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hazyheel · 5 years

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AEW Double Or Nothing 2019 Review

We started with the Casino battle Royal, with five guys in the ring. We had Sunny Daze, Michael Nakazawa, Brandon Cutler, MJF and Dustin Thomas. MJF had mega heat by attacking Thomas and calling him lieutenant dan, and then saying that Cutler was a favor to the young bucks. Nakazawa was oiling himself up like crazy, which was super weird to see because I do not know him. Next in was Brian Pillman Junior, Jimmy Havoc, Joey Janela, Shawn Spears and one more guy. Spears immediately went for MJF, and they beat each other up. Next in was Jungle Boy, Glacier, Billy Gunn, Mark Quinn and Ace Romero. MJF got a bunch of heat for eliminating Glacier, after Glacier frozen misted Sunny Daze. Adam Page was the final entrant in the match, and had a warpath. Stunt took a rough pump to be eliminated, as Romero shoved him out through the air and to the floor. Jungle Boy then eliminated Romero, Spears and Thomas had a bit of an alliance, until Thomas pulled him out over the top for the elimination. MJF eliminated crowd favorites Thomas and Cutler. Janela had a disgusting bump through a table on the outside from Luchasaurus, which was very terribble looking. Orange Cassidy showed up for no reason, doing his little kick spots to dreamer before being eliminated in a match that he wasn’t even in. Fun guy though. The final three were Luchasaurus, Adam Page and MJF. MJF hid on the outside, and Page eliminated Luchasaurus. He celebrated winning, but MJF ran in to try to throw him out. Page was okay, and hit the buckshot lariat, and threw him out to win.

Grade: C. This had a lot of fun spots, but there was very little connecting the action. I liked having Page get the win after his match with Pac was cancelled. I think there were a lot of terrifying things happening here, especially that table bump. Janela may be dead, but probably not. I liked the winner and there were some interesting things happening. A fine battle royal, but nothing specacular.

Then we had Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara. This was a fun little cruiserweight match. There was a lot of misdirection based offense, like when Sabian faked a suicide dive only to hit a spring board somersault senton. Sabian locked in a cool looking submission at one point, Guevara went for a moonsault, landed on his feet forth another, only to land on his feet again and hit a standing shooting star for a near fall. At another, Guevara hit a 450 to Sabian while he was on the barricade. In the finish, Guevara went for the 630 senton, only for Sabian to get his knees up and hit deathly hallows for the win.

Grade: B. Fun little spotfest. I think both of these guys are super good, and they can put on some great matches in the future. I’m surprised that Guevara lost given how much emphasis he has had on BTE lately, but that is fine. Both of them are really good, and I’m sure that they will be big talents in the future.

We opened up with SoCal Uncensored vs. StrongHearts. Of course, SCU cut a promo shitting on the town and the LA crowd love it. Both teams were working together really well, with SCU isolating El Lindamen. The match quickly became a cluster of bodies, with each team desperately trying to support any person that they have in the ring. The match felt a lot like the multi-man matches in New Japan, with the partners covering the ring while people are being pinned. The Stronghearts hit an awesome combination of a pop up knee from T-Hawk, followed by an ensiguri from CIMA, a slam from T-Hawk and a german suplex from Lindaman. Everyone started really flying around with dropkicks, suicide dives and cutters. Daniels hit the angels wings for a near fall, followed by a splas hfrom CIMA for a near fall. In the final stretch, Daniels hit the best moonsault ever into the piledriver (called the best meltzer driver ever) for the win.

Grade: A-. Holy crap was this good. So fast paced, lots of action and people flying all over the place. This was a really great match, and if they continue to have tag matches like this one, I will definitely enjoy the tag division in this company. Awesome stuff.

Into the triple threat match, we had Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose vs. Britt Baker. However, as match began. Brandi Rhodes came out with her ring gear. She said that she didn’t want a great match, she wanted an awesome one. Awesome Kong then came out, and made it a four way. Kong and Rose immediately squared up and fought a bit. Kong was beating down everyone in the match, but left some room for Rae and Baker to fight. There was a cool spot where Kong caught Baker out of a splash, only for Rae to hit a suicide dive to take them both down. Kong had a huge tower of doom spot, and nearly powerbombed Baker off the apron in another spot, for Baker to fight out, Rae to hit a superkick, and then Rose to hit a spear into the steps. Baker was finally able to get the win with a superkick and the brainbuster on the knee.

Grade: B-. Another car crash of a match. Kong, Baker and Rae all really impressed me. Rose didn’t really impress me, but there were a lot of really nice spots here. I want to see a match between Baker and Rae one on one, that could really be awesome. Can’t wait for the AEW women’s Championship.

Next up was a tag match, Best Friends Chuck Taylor and Trent vs. Angelico and Jack Evans. Best friends went for a hug early on, but their opponents stopped that. Evans and Angelico worked on Trent’s legs, and really showed off their Lucha style of wrestling. Best friends hit a lot of awesome offense, such as a tornado DDT into a double foot stomp to the face. They then also hit a crucifix bomb into the cutter for a near fall. For another near fall, Angelico hit a cruicifix bomb into the corner, followed by a 630 senton, but Taylor broke it up. Taylor took out Angelico with a tope con hilo, and they pinned Evans with a Storm Zero.

After the match, The Best Friends asked for a hug. Angelico and Evans tried to do a handshake, but the Best Friends refused. They hugged, and then the lights went out. A new tag team had emerged after the match, but I didn’t know who they are. They went out again, and there were a bunch of minions that came out to assist. This new team beat down everyone. Evans was hit with a ripcord flatliner, and Trent was hit with a reverse electric chair facebuster.

Grade: A-. I loved this. It was another sprint of a match with a bunch of awesome spots, and some really good tag wrestling. I always had a soft spot for tag wrestling, and they did a great job here. I liked the attack afterwards, but I don’t know who they were. This tag division looks really great, and I cannot wait to see it start up in full. I felt like Best Friends made sense as the winners, although I predicted otherwise. They will be a united front for a while before picking up the storyline later.

Into the 6-woman Tag, we had Aja Kong, Emi Sakura, Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho and Ryo Mizunami. Ryo and Aja kong had a little strength vs. strength match, but Ryo really didn’t stand a chance against the legend of Aja. Riho and Emi had some good looking action, doing some technical wrestling before Riho hit an awesome armdrag. Kong drilled Riho with a awesome looking piledriver, but her team broke it up. Ryo drilled Yuka with a great looking deadlift suplex for a near fall. At one point, the ref was distracted, Shida and Kong dueled with a trash bin and a kendo stick. Somehow the kendo stick won. In the finishing stretch, Sakazaki took out Shida and Ryo with a plancha. Kong then accidentlly hit Sakura with a back fist, and then Riho destroyed her with a crossbody. Shida then ran into the ring to pin Sakura with a shining wizard.

Grade: B+. I didn’t know any of these people before the match, and I came out of it as a fan of every single one of them. Their characters are interesting, and I apologize if the review wasn’t great. I was trying to keep track of too many people and learn too many names. But it was awesome, and I hope that they end up joining the AEW women’s division.

Next up was Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes. Before the match, Brandi grabbed a sledgehammer for Cody. Cody then used it to destroy a throne on the stage, officially declaring war on the WWE (it was all a symbol for Triple H). Dustin came out with half face paint. The two circled each other for a while, and the crowd was chanting that it was awesome. Dustin absolutely laid into Cody with some crazy shots, and Cody almost walked away, but managed to get back in the ring. At one point, Cody distracted the ref a bit, which allowed Brandi to hit him in the head with a water bottle. The crowd was so loud for this match. At one point, Cody was set up for the kick to the balls that he used to do, and Cody removed the turnbuckle. Dustin saw, threw the turnbuckle in the crowd, but was then sent face first into it. This “busted him open,” so he bladed. Brandi then speared Dustin, and was thrown out, with DDP carrying her away. Dustin was absolutley gushing blood, and Cody nailed him with a curb stomp for a near fall. Cody nearly whipped Dustin with the belt, but threw it away, only for Dustin to grab it and whip his bare ass with it. Dustin was able to hit a superplex, followed by the final cut, but just for two. Cody then fought back and hit a cross rhodes only for two. Dustin then hit cross rhodes for another near fall. Cody was able to hit his back sliding piledriver, and followed it up with a Cross Rhodes to finish it.

After the match, Cody got on the mic and said that Dustin didn’t get to retire here. The crowd was chanting thank you, but Cody said that he couldn’t retire. He needed a partner for a match against the Young Bucks next month. He said that he didn’t need a partner, he needed a brother. The two started crying, and then embraced. They left the ring together.

Grade: A. This was much much better than I thought it would be. The crowd made the match a hell of a lot better. They were super hot, and it made the emotion and drama increase exponentially. They beat each other down, and the story accompanying it made the match that much better. This was awesome, and I hope we see more matches like this from Cody in the future. This was great, and I hope that it is evident of the type of story telling that will be around in this company.

Then we had the belt presentation, and Bret fucking Hart came out. I marked out like crazy. Hart cut a promo, basically just putting AEW over. He then called out Adam Page, who is one of the #1 contenders for the belt in a few months. MJF then came out, to an asshole chant. He said that they bought a ticket to see him, so they should shut up. He is a phenomenal heel. He called Page a horse, and said that when a horse had a bad leg, you shoot it. Then he said that Page should give up his title shot, and shit on Hart for having a bad catchphrase. Jungle boy then came out, to confront him. MJF called him a prepubescent teenager, and walked past him. Jimmy Havoc then came out, and he was stuck between all three guys. They kicked his ass, through the crowd, as Hart showed the belt for the first time.

Grade: A-. Jesus MJF can talk. He carried this segment, along with the awesome Bret Hart appearance. This was super good, and I hope that he becomes a big part of the product, because he is phenomenal. I love him. Bret Hart was a shocking appearance, and it was super cool to see him. The belt looks beautiful as well.

Then we had Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros for the AAA World Tag Team Championships. This was given a big fight feel. Young bucks weren’t completely on the same page, having some flubs together early on. Fenix and Nick seemed to be completely evenly matched. the Lucha Bros hit their signature offense early on. At one point, Fenix strung Nick up on the ropes, while using Matt to balance going up to the top rope. Fenix hit a superkick on the top rope, and then springboarded to hit Nick with the hurricanrana. Later on, Matt hit Fenix and Penta with several northern lights suplexes, and nearly locked in a sharpshooter but got shut down. The Bucks were able to lock in the sharpshooters at one point, and they barely got to the ropes. At one point, The Bucks hit a powerbomb and flipping over with a neckbreaker for a near fall. They then hit a flurry of kicks and chops until everyone fell over. At another, Fenix ducked so that Penta could hit a destroyer on the apron to Matt, followed by a Destroyer to Nick in the ring. Another time had Penta holding Nick in the package piledriver position, with Matt in the gory special, and dropped them down. Fenix followed up with a swanton to Nick for an incredible near fall. Matt then drilled Fenix with a brainbuster on the top rope, and gave Penta more bang for your buck for a near fall again. The Bucks then hit Penta with fear factor, and Nick ran to hit a plancha to Fenix, but still only a near fall. Penta then drilled Matt with the armbreaker and the pentagon driver for a near fall. Fenix started to work the arm, superkicking it, but got caught trying to continue. Matt pulled him up for a Meltzer Driver. Nick then superkicked Penta on the outside, and got up for the Meltzer Driver, and got the win.

Grade: A. This was a phenomenal match. The Young Bucks became a coherent team again, and went through hell to do it. I think that the kickouts at the end were a little much, I like a bit more buildup in my near falls like that, but it was still incredibly exciting. They flew around like crazy, and beat the crap out of each other. It looks like the tag team division in AEW will be awesome.

And finally, the main event. Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega. Winner faces Adam Page for the AEW World Championship. Jericho went through a bunch of his his gimmicks before actually making his entrance. Omega had some new music. They had a cracker barrel in the ring, probably a sponsor. They had trouble getting it out of the ring, so Jericho picked it up and shoved it through the second rope, and then yelled at the ref. The two started out with a slugfest, beating each other down. Early on, Omega tried to do a move off of the barricade, but Jericho pushed Omega into the crowd. Omega was busted open early on, bleeding from the nose. Jericho tried to introduce a table into the match, but Omega dropkicked it, and then a tope con hilo to both. Then he did a springboard double stomp to the table. That was when Omega started up the v triggers, destroying Jericho’s head from the back. At another point, Jericho started to fight back, and dumped Omega out of the ring and through a table. Omega went for a frog splash at one point, but Jericho countered with a codebreaker, but he waited too long for the cover and only got a near fall. Jericho nearly locked in a lion tamer, but Omega countered it and was able to hit a powerbomb for a near fall. Jericho was able to get the walls in, eventually transitioning into a lion tamer, but Omega fought out and nailed a v trigger. Jericho was able to hit yet another codebreaker, but did not go for the pin. Instead, he waited for him to get up, and hit a spinning back elbow called the judas effect for the win.

