 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Edge def. WWE Tag Team Champion Chris Benoit This was during the height of the "SmackDown Six" and shortly after the amazing Edge and Rey Mysterio vs. Benoit and Kurt Angle tag team title match at No Mercy. Edge was a star on the rise and Benoit was contesting excellent matches every week as he had done for years, so it was no surprise they had a hell of an opener here. Edge looked like he was on Benoit's level throughout while Benoit put forth an incredible performance. Edge scored a big win in beating Benoit, but I liked how it was tied into Benoit's lingering issues with partner/rival Angle, who got involved toward the end and cost him the match. Big Show def. Rikishi; WWE Champion Brock Lesnar Confronted Show I have never been, am currently not and will likely never be a Big Show fan, but I'd argue that this was when he was doing the best work of his career. He had quality opponents while on SmackDown, people cared about him, and he was a legitimate threat to the WWE Championship. His quick squash against Rikishi was impressive and I enjoyed his post-match face-to-face confrontation with Lesnar. Although Lesnar was still technically a heel at that point, the seeds were planted for a split between Lesnar and Paul Heyman after Heyman made it clear he didn't believe he could beat Big Show.
0 Comments
 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Kalisto def. Viktor It's well-established that That Lucha Dragons and The Ascension work well together, but I've grown tired of seeing them constantly work against each other, so it was refreshing to see them clash in singles competition for a change. Moreover, it was nice to see Kalisto spotlighted as I've always believed he has major potential to be a breakout singles star at some point down the line. Although Viktor scored some offense here and there, Kalisto dominated most of the match as he should have and picked up the logical victory. Bo Dallas def. Fandango Both of these guys are glorified losers at the moment, so it was hard to care about who won this match, but that's why I guess it was on Superstars and not Raw or SmackDown. It was a pretty nice match while it lasted considering how talented Fandango and Dallas are in the ring, but the crowd was largely dead for it. Dallas scored a rare win, but he'll never catch any momentum as long as he's beating no-namers.  Was it trick or treat for Dolph Ziggler and The Miz? By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Roman Reigns def. Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens by Count-out (Non-title) What will it take for WWE to learn not to give Reigns a live mic in front of an audience? The crowd didn't roast him as much as they've done in the past, but it's never a good idea, especially when it's not kept brief and to the point. On the bright side, Owens received some meaningful mic time for the first time in recent memory and he made the most of the opportunity. The subsequent match they contested was quite good and part of it was due to it being something we've never seen before in a singles match. Thankfully, Owens wasn't pinned, so both men were wisely protected here. The Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension, The Dudley Boyz, and Sheamus & King Barrett in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match It was slightly strange that there was nothing on the line in this match, but it just goes to show how stacked the tag team division is right now. It's filled with talent and it's nice that other teams are getting spotlight including the Dragons who surprisingly picked up the win here. The Dudley Boyz are apparently feuding with Sheamus and Barrett, so neither duo lost anything in losing here. It was a fun four-way, but the best part about it was The New Day on commentary. They're a riot behind the booth and their commentary work in this match only solidified why they're the best thing going in WWE right now (see RJ's latest article for more on that).  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Moose def. Donovan Dijak Big man vs. big man matches rarely work because they tend to be slow and clumsy, and while there were a few sloppy spots in this match, I enjoyed it on the whole. The size of Dijak and Moose is very deceiving as both men are very athletic and can pull off things in the ring you wouldn't think they could. They put together a very impressive matchup, but I'd like to see more done with Dijak. I'll never understand why he's cast as a background player in The House of Truth and never anything more. Dalton Castle def. Cedric Alexander I'm surprised more wasn't done to further the feud between Castle and Silas Young. They haven't interacted at all since the pay-per-view and although the commentators have talked about it, they have yet to confront each other. Nevertheless, Castle and Alexander worked a well-wrestled match, but it felt meaningless other than giving Castle a momentum boost. Alenxander hasn't been on any kind of roll in a while and it's a shame because he was the one who ended Moose's undefeated streak all those months ago. Veda Scott threatening to sue Ring of Honor does nothing to peak my interest as storylines like that are dull more often than not.  By RJ Marceau
In the past few years, the WWE has started to sign independent wrestlers who have made their names huge in PWG, Dragon Gate USA, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor and CZW. The WWE recently signed Samoa Joe who was a huge signing especially since he was a face of TNA for a while. Other stars like Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Dean Ambrose and Hideo Itami came from the independents and have made a big name for themselves in the WWE. Here’s a list of Independent wrestlers the WWE need to sign. |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2025
|
RSS Feed