1.Lashley vs Benjamin NR
2.McIntyre vs Ricochet NR
3.McIntyre vs Ali NR
4.Pure Rules Gauntlet ***1/2
5.Storm vs EY NR
6.Raquel vs Stark NR
7.Gauntlet Eliminator Qualifier NR
8.Christian vs Kaz ***1/2
9.Shida, Conti vs Rose, Bunny NR
10.Omega, Good Brothers vs Laredo Kid, Lucha Bros ****
11.Arcade Anarchy ***3/4
12.Street Fight: Bryan vs Uso ***
Thoughts:
I've considered a few different options on how to do this, but landed on this method. Admittedly it might be a cheaper method, considering it works to promote a playlist style series I'm doing on YouTube, but whatever. Cheap plugs are part of the game, right?
So, each Saturday at 6:05 pm you can head to The RWB Channel for a new installment. Most wrestling fans have a hard time watching the abundance of pro wrestling content each week, including myself. This format should make it easier for some folks that don't mind the style to keep up to date. I will also post + style reviews here, which means that I'll talk about what happened that week on the shows covered and I'll also watch full matches that catch my eye and put ratings for those. Hopefully this is also something that is worthwhile to some of the regular viewers and, if not, it's at least a way for me to keep track of stuff. Note that I am still catching up on other content I missed, including some stuff from the brands I'm watching on #SNSM, but I'll just do both since it really doesn't matter too much.
RAW saw The Hurt Business break up, which was a fucking stupid idea. The unit was honestly one of the better things main roster WWE was doing and it's disappointing that once again unfocused writing is screwing things up. Lashley then went over Shelton clean sub-5 in a match that looked okay in the highlight form but did little for me overall.
Bliss' promo on Devil in a boxes was fun. While Bray's matches tend to lack in the work rate department, I do appreciate some of the creativity that I see attached to his stuff. The rivalry with Orton never ends, it seems.
Drew took out both Ricochet and Mustafa in about ten minutes of in-ring content, largely showing us once more what they think of those two. Glorified extended jobs, basically. Oh well. It was meant to show Mc get some wins as he moves closer to his match for the belt with Lashley but felt more like padded TV time. After, Corbin aligned himself with Lashley and they took out Drew to stand tall at the end. You know what every fan wanted? The Hurt Business to break up and then the Potato himself to move up into the hole it left.
I didn't care much about anything on the show, finding what I did watch to be brain dead with only Alexa's promo being close to enjoyable.
Ring of Honor had a creative Pure rules gauntlet. I appreciated the chosen participants, the gimmick format used, and the outcome. It's the first match from the episode I watched in full away from the playlist and I have to give props where they're earned. Honestly, I thought it was very good and borderline great, really. The division and general vision for it has been refreshing to see, really.
IMPACT this week saw James Storm work his apparent 1000th match for the company, which is pretty cool. It also saw a reunion of AMW which was awesome, even if the main event with The Cowboy and EY was messy as a result. Average or not, I am interested in seeing what they do with Storm and if they can get him motivated enough for some good content soon.
Also, from the show, we had Callis and Swann have a moment, while Mack laughed at the situation, and then a brawl with Kenny and the Good Brothers being driven out by Swann, Mack, and a joining Eddie Edwards. That was honestly my favorite part of what I saw from the episode and was pretty well done for what it was.
Over on NXT, which was the second to last of the "war" between the brand and AEW's Dynamite staple, SNSM coverage started with a look at the rivalry between Cole and Kyle which has my attention for sure. The package was well done and had me even more hyped for their match than I already was.
Io attacked Raquel over and over again on the episode, just to get destroyed each time, which was funny as fuck. Later, Io went high and finally managed to not get murdered. Cheap popcorn entertainment done well!
The 12 man, gauntlet eliminator qualifier was a rather standard battle royal. Theory was made to look like a complete dipshit which is actually fine, Lumis was...his creepy ass self, and LA Knight (stupid fucking name) won in the end which was fine. Nothing special but for fans that actually like these kinds of matches I'm sure it was enjoyable.
The promo packages for WALTER/Ciampa were well done and I am looking forward to making time for that match ASAP! I find it funny that they are airing a NXT UK show this week the day after the Ciampa match with WALTER defending on the show, which meant they ruined the finish, but it is what it is. At least it's not the stupid shit that MLW/AAA are doing with the latter's Cruiserweight belt.
Dynamite saw Christian's in-ring debut against Kaz and it went even better than expected, for me. They did the style they lean toward, with it being more evenly matches and not just a quick squash, giving Christian some cardio in the rep and making the win seem more important instead of just belittling the vet, Kazarian. Pretty good stuff, really.
The "Worst is Yet to Come" video, with the Inner Circle murdering the Pinnacle was fucking awesome. I keep seeing complaints about how many units the promotion has but I love it and the chaotic nature it's creating is ALMOST always fun. Everything about this rocked.
I said ALMOST, though. The women's match highlights was overdone with faction warfare and I felt that it was annoying that the only women's match of the night was bloated with dudes at ringside adding smoke and mirrors. I did love seeing Conti here though, who looked the best I've seen her so far. She really has a lot of potential!
Don Callis' backstage moment with Matt was pretty well done, even if I find it funny at this point how much the Bucks have wavered over the months.
My MATCH OF THE WEEK was Kenny, Anderson, and Gallows against Laredo, Penta, and Fenix. On paper alone that sounds amazing and in reality it was well worth seeing. I'm glad to see that they are keeping the translator gimmick for Penta which seems to be rather popular, because I really want him to be as over as possible, but I am admittedly frustrated at how they handled the Cody feud. Oh well. This match was high octane, balls to the wall entertainment at least, and a fantastic contest that overdelivered considering the circumstances.
If not for that one, Arcade Anarchy would have easily been my MOTW! It was great, chaotic mayhem and a thrill ride to watch. Miro in particular was super well utilized here, coming off like a true beast at times in an Umaga style role which fits him nicely. Also, I loved the return of Kris here, even if the highlight version of the match downplayed it. Trent's return was well done, too. Sincerely, it's worth checking out and I'd rather not ruin the insanity further!
The Merch of the Week was the amazing, bloody faced Baker shirt which I plugged above as the imbedded video for this post!
On SmackDown, we started with a look back at the Edge/Roman/Bryan drama and then moved to a promo from the Rated R Superstar. Well done stuff, for sure!
Sami had an interview segment with dipshit Logan Paul, which was entertaining enough, interrupted by KO. After a quick look at the special events in the week ahead, we saw Sami attack back in a backstage shot.
Fight Forever!
Coverage ended with Daniel topping Jey Uso in a street fight. It was good stuff overall and meant as a filler building block on the path to Mania, and it worked for what it was. Honestly, I'm into this angle and interested in seeing what's next for sure.
The format of the show will be transitioning soon, but I hope everyone enjoyed the first edition of #SNSM. Episode Two is now up as well, which can be seen HERE.
Thanks for reading the weekly roundup and have a fantastic day!
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