[WR] REVIEW: NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool - British, Strong, And With Style

[WrestlingRumors.net]

WrestlingRumors.net

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REVIEW: NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool - British, Strong, And With Style

Posted: 31 Aug 2019 12:12 AM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/review-nxt-uk-takeover-blackpool-british-strong-style/


Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing
wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on
Wrestlingrumors.net, starting today. It could be anything from modern WWE
to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using
letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as
really, how good or bad can something that short be?
Takeover: Blackpool

Date: January 12, 2019

Location: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England

Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
I’m not sure what to think about this. First of all, it’s cool that NXT UK
is starting to do something like this. You can only go so far with a TV
show and nothing else so having a special like this helps. At the same time
though, NXT was down in Full Sail for nearly two years before its first
Network special. It hasn’t even been three months since NXT UK TV debuted.
I hope they’re ready so let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at the path to this event, with the first event
taking place in this very building. Each match gets a quick preview.
The announcers, actually in the arena for a change, run down the card.
Tag Team Titles: Moustache Mountain vs. Zack Gibson/James Drake
For the inaugural titles. Moustache Mountain have some British Bulldogs
inspired tights for the very nice touch. We see the rather pretty belts for
the first time, which is always a nice feeling. Gibson and Bate start
things off and the fans are already singing for Bate. An early armbar takes
Bate down and it’s time to take the shoes off in hatred of Gibson. Bate
gets taken down in a test of strength and bridges up until he backflips out
of it in a very unique escape.
Drake and Seven come in so it’s time to drum up a new song. A quick
fireman’s carry slam sets up Bate’s middle rope cannonball so it’s back to
Gibson, who bails to the floor. Back in and a hurricanrana keeps Gibson in
trouble, followed by Seven hitting a crossbody for two. Drake comes in sans
tag for a distraction and heads outside, where a suicide dive hurts Seven’s
arm. The slowed down Seven gets taken down by a Gibson clothesline and the
villains take over.
Drake grabs an arm trap chinlock (Seven: “OW MY ARM!”) and then hits a
discus elbow, which actually busts the back of Seven’s head open. Gibson,
who the fans still hate, grabs a chinlock of his own as Seven still can’t
get out of trouble. Seven and Drake head outside where Seven’s chops don’t
have much effect but once back inside, he’s able to drive into the corner
for the tag to Bate in a hurry. That was a different kind of hot tag and
that’s greatly appreciated.
Bate picks up the pace with a middle rope back elbow to Gibson, followed by
an airplane spin to both of them AT THE SAME TIME. I know I say this every
time but EGADS that’s impressive. Gibson and Drake head outside so Bate
hits a shooting star off the apron for the double knockdown. Bop and Bang
hit Gibson and it’s back to Seven for a suplex into the Swan Dive for two.
Gibson kicks Seven in the knee and brings Drake back in for a pinfall
reversal sequence.
Everything breaks down again and the dragon suplex/clothesline combination
is broken up with Gibson’s Ticket To Ride. Helter Skelter into a 450 gets a
very close two on Seven and the fans are back into it. Gibson gets the
Shankley Gates on Seven and Drake puts another one on Bate at the same
time. Just because he can, Bate powers up into a Death Valley Driver to
sent Drake into Gibson and Seven for the save.
Bate comes back in and starts throwing the good looking boxing punches. The
half dragon suplex/clothesline combination gets two on Drake and the fans
aren’t sure what to do now. Bate gets knocked off the apron and onto
Gibson’s shoulders, setting up a suicide dive Doomsday Device on the floor
to knock Bate cold. Back in and Ticket to Mayhem gives Drake the pin and
the titles at 23:52.
Rating: B+. Very good opener and exactly how the finish should have gone.
Moustache Mountain are the most over people on the roster not named Pete
Dunne and they don’t need to win here to keep that spot. Gibson and Drake
are awesome together and it makes a lot more sense to give them the titles
to bring them up to the next level. Therefore, when Moustache Mountain, or
whoever it is, takes the titles from them, it means that much more. Really
intense match here and an awesome opening match.
Johnny Saint and Sid Scala come out to congratulate the new champs.
Earlier today, Jordan Devlin attacked Travis Banks and injured his knee.
Banks is still medically cleared.
Travis Banks vs. Jordan Devlin
Banks has a bad knee but he’s fine enough to dive onto Devlin before the
bell. Devlin gets in a whip into the steps though and the knee is crushed
into the steel over and over. Referees and Scala come out to break it up
and it doesn’t look like there’s a match here. Devlin grabs the mic and
says he’s the greatest Irish wrestler alive. Hang on though as Scala says
there’s a backup plan as they thought Devlin might try something like this.
Finn Balor vs. Jordan Devlin
