Lucha Underground #3.20 - All Night Long...Again Review (31st May 2017)

On 31st May, Lucha Underground aired the 20th episode of their 3rd season, taped 24th April 2016 at the Lucha Underground Arena in Los Angeles, California, on El Rey. The show featured Johnny Mundo [John Morrison] defending the Lucha Underground Championship against The Mack [Willie Mack] in an All Night Long contest. But was it any good? Let's take a look. 

• #ICYMI - All the build towards towards The Mack challenging Johnny Mundo for the Lucha Underground Championship tonight in an Iron Man match. 

• Some live mariachi music before Vampiro and Matt Striker welcome us to the show and put over the match that's about to come.

Mundo and Mack battled to 3-3 draw, Mundo Retains Lucha Underground Championship

Gosh, if you're gonna do a mid-season break, you better come back with a bang and that's exactly what Lucha Underground did with as Johnny Mundo and The Mack went to war over the Lucha Underground Championship in an Iron Man match that went the entire length of the show. The match unfolded across fourty minutes of television time, twisting and turning, weaving a compelling story that built up Mundo as the villainous veteran willing to do anything to keep his title, whilst Mack was the talented underdog who didn't look like he could last the length of the show. The wrestling almost took a back seat to the epic storytelling, but when called upon both guys worked crisp and fast, with the first ten or twelves minutes was almost all in the ring and held it's own. 

Both men's character performances were terrific throughout, but the act Mundo has going at the moment with PJ Black [Justin Gabriel] also, is something else entirely. He just oozes pure dickhead in everything that he does and that makes it super easy to get behind whoever is against him. All of Mundo's falls played into this. The first saw him back out of some back and forth strikes on top of turnbuckle, holding onto the ringpost and leaning back, getting some good heat, before catching Mack, knocking him off the turnbuckle and hitting End of the World (Split Legged Corkscrew Moonsault) for the pin at around the 6 minute mark. Three minutes later and Mundo was at it again, grabbing hold of the ropes after slipping out of a Mack pin with roll-up to take a 2-0 lead. Then for his third, Mundo upped the game as he feigned an ankle injury after hitting a corkscrew plancha, only to kip up and DDT Mack onto a stretcher (that was bought in to take Mundo out of the match). Add the moment where he hid under the ring and then appeared to run away out of the other side, only to appear from under the ring after Mack had given chase to what turned out to be PJ Black, before both men took Mack down with kendo sticks, as well as asking the band to play a victory song with minutes left of the bout and you had an intensely dislikable character, who had cheated his way into the lead and who the audience wanted to see get the shit kicked out of them. 

The bout was chockful of massive spots, as Black, Son of Havoc [Matt Cross], Sexy Star and Ricky Mandel all got involved off the match, not just upping the drama as they caused the momentum to swing one way or another but also being part of some of the matches creative highspots. The first big big spot in the match involved Mack getting his revenge for the DDT on the stretcher by tying Mundo to the board and sending him down the Arena's steps, which was as visually thrilling as it sounds. Then the other lads started to arrive as Havoc countered Mundo and Black arriving with Kendo sticks and awoke a shattered Mack with some beer. Then in the aforementioned moment that saw Mundo implore the band to play a victory song, Star was revealed as the groups maraca player, leaping off the balcony onto Mundo and Black to a big pop. The way Mack equalled the scores at 3-3 was probably the most spectacular fall of the match as the Battle of the Bulls winner hit an over-the-shoulder piledriver off the apron through a pair of tables. There was so much woven into the fabric of the story that was told, with each spot coming at just the right time, building the excitement without taking away from what was about to come, that it never felt like the match was dragging and there was always something either happening or right around the corner. 

Ending a match like this with a draw is a brave decision, as there's always the chance that the viewer can feel let down by having spent 40 minutes plus with a match only to have it conclude with no decisive winner. However, the last two minutes of the match, made me desperate to see a rematch and even more desperate to see someone knock Mundo off his perch (what a mark, right?), that slippery bastard. It felt like pretty much everyone inside the temple felt the same way, as Mundo missed an End of the World onto a ladder and Mack slowly made the climb up the ladder after draping Mundo across the table. After Havoc and Star had dealt with Ricky Mandel's interference (with the clock still ticking away in the corner of the screen), Mack reached the top exhausted and splashed the Mayor of Slam Town through the table, only for time to run out just as he made the cover. Helped by the crowd's enthusiasm this was a captivating piece of television that pulled me in deeper as the story unfolded and by the end of the show I was hyped to see them go at it again on next week's episode. 

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.8/10 

There isn't much more to add in this part, the match was great, the whole episode was the match. Go and watch it and enjoy the silliness.

WWE 205 Live #27 Review (30th May 2017)

On 30th May, WWE aired the 27th episode of 205 Live from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia live on the WWE Network. The show featured Noam Dar facing Rich Swann, as well as appearances from Austin Aries, Cruiserweight Champion Neville, TJP, Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

• ICYMI - Cruiserweight Champion Neville and Austin Aries' split screen interview from #26, with clips of their feud and Aries' tapping out Neville on RAW #1253.  

• Commentary team Corey Graves and Tom Phillips ran down the evening's card, focusing on Drew Gulak taking on Mustafa Ali and Austin Aries talking about getting Neville to submit on RAW.