After the match, Jericho got on the mic. He yelled at them for booing him, and he said that he was the best guy in AEW, he owns the company. He is the biggest star through and through. He claimed that every success the company had was because of him. He demanded that the fans thanked him, and then, mutherfucking Jon Moxley showed up. He killed Jericho with dirty deeds, and then did it to the ref. He tried to hit Omega with hit, but Omega was able to tackle him out of the ring, and they brawled into the crowd. He eventually was able to climb on top of the giant poker chips, and he gave Omega a dirty deeds on the stack, and then slammed him off of it, onto a box that broke.

Grade: A. I bumped that up a grade after the post match angle. This was a great match, although not the best on the card, but that mammoth debut was awesome. In the match itself, it didn’t quite have the same feel as their first match, but they tore the house down nontheless. They were really really good, and I am really unsure of who will be winning the AEW World Championship when that time comes.

Predictions: 5/9. Imma say that I got the battle royal right, cuz I said that Page would win whatever match he was in.

Overall Grade: A-. I’m bumping it up a bit because of the historic nature of the show, and how hot they were coming right out of the gate.

Pros: Guevara vs. Sabian; 6-man tag; best friends vs. angelico & evans; 6-woman tag; cody vs. dustin; belt presentation; AAA tag team championship; main event; moxley debut

Cons: battle royal

Just throwing this in at the end of the review. I normally hate writing the tags for these posts, but I am genuinely so excited to say that I am writing an AEW review right now. Just saying

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fenixbrown-blog · 6 years

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An Objective All In Review

AN OBJECTIVE ALL IN REVIEW by Fenix Brown

This past Saturday we were all treated to what was being called the “Wrestlemania of Independent Wrestling” in a show filled with fun moments for the fans. Many people had high expectations heading into this show and thought that this was a way to show that there is a better product then the WWE. There is a lot of deserving praise being put out about this show, but the show was not without its flaws. Overall I thought the show was solid, but nowhere near being show of the year. Before I get accused of being a “WWE fanboy” in this review I want to explain a couple things. I grew up watching NWA and early WCW in the heyday of the Horseman, Ricky Steamboat, the Rock n Roll Express, Steiners, etc. I love old school wrestling and have evolved into watching just about every product out today. Every week I watch everything from WWE to Impact to Lucha Underground to MLW to NJPW and they all are great and they all have their flaws. Since WWE is the standard that everyone likes to compare things to I am going to review this show with the same standard we expect from that product.

PRE SHOW MATCHES

Unlike most WWE shows the place was packed and the crowd was hot or the preshow. Most preshows feature throw away matches, but at All In had one match considered a throw away and a battle royal to determine who would get a shot at Jay Lethals ROH World Championship. The preshow was a good setup for the main card overall and had a lot of crowd pleasing moments.

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS BRISCOE BROTHERS VS SCU

SCU was the team of Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky and they were over. The crowd obviously followed the Being the Elite series which for most of the show was the set up for many of the matches. This has nothing to do with any of that though. Briscoes who are one of the greatest tag teams of all time on the independent scene probably did not get the heroes welcome they deserved and were the heels in this match. Kazarian picked up the pin fall when he reversed a Doomsday Device into a powerslam for the pin fall. The match was solid but I have a huge problem in one regard. I know this is not an ROH show per say, but ROH financed this show behind the scenes which is well documented, but overlooked. Time after time we see WWE put the tag titles on a pre show and talk about how they don’t care about the tag division. Not only were the tag champs on the pre show, they lost clean in the middle of the ring in a non title match. We would excoriate the WWE for doing the same thing so this hit a nerve. Hopefully this will lead to a championship opportunity for SCU, but even then I don’t think they are winning the belts. While this match was fun and enjoyable I could have done without the tag champs losing clean on a pre show match. Plenty of other teams could have filled this role and lost to SCU.

BATTLE ROYAL FOR A SHOT AT ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Whoever booked his battle royal deserves a ton of credit. Everyone got their moment to shine, and it had a ton of crowd popping moments. The match started with Bully Ray putting the luchador known as Chico on Being the Elite through a table outside the ring. The match then turned into fun moment after fun moment. A slew of dives followed up by a great fake out by Billy Gunn and Tommy Dreamer. Moose then did his “Moose jabs” leading to everyone ganging up him and being the first one eliminated by Marco Stunt, who had a few brief but great moments in the match. Best friends Chuck Taylor and Trent Barretta had their hug broken up by Ethan Page, who in the early going was the dominant heel in the match. Brandon Cutler, who was by far the least impressive in this match then got some offense in, only to be eliminated by Page moments later. Page then almost eliminated both of the Best Friends, who were saved by Rocky Romero, then got some tandem offense and a hug in, which led to them being eliminated by Punishment Martinez. Romero then clotheslined everything in site until Brian Cage took his head off with a clothesline and threw him out. Cheeseburger then hit a Liger palm strikes, and Cage eliminated him as well. Cage and Martinez then had a headscissor exchange which lead to the Hurricane chokeslamming both men in one of the most fun moments of the match. Hurricane and Page then ended up on the apron where Page eliminated Hurricane and hometown boy Colt Cabana took out back. Then it was time for Tommy Dreamer to bring in the plunder hit everyone, until Bully Ray hit him with a trash can and threw him over the top. Then Billy Gunn and Austin Gunn had some exchanges with Martinez and Jimmy Jacobs, where Jacobs hit a five knuckle shuffle and went for a pedigree on Austin, which was broken up by Billy. Jacobs then kissed Billy (Chuck Palumbo must be jealous) which lead to his elimination, followed by Martinez being eliminated by Billy’s son Austin, who by the way looks like a smaller version of his father and sells like him as well. Another hug was broken up, but this time by Bully Ray who eliminated Austin. Billy hit Bully with a Famasser, and then was press slammed by Cage for another elimination. Marco Stunt then hit an insane tilt a whirl, flipping codebreaker on Cage followed up by Bully Ray throwing him over the top. Double clotheslines by Bully Ray and Colt Cabana set the stage for a showdown between the only female in the match, Jordynne Grace and the monstrous Brain Cage. In an impressive feat of strength Grace got Cage on her shoulders, Cage reversed, over head slammed and hit a sick buckle bomb. Cage charged the corner, but missed which led to a power bomb from Grace and then her eliminating The Machine. Grace then had an exchange with Bully Ray and after pushing him off the top rope hit a Whassup headbutt with the aid of Cabana. She then went to toss out the big Bully only to have him reverse the Irish whip and eliminate her. That left just Cabana and Ray in the ring and after a quick exchange, Ray eliminated Cabana. Ray celebrated like he had won, but Chico the luchador he put through the table at the start enter the ring, super kicked him, and pulled of the mask to reveal himself a s Flip Gordon. Gordon threw Ray over the top for the win and the shot at the title later in the night.

I am not going to do play by play for every match, but I felt this was one of the better battle royals I have ever seen and packed so much in and highlighted so many performers in the right way. If I had to nitpick the one thing that stuck out was the end. I love Flip Gordon and have seen him grow a lot this year. It did bug me at the end though just because he super kicked Bully Ray and Bully has to stand there and sell while Flip took the mask off. Timing wise it would have been a lot cleaner if he would have eliminated Ray and then took the mask off. The pop would have been just as big if not a little bigger. Otherwise though it accomplished everything it should have. You had classic moments, like the Hurricane choke slamming people. You had new stars like Jordynne Grace (who I was hoping would win because she was fantastic) and Marcus Stunt be exposed to a new audience and shine in their time. The hometown hero Colt Cabana had his moments. The right guy ended up winning in the end, and the crowd was hot the whole time for. If your a fan of battle royals I would say this is a must watch and checked all the boxes you would want. And Dalton Castle was great on commentary.

THE MAIN SHOW

As we get into the main show the crowd was definitely hot of a great pre show, and probably were a little spent after the battle royal and the show open. That being said the show was solid and the crowd was into most everything. One thing is that I think the crowd was not mic'd up very well, but you could tell they were hot and match the reactions of any WWE show. Some stars were definitely made and some peoples stock increased quite a bit by the end of the night. Now let’s get into the show.

MJF VS MATT CROSS

Most people found it odd that this unannounced match opened the show. Neither guy is one of the bigger names on the indy scene right now. Cross mainly has been seen on Lucha Underground as Son of Havoc, and MJF has been making some noise as CZW Champion and MLW Middleweight champion, but I wouldn’t call him a star. When you take a couple things into consideration though you can understand why this might have opened. It’s the first time Cody and the Bucks were in charge of putting a show like this together so instead of opening with a marquee match they probably wanted to do a “test run” in case there were any problems with the stream, and from what I hear there was some. Many people had trouble streaming on their T.V. and had to smart cast from their phone instead. I think this was a smart move and gave people time to adapt without missing any key points to the show.

That being said this was a pretty by the numbers match. MJF is an entitled heel with a ground game and a big mouth. Cross is your typical babyface high flyer. Nothing great or terrible about this match and it only went about ten minutes and did what it was supposed to do. Cross won with a shooting star press. I just wish they would have used someone with a little more star power in this role. Cross and MJF are okay but neither is considered a big name. I like both MLW and Lucha but neither has really caught on with this Indy crowd even though I think MLW will i they keep improving. MJF is also the nephew of Rob Feinstein which may be a reason he got this spot. If we are going to hold this show to WWE standards then instead of giving the spot to someone in the good old boys club on the biggest indy ppv of all time maybe there was plenty of other people who were in town for the weekend that could have gotten some exposure without the family connections, just saying.

CHRISTOPHER DANIELS VS STEPHEN AMELL

Another match with strange placement, at least to me. Before I critique any of this match I want to say that I have a ton of respect for Amell doing this. The guy obviously has a ton of respect and love for the wrestling business and him lending his name to this event definitely brought star power. He is very active on social media and promoted this in a way most celebrities would not. He also is the focus of not just a show, but the center of the DC Universe on the CW network and risked serious injury with some risks he did not have to take. He is also in tremendous shape and you could tell he took time out a very busy schedule to train for this match. So all props to him for that.

With that being said, while this match had some moments it was not a classic by any means. This match was very sloppy, even on Daniels end. Daniels in his prime was a top performer on the indy scene and TNA in its prime, but he is far from that these days. I understand storyline wise why he was in this match, but I am not sure he was the right guy for the job in this particular spot. For a long time Daniels has been either in tag matches or facing very experienced competition that style he wrestles. Amell hit a Van Terminator, and went from the top rope through a table outside the ring so he was willing to bump. Amell also seemed to blow up about halfway through the match and there is no shame in that being that this is not his full time job. Daniels got the win after his second sloppy BME and they shook hands after.

I think there was a couple things that could have been done differently if you are going to bring Amell in like this. First as much as I have been a fan of Daniels over the years he should not have been in this spot. Amell is much larger than him so the babyface-heel dynamic for this particular scenario is way off.If your going to have a smaller heel against a non wrestler he at least has to look mean and intimidating and Daniels is none of those. Secondly Amell was obviously willing to do a little high risk spots so why not just go the whole way and make it a no disqualification match. Even if Daniels was still in the spot at least he could use some foreign objects and such to compensate for the obvious size difference. The match was around ten minutes and that’s about where it should have been, but to me there was not enough near falls on Amell’s side to bring any drama to the match. The only one I can think of is when he reversed Angel’s Wings into a pinning predicament. He also teased hitting Crossroads, but Daniels reversed it, when I think it would have been a great near fall for him to hit it and the crowd would have popped more than they did for the Van Terminator or the table spot. The goal of the match should have been to highlight Daniels strengths and mask Amells weaknesses and I don’t think this match accomplished either. I think the no dq stipulation could have bought more time for Amell to sell and recover, and also lead to some great near falls. There are ways to do these things and Amell would have been receptive to most ideas I believe. Also this was built up as a fight more than a match so just make it a fight. Like I said though, much respect for him even being involved.

BRITT BAKER VS TESSA BLANCHARD VS MADISON RAYNE VS CHELSEA GREEN

A lot of people are saying that the Aldis and Cody match is where the night picked up, but to me the ladies match is where the tone of the night really started to change. Two women really stuck out in this match to me. Tessa Blanchard and Chelsea Green really carried the match. Madison Rayne and Britt Baker were good, but a little sloppy at times. Green had a great gimmick going with the split personality she was sharing with her former personality of Laurel Van Ness. Green had an impressive walk out the top rope, she went back and forth between showboat and psycho. The match started out with a lot of dives to the outside and then there was a constant shift in the ring of action between all the ladies.

The match was really a steady stream of action with high spot after, after high spot, sprinkled in with some high impact moves. Madison Rayne is a veteran with a lot of experience and probably hasn’t gotten her proper due for being a part of a Knockouts division that really set the stage for today's women's revolution in the WWE. I am very happy for her being put in this spot as well as being a part of the Mae Young Classic. She did some great underrated work in TNA over the years and has constantly improved. Her look is great now as well. If WWE ends up picking her up I think she will be a great babyface. She may never win a title there but I think she would be a great addition to Smackdown, Raw, or NXT.

