This week with underused wrestlers, a lot of AJ Styles, defending Roman Reigns, Shelton Benjamin and a recommendation. As always, make sure to watch the videos!
https://wrestlingrumors.net/ask-wrestling-rumors-week-5-july-7-2018/
More questions, more very long form answers, some of them being to questions asked by you all.
https://wrestlingrumors.net/ask-wrestling-rumors-week-4-june-30-2018/
Another long form Q&A. Thank you again to anyone who sent me a question and please ask another for next week if you’d like. Also make sure to watch the videos included in there if you can please.
https://wrestlingrumors.net/ask-wrestling-rumors-week-3-june-23-2018/
KB
That’s a rough one for me as I was always a big fan. He was one of the best big men ever and an absolute monster. His match with Sting at Starrcade 1992 is one of my favorite matches ever and it’s a shame that he didn’t get the WWF Title in 1996. At least he’s not in pain anymore.
https://www.facebook.com/wrestlingrumors/posts/1772444826165499
This one is even longer. Please check it out and drop some questions in the comments section on the Facebook page listed above. Also, check out some of the videos in the article (it’s a nice boost financially and doesn’t take any extra time).
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and please do so again.
KB
Earlier this week I asked for some questions that I could answer in a long form column. Well, here you are.
https://wrestlingrumors.net/ask-wrestling-rumors-june-9-2018/
Thank you to all who asked me something and I’ll be doing this again for at least a few weeks. I might use some more from here as you all come up with some good stuff. Make sure to drop some comments on the Facebook page and ask any other questions you may want answered on there.
https://www.facebook.com/wrestlingrumors/posts/1762027177207264
KB
Originally, I was going to write this article for Friday, solely based on this tiny storyline going on in NXT. Then I read Cordova’s Commentary on the “Not So” Greatest Royal Rumble. Great read on the women. Then I saw Impact. Then I saw Backlash. It seemed like I was getting more and more fodder for this. You know the drill with main roster WWE. Their love of buzzwords, twisting perception, etc. But one buzzword that actually seems to resonate with many in a positive manner is “Women’s Revolution”. In short, Women’s wrestling in North-American TV no longer sucks. It’s no longer about their looks. Not that those are bad things, but {most} wrestling fans have grown to be sophisticated and long for quality in the ring. You can’t blind them with just being tall on in the case of females, by having a large rack. WWE has in fact developed a complete generation of women and are already working on the second one. Just look at NXT the past few weeks.
Since Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title, we’ve gotten a completely clean slate on the division. There is no more Ember Moon who could be seen as the last of the first generation of women in NXT. She carried what Asuka left. Her streak, her dominance and before her was Bayley with the rest of the 4 Horsewomen. NXT is now starting clean, introducing us to the likes of Lacey Evans, Candice LeRae, Bianca Belair and one that has struck a cord with me lately: Dakota Kai.
See, Dakota has something I consider odd. When you binge Raw, Smackdown, 205, NXT and whatever other show WWE musters, you notice trends. And Dakota is breaking one by showing something a lot (and I mean A LOT) of people refuse to show in wrestling. Fear. She fears Shayna Baszler who broke her arm twice. Now to the “muy macho” world of WWE and pro wrestling at large, fear can be seen as synonymous with weakness. A big no-no for them. It shatters their image of manliness. Or wo-manliness here. Provided Saudi Arabia doesn’t make a generous donation. But fear is not a sign of weakness. No, it is a very powerful storytelling device that can show many things. Perseverance. Courage. Self-Improvement. That all starts with fear and can give a very dynamic story. Something you can see in say Jessica Jones where she fears Killgrave (The Purple Man for us real nerds) for the horrible things he did to her. That’s just one of many examples. But it gives Dakota Kai a point of interest and something very different to the norm. And if I do say so, a very positive story about how to deal with bullying if it does end up with Dakota eventually beating Baszler. It’ll certainly be better than Nia Jax dominating Alexa Bliss and then giving a pre-written Be A Star ad, that’s for sure.
