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dalekofchaos · 3 years

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My hopes for WWE & AEW in 2021 and things I hope changes for WWE and AEW in 2021

Hopes

WWE

Roman Reigns stays dominant and reigns supreme as the Tribal Chief

Keith Lee wins the Royal Rumble, joins The Hurt Business and brings the WWE Champion to the Hurt Business

Naomi returns and joins The Hurt Business and dethrones Asuka to take home the gold

The Hurt Business DOMINATES Raw

Bianca Belair wins the Royal Rumble and dethrones Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania

The Riott Squad win the Women’s Tag Team Champions

Unify the men’s Tag Team Championships

Unveil a new Title and give us WWE’s very first Television Championship. It should be styled similar to the NWA and WCW’s TV belts, but on the sideplates it should include USA and Fox on the plates. Shelton Benjamin or Ricochet should be the TV Championship

Big E reigns supreme as Intercontinental Champion and finally gets to face Roman for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 38

Rhea Ripley gets called up and goes to Smackdown

Mercedes Martinez dethrones Io Shirai and becomes NXT Women’s Champion

Karrion Kross reclaims the NXT Championship

Anyone but Johnny Sameface as NXT North American Champion

Queen Of The Ring. The amount of female talent available on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK is quite something. It's clear that this is the richest women's division in WWE history. They really should do something with all those workers. The 'Mae Young Classic' tourneys have been fine, but people would trip over themselves to see a fully-fledged 'Queen Of The Ring' epic staged across multiple nights. If booked correctly, this tournament could help establish a new contender for top titles. If she isn't Champion by then(though she should be) the perfect person to become Queen Of The Ring would be Bianca Belair! Bianca Belair would have unparalleled credibility for her 'StrongEST, FastEST, ToughEST' mantra if she whipped a bevy of skilled workers to become the first 'Queen'. WWE could also get creative by linking the event in with Charlotte Flair's nickname and spinning off into a feud between her and the winner afterwards.

Form Full-Time Female Tag-Teams and keep them around. The Women’s Tag Team DIvision is a mess. Keep creating makeshift Tag Teams and breaking up established tag teams and your tag team division is dead. The current champs and their predecessors haven't even been "proper" full-time duos - Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler were shoved together awkwardly in the summer, and they've since been replaced by the unlikely Asuka and Charlotte Flair combo. This cannot be allowed to continue. It's damning that WWE don't have more fully-formed pairings ready to go. The Riott Squad are perhaps the only actual twosome who are presented as a tight-knit collective weekly. Other than that, who is there? Considering the belts have been around for a few years now, that's unacceptable. The IIconics split, so did Sasha Banks and Bayley, and the scene is littered by 'odd couple' tandems like Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce, and Billie Kay teaming with the likes of Natalya or Tamina when it suits.

Ensure NXT is treated like a proper third brand rather than a quasi-development league for Raw and SmackDown. NXT has been on USA Network for over a year now, but it's still very much behind both Raw and SmackDown as a priority. Need proof? Look at the way Keith Lee was handled when he was "called up" after SummerSlam 2020. The former NXT Champ had to start all over again, and he's had several teething problems on Monday nights. It'd be nice to see WWE move away from positioning NXT as a 'feeder' for the other two shows. Changing someone's gimmick when they leave makes the brand look less-than, and there's simply no need for that anymore; NXT should be an equal to Raw and SmackDown, not a development league. Sadly, it still comes across as that. Lee's stop/start plight and the (mis)fortunes of others like Aleister Black and Ricochet should be a lesson to WWE. Some workers are better off rocking the black and yellow, not the red or blue.

AEW

Darby Allin becomes AEW World Heavyweight Champion

Adam Page costs Kenny the title and Page gets revenge and DESTROYS Kenny

MJF destroys the inner circle from within and when Jericho realizes what just happened, that’s when MJF and Wardlow destroys Jericho

Which is when we get a Sammy Guevara babyface turn and we get MJF vs Sammy

Arn Anderson turns on Cody

AEW’s Four Horsemen is formed. MJF, Shawn Spears and FTR with Tully and Arn managing as the JJ DIllon mouthpieces

Darby Allin and MJF feud for the title

The Women’s Division is improved. The girls get more time to shine on Dynamite. Your champion actually appears(shocking, I know) and build feuds and stories for your women’s division. There’s still some time to do what’s right for your women’s division, but the only thing that remains to be seen, does the powers that be of AEW even care?

Get a new title design for the Women’s Championship. It looks like a toy for a child. It’s plastic, not gold. It should be as big and beautifully designed as the men’s titles. It should be as big as the NWA’s title or even the WWE’s title. The title is symbolic as to how AEW treats it’s own women’s division and that needs to change with a fresh new design.

Sign Thunder Rosa. It may not fix everything with the women’s division, but it gives you your needed star power. Tony Khan should be begging on his hands and knees to sign Thunder Rosa in 2021 after her time with the NWA is up, his women’s division is getting their asses kicked by what his EVP refers to as a “developmental brand”

If you can’t sign Thunder Rosa. My solution is Push Anna Jay and Britt Baker as the top face and heel of the women’s division and either of them dethrone Shida.

Changes

WWE

Leave whatever that monstrosity of a creative team they have for RAW is. Let the Wrestlers dictate what they want their characters to be. Ditch the scripted promos. Let promos feel organic and real. Let the wrestlers be characters who feel real and genuine. Get rid of a “Creative” that isn't creative and let the wrestlers be creative and let them be free of terrible creative.

Get rid of the Gimmick PPV. WWE has ruined gimmick matches by turning them into themed PPVs. none of these matches are organic or special anymore. The matches themselves are great but are booked to fit a theme of a pay-per-view, when they should be used organically at the height of feuds. no one cares about the name of PPVs, so i don’t understand why WWE does this. the only one that actually works is MITB, because it makes sense as storylines reset after Mania.

Scrap the Brand Warfare/Brand Supremacy. WWE should scrap the tired brand warfare format at Survivor Series and move away from Raw vs. SmackDown completely. Booking around a calendar has become company law in WWE over the past decade or so. Perhaps McMahon always formatted things this way really, but it's more glaring now that gimmick bouts like Elimination Chamber, Hell In A Cell and Money In The Bank have their own pay-per-views. Survivor Series, with it's played out Raw vs. SmackDown vibes, also needs a rethink. "Brand warfare" is boring now, and it has been for several years. Although 2020's event was fun, it's nonetheless true that the month-long build to Survivors feels like a repetitive slog fans are forced to sit through every November. Hopefully, 2021 will change that. It is possible to book traditional elimination bouts without some sort of false show loyalty - WWE did this almost every single year until the first brand split in 2002. Their over-reliance on Raw vs. SmackDown is plain lazy. Survivor Series should be revolved around great rivalries between stables/factions. It’s really not that hard. Or at the very least if there IS a Smackdown vs Raw themed Survivor Series, at least add a damn reward. Give the brand a head start in the Rumble,, give the winners of the match number one contenders for their brand’s respective titles or ANYTHING better than just “brand supremacy lol”

Get rid of the 24/7 title. It has run it’s course. R-Truth is funny, but even he can’t make it work anymore.

Stop. Breaking. Up. Tag Teams. Stop killing your Tag Team Division. For the love of god just stop!

Cut Akira Tozawa’s ninja bullshit. It’s not funny, it’s annoying

Kill Retribution. It’s complete garbage. It has been consistently terrible ever since Retribution began. Mustafa Ali cannot save Retribution, he’s trying but no one can save it.

Stop the 50/50 booking

Stop rewarding Nia Jax, the living botch machine for injuring her fellow wrestlers

Stop pushing Lars Sullivan. Absolutely no one wants him.

They should cut raw to 2 hours because 3 hours is unbearable

Stop the overreliance of part time wrestlers. I don’t want to see Goldberg being pushed at the expense of today’s talent and I don’t want to see Goldberg period. I don’t want to see Brock Lesnar return at the expense of today’s talent. I don’t want to see Legends return. Push your current fucking wrestlers and make stars. You idiots!

Do not rush Becky Lynch back to the ring, she just had a baby. I read the reports that Vince wants Becky back by Wrestlemania. That is a terrible decision

Stop killing pushes because Vince changed his mind

Enough with “creative has nothing for you” if your “creative” has nothing for a certain wrestler, then they are not creative. Either let the wrestlers appear on the show or release them if you don’t want them anymore, it’s simple as that.

