My WrestleMania Moments

Next week signals the biggest week of the wrestling calendar itself as WWE descends on the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana for WrestleMania 34.

With Brock Lesnar set to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, The Undertaker set to return to take on John Cena, Ronda Rousey set to make her in-ring debut as she teams up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon amongst other matches, it should prove to be a memorable edition.

WrestleMania 33 will mark the 16th WrestleMania I have watched live and despite the highs and lows of wrestling, it still remains something that always managed to excite me.

I was lucky enough to attend last years WrestleMania in Orlando, Florida, which was the culmination of a lifelong dream. It was a terrific experience, reminding me why I love the wacky world of professional wrestling and all it's highs and lows. 

But what do I see as the most memorable WrestleMania moments since I've been watching? Here are my top five.

The End of The Undertaker's Streak

Certainly the most shocking moment for my money, as Brock Lesnar put an end to a 21 year streak. 

The best thing about this was how low key the build up to the match was. It just seemed like it was going to be yet another victory for Taker,  all the way until the actual finish.

After that, several questions went through people's heads. Was that planned? Did Brock go into business for himself? Was the Undertaker supposed to kick out? When this daft old sport can make you question things like that, you know you're onto a winner. 

Shawn Michaels retires 

The end of the Heartbreak Kid's storied career came at the end of WrestleMania 26 in one of the best moments in recent memory. 

A two year rivalry with a wrestler's competitive spirit and obsession with achieving greatness leading to his downfall was by far the best story told in recent years.  

This is a moment that still lasts to this day, largely due to the fact that it was the definitive end for HBK when so many retirements have gone the opposite way. A true 'WrestleMania Moment'.

Daniel Bryan becomes WWE World Heavyweight Champion. 

If anything could describe Daniel Bryan defying the odds to end the biggest WrestleMania of all time, it would be fan power. 

As the fans hijacked numerous attempts by WWE to force a main event of Batista v Randy Orton on them, they were made to change their plans and the rest is history.

Although the aftermath wasn't what we wanted, there is nothing better than seeing an underdog achieve their dreams, and that is exactly what happened here.

The Rock takes on Hulk Hogan

A clash of two icons during WrestleMania X8 saw The Rock and Hulk Hogan take part in one of the biggest dream matches of the century.

It's a match that had me on the edge of my seat as a child, and my appreciation for seeing two of the best of all-time has only increased to this day. 

Showing their understanding of the crowd, Hogan wrestled the match as as a babyface and added to already electric atmosphere in the stadium, giving the fans exactly what they want.

Cena and Batista become stars  

WrestleMania has become somewhat of a nostalgia trip in recent years, with part timers coming back to take on each other becoming a new theme for the show.

The last time WWE successfully looked to the future was shockingly over a decade ago at Wrestlemania 21 when John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield to become WWE Champion and Batista defeated Triple H to become World Heavyweight Champion.

By creating two detestable heels in JBL and Triple H that had talked and cheated their way to victory for months, WWE helped create two of the biggest babyfaces in recent memory, and in an era where they are severely lacking stars, the company could do worse than to follow this template again. 

Written by Andy Phillips // 

@AndyP_GY

WWE Mixed Match Challenge Review // 20th March 2018

It was time for the semi-finals to begin on this week's Mixed Match Challenge, as Asuka & The Miz teamed up against Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss for a spot in the final in two weeks. But was it any good? Here's our review! 

Mixed Match Challenge Semi-Final // Asuka & Intercontinental Champion The Miz vs. Braun Strowman & RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss 

Before the match - Asuka reminded The Miz that her streak was on the line tonight, with Miz insistent that it was "their" streak - Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss promised to go all the way...in the Mixed Match Challenge. 

Considering Asuka's streak was supposedly on the line, it was to the surprise of very few that Asuka & Miz advanced to final of the Mixed Match Challenge over Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss, with The Empress of Tomorrow tapping out the RAW Women's Champion with the Asuka Lock at the end of another typical MMC bout. The match was strongest at it's opening and conclusion, with the bout getting a little lost during it's middle third, relying on the idea that there was a romance between Strowman and Bliss and doing very little else. The random tease of a kiss mid-match worked in order to set up Strowman going nuts at Miz for breaking it up, but beyond being a plot device, it made very little sense to have it happen when it did. Having both Miz and Bliss tag out repeatedly in order to not face their more imposing opponents was a much better idea, played well by all four, before Miz got clattered with Braun's wicked front dropkick (No Corey, I shall not call it the Tyrannosaurus dropkick). This would only be bettered by a wicked series of action at the conclusion, with Asuka and Bliss working much better together than they did on RAW the previous night, building to a double knockout spot before Strowman lost his head and shoulder barged the fuck out of Miz, sending both through the barricade. The streak gimmick was used effectively with the crowd buying into a series of pinfall variation near falls from Bliss, including one very long two count, with Michael Cole playing a strong supporting role on commentary, before Asuka swiftly reversed Bliss's DDT into the Asuka lock to pick up the win. It would seem we're heading to an Asuka & Miz vs. Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode final, which just days before Flair and Asuka clash at WrestleMania could prove an exciting possibility in two weeks time.

