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grapsandclaps · 6 years

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GRAPS AND CLAPS REVIEWS THE BEST AND WORST OF 2017.

Hello Everyone! Welcome to this issue of Graps and Claps reviewing what was 2017 - one that has been full of highs, lows and middle of the road going on's in general.

Having only started these memoirs of 2017 in late March it looks like it has proved popular amongst the masses on Twitter, even to the effect that I have met new people at shows due to them reading this blog.

I'm happy to admit that at the start of this year, I never had any intention of pursuing a writing/blogging career, but due to some advice from a couple of people and also due to the fact I had a really bad day at work it took me to the decision - what had I got to lose from writing about something I guess I avidly follow around the country?.

The original #80showyear which at the start of the year looked a reachable target after I had done 76 the year before. But as soon as the realisation that 80 was going to be surpassed, the silly side in me thought 100 was the more likely target and even now it has been surpassed and now ended on a total of 104 for the year.

By the looks of the greater world, another half a dozen people have gone past the 100 and beyond marker including two lads I have met a lot this year at shows - Martin and Davey.

Davey I first met at GPW early this year and was a relative stranger to me at that time, but has become a part of the furniture at nearly all the local shows I am at now. For the life of me I don't know how Davey keeps awake at shows, must be something they put in the Pepsi Max nowadays - but it has been great to meet someone who has been doing a similar thing to myself (Top lad).

When I look back on this year and forward to next year I will say one of my problems was once I knew I could make a certain figure, the numbers took over my head and I would book tickets to shows that were on my doorstep or about an hour away.

Never has their been a year where I have ever gone to shows in Todmorden, Middleton and Halifax, but this year was the year, I mean if there was a show in a back garden somewhere I would have probably turned up clapping away and reviewing the spread of sarnies No.10 had put on.

With doing 104 shows it all comes to a very high cost. From trains, tickets, drink, food and hotels the cost all mounts up and it has been one thing that has hit me hard this year.

As mentioned before in an earlier edition, I talked about the over £300 I spent on a trip to London on the August Bank Holiday to watch what was basically a Progress 'Go Home Raw' show which left me cursing my own head on spending that amount of money on what was a very missable 4 hour show.

Ever since then, there has been many times (Fight Club Pro Project Mayhem Night 2, WXW London & PCW Blackpool) to name specific ones where I have had the 'face of worry' due to my own stupidity of trying to afford going to shows, going to gigs and football plus other things - trying to live the Champagne lifestyle on lemonade pockets.

This is something I have already i've said to myself, it won't happen in 2018. Cutting out the number of London trips and going to Wolverhampton instead, which is a cheaper option all around and some might say the better wrestling product.

Also not going to some shows just for the sake of it, even though it is great going to shows meeting friends, the 4 and 5 show weekenders can become a bit tiring on the body.

There has been many a Monday morning where I have literally felt worn out and wanting to stop under my duvet and sleep but hey these shows don't pay for themselves.

One exception to the rule next year will be a trip to WXW 16 Carat Gold which is an event I have always wanted to go to after hearing so many great things from people who have gone in the past years.

So as with any year end review, I would like to give out some thoughts on the best of 2017 awards for Show of the Year, Match of the Year, Chant of the Year, Pub of the Year, Promotion of the Year, Comedy moment of the year.

LET'S BEGIN!!

UK Show of the Year:

1. Fight Club Pro DTTI Night 1

2. WXW London (January)

3. Chikara King of Trios Night 2

4. PCW Tribute to the Troops Night 2

5. Progress SSS16 Night 3

Fight Club Pro DTTI gets the verdict in a close contest due to the fact of it's ridiculous card of riches headlined by The Elite vs British Strong Style but with also an exceedingly strong undercard only featuring one downpoint which was The Hunter Brothers vs The LDRS. The venue might as well have won an award for itself for the 'Hotter than the sun' Award, the whiff of wrestling fans was certainly bottled up on that night.

Match of the Year:

1. Matt Riddle vs WALTER (Progress Birmingham in July).

2. Travis Banks vs Soner Durson II (Futureshock Wrestling).

3. David Starr vs WALTER (WXW London October).

4. Daisuke Sekimoto vs Keith Lee (XWA Bethnal Green)

5. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Angelico (FCP DTTI Night 2).

The Atlas title clash between Matt Riddle vs WALTER wins a hotly contested award thanks to its believability of two men hitting each other really hard, the chops to Riddles chest were some of the most vicious chops I have seen all year. When a match leaves you with goosebumps they have certainly got you by the short and curlys and this delivered that.

A close contender to the No.1 spot was Travis Banks vs Soner Durson II from Futureshock Wrestling which left a 200 strong Stockport crowd in awe and amazement after a breathtaking 20 minute contest. The literal buzz after this contest was something that had to be seen to be believed, a star making match for Durson and a belt making match for the Adrenaline Title.

Chant of the Year

1. WOOOAAAHHH HERE HE COMES, WATCH OUT BOYS HE'LL CHEW YOU UP, WOOAAAHHHH HERE HE COMES, HE'S A FLAMITA.

2. EVERY WOMAN EVERY MAN JOIN THE DONOVAN OF LOVE, STAND UP STAND UP!

3. PURPLE FACE PURPLE FACE, ONLY WANT TO SEE YOU WRESTLING WITH YOUR PURPLE FACE

4. CHICKEN IN A BIN IN A BIN CHICKEN IN A BIN!!

5. BALDY BALDY OVER THERE, WHATS IT LIKE TO HAVE NO HAIR, IS IT HOT, IS IT COLD, I DON'T KNOW COS I'M NOT BALD.

A runaway winner with the chant thought up on a Premier Inn Shitter by our Geoff. Inspired, had Flamita flummoxed and a crowd of 700 people in stitches.

2nd place goes to the ill-fated 'Donovan of Love' as much as the Progress Gestapo said it didn't work, it very much did with the crowd being offered a HouseMartins music lesson whilst watching a storming match between Donovan Dijak vs Pete Dunne.

3rd place went to the Purple Ronnie of BritWres - Robbie X, this wound him up rotten this chant haha!

4th & 5th place were inspired by the underated works of Damon Leigh in Futureshock Wrestling, who has got his Chicken antics that over, that a fight over a bin has become one of the most anticipated of the year.

Pub of the Year:

1. The Crown and Kettle (Manchester)

2. The Guild Ale House (Preston)

3. The Fenton (Leeds)

4. The Devonshire Cat (Sheffield)

5..The Giffard (Wolverhampton)

The Crown and Kettle gets the win here due to its status as the home to the Pre Show Tuesday Night Graps Lucha Lash. Great ale, good pies and great location to a venue.

The Guild Ale House was a close second due to its nice beer at a price under £3 and has took pride of place as the best pub in Preston.

The Giffard sneaks in at No.5 due to being a good aftershow venue for Fight Club Pro and the class tunes it has to offer. If based on toilets it would get nowhere near.

The Fenton makes an appearance thanks to the top afternoon a huge group of us had whilst on a trip to see TIDAL in Leeds. Seeing at least 20 of us enthralled by a game of Pool whilst all generally getting on with each other is still one of my favourite days of the year.

Promotion of the Year:

1. Fight Club Pro

2. Futureshock Wrestling

3. PCW

4. Lucha Forever

5. PROGRESS

Fight Club Pro gets the win here for me due to the fact it has got the right blend of great wrestling, fun atmosphere and reasonable ticket pricing - almost like what Progress had a couple of years ago.

