Mike Lightning’s ROH Review 07/20/13
S.C.U.M Video Package-
ML: This video package was shown to help build the hype for the ROH World Title match between Matt Hardy and Jay Briscoe later in the night. It simply just bored to me death. It didn't really accomplish what it was set out to do.
Will Ferrera v. Adam Cole - Match doesn't take place after a Roderick Strong pre-match promo~
ML: Roderick Strong vs. Adam Cole in a Best in the World 2013 rematch? I'll take THAT any day of the week. Hopefully down the road we'll be able to see Will Ferrera in a match.
Roderick Strong & Adam Cole Pre-Match Promo-
ML: One of the biggest knocks against Roderick Strong is the fact that his voice sounds like a teenager's. That doesn't bother me; he can still cut a very good promo. Cole struggled a little here but overall, the promo was effective in helping build the Adam Cole "questionable tactics and honor" storyline.
~Roderick Strong v. Adam Cole - Strong wins via Disqualification after Steve Corino throws a chain into the ring and Cole uses it on Strong as the referee was "recovering" and witnessed the action~
ML: What a great match! I can't spend enough time talking about how underrated Roddy is. Simply put: he's one of the best overall wrestlers in Ring of Honor and in the United States today. His technical skill and in-ring psychology is amongst some of the best ROH has to offer. Hopefully, with the continuation of the storyline involving Adam Cole's questionable actions revolving around "honor" and "respect," we'll see a third match between these two! The World Title match definitely has a high bar set for it.
-Team ROH Video Package-
ML: A nice little video showing the questionable trust between Team ROH members and Kevin Steen heading into Steel Cage Warfare next week!
-Matt Hardy Video of him arriving at the arena-
ML: Just like the previous video package involving him, this one didn't really do anything for me either. Simple waste of time.
~ROH World Title Match~ -Jay Briscoe v. Matt Hardy - Briscoe wins via pinfall after he rolls Hardy into a small package by countering the Twist of Fate-
ML: Definitely not my favorite match involving Jay Briscoe; definitely not my favorite match involving Matt Hardy. The match was slower paced than I would have liked. Briscoe looked like he was trying to play it as safe as possible because of his shoulder injury and Matt Hardy looked gassed about five minutes into match. Not sure if Hardy is simply out of shape or if he was exhausted from previous matches. S.C.U.M. took a huge hit in their momentum heading into Steel Cage Warfare and it'll be interesting to see where the storyline develops from here!
-Post-Match Brawl involving S.C.U.M., Team ROH and the Briscoe's-
ML: And S.C.U.M regains some momentum back after this brawl. They came out on top after zip-tying the members of Team ROH to the ringposts and proceeding to beat up the Briscoe's.
~Final Thoughts~
ML: Pretty good show overall. Despite my personal feelings about the World Title match, it was still a very entertaining and solid match. Hardy worked the in-ring psychology like a veteran and Briscoe sold the shoulder injury well. The match of the night was easily Adam Cole and Roderick Strong. Plus, with the DQ finish to that match, it makes you wonder and hope that they'll have a third match in the series. Cole won the first match at Best in the World 2013 via countout after he decided to leave Strong outside the ring instead of rolling him back in. Another strong showing from ROH showcasing their talent and proving that they are one of the best pure wrestling companies in the US.
Jee-S’ NXT REVIEW 07/24/13
Paige defeats Emma with the Paige Turner to become the new NXT Women’s Champion. All the NXT Divas and some WWE Divas come to congratulate her. Triple H then comes down to the ring to raise Paige’s hand.
Thoughts: Words cannot express how happy I am for the Anti Diva. With the terrible condition of the WWE Divas division, I believe Paige should be called up as soon as possible and she, along with a wonderful talented performer in Emma, just showed us exactly why. Had this match been hyped on the main roster with a credible storyline and a few more minutes to it, it would’ve topped AJ and Kaitlyn’s match at Payback. Incredible history making match as Paige officially becomes the first ever NXT Women’s Champion; something WWE should be very proud of. Triple H coming out at the end to pose with Paige is a classy thing to do, although I think Paige would’ve deserved her own music instead of Triple H’s. Great match; great moment.
Tyler Breeze defeats Angelo Dawkins with a spinning heel kick to the face.
Thoughts: It’s always fun to see a new fresh face on the roster; you’re always curious to see new superstars arrive on the scene. But when a wrestler debuts winning a squash match, it’s a lot easier to analyze their character than to evaluate their in-ring skills. I understand his name was Mike Dalton before being repackaged and I apologize for not seeing him wrestle before. All I can say is that this Tyler Breeze can sure as hell embrace his model gimmick and annoy every single one of us. I honestly believe that Tyler Breeze has a lot of potential.