Also on the show 

- Daniel Bryan was stretchered to the back following the assault from Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn on SmackDown Live. 

- We found out that Sasha Banks & Finn Balor had won the second chance fan vote and would face Charlotte Flair & Bobby Roode in next week's semi-final. 

Written by James Marston // 

@IAmNotAlanDale 

WWE SmackDown Live Review // 20th March 2018

With three weeks until WrestleMania, this week's SmackDown was perhaps the most important episode on the road to WrestleMania and will almost certainly prove to be the most memorable for the majority of the fanbase. This week saw Daniel Bryan announce his return to in-ring competition and call out Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn for their assault on Shane McMahon last week, Charlotte Flair and Natalya renew their rivalry, SmackDown Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso go one on one with the Bludgeon Brother's Harper, Shinsuke Nakamura face Rusev in a rematch from Fastlane and Jinder Mahal talk about being added to the United States title match at WrestleMania...but was it any good? Here's our review. 

Daniel Bryan addresses being cleared to compete 

If it's possible to feel all of the emotions at the same time, then that's exactly what I experienced whilst watching Daniel Bryan speak about being able to wrestle again on SmackDown this week. Honestly, Bryan could have come out and said absolutely anything and everyone would have been over the moon because he can wrestle again, but what happened on 20th March was so much more than that. Obviously this being a very real situation helped a lot, but listening to the emotion in Bryan's voice as he talked about how his wife, Brie Bella, had helped him to keep fighting and to keep pushing to get back in the ring, as well as the passion with which he talked about professional wrestling was wonderful and left me somewhere between being one big pimpley goose and a human tear. Whatever happens next is a bonus for me, as the story of Bryan's return is strong enough to drive multiple storylines for years and I'm not sure it will ever be matched. Also all the crowd pointing at the WrestleMania sign when Bryan said he didn't know when he'd get to wrestle his first match might be my favourite thing that has ever happened inside a wrestling arena. 

After the segment - Charles Robinson congratulated Daniel Bryan on his return, before Dolph Ziggler told Bryan that he couldn't wait to beat him - Daniel Bryan was informed that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn had arrived at the building.

Daniel Bryan calls out Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn 

Wow, what a rollercoaster this segment was, moving from comedy heat for Kevin Owens saying "everyone's dumber in Texas" to a vicious assault on Daniel Bryan on his first night back as an active competitor all within the space of ten or fifteen minutes. There was a lot packed into the fifteen minutes, but the segment essentially boiled down to Owens & Zayn assaulting Bryan because he was forced to fire them for attacking Shane McMahon on last week's episode, but because of Bryan's lengthy absence from anything resembling physicality it ended up being so much more than the sum of its parts. Watching Bryan nailing running dropkicks in the corner, like he'd never been away became an emotional experience the likes of which I never thought I'd experience watching some hit a dropkick or two, whilst the beatdown from Owens and Zayn that came after the pair had regained control got a great deal of heat as they threw punches at the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The conclusion with Owens hitting a powerbomb onto the apron was difficult to watch, a good piece of booking to throw doubt over Bryan will be able to compete at WrestleMania, with the whole picture involving the three and Shane McMahon being wide open at the conclusion of the show. A special note on Owens performance here, as as always Kevin's attention to detail was wonderful and him screaming repeatedly, showing confliction and frustration with his action was a lovely touch that added to an already brilliant segment.

SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Natalya

Before the match - We got a hype package for Asuka, who seemingly isn't on the show tonight - Natalya tried to wind up Charlotte Flair, saying she was scared about facing Asuka at WrestleMania, with Flair agreeing to a match with Natty later on the show. 

