Random Match Review #14

Austin Aries and Kota Ibushi vs. The Briscoes – ROH Tag Wars 2008 4/18/08; Michigan State Fairgrounds & Expo Center


ROH had a banner year in 2007. 2008 got off to a great start as well, but was bolstered by the arrival of Kota Ibushi. Ibushi was still a bit of a baby in the industry, having debuted about four years prior. His short stint with ROH in the Spring of 2008 marked his first appearances in the United States. He suffered losses to Davey Richards and Claudio Castagnoli before this match. Not much else of a backstory here, as it was just the best tag team in ROH at the time against a singles ace in Austin Aries and an international star.

The early portion of this match felt rather pedestrian. Not that they were bad, but it felt like the fans, and myself, were just waiting for things to get out of hand. The Briscoes picked up the pace, working a heat segment on Ibushi and reminding everyone why they were the best team in the world at the time. That heat segment was great. It was perfect for the Briscoes, because they got to show off their skills and do it at a crazy quick pace that wowed the audience. With Kota struggling early, you could sense some fans wondered if Aries would remain a loyal partner. He was in the midst of a storyline where he may or may not join the villainous Age of the Fall.

When Aries got the hot tag, it got even better. He had a rather lengthy history with the Briscoes and it showed. Kota got to bust out his double moonsault, which is honestly a contrived spot, but worked here because the fans weren’t used to it and popped big time. The traditional tag formula went out the window by that point, with no more tagging and guys coming in and out for spots. Yet, it doesn’t fully become a spot fest. There’s a reason behind stuff and the underlying stories of Aries being the strong link against the Briscoes and Kota desperately wanting to return home with a win, remained evident. The Briscoes managed to finally hit Aries with the Doomsday Device, leaving Kota alone. He fought valiantly, but fell victim to a spike Jay Driller to lose in 17:36.

Great tag team acting. Ibushi got to shine and showcase his stuff in his first trip to the States, while the Briscoes were allowed to be the great team that they are. The inclusion of Aries could’ve felt like an afterthought, but his history with the Briscoes and past as an ROH World Tag Team Champion were key factors. They weaved that into the story of the match brilliantly. The desperation of Kota, the upper hand of Aries (and his AOTF questions) and the overall excellence of the Briscoes. It made for quality TV. [****]

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History

#1) Stretcher Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy - WWE Smackdown 4/10/09 [***½]

#2) Steve Austin vs. Val Venis – WWF Smackdown 10/21/99 [**¾]

#3) Prince Devitt vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – PROGRESS Chapter 13: Unbelievable Jeff 5/18/14 [***¾]

#4) NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ricky Steamboat [c] vs. Ric Flair – WrestleWar 5/7/89 [****¾]

#5) GWF Light Heavyweight Championship 2 Out of 3 Falls: Lightning Kid [c] vs. Jerry Lynn – GWF 12/27/91 [***]

#6) PROGRESS Championship: Marty Scurll [c] vs. Mark Haskins vs. Tommy End – PROGRESS Chapter 36: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Room…Again 9/25/16 [***½]

#7) TNA Legends Championship I Quit Match: AJ Styles [c] vs. Booker T – TNA Sacrifice 5/24/09 [***¼]

#8) AWA World Heavyweight Championship: Nick Bockwinkel [c] vs. Hulk Hogan – AWA Super Sunday 4/24/83 [***]

#9) GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KENTA [c] vs. Low Ki – ROH Final Battle 12/17/05 [****½]

#10) NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament: The Miracle Violence Connection vs. The Steiner Brothers – Clash of the Champions XIX 6/16/92 [****]

#11) NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii [c] vs. Hirooki Goto – NJPW Power Struggle 11/8/14 [****½]

#12) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Prince Devitt – NJPW Dominion 6/19/10 [****}

#13) PROGRESS Championship: El Ligero [c] vs. Ricochet – PROGRESS Chapter 6: We <3 Violence 3/31/13 [***¼]

Random Match Review: 8/25/17

PROGRESS Championship: El Ligero [c] vs. Ricochet – PROGRESS Chapter 6: We <3 Violence 3/31/13; The Garage


I’d like to thank everyone who voted, as this got the most total votes of any poll I’ve posted so far. 