Dar def. Swann

After the match on this week's RAW set up the idea of Sasha Banks being able to counter Alicia Fox at ringside, this bout a day after wasn't particularly needed. The bout was given more time, but ultimately was just an elongated version of the match from the previous night, with Dar controlling the arm, before a high tempo comeback from Swann and some interference from Fox being countered by Banks at ringside. Obviously we had a reverse of the result with Dar ducking a clothesline in the corner and hitting a running enziguiri for the victory, but there was nothing new that warranted a rematch. The promos before hand were okay, with Dar seemingly enjoying himself as he called Fox his "fluffy button" and described Swann and Banks as "friends with no benefits", but the women arguing about hair (followed by their cat fight at ringside heading into the finish) wasn't my cup of tea. 

• Cedric Alexander defeated Corey Hollis after the Lumbar Check in a short bout. Alexander continues to grow after returning from injury last week, hopefully we'll see him move into another storyline soon. 

• A video package looking at Akira Tozawa, after his Street Fight victory over The Brian Kendrick last week. 

Gulak def. Ali 

This match started hot with Mustafa Ali hitting a tope conhilo as Drew Gulak was delivering his "No Fly Zone" schtick walking to the ring. The spot was well timed and well directed with Ali coming flying through the right hand side of the screen with Gulak in the center. The match had it's moments but never felt like it completely hit it's stride. Gulak dominated after pushing Mustafa off the top rope and to the floor, with Ali beginning to sell his knee straight after. Ali sells well and Gulak's bruising style when in control is nice, but there seemed to be a little something missing from this portion of the match, perhaps having Gulak focus in on the injury would've given it a bit more impact. Ali's comeback is one of my favourite things about 205 Live, so I was disappointed to only see the rolling neckbreaker, before Gulak reversed a crossbody and got the pin. The dive to start things and Ali's bump off the top were the highlights, but as an overall package I'm not sure this bout came together quite as well as it should have. 

Neville Put an End to Aries' Gloating

In the final push for their Extreme Rules submission match, Austin Aries and Neville got the best reactions of the episode and concluded with an intense angle. The segment was driven by an Aries promo talking about Neville tapping out on RAW #1253, in which The Greatest Man That Ever Lived showed the footage on the screen a total of three times. Whilst Aries promo verged into heel territory at times as he kept repeating the same rhetoric, the response when Neville came out showed that the monologue had worked as the crowd quickly showered the Cruiserweight Champion with "You tapped out" chants. The segment concluding with TJP jumping Aries and eventually allowing Neville to lock in the Rings of Saturn and not let go raised the stakes of the feud and felt like the logical progression after Aries' got a little carried away in his rejoicing. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.19/10 

Not a great outing for the purple ropes boys in their go-home for Extreme Rules. The Austin Aries/Neville/TJP angle that closed the show was the strongest element of the episode, however, the wrestling action didn't match it as the two longer matches (Rich Swann v Noam Dar, Drew Gulak v Mustafa Ali) both didn't seem to fully hit their stride. There was nothing technically wrong with either, but there also wasn't anything that grabbed me beyond Ali's tope at the start of his match. 

 

WWE SmackDown Live #928 Review (30th May 2017)

On 30th May, WWE aired the 928th episode of SmackDown live from the Phillips Arena in 
Atlanta, Georgia on the USA Network. The show featured AJ Styles taking on Dolph Ziggler, a wild brawl with Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Natalya, Tamina and Carmella as their #1 Contender's match never got started, as well as Randy Orton, United States Champion Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, The New Day, Shinsuke Nakamura and more. But was it any good? Let's take a look. 

• Charlotte Flair, Carmella, Natalya, Becky Lynch and Tamina cut short and mostly uninspiring promos about why they will become #1 Contender to the SmackDown Women's Championship later in the show.

Nakamura was a Guest on Owens' Highlight Reel

A run of the mill opening segment, with a few flashes of excellence on the mic from Kevin Owens. The New Face of America beginning by running down Chris Jericho for inventing the Money in the Bank ladder match, whilst the crowd chanted for AJ Styles, continued to keep that fire burning, whilst he also managed to get some good heat for mocking Nakamura's entrance and had a sound-bitey exclamation point of telling Shinsuke that Money in the Bank will be the "day the music dies". The crowd wasn't too hyped to hear Nakamura talk with a spattering of "What?" chants with the King of Strong Style stumble over his first sentence not helping the matter, but the content as he threw shade of Owens and Corbin was well done. This moved well into the Owens and Corbin attack with Sami Zayn quickly making the save and throwing down the challenge for a tag team match. 

Zayn & Nakamura def. Owens & Corbin 

The match was a continuation of the segment as it didn't verge off the beaten path, but remained entertaining thanks to a couple of nice touches, as well as an Atlanta crowd that was heavily into the action. Pretty much your regular tag team match, as Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin controlled Sami Zayn through double teams and distractions, before Zayn was able to find the space to make the hot tag to Shinsuke Nakamura and we headed towards the finish. Sami is perfect in the face in peril role, especially against physical talent like Corbin and Owens. He makes the other talent look like a million bucks, whilst also making you long for the day he finally gets the upperhand. Zayn hitting the Blue Thunder Bomb on Owens, only for Corbin to knock Nakamura off the apron was my second favourite moment in the bout, only topped by Atlanta's reaction to the finish. After Corbin and Owens fell out after a bit of heel communication, Zayn Cactus clotheslined Big Banter Baron to the floor, with the camera panning back round to show Owens about to turn around with Nakamura eyeing him up in the corner. The crowd popped huge when they realised what was about to happen and for the second time in as many weeks Nakamura pinnined the United States Champion with a Kinshasa. 

