WWE NXT Takeover: Rival Review

I had high hopes for this show in the preview yesterday and with matches like Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens and Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville, this one couldn't really fail...could it?

Singles Match for the NXT Championship

Sami Zayn (C) vs. Kevin Owens

Almost eight months to the day that I saw Kevin Steen battle Tommy End in an absolute war of a match at Fight Club: Pro in Wolverhampton, Steen now under the guise of Kevin Owens was main eventing an NXT special live on the WWE Network against long time friend and rival, Sami Zayn. It was hard not to get tied up in the emotion of this feud from it's beginning at NXT Takeover: R-Evolution two months ago, even if you weren't aware of their entire history and this continued into the show, from clips of NXT General Manager William Regal visiting both men backstage to a terrific highlight package just before the match, as soon as bell time came and the Full Sail Arena went back and forth with the "Ole" and "Fight Owens Fight" chants, that big fight feel was there and it was game on for Owens and Zayn.

And that game was Kevin Owens absolutely battering Sami Zayn for twenty minutes. This was a story that suited both men down to the ground, Owens was allowed to show off an impressive series of power moves, whilst Zayn's "fighting from underneath" selling and offence may be the best in the business right now. Zayn's desperate flurry of offence contrasted nicely with the slower more precise Owens, who constantly went back to a headlock in an attempt to get those fans cheering him to turn on him. The story was compelling and the parts were well cast, similar to Zayn vs. Neville from the previous special, this was two former Indy stalwarts meshing their styles with WWE's sports entertainment jugganaut. 

Of course, no story would be complete without drama and suspense and through a series of near falls for both men this match had it in spades. Zayn managing to pull out a series of impressive moves on the bigger man, including a Blue Thunderbomb and a Half and Half suplex, which even if I wasn't entirely convinced it was over, still made me sit up and take notice. The move that everyone thought could get the win for Zayn was the Helluva Kick, but after two missed attempts, cleverly, Zayn was never able to hit the move in the match. This gives him even more reason to have a gripe with the way the match ended. Keeping a move like the Helluva Kick feeling special in a WWE where almost every finishing move has been kicked out of is vital going forward.

That finish though. That finish. If anyone says they predicted this ending in such a fashion, then they are a lying bastard. Owens battered Zayn with strikes, a Pop-Up Powerbomb and four regular powerbombs, whilst Doctor's attempted to see to Zayn, leading to the referee calling a stop to the match and awarding Owens his first NXT Championship in just his third televised match for WWE. It was a shocking moment, a rare thing in wrestling these days, whilst also preserving the two for a rematch later down the line. As good as this match was, you know the rematch will be that much better for how this one was booked. And let's not forget Owens has to defend the title against new number one contender Finn Balor as well. Triple Threat?

NXT Championship Number One Contenders Tournament Final

Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville

As mentioned in yesterday's preview, the number one contender's tournament has done wonders for both of these competitors, especially Finn Balor, allowing him to look like a credible threat in NXT, whilst allowing Neville to recoup from two high profile losses to Sami Zayn. This was hammered home by a well produced promo video, shown on the Kick-Off show and just before the match itself, detailing the tournament in full as well as having words from Neville and Balor outlining what kind of match we could be in store for. 

This match was everything it promised to be and more, becoming a storytelling epic, as Neville showed some of heel-ish tendencies that made his feud with Sami Zayn such a pleasure to watch, denying the crowd of Balor's Tope Conhilo twice, meaning that when Balor finally hit the move it got a much bigger pop than it would have first time round. Slapping on multiple headlocks and controlling the pace of the early goings allowed the changes in pace to really stand out and rally the crowd even further behind Balor, meaning the crowd was fully behind the Irish man, which allowed for his win to feel even more special when he pulled it out of the bag following a dropkick into the bottom turnbuckle and a Coup de Grâce to pick up the win.

Played out on top of the foundation laid by the storytelling was a hard-hitting and technical series of moves and near falls, that knitted the pair's styles together and held the attention for the duration of the bout. Neville's series of German suplexes were beautiful and looked completely different to how most of WWE performs the move, whilst the closing three minutes of the match from the build up to Neville hitting Red Arrow onwards were an absolute joy to behold. The only complaint anyone can really have with this bout was the length, it really could have done with an extra five or so minutes to tell the story a little better. There were very few times in the match when I genuinely believed the match was over, with only the finish and Balor's small package after catching Neville with his knee's on a Red Arrow attempt truly making me think the bell was about to ring.

It seems like Neville's time in NXT is coming to a close following his loss here and it may only be a matter of time before he's beckoned up to the main roster, where dream matches with the likes of Cesaro, Daniel Bryan and Dean Ambrose await. This match allowed Neville to give back to NXT in a big way, as he worked hard to make Balor look like a star, in perhaps one of the most selfless performances in recent memory. Howay the lad.

Fatal Fourway for the NXT Women's Championship.

Charlotte (C) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Up there with the best Fatal Fourways WWE has ever put on, in rarified air alongside Edge vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels from Backlash 2007 and Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd from NXT Takeover, this was a great showcase of the women's division in NXT. Playing on the interweaving relationships between the four, the match took several twists and turns developing on these relationships throughout the bout, with Becky and Sasha initially teaming up to keep Charlotte down, before Becky turned on Sasha with a lovely pumphandle suplex, Bayley continuing to show a more aggressive side to her game, as well as sequences of action between Charlotte and Bayley and the closing sequence with Sasha Banks.

