WWE Monday Night Raw Review - October 26th, 2015

The Authority kicks off the show and oh no we're back to this again :-(

It's really not that bad, though. Considering that I wasn't browsing Twitter before the show like usual, I had no clue of the #1 Contender's Tourney that H & Steph were here to announce. They bring Rollins out and have a lovefest before announcing the aformentioned tournament. All the winners from last night are facing off in singles matches with the winners meeting in a Fatal 4 Way at the end of the night. The winner is the new number one contender to the WWE Title. I like. A lot. The segment looks to be over then Roman Reigns' music hits and wow, they just totally gave away the winner of this thing. Nice little staredown between Rollins & Reigns.

1) Roman Reigns vs. Kofi Kingston (w/ Big E) - #1 Contender's Tournament Match
This was alright albeit somewhat underwhelming considering the talent of both guys and the roll they've been on. Kofi's on the best run of his career and Roman is being positioned as THAT GUY so you'd expect this to be great, but it was nothing more than a decent little match. Kofi out quicking and out smarting Reigns came into play throughout the match. They had a good final few moments as usual with Reigns matches. Kofi misses the Trouble in Paradise and gets nailed with a spear. Reigns advances to the finals.

Match rating - **1/4

TONIGHT:
- Alberto Del Rio vs. Neville
- Big E vs. Dolph Ziggler

UP NEXT: Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

2) Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro - #1 Contender's Tournament Match
The crowd is HOT for the IC Champ and Cesaro. There are Cesaro Section signs and FIGHT OWENS FIGHT chants across the arena. A series of roll ups and pinning combinations make for a fast start with several near falls. The two former Indie superstars then begin slugging it out and the crowd eats up every second. Owens' trash talking gets better and better every week as he gets more comfortable in the WWE setting. I honestly can't remember anyone who does the mid match shouting like him. They did a great unique false finish spot with a double clothesline on the floor. Both men didn't make it back in until the count of nine. This sends into the commercial break with a stalemate. We return to Cesaro making Vince look completely delusional yet again. The uppercut train that ends with a crisp dropkick that I'd say can only be topped by the likes of Okada & AJ Styles. Cesaro starts flying around the ring with a running flip off the ring apron, a cross body from the top rope, and a springboard uppercut from the second rope. Owens is reeling and ends up using the ropes & ref as a barrier to create some separation between he & Cesaro. A precisely placed superkick and a pop up powerbomb earns Owens the victory after a highly entertaining contest. Cesaro killed it once again and KO is starting to gain momentum.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Charlotte, Paige, & Becky Lynch vs. The Bellas & Alicia Fox
This was a straight forward and to the point match. Usually, Divas matches that last around 7 minutes aren't noteworthy however this was quite the action packed contest. The Divas are truly finding their stride as I said a few weeks ago so this is well worth viewing if you missed it. Good heat between Nikki & Charlotte with them knocking each other off the apron whenever they got the chance, the blind tag from Charlotte to Paige followed by a double drop kick foreshadowed so many things, and the finishing sequence full of big moves topped off this trios contest.

Match rating - ***

Post match, Paige does the inevitable by snapping and attacking Charlotte & Becky which got a big mixed reaction from the crowd. This definitely brings some more life to her character and I'd say that between the match and this post match attack, tonight is the best Paige has looked since her original debut on the main roster.

Renee Young interviews Zeb Colter & the new US Champ Alberto Del Rio backstage. Colter references John Lennon and announces that he & Del Rio are the first citizens of MexAmerica. I guess that's going to be what they call themselves going forward. It sounds like the start of a stable.

4) Alberto Del Rio vs. Neville - #1 Contender's Tournament Match
Based off Alberto's performances outside WWE this year, this could be really good. Based off his match with Cena last night, this could be extremely average. Thankfully it turned out to be the former. Del Rio was vicious from the bell, even slapping Neville multiple times in a stiff manner and basically toying with him. Neville fired back by going lucha on ADR which appeared to throw the former El Patron off his game. This turned into quite the back and forth battle with both men dishing out all their best shots. Del Rio even nailed Neville with the back breaker that put Cena out the night before along with several sick kicks to the head. Neville kept fighting and ADR had to resort to the HANGING DOUBLE STOMP FROM THE TOP ROPE for the win. Great match that gave me hope for Del Rio's second run in the E.