 

•  Commentary team Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and John "Bradshaw" Layfield shilled the WWE Network free trial, pushing 4th June's Extreme Rules and 18th June's Money in the Bank. 

The New Day interrupted The Usos 

Big fun, super happy return house for The New Day's Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. This was a succinct promo segment in which all five lads involved played their roles well and built up a match for 18th June. The Usos fed for the New Day entrance well, bigging up themselves for their victories of American Alpha and Breezango, before ragging on one of Atlanta's sports teams for an added bit of cheap heat. The pop for Big E, Kingston and Woods sounded sizeable and the trio didn't disappoint with the crowd eating up what they'd been missing for over a month. Both sides seemed to have a lot of fun working together and that translates to a fun experience as a fan with the five bouncing off of each other as The Usos took jabs at the attitude and skipping of New Day, whilst New Day through shade at the Usos cap and hoodie look. These two teams are more than capable of keeping this up for the next two weeks and continuing to produce entertaining segments opposite each other and have shown before at last year's Royal Rumble that they can do a good match together and I've got high hopes that this programme can raise the bar. 

• ICYMI - Highlights of Jinder Mahal's Punjabi Celebration from #927, as well as various Indian media coverage of Mahal as champion.  

• The Fashion Police went all noir for a superb skit, that included voice overs of the twos thoughts (leading to a great moment of the two finding out they could hear each other's thoughts) as Fandango discovered their office destroyed. Breeze was in a dress for some reason and after licking a substance found Fandango worked out it was Epico & Primo who were behind the attack, this was all a wonderful experience and you should go and watch it. 

The 5-Way Elimination Match to Determine the No. 1 Contender to the SmackDown Women's Championship Never Began

An incredibly well put together segment here, that concluded with Commissioner Shane McMahon announcing that Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Tamina, Becky Lynch and Carmella would compete in the first ever Women's Money in the Bank Ladder match on 18th June. The announcement got a nice response from Atlanta, but if the preluding brawl hadn't been so bright, I don't think the announcement would've had the impact it did, history-making or not. This was supposed to be a Number One contenders Elimination match between the five aforementioned women, but quickly erupted into a wild brawl, with the referee repeatedly asking the girls to get back in the ring, almost comically, in order to start the match. The quintet had other ideas, as Lynch through Carmella into the time keepers area and dove off the barricade with a forearm, Flair sent Tamina into the ringpost, hit an Exploder suplex on the floor on Natalya and then a diving moonsault to the floor onto both, before a flurry of moves on the floor from all five concluded with Flair powerbombing Natalya through the announce table. It's great to see Women's wrestling being treated so seriously on the blue brand and the women took the opportunity and ran with it, creating a crazy melee that acts as a strong advert for what the five could do when they bring a bunch of ladders into play also. 

Breezango def. The Colons 

Breezango continued to be one of the best things on WWE television in a delightfully comedic match. The bout was more than just comedy though as the short story that was told, with the Colons repeatedly knocking Breeze out of his corner leaving Fandango to go at it alone was solid stuff and had a nice pay-off, as well as a number of good wrestling sequences as Deputy Dango battled against two men. The hot tag when Breeze re-appeared dressed as a janitor and went to town on Epico and Primo was glorious stuff as Breeze worked at a higher pace than anyone in overalls, swimming cap and false moustache should ever be expected to work. Finishing off with Primo walking into an Unprettier from Breeze after fighting over a mop with Fandango, this match put Breezango back on track after two successive loses to The Usos and was charmingly captivating throughout it's short time on screen. 

• Dolph Ziggler interrupted AJ Styles being interviewed by Renee Young, saying if SmackDown was the house that AJ Styles built then Ziggler laid the foundation, getting Styles fired up for a fight right there and then, only to say "See you out there, kid" and walk away. 

Orton Spoke for the First Time Since Backlash

I like that this Randy Orton v Jinder Mahal feud has been pushed to peripheries with the segments kept shorter and snappier than what the Money in the Bank ladder match competitors are receiving. That perhaps sounds like a strange statement when talking about the WWE Championship story, but allow me to explain. Having the two only appear on screen together for seven minutes, after only having Jinder present last week, has allowed the story time to breath and find it's groove, whilst also not overexposing either act. Orton is an underrated promo guy when motivated and whilst he didn't seem to be bringing his A-game here, the content was strong enough that it hit home. Orton talking about his grandfather and wrestling in his home town at Money in the Bank told the right story, ending with Orton declaring that "The only thing Jinder Mahal has earned the right to is a good old fashioned American Orton family ass kinking". Mahal interrupting on the big screen started off awkward but once getting past Jinder telling Randy where he was, The Majarajah cut a much better promo that last week, galvanising a big USA chant from the crowd, before The Singh Brothers clapped for about five minutes. The two haven't been seen in the same place and neither has wrestled since Backlash so WWE still has those ideas in their backpocket for the next two weeks leading into the PPV. I'm finally beginning to warm to this storyline and hopefully we'll see WWE continuing to hit the right notes moving toward 18th June.

