#also this is the beginning of the Lee!Sakura segment

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 2, Phone Calls Home and Judges Table

Hey, National Producer! It's always so nice to see you. Let's dive back into our amazing Produce48 rewatch!

When we left off with this ridiculous project, we had seen many of the trainees recording their evaluation performance for the grade reassignment, and I whispered to you sweetly to tell you what their grades were as we went along, in an effort to subvert MNET editing.

In this post, we'll cover the girls weepy phone calls home, usually to their moms, and then see some of the judges' table. Along the way, we'll find out more of their final grades, too. Get a whole box of tissues and watch along if you like: https://kshow123.tv/show/produce-48/episode-2.html

At 1:48:33, the segment begins. The girls are brought one at a time to a small room. They know what’s coming -- it’s phone call time! They’re handed a cell phone and told they can call one person who they can think of right now. Some of them start crying at the mere thought of it. 

Kim Dayeon, future Kep1er, cries even while the phone is still ringing. She’s only 15, poor kid. We never see any of her audition, but hopefully she will be happy when she finds out that she maintained her B-status. 

We also see Sakura and Lee Gaeun, both calling their mothers. Gaeun’s greeting comes out in a tight squeak.

Huh Yujin, future Le Sserafim, is so overcome that at first she can’t speak. Her mother says hello first in Korean and then in English, suggesting that she doesn’t recognize the phone number Yujin is calling from. Both her Mom and I want to hug her. I still can’t get over the judges moving her down to F! 

Choi Soeun, who auditioned with Question Mark and earlier said that B-class was communicating telepathically, communicates telephonically as well with her mom. We don’t see any of her audition, but later on she is moved down to C-class.  

Park Chanju’s mother helpfully says, “you must have missed me so much. Stop crying.”

Sakura, who has gotten through to her mother, can’t speak. Her mother just keeps asking “Daijobu? Why are you crying?”

Kato Yuuka’s mother asks her, “was there anything that bothered you?” Yuuka auditioned with Funny People, in the furry orange collar. If only Yuuka knew that in a few hours she would be moving up to B-class -- she could have told her mom the good news! 

They seem to be filming Jo Yuri through the tiny window in the door as she tells her mother, “I’m not quite meeting my own expectations.” We didn’t see any of her evaluation performance, but it apparently didn’t go well at all. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t show it, because it was so bad that she is going to move all the way from A to F. As we see later, she just totally froze in place during the recording. Poor kid.

Pretty little Kang Damin, future Queenzeye, who auditioned in the pale yellow shirt alongside “mini-Sunmi” of the flat tummy, gets a pep talk from her mom. We later see a bit of her audition video, in which she’s really throwing herself into it -- she didn’t even need that pep talk! The judges move her up to A class. Good work, Damin!  

Individual trainee Park Jinny -- one of the ex-YG girls and future member of Secret Number -- gets a pep talk from her dad. Hopefully it’ll give her a bit of strength when she finds out shortly that the judges are moving her down from C to F. 

Honda Hitomi gets a pep talk from her mom. She really is a cutey. We’ll see more of her during the judges’ evaluation part.

Shitao Miu, who auditioned with Honda Hitomi to Mister and wore the cap on her belt, says she feels better hearing her mom’s voice, even though mom had scolded her right before she left. She interviews that she realized that she felt thankful toward her mom all along. She’s going to learn soon that she’s staying in D-class. 

Naiki Kokoro, who auditioned in Funny People (wearing green), says that she realized she’s not alone because she has her family.  That’s sweet! And soon she will have her friends in C-class, because the judges are moving her up! 

Then we transition into the parents who laugh at their kids.

The mother of husky-voiced Kim Hyuna asks her if she’s the oldest in the competition, and she says she thinks she is. She’s not -- that would be the multi-lingual Miyazaki Miho, who is 24 -- but at 23, Hyuna is definitely among the oldest. We’ll see more of her during the judges’ evaluation part.

Park Minji, future member of Secret Number, gets asked if there’s anything she wants to eat when she gets home. Minji tells mom that she has plenty of food, and mom scolds her for eating instant noodles. Hopefully mom wouldn’t have scolded her for keeping her status in B class. 

It’s kind of funny how both Park Minji and Park Jinny auditioned with the Chung-ha song Roller Coaster, though separately, given that they were destined to both be in Secret Number together.

Cho Kahyeon, the girl from the Starship group who isn’t Wonyoung or An Yujin, is literally me talking to my mom. Her mom says Kahyeon is good enough to be there but can’t make her debut, because, apparently, Kahyeon is “fat”. Thanks, Mom! Thmom. Kahyeon tells her that she’s on speaker phone, and mom apologizes, but goes on to say that Kahyeon had said that “someone in Gugudan used to be fat” (I assume she’s talking about Kang Mina?), and Kahyeon’s dying of embarrassment that her mom is repeating all this on national tv.  Mom says, this won’t be aired, right? And Kahyeon, who is smart enough to know what’s up, is like “yeah, I don’t know about that.” I wonder if Mom would have been proud to know that Kahyeon stayed in B class, or if she would have scolded her for not moving up? 

Judges Table

At 1:51:26, the judges assemble for the grade evaluation.

The judges talk about how they’re expecting the Japanese trainees to do well at looking at the camera. They watch Gaeun’s and Sakura’s performances -- both great, as you may recall, so they both keep their A status -- then Jeremy is super excited to see Lee Chaeyeon. He actually says “Oh my God!” in English, which is pretty cute.

The judges say that she was sick during the training period and couldn’t take lessons from the teacher, so she must have taught herself. She does great -- singing, dancing, performance. They love her -- Dance Bae says “I want more trainees like her.” As we find out later, she keeps her A status. 

