ I don’t need to thanks for unrequired help. “ You told him, a dangerous low tone. “ And I neither like to having you there for me. “

“ Don’t worry, I'm a patient guy. “ He winks at you when he finally let you go. “ We got a whole storyline to work in that. “ 

A whole storyline. 

That hit both you and Dean just like the steel chair in Romans back. Seth just looks happy with you both reaction, as with that he simply laughed and walked away. 

A storyline is not a feud, you’re not going to be against Seth Rollins, you’re going to be with him. That send shivers down your spine. 

You’re not sure if you can actually handle working with Rollins. 

Not just because he’s a dick, but also because Rollins always get what he wants.

And in this case, you’re pretty sure he wants you. 

[andymull]

WWE Superstar Shakeup Shakedown – The Hot Tag Review

And just like last year I knew not to do this review last week as there’s no way they know what they are doing…..then came more moves this week.

To begin the review we’ll start with the Raw roster in this piece and analyse the moves that have been felt on the red brand, how they will affect the wrestlers in question as well as the potential the moves could bring.

AJ Styles

The man that carried Smackdown Live the last few years makes the move to Raw, really this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone. He’s dominated with the WWE championship for a long time and turned back most competitors on that brand, once he lost the title this will have been planned to get him somewhere fresh with new wrestlers to go against.

The Seth Rollins factor will be an important one for Styles, if they really persevere with Seth as champion for a long time it could see Styles go heel if he can’t crack the number one face position, which isn’t a bad thing in the slightest.

Cedric Alexander

Im really happy for him to be moved up to the main show from 205 Live as similar to AJ he had faced most of the roster there multiple times and the freshness had long gone, the big difference here is that they will feel the need to re-introduce Cedric to the audience. I see them fearing most of their audience at home has never watched 205 Live, and lets be serious most haven’t, so Alexanders push on Raw may take alittle time to come to fruition, not that he wont be used he will but it will mostly be in defeat with him putting forward a great effort to gain support from the crowds to ready himself for the future options that come his way.

I see him gradually becoming a big threat for the US title with his pace and explosiveness, if it were me personally id be building towards a Ricochet/Alexander feud for the later part of the year over the title. A series of matches between those two would be awesome to see and will get great time on three hour shows.

Cesaro

One of the moves they decided to do after the shakeup had finished in splitting up The Bar for some reason, hopefully Sheamus’ neck/back issues haven’t returned. I know its all down to their ability to push a face but it should be easy to make Cesaro a serious threat on Raw, with the likes of Rollins, Styles, Ricochet, McIntyre, Mysterio, Joe and Zayn around he will fit in perfectly.

The big issue here is their reluctance in the past to give him the actual big push as the people in charge seem reluctant to follow through with it. Expect some bumps in the road for Cesaro’s climb up the card but hopefully his talent level will shine through throughout and see him comfortably rise to where he should be on the card.

EC3

He needs to be listed here as the other NXT talent brought up earlier in the year/the end of last year have seemingly been given their definitive brand, the next massive step for EC3 is to be noticed by the people in charge and given an actual program on tv that can give him the opportunity to impress as so far he has to be wishing he hadn’t bothered getting called up apart from the bump in pay.

Lets start by breaking it down for EC3 and where they need to start from, is he a face or a heel? Lets make him heel, lets give him Spud as a manager as their charisma together is awesome. Lets give him some squash matches on Raw to get over his character and move set, then we pick him a great first feud to make an impact in, lets pick Mysterio. It shouldn’t take longer than two months to give him some solid attention and love to see if he clicks with the Raw crowds, but he does have that IT factor they look for. But please, just don’t carry on with what we have currently for him as it isn’t doing ANYONE and favours.

Eric Young

A bit of a random move here in breaking up Sanity, a team they did zilch with that had some potential in the tag team ranks, but here Young is back as a singles competitor it seems. And I say it seems as I see some of the talent moving around getting put into teams to help the tag division, with EY being a main contender for that kind of role. And really that’s because it’s the role he was hired for in the first place in NXT, brought in as a team to help develop the younger guys he was with was his aim.

A lot was being made online about the amount of former TNA talent that have found their way to the Raw roster at this current time, and how they potentially could form a stable to give a number of wrestler’s purpose who maybe aren’t receiving much of an aim currently. While that would be a smart thing to do I don’t think its their first objective of something to try, though a mid-card stable would be fairly fresh.

Viking Raiders

Forget the name changes, forget the team name changes it wont help and will only annoy you lol

Great team that will be a big focus on Raw with the Usos and The Revival, give them a strong 15-minute match on the next PPV and the new fans that haven’t seen them much yet will be in love.

The Usos

Similar to Styles, have beaten all the teams on Smackdown and need a new scenery to look upon and work with, nuff said

Lacey Evans

The ‘Sassy Southern Belle’ has made Raw her home and is hopefully ready for the big push she’s about to receive. I love the solid background she has with the Seals as well as the lady gimmick she is currently using, I just hope they realise the best way to use it as it currently isn’t working as well as it can. For me you have her be the Belle outside of the ring but as soon as she steps into the ring the Seal comes out and is totally dominant and focused on beating her opponent, personally id be building from the get-go as a serious threat to Ronda Rousey. Don’t have her do anything that wouldn’t work opposite Ronda, no matter who it is you have her constantly be ready as it’s the best to get her over as a threat instead of someone just walking up and down the ramp posing.

Naomi

An interesting/strange decision to move her to Raw, if, you ignore the fact she’s probably been moved over solely because her husband has been as well. She had formed a team on SD Live but truthfully hadn’t been doing anything that mattered in a long long time apart from bitch on social media about not getting the big opportunity, but honestly when the company is focusing around Ronda and the main event of Wrestlemania you really aren’t going to be getting that shot by being snarky or driving the wrong way down one way streets in front of the police, and yeah it wasn’t her fault but still its not the look you need.

The women’s roster on Raw isn’t full of my favourites too much so she does have the opportunity at a fresh start over, hopefully she changes up her gimmick a little as it doesn’t click for me personally.

Rey Mysterio

Another strange move, one that feels like it was just done to generate some buzz for the next week or so then they realise they didn’t really have much planned for his future on Raw. Hopefully he gets some solid ring time on Raw and gets to work guys he wants before retiring, and that really is the main goal for him at this stage of his career. There isn’t long left with him at his level and his aim is to get his son into the business, let him develop and be able to team with him for awhile before retiring.

Sami Zayn

Ill put Sami on the list as he was a SD guy before the injury and returned around the Shakeup so…. Great talent who may need afew more week of matches to really lose the ring rust and get to grips with his new gimmick, then get him going in a feud.

One of the things I will say/point out is that Zayn and afew others will have a harder time of things now on the roster in looking a solid aerial threat or showing their speed in the ring as the company now has Ricochet, and Ricochet outclasses pretty much everyone on the roster in those areas. Its not a big thing for 90% of the viewers but for me some guys look a lot slower and more normal when in the ring with the likes of Ricochet.

Samoa Joe

Sadly he couldn’t make his Raw debut on the Shakeup show due to him being ill and didn’t get to make the impact by coming out to destroy Braun Strowman, now I’m not sure if he’s getting that feud just yet or if they’ve changed their minds as Braun wasn’t doing anything on Raw this week.

I had said recently about Joe on Smackdown Live that they needed to book him as a solid killer with the US Title to ready him to be the next big heel world champion, and that really should carry over here too. Id be looking to have him make the big move up at the end of the year and all my booking of Joe would be preparing everyone for that

The Miz

Personally I’m not a big fan of Miz and find it hard to see him as a solid threat to anything, decent wrestler but cant take that next step for me as I don’t see him as a tough guy, even defending the honour of his wife or standing up for his father he doesn’t come across as legit in the slightest.

And all of that is just solidified for me when they had him lose to Shane McMahon at Wrestlemania, and even after that in their interactions Shane still gets a solid amount of offence in on Miz as if Shane is a full time wrestler at the top of the card. They really need to have Miz fight Shane one more time for me to have Miz win resoundingly, finish with Gregg Hamilton announcing Miz as the new ‘Best In The World’ and have Miz finally move away from Shane completely.

 Some decent moves for Raw overall but they also needed them with Raw losing Reigns, and lets be honest with the WWE this list could still change over the next few weeks if Vince changes his mind. As well as that id expect some new tag teams to be formed with the new and existing talent, so that side of things could take a little longer to get past an awkward stage in the tag ranks.

We should give them all afew months then potentially come back to look at how each of the names listed have progressed and developed in the meantime, as usually this time period following Wrestlemania is one that’s a little slow with newer feuds being tried and newer talent getting opportunity so it should be full of experiments on tv.

Andy

(Credit to wwe.com for the pictures)

[littlemisshardcorre]

Ambrolleigns Wrestlemania Fic

A/N: This is somewhat angsty but will have a happy ending.

