NXT Respect: a fitting end to Full Sail

A COMPLETE LACK'A RESTECP

Personally I'm hoping this is the last special hosted at Full Sail. As we saw with Brooklyn, NXT can clearly hang in larger arenas, and if not one that fits 15,000+, then one that at least fits more than 500, or whatever minuscule number Full Sail does. I originally didn't want Full Sail to have this show, but I think with it being the conclusion of the Dusty Tag Tournament (which I maintain was a shitty tribute), it was fitting, as NXT in its "current" form was birthed there, and it all just made sense.

On a side note, I liked the Full Sail screen set up. New and exciting. Hopefully it sticks around for the weekly shows and maybe even for their traveling ones too. Maybe the ring was different as well, because it sounded more... upgraded... in the first match, but I'm not sure.

But anyway, on with the RATINGS.

FINN BALOR & SAMOA JOE vs. THE MECHANICS DASH 'N' DAWSON

SEMIFINALS of the DUSTY TAG TOURNAMENT

'alright'

***

So Balor is continuing that very heel-ish entrance with the cocky championship flashing and the oh-so rebellious leather jacket, yet plays face the entire night? I'm confused as to what the point is with this. And not the good kind of confused. Confused because it seems so mismanaged, not because it's intentionally confusing. Which is the good kind of confusing. Got it?

The most disappointing thing other than the completely obvious outcome was finding out that the name for Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson is no longer "The Mechanics", which was fantastic and gave them an inherent semblance of a character. Now it's just... Dash & Dawson. Because it worked very, very well for Blake & Murphy didn't it? Oh well, just remove a major part of talented workers and wonder why their reaction is middling at best. Typical NXT. It certainly doesn't help when their theme is awful and their entrance clips are just like your typical jobbers. Their names and some flashy lights. Nothing that sets them out at all. At least BAMs had annoying music, VERY flashy lights, and was all-out obnoxious as fuck.

Samoa Joe starts. Samoa Joe does strikes. Samoa Joe does bad strikes. Samoa Joe gets out-struck by anyone else. Seriously, his strikes are trash and commentary have to put them over ALL THE TIME. Scott Dawson was on the money with his elbow strikes throughout the match and his punches were infinitely better than Joe's. Even Dash had some good offense which was much, much better than Joe's strikes.

(Un)Surprisingly(?) Balor and Joe looked pretty damn bad in the ring against The MECHANICS Dash & Dawson. I'm pretty sure Dawson has been working as a tag team wrestler in NXT for at least 3/4 of the time he's been there. With one or two guys I don't remember, Rusev for a very short while, and now Dash, so obviously he knows what he's doing. And Dash continues to either impress or just be there, which when you're in a match with three guys everyone expects to be better than you, is impressive enough to me. As long as you don't fuck up, you're doing good in that situation. And if you do good, you're doing great. So he's between good and great.

I noticed two great examples of Dash in that match. The first was how quick he was to distract Joe and then ever-so-fluidly move into perfect position for the double team finisher, which unfortunately didn't get the job done.. Honestly I don't think I've seen something like that in a tag match since WWE had genuine and good actual tag teams facing eachother regularly. The other was the way he scrambled to try to prevent Balor tagging Joe. I don't know if he tripped over, but the frantic nature was perfect for that moment.

Sadly the finish to the match - not the outcome - left me, myself, scrambled. Dash just got dropped and pinned so quickly, while Joe was in the ring wondering if Balor was okay, well past the normal five count, but the referee stopped Dawson from entering the ring to stop the match? It seemed like really careless and reckless on-the-fly thinking by Joe and the referee especially. Let one guy stay in the ring but not the other? That's not FAIR! If anything, Joe should've immediately went to stop Dawson, even if it was a bit of a heel move, it's to solidify a win and Joe is not a stranger to doing sorta heel-ish things at all.

Overall a decent match, not without its flaws however.

JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE vs. RHYNO & BARON CORBIN

SEMIFINALS of the DUSTY TAG TOURNAMENT

'great'

****

Alright, maybe I am a bit of a mark but I think this match genuinely deserved a four star rating. It was my favourite match of the night (trumping Sasha vs. Bayley by a small but respectable margin), only in part because I, and not many people overall, really expected such a display from these four. An old, ex-ECW wrestler, plus a tall guy who "can't wrestle" against an amateur wrestler who has been in developmental for years but up until recently displayed nothing fantastic, and a very new debutee, who, despite being good, is still new. I mean naturally who the hell would expect something good out of this? I didn't expect anything like that and I think this match was better than what people who expected something good... err... expected...

It was good from the get-go, and the last few minutes were so hectic, but so enjoyable. The outcome sucked IMO, but honestly it didn't really bother me all that much until the excitement died down. Most of the time when there's a sucky ending to an entertaining match, it just immediately cuts off all enjoyment and I'm left either disappointed or mad. It took a couple of minutes for that to set in for me which really speaks volumes about how much I actually enjoyed this match.

The beginning with Jordan and Corbin was perfect. Jordan displayed his strength and athleticism to a great ovation to start the adrenaline, and Corbin managed to hold it back down with good timing with his strikes. The tag out to Rhyno was particularly well timed, as was the tag to Gable. It seems corny and weird to talk about it, but the timing of those tags were just really... good. It's so hard to explain, but it seemed like they did everything they wanted to do so well in the first few moments of the match that speeding through to the other guys was the only thing they had left to do, and so they did it.

Gable somehow being one of the most over guys on the roster is so damn impressive. And the fact he's not over based on his "SICK WRESTLING FROM THE INDIES/JAPAN!" or his name makes it so much better. Full Sail weren't just bearable, but actually decent for this match alone. Of course they ruined it later with the main event, but regardless, this match was perfect. Reminiscent of Daniel Bryan in PPV matches in late 2013, Gable was getting constant chants and no matter what happened, they'd start up again soon after. It was immense. INFINITELY better than "THIS IS WRESTLING" and all those other, awful ones we all know and love (to hate).

And DAMN is he a good face in peril. That entire match was a testament to not only Corbin, but Gable especially. If anyone had a 'display of the night' it was Gable. I knew the guy was good but this was just so good it was borderline unbelievable. I'd never have known he only signed in like 2013. I even remember the thread popping up and me thinking "buh who cares about another amateur wrestler!?". Boy was I wrong.

Enough about Gable (for now) though, as Corbin had a great showing as well. Another special event match another way to show he's better than the marks think. I expect he'll still be met with disdain for whatever reason despite being pretty good now, but hey, maybe people will realise that he did very well in this match. He didn't do much in the sense of big moves, or big spots, because he doesn't have to, he's Baron Corbin. The tall, intimidating wrestler with very long arms, who will punch you until you meet the END OF DAYS. That's the whole point. He doesn't need much to win, and he does well with those tools, and as long as he does well, then it's all you need to worry about. Of course we can argue that more moves = more tools and being good at more tools = being better, but that's for another day.

Gable managing the tag to Jordan nearing the end of the match, and Jordan coming FLYING in with that typical hot tag routine was exactly that - typical - but it was nice to see Jordan come in so dynamite. Especially better when it seemed they were just about to win and get it taken out from beneath them so quickly. That hot tag marked the best part of the match. Both Jordan and Gable frantically trying to get that last hit before Gable died from being crushed by two BEHEMOTHS, and Rhyno and Corbin both trying their damnedest to stop all momentum. Like I said, the outcome sucked, but the last few minutes of that match were so exciting that for the first time in a long time that ending didn't matter (for a while) because I was just so damn entertained and surprised. And tbh I do mark for the abundance of ways the End of Days can be hit. Sue me.

