WWE SmackDown Live 959 Review // 2nd January 2018 // AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn

It was the first SmackDown of 2018, so it was bound to be freaking amazing, right? WWE lined up a main event featuring WWE Champion AJ Styles taking on Sami Zayn whilst Kevin Owens, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan hung out at ringside. The episode also saw the return of Becky Lynch, as she joined SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and Naomi in confronting The Riott Squad, following their match with The Welcoming Committee. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, Xavier Woods, The Bludgeon Brother, Breezango and The Usos were all also featured. 

Let's talk a look, pals and see how it all went down at the Amway Center in Orlando.

AJ Styles called out Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon

then...

Sami Zayn def. AJ Styles // Pinfall

Rightio, this storyline is getting old already and following how the show ended I'm not sure that it can recover. More on that in a moment. Firstly, lets talk about the opening segment, as AJ Styles kicked the show off, before being joined by General Manager Daniel Bryan and Commissioner Shane McMahon. This was a convoluted way of getting Bryan and McMahon to be ringside for the main event between AJ Styles and Sami Zayn later on. McMahon was worried that Bryan would allow Kevin Owens to be ringside for the match, so instead of just banning Owens from ringside himself (because he's Bryan's boss and surely that means Bryan can't overturn his decisions), McMahon said he'd be at ringside and Bryan said he'd be there too. The only thing that I kinda dug about the segment was McMahon asking Bryan a question and then cutting off the answer by saying "I wasn't finished talking", because I thought it was a cool way to show the development in their relationship and actually showed a little bit of thought behind it. 

I think my main issue with this storyline is that it is being hilariously over-booked for the wrestler that are actually involved directly in it. AJ Styles and Sami Zayn have the ability to put on a really good television match (see their April 2016 RAW match for details), whilst also having the ability to carry an interesting storyline. With Kevin Owens thrown into the mix, this should be a no-brainer. Yet, the match ended up being just alright, showing flashes of what the pair can do together, but being constantly undermined by whatever is going on between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan at ringside meant that they didn't get reach even half of the level that you would expect. A couple of nice near falls for each man and great little sequence with Zayn getting caught in the Calf Crusher after Styles ducked a Helluva Kick meant that this wasn't a complete waste of time, however. The finish featured much fannying around as McMahon tried to get Owens removed from ringside and Bryan tried to do the same to Shane, before Zayn picked up the win with a Helluva Kick after Styles had knocked Owens off the apron. I was pretty buzzed that Zayn had picked up such a big win, but man, the finish was lame. 

The post-match stuff somehow manage to get more over-complicated. A furious Styles got the mic and demanded a match with both Owens and Zayn, with Bryan booking a Handicap match for the Royal Rumble, with the WWE Championship on the line. Like what is happening here? Has Bryan turned heel now? He was pretty buzzing to book the match and then started yesing like fuck all over the announce table. Who thought this was a good idea? Is this happening? Surely, Shane is the villain here? Why are we having this feud at all? I have so many questions and not in a "Man, I can't wait to find out the answer to these questions on next week's SmackDown LIVE" kind of way. Less of this please.

Ruby Riott & Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan def. Natalya & Carmella & Tamina // Pinfall 

then...

Becky Lynch returned alongside Charlotte Flair & Naomi 

Before the return of Becky Lynch, the Riott Squad vs. The Welcoming Commitee featured some more confusing booking, as it played out in front of a dead crowd. I suppose the match itself wasn't that confusing, but more the fact it was taking place in the first place, without any clear character shift for either Natalya, Carmella or Tamina. Two heel trios facing off didn't really do anything for anyone and I quickly found myself drifting from the contest, especially when it continued through the commercials (American adverts are very distracting). There was a nice exchange between Liv Morgan and Natalya at the very beginning and Sarah Logan's new Kentucky Knee finisher is pretty sweet as well. Having a three person faction with such a small roster doesn't seem to be conducive to varied television on either SmackDown or RAW at the moment. 

The segment that came after the match was definitely a step upwards as Ruby Riott and Charlotte Flair cut two solid promos, before Becky Lynch made her first appearance since getting crushed by a door on 20th November. After seeing Logan and Morgan stumble through promos in previous weeks, it was certainly a wise decision to keep the mic in Riott's hands here and she ended up doing a good job. Riott bought a good intensity as she ripped on Orlando and actually made some suspect content about magic seem remotely interesting, before Flair's interruption (sans SmackDown Women's title) bringing out Naomi and then Lynch. Personally, I'm not sure what having Flair, Naomi and Lynch dominate the whole Riott Squad in their first confrontation does for this long-term, because surely the interest is in having Lynch still searching for revenge after the Riott Squad (or at least Riott) dodge the attack, but it was still a fun watch.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship // Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso (C) def. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable // Pinfall

The first SmackDown title match of the year, followed the pattern of having questionable booking as we saw a dusty finish between The Usos and Benjamin & Gable. The thing here is that the first part of the match was actually very good, full of energy and with a shocking conclusion, because of the sheer dominance of the challengers. Benjamin and Gable continued to impress here and we didn't even see Gable pull out any Chaos Theories! The opening got the crowd pumped as Benjamin jumped up to meet an Uso on the top rope and nail a throw, before Gable nailed a moonsault for an early near fall. A lot of the action took place during the break with Benjamin & Gable working the leg and then when we came back it was straight into one of those wicked Uso hot tags. The spirited hot tag being cut off with one Uso getting thrown shoulder first into the barricade, followed by the other taking the Powerbomb/Double clothesline combination for the pinfall. It was refreshing to see such a major swerve from the regular format and also to see such a dominant win. I was considering the possibilities for the next few weeks as The Usos, who have previously been presented as the best tag team in WWE, looked to regain the belts and recover from being run over by a relatively new tag team. But then...

