Supercard Review: WWE SummerSlam 2016 - AJ Styles v John Cena 2

WWE's second biggest evening of the year was here, with a six hour spectacular featuring twelve matches, including John Cena v AJ Styles 2 and the first ever meeting between Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins to become the first ever Universal Champion. With a quarter of a day to fill could WWE deliver a quality event? 

In what was arguably the main event and should have closed the show, John Cena and AJ Styles managed to up their game and improved on their 19th June contest. Without the involvement of Styles' The Club stablemates, the match was able to reach a much more satisfying conclusion and with the duo not having to worry about building something for another contest. This meant they could go all in and hold nothing back, throwing in their best ideas and pushing themselves to keep up the pace. The Money in the Bank original was a tasty little taster that left me wanting more, like a decent soup with a crusty roll, Number 2 was a fine main course with plenty of steak for the sizzle. 

The Phenomenal One and The Leader of the Cenation produced a captivating tit for tat "Anything you can do" style match with the two being presented as extremely evenly matched and almost always having a reply for their opponents offense. From the back and forth respectful opening that turned with Styles' suplex onto the apron, the real moment when the match became something special was after Styles' had kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment and Cena had returned the favour with the Styles Clash unable to put him away. The moves were done early enough that they weren't believable false finishes, but late enough to where I knew that the duo had something bigger and better coming up. Inside the structure of the bout the two were almost exclusively smooth and crisp, catching each transition, including plenty of risky switches and a collection of marvelous submission sequences. 

Styles picking up the win genuinely shocked me, as it almost seemed inevitable that Cena would over come, especially after losing the 19th June clash. Cena nailing an avalanche Attitude Adjustment and Styles kicking out of what seemed like it would certainly be the finish, but was only the beginning of the end. Cena's face directly after this as he watched Styles crawl to the ropes was a picture as he sold the bewilderment that anyone had kicked out of his fail safe last resort move. Styles slipping out of another AA attempt and hitting a Styles Clash felt like it could have ended the match also, but the Phenomenal Forearm with the pad removed added that exclamation point that and it was those extra details and thought that made this contest the match of the night and Styles' best match since coming to WWE in January. The win for The Phenomenal One surely slots him into a World Championship match at 11th September's Backlash, but Cena leaving his "Never Give Up" arm band in the ring as he walked out leaves his future up in the air.

The RAW brands strongest showing was the battle to become the first Universal Champion, between Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins. In their first encounter The Demon King and The Aerialist put on a great title match, that was put together astutely with a natural feeling ebb and flow, rising and falling like the tide without ever losing my interest always finding away to hold my attention. It was crying shame that the Brooklyn crowd, which was a piss-poor audience throughout the whole show, was more focused on making their disdain for the new Universal title belt known, booing the announcement of the match and chanting about the the design. Yes the belt is ugly as sin and lazily designed, but you've got two of top ten best wrestler in the company working their fucking arses off to entertain you, barely putting a foot wrong in this process, respect that instead of constantly trying "rebel" against any minor element of the product. As Rollins said on Twitter "More important than a title's appearance is what it represents to the men fighting over it". 

The match came straight out of the traps with a series from Bálor, that included him going straight for Coup de Grâce, which become the main theme of the match. I think that's what made the contest so enthralling, the urgency behind everything, even when Rollins was taking time to trash talk Bálor there was a purpose behind his actions. Whether it was mind games or attempting a big move, every movement from both men was to get them closer to becoming the top dog on RAW and grabbing the Universal belt. The match progress well with the both men showing pulling out new and old moves, with Rollins in particularly digging deep into his deep arsenal of moves like a near fall for off of God's Last Gift, as well as a Phoenix Splash attempt and attempting to turn a superplex into a Pedigree as opposed to his regular Falcon Arrow. Balor went for the Coup de Grace on a number of occasions with Rollins always having a counter, up until the very last moment. 

The finish kept to the motif, as it Rollins attempt to do something different that would ultimately be his downfall as his Pedigree attempt would be reversed, leading to two corner dropkicks from the Demon King before the victory was claimed with Coup de Grace.
Balor winning the Universal Championship on the second biggest show of the year on his WWE PPV debut in only his third broadcast (non-NXT) match is an incredible achievement, that instantly legitmises him and lifts his credibility to WWE's fanbase who might not watch anything outside the company and even more so to those who only watch these big shows. This was simple story, embellished with skillful in-ring performances and some great commentary by all three RAW announcers. 

The task of opening the show was handed to RAW's tag team division as Big Cass & Enzo Amore tangled with Jeri-KO (Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens). Enzo & Cass have become a reliable act to kick off a show with, they were famed for it during their run in NXT and have opened a number of episode's of Monday Night RAW recently and they didn't disappoint in Brooklyn. Despite having more than a passing similarity to The New Day's work on last August's Brooklyn shows, The Realest Guys in the Room's New York cliche-laden promo remained a fun watch, thanks to their undeniable energy and charisma. It was also a pleasant surprise that Cass has pretty decent singing voice! Not having Jericho & Owens get a chance to reply before the match was a missed opportunity though. 

This was a decent match, that was unfortunately let down by a handful of slips on risky moves. This included the finish which saw Owens launch Amore into the air, as if going for his Pop-up Powerbomb, and sending him straight into a Codebreaker from a waiting Jericho. Regrettably, Amore and Owens didn't get enough air on the Pop-up, meaning that Y2J double knee facebreaker had much less of an impact than it usually did. When the match was sticking to a relatively straight forward tag formula, everything was fine and dandy, with everyone playing their roles well, creating an entertaining mid-section to the contest. It was however when the four tried to produce something a bit different and more precarious that the fight ended up not delivering on the promising build. 

In the Smackdown Live's World title match, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler wrestled an oddly paced contest, that got a reaction of almost complete indifference from the Barclay's Center. The pair put on some decent wrestling, they went through a number of different styles and began with an interesting story, but it never changed gears. Fifteen minutes of plodding wrestling with more than a little lying around, isn't going to get a crowd excited in 2016. It might keep their interest, but it's not going to make them get behind anyone. The pair did some lovely detail work in the match, like Ambrose being out-wrestled in the early going and certain applications of simple moves like the Single Leg Boston Crab, but the broad strokes, like fleshing out the character work and changing the pace were missing.

The match lacked a definitive heel or babyface and neither did it give a reason to get behind one guy over the other. It was this guy doesn't like this guy, because he doesn't like him and so he's going to half heatedly do his taunts, but with little conviction. If this was a babyface v babyface match, they should have both bought their A games, got the crowd whipped up in a frenzy. This was the biggest match Ziggler has been given for years and he decided to do it on autopilot. It's also notable than on one of biggest stages possible, Ambrose bottled it once again. They had an opportunity to steal the show with little storyline to pander to and they left it sitting on the table. 

