NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 24 Review

Often in life, we humans raise our expectations to levels where something could never possibly achieve the heights desired in the outset. New Japan’s BOSJ 24 however, was not one of these occasions. The Super Juniors certainly lived up to the hype and the tournament was simply excellent viewing from beginning to end; if you didn’t manage to catch this year’s tournament, fear not, here’s a rundown exactly what was so awesome about the tournament.

KUSHIDA rises again

It simply had to be didn’t it. Following Wrestle Kingdom the Junior star has experienced the worst months of his career, being unable to buy a win and getting absolutely destroyed by Hiromu Takahashi time after time. It was a slippery slope, but then came the month of May…
KUSHIDA is now the ROH TV Champion and won his final 3 block matches before conquering Will Ospreay in the final in order to become a 2 time Best of the Super Junior trophy winner, his second triumph at the event in just 3 years. If you weren’t sure before, the young lad is most definitely back on the horse.

It was in what was the match of the tournament in many people’s eyes that KUSHIDA finished off Ospreay thanks to his new ‘Back to the Future’ finisher after a gruelling 27 minutes and 59 seconds. Both guys beat the living hell out of one another with some crazy spots such as a spike DDT on the apron by Will and KUSHIDA channelling his inner Daniel Bryan and caving in Ospreay’s chest with stomps. It wasn’t your standard high flying, pacey match, it was so much more, as both displayed levels of violence and aggression that has not been apparent in their previous encounters.

Was the win predictable? Yes. Does that mean it was bad? Certainly not.


KUSHIDA winning creates a bunch of interesting circumstances with his upcoming Junior Heavyweight title shot, and given how tremendous his performances were, he truly deserves to be right at the top of the Junior ranks once again. Ospreay coming so close to the trophy for a second consecutive year also adds a ton to his character in Japan, coming up short after such an insane match will rally fans behind him even more. And speak of Will being in an insane match…

Ospreay, The Real MVP

I’ve already mentioned how amazing his match with KUSHIDA was but Will Ospreay was well and truly the leading light in this tournament. I was super hyped to see him throw down in group A, given the vast array of talent in there, but he was even better than I could have imagined.

From night one where he was the man to help introduce Marty Scurll to his new fanbase to the finale where KUSHIDA dumped him on his bonce to win; he did everything with an intense style and the fans, who were sometimes quiet for his initial matches, truly rallied behind him and were swapping between him and KUSHIDA all night. He truly won over the plaudits both at home and in the arenas and he will continue to prove why he is one of the best wrestlers in the world today.

Finally here, as a quick sidenote, his promos, of which he got to do a couple throughout the tournament, were captivating beyond belief. Maybe it’s the Essex accent but he had me hanging on every word and made me an even bigger fan of him than before.  

Jushin Thunder Liger bows out in style

I couldn’t go through this article without mentioning the final BOSJ appearance ever for the legendary Jushin Liger now could I!

Liger lost every single match in his ultimate tournament showing, that is, apart from his final ever BOSJ contest. At 6 consecutive losses he came up against the much-hated Taichi, of Suzuki Gun, who still had a chance to top block A if he were to defeat the 52 year old. 

But even despite the use of Taichi’s hammer and a beatdown from fellow Suzuki Gun members, Liger managed to pull out the victory! He was avenged and protected by the young boys at ringside, who showed their ultimate respect for him by stepping in. 

In the end his mask was torn and his bodysuit was ruined but he had won and the fans went wild. Sure, it wasn’t Match of Year or anything, but it was fun to behold and they told a wonderful story, allowing Liger to bow out in style with a really memorable moment. 

How did Marty Scurll get on?

New Bullet Club man Marty managed to achieve the most important thing of all during his first rout of Japan. He got over as hell. From the ‘woo woo’ in his song, to his finger breaking to his chicken wing, the Japanese fans ate up this succulent wrestling personality and will surely be back on many future occasions.

I imagine Marty is now sitting on a heap of merch money and loving every second as he rightfully deserves, the man is a star and oozes charisma so I’m really happy that the audience took to him so quickly.

It probably helped that he began the tournament by tapping out fellow Brit, the aforementioned Will Ospreay and manged a healthy 4 wins, placing him joint second in the group. My only disappointment for Scurll was that he arrived into the final round of matches with no possible chance of winning the block, but hey, there’s always next year!

Highlight Matches

I’ve already mentioned a few so I will gloss over those quickly before jumping into the meaty body of this section. The final, was obviously sublime, definitely the best of the KUSHIDA v Ospreay face-offs and get a must watch rating from me; Marty v Ospreay was superb on night one and gave Scurll the instant great match he needed; and Liger versus Taichi was a simply brilliant story, which few could have expected when the tournament schedule was released. 

