Dolfan in NYC Posted November 14, 2022 Posted November 14, 2022 New week, new greatest tag team of all time. The Usos pass the New Day as longest ever champs today. However, it should be noted that Jimmy and Jey have now held the belts for a combined 436 days. They are tied for 5th for most days as champion. Kofi Kingston leads that list at 910(!) days. Anywho.... I want to remind everyone to be civil when you're posting. I had to delete an account this morning at the poster's request because they didn't feel comfortable here anymore. I don't want to have to do that ever again. No names, no warning, and this is not a call for a debate. Just be thoughtful when you post. Thanks. 3
DragonZombie Posted November 15, 2022 Posted November 15, 2022 Very good show. New aggressive Theory is beast.
DEAN Posted November 15, 2022 Posted November 15, 2022 It's Bobby Lashley and Mustafa Ali! Ali bumps big early! Ass Stomper Lashley is the funnest Bobby Lashley. Ali continues to bump big and doesn't actually stop bumping big. Ali makes a COMEBACK! For a second. Lashley Spears and Full Nelsons Ali to oblivion! That was an exercise on how to make Lashley look even more monstruous than usual. And Ali is really great at that specific skill. It's Mia Yim and Tamina! I dug Yim's foray into IMPACT! Tamina has been off TV for a while. She isn't on TV very long, as Yim squashes her. Oh man, she SHOULD join Damage CNTRL! It's Chad Gable versus Matt Riddle. Gable hits the oldest school Vertical Suplex that it reminded me of Johnny Valentine vertically suplexing Bill White in 1973. So this match rules. Otis distracts Riddle to allow Gable to CRUSH him with a Released German Suplex off the top! Riddle hits a very nice Fisherman Buster Suplex! EXPLOIDER by Riddle! Powerbomb by Riddle! It's King's Road Riddle! Great trading of submissions, with Riddle hitting a slick Jumping Guillotine! They do some more slick stuff to set-up Gable CHEATING TO WIN! That was great. I liked that Riddle wrestled like a singles wrestler and that they incorporated Riddle's submission stuff. That was neat and fun. It's Shelton Benjamin and Dominick Mysterio! Benjamin beating on Dominick is akin to Danielson and Sammy from last Wednesday. Dominick is a HEAT MACHINE like Sammy. Benjamin will punch you right in the face. Shelton Benjamin is pretty underrated. That was 1/100th of Sammy versus Dragon, but it was the same idea. Kinda. That was pretty good. Dana Brooke versus IYO SKY makes this episode seem like an episode of AEW Dark on steroids. Tamina, Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable and Dana Brooke are quite the WWE version of the Factory. Chad Gable would be the QT Marshall of RAW FAKTORY! Shelton Benjamin would be NICKY BOY! Tamina would be Aaron Solo. Dana Brooke is our Cole Karter. Great Moonsault by IYO. Booooo! Mia should join Damage CNTRL! It's Dolph Ziggler! It's Austin Theory! Ziggler has had an odd 2022. I loved his foray into NXT. I loved his use of his BattlARTS skills. Ziggler is more of Alex Reynolds of Dark Order. WWE has a very large roster and they flexing it tonight as all of their unpushed midcard is putting over their upper card. Theory takes Ziggler's DDT like a freak. Blue Thunder Bomb for two by Theory. Actually, Ziggler is like Jay Lethal- a good wrestler that they send out to have a good match with someone they are trying to get over. Fun nearfall on a FAMEasser by Ziggler. Another fun nearfall on the ZIG ZAG! Ziggler has achieved FULL JAY LETHAL status with this match. This is fun. Theory going crazy should mean that this needs BLOOD! That was good. Who will be the fifth of the babyfaces? It's Baron Corbin! It's Akira Tazawa? DId HHH look at the payroll and say, "Hey! I didn't know we were paying these guys." Either way, Tozawa gets some stuff in before Corbin beats the life out of him. Tazawa has a second comeback! Corbin kills him dead! So Tazawa is Fuego Del Sol of this RAW Dark episode. It's Seth Rollins versus Finn Balor! This should be