In the strongest match on the undercard, Charlotte won back the Women's Championship in a great match with Sasha Banks. After the duo had a handful of slip-ups in the first couple of minutes and Banks seemed to be knocked silly by a nasty bump of a backbreaker onto the top turnbuckle, it was impressive that The Genetically Superior Athlete and The Boss were able to compose themselves, not just regain the crowd's attention and support but enliven them with some top class wrestling. The sequence that had the crowd sit up, take notice, then rise to their feet saw Charlotte hip toss a charging Banks into a tree of woe position, before after a battle on the top rope Banks would smoothly reverse an avalanche crucifix powerbomb into a hurricanrana in a Halloween Havoc '96 throwback.

The final five mintues or so was dramatic stuff, with both women getting strong near falls and Banks always looking to find a way of getting the Banks Statement locked in. A long sequence in the hold that saw Banks push off the ropes to bring Charlotte back into the ring at one point with Charlotte hitting a chop block to set up Natural Selection for two, leading to both women selling the pain and frustration of the match in their faces and throughout their entire bodies. It was a cool pause, that allowed the women and the audience to breath before the final stretch, allowing time to consider the previous action with the knowledge that there was more to come. The selling across the bout was very good. Charlotte getting the pin was somewhat of a surprise after only losing the belt three weeks earlier, but it does also present a more interesting story to go forward with. However, I would have like to have seen The Nature Girl grab the tights on the pin, instead of getting the clean, albeit flash, pin.

Heading into the show, I certainly wasn't expecting to be writing about Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton's match six matches into the review. But here we are, after a bizarre final match. The finish is what most people will remember here and it was odd to say the very least. About ten minutes into the show closer, Lesnar delivered a number of blows to Orton with the Viper on the mat. A few seconds into the series of strikes and Orton was PISSING blood from his forehead. The stream of claret coming from his dome was reminiscent of the Guerrero v JBL bout from Judgment Day in 2005 and perhaps looked even worse because of the ever-growing pool on the mat. I stay away from dirt sheets so have no idea what the plan was hear, but it appeared like something had gone wrong somewhere whether Lesnar caught Orton too strong or it was a blade job gone awry, but it felt to me like WWE had to call an audible by sending Smackdown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon in to take an F5 just to give the show an actual ending. If this was what was the plan all along, whoever had the idea shouldn't be booking wrestling. 

The thing is, I was enjoying the interaction between Lesnar and Orton and felt like the two characters has slotted together exceptionally well. Orton having the RKO blocked in the first few exchanges and then taking an absolute beating from The Beast was a clever start that played off the story that had been presented across the two months of build. Lesnar battering people is rarely boring and this was no exception. He dominated his opponent with the regular German suplexes hitting seven without reply, before also just lobbing The Apex Predator through an announce table. We'd been told throughout the build that Orton could pull out an RKO at any time and that's what happened with one coming onto the other announce table and putting and end to The Conqueror's momentum. The spot were Lesnar crawled back towards the ring, only for Orton to hit his rope assisted DDT  may have been ever better. After both had kicked out of each other's finishes in the ring, it looked like the match would head towards a finish similar to that of Cena v Styles, but that wasn't to be! 

I'm not sure that anyone had picked out the Smackdown Live six woman tag bout as one they were particularly looking forward to, but it was perfectly acceptable contest, that included on of the biggest pops of the night. That pop was the return of the 2 time Diva's Champion Nikki Bella. This was Bella's first match since November and Brooklyn initially seemed pretty happy to see Bella. The return was built up well, with Eva Marie's entrance music playing, despite her being suspended, with her personal voiceover explaining that she was unable to compete due to stress. The angle is great way to turn a negative into a positive and the heat upon Marie's return will be nuclear. The returning Bella bolsters Smackdown Live's women's ranks and after the strong run she had before her injury matches with Becky Lynch, Natalya and Alexa Bliss should create some good action. 

The wrestling was decent, nothing spectacular, but it kept a good pace, showcased six talents effectively and featured some nice exchanges between Bliss and Lynch and later Natalya with both Carmella and Naomi. For me, Bella seemed to have more than bit of ring-rust and has perhaps came back a little to early, with her timing being off at a couple of point during the match, but the other five performed well, with Bliss and Carmella both rising to the occasion in their biggest match of both of their careers. Lynch did a solid job of trying to get the shit Brooklyn crowd going (although one fan at ringside looked at her in utter disgust when she was getting the audience to clap with her) whilst the heel trio were working over Carmella, whilst David Otunga did some of his best work on commentary here also. The finish built up well with Lynch and Naomi both getting flurries of action in, before the breakdown allowed Bella to pick up the win with a Forearm strike and TKO on Carmella.

The most disappointing match of the evening came in the form of the Tag Team title match as The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) put their belts on the line against The Club (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson). The most infuriating part was that the match flopping was nothing to do with Kingston, Woods, Gallows and Anderson, but everything to do with some horrible booking decisions. The first of those booking decision was having comedian and former Daily Show host Jon Stewart anywhere near the ring. It wasn't just his involvement in the finish getting physically involved and not allowing Gallows & Anderson to get the win after Magic Killer, but also the fact that the one thing you'd expect him to be good at, the introduction of Kingston and Woods, was fucking shambles. Maybe it's the whole American sense of humour being non-existent thing that leads to Stewart being a professional comedian and hosting a major chat show for sixteen years and still being painfully unfunny and seemingly unable to perform in front of a crowd, or maybe he's just shit. It was made even worse by it being a replacement for the usually magical New Day pre-match promo. Fuck you, Jon Stewart, you are to energy what a Dyson is to dust. 

So, Stewart getting in the ring and flapping about like a fish in a bush wasn't actually the finish, Big E running down to the ring to stop Stewart getting pulled dick first into the ring post was, because of the disqualification. Now, Big E hitting multiple suplexes on the outside and cleaning house is always going to be a joy to watch, but it made no sense for him to come out and especially not in full gear and clearly able to compete. He wasn't in the match because he was (kayfabe) injured when his testes got squashed into the ringpost a few weeks ago, okay cool, I can buy that. What I can't buy however is that an injured Big E was backstage watching the match and when he saw Stewart's nuggets were in danger, stripped nude, rushed to get his singlet and boots on, repaired his knackered knackers and legged it to make the save. It was a mind bending piece of booking, that felt very much like a first draft that no one had bothered to look at a second time.  