Next is Cherry Bullet’s Park Haeyoon, and Jeremy says “Please do well.” But…

… things don’t go well for my new Cherry Bullet bias. Oh no! She forgets the words, and I think she forgets the steps. Her voice sounds tired and strained. Dance Bae snarks, “I don’t know why I’m even watching this to the end.” It’s a real bummer. Jeremy apologizes to the other judges -- the joke is that he’s from the same agency, FNC  -- and Soyou says “Her strength is in high pitches. I even marked her name” (ie, Soyou had noticed her at the audition) “but she isn’t good.” Oh no!! As we find out later, she gets placed in D class, a huge downgrade from A. 

Next up is Jang Gyu Ri, fromis_9 member, who we saw audition with Chewing Gum (she was the pink one). The judges comment on how pretty she is. 

We only see a bit of her audition, but she doesn’t seem to even try to sing. She must have forgotten the lyrics completely. As we find out later, she gets placed in F class, a huge downgrade from B.  

Next is Kim Choyeon, the fire-eyes girl who we talked about earlier. (If you forgot, she is going to move down from A to C.)

Then Cho Sa Rang, the little 14 year old who sang the song from Annie as part of her audition.

She has a complete brain failure, poor kid. We find out later that she gets moved down to F, a pretty far fall from B. 

Shin Suhyun, who auditioned by herself with the song Playing With Fire and who had voice-over-ed earlier that the Japanese trainees were impressive in their revaluation, also goes blank. The judges roll their eyes. We find out later that she also gets moved down to F.  The show really, really hates this girl. Other trainees also don't do a great job, but the show never misses an opportunity to shit on poor punching bag Shin Suyhun.

Next is Park Jieun, future ex-Purple Kiss, who, as we discussed earlier, really blows it. The judges are getting fed up, saying that all their aces are disappointing them.

Next up is Goto Moe, who had lost her voice in the audition. They’re all excited -- Jeremy says she’s on his “A-list.”

She starts off wrong, but she keeps going, and though she gets kind of shrill and shouty, she’s actually kind of on key. She’s not nearly as nasal as most of the Japanese trainees. The judges find her charming and unique. We find out later that she has been moved up to C-class, which is huge, and I think well-deserved. Nice work, Moe! 

Next is Mogi Shinobu, our living meme girl, who as we discussed earlier, moves up to D.

Then Murase Sae, who we met during her performance of Funny People, in which she wore the worst outfit.

Dance Bae, impressed with Sae’s energy, offers her own kind of praise: “She’s so horrible -- but I want to teach her.” Mary J Lee, who has been working with the D class girls, says “She’s a hard worker.” We later on find out that they have moved her up to C. Good work, Sae! 

Next is dancer Nakano Ikumi, who we discussed earlier. Her energy and enthusiasm, as well as her obvious improvement, moves Dance Bae to ruminate, “I had expected to scold the Japanese trainees a lot today, but I really have no comment. They’re just not experienced.”  See, she’s not a psychopath the way that Psychopath is, you guys. I swear she’s not. Dance Bae adds that the Korean trainees should prepare well because the Japanese girls are coming for them. 

We’re reminded that the girls needed to learn the songs in both languages, and then we see “mini Chung-ha”, little Lee Ha Eun again (we saw her earlier). She seems to rock the Japanese version, proving why she deserves to keep her A status. 

Next up is future Lightsum’s Kim Nayoung, who auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend.

She has no trouble hitting the high notes, and just generally seems to be doing great. Dance Bae -- who, mind you, has been teaching her in C class for the past day or two -- says in surprise, “Why is she in C-class?” Jeremy calls her a hidden treasure. We find out later that she had been moved up to A. Great work, Nayoung!

The next few girls are each shown for a few seconds each, as a sort of montage of trainees who can’t remember any of the lyrics to the Japanese version of the song. 

The first in this group is Kim Doah, future Fanatics member and GP999 contestant, who psyches herself out a bit trying to sing in Japanese.

We find out later that she is moved down to C from A. Poor kid! I still like you, Doah. 

Next is Kwon Eunbi, who we discussed earlier.  (She crashed and burned and was moved down to C.)

Then Kim Yubin from CNC school -- part of Dayeon’s group.

She keeps smiling but doesn’t sing a note. We find out later that she gets moved down to D class. 

Next is husky voiced Kim Hyunah, who apparently isn’t showing her vocals here…

… though she must do really well otherwise, because the judges later decide to keep her in class B. 

Next is Kim Dahye from Banana Culture, who we talked about earlier. 

Then it’s Honda Hitomi, the one that we saw a lot of in the dance lessons. The class had high expectations of her -- and she seems to be delivering.

My favorite is Dance Bae asking, “Is she singing in Korean?” I mean, if you have to ask…? But still, gotta respect the hustle. The judges certainly do, and we find out later on that she has been moved to A group. Nice work, Hitomi!  

She’s not the only Japanese trainee to memorize the lyrics in Korean. (I’m still not clear on whether or not they were required to.) 

We see a nanosecond of Imada Mina -- who we discussed earlier -- then a nanosecond of Tanaka Miku, the girl in F-class with the cute bangs who was hanging out with Bibian and Nako when Erii was getting yelled at. It was hard to get a screenshot of her, but she was doing a decent job, and we find out later that she moves up to C class. 

We also see a nanosecond of Kurihara Sae, one of the members of the Never Ending Ferris Wheel group. Like many of her teammates, she’s putting her heart into it. The judges are going to put her in D class. 