Now that’s out of the way, here are (apart from the final) my favourite 3 matches from the tournament:

1. Dragon Lee versus Hiromu Takahashi (Block A, Night 1) – Do any two wrestlers on the entire planet have better and more consistent chemistry than these too? Sure, they’ve had better than this, but this was still a stormer and was the prefect opening main event for the tourney. Their maniac and dangerous style set an enticing tone with Dragon Lee taking the win over the champion showing that anyone can get a beating on any given night.

2. Ryusuke Taguchi versus KUSHIDA (Block B, Night 11) – What happens when 2 members of Taguchi Japan face-off and Ryusuke gets in a serious zone? The best match of the entire second bracket of course! Seriously, this was submission style and intelligent wrestling at its finest; both knew their foe so well and countered one another time after time. It makes me wish Taguchi wrestled like this all of the time rather than averting to comedy because he’s extremely good. More of this please.

3.  Ricochet versus Will Ospreay (Block A, Night 2) – Best match of the tournament for me, easily. I don’t know how they managed to but they 100% topped their contest that broke the internet just a year ago. The reverse dragonrana, which I’m sure you’ve seen doing the rounds in gif form on Twitter, blew my tiny mind, but beforehand it was an all action, non-stop insanely fun slippy wrestling. Honestly, it was a 5 star classic for me and I’m sure I’ll watch it again and again, that final OsCutter had me in rapturous applause; these two could wrestle every day of the year and I’m sure I wouldn’t get bored. Congrats lads.

What is next for the Super Juniors?

We look to this Sunday, June 11th for the next loop in the rollercoaster that is the IWGP Super Junior division. KUSHIDA will get his title shot as a result of his BOSJ victory, meaning he will get one final swing at the man who has caused him so much pain this year, Hiromu Takahashi of Los Ingobernables de Japon.

I feel KUSHIDA will finally get the better of his long-time rival and begin his 5th Junior Heavyweight title reign, completing the wrestler’s redemption story on a positive note. I would however, love to see Hiromu kill him off. Having KUSHIDA work so hard to get another chance at the belt and coming up short again would present Hiromu as the most dominant champion in Japan, and have him tower above the division, much like his leader Naito with the Intercontinental belt.

So there you have it folks, KUSHIDA is your BOSJ 24 winner! I hope you enjoyed the tournament as much as I, and in case you missed it, you can check out all of the aforementioned content with a subscription to the excess New Japan World streaming service, available here: http://njpwworld.com/

Written by Thomas Brady

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2017 Preview

New Japan’s annual Super Junior tournament is just around the corner and this year’s edition (BOSJ 24) looks spicier than ever before! It’s always a pleasure to watch this tournament unfold as the breakneck pace, highflying and technical prowess shines brightly, meaning you’re almost certainly going to see a top quality match no matter which night you tune in on.

So to get you in the mood for 3 and a half weeks of non-stop masterful wrestling, feast your beady eyes up this handy guide, hopefully it will get you as stoked for the tournament as I.

What is BOSJ?

Best of the Super Juniors is an annual Junior Heavyweight tournament that works in a similar fashion to the big-time Heavyweight tournament, the G1 Climax.

Competitors are split into two blocks of 8 wrestlers, A and B, in a round-robin style series of matches, whereby competitors score 2 points for a win, 1 for a time-limit draw (usually 30 minutes, but has been 20 in the past) and 0 for a loss.

After all 8 have collided the winner of each block then advances to the final 1 on 1, with the winner of that match taking home the trophy and also gaining an IWGP Junior Heavyweight title shot at Dominion, which is basically New Japan’s Summerslam.

Past winners of the tourney include Jushin Thunder Liger with a joint-record 3 victories, Tiger Mask IV who so far is the only man to win it consecutively, Prince Devitt (WWE's Finn Balor), Kota Ibushi and last year’s champion on his first attempt, Will Ospreay. Some big names I’m sure you’ll agree, only this year, things have grown even larger.

The Competitors

Block A

·         Dragon Lee – Rising faster than a well baked cake, at 21 years of age he is set to be the next big Lucha star both in Mexico and Japan. Current CMLL World Lightweight Champion. Gained much critical acclaim during his feud with Hiromu Takahashi thanks to their car-crash style incredible matches.

·         Hiromu Takahashi – Current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion having won the belt from KUSHIDA back at Wrestle Kingdom. Los Ingobernables De Japon member. Murdering everyone in his path this year and whimsically talking to his prized belt. Could win based on his unstoppable recent booking but the champion usually has it rough in such tournaments.