Match rating - ***1/4

5) Ryback & The Dudley Boys vs. Sheamus, Rusev, & King Barrett
The International Alliance team just can't have a bad match. This is their third six man match and it appears that they are really bonding together as they each made their entrance then waited to walk to the ring together. The story here was the losers from last night being placed in this match instead of the contender's tournament. That makes them pissed so they charge each other before the bell even starts. Huge brawl that settles into Devon going at it with Sheamus. Devon ends up getting isolated which builds to the hot tag for DA BIG GUY as the crowd was chanting FEED ME MORE. He gets in and does his thing. Bubba Ray comes in soon after. We get a triple meathook spot from Ryback & The Dudleys which was awesome. They go into the "GET THE TABLES!" schtick after this which allows Barrett to sneak the victory with a roll up on Devon. Well booked match with satisfying action. This was quite good. The icing on the cake was the celebration by the heels. Barrett fucking cut a flip and rolled onto his feet and hugged Rusev as Sheamus joined in as well. I can buy into this three being an official thing!

Match rating - ***

Bray Wyatt has arrived to explain his actions last night. As usual when he attacks someone randomly, he doesn't give a REAL reason why he did it. It's moreso subliminal shit like usual, but it works here only because of who's involved. Wyatt basically says that Taker's soul belongs to him now and asks for a moment of silence for him. During the silence - FIRE PYRO! BAH GAWD IT'S THE DEMON KANE! Does this mean we're gonna get a Brothers of Destruction reunion?! That match on the Mexico tour meant something after all! Kane gets offense in to start with only to get dominated by the numbers game once Harper, Rowan, & Strowman appear. The Wyatt Family beat him down then carry him out on their shoulders just like they did with Undertaker. I'm definitely interested in where this goes.

6) Big E vs. Dolph Ziggler - #1 Contender's Tournament Match
This was in a tough spot on the show. For me personally, at least. It's been a pretty fantastic evening of Monday Night Raw and beyond that, I got distracted during this match with some personal matters. Nothing bad, just had a few things to take care of. With that in mind, I wasn't able to give this my full undivided attention despite not missing any of the contest. From what I took in, it felt like it went slightly too long. Tyler Breeze came out before the match and sat down at ringside with Summer Rae. It was cool seeing him, obviously. Ziggler & E do have a chemistry due to their past together, but it felt like they could've trimmed this down a bit and it would've been better. The final few minutes were great. After they traded momentum for a bit, Ziggler gets the win which actually shocked me! Good for him, though. Well deserved opportunity for the Zig Man!

Match rating - **1/2

7) Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio - #1 Contender's Match
GAWD ALMIGHTY, this was something else. I truthfully didn't know how it would turn out, much like my initial thoughts headed into tonight's show. However, much like the rest of this show, this match completely blew my expectations out of the water and was the perfect finale for what this entire episode of Raw was built around. The big feel, the drama, the atmosphere and the action here all combined to make a match that I'd say is must see. It solidified Del Rio as worthy of the huge push he's gotten only one night into his return, it showed Dolph Ziggler as still one of the most consistent athletes on the card, it gave Kevin Owens his first EPIC moment with his showdown with Roman Reigns, and Roman, speaking of that guy. This match felt like his redemption story. His facial expressions, the way he almost won the crowd over as they gave him mixed reactions only to pop so hard for the finish that the reaction turned into all cheers as he sat in the center of the ring after the three count was made. I didn't think I'd say this, but this could damn near top Cena/Cesaro as my favorite Raw match of the year, it was just so beautiful. Hell, it was one of the best WWE matches of the year overall. From an in-ring stand point, the action was off the charts and undeniably intense. I'd name a few spots or things that happened, but I got so into this that I don't think I'll be able to remember everything in detail which proves that this is something you need to see. There were a number of crazy exchanges and special moments. This was just an overall phenomenal match up. I loved it.