Futureshock deserves its second place standing here - consistently good shows, fun audience and a focus on making the secondary title as important as the Heavyweight title has been a great feature of a promotion who has it right on point.

PCW is another that has had a great year thanks to consistent storylines which were a problem last year. Tribute to the Troops Night 2 is well deserving of a spot in Show of the Year categories. Also take into account the number of promising wrestlers soon to be making waves from the Academy - Philip Michael, Sheikh El-Sham, Rhio, Dave Birch and BIG T.

The shows that took place at both Blackpool Tower Circus and Ballroom have provided two of the most spectacular venues you could see wrestling in. 2018 could be a very big year for PCW and it is one i'm looking forward to.

Comedy Moment of the Year:

1. Eddie Dennis sending Chris Linay to the 02 Academy Sheffield Deck

2. Joey Janela vs The Invisible Man

3. Inflatable Kid Lykos, Sexy Travis & Chris Brookes vs Aussie Open & Millie Mckenzie

4. Our Geoff vs Athers for the BritWres Pool Title in the Fenton to the sounds of 'Candle in the Wind' by Elton John.

5. BANGARANG at the first Lucha Forever in Manchester.

THE 'GET IN THE BIN' AWARD

1. Social Media i.e. Twitter (great at times, but christ there is lots of tedium)

2. 02 venue prices

£4.40 for a coke at the venue in Liverpool had me reduced to tears.

3. Casio keyboard theme tunes

I have wrote about this at length this year, the entrance means everything to getting an act over, you only had to see the reaction to the return of Rampage Brown at Sheffield for the use of the real music at a show - that crowd came unglued.

4. 'BOTH THESE GUYS'

Get off the fence you arse-splintering fence sitters.

5. PROGRESS Fans Forum

'I spotted someone wearing a 'Choose Progress' shirt in Costa Coffee and I thought I would post it - Deary Deary me.

Worst Toilet of the Year:

1. The Giffard

Remember that scene out of Trainspotting, welcome to the Giffard bogs - wet bog roll, smell of stale piss- Hell on Earth.

2. The Corporation

See The Giffard but less 'Hell on Earth'

Best Toilet of the Year:

1. The Resistance Gallery

Comic Magazines plastered on the wall made for an interesting and thoughtful time on the toilet.

2. The Devonshire Cat

Nice designed piss stones which are actually beer barrells. Great idea and I commend them for it.

So there you go that's the review of 2017 and I hope you have enjoyed reading it, many have actually said it is the best wrestling related blog they have read this year 😊.

It has been a year where the group of people I now know at shows has grown to huge numbers, some who have made the trip to shows no matter how shit the shows or how down I have been, they have made it more bearable and to them I want to say Thank You.

Also thank you to Ben Corrigan and Matthew Pryor for their guest reviews this year for which they did great work.

So what of 2018, well GRAPS and CLAPS will return and even the odd review for other sites will be taking place (Indy Corner and WrestleRopes). #grapsandclaps

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nerdsandmarks-blog · 7 years

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2017 Favorite Matches - Jordan (Updated 12/24)

/I will attempt to keep a running list of Pro Wrestling matches I’ve seen and enjoyed throughout the year. No real rankings. I’ll try to keep them in some order. Also, I am going to ignore bad finishes if the whole match itself was still good.

-Roppongi Vice vs. The Young Bucks - IWGP Jr. Tag (WrestleKingdom 11 ¼) - Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida - IWGP Jr HW (WrestleKingdom 11 ¼) - Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NEVER Openweight (WrestleKingdom 11 ¼) - Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP IC (WrestleKingdom 11 ¼) - Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada - IWGP HW (WrestleKingdom 11 ¼)

- #DIY vs TM61 - NXT Tag (NXT ¼)

- Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho vs Roman Reigns - WWE US (Raw 1/9) - American Alpha vs The Wyatts - WWE SD Tag (SD 1/10)

- #DIY vs The Revival - NXT Tag (NXT 1/11) -Tyler Bate vs Tucker (UK Tourney 1/14) - Tyson T-Bone vs Wolfgang (UK Tourney 1/14) - Tyler Bate vs Wolfgang (UK Tourney 1/15) - Pete Dunne vs Mark Andrews (UK Tourney 1/15) - Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate - UK Championship (UK Tourney 1/15)

- The Club vs Sheamus/Cesaro - WWE Raw Tag (Raw 1/16) - Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch - SD Women - Cage Match (SD 1/17)

-Sami Zayn vs Seth Rollins - Rumble spot (Raw 1/23) -Goldberg vs Locker/Mic (Raw 1/23)

-Andrade Almas vs Roderick Strong (NXT Takeover 1/28) - #DIY vs Authors of Pain - NXT Tag (NXT Takeover 1/28) -Bayley vs Charlotte Flair - Raw Women (Royal Rumble 1/29) -Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns - Universal (Royal Rumble 1/29) -AJ Styles vs John Cena - WWE Championship (Royal Rumble 1/29) -Akira Tozawa vs Drew Gulak (Raw 2/6) - Gallagher, TJP, Cedric vs Neville, Dar, Nese (Raw 2/6)

-Tag Team Turmoil: American Alpha vs Usos: Alpha vs Ascension segments - SD Tag (Elimination Chamber 2/12) -Randy Orton vs Luke Harper (Elimination Chamber 2/12)

Bray Wyatt vs AJ Styles vs John Cena - WWE Championship (SD 2/14) Braun Strowman vs Big Show (Raw 2/20)

Pete Dunne vs Mark Andrews (NXT 2/22) AJ Styles vs Luke Harper - #1 Contendership (SD 2/28)

Neville vs Jack Gallagher - CW Championship (Fastlane 3/5) Brawn Strowman vs Roman Reigns (Fastlane 3/5)

Neville vs Rich Swann - CW Championship (Raw 3/6)

AJ Styles vs Randy Orton - #1 Contendership (SD 3/7)

Nakamura vs TJ Perkins (NXT 3/8) Usos vs American Alpha - SD Tag (SD 3/21)

Andrade Almas vs Oney Lorcan (NXT 3/22) Darin Corbin vs Arik Cannon (Freelance Wrestling - Don’t Let Me Cave In 3/24) Tye Dillinger, Kassius Ohno, Roderick Strong & Ruby Riot vs. SAnitY (NXT Takeover Orlando 4/1) The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY vs. The Revival - NXT Tag (NXT Takeover Orlando 4/1)

Neville vs Austin Aries - CW Championship (Wrestlemania 33 4/2) AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon (Wrestlemania 33 4/2) Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg - WWE Universal Championship (Wrestlemania 33 4/2) Neville vs Mustafa Ali (Raw 4/3) Revival vs New Day (Raw 4/3)

Aleister Black vs Corey Hollis (NXT 4/5) Drew McIntyre vs Oney Lorcan (NXT 4/5) Usos vs American Alpha - SD Tag (SD 4/11) Samoa Joe vs Chris Jericho (Raw 4/17) Braun Strowman vs Big Show (Raw 4/17)

Aries/Gallagher vs Neville/TJP (Raw 4/24) Neville vs Austin Aries - CW Championship (Payback 4/30) Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman (Payback 4/30)

Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal & Kevin Owens defeat AJ Styles, Randy Orton & Sami Zayn (SD 5/9) Isaias Velazquez vs Austin Theory (Freelance Wrestling 5/19) Donovan Dijak vs Keith Lee (Evolve 84 5/20) Catch Point (Chris Dickenson & Jaka) vs Isaias Velazquez & Matt Knicks -Evolve Tag Team Championship (Evolve 84 5/20) Kyle O’Reilly vs Matt Riddle - WWN Championship (Evolve 84 5/20)

Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate - UK Championship (NXT Takeover Chicago 5/20) DIY (Gargano & Ciampa) vs Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) - NXT Tag Ladder match (NXT Takeover Chicago 5/20)

Breezango vs Usos - SD Tag (Backlash 5/21)

Akira Tozawa vs Brian Kendrick - Street Fight (205 Live 5/23)

Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns (Raw 5/29) Drew Gulak vs Mustafa Ali (205 Live 5/30)

Ethan Page vs Grado (Freelance 6/2) Darin Corbin vs Matt Cage (Freelance 6/2)

Kalisto vs Apollo Crews (Extreme Rules Kickoff 6/4) Miz vs Dean Ambrose - Ambrose loses title if he’s DQ’d (Extreme Rules 6/4) Neville vs Austin Aries - Submission match (Extreme Rules 6/4) Rollins vs Reigns vs Balor vs Samoa Joe vs Bray Wyatt - #1 Contendership (Extreme Rules 6/4)

Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP Championship (NJPW Dominion 6/11)

Breezango & New Day vs Usos & Colons (SD 6/13)

New Day vs Usos - SD Tag (MITB 6/18)

Aleister Black vs Kassius Ohno (NXT 6/21)

Curt Hawkins vs Seth Rollins (Raw 6/26) Sasha vs Nia Jax - Gauntlet section (Raw 6/26)

Carmella vs Nattie vs Charlotte vs Tamina vs Becky - MITB (SD 6/27)

Asuka vs Nikki Cross - Last Woman Standing NXT Women’s (NXT 6/28)

Briscoes, Osprey, & RPGVice vs Bullet Club (Scurll, Bucks, Fale, & Y. Takahashi) (G1 USA Special 7/1) Zack Sabre Jr. vs Juice Robinson - US Tourney (G1 USA Special 7/1) Ishii vs Naito - US Tourney (G1 USA Special 7/1) Okada vs Cody - IWGP HW (G1 USA Special 7/1)

Ishii vs ZSJ - US Tourney (G1 USA Special 7/2) Ishii vs Omega - IWGP US Tourney finals (G1 USA Special 7/2)

LAX vs NOAH vs AAA/LU vs Crash - TNA? Tag (Slammiversary 15 7/2)

Ali vs Neville (Raw 7/3)

AJ Styles vs Chad Gable - BR spot (SD 7/4)

Rosemary vs Dalilah Doom (RISE: Medic 7/7)

Sasha Banks vs Alexa Bliss - Raw Womens (GBOF 7/9)

BUSHI/SANADA vs EVIL/Takahashi (NJPW 7/17) Nagata vs YOSHI-HASHI - g1 (NJPW 7/17) ZSJ vs Tanahashi - g1 (NJPW 7/17) Ibushi vs Naito - g1 (NJPW 7/17)

Hardyz vs Revival (Raw 7/17)

Y. Takahashi/Omega vs Tama/Owens (NJPW 7/21) Makabe vs Ishii - g1 (NJPW 7/21)

Mike Dehl vs Frankie Picard (Freelance vs CZW II 7/21) Matt Tremont vs Craig Mitchell - CZW Rules (Freelance vs CZW II 7/21) Isaias Velazquez vs Lio Rush (Freelance vs CZW II 7/21)

Elgin vs Okada - G1 (NJPW 7/22)

Ibushi vs Ishii - G1 (NJPW 7/23)

New Day vs Usos - SD Tag (Battleground 7/23)

Bayley vs Sasha Banks - #1 Contender (Raw 7/24)

Ishii vs Naito - G1 (NJPW 7/29)

Ishii vs Nagata - G1 (NJPW 8/1)

Rusev vs Chad Gable (SD 8/1) Cena vs Nakamura - #1 Contender (SD 8/1) Okada vs Omega III - G1 B Block Finals (NJPW 8/12) Omega vs Naito - G1 Finals (NJPW 8/13) Gargano vs Almas (NXT Takeover 8/20) Authors of Pain vs SAnitY - NXT Tag (NXT Takeover 8/20) Itami vs Black (NXT Takeover 8/20) Ember Moon vs Asuka - NXT Women’s (NXT Takeover 8/20)

New Day vs Usos - SD Tag (Summerslam KICKOFF 8/21) Sheamus/Ceasaro vs Rollins/Ambrose - Raw Tag (Summerslam 8/21) Brock vs Braun vs Joe vs Reigns - UT (Summerslam 8/21) Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Psycho Clown - Mask vs Mask (Triplemania XXV 8/26)

Abbey Laith vs Jazzy Gabert - R1 (Mae Young Classic 8/28) Mia Yim vs Sarah Logan - R1 (Mae Young Classic 8/28) Kairi Sane vs Tessa Blanchard - R1 (Mae Young Classic 8/28) Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks - Raw Women’s (Raw 8/28)

Bianca Belair vs Kairi Sane - R2 (Mae Young Classic 9/4)

Jason Jordan vs John Cena (Raw 9/4) Braun vs Big Show - Cage match (Raw 9/4)

Usos vs New Day - SD Tag Street Fight (SD 9/12)

Shana Baszler vs Kairi Sane - Finals (Mae Young Classic 9/12)

Darby Allin vs DJZ (Evolve 93 9/23) Keith Lee vs ZSJ - Evolve title (Evolve 93 9/23) Rollins/Ambrose vs Cesaro/Sheamus - Raw tag (No Mercy 9/24)

Usos vs New Day - SD Tag Hell in a Cell (WWE Hell in a Cell 10/8)

Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA - Jr title (NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10/9)

Asuka vs Emma (WWE TLC 10/22) Finn Balor vs AJ Styles (WWE TLC 10/22) Jinder Mahal vs AJ Styles - WWE Championship (SD 11/7)

DJZ & Gringo Loko vs Crazy Boy & Drastik Boy (Freelance Things 11/17)

Aleister Black vs Velveteen Dream (NXT Takeover 11/18)

AJ Styles vs Brock Lesnar - Champ vs Champ (Survivor Series 11/19)

Roman Reigns vs Elias - IC Title (Raw 11/27)

Gulak vs Alexander vs Ali vs Nese (Raw 12/4)

Roman Reigns vs Cesaro - IC Title (Raw 12/11)

Shield vs The Bar/Samoa Joe - (Tribute to the Troops 12/14)

Jay Lethal vs Marty Scurll (ROH Final Battle 12/15)

Baron Corbin vs Dolph Ziggler vs Bobby Roode - US Title (Clash of Champions 12/17) Usos vs Gable/Benjamin vs Rusev/English vs New Day - SD Tag (Clash of Champions 12/17)

Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate III - UK Title (NXT 12/20)

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mistahf · 7 years

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A Definitive Ranking of 61 Matches I Saw Wrestlemania Weekend

1. DIY v The Revival v AOP

It says a lot about the quality of a match when even a terrible result doesn’t ruin it. 14,000 strong in The Amway Center chanting “bullshit” at the ending might sour this match for some, but it was still match of the weekend for me. Sure we all know wrestling is “fake,” but that doesn’t stop us from wanting our faves to have it all. DIY and The Revival are two of the most beloved tag teams in the past 5 years. The Authors of Pain are…well it works in about 100 different ways to say they’re “getting there.” The match started as it should have, two rivals with a mutual respect targeting the outsiders, the champions. Both to get them out of the way and to eliminate the biggest threat. Unfortunately, their rivalry, and The Revival’s natural tendency towards sneakiness, cost them the match. Great story, great spots (the suplex to the outside was insane), and, it turns out, a great goodbye for The Revival on NXT.