It’s a 2 part fic based on what happened to the Shield boys after wrestlemania.

Let me know what you think!!

The bar was almost silent, just the gentle sound of music playing in the background. Most of the bar-goers had gone on to celebrate at clubs, not wishing to finish their celebrations just yet. Other than the bar regulars, only 3 people remained, all sat alone at separate tables, eyes downcast on their drinks, deep in thought. It had been the day everyone was waiting for, the best day of the year for wrestlers. Wrestlemania. And yet, 3 members of the roster were less than prepared to celebrate despite their individual victories. None were entirely sure why, but all to stubborn to sit down and take about it, even with each other.

 “We’re closing up guys, sorry.” The bartender called out, and until that moment none of them ad quite realised just how late it was. The three of them stood, all moving slowly towards to door, still in silence. Until one of them finally decided to speak.

 “I have a bottle of Jack in my room. You can come share it if you want, or if not that’s cool to.”

 No other words were spoken but they all began walking the same way, slowing down to step into pace with each other, the other two silently accepting the offer. For the first time in so long, the three members of the shield were going to drink together after a winning ppv, but there were no smiles to be found. It was bitter sweet.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The three entered Deans room wordlessly, Roman and Seth both looking for somewhere to sit amongst the strewn clothing before Seth finally gave up and settled on a clean spot on the floor, Roman following suit and sitting next to him. It was strange for both of them being here, in Deans room. When they were in the Shield they spent night after night warming each others beds, three sets of limbs always winding up tangled between them in the morning. They’d never put a label on it but they were happy. Every night even when they didn’t have sex the three of them would lay together, comfortable enough with each other to be able just to enjoy the feeling of the others pressed against them.

 But Seth hadn’t been with either of them since the Shield split. Naturally he wasn’t shocked. He had no doubt after what he’d done they wouldn’t want to be with him. And he’d forced himself to accept that, knowing if he was going to join forced with their enemy he’d lose them. After that Roman and Dean had tried to remain together, but since Dean got drafted to another show, despite still travelling together, they’d seemed to grow apart, until one day they’d just stopped, started getting separate rooms. They’d remained friends but they were no where near as close as they used to be. So now, to both of them, this company was almost foreign.

 Dean came over with the promised bottle of Jack Daniels, no glasses, and sat near them both. For a few minutes they remained silent, just passing the bottle back and forth, before Roman finally spoke.

 “This is fucked up. We won. We all won. And yet everyone else is out partying, readily prepared to be hungover for RAW tomorrow and we’re sat here drinking, looking like someone kicked us all in the nuts. What’s wrong with us?”

 The question hung in the air for a moment, before Dean answered.

 “Al right, I think I’ve had enough to drink to consider this as sharing time. So I’ll share if you both will.” It wasn’t common for Dean to be the first to open up, both men knew this, however Dean knew how stubborn his former lovers were. And truth be told, he missed them. He knew when he and Roman started separating themselves it was because neither was willing to admit they missed Seth, despite everything he’d done it just wasn’t the same without him. And Dean would be damned if he spent the rest of his life alone just because these idiots didn’t want to talk about shit.

 “I’m pissed. Yeh, I won. But what was the point? I feel like this company is treating me like a joke. Some random ass rapper that nobody cares about got to perform at Mania and me, the intercontinental champion, got stuck on the pre-show for a match that literally nobody cared about because there was no build up to it. We had more build up to the damn Big Show match that didn’t even happen. It’s like they suddenly decided they needed an IC match but couldn’t be bothered giving me a real spot. What’s the point in me being a champion to a championship they clearly don’t care about? So yeh, I won. But what was the point in the damn match in the first place?”

 His face was red by the time he’d finished, his breath a bit harsher and his knuckles white. He was pissed off, there was no mistaking that. He sat there, listening to his own laboured breath, until Romans voice filled the silence.

 “Why me? Why was it me? He was the Undertaker. He’s a legend. What did I do to deserve to wrestle him in his last match? The fans are gonna boo me regardless and I don’t really care about that, win or lose their making their voices heard and I’d rather that than wrestle a match to a silent arena. But should it have been me? There are so many people who are better wrestlers, who have more history and chemistry with Taker. Surely they deserved it more? It doesn’;t make sense to me. Yeh I feel privileged, and I probably sound ungrateful right now but damn, I can’t shake the feeling that it shouldn’t have been me.”

 To say Dean was shocked would have been an understatement. That wasn’t quite what he was expecting. His eyes dropped to the whiskey bottle in his hand, before passing it to Roman to take a long swig while he looked over to Seth. The youngest had been quiet through the whole thing.

 “Come on then. We’ve both shared our Wrestlemania stories, it’s your turn. You ‘slayed the king’. Why are you so sour?”

 “Because it didn’t change anything.”

 Both men looked him, confusion clearly written across both their faces. What was he talking about? He got his revenge, he proved to Hunter he could beat him. What else did he need to change?

 “Think about it. I lost everything the day I walked away with him. I chose him over you both. You were just my partners and my friends you were every good thing I had here. Every victory, ever championship, every great moment I had in the ring once we got called to the main roster? I had both of you stood behind me the whole time. Everything we did, we did as a team. And when we came home, or came back to the hotel I still had both of you. And then suddenly I just had him. I had given up everything for him. And I thought I could live with that, I thought he could give me everything but he didn’t. He used me and then he turned his back on me.”

 By this point his hands were curled into fists and his face was twisted up almost as if he was in pain, but neither man dared stop him. He needed to let this out, he needed to finish.

 “And yeh, I beat him. But truth is I didn’t change my mind about him until he betrayed me. I didn’t choose to walk away from him, it was him that walked away from me. I didn’t learn a damn thing, I just got pissed off. Because if he hadn’t done that, I’d probably still be with him now because I never changed my mind until I had no choice. And beating him tonight doesn’t change the fact I betrayed you, it doesn’t change the fact I walked away from everything we had and it doesn’t change the fact I completely lost myself because I was so determined to become someone else.”

 His eyes were glistening with tears when he finished, and none of them were sure if they were tears of frustration, anger or sadness. But one thing was sure, none of them were whole right now. Some of them were more broken than others, but they all needed fixing.

 “I guess we’re all a little fucked up right now, right? But here’s the thing. I don’t know what I’m doing right now, where my career is going or anything. Everything could change tomorrow and right now nothing is certain for any of us. So maybe this is our chance to figure out who we all are. Any maybe, we need to do that together?”

 Roman was trying to make sense of this whole thing, but the only logical thing he could think in that moment was they all needed each other, and he wasn’t prepared to leave this room until they’d figured out what the hell they were doing. So for the first time in months, he shot forward and pressed his lips against Deans. Because right now, that was the only thing that felt right.

Part 2 coming soon.....

[imaginingandwrestling]

The Shield - Bodyguards (II)

Part One

You’re never have been happier in your whole life. 

Yeah, of course that you really got a serious scold from your family, not just because you’re dating a wrestler, after all Triple H was your brother in law, but you’re dating three of they. You guess the poly relashionship was the problem, after all, not that you even care. You’re they, and they are yours, nothing is going to charge that. 

At first, you’re not used with all the contact, you have dated before but now you got yourself with three boyfriends, that demands attention and lots of patience. Everything keeps pretty much the same, they just are really touchy and over protective now, Sometimes you have to stop they from fighting over small stuff like “You kissed Y/N more than one time.” and stuff like that, that just make you love those dorks even more. 

Dates always end up in an adventure, you’re never sure how the night would actually ends... Well, partly, you’re sure in the end you’d be between they in the bed, dressed or not. But usually when you all go out, it always can end up in a bar fight, with Roman or Seth protecting you while the other two beat the crap out someone that disrespect you, running away from a few cops after Dean pranks, between many more you don’t ever with to come up with. Sometimes you wish you could watch a movie or go to a nice restaurant without it ends up in something else, but hey, you’re dating the Shield, there is no ‘normal’ here. 

Now, you’re pretty much used to it, you know how to deal with they, and most importantly, how to please they. You’re used with their little things, how Ambrose likes to be touched, how to calm him down when his past ghosts comes up. You know when you need to pay attention at Seth, because he’s not the one to really show up his feelings and intentions, so you need to pay close attention to find out what is up in his mind, how to get him to let you in. And of course, you know how to make Roman feel more than just a brute force hound, you two are always having small conversations about it when alone, he’s scared that you thinks so as well, he’s scared to the public boo him for him, of course, everyone loves Seth and Dean but him? They just love him because he’s part of the Shield, without it, what he is? There is so many things in Roman that he keeps for himself, he don’t even talk about that with Dean or you, and when he start talking about it you know this is hurting him. You just make him feel loved and wanted, if Dean and Seth is around, they’s making sure Roman will not thinks like this so early again.