DANA BROOKE w/ EMMA vs. ASUKA

THE DEBUT OF WWE'S NEWEST ACQUISITION

'average'

** 1/2

I happily and CONTROVERSIALLY gave Apollo Crews' debut against Breeze a four star rating because it was a very well done debut. Which I personally believed should've been rated differently than a normal everyday match because it served a different purpose - to show the fans what the new wrestler is capable of. In this particular match, I wasn't sure what the purpose was. Obviously it's the first match for Kana... I mean Kanna... I mean Asuka in WWE, so it could be treated as a showcase, but it didn't really seem like a showcase of talent. Either way I'll treat it as neither 100%, more 50/50 as both, which gives it a pretty solid average rating.

Asuka was able to display some of her strengths but not the ins-and-outs or bread-and-butter of her physicality like Crews did, unless of course, that's all we're going to expect from her. And she faced Dana Brooke who would've been the best opponent considering how much of a bitch (and apparently a "talent") she is.

Some things were off. Some strikes looked weak and some completely missed, like the back-fist to Emma on the apron (and especially the post match back kick), but some looked effective and were good, like the repeated roundhouses to Dana which made her cower.

What I don't understand is how Dana was shown to be afraid of Asuka the week beforehand, and even during the match, only to come along and do that really awful head-pat thing in the middle of the match. Why would you do that, and what is the logic? You're scared. Don't antagonise someone when you're scared, because no one does that. Ever. EVER. So WHAT DA HAYELL?

TYLER BREEZE vs. APOLLO CREWS

'average'

** 1/2

Aight let's be fair. This match was pretty lacklustre. I expected more from both but I guess the guys don't really have the chemistry and Crews isn't really quite that good. Though, I firmly believe if Crews was part of the males singles main event scene he'd be having Finn Balor tier matches (which are most of the time just "good") given the time and booking priority, and getting away with it a lot easier.

Which reminds me. Crews seems to get a lacking reaction from the crowd in Full Sail. Why? Every other acquisition from other companies has entered and kept a strong reaction whereas Crews is... below them. I really don't understand. He hasn't done much different to all the other people, yet they still receive a good reaction. If Crews' reaction was dim in comparison because he's yet another similar talent, then shouldn't they be lower on Balor among others too? I don't see the sense in it.

At least Breeze's reception was better than it was against Balor only a while before RESPECT. I'll never really understand how this goddamn crowd works. They'd rather cheer the epitome of averageness in Balor than cheer a genuinely decent talent who worked for everything in NXT and has put on good matches for over two years now, because of what reason? I have no idea. Yet now they stop and cheer Breeze over a guy very similar to Balor.

ARE THEY JUST RACIST?

Nahhh...

...

There wasn't much I noticed in this match though honestly. It was a bit disappointing as I expected a fair bit more than just an average-ish match, but a decent one at least. What I noticed was commentary constantly putting Crews over in ways that seemed so intentionally manufactured, like he's supposed to be what the New Day was originally meant to be. A guy who is too positive, too "nice", and too good, to even like, because he's just so... fake. Or something. Hell I don't know what goes through the bookers' minds. Sometimes I don't think they do either.

The only other thing I noticed was Breeze's reversal to the Crews Combination. Grabbing the leg to stop the moonsault was a simple but effective way to prevent the completion. Instead of being a blatant, very elaborate reversal, it just stopped Crews. It didn't make the gorilla press look weak, it just made Breeze look desperate. Which is exactly what he is.

And I quite liked the new finisher, but if it was a sit-out powerbomb it'd be better. Less similar to recent NXT wrestler Kevin Owens, otherwise.

RHYNO & BARON CORBIN vs. SAMOA JOE & FINN BALOR

THE FINALS of the DUSTY TAG TOURNAMENT

'average'

** 1/2

This is as fair as I can be. There was nothing worth watching in this match, but it wasn't bad by any means. It was the definition of anti-climactic. To have Balor and Joe defeat Dash and Dawson, and Corbin and Rhyno to beat the favourites Jordan and Gable, as well as having Balor enter with a damaged leg, to have such an average match as the final match in a tournament dedicated to one of the greatest wrestlers and bookers to ever grace our gotdamn earth? Anti-climactic in every sense of the word... I think.

It was shit, okay? Not meaning it was bad, just not up to expectations in any way.

And with the ending, and the clear as fuck photo op, it made me believe that this was just a huge grab at publicity, for honouring a mans passing with such a travesty of a tournament. If it ended in a DUSTY FINISH, I could understand, but it was as clean as clean can be, and it fucking SUCKED.

Also Balor, the NXT Champion who is known by many as a "good wrestler", had absolutely no issue using his leg until he was booked to do so. He jumped over the ropes, did a step-up dropkick, etc, with no issue. And then he did a vault in the corner, landed, and THAT was painful? Give me a break of Balor already for god sake.

I really am just so disappointed nothing came from this tournament whatsoever. The only three things worth noting were;

The NXT bookers care so little about the tag division that not only did two singles guys randomly tagging together because they can, ended up winning, they defeated the most popular tag team in NXT history;

The former tag team champions in Blake & Murphy were knocked out of the tournament in the first round;

And the actual tag team champions lost in the second round.

Not to mention most of these weren't even bloody televised, and the tag team champions were absent from the special too. What. The. Fuck?

THE MAIN EVENT
SASHA BANKS vs. BAYLEY (c)

30-Minute Ironman Match for the NXT Women's Championship

'good-great'

*** 3/4

I hate that I went out, came back, and put this match on to hear "WOMEN'S WRESTLING" being chanted, as Stephanie McMahon looked on. It's great that this means so much to everyone at NXT, including the women wrestlers who made it happen, but it feels dirty knowing that this is so very clearly an attempt at good publicity by a McMahon. Steph and even Triple H are incredibly disingenuous. Nothing they do is for anyone but themselves. NXT is a prime example of this, even if we like it, the only reason they make it this way is to prove to themselves that they can make everyone happy one way or another.

Well, at least the match was good. Even with the horrendous chants which, if weren't so prevalent, might have helped redeem the Full Sail crowd of their absolute awfulness. Also on the list: the "THIS IS AWESOME" chant before anything happened, and "YOU DESERVE IT", which as we all know, they do deserve it, but neither Stephanie nor Triple H deserve to stroke their fat egos.

Overall, It has nothing on their previous match at Brooklyn though, sadly. That's still my personal MATCH OF THE YEAR so far.

For a thirty minute match with multiple falls, it really had its flaws. The first minute was a fine little walk-around that often happens in big matches. No problem. But for over three more minutes after that, both Sasha and Bayley wasted time with that very hateable string of near-fall pin attempts with things like schoolboys, backslides and Oklahoma rolls. May as well have just said it was a 27 minute match because that is an undeniable waste of time in every match it's in.

It picked up quickly after that, though. Bayley hit one of her signature arm-drags, and went for another, where Sasha landed a little badly on her neck/shoulder. Now, I assume that was a botched landing, but whether the effect of the landing was supposed to be sold the way it was, I'm unsure. But Sasha was either feeling or wrestling-feeling the damage from that for at least another two minutes, stalling the match out a little bit, looking concerned and being very convincing. If that was legitimate, it was good to see that take up some time in the match. If it was an act, then even better, because by GOD I was convinced.