We see a fair bit of Iwate Saho’s evaluation. She was in Dancing Hero, and she’s the one we saw learning the choreo from H1-Key Riina in her class. I guess the lessons didn’t really stick. She seems to sort of improvise new steps or something, making all the judges laugh, and though Psychopath says “my heart wants to give her an A,” they ultimately move her down to D-class.  

Then we see a nanosecond each of CNC School’s Yoon Eunbin -- she’s REALLY throwing herself into it, maintaining her place in B class -- and Kang Damin, who we discussed earlier, letting out a cute high pitched “hoo!”.  

After that, there’s Ko Yujin, who auditioned with Lip and Hip and who claims to look a bit like HyunA, and the judges love her. They say she looks like top-5 material to them. 

The judges are going to move her up from C to A, reversing the fate of Kim Cho Yeon, the “fire”-eyes girl who also auditioned with Lip and Hip and went from A to C. 

Then we see Yabuki Nako, who the judges love. We actually get a mini montage of her in dance class, and learn that she’s the other trainees’ pick as most likely to succeed. 

She does great -- vocals, dance, performance, it’s all there. Sure, it’s not the style of singing I love, but darned if she isn’t on key despite jumping up and down the whole time. It’s good. We find out later that the judges move her from F all the way up to A! Sugoi! Congrats, Nako-chan! 

As episode 2 draws to a close, we see the judges leaving judging table to meet with the girls in their respective classrooms, and the editors tease us with a bit of what’s going to happen next.

Jeremy talks to the A class, and is cagey about how many of their grades have changed. I’ll tell you that it’s 8.

Psychopath tells the B class that 17 people’s grades have changed.

Cheetah tells the C class that 18 people’s grades have changed.

Mary J Lee tells the D class that 12 people’s grades have changed. 

Dance Bae tells the F class that 9 people’s grades have changed.

There are 15 girls in D, but only 11 are present, and there are 17 girls in F but only 9 are present. It also looks like Sakura and Miyu aren’t present in the A-class. This is because -- as we learn later -- a bunch of the AKB girls had professional obligations back in Japan. 

What’s really odd about the preview is that it straight up shows us that Lee Gaeun and Sakura have both gotten an A, but then we just see other girls being handed their grades without finding out what that new grade is. They also show a completely, 100% pixelated blob walking down the hallway with a caption letting us know that someone has fallen from A class to F class. Again, what's the point of showing the pixelated blob, MNET? They could just as easily show us a wall with a sign that says "I'm just wasting time."

Sooooo close this time, AI image generator. Soooo close.

Anyway, that’s the end of the episode! Woot!

In the next episode, they’re going to dick around and waste time forever and day without telling you who is what new class, but you’ll already know the fates of at least 53 of them! Because you live in the FUTURE!!!!!1! 

Then they show the ranking of the 96 girls as they stood at the time. I’ll give you a quick reminder of who each girl is and note any rank changes of more than 20 spots (or just notable changes) from the previous ranking. It’s worth noting that all three girls from the polka dotted Celeb Five audition leaped up significantly. Also, all future members of IVE, Everglow, and Le Sserafim are in the top 25.  I bolded names of people you might have heard of because they debuted in groups later on and are still active. (I'm not bolding the Bugaboo girls since that group already disbanded.)

Lee Gaeun - the Pledis queen

Ahn Yujin - future IVE

Kwon Eunbi - future soloist, leaping up from 25th place

Jang Wonyoung - future IVE

Miyawaki Sakura  - future Le Sserafim

Choi Yena - future soloist

Wang Yiren - future Everglow 

Goto Moe - laryngitis girl 

Yamada Noe - gravely voiced Noe, leaping up from 45th place 

Lee Chaeyeon - future soloist, leaping up from 29th place 

Takeuchi Miyu - the other Japanese girl in A, leaping up from 39th place 

Matsui Jurina - the Jurina

Kim Sihyeon - future Everglow

Jang Gyuri - Fromis_9, pink Chewing Gum

Huh Yunjin - future Le Sserafim

Miyazaki Miho - multilingual queen

Kim Minju - a Very Pretty Girl

Lee Sian - purple Chewing Gum

Jo Yuri - yellow Chewing Gum

Na Goeun - future Purple Kiss

Kim Chaewon - future Le Sserafim

Shiroma Miru - Miru-chan, smiley queen, falling hard from 9th place

Kojima Mako - auditioned alongside Juri to Playing With Fire

Iwatate Saho - Dancing Hero, flying up from 46th place

Kim Doah - future Fanatics/GP999

Park Seoyoung - blonde, Number One Chair

Yabuki Nako - went from F to A

Muto Tomu - auditioned alongside Juri to Playing With Fire

Takahashi Juri - future Rocket Punch

Bae Eunyeong - mint Chewing Gum

Murakawa Bibian - little baby doll girl

Yu Minyoung - mint polka dots, A class (for now), leaping up from 86th place

Wang Ke - red polka dots, Chinese, leaping up from 92nd place

Ko Yujin (aka Go Yujin) - “Hyuna lookalike”

Park Haeyoon - future Cherry Bullet, leaping up from 59th place

Cho Kahyeon - other Starship girl, leaping up from 65th place

Nakanishi Chiyori  - from What’s Your Name

Chiba Erii - swollen lip and glitch mode in F class

Kim Minseo - yellow polka dots, leaping up from 62nd place

Kang Hyewon - “purity is all she has” 