But hey, that’s not the only dynamic story involving women on TV. Nope. Our pals on Impact Wrestling are also having their own “out of nowhere” renaissance of women’s wrestling. With Allie, Rosemary, Taya Valkyrie and Su Yung on top, Tessa Blanchard coming in, Kiera Hogan being an out of nowhere surprised. Last week Impact gave us something different when they headlined with Rosemary vs Su Yung. No, it wasn’t different because women closed the show. No, beforehand we saw what felt like a genuine friendship. Allie begging to help her best friend Rosemary who in turn, refused. Worried for her friend’s safely. The match takes place and Su Yung summons a casket. Planning to throw Rosemary in there, but Allie appears against the wishes of her friend to help. But just as Rosemary predicted, Allie falls in danger. But Su Yung ends up attacking Rosemary, driving her through a table as her best friend is forced to watch in horror. Now what? Allie disobeyed. Rosemary is hurt. Su Yung is still getting the upper hand. Is Allie heartbroken thinking this is all her fault? That is a gripping story right there. There’s emotions for you to grasp.
What’s Raw offering? Well, while people can relate to Nia Jax being bullied for her weight, that goes straight to the dumpster when you see her dominate a person a third of her size. As Backlash showed, fan’s did not buy it or her phony Be A Star promo afterwards. And what’s Smackdown offering? Not Asuka’s streak. Not a strong Charlotte reign. Nope. WWE decided to trade all that in favor of Carmella. Who in her second singles match of 2018 (besides the cash in) had a terrible match with Charlotte. That is what was selected to follow one of the best women’s matches in WWE history. It certainly was the best in Wrestlemania.
What’s my point? Well, it’s simple. The true appreciation for the “Women’s Revolution” doesn’t come from Raw and Smackdown who are yet to shake all the cobwebs of their “Divas” days. No, it still comes from the alternatives. Time will tell how WOH will shape up in ROH. But for now, if you want your women to be as dynamic if not more given the two examples above, than the men, you’re better off searching for it in NXT and Impact. It’s great that women now get to have big time matches and have prominent spots on your rosters but, we as fans also crave good storytelling to go with it and WWE’s main roster is just not delivering right now while it’s developmental field continues to show them up and now the same company that let themselves go for 5 years and fell on hard times is actually picking itself up to offer something WWE doesn’t yet again with it’s own new crop of women.
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Thank you for reading. My name is AB Morales, Puertorican Dirt Sheet writer, a friend of KB for years. You can find and follow me here:
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They’re back! So what if it’s mid-March? That’s totally fine in announcing the annual New Japan is Better Than You Awards and that’s what we have here. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards are back and I already have a bad feeling about them. As usual I’ll be listing the winners and giving a quick comment about each. I won’t list the top five for each unless something stands out to me.
1. Wrestler of the Year – Kazuchika Okada
Yep. Aside from AJ Styles, there’s no one in the same universe right now.
2. Most Outstanding Wrestler – Kazuchika Okada
I say it every year and I have it explained to me every year but I still have no idea why these first two both need to exist.
3. Tag Team of the Year – The Young Bucks
Maybe the Usos can win next year if they name a move after Meltzer.
4. Best on Interviews – Conor McGregor
Oh here we go. Again: it certainly must help when you only have to talk when you’re getting ready for a fight and have no restrictions. I have no idea why this is considered a fair comparison but maybe I’m just too much of a wrestling fan to understand these things.
5. Promotion of the Year – New Japan
Makes sense. WWE had a good but not great year and New Japan is almost always quality.
6. Best Weekly TV Show – New Japan on AXS
Being a highlight/Best Of show certainly must help. Being the Elite was fourth and Raw was NINTH. It’s really not that bad people.
7. Match of the Year – Okada vs. Omega – Wrestle Kingdom
No WWE match in the top five, Okada with four of the top five. You knew this was getting the top spot and nothing else was going to come close, but that’s to be expected.
8. Feud of the Year – Okada vs. Omega
I didn’t even have to look at the results. UFC had two of the top five spots.
9. Most Charismatic – Tetsuya Naito
Fair enough. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him.
10. Best Technical Wrestler Zach Sabre Jr.
That guy does stuff that I can’t even describe and makes it look like the most natural thing in the world. It’s rare that I consider someone a treat to watch but that’s the case with him.