Do. Not. Put. The. Title. On. Goldberg. Goldberg should not have beaten Bray Wyatt's 'Fiend' for the Universal Title at Super ShowDown in February - that was a huge mistake, one that set Bray back and felt totally unnecessary. In 2021, WWE should outright avoid any temptation to repeat the trick and give ol' Billy another go-around with one of the top titles. If anything, Goldberg's only purpose should be to play victim for a quick Roman Reigns squash. Get through that elusive match then turn Bill into a company ambassador. He doesn't need to pretend it's still 1998 all these years on.

AEW

Leave the overabundance of spots just for the sake of spots and enough with the false finishes. Jim Ross was right, like it or not, the spots for the sake of spots and the false finishes need to end. This is my major problem with AEW and why I can’t stand The Elite in general. Everyone just needs to get their shit in. Everything looks fake. No one can look strong or credible and we have to see garbage Indy wrestlers and the spot monkeys make everything look fake and phony. The champions never look credible and everyone is on the level of job guys. This needs to change

Stop leaving your Women’s Champion off the show. It is downright insulting how dirty they are doing Hikaru Shida. She deserves as much time to shine as the other champions deserve.

Stop putting the NWA Women’s Champion as more of a priority than your own Women’s Champion

Enough with Brandi. Why is the women’s division given absolutely 0 screentime and barely anytime to develop their stories, but Brandi is ALWAYS THERE! Everything has to be about her. When a feud between Cody and Shaq was close to happening, of course it had to be about her. She’s turned heel/face as much time as the Big Show. I’ve grown tired of Brandi Rhodes. Stop shoving that attention whore down our throats. WE GET IT! You wanna be Stephanie so bad!

Enough with Cody’s big dramatic midlife crisis entrances. We get it, you wanna be Triple H SO BAD!

Stop the petty bullshit shots at WWE. It was fun at first, but it’s getting annoying. This is Eric Bischoff giving away the results and “That’ll put butts in the seats” level of petty bullshit. AEW had the fucking nerve to tweet a fan’s post saying they did a better tribute for Brodie Lee than WWE. HE JUST DIED! AND YOU ARE MAKING IT ABOUT YOUR FUCKING RIVALRY? GROW THE FUCK UP!

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x-duggan05 · 5 years

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Rhea Ripley is only 23 and:

Made her wrestling debute at 16 in 2013 after only 6 months of training in

she became a two-time RCW Women's Champion

Had a WWE tryout at 17 and was only denied because of her age

Signed for WWE at age 20 in 2017

was the youngest completitor in the firsr MYC at 20 years old

Competed in the second MYC

became the inaugural NXT UK women’s champion at 22 after defeating Toni Storm (Becoming the first Australian to ever hold a women's championship in WWE)

Became the main heel of the NXT UK women’s decision

Made her PPV debute at the first Evolition

Made her Royal Rumble debut, getting the most eliminations by a NXT competitor with 3

Ranked No. 35 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the PWI Female 100 in 2019

Mick Foley, Lance Storm, X-pac, Auska, Sasha Banks, road dogg, Jim Cornett, Mark Henry, Beth Pheonix, Becky Lynch, Madusa, Charlotte flair, Trish Stratus, Paige and Triple H have praised her for her talents

Debuted on NXT (US) by interrupted the champion Shayna baszler

Became one of the biggest faces in the NXT

Debuted on smackdown by tagging with Tegan Noxs and defeating Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose

Had a match with Raw women’s champion Becky Lynch

Had a triple threat match with Charlotte Flair and Sasha banks on Smackdown

And won by pinning the most decorated women in WWE history, Charlotte flair

Captained the first ever women’s wargames match and won by pinning the champion Shayna Baszler (despite the 2-4 odds)

Been called the future of women’s wrestling by Triple H

Captained team NXT at survivor series

Pinned Sasha Banks

Became the sole survivor

#wwe #nxt #nxt uk #rcw #rhea ripley #triple h #charlotte flair #becky lynch #sasha banks #mick foley #mark henry #beth phoenix #evolution #royal rumble #wargames #mine

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wrestlingisfake · 4 years

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It’s probably pointless to fantasy book WWE right before they set up the post-Summerslam situation, but I got inspired so bear with me.

I saw someone suggest Roman Reigns should be the mastermind behind Retribution, and I think that’s the best fan idea I’ve seen in months, if not years. It goes with his cool new T-shirt and everything. All of my ideas just flow from that starting point.

Roman explains that he’s had a lot of time sitting at home to watch WWE, and he’s had a lot of time to flip over and see the other guys screwing around on the other channel.

He’s ashamed of what WWE has become, of watching the boys and girls getting ground down by the machine. He watched management dick over Daniel Bryan while he was making his big run, and the fans blamed him for it and never forgave him. And he thought he could live with that. He watched his brother Dean Ambrose get so frustrated that he hated going to work and had to get out of here. And he thought he could live with that too. But then he saw #NaomiDeservesBetter trending, and he realized the machine was going to blow that off, and do the same thing all over again. To his cousin’s wife. To his family.

So Roman came back, but this time he’s not bringing justice, he’s bringing Retribution. The top members are Reigns, Naomi, and the Usos, but the rest of the group is mostly nobodies. People like Riddick Moss, the Forgotten Sons, Chelsea Green, and others who were called up and never really utilized. There’d be Performance Center rookies we’ve barely seen, acting as the foot soldiers. The idea is the leadership are well-established winners, to kinda balance out the rest of the group being noobs and jobbers fighting from underneath. Roman’s taking them under his wing to make sure they get the opportunities WWE promised by any means necessary.

The main idea is that Roman’s stroke as The Guy, combined with Retribution’s acts of terror, leave WWE management too weak to enforce the standard formula of Raw and Smackdown. The brand split is a moot point, at least within Thunderdome. It’s not safe for interviewers to stand around robotically asking for “thoughts at this time.” Cheap heel shenanigans are less likely to protect your championship than get you a punch in the mouth. It’s not pure chaos like Raw Underground, because Retribution still wants to put their members in sanctioned matches to achieve dominance in the sport of wrestling. But the "entertainment” part of the show is more dangerous, and the smarmy polish has worn away.

Inevitably, the rest of the wrestlers need to either join Retribution or defend themselves by forming rival factions. The Hurt Business (led by MVP, Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin) would have a head start on this, aligning with the various fighters in Raw Underground (Shayna Baszler, Artuo Ruas, Dolph Ziggler, etc.). The pure babyfaces (Drew, Big E, Bianca and the Street Profits) will need to stand for the history and tradition of the established order, and they’ll have to come up with a way to make that sound better than just licking Vince McMahon’s boots. They’d end up forming uneasy alliances with heels who had things better the way things were (like Miz and Morrison, Bayley and Sasha, AJ Styles). A few guys could go it alone, but they’d better be damned tough. R-Truth would keep declaring his intention to join the League of Nations.

Some of the more edgy or desperate stars would seek to align with Bray Wyatt, which would be exceptionally difficult since nobody can figure out what he wants or where he goes when he disappears. So people like Seth Rollins, Nikki Cross, Braun Strowman, and the Viking Raiders end up forming their own loose alliance based on what they think The Fiend wants them to do, which might be more dangerous than actually joining the Wyatt Family.

You’d end up with four or five factions battling for control of Raw and Smackdown, vaguely similar to New Japan. Not exactly like New Japan, because deep down it’d still be WWE. But they’d talk less and fight more, because the wrestlers’ faction alignments would streamline explaining their motivations. I’m in this group, I wrestle in this division, I want to win my division’s title, so I’d better win more matches. Every character would have more depth than that, but that baseline would eliminate all the usual dumb writing where two wrestlers feud over a shampoo commercial or something.

I would keep the heel/face dynamics kinda loose. Like, Drew McIntyre is a cinnamon roll and the Miz is a bag of dicks, but they can agree that they worked their asses off for what WWE has always been, and they’ll fight whoever wants to take that away from them. Eventually the story would drive them apart or nudge one of them towards good/evil. But I’d play it by ear and see where the story takes them, and where the audience’s loyalties lie. A big reason these kinds of stories struggle is that the promoter tries to tell the fans which faction’s ideology is the correct one, which gets awkward when people decide the “bad guys” are right. Over time, each group would solidify as being all-face or all-heel.

