Smackdown 4/16/15 Review

Smackdown kicks off with John Cena cutting his usual promo where he hypes the city they are in, promotes his Chain match and issues the open challenge. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro come out to say they are the best champions in all of WWE and that everyone wants Cena to retire. They add in their trademark "FACT" to this, making it a very fun promo. Daniel Bryan now comes out because he doesn't think Kidd and Cesaro are the greatest champions today. This leads to a tag team challenge for Bryan and Cena to take on Kidd and Cesaro. It's accepted and we got a match. You know, it's a formula we've seen used a bunch but dammit if it isn't better than the Authority talking for 20 minutes.This only went about ten minutes and sets up what should be a good match.

So, you know what WWE's favorite thing to do with Bray Wyatt is between programs? The answer is to squash R-Truth. Seriously, when he has no feud, he does this. I swear I've seen it about five times in the past year. We move to clips of Naomi's heel turn and then Roman Reigns' most recent sitdown interview. Miz is in the ring next to cut a promo about Damien Mizdow getting lucky on Raw. Bad News Barrett interrupts to a massive pop and plays the face. Miz gets hit with the Bull Hammer and Barrett wins in about thirty seconds. Shouldn't be have some interaction with Daniel Bryan considering they're about to work a PPV together? Also, this did nothing at all for Miz. A recap is shown of the Seth Rollins/Randy Orton/Kane stuff from Raw. You know, where the WWE Champion looked like a total bitch.

Renee Young interviews Damien MIzdow and Summer Rae until Miz cuts in. They are having a match on Raw where the winner gets the Miz Brand. Sheamus is out to run down his opponent for tonight, Neville. Sheamus seems to be enjoying his role of the bully and this was a good match. Neville even did his second rope Phoenix Splash. He won via DQ when Sheamus slammed him on the announce table. I'm glad Neville didn't have to get pinned here. Dolph Ziggler showed up and called Sheamus a bully, leading to a match being made for Extreme Rules. Sheamus vs. Ziggler in a "Kiss Me Arse" match. Do I even need to discuss how bad of an idea this is? They took what should be a really good match and gave it a really stupid stipulation.

Next up we have New Day vs. Los Matadores and the crowd still dislikes New Day. They try to cram a lot into a short time, which hurt this. New Day wins cleanly, ho-hum. We see clips of Fandango dumping Rosa Mendes on Raw, and he officially does it backstage now. Adam Rose comforts her. Ugh, Big Show is now out for a promo. As much as I don't want him around, he is usually solid on promos. Not tonight though. This was boring as hell though the Last Man Standing stipulation has potential to not totally suck. Moving on, we get a Triple Threat Divas match between Alicia Fox, Cameron and Natalya. They all get jobber entrances, which I still don't understand since they wasted so much time on recaps and matches have been short. Cameron sneaks in and wins, which I don't get. Granted, she's a good heel, but Alicia still has a lot to offer the Divas division and should have won.

So Adam Rose and Fandango wrestle next, which brings out Rosa Mendes. She distracts Fandango, only to distract Rose later by telling him not to hurt Fandango. Fandango wins and Rosa is awful in everything that she does. Whatever. Bray Wyatt cuts a promo backstage about his next victim, but we still don't know who it is. I've heard rumors about Randy Orton, which I'd be cool with. Main event time as the Tag Champions face Bryan and Cena. I enjoyed this but thought it was a bit disappointing. It could be due to Bryan working hurt. The faces win and I don't mind the Tag Champs losing to two guys of Cena and Bryan's caliber, but that awful handicap match loss on Monday makes this hurt a bit more. Why should I take them seriously if they can't even beat one guy alone? And what does that make the rest of the tag division look like? Not a very good Smackdown. Two good matches and nothing else. 4/10.

Top 10 Favorite WWE Divas Matches

So I've been slacking on my top ten lists but I figured this one would be as good as any to do a new one. This focuses on the top ten WWE Divas matches. I've seen some great women's matches outside of the WWE, but I wanted to focus on strictly WWE here. An honorable mention goes out to the Divas Tables match from TLC 2010 and some of the Trish/Lita matches, including the time they main evented Raw. Let's get into this.

10) Trish Stratus vs. Stephanie McMahon; No Way Out 2001 - Here we have a very interesting pick. This is no wrestling classic just a straight up fight. At this point, Stephanie McMahon and Trish Startus weren't good workers and barely had done any real matches to this point. However, they went out and just beat each other up. They knew they couldn't work a pure wrestling match, so they threw that out the window and had one of the most entertaining fights I have ever seen.

9) Lita vs. Victoria: Raw; Steel Cage - I can't recall many Divas Steel Cage matches. Hell, this is the only one I can even remember. It may not be heralded as a classic to a lot of people but I always remember enjoying it. Lita and Victoria were easily two of the best girls that the company has ever seen and giving them a Steel Cage allowed them to do more than usual. They would go on to have better matches with other Divas but this was their best bout together in my eyes.

8) NXT Women's Championship FInals: Paige vs. Emma - The NXT Women's division has become one of the very best things going on in all of the WWE and you will see it again more than once on this list. However, this is where it all started. The Tournament to crown the first ever NXT Women's Champion ended with a classic between Paige and Emma. Paige won an emotional battle to be crowned as the first ever champion. These two would have another really good match at the first ever NXT Special but this was their best encounter. To this day, they still have great chemistry but you should really go find this match.

7) I Quit Match: Beth Phoenix vs. Melina; One Night Stand 2008 - Look at that picture. Seriously, just look at it. I'm one who has always found Melina to be pretty overrated but this was her finest hour. Her stuff with Beth Phoenix was almost always good though they took it to the next level on this night. Their I Quit match featured Melina fighting as the resilient underdog, only to succumb to this sick submission by Beth. Melina's flexibility made her the perfect opponent for Beth to bend and twist.

6) WWE Divas Championship: Kaitlyn (c) vs. AJ Lee; Payback 2013 - Before the arrival of Paige, AJ Lee and Kaitlyn were my favorite Divas. They stood out during the awesome third season of NXT and, even though AJ was eliminated before the finals, she found her way to the main roster. Kaitlyn would be the first to win the Divas Title and that set up this match. Some of their others weren't great but everything clicked on this match. It remains the best match either girl has ever put on in my mind. AJ won to accomplish her dream of winning the Divas Title, kickstarting a 295 day reign on top.

5) WWE Women's Championshp: Lita (c) vs. Trish Stratus; Unforgiven 2006 - It's the greatest rivalry in Divas history. Hell, it's one of the greatest rivalries in WWE history period. These two women changed the game, showing that women can be a focal point of the company. Each were more popular than some of the top guys at points. They've had many great matches but I went with the last one. The emotional impact of knowing that it was Trish's last match, in her hometown gave this a little extra something. Trish winning her record seventh Women's Title with a fucking Sharpshooter was the absolute icing on the cake.