Basically, the pinfall happened between the two illegal competitors (which makes Benjamin look a little dim for not knowing he was the legal man) and then after an awkward moment with another referee coming out, the match restarted. The rest of the match was fine, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it just wasn't the same. The energy wasn't quite there, my excitement had kind died down thanks to the whole restart angle. The actual finish was pretty cool with whichever Uso it was managing to block Benjamin & Gable's finisher by dropping down into a rana position from the powerbomb, leading to Gable jumping straight into a superkick from the other Uso, before multiple superkicks and a Superfly Splash meant the Usos held onto the belt. I guess that Benjamin & Gable's decisive victory first time around will mean that we'll get another title match between the two teams, that will hopefully keep things simple. 

United States Championship Tournament // First Round // Xavier Woods def. Aiden English // Pinfall 

This clash was probably my favourite of the night, mostly due to it's lack of shenanigans, which considering Big E, Kofi Kingston and Rusev were at ringside for the entirety is pretty impressive. The match was a little short, but English and Woods worked a good pace from the off and included a few creative spots that helped the contest stand out. The opening back and forth section was very well put together as the pair slickly exchanged a number of holds, whilst the handful of spots on the outside, highlighted by Woods colliding with the steps after missing an Honor Roll, made for a delightful first few minutes. A near fall a piece, including a lovely Torture Rack backbreaker from Woods, kept the good times coming, before Woods picked up the win after escaping a potential avalanche piledriver with a back body drop and nailing Limit Break for the victory. Following this contest, I'm pretty sure Woods and English are two of the more underrated singles guys in WWE, right now. To top things off we also got Rusev singing before the match, which was wonderful.

Also this week...Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango didn't happen because Harper & Rowan started beating up Fandango & Tyler Breeze before the bout and then battered The Ascension as well after they tried to help...The commentary team did rundown of the Royal Rumble card so far, which seemed a little early, but whatever...Baron Corbin revealed that he'll be participating in the Men's Royal Rumble...Former Basketball player Karl Malone was shown in the crowd...

Finally... 

The first SmackDown of 2018 wasn't a great one, for me. This was mostly down to some weak booking and ongoing storylines that just seem unnecessary. Daniel Bryan's supposed heel turn is baffling, an all heel trios match struggled to hold the attention and whilst the dusty finish in the Tag Team title match wasn't awful, it wasn't as good as the first part of the match on it's own would've been! There were some positives though with Aiden English and Xavier Woods having a fun and creative bout and Becky Lynch's return helping keep the show's head above water. 

Review by James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

Interview // Petey Williams

ATPW got the chance to take part in the latest Impact Wrestling teleconference with two time Impact X-Division Champion and former IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion Petey Williams. The full teleconference interview is below, covering a number of topics and questions from a variety of different outlets. Look out for the ATPW questions in particular regarding potential members of a Team Canada reboot, as well as the departure of James Storm. v

*Recorded 15th October 2017

SteelChair Magazine // What are your upcoming goals? 

Petey Williams: That is a good question, because my original plan was to stay retired. I was totally content with how my career had left off and then Scott D'Amore approached me and asked if I wanted to come back and I was hmmming and ahhing about it, because I have kids now. I didn't have kids for the first time that I was wrestling and I'm married, so I ran it by my wife and she said it was ok. It's not about me this time around, it's more for my kids. I'd like for them to see what I used to do and leave on a more positive note than I did last time. Last time, I got fired from TNA and now I'm back. My goals, championships would be great, absolutely. Ultimately I would like to transition into helping some of the younger talent and maybe take a behind the scenes role and help develop characters because that's a big passion of mine. Wrestling wise I just like performing in front of fans and wrestling, that's been my goal always and that will always continue to be my goal. 

Last Word on Sports // I'm actually calling from Windsor, Ontario! 

PW //  Tell everyone I said hi! 

Last Word on Sports // I will! Loosely tied to what you just said about getting into backstage work in the future. One thing I've noticed, especially with the tapings in Ottawa, Impact is definitely highlighting a lot more of the Canadian indie scene, right now. We saw Ethan Page debuting as Chandler Park, KC Spinelli, Hannibal, Tyson Dux back in the spotlight and even some BCW guys like Brett Banks and Phil Atlas/ Do you think that that's something that has been underexposed? Just how big the Canadian indie scene is, we kind of get a bit lost with the American indie scene. And is this something that you look forward to becoming a figurehead for now? You're an indie Canadian icon now! 