Match rating - ****1/4

The post match staredown between Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins was the perfect sequel to what we just saw. I'm legitimately excited about the forthcoming Reigns/Rollins feud and I have a feeling someone else close to those two is going to be getting involved down the line as well ;-)

~ONE OF THE BEST RAW'S OF THE YEAR~

The way this show built throughout. The new direction of so many different talents. It seems like everyone up & down the card has a new momentum .Paige's turn, the final phase in Roman's rebuilding, the awesome showing from Del Rio to begin his second run in WWE - it feels like we're getting set for a great month ahead. Plus, some WrestleMania talk has already begun so it looks like WWE is planning ahead. This show exemplifies why WWE should rely on the wrestling to do the work because their roster is more loaded than ever and when you give them the chance, shows like this happen. Great show.

ROH TV Review - Episode 214

Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness are at ringside to start the show. This will come into major play as the show goes on. I guess Corino's fluster last week made him need a week off.

1) Donovan Dijak vs. Moose
What even?!? This was bonkers. As I posted on Twitter when watching this, I want to know what these two were on because this was absolutely insane for a big man match. Dijak & Moose seemed to attempt to one up each other with every acrobatic manuever they could deliver. You had a chokeslam on the ring apron, a spring board moonsault to the floor, a step up spinning flip kick off the top rope, and so much more. HOT, action packed opener in which Moose picks up the W with a spear.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Cedric Alexander (w/ Veda Scott) vs. Dalton Castle
Dalton's entrance just doesn't seem right without the BOYS. Cedric is here with Veda and that speaks for itself if ya feel me. This was a bunch of fun, if I'm not mistaken, Castle & Cedric faced off a month or so ago on ROH TV in a lit match. This wasn't quite on that level, but it was fine for what it was. Castle wins.

Match rating - **1/2

Veda gets on the mic post match and goes off on Nigel about Cedric's leg injury. She says she's going to see Ring of Honor in the court room. Kevin Kelly is losing his shit and Nigel is stone faced.

THE DOUBLE CHAMP Jay Lethal has entered the building! He strolls down to the ring and boasts himself as the best wrestler in the world. Before he can continue, RODDY STRONG'S MUSIC HITS BAH GAWD! ROD DOG IS HERE! There's a weird chemistry between Roderick & Jay that has developed in recent months and I love it. The verbal exchange here turns intense quite quickly and results in Nigel announcing that Roddy doesn't get a World Title shot however he gets a TV Title shot in the future. Good stuff.

WWE Hell In A Cell 2015 Predictions

Pre-Show:

1) Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, & Neville vs. Rusev, Sheamus, & Wade Barrett
These three on the pre-show, lol. In what world are we living? They tore it up with this same line up on Raw which saw Barrett sneak a victory over Ziggler. I have a sneaking suspicion that this match might not live up to their Raw battle due to possible time constraints. However, if they're given time to work, this could be the perfect kick off to the PPV. Either way, the baby faces will get their win back and return to wondering in the darkness with no direction.

Who I think will win - Ziggler/Cesaro/Neville

Main Show:

2) The New Day (c) vs. The Dudley Boys - WWE Tag Team Title Match
I was hyped on the prospect of this feud, but for some reason it feels like it has began to drag due to average booking. I would have loved to see more segments/promos between the two teams. None the less, we're here at their third (I think) meeting and I'm actually having a hard time picking a winner. Something tells me WWE wants The Dudleys to have one more reign as champs for the pure nostalgia while the other part of me doesn't want New Day to lose their steam. Then again, The Dudley's winning means New Day will likely get to dethrone them and become three time champs. But do we really want more New Day/Dudley matches for the next month or so? If it's building towards a TLC match at the TLC PPV, then yes. Yes, I do. So, Dudleys win the titles here, have a nostalgic run as champs one last time, then we get what I'm guessing will be a triple threat TLC match possibly also involving The Usos if they're cleared. In that match, New Day regains the titles by beating The Dudleys in their own match. It's the greatest rub that can also be seen as a sly victory because New Day still won't have a pin over the legendary duo. What to do between HIAC and TLC? I say throw out a six man tag for Survivor Series. New Day vs. Bubba, Devon & Spike? You betcha!