Britt Baker was the least experienced or it seemed that way. She had some solid spots with some great superkicks and a vicious TKO. She has a great look and a great backstory being a former doctor. She has good size and with some seasoning I could see her being added to NXT soon. I am not sure if she is part of the May Young Classic, but I would not be surprised. She is a name to keep an eye on for the next few years to see how she develops.

The two stars of the match definitely had to be Blanchard and Green though. Green is tall and athletic a all get out. Couple that with the gimmick she had in this match and her ring psychology and selling, she has star written all over her. I hope that the woman's scene continues to improve on the independent circuit because I am pretty sure the WWE would have no idea what to do with her. After her showing here any company would be smart to focus on her more. Tessa Blanchard is just plain awesome. Wherever she ends up she is going to be a star. She has a strong build and is smooth with her movements. Great body control, quick movements, explosive offense, the complete package. The ending of the match was a little confusing where it seemed like Rayne and Baker broke up the pin and the announcers even seemed confused about it. Tenille Dashwood (Emma) was on commentary and she is fantastic as well. The future of women's wrestling is bright with these girls and the likes of Jordynne Grace as well. And if you don’t think this is where the main show picked up, they got the first “this is awesome” chant since the pre show.

NWA CHAMPION NICK ALDIS VS CODY RHODES

I am going to catch a lot of slack for some of the things I am going to say about this match because I realize Cody is the Golden Boy of the moment, and it’s well deserved. Cody has a hardcore fan following and is very talented and I am a fan of what he has done in his career and like many thought the WWE didn’t utilize him like they could have. Cody brought a lot of hype into this match for the NWA belt elevating the status of the recently resurrected company, due to his family legacy connected to the belt. He will make a great champion and ambassador for the brand. With hype though comes expectations and while this match had some moments, to me it didn’t live up to the hype.

The match had a lot of awkwardness to it from the entrance, to the ref intro, and plenty of botches and mismanaged spots in the match. Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch the Ten Pounds of Gold series on Youtube (mainly because Aldis have never been entertaining enough for me to entertain watching weekly 10 to 20 minute videos focusing on him),but I didn’t get what the connections were to the teams accompanying each competitor to ringside. Jeff Jarrett was instrumental in building NWA TNA so I kind of get that, but I would keep him as far away from my product as possible considering the history between him and Billy Corgan with TNA. Tommy Dreamer has some connections with being close to Dusty, and DDP at least was kind of a fringe NWA guy in his early days. I didn’t get Glacier, Davari, Samuel Shaw and the others. I get that they wanted to give it a big fight feel, I just don’t get what some of the connections were. Do I even have to say anything about Earl Hebner’s speech, it was terrible. Another connection to NWA I don’t get. Wouldn’t Charles Robinson or Nick Patrick made more sense. I get what they were going for but it came across a little awkward to me though.

The awkwardness did not stop there though. A few minutes in could “hit” Aldis with a superkick that clearly came nowhere close to connecting with a good foot distance wise away from hitting, and Aldis sold it. Later on in the match Cody went for an Alabama Slam where he clearly couldn’t get Aldis over and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. The awkward moments continued when Cody tried a springboard crossbody to the outside where Aldis caught him in the jaw. Hebner made his way to check on Cody and they had a short conversation which lead to Hebner throwing up the dreaded X signal. DDP runs back out, no idea why he wasn’t still at ringside when they accompanied him to the ring to begin with. DDP then hit Davari with a Diamond Cutter cause why not and eventually Cody made his way back into the ring bleeding from the top of the head after clearly getting hit in the jaw. Later in the match Cody applied the Figure Four to Aldis and the announcers were saying it was reminiscent of his old man, but when have Dusty ever been associated with the Figure Four Leglock. It’s Ric Flair not Dusty Rhodes people associate that move with.

Aldis hit another awkward looking move in the form of a piledriver and then ascended to the top rope. Brandi then got into the ring to plead with Aldis not to drop the elbow on him. Aldis delivered the elbow and Brandi shielded her husband which lead to Aldis delivering a brutal elbow drop to her spine. Rhodes recovered and hit a Disaster Kick followed by a Crossroads which probably should have been the finish, but we all know finishers don’t matter anymore so the match continues. After some brief exchanges Cody goes for a backdrop, Aldis counters with a sunset flip where Cody sits out and gets the pin fall in a nod to the Bret Hart-Davey Boy Smith finish from Summerslam years ago.

I know I was very critical of this match and I understand that fans were into this match and that the moment of Cody becoming NWA champion is a big deal. Still in all fairness this match had the same problem many of the matches wrestling overall has. It created moments that will look great 5 second clips instead of worrying more about solid execution throughout the match. I understand Cody was obviously very busy putting this show together and could not practice some of the things that probably needed to be practiced but details matter. Being the face of something brings pressure and expectations and while it’s very nice in the end things ended up how they were supposed to the path to get there was very bumpy. This was Aldis’s most high profile match, but really did nothing for him. If one of WWE’s top star was in this match it would have been excoriated. For all the Roman Reigns hate that is out there and shots taken by the Bullet Club, there is no way a performance like that would have been acceptable on any level.

CHICAGO STREET FIGHT- JOEY JANELA VS HANGMAN PAGE

The Hangman and the Bad Boy put on the most brutal and entertaining match overall of the night. I know Cody and the Bucks said that the Bullet Club will all make their next move together, but I think Page is a fool if he doesn’t give the WWE a shot. Standing 6 feet 5 inches with a great look and solid in the ring the sky could be the limit for him. If he could work out a deal to skip NXT and head to the main roster he could be a main event player in a short amount of time. Also seeing Janela in only limited exposure until now, I was impressed with his showing. Janela has a willingness to do some crazy bumps and it stared of the bat with a pump handle fallaway slam into a chair in the ring. Janela has great facial expressions and looked like a mad man when he played to the crowd after a flying senton into the crowd. Janela had his status as one of indy wrestling top draws rise after this and his spring break outings should see an increase in exposure after this.

Penelope Ford who seconded Janela to the ring also had some moments in the match where she got involved to aid the smaller Janela and help him gain momentum back. The match was silly in some spots, in a good way, with the involvement of an actual Cracker Barrel from one of the sponsors. The barrel was used to prop a ladder between the guardrail and the ring for an insane burning hammer delivered by Page. This was one of the points Ford got involved and escaped strikes by Page with backflips a matrix, then delivered a stunner where Page sold it like the Rock sold Stone Cold’s version. The match fell outside the ring again involving tables and dives, until it made it to rampway that led to a scary looking bump for Janela of the stage missing one of the two tables set up and barely hitting one.

The match finally made its way back to the ring where Page hit his finish only to have Ford break it up. This is the start of a little more silliness began, but I had no problem with this part. If you watched Being the Elite, which was the theme of the night, you know that Hangman “killed” Joey Ryan in a storyline. Ford brought a bag in the ring that contained Page’s talking boots (yes, talking boots) and Page superkicked Ford, picked up the boots which he sold as talking to him, and walked right into a Janela superkick for a near fall. At this point Janela brought a ladder and a table in the ring which all led to Page hitting Janela with the phone he killed Ryan with and delivering an insane Right of Passage of the ladder through a table for the win. If this wasn’t match of the night it was damn close. It really topped everything before it and hit all the spots you want in a hardcore match both storytelling wise and spot wise, so kudos to both for a great performance.

Then came the most controversial point of the evening, Joey Ryan’s resurrection. A video appeared on the screen of Ryan laying dead in his bed only to pan down and show him getting fully erect under the sheets. Then in Undertaker fashion a slew of men dressed as penises came to the ramp and Joey Ryan appeared to a huge reaction. Ryan made his way to the ring in typical form, lathered himself up, put a lollipop in his pants only to take it back out, put it in Page’s mouth and superkick him. The “penis druids” then carried Page to the back.

The match itself was great. I am going to sound like a curmudgeony old man, but I hated what happened after. I get that wrestling has its silliness and goofiness sometimes and I can suspend disbelief to a certain degree, but I fall on the Jim Cornette side of the Joey Ryan thing. In the same night, on the same show, where we are supposed to be elevating an old school belt like the NWA title back to prominence you put this on the show. You can’t have it both ways. You either want to be taken serious as a professional wrestling product or you want to be a silly carnival sideshow. I have no problem with having some fun in wrestling and I can point out many times I had enjoyed certain things that has been done over the years by many companies that were silly, but still treated the line a little where you could suspend disbelief to a degree and buy in. This is not one of those times. Cornette is right when he says things like this hurt the business because it does. Wrestling falls into this crowd reaction trap where they believe if the crowd reacts it’s okay. I can point out many times in not just wrestling, but sports and entertainment of crowds reacting just for the sake, yet no one would agree that the behavior is acceptable. The problem with the Joey Ryan penis stuff is this. I remember when it started trending on Youtube when he first started doing it. Shortly after Youtube demonetized wrestling content for being to vulgar and it was no coincidence that it came after the Joey Ryan penisplex. I am not saying he was the total reason, but it was a big reason. Many companies were doing well of making money off their Youtube views and that single handedly killed many smaller companies, due to the large amount of lost revenue. The worst part is that Joey could still do a similar gimmick of having this indestructible penis where people try to low blow him only to hurt themselves and just that little change would make it okay.

Anyone saying this is no big deal is wrong and let me explain to you exactly why. Cody and the Bucks did a terrific job of getting major sponsors for the event. Cracker Barrel and TGIFriday’s are no doubt major corporations who could be involved in future events if they believe this is a product that can eventually be sold to the general public as something the whole family can watch because they market themselves as family friendly companies. Another thing we know is that in corporations the higher executives usually have no idea who or what they are actually sponsoring so when one of the higher ups get a whiff of their product being involved in basically softcore porn of on man grabbing another’s penis in middle of the ring and getting suplexed by it and then follow it up by men dressed in penis costumes how likely do you think they will be willing to sponsor something like this again. I am not just talking about the Bullet Club stuff either, I am talking independent wrestling overall. There is a reason Sinclair Broadcasting does not put Ryan’s gimmick on television. It is very hard for wrestling to get advertiser revenue and stuff like this is one of the major reasons why. For all of you that enjoyed it good for you, glad you enjoyed. Joey Ryan will continue to make a lot for money for himself of this gimmick as well until it eventually grows tired and the well runs dry. For every defender of Joey in this gimmick though I hope you understand that the more you cheer this and get it over, the more you hurt the chances of anyone truly being able to set up to any form of long term competition for the WWE not just here but worldwide. And yes it is a big deal when you put it on a show that has been labeled “Indy Wrestlemania”. WWE would have not only lost sponsors, but would have had a huge public backlash for the same type of behavior.

ROH WORLD CHAMPION JAY LETHAL VS FLIP GORDON

In another match that is getting a lot of online love is the match between Flip Gordon and “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal. Lethal was accompanied to the ring by “The Genius” Lanny Poffo and somehow Brandi Rhodes miraculously recovered from the devastating elbow delivered by Nick Aldis earlier and even had time for a costume change. This match did have it’s fun moments and again if you followed Being the Elite somethings made more sense then if you never watched it. In the series, Brandi has been rooting for Flip to get on the All In show despite Cody’s objections and Lethal has been going in and out of his Black Machismo character when you hit him on a certain point of the shoulder. I can see why the fan base enjoyed this match. Flip Gordon is a great underdog babyface and I was also a fan of Lethals Black Machismo character and Flair impressions from his TNA days.

Some of the highlights centered more around callbacks to classic WWE moments then actual in ring action. It started with Lethal giving the Mega Powers handshake to Poffo and Flip. Lethal then went outside the ring to bring Brandi to his corner thinking she was Miss Elizabeth. Then later in the ring he hoisted Brandi on his shoulder in another callback to a classic moment. This lead to Brandi hitting the spot on the shoulder that reverted Lethal to being normal Lethal. This meant the match switched gears to more of the typical indy style match with the two trading moves back and forth for two counts.

Later in the match Poffo chopped Lethal on the shoulder leading to the reemergence of Black Machismo who dropped 3 top rope elbow drops on Gordon. Gordon kicked out at 2 and “Hulked Up” delivering a big boot and began a flurry of offense by Flip. Eventually Lethal hit a top rope cutter followed by his Lethal Injection for the win. The match was fun and enjoyable in some parts, but overall was a comedy match for the most part. I can see why it’s getting all the online love, but I do have some problems with it overall.