PW // Yeah, my goal is to run for Prime Minister during the next election....no, I'm totally joking! Do not publish that...I'm not running for Prime Minister! But yeah definitely, I think it is something that is overlooked, the Canadian independent scene. I'm not going to name all the names that have come from Canada in the past and present, but there's some big names and great wrestlers. It's good that Impact is transitioning into being a Canadian company, because I know when I was first starting to break into the business and make a name for myself, there wasn't much television work or anything mainstream in Canada, you always had to go over to the US. It's so hard for us Canadian wrestlers just to go across the border and get visas and everything that is tied in with it, so yeah I'm really looking forward to everybody, pretty much the world, getting to see what Canada has to offer. 

The Wrestling Epicentre // We spoke just a few weeks before Bound For Glory and I asked how you were looking forward to going up to Canada and we had no idea that you would be challenging for the World title tomorrow night! Now that's it's been done how did you enjoy your trip back north of the border? 

PW // Good talking to you again! Now that it's all said and done, it was better than I anticipated! I knew that it was going to be awesome, wrestling in front of the Canadian fans again, but just to go back to that reaction, I still can't believe it when I walked into the arena at Bound For Glory. It was pretty amazing and then not only that but when you show up for the next day and [Impact] are like "You're going to be highlighted in our Global title match in our main event" and I was like "This has never happened before!" The entire time that I've been with Impact it's always been X Division, X Division, which I love, but just to be highlighted in the main event like that it's a Canadian kids dream come true. Then throughout the week too, the reception that the Canadian fans were giving me, it was pretty unbelievable and if I retired tomorrow, I could really be happy with it. I'm not retiring, I'm not announcing my retirement, please don't get all worked up here, I'm just saying if that were to happen and I couldn't wrestle again, I'd be totally content.

Unnamed Source // Would please talk about the origin of the Canadian Destroyer? 

PW // There's not much to it. We're going back to 2003-ish, so fourteen years ago I was riding in a car with I think Chris Sabin, Truth Martini and maybe Brian Gory and maybe somebody else and we were going to an IWA: Mid South show for Ian Rotten. Truth Martini brought something up and we were just kind of brainstorming and then Sabin and I were wrestling each other that night so we were going to attempt this flipping piledriver move that we could only envision in our heads. I don't think we understood how it would turn out, so we decided not to do it, because of the fear of the unknown, we didn't know what was going to come of this. So we didn't do it. Then I went back the next month and challenged Matt Sydal in the same promotion and I said "Matt, I have this move I want to try" and Matt said "Okay, lets do it!". Then we did it and Matt Sydal was the first person to ever take the Canadian Destroyer. I was doing the move for a while and I brought it to Impact back in the weekly PPV days and they actually came to me and said "You need a name for the move" and I'm like "I know I do, I just don't know what to call it". So I went back to my roots, everybody knows that Scott D'Amore trained me and the guy that trained Scott D'Amore his name was "The Canadian Destroyer" Doug Chevalier. When I first started training underneath Scott D'Amore, the very first Border City Wrestling show that I attended Doug Chevalier had just passed away and it was the Doug Chevalier memorial show pretty much and it just kind of stuck with me, out of respect for Border City Wrestling tradition and the CanAm Wrestling school and I said "We're going to call it the Canadian Destroyer" and [TNA] said "Okay" and that was that! 

WrestlingNew.co & Pancakes and Powerslams Show // 2008 you were in the same room as one of the funniest promos of all time in TNA. The maths promo that's become so popular nowadays, I'm wondering what were your thought when Scott Steiner was cutting that fantastic promo with you and Rhaka Khan in the same room? And then my other question, going more of a serious note. If there was one person that you bring from the WWE right now into Impact Wrestling and start a feud with and compete against, who would it be? 

PW // Okay, well to answer your first question...Little known fact, I wrote that entire promo for Scott Steiner verbatim, so the math does make sense. Seriously, [TNA] said "You have a minute and a half promo" and back then Vince Russo was the director/producer of everything and there was really no "say this", he just said "Talk about your match with Angle and Joe and Petey finish it up with a one liner". Then he just starts talking and if you watch the promo back the clip I look directly into the camera as if to say "Are we still rolling? Okay, I guess we are, might as well get back into character!". So it was one take and the one thing I know about Vince Russo is that he liked when Steiner stumbled over words. I know Steiner didn't like stumbling over words, but Russo really liked it because he felt that Scott had all this pent up frustration and rage that of course he's going to stumble over his words because he can't even think straight or talk right because he's so frustrated. So, Russo understood Steiner's character and he knew that that was good TV and it's epic, people still talk about it to this very day. And the math, at first, it did make total sense and then it didn't make sense because he started going over a 100% and I got lost and that's when I looked at the camera. But it's great and I ask Impact Wrestling every single week to bring Steiner back. I lobby for that all the time because it's just good TV when Scott's on TV and I like hanging out with him. It makes life interesting when he's around. 

The second question, that's a good question too. Do I bring back someone that I used to rival with? I loved rivalling with AJ Styles, that goes way back to 2004. I remember our first monthly PPV, Victory Road, it was myself against AJ Styles and I really wasn't expecting to win that match, I know that he was the golden boy, the poster boy for the company at the time and just to come out victorious and still X Division Champion after that match it just goes to show what the company thought about Petey Williams and the Canadian Destroyer and the character. So, it would be good to have him back. 