Pretending I could start this right now, I’d build to establishing all the factions and having them face off in multi-person tag matches at Survivor Series. Then we’d move on to the most lawless, out-of-control Royal Rumble in history, and so on. The faction leaders (whoever they might be by that point) would settle into key feuds for the title matches at Wrestlemania. All the while, NXT and NXT UK would be off in their own worlds, biding their time...

#wwe #fantasy booking #sheesh this got pretty long

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nagdabbit · 4 years

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A HANDY DANDY GUIDE TO WRASSLIN

For the lovely, the wonderful, the incomparable @gideongrace , may I present: Daggs’ Guide to the Wild Ass World of Professional Wrestling! (and it’s goin’ behind a cut because It Got LONG!)

So, here is the things. Wrestling is STUPID. And great? And fun as hell! And the most carny sport to ever exist. But, also SUPER inside baseball a lot of the time just because it’s got such a long goddamn history that it can seem daunting to get into. Like I’ve only been back into it the last four or so years, so there’s a lot of history that I’ve missed! There’s also a whole lot of gate keeping, just like comics or video games. There’s also the bitter truth that a lot of people in the industry are absolute shitheels that should have been fired long ago (and I’ll only be vague about a lot of that). So, yeah. A WHOLE LOT.

First things first: HISTORY. There’s just so much. But, conveniently? You don’t need it. It can be fun if you end up really like wrestling, but contrary to what a bunch of middle-aged, racist, misogynist and WILDLY homophobic, White American Men will tell you, you don’t actually need it to enjoy yourself. If you DO want history, might I suggest the How2Wrestling podcast! It is a cheerful, lovely show hosted by two goddamn delightful humans, Kefin and Jo (who are also just wonderful people to interact with in general)! There is also the Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling by Aubrey Sitterson and Chris Moreno, which is a great read! Wrestlesplania is another good show for history of the sport and the wrestlers! They’re definitely, uh, hornier, but v fun!

Secondly: On the subject of inside baseball, wrestling jargon is a whole thing. The ONLY part of wrestling history that is 100% important: it is a carny sport. Like, some side-show, vaudeville ass shit, yo. And it has never evolved from that, so there are a whole lot of terms used that are very specific to like... early 1900′s carnival culture. Here is a wikipedia article, but there’s also a wonderful How2Wrestling episode about it all! I’ll try not to use much!

Thirdly: We can’t talk about wrestling podcasts without mentioning Colt Cabana’s The Art of Wrestling. A lot of the archives are behind a paywall now, but the show is great. If you DO get into wrestling and start to find wrestlers you enjoy, I highly highly suggest checking to see if they’ve done an episode. Colt is a goddamn delight of a human, deserving of support and a great interviewer on top of it. Even if you just bookmark eps you’d wanna listen to and then start a free trial to marathon them all. (See also: the Colt Cabana & CM Punk lawsuit(s), in which Colt got royally fucked over.)

Fourthly: Nobodies Watching Wrestling. Drag Queens watching wrestling. That’s all you need to know. Even out of context, they’re goddamn delightful humans. Might I recommend this episode with EFFY, because I sometimes just watch it when I’m having a bad day.

Fifthly: Tights & Fights is a great weekly wrestling pod, and is how I keep up on a lot of things that I might not be watching. PLUS, diverse group of (wonderful) hosts: Hal Lublin, Daniel Radford, Lindsey Kelk, Open Mike Eagle, and producer Julien Burrell. They’re just great. And horny, at times, but in a charming and respectful way.

Now... The boring part. I’m just gonna get some of the popular company introductions out of the way, and then the fun part of So Many Match Suggestions at the bottom. But, business first! (The Big difference between Larger Companies and Independent Companies is that the big guys have a contracted roster of people who sometimes can work with other companies [unless they’re the WWE, who have exclusive contracts and still call their employees Independent Contractors so they don’t have to offer health insurance or a union], and indie guys contract people usually show-by-show. ALSO, there is intergender wrestling [men vs women, which does bother a lot of people. I do side with support of it, but I do totally get how it can be hard to watch] in indie shows, whereas there is NOT in 90% of the big companies.)

(And, honestly, if you wanna skip this part, you can, but if I don’t do it first, I’ll forget..)

AN OVERVIEW OF THE BIG PLAYERS

WWE - Here’s the thing. The WWE kinda... is a terrible capitalist bastard of a company, run by a morally bankrupt, egomaniacal, shitstain, roid-rage cryptkeeper of a man. And, if you want my personal opinion, RAW and Smackdown are both (currently) TERRIBLE shows, despite having some truly phenomenal talent. BUT, but. NXT (and NXT UK) is probably the best, like, weekly wrestling show (on TV, at least, but we’ll get there). The talent is INCREDIBLE, the storylines are less bad bananas, and they’ve adopted a LOT of the best indie talent lately (because they want to directly compete with AEW, but that’s a whole other thing). WWE programming is also the easiest to get a hold of because they are the longest running and basically Disney, so there are some full matches on YouTube, and Raw and NXT are available on Hulu. They are also releasing a lot of free stuff on the WWE Network that you can watch without signing up for a paid account, but there is a lot of stuff behind a pay wall.

Cons: Real Talk, run by a bunch of terrible people. Responsible for covering up a lot of truly reprehensible crimes for which no one was held accountable, despite being well documented. A blatant disregard for the (physical and mental) safety and/or financial security of a lot of their roster--specifically the people you don’t see on TV. (If you want some history, you can look through the past tweets of the New York 64 Tournament, but a lot of it turned my stomach, so I would not suggest, but it’s there if you have the same morbid curiosity that I did)

Pros: The company might be run by terrible people, but their roster is good. A lot of my top wrestlers do work for the WWE, sure, but they do hire a lot of decent humans that I sometimes feel bad about not supporting. Also, it is the dream of a lot of people to join WWE simply because of the prestige, the massive audience, and job security. I might hate Vince but I can’t begrudge any wrestler currently working for them.

NXT Pros: On the subject of rosters, NXT is LIT. But they have also stolen some of the best indie wrestlers recently: Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas, two of my All Time Favs. Both of whom deserve the world, because being openly gay in the wrestling industry is the pits.

All Elite Wrestling - AEW is a very new company, and they are my favourite of the big promotions. They are a company run by wrestlers, rather than a millionaire with a writing staff. I like the wrestling style(s) better, I was a huge fan of a lot of their roster before they hit TV last October, and I like not giving the McMahons money. The storylines are better, if only because they don’t have a writer’s room dictating scripts and such, and the characters are more fun (for me at least).

Easiest ways to watch for free: Their YouTube channel! There you can find a lot of highlights, behind the scenes, AEW Dark (the “dark” matches, or the non-televised matches from TV tapings), PPV pre-shows and a lot of stupid stuff.

Cons: A bit of an issue offering equal match time to the women’s roster the way they SAID they would at the start. A bit more violent of a style as a lot of the wrestlers came up death match style wrestling, or are from Japan/wrestled in Japan and typically wrestle “strong style” (wrestling style with less theatrics and known for Real Real Strikes that Hurt A Lot), which some people can find off-putting. Also, they hired Jake Hager, who is a real piece of shit.

Pros: Have a wonderfully diverse roster. Orange Cassidy. Sonny Kiss. Good storytelling. Jake The Snake Roberts doing Hella Promos. The Dark Order, who we affectionately refer to as the Spooky Perverts. Chris Jericho yelling at a Drone, and Matt Hardy being a wizard. A bunch of wrestlers who are married to other wrestlers who work for WWE, and good jokes are made.

BUT THE BIGGEST PRO-AEW THING I CAN PROVIDE: NYLA FUCKING ROSE. They didn’t make her the first women’s champion like they should have, but they put her in the first championship match on the FIRST episode of the weekly show, Dynamite, and she is now the CURRENT women’s champion. I don’t wanna make a big deal, only it is a BIG DEAL, because Nyla Fucking Rose is the first openly transgender wrestler signed to a major promotion, and if you think I didn’t fucking CRY LIKE A CHILD when she won, you’re wrong. So, yeah, a NATIONALLY TELEVISED WRESTLING PROGRAM’S CURRENT WOMEN’S CHAMPION IS A TRANSGENDER, FIRST NATIONS WOMAN. NYLA. FUCKING. ROSE.

