Payback Review

I'm pressed for time on this review, so I'm going to avoid the Kickoff Show mostly. The official show started with Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus. This was a really good opener that got better as time went on. In the end, a vicious headbutt by Dolph Ziggler busted him open bad. It was a situation where blood added to the match as once Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick, you could tell it was a need to end it and Dolph didn't come off looking bad at all. Dolph even got some revenge and made Sheamus kiss his ass during the match. My only gripe with the whole thing was that Sheamus forgot to sell some knee work throughout. Other than that, this was a really good opener. Sheamus wins in just over 12 minutes. ***1/4

The WWE Tag Team Titles were defended next in a Two out of Three Falls match. Within the first three minutes, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro, in new gear, won the first fall. It was an incredibly crisp fall and they looked fantastic. It continued the theme that they are better, but can't get past New Day's shenanigans. New Day tied it up with their finisher before the official finish comes. Xavier Woods sneaks in and gets the pin before quickly escaping. The referee thought he was Kofi Kingston, because all black guys look alike to him. I'm sure that joke has been played out after the show already. I thought this was really good. The tag team division has found new life and these two teams are the main reason why. They have now stolen the show at two straight Pay-Per-Views, which they may do again at Elimination Chamber. ***3/4

No part of me actually cared about the Bray Wyatt/Ryback program heading into this match. They gave it a video package, which they did an amazing job with considering there hasn't been much material to work with. Their battle had me not paying attention as much as I probably should have, but from what I saw, this was better than I expected. It featured some relatively big spots and we even saw Ryback take to the top rope. He reportedly injured his ribs on a senton during the bout. Bray Wyatt continued his trend of winning feuds against upper mid-carders. He seriously dominates those guys but loses to the important top tier guys. Bray wins in about 11 minutes. Better than I thought it would be, but nothing special. **3/4

John Cena has been doing great work with the US Title, but the Rusev feud has lacked. After a really good match at Fast Lane, they had a decent one at WrestleMania and a dull affair at Extreme Rules. There was no need for this one and I Quit matches honestly tend to be boring. This one tried to throw as many spots into it to keep it interesting, but it came off as shit. Having Mike Chioda ask "Do you wanna quit?" every two minutes was incredibly annoying. It also seems like Cena thought to use old spots here including a pyro spot taken from his Ironman match with Orton and the top rope spot from his rivalry with Umaga. It was laughable at times. The best thing about the match was Rusev's facial expressions and Lana in general. Cena uses the STF with the top rope as Rusev shouts in Bulgarian. Lana enters the ring, saying he quit and that's all in 28 minutes. Even though they spent the entire match promoting how the guy in the match had to say the words. It also would have been better had Lana thrown the towel in. This all could have been handled better, but at least the Cena Open Challenges will be less predictable if this is (hopefully and rightfully) the end of this program. *1/4

The Divas went on next, in a Divas angle that I'm not a real fan of. I mean, Naomi as the heel that hasn't been given a chance is fine, but it's kind of just there. It all feels placeholder until Paige returns or Charlotte gets called up. This was a pretty standard Divas tag. Each girl got a chance to hit some key spots. Brie's attire was pretty cool and Nikki busted out a rather impressive enziguri like kick. She even kicked out of the Rear End, which I didn't expect. It still didn't help though as Naomi pinned her after about six minutes and should now earn another Divas Championship match. It was absolutely basic and was kind of just there. I wish it was better because the Bellas has improved vastly and Naomi's ring work as a heel has been better. *1/2

Before we get to the main event, King Barrett and Neville have their rubber match. Their match at Extreme Rules last month was good and the King of the Ring Finals was also really solid. Unfortunately, something was missing here. Neville started fast and wowed the crowd with his athleticism. Barrett fought back and took control, which was fine, but again, nothing out of this world. He would get knocked outside and allow himself to get counted out. I didn't really get the finish. It's not like it's a title match where he would retain in cheap fashion. It was lazy. He attacks after the match, but it backfires as Neville kicks his ass and hits the Red Arrow. I get that the fans needed to see the move, but Barrett's attack should have worked so he could save some face. A disappointment for sure. **1/2

Time for the main event, which got off to a cool start as Roman Reigns busted out a badass dive. Things slowed as it got held down by so much interference from Kane and J&J Security. However, things picked up and never stopped after we got our Shield reunion of sorts. People speculated and we got it. They beat down on Randy Orton and Triple Powerbombed him through the announce table. It was fantastic and the pop was insane. Seth Rolling tried to get them to do the Shield fist bump, but the faces wanted no part and took him out. Then, Dean Ambrose and Reigns realized they had to fight and the crowd was RED HOT. The three of them gave me a slight Rock/Austin/HHH feel from around 2000. Seth is able to put down Orton with a Pedigree, to tons of heat, around the 21 minute mark. Fantastic match that could have been an all-time classic had it not been for all of the interference. Honestly, a really good capper to the night. ****

First off, I'd like to point out that I went 7-1 in predictions. Damn the Ascension for going over the Meta Powers on the Kickoff Show. The show itself was good. I thought it started very strong, but slowed in the middle for Cena/Rusev, the Divas and Neville/Barrett. However, the Tag Titles, opener and WWE Title match were all great and this was overall, a good way to spend three hours. 6/10.

Payback Predictions

I'm pretty sure that I haven't been this enthused about a KickOff match since Hornswoggle and El Torito faced off in a Hair vs. Mask match. However, Curtis Axel and Macho Mandow have been rather fun together and it's better than them wasting time by jobbing in singles matches. Take this for what it is; a fun tag team match for the crowd to enjoy.