·         Jushin Thunder Liger – Wiley old veteran and the most successful Junior wrestler in history having won this tournament 3 times and had an astronomical 11 Junior title reigns. Now relies a little more on comedy but can still produce the goods when called upon. With this being his last hurrah I expect a lot from him, I’d say second or third in the block overall.

·         Marty Scurll – Huge star on the UK independent scene, PWG Battle of Los Angeles 2016 winner and current ROH television champion. Being aligned with ROH means he should do quite well and I feel he would have benefitted more from being in the second block. How will his new alignment with the Bullet Club effect proceedings? We shall see. 

·         Ricochet – Won BOSJ in 2014 but has never held the belt. Won the Junior tag titles on two occasions with Matt Sydal. Arguably the best high-flyer in the business. The face of Lucha Underground as Prince Puma. Unfortunately may be lost in the sea of competitors with greater stories to be told this year, especially since he had a recent shot at Hiromu.

·         Taichi – Suzuki Gun member. 2 time IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion. Will likely be near the bottom of the pack. Yea, he sucks pretty hard, let’s move on.

·         Taka Michinoku – Best known from Michinoku driver fame and his WWF run. Another Suzuki gun member and held the Junior tag titles alongside Taichi. Getting older now so I wouldn’t expect him to do a great deal, he may even finish last.

·         Will Ospreay – Reigning BOSJ champion, looking to win back to back tournaments. Huge star in the UK and in PWG, especially after his match versus Ricochet last year. CHAOS member. Had a Heavyweight feud with Katsuyori Shibata in February. Hasn’t yet had a crack at Takahashi’s belt so would be a fantastic victor.

One word. Stacked.

Good lord this is quite possibly the greatest block in Super Junior tournament history. Pretty much all of the standout names have been shoved into this group, and at first, I was slightly perplexed at that. Why would you not sprinkle them across the two? Well, this way NJPW have pretty much ensured that there’s a must-see match being broadcast each night this block is in the building, forcing people to tune in on every occasion to avoid missing anything. It’s guarantee views and guaranteed money.

Narrative is more prominent than ever throughout the group too. We have the Junior Heavyweight champion Hiromu Takahashi, who has been on a rampage since returning when the New Japan Timebomb exploded late last year; Jushin Thunder Liger is partaking in his 26^th and final ever Super Junior tournament so he could perhaps sign off with a historic win; and of course, we have Ricochet and Ospreay together again, with the pair surely determined to break the wrestling internet for the second year running.

My Predicted Block A Winner - Will Ospreay, it’s a really tough choice given how many amazing names are bundled in here but I would have to go for my CHAOS boy as I expect he will be involved in a long awaited rematch with the Block B winner, more on that later…

  

Block B

        ACH – High flying wrestler who made his name in ROH. Appeared at Wrestle Kingdom as Tiger the Dark. Made it to the final of the Super Junior Tag Tournament with Ishimori in 2016, having impressive matches throughout. His stock is rising in Japan so I would expect him to do okay in his debut tournament appearance.

·         BUSHI – 1 time Junior Heavyweight champion and current NEVER Openweight 6-man champion as part of Los Ingobernables. Had a longstanding feud with KUSHIDA last year which will be rekindled in this block. Look out for shenanigans from his heel stablemates, the dreaded mist and him coming up just short of victory in the group standings when the dust settles.

·         El Desperado – Suzuki Gun member and won the GHC Junior Tag Championships with Taka Michinoku. Hasn’t done a great deal since returning to NJPW other than wear a cool mask. Bottom half finish inbound.

·         KUSHIDA – The Ace of the Junior division with a hugely impressive CV. Has held the Junior belt 4 times, the Junior tag belts 2 times, won last year’s Super J-Cup and BOSJ in 2015. On a downward spiral since losing to Takahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 11 but is surely the favourite to win this trophy for the second time. Capable of amazing high spots and submission wrestling, making him very diverse.

·         Ryusuke Taguchi – Largely a comedy wrestler but always gets serious for BOSJ, won it in 2012 and lost in a great final match against Ospreay last year. 2 time IWGP Junior champion and 5 time IWGP Junior tag champion, 4 of which with our good friend Finn Balor. Will finish high up the pack due to experience and the fact he often mixes with heavyweights.

·         Tiger Mask IV – A fallen star of New Japan. Has a glamorous past; 6 x junior champ, 1 x Junior tag champ and the only man to have won consecutive BOSJ trophies in 2004 and 2005. Really hasn’t had anything to shout about for the past few years and is firmly stuck wallowing in the lower card.

