WWE NXT 5/30/23 Results and Review

We conclude a lot of wrestling reviews with NXT, but you don’t care when or how I’m reviewing these things. I’m watching wrestling, and just keep on moving forward. I’ll have more razzle and dazzle in the near future, but for now I’m just trucking with what I can watch, without overdoing it.

Gigi Dolin defeated Jacy Jayne in a weaponized cage match

Dolin and Jayne beat the bricks out of one another in this match. There was some back and forth, but it was weaponized and really hard hitting at times. If you’re a fan of ECW and hardcore matches, this was definitely up your alley. It wasn’t bloody, so don’t expect this to have that type of color, but it was brutal. We had some moves on chairs, trashcans, and just a good deal of brutality for WWE women.  

Tyler Bate and Wes Lee defeated The Dyad in a tag team match

A good tag match with Bate and Lee pushing through a great deal of action, reversals, and hard hits. I liked the balancing act that this match had, and it really was memorable in terms of just Bate and Lee doing their thing. Their finisher was nice, dual top rope action. Mustafa Ali showed up and helped the good guys at one point, and it was definitely a fun match. At around 10 minutes or so, this was a nice little matchup overall.

Tiffany Stratton had a promo celebration of sorts. It was ok I guess. I didn’t like it. After some balloons dropped, a few of the NXT women came in and jumped her, and she was mad. Next week there will be a number one contender battle royal.

We found out that Blair Davenport was behind beating down people with a mask on, so that was something.

Joe Coffey defeated Channing Lorenzo

This wasn’t great. It was a decent back and forth affair, but I was falling asleep. Maybe I was tired, or maybe I just didn’t care, but it wasn’t a great match. It did have some fine moves, and modern style, but when the bell rang, I was really happy. This wasn’t the best match, and well, it’s not the last time we hae seen the two.

Cora Jade defeated Ivy Nile

Less than five minutes, and it was ok at best. There were a few power moves, but it ended with Jade getting the big W. Nile isn’t done yet, so we will see what will happen in the weeks to come. Jade and Nile had a decent back and forth offense, and proved why she’s  getting a small push in NXT. I was disappointed how short the match ended, but that’s the story they told.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Noam Dar in he NXT Title match

Hayes once again proving that he is a fighting champion and showed up to beat down Dar. Dar was not without having a bit of offense, but the crowd was all into it, including a nice leg drop from the top.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, a good night of NXT. Lots of things are coming which includes a visit from Baron Corbin to close out the show. Fun times, nothing too crazy to write home about, and we are all done with reviews for today. More fun stuff to come, I recommend this show.

WWE Monday Night Raw 5/29/23 Results and Review

Well, we are catching up to all things wrestling, and here we go, another crowded Raw. We go forward with a review of the happenings on Monday Night Raw. A recap of Night of Champions starts the show, and we are greeted by our announcers, and we go forward with another night of wrestling. For those few readers that are looking at seeing Raw live, I’ll be watching it live in Cleveland, as I have floor seats, so that will be awesome. Until then, let’s take a look at how things went down on this night for RAW.

Seth Rollins opened the show as champion and came through the crowd. After so much wrestling, I forgot how a lot of WWE starts, and it is with talking segments. I’m a wrestling purist at times, and enjoy watching wrestling, more than the talking segments.

AJ Styles came out and talked some with Seth Rollins. The Judgment Day came out and challenged AJ Styles and Seth Rollins to a tag match for later on RAW. This set up the main event, and I guess for that, I give the night a few plus signs.

Ricochet defeated The Miz in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match

A good back and forth affair from these two. The Miz was wrestling like he had a sense of urgency, and was actually putting on a good show. Ricochet countered and did his thing too, pulling off some nice reversals and high flying maneuvers as well. The crowd was into this one as well, which made the match a lot of fun to watch. Ricochet got some serious air on a shooting star press and the victory was his.

Trish Stratus came out to talk, and she cut another promo about being the best. Becky Lynch came out and the two start to fight, with Zoey Stark getting dropped at one point. The numbers game was too much, and Becky got a beat down from the two women.

Indus Sher defeated Javier Bernal and Kevin Ventura-Cortes

The jobbers got buried here. It was a boring thing to me. Meh.