Who I think will win - The Dudley Boys

3) Charlotte (c) vs. Nikki Bella - WWE Divas Title Match

EthanPWT watches Dragon Gate 2015

With wrestling being absolutely crazy this year, I, like many others have had a hard time keeping up with everything. That leads us to this post. I originally said "Okay, I'm gonna do a half year round up for Dragon Gate" then before I knew it, it was time for Kobe World and it would be virtually pointless to that when I'd just be behind again. With that in mind, I decided to just do this mega-post with my thoughts/reviews/ratings for the matches I've watched from DG this year. I made sure to hunt down the biggest and most highly praised contest for my viewing. As the year continues, I will add to this post and link on Twitter when I update it. That way, you can come back to one place to find all my Dragon Gate stuff from 2015 in the future. So, let's begin!

Kzy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa - Open The Brave Gate Championship Match - 2/28/15

Tozawa takes control of the champion early on with a variety of head/face locks. He wears him down on the mat then HITS A TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER. We're only minutes in, agh. I love Tozawa, but I didn't like that. Mainly, I guess, because being a long time WWE fan and wrestling fan in general, I see the piledriver as a move that damn near puts people out of commision and seeing Kzy roll out of the ring, start limping away, and then come back from it a minute or two later was eh for me. None the less, Kzy takes control when Tozawa misses a forearm smash into the ring post and starts working on the arm in pretty great fashion. Let's hope they do enough good stuff to make me ignore that aforementioned moment. Kzy is working over the right arm of Tozawa in persistent fashion here. He makes the mistake of letting up and slinging Tozawa in the corner. Tozawa rebounds with a huge kick before falling back to the mat and clinching his arm. Tozawa regains controls with a few dives that he follows up with a brainbuster in the ring, but Kzy would soon fire back with some fast paced offense of his own including a bridging northern lights suplex for a near fall. Kzy dishes out a swanton bomb followed by a frog splash, but he only gets two. The crowd is getting more vocally behind Tozawa at this point. Kzy messes himself up by going up top again as he is met by Tozawa springing up there right behind him and BRAINBUSTER OFF THE TOP ROPE! Tozawa keeps pounding away with more offense following this, but Kzy ends up finding himself in a position to capitalize and hits a canadian destroyer esque move out of the corner. He doesn't go for the cover and Tozawa crawls to his knees to trade shots with Kzy in the center of the ring. Nice exchange here with Tozawa losing the upperhand because of injured arm from earlier. Tozawa fires up and nails one big shot before an uppercut from Kzy floors him. The actions too damn fast to call here and oh boy, they're getting me into it at this point. A snap german from Tozawa for a nearfall after several cradle attempts by both men. Tozawa is trying to capture the arms, Kzy fights him off. Kzy has him over his shoulders, TOZAWA COUNTERS, he's trying to capture the arms again, Kzy fights, BUT NOOOO HE GRASPS IT! STRAIGHT JACKET GERMAN! 1...2...3 - AKIRA TOZAWA IS THE NEW OPEN THE BRAVE GATE CHAMPION! Good match and a sweet moment for Tozawa as we see his post-match crowning and celebration.

Match rating - ***3/4

Bxb Hulk (c) vs. Uhaa Nation - Open The Dream Gate Championship Match - Champion Gate in Osaka - Tag 2 - 3/1/15

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - October 19th, 2015

The show starts off with STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN! BAH GAWD! Huge pop from the hometown Dallas crowd. Austin keeps it short and sweet. He does the "hell yeah" schtick, says son of a bitch a few times, plugs the podcast, AND introduces the Undertaker all in under five minutes. Taker comes out and wow, it feels like 1998. Austin & Taker starting Raw in 2015 is like, weird and crazy. Anyway, Taker says a few words about Brock which brings out the Beast Incarnate himself. Heyman says Brock will avenge the tainted victory Taker got at SummerSlam. Taker says the depths of hell will look like the gates of heaven compared to what he's going to do to Brock inside the cell. The Dead Man cuts the throat and sticks out his tongue after teasing a brawl with Lesnar.

1) John Cena & The Dudley Boys vs. The New Day
They sure are hitting the highspots tonight. WWE isn't afraid to hide their desperation in increasing the extremely low ratings. None the less, these six are regulars and this delivered for what it was. Dudleys & Cena do stuff in the first minute or two. New Day takes over with, you know what, THE BEST HEAT SEG IN THE BIZ. Cena is isolated and makes the big awaited tag to Devon. Great final minute with Cena exemplifying what has made 2015 one of his greatest years yet in one move - a flying cross body off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Crowd popped huge and so did I. John never stops. Big E tosses Bubba into the pole while Xavier rolls up Devon in the ring for the cheap win.