Unfortunately for me I predicted a dirty pin as the first fall for Sasha, it seemed too obvious to me. And it happened. It wasn't anything special and normally a face would kick out of that tactic so early in a match, which is why I'm not such a huge fan of Ironman stipulations like a lot of others are. Things seem to come so cheaply in their matches, like the people in them have become half the wrestler they usually would be; taking pins they'd kick out of, being counted out when they'd normally jump back into the ring, etc.

On the flip-side, Bayley's first pinfall was awesome, except for it being so soon in the match. It was quick, unexpected, and executed really well at a great time to turn the tide.

Around the middle of the match was where most of the action happened outside of the ring. Sasha throwing Bayley around in front of her family and 'biggest fan' (that kid) gave me some flashbacks to some of the most classic heel/face matches in WWE, but at this point of the match it was wasted. Sasha wasn't in the lead so being cocky didn't have as much of an effect as it could've, and Sasha didn't take the opportunity to trash-talk anyone.

Only a few minutes later Sasha sure proved me wrong, pulling out the BIG (booked) GUNS by getting a count-out fall over Bayley and mocking her and her 'biggest fan' (that kid) whom I am CERTAIN is a plant, not because she's a huge fan, but because Sasha was able to mock her, and she cried. On TV. We're all being worked damn it.

So it was about fifteen-ish minutes into the match and Bayley couldn't manage to get back into the ring. There was a count-out fall only fifteen-ish minutes into a thirty minute long match, but it still turned around. Another thing I don't quite get about Ironmans.

It was between here and the end of the match where Bayley started to do some really aggressive things, and I'm not a big fan of that. I understand that people like faces that are more 'edgier' and less smiley, but they all have their places. I also know that Bayley has been booked to be more aggressive on purpose, but I still think that, after making it to the top, she could've toned it back down to play a perilous face and not a vindictive, angry face who is happy when she's not wrestling.

Bayley started being the definition of vindictive when she was bashing Sasha's hand on the steps. It's a heel tactic when a heel does it but it's face when a face does it for revenge? I don't think it works that way. All the while, doing it right in front of both her family and her 'biggest fan'. Before this, Bayley stuck Sasha up in the tree of woe, which is almost exclusively a heel tactic with very few exceptions. Past this, Bayley won the match by sticking Sasha in a submission and pulling her fingers back. Which is another thing exclusively for either heels or 'submission specialists', which Bayley is neither.

On the other hand though, through those fifteen minutes it was pretty entertaining. Sasha losing was a given but I did kinda mark when Bayley hit her HUGPLEX from the middle rope again, but Sasha rolled through to the ropes. What I liked most about it, though, is how it was treated ambiguously. Did Sasha realise what happened and roll herself over to the ropes for a rope-break, knowing she'd not have the energy to kick out? Or was it just pure luck that Bayley threw her down with such force that she rolled through because of the momentum? Who knows. Maybe it won't be answered. It would've been a good way to book Sasha somehow fluking the championship back, but it's fine that didn't happen.

Overall, like I said, it was a solid match, but it has nothing on the original special match at Brooklyn, like most rematches.



Stay tuned. I have an NXT Women's Championship idea I may post.

:-)

ORIGINAL PHILOSOPHY: What makes a match?

IT'S YER HOMEWORK

Some people say professional wrestling is subjective. In the sense that there are no 'wrong' or 'right' ways to do things, and that there's only 'entertaining' and 'not entertaining' ways. You're free to agree or disagree with that; I believe it holds merit in certain things, however I firmly believe that's mostly wrong. Wrestlers are trained for months or years, learn how to execute moves 'correctly' from veterans who have trained for upwards of decades themselves. I mean, there's a correct way to kick a football, there's a correct way to execute moves.

As there is a correct way to execute a character, right? Actors don't pop up out of nowhere, they don't earn acclaim by... not doing it right, do they? It's the same thing. Most of us can be in agreement that wrestlers are, at least in a sense, actors, therefore everything they do follows a standard which is considered correct. And I'm sure most of us if not all of us know this.

Allow me to explain the point of all of that.

The fact there are 'correct' ways to do things would, in a bit of a weird way, possibly imply there's somehow an archetype of a perfect wrestling match which would require an abundance of things (I'll try to list everything I can think of); like perfect execution of manoeuvres (not necessarily the complete lack of botches, sometimes they make it better); good booking and 'psychology' in the ring; a creative, well thought-out and performed story leading up to the match; a continuation of that story within the match; physical, emotional and verbal representation of characters; environment and atmosphere; and spots. You know, those things everyone loves... But only kinda?

A match I and many people consider an example of that archetype is the second Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker match at WrestleMania. That match had it all. Anything you can believe makes a good match, it was there.

So why do we settle on matches that, are in their own right, good, but comparatively not close to perfect, and pull a Cornette/Meltzer and call the match "four stars" or even higher? To be not only content, but amazed, with the outcome of matches which not only have every aspect of a perfect match archetype, but also have an awkward imbalance of some of those aspects.

For a recent example, take the triple threat match at this years Royal Rumble between Seth Rollins, John Cena and Brock Lesnar. It's a highly rated match not only by regular folk, but well known posters here, as well as THE wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, (who I believe gives it either a 4.5 or 4.75 out of 5 rating) yet it's exactly what I mentioned - lacking important things, as well as being imbalanced in things it has, too.

In what I'm considering objectivity, the match was lacking in an evolved story between all three competitors, as the story around it was Brock was among the most dominant champions ever, Seth can't prove his worth, and Cena's in the picture because he's Cena. That's a problem, and that alone, according to the archetype, would prevent it from a perfect mark. And of course, there were other issues, like formulaic and hindering triple threat booking, a reliance on big spots, etc.

So why is that match consistently rated on WWE MOTY contender lists?

What happened to ranking matches on everything other than big spots? Are they the most important parts of every match possible now? And when I say big spots, I don't mean the spot where X yells at Y, I mean those big spots which are woven in specifically for people to yell "Holy shit!", "this is wrestling!", etc.

Has psychology and character work within a match become something less important? Has wrestling speedily regressed from Shakespearean opera into a high budget, badly written action movie with huge explosions?

There are matches within WWE which are much closer to the archetype I mentioned at the beginning of the post that are often rated lower than big spot-heavy matches like the triple threat I mentioned, by a lot of posters as well as well-known journalists and important names in the business.

Is it bias?

Is it ignorance?

Maybe I'm overthinking it and things can be 'great' despite lacking a huge amount of things proven to be important in matches for years. Maybe those high budget, badly written action movies with huge explosions are just better in their own way, somehow, and rating a Smackdown cruiserweight match as significantly better than a world star match between two of the greatest wrestlers to ever live is valid, because they're... different?

NXT Brooklyn: OXITRON was (kinda) WRONG

I REITERATE, ONLY... KINDA

What was I wrong about? Well, nothing entirely. I expected this show to be underwhelming, but it wasn't as great as it could have been, and I stated that Bayley vs. Sasha had a pretty high chance of being average because their past matches were nothing special. So I guess two half-wrongs makes me 1 wrong?

JUSHIN "THUNDER" LIGER vs. TYLER BREEZE

'average'

**1/2

There was certainly nothing 'off' with the match apart from WWE concerning themselves with Liger when he turned 50, but there was nothing stellar whatsoever either. I fully expected some issues in the match where neither guy seemed to know what they were doing, because Liger working in WWE and Breeze working with a foreign guy kinda makes that inevitable, so I'm not going to be annoyed about some of the little mini-botches, but the match did suffer a fair bit because of it. Easily one of the most 'average' matches I've seen in a while, but again, completely expected. Anything better would've surprised me greatly.