You just got to spend some time with Seth at gym today, of course you’d watch his amazing job, kissing him when he comes up and saying how amazing he’s doing, running your hand through the two toned hair, putting they back in place. “ Don’t push yourself to hard, you know. “ You whisper at him one time, he rested one hand at your hips as he drinks the water you handed him. “ We don’t want you hurt. “ 

“ Relax, little boss. “ He kissed your forehead with a grin, he looks at your for a moment, you’re just distracted enough to don’t notice the small hesitant expression on his face. “ Hey, are you... you know, happy with me? “ 

“ What? “ You look up, Seth face don’t really gives you why he’s asking that, you titled your head to the side. “ Of course Sethie, why do you ask? “

“ I mean, you’re closer to Dean and Roman more than me sometimes, I was just wondering. “  He commented, making you smile a bit as you reach his face and bring him closer for a gentle kiss. 

“ That’s not true. “ You told him, bitting his bottom lip softly. “ Are you jealous of they? “  

He huffed a bit, shaking his head as he pulled your body against his. “ Of they? Nha. “ He told you, strocking your cheek. “ Sometimes I just miss you, I feel like they are getting everything you know? “ 

You nod, kissing his jaw softly. “ You can tell me when you feel like this, ok? It’s not my intention... “

“ It’s not yours, it’s their. “ Seth cut you off, making you frown a bit, and he groan, regretting let it out. “ It’s... nothing, ok? You’re fine, you’re perfect, you’re mine. “ He kissed you gently every word, you smile a bit, just pulling away for a moment.

“ I love you, ok? “ You told him, watching him nod, you smiled, perking his lips beafore telling him he better go back training, after all RAW is tomorrow night. 

You’re backstage with your sister, you are telling her you’re a bit worried about Seth and what he told you yesterday, that just make him a bit wary of Dean and Roman when you two come back hotel, Stephanie try to clam you down, but you can notice the hint of annoy in her eyes, you simply don’t get why, anyways you ignore it, must be for some other reason, you sighed and just lay down your head on her desk, feeling as she gently caressed your hair. 

“ It’s going to be fine, you know? It’s just... a phase. �� You simply nod, not really aware about what this is actually means. 

In the following weeks things got a bit worse and better at the same time, Seth is a bit bitter with Dean and Roman due they keep losing at shows and events, you need to stop Dean and Seth to get in each other throat most of times. Roman would start to shove Seth away not gently, if you don’t know him better, he would for sure punch Seth face. But at the same time, when they calm down, everything looks ok, in place, Seth would mumble a sorry and Dean would just pull him group hug, saying his grumpy mood is not getting you all apart. 

They are having a PPV soon, and you’re sure they are winning this time because Hunter let it out in dinner with out family other day, but you can’t tell they yet, so for now, you’re all just chilling in the couch, watching some really bloody movie, you and Dean teasing Roman when he simply look away, mumbling that this is simply so gross. Seth would be at his phone from times to times, even if he keeps up in messing with the big dog, that until he groan a bit and stood, making the three of you look at him confused. 

“ Sorry, mom’s in town and I forgot. “ He told, making Roman and Dean look  each other before nod at him, a bit in doubt but they are sure Seth would not lie about this, not about family. You nod after a bit. 

“ You want us to tag along? “ You asked, reaching your hand at him, he gently picked and placed a kiss on it. 

“ Nha, I’ll just get her a hotel, we can come up with a meeting later, ok? I’m sure you don’t want to meet mama Rollins right now. “ He mused, making you all chuckle. “ See? Roman and Dean know. “ 

“ Right! She’s so mad when angry. “ Dean gestured, making claws with his hands and tickling you softly, causing you to giggle as you shove his hands away. “ Go there, brother. “

“Be back soon. “ He waved as he walked out, grabbing the car keys. You watched him go, lots of doubts running around your mind, Seth have been... A bit more self-centered those days, even in more intimate times. You’re sure something is messing with him at this point, you’re just not sure what this is. You’re pulled back when Dean called for you and you turned at him. 

“ Hey sweetheart don’t burn your brain out thinking about that. “ He told you, pulling you to hist side as he warped one arm around your shoulder. “ Our ninja boy wouldn’t lie, ya know? “

You sighed looking at Roman, he nod after a moment, Dean was right about this, so you quietly nod too, Dean grinned, patting your head as he reach the remote and put the movie back on. 

Evolution was gone, your men was all hyped because of that, they have been unstopable after Payback, you never saw they getting so well along in some time, but here they are, even Seth is along with his brothers, teaming up with they once again, and that makes you happy, making sure they have a good time once you all got back in the hotel room, this caused you don’t really be able to wake up early as you sually do, not that you’re not used with that, but they do had so much energy on it. You groan softly, turning in the large bead, just to notice you’re alone as you try to each at any of they, you frown, apening your eyes. 

There is a small note telling you they are going gym, RAW today was going to be important as Roman is main event and the samoan wants to make sure he’s ready. Along with a ‘Love you’ and they signs. You put it back down, smiling to yourself. 

When you fianlly got up, you got a call from your dad, he’s asking you to tag along Stephanie today, you don’t even question that, there is no reason why. You agreed beafore calling at your sister, asking her to pick you up at the hotel, you make sure to call Seth and let him know that you’re going to be with her until the show is over, after his ok, you went to take a shower and get ready, it’s already lunch time after all. 

You and Steph are talking about random things, just having lunch in a nice restaurant you both liked, having traveled almost all the world, you both know places to go.

“ Hey, you ever thought about what if you had to chose one of they? “ She asked you after a while, and you really got cautch at surprise by that, frowning a bit. “ Just a question, geez. “

“ No I... I know. “ You chuckled, moving your food a bit nervous. “ I try don’t thinks about that, Steph, it’s don’t soudns right, I mean, it’s like picking a favorite. “

She nod after a moment, watching you. “ But you do have favorites, huh? “

“ I-It’s not like that, ok? “ You mumbled, looking at her as you reast agaisnt your seat and look out the window. “ I love they, it’s just... I don’t know if I can go and pick one as favorite,yeah I like doing somethings with one of they more than with the other, but that’s not like I have a favorite. “

“ Whatever you say, Y/N. “ She gently told you. “ But you know, this will not always be a fairytail. “ 

You quietly nod, listening your older sister, she’s not wrong but you can’t come up in say she’s right, you don’t want to. 

“ C’mon, let’s get going, we hava a show to run tonight. “ She offered, seeing you nod once again as she called the waiter. 

You’re not really watching, you’re most listening as you’re filling some paperwork, you liked to work in booking and stuff, and you got a thing for that, yes, you’re not booking the big matches and neither can make the show go off script, but ou always try to book the right matches. You listen to Roman proming, and smiled, he usuall goes all show quiet, so fianlly they are giving him the mic. He called Orton then, and don’t even take much to his song blast out, but you hear when they talk about Triple H. That make you stop and look up. 

Why is Hunter there? Sure, he’s part of Evolution, but why? You crossed your arms and rested agaisnt your seat, eyes glued at the screen in front of you.

“... There's always a plan B “ He said, and you watched the smirk growing in Randal face, that send shivers down your spine, there is something wrong, you moved as the camera pointed to your men, they look at each other, Roman and Dean step ahead, ready for the attack when your eyes can’t follow this, you can’t process when Seth turned with the chair in his hands and hit that on Roman back. A loud ‘no’ escaped from your lips as you stood, shaking a bit. 

What’s that? This don’t even makes sense!  

Dean turned to him, looking between Roman and Seth as he charged at the two toned, just to also get hit and go straight to the ground, Seth keep hitting, and you feel it like this is on you, quiet tears roll down your cheeks.

You’re not sure what to feel right now. You have been as much as betray as they. 

Beacause that don’t looks like Dean and Roman got this on their scripts. because they don’t know this was going to happen.

And you don’t know this is going to happen.

Seth looks so angry doing so, angry with his brothers, not with himself, looks like he have been wanting to do that for some time now. 

Steph walked inside, lookin at the TV then to you, she quickly turned it off just when the chant started to chant ‘you sold out’. She hold your face, you have so much expression mixed right now, you just looks in pain, angry, confused and scared. 

“ It’s ok. “ She told you, just to you slap her hands away from you, backing off. “ Y/N, it’s just business... “ 

“ They are my partners, Steph! “ You snarled at her, trying to wip off the tears. “ It’s not ok! It’s not just business! Roman and Dean are hurt! Seth betray us all and-- I-- “

Your sister watched you, sobbing and cursing mess, you can’t believe it.

“ Come on, let’s get you something to calm down, you can talk with they later. “ She held your wrist, keeping a firm grip on that as she takes you away from this all, and even if you’re also angry with her, because she know that probably, you can’t voice it right now, there is no way you can put the words in order. 