Winner: The Meta Powers

The WWE really seems to have no idea what they have in Bray Wyatt. They don't know what to do with him most of the time. He could be so much more. He just wanders around and cuts weird promos before challenging people for no real reason. I can't get into him after his loss to the Undertaker. He calls himself the "New Face of Fear", even though he lost. So what was the point of the match for Bray? Anyway, in feuds like this, Bray does good. He massacred Dean Ambrose over the winter and Ryback is closer to Dean than he is to the likes of John Cena and Undertaker, who Bray sucks against. Expect a win for Bray here or a dusty finish. Expect me not to really care.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Nothing about this really interests me and I'm someone that looks forward to Divas matches. The WWE seemed to misinterpret the #GiveDivasAChance movement. It didn't just mean to give Divas longer matches. There should be character development. Why are the Bellas faces? Why should I cheer for them? Naomi is actually justified here. Regardless, this all feels like filler stuff until Paige returns or Charlotte gets called up. I see Naomi winning to earn one more title shot.

Winners: Naomi and Tamina

Heel Sheamus has been pretty awesome so far. I just wish he would lose the braided beard. It's not a good look. With the exception of the "Kiss Me Arse" stuff, this has been a really good midcard feud. When they brawl, they really beat the shit out of each other and it shows. While it's good that he didn't turn heel and just beat everyone, I like how vicious he has been. With classic WWE 50/50 booking at hand, I expect Sheamus to get his win back from Extreme Rules before moving into what I expect to be an Intercontinental Title run.

Winner: Sheamus

I wish that we didn't have to see a million variations of this in tag team matches as it diminished the feud a bit. However, they've only had two singles matches that I can recall. Extreme Rules last month and the King of the Ring Finals. They are currently tied. This should be a good match and part of me wants to pick Barrett to win since he is the King. But, I've picked multiple heels to win and, considering his booking in the past, I don't really expect much from him. Neville wins and gains momentum.

Winner: Neville

Honestly, this will probably be the match of the night. It was at Extreme Rules and this is Two out of Three Falls. Since winning the belts, New Day has been one of the most entertaining thing about the weekly TV shows. I think they could go a very fun route here and give us a different New Day pairing in each of the three falls. That would give us three different matches basically. I sense New Day retains here before possibly dropping the straps at Elimination Chamber.

Winners: New Day

There is nothing at all good about this match and program. First, they are dragging this feud out way too long. They had a really good match at Fast Lane, a decent one at WrestleMania and a shit one at Extreme Rules. Second, having this booked has hurt the drama of the open challenges. Lastly, this should effectively kill the Rusev character. I love his ring work so seeing him get killed like this sucks. Maybe if Lana throws in the towel, there's a chance he could save some face but I suspect he quits and is dead in the water.

Winner: John Cena

While I think this match will be good, something about it feels kind of cheap. Like, we're technically getting the Shield Triple Threat we all want, but with Randy Orton thrown in there. I love Seth and he certainly deserves to be the WWE Champion but this has all felt like filler until they are ready to pull the trigger on Roman Reigns. The fact that the focus has been on Kane making Seth his bitch more than the challengers tells you how important this match is. Seth retains in cheap fashion.

Winner: Seth Rollins

Smackdown 5/14/15 Review

The weekly Smackdown intro video is cut off by a backstage promo from Bray Wyatt on Ryback. It's standard Bray fare. Cutting to the ring and we are joined by Dean Ambrose. He talks about how much he likes to do things alone so standing by himself at the end of Raw was good. He says he didn't mean to lay out Roman Reigns, it just happened. Out comes Reigns, Dean won't apologize and Reigns doesn't expect one. They agree on the fact that it is every man for themselves and go to shake hands, only for Kane to interrupt. He breaks Teddy Long tradition, booking a singles match between Ambrose and Sheamus right now. Ambrose cracks a joke that "right now" is the only time Kane knows how to make a match. They worked a really fun match, similar to their King of the Ring bout that had moments where it felt different than the other things we get on TV weekly. It was hard hitting and enjoyable. Ambrose wins with a rollup, which is good since he has a title shot coming up, but it sucks for Sheamus to lose heading into the PPV.

Backstage, we get another argument between Kane and Seth Rollins, which I hate. I don't give a fuck about Kane and hate that he's a focal point of a title match he isn't in. Rusev and Lana are out as she reads an apology for her actions as of late. Rusev then cut a promo on Cena and played a loop of him saying "I Quit". Bland build for Payback. Moving on, as Ryback comes out for a non-title match against Seth Rollins, he is attacked by Bray Wyatt. He wants to compete anyway because he's the BIG guy, but it leads to Seth beating him. I'm more fine with this result since at least Ryback was attacked beforehand so he doesn't look weak losing before the PPV. 

The official announcement is made for Naomi and Tamina vs. the Bella Twins at Payback. This is the third Pay-Per-View where Nikki will be in a tag match rather than defend her belt. I wish that wasn't the case because her run has been good. The New Day came out and cut a really fun promo before Kofi Kingston squared off against Tyson Kidd. This was a decent match, made more fun by the ringside shenanigans from Xavier Woods and Big E. Kidd is able to counter Trouble in Paradise and win with the Sharpshooter. After a recap of Daniel Bryan relinquishing the Intercontinental Title is shown, Bo Dallas comes out. He's perfect in his role, telling fans that he will get them through the grief of losing Bryan. Neville interrupts to give us our next match. Funny to think that this headlined the first NXT live special right? King Barrett joins commentary to run down Neville throughout the match. Neville wins before Barrett cuts a promo to build towards Payback. Barrett had a good line in there, making fun of Neville's cape and attire even though he's wearing something ridiculous himself. In the back, we see Adam Rose and Rosa Mendes. Rose is not happy that the hot dog in the Exotic Express is staring at them, so he beats him up. Then, in the worst thing I've seen all week on television, Rose and Rosa proceed to make out, grossing me out completely. Seriously, why the fuck does Rosa Mendes get TV time? Actually, why is she employed at this point? She is beyond worthless.