There’s not much of a backstory to this one. This was the early days of PROGRESS and El Ligero was only the second champion in company history. We’re so far back that there wasn’t even a belt yet. The title was a staff. Ricochet was the first American to appear in PROGRESS since Chapter 1 and got a title shot in his debut.

It was weird seeing Ricochet here, as he looked considerably smaller and had a mohawk. It was pretty clear that he was very good, getting the upper hand on El Ligero at almost every turn. As if Ligero wasn’t ready for his level of skill. The champion finally got an opening with a dropkick. With him in control, we got to see more of a guy who was a top champion. For the early portions, he certainly didn’t feel like he was in Ricochet’s league. As he slowed the pace, things worked in his favor. Of course, Ricochet would find ways to regain some of the control, but the match moved into a more back and forth affair.

Though the match was more even in the later stages, it still felt like Ricochet was the star. His offense is always impressive, so the fans gobbled up everything he did. However, some of Ricochet’s aerial stuff came back to bit him in the ass. He missed a Phoenix Splash and Ligero got his knees up on a Shooting Star Press attempt. Ligero delivered a great looking reverse rana and springboard tornado DDT to remain champion after 18:09.

This was a fun main event, just not a great one. It worked as a great showcase for Ricochet, though I feel Ligero didn’t come off looking too great. It seemed like the outsider was way above the top PROGRESS guy in terms of skill. Ligero did manage to show some resourcefulness and resiliency, though. A good outing with a clean finish, just not dramatic enough to take it to the next level. [***¼]

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Random Match Review: 8/24/17

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Prince Devitt – NJPW Dominion 6/19/10; Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium


At Wrestle Kingdom earlier in the year, Naomichi Marufuji won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship, despite being a Pro Wrestling NOAH regular. On that same night, Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi successfully defended their Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. In the time between then and Dominion, Devitt’s team was stripped of the titles for not defending them and he entered the 2010 Best of the Super Juniors Tournament. Devitt bested Kota Ibushi in the finals to earn this title shot.

Though the men were close in age (Devitt was 28 and Marufuji was 30), Marufuji would be considered the veteran. He was accomplished, having won the Super J Cup twice, a Heavyweight Title in NOAH and Jr. Titles in NJPW, NOAH and AJPW. Devitt’s BOTSJ win was the biggest singles accomplishment for him so far. Marufuji beat Devitt in their first match in the Super J Cup Finals a year prior, and again at a show earlier in 2010. Devitt needed to finally beat Marufuji to bring the title back to NJPW.

The veteran instinct of Marufuji came into play early. Devitt was amped and busted out a dive in the opening minutes, but Marufuji had a game plan and took the attack to his challenger’s leg. He slammed it on the apron and applied submissions like a modified stretch muffler and figure four. Devitt refused to quit, surviving it all. He began his rally, which the crowd was firmly behind. Some of his stuff involved the use of his leg a bit too much, with no time taken to sell it. IF you’re going to use a body part that’s been worked on, at least stop to sell the pain or shake it out or something. To be fair, he was better about it in the later stages. 

They had a brilliant exchange of kick attempts, where they each dodged a bunch. Marufuji would win out, catching Devitt with stiff kick after stiff kick. As the match reached its final point, they called back to previous outings. Marufuji needed to reach deep to beat Devitt this time, because he wouldn’t stay down. He went for high risk offense, taking Devitt to the top rope. That mistake proved costly when Devitt countered and hit Bloody Sunday off the top to take the championship away from NOAH and earn his first Jr. Heavyweight Title at 20:20.

Great match, with the added bonus of the almost always excellent Osaka crowd. I had some issues with the leg selling at times, but other than that, this ruled. They had great exchanges and reversals from knowing so much about each other in their past battles. A lot of the time, it looked like Marufuji was the better wrestler. He was almost always a step ahead. But Devitt wouldn’t quit and survived a lot to finally take home the title. [****]

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Random Match Review: 8/22/17

NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii [c] vs. Hirooki Goto – NJPW Power Struggle 11/8/14; Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium


At King of Pro Wrestling a month earlier, Tomohiro Ishii regained the NEVER Openweight Title and now came face to face with Hirooki Goto. The NEVER Title sort of became the de facto championship for matches where dudes just stiff one another and go to war. Considering Ishii and Goto, that’s what I expected coming into this. I’ve seen them meet in later years and it’s always fun. All three meetings were in the G1, coming in 2015 (****½), 2016 (***½) and 2017 (****).