·         Volador Jr. – Massive star in Mexico as part of CMLL, having won various belts and fanfare. Almost won his block last year but lost out to Ospreay on the final day. Lost his mask in 2013 to La Sombra, who is now Andrade Cien Almas in NXT. I imagine him to do a little worse than last year and finish mid-table.

·         Yoshinobu Kamemaru – Holds the record for most reigns with both of NOAH’s GHC Junior straps, he has 7 reigns as the Junior champ and 4 reigns as a Junior tag champ. Beat Roppongi Vice earlier this year to win the IWGP Junior tag titles but lost them back to Roppongi not long after. At 40 years of age and being in Suzuki Gun, I don’t seen him making many wave in this year’s BOSJ.

On the face of things this block is significantly weaker in stature than the first. There enough solid wrestlers and supreme high-flyers in the mix to ensure that good matches and moments are produced throughout the group, but the star power is severely lacking in comparison to the aforementioned group A. I think just swapping in 1 of the fellas from the other group other than the Suzuki Gun guys could have bolstered this set of wrestlers significantly.

KUSHIDA, who has been the standout in the New Japan Junior division for the past couple of years, is the standout name of the 8 as he will be looking to resurge after his early 2017 woes, including losing to Hiromu in under 2 minutes last month. But don’t sleep on some of the others: Taguchi was a finalist last year and won the tournament back in 2012, Tiger Mask maybe getting on but he’s still a 2-time champion in this format and BUSHI, Volador Jr. and Kanemaru (the most successful Junior in NOAH history) will all be desperate to impress on this big stage.

My Predicted Block B Winner: All roads lead to KUSHIDA in this side of the draw. He longs for redemption after his rough 6 months and there is no better way to get back on top of the world than to win such a glamorous tournament. Plus, if my two picks make the final, we would finally get that Ospreay/KUSHIDA rematch that so many have longed for.

·         

Must See Matches

Forgive me for picking some of the most obvious ones here but some of the very top matches are clear as day, and most of which will come from A block given the sheer volume of amazing talents on display there.

Dragon Lee versus Hiromu Takahashi – Block A – May 17^th

Have you ever seen these two collide? If the answer was no then you’re doing yourself a disservice. They are wrestling soulmates (much like Mandrews and Pete Dunne) and their daredevil, smash mouth style is something to behold. Hiromu is seemingly up for killing himself in order to win and Dragon Lee isn’t far off that level of insanity either, so keep your eyes out for someone taking a disgusting looking bump. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, this is the main event for the first night of the tournament, so they’re starting at the peak!

Ricochet versus Will Ospreay – Block A – May 18^th

So just 24 hours after Lee and Takahashi collide we get another coming of the match that blew minds across the globe last year in BOSJ. Some people were elated and some people hated, but it was spectacle of wrestling and I personally loved it. They will likely bring out all of their signature spots (include the much despised indie pose-down) but still manage to produce something that you have never seen before, so hopefully they get people shouting about their match all over again.

BUSHI versus KUCHIDA – Block B – May 22^nd

After engaging in a near year-long feud these two may have been glad to see the back of one another in 2017, but wrestling works in mysterious ways and they’re about to collide again, this time not for one another’s blood, but for points in this prestigious tournament. Hopefully we will see some submission based exchanges between the pair mixed in with their usual agility as it could provide an interesting change of pace form the rest of the matches and really help them stand out from the pack. Plus, I love the Hoverboard Lock, it is mint.

Jushin Thunder Liger versus Marty Scurll – Block A – May 21^st

Marty and Jushin getting in the ring together just intrigues me. I feel like their styles could mesh perfectly and given that Liger does a few comedy spots nowadays I think Scurll, with the chicken wing and finger breaking stuff, could really get over with the New Japan crowd thanks to the legendary Junior. I don’t think it’ll be a masterclass in wrestling like the others listed here but it certainly could be a whole heap of entertainment, and that’s what wrestling is all about at the end of the day.

Hiromu Takahashi versus Will Ospreay – Block A – May 31^st

I strongly believe this will be the decider for group A, with the winner advancing to the final. As mentioned I think Ospreay will take it down in this CHAOS versus Los Ingobernables Junior super-showdown, it could even end in a draw for the final spot, which would be such a dramatic end. All I know is that the main event on the last day of either block is never one to miss, so grab you best snack and prepare for something beautiful.

Final Thoughts and Where to Watch

Maybe it was a little obvious throughout but I really feel like KUSHIDA will be crowned champion in this year’s Best of the Super Junior’s tournament. As he is currently experiencing a downturn in both result and in luck he seems certain to return to the pinnacle of NJPW’s Junior division, starting with a BOSJ victory and continuing with a colossal Wrestle Kingdom rematch against Hiromu Takahashi at Dominion on June 11^th.