As of right now, AEW seems to be done filming, which is both Very Smart and also heartbreaking, but you can find all the ways to watch over here on their site if it looks like fun!

WOW Women of Wrestling - Have you seen GLOW? This is a show created by the IRL creator of GLOW (the promotion the show is based on, not the show)! And it is? Incredible? The characters are fun and portrayed as superheroes, the stories are CAMP af, and the wrestling is GOOD. They’re a non-traditional show, which is fun. Their roster is made up of wrestlers playing different wrestlers. Wrestling is a bunch of super talented people playing characters while doing acrobatics. WOW gives us people playing characters, playing other characters, while also doing acrobatics.

Cons: All male announce team? On an all women’s show? Excuse? And also: Tessa Blanchard who is, it turns out, a great big racist. Also a little harder to get full episodes it seems.

Pros: Literally everything else.

Ring of Honor - For awhile ROH was handily competing with WWE. And then they weren’t. And then they got better. And then they got worse. And now, currently, they are a company that I hate supporting.

Cons: Run by assholes who don’t care about worker safety, and don’t put anything into the women’s division.

Pros: Sometimes they partner with New Japan Pro Wrestling. They’ve recently released a lot of goooood old matches including some Kevin Steen (currently WWE’s Kevin Owens) vs El Generico (definitely, 100% not at all, no way, no how, of course NOT WWE’s Sami Zayn [he is, this is another inside baseball joke that I’m just obligated to make every time I mention El Generico]) matches which are BRUTAL. Oh, and Dalton Castle:

Impact! - It’s back! I don’t watch it, but they DO have Rich Swann, so they can’t be bad. There is an entire history to Impact that is BANANAS. Like AEW, a bit more rough and tumble, scrappy death match folks, and I like a lot of the roster, like Taya Valkyrie, Jessika Havok and Sami Callihan. Not a bad show, but the full show weekly doesn’t hold my attention.

Cons: Tessa Blanchard, mostly. She is an incredible wrestler, her matches are good, but.

Pros: Pretty easy to watch, actually? I believe they’re still on Twitch, and they have an entire channel on Pluto TV.

New Japan Pro Wrestling - NJPW is GREAT. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. The shows are long, and strong style just... hurts. Like, a lot of wincing on my end. But the wrestling. Oh, lordy, the wrestling is incredible. But it is brutal. Strong Style wrestling is much different than the typical American style that you see in WWE, and a lot more grounded than high flying lucha styles. (Though a lot of wrestlers do travel to Mexico and train in lucha style wrestling (which I am the least familiar with), so currently there is a lot of the very high flying flippty dos and the absolutely brutal strikes that you see in strong style wrestling.)

Cons: Show/match length is typically long and there is A Lot to See. The only way I know to watch full shows is through their streaming service.

Pros: Just the whole thing, really. They release a free match on YouTube every Monday. Also, Toru Yano, the best wrestler in the world.

Indie Promotions that I know less about because I can afford only so many streaming services

Firstly, here is a Wiki list of wrestling streaming services. I’m gonna name a couple below, but the wiki page has a handy list of costs of the bigger ones because capitalism knows how to get you. (Personally, I only use IWTV at the moment. They’re a good company run by good people, and a lot of indie promotions would have died out without partnering with/support from them)

Beyond Wrestling - Beyond is My Favourite Promotion To Watch, Bar None. Their weekly show (when in season), Uncharted Territory, is fantastic. Diverse talent, diverse styles. They do have a lot of death matches, which can suck to watch if you aren’t into that sort of thing. I am, it turns out, into that sort of thing. But listening to interviews with a lot of death match wrestlers, specifically Jimmy Havoc, can help understand the w h y of it all! Available on IWTV.

Chikara - Chikara is So Fun! They are a (mostly) family friendly promotion and training school. Their shows are filled with young/newbie wrestlers as they learn the tricks. Run by Mike Quackenbush, who is a delightful person, BRILLIANT wrestler/trainer, and someone who is willing to take the safety of his people into account. He’s good people, who trains good people, and supports good people, and gives them a safe, open place to learn. It’s also very fun! A lot of comedy matches. Watch on: CHIKARAtopia or some of their archive is on IWTV.

EVE - An all-women promotion, providing a safe working and training environment for women and girls. They have put their foot in it on occasion, but they seem to still be good people. (I would recommend the Tights & Fights episode with founders Emily and Dann Read for a little backstory on the company, but not needed.) Ways to watch.

RIPTIDE - YO, RIPTIDE IS DOING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SHIT. Cinematic wrestling, and it is great. The matches are good, the promos are good, the people are good. But the way they film it oh my god holy shit. When everything is a little less hectic, they are people I am definitely gonna support as much as I can. Watch here.

A Matter of Pride - Here’s the thing. They have put on some very good, inclusive shows. However, some serious allegations have come out about Rick Cataldo, who is involved with the company, and I think it’s important to mention. They have done a lot of good in the world of prowrestling and they put on good shows and they have given a platform to people who might otherwise have been pushed aside, however bad things have still happened there. Watchable on YouTube.

OTHER NOTABLE INDIE COMPANIES

GCW (IWTV, Fite TV & Smartmark) * Black Label Pro (IWTV) * Prime Time Pro Wrestling (IWTV) * Uncanny Attractions * RISE (IWTV) * Bar Wrestling * PWG * Stardom * Bizarro Lucha (IWTV) * OTT

There is also NWA Power that is a good show on YouTube, however, they immediately hired (and now fired for being racist) Jim Cornette who is... just an absolute jackass. But I do feel I should mention them.

Is that over? Yes? Well..

NOW THE FUN PART. THIS IS MY MOMENT. THIS IS THE ONLY PART THAT REALLY MATTERS.

So. The thing is. Wrestling is A Lot. SO, I’m gonna give you as wide a variety as I can! I’ll point out some fun people, some fun gimmicks and HOPEFULLY won’t completely turn you off! If you enjoy any of these, then the dumb stuff up above is useful!

First! The most important wrestling match of All Time. Invisible Man vs Invisible Stan. This is everything you need to know about the beats of good wrestling, but also why wrestling is fun. There are two people in this match: Referee Bryce Remsburg and the audience. And that’s it. This is literally just a referee (but it’s Bryce, so the referee) miming a wrestling match, and an audience buying into the kayfabe wholeheartedly. (Inside baseball: Bad Boy Vision - “Bad Boy” Joey Janela’s [another wrestler] sunglasses)

One of my favourite matches in recent memory, AND one of the best matches sort of just in general! David Starr vs Jordan Devlin at OTT. Quintessential wrestling, fantastic storytelling, and one of the best promo packages I’ve ever seen. BONUS: David Starr is a GREAT human fighting day and night to unionize the wrestling industry. He’s the Bernie Sanders of professional wrestling.

I thought about putting an actual death match on the list, but the closest I will get is this Nick Gage vs Josh Briggs fans bring the weapons match. I chose this match because my very best friend does not like this style of wrestling at all, but he did enjoy this match. It’s a lot, obviously. But it’s not as bad as it could be, but there’s also no shame if it isn’t your thing. Hell, I don’t even know why it’s my thing! I don’t even like bloody horror movies! I will say that Nick Fuckin’ Gage is one of the most prolific death match guys still working today, and also one of the nicest, kindest, most beloved guys there is and I would die to protect him. MDK!

Okay, this is the single most beautiful match to exist. Cara Noir vs PAC (fka WWE’s Neville). This isn’t wrestling, this is art. Great story, no commentary, gorgeous camerawork. Bonus: Cara Noir has the most fantastic and well rounded gimmick (character) in the business. Have you seen Black Swan? That’s it. That’s his character. And it’s great. Nailed. It.

Oh, did you know David Arquette is a wrestler? HE IS! Here’s he and RJ City.

On the subject of WWE and NXT, this Halftime Heat match of Aleister Black, Ricochet & Velveteen Dream vs Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole & Tommaso Ciampa. These are six of the best wrestlers work, and definitely TOPS in the WWE system. SEE ALSO: Black & Dream put on a HELL of a program together at NXT, but it’s been boiled down to this highlight vid that gives me feelings. Gargano vs Andrade Cien Almas is one of THE BEST matches of all time and here is a shitty highlight reel, but it’s still good. Adam Cole is 1) incredible and 2) the prettiest possum in the Denny’s dumpster, have a Cole vs Finn Balor highlight reel. God, I wish it were easier to find WWE stuff on YouTube.. All these matches should be on Hulu, tho.

