WrestlingRumors.net
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Ouch Indeed. WWE Star Knocked Out At Live Event And May Have Suffered A Concussion.
Posted: 14 Jul 2019 02:47 AM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/ouch-indeed-wwe-star-knocked-live-event-may-suffered-concussion/
The injury bug bites again. Wrestling is such a physical sport and the participants can only be so careful. You can outlaw all kinds of moves,
but there is always a danger that something can go wrong. That is
especially the case with the head as landing wrong in any way can result in
an injury, including a concussion. A current member of the roster may have found that out.
According to PWInsider.com by way of 411mania.com, Tamina seems to have suffered a concussion during a match on Friday night at a house show in Augusta, Maine. The injury came during a tag match with Tamina and Sarah
Logan were defeated by Naomi and Dana Brooke. During the match, Naomi
kneed Tamina in the head and knocked her out for a second before winning
the match. Tamina had to be taken to the back and there is no word on when
she will return to the ring.
You can see Tamina being checked on after the match in the tweet below:
Tamina got knocked out during a women’s tag match at WWE house show in Augusta Maine. Took a knee from Naomi to the head. Got up and walked off
with assistance @WONF4W @WrestlingSheet @WrestlingInc pic.twitter.com/Tg4RaDmGvJ
- Ringside Guru (@RingsideGuru) July 13, 2019
Tamina hasn’t been around much this year but she has done some stuff.
Check out a match of hers from earlier this year:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Opinion: That’s never a good sign and hopefully Tamina is ok sooner rather than later. You never can tell when an errant shot to the head is going to cause some serious damage and concussions are the kind of thing that can go
in so many different directions. This may or may not be a long term injury
so with some luck, Tamina will be back in the ring in the rather near
future.
What can Tamina do next? Will she ever be a bigger star in WWE? 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 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.
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 Ouch Indeed. WWE Star Knocked Out At Live Event And May Have
Suffered A Concussion. appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.
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Evolve 131 (Tenth Anniversary Special) Results
Posted: 14 Jul 2019 02:43 AM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/evolve-131-tenth-anniversary-special-results/
Evolve 10th Anniversary
Date: July 13, 2019
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentator: Lenny Leonard
This one is interesting for a lot of reasons, starting with the fact that
it is WWE’s first official head to head competition against AEW, which is running Fight For The Fallen at the same time. Evolve is an indy company
that has become an unofficial feeding system for WWE, which has even sent
some talent there for Evolve shows. This has been hyped up harder than most Takeovers so it could be interesting. Let’s get to it.
I don’t follow Evolve for the most part so I have no idea what the
storylines are going on. I’m sorry in advance for anything I miss or get wrong.
The opening video looks at current WWE stars getting some of their best exposure in Evolve. Names including Cesaro, Tony Nese, Ricochet and Daniel Bryan (who came up with the name of the promotion) among many others.
For those of you who keep track of numbers, this is Evolve 131.
Some of the roster is in the ring with ring announcer Lenny Leonard talking about how these people have earned the right to be here. Josh Briggs grabs
the mic and says he wants his match with Anthony Greene to start right now because this is his opportunity.
Josh Briggs vs. Anthony Greene
Briggs is introduced with the caveat that “odds are he doesn’t like you.” Greene on the other hand is described as retro and has a redheaded woman
with him. The much bigger Briggs throws him around to start and nails a
pair of backbreakers. The threat of what looked like a chokeslam sends
Greene bailing to the floor, leaving the redhead (Brandi Lauren) to grab Briggs’ foot to little avail.
Greene knocks him to the floor but gets chokeslammed onto the apron for his efforts. Some right hands have Briggs in trouble and a rope walk spinning crossbody gets two. Greene stomps away in the corner and the fans aren’t pleased, including when Lauren gets in a forearm. Worry not though because
she didn’t see anything. A neckbreaker gives Greene two and the fans think Retro sucks. Briggs comes back with a running boot in the corner and
another backbreaker into a butterfly backbreaker for two.