The match flowed incredibly smoothly, building towards it's climax, a showdown between Sasha and Charlotte, naturally with each step feeling like it was leading to that final moment. After sending Bayley to the outside and failing to get the cover, Sasha locked in a vicious Crossface with Charlotte steadily edging towards the ropes. However, just when it looked like Charlotte had made it, it was Sasha who was one step ahead, switching into a Crucifix pin and picking up the victory and her first NXT Women's Champion, ending Charlotte's reign at 258 days. I was completely and utterly tied up in the emotion of this one, wrapped up in the story of the match and that was only exaggerated by the hug between Sasha and Charlotte after the match. There isn't a "Diva" on the roster, that knows her character and plays it to a tee as much as Sasha Banks. A deserved win and a terrific match.

Singles Match

Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami

 An exciting, technical and psychological opener, that gave just enough of a taste of what these two can do together in the ring to whet the appetite for the matches still to come. Breeze continued to show why he's NXT's secret weapon putting a shift in, looking comfortable when in control of the match, working over Itami's knee and leg with a series of strikes and submission holds, including a Figure Four Leglock around the ringpost, a move which always get's a pop out of me. Itami's selling was solid, grabbing the leg after the Single Leg Running Dropkick that got him the pinfall victory was a great touch, however I would have liked to have seen the leg play a bit more of a role following Itami's "Hulking Up" in the closing stages of the match. These two could do better in a main event situation, but as an opening match it did everything it needed to do.

Tag Team Match for the NXT Tag Team Championship.

Murphy & Blake (C) vs. The Lucha Dragons.

If you asked someone unfamiliar with WWE and NXT which one of the guys on this show was on the main roster, I very much doubt whether they'd pick Sin Cara out of the bunch. He's become even more sloppy as of late, genuinely looking like he would rather be anywhere else and this match was no different with Cara botching a number of big spots and highflying moves, that made him and his opponent look like morons. Even Kalisto picked up the Botchcaraitis, stumbling on an attempt at a dive to the outside. Luckily, Murphy & Blake impressed on their biggest match to date, with a series of good looking double team moves, including the running brainbuster into frogsplash combination that got them the pinfall victory. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them going forward and much much less of Sin Cara.

No Disqualification Match

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey 

The less said about this one the better, I think. It was sloppy as a soup sandwich, Corbin failing to clothesline Dempsey outside the ring, but Dempsey going over the top anyway to a chorus of loud boos, is simply unacceptable for guys who've been in the developmental system for three years. Whilst there were decent spots in the match, such as Dempsey hitting a suplex on the ramp, the distinct lack of in-ring chemistry between the two, an awkward looking End of Days finish and the aforementioned sloppiness made this one a complete dud.

Finally...

What a show! What a fucking show! The two top singles matches delivered two completely different and throughly entertaining contests, whilst the Women's Championship match provided four women the opportunity to shine at the same time. If only we could wipe Corbin vs. Dempsey (and parts of the tag title match) from the record.

Either way NXT did it again...and they will do it again...The Future is Now.

WWE NXT Takeover: Rival Preview

NXT Takeover's are steadily becoming the most anticipated event for a certain group of fans, so it's only natural that ATPW will be not only offering reviews of the show, but also Previews and Predictions as we do for WWE PPV's. Grab yourself a digestive (other biscuits are available), put the kettle on and settle in...The Future is Now!

Singles Match for the NXT Championship Match

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (C)

Zayn and Owens came face to face for a Contract Signing on 28th January

Head to Head Record - Sami Zayn - 10 wins, Kevin Owens - 8 wins

      As soon as the then Kevin Steen was revealed as WWE's newest aquistion on 12th August last year, it was the one match that fans clamoured for. Steen vs. Generico on a grand scale. The pair have had 18 singles match around the world on the independent circuit, in Canada, USA, England and Italy. Their first came in November 2003 for International Wrestling Syndicate at "Payback's A Bitch" in Laval, Quebec, Canada and it's been almost two and half years since their last, a Ladder War for Ring of Honor at "Final Battle" in New York City.

Anyone who's seen the two tangle on the Indies knows that these two can more than deliver in the main event, and after a compelling and entertaining two month build up, we could be in for some special come bell time at the Full Sail Arena. Part of me think we won't see Sami Zayn drop the title only two months and one succesful title defence after winning the belt and can't see the title being given to Owens in only his third televised match in NXT, but the other part thinks it's much more entertaining to see Zayn chasing the title and would add more spice to their feud if Owens were able to win through some underhanded tactic. That's what makes this bout so intriguing.

Prediction - Sami Zayn retains.

Fatal Four-way Match for the NXT Women's Championship

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte (C) vs. Sasha Banks

Bayley and Charlotte stare down on last week's NXT.

Head to Head Record (involving any combination of the four) - 
Bayley - 17 wins, Becky - 5 wins, Charlotte - 12 wins, Sasha - 11 wins

There's a lot of back-story going into this Fatal Fourway, isn't there? Becky and Bayley used to be pal, Charlotte and Sasha used to be pals, Becky and Sasha are pals, but there's been tension for a while, Charlotte and Bayley built up a mutual respect, after feuding for a bit and now seem to have dropped their friendship in favour of the NXT Women's Championship. It's great to see the women's division treated like it's important and each of these four women have grabbed the opportunities given to them by NXT with both hands, putting on a series of exciting matches that have stood out from the rest of the show. This could very well be another one of those matches. I think it's time for a title change in the division, and this Fatal Fourway should provide the opportunity for fan favourite Bayley to pick up the title.