So tune in to as many days as you possibly can as the tournament is a fantastic festival of pro wrestling. All of the matches will be available either live or on tape delay on New Japan’s streaming service, New Japan World (http://njpwworld.com/) for just £7.25 per month. It’s a steal!

Writer - Thomas Brady 

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Winners and Losers of the 2016 WWE Draft

Since Raw and SmackDown split their rosters in the middle of last year things have been overwhelmingly positive from my point of view. Many stars managed shine brightly after being given extra exposure on TV and natural fears of watering down the entire roster were wavered by WWE’s brilliant slow build to many WrestleMania feuds including, Wyatt v Orton, Jericho v Owens, Rollins v HHH.

Admittedly, Raw has struggled to produce 3 hours of good television most weeks but SmackDown Live in particular has become a cesspool of joy and wonder; with interesting angles, top-class matches and by going they have ditched the god awful piped crowd noises, making for much more enjoyable viewing.

People will moan about Roman and the booking of champions forever and a day but with every negative there are more positives and I am here to run down my selections for biggest winners and losers since WWE did away with their ‘Super Show’ and divided the wrestler into two.

 

Winner – The Miz and Maryse

Hands up, who thought The Miz would be one of the most entertaining and must-see wrestlers of the last calendar year? Nobody? Yea, seems about right. What a turnaround year this guy has had, since being drafted to SmackDown alongside his lovely wife, the twosome have been on a tear.

Moving to the blue brand as Intercontinental Champion set him in good stead anyway but ever since THAT promo on Talking Smack with Daniel Bryan, he’s been on another level entirely. His intensity, his promos, his matches (see @ No Mercy versus Dolph Ziggler) have all been better than ever before and having recently shifted back to Raw, he’s sure to gain another fresh burst of life. 

Everyone is talking highly of the Miz now and he’s worked him damn ass off to be in the discussion as one of the best in the company at the moment, so massive props to him. I wish his Intercontinental Championship tour had never stopped but all good things must unfortunately come to an end; hopefully he continues to show his absolute best side this year, and with Maryse by his side, I see absolutely no reason why that shouldn’t happen.

 

Loser – Kalisto

Imagine being 5 foot, 6 inches tall, weighing in at 170 pounds. Now imagine a Cruiserweight division is re-birthed on Monday night Raw. Now imagine being drafted away from that and onto the Tuesday night show whereby you will not really achieve anything of note and have to watch you fellow shorter professionals, such as Neville, smash it out of the park under the umbrella of the purple-roped division.

Kalisto was actually cooking on gas before the draft hit, he was a former US Champion and had a couple of very respectable matches with Ryback (5 star Classics according to the Big Guy himself) but since turning to the blue brand he’s all smoke and no fire, with loss after loss after loss building on his resume. Safe to say, he did not do really good Lucha things as he promised…

Honestly, I don’t think Kalitso is a bad wrestler per say; is he the next big Mexican star WWE is looking for? No, he’s a little botchy and Cien Almas is clearly a better luchador, but he can have really fun matches – such as his chairs match @ TLC versus Baron Corbin – and is capable of amazing athletic feats. Hopefully now he’s back on Raw he can kill it with the other Cruiserweights and input some extra diversity to the rather thin roster too. In fact, I would be surprised if he was the champion soon.

Winner – Alexa Bliss/Naomi

I must admit, when I first saw how the female wrestlers had been split across Raw and SmackDown, I feared for the state of the blue brand’s performance. With Becky Lynch the only true main event level star moved over initially, the star power didn’t really feel apparent; but then stepped up the other women, especially these 2, as they both epitomised perfect heel and face champions at the top of the division.

Bliss was the first breakout top woman as she tussled with Becky Lynch in a programme which, despite leaving a little to be desired in the ring, truly delivered on weekly television with bitter scathing promos from the pair. Alexa managed to de-throne Lynch and carried herself as a brilliant champion, vastly improving from her NXT days, becoming a wrestler who we just love to hate.

The championship baton was then taken by Naomi as she twice knocked off Bliss, at both Elimination Chamber and in her home state, at WrestleMania. Slapping the title on Naomi instantly rocketed her from lower-midcard to main eventer, and thankfully the fans have got behind her and she’s really, really over now; her ‘Feel the Glow’ persona is turning heads and making people take notice, which is a complete 180 from her Funkasaurus days.

Both look set for a solid 2017 too, Naomi has the belt and can hopefully put in a good stint against Charlotte, whilst Alexa has just moved to Raw where she got a bigger pop than a can of Pepsi and perhaps has a henchwoman in the form of Nia Jax. Overall, a very interesting scenario for both, onwards and upwards for them.