Across the Pond Wrestling // Back in the day, 2004-2005, a big part of iMPACT and for yourself was Team Canada. Now, if you were going to reform Team Canada tomorrow who would you like to be a part of it and why? 

PW // Obviously, I'd like to have my old group back, based on circumstances and contracts and everything. But moving forward if I had to pick a group, I'd have myself and probably A1, I'd have him back. A1 is actually back wrestling again, he looks absolutely great, he works out like three hours a day, so jacked and lean I'd love to have him back by my side. So that's two original members and then I'd have somebody like a Tyson Dux, very well known in Canada, a Border City guy and maybe even a long shot of a Michael Elgin. I haven't put too much thought into it, but that's another thing I lobby for, besides bringing Scott Steiner back, is bringing back Team Canada. Obviously, I'd have Scott D'Amore as the Coach. 

New Zealand Pro Wrestling Informer // Having started with Impact in 2004, to what do you attribute you longevity in the business? 

PW // Oh jeez, that's a good question. I do admit that I have been very lucky and blessed in this business. I've paid my dues, set up rings, travelled all over the place, but I feel like a lot of opportunities were thrown right at my face and I just had to make sure that I didn't move and that it hit me in the face. I've just been lucky with meeting the people that I've met and having doors opened for me, it's one thing to have a door opened for me in Impact when I first start there, but you know it was ultimately up to me to deliver and perform and secure a position with the company. But a longevity standpoint, yeah I started seventeen years ago in the wrestling business and if you look at me, I'm not flying all over the ring, I'm not trying to do anything that's beyond my limits. The way I structure a match, I know that my bread and butter is the Canadian Destroyer manoeuvre and that's what I try to go for, the purpose of my match, I want to hit that move so that I can win the match. That's pretty much what it comes down to. You might see me go for it a couple of times in a match, but I know it's going to win me matches and that's what I go for. So longevity wise I want to say I'm a smart wrestler, I don't try and do things that are out of my league, I'm not going to go and do a four-fifty. Yeah, I can do a four-fifty, but it's maybe going to look seventy percent good, whereas someone like Matt Sydal or Ishimori can do a four-fifty one hundred percent good. So why would I want to do a move seventy percent good, when I know that there's another performer that can do it one hundred percent good? I wanna say I'm cautious and that's why my longevity has always been there and I've been free from injury, knock on wood, thus far. 

HiddenRemote.com // You had mentioned before Team Canada and I just wanted to get your thoughts on the recent success of Bobby Roode and Eric Young in WWE and if you keep in contact with them to this day? 

PW // Yeah I do. I'm so happy for them, we all started and were signed to a contract at the same time at Impact in 2004 and obviously it's your goal to work your way up in wrestling, however it may be. Making it your career, that's going to be your job in life and that's what we're doing, loving life. I don't remember the last time I texted Eric Young, it was something goofing around, I don't know what it was. It was an old memory. Then Bobby Roode, I think the last time that I texted him, I saw him and he was looking good on TV and I'll take you behind the scenes right now, we used to do each other's back when it came to the fake tanning, there's no surprise that wrestlers use fake tanning lotion. So I asked Bobby "You're looking good on TV, what lotion are you using nowadays?" and he told me and we swapped there and that's what I'm using on TV now. We still keep in touch and I'm so happy for them, they're doing what they love to do. 

TheGorillaPosition.com // Petey, you're one of the legends in the formative years of the X-Division. Now that it's being rediscovered by fans who didn't see it the first time. In the grand scheme of things what do you think the legacy of what you guys did when you launched the X Division is gonna be? 

PW // If you're talking about back in the early to mid 2000s, you don't realise that you're making history or that you're creating something when it's actually happening. It's always that you look back on it and say "Wow, that was the glory years". So we didn't really realise what we were creating until we look back on it now and say "Wow, look what we've done and look what its become". When I look at that, look at the guys that were around in the glory days in the mid-2000s that are still left with the company. It's myself and Sonjay Dutt. I was highlighted extremely in the X Division and I'm very thankful for that and I would like for it to shift back to the way it was, to create that history again. We're not going to know it when its happening, but if everybody watches and is a part of it, you can look back at it in ten years in 2027 and say "I remember in 2017, Petey came back, Sonjay was there and the X Division was doing something special. That's the goal, to bring it back to where it was. 

New Zealand Pro Wrestling Informer // What matches from throughout your career would you recommend newer fans check out on the Global Wrestling Network? 

PW // Oh man, that's a good question. If I didn't get hit in the head so hard I'd probably remember all of my matches. Some matches that I'm very proud of are myself vs. AJ Styles at Victory Road 2004 and then Turning Point of the same year myself vs. Chris Sabin it was a twenty minute match and I really enjoyed that match and then going into the following month, January 2005, myself vs. AJ vs. Chris Sabin, we had an Ultimate X match which is regarded as one of the best Ultimate X matches in Impact history. That's a good starting point. If you want something more towards my "Maple Leaf Muscle" character I really enjoyed my match with Frankie Kazarian at Slammiversary 2008, in the Memphis area, very proud of that one. Then myself against Xavier Woods at Hard Justice 2008 in New Jersey, I still regard it was probably Xavier Woods' best singles match to date. Then also September 2008 it was myself vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Xavier Woods in Oshawa, Ontario at No Surrender, which I regarded as a good match as well. So  that's a good starting point, things that are popping off the top of my head. If you're watching the Global Wrestling Network, I'd say start there. 