It was now time for the first time ever match pitting Roman Reigns against Kane! There is obvious sarcasm there as we've seen this a ton. It was better than expected since there was no disqualifications or anything like that. Reigns wins with a Spear as one would expect. In the back, Seth Rollins dismisses Reigns' win. Ambrose appears with a tray of cookies, because he's weird like that. They brawl until Reigns shows up and they send off the heels. The WWE Title falls on the floor, so Ambrose picks it up, places it on Reigns' shoulder and tells him that he will take it on Sunday. In the end,I feel that this was your typical Smackdown episode. Some decent matches, but nothing of real note goes down. Just the usual average stuff. 6/10.

Raw Cincinnati Review

Like this is 1997 WCW Nitro, we open with a shot of a limousine arriving at the arena. Out pops Triple H, who opens the show with one of his usual promos. Seth Rollins and Kane get involved and bicker. Triple H does his thing where he wants to get cheered, so instead of being the heel he should be, he makes jokes that makes everyone look bad. It's so annoying. He books Kane vs. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton tonight. Jamie Noble steals the promo by getting in his face, so HHH puts J&J Security against Dean Ambrose.The crowd was extra hot for this since it was in Ambrose's hometown and J&J Security play their roles perfectly. Obviously Ambrose won and this was a fine choice to open as it entertained and was a lot of fun. As we got ready for the next match, we are informed that we get Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus II and Neville vs. Bad News Barrett III at Payback. King Barrett took on Ziggler here in a solid little match, while Sheamus was on commentary. The combinations between these four guys is getting a bit tiresome, so hopefully it's over after Payback but with some news that we got later, I highly doubt this. Barrett won following a distraction from Sheamus. Sheamus and Ziggler brawled after the match, which has been my favorite thing about their rivalry so far. It's intense and everything besides the Kiss Me Arse stipulation has been spot on.

On Smackdown, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper seemed to be on good terms again. Here, they came out together to Harper's theme and Rowan squashed Fandango. I was fine with this as I prefer them together than jobbing apart. John Cena issued his Open Challenge in the next segment, cutting his usual promo. Neville answered and we all knew we were in for a treat. Neville took Cena back to SUPLEX CITY BITCH, causing him to regroup. Neville became the next guy in a long line to kick out of the Attitude Adjustment. This was the best match of the night and the best that Neville has looked on the main roster. Not only did he kick out of the AA and hit a bunch of high flying moves, but he hit the Red Arrow and looked like he would win until Rusev hit to cause the DQ. I was fine with this finish as Neville looked excellent and was protected, while it built towards. Plus, it was the only non clean end to a challenge so far. Great stuff here.

We were set for Kane/Roman Reigns here, but Reigns was attacked before the bell. This lasted far too long and honestly, the crowd didn't seen to really care for it. Not the worst, but nothing really good. Moving on, Brie Bella came out to her putrid theme music to face Tamina. This was fine to help the build for Nikki/Naomi...which I think is happening at Payback. It was decent work and Tamina won with a superkick. Again, moving on, Curtis Axel and AxelMania took on Macho Mandow. After about a minute, the Ascension interrupted and cut a promo on them that commentary pretty much laughed at. They ran in and got taken out, leading to Mandow and Axel doing the Mega Powers handshake. I wasn't a fan of this. It was like a cheap LOD knockoff challenged Mega Powers knockoffs. It was meant to be fun, but came off as kind of awkward to me. Maybe I'm just a cynic. At least it didn't last too long.

Some Tough Enough videos air and we see submissions from the Big O and Scarlett Bordeaux which is cool. Daniel Bryan comes out to address the fans and he cuts an emotional promo. He says that we deserve to have guys like Ambrose, Neville and Barrett competing for the Intercontinental Title. He does a good job of putting over those guys and the title itself before saying that due to injury, he has to relinquish the belt. It was like deja vu unfortunately as it was nearly a year ago that he had to do the same thing with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. I'm interested in seeing what they do with the title now that abeyance has another reign. As for Bryan, it's unfortunate but I get it. I'd rather he take a ton of time and heal up fully if he is ever coming back. Similar to Shawn Michaels in 1998.

In a perfect segue, we got from the sadness of Bryan's announcement to the upbeat New Day.

They tell the crowd to stop being sad about Bryan and chant New Day Rocks. This leads into Cesaro vs. Big E, which was a fun match that Cesaro wins. We also get told that these two teams meet in a Tag Team Title match at Payback, which will be 2 out of 3 falls. That should deliver. Bray Wyatt appears next for a talking segment. He said that he's going after Ryback because he's in his way, though they don't specify how exactly. He says that sometimes the bad guy just wins, which seems to be the case for Bray unless it's at WrestleMania. Ryback appears to take him out, allowing to get one over in the feud.

Before I talk about the main event, there were some other things to address. They announce the "Mega Powers" against the Ascension for the Kickoff Show at Payback. I'm not too fond of that. The Prime Time Players mocked the New Age Outlaws, which was great but they need to wrestle again. They also announce Kane/Reigns for Smackdown. Yay. The biggest news is that they announce another PPV for May. After Payback on the 17th, we get NXT TakeOver on the 20th and now, Elimination Chamber on the 31st. I'm not sure if they should add more PPVs since they can barely build the ones they have now, but a Chamber match or two will be fun. I think they should use the Chamber to crown the new Intercontinental Champion. Barrett vs. Sheamus vs. Neville vs. Ziggler vs. two other good midcarders would be great. Anyway, as for the main event, it was solid. Not bad but nothing we haven't seen before. It ends in the predictable DQ fashion, leading to appearances from Ambrose and Reigns. Seth Rollins eats every finisher before Reigns spears Orton. Ambrose is all like "DTA" and hits Dirty Deeds on Reigns, to stand tall for the second straight week. Not the best ending to Raw, but fine. I think this was a solid go home show. It wasn't as good overall as last week's, but Neville/Cena is must see. That's two good Raws in a row for the WWE. 7/10.