Loser – Rusev

Rusev is such an odd commodity in WWE, he blows hot and cold with the season as some months he’s an unstoppable force and the next he’s a beatable object. The Bulgarian/Russian has all the talents to make it to the top of card; solid wrestler, easy gimmick and most of all awesome, amusing promos, the man doesn’t take himself too seriously.

I wish however, that WWE had taken Rusev a bit more seriously since the draft. Unfortunately for RuRu he ran into the Roman Reigns first, leading to him losing his precious US title and then he fell much, much further. He was paired with infinite jobber Jinder Mahal before getting absolutely pummelled by Big Show and taking a break from TV in order to address his current injury. I had such high hopes for the brute but he really wasn’t given a great platform to deliver the goods from.

SmackDown becomes home for the handsome European as he aims to rebuild his shattered status, honestly a face turn could be massively effective for him as long as they make sure he is a serious threat to opponents rather than going full Euro-Joke character a la Santino and Vladamir Kozlov before him. Just like I did with the last draft, I have huge hopes for Rusev getting to the main event scene at last.

Winner – Baron Corbin

By debuting with a win in the Andre Battle Royal at Mania 32 and instantly stumbling into a stale rivalry with Dolph Ziggler, big banter man Baron Corbin looked set to be another flash in the pan, who would never elevate beyond the level at which he debuted. But wow, has SmackDown Live treated him well!

He shook his early woes and is now right amongst the main players on Tuesday nights, now rubbing shoulders with Cena, Styles and company without looking even slightly out of place. Credit to the man himself too because he’s clearly been putting the hours in to improve his craft too; his promos are far less wooden than before and he holds his own in matches, no longer being carried or helped along by his more experienced foes. Hell, he even wrestled his first PPV main event after being out of NXT for less than a year when he took part in the Elimination Chamber this February; impressive stuff for sure!

Corbin will be the WWE or Universal Champion one day, I have little doubt about that, will it be before the next draft is carried out though? Well since he is confirmed to be staying put on SmackDown it feels he is closer than ever to getting his grasp on a top championship belt, so keep a watchful eye on the big man this annum.

Loser – The SmackDown Live Tag Team Division

Nothing sums up the SmackDown tag teams’ struggles quite like the fact that theirs was the only title not to be defended at this WrestleMania, and to be sadly honest, I doubt many people cared as the build between American Alpha and The Usos was very poor despite a good start when the teams first exchanged promos.

Things started well for the division as the undrafted Heath Slater’s surprising rise become the unlikely feel-good story of the summer. Following his crowning moment with Rhyno the roster quickly cooled off and become largely redundant on SmackDown; the Wyatts held the straps as a small part to their larger story and American Alpha had a forgettable run before dropping to the Usos but all of this has been carried out with a murmur, rather than with a bang.

What makes matters worse is the talent is there and SmackDown have built people beautifully, but the tag titles have fell by the wayside as everything else has accelerated past them. New Day joining team blue is exactly the sort of star power they required but my hopes are still resting on FaBreeze getting a title run at some point, they could really inject some fun and life into it!

 

Winner – Braun Strowman

I wanted to finish on a high, and there is no larger high than that which has been experienced by Braun Strowman since being drafted to Raw. I’ve always been a massive mark for this giant bastard since day one but after getting to Raw exclusively he’s rose more than anyone could have ever imagined. 

After crushing a huge list of jobbers and lower card talent he became a legitimate and threatening player on Raw during his entertaining feud with Sami Zayn and his role amongst the Raw Survivor Series team. He is living proof that slowly building somebody and using enhancement talent in the correct manner can make somebody into an absolute superstar, in both the eyes of management and of the audience. 

Sure he may have lost to Roman Reigns but that won’t stop this freight train of destruction, he is set to be a mainstay at the pinnace of Raw for the foreseeable future. Though it is unlikely I would really love to see them go all-in on Braun and have him trade a win back with Roman, but who knows? His segments are something very enjoyable and must-see every week, the polar opposite of his stature before the draft.

All in all, Braun is bloody brilliant.

Conclusion

So like I said beforehand, most things since the draft have been superb; the build from the initial draft until Mania was done extremely well and we have a whole host of very impressive men, women and tag teams across the two brands. Hopefully the rough edges are smoothed out over the course of the year and we see yet more successes as part of the most recent Superstar Shakeup, here’s to WWE delivering again!

Words - Thomas Brady 

Editor - James Marston

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

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What I'm Really Thinking - The Pro Wrestling Fan

‘You know it’s fake, right?’ I cannot recall the number of people who have insulted my intelligence with this question as they blabber on about how much they loved the fight scene from the latest Marvel superhero movie.

