SHIMMER Volume 71
March 28th, 2015 | Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose, California
I used to follow SHIMMER religiously. I still own Volumes 9-28 on DVD. However, I unfortunately fell out of regular watching. I’m trying to fix that. I’ll be going back and reviewing those old volumes as well, but for right now, I was able to get my hands on Volume 71, which took place over WrestleMania 31 weekend. It features the Chickfight Tournament, which was a tournament that used to run even before SHIMMER began. The winner earns a future shot at the SHIMMER Championship.
Dave Prazak and Veda Scott handle commentary for now.
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament First Round: Evie def. Portia Perez in 7:28
Portia Perez has been a SHIMMER mainstay for a long time. Evie is one of the most likable women on the indies right now. Portia coming out to Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” will never not be amazing. Evie started with some flash pin attempts, so an annoyed Perez just chopped her in the throat. Perez continued to be vicious, walking smack and roughing up Evie. Evie started in with the kicks. TEAM F’N KICK! Perez still managed to stay in control though. Evie nailed the big Yakuza Kick and both women were down. SHIMMER Champion (and Perez’s partner) Nicole Matthews came down to distract Evie. Evie ducked a Portia shot and Nicole got knocked off the apron. Evie hit the TTYL (GTS variation) and advanced. Good match with some old school heel work from Portia and good fire from Evie. The more Evie the better. I would have booked Portia to go over someone else to build up drama for a potential Canadian Ninjas match. **¾
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament First Round: Nicole Savoy def. Candice LeRae in 7:37
I haven’t seen much of Savoy but LeRae is pretty much known from all over the indies, especially in PWG. Savoy declined a handshake. They worked at a quick pace to open the match, with LeRae snapping off a head scissors and doing a trademark kick that we’ve seen her future husband, Johnny Gargano, use. Savoy nailed a weak looking axe kick. Seriously, Booker T would be upset. Candice sent Savoy outside and followed with a tope suicida into a tornado DDT. Savoy survived some submissions. Candice only got one on a lung blower with Savoy showing her power. Savoy came back with a tiger suplex that got the win. Solid match. They hyped this as an upset. Savoy was the bigger competitor, but pretty much got her ass handed to her, which was surprising since LeRae works best as the plucky underdog. **½
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament First Round: Nikki Storm def. Cherry Bomb in 6:30
Nikki Storm came out to “Larger Than Life” by Backstreet Boys, getting a pop from me. She cut a promo before the match about all of her accomplishments since coming to the States, including having the Golden Gate Bridge renamed the Golden Nikki Bridge. It’s great stuff. The two charismatic women scoffed at one another once Cherry entered the ring. They talked smack and shoved each other. We got double toe stomps, kicks and clotheslines to show how evenly matched they were. Cherry Bomb took control and began to wear down Storm. Lots of yells from both ladies, with Cherry’s being more of screeches. Storm eventually countered a DVD and superkick before winning with the fisherman neckbreaker. The other matches may have been better from a pure wrestling standpoint, but this was highly entertaining thanks to the personalities involved. Lots of fun. ***
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament First Round: Kay Lee Ray def. Kimber Lee in 7:18
Prazak tricked me because he said this would be Yim/Athena but it isn’t. Another good theme song tonight for Ray. Kimber Lee recently made history by winning the CHIKARA Grand Championship. She went outside for a breather and avoided dive from Ray. Ray still followed her around the ring and scored on a dropkick. Her high risk style cost her when Lee caught a springboard move into a backbreaker. Lee then nailed a really impressive stalling vertical for two. Lee showed some cockiness at times. She was confident that she had Ray’s high flying stuff scouted. Lee hit a superplex and swanton bomb but her lackluster cover allowed Ray to turn it over into a rollup and steal it. I dug this match. Both girls worked hard and the finish played into the story of overconfident Kimber Lee. The Kimber Bombs are both eliminated already. ***
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament First Round: Mia Yim def. Athena in 11:38
This was easily the most exciting matchup on the card. “You’re both awesome” chants to start. They instantly went with a fast paced open and though not all of it came off clean, it was mostly fun. They traded forearms before Mia did the “latch onto the ropes like a spider” gimmick, only for Athena to dropkick her outside. Once there, Athena connected on three straight suicide dives. Mia came back with a stiff kick from the apron. The hits got harder once inside and Athena got two on a fisherman buster. Athena began to stretch Mia but once Mia got out, these two just beat the shit out of each other with forearms. Mia stopped it with a headbutt. Athena came close with a head and leg suplex so Mia responded with a German. After some near falls, Mia hit a package piledriver and won with a 450 splash. Easily the best match so far. They hit each other hard, brought some mat work and busted out the high risk stuff. Great stuff and the only gripe I had was some of the slip ups in the first few minutes. ***¾
Portia Perez replaced Veda Scott on commentary for this.
