Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (September 16 2016)

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Here are this week's Wrestling Thoughts: off-screen, not too much has happened, but a fair amount has gone down on-screen, so let's get to it!

• Backlash exceeded expectations greatly last Sunday. It wasn't the best PPV by any means, but considering the house show-esque line-up for SmackDown's first PPV in the modern era, further weakened by Randy Orton not being cleared to compete against Bray Wyatt, the show was pretty good. It was a simple, logical, well-paced show which highlighted everybody to a suitable standard. Of note, The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler was their best match to date, there were feel-good title wins for Becky Lynch and the team of Heath Slater and Rhyno, and AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose was a great main event with Styles becoming WWE Champion in a turn of events that seemed unfathomable a year ago. And with the main event for No Mercy, the next SD PPV, already set (AJ vs. Ambrose vs. John Cena), the blue brand has the chance to top this show on October 9.

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Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (September 9 2016)

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

This week's Wrestling Thoughts will be a little shorter than usual, as this has been a less eventful week after a whirlwind of events in and out of the ring since SummerSlam weekend. Nevertheless, here are my opinions on the week in wrestling, as well as predictions for Backlash this Sunday.

• Although Raw opened with a fiery debate that officially began Seth Rollins' babyface turn, and both Rollins vs. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn were very enjoyable matches, the rest of the show felt like a drag; there were four consecutive segments that achieved almost nothing or were painfully average, and the sound-on-paper pastiche of The New Day by "retirement home" geniuses Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (with three fake pensioners playing "The Old Day") turned out to be awful. The talent is there and the main event scene has plenty of potential directions, but Raw is still struggling to find its groove since the Draft; right now it's largely a mixture of the very good and the poor or, in some cases, very poor. With the NFL season having resumed in the States, the ratings have already begun their annual autumn slide. I hope that WWE can inject some excitement and find a way for the "new" Raw to succeed after a promising start the night after Battleground. If not, then the next few months could be a struggle on the red side. Perhaps Clash Of Champions on September 25 will establish what we can expect moving forward from the Raw team, hopefully for positive reasons. (Incidentally, I felt that many overreacted to the teased retirement by Sasha Banks; sure, some performers have retired due to injury, but how many people truly expected 24-year-old Sasha to call it quits from injuries that we were told would only keep her out of action for a limited time?)

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Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (September 2 2016)

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

I noted last week, during an extremely eventful SummerSlam weekend along with its wealth of fall-out, that this current week wouldn't be anywhere near as exciting. While that proved to be the case, there has still been plenty going on in wrestling, including a major angle and an unsurprising departure from the WWE roster, so let's get to my thoughts on another week in the wacky world of wrestling.

Before I begin, it was sad to hear that Mr. Fuji had passed away at the age of 82. Although Fuji was an accomplished wrestler and a multi-time Tag Team Champion in the WWWF, I knew him more as a devious, evil yet entertaining and almost lovable rogue manager from the boom period of the late 1980s for the WWF. He managed the likes of Demolition and Yokozuna to championship gold, playing a vital role in Yoko's first WWF Title win at WrestleMania IX, and cutting a humorous promo on Hulk Hogan to set up Hogan's impromptu title win ("Come on, ya yellow-belly, come on!"). He was also well-known for practical jokes, some of which went a bit extreme (Roddy Piper recounted one such tale on a Q&A tour in 2014, which involved Fuji, another Japanese wrestler and a dog, which is probably best not repeated here). But Fuji was unquestionably a legendary name, and fittingly entered the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2007. RIP Mr. Fuji.

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WWE Battleground 2016 coming soon on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

For nearly two years, The Shield was one of the most dominant factions in sports-entertainment. Now, for the first time ever in WWE history, all three members of The Shield collide when WWE World Champion Dean Ambrose faces his former brothers, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, in a Triple Threat match for the title. The rivalry of the summer heats up as The Club (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) goes head-to-head with John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass in a Six-Man Tag Team match. Plus, “The Viper” Randy Orton returns to WWE as a guest of Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel to discuss his SummerSlam match against “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar. WWE Superstars risk it all on the battlefield at WWE Battleground!

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Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (August 26 2016)

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

So much has happened in the world of wrestling - or, more specifically, WWE - over the last seven days that it is almost impossible to keep on top of it all. Nevertheless, here are my thoughts on the many events of the last week, although this week's Thoughts will not refer to the Cruiserweight Classic or non-WWE promotions, just because of the sheer volume of activity in WWE in recent days.

• Working in chronological order, NXT Takeover: Back To Brooklyn was another fantastic showcase of the NXT brand. Of the six matches, three were very good or excellent, and even the other three were of a strong standard. We had Austin Aries provide No Way Jose with his best match to date, a good debut for Ember Moon against Billie Kay, a GLORIOUS! (Google it if you're unaware why this makes sense) first NXT match for Bobby Roode against Andrade 'Cien' Almas, an outstanding NXT Tag Team Title defence for The Revival against Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciappa, an exciting NXT Women's Title clash between Asuka and Bayley that was an improvement on their previous Dallas collision, and Shinsuke Nakamura unseat Samoa Joe as NXT Champion in a worthy main event (during which Joe suffered a broken jaw; Aries was also injured with a ruptured eardrum after a post-match GTS by Hideo Itami). All of that in one brilliant wrestling show meant that Takeover: Back To Brooklyn was another knockout evening for the brand. Concerns may be raised for the future with this marking Bayley's exit from NXT, and with speculation that Samoa Joe could also soon move up to Raw or SmackDown; however, NXT's strength has been its knack for finding perfect replacement when performers move on, and the wrestling product is as good as ever. Expect the NXT buzz to continue; this was incredible.