This is a special one as Balor trained Devlin. They stare each other down
and the scared looking Devlin slaps him in the face, earning himself a
Sling Blade. It’s way too early for the Coup de Grace as Devlin bails out
to the floor. Devlin gets in a shot outside and hits his own jumping double
stomp back inside.
Balor is right back with a basement dropkick but a regular version breaks
up another Coup de Grace attempt. Back in and Devlin pounds away so Balor
chops the skin off his chest. 1916 is blocked with an enziguri so Balor
hits him with the Pele for a double knockdown. Another attempt works just
fine but Devlin gets up again.
The arm pull into the hard belly to back gives Devlin two of his own. Some
shots to the ribs keep Balor in trouble until he knocks Devlin outside.
That means the running kick to the chest but Devlin posts him for two with
feet on the ropes. A moonsault hits raised knees though and it’s an
inverted DDT to knock Devlin silly, followed by the running corner
dropkick. Now the Coup de Grace connects to give Balor the pin at 11:46.
Rating: B. That’s exactly what it needed to be as you don’t have Devlin
beat a former World Champion. At the same time, there’s no shame in losing
to someone that far above you and Devlin got in a lot of offense. Balor was
a great choice for the replacement and that’s one of the places where WWE
shines. One of the wrestlers on your regional minor league show is hurt?
Here’s a former World Champion, who happens to be the opponent’s trainer,
as a replacement.
Its a special surprise:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Luke Menzies is here.
We recap Dave Mastiff vs. Eddie Dennis. They’re the two monsters of NXT and
Mastiff beat Dennis in their first match. Dennis then attacked him to set
up a rematch, which went to a double DQ. That’s kind of a weird way to set
up a third match but it could be fun.
Eddie Dennis vs. Dave Mastiff
No DQ. They go straight for the slugout to start with Mastiff hitting a
crossbody for the first knockdown. Since it’s anything goes they head
outside with Mastiff running him over again and loading up the steps and
sending them inside for some fun. Dennis finds a kendo stick though and
cracks Mastiff over the back to take over. A Russian legsweep with the
stick gets two and it’s time to choke with said stick.
Another big swing is blocked though and Mastiff hits a headbutt (CRACK) to
rock Dennis. Mastiff powerbombs him down and loads up the steps but another
crossbody is countered into a spinning Rock Bottom (with Dennis’ legs
shaking) onto the steel for another two. Dennis brings in a chair but walks
into a Regal Roll.
For some reason Dave goes up top though and that means the release Severn
Bridge for a rather close near fall. A table is set up in the corner but
Mastiff knocks him down and sits on Dennis’ chest. Another Regal Roll on
the floor sets up a backsplash as Dennis is mostly dead. Back in and Dennis
gets two off the reverse inverted DDT as reality is setting in. Severn
Bridge through the table is broken up and Mastiff Cannonballs him through
it instead for the pin at 11:53.
Rating: B-. Perfectly watchable power brawl with weapons, though it’s
nothing that hasn’t been done before. Mastiff remaining undefeated is the
right call and you could put him forward for a one off title shot at some
point. I still like Dennis a lot and that kind of look and imposing
presence is going to keep him around for a good while.
Kay Lee Ray and Jazzy Gabert are here.
We recap Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm. Ripley won the inaugural Women’s Title
by beating an injured Storm and there really isn’t any other real
competition for her. Storm is healthy and focused now after winning the Mae
Young Classic. They’re both prodigies and this could be a heck of a match,
or at least a major preview of the future.
Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley
Ripley is defending. Storm goes after her to start and starts firing off
the forearms until a faceplant cuts her off. That’s fine with Storm who
hammers away even more, setting up a suicide dive onto a bailing Ripley.
They don’t head inside just yet though and Ripley kicks her back first into
the barricade. Back in and Ripley stomps away as the loud fans continue to
be split.
The bodyscissors stays on the weakened ribs and a delayed vertical suplex
gets two. A pair of legdrops gives the champ two but the trash talking lets
Storm headbutt her for a double knockdown. The slugout goes to Storm and
she rolls some German suplexes but Storm Zero is countered. So is Riptide
and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence for two each.
Ripley gets the standing Texas Cloverleaf but gets reversed into the hip
attack in the corner. Storm gets frustrated at the kickout and gets caught
with Riptide for two, giving us Ripley’s great stunned face. A headbutt
lets Storm Zero connect for two and they’re both down again. Storm slugs
away with forearms and another Storm Zero gives her the pin and the title
at 14:49.
Rating: B-. Kind of a flat and out of nowhere finish as they didn’t really
build off the near fall from the first Storm Zero. Storm winning the title
so soon after Ripley won it for the first time is a bit of a surprise but
you can’t go wrong with either of them as the champion. Tyler Bate winning
the inaugural title and dropping it to Dunne has gone just fine and Storm
is going to be perfectly fine with the title, as is Ripley without it.
We recap Pete Dunne vs. Joe Coffey. Dunne has been champion for over 600