Prediction - Bayley wins her first NXT Women's Championship. 

Tag Team Match for the NXT Tag Team Championship

Buddy Murphy & Wesley Blake (C) vs. The Lucha Dragons

Blake & Murphy surprised the Lucha Dragons on 28th January NXT.

Head to Head Record - Murphy & Blake - 1 win, Lucha Dragons - 2 times

It was a great moment when Murphy and Blake won the NXT Tag Team Championship because it came completely out of nowhere, but it was impossible to say they weren't deserving of the titles after beating The Vaudevillains and the Lucha Dragons in consecutive weeks. Tonights match has the simple story of the new champions attempting to prove the win wasn't a fluke, whilst the previous champions attempt to win back their gold. I've made it known in previous weeks that I've been less than enamoured with Sin Cara's performances recently, so I'm hoping we see more of Kalisto in this one! I'm excited to get more of a look at Blake and Murphy who have shown potential in their recent performances, but are yet to have a break-out performance in the ring.

Prediction - Murphy & Blake retain.

Singles Match to Determine the Number One Contender to the NXT Championship

Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor

Neville & Balor shake hands at the close of last week's NXT.

Head to Head Record - Adrian Neville - 1 win, Finn Balor - 0 wins.

For only the second time in history and the first time on WWE television, Adrian Neville and Finn Balor will square off and this time the winner will get a shot at the NXT Championship. I'm a big mark for tournaments and have enjoyed this tournaments that's played out on NXT for the last four weeks. It's kept Neville looking strong following two losses to Sami Zayn, whilst Finn Balor has been elevated due to his performances against Hideo Itami and Curtis Axel. Neville and Balor are free of any real storyline and backstory, which allows them put on a different kind of match to what I expect we'll see from Owens and Zayn in the main event, this is going to be two similarly matched competitors going back and forth to prove who deserve a shot at the title. I see it being Balor who pulls out the victory, as Neville has not long come off a run in the title picture, it may be time for Neville to make the step up following WrestleMania 31.

Prediction - Balor wins to become Number One Contender to the NXT Championship.

No Disqualification Match

Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

Corbin was on the losing end against Adrian Neville on last week's NXT.

Head to Head Record - Corbin - 5 wins, Dempsey - 0 wins

The one match on the card that I couldn't give a shit about. Corbin defeated Dempsey on 14th January, before picking up another win two weeks later in the Quarter Final of the NXT Championship Number One contenders tournament, before Dempsey cost Corbin his Semi-Final match with Adrian Neville, the week after. On paper, that doesn't sound so bad, but when you consider neither of Corbin and Dempsey's televised matches have gone longer than two minutes, it's a little difficult to understand exactly why I'm supposed to be interested in this match.

Prediction - Corbin wins.

Singles Match

Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

Itami lost his Semi-Final to Finn Balor last week.

Head to Head Record - Itami - 7 wins, Breeze - 0 wins.

Also coming out of the NXT Championship Number One Contender's Tournament is this match. Itami defeated Breeze in the Quarter Finals, however was unable to pull out the win against Finn Balor in the Semis, leading to Breeze attacking Itami during a WWE.com "Exclusive" interview. It's hardly the fiercest of rivalries, however, Itami and Breeze managed to put together a decent bout first time out and have faced each other numerous times on NXT live events over the past three months, so I'd expect the pair to put in a similar effort, if not top their original contest. Breeze would benefit more from a victory here.

Prediction - Tyler Breeze pulls out the surprise win.

Finally...

This show has the potential to be the strongest outing for NXT yet. Owens vs. Zayn, Balor vs. Neville and Itami vs. Breeze all stand out as intriguing singles bouts, whilst the Women's Fatal Fourway will offer a welcome change of pace on the show. If we could just find a way to get rid of Corbin vs. Dempsey...

See you tomorrow for the review!

TNA Impact Wrestling - Lockdown 2015 Review

      For the first time ever, TNA decided to giveaway Lockdown on free television, rather than hold the event as a pay-per-view. An interesting choice, a clear attempt to build up the fledgling Destination America viewership, but would the event offer classic matches, of the ilk of AJ Styles vs. Abyss from 2005, Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle from 2008 or Angle vs. Mr. Anderson of 2010? Would the show actually end up as pay-per-view quality making fans feel like they've been given an extra special treat, or would it leave fans thanking their lucky stars that they didn't have to pay? Let's find out!

Lethal Lockdown Match

Beatdown Clan 

vs. 

Team Angle

  Taking up around a quarter of the television time was the continuing storyline between the Beatdown Clan and Team Angle, culminating in the Lethal Lockdown main event for the show. For some reason, it was decided that angle was needed earlier in the show, in which MVP (who was joined by Kenny King and Eric Young) offered Kurt Angle's team the opportunity to back out of the match, due to Team Angle being one member down at the time. For someone who is given so much mic time by TNA, MVP can't hold my attention for more than a minute. Of course, Angle didn't accept MVP's offer and it all ended up in a big brawl, with Low Ki and Samoa Joe ambushing Gunner. The pair trapped Gunner's arm in the cage door and delivered a chair shot, to give the match a bit of story later on. This segment should have taken place a week before the match, to help build up the feud, having it on the Special edition itself just made everything feel very rushed. 