2. Ricochet v Keith Lee

Honestly any Keith Lee match could have made this spot. This happened to be the first Keith Lee match I saw (ever), but I think it earns it’s spot as #2 on its own merit as well. Keith Lee dominated early on, as a dude of his size should, pulling out gradually more and more insane agility and aggression as Ricochet proved unpinnable. Ricochet, too, stepped up his game as the match progressed, hitting high spots with a speed rarely seen outside of, well, Ricochet matches. Little guys beating big guys clean are always hard to book, but Ricochet’s win here looked natural and believable.

3. Donovan Dijak v Keith Lee

After seeing two great matches where Keith Lee took on little guys, it was great to see him take on “Tall Don,” as Dijak had branded himself in the previous match. I’ve always been a huge fan of Dijak’s work for a big man, but he pulled out all the stops here, stepping up his game, presumably in response to the insane buzz surrounding Keith Lee after his first 2 matches of the weekend. If you’ve never seen 2 guys over 260 pounds hit a Canadian Destroyer, it truly is a sight.

4. Jericho v Kevin Owens

Jericho and Owens had the best story and rivalry going in to Wrestlemania, but few had them pegged for the best match. Their chemistry, which has shone since August, was especially great here, with each wrestler busting out crazy counters to each others’ moves. The Owens fingertip spot pumped up the whole crowd, and the finish seemed worthy of this match and feud.

5. South Pacific Power Trip v Sami Calahan and Shane Strickland

I came into this weekend having never heard of the South Pacific Power Trip, but these two won over American audiences in a way comparable to the way Keith Lee did this weekend. This match was the kind of wild tag match that doesn’t usually work. Ref not paying attention to tags or legal men, seeming like a tornado match most of the time, but the insane amount of spots these 4 men were able to cram into their match made it worth it. If all clusterfuck tag matches were booked this well I’d stop complaining about who the legal man is and the ref’s slow or disregarded 5 count.

6. Matt Riddle v Dan Severn

This match sounded ridiculous on paper. An MMA guy still new to pro wrestling versus a 58-year-old MMA guy who had a forgettable pro wrestling career in a pro wrestling match, all taking place after 2 am. Dan Severn, however, doesn’t take any challenge lightly and was up for this challenge. Worked MMA style matches can be extremely entertaining a la New Japan or dull exhibitions that lack the surprise of an actual MMA match, this was the latter, seeming more like an MMA match without any of the bullshit. Severn and Riddle both looked like champions, despite the odd crowd and late hour.

7. AJ Styles v Shane McMahon

AJ fans had every right to be mad about this match. Perhaps the most over, most talented guy in the company versus the boss’s son, the guy who wrestles spotfests to greater and greater diminishing returns every event. What we got, though, was the best Wrestlemania opener since Wrestlemania 10 (the best PPV opener of all time btw). AJ got to be dominant for the most part, Shane got to bust out his best wrestling since his return, and we all got the result we, honestly, knew we were going to get.

8. Zack Sabre Jr v Michael Elgin

I caught four Zack Sabre Jr matches last weekend, all great, but this one in particular really spoke to me. Big Mike came out ready to go, Zack, in his typical Extremely Chill style, was ready to meet his challenge. The beauty of ZSJ matches is how much damn sense it all makes, from the way he slowly pushes your leg down to get you on the ground to his subtle hand work when applying a hold. Big Mike answered all of Sabre’s attacks in typical Big Mike fashion, but ultimately the match made Zack’s victory make sense.

9. Keith Lee v Lio Rush

Alright, this is the last time I talk about Keith Lee, I swear (I only caught 3 of his matches last weekend). Even though I had just seen Keith perform hours before (against a significantly better opponent) and knew exactly what he was capable of, Keith still made my jaw drop each time he hit the air. His second rope moonsault is a thing of beauty. Keith also added in a lot more heel work in this match than in his previous matches, which I loved. The soft-spoken Keith telling the brash Lio Rush to bask in his glory added the final puzzle piece to make Keith Lee a truly can’t-miss wrestler. This match suffered because it went a little shorter than the other two, and because once you’ve seen Keith Lee work Ricochet, can you really see Keith Lee work ANY other high-flyer?

10. Hardyz v Sheamus and Cesaro v The Club v Enzo and Cass

Sometimes the best surprises are the ones you see coming. The Hardyz were in Orlando. The tag title match had been awkwardly shoehorned into a ladder match at the last minute despite Cesaro, Sheamus, Enzo, Cass, Gallows, or Anderson having any history with ladders or high-flying acumen to speak of. Still, when New Day came out in their gear to announce a 4th team, I couldn’t tell if I was being worked, or worked into thinking I was being worked. Despite thinking it had a 60% chance of happening, I cheered the Hardyz return like it was a surprise. Matt and Jeff hit all of their moves perfectly, something I would never have believed 5 years ago, and most teams had a signature spot to shine.

11. HHH v Seth Rollins

WWE’s unique (and scary) blending of fact and fiction regarding Seth Rollins’ knee injury both going into and during this match made HHH’s knee-based offense during most of this match a little hard to watch. And I LOVED it for that. The endless pedigree reversals, Steph’s table spot, and their spectacular entrances (Trips, the King, with a motorcade; Seth, the Kingslayer, carrying a torch for his past wrongs) made sure the crowd was behind this long match, late in the show, 100%.

12. Darby Allin v Ethan Page

This seemed like an odd choice to main event the second evolve show of the evening, but once I saw all that these two had planned, I realized how impossible it would have been for anyone else to follow it. The buildup to this match was intriguing, but extremely awkward, when Priscilla Kelly (swoon) distracted Ethan Page the night prior while a group of clown medics in blood-stained garb carried out a bodybag. Unfortunately, the medics and body bag were quickly disposed of, but once Darby was revealed and attacked Ethan even after taking a beating, I got a glimpse of the heart I’d see the next night. This was a crazy spotfest with one main story. Darby Allin, as he stated the night before, won’t let Ethan Page take over Evolve “as long as [his] heart’s beating.” Allin took some incredible spots early in the match that reminded me of the best of Spike Dudley before eventually coming back (with the help of Austin Theory disposing of The Gatekeepers) with two huge dives of his own to defeat All Ego.

13. Nicole Matthews v Shotzi Blackheart

This match told a perfect story without any words. Nicole Matthews as the grizzled vet. Angry, defensive, and not ready to let anyone else take the attention she deserves, against Shotzi Blackheart, Shimmer’s Rise of the Phoenix (think Shimmer’s NXT) champion. Shotzi showed a lot of heart in her black heart, hanging with Matthews even when clearly outmatched, particularly by Matthews’ insanely stiff strikes. Nicole Matthews threw out the most impressive sounding chops I heard all weekend. And for me, that means a lot.

14. Zack Sabre Jr. v Mike Quackenbush

Zack Sabre Jr. was scheduled to meet Chikara’s extremely impressive big man Max Smashmaster on Saturday afternoon, but as soon as Zack hit the ring with a mic, I figured that wasn’t to be. While I wondered who would take on Zack, he got to the point quickly enough, saying he’d been friends with Chikara boss Mike Quackenbush, but was a little jealous that Drew Gulak got a match with him while he hadn’t yet. Quack and Zack had great chemistry in the ring, seemingly talking about each of their chain wrestling exchanges right after they had them. Despit being mostly retired for the past 3 years, Quack was still able to put on a great show with Zack, largely due to their mutual love for their particular style of wrestling.