Asai Nanami - Sailor Venus

Motomura Aoi - sweet faced Aoi

Murase Sae - auditioned with Funny People

Kim Sohee - future Rocket Punch

Shitao Miu - auditioned with Mister

Hwang Soyeon - flat tummied little Sunmi, leaping up from 90th

Honda Hitomi - little cutey

Lee Yujeong - future Lightsum, CNC school

Park Jinny - ex-YG trainee, future Secret Number 

Yoon Haesol - auditioned with Question Mark

Kim Suyun - future Rocket Punch/Queendom Puzzle

Choi Yeonsoo - YGK+ model

Nakano Ikumi - known for her dancing 

Hasegawa Rena - auditioned alongside gravely voiced Noe

Matsuoka Natsumi - distinctive face, falling hard from 35th place 

Park Minji - future Secret Number 

Shin Su-hyun - solo Playing With Fire

Lee Haeun - “Mini-Chungha”

Mogi Shinobu - living meme girl

Lee Seunghyeon - H1-key Riina 

Aramaki Misaki - Never Ending Ferris Wheel 

Cho Yeongin - auditioned with Lee Chaeyeon

Kim Nayoung - future Lightsum 

Imada Mina - no bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel 

Kim Dayeon - future Kep1er 

Sato Minami  - Sailor Mars, Lemon-chan’s mom

Oda Erina “known for her singing” 

Yoon Eunbin - from CNC school, low-key my fave

Park Chanju-  auditioned with Roller Coaster

Park Jieun - future ex-Purple Kiss

Tanaka Miku - auditioned with the Banana Song

Kim Hyuna - husky voiced Hyuna

Kato Yuuka - furry orange collar in Funny People

Kang Damin - pale yellow shirt at audition, auditioned with “little Sunmi”, future Queenzeye

Kim Choyeon - fire eyes girl, future Bugaboo 

Hong Yeji - fell down in her evaluation video

Won Seoyeon - auditioned with Heroine by Sunmi

Cho Ahyeong - auditioned alongside Cherry Bullet’s Haeyoon

Han Chowon - future Lightsum

Asai Yuka - auditioned with Knock Knock

Nagano Serika - auditioned with Mister

Naiki Kokoro - auditioned with Funny People 

Ichikawa Manami - shorter hair, auditioned with What’s Your Name?

Kurihara Sae - Never Ending Ferris Wheel

Son Eunchae - future Bugaboo

Alex Christine - aka AleXa

Shinozaki Ayana - beauty mark under lip

Ahn Yewon - YGK+ model

Kim Dahye - auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend, fell from A to C

Cho Sarang - sang Tomorrow from Annie

Tsukiashi Amane - high name tag in Never Ending Ferris Wheel

Choi Soeun - auditioned with Question Mark

Kim Yubin - from CNC school

Lee Chaejeong  - future Alice

Umeyama Cocona - already dropped out

Uemura Azusa  - already dropped out

See you in the next one,

Love, BPR Unnie

#bpr recaps p48 #produce48 #produce 48 #le sserafim #ive #everglow #rocket punch #bugaboo #akb48

[cobaltusami]

Sneak peak for the special #3

(I'm doing two different parts this time! Also, I'm pretty sure my titles for these have been slightly different each time but I can't be assed to double check it-- lmao)

FIRST SEGMENT:

Usami let out a small sigh of relief, then giggled. “Oh, That’s a relief. I am glad It was the sound of friendship, I thought for a moment that Monokuma had reappeared.”

“You rang?” Monokuma asked, suddenly next to her.

“Uwaaah! Where did you come from!?” Usami cried out in surprise.

“We could ask you the same thing…” Hajime said quietly.

“Wha? Has no one ever explained the bears and the bees to you?” Monokuma asked, tilting his head. “Alright I guess. Well when two bears love each other very much--”

“Nooo! That is too mature for this audience!” Usami protested, putting her lil hands on Monokuma to stop him.

“She does realize we’re not kids… Right?” Nagito whispered to Chiaki.

“For some reason, I don’t think she’s talking about us…” She whispered back.

Monokuma growled, his red eye flashing briefly before he shifted and threw all of his weight into his shoulder, promptly sending Usami flying from the force. “Keep your dirty pure hands to yourself, Monomi!”

“Uwaahh! It really hurts when you shoulder tackle me!” she cried, hitting the ground next to Chiaki.

“Anyways! I have an announcement for you Goody goody losers!” Monokuma said loudly as Nekomaru, Gundham, Kazuichi and Sonia all rejoined the group.

“Oh great, I get back just In time to listen to the homicidal tanuki.” Kazuichi frowned.

“For the last time, I am not a tanuki!” Monokuma snapped, raising his hand to threateningly show off his claws.

“He Is right, Children! Monokuma Is a bear, and--” Usami was cut off by Monokuma stomping over to kick her In the head.

“I don’t need your help!”

“Oogh! It hurts when you punt me too!” she sobbed, curling up in the sand. Chiaki got down on the ground next to her to comfort her.

Monokuma cleared his throat. “Now that Monomi Is done interrupting me, I have an announcement. As you know, I am the headmaster of Hope’s peak. That school, just like this island, Is currently full of students!”

“What?! There’s more than just us trapped by you?!” Kazuichi asked, shocked.

“Why are you telling us this?” Peko asked, crossing her arms.

“I’m glad you asked!” Monokuma bellowed. “Because, I think my students are starting to get depressed… So I think they might benefit from a change In scenery!”

“You don’t mean…” Hajime trailed off, nervous as to where this was going.

“Are you going to let those students out of the school??” Usami asked, surprised.

“Yup! Only for a while though, I wouldn’t want you all conspiring against me once you get acquainted with each other! I just hope those cold blooded killers can behave themselves for a few minutes...” Monokuma replied. “Puhuhu, Oops, did I say that out loud?”

“Acquainted with each other…?” Mahiru repeated. “You mean you’re…”

“You’re going to let them loose, Here!?” Kazuichi finished for her.