days, having won the title back in May 2017. He’s beaten everyone who has
come close to him though Coffey is a big strong guy who could knock Dunne’s
head off. Coffey isn’t the biggest star but he’s been built up well over
the last few weeks.
United Kingdom Title: Joe Coffey vs. Pete Dunne
Dunne is defending and Mark Coffey and Wolfgang head to the back in a bit
of a surprise. During the entrances, Vic says Dunne’s 603 day reign is the
longest since the beginning of Hulkamania. Not even close but we’ll go with
that for a better story than the Glamour Girls holding the WWF Women’s Team
Titles for 906 days. Aggressive feeling out process to start with Coffey
shrugging off a forearm to the face. Some finger bending has Coffey in
trouble but he knocks Dunne away without much effort.
The discus lariat misses so Dunne runs him over and tries a not great
looking Regal Stretch. Dunne switches to an armbar and, after hitting five
straight knees to get out of a vertical suplex, switches to another armbar
on the other arm. That’s broken up as well so Coffey throws him outside
with Dunne hitting his face on the apron. Dunne enziguris him but gets
slammed onto the ramp for the double knockdown. Back in and Coffey gets two
off a sidewalk slam We hit the bearhug on Dunne with an overhead belly to
belly keeping him down.
Dunne is fine enough for another enziguri and he flips out of a German
suplex for a little showing off. Coffey gets sent outside for a middle rope
moonsault and they’re both down again. Back in and the X Plex gives Dunne
two but a running headbutt to the back sends him into the cover. A
powerbomb gets two on the champ and the fans didn’t exactly react to the
kickout. Coffey goes with the Boston crab and Dunne, after nearly looking
out, dives for the rope for a break.
Back up and they trade headbutts for yet another double knockdown. Coffey
shrugs off a German suplex so Dunne takes him down into a Koji Clutch.
That’s broken up with raw power so Dunne knees him in the head and punches
him out of the air on another spinning crossbody attempt. The Bitter End
gets two so Coffey takes him to the apron for a Batista Bomb and they’re
both dead on the floor. Dunne gets back in but looks a bit scared so they
go with an exchange of kicks to the head.
The stomps to the fingers have Coffey in trouble but the discus lariat
takes Dunne down for two more. Coffey tries it again but gets pulled down
into the finger spreading. That’s lifted into a buckle bomb which doesn’t
break the hold, so it’s a swinging superbomb to really break things up.
Coffey can’t cover though and they both pull themselves up in the corners.
The slugout is on again with Dunne getting the better of it and Coffey
being out on his feet against the ropes.
Coffey snaps off a German suplex out of the corner for two more and just
unloads with right hands to the back of the head. For some reason Coffey
tries his own Bitter End but gets countered into another DDT. Dunne hits
another one of his own but Coffey rolls away before the delayed cover.
Coffey takes him to the top and brings Dunne up with him, only to fall back
to the floor in what I think was a botch. Whether it was or not, I don’t
remember the last time I saw a spot that made me gasp like that.
He’s fine though and snaps off a reverse slam for two more back inside.
They head up top again and this time dive off and into the barricade for
what I’m assuming they were trying to do the first time. Back in and
another Bitter End gives Dunne two so he grabs a triangle and cranks on the
fingers for the tap at 34:48.
Rating: A-. They got a little ridiculous with the kickouts at the end but
this felt epic for the most part. At one point the fans were chanting ARE
YOU WATCHING VINCE MCMAHON, which sums up how the match should be treated.
It was a big time match and while I wasn’t quite sold on Coffey as a
serious challenger, there were a few times where they had me believing that
they would pull the trigger on an upset. That takes some special work and
it was an awesome match. A bit too long with a few too many kickouts, but
still an excellent main event for the first Takeover. But who in the heck
is supposed to beat Dunne?
Dunne poses…..and here’s Walter (a massive Austrian with some crazy hard
chops). So that’s who beats Dunne. Coffey tries to get back in and is
kicked square in the face for his efforts. The big staredown ends the show.
They had to bring in someone new as there’s no one on the show who is
beating Dunne and Walter is as perfect of a choice as they could have made.
Yeah Dunne has beaten everyone, but imagine the monster that he can’t beat.
That’s where Walter comes in and he’s rather awesome for something like
this.
Overall Rating: A. As usual the show is good and in this case they have the
classic main event to put it over the top. Nothing on here was anywhere
close to bad and they had some historic moments, with Walter’s debut being
the highlight. He just comes off like a great monster and that’s the kind
of person who needs to take Dunne down. It’s a great show and worth seeing,
with the one hour a week of the show being a much better choice than what
they’ve been doing. Check this one out as it’s an awesome time.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post REVIEW: NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool British, Strong, And With
Style appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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Major League Wrestling Fusion Results - August 24, 2019

