TNA Impact: Destination X 2014 Review

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - July 31st, 2014 - Destination X 2014
The show kicks off with Team Dixie in the ring. Dixie cut one of her usual unbearable promos to start, but once EC3 took over, this segment turned to gold. Carter introduced the new members of the stable and cut a fantastic promo challenging Bully, Devon, and Dreamer. Great opening segment thanks to Ethan Carter III.

1) The Hardys (Jeff & Matt Hardy) vs. The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) - TNA World Tag Team Title Match
I was curious to see if this dream match would live up to the high expectations that I had for it and indeed it did! Words can't describe how awesome this match was. From the opening bell to the closing bell - the action never stopped! It was 15 minutes of nonstop fantastic wrestling from two of the best tag teams in the world. This without a doubt lived up to the hype and was the best tag team match TNA has had thus far in 2014! You need to check this out! The Wolves proved they were one of the best teams in the world and The Hardys showed they could still go, phenomenal match.

Match rating - 9/10

2) Low Ki vs. Manik vs. Zema Ion - X Division Title Tournament
A nice mix of styles in this match and they meshed very well. Ki and Manik were their usual amazing selves and Zema

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 28th, 2014

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 28th, 2014

The show opens with John Cena who is soon interrupted by Paul Heyman. Heyman did a wonderful job as usual and Cena cut one of the best promos in the history of the career. He didn't joke around and he made the feud feel important. Kudos to Cena for bringing his A game for this rivalry. This segment got even more awesome when Cesaro came out to confront Cena for insulting Heyman. Cesaro cut a great promo himself targeting Cena's wrestling ability and saying "You're not a wrestler, you're a big muscled up walking billboard!" This leads to the first match of the evening.

1) John Cena vs. Cesaro
I was extremely hyped after that opening segment and when this match was made, I got even more excited. These two had a classic earlier this year on Raw so I expected this to be good. Cena and Cesaro had the same chemistry here that they had in February as they delivered a great match. Cena continues to get better in the ring and Cesaro continues proving to everyone who didn't already know, that he is one of the best wrestlers in the world. Fantastic match, awesome start to the show.

Match rating - 8/10

Next up, Paige and AJ Lee had an in ring segment to

ROH TV Review - July 26th, 2014

ROH TV Review - July 26th, 2014

After nearly three months, I'm back with a review of ROH's weekly TV show. I haven't reviewed ROH TV in recent weeks because they've been replaying matches from their War of the Worlds and Global Wars events. This week, ROH TV returns with some fresh content that was filmed during the first date on their summer heat tour in Dearborn, Michigan.

The tag team division is the focus of tonight's show as the ROH World Tag Team Champions Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish will be in action and there will also be a big four corner survival match to determine the new #1 Contender's to the ROH Tag Team Titles.

1) ReDragon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Monster Mafia (Ethan Gabriel Owens & Joshua Alexander)
I've heard alot about the Monster Mafia so it was nice to finally see them compete. They are still fairly new to ROH and they certainly had their work cut out for them here against the ROH Tag Champions, ReDragon. The Mafia impressed me here as they took the fight to ReDragon early on. Alexander even stood toe to toe in a striking battle with

Fantasy Booking: WWE SummerSlam 2014 - WrestleMania 31

With SummerSlam coming up and alot of interesting storylines going on, I figured I'd publish another Fantasy Booking article. On top of that, I've had several people tweet me and ask for me to post a new one, so here it is!

For those don't know, fantasy booking is basically me displaying how I would book the coming months in WWE. In this edition, I'll be fantasy booking from SummerSlam to WrestleMania 31 next year. I'll include full cards for each PPV during that time period as well as back stories. So let's get started.

The first match I'd have on the SummerSlam card is an eight man tag team match. The Usos have just came off a feud with The Wyatt Family and don't have many other opponents in the tag division aside from Big E & Kofi Kingston. Big E and Kofi recently aligned with

WWE Friday Night Smackdown Review - July 25th, 2014

WWE Friday Night Smackdown Review - July 25th, 2014

1) The Usos vs. Ryback & Curtis Axel

The show kicks off with an exciting tag match here between Rybaxel and the tag champions, The Usos. These two teams have wrestled several times this year, but I think this was their best match together yet. Axel & Ryback continue to improve. Not only as a team, but individually as well. I become more fond of them each week. Ryback's impressed me by adding new moves to his repretoire while Axel's ring positioning is what really stood out to me here. Such as in this match, he got knocked near the corner so

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 21st, 2014 - Brock Lesnar Returns!