“You guessed It! Sharkboy Is today’s winner! Tell him what he’s won, Monomi!”

“W-What? What are you talking about n--”

Monokuma jumped into the air and elbow dropped the rabbit. “Nevermind! My joke Is ruined now, you’re so useless!”

“Uwah! It hurts when you elbow drop me!”

Hajime sighed at the scene before him. Is anything ever normal with these two?

---

SECOND SEGMENT:

Sakura pulled out of his hold and backed up nervously. “M-Mondo… Think about this, I told you earlier that It would take two of you to hold me down.”

“Oh, I know what ya said.” He chuckled evilly, advancing towards the retreating Martial Artist. “But I also know what Hina said, Too. Ya lock up when ya get tickled.”

“If that were true, then how did I get away from you earlier?” She challenged.

“If It’s not true, why are you nervous?” He retorted, closing in on the white haired girl.

Sakura didn’t have a response to that, well, except for a small gasp when she bumped into the couch and almost lost her balance.

Mondo took this opening and coiled his arms around her, pulling her down to the couch next to him. She resisted as he suspected she would so he had to throw all of his weight into it.

Immediately his trained fingers were scribbling all over her sides. “Gotcha~” he grinned.

She let out a strangled whimper before bursting into breathy giggles, she tried to get away but the remaining strength she had wasn’t enough to get free once he sat on her legs. “Mohohondo! Stohohop It!” She complained, wrapping her arms around her midsection in a feeble attempt to block off other spots.

“I thought ya weren’t ticklish? What happened to that?” Mondo teased, running his fingers across her toned stomach experimentally. He wished he had enough time to ask Hina where she was most ticklish at, but figured it would be more fun to find out for himself.

She giggled a bit harder. “Okahahay, I’m tihihicklish! Are you hahahappy?”

“Yes.” Mondo smirked. “‘Cause that means I can get some revenge on ya!”

(Not shown here, but for context, Sakura wrecked Mondo earlier on.)

#Okay but writing Usami and Monokuma was really fun #I hope I captured their characters well! #also this is the beginning of the Lee!Sakura segment #and Its several pages long- #She makes a v v cute lee #very shaky and breathy laughter #and she blushes super easy! #It was so fun to write #there may or may not be more Lee!Sakura segments in this fic #i haven't decided yet

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Unleashes Sakura With Episodes 29-35

Welcome to THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Daniel Dockery aka That Dude That Won't Shut Up About One Piece, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 22-28, and we continue this week with episodes 29-35.

  This week, the theme is Naruto Minus Naruto, as we lose our title character pretty early on. But despite missing someone shouting about how they're gonna be Hokage one day, this actually seemed to work out pretty well, as it gave our favorite boy Rock Lee and the consistently underrated Sakura a time to shine. Sasuke did some stuff, too, I guess. We also got some bad guy reveals and Gaara being as Gaara as possible. So let's dive right in and let the Crunchyroll Features team give you their thoughts on a batch of episodes that didn't have an ounce of quit in them. 

  So, not a lot of Naruto in this set of episodes, huh? I mean, we've already gotten to know Sasuke, Sakura, Rock Lee, etc. pretty well so far, so it's not like they can't carry the story, but how do you like the show when the title character spends most of it unconscious?

Paul: I'm fine with it as long as the supporting characters have plenty of interesting things to do. Naruto's personal blend of lunk-headed enthusiasm hasn't really clicked with me yet, so I'm happy to see other characters take center stage now and then, and I like that Sakura finally got a moment to prove her mettle in these episodes.

  Peter: This was probably Sakura's biggest moment in Naruto... possibly including Shippuden. I forgot they combined her special haircut scene with the Ino flashback. The whole situation with the sound ninja was kind of a cluster but I felt like that sequence was particularly well-done. Episode 30 is easily the best in the series so far, I forgot how well directed the moment where Sakura realizes she's alone is.

  Danni: I've joked in my livetweets that I can't tell whether the main character of this show is Naruto or Sasuke yet, but that kind of became not a joke at all this time around, didn't it? That was kind of a shame, given that his material at the very beginning of this batch where he's chiding Sasuke is great. Luckily, the rest of the cast was great all around in this batch.

  Noelle: It is pretty funny to have the protagonist absent, but it's clearly not just wasting time. A lot of stuff happens while Naruto is out cold, especially the big fight where Sakura shines, and she needed to shine! A protagonist doesn't have to be there all the time, even if they are carrying the story, and these segments are proof of that.

  Jared: Having Naruto out for most of the episodes really made some other characters step up and gave them a time to shine like Sakura (finally) and Ino's group. You couldn't get away with having him be gone or KO'd all the time, but especially when the show just brought forth all these new characters, it worked.

  Kevin: It actually helped to up the stakes a bit and create space for more character development. Sakura hasn't needed to do much until now, since Sasuke and Naruto could fight instead. In this set of episodes, the boys were unconscious the majority of the time, so not only did she need to push herself to look after them, but she also needed to fight opponents that even seasoned Genin like Lee couldn't stand up against. Running or hiding weren't options.

  Carolyn: THIS is the Sakura I remembered and have been missing this whole time. I am fine with Naruto sitting out a spell so Sakura can rise.

    David: While I like that the other characters are getting the spotlight, I'm also not a huge fan of how they're getting it. Lee? He's allowed to be cool for a little bit, but still has to be undermined by his limitations that also define his character. Sakura? We have to square getting her development with her entire character revolving around Sasuke. Oh, and Sasuke? Got cool powers from the new bad guy, so the whole thing feels a little artificial by the end.

