WWE IMAGES
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!
Money in the Bank was this Sunday and while it was a solid entertaining pay per view, the big developments that came out of it were Brock Lesnar winning the Men's Money in the Bank contract, Bayley won the women's Money in the Bank contract, then after Charlotte beat Becky Lynch for the Smackdown women's title, Bayley swooped in and took it with an immediate cash in of her title match contract.
Fast forward to Raw and it feels very business as usual, the mixing of the superstars is just the new normal although they still are attached to the individual show branding, by that I mean Lars Sullivan came down to do an in ring interview on Raw but had a Smackdown logo by his name for some reason. Mick Foley came out and introduced a new 24/7 title that is open to everyone who basically shows up to work at the WWE, it's a watered down version of the old Hardcore title which is a nice call back but honestly, the belt isn't all that desirable looking. After Titus claimed it from a scrum of "B" and "C" list wrestlers, Robert Roode then took it from him and before Raw was over R Truth had taken the title from him.
Smackdown starting off with the return of Big E is great, making the New Day whole again and letting them enjoy and have fun with Kofi's title run is great. R Truth and the 24/7 title returned and it's a funny bit but surely this wasn't the point of the title, was it? I don't see the WWE introducing a title simply to be funny about it. Becky Lynch and Bayley tagging together was a good match against Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans, the match between Kofi and Sami Zayn was quick for a title match and then Dolph Ziggler running out was an interesting surprise. The rematch between Roman Reigns and Elias isn't what anyone was asking for and honestly the whole Shane McMahon is the bad guy bit is a little overplayed to me.
This week while it was a much better week than the ones building up to Money in the Bank, the reality is that the overall content hasn't been as good as it should be. Now they're shoe horning the next Saudi Arabia pay per view with a Goldberg vs Undertaker match, it's fairly obvious this is to play up the 90's nostalgia that's happening in Saudi Arabia and honestly its not exciting. Playing up these matches with video promos, no build up or story involved, it's lazy and disappointing.
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 or support our Patreon Page. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!