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 21st, 2014 - Brock Lesnar returns

The show starts off with Triple H talking about who he's going to choose as Cena's opponent for SummerSlam. Kane, Randy Orton, and Roman Reigns end up coming out which leads to our first match of the evening.

1) Randy Orton & Kane vs. Roman Reigns
I was totally uninterested in the main event of Battleground last night so as you would expect, I wasn't very interested in this match either. On top of that it's a handicap bout so that made it even less of a draw for me. None the less, this was a decent start to the show. The crowd loved Reigns and he got a nice showing here by picking up a big victory over Orton & Kane. It also furthered the tension between Kane & Orton. So although it wasn't the most entertaining bout, it accomplished what it set out to do.

I never thought that I'd enjoy a segment involving Brie Bella more than a match involving Randy Orton, Kane, and Roman Reigns, but damn if that wasn't the case tonight. The feud between Stephanie McMahon and the Bellas has been so great. That trend continued tonight as Brie was at ringside for her sister's 4 on 1 handicap match when Stephanie came out to get her escorted from the building. Brie cut a really good promo and called Stephanie

WWE Battleground 2014 Predictions & Analysis

WWE Battleground 2014 Predictions & Analysis

It seems like just yesterday we were discussing Money In The Bank, but now the month of July is coming to an end and it's time for Battleground. The card looks very promising with several matches that I'm personally looking forward to. The majority of the matches have been built very well and it looks to be a great PPV. I also think there will be a shocking surpise which you will read about later on in this article. So without further a due, let's get into my predictions for the show.

Pre-Show Match: Naomi vs. Cameron

As a big advocate for Naomi, I was excited when she & Cameron broke up. Naomi is an impressive athlete with the potential to be Divas Champion in the future while Cameron is mediocre in the ring at best. With that being said, I'm glad this match is on the pre show because I don't personally think Cameron is ready for PPV. I think Naomi will pick up the win here and begin her march towards a run with the Divas Title. Hopefully she can pull a decent performance out of Cameron along the way.

Who I think will win: Naomi

1) Luke Harper & Erick Rowan vs. The Usos - 2/3 Falls Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles
In all honesty, this is the match I'm most looking forward to. The two teams have had numerous encounters of the past few months, but they are always awesome. The 2/3 Falls stipulation makes this even more of a draw

WWE Friday Night Smackdown Review - July 18th, 2014

WWE Friday Night Smackdown Review - July 18th, 2014

The show opens up with a verbal exchange between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Great stuff from both guys as expected. This feud is one of the main reasons I tune into WWE TV every week. Ambrose vs Kane is set up for later in the night.

1) Sheamus & Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz & Fandango
Here we have four guys who will be in the 20 Man Battle Royal at Battleground facing off in tag team action. This was much better than I expected. Ziggler was the highlight here like always. I'm tempted to say that he has been the standout guy on Smackdown all year because he's had so many great matches on the show in the past six months. He put in another good performance here along with the other three men and the result was

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - July 17th, 2014

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - July 17th, 2014 - The Six Sided Ring Returns, The Dudleys Boys reunite, + Jeff Hardy and Bobby Lashley clash for the TNA World Title

After hearing so much about the TNA shows in NYC, I was excited that the first one was finally going to air. With such high expectations, could the show live up to the standard that has been set for them? Let's find out.

The show opens up with promos for Kurt Angle and Tazz in the balcony of the arena. Very good way to start the show. This one has a special feel to it.

Bully Ray & Tommy Dreamer are out next, but they are interrupted mid-promo by EC3 and Rhino. As the weeks go on, I continue to grow more fond of EC3. The way he worked the fans here and responded to their chants here was perfect. His future is bright. The two teams end up brawling and we have our first match of the evening.

1) Bully Ray & Tommy Dreamer vs. Rhino & EC3
Pretty basic tag team match here, but it was very entertaining. The crowd was on fire so that helped it alot. Bully & Dreamer got some cool double team moves

A Special Thanks to CM Punk

Tonight it was made official that CM Punk was gone from WWE and wouldn't be coming back. He was moved to the Alumni section of WWE's site and the news of this quickly spread across the web. Soon after, "Thank You Punk" began trending on Twitter. Punk soon made a statement by tweeting: "Nope, Thank YOU. Thanks for all the help and support through the years. Health and happiness above all. Don't ever take any shit from anybody."