Yes, I am obviously aware it is fake; every soap opera/sitcom/thriller is fake too, everyone knows this, yet only a person’s love of professional wrestling is met with such a derogatory, demeaning reaction. But why?

Wrestling is a certain level of realism in terms of the presentation and undoubtedly it is much more Made in Chelsea than Chelsea Football Club, but that’s all very, very clear from the outset, other than for most children, so why ruin their enjoyment also?

Source - tickets.o2priority.co.uk

Whilst on the point of children, why just because children tend to enjoy wrestling, does that make it seemingly exclusive for them? There’s much more on offer than just WWE and adult-centric promotions are available across the globe, especially in the UK and Japan with the likes of PROGRESS Wrestling, Insane Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wrestling is something for everyone to enjoy, right across the board, so don’t let the negative stigma deter you from viewing.

Anyway, back to the original realism thing, I don’t watch wrestling because I think it’s real and, of course, I fully understand that they ‘aren’t really hitting each other.’ If I want to see real fighting I can happily, as I often do, turn to MMA or boxing, but the actual in-ring wrestling is only a segment of what makes pro-wrestling so enjoyable.

In fact, there is far more to the whole practice than just two wrestlers ‘fake punching one another in the ring.’ There’s an entire world of intricate on-screen intertwining and relationships that encapsulate the viewers each and every single night of the year.

Source - cagesideseats.com

Personally, I watch wrestling for the drama and emotional investment in the larger-than-life characters, and for the spectacular feats and incredible matches that the athletes pull off; you see these things happen multiple times every single week of the year and I honestly don’t think I will ever get bored of it. The whole thing is just endlessly exciting to me. Sure, sometimes it has cheesy acting and sometimes it’s incredibly frustrating but the ride never ends with pro-wrestling and fans like myself adore it.

And I’m certain that wrestlers themselves – many of whom work through incredible pain to allow the show to go on, or retire early due to the sheer strain such a business has on the body – would also appreciate people being less critical of their profession and passion.

Take Seth Rollins for example. The man suffered a horrid knee injury recently after tearing his ACL to shreds back in 2015 and is more committed than anyone has ever been to get back in the WrestleMania. He’s the embodiment of what every wrestling fan knows and loves and deserves the respect of a wider audience too, rather than people dismissing his lifelong passion as a secondary activity.

Source - 411Mania.com

Or how about those incredible characters who have honed their craft for a lifetime of bruises, take the wonderful John Cena for example, who is currently spreading his eagle-like wings into television and film, as the wider-public warms to his seismic personality. Or Chris Jericho, the man has given blood, sweat, tears and 25 plus years into being the most entertaining man on our screens, day in, day out, just for us as fans to drink in. What a marvel of a man.

There are way more layers to the entire industry than just the simple action within the squared circle and people are willing to commit their entire lives to get to where they want to be within their dream job, with great examples being Tyler Bate who is one of the youngest men to achieve his dream in the business, or Kenny Omega who turned down the biggest stage in order to become the very best, just as many in ‘real jobs’ would. If that isn’t something to get behind and commend, then I don’t know what is.

So next time you’re chatting about your favourite soap storyline or how great Game of Thrones was last night, remember, none of it is real, it is all staged, and wrestling is no different, so please refrain from attacking our intelligence as we so-often do with yours.

Words - Thomas Brady 

Editor - James Marston

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Opinion: NXT Class of 2016 - Part 3 - Finn Balor, Mojo Rawley, Nia Jax, Sami Zayn and The Vaudevillains.

Part 1 - Alexa Bliss, American Alpha, Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin & Bayley.

Part 2 - Carmella, Corey Graves, Dana Brooke & Enzo & Cass.

Finn Balor – Debuted 25th July

In his very short amount of time active on Raw so far Finn Balor has seen it all and done it all, experiencing a rocket push as won the Universal title in an insanely quick time – less than a month after first appearing on the Monday night show. His victory was like nothing we have ever seen before and truly showcased the power that NXT has now that the developmental brand is televised every week on the WWE Network.

Sure, he picked up a horrible shoulder injury during his crowning match against Seth Rollins at Summerslam but that just means he was never pinned and never lost, meaning it’ll be easy for him to be reinserted into the main event upon his return to action, could he even be in with a shout at winning the Rumble? I just hope they’ve been filming his recovery so we get another sweet, sweet WWE 24 episode too.

He’s undoubtedly had the best career on the main roster of all of 2016’s graduates as not only did he win the top belt on Raw, he also beat Seth freaking Rollins and Roman bloody Reigns clean on his rise to the very top of the company – an unprecedented rise in many companies across the globe, let alone the world largest wrestling organisation.