11. Best Brawler – Tomohiro Ishii
Not my style but I get it.
12. Best Flying Wrestler – Will Ospreay
Yep. Well maybe Ricochet, who came in second.
13. Most Overrated – Jinder Mahal
WWE got four of the top six (with five being a tie). Braun Strowman was ninth. Seriously.
14. Most Underrated – Rusev
I usually scratch my head at this one but there’s very little argument here.
15. Rookie of the Year – Ketsuya Kitamura
I’ve heard good things so sure.
16. Best Non-Wrestler – Daniel Bryan
This is a sentimental pick as Zelina Vega ran away with this thing (and finished second).
17. Best TV Announcer – Mauro Ranallo
You knew that was getting the pick and I can’t argue with it.
18. Worst TV Announcer – Booker T.
I’d have gone with Watson, who took second. At least Booker has a resume while Watson is just a person you might remember if you like stupid gimmicks and bad wrestling.
19. Best Major Wrestling Show – Wrestle Kingdom XI
I’d have gone with Takeover: Chicago but this is more than acceptable.
20. Worst Major Wrestling Show – Battleground
It had the Punjabi Prison match.
21. Best Wrestling Move – One Winged Angel
You know, that move that he hits over and over and barely ever wins with the thing.
22. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic – WWE Promoting Jimmy Snuka As A Hero
Yeah that’s kind of hard to argue.
23. Worst TV Show – Raw
OH SCREW OFF! This award should be named after Impact but it’s WWE so we must run it into the ground. Good grief no.
24. Worst Match of the Year – Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton – Wrestlemania XXXIII
The title that Bruno, Hogan and Austin wore was involved in a match containing roaches and maggots. Moving on.
25. Worst Feud of the Year – Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
It was either this or Mahal vs. Orton.
26. Worst Promotion – TNA
But remember: they had a better weekly TV show and not as bad of a pay per view!
27. Best Booker – Gedo
Again, didn’t need to look.
28. Promoter of the Year – Takaai Kidani – New Japan
Same duh as before.
29. Best Gimmick – Los Ingobernables de Japon
Velveteen Dream got second.
30. Worst Gimmick – Bray Wyatt and Sister Abigail
I’d go with Mahal for longevity as Abigail was only a few weeks long.
31. Best Pro-Wrestling Book – Crazy Like a Fox: The Brian Pillman Story
I need to get that as I’ve heard good things.
32. Best Documentary – Ric Flair: 30 For 30
Like it was going to be anything else.
I saved this one for last for…well no apparent reason actually.
While there are all kinds of great matches and promos, sometimes it’s something very simple that work better than anything else. The moments are the things that you remember more than anything else and some of these are bigger than others. Some of them are important moments and some of them are just fun, but they all belong on here.
Before we get to the regular nominees, we need to get a quick honorable mention. The night after Wrestlemania, Vince McMahon was about to announce the new General Manager of Raw. He mentioned the new GM being bald…..and here comes Teddy Long to accept the offer. Teddy started making a tag match but Vince said it wasn’t him. Teddy said “my bad” and danced off into the back. I laughed very hard and while it wasn’t important, it entertained me when I was sick and I’ll always take that.
Sticking with the night after Wrestlemania, there was the opening of Raw. Just….WOW. The opening sequence felt like it went on for an hour with the THANK YOU TAKER chants but once Reigns came out, the fans absolutely went off on him because he had taken their hero. This was pure anger from the crowd and that’s exactly what it was supposed to be. The follow up needed to be better but what an opening to the biggest Raw of the year.
What was the follow up? That would be Braun Strowman turning over an ambulance with Reigns inside. I’m not even sure what to say about that. Of course the visual was faked but at the same…..HE TURNED AN AMBULANCE OVER! What else can you really ask here? It was one of the coolest visuals WWE has put together in a long time and made Strowman feel like a star.
It’s been too long since we’ve gone down to NXT so we’ll have to look at Aleister Black saying Velveteen Dream’s name. I called this a promo but when the whole thing is four words long, I’m not sure you can really call it a promo. The idea of giving Dream everything that he wanted in the worst circumstances was poetic justice and an amazing moment at the same time.
