Reverse Hipster’s Highlights 10. (Impact) Joe Hendry
I love that Joe Hendry's skits have continuity. In three episodes, Joe has terrorized one random guy. Joe killed this man's father, conned his way into getting the inheritance, slept with his wife, and fathered a kid that the guy thought was his. I don't know why Joe Hendry hates this particular guy, but I'm interested to see where this goes next.
9. (Impact) Masha Slamovich defeats Allie Katch in a Monster's Ball Match
Masha faced one of her toughest challenges yet with Allie, who nearly beat her with a Tombstone Piledriver into thumbtacks. However, Masha pulled out a victory with a Snow Plow onto jagged pieces of pop cans. Masha is one of my favorites because she makes a normal match feel extreme. Unsurprisingly, she shines even more in an extreme match.
8. (Dynamite) Wheeler Yuta Handles MJF
I was pleasantly surprised by Yuta. I don’t know if it was the fact that he was in his hometown of Philadelphia or just getting better, but Yuta actually outshined MJF on the mic. Yuta promised MJF that if MJF didn’t accept his challenge in the ring, then he would take him to the streets. MJF tried to wiggle out by scheduling a match for next week and having the Ass Boys act as a buffer, but Yuta got his hands on MJF later that night. It was a good night for Yuta’s character.
7. (Rampage) The Acclaimed Retain AEW Tag Championships against Butcher & Blade and Private Party
This match was a great first title defense. It was exciting and fast-paced. The chaotic nature of the match played into the strength of The Acclaimed and allowed them to pick up a thrilling victory. The Acclaimed isn't the strongest team, but when bodies are flying all around and there is adrenaline pumping, they can beat anyone. Private Party was the MVP of this match, and they should definitely be built as the team to take the titles off The Acclaimed down the road when the time is right.
6. (Rampage) Jamie Hayter Defeats Willow Nightingale
I was a big fan of this match because I feel both women gained something from it. Willow had a great showing, as she always does. I mean, this woman has mastered looking great in a loss. Imagine how good she could be if she ever got to win. Despite her history, I bought into the match and believed she could win. Thus, I enjoyed the match. Jamie Hayter had an incredible feat of strength at the end of the match. She picked up Willow off the second rope and then delivered a standing German suplex after carrying Willow halfway across the ring. Unreal power.
5. (NXT) Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen Defeat Gallus in a Pub Rules Match
This was a fun match to the end the night. Both teams are very hard-hitting and tough. Seeing them put each other through tables and smash each other with trash cans was cool. It was strange for Briggs and Jensen to break glass pints over Joe Coffey's head without producing blood. Also, I'm happy for Briggs and Jensen, but giving them such a dominant win was a mistake. It undercuts Gallus, who is supposed to be badass.
4. (NXT) Sol Ruca Defeats Amari Miller
Sol Ruca was awesome in the ring. She looks to have a very promising future in this company. Sol has a great look. She is strong and tall, so she has a size advantage, but she isn't a giant. She can also fly around because she has a gymnastics background. Pick your poison with Sol. She is a high-flying powerhouse. The bottom line is watching Sol Ruca compete in the future will be fun.
3. (NXT) Nikkita Lyons Defeats Kayden Carter
Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark have united, and they have set their sights on the Tag Team Titles. This union led to a match between Carter and Lyons. Both Nikkita and Carter were impressive in the match, and their contrasting styles and sizes made the match even more exciting. This match was the perfect preview for a tag title match. Zoey and Nikkita are powerhouses that put Carter and Chance at a clear disadvantage, but that's the ideal story for two speedy underdogs like Carter and Chance. Nikkita was too much to overcome for Carter, but that was singles action. Maybe tag team action will be a different story.
2. (Dynamite) Saraya Changes the Game
Saraya's first week in AEW and she has already made an impact. She set up two different factions of women, just like when she was in PCB (PaigeCharlotteBecky). Skye Blue, Willow Nightingale, Athena, Madison Rayne and Toni Storm are on Saraya's side. Rebel, Serena Deeb, Britt Baker, Penelope Ford and Jamie Hayter are on the heel side. The conflict between these two factions set up the first-ever AEW Women's Title Lumberjack Match.
