Monday, April 12, 2021

WRESTLEMANIA 37 | Review-ish

WrestleMania Night One was LIVE! from the Raymond James Stadium, with thousands in attendance, and the millions watching around the world. The weather intervened at the start of the show meaning it was put on delay. thankfully it did not last long and the action began. Here is a complete run down of the match results beginning with the WWE Championship.

Match Results 
Bobby Lashley defeated Drew McIntyre via submission to remain WWE Champion.

Natalya & Tamina won the Tag Team Turmoil, lastly eliminating Liv Morgan & Ruby Riott. 

Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins.

AJ Styles & Omos defeated New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) to become the NEW RAW Tag Team Champions.

Braun Strowman defeated Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage Match.

Damian Priest & Bad Bunny defeated The Miz & John Morrison.

Bianca Belair defeated Sasha Banks to become the NEW SmackDown Women's Champion.

WrestleMania 37 - Night One Review-ish
Bobby Lashley's first title defence was a successful one. MVP played a key role in denying Drew his WrestleMania Moment he desired after missing out last year. "The Hurt Lock" proved to be too much for the challenger on this night. The Almighty Era continues. Great start to the night. 

Natalya & Tamina won the Tag Team Turmoil, there were some botches here, it happens, despite not winning, the Riott Sqaud were the standout team, will Natalya and Tamina win the Women's Tag Team Championships on Night Two?  

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins was my pick for match of the night and it surely delivered, they gave everything in the ring to entertain the people in attendance, congratulations to the Swiss Cyborg, as Corey Graves calls him, on picking up the win, hopefully his rise to the top continues. 

We've got new tag team champions people! in the name of AJ Styles and Omos, who looked like he was enjoying himself out there in the ring, the guy is quick and powerful, he slammed Kofi on to the mat and put his foot on his fallen opponent for the win, a rematch between these two teams will definitely happen, it's just a case of when. 

The Steel Cage match was okay. Shane tried to get the advantage by having Elias and Jaxson Ryker attack Braun at the start, that didn't stop him from getting in the ring. Shane had weapons hidden at the top of the cage, again it failed to derail Strowman, who then ripped off the cage panelling while his opponent tried to escape, that was a cool visual. Strowman threw Shane off the top of the cage, he should've really climbed down the side of the cage, however, he climbed back down to the mat and picked up Shane for the slam, thus picking up the win, hopefully this is the end of this feud. 

The Damian Priest & Bad Bunny vs. Miz & Morrison match was great, especially Bad Bunny, we knew he was training ahead of this match, and that hard work paid off here, credit to Miz and Morrison here also for helping Bunny during this match, when the guy gave Miz a top rope DDT, as well as a Bunny Destroyer on Morrison, the reactions from the crowd were insane. 

The main event on this night, was for the SmackDown Women's Championship, Sasha had never won a match at this prestigious event, whereas Bianca had never had a match here, history was going to be made, one way or another, in terms of match quality, it was so good, the crowd were really in to it from start to finish, we had "let's go Sasha, EST" chants at the start, you could tell Sasha and Bianca loved that moment, you don't get that in the ThunderDome in front of a virtual crowd, both showed their strength and athleticism, let's talk about the key moments, Sasha used Bianca's braid for the "Banks Statement" the challenger, managed to get out of it, Bianca attempted to hit the KOD, Sasha got out of it, Bianca used her braid to whip Sasha, the sound it made was crazy, Bianca then hit the KOD for the win and the reaction from the crowd when the match was over was excellent. Congratulations to Bianca becoming the NEW SmackDown Women's Champion. 

Night One of WrestleMania was great, it provided memorable moments, which is what this event is all about, could night two follow suit? here is what went down.

Match Results
Randy Orton defeated The Fiend.

Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defeated Natalya & Tamina.

Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn.

Sheamus defeated Riddle to become the NEW United States Champion.

Apollo Crews defeated Big E to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion.

Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka to become the NEW RAW Women's Champion.

Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan & Edge to remain Universal Champion.

WrestleMania 37 - Night Two Review-ish
The entrances of Alexa and then The Fiend were entertaining, the match was itself was not anything special, with all due respect to the guys involved here, towards the end of the match, Alexa appeared on the jack in a box when Fiend was about to win, he was distracted by her, Orton hit his opponent with the RKO. Alexa and Fiend stared at each other and then the lights went off and on again, this storyline was hitting the ceiling, however it looks like it just got interesting again, is Alexa portrayed as Sister Abigail now? we will find out on RAW. 