There’s a big boot to Greene’s face, followed by a reverse Razor’s Edge flipped forward into a sitout powerslam for another near fall. Greene
scores with an enziguri and does it again for good measure, setting up a
half crab on Briggs’ long leg. A 450 misses Briggs but Greene rolls him
into the corner for two of his own. Lauren gets caught interfering for an ejection but Greene gets two off a super victory roll anyway. Some low superkicks rock Briggs and Greene goes for the leg, only to get pulled into
a pop up powerbomb for the pin at 11:49.
Result: Josh Briggs b. Anthony Greene Pop up powerbomb (11:49)
Video on the Unwanted, who have replaced Isaiah Scott (Shane Strickland)
with Sean Maluta. They’re not going to let AR Fox and his dojo buddy beat them on the Network because they’ve come too far to lose now. They seem to
be a heel stable of outcasts who have banded together.
Sean Maluta vs. Curt Stallion vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Harlem Bravado
One fall to a finish. Wolf jumps Bravado as his shirt comes off and they
fight to the floor. Maluta kicks Stallion in the head but Wolf comes back
in. Wolf and Bravado head outside for back to back dives from Wolf and
Maluta. Back in and Wolf suplexes Stallion for two but gets sent outside by Bravado. Maluta comes back with a forearm to knock Bravado off the ropes
before superkicking Wolf out of the air for two. Wolf and Maluta hit crossbodies at the same time but Wolf is fine enough to enziguri Bravado.
It’s a big staredown between Wolf and Stallion with the fans split about their favorite. Wolf clotheslines Stallion into oblivious and everyone is
down for a breather. Bravado is up with a Death Valley Driver on Wolf, who bails out to the floor. Maluta nails a Codebreaker on Bravado but there’s
no one to cover. Wolf is back in with a release Blue Thunder Bomb on Maluta
and Bravado adds Angel’s Wings (or Straight Cash Money Homey), only to get caught with a shooting star press from Wolf for the pin at 9:22.
Result: Stephen Wolf b. Harlem Bravado, Curt Stallion and Sean Maluta
Shooting star press to Bravado (9:22)
Video on Anthony Henry, who can do a little bit of everything and has MMA experience.
Anthony Henry vs. Arturo Ruas
Ruas is better known as Adrian Jaoude in NXT and Henry is rather popular
with the fans. The announcers hype this up as a grudge match as Ruas misses
an early spinning kick to the head. Instead he goes for an armbar attempt
to send Henry over to the ropes. Henry can’t get an armbreaker either so he hits Ruas in the back of the head and fails at another armbreaker attempt.
Henry’s nose is cut as Ruas drives in some knees in the corner. We get some more of the history between these two, as Ruas was a hot shot prospect but Henry gave him his first loss. Henry straights away some more and gets the armbreaker, only to have Ruas roll him up for two. Ruas tries to pick him
up but gets caught in a sleeper. With that broken up, Henry hits one heck
of a kick to the head.
Henry misses the ropes on a tornado DDT attempt so it’s a regular version, followed by a top rope double stomp (with Ruas having to roll over so it
can hit). An ankle lock on Ruas’ bare foot is broken up and they wind up on the mat for a slap off. Henry hammers him down with right hands but Ruas catches him with a spinning kick to the head for the pin at 9:25.
Result: Arturo Ruas b. Anthony Henry Spinning kick to the head (9:25)
We recap Shotzi Blackheart vs. Brandi Lauren. They got in a big fight after
a match at their last show and tonight it’s No DQ.
Brandi Lauren vs. Shotzi Blackheart
No DQ and they’re in something close to street clothes for a different kind of feel. The bell rings and a woman named Natalya Markova runs in to jump Shotzi after about two seconds. A running spinning X Factor plants Shotzi
but she fights back out of the corner as Lauren watches from the floor.
