#i love chris' sentons so much

[schadentekkers]

[danwhobrowses]

AEW Revolution 2021 - Reaction & Review

Before you say anything, yes I know about the finish.

But while work has prevented me from watching the show live I will still be running down the PPV as I said I would, the card is still stacked and people were mighty excited to see the wrestling so let’s get to it

Spoilers for AEW Revolution 2021, I have done my best to avoid spoilers myself but have not been able to fully escape it, I won’t let my post be the same for someone else

The Buy-In I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Buy-In should not have 75% promos, especially since the promos are uploaded as the Countdown. It’s the same thing Tony you can fit an entire match in between it, or even recap the segments on the prior Dark - good promos from Miro, Archer and Big Swole in that show and the Butcher & Blade attacked Bear Country, all of which would have relevance to the PPV.

Britt Baker pre-match promo On the cusp of her tag match came out Dr. Britt Baker DMD who lambasted the company for booking ‘Reba’ to tag with her after she sustained an ‘injury’ at the hands of Nyla Rose. Baker acted like her ‘doctor’s note’ should’ve been enough and had Reba walk on stage with a crutch to sell her point. With her partner injured she has been allowed to pick a replacement. Thoughts would’ve obviously gone to one Thea Trinidad but that made the surprise so much better.

Dr Britt Baker (w/ Rebel ‘Reba’ Tanea) & Maki Itoh def. Riho & Thunder Rosa - Pinfall on Rosa by Baker after a Superkick + Crutch Shot Maki Itoh, who was unusually absent from the TJPW PPV - arrived to a loud pop from the crowd and Serpentico just completely losing his shit at ringside. The King of Simps sang her entrance as she usually does as she soaked in the atmosphere with pure joy on her face. The babyfaces quickly made their entrances after as the match was about to kick off. For a tag match it was more of a 2v2 than a tag bout, I mean that in there wasn’t a lot of team moves; whenever the heels felt threatened they would switch partners to regain momentum, but that did allow each woman to face off one another. There were some good interactions between each woman in the bout, Excalibur doing very well to inform the fans that Itoh had history with Riho and Rosa and that she had recently come out of a tag tournament final in TJPW where she and ‘Pink Striker’ Miyu Yamashita fell short to NEO Biishiki-Gun (a faction that involves the heel alter-ego of the Eliminator Tournament’s Mei Suruga). Between the match Rosa and Baker sold the animosity, trading middle fingers while the other was in the corner until they finally got to cross one another. The final stages proved to be entertaining when Itoh and Riho where legal, Rosa and Baker had both rushed the ring to fight when Riho sucker hit Baker on the apron, leading to a trade off in moves between all four women, Rosa got planted with a tornado DDT, but Itoh missed the Flying Kokeshi, Riho almost capitalized but her Shining Wizard was countered by Itoh’s magnificently fluid rolling half crab counter. Riho would make the ropes as both women tagged out after Itoh got Riho with a headbutt and Riho shook off Baker after Rosa broke up her pin from an air raid crash, liquid pinfalls and counters happened after that which was an easy highlight. Reba proved not to be as injured as let on when she jumped the apron but was accidentally socked by Baker after Rosa dodged and hit the DVD, Itoh broke the pin but got thrown out of the ring afterwards, the cameras missing Riho diving at Itoh on the outside. In the ring Baker - having wriggled out of a Fire Thunder Driver - staggered Rosa with a superkick and used the ref’s position to push Rosa towards him near the ropes where Reba cracked Rosa with the crutches as the ref dodged, the damage was enough for Baker to get the 3 count. After the match Riho ensured that Rosa wouldn’t get attacked afterwards as Reba limped on and out the ring, Baker and Itoh leaving the ramp with middle fingers to their opponents

It was a very fun match, camera work wasn’t the best at times but it was still really good. I didn’t expect Itoh and Baker’s twitter buddying to lead to them partnering up but that is the sneaky foreshadowing. The booking of this match should really be stated a bit more, Riho and Rosa are top caliber former champions on their brands, and Itoh and Baker hanged with them mostly to a stalemate. With 2 victories over Rosa though Baker should be on the up, and sadly we may see less of Rosa with NWA coming back (same will probably be said about Serena once her knee recovers until she drops the belt) so it was important that nobody came out looking weak. With Itoh’s US appearance too and the pop (and the resulting appearance on BTE) you can be sure that the Cutest in the World will be seen again.

Main Card Always gotta show my approval of using Brodie’s ‘you know what that means’ to start a show. JR sounded a little hoarse though today, hope he’s okay.

AEW World Tag Championship The Young Bucks def. The Inner Circle [Chris Jericho & MJF (w/ Wardlow)] - Pinfall on Jericho by Matt via Meltzer Driver Jericho came out with his usual Painmaker while MJF continues with his fashion atrocity of a white robe and blue tassels with the scarf print in the middle. The Bucks kept it simple with the black, yellow and pink - which Excalibur noted was designed by Matt’s daughter. The Bucks were definitely aggrieved, shoving the belts in the faces of their opponent before the bell, Jericho though played the mind games by snatching a title from Aubrey to hold it aloft. The bell rang and immediately it was brawling, Bucks pulling their patented dual suicide dive and stereo sharpshooters, interceptor spear and the hanging senton. MJF got some momentum by catching Nick before his apron moonsault as Jericho hit the triangle dropkick, Wardlow choking Nick on the outside while Aubrey was distracted and then hitting the double flapjack before stealing the Bucks’ poses. Matt roared in again but Wardlow again proved to shift momentum to his Inner Circle stablemates, this time pulling the ropes so Matt fell out. The Inner Circle kept things simple and grounded, antagonizing the Bucks whenever they could in hopes they will fall into a mistake, however their confidence left them more open to slipping up and falling into Nick’s hot tag, a lovely springboard destroyer hit two so the Bucks hit the Motor City Machine Guns’ move. MJF tagged Jericho but his Judas Effect was superkicked, Bucks tried Meltzer Driver but MJF grabbed Nick again and Jericho hit the tombstone, leaving Nick to flip with nobody home and leave him prone to the Walls of Jericho, Nick tagged Matt while in the hold but then Matt got locked in the Walls. MJF got 2 for a catch powerbomb but slowed it down by taunting Matt with multiple ‘Suck It!’s, Excalibur humorously begging Matt to just punch him ‘where he is pointing’, the provocation worked though as Matt went for a Meltzer Driver, allowing Jericho to catch Nick mid-flight with a Codebreaker and MJF to roll Matt up for 2. Wardlow distracted Aubrey as Jericho hit Matt’s legs with a bat leading to MJF hitting the Heatseeker, but they got 2 again! The Bucks countered with a baited corner kick and stereo crossbodies in and out of the ring, Wardlow got rocked by a dodged Judas Effect as Nick rolled Jericho for 2, Jericho tries a Lionsault but meets a low Superkick and then a BTE Trigger but MJF breaks the count, eating a Superkick Party (aka Death by Leg Slapping) for his troubles. Jericho gets a Double Superkick and then finished by a Meltzer Driver.

It was a hot opener for sure, the Bucks talking smack to Jericho afterwards. The Inner Circle were wily but relied too much on Wardlow and provoking the Bucks into making mistakes. I am actually surprised to see no Sammy Guevara even at ringside, besides Wardlow no Inner Circle members tried to interfere either, pretty clean affair.

Casino Tag Team Royale Death Triangle [PAC and Rey Fénix] win the Royale to be No. 1 Contenders for the Tag Titles - Fénix last eliminating Jungle Boy After the Bucks came naming the next contender, starting with the Natural Nightmares and Dark Order’s Five and Dime - ironically it was the old guard vs the Nightmare Factory alums - a handshake between 5 and Dustin was not shared when QT clubbed 10 to kick off the match. Dark Order got some great offence but were blindsided by Dustin’s double bulldog Different to regular Casino Royales, entrants played to Royal Rumble rules of one team at a time, the first team to enter being Santana & Ortiz. Five got eliminated first by QT after hitting the ‘That’s Gotta Suck’ (a crossbody to the back of an opponent lying on the ropes) on Ortiz, 10 unable to avenge him as the Sydals came next, Matt hitting the Meteora rather than the Shooting Star attempt like last time. Uno and Grayson came next, Uno hitting that delicious twisting flatliner on Mike Sydal as Santana and Ortiz dumped Mike out of the ring. Santana also completely kicked the taste out of Grayson and 10 soon after with a percussive kick. The Gunn Club came next without Billy, huge amount of faith in Austin and Colten, during which Matt Sydal got thrown over by the Gunns and dumped out by Santana’s big boot, meaning the Sydals were the first team to be eliminated. Intrigue hit after the Pretty Picture (Avalon & Bononi) and the Varsity Blonds came into the match, Austin had dumped Avalon and dual Famassers to Bononi looked like it was gonna eliminate the big man but then QT eliminated the Gunns at once. Ire and confusion was seen on Dustin’s face as QT eliminated his fellow Nightmare Family members, and QT then eliminated himself! A shock break up for sure from one of the most consistent Midcard tag teams in AEW. Bear Country Hell Yeah though hossed their way in, Grayson was able to lift one but got eliminated, Jurassic Express came next as Baltimora’s Tarzan Boy echoed from the arena, JB countered Santana and Ortiz’ tag move to eliminate the latter and then baited Santana to rana him out, Luchasaurus eliminated Bononi and then Griff, assisting Marko to do a slippery rana which Uno sold by running into the ring post to eliminate himself. Butcher and Blade came in fresh to dump Pillman and 10 and end their nights, Jack Evans had also appeared out of nowhere to assist in eliminating 10 as Bear Country brawled with Butcher and Blade, Dustin tried to get involved and was dragged out of the ring apron by Allie. Private Party then came in with the clean black and gold, nearly eliminating JB had Marko not held him up. SCU completely beheaded PP, Bear Country then eliminating Luchasaurus to some boos before being dumped by Butcher just as Death Triangle came in. Lastly was Silver and Reynolds who came to a decent pop, nailing Daniels with a Spin Doctor to start and then Dark Destroyer and Elimination from Isaiah Kassidy, SCU then eliminated Butcher leaving 4 teams left. Fénix bodyscissored Daniels, JB launched Reynolds over the turnbuckle and Kazarian thrown by PAC. Silver, PAC, Fénix and JB was just sublime, Silver only taken out by Fénix’s rope walk pele kick to leave JB on his own. “Jungle Boy in the Death Triangle” was a hell of a call by Excalibur as he eliminated PAC by using his momentum against him. Fénix and JB was just high octane, JB catching Fénix with an anti-air superkick, clothesline and poison rana but as he went to throw Fénix he counters with the 619 rebound heel kick and clotheslined JB out of the ring.

