The Takeover event for NXT UK was truly historic. It was so big, in fact, that it featured an appearance from Finn Balor. Every match on the card was absolutely fantastic. None of them disappointed, especially the WWE UK title match between Joe Coffey and WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne. That match in particular took me back to the mid-’80s and one match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat. There was such a rhythmic flow to the way those guys moved in the ring and I noticed the same type of chemistry between Coffey and Dunne, which is the ultimate compliment. I’m not saying that the match was stylistically reminiscent of Flair and Steamboat, but in terms of the feeling it created inside. That is what I love about Wrestling in its simplest terms.
Evan Luebbe
Rest in Peace Mean Gene
On NXT this week, the segment that stuck out most to me was the one that opened the show, with Johnny Gargano cutting a promo about how he wants to become a champion in 2019. It ultimately led to a confrontation with Ricochet. I have really enjoyed watching the evolution of Johnny Gargano over the last couple of years. He has always been a very reliable in-ring performer, but over the course of the last few years, he has turned himself into an excellent mic worker. He has also filled out his body a little more, becoming just a little bit thicker and developing a Tom Cruise kind of look to him.
In wrestling, no one really talks much about it but, looks really matters. No one can put their finger on what makes a star likable (not even me), but to go along with the ability a superstar needs a distinct look or a look that kind of reminds you of a legend from say 20 years ago, and Johnny has developed that over the last two or three years.
Thanks for reading and rest in peace “mean Gene.”
Brock Lesnar: Could There be a Brock vs. Rock Event?
Don’t think I forgot about Brock. Then the question becomes “What would Lesnar do at his final WrestleMania for the foreseeable future?”
Idea: Brock could face the Rock at WrestleMania, assuming the Rock’s schedule cooperates, which it may not, I am just throwing it out there because I heard about it a few months ago. It would certainly be cool to see given that they have not met in the ring since 2002 and that is the match where Brock won his first WWE title, so there is history there. It would add major star power to the event and it would not hurt any of the current superstars because both guys already have an established reputation for themselves. I just think it would be really cool to see.
Vince McMahon & Triple H’s Creative Strategy
It looks like Vince McMahon is seeking Triple H’s opinion more with regard to creative planning for the main monster as maybe he is starting to see that the Game is more attuned to what this generation of fans wants from the WWE product. If you want proof, just look at how NXT and 205 Live are doing under the guidance of Triple H. NXT has been getting better and better with regard to their product over the past four or five years, and they are arguably coming off their best year in 2018, and 205 Live was a disaster and surely headed for cancellation had Vince McMahon not ceded control of the show over to his son-in-law.
I am very optimistic about the future of Monday Night Raw in the coming year as the creative team is already changing things a little bit, and none of the new superstars that are promised have debuted yet.
Some Wrestling is Better Than no Wrestling
On the SmackDown side of things, I didn’t think that this episode was the greatest episode. No storylines really took significant steps forward, but some wrestling is a whole lot better than no wrestling (that’s for sure). The most positive thing I can take away from last night is how much I am buying Daniel Bryan as a heel. He opened the show by cutting a great promo by entering the arena through the crowd and subsequently being attacked by AJ Styles. And of course, it was great to see Becky Lynch get her rematch for the SmackDown Women’s title which she never lost.
It was also a great match between the team of Rey Mysterio and Mustafa Ali versus the team of Andrade “Cien” Almas and Samoa Joe. I am liking this kid Mustafa Ali. He has all the tools physically to be a future champion (the only thing I see potentially holding him back is the fact that he is a little bit undersized than WWE typically likes out of a top guy. But Finn Balor had the same issue when he first got promoted to the main roster and they still updated to make him the first universal champion. We will see if WWE thinks that highly of Ali.
I also feel that WWE needs to debut the incoming stars from NXT because I feel they have been promoting them for a more than adequate amount of time. It’s also interesting to see how WWE is building up R-Truth and he is starting to have prominence again. He is set to enter the Royal Rumble match at number 30 after winning the mixed match challenge and he was put in a match with Daniel Bryan last night. Last thing, I promise. I know my readers have stuff to do: it’s great to see Mandy Rose involved in a love triangle story. WWE would be smart to take advantage of her beauty, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. That’s all I have for my review of SmackDown this week.