The Ascension (Conor O’Brian & Rick Victor) defeat Mickey Keegan & Aiden English with a Total Elimination variation (with an uppercut instead of a clothesline).
Thoughts: Has Aiden English ever won a match? It was clear from the start that O’Brian and Victor would win. I’m still very glad of this Ascension reboot because both of these wrestlers are a lot better off as tag team wrestlers in my opinion. Basic squash match to put over the new tag team and it was relatively effective. I’m excited to see them in more high profile matches.
Sheamus defeats Luke Harper with a Brogue Kick.
Thoughts: Fun match to watch that flowed really well. Both Sheamus and Luke Harper are brawlers and it made for an interesting bout. I’m happy a top WWE star, especially Sheamus in this case, was gracious enough to showcase the talents of Luke Harper (Bray Wyatt had already been in a match with Chris Jericho, among others) who I think is a very underrated wrestler. It just comes to show you what to expect from the Wyatt Family when they get to fight regularly on prime time television and I for one cannot wait to watch.
Overall, this was a great episode of NXT! Two good matches including an epic battle between Paige and Emma, and two squash matches to debut some superstars. Call me a happy camper!
Jee-S’ MAIN EVENT REVIEW 07/24/13
Sheamus defeats Jack Swagger with the Brogue Kick.
Thoughts: Sheamus has never been my favorite wrestler and it irritated me that I had to watch him wrestle a second match in a row after NXT has just ended with him. No kidding, I really didn’t want to watch it. Surprisingly, I found myself enjoying this match a lot more than I expected. This was a very good brawl between two big men who also displayed a lot of athleticism and used a great variety of maneuvers. The chemistry between them was also very good. It’s worth noting that it’s the best match I have seen Jack Swagger wrestle in quite some time. Great start to Main Event!
Sin Cara defeats Drew McIntyre with a hurricanrana facebuster.
Thoughts: This was a highly enjoyable match. It seems as if Sin Cara is finally getting used to the WWE style of wrestling as he puts up another good performance on Main Event. Agreed, Drew McIntyre is a great wrestler and made the luchadore look better than he usually does. Sin Cara’s new finisher also looks awesome.
Damien Sandow defeats Justin Gabriel with a full nelson slam.
Thoughts: Awesome way to end this show! This was a good back and forth match between two great talents. Sandow’s push right now makes for some very enjoyable TV and I’m thrilled at the idea of seeing as a World Champion in the near future. I’m surprised Justin Gabriel got so much offense in this match. I doubt that this means a push for the South African wrestler but it was nice to see him display his talents and his ability to have a good match any day of the year.
Overall, this was a far better episode of Main Event than the ones we’ve seen in the past weeks. It was good to watch three straight good matches for once and hopefully this is the start of a good series of episodes. Thanks for reading!
Martin Smith’s Impact Wrestling Breakdown 07/25/13
There was to be an Ultimate X Match to decide the new X Division Champion on this week’s Impact, so unless the company imploded before the show started, there was at least going to be one thing worth watching this week. Hallelujah.
Really though, there was every reason to be optimistic judging on the standard of most of the wrestling during last week’s Destination X, and as long as there wasn’t too much focus put on the MEM/Aces and Eights feud, this would likely be a decent Impact....
Luckily for us, we don't really get our hopes up too high for Impact these days, and our optimistic expectations are shot to pieces almost instantly as the MEM emerge for a promo! I don’t want to sound like a know it all, but this angle has been worked so poorly in my eyes. Such awkward aimless promos and needless involvement in matches from both stables; it’s sad because it really could have been a solid stable versus stable feud if they kept it simple and didn't shoehorn Rampage Jackson into it. Sting and Angle get on the mic. Angle looks a shadow of his once great self; a sign that he really doesn’t buy into any of this personally, but he's a soldier so he does his job. Sting sounds a bit better, but he fails to sell the "one of my greatest nights in wrestling!" line when referring to Sabin winning the belt last week. They call Sabin out to congratulate him and it’s all rather nice, so who else but the "very very very bad man" of Impact Bully Ray, comes out and spoils the party. He assures Sabin that if he doesn't give up the belt, this lawyer will sue him and TNA, but the problem with the lawyer is, he looks like Fred Willard on crack. Sabin considers the proposal and decides to get back to Bully later. ON WITH THE WRASSLIN.