The build up continued backstage with Gunner told by a Doctor not to compete, however Gunner decided he would any and would start the match, because he's a fucking moron apparently. Instead of telling their partner that this was a bloody stupid idea, Angle and Austin Aries simply sat by. Instead of reasoning with Gunner that it might be a good idea to go in last, Angle went to track down World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley, throwing him into a wall in an attempt to get him to join the team, that's exactly what I do when I want someone to write for Across The Pond, ask Billy and Sean.

So the two stories running throughout the bout were clearly set out earlier in the show. Gunner going in first with an injured arm, that was played up nicely earlier on in the match with Kenny King and Low Ki delivering a number of kicks to the arm and Gunner selling completently throughout the first five minutes or so. It was a shame not to see this picked up on later, although the crowded nature of Lethal Lockdown doesn't really lend itself to such subtleties. The other story, of course, was whether or not Bobby Lashley would turn up to help Team Angle. The moment Lashley came out was played nicely, although it was clear to everyone that he wasn't about to rejoin MVP's stable. Personally, I would've liked to have Lashley on the offence for a bit longer, as he cut of fairly quickly by the BDC, I think it would have really cemented the moment to see Lashley explode out of the blocks on his former friends. 

Angle's team managed to pick up the victory, with Angle, Aries and Gunner all managing to lock in their signature submission holds on members of the opposite team in a cool moment, allowing Lashley to hit a spear on MVP to pick up the victory. The interaction between MVP and Lashley lasted a little bit too long, with MVP standing around for a bit instead of saving any of his team. I'm not entirely sure if Angle's team going over was the correct decision, The Beatdown Clan needed a victory to make them feel like a viable threat at the top of the card, having only been in existence for a month. Where does everyone go next? Who will become Lashley's number one contender? Will Gunner continue to randomly drift in and out of storylines? 

Steel Cage Match for the World Tag Team Championship

The Hardys 

vs. 

James Storm & Abyss (C)

with Khoya, Manik & The Great Sanada

       It was refreshing to see a wrestling match open the show and seeing as this was supposed to be a "Pay-Per-View" style show it's exactly what should be happening on these special editions of Impact Wrestling. This match had recieved a lot of attention in the promos for this show, simply because of THAT bump by Jeff Hardy after the match, with the feud between the two teams being flimsly at best, with The Hardys winning a number one contender bout against The Wolves three weeks ago, before the teams faced off in singles matches over the last two weeks.

This match did little for me and for a match this long, very little of note actually happened during the match. The Hardy's ran through their signature moves (Four Twist of Fates?), Storm and Abyss didn't do much at all beyond kicks and punches, and most of all there was no sense of drama or urgency to attempt to get the win. This was two teams going through the motions for most of the match, which all seemed like it was there simply to allow for the big spot to happen after the match. I think seeing Jeff and Abyss using all sorts of weapons on last week's Impact also didn't help this one.

Elements of the finish however were strong. I say elements because Matt getting pulled out of the camera hole in the cage by Khoya was just plain stupid and completely negated the reason the purposes of the cage match concept! But, The Great Sanada's interference using his Green Mist to prevent Jeff from hitting a Swantom Bomb was a clever use of Sanada's offence and allowed Storm to pick up the pinfall victory for his team following a Last Call Superkick. 

The aftermatch of the match was what everyone tuned in for though, wasn't it? Everyone wanted to see Jeff Hardy's stupid bump from the door of the cage onto the steel steps. And you needn't have worried if you missed it the first time round, because it was replayed numerous times throughout the remaining two hours. The Revolution looked dominant, and Storm in particularly is doing good character work in the role, it is important that the younger guys on the faction get some time to get themselves over, as TNA desperately needs to get some upward movement from it's roster.          

Steel Cage Match

Eric Young 

with MVP

vs. 

Bobby Roode

This is the match I was most looking forward to heading into the show, mainly because Bobby Roode has proven to be TNA's most consistent in-ring performer over the last few years. That being said, I was left a little disapointted by this match overall. The action throughout was technically sound, both men looked comfortable in the ring together, but this wasn't anywhere near as competitive a match as I was hoping it would be. Roode dominated for most of the match and never really looked like he was losing this one, even when MVP came out to hand Young a steel chair through the fucking camera hole! 

This match needed, at least, five minutes more than it was given to tell a satisfying story and to give both men the opportunity to show what they could do. The story heading into the match was that Roode wanted to draw blood from Young, but when that happened it felt almost like a footnote, rather than the cresendo to the match that it should have been. Roode picked up the win with a Roode Bomb onto a steel chair, so it would seem like Roode would slot straight back into the title picture. This was a decent match, but it killed any momentum that the feud, or Eric Young, may have had going forward, after only a month. Roode's backstage promo later in the show would seem to confirm that also.

Handicap Steel Cage Match

Mandrews & Rockstar Spud 

vs. 

Tyrus 

with Ethan Carter III

This was my favourite match of the night, not the best match on the show, but my favourite to watch. Simply put, the match set out to do exactly what it had to do and told a story that was easy to follow and well told. Everyone in the bout played their roles excellently, with Spud especially standing out throughout the match, with his believable selling and his heel-o off the top of the cage onto Tyrus. It was Tyrus however who picked up the victory after EC3 managed to get Mandrews to leave the cage, ending up in a nasty bump onto the steel steps for Mandrews, before Tyrus picked up the win following his Tongan Death Grip chokeslam. Spud however managed to keep hold of his hair again, as following the match Jeremy Borash managed to snip the power chord to EC3's clippers. This storyline has brightened TNA's television product up for a long time and it doesn't look like losing steam any time soon, both Spud and EC3 are benefitting, with Mandrews and Tyrus also getting involved on the action, TNA needs to look at what it's doing right here and implement it throughout the rest of the show.