Shotzi manages a dive onto both of them and comes up sporting a bloody nose.
It’s time for some chairs but Shotzi takes too long, allowing Brandi to hit
a dive into those chairs. The chairs are arranged again but Shotzi blocks a suplex onto them. Lauren’s apron bomb gets two (and a KEVIN OWENS chant), meaning it’s time to yell at the referee over his counting ability. Shotzi’s Cannonball gets two but she can’t hit Sliced Bread #2 on the apron.
Shotzi goes outside instead and sets up another chair onto the 22 setup
they already have, which can’t possibly end well. Lauren is sat on the top chair and Shotzi tries a suicide dive but Anthony Greene comes out to save Lauren, leaving Shotzi to crash horribly. That’s only good for two so
Greene hands Lauren a kendo stick. Cue Curt Stallion to fight with Greene
as Lauren unloads with the stick for the pin at 9:52.
Result: Brandi Lauren b. Shotzi Blackheart Kendo stick shot (9:52)
House show ads.
Colby Corino vs. Babatunde
Colby is Unwanted and has Sean Maluta in his corner. Babatunde is a 7’ monster. Colby, who might weigh 130lbs soaking wet, says he doesn’t care
how big Babatunde is and slaps him in the chest, meaning the beating is on
in a hurry. A Maluta distraction doesn’t work and Babatunde hits a chop so hard that I thought it was a chair shot. Colby gets in a few more shots but gets tossed into the corner with ease. A great big elbow and a great big
splash finish Corino at 3:10.
Result: Babatunde b. Colby Corino Splash (3:10)
Post match Eddie Kingston and the Unwanted (reigning Evolve Tag Team
Champion) come out to say they have a problem with Baba Booey. They don’t like Babatunde being given everything because he’s a giant football player
at a PC. They took out the Street Profits and they’ll take him out too, but here are AR Fox and Leon Ruff with the Skulk to interrupt. They charge the ring and hit some dives to get the match started in a hurry.
Tag Team Titles: AR Fox/Leon Ruff vs. Unwanted
Eddie Kingston and Joe Gacy are defending for the Unwanted and Fox trained Ruff. This is also under Relaxed Rules, pretty much meaning Fox starts even faster and hits an imploding 450 to take the champs down. Back in and Ruff
hits a rope walk hurricanrana on Gacy, setting up some kicks to the face
and a low Stunner for two. Kingston comes back in to take over on the much smaller Ruff, followed by a Russian legsweep/STO combination on Fox.
The champs start the hard chops on Ruff in the corner and the cringing is strong. Kingston superplexes Ruff into a powerbomb from Gacy for two but
Fox saves him from something else off the top. Ruff’s DDT out of the corner gets two on Kingston and Fox’s springboard Spanish Fly gets the same on
Gacy.
Kingston sends Fox outside and puts Ruff on top, leaving Gacy to set up a
table on the floor. Fox is back in with a big springboard dropkick and Ruff hits something like a crucifix bomb to bring Kingston back down. A running
dive over the top sends Gacy through the table and a 450 to Kingston gives
Fox the pin and the titles at 8:21.
Result: AR Fox/Leon Ruff b. Unwanted 450 to Kingston (8:21)
Post match, a lot of dancing ensues.
We recap Drew Gulak vs. Matt Riddle. They both used to be in Evolve as part
of the Catch Point (stable of amateur style wrestlers) and Gulak put out a challenge for this show. Riddle accepted and the match was on.
Drew Gulak vs. Matt Riddle
Non-title and both are well received. Riddle has Curt Stallion with him
while Gulak is in a Catch Point robe and walks through a group of people in Catch Point hoodies. Oh yeah I’d say this is a big one. They start with the strikes until Riddle takes him down without much effort. That’s reversed
into a quickly broken ankle lock as the fans sing something I can’t make
out. They fight over arm control but Riddle has to break out of the Gulock.