The Women's Tag Team Championship match was decent, the crowd were cheering Natalya and Tamina, nice to see them getting respect, they have been booked poorly over the years, you could say the same for Nia and Shayna who remain champions, the next contenders for the titles will probably be Lana and Naomi.

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn continued their rivalry, anytime they fight each other, for whatever reason, it is usually a show stealer, KO handed Zayn an L (loss) via the stunner, Logan Paul tried to cheer him up without success, leaving Owens to stun the "celebrity" Let's move on.

Wale sang Big E's entrance theme before E faced Apollo Crews, in terms of the match, the Nigerian Drum Fight itself, it was just a fancy name for a no disqualification, as I eluded to in the predictions, check it out, if you haven't already, the only surprise was Dabba-Kato making an appearance towards the end of the match, helping Apollo win the Intercontinental title. 

The music performances continued, Ash Costello sang Rhea Ripley's theme when Rhea made her way to the ring to face Asuka, the tempo was slow, business picked up as they traded shots, Asuka applied her submission on the challenger who managed to escape, remember when the Asuka Lock was a feared move on NXT? that was the level, nowadays I find myself mentioning the creative team, it makes sense to do that because how have they managed to mess up a character like Asuka, it's baffling, back to the match, Rhea hit Riptide for the victory. 

The MAIN event of WrestleMania was a triple threat match scheduled for one fall, for the Universal Championship, loved the entrances and reactions from the crowd. the match felt rushed, which was nice because sometimes we see the last match of a pay per view drag on, this was the exact opposite, Bryan and Edge applied the Crossface and Yes Lock at the same time, the way they looked at each was brilliant, the conchairto bought back memories from past eras, Roman telling the crowd to acknowledge him will be in a future montage along with him pinning Edge and Bryan at the same time. Talk about another WrestleMania moment. He showed exactly why he is the "Head of the Table"

There you go. WrestleMania 37 is now in the books, the two nights were great, it would be unfair to say which one was better. The belief is that the next event is called WrestleMania Backlash. Why is it called that? I do not know, it will be strange to see virtual crowds again starting with tonight on RAW. 

Hope you enjoyed the content from the last few days, much appreciated, thanks for reading. 

Saturday, April 10, 2021

WRESTLEMANIA 37 | Predictions

The Pinnacle of Wrestling. The Grandest Stage Of Them All is upon us! WrestleMania 37 is just hours away LIVE! from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. WrestleMania will be the first pay-per-view event in over a year with fans in attendance, since Elimination Chamber to be exact. Let's not waste any more time and go through the match card with predictions. 

Match Card - Night One - Saturday April !0th
RAW Tag Team Championship Match
New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. AJ Styles & Omos
We've seen the journey of Omos begin as a security guard from RAW Underground, to forming an alliance with the "Phenomenal One" AJ Styles to now, his in-ring debut at WrestleMania, will his strength and power propel him and AJ to the tag titles? or will they be denied and fall short against Kofi & Xavier.  Predicted Winners: and NEW RAW Tag Team Champions. AJ Styles & Omos.

Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon - Steel Cage
Who came up with this terrible storyline? with all due respect to Braun and Shane, even with the Cage match stipulation, this is a match that is of no interest, how the crowd will react to this will be the most entertaining part to be honest. Predicted Winner: Braun Strowman.

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
From one uninteresting match to a potential match of the night, it's all about levels, Cesaro has been criminally under booked by the creative team, you know what else is criminal? this is only his first singles match at WrestleMania, that is unbelievable. whereas Seth is great in the ring, can not wait to watch this contest, they'll burn it down. (no pun intended) Predicted Winner: Cesaro. 

Tag Team Turmoil Match
(Winners face Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler for the Women's Tag Team Championship on Night 2)
Lana & Naomi vs. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke vs. The Riott Squad Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan vs. Natalya & Tamina vs. Billie Kay & Carmella 
All teams, except for Billie and Carmella have had their issues and matches against the current tag team champions, after much thought, two teams are even favourites, Lana and Naomi along with the Riott Squad, the latter is the pick. Predicted Winners: Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan.

Damian Priest & Bad Bunny vs. The Miz & John Morrison
Surprisingly, this has been one of the best storylines in recent months, Bad Bunny, to his credit has been very good to watch, some celebrities in the past have been on television and haven't taken any bumps, whereas Bunny has, respect to him for that. a tag team match has always been on the cards so it's official for night one. A win for Priest and Bunny will bring more mainstream audience views for the WWE and fans of the musician, who will probably watch the product for a week or two after WM until their interest ends. Predicted Winners: Damian Priest & Bad Bunny.