  Joseph: It kind of makes it seem like they just didn't know what to do with Naruto while other people have the spotlight, because knowing his character he would have to butt in no matter what, dattebayo! If it paves the way for more episodes like 30, which features out of this world choreography and animation, I'm all for it, dattebayo.

  Kara: I'm a Doctor Who fan - having the lead unconscious or straight-up missing for major portions of story is familiar territory. That said, I'm glad it was used to good effect here. I was hesitant coming into the Chunin Exam arc because there are Just So Many Characters, and a lot of them are completely new but clearly important. Giving Nart some down time while we get to know how they work (and how characters we've seen before are growing) was a good idea.

  These episodes are sort of bookended by two horrific reveals:

1) IT WAS ME, OROCHIMARU, THE WHOLE TIME

2)WTF, GAARA

How do you feel about these two? I've been playing a lot of Gaara in Jump Force, but I forgot that he pretty much opens his character arc in the show through intense murder.

Paul: I mentioned this on Twitter before, but although Orochimaru is clearly coded to be this big, scary, impressive villain, he strikes me as the ninja equivalent of that bad friend whom everybody kinda knows but nobody particularly likes. Orochimaru's the kind of guy who would get a little too drunk at the holiday ninja party, and then he'd awkwardly hit on your ninja girlfriend, and then he'd puke on your ninja couch cushion and then flip it over to hide the ninja vomit rather than tell you about it. Damn it, Orochimaru!

Gaara is just a comical murder-baby so far. Again, I know he's supposed to be frightening, but I just think he's a precious little sandy cinnamon roll.

  Peter: Given what Orochimaru's done so far, I'm actually curious if Kishimoto had a plan for him at this point. One of this lines in particular speaking with Anko is hilarious in retrospect. I have a new appreciation for Temari and Kankuro. The scene where they were trying to get Gaara to calm down was particularly good. You got a sense of how desperate and afraid they are of Gaara. Also I don't remember Orochimaru using so many... wind ki blasts? I think Kishimoto wasn't sure what powers he had yet.

  Danni: I'm a little disappointed that my perfect snake wife was just a creepy old snake man in disguise. I'm honestly more terrified of Gaara right now. Orochimaru seems like he actually has a plan. Gaara just seems a bit...unhinged...

    Noelle: I definitely agree with Peter, where Orochimaru in his introduction definitely wasn't as cohesive power-wise, as opposed to the snakes and more snakes that he becomes later. He is set up to be extremely threatening, but at this point, it's definitely more potential than it is factual. As for Gaara, Gaara is one of my faves, even if he starts out as a murder machine. The murder does not stop my appreciation for him. You go, Gaara.

  Jared: Now I want a redub of those scenes with Orochimaru except with the Higher Power reveal audio. They certainly make him seem to be a big deal, although it's still relatively shrouded in mystery. Gaara's showing fell incredibly flat for me. Unlike when we first saw him where he had this mysterious aura about him, this just felt like he was made to be the ultimate edgelord. Which if the folks above me are indicating, he gets better, so hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

  Kevin: For both of them, I feel like their introductions worked well to establish them as serious threats. Orochimaru as a somewhat unknown quantity that even the adults are scared of, while Gaara is a coldblooded Genin that doesn't bat an eye at killing people, to the point that even his teammates fear for their lives when around him. For Orochimaru though, I can't remember any actual reason why he's actually in the Chunin Exam. We'll get to future events in later installments, but why bother actually joining the Genin?

  Carolyn: I remember loving Orochimaru the first time I watched the show and thinking he was a major villain. They certainly set him to seem that way. I'm interested to see if my thoughts on that change as we progress. I also remember thinking Gaara was quite impressive and mysterious, though he was never a favorite character of mine. Rewatching the show, they definitely hype up his skills.

  David: Gaara having a team that is scared of him is significantly more scary than Orochimaru's clear long-term threat foundation going on here. It's kind of cheating but I think this matters a lot for how impactful this ends up being very soon, whereas Orochimaru's threat is much more broad and lore-spanning in the grand scheme of things.

  Joseph: Between Orochimaru, cursed Sasuke, and Gaara, there's so much DANGER in these eps. I love it!

    Kara: Holy crow, things got dark. I'm not saying that as a negative, either. I'll be curious to see what happens with Orochimaru, because that's some high-stakes stuff that got thrown into the mix. I had a feeling Gaara was gonna make Sasuke look like a ray of sunshine by comparison, but I'm with Akamaru on that whole situation.

  If you had to get into intense anime battles in your actual, half-anime life, and you had to copy a Naruto character's techniques, whose style would you use?

Paul: I will continue to stan for my main man, Choji Akimichi, and his ability to transform into the boulder from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Also, they never kill the chubby comic relief characters, so my plot armor would keep me safe from harm but not from embarrassment.

Peter: I feel like the correct answer is Gaara since you can just stand in place writing poems while sand kills people. Practically I think it's hard to argue that Sasuke doesn't have the most "ninja-like" style incorporating the three "jutsus" and leaning heavily on misdirection and outmaneuvering. Each requires having a pretty particular thing though, so it's kind of a lottery by birth.

Danni: Probably Orochimaru. Less for his actual fighting techniques and more because his Mr. Fantastic powers could come in handy when lounging around the house.

Noelle: Gaara's, having sand do my bidding would be pretty neat, and it's not like I sleep much anyway.

Jared: Rock Lee's techniques are what basically what I imagined myself when I was younger when thinking of having anime type fights.

Kevin: I would probably go for the Sharingan, largely due to how versatile it is. It gives amazing kinetic vision, allowing the user to dodge more and land more hits, lets them copy any ninjutsu the enemy uses, can make [REDACTED], or [REDACTED] or even summon [REDACTED], and that's without even getting into the unique abilities from [REDACTED]! Basically, it allows for a lot of flexible techniques, and just with the slight drawback of [REDACTED].

