Friday 31 May 2019

NXT Takeover XXV Preview

NXT TakeOver 25 poster.jpg



NXT Takeover XXV will be taking place tomorrow evening at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It will be the first Takeover in a few years that will not be taking place on the same weekend as a Pay-Per-View, so it will be interesting to see how it does. As usual, the card looks great, so let's take a look.

Roderick Strong vs Matt Riddle
I'm quite looking forward to this one and I can see both guys winning, I'm going for Strong to win.
Predicted Winner: Roderick Strong

Shayna Baszler vs Io Shirai 
NXT Women's Championship
This is an interesting one. I'm going for Shirai to win, hopefully paving the way for Baszler to go up to the main roster.
Predicted Winner: Io Shirai

Velveteen Dream vs Tyler Breeze
NXT North American Championship
This is a difficult one. I feel sorry for Breeze going back to NXT and I think that him winning would be a backward step for the brand. I'm going for Dream to win.
Predicted Winner: Velveteen Dream

Street Profits vs The Forgotten Sons vs Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch
Ladder Match for the NXT Tag Team Championship
This has the ability to be the match of the night. I think that, based on recent episodes, that the Street Profits might win this one.
Predicted Winners: Street Profits

Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole (Bay Bay!)
NXT Championship
Their match at the last Takeover was phenomenal so I hope we will get a match near to that standard. I would like Cole to win but I think that Gargano will win.
Predicted Winner: Johnny Gargano

It will be a few days before I get to see it. Until then, I hope you guys enjoy the show

Friday 24 May 2019

WWE Money in the Bank 2019 Review



The match on the Kick Off Show was the Smackdown Tag Team Champions "The New" Daniel Bryan and Rowan and The Usos.  Early on, Rowan hits Jey Uso with a running crossbody to give his team the advantage. Bryan goes for his running dropkicks but Jey reverses the third one into a Samoan Drop and this gives him the chance to get the hot tag to Jimmy Uso. However, when Jey goes for the Uso Splash, Bryan catches him and applies the LeBell Lock, which is broken up by Jimmy. After The Usos take out Rowan on the outside, they then superkick Bryan then hit him with the Double Uce to get the win. This was a fun match to watch.
Winners: The Usos (0 for 1)

The first match on the show is the Women's Money in the Bank Match between Bayley, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Ember Moon, Mandy Rose, Naomi, Natalya and Nikki Cross. Highlights of the match include: Naomi using the splits to avoid a ladder sandwich; Nikki hitting Ember with a spinning neckbreaker; Ember hitting The Eclipse on Natalya from a ladder on the outside; Carmella coming back after after injuring her knee to fuck up Mandy; and Sonya Deville stopping Carmella from grabbing the briefcase. In the end, Sonya has to literally carry Mandy to the briefcase but Bayley climbs up, pushes them off the ladder then collects the briefcase to get the win. I quite enjoyed the match although I didn't think it was as good as last year's.
Winner: Bayley (0 for 2)

Next is the United States Championship match as Rey Mysterio challenges Samoa Joe. Joe kicks Mysterio down but he recovers and gets out of a powerbomb to pin Joe and get the win. Wait, what? That match lasted less than 2 minutes and the referee missed Joe's shoulder being up for the pin. Obviously, Joe doesn't take the loss well and beats up Mysterio. The match was ok but it was ruined by the referee.
Winner: Rey Mysterio (0 for 3)

We now get a steel cage match between Hollywood Miz and "The Best in the World(?)" Shane McMahon. When the bell rings, Shane tries to escape but Miz stops him. Shane slams Miz into the cage to get the advantage. Shane manages to get a steel chair but Miz grabs it and hits a Skull Crushing Finale onto the chair. Miz pins Shane but Shane puts his foot on the rope, which shouldn't be a rope break but the referee stops the count. The fuck?! In the end, Shane starts to climb out and Miz grabs him by his baseball jersey. However, Shane manages to slip out of his jersey to get the win by escaping the cage. The match was ok but this was the second match ruined by bad officiating. Normally, you don't have rope breaks in a steel cage match. However, you can't say there's no rope break for a submission yet say there is one when there's a pin. Plus there's the fact that Shane has beaten a former WWE Champion twice and has now gone to feud with Roman Reigns as well. What the fuck is happening?!
Winner: Shane McMahon (0 for 4)