Ziggler def. Styles

A good TV main here as AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler worked a pacy and energetic match, that gave Ziggler a huge win heading into Money in the Bank. The bout was built around the Styles Clash with Ziggler doing anything and everything to escape the move and usually ending up taking some punishment straight after the escape, whether that be the Ushigoroshi or a tasty suplex into the turnbuckle. We eventually saw Styles attempt his other finisher, the Phenomenal Forearm, only for Ziggler to crotch him on the top rope and hit a superkick to pick up the win. The match wasn't always particularly crisp and no one would tell you this was the clinic it perhaps could have been, but the two bought bags of intensity and covered their mistakes well. The two have the in-ring chemistry where it doesn't matter if something goes wrong, they're able to make whatever happens work. The Show Off needed a big win to make him look credible ahead of the Ladder match, whilst AJ Styles could get pinned every week and still be over because of the way he wrestles and commands a crowd. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.03/10 

Top to bottom this was a really good piece of wrestling television. The Women's segment was the high pint and the main event was finished the show well, but there was also the opening tag, the return of the New Day, Breezango antics and some good work from Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal. The two hours flew by and there was absolutely nothing that outstayed it's welcome. Good stuff from the Blue Brand.

WWE Monday Night RAW #1253 Review (29th May 2017)

On 29th May, WWE aired the 1253rd episode of Monday Night RAW live on the USA Network from the Bon Secours Wellness Center in Greenville, North Carolina. The show featured Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt in a Triple Threat match, former Shield buddies Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins facing off for the first time in nearly a year, Cruiserweight Champion Neville tagging with TJP against his #1 Contender Austin Aries and Gentleman Jack Gallagher as well as The Hardy Boyz, The Miz, Cesaro and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

• Michael Cole and Corey Graves welcomed us to the show on Memorial Day in the US, reminding us that Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe will face off in a triple threat and Roman Reigns will battle Seth Rollins tonight. 

Ambrose & Hardy Boyz interrupt Miz TV with Cesaro & Sheamus

A strong opening segment, with a number of different faces getting the opportunity to open the show. The Miz continued to be an utter head magnet as he opened the episode, easily working the Greenville crowd by saying "Don't cheer him" after mentioning WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose, leading to the crowd chanting even louder. The interview with Cesaro & Sheamus saw some lovely work by both sides as they bounced off each other and feed each other even more heat, with the tag team duo benefiting from sharing mic time with a man who can get the crowd going nuts by just putting his hand in the air. The rest of the segment was paint-by-numbers stuff, but done well, as Ambrose came out to interrupt, playing it as if it's so unstable he's ready to fight three on one, with Miz taking the bait telling Ambrose to "do the math" (sic), only for RAW Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz music to hit and the crowd to go nuts. We close the heels getting chucked out of the ring to send us to break. Lovely stuff. 

Ambrose & Hardy Boyz def. Miz, Cesaro & Sheamus

This was heading towards being a very strong opening match, with some well-paced trios action, until an awkward finish took some of the shine away. Miz and Matt Hardy's closing exchanged looked like neither man was quite sure what they were supposed to be doing as they randomly touched each other before Miz took a Twist of Fate like a swinging neckbreaker. There was however a lot of good work from both sides earlier on in the match as Matt and Ambrose both had spells as the face in peril and Cesaro & Sheamus continued to develop their interesting take on the bruising heel tag team. I particularly liked Ambrose's hot tag, that saw the villains try a number of underhanded tactics to take control only for them to backfire, like Cesaro attempting to stop an Ambrose suicide dive onto Sheamus, only for Jeff Hardy to come flying in with a baseball slide. The build to a hot tag to Jeff was the strongest part of the bout with Cesaro getting a lot of heat for booting Hardy off the apron, meaning Matt's tag had to go to Ambrose. However when it eventually came I don't think it lived up to the work that had been done previously and left the conclusion feeling a little flat, obviously this wasn't helped by the aforementioned exchange between Matt and Miz. 

• Corey Graves showed General Manager Kurt Angle something on his phone that could "ruin" Angle...mysterious. 

Samson def. Evans 

Elias Samson picked up his first pinfall win on RAW, picking up a squash victory over a lad called Zac Evans with a snap swinging neckbreaker. Samson brutalised Evans, bouncing him off the apron, wrapping him around the ringpost before delivering a running knee, a couple of forearms and finishing off with the neckbreaker. Considering Evans got absolutely no offence in this bout was surprisingly long and not only made Samson look credible but also like a complete jeb end for the amount of unnecessary punishment he dished. By the end of the match Samson was getting over with the Greenville crowd who seemed to be initially uninterested in him. The most thought-provoking part of the segment though was Samson's pre-match song in which he made reference to his match with Dean Ambrose last week, signalling that he owes Miz a favour for causing the DQ, which will almost certainly lead to Samson costing Ambrose the Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules on Sunday. 

• Bray Wyatt hacked the feed as Samoa Joe was giving an interview with Charly Caruso, saying a series of weird words about angels and demons and things. 