15. Drew Galloway v Lio Rush

This match was a perfect clash of styles, the strong veteran Galloway against the brash highflyer Lio Rush. Galloway won a great match with an insane spinning Future Shock (made possible by the huge size difference between these two) followed by a piledriver, a move most in attendance had seen him do earlier in the weekend (see below) with disastrous results.

16. Zack Sabre Jr vs ACH

This was an incredibly unique match, and one that I worried might disappoint a little, particularly because I’d been up since 5:30 and it was nearing 11 pm. However, Zack and ACH put on a decent match and kept me entertained. The only big problem with this match is that I never really believed ACH was going to go over.

17. Jimmy Havoc v Zack Sabre Jr

This match opened up the sold-out Progress show Friday afternoon, and these two did not disappoint the 1200 in attendance after a much maligned delay to the show. Havoc probably worked Zack’s style with him better than anyone, while also throwing in his own, harder hitting style, which busted open the busy Zack Sabre Jr so bad that the wound re-opened 4 hours later in this match with Michael Elgin.

18. Pete Dunne v Mark Haskins

Pete Dunne. Coming into this weekend, I was most excited to see him work for the first time than anyone else, becoming obsessed with his bloodthirsty style in the UK Tournament. Dunne didn’t disappoint here, giving Haskins all the underhanded, wonderful stuff I came to love from The Bruiserweight. Haskins, for his part, hung in incredibly well with Dunne, playing the underdog role perfectly and getting some convincing enough nearfalls that by the end of the match I’d stopped cheering the Bruiswerweight and opted for the plucky face.

19. Spring Break Clusterfuck

Given that I was unfamiliar with a lot of the talent signed for this match, that the rules for this match weren’t made clear beforehand, and that some of the other talent hadn’t wrestled, at least in the public eye, in years, I had no idea what to expect from this match. Fortunately, what I got was an entertaining as hell match with some promising new talent, a great showing by Glacier, and, believe it or not, a great story, which was set up in what I thought was just a funny throwaway video before the event. Jimmy Lloyd took the win, but All Ego Ethan Page was the star of the match.

20. Ginny v Toni Storm

I didn’t know anything about the women of Progress going into this match, but within 3 minutes of the match starting I knew what I needed to know. Toni Storm was strong as hell and wanted to throw Ginny around as much as she could. Ginny, despite being a fashionista, had a terrible attitude and some great kicks. This match played itself out as a great clash between those two styles, and Ginny winning with her feet on the ropes was a fantastic heel move, the quality of which is rarely seen.

21. Bayley v Charlotte v Sasha v Nia

The best part about this match was the opening spot, in which Bayley, Charlotte, and Sasha, who had clearly seen the Revival/AoP/DIY match and knew that the only way to continue on was to eliminate Nia first. I thought that once this was over, 3 of the 4 horsewomen would have a triangle elimination match for the ages. Instead, the three were rushed through two quick, uneventful falls where the finishes seemed to come out of nowhere. The fast paced nature of the match still gave Charlotte and Bayley time to shine, but why book a 4-way if you’re only going to feature two women?

22. Matt Riddle vs Drew Galloway

Evolve 80 started out with a piledriver through a table. The rest of the match was, as it should have been, fast, violent, and honestly pretty one-sided. Galloway looked strong here, and it gave Riddle a bit of an edge I hadn’t seen him have before, but seeing Riddle work 3 more matches (and knowing he worked way more) days and even hours after the table spot took a lot of the shine off of it.

23. Mike and Don v Yehi and Williams

When this match started I thought “how the hell are they going to book themselves out of this one,” since it seemed impossible that Big Mike and Tall Don could lose to Evolve darlings Catch Point. I almost thought we might get a title change, but ultimately Catch Point won the way that tag teams should, by being a tag team and out teamworking their bigger, stronger opponents.

24. Eddie Kingston v Matt Tremont

There was color in this match within 3 minutes, brother, along with a plastic fork and table spots. This match was a pitch perfect study in how hardcore wrestling should work. It was bloody, it was real, and both wrestlers looked very tough.

25. Joey Janela v Marty Jannetty

I was VERY nervous going into this match. What was Marty going to look like? How embarrassing was it going to be to watch? Fortunately Marty didn’t look terrible and the match was the fun kind of overbooked mess that made it incredibly entertaining to watch.

26. Goldberg v Brock Lesnar

These two did what they had to. It wasn’t 90 seconds. It wasn’t 20 minutes. It was 4+ minutes of unlimited signature and special moves. It was the match we deserved 13 years ago. I’m still mad it was for a title.

27. Dulce Garcia v KellyAnne

As far as I know there wasn’t any history between these two women, but they soon made the decision to turn their match into a grudge match, taking the action to the floor and connecting with stiff chops that absolutely lit up Dulce’s chest. I loved the speed and aggression these two worked with. Garcia winning with rolling suplexes was awesome.

28. Tyler Bate v Mark Andrews

Tyler Bate, more than the other two members of British Strong Style, found himself in a less than ideal situation at the Progress show, cheered by American fans who know the whitebread UK Champion babyface Tyler rather than the heel BSS Tyler he portrays in Progress. Fortunately, putting him up against Mark Andrews, one of the best faces in wrestling, helped. This match was great, Tyler’s airplane spin is so incredibly over and fun to see live.

29. Asuka v Ember Moon

This match was disappointing, but it’s clear that it was supposed to be. While I was expecting a coronation for Ember, it’s clear that this match instead was put on to keep both women strong and (hopefully finally) turn Asuka heel. Asuka has, in my opinion, clearly been a heel since her match with Mickie in November, but her astounding charisma and strong booking has kept the fans intrigued. Hopefully NXT can fully commit to a heel Asuka.

30. Undertaker v Roman Reigns

I can’t decide if this match is where it should be, belongs lower due to the match quality, or belongs higher due to it’s implications. Undertaker is one of my top 5 favorite wrestlers of all time, so I can’t be unbiased. Seeing Undertaker retire was bittersweet, I was happy I got to be there, sad I won’t see him again, happy for him to finally be able to rest, sad that he wasn’t able to go out with a better match, etc. Honestly if Roman goes heel I think the whole thing might be worth it, he’ll make Vince so much damn money as a bad guy and hopefully the Dead Man doesn’t become a Stone Cold, Ric Flair, or Shawn Michaels, showing back up so often that it doesn’t mean anything any more.

31. Candice LaRae v Mercedes Martinez

I hadn’t seen much Shimmer recently, but damn The Trifecta are awesome. Nicole Savoy is an incredibly talented wrestler turned incredibly talented manager during her injury. Candice is an incredible babyface in peril, and although going in I didn’t think we had much chance of seeing a title change, there were a few near falls here where I thought it was going to happen. In the end Mercedes got the win as expected, but this match kept me in suspense way more than I expected.

32. Matt Riddle v Fred Yehi

Not following Evolve regularly, I didn’t care much about the Catch Point rivalry story, but damn did these two have a great match. Mania weekend made me a huge Matt Riddle fan, and Fred Yehi is a great worker. This match didn’t need a story to rule.

33. Cherry Bomb v Alex Windsor

Allie is an incredibly likable babyface on Impact Wrestling, so seeing her work heel twice Mania weekend was a damn revelation. Cherry Bomb was wonderful in the opener to the Shimmer show, having the cocky character, in-ring banter, and talent to get a crowd, even one who might have otherwise been prepared to cheer her, to boo her. Alex Windsor looked strong in this match too, but Cherry’s heel antics really stole the show.