Imperium defeated Alpha Academy

Not much of a match, it was about 5 minutes long, and that was it. Imperium looked good, Alpha Academy was good, and well this was a little fun. Valhala was out at ringside with the Tag Champions on commentary. Fun stuff for how short it was. I like Alpha Academy personally, but this wasn’t a great match, just a little distraction of fun.

Ronda Rousey and Shayna Bayzler defeated Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville, and Damage Control, and Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi for the WWE Women’s tag team titles

Not a bad match at all, but just a little over 10 minutes, it wasn’t epic, but it was fun for what it was. Everyone got a little offense in, but it was Ronda Rousey with an armbar that would secure the win for her team. A little back and forth, some high flying moves, and some submissions were had before the end with Rousey getting the armbar on Shotzi. I had fun, hope you enjoyed it too.

Dolph Ziggler vs. jD McDonagh went to a double countout

This was another boring moment, at around a minute or so, and it was just a beat down for the most part. Dolph got a beat down, Mcdonagh kept trying to beat up Ziggler and well that was it. Nothing to see here, just a waste of time for me.

Cody Rhodes came out and basically wanted to challenge Brock Lesnar again, which was ok I guess. I don’t care to see them wrestle again, if you want my opinion regarding that.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Bronson Reed in a Money In The Bank Qualifying Match

A good back and forth match with Nakamura taking some good offense from Reed. Reed was able to get in a beating before eventually getting hit with the strong style showing of Nakamura. There was some smart psychology at times with Nakamura working on Reed with kicks here and there. Nakamura would hit his finisher a couple of times to get the win, in this match that didn’t seem too long, but it was fun none the less.

AJ Styles and Seth Rollins defeated The Judgment Day

Overall a fun match again, with some back and forth action throughout. AJ and Rollins make a great team overall, and it showed in this one. It wasn’t a squash though, both teams had a lot of offense, and within 13 minutes or so, things unraveled and we got a win from the good guys. Of course Dominik and Rhea were at ringside and they were a factor, but it didn’t matter, because Styles and Rollins get the win.

Overall Thoughts

At the end of the day, things went well overall. I liked this night of Raw. It had some good back and forth action, a little bit of talking thrown in, and some good matches. The crowd had a lot of fun with this, and I enjoyed it too. It was fun, that’s all I can say. A fun amount of wrestling and some good moments that we are going to no doubt get followed up on in the near future.

AEW Double or Nothing 2023 Results and Review

Alright, enough was enough, I saw he memes and saw hat so many people were posting that the arena wasn’t even full, so what? I went ahead into watching AEW with open eyes, and no judgments, because I love wrestling and just wanted to see what would happen overall. So here we go, my thoughts on AEW Double or Nothing 2023, from Las Vegas, Nevada. I was at the first AEW, by the way, and hat was a great time, so I was expecting big things.

Orange Cassidy wins a 21 Man Blackjack Battle Royal

A great overall opener, and the crowd was into it. I like a good Battle Royal and well, Orange Cassidy survived, more than got a lot of offense in this one. He outlasted a ton of wrestlers, some more famous than others. I don’t want to write out the list, so I won’t. But there was a great showing from all, including the luchadors, which were fun to watch. Big Bill was interesting, I thought he was going to win to be honest. Brian Cage, Dusting Rhodes, Swerve Strickland, and Penta El Zero Miedo was great to see in the end. Orange won, and wow, good overall fun match if you ask me, which you didn’t.

Adam Cole defeated Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match w/ Sabu as enforcer

So this was your street fight, which wasn’t terrible, but the naming convention was a little weird. Jericho got the bricks beat off of him at one point by Dr. Baker, and Adam Cole got hit hard a few times too, this was back and forth, no one had an edge for too long, and there was a great deal of damage done, including a table at ringside that Cole fell through. The match had a lame ending with Adam Cole winning after hitting Jericho in the face with punches. He just hit him a bunch until the ref stopped it. Meh. I didn’t like that ending, and I thought they could’ve thought of something more creative to end the match.