Steel Cage Match

Havok 

vs. 

Awesome Kong

Billed as a "Dream" match, this match turned out to be all hype. Awesome Kong looked like she'd rather be anywhere else as she plodded through the bout, whilst Havok did weird things like remove the mats from around ringside to apply a bear hug on them. There were two notable spots, Kong throwing Havok into the cage door and steps on the outside and Havok missing a spear on Kong that sent Havok into the cage, I don't know about you but I expect a little more from my dreams. Kong picked up the win, following an awkward top powerbomb and a standing splash, so I'd imagine we're going to get more between these two. Hopefully, they'll get a bit longer and be able to up their game next time out.

Beautiful People segment

For reasons known only to TNA, a segment involving Velvet Sky explaining to Angelina Love that she had been fired aired with the caption "Two weeks ago". AND REVEALED NOTHING! We'd already seen Angelina the week before coming out with The Bro-Mans and not giving a shit about Sky being fired. You could have saved us from Angelina and Velvet's acting TNA, but you chose not to! 

Robbie E and Brooke's "Amazing" Race

Thank the lord that this segment was kept to only highlights. Brooke and Robbie E had a race to get into the cage and then leave the cage. For the minute it was on screen it was mildly entertaining, although I can't help but for feel for the live crowd who had to watch it in full.

Finally...

This was not a pay-per-view quality show, neither was it a particularly strong episode of Impact Wrestling. Whilst there were elements of the show that were enjoyable, notably the Handicap bout, this felt like a show of missed opportunities. An extra five minutes for Roode vs. Young, a few tweaks to the Lethal Lockdown match and more urgency and drama to the tag team title bout and this conclussion could have been very different. 

Islands in the Stream I - Old School: MSG 03/17/75

Just like the WWE Network itself, the initial edition of Islands in the Stream has been slightly delayed, but it's finally here for your reading pleasure. This series plans to chronologically run-through the content on the WWE Network, every Monday and Friday (except the first Monday of each month where Best of British will feature instead). It's a big task, but will hopefully help you to uncover some hidden gems and watch footage you otherwise might not.
This first edition will be looking at the 17th March 1975 show from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, USA, that can be found in the Old School category under the Vault section of the Network. The show is headlined by Bruno Sammartino defending the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against Spirios Arion, alongside three others matches. Vince McMahon goes solo on commentary.

WWWF Heavyweight Championship Match

Spirios Arion vs. Bruno Sammartino (C)

The main event of the show actually appear second on this broadcast, which is a little jarring as a fan used to the modern day WWE product. One of the things that makes this match notable is the crowd reaction to even the simplest of moves, because of their adulation for Bruno Sammartino and their utter hatred for Spirios Arion's manager Freddie Blassie. The live audience are completely hooked by this match from start to finish and that does, of course, bring something to the broadcast itself.

However, a modern WWE fan may struggle to get into the bare-bones styles of the WWWF, which mainly consists of punches and kicks, with the odd bodyslam thrown in. The pace is much, much slower than what fans are used to today and there's certainly nothing flashy about the way Sammartino and Arion go about their game. The bout does gets rather repetitive quickly, with the pair going through a similar pattern of action for the majority of the bout.

The main highlights actually come from outside of the match itself. Vince McMahon has an absolute nightmare on commentary, calling the bout a "Texas Death Match" multiple times, despite it clearly having no signs of being anything other than a regular match and the ring announcers confirming such a thing. He also goes on to call a Camel Clutch-esque move a "Modified Boston Crab". Arion also get's into a confrontation with a member of the crowd at one point, swiping out at the fan, which seemingly comes out nowhere, imagine if Brock Lesnar twatted a fan at ringside in 2015!

Whilst the match might not be to modern fans taste, the finish is a familiar and frustrating one. Following a bodyslam, Sammartino get's the pinfall victory, despite Arion's foot being clearly on the rope in front of the referee. It doesn't even feel like it should be a finish at all, and probably would've had Twitter saying things like "Who books this shit" and "Fuck this company", if Twitter were such a thing in 1975. It's probably a good job this isn't the final match on the show, because it's leaves things a little flat for the home viewer in 2015, even if the 1975 live audience are losing their shit with glee and it gives Blassie a reason to get Arion a rematch later on down the line.

Singles Match

Killer Kowalski vs. Victor Rivera

Early on this match showed a lot of promise, teasing me with some attempts at phsycology as Killer Kowalski worked Victor Rivera's leg, whilst Rivera went after Kowalski's arm. Both men do a good job at selling their supposed weaknesses, however the match doesn't progress much from this point, with the pair going back and forth on these injuries for sometime. After a bit Kowalski even gives up and decides to whack on an Abdominal Claw instead. I'd worried that perhaps my modern fans mindset was the reason this match was boring me, however the almost silent MSG crowd made me think otherwise.
The finish is another disapointing one, involving a disqualification for Kowalski for a bite, just when it seems the match might be heading towards a satisfying conclusion. With almost 30 years in the business at this point, I'm not sure why Kowalski needed to be protected as much at this point in his career, when a win for Rivera over the veteran could have done a lot for him.

