Monday, April 18, 2016

Fave Five 4/11/16-4/17/16

1) AJ Styles: This run by AJ Styles has been really fun. After becoming the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Title last week, AJ competed in the best match this week. In a dream match of mine (seriously, go check out my old Top Ten Potential AJ Styles Opponents list) Styles took on Sami Zayn. If Sami would have won, he would have been added to Styels' upcoming WWE Title match with Roman Reigns. After a great back and forth match, Styles was able to defeat the former NXT Champion and keep his solo title shot. Then on Smackdown, he survived a scare on a bad landing to defeat Alberto Del Rio in a pretty good match. He hasn't had much interaction with Reigns just yet, but Styles is riding a wave of momentum heading into Payback.

2) Dragon Azteca Jr., Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio: These guys won my second favorite match this week. With Dario Cueto back, he began a new Trios Tournament. After making their debuts in Aztec Warfare a few weeks back, Dragon Azteca Jr. and Rey Mysterio needed a partner. They chose former Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma. The three of them faced the uneasy trio of Cage, Johnny Mundo and Taya in the main event. They proceeded to have a really fun match full of insane, nonstop action. The crowd was hot, the work was fun and everything clicked. The trio of Azteca, Puma and Mysterio won to advance to the next round. No word yet on what the winner gets exactly, though I'm sure it's a "unique opportunity." 

3) Cesaro: Last week, Cesaro returned in front of the raucous post-WrestleMania crowd. This time around, he was thrust into an important match once again. Kevin Owens got in Shane McMahon's face and demanded his Intercontinental Title rematch. Due to his attitude, Shane made him earn that rematch in a singles match with Cesaro. In front of another hot crowd, Cesaro and Owens had a damn good match. Hell, I liked it more than their SummerSlam match last year. Cesaro was able to best Owens this time around and is now the number one contender to Miz's Intercontinental Title. I could see him winning it and putting on great matches with the belt.

              4) Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson: The biggest news coming out of this week was the debut of these guys. Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson were among the names, along with AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, leaving NJPW back in January. They stuck around until February and officially signed shortly after. They waited a while to debut, but did so this past Monday. Gallows and Anderson ran in through the crowd and attacked the Usos, who had just defeated the Social Outcasts in the new Tag Team Tournament. We haven't seen Gallows and Anderson since but it's safe to assume they'll be on Raw. Michael Cole even called their finisher, the Magic Killer, correctly, surprising me. I hope to see them make a big impact.

5) Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady: The night after WrestleMania, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady made their long awaited debut on the main roster and got right into the face of the Dudley Boyz. They did it again this past week, with Enzo proving that he is among the top five talkers in the company already. If that wasn't enough, Enzo and Cass finally made their in-ring debut on Smackdown. They did so as part of the Tag Team Tournament and defeated the Ascension to advance. That now sets up a date with the Dudley Boyz in round two. Enzo and Cass have gotten over in each city so far and hopefully that continues.