That was a strong ass royale. I will not however forget that Top Flight and FTR were unusually absent from the match (not to mention the Good Brothers, I hoped it’d be Casino Rules with them as the Joker, and TH2). But a lot of good stuff here, surprising split by the Nightmares, Butcher/Blade vs Bear Country feels imminent, Santana and Ortiz as well as SCU were still strong, I feel for Jurassic Express though, they are always inches from the brass ring but never quite getting it, but Death Triangle probably needed it more. Making Fénix the last man was a good decision as well because he had been taking a lot of Ls, now with a trio vs the Bucks it can lead to some interesting concepts, and batshit crazy spots.

Paul Wight Interview Wight sprinkled some hinting at his mystery signing by saying ‘No-one’s gonna outwork him’ as we paused till the next match. DDP and Al Snow were also shown in attendance.

AEW Women’s World Championship Hikaru Shida def. Ryo Mizunami - Pinfall via Corkscrew Knee Strike The promo package used for this match has to get some shine as well because it really built why both women were so motivated to win.

Mizunami came out with the tournament trophy in hand to ensure her clout had not been forgotten, Shida may not have worn the power suit but the kimono and kasa still looked wonderful. A handshake started the match but Shida dodged the lariat attempt. Mizunami shoulder blocked Shida but the champion kipped up impressing Aniki and prompting her to ground her a second time. Mizunami and Shida traded corner chops as Mizunami wasted too much time showboating for the champion to hit the rana and then the ringside knee strike, the Chair launch was caught as Mizunami dumped Shida over the railing. Leg drop was almost countered by the Stretch Muffler but Aniki used her power to continue grounding Shida and wearing her down with submissions, Shida though would grasp momentum with driving her opponent into the corner with her knees and then a missile dropkick, a driven Shida crunched Aniki with a B-Driver on the ramp then a deadlift suplex back into the ring, the champion’s confidence was met with Mizunami’s powerful flurry of strikes, Shida hits a running knee but Mizunami gets back up, she hits the Tamashii but can’t make the cover.  The women return to the handshake strike trading, but Mizunami got the advantage and plants her with an Uranage and Spear, the Guillotine Legdrop gets a close 2 but the champion kicks out again, she rolls out of the Fisherman buster to hit a German but gets hit in the back of the head, Shida hits the Falcon Arrow and kips back up, the Tamashii is blocked but she keeps striking Mizunami, running knee to the back of the head, Falcon Arrow again but could not hook the leg, the next Tamashii countered with a lariat but the following lariat countered with a knee. Shida digs into some Latino Heat with the eye poke and roll up for two, she hits the Tamashii but Aniki rolls her up for an agonizing two. Looked like a botched DDT but Shida hits a third Tamashii and Mizunami kicks out again, Shida opts for a corkscrew knee strike and that gets the three.

Shida’s celebration is cut short by Nyla and Vickie attacking both, Shida prevents Aniki from being Beast Bombed but is then blindsided by Baker and Itoh, Itoh biting Mizunami’s fingers while Nyla and Baker squared off before reaching an understanding. Rosa darted in for the save as Itoh taunted Rosa with an Akanbe (pulling her eyelid down). In the ring Shida offered a hand to Aniki while her opponent bowed to her in respect. If anyone had doubts that Mizunami would be a bad choice for Revolution they were promptly eating their words about now. This was a proper physical women’s bout showing the best of Joshi Strong Style. Shida showed off some newer moves even resorting to a heel move to try and win (Yakuza Heel Shida is an option) and a different finish to the Tamashii while Mizunami continued to brightly shine with power and charisma. The post-match stuff does leave a lot of intrigue too. Baker and Nyla’s alliance of convenience can only go so far when both want the title, it hurts to see Itoh with the heels given how over she is but it made sense in the context that Mizunami eliminated her from the tournament - Itoh fights for Itoh, the heels are just convenience for now. The tournament playing this role shows how important it was for the women’s division too, Rosa and Baker temporarily stepping up to Nyla and Nyla wanting to waste Aniki makes it important. In addition, Big Swole - who noted that she is next due to her title shot before the tournament’s announcement being postponed due to COVID - tweeted a ‘not my business’ kinda tweet during this too, which is telling.

Double or Nothing 2021 is coming May 30th A small promo for Double or Nothing was shown announcing the date.

Pre-Match Segment with Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy Before their match with Kip and Miro, Alex Mahvez was going to interview the two men before Miro and Kip jumped both men. Miro telling the camera to ‘Play my music’ as he dragged Chuck to the ramp and ring as he taunted a bleeding Taylor to just say the word to make it stop. Mic in his mouth Chuck instead said ‘ring the damn bell’ and slapped Miro to kick off the bout.

Miro & Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford) def. Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy - Submission via Game Over by Miro on Chuck Taylor Miro wastes no time in this match, delivering the hurt to the partnerless Taylor before tagging out to Kip a few times as he taunted Taylor in and out of the ring. Taylor countered Sabian in time for Cassidy to appear on the ramp hurt, Miro slowly stalked the prone Cassidy only to have fallen for his possum as he kipped up and nailed an Orange Punch, tagging in to get a diving DDT for 2 on Kip, the back that was hurt before prevented a Beach Break to give Sabian the advantage while Miro recovered. Chuck is tagged in for a stomp/Beach Break combo, Miro breaks the count after Taylor was decked with a Piledriver. Miro gets involved as Bryce and Penelope argue, the deadly Orange Kicks humor Miro but his Pump Kick is dodged, Miro gets Orange in the gut before he can make a second Orange Punch but hits the Stundog Millionaire on the counter, Penelope stops Orange from running the ropes and provides distraction for Miro to push him, but he knocks Penelope right into the railing - it was a big sell - and takes out Orange but Taylor and Kip are legal. Miro drags Kip from his wife to tag himself in, nearly being beaten by the inside cradle before flooring Taylor with the Matchka kick and the Game Over for the win. Relief soaks the face of Miro as he feels a weight lifted, AEW’s weakest feud apparently over. Overall it was a nice way to finish it, Miro looked incredibly strong in the bout and teases of him discarding Kip were shown. OC was kept strong by the prior assault wearing him down and Taylor showed a lot of guts. It may do Chuck good to be written out for a bit, until Trent comes back at least.

Inner Circle Segment Not accepting that his interview time was taken, Mahvez found a new duo to interview. MJF and Jericho - flanked by Santana and Ortiz - were asked what’s next as Jericho went on a ‘we should’ve won’ tirade. Jericho and MJF hinted at a change as they promoted next week an ‘Inner Circle War Council’. It could indeed mean that someone else is being discarded from the Inner Circle, or someone’s coming in to take Sammy’s old spot.

Big Money Match ‘Hangman’ Adam Page def. ‘Big Money’ Matt Hardy - Pinfall via Buckshot Lariat I must first and foremost admit that I am loving this heel Matt Hardy. The ‘Corporate Leech’ has done really well at being a bane to AEW’s top babyface Cowboy and his Cult Buddies, he’s also driven Private Party to a new and better direction. Hangman’s funny name plates continued with ‘Decided on the Snapper 560Z’ as he came in 6-0 against Hardy’s 3-0 PPV record. Hangman controlled the early parts of the bout with his strength, Matt surviving with his veteran awareness to avoid the Buckshot but not enough to avoid Hangman’s axe handle from the railings. Hangman hurt his arm by having it slammed in the ring post as Hardy honed in on the hand; stretching, biting and crushing it between some steps. Commentary sold that the hand injured was Hangman’s favoured hand, the fact proven when Page’s punch damaged him as well, the Side Effect though was wonderfully countered with a cradle and then a DVD. Hardy evaded Hangman to catch him in a Twist of Fate on the outside, hoping for a Count Out win, Page rolls in at 9 as Hardy seizes control, yanking Hangman from the ropes with a turnbuckle elevated German Suplex. A big moonsault to the outside regains the advantage for Hangman as he follows up with a diving crossbody and sliding lariat, Hardy escapes the Deadeye to get a neckbreaker and then a powerbomb. Hangman counters the Twist of Fate into the Deadeye but Private Party (in ‘Civilian Clothes’) distract the ref to buy Matt time to recover, Hangman decides to take out both men on the sides, he goes for the Buckshot but lands into a Side Effect and Twist of Fate at 2. Shocked, Hardy motions for Private Party to get involved, but Dark Order swarm in to stop them, Hardy clubs Hangman on the apron but the Dark Order catch him and pull him back up for the Buckshot, that lands the 3 count. Hangman has his hand raised as Dark order applaud him, Hangman then walks in to hug the stable, toasting a beer given to him by Colt Cabana.

It was a good match, expected TH2 to also interfere but I guess they didn’t want the match to go on too long. The core purpose of the match was good: Hangman has turned a curve, he’s no longer being manipulated and he has friends in the Dark Order to support him. Where Hardy goes now he’s ‘Broke’ will be an interesting route, perhaps he will have to invest a little wiser or be met with people coming to collect checks he could no longer cash in.

