The SmarK Rant for WWF Royal Rumble 1991 – 01.19.91
The Rumble season is upon us again and this one is next in my list of shows that I haven’t watched in more than two decades. Plus the whole “crazed Republican warmonger taking on the Middle East” theme has suddenly become culturally significant again. Sadly.
Live from Miami, FL, drawing about 16,000 and a 2.4 buyrate.
Read moreThe SmarK Rant for WWF Royal Rumble 1991 – 01.19.91
Look, we all know that everyone is just waiting for Sunday to watch football. But let’s pay some respect to Saturday first, OK?
DATELINE: It’s STIPULATIONS A GOGO at Royal Rumble, with Roman v. King Corbin now being a falls count anywhere match, and Daniel Bryan v. The Fiend now a strap match. Meanwhile no one seems to care about the Rumble matches, but I guess that’s not important on the ROYAL RUMBLE PPV.
DATELINE: Kalisto is the latest geek to sign a five-year contract with WWE. Really headed off an intense bidding war there, guys. Better get Fandango locked up long-term while you’re at it, too.
In the latest from KanaChanTV today, Asuka tours Japan and I dunno what’s going on but by god she’s adorable and I’m still astonished that they look at her and think “Let’s make her a mist-spewing heel”
Smackdown
Date: January 17, 2020
Location: Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
We’re nine days away from the Royal Rumble and everything is pretty much set. We still have some time to set things up though and that includes a tables match between Roman Reigns and Robert Roode, with the winner getting to pick the stipulation for Reigns vs. King Corbin at the Rumble. That’s the brilliant “stipulation begets stipulation” booking, which makes so much sense. Let’s get to it.
Read moreSmackdown – January 17, 2020
Smackdown
Date: August 18, 2005
Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz
It’s the go home show for Summerslam and that means we aren’t likely to be getting much in the way of important wrestling tonight. Instead, this week is likely to be focused on promos and building towards the pay per view and that’s what’s best for everyone. Now just find a way to make it interesting. Let’s get to it.
We made it!
Tonight, Friday Night SmackDown comes to you LIVE from Greensboro, North Carolina! In the heart of Flair country, everyone has the same question: they’re not really gonna put Bobby Roode over Roman Reigns, are they?
That’s right, tonight’s main event sees the returning Roode taking on the “Big Dog” in a tables match! On paper, this contest heavily favors Roman as he looks to (sigh) build momentum for the Royal Rumble, but a tables match is infamously no-DQ. Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and the Usos could all be factors in the outcome. On top of that, this match has Rumble implications! The winning side can name the stipulation for Reigns vs Corbin at the Rumble undercard! (If dog food’s involved, don’t say I didn’t warn you.)
The next big story tonight comes from the return, after an 8-year absence, of John Morrison to in-ring action! While Morrison looks like he’s still capable of going, given that he’s remained in game shape and didn’t appear to lose a step in either Lucha Underground or Impact, the WWE is another level up. This is especially true when his first match back puts him against a 300-pound powerhouse in Big E! While everyone knows that The Miz isn’t above sticking himself in this match to run interference, will it be enough to give the Shaman of Sexy a big W over Big E in his big comeback?
One of the more intriguing developments is Lacey Evans going after Bayley. Most people were skeptical that the inexperienced Evans could hold her own as a character facing Bayley, especially since their alignments seemed to be flipped from the two wrestlers’ more comfortable situations. But Bayley has been very much a hateable champion, and with Sasha Banks by her side stirring the pot, the people seem to be behind the US Marine! Evans has made it her mission to take Bayley’s gold away from her, but tonight it’s the Boss standing in her way. Evans is probably the underdog here, but will she have enough to prove she’s worthy of a championship match?
…okay, enough WWE shilling. I’m getting way too comfortable imitating their website.
I want to thank the people who read my Friday Indie Spotlight (both of you). It’s a nice thing to put up on a Friday afternoon that you can knock off during lunchtime, and really, my Thursday nights are open now that Beyond’s Uncharted Territory is on hiatus. I imagine when it starts up again I’ll be reviewing that, but int he meantime, I’ll do some IWTV watching and post a show I’m interested in. It’ll be a first-time watch usually, although indulge me if I want to recap CRAB or Prime Time Pro, two promotions I work with in the DC area.