People wanted them to go to war and that’s just what they did. There were brutal strikes from the opening bell. That’s Ishii’s domain and, though Goto can hold his own there, he got outmatched early. A chop exchange led to him crumpling to the mat in pain. Goto manned up and returned the favor to Ishii in the next few minutes, setting the tone that he would dish out as good as he took. The sheer brutality in this never wavered. Strike after strike. Chop after chop. Lariat after lariat. It seemed to become about more than the title, it was a test of who was manlier. A great exchange saw Goto finally send Ishii down with a lariat, only for him to pop up and return the favor. Goto got up instantly and they took each other out with simultaneous lariats.

With each move someone survived, the crowd got louder and more invested. They continued to stiff each other and I honestly have no idea how they kept the pace they did. Goto nearly decapitated Ishii with a lariat, only for Ishii to kick out at one. That really took the crowd to the next level. Goto put the focus on Ishii’s neck and head, hitting several neckbreakers and USHIGOROSHI (shoutout to Mauro). Ishii had blood in his mouth and I’m not sure if it was something internal or a busted lip. After surviving the very best they could throw at each other, Ishii put Goto down and retained in 17:15.

This is what the NEVER Openweight Title was built on. Two warriors doing battle to not just win, but outlast the other. They worked the crowd into a frenzy and never stopped. It’s the Tomohiro Ishii special. 12-20 minutes of non-stop, hard hitting action and a never say die attitude. Goto gave him everything in his arsenal, but Ishii weathered the storm and retained the gold. A must-see match that’s probably their second best encounter ever. [****½]

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Random Match Review: 8/21/17

NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament: The Miracle Violence Connection vs. The Steiner Brothers – Clash of the Champions XIX 6/16/92; McAlister Field House


Looking to re-establish their relationship with the NWA, WCW hosted an NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament. The opening stuff went down on this edition of the Clash of the Champions. Earlier in the night, the Miracle Violence Connection, Steve Williams and Terry Gordy, defeated Jeff and Larry O’Dea. The Steiner Brothers beat Miguel Perez Jr. and Ricky Santana via forfeit, which got them to the second round here.

I’ve seen these teams wrestle once. At Beach Blast, four days after this, they wrestled to a thirty minute draw. Rick started the match for his team and commentary instantly noted that was unusual for the Steiners. Little things like that being noticed by commentary adds so much. It really made this feel like a strategic head game, rather than Rick just wanting to start. Some of the early stuff felt clunky, but they made it work. For example, Scott had trouble bridging up with Gordy on him and instead of feeling like a botch, it was more like we saw how not even Scott’s strength was enough against these opponents.

Once things picked up, this became one of the manlier tag matches you’ll find. Scott started throwing suplexes and the intensity revved up. Slaps, ground and pound and stiff shots were the name of the game from there on out. The fans woke up for that, popping for the big offense and biting on near falls. Rick got the hot tag of sorts, as we were treated to the old “referee didn’t see the tag” spot. Scott had his leg worked on, so when he got clipped late, it seemed like it might be the end but he survived a great gorilla press slam. Scott came back with an attempted belly to belly suplex, only to get clipped again. Williams landed on top of him and got the three at 15:01 to eliminate the tournament’s #1 seed.

Early on, this wasn’t really working for me. I just wanted to see them go at it, but the slow start left something to be desired. Once it got going, I was way into this. Rugged action that looked legitimate at times and felt different to a lot of what was going on at the time. The finish worked because it came as a shock and played into the leg work from earlier. I prefer their match from Beach Blast, but this was still great. [****]

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WWE SummerSlam Review

WWE SummerSlam 2017
August 20th, 2017 | Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York

Oh, boy. These six hour shows tend to be very middle of the pack.

Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz w/ Maryse vs. The Hardy Boyz and Jason Jordan
This match just happened on Raw last week. It started around 5:30PM EST and the crowd was mostly still outside the arena. Not a good look. The Hardys returned at Mania in front of a massive crowd and were back to working in front of GFW/TNA levels of empty seats. Anyway, the match was similar to the one on Raw, but flowed better and didn’t go too long. That helped things out. Jeff took most of the heat for his team and Matt got the hot tag to several “DELETE” chants. Jordan eventually got another hot tag of sorts, throwing Dallas and Axel around. The finish saw a barrage of moves from everyone until Jordan went for the Angle Slam. Miz had blind tagged in and planted Jordan with the Skull Crushing Finale at 10:33. It was a match. Wasn’t too bad, wasn’t too interesting either. Miz deserves better.[**]

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Akira Tozawa [c] w/ Titus O’Neil vs. Neville
Neville brought out the all white gear tonight. There was a lot of back and forth stuff early on, but the crowd wasn’t very invested. Despite things playing out evenly early, it felt like Tozawa may have had Neville’s number. He locked in the Octopus Hold and got two near falls shortly after. Neville responded by going after the previously injured shoulder, though I’d have liked more focus on that throughout. Neville cut Tozawa off up top and ended up getting his knees up to block the senton that beat him on Raw. Neville followed with the Red Arrow to the back to regain the title in 11:44. Solid match, with some issues. A lackluster crowd hurt it and I wish there was better psychology related stuff earlier, though the finish was nice. I don’t get the point of doing the title switch for no real reason. [***]

WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship: The New Day [c] w/ Kofi Kingston vs. The Usos
The Kickoff MAIN EVENT! These teams tore the house down last month, though we got Big E instead of Kofi Kingston this time. The most important thing to note, was that Xavier Woods was still involved. He came out looking like a star. He played a great face in peril and the Usos were great at cutting off the hot tag. Big E got to run wild once he got it, which was when the action and pace picked up. The Usos busted out some new offense, including an incredible spot where they did the Alley-Uce from in the ring to the outside. I’ve never seen anyone do that. New Day came close to winning, but the pin was broken up. I completely bought into it. The same could be said for a splash spot on Woods at one point. Big E had a tope suicida cut off with a superkick, before being taken out with a splash. Woods ate another splash for another title switch in 19:12. Slightly below their Battleground match, but still something great. This was the first thing the crowd got excited for, the chemistry between the teams was off the charts and we even got a bit of history. The Usos joined Edge & Christian, the Dudley Boyz, the Hardy Boyz and the New Age Outlaws as the only teams to win four Tag Team Titles. [****¼]

The main card began here.

Baron Corbin vs. John Cena
Seeing John Cena open a show is strange. He was in a playful mood, going to commentary to say that Corbin was “shook.” About a week ago, Corbin looked to be in line for something big. He had a marquee match with Cena and the Money in the Bank briefcase. He lost his cash-in and looked weak here. At no point did he look like a legitimate threat. I think Corbin’s at his best against smaller opponents who bump well for him (Zayn, Kalisto), which isn’t Cena’s style. Most of Cena’s recent run has been very basic, paint-by-numbers stuff and this was no different. Cena won via Attitude Adjustment in 10:11. It wasn’t bad, it just felt like something that I’d see on a house show or TV. It didn’t belong on Pay-Per-View at all. Corbin had a horrible week, while Cena moves on to Raw most likely. [**¼]

WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: Naomi [c] vs. Natalya
It was almost impossible to get interested in this one. Two bland women in a big time title match. That was clear from the crowd response, as they basically sat on their hands for this entire match. To be fair, they tried their hardest. Natalya brought good offense and Naomi bumped around quite well. I thought Natalya was a solid bully and she didn’t throw in too much of her awkward character work that tends to drag her matches down. I liked the tease of Carmella watching from the back, teasing her cash-in. Naomi fired up and rallied, but in surprising fashion, it wasn’t enough. Natalya slapped on her second Sharpshooter and Naomi had no choice but to tap out after 10:50. Natalya as champion sounds painful, but this was better than expected. Good effort, though the crowd didn’t care about any of it. No Carmella cash-in was disappointing. [**¾]

Big Cass vs. Big Show
Enzo Amore was suspended in a shark cage above the ring. It was nowhere near as high as Paul Ellering or Chris Jericho in recent months. Anyway, this was pitiful. Whoever thought giving Show and Cass s10:27 is a moron. It was so boring. Show sold his hand a bunch and Cass’ offense was dreadful. Enzo put the spotlight on himself with his antics in the cage, before lubing himself up, stripping to his boxers and escaping the cage. It all led to an instant big boot. So again, Enzo looked like a complete loser. Cass hit two big boots and the Empire Elbow to mercifully end this. Up there with Rusev/Cena and the House of Horrors for worst WWE PPV match this year. [DUD]