Headlining the Kick-Off event was a twelve man tag team rematch from this week's Smackdown Live as The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso), The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder) and American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan) took on The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch), The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) and Breezango (Fandango & Tyler Breeze) in a fun match, that also opened that portion of the show. With twelve men the action should always be exciting and giving the match over double the time it had on TV meant that all twelve men could get a time to showcase themselves as individuals and as teams. It also gave room for a nice face in peril sequence from Ryder, which came either side of flurries of action involving all competitors, as well as hot tag turmoil from both Jimmy and Jordan. 

The build towards a clash between The Usos and American Alpha got a whole lot more ammunition as the two teams were clearly the stars of the match, working together at points, trying to outdo each other at others and ending up like they might come to blows come the finish. It was an intelligent piece of build, with America Alpha hitting Grand Amplitude on Gotch, only for Jey to come flying off the top with a splash before Gable could get the pin, taking the victory for himself. Both Jey and Gable played the moment perfectly, staring at each other, as Gable tried to work out just what was going on. Jey had seemingly turned heel at the end of the match, putting his thing to his lips in "Shush" to the crowd, whilst also appearing to try to get in the face of American Alpha. There's some real potential for this feud, especially if given a slow burn and it could very well light up the blue brand before the end of the year.

The lone singles match on the Kick-Off was the 1st of a Best of 7 series between perennial rivals Cesaro and Sheamus. This was a match of two halves, as the first half was flat and the second half was an exciting stretch of action that had the crowd marking out and featured some creative spots and good quality wrestling. This was the tenth televised match between the two in just over two years and therefore the first part of the match felt like more of the same, lacked a bit of purpose, whilst also lacking the hard hits that have made their earlier bouts watchable on multiple occasion. You could easily have cut five or six minutes from this one and made it a better contest. 

Luckily for Cesaro and Sheamus they managed to end the contest on a high with strong final stretch. It would have been hard to continue a Best of 7 series otherwise! The crowd finally rememberedd that they like Cesaro when he started doing cool moves like using the new bulkier ringpost as a launching pad for a massive crossbody and the Cesaro Swing, whilst the two used their signature offence to create impressive reversal sequence and get good near falls. The finish was definitely the right way to go, after Cesaro had won two non-series matches previous, as Sheamus countered the Sharpshooter with a thumb to the eye, threw The Swiss Superman into the post and hit a Brogue Kick for the pin. It was a good combination of a dominant victory for The Celtic Warrior, whilst also have him cheat to win, leaving more room to create interesting and compelling narratives for the next three to six matches between the two.

Rounding of the Kick Off action was another tag match (making that five on the entire event) where Sami Zayn teamed with Neville for the first time since March to earn a victory over The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley). This was an enjoyable clash, that made the most out of all four of the competitors, using their strengths to communicate a simple story that was easy to watch. It was paint by numbers kind of stuff, but was done well with Dudley Boyz being superlative veteran heels, whilst Zayn and Neville are two exciting babyfaces that may have found a spot for themselves in the tag division. Some of the stuff that Neville & Zayn (The Underdogs that Gravity Forgot or The Men from The Underground?) were doing in their face shine was super pretty and added to the promise that they have as a team, they would only get better and more creative with their offense if working together consistently. The finish involved Neville escaping a 3D thanks to his agility, before Zayn would hit D-Von with a Helluva Kick and The Man That Gravity Forgot nailed a Red Arrow was a exhilarating finish that capped off a solid tag clash. 

Rusev defending the United States Championship against Roman Reigns would never happen as the two began to brawl before the bell, leading to Reigns picking apart his Bulgarian counterpart on the outside of the ring and having to be pulled away from the scrap. In my opinion, this should have been how their match the previous episode of Monday Night RAW should have gone down, because it was a really good angle with a great brawling and got over the problems that the two have with each well. The problem was that this was on PPV and the second biggest show of the year, using this show to have an angle in the place of advertised contest is a bit silly. On it's own merits this was a strong piece of action that did what it had to do to show how the problems between two men had gotten out of hand, but it also has to be taken in the context of the PPV and the fact it came before the Lesnar v Reigns match meant that the show concluded on a bum note.

Bringing up the rear at SummerSlam 2016 was an Intercontinental Championship match where Apollo Crews challenged for The Miz's belt. This was an okay match, but the crowd would have cared more about a someone standing in the ring with a sparkler. Only going five minutes meant that Crews got no face shine and no chance to get an audience that is yet to invest in him to care about what was going, so we Maryse causing the distraction from the bell ringing. Both worked pretty well with each other, with the two characters and performers both seeming to have a little chemistry in the ring, whilst Crews comeback and spot that saw him catch a clothesline from Miz and hit a Belly to Belly suplex were also nice moments. Miz would end retaining his title with Skull Crushing Finale after pushing Crews into the ringpost to make sure the match did nothing for the career of the 29 year old former Uhaa Nation.

Best of the Rest 

• Tom Phillips spoke to Jeri-KO in a funny but menacing interview ahead of their bout with Big Cass & Enzo Amore during the Kick-Off show.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 

Kick-Off - 6.1

Main Show - 6.43

Combined - 6.36

There matches stand out from SummerSlam for me, Cena v Styles, Balor v Rollins and Charlotte v Banks. Each one was worked was different from the other, but all three featured a big dollop of urgency and some great wrestling. Cena and Styles may have had the match of the night, but Balor and Rollins weren't far off and Banks and Charlotte produced another match that will help towards one day positioning women's wrestling in the main event slot. Even though Ambrose v Ziggler wasn't the match it could and should have been, I still think the stuff they did do was done well and it wouldn't have taken a whole lot more to boost it into the category of those first three matches. The Kick-Off event also managed to produce some strong action with the Twelve Man Tag and Sheamus v Cesaro worth a mention. 

It was, of course, the show was not without it's problems. Lesnar v Orton concluded the PPV in bizarre fashion, whether it was planned to unfold that way or not, which wasn't helped by the previous Reigns v Rusev having not actually started. Then there was New Day v The Club, which at no fault of the competitors turned into a shambles thanks to Jon Stewart and some first draft, no thought booking.

Nontheless, when you've got six hours of a mainstream product like WWE, especially on a show like SummerSlam, you aren't going to like all of it. That's just how it is, if something isn't directly at you, six hours of it isn't going to be all for you. However, I thought SummerSlam was a good PPV event, that had a mixture of styles across the show and featured some excellent wrestling at points. 

All content - James Marston

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1209 - Sasha Banks v Charlotte

The night after 2016's Battleground PPV, WWE presented the first night of it's brand split as Monday Night RAW took on a new look, new commentary team and it's own unique roster for the first time since August 2011. With a tournament to crown a brand new Universal Champion, a Women's Championship match, the debuts of Finn Balor and Nia Jax and the return of Neville, this show surely couldn't fail...