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 11:58 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/major-league-wrestling-fusion-results-august-24-2019/


If you would like to watch this show in full, you can check it out for free
right here:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Fusion #72

Date: August 24, 2019

Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York

Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

We’re on the road to Dallas and War Chamber, meaning things should start
picking up around here. That being said, it’s picking up at some odd spots
as the World Champion is in the big team gimmick match and everything else
has been the focus of the show. It has made for a different direction
around here and that’s not exactly a great thing. Let’s get to it.

Mance Warner has been arrested on unspecified charges. More later.

Opening sequence.

Promociones Dorado may know something about Warner being arrested so we’ll
be hearing from them later.
Hijo de LA Park vs. Zenshi

Salina de la Renta is at the police station giving her statement on Warner
(who was arrested for aggravated assault over last week’s chainsaw
incident) so Park is on his own here. Zenshi is from Chile and we’ve seen
him before. Park starts with the hip swivel so Zenshi flips over him and
it’s time for an exchange of evading. Zenshi slides to the floor and gets
caught with the suicide dive for the first major contact. The 619 on the
apron doesn’t have much effect on Hijo, who sends him into the barricade
and gets in a powerbomb onto the apron.

Back in and a release German suplex gives Park two but Zenshi sends him
hard into the corner. That means a diagonal Coast to Coast but Hijo is
right back with a Code Red Canadian Destroyer for his own two and a pop up
powerbomb for the same. Back up and Zenshi hits an awkward looking running
flip cutter (think a running headscissors but with a cutter) for the pin at
5:58.

Result: Zenshi b. Hijo de LA Park Running flip cutter (5:58)

Post match Park hits him with a chair ala his dad.

The Hart Foundation is ready for Maxwell Jacob Friedman tonight.

Buy MLW gear!

There will be an MLW/The Crash show in October.

Video on Low Ki’s run of knockout wins.

Low Ki, now a middleweight, wants a shot at Teddy Hart and the Middleweight
Title. As for Contra, they’re about to be introduced to his professional
presence.

Contra warns Tom Lawlor about coming after Fatu again. Fatu says this isn’t
a podcast or the octagon, so the beating is coming. The Von Erichs haven’t
been forgotten either and will get what is coming to them in the War
Chamber.

Saturday Night Super Fight is coming.

Salina de la Renta and Jimmy Havoc (I guess last week wasn’t Loser Leaves
MLW) don’t want to talk about Mance Warner but they’ll be waiting for him
when he comes back.

War Chamber Control Center with nothing new.

The Von Erichs and Tom Lawlor are ready for War Chamber but won’t reveal
their fourth member.

Lawlor is ready for his rematch next week because Fatu stole his title. He
didn’t steal Lawlor’s warrior heart though so Lawlor is ready for another
fight.

Alexander Hammerstone won a match in Japan.

The Dynasty is happy with all of their gold and Holiday has made a pillow
saying “Life If Beauty Full”. They talk about the people they don’t like
(fat people, ugly people and Brian Pillman Jr.) and are ready for their
matches with the Harts. Hammerstone is ready to conquer Germany and they
put their fists together.

Some big shows are coming up.

Austin Aries is coming for the Middleweight Title.
Middleweight Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Teddy Hart

Hart is defending and Aria Blake is with Friedman. Before the match, MJF
has a mic but we need to stop for a lot of booing. He talks about being
smarter than everyone and being better than Bret Hart, because he never
lost the Middleweight Title. That’s enough to bring out Teddy (with Mr.
Velvet) and we’re ready to go. Well after a pose off with the fans being
quite a bit more behind Teddy.

They shake hands and hug but a quick spank is too much for MJF. Hart is a
bit friendlier with Project Ciampa as the announcers compare the history of
the two stables. Back up and Teddy snaps the arm around the ropes, setting
up the Dungeon DDT for two. Aria gets up for a distraction so Teddy
literally kicks her to the floor. Serves her right, though she might have
just wanted some information on buying a cat.

With MJF on the floor, Hart loads up the Asai moonsault but Blake gets in
the way. That earns her a seat in a chair but Hart walks into a superkick
to put the champ in trouble. MJF tosses him into the post before it’s time
to go back inside. This time Hart gets in a shot to the knee but gets sent
into the buckle to slow things right back down. The chinlock goes on for a
bit, followed by a belly to belly into the corner for two on the champ.
Hart is back up with Code Red for two and a running Canadian Destroyer
rocks MJF again.

The springboard Arabian moonsault to the floor drops MJF again, followed by
a rather nice top rope DDT. The moonsault elbow gets two but a lower
version hits raised knees and they’re both down again. MJF hits something
like a curb stomp onto the turnbuckle and, say it with me, puts on the
Sharpshooter. With that broken up, MJF hits the Heat Seeking Driver for two
and can’t believe the kickout. Blake throws in a shoe and the distraction
lets her get in a low blow but the referee ejects her before a cover.
That’s enough of a distraction for Hart to hit the super Canadian Destroyer
to retain at 12:00.

Result: Teddy Hart b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman Super Canadian Destroyer
(12:00)

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Major League Wrestling Fusion Results August 24, 2019 appeared
first on WrestlingRumors.net.


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They Need A Check List. WWE Legend And Movie Star Annoyed At Being Left
Out Of FOX SmackDown Live Trailer.