I am a fan of both men, but to me this match didn’t make sense in a couple of ways. I am a fan of Jay Lethal, but he should not be ROH Champion right now. I thought Cody was going to have the belt leading into this and thought if you really wanted to bring more prestige to the NWA title a champion vs champion match would have added a little more. Lethal has no where near the momentum when he was the leading heel in the House of Truth, and with Flip being such a lovable underdog babyface if he was going to face someone for the ROH title it should have been either against a larger heel, or a heel whose skill set is a little dirty and based on getting heat from the crowd. Much like the NWA title match there will be moments that translate well to a video package, but on television to a casual viewer would have fell a little flat. Couple that with the fact that this is by far ROH’s biggest stage today and you presented your champion as a comedy character and both guys are very diminutive in size. That is what your presenting as the top tier talent in your company. Add to that the preshow loss of your tag team champions in the middle of the ring clean and to me ROH came across really weak on this card to a casual viewer watching ROH product for the first time. Do I even have to bring up the fact that the one prominent black talent on the card had a moment where a white man who impersonated Hulk Hogan beat him up. I know that’s a little nit picky, but the lack of black talent on the show when you have guys like Shane Strickland, AR Fox, and Dezmond Xavier on the scene and you have the one black talent on the main show getting beat up by a guy impersonating the most notorious wrestler as far as racism goes right now was not very smart. Just saying.

IWGP CHAMPION KENNY OMEGA VS PENTAGON JR

The next match was what many pegged as the dream of the night. The action began fast and furious after some initial taunting. Pentagon has built a reputation on a brutal style and here is showed right from the start with a vicious kick to Omega’s abdomen. Pentagon dominated the early past of the match with a mix kicks, chops and dives. Pentagon may have the best chops in the business. He has a great look and a vicious style that fits his persona. Every move he makes has evil intentions behind it whether it’s a kick to the hamstring, chop to the chest, or his variety of backbreakers and piledrivers.

Again and again Omega would try to regain momentum with Pentagon having as answer most of the time. Kenny hit a V-trigger to the back of Pentagons head and setup for a superplex. Pentagon countered with led to a double foot stomp. Omega regained momentum shortly after and hit a couple V-triggers to try and set up the One Winged Angel. Pentagon slipped out and hit a high impact pumphandle driver for a near fall. Eventually both men ended up on the ring apron where Pentagon hit a package piledriver on the apron, which is the hardest part of the ring if you haven’t heard Pentagon got a near fall and after a few more exchanges Omega hit Pentagon with a package piledriver of his own for a near fall. Kenny again went for his finish and Pentagon slipped out and “broke his arm”. Yet another package piledriver by Pentagon lead to a near fall due to a lackadaisical cover. Kenny eventually hits a V- trigger which led to him taking control and hitting the One Winged Angel for the win. After the match the lights went out and Chris Jericho appeared dressed as Pentagon and attacked Omega with a Codebreker and told Kenny he would see him on the Jericho cruise.

While the match was great, fast paced, and had lots of high impact maneuvers, I did feel it was a little rushed going about 15 minutes. Also, the underselling of Pentagons finisher was a little bothersome to me. The One Winged Angel seems to be about the only move left in wrestling that people stay down for and it’s a little ridiculous. Jericho’s appearance was good, I stopped being surprised by Jericho showing up years ago. Still I don’t mind the promo for the cruise because if your going to sell tickets to it, it’s going to be to this crowd. Good match and nowhere near some of the classics Kenny had in the past, it was what it was. A non title dream match where the champion still went over. I think you could’ve probably added 5 more minutes to this match, but at this point I think time restraints definitely played a part in this match.

KAZUCHIKA OKADA VS MARTY SCURLL

Another match that seems to have gotten a lot of praise is the match between the Rainmaker and the Villain. The story being told is that there was no way Scurll could beat Okada because Okada is a heavyweight and Scurll is in the NJPW junior heavyweight division. The match went about 20 minutes and the early part told the story of Marty trying to do some power moves, yet not being able to pull them off due to his lack of size. Scurll actually had control of the match in the early part despite his lack of size. Honestly though the first half of the match kind of dragged on, mostly because Scurll would do a move and pose, again and again. Obviously Scurll was the underdog and trying to feed off the crowd for energy, but the crowd was solidly behind him regardless and I think a little less posing and a little more urgency would have helped in the first half of the match.

That being said this was the typical Okada match with a slow build to a furious, hard hitting pace near the end. The match was very good overall despite the slow start. Scurll would have control for a few moments and Scurll would counter and regain momentum time and time again. Cyrus made a great comparison on commentary saying that Okada much like Bret Hart had a moveset you know was coming but was so good there was nothing you could do about it.

The match started to slowly gain momentum when Scurll reversed a suplex into a brainbuster and then went for a piledriver, yet again posing for way too long, which caused it to be reversed into an Irish Curse neckbreaker variation by Okada for a near fall. Okada climber the top rope and Scurll hit a superplex. There was an exchange of rollups for some near falls which lead to Scurll hitting a monsterous powerbomb for a near fall. Okada was able to regain control with a running shotgun dropkick and op rope shotgun dropkick. Okada tried to put things away with a Tombstone piledriver which Scurll countered into a swinging DDT. Scurll then tried a Tombstone of his own and couldn’t hold up Okada which led to him finally landing the Tombstone.

The final 5 minutes is where this match really shined. In my favorite spot of the match Okada followed up the Tombstone by setting up for the Rainmaker lariat. In the setup up while Scurll was in the straightjacket position Okada made the hand gesture of 205 which in the Being the Elite series he kept telling Marty that’s where he should be. While he was holding his fingers in the five position Scurll grabbed his middle finger to set up for his famous finger break spot. Okada’s facial reaction to this was priceless and meme worthy. Scurll hit the finger break and then after taking time to recover came off the ropes running into a dropkick by Okada who throws one of the best in the business. Again Okada went for the Rainmaker and Scurll countered into the crossface chickenwing which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Okada got to his feet and fell back onto Scurll momentarily breaking the hold only to have Scurll lock it in again. Okada escaped and went for a Tombstone again. Marty slipped out the back door and pushed Okada into the referee.

As soon as this happened Scurl went to his corner and grabbed his umbrella. Okada ducked the swing and set up for a Rainmaker and when he spun Scurll into position, Scurll countered by opening the umbrella. He then stuck Okada in the head very hard with it and hit a very stiff Rainmaker of his own in which was probably the best false finish of the night as I thought that would be it. Posing again cost Scurll as he setup for the crossface chickenwing and Okada reversed into a Rainmaker giving him time to recover.Okada got to his feet and hit Scurll with a couple forearms which lead to Marty firing up and spitting in Okada face and slapping him. Okada grabbed Scurll by the throat and Scurll went for another finger break spot but this time Okada reversed it into a discus Rainmaker and followed up with another for the pin.

Regardless of what I said about the slow start and posing this match was great in the end. Everytime I watch Okada he impresses me, and Scurll had a great outing regardless of the constant posing. The match was in contention for match of the night with Page/Janela and Omega/Pentagon depending on your taste. One thing that is overlooked when talking about Okada is his facial reactions and body language in the ring. It’s something that’s really hard to teach and Okada is great at knowing how to act in certain key moments in a match to give it that little something extra to put it over. As for Scurll though great this will probably be the biggest match he ever has in his career. I like Scurll sometimes and other times he comes across silly and as a comedy act. He had some great matches with Will Offspray in the past and I am not saying he never will again, but when it comes to the Bullet Club I feel like eventually he will be the odd man out. Also, if you’re going to call yourself the Villain I feel like maybe the gimmick should be a little more vicious and conniving as opposed to silly tactics. That being said great showing by both men.

YOUNG BUCKS AND KOTA IBUSHI VS REY MYSTERIO, BANDIDO, AND FENIX

Finally we reach the main event of the evening with a 6 man tag “dream match”. Bandido was the only participant I was not really familiar with, but everyone else has been pretty well established over the past few years. Some might have not been familiar with Fenix and if you’re not he is the brother of Pentagon Jr. and he is tremendous. My review for this match will be pretty short because it was definitely in fast forward as time restraints only gave the 6 men about 10 minutes to work with. It actually kind of fit the lucha style though because if you have ever watched the trios matches in Mexico they are super fast paced with everyone getting their stuff in at an insane pace.

That’s pretty much what this match ended up being. Play by play and a match breakdown is not really necessary as it’s one of those matches you just have to watch to keep up with all that happens. Not that it was one of the greatest matches of all time, or even the night, but it was short and fun. Some highlights included the first time seeing Kota Ibushi and Mysterio together in the ring for the first time. Mysterio had a really cool Wolverine costume on. Also Rey looked fantastic. I know there is a lot of talk of him going back to WWE full time, but I think at this point of his career I would rather see him on a lighter schedule in big spots. Rey has a well documented injury history and a full time schedule anywhere might not be the best idea. He looked fantastic here and more akin to his prime then the end of his WWE run. He is a special attraction and should be treated and paid as such.

The match was fun but unfortunately didn't get the time it needed for guys like Fenix and Bandido to show a whole lot. I personally haven’t seen to much on Bandido and he had some impressive spots. The time crunch really hurt Fenix though. The WWE has been looking for a successor to Mysterio for a long time and I believe Fenix may be the closest thing we get. In the end though the Bucks and Ibushi get the win with a Meltzer Driver with 3 seconds left to end the show

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I guess a lot of what people thought of the show depended on your expectations going in and how you felt it was presented. If you took it as a one off indy show with no real meaning and purpose then you probably thought it was a great show. If you thought it was a love letter to the pro wrestling indy scene, you probably thought it was a great show. If you are a obsessive Bullet Club fan and follow the Being the Elite series you probably thought this was a great show as well. On the other hand, if you felt like this show was promoted as the alternative for WWE but better matches, booking and quality of storytelling you were probably a little disappointed.

I am not saying this was a bad show by any means. It was a solid show with some fun parts that gave some exposure to some new stars. In the short time overall on the show the women were given I thought Jordynne Grace, Tessa Blanchard and Chelsea Green all had great showing. The pre show battle royal was great and the right guy won. In fact in most of the matches the right guy won. Okada/Scurll, Omega/Pentagon, Page/Janela and the 6 man tag were all good matches that either told a great story or were action packed. It was overall a solid show with some fun moments stacked in between.

On the downside though there left a lot to be desired. In the end it was an average show at best. It was sold to me to have lots of surprises and should have been everything a WWE pay per view was not, but there was some glaringly similar faults in the show. First was the match placements. If this was your first time watching anything like this and the first 2 matches you see on the pay per view are MJF vs Matt Cross and Stephen Amell vs Christopher Daniels you might have tuned out right away. I think opening with the 6 man tag would have been better closing the show with it. New viewers to the product would have been familiar with Rey Mysterio and the action provided would have set the tone for what should have been for the rest of the night. MJF and Matt Cross could have been cut from the show, but I guess when your a family member of someone in the business you get a spot over someone more deserving. Does that sound familiar.

Also for a show that was supposed to be the alternative to WWE there was more reference to WWE moments than anything else. With the NWA title being elevated tonight it would have been nice to see more nods to that then a Road Warrior Animal appearance, a figure four leglock, and Cody having his hair blond and bleeding. Aldis/Cody and Amell/Daniels were both very sloppy matches that could have been much better. ROH who had a piece in financing this show did themselves no favors with their tag champs losing clean on the preshow, and their world champion being promoted as a joke match. Jericho and Flip Gordon were supposed to be the big surprises of the night, but if you followed anything over the last few months you were not surprised at all, and the Joey Ryan stuff is just bad for business.

For everything good I can find to say I can find 2 or 3 flaws. The product didn’t really feel all that different from a WWE show. The quality should have been at least that of an NXT show with a very similar fan and talent base. In the end outside of Cody winning the NWA title the matches meant nothing and though there were some solid matches none of them come close to a match of the year candidate. I have to point out a few more things as well. Sami Callihan though controversial was definitely one of the bigger indie names to rise to prominence this year and should have maybe been included on the card. I also would have enjoyed if there was more of an African American presence on the main card. There are plenty of black wrestlers who could have had a spot. Tama Tonga and the firing squad could’ve made a surprise appearance that would have been more shocking than another Jericho appearance. And disappointingly, even though I am not his biggest fan a CM Punk appearance in Chicago would have been huge yet he was nowhere to be found.

In the end All In was an average show at the highest level with some good moments that will look great in a video package, but a lot of flaws that will prevent it from coming anywhere close to one of the top WWE or NJPW shows this year. To be honest I expected a lot more because it was promoted as a lot more. In the end wrestling is wrestling and the more things change the more they stay the same.

#All In

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SPICE - “I DON'T WANNA DIE IN NEW YORK” [Dais Records]

You may have heard that Ross Farrar of CEREMONY has a new band called SPICE, which includes his fellow CEREMONY bandmate Ian Simpson on guitar, Sabertooth Zombie’s Cody Sullivan on bass, and violinist Victoria Skudlarek. They just released their excellent debut self-titled album yesterday on Dais Records, and though it’s hard to define what CEREMONY is these days, it’s adjacent to the band’s genre-breaking foundation, as it sounds like early Walkmen as a shoegaze band or post-hardcore set to a singe. Celebrating the release is a new music video “I DON'T WANNA DIE IN NEW YORK”, a reckless abandon en route to buy a pack of cigs.