THE VAUDEVILLAINS vs. BLAKE & MURPHY (c)

For the NXT Tag Team Championship

'good'

***1/2

Allow me to preface this by saying RIP DUBSTEP COWBOYS. YOU GOT THE MOST HEAT ON THE SHOW. I'M PROUD.

Also I'm not against the Vaudevillains being the champions like some people seem to be. I don't think they're a bad team at all. They're solid in the ring, they're solid out of the ring, they have decent characters, and hell if you don't like their characters, at least they fucking have characters.

They're fitting for NXT Tag Team Champions because they're a good team, who still need to stick around in developmental, and they're entertaining in the ring. I would've preferred BAM to win, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I marked at English posing when doing submissions and Gotch going crazy after getting the tag part way through. That roll into the cross-armbreaker was immense, holy hell.

Oh and I have to mention that NUCLEAR heat again. It's rare to see actual decent talent get booed these days, so that just makes BAM better than before.

The ending was alright. It was really awkward with Bliss being unable to do anything about a jobber I'm fairly sure she beat once before, as well as Blake just watching Murphy get decimated and pinned. I'm not sure if that last bit was intended though. Maybe it was, but it looked really weird if it wasn't.

Also I loved the subtle and likely unintentional jab at Enzo & Cass just being too stupid to beat BAM, as the Vaudevillains' manageress (who sucks btw) actually did something, and the team themselves constantly outsmarted BAM.

APOLLO CREWS DEBUTS vs. TYE DILLINGER

THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE. OHHHHH MYYYY.

'great'

****

Right, before you wonder why I rate a glorified squash match four stars, understand that it is a glorified squash match, and I'm rating it four stars because it did great at what it was supposed to do. There was no story, there wasn't meant to be one. There was no need for anything but a display of Apollo's offence and defence.

As for everything else, that entrance was incredible. It was unlike any entrance I have ever seen. Apollo seemed so humbled by the fact he was debuting in front of thousands and thousands of people who have actually been anticipating his debut, and a good portion of those people cheering just for him being there. I'm sure I wasn't the only person who could see the genuine nervousness and humbleness in his eyes and face when he came out and was walking down the ramp.

And that is yet another thing that just makes me want to believe Apollo Crews will be a huge star in WWE. Along with the reports (and commentary enlightening us) of him wanting to become good at promos so he is a truly well rounded wrestler, of course. It makes him seem like such a down to earth guy outside of wrestling and someone who is really dedicated to wrestling, not just there to think he's great because people chant his name, but because he wants to be great. If he goes on with this he'll be in that group of people like Bryan, Owens and Sasha (among others I can't think of right now) that fans realise their dedication and passion.

The ring work itself was fantastic. Not a single misstep on either part (unless they had to re-do that superkick spot from Tye) and both guys had a great showing. Tye was the perfect guy for Apollo to debut against without a doubt. And those jumps, flips, leading into a fucking military press and an incredible standing moonsault just cemented it for me. Though I would've loved to see more, I guess that's going to be kept for a later date.

Fantastic debut, great match for a display of his abilities.

BARON CORBIN vs. SAMOA JOE

'alright'

***

I expected shit. I expected Corbin doing virtually nothing out of the ordinary (which is maybe three things max) and Joe doing the same (which is maybe five things max). However I also expected Corbin would win. So I guess none of my expectations in this match were met, good or bad.

Corbin showed a decent offence. Nothing incredibly but a lot more than what people give him credit for. Most of it was very basic stuff, but the basic stuff he did was pretty well done. His striking is fantastic, especially when you compare it to Joe's absolutely abysmal striking the commentary try to put over, and I really think that if Joe was a bit more stiff or at least realistic with his striking, that little 20 seconds of a strike off in the middle of the match could have been a lot better.

Joe definitely let me down a lot more than Corbin did in this. The guy is touted as a sixteen year wrestling vet but constantly makes things look awkward as if he hasn't been wrestling longer than a few months, and his strikes suck as I just mentioned.

The ending was the only horrible part though. Corbin's big modified chokeslam getting treated like nothing even though it got that piped "OHHHHH" louder than anything else in the match, and then just falling asleep in the submission. Sure, it's a good submission and it's nice to see sleepers again, but THAT quick?

AND THAT REFEREE? Why was the arm not lifted three times? It looked really bad for that referee. Submissions like this have worked like that for years and years. I hope it's not only for the faces so they can get the little Hulk-up before the third drop.

BAYLEY vs. SASHA BANKS (c)

For the NXT Women's Championship

'stunning'

****3/4

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I really had low expectations for this match. Not because I believe the two are lacklustre talents (Sasha is amazing and Bayley is respectable at the least), but the two just never really meshed well in the past. Their matches were never bad, but never good either, just kind of 'there', and really felt like filler. The feud was always good and has been well storied, which made this pay-off absolutely incredible especially considering the pre-match vignette.

Which by the way was extremely well done. It's as if they KNOW a huge portion of NXT fans only started watching after Sasha and Bayley began, and a portion of them don't even know their history goes so far back. The explanation was quick and well done, and probably one of the best pre-match vignettes in recent NXT history.

The match itself, was all ups, and no downs. It got better after every minute, and the first minute started off on a high note with Sasha mocking Bayley like only Sasha can mock, along with Sasha laughing while on the offense for the next few minutes too.

The quick changes of offense were timed well, everything was so fluid, and it only took me about three minutes to realise I made a huge mistake almost completely writing this match off.

As it went along and Bayley hit some nice reversals I wouldn't have even thought about (especially the first counter in the corner) and some bigger ones (like throwing Sasha off the top rope to the outside) I was watching anticipating every move, and I don't think I even felt that way with Becky and Sasha, which prior to this was my favourite females match of the year.

Almost every movement meant something. After Sasha began targeting Bayley's injured hand, every movement meant something, and both women upstaged everyone in this match by selling everything through every part of their body.

Many arguments can be made that Bayley gave up selling her hand injury for certain parts of the match, but I always argue that historically, adrenaline, especially for faces, often takes over their injury. As long as they don't entirely forget about it, they're doing it right. It's okay to work through the (fake) pain for a couple of things, like axe handles and a single submission, as long as there's a limit and you remember to continue. Bayley did exactly that, and she did it very, very well.

Sasha working the hand was damn good too. The wedging between the steps, and especially the brutal flurry of stomps during the crossface. Which by the way, the reversal of Sasha's crossface into the same by Bayley was sort of awkward but still quick, so it was alright, and the match not ending in that situation was also a great decision.

Continuing the match at a slow pace thereafter really set up the adrenaline at the finish, and the lead up to the inevitable victory was fabulous. There are rare moments where knowing the end is coming is better than being caught off guard, and this was definitely one of them. Knowing that it was coming, hearing the crowd, and being certain in this situation, was the key ending for a great match.

I myself am a bit disappointed with the end. It's nice and all, but this 'four horsewomen' thing feels more forced week after week. And I know it makes a lot of sense considering the story behind the four of them (minus Summer Rae for some reason), but the fact NXT seems to do these 'showings of respect' over and over and over. Sasha and Charlotte did it earlier and I mentioned how I disliked it then because of how much they do it, and it feels bad to say I dislike they did it here, because all four of them were obviously emotional, especially Sasha because I'd say it means most to her, but because NXT want to waste handshakes after matches on shite like Balor and Neville or Zayn and Neville, it makes it seem so... disingenuous.