FTR defeated Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett w/ special guest referee Mark Briscoe in the AEW Tag Team Title Match

Not exactly a classic, but definitely not a bad match either. I found this to be a good overall match with a lot of action. There was back and forth, and lots of brawling, with some moves from FTR being tandem. Lethal and Jarrett are a good team, and they work well together. At one point, however, Jarrett hit Briscoe with a guitar and knocked him out, making this very exciting. But then Karen Jarrett hit the second ref with a guitar! This was a fun match, and went nuts at one point. After Briscoe woke up, a bit of back and forth and a shatter machine to get the victory. This wasn’t too bad, it ended up being a fun match, and FTR wins again.

Wardlow defeated Christian in a ladder match for the TNT Championship

As far as ladder matches go, this was ok at best. I liked it, fair enough, with Christian taking some major hits. Wardlow is young, and the announce team mentioned that several times. I didn’t hate this, but it was at half speed sometimes. Wardlow is good, and he meshes well with Christian’s offense. Wardlow really showed off his strength, and threw Christian around a bit, which was interesting to see. The two didn’t immediately go for the ladders, mind you, they took a little time before introducing the ladder inside the right, although they did get a few throws outside. Some major moments occurred including one hell of a dive off the top of a ladder through a table, and just splat. Wardlow wins this one, but it wasn’t without some punishment, and even Arn Anderson showing up.

Toni Storm defeated Jamie Hayter for the AEW Women’s Championship

Jamie Hayter caught a beat down from Ruby Soho and Saraya before coming out, and got beat up on the way to the ring. Storm would try to focus on Hayter’s arm as a result, and was dominant initially. A short match, with Toni Storm getting the win, and that was that. She’s pretty cool, and she won the match, fun stuff. Hayter couldn’t compete with 3 on one, and her arm was just wrecked. Dang.

The House of Black defeated Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed in the AEW Trios Open House Match

Not a terrible match, with some great back and forth action in this one. I liked the way things moved through quickly, and notably with Gunn and the Acclaimed doing some great tandem things. House of Black is awesome, I liked how they work. In the end House of Black would get the win, and it was a fun match.

Jade Cargill defeated Taya Valkyrie in the TBS Championship match

This was a good overall women’s match, with lots of back and forth. I liked it a lot, with Jade getting a good deal of offense against Taya. Taya is impressive too, and I liked to see her wrestle. The two put on a good showcase, and it was only about 9 minutes, but still had some hard hits and reversals. Fun stuff here.

Kris Statlander defeated Jade Cargill for the TBS Championship

Well, this got the crowd going, it was a squash basically, with just 50 seconds of action. Statlander basically went in and conquered with a tombstone piledriver and wins the TBS title. Fun stuff here, bu not a whole lot of action to write about.

MJF defeated Darby Allin, Jack Perry, and Sammy Guevara in the AEW World Title Match

Alright, so 3 out of the 4 guys in this match were flying around the ring. I mean flying, with dives, frog splashes, and a lot more. It was intense, and just amazing to see. All participants got a bit of offense in, and MJF would get the win at the end. However, if there is a weak link it’s MJF in terms of extremes, not to say he isn’t a good wrestler, but the acrobatics of the other 3 really outshined traditional wrestling at times. I liked the flying a lot, although the lucha themed elements leave a little to be desired in terms of psychology. This was a lot of fun, and MJF survives an onslaught of offense from all corners. This was plain fun, and just about 30 minutes of pure offense, not a lot of rest holds, although there were some great submission moments.

Blackpool Combat Club defeated The Elite in an anarchy in the arena match

So this was a wreck of a match. It was a brawl across the arena, and a hardcore match from the 2000s. It’s an interesting concept, but the execution is a little weird. It had a lot of guys fighting in different areas, all of them just brawling. There wasn’t a lot of great moves here, just a lot of brawling, and what not. Well, at least for the first majority of the match, lots of back and forth around the arena. There is a lot to explore on this one, but the end came with an outsider coming in, and well this was just a fun match overall.

Overall Thoughts

There’s a lot of great wrestling going on with Double or Nothing. I found that each match had a little charm, and the whole ppv was good. Nearly 4 hours of action, so it was a lot, but it was fun. The main event delivered, but it was every match that added a little bit to the overall event. I liked it. I had fun, hope you did too, and I’m slowly caching up to all the wrestling possible. 

