Reverse Hipster's Highlights
7. (Impact) PCO IS ALIVE
PCO is a fan-favorite wrestler because he never says die. Maclin thought he took PCO out, and he wouldn't be able to even show up for Under Siege. So what does PCO do but show up to Impact and beat Maclin and his goons up? PCO is the perfect challenge for Maclin because it will take a lot to put him down, and PCO will be the perfect test to show the world what Maclin is made of.
6. (NXT) Toni Diangelo Gets Arrested !?
Somebody has been informing Don, and now he has been arrested. I'm very interested to see how Toni gets out. Who has been informing him and why? Plus, I love that he got arrested, which shows commitment to his mafia gimmick. Things like this make the persona seem more realistic than him just dressing a certain way in his entrance. The commitment to character makes it so that only NXT has a unique story that only Toni and NXT can tell.
5.(Raw) Seth's interview
Even before Seth won the title, he was the face of Raw. You could see it in his interview; he talks like a leader. Also, he very effectively acknowledged the history between Roman and himself, throwing shots at Roman and making a case for why his title will be the better championship. Seth Rollins wants to be a workhorse champion.
Because he thinks that is what WWE needs, and he is 100 percent right.
4. (NXT) Tiffant Stratton Dethrones Roxanne Perez
Roxanna Perez is the fan favorite who dethroned Mandy. Everyone thought Perez was going to win, and everyone knew Roxanne won except Tiffany, who out-wrestled her and defeated Roxanne clean in the middle of the ring with a Moonsault. This match was a huge passing of the torch moment for Tiffany. Tiffany is the future, and the future is becoming the present.
3. (SmackDown) Austin Theory vs. Sheamus United States Title
Sheamus is still a top-tier wrestler, and he proves it in every match. Sheamus's mates cheered him on as he was wiping the floor with local tough guy Austin Theory. Then Pretty Deadly came in, attacked the Brutes, and cost Sheamus the match. Pretty Deadly feuding with the Brawling Brutes is a great feud for them. If they are going to be involved with Theory, that's even better for them.
2. (Impact) Mike Bailey vs. Chris Sabin
Mike Bailey has become one of the best X-division wrestlers ever. Even without the title, he still feels like the champion. Mike took Chris Sabin to the limit, but in the end, Chis Sabin proved he was still the man and hit Mike with a bit of the old X Division by way of a muscle buster. Chris Saban won and went into Under Siege with all the momentum.
1. (SmackDown) Thicker Than the Bloodline
Jimmy is about done with Bloodline. When Sami joined, he was all for it, and he told Jey to calm down, and he was even the liaison to keep Jey in line during that run. Now Jimmy is the one flying off the handle. Roman is responding how he always responds by trying to dominate Jimmy. He got up in Jimmy's face and dared him to do something reminding Jimmy that Roman would always beat his ass. However, while Roman was telling Jimmy to acknowledge him, he forgot to acknowledge the fact that Jimmy was only here for his brother.
Things got even worst when Jimmy called himself the Tribal Chief in a segment with KO and Sami. Roman came out, leading to a massive brawl that ended with Solo and Roman standing on opposite sides of the Usos. The Bloodline story is the number one wrestling story in the industry.
Rob’s Lowlights
2. Brock Lesnar Injures Cody Rhodes, WWE Raw
Raw used up multiple segments promoting the rematch between Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes. Lesnar apparently injured Rhodes’s arm with steel steps, and it put a handicap on the match. I’m not sure how they will overcome this angle.
1. Dabba Kato beats Axiom, NXT
Axiom is in the elite group of NXT stars that can pull out a match of the night at any moment. Dabba Kato is a still unproven giant who could have got a dominant win against anyone. To me, this is shortsighted and bad booking.
Rob’s Winners of the Week
6. AEW Rampage again had meaningless matches and no major story developments.
5. On the go-home show for Double or Nothing, the only segment that really delivered was the champion MJF. Other than that, nothing made me feel like I had to watch the PPV.
4. WWE Raw was sort of a hold for Night of Champions. There was nothing great, but nothing bad enough to put on lowlights, either.
3. WWE SmackDown was similar to Raw. It only gets a slight edge because of the AJ Styles match and the Bloodline storyline.
2. While it feels like the other shows are floundering, Impact Wrestling is holding its own with a less deep roster. They did a better job promoting their upcoming PPV than AEW or WWE.
1. This wasn’t the best NXT, but it gets saved by great performances from their roster, like Tiffany Stratton vs. Roxanne Perez and Nathan Frazer vs. Noam Dar.
Reverse Hipster's Winners of the Week
6. Rampage
Rampage was even less eventful, with Double or Nothing coming up.
5. Dynamite
Dynamite was all filler until the big Double or Nothing show. It was definitely the most filler I have ever seen Dynamite deliver, even on a go-home week. MJF's promo was about the most redeeming quality of the show.
4 Raw
Raw was also setting up for a PPV and had to hold back, but even the eventful moments, like Brock injuring Cody, didn't get me into the show. Seth's promo was the best part of the show.
3rd Place Impact
Impact had a decent show with two highlights and some pretty solid developments, like Courtney Rush coming out of the undead realm.
2nd NXT
NXT is almost in full gear. Between the woman's tournament and the heated final confrontations between Battleground, NXT produced two highlights and rose to the second-best show of the week.
1st Place SmackDown
Every show led to a PPV, but SmackDown distinguished itself as the only one in this PPV week rewind that continued to deliver the kind of action you would expect from a normal week. The Bloodline made interesting and meaningful plot advances, and there was a U.S. title match and more NXT superstars making themselves comfortable on the main roster.