Match rating - **3/4

Cena & The Dudleys charge after New Day post-match. Big E & Kofi get away, but Xavier isn't as lucky. AA from Cena followed by GET THE TABLES. Power bomb through the table for Mr Woods. No pun intended. Cena has an open challenge at the Hell in a Cell PPV on Sunday so this could very well be his last Raw for a bit. It's so bittersweet. BUT this is the perfect time to plug a piece I wrote on who should dethrone Cena as champ in his absence. I wrote several different scenarios however the Samoa Joe one looks like the most likely at this point, so check that out by clicking here!

Cole announces that Randy Orton isn't at Raw and wasn't on the Mexico tour either. They say it's because of injury and that The Wyatt Family "got to him" again. This leaves Ambrose without a partner at NOC.

ROH TV Review - Episode 213

1) The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)
I missed the first 15 minutes of the show although I've heard I didn't miss too much. The All Night Express, Kenny King & Rhett Titus, made their return to TV to face off against The Addiction. And quite the return it was ANX picked up the victory. I may try to catch this match on the Destination America airing on Wednesday night, but if not, it's no big deal. If you were looking forward to my thoughts on this match, I'm sorry :-(

The Kingdom comes to the ring just as I'm turning the show on. They're dressed in all black, including Maria. Each member gets promo time and they exemplify how they've perfected what they do. Bennett steals a page out of CM Punk's book and basically re-does his unforgettable promo from 2005 about the snake and the farmer. Taven talks about the origins of the group and how they have now won gold all over the world as he & Bennett hold up their ROH Tag Team Titles. Cole explains why he turned on Kyle and says he will regain his ROH World Title soon. YEAAHHH! I'm ready for that eventual moment. The Kingdom doesn't have long to savor in their moment before Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish run down flanked by security. Fish grabs a mic and Taven dares them to come in the ring, mocking the fact that it is 3 on 2. That's when BIG MIKE'S MUSIC HITS! ELGIN! ELGIN! Elgin cleans house on the Kingdom with Adam Cole getting away by the skin of his teeth. Elgin says ReDragon has back up and challenges them to a six man tag, but The Kingdom retreats behind the curtain.

2) Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Page - No Disqualifcation Match

Who Should Dethrone John Cena as the United States Champion?

With the news coming of John Cena planning to take some time off in the coming month came the discussion of who should dethrone him as the United States Champion. I honestly have to say that I'm sad to see him go. He surely deserves the break. He's likely deserved one for quite some time, but this has to be the worst timing for it. From a product standpoint, at least, who knows what's going on personally.

The number of different ways that WWE could go with writing Cena off of television are endless. I'm not even sure they're going to write him off of TV. I, much like everyone else, am speculating him to drop the US Title though. It needs to be under a great number of circumstances however. If the right person gets the belt, the prestige of it can continue to grow and someone could be pushed to that next level. If the wrong person gets the belt, it could flounder much like it did for years before Cena regained it.

So, who should that person be? I have a few ideas to present.

- Cesaro -

You guessed it. I'm a huge Double C fan, I have to admit, but I don't choose him as this just because I'm a fan. As I always say, if he wasn't getting great reactions, if he wasn't delivering quality matches - I wouldn't let my fandom affect my opinion on what WWE should do with him. That doesn't happen to be the case at this point, though. Cesaro is undoubtedly the most misused talent in WWE in the past decade. You've had people who had potential due to their look and ability (Drew McIntyre), you've had those who had a damn good match with a top star then went no where (Sandow), but never have you had someone produce so many awesome matches against so many top talents and get pushed & depushed as many times as Cesaro has.

CWF Mid-Atlantic World Wide: Episode 21 Review

Time for something different! I've only watched CWF once, but I'm in the mood for a change of pace and this past week's episode looks like a solid hour of pro wres so here we are.

Lee Valiant is the ring to begin the show. His opponent Arik Royal is headed down when Aric Andrews attacked him and threw him off the stage into the ring post. The opening contest of the evening has been disrupted completely. Or so I thought. The security and trainees get Andrews to the back and the match gets underway.