With that not working, Gulak goes to the middle rope but dives int a
jumping knee. The Bromission goes on for half a second until Gulak rolls
over into a cover for two and that’s a standoff. Gulak’s suplex gets one and it’s back to the boxing as the fans are split here. Riddle nails a powerbomb but his knee to the face is countered into a powerbomb from
Gulak. That’s switched into a half crab in a transition, sending Riddle straight over to the ropes.
Back up and now the jumping knee to the face gets two on Gulak, who hits a
hard shot to the face of his own and they’re both down. They slug it out
from their knees with Riddle getting the better of it and hitting a penalty kick to the chest for two. Riddle grabs his own Gulock but Gulak escapes in
a hurry, only to get caught in a triangle. That’s broken in a hurry as well so Riddle hits a fisherman’s buster for two.
Gulak bails to the apron so Riddle grabs a sleeper to pull him to the
middle rope for a German superplex, dropping Gulak on his head. After Gulak assures the referee he’s ok, it’s the spinning Broton off the top, which is reversed into the Gulock. Riddle slips out of that in a hurry though and
hits the Bro Derek for the pin at 13:38.
Result: Matt Riddle b. Drew Gulak Bro Derek (13:38)
This was a special one:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Post match Gulak talks about the way Catch Point was formed and puts over Riddle as a great competitor. He tells Stallion to be ready for his match against Riddle tomorrow.
We recap JD Drake vs. Austin Theory for the WWN/Evolve Titles respectively
(for lack of a better explanation, WWN is the governing body and Evolve is
a member). Drake is a good old boy from North Carolina while Theory is the
next big thing and a star in Evolve. Then he can go main event Takeover
instead of the farm boy who sits on the couch all day like Drake does.
Drake talks about everything he’s given away to this business, including a wife, missing his kid’s first steps and going through suicidal thoughts.
Leonard introduces a special ring announcer for the next match: Brian Idol,
who doesn’t seem to impress the fans. Then the lights go out and Paul
Heyman is here instead to a BIG reaction. After a lot of praise and WELCOME BACK chants, Heyman says he isn’t usually up for something like this but he volunteered to come here so he could see the future in action.
Hes been here before:
[This post contains video, click to play]
WWN Title/Evolve Title: JD Drake vs. Austin Theory
Title for title. We get the Big Match Intros (Heyman: “You guys got pyro!
We don’t have pyro!”) and we’re ready to go. Drake is a bigger guy and prides himself on being blue collar. Theory hits an early left hand but
neither can hit their finishers early on. A dropkick knocks Drake into the corner so Drake comes back with his own dropkick to send Theory outside.
Drake follows him with a hard chop to the chest as the announcer explains
the rather long history between the two of them.
Back in and Theory hammers away with forearms to the back for two and it’s off to the chinlock. With that broken up, Theory hits a standing moonsault
for two and chokes on the ropes while telling Drake to tell everyone his
sad story. Drake fights up and demands that Austin hit him, because it
won’t be harder than life has. That means a slam from Drake but Theory is right back up with a running dropkick into the corner.
They head outside with Drake sending him into the ropes and catching Theory with a hard right hand. Drake plants him down back inside for two more and
a middle rope Rough Ryder crushes Theory again. A Cannonball misses though
and Theory hits a running Blockbuster for his own two. Drake comes back
with right hands in the corner but Theory slips down and grabs a torture
rack into a spinning powerbomb for another near fall.
This time Theory is in shock and we get a MAMA MIA chant. Drake grabs a Stunner, sending Theory jumping higher into the air than anyone I’ve ever seen. Drill Bit (Drake’s double underhook swinging neckbreaker) gets two
but Drake is smart enough to stay on him with a moonsault hitting for
another near fall. The slug it out with Drake nailing a lariat but missing
a second moonsault. Theory hits a series of superkicks and Ataxia (a
lifting spinning Downward Spiral) gives Theory the pin and the titles at
16:24.