NEXT! Kris Statlander vs Davienne for Beyond. Kris Statlander is A Legend, despite being real new to the business. Currently wrestling for AEW, former stuntwoman and, most importantly, she’s an alien.

FREE FOR ALL TIME. Solo Darling vs Penelope Ford vs Veda Scott vs Ashley Vox. They didn’t have to go that hard, but they did.

SPEAKING OF. Kylie Rae, Penelope Ford, Kimber Lee & Skylar vs. Shotzi Blackheart, Harlow &Twisted Sisterz. I just? I love? All of them?

And not to mention Kris Statlander vs Priscilla Kelly. I mean, I mean. I cannot sing the praises of both of these women enough.

Okay, so I am really only passingly familiar with a lot of Japanese wrestling. Mostly got into it last summer, actually. I get it, I love it, but I’m not as well versed in the people involved. Two badasses I do know? Meiko Satomura vs Kana (WWE’s Asuka). Fucking legends, both of them. Hard hitters, too, jesus.

If you do get into NXT at all, Keith Lee and Donovan Dijak put on one fuck of a program together, but the story started long before they ever entered the WWE! Please enjoy this absolute hoss fight from a couple years back.

NOW, some intergender matches! If you think they aren’t your thing, feel free to skip!

A fun match of (current IRL romantic partners) Keith Lee vs Mia Yim from before either of them debuted at NXT. I believe they weren’t dating at this point, so the next part will really hit, cuz it’s romantic as shit... This was not the booked ending. Keith Lee didn’t kick out on purpose. (Which, I mean, is literally all wrestling endings, but.) Mia was booked to lose (at least they told her that), and he purposefully took the L and went out on his back, to surprise her and give her a MASSIVE push.

Leyla Hirsch vs David Starr. I just. I goddamn love Leyla Hirsch. A very young wrestler, very new to the industry and I just love her so much?

Two great, intense matches of Joey Janela, the patron saint of bad decisions. Versus Kris Statlander (I can’t get enough of her) and versus Jordynne Grace.

Orange Cassidy and Penelope Ford vs Shockwave and Veda Scott. Shockwave is a robot and Orange Cassidy is Paul Rudd in Wet Hot American Summer. I can give no other explanation.

COMEDY TIME, YO. Comedy wrestling is The Best. There’s a name, Orange Cassidy. Yeah, he’s very funny, and also the most divisive person in wrestling rn. He’s Paul Rudd. He knows he’s a wrestler. He’s lazy. And there’s one match that we need to get out of the way first...

Orange Cassidy vs David Starr. The thing is. Orange Cassidy can fucking wrestle. His gimmick might be that he doesn’t want to, but he can. And It. Is. Great.

Now we can get on with the funnies.

Orange Cassidy vs Colt Cabana. Not story needed. Just two dudes at a food festival. Oh, yeah, there’s also a Swamp Monster. We love Swampy.

Colt Cabana vs Toru Yano. It’s just. So. FUN.

You might know the name Joey Ryan as The Dick Flip Wrestler, or The King of Dong Style. His dick has magical powers, it’s a thing. Here’s he and Orange Cassidy.

Johnny Cockstrong is the opposite of Joey Ryan. Literally. Here’s him also vs Orange Cassidy.

Did you want to see a Dick Test of Strength between them? Well, it happened.

Back to RIPTIDE for (another intergender, kinda) Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs Joey Ryan, Candice LeRae (the World’s Cutest Tag Team) & Colt Cabana.

Kinda almost but not really comedy but very funny and also full of good wrasslin’, here is EFFY vs Orange Cassidy. Pirated, technically, and in real low quality, but I Love It. EFFY is Daddy.

Now, you’ll notice not a lot of women in the comedy section. Real talk, women still tend to get treated as a joke by the wrestling industry at large, so they don’t get the luxury of being as funny as they want. But one woman out there doing the lord’s work is Session Moth Martina. Legend. Love her. Admittedly, another intergender match, but it makes me happy. Martina & Orange Cassidy vs Joey Janela & Penelope Ford (Janelope).

One of my All Time Favourite Matches to date, EFFY and Danhausen (Gaytanic Panic) vs Chris Dickinson and Pinkie Sanchez (Team Pazuzu). Yes, this is a Halloween show. Yes, the Ref IS dressed as Chris Dickinson. There are teeth, Jesus resurrects someone, Danhausen is in fishnets and Effy is in face paint. It’s great. Love that Danhausen.

And there we have it! A whole lot of information and a bunch of matches and some stuff. It’s real dumb, and sometimes the industry is dark, but there’s a lot of hella good people doing dumb things. I hope this was helpful?? And Fun! (But my feeling won’t be hurt if it wasn’t fun, I promise!)

I leave you with this, RJ City making coffee in his underwear with Danhausen. Completely out of context. Because I love it.

#for #gideongrace #please enjoy <3

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reneg661 · 4 years

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A standout in the WWE Performance Center and the Mae Young Classic, Rhea Ripley entered NXT UK already a seasoned and cutthroat grappler with one goal on her mind, to rip the NXT UK Women's division apart. The ultra-aggressive and terrifyingly strong Aussie embraced her true self, and that has spelled bad news for anyone who faces her, as she already had the physical goods to stand toe-to-toe with any Superstar in sports-entertainment. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, it took little time at all for Ripley to secure her a place in history. After battling her way through Xia Brookside in the Quarterfinals and Dakota Kai in the Semifinals, the merciless Mosh Pit Kid made history by conquering Toni Storm in the hard-fought Finals of the NXT UK Women’s Championship Tournament to become the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. After an impressive performance in the 2019 Royal Rumble Match, Ripley made history once again when she dethroned long-standing NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler to capture the title.

Rhea Ripley (c) WWE Art (c) reneg661

#rhea ripley

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hazyheel · 5 years

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WWE NXT 10/2/19 Review

So, I became a wrestling fan in 2011. I watched through to about mid 2012 before falling off and taking the hiatus that all fans seem to take. In those days, I just suspended my disbelief and rooted for the babyfaces and enjoyed myself. I came back to the sport in early 2017 before the Rumble and that was when I started to overanalyze everything and look at the booking and stuff, and I think I enjoy it even more. I started to watch NXT as Wrestlemania rolled around, so just before Takeover Orlando. I’ve seen just about every episode since then. That is my history with NXT, and I will say that this was the single best episode of NXT ever. Now I haven’t seen them all, but I’m still fairly confident that this stands. There were a bunch of great matches, with really only one “disappointing” (in quotes because it was still good). There were even a few moments thrown in to pop the crowd, and holy shit did it pop the crowd. This was great, like, pay per view quality. Here is my full review of this week’s NXT.

Adam Cole vs. Matt Riddle for the NXT Championship: A huge match starting off the Wednesday Night wars. Riddle started with a series of takedowns, and immediately looked for the Fujiwara armbar, but Cole slid to the ropes just in time. Cole started to land some strikes, but Riddle countered right away with a trio of gutwrench suplexes for a near fall. Cole retreated to the outside, where he landed an ensiguri as Riddle exited the ring, and proceeded to beat him down with a series of strikes. Cole targetted the neck with several strikes and a yoshigaroshi. Riddle fought back with a series of strikes to the chest, followed by some of his signature offense to take control back. He then nailed a ripcord knee and a fisherman suplex for a near fall, and followed it right up with a deadlift bridging suplex for another two count. He was going for another move out of a fireman’s carry, but Cole countered with a huge lungblower for another near fall. The two started to brawl a bit, trading knees and superkicks. Riddle nailed a release German suplex that nearly landed him on the top of his head, and Riddle countered with the brainbuster on the knee for a great near fall. Cole then gave him a pump kick off the apron, but Riddle caught him with knee. Back in the ring, Cole was able to score a great Panama Sunrise, but still only a near fall. He looked for the Final Shot, but Riddle collapsed in the middle of the ring. So instead, he tried the Panama Sunrise again, but Riddle countered with a Bro to Sleep, followed by a powerbomb, flash knee, and then a twisting senton for 2! The two started to brawl on the top rope, with Riddle putting him down. He tried to slingshot into the ring, but Cole countered with a huge superkick. He nailed another Panama Sunrise, but Riddle countered the last shot into a Bromission, only to quickly transition into a Fujiwara armbar. Cole was desperately able to break out, before nailing the Last Shot to the back of the head for the win.

