Outside the ring, this past week has not been a good one for wrestling; Jimmy Snuka was suspended from his WWE Legends contract after being implicated in the death of his 1983 girlfriend, Bram was released from TNA due to charges of domestic assault and false imprisonment along with the non-fatal shooting outside WWE's Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida. Inside the ring, wrestling hasn't faired much better. An insipid RAW was followed by a tepid Smackdown and TNA continued to fight off their annual invading foe, GFW.
In better wrestling news, PWG held their annual Battle of Los Angles, or Bola, at Reseda, California. As I don't live in California I have absolutely no idea what happened and have to wait for the release of the DVDs in a few weeks time. I anticipate 90% of the matches at BOLA to be better than those named on this week's list but they will have to wait until another time. Instead, this week's matches of the week begin with the rejuvenation of a formerly floundering weekly NXT television show. This week's NXT marked the beginning of the Dusty Rhodes tag team classic; a tournament assembling NXT's finest tag teams to compete in the honour of Dusty Rhodes' name.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan vs Neville & Solomon Crowe
Earlier in the night, a returning Descension were defeated by the team of Rhyno and Baron Corbin in the first match of the Dusty Rhodes classic. Ready, willing, and Gable, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable make their way to the ring to compete in the Dusty Rhodes tag team classic and main event of the evening. The makeshift team of Solomon Crowe and first time WWE Network NXT Champion Neville make their way to the ring next- a small point of anguish here; I may be wrong but I have not heard of what the winners of the tournament will receive as a prize. At times like this, it is clear what Dario Cueto would do: the winning team competes in a one on one match to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship. Anyways, unlikely scenarios aside Crowe and Gable get things under way.
After trading various holds, Solomon Crowe gains the upper hand after delivering a flapjack to the former amateur wrester, Gable, before tagging in Neville. Chants of Neville ring around Full Sail before Gable, too, tags in his partner. Jordan immediately attempts a suplex but Neville lands on his feet before cartwheeling across the ring. Again, Jordan attempts a german suplex but Neville lands on his feet. After several forearm blows, Jordan connects with a belly to belly suplex this time as Gable and Jordan work over Neville in the corner. Jason Jordan takes the opportunity to cool down Gable by waving his towel in his direction before Neville makes the tag to Crowe. Solomon Crowe doesn't fair much better as Jordan immediately applies a chin lock- after Crowe escapes thanks to the ropes, Jordan tags in Gable, who applies a bow and arrow submission hold before Crowe reverses into a pinning predicament. Neville, coming in off the hot tag, dodges the offence of Gable before delivering a series of kicks followed by a cross body. An enziguri in the corner places Jordan in position for the Red Arrow but Gable pulls Jordan to the safety of the outside- Neville, meanwhile still positioned on the top rope, redirects a moonsault to the outside that grounds Jordan as a tope con hilo by Crowe grounds Gable. Neville rolls Jordan back into the ring before attempting a springboard elbow- Jordan, impressively, catches Neville before delivering a beautiful belly to belly suplex that sends Neville halfway across the ring back to his corner.
Crowe tags himself in before connecting with several knees in the corner- after rebounding off the ropes for a cross body, Jordan catches Crowe this time before delivering a beautiful belly to belly. Jordan tags in his partner as Gable and Jordan perform an assisted bridging saito suplex for the three count.
This was a really excellent match. Gable and Jordan, as a team, have potential to really make an impact not just in NXT but on the main roster,too. In the mould of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, Gable and Jordan will have a great deal of success in WWE, particularly Jason Jordan. Jordan's suplexes were excellent all match and, combined with his look, he has the potential to be one of the few NXT success stories on the main roster.
Chris Mordetzky vs Lashley
Available to watch here.
Eight years ago, Bobby Lashley was the first man to break out of Chris Masters' Master Lock. Now, under completely different circumstances, Lashley met Chris Mordetzky, formerly Chris Masters, in a match pitting TNA's most muscular mound of flesh against GFW's most muscular mound of flesh.
As the bell rings, both competitors lock up in a stalemate. A shoulder block take down barely makes an impression on Lashley before a clothesline doesn't make an impression on Mordetzky. After a failed "Mordetzky Lock", Mordetzky begins work on Lashley's lower back before applying a chin lock. Powering out the hold, Lashley sends Mordetzky to the outside on a collision course with the barricade. Both men trade blows around the outside before Mordetzky sends Lashley into the ring post- Mordetzky, after rolling the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion back in the ring, delivers a butterfly suplex for a near fall.
A series of forearm blows by Lashley allow him to regain some control before a double clothesline grounds both men. Lashley is the first to his feet and connects with a german suplex before delivering a spear into the turnbuckle. After a beautiful delayed vertical suplex, Lashley attempts a spear but misses- Mordetzky looks to lock in the Mordetzky Lock but Lashley powers out before delivering The Dominator. Lashley successfully connects with the spear this time before members of the GFW locker room come rushing to the aid of Mordetzky resulting in the match ending in a no contest.