John Cena – Still One of the Best Talkers in the Business
I absolutely loved the first episode of Monday Night Raw of 2019. I am in love with the way the show opened, beginning with a brawl between Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley and subsequently going right out to the ring for John Cena’s music to hit. It was followed by Drew McIntyre waltzing now and giving the same old song and dance to John about how he was going to take advantage of the fact that John Cena was a legend. Cena was borderline sleeping throughout the entire promo and his rebuttal was that he had heard the exact same proclamation from every other superstar for well over a decade and he asked Drew what made him any different from the hundred or so others that have made the same proclamation.
I also thought it was funny when Cena said that he “had to leave just so that you guys would come up with a different promo.” Cena is without a doubt still the best talker in the business. McIntyre then proceeded down to the ring to seemingly start a match with The Franchise when Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush came out and said that they were going to get a lawyer if nothing was done about Seth Rollins attacking Bobby. Rollins then attacked Lashley from behind and Dean Ambrose came out to save Lashley. Cena proceeded to help Seth deal with the two on one assault, and as they were dealing with that, Finn Balor came to help Cena and Rollins even the score. A subsequent six-man tag match was set up and it turned out to be very entertaining.
WWE TV for 2019 is starting off on the right foot. I loved the fact that the show started off with a brawl rather than another monotonous soap opera setting up the main event for the evening. The fact that WWE is keeping Raw fresh and constantly staying open to change is the reason why it will continue to stay on the air for many years to come.
Honorable Mention: I also love the fact that Sasha Banks has been booked to challenge Ronda Rousey at the Royal Rumble PPV for the Raw Women’s Championship. I am really glad that WWE has chosen to put Sasha in the spot she deserves. There has always been something about Sasha Banks that has really resonated with me, much more so than Bayley or Nia Jax. It should be a great match at the Royal Rumble between those two, hopefully followed by Rousey putting her title on the line at WrestleMania in a triple threat match against Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch
Sports Transitioners
I know I said originally that this blog would be for WWE only (and it still will be for pretty much everything), but I also absolutely love the NFL and figured that I could do a post about the Super Bowl (or “Big Game” for whatever you want to call it). I’ll start by claiming how I’m a huge Tom Brady fan and I’m ecstatic that he won his sixth championship (I’m not a huge Belichick fan although he seems like a quality guy. He’s just a total introvert, but so am I). I admire Brady so much from his level of professionalism and diligence with which he approaches the game to his workout habits to his diet. I gained a lot of insight into these habits of his after reading the TB12 book, which was released in 2017.
I couldn’t be happier for Julian Edelman finally winning a Super Bowl MVP. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen another wide receiver who is as quick as Edelman in terms of cutting (not pure speed, just quickness). He’s definitely a Hall of Famer who is second all-time in postseason receptions behind Jerry Rice. What is so amazing about that stat is that he has done it by being a dink and dunk receiver. He’s not doing that like Jerry Rice or Michael Irvin (who is third on the list) who had the ability to beat you over the top. He has done it seven or eight or twelve yards at a time (I got this small piece of information from Colin Cowherd’s radio show The Herd. I am not worried at all about Tom Brady retiring, as he said he is fully motivated for next season. I do, however, think that Gronk will retire. He has seriously considered it before, and he has many other options in terms of what to do with the remainder of his life.
I think one of those options is with WWE as he easily has the personality for it and he is good buddies with Mojo Rawley. He even helped him win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33. When you think about it, Gronk is only 29 years old which is still relatively young for WWE. He’s already got a catchy nickname too and that would make it easier on the creative team. He could make a very similar transition to what Ronda Rousey did last year. I just wanted to put that possibility out there (I’m not saying it will happen, but it very well may). I just wanted to put a little something into this blog expressing that I also love football, because you never know where that may lead you. The primary focus, however, is WWE.
AJ Styles: Could he Become the #1 Contender?
I love the idea of AJ Styles becoming the number one contender for the WWE championship. I will never complain about a Styles vs. Bryan match, especially since it was thought that we would never get it for the first couple of years that AJ was a part of the company. In my opinion, the only other viable option to win the match would have been Mustafa Ali, who is not yet ready for a title match. Yes, he does have a victory over the WWE champion, but there has not been any legitimate buildup to a match between those two.
It would be a great idea for WWE to capitalize on this in the future, but just not right now. If they were to do it now, they would risk fans not caring about the match. It would definitely be a great match, but fans may have no real reason to become invested in the match at all. The feud between Styles and Brian has already been built up and going on for a while now, and it’s been pretty good, so it would be smart of WWE to extend it. It is also a feud between two of the best performers in the entire company.