good. Rollins is a babyface in peril and we are sympathetic to his plight, the low-grade offense of Finn Balor. This picks up as Rollins goes on offense. Nearfall after Balor rolls him up after getting the knees up! Great Tiger Driver by Rollins. Balor completely no-sells a Superplex. Rollins hits a very nice Falcon Arrow. Judgement Day shows up! The Good Brothers and Mia Yim show up! AJ Styles CHEATS! Rollins stomps on Finn Balor's head and wins! Postmatch, Austin Theory attacks Seth Rollins! This needs BLOOD. That was a good episode. Kinda strange in spots, but three good matches even if they were kind of randomly generated. HHH! HHH! HHH! 2
Eivion Posted November 15, 2022 Posted November 15, 2022 Lashley/Ali was a good squash. Lashley looked like a beast. Kind of feel for ALi right now. He makes others look so damn good and has a passion that would normally get him cheered, but guys like Lashley and Seth are so charismatic compared to him the crowd just can't behind Ali when going up against them right now. Yim/Tamina was ok while it lasted. Gable/Riddle was good fun. Nice to see Gable take the win for once. These two have such good chemistry so its always a treat when they match up. The segment that built up Shelton/Dom was neat, and the match pretty darn solid. Dom is getting better each week at being such a tremendous little shit in and out the ring. Theory/Ziggler turned into a pretty nice match with the crowd really getting into the whole thing by the end. it made the ending with theory getting pissed and just destroying Ziggler all the better. They are using Theory's failed cash in well so far as far as moving him forward a bit. Io/Dana was a fun squash. Io looked great, and Dana ate all of her offense well while still trying to bring some fire in her attempts to come back. mia joining Team Bianca post match for WarGames was nice. As was Rhea later joining Team Damage Ctrl. Dug the segments used to build into Tozawa/Corbin. The actual match was pretty fun as well with them really going out and reminding you just how damn good Tozawa is before the inevitable loss came. Have to say I really hope they realize guys like Tozawa and Shelton still have something to offer and give them more after tonight. Rollins/Balor was good. Nice to see them call back to their first title match a bit. The Judgement Day/OC brawl that broke out and played into the end was expected but worked well here. Post match attack by Theory was nice. Curious to see what happens when Cody returns seeing how the crowd has turned Seth face at this point. Honestly its weird since he is still a weird obnoxious asshole. Not sure what changed other than facing an even bigger douche in Theory a few weeks back. This felt like the best episode so far in the new era of HHH run WWE. Nothing was amazing, but there were solid moves forward for various angles and characters with generally solid-good matches throughout. The worst thing here was probably Yim/Tamina and even that was short and fine. Hopefully they continue to manage a good balance like tonight. 2
DragonZombie Posted November 15, 2022 Posted November 15, 2022 Not sure but Tozawa might be done with his gimmick.
DragonZombie Posted November 15, 2022 Posted November 15, 2022 New WWE,trademarks Iron Survivor Challenge Oba Femi I wonder if NXT gets the classic Survivor Series elimination matches for the PLE DEADL1NE?
Pete Posted November 15, 2022 Posted November 15, 2022 13 hours ago, Red King said: Not sure but Tozawa might be done with his gimmick. Or done period. Time shall tell.
Dolfan in NYC Posted November 15, 2022 Author Posted November 15, 2022 Speaking of time will tell, Kevin Owens' injury at a house show appears to be an MCL sprain. So he's probably out of Survivor Series, but of course, it could've been a lot worse.
mystman Posted November 15, 2022 Posted November 15, 2022 On 11/14/2022 at 10:42 AM, Dolfan in NYC said: New week, new greatest tag team of all time. Holy shit! meltear is showing up on Smackdown? Awesome!
