THE WRESTLING REPORT
WWE continues its backslide into mediocrity
Jun 12, 2019, 7:20 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 and Wrestling. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio shows www.nerdthugradio.com!
In the aftermath of one of the most disastrous WWE events in recent memory, Super Showdown in Saudi Arabia, WWE struggled yet again this week. With an incredibly tepid response to AEW's Double or Nothing, the WWE has fallen well below their own usual standards of quality, the match between Undertaker and Goldberg was easily the worst match in recent history as both wrestlers nearly killed each other doing their finishers with a botched jackhammer and tombstone piledriver, there was literally no way the match could have been worse. Beyond that, there was a 50 man battle royal and the only Saudi on the entire WWE roster won it, a guy who has been on the roster for over a year and has never appeared on either Raw or Smackdown.
Coming into Raw, the bookings made even less sense, with Baron Corbin announcing he has another match against Seth Rollins after losing just three days earlier. So apparently losing a title shot means you get another title shot now? Cool. Kevin Owens came out of nowhere and wanted a match against the champion and got it for no reason either. The Iconics fought a couple of local jobbers for no reason, and then WWE ripped off ESPN and did a split screen interview of Becky Lynch and Lacey Evans, were they scared they might fight?
It's fake. There were other matches, including the Revival getting their titles back, which it never made sense for them to get but at least this time it was a real match. The 24/7 is now officially a joke, it's just a running gag where R Truth just runs around from a bunch of people who also are a joke, this thing is quickly coming off the rails.
Smackdown hasn't gotten much better though, there was another tag match against local jobbers, a meaningless women's match and another awful run between The Miz and Shane and Elias and Drew. The whole best in the World Thing is getting annoying. Big E returns and they book a 3 man tag match against Sami, Kevin Owens and Dolph Ziggler who Kofi will be facing again in Stomping Ground, another loser rematch.
Meanwhile in the Indy scene, Jon Moxley just won a title in New Japan Wrestling in one of his first matches as an Indy wrestler, further hitting home that the WWE is underutilizing it's wrestlers severely. With the WWE going in one direction and the upstart going in the other, it's not inconceivable that change could be on the horizon.
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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C.J. Stroud threw a touchdown pass to Tank Dell in his preseason debut to help the Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-12 on Friday night.
Held out of the Hall of Fame game last week against Chicago, Stroud completed 2 of 4 passes for 41 yards.
Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick in 2023, threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdown last season, leading the Texans to the AFC South championship and a victory over Cleveland in the wild-card round.
Following a three-and-out, Stroud led the Texans to the touchdown on a three-play series. Stroud threaded a pass to Dell, who dodged a pair of missed tackles for a 34-yard score. Dell had 708 yards receiving before a season-ending leg injury last season. He also was wounded in the offseason in a Florida restaurant shooting.
Justin Fields played three series for Pittsburgh, finishing 5 of 6 for 67 yards. He was sacked twice and fumbled two exchanges.
Pittsburgh moved across midfield twice with Fields under center, but the drives stalled because of a fumbled snap and a sack.
Pittsburgh acquired Fields – the No. 11 overall pick in 2021 – from Chicago for a conditional sixth-round choice in 2025. The Steelers traded Kenny Pickett, the team’s first-round pick in 2022, after signing Russell Wilson to the $1.21 million veteran’s minimum when he was released by Denver in March. Wilson didn’t play Friday because of a lingering calf injury.
Quarterback Kyle Allen drove Pittsburgh inside the 5 in the second quarter, but the Steelers came up empty on four tries. Allen missed a wide-open Calvin Austin III in the back corner of the end zone on fourth down.
Allen finished 17 of 23 for 193 yards, a late interception and a third-quarter touchdown pass to Connor Heyward.
Houston scored its second touchdown in the second quarter. Pittsburgh’s Quez Watkins muffed a punt and running back Dare Ogunbowale capped the six-play, 30-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.
UNDER PRESSURE
Houston defensive end Danielle Hunter made an impact on his two series with two tackles, a sack and two quarterback pressures, including one on the first snap of the game.
The Texans signed Hunter to a two-year, $49 million contract after a 16 1/2-sack season with Minnesota. He’s expected to pair on the defensive line with Will Anderson Jr.
Don't miss the video above as the guys from Texans on Tap go live on YouTube and share their thoughts on the Texans' win! We learned a lot about how Diggs and Dell will be deployed.
TRANSACTIONS
The Steelers placed Markus Golden on the reserved/retired list Friday, a little more than a week after signing the backup outside linebacker. Golden, who played nine seasons, spent 2023 with the Steelers, recording four sacks, good for third on the team.
Pittsburgh also restored RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson to the active roster. Patterson, in his 12th NFL season, is a four-time All-Pro returner.
INJURY REPORT
Pittsburgh’s Keeanu Benton left the game with an eye injury.
UP NEXT
Houston: Hosts the New York Giants next Saturday.
Pittsburgh: Hosts Buffalo next Saturday.