Result: Austin Theory b. JD Drake Ataxia (16:24)
Post match Theory throws down the WWN Title and steps on it, saying the
Evolve Title is what people want to try for, but they have to go through
him. There go the lights again and this time it’s….Josh Briggs with a chokeslam to not much of a reaction. That seems to be the end of the WWN
Title.
Video on Briggs, who got into wrestling because it’s a legal way to fight someone.
NXT Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Adam Cole
Cole is defending and this is a homecoming for both. They stare at each
other for a long time and it’s an UNDISPUTED vs. TOZAWA chant off. Cole
takes him into the corner to start and hits the signature pose. Tozawa
takes it to the mat with a headlock and screaming ensues. Back up and
Tozawa scores with an enziguri as we hear about Cole not being booked on
the first Evolve event despite being in the building. Cole sweeps the leg
to send Tozawa’s head into the buckle to take over for the first time.
Some knees to the back keep Tozawa down and we hit that chinlock. For
reasons of general arrogance, Cole shouts that he is going to be NXT
Champion FOREVER, meaning he has to elbow his way out of a fireman’s carry. Cole gets knocked outside for the suicide dive but is smart enough to move before a second can launch. That’s fine with Tozawa, who hits a big flip
dive over the ropes instead. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Tozawa
two but Cole scores with a kick of his head.
After the referee tells them both that they have 6:45 to go, they slug it
out with with Cole hitting a superkick to put them both down again with Tozawa’s mouthpiece flying out. Fans: “YOWEY WOWEY!” That’s only good for
two so Cole grabs the title, drawing out Johnny Gargano for a distraction
so Tozawa can roll him up for two. Tozawa’s spinning kick to the head looks to set up the top rope backsplash but Cole gets the knees up. The Panama Sunrise sets up the Last Shot to retain the title at 13:17.
Result: Adam Cole b. Akira Tozawa Last Shot (13:17)
Post match Gargano is ready to fight but Cole leaves. Instead Gargano helps Tozawa up and asks the fans to chant for him. Gargano talks about how
awesome this is and about how he was in the first Evolve event in this very building. That tells him two things: he’s getting old and wrestling in 2019 is pretty cool. Back in the day, these shows used to close with a question
to the fans. Tozawa remembers that question: did you enjoy the show?
The fans give the only chant they can for that and we pause for one fan who
can scream for a very long time. The fans are the reason the wrestlers are
here but tonight is about the locker room. It’s about the future instead of the past and Gargano wants us to support the company. Gargano says he loves
us and it’s a bunch of bowing and shaking hands to end the show.
The final surprise:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Results
Josh Briggs b. Anthony Greene – Pop up powerbomb
Stephen Wolf b. Harlem Bravado, Curt Stallion and Sean Maluta – Shooting
star press to Bravado
Arturo Ruas b. Anthony Henry – Spinning kick to the head
Brandi Lauren b. Shotzi Blackheart – Kendo stick shot
AR Fox/Leon Ruff b. Unwanted – 450 to Kingston
Matt Riddle b. Drew Gulak – Bro Derek
Austin Theory b. JD Drake – Ataxia
Adam Cole b. Akira Tozawa – Last Shot
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 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.
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 Evolve 131 (Tenth Anniversary Special) Results appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.
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Extreme Rules 2019 Preview Predictions And Thoughts
Posted: 13 Jul 2019 07:28 PM PDT
https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/extreme-rules-2019-preview-predictions-thoughts/
The summer of WWE continues. There are a lot of problems in WWE at the
moment and any WWE fan can list them all off for you at a moment’s notice. I’ve been right there with them, though things have gotten slightly better
in recent weeks. One of the underlying problems has been the amount of
shows that the company has been running and it’s time for another one in
the form of Extreme Rules, which doesn’t have the most extreme set of
rules. Maybe the card itself will surprise me. Let’s get to it.