An intriguing development at the end of a good match between Natalya and Charlotte Flair saw Carmella attempt to cash in her Money in the Bank briefcase and whilst Flair nailed Carmella with the Queen's Boot before the cash-in could occur it did allow Natalya to pick up a surprise victory with a school-boy roll up. I'm not quite sure how this factors into Flair's match with Asuka at WrestleMania, but its at least WWE trying to do something different on SmackDown, rather than what could have been a paint-by-numbers victory for Flair. The match itself took a while to get into, mostly because there was a feeling that I'd seen it all before, with the having competed in eleven TV singles matches in the last two years, but the build towards the interference featured some lovely action between the pair. Natalya pulled out a gorgeous spinning sit-out powerbomb, but the highlight was a superb sequence involving the figure four leglock, that would conclude with Flair holding onto the move whilst hanging outside of the ring, after the two had rolled to the ropes. I would suspect we could see Natty & Carmella vs. Flair & Asuka at some point over the next two weeks, with Natalya's victory perhaps being used to make her Asuka's first challenger after the Empress wins the belt at WrestleMania.

Jimmy Uso (with Jey Uso) vs. Harper (with Rowan) 

Before the match - The Usos cut one of signature fiery promos, promising to not lie down when faced with the threat of the Bludgeon Brothers as they looked for their first match on the main card of a WrestleMania. 

The match was a fairly straight-forward affair with Jimmy Uso able to stay in the match by using his speed, before Harper put him away with a pretty weak looking lariat. The match was raised past a regular squash thanks to a stellar near fall from Uso, which saw the SmackDown Tag Team Champion able to dodge distraction from Rowan, before that same distraction allowed for both Usos to hit superkicks for a long two count on Harper

Rusev (with Aiden English) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Whilst not as good as their clash at Fastlane, Shinsuke Nakamura's victory over Rusev with a roll-up still provided a solid slice of television wrestling. The match ended up coming up a little short time-wise, with only around five minutes airing on TV, but still got a few decent moments and sequences in there. A lot of it was either going over ground covered in the PPV bout and using a couple of signature spots like the "Come on" thing that Nakkers does, but there was also a nice forearm sequence and a surprising amount of dominance from the Bulgarian Brute, including a near fall off a big kick after Nakamura escaped the Accolade. The finishing sequence was very well done, with Nakamura missing a couple of roundhouse kicks, before going for his rolling crossarmbreaker and then being able to reverse a Rusev roll-up (major alliteration scenes) to pick up a straight-forward victory. Not quite good enough to go out of your way to see, but enjoyable if you're a regular watcher of the product nonetheless. 

After the match - Rusev & Aiden English assaulted Shinsuke Nakamura, with AJ Styles taking so long to make the save from the guest commentary position that Nakamura ended up being able to fight off both of his attackers - Backstage, Shinsuke Nakamura told AJ Styles that he didn't need his help and that he'd beat him at WrestleMania with a "knee to face" 

Jinder Mahal addresses his United States title shot at WrestleMania

More of the same from Jinder Mahal, Bobby Roode and Untied States Champion Randy Orton this week, after Mahal had addressed being added to the US title match at WrestleMania. Honestly, I was over this storyline about a month ago and I'm looking forward to being able to move passed it in April, because the booking continues to be lazy, the writing continues to be juvenile and the performers continue to look like they'd rather be doing anything else (well, Roode and Orton do, I suppose Mahal is just buzzing to still be riding the wave of his awful WWE title run). Mahal left Sunil Singh to Roode & Orton, with Singh taking DDTs rope-hung and Glorious, before Orton and Roode tried to hit their finishers on each other and still nobody gave a fuck. 

Also on the show

- Baron Corbin squashed Tye Dillinger in a few minutes, with the match going a little longer because Corbin botched his own finish and they had to do it again. 

- Becky Lynch & Naomi squashed the Riott Squad's Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan with Lynch tapping out Morgan with the Dis-armer after a nothing match 

- The "Hungry for Mania" moment was the entirety of WrestleMania I.

ATPW Scale Rating // 

5.88 out of 10 

Written by James Marston //

@IAmNotAlanDale

WWE SmackDown Live Review // 27th February 2018

It was the penultimate SmackDown Live before Fastlane as John Cena made his return to the show in an attempt to work out his Road to WrestleMania. That road would lead him to a main event match with WWE Champion AJ Styles, with the opportunity to be added to the WWE Championship match at 11th March PPV. But how did it all go down in Los Angeles? Lets take a look! 

Commentary - Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips & Kevin Owens.
Ring Announcer - Greg Hamilton 
Interviewers - Renee Young

Daniel Bryan gave John Cena an opportunity

The opening segment was nothing special, but managed to move from point A to point B relatively quickly, whilst continuing to develop the issues between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan. Basically, John Cena wanted in on the WWE title match at Fastlane, McMahon said some things about the Land of Opportunity but didn't seem too interested in putting Cena in the match, but then Bryan interrupted and booked Cena vs. AJ Styles in the main event, with Cena being added to the WWE title match if he could beat the WWE Champion. There's not really much else to talk about, Cena came across as a little entitled and there was nowhere near the same feel that his promo gave off on RAW, but we got a rematch of last year's best WWE match, so it's hard to complain that much.