KEVIN OWENS vs. FINN BALOR (c)

For the NXT Championship

'alright'

***

Ladder matches. Lost arts, apparently. Some are boring, some are more boring, and few are decent. This was... borderline boring and decent to me. Everything Owens does is worth watching in honesty, and most of what Balor does is not, so this kinda balanced out if not leaned more towards probably being boring.

And it was borderline boring. What's the point of watching a match where we all know who's going to win, when it's the third match of a feud, just got inevitably outclassed by the match before it, and has only one worthwhile wrestler in it? People who need to see what makes it matter to the bookers, I guess.

I really hope Balor stops getting along on his goddamn name because he has done nothing interesting at all since debuting. Everything about him is boring or lacklustre, and his special entrance is overdone now. Maybe it's a good thing this is likely the last we'll see of Owens on NXT because then maybe Balor won't get entirely outclassed by his opponent all the time.

But hey, the match had some alright spots. Owens throwing Balor over the table and him tumbling into the corner was nice. And uhh... the reversal to the powerbomb where Owens landed on the, err, bendy thing of the ladder, was cool as well.

Yet they FUCKING RUIN THE ENDING by Owens teasing a suplex off the top of the ladder into the ladder laid out beneath, only to have Balor essentially nudge Owens off to land on his back. And then have Balor, instead of grabbing the title which was clearly in reach, dive off for his finisher on Owens who wasn't going to get up anyway, only to climb and grab the title again.

For a match that went so long there was a hell of a lot of pointless filler garbage, as it seems many Finn Balor matches are. Good thing Owens is done with him, the lazy, useless geek.

WWE BATTLEGROUND: The Third Year in a Row

THANK THE LAWD FOR THE NEW DAY

If it's not obvious by now, my personal favourite parts of the shows are captured in the above image-space beneath the headers. Sometimes it's hard to decide on a good picture. Some other times, like with Battleground, the decision is between a transparent image or the only decent thing on the show. Xavier Woods is probably the only person that saved the show from being completely worthless. This is hardly an exaggeration.

KING BARRETT vs. R-TRUTH

For the fucking ownership of a fucking crown that means fucking nothing
'weak'

I tuned in half way through this travesty of a feud, but what I saw wasn't horrendous. I guess you get better at wrestling a specific person when you wrestle them like twenty times in a month (including likely house shows), but no one really wants to see that any more than twice, if not even once.

It sucks for both guys, obviously. Barrett had been slated so many times in his career to be the next guy to "make the Intercontinental Championship matter", or the guy to "win the Money in the Bank briefcase" next year, or even "the next World Champion", and injuries always seemed to offset those predictions, which obviously held weight considering his talent, and now that he has had a relatively long stint without being hurt, he's in a nothing feud with Truth? It's such a massive waste, as if all these injuries make him completely unable to be trusted by management or something.

And for Truth, he's still entertaining to a big part of the audience, and his heel run with Miz was great, and he still hasn't gotten anything out of it, not even a 'last hurrah' considering his age, which is a lot more than most of the other full-time wrestlers. I wouldn't be against Truth becoming IC Champion or something like that just one last time. Or facing Cena to prove he can still go in the ring at his age (he's one of the few guys that could gain something from it to be honest), but I guess he'll just trade wins in irrelevancy.

RANDY ORTON vs. SHEAMUS

Apparently so Orton can have another nothing match just for the hometown pop

'average'

It makes absolutely no sense to me why they put THIS match that got booed out of the building more than just once in history (and it only needed to happen once) on a special event in Battleground, which itself, has been lauded, and listed as 2013 and 2014's worst PPV of the year by Wrestling Observer Newsletter - which is the reason for this title as well, if it was lost on anyone.

Orton had to be there because it's St. Louis, I get it. And Sheamus had to be there to stay relevant as Money in the Bank briefcase fella. It all makes sense. But against each other? That I don't get. I'm sure they could've put something else on the pre-show, scrapped Barrett and Truth, had Orton take on Rusev or something, and then have Sheamus take on Neville again, or something along those lines. Anything but Orton vs. Sheamus.

The match was a lot better with the two not being "respectful faces" though. Weirdly I had a feeling this match was going to be the best match of the night somehow and it seems it really was. There wasn't anything special or amazing at all. Nothing was out of the ordinary for Orton and honestly I think it was a bit of a weak effort from Sheamus (out of the ordinary is anything that isn't weak from Orton lol) but it still managed to outdo the rest of the matches all night with ease.

I guess Orton getting another win just puts him on the shelf for a little while again, or back to his irregular Raw showings and PPV matches. Maybe he sticks around until SummerSlam is over and then comes back for Survivor Series? Dunno, but anything he does is pretty boring by proxy again.

THE NEW DAY (KOFI KINGSTON & BIG E) vs. THE PRIMETIME PLAYERS

For the WWE Tag Team Championship

'average'

The saving performance of the show. Thank FUCK this was a match and it wasn't something hit-or-miss like PTPs versus the Lucha Dragons or something. A solid decision with solid talent who have proven their decency at the least against eachother was exactly what they needed to make Battleground have one thing worth watching that wasn't worth watching just for shock value.

As always, Young impresses me with how fluid he is in the ring. I think it's criminal that the guy hasn't had the chance to really put on a 'clinic' against one of the top guys. Maybe throwing Young and Woods in a ten minute singles match without any stupid outside interference would do good for the two and the tag division as a whole, because both guys can work but neither have had that moment to prove it like they should.

Too bad that Woods wasn't working in-ring for the match, but his antics outside sure made up for it. Who needs Abe Washington on the PTPs when you got Woods who's so much better and a wrestler for the New Day? Those damn taunts were fantastic. The GIF I posted up above was second only to Woods crawling on the floor like a cocky Randy Orton when Young got thrown over the turnbuckle. As soon as Woods yelled out "WORST LEG DROP EVER!" he was on FIRE.

And we all know Titus is goofy but he has one of the best hot-tag games going right now. Just going in and running roughshod is the best thing he can do. Throw people around, display his only two good qualities (and when I say "only two" I mean it as nicely as possible) in his inhuman strength and awesome charisma, pick up the win using the two, and have that cheesy ass smile at the end of the match.

I'm still surprised there hasn't been a strength-off between Big E and Titus yet though. It looked like we were gonna get it this match but I guess not. I legitimately wonder who's more impressive. It has to be done before the feud is over damn it.

ROMAN REIGNS vs. BRAY WYATT

To defend Roman's daughter from paedophiles

'weak'

I'm clearly still not a fan of Wyatt and I probably never will be, and I definitely won't be 'invested' in a match between Reigns and Wyatt and no one else... ever... but I did kinda watch this match. Despite hardly watching the screen because I honestly don't care about Wyatt at all and really don't care for Reigns in this capacity, it wasn't that bad. Though, I expect more out of Reigns and wish Wyatt would either fuck off or prove himself in the ring instead of being plodding and slow as fuck.

Neither happened. Wyatt didn't leave nor did he prove himself. This match went for way too damn long. Twenty-two fricken minutes apparently? And it ends with an interference? Well, at least it was unexpected. Probably the biggest actual shock of the night seeing as WWE ruin everything "big" by probably purposely leaking things out to ensure viewership.

The best part of this match was Reigns running into the steps like an idiot. Wyatt didn't look like he was in a position to be hurt by a shoulder tackle into the steps and Reigns didn't look like he was aiming at him at all.

