FROM THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN REIGNS AND CENA TO THE SITUATION BETWEEN ROSEMARY AND SEXY STAR AT TRIPLEMANIA, DEREK HARMSWORTH GIVES YOU A WEEKS WORTH OF WRESTLING NEWS IN THE ‘FRIDAY FIFTEEN’!
- I don’t know how much of the John Cena/Roman Reigns promo from Monday night was a shoot. What I do know is tat I enjoyed every second of it, and am highly anticipating this matchup, even if I do feel it would have been better served on a larger Pay-Per-View with a bit more build up.
- I don’t know what WWE thinks they’re accomplishing by playing hot potato with the RAW Women’s Championship. Honestly, I have no idea.
- Nice to hear Jerry “The King” Lawler on Monday Night RAW this past week. Not sure if is work actually added anything to the program, but the nostalgic in me enjoyed it.
- Great to hear the positive updates and words from the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. The absolute best to ever do it appears to be on the mend, and while the long road to recovery is and should be top priority, I cannot wait for the night on WWE TV where we hear that old familiar “wooo” and see the sixteen-time World Champion strut down the aisle.
- Lita’s debut as a a colour analysts could have gone smoother. Her work on the Mae Young Classic, alongside Jim Ross, shows potential. But she needs to really find her comfort zone behind the announcers desk.
- Speaking of the Mae Young Classic, I’m mildly surprised Kay Lee Ray did not win and advance past the opening round of the tournament. However, she comes with a built-in audience and will be able to rebound from this relatively fast if WWE wants to work with her in the future. Perhaps the company thought Princesa Sugehit needed more screen time to familiarize herself with the fan base.
- Lots of proverbial ink has been spilled over this topic in the last week or so, so I won’t add too much to it; but I’d be remiss if I didn’t agree with the many who are saying Bobby Roode could very well be the future of SmackDown Live. The guy has all the tools. And so far his main roster transition has been amongst the smoothest we’ve seen.
- Randy Orton should be commended for his ability to perform consistently. However, none of it really moves me in any direction.
- AJ Styles bringing back the United States Championship Open Challenge has all sorts of potential.
- Kazuchika Okada takes his rightful place atop the world of professional wrestling with the latest PWI 500, which features “The Rainmaker” in the number one spot. That Okada has been fantastic this past year cannot be up for debate. What can be debated? The low ranking of Cody Rhodes, and the lack of ranking for Donovan Dijak.
- The entire situation with Rosemary and Sexy Star from TripleMania over the weekend was simply bizarre. Been a long time since we have seen a wrestler go into business for themselves that aggressively. Thoughts with Rosemary (who is ultra-talented) on a speedy recovery, and thoughts with Sexy Star on whatever endeavour she decides to tackle next now that she has likely submarined her wrestling career (and rightfully so).
- The Adam Cole/Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish era of NXT is going to be very fun, this writer thinks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xn9h309uNw
- This past week’s Ring Of Honor television was fantastic from start to finish, highlighted by an above average match between The Young Bucks and the Motor City Machine Guns. Seek it out if you haven’t watched yet.
- Lots of professional wrestlers doing their part to help with the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. From WWE’s advertisement of a donation website, to Stokely Hathaway and Seth Rollins (among others) selling t-shirts with proceeds going directly to the cause. Another reminder that at the end of the day professional wrestling, and everyone involved, are all family.
- Jeff Hardy celebrated a birthday yesterday. Count me among those who saw him putting his body through hell in the early-2000’s and said ‘that guy will never last’. Glad I was wrong.