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Scorpio Sky def. Cody Rhodes (w/ Arn Anderson), Max Caster, Penta El 0M, Lance Archer (w/ Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts) and Ethan Page AEW went very tongue and cheek by making the prize be a literal Brass Ring, JR even making a joke about it as Sonic the Hedgehog memes hit the internet. Caster started with a rap to get the crowd involved, Archer came in and decked someone at ringside, Sky and Penta had normal entrances while Cody pyro’d it up as the camera panned to Jade Cargill and Red Velvet either side and Archer climbing the apron to stare Cody down. All Ego became All Elite as Ethan Page appeared with a decent pop with a huge smile on his face and a name plate that showed his veteran and championship experience.

The match kicked off all around with the main focus on Archer and Cody renewing their TNT rivalries, Archer was the first to throw a ladder into Scorpio Sky and Page, but ate a Superkick and Slingblade by Penta, Penta then got German Suplexed by Sky before Caster took him out. Caster calls for Jack Evans to bring the Boombox that won him his qualifier but Evans is intercepted by 10 and flattened with a spinebuster, 10 doesn’t collect the Boombox though as he leaves which he will use on Page and Cody - after the two took out Archer but then fought each other. Penta took out Caster and Cody by using the Ladder as a ramp for a senton but Archer then kicks him out, Page cutters and crushes Archer under the ladder, escaping Sky’s TKO to drop Sky on the ladder while Archer was sandwiched between it. Page tries to trap Archer under the ladder but Archer powers it to a slope allowing Penta to backstab Page, Penta then Destroyer’s Cody on a ladder laid on the ring and railing, the match selling Cody’s injured shoulder and take him away from the ring while Caster and Sky tussle to climb the ladder. Caster picks a taller ladder for the high ground but are met by Page and Archer. Sky is the last man on the ladder but Penta pulls him down, his showboating costs him though as Sky recovers, biting his head and pulling Penta down with a neckbreaker. Page and Caster then tussle at the top but Caster pulls Page down with a messy sunset bomb, Sky cracks Caster with a frog splash on the ladder but crosses Archer, Sky almost uses Archer’s launchpad to climb the ladder but is pulled down, he goes for the turnbuckle but is pushed down and sent through another ladder laid on the railing and apron. Penta comes into a hot streak in taking down the remaining four men, but All Ego rakes Penta’s eye to get him off the ladder. Cody then staggers back to the ramp, whipping his opponents with his weight belt with a wincing crack, hurting his arm to land a Cross Rhodes on Page. Cody looks to set up a ladder dive but meets a Suplex by Archer and a Claim to Fame Elbow Drop by Caster. Caster and Penta climb the tall ladder but Archer knocks the ladder down, chokeslamming everything that moves and dropping Caster on a ladder with a Black Out. As Archer makes the climb, Page attacks but Archer no sells it and shoves Page away, Page low blows Archer then hits the Razor’s Edge but then Jake the Snake comes in and hits him with a Short-Arm Clothesline to a big pop before Penta wipes the legend out. Cody kinda messes up the cutter on Penta, giving Penta time to use a Steel Chair on his arm, as he climbs though Sky uses the chair on Penta’s ankle. Sky and Cody climb and trade blows, Sky yanks the injured shoulder, talks smack to Cody before pushing his face off the ladder. With nobody to oppose, Sky grabs the Brass Ring to be the Face of the Revolution.

It may not be AEW’s best ladder match, but it was still highly entertaining. Ethan Page was a good surprise entrant and Cody really did play us with his John Cena threatening rally. Caster also impressed a lot given the circumstances and this darker more heelish Scorpio Sky will be interesting to see as he faces Darby Allin.

Hall of Fame-Worthy Signing is: Christian Cage WWE stole Ben Carter from AEW, so AEW stole Christian from WWE. His new mantra of ‘Out Work Everyone’ is made official as Christian came in, posed, signed a contract and left. It got a big pop from the fans and it was definitely Hall of Fame worthy. I’m not gonna let it upset me that I had hoped for Minoru Suzuki because there is still a Forbidden Door being opened, Christian still has it and we will have to wait and see how AEW use him.

Street Fight Sting & Darby Allin def. Team Tazz [Brian Cage & Ricky Starks] - Pinfall on Starks by Sting via a Scorpion Death Drop I will preface if you didn’t expect the Street Fight to be cinematic then you were pretty blind, Sting can take bumps but AEW are not going to throw caution into the wind with him. Tazz joined commentary to be grilled by JR and Tony as the match faded into an ‘Undisclosed Location’. There were some really nice Lucha Underground-esque transitions and filmwork as Cage and Starks travelled to a boiler room ring while Darby’s entrance was met with Sting-wearing hoodlums and both men travelling to the location - Darby skating onto Sting’s truck to enter at the same time. Cage quickly dominated from the start, dumping Darby and then wasting the ‘Hoodlums’ while Starks pressed Sting against the corner. Darby tried to fight back but Cage dragged Darby around. Sting regained control with a Stinger Splash and Snake Eyes but Darby was thrown through doors as Tazz talked up his boys noting how if Darby can’t compete he’ll have to relinquish his title. Starks and Sting eventually leave the ring and Sting goes straight for the bat, Starks goading the Icon to discard the bat but still gets clubbed and kicked into the brick wall, leaving Starks to search for Cage and Darby. Cage though is going upstairs, carrying Darby in a vertical suplex position while he goes up the stairs and dumping him on a trash can. Sting though arrives to work the numbers advantage, Starks then comes back though, hitting Sting with a pipe and an oil drum, String hurts Starks’ knee by opening a drawer on it and Starks is laid out by Cage’s accidental chair shot. Cage continues to fend off the duo for a bit before being hit by a Fire Extinguisher and a glass before slammed into the table, Starks then uses the 2x4 and focuses on Allin, Darby fights back though, climbing a beam to do a Coffin Drop. However, an Orange Masked man comes in and slams Allin against the beam: Powerhouse Hobbs reminding the duo that Team Tazz do have the numbers advantage as Hook also joins the fight. Sting and Cage both get up to tussle, Sting being driven against a beam as all of Team Tazz sans Starks deal with Darby, swinging him into a window frame before then aiming for Sting. Sting narrows the path to avoid the onslaught, Allin recovering to throw Sting his bat from the upper floors. The Icon goes to town, snapping the bat over Cage’s back and moving to a Shovel, Allin then does a massive elbow drop through Cage as Starks and Sting return to the ring. Starks almost gets the Stinger by baiting his Stinger Splash into an exposed turnbuckle, a spear hits two! Starks tries what looks like a prep for a buckle bomb but Sting rolls out at 2, Sting then hits the Scorpion Death Drop and that is 3. Sting stares down the camera as Tazz leaves commentary in a huff.

In terms of brutality it was a lovely street fight, the finale was a bit abrupt though. Hobbs and Hook kinda disappeared and it was a bit annoying that a ‘Street Fight’ ended in a ring. Props though to cinematography, Sting did not seem uncomfortable and there were some strong spots, Brian Cage looking excellent as well. Allin will look to Scorpio Sky to defend his title and hopefully Team Tazz can find a new target to get their momentum back.

AEW Dynamite Card As a result of the current matches on Revolution 3 matches were announced; Sky and Allin will face this Wednesday for the title, on top of that Matt Jackson will take on Rey Fénix in a build to their tag title match and Shida, Mizunami and Rosa will team to fight Baker, Itoh and Rebel - I guess we’ll be seeing Itoh-chan very soon huh? Nyla noticeably absent though - in six woman tag action, on top of that was the Inner Circle War Council.

AEW World Championship - Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch Kenny Omega (w/ Don Callis) def. Jon Moxley - Pinfall via One Winged Angel Okay. Here we go. The ‘Moxley Extermination Contraption’ looked as classic as an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch could look as both men gingerly scouted the ring. Mox was wearing an unusually clean leather studded jacket which Excalibur clarified was a shout out to Onita. Omega’s entrance ditched the dancers (rip to Shida’s bestie) as his entrance video emphasized Kenny holding aloft the world title to get in Moxley’s head. Bryce Remsburg himself was dressed like he was in a COVID treatment camp with the visor, gloves and full body suit, well-prepared for the dangers surrounding him. Hindsight would bring a bad omen to Don Callis as he talked about how ‘carefully designed’ the ring was rigged with explosives and building up the 30 minute countdown, he at the very least got a good line with ‘Gentlemen it’s a good day to die here at Revolution’.

Kenny and Mox sought for the same tactic: push someone face first into the exploding barbed wire. Each men having inch close counters and escapes to avoid the barbed wire, Moxley brought the weapons left outside the ring and head to the ramp to punish Omega with the Barbed Wire Bat and Kendo Stick, Kenny however Blinded Moxley with powder and tossed Moxley into the explosive wire. For my money of what I’ve seen, the explosions were a little tame - though I can understand why for safety. Rattled and twitching, Moxley still kicked out at 2, forcing Kenny to punish him further with a Kendo Stick and trash can to focus on the knee. Kotaro Crusher on the trash can busted Moxley’s head open for 2 so Kenny tries a Figure Four, Moxley though grinds a barbed wire steel chair onto Kenny’s leg and hand, cutting Kenny’s hand open and breaking the hold. Kenny tries the Snap Dragon but Moxley evades, but gets thrown into one of the barbed wire boards on the turnbuckles. Excalibur continuing to be on fire with the quip of a ‘barbed wire halo’ as the bloodied face of Moxley displays and Bryce Remsburg enters perpetual cringe. Kenny is next to taste the explosives though as his Figure Four attempt is kicked away and launches him chest first into the ropes, a shotgun dropkick sends him back first into it for a second go, Moxley pulls out an Exploder, sets Kenny up for another Barbed Wire board, Kenny wriggles to set up the Snap Dragon but Moxley reverses into another pump handle exploder into the board. Moxley nearly blinded by his own blood calls for the Death Rider on the Wired Chair, but Omega sets up the One Winged Angel, Moxley German Suplexes him out and dumps Omega on the chair with a Sidewalk Slam, the wire sticking to Omega’s jeans. Moxley calls to his I Quit Match with Kingston and wraps some wire around his arm, he misses the Lariat and gets hit with one Snap Dragon Suplex, Kenny hits another but Moxley gets back up, V-Trigger blocks the second Barbed Wire Lariat attempt but not the third at the halfway mark.