34. 6 Way Womens Match

This match really was booked for one reason, to get Naomi the big hometown win. I loved seeing her get it, I loved seeing her use the anaconda vice. While all 6 Smackdown women deserved a Wrestlemania match, there wasn’t quite enough time to properly feature everyone.

35. Aleister Black v Andrade Cien Almas

This match was exactly what we needed from Aleister Black. We got to see a great entrance (and great theme) from him, got introduced to his creepy, gothic charisma, and got to see his great Muay Thai strikes. Andrade Cien Almas is a fantastic heel who I hope never gets lost in the shuffle.

36. Mt. Tessa v Kay Lee Ray and Mia Yim

I loved the story of this match. Tessa Blanchard and Vanessa Kraven got into it halfway through the match after an accidental hit was followed by a hit on purpose to almost give Kay Lee and Mia the belts in the best near-fall of all the WWN shows. Mia and Kay Lee Ray are incredibly likeable babyfaces, while Tessa Blanchard is an absolutely brilliant heel. Did I spend a lot of this match fantasy booking Vanessa Kraven (or someone of a similar stature) running roughshod over 205 Live? Yes I did. If you’re doing that too, you’re welcome.

37. Sanity v Ty Dillinger, Ruby Riot, Kassius Ohno, and Roderick Strong

While I think we all wanted to see Ty Dillinger’s first big win (can you believe we’ve been waiting 2 years for that?), a good debut for Kassius and Ruby, and more good things for Roderick Strong until they actually come up with something for him, I do have to say that Sanity winning here made sense. Teams should always beat non-teams.

38. Bobby Roode v Shinsuke Nakamura

Talking about this match with someone beforehand we said “well, the entrances are going to be great, and Bobby Roode knows how to tell a story.” Both of those things were true. I find Bobby and Shinsuke to have absolutely no chemistry, so it was interesting to see what they could accomplish using WWE booking. The near falls were great, the moments were great, Kenny Omega was absolutely correct in calling this a 3-star match. I’m excited to see Shinsuke move on and Bobby to hopefully find an opponent more suited for him (I think Bobby and Kassius Ohno could have some great matches).

39. Catch Point v Kincaid, Theory, Guevara

Jason Kincaid quickly became one of my favorite wrestlers at the Evolve show. I loved his unique look, weird mountain yogi gimmick, and his ring work to back it up. Unfortunately, teaming him with what seemed like 2 people at random against an established team like Catch Point made for a lot of great high spots, but didn’t make the most sense overall.

40. Sami Calahan v Kyle The Beast

I think Solomon Crowe did a lot to turn me on Sami Calahan, all of his work Mania weekend, though, got me back on the Calahan train. Sami has an incredible energy in the ring and Kyle The Beast was able to match it full force. Sami put over Kyle after the match in an unexpected show of respect.

41. Matt Riddle v Trent Seven

Trent Seven got to be the only purely booed member of British Strong Style at the Progress show by taking on the incredibly characmatic Matt Riddle. These two put on a great showcase of “Big Lads Wrestling.”

42. Los Ice Creams v Solo Darling and Travis Huckabee v Hallowicked and Frightmare v Silver and Fire Ant

This match was fun, even if the result was a little predictable. Los Ice Creams’ humor doesn’t always translate watching online, but either these two were on their game or they’re much funnier live. Solo Darling as a sugar-obsessed maniac trying to eat Los Ice Creams and missing an opportunity for a tag to eat skittles was great too.

43. Leva Bates v Lufisto

Leva Bates came out as Tina Belcher and seemed to wrestle the entire match in character, even as her wig started to fall off halfway through the match. True to character, Leva used a lot of butt-based offense during the match, but was ultimately overpowered by an awesome heel Lufisto.

44. Jason Kincaid vs Lio Rush vs Jaka

I was intrigued by the singles match that was booked, but Lio Rush added a lot to it. The showy Lio Rush and nothing-but-business Jaka fed off Jason Kincaid’s weirdo character well.

45. Shayna Baszler v Santana Garrett

Shayna Baszler rules. I loved seeing an MMA-inspired offense in a women’s match, particularly on an all-womens show. Santana Garrett put up a good fight, but seeing her go down to Shayna (and props again to the charismatic Nicole Savoy as Shayna’s manager) seemed like a foregone conclusion.

46. Samantha Heights vs Veda Scott vs Britt Baker vs Nevaeh

This was a fun four-corners match. Veda Scott, as usual, excelled in in-ring chatter, asking her opponents to take it easy on her given that she very publically chipped a few teeth 2 nights earlier at Joey Janela’s Spring Break. Britt Baker looked like an incredibly strong face in this win, her Shimmer Debut.

47. Braxton Sutter and Allie v Andy Williams and Penelope Ford

Braxton Sutter and Allie were incredible heels in this match, immediately getting over their opponents of non-wrestler Andy Williams and Penelope Ford, who has a lot of cool moves, but needs some development as far as putting them together. This was an incredibly fun tag match, made even more fun by being intergender, rather than mixed tag. After the match the guy sitting next to me agreed: We want to see more Andy Williams in the ring.

48. Timothy Thatcher v Chris Dickinson

These two wrestled a very similar, physical, style that was nice to see in complement to each other. Kind of was booked in a death slot right after Galloway piledrove Matt Riddle through a table.

49. ACH v Timothy Thatcher

Poor Timmy Thatcher, this was his second match booked in an absolute death slot, having to follow Keith Lee vs Donovan Dijak. I’m sure I’d enjoy a Timothy Thatcher match a lot more if it were booked in a good slot.

50. The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

I don’t like Battle Royals, I didn’t like even more that crowd favorites Sami Zayn and Luke Harper were eliminated without much incident. While the end result was predictable when we got to the final six or so, seeing Rob Gronkowski get involved (and the crowd reaction to him getting involved) was a lot of fun.

51. Black, Blonde, and Neon v The Gatekeepers

A great squash match. The Gatekeepers rule in matches like this.

52. James Drake v Rockstar Spud

Chanting “He’s got his own face, on his ass” was the highlight of this match. Rockstar Spud is incredibly charismatic, but it didn’t seem to come off too well in this match.

53. Jesicka Havok v Cat Power

This was a really fun, hard hitting match between two tough women and was a great example of the variety a Shimmer show can give you. My big complaint was that Havok was both much bigger than her opponent and a face, but Cat Power worked her over most of the match without using any underhanded tactics.

54. Dean Ambrose v Baron Corbin

I’m not sure if these two had a generic Smackdown match because they were on the preshow or if they were moved to the preshow because they had planned a boring Smackdown match. After what he said about last year’s Mania fiasco, I expected Dean Ambrose to bring something great to this match. He didn’t. The end sequence was good, but it didn’t make up for this match.

55. John Cena and Nikki Bella v The Miz and Maryse

I know, I know. It’s not about the match, it’s about the moment after. Still, as a huge fan of everything Cena and Miz have done in 2016 and 2017, this match was a damn disappointment.

56. Sea Stars and Obariyon v Sea Monsters

What was, for most people, the 8th of 10 shows at the WWN live center, the Chikara show really suffered a lot. Sea Stars and Obariyon opened the show up against the Sea Monsters, with the face team working really hard, but the match suffered from the crowd fatigue.