In what was the show's main event in everything but name, Sasha Banks would put an end to Charlotte's 44 weeks at the top of the Women's division, in the best female match to have ever graced the companies flagship TV show. This wasn't just a PPV worthy match on TV, this was a PPV quality match on TV and one that could have stolen show. Despite this, I'm glad that this match was saved for this broadcast and not used on the previous night's PPV, as it was allowed to become a focal point here, whilst also being aided by the booking of the tag match from Battleground, which gave Banks some extra momentum. Of course, having a title change on the first episode puts out the idea to the fans that you don't want to miss an episode of Monday Night RAW. To have a Women's match this strong on the first show of the new feel RAW makes a real statement about how we're going to see ladies presented on the show going forward.

The match was pieced together well, with the narrative unfolding throughout the contest with new layers and ideas being bought in as it went on. It was full of moments, connected together with some quality wrestling to produce the story that would culminate with the feel-good ending. The fight began to develop into something special when Banks managed to get Dana Brooke ejected after pulling an Eddie Guerrero, throwing Brooke the Women's strap and dropping to the floor and by the time Charlotte had hit a beautiful moonsault to the outside that development was almost complete. The finish was spot on as well, with Banks managing to slap on a Banks Statement seconds after Charlotte had escaped that exact same move, with both girls selling the move and the occasion superbly. I could write a lot more on the odds and ends that made this such an enthralling main event contest. If this is the direction WWE have planned for their Women's Championship on Monday nights, then long may it continue. 

In the first of two Fatal Four-Way matches that were essentially Quarter Final matches in a tournament to crown a new Universal Champion, a debuting Finn Balor conquered Cesaro, Kevin Owens and United States Champion Rusev in a cracking opening match. In the first part of an incredible debut for Balor, he was put over huge by the commentary team as he headed to the ring and then allowed to look like a bonafide superstar by defeating three of WWE's premier male wrestlers. The final few minutes were all about "The Demon" as after spending some time out of the match following a Pop-Up Powerbomb, Balor seemed to come out of nowhere as he hit Owens with a running front dropkick and a slingblade, before delivering the same kick to Rusev and gaining the pinfall with a Coup de Grat. If you were seeing Balor for the first time and hadn't been convinced by the time the referee's hand hit the mat for the third time, then you don't deserve nice things. 

The near twenty minute bout seemed to pass by in a flash as the foursome kept the action coming thick and fast, with each competitor being allowed to play to their strengths. This was a cool cocktail of sports-entertainment, with clever storytelling, well-placed high-spots (Balor's tope conhilo), crowd pleasers (Cesaro's uppercut train and Giant Swing) and close call near falls (Owens Pop-Up Powerbomb to Balor, Rusev's Accolade on Owens, Cesaro's sharpshooter on Rusev). There was even some neat chain wrestling at one point, as Rusev and Cesaro flowed seamlessly in search of their submission holds. The partnership that was created by Owens and Rusev early on, would become the foundation for the match with the duo controlling the first third, whilst Owens was ad-libbing various quips to his new found Bulgarian buddy. It will be interesting to see where Owens, Cesaro and Rusev fit into RAW's on-going plans from next week and if any of them will find a place on the card on 21st August.

In the other Fatal Four-Way bout, it was Roman Reigns who would triumph over Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn and Sheamus in another lively match, that capped off a strong first hour. The commentary team had weirdly tried to push the possibility of Zayn winning continuously throughout, but let's face it this match had a Reigns victory written all over it in bright pink highlighter. From the very beginning when all three other men, including a reluctant Zayn, went after Reigns, this was all about "The Juggernaut" and his quest to be "The Guy" once more. Reigns was given a lot of the big spots in the match and the story essentially boiled down to everyone else finding different ways of stopping "The Big Dog" from being able to hit a Spear. This definitely isn't meant as a criticism of the match, in fact, all four men managed to play to Reigns' negative crowd reaction well, with the story helping to drive this. 

Whilst there were similarities to the earlier four-way, like Jericho and Sheamus forming a partnership to dominate the early goings, this felt like a very different match to it's predecessor. This contest felt like much more of a Wham Bam Thank you Mam type encounter, loading the near falls on the conveyor belt and speeding it up continuously until the finish. Once Reigns had hit his over the rope suicide dive, the false finishes were running wild. Sheamus nailed Reigns with a Brogue Kick as the latter lined up for a spear, only to end up in position for Zayn's Helluva Kick was the strongest sequence of the contest, made even better by Jericho attempting to nick the pin from "The Underdog from the Underground". The crowd was hot for each kick out, especially when Zayn caught Reigns with a roll-up in the middle of a Superman Punch spree. For this reviewer, the only let down of this bout was the finish. Jericho and Reigns put together a cool back and forth arrangement, including another near fall off a codebreaker, before Reigns finally hit his spear following "Y2J" attempting his own version of the move, but it meant that Zayn and Sheamus had to be out of the ring for what felt like an age, off a couple of Superman Punches. It wasn't a major problem though and this was still an exciting TV bout with plenty of reason to keep watching.  

The show would conclude with Finn Balor pinning Roman Reigns clean, to book himself a slot against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam and a chance to become the first ever Universal Champion. When the next list of most memorable RAW debuts is written, Balor's will be up there with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Eric Bischoff and Chris Jericho. He went from a debuting performer to one of the top two guys on the show, with a headline match on the 2nd biggest show of the year. It was, however, as much a statement about WWE's feelings towards Roman Reigns as it was a shining endorsement of Balor. It's been clear that WWE has been trying to put him in his place, ever since his suspension, having Rollins rip into him on TV week after week, then having him take the pinfall in the three way at Battleground, before losing clean to the new guy here. I guess that his earlier victory means that "The Big Dog" won't be turning up on Superstars anytime soon, but it's clear that WWE no longer plans on keeping Reigns "looking strong" in perpetuum. 

Another sharp addition to the show, which again used the strengths of those involved and went with what the crowd wanted. Reigns was positioned as powerful and dominant, able to take control with his sheer clout. "The Guy" nailing Balor with headbutts after "The Demon" attempted to get out of a headlock, showed an aggression that when allowed to bleed through has always produced Reigns' best work. On the other hand of the coin, there was Balor, whose speed and prowess meant that he always had an answer for whatever his opponent threw at him. The lead-in to the first break with Balor dodging a Drive-by kick and replying with a double stomp and then nailing a big dropkick into the barricade was a particular highlight. It felt a tad short, with a feeling that the best was still to come, however considering both had been involved in earlier match ups it made perfect sense for this one to be slightly more compact. 