Omega throws huge caution into the wind by escaping the Paradigm Shift and pushing Moxley and himself into the exploding ropes, his vision affected as he asks Remsburg for water to clean his eyes - it seems to be a worked one though or at least dust. Jabs are shared on the apron between the wired ropes and one of the ‘Triple Hell’ wired boards, Moxley gets advantage and hits the Paradigm Shift onto the boards, however, Omega merely bounced off of it while Moxley is firmly stuck inside the board. As Moxley painfully unhinges himself from the board he pulls out more wire - Kenny also wearing a crimson mask - as he batters Omega in the head. A noise alarms Moxley of time running out, he does the Cactus Piledriver for 2 twice, Omega hits the Low Blow and the Powerbomb for 2, Two V-Triggers on the corner and then the One Winged Angel, 1, 2,

BANG!

Moxley kicked the rope to trigger the explosion, blinding Omega and breaking the count. Moxley has the barbed wire bat but the Good Brothers rush in, as Moxley wails on Gallows, Kenny is handed his own Barbed wire bat, he swings for Moxley and 

BANG! 

the bat itself is charged too! 1, 2, NO! The Good Borthers set up a regular chair, Omega drops him with the One Winged Angel and gets the three.

Omega celebrates but Don reminds them of the countdown, the trio handcuff Moxley’s hands as the hard cam continues to miss Omega’s smack talking. Kenny brutalizes a defenseless Moxley with the non-charged wire baseball bat as the 1 minute warning is issued. Kenny celebrates but Kingston rushes in - against the advice of the Butcher, Blade and Bunny. Kingston tries to break the cuffs but has no time, he tries to drag Moxley but has no time, he takes one last look at Moxley’s face and covers his body over his friend and rival and

Fizzle.

Mostly just a limp pyro show. A heartbreaking technical error which was met with boos as the PPV goes from A+ to A-/B+ simply by this one moment. It hurts to look at, but I think the worst part is that Kingston - being the kayfabe professional he is - sold it. Had he simply got up and had Kenny come out with a ‘gotcha’ it could’ve been salvaged but alas, the PPV ends in a whimper.

The match itself was great though, brutal and bloody, the explosions were a bit small but as I said, I can understand why. The lack of the big explosive finish will be a huge damper on it even with AEW’s attempts to take it on the chin and try and salvage it, if I were TK though I probably would book the next Dynamite to still have the ring rigged - noting that only Kenny and Callis knew how to wire and unwire it, that way we can still have a Chekov’s gun and have it potentially blow at any time during the next Dynamite, we pass off Kingston’s selling with a promo from him saying he had accepted death to save his friend and passed out from it and we either have Kingston, Moxley or maybe even Callis get caught in the ring actually blowing, like have Kenny on the tron pull a killswitch or have Callis think he defused it only to do the opposite. Looking ahead though this does imply that Moxley won’t completely disappear from AEW just yet, he still has the IWGP US title to drop before he goes on paternity leave, he will certainly be sleeping on the couch until the baby comes though XD On top of that we’ve neatly set up Kenny’s next challenger in Kingston, who is not a bad shout at all given that he won Match and Feud of the Year for WON last year.

Conclusion Had the explosion gone off proper, this would be A+ for sure, but given how that was literally the last hurrah built up so much on a highly anticipated bout, I have to give it an A- as a PPV. All memes and criticism aside for that one singular moment the rest of the PPV was amazing. Maki Itoh got double the surprise presence as well as a BTE cameo and is booked for Dynamite to steamroll an amazing debut run, Brian Cage and Lance Archer looked like absolute beasts in spite of defeat (Moxley too), Death Triangle are back in a title picture, Jungle Boy continues to amaze, Shida puts on another banger, Hangman’s slow rise to potentially usurping Omega has begun, Sting entertained in a safe manner, Scorpio Sky returns in a big way, the Bucks retained in a fiery opener and Miro was on a tear essentially squashing Chuck Taylor to get back on track. Not to mention debuts for Christian Cage and Ethan Page (more Cages and Pages, what happens if Brian and Adam face Christian and Ethan? I'm still waiting for Kong vs Kong)

On top of that we give huge props to Excalibur and Tony for essentially carrying the commentary with their knowledge and timing while JR had some voice troubles and Tony Khan for promoting this PPV to be trending worldwide for literal days

My favourite match has to be narrowly the Main Event, it just pips the Women’s title match because of its sold brutality, and I’m not really counting the post-match stuff from it. Nobody wrestled poorly in the entire show as well so aside from one big technical blemish, it was a strong ass show and all the shortcomings it had can easily be bounced back from.

Needs a lil’ more TH2 though...

[grapsandclaps]

Ladies and Gentleman, my name is not @oggypart3, and I do not have the (greatest) Clap (in the business)...but I am @KingGazOfMadine (I am not Raymond Rowe) and I am here to bring you a round up of show Number 55.5 in #the80ShowYear (Andy's show number 55.5 by the way. I'm only on 34)

PROGRESS Chapter 52: Vote Pies was a show that was originally not on the Wrestling Schedule for us Manchester fans, so 4/5 of British Wrong Style (Andy / Geoff Ogden, Chris Linay and Ben Corrigan) along with top Pigeon Fan Shauna Askew made the decision to book tickets to go and see Tidal Wrestling, across the penines in Leeds (You can read Andy's review of that show right here, at Graps and Claps *cheap pop*) and therefore once the show was announced, had to miss the event.  For me personally, I've never been to a Tidal show or watched any of their shows, and had made the decision to take a weekend off until the PROGRESS announcement, so I was all in for this event. Must admit, it was a bit odd to be at a show without the others. I think of all the shows I've been to this year, only ATTACK in Cardiff I've done without any combination of Andy / Geoff / Shauna / Chris / Ben

Now then, unlike Andy, I did not make an early start for this show to take in some fine ales beforehand. No, my decision was to stay at home and watch Day 5 of the 27th annual G1 tournament in New Japan (should point out here, Tesco had a cracking deal on 6 cans of Dr Pepper for £1.77 which I had picked up the day before, so my choice of drink for the G1 was Dr Pepper coming in at approximately 30p per can. We may be living in Tory Britain, but you can still find a bargain when you try), and then jump on the #GrapsBus at around 1pm for a show thats doors opened at 1.30pm. I arrived in town a little before 2pm and did have time to meet up with t-shirt designer to the stars and future wrestling superstar (HOWAY) Jimmy Nailz at the regular Wetherspoons on Oxford Road. £1.99 for a large Lemonade, and I was good to go and ready for the show, but not before conversations on whether soup should be classed as an actual meal or not, and apparently certain sectors of Mormons aren't allowed hot drinks. Not because of caffeine (which apparently some Mormons are not allowed) but just because of the temperature. So like, they can have a cup of coffee / tea but only after it's cooled down. Please don't take this as fact and quote me on this, but that was what I learned yesterday and have done 0 research into it's validity, but will pass it off as legit if ever needed.

On to the show. Before the regular Darth Vader / Drake intro, we were told over the microphone there would be one last song before this, which was a Linkin Park track, dedicated to Chester Bennington who had unfortunately passed away a few days prior to this. Following this, we got the regular Jim Smallman intro (Hiya - We Sold Out - It's Your Round - 7 matches, 4 in the first half, 3 in the second) but were then introduced to a fan that had apparently made a bet with Jim that the Manchester show wouldn't sell out as quick as usual (Odd bet to make?) and because Jim had lost (Who bets against their own team!?) said fan was allowed in the ring to have his photo taken with Jim (This is an odd bet to make. Just go and ask Jim for a photo before the show starts when he's walking around the ring. He's a nice chap and will more than likely say "Yes") at which point Jim asks said fans girlfriend to come into the ring to take the photo. Jim and fan prepare for photo, fans missus gets camera out...BUT WAIT...the fan is down on one knee and has pulled an engagement ring outta nowhere (Ok, that's why this all seemed so ridiculous...Jim didn't bet against his own company!!!) and he's asked his missus to marry him. She's in a wrestling ring, with 700 of us watching, she literally has no chance of saying No, and thus she says....YES!!!! Cheers aplenty, now get out of the ring and enjoy the first 3 hours of your engagement surrounded by people who want to call Zach Gibson a Scouse Bastard.