4) WWE Women's Championship: Trish Stratus (c) vs. Victoria; Survivor Series 2002 - People can try to diminish Trish Stratus' run all they want, but the girl did a lot. Yea, she wasn't the greatest ring general and hell, looking back, even this match had a few more slip ups than I remember but this was a big deal. Victoria absolutely rocked Trish with a chair shot to the skull in the build up, unheard of for the women of WWE. They went out in Madison Square Garden and beat the shit out of each other with weapons. They tried a bunch of innovative stuff and I can always go back to watch this and enjoy it. It also gets points for being Victoria's first Women's Title win.

3) NXT Women's Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks; R-Evolution - I gave this show a perfect 10/10 score and these girls are a major part of the reason why. Sasha Banks has quickly become one of my two favorite girls in the world and is arguably the best all around female performer in the WWE. Charlotte is someone I'm less fond of but she is excellent. These two were given time, told a great story and had the best women's match I had seen in years. NXT changed the game when it comes to women's wrestling, with this being one of the reasons why. Charlotte retained with a super Natural Selection in a classic.

2) WWE Women's Championship: Trish Stratus (c) vs. Mickie James; WrestleMania 22 - Make no mistake about it, while Trish and Lita had the best rivalry in Divas history, Trish and Mickie had the best storyline ever. The fact that Mickie debuted as Trish's super fan the previous year, only to get more and more crazed over the months and it all built to a WrestleMania match was brilliant. They went out and had the best Divas match in WrestleMania history. The crowd was red hot for Mickie, she played up the psycho role to perfection and the focus on Trish's leg was masterful. It is my favorite match in the career of either girl.

1) NXT Women's Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks; Rival -  I told you that NXT changed the game. I thought that they couldn't top what they did at R-Evolution but adding in Becky Lynch and the always excellent Bayley took this over the top. Since it aired, I have watched this match maybe four or five times and never get bored. The action just never stops. Becky got to look incredible, while Bayley had the crowd behind her. Sasha was her usual great self and, although Charlotte did less than the other girls, I think it was deliberate to allow other girls to shine since she dominated for months. Sasha Banks winning was the icing on the cake as it was a feel good moment for me that I loved.

Raw London 4/13/14 Review

For the first time in I don't know how long, we get a match in the first ten minutes of Raw. John Cena came out and did his weekly promo about how hot the crowd was before offering his open challenge. The UK crowd popped incredibly hard for the arrival of Bad News Barrett. Man, I was really hoping it would be Adrian Neville but damn good. The fans treat Barrett like he's a mega star, which of course he isn't. The top contender for the Intercontinental Title put up a good fight here but took the loss. I get that he wasn't going to win but this should have ended via DQ or at least been against someone else. Barrett, with a title shot on the horizon, should not be losing. He lost a ton as champion so I guess they figured he should lose a bunch while challenger too. The other gripe I had with this was that Barrett kicked out of the AA. That has become the least effective finisher in wrestling. It always brings a near fall, making the false finishes less impressive. Rusev appeared post match and took out Cena with a chain, making their match at Extreme Rules a Russian Chain match.

Next, we have the Number One Contender's Battle Royal for the Divas Championship. This was typical Divas battle royal fare as not much happened and the eliminations were sloppy. Throw in the fact that Rosa Mendes actually eliminated two girls and this gets a poor rating from me. It comes down to Paige and Naomi, and the crowd celebrates hard for Paige's win. They stay with her after the commercial for an interview, only for Naomi to attack. It was a good looking beatdown and I hope that heel Naomi is better than face Naomi. I assume we get a Triple Threat at Extreme Rules, especially with Paige going to film a movie. Moving on, Bray Wyatt cuts a promo about being the new Face of Fear. But dude...you lost at WrestleMania. How can you be the new Face of Fear? I'm sure he'll lose his next feud too. Tag team wrestling follows as the Lucha Dragons defeat the Ascension. It was decent and I liked the booking since they've worked together before and know how to work each other. The Ascension get the jobber entrance because fuck them apparently. Now we go to the worst segment of the show so far as it is time for Roman Reigns interview time. The crowd is pretty anti-Reigns, chanting "Thank you Big Show" and "Suplex City". Big Show talks smack from the titantron before appearing on stage as Reigns goes to leave. He beats up Roman and chokeslams him onto a car that set up by the entrance. We have to see this shit match again?

To find out the stipulation for the WWE Title match at Extreme Rules we have two matches. First, Randy Orton takes on Cesaro. Here is what should be wise booking. Cesaro can be counted on for a great match an Orton can beat him since he's a tag guy now. That's fine, easy and simple booking. So of course, that doesn't happen. Instead, we get a false disqualification so Kane makes it a handicap match and Orton goes over the Tag Team Champions. Clean. By himself. Seriously? You could have just kept it as Orton/Cesaro and it would have made sense. Why should anyone care for the tag division if one man can beat the top team? This was fucking stupid. In the following segment, Dean Ambrose returned from Luke Harper attacks and beat Adam Rose. Not much to see here.

We're about to move through things in rapid fire. Stardust faces Fandango for no reason. Total filler match. Stardust wins, and then Fandango dumps Rosa Mendes...I think. His old theme plays and he dances for the fans. As much as I prefer old Fandango...he won more like this. Seth Rollins was supposed to face Dolph Ziggler for his stipulation choice but is facing Kane instead so Kane can lay down and do the job. Daniel Bryan appears backstage to tell Kane that it's a bad move. So the match happens and Kane doesn't want to job so he chokeslams Rollins and drapes his arm over him for the win. Awful booking again. Fuck Kane at this point. Why not have him not want to get pinned, then have J&J hit Seth and cause the DQ? Instead you make your champ look like a bitch. Damien Mizdow beats Miz with a rollup in like a minute. Whatever. Sandow had Summer Rae with him. In another very short match, Ryback beats Luke Harper via DQ leading into Harper and Ambrose getting into a big fight. The Prime Time Players also dissed Los Matadores backstage. Naomi cuts a heel promo backstage too. Told you this was rapid fire. Finally, something good comes as Ziggler came out to call Kane a bitch and issue an open challenge. Neville answered and this about to be good. It wasn't "must see" as people claimed but it was really good. Neville busted out a fucking 450 splash from the guardrail. Ziggler won, which I didn't mind but I think Neville needed just a bit more. He's now lost two relatively high profile matches but can beat Curtis Axel. At least he's not just working jobbers and has already main evented a Raw. Sheamus attacks post match because he's kind of a dick.