Singles Match

The Wolfman vs. Ivan Putski

Ivan Putski has a huge belly and the funniest facial expressions I may have ever seen. That alone was enough to keep me entertained throughout this match. Throw in the fact that he's wrestling a fella called THE WOLFMAN and you've got wrestling gold. I'm not even sure what happened, other than Putski picking up a quick win with a Bear Hug, I was too busy losing my shit for Putski and his Polish Power ways. He even drinks a beer once the match is finished, because he's the fucking man about town and he doesn't care who knows it.

Singles Match

Cheif Jay Strongbow vs. Butcher Vachon

The opening contest of the broadcast, this is a basically structured match. Vachon works the heel character nicely, however it's Strongbow's comeback that stands out as the most entertaining part of the match, for it's sheer hilarious-ness, as he struts around the ring like some kind of funky chicken. The finish of the bout comes almost completely out of the blue and with Strongbow picking up the win from a move that many will be familiar with as a transitional move these days, the Lou Thesz Press!

Finally...

These early shows aren't going to be for everyone, especially something as early as 1975, as the action is completely different to what WWE puts on these days and takes a lot of getting used to. This show isn't packed full of classic matches and big moments, but I still found something strangely fascinating about it and seening certain elements that would become WWE tropes over the next few years. Early Vince McMahon commentary is hilarious to say the least, whilst Ivan Putski vs. The Wolfman is the match that dreams are made of.

Next Time

Old School: MSG 6/27/77 featuring Baron Von Raschke vs. Ivan Putski, Superstar Billy Graham defending the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against Bruno Sammartino and more. 

Best of British III - WrestleZone

       This month's Best of British see's Over The Border writer Billy Strachan take a look at WrestleZone.

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      WrestleZone have been tearing up the North East of Scotland since 2008, with a strong and rabid fanbase along with steller wrestlers and guests, I'm here to throw their name into the hat to be called "Best of British".

I had gotten the independent wrestling bug in mid-2012 when I attended SWE Hell for Lycra IX and from then on I was on the hunt to see as many shows that I could afford…which wasn’t many but it allowed me to pick and choose events. When I saw that one of my favourite wrestlers (Billy Gunn) was coming to Aberdeen of all places, I had to get along to that!

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Billy Gunn was the man that got Billy interested.

My first experience of WrestleZone was their fifth Aberdeen Anarchy event in 2013. Before this I had attended a couple SWE shows and a W3L event so had an idea what to expect from an independent event. The main drawing point for me was the special guests, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Billy Gunn. When I got to the Beach Ballroom to watch the event though, wow, it was the wrestlers that made me want to come back. When you kick off the show in a sold out Ballroom with Bingo Ballance vs Stevie Xavier (www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOvAElvdRm4) you know you're in for a treat. What followed was a packed show top to bottom and that's what you expect when you come to a WrestleZone event. They have their "big events" like the Regal Rumble, Aberdeen Anarchy and Battle of the Nations but they also tour the North East in places like Ellon, Huntly and Fraserburgh so that everyone gets a chance to see their roster in action.

      Their core roster is full of talented individuals, with some just coming to prominence and debuting in other promotions. The characters are well thought out and fill the needs for every person that comes to an event from comedy acts like Mr Malice, Super Executioner and the Cystos to pure wrestling like Aspen Faith or just a hero for the crowd to pull for like Scotty Swift.

Scotty Swift is a big fan favourite at WrestleZone

      Their tag team division is currently home to three very good teams from the champions The Granite City Hotshots (Bryan Tucker and Shawn Johnson) to the odd couple team of Thunder Buddies (William Sterling and Blue Thunder) and the dangerous pairing of Revolution (Damien and Johnny Lions). Two of these teams put on a fantastic display at Aberdeen Anarchy in 2014 when Thunder Buddies and The Hotshots faced off in a ladder match. It was brutal but mesmerising with a well deserved standing ovation at the end for all four competitors.

       What impresses me about WrestleZone is their production, match graphics for every match, every event. Promos from their wrestlers are produced in plenty of time and their own podcast answers any questions fans may have about the product. They excel in fan interaction and getting people involved.

An example of WrestleZone's recent match graphics.

        I went to their Regal Rumble event which saw Jack Jester win the annual battle royal to face the champion at Aberdeen Anarchy that year. This program between Jack Jester and the champion Crusher Craib was the best build up that I had seen in a very long time. It had started prior to this event when Jester handed the champion his first loss (by DQ) and gotten into the monsters head. Crusher was a monster that just booted folk in the face and left but with Jester he had become more human by showing weakness. After Jester won the Regal Rumble there was a pull apart brawl between the two which consisted of the whole roster and staff to pull the two away from each other. What happened at Aberdeen Anarchy was shocking as Jester had Crusher pleading as Jester had held one of the camera girls by the neck and threatened her with his corkscrew. The monster had become human by showing mercy. It was fantastic storytelling, with every little detail adding to the match. The video package before the match at Aberdeen Anarchy summed it up (www.youtube.com/watch?v=w32sRBoWqE8).

Not only do they pull out all the stops at their big events but at their smaller events the guys involved put everything into their matches and work hard to get the crowd invested into their matches. Their regular roster boasts a lot of talent from the likes of Zach Dynamite, Chris Archer, Alan Sterling and the aforementioned Scotty Swift, Crusher Craib and Aspen Faith. I’ve been to smaller shows in Fraserburgh and Nairn where the crowd may not have been big but they were loud and were left wanting more.

