Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown and 205 Live.
-- Smackdown:
- AJ/Cena/Owens/Rusev:
Talk about changing things up a bit.
I like AJ not putting himself on a pedestal as the face of America, although someone from a small town Georgia would certainly have credentials in that department.
Good for AJ to want to prove himself. We saw some really good wrestling from Cena's challenge.
Interesting AJ implied he's better than Jinder. Maybe the Singhs need to pay him a visit?
Well, well, well! It didn't take long for Cena to find his way into a title match.
Oh this should be good. But where in the world would they go from there?
Wow Kevin interrupted just in time!
I always hate the "no one cares about you" thing. That's hardly a way to get people excited about a feud involving that person.
Ahhh the only you can't see me gag. I love it.
Oh shit that shot at Kevin's weight. He's actually pretty slim compared to his ROH days.
Wow. Nice to imply you can beat two of Smackdown's top stars back-to-back, no sweat.
That wasn't a bad ending to set up a STRAIGHT-UP. TAG TEAM MATCH!!
- Jinder vs. Tye:
I would have bought this being on Main Event.
Mahal's getting more comfortable in the ring.
Tye's a solid face, and Jinder's a good heel.
I like Mahal wearing Dillinger down.
I can see the similarities to Orton's in-ring game from the champ.
I'm enjoying this so far.
Good ending!
- Jinder promo:
I'm mostly enjoying Jinder's push. I'm definitely glad they're running with a new potential top guy.
I honestly wonder if they paint Jinder as the face on Indian TV.
It's been a while since we've seen the physical structure. It would serve well to remind people what it's like.
- Xavier vs. Jey:
Everyone here's got to be looking over their backs for Alberto's family.
Uh-oh. Fewer people at ringside means less protection from Alberto's entourage.
Fine enough work to continue this feud.
Not bad! We don't get to see much from Xavier.
- Shane/Smackdown women:
Hahahaha poor Ellsworth. I really hope he enters the women's division as Jane Ellsworth a la Santina Marella. Since James is suspended and all.
Wow. Throwing Lana under a bus, too!
I would pop for Naomi vs. Ellsworth, actually. Someone do that.
Ha. Were they all just waiting outside his office at once?
Interesting to (presumably) not have a title defense in the division until Summerslam.
I could never hear Bret Hart mentioned in an angle on WWE TV again and be OK.
Wow. No match for Lana? Telling.
I love them pushing Carmella like this.
- Baron interview:
I wish they'd play off the "why is this guy getting so much attention just because he wrestled in Japan?" angle. It feels like something Baron would do.
- Shinsuke vs. Baron:
I like this being a fight.
I especially love a brawl spilling out into the crowd.
Nice fight so far.
Corbin's like "screw this. Why wrestle a madman? I'm Mr. MITB!"
- AJ/Cena backstage:
The "golly gee I want to hold a belt and be the best wrestler" thing is SO tired.
- Natalya/Tamina vs. Charlotte/Becky:
Fine physicality to start.
Nice so far.
I like Charlotte as a face. It's fresh.
I like how everyone's trying to get an edge before that big Battleground match.
Solid work all around.
I'm liking the heels trying to isolate Becky.
I was wondering where Lana would be an all of this!
Good action.
WHOA! Someone actually won with one superkick in 2017!!!! Not bad overall.
- Kanellises/Gable/Zayn:
Poor Jason Jordan is getting Jannettied hard here.
Why is Maria the first lady of WWE? It doesn't work as her moniker here. She's like the 5639th lady in WWE.
Hahahah I also wonder what Mike's doing here.
That wasn't bad to set up what I assume will be a Battleground match.
- Fashion Rangers:
Oh My God this is hilarious. A nice break from serious wresslin'.
Hahaha. I love seeing these people goof around.
I'm loving them having the freedom to do stuff like this. Wrestling should be more fun.
How soon do we get Mojo vs. Zack?
Fandango is KILLING me here.