SteelChair Magazine // You've already wrestled in England, did you enjoy it? Do you want to come back? What's you're experience with wrestling in the UK? 

PW // I don't remember when I first went over there to the UK, but it was for the Wrestling Channel and I tell you what the United Kingdom fans, they are awesome. They've always been huge events that I've wrestled at and they're some of the best fans out and not to take away from the fans but the wrestlers themselves. I remember when I used to go over to the UK, back in 2004, I felt that the UK wrestlers were kind of stuck in the past, but I just went over there in 2013 and my God did those UK wrestlers really turn it around. I want to say that they have some of the best wrestlers out there right now, I was blown away by how the wrestlers really came to and how the younger guys really took a grasp on the wrestling community and they are just awesome. I remember being over there and being like "Wow, you guys have really turned it around over the last ten years". So I'm really proud of the UK wrestlers and the fans, absolutely. Will I come back? I'm working on coming back to the UK, I don't know if Impact has anything lined up, but if Impact does I'd be happy to be on that tour as well. 

Alive Radio // Earlier on you were talking about Team Canada and back in the day you had Coach D'Amore, who was a great manager/coach call him what you want. Do you think there's still a place in the modern wrestling scene for the manager? 

PW // Yeah, I definitely believe so. I mean, Scott D'Amore is definitely a great talker on the mic and he can hold his own against anybody and that's why they put him on the mic back in 2004. There's so much stuff going on on social media and what's going on in the world, that there's so much more material than what there was in 2004, that I can definitely see it and it working. Whether Scott wants to do it or not that's up in the air, that's for him to decide, not for me. 

Across the Pond Wrestling // The news broke during the last set of tapings that James Storm was planning to depart from Impact. I wanted to know if you could talk a little bit about James' influence on the company and a bit about your relationship with James as well. 

PW // Yeah, James had been with us since the beginning, so as soon as he came back from his last match at Impact in the Ottawa tapings, I just went up to him and I hugged him and I said "Hey man, I've been in your position before, you'll bounce back". That's exactly what I said to him, because in 2009 I was in his position where if I lost the match I had to leave Impact and believe it or not, James Storm was the one who actually pinned... actually, Ihe was the one that kicked me in the face, I think Bobby Roode pinned me, but either way it was their team that made me leave Impact. So I understand where he's coming from and he will bounce back. Wrestling goes full circle. 2009 I was supposed to leave Impact Wrestling forever, I came back in 2013 for a few months and now I'm back in 2017, so nothing is forever in wrestling, we all know that. You might see James Storm in the future again. I've always had a good relationship with James, the first time I actually went to Disneyland was with James Storm and his girlfriend at the time and my girlfriend at the time. I don't know where he's going from here, but he's always been a guy in the company when he can step out in front of a crowd and he's Impact branded pretty much, he always gets good reactions and he's a great worker. I wish James all the best.

HiddenRemote.Com // You spoke earlier about the latest set of taping of Impact that recently took place in Canada and obviously before that you were wrestling for Impact in the States, in the Impact Zone out of Orlando. What was the biggest difference in the atmosphere, obviously aside from being from Canada, and wrestling in Canada and the USA for Impact? 

PW // You hit the nail on the head. Me being from Canada, being in Canada as well, that was a huge difference in the atmosphere, but also we had a whole fresh set of eyes watching our product, rather than being at the Impact Zone were we've been there on and off since 2004. So thirteen years in the same city is a tough thing to do. So just to have a fresh set of eyes, that's huge and it means a lot to the talent, to the wrestlers too, because you almost want to, not try harder, but you have a fresh feeling about it, you get excited again. It's interesting because my whole career since 2004 when I debuted in Impact, I've always been pro-Canada, I'm Team Canada my moves the Canadian Destroyer, I was Maple Leaf Muscle, everything's always been Canada about me, so it's just good to see that I can still do this same character thirteen years later and still have the fans on my side. That's great, that means the world to me. 

Last Word on Sports // You'd spoken quite a bit on Scott D'Amore already, but if you go back the last ten/fifteen years, Scott's directed/trained so many people who've become monstrous stars over the last fifteen years. Whether it's helping out with Gail Kim to guys like you and Bobby Roode and Eric Young and Moose and KUSHIDA and all having great big years this year, Motor City Machine Guns, Rosemary. What is it about Scott D'Amore's training that he creates these people who have become such big, impactful (no pun intended) stars in the industry? 

