THE WRESTLING REPORT
Shane's perfect rise to top villain continues in WWE
Jul 17, 2019, 12:36 pm
THE WRESTLING REPORT
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. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
Extreme Rules actually delivered, with a great return of The Undertaker after having been an absolute embarrassment against Goldberg only a few months ago. The Roman Reigns and Undertaker tag match against Shane and Drew McIntyre actually delivered. The Kevin Owens Dolph Ziggler match was a confusing squash match with Kevin Owens stunning Dolph and just finishing the match in about six seconds which was odd since Dolph was in a crazy cage match against Kofi just last month. The New Day won the tag titles, and Ricochet lost his title to AJ Styles. Then Seth and Becky crushed Baron and Lacey but the big finish was the inevitable Brock Lesnar taking Seth's belt with the Money in the Bank contract.
Raw was pretty good but I really can't stand the Street Prophets and I think we need to dial their screen time down to zero. The ladies put on a great four way elimination match and it was awesome to see Bray Wyatt return to the ring but the 24/7 title is seriously a running gag and needs to also go away. Seth Rollins amazing run continues as he wins the 10 man battle royal and is building back up to a great Brock Lesnar rivalry, which basically legitimizes putting the belt back on Brock.
The Smackdown town hall was a great way to set up the "pro Shane" and "anti Shane" people really easily. With Liv Morgan getting destroyed by Charlotte Flair and Apollo Crews just barely getting a surprise win after a brutally one sided match against Andrade, it sets up a great "under dog" dynamic and Kevin Owens gets to run a great hero of the people feud with Shane which is finally winning me over to the idea that maybe he can be worthwhile in limited spots but still not full time. A Bayley and Ember Moon rivalry could be fun, just because it looks like they both can do some impressive stuff so this might be a fun match up for the women's title for a bit. A return of Randy Orton who then immediately wants a title shot is not a surprise but more of a disappointment and a Randy vs Kofi battle won't be fun to watch and poor Kofi will have to do all the work on this one too. It's obvious why he's holding the title as long as he is, but when are they going to give some other new guys a shot at the belt with him?
Overall the trend of better programming started this week with Shane in the role of the villain and Kevin Owens in the Steve Austin role.
Feel free to check out my brand new comic book Another Day at the Office email me for details or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.
The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.
On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.
Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.
It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.
The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.
How the mighty have fallen.
Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.
Screenshot via: MLB.com
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