Rating: A+

Mojo Rawley – Debuted 24th July

I’ll say it now, and you can hate me for it, but I like Mojo Rawley. He’s not the best wrestler in the world, far from it in fact, nor is he the best talker, he just shouts a lot, but the man himself is so damn likable. Seriously, this guy seems to go out of his own way to make others happy and that’s exactly the sort of wrestler I want to support and see do well throughout his time in WWE.

Since his promotion Mojo has continued to in the same vein as he was in NXT; not really doing a great deal, but continuing to remain relevant. He has been paired with Ryder since debuting on Smackdown and sadly their first real break (winning a tag team battle royal) was hit with a lightning rod of bad luck as Zack suffered an injury and their pursuit of the tag team titles is on temporary hold, with little sign on resuming soon.


Hopefully Rawley doesn’t get lost in the wilderness without the experienced head of Ryder by his side but I think he will continue to do just fine, simmering in the lowercard with a few tastes of the midcard every now and then. Not everyone needs to be a main eventer in order to be a success in WWE and, in my opinion, Mojo Rawley is a great example of that mantra.

Rating: C+

Nia Jax – Debuted 25th July

What an odd time Nia Jax has had since appearing on Raw. At first they were having her crush jobbers each and every week, building her as the female Braun Strowman and the next big challenger for the title. She was shaping up to be another Awesome Kong style female, breaking the mould of what a female wrestler is perceived as, but since then things have changed and her fear factor aura has dissipated into thin air.

The reason for this was, after a less than impressive victory against Alicia Fox at Clash of Champions, she was tapped out by Becky Lynch at Survivor Series. Now, I’m no wrestling booker, but surely having your sizable monster heel submitting completely defeats the point of them being a monster in the first place. Surely she should have been built like a skyscraper until one plucky babyface managed to chop her down – instead she was built like a Lego house and crushed before the foundations were even complete.

Nia should be able to recover from her defeat and regain some credibility in 2017, starting with a feud against Sasha Banks. After all, her different stature and style means that she could be an interesting and usable entity in the Raw women’s division.

Rating: C-

Sami Zayn – Debuted 7th March

Okay, so 7th March was actually Zayn’s third debut at the top tier of WWE; first he had a crack at John Cena’s US Open Challenge (getting injured in the process), then he popped up at the Royal Rumble before finally graduating on Raw in order to save Neville from the attack of Kevin Owens. And whilst a vast majority of people wanted Sami at the top of the card fighting for championships right away, he’s been more of an upper midcard fighter, which, for now, is just right for him.

He’s has great matches with Kevin Owens and others since his full time Raw debut and has entered into some interesting stories throughout the year, delivering some of the finest promos of his WWE stay during his current collision with Brawn Strowman. Which as mentioned, is just fine for now. Zayn is so likeable because of the chase, every time you think he’s about to break a boundary, someone or something pulls him back, but we rally behind him, cheer his name and sign his theme song because we forever want him to succeed; so whilst he hasn’t fully achieved his potential yet, I have no qualm he will eventually, so enjoy the ride.

I’m excited to be a part of what is hopefully Sami’s slow ascent to glory and 2017 really could be his year. Smackdown will hopefully come knocking and trade the superstar over to the Tuesday night show where he will shine brighter than ever against the likes of Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Bray Wyatt and more.

Rating: B+

The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch) – Debuted 7th April

Well if there is one thing wrestling fans love, its being proven right and The Vaudevillains tenure on the main roster has proved so many who were certain the gimmick wouldn’t work on the main roster right. Sadly, the transition for English and Gotch has been the roughest of the bunch and they have settled in as the resident, Ascencion-level, jobbers to the Smackdown tag division, losing to almost every team available.

When they first debuted they were fortunate to awarded a title shot as Enzo suffered and injury in their number one contenders match at Payback but since they all that has been on their diet in pinfalls. I feel bad for the pair as they clearly give everything to the character but it seems it just wasn’t meant to be.

As you may be able to tell I’ve been pretty positive about the future of a majority of the NXT class of 2016 but for these two I’m a little less hopeful. Things look pretty bleak and with another set of tag teams just waiting to be promoted (DIY, Revival, Authors of Pain etc.) I can see them being pushed even further into obscurity. A sad case for the former NXT tag champions.

Rating: F

That’s the lot, hopefully you enjoyed reading whether you agree or not! Here’s to the NXT promotions of 2016 and I look forward to seeing what the 2017 graduates produce and with the likes of Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka waiting in the wings its set to be another great year in wrestling.

Words - Thomas Brady

Images - Thomas Brady

Editor - James Marston

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