57. Missile Assault Man v Kobald

Missile Assualt Man is a great wrestler, but honestly he needs to go back under a mask. He radiated charisma as Missile Assault Ant, but needs to work on his facial expressions outside of it.

58. Wani v Space Monkey

This match had some fun moments, but the end of the match and title change really seemed to come out of nowhere. Also if Wani is using some sort of “mysterious foreigner” gimmick, why are all of his moves just American indie moves?

59. Ophidian v Jeremy Leary

Jeremy Leary showed some good heel energy, but I felt like there was an aspect of his gimmick I didn’t really get. The end of this match was very confusing, with Ophidian using his trademark snake hypnosis and it for some reason not working on Jeremy, it was never explained why.

60. All Ego Ethan Page v Austin Theory

Not knowing much about Evolve before the match, I saw this as a squash match immediately following The Gatekeeper’s squash match. This one wasn’t as fun.

61. Bray Wyatt v Randy Orton

The projection stuff was kind of cool, I guess, but with the exception of that every aspect of this match disappointed me, including the lackluster entrances for both men. I probably came into this match expecting too much (given Randy’s past Mania matches and Bray’s recent work I thought this had the potential for match of the night).

Matches I missed:

Ultramantis Black vs. Juan Francisco de Coronado:

I had to leave Chikara (which started late) early in order to make it to the Amway Center in time for NXT (and to see the taped matches before the show). Honestly only the last taping match was worth it so I should have waited.

Austin Aries vs. Neville

You try getting to wrangling your sister, her husband, and your 2-year-old niece to Wrestlemania on time. Also I went into this assuming there would only be two pre-show matches, so one wouldn’t start before 6 pm.

Most of the Andre the Giant Invitational:

But I watched it on the Network getting in and caught the last half so I’m counting it as seen.

Matches I’m not counting (But am counting toward my Wrestler Seen count):

Pre-NXT Takeover tapings: Honestly these were 3 pretty boring matches, the pre Takeover tapings are never anything to write home about.

Post-NXT Takeover tapings: These are TV Tapings, because of that there’s a lot of squash matches, feud building, etc. Ranking these matches alongside these matches, most of which had a big-event feel, would be unfair.

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henrytcasey · 7 years

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Watch This Wrestling 13 (3/31 – 4/5)

Oh what a week. In short: WrestleMania Weekend isn't just about WWE. When WrestleMania comes to town, it draws in more other promotions than any fan can manage to see. Which means so many promotions are active at the same damn time.

In a way, that means these weekends might be best viewed at home. I was able to stream more than enough (but not all, we'll get to that) wrestling, thanks to FloSlam, the FITE app and the WWE network. As someone who attended WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans, I can say that seeing all of the shows in any city without public transit (such as New York) will require significant pre-trip mapping and plotting and familiarity with taxis and ubers. Or, getting a rental car.

So while I will have watched around 42 hours of wrestling for this edition, there was even more. So, if you find yourself looking for more than what I list, the HighSpots network has the stuff that even I missed. Let this be a warning to you, kiddos, if you go to WrestleMania in New Orleans next year, which I hope to, you might need to take a time management class first.

You might have noticed that I didn't list WWNLive.com when I talked about streaming services, which is weird considering I did use it for Progress. Going forward, you ought to be wary of live events from there, as the promotion fell on its face trying to stream Progress: Orlando. It claimed that a denial of service attack was involved, but I'm suspicious that the company couldn't handle the stress of Progress fans. Refunds for that event are due some time this week(!).

Lastly, a note. You might notice that the dates on this week are a little shorter than a full week. Looking at when exactly the graps take place, I've decided that future roundups will start on Thursday and end on Wednesday. Think it might help get this thing up faster.

As always, a list of what I watched for this week's edition and what I'm planning to watch next week. If I'm missing anything that can be accessed without too much trouble, @ me on twitter: henrytcasey.

What I Watched:

PROGRES: Orlando, 3/31

EVOLVE 81, 3/31

WWE Hall of Fame, 3/31

Kaiju Big Battel, 3/31

WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup: Scottish Qualifier , 3/31

Ethan Page: I Hate WrestleMania Weekend, 3/31

WrestleCon Supershow, 3/31

Ring of Honor: Supercard of Honor XI, 4/1

NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 4/1

WWN Supershow, 4/1

Beyond Wrestling, 4/1

Full Impact Pro, 4/2

WrestleMania 33, 4/2

Monday Night Raw, 4/3

WWE Ride Along, 4/3

ROH Wrestling, 4/3

NJPW Road to SAKURA GENESIS 2017, 4/4

SmackDown Live, 4/4

205 Live, 4/4

Talking Smack Live, 4/4

NXT, 4/5

Non-WWE Match of the Week:

Keith Lee vs Donovan Dijak

EVOLVE 81, 3/31

So, damn it was hard to pick just the non-WWE match of the week, so boy are there a ton of suggestions below. But yeah, this match is a delight.

A hoss fight, if you don't know, is when you take two (or more) big boy wrestlers and have them settle their differences in the ring. Keith Lee and Donovan Dijak, though, was an ultra hoss fight. They were doing all kinds of moves you don't expect from such huge dudes. Like Keith Lee's monkey flip, or his corkscrew plancha off the apron.

The match was so intense that the crowd started an "OH! Bask in, his gloooorrrrry!" chant ala Zack Sabre Jr.'s "Seven Nation Army" chant. A much watch if you like big dudes, and still something you should check out to see what they can do when they're not a bunch of Great Khalis.

EVOLVE 81 is available on the FloSlam network.

Honorable Mentions:

Fred Yehi vs Matt Riddle, EVOLVE 81, 3/31

Darby Allin vs Ethan Page, an Anything Goes Match, EVOLVE 81, 3/31

Travis Banks & TK Cooper (South Pacific Power Trip) vs Sami Callihan & Shane Strickland, PROGRESS in Orlando, 3/31

Team Ricochet (Richocet, Jason Cade, Sami Callihan, AR Fox & Desmond Xavier) vs Team Ospreay (Osprey, Lio Rush, Drew Galloway, Ryan Smile, & Marty Scurll), WrestleCon Supershow, 3/31

Marty Scurll vs Adam Cole, ROH TV Title MatchRing of Honor: Supercard of Honor XI, 4/1

The Young Bucks vs Matt and Jeff Hardy, ROH Tag Team Ladder Match, Ring of Honor: Supercard of Honor XI, 4/1

Travis Banks & TK Cooper (South Pacific Power Trip) vs Catch Point, WWN Supershow, 4/1

Non-WWE Segment of the Week:

Ethan Page: I Hate WrestleMania Weekend

YouTube / Ethan Page, 3/31

One of two back-to-back award winners this week, Ethan Page's YouTube channel continues to reward those who know about it. This week, that means we're treated to a tirade about WrestleMania Weekend. Specifically, Page goes after the smart fans who constantly put themselves over in the stands and annoy him for not keeping kayfabe going at the merch booth.

youtube

Maybe some day he'll be in the WWE and complain about how shitty it is that fans bring beach balls to the shows of WrestleMania week.

Honorable Mention:

Being The Elite: Episode 43

WWE Match of the Week

DIY vs The Revival vs Authors of Pain (c)

NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 4/1

As should be expected, the WWE tag team match featuring The Revival was the best damn match from the promotion, writ-large.

The story going into this match was that Akam and Rezar, The Authors of Pain, a pair of impossibly thick, big boys are just unbeatable. Not only are they good at fighting, but they've got the tag team wrestling genius, the former Road Warriors manager, Paul Ellering giving them orders.