1) Lee Valiant vs. Arik Royal
The story here was basic, but quite good. Valiant goes right after Royal who was beaten down pre-match to take advantage of him. Royal, the powerhouse, battles back and tortures Valiant much to the delight of the crowd. Valiant got one or two flurries here or there as he hit an spear from the apron back into the ring and a sliced bread on the floor which created some separation between himself & Royal. Royal is able to make it back in the ring at the last second before being counted out. Valiant charges him and gets caught in powerbomb position.. BUCKLE BOMB IN THE CORNER! It's followed up by a sick kick that floors Valiant! It somehow only gets Royal a two count so he sets up in the corner for a spear. Valiant pulls the ref in front of him to cover up and Royal nails him. It was a pretty awesome ref bump, but Lord, the eventual spear that he landed on Valiant after some shenanigans was even better. They did some late 90's WWF stuff with a new ref coming down after Valiant hit his finisher, the homewrecker, and got a nearfall. Valiant gets into it with the same security guy from earlier when he tries to bring a chair into the match. He eventually gets back in the ring and the awesome spear I mentioned earlier happens. It turns him inside out and Royal picks up the win. Nicely executed stuff here.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Trevor Lee & Chet Sterling (c) vs. Worst Case Scenario (Ethan Case & Elijah Evans IV) - CWF Mid Atlantic Tag Team Title Match

EthanPWT Watches BJW 2010

Big Japan Pro Wrestling has become one of my latest crazes. That's led me to going back and watching some stuff from the past. I'm going through the year 2010 and watching whatever matches I can find. I'm not sure when I'll finish this, but I'm aiming for an update at least once a week. It's really up in the air though due to how hard it is to keep up with current stuff, much less watch past material. Plus, I'm behind on current BJW as it is so we'll see what happens. It's gonna be fun either way!

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Yuji Okabayashi & Shinobu - 2/13/10
This was a pretty great way to kick this viewing off. You've got two men I'm familiar with in Sekimoto & Okabayashi and two that I'm extremely new to in Sasaki & Shinobu. With that in mind, I have to say right off the bat that Sasaki & Shinobu left a big impression on me during this match which was my first time seeing them. Their aggression and stiffness was unmatched here, even by two men vastly thicker than them in Sekimoto & Okabayashi. That's saying a lot considering they are two of my favorites and they had an awesome fighting spirit esque exchange here. Seeing Sasaki & Shinobu tear into each other early which built to them finally locking up again at the end and giving this match a hot finish was just fantastic. Good tag match.

Match rating - ***1/4

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Takashi Sasaki - 3/19/10

VIDEO: RICOCHET - The King - Music / Highlight Video

 

As some of you know, I've begun making highlight/music videos for wrestlers, shows, promotions etc for fun. This is the second in that series that I post to the newly created Pro Wrestling Truth YouTube channel. I find this as an awesome way to showcase my favorite wrestlers & promotions while also putting a spotlight on some of my favorite bands. So, give this a look and let me know what you think! I hope to continue adding more content of all varieties to the YouTube channel in the future!

Rev Pro UK/NJPW: Uprising 2015 Review

Revolution Pro / New Japan Pro Wrestling: Uprising 2015

October 2nd, 2015

York Hall, London England

Rev Pro British Heavyweight Champion: AJ Styles

Rev Pro British Cruserweight Champion: Josh Bodom

Rev Pro Tag Team Champions: The Revolutionists (Sha Samuels & James Castle)

The tag team champions, The Revolutionists, open the show with an open challenge. Ahem, NON TITLE Open Challenge. Who accepts it? None other than TENCOZY themselves, Satoshi Kojima & Hiryoshi Tenzan! What a way to kick things off!


1) The Revolutionists (Sha Samuels & James Castle) vs. Tencozy (Satoshi Kojima & Hiryoshi Tenzan)
Samuels & Castle jump Kojima & Tenzan almost immediately. This leads to them taking control of the match despite a flurry from Tencozy. The crowd starts chanting "You look stupid!" at James Castle who has a Sheamus-esque Mohawk going on. You asked for that one, my friend. The chant makes for a distraction and allows Kojima to nail Castle with a DDT. The crowd loves Tencozy so there's a good pop for the hot tag to Tenzan. The final few moments sees miscommunication between Tenzan & Kojima allow Samuels to hit a low blow whilst Castle nails Tenzan with their title belt. A cheap, but crafty way for Samuels & Castle to pick up the victory. Those Revolutionists are real dick heads, aren't they?! A nice victory for them, regardless. A win is a win!

