Professional Wrestling (WWE, TNA, ROH, etc)

[Andrew]

They've done him no favours whatsoever. It's like they want Brock Lesnar to be the only credible name in the company.

[Lean]

I think Rollins didn't even appear on Raw tonight, which I think was the best move.

[Andrew]

Definitely going in on the Kabuki Warriors heel turn.

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How long before they start the voiceovers, a la Kaientai?

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[Lean]

My god, Kairi's so cute!

[deihatein]

I just noticed Charlotte won the title again. When did that happened?

[Andrew]

She defeated Bayley at Hell in a Cell last week.

[deihatein]

She defeated Bayley at Hell in a Cell last week.

Then got it back like a week a later.

[Andrew]

Along with a proper heel turn, new haircut and all. I like the idea though after the soft heel turn who thinks she's still a face, finally transitioning into someone who embraces being bad because she's fed up.

[Andrew]

Just realised I never posted about attending WWE Live in Sydney last week. In short, it was a blast, except for Xavier Woods getting injured of course. My cousin and I were actually a bit late getting into the arena so we missed that part of the match, and wondered why it was The Revival vs Big E in a handicap match. I saw Woods' Tweet during intermission and have since seen the footage. Very unfortunate, hopefully he can make a full recovery.

So I know I gush about The IIconics a lot, but man, if you haven't seen them work live and get a chance to dip into their full movesets, you haven't seen them work. I've offered up those videos of their matches in PWA as examples of how they're better workers than they're given credit for, but they were even more impressive than that. Peyton's Three Amigos with the third suplex being a double on Mandy and Kairi, her suicide dive through the ropes, and Billie's springboard elbow, were moves they don't get to showcase very often. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen Billie do a springboard elbow before. They were working babyface and got great pops from their hometown crowd. Their shtick was pretty similar, only it resonated positively with the crowd and they obviously weren't insulting.

They teased a title change after a Sick Knee from Sydney and IIconic Knee, and I thought there was an outside chance they'd do it. It's their hometown after all, and it's the Women's Tag Titles, which is a title I could actually see them changing at a house show (if only for the duration of the Australian tour, given the circumstances). Asuka got the blind tag on Peyton though and stole the pinfall victory, but The IIconics still got a great ovation. It was a really solid match by everyone, but again, The IIconics are way better than a lot of people think. It's bewildering to see smarks get worked into thinking they're incapable of going in the ring when that's their current gimmick. Came home with a t-shirt and the satisfaction of seeing them live, so it was still good in the end.

Oddly, Randy Orton was getting cheered over Kofi Kingston. It was really weird, but I guess Orton has some enduring popularity. It was a decent match, but probably my least favourite. Too slow-paced, too many ring-out spots, too many rest holds, and too long considering. We got to see the RKO before Kofi won with Trouble in Paradise though, and Big E and The Revival got involved towards the end as well. There was a ring-out spot where Randy ended up walking to each side of the ring to do his signature pose. My cousin and I joked that he must've been increasing his meter to hit his signature moves and RKO, as in a video game. It was alright, but probably the weakest of the night.

Charlotte vs Bayley was a good outing. Charlotte kind of heeled it up on the way in by offering a high five and pulling it away, but she was getting a face reaction as we all Woo'd along, especially on the chops. Bayley won dirty by using the ropes on her pin, and was doing fine heel work throughout the match. Afterwards, Charlotte more or less played babyface and hugged people at ringside while leaving to cheers. Probably not their best match, but a good house show match. We were into it.

Sami Zayn's heel work throughout the night was great. It was your typical "This is a beautiful country, but the people all suck!" shtick, but it works and the crowd was all about it. He threatened to leave if we kept chanting "Sami's a wanker!", which of course didn't stop the chant. Buddy Murphy stopped him from leaving, and they had a good fast-paced match. Buddy naturally got a good pop, especially when he won. Interestingly he was introduced as "Australian's own" Buddy Murphy, perhaps to quell any possible negative reactions to him being billed from Melbourne. The IIconics were billed as being from Sydney, so they probably reversed the approach for the Melbourne show.

Zayn also got involved in Shinsuke's match and helped him retain against Ali. That was another good one as you'd expect, pretty fast-paced. No surprise that the title didn't change hands, much like the other title matches, but that didn't stop it from being exciting. Two great workers, without a doubt.

Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper in a steel cage was the main event, and that was pretty good as well. Crowd was hot for the inevitable flurry of Superman Punches, as well as the Yes! Kicks. Bryan also encouraged the Yes! chants, pretty much playing up his pre-Planet's Champion gimmick. Nothing too crazy, but a solid cage match all around. It sent everyone home happy, as the two of them posed atop the cage to end the show.