John Cena def. AJ Styles // Pinfall 

Was this ever going to anything but great? Especially, considering it was on television and not PPV. After a high impact contest, John Cena walked out with a spot in a six-pack challenge at Fastlane after pinning the WWE Champion with an high-angle variant of the Attitude Adjustment, having escaped a Calf Crusher moments earlier. Whilst the early part of the match that included Cena hitting a tornado DDT that lead to Styles head connected with Cena's hip bone had me a little worried about where the match was heading, but a sequence that saw the two trade near falls with Styles coming close with an Ushigoroshi and a Rack Bomb and Cena almost getting pins with a TKO stunner and sitout electric chair front drop saw things begin to pick up. In an interesting piece of booking both men hit their finishers for two counts during the break with Styles kicking out of an Attitude Adjustment and Cena a Styles Clash, this meant that as soon as the show came back from the break it hooked in the audience, letting us know this wasn't a regular TV bout, whilst also making sure that Los Angeles was hot once SmackDown was back on air. Whilst the match wasn't as rich as their Royal Rumble match last year, there was a tonne of gorgeous action after the break, including Styles rolling into a pin whilst still hooked in the STF, Cena trying an failing to do the wrist control AA (he's obviously been watching a lot of Kazuchika Okada lately) and a really well-done countout spot after Styles had originally broke the count, only to get AA'ed through the announce table with Cena more than happy to take the countout victory this time round, which was a lovely bit of storytelling. The result leaves us with a ridiculously stacked six man scramble match at Fastlane, with Cena now joining Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin in the main event.

After the match - Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin blindsided John Cena & AJ Styles, with Dolph Ziggler initially coming down for the save, before taking a swing at Styles and getting an Attitude Adjustment from Cena for his trouble.

Baron Corbin def. Sami Zayn // Pinfall

The show's semi-main saw Baron Corbin level his series of matches with Sami Zayn at two a piece, after a clean victory with the End of Days. This was a solid outing for the pair, as Corbin begins to look more and more comfortable in his current spot and whilst I'm still waiting for his breakout singles match, it feels like it's getting closer and closer everytime he steps in the ring with competitors like Zayn. The pair did struggle to hold the crowd at times, with a "Rusev Day" chant moments after coming back from the ad break (which was split screened and mostly sleeper holds), which may have been down to both men being heels, even if Corbin was positioned as the bouts psuedo-babyface after Zayn weirdly slapped the Lone Wolf's chest in the corner before stalling. There was a few added elements for the viewers at home, that both hurt and improved the viewing experience. This included a funny turn by Kevin Owens on commentary, who repeatedly ripped into Corbin, which included the line "Corbin, if you're looking for your hairline, its on top of your head", as well as a number of weird cutaways to Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan, as they discussed Bryan's decision to allow Owens to appear on commentary, with no real consequence. What did have consequence and may have been the highlight of the bout (expect perhaps for a quality sequence into Corbin's Big Bossman lariat) was Dolph Ziggler jumping to barricade to nail a superkick on Owens, that looked vicious and got a nice pop from LA, with the high impact moment leading directly into Corbin's victory as the intriguing interplay between competitors in the WWE title match at Fastlane continued. 

After the match - Dolph Ziggler nailed Baron Corbin with a ZigZag - Daniel Bryan asked if he could go home to see his wife and daughter, Shane McMahon allowed this - Shane McMahon caught up with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, telling them to go after Daniel Bryan because "Brie doesn't like when [they're] late for dinner" - Dolph Ziggler cut a handheld promo putting himself over ahead of the Fastlane WWE title match

The New Day and The Usos renewed their rivalry, before The Bludgeon Brothers interrupted 

Before the segment - Actor Josh Duhamel appeared to promote his new TV show, Unsolved, in a fun backstage interaction with Breezango and The New Day.