HarryArchieGus Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 Bobby standing there listening to Rollins ramble on is a bit at odds with what we’ve seen from him. And then Ali appears to be the Great Provider! I loved Ali v Lashley. Perfection! Big Bob looked like a total ass-slammer or stomper here. Both companies need more squash craftsmen like the Alis and Fuegos. Oh no, not a great debut for Mia Yim, but the glimpse of exploding Rheamania was a nice moment. Gable v Riddle was predictably fun! Chad Gable is such a gifted pro wrestler. Thrilled to see him get a win here. Strap a rocket on him! This Gargano-Miz-Lumis storyline provides an opportunity to make the commercial free Raw an even more manageable viewing experience. Shelton Benjamin is a total loser in the Universe, and Rudo Dom is fucking unstoppable! Let’s get that Benjamin-Alexander team going again. Oh man, an Iyo Sky ‘competitive squash’ showcase is fine by me! I liked the inset promo during Brooke’s entrance. I’d like to see more Inset promos during entrances in pro wrestling. Dolph v Theory is something I can get down with. Not sure why the finish needed to protect Ziggler from a pinfall loss, but Theory looked strong here. Corbin-Tozawa was fine, so too the mildy amusing TNT style vignettes. Corbin really needs a better presentation/gear. Rollins v Balor felt a bit underwhelming early, considering the talent, but then they kicked it into another gear just before the typical WWE overbooking. But still fun all the way! I skimmed some notes that suggested this show wasn’t as well received - it was on my end. FFWDing passed the Gargano Comedy Mysteries, recap packages, talk segments, commentator breaks and floor routine entrances (I cannot imagine watching this live) really helps make this show a ton of fun!
Eivion Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 1 hour ago, HarryArchieGus said: Not sure why the finish needed to protect Ziggler from a pinfall loss, but Theory looked strong here. It didn't feel like Ziggler was protected here. He had more or less already lost. It seemed more about the idea of Theory being pushed to his limits mentally and deciding to destroy Dolph to make an example.
DragonZombie Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 Good Bron match. Lotta people online didn't like Zoey's promo. New gimmick match for DEADL1NE. Who is SCRYPTS? Fun main. Happy Mandy retained. Was that Isla Dawn? 1
DreamBroken Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 (edited) If Mandy was ever gonna lose, Alba was the only one I wanna see do it and this felt like the perfect story to do it with Alba having taken out the rest of Toxic. But Mandy continuing works too. Always liked Isla in UK so her and Alba can be great fun. Didn't love Zoey's turn last week but look forward to seeing where she goes with it, still one of my favs. also WWE bringing in a little bit of King of the Mountain flavor! with the Penalty Box concept in the Iron Survivor Challenge or whatever. Edited November 16, 2022 by DreamBroken
Eivion Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 Bron/Wagner was good. The idea behind Stark's promo was good. That said, it went too long, and Zoey's delivery wasn't strong. The Indus Sher squash was fun and far more memorable than what little they did when they first teamed in NXT years back. JD/Apollo was good. Nice to see Simmon's one handed spinebuster win a match. Always loved that move and Apollo and Lashley do it well. Javi's interview with Sarah was dumb fun. And I might need to rewatch, but did he pull a "Who are you to doubt El Dandy?" with Axiom? Briggs/Jensen vs. Dyad/GYV was solid while it lasted. Indi/Tatum was off and it felt like it was more on Tatum which is odd. Mandy/Alba was probably their best match together with the plunder well used. The Isla Dawn appearance at the end was a good way to keep Alba from winning without making her look bad and an interesting way to introduce Isla Dawn. The Iron Survivor Challenge should keep it simple and drop the Challenge part. Not sold on the idea of the match itself, but am curious to see how it goes. I do like the idea of setting up something new and unique for NXT. 1