So yeah. WWE TV is stagnant and has a lot of problems right now (though nice to see The IIconics on RAW, even if they are being jobbed out again), but it was absolutely worth going to see it live. I'd definitely go again the next time WWE comes here, as long as it's in the budget and I can make the trip. Got some photos but need to sort through them to see how many of them came out alright; I probably overdid it on the zoom, so many of them are a bit blurry. I did post this video on Twitter, so you can get an idea of where I was sitting. The seats were actually pretty good for the price, and I think we saw more from being higher up than a lot of the people who were closer on the floor level. Once again, great night out, well worth it.

[Lean]

Glad you enjoyed the house show, Andrew. I imagine that Greg Hamilton also let you chant "ONE FALL!" after he pauses.

And I also agree with your take on the Iiconics. I've always kept an eye on them during their run on NXT and them not being on TV (up until recently) is a disservice to both of them. Talking about the TV shows being stagnant, I get it if their PPV's are on above-average in-ring-wise, and they're just playing it safe on weekly TV, but I really can't put my finger on it.

NXT, however, is on a roll. First-ever women's War Games match with Shayna & two other Horsewomen/Io/Bianca vs Rhea/Candice/Tegan/Dakota/mystery last member who I hope to be Toni Storm.

Meanwhile, RVD got heat on Twitter by saying AEW is a downgrade compared to Impact. There's a satisfaction in seeing people being mad about what he said.

[[Q]]

The women's tag match on NXT was the best match I've seen in a while, and certainly the best tag match I've seen in a while. It was fast paced, hard hitting action for the most part and predictable but still a fun ending. Cool to see the champs back in NXT

I hope Bryan will be able to do the planets champion gimmick but as a face. It will be cool to see him go against Nakamura which is something he's wanted for years and was something that seemed like it would never happen.

Also, LMAO at Mauro calling a lungblower instead of Codebreaker

[Andrew]

Glad you enjoyed the house show, Andrew. I imagine that Greg Hamilton also let you chant "ONE FALL!" after he pauses.

He did! That was cool.

I was up late, so I caught some of Crown Jewel. I have to say the match between Natalya and Lacey Evans was quite good. Their program has run its course, but for a once-off match that obviously had bigger implications than storylines, I think they put on a good show. Evans has greatly improved; I'm still not a big fan of her character and the way she's been used for the most part, especially in the feud with Becky that ran way too long for no kayfabe reason, but she's a legit talent.

Also, I know it's not going to be a popular opinion, but I'm not a fan of putting the belt on The Fiend. My main complaint with Bray Wyatt's characters is that they lack any real story arc, and the idea that The Fiend can't be taken seriously as an antagonist if he doesn't win every match and destroy everyone completely doesn't scream great character to me. That's basically Brock Lesnar/Reign of Terror Triple H, with a creepy twist. I can see the IWC turning on it, even though by and large fans are for it now. Additionally, we now have two world champions that don't wrestle or even appear on TV every week. I'm not thrilled about that.

Speaking of which, Lesnar gets his win back from Cain, only it's a kayfabe bout and it further makes everyone else look like garbage. It's astonishing how the ratings can keep falling - Smackdown's numbers on FS1 last week were absolutely terrible, and less than what AEW Dynamite did - yet WWE's plan is to keep doing the same thing they've done for the past few years, while ratings and attendance continued to tumble. People blame it on Becky, Seth, and Kofi not being draws, but it's all in the writing and the booking. They have one of the most stacked rosters they've ever had, but they bury it in favour of Lesnar. They've brought it on themselves and there's no quick fix, though they keep trying for one.

[[Q]]

Just finished it and was reminded of how cool Ali's RKO counter is.

I agree, imagine how cool Smackdown would be with Kofi, Reigns, Bryan, Nakamura, and even guys like Cesaro and Corbin in the main event. It has the potential to be like a great wrestling show. Put the up and comers like Ali, Gable, Elias etc in the IC title picture. Run it like an NXT broadcast (but obviously on a bigger scale) and it would destroy AEW. AEW seems to have the edge over NXT right now because of the bigger shows and venues.

Although it making The Fiend champ is problematic, I feel happy for Wyatt after being jerked around for so many years. Also it was cool to see the fans and the 5 women in the audience truly appreciating the women's match. Unlike most shows where that match would be an afterthought or would draw distracting chants of CM Punk or something, most seemed to genuinely enjoy it, as they probably have never seen anything like it in their lives, especially in person.

[Andrew]

It's funny, before AEW I'd see fans praising the intimate feel of NXT's atmosphere with its small crowd. Now, it seems people are saying otherwise. It's understandable though, as AEW is produced and presented as RAW and Smackdown are, with bigger crowds and a big time atmosphere. Head to head, NXT is less impressive in that regard, though from an in-ring standpoint it more than holds its own.

I still say that Lesnar's booking the past five years has severely damaged a generation of talent. Of course he should look impressive, but it's been at the expense of the rest of the roster, who have been made to look second rate.