WWE NXT Battleground 2023 Results and Review

I have been watching NXT lately, and was going into this show with very little foreknowledge. I guess I should pay more attention to the weekly show. This review is coming a little late, and I decided to skip a bunch of wrestling because I can’t do it all, so we’re going with the big shows, except Night of Champions, because I was working all weekend. Sigh. Here’s my review of NXT Battleground.

Wes Lee defeated Joe Gacy and Tyler Bate in a triple threat match for the NXT North American Title

 An excellent showcase of wrestling from a few different styles. From strong style to modern wrestling, there was a little something for everyone. This was definitely one of the better triple threat matches I’ve seen in a long time, and the trio really put the boots to one another. The crowd was into it, and I definitely felt it was a good opener for the big NXT show. Wes Lee managed to escape with the win, but it was a lot of back and forth before he managed the victory. A fun opener, with a lot of crowd interaction to boot.

Noam Dar defeated Dragon Lee in a WWE NXT Heritage Cup Title

I didn’t realize that this match had rounds. It’s interesting to change things up. The match was a nice back and forth one. Lee was using a more lucha style than Dar, and Dar was doing modern wrestling moves. Both men had turns taking advantage of the leverage needed to win, and each picked up wins before Noam Dar got the upper hand with an extra win. This was a fun match, but not great, I didn’t like the rules, as I don’t think pro wrestling should have rounds.

Ilja Dragunov defeated Dijak in a Last Man Standing Match

These two beat the bricks off of one another. There were a lot of great moments, solid hits, but the stairs were introduced and all bets were off. I haven’t seen stair play like this ever, and wow, Dragunov really beat the crap out of Dijak with the stairs. There were also some incredible chops, that even Ric Flair would be proud of, as there were some moments where the two just exchanged the hardest hits I’ve seen in a match that wasn’t UFC. This was a fight. I say that Dragunov won, but not without a LOT of hits, and what may very well be a legit broken arm or something, cause wow, his body was in bad shape. This was a fight above all else, and it received a lot of praise from the crowd.

Gallus defeated The Creed Brothers in the WWE NXT Tag Team Championship Match

After the match that had so much hard hits, it was hard to get into another. This match was a modern match with a lot of back and forth. The Creed brothers are impressive with their athleticism, and did some moves that I applauded. That included a nice stand up moonsault, and some more back and forth tag team moves that were great. Gallus were more hard hitting, like the Steiner brothers at times, while the Creed Brothers were high flying overall. Either way, good overall match with a lot of back and forth, neither team making a hugely dominant position. The finish came with a couple of distractions, and was not half bad, but this match was definitely not as fun as the Last Man Standing match.

Tiffany Stratton defeated Lyra Valkyria for the WWE NXT Women’s championship

This was an interesting back and forth match. The women were given time to really move around a lot, and Stratton impressed me. I didn’t know what to expect from her, but she definitely put on a show with some hard slaps and good submission moments. Her technical style was on display and it showed. I really liked her style, and looks. Lyra wasn’t bad either, but she was definitely getting attacked a great deal, especially her leg, which was the target of Tiffany’s offense for a great deal of the match. A good match, and definitely better than anything you see on tv from wwe at this point. Stratton has a beautiful moonsault, you gotta see it, it’s sweet. I liked this one, a lot.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Bron breaker in the WWE NXT Championship match

Before this match I was not familiar with either wrestler. Carmelo focused on Bron’s leg, and continued to focus on his offense in the early goings of the match. Bron would get a comeback, but he would favor his knee at various moments in the match. Hayes did some impressive high flying moves, and Bron’s power was on full display here. Hayes won with one hell of a leg drop from the top rope, and wow, just a good finish for a strong match.

Overall Thoughts

No one puts on shows like WWE in terms of fun. AEW might do well, but geez, I’m always stunned by how good NXT is. I’ve recently started to watch again, and am just stunned by the quality. A great show here, and a good main event, but that Last Man Standing match takes the cake. Overall, I liked this night of wrestling and recommend it for sure, you gotta check out what NXT has for everyone to see.