You spend the night with Dean and Roman in the medical facility, they are as broken as you, they don’t really understand what is happening or why did Seth did that, and right now, they don’t even want to see Seth, you can make it your opinion too. You’re not sure how to react at Rollins right now. 

Maybe it’s better like this, some part of you tells you, he breaks the SHIELD, and he breaks everything you all had.  

And you keep trying to shove it away, but everything you need to help Dean to calm down so they can take care of his back, or when Roman calls for you just to make sure you still there for they, you’re sure that this part of you was right. 

You had no idea about your father and sisten plans for this, if they hopes you side with Seth or something, but you’re making sure they knows what you thinks, and sooner than they can imagine. 

You all avoided Seth and Seth avoided you all during this week, yeah he tried to call you at least, but after you ignore him for three days, he gets the message, It’s RAW tonight, and you’re siding with Dean and Roman as they get ready to go into the ring. You’re very well dresses, agreeing in making part of this storyline and making your debut at WWE. Vince and Steph are still trying to go in good terms with you, but you’re still giving them a hard time. they even had to ask Shane to make you actually pick up they calls. You demanded your father to explain himself, and yes they have plans to break the SHIELD but Rollins picked it to be in a whole new level, a personal level. 

 The universe knows you, you have been in backstage segments many times with yout siblings and father, somethimes with the SHIELD, but they are going to see you tonight in the ring, and proming, in your Y/N McMahon character for the very first time.. 

You watched when they both walk up the ring, once they song comes up and the staff gesture they to go, and you listening to they doing their promo. 

“ But you know what, Rollins? “ Dean gave a really insane grin, keeping the mic closer. “ We’re not the only ones you let down. “ 

With that, your theme blast, you take a deep breath, listening to the universe go crazy out there as you walk in when the staff gesture it’s ok to do so. You keep your character, giving just a few polite smiles but keeping your face emotionless, Roman helped you into the ring, you gave him a quiet nod as a thanks. 

Dean bow a bit and open space in the middle of the ring, they both passes around you as guard dogs when you bring the mic closer. 

“ That’s a really warm reception, guys “ You smiled at the universe, but it vanishes soon. “ It’s a shame it’s not the best terms to my debut, but there is no better time, huh? “

You took a deep breath. “ I would love to talk with you guys about how much I was happy in doing it in the side of the SHIELD, but that’s not likely anymore. “ You stared at the camera, there is so much anger in your eyes. “ Rollins, you know what you did, you know what you destroyed, and you know that there is no turn backs. “ 

Dean jumped in the ropes by your side, narrowing his eyes at the camera. 

“  And you know, because you promised me, nothing would hurt me. And guess what? You did so, you did so last monday when you SOLD OUT and betrayed not just your BROTHERS but ME. “ The universe chants along with you ‘seth sold out’. “ And that’s why Rollins, I’m making sure to make your life, a living hell. “ 

Roman comes at the other side and get int the ropes as hell, when you drop the mic and make your way out as they both look around.

It’s all over now. 

[placetobenation]

Thumbs up!

That’s how I look at this week. First off, some personal news. Sorry I missed everyone last week. Unfortunately, I had a medical situation where I was diagnosed with a minor stroke. Luckily, my wife got me to the hospital in time for the best of care and we are now moving forward. The good news is that it could’ve been a lot of worse and I’m still here, lucky to be back with you this week, giving me great distraction to what’s been a very stressful 7 days.

As for the WWE, that too is a thumbs up good week. The Payback PPV was highlighted by Roman Reigns winning the Universal Championship over The Fiend and Braun Strowman along with Keith Lee’s clean victory over Randy Orton. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles with a bizarre double-submission by Baszler surely sent the former tag champs into a spiral.

RAW was solid too but NXT and SmackDown for me was off the charts! From top to bottom on both Wednesday and Friday nights, both NXT and SmackDown had me glued to my seat. Of course, the highlights being the incredible finish to the NXT Championship Iron Man Match as well as Bayley’s turn on best friend Sasha Banks. We’ll get into those in our show recaps. But it wasn’t just those moments, it was show flow, attention to details and adding personality and personal items into the storyline. It makes a HUGE difference.

Finally, Friday night was my first venture into the WWE ThunderDome. Originally, my daughter and I were confirmed to be on the video wall last Friday, but real life got in the way. So, one week later, we were active participants among the over 900 fans in the ThunderDome. How was it, you may ask? Well, I thought it was a great experience. It’s not something I would do every week because being part of a live event is exhausting. But, every once in a while, I would absolutely do it. In addition to being able to be part of the crowd for 205 LIVE and SmackDown, we got special backstage access to WWE Superstars Jeff Hardy, Cesaro and Drew Gulak. It had that old school live event feel just for us. So, that’s a good thing and I hope they continue to tweak it moving forward because all-in-all, it was fun to be a fan again at a wrestling event, even if it was from my own house.

Now, on to the week that was in the WWE.

Star of the Week:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING, @itsBayleyWWE?!?!?! The #SmackDown #WomensChampion just unleashed a relentless assault on her best friend @SashaBanksWWE!!! pic.twitter.com/PZyZAyXjmu

— WWE (@WWE) September 5, 2020

Bayley – No question here as Bayley upstages Roman Reigns and Keith Lee. There’s no more wondering where and when the BFF’s will break up. The SmackDown Women’s Champion has had enough with Sasha Banks and her heinous attack on Banks puts her right atop the heel chain in WWE and we love it!

RAW

RESULTS

WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match: Keith Lee defeated Dolph Ziggler

Mickie James defeated Lana

WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match: Randy Orton defeated Kevin Owens

The Viking Raiders & Cedric Alexander defeated Bobby Lashley, MVP & Shelton Benjamin

The Riott Squad defeated The IIconics – The IIconics have to split up

WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifying Match: Seth Rollins defeated Dominik Mysterio

Tornado Tag Team Match: The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza went to a no-contest due to RETRIBUTION interference

WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Randy Orton defeated Seth Rollins & Keith Lee

Loved it:

enTITLEd.@RandyOrton will see @DMcIntyreWWE for the #WWETitle at #WWEClash of Champions! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/DbXLT0HMo2

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Randy Orton – Not only did Orton regain his #1 Contender’s status, but he didn’t it following a loss to Keith Lee at Payback, used Aleister Black to do his bidding and pinned Seth Rollins to get his WWE Championship Match. Orton is not only getting himself over but getting Lee up the ladder as well. The Legend Killer continues to be one of the top performers in the WWE right now.

Wow. @WWEAleister was not done with @FightOwensFight yet. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/RqUmO1Z5cp

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Asuka – Give me more! In the ring, on the mic, on commentary, she’s entertaining as hell. Sure, we don’t expect her to lose to Mickie James, Natalya or Lana in the near future, but at least she’ll make it exciting. I wonder if we get her alter-ego clown character as some point too! That would be interesting.

Blow us all away, @35_Dominik! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/P7BDCwv2U2

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 1, 2020

Dominik Mysterio – It’s still early in his WWE career, but he continues to impress. Getting a tag team win with his father over Rollins and Buddy Murphy at Payback for his first win was awesome. Then, just 24 hours later, he holds his own in a #1 Contender’s Match with Rollins. Even with Rey injured with a torn triceps, it looks like we’ll be getting a healthy dose of the Mysterio family with Rey’s wife Angie and Dominik’s sister now on with on-camera roles. Good stuff so far. Hope it continues.

Why?:

YOU'VE GOTTA BE JOKING US!

@PeytonRoyceWWE just threw @BillieKayWWE into #RawUnderground against @jessamynduke AND @MarinaShafir!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/XjQ5W0AlKz

— WWE (@WWE) September 1, 2020

Teach us how to say goodbye.#WWERaw @BillieKayWWE @PeytonRoyceWWE pic.twitter.com/e198SBAB1m

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 1, 2020

The IIconics – Was there a need to split them up? Having Peyton and Billie Kay go their separate ways – maybe against each other after the RAW Underground fiasco – seems a bit forced. Who knows, maybe they will surprise us but a feud between them doesn’t seem that appealing.

No Sasha & Bayley follow-up – They’ve been on almost every show for months yet now, when things are getting intriguing between the besties, we get nothing from them about losing the tag titles to Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax. We needed to hear SOMETHING from them and not let it wait until Friday night. The Women’s Tag Team Championship is on all shows and it deserved a few minutes on Monday night.

RETRIBUTION – Why are they now attacking the tag teams – The Street Profits and Andrade & Angel Garza are this week’s targets after the Mysterios got it last week. Even poor Zelina Vega got beat up too! We need more than a two-minute interruption each week. This club needs some direction, some depth and someone explaining what the hell they are doing there. It’s been over a month now. Also, isn’t it funny how things just go right back to normal after RETRIBUTION attacks? Funny, huh. Finally, how inept is security that they can’t keep 5-10 people out of the building when they run in a pack?