WWE Championship Match 
Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
Bobby recently won the WWE title on RAW as we know, the Hurt Business appear to have broken up since then, which is a shame, will Drew capitalise on that factor by picking up the win and go on to have his "WrestleMania Moment" in front of a live crowd, which didn't happen last year because of Covid-19. the answer is probably a resounding yes. Predicted Winner: and NEW WWE Champion. Drew McIntyre. 

SmackDown Women's Championship Match 

Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair
The build up to this has been average because of the creative team not having a clue of how to write this story, which has taken the spark away, very much looking forward to the match though, it is a deserved main event, women's wrestling deserves this spotlight. Sasha and Bianca will be cheered by the crowd, no doubt about that, very difficult outcome to call, WWE may want to send the fans home happy by crowning a new champion is the guess in all honesty. Predicted Winner: and NEW SmackDown Women's Champion. Bianca Belair.

Match Card - Night Two - Sunday April 11th
United States Championship Match

Riddle (c) vs. Sheamus
Riddle has been made to look silly on screen by talking nonsense on tv, however, his matches have been nice, he defeated Mustafa Ali on the go home episode of RAW while Sheamus was on commentary. in regards to Sunday, it may be a bad night for the bro. Predicted Winner: and NEW United States Champion. Sheamus.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn
It seems like these two are really going to "fight forever" this is another chapter in their historic rivalry dating back the NXT days. Logan Paul has been announced to make an appearance here, he will probably cost Zayn the match somehow. Predicted Winner: Kevin Owens. 

Intercontinental Championship Match 
Nigerian Drum Fight
 
Big E (c) vs. Apollo Crews
E and Crews also have one of the best stories in the company, the Nigerian Drum Fight is basically a no disqualification match with a fancy stipulation, it'll be interesting to see how the live crowd react to what happens in front of them on the night, they may be seeing a new champion when all is said done. Predicted Winner: and NEW Intercontinental Champion. Apollo Crews. 

Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (c) vs. Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan???
Nia and Shayna will be fresh going in this contest, they may be over confident and arrogant, Riott and Morgan will look to capitalise on that factor, will they have their WrestleMania moment on Sunday? unfortunately no. Predicted Winners: and still, Women's Tag Team Champions. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler. 

Randy Orton vs. The Fiend
WrestleMania is the perfect place for this feud to finally end, the Fiend will want to exact revenge from TLC where Orton set him on fire, the expectation was a cinematic match, thankfully that will not happen as that match type is played out. Alexa will be the x-factor here, which will help Fiend pick up the win. Predicted Winner: The Fiend.

RAW Women's Championship Match 
Asuka (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
Asuka has been mismanaged and poorly booked by the creative team through no fault of her own, it's been a while since she last defended her championship, whereas Rhea hasn't done a single thing to warrant a title shot since arriving from NXT. It promises to be a great match for all of us watching, "The Empress of Tomorrow" needs to win this more. Predicted Winner: and still. RAW Women's Champion. Asuka.

Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan
To quote the The Rock. Finally! we have arrived at the main event of WrestleMania 37, both challengers have come out of retirement and will look to complete the journey with a victory on Sunday night, only one can do that, I sense a scenario of Roman losing the Championship without being pinned, resulting in the man known as the ultimate opportunist, Edge spearing Daniel Bryan for the one. two, three. Predicted Winner: and NEW Universal Champion. Edge.  

WrestleMania 37 match predictions are complete, a total of fourteen matches have been announced. very much looking forward to watching a wrestling show on television with a live crowd actually in attendance, that aspect will make every superstar competing, feed off the crowd and raise their own level. 

Night One of the WrestleMania 37 Review-ish will be available tomorrow afternoon, until then, enjoy the event, if you are watching and thanks for reading.  

Friday, April 9, 2021

NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver - Night Two Review-ish

NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver was LIVE! for the second and final night from Capiol Wrestling Center, the following is a complete run down of the match results followed by the review-ish.

Kick Off Show Match Result
Killian Dain & Drake Maverick defeated Fandango & Tyler Breeze to become number one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Main Card Results
Santos Escobar defeated Jordan Devlin to become the undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart successfully defended the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships by defeating Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell.

Johnny Gargano defeated Bronson Reed to remain NXT North American Champion.