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yahoo-roto-arcade-blog · 6 years

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Shuffle Up: Searching for Bryce Harper

It’s been one of those years for Bryce Harper (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Ah, the outfield. Land of all the fun stats. If you can keep your players on the field, you might just get somewhere.

The numbers don’t matter in a vacuum; what matters is how the player prices relate to one another. Assume a 5×5 scoring system, as always. Everyone listed here has outfield eligibility in the Yahoo game at the current time. Players at the same cost are considered even, and don’t fret when players are just a buck or two apart, that’s not a big deal.

I’m not ranking the injured guys; it just becomes a silly game of “Who has the most injury optimism?”

[Yahoo Fantasy Football leagues are open: Sign up now for free!]

And I’m not a doctor. (Somebody get me a doctor.)

Have some disagreements? Have some major disagreements? That’s good! That’s why we have a game. I welcome your respectful disagreement anytime: @scott_pianowski on Twitter.

$44 Mike Trout $42 Mookie Betts $37 J.D. Martinez $32 Andrew Benintendi $30 Charlie Blackmon $30 Giancarlo Stanton $29 Aaron Judge $27 Christian Yelich $27 Eddie Rosario $27 Nelson Cruz $27 Bryce Harper $26 Scooter Gennett $25 Nick Castellanos

The good news with Harper is that he’s still adding value as an offensive player. His OPS+ of 124 is actually the median of his career (though his career average OPS+ is 139). A .366 OBP is still excellent; he leads the NL in walks. He has 20 home runs and a .475 slugging.

Then again, every number in Harper’s slash line is lower than we project. And the .216 average is 62 points lower than his career mark.

Perhaps he’s running into a lot of bad luck. His hard-hit rate is a career high, and his line-drive rate is almost identical to last year’s. He’s striking out a little more this year, but a 3.4-percent boost isn’t cause for alarm. A .223 BABIP is an obvious outlier, especially when combined with his batted-ball profile. Harper’s pull-happy profile also means more outs via the shift — maybe it would be in his best interests to lay down a bunt now and again, take an easy hit (especially when leading off an inning, when a baserunner is a boon for scoring chances).

Harper zone contact is a career low, which is surprising, but he’s not getting himself out — his chase rate is under his career mark.

I’m floor driven with my first-round picks, so I would not make Harper a Top 15 player if redrafting today. But he’s be a ticklish play anywhere in the second round. His bad season isn’t that bad. And his upside remains the moon (or maybe just slight of the moon; perhaps only Trout and Betts can get there).

Nick Castellanos hit his 10th home run of the season.

He’ll be an All-Star next month. pic.twitter.com/r5c9jI2874

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) June 26, 2018

I don’t know why pitchers keep challenging Castellanos, by far the only formidable stick in the Detroit lineup. Although the Tigers are 6-11 since Miguel Cabrera suffered his season-ending injury, Castellanos keeps rolling along (.288/.356/.667, seven homers). He’s fifth in hard-hit rate (training Olson, Carpenter, Suarez, and J.D. Martinez), and he’s No. 17 overall in soft-contact avoidance. Look at this messy Tigers lineup. I’d take my chances with anyone else . . . Does Rosario look out of place here? He shouldn’t. Here’s his last calendar year: .307/.346/.557, 102 runs, 35 home runs, 102 RBIs, 13 steals . . . Blackmon has too much back class for me to take him out of the 30s. Maybe this means nothing, but June has historically been his weakest month. He turned 32 on the weekend, so it’s too soon to worry about age. A .301 BABIP might not look out of order, but it’s 34 points below his career average. Hang in.

$22 Jose Martinez $22 George Springer $21 Marcell Ozuna $20 Matt Kemp $20 Starling Marte $18 Justin Upton $17 Michael Brantley $16 Max Muncy $15 Nomar Mazara $15 Shin-Soo Choo $15 Khris Davis $15 Mitch Haniger $15 Rhys Hoskins $15 Odubel Herrera $15 Juan Soto $15 Yasiel Puig

Very quietly Choo has been a Top 21 outfielder, producing in every category except stolen bases (and he’s not a total zero there, he has three). You just hope he can stay healthy in his age-36 season (the calendar flips for him on July 13). Choo isn’t getting a bump from Arlington this year (his OPS is 20 points higher on the road), but he does jump to a .933 OPS against right-handed pitching. He’s one of my favorites, an Ibanez All-Star to be sure. Boring but reliable veterans are a lovely target area in all fantasy sports. We don’t have to market our teams, we just want the numbers.

Puig had a .193 average in late April, when a hip injury forced him to the DL. In his 46 games since returning, he’s been solid — .295/.364/.548, nine homers. Somehow Puig only produced 24 runs and 20 RBIs from that slash, but we’ll take it. And for all the mistakes he makes through his mercurial ways, sometimes you get splashy highlights, too.

$14 Brandon Belt $14 Andrew McCutchen $14 Brandon Nimmo $14 Tommy Pham $13 Adam Jones $13 Aaron Hicks $13 Matt Olson $12 Whit Merrifield $12 Carlos Santana $12 Wil Myers $12 Jurickson Profar $12 Kyle Schwarber $12 Dee Gordon $12 Cody Bellinger $12 Adam Eaton $11 Derek Dietrich $11 Ian Desmond $11 Nick Markakis $11 Ryan Braun $11 David Peralta $10 Scott Schebler $10 Joc Pederson $10 Brett Gardner $10 Jesse Winker $10 Ronald Acuna $10 Adam Duvall $10 Eric Thames $9 Jason Heyward

Is Gordon’s toe injury still a concern? This is what he’s done in 30 games since returning from the disabled list: .246/.261/.285, with five steals in eight attempts. You knew you’d get zero power — no homers, seven RBIs. He’s scored a paltry 13 runs. I don’t think he’s healthy right now; at least, I’m not going to pay for him on the assumption that he is.

Although Heyward’s OBP has dipped a little in the No. 2 slot — a misleading change, since batting eighth in front of the pitcher is a driver of walks — he’s taken to the slot nicely, slashing .313/.347/.473, with 17 runs and 16 RBIs in 26 games. He’s shut down the running game and he is not a major power threat, but perhaps he can be a solid three-category contributor now.

$8 Gerardo Parra $8 Austin Meadows $8 Brian Anderson $8 Randal Grichuk $8 Chris Taylor $8 Mark Trumbo $8 Ender Inciarte $7 Avisail Garcia $7 Carlos Gonzalez $7 Jason Kipnis $7 Josh Reddick $7 Ian Happ $7 Josh Harrison $7 Stephen Piscotty $7 Teoscar Hernandez $7 Enrique Hernandez $7 Joey Gallo $6 Gorkys Hernandez $6 Ben Zobrist $6 Hunter Renfroe $6 Harrison Bader $6 Lonnie Chisenhall $5 Dustin Fowler $5 Manuel Margot $5 Gregory Polanco $5 Marwin Gonzalez $5 Jackie Bradley Jr. $5 Charlie Culberson $5 Delino DeShields $5 Kevin Pillar

Kipnis still has horrendous seasonal numbers, but he perked up over his last three weeks: .280/.357/.480, with four homers. His line-drive rate is up six percent from last year. Interestingly, he’s hitting .286 when shifted against, and .221 against a traditional defense . . . Bader would instantly jump into double-digits on my board if the Cardinals made a clear commitment to him . . . Polanco is a pain in the neck for weekly-lineup players, as the Pirates have four outfielders for three spots and he’s not the primary guy in that rotation.

$4 Albert Almora $4 Michael Taylor $4 Jon Jay $4 Corey Dickerson $4 Denard Span $4 Jose Pirela $4 Jonathan Villar $4 Nick Williams $4 Niko Goodrum $4 Michael Conforto $3 Danny Valencia $3 Ehire Adrianza $3 Alen Hanson $3 Eduardo Nunez $3 Travis Jankowski $3 Daniel Descalso $3 Mallex Smith $3 Jose Bautista $3 Curtis Granderson $3 Mark Canha $3 Franmil Reyes $3 Daniel Palka $3 Max Kepler

Mallex Smith is showing modest growth as a hitter, though a 97 OPS+ is still an eyelash below the league average of 100. Worst of all, he’s not improving as a base stealer —successful on just 15-of-22 swipes. And the Rays don’t prefer him at the top of the order, either; he’s batted seventh or lower in 49 of his 56 starts. Right now Smith is giving you a slightly-favorable average in a mixed league, a handful of steals — hopefully the caught-stealings don’t hurt you — disappointing runs scored, and no pop. It’s not like the fantasy community is going crazy for Smith, but he’s been moderately overrated for a while. The closer you get to Smith, the less fun he is.

$2 Ben Gamel $2 Tony Kemp $2 Rajai Davis $2 Brock Holt $2 Charlie Tilson $2 Cory Spangenberg $2 Jake Cave $2 Jacob Marisnick $2 Adam Engel $2 Chad Pinder $2 Scott Kingery $2 Robbie Grossman $2 Alex Gordon $2 Billy Hamilton $2 Lewis Brinson $2 Trey Mancini $2 Jarrod Dyson $2 Kevin Kiermaier $1 Hernan Perez $1 Ryan Rua $1 Matt Joyce $1 JaCoby Jones $1 Chris Owings $1 Kole Calhoun $0 Dexter Fowler

No debating the injured Lorenzo Cain AJ Pollock Byron Buxton David Dahl Franchy Cordero Jay Bruce Jorge Soler Kris Bryant Leonys Martin Matt Adams Steven Souza

Follow the Yahoo fantasy crew on Twitter: Andy Behrens, Dalton Del Don, Bradley Evans, Liz Loza, Scott Pianowski and Tank Williams

#_author:Scott Pianowski #_category:yct:001000854 #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_uuid:8c5bd6e4-ee24-3f49-84f6-62475da836f6 #_revsp:54edcaf7-cdbb-43d7-a41b-bffdcc37fb56

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junker-town · 7 years

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The actual top 100 NBA players of 2017

So who actually belongs on a top-100 list today? I put together a list with input from SB Nation’s writers.

As we endeavor to embarrass our future selves predict who will be the best NBA players in 2021 this week, it seemed appropriate to flash back to the last time we pulled this nonsense engaged in this exercise. Back in 2013, a collection of SB Nation NBA writers predicted who would be the top 100 players in 2017.

It is now 2017. So let’s find out how we did back then.

Of course, to help us determine that, we need to have some sort of idea of who the actual top 100 NBA players of 2017 are. This is somewhat controversial, but we do not present the list solely for the purposes of arguing. (We do that elsewhere on this website.)

This list was only developed as a way to learn from our predictions of four years ago. What types of players did we overvalue or undervalue? What is the actual difficulty in predicting players’ futures — assessing how players will age, how they will develop, who will get injured?

We share those learnings in a separate piece. Here, we just lay out the top 100 players of 2017 to use as our baseline for that effort. In parenthesis: our projected rankings for these players four years ago.

Enjoy.

Here’s how the #101of2021 countdown works. Read this before yelling at us.

Here’s the full #101of2021 list as its unveiled.

100. Rodney Hood (NR)

Hood probably would have been 30 spots higher if this list had been made in 2016. Basketball is weird.

99. Julius Randle (14)

Randle remains one of the most divisive young players in the NBA. His free agency is coming up soon and should be educational.

98. Andre Roberson (NR)

It’s hard to know where to rank defense-only players given the fact that defense is undervalued and easier to purchase on the market. But Roberson is such a good defender that he definitely belongs in the top 25 percent in the league.

97. Wilson Chandler (NR)

Wilson Chandler quietly puts up solid numbers in Denver when he’s healthy and not playing in China. Keep in mind that being the No. 97 player in the league puts you on what would be 20th team All-NBA. Coming in here is a compliment for sure, but it’s not that high of a compliment.

96. Ryan Anderson (67)

Anderson’s contract is gnarly — too gnarly to move, in fact -- but he’s quite a productive and useful player.

95. Robin Lopez (NR)

Lopez is a good defender who offers high-efficiency, low-volume offense. Quite a useful big man in today’s NBA.

94. Will Barton (NR)

Microwave bench scorers who don’t demand to start are valuable.

93. Zach Randolph (NR)

He still gets buckets and rebounds well into his 30s.

92. Jonas Valanciunas (18)

Valanciunas has never really put it all together -- I am among those who swore he’d be an All-Star someday -- but as with Lopez and others, he does enough to be quite useful at worst.

91. D'Angelo Russell (NR)

This is some projection to be sure, but Russell has a few tools that should serve him well, even if never becomes the star the Lakers originally saw him becoming.

90. T.J. Warren (NR)

One of my favorite young players in the league.

89. Nerlens Noel (25)

The less we talk about Nerlens Noel at this point, the better.