Our closing segment focused on the WWE World Heavyweight Title which is always good. Seth Rollins came out and sat in a chair, even having little chairs for J&J Security. They go back and forth before Seth chooses his stipulation as having the RKO banned. Orton combats that with a Steel Cage match to cut off the Authority. the WWE hasn't had a great Steel Cage match in a long time, so I really hope that this one takes it to the next level. i have faith in these two. With the show over, I realize that the WWE is hit or miss with their UK shows. A few years ago they had the Shield/Undertaker stuff that was great but tonight wasn't very good. The opener and Neville/Ziggler match were both good but having the Tag Champions lose and the top contender for the IC Title lose was strange booking. Add in the WWE Champion looking like a bitch and the ridiculous amounts of fluff and filler and this wasn't a very good episode. 3/10.

Fave Five 4/6/15-4/12/15

1) The Kimber Bombs: The team of Kimber Lee and Cherry Bomb has been making waves lately. At Shine 25 about a month ago, the Kimber Bombs captured the Shine Tag Team Titles, becoming the third team in history to hold the titles. That's impressive, but they're here this week for adding the SHIMMER Tag Team Titles. SHIMMER is a promotion that I love dearly. Unfortunately, I've missed more of their shows recently than I care to count but I've been catching up. Not only are the Kimber Bombs a team with great chemistry, but their win was extra significant. The team they overthrew, the Global Green Gangsters of Tomoko Nakagawa and Kellie Skater, were the longest reigning champions in history at 727 days. The Kimber Bombs would add to their week by successfully defending the belts against Courtney Rush and Xandra Bale, as well as Team Slap Happy. A great week for a great team.

2) Nicole Matthews: As I mentioned, I am a pretty big fan of SHIMMER Women's Athletes. I've watched them since the early single digit volumes they produced. Around SHIMMER 14 or 15 I believe, Nicole Matthews came into play. I watched her develop into my absolute favorite girl in all of women's wrestling. When I read that she won the SHIMMER Title a while back, I was elated. At SHIMMER 72 and 73, she had to big title defenses to make. On the first, she retained the gold against Kay Lee Ray and then she retained against Havok. Then, on SHIMMER 74, she also retained against former champion and another of my favorites, Madison Eagles. Some people had successful title defenses this week, but only Matthews had three.

3) Prince Puma: Speaking of champions with successful title defenses this week, we move to Prince Puma. He has been excellent as the reigning and defending Lucha Underground champion. Hell, he's been excellent in Lucha Underground period. This week, he took on one of the other top guys in LU, King Cuerno. Cuerno would probably be in my top five guys in Lucha Underground as he has impressed me greatly. Puma won though, continuing to solidify his spot as THE MAN in the promotion. Not only every title defense, but nearly every single match he has is good to great. Whether it is stuff against Cuerno, Johnny Mundo or Cage, he can work different styles and work them very well.

4) Kurt Angle: While I'm not a fan of Kurt Angle as TNA World Champ, he has to be here. I've said it before and I'll say it again, TNA does an extremely good job of having their champions consistently defend the titles. Since winning the World Title four weeks ago, Angle already has two televised defenses. This week, he was set to face Lashley again after their controversial end last week, but Eric Young got involved. Playing the fighting champion role, Angle decided to put the strap on the line against both men. Their match was pretty good and, of course, Angle retained. I think he's set to move into a program with Eric Young, which is fine as long as EY doesn't take the belt. That's for EC3 to do. At least I hope that's the case.

5) Hideo Itami: I know that technically this week's NXT was stuff from before WrestleMania but TNA is also pre-recorded so whatever. This week's episode could have been called the "Hideo Itami Power Hour". Competing in the Tournament during WrestleMania Axxess to earn a spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, Itami defeated former NXT Champion Adrian Neville and his sometimes tag team partner, Finn Balor. Both of those matches were really strong but then the show got taken to another level. Viewers were treated to an excellent mini documentary on Itami. We saw the day he signed, his early NXT stuff, him hitting the GTS in San Jose and his day at WrestleMania. It was an emotional story and one that really highlighted Itami well. It made me like him even more.

Impact 4/10/15 Review

Last night's Impact was a "Live Twitter" edition as tweets appeared on screen all night. Kurt Angle opened the show due to the controversy from last week's main event. He brings out Lashley and they both agree that Lashley's shoulder was up when he was counted out. Must have been an NCAA referee or MLB umpire. Angle will Lashley another shot but out comes Eric Young, who is number one in the rankings. I still really like that there's a ranking system. Young nailed his promo here as he fits the loose cannon type role that he's in. He gets into it with Lashley but when Angle gets involved, he eats a spear. After commercial, a pissed off Angle declares that he will defend the belt against both Young and Lashley in a Triple Threat match tonight. Cool opening segment and Angle as the fighting champion works. To hype the opening contest, we get a video package that shows the history between Awesome Kong and Gail Kim. I loved their rivalry in 2007 and I think it's damn good in 2015. These two really tend to deliver and thiswas another in a long line of good matches between the two. Taz and Josh Matthews argue about the Knockouts division like they did last week. It's rather odd and a bit distracting. They go about eight minutes and it's a back and forth battle, until Kong wins with a sitout powerbomb. I fully expected this considering the issues between Kong and Taryn Terrell lately but I'm glad we got a Kong/Kim match out of it. I'll never complain about those. Going backstage, Mickie James thanks James Storm for the save last week and they hug. Manik shows up and questions him, only to get food shoved in his mouth. Storm is a weird dude for sure.

Keeping with the theme of the Revolution, James Storm is looking for a partner since the Tag Titles are vacated now, so Koya, Abyss and Manik had a Triple Threat match to determine Storm's partner. It only goes about three minutes and Koya wins. Nothing special but made sense from a storyline perspective. We do get more of the Revolution/Ghost Hunters or whatever combo because network synergy is key. Moving on, the Rising is here. Drew Galloway handles the microphone and I must say that dude is on fire since leaving the WWE. The former Camacho from the WWE, introduces himself as Mika. He promotes that he's the son of Haku and Shaun Ricker is known as Eli Drake. The Beat Down Clan interrupt and it leads to a brawl because all TNA promos lead to this in some shape or form. Somewhere, Teddy Long smiles as it turns into a six man tag team match playa. It ends via DQ as Samoa Joe's replacement in the BDC arrives and it's HOMICIDE! Man, I recall seeing Homicide win the ROH Title live in 2006. Time flies.