PW // You know, I'm not really sure, to be honest. Maybe its a fundamental thing. Some people have their basic training down, I know for example Chris Sabin was basically trained, he trained under another individual, then he went to Scott's school, he tweaked a couple of things, opened up somethings for him and he was considered a Border City guy. The first day that I stepped foot in a wrestling ring was at the CanAm Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, so I'm privileged to be considered one of the few that have started, my very first bump in a Border City/CanAm Wrestling ring was underneath Scott D'Amore. People know that Scott has helped a lot of people on the way. I know if I was starting out wrestling today, I would probably seek out Scott D'Amore's school, just because of knowing what he's produced. I do know a couple of things that I can give to you that I know that Scott really sticks to. When I first starting wrestling, I was 18, maybe 19 years old and Scott knew that I was in college and Scott said "You need to finish your degree at school, because when wrestling is done you need something to fall back on" and I was like "Alright". Pretty much a few months after I finished up my college degree, he had me step into the Impact Zone and said "This guys good", so he made sure I was done before he pushed me to the next level. So he really harps on that and I thank him for that, that he did that. Also, fundamental things as well, for example I know a lot of wrestling schools and wrestling promoters, they'll have you train, some of them, the bad schools, they'll have you train for a few months and even if you're not ready they'll put you in a match. Scott was adamant, I knew guys that trained for a year, just because they weren't ready yet and Scott's not going to put out someone who's not ready, who could potentially hurt themselves or hurt somebody else. Scott's not going to do that, he has too much pride in the wrestling world. So that's two things, that I really enjoyed about Scott's school, because I don't think that's taught universally across other wrestling schools. 

Impact Lounge // How was it performing not only in Canada, I know that's your hometown, but also at Impact's biggest PPV, Bound For Glory, in front of your children? What was the experience like not only for you but for your children as well? 

PW // The tough part was my children were eight hours away, so they weren't able to experience it and then I was gone all week so I wasn't able to experience it with them, but what's good is that they have seen me wrestle on this second run of mine. The first run, I only had one kid, they never saw me wrestle. It means the world to me. This isn't Bound For Glory, this is just another show when I was doing a warm-up match before I came back, my wife's sitting in the crowd with them and she said to them "Okay, I know you usually call him Daddy, but today's the only day that you're actually allowed to call him Petey" so that was cool to here them chanting "Petey!" and afterwards seeing them, I try to tell them that it's fake, even though I don't like using the word "fake" because I do get hurt a lot in wrestling, so pre-determined, but to portray it to a small child, I'm like "It's fake, Daddy is okay" because I don't want them crying or anything. My three year old, my wife said she said she thought she was going to cry, because the first thing that happened in the match was that I got punched in the face and she looked at my wife and then went "Get him Daddy, get him" so she didn't want to cry, she wanted me to fight back. I'm hoping that they understand, but it means the world to me that I get to share it with them, especially when I leave, they know I'm going to wrestle and they understand what that means and they understand what that looks like when I say I'm going wrestling. So, just an awesome experience and that's why I'm having so much more fun this time around. I have more people to share it with, my family, I never got to share it with a whole entire family before. 

The Wrestling Epicentre // Probably the reason you're doing this teleconference is that tomorrow night the big match against Eli Drake for the World title. Eli is just such a dynamic performer, great on the microphone, but also able to go in the ring. Thoughts on Eli Drake as a performer? 

PW // At first, I didn't know what to expect. I know he's the World Champion, I didn't know what it was going to be like. It was the unknown. Then after, Eli has a bunch of cool points, that a lot of other wrestlers don't have. He just has this coolness about him. That's really good, that's what you want to see in a champion and Eli delivers that. As for stepping in the ring, he's great in the ring, he's better than I thought he was going to be, not that I thought he was going to be bad or anything, but there's a style when it comes to the X-Division, I know that style, but then there's also a style when it comes to the heavyweight division and I know that style too and they're two totally different styles I would say. I've wrestled both, obviously I prefer the X-Division style, but he has this niche about him where he almost has an X-Division type style about him and you'll be able to see that when you tune in tomorrow on Pop TV, but really, really enjoyed the match with him and I hope you guys enjoy the match when you watch it. 

Last Word on Sport // It almost seems in the time that you've been away The Canadian Destroyer has become a huge move, it's become one of these iconic moves that you're seeing everywhere from internet clips of people trying to do Double Canadian Destroyers, up to seeing John Cena using it last year. Was that every something that crossed your mind to when it becomes a future DDT or when it becomes this massive almost cult following move? 

PW // No, it didn't at the time. Going back to what I said before, you don't realise that you're creating history when you're creating it. You always look back on it and be like "Wow!", you created history. Just to clarify, John Cena didn't do the move, he did something called a Code Red, which Amazing Red used to do, it's a flipping powerbomb, not a flipping piledriver. It gets confused a lot. I see it all the time, I felt like once I retired three years ago that every single match everywhere there was a Canadian Destroyer involved, so much so I think that it was upsetting some of the other wrestlers who were like "Can we tone it down on the Canadian Destroyers?". Now that I'm back it seems like there's less of it, maybe it's a respect thing, "Petey Williams is back, it's his move, let him have it" and I'm totally cool when people do it. I know they say "Imitation is the best form of flattery" so I'm flattered when people do it and it's good because I can look back and not many people can say this, that they're created something in wrestling that is going to last forever. I know this for a fact, I'm very confident that when I'm seventy years old, I can be sitting in my living room with my Grand-kids watching whatever wrestling show is popular at the time and there's going to be some kid, probably not even born yet, doing the Canadian Destroyer on TV and I can look and say "That's what I contributed to wrestling. That's me, right there, that's what I did". It's just good to show that when I'm long gone, that will still be around and that's my legacy.