88. Jae Crowder (NR)

We’re not really considering contracts in this exercise. If we were, the ultra-affordable Crowder would be even higher. As it is, he’s a valuable wing defender and shooter who fits into a role. That’s so useful.

87. Pau Gasol (NR)

Gasol’s status is debatable at this point. But even though he’s a major minus on defense at this stage of his career, he gets buckets and rebounds. He can still pass like a maestro, too.

86. Khris Middleton (NR)

This may be too low for Middleton, a classic three-and-D who serves the defense-first Bucks quite well.

85. Dirk Nowitzki (NR)

Dirk is still doing it.

84. Enes Kanter (52)

Kanter would have been a prime player in the ‘90s or early ‘00s. These days, he’s a value reserve scorer and rebounder. You still need good reserves in the NBA!

83. Trevor Ariza (NR)

A leggy, energetic and smart defender who is just perfect for the Rockets’ frenetic style (provided it continues to be frenetic under the yoke of Chris Paul).

82. Joe Ingles (NR)

Slow Mo Joe is a cerebral, skilled forward who can shoot and pass quite well. He should take on extra importance with Gordon Hayward gone.

81. Dwight Howard (15)

There’s a serious argument to be made that Howard doesn’t belong on this list. But I value interior defense and rebounding enough to find him a spot.

80. Robert Covington (NR)

Covington is one of the best success stories in the NBA.

79. Cody Zeller (86)

Zeller has largely met expectations in Charlotte. I’m not sure there’s another leap up for him, but he’s already solid.

78. Aaron Gordon (92)

Someone, please, for the love of the Basketball Gods and all that is holy, figure out how to use Aaron Gordon in the NBA.

77. Zach LaVine (NR)

Someone, please, for the love of the Basketball Gods and all that is holy, let Zach LaVine come back as bouncy as ever.

76. Jabari Parker (26)

Someone, please, for the love of the Basketball Gods and all that is holy, don’t let Jabari go out like Brandon Roy. We’ve been hurt too many times.

75. Steven Adams (NR)

While I am concerned about the loss of the mustache, I remain confident Adams will bounce back from a down year to provide strong supplemental scoring and plenty of rebounding and defense for the Thunder.

74. Danilo Gallinari (64)

Gallo is an extremely competent scorer, and scoring matters a great deal in the NBA.

73. James Johnson (NR)

What a career twist in Miami!

72. Andre Iguodala (NR)

Still D.R.E.

71. Serge Ibaka (19)

The Serge Ibaka Drop-off has been greatly exaggerated. He was one of the most valuable Raptors down the stretch of last season, and his defense remains key.

70. Jeff Teague (76)

I don’t know exactly why the Wolves paid Teague so much more than what Ricky Rubio would have cost, but that doesn’t mean Teague is bad. He’s a good scorer and able to fit in around more talented teammates.

69. Dion Waiters (73)

Praise be the Clutch God, the King of Onions, the Master of Daggers.

68. Tristan Thompson (55)

Flexible defense from your big man is still highly important, as is rebounding.

67. Ricky Rubio (30)

Defense and passing are really important skills for a point guard, it turns out.

66. Reggie Jackson (NR)

Jackson is a tough player to rank. This grade requires you to believe the Jackson that led Detroit to a good record and playoff berth two years ago is the real Jackson. We’ll see.

65. Markieff Morris (NR)

Morris made quite a nice role for himself on a good Wizards team. We’ll see if his twin can do the same on the hated Celtics.

64. Victor Oladipo (44)

Oladipo isn’t equal value in a trade for Paul freaking George, but we shouldn’t hold that against him. He’s a solid two-way two guard in a league full of them.

63. Nicolas Batum (61)

Batum didn’t actually have a down year after signing his big contract, and 15-6-6 is nothing to sneeze at.

62. Dennis Schroder (74)

You never know. Being freed from the shackles of having a role on a good team could be wonderful for Schroder’s numbers.

61. Nikola Vucevic (69)

Vooch puts up numbers on a mystifying Orlando team.

60. Gary Harris (NR)

Harris is quickly climbing the two-guard rankings. There aren’t many you’d rather have at this point.

59. JaMychal Green (NR)

It’s hard to know whether Green is a product of Memphis’ morphing system or whether he’d be this good anywhere.

58. Patrick Beverley (NR)

Perhaps the best defender at point guard in the league, and a reliable shooter. His fit in Los Angeles will be fascinating. He’s not really a Doc Rivers type.

57. Eric Gordon (47)

Gordon stayed healthy in 2016-17, and that’s always been the only thing holding him back. He’s a dynamo scorer who can shoot and get to the rim.

56. Jrue Holiday (23)

He has to learn how to properly feed Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins. If he does, Holiday should be just the third banana New Orleans needs.

55. Dwyane Wade (60)

Dwyane Wade at 60 percent is better than most two guards at 100 percent.

54. Evan Fournier (NR)

Efficient, young 17-point scorers don’t grow on trees!

53. Tobias Harris (41)

Lost in the Pistons’ disaster season is the fact that Harris continues to be a really solid NBA forward.

52. George Hill (NR)

I’m not sure how Hill will succeed in Sacramento -- or what success would even look like there — but he proved his worth in Utah last year.

51. J.J. Redick (NR)

Trust the Process.

50. Myles Turner (NR)

Perhaps Turner deserves to be much higher on this list. He should get a big bump in usage rate this season. Let’s see how he deals with those extra possessions on offense.

49. Carmelo Anthony (33)

In the top-100 list in our hearts, Hoodie Melo is No. 1.

48. Otto Porter (97)

Porter will get extra scrutiny because of his enormous contract, but ignoring the money, he was incredibly valuable for a good Wizards team last season.

47. Avery Bradley (78)

How much losing Bradley hurts the Celtics will be an interesting plot line to follow this season.

46. Clint Capela (NR)

The perfect center for James Harden and probably Chris Paul.

45. Brook Lopez (17)

When do they build the Brook Lopez statue in Brooklyn?

44. Joel Embiid (NR)

Is 44 Embiid’s rank in today’s NBA, or the number of games he’ll play next season? Your call.

43. Goran Dragic (NR)

Dragic was a key engine behind Miami’s shocking run to the edge of the playoff race. He’s goooood.

42. LaMarcus Aldridge (21)

Aldridge has been a relative disappointment in San Antonio, but he’s still among the better power forwards in the NBA.

41. Harrison Barnes (40)

There are 24-30 All-Stars in any given season, depending on injuries. So consider that Barnes is just a bit outside that range. He’s not Kevin Durant, and he’s not really modern wing in the sense that he can’t draw fouls or get to the rim, but he’s pretty good.

40. Al Horford (37)

Horford had a slow start with Boston, but he quickly became a key cog and fan-favorite.

39. Andre Drummond (3)

I don’t even want to start talking about this.

38. Hassan Whiteside (NR)

The Instagram King and 20-10 machine!

37. Kevin Love (11)

It’s going to be really interesting to see how Love is featured in a post-Kyrie world.

36. Eric Bledsoe (46)

Bledsoe had one of the best quiet seasons in the league in 2016-17. His talents are being shrouded in bad Phoenix.

35. Devin Booker (NR)

Booker is also in Phoenix, but his spectacular offense is able to pull attention because of the gaudy numbers.

34. Kristaps Porzingis (NR)

Porzingis is already the best Knick (Hoodie Melo plays for no one), and he had an All-Star case a year ago. Odds are he gets there this season.

33. Andrew Wiggins (8)

The divisive Andrew Wiggins. Twenty-three points on not-inefficient shooting, though?

32. Kemba Walker (96)

Kemba!

31. C.J. McCollum (NR)

Just need a little more defense and a trade to the East to get him onto the All-Star team.

30. Bradley Beal (38)

Health and a new coach unlocked the Bradley Beal experience for all to enjoy. Keep it up.

29. Mike Conley (51)

Still the most underrated player in the NBA, seven years running.

28. Marc Gasol (35)

If he weren’t on the wrong side of 32, he’d be a few spots higher.

27. Paul Millsap (91)

Ditto Millsap, who should nonetheless be a solid influence in Denver’s revamped attack.

26. DeAndre Jordan (100)

Jordan took a huge step forward in Blake Griffin’s absence last year, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares without Chris Paul running the show.

25. DeMar DeRozan (NR)

The mid-range god.

24. Kyle Lowry (NR)

You wonder how Lowry feels about the Cavs-Celtics point guard swap. Does Lowry see a path through either or both teams now?

23. Nikola Jokic (NR)

Jokic had the fastest rise in reputation I think I’ve ever seen.

22. Blake Griffin (10)

Griffin is divisive. I think he can still be a top-10 player if he’s in a good place mentally. Still, I don’t know where his head is. No. 22 seems safe.

21. DeMarcus Cousins (22)

Incredible numbers and everyone will be watching him.

20. Isaiah Thomas (NR)

Note that I ranked Thomas one spot below Irving before the blockbuster trade. The gap is larger taking the future into account; I’m looking only at a moment in time. I do think Jae Crowder makes up that gap in this moment in time, and I believe the other assets close the longer-term gap as well.

19. Kyrie Irving (6)

But still, Kyrie is better right now.

18. Gordon Hayward (80)

Hayward hasn’t played with a point guard like Kyrie since his very early days in Utah (Deron Williams). It might be a wild adjustment.

17. Rudy Gobert (NR)

Defense matters.

16. Klay Thompson (83)

And so does shooting.

15. Damian Lillard (42)

Dame is probably a top-5 most exciting player to watch.

14. Draymond Green (NR)

New Pippen remains an absolute treasure on the overpowered Warriors.

13. Chris Paul (16)

The fit in Houston could be awkward while CP3 and James Harden figure things out, but CP3 always figures things out.*

(* Applies only from October to mid-April.**)

(** Sorry, that was rude.)

12. Paul George (13)

Paul George!

11. John Wall (20)

John Wall!

10. Jimmy Butler (58)

JIMMY BUTLER!

9. Karl-Anthony Towns (NR)

I’ll be shocked if Towns isn’t an All-Star and first team All-NBA center. He’s here.

8. Giannis Antetokounmpo (79)

Future MVP.

7. Anthony Davis (7)

FUTURE MVP. (What a huge season for A.D.)

6. Russell Westbrook (4)

Current MVP.http://ift.tt/2y6Gebr

5. James Harden (9)

Eternal MVP bridesmaid.

4. Kawhi Leonard (24)

Legitimately in the running for the best player in the world.

3. Stephen Curry (12)

Greatest shooter ever by a substantial margin.

2. Kevin Durant (1)

Neck-and-neck for Greatest Player Alive status.

1. LeBron James (2)

... but LeBron is still the king. And maaaybe the G.O.A.T.

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hazyheel · 5 years

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AEW Double Or Nothing Predictions

Ah, the first show for AEW, possibly the savior of the American wrestling business. I really hope that the company succeeds, and judging by this card, I really think that they will. It is a stacked show, and I cannot wait to see it. Even with only one title match, it looks super good. Lets get into the predictions.

Lets start with the Casino Battle Royal. There are 21 people in the match, which is unlike other battle royals. Every 5 minutes, a group of five Wrestlers enters the match. At the end, one lone wrestler, probably a surprise, enters as the last man. A couple big names are in this one, such as MJF, Brandon Cutler, Joey Janela, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Havoc, Jungle Boy and Shawn Spears (was Tye Dillinger in WWE). There are a lot of guys in this match, and it feels like that lucky number 21 will win, but I am going to predict Joey Janela for this match. His star is just about peaking, and I think they need to capitalize on that. Whoever wins the match gets a shot at the future AEW world championship, and I think Janela would be a good challenger.

In a singles match on the pre show, Kip Sabian takes on Sammy Guevara in a singles match. Not much of a story here, so I’m gonna guess that Guevara wins here.

Then we have Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, and Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho, and Ryo Mizunami. I don’t really know much about these ladies, AEW will probably be my first exposure to them, but I am going to go with Aja Kong’s team because I have heard of her.

Another 6 person tag, SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian) takes on StrongHearts (CIMA, T-Hawk, and El Lindaman.) This is a simple introduction to the partnership between OWE and AEW, so I think that Stronghearts are going to win here to put them over.

A three way women’s match is next, Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae. Not much story here other than some problems between Rose and Rae, but once again, I don’t know anyone in the match too well. I am gonna go with Baker because she is dating Adam Cole, so I kinda know her I guess.

A tag match is next, The Best Friends vs. Angelico & Jack Evans. This was a match that Trent begged for, and he is finally getting it. I think that Angelico and Evans will win here, to continue to highlight the problems between Baretta and Taylor. Plus, Angelico hasn’t been in a major promotion since he left Lucha Underground, so it’ll be exciting to see him again.