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 09:04 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/need-check-list-wwe-legend-movie-star-annoyed-left-fox-smackdown-live-trailer/


They kind of need the star power. We are less than five weeks away from
SmackDown Live moving over to FOX in the biggest move the show has ever
had. The move is going to make SmackDown Live the new a-list show for WWE
and that means FOX is going to give it some promotion. They did just that
on Friday, but one WWE legend was not exactly happy with how it went down.

On Friday, FOX released a trailer for SmackDown Live, showing normal people
imitating wrestlers as well as various wrestling legends. This included
names who are not full time wrestlers, such as John Cena, Steve Austin and
the Rock. One name not included was Batista, who took issue with his
exclusion on Twitter. Batista mentioned that he was getting no respect and
did not seem happy. There is no word on if FOX, WWE or a combination of
both created the trailer.

C’mon guys really?! ? #zerorespect https://t.co/TDxxIWjnAe

- Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) August 31, 2019



It’s a good trailer. Check out the full thing, even if it is lacking
Batista:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: I’m on Batista’s side here as not only is he one of the biggest
stars in the history of WWE, but he was also the face of SmackDown Live for
a long time. Couple that with being in the biggest movie of all time,
which was only in theaters a few months ago and is a bigger movie star than
Cena and I have no idea why Batista would be left out. They can’t throw
him in for a three second cameo?

Did Batista belong in the trailer? Who else was left out? Let us know in
the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post They Need A Check List. WWE Legend And Movie Star Annoyed At
Being Left Out Of FOX SmackDown Live Trailer. appeared first on
WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
All Out Preview Predictions And Thoughts

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 08:52 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/preview-predictions-thoughts/


It’s time for AEW Part Four but the question now is how much this event
really matters. Other than the huge main event, I’m not sure how much of an
impact a lot of this show is going to have. We’re still about five weeks
away from what really matters with the debut on TNT, though that doesn’t
mean AEW can’t knock it out of the park again. After the big NXT to USA
announcement, AEW needs something to get some momentum back and they could
do that with this show. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Casino Battle Royal

They’re REALLY into this gambling theme aren’t they? It’s actually an
important match again as the winner qualifies for the first Women’s Title
match on TNT. The idea here is four groups of five women hit the ring one
group at a time and then there is one person who gets to come in last. The
problem though is that as of Friday night, we only know ten of the names
included. With so few names known, it’s almost anyone’s best guess as to
who is winning, which is kind of what I’m doing here.

Theyve done this before:

[This post contains video, click to play]
Since we don’t know how the other wrestler will qualify for the title
match, a heel makes more sense here. However, since AEW isn’t really down
with faces or heels, I’ll go with the main established female heel in
Brandi Rhodes. It would make sense to hide her limited in-ring skills in a
match like this and you can have Awesome Kong help her in the title match
against one of the top faces in the division, likely Britt Baker. Go with
what makes sense here, as Rhodes is a great villain and her bragging would
be more than worth it.
Kickoff Show: Private Party vs. Jack Evans/Angelico

This is going to be little more than a showcase match and that’s a very
smart way to go. Private Party looked great in their limited appearance so
far and it would make a lot of sense to give them a win over a team that
some people know. These teams can put on an outstanding athletic display
and that’s the way you can build up a Kickoff Show. Not that AEW has
figured that out as of yet but maybe this is where it works.

Theyll keep it going:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I’ll go with Private Party here for the logical move as the two of them
could be contenders to be the first Tag Team Champions. They work well
together and can do some great high flying stuff, which is going to get the
fans ready for the rest of the show. Evans and Angelico can get along just
fine with another loss and I’m sure we’ll be seeing them around here again.
Private Party wins here and do so in an impressive performance.
Riho vs. Hikaru Shida

We’ll get this one out of the way to start as it’s not one of AEW’s strong
points. Not the action itself that is, but rather who these women are. I
know we’ve seen both of them before, but AEW has done very little in the
way of explaining anything about the. Other than they’re from Japan and
Kenny Omega is impressed by them, we know very little about them to make
them stand apart from each other. That can change in time, but for now,
nothing has been done to set them apart yet.

Sometimes you dont need to know them:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I’ll take Riho here, as she seems to have been presented as the bigger star
so far. What I would like to see though is some kind of a feature on either
of them, just so we can get to know them a bit better. They don’t need some
kind of a gimmick or anything, but something where we can get to know them
a bit. Until then, they’re this company’s version of WCW’s luchadors, which
is far from a bad thing. It just won’t work permanently.
Dark Order vs. Best Friends

The winners get a first round bye into the Tag Team Title tournament, which
is going to be wrapping up on October 30, meaning they aren’t going to have
a lot of time to set things up. What we have here is a team that is trying
to be edgy vs. a team that is trying to be funny and those things haven’t
gone so well thus far. Neither team has overly impressed me and I’m not
sure I see that changing here.