Randy Orton vs. Rusev
Fuck this. Rusev jumped Orton before the match to give himself an advantage. As soon as the bell rang, Orton hit the RKO and won in 0:09. Randy’s stunk up the joint for most of 2017 and took losses on four straight PPVs, so I knew he’d win here, but seriously? Honest question coming up. Other than the 1.3 billion people in India, why isn’t Rusev in Jinder’s spot? Not making a knock on Jinder, but Rusev is great in the ring and super charismatic. He deserves better than this shit. [NR]

WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss [c] vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha came out with a peacock like headdress. The good thing about these two is that their reported legitimate beef has led to some stiff shots in their matches. This was no different. I thought the opening minutes of this delivered in spades. Unfortunately, it seemed to drag on in the back half. Alexa worked the arm and it wasn’t all that interesting at that point. Sasha made a comeback and won with the Bank Statement in 13:17, but that finish felt very anti-climactic. It felt like they realized the finish was coming up and had to rush it after taking a while with most of the back half stuff. Like I said, I thought the opening stretch was great, but we got half a strong match here. I’m also not sure about putting the title on Sasha here. [**½]

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Balor
I watched this show with my girlfriend, who was mainly waiting for Finn. His “Demon” paint was cool and I liked that it felt like he was a different person from the guy who lost to Bray on Monday. Too often, the “Demon” wrestles just like Finn. There needs to be something to set him apart. They did some good mind games like moments, including one where they had a cool staredown. Finn was more aggressive than usual here and had to escape Sister Abigail more than a few times. In the end, Bray attempted his spider walk thing, but Finn just got up and was having none of it. That took Bray aback and Finn finished him with a flurry capped by the Coup de Grace in 10:41. Not a match many will probably remember, though I thought it was solid and the best thing on the main show thus far. I got a kick out of seeing the paint for the first time in a year and Finn got a much-needed win. Plus, it was the first good Bray singles match on PPV this year. [***]

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Cesaro and Sheamus [c] vs. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins
The mini-Shield reunion has been fun and has potential to be a highlight of the rest of 2017. Dean and Seth have been lost in the shuffle of the singles scene on Raw and could be a kick in the ass for the tag division. Take note, NJPW. The crowd was into this, but really got going when Cesaro hopped into the stands and popped a beach ball some bored fans were playing with. This was not the match to pull something like that, as it was a lot of fun. There were great tandem moments from both teams, awesome spots and close near falls. Cesaro and Sheamus are a great team that I think get very underrated. The end saw Seth super rana Cesaro into Sheamus and Dean, causing a huge car wreck like scene. Seth then hit superkicks and his Rainmaker V-Trigger spot, before Dean got the win with Dirty Deeds in 18:34. Awesome match. Lots of action, a match that moved along briskly and had a hot crowd. Once Cesaro popped the beach ball, this picked up and never stopped. I’m all for a big rematch at the next Raw PPV. The Tag Title matches shined tonight. [****]

WWE United States Championship: AJ Styles [c] vs. Kevin Owens
Shane McMahon was the special guest referee. These two have had good matches, marred by cheap finishes and shenanigans. This followed that trope. The action was mostly good, as these are two of the best in the world (with AJ being THE best), even though a few moves weren’t as crisp as they should’ve been. My main gripe was the focus on Shane. I totally understand that this was all to set up Owens/Shane, but they beat us over the head with the idea that Shane is the one ref who could take a hit. He got hit over and over again. There was a funny moment where Owens got upset at him, shouting, “YOU CAN FALL OFF BUILDINGS BUT YOU CAN’T GET UP TO MAKE A COUNT?” AJ eventually won with the Phenomenal Forearm in 17:23. They told a great story, but some parts were wacky and didn’t hit the way they needed to for this to be truly great. [***¾]