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament First Round: Cheerleader Melissa def. Jessica Havok in 8:10
Cheerleader Melissa is a Chickfight Tournament veteran, having competed in all of them in the past. She is also a two-time SHIMMER Champion, appeared on nearly every volume, works in Lucha Underground as Mariposa and is arguably the best American female wrestler of the past decade. Havok is pretty much a monster most known for her time in TNA. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a ton of hard hitting in this one. Melissa grounded Havok and cut her down to size, leading to some curb stomps. Havok started to fight back and get in some shots. Melissa came off the top with a missile dropkick. Melissa then pinned Havok with her feet on the ropes to steal the win. Disappointing and the first thing on the show so far that I didn’t really get interested in. I wanted them to go to war but they seemed to maybe be saving that for a future match. **¼
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament Second Round: Evie def. Nicole Savoy in 9:05
According to Prazak, both women are known for their kicking. They traded some of those early before Savoy caught Evie in the middle of a leap frog with a knee bar. It was pretty great. Evie showed off her fast paced offense before Savoy busted out a sweet suplex for two. Savoy was aggressive, choking Evie with her boot and trash talking some fans. She cut off an Evie comeback and pulled her into an armbar, which she transitioned into a crossface. Evie slipped free and hit a big kick but her next one got caught into another submission. Again, Evie got free and ended up nailing a missile dropkick to get some breathing room. She started in with the running kick spots but Savoy countered the Yakuza Kick by catching it into a suplex variation. Evie also survived a great high arching German. They battled up top where Evie got Savoy in a tree of woe position and came off with a big double stomp that got her the win. Right up there with Athena/Yim for MOTN. Savoy looked miles better here than she did in the first round. Crisp, brutal suplexes and submissions galore. Evie played the great underdog and it all just came together so well. A little more leg selling from Evie would have sent it to the next level. ***½
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament Second Round: Kay Lee Ray def. Nikki Storm in 8:28
More pre-match promo work from the “Best in the Galaxy” Nikki Storm. She also called herself the “white chocolate cheesecake of sports entertainment.” Nikki did a lot of talking after the match began too, causing a loud fan to shout “SHUT UP AND WRESTLE!” They did a handshake and Ray attacked. Storm still took control and most of the match saw her in charge. Her work there was fine but unspectacular. Kay Lee Ray eventually rallied and hit a Gory Bomb, followed by a swanton bomb to advance. This was fine, I just couldn’t get into it as much as I hoped. **½
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament Second Round: Cheerleader Melissa def. Mia Yim via disqualification in 7:46
On Volume 65, these two met in a SHIMMER Title match. Melissa retained due to Yim having an injury. I came in way excited for this. Yim can flat out go and Melissa is Melissa. Yim seemed to have the upper hand, being one step ahead of the former SHIMMER Champion. She even made Melissa take a powder but Melissa stopped a tope suicida with a shot. Melissa went to the leg and worked a submission. Mia got free but still found herself in some trouble. She started the comeback but Melissa pulled the referee into harm’s way. A ref bump in SHIMMER? I don’t know if I’ve seen that before. Jessica Havok returned and beat up Melissa. The referee saw it and called for the DQ. A massive disappointment. I’m sure these two could have a great match. Instead, we got a small tease and a shit finish. *¾
Veda Scott switched back with Portia Perez for commentary.
SHIMMER Championship: Nicole Matthews (c) def. Tomoka Nakagawa in 16:14
I love Nicole Matthews. This is part of the retirement tour for Nakagawa, who is one half of the current SHIMMER Tag Team Champions. She wants to retire with the SHIMMER titles. Matthews stalled early and killed time outside. Once things actually got going, Matthews tossed her around the ring and into the guardrails outside. The focus of her offense was on Nakagawa’s back. Matthews was great at talking smack throughout this. The Canadian Ninjas nail that usually. Nakagawa rallied and hit a suplex on the apron. She scored on a big kick but Matthews responded with a release German suplex. They began to trade forearm strikes until Nakagawa got two on a fisherman’s suplex. Matthews got two on a brainbuster so Portia Perez came out and slid a chair in the ring. Matthews tried to use the title but Nakagawa rolled her up, only for Perez to distract the referee. They again did the distraction pin spot, which allowed Nicole to use the chair and retain with the Vancouver Maneuver. If Nakagawa is retiring, couldn’t Matthews have gotten a clean win? I get that she’s a heel and the Ninjas are a team, but that killed a match that was going so well. **¾
SHIMMER Chickfight Tournament Finals: Kay Lee Ray def. Cheerleader Melissa and Evie in 12:11
Looking at the brackets, this is pretty much the finals I would have booked. Melissa is the veteran and the other two are the hungry youngsters. Things got off to an awkward start until Melissa double suplexed both opponents. As Melissa worked over both girls, Havok’s theme played to distract her. She dared Havok to show up but got nothing. It played again and Havok stood on the stage. Evie nailed her from behind, sent her into the corner and nailed the Yakuza Kick. Ray came off the top with the swanton onto both and pinned to eliminate Melissa. Ray and Evie fought around the ring. Ray leapt off of the barricade with a clothesline. Evie took a rough rana on the outside that got a near fall. Now inside, the women trade offense and move at a pretty quick pace. Evie got two on a running kick. She looked for TTYL but Kay Lee Ray countered and got two on a Gory bomb. She would go on to use a springboard dropkick and swanton bomb to win the tournament. Good final match. I wasn’t a fan of the Melissa stuff but once Evie and Ray went at it alone, they did well with the opportunity and had some fun back and forth. ***
Overall: 7/10. An overall good outing from the ladies of SHIMMER here. None of the matches overstay their welcome and having it all part of a tournament made each match feel important. I wasn’t too keen on the booking of the Melissa/Havok situation, which took up a large chunk of the show, but the work mostly overcame that. I loved the performances from Mia Yim, Athena, Evie and Nicole Savoy at points. This was an easy watch.
Dario Cueto opens the show to "Jefe" chants. It's time for Dario's Dial of Doom! The first two times we've seen this, Son of Havoc and The Mack got shots. Tonight, it lands on the first ever Lucha Underground Champion, Prince Puma! Dario says that Puma may be the first champion, but Matanza is the greatest.
Ivelisse def. Mariposa w/ Marty Martinez in 6:15
Ivelisse has an already scheduled date with Catrina at Ultima Lucha 3, so it's interesting to see what they do with her until then. She looked all kinds of amazing tonight. Ivelisse started in with the kicks but Marty tripped her to give Mariposa the upper hand. Mariposa seemingly went for a cover only to wrap up the legs in the kondo clutch. Ivelisse reached the ropes and added a slap to Marty. Marty still gets in more cheap shots behind the official's back. Ivelisse blocked the vertebreaker and scored with a code red to win. I enjoyed this but that might be because I'm a mark for both women. I'm sure they are capable of better though. **
Marty attacks Ivelisse from behind and then slammed his sister onto Ivelisse.
Dario Cueto is in his office. Johnny Mundo comes in and complains about Prince Puma getting a title shot. Mundo uses it as an excuse to show off his abs. Dario still denies his request, so Johnny asks for Sexy Star and the Gift of the Gods Title. He mentions that Sexy was on the losing side last week. Dario reminds him that it was Jack Evans that pinned Sexy, Evans will face Sexy for the title at some point.