Welcome:

Nobody wants it with these two.#WWERaw #RawUnderground @MarinaShafir @jessamynduke pic.twitter.com/sK3TXTQrJq

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) September 1, 2020

Jessamyn Duke – Duke makes her RAW Underground debut, alongside fellow Four Horse Women Marina Shafir’s second bout. I know it’s building to the eventual stable, but will it only be on RU or on RAW as well. Just having them on RU seems like a waste since it’s never been explained other than a side show.

NXT

RESULTS

Street Fight: Breezango & Isaiah “Swerve” Scott defeated Legado del Fantasma

Candace LeRae defeated Kacy Catanzaro

Timothy Thatcher defeated Bronson Reed

Fatal 4-Way 60-Minute Iron Man NXT Championship Match: Adam Cole and Finn Balor tied at 2 pinfalls a piece over Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano – Balor and Cole face-off next week in sudden death match for NXT Championship

LOVED IT:

WAIT A MINUTE!!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?! @AdamColePro & @FinnBalor are tied at 2 as time expired!!

#NXTTitle #WWENXT #NXTSuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/xxtdTqjS5x

— WWE (@WWE) September 2, 2020

The entire show – No fluff. Wrestling in-ring was excellent. I’m sure some will quibble with the tie between Cole and Balor for the title, but I don’t mind it at all. The final few minutes led to a frantic final seconds which is all you can ask for. Now, we get Balor vs. Cole next week for all the marbles and how can you be mad at that?! Personal development with Candace LeRae/Tegan Nox using Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter’s relationship was excellent. Setting up Rhea Ripley vs. Mercedes Martinez in a steel cage next week was short and sweet, exactly what it needed to be. The 6-man street fight was awesome including a double dive off a forklift by Fandango and Swerve which lead to the ultimate pin by Scott over Escobar. Wonderful stuff. Plus, Reed vs. Thatcher moved things along for Thatcher’s eventual NXT North American Championship Match while pushing Austin Theory back into the physical mix with Reed worked too. All-in-all, a very entertaining two-hours.

#WWENXT #NXTSuperTuesday @WWEFandango @swerveconfident pic.twitter.com/PgMracBJGT

— WWE (@WWE) September 2, 2020

Wade Barrett – While we do miss Mauro Ranollo at the NXT announce desk after his mutual parting of ways with WWE, Barrett is a welcome edition with insight and knowledge. Plus, he’s got a few good one-liners to boot. 

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Heavy Machinery defeated The Miz & John Morrison

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defeated Sasha Banks & Bayley to retain titles

Universal Championship #1 Contender’s Fatal Four-Way Match: Jey Uso defeated Matt Riddle, Sheamus and King Corbin

LOVED IT:

With @HeymanHustle by his side, the NEW #UniversalChampion @WWERomanReigns has spoken on #SmackDown. pic.twitter.com/VgLRcQz4dL

— WWE (@WWE) September 5, 2020

Roman & Paul – Starting the show with an epic shootlike promo from Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns was perfect! Adding some reality to Heyman being bounced from RAW power to the Reigns storyline, saying it was Roman who brought Paul back in was classic. Dropping the reality line about Corey Graves being Carmella’s last boyfriend was hilarious. It’s stuff like that that brings it home.

"Hey Big Dog, I made the family proud too!" – Jey @WWEUsos #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/FfbFd1CmRD

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) September 5, 2020

Roman & Jey – Adding Jey Uso to the #1 Contender’s Match, thanks to Paul Heyman after Sheamus’ attack on Big E, brings in a family, personal matter to the forefront. It’s the best storyline they could’ve chosen going forward. Do we expect Uso to win, of course not. But having Reigns bad mouth his cousin and then ultimately beat him up at Clash of Champions is pure evil and will add to his badass appeal. Plus, the main event was on point giving me everything I could ask from from Uso, Matt Riddle, Sheamus and King Corbin. Good work all around.

OH MY GOD!! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/BKAoBUvY9P

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) September 5, 2020

Bayley’s breakup – Want more can we say about this one. We knew it was coming, for months, and yet it was still OMG shocking! The way it played out with Sasha Banks having a knee injury and Bayley seemingly there for her BFF and then beating the holy hell out of her is something we thought Banks could do, but not Bayley. Well played Hugger! Now we can look forward to them beating each other’s brains out for months ahead and that’s good for us!

#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/x664UVUPIB

— WWE (@WWE) September 5, 2020

Who’s that girl – It was only a few seconds but we are intrigued who that leggy, fur-wearing WWE Superstar is. Effective tease to say the least.

Funny:

Otis & John Morrison – Having Morrison steal the money in the bank briefcase had some intrigue and then having Otis hand him his lunch, literally, in that briefcase was laugh out loud funny. Otis is just lovable and plays it well.

Sami Zayn – The dude is just plain gold on the mic. Love him in the middle of this Intercontinental Title feud with Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles!

OUCH:

Wow. @WWEBigE just felt the power of The #CelticWarrior @WWESheamus. #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/ryEcj7OYVX

— WWE (@WWE) September 5, 2020

Poor Big E – I would love to know how much money a year WWE spends on damaged cars! This time, Big E is the latest victim after a White Noise from Sheamus leaves him hospital-bound and out of the #1 Contender’s Match. There will be a New Day of Vengeance ahead for Sheamus I’m sure whether it be from Big E or the returning Xavier Woods.

Parting shots:

If you haven’t watch 205 LIVE, give it a chance. This week’s episode had some quality in-ring performances from Daviri & Mansoor and was climaxed by a Legado del Fantasma attack on Ever-Rise and Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch. Whether it be on 205 LIVE or NXT, simply loving the old school feel of Legado del Fantasma, led by Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar. They’re getting it done in and out of the ring these days.

Coming up this week:

RAW: Drew McIntyre’s response to Randy Orton

.@FinnBalor and @AdamColePro are on a collision course for the #NXTTitle after a dead heat conclusion to an unforgettable Iron Man Match on #WWENXT. #NXTSuperTuesday Full results

https://t.co/3pjqYFs1Qf pic.twitter.com/5OY1Ifu06t

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) September 2, 2020

NXT: Super Tuesday II NXT Championship Match: Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor Steel Cage Battle of the Badasses Match: Rhea Ripley vs. Mercedes Martinez

SMACKDOWN: TBD

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

[placetobenation]

Oh the Horror! Or is it the Horror Show at Extreme Rules!

We are now just one week away from the next WWE PPV in the COVID-19 pandemic era from the Performance Center. This PPV is usually built around the gimmicks and this year is no different. We’ll get a Swamp Match from Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman for the Universal Title. We’ll get an Eye for an Eye (or whatever that means) Match between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins. It’ll be a Bar Fight between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus and so much more.

Dolph Ziggler is waiting to tell the World what the stipulation will be against Drew McIntyre for his WWE Championship. It’s building to be a pretty decent PPV. I would expect the Swamp Match to be cinematic of course. It’ll be interesting to see how they incorporate the wetlands into their history. My expectations aren’t very high, so here’s hoping!

I expect Asuka vs. Sasha Banks to steal the show too! Could it be time for Sasha and Bayley to wear ALL the women’s gold in the WWE. I think so!

It’s hard to imagine that SummerSlam is one month away and we are still in the crowd-less era. Who would’ve ever thought that would be. It will be interesting to see how New Japan Wrestling handles their first event with fans, roughly 3,500 for this weekend’s event in Japan. But, things are so different here in the United States that I don’t see fans in the stands anytime soon with all the spikes we are getting, especially with the WWE based in Florida these days, the new epicenter of the coronavirus.

But, with that in mind, here’s where we stand:

Extreme Rules – Horror Show – Updated Card

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

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

Universal Championship 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

Bar Fight: Sheamus vs. Jeff Hardy

Star of the Week – Ketih Lee – No explanation needed!

RAW

RESULTS

WWE Championship Non-Title Match: Drew McIntyre defeated Heath Slater

Kairi Sane vs. Sasha Banks ended in no-contest

Rey Mysterio & Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy – Mysterio picks Eye for an Eye Match for Extreme Rules

MVP & Bobby Lashley defeated Ricochet & Cedric Alexander

Billie Kay defeated Ruby Riott

Champion vs. Champion Match: Asuka defeated Bayley

Overall, a mixed bag of a show this week.

The highlights:

Speaking of a GHOST from @DMcIntyreWWE's past…@HEATHXXII is here on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/B5W1DkF7gG

— WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2020

Heath Slater – Talk about delivering the promo of his WWE life! Slater brought the reality to bestie Drew McIntyre before Drew claymored him straight to defeat. Loved the surprise of Slater showing up while in the final days of his no-compete clause of his contract. I just wished they would’ve had Slater beat up Dolph Ziggler to further the storyline. Maybe, like Drew Maverick on NXT, it’s not the last of Heath just yet?