Theyve got a plan:

[This post contains video, click to play]
What I do see is Dark Order winning as you don’t give faces like the Best
Friends a first round bye in a tournament. Faces need to be up against the
odds while heels get a chance to cheat, so why in the world would you go
with the Best Friends here? I’m sure they’ll do their hug and various other
spots that they’ve done for years that will pop the crowd, but it will be
fairly entertaining to see them get beaten up, as it tends to be.
AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros(c) vs. Young Bucks

This is a ladder match and really the only thing left for the teams to do.
Since AEW doesn’t have any titles of its own yet, it makes some sense to
have them fighting over another promotions titles. They’ve traded them a
few times already and while the matches have been entertaining, they
haven’t exactly been the highest quality in the world with a bunch of spots
after another. Hence why making this a ladder match is a good idea, as
that’s the entire point of such a match.

Go and climb the ladder:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I’ll go with the Lucha Bros to win here, as they’re going to wind up as
champions in the end and we don’t need to do another match to decide things
between them. Let the Bros win as the Bucks are likely to go far in the
tournament anyway. The Bros aren’t as big of a team as the Bucks (it helps
when you founded the company) so going this way is what makes the most
sense.
Cody vs. Shawn Spears

Spears is going to have Tully Blanchard in his corner for the odd yet cool
pairing. I’m still not sold on Spears as a top name but he’s far from being
written off. They can get somewhere with this match and hopefully show that
they’re capable of turning someone WWE didn’t use very much into a big star
of their own. That’s going to be tricky, but not impossible.

What a great concept:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I know I’m doing this a lot but I’ll go with the heel again. Cody is
already going to be a top star no matter what he does and as mentioned,
Spears needs that bump up the ladder. Let Blanchard interfere to give
Spears the win or something, but either way, Cody loses. Much like the
Bucks, Cody is already a made man because it’s his company, so Spears needs
this a lot more than he does.
A Boy And His Dinosaur/Marko Stunt vs. SoCal Uncensored

I know this has been said many times now, but they have something with A
Boy And His Dinosaur. The name alone gets your attention and they’re great
for the little man/big man combination. It’s one of those things that has
worked forever in wrestling and that is going to be the case here too.
Stunt is….well he’s there too and try as he might, it’s still hard to take
him as anything other than a novelty act.

The old guys can still go:

[This post contains video, click to play]
This time around there isn’t much of another option as Stunt and company
have to win this one. They’re the more popular act and while SoCal
Uncensored can get in some good lines, they belong on their backs at the
end. Let Stunt and/or Jungle Boy sell for a few minutes and then have
Luchasaurus come in and wreck everything. Again: it’s a formula that has
worked before so why mess with it?
Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc

This is a Cracker Barrel Clash which just makes me want chicken and
dumplings. AEW certainly loves their three way matches and it’s no surprise
to see one on this show too. Allin has looked like a bigger star than the
other two, though Janela did main event one of the smaller shows against
Moxley. That being said, Havoc and Janela are both more niche performers
than Allin and that is going to hold them back.

It sounds better than Darby Allout:

[This post contains video, click to play]
Therefore, I’ll go with Allin here as he is starting to become a player
around here. It’s another case of AEW trying to make a star and coming
close early on. They have a long way to go with it, like giving him a big
win, so maybe he can get a medium one here. Janela and Havoc are going to
be able to get over with their presence and character stuff so going with
Allin makes the most sense both in the short and long terms.
Pac vs. Kenny Omega

Pac is substituting for the injured Jon Moxley in a match that was supposed
to take place at some point after Double Or Nothing. Since Pac is no longer
Dragon Gate Champion, he can wrestle and potentially lose here. Omega is
one of the top stars in the promotion and Pac isn’t far behind him, but the
question here would be is Pac close enough to him to win?

This is what Pac could have done:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I’m thinking no on that one as Omega wins, likely setting himself up as a
World Title contender down the line. The other problem with pushing Pac is
the same as before: if he’ll leave due to winning a title elsewhere, how
far can you push him in AEW? This one should go to Omega, which I’m sure it
will, just after about 18 V Triggers, 19 reverse hurricanranas and 20 stars
from those Philistines who don’t use letters.
AEW World Title: Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho

Is anyone else not that interested in this one? They set the match up all
the way back in May and now that it’s taken this long to get here, I kind
of don’t care who wins. Page took a lot of time winning his most recent
match and Jericho has wrestled once since then (on June 9 in Japan). The
promo and segment they had at Fight For The Fallen was good, but I need a
little more than that to get me interested.