So, this next one is weird. Adam Page was supposed to have a match against Pac, but Pac refused recently because he did not want to lose. Now, I think there is a good reason for that given that he is the Open the Dream Gate Champion in Dragon Gate, which is their top championship and he is taking it seriously. So, they are having a match elsewhere, one that will end in a non-finish, but that leaves Page without a match. I think he will have something, so I am just gonna say that he wins whatever match he ends up being booked in.

Next up we have Cody vs. Dustin, the battle of the brothers. Dustin was Goldust in WWE, but he recently left and joined AEW. Cody is claiming that this win will finally kill the attitude era. So, there are two ways to look at this. Either “the attitude era is good,” where Dustin will win because Cody is being a dickish heel, or “attitude era represents WWE’s victory,” where Cody will win to establish the company. Given that I have had the actual elite losing most of their matches on this card, I am going to say that Cody will win and really cement themselves as a competitor to WWE on this bigger market.

Then a huge rematch between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. They had a huge brawl over the IWGP United States Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12, and since then have come to blows a few more times. Notably, Jericho attacked Omega at All In, and Omega beat Jericho in a 6-man tag on his own cruise last year. They have come to blows in an indie promotion over the past few weeks, and this is looking like it’ll be a great match. However, it is easy to predict. Jericho recently announced himself as Okada’s latest challenger for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, so he can’t lose here. Jericho goes over, leaving nothing but a rubber match between the two.

And in the main event (probably), The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros for the AAA World Tag Team Championships. These teams have a lot of history, from PWG to the Crash and tons of other promotions, but this story is simple. The Lucha Bros attacked The Young Bucks after they signed their AEW contracts. They had another confrontation at an AAW show a while later, and the final nail in the coffin happened when the Young Bucks challgned the Lucha Bros for the AAA World Tag Team Championships that the Lucha Bros won only minutes before. The Young Bucks won, and are the reigning champs, so this is a rematch. I am most looking forward to this match, because I absolutely love both teams, and I think that the Young Bucks are gonna win here. Them holding AAA’s tag team championships is a symbol of the working relationship, so I think that makes sense. I will be rooting for Fenix and Pentagon Jr on the night, but I don’t think they can pull it off.

So, that is the card. Unfortunately I will not be able to watch live, I am going away for Memorial Day weekend, but I will get the review up no matter how late it is. This is a huge event for the wrestling world at large, and I am very excited.

#hazyheel #aew #double or nothing #aew double or nothing #aew predictions #double or nothing predictions #aew double or nothing predictions #jericho vs. omega #young bucks vs. lucha bros #cody vs. dustin #pro wrestling #pro wrestling predictions

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junker-town · 7 years

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We imagined how an NBA expansion draft would look today

All 30 SB Nation NBA blogs joined in to imagine a future where the league adds to expansion teams. Here are the results.

The NBA is approaching a 14th season existing with 30 teams, the longest period of time that the league has gone without adding or losing teams. Ever since the Charlotte Bobcats — now Hornets — joined in 2004, the 30-team league has been a happy, if flawed, default.

The NBA is also experiencing a global boom. It’s making more money than ever before, highlighted by a record-breaking nine-year, $24 billion television deal that kicked in last season. It’s rapidly growing in popularity both in the United States, where 29 of the 30 teams are located, and globally, where more and more international players are introduced to the league. Given the way this world works, and how quickly the NBA is rising, it was no surprise when NBA commissioner Adam Silver said this about expanding to 31 or 32 teams:

“I don’t want to put a precise timeline on it, but it’s inevitable at some point,” he told C.J. McCollum. (Yes, that’s Blazers guard C.J. McCollum).

Inevitable. That’s a strong word, but that’s where the league is headed.

SB Nation’s Tom Ziller is all over the logistics. You can read this explainer about what would need to happen for the NBA to vote for expansion, and also 13 places where the NBA could expand to, including two international options. (Not London!)

All those things have to be worked out by the smart people in the NBA before any expansion could be approved. We at SB Nation don’t have those same limitations, and we also know that there’s one especially fun thing about the process: The Expansion draft.

So, we are doing one of our own.

The concept is simple: all 30 teams can protect eight players off their roster, and the two expansion teams (it might just be one, but we’re going with two because it’s more fun) can pick from the remaining pool. They’d also get a top draft pick, but that’s not a major factor for this exercise.

We asked all 30 of our SB Nation NBA team blogs which eight players they would hold back from the expansion draft, and had them answer why.

Here’s who they protected and why:

Peachtree Hoops (Atlanta Hawks): Dennis Schroder, Taurean Prince, DeAndre Bembry, John Collins, Dewayne Dedmon, Mike Muscala, Ersan Ilyasova, Kent Bazemore

Celtics Blog (Boston Celtics): Isaiah Thomas, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Ante Zizic

Nets Daily (Brooklyn Nets): D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert, Allen Crabbe, Jarrett Allen, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeMarre Carroll, Jeremy Lin

At the Hive (Charlotte Hornets): Kemba Walker, Dwight Howard, Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, Malik Monk, Marvin Williams

Blog a Bull (Chicago Bulls): Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, Denzel Valentine, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio, Paul Zipser, Jerian Grant

Fear the Sword (Cleveland Cavaliers): LeBron James, Kyrie Irving (for now), Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Cedi Osman, Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson

Mavs Moneyball (Dallas Mavericks): Harrison Barnes, Dennis Smith Jr., Seth Curry, Nerlens Noel (assuming he re-signs), Dirk Nowitzki, Yogi Ferrell, J.J. Barea, Salah Mejri

Denver Stiffs (Denver Nuggets): Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler, Juancho Hernangomez, Will Barton, Emmanuel Mudiay

Detroit Bad Boys (Detroit Pistons): Andre Drummond, Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson, Luke Kennard, Henry Ellenson, Ish Smith, Reggie Jackson

Golden State of Mind (Golden State Warriors): Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Patrick McCaw, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Bell

The Dream Shake (Houston Rockets): James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker, Trevor Ariza, Zhou Qi, Nene

Indy Cornrows (Indiana Pacers): Myles Turner, T.J. Leaf, Glenn Robinson III, Cory Joseph, Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo, Thaddeus Young, Lance Stephenson

Clips Nation (Los Angeles Clippers): Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers, Milos Teodosic, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell

Silver Screen & Roll (Los Angeles Lakers): Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Clarkson, Brook Lopez, Larry Nance Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Grizzly Bear Blues (Memphis Grizzlies): Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Ben McLemore, JaMychal Green (assuming he re-signs), Deyonte Davis, Wayne Selden, Tyreke Evans, Brandan Wright

Hot Hot Heat (Miami Heat): Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, James Johnson, Dion Waiters, Bam Adebayo, Josh Richardson, Kelly Olynyk, Justise Winslow

Brew Hoop (Milwaukee Bucks): Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Thon Maker, Malcolm Brogdon, Tony Snell, D.J. Wilson, Sterling Brown

Canis Hoopus (Minnesota Timberwolves): Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Gorgui Dieng, Tyus Jones, Jeff Teague, Nemanja Bjelica, Justin Patton

The Bird Writes (New Orleans Pelicans): Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Jrue Holiday, Solomon Hill, Cheick Diallo, Frank Jackson, E’Twaun Moore, Rajon Rondo

Posting & Toasting (New York Knicks): Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, Frank Ntilikina, Carmelo Anthony, Damyean Dotson, Kyle O’Quinn, Courtney Lee, Ron Baker

Welcome to Loud City (Oklahoma City Thunder): Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, Patrick Patterson, Alex Abrines, Enes Kanter, Raymond Felton

Orlando Pinstriped Post (Orlando Magic): Jonathan Isaac, Aaron Gordon, Arron Afflalo, Elfrid Payton, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, Jonathon Simmons, Marreese Speights

Liberty Ballers (Philadelphia 76ers): Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Robert Covington, Dario Saric, J.J. Redick, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarot, Richaun Holmes

Bright Side of the Sun (Phoenix Suns): Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Tyler Ulis, Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren, Alan Williams

Blazer’s Edge (Portland Trail Blazers): Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Al-Farouq Aminu, Zach Collins, Caleb Swanigan, Maurice Harkless, Noah Vonleh

Sactown Royalty (Sacramento Kings): De’Aaron Fox, Skal Labissiere, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Justin Jackson, Buddy Hield, Willie Cauley-Stein, Harry Giles, Malachi Richardson

Pounding the Rock (San Antonio Spurs): Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, DeJonte Murray, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge, Davis Bertans, Kyle Anderson

Raptors HQ (Toronto Raptors): Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell, Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl, O.G. Anunoby, Jonas Valanciunas

SLC Dunk (Utah Jazz): Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Donovan Mitchell, Derrick Favors, Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson

Bullets Forever (Washington Wizards): John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Markieff Morris, Marcin Gortat, Kelly Oubre, Tim Frazier, Mike Scott

Then there’s the actual draft.

Using the players our team communities left unprotected, SB Nation’s Kristian Winfield drafted one team, while our Seattle Supersonics blog Sonics Rising — a hopeful and extremely likely expansion team whenever it finally happens — selected the other. They will unveil their rosters at noon ET.

NOTE: Per expansion draft rules, each new expansion team is limited to one selection per NBA team. Hence, some of the picks.

Remember the time we last did this?

Tom Ziller will take a stroll down memory lane to 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) entered the league. There were some odd players left unprotected and some fascinating ripple effects.

Who would you pick?

Now it’s your turn. Here are the five most notable players left unprotected at each position.

And here’s the full list. Pick four from each category (but not two players from the same team) and let us know your 12-man rosters in the comments section:

GUARDS: Malcolm Delaney, Terry Rozier, Isaiah Whitehead, Langston Galloway, Lou Williams, D.J. Augustin, Derrick White, Derrick Rose, Joe Young, Jawun Evans, Troy Daniels, Jamal Crawford, Frank Mason III, Michael Carter-Williams, Kay Felder, Darren Collison, Wade Baldwin, Jerryd Bayless, Brandon Knight, Fred VanVleet, Cameron Payne, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Tyler Ennis, Andrew Harrison, Tyler Johnson, Matthew Dellavedova, Jordan Crawford, Shabazz Napier, Tomas Satoransky, Sean Kilpatrick, Briante Weber, Jose Calderon, Mario Chalmers, Shelvin Mack, T.J. McConnell, Pat Connaughton, Bobby Brown, Ian Clark, Semaj Christon, Randy Foye, Tony Parker, Archie Goodwin

WINGS: Jeremy Lamb, Dwyane Wade, Iman Shumpert, Corey Brewer, Chandler Parsons, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kyle Singler, Alec Burks, Dwayne Bacon, Dorian Finney-Smith, Luol Deng, Nik Stauskas, Evan Turner, C.J. Miles, Tyler Dorsey, David Nwaba, Malik Beasley, Nick Young, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Sindarius Thornwell, Josh Hart, Wayne Ellington, Quincy Pondexter, Lance Thomas, Doug McDermott, Evan Fournier, Brandon Paul, Thabo Sefolosha, Jodie Meeks, Luke Babbitt, Johnny O’Bryant, Reggie Bullock, Omri Casspi, Troy Williams, Bojan Bogdanovic, DeAndre Liggins, Mindaugis Kuzminskas, Michael Beasley, Jerami Grant, Garrett Temple, Bryn Forbes, Marco Belinelli, Abde Nader, Justin Holiday, Wesley Matthews, Wesley Johnson, Okaro White, Darius Miller, Jared Dudley, Bruno Caboclo, Nicolas Brussino, Marcus Morris, Joe Harris, Treveon Graham, Eric Moreland, Rodney McGruder, Rashad Vaughn, Furkan Korkmaz, Jake Layman, Vince Carter, Semi Ojeleye, Jeff Green, Justin Anderson, Derrick Jones Jr., Rudy Gay, Mario Hezonja, Terrance Ferguson,

BIGS: Dwight Powell, Kenneth Faried, David West, Ryan Anderson, Kevin Seraphin, A.J. Hammonds, Spencer Hawes, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik, Jahlil Okafor, Tyson Chandler, Meyers Leonard, Georgios Papagiannis, Pascal Siakam, Ian Mahinmi, Miles Plumlee, Jon Leuer, Gershon Yabusele, Quincy Acy, Robin Lopez, Trey Lyles, Jon Leuer, Zaza Pachulia, Chinanu Onuaku, Udonis Haslem, Greg Monroe, Alexis Ajinca, Joakim Noah, Nick Collison, Bismack Biyombo, Alex Len, Pau Gasol, Jonas Jerebko, Chris McCullough, Aron Baynes, Timofey Mozgov, Josh McRoberts, Boban Marjanovic, John Henson, Cole Aldrich, Amir Johnson, Ed Davis, Daniel Theis, Trevor Booker, Edy Tavares, Khem Birch, Lucas Nogueira, Ekpe Udoh, Mason Plumlee, Anthony Tolliver, Kevon Looney, Tarik Black, Ike Anigbogu, Ivica Zubac, Mirza Teletovic, Dakari Johnson, Kosta Koufos, Tony Bradley, Channing Frye, Darrell Arthur, Damian Jones, Brice Johnson, Thomas Bryant, Joffrey Lauvergne, Joel Bolomboy, Jason Smith, Tyler Lydon, JaVale McGee, Al Jefferson, Willie Reed, Zach Randolph

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junker-town · 7 years

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NBA mock draft 2017: Finding the best possible fit for every team

The 2017 NBA Draft is just over three weeks away. This is our latest projection with a heavy emphasis on fit.