Fuck, I loved this segment. Both teams bought their A-game on the microphone and completely changed my mind about wanting to see them feud again, because after this these teams can feud for the rest of time and I don't think I'd mind. New Day did some stuff where Kofi Kingston would repeatedly have to spritz Big E's crotch with water, which was odd, but actually lead pretty well into what SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos had to say, as they ripped on The New Day for being a comedy act and liking bright colours, comparing them to the old, face-paint wearing Jimmy & Jey. The stuff with the tag champs discussing never having appeared as a team on WrestleMania was very strong, with a real feeling of frustration and determination, that is easy to relate to and easy to get behind. After the year that these lads have had, they deserve a spot on the biggest show of the year. The New Day seemed closer to the heel turn that was teased during their match with Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable last week when Big E teed off on the twins with a couple of stingy zingers, including "We hosted WrestleMania when the two of you were in the back eating catering" and "We didn't get here because of our Daddies", whether they go full villain before Fastlane is yet to be seen, as The Bludgeon Brothers hit the ring with their styrofoam mallets and both teams bailed. The interruption felt a little unnecessary but I suppose creative needed a way to end the segment without the teams coming to blows.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Aiden English // Pinfall

Before the match - Aiden English and Rusev went to see Shane McMahon about not being on the show for the last few week's with English ending up booked in a match against Shinsuke Nakamura. - English sang a song about being the only true Artiste of WWE, before telling Los Angeles they didn't deserve to celebrate Rusev Day, which, of course, got loud "Rusev Day" chants anyway. 

Shinsuke Nakamura got a straight-forward victory in his first TV match in almost a month, pinning Aiden English in a filler bout. Whilst the action was fine and highlighted by a nice diving crossbody roll through, the only thing the match really had going for it was Rusev's interference on the outside, with the crowd being loudly split between Nakkers and RuRu producing a couple of cool duelling chants that lifted the action. Nakamura controlled most of the match, with Rusev interfering on a couple of occasions, including a nice looking roundhouse kick on the outside, but for a match that was so clearly a forgone conclusion it felt unnecessarily long and didn't feature anything that would've made it feel like anything other than an excuse to get Nakamura back on TV somehow. A match with Rusev at Fastlane would give Shinsuke a good warm-up bout for WrestleMania, but with only one show left before the PPV it comes across as incredibly rushed, as the booking of Nakamura post-Royal Rumble win has been less than inspiring.

Ruby Riott def. Naomi // Pinfall

The only women's bout on the show and the one that felt like it had the least focus was Ruby Riott's victory over Naomi, with the Riott Kick. The match itself was alright, with a number of moments where Naomi showed glimmers of the promise we've occasionally seen out of her over the last few years. The sequence where both missed roundhouse kicks at pace, before connecting at the same time was well-timed and easily the highlight of a match that felt like it never got the chance to get going. Riott's victory appeared to come out of nowhere as she deflected a running bulldog that sent Naomi into the top turnbuckle before connecting with the overhead wind-up kick for the win, this would seem to be a way of building up the move for the title match with Charlotte Flair at Fastlane, but didn't come across well on television. 

Also This Week

- Randy Orton interrupted a Bobby Roode interview, claiming his issue wasn't with the SmackDown Top 10 list, but that the Viper just wanted to win the United States title for the first time in his career 

- Noelle Trent from the National Civil Rights Museum was joined by Titus O'Neil, Mark Henry and Alexa Bliss to discuss the Freedom Rides as part of Black History Month.

- Highlights of The Festival of Friendship with Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens from the 13th February 2017 episode of RAW aired for some reason. 

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.29 out of 10 

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

WWE SmackDown Live Review // 13th February 2018

SmackDown continued to move towards Fastlane this week with some big changes made to the 11th March main event. The show featured a major storyline involving Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn interrupting a scheduled match between Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, before Owens faced Corbin and Zayn took on Ziggler, with Corbin and Ziggler being added to the WWE title match at Fastlane if they were able to pick up the win. But how did it all go down in Bakersfield? Lets take a look! 

Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin didn't happened because Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn attacked both men

then...

Baron Corbin def. Kevin Owens // Pinfall

then...

Dolph Ziggler def. Sami Zayn // Pinfall 

There were some big changes on SmackDown Live this week, as Dolph Ziggler pinned Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin did the same to Kevin Owens to insert themselves into a WWE Championship match at Fastlane that will see AJ Styles defend against all four of the above. However, the advertised match had been Corbin vs. Ziggler for a place in the match, so how did we get here? Let's start at the beginning. The opening segment saw Corbin about to enter the arena to face Ziggler, only for the show to cut back to the backstage area where Owens and Zayn were assaulting the 2017 Money in the Bank winner. This was followed up by the pair heading out to the arena to leave Ziggler laying also. The segment had a tonne of energy and left a number of questions open for the rest of the show. The moment where Owens and Zayn had finished laying out Corbin and said they were heading for Ziggler was brilliantly done and helped to raise the tension for what was about to follow, aided by Zayn then attempted to go through the crowd to assault Ziggler from behind. It was cool to see what we thought the show was going to be shift in front of our eyes and the whole interaction felt fresh and different, with Owens & Zayn's motivation of wanting to make sure no one ended up joining their match with Styles came across very clear.