Aleister Black vs. Cesaro
This was literally set up with a knock on the door and even though that is where the story was supposed to go, it doesn’t make things that
interesting. There is no history between the two of them but that’s kind of the point with Black. I have no idea how they’ve managed to screw up Black’s push so badly but I’ll take what I can get, even if it has taken this long.
The knock is answered:
[This post contains video, click to play]
I’ll go with Black to win because that’s the only thing that makes sense. I know the fans are going to be annoyed at seeing Cesaro lose again, but
that’s just kind of what happens with him. He’ll help get Black somewhere, but it’s going to be the Black Mass for the pin, just as it should be.
Black is the kind of guy who could go a long way, and Cesaro is a fine
first step. Well the second first step as that first run with Ricochet has
been forgotten.
Raw Tag Team Titles: Revival(c) vs. Usos
These two are joined at the hip and that’s fine by me. The best part about this whole thing has been the Revival getting away from the HORRIBLE pranks
at the hands of the Usos, which didn’t help anyone whatsoever. The Revival enjoying the good life is funny enough, though at least they’re not looking like the bad end of jokes and that’s better than nothing at this point.
Thankfully this is done:
[This post contains video, click to play]
This could go either way but I’ll take the Revival to retain with some cheating. The Usos have been champions so many times that it doesn’t feel important anymore and they certainly don’t need the belts. Let the Revival keep them a little longer and rehab their image that much more, which they really do need after the last few months. They can still be a great team,
as long as WWE will just let them do so. A win here would help.
SmackDown Tag Team Titles: Daniel Bryan/Rowan(c) vs. New Day vs. Heavy Machinery
As I was getting ready for this show, I wasn’t sure if New Day was doing anything on the show or who had these titles. That’s how little they matter and that says a lot about the tag division as a whole. Heavy Machinery doesn’t exactly belong in this match after they lost last month but when
has that bothered them before? The titles are nearly ice cold right now so
this isn’t the most important match on the show.
Remember how the champs got their titles:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Give me the champions retaining here, as I’m hoping that we’re getting closer to the New Day getting frustrated with Kofi Kingston getting most of
the glory and success. Much like the Usos, the New Day winning the titles
again wouldn’t mean anything and I can’t imagine Heavy Machinery actually winning the titles. Bryan and Rowan are doing nothing as champions, but
somehow they’re the best option at the moment.
Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak(c) vs. Tony Nese
Somehow this isn’t on the Kickoff Show (yet) but you can probably pencil it in. Gulak won the title from Nese in a three way at Stomping Grounds and
this is his first title defense. What matters most here is Gulak’s new, aggressive character which has gotten him a lot further than his
entertaining For A Better 205 Live deal. He’s fitting well as champion, though I’m not sure how long he’ll have the title.
These two fought not very long ago:
[This post contains video, click to play]
He’ll have it longer than the end of Extreme Rules though as I’ll go with Gulak to retain here. Nese has had his run and while he was a success, he’s not the long term solution with the title. They’ve already got Oney Lorcan waiting to challenge Gulak over Summerslam weekend as well and that could
be a heck of a match. Nese has come a long way, but he’s not getting back
to the top again, at least not here.
SmackDown World Title: Kofi Kingston(c) vs. Samoa Joe
This has been a better feud than anything Kingston vs. Ziggler did, mainly because it feels like something fresh. What matters here is having a good match, because this feels like a one off match instead of the start of something big. While there is a chance that we could see a rematch at Summerslam, odds are this is going to be it and there’s nothing wrong with that.
This sums up a lot about the feud:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Kingston retains here, at least I think, as I could see Samoa Joe puling
off a surprise win. That’s the kind of thing he tends to do, though I’m not sure if he’s going to do so here. Kingston’s title reign has not gone very well so far, though it’s hard to put the entirety of the blame on him.
Samoa Joe almost has to win the title at some point, but I don’t think that’s the case here.
Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley
This is Last Man Standing and a result of the two of them blowing up part
of the set a few weeks back. It feels like we’ve seen this kind of thing
from Strowman for years now as he gets to look dominant in a story like
this, though I have no reason to believe that he’s going to win the title
in the end. Lashley has looked great as well, though there is a lot more to
be done with Strowman, at least in a company that makes sense.
They went boom:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Of course I’ll take Strowman here, though it’s going to come after a lot of stuff is destroyed. That’s not a bad place to go and the match should be
fun (or at least extreme) but I have no confidence for where this is going
in the future for either guy. At least it’s better than arm wrestling or a tug of war though, which means Heyman at least has one good thing going for him.
Undertaker/Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon/Drew McIntyre
No Holds Barred for the sake of McMahon. The match itself isn’t what
matters here, as the whole point is much more about who Undertaker gets to
face at Summerslam. Odds are that it’s going to be McIntyre, but I’m not sure who would win once we get there. That’s for later though so for now,
we get more McMahon getting to hang with multiple time World Champions, if
not beating them.
At least there is a reason for all of this:
[This post contains video, click to play]
For the sake of my sanity, I’m going with Undertaker and Reigns squeaking
by a guy whose career highlight is the NXT Title and the Monster McMahon, because somehow this is one of the biggest feuds of the summer. Assuming
Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler isn’t added to the card (or even if it is), I could easily see Owens interfering here and taking McMahon down. Not for a
pin of course because Undertaker and Reigns aren’t on that level, but maybe he can help bring McIntyre down.
SmackDown Women’s Title: Bayley(c) vs. Nikki Cross/Alexa Bliss
This feud has gotten a lot of time in recent weeks, though I’m not entirely sure which way it’s going. That’s the best thing about it though, as they really could take it in a lot of different directions and see what they can find. Cross is being conned by Bliss, but Bayley has been showing some more heelish tendencies as of late. That opens up a lot of doors and any of them could be followed up on here.
Now with power of attorney:
[This post contains video, click to play]
I’ll take Bayley winning to retain here, likely pinning Cross in the
process. Above all else, Bayley needs to get FAR away from Bliss, as the
two of them have been joined at the hip for far too long now. It almost
never goes well for Bayley either and the longer they’re together, the more
I expect Bliss to get the title and kill Bayley’s momentum again. Odds are Charlotte gets the title shot at Summerslam (because she’s Charlotte) so Bayley has to win here to set that up.
US Title: Ricochet(c) vs. AJ Styles
This one is going to come down to how much you believe the stories about
Paul Heyman being so high on Ricochet. At the end of the day, Ricochet is
the kind of guy who could be turned into a new top star for the company in
the blink of an eye and it seems that they’re heading that way. At the same time though, Styles is Styles and you don’t want the newly reformed Club losing their first big pay per view match.
Theyve done this before:
[This post contains video, click to play]
I think they’ll put the title on Styles though, likely through Good
Brothers interference, meaning it’s time to have Ricochet chase the title again. Ricochet losing due to the numbers game is acceptable, but it would
be nice to let the younger guys get a longer term chance. I’m not confident whatsoever in this one though and that’s a nice feeling for a match like this.
Universal Title/Raw Women’s Title: Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch(c) vs. Lacey Evans/Baron Corbin
We’ve covered every possible bit of ranting that can be done about this
match and these feuds but now we get an Extreme Rules match for both
titles. The big story here is the real life relationship between Lynch and Rollins (because that’s REAL while everything else is fake) vs. the
business relationship between Evans and Corbin, because that’s what we want at an EXTREME show.
Consider this a warmup:
[This post contains video, click to play]
For the sake of my sanity (again with the sanity), I’ll go with the
champions retaining here because….how could Corbin ever be World Champion?
I mean I know he will be someday, but egads the possibilities of that give
me hives. I’m not sure where this takes Rollins and Lynch (though the Power
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