Give a guy like Wyatt who hasn't any great matches under his belt, and a guy like Reigns, who has only two, and in 50% of those (yes that's one) got his ass whipped for almost the entirety, twenty-two minutes in the ring and expect... what? This time could've given Cesaro or Rusev, or even Neville a spot to impress and make this show better than subpar.

CHARLOTTE vs. BRIE BELLA vs. SASHA BANKS

To waste an incredible opportunity

'WASTED'

For a split goddamn second I was hyped to see Charlotte and Sasha in the ring against the Divas Champion NIKKI Bella but the FUCKING bookers had to almost completely sabotage this by throwing Brie in.

Holy shit this match was awkward. What a horrendous setting for both Charlotte and especially Sasha - seeing as she didn't pick up the win - to debut in. From my view it seemed like Brie tried to control the match every time she was in the ring, despite Sasha and Charlotte having the superior chemistry and better knowledge of lengthier matches. Brie should know better.

I really can't trash this much because the only shite happened because of Brie, but the booking behind it all was just so bad. So uninspired. So uncaring. Pull up these amazingly influential women and make them look bad by pairing them with the objectively worst wrestler of the group. Why didn't they utilise Alicia Fox in this role? It'd be a lot more sensible, seeing as she's not even a Bella, has historically been a jobber, and has actually worked with Charlotte and Sasha when NXT had her down there a couple of times.

So Charlotte and Sasha have a particularly good match on the last NXT televised before Battleground and bookers decide to throw them into a match with Brie fucking Bella who seemed to either not thought about what the hell she's going to do in the match, OR, is actually that disappointingly bad that she just looked like she had no idea. So now the bookers, management, and some ignorant ass fans will think these two are just like the rest. I really hope they don't continue this.

This just makes no damn sense and disappointed me so very much.

KEVIN OWENS vs. JOHN CENA (c)

To destroy the hopes and dreams of many

To devalue the concept of a quick promotion

To kill off the concept of an anti-Cena

And for the WWE United States Championship

'Pretty fucking shitty again'

An abundance of nonsensical near falls don't make a match good.

Just like making your fastest rising developmental star and most interesting character on weekly television tap out to John Cena of all people doesn't make anyone look good.

There are some people who would overreact and talk shit about how "Cena just buried yet another talent!".

And there are some people who would try to validate this by talking shit about how "Cena's the best guy, losing to him doesn't matter!".

The thing is, with this match, WWE hasn't buried or ruined Kevin Owens, but they have hindered him and prevented him from being something that he could be, and honestly that could be just as bad if it's horribly mismanaged like everything else on the show is. I would argue they fucked it up originally in the first loss, but with Owens losing a second time, both in a row and after his first and only win, they've only made it look worse, and dug that hole (not to bury) even further.

Cena continued his ridiculous attempts at making his matches look better than they are, fooling only the goobers that fall for the subtle brainwashing, by performing "new manoeuvres" as Michael Cole exclaims in the background "You gotta give John credit, guys!", as if any of those new manoeuvres are fundamentally decent, executed well, or make any sense. Which none of them do and haven't since he adopted them. Still using that awful neck-breaking hurricanrana anyone other than Cena would be demonised for using wrongly, the horribly executed dropkick that even The Rock at his fathers' Hall of Fame speech said he would never try to do as he couldn't do it like Rocky Johnson, and that abyssmal springboard stunner no one else in the world would ever bother trying to do because it's fucking SHIT.

And there are people that applaud this.

Past Cena proving his lack of true coordination and wrestling ability outside of the natural bare minimum you would pick up after wrestling for 12+ years, Owens was using his regular moveset which has unfortunately already been drawn out a little bit due to wrestling Cena in overly-done, near-fall-reliant lengthy matches three times.

So in this match, which was far from good, just some excessive bullshit with a whole lot of fucking near-falls, we had Cena continue his shtick of being worse than he has in the last few years, Owens become a bit more overexposed, and a horrendous ending that was the lowest of an already low night.

What's more disappointing about Owens losing is the people who genuinely, legitimately defend Cena throughout all of this. Not just defending him for being the main hand in making a new talent look like a doofus, but also defending him for respecting the fact he himself cannot do certain moves and shouldn't do them at all.

BROCK LESNAR vs. SETH ROLLINS (c)

For the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

'???'

We all read the reports. A big shock became a big bummer. Instead of being 50/50 in euphoric surprise and whatever-the-opposite-of-nostalgia-is in disappointment, it was mostly just annoyance and disappointment instead.

I was actually hyped for Rollins to get in a decent offence by attacking THE BEAST's untrained and weak legs...

Oh, that's not his weak spot and his leg was injured on Raw some weeks before?

Well anyway, that was disappointing.

The abrupt leaving of Rollins really does show a lot about WWE. I completely agree with the sentiment that Rollins disappearing completely to leave the 50 year old Undertaker in the ring alone with Brock is just flat-out bad. Not really any more words, I think everyone feels the same way.

What an awful yet apt ending to an awful show. I never believed that Battleground 2013 or 2014 were that bad. But this is horrible, just fucking horrible.

July 15, 2015 NXT: MAINly forgetting Raw

TAGGERIFIC

It turns out these last few weeks of NXT have been pretty interesting. Bookers being forced to use talent that aren't the top two guys in the singles division has made a couple of good things pop up as well as a couple of... lame things... as well. One of those good things though...

JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE vs. STEVE CUTLER & ELIAS SAMSON

Two NXT weeks in a row Gable has been in my headline picture. I've been hyped to see him since I heard a lot of good stuff from house show reports. A smaller, more underdog-esque version of Kurt Angle that doesn't seem like an awful rehash, but a still somewhat unique wrestler inspired by him. That's a much better description of Gable than "Kurt Angle clone" to be honest.

I do remember him having a match some months ago and getting a nice reaction from the nerds in the crowd, but that wasn't a proper debut like this, which was done very, very well throughout the last few weeks. Good job bookers, now if only you actually did care for more than just one or two non-indie talents... Or at least more than one tag team.

Anyway, enough of Gable, there were three other guys in the match. I'm still cold on Jordan. He has some freakish strength and that's interesting enough but sadly for him he's gonna need more than just that and his amateur wrestling skill to get over, as he has already taken a backseat to Gable. Steve Cutler is jobbing again, but I haven't heard shit about him and he didn't look good in the match at all so he's just there. Samson still getting some props from commentary and still looks like he could have a genuine shot at being someone, so here's hoping he works out.

The toss-over bridging back suplex (or "aided back suplex" I guess) was fantastic. The camera definitely has to be placed right for it to look good though. If it's too far away and not in a good position it'd just look like Jordan is passing the opponent over, as opposed to completely throwing him a couple feet. Lovely bridge too. Close to Darren Young for 2nd best bridge behind Alicia Foxx.

SAMOA JOE vs. AXEL TISCHER

Someone needs to explain to me the point of this match. Samoa Joe, star-studded, world-renowned, Samoa Joe, so big he didn't need to change his name, has to showcase his lack of a moveset against a jobber? And that jobber isn't even surprisingly large to make Joe look strong? Yea I don't see the point at all. Waste of TV time and a waste of Joe too. Inexcusable.