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Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (August 19 2016)

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

SummerSlam weekend is upon us, so my thoughts this week will heavily consist of predictions for the big supershow on Sunday, as well as the second annual NXT Takeover: Brooklyn the night before. In the meantime, though, there have been other wrestling developments which have caught my eye ...

• In one of the more unusual suspension-related stories, both Alberto Del Rio and Paige were suspended for violating the Wellness Policy on the same day. Why is this unusual? Because ADR and Paige are a real-life item, and because it just happened to be Paige's birthday when the news came through. We know that both Del Rio and Paige were Drafted to separate brands, and that injuries have kept Paige out of the ring. It is also rumoured that ADR is unhappy with his current status in WWE (can't blame him) and may leave the company as soon as next month. In other words, when you add it all up, there's more than meets the eye regarding this dual suspension. Did Alberto and Paige deliberately violate the system to get a month together away from wrestling? Could the two have gone a bit over the top in celebrating Paige's birthday? Have the two gone out of their way to receive a suspension because of unhappiness with their roles in WWE? Or is this one giant coincidence? I don't know; however, at this stage I would be very surprised if we saw ADR in a WWE ring again, and depending on the severity of Paige's injuries, it could be a long time until she resurfaces too - if at all. This should be interesting to follow, although I can't envision a happy ending for any of the parties involved.

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History of the Hardcore Championship 24-7 coming soon on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

After its inception in 1998, the WWE Hardcore Championship was sought after by some of WWE’s toughest and most unpredictable competitors. From deranged champions like Mankind, Raven and Al Snow to fighting champions like Rob Van Dam, Undertaker, Tommy Dreamer and Hardcore Holly, to unsung heroes like “The Lethal Weapon” Steve Blackman and Crash Holly, this set takes a comprehensive look at the greatest WWE Hardcore Championship matches in history. It’s unpredictable, it’s wild, it’s HARDCORE!

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Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (August 12 2016)

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Some quick comments about wrestling-related developments over the last seven days, and a few random ones too:

• Dean Ambrose accusing Brock Lesnar of being lazy in regards to their WrestleMania 32 match during his Stone Cold Podcast appearance is not without merit. Given Lesnar's lack of motivation inside WWE rings so far this year, his preference to fight in UFC again, his doping test failure and his continuous part-time status for which he remains highly paid, one has to ask if Lesnar is really worth the money to WWE anymore, and if fans would really miss him if he left? Unless Brock plans to utilise more of his once-excellent wrestling repertoire in the future, WWE might be best served having Lesnar finally lose cleanly for the first time since he ended The Streak no later than WrestleMania 33, and prepare for Brock's exit should he leave when his current contract expires after WM 34.

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The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased now available on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

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Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased is now available in the UK on both DVD and Blu-ray.

The third volume in WWE’s Attitude Era DVD & Blu-ray series, this time bringing together previously unseen material from the period between 1996-2000. Includes “dark” matches from Monday Night Raw, non-televised matches from pay-per-view events, live events, and more never-before-released moments from WWE’s most controversial era!

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The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased coming soon on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

Image Source:
Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

The third volume in WWE’s Attitude Era DVD & Blu-ray series, this time bringing together previously unseen material from the period between 1996-2000. Includes “dark” matches from Monday Night Raw, non-televised matches from pay-per-view events, live events, and more never-before-released moments from WWE’s most controversial era!

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WWE Extreme Rules 2016 now available on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

The New Era takes competition to the extreme at Extreme Rules! In a rematch from their epic encounter at Payback, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns puts the richest prize in sports-entertainment on the line against “The Phenomenal One” AJ Styles in an Extreme Rules Match! The family feud between the Flairs and the Harts writes another chapter as Natalya challenges for the WWE Women’s Championship against Charlotte in a Submission Match. And for the first time ever in WWE history, Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose face each other in a match more twisted than “The Lunatic Fringe” himself… an Asylum Match!

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Predicting The WWE Draft 2016

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Exciting times are imminent with the 2016 WWE Draft, marking the second brand extension for the company, and the first time that the WWE roster will be split in nearly five years. With plenty of speculation as to who will end up where, this is my attempt to predict what will happen and what surprises, if any, may spring up as WWE prepares to chop itself in half.

To begin with, it's clear that Raw will have the largest roster of the two, primarily because of its three-hour television slot. At two hours, SmackDown could afford to utilise a similarly-sized roster to Raw, but many of its stars would either have minimal time for their matches or be ignored altogether. Therefore, I will design my fantasy rosters with a slight advantage for Raw. That being said, WWE will ensure that the line-ups remain equal, so from a quality standpoint, hopefully one won't be too superior to the other.

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