This was an enjoyable match between two of the most jacked men in the industry. Insufferable commentary by Josh Matthews and Pope detracted from a good match here, though. According to Pope, "GFW is piggy backing off TNA"- an interesting assessment of the invasion angle considering TNA has barely been able to carry its own weight for in excess of two years now. Anyway, TNA rant aside, this was a perfectly good match that put over Mordetzky as a legitimate threat to Lashley and sets up a bigger mathc between the two in the near future.
Jay Lethal vs Hanson
Available to watch here.
Accompanied to the ring, as ever, by Truth Martini, Jay Lethal arrives after Hanson. Surprisingly, Jay Lethal adheres to the code of honour as the match gets under way. After an initial exchange, Hanson tosses Lethal into the corner. Hanson's size advantage allows him to stay on top with several strikes to the back of Lethal's head followed by multiple knees to the gut. An attempted power slam is escaped by Lethal as an enziguri sends Hanson reeling to the outside.
Lethal, after connecting with q trifecta of tope suicidas to the outside, rags Hanson's beard before spiking it on the ropes. A big back body drop allows Hanson to mount some offence- a body slam is followed by multiple stomps to the chest before Lethal escapes a dead lift vertical suplex only to run into a clothesline. An attempted Bronco Buster is blocked by a knee to the groin by Lethal- referee Todd Sinclair determines the blow was unintentional as the match rolls on. Lethal, taking advantage, heads up to the top rope and connects with a diving elbow for a near fall. Lethal, whilst setting up the Lethal Injection, is distracted by Bobby Fish on commentary before Hanson connects with a variation of the Lethal Injection culminating in an elbow. Hanson misses with a lariat before a superkick unbalances the 300+ pound man- Lethal connects with the Lethal Injection but Hanson bounces straight back up. A second Lethal Injection allows Jay Lethal to pick up the victory.
Sure, Lethal has had many matches better than this one this year and so too has Hanson but this was a solid match that was very obviously edited to conform to time constraints. Still, what was shown was very entertaining and one of the better matches from this week.
Genichiro Tenryu & Katsuyori Shibata vs Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Lizuka
Available to watch here
After several years absence, the legendary Genichiro Tenryu returned to NJPW this past week as he prepares for his official retirement match against Kazuchika Okada on the 15th November. Tenryu, on his return, teamed up with Shibata, fresh off a break out performance at the G1 Climax. The team of Tenryu and Shibata teamed up to face Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Lizuka in a good encounter worked around Tenryu's age.
Shibata and Suzuki begin the match and immediately Suzuki taunts Tenryu. After exchanging various holds, Shibata misses with the penalty kick attempted before Suzuki delivers a big boot to Tenryu. Tenryu, angered by the disrespect, tags himself in to a huge roar from the crowd. Suzuki and Tenryu trade chops in the centre of the ring before Suzuki drives the veteran into the corner where Lizuka uses a rope to strangle Tenryu. Suzuki and Lizuka put Tenryu's head in a vice grip between both of their feet before Lizuka is officially tagged in the match for the first time. At this point, the match descends into a brawl across the arena- Lizuka grounds Tenryu with several chair shots before driving a chair into his opponents throat. Meanwhile, Suzuki applies an arm breaker to Shibata whist his arm is placed between a chair.
On returning to the ring, Lizuka strangles Shibata whilst Suzuki distracts the referee. Suzuki, after being tagged in, delivers a series of forearms shots that only appear to galvanise Shibata. Suzuki and Shibata trade multiple fierce forearms strikes whilst somehow managing to stay on their feet-Shibata lands a drop kick allowing him to make the tag to Tenryu. After a series of rapid fire chops in the corner, Tenryu tags Shibata back in as the referee is knocked over. Lizuka takes advantage of the referee's incapacitation by delivering a chair shot to Shibata's back as he rebounded off the ropes. After several forearms and an atomic drop delivered to Shibata, Tenryu comes to his aid with a big lariat to knock Lizuka down. Shibata, after applying the sleeper hold, successfully connects with the Penalty Kick to secure the victory.
After the initial euphoria of seeing Tenryu back in a NJPW ring had worn off, the cold light of day revealed a frail, old man that could not keep up to the pace. Sure, this was the first match in a long time for the former AJPW Triple Crown Champion and it is only natural for a certain amount of ring rust. I do expect him to improve over the coming weeks with more matches. It is going to be interesting to see how Tenryu goes against Okada, a man who wasn't born when Tenryu debuted, on 15th November. I still believe it will be a good match but it will be a test for Okada as much as Tenryu to deliver a worth match up.
No comments:
Post a Comment