Talk are Jericho and Page:

[This post contains video, click to play]
I’ll go with Jericho to win the title, though I can’t shake the feeling
that we’re getting the surprise win. Jericho is the one who is going to
make this company a lot more appealing to fans from outside the AEW bubble
and that’s what they’re going to need. Jericho isn’t likely the long term
champion so it can go to Omega or Moxley, but for now, he’s the biggest
star they have by a mile and the right choice for the first champion.
Overall Thoughts

I don’t know if it’s the NXT move or the lack of running shows but AEW
doesn’t feel as hot as it was just a month ago. Maybe they can get that
back at All Out, but it’s not the best thing to have happen so close to the
big TNT debut. That being said though, they’re cooling down a bit before
getting a live, weekly show on TNT. That’s some rare air for a wrestling
show and I can’t imagine any major trouble, at least not for the first few
weeks. October 2 is what matters now and once we get there, we’ll see where
things really are. For now though, holding steady is more than acceptable.

Oh and no Punk, but MJF trolls the fans about him.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post All Out Preview Predictions And Thoughts appeared first on
WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
From The Other Side Of The Ring. How Will NXT UK Be Affected By NXT Moving
To USA (This Could Be Interesting).

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 06:54 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/side-ring-will-nxt-uk-affected-nxt-moving-usa-interesting/


Call it international relations. NXT has become one of the best promotions
in the wrestling world over the last few years with the three letters
turning into one of the symbols of excellence in wrestling. It was so big
that the promotion now has a spinoff brand, which will have its own
Takeover this coming weekend. That show is getting NXT UK some extra
attention and that might grow in the future.

Earlier in the week, Triple H recently participated in a conference call
for NXT UK where he discussed what NXT’s move to the USA network meant for
NXT UK. Triple H said that the letters in front of the country were what
mattered most, but did mention that the NXT UK talent would be a part of
the new NXT in the future. There was no word on how often the NXT UK
talent would appear on the show.

Some of these people would fit in quite well. Check out a big brawl on NXT
UK:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: That’s some good news, if nothing else for the sake of not having
to use the NXT talent as often as it seemed would be the case. There are a
lot of strong talents in NXT UK and it would be great to see some of them
show up on the main NXT. It’s not like it would be impossible to imagine
as former NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley was on this week’s NXT just a
few days ago. I could certainly go for more of that.

Do you want to see NXT UK talent on NXT? Which should come on over? Let
us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post From The Other Side Of The Ring. How Will NXT UK Be Affected By
NXT Moving To USA (This Could Be Interesting). appeared first on
WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Im Sure WWE Is Thrilled. Ric Flair Files Trademark On Top WWE Catchphrase.

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 06:51 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/im-sure-wwe-thrilled-ric-flair-files-trademark-top-wwe-catchphrase/


This one is going to be interesting. Last fall, Becky Lynch started
dubbing herself The Man, setting off an attitude change that led her all
the way to the main event of WrestleMania 35. That’s quite the career path
for anyone, with Lynch making more of it than almost anyone ever has. It
has become quite a catchphrase, but someone else seems to think that they
should get in on the name.

According to PWInsider.com, Ric Flair has recently applied to trademark The
Man for wrestling and merchandising purposes. Should the trademark be
granted, Flair could be entitled to royalties from Lynch merchandise with
The Man listed. There is no word on when a decision could come down on the
trademark application or what WWE could do to cause it to be denied.

Lynch has taken that name a long way. Check out what it means to Lynch to
be the Man:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: I’m surprised that WWE didn’t have this trademarked already,
though Flair certainly does have a history with the nickname. If it does
go through and Flair gets paid, it is certainly a smart move, albeit one
that WWE probably won’t like. They should have been a bit more careful
with this though as someone paying attention caught it. Now imagine if it
was someone who wasn’t on their side most of the time.

How will this play out? Who is the man in wrestling? Let us know in the
comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Im Sure WWE Is Thrilled. Ric Flair Files Trademark On Top WWE
Catchphrase. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
At Them. Here Are The Top Ten WWE Twitter Accounts.

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 04:34 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/top-ten-wwe-twitter-accounts/


I bet that gets some likes. Social media has become one of the most
important forms of communication in the world. That influence has been
very prominent in wrestling as well, as wrestlers being able to communicate
with their fans can change a lot of things. Wrestlers can advance feuds,
display their personalities and make new fans just by typing away. It
makes so much difference that WWE has a new list of the best.

WWE.com has released a new top ten list looking at the best current Twitter
accounts in the company. Oney Lorcan topped the list, as each of his
tweets are all capitalized and contain long, run on sentences. The list
includes names both on the main roster and NXT, with one name having yet to
appear on NXT television. A sample tweet from each is included, with the
majority of them being comedic for the most part.

Here is the full list:

10. Xavier Woods (@XavierWoodsPhD)

9. Karl Anderson (@KarlAndersonWWE)

8. Lacey Evans (@LaceyEvansWWE)

7. Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND)

6. Matt Riddle (@SuperKingofBros)

5. Malcolm Bivens (@Malcolmvelli)

4. Drake Maverick (@WWEMaverick)

3. Kevin Owens (@FightOwensFight)

2. Becky Lynch (@BeckyLynchWWE)

1. Oney Lorcan (@_StarDESTROYER)

WWE has been Twitter obsessed as of late. Check out this video from
earlier in the day focusing on Twitter again:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: I made the mistake of checking out Lorcan’s Twitter and now I
can’t stop reading them. The near rants are hilarious at times as he comes
off as someone so intense that he doesn’t know how to stop talking.
They’re quite unique and some of the funnier Tweets you’ll find in
wrestling. It’s certainly better than yelling at a fan over a spelling
error, as bad as that might have been.