Karrion Kross defeated Finn Balor to become the NEW NXT Champion.

Kyle O'Reilly defeated Adam Cole.

Night Two Review-ish

Killian Dain and Drake Maverick becoming number one contenders provides an interesting challenge for MSK, whether they can overcome the physicality of Dain in the future, will be very interesting to see for sure. The Ladder Match for the Cruiserweight title was excellent, Devlin is a great competitor despite picking up a loss, whereas Santos continues to impress, perhaps a future shot at the North American Title is on the cards for him later in the year. 

Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart found "The Way" to win against Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, they were never going to lose the titles here as they had only recently won them, in terms of who the next challengers will be? the guess is Aliyah & Jessi Kamea of the Robert Stone Brand.

The co-main event for the NXT Championship was won by Karrion Kross, on commentary it was said Finn Balor had never lost a TakeOver whilst being champion, that run is now over, remember that Kross had to relinquish the title last year due to a shoulder injury, he is now on top of the mountain, it will take a great effort for someone to defeat him, who will step up? tune in to NXT on Tuesday to find out. 

Kyle O'Reilly gained some revenge on Adam Cole from past events, by winning this crazy Unsanctioned Match, there was thought of Roderick Strong appearing here but that wasn't the case, the two going through the entrance floor panel was class, along with O'Reilly putting chains on his leg before driving the knee onto Cole from the top rope, who was laying on steel chairs, for the win.

That moment capped off a two night event which truly stood and delivered, if you haven't seen any of TakeOver, it's must watch, one hundred percent. in terms of rating? 8 out of 10. The two night review-ish is now complete. WrestleMania predictions will be available tomorrow. The content continues. Thanks for reading.  


Thursday, April 8, 2021

NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver - Night One Review-ish

NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver was LIVE! from the Capitol Wrestling Center, broadcasting all around the world on the WWE Network and on BT Sport here in the U.K. Here are the results followed by the Review-ish. 

Kick Off Show Match Result
Zoey Stark defeated Toni Storm.

Main Card Results
Pete Dunne defeated Kushida.

Bronson Reed won the Six Man Gauntlet, lastly eliminating Isiah "swerve" Scott.

Walter defeated Tommaso Ciampa to remain NXT UK Champion.

MSK defeated Grizzled Young Veterans & Legado del Fantasma to win the vacant NXT Tag Team Championships.

Raquel Gonzalez defeated Io Shirai to become the NEW NXT Women's Champion.

Night 1 Review-ish 
Zoey Stark picked up a huge win against Toni Storm, that win will propel Stark to the title picture for sure, Storm will have to regroup and go again after that loss. Pete Dunne vs. Kushida was a technical contest from the get go, the match itself went pretty much as we all predicted. Kushida bought his A-Game but it wasn't enough to defeat the Bruiserweight.

The Six-Man Gauntlet was non stop, all participants raised their level from how we see them perform in the ring on Wednesdays, Tuesdays now from the upcoming week, Bronson will go on to challenge for North American Championship in what will be a damn good match. 

Speaking of battles, this is exactly what we had for the Walter vs. Ciampa match, I did not know the champion had a title reign going over seven hundred days and counting, the thought going in to this contest was Timothy Thatcher playing a pivotal role, which clearly didn't happen, admittedly, I haven't seen many of Walter matches considering I don't watch NXT U.K, there's only so much wrestling one can watch. Impressive feat by the champion to get a clean win over the NXT veteran.

As you may know, I'm not a fan of tag team wrestling, why? because it's not my cup of tea (other drinks are available) that may all change if future matches are of this level. Congratulations to MSK on winning the NXT Tag Team Championships, they have come a long way in such a short space of time, they definitely have made an impact so far, after much consideration, Legado del Fantasma were the standout team here, sign me up for another match with the teams involved, on another day, the Grizzled Young Veterans may soon be recognised as the NXT Tag Team Champions, until then, it's MSK's time. 

Congratulations to Raquel Gonzalez on capturing the Women's Championship in the main event of night one, she has been a force ever since WarGames last year where she pinned Io in that match also, so that's two wins in a row for her over the now former champion, expect another match or two between these two, Io was a fantastic champion, she will no doubt put up a hell of a chase to get back to where she wants to be. 

Night One was a nice appetiser for TakeOver Night Two tonight, looking forward to seeing what happens. 

Tick-Tock! 

