Reverse Hipster's Highlights
5. (SmackDown) La Knight Declares for the Gold
LA Knight has said that he is going after a championship, and it's about time. La Knight is the most over superstar in the company right now. Common sense says that you put a belt on that guy. I think he could beat Seth Rollins for the World title or Dominik for the North American Title. I'm interested to see which one it will be.
4. (SmackDown) Rocked
It was a little disappointing to see the Rock return to fight Austin Theory, of all people, but it was saved by the fact that it's the freakin Rock. Hopefully, we are one step closer to getting more exciting Tribal interactions now that the Rock has come home.
3. (Raw) Nia Jax Returns
Nia Jax returned and destroyed Rhea & Raquel. I'm glad Nia is back because the women's division needs a woman like Nia. Nia is a unique attraction and will be the biggest threat to Rhea's title yet. Nia has enough credibility to put even Rhea at a disadvantage in the ring, and that is valuable.
2. (NXT) Tyler Bate vs. Axiom
This was a match with a very quick pace, but it worked. These two hit each other with big move after big move. There were Frankstiener and Spanish flies, but they kept coming at each other until Tyler hit that Tyler driver 97 and won the match.
1. (NXT) Thea Goes Bad
After failing to win the NXT women's title due to Chase throwing in the towel, Thea Hail has been rebelling against Chase U. She started hanging out with Jacy Jayne, who is showing Thea how to be a bad girl. I love this storyline, and it's benefiting everyone involved. It's giving Jacy something to do and giving Chase U another spotlight in addition to Duke Hudson's heritage cup pursuit.
Reverse Hipster's Lowlights
1. (NXT) Becky beats Tiffany for the NXT Title
Becky Lynch didn't win the NXT title in her time, but Tiffany did in hers. I don't like the fact that Tiffany has to cut her title reign short so that Becky can come back to NXT and add a notch to her belt. If they were deadset on this, why not have this title change at a NXT PPV? This is the biggest title in NXT, and it changed hands on regular TV so that a main roster star could have a stat. Now, I will add one caveat: if one superstar makes this worthwhile and helps others shine, it's Becky. So I'm not too fond of the move, but we shall see.
Rob’s Highlights (AEW/Impact)
5. Don Callis’s Masterpiece, AEW Dynamite
After Konosuke Takeshita pinned Kenny Omega (twice), Don Callis is onto the next thing with his protege. Callis and Takeshita will target Kota Ibushi for AEW’s WrestleDream. I loved the way that Callis’s gimmick is playing out with paint unveilings- it makes him look like a crazy visionary, and Takeshita is an absolute soldier for Callis’s agenda.
4. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland, AEW Dynamite
Hangman Page had a great match with Brian Cage. Those two guys have such great chemistry they’ve put together an underrated rivalry for hardcore AEW fans. It continued the story between Page and Strickland, who had an electric segment last week. Though I love Page, this feud is a must-win for Strickland, who can jumpstart a championship push in AEW.
3. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevera, AEW Dynamite
For weeks, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara have played out their feud perfectly without ever fully advancing the story. This week, they reiterated that they have nothing but respect for each other but that they had to beat each other. They started with mind games. For Jericho, he needs this win to get back on track in this AEW run. For Guevara, he needs this win to take him to the next level. The stakes couldn’t be higher for this exhibition match.
2. Impact’s Legacy, Impact Wrestling
After WCW and before AEW, there was only one company that truly challenged WWE in North America. This week’s Impact 1000, the first of a two-week celebration of Impact’s 1000 episodes, showcased that Impact has a legacy to be proud of. They brought back Knockouts legends, the Feast or Fired match, and the Dudley Boyz. They went off the air with a through-and-through Impact guy, Chris Sabin, defeating Lio Rush for the X Division championship, arguably the banner championship of Impact. It was cool to remember the best moments of a company that has been memed on throughout the years.
1. International Champion Jon Moxley, AEW Dynamite
This week, Jon Moxley faced Big Bill to open AEW Dynamite. If you were worried about what the International Championship would look like post-Orange Cassidy, Moxley has defended it to open the night on back-to-back shows. The International Championship is still AEW’s true television championship, and as always, Moxley is AEW’s champion and rock when the brand needs him most. Next week, Moxley will face Rey Fenix in a match where I’m not sure who to root for Fenix is one of my favorite wrestlers in-ring who would benefit greatly from the gold, but Mox always seems to be what AEW needs even when he’s not what I want.
Rob’s Lowlights (AEW/Impact)
2. The Iron Savages, AEW Collision
Every once in a while, AEW pushes a tag team that I feel like is just not there. I can’t help feeling that way about the Iron Savages. I can’t take their tag team name seriously, and even though they can go in the ring, they haven’t been built nearly to the level where I believe they can challenge FTR.
1. Roderick Strong, AEW Dynamite
Roderick Strong put on one of the best matches of his AEW run thus far, but he still looked like the loser of the night compared to Samoa Joe. Strong was stretchered out with his kayfabe neck injury and continued his gimmick, which consists of annoyingly screaming, “ADAM!” For me, Strong has been the worst part of the Adam Cole story. While I was initially excited to see the Undisputed Era reunite, I’m now more excited to see Cole write new stories with MJF and the AEW roster.
Rob’s Winner of the Week (AEW/Impact)
The clear winner of the week for me this week was AEW Dynamite. They had great matches and built great feuds for the AEW Grand Slam- which feels like it will be a PPV-level weekly show. Impact 1000 was a fun special show, and AEW Collision had some great matches, too, but AEW Dynamite felt like what professional wrestling is all about to me.
Reverse Hipster's Winner of the Week
NXT is my show of the week. NXT had the top two highlights of the week covering matches and stories, and even the NXT lowlight was an exciting title match.
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