Next up, we get some X Division action with DJ Z, though the lack of Angelina Love sucks. She's not the hottest but she helps the BroMans entrance out. DJ Z is taking on Davey Richards, who seems to be going for a solo run with Eddie Edwards sidelined. As expected, Richards win this.The BDC cut a promo backstage, saying they beat people up because they can. Reminds me of our new heel Sheamus. A short vignette airs for the Dollhouse, coming soon. The Hardys cut a promo about how they are going to win the TNA Tag Titles. EC3 and Tyrus interrupt. EC3 brings up his 19 month unbeaten streak and how the World Title shot he deserves has eluded him, so he's coming for the Tag Titles. His partner? Bram. It's an interesting mix but I like how Bram states he hates everyone, but hates EC3 the least. More interruptions as Mr. Anderson joins us.

Mr. Anderson toys with EC3 to the crowd's delight. He introduces his tag team partner for this thing and it is the X Division Champion, Rockstar Spud! I like that pairing as Spud is awesome and Anderson can cut a mean promo. Our final interruption arrives in Austin Aries. Even though he has the World Title briefcase and wants the Tag Titles because he's greedy. His partner? Bobby Roode as the DIRTY HEELS REUNITE! Fuck yea! This should be fun when it all goes down. Main event time as Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley and Eric Young go at it. Once again, TNA gives us a good main event. Angle is able to retain, which is good because I only want him to drop the title to either Austin Aries or Ethan Carter. All in all, TNA gives us another good episode as they continue to put out solid television. 7/10.

Smackdown 4/9/15 Review

Daniel Bryan opens the show and talk about Sheamus. This leads to an interruption from Bad News Barrett, who says that Bryan's magical week turned into a nightmare. Sheamus is out too and continues his whole "I don't like you because you're small" deal. As they go to attack Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and his Katniss Everdeen braid show up and he means business. Just when it looks like something good is about to happen, you all know who shows up to ruin things. That's right. The Big Show. He wants in on the munchkin beating, which brings out Roman Reigns. They all brawl and the faces send the heels packing. With that segment over, we get told that we'll have a special edition of MizTV tonight and the Smackdown debut of Neville. Should be pretty fun. After a commercial, we are told that our sweet tag main event was changed to become a six man tag involving Show and Reigns. Ugh. Oh well, the opening contest is a non-title match pitting Tyson Kidd and Cesaso against the New Day. The champs get jobber entrances but New Day gets to come out and discuss how the fans boo and say they suck. Big E's promo is pretty damn good. These two teams, being very talented, put on a very good opener. It isn't anything special or out of this world, but it is a solid ten or so minute match as one would expect from guys of this caliber. Kidd and Cesaro win, as they should, and the interesting New Day stuff continues.

After one of our classic Raw Rebounds during Smackdown, Curtis Axel is out. Since the road to Axtreme Rules hit a bump the night after AxelMania, Axel challenges Neville to a rematch. Neville getting a chance to showcase his stuff is always good. I do think that on Monday he needs to beat someone else. Right now it kind of looks like he can beat Axel but nobody else. Granted it was Seth Rollins he lost to, but I'm trying to see it as a casual viewer might. He wins in a match that is only a bit longer than his debut one two weeks ago. However, I will never get tired of seeing the Red Arrow. It is, literally, breathtaking. We go backstage where Cameron, Alicia Fox and Natalya all get catty about the Number One Contender's Divas Battle Royal this Monday. You know, the one that shouldn't happen because Naomi should be number one contender from a kayfabe standpoint.

Stemming from that, we get Alicia Fox vs. Natalya with Cameron as the special referee. Why? No fucking clue. Cameron's voice is so grating as she shouts "BREAKITUPBREAKITUPBREAKITUP" non-stop. This was your standard Divas affair with Natalya picking up the win, only to be taken out by Cameron. Yup, you read that right. I guess it builds for the battle royal well. Next we see an interesting but short video package on Erick Rowan that is narrated by Bray Wyatt. He says that he fixed Rowan and set him free. That or any other explanation would have worked better than them just splitting for no reason. Those two compete, which still makes me sad. The Wyatt Family really should have never split. Bray wins a decent little match. No surprise there as Bray's record in unimportant matches is fantastic. Don't put him in there in the big fights that happen at WrestleMania or something. He'll fold.

It's time for the special "movie edition" of MizTV where we get to see a Marine 4 trailer. Miz brags about the movie until Summer Rae interrupts because it's their movie, not his. Miz says it was his version of giving a Diva a chance. They trade barbs until Damien Sandow shows up. Sandow attacks, Miz scurries and Sandow kisses Summer because he's a fucking mack daddy. I think this would have been better if he didn't lose to Miz on Raw. Why did we waste that match again? Next, we show the same WrestleMania weekend video that we've seen about 600 times already. I don't understand why the WWE must show the same things over and over again. I get that you have a lot of TV time to fill but there have to be better ways to do that.

Now, it's time for the big main event. The one that apparently needed Roman Reigns and Big Show to be main event quality. Ugh. They've worked each other more than 10 times already this year and I don't believe that was counting tag matches like this. It looks like we may get them at Extreme Rules too. How terrible does that sound? Despite this, it was indeed a fun little main event. I just don't think it needed Reigns and Show at all. Smackdown is going to get about the same rating no matter what, so let the Intercontinental Title picture run the show. That's the advantage of having a guy like Bryan with the belt. He can headline. Reigns is able to win with a spear on Bad News Barrett. Sheamus just returned and we ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO PROTECT BIG SHOW AT ALL COSTS. So fuck the top challenger for the IC Title. Good main event, I just wish Show could eat the pin. Overall, this episode reminded me a lot of last week's in that it was solid but unspectacular. 6/10

Review of Honor: Fifth Year Festival; NYC

Review of Honor

Fifth Year Festival: NYC

2.16.07 | Manhattan Center in New York City, New York

Recently, I went and dug out by Ring of Honor DVD collection. I was huge into ROH for a long time and purchased a bunch of their DVDs, along with a lot of SHIMMER shows. I’ve decided to bring you some reviews of these shows that I haven’t seen in at least a long time. First up, we have a show that I had the pleasure of being at live. It was the first stop on ROH’s Fifth Year Festival.

We open to a shot of Rebecca Bayless, or the future Cookie in TNA, outside of the Manhattan Center. Man, I had a total crush on her during this time. After a short intro, Jimmy Rave cuts a promo. See, he’s the number one contender for the ROH World Title and gets his shot tonight.

Cut to the ring and Pelle Primeau comes out. You can see my brother and I in the front row during entrances, well mainly my brother. He gives Pelle the most ridiculous look like “who is this little guy?” Pelle issues an open challenge which is quickly answered.

Pelle Primeau vs. Takeshi Morishima

Takeshi Morishima is scheduled to make his ROH debut against Samoa Joe tonight, and he comes out to Joe’s “The Champ is Here” music. The pop is insane as the crowd thinks its Joe in his final New York ROH show. Morishima runs in, levels Pelle and hits the Backdrop Suplex to win.