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver | Predictions

NXT TakeOver Stand and Deliver, like WrestleMania, is a two night event, it's a stacked match card, let's not waste any time and begin the predictions. 

Stand & Deliver - Night 1 - Match Card

Pete Dunne vs. Kushida 
The participants have only recently started a storyline of sorts with each other leading up to this event, just to get themselves on the card in all honesty, I could be wrong about that, but that's what it looks like, anyway, this will be a damn good match, Kushida will give it his all, but will eventually fall short against the Bruiserweight. Predicted Winner: Pete Dunne. 

NXT UK Championship Match 
Walter (c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Timothy Thatcher has gotten interest recently from Imperium wanting him to join them, Ciampa has been the middle man in this situation, leading him to face longtime and current NXT UK Champion. Walter. I envisage a scenario where Thatcher makes an appearance, while the referee is down on the mat, attacks Ciampa, thus helping Walter win the match and officially aligning with the rest of Imperium. That make sense to you? cool. Predicted Winner: and still, NXT UK Champion. Walter.

Six-Man Gauntlet Eliminator match to determine the number 1 contender for the NXT North American Championship on Night 2.
Leon Ruff vs. Isiah "swerve" Scott vs. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis vs. LA Knight 
Time to determine the winner of the match by process of elimination. Leon Ruff has won and lost the North American Championship before so that rules him out on that logic, Scott is feuding with Ruff so that rules him out also. Cameron Grimes is a heel, would they do a heel vs. heel match? (Gargano is a heel in case you didn't know) LA Knight has only just started on the brand. Bronson is also a contender, however, Dexter is my pick to win due to a current story with "The Way" which is led by the current N.A Champion, so it makes sense. Predicted Winner: Dexter Lumis. 

Triple Threat Match for the vacant NXT Tag Team Championships
MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) vs. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) vs. Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde) 
In all honesty, I have not been following the tag team scene on NXT, however, I will say Drake & Gibson will soon be recognised as the new tag team champions. Predicted Winners: and NEW NXT Tag Team Champions. Grizzled Young Veterans. 

NXT Women's Championship Match
Io Shirai (c) Raquel Gonzalez 
In terms of match order, not sure what it will be, however, this is my main event for night one, expect Io and Raquel to tear the house down, in terms of who wins? it's a difficult one, the key player is Dakota Kai, she could either help Raquel win or be jealous of the challengers spotlight and turn against her. The decision has been made. Predicted Winner: and NEW NXT Women's Champion. Raquel Gonzalez.

Stand & Deliver - Night 2 - Match Card

NXT Women's Tag Team Championship Match 
Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart (c) vs. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell
Ember & Shotzi have only recently won the tag team titles by defeating Dakota & Raquel, it seems too early for the belts to change hands, LeRae and Hartwell won't taste victory on this occasion.
Predicted Winner: and still, NXT Women's Champions. Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart.

Ladder Match for the Cruiserweight Championship  
Jordan Devlin (c) vs. Santos Escobar (Interim Champion)
Jordan Devlin was in the U.K when the pandemic hit last year, therefore, he couldn't travel and defend his championship, Santos won the tournament to crown a new champion at the time, now that Devlin is back on NXT, he will be determined to prove he is the real champion. Will he pick up the win? I dont't think so. Predicted Winner: and Cruiserweight Champion. Santos Escobar.

NXT North American Championship Match 
Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Dexter Lumis????
The North American Champion has been known as "Johnny TakeOver" he has had his issues with Dexter Lumis, expect plenty of shenanigans thanks to interference from Austin Theory, as well as plenty of near falls. When all is said and done, Lumis will somehow find "The Way" to win.  Predicted Winner: and NEW NXT North American Champion. Dexter Lumis.

Unsanctioned Match
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole
The Undisputed Era ending was certainly a shock to the system, it's great to see that breakup be elevated to a personal feud between O'Reilly and Cole, this will be a classic match that we will all talk about and watch back for many years to come. Roderick Strong will perhaps get involved towards the end of the match, resulting in O'Reilly winning. Predicted Winner: Kyle O'Reilly.

NXT Championship Match 
F
inn Balor (c) vs. Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett
These guys have overcome the obstacles, leaving the path clear for them to face each other in the possible main event on night two. Balor will get two near falls via the coupe de grace and the 1916, however it won't be enough as Kross hits the fatal Doomsday Saito. Predicted Winner: and NEW NXT Champion. Karrion Kross. 

NXT TakeOver's have always been great to watch, will this edition Stand & Deliver? we will find out!