THE WRESTLING REPORT

WWE actually turns in a solid week of programming

Cory De La Guardia
Jun 19, 2019, 6:26 am
Photo via: WWE.com

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!

Raw

Raw started off with a bang with Seth Rollins attacking Elias with a chair after Elias announced he would be the special guest referee for Baron Corbin vs Seth Rollins championship match at Stomping Ground. Seth then proceeded to spend the rest of the show stalking anyone who even considered being the special guest referee for Baron's match. The five man match for the right to challenge Samoa Joe for for his title was nothing special and the list of the five guys who competed is basically that same list of five guys who have been in the mix for everything lately.

While the rise of Ricochet has been great and fun to watch, putting him on par with Straun Browman and The Miz feels artificial and honestly over reaching, but then again maybe not, Kofi is doing great as the WWE Heavyweight champion.It was nice to see Hulk Hogan back on Raw even if it was for a video segment cheering on the Women's Soccer Team in the World Cup. If you think WWE, you think Hulk Hogan if you're over a certain age and it was sly of WWE to promote a live sporting event on future networking partner FS1. Alexa Bliss is absolutely one of the best women's stars in WWE and I'm glad she's back to getting into the ring. I don't know if its injuries or whatever but I'm glad she's back at it.

Smackdown

Smackdown started off with some of the great mic work from Legendary mic champions, The New Day. The Alexa Bliss and Bayley rivalry continues to build very well, and it feels like a natural fight coming between the two of them and it's exciting. Aleister Black keeps cutting these interesting promos and honestly I don't understand why they haven't started booking him into a feud of some kind, is he hurt? Is there no one for him to fight? Also, when are they going to bring back Bray Wyatt? I have questions, as you can tell.

The continued evolution of Shane McMahon as a new authority figure who is rewarding the guys he works with who loyally serve him isn't a new concept, but it's working really well here and this roster of guys working together to further Shane and their own goals is fun to watch. It gives guys like The Miz and Roman Reigns someone else to fight against, although incorporating the 24/7 title into the story continues to make that title so annoying, it's clearly a joke title at this point. Overall this week was a lot better than ones in recent memory, but Stomping Grounds doesn't seem that exciting and honestly I'm just not feeling it.

Feel free to check out my digital short story The Wilson House or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help fight cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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Houston's bats have a hot night

Astros clobber Rangers to win series opener

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

After dropping two of three in Seattle, the Astros entered the regular season's final series still waiting to clinch their playoff berth. Luckily their matchup favored them, with four games against the 19-37 Rangers, which they have done well against in recent years. Here are highlights from the opener:

Final Score: Astros 12, Rangers 4.

Record: 29-28, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Cristian Javier (5-2, 3.48 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Lance Lynn (6-3, 3.32 ERA).

Astros put up 10 on Lynn 

Houston had no trouble getting acquainted with the Rangers' new stadium, jumping out to an early lead in the top of the first inning. After a lengthy at-bat against Lance Lynn, Jose Altuve reached on a one-out single, then scored from first on a two-out RBI-triple by Alex Bregman. They'd double their lead in the next at-bat on an error, making it 2-0.

They extended that lead even more in the next inning, getting back-to-back singles to start the inning to set up a big three-run dinger by George Springer to straightaway center-field to make it 5-0. Bregman added two more RBI to his night in the top of the fifth, capitalizing on a leadoff single by Michael Brantley by hitting a two-run homer to make it a 7-0 lead. Altuve would push the total to double-digits in the top of the sixth, lifting a three-run home run of his own to make it a 10- lead.

Javier with a decent start, bullpen closes out the win

Meanwhile, Cristian Javier was doing well on the mound against the Rangers. He allowed just three baserunners through the first five innings, a double in the first, a hit batter in the second, and a single in the fifth. He would falter a bit in the bottom of the sixth, allowing a leadoff single then a two-run homer, then later in the inning a sac fly, making it 10-3 before Houston would turn to their bullpen. Javier's final line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 95 TP.

Luis Garcia would get the final out of the sixth then returned for the bottom of the seventh, allowing a leadoff double that would score on a two-out RBI-double, making it a six-run game before Garcia finished the frame. Brooks Raley was the next reliever and notched two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth.

Josh Reddick gave Houston two more insurance runs, joining the home run barrage with a two-run homer in the top of the inning to make it 12-4 going to the bottom half. Brandon Bielak was given a low-leverage opportunity to throw in the bottom of the ninth. He erased a two-out double for a scoreless inning to wrap up the lopsided win, lowering Houston's magic number to 1.

Up Next: The second game of this four-game set between Houston and Texas will start Friday at 7:05 PM Central at Globe Life Field. The pitching battle will be Kyle Cody (1-1, 1.53 ERA) for the Rangers and Jose Urquidy (1-1, 2.78 ERA) for the Astros.

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