Wrestling Thursday: Fox Future

didic (68)in #news • 6 years ago

This week's shows were taped during the WWE's UK tour, and aired hours after taking place. This gave us one of the more raucous WWE crowds, which certainly livened things up. This is Wrestling Thursday

The Fox Deal

Nothing that happened in the ring this week was nearly as important to the future of wrestling as the news that in late 2019, Smackdown is headed to Fox in a five years one billion dollar deal. That'll make it a weekly wrestling show on a broadcast network, and while broadcast isn't what it used to be, this is still huge for WWE and the industry. It also means that for the first time, the in-story fight between Raw and Smackdown becomes a real life thing. The deal is a serious shot in the arm to WWE's business. Will a rising tide raise all boats, making indies stronger as well? I say yes. Competing directly with WWE is more impossible than ever, but this means more exposure for everyone.

Raw (still the A show for the next year and a half)

The Steph Show

Oh, hey, Here's Stephanie McMahon to take over the show, both in story and in a meta sense. There's something almost impressive about WWE's insistance on getting Roman over as a face when all the crowd wants is to be allowed to hate him.

Roman vs. KO

Well, this was a thing that happened. It didn't feel like a real match, because it wasn't. It was all about setting up the next thing. Roman and Kevin have had better singles matches in the past, and will in the future.

2/3 Shield vs. Jinder and KO

Putting Seth with Roman against Jinder and KO is as strong an attempt as WWE can make to get Roman over as a face. And as long as he's with Seth, it almost works. But when he's going against Jinder in MiTB, will it take? I say no. And the price we pay is not having an IC open challenge match. Those matches have been anchoring Raw, and providign goodness even in the midst of crap. Without one, the whole show suffers.

The "Lashley's sisters" nightmare

Poor Sami. He tried so hard to make this awful segment, this awful writing, work. Everything about this was terrible. The "sisters" were terrible. Bobby is not a good enough actor to do his part, and this was just terrible.

Moon vs. Bliss

I'm super glad Moon went over, and went over clean. This was a decent match, but I still strongly think Alexa needs a reset.

No Way Corbin Loses

Did anyone think for a second Jose was going over? No? Neither did I. Corbin is not a bad wrestler, but I can't muster any interest in anything he does.

B Team Wins AGAIN

The match itself wasn't much, but the celebration afet was just pure gold. I've been agitating for these guys to get a real chance for a while, and I'm so glad it's happening.

Steph is the devil on the shoulder

Is... is Nia turning heel immediately after winning an anti-bullying feud? Is that what's happening here? I blame the crowd that booed her victory speech. Not really, though. I blame WWE booking. I hope I'm wrong. I hope she can stay a face, and win. Ronda's right: She doesn't deserve this shot so soon.

Chad vs. Dolph

I really hope this is leading to a return of American Alpha. Otherwise, Chad is just getting jobbed out. And I still think pairing him with Dolph does nothing for Drew.

Fatal Nattie

There was no other possible winner for this match apart from Nattie. And, indeed, she won. Now, if Ronda wins, I gotta believe Nattie wins and cashes in on her, because they've made no real tweek to her character as a face. This is still the same heel Nattie.

Roode vs. Elias

Welcome to the land of diminishing returns. Is... is this feud going anywhere?

Finn vs. Braun

If you think of Finn as an upper mid-card guy, this makes sense. Him being competitive against Braun works to his advantage. But I think of Finn as a top tier guy. The first Universal champion. And that guy should not be portraied as basically having no shot against Braun.

SD

New Day TV

It's New Day on Miz TV, of course it's gonna be entertaining as hell. Pancakes of shame, y'all!

Big Miz E

While I still don't understand what they're doing with The Bar, them coming out did help Big E look strong while still losing to the Miz, so I'm okay with all of this.

Lana... wins?

Strong rumors persist that Rusev will soon be turning on Aiden and embarking on a campaign of renewed evil. I fervently hope this is not the case. Aiden and Lana can BOTH be with Rusev as a faction. It works. It's hella over. Let them all be adorable faces together. The match was a nothing, puncuated by Billie's hilarious selling. And Lana is going to MiTB.

Andrade smash

I assume this is leading to someone massive coming out soon to challenge Andrade when Zelina complains about the level of competition. It's gotta, right?

Knee To Face

Oh, hey! I called it! Last Man Standing! This feud has been terrific since the second Shinsuke turned heel, and Tuesday was no exception. Heel Shinsuke is the best.

Usos lose to the Good Brothers

This was a weird match. It was too short, and Anderson and Gallows won. The problem here is that I don't think for a second that they have a shot against the Bludgeons.

Naomi's going to MiTB

Oh, thank the gods. MiTB needs Naomi. We're gonna get to see Naomi and Ember do amazing things with ladders and I am 100 percent here for it. Match was fine.

Bryan vs. Hardy

This was great! It's weird how much bigger Hardy is, both compared to what he used to look like, and compared to Bryan. But both guys delivered, and Joe was awesome on commentary. Terrific main event and easily enough to catapult SD over Raw.

And also? Daniel Bryan is on fire right now:

205

Drew Golocks

This was a fun little match, hampered by the storyline demanding a Drew win. Gran Metalik is great. It's interesting that Lince Dorado is now the final boss in Drew's quest to beat the Lucha House Party.

Itami vs. Tozawa

This was very solid, but weirdly kind of a letdown. They weren't partners long enough for the split to be as emotional as its portrayal here. So it's weird. Itami's the right pick to go over. That guy should have gold around his waist.

NXT

TM61 cheats to win

Well, thet barely cheated. They basically had the match won, and then won it. This is an odd heel turn.

Lacey Evans beats Kairi clean

As much as I dislike Lacey Evans (it's a lot), I gotta give her credit for continuing to improve in the ring. I do find it odd that she went over clean against Kairi, but I think we all know Sane will win the feud.

Dream and Richochet implode vs. Lars

This was an interesting diversion on the way to us getting a real Ricochet vs. Dream match. But that's where the gold is. Those two are gonna tear it up in Chicago next month.

Gargano and Candice promo

Dear, NXT. You know I love you, right? You're my favorite brand, and I love most of what you do. And I love Johnny and Ciampa. But, crucially, I actually care about Candice as more than an attachment to their feud. The woman who has wrestled BOTH of these guys in brutal matches, the woman who took a loaded boot to the face and still won the match against the Young Bucks, that woman is now the wet blanket trying to stop Johnny from working? That woman gets stretchered out for a nothing bump? This is fridging, NXT. You're better than this.

#wwe #wrestling #sports #insteem

6 years ago in #news by didic (68)

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recklessflyer (37) 6 years ago

I really, really hope Candice gets a match against Tommaso eventually. She should be fighting beside her man, not trying to stop him like a damsel in distress.

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