We now get our second Championship match as Ariya Daivari challenges Tony Nese for the Cruiserweight Championship. After a fast paced start, Daivari grinds Nese's eyes against the top rope to get the advantage. Nese's vision starts to recover and Nese makes a comeback. Daivari goes to hit the Hammerlock Clothesline but Nese kicks out and goes on to hit the Running Nese to retain the Championship. This was a good match between the two and quite enjoyable.
Winner: Tony Nese (1 for 5)

It is the start of a busy night for "The Man" Becky Lynch as she faces the challenge of Lacey Evans for the RAW Women's Championship. Early on, Lacey tries to flee but Becky stops her. Lacey starts to focus on Becky's left arm to get the advantage. Lacey does a dick by wiping off her sweat and stuffing it into Becky's mouth and this is the incentive for Becky to make a comeback. In the end, Lacey rolls up Becky but the referee doesn't count for some reason. Becky then reverses it into the Dis-Arm-Her and Lacey immediately submits, giving Becky the win. Is that Bad Referee Day or something?! This is the third match ruined by bad officiating. I would have some sympathy if this was a real sport but it isn't. Anyway, well done to Becky
Winner: Becky Lynch (2 for 6)

Oh, wait a minute. Charlotte Flair comes out and, because she's not an idiot, demands her match takes place right now. So, it's Charlotte Flair challenging "The Man" Becky Lynch for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Charlotte gets the early advantage and hits multiple Flair Chops and puts Becky in a Boston Crab. After exchanging punches, Charlotte goes for natural selection on the apron but fails and lands on the floor. While the referee does the 10 count, Lacey Evans runs back down and hits Becky with The Women's Right. Charlotte slides in and almost loses to an inside cradle. However, she kicks out and hits a big boot to get the win. Except for the referee almost doing a 3 count on the inside cradle, which wasn't his fault, it was a good match.
Winner: Charlotte Flair (3 for 7)

We still haven't finished yet as Becky attacks Lacey after the match. Charlotte helps out Lacey and they beat up Becky. Bayley comes on to make the save, which ends up with Charlotte missing a spear on Bayley and crashing into the ring post. Bayley is suddenly inspired by Edge's manual "How to be the Ultimate Opportunist" and cashes in her Money in the Bank briefcase. Bayley then hits a Macho Man elbow drop to get the win and become the new Smackdown Women's Champion. I know that Corey Graves bitched about Charlotte not being on her feet when the bell rang. However, there have been times when that's happened in a cash in so I'm not really bothered by that. I'm gutted that Becky lost a Championship however, it leads to a new Champion and diverts Charlotte away to someone else.
Winner: Bayley (N/A)

Next is Roman Reigns taking on Elias. Elias decides to get a head start by attacking Reigns backstage. He then goes on to have a concert in the ring. Afterwards, Reigns attacks him at the entrance ramp. Reigns goes on to throw Elias in the ring and spears after the bell rings to get the win. The match was...well, it wasn't a match was it?
Winner: Roman Reigns (4 for 8)

We now get the Universal Championship as AJ Styles challenging Seth Rollins.  The match goes back and forth in the beginning before Styles hits a knee to Rollins on the outside to get the advantage. It doesn't last long as Rollins makes a comeback with two suicide dives. Rollins comes close after hitting a buckle bomb and a frog splash and later on, Styles hits an impressive torture rack into a powerbomb. Bith guys have some very close near falls including Styles managing to avoid a curb stomp to hit the Styles Clash. In the end, Styles goes for the Phenomenal Forearm but Rollins reverses it into a revolution knee. He follows that with 2 super kicks and the Curb Stomp to get the win. This was a great match between the two and I hope they wrestle again in the near future.
Winner: Seth Rollins (5 for 9)

We were supposed to get the Lucha House Party against 3 randoms but Lars Sullivan turns up and fucks them up. Well, ok that happened.