The Lumberjack Match was between Toni Storm and Serena Deeb. Toni won with a thunderous Storm Zero off the top rope. It was a great match. Already the AEW Women's Title and division have been more featured than in the last reign. Plus, the women's division has more stories than it had previously.
1. (Dynamite) Chris Jericho Defeats Bandido and Retains the ROH Championship
Chris Jericho had a straight banger against Bandido. Bandido was absolutely amazing. He did a fallaway moonsault slam. Bandido's offense is insane, and it seemed like he had the match won so many times, but Chris wouldn't stay down. Eventually, Chris got Bandido in the Lion Tamer and ended the match. Jericho is on a mission to wreck everything ROH stands for. He attacked the ROH announcer after the match. His crusade should be interesting to watch.
Rob’s Highlights
10. Sol Ruca, NXT
NXT, at its best, still needs to be a place for new talent to try wrestling in front of a crowd. Sol Ruca had interesting vignettes, she has a great physique for women’s wrestling, and we saw some flashes of unique athleticism in her debut.
9. Steiner Math, NXT
A fun opening promo introduced Ilja Dragunov to NXT in the United States, continued establishing JD McDonough’s character and brought back Steiner Math under the heir apparent Bron Breakker. The promo set up a triple threat, which in my opinion, is more exciting than any combo of singles matches could be.
8. Sami Zayn and Solo Sikoa, WWE SmackDown
These two worked together well for a first-time tag team, adding something completely unique to the Bloodline. My first thought was that they would make excellent tag team champions because they are playing the super serious one and super silly one tag team trope PERFECTLY. It could be a really fun side story for both guys if they somehow ended up challenging the Usos.
7. MJF and Wheeler Yuta, AEW Dynamite
Wheeler Yuta challenged MJF, and I think he held his own on the mic, all things considered. The match will be an interesting contrast between two of AEW’s rising stars. MJF is more established, but Yuta could benefit greatly from the win. AEW built a great card for next week, including these two.
6. Women in Monster’s Ball, Impact Wrestling
The Monster’s Ball gimmick is kind of silly, but for some reason, it works for Impact Wrestling. This was my first exposure to Allie Katch, and I thought she did great. This is also the best Masha Slamovich has looked, in my opinion. The gimmick of the match helped her showcase her signature brutality, and there were inherent stakes that she could lose in this brutal match and lose all momentum going into Bound for Glory.
5. Tag Team Championship, AEW Rampage
I love that The Acclaimed’s reign has started with them as fighting champions, and it suits their mega-over babyface personas well. I was glad to see Private Party get an opportunity like this, as I think this was the longest I’ve seen them wrestle in over a year. Butcher and the Blade also added something unique to this match, and the Acclaimed should hold the titles for a while if they can use it to build the division.
4. Candice LeRae, WWE Raw
For my money, Candice LeRae was one of if not the best available women’s wrestlers, and I wasn’t sure if she would ever return to wrestling. LeRae brings more credibility to an already stacked Women’s Division on Raw and continues the trend of Triple H working whatever magic he can to bring back talent.
3. Good Matches Format, WWE Raw
WWE Raw continued from last week with fewer matches that were longer and more meaningful. Without running down all of them, every match was competitive, entertaining, and progressed the storyline. They used their best talent in these novel matchups.
2. AEW Women’s Division, AEW Dynamite
Saraya was clearly emotional in her return, but she committed to making the whole Women’s Division in AEW better. I think this segment was a step in the right direction. The Lumberjack Match got all of the Women out in front of the crowd, and there was a sort of clear line between heels and faces if they wanted to go toward a Blood and Guts or Survivor Series-type match. The women had a long time to work- it was the best we’ve seen Toni Storm look in her reign, and it was the longest we’ve seen Serena Deeb since her match at Double or Nothing.