Match rating - **1/4

2) ACH vs. Martin Kirby

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - October 12th, 2015

Kane is backstage on the phone with The Authority. Triple H says they are running late and wants to make sure Kane can hold down the fort. You know where this is going. Kane convinces them he can and thus the Director of Operations is in charge until Haitch & Steph can get to the arena. As soon as the conversation is over, Kane sends someone to let Seth Rollins know that he'll be in a Lumberjack match tonight against him.

The Raw intro airs and we're live in the Allstate Arena with Dean Ambrose making his way to the ring to kick off the show. This is a sweet change of pace. Ambrose bottom line's it and says he's looking for a fight. Randy Orton comes out and lets him know that they are partners at Hell In A Cell in a tag against Harper & Strowman. They start trading words with the heat building with each line. Ambrose says he doesn't trust Orton, Orton says he can't even trust himself, etc.

This leads to NEW DAAAAY! Big E, Kofi, & Woods are extremely humorous with their positive schtick as usual. They recall what they did last week when they laid out Cena, Ziggler, & The Dudleys. They say it's something The Shield never did then name all the stables Randy has been in (Evolution, Legacy, The Authority) and that none of them did it either. Orton's smirk when New Day made fun of how many groups he'd been in was a glorious thing to behold. I was lauhging so hard at this point. Woods says Orton brings a new meaning to the term "groupie" which was equally as fantastic. All this leads to Kane making a tag match that starts.. now!

1) Dean Ambrose & Randy Orton vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston (w/ Xavier Woods)

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - October 5th, 2015

Coming off the fairly uneventful WWE MSG special, what's next on the Road to Hell In A Cell?

TONIGHT: Seth Rollins & The Big Show vs. The Dudley Boys

Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman are out first. I guess WWE expects them to boosts numbers that are at an all time low. Heyman delivers his usual great promo and they replay footage from WM30 & SummerSlam. Heyman vows that Lesnar will essentially end The Undertaker at the Cell PPV. Big Show comes out when it looks like Heyman is finished and gets an awesome belly to belly suplex for his troubles. Lesnar follows that up with a F5 before leaving.

1) Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, & Randy Orton vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, & Braun Strowman)
Reigns is in first with Harper and goes right after Bray Wyatt. Fantastic stuff to follow up their match & brawl last week. This happens throughout the match as Reigns is focused on nothing, but getting his hands on Wyatt. As said last week, I'm actually looking forward to their Cell match following their brawl last Monday night. The way they worked this match was just the icing on the cake. The action here was hot most of the way through and on top of the Wyatt/Reigns stuff, they also protected Strowman nicely. Reigns wins by hitting a spear on Harper while staring at Wyatt.

Match rating - ***

2) Sheamus vs. Neville

ROH TV Review - Episode 211 - October 7th, 2015 Review

The ROH/NJPW crossover action continues for the third week on ROH TV as we see action from their August Field of Honor event from MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York.

1) Timesplitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) vs. The Briscoes
It's Alex Shelley's first match back after months off from an injury and what a task he & KUSHIDA have in the form of their opponents, The Briscoes. I've never been a huge fan of the baseball stadium set ups, but I actually dig the way they have things looking tonight. All four guys shake hands and this dream match gets underway. KUSHIDA fights back from an early isolation period to clean house minutes in before giving Shelley the tag. The Splitters go nuts with what they do best, fast paced double team offense. They do quite the job of keeping Mark Briscoe isolated from this point forward. Mark is able to retaliate and tag in Jay for a semi-hot tag. The Briscoes start going to town and kick Shelley in the face and I'M CRINGING AS HE GETS HIS FRONT TEETH KICKED OUT. That's so hard to watch. Shelley really has had the worst luck in the past few years and I hate it for him. He keeps fighting though and is able to make the tag to KUSHIDA who once again starts cleaning house on DEM BOYS. Shelley joins in with a Jumping Knee off the ring apron on Jay as KUSHIDA gets a nearfall in the ring. KUSHIDA manages to get Mark in the hoverboard lock only for Jay to break it up. Shelley comes in to even the odds and the Time Splitters take over. A Moonsault/frog splash combo gets them a nearfall. Shelley is still hitting on all cylinders despite his nasty injury. Shelley has Mark up for the sliced bread on the top rope, but The Briscoes get out of that predicament. ASSISTED NECKBREAKER TO SHELLEY! 1..2..HE KICKS OUT! The action really gets too fast to call at this point. Jay attempts a Jay Driller on Shelley. He's not able to hit it and all four men end up in the ring for an array of throws and kicks. Ironically enough, Jay & Shelley are left to square off at the end of it and Jay finally hits the Jay Driller to pick up the win after a hot match.