A weird video telling us to "follow the white rabbit" is shown. It ends with "they'll be here soon."
Match Two in Best of Five: Cage (2) def. Texano (0) in 6:22
This got off to a fast start than their first encounter. Texano shouting obscenities in Spanish while diving onto Cage was pretty entertaining. Cage showed off his athleticism with a sweet tornado DDT. Texano decided to bust out ushigoroshi for a near fall and we got "this is awesome" chants. Cage got a near fall for the Alabama Slam. They continued to trade big blows until Cage nailed a dead lift suplex and F5 to take a 2-0 lead. Much better than their first outing but I'm still not really interested in this series. They worked with a purpose and it was enjoyable. Hopefully, we don't get the cliched 2-0 comeback. **3/4
Ivelisse's boyfriend Jeremiah appears to say that he was here to see her. Ivelisse says that he's late. She won but she got jumped. He freaks out and wants to get involved, but Ivelisse declines, saying that she wants to keep her personal life and career separate. It didn't work out last time. He likes to beat people up and wants to join the Temple. Oh, by the way, Jeremiah is Sami Callihan or Solomon Crowe if you only know his NXT work.
Lucha Underground Championship: Matanza Cueto (c) w/ Dario Cueto def. Prince Puma in 12:55
Though this was just randomly chosen by the wheel, this felt like a big time match. Vampiro continued to discuss Prince Puma needing to basically dig deep if he's to turn his career around. Puma started hot and even hit a shooting star press off the apron. Matanza took over and threw Puma all around the ringside area. Dario told his brother not to let up and inflict more damage. Matanza continued to dominate but Puma found the fire for a rally. In an impressive moment, Puma caught Matanza in mid-air and not only suplexed him, but deaf lifted him into a second one! Matanza nearly hit Wrath of the Gods but Puma counterd into a big DDT. Puma used kicks to knock Matanza down, perfectly in position for the 630. Puma nailed it but Mil Muertes showed up and hit him with the POUNCE...PERIOD! Dario shouted at the referee to not call a DQ. Matanza then won with a big Wrath of the Gods. Really strong match. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands and they believed that Puma would do it. The Mil Muertes run in kind of hurt it but it did advance the angle, which made sense. They had to protect both guys too. ***3/4
In the back, Killshot is working out. Joey Ryan arrives with a note. When Killshot questions who gave it to him, Joey responds with "What am I? A detective?" Great line. Killshot opens it and it says "you left me to die." It looks like one of his old military buddies is coming back.
Overall: 7/10. Lucha Underground once again delivers a good show. While the first match was disappointing, Cage and Texano did better than expected and we were treated to a great main event. I'm not interested in the arrival of Callihan but it could be an interesting storyline. The Killshot and Johnny Mundo stuff is also intriguing.
If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here with Fubo.tv!
1) AJ Styles: I really should have gone to Smackdown last week. I had a chance but decided against getting tickets and it ended up being a very good show. The main event saw AJ Styles continue his string of good to great matches. He retained the WWE Championship against Dean Ambrose in a match that wasn't as good as their Backlash encounter, but was still very strong. It was the first successful title defense for Styles, who added another notch into his "wrestler of the year" belt.
2) Bobby Lashley: So, for at least the rest of the year it seems, TNA remains a living, breathing company. Everything beyond that remains a big question mark. Their current champion, Lashley, had a great week. First, on Impact, his team defeated Team EC3 to win Lethal Lockdown. He chose a No Holds Barred stipulation for his upcoming title defense. That defense took place at Bound for Glory, where Lashley retained the TNA Heavyweight Title over Ethan Carter III with a diving spear. TNA isn't doing many things right, but Lashley has actually been pretty money lately.
3) The Broken Hardys: The Final Deletion was one of my favorite things in all of wrestling this year. The Broken Hardys vs. The Decay then proved to be my favorite match in TNA in 2016. The two teams met in THE GREAT WAR at Bound for Glory and it was easily the highlight of the show. The match delivered in exactly the way that it needed to, fitting right in with the stuff the Hardys have done in 2016 so far. They won and captured the TNA Tag Team Titles. As of right now, it is the only match in TNA that I've seen in 2016 to get at least four stars from me and you'll most likely see it on my big year end list of top matches of 2016.
4) The Young Bucks: If you know me, you know that the Young Bucks are my least favorites in wrestling. There is literally no act in the business that I dislike more than Matt and Nick Jackson. However, this list is about who had success in the week and the Bucks once again found some. They main evented ROH's All-Star Extravaganza Pay-Per-View with the Addiction and the Motor City Machine Guns in ROH's "Ladder War VI." Dave Meltzer of course compared it to the original WWE TLC matches, which I disagree with. Anyway, the Addiction were the best performers of the match, but it was the Bucks who captured ROH Tag Team Titles and ended the show on top of the tag division.
5) DJZ: Successfully defended his X Division Title twice, including against Trevor Lee at Bound for Glory.
5) Nixon Newell: First of all, I'd like to point out that several of the top women on the indies aren't on the list for certain reasons. Ivelisse isn't listed due to her past with the WWE. I don't think she'd return. Cheerleader Melissa and Madison Eagles also didn't make it because I can't see the WWE signing many women in their thirties (even if they did pick up Asuka). Tessa Blanchard would be an honorable mention. With that out of the way, things start with Nixon Newell, who has been making quite the name for herself recently. The 21 year old Welsh wrestler appeared in SHIMMER this year and has been getting rave reviews for her work despite not being very experienced. She's young, talented, cute and is oozing potential. The WWE would be dumb to not try and sign her.
