WRESTLING REPORT
In the aftermath of elimination chamber, new talent debuts this week
Feb 20, 2019, 5:38 am
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Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio, Sports and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.facebook.com/nerdthugradio!
This week kicked off with a solid Elimination Chamber event here in Houston, with Shane and Miz losing their titles to The Usos and Finn Balor winning the intercontinental belt in a handicap match. The event had some surprises and great moments, the most important being crowning Sasha and Bailey as the first women's tag champions in WWE history. The finale of Elimination Chamber wound up being much better than expected with Kofi Kingston going off for the second show in a row and going the distance against Daniel Bryan before eventually losing what was honestly a great match between the two.
This week on Raw and Smackdown both shows made the interesting decision to showcase some new call ups from NXT with Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Ricochet. Both shows had them putting on quality matches against the likes of Cien Almas, Elias, The Bar, and The Revival, among others. It's certainly an interesting choice to say the least considering recently EC3, Heavy Machinery, Nikki Cross and Lacey Evans were also called up from NXT. That's a lot of new faces to integrate into what is currently a fairly stacked roster of talent.
This leads right back into AEW, as all roads seem to lead currently, with ripples being felt throughout the wrestling world. On Nerd Thug Wrestling, Brock Baker, indy wrestler formerly of Booker T's program Reality of Wrestling, talked about how the entry of a new big fish in the market has opened opportunities on both WWE developmental schools and throughout the indy scene. With AEW snapping up quality talent from the upper echelons of independent wrestling including former Reality of Wrestling's own Kylie Rae, and forcing WWE to respond by bringing in it's own new young talent so as to not be left out. All these signing means the one thing for every wrestler, an opportunity.
With this week seeming to be a showcase week and less of an "advance the story" week, there wasn't a ton of twists or turns or announcements for Fastlane or Wrestlemania, with the exception of the announcement of Degeneration X being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame including controversial figure The Ninth Wonder of the World, Chyna.
Sunday night matchups don't get much exciting than this, as the Houston Texans host the Detroit Lions in prime-time at NRG.
The Lions come into this game on a six-game winning streak looking every bit of the best team in football. Houston on the other hand has lost two of their last three games with a struggling offense unable to protect their quarterback.
CJ Stroud has only one passing touchdown over this span, and is clearly having trouble adjusting to life without Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins.
If Houston is going to come away with an upset victory, they will need big performances from Tank Dell and Joe Mixon. After catching 4 passes against the Colts two weeks ago, Mixon not only failed to catch a single pass against the Jets, but he wasn't even targeted.
Considering the Texans' offensive line issues, choosing not to use Mixon as a pass catcher is hard to fathom. Especially since he and Dell are the team's top 2 playmakers.
What's working in the Texans' favor?
They play this game at home, where they are undefeated this season. A lot of the team's protection issues have popped up on the road, so communication should be easier for the offense on their home turf.
Bulls on Parade
We have good news and bad news about the defense this week. On the positive side, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jimmy Ward have returned to practice. If they're able to contribute on Sunday night, that would give the defense a lift.
And now for the bad news. Will Anderson has yet to practice this week after rolling his ankle in the Jets game. If he is unable to practice on Friday, it's hard to imagine he'll be active against Detroit.
X-factors
The Texans have to show some improvement on the offensive line this week.
Houston must lean on Joe Mixon again, as Nico Collins isn't expected to play.
Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league, and he does most of his damage from the slot. If the Texans continue to deploy Jalen Pitre against premier receivers in man coverage, St. Brown is going to light up the scoreboard.
What would a win over the Lions mean to Houston?
The Texans are no longer considered a true championship contender because of their losses to the Packers, Vikings, and Jets. In fact, the Bills are the only team with a winning record that the Texans have beaten.
An upset win over the streaking Lions would change that narrative.
What does Vegas think?
The Lions are currently favored by 3.5 and the total is set at 49 points.
Don't miss the full preview of Texans-Lions in the video above!
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