Crusher Craib is a regular for WrestleZone

     In the last couple of years, WrestleZone have brought over some fantastic guests that have been enthusiastic and willing to perform, no false advertising or phoning in here. The likes of the aforementioned “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Billy Gunn, Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal have come from across the pond along with Colt Cabana, X-Pac, Scotty 2 Hotty and, in May, D-Von Dudley, Chris Masters and Hardcore Holly. With these stars they’ve hosted dream matches like Grado vs Scotty 2 Hotty.

It’s not only international talent that comes through the doors at WrestleZone but the best in Britain like Drew Galloway, Joe Coffey and Lionheart having made appearances for them in the past.

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Drew Galloway appeared for WrestleZone in August.

      WrestleZone are a company that work hard and try and give the fans something to remember at every event. They are definitely a company to keep your eye on.

    For more on WrestleZone see http://www.wrestlezonescotland.co.uk/, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

WWE Royal Rumble 2015 Review

           So, erm, yeah, the Royal Rumble was a thing on Sunday night. Many opinions were shared, many emotions were emoted, many jobbers were eliminated. This review will atempt to mainly focus on what happened in the ring (and, of course, crowd interaction is a big part of that) and I'll attempt to steer clear of the mad-world Twitter and such other places, because that's only a section of the WWE's target audience (Although it was nice to see some people reacting postively to the tweets ATPW sent out regarding the show)

       Get a biscuit and get reading the review...now!

The 2015 Royal Rumble Match

The Miz vs. R-Truth vs. Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Luke Harper vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Curtis Axel vs. The Boogeyman vs. Sin Cara vs. Zack Ryder vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Fandango vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Stardust vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Rusev vs. Goldust vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Adam Rose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Big E vs. Damien Mizdow vs. Jack Swagger vs. Ryback vs. Kane vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Titus O'Neil vs. Bad News Barrett vs. Cesaro vs. Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler

    Of this years Royal Rumble competitors, only seven have recieved broadcasted one on one World title matches over the last three years. Of those seven, only six occured on pay-per-view, and only three of those have main evented a pay-per-view with the title on the line. The point I'm getting at here is the *severe* lack of star power in this Rumble. The more stars you have in a match like this, the bigger the moment for the winner, surely? Now obviously come the day of the match, there wasn't much WWE could have done about this, but it does flag up the problem that many have been seeing for years, WWE has been over reliant on the old guard and returning or part-time performances, meaning this match was chock-full of mid carders, jobbers and those with no hope of winning at all. 

      The match was structured rather bizarelly as well with a number of moments that had me shaking my head. Building the crowd into a frenzy for Devon to save Bubba Ray Dudley from Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt only for Dudley to simply get thrown over the top rope, Wyatt's speech calling out the next entrant only for it to be Zack Ryder when Daniel Bryan was the bloke after Ryder, Kofi Kingston's rather disapointing way of avoiding elimination, Dolph Ziggler entering at Number 30, long periods where nothing of note happened at all! But, of course, the most notable of all was Daniel Bryan's early elimination. Now, I'm not entirely against Bryan going out of this stage (although it took a lot out of the crowd and made it obvious who was winning fairly early on) but it didn't really seem like a big deal when he was eliminated by Wyatt, neither did WWE attempt to win the crowd around by sending out a big name next, as Goldust, Kofi Kingston and Adam Rose were next, followed by Roman Reigns! Surely sending out Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler or even Damien Mizdow at this point would have been a better option?

     The odd structure aside there were a few moments that stood out. Obviously the surprise returns of Bubba Ray Dudley and Diamond Dallas Page were cool, and I got a kick out of The Boogeyman coming out and getting battered by Bray Wyatt. Daniel Bryan's ten minutes in the Rumble were enjoyable, he clearly wanted to help those he was in the ring with, taking a number of signature moves, and seemed to pick out Tyson Kidd for a little bit of a showcase, with the two putting together an entertaining sequence. Bray Wyatt and Rusev both put a shift in, playing the roles they were given nicely, with Wyatt confrontations with Bryan and Rusev's with Big E and Ryback standing out in particular. Damien Mizdow and The Miz' segment was done well, although it probably wasn't the best idea that the two could've been given, especially seeing as Mizdow lasted only 18 seconds!

     Finally, let's get onto the winner...Roman Reigns. I know a lot of the "Internet" don't seem to like Reigns, and certainly the Philly crowd wasn't happy with the result, but I'm really not sure what  else could have been done. I'm not sure I'd want to see Daniel Bryan go against Brock Lesnar so soon after neck surgery, and having Lesnar drop the title to accomodate this would have been throwing away what was built when Lesnar defeated the Streak. WWE clearly recognised that Reigns was going to get a negative reaction and attempted to change this by sending out The Rock to help out his cousin when he was attacked by Big Show and Kane. It worked, perhaps for a second, when The Rock received a big pop, before the fans realised Reigns had still won. Is Reigns ready to main event WrestleMania? Only time will tell, but I do hope, that the crowd that day, at least, gives him a chance to prove himself on that stage, instead of simply taking away anyone else's chance to enjoy it.

World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar (C)

        As triple threats in WWE go, this match is up there with the likes of Edge vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H from Armageddon 2008, Kurt Angle vs. The Rock vs. The Undertaker from Vengeance 2002 and even Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H from WrestleMania XX, it was that damn good. A true spectacle to watch, that you wouldn't see anywhere other than WWE.

      The bout was extremely well structure to get the best out of the three men in match. Brock Lesnar dominated early on, before suffering an onslaught of offence from both challengers, allowing Seth Rollins and John Cena to battle it out, before Lesnar made his own version of a Superman comeback to pick up the victory and retain the title following an F5 to Rollins. This continued to build Lesnar into an undestructable force, allowed Rollins out a career-making performance, whilst Cena held the match together, even chucking in a couple of new moves because he was feeling generous. 