Winner: Takeshi Morishima in 0:07

Can’t really rate this can I? NO RATING

Takeshi Morishima gets on the microphone and you can’t understand him. You can tell that he’s calling out Joe though, but Nigel McGuinness comes out to calm him down. After they leave, the biggest douche in history, Shane Hagadorn comes out with Adam Pearce. Pearce was good but I loathe seeing Shane’s stupid face. Before they can talk, Delirious’ theme hits to a pop.

Adam Pearce w/ Shane Hagadorn vs. Delirious

Delirious charges the ring and attacks quick as we finally get commentary from Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard. Adam Pearce brought a very old school heel vibe to ROH, which was welcome. Delirious takes out both he and Hagadorn with a somersault dive to the outside. Inside, Pearce slams him down as a “Repo Man” chant breaks out. For those unware, Pearce resembles the former WWF star. Pearce works some classic heel stuff to keep Delirious and the crowd out of it. Hilariously, Pearce tells Hagadorn “I’m gonna press this son of a bitch into the crowd” which obviously doesn’t happen. A drop toe hold from Delirious moves into a cobra stretch but Pearce gets free. They work the classic Ric Flair spot where Pearce takes a corner bump, climbs to the top and is slammed from there. Shadows over hell hits but Hagadorn distracts the official midway through the pin. I hate when that happens. Pearce uses brass knuckles but misses and hits Hagadorn. Delirious brings out his own pair, putting them in his mask and headbutting Pearce in a cool turn of events.

Winner: Delirious in 7:58

Not too shabby here. Adam Pearce worked his heel stuff and Delirious made a nice little comeback. Extra points for the finish being wise as it played into Delirious getting Pearce back for their past encounters. **¼

Adam Pearce blames Shane Hagadorn for the loss and shoves him. Being the manservant bitch that he is, Hagadorn gets to his knees to apologize and they hug.

Backstage, Christopher Daniels is standing by with his World Tag Team Champion partner, Matt Sydal. He is sporting a beard as he was just starting a heel run in TNA. Daniels says they aren’t getting enough credit as champions and does fine. Sydal struggles mightily through this whole thing. He stumbles through his stuff but is basically supposed to be a cocky jerk now that he won a title in Dragon Gate.

The Dangerous Angels vs. Alexa Thatcher and Daizee Haze

During the entrances, I again see my brother make a funny face, but this time because of how attractive he found Alexa Thatcher. Sara Del Rey remains the best female wrestler I have ever seen. They do a respectful handshake before the bell. We are told that Alexa is just 19 years old. The Dangerous Angels issued an open challenge to all females but I don’t think this went any further than this show. Allison Danger, sister of Steve Corino, starts with Haze and they have a fine exchange. WRESTLING! Del Rey is tagged only to be hit with a head scissors. Tag to Alexa, who gets a decent pop and they do a double dropkick. My heart skips a beat as Lacey appears. She pulls Daizee off the apron and they fight to the back. With Alexa alone, she is hit with a German suplex and the Royal Butterfly, ending this.

Winners: The Dangerous Angels in 3:16

Too short to be really good, but what we got was fine. Solid back and forth while Daizee was in there, while Sara Del Rey killed Alexa. This was here to get the Haze/Lacey feud over a bit more. Extra half star because of Lacey. *¾

Four Way Fray

Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Jacobs w/ Lacey vs. Shingo vs. Xavier

Xavier is a former ROH World Champion and a replacement for the injured Davey Richards. I remember being hugely disappointed at it being Xavier. According to Dave Prazak, this is the first Four Way Fray in ROH. Unlike Four Corner Survival there are no tags and it is elimination. Shingo and Evans work together since they are in the same faction in Dragon Gate. Xavier turns Evans inside out with a lariat. He kicks Shingo, who takes them all because he’s a badass. Evans is up and misses a cartwheel corkscrew to the outside. Shingo continues to be a badass with a flatliner/DDT combo on Xavier and Jacobs. Xavier is working as the heel but eats a spear from Jacobs. He’s too small to have an effective spear honestly. Xavier hits a powerbomb rolled into an alley opp rolled into a piledriver! GOODNESS! However, a reverse hurricanrana and backslide lead Evans to eliminate him at 4:23. Shingo gets two with the Gallon Throw. Contra Code is blocks and Shingo follows with a vicious lariat to send him packing at 5:48. Lacey is pissed and so am I because it means she’s leaving. Goodbye my love. Interesting final two since they are getting a Tag Team Title shot the following night in Philadelphia. They shake hands and boot each other at the same time, which is funny. Evans is sloppy with a hurricane but makes up for it with a pretty Space Flying Tiger Drop. Inside, his handspring elbow is countered as Shingo tosses him and basically MURDERS him with a lariat. Somehow that only gets two. A German from Shingo also only gets two. Evans hits a series of strikes for two. The 630 is loudly called for, probably giving it away to Shingo. He stops him up top but still gets hit with knees that knock him back down. 630 connects and that’s all she wrote.

Winner: Jack Evans in 9:50

Yes that was a spotfest. But hot damn it was an absolute blast. It would have been better with someone besides Xavier in there as he only had one cool moment. Everyone did work hard though, which made for a better match than expected. ***½

Samoa Joe’s theme hits again and this time it is actually him. The crowd is rocking for his final New York appearance. If I haven’t mentioned it yet, Joe is on his farewell tour, working the first of his final six ROH shows. As he talks to the fans, they start a “fuck TNA” chant but he tells them to relax because they sign his checks. He puts over the company and how much they have grown since starting five years earlier. After getting the nice stuff out of the way, he says that he heard a “mop headed” Asian called him out earlier and he’s ready to fight. Instead of Morishima, he gets Nigel McGuinness who says “you don’t call out Morishima, Morishima calls out you.” Things get heated and bust out into a brawl that is broken up by Bobby Dempsey, Rhett Titus and other ROH grads wearing STAFF shirts. Good segment as Joe puts the company over and says goodbye. A brawl is always fun especially since they are about to work a tag match in a few weeks.

Tables Are Legal

BJ Whitmer vs. Brent Albright

This is not a traditional tables match as it has normal rules, except that tables are legal. Nothing else, just tables. As part of his entrance, BJ Whitmer poses on the top rope and Albright pushes him off and through a table! That’s how you start something like this! Albright pounds away on Whitmer for a bit and sets up a table in the corner. It backfires when Whitmer hits an exploder through it on Brent. The table doesn’t fully break so he does it again, which I appreciate. They continue to go for high spots as both guys crash through a table outside on a back suplex attempt. Whitmer hits a brainbuster inside but pulls Albright up because it’s not enough. He sets up two tables outside but Brent hits a German suplex and half nelson suplex before Whitmer hits a lariat and they both fall out. Albright Is up first and AWESOME BOMBS WHITMER THROUGH TWO TABLES to the outside. HOLY SHIT! Somehow, that only gets a near fall and Albright sets up a table over the ropes in the corner. The next table doesn’t cooperate so Albright stomps on it and flips it the bird. THAT’LL SHOW IT! He sets up two tables in the ring side by side and climbs to the one set up in the corner. He wants to powerbomb Whitmer from it, but BJ blocks and hits a SUPER EXPLODER THROUGH THE TWO TABLES! That is finally enough to put down the “Gun for Hire”.