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That combination led to them beating fan favorites DIY (Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa) for the titles, and then getting in the targets of former champs The Revival (Scott Dawson, Dash Wilder). Also, The Revival and DIY are true rivals, so everyone comes into this with reason to hate the other teams.

So while this match begins as a triple-threat, the two smaller teams unite and turn it into a 4 on 2. From the differing combinations (Gargano & Dawson; Ciampa & Wilder) to the powerbomb spot, it's all just glorious. Also, the moment with the air getting sucked out of the room is practically a tiny tribute to first eliminated team's ability.

Honorable Mentions:

Asuka vs Ember Moon, NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 4/1

Shane McMahon vs AJ Styles, WrestleMania 33, 4/2

Kevin Owens vs Chris Jericho, WrestleMania 33, 4/2

WWE Segment of the Week

The Booing of Roman Reigns

Monday Night Raw, 4/3

Absent from the above list is Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker in a Battle for The Yard match. What may not have been obvious at the start, but feels like it now, is the fact that this was the most hamfisted retirement stip ever.

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And so Monday Night Raw began with the most iconic moment in years. Following a replay of the retirement of the most beloved zombie ever, the crowd let loose with chants.

The following chants take place, in this order:

"Un-der-ta-ker!" "Ro-man-Sucks!" Roman Reigns' music hits. Roman enters the arena, and then the ring. A torrential downpour of boos hits. "DELETE!" "Fuck! You! Roman!" Reigns mouths the words, "I’ve got you in the palm of my hand" "YOU SUCK!" (not ironically, as with Kurt Angle) Every time Reigns moves the mic to his mouth, the crowd boos harder and harder. "ASS!HOLE!" "RO! MAN! SUCKS!", in the key of "New Day Rocks" "SHUT! THE! FUCK! UP!" (to a man who hasn't said a word yet) Roman Reigns: "This is my yard now."

End Scene. And with that, the WWE may have accepted Roman Reigns' place as a heel. We'll know better next week but this was a very good sign.

Honorable Mentions:

Kurt Angle meets Enzo and Big Cass, Monday Night Raw, 4/3

Welcome to NXT, Drew ... McIntyre?, NXT TakeOver: Orlando, 4/1

#watchthiswrestling #dontmissthis #ethan page #evolve #wwe #nxt #takeover: orlando #monday night raw #keith lee #donovan dijak

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nerdsandmarks-blog · 7 years

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2017 Favorite Matches - Jordan (Updated 6/15)

- #DIY vs TM61 - NXT Tag (NXT ¼)

- Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho vs Roman Reigns - WWE US (Raw 1/9) - American Alpha vs The Wyatts - WWE SD Tag (SD 1/10)

- The Club vs Sheamus/Cesaro - WWE Raw Tag (Raw 1/16) - Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch - SD Women - Cage Match (SD 1/17)

-Sami Zayn vs Seth Rollins - Rumble spot (Raw 1/23) -Goldberg vs Locker/Mic (Raw 1/23)

-Tag Team Turmoil: American Alpha vs Usos: Alpha vs Ascension segments - SD Tag (Elimination Chamber 2/12) -Randy Orton vs Luke Harper (Elimination Chamber 2/12)

Bray Wyatt vs AJ Styles vs John Cena - WWE Championship (SD 2/14) Braun Strowman vs Big Show (Raw 2/20)

Pete Dunne vs Mark Andrews (NXT 2/22) AJ Styles vs Luke Harper - #1 Contendership (SD 2/28)

Neville vs Jack Gallagher - CW Championship (Fastlane 3/5) Brawn Strowman vs Roman Reigns (Fastlane 3/5)

Neville vs Rich Swann - CW Championship (Raw 3/6)

AJ Styles vs Randy Orton - #1 Contendership (SD 3/7)

Nakamura vs TJ Perkins (NXT 3/8) Usos vs American Alpha - SD Tag (SD 3/21)

Aleister Black vs Corey Hollis (NXT 4/5) Drew McIntyre vs Oney Lorcan (NXT 4/5) Usos vs American Alpha - SD Tag (SD 4/11) Samoa Joe vs Chris Jericho (Raw 4/17) Braun Strowman vs Big Show (Raw 4/17)

Aries/Gallagher vs Neville/TJP (Raw 4/24) Neville vs Austin Aries - CW Championship (Payback 4/30) Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman (Payback 4/30)

Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate - UK Championship (NXT Takeover Chicago 5/20) DIY (Gargano & Ciampa) vs Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) - NXT Tag Ladder match (NXT Takeover Chicago 5/20)

Breezango vs Usos - SD Tag (Backlash 5/21)

Akira Tozawa vs Brian Kendrick - Street Fight (205 Live 5/23)

Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns (Raw 5/29) Drew Gulak vs Mustafa Ali (205 Live 5/30)

Ethan Page vs Grado (Freelance 6/2) Darin Corbin vs Matt Cage (Freelance 6/2)

Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP Championship (NJPW Dominion 6/11)

Breezango & New Day vs Usos & Colons (SD 6/13)

New Day vs Usos - SD Tag (MITB 6/18)

Aleister Black vs Kassius Ohno (NXT 6/21)

Curt Hawkins vs Seth Rollins (Raw 6/26) Sasha vs Nia Jax - Gauntlet section (Raw 6/26)

Carmella vs Nattie vs Charlotte vs Tamina vs Becky - MITB (SD 6/27)

Asuka vs Nikki Cross - Last Woman Standing NXT Women’s (NXT 6/28)

Ishii vs ZSJ - US Tourney (G1 USA Special 7/2) Ishii vs Omega - IWGP US Tourney finals (G1 USA Special 7/2)

LAX vs NOAH vs AAA/LU vs Crash - TNA? Tag (Slammiversary 15 7/2)

Ali vs Neville (Raw 7/3)

AJ Styles vs Chad Gable - BR spot (SD 7/4)

Rosemary vs Dalilah Doom (RISE: Medic 7/7)

Sasha Banks vs Alexa Bliss - Raw Womens (GBOF 7/9)

BUSHI/SANADA vs EVIL/Takahashi (NJPW 7/17) Nagata vs YOSHI-HASHI - g1 (NJPW 7/17) ZSJ vs Tanahashi - g1 (NJPW 7/17) Ibushi vs Naito - g1 (NJPW 7/17)

Hardyz vs Revival (Raw 7/17)

Y. Takahashi/Omega vs Tama/Owens (NJPW 7/21) Makabe vs Ishii - g1 (NJPW 7/21)

Mike Dehl vs Frankie Picard (Freelance vs CZW II 7/21) Matt Tremont vs Craig Mitchell - CZW Rules (Freelance vs CZW II 7/21) Isaias Velazquez vs Lio Rush (Freelance vs CZW II 7/21)

Elgin vs Okada - G1 (NJPW 7/22)

Ibushi vs Ishii - G1 (NJPW 7/23)

New Day vs Usos - SD Tag (Battleground 7/23)

Bayley vs Sasha Banks - #1 Contender (Raw 7/24)

Ishii vs Naito - G1 (NJPW 7/29)

Ishii vs Nagata - G1 (NJPW 8/1)

Bianca Belair vs Kairi Sane - R2 (Mae Young Classic 9/4)

Jason Jordan vs John Cena (Raw 9/4) Braun vs Big Show - Cage match (Raw 9/4)

Usos vs New Day - SD Tag Street Fight (SD 9/12)

Shana Baszler vs Kairi Sane - Finals (Mae Young Classic 9/12)

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