Hey, along those lines, I’ll be at a PTPW show tomorrow in Northeast. Tickets are sold out, but the show is available on IWTV, so check your listings.
Bulls/Sixers and Blazers/Mavericks are the NBA on ESPN doubleheader. ESPN2 is showing Dayton/Saint Louis out of the A-10, while at 10:30 ET they’re doing a look at McGregor/Diaz 2 to warm you up for UFC 246. FS1 has a Big Ten doubleheader — Wisconsin/Michigan State and Michigan/Iowa. CBSSN has college hockey (!!) on with North Dakota/Miami Ohio. ESPNU has Furman/Wofford out of the SoCon, followed by more college hockey with Michigan State/Wisconsin. For you NHL fans, the NHL Network is showing Penguins/Red Wings.
All right, we went over the rules in the locker room. Pay attention and obey my commands at all times. I want a good, clean comment thread. Touch gloves, and let’s enjoy the weekend! LET’S GET IT ON!
Who would you actually like to see win the Rumble this year that makes sense but isn’t the obvious choice? Personally, I think Ricochet or Kevin Owens would both be great choices – especially if they faced Brock, still allowing Fiend vs. Roman to happen. For the women, maybe Sasha Banks as a logical way to get to the rumored Bayley vs. Sasha match.
Who winning would make it most worth your while when you sit down for a five hour PPV next Sunday?
Independent Wrestling is where the fun is. And so, I propose a new thing for this blog: each Friday, I’ll post a review of a show from IWTV. It may be a very recent show, or it may be one from the archives. I might choose it because of the big names, or because there’s lots of people I’ve met on it, or maybe because I’m on it. But hey, it’s wrestling. And this is a wrestling blog.
My goal is to get people noticed who I feel you should want to see. Maybe you’re just a WWE fan; that’s fine! These are people who would fit in very well in NXT or the main roster. Maybe you’re interested in checking out a local show; great! These are some names that should draw you to spend money on a ticket. Maybe you’re wondering if you should get an IWTV subscription; yes! Especially since they’ve merged with Smart Mark Video and the archives are LOADED. However you see it, consider me your gateway to great wrestlers you’ve never heard of.
With that out of the way, let’s get to today’s choice.
Read moreFriday Indie Spotlight Time: ACTION Wrestling Streets of Rage
TGIF!
DATELINE: The NWA announced that Marty Scurll will be appearing at the January 26 tapings.
DATELINE: Impact will be reviving the TNA brand for “one night only” at WrestleCon. Is there really nostalgia for it?
DATELINE: Taz signs a multi-year deal to do announcing for AEW. Apparently they couldn’t get the rights to the second “z” for him, though.
The SmarK Rant for WWF Monday Night RAW – 09.22.97
Live from MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. JR narrates a cool history of the company’s big matches and moments in the arena to start the show.
Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler
And now, the business changes forever. Not to oversell it or anything.
For those watching sports tonight, we got Celtics/Bucks followed by Nuggets/Warriors on TNT. ESPN gives us Cincinnati/Memphis of the AAC, then Stanford/Oregon for Pac-12 women. ESPN2 has a gymnastics meet on, followed by Colorado/Arizona State from the Pac-12 and Santa Clara/Gonzaga of the WCC. ESPNU gives us the deep cuts: Charleston Southern/Campbell of the Big South, then Eastern Kentucky/Belmont of the OVC. CBSSN is showing Old Dominion against Western Kentucky from Conference USA. If hockey’s your thing, the NHL Game of the Week on NBCSN is Lightning/Wild.
After the jump, wrestling! Independent style!
NXT UK
Date: January 16, 2020
Location: Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness
It’s time for another NXT tradition as we look at the two matches taped before Sunday’s Takeover. In other words, this show is going to be a lot of fallout from Takeover, but in this case we also might get some major hype for When Worlds Collide. Both of those sound good so we could be in for a fun show. Let’s get to it.