4) Candice LeRae: This one seems like a foregone conclusion, though it hasn't happened yet for some reason. Candace LeRae has been one of, if not the biggest name among females on the indies for quite some time. She's seemingly been around forever, has held multiple championships and goes to war with men a lot of the time. She also happens to be the fiancee of NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano. With Gargano doing so well for the company this year, I think Candace has a really good shot. She's already just as good, if not better than most of the women currently signed to the WWE and her plucky, underdog, adorable nature could make her the straight babyface female that NXT lost when Bayley got called up.
3) Santana Garrett: Like Candace, I feel like this signing has a good chance of happening. Santana Garrett has worked several NXT matches already and she's located in NXT's home state of Florida. Santana is probably most known for a TNA run but her really impressive body of work lies elsewhere. She has competed in Shine as well as Stardom over in Japan. Mixing it up with some of the top, hard hitting women in Japan like Mayu Iwatani and Io Shiari has only helped her improve. She also has a very marketable look and could be a potential star.
2) Evie: This is a woman that I have been raving about pretty loudly for a long time now, especially this year. She competed in one of my favorite matches this year against Mayu Iwatani in Stardom back in February. Evie wrestled against Nia Jax last October and, like the rest of the girls listed here, has loads of potential. The New Zealand native has it all. The looks, ability, size and likability. If you follow her on social media, you'll see that she's very relatable and down to earth. She even took part in a recent NewLegacy Inc. stream and had a blast playing GTA5 with the guys. Evie is currently one half of the SHIMMER Tag Team Champions with Heidi Lovelace (who also almost made the list) but could do so much more if the WWE picked her up.
1) Nicole Matthews: My number one with a bullet and has been for years. I remember seeing Nicole Matthews debut on SHIMMER 15 I believe. I watched her grow and develop to not just a great performer, but arguably the best in SHIMMER. Her team with Portia Perez, the Canadian Ninjas, was always very enjoyable. She shined in singles matches with Daizee Haze early on and eventually went on to win the SHIMMER Title. There is literally nothing this woman can't do. She can cut promos in a serious or comedic vein, in the ring and she's as skilled as anyone in the ring. From Jessie McKay to Madison Eagles to Joshi women, Matthews competes with them all and always delivers. She's the closest thing to the complete package of women not currently in the WWE.
Alpha-1 Wrestling The Purge
July 3rd, 2016 | Knights of Columbus in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
This is my third review of Ethan Page’s Alpha-1 Wrestling promotion. So far, the first two shows could be described in one word: fun. The shows move along at a brisk pace, feature some intriguing storylines and you get to see a cool mix of talent. In just two shows I’ve seen Carlito, Heidi Lovelace, Shane Douglas and Michael Elgin.
The opening video and theme of the show seems to a play off of the “Purge” film franchise.
Zero Gravity Championship: Alessandro Del Bruno w/ Ms. Chung def. Mike Bailey in 12:33
“Speedball” made quite the name for himself before a visa issue caused him to not be able to work in the US for five years. Del Bruno won the title at the previous show. Quick paced start and both guys laid in the stiff kicks. The crowd was way behind “Speedball.” Del Bruno suplexed Bailey into the corner for a near fall. Bailey came back with his signature aerial offense, including a moonsault knee drop and a springboard moonsault to the outside. Bailey connected on a big spinning tornado kick and a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. He went for a shooting star press but Bruno avoided it. The offensive moves got bigger as things progressed. Del Bruno caught him with a huge kick to the head and hit a big backbreaker for two. Bailey came back with a shooting star press but Ms. Chung interfered. With there being no rules, Bruno whacked Bailey with a briefcase for the win. Fun opening contest with a lot of action. Bailey was fun and Del Bruno has consistently been one of the highlights of each Alpha-1 show I’ve seen so far. ***¼
Josh Alexander and Selezyia Sparx came out and Josh cut a quick promo about introducing chaos into every match tonight. There will be various “Virus” members around the ring and they’ll pretty much be the people introducing weapons into the matches.
Ethan Page def. Cheeseburger in 15:20
Page brought a cheeseburger to the ring and asked Cheeseburger if they were related. Cheeseburger said it was his momma but Page found a pickle! He then stomped on it! THE BASTARD! Things got weird when Page wanted to taste Cheeseburger and even went to get ketchup and mustard. Cheeseburger got in a cheap shot and things got going. He looked like he was going to go for a dive onto a seated Page outside, but instead he stopped and went for a soft cross body off the apron. Page caught Cheeseburger and sat him down. He ran around the ring to charge up but ran into a chair shot. Page turned it around and ate another cheeseburger, which could have been Cheeseburger’s uncle. Cheeseburger hit a damn palm strike into the chair into Page’s face, which was pretty cool. Page got the win shortly after with the Head Shot onto a chair. A surprising mix of comedy and hardcore. Cheeseburger looked good and credible and part of it was because of the chair, which was smart. Another fun match. ***
Alpha-1 Tag Team Championship: Theory of Evolution (c) def. Tabarnak de Team (Thomas DuBois and Mathieu St. Jacque) in 10:28
After a short feeling out process, Space Monkey entered with nun chucks! SPACE NINJA MONKEY! It does nothing though because he’s quickly stopped. Space Monkey took the heat and the challengers proved themselves to be a straight forward manly duo. He eventually made the tag to Nye, who came in hot. DuBois managed to stop him in his tracks with a big nun chuck shot. Space Monkey slide a lightsaber to Nye! It doesn’t much though since it’s plastic. Monkey sprinboarded in but got caught in a double buckle bomb. Nye took a kendo stick to the side before a sitout powerbomb but somehow kicked out. Dubois made a mistake and nailed his partner with the kendo stick before getting nailed with nun chucks. The Rocket launcher finished it. The theme continues. This was enjoyable and wacky in the best way. **¾
Dick Justice def. Danny Orlando in 3:32
Dick Justice is now just a civilian while Orlando is an officer. Orlando attacked during Dick’s entrance. Once in the ring, Orlando planted a lengthy kiss on Justice and leaped into his arms. They ended up trading gum in the exchange. They did some more comedy with Dick running the ropes to get tired. He quickly won with a black hole slam. Comedy match that didn’t really feature enough actual wrestling to get a rating. As a comedy angle it seemed to work well. The crowd enjoyed it. NR
After the match, Orlando offered a handshake. Justice shook it but Orlando attacked. He cuffed Justice to the ropes and beat him up. The referee somehow had the power to suspend Orlando.