The eternal question in the NBA draft is fit vs. best player available. There are arguments to be made for either side, but in this week’s mock draft we’ll be focusing exclusively on fit.

How does that impact this mock draft? For one, it’s pushed traditional big men down the board, with Justin Patton falling all the way to No. 29 and Ivan Rabb slipping to the second round. It also places a premium on shooting, as Malik Monk rises up to No. 3 and UCLA’s T.J. Leaf sneaks into the end of the lottery.

It’s hard to believe with the NBA Finals still in full swing, but the draft is just over three weeks away. If you think the Warriors are making basketball a formality in the present, there’s nothing better to do than lose yourself in the hope of the future. This draft class is going to be a lot of fun. Let’s mock.

1. Boston Celtics - Markelle Fultz, G, Washington

The best fit for the Celtics was always going to be the best long-term prospect. That’s Fultz. Boston already has a team that finished as the No. 1 seed in the East and reached the conference finals. Now they’re thinking bigger, and the best way to get there is playing the long game. Fultz will be the first major piece of that plan.

My thoughts on Fultz are well documented: he can be a franchise cornerstone at point guard in the mold of a bigger Kyrie Irving. If you didn’t see him play at Washington, don’t worry about it. No one is going to care about what he did as a college player when the Celtics are competing for championships in a few years ... unless the Warriors are still together.

2. Los Angeles Lakers - Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA

This will be the most debated pick of the draft. The Lakers are apparently giving serious consideration to both Josh Jackson and De’Aaron Fox, but Lonzo Ball remains the favorite. I think it’s the right pick: Ball may never average 20 points per game, but he’s a basketball genius who will help the Lakers win games.

Ball simply thinks the game two steps ahead of everyone else. He should make life so much easier for D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram by cranking up the pace and getting them the ball in positions to score. This could quickly become one of the best young trios in the league for the Lakers.

3. Philadelphia 76ers - Malik Monk, G, Kentucky

As I’ve written before, the Sixers hold the keys to the draft at No. 3. I do not think Malik Monk is the third best player in this draft — I’d give that honor to Josh Jackson — but there’s no denying how well Monk fits Philadelphia. He looks like the ideal running mate for Ben Simmons: a young guard who can hit shots all over the court and has the athleticism to run with him in transition. He’ll always be small for an off-guard, but who cares? He fills the Sixers’ biggest need both positionally and skill-wise.

In the end, I still would probably take Jackson, but in the “fit” mock draft, Monk is an easy pick.

4. Phoenix Suns - Josh Jackson, G/F, Kansas

The Suns should jump all over Jackson if he’s still on the board with the fourth pick. He’s the ultimate gamer who sets the edge on both ends of the floor with near-elite athleticism and unparalleled competitiveness. He’s also an unselfish player who can handle and the pass the ball like a guard. The Suns already have scorers in Devin Booker and T.J. Warren and one of the game’s most underappreciated point guards in Eric Bledsoe. Jackson fits this roster seamlessly.

5. Sacramento Kings - De’Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky

The Kings were roundly panned for their return in the Boogie Cousins trade, but think of it this way: if Sacramento kept Cousins, it’s like they have lost their first round pick to the Chicago Bulls by finishing outside of the bottom-10. Instead, the Kings have a shooting guard they love in Buddy Hield and two top-10 selections. I’m going to argue that, ultimately, it’s pretty decent haul.

Now the Kings have to make these picks count in a way they’ve been unable to do since .... they drafted Cousins. Fox would be an easy choice. He has A+ speed, competes on both ends of the floor and should grow into at least an average shooter. The Kings need a new face of the franchise and Fox can be just that.

6. Orlando Magic - Jayson Tatum, F, Duke

More than anything, the Magic need some starpower that’s been missing since the Dwight Howard trade. Tatum is the best bet to provide it. He’s a crafty and versatile scorer who should be averaging more than 20 points per game in his prime. He’s the most advanced scorer in this class next to Fultz and would be a great building block from an Orlando team under new management.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves - Jonathan Isaac, F, Florida State

The Wolves have the ultimate building block in place with Karl-Anthony Towns. Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine both just averaged more than 20 points per game in what should have been their senior year of college. Minnesota might have the brightest long-term future in the league (..... next to the Warriors), but they need one more piece. Isaac is the ideal fit.

Isaac is a 6’10 forward with great quickness and developing shooting ability. He has the potential to grow into a defensive stud at the four between Towns and Wiggins and also stretch out the opposing defense with his jumper. He could be a super role player in the right system. Minnesota is exactly that.

8. New York Knicks - Frank Ntilikina, PG, France

I would take Dennis Smith Jr. over Ntilikina, but I’m not sure the Knicks would for one reason: Ntilikina looks like a better fit in the Triangle, which Phil Jackson has been adamant about bringing back. A Triangle point guard (word to Ron Harper) needs good size, shooting ability and a willingness to move the ball. Ntilikina checks those boxes. One concern: he’s still only 18 years old. Knicks fans will have to be patient with him.

9. Dallas Mavericks - Dennis Smith Jr., PG, NC State

Smith is a strong, explosive point guard who thrives taking the ball to the rack. The best part about this fit is he’ll be great with the spacing Dirk Nowitzki provides. The worst part about this fit is Dirk won’t be around forever.

10. Sacramento Kings - Lauri Markkanen, PF, Arizona

If the Kings take Fox at No. 5, it’s going to be paramount to get shooters in the front court. There is none better than Markkanen, a Finnish 7-footer with an ultra-quick release and soft touch who hit 69 threes at a 43.2 percent clip. If Fox is indeed Sacramento’s first pick, the Kings should be praying for Markkanen to fall to No. 10.

11. Charlotte Hornets - Justin Jackson, SF, North Carolina

This is both an on-court and off-court fit: Jackson should pull in local fans as a three-year star for UNC and he also fills Charlotte’s biggest need for a backcourt scorer next to Kemba Walker. Jackson’s improvement as a three-point shooter has to be for real for him to justify this slot in the draft.

12. Detroit Pistons - Zach Collins, C, Gonzaga

If this were a big board, I’d have Collins at either No. 10 or No. 11 alongside Ntilikina. The problem is it’s hard to find a fit for him in the late lottery. The Hornets already have Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky. The Nuggets have Nikola Jokic and the Heat have Hassan Whiteside. I think Detroit works because Collins could either play with or behind Andre Drummond at the start of his career. He’d give Detroit a more skilled option at center.

13. Denver Nuggets - OG Anunoby, F, Indiana

I’ve had Anunoby to Denver for most of the year. His defensive ability and versatility should complement Denver’s two long-term building blocks well: Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. If Denver were up higher in this draft, Jonathan Isaac would be an even better fit because of his superior mobility. If Denver attempts to trade up on draft night, Isaac would be a great target.

14. Miami Heat - T.J. Leaf, PF, UCLA

Miami at No. 14 was the most difficult pick of this mock draft for me. It feels like they could go in any direction. Leaf gets the call here because we know Erik Spoelstra demands shooting in the front court. Ideally, Whiteside should be able to cover up some of Leaf’s defensive shortcomings.

15. Portland Trail Blazers - Terrance Ferguson, SG/SF, Adelaide (NBL)

The Blazers are in a fascinating position in this draft: three first round picks with roster that has high priced veterans at almost every position. In a perfect world, Portland would be able to find a small forward and power forward who defend and stretch the floor. Ferguson could fill that need at the three. He’s a major athlete with lots of potential as a shooter.

16. Chicago Bulls - Donovan Mitchell, SG, Louisville

The Bulls front office has gone on record saying they don’t love the idea of playing Jimmy Butler point guard, but it’s probably the team’s most pragmatic solution. If Chicago were to commit to Butler running the point on offense, it would need to find someone who could defend point guards and add some supplemental playmaking. Mitchell can do just that while also doubling as one of the best pure athletes in this draft. If you want an upside comp for Mitchell, think Avery Bradley.

17. Milwaukee Bucks - D.J. Wilson, F, Michigan

Will the Bucks continue to go with high-risk, high-reward draft picks now that former GM John Hammond is in Orlando? If so, Wilson could make sense. In a way, he’d be insurance at power forward after Jabari Parker tore his ACL for the second time. He could also potentially play with any pairing of Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Thon Maker to give Milwaukee a bunch of switchable athletes with versatile offensive games.

18. Indiana Pacers - Luke Kennard, SG, Duke

Kennard shot up all the way to No. 11 in the most recent DraftExpress mock after the Hornets watched him at his pro day. His shooting ability is certainly going to be attractive to a lot of teams, but ultimately questions about his defense could keep him out of the lottery. If he’s still available at No. 18, the Pacers should jump all over him. Indiana’s future is clouded by the Paul George situation, but adding shooters is wise regardless of whether PG13 sticks around or not.

19. Atlanta Hawks - Jarrett Allen, C, Texas

Allen to Atlanta would be a great situation for both the player and the team. Allen would be able to spend a season or

two developing behind Dwight Howard while Atlanta gets a great value at No. 19 on a player who has the talent to go in the late lottery. Allen is long and mobile and has flashed offensive skill. One of the more interesting position battles of this draft is him vs. Justin Patton.

20. Portland Trail Blazers - Rodions Kurucs, SF, Barcelona

Kurucs is a good pick for a team with three first rounders because he could be a draft-and-stash guy as a rookie. He’s got good size, a promising shooting stroke and reportedly high basketball IQ. Portland should be thrilled to have the chance to draft him at No. 20.

21. Oklahoma City Thunder - Sterling Brown, SF, SMU

OK, so this would be a bit of a reach. Brown didn’t even get invited to the combine and is projected to go No. 47 on DraftExpress. However, that No. 47 is up 12 spots from where he was last week. Everyone needs 3-&-D wings and Brown looks like one. He hit at least 44 percent of his threes in his last three years at SMU and also has good size at 6’6 with a 6’9.5 wingspan. He’s the younger brother of former Lakers guard Shannon Brown.

22. Brooklyn Nets - Harry Giles, C, Duke

Giles to Brooklyn is an ideal fit. The Nets might as well swing for the fences with their two first round picks. Giles was once the top recruit in America and considered a potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick before repeated knee injuries tanked his stock. Still just 19 years old, Giles just need to stay healthy for this pick to be worth the risk.

23. Toronto Raptors - Isaiah Hartenstein, PF/C, Germany

A big man who can hit the glass and play solid positional defense, Hartenstein would be a quality addition to Toronto’s front court whether they keep Serge Ibaka or not.

24. Utah Jazz - Semi Ojeleye, F, SMU

Is Ojeleye a 3-&-D wing or an undersized stretch four? Either way, he’d help a Utah team that got good production out of veterans Boris Diaw and (especially) Joe Johnson this season. Those guys won’t be around forever. Ojeleye provides similar three-level scoring ability that should make him a good fit in Utah.

25. Orlando Magic - Juwan Evans, PG, Oklahoma State

If the Magic get a big scorer like Tatum with their first pick, a floor general like Evans makes sense at No. 25. Evans is short, but he’s tough and really skilled. He helmed the most efficient offense in college basketball last season at Oklahoma State and drew CP3 comparisons in the process. That might have been going a little overboard, but there’s still lots to like about his game.

26. Portland Trail Blazers - Tyler Lydon, PF, Syracuse

If the Blazers keep all three first rounders, it would make sense to target a stretch four with one of them. Lydon can be that guy. He broke out as a freshman during Syracuse’s unlikely run to the Final Four, but slipped under the radar this year in large part because ‘Cuse missed the tournament completely. He’s a tougher rebounder than his reputation would suggestion, but shooting is the foundation of his game.

27. Brooklyn Nets - Derrick White, G, Colorado

White is a nice pick at this point in the first round because he doesn’t really take anything off the table. He can play either on or off the ball because he does a little bit of everything: shoot, pass and dribble with enough athleticism to compete at this level.

28. Los Angeles Lakers - John Collins, PF, Wake Forest

John Collins vs. Ivan Rabb is another super interesting draft battle. Collins is the superior scorer and rebounder but it feels like Rabb has a more all around game. Either would be a great choice for the Lakers at No. 28, but we’ll go with Collins because he’s better at what he does well.

29. San Antonio Spurs - Justin Patton, C, Creighton

Patton could easily go 15 spots higher than this, which means of course he’ll slip to the Spurs.

30. Utah Jazz - Frank Jackson, G, Duke

Frank Jackson’s dad was a Utah state senator. Frank went to state powerhouse Lone Peak High School. You gotta take the local boy, Jazz.

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