After the match, FINN FUCKING BALOR came out to an absolutely enormous pop. He grabbed a mic, and simply announced that as of now, he is NXT. THIS IS AMAZING AND HUGE.

Grade: A+. This was a great match, and a shocking opener for the show. They just pulled out the biggest moves and hit each other as hard as they could. It was actually incredible to see the two of them put on such a good war, and to open the show. It got me sufficiently hype to say that least. Finn Balor showing up was, to be frank, totally goddamn awesome. It was unexpected, and it was super cool to see him back home. I’m really excited to see where this goes. The match on its own was an A, but the debut bumped it to an A+. So while I don’t think this was a 5 star match, it was an incredible match followed by an incredible segment. Match of the night.

Velveteen Dream Promo: He announced that the feeling we had while seeing him, was the Velveteen Dream experience. He said that he doesn’t mind fighting more than one guy at a time, and then challenged Roddy for the North American Championship.

Grade: C+. Fine promo. Kinda deflating to come right after that match.

Io Sharai vs. Mia Yim: Sharai started the match by putting Yim in the corner, but Yim quickly fought back with a backbreaker. Yim started to shower Sharai with chops and strikes on the outside. Sharai fought back as they entered the ring, and took her down with a dragonscrew leg whip and a double stomp to the back. Sharai stared to work over the ribs with knees and strikes. Yim was able to fight back with a fallaway slam, and both were down. Yim started to fight back with a series of strikes and huge kicks. Sharai fought back with a huge spike rana, and followed it up with a tiger fang kick and a springboard dropkick for a near fall. Yim then hit a shock Code Blue, but Sharai still kicked out. The two continued to fight, and brawled up to the top rope. Sharai slapped the crap out of Yim, and gave her a huge superplex. Sharai followed up with a moonsault for the win.

Grade: B-. This was a pretty good match, lots of fun stuff. It was a cool mix of brawling and striking, if you kinda get the difference. I get why Sharai got the win here, especially if LaRae goes on to win the Women’s Championship later on. Fun stuff, and I hope Yim gets a bit of a push soon.

Johnny Gargano vs. Shane Thorne: The two started with a bit of chain wrestling, and the two went counter for counter. Thorne quickly took control with a kick to the gut and a huge saito suplex for a near fall. Gargano fought back with a suicide dive, followed by a slingshot spear back into the ring. He tried to hit a slingshot DDT, but Thorne caught him on his shoulders and threw him into the corner for a cannonball, and then a powerbomb followed by a huge series of kicks. Gargano fought back, but Thorne hit a high kick, only for Gargano to respond with a poison rana and a superkick for the win.

Grade: B+. Really good match here, and it probably could’ve been great if they had been given more time. They hit some really nice kicks and agility based moves, and I think it makes sense for Gargano to get the win here. I think that he should probably move down to the cruiserweights for a while, just to get out of the main event for a few months. Either way, this was a really good match that I really liked.

Candice LaRae vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship: Baszler quickly took LaRae down, but LaRae popped right back up for a dropkick and a tope suicida. Baszler quickly fought back by working over her arm. As she did, the two fought onto the apron, where LaRae tried for a German off the apron, but eventually settled for a flatliner on the apron. She then nailed a triad of tope suicidas, and fired up the crowd. We cut to commercial quickly, where Candice caught Shayna coming off the ropes with a German, but Baszler qucikly locked in a Kirufida Clutch, only for LaRae to lock in one of her own! Baszler quickly fought out of it, and locked in a hanging Kirifuda clutch on the ropes, only for Candice to hit a swinging neckbreaker of the top. Baszler tried for the choke again, but LaRae quickly stacked her up into a pin. She then went for the Cabrada, but Baszler dodged it and locked in the submission one more time. LaRae struggled for a really long time, but eventually had to tap out.

Grade: B+. Another really good match. LaRae is a great underdog, and was incredibly fiery wrestler. The way that she connected with the crowd was totally awesome, and it made for a really fun and intense atmosphere. Great stuff from them, and another notch in Baszler’s belt. LaRae can still win the belt, and I would definitely like her to, but now that she has lost, I feel like it may be Dakota Kai. We will see.

Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch: The two started with some grappling and technical exchanges, before moving into some qucik striking and suplexes from each man. Dunne nailed a huge combination of strikes that looked great, including a German, a high kick, stomps on the fingers and a powerbomb for a near fall. The two started to exchange uppercuts, with Burch gaining the advantage with a headbutt. He followed up with a knee to the face and a hangman’s DDT from the top rope for a great near fall. They started to exchange more and more huge strikes, but Dunne grabbed the fingers and snapped them. He then hit the Bitter End for the win.

After the match, Damian Priest attacked Dunne. He hit a forearm to the back of his head, and hit a rolling cutter to put Dunne down.

Grade: B+. Holy crap, we have only had really good matches so far. A British style match that blended together great technical wrestling, awesome strikes, and amazing power moves. They proved that they are great after a really good UK Championship match earlier this year, but they bested that match with this. Another really good one.

Adam Cole Interview: He defended his use of the cast in his match, before the rest of the Undisputed Era ran up and started to run down Finn Balor. They quickly dismissed the interviewer, and left to prepare for the Tag Team Championship match.

Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era for the NXT Tag Team Championship: a rapper came out with the profits, and I was excited for a live rendition of their theme, but he just sorta hyped up the crowd by yelling We Want the Smoke. So that was disappointing. Angelo Dawkins and Kyle O’Reilly started with some amateur wrestling, a strong suit for both of them. Quickly, all four guys entered the ring, but the champs backed off to retain some control of the match. Bobby Fish tagged in quickly, but Dawkins took hold of him and tagged in Montez Ford. The two traded some strikes back and forth, with Ford coming out on top. Fish was able to take control after some quick tags with O’Reilly and destroying Ford’s base. As the two tried to keep Ford from getting the tag, they worked over both his legs and back in a very interesting blend of power moves and strikes. Ford nearly got the hot top after low bridging Fish for a rough bump, and then a vicious uranagi to O’Reilly, but Fish kicked Dawkins off the apron. Ford was finally able to get the hot tag, where he destroyed Fish and O’Reilly with some awesome lariats and splashes. He took Fish out with a spear, and when O’Reilly tried for the Axe and Smash, Dawkins met him with a forearm after the axe kick, before nailing a leg trap suplex. Dawkins tried for another spear, but O’Reilly nailed a knee to the face and pushed him into the corner. While the ref yelled at O’Reilly, Fish nailed a dragonscrew leg whip through the ropes. Dawkins threw O’Reilly to the outside, and crawled to his corner, but O’Reilly nailed a knee drop to his knee and locked in a heel hook. Ford tried to break it up, so Fish nailed several strikes, and locked in a guillotine choke, but Ford plunged him into the submission. Dawkins then went for the hot tag again, with Fish trying to cut him off with knee drop of his own. Fish missed and Dawkins got the hot tag, and Ford nailed him with a splash, but only got two! Dawkins started to brawl with them both to the outside, and Ford wiped everyone out with a dive over the goddamned corner. He pulled O’Reilly back in the ring, but Roderick Strong ran out and caused a distraction to Ford on the top rope. Dawkins nailed Strong with a spear on the apron, taking them both out. Fish and O’Reilly then hit the high and low and got the win.

After the match, Strong celebrated with his cohorts in the ring, and Cole came out on the ramp. They were all yelling to each other and slapping their belts, but as they did TOMMASO FUCKING CIAMPA RETURNED AND I SCREAMED. Holy shit.

Grade: A. Another great match that was made greater by a huge return that bumped it up a grade. The match was really exciting, with ReDragon making that isolation on Ford look absolutely awesome and brutal. The final stretch was also really fun, and I didn’t realize how much I missed that dive over the corner. Really good stuff. Also, CIAMPA IS FUCKING BACK. I cannot express my excitement enough. NXT is awesome right now.

Overall Grade: B+

Pros: NXT Championship; Gargano vs. Thorne; NXT Women’s Championship; Dunne vs. Burch; main event.

Cons: I guess they could’ve used more character work? I dunno, I’m kinda grasping at straws here. But I’ll go with that.