King of Hearts Tournament Qualifying Match: Cheech, Gavin Quinn and Justin Sane def. Alex Daniels, Brent Banks and Rickey Shane Page in 9:18
The winner gets into the following month’s tournament. This started as a calm match but then they remembered the show is under “purge” rules and all hell broke loose. While Cheech and Daniels worked in the ring, the other four men paired off on the outside. I believe the Cheech team are the babyfaces and they all busted out some sweet dives. Quinn’s corkscrew moonsault was certainly a highlight. Chairs and a ladder got brought into play. It led to Page taking a tower of doom spot onto the ladder. That ladder didn’t look like it had any give. Like, it really looked painful. Everybody brought out some nice offense towards the finish before Quinn beat Banks with a short superkick. A chaotic match that picked things back up after the previous bout. It fit right into the purge theme. ***
Rickey Shane Page went nuts and beat up all five guys with various weapons. Gregory Iron has to come out and force feed RSP pills to get him to stop.
Kobe Durst def. David Starr in 12:20
Durst has arguably been the MVP of the Alpha-1 shows I’ve seen so far. Starr came out firing and hit some tope suicidas instantly. His final dive outside was less impressive though. They brawled outside a bit before taking it inside. Durst delivered a vicious sounding chop but Starr was unfazed and fired back. Starr goes to the weapons first, bringing a chair into play. He hits him in the ribs with it twice though he seemed uncomfortable with it. He then pulled a Steve Corino and applied a chinlock while sitting on the chair. Durst got hot and they went into a big exchange of forearms. Durst got two on a Fameasser onto the chair. They didn’t do a great Yoshi tonic spot. Durst nailed an elbow and step up enziguri before winning via piledriver. This was going very well but had some sloppy moments that held it back. I do feel like Durst has all the makings of a breakout star. ***
Alpha Male Championship: Heidi Lovelace (c) def. Selezyia Sparx and Veda Scott in 9:05
No offense to Kobe Durst but I take back what I said earlier. Lovelace has been the MVP recently. I also have a huge crush on Veda Scott. Sparx and Scott attacked Lovelace while she was introduced. She wrapped her legs around the ring post and bashed it with a chair. Sparx and Veda quickly turned on one another. Sparx hit a buckle bomb and Scott hit a great Russian leg sweep variation. Sparx put Lovelace in a Gory special and worked a camel clutch on Scott at the same time. She broke it up to slam Lovelace on Scott. Scott and Lovelace traded some sweet suplexes but Sparx came in and took them both over with a rather ugly double Northern lights suplex. A Virus member brought a table into play. Scott got Sparx on her shoulders but could barely hold her. Lovelace tried a super double knee drop through it but Sparx missed the table and hit her head hard. The table spot goes to Veda instead as she took a powerbomb through it for two. Veda came back and poured out thumbtacks! It backfired because Lovelace planted her with an STO onto the tacks. A senton off the top finished it off. This was on pace to be the best match of the night. Things got a little off when the weapons started coming into play and some moves didn’t come off the way they should have. It was still good and major props to Veda for the tack spot. ***¼
Josh Alexander and Kobe Durst def. Ethan Page and Scotty O’Shea in 28:09
Alexander and O’Shea had to choose mystery partners, leading to Page and Durst. Page and Alexander have a history as a tag team for years. They immediately brawled and Page whacked Durst with a keyboard. This just continued to be a war. There were ring bells bashed into private areas, a double stomp onto a table, and the inclusion of trash cans and ladders. Things finally got back to the ring and Alexander blocked Page’s Head Shot, playing off of their history. He sent Page back first onto a chair. O’Shea hit a sick Lethal Injection type move with a chair wrapped around Alexander’s head. The heels took over but O’Shea seemed to save things only to get hit with the keyboard. O’Shea took a DVD through a table but Page broke up the pin. Page and Alexander went at it, again showing how well they know each other. Page back body dropped him onto two open chairs to win that exchange. Durst got involved with a ladder, but took a fall away slam through it in the corner! The carnage continued and two tables got set up in the ring. Durst got up on one with a fallen O’Shea. Page came off the top with the Head Shot and they went through the second table. Alexander then hit O’Shea with a moonsault but the table didn’t break. Page and Alexander ended up trading blows and Alexander had it won. He brought in a Virus member. It is revealed to be Page’s friend, Joey Kings. He elbows Page and Alexander wins with the tombstone. A wild war that fit the billing of the main event of a show like this. I do think it went a bit too long, clocking in at nearly a half hour. ***
The beating continued after the bell. Space Monkey, Heidi Lovelace and other faces came down but also got beat up. Lovelace got powerbombed onto O’Shea on a table. Page got on the microphone and wanted to fight but knew he was outnumbered. He challenged Kings to a match at the show in August. He also announced that he is bringing in Matt Riddle to face Alexander because Virus will not win this war.
Overall: 7/10. From a match rating standpoint, this would probably be a bit below the other Alpha-1 shows I watched. However, I have to commend it for again being an easy watch and for being just a fun show. The purge idea is really cool, though the weapons in matches did become a bit diminished over time. However, the story advancement and angle work continues to be a highlight. I’m three shows in and I’m very invested in the Virus storyline, I pull for Lovelace each time out, Del Bruno continues to deliver, etc.
it's time for another episode of Lucha Underground.
Sexy Star is shown in the locker room. Dario Cueto comes up to her to tell her that her friend The Mack is hurt after Matanza took him out. He says that she can keep defending her title and maybe lose it or prove she isn't scared and actually face Matanza. Tonight, she won't be defending it because she'll be teaming with the Trios Championship against Worldwide Underground in an Atomicos Match! Sexy looked all kinds of great here. Johnny Mundo shows up looking for Taya. He says that he's never formally introduced himself to Sexy. He offers a hand and she shakes it. He pulls her in and says that he's the next Gift of the Gods Champion.