#ChampionvsChampion had EVERYTHING … including a VICTORY for @WWEAsuka! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/jEW0Vitrts

— WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2020

Asuka vs. Bayley – Two of the best in-ring performers right now, men or women, in the WWE. Nikki Cross showed how unpredictable she is too by showing up behind the plexiglass to help Asuka pull off the win. We are all fans in these weekly battles between Asuka, Bayley and Sasha Banks!

Hello, RKO – Found it funny that Randy Orton is again paired with two third-generation wrestlers in Andrade & Angel Garza. Brings back memories of Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas & Cody Rhodes. I love Orton’s slow build too! So good at the storytelling to the eventual “legend Killing” of Big Show to come.

The lowlights:

No-contest – I see no point in having matches end in no-contests these days. Love that Kairi Sane is back to help Asuka and set up next week’s Tag Team Title Match against Banks & Bayley, but we could’ve at least gotten a finish to the match between Sane & Banks.

Ruby Riott, again – I don’t get feeding Ruby Riott to the IIconics each week without the pay-off of Liv Morgan coming to help her former friend. It just makes too much sense not to do it. Having her lose weekly in mere minutes doesn’t do her any favors.

Enough:

That's a beauty.

@The305MVP has unveiled a NEW #USTitle on #WWERaw, claiming that he IS the new champion after defeating @WWEApollo last week! pic.twitter.com/GzyOzS9vUQ

— WWE (@WWE) July 7, 2020

MVP – We’ll say it again. The man sure does win alot these days. But, that belt is sweet! So, just how is Apollo Crews out of action again?

Explain please:

#WWERaw @reymysterio pic.twitter.com/F6NIiZFkDM

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 7, 2020

Eye for an Eye – Just what is the outcome of the Mysterio vs. Rollins expected to be? Does the winner really get to rip out the loser’s eye? I NEED to know! Clarification please! And yes, I’m sure we will be disappointed.

NXT

RESULTS 

Street Fight: Candice LeRae defeated Mia Yim

Bronson Reed defeated Tony Nese

Johnny Gargano defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott

Legado del Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick & Breezango

Mercedes Martinez defeated Santana Garrett

Winner Take All Champion vs. Champion Match: Keith Lee defeated Adam Cole to win NXT Championship & North American Championship

Uh-oh.

Competition is already lurking for new #NXTChampion and #WWENXT North American Champion @RealKeithLee… #NXTGAB @WWEKarrionKross @Lady_Scarlett13 pic.twitter.com/onKPrjDqL8

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 9, 2020

Night 2 of the Great American Bash set a new path for NXT. We get a new champion, one helluva of a Street Fight and a foreboding feud for the future.

The highlights:

July 8, 2020 will forever be known as the day that #WWENXT became N-X-Lee.#NXTGAB @RealKeithLee pic.twitter.com/fDaHpZ712N

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 9, 2020

Bask in his Glory – Give Keith Lee his due. He is now Mr. NXT! He holds all the Gold and can cement his position as to where either the NXT Championship or the North American Championship goes. The loaded main event helped NXT take the total viewership win again against AEW and sets in motion the Lee vs. Karrion Kross feud too, which could be EPIC! Now, what becomes of Adam Cole? Does he move forward to RAW after 403 days atop the Full Sail mast. Either way, he deserves a ton of credit too for elevating the NXT Championship.

LeRAE, YOU SLAY!

@CandiceLeRae puts away @MiaYim in an absolutely BRUTAL #StreetFight on Night 2 of #NXTGAB! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/NFQOjm2E99

— WWE (@WWE) July 9, 2020

Holy crap! – Candice LeRae’s neckbreaker off the table on the top rope onto a pile of chairs is truly an OMG moment! It made scream out loud HOLY CRAP! Well done ladies!

Welcome back – Mercedes Martinez could be the bad ass Shayna Baszler was in NXT and I could surely see a feud with Rhea Ripley down the road.

Funny as hell:

Nothing to see here, just @ShotziWWE 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯' care of business. #WWENXT #NXTGAB @RobertStoneWWE pic.twitter.com/8dXobJ5tDI

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 9, 2020

Robert Stone – Keep the comedy coming! Shotzi Blackheart running over Stone with her mini-tank is comedic gold! Another embarrassing moment of reject for the Robert Stone brand.

Solid:

The middle of the show – It wasn’t epic but it was truly very solid and a buidlng moment as we see Bronson Reed continue to gain momentum with a victory. The cruiserweights continue their feud of Legado del Fantasma against the rest of the division.

Gargano vs. Scott – Given a spot on a different night, this one could’ve stolen the show. But after the street fight and Championship vs. Championship match, it takes a back seat. Wouldn’t mind seeing it again though!

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Jeff Hardy defeated The Miz

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

Lacey Evans vs. Naomi went to a no-contest

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura went to a no-contest

Wow! This one felt so mailed in it’s not even funny.

Highlights:

.@itsBayleyWWE & @SashaBanksWWE pick up the win on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/n7jw4sHA9e

— WWE (@WWE) July 11, 2020

Sasha, Bayley, Alexa and Nikki – Strongest part of the show. Fun tag team that keeps the storyline going with Bayley sneaking the win over Cross. It gives me a reason to care about their upcoming title match.

The lowlights:

The rest of the show! Honestly, from the start of the show with Miz TV (again) setting up Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz with the usual barbs to the end of the show with a tag team title no-contest, there just was not a good vibe to this show.

Don’t get me wrong, Hardy vs. The Miz was serviceable and a nice match between two vets, but nothing spectacular other than to set up what we already knew – a Bar Fight for Hardy vs. Sheamus at Extreme Rules

.@TaminaSnuka, @NaomiWWE, @LaceyEvansWWE & @DanaBrookeWWE face the music in this #SmackDown Karaoke challenge.

pic.twitter.com/MmZXAu3HfB

— WWE (@WWE) July 11, 2020

The Karoake Showdown was a disaster! Having Lacey Evans, Naomi, Dana Brooke and Tamina sink WWE entrance themes is a waste of everyone’s time and if you wanted to sing the “Common Man” theme for Dusty Rhodes, wouldn’t it have been more appropriate at NXT’s Great American Bash? Then, to have a no-contest for Evans and Naomi further wasted our time and was just a time filler.

Do @WWECesaro & @ShinsukeN have your attention now? #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/sfOgxMljQS

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 11, 2020

Finally, don’t get me started with the tag team title match. Why build up a championship match only to see it halted at the first sign of chaos that only seemed to let the World know we have a tables match coming at Extreme Rules. There are 100 different ways to accomplish that goal than to waste a title match on broadcast TV.

And oh yeah, did I mention we got a replay of Money In the Bank’s Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt’s title match? Time filler folks. They could’ve wrapped up that in a 3-minute production piece.

Here’s hoping that next week’s go home show is much better. I’m not holding my breathe. This one was not good people!

Parting shots:

Reigns vs. Lee – Sign me up for one, whenever it’s possible. Roman Reigns tweeted out this week his congratulations to Keith Lee for his NXT Title win and wants a shot down the road. Make this happen WWE! That is, of course, if you ever acknowledge that Reigns is still part of the company still.

Coming up this week:

RAW – Grudge Matches Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens R-Truth vs. Randy Orton (what’s the grudge exactly?) Andrade & Austin Theory vs. The Viking Raiders

NXT NXT Women’s Championship Match: Io Shirai vs. Tegan Nox Damian Priest vs. Cameron Grimes

SMACKDOWN Intercontinental Championship Match: AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle

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

[placetobenation]

*** Scott & JT’s Vintage Vault Refresh reviews are a chronological look back at WWE PPV and TV history that began with a review of WrestleMania I. The PICs have revisited these events and refreshed all of their fun facts that provide insight into the match, competitors and state of the company as well as their overviews of the match action and opinions and thoughts on the outcomes. In addition, Jeff Jarvis assists in compiling historical information and the Fun Facts in each of the reviews. Also, be sure to leave feedback on the reviews at our Facebook page and of course in the comments below. Enjoy! ***

Monday Night Raw #98

February 6, 1995 (Taped January 23, 1995) Manatee Civic Center Palmetto, FL Announcers: Vince McMahon & Shawn Michaels

1) Tatanka, IRS & King Kong Bundy defeat Lex Luger & Men on a Mission when Bundy pins Luger after a Tatanka DDT at 12:00

Fun Fact: On last week’s Raw (1/30/95), Bundy and Mabel were in an Over the Top Rop Challenge match when the rest of the Million Dollar Corporation came out to the ring and assisted in tossing Mabel over the top rope. Following the match, Mo and Luger came to the ring to even the numbers. The events of last week lead us to this match at the start of this episode of Raw.