We’ll stick around in NXT with Tommaso Ciampa turning on Johnny Gargano to split up DIY. They took the perfect amount of time to make this work and the Chicago fans were STUNNED. This is going to set up one of the biggest matches NXT has had in years and when Ciampa comes back, likely to screw Gargano over somehow, the reaction is going to be amazing. The split couldn’t have been better though and the beatdown worked very well also. Throw in the awesome shock and it’s very high on the list.
In a moment that I was lucky enough to be there for, we have the Hardys returning to WWE at Wrestlemania. I was in the stadium for that and heard New Day say that there was going to be another team. During the pause, I got to my feet and said out loud “they wouldn’t”. And then they did with the Hardys returning only a night after having a huge ladder match in Ring of Honor. This felt big and was the big moment that Wrestlemania needed. Well one of them at least.
The final two are about as different as you can be and we’ll start with the comedy option. Back on February 13, Chris Jericho was trying to show Kevin Owens that they were still great friends. This led to Jericho, in a shiny outfit that only he could pull off, presenting Owens various presents (including a painting involving the two of them and Jericho without pants) but the big finale made the whole thing. Owens gave Jericho a new list but it had Jericho’s name on it. Jericho pulls the list out of the box…..and it was the List of KO. The beatdown was on and the Wrestlemania match was made.
They got me. I’m not exactly easy to surprise in wrestling but I was actually shocked when that List of KO appeared. It was the perfect way to split up the team and Owens looked like the biggest heel in the world. At the same time though, Jericho looked like he was trying to be a good guy but Owens just turned on him. That’s how to make Jericho a face, and it worked to perfection. Amazing segment here and it’s going to take something special to top it.
And then the Undertaker retired (I’m going with that until I see otherwise). He took his gear off and stood in the middle of the ring in front of the Orlando crowd and then put it back on for one final time. When I looked at him, I saw Mark Callaway in Undertaker’s clothes, which was the first time that had ever been seen. Undertaker walked up the aisle and then descended through the stage to say goodbye. This one doesn’t need much more of an explanation and if it stands, will be one of the best moments in wrestling history.
Who says you have to be a wrestler to be in wrestling?
While this might as well be called the Paul Heyman Award, there are certainly several candidates for it this time around. It might be an announcer or an interviewer but there are a variety of options this time around. I’m not sure if anyone is going to get past Heyman this year, but when you show up every now and then, it’s easier to look great.
Actually yeah, this year someone can pass Heyman for the exact reason mentioned: he’s not around very often and that brings him down a lot. Sometimes you need to do more than talk about how awesome Brock Lesnar is and while Heyman can do that better than anyone else, I’d like to see him around a little more often to declare him the best in this role.
We’ll go with someone who is more of a jack of all trades now with Corey Graves. Is there anything this guy can’t do? He hosts shows, he does commentary on both major shows and he rips on Byron Saxton like no one else can do. Graves is fun to listen to and has some rather good heel roles in there, which few others know how to do anymore. He’s very talented and I’d love to see him do this for a very long time to come.
There’s also perennial nominee Dario Cueto, who brings a completely new dimension to this by being an actual actor. He’s capable of being incredible menacing while also calculating, but that evil smile is just perfect for looking like the biggest villain in the world. I’m really hoping he’s back for the next season as the show really wouldn’t work without him.
If Corey is a jack of all trades, Renee Young is a jill of them. She’s the perfect combination of smart, funny, edgy, flirty and interesting that you can imagine her pulling off anything you ask her to do. She does the occasional storyline but for the most part, she’s the most polished interviewer WWE has had in a very long time. There’s a certain charm to her that you can’t make up and it works like a….well a charm actually.
Above all though, there’s Zelina Vega. To have showed up from pretty much nowhere and become the best manager in NXT is quite the accomplishment. Vega and Andrade Cien Almas are one of the best pairings around as Vega is the perfect compliment to her. She’s stunning, manipulative, evil, conniving and can be physical when she needs to be. It’s made Almas interesting, which seemed to be one of the most impossible tasks in all of NXT. Vega pulled it off though and that’s enough to win this hands down.