[[Q]]

TBH throwing Cain immediately into a title shot made me think they were actually going to put the title on him and have him actually show up every week. Bad camera work didn't show his tap on the Kimura so I was genuinely surprised when Brock won.

[Lean]

Tried to watch Crown Jewel live yesterday, but I got asleep halfway. So I just finished watching it yesterday afternoon.

Mansoor vs Cesaro was match of the night for me. And I think the show overall was a fun one, and it now does have a PPV feel to it, compared to previous Saudi shows.

Haven't caught up on NXT yet, but with reports of Smackdown being compromised because of the talent unable to return to the US in time, I think they should start the Survivor Series angle by having NXT talent "invade" Smackdown.

It's funny, before AEW I'd see fans praising the intimate feel of NXT's atmosphere with its small crowd. Now, it seems people are saying otherwise. It's understandable though, as AEW is produced and presented as RAW and Smackdown are, with bigger crowds and a big time atmosphere. Head to head, NXT is less impressive in that regard, though from an in-ring standpoint it more than holds its own.

That's AEW fanz for you.

Though honestly, I'd rather have NXT remain in Full Sail and have their loyal crowd go bonkers on them than go on bigger arenas with unpredictable ticket sales. As for ratings, I've read that NXT has not won anything yet but is the much better show than AEW. And I think that's because of NXT being available on the Network the next day, while Dynamite can only be seen live.

[bigh0rt]

Though honestly, I'd rather have NXT remain in Full Sail and have their loyal crowd go bonkers on them than go on bigger arenas with unpredictable ticket sales. As for ratings, I've read that NXT has not won anything yet but is the much better show than AEW. And I think that's because of NXT being available on the Network the next day, while Dynamite can only be seen live.

I think Dynamite replays on Friday nights here in the US.

[Andrew]

Wholesome moment of the week.

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And a longer version: https://streamable.com/pj0bk

[Lean]

We need more Iiconics!

I think they should start the Survivor Series angle by having NXT talent "invade" Smackdown.

They just did that!

[Lean]

I thought Smackdown was great, the main event felt like a Takeover match. One gripe I have is that seeing the women (Baszler, Nox, Belair, Ripley and Kai)getting along together just fine at the end where Triple H cut a Survivor Series promo when last Wednesday it was announced that they'll be in a War Games match.

[[Q]]

It was annoying that all NXT wrestlers went over (predictable). Of course it doesn't make sense to have them lose but yeah it makes it very predictable

I find it interesting that of all the guys that didn't go to Saudi Arabia they only used 3 of them plus obviously the women didn't go and Brock had his own private flight home

[Andrew]

Some of the best moments in WWE history have been born of serendipity. It was an unpleasant 24+ hours for the talent stuck in Saudi Arabia, but it produced one of the most interesting episodes of Smackdown in a while. It'd be a tremendous disappointment - though sadly not a shock - if they returned to the status quo after this. They've got a real opportunity to do what they once wanted to do with The Nexus, before the whole thing got blown up at SummerSlam 2010. Let's see if they do it better this time around.

[Lean]

I find it interesting that of all the guys that didn't go to Saudi Arabia they only used 3 of them plus obviously the women didn't go and Brock had his own private flight home

Meltzer says that Vince took his "top 20 guys" with him in a private jet, and left everyone else behind. Cain Velasquez was reportedly one of those left behind.

It was annoying that all NXT wrestlers went over (predictable). Of course it doesn't make sense to have them lose but yeah it makes it very predictable

Yeah, that's really going to be predictable. But I really think the main event match was really, really good.

Now that Brock "left" for Raw and Wyatt is the Universal Champion, do they re-leather the Universal Championship with a blue strap?

[Andrew]

I expect they will. The red will definitely look out of place on Smackdown otherwise.

The situation with talent being stuck in Saudi Arabia has been an interesting one to follow. It's gone back and forth between being ominous and mundane several times over the past few days.

[[Q]]

Some of the best moments in WWE history have been born of serendipity. It was an unpleasant 24+ hours for the talent stuck in Saudi Arabia, but it produced one of the most interesting episodes of Smackdown in a while. It'd be a tremendous disappointment - though sadly not a shock - if they returned to the status quo after this. They've got a real opportunity to do what they once wanted to do with The Nexus, before the whole thing got blown up at SummerSlam 2010. Let's see if they do it better this time around.

man, that was a really god storyline, especially when they came and took apart the ring. Unfortunately Bryan got fired lol and then they went absolutely nowhere with it. Couldn't been an nWo-like nuisance to the show. What a shame.

The chances of them actually having mechanical issues is pretty low judging by how they keep trying to push that story. rumor is that there are payment issues with MBS and obviously there are political issues in play as well so they definitely want to keep the real issue on the low