Winner: BJ Whitmer in 13:56

Well fuck that was crazy. When you start with a table spot in the first five seconds, you have a lot of live up to the rest of the match and this did just that. Both guys put their bodies on the line and beat the hell out of each other. It’s not one for the psychology buffs, but the fact that each table spot got progressively crazier was impressive. ***¼

The ROH Shop is promoted next. I think it is cool as hell that ROH’s website sold DVDs for tons of promotions including WWE. That’s damn cool. I have some SHIMMER shows on DVD and even one FIP show that I may end up reviewing if I can find them.

ROH World Tag Team Championship

Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal (c) w/ Allison Danger vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong

At this point in time, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong had the longest reign as Tag Champions and were looking to regain them. Christopher Daniels starts with Strong and they have a good old fashioned INDY WRESTLING exchange. When it moves to Matt Sydal and Austin Aries, commentary says that Sydal will defend his Dragon Gate belt against Aries during this Fifth Year Festival, marking the first them a Dragon Gate title is defended on US soil. Their exchange is better due to their history from Matt’s time in Generation Next. The challengers try to double team Sydal but he counts, sending them outside before Daniels dives onto Roddy. The challengers turn things around and do some nice double teams moves on Sydal. Their chemistry was always fantastic. The moves are so crisp and perfectly executed, it’s a thing of beauty. Roddy turns a stalling vertical suplex into a gutbuster, which is nice. Sydal manages to hot tag Daniels in, who busts out some lariats. He targets Strong’s back in a show of irony. Sydal does a little dance before a dropkick just to showcase his cocky attitude. Daniels applies the Koji Clutch, one of my favorite moves ever, but Aries breaks it up. Now Strong is taking the heat that Sydal took earlier. Dueling tags come in and Aries is on fire, nailing Sydal with the heat seeking missile and looks like he nearly killed himself. He hits a corkscrew press for two and his Lionsault attempt ends badly as he lands on his neck. Somehow, he’s feeling the effects on his ankle instead. He is lucky. Sydal tries his gorgeous standing moonsault but Aries gets the knees up. Sydal hits a cannonball like move but the pin is broken with a kick to the face. Sydal tries to springboard off Strong’s shoulders but ends up in a gutbuster for two. The Gibson Driver is blocked before Daniels hits the Arabian Press. Continuing the work on Strong, Daniels drapes him on his knees while Sydal hits a standing shooting star press for two again. The challengers bust out their chop/brainbuster double team, which makes perfect sense before a rollup earns them a super close near fall. The action is really fast but Daniels hits a Death Valley driver followed by a Sydal Press and Best Moonsault Ever. That flurry is able to end this.

Winners and Still ROH World Tag Team Champions: Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal in 20:44

A really overlooked Tag Team Title match. It was damn good but I never hear it talked about and a lot of people haven’t even seen it. It might be because ROH’s tag team scene was on another level during this time. The crowd kind of fell flat after Aries’ near injury but were mostly hot. ****

The four men shake hands, but Christopher Daniels is still rather put off by Matt Sydal acting like a total dick. Davey Richards strolls out to badmouth Austin Aries, leading to Roderick Strong planting Aries with a backbreaker! HEEL TURN! Strong says he’s done being in the background and Davey announces this as the start of the No Remorse Corps. Jack Evans runs out because those are his friends. It’s cool that Strong has no issues with Jack and tells Davey to back off. Effective heel turn, and I was a big fan of the NRC.

Intermission time as Becky Bayley interviews Homicide about facing the red hot Jimmy Rave tonight. Homicide cuts a basic promo about winning tonight before Julius Smokes annoys everyone.

The Briscoe Brothers vs. Colt Cabana and Nigel McGuinness

The combined theme music for Nigel McGuinness and Colt Cabana is a thing of beauty. The Briscoes were red hot, sweeping Aries and Strong in a 2 out of 3 falls and winning GHC Tag Titles. They start early with double teams on Cabana. Cabana and Nigel fire back with stereo European uppercuts. Seeing the Briscoes heel it up is cool since most of the stuff I’ve seen from them is as faces. Mark even goes old school and uses the ropes for leverage on a submission. It’s the little things. Cabana springboard somersaults onto both Briscoes but it’s not as pretty as it sounds. Because he’s Colt Cabana, he pulls the nipple hair of Mark Briscoe. I can’t make this up. Nigel hits so damn hard, scoring two on some vicious lariats. We get some fun Cabana spots leading to a moonsault press. FLYING ASSHOLE into a stiff uppercut from Nigel. That’s cool as it plays off of Cabana’s fun style and Nigel’s aggressive one. The Briscoes bust out a double team neckbreaker though for two. They then hit impressive stereo frog splashes for two. Like the last tag match, the action is frenetic. Cabana and Nigel connect on a double tower of London but the count is broken. The Briscoes signal for the Doomsday Device but Nigel counters and they seem to kind of botch the next spot as a pin is broken but it’s awkward. The Rebound Lariat earns Nigel and Cabana the upset.

Winners: Colt Cabana and Nigel McGuinness in 14:34

There’s an odd dynamic with Nigel McGuinness as he’s a face here but kind of a heel with Samoa Joe. I think his dynamic with Colt Cabana is sweet though as the playful guy and the serious man nearly always works. Solid tag work here and a surprising result considering how dominant the Briscoes would be in 2007. ***¼

Samoa Joe runs out to get him some more of Nigel McGuinness but officials break this up. Takeshi Morishima is out next and we’re about to have us a fight.

Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima

These two got into a shoving match a few months prior in this building and the place went nuts. Here we have us a good old fashioned clash of the titans as two bigger fellas are just gonna beat the shit out of each other. Morishima makes the fans gasp with a CARTWHEEL BODY AVALANCHE! The cartwheel would make any Diva that has done it jealous. The fans legitimately don’t know who is going to win since it is Joe’s farewell but Morishima has a title shot 24 hours later. It’s strange to see Joe as the guy taking a beating early on. Morishima goes up top and hits a fucking MISSILE DROPKICK! Joe finally gets on the offensive and facewashes Morishima’s face. Morishima’s nose is bleeding, which is a recurring theme for the big fella. Joe knocks him outside, following with elbow suicida! Big OLE kick outside from Joe as the tide has turned. Inside though, Morishima hits a side slam and then just rolls over Joe, using his massive ass as a weapon. STJoe only gets two as this has been exactly what it should be. A jumping kick and DVD get Joe a near fall. Morishima climbs up top again but Joe greets him with slaps and a second rope enziguri! MUSCLE BUSTER hits but it’s not enough! The place popped hard for that. They now just trade huge shots that all sound like they hurt like hell. Morishima hits a series of moves like a urinage and his backdrop suplex but that isn’t enough. Joe ducks a lariat, hitting a half nelson suplex before going to a choke. Morishima breaks it with a jawbreaker, but Joe avoids it and locks it back in. Morishima keeps trying to get out, but Joe locks it in and Morishima passes out.

Winner: Samoa Joe in 18:06

This is how you book a heavyweight fight. The fact that a lot of ROH guys don’t fit the bill of these two gave this a different feel. Both guys beat the shit out of each other and showed off some incredible athleticism period, let alone for their size. The rabid crowd played a big part as the atmosphere was insane. With Morishima sticking around and Joe leaving, I think that maybe Morishima should have won, but knowing that he wins the title the next night and looked great here, it worked out well. ****½

A sweet video package airs showcasing some of the best feuds in Ring of Honor over the past year. Go watch it as it shows some fantastic stuff.

ROH World Championship

Homicide (c) w/ Julius Smokes vs. Jimmy Rave

Four months earlier, Jimmy Rave was struggling until he ended a losing streak by beating Homicide. It all comes full circle here. Rave wastes little time going after Homicide but ends up outside in position for Homicide’s signature dive. Smokes even gets in some chops. I spot Vlad the Superfan in the crowd, which is always appreciated. Rave comes back with a plancha to the outside, showing he’s giving his all tonight. Jimmy Rave has a more, I don’t want to say basic, but I guess calm style than a lot of ROH guys. His stuff is crisp but not showy. Homicide applies an STF which is a set up for the Cop Killa. Swinging DDT is blocked and Rave goes after the leg, setting up for the Heel Hook, which has been effectively built as he has used it to make big names tap out. As he works the leg, he steals Homicide’s “ghetto fork” from his boot. When the referee stops him from using it, Smokes hands Homicide another fork, which he uses to bust open the challenger. The action goes to the apron where Rave hits a nasty looking STO onto it, changing the momentum. Rave hits Ghanarea and a spear for two. Homicide fights back with the Three Amigos to “Eddie” chants before a second rope DDT and senton gets two. A top rope hurricanrana is blocked and Rave nails a second rope Styles Clash, which he stole during a feud with AJ. That only gets two. He goes for the Heel Hook but Homicide gets out and hits a top rope ace crusher. A lariat gets two, which surprises since it is the move that won him the belt. Cop Killa now gets countered into the Heel Hook. The tease of him tapping out is expertly done. He manages to roll through and hit the Cop Killa to retain.

Winner and Still ROH World Heavyweight Champion: Homicide in 18:52

I enjoyed this way more here than I recall doing live. They had the tough task of following the Joe/Morishima match but managed to deliver. Jimmy Rave doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his ability to work as a damn good heel. ***¾

Overall: 8/10; Great. I remember being a little underwhelmed being at this show live but I cannot figure out why. Maybe it’s because I have seen some seriously incredible shows live. Samoa Joe and Takeshi Morishima had a classic and nothing on the show was bad at all. It seemingly got progressively better and is a fun three hour watch with some really good matches.

Raw 4/7/15 Review

After the excitement of Brock Lesnar opening Raw last week, we are back to the Authority. That damn status quo. At least it wasn't Triple H and Stephanie, who were on "vacation" and we get Seth Rollins and the rest of the gang. He talks about their successful WrestleMania, but kind of shits on Kane for just being there. Randy Orton interrupts and badmouths everyone, while also getting on Kane. Kane gets pissed and says that tonight, there will be a Triple Threat match to determine the number one contender for the WWE Title between Orton, Roman Reigns and Ryback. Fresh idea, but wasn't Orton just named the top contender on Smackdown? Also, those three guys will have singles matches tonight, starting with Kane vs. Orton. Ugh. The match it kept short and Orton wins by DQ as Kane uses a chair. If you want him weakened for the main event, then why did you book it? The Authority should want Seth to face the easiest competition possible or, if Kane was pissed about getting dissed, he should have just wrestled Orton normally. Weird stuff to open. We are told that tonight Ryback faces Luke Harper and Roman Reigns takes on Big Show. Seriously? Couldn't give us Ryback vs. Show, which, while not ideal, they at least had a decent match at NXT in Columbus and Reigns/Harper, which could be a fun, hard hitting match.

Michael Cole is out and Byron Saxton is in. He's kind of dull and shouldn't be a lead, but I didn't miss Cole. They discuss AJ Lee's retirement and are nice about it. After a random Brad Maddox appearance, Seth gives Kane more grief backstage so he books him against a surprise opponent. It's Adrian Neville and the internet basically orgasmed. This is a big deal for Neville's second Raw match as two of the best NXT Champions go at it. Seth plays it as if he's not serious, so Neville kicks him. I thought the match was good but not great. Like there is a lot more they can do together. He was set up for the Red Arrow until J&J Security got involved and Seth was able to win with a sick Curb Stomp. The idea here was really good as Neville gave the Champion a run for his money. However, if the match was a bit better and Neville got a few more near falls, it could have been even better. Also, commentary didn't hype up his close calls either. That hurt things as they should have popped for them and made people believe the upset could happen. Despite being awful, at least Michael Cole would have sold the near falls well. He still sucks though.

The John Cena United States Title Open Challenge is back and will be weekly. I think this is the best place for John Cena to be right now. Keeps him out of the main event, elevates the title and allows him to put on good matches. Stardust surprisingly answered the challenge and this was the match of the night. Despite being booked poorly at times, Stardust was given a lot here. Kudos to Cena for giving him offense and even kicking out of the Cross Rhodes. Cena busts out the springboard stunner again, which is a nice idea but is strangely executed. He nails the Attitude Adjustment and picks up the win. The outcome was never in doubt here, especially with Rusev/Cena booked for Extreme Rules, but it was a very enjoyable match and my favorite thing on the show so far.