Joe def. Balor and Wyatt

A fun triple threat here that used it's mix of competitors well, told a decent story and worked as a good advert for the 4th June five-way. The structure was paint-by-numbers stuff, but there's a reason the layout has been used so many times. Joe and Wyatt initially both tried to get the other to fight Balor, however when this didn't work and we saw Balor hit a tope conhilo onto both heading into the break and when we came back Joe and Wyatt were working together an in control. You could see where things were heading, but when it arrived at that point, it wasn't any the less enjoyable for it's familiarity. Wyatt turned on Joe, hitting a lariat and pretty soon after, Finn launched into a comeback, that including sending both opponents into the barricade with front dropkicks and the crowd coming unglued. After the comeback came some of the best action of the bout between Joe and Balor, including Finn escaping the Coquina Clutch by running up the turnbuckles and hitting a double stomp, as well as Joe turning a Slingblade into an overhead belly to belly. 

The finish set up something that can be worked with at the PPV as Balor hit Coup de Grace on Wyatt, only for Joe to send Finn into the post and pick up the pin Bray. The finish got over the first fall to the finish idea that will be in play at Extreme Rules, showing how being in the right place at the right time can lead to the victory. This could be use to protect other competitors in the match for a future match with Brock Lesnar down the line and would also make for an effective false finish. The win gives Joe a much needed momentum boost, after two losses to Seth Rollins in the last month and also gives him another string to his bow after mostly winning via submission. Balor looked great through so didn't really need to take the victory here, whilst Wyatt has been protected well since jumping to RAW and has the ability to dust himself off from big losses because of his character and mic ability. 

• Seth Rollins was interviewed by Mike Rome, with a relatively bland promo about his history with Roman Reigns ahead of their match later on. 

Swann def. Dar

Not much to this Cruiserweight match with most of the work for the Mixed Tag Match at Extreme Rules with Sasha Banks joining Rich Swann and Alicia Fox joining Noam Dar already having being done. The two kept things simple with Dar working the arm with a couple of different holds, before a short Swann comeback. Having Banks get involved and knock an interfering Fox off the apron was probably the last touch the feud needed heading into the PPV and anything more would have been overkill and result meant that we saw Banks and Swann could make an effective team. Dar and Swann have potential to produce a great match together, but this wasn't really the time and neither did they have the time for it here. I'm not quite sure how I feel about Banks' ability as a dancer, but it's definitely something that happened.

• Charly Caruso interviewed The Revival, asking them about Enzo Amore's attack last week, bringing up footage of Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder (supposedly out injured) in the building last week...the mystery deepens. 

• They showed highlights of the brilliant Street Fight between Akira Tozawa and The Brian Kendrick on last week's 205 Live, before Big Cass confronted Corey Graves following Graves' insinuating Cass had something to do with Enzo Amore's attack...the mystery deepens. 

• Titus O'Neil picked up a quick victory over Kalisto, winning with a handful of tights as Apollo Crews looked on. 

Bayley: This Is Your Life with Alexa Bliss

Where to even begin with this segment. Bayley: This Is Your Life was absolute car wreck from start to finish. Bless Alexa Bliss for trying to make it entertaining, but it was poorly scripted and unnatural that it was almost physically painful to watch. Bliss is not an actress, so trying to get her to perform an acting segment solo with a couple of extra was a terrible idea on paper and a terrible idea in practice. Bliss looked uncomfortable with the lines she was reading and appeared to be desperately trying to make them fit her character, as she spoke to Mrs. Flapper ("Bayley's former teacher"), as well as "Bayley's ex best friend" and "Bayley's first boyfriend" about how much of a dweeb Bayley was. I'm not sure if in kayfabe these people were actually who Bliss said they were or if they were actors, nothing was ever quite made clear. After ten minutes of Bliss ripping into her for liking wrestling and being a "Daddy's girl", Bayley finally came out and then ended up getting beaten down anyway. Why on earth wouldn't Bayley come out straight away? Was she on the toilet? Well, that's where this segment belonged anyway. 

• Enzo Amore was found unconscious backstage again, with Big Cass furiously telling Kurt Angle it was The Revival and vowing to stay by Amore's side going forward...the mystery deepens. 

Aries & Gallagher def. TJP & Neville 

This bout was all about it's finish, as Cruiserweight Champion Neville tapped out to #1 Contender Austin Aries' Last Chancery just six days before the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived challenges for the King of the Cruiserweights' title at Extreme Rules. Following an Aries hot tag, that included some lovely overhand chops, the two worked a nice sequence of near misses as Neville dodged a missile dropkick and then Aries rolled out of the way of a middle rope Phoenix Splash and slid straight into the submission. The commentators hammered home the meaning of the tap out and the implications for the PPV title bout. Overall though the bout was needlessly long with Jack Gallagher working the face-in-peril role, being mostly worked over by TJP and nothing much of note happening. Take five minutes off this and you've got a much more exciting match that would've made the Cruiserweights stand out from the rest of the roster. The Cruisers need to feel different and at the moment there's nothing distinctive other than the lads being a bit smaller (or in Finn Balor's case the same size) than the main eventers.

• The Goldust and R-Truth feud continued with two rather good promos coming back to back. Both brought the intensity to their movie-themed monologues, getting over their distaste for each other, whilst remaining thoroughly entertaining throughout.