Fave Five 5/4/15-5/10/15

1) Dean Ambrose: Man it has been a really long time since I was able to put Dean Ambrose atop this list. Hell, maybe I haven't ever had him at number one. Since the Shield split, he's been insanely over, but loses big matches. After finally getting a singles PPV win at Extreme Rules for the first time since September 2013, he was set to face his nemesis Seth Rollins on Raw. Kane came out and said if Dean won, he'd be added to the Payback main event. That added intrigue to the match and those two never disappoint. Dean was able to pin the WWE Champion, then go on to be the most entertaining thing about the contract signing from the Smackdown closing segment. Granted, he's probably only in the Payback match to eat the pin, but that doesn't put a damper on his good week.

2) Alberto El Patron: Alberto El Patron is one of my favorite guys in all of wrestling now. This past week on Lucha Underground, he squared off against another former WWE Superstar in Johnny Mundo. These are two of, if not the biggest names in all of Lucha Underground. They never really got into interact much in WWE but got to main event here and shiend brightly. I no longer get El Rey Network so I miss Lucha Underground but I went out of my way to find this match and enjoyed the hell out of it. They tore the house down and El Patron won, earning his spot on this list. I feel that life in Lucha Underground and AAA is perfect for him, as he seems to be rejuvenated and it's a joy to watch.

3) Sami Zayn: With the John Cena Open Challenge, there is excitement to see just who answers it. After a fun start, some of the recent ones have been dull. (I'm looking at you Kane) That all changed this past Monday when Sami fucking Zayn accepted the challenge in front of his hometown of Montreal. Not only that, but he was introduced by Bret Hart of all people. The match that followed was really good and was a great way to introduce Sami to the main roster audience. The crowd was red hot for him and he took the former 15 time World Champion to the limit. The only damper on all of this was that Sami got injured in the process, potentially shelving him for a significant amount of time. I pray that isn't the case because he is in the midst of a great run.

4) Kurt Angle: Once again, it's easy to put TNA Champions on this list for one reason. They defend them so often and it's a great thing. On their live Impact this past Friday night, Kurt Angle successfully defended the TNA World Title against Eric Young. The fact that Angle is not only still going, but going at a relatively high level is insane. That dude is nuts. I hope he's done with Eric Young because he needs to move on to a feud with Ethan Carter III. Seriously, if EC3 faces Angle at Slammiversary and somehow doesn't win the title, I'll be officially done with that company and that's not something I say often. Despite my need to see Angle drop the title, I feel that he's done fine work as the fighting champion and this was another example.

5) Cherry Bomb: I feel like Cherry Bomb is becoming a regular fixture in my Fave Five. The girl continues to rack up the successes and another one came this week. After recently capturing the prestigious SHIMMER Tag Team Titles as one half of the Kimber Bombs, she dethroned LuFisto to become the WSU Champion. I haven't followed WSU closely over the years but I do know some of their past champions. They include Nikki Roxx, Havok, Mercedes Martinez and of course, LuFisto. Adding to this, Cherry's win ended LuFisto's reign at one day shy of a year. If past winners and her recent success is any indication, Cherry Bomb is headed for big things. 

Who Should Step Up in NXT?

Earlier this week, Sami Zayn wrestled John Cena on Raw in his hometown. Despite the really good match, Sami would injure his shoulder beforehand and now there is talk that he will have to miss a significant amount of time. The really troubling part is that Sami is currently in the midst of the top rivalry in NXT against his former best friend Kevin Owens. They are set to headline the next TakeOver special on May 20th. If Sami cannot compete there, I've heard people suggest a certain plan. They would have the winner of the Number One Contender's Triple Threat match between Finn Balor, Hideo Itami and Tyler Breeze, go on to face Owens later in the show. This sounds like a solid idea doesn't it? Well unfortunately, there's a wrench in that plan too.

In my eyes at least, Hideo Itami was the favorite to win that Triple Threat match. Finn Balor already had a shot at Kevin Owens and I doubt they would do heel/heel with Tyler Breeze and Owens. That left Itami, who has been improving by the week and seems to have really hit his stride. However, it was also recently reported that Itami has a shoulder injury and could actually miss up to eight months of action. That would certainly be a big hindrance to his momentum and future with the WWE. So, while the question remains of what to do with the upcoming TakeOver Special, there is a bigger concern of what to do with NXT going forward if two of their top guys are on the shelf. Just who fills those shoes?

The first thing to get out of the way is that Finn Balor and Tyler Breeze will be focal points. Both guys are already near the top of the brand and should stay there. Where else do we look for the next set of top level NXT guys? The first guy I'd look to is Baron Corbin. I know that a lot of people aren't sold on him since he mostly works squash matches. However, when I was at NXT live in Columbus and Cleveland back in March, Corbin stood out. He had two really good matches against Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd. While the crowd was rather anti-Corbin, he seemed to love it and played up the heel role perfectly. With his recent vignette and feud with Rhyno, it seems the heel work is coming, which seems to suit him more. While a heel/heel match against Owens may not work, it would be intriguing and fresh. Add in that Corbin is a homegrown talent and it would be a great time to showcase someone that wasn't raised through the indies. There is star potential with Corbin and I know the ring talent is in there. The other guy worth a look is Solomon Crowe. Now, I'm not fully sold on him just yet. I know he was big as Sami Callahan, but something about Crowe has yet to click. He does have a connection with the fans due to his time on the indies and has worked Owens on recent live events. With the right push, he could be another guy to step up and help out where NXT needs it. Rhyno would be a choice to step up in the short term as well.