WWE Championship: Jinder Mahal [c] w/ The Singh Brothers vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura got his violinist for his entrance. My feelings about Mahal were magnified in this match. He hit on the heel mannerisms and looked the part, but a lot of the in-ring stuff missed the mark. This started fine, with a fair amount of action and Nakamura being his charismatic self. It quickly slowed down as Jinder took over on offense. That segment was mostly dull. Nakamura attempted to make his comeback, only for the Singh Brothers to get involved. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Nakamura fought them off and then fell to a weak looking Khallas in 11:25. I may have been too nice with this score, but there was potential for a good match in there. It got ruined by a dull middle and the overdone, already boring Jinder match finish. Also, it was an odd way for Nakamura to lose. He just beat John Cena clean and survived an AA, but lost in relatively easy fashion here. Strange. [**¾]

WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar [c] w/ Paul Heyman vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe
Ah, now this is more I like it. A major title match that felt like a big deal and delivered like one. I wanted a war and that’s exactly what I got. This was magnificently chaotic. Braun came out looking like the biggest star in the world. He owned Lesnar, putting him through two tables and dropping a third on top of him. Brock did the stretcher job to avoid doing too much work. Braun also launched the announcer’s chair again, because he’s awesome. Reigns got booed every time he did something, while Joe was kind of just there. Not that he was bad, but he didn’t play a major role and I wish he did. Although, he did come close a few times with the Coquina Clutch. Brock made his return and went right at Braun. It was incredible to see Brock sell so much for a non-part timer. We had several broken tables, a broken guardrail, chairs and four beefy dudes beating the shit out of each other. What more could I ask for? The multi-man match doesn’t always work, but WWE got it right this time around. Brock retained after hitting Reigns with an F5 at 20:52, to end a fantastic match. This was one of the best SummerSlam main events ever. I gave the same score to the closing matches in 1992, 2009 and 2013, but that’s about it. [****½]

Overall: 6/10. As is the case with a lot of these six hour affairs, this was a mixed bag. When the show hit, it was rad. When it missed, it struck out by a mile. There were three standout matches. The two Tag Team Title matches were absolutely must-see and the Universal Title match was an incredible spectacle. Go out of your way to see them. I thought AJ/Owens was very good, while Bray/Finn and the Cruiserweight Title were solid. The rest of the show could be skipped for the most part. The Women’s Title matches were alright. The WWE Title match was lackluster and Corbin/Cena felt like something I’d see on a house show. Rusev/Orton and Cass/Show were absolute travesties.

WWE SummerSlam Predictions

I really like Finn Balor and I always appreciate seeing the Demon, but I just can't get into this. Everything involving Bray Wyatt ultimately feels hollow and meaningless. He had a months long feud with Randy Orton that did nothing. Same for his short feud with Seth Rollins. This feud honestly feels like it's only here to give us a reason to see the Demon for the first time in a year. Bray won on Raw, so I don't think he beats the Demon as well.

Winner: Finn Balor

Rusev deserves so much better. He should be in Jinder Mahal's spot. He's good in the ring and incredibly charismatic. Anyway, Randy Orton has been giving unmotivated performances in almost every match since the Luke Harper and AJ Styles ones before WrestleMania. Naturally, that means Rusev should win here. He lost to John Cena in a brutally bad match at Battleground and could stand to regain momentum. But, Orton's lost at four straight PPVs. He's not gonna lose in five straight. Poor Rusev.

Winner: Randy Orton

WWE taking the briefcase off Baron Corbin was disappointing. He's a much more entertaining and better overall heel than the current champion. That makes this match a bit tougher to predict. With the briefcase, he could lose and still have that in his pocket, which the WWE loves to do with MITB holders. Without it, a loss to Cena following what happened on Smackdown could be fatal. Cena legitimately hasn't won at SummerSlam since the Team Nexus debacle in 2010 and hasn't won a singles match at the PPV since 2007 (lost to Batista in 08, Orton in 09, Punk in 11, Punk in 12, Bryan in 13, Brock in 14, Seth in 15, AJ in 16). I say Cena wins before heading to Raw. Big Banter flounders unless he goes to Raw and gets a win back.

Winner: Big Match John

Holy shit. This sounds bad. Cass is wildly uninteresting. At least they tried something with the hand injury on Raw, even if it's completely unoriginal. I'm gonna say Big Cass wins and Enzo does something to make him look like a fool, because the WWE seems to love that.