BARON CORBIN IN A NON WRESTLING APPEARANCE

Before I got behind Bo Dallas as a character, I really hated the idea that the bookers would just flat out turn a guy based on their negative reaction instead of trying to fix the faults. But, I realised for Bo Dallas as well as CJ Parker, it was the right call. They went from uninteresting (and in Parker's case, completely unsalvageable) shitty faces to entertaining heels.

Whether this is the right move for Corbin is questionable though. He was definitely over as a face at one point, but, like I always say, clearly the nerds at Full Sail got pissy because he didn't have a good match with Bull Dempsey of all people. Bookers should be tackling this awfully retarded expectation people have, instead of taking advantage of their misplaced anger, because that's the stuff that can kill careers.

At least the execution is okay though. Sheamus-ish in the sense he just hates everyone the crowd likes, but maybe he'll do it better than Sheamus. Probably works better that Corbin isn't a good wrestler, whereas Sheamus is.

BLAKE & MURPHY (w/ ALEXA BLISS) vs. SAWYER FULTON & ANGELO DAWKINS

THE entrance is still a thing so I still can't believe anyone can hate the dubstep cowboys ayyy.

No point to this match either. Ask me why the Ascension were shit, other than their lack of fucking wrestling ability, and I'll say because they just squashed jobbers. BAM are doing less than that. They're having competitive-ish matches with jobbers. There's no goddamn point.

And then the end of the match shows how Bliss is clealy more of a priority than the tag team champions. She gets the "COOL!" moment. Far out.

SAMI ZAYN UPDATES EVERYONE ON INJURY

Bayley kept it to like twenty seconds. Why couldn't Zayn? For fuck sake that promo took forever. Kinda speaks volumes when not even the women - who are booked exceptionally well on NXT - can't get the length of time one of the big indie names gets just to update people on their injury. I'm not against the idea of someone telling everyone they'll be out for ages, but damn, no need to take up so much time talking the same shit everyone already knows either.

ANOTHER RECAP OF BALOR vs. OWENS

THIS IS A WASTE OF FUCKING TIME!

CHARLOTTE vs. SASHA BANKS (c)

For the NXT Women's Championship

'pretty good'

Me liking a Sasha Banks match? Colour me surprised, etc etc.

I wouldn't put this match up against any of the past four divas matches. Bayley vs. Charlotte, Sasha vs. Charlotte, the Fatal Four Way and Becky vs. Sasha were all better than this, but this was still a great example of what these women can do even in a random throwaway episode. It's nice that we can still see a decent match outside of the BIG FIVE(+/-) on a non-TakeOver episode of NXT.

Some very nice submission work in this match, but it's far from Becky vs. Sasha. And I think Charlotte is becoming very formulaic in her matches already. There are some spots that are repeated a lot in every match of hers and I feel a very Cena-ish vibe from it. Where Sasha has a handful of spots, they're very unique, whereas Charlotte has way more spots she does regularly, barely any are unique.

Overall the biggest problem I had with the match was the reliance on the use of corners for the first half or more. It seemed as if half of the match for the first half was confined in corners, which kinda sucked and dragged, but it picked up later on.

Regardless, Charlotte had a great powerbomb spot I definitely didn't expect from her, despite Sasha probably weighing like 100lbs. It looked great. The only gripe I have is that Sasha seems to take big bumps the same way all the time, but at least they always look good because of the effort.

I lol'd at Charlotte's extensions falling out.

And I grimaced at the torque put on the BANK STATEMENT as well. Shit was intense.

Great finish with Charlotte yet again tapping out. It's lovely to see that a strong face character can deal with actually tapping out and giving up. None of that Cena nonsense.

Also fuck the hug, god damn it. They knew they were going to debut on Raw and they did that? And they televised it afterwards? Come on, it's not an alternate universe. Jeez. (This is where the title comes from. They forgot they were on Raw. Which is the MAIN roster... Right?!)

July 13, 2015 RAW: The US Extravaganza

YOU ALMOST DID IT

Three hours is too much to cover. Even if those three hours have great segments in them like this Raw. So I'll cover the only one that was good enough to cover, the US Championship segment(s).

For the record I did mark for the divas debuting on the main roster, but I think it was slightly mismanaged and there's not really much to comment on.

Rusev's return was obviously very anticipated by me and anyone who REALISES HIS INCREDIBLE ABILITY AND POTENTIAL, but when it was Rusev who accepted the US open challenge I was skeptical about the entire thing. Was Cena going to destroy Rusev yet again, just as he returned? I hoped that wouldn't be the case as I also hoped WWE would see the ability and worthiness of Rusev. Thankfully, it wasn't the case, and they did.

With Owens coming out as well, weirdly unexpectedly, I went from skeptical to almost marking. Rusev insulting Owens and almost solidifying Owens' stature as a near perfect tweener was fantastic as well, no doubt. But things went to an all new high when Cesaro even came out.

Three of my favourite wrestlers in the ring fighting to defeat Cena sounded great, and I didn't even realise the match would be directly afterwards, mostly because I just flat-out didn't think about it at all. I was way too euphoric to think logically.

It didn't take long for the triple threat match to impress, apart from having three top-tier talent in the ring at one time. It was a triple threat match... in WWE... booked well! GASP.

Triple threat booking is so easy to see quickly. If someone is knocked out of the ring within just two minutes, it's one of those lame, typical WWE triple threats. If not, it'll be interesting at the least. And that's what happened.

Nothing in the entire match was off. There were a few botches, but nothing major, and sometimes a couple of botches (not screwing up a manoeuvre, but screwing up the execution of a manoeuvre) can make the match look better. For example, the suplex from Rusev to Cesaro. It clearly wasn't meant to look like that, because it looked sloppy, brutal and otherwise unplanned, but because of that, it looked more gritty, more realistic. The same deal with Cesaro's suicide dive as well.

Past the quality of the triple threat booking, the booking of all three talent was done incredibly well too. Cesaro's little pseudo-gimmick right now is being the great wrestler who just can't get it done for some reason, and he lost. Rusev's pseudo-gimmick is being a dominant heel who can't be beat, unless it's John Cena, and he pulled out the win. And Owens full gimmick is being an opportunistic dickhead, and he left the match and got the DQ yet again in the singles match for the title. Not only that, but Owens was able to display his athleticism as a FAT guy, Cesaro was able to display his strength as the comparatively less heavy and lanky wrestler, and Rusev was able to display his wrestling ability as the brawler type. Everything was done in a triangle where it seemed as if one wrestler would trump the other.

The finish to the triple-threat-turned-singles-match may be met with split reaction, but honestly it was well done. Though, commentary could have explained the impact of a kick to the chest after a near 30 minute outing, it seemed to me that was the intention - have Rusev win with his most devastating and logical move virtually out of nowhere which doesn't involve Cesaro tapping out.

However my absolute favourite display was Rusev vs Cena after the match. Not much happened in those minutes, but not much had to. Rusev throwing his hairtie at Cena before the match began, trying his best to defend himself at the beginning but just eventually giving up, asking for Cena to continue as a last resort to, I don't know, tire him out? And lastly Rusev doing so well in this position of getting his ass whipped that even Cena looked like he was legitimately laughing at the hilariousness of the situation.

Ultimately it seemed more like Rusev lucked out of the AA into his Accolade, as opposed to "baiting" Cena in, as Rusev's facial expression was of surprise and amazement. Cena being able to lift Rusev but not able to break the Accolade was probably the best and most important booking of the entire segment, not just the match too. Now Rusev looks like he actually still has a chance to beat these guys, and didn't get clowned by Cena again.