Scott: This opener stems from the screwjob last week when the Corporation helped King Kong Bundy win the two-man Rumble against Mabel. The babyfaces were ridiculously late and Mabel should have been pissed in my opinion. We will hear from LT’s representative about Bam Bam Bigelow’s challenge later in the show. Meanwhile we see a VERY slow matchup here with myriad of huge dudes and mediocre workers (except IRS), and it shows with some sloppy maneuvers and blown spots. Vince says after months and months of waiting we will have a Lex Luger vs. Tatanka one on one this Sunday on Action Zone. The promos and Shawn’s quips are better than this match is. It’s so plodding and dull, as Bundy literally is doing the same cycle of moves over and over again. IRS comes in and actually works some real moves on Mo, who’s the unfortunate face in peril because big Mabel won’t be and certainly Luger won’t be either. Shawn trashes Vince on his commentary when he makes no sense, calling him a MOROOOOON. Vince actually is trashing both teams for not having it together, so even the announcers are admitting this match is utter trash. Luger gets the hot tag and starts cleaning house, but when the referee isn’t looking Tatanka hit Luger with a DDT and the Corporation steals the win. Shawn goes, “There’s an exciting part of this boring match?” I’ll give it some charity, but I probably shouldn’t. Grade: 1/2*

JT: We are coming at you via very stale videotape from Manatee, FL once more for this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw. Vince McMahon is our lead dog in the booth and he is joined by Shawn Michaels as always. Our opener is a big six man war that was triggered off some issues from a week ago when King Kong Bundy was aided by his Corporation teammates in defeating Mabel in an Over the Top Rope Challenge bout. Lex Luger helped make the save giving us a natural three on three battle, which brings us to tonight. As Vince sets the stage for the night in front of a very obvious green screen, Shawn dances around to the Men on a Mission theme, which made me laugh. Shawn also promises a major surprise that will be coming soon. Luger is led out by a young flag bearer and looks about as checked out as you can be as he slowly walks down the aisle. Ted DiBiase was noticeably missing as his crew, including IRS toting Undertaker’s urn, headed to the ring. Shawn is still bragging about winning the Royal Rumble as things get underway with Mabel and Bundy locking up. Mabel overpowered Bundy early on, rattling him with a clothesline for two and then landing a headbutt and a spin kick for another near fall. Mo would tag in and land a few shots but tried a bodyslam for some reason, which allowed Bundy to club him down and take over. Shawn basically calls Mo stupid as IRS comes in and goes to work. Mo turned the tide and worked the arm but IRS broke free and tagged in Tatanka, who chopped away as we headed to break.

When we returned, Mo was able to tag Mabel, who planted Tatanka with a shoulder block and clothesline. Michaels is criticizing everything during this match, really playing up his ring superiority. Mabel dropped an elbow and tagged in Luger to a moderate pop but Tatanka scrambled and escaped to his corner, tagging in IRS. Irwin grabbed a side headlock but the two would trade some offense until Lex got two on a clothesline. Mo tagged in and worked the arm but DiBiase finally showed up at ringside just as Irwin caught Mo in the gut with a knee. Tatanka piled on with a knee to the back from the apron, giving the Corporation full control. From there, they tagged in and out and worked over Mo, picking up near falls along the way. Michaels calls Bundy a “big blimp” and questions Mo carrying the action for his team as continues ragging on everyone and everything. The match has really slowed down here, with the Corporation meandering through their routines with very little energy or juice and the crowd seems to be as equally burnt out. Vince actually calls out both teams, saying he isn’t impressed with either side for not having their acts together. Michaels piles on and says they all look lethargic and wishes a happy birthday to Ronald Reagan and Babe Ruth. Luger finally gets the tag and cleans house, including slamming Bundy. Tatanka came in and clobbered Lex from behind and then snuck in a DDT on his nemesis, allowing Bundy to cover for the win. Luger loses yet again! This was a really slog with zero interest or energy from anyone in there. I guess Mabel at least worked hard but that only goes so far. The Corporation is already losing steam, Lex Luger is DOA and his feud with Tatanka feels as stale as you can get. If they are trying to stretch that to WrestleMania, they have zero chance of making it that far. Michaels said it all as he missed Tatanka’s DDT and quipped “I missed the most exciting part of this boring match?” In character or not, he has a very valid point. Grade: *

*** Man Mountain Rock gives us the WWF Week in Music update. ***

*** We are joined by Bobby Cupo, Lawrence Taylor’s manager, who reads a prepared statement accepting the apology from the WWF on behalf of what happened at the Royal Rumble. He says they were invited guests and meant no disrespect and will continue to demand an apology from Bam Bam Bigelow for his actions. He also officially declines Bigelow’s challenge for a match. ***

2) Man Mountain Rock defeats Charlie Hunter with a front suplex at 2:30

Fun Fact: This week, we see the Monday Night Raw debut of Man Mountain Rock (Darryl Peterson). Peterson began amateur wrestling in grade school after having a disagreement with his school’s football coach. After a motorcycle accident during his junior year of high school, his amateur career took a hit. After getting married out of high school and working for a couple of years, he decided to give wrestling a shot again and received scholarships to junior college and then to Iowa State University. During his time in college, he won an NCAA National Championship and was an All-American. After graduating, he met Red Bastien in Los Angeles and began training as a professional. He worked for the WWF back in the mid-80s, including being one of the ring workers that put the steel cage together for the Hogan/Bundy WrestleMania II match. After additional training in NJPW, he developed his character, Maxx Payne, while working through CWA and WCW. He was fired from the WCW in 1994 after being involved in a botched brawl at Spring Stampede where Brian Knobbs of the Nasty Boys ended up with a broken shoulder. He debuts tonight under the MMR name.

Scott: We finally get the debut of the big MMR and his WWF guitar against some stiff. Maybe this match will be better than the piece of crap we saw to open this show. It’s sad that the best worker in the company is doing commentary instead of having matches on Raw, while all these fat sloths are filling up the card with boring matches. The crowd’s into this big dude with tye-dye tights. Grade: DUD

JT: We head back to the ring for the debut of Man Mountain Rock, who first jams on his guitar in the ring to get us all fired up. That was a pretty cool and unique idea. Vince and Shawn talk a bit about LT and Bigelow as the match goes along. Shawn calls MMR’s tye-dye outfit a “technicolor yawn”. MMR quickly destroys Charlie Hunter and the crowd was into it enough. If they gave him a better and name and some decent gear, they may have had something here because he really stood out and had a cool hook with the pre match mini-concert. Grade: DUD

*** We check out clips of Diesel’s successful WWF Title defense against Owen Hart on yesterday’s Action Zone, which was followed by a staredown between Big Daddy Cool and Shawn Michaels. We then head to a candid sit-down interview with Vince McMahon and Diesel that took place earlier today. They talk about the match with Owen, comparisons between the Hart Brothers, his building issues and ongoing mind games with Shawn Michaels and his life as a celebrity. Back at the announce table Michaels announces that Diesel will be defending his title against Jeff Jarrett on the 2/20 Raw and on that same night, Michaels will reveal his new bodyguard. ***

3) Mantaur defeats Leroy Howard with a belly-to-belly suplex at 4:30

Scott: With the level of wrestling we’ve watched today, Mantaur may be the best of the bunch. The crowd was hot early but have quickly given up on this mess. Why did Jim Cornette manage this guy? Why does he have a manager at all? We get the announcement that Raw is pre-empted for the Dog Show next week, so on 2/20 live on Raw Diesel defends the World Title against Jeff Jarrett who will attempt to win both singles titles. Leroy Howard got more offense in than he probably should have. Mantaur gets the win eventually, but this was too long. Grade: DUD

JT: We are back to action as Jim Cornette leads out Mantaur for a title with Leroy Howard. Vince and Michaels talk about about the big 2/20 Raw as next week’s show will preempted for the Dog Show. Mantaur starts hot, charging right at Howard, scooping him up and ramming him hard to the corner. After a short spurt of competence from Howard, the Mantaur beating continued from there, trudging along for a bit. Michaels tries to figure out which half of Mantaur is man and Vince shills the remaining WrestleMania tickets, claiming they are going at a record pace. The beast finally finishes Howard off with a belly-to-belly suplex. Again, Mantaur is another guy that could have had some potential if not for this gimmick and look. Grade: DUD

4) Razor Ramon defeats Frankie Lancaster with the Razor’s Edge at 2:45

Scott: The former two-time IC Champion hits the ring and he brings the crowd out of the doldrums that has been this episode. Shawn keeps mentioning that he has obtained a new bodyguard, and I’m wondering who it is. He said it’s not Mantaur. Wearing his banana yellow gear, Ramon works ol’ Frankie over and makes this quick work with the Razor’s Edge. Best match of the night. Grade: DUD