Prince Puma def. Siniestro de la Muerte in 4:48
Puma sported the darker colors tonight. They started with a slugfest, which worked since the point of the match was to show that Puma could get serious in his feud with Mil Muertes. Mil came down towards the end and nearly got involved but Puma stopped him. He hit a spinning Michinoku Driver and won with Mil's Flatliner finisher. This was a fun little match that accomplished what it set out to do. **1/2
Prince Puma wasn't done there, diving out onto Mil Muertes and going at it with him. Muertes sent him inside before Catrina took him to the back.
Cortez Castro comes into Dario's office. Dario hugs him and apologizes for the loss of Mr. Cisco, saying he wants to bring the killer to justice. He even brings up that it could have been Big Ryck.
Pentagon Dark def. Cortez Castro in 1:07
Casto came right out of Dario's office. Well, you can tell Dario knows about Cortez since he booked him against Pentagon. Cortez started hot but was quickly overwhelmed by Pentagon. Pentagon continually stared a hole through Vampiro. He won with the Package Piledriver. Not really anything to rate, but this accomplished a fair amount, moving forward Pentagon/Vampiro and Dario/Cortez.
Pentagon Dark proceeded to break Cortez's arm. He then got on the microphone and said that he doesn't care who wins the main event. In the ring, he doesn't even respect his mother. Cero fucking Miedo.
Atomicos Match: Worldwide Underground def. Aerostar, Drago, Fenix and Sexy Star in 8:50
It'll be interesting to see if Jack Evans continues his attitude from the last time these teams got involved. Taya started with Sexy. Lots of fast paced stuff between them and everyone else who gets involve.d Mundo really seemed to be taking on the "leader" role of the group. We thought Fenix got a hot tag but he ran right into a superkick from Johnny. Taya really connected on a shot to Sexy and her nose got busted. The Trios Champions busted out a cool sequence that included a springboard 450 by Fenix but the pin was broken up. Fenix got Johnny back with a superkick before diving outside onto his partner and PJ Black. This was followed by a few really awkward sequences involving Sexy Star. Evans beat Sexy with a backslide. Fun match but it had too many flubs and odd moments to be really good. Strange to have Evans pin Sexy. ***
Taya seemed to mess up her leg at one point and needed to be helped to the back.
Cartina, Mil Muertes and Siniestro de la Muerte are in some dark room. Catrina says that Siniestro failed them for the last time. She snaps his neck and sucks his soul out. GODDAMN! She wants Mil to do the same to Prince Puma.
Dragon Azteca Jr. def. Chavo Guerrero in 7:05
Rey Mysterio Jr. was the special guest referee. This match turned out to be the first bad one in the short career of Azteca. It was boring and featured way too much from Chavo. At this point in his career, Chavo doesn't bring much besides the Guerrero name to the table. He controlled a lot of this and made for a dull atmosphere. Chavo argued with Rey and attacked him, so Rey hit back. Azteca won with a rana. This did nothing for Azteca. He looked like he got lucky and won a shitty, boring match. Rey hit Chavo with a post-match 619. *
Black Lotus was shown for the first time this season. She lit some candles and is sending the Black Lotus tribe to get Pentagon Dark.
Overall: 6/10. Not a very fun or important episode. The Atomicos match was fun and I liked the angle advancement of the Puma match. However, the main event sucked ass and was one of the worst matches in LU since Demon Jr./Texano at Ultima Lucha. The stuff involving Pentagon, as well as the Catrina stuff was alright too.
If you do want to check out Lucha Underground, which you absolutely should, and don't get El Rey Network (like me), you can sign up for the streaming service Fubo.TV. It's a great way to support the company and channel while streaming the show online. You can sign up and get Lucha Underground right here using Fubo.tv!
1) Tetsuya Naito: There were a lot of shows this week, but Tetsuya Naito is a clear-cut winner here. His match against MIchael Elgin at Destruction in Kobe was the best of the week and another feather in the cap of the guy that I think makes the best argument against AJ Styles for wrestler of the year. Naito's win earned him his first ever IWGP Intercontinental Title. That would be enough to put him first but the win was more than that. It made Naito the first Grand Slam winner in NJPW. He has held the IWGP Tag Team, Heavyweight, Intercontinental and NEVER Openweight Championships, to go along with G1 Climax and New Japan Cup victories. Naito is easily the MVP of NJPW this year and this proved it again.
2) Roman Reigns: Roman Reigns is consistently a guy having very good to great matches for the most part. His character is just so bad and unlikable that mysel and many others just can't get behind him. This week, he didn't put on some of his best matches but he did rack up two major wins. First, in the main event of Raw, he defeated the WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens in a Steel Cage match. Then, at Clash of Champions, he bested Rusev to win his first WWE United States Championship. Though it is a midcard title, Reigns is still seen as one of, if not the top guy on Raw and his run as champion will most likely see the title be held in higher regard.
3) The New Day: I like the New Day. I really do. I disagree with the decision to have them retain at Clash of Champions though. It's about time Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson become champions. Either way though, the New Day retained their Tag Team Titles at the PPV in the best match they've had against Gallows and Anderson so far. The win marks a milestone for the team as they surpassed 399 days as champions and crossed into the 400 day section. It's nearly uncharted territory as they join only Demolition as 400+ day champions and now have less than 80 days remaining until they can break the all-time record.
4) Kevin Owens: Yes, he lost in the Steel Cage match main event of Monday Night Raw to Roman Reigns. Yes, his first Pay-Per-View main event match turned out to be very disappointing. Still, Kevin Owens did successfully defend his WWE Universal Championship in the Clash of Champions main event against former two-time WWE Champion Seth Rollins. The match was kind of an overbooked mess but it showed that the company had some faith in Owens to carry the title for more than just a few weeks. A win over Roman Reigns on Monday and a better match with Rollins would have certainly placed Owens higher.
