Reverse Hipster's Highlights
5. (Impact) Eddie Edwards Slams Trinity
Eddie's wife, Alisha, is in the Title picture, and during the world title contract signing, she directed her husband to put Trinity through a table. This was an edgy moment that definitely heightened the drama of Alisha and Trinity's feud. That slam also perfectly illustrates something that wouldn't happen in WWE.
4. (Collision) Jade Cargill Returns
Jade came back and took out the Renegade twins and Kriss Statlander. The women's division is better when Jade is there. Jade is an attraction, and there are tons of matchups that have yet to happen with her.
3. (Dynamite) Samoa Joe and MJF
Samoa Joe and MJF, two world champions feuding, has gone as well as you would expect. Joe and MJF are hilarious on the mic, and every time they are together, you just want to see who will flinch first. This time, MJF got Wrecked by Joe after verbally ripping Joe apart. But it's interesting to watch two heels go after each other. It's like watching bullies from different schools fight.
2. (Dynamite) Swerve Serves Adam Page
Swerve called out Page for being comfortable, and from the outside looking in, Swerve looks right. Ever since Page lost the title, he has fallen way back, and at first, you would think it was the CM Punk thing, but everyone in that situation has already bounced back from that.
Also, I love that Swerve is moving up the card because he could be the first black AEW Champion if given the choice. He has the in-ring skills, fan support, and promo skills.
1. (Collision) Ricky's Revenge
Ricky Starks is on a different level right now. He reminds me of a young Rock. Ricky oozes charisma, and he can back it up in the ring. Bryan Danielson, on the other hand, is the goat. He's won big everywhere he has ever been. Danielson announced that he would be leaving wrestling when his daughter turned 7, and she is six years old now. He pledged to make his last year his best, and he had a great moment with the crowd.
Ricky Starks didn't give a damn about any of that. He crashed the segment and talked about Bryan not being able to tap him out, and then Bryan seemed to be offering a spot in the BCC, but Big Bill Beat Bryan down before he could finish. Moxley tried to help, but they both got walloped. Ricky and Bill stood tall. Ricky especially has gained so much credibility and has really put it all together as a character.
Rob’s Highlights
5. Time to Wrestle, WWE SmackDown
WWE SmackDown had a lot of good, not great wrestling matches, and I have to give part of the credit to their willingness to try a new format. There were only five matches on SmackDown, multiple of which took multiple segments. I would love to see more of this, and it could set it apart from the longer, more segmented WWE Raw.
4. Jey Uso, WWE Raw
Based on the response, Jey Uso is going to be a main event singles star on Monday Night Raw. The segment with Sami Zayn was a good closure to the Jey/Sami Bloodline story, and it set up the idea that Jey is going to be hated for his time with the Bloodline. He has been wrestling at a high level in singles matches lately, so don’t be surprised to see him pop up in championship matches soon.
3. Tiffany Stratton and Becky Lynch, NXT
After weeks of teasing this match and a confrontation at WWE Payback, Tiffany Stratton defeated Kiana James and was quickly challenged by Becky Lynch for the NXT Championship. If executed well, this will be huge for NXT’s Women’s Champion, though I am slightly scared of Lynch winning it for novelty (see also: Charlotte Flair). For now, I’m just excited for new fans to see what Stratton is capable of in what should be her best match yet against Lynch.
2. Butch vs. Axiom, NXT
This week’s Global Heritage Invitational matches were a little weaker, aside from this banger by Butch and Axiom. The former Pete Dunne was once the obvious young star to shoot to the main roster with work rate and unique intensity. Seeing him get to go back to NXT and just wrestle has been a breath of fresh air. Axiom is one of my favorite NXT stars, a wrestler who outshines a 90s-level bad gimmick. They wrestled for a time-limit draw, which is a fun stipulation of the format that could make the points breakdown interesting later on.
1. Gunther vs. Chad Gable, WWE Raw
The only complaint I have against this match is that it wasn’t on a weak WWE Payback PLE card. However, this gave it a different chance as they highlighted it throughout the night and live as the main event. This match had a different level of drama with the rematch, Chad Gable’s kids in the front row, and Gunther stomping into historic territory with his Intercontinental Championship reign. I’m a little upset that Gable couldn’t pull off the upset win. It would have been memorable, but perhaps it was more important to establish Gunther’s reign as the real deal.
Rob’s Lowlights
2. Kiana James, NXT
Kiana James was defeated quickly in her championship match against Tiffany Stratton. It undid all the surprise momentum James built up, as the NXT crowd was quickly moving on to the Stratton match-up against Becky Lynch.
1. JD McDonough, WWE Raw
The former NXT star has been featured horribly on WWE Raw. The match at Payback made it seem like JD McDonough was for sure aligning with Judgment Day, but WWE is dragging out the will they/won’t they story even longer. McDonough got a rollup win on Zayn, which isn’t the feather in his cap WWE thinks it is.
Rob’s Winners of the Week
WWE Raw had higher highs, and WWE SmackDown had higher lows, but NXT is the show that just keeps on giving. With a weaker roster but better characters, NXT finds a way to make nearly every week meaningful and fun to watch.
Reverse Hipster's Lowlights
1. (Collision) Jade's Return
Jade came back, and she had her sights set on the TBS Title. However, after all that build-up, why would Jade return for the TBS title instead of the AEW title? During Jade's run as TBS champion, I complained that she wasn't given enough real matches to develop. She was winning a lot, but It didn't mean anything. The fact that AEW is placing her back in the same division instead of elevating her says it all.
Reverse Hipster's Winner of the Week
My winner of the week is Dynmaite. I think Dynamite had the highs that were as good or better than the other two shows but without any of the lows.
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