After Commissioner Shane McMahon had informed General Manager Daniel Bryan of his plans for the foursome, the first match was Baron Corbin's victory over Kevin Owens, thanks to an impressive End of Days. This was a solid contest, that struggled to draw the crowd in due to the ambiguity over Corbin's character. It was clear that Owens was the heel, but not massively clear if Corbin was still heel or had turned babyface and therefore it appeared like the audience struggled to get into what was going. This was especially clear when Owens looked on a rest hold and the crowd chanted "Rusev Day" (it's actually baffling that they'd even think about leaving the Bulgarian off the show). Corbin hadn't shown enough for the audience to get behind him and even if he sold the attack from earlier well on the way down to the ring and after the match, it wasn't particularly present in the match and therefore his "in" for gaining some sympathy was removed. This wasn't helped by the fact that Owens is generally the more exciting performer to watch. The back and forth finish was a lot of fun with the working well together before Corbin escaped a Pop-Up Powerbomb and hit his finish for the win. Whether Corbin is now a babyface going forward or not really isn't clear, but he's now got his first shot at the WWE title since failing to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase in August. 

The main event saw Dolph Ziggler defeat Sami Zayn with a superkick in the first ever televised match between the pair. This match didn't suffer from the same affliction as the Owens vs. Corbin match as it was made very clear that Ziggler was the underdog (not from the underground) and the Show-Off reached deep into his babyface bag, selling within an inch of his life throughout. Whilst the majority of the action was good stuff, including highlights like Ziggler hitting a picture perfect dropkick to Zayn's gut as he dived off the top rope and a big exploder suplex off the top from Sami, it was in the final minute or so that the match excelled. After a strong near fall from a ZigZag, Zayn's vicious side came to the fore as he threw Dolph shoulder first into the ringpost repeatedly, with Ziggler selling like he'd been hit by a truck, completely out on his feet, only to sneak a two count with a roll-up after Zayn took too long going for a Blue Thunder Bomb he really didn't need to hit. This set up Zayn's out for the subsequent loss as he clearly had the match won, only to end up costing himself as Ziggler blocked a Helluva Kick with a kick of his own, this time of the super variety. Crisp and fluid wrestling throughout, that did a good job of getting the character shift over with a great conclusion, the main event was easily the best match on the show this week.

Charlotte Flair def. Sarah Logan // Pinfall 

This week's only women's action saw SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair walk out victorious over Riott Squad member Sarah Logan, winning with Natural Selection, after a poor match. The match had started fairly inconspicuously, with nothing much of note either good or bad, but during the split-screen advert break something seemed to fall apart and it appeared like everything Flair and Logan attempted went wrong in one way or another. I had been looking forward to seeing what the pair did together, so I was more than a little disappointed while watching them botch sunset flips. The match did pick up later on with Logan hitting what looked like a crotch clutch suplex after Flair had missed a big boot and got her foot caught up on the top rope standing out. After the match Corey Graves said on commentary "I have a feeling this rivalry is just getting started!" and I had to wonder "Where the fuck have you been, Graves?". The feud (also involving Becky Lynch & Naomi, who were present at ringside) has been going on since November and I'm still not quite sure why. The Riott Squad haven't felt like a threat to SmackDown's top three women since their debut, not helped by the fact that Logan is yet to win a singles match in WWE or NXT.

Kofi Kingston & Big E def. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable // Pinfall 

Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable's crusade to rid the SmackDown tag team division of comedy acts came to sudden half this week as they suffered a loss to Kofi Kingston & Big E of the New Day's Midnight Hour, after initially interrupting Big E's pancake eating world record attempt. New Day have gone pretty mad for p-cakes lately and it seemed only sensible that they'd have a big Shrove Tuesday celebration, before giving up their eggs, milk and flour for lent. The segment was a little long winded, but came good in the end when Benjamin and Gable started throwing those pan-based deserts to the mat one by one, whilst Big E furiously attempted to stop their blasphemous acts. It probably shouldn't have worked, but it was played very well by all involved, with Benjamin & Gable being particularly entertaining. The tag match that followed might have been for the dignity of pancakes everywhere, but was actually a rather lovely tag bout. The classic New Day tandem of Kingston & E was back together for the first time in 2018 and both excelled in their roles as Kingston took face-in-peril and Big E came soaring in with his magnificent hot tag. The best action actually came with Kofi battling against Benjamin & Gable, as the trio worked in a number of strong hope spots, with Kingston firing up for the tag only to run straight into a rolling koppu kick. It appears that The Usos are moving into a feud with the Bludgeon Brothers, so I'm not quite sure where this result leaves the rest of the tag team division, but I'd be very surprised if The New Day don't have a role at WrestleMania.