Anyway, the penultimate match is for the WWE Championship as Kevin Owens challenges Kofi Kingston.  The match starts with them punching each other and Owens hits a superkick to get the advantage. The match goes back and forth and Owens goes for the Stunner but Kofi hits SOS for 2. Owens hits a Pop Up Powerbomb and later on, a Stunner but both times, Kofi kicks out. Owens goes for a Swanton Bomb but Kofi gets the knees up and then hits Trouble in Paradise to get the win. This was a good match.
Winner: Braun Strowman (6 for 10)

The main event is the Men's Money in the Bank with Ali, Andrade, Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Randy Orton and Ricochet. Highlights of the match include: Orton slamming Ali, Balor and Ricochet onto the English announce table; Andrade hitting Balor with a sunset flip powerbomb onto a ladder; Ali hitting Andrade with a Spanish fly off a ladder; Corbin catching Ricochet doing a suicide dive to hit a Deep Six; and McIntyre slamming Andrade onto Balor. Ali looks like he is going to grab the briefcase but suddenly, Brock Lesnar's music hits. Lesnar tips Ali off the ladder, climbs up to grab the briefcase and wins...? Wait...what?! What the fuck just happened?! The match was pretty good but the ending was fucking stupid. Lesnar doesn't fucking need this. I find it insane that WWE have gone from having a part timer be Universal Champion turning up about ten times a year to having the same part timer be Mr Money in the Bank. It doesn't make any sense and it was a shitty end to the Pay Per View.
Winner: Brock Lesnar...? (N/A)

Well, I thought that Money in the Bank was a mixed bag. There was some good matches, the Universal Championship match being a particular highlight. However, some matches were ruined by incompetent officiating, which doesn't make sense as this is all supposed to be planned. Then, it goes on to have the worst ending to a Pay Per View possibly ever by having Brock Lesnar turn up for do 30 seconds work and win Money in the Bank. I find it unbelievable that WWE decided to repeat what they've done with Lesnar for the last few years. The briefcase should have used to help bring up someone. Instead, they decided to go back to a part timer for ratings? I don't know Anyway, we now go to Saudi Arabia for WWE Blood Money III Super Show Down. Yay...

Sunday 19 May 2019

WWE Money in the Bank 2019 Preview

Money in the Bank 2019 poster.jpg



The first Pay-Per-View since Wrestlemania, Money in the Bank, will be taking place in the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. WWE has been going a rough spot with their ratings at the minute so hopefully, this event will help them get better ratings. So, let's take a look at the card.

The Usos vs "The New" Daniel Bryan and Rowan
The match on the Kick Off Show should be a good one although it's weird that Bryan, who was WWE Champion at Wrestlemania, is now on the Kick Off Show. Anyway, I'm going for him and Rowan to win.
Predicted Winners: "The New" Daniel Bryan and Rowan

Tony Nese vs Ariya Daivari
Cruiserwieght Championship
This should be a good one and I'm going for Nese to win.
Predicted Winner: Tony Nese

Samoa Joe vs Rey Mysterio
United States Championship
Hopefully Rey has fully recovered from his injury so we will get a longer match than the one at Wrestlemania. A tough one but I'm going for Joe to retain.
Predicted Winner: Samoa Joe

Hollywood Miz vs Shane McMahon
Steel Cage Match
I thought The Miz moving to RAW would end this feud but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, I'm going for Miz to win.
Predicted Winner: The Miz

Roman Reigns vs Elias
Yeah, I'll be surprised if Reigns doesn't win this.
Predicted Winner: Roman Reigns

"The Man" Becky Lynch vs Lacey Evans
RAW Women's Championship
Becky will be defending both her Championships in two separate matches. It depends on which match goes on first. If it's this one, I think that Becky will win and Lacey will beat her up afterwards leading to the next match.
Predicted Winner: Becky Lynch

"The Man" Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair
Smackdown Women's Championship
The feud continues although I thought it would be over by now. I'm going for Charlotte to win if it's the second match.
Predicted Winner: Charlotte Flair

Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles
Universal Championship
I'm quite looking forward to this one and hopefully, it ends clean. I'm going for Seth to win.
Predicted Winner: Seth Rollins

Kofi Kingston vs Kevin Owens
WWE Championship
I would find it insane if Owens wins this although I wouldn't put it past them. I'm going for Kofi to win.
Predicted Winner: Kofi Kingston

Bayley vs Carmella vs Dana Brooke vs Ember Moon vs Mandy Rose vs Natalya vs Naomi vs Nikki Cross
Women's Money in the Bank Match
This is an interesting one. I can see a few of them winning but putting Nikki in for an injured Alexa could lead the way to a feud between the two. I might be in the minority but I'm going for Mandy to win.
Predicted Winner: Mandy Rose

Ali vs Andrade vs Baron Corbin vs Drew McIntyre vs Finn Balor vs Randy Orton vs Ricochet vs Sami Zayn
Men's Money in the Bank Match
Another tough one to call but I'm going for Drew to win.
Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre

It will be a couple of days before I get to see the show. Until then, I would you all enjoy it.