I'm dead. I might be the only one who loved Curtis' pun gimmick.
- Owens/Rusev vs. Cena/AJ:
Hahahah Rusev not wasting time getting to wave that flag!
Nice work so far. I've missed seeing Cena wrestle.
This is a good combination of wrestlers. All are talented in different ways.
Good physicality here.
Styles has impressive athleticism, too.
Pretty good story being told here.
Haha I love the taunting.
I might enjoy AJ's work more as a face in peril. He's more fun on the mic as a heel, though.
VINTAGE John Cena offense!
Oh yeah, Rusev knew that AA was coming.
NICE save by AJ to save his partner.
That was a good ending, although I know people wanted the heels to get one over on John and AJ.
- Post-match:
Like Cena was going to turn heel.
-- 205 Live:
- Tozawa/Ariya:
Titus is such a positive influence on young Tozawa! I'm begging for a buddy cop angle.
Good stuff to continue Neville/Tozawa.
Daivari ready for Akira and Neville to move on it looks like.
I liked Ariya getting some more character there.
Interesting segment overall.
- Tozawa vs. Ariya:
Good action here.
I'm liking the aggression. So many 205 matches just seem to be filling time with cool moves.
Both men are already solid. I'm glad we're seeing wrestlers like this on the Network.
Well that was good while it lasted, but the champion's on a warpath.
- Post-match:
Neville making a statement... again. The work is good; it's just getting long in the tooth.
Nice message sent.
- Gulak promo:
I love the idea of Drew thinking he gave into the sin of high-flying, like he cheated on his significant other or something.
Hahaha. He needs to ask for forgiveness!
I'll be ready for the feud to end with that solid encounter.
- Swann vs. Connors:
Good work early.
I like the jobbers at least getting SOME offense in.
Good to show what Rich is all about.
- TJP promo:
I like TJ's competitive streak here.
Ooh, interesting. Can TJ outsquash Rich?
Connors gets to job twice in one night! I think it pays the same, though.
- TJP vs. Connors:
Oh, man. TJP almost got surprised there. That would have been bad.
OK angle overall.
- Kendrick/Gallagher:
They're really stretching for material on this brand.
So, if a third-rate Regal can beat Kendrick, what does that say about Brian's abilities?
Also holy shit Charlie Chaplin is a REALLY dated reference.
I do like Brian wanting credit for all he did to get back to WWE.
Gallagher is a legitimate fighter.
This has some good heart to it.
That ended up being better than I expected coming in.
Gallagher must go through a LOT of umbrellas.
- Dar vs. Cedric:
PLEASE LET THIS BE THE END OF THIS PLEASE LET THIS BE THE END OF THIS PLEASE LET THIS BE THE END OF THIS
A handspring back flip... in an I Quit match!???
I do generally enjoy Noam being paired with Alicia.
Glad this is a fight now.
I like Noam's killer instinct.
Dar fights dirty. I like it.
Yeah sometimes a moonsault off the apron isn't a smart move. It also strains believability since they were just trying to tear each other's hands up.
Noam's cranking up the pressure!
I like Cedric showing how tough he is here.
Uggghhhh. Alexander's moves are killing the "this is an important grudge match" narrative.
I was liking this more in the early going. Noam's better at the street fight idea than Cedric is. I'd normally make a jab at Cedric's ROH background there, but they've had some really good grudge matches.
TOO. MANY. FLIPS.
Oh NOW he's going to kill him with a chair. This is tonally inconsistent.
Noam's going to leave this one mangled if he can't get out of this.
NICE slap from Noam. He's definitely the star of the two.
That was a good ending. I like some violence here and there.
- Post-match:
Ahhhh I love Noam.
SWERVE BRO I NEVER LOVED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Noam gaining a lot of heel points here, which is probably the right move because he could look sympathetic after that hellacious chair beating.
Based Scottish Studmuffin.
That was based. I hope something interesting happens in the fallout.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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