I hate to say it, but The New Day's New Era, New Cereal, New Record Breaking Tag Team Championship celebration, was a bit of a let down. The whole set up was glorious with balloon unicorns and other madness and then the video package on their title reign was also full of funny moments from their 337 day run with the belts. The segment peaked with the trio making jokes about packages. Everything that happened between then and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson jumping them had me scratching my head. Having an obvious plant come in the ring with them and claim his name was "Sunny Boy", with the trio asking him questions about it just didn't do it for me. I felt like I was missing the joke, but the crowd also seemed slightly awkward before they began started chanting "Sunny Boy" because why the fuck not, eh? A New Day v Gallows & Anderson feud has potential but part of my excitement for it is taken away by the amount of times they've already crossed paths in Gallows & Anderson's short time on the WWE roster.

A quick and snappy opening segment for the show involved Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley setting out the big matches for the show, whilst most of the roster hung about on the entrance ramp. Nothing fancy here, with even the relationship between Stephanie and Foley being reigned in to keep the focus on setting out the stall for the rest of the show. The Universal Championship is a name that will have to grow on me, I think, as whilst it does make sense, what with WWE always calling it's fans it's universe, it doesn't quite sound right to me as of yet. Outside of the announcements, Stephanie taking her time to rip into Reigns for getting pinned the night before was the most notable occurrence, I'm hoping that we don't get more Reigns v Stephanie stuff on RAW and that that this was just another way for WWE to stick the boot in to their seemingly former chosen one. 

Enzo & Cass continued to pick up momentum with an extended squash victory over The Shining Stars. I'm not quite sure what to make of everything that went on here, as Enzo & Cass dominated the match, but for some reason the finish was The Golden Truth walking through the ring playing Pokemon Go, leading into Cass getting the win with a Big Boot, thanks to the distraction. The Pokemon Go stuff had run throughout the show and had outstayed it's welcome after the first backstage segment. It got so overt that I was wondering whether WWE had some kind of deal with Nintendo or whether they were just desperately clinging to the newest fad? The most pleasing part about the whole thing was the amount of heat that The Shining Stars got when they interrupted Cass listing things that he likes Raw, not because they are at all over with the audience, but because Enzo & Cass are so beloved.

Neville made his return to TV defeating Curtis Axel in his first televised match since March. This was a simple re-introduction for "The Man That Gravity Forgot" as he got to show off a plethora of his high-flying moves en route to victory. The time off seemed to have effected the crowds views of Neville, as they were silent until he hit the Red Arrow. Even a sweet standing shooting star press that came out of left field didn't get much from them. I'm expecting Neville to be placed at the forefront of the Cruiserweight Division that is set to begin on RAW soon. Oh also, Axel is now doing a "Mr. Irrelevant" gimmick after being the last draft pick. I don't really know what this means. 

Nia Jax would debut with squash match over AIW's Britt Baker, destroying her opponent with a pair of leg drops. Braun Strowman, complete with a new hair-do, walked through 302's James Ellsworth [Jimmy Dream] in just over a minute, with a horrible looking Reverse Chokeslam.

Results 

Universal Championship Tournament Quarter Final Fatal Four-Way Match: Finn Balor def. Cesaro, Kevin Owens and United States Champion Rusev in 20 minutes, 27 seconds 

Singles Match: Nia Jax def Britt Baker in 1 minutes, 20 seconds 

Universal Championship Tournament Quarter Final Fatal Four-Way Match: Roman Reigns def. Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn and Sheamus in 17 minutes, 14 seconds 

Singles Match: Neville def. Curtis Axel in 3 minutes, 43 seconds 

Women's Championship: Sasha Banks def. Charlotte (C) [with Dana Brooke]

Singles Match: Braun Strowman def. James Elsworth in 1 minute, 9 seconds 

Tag Team Match: Big Cass & Enzo Amore def. The Shining Stars - Epico & Primo in 1 minutes, 54 seconds 

Universal Championship Tournament Semi-Final Singles Match: Finn Balor def. Roman Reigns in 13 minutes, 52 seconds

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.25/10

The best episode of Monday Night RAW in an age this week. Simple booking decision in the top tier of the show meant that two thirds of the show felt must-watch and delivered with four matches that wouldn't have looked out of place on PPV. Sasha Banks and Charlotte were the match of the show, but the two four ways and Balor v Reigns match all offered something different and kept me gripped throughout the show. The only real problem the show had was with the undercard were there was a lot of (re)introductions, that whilst needed will never be the greatest thing to watch. 

With this show being used to sew some seeds and build the foundations of the new brand, I'm extra interested to see the direction the show takes next week as it settles down into feud, rivalries and storytelling with just three more week's until SummerSlam. I'm most interested to see where guys like Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Rusev, Chris Jericho, Sheamus and Sami Zayn end up settling. 

Content by James Marston.

TV Review: WWE Smackdown Live #883 - WWE Draft 2016

It had been a long time coming, but finally the first draft in five years was here, as Smackdown moved to Tuesday nights and went live full-time. After RAW had set the stage the night before, with General Managers being chosen, a "controversial" end to a WWE Championship match and a huge twelve man tag bout, how would the biggest Smackdown in years go about putting the show? 

Of course, the main driving narrative throughout the whole show was the Draft itself, with Monday Night RAW's Stephanie McMahon & Mick Foley and Smackdown Live's Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan appearing at the top of the entrance ramp a total of six times to name their chosen picks. Before I get into the nitty gritty of the process, it's probably important to mention who ended up where. RAW would draft Seth Rollins, Women's Champion Charlotte, NXT's Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Tag Team Champions The New Day, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks, Chris Jericho, United States Champion Rusev, Lana, Kevin Owens, Enzo & Cass, Anderson & Gallows, The Big Show, NXT's Nia Jaxx, Neville, Cesaro and Sheamus. Smackdown would counter with WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, John Cena, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Becky Lynch, Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Maryse, Baron Corbin, NXT's American Alpha, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya and Alberto Del Rio. That means RAW ended the show with 23 seperate roster member and Smackdown had just 14. 

The segments themselves all managed to maintain my attention, mainly through the intrigue of seeing who would end up where, rather than the back and forth bitching between the two sets of Commissioners and General Managers. It was pretty clear from the outset that Rollins and Ambrose would be the first two picks, due to their WWE Championship match, and after RAW the night earlier it'd have been a major shock with the pair had been on different brands. The biggest reactions of the evening seemed to be for the NXT guys as that was where the only real mystery for show lay. Getting to see Finn Balor, American Alpha and Nia Jaxx get the chance to spread their wings and perform on RAW or Smackdown is a pretty exciting prospect. Other things that stood out for me was John Cena and Randy Orton both getting drafted to Smackdown, The Club going their separate ways, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens remaining on the same show and the emphasis of putting women in high profile spots within the draft (eg. Charlotte was RAW's 2nd pick and only the third overall). 