With Punk being my all time favorite wrestler, this news was expected, but it's still shocking to know that it's really over. But what he tweeted out really reminded me of why he's such an inspiration to me.

Regardless of what anyone says about him being an asshole or a jerk, CM Punk

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 14th, 2014

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 14th, 2014 - The Final Show Before Battleground

The show opens with John Cena, but he is soon interrupted by Reigns. Decent exchange on the mic between the two. Neither are strong the mic so this wasn't anything extraordinary. The best part about this opening segment came when Dean Ambrose appeared on the titantron and told Reigns and Cena to quit arguing about who's the prettiest girl at the dance. After talking for a bit and vowing to kick The Authority's ass, The Authority's "lapdogs" if you will appeared behind him. Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, and Kane beat down Ambrose then slam him repeatedly into a garage door. Ambrose is on the ground and says "That all you got?" Rollins then delivers a vicious curb stomp to Ambrose. Wow, great to start to the show. I've said it a million times, but I'll say it again - Ambrose is gold. He made that segment awesome.

1) Sheamus vs. The Miz
Nice bout to start the show. The crowd was very hot which definitely helped it. These two put on a match that was much more entertaining than I originally expected. They kept me interested throughout which is always a good thing. Miz wins with a quick roll up. I'm guessing this will lead to a feud between the two for the US Title? I'd be fine with that although

Sting: Does WWE Need Him?

For months, rumors have been swirling about the supposed negotiation process going on between Sting and WWE. From him being shown on the WWE Network to the news of a DVD being produced on him - it's been report after report on where they are in the process of signing Sting to a deal.

The rumors were fueled again this past Tuesday when Sting tweeted simply "7-14-14", which is the date of next week's episode of Raw. Some are saying that he will debut on Monday night while others say it's just gonna be a WWE 2k15 announcement. Either way, the conversation about Sting in WWE has been more rampant in recent days than it's ever been.

If you follow me on Twitter, you've probably noticed that through all these rumors about Sting signing, I haven't really made a comment about it. That's actually what led me to write this article - to give my personal opinion on the situation as well as what I think would best for business for WWE regarding

My 11 Favorite PWG Matches of All Time

 

On July 23rd, PWG will be celebrating eleven years as a company with their 11th Anniversary show, aptly named "ELEVEN". With that being said, I thought now would be a better time than ever to take a look back at some of the most awesome matches in PWG history along with some of my personal favorites. Before I get into the list, I must acknowledge how difficult it was to narrow this down to 11 matches. Considering that this is in honor of their 11th Anniversary show, I figured eleven would be the perfect number of matches to recognize, but I should have known it would be extremely difficult to choose ONLY 11 matches when PWG has had dozens and dozens of awesome matches over the past 11 years. That being said, if you're an avid PWG fan and wondering why a certain match isn't on the list, please take into consideration how hard it was to narrow it down to these as well as the fact that these are my personal favorites. Without further a due, let's take a look at 11 of the best matches in PWG history.

11) Drake Younger vs. B-Boy - Threemendous 3 - July 21st, 2012

Starting off this list is a match from PWG's 9th anniversary show in 2012. Everyone remembers this particular PWG show for the insane ladder match main event, but I enjoyed this match just as much. Younger was making his PWG debut and what a task he faced against PWG veteran B-Boy. Younger definitely made an impression to everyone as he took every thing B-Boy dished out to him and gave it right back to him. Drake and B-Boy traded stiff strikes and headbutts throughout the match. Beyond the strike heavy exchanges, both men took high risks to try and gain the upperhand such as when Drake cut a front flip off the top turnbuckle only to land on the hard wood floor. These guys took some of the stiffest bumps I've ever seen in a match. All that combined with the near falls at the end made this bout a MOTY candidate. I've watched this match several times and it holds up very well. I think this match is often overlooked because of the epic ladder match that headlined this show and for that reason I'd like to label this a forgotten PWG classic.

