Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Fastlane is behind us and despite WWE’s reported resolve to turn it into a big show, it managed to feel like nothing of the sort. If you were the kind to predict things – like me – you should have been able to get 99% of the results spot on and the in-ring action rarely got above good. One or two matches aside, this was a bit of a dud. With that in mind, please read my review.
Fastlane is just around the corner and with WWE truly gearing up for Wrestlemania season it is looking to at the very least, be an interesting show. Seeds will be planted and more than one of them will sprout come Wrestlemania weekend. So with all of that in mind, here’s what I think will happen at the last stop before the big one.
Another PPV and another chance for me to continue my positive attitude towards the WWE. Thankfully, for both myself and the WWE, the talent have once again done their job well and it won’t be that hard. I have to be honest and say I haven’t seen last night’s Raw, although I know what happened, so that shan’t be playing to big a part in this. With that in mind, what was good about TLC?
NXT Takeover: Respect felt like a strange show going into it. It was lacking the hype of previous NXT shows. Despite on paper, looking like it could be fantastic. It featured two women main eventing an NXT Special for the first time and the conclusion of the Dusty Roads Classic. Throw in the debuting Asuka and this show should have felt huge. Thankfully what it lacked in hype, it more than made up for on the day.
On Monday night the Raw crowd at the Brooklyn Center turned on the WWE Diva’s segment. They begun to perform the usual antics of a bored crowd, Mexican waves and unrelated chants. Yet, only 48 hours beforehand a similar crowd had come unhinged when Bayley pinned Sasha Banks to win the NXT Women’s Title. So did the crowd change in that 48 hours? Or does it point to all the ways that the WWE is failing the Diva’s Revolution? It’s hardly a spoiler to claim it’s the latter.
Battleground is very much a B + PPV. Coming just ahead of Summerslam, it is one of those classic middle of the road WWE shows, which is more likely to set up Summerslam than do anything spectacular itself. However, with rumours swirling last week about who might show their face. Battleground suddenly became a lot more interesting to a lot more people. So let’s have a look and see exactly what went down. Unsurprisingly, this will contain spoilers.
Raw this week finally saw the debut of three of NXT’s Four Horsewomen, as Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch were introduced by Stephanie McMahon to shake up the Diva’s division. It’s a moment that has been long overdue and almost instantly elevates the Divas division. However, we have seen NXT women being called up before and lost in the shuffle, so is it going to be different this time?
We all like to moan about wrestling. I myself do it on a regular basis. We particularly like to bash the WWE. If you were to go by forums and Twitter, you would believe that they were at an all time low. However, that’s not actually true. In fact, I would argue that WWE is actually in the middle of a golden period.
I feel like I have covered how awesome NXT is. It’s the only televised wrestling I actually watch on a weekly basis and I genuinely think it’s the best thing WWE has done for a long time. Therefore, you probably don’t need to hear me say that NXT Takeover: Rivals was another fantastic show, topped off with three absolutely brilliant main events. If you like wrestling and haven’t watched it, then do so now. If you don’t like wrestling, give it a chance anyway, it might surprise you. However, that’s not what I’ve decided to discuss. Instead, lets look at women’s wrestling in the WWE.
With just a two month turnover between live specials, the latest NXT Takeover: Rivals, has had roughly eight hours of Network time to promote itself into a strong show. To put that into perspective, the main roster do six hours a week with Raw, Smackdown and Main Event. Therefore, it is a bit of a disgrace that this again feels like one of the best built WWE shows in recent times.
Ramblings About Wrestling 