Reigns def. Rollins

An excellent TV main event here as Roman Reigns put away old friend and rival Seth Rollins in a match that may have been better than their PPV effort at Money in the Bank last year. The two kept a great pace throughout their near 20 minute bout, starting with a hot back and forth sequence, that included a standing moonsault from Rollins, before beginning to tell a story that worked to the strengths of both men. The Kingslayer quickly became the babyface of the match, taking a Drive-by that sent him into the ringpost and injured his midriff, whilst Reigns zoned in on the injury and at times came across as a bit of a bully when in control of the match. Rollins sold the injury well throughout, with some strong psychology after being unable to suplex the Big Dog and then later only getting two off a Frog splash after grabbing the ribs. The other thread was Reigns almost constantly attempting to hit the spear, which, of course tied in nicely with Rollins ribs injury, trying it at the start of the match, offering up a nice near fall for Rollins who turned on attempt into a school boy roll-up, ending up crashing into the steps, as well as having one blocked just before the finish. 

The finish was a nice series of near misses and reversal done at pace and concluded with Reigns' finally hitting the spear after dodging Rollins' rainmaker high knee. The pacing of the final few minutes of the bout was great stuff and concluded the episode with a heap of energy heading into the PPV. Reigns victory and his previous win over Finn Balor would seem to point to him not winning the Fatal Five-Way match, as he's been rightfully protected heading in and doesn't particularly need the win. I'd expect he'll have a programme with Brock Lesnar at some point and these victories keep him in a position to challenge for the Universal title. I was pleasantly surprised we didn't see any inference or post-match shenanigans with a cliche show-closing brawl and with the triple threat earlier in the show and the work that all five have done over the past three or four weeks there wasn't really any need for it.  

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.78/10

Two quality matches to build the Fatal Five-Way couldn't save this from getting a below average rating. This was mostly caused by the God-awful This Is Your Life segment which I'm still trying to get my head around, as well as the length of Elias Samson squash match and the nothing match between Rich Swann and Noam Dar. Considering we're heading into a PPV I'm not sure this show did enough to make anyone who wasn't going to watch Extreme Rules anyway, watch Extreme Rules on Sunday. There was a number of strong story beats, like Aries tapping out Neville, but for the most part the episode felt complacent and phoned in, in regards to both creative and handful of the performers.

WWE NXT #250 Review (31st May 2017)

On 31st May, WWE aired the 250th episode of NXT, taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL on 25th May. The show's main event saw Roderick Strong and Kassius Ohno take on the team of Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe, representing SaNItY. In-ring action also came courtesy of WWE UK Champ Pete Dunne, Andrade Almas, Danny Burch and Cezar Bononi aswell as a bit of explanation from Tommaso Ciampa. But first, another new theme tune...

Ciampa explains DIWhy he did it.

We open on a becrutched Ciampa coming to the ring to the complete hatred of the Full Sail crowd, what would follow would be possibly the most satisfying promo in terms of content and delivery in NXT since the days of Kevin Owens. Ciampa covered a lot of ground from calling out Gargano knowing he was still away 'injured' to explaining that he did what he had to in order to remain in our collective memories, blaming Reddit (he didn't say Reddit but I'm saying Reddit) for fan-booking their own new partner for Gargano in the event of Ciampa having injury leave. If anyone's wondering, my choice would of course be The Gronk. He wanted to make sure that people remember him and that if he was going away for a long time, Gargano would be going away for a long, long time. The terrifying thing about this promo is how well justified it was, Ciampa's repeating of the phrase 'best friend' may have leant it, sadly, comparisons to  Owens and Jericho but Ciampa is his own beast. Just as maybe the crowd might start to buy into his portrayal of things, he turns on them again stating that it was his moment, not Jonny's, not theirs, his. He would finish by nearly spitting at the audience that he is 'the most dangerous, sonuvabitch in NXT, I'm professional wrestling, whether you like it or not'. Shit, this was good. Neat, considered, never wasteful and impactful as fuck. It's a shame that actual injuries do mean it's going to be a while before we actually see Gargano v Ciampa but when we do, considering the belter that was their CWC match, I have no doubt it will be beautiful.

• We get a video package for Danny Burch. We don't learn much but it's nice to see him get something.

• We get a medical update, well we learn that Ciampa will be out for a bit with injuries and that Gargano has refused to speak to anyone since the injury.

• Bobby Roode is having a GLORIOUS celebration but we aren't invited. Rude.