10) El Generico vs. PAC - PWG World Title Match -  All Star Weekend V - April 7, 2007

Generico and PAC had several encounters in PWG, but this one in particular is my favorite. These two have an amazing chemistry together and always put on great matches. In this particular bout,

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 7th, 2014

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - July 7th, 2014
The show opens with Roman Reigns. He delivered a really good promo and him opening the show was a nice change of pace from the usual Authority stuff. Kane came out and he got into a brawl with Reigns which resulted in security coming out to separate them. Nice opening segment with the highlight being Reigns spearing Finlay haha.

1) The Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan
We've seen these two teams clash several times over the past few months and they always produce great matches. In my opinion, this was their best encounter yet. The crowd was on fire and the action was non-stop. After an epic series of big moves and near falls, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan pick up the win. I think it's time for them to get the tag titles. Awesome match to start the show.

Alicia Fox and Nikki Bella were supposed to have a match with both women having one hand tied behind their back, but Alicia attacked Nikki right after she got her hand tied. Fox beat down Nikki for awhile and did her usual crazy antics. I guess you could call this entertaining because Alicia is so unpredictable, but the crowd was chanting "boring" so take it for what you will.

2) Rob Van Dam vs. Rusev
Nice little match here. I'm guessing that Swagger couldn't go to Canada for this show which is why they went with a pre-taped promo from Zeb to keep that story going. Rusev and RVD worked well together. Most entertaining Rusev match since he's debuted easily. Fun bout.

3) Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton
I was happy that this match was booked because I missed the Smackdown match and because that match ended in DQ. This was a great match, Ambrose and Orton worked

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - July 3rd, 2014

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - July 3rd, 2014
The show opened with Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe in the ring. They are two of the most intense guys on the roster and that normally carries over into their promos so this was an awesome opening segment. It looks like they're setting up a feud between Joe & Angle once Kurt can compete again. That's something I'd love to see one final too. None the less, this was a great opening segment.

1) The Wolves vs. Zema Ion & Jesse vs. Knux & The Freak - TNA World Tag Team Championship
Nice action packed triple threat tag match to get the show going. Some cool spots here such as Knux & The Freak hip tossing Zema over the top rope onto The Wolves and Jesse on the outside. This was a very entertaining tag match that went about 10 minutes. Fun bout.

2) Bobby Roode vs. Kenny King - Street Fight
This was set up after King attacked Roode earlier in the show. The two began fighting up near the entrance way and battled up some stairs into the second level of the arena where Roode dropped King to the floor from the balcony. The bout finally got back in the ring where a steel chair became involved. Roode powerslammed King on the

Professional Wrestling: An Underappreciated and Misunderstood Form of Art

Professional Wrestling: A Misunderstood & Underappreciated Form of Art

Recently I've been thinking about how professional wrestling has become a laughing stock to people outside of the sport. I've also come to the realization that people have a huge misconception on what wrestling really is. The urge to write this article began when The Ultimate Warrior tragically passed away a few months ago.

As news spread about the passing of Warrior, many news outlets began picking up the story and sharing it on their broadcasts. Most did so with respect, but there were a few who didn't. One in particular was Nancy Grace. She invited Diamond Dallas Page onto her show and began debating steroids in wrestling with him.

Grace delivered a completely uneducated opinion towards the deaths of wrestlers such as Owen Hart and even Ultimate Warrior himself. It was not only a series of ignorant statements by her, but it was also a lack of respect.

DDP released a statement after the show saying he had no idea that the subject that she planned to discuss was steroids. To see his full thoughts on what took place, click here.

Beyond Nancy Grace's idiotic presentation, ESPN's Colin Cowhered got in on the action by basically calling wrestling fans idiots when he tweeted: "We all watched pro wrestling at one time, before we got girlfriends and stopped picking our noses."

I'm sure most people in the public got a kick out of that statement. Mainly because that's the way wrestling is looked at. People view it as "childish" and "fake fighting". It's became a laughing stock among the majority of people.

As a lifelong wrestling fan, this saddens me. Not only does it sadden me, it actually pisses me off. People seem to think they are so clever when they say things like "You know that's fake and scripted right?" yet they'll go home and watch movies all day long. Those could be considered "fake" too if compared to boxing or "real fighting". How dumb would I sound going up to someone in a movie theatre during an action scene and saying "Hey, you know that's fake right?" I'd sound like a complete idiot, just like the people who do that to fans of professional wrestling.