Impact Lounge // Tomorrow night, you have an opportunity where you'll be challenging Eli Drake for the Impact Global Championship. We've seen over the years where there's been a change in terms of guys of smaller stature getting the opportunity to not only challenge for whichever company's World title, but in some cases we've seen instances where these guys have been successful. I was wondering if there was anyone in the current crop of X-Division stars that you can see in the future potentially challenging and perhaps winning the Impact Global Championship? 

PW // Yeah! I think what's good about the Impact roster right now is I feel like probably 80% of the roster could transition into becoming the Global Champion. I think that's how deep our roster is right now. I look at guys like Trevor Lee, I think he's a phenomenal performer and I don't see any reason why he can't compete if not be the Global Champion. Same for Matt Sydal, he's worked everywhere in this world, he can do pretty much anything and he's a phenomenal performer. Same with Dezmond Xavier. Myself included. So I could see pretty much anybody taking that spot, call me nuts, but that's what I believe. 

SteelChair Magazine // Who are you looking forward to wrestling from this new roster? And also who would you like to tag team with? 

PW // Obviously, Eli Drake is Global Champion and you get to see that tomorrow. I'd like to go head to head with Matt Sydal, I haven't done it in maybe thirteen years or so, so that would be something that I'd like to do on Impact television. Even guys like EC3, I'd like opportunity, as well. Even go one on one with Dezmond Xavier, maybe Ishimori, so yeah I have a list of guys that I'd like to go in there with and wrestle. As for forming a tag team, I really enjoyed it the last few weeks when I've been teaming with Sonjay Dutt. Sonjay's always been a very close friend of mine, he's also one of the pioneers of the X-Division as well and I think we'd form a pretty good team. I even have a name for it, I would call us "Sikh and Destroy". I know, Sonjay isn't religiously a sikh, but there's twenty million Sikhs in India and Sonjay's from India, so he could the Sikh part of it and I could be the Destroy part of it. Sikh and Destroy. I think it's clever. I'd also like to team with somebody like Johnny Impact, I think it'd be great to team with him, I love his style and watching that. 

WrestlingNews.Co & Pancakes and Powerslams Show // WWE recently announced the news that James Ellsworth has been released. Have you ever had any interaction with James Ellsworth? And if not, how would you book him in a match against you? 

PW // So, I don't remember having any interaction with him, but my podcast co-host, asked James Ellsworth "Petey can't remember, but have you ever ran into Petey on an Indy show?".James Ellsworth said "Yes". I can't remember what it was, he probably doesn't remember. So yes, I have ran into him, I do not remember the interaction with him. I would book him, I mean, against me, I don't think it would be much of a match. I would say the same way that he was booked against AJ Styles, it wasn't much of a match at all when they finally got to it. Not to discredit James Ellsworth, but he's been used as a lackey for the last couple of months on television. So that's a good question how I would book him. Good thing I'm not the booker of Impact! 

HiddenRemote.com // About nine/ten years ago, Impact released a video game and you were part of it. What was your reaction to being part of that video game, your debut as a video game character in a wrestling video game? 

PW // It was awesome! I remember I had to do some motion capturing for that game with Midway. I had broke my orbital bone when I had to actually do my photo shoot for my character, so I had a huge black eye, but obviously the technology they edited that all out. It was awesome. I wasn't in the main roster, I was a downloadable character. I think myself and Curry Man were downloadable characters. I'm pretty sure they told me, that the very first move that they captured was the Canadian Destroyer, so that's pretty that the Destroyer, the move itself, could make it's debut in that video game. I still have a copy of it, not open, but I still have a copy of that game. 

TheGorillaPosition.com // You stepped away for a while and now you're a veteran and one of the leaders. People always ask the guys what advice would you give about wrestling to the younger guys. My question is what advice would you give to the younger talent outside of the ring? 

PW // My advice would be the same thing that Scott D'Amore instilled in my head, always have a back-up plan for wrestling. Wrestling is not going to last forever. I do understand that I get to step in the ring tomorrow, I could break every bone in my body and then what? You're not going to be able to support your family any more. That's the best thing I could tell other wrestlers, just have a back up plan. As well as when you're on social media, when I first started in wrestling there was no social media. Sometimes I wish there was no social media, because sometimes people say stuff jokingly and everybody gets so hurt about it and sometimes I wish we could just go back in the day when people could still take a joke. But it seems like that's not the world we live in anymore, everybody has to be politically correct, but you've got to adapt to that and just be careful whatever you put out there in social media is going to be there forever. There's no going back saying "I hope people forget", yeah people forget, the next time somebody else is going to make a mistake. Do everything wisely. You're always under the microscope so just be smart about a lot of things. That's all I'm going to say.  

A big thanks to Petey Williams for spending the time on this call, as well as Ross, Simon and Lauren for allowing us to take part. Impact Wrestling can be caught on Pop TV in the USA on Thursday nights at 8/7c and here in the United Kingdom on 5Spike on Friday nights from 9pm. 

