Wrestling Report

WWE comes out swinging after Stomping Grounds

WWE comes out swinging after Stomping Grounds
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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 Stomping Grounds the feeling was that the status quo had been maintained. Some things actually happened though to shake it up, including an interesting booking for Extreme Rules in three weeks. A mixed gender tag match scheduled between Baron Corbin and Lacey Evans vs Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins is now set for Extreme Rules; it's cool because you don't see a lot of mixed gender matches in the WWE but there are all the rage in the indy scene. The Undertaker made a surprise appearance in aiding Roman Reigns against Shane McMahon and Drew Mcintyre, a tag match between those four would be pretty exciting. Having both shows tag team champions on Raw fight The New Day and the Usos in an elimination match was an odd choice and the match between R Truth and Drake for the gimmick 24/7 title was just mean but overall Raw was entertaining.

Smackdown kicked off with a flat promo from Shane threatening the entire Smackdown roster, and then Kofi cut a great promo before it was interrupted by two time loser Dolph Ziggler. Kofi has been incredible for the WWE this week having a cage match Sunday, two matches against Samy and Kevin on Monday and then taking a beating from Samoa Joe before agreeing to another match on Smackdown, but yeah there's no chance of athlete burn out working for WWE or anything. Having the Smackdown tag team champions lose all the time is a really odd way to position the champs but for the second tag fight in a row involving the champs versus The New Day, they lost again. Mustafa Ali cut a promo where he gives his best green lantern impression and tries to seem like a super hero, if he's fighting injustices then why isn't he fighting Shane McMahon or Samoa Joe? Also in the category of odd promos Aleister Black continued his campaign of begging for a fight in a company full of professional fighters, it's confusing.

Overall this was a good week for WWE but there are genuine concerns or there should be genuine concerns about overuse for some of the more important WWE stars like the title holders. The Smackdown tag title holders, the WWE Heavyweight Champion both competed on both shows and on Sunday's big event. So what's the usage plan for these guys, how much longer can guys like Kofi and Daniel Bryant keep it up? The New Day being focused on is a great push for them and I think it's worth staying with for a huge amount of time but not all at once, spread it out and make it a brand specific story, don't burn these guys out in four months.

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 Angels beat the Astros, 4-1. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.

Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.

The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.

Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.

Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.

Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.

Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.

Key moment

Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.

Key Stat

Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.

Up next

Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.

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