  Carolyn: Ooh, can I redact stuff, too? My favorite hasn't happened yet. Have I mentioned how much I love Shikamaru?

  David: Is it wrong to want to be Sasuke just because he gets the most well-animated fight scenes? I want to be as cool as he is in those.

  Joseph: I've always been a fan of the Shadow Imitation Technique of the Nara clan. I think this is the first time we've seen it in the anime, but throughout the manga I always found it awesome whenever, BAM, someone found themselves ensared out of nowhere.

  Kara: Gonna have to say Ino and the body-hopping. I'm so clumsy, the only way I'll ever effectively beat someone up is if I project into them and beat myself up.

So, Sakura gets a few cool minutes in Episode 32. I especially like the reveal that it wasn't a substitution and that she was actually dropping on Zaku and gutting through those Kunai. However, it's kind of mired in a lot of flashback and a weird "How does my face look?" backstory. How did you feel about it? I will say, for a little bit, I got hyped. Bleeding Sakura descending like Batman on this goon is a dope visual.

Paul: I'm glad Sakura finally got a chance to shine, and I didn't feel that the drama of the scene was terribly undercut by her childhood anxieties about having such an enormous forehead. It contextualizes some of her earlier, snappish behavior, and I was impressed with her growth as a character when she expressed a genuine desire to protect Naruto and when she offered Rock Lee her heartfelt thanks.

Peter: I'm kind of two minds on this watching it for the second time. If anything I feel like her dramatic move was undercut by the fact that there were two more Leaf squads that could have stepped in acting as a sort of safety net rather than anything actually relying on her. That said, I think the balance between her efforts in the moment and Ino remembering the extremely dumb stupid kid reason they stopped being friends was great.

Danni: I adored it. A woman's body in media is often portrayed as a priceless work of art. It's an object whose fragile beauty is meant to be fawned over and protected. The slightest mark of imperfection is detrimental to the whole piece. This either leads to strong women whose bodies remain unscathed or weak women whose bodies exist to be tragically violated. Seeing Sakura use her own body as both a weapon and a shield in this fight was nothing less than refreshing. She cast aside the beauty of her long hair, took three kunai to the body in order to get closer than her target, straight up sunk her teeth into him like a wild animal, and took a beating without flinching or letting go. It was so incredibly refreshing to see a woman actually fight with her whole body rather than an objectified version of one.

  Noelle: This is Sakura's big awesome moment, and she nailed it. She doesn't have signature jutsu like Naruto's clones or Sasuke's fire - all she really has are perfected versions of the basics. That she's able to use her intellect to her advantage; setting traps, tricking her opponents, it works for her character. The fact that she is unyielding is fantastic, considering that in a lot of anime fight scenes featuring women it it's rarely conveyed just how brutal they can get. Sakura's desperately fighting, and she will take kunai and even bite her opponents if it means she can help her friends. It's rough, messy, and great. Let girls have brawls too!

Jared: I'm a huge fan of the "cutting your hair to signify a big change" trope, so I was incredibly excited to see it here. This moment for Sakura was essentially what I'd been waiting for this entire time with her and it delivered. I was kind of surprised how much backstory we got here, but I think it fit well with everything that was happening around them with Sakura and Ino. Everything about how she attacks Zaku felt like she was desperately doing anything she could to survive, which included things like biting and not letting go. Plus, I'm surprised they showed her bloodied up.

Kevin: To put it this way, Sakura faking out Zaku is both my highest and lowest point of the week. I love that we finally got to see her fight and even out think her opponent, and I was even okay with seeing Ino struggle with their history when deciding how to act, seeing her friend-turned-rival in trouble. They probably could have cut one or two of the flashbacks and lost nothing from the storytelling though.

  Carolyn: I actually loved the flashbacks explaining her desire for long hair to impress Sasuke and her rivalry for his heart mixed in with Sakura being an awesome fighter. We saw where she came from and we see where she's headed. Her cutting off her hair (epic) was not just a clever tactic, it was her moving past her fickle, shallow priorities and stepping up. (And incidentally, finally winning Sasuke's respect.) I liked that contrast and I thought it made her powerful moments more meaningful.

  David: I don't like how being feminine was presented so constantly as a negative thing in the lead up to her 'level up', especially because it got immediately followed up by a line from Shikamaru to Choji about how they need to be the 'men' of the situation. I also don't like how it didn't end up even really helping the situation, but Sasuke's unintentional powerup did. I do like how the story clearly realized how drastically it was underutilizing its main female characters and tried to rectify that as well as it could within the characterization it had already established for them. So, basically, I like that it ended up where it was, but I wish it didn't have to do that in the first place.

  Joseph: Sakura's moment makes up for a lot of her inaction in previous episodes. It made it feel like a much more significant turn, and I think it's another great argument for the power of anime adaptations in taking certain aspects of the source material to the next level. I would also be remiss not to mention how major of a role she played in stopping Sasuke after he awakened to some straight-up Final Fantasy IV midi cover music.

  Kara: Sakura's characterization grew three sizes this week! Normally I have nothing against romance or a crush being a motivator (people in the real world act that way sometimes), but I was getting second-hand embarrassment whenever everyone and their mother used her emotions against her because she was that much of an open book. She was seriously dope in episode 32, and I do like that she didn't drop her feelings so much as compartmentalize them. Was it perfect? No. Was it better than what we've seen for the last few weeks? Very much. Plus we've spent so much time being told she knows her stuff, it was nice to see it in action.