Winner: Big Ass

They stole the show at Battleground, having the best WWE PPV match since the Elimination Chamber. At least off the top of my head. With Big E replacing Kofi Kingston, I don't think it'll be quite as good, since the smaller New Day guys worked so well with the Usos last time. That being said, it should still be very good. Their chemistry is great and, if given time, this could steal the show again. Part of me sees a title swap, but part of me thinks New Day retains. I'll go with that.

Winners: The New Day

I don't understand WWE booking sometimes. Why give this away on Raw before SummerSlam? I know the title switch gave Raw a cool moment, but it's just dumb. Their GBOF match was good and Raw was a bit better. If this is on the main card, I worry it doesn't get the time to fully develop. If it's on the Kickoff Show, it could pull an Aries/Neville from Mania and be great. I have a sinking suspicion that Neville regains the gold/silver here.

Winner: The King

If the WWE is doing long term thinking (they're probably not), they could set this Dean/Seth up all the way to Mania. A friend of mine brought it up a few weeks ago but they should win the titles and hold them until the end of the year when the Revival can hopefully return and dethrone them. Then, maybe Dean turns heel (it would be fresh for him) and it leads to the first Dean/Seth match in quite some time at WrestleMania. However, they've probably only planned things out until Raw after SummerSlam. Either way, I'm gonna say Dean and Seth win the straps here. Shame for Cesaro and Sheamus, because they're awesome.

Winners: The Discount Shield

Smackdown has been quite the shit show lately, hasn't it? They've even fumbled most of this storyline and the matches haven't lived up to the hype. That's not say they've been bad matches (though the Battleground one wasn't good), but the ones with potential have been killed by the finishes. They've made up for it a bit with the Shane stuff over the past few weeks and hopefully, this time they deliver the greatness they're capable of. I'm going with AJ retaining, to give him a proper reign, and set up an angry Owens to feud with Shane McMahon. Maybe a match at Hell in a Cell?

Winner: AJ Styles

Honestly, I'm happier we got this match over Bliss/Bayley. Bayley has been Bliss' best opponent, but the Sasha match at the last PPV was good before the countout finish. There was an intensity to it that we don't often get from women's matches. Though Sasha never got a good reign in 2016, this is not the time for her. She's been very mediocre lately and babyface Sasha just doesn't work at all. Alexa should retain and hopefully they call up Asuka, who can take the title off her and run through the division.

Winner: Alexa Bliss

Smackdowns' equivalent to Cass/Show. I can't imagine anyone caring about this. I'm admittedly not a Naomi fan, but Natalya is one of the worst possible opponents for her. I can't stand Charlotte at all, but at least she has name value and it would've been a bigger match fitting of SummerSlam. I love Becky and a battle of Smackdown's two pure babyface women could've worked too. This is gonna suck something fierce. As always, Natalya will do relatively crisp offense, but fill in time with horrible character work. Naomi wins. Just put the damn title on Carmella already. Carmella vs. Becky is easily the best possible women's program on Smackdown.

Winner: Naomi

Imagine a world where Nakamura's first title win should come over Jinder Mahal. I don't think Nakamura is ready to be WWE Champion yet, but Jinder Mahal wasn't back in May, so what the hell do I know? Part of me thinks Nakamura wins to please the fans, but apparently the WWE is coming to India in September. I see Jinder as champion that night. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Jinder retains through nefarious terms. He's already been champion for far too long, so why not just keep it going?

Winner: Jinder Mahal

Forget almost everything else on this card. This is what I'm waiting for. Four bad motherfuckers just going to war. This has potential to be incredible. There are only two options that I accept coming out of this. A Universal Title reign for Samoa Joe or Braun Strowman. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar can fuck off. Brock can do something else and come back, away from the title picture. Though I'm pulling for joe or Braun, I'm going with Roman. If Brock really is heading to the UFC, that puts a rush on the Roman/Brock idea. Plus, I never vote against the big dog.

Winner: BIG DOG GOTTA EAT

2017 Prediction Record: 43-28
2016 Prediction Record: 72-41
2015 Prediction Record: 60-35

Random Match Review: 8/19/17

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: KENTA [c] vs. Low Ki – ROH Final Battle 12/17/05; Inman Sports Club


Before being known to a wider audience as Hideo Itami, he was KENTA. This would mark the ROH debut for the NOAH star, as he defended his GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title against Low Ki. If you wanted to know how big a deal this way, just note that this was the main event. Yes, ROH’s biggest show of the year was headlined by a debuting Jr. Heavyweight. I absolutely loved the ROH/NOAH partnership. It was about 10,000x better than their NJPW partnership.