1. Jericho Appreciation Society, AEW Dynamite
This was such an entertaining opening segment, featuring a spotlight on one of my favorite independent talents in recent memory- Luigi Primo. It continued JAS’s over-the-top antics to celebrate Chris Jericho’s cheap win, and it continued the feud between Daniel Garcia and Jericho, setting up a tag team match next week. Garcia asked if that would be entertaining, and right now, I think just about all of this segment was.
In the main event, Jericho defended his title against Bandido. If this is what his ROH reign will be, count me in. Jericho got Bandido over so well, and the contrast of independent wrestling style and Jericho’s sports entertainment helped both guys.
Reverse Hipster's Lowlights
3. (RAW) Dexter Lumis & The Miz
I hate to put this here, but I have to. While I love the idea of long-term storytelling, I feel the execution isn't up to par. Dexter keeps attacking The Miz, and I don't feel the story is progressing. They are just doing the same thing over and over. Why does Dexter keep doing this? What does he want? These answers haven't even been hinted at, and I'm getting close to not caring.
2. (RAW) Judgment Day
Judgment Day is stuck in a rut. Everything they are doing with Edge feels like a retread, and the beef with AJ Styles feels completely toothless and random. Rey and Dominik Mysterio are the most interesting part of Judgment Day, and that's even growing stale. Judgment Day is 50/50 in wins, and they haven't won any titles.
Look at the Wyatts. They didn't win many titles, but they had meaningful feuds. When they went after Kane, they were making a statement to take out the biggest, baddest monsters of the past. When they went after John Cena, they wanted to corrupt the heart and soul of WWE. How do Judgment Day feuds compare?
1. (Raw) Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka
These three women are a major reason why Raw has fallen behind. Their feud with Damage CTRL is boring. First off, I don't buy Bianca, Alexa, and Asuka as a group. What do they have in common other than being faces? They have zero chemistry, and keeping them as a group is limiting all their potential as individuals. All three are fantastic, but as a group, they are boring. Also, both Damage CTRL and Bianca, Alexa, and Asuka don't match their gear, which makes them feel even less like a unit.
Rob’s Lowlights
1. Blurred Lines, WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown
Not every segment was great this week, but it was hard to nitpick anything. The one thing I could pull apart from the WWE shows is that they are starting to really let the walls fall down on the brand split. This is a huge mistake, as WWE has a deep roster, and we have seen how the brand split protects novel matchups. This is the biggest negative of their title unifications, and now we see it in every show.
Reverse Hipster's Winners of the Week
6th Place Raw
Raw has fallen way behind the other shows and grown stagnant.
5th Place SmackDown
SmackDown wasn't bad this week, but it also didn't produce any highlights.
4th Place Impact
Impact had great skits and women's matches, but it needed a few more highlights for it to be top three.
3rd Place Rampage
Rampage stayed afloat by having title matches and interesting women's matches. I like the women and the tag team division being pillars of Rampage. It usually works out well.
2nd Place NXT
NXT tied for first in highlights this week, but unfortunately for NXT, placement on the list was the tiebreaker. NXT is on the right path.
1st Place Dynamite
Dynamite is just on a different level than the other shows right now. It feels like every week lately they have had huge highlights.
Rob’s Winners of the Week
6. WWE SmackDown felt kind of stale. Maybe it’s because they used many of the same stars as Raw, but I haven’t loved SmackDown as much.
5. NXT is losing a little bit of steam, but they still have a good roster and the most willingness to do storytelling.
4. Impact Wrestling is heating up going toward Bound for Glory, and I think they are starting to use their talent a lot smarter and setting themselves apart from other shows.
3. AEW Rampage had better matches again this week. They suffer from booking their cards in a horrible order- the Tag Team Championship should have been the main event, which often seems to happen on Rampage.
2. WWE Raw continued to bring the fire. It was consistently good, but it didn’t have the highest highs.
1. AEW Dynamite had the highest highs, and the domination of Jericho Appreciation Society and Blackpool Combat Club has kept them on top.
Which Show Was Better?
- Raw
- NXT