Dean Ambrose would retain his WWE Championship over Seth Rollins [Dirty Deeds] in a match that took on a much different form to the battle that we saw the night before. Rollins would dominate a big portion of the bout after attacking Ambrose before the bell had rung. This gave the match a real momentum heading straight out of the box and it showed clearly the frustration that had built up inside of Rollins, following the previous nights title shenanigans, as well as showing animosity for his former Shield partner. Ambrose would receive a brilliant hope spot when he was able to send Rollins over the barricade into the time keepers area, only to end getting chucked onto another part of the wall himself. The match seemed to come up just a little bit short, being about half the length of their RAW clash, which left the finish feeling a little flat for me. However, I did like the idea that the match both begun and ended with Rollins attempting to hit a Falcon Arrow, with the second try being reversed into Dirty Deeds by Ambrose for the win.

Rounding off the top portion of the card, John Cena would pick up a victory over Luke Gallows [Attitude Adjustment] in his first Smackdown singles bout this year. The best bit about the match for me was that it continued through the ad break, being windowed on the screen. I'm surprised that this isn't done more often. The finish ended up winding me up though, as after Gallows had been able to block an Attitude Adjustment by Cena with a kick, Big Cass & Enzo Amore would call for The Club's AJ Styles and Karl Anderson to get into the ring. This would end with Cass & Amore sending them to the outside, before Cena would jump to his feet and deliver an AA for the win. Cena and Gallows had to lie on the match for an age, which made it very hard to suspend my disbelief whilst watching, then for them to suddenly spring to their feet and then to do a one move finish was more than a little lame. 

At the top of the undercard, Bray Wyatt would defeat Xavier Woods [Sister Abigail] in a short but fun match. The match continued to play off Woods' fear of the Wyatt Family, beginning with a creepy moment as Wyatt appeared to be willing Woods to join the group and Woods' seemingly under a spell, which played well into Woods throwing a punch at his opponent. "The Seducer" would dominate the match with clubbing blows and wear downs, whilst also getting into the face of the other New Day members at the ringside, he looked like a complete beast throughout.. The finish was cleverly designed, but completely telegraphed as Woods went for his Honor Roll clothesline at the same time as Wyatt shifted into his spider walk situation. The camera work could have been stronger to add more of surprise element to the ending, however Wyatt shifting around to get into position didn't help things either. This was however an entertaining contest that reminded the viewer of the storyline that will no doubt be a huge part of the six man tag bout between the two stables on Sunday. 

Women's Champion Charlotte and her protege Dana Brooke picked up some momentum before the PPV with a handicap victory over Sasha Banks [Natural Selection, Charlotte]. I have to say that despite the match going barely over two minutes, I found this to be a compelling and enjoyable match, because of the way it was put together. I was a little bit worried that we were going to see Banks pick up the win over the pairing, as WWE has taught me to suspect such a thing with their booking of the main event scene. Luckily what we got was a spirited performance from Banks, who looked in control of the match at various points, only for the numbers to eventually catch up with The Boss. Everyone came out looking good from this, and more intrigue was surely placed upon the upcoming tag team match on Sunday.

Darren Young and Zack Ryder pulled out a big victory over Intercontinental Champion The Miz and United States Champion Rusev [Cross Face Chicken Wing, Young to Miz], in a match billed as "Champions v Challengers". The match had a splendid tempo, with the four men all working hard to keep that going. Whilst it was essentially your regular tag bout structure and only went just over four minutes, there were little embelishments that managed to take it beyond. Ryder hitting a nice neckbreaker out of Rusev's suplex attempt for the hot tag, as well as later hitting a dropkick off the apron onto "The Bulgarian Brute". This was definitely Young's most decisive win to date, as he debuted a new submission finisher the Cross Face Chicken Wing, which, of course, was the signature hold of his life-couch Bob Backlund. 

Chris Jericho defeated Cesaro [Codebreaker] in a frustratingly short contest. The action was so very good in the sub-five minute bout, that I would have loved for, at least, another five minutes. "The Swiss Superman" got a brilliant face shine in and later pulled off one of the best reversals to a Lionsault I can remember, by catching Jericho before the jump and pulling off a middle rope reverse Russian legsweep, so at least he wasn't hurt too much by his swift loss. I'm not quite sure what Jericho going over Cesaro does for anyone, especially in such a short match, as neither competitor is scheduled for a match on the upcoming PPV, although Jericho is set to host a Highlight Reel with a returning Randy Orton. Considering both men were picked for RAW on the show, you'd have expected them to allowed to really show what they can do on this special, however we had to settle for just a glimpse.

In a weird segment, Sami Zayn would attack Kevin Owens as "The Prizefighter" made his way to the ring, which would lead to Kane hitting a Double Chokeslam on the pair of them. Becky Lynch also attacked Natalya before her match could begin, but this time, unfortunately, there was no Kane around to chokeslam them. 

Results 

Singles Match: John Cena (with Big Cass & Enzo Amore) def. Luke Gallows (with The Club - AJ Styles & Karl Anderson) in 5 minutes, 25 seconds.

Tag Team Match: Darren Young & Zack Ryder (with Bob Backlund) def. United States Champion "The Bulgarian Brute" Rusev & Intercontinental Champion The Miz (with "The Ravishing Russian" Lana & Maryse) in 4 minutes, 5 seconds.

Singles Match: Bray Wyatt (with The Wyatt Family - Braun Strowman & Erick Rowan) def. Tag Team Champion Xavier Woods (with Tag Team Champions The New Day - Big E & Kofi Kingston) in 4 minutes, 45 seconds.

Two on One Handicap Match: Women's Champion Charlotte & Dana Brooke def. Sasha Banks in 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

Singles Match: Chris Jericho def. Cesaro in 4 minutes, 52 seconds.

WWE Championship Match: Dean Ambrose (C) def. Seth Rollins in 12 minutes, 17 seconds.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.84/10

Considering the hype that the show got going into it, the actual event was a fairly average show and a step down from Monday Night RAW the night before. The matches all came up short with only the main event going much longer than five minutes and whilst the majority of the action was technically sound and entertaining to watch, there just wasn't enough of it. Perhaps this was done to make way for the Draft itself, which took up about twenty minutes of the show, in which case it would have been much more of a satisfying show if their were less matches that went longer. The main event was obviously the strongest match on the show, with a better story than the previous nights match, but without the chance for it to be fully explored in it's run-time and therefore ended up being the lesser of the two contests. 