Jinder Mahal interrupted Randy Orton accepting Bobby Roode's US Open Challenge

A United States Championship open challenge from Bobby Roode, appeared to be delivering us a match between Roode and Randy Orton, only for Jinder Mahal to come out and spoil the party before it could begin. I'm unsure how I feel about Mahal, because his involvement in this feud will undoubtedly bring down the quality of any resulting matches from this storyline, but he was actually used well here, acting as the spoiler for the two babyfaces. His appearance made me groan, but I'm sure that was the exact reaction I was suppose to have. Whilst Mahal stirring up the pot went on for a little bit too long and using the "SmackDown Top 10" rankings (that WWE decided not to change this week, with no explanation of how often they will be updated) to drive a storyline is more than a little lame, the idea at the heart of it was a good one and it was fun to see the tension build between Orton and Roode. Mahal would end up standing tall, getting the best of both men with a pair of Khallas, after Orton had RKO'd Samir Singh. Considering we'll almost inevitably have to get a couple of Mahal matches during it, this very well could be the peak of this storyline.

Also this week

- Seth Rollins discussed the Montgomery Bus Boycott, as part of Black History Month. 

- In a well-directed segment, The Usos cut a promo about their tag team dominance, only for the Bludgeon Brothers to cut the segment short as they attacked the television playing the promo with their big ol' hammers. 

ATPW Scale Rating // 5.21 out of 10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale

WWE Clash of Champions 2017 DVD Review

WWE have released the 2017 edition of Clash of Champions on DVD in the UK, available here. But is it any good? Lets take a look!  

Top Matches include: 

- Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn's WWE Contract // Special Guest Referees - Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon // Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn 

- WWE Championship // AJ Styles (C) vs. Jinder Mahal

- SmackDown Women's Championship // Lumberjack Match // Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Natalya 

The event kicks off with it's best match as a triple threat over the United States Championship, with Baron Corbin defending against Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode, features some great action, with the three combining their signature offence for a number of exciting sequences and surprisingly strong near falls. Backstage, Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon discuss both being the referee in the Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn match later on, without clearing up how the gimmick is actually going to work. After an interview with Dasha Fuentes, Baron Corbin threw a bin at a door. The good times keep rolling with an exciting Fatal Four-Way match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship with The Usos defending against Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, Kofi Kingston & Big E of the New Day and Rusev & Aiden English, in a match that is helped by a crowd that is massively into Rusev & English. The beginning and ending, including a brilliant performance from Gable, feature some wonderful action, although the match is let down by some weird rules that have a member of each team in the ring at the same time, leading to some awkwardness during the middle portion. 

Charlotte Flair puts the SmackDown Women's Championship on the line against Natalya in a disjointed Lumberjack match, where the gimmick does more to hold the pair back than create any genuine excitement. There's some solid action in there, but there's also a lot of treading water, whilst every single lumberjack receiving their own entrance is over-kill. The Singh Brothers get interviewed by Fuentes, with the end result once again being that we find out nothing about their potential involvement in the Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles match later on. The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper & Rowan) vs. Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze) doesn't stick around long, but has a couple of nice moments, whilst en route to the squash result. 

Fuentes (who is seemingly all over the place here) catches up with Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn backstage, with the duo their usual jovial selves until Dasha brings up that they could be fired if they lose their match against Orton & Nakamura. The match between Owens & Zayn and Orton & Nakamura features an overkill of stipulation with Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan operating as special guest referees and Owens & Zayn getting fired if they lose the match. These stipulations are not conducive to producing a good match with a lot of time spent on setting out the dual referee gimmick and a number of hokey spots like McMahon & Bryan drawing a line down the middle of the ring, whilst the top talent end up going through the motions for, at least, fifteen minutes of the bout. The finishing stretch however does feature some engrossing action between Orton and Zayn, as well as a big spot on the outside featuring Owens and Nakamura, whilst a handful of nearfalls are worked in surrounding the dual refs situation. 

The WWE Championship match features Jinder Mahal's best performance of his main event run as he challenges AJ Styles for the brand's top prize. The action isn't always thrilling, but there's a strong narrative, with both men working over injures body parts, as well as a couple of sturdy near falls in the scrappy closing match. The Singh Brothers play their part well, including a brutal looking spot on the floor, before the contest comes to a satisfying conclusion that pays off the matches major story thread. The disc concludes with it's only special feature as Zack Ryder faces former tag team partner Mojo Rawley in a match that is exactly what it needed to be.

