THE WRESTLING REPORT

WWE actually turns in a solid week of programming

Cory De La Guardia
Jun 19, 2019, 5:26 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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THE WRESTLING REPORT

The Wrestling Report: Survivor Series is this weekend and everyone seems unprepared

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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. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!

Coming out of their first pay per view in their new weekly format, AEW came out resetting the stage. After the big betrayal of Cody Rhodes by MJF during the Jericho championship match there was still some great sizzle between all of these guys in the middle of the show as Jericho and MJF cut a great promo and then Cody Rhodes tried to run out there and get revenge but suffered the wrath of the Inner Circle and the numbers game overwhelmed. The crowd is in it with these guys and they have done a great job of signing talent that really grabs the energy and uses it. Moxley, the guy WWE had no business letting go, continues just burning up all the tape he gets recorded on and there is no doubt he is the guy that is a superstar regardless of who has belts and who doesn't. All you need is a ring and a microphone and Moxley is going to win over crowds and steal shows. I honestly have been massively impressed with the formula All Elite Wrestling has put together and while they are doing subtle differences like posting win/loss records and things of that nature they are really staying more true to wrestling than WWE feels in a lot of ways these days.

Survivor Series is already this weekend, making that Crown Jewel event seem even more poorly planned in the WWE calendar. Survivor Series has long been one of the iconic WWE events, alongside Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania and Summer Slam. These have long been the main four and nowadays with all the crazy scheduling and over booking, Survivor Series got almost zero buildup coming out of Crown Jewel. There have only been three RAWs since the Saudi Arabia event and one of those continued the NXT takeover event, which at least did lend to the Survivor Series matches, and four Smackdowns but one of those is the NXT invasion episode because a contingent of the Fox roster had trouble getting out of Saudi Arabia on time. So with little fanfare and troubled writing, Survivor Series is here and honestly I'm struggling to muster the energy to care. There hasn't been consistent rhythm or momentum since the brand split and subsequent draft and perhaps their biggest splash was Fox bringing back CM Punk to the WWE Backstage show, where oddly enough he has no relationship with WWE. I'm curious if WWE is starting to think they have too many masters now.

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.

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