Personally, I think it would be wrong to judge the draft on this episode alone and will withhold judgment until both brands have held their own PPVs. 

All content by James Marston.

TV Review: Monday Night RAW #1204 (James Marston)

It was the night after Money in the Bank, WWE had a brand new World Heavyweight Champion in the shape of Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles had something to prove after his controversial victory over John Cena and the Money in the Bank ladder match competitors were all looking to get back in the hunt...with the WWE Draft looming just over 4 weeks away, what direction would WWE take in the first Monday Night RAW of the Summer...and would it be any good? Let's start with the big stuff, eh? 

Book-ending the show, we had the fallout of Dean Ambrose's Money in the Bank briefcase cash-in on Seth Rollins, who had himself taken the title from Roman Reigns, on the PPV the night before. The opening segment saw both Reigns and Rollins interrupt Ambrose's address to stake claim to being Ambrose's first title defense opponent. I thought all three men put in top quality performances on the microphone with Ambrose's promo style being completely different from anyone else on the programme, making him standout as the champion even more. Reigns interaction with the crowd seemed was particularly interesting as he told them to "Shut up", I suppose with Ambrose now holding the title we'll get to see Reigns push the heel side of his character even more. Rollins, of course, was his usual self, owning every second he was on screen with a passionate promo against both Reigns and Ambrose. 

Shane McMahon booked Reigns vs. Rollins are the main event with the opportunity to face Ambrose on 24th July at Battleground in Washington, D.C.. The match was pretty much a compressed version of the pairs match on PPV the night before, being quick to move into a back and forth format, with both men getting some strong near falls. It lacked the detailed start that had been used for the PPV bout, but with the crowd being much more mixed in Phoenix, it perhaps didn't need to work so hard. It wasn't the best match that the pair could have done, but still saw the work hard and produce a solid television main event. 

The finish was a fairly obvious one, as both men ended up getting counted out after brawling around ringside. There was a nice element where Rollins managed to get back in the ring, only for Reigns to pull him back and therefore meaning the referee had to restart his count, that added a little extra drama to the rather basic finish. Shane McMahon would come out, but in a cute little twist Ambrose revealed that he'd face both men at Battleground. To be honest, I'm pretty sure everyone was expecting them to go for the Shield triple threat and it really could've been booked at the beginning of the show and allowed something a bit fresher to take place here. Unless Reigns and Rollins were going to have a match at least on the level of their PPV encounter, then I personally would've just booked the three way at the start of the show. 

In the semi-main slot, we had the continuation of John Cena and The Club's rivalry. The talking part of the segment was top class, with AJ Styles opening things by asking Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to apologise to him for interfering in his match the night before. The segment had a rather different tone, that I'm finding hard to describe. Styles looked like a dick, so did Gallows and Anderson, because they all looked like they playing out somekind of inside joke. This continued when Styles called out Cena so that Gallows & Anderson could apologise to him. This lead to a brilliant exchange between Cena and Styles, with The Cenation Leader coming out all guns blazing, claiming that Styles was "not as good as you think you are". Styles would fire back some bombs of his own, with both men showing a real passion and drive, with a real feel of the two having an issue with each other.

Styles offering Cena a match with any member of The Club, only to back out of a potential rematch, was another nice touch, it managed to add another level to feud and build more anticipation for a potential rematch. Cena's match with Karl Anderson was then perhaps disappointingly short, as any followers of Anderson's work in NJPW or ROH would surely know that Anderson would be more than capable of having a brilliant television bout with Cena, if given the chance. However, in terms of advancing the storyline, the Club running into the bout as soon as Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment, destroying Cena with a Magic Killer and a Styles Clash, was probably much more beneficial heading in a Styles vs. Cena rematch. Personally, I'd like to see Anderson and Gallows presented a bit stronger than they currently are, as they are coming across as Styles' lackeys, which might mean that we don't get to see them reach their full potential in WWE. 

Rounding off the top portion of the card, we had Paige challenging unsuccessfully for Charlotte's WWE Women's Championship. This was a much more satisfying match than they had on last week's show and arguably a better match than the Women's tag bout that was chosen for PPV the night earlier. There was a lovely thread through the bout with Paige getting numerous near falls, which all got strong reactions from the Phoenix crowd, thanks to Paige being seen as something of an underdog. The finish built up the relationship between Charlotte and Dana Brooke, as it was Brooke's involvement that would allow Charlotte to hit Natural Selection and secure the victory. Having been kept away from the Women's title picture since WrestleMania, it was great to see Sasha Banks return to the top table after the match, with a feud between Charlotte and Sasha having the potential to reignite the division, if handled properly.

Coming out of multi-man bouts at Extreme Rules and Money in the Bank, we saw a focus returned to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens feud, with the pair facing off in the opening match. A fun, well-paced clash here, with both men bringing plenty of intensity to a fairly short bout, by their standards. It could have been easy for the duo to sit back here, after a brutal Money in the Bank ladder match the night before, but it felt like both men wanted to give as much as they could within the time constraints, as they both pulled out big moves, including a lovely half and half suplex from Zayn as part of the best sequence of action of the match. Zayn picking up his first victory over Owens in WWE (and only his 2nd ever) was needed to drive the storyline, with the flash manner of the win bringing a little bit extra to any future rematch. The pull apart brawl has been a little overdone recently, so I wasn't too into the stuff the duo did after the match. 

A short straight-forward tag match between Enzo and Cass and The Vaudevillains would settle their feud this week, with Enzo and Cass coming out victorious in a matter of minutes. It was very short and almost felt like an enhancement match, rather than a feud ender, as Enzo had a short face-in-peril stint, before making the hot tag and Cass cleaning house before picking up the victory. Nothing wrong here, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more emphasis on this match. Enzo and Cass looked great, but it was a real shame to see a strong and over team like the Vaudevillains end up getting pushed aside very quickly.

The return of the Wyatt Family was heavily hyped on the RAW Pre-Show, and after a couple of teasers throughout the main show, we'd eventually get to here Bray Wyatt cut a fairly solid promo. Things would take a turn however when the group were interrupted by The New Day. At first I got pretty excited about the prospect of a feud between the two groups, but then I began to worry if their two very different styles would be able to connect. In the ring, there's potential to have a fun match in a six man (even more so if Luke Harper get's back in the mix) but the promos could end up being too much of a good thing. Unless Wyatt can come up with an answer for The New Day's comical style, we may see something similar to his feud with John Cena a few years ago, where part of the mystique and uniqueness of the Family is taken away.