Time for the Divas as the Bella Twins take on Paige and Naomi. With AJ Lee leaving and Naomi pinning Nikki Bella last week, this was wise. Paige does most of the work here before Naomi gets the tag and the win. She pins Nikki after a Bella miscue but I'm not a fan of that. The champion should not eat all of the pinfalls. Last week is alright but it should have been Brie here. There are other ways to build challengers than to have the champ lose constantly. Then, later in the show, Cameron, Alicia, Natalya and Summer convince Kane to book a Divas battle royal to determine a number one contender next week. So why has Naomi been pinning Nikki? She should just get the shot. Whatever. We also get a backstage promo from the Prime Time Players where they diss New Day and the Ascension. It was funny and I look forward to more from them. Ryback and Luke Harper wrestle next and it was short. Ryback beats him in quick fashion which is fine for Ryback but awful for Harper. I mean, he just took out Dean Ambrose on Smackdown, but Ryback handles him easily. How am I supposed to take Harper or Ambrose seriously now? Poor decision. Even more so considering the fact that I think Harper and Ryback could have had a pretty solid match. We also see a promo from New Day, who are disappointed by the reaction of the fans lately. I guess it's building towards a heel turn but it's hard for the fans to care. They face the Lucha Dragons in a decent match but nothing on the Dragons' debut last week. It was a bit sloppier but we see Tyson Kidd and Cesaro watching on a monitor, so I hope we get them against the Dragons at Extreme Rules. In a Ladder match perhaps?

As Roman Reigns and Big Show get ready to compete, I flip to watch the NCAA Title game. Their match is paint by numbers and I'm appalled to hear that it is their 12th television match since the start of the year. It's only April dammit. That's embarrassing. Show pretty much dominates until Reigns makes the "Cena" comeback and wins. Reigns shouldn't be booked that way to be honest. I've said it before and I'll said it again, Reigns should DEMOLISH Big Show in 2015. Ugh. Next, Sheamus comes out to cut the same promo that Batista did last year about being a big guy working with little guys. We are also told that Bad News Barrett is using his rematch clause to face Daniel Bryan at Extreme Rules. Sheamus meets Mark Henry and beats him in a match that was just there. I assume we'll see Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler or something at Extreme Rules.

Bray Wyatt cuts one of his usual promos and seems to be directing it at someone but we don't know who. Don't call someone out Bray, it didn't work for you at WrestleMania. Anyway, we surprisingly get Damien Mizdow vs. Miz next. I expected it to be saved for PPV since it has some actual build and we've seen much worse on PPV. I mean, we've had matches with no build on PPV in the past year. Miz wins with a handful of tights while commentary destroys Mizdow for leaving Miz and losing everything. I guess there goes the Mizdow run. Our main event is next and only gets about five minutes. The Authority come out to watch and get involved near the end. Ryback looked really good here, while Roman Reigns looked sloppy. He took the Meat Hook clothesline pretty terribly. Big Show knocks out Roman Reigns outside, which makes me cringe at the thought of a PPV match between the two. Inside, Orton is attacking Seth until J&J stop him. Ryback takes them both out, but is turned around into the RKO. Orton wins and that's the right call because they had a really good match at WrestleMania and with an added stipulation it can be even better. Plus, he has a win over Seth and it just makes the most sense possible. Seth hits the Curb Stomp and stands tall to close Raw, which is always a welcome sight. I thought Raw wasn't terrible, but it was strange. There was no Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler or Dean Ambrose, but you have Reigns, Ryback and Orton work twice? Odd. However, it was at least enjoyable for the most part and not a chore to watch. 6/10.

Fave Five 3/30/15-4/5/15

1) AJ Styles: Look at that gif. Just look at it. Did you look? Good. The biggest show of the week was NJPW Invasion Attack and it was headlined by AJ Styles defending the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Kota Ibushi. Unfortunately, I have not been able to watch the show except for some highlights like that gif. I'm hearing nothing but good things about the event and the main event. Ever since I first saw Ibushi a few years back in Ring of Honor, I kind of always wanted to see these two go at it. It looks like it not only delivered but that finishing spot is pretty fucking sick. I mean, a Phoenix Splash into the Styles Clash is nuts. Since leaving TNA AJ Styles has been on an absolute tear and it continued this week.

2) Brock Lesnar: Yea, my number two pick is a guy who didn't even wrestle this week. But it's Brock Lesnar dammit. He was the single most entertaining thing about the big post WrestleMania Raw. He opened the show in ring gear, letting everyone know that shit was about to go down. When he found out that Seth Rollins was backing out of the WWE Title rematch, he went ballistic. Not only did he take out a cameraman, but he basically killed the commentary thing. Talk about finding a way to become a top babyfae. Anyone who nearly murders Michael Cole is okay in my book. That F5 alone is enough to make the list. Brock once again proved that there is something different about him. He is captivating television that you simply cannot miss.

3) Roppongi Vice/The Kingdom: I know I'm kind of cheating here. Sue me. And yea, there's no image or gif of the Kingdom but they still get love here. At Invasion Attack there were two title changes and these are the two teams responsible. First, Roppongi Vice, a team consisting of Rocky Romero and Baretta, won the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles from the Young Bucks. I've never been much of a Bucks guy. On the other side, the Kingdom, consisting of Michael Bennett and Matt Taven, captured the IWGP Tag Team Titles from Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. The Bullet Club have pretty much had a stranglehold on the belts for a while, even after losing them earlier this year. The Kingdom took the titles coming off the heels of pinning Anderson at the ROH 13th Anniversary Show.

4) Kalisto: The night after WrestleMania has become a huge yearly event. Last year we had the debut of Paige, who won the Divas Championship. While nobody made quite that impact this year, Kalisto debuted as part of the Lucha Dragons and absolutely stole the show. This was how you debut a new team. Put them in front of a hot crowd? Check. Have them face guys they know how to work with like the Ascension? Check. Work with someone who fits their style like Cesaro? Check. Adrian Neville also made his main roster debut and did fine work against Curtis Axel, but it was Kalisto who made a bigger impact. The crowd was firmly behind him and fans were impressed with some of his incredible athletic displays.

5) Santana Garrett: Again, I'm going to direct you to the image beside this writing. That is a woman holding FOUR different titles. I don't care who you are, that is impressive stuff. A while back, Santana Garrett made this list for winning the NWA Women's Championship. She was formerly known as Brittany in TNA and they seem to have made a mistake letting her go. She seems to be racking up the accomplishments since leaving. Currently, she holds the NWA Women's Title, is one half of the BPW Tag Team Champions and the Ring Warriors Battling Bombshells Champion. This past week, she added the Shine Championship to that list. Besides SHIMMER, Shine has been my second favorite women's promotion. Since its inception in 2013, they've only had four champions (Rain, Ivelisse, Mia Yim and Santana). That's exclusive company. To make it an even bigger deal, it was a double title match. So not only did she win a new title, but she successfully defended the NWA Women's Title. I've heard that she was around some NXT tapings a while back and if the WWE were wise, she's one to snatch up and could add to an already explosive Divas division down there. Whatever she does, Santana is one to watch out for.