ATPW Scale Rating // 5.23/10

Written by James Marston // @IAmNotAlanDale 

WWE 205 Live Review // 6th February 2018

The new era of 205 Live continued this week in Kansas City, Missouri as the tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion continued. The show was main-evented by a clash between Hideo Itami and the debuting Roderick Strong, but how did it all go down? Lets take a look. 

Cruiserweight Championship Tournament First Round Match // Roderick Strong def. Hideo Itami // Pinfall 

In somewhat of a surprise, Roderick Strong handed Hideo Itami his first 205 Live defeat to advance to the Quarter Finals, winning with End of Heartache, in a wonderfully physical match. Down the spine of the match was a series of delightful strike battles, as the pair threw forearms, elbows, chops and kicks at each other with the back and forth nature of the contest always seeming to lead back to the two wailing on each other with hard blows. Each time round the pair seemed were selling the effects of the match more and throwing the strikes with more desperation and purpose. Of course, this back and forth sequence would play a big part in the closing sequence as the two went back to what they knew after both coming close with big moves, but the strongest use of this motif came on the outside of the ring. As the action spilled to the apron, Strong's attempt to pull Itami off the apron into a backbreaker was escaped by the former NOAH star, before the pair threw forearms, chops and kicks at each other and Strong, unlike Bono, finally found what he was looking for as he ducked a roundhouse kick, caught Hideo's leg and lifted him into a brutal looking backbreaker onto the apron. A gorgeous sequence. 

It was clear from watching the bout that these two were pretty familiar with each other, they knew how much they could lay in their strikes and produced some slick reversal sequences, with Strong able to transition into a number of moves with ease, which makes him stand out on the current roster. Obviously, the two have history in NOAH and ROH, as well as an NXT bout last April, but they also had a run on NXT house shows in September/October that would have certainly helped to create the comfortableness with each other that was important to creating such an enjoyable match in this style. This was a PPV quality encounter, that managed to draw the audience in, getting a good reaction from the live crowd by it's conclusion. With a little more time, there's no doubt that Itami and Strong could've produced something next level and in fact, I think these two would be able to create something special in pretty much any time limit. It's a shame that we had to lose one of them in the tournament, but it was great to see the tournament already throwing up surprises in it's second week, even if that means we might not see Itami for a while.

Crusierweight Championship Tournament First Round Match // Kalisto def. Lince Dorado // Pinfall

205 Live was on fire this week, with another good match to kick off the show as Kalisto booked his placed in the Quarter Finals with a victory over Lucha House Party mate, Lince Dorado with a second Salida del Sol. With the show finally beginning to show the variety of Cruiserweight wrestling, we got a completely different match from the main event, as Dorado and Kalisto put on a mad lucha thing match, full of flips, tricks, dives and big highspots. Despite having not won in singles competition since December 2016 (Main Event - vs. Tony Nese), Dorado was made to look like a threat to the former Cruiserweight Champion, through a well done story that he was over-performing because he was desperate to get the Cruiserweight title and prove himself, bringing out a more aggressive side that drove the match past a flippy showcase to something else. The match was jam-packed with big moments, like Dorado's top rope frankensteiner, Kalisto hitting a wheelbarrow situation off the middle rope, Dorado seemingly having the match won with the Golden Rewind and Shooting Star Press only for Listo to roll under the bottom rope before the cover could be made and a sublime near fall for the favourite off Salida del Sol when Dorado got a hand on the bottom rope. It was a shame that the rewind reverse rana from Kalisto that was part of the finish ended up looking real nasty with Dorado somehow landing head first on Kalisto's back, but the slip-up didn't hurt the match all that match and it appeared like Dorado wasn't seriously hurt, so it wasn't the end of the world.

Also this week

- There was a recap of last week's show, including Daniel Bryan introducing Drake Maverick as the new 205 Live General Manager, Maverick announcing a tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion and TJP and Cedric Alexander winning First Round match-ups in that tournament against Tyler Bate and Gran Metalik respectively. 

- In his office, Drake Maverick ripped into Drew Gulak and Tony Nese for becoming comedy acts and wasting their potential, booking them in a First Round tournament match next week. 

- TJP cut a promo about the fans not believing him anymore and not giving a shit, it was good. 

- A package looking at Mark Andrews, ahead of his match with Akira Tozawa next week, using the same UK Tournament package from January last year.

- Akira Tozawa threatened to fire a man, when he suggested Mark Andrews could beat him next week.

- Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali had a friendly chat about the tournament backstage, they're good pals.

ATPW Scale Rating // 7.67/10

Written by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)