The last point that I would like to make is regarding the Divas of NXT. For a long time now, they have been one of the best things about NXT. However, if Kevin Owens ends up short on viable challengers, the focus of the company could shift to the Women's Title for a small window. Sasha Banks and Charlotte have proven their ability to main event shows, while Bayley is one of the most popular acts they have. I'm not saying the Women's Title in total should overtake the NXT Title as the focal point of the brand but it is possible to turn the spotlight on them for a short while. Regardless of what ends up happening, I have complete faith that NXT will handle it well. So far, they have yet to let me down and I'm going to stick by that track record. The talent is there, now it's time to see if certain guys will sink or swim.

Smackdown 5/7/15 Review

This week, Smackdown started with Jerry Lawler conducting an interview with King Barrett. Barrett is condescending throughout and Lawler doesn't like it, refusing to say "ALL HAIL KING BARRETT". When BNB threatens him, Dolph Ziggler runs out, leading to a match. This goes nowhere as Sheamus runs in for the DQ, bringing Neville out after, leading to the Teddy Long Special. Yup. A tag team match. The same one we saw before Extreme Rules and this past Monday on Raw. Look, I really like the work of all four guys but I've seen it too much. Ziggler gets the win for his team by pinning King Barrett, which was a bad move. It's tough in general here, since nobody can really afford the loss, so don't even book the tag match again. Now your new King of the Ring is already jobbing.

Next up we get a guy with talent, Luke Harper, taking on a Fandango. Harper mockingly does the Fandango dance, which steals the show for me. Harper wins pretty easily, which is how it should be. Erick Rowan shows up after the match and also attacks Fandango. Maybe we'll get a Rowan and Harper reunion? Hell, it's better than Harper losing meaningless singles matches each week. Then we get a filler talking segment from Rusev and Lana. Lana thanks the fans for cheering her but asks them not to. Rusev still gets pissy and banishes her. He then runs down John Cena and says he's weak for showing mercy to Sami Zayn. He says that he's going to tell Cena on Raw why he's going to win at Payback. So he came out to tell us that he's going to talk on Raw. See what I mean? Filler.

The New Day challenged Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to find a partner for a six man tag match. They went out and chose THE BIG GUY. Interesting pick here. This was probably the match of the night. All six guys worked hard, and I appreciate that they are putting in some effort to not give us the same tag match every week and trying to put variation on it. There was an extremely sloppy spot outside between Big E and Cesaro but the rest of the match was fine. The New Day win after a distraction from Bray Wyatt. This furthered both angles pretty well and did its job. Naomi, with Tamina, now faces Emma. I'm still not sold on Naomi's heel turn. It's like, she got AJ's role as a heel with Tamina, while acting like a Sasha Banks knockoff. She defeats Emma in relatively short order as one would expect since Emma is pretty much a jobber on the main roster. Throughout the show, Renee Young has interviewed the four men involved in the Payback main event and it's all standard stuff. Dean Ambrose says there will be chaos, Randy Orton will drop anyone, Roman Riegns will fight hard and Seth Rollins says he always has a plan.

The Lucha Dragons come out, in awesome attire, to face Los Matadores. This was fine though it featured a Sin Cara botch that hurt it. Lucha Dragons pick up the win before we head to the big contract signing. Kane introduces the challengers, who all sit down and await the Champion. Seth stays atop the ramp, they all bicker, and Seth says the Authority can sign for him. Kane wants him to sign on his own, again putting the focus on those two instead of the guys competing. Seth gets the challengers to argue with each other, leading to the usual contract signing brawl. Dean was the MVP of this, being highly entertaining. Seth ends up being the guy to stand tall at the end of it all, giving him an actual chance at looking strong, though the Justin Bieber stuff is fucking dumb. Seth is nothing like him and it's just a dumb way to try and be "cool." Overall, another relatively average episode of Smackdown. Nothing of real note continues to happen here, but the show isn't straight up bad. 6/10.

Review of Honor: Death Before Dishonor VI

Death Before Dishonor VI
August 2nd 2008 | Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York

Another Review of Honor and another show that I attended live. This was in the midst of the pretty incredible Nigel McGuinness ROH World Championship run. It is also their second ever show in the Hammerstein Ballroom, after moving there from the Grand Ballroom in the Manhattan Center. Their first show there was a slight disappointment, so this card was pretty loaded in an effort to right that wrong. This was the big show that they should have used for their debut.

We start with Nigel McGuinness cutting a promo backstage about being the best wrestler in the world. Hearing Nigel say what sounds like Tylenol Black and then call Bryan Danielson a clam digger is always fun. Commentary is Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard. Cool note is that I can see myself, my brother and my mother in the crowd.

The Briscoe Brothers vs. The Vulture Squad w/ Julius Smokes
Mark Briscoe had recently returned from injury, getting a big “welcome back” chant for himself. Unmasked Jigsaw is so strange. Those two start things with one of those indy WRESTLING stalemates. Jay and Ruckus have a nice exchange, with Ruckus doing his flippy stuff. Mark nearly dies on a cross body to the outside, only for Jigsaw to follow with a front flip. Not to be outdone, Ruckus moonsaults out onto everyone. The crowd is MOLTEN. His moonsault leg drop is countered leading to a Briscoe double team. They are really damn good. The spots come fast now as Ruckus hits the John Morrison Moonlight Drive. He and Jigsaw try a suplex/powerbomb double team but it doesn’t come off too well. Jigsaw superkicks Jay, only to eat one from Mark. They wrap this up nicely with a springboard doomsday device.