DEAN Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 I'm late! It's Bron Breakker and he is selling an early ass beating from Von Wagner! Breakker is fulltime Steiner. FRANKENSTEINER~! Wagner looks good in this. Breakker is so fucking fast running the ropes. So fucking awesome. During picture in picture, Wagner applies an armbar. Maybe I LOVE Von Wagner. They morph into a headlock and head scissors sequence. Is Nelson Royal coaching at the PC these days? Breakker makes with the Gator Rolls! Wagner hit a Vertical Suplex. Wagner is channeling Greg the Hammer Valentine and I am digging it. Wagner with the Cobra Clutch! Steiner with the Toprope Lariat and the Bulldog! Wagner hits a Stevie Ray Death Valley Driver FOR TWO! Breakker with a Spear for the win. So Von Wagner is awesome if you get him in an actual match. Zoey Stark is EVIL! She should start tagging with Cora Jade and wrestle Roxanne Perez and Nikkitta Lyons. She kinda goes on for a while. Veer and Sanga beat on two dudes. They are the Nouveau Viking Raiders! This is a squash that I'm assuming @Matt D would TRULY dig. This is a squash for the ages. Who is the little guy? He needs to get signed YESTERDAY. I guess we'll find out when cagematch.net posts the results tomorrow. He looked like the new Lee Scott. JD McDonagh takes Apollo Crews! I don't know if Crews is as limber as Axiom so I don't know if the finish will be as fucking AWESOME as last week. This match is great early as Crews can take it to the mat. McDonagh is bumping around the ring for Crews. McDonagh reminds me of a certain Canadian wrestling we shall not name. He is leaning into Crews offense and Crews looks great. Yeah, McDonagh is the best wrestler in NXT. Beautiful Asai Moonsault by McDonagh. Man, McDonagh is a bump freak. Great roll up sequence into a Spanish Fly by McDonagh. Crews is great in this, being all game for McDonagh's craziness. Crews wins with a THING that McDonagh turned into something that looked like a finisher. Man, JD McDonagh totally fucking rules. It's the battle of the tag teams that I can't really pinpoint who is who? Bro Country, Briggs and Jenson take on the DYAD. Awesome Tope by DYAD 2. Briggs or Jenson hits the JD Drake thingy. DYAD wins as Briggs or Jensen falls in love with Kiana James! Tatum Paxley and Indi Hartwell have a little match. Mandy Rose and Alba Fyre have a Last Woman Standing Match. I assume this is a Texas Death Match sorta. Fyre with a crazy Tope! Rose is bumping BIG for Fyre. This gets kinda crappy as they whip out the toolbox and trash can. You need EXPLODING BARBED WIRE. Fyre is hitting crazy dives in this which takes out minds off the fact that there is a wrench RIGHT THERE. P lus, a death match needs blood. So this is fine for a WWE version of a death match but it needs exploding barbed wire and blood. JESUS! Fyre takes a fucking LUNATIC BUMP over the toprope to the floor. Hey! It's SOME LADY to throw Fyre through the announcer's table! Mandy Rose wins though she should have won after the crazy ass bump over the toprope. That was good. That was great episode of NXT. 2
Hail Sabin Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 The Iron Survivor Challenge is like if an Ironman match had a baby with the King of the Mountain & the Championship Scramble match helped raise it.
Eivion Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 21 minutes ago, DEAN said: So this is fine for a WWE version of a death match but it needs exploding barbed wire and blood. Nah, WWE death matches are more Foley's matches with Edge. Their singles match and team up at ONS had blood barbed wire, and a flaming table. 1
Unnatural Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 Dang, I hope to catch Raw later today, looking wild by this
HarryArchieGus Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 10 hours ago, Eivion said: It didn't feel like Ziggler was protected here. He had more or less already lost. It seemed more about the idea of Theory being pushed to his limits mentally and deciding to destroy Dolph to make an example. All clear and no disagreements. It was just needlessly less definitive with the 'protected' non-finish as opposed to a Theory pinfall victory, raised arm and then the attack. WWE booking has been relying heavily on 'protected' finishes, and could use to lose more than a few - here certainly could have done without. All that said, this segment was fine and achieved it's purpose. 1
DEAN Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 The new Greatest Enhancement Talent from the Veer/ Sanga match was Ariel Dominguez who I thought I recognized from MLW. And it WAS! HE WAS FUCKIN TRAINED BY SERPENTICO! 2
RIPPA Posted November 16, 2022 Posted November 16, 2022 Theoretically, they should play up the fact that the later you enter the bigger disadvantage you are at Of course - someone will probably be last and immediately get like 3 falls and it won't matter
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