JT: The parade of matches continues on as Razor Ramon saunters out to the ring to battle Frankie Lancaster. Michaels jokes about Ramon no long having the IC gold around his waist after dropping the strap to Jeff Jarrett back at the Rumble. Lancaster gets some offense in early but it is a short run as Ramon takes over and batters Frankie around the ring. Vince notes that Ramon is showing no ill effects of the knee injury from the Rumble while Shawn plugs tonight’s new episode of Tek War. Vince also randomly starts talking about the OJ Trial and bitches about how the media is treating Marcia Clark. Ramon finishes Lancaster with the Edge as he marches along in the quest to regain his gold. Grade: DUD

5) Henry Godwinn defeats Bill Weaver with the Slop Drop at 2:00

Scott: We get a close up of what’s in the slop bucket, and all I see is baby corn and slices of bread. Lord only knows what else is in there. This mess is over. Grade: DUD

JT: It is mercifully time for our final match of the evening as Henry Godwinn stomps to the ring for a bout with Bill Weaver. Vince talks about HOG’s tough tilt with Undertaker back on Superstars and Shawn says the Deadman looked weaker without his urn. We get a close up of the slop bucket, which is the highlight of this quick squash that eventually ends with the Slop Drop. Grade: DUD

*** Vince McMahon reminds us that Monday Night Raw will be preempted next week and Shawn Michaels reveals that he can no longer do commentary as he is too big of a target and has to protect himself going forward. ***

Final Analysis

Scott: This taping may be almost as bad as last week’s episode. That six-man tag opener is one of the worst matches I have ever seen, probably because the expectations were pretty high and everybody was awful. When Shawn & Vince are openly destroying the match you know it’s pretty bad. The two best workers in the company either do commentary or waste time on the syndies wrestling bums. There are so many overweight power workers in this promotion right now that even with the character driven aspect is failing. Man Mountain Rock plays guitar, wrestles a bad match and plays guitar again. I’m a little skeptical of how good this WrestleMania card is going to be. I’m sure we will get a Razor/Jarrett rematch for the IC Title, but other than that I’m not sure where the rest of the card is going to go. If it goes like these last two weeks of Raws are, no wonder it’s in Hartford. Final Grade: D-

JT: This was not good at all. The marquee match was a disaster that got buried on commentary and then we went downhill from there with a meandering aimless parade of squashes that lead nowhere. The roster is filled with pointless gimmicks that will never get over. The wrestlers themselves aren’t awful but these gimmicks are saddling them way down. And even the guys that can wrestle aren’t really being used in effective ways. Where is Owen Hart, British Bulldog, Bob Backlund, Jeff Jarrett, Bret Hart Undertaker, etc., etc. Let’s see those guys each and every week on the showcase program because these other jamokes are going nowhere fast. Also, we have barely seen Diesel on Raw here in 1995. His sit-down interview was solid but how about seeing him in action or in the arena? Shawn Michaels on commentary has been a highlight of this show and now that is gone too as he announces he is quitting the gig. Save us… anyone. Final Grade: D-

[andymull]

WWE Backlash 2017 Predictions & Thoughts

1st of all im loving the logo’s being used for this show as well as afew of the fan created ones

Anyway on with the show.........

Randy Orton (c) vs Jinder Mahal: For The WWE Championship

First things first and has to be mentioned, we all know Jinder isnt ready for this spot (and most likely will never be ready) and its been slightly rushed and done for the WWE’s growth into India, but, its worth a shot. We have gone for years in wanting new people booked, and yes this isnt one of them but still we should give the guy a chance on a main show, hell with their PPV’s on the Network now it’s not as much of a risk as it used to be anyway. Let’s all give the guy another month or two before making a final judgement on him, give him another member or two to his group, call them the Mahal Cabal (im claiming it as well by the way) and see if he progresses with a big push, if not dont worry.

The second point here is that Orton’s title run is mediocre to say at the least, saddled in a feud with Bray Wyatt leading to a House Of Horrors match which no-one came out of well. Does this mean he needs to drop the title and they can move on to get away from it or have him retain the title and feud longer with Jinder which doesn't seem to be a plus for Orton again either.

Truthfully following on from that last point I could see them going either way here, im leaning towards a Jinder victory by DQ or count-out to carry on this feud upto Money In The Bank. Throw the other top names in the MITB match and let the new title feud start from there, kind of hoping for Jinder to take the title there only for a newly face Rusev to return and win the world title and receive a monster pop!!!

Or Orton wins clean and destroys Mahal moving onto a feud with a top wrestler who can provide him with great matches as well as a great feud, not risking my own money on that though - MAHAL

The Uso’s (c) vs Breezango: For The Smackdown Tag Team Titles

Again another instance of new talent being put into a position to show what they can do, expect more of this after the Superstar Shakeup as the rosters are still in a period of stabilizing. 

I love Fandango not so much Breeze lately but Dango I enjoy and have been saying he needs to be used more for years now, they won the beat the clock challenge and have been getting wins on Smackdown Live as well as receiving backstage packages, The Fashion Files, which have been real good.

The Uso’s meanwhile have been fairly absent since Mania overall apart from the odd appearance and promo’s in the build to here, sadly the company missed having them face American Alpha at Mania and it has REALLY affected both teams since with AA fading into obscurity nearly.

This match will be really fun, hopefully the crowd stay strong behind Breezango once their music finishes as the Uso’s are going to lead them to something good here. Dont see a title change tonight and again the possibility that this carries on for awhile longer (as im not sure how soon The New Day will be back), so ill go for an Uso’s win by using the tights on a roll up as they get to the desperate stage after Breezango bring their best to the show - USO’S

Kevin Owens (c) vs AJ Styles: For The United States Championship

This should be all kinds of fun and really is the real main event of the show, the actual feud hasn't been that strong with it being setup while Owens was still finishing up with the Jericho feud, but really it doesn't need the big story yet. 

In terms of a winner it needs to be Owens leaving with the title, after they stupidly had him lose to Jericho just so that Y2J could end up on Smackdown and then leave to tour with Fozzy, he cant lose it straight away again.....can he?

I dont think Styles needs the title at all, his crowd reactions are through the roof with his gradual face turn and that wont alter with a lose here, if this is going to develop into a long term feud then its different down the road and he may need to win the belt to have things develop well, but at the moment this should be fairly easy to predict - OWENS

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Dolph Ziggler

At last we have Nakamura’s debut match and it should be good with Ziggler bumping for him like mad, the build up on Dolph’s side has been shite though (mind my language). The whole saying he hasn't seen Shin wrestle before is just a stupid thing to have him say, even for a heel, it really should have seen Ziggler talk about stepping his game up to fight the best in the world making him come out of it looking better than he went in even with a defeat.

The outcome here is in no doubt, Nakamura will take it clean, this is all about building him up and making him look like a STAR, which is needed in the company for newer guy’s. Expect the violin guy to return too - NAKAMURA

Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Naomi vs The Welcoming Committee 

Its strange how down ive gone on the Smackdown women’s division since losing Bliss and Mickie James, as I dont like the over-push of Charlotte and Tamina brings zero to the table, literally zero. Also The Welcoming Committee is a dreadful name, will they have to change it soon once everyone been on the brand for a month or two??

It’s a multi person match with slight issues between Naomi and Charlotte, letting the heels pick up the win after the face team mess up will mean alot for the likes of Carmella and it wont affect the faces as the real meat there will be down the road between Naomi and Charlotte - WELCOMING COMMITTEE

Sami Zayn vs Baron Corbin

Poor Sami has been treated like crap over the past 3 to 4 months hasn't he, annoyed/irritated someone important backstage and is feeling someones wrath ever since. Corbin is a pet project to be built gradually into a main eventer by the end of the year, just a shame he doesn't have that level of ability.

Corbin will take it and the fans will let out a deep sigh for Zayn - CORBIN

Tye Dillinger vs Aiden English: Kick Off Match

Not much to say here but gives both guys vital time in the ring to get over new characters and help introduce Tye to more of the audience. Easy match to predict, not sure how long English survives on the roster he cant last forever just because he is technically the last member of the Guerrero family in the company? - DILLINGER

Luke Harper vs Erick Rowan

Just a match/feud where they seem to want to get the wrong guy over in Rowan, Harper is a million times better and was getting good crowd reactions recently too and should really steam through Rowan and onto a solid feud for him after with someone new to let him sink his teeth into and develop from.

Saying that Rowan is getting the win on Smackdown as well as a segment on Talking Smack to get over his strange character (if he really has one apart from wearing masks) - HARPER

Not sure on how this show will turn out especially after the great show that NXT put one, all talent in the show wont want to be outclassed by NXT but sadly I doubt they can do much about it apart from Owens/Styles and Nakamura/Ziggler (if they have a good competitive match and not a one sided debut).

Enjoy the show

Bye for now

Andy