Sonjay Dutt vs Greg Marscuilo vs Manik
This was just a feast for the senses. I love a good Ultimate X match and this was a fantastic exhibition for high octane wrestling. Sonjay is an artist, and could probably 'rana a grizzly bear if he wanted to. he doesn't though; he just hits Manik and Marscuilo with a few. The match wears on in a particularly up tempo fashion, before Dutt and Marscuilo battle on top of the Ultimate X frame, only for Manik to swoop in for the win.
Hernandez vs Mr Anderson
I'll leave out the Hernandez hatred this week(aside from saying this match bored me to tears, but at least it was short). Anderson ducks the cross body before hitting the mic check for the win.
Dixie Carter says some words. Then a funny promo between Joseph Park and Eric Young. Young shows him footage of his "abyss turn" and he has no recollection of it. Young is hilarious as always; why he isn’t on Impact every week is beyond me.
Mickie James vs Gail Kim
Perhaps the two worst utilized performers in WWE over the past 10 years, this is where the deserve to be. The best match on the card regardless of gender. For some daft reason Gail Kim slaps ODB, and Mickie rolls her up for the win. Disappointing end to a decent encounter. Then Brooke Hogan comes out and everyone’s soul cries.
Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe
Great match. Superb pace to it, and you'll never go wrong when you put two of the best wrestlers in the company/business in a match together. After the Ken Anderson distraction, it took two BMEs to put Joe away, giving Daniels 7 vital BFG points.
AJ Styles vs Jeff Hardy
This was fine. I struggle to get behind any of Hardy’s work since he thought it was ok to stroll down the aisle drunk at a PPV, but this match was his best work since I started watching TNA again. These two have some great chemistry. Styles picks up the win via submission with the calf killer, which is huge for the BFG series as it gives him 10 points.
This is another pet hate of mine. Finishing a show with a promo, unless it’s hugely important to the story or it’s immediately following a match is a big no-no for me. This was good enough to get a pass though. Bully is great on the mic, and carries it well, actually making me laugh in the process. It’s a shame Sabin isn’t better on the mic because undoubtedly he is one of the best in the world as a wrestler. Then Hogan appears and much like his daughter, he leads everyone’s soul into the abyss(no pun intended). He announces Sabin vs Bully for the title at Hardcore Justice, because the world needs to see more of this feud.
Overall a decent Impact. Hernandez match aside it was great from a wrestling standpoint, but half hearted promo work at the start lets it down slightly again. A solid 6 shoulder-breakers out of 10.
WWE Smackdown Analysis 07/26/13 by Joe Thunder
We kick off Smackdown with a battle of the Money in the Bank winners; it’s Damien Sandow vs Randy Orton! Sandow cuts a promo before the match and thanks the fans for taking time away from cow tipping and watching the bug zapper in the front yard to be enlightened. Cody Rhodes come out and distracts Sandow by taking the briefcase during the match; Orton hits an RKO on Sandow for the win. Cody taunts Sandow after the match and walks away with the briefcase in hand.
^For two excellent wrestlers, this thing somewhat dragged. I don’t know if it was Orton just taking it easy because of the injury, or if they were more focused on the storyline of Rhodes getting involved, but the match just wasn’t anything to get excited about. The right guy went over; WWE likes to make it well known that they value the WWE Championship more than the WWE Title.
CM Punk cuts a promo on his match at Summerslam with Brock Lesnar. Fandango interrupts Punk with Summer Rae. Punk attacks Fandango and hits him with a GTS the second he jumps into the ring.
^This was a fun little segment. People are right about Punk; he looks a lot more healthy since his return. I understand Punk and Fandango wrestled the dark match on this show to end the night, but this was just the right segment to give these guys a couple tv matches over the next few weeks(as Brock Lesnar WON’T be getting too physical in the ring until Summerslam).
Mark Henry and the Usos defeat Wade Barrett and the Prime Time Players in a six man tag match. Henry pins O’Neil after a world’s strongest slam.
^Fun six man here. Henry did a good job as the vet leading five younger members of the roster in a decent match. I was surprised the Shield weren’t seen here.
Alberto Del Rio gets a week from Vickie Guerrero to think about who his opponent for Summerslam should be. Rob Van Dam comes into the scene and they exchange words.
^Vickie is almost acting like a face more than a neutral GM. RVD still seems like a burnout without much personality, but it is what it is.
Damien Sandow is shown looking for his MITB briefcase. No one, including Sin Cara, seems to know where Cody went.