Winners: The Briscoe Brothers in 5:56
Perfect for what it was supposed to be. It gets the Briscoes back into the swing of things and they get the crowd red hot. The Vulture Squad were good opponent choices since they can job but also do the crowd hyping flippy stuff. Short and sweet. ***

The Briscoes’ celebration is cut short by the arrival of Sweet n’ Sour Inc. Larry Sweeney tries to recruit them but the Briscoes want no part of it and leave. Chris Hero wants revenge on Delirious for beating him at the last show. Bobby Dempsey and Eddie Edwards are there too.

Chris Hero w/ Sweet n’ Sour Inc. vs. Delirious
Good old Delirious shenanigans kick us off as he hides under the ring, only to appear with a front flip dive outside. This is around the time that Chris Hero started to knock people out. He weathers the storm of Delirious’ crazy based offense to take control. Commentary has fun discussing the Daizee Haze/Delirious relationship that would eventually lead Delirious to a heel run. I must give props to Hero, who was in the midst of going from a bit of a joker to a more serious role. It showed in his ring work as he wears down his opponent here. Delirious counters a slam into a DDT but it still looks like he takes the move so it doesn’t get the crowd reaction they wanted. Delirious goes for his clotheslines but Hero nails the big elbow twice, only for near falls. Delirious blatantly telegraphs a headbutt but when he tries Shadows over Hell, Hero greets him with a roaring elbow to win.

Winner: Chris Hero in 8:17
Decent stuff here. After the really fast paced and fun opener, we get something slower but that’s fine. It got Chris Hero’s knockout offense somewhat over. **½

Larry Sweeney quickly gets back into the ring and calls Eddie Edwards the “top prospect” in wrestling. He is set to face Roderick Strong, who had issues with Sweet n’ Sour for a while.

Eddie Edwards w/ Sweet n’ Sour Inc. vs. Roderick Strong
Who would have thought that a few years later, these two would meet again as Eddie Edwards won the ROH World Title from Strong. Edwards shows more confidence than he really had up until this point. Roderick decides to shut him up with a ton of stiff chops. Sweeney and others get in cheap shots while jawing with the fans. I’d like to give a shout out to the timekeeper, who is ready to ring the bell on every single near fall. Selling it all the way baby. Edwards tries a suplex to the outside, but Strong takes him out and dives off the apron with a forearm smash. Back inside, Edwards blocks a gutbuster but runs into an enziguri. Edwards rolls through a sunset flip with a kick to the chest, but Strong gets two on an interesting rollup. Leaping codebreaker, superkick and sitout bomb get Edwards the closest near fall so far. Strong goes for the Gibson Driver, but Sweeney distracts the referee as Hero clocks Roddy with the loaded elbow pad. Asai moonsault allows Eddie to steal this thing.

Winner: Eddie Edwards in 9:45
Here was the first relatively big match for Eddie Edwards and he pretty much delivered. It wasn’t the most amazing bout but it was hard hitting which I love. Roderick Strong can usually be counted on to perform and he did so tonight, elevating someone who would become a key part of ROH’s future. ***

Larry Sweeney continues to trash talk after sending Chris Hero and Eddie Edwards to his personal masseuse backstage. He introduces the holder of the “most prestigious” title in the world, Adam Pearce. He comes out with Sara Del Ray and Shane Hagadorn’s stupid face.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Adam Pearce (c) w/ Sweet n’ Sour Inc. vs. Brent Albright
Both men were part of the Hangman 3 stable that Adam Pearce sold out to Larry Sweeney. Brent Albright was part of Sweet n’ Sour until turning on them at the first Hammerstein show which got a massive pop. This has old school NWA rules so no throwing someone over the top. Albright slaps the taste out of Pearce’s mouth a few times showing that he means business. Both guys test the rules early on, with Pearce straight up biting Albright and spitting at the official. Pearce wasn’t a flashy worker but the man was a great heel. A headbutt busts Albright wide open. He continues to pound away on Albright, trying to make him bleed even more. Continuing the old school feel, he exposes the concrete under the mat, but Albright slingshots him into the post. Now Pearce is bleeding. Sweeney tries to get Pearce intentionally disqualified with a chair, but Roderick Strong appears to lay him out with the sick kick. Albright is fired up as the crowd is jacked and he fires away. The six point knee hits before Albright removes his knee pads and starts hitting knee strikes. Pearce counters into the Figure Four, which is just perfect for the old school NWA feel we’ve got going. He gets free but is feeling the effects. The Scrap Daddy moves to an STF, drawing “fuck John Cena” chants from New York. Albright manages to reverse it into the Crowbar but Pearce’s foot is on the rope. He climbs up but Pearce knocks him off and through a table at ringside. With the NWA rules, we only have a ten count, rather than ROH’s usual 20. He gets in at nine, but is hit with a JUMPING PILEDRIVER only to kick out! Half nelson suplex from Albright and both men are down. They get up and Albright hits a second but only gets two! They exchange shots before Albright busts out FIVE GERMAN SUPLEXES! Pearce is somehow able to get his shoulder up. Pearce then rolls through a sunset flip and tries the figure four only for Albright to go to an inside cradle, again for only two. Albright then goes back to the Crowbar, forcing Pearce to tap.

Winner and New NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Brent Albright in 19:41
Holy hell that was way better than I expected. The crowd was beyond hot for all of this and it had an old school feel in a great way. They utilized old school moves, had just the right amount of interference and two guys just had a match that absolutely clicked. Everything fell into place for this and it’s an underrated classic that you should go check out. ****¼

The Briscoes are backstage and celebrating their win before Rhett Titus appears to show off a cellphone video. The Briscoes notice the person in the video is a friend and they send him off.

Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Necro Butcher
This was in the midst of the Jimmy Jacobs/Austin Aries rivalry that got pretty heated. With Necro and Jacobs both in the Age of the Fall, this is a glorified handicap match, except that Aries has been getting into Necro’s head about the treatment he receives. They work as a unit early though Aries busts out the heat seeking missile on Necro before taking it to Jacobs inside. In two weeks, Jacobs has to face Necro who was selected by Aries in an interesting angle. Pendulum elbow gets two. Necro comes back in and the Age of the Fall work together again. Jacobs is knocked into Necro, who gets upset about it but does Jimmy’s bidding anyway. However, when Necro tries to cover, Jacobs breaks it up and berates him. He demands that Necro rip Aries’ eye out because he’s fucking nuts. Aries swings the chair at Jacobs, who ducks and it hits Necro in the back. Aries goes all Eddie Guerrero by tossing the chair to Jacobs and falling to the floor. Necro believe Jacobs did it and waffles him. The crowd pops hard because Necro is super over in New York. He lays out Jacobs with the steel chair and exits to “Necro” chants. With him gone, Aries nails a dropkick, brainbuster and 450 splash, earning the win.

Winner: Austin Aries in 11:46
Not the best match from a scientific standpoint but we got exactly we should have. They told a great story that has been built up by Austin Aries getting into Necro Butcher’s head. New York was the right place to have Necro turn since he was so popular here. Entertaining throughout. ***

Daizee Haze cuts a promo backstage about how hard she’s been working to get back, when the Motor City Machine Guns come up and hug her. They straight up try to get her into a threesome. She obviously declines but the Guns are hilarious in this. When she leaves they turn the conversation to Kevin Steen and El Generico. We then cut to a Bryan Danielson promo about the main event backstage. It wasn’t great and shows how far he has come in his ability to cut a promo.

Delirious comes out in a black button down shirt and green tie. He calls out Daizee Haze, or at least that’s what it sounds like. They did this at the first Hammerstein show. He asks her out on a date but is cut off by “Addicted to Love” Rhett Titus. This also happened at the last Hammerstein show because Rhett is pretty much Captain Cockblock. He calls Daizee “used goods” before revealing that his trunks are very Rick Rude-esque as they have her face painted on his ass. Delirious sends him packing like the hero should, but Daizee tells Delirious that she just wants to be friends. With those words, Daizee becomes the biggest heel in New York. To make matters worse, she does the “it’s not you, it’s me” line.

Go Shiozaki vs. Naomichi Marufuji
Even though Go Shiozaki and his magnificent hair is part of Sweet n’ Sour Inc. he does shake hands with Naomichi Marufuji. There is no real storyline behind this, though Go has never beaten Marufuji. Their opening exchange is pretty fantastic as they seem to know each other’s moves very well, dodging and countering everything. Go has some of the hardest chops in the business and he utilizes them throughout with each louder than the last. Marufuji tries to quicken the pace but the bigger Go continues to stop him at every turn. Marufuji gets tied up in the tree of woe, so Go slides at him and chops him, which is pretty cool. It plays up the “chop you at all positions” thing. Marufuji finally gets in something big, hitting a fucking BRAINBUSTAAA onto the apron. It does kind of diminish the one Aries did in the previous match though. It’s all to set up the Shiranui finisher. Marufuji just continues to work over Go and even pokes him in the eye to a chuckle from the crowd. From out of nowhere, Go hits a hurricanrana and another stiff chop. A frog splash knee drop gets Go a near fall. Marufuji fights back with a knee to the back of the head before a neckbreaker gets two. Superkick nets the same result. Shiranui countered into a fisherman buster but it’s still not enough, so Go goes to a dragon sleeper. Marufuji kicks him right in the face to break it. His chop combo is blocked so he goes back to the dragon sleeper. Marufuji reaches the ropes to break this before hitting the Shiranui to the outside! Fans chant “NOAH” in honor of Pro Wrestling Noah as they get inside. VAN TERMINATOR from Marufuji only gets two! Shiozaki hits the Orange Crush and that’s not enough. Go Flasher now gets reversed into Shiranui and both guys are down. They trade lariats when they get up and Naomichi hits the Seth Rollins curb stomp for two. We now get a battle of chops vs. superkicks that Marufuji wins before the Pole Shift wins it.

Winner: Naomichi Marufuji in 22:58
That featured stiff shots, crisp wrestling, sweet counters and a great effort form both guys. I can’t fathom how these guys do all of the travel they do and never mail it in when they get to ROH. High quality match that could have headlined most shows. ****

Tyler Black cuts a promo as he believes he’ll win the title because he wants it more than anyone. It was clear that he was heading towards a face turn and away from the Age of the Fall.

Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. the Motor City Machine Guns
In other words, ROH said here are two of the best tag teams in the world, enjoy. All four guys are super over, though I’d say Alex Shelley tops the list by a slight margin. Both teams feel each other out for a while, with neither gaining a clear advantage. The Guns comically both bite Generico’s hands shortly before the tag comes to Steen. He and Generico work a cool drop toe hold/front flip leg drop double team for two. Shelley and Steen get into a fucking snot blowing battle. It’s gross. The Guns fire back with great double team work that overwhelms El Generico. “Fuck TNA” chants break out during all of this. I don’t know if I’ve seen a team with crisper double team moves than the Guns. Steen finally gets the hot tag and goes nuts. He gets Sabin on his back and does a senton onto Shelley, hurting both guys. Steen applies a sharpshooter on Sabin as Generico dives out onto Shelley. Sabin reaches the ropes and then we get a pretty crazy spot combo. Shelley hit a super jawbreaker on Steen off of Sabin’s back, before Sabin powerbombs Generico into Seen in the corner. They hit a series of superkicks on Generico but can only get tow. Superkick parties before they were “cool”. Generico nails a Michinoku Driver and two Yakuza Kicks before Sabin returns the favor. Cradle Shock is stopped by Steen who hits the pump handle cradlebreacker. Steenton Bomb is stopped by knees and the Air Raid Crash gets Shelley two. The action is fast and furious. Generico wants the BRAINBUSTAAA but takes a super rana that lands him on Steen. Frog splash from Shelley but Steen gets his shoulder up. The Guns try the assisted Sliced Bread #2 but Generico fight sit off. Steen hits the cannonball in the corner on Sabin and lock shim in the Sharpshooter. Generico this time connects with the BRAINBUSTAAA and Sabin taps out.

