This weekend had a shit ton of wrestling. Here’s my thoughts:
TNA
The PPV was alright. It’s TNA. It just don’t hit quite like it did in the old days. The match with Santana was dope. He’s a seasoned vet and passionate on the mic. Enjoyed watching him. Ash by elegance vs spitfire wasn’t bad. Surprising because I can’t see spit fire being solo acts. Maybe they are heading to NXT or something? Dana Brooke has arguably the ugliest Swanton I’ve ever seen. But she hits it everytime. Ariana jobbed to Tessa. I don’t know why they’ve made her so pathetic. Either wrestle or be comedic relief with Santino. Seeing Alicia fox wrestle again was dope. She moved pretty well. Wonder if this will be a long term thing for her. Mustafa Ali is cool. Good gimmick but they need to feud with the System cuz it’s getting stale. The nemeth’s (dolph ziggler and dem) put on a good match. He needs to go back to wwe soon. Hendry and Elias and trick and kazarian was cool but let’s face it, everyone just wanted to see trick vs Joe. It was a throwaway match IMO. I just CANNOT with Hendry. His gimmick is beyond corny. Over all show, I’d say 3 out of 5. Had they put Sami Callahan on there it woulda been better.
NXT
the PPV was phenomenal. They never put on bad shows. Been wanting sol rucca and keilani for a while 1 on 1. I was hoping for a title change caused by Zaria interfering accidentally and having a sista be the first champ and first 2 time champ. Considering how the girls were going spot for spot it was a possibility. But sol hit that sol snatcher off the top rope (never seen that) and it was all she wrote. Great match between both ladies. They both fine so everyone wins.
The match between Oba and the deaf dude was cool. That kid can wrestle. Can’t recall his name. Oba needs a bit more competition. He’s literally too big and dominant. He can’t pull off the “barely won” vibe like Melo used to do. That new kid from LFG should be a good feud provided he ain’t too green. We shall see.
I liked the match with stacks and the don. I know it’s corny but that guy pulls off the mob boss really well. Gimmick suits him. Would like to see more of Rizzo though. Her and Jaida both got attitudes and I think they’d mesh well.
I don’t normally care bout the tag matches. Hank and take don’t do it for me and I could care less bout the culling. They a super watered down version of the Wyatt’s.
Grace and vaquero delivered for sure. I’m not Gaga for vacquero. But that’s only because I think her move set is a little bland. Solid wrestler however. Grace is a powerhouse and puts on good shows. Both women did well. Enjoyable match.
Already stated I can’t stand Hendry. Shit is gay. That being said I fully expected him to win. Trick winning literally shocked me. Curious to see how this works. Personally I’d rather have had moose beat trick and be featured more on NXT. but I get the wwe will always be superior and never “job” their titles to other promotions. Can’t wait to see what they have trick do in TNA.
AEW
This card wasn’t bad at all. The opening match between Harley and Anna vs bayne and ford was good. Problem is (as always) what’s the point? Yes bayne didn’t take the pin so she looks super dominant still but why is she tagging with ford? I keep expecting her to turn on her but it isn’t happening. Bayne should only be gearing for toni. Plenty of eye candy though.
FTR and Garcia was kinda stupid. Yea they put on good matches. Wrestling wise they are great. None of the wrestlers however look the part. Danny looks like a 15 year old, while ftr look like guys from ur neighborhood mechanic shop. Stokley is hilarious however so it gives this feud life.
Richochet and ol briscoe was fun. I know richochet gets hate but I love watching him work. Briscoe works well with everyone. Didn’t expect him to lose however. Fun match.
Hayter vs banks. Look I get Mercedes is the it girl. But I’m STILL not convinced by her. I don’t like her Matt Cardona style run where she’s winning belts in every promotion. Matt has charisma to pull it off. I’m not convinced with Mercedes. Also, during long matches she spams the hell out of that code breaker. She needs to add some moves. Yes I know omega does the same shit with the V trigger but that man has literally done it all. He’s beat to shit physically. He needs to stick to simple moves like that. Anyhow, it was an entertaining match. We get mone and storm. We knew this. Here’s my issue. Storm just got the belt back not too long ago. It’s not time for her to drop it just yet. Is she going to a different promotion? It don’t make sense for her to drop it so soon. But then again, since Mercedes ks here for the long haul that would be the person to drop it to. The promos between her and Megan will be straight ass however. Just get ready for that.
Hurt syndicate is always a good time. I don’t know how Benjamin and Bobby still operate as well as they do in their age groups. Bobby shouldn’t be that cut and Ben shouldn’t move that quick and smooth. Scripted or not it gives me hope. Really hoping to see more out of this group since they have MJF. he needs to go straight for the belt with mvp and company’s as his protectors. Sons of Texas did cool. Dusty is old and it shows but he still moves REALLY well for an old guy. Surprisingly he says he’s got a couple years left. More power to him.
Match between hangman and osprey was damn good. When omega retires the natural successor should be will. This match had strong style, lucha elements and plenty of spots. U had no clue who was going to win. This was a dope match and it’s what makes Indy wrestling popular. Fortunately these guys are good enough to be “mainstream”. Don’t know if they’ll be in the wwe one day but they are entertaining AF. so glad we gettin it now while they still relatively young.
The anarchy match was my favorite match however. It was so much going on they actually went into a 4 way split stream. It was a hardcore match mixed with death match shit. Swerve got a staple gun to the tongue…..yea. It may not be everyone cup of tea. I liked how EVERYONE got involved however. Plus, when they stsrted up “let the bodies hit the floor” I didn’t expect them to play it for 5 minutes. Something about fighting to music enhanced the experience. Crowd loved it. Only gripe I have is that willow didn’t get much tv time. They made Hobbs look like a beast however. I liked willow though. That thick sista can get it. She just resigned with AEW so we will see more of her. Glad they made that shafir chick fight finally. She gets paid day in and day out to just stand there and look like a bitch. Other final issue is that once again, the belt is never revealed. Still don’t know what the long term game of that belt is. But that’s become a constant theme this past year. All in all, it was a fun match.
And now I’m done. Too tired to talk bout raw and nxt.