5) TJ Perkins: Successfully made his first defense of the Cruiserweight Championship against The Brian Kendrick at Clash of Champions.
WWE Clash of Champions
September 25th, 2016 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
On the Kickoff Show, Alicia Fox went one on one with Nia Jax. This went exactly the way you’d expect. Nia dominated, while Alicia got in some hope spots. The crowd doesn’t care about Alicia though, so their reactions for all of it wasn’t very strong. Alicia looked way sloppy at times. Nia got the win in 4:54 (*).
Raw Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) def. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows in 6:43
This feud has been pretty terrible and their match at SummerSlam sucked. However, they came out firing here. Anderson and Gallows took out Woods and Big E quickly, allowing them to isolate Kingston. It was a sound strategy for the heel team. The camera missed Gallows taking out Francheska, which got heat from the live crowd. They worked at a quick pace and the challengers really held serve. Woods nailed Anderson with the trombone, which allowed Kofi and Big E to hit their finish and retain. Easily their best work together so far, but it came off weird. The heels dominated, yet still couldn’t beat New Day and feel like a joke after all these months. Strange booking decision. **¾
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: TJ Perkins (c) def. The Brian Kendrick in 10:31
TJ Perkins now has a video game inspired theme and tron that feels straight out of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and I love it. They went overboard with the presentation, changing the ropes and lighting to purple and having the word “cruiserweight’ on the screens in the arena. The match itself was good, but never quite got to the level I was hoping for. Kendrick pulled out all of his wily, angry veteran stuff. He used the ring skirt to his advantage and was a bully at times. There were a few sloppy moments throughout as they’re clearly not used to working one another. Another reason I would have gone with Metalik/Perkins in a finals rematch here. TJ missed a 450 but escaped Kendrick’s submission and went for the knee bar. Kendrick escaped and tried his again, only for TJ to get out, hit the pop-up kick and win with the knee bar. A good match but I was really hoping for more. The final stretch was the best part by a lot. ***¼
After the match, Perkins and Kendrick shook hands and hugged, only for Kendrick to headbutt him.
Match Seven in Best of Seven Series: Cesaro [3] vs. Sheamus [3] went to a no contest at 16:37
I feel like this series has produced five (we didn’t see one) damn good matches, but the predictable 0-3 comeback to force a final match is too cliché for my taste. It looked like these guys saved their best for last. Sheamus stopped a hot Cesaro by going after the back that he’s worked on all series long. Cesaro decided to bust out wacky spots as he did a 619 after his uppercut train. They called back to previous matches before a really scary moment came when Cesaro landed on his head on a tope suicida. Cesaro was somehow okay and the match continued at an insane pace. This was on track to easily be the match of the night and the best on the Raw brand since the draft. Unfortunately, Cesaro clotheslined Sheamus into the crowd and the referee called for the match to stop due to their conditions. The only thing that makes up for this finish would be if Sheamus and Cesaro become a team and get a Tag Team Title shot out of this. Even so, it’s tough to stomach because they had two matches, THEN announced the best of seven and we didn’t get a conclusion. It seemed like we were going to get something truly special before the finish. ***¾
Chris Jericho def. Sami Zayn in 15:20
A PPV match between these two is something that I pretty much always wanted. Like a lot of stuff the Raw brand does though, the build to this has been lackluster. It felt like the company forgot they had these guys and decided to put them in a match because of the Kevin Owens connection. I’d also like it if Sami’s character could step away from the Owens connection for a while. Anyway, this was solid but again, didn’t quite live up to the potential. Neither guy seemed to be on their game and there were some blown spots, including Sami missing the moonsault off the guardrail and a badly done tornado DDT. I was surprised with the result because Sami could have used the win more here. Jericho won with the Codebreaker in a match that just never clicked like it should have, but still managed to be pretty good. ***
Raw Women’s Championship: Charlotte (c) w/ Dana Brooke def. Bayley and Sasha Banks in 15:25
You know, this could have been a special match with the right build. Instead, it feels rushed and thrown together. Both faces went after Charlotte early, which led to the typical challengers fighting amongst themselves story. Dana got involved and Michael Cole mentioned that there are no disqualifications. So why wouldn’t she just never stop interfering? Damn logic. Charlotte removed Sasha’s rib tape and focused on the back. The women did some good spots but a few came off rough. Dana prevented Sasha from winning a few times. They did a convoluted finish where Charlotte hit Bayley into Sasha, who was awkwardly being held by Dana. With Sasha out, Charlotte hit Bayley with a big boot and retained. Charlotte’s reign of boredom and terror continues. The writers seem to have no clue what they have in Bayley. She feels like just another girl on the roster and the third wheel here. It’s so bad. If the WWE really thinks that the payoff to Charlotte’s reign should be Dana vs. Charlotte, they are poorly mistaken. Especially since they haven’t even made viewers feel sympathetic for Dana. ***
WWE United States Championship: Roman Reigns def. Rusev (c) w/ Lana in 17:07
I still don’t understand why I’m supposed to cheer for Roman Reigns in this match. Rusev was showing the world how much he loved Lana and Reigns came out to ruin a nice moment and make bad jokes. Reigns is good in the ring, but his character is just so shitty. This match went exactly the way you’d expect. Reigns started hot before Rusev took over and worked his heat segment. It went a bit too long. Lana interfered and instead of disqualifying her, she got ejected. Reigns powered out of the Accolade and hit the Spear out of nowhere to win the title. Both men are capable of more, but the Reigns formula is getting tiresome. This does keep him out of the Universal Title picture but if they don’t do something about his character, it’s never going to work. A disappointment of a match. **¾
WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens (c) def. Seth Rollins in 25:06
Oh man. This was a wreck. Just for a comparison, the Backlash main event saw Styles and Ambrose have an awesome match with one moment of shenanigans at the end. This was going alright and then we got shenanigans. It was even worse because the story around this match is shitty, so the shenanigans involved are gonna be shitty. These two seem to be fighting more for Triple H’s affection than for the Universal Title. Triple H showed up to screw Rollins and disappeared, while Stephanie knows nothing and Foley is just there being a tool. Why should I care about the match when it is the Authority who dictates the champion (Rollins, Orton, Owens, Sheamus, etc.)? The crowd was quiet for most of this match, as if they were waiting for the run-ins. They barely popped for an announce table spot (which was lifted directly from the throwaway Wyatt/Kane match at Backlash). They did finally react to a Seth crotch chop and counting for a Seth pin after a ref bump. Jericho got involved but Seth mostly bested him. After an eternity, Stephanie finally brought out a new referee and Owens hit the Popup Powerbomb to retain. I wanted to like it because I’ve seen these two have awesome matches in the past. But this wasn’t a match. It was 20 minutes of killing time until we could get to the overbooking. A massive disappointment. **
Overall: 5/10. A middle of the pack show. A lot of the matches were solid, but the booking decisions baffled at times. While Backlash delivered on wise decisions, Raw got lost. Anderson & Gallows feel lost, the cruiserweight stuff is just kind of there right now and they’re clueless about Bayley. Zayn/Jericho, Rusev/Reigns, Sasha/Bayley/Charlotte and Owens/Rollins all heavily disappointed. Sheamus/Cesaro was MOTN but that got bogged down by a bad finish. There was potential here, but it never lived up to it.