Winners: Kevin Steen and El Generico in 19:51
Two teams that are always on their game and show how great tag team wrestling really can be. The crowd was mental, they built to the finish well and the action was pretty much non-stop. I’ve seen each team do better but this was great stuff. ****¼

Some backstage stuff where the Briscoes are awkward around Daizee Haze because she was the one in those videos Rhett Titus was showing off. Kevin Steen also yells at Generico and tells him that he needs to become a killer for them to win the gold.

ROH World Heavyweight Championship
Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tyler Black
There was serious intrigue here as anyone could win. Bryan Danielson is pretty much ROH, Black and Castagnoli were on fire and Nigel was the champion in the midst of a PHENOMENAL run. Despite being a face, a fair amount of fans here are anti-Claudio since he’s come up short a bunch of times. This match is contested under elimination rules. Things start calmly enough as Claudio and Danielson go at it, but after blind tags by Nigel and Black, things pick up. Black does a front flip dive outside just prior to Claudio suicide diving into Nigel. Black and Nigel do battle now, as commentary reminds us that at a PPV in March, Black had a star making performance when he came within a hair of dethroning Nigel. For a while, everyone gets into some sort of exchange, giving everyone a chance to work with each other. Nigel is great here, tagging out anytime he’s in trouble. It eventually backfires as Bryan backs off the apron, leaving him to get worked over by Claudio. While I’m not doing play by play, all of these exchanges between everyone is entertaining as hell. Danielson hits the missile dropkick on Nigel but gets caught in a backbreaker by Claudio. Black kicks Claudio, but is taken out with a DDT from Nigel. All four guys are in the ring, and Danielson goes to Cattle Mutilation on Nigel. Black hits Claudio with a cross body as Danielson moves to the MMA elbows. Claudio gets booed as he breaks the move, which admittedly is a dumb move. He does hit a sweet kick on Black but ends up in Bryan’s triangle choke. It’s hilarious to see Nigel just sit back as Claudio breaks free. Nigel nearly kills Black with a lariat before trading big blows with Dragon. He sends the champion into the front row and springboards dives out onto him! He gets back in the ring and is caught in Claudio’s BIG SWING! They trade Europeans before Claudio hits the popup European. He covers but Dragon rolls over and eliminates Claudio at 16:12.

Claudio is shocked at the elimination and doesn’t want to leave. “Get the fuck out” chants rain down so he DESTROYS Bryan with a bicycle kick and Ricola Bomb. He gets a steel chair and STOMPS IT ONTO BRYAN’S SKULL! Nigel is filled with glee outside watching this. Jobbers run out to haul him away so Nigel hits one huge lariat to get rid of Bryan at 19:37. Some fans throw garbage as the favorite is gone. Black is now a MASSIVE BABYFACE as he gets a huge pop when he springboards in. His flurry continues, getting two on a neckbreaker. “Tyler Black” chants ring out as he goes up top and misses a big frog splash. Naomichi Marufuji appears in the entrance to watch. The camera focusing on that takes away from the action I think. Nigel is hitting Black very hard but he comes back to hit the frog splash this time for two. Nigel hits a shortarm lariat, his second on Black so far, for two. Tower of London also only gets two. Black counters the Jawbreaker Lariat into a fucking Buckle Bomb somehow! It was insane. The crowd bites EXTREMELY HARD for this near fall. Out of desperation, Nigel goes up top. It’s a mistake as Black is comfortable up there. He meets him with a superplex that he rolls through into PAROXSYM! Another very close two count. Black hits a sick superkick while Nigel is on his knees for two again. The atmosphere is nuts. Lariat from Nigel hits but Tyler gets the shoulder up again. Jawbreaker is again countered into GOD’S LAST GIFT but Nigel kicks out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd fall for a false finish in ROH that hard before. Phoenix Splash misses and Nigel hits another massive lariat. Cover but AGAIN Tyler kicks out. Nigel hits Tower of London, a running European and ANOTHER lariat but someone that still isn’t enough. Black ducks a lariat, but springboards into one anyway, yet still kicks out. This is unbelievable. The London Dungeon submission is locked in, which is what did Black in at the PPV in their first meeting. Black counters into a rollup for two. Black hits a Pele but runs into a lariat. One more for good measure and finally Black stays down.

Winner and Still ROH World Heavyweight Champion: Nigel McGuinness in 30:23
Fuck that was insane. It’s like ROH took the formula that made Black a big deal from the PPV and applied it times five in front of the New York crowd. Everything was masterfully done. From the solid opening work to Claudio’s elimination to the frustration that boiled over when he attacked Dragon to Nigel being cunning to Black’s resiliency. It all just clicked here. ****¾

Nigel McGuinness brags that there is no one left to beat but the crowd chants “Marufuji” at him and pelt the ring with trash.

Overall: 9/10; Incredible. Of all of the Ring of Honor shows that I went to live, this is up there among the best. I only gave one match less than three stars which is impressive. This has everything. The NWA World Title match is a surprisingly great old school brawl, you get your puro fix with Marufuji/Shiozaki, the Briscoes give us a short and fun tag opener, the Machine Guns match is just excellent tag team wrestling, the Triple Threat is fine storytelling and the main event is as dramatic as they come. Seriously, go see this show now.