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squaredcirclesirens · 5 years

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WWE Chronicle Episode Featuring Sasha Banks To Air

On Saturday, September 14th, a new episode of WWE Chronicle will air featuring Sasha Banks according to WWE Network News. One of the biggest stars in the history of women’s wrestling and arguably one of the most popular talents of any gender in WWE history – Sasha has been in the spotlight since returning to WWE recently after a brief sabbatical.

WWE Chronicle is a documentary-style series that often blends kayfabe and reality and is used as a storytelling device ahead of major matches, similar to the Prime Target series for NXT and NXT UK. This special comes just one night before her RAW Women’s Championship match against Becky Lynch at WWE Clash of Champions 2019.

website | twitter | tumblr | instagram

#Sasha Banks #News #WWE #WWE News

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fcablog · 5 years

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1st Annual FCA Year-End Awards-THE WINNERS

The 1st Annual FCA Year-End Awards voting is officially over. Thank you to all who voted. Some categories were close in voting and overs were a runaway. I was a little surprise how some categories went. Now for the part you have all been waiting for. Who won?! Well let’s not wait any further:

FCA Lucha Underground Wrestler of 2018 -- Taya Valkyrie (31.8%): This was somewhat a surprise since she was only a small centerpiece of a storyline on Season 4 of Lucha Underground, but she left a good enough impression on you guys to earn the award this year. With the future of Lucha Underground in question, she might be the one and only winnner of the Lucha Underground Wrestler of the Year Award. Marty Martinez & Pentagon Dark tied for 2nd place with 18.2% of the votes and Taya’s husband, Johnny Mundo finished 3rd with 13.6% of the votes

FCA’s Mr. ROH 2018 -- Jay Lethal (23.8%): Jay Lethal made a resurgence back to the top of the ROH throne and carried the ROH flag throughout the entire year so it only made sense that the champ would win this honor. Marty Scrull & Dalton Castle tied for 2nd place with 19% of the votes and Hangman Page finished 3rd with 14.3% of the votes

FCA Cruiserweight/Jr. Heavyweight Wrestler of 2018 -- Mustafa Ali (35.7%): Although he never quite captured the WWE Cruiserweight title, he made up for it with stellar performances throughout the year to convince the fans that he was must see. He’s officially a member of the SmackDown roster and already has shown that he can hang with the best. Will Ospreay finished 2nd with 21.4% of the votes and Buddy Murphy finished 3rd with 14.3% of the votes.

FCA Viral Wrestler of 2018 -- Becky Lynch (77.8%): Becky Lynch lived up to her moniker of The Man. Her bloody face was all over social media and she was a savage on Twitter and can’t seem to stop. We don’t want her to stop. She ran away with this category. Tama Tonga & PAC tied for 2nd with 7.4% of the votes while Sami Callahan & The Young Bucks tied for 3rd with 3.7% of the votes

FCA Best Tag Team of 2018 -- The Undisputed Era (36.7%): Probably the most over tag team in the business, the Undisputed Era had a great 2018 in NXT’s tag team division winning the Dusty Rhodes Classic and becoming 2-time NXT Tag Team Champions. It makes total sense that they win this award and that, boys & girls, is UNDISPUTED. The Young Bucks finished 2nd with 16.7% of the votes and surprisingly The Revival finished 3rd with 13.3% of the votes.

FCA Best UK-Based Male Wrestler of 2018 -- Pete Dunne (68.2%): The current reigning & defending WWE United Kingdom Champion is currently the longest reigning titleholder on WWE’s roster right now and has taken on all who have challenged his throne. He’s earned the honor of being considered the UK’s best. Tyler Bate, WALTER & Zack Gibson tied for 2nd with 9.1% of the votes and Joe Coffey finished 3rd with 4.5% of the votes.

FCA Best NXT Match of 2018 -- TWO WAY TIE (20%): So I knew this category was gonna be tight, but a 2-way tie? I was coming up with this category, I struggled to pick one. That’s how good NXT was in 2018. Johnny Gargano VS. Andrade Almas from TakeOver: Philadelphia & Johnny Gargano VS. Tommaso Ciampa in a Last Man Standing Match at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 got the majority of the votes at 20% and both were definitely MOTY candidates. The Chicago Street Fight from TakeOver: Chicago 2 between Gargano and Ciampa finished 2nd with 16% of the votes. Tied for 3rd at 12% was Ricochet VS. Velveteen Dream from TakeOver: Chicago 2 & Aleister Black VS. Johnny Gargano from TakeOver: WarGames 2.

FCA Best NJPW Match of 2018 -- Kenny Omega VS. Chris Jericho //No DQ Match (WK12) (26.3%): When this was made official in 2017, Omega VS. Jericho was seen as a dream match and this match delivered on his hype and added on to the legend of both men. Omega’s battle with fellow Golden Lover, Kota Ibushi in the G1 Climax came in 2nd with 21.1% of the votes and coming in 3rd was the instant classic between Okada & Omega from the Dominion PPV.

FCA Best WWE Match of 2018 -- Becky Lynch VS. Charlotte Flair // Last Woman Standing (WWE Evolution) (65.5%): The Man & The Queen made history at the 1st ever all-women’s PPV in the 1st ever Last Woman Standing Match and it was an instant classic. Definitely worthy of being the best WWE Match of 2018. The Triple Threat TLC match from TLC 2018 between Asuka, Becky & Charlotte finished 2nd with 20.7% of the votes while the Triple Threat match at Wrestlemania 34 between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor & The Miz finished 3rd with 6.9% of the votes.

FCA Best UK-Based Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Rhea Ripley(45.5%): This was somewhat of a surprised to me, but in a short amount of time, Rhea Ripley made a lasting impression on fans with a great performance in the Mae Young Classic and winning a 8-woman tournament to become the 1st ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. Toni Storm finished 2nd with 40.9% of the vote and Isla Dawn, Jinny & Millie McKenzie tied for 3rd place 4.5& of the votes a piece.

FCA Best NXT Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Kairi Sane(30%): The former NXT Womens Champ had a great 2018 capturing the title for the 1st time at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4. She had an amazing rivalry with Shanya Baszler in 2018 and 2019 is looking bright for the Pirate Princess. Shayna Baszler came in 2nd with 20% of the votes and in 3rd was Nikki Cross with 16.7% of the votes.

FCA Best SD Live Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Becky Lynch(76.2%): Just like in the category for Viral Wrestler of 2018, Becky Lynch ran away with the majority of the votes which tells you the kind of 2018 Becky Lynch had. Coming 2nd with 9.2% of the votes each was Asuka & Charlotte Flair while Naomi came in 3rd with 4.8% of the votes.

FCA Best RAW Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Natayla (32.1%): This was a surprise winner here. While she didn’t have the most successful 2018 as far as achievements, she was a consistent performer in the ring and put on great matches. Ruby Riott came in 2nd with 21.4% of the votes and Sasha Banks finished in 3rd with 14.3% of the votes.

FCA Best WWE Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Becky Lynch(86.7%): Becky Lynch completes the clean sweep by winning this award capping off an amazing 2018 for The Man. Not one member of RAW was in the running for this award which shows how good SmackDown was. Charlotte & Asuka got the rest of the votes garnering 6.7% of the votes a piece.

FCA Best Impact Wrestling Female Wrestler of 2018 -- Taya Valkyrie(44.4%): Despite not competing on Impact Wrestling for a good portion of the year, you guys felt that she was the best of the Knockouts roster. Impact Knockouts Champ Tessa Blanchard came in 2nd with 33.3% of the votes and former champ Su Yung came in 3rd with 16.7% of the votes.

FCA Best NJPW Wrestler of 2018 -- Kenny Omega (16.7%): The reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion had a great 2018 highlighted by finally defeating Kazuchika Okada for the heavyweight crown at Dominion. He also had a classic encounter with Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 12. His tag partner, Kota Ibushi came in 2nd with 13.9% of the votes and coming in 3rd place was Jay White with 11.1% of the votes.

FCA Best Impact Wrestling Wrestler of 2018 -- Pentagon Jr.(32%): CERO MIEDO! Pentagon Jr. made an impact (no pun intended) everywhere he went in 2018, but made a huge splash when he became the Impact World Heavyweight Champion back in April defeating Austin Aries and brother Fenix in an amazing triple threat match. Sami Callahan came in 2nd with 28% of the vote while Fenix & Johnny Impact finished 3rd receiving 12% of the votes each.

