Reverse Hipster Highlights
5. (SmackDown) The Rock Acknowledges Roman Reigns
Rock announced that he had a challenge for Cody and Seth. A Tag team Match on night one, and if Cody and Seth Lose, then Cody's match will be a Bloodline Rules Match where the Bloodline can basically screw Cody however they want. There are a few problems with this match. First, it takes away the opportunity for Bayley to Main event night one, which sucks for her. Second, Seth really has no stake in this match at all. He really has nothing to do other than back up Cody, which is a pretty B+ position for a champion.
However, I don't want to write this match off either. It will probably be a great match that will carry a lot of momentum over to night two, no matter who wins. Either Bloodline rules are enforced, and Cody has to overcome incredible odds where the fans will no doubt believe he won't win, or Cody wins, and he gets his solo match to finish what he started. I would love to know what you all think about this match. I think either Cody or Rock has to take the pin. Cody can get screwed and take the pin to set up his comeback the next night. Seth can't take the pin, or his whole title match will be ruined. Roman can't take the pin because we have to save that. Rock can take the pin because he doesn't have to fight the next night, and if he does, Roman can blame Rock for costing him the title.
But Back to the present. Rock announcing this match wasn't the biggest thing he did in this promo. Everyone wants to see Rock vs. Roman eventually, but Rock is a heel right now. Even with all the Cody blowback, he struggled to sustain heat. So he pulled out his most heelish tactic yet. He acknowledged Roman Reigns. He put Roman over Big and squashed their dream match right in front of the fans. Seeing Rock submit to Roman is going to piss a lot of people off.
4. (SmackDown) Take The RKO It's Good For You
RKO's are good for the soul. Austin Theory and Grayson were laughing at Randy, which ended up with Randy challenging one of them to a match, and Theory drew the short stick. Randy won by hitting an RKO after Theory cartwheeled in the ring and attempted to pounce. Randy picked him right out of the air. It was beautiful. I'm pretty sure WWE booked this entire match for that spot, and it was 100% worth it. After the match, we got a bonus when Grayson joined the action, and Kevin Owens came in to hit Theory with a stunner, and Randy gave Waller an RKO for his troubles.
3. (SmackDown) It Was At This Moment She Knew She Messed Up
We have been discussing whether Bayley could trust Kai, and OOPS, Bayley did it again. She trusted someone who was not that innocent. Kai turned on Bayley, hanging her out to dry in a tag match, and now Bayley has to face the entire Damage Control faction by herself. Bayley created a monster, and she will have to destroy it to become champion again.
2. (SmackDown) Carlito Def Santos, Street Fight
Carlito was getting beat up by Santos and the rest of Legado throughout this match, and even when the rest of LWO came to even the odds, they were quickly discarded. But then, when they needed him, most, REY MYSTERIO returned suckering in Legado into thinking he was still on crutches, only to use those crutches to beat Down Legado and turn the tide for Carlito. Carlito spit in Santos's face for not being cool, then hit him with a backbreaker, and Rey plastered Santos with a 619 before the LWO dove over the top onto Legado, and Carlito put Santos through the table to win the Street Fight. Rey is back just in time for Wrestlemania. It will be interesting to see if he gets a singles match or some kind of insane team match.
1. (Raw) Imperium Def New Day, Street Fight
I hated seeing the New Day lose, but I must give Imperium credit. Not only were they absolutely vicious in this match, torturing Xavier with Kendo sticks and chair shots, but they brought the New Day to life. New Day has been hibernating, floating with nothing left to do. However, Imperium presented an actual challenge, which led New to bring their A-game. New Showed why they are one of the best to ever do it. Not only did they produce a match so good that it gave me chills, but they also made Imperium look like a million bucks. Who would have thought a match with the New Day would prove how vicious the Imperium could be?
Rob’s Highlights (AEW/TNA)
5. Jordynne Grace Takes on All Challengers, TNA Impact
In the main event of Impact, Tasha Steelz and Xia Brookside fought to decide who would face Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts World Championship at Sacrifice. Steelz and Brookside fought to a double countout, which brought out Grace to say she would face them both. I like this more than the typical “GM decides to make it a triple threat.” It shows Grace’s character as a confident fighter, but it also foreshadows that same confidence may be her downfall.
4. Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo, AEW Collision
Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo had a throwaway promo segment that AEW made more interesting by playing with the black-and-white effect for “Timeless” Storm. The ring was split in the middle where Storm’s side was in black and white while Purrazzo’s side was in color. In addition to being a fun visual, it was a metaphor for how different the two characters are. Storm’s character lives in a world of delusion, while Purrazzo is one of the most grounded women in the vision. As they tangled, the colors got distorted, and Storm left a bright red mark of her lips on Purazzo’s neck. What happens next in this story can only be told in-ring at AEW Revolution.
3. Mustafa Ali Championship Celebration, TNA Impact
Mustafa Ali is the X Division champion, and he hosted his own celebration on Impact Wrestling. Ali is doing awesome character work with his politician demeanor that stands out from everything else on Impact. His celebration brought out Chris Sabin, who said Ali only won because of help from the Good Hands. The Good Hands stop Sabin until KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight come out to even the odds and send Ali and the Good Hands retreating. In contrast to Ali, Sabin doesn’t rely on gimmicks, and he has spent years winning over the TNA fans, so I’m glad to see this feud continue.
2. Adam Page, Samoa Joe, and Swerve Strickland, AEW Dynamite
Adam Page did such a good job selling his injury last week that Dirt Sheets couldn’t make up their mind. Fans tried to figure out if he was or wasn’t hurt as he came out on crutches to start AEW Dynamite. Before he could tell us, Swerve Strickland interrupted and laid out why he will be the next champion. Then, Samoa Joe came out, which was just enough to distract Strickland, who was hit by a crutch from Page. It turned out Page had done the whole thing to get back at Strickland, setting up that he is a man obsessed with vengeance and regaining his championship. Joe is still the dominant champion, while the fans are increasingly rooting for Strickland to get his big win. This was a great sales pitch for the PPV this Sunday.
1. It’s Sting, AEW Dynamite
While the champion and contenders opened the show, the icon closed the show. I remember being a kid watching old wrestling tapes and being enchanted by Sting, especially the way he came down to the ring from the rafters. The Young Bucks spent all show trying to find and attack Sting, and they got some action on Darby Allin and Ric Flair before Sting’s entrance music hit. The Bucks aggressively went to meet him at the ramp while Sting descended from the rafters behind them. I felt like a little kid again watching a larger-than-life character, believing in the magic that is Sting. They don’t make wrestlers like that anymore. It was an awesome throwback and way to honor Sting’s wrestling career on his final Dynamite as a full-time competitor. I’m excited to see how they honor the veteran wrestler at Revolution.
Rob’s Lowlights (AEW/TNA)
1. Nothing
Nothing on AEW and TNA this week was explicitly a lowlight! There were slower segments on AEW Collision, but I’m still holding out to see what comes of those stories.
Reverse Hipster's Lowlights
2. (NXT) Jaida Parker's Finisher
Jaida Parker is a star, plain and simple. However, her finisher is bad. A sliding puch is a horrible finisher, and she needs to change it. He Butt drop in the corner is so creative. We need that same level of creativity for the finisher because her current finisher ain't it.
1. (NXT) Charlie Dempsey Wins Heritage Cup
Charlie Dempsey is a fine wrestler but should not have won the Heritage Cup. Noam Darr made that Cup something special, and Charlie was not the right wrestler to take it off him. Charlie has no momentum, and this Cup should be a culmination of momentum, not a jumpstart. Not even doing it on PPV was another slap in the face to Noam and The-Meta-4.
Rob’s Winner of the Week (AEW/TNA)
AEW Dynamite takes the win for me this week. They showed that go-home shows don’t have to be extravagant, as they made all of their big matches for Revolution more interesting largely through non-match segments and storytelling.
Reverse Hipseter's Winner of the Week
SmackDown saved the week. Raw was very mid. There was nothing to rave about. All the matches seemed like filler there to say they had matches outside of the Street fight and the segments. The segments were mostly small story developments that could have been more interesting outside of Drew and Seth's promo. Raw was mostly uninspired. NXT was strange. There were just a bunch of weird choices made. Tony D is going to fight Melo out of nowhere. Dempsey won the Heritage Cup. It just seems like Stand and Deliver plans are set, and NXT RoadBlock is causing NXT to scramble. Even Sean Spears's return felt empty. He returned against a terribly random opponent, and coming right back to NXT after venturing out was underwhelming. SmackDown, on the other hand, had exciting matches, Big story developments, returns, and Star Power.
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