Cena's performance throughout the match was spectacular as well. Though I'm not sure if it was an act or if he was genuine, the fact I can't tell probably makes it better than even I think it was. The douchery of the fifteen time world champion taking on a winded, weak and temporarily handicapped opponent that he has beaten multiple times will never, ever be matched.

And Owens interrupting was expected, but not in a bad way. It was the best finish to the match without a doubt.

In my honest opinion, almost a perfect segment from beginning to end. The matches were fantastic for different reasons, but unfortunately not quite high enough to make it the best it could be.

I would put the triple threat match up as the best Raw match of 2015 so far, with the singles between Cena and Rusev in the top 10, and the segment overall in the top 5.

Everything was great, for once.

July 8, 2015 NXT: The half-episode

"NXT FANS STILL OKAY WITH WASTED EPISODE"

I've been lazy again. I had much higher hopes for the Japan show but it was just a glorified house show and there was nothing to comment on bar the NXT Championship match so I decided to just skip the entirety. Kinda like Raw at this point. Hence the complete lack of Raw posts. Oh, and I just forget to watch NXT in time for a proper post. UNTIL THIS WEEK!

DANA BROOKE & EMMA vs. SASHA BANKS & CHARLOTTE

I hope I'm not the only person who marked out at the idea that Sasha was going to actually compete willingly in a handicap match...

Sasha willingly competing in a handicap match would've been far from Cena-tier so-close-to-braggadocio-that-no-one-wants-to-see-it. It would have been great to see a heel... or, I guess a tweener now... actually be cocky enough to do this without trying to cheat or weasel out of it, which I think is how Sasha would have the match, even if she'd have lost.

Though unfortunately for me the most obvious teammate joined Sasha and turned it into another tag team match instead of something interesting for once. Yet again proving NXT has become stagnant and not attempting to book anything interesting or slightly daring, sticking with their guns at being "normal", which in some ways is worse than Raw, because even though Raw sucks most of the time now, it's at least trying to put something different on every couple of weeks. When was the last time NXT did something different? It has been a long time.

The quality of the match was as expected. Nothing incredible, It's just a random weekly NXT episode, why put the effort in, right? Dana sucks as usual, but again I suppose it's okay because she's developmental. The main issue here is Dana's wrestling ability when in the ring with Emma, Charlotte and especially Sasha looks worse than it really probably is, and we all know to blame the scouts for signing only one pre-existing wrestler in that group of women in Becky who has already worked extensively on TV. Dana should really be behind Jessie and Cassie, among a couple of others yet to debut on TV, as they'd wrestled beforehand.

The little BFF mannerisms were nice to see. I don't know anything about the rumours of pushing these women up as "a team" or whatever, but I'm not entirely against it. Though, debuting a team bound to split is basically asking for a 'Rockers' situation. And if Sasha is put with Charlotte, Charlotte might unfortunately get the better part as a second generation wrestler and daughter of one of the all-time greats, whereas Sasha, who is undoubtedly better in all aspects, gets the short end of the stick.

FINN BALOR vs. KEVIN OWENS (c)

A championship rematch!!!

In the same arena!!!

Wait a minute, Owens is still the champion...

Is this de-ja-vu?!

Yes, it is.

What a complete waste of fucking time this was. I can see a lot of people finally realising how stupid this kind of shit is, but still reluctantly criticising it as their heart is still behind Triple H and the concept of knowing you're being mocked but enjoying it anyway.

I mean, damn. It's a good match, and in Japan, so it was immediately interesting and worth watching as well as worth anticipating too, but replaying it? And wasting even more time on NXT? Yet again, for Finn Balor? It's way over the top now. They've went so far into this territory it's mocking everyone who watches NXT.

What I don't understand is replaying it in full when, well, both the Japan event and NXT itself is Network exclusive. Why not just dedicate 30 seconds to remind people that they can watch it on the Network instead?! Much better than wasting 30 minutes replaying something that's already on the Network for fuck sake.

And then after playing the match in entirety, they show Balor shaking hands with Cesaro and Neville? Wow. They really are putting all of their eggs into the proverbial Balor basket here.

And the completely "necessary" John Cena involvement. LMAO. I kinda feel bad for Balor there.

But then I remember how disingenuous he is. Constantly saying how he loves NXT and being NXT Champion is one of his "life goals". Yea, yea, it's booked and he's told what to say, but under the guise of his legitimate honesty. That's why he declined normal contract offers to move from NJPW right?

Owens was a star in that match anyway. Him dropping the title was planned, obviously, and I guess losing the NXT title and moving up to the main roster is best for him because he's the best in NXT bar none anyway.

MARCUS LOUIS vs. SOLOMON CROWE

Fuck the match, I was too busy browsing the forum to see how many people didn't bother commenting on the previous 30 minutes.

I did stop and watch what was going on when Crowe was writhing in pain though. That was a great selling of such a submission in honesty. Still doesn't make Crowe look good enough for me though.

And that's a testament of how NXT is, as some call "smark bait" (which I find a bit condescending in honesty and don't agree with). A guy like Crowe keeps getting mini vignettes hyping his matches, and he, well, keeps getting matches, despite doing nothing decent at all in any of them and proving nothing to anyone. The best thing he has done in the whole time he has been on TV is sell an abdominal stretch with the ripping of the rib, or whatever that was. And despite it being good, was nothing to write home about.

Crowe impresses no one in his matches and gets more. Guys like Dillinger, who impress in the short allotted TV time they get, make guys like Kevin Owens note how underrated and talented they are, still lose in short matches almost akin to being a generic jobber. Certainly no favouritism here...

ENZO & CASS w/ CARMELLA vs. THE VAUDEVILLAINS

For the #1 Contendership to the NXT Tag Team Championship

I have a weird feeling that because a match between three developmental talent and Simon Gotch wasn't exactly a four star match people will use it as fodder as to why non-indie talent shouldn't be main eventing NXT, and in a way I kind of agree. This match was far from bad but it didn't live up to the standard that other people on the show could have had (see: Sasha Banks again, which should have main evented).

I firmly believe that the best matches should end the show, at least on NXT, but I don't think that necessarily means the same few guys have to main event each week. The length of a main event isn't that bad. 10 or 15 minutes is okay for a 60 minute program (20 is pushing it), but when it's the same people constantly that's when it becomes a problem.

Anyway, Enzo does pretty well getting the crowd behind him as the face in peril and it contrasts amazingly with how good Cass looks when he gets the hot tag. The aesthetic of Cass running in with his TEST HAIR waving around as he figuratively-literally cleans house and dominates the enemy team is fantastic. They work so well together in every aspect they're easily the best team in NXT right now.

The fact Cass comes in and just demolishes everyone is great though. Enzo is clearly the weak link of the tag team but it's not gonna break them up (hopefully anyway), it just allows Enzo to be good at what he's good at, and hide his flaws in the ring, and allows Cass be a true monster in the ring without falling for a pin or getting whipped around by guys smaller than him. The consistency is great and is probably the best example of hot tag based tag team matches in WWE.

The Vaudevillains are in their own right a good tag team too. I'd put them at number 2 only because Blake & Murphy haven't been able to display much of anything in comparison to either Enzo & Cass or the Vaudevillains. But their characters work so well together, and they are pretty fluid in the ring as well. Certainly not bad, but not good, in promos either.

I always like it when these two teams face off, because despite not having fantastic matches, it's always a great, great example of developmental wrestling, and how they always show fluidity as teams and as opponents, and that makes me believe that they can have classics eventually down the road.