The idea that wrestling is "fake" is honestly incorrect. The only time you could say that wrestling is fake would be when comparing it to fighting, mixed martial arts, or boxing. It seems that people have these presumed comparison in their minds when pro wrestling is brought into a conversation.

Pro wrestling is pro wrestling. It's not fighting. It's not boxing. It's not mixed martial arts. It isn't UFC. It isn't any of that. It's art. Art, you say? Yes. Professional wrestling is a form of art.

I'm not a pro wrestler so I obviously don't know EVERYTHING there is to know about it, but as a long time fan, I do believe I know enough to make this statement and have an opinion on it.

The first time I heard wrestling referred to as art was in an interview that CM Punk did. He said that Pro Wrestling was one of the only true art forms left in the world. He also mentioned the fact that it was one of the first things ever on TV. The full interview can be found here.

His statement sparked my interest in looking deeper into the history of wrestling and how it truly is an art. Just as I became interested in this subject, current WWE Superstar Seth Rollins mentioned it in an interview as well. Rollins addressed wrestling being referred to as fake by saying "What is fake? It's a television show and a live performance. Nothing's fake about it. We're not telling you we're out there fighting each other. We're out there to entertain you." Rollins went on to say "People just don't understand the art form of what we do. It's a mental and physical grind."

Rollins also mentioned how complex being a professional wrestler is. That's something many people don't think about it when casting negative, snide remarks towards wrestling and it's fans. There's alot more to it than most people think. Rollins said it best by saying "You can be the smartest guy in the world and not understand what it is to have a presence on stage. Being a character, executing a live performance, understanding what it is to connect with a crowd and elicit a specific response at a specific time using moves and body language. What we do is very complex. It's underappreciated." You can check out the full interview by clicking here.

I can't put it any better than Rollins did in that interview. Wrestlers put their bodies and well being on the line every time they step foot in a ring - all to entertain fans of the art. Beyond that, they spend years honing their craft. They put everything they have into becoming the best professional wrestler they can be. From learning to connect with a crowd to executing their movesets without any flaws to in ring psychology and timing - it's very complex and takes alot of work to do. Beyond the in ring maneuvers, storytelling is also a key part of wrestling and is a tough art to master. Being able to tell a story involves things such as how a match is formatted, conveying emotion in promos, ring positioning/body language etc.

Just think about it. This article is coming from someone who has NEVER stepped foot in a wrestling ring. I've just observed these things from research and time spent watching wrestling. Just imagine how much more there probably is to it, even more than what I've discussed here. If only people understood what we all love so much.

Professional Wrestling. It's misunderstood by the public. Underappreciated by many. And deserves more respect. Despite the media's slurred view on wrestling, it's something we love and that's all that matters. Don't let someone's uneducated opinion damper your interest in wrestling. Keep watching/doing what you love. Don't worry about the public and media, maybe one day they'll actually come to understand professional wrestling, but if not - it's their loss.

Thanks for reading and be sure to follow me on Twitter @EthanPWT. Also I would love to hear your feedback on this article, either tweet me or comment what you think!

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - June 30th, 2014

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - June 30th, 2014

The show kicks off with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon like usual. They introduce John Cena and announce the main event of Battleground which is a Fatal Four Way match for the WWE Championship. Cena will defend his title against Randy Orton, Kane, and Roman Reigns. They also announced the main event of the show which will be Cena & Reigns vs. Orton & Kane.

1) Seth Rollins vs. Rob Van Dam
These two faced off last week on Raw and it was a fun encounter. Unfortunately it didn't have a clean finish, so I was glad to see them getting another chance to work together. This was much better than their previous encounter. It went around 15 minutes and was pretty fast paced. They managed to incorporate some innovative counters into the bout which definitely added to it. Rollins picks up the victory after a curb stomp. Really good match.

After the match, Seth Rollins did an interview with Renee Young. Pretty solid promo from Seth, but the best part of this segment was Dean Ambrose. Ambrose appeared on the titan tron and cut a fantastic promo that started with the brilliant line "From one scumbag to another" followed by Ambrose vowing to stop Rollins whenever he tries to cash in his Money In The Bank contract. Great stuff from Ambrose as always. This feud continues to get better and better each week.

Rusev and Lana made their way to the ring here. I've yet to be interested in anything Rusev had been involved so I expected another flat segment, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. As soon as Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter made their way to the ring,