Should also note here that the ring looked a bit low, and as we were discussing this, it was pointed out that T-Bone was on the show, and this was in fact T-Bone's ring (more to this later). Plus, pint of Lemonade here at the venue was £3.50. Not sure what kind of Lemonade they have at The Ritz for it to cost an extra £1.51 over Wetherspoons Lemonade, but it didn't taste that much better. That's Tory Britain for you (Cheers Andy)

Now to the wrestling....or is it...? Turns out there are balloons in the ring, and some "Happy Birthday" signs up, and out first is El Ligero, with 2 birthday hats hanging from his horns. Turns out it's Dave Mastiff's birthday, and as he still doesn't have any entrance music (or at least not any that can be shown on the WWE Network, for just £9.99 a month), the Bastard comes out to 700 of us singing Happy Birthday (no trombone this time Andy, sorry about that). Out come their opponents for the night Extra Talent(ed) and the super over, merchandise machines #CCK We get the introductions out of the way, and then it turns out one of the Extra Talent(ed) lads has a birthday card for Mastiff. Jim reads it out as "Dear Dave, Happy Birthday, from Jeff Jarrett and everyone at ITV Wrestling" at which point Mastiff cleans house with German Suplexes aplenty, including German Suplexing Kid Lykos over the top rope into Chris Brookes and the Extra Talent(ed) lads. This 3 way Tag Match included a grand total of 0 tags, and was just all action from start to finish, but included a few botched moments including Lykos pulling down the top rope for one of the Extra Talent(ed) lads to go over, only for him to still fall out of the ring between the top and middle rope, and the same lad receiving the Brookes assisted Code-Breaker, and then not staying in place for Brookes to senton him...but Brookes did it anyway coz he's Chris fuckin Brookes and he can do what he wants. Talking of which, Chris Brookes hit a knee on one of the Extra Talent(ed) lads and a kick on the other, in totally seperate moments, and both of them made me think that Extra Talent(ed) maybe owe him money or something.  The ending happened, not entirely sure what happened, but #CCK won, Roberts called for the bell and said he'd counted 3, the bell never came, Jim's mic was turned off so he couldn't announce the winners, and some people were trying to continue the match. Not sure what was supposed to happen, but #CCK got the win, and then Chris Brookes said they didn't want a win like that, and challenged Extra Talent(ed) to another match next week in Camden. Kid Lykos got the mic and was ready to tell them what he thought, but Brookes took the mic off him and told him to "Shut the fuck up Lykos"

Next up we had Mike Bird vs T-Bone in some big lads wrestling. Big Lads as in guys who actually weigh over the weight limit for the Atlas title and not David Starr or Fred Yehi. Talking of David Starr, question for you. If David Starr wins a match, and neither me or Andy sees this match, did David Starr still win a match? For me, it's a no, and old Canvasback Dave remains winless. Anyway, Bird and Bone started off quite tasty with them getting in each others face during the intros, and then a bit of pushing and shoving until T-Bone gave Bird a lovely looking headbutt. This was standard 2 big lads beating each other up, but the crowd was a bit quiet for it. Most local fans obviously know T-Bone from the likes of FutureShock, PCW and GPW and were getting behind him, and there was the odd Ginger Jesus chant too, but I don't know if it was the awkward finish of the last match, but the crowd weren't too into this one. I even tried to get an Ogden special clap going but that died on it's arse. T-Bone ended up the victor, and personally, I'm hoping we get a T-Bone vs Walter match for the Atlas title at some point. T-Bone did only lose 1 match during the Atlas Division series, and that just happened to be a Semi-Final match unfortunately.

Toni Storm was up next defending the PROGRESS Womens title against Laura Di Matteo. Again, this seemed to start with quite a flat crowd, but we were treated to a decent match that finally woke the crowd up and got everyone going. There was quite some chanting on behalf of Laura Di Matteo, which is quite surprising really. One, becuase Toni Storm is absolutely ace, and two, because Laura Di Matteo is obviosuly very talented in the ring, but post-Jinny feud (is that feud actually over?) there really isn't anything there with Laura Di Matteo to care about, other than the fact she's one of the ones who come up from the ProJo. She just doesn't seem to connect, and I'd happily listen to any of her fans to tell me what it is that makes them get behind her. Cracking match though between these 2, and Toni got the win following her Piledriver she's been using lately.  Laura was visibly in tears outside the ring afterwards, not sure if that's gonna set up a storyline or something with her?

Onto the first half Main Event, which was 2 blokes I've heard of vaguely recently. Travis Banks vs Matthew Riddle.  2 of the absolute best right now, and these 2 did not disappoint. Riddle came out first, cool as fuck as always, and then Trav came out second and he was ready to scrap, getting right in Riddles face before the intros had even begun. These 2 chopped, kicked and suplexed each other like there was no tomorrow. Thought Riddle would still be recovering his chest after what Walter did to him in Birmingham, but nope, there were chops a plenty. I can imagine these 2 having a much better match than the one they put on here, but this was still a really good match and one to look out for on Demand. At one point it was like watching Kane vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania, when Matt Riddle kicked out of a "Tombstone" at 1, grabbed Travis, hit him with a jumping "Tombstone" at which point Trav kicked out at 2. Had to point out here that moves where you get dropped on your head are a lot less effective in 2017 than moves where you have to slap your knee for effect. However, neither Travs or Riddles tombstones actually drop the opponent on their head, therefore making them even less effective. Finish to this match came when Pete Dunne made an appearance on the rampway to distract Trav, and Riddle managed to hit Banks with a jumping knee when he returned his focus to the match, but was at this point out for the count.

Half time break, and due to arriving at the venue late, this was the perfect time to pick up that sweet new #CCK merch. Turns out I could now go 6 of the 7 days of the week wearing a different #CCK / Chris Brookes t-shirt. #CCK literally becoming the UK Young Bucks.

Second half of the show brought us a 4 way match between No Fun Chief Deputy Dunne, Scouse Bastard Zach Gibson, Ben's Favourite Chuck Mambo and Shauna's Number 1 Heel Jack Sexsmith. Match started with introductions for Sexsmith and Mambo, only for Chief Deputy Dunne to take over microphone duties and inform us that as long as we don't have fun, we won't get hurt. Gibson took the microphone from Dunne here though, and did his usual schtick, ending with how he is the Premier Wrestling talent in England, and he's in a match with a surfer, a policeman and an absolute joke. This was a fun 4 way, nothing to really shout about, but still enjoyable. Sexsmith picked up the win with a cheekly roll up on Gibson, meaning Sexsmith has beaten Gibson here and at Super Strong Style now.

Next up was PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne going against Eddie Dennis, who has got himself some new shorts to go with his full time schedule.  I liked them personally. As for the match, this was an absolute cracker of a match.  The longer it went on, the better it got, and I started to get the impression that maybe Pete Dunne would lose via DQ, therefore having to defend his title agsinst Eddie in a second match. Unfortunately, it did not go this way. Eddie had Pete Dunne pinned for the 3 count following the NEXT STOP DRIVER!!!!! but unfortunately Joel was down at this point and did not make the count. Peter rolled out the ring, and as Eddie followed him got blasted by Peter's Sledgehammer (I thought these were only kept under WWE rings...?) rolled back into the ring, Pedigree and then The Bitter End, for Peter to pick up the win. Talking point here though was Eddie Dennis looking absolutely phenomenal. He's always been good when I've seen him, but having recently gone full time, he's got a lot more serious and looks a lot better for it.

Main Event time gave us British Strong Styles Tyler Bate and Trent Seven defending their PROGRESS Tag Team titles against current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Champions, War Machine (I am in no way related to Raymond Rowe by the way). Following the introductions, Jim declared that he was making this match a Tornado Tag Rules match. If you've never seen War Machine wrestle in PROGRESS before, then you were in for a treat without knowing it, however if you have seen War Machine in PROGRESS before, then you knew this was gonna be awesome...and it was. Match started with War Machine offering the code of honor handshake, BSS doing the Triple H, but turning and spitting it in War Machines eyes and then mockingly shaking their opponents hands, only for War Machine to hold on, and beat the piss out of the 2 of them. This match was everything you'd expect from a War Machine match. Don't think it was as good as the London Riots match from Birmingham a few weeks ago, but still a cracker and up there as Match of the Night for this show. They wrecked the joint throwing their opponents into the ringside chairs, along with being thrown themselves. At one point Tyler Bate and Ray Rowe were wrestling in the crowd right next to us. Tyler hit Rowe, and then proceded to do his best Karate stance and declared himself Bruce Lee. If you want to see the video of this, look up Ian Crompton on Twitter (@iancrompton89) and ask him to share his video. Also, Tyler Bate managed to squat Hanson. Like that shouldn't even be a surprise anymore that Tyler is freakishly strong, but it still is amazing. Now then, earlier I mentioned how the ring in use was T-Bones ring. During this match, I noticed T-Bone up on the balcony watching the match. However, what I also noticed was that when Trent and Tyler did a double Superplex from the top rope to Hanson, Chris Brooker was up there too, putting a hand on T-Bone's shoulder as if to say "It's ok. You're ring survived it. It's going to live another day". BSS got the win in this match, when Trent hit the pedigree on to Hanson (I think) on top of the IWGP tag title. War Machine gave a post match speech about being disappointed they weren't raising the PROGRESS Tag Titles, and how they've wrestled everywhere but we are the craziest fans they've ever known. Standard really.

Post-Show, it was fuckin pissing down and I'd only gone and decided today was a good day to come in just shorts and t-shirt. Headed back over to Wetherspoons with Jimmy Nailz and Dave Hackney (JHFC represent!) to grab some food (Chilli Dog and Lemonade for £6.99, but could also go for an alcoholic beverage instead for £7.99 if that's what you prefer) and talk about the show. As we were finishing up, Matt Riddle casually strolls into Wetherspoons, cool as fuck (as always) and with around 50% of the Wetherspoons audience having all just come from the show, suddenly Wetherspoons broke into "BRO! BRO! BRO!" chants, with Matt Riddle looking absolutely happy as larry, looking around and smiling at everyone, and other customers just not having a clue what was going on. Following this, it was home time on the 38 bus back to Little Hulton, and was back home for 9pm

Apologies that there's no puns in this one. I'm not on Andy's level for this. But I would like to finish by saying it was really nice to go to a wrestling show to see good friends and also some wrestling, without a fuckin toy pigeon in sight.

#grapsandclaps

[thoseguysontheradio]

MT: WWE Monday Night RAW (4/17/17) Review!