Match rating - ***3/4

NEXT WEEK: Jay Lethal defends the ROH Television Championship against Takaaki Watanabe. He earned this shot on this same Field of Honor event so we see the final moments of that match between he & Cedric Alexander. It's a fun few minutes of action that sees an angry Moose distract Cedric long enough for Watanabe to take Cedric to suplex city before finishing him off with an STO to become the #1 Contender. I said it a few weeks ago, but Watanabe has really improved a lot in the past year and I can't wait to see him face off with Lethal.

2) Roderick Strong vs. Kazuchika Okada

NJPW on AXS Review - 2014 World Tag League Finals - October 2nd, 2015

1) Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, YOSHI HASHI, & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe, & La Sombra
Star studded tag action is kicking off the show. Okada & Tana start off first in a stalemate before Ibushi is tagged in and NAKAMURA ENTERS. OH MY. It's become epic to see these guys in the ring together despite this being prior to their five star classic at WK9. Ibushi goes for a number of strikes, but misses them all thanks to Nakamura's quickness. They slow down and start working the arms with hammerlocks and such. Nakamura gets Ibushi in the ropes and delivers a knee or two to get the advantage. Ibushi gets out of the way of the running knee and the rest of his team knocks Okada, Ishii, & YOSHI HASHI off the apron. Sombra gets tagged in and delivers a nice flurry. The action skips ahead a bit after this and Makabe & Ishii are squaring off. You know what this entails - ELBOWZZZ AND LARIATOS.

We return from commercial to Tanahashi and Okada making tags. It's a preview of WK9 once again and Okada whips Tanahashi with a dragon screw. He hits the ropes and is caught with a flapjack from the champion. Okada recovers and hits Tana with a reverse neckbreaker. It's now time - TOMBSTONE PILEDRI--- NOPE. Tanahashi gets out and damn, they trade all their stuff. Okada misses the rainmaker, but gets the dropkick only for Tanahashi to respond almost immediately with the slingblade. Okada makes the tag out to YOSHI HASHI and what even, he takes down Tanahashi somehow! His team mates help him with some tandem offense and YOSHI nearly gets a pin on the champion. Both men are to their feet, they trade slaps, Tanahashi hits the ropes, and UPPERCUT from YOSHI HASHI followed by a powerbomb and a bridging pin. Another kick out from the IWGP Champ. La Sombra springboards and drop kicks YOSHI HASHI who Tanahashi had in a full nelson positon. Things break down from here and everyone hits their stuff. It ends with moonsaults to the outside from both Ibushi & Sombra. Somehow, Tanahashi & YOSHI HASHI are still the legal men and it isn't long at all before Tanahashi hits the slingblade followed by the high fly flow for the victory at 17:10. Good teaser for all the WK9 matches. Tanahashi & Okada staredown post-match as Ishii & Makabe engage in a brawl that is soon broken up.

2) Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto - 2014 World Tag League Finals

WWE Smackdown Review - October 1st, 2015

Seth Rollins starts the show extremely pissed about the Kane incident from Raw. He calls out Kane and he doesn't come. After a few seconds, HE LIMPS OUT ON CRUTCHES! This split personality thing is so wonderful. Therefore, this segment was pretty funny to watch unfold, especially on Kane's end. Who would have thought a WWE Championship program in 2015 would be entertaining? Anyways, the main event for the night is announced. Rollins & New Day against The Dudley's & Kane, but ONLY if Corporate Kane is at ringside.

1) Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, & Alicia Fox vs. Sasha Banks, Naomi & Tamina