  If you've read the manga, how do you feel about the pacing of the anime at this point?

Peter: I appreciate they're not trying to draw things out, past a few recap episodes. The only real filler we've gotten was a few more social scenes that ultimately helped build up the individual Team 7 members more so I'm good with them. Visually the series uses the manga as a direct roadmap the majority of the time but the departures, like in Naruto's fight against Haku, were extremely good.

Noelle: It's definitely a little slower, especially since you can read the same amount content much faster than you can watch it. Different mediums lend to different speeds. At the same time, it's not significantly slower - not like One Piece - so it's pretty tolerable. I can't say I have much complaints with the pacing.

David: It's gotten slower recently, but it's still MUCH better than I expect from long-running shonen adaptations even today. I never feel like a half hour isn't used effectively, which is impressive.

Joseph: They've chopped a few minutes off the absurdly long flashbacks at the start of each episode, so it's much punchier now than when it was covering the Zabuza fight. The adaptation nails some of the big moments, so I think they do a fantastic job of making the most out of Kishimoto's story and characters.

Last but not least, what was everyone's high and low points for this week, along with anything else you want to shout out?

  Paul: My high point was the fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru in Episode 30. Pierrot's animation team really pulled out all the stops for that one, and I was frankly blown away by how well-staged it was, especially since the previous episode was so janky, to the point where it gave us the "Naruto, you look kind of cool" silly face meme. My low point was the reveal that Rock Lee's ultimate technique is just a glorified Izuna Drop. I was disappointed by that, because I was expecting something really far out there.

    Peter: I'd have to say everyone involved had a low moment against the sound ninja. Rock Lee could have actually just kicked the guys head off so I'm not sure why he pulled out his ultimate technique. The master strategist Shikamaru really handled the InoShikaCho combo poorly (why not just have Ino knock the paralyzed guy out then 3v1 the last guy?). Feels like there were too many cooks in the kitchen while Kishimoto was trying to let Sakura stand on her own. High point was Sasuke's epic fight against Orichimaru... or maybe Gaara being Goth Prime?

  Danni: If you can't guess already, the high point of this batch for me is Sakura's battle. Naruto snapping Sasuke out of his daze and the whole fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru are close runner-ups. I can't say there were any real low, low points for me in this batch, but I could have done without the whole prolonged tension of them debating whether or not to open the scroll simply for them to move on without opening it. I really feel like that could have been a lot more condensed.

  Noelle: It has to be Sakura's battle. She's the last member of the team who hasn't really had a moment of growth, as she's mostly been stuck fawning over Sasuke. Now she has a moment of her own, to show that she really can be one of their peers in combat, not just because she's assigned to be alongside them. Sasuke vs Orochimaru was also fantastic to watch. Low points would probably be the Sound Ninja fight when Sakura wasn't the highlight, it felt a little too long.

  Jared: The true answer here is Sakura finally getting her moment as the high point. The flow of these episodes just kept moving until the end where things really slowed down, but that makes sense. Sasuke pulling out a Canadian Destroyer (front flip piledriver) was something I absolutely wasn't expecting. Maybe my low points would be Gaara's fight and then Naruto wanting to open up the scroll since it felt way too obvious that he'd do that.

  Kevin: Sakura's fight somehow managed to be both the best and worst moments. The best moment was when she uses Substitution multiple times to trick her opponent into giving her an opening, even though she needed to take multiple kunai wounds in the process. It was awesome to see her thinking, and there might've even been a bit of Naruto rubbing off on her, given how brazen the plan was. Unfortunately, it led to the end of her plan... biting Zaku's arm and just holding on as he kept punching her head. Great plan, Sakura.

Carolyn: The squirrel and the hair cut were high points for me. Also, just seeing everyone have respect for each other. Sakura thanks Rock Lee, Rock Lee acknowledges Sasuke's ability. Good stuff.

  David: It might not sound like it so far, but Sakura's fight is my high point for not just this bit, but the entirety of the show - it's one of the defining moments of the series to me, something that has stuck with me for decades at this point. So, criticisms aside, that matters a lot to me. Low point is how even when the show is trying to make Lee cool is still undermines him just as quickly, making it hard to believe it really appreciates his struggle.

Joseph: Episode 30 is an all-timer, so that's gotta be my high point. The low point was probably the Sound Ninja. Their powers are cool, and I understand jutsu is a term encompassing techniques in a wide swath, but to me they just had prosthetics and weapons. Hey, check out my jutsu *pulls out a gun*.

Kara: Can't decide between Sasuka vs. Orochimaru or Sakura finally Doing Things as my high point. Really liked both. Low point was probably every time I had to see Naruto squiggling around in snake guts.

  COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 14

Bowls of ramen consumed: 2 bowls, 3 cups

Shadow Clones: 115

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule!

-Next week, on FEBRUARY 22ND, we’re looking at EPISODES 36-42 as I, DANIEL DOCKERY, IN MY TRUE BEAST FORM, hosts as the Forest of Death continues to torment! THIS IS THE ONLY INSTALLMENT WE'RE ACCEPTING QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THIS WEEK!

-Then on MARCH 1ST, we’ll talk about EPISODES 43-49 as NATE MING returns as we enter into one-on-one competition including a showdown between Rock Lee and Gaara!

  -On MARCH 8th, we move on to the final stage of the Chunin Exam with EPISODES 50-56, hosted by CAROLYN BURKE!

  Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have any comments or questions about episodes 22-28? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 29-35?

-------------------------

Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. He has a Twitter that he uses. 

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[henrytcasey]

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

Tyler Bate © vs Mark Andrews for the WWE UK Championship, 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.

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.

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.

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