^Can I just emphasize how happy I am that Damien Sandow has become the centerpiece for this edition of Smackdown?
Rob Van Dam takes on Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio wins a quick one by trying to avoid physical contact with RVD and then kicks him in the head at the first opportunity and picks up the three count.
^What the hell was this? The heel cheats to get the fast win, but more importantly we get cheated out of a quality wrestling match? I’m not impressed whatsoever. I understand needing to make the heel look cowardly, but would five minutes of back and forth action have been so terrible?
Sandow is still looking for his briefcase. Booker T and Mark Henry are no help to Sandow, but he manages to tick Booker off by mentioning his former GM job.
^What exactly is Booker’s role now? I’d be happy to see him work a few more matches with the younger guys; he’s an excellent performer who knows his role quite well when it comes to putting over younger talent.
AJ comes out for the state of her mind address. She seems highly distressed. AJ says she is just fine because she is the Divas Champion. AJ pulls out a copy of Dolph Ziggler’s keys and she says she’s ready to let go of them. Ziggler interrupts and mocks her. He says the locks have been changed a couple times since her. AJ has his suitcase in the ring. He says everything in the ring is totally replaceable. She cuts up his drivers license; he says a day at the DMV would be a picnic compared to anything with her. She cuts up his passport next, but he says he can replace that too(mentioning another woman that can help him out as she owes him a favor). She starts ripping up his money and he calls it wasteful. She just can’t infuriate him no matter how hard she tries(tosses all the clothes around and flips out as Dolph keeps taunting her). The crowd chants “you are psycho” at AJ. Kaitlyn spears AJ from out of nowhere as she goes for Ziggler. Big E. tries to help AJ as she’s upset. Ziggler comes down and takes down Big E.
^This was fun, but slightly over the top. I’d be okay with a mixed tag setup for Summerslam with these four. I honestly just want to see how far Big E. has come in the ring with his ability and ring psychology(I noticed a vast improvement in his last handful of matches compared to his FCW/NXT days).
Erick Rowan and Luke Harper defeat Tons of Funk in a short match. Bray Wyatt gets in the ring after the match and kisses Sweet T on the forehead before slamming him to the match. Wyatt cuts a promo and says he suspects Kane will be looking for him; he says he isn’t hard to find. He says he’s always been waiting for Kane, and again tells him to follow the buzzards.
^This one was too short to be special either, but Rowan and Harper looked good as a dominant tag team. I’m excited to see Kane and Bray Wyatt work together in the ring! Does anyone care about Tons of Funk as a tag team?
Vickie Guerrero tells Sandow to give it time for the authorities to find his briefcase. He flips out and continues his search.
^See what I said above about Sandow; this is highly enjoyable comedy. Sandow sells it so well.
Christian defeats Jack Swagger in a short match. Zeb Colter cuts a promo on Christian before the match and says he’s overstayed his welcome.
^Christian is obviously being pushed for something with all these victories, but again this match was just too short to be overly enjoyable. What happened to the seven to ten minute matches that we were getting every week?
Sandow comes to the ring and continues to rant about his briefcase. Cody pops up on the tron and he’s outside with the briefcase. Cody is standing in front of the Gulf of Mexico and he tells Sandow to come and get it. Sandow tries to compliment Cody and get the briefcase back, but Cody tosses it in the water anyway. Sandow eventually jumps in after it. He swims back to land without it and acts as though he almost drowned. The show goes off the air with him trying to act like he’s crying and collect himself.
^Old school Rock/Austin IC Belt feel! I love it! I remember Cena and Edge did the Long Island sound on Raw in late 2006, but this was even better! That water looked absolutely disgusting too! Sandow sold this perfectly; can I again just repeat how awesome it is that Rhodes and Sandow are now in the featured storyline of Smackdown? Brilliant!
The show wasn’t stacked with long wrestling matches, and it was actually booked more like an episode of Raw. The positive note to this though, is the fact that it was very entertaining from beginning to end. I’m going to give the show TWO grades and take the average! It’s a 7 out of 10 for me with entertainment, and a 4 out of 10 for wrestling. So you get an average of 5.5 out of 10, but that doesn’t really seem fair to how good the show was based on the entertainment. Call it a thumbs up and we’ll leave it at that!
Make sure to check out my Summerslam recap and thoughts for every Summerslam, which can be found exclusively on my facebook page. I want to thank the crew once again for their efforts this week, and I hope you as the reader are enjoying their OPINIONS. Thanks for reading!
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