FCA Best RAW Male Wrestler of 2018 -- Seth Rollins(27.3%): As he stated himself, Seth Rollins carried RAW on his back throughout 2018 capturing the Intercontinental Championship and putting on the best performances just about every night. Finn Balor finished 2nd with 21.2% of the votes and Dean Ambrose finished 3rd with 15.2% of the votes.

FCA Best SD Live Male Wrestler of 2018 -- AJ Styles(31.4%): SmackDown Live was definitely the “House That AJ Styles Built” in 2018 dominating the year as WWE Champion putting on stellar performances. Daniel Bryan got 20% of the votes finishing 2nd and Andrade “Cien” Almas finished 3rd with 14.3% of the votes.

FCA Best NXT Male Wrestler of 2018 -- Tommaso Ciampa(25.6%): The self-proclaimed “Greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time” had probably the best (if not one of the best) 2018 of any wrestler in the business. He made his return from injury at NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia by attacking Johnny Gargano with a crutch which led to the best feud of 2018. Not only did he had an epic series of matches with his former DIY partner, but manage to capture the NXT Championship along the way. Former NXT Champ, Aleister Black finished 2nd with 23.1% of the votes while rising star Velveteen Dream finish 3rd with 15.4% of the votes.

FCA Best WWE Male Wrestler of 2018 -- Seth Rollins (43.9%): Not only did the majority of you feel like The Kingslayer was the best of RAW, but the best wrestler in WWE and it’s hard to argue. AJ Styles & The Miz tied for 2nd with 14.6% of the votes and coming in at 3rd with 9.8% of the votes was Dean Ambrose.

#pro wrestling #WWE #NXT #NJPW #Impact Wrestling #ROH #Lucha Underground #British wrestling #cruiserweights #junior heavyweights #1st Annual FCA Year-End Awards

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tylerbatenet · 5 years

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NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool Preview

Moustache Mountain vs. Zack Gibson & James Drake – NXT UK Tag Team Championship Match

At NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, former NXT Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain will go to war against the formidable combination of Zack Gibson & James Drake in a historic matchup to determine the first-ever NXT UK Tag Team Champions. Amidst rumors of the coming NXT UK Tag Team Titles, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven boldly emerged on the first episodes of NXT UK and served notice to the rest of the locker room. Determined to make history once again as the first titleholders to the rising brand, Bate & Seven challenged their fellow competitors to form the greatest tandems possible in an attempt to stand in their way. Among the numerous combinations who answered that call were Liverpool’s No. 1 and his intense cohort Drake. Eager to impress NXT UK General Manager Johnny Saint, the tag team quickly proved themselves standouts to say the least, armed with a combined brutality that was as ruthless as it was effective. In the Semifinals of the subsequent competition to determine the inaugural titleholders, Moustache Mountain overcame Gallus’ Mark Coffey & Wolfgang, while Gibson & Drake bested the incomparable Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster, setting the stage for what is sure to be an explosive showdown for glory this Saturday. Find out who will make history at the first-ever NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT on the award-winning WWE Network, with a special NXT UK: Blackpool Pre-Show airing at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT. You can see the Pre-Show on WWE Network, as well as WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.

NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool Preview was originally published on TYLER BATE NETWORK

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hellopopculture · 2 years

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Top 20 Female/Joshi Wrestlers of 2021 (Part 3)

Description: We're a long way away from the "Women's Revolution" and in some ways the treatment of female wrestling talent in the West has reverted back to the "Diva Era". In contrast, Joshi Wrestling at companies like STARDOM, has not only been able to stay afloat but grow during the pandemic. Not to be outdone though; the women's divisions of WWE, AEW, Impact & ROH still put up and good fight and overall made it a competitive year for women in Pro Wrestling.

12. Jordynne Grace-The Inaugural Digital Media Champion remains maybe the only female presence in Impact that not only generated a buzz in a deeper talent pool before women like Tessa Blanchard & Taya Valkyrie left but continues to keep all eyes on her as her popularity and interest from fans reaches outside of the company limits.

Thicc Momma Pump was having kind of a pedestrian year at the start of 2021 pursuing the tag titles with Rachael Ellering, but she made history when she became the first Digital Media Champion and the First Triple Crown Women's Champion in Impact. The championship is open weight and intergender, so she had to defeat women and men of all shapes and sizes to not only become champion but retain her title.

11. Meiko Satomura-Because STARDOM is the most recognizable all-Joshi promotion to the States, Satormura often gets overlooked, being the creator and owner of Sendai Girls. She's kind of like the "Mother of Pro Wrestling" in this era. She trained a lot of women including Joshi sensation, Chihiro Hashimoto and retired STARDOM bad girl, Kagetsu...she also re-trained Sasha Banks when she was on hiatus from WWE.

Today she's not only a wrestler/coach for NXT UK and a trainer in the London Performance Center but she's the current NXT UK Women's Champion. Joshi breeds a different level of female athletes and apparently WWE wanted to bring that to their company. Natalya Neidhart had a similar role for their main roster. She helped train a lot of her peers, but she also helps them polish up in the ring, working with them on the show.

10. Rhea Ripley-Rhea had her final match in NXT at New Years Evil in a last woman standing match against Raquel González. Those two found a chemistry in their similarities that was perhaps unmatched in that era of NXT, at least for the women's division. When she debuted on WWE Raw in February of 2021 she immediately challenged Asuka for her title at WrestleMania XXXVIII which Asuka accepted. Rhea didn't win the Royal Rumble but she didn't have to, we already expected her to be a top contender on whatever brand she was on, and she made her presence felt on day one. Rhea won the title at Mania to secure her spot as the parallel to the actual Royal Rumble winner, Bianca Belair on SmackDown.

She has been glued to the hip with Charlotte since she was in the Mae Young Classic because of their similar height, hair color and muscular build and even when she transitioned into "The Nightmare", WWE didn't let up on a rivalry between them. Only problem is they don't really know how to handle any feud with Charlotte Flair where she doesn't completely dominate her opponent so even when Charlotte was losing, it somehow felt like nothing was being accomplished. There's no real magic between these two and although they had some good matches, Rhea's momentum was kind of dragged down by Charlotte's interjection into her journey.

She did have a tag team title reign with Nikki A.S.H. before the new year but that also didn't really work as the idea seemed half baked. Rhea has a lot of potential to be a staple in this women's division but luckily for her she's young. She was only 24 in this position so imagine how much WWE can accomplish by the time she's 30 if they keep working on her.

9. Tam Nakano-The former J-Pop Idol, Yuria Tauchi debuted for Wonder Ring STARDOM in 2017 and made a big splash almost immediately. Entering into the world of Pro Wrestling, the insanely cute Tam Nakano put it all on the line working deathmatches for Atsushi Onita; showing that for someone so petite and adorable, she's not afraid of anything and has a rougher side to her. She worked her first match in July of 2016 and by that same time the following year she would have ambitions to enter STARDOM's 5★Grand Prix which is maybe the toughest women's tournament in the world. Women come from every continent to try and earn their stripes there. Tam bombed in the Grand Prix but during that time she was being groomed to become a prominent member of the antagonist stable, Oedo Tai.

As a member of Oedo Tai, Tam began exhibiting qualities that would make her the valuable component of the company she is today. She's very lovable and charismatic which probably comes from her time as an Idol but she's also a very skilled in-ring performer and commands attention even when she's not having a match. As a casualty of Oedo Tai's war with Queen's Quest, Tam was separated from the stable and without a home she was welcomed to Mayu Iwatani's Stardom Army. From her early days, the factions in the company would play tug of war with the possibility of making Tam one of them because her potential was attractive.

As Tam would win championships and tournaments her ego would grow, and she would start to come into her own as a prominent figure on STARDOM's roster. While under the leadership of Mayu Iwatani she had become incredibly loyal not just to her but her stablemates, but she still took her opportunities to branch out on her own create some of the greatest rivalries of her generation.

Tam won her first major title in 2021 defeating reigning STARDOM MVP, Giulia in a hair vs. hair match. Seeing Guilia as an obvious future flagbearer for the company, Tam went to war with her over the Wonder of Stardom Championship also known as "The White Belt", putting her on notice that, there is a tough road ahead of her. She also created her own stable with Mina Shirakawa and Unagi Sayaka, called The Cosmic Angels solidifying herself as a leader for the first time.

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