While I don’t think the Raw women’s division has been properly handled, I do have to commend them for the work done with Nia Jax. Her squash matches have been entertaining and, while the Alicia Fox stuff came up strangely, the story of Alicia’s random friend getting destroyed by Nia was at least different. Alicia got murdered herself recently by Nia and I think this goes similarly, with Alicia getting in some offense this time. Nia wins for obvious reasons and I suspect she moves into a rivalry with Paige once she returns from suspension.
Winner: Nia Jax
I have not enjoyed the way this series has been booked. Granted, all of the matches have been good since these two can seemingly have good matches with each other in their sleep. I’m just not a fan of the cheesy, cliche 0-3 comeback. It’s been done before and just doesn’t entice me. I get the idea behind it but it’s not my cup of tea. Cesaro has taken a massive beating throughout this and a loss here would be crushing for a lot of fans. While I could see it happening, I think Cesaro gets the win. If the prize is a Universal Title shot, Cesaro vs. Owens could be a good one-off program for Owens and the title.
Winner: Cesaro
Thank goodness Sami Zayn is back to doing something of relevance. After his MOTY candidate at Battleground where he beat Kevin Owens, being placed in a throwaway pre-show tag match at SummerSlam was a disgrace. Working with Chris Jericho is still a big deal and this is a candidate to potentially steal the show. While the feud itself hasn’t been top notch, the match should absolutely deliver. I think that Sami should win here to set up something for him in the coming months. If Rusev keeps the US Title, I would love to see Sami be the guy to eventually take the title off of him. Expect a great match here.
Winner: Sami Zayn
This is, hands down, the match I’m most excited for. TJ Perkins is one of my favorite wrestlers in the world and his run through the Cruiserweight Classic was all sorts of awesome. The Brian Kendrick is also a guy I like and his new aggressive style is a pleasure to watch. This should be a very interesting contest. Kendrick could win to put the title on a known entity, but I don’t think they’d have Perkins win the CWC just to drop the title in his first main roster match. I believe they’re gonna go the route of Kendrick losing here and then playing the pissed off, grizzled veteran who has to claw his way back to the top. While he does that, Perkins can have some other fun title defenses (Metalik, Alexander, etc.).
Winner: TJ Perkins
When Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came to the WWE, I had high hopes for this rivalry. The hottest tag team in the WWE in a long, long time against the top tag team from NJPW. However, it has been a massive disappointment. The feud has consisted of a lot of bad jokes, lackluster promos and mostly dull matches. I expected them to do the change at SummerSlam, but since they didn’t, I think it happens here. New Day got past the one year mark and it’s time to make the change. Plus, the Tag Titles eventually moving to Enzo and Cass is the right move, so having Gallows and Anderson as the heel team for them to dethrone is a much better option.
Winners: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
The Raw women’s division has the big names, but it isn’t booked nearly as well as Smackdown. I’m the biggest Sasha Banks fan you’ll find and I really like Bayley, but I’m way more invested and interested in Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch. This just feels really thrown together. It’s like, they brought up Bayley to replace Sasha since she was hurt, but she returned earlier than expected and now it’s kind of a mess. The match itself should be good, but the story being told leading up to it has severely lacked. The smart thing to do would be to put the Women’s Title back on Sasha Banks. It makes sense since her title win felt earned and it was ripped away from her due to injury. However, this is Raw and Charlotte seems destined to hold the title forever, no matter how bland or boring it is. Charlotte will retain here and most likely pin Bayley to keep her insane singles PPV record intact.
Winner: Charlotte
I honestly can’t really see Roman Reigns holding anything less than the Universal Title. But, considering how he’s been consistently placed above the Universal Title, I don’t think it matters. Part of me thinks he won’t be United States Champion, but a bigger part of me can’t envision a world where Rusev beats Reigns on a Pay-Per-View. Reigns will win this to prove his dominance. It’ll make Raw book the US Title like it’s important for a short while. Maybe he drops it by getting screwed or something like that. I don’t know and honestly, I don’t care. Rusev is easily one of the highlights on Raw but what can you do?
Winner: Roman Reigns
Here is an interesting matchup. Seth Rollins has been the top heel for about two years right now and Kevin Owens is quickly becoming the new top heel on Raw. Seth has sort of transitioned into a babyface, but not quite fully. The fans are probably going to be very split, since both guys are still very popular among most chunks of fans. Unfortunately, this doesn’t even feel like the most important match on the card. They still feel like they’re behind Roman Reigns on the totem pole and it has hurt some of my interest in the match. Seth has been losing big matches left and right since returning, which ir probably going to be the catalyst for Triple H choosing a new guy. Owens should retain here to further that story.
Winner: Kevin Owens
2016 Prediction Record: 47-25
2015 Prediction Record: 60-35