Transcribed by James Marston 

The Real Lives & Side Projects of the WWE Or Publicly Exposing The Business Will Result In Being Placed On a Register

Recently, he updated it but for the longest time, Ricochet's Twitter biography read 'Yo, this is the official Twitter of The Future of Flight, King Ricochet. I also play a Prince on TV'. Not to give away trade secrets but the Prince in question is Lucha Underground's Prince Puma. Yes, I know, you're shocked, I thought it was Mickie James this whole time too. The reason I'm telling you all this is that it is faintly fascinating to see someone acknowledge that within the world of wrestling, they are playing multiple roles, let alone the question of what it means that a King is playing a Prince, what has the monarchy come to? Ever since 10th February 1989, the world has had to accept one simple truth: wrestling is not real, it actually happens, people can actually get hurt (see my earlier article on Seth Rollins' WWE24 special. WWE clearly has from the way they've been booking Seth recently) but it is fundamentally a story built for the audience's entertainment, it is a manufactured reality built to resemble the idea of an actual sport but both ramping up and simplifying the story in order to make it more satisfying (For an example of the benefits of this, look at the 12th March edition of Robot Wars, the climax between Cherub and Eruption was how the David and Goliath narrative fails in reality). Not that the people in the ring aren't wrestlers but they are people playing characters, they are people with lives outside of the show and other things going on. I don't know if you knew that Maryse was an estate agent for time between WWE runs and also has a jewellery line. See, rich lives.

Probably the most prominent display of side-projectry, in the WWE at least, is UpUpDownDown, the YouTube gaming channel of Xavier Woods/Austin Creed and friends. Within the grand tradition of 'Let's Play' channels, not much happens on there beyond Xavier plays video games, sometimes on his own sometimes with others and occasionally opens subscription boxes and other nerd stuff. Now if you watch The New Day in their promos, it's of no surprise to anyone that the bunch of them are nerds with the amount of reference comedy that they fit in but it's interesting watching the channel as a parallel narrative to the one presented over RAW, Smackdown: Live and NXT. You see there are also rivalries over on UUDD, it's not as clear cut as face-heel dynamics as these are what we call 'real people' but anyone who's watched the one-upmanship between Rusev and Cesaro in their never-ending Ping-Pong battles knows that there's something fundamentally compelling about seeing people whose job it is to make their disagreements seem like life and death just do things because they're bored and want to have a good time. Except for The Miz, to him everything is very serious and it's not entirely clear if he even has a gimmick any more or if Mike Mizanin is dead, long live The Miz (unless he's what was in that lockbox, we didn't consider that).

It is worth noting that Xavier is not the only one with a YouTube channel: Kenny Omega is an internationally regarded Street Fighter player, The Bella Twins have a constant stream of inane content, Emma's Taste of Tenille perfected the cooking show and introduced the world to the wonders of MuscleEgg, by expanding their 'brands' to include interests outside of just their day-jobs but still to an extent keeping it to normal people interests like video games, cooking, whatever it is the Bellas are doing, it makes the performers more relatable and as a result, it endears people to their characters. No one gives a shit about Titus O'Neil but if you see him having a good time playing some video games, maybe you'll give him some slack and think 'hey, he's not that bad'. Bad example, because he is that bad.

It's hard to work out how many Renee Youngs' there are. There is of course Smackdown and Talking Smack's Renee, but then there's also Total Divas's Renee, Unfiltered w/Renee Young's Renee but then there's also her podcast, Regular Girls, co-hosted with fellow Canadian, comedian and YouTube star Stacy McGunnigle, which seems to float back-and-forth between her being Renee Young or Renee Paquette. Slowly all these Renees seem to be converging in a somewhat Rick and Morty-esque manner but while personality-wise they retain similar traits, it's hard to explain why the woman who hosts a talk show where they interview murderers and arsonists also wants to talk at length about the virtues and difficulties of wearing leather trousers (far more fascinating than I can make it sound that second one). While I enjoy both sides of the coin, Regular Girls is one of the few podcasts left in my weekly rotation, it could be seen by some as trivialising the main product in that really, everyone should be terrified of Randy Orton right now, he is literally guilty of a few different crimes this month but there's never going to be an outcome where that comes up in storyline.

It's a commitment to having the cake and eating it, WWE want to both present the exaggerated theatrics of the wrasslin' and have the fun behind-the-scenes stuff like Unfiltered but they want this all to be the same person. This isn't the Indies where you can have The Young Bucks winkingly using 'insider terms' during their 'Being The Elite' travel diaries, this is a big self-enclosed universe that seems to not understand the divide between character and performer. As much as I malign the notion of referring to WWE superstars by their Indie names, perhaps if they're being interviewed behind-the-scenes, something as simple as using real names for some sequences and character names for others could help explain who they're actually talking to. If you look at the otherwise wonderful Breaking Ground series, a show that really explained the hardships of the developmental system in a simple but brilliant way, its issue is a commitment to pretending that despite showing William Regal working with people on their character, that the fights are real and the outcomes undetermined. You can't try to present a 'warts n' all' view of something and then try to just put make-up over something that is just a blank patch of skin. We want to know about the real lives of performers but we also want to believe that after the cameras stop rolling, those characters still exist in our world. 

Maybe I'm thinking too much into all of this, I mean, it's just a bunch of sweaty men and women not-punching each other right?

Article - Jozef Raczka (@NotJozefRaczka)

Editor - James Marston (@IAmNotAlanDale)

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

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.