Well, this week has certainly been a rollercoaster, with some infuriating stuff, and some amazing stuff. It also had one of the finest matches of the year. So, you know. Rasslin'. This is Wrestling Thursday.
Raw
Braun vs. Finn II
This was an okay match, with the highlight being Kevin Owens on commentary, and Kevin Owens cheering on both guys to destroy the other. This will not work out well for him, I don't think.
Sing or leave, Elias
Elias' bit before the next match was super long. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if it weren't for the amount of time given to the main event.
Seth Is Gold
Seth Rollins made me care about a match with Jinder Mahal. Would I prefer to watch him wrestle better workers? Sure! But dang, he is just making gold out of crap time after time. Elias attacking him with the guitar after the match is interesting. They should be able to have a fun match!
So Nia's a heel now
I hate this. Although Nia did the best she could under the circumstances. Also, commentary trying to make up for Ronda being terrible at talking and acting is kinda sad, tbh. I hope against hope Nia pulls it out at MiTB.
Deleters of huh?
I have a question: Where are the AOP? I mean, they're the only credible challengers. They should and maybe still be the challengers at MiTB. But it looks like no one remembers they exist. This is so weird. I wish Ascension were a credible threat, but they aren't. Same for The Revival. Both of these former NXT tag champs are actually really good, and have been crapped on by booking.
Roode Awakening
So, hey, remember me saying KO's interference won't work out well for him? Welp, despite getting the win over Roode, he got the crap beaten out of him by Strowman. Who then beat up Roode for good measure.
Poor Sami
I remain unhappy about this storyline. I hate that Sami had to apologize for the travesty that laid at his feet by the writers, and I just hope the match these two have at MiTB will be competitive.
Drew eats Chad
While I've been complaining about Chad Gable being jobbed out, and still hope it leads to the return of American Alpha, having Drew destroy him was the right call right now. Drew is a monster, and should be booked as such.
Tag Team BBQ
This is definitely a thing that happened and took forever and had a food fight and I am just sad. This was extra frustrating because it left so little time for the main event.
Sasha is going to MiTB
So, remember a couple of months ago, when they had a men's gauntlet match, and it got nearly two hours and Seth got to show how amazing he is and kickstarted is current run of awsome? Well, this wasn't that. It was given scant time, two of the Riott Squad members got eliminated in seconds, and Ruby, the clear standout of the match - being in it the longest, and doing great work against Sasha in the final match - jobbed out. Now, Sasha going to MiTB is the right choice. Sasha is great. But this thing was booked terribly and was utterly disrespectful to these performers. Raw sucked.
Smackdown
Oh, crap, Cass is back
Welp, this is a sad development. The only explanation I can think of for sticking Cass in the Bryan/Joe match is that they're saving that one for a PPV. It turns out a person can be the less terrible member of a tag team and still be terrible. Which is to say, Cass sucks. Joe and Bryan are great at everything.
Perfect 10 count
So this was a really good little match. Tye has never looked better, and heel Shinsuke continues to be one of the best things going in WWE right now.
Fuck this to hell
A dance off? Seriously, WWE? A fucking dance off? Everyone did their best, and these are all entertaining performers, but fuck this.
Triple goodness
I was grumpy when this match started, but everyone in it is great, and work great together. And I was happy New Day got the win. This is important rehabilitation following that terrible Bludgeon Bros feud.
That one Asuka match
So, this match. Mandy Rose is improving, she really is. She's no Eva Marie. But she's not good enough for this. Not yet. And letting her dominate a large portion of the match didn't work, even with the pre-match attack by Deville.
Joe! Bryan! That tall guy!
So, this was the result of Cass attacking Bryan and Joe at the start of the show. A match in which Cass was there to bring the level down. But the other two are, as previously stated, great at everything. The made it work. I'm happy Joe's going to the MiTB match. He'll be great. And also, I'm afraid of what Daniel Bryan may do to himself in such a match.
205 Live
Match Of The Week
While there was tag stuff in the early going (why are guys who don't have a tag title to fight for forming tag teams?), this was really a one match show. Fortunately, that match was Cedric Alexander vs. Buddy Murphy for the cruiserweight title.
This match was just awesome. Strong style touches, mixed with highflying, and everything had impact. And the right guy went over. I was worried about the hometown curse, where WWE tends to book people to lose in hometown matches, and I'm really glad they didn't. Murphy is very good, but he needs more time before getting the title. Itami or Drew should be the next contender. Both are more credible.
NXT
Black promo
So Aleister and Lars, huh? I mean, this is definitely where things have been headed, but I can pretty much guarantee it won't be anywhere near the best match on the TakeOver card. Even as good as Black is, it may be the worse.
Raiders Destroy
These squashes are fun and all, but let's move it along with these guys, okay? They're ready. Put them in some real matches.
NX3
So EC3 had another fairly easy win, while Fabian Aichner is still very solid. This was mostly the backdrop to Johnny Gargano announcing the signed contract for his street fight against Ciampa at TakeOver. It'll be great, but will be hard pressed to match or surpass their last encounter. Mostly, I'm just afraid of Candice turning on Johnny at this point. I want her to deliver the ballsplex to Ciampa.
Oh, hello, Dijak!
Chris Dijak jobbing on his NXT debut was odd, as he is both an excellent wrestler and physically impressive. But it's fine in context, which is the upcoming Dream vs. Ricochet match at TakeOver. Looking at Dream's reaction to Ricochet's amazing leap coming out of the ring, it doesn't look like respect, or fear. It looks like thirst. And, frankly, who can blame him?
Nikki's gonna kill ya!
First, the match itself. I mean, it's a title match, and deserves respect. Dakota Kai sells like nobody's business. She may not be made of human material, but out of rubber. Some of the stuff Shayna did to her should not be possible without actual terrible damage.
But this was about the aftermath, with Nikki Cross saving Kai, and then pinning Shayna and stealing the title. A match between Cross and Shayna should be super interesting, because Shayna's terrifying aura is basically funny to Nikki Cross.
The Signings
WWE has signed Io Shirai, who is one of the best wrestlers in the world. This is after announcing Toni Storm - also one of the best wrestlers in the world - for their next UK events. I assume both are going to be at the Mae Young Classic, and if Storm sticks around, that would be incredible. Both of these women are tremendous performers.
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