Following on from their average match at Money in the Bank, Titus O'Neil and Rusev were scheduled to have a rematch on the show. What we got however was finally a glimpse at what O'Neil is capable of when he dips into his mean streak and really has a reason to go after someone. After a disappointing promo on the Pre-Show, I thought O'Neil really stepped up his game here, with a powerful interview with Renee Young, followed up by beating the snot into the United States Champion. I'm hoping we get to see these two really begin to tap into this side of their game, as I think if they're given a reason for the characters to hate each other, it might bring out a much better match than we saw on Sunday.

Finally...ATPW Scale Rating - 5.7/10

A slightly improved effort on last week's show, with two strong talking segments being the highlight. The three way Shield opener had a lot of intrigue heading in and managed to live up to it's billing, whilst the three quality performances were joined by AJ Styles and John Cena's efforts later in the show. The match quality on the show wasn't great, but there was nothing that was anywhere near being a bad match. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens probably had the match of the night, as Rollins and Reigns' main event felt more like treading water and filling time until the triple threat could be announced for Battleground. 

Guest Article: The Women of WWE - Part 2 (Lily Lestrange)

So with the continuation of part one of this series of blogs I've decided that in part two I'm going to skip past a generation of fantastic ladies and plow on straight to the Attitude era.  I'll be doing more on the lovely ladies of the 80s and 90s on my own blog but for this guest series I've decided to cut it short so that it doesn't get boring or dragged out for too long.  There is so much great talent from this time period that it's just too much to cover in one blog.  

In this blog I'll be looking at some of the biggest and most successful ladies in wrestling.  I'll be starting with a personal favourite of mine. 

Chyna 

  

So let's disregard all of the controversy - and there's a lot of it - surrounding Chyna.  Forget her current plea to get into the Hall of Fame and her infamous film career.  Let's talk about Chyna, the living embodiment of an Amazonian warrior; the She-Hulk incarnate. Chyna achieved a huge amount in her career with the WWE: she is a two-time Intercontinental champion (and is the only woman to ever hold the IC belt), she is a former WWF Women's champion and she was the first woman to ever participate in a King of the Ring or Royal Rumble match.  She was also at one point the number one contender for the WWF Championship when she beat Undertaker and Triple H in a triple threat match but sadly lost it to Mankind shortly after.   

Chyna was a game-changer because she broke the mould of your traditional women's wrestler: she didn't look like all the others, who were athletic but nowhere near as jacked as she was.  She proved that women can be muscular and still be feminine, still be beautiful. She didn't act the way that most women do in the ring either; there was no hair-pulling or screaming like a banshee.  If she was in the ring then she was going to bulldoze you and hit you with a low-blow no matter what was between your legs.  Her feuds with the likes of Jeff Jarrett and Chris Jericho prove that mixed gender matches work and it's a shame that they didn't continue on with them because there are current Divas that could easily take on some of the guys on the current roster. 

It's hard to believe that she was only signed for 4 years with the WWF.  She achieved so much in that time and in my opinion she is more than deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame.  I highly doubt she'll ever be in it after all the mayhem that occurred just before and well after her departure but she definitely is deserving of a place.   

Lita 

Lita is another favourite of mine, again for how she broke the mould and dared to be different.  She wasn't prissy, she wasn't a model; she was this bad ass punk chick with tattoos and her knickers hanging out.  As a kid that was always a little bit "different", that was so cool to watch and comforting to know that it was ok to go against the grain.  Everyone had a favourite wrestler as a kid and I guarantee it was always one that stood out and gave a big "fuck you" to the norm at the time.   


Lita's greatest time in the WWE was probably her time spent with Matt and Jeff Hardy as part of Team Xtreme.  She was part of one of many of their infamous TLC matches (and was the first woman to ever do so) and her part in Team Xtreme lead to her long feud with Trish Stratus that lasted from June 2000 right up until Stratus retired in 2006.  After Lita pinned Stratus in what was Stratus's last ever match she began feuding with Stephanie McMahon and ended up winning the WWE Women's Championship for the first time.   


There was a lot of Lita's career in the WWE that really didn't sit well with me though.  She was a brilliant wrestler who brought the Mexican-style wrestling into the ring that wasn't commonly seen in women back in those days but a lot of the time she was booked in romantic storylines involving one (or two, as it were) men.  Matt Hardy, Edge, Jericho, Kane... It was all so unnecessary.  She was a good wrestler and she proved that time again in her feud with Stratus, she didn't need to be involved in daft stories like the one with Kane.   

Despite the ridiculousness of some of the stories she was involved in, she went on to become a four-time WWE Women's Champion; she lost the belt to Mickie James in her retirement match at Survivor Series 2006.  Again, it's hard to believe that she was only with the WWE for 6 years given the impact that she has made.  She was deservedly inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014 by, of course, Trish Stratus.  


And that leads me on to the next part. 

Trish Stratus 

Of course, I couldn't write about Lita and leave out Trish Stratus.  Trish is a legend in her own right for what she managed to achieve in her career at WWF (and then WWE): she's a seven time WWE Women's Champion (the most reigns with this title that the WWE has seen in it's history), a one-time Hardcore Champion and she was named "Diva of the Decade" on the 10th anniversary episode of RAW.  That's a great deal considering that she had no previous experience in wrestling before coming to the WWE - before she joined she was a fitness model.  Fans nowadays always complain about Divas being signed when they have no previous experience but they forget that's exactly the same background that Stratus came from so it's just a case of waiting it out to see how good these women really are.   


Albeit at first, Stratus was used mostly for her appearance but as she got better in the ring she was given a lot more opportunities such as her aforementioned feud with Lita.  It took her a while but she eventually got the opportunity to wrestle after being involved in that ridiculous storyline with her having an affair with Vince whilst Linda was in a coma.  She feuded for the belt with people like Jazz, Molly Holly, Victoria and Mickie James, who was the last person to ever win the belt from Stratus.  After that Stratus won the belt from Lita in her last match in her hometown of Toronto (by using the Sharpshooter, might I add), she retired as the champion in 2006. 


She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013 by Stephanie McMahon.  Again, for only having been with the WWE for 6 years she achieved an incredible amount.  She proved that you can achieve anything if you put in enough hard work and dedication, no matter how much or how little experience you may have.  


And there we have it, three women of the WWE who all were a little bit different than the norm of wrestling at that time and yet still managed to rise to the top.  Of course, women like Molly Holly, Gail Kim and Mickie James all done great things in that era too but as I mentioned at the start, there's just not enough hours in the day to write about them all (or for you to read about them all!).  Next time I'll be taking a look at the more current WWE Divas who shouldn't be overlooked or underestimated.  


Check out Lily's other work....

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Next week - The 2nd edition of Running the Ropes with Marc P! (Check out Part 1 here)