Whatever happened to Roman Reigns? Is Braun Strauman going to fight everyone? Is Kurt Angle still technically the General Manager? Read on to find out in this edition of "Matt Talk!"

Braun talks about ft. Kurt Angle

This was needed more than I thought it was. Kurt Angle needed this moment, because up until this point, he's been behind the scenes, and hasn't done much. Other than making a few matches here and there, he really hasn't added much to RAW. I know some people don't want him getting as involved as Foley did, and I definitely don't want him to turn into "The Authority", but why have a GM character if he isn't going to play any role in day to day match making? This was a good call on their part. I can't wait to see what face Angle is going to do.

Chris Jericho vs Samoa Joe ft. Rollins on Commentary

Its great to see Jericho still around. Obviously, he wasn't leaving the second they announced his rematch with Kevin Owens, but I'm sure this is a dream match that a lot of people are able to scratch off their bucket list. The only two problems with this match is a small botch by Jericho, and Rollins' commentary. The botch was problematic because Joe ended giving Jericho an unintended leg drop when Jericho was supposed to dodge a top rope senton. The reason why Rollins' commentary wasn't the best addition to the match was because we either had commentary focusing too much on his feud with Joe, or he clammed up for most of it. When he did speak, it didn't have a personality or fire to it. I wouldn't say he's bad at commentary, but Rollins' promo afterwards definitely made up for this.

After Joe picked up the win off Jericho, his promo to Rollins was a much needed addition to this feud. We understand why Rollins wants to fight Joe, but not why Joe would want to retaliate. He likes to hurt people, sure, but why not ignore Rollins and move on to someone else? Keeping him as a "hitman" even with Triple H is a smart way of writing him, and it could also mean that other people can hire him in the future.

ELIAS SAMSON SIGHTING #2

The "Drifter" known as Elias Samson was seen playing a guitar near former WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, "The Club."

Braun Strauman beats up fun-loving tag team

He beat up The Golden Truth. There's not much else to say, other than it hurt. A lot.

"Grrrrrrr! I said, 'Everyone!'" -Braun Strauman, 2017

The Club vs Enzo & Cass

Apparently, Strauman beat up The Club's opponents for tonight. I'm always the first one to defend the Brand Split, because both RAW and Smackdown are stacked with talent, both new and old, that have an opportunity to bring a lot of depth to both rosters. Sadly, this is not one of those times. I don't think these four have ever had a bad match with each other, but they've had a lot of matches in recent memory.

And to top it all off, it seems as if one half of the Revival was injured at a house show, and will be out for two months.

Miz TV ft. Ambrose

This os exactly what Ambrose needed. WWE has this problem where they give Superstars whatever title it may be, and they stop giving them promo time completely. Whoever's challenging the champ obviously needs their time to shine, but it definitely hurts face champions in the long run. The characteristics and promos that got crowds invested in these Superstars in the first place seem like they are tossed aside because, "They are the Champ!" This promo solidifyed Ambrose as the Intercontinental Champion.

But let's not take anything away from The Miz, either. I mentioned that this feud happened just last year on Smackdown, yet he is able to make this feud feel fresh and new. Having him be the pursuer, yet acting like he's already the Champion, adds a great layer to what could have been a very stale Smackdown rehash.

Braun Strauman assaults masked individual ft. Big Show

This is one of the worst things you can do to newer talent, and to your Cruiserweight Division. I understand that it sounds like I'm speaking in hyperbole, so let me explain. Braun and Kalisto are both newer talent, but Kalisto is specifically new to RAW, due to the Superstar Shakeup. As all of us can tell, he's a smaller guy. So rumors suggest he's on his way to the Cruiserweight Division. He's been on the house show circuit lately, so a move to RAW looks like it would revitilize his main roster career. Especially if he joins 205 Live. However, how is he going to look on 205 Live, after getting decimated and thrown into the garbage by Strauman? How are the Cruiserweights going to look? You can't build a division and act like they're just like everyone else, when one of the members of said division gets rag dolled by Strauman, even if he is monstrous.

TJ Perkins vs Jack Gallagher ft. Neville and Aries

This match wasn't as good as their showing on 205 Live, but its still a great way to show a wider audience a heel TJ Perkins. While the match itself had both performing going at it in a very Cruiserweight fashion, it devolved into exactly what we saw coming once we had Aries and Neville sitting ringside. Thankfully, Perkins won via cheating, and while I love Gallagher, this can continue their feud, where Gallagher hopefully wins, at Payback.

Titus™ Brand tries to recruit Apollo Crews

While I'm not the biggest fan of Titus' inring style, I am a big fan of the current character Titus is playing. However, I don't think this would be a good first feud for Crews on RAW. Titus' charisma can potentially bring out some hidden charisma from Crews, but I would say the crowd will only care if he looks good in the ring. It might have been better to put him up against someone who is more of a high flyer.

Sasha Banks vs Alexa Bliss vs Mickie James vs Nia Jax

This is why we needed a Brand Split. The fact that we can have these four women in the spot light, able to challenge Bayley for the title, is simply a delight. While I was a big fan of the match, I'm not sure what to think about the outcome. I love that Bliss cheated to get a chance to go after the title, and I do think that she would be a great villain for Bayley, but I wouldn't want Bliss to win the title too quickly, because it feels like she just lost it on Smackdown. Many of you may have heard me voice my displeasure on something similar happening to Kevin Owens with his win over Jericho at Wrestlemania, so I have to be fair and apply the same train of thought here.

Big Show is in the best shape of his life

Big Show was interviewed by Charly Caruso about his attack on Braun Strauman, and said, "I am in the best shape of my life."

Curt Hawkins Star Factory ft. Finn Balor This is a great way to use Hawkins. Fun, delusional heel who gets beat up. I am usually not a fan of squash matches, because it doesn't showcase a wrestler's abilities. Yes, they beat up someone "really good" and "wow, that was so fast", but it usually makes the wrestler look like they can only do the few moves that they used. Thankfully, Finn is so fast and nimble that it actually looked like he bested Hawkins, instead of seeming limited.

ELIAS SAMSON SIGHTING #3

During a fun Chris Jericho interview with Tom Phillips, Elias Sampson appeared. The promo wasn't needed and was simply a rehashing of last week's... until Samson appeared. We will be bringing you more updates on Samson when he appears.

Bray Wyatt Promo

I am ususally a big fan of Bray Wyatt promos, and I can't say that this one is particularly bad, but coming off the heels of the confusing promo he gave last week, it still feels weird. Bray Wyatt, a RAW superstar, can still challenge Randy Orton for his WWE Title, which is a Smackdown Title, at a RAW PPV... WWE, everyone.

Alicia Fox ft. Dana and Emma

I've said in the past that I have no problem with varied characters in every division. Even if some of them, especially in the women's division, are considered "outdated". I say this because there are people that can act like how WWE has written some of the women throughout the years. This, however, is not excusable. There needs to be a healthy balance in the division, where we don't see characters, especially the women, acting "catty" and like children.

Yes, Fox has had her gimmick for a while, but what they're doing with Dana and Emma is absolutely dreadful. This isn't the BFF's from NXT. Emma can be wreaking so much havok as a heel, but she does something like this, and it makes their feud seem so worthless. I know Emma's face character is a (loveable) dork, but that doesn't mean that her heel character needs to do things like that. She needs to seem like a credible threat, and at this point, its not working.  

Jeff Hardy vs Cesaro

This is a match I never foresaw in my PREMONEETIONS, but its still a reality that I am happy to be a part of. Jeff Hardy seems to have a good spring in his step, and it didn't really seem as if Cesaro had to slow down his general pace to wrestle Jeff. The only issue is Jeff winning. Yes, he is one half of the tag team Champions, and he is a future WWE Hall of Famer making his return to WWE, but I just can't see it happening. If there were some kind of shenanigans, I think it would have made it more believable.

Big Show vs Braun Strauman

If this match hadn't happened already, I'd definitely be behind this. I'm not really a huge fan of hoss matches, but Braun is young, and Big Show has been doing some good work as of late, so it would've been a great novelty match if it were being done for the first time. I do have to say, though, while these two have gone at it before, this may be the best match these two have ever had together, and it made them both look great. Even though the "breaking the ring" spot is something that's been done plenty of times over the years, it hasn't been done in a while, so it still gets a rise out of me. Great way to end the night, and its understandable why this was the main event.

We hope you like this edition of "Matt Talk!" Tune in next time, when Matt Talks about WWE Smackdown LIVE!

[puro-reviewz]

Top Ten NJPW wrestlers who need a new finisher (and my personal replacements)

In NJPW there are a lot of great, impactful finishers, for example: Kazuchika Okada’s Rainmaker, Tetsuya Naito’s Destino, or Kota Ibushi’s Kamigoye.

However, there are some wrestlers who -in my opinion at least- don’t have the most ideal finishing touch to their matches, so without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the top ten New Japan Pro Wrestling wrestlers, who need a new finisher.

10: Tomohiro Ishii (Vertical Brainbuster)

Ishii has an amazing moveset, including some of the most lethal lariats in the business, but for such a violent and dynamic moveset for such a violent and dynamic wrestler, he has quite an underwhelming finisher. the vertical brainbuster when done well, looks absolutely devastating, just watch a Shinya Hashimoto match, but Ishii’s version isn’t the best, the way ishii does his, it looks more like a vertical suplex.

My idea for a replacement: Suplex Piledriver. This was the move he used as a finisher in 2013, with it he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, and the move itself looks deadly.

9: EVIL (Everything Is Evil STO)

EVIL is arguably the most underrated and underused wrestler in NJPW if not the business as a whole, not only does he deserve a bigger spot in NJPW, i think he should win the heavyweight title or at the very least the G1 trophy, and to compliment such a brilliant wrestler he has a brilliant moveset, featuring a brilliant lariat, a brutal senton, and a lovely thrust kick. however, his finisher, despite being a great move in and of itself ,I’ve always thought it work better as a signiture, since another move in his set that outshines it, and speaking of...