Who is your favorite wrestler on Twitter? Whose Twitter has made you want
to see a wrestler get a bigger push? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post At Them. Here Are The Top Ten WWE Twitter Accounts. appeared
first on WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Nice To See You Again. Popular WWE Tag Team Returning Soon.

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 04:30 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/nice-see-popular-wwe-tag-team-returning-soon/


Welcome back. There are a lot of people on the WWE roster and that means
that you are going to be seeing a lot of people moving around in one way or
another. That could mean seeing someone go to one of the many other shows
that WWE offers or just not being used on television whatsoever. In this
case though, some wrestlers are scheduled to be back instead of being taken
away again.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Usos will be brought
back to television in the near future. The team has been absent from
television since the July 29 Monday Night Raw as Jimmy Uso was arrested for
DUI on July 25. As a result, he was not allowed to enter Canada for
Summerslam weekend and the team has not been seen on television since.
There is no word on what they will be doing upon returning.

WWE has been noticing their absence. Check out a recent highlight package
released on WWE’s YouTube page:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: The Usos are one of those teams who can slide in or out of any
story on either show because they’re one of the most established teams in
the company. You can put them against anyone and get a good match out of
them so it’s not like they’re the kind of team that needs a big moment.
They’re going to be fine against whomever they want, assuming it doesn’t
involve another arrest.

What do you want to see the Usos do next? Which show should they be on?
Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post Nice To See You Again. Popular WWE Tag Team Returning Soon.
appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
The Seal Of Approval. THIS Superstar Has Paul Heymans Backstage Support.

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 12:01 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/seal-approval-superstar-paul-heymans-backstage-support/


The man has an eye for talent. Earlier this summer, Paul Heyman took
control of Monday Night Raw. After several months of bad results, it was
clear that something needed to change and Heyman may have been the
solution. One of the questions was how much of a success he could be with
his choice of talent to push. He knows how to pick names, and now someone
else has gotten his seal of approval.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Heyman is a fan of Robert
Roode and was a big reason why Roode scored the pin in the Tag Team Turmoil
match on Monday Night Raw. The win made Roode and Dolph Ziggler the #1
contenders to the Raw Tag Team Titles, with their title shot taking place
at Clash Of Champions. Roode has not had much success in WWE as of late
and has mainly been wrestling on Main Event.

Roode did look solid in the match. Check out some highlights:
[This post contains video, click to play]


Opinion: I can understand this as Roode is someone who may not be the
flashiest in the world but he does everything so efficiently that he makes
it look good. It’s a fine example of a degree of difficult of five and an
execution of ten, which is a lot better than the other way around. Roode
is someone who can do a lot of things well and that’s better than someone
who can do one thing very well, so pushing him makes a lot of sense.

Do you like Roode and Ziggler winning? Will they pick up the titles? Let
us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at
kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30
wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw
Reviews.

Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up
for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES
to sign up. We are proud to offer our popular Wrestling Rumors app and
encourage you to download it for an optimized user experience. It is
available for Android and also on iOS. Thank you for reading!

The post The Seal Of Approval. THIS Superstar Has Paul Heymans Backstage
Support. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
WWE & FOX Release New Logo And Commercial For Smackdown Live This Fall

Posted: 30 Aug 2019 11:50 AM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/derekstoughton/wwe-fox-release-new-logo-commercial-smackdown-live-fall/


Its starting to become real. One of the major stories in professional
wrestling over the past couple of years has been the announcement that
Smackdown Live will be moving to FOX, beginning on October 4, 2019.

In order to prepare for this, WWE has released a new logo and commercial to
advertise the new show. You can see the official logo below, courtesy of
WrestleVotes on Twitter:

New SmackDown logo for the FOX debut. pic.twitter.com/ENCQ1B9QQQ

- WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) August 30, 2019



You can also see the new commercial advertising the move:
[This post contains video, click to play]


The ad features regular people imitating their favorite superstars,
including Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton,
Becky Lynch and more.

Editors Opinion:

I have to admit that this was a pretty clever ad and made me chuckle a bit.
In addition, they were able to get a quote from legendary chef Gordon
Ramsey, which adds to the legitimacy of the move. This, combined with the
launch of NXT on USA and a weekly AEW show on TNT, makes it a very exciting
time to be a pro wrestling fan!

What do you think of the new logo and commercial for Smackdown Live this
fall? Leave us a comment below, or post a comment on our Facebook page!
Also, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and download our App from your
favorite App Store!

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The post WWE FOX Release New Logo And Commercial For Smackdown Live This
Fall appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.