Dunne Def. Burch

Percy Watson tries to provide some meaningful commentary on Dunne but sadly forgets that the entrance themes are more important than him in the sound mix. The two men lock up to begin with, Dunne transitions into a grounded armbar, wrenching the wrist, Burch escapes getting in a chinlock of his own, transitioning to a waistlock, Dunne escapes but it's clear Burch has done his research as he uses Dunne's own shtick against him catching him with a finger snap, test of strength, trading slaps and shoulder blocks, Burch nearly has Dunne in a crossface but Dunne wriggles to the ropes, Dunne changes the tides with something as simple as a forearm getting a neat two count, back from the ad break and Dunne is firmly in control with knuckles to the neck, throwing him to the corner, going for a splash, Burch takes him out with a boot and then hits a second rope missile dropkick, trading strikes, an enziguri, an exploder and a right hand earn Burch another two count, dueling two counts as Burch hits a headbutt and a knee strike for two, Dunne hits a snap suplex, running kick and an X-Plex for one of his own, goes for the Bitter End but Burch reverses into a crossface, escape and a big kick by Dunne, bigger clothesline by Burch, Dunne wriggles to the apron, goes for a Springboard but once again forgets his own shtick as Burch punches him out of the air into a draping DDT for another two count, goes for some form of punt but DUnne hits a lovely (and by lovely I mean 'ow, my head' says Burch) turnbuckle German suplex followed by the Bitter End, bang, and the Burch is Dunne. Having a lengthier encounter helped both men, packing their near 8 minutes with enough brutality to suggest a rematch (perhaps on a WWE UK show...?) could be lovely. Dunne looks so much better for having a decent length match instead of a two minute squash and Burch is made to look like a contender.

• After the match, Dunne talks about the title that belongs to him being held by 'some boy' and that it was his pleasure to take it. History will remember that the Bruiserweight started the WWE UK brand. Hard to argue with him.

• Velveteen Dream refuses to be interviewed because the ambience isn't right then he insults the interviewers hair. What a heel.

• Paul Ellering talks some stuff about the book of pain and prophecies and sagas and the coming of a Dovahkiin or something like that, I don't know, I got bored and stopped listening.

Bononi def. Almas

Almas attacked Cezar Bononi from the bell hitting a dropkick, stomping on the back of Bononi, double knees in the corner, more knees, a tasty slap to Bononi's chest, more kicks and a knee to the gut, Bononi fought back with some MMA knee strikes, attempted a suplex only to have it reversed into a backbreaker-elbow combo, back to kicks, strikes, clotheslines and Almas' beloved running shout at the opponent and then slap them with this one sounding like it smarted, Almas went for a suplex only for Bononi to reverse it into a small package for the pin. I get that it is to tell this 'I'm distracted by all the pretty ladies' storyline but if the company really sees potential in Bononi, this might be a win but it did nothing to show him as anything interesting.

• Almas gets into a huff about losing, throws some chairs around but shrugs it like a tranquilo motherfucker and goes off to party. Lad.

• The Iconic Duo are being filmed by a presumably much abused presumed intern, still trying to decide where to put their Iconic Wing in the PC till Ember Moon wanders through to sign the 'I can wrestle stuff again paperwork'. Delightful.

• In two weeks time, we get the rematch of the NXT Women's Title Triple Threat but this time under elimination rules. Also delightful.

• After Itami lost at Chicago, he had a little tizzy and started kicking chairs, throwing bins  and flipping tables! of water! How wasteful, it's almost like he doesn't know that summer's coming up, he's going to feel very silly if there's a hosepipe ban. This all happens much to the shock of Oney Lorcan, Funaki and Kassius Ohno. Ohno tries to calm down Itami who is appears to have all the fucks that Almas doesn't give as he has to be bleeped out for a minute.

• Luckily in the car park, just before filming they handshook it out. I'm glad they're still friends. Next Week: Itami vs Lorcan.

Strong & Ohno def. SaNItY (Young & Wolfe)

Young and Wolfe are accompanied to the ring by Dain, when the match begins, Dain is forced to leave the ring like a sad panda, Young and Strong start off trading shots, a Backbreaker by Strong (surprising) puts the faces in controls, Wolfe tags in, Dropkick by Strong, tag to Ohno, Wolfe and Young utlisie shenanigans to take control, I could tell you what happens next but really it can be summarised as Ohno plays the former WxW, PWG and CZW Champ-in-Peril, being traded between the two heels, hitting a few attempts at a comeback only to be derailed by interference from the big lad from Belfast Dain, When Ohno manages to hit the hot tag, though he does so by breaking convention and standing up to do a normal tag, Strong starts an invigorating comeback sequence including a high-angle Slam to Wolfe and an apron backbreaker to Young, Young get Wolfe in a pin but his foot is on the ropes, a surprise tag to Young leads to Strong falling right into the Wheelbarrow Neckbreaker but Ohno breaks the pin, Dain tries to get involved but No Way Jose comes back to take out Dain and the crowd don;t quite lose their shit but they're pretty excited to see him back, Ohno hits a Rolling Elbow on Wolfe, Strong hits the Backbreaker Lumbar Check on Young for the pin. The lads celebrate at the top of the ramp. It was fine, I guess. I think it felt weird seeing the man FKA Chris Hero playing the underdog role especially when he's capable of so much more. Equally, it now seems clear the SaNItY might be on root to actually be the new Wyatt family by which I mean never allowed to pick up enough wins in a row to become a credible threat. It seems that Killian Dain is being treated as the most important (male) element of the faction which is a shame as Young is a real class act and Wolfe has his moments too. It's hard to fault the actual in-ring action as it was pretty standard, structural fare but really, this group are capable of producing something far more interesting.

Finally...

A superb overall product with some well-considered angle with a big return from No Way Jose and a potentially star-making promo from Ciampa was let down by a disappointing, structurally sound but unexciting main event. I'm glad they're clearly making Strong look so Roderick in order to set him up to be Roode's next contender and despite the matches ranging from ok-to-great, I can't wait for the Tye and Friends vs SaNItY feud to pass. Still, worth giving at least the first half of the show a watch for Ciampa's promo and a continued effort by Pete Dunne to steal all shows he's on.