My idea for a replacement: The Darkness Falls, in my opinion one of the coolest moves in wrestling today and every time i see him hit it, I think to myself “that really should’ve ended it, but i don’t really need to tell you this, just look it up on youtube and see for yourself.

8: El Phantasmo (CR II)

The 2019 super J cup winner, former RPW cruiserweight champion, and former IWGP Jr heavyweight Tag Team Champion alongside Taiji Ishimori, The Headbanger, El Phantasmo....... has a fairly underwhelming set of signature moves, with the cherry on top of the meh cake being the CR II, which is essentially Matt Riddle’s Broderek but with even less impact, it’s just.... dull.

My idea for a replacement: The middle rope swinging neckbreaker, it used to just be a standard swinging neckbreaker, which again, boring, but, in the super J cup, he beat dragon lee with a variant where he first did a metalik-esque rope walk before dropping lee to the mat.

7: Dragon Lee (Desnucadora)

One of the best Luchadors going today, dragon lee is arguably the most exciting wrestler to watch in all of new japan, his high flying and hard striking hybrid style is amazing to watch, so for me at least, the desnucadora, a vertical suplex sitout powerbomb thing, really doesn’t compliment his style all that well.

My idea for a replacement: The Rodilla Dragon

This is a bicycle knee, that lee removes his knee pad for, and executes viciously, it perfectly compliments the Lucha Libre/Strong Style hybrid that dragon lee is.

6: Tama Tonga (Gun Stun)

A true Bullet Club OG, Tama has been in the stable since its inception, and himself has a surprisingly varied moveset, and the Gun Stun, cutter, diamond cutter, ace crusher, RKO whatever you wanna call it is one of the best finishers in the business, but since another bullet club founder who has almost always used the gun stun, Karl Anderson will be returning to njpw sooner rather than later, it’s time for Tama to start once again using his patented.....

My idea for a replacement: the jumping DDT

His old finisher back when Anderson was still around and just after he left, this is the move that had him beat Hiroshi god damn Tanahashi in the G1 26, so it’s fairly protected as well.

5: David Finlay (Prima Nocta)

The son of one of the best brawlers around, fit Finlay, David obviously had some big shoes to fill, and so far, unfortunately he hasn’t been able to, partially due to a very weak moveset and a frankly boring style, worst of all his finisher the prima nocta, which is just a stunner, not really befitting of such a legacy in my opinion.

My idea for a replacement: the lumbar check

What can I say everyone loves a lumbar check, and the move fits the finisher mould much better, now Finlay just has to create a gimmick.

4: Chase Owens (package piledriver)

The “crown jewel” of bullet club and potentially the worst non young lion wrestler in Njpw, it still baffles me that he still has any kind of spotlight on him despite his minimal improvement over the years, in my opinion he does not need, nor deserve the package piledriver as his finisher, especially when there is a much more talented wrestler using a very similar finisher, in SHO, I don’t hate Chase but in my opinion he either should have A. Become a young lion, or B. Stayed in NWA for a bit longer.

My idea for a replacement: the last shot

Perhaps one of the only moves Chase can do very very well is this running inside knee, so I believe he should be going for this as a finish.

3: Mikey Nicholls (Mikey Bomb)

The Newest member of CHAOS, and a former half of TMDK/61 with Shane Thorne, Mikey has a fairly good moveset with a good finisher, but he has one other move in his set that is better in my opinion.

My idea for a replacement: the shooting star press

Because if you can do a shooting star press, you should.

2: Toa Henare

The perpetually underused Henare, the Kiwi native has an amazing look, a great personality, and a hard hitting moveset that makes him a shoe in for NEVER openweight champ, but gets continually snubbed from not only NEVER title matches, but also G1 climaxes, and some of that may be due to his 2 weak finishers, a superman punch and a side slam, neither of those scream “Finisher” to me.

My idea for a replacement: the spinning spinebuster

Perhaps the best move in his set, Henare can deliver this spinebuster with a sickening amount of strength and precision that reminds you of Arn Anderson’s legendary finish, it’s clearly his best move, and hopefully we get to see it help him win the NEVER belt.

1: Tomoaki Honma (Kokeshi Headbutt)

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HONMA STOP TRYING TO MURDER YOURSELF WITH A MOVE THAT THE CREATOR REGRETS CREATING, the diving headbutt has caused serious medical issues for everyone who has ever used it, Harley Race, the creator, is dead, Dynamite kid is now in a wheelchair, Chris Benoit is Chris Benoit, Daniel bryan needed neck surgery after using it, honma himself broke his own neck doing it a few years back, just, please stop using it, please.

My idea for a replacement: LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE

Alright thanks for reading you lot now get lost

[thecompostpile]

Night Five of 31 Night of Hallowicked

Night 5

Hallowicked vs Chris Hero

Ring of Honor-Hartford, CT

8/24/07

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxdm85doHV8&t=411s

A lot of the matches I have reviewed can’t be watched unless you have Chikaratopia. So I went looking on youtube to find something everyone could watch. Chikara’s youtube page posts a new match once a week and there are tons of matches that can be a real great introduction to the wackiness that is Chikara. I am going to try and review at least one match a week that is on youtube so anyone can watch it. However, I found this match while searching and couldn’t help but review it.

It is Chris Hero vs Hallowicked in my home state of Connecticut for a Ring of Honor dvd taping in 2007. I am a relatively new wrestling fan, I watched WWE and Impact as a kid but until about 2014 and 2015 I had never paid much attention to indie wrestling. Looking over old cards of awesome shows that took place in Connecticut is a real treat for me. The first time the Hardyz and the Young Bucks took place was in Connecticut. There are a couple Ring Of Honor world title matches that took place in Connecticut in the town I worked in last year. Plus Chikara runs through Connecticut every few seasons for a while now. I love looking back on those cards and thinking what it would have been like if I was 14 and had been able to go to a Ring of Honor show in Hartford. I had never even heard of Ring of Honor and was much more interested in going to punk shows but I love the what if. The idea that something I find so cool now took place right under my nose and i had no idea.

That is match happened and is on the Ring of Honor youtube page is also funny to me. It is an absolutely awesome match and a quick watch. These two would both go on to go very different paths. Hallowicked still in his home promotion as a mean veteran and Chris Hero now on NXT. I don’t know much about 07 ROH but from the commentary, I picked up that Hallowicked has been popping in on ROH shows for a while now and even though he has built some momentum he has yet to secure a roster spot. Beating Chris Hero could be the big break he needs. Hero is a cocky jerk who brings out a whole crew featuring Sara Del Rey and Larry Sweeny.

The match starts with Hero using his weight advantage to push Hallowicked around. Quickly getting him into a headlock. Hallowicked hits the ropes and does his cool rope jump into an arm drag spot that is one of my favorite. I noticed it last night in the Los Ice Creams match too. Hero kips out of a wristlock and shows of some of his gymnastic skills. He does two cartwheels and flips over the ropes to the floor and lands on his feet. He then does jumping jacks with his crew.

Hallowicked has had enough he dives to the outside onto everyone. Hero throws him back in the ring and kicks him around. Chris Hero drops a huge senton onto Hallowicked who calls out in pain. Chris Hero picks up Hallowicked and elbows him in the face as he is known to do. He gets Hallowicked in a head and arm trap. Hallowicked wiggles out and hits the ropes. Chris Hero leapfrogs him and Hallowicked goes for a roll-up while Hero is in the air over him. This is another really fantastic “vintage” Hallowicked spot that happens at 5:01 in the video. Hallowicked only gets a two count though and when both men work themselves up Hallowicked is greeted with a german suplex and a pin, he manages to kick out.

Larry Sweeney taunts a young fan sitting front row in a Hallowicked mask while Hero tortures Hallowicked on the ropes then kicks him in the face. Hallowicked pulls himself up only to be met by Hallowicked chops. Chris Hero sends his opponent into the turnbuckle and begins to clap he runs at the turnbuckle but Hallowicked leaps out of the way. Chris Hero uses the turnbuckles to backflip and is met with a big boot from Hallowicked.

Hallowicked starts to pick things up with some hard chops. Hero screams out in pain and goes for his own chop but Hallowicked ducks out of the way and hits more chops. Hero gets Hallowicked off his feet but Wicked flips around him into a pin attempt.  Wicked evades a big boot and gets a headscissors for another pin. Hero hits the ropes but Hallowicked hits a huge spinbuster for a two. Hero bounces Hallowicked off the ropes and hits a big elbow into his head. Hallowicked looks out of it as Hero gets in Hero’s Welcome and the three count. Hallowicked does not pick up his big first Ring of Honor win.

This match is a quick all out sprint. It never takes the foot off the break and Hallowicked wrestles like he is trying to impress. It is a really fun match and I am sure not the first or the last time these two would work together. What I find most interesting about this match is the way it shows how much wrestling has changed in 2018. Ring of Honor is now owned by an evil corporation and mostly sign wrestlers to exclusive contracts. It does not even think about coming to Connecticut anymore. I can’t even think of a masked wrestler on the roster. While Ring of Honor has plenty of talent none of it is very exciting.

Chikara, on the other hand, is a totally DIY organization who brings in some of the best talents from the indies and all over the world. They have a roster loaded with some of the best veterans in the business like Hallowicked, Icarus and Mike Quackenbush while also hosting some of the brightest up and coming wrestlers like Razorhawk, Travis Huckabee and Solo Darling. To think of these two sharing talent in 2018 seems silly as it looks like Chuck Taylor has left Chikara for Ring of Honor and New Japan and left what was his home promotion for so long. While Chikara reaches out of all over the world to build new talent. Being the first in what I think will turn into a huge boom of using Australian talent in the United States. Anyway, watch this match if you are a fan of either wrestler it is well worth it.