The ROH faithful rightfully treated this like a big match. Both men came in confident that their striking ability was better than the other. For example, even after Ki brutalized KENTA with some kicks, the champ retaliated by cockily kicking him in the back of the head, shrugging it off. Their first strike exchange was brief but violent. Almost as if it was put there purely to tease the audience. Each kick sounded more painful than the last. There was a feeling that these were two very evenly matched wrestlers. Despite that, it was Ki who took control, wearing down KENTA and focusing on the back. I say wear down, but it wasn’t anything dull like you get in some other matches.

KENTA began his comeback, fueled by kicks and high impact offense. When he couldn’t put Ki away for good, that set up a finishing stretch of wild stuff. Ki hit the Warrior’s Way and busted out the Kobashi chops, while KENTA delivered a super falcon arrow (HE DID THE SUPER DEAL). They went to exchange some of the hardest slaps you’ll ever see in a ring. It reached a point where KENTA knocked Ki down with one and the fans bought it as a finish. A highlight came when KENTA had the Busaiku Knee countered into a Ki Krusher, which was insanely awesome. In the end, KENTA hit the first Go to Sleep in ROH history, which Ki sold like death. He followed with the Busaiku Knee to retain in 25:02.

An incredible encounter. KENTA had the best in-ring debut for a company I can think of, at least until Shinsuke Nakamura showed up in NXT in 2016. Low Ki was the perfect opponent for this, as their styles were similar and played right into KENTA’s strengths, introducing him as well as anyone could have. The crowd was hot for everything. Nothing against them, but I do feel this might’ve been even better in a place like the Manhattan Center. Anyway, they beat the hell out of each other and raised the bar until a great finish. [****½]

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NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III Predictions

Like a lot of recent TakeOvers, this has some matches without great build but filled with top tier talent. This is one of them. Johnny Gargano and Andrade Almas are my two favorite wrestlers in NXT. By a fairly wide margin. This is my pick for the show stealer. Almas winning makes more sense. Gargano's the kind of babyface who can afford it (especially if Tommaso Ciampa makes an appearance) and Almas needs it. He's lost too often and with Vega keeping him focused, he should win.

Winner: Andrade Almas

I know they seem to love Aleister Black, but this not being Hideo Itami vs. Kassius Ohno is strange to me. That's exactly where it was building to. I think this one is quite obvious. Black is headed for big things, while it doesn't seem like Itami is on the same path. I'm pretty sure this is the end of Itami's NXT run. He's been there for a while and it's kind of NXT Title or bust for him at this point. He's not winning the title, so I say he loses here and gets called up in the next Superstar Shakeup, where he'll unfortunately not do a lot most likely. I say this as someone who loves Itami.

Winner: Aleister Black

People aren't talking about it enough, but the Authors of Pain have been one of the best tag teams in the world this year. The only teams I'd put ahead of them in terms of performance would be The South Pacific Power Trip and British Strong Style. #DIY and the Revival were great too, but haven't done a ton this year. Anyway, this matchup with SAnitY should be a chaotic brawl, with suits both teams. SAnitY is a lot of fun, but I can't see them as the guys to dethrone AOP and hand them their first loss.

Winners: The Authors of Pain

After TakeOver: Orlando, I felt this was a foregone conclusion. Ember Moon lost because Asuka resorted to a cheap trick. I fully assumed Ember would be the one to finally take the title from Asuka. Part of me feels like it could go the other way, though. With women like Kairi Shane and Shayna Baszler on the way, I could see them not wanting to miss out on the chance to book something big like that. Still, I'm going with my gut and picking Ember to pull it off.

Winner: Ember Moon

I just cannot get interested in this. There's no reason for me to want to see Drew McIntyre win anything expect for his name value. Like Black/Itami, this doesn't make as much sense as Roode's feud with Roderick Strong is much more interesting. There's a reason for even the casual viewer to root for Roddy. The personal issues are easy to relate to. Anyway, Drew and Roode feels like something put together simply because of name value. I'm thinking Roode retains. Drew will come close, though.

Winner: Bobby Roode