    Everything in the match seemed to be building towards the finish, as the drama was heightened by a series of near falls, as well as making it look  like Lesnar may have to leave the match on a stretcher following a diving elbow from Rollins through the announce table. This moment was played incredibly well by Lesnar, whilst his manager Paul Heyman and Michael Cole on commentary both put shifts in to allow for the suspension of disbelief, which was needed to make Lesnar's comeback even more special a moment. 

      Whilst everyone involved did their bit well, the undoubted MVP of the match was Seth Rollins who didn't look a step out of place against the two bonafide stars in the shape of Lesnar and Cena. His performance throughout the bout was spot on, especially after the bout when his selling was very good indeed, having to be picked up by J&J Security, and getting a lot of screen time after the match, really got over that Rollins' had been through a war. I was a little disapointed not to see Rollins' attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, although that doesn't take anything away from the match itself or Rollins' performance. Rollins will be more than ready to cash-in that briefcase following WrestleMania, which perhaps couldn't have been said when he initially won it.

Tag Team Championship Match

The Miz & Damien Mizdow vs. The Usos (C)

           This match was all about the crowd reactions. Everyone loved Damien Mizdow, hated The Miz and were almost completely indifferent towards The Usos. Luckily, Mizdow's stunt double act was kept to a minimum, with Mizdow crotching himself on the top rope the only notable spot, instead the match focused more the relationship between Miz' reluctance to tag in his stunt double, which played nicely off the crowd reaction.

        Beyond that however, this was a rather dull tag team encounter, which came nowhere near to being pay-per-view quality. A lack of structure and no real sense of drama or build, let everything feeling rather throughout. An Usos comeback could have had potential but Jey simply ran through the regular Usos combination of strikes, samoan drop and running arse attack. There was no real hunger of adventure or excitement that the pair had bought to their matches in 2014 and Jimmy and Jey looked fairly content to just run through the motions, with WrestleMania around the corner is that really something these boys can afford?

     It wasn't the Usos who looked lazy, as whilst The Miz did a good job playing with the crowd and used his character nicely, not being in the correct place for Jey's Tope Conhilo is extremely poor for someone who's been around as long as Miz has! When WWE decide not to show a replay of a dive over the top rope, you know you've fucked up and the Philly crowd made sure that everyone knew about it as well. Miz, you big ol' colostomy bag, you used to be WWE Champion, now you can't even catch one of Rikishi's kids?

     The closing stages did go some way to aiding some storyline progression for Miz and Mizdow with both men hitting Skull Crushing Finales and Miz unable to get the win on both occasions, whilst Mizdow continued to save his arse when The Usos seemed to have the win. The finish was also rather nice, with Jimmy hitting a Superkick from the apron, allowing Jey to smash Miz with a powerbomb, before Jimmy got the pin following a Superfly Splash. Still not enough to make me think this match should have been anywhere near a pay-per-view.

Tag Team Match

The Bella Twins vs. Paige & Natalya

        Out of the three tag matches on the show, this was actually the one I was looking forward to the most, mainly down to an interest in what these women could do when given a little bit more time than they would for this sort of match on Raw or Smackdown. Whilst there were a smattering of nice double team moves, and Paige and The Bella Twins, at least, tried to get the crowd involved in the match, the off kilter pacing and structure and two big mistakes really hurt this one for me. The finish, especially, that saw lengthy build towards hot tag from Natalya to Paige, only for Brie to pull Paige off the apron and Nikki hit a forearm shot to pick up the victory, felt rather strange and took a bit of the energy out of the crowd that was beginning to warm towards the bout.

       The two mistakes in the match that really harmed the match saw Paige and Natalya unaware of who was supposed to be legal in the match, followed up quickly by a nasty looking bodyslam reversal by Brie on Natalya. Not knowing who was legal showed a real lack of focus on the performance, I'm not sure who is to blame but neither of these performers should be making that mistake the length of time they've been wrestling for. As for the botch, slips and trips happen, but it definitely harmed the quality of the match and my interest in the bout fell from that point on.
       

Tag Team Match

The New Age Outlaws vs. The Ascension

      An unremarkable and basic tag team match, The Ascension picked up the victory in just over five minutes, following a decent closing sequence that saw Viktor dodge Billy Gunn's Fameasser, before Ascension were able to hit Fall of Man.The Philly crowd were pretty indifferent throughout, with a "You Still Got It" chant and Korma pop for the "hot" tag being pretty much their only contribution throughout the whole match. Not sure why Konnar felt the need to slap on a lengthy headlock when the crowd clearly didn't care and the match was only going five minutes!

    Credit to The New Age Outlaws for coming back again and putting over younger talent, however, at this point I'm not really sure if beating 45 and 51 year old blokes is actually that impressive, especially considering we haven't seen Outlaws on television since they got their arse handed to them by The Shield at WrestleMania XXX. I'm still not sold on Konnor and Viktor (especially under the tweaked gimmick), but it's clear WWE has plans for them heading into WrestleMania season.

Finally...

       Aside from the World Heavyweight Championship three way, everything else on this card was entirely misable. Whilst The Rumble had it's moments, it was poorly structured and didn't seem entirely thought through, and the plethora of tag team matches ranged from the bog average to duller than a bag of hammers. Certainly not a classic.