[grapsandclaps]

GRAPS & CLAPS - THE GRIMSBY EDITION PART 2! (IT'S GRIM IN GRIMSBY).

Hello again. I am Chris Wilson, the official #GrimsbyGraps correspondent for Graps and Claps. Grimsby is quite a random place for dedicated coverage but until I can coax our Andy to visit the town with the third best football team in Lincolnshire (out of 3), someone needs to tell you how #GrimsbyGraps is taking over the world. Yes, really. Well, maybe.

It all started when some brilliant, creative genius invented the #GrimsbyGraps hashtag and-- Okay, fine, let's skip forward.

Since the last time we were here for BWR's Ignition, British Wrestling Revolution put tickets on sale for their next show, 'No Gods, No Masters'. It sold out in ten hours! This was for a bigger venue too: the first card at the prestigious - if a place for record, job and craft fairs counts as that - Cleethorpes Memorial Hall in 24 years. Unbelievable stuff. BWR then put tickets on sale for their April event also at the Memorial Hall, 'Dive and Kicking', possibly in hope of starting PROGRESS-style immediate sell-outs from now until the end of time. They have sold half their allocation so far. Pretty impressive for #GrimsbyGraps, but the difference between the two shows is one man alone. As discussed before on this blog, having the WWE UK champion Pete Dunne on the card guarantees an extra 80 to 100 ticket sales. He is a rare draw in the age of strongly-branded promotions themselves being the main attraction. 

BWR stacked the card for 'No Gods, No Masters'. Suddenly, a snowstorm in March. BWR came out relatively unscathed considering OTT and Discovery Wrestling have cancelled their plans for this weekend. However, BWR announced the morning of the show that Kay Lee Ray, Big T, Big Grizzly, and Tel Banham couldn't make it. And later in the afternoon, the weather had held down and choked Bram in Birmingham, meaning five matches would not go ahead as scheduled. The good news, though: the two big contests remained in tact.

So, let's get on with the report.

Firstly, you can tell I'm not Andy Ogden as my pre-show drinking involved a bottle of water to keep myself hydrated, followed by a severely-diluted protein shake due to my next shipment of powder being stuck in a van somewhere on the motorway (wouldn't have happened if Amazon used Simon Morris Transport). Yes, instead of pub crawling, I was in the gym until 30 minutes before bell-time. And that's why I'm only allowed to report on #GrimsbyGraps. 

'No Gods, No Masters' began with the ring announcer's opening spiel. Apparently "we're not jobbing to a snow storm" (actual words), and he used a variation of "the weather's cold outside but the action inside is RRREEEDDD HOT". Pop.

Out came Reese Ryan, doing his Nathan Cruz circa 2012 'Hollywood-with-a-thick-northern-accent' shtick. His advertised Blockbuster Announcement was in two parts: not only has he released Big T from his security detail and replaced him with evil choir boy Will Kroos, but he introduced the Real Wrestling VIP Championship. In wrestling, it seems you can bring your own title and it's legitimate. Jonny Storm appeared unannounced and challenged Ryan for the belt. What followed was a ten-minute bout in which Storm outclassed Ryan in between the referee somehow failing to notice the large evil choir boy attacking Storm. Kroos entered the ring and planted Storm with a DDT to ensure Ryan retained his "title".

Next, the Korn-dubstep antics of Guilty By Habit transcended Southside Wrestling as Robbie X and SUUUUUUUUPERTWAT Kip Sabian (replacing Big Grizzly) defeated The Proven's Caz Crash and Sam Wilder. This was a top-notch contest. I love how X and Sabian don't get along, as though they're only in GBH together because their mates are mates. An added bonus too: the match ended with a CHEEKY ROLL-UP and a CHEEKY HOLDING ONTO THE TIGHTS. #MyGraps.

Lana Austin was up next, accompanied by Eliza Roux and Jami Sparx. With Kay Lee Ray "too scared" to show up, Roux offered an open challenge on "her best friend Lana's" behalf. Little Miss Roxxy made her BWR debut by accepting. Although the crowd took a while to get into it, Austin and Roxxy put in quite a shift until everyone was emotionally invested. Roxxy finally gained momentum once Roux and Sparx were kicked out for their extra-curricular activities and hit a springboard knee-faceplant for the win. Roux and Sparx reappeared and left Roxxy laying on the canvas.

Before intermission, we saw the much-hyped hardcore match between Jimmy Havoc and local hero/silly boy Tyler Devlin. There were no pretences here: both men introduced every weapon they were planning to use from under the ring before the bell rung. Devlin's antics were mercifully less of his own doing this time, but he still managed to get thrown onto a ladder, bounce off a guardrail he had balanced from the ring, eat pins, get curb stomped onto pins, and falling after Havoc's rainmaker onto, yup, pins. Silly boy. Rewind a bit: the ultimate silly boy-ness came moments before when he executed a Jeff Hardy-style senton bomb from a ladder through a table outside the ring... and missed. It was the sickest spot I've seen in person since Death House. Silly boy. Havoc won with that aforementioned rainmaker. After the match, he got on the mic, said he was impressed with Devlin, "but you're just a Jimmy Havoc knock-off". Cue a kick to the nads. Bit harsh from Havoc. I'd say he's more a Clint Margera knock-off. 

Intermission. £1.10 for a can of Fanta Lemon went down very well considering I didn't know Fanta Lemon was still a thing. Meanwhile, the raffle was £1 PER NUMBER. Related note: Cleethorpes voted Tory.

After a forty minute break for some reason, we returned with Tyson T-Bone coming out. Originally he was meant to face Bram. His new opponent was... Gabriel Kidd. Every time I go to a show where someone pulls out, Kidd is the replacement. 3CW in November, PROGRESS Sheffield in December, now this. Never mind "Life Boat Man", he should be called "Answers The Phone Man".

Tyson T-Bone versus Gabriel Kidd sounded terrible on paper. Already in my head, I was going to dismiss the match. So, obviously, they fucked with me by having a blistering, hard-hitting brawl that went around the ring - including a sweet knee drop by Kidd onto T-Bone as he hung over the guardrail - and delivered more chops than a vegan's nightmare. It helped how the crowd were RRREEEDDD-HOT for this (take note, Sheffield Southside). T-Bone hit Kidd with a piledriver for the victory and both men were applauded. If it wasn't for the main event, this would've been my match of the night. Strange times indeed.

Next: Scotty Rawk, Cole Quinzel, Matt Myers, and Kelvin Kayton defeated Jimmy Mcilwee, Harry the Hammer Winston, evil choir boy Will Kroos, and (despite being fired in November) Simon Lancaster in a "Get the Lads on the Card" match. The crowd love Mcilwee's homeless, can't-get-a-BWR-contract-even-though-he's-on-every-card gimmick but there was nothing else noteworthy here.

El Ligero versus Tom Weaver versus Robbie X doing double-duty in place of Tel Banham. In a confusing series of events: the ring announcer said the following was a triple-threat match, Robbie X attacked Tom Weaver during his entrance, and he interjected himself into the match to make it... a triple threat match? The announcer tried back-tracking by saying he "suddenly understood" the original third participant couldn't be there, but it was a bit contrived (sorry, readers). This was another excellent contest. Weaver hit a shooting star press on X for the victory before Ligero approvingly shook his hand. I hope they find something substantial for Weaver - as a local lad, he deserves more high-profile fights at these bigger shows than winning throwaway - albeit great - triple threat matches.

In the main event, WWE UK champion Pete Dunne faced the World #GrimsbyGraps Champion Joseph Conners for the latter's title. With this being the third high-profile match between the two in seven weeks (PROGRESS, TNT, here), a friend joked they are this generation's Jonny Storm versus Jody Fleisch. And you can't help but admit they work really well together, telling a well-told story of the cocky AF Dunne stretching Conners as the World #GrimsbyGraps Champion got the crowd (who were evenly split) behind him to make his comeback. I admire how Dunne never half-arses a match, pulling out the same flips and top-rope stomps and high-octane brawling as seen in Fight Club Pro. Together they brought out a big match feel likely never seen in Grimsby/Cleethorpes. It's a massive credit to both men. But...

...let's quickly talk about Dunne's WWE UK title. I can't believe this has never been angrily discussed on Twitter. Can you name me one time other than PROGRESS Ally Pally where the current UK champion has taken a pinfall or submission loss at a non-WWE show? It's as though there's a contractual obligation or something. To be fair, I believed for a couple of near falls that Dunne would become the World #GrimsbyGraps Champion, even if I never believed Conners would cleanly retain the title. Here came the bullshit finish: Tyson T-Bone ran in and attacked both men. No contest. Conners and Dunne chased off T-Bone. Then Conners challenged Dunne to continue the match, only for Dunne to kick him in the nads and leave. Conners got on the mic again and teased a rematch between the two down the line to end the show. Finish aside, this was easily the best match in the era of #GrimsbyGraps to date. 

'No Gods, No Masters' as a whole, putting aside my local pride, was a top-shelf show. They overcame the weather and delivered one of the stronger cards I've been to for some time. The crowd was well up for the action, while the wrestlers brought their A-game. Cleethorpes Memorial Hall is a cracking venue for the graps too. Definitely worth the visit if you're coming from out of town. Just, you know, avoid going out in Cleethorpes afterwards if you enjoy your health and wellbeing. 

Here's hoping the momentum continues into 'Dive and Kicking' on April 20th. This event will feature a tournament to crown the first-ever BWR Cruiserweight champion - an odd choice for a division given all but three guys are cruiserweights, but there we go. Of course, your #GrimsbyGraps correspondent will be there in person, so I'll see you back on Graps and Claps on the 21st. 

Until next time!