ATPW Scale Rating: 5/10

WCPW Fight Back Preview

So, this was initially supposed to be a look at the return of WhatCulture Pro Wrestling's Loaded Youtube series, scheduled to run every week at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester from this Friday. However, things have changed. Earlier this week, the company announced that due to changes in Youtube's monetization policy that now lists wrestling content as "non-advertiser friendly" broadcasting a show on the channel was no longer a clever move financially. 

Before I get into what WCPW have come up with to replace the 2nd June event, lets talk about Youtube and the changes they've made. To classify a whole genre of entertainment as "non-advertiser friendly" is quite frankly ridiculous, especially considering some of the other content that the site hosts. The move to make their website suitable and safe for all is a commendable move, but I can't get my head around cutting off the majority of the revenue stream to professional wrestling. There is pro wrestling out there that is all about the violence and I couldn't imagine straight-laced advertisers wanting to be associated with Japanese Death Matches but to generalise when the medium is so diverse, doesn't add up. Imagine banning advertising on all music videos, because some of them having swearing in them? Or advertising on all films because some have sex scenes? Ridiculous. Professional Wrestling at it's core is storytelling, mixed with athleticism and while there's been a few complaints levied at WCPW since their debut last year, no one could accuse them of producing content as "inappropriate". Youtube is a brilliant tool for professional wrestlers and professional wrestling companies, it would be a real shame if that was taken aware permanently.

Luckily, WCPW decided to still run on 2nd June and have created a bigger card of action featuring some of the top talent in the UK, including WCPW Champion Joe Hendry, El Ligero, Rampage, Dave Mastiff, Martin Kirby and more. The Fight Back against the new Youtube rules begins here, let's take a look at what WCPW has prepared for us. The event will air live on YouTube. Tickets are still available from wc.pw 

 
The main event will see Martin Kirby attempting to get the WCPW title back from Joe Hendry in a Last Man Standing match. After Kirby won the title from Drew Galloway in a 30 man Rumble at No Regrets in Newcastle on 29th April, it would be in his very first title defense that Kirby ended up losing the title to Hendry following a referee stoppage at Pro Wrestling World Cup - Mexican Qualifying in Coventry a day later. With Hendry willing to kick Kirby in the head, despite the then champion being clearly knocked out, in order to take the title from him, to say that Kirby wanted revenge goes without say. Last Saturday at Hendrymania in Edinburgh, Kirby got his rematch, only for Hendry's fellow Prestige member Joe Coffey to get involved and cost Kirby the match. There's plenty of animosity here with Kirby desperate to get one over on Hendry, not just for taking his title but the way in which it was done, whilst we know that Hendry will stop at nothing to stay on top of the mountain. This has the potential to be an all out war tomorrow night.

The Four-Way Number One Contenders match features an intriguing mixture of styles and personalities as Joe Coffey, Dave Mastiff, Rampage and El Ligero. Coffey's alignment with champion Joe Hendry and the Prestige could lead to some interesting developments and with one of the strongest records heading into the bout, having only two losses in 2017, one against Rampage last week and the other in a title match with Drew Galloway in March, as well as advancing to the Pro Wrestling World Cup. Mastiff debuted at No Regrets impressing in the World title Rumble and having to be ousted by the all star team of Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes, he's got history with all three of his opponents so it'll be interesting see how he slots into this one and WCPW at large. Rampage has picked up two victories over the Prestige recently and after taking part in the first WCPW title match he'll be desperate to get back in the hunt. El Ligero is the wild card here, not just in having a completely different wrestling style and is at least 70lbs lighter than everyone else, but he also hasn't been in a bit of tailspin since dropping the WCPW Internet Title to Cody Rhodes. There's no mistaking that Ligero is the underdog, but with three big lads battering the piss into or out of each other, he may get the opportunity to use his agility to his advantage. There's huge potential in this bout and a hell of a lot of talent, who comes out with the win though is anyone's guess. 

After using a wrench to defeat Sha Samuels last week, Drake finds himself in a Hardcore match with a man who has been known to take it to the extreme in WCPW, Primate. With victories in a Boiler Room Brawl and a Chairs match against Rampage, as well as two recent Hardcore wins against Scott Wainwright and Bad Bones, this is a position that Drake didn't look too happy with when Adam Blampied placed him in it. Either way this is gonna be too big blokes beating each other up with some toys. Also on the show, Zack Gibson gets a shot at Gabriel Kidd's Internet Championship and there's also Tag Team Gauntlet to work out who gets a shot at The Swords of Essex's (Wainwright & Will Ospreay) belts as Kid Fite & Lou King Sharp, Prospect (Alex Gracie & Lucas Archer), Johnny Moss & Liam Slater, Kings of the North (Bonesaw & Damien Corvin) and Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) battle it out. 

Also appearing - Viper, WCPW Women's Champion Bea Priestley and "Session Moth" Martina.

WCPW Fight Back airs live on YouTube at 7pm BST. 

Tickets are available from wc.pw. 

Doors open - 6:15 

Event Time - 7:00-10:00