NXT
Date: June 15, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett
We’re past a pretty lackluster Takeover and that means it is time to start getting ready for the rest of the summer. I’m not sure what that is going to included but William Regal was teasing some kind of a big change. That could mean multiple things, though there are some rumors of what it could mean, most of which are rather intriguing. Let’s get to it.
The PG Era Rant for AEW Dark, Episode 93 (“Enjoy Seeing Independent Tryouts While You Can”), June 15, 2021.
From the AEW Arena.
Your hosts are Excalibur and Taz.
TONIGHT! Ethan Page looks to match his partner’s win from last night by beating Danny Limelight! Dante Martin takes to the skies against Sonny Kiss! Chaos Project throws caution to the wind against the Gunn Club! And The Acclaimed have the Dark Order back in their sights – this time it’s Alan Angels and Colt Cabana!
PLUS – Tay Conti, Uno and Stu, Nyla Rose, Wardlow, KiLynn King, Frankie Kazarian, and Cezar Bononi!
Hey.
Dark.
NXT.
Powerrr.
Playoffs.
Go.
Chris
I think we all know that Hangman getting the belt is the long game here. It also depends on when Kenny drops the other titles or if he manages to add more, too, I guess. I don’t want to speculate further in storytelling because then HHH might get mad at the internet again, though.
The SmarK Rant for The Best of Sting (Part One)
So as mentioned in my Nitro repost, I got this from the WWE Network a few years ago as a “thank you for subscribing” gift and never really got around to watching it before now. But hey, with all the kids talkin’ about Sting again in AEW, now is as good a time as any. The Blu-Ray set is nine hours long, so as usual we’re gonna have to break it up into pieces.
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 14, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
It’s the go home show for Hell in a Cell and there are only four matches set for the card. In theory we should be getting more matches announced this week, but WWE has a habit of leaving some of the build until the very end at times. On top of that, we have the continuing adventures of Lily the evil doll. Let’s get to it.
The PG Era Rant for AEW Elevation Episode 14 (“We’re in a Low of Momentum This Week and It Shows”), June 14, 2021.
TONIGHT! Only a couple of feature bouts, but they’ll be really good! Tag team experts go one on one as Angelico faces Mike Sydal, with their tag partners promised at ringside! And in the main event, Scorpio Sky looks to impress in singles competition again as he faces Alex Reynolds of the Dark Order!
PLUS – The Factory, Nyla Rose, Wardlow, Shawn Spears, The Nightmare Family, Julia Hart, Orange Cassidy, Private Party, and the team of Penta El Cero Miedo and Eddie Kingston!
Tony Schiavone interviews Wardlow, who has three matches this week. It’s Wardlow’s world, and he’s gonna knock someone out tonight, choke someone out tomorrow, and get a first-round KO against Hager on Friday in an MMA Rules Cage Fight.
From the AEW Arena.
Howdy Blog O’Doomers!
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thomas and Scott have reviews up for last night’s In Your House: Takeover. It was a decent show if not special. I thought maybe Scott could’ve bumped up the Mercedes Martinez/Xia Li match because it was a good, hard-hitting affair.
It’s the go home RAW for Hell in the Cell PPV, which hasn’t really gotten a lot of traction. AEW has one of its streaming shows on.
Hawks-76ers and Jazz-LAC are the NBA games tonight. Vegas-Montreal is the NHL game. I think I’ll watch the DSoTR on the Dynamite Kid again for the upcoming review.
I caught the WWE Treasure Hunt show on Andre the Giant and once you get past some of the silly kayfabe stuff, like Sonny Onoo tricking the guys into trying to win an auction for Andre’s Giant Machine mask, there were some great photos, videos and stories about Andre from people that knew him outside the ring. Plus Mark Henry cries a lot and it’s pretty endearing. Even Stephanie looked like she got a little emotional when she was flipping through one of his old passports. It’s an enjoyable watch as long as you aren’t going into it looking to be offended by the stuff that’s a little storyline-ish.
Keep it Clean.
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan run the studio portion of the telecast. Heenan is wearing a dark green jacket, so Monsoon asks him if that will be his attire for WrestleMania VI. Heenan responds that he might be preparing for the Masters golf tournament.
AJW TAG LEAGUE THE BEST 1994:
(10.12.1994)
* And now the final VHS release of 1994 for Joshi, as we end the 1994 Tag League! It looks like tonight it’s a three-way “Playoff Final” for the top ranks, as Aja Kong & Reggie Bennett, Kyoko Inoue & Sakie Hasegawa and Manami Toyota & Takako Inoue all end up tied (aw man, poor LCO)! Tragically, we’ve missed Kumiko Maekawa vs. Yoko Takahashi in rookie mayhem, and some showing of their trip to Bali in mid-December. Last year’s show saw a legendary bout in which Manami Toyota & Akira Hokuto beat Kyoko Inoue & Toshiyo Yamada in a PAIR of ***** matches back-to-back (the only time in history this has been done), so this show has an awfully big pair of shoes to fill.
Tag League THE BEST 1994:
MARIKO YOSHIDA & CHAPARRITA ASARI vs. TOMOKO WATANABE & RIE TAMADA:
* Both teams are ranked at the bottom, making this a solid early match. Tomoko & Rie both look heartbroken for their low standing, while the other two are Deer-In-Headlights. Yoshida’s in that gloriously terrible blue/pink/yellow thing, ASARI’s in light blue & silver (hey, that’s a new one!), Tomoko’s in black & white, and Rie’s in white & orange.
Hey Scott,
Jumping off the rumors of a possibly impending sale of WWE within the next few years, it got me thinking. Going by all we've learned about Vince McMahon over the years, I can't really fathom him selling and giving up control of his baby as long as he's alive. Over the years, whenever talks of a sale (to NBC, Disney or whoever else) cropped up, I've always had this little scenario in my head, where I could see Wrestlemania 50 being sort of the official “end” of WWE, in a “going out with a bang” kind of way.
By the time Wrestlemania 50 rolls around, Vince will be 86-87 (and probably still jacked) and Steph and Triple H will be in their late 50s-ealy 60s. By then, I could see it make sense to build up Wrestlemania 50 as this “one last giant show” as a goodbye. Do Wrestlemania 50, pull out all the stops, fill the biggest stadium in the U.S. one last time.and then the curtain call. Sell off all your assets, auction off your entire content library to the highest-bidding streaming service, close up shop and let others fill the vacuum afterwards. That way, Vince doesn't have to see someone else take over, and Steph and Triple H can ride off into the sunset and retire comfortably with their kids.
Would you consider such a scenario in any way feasible? How do you see the end of WWE happening? Or will it keep living on in some form.then, now.forever? What will happen to the wrestling landscape once WWE's gone? Will it split into “regional” indies again and rebuild from there?
Speaking of Steph and Triple H's kids: By Wrestlemania 50, Steph's and Shane's kid will all be in their mid-late 20s. Could you see them getting into the business at all (either on the corporate side or as a wrestler?) Could we get Steph's kids vs. Shane's kids in a six-person tag at Wrestlemania 50? 🙂 As we all know, the more McMahons are on the show, the better it is.for this business! 😉
Cheers!
Taped from Atlantic, City, NJ
Airdate: October 29, 1985 (taped 10/16)
Attendance: unknown
Hosted by Larry Nelson, Doug McLeod, & Verne Gagne
Can the Freebirds snag the tag titles from the Road Warriors? Will there be any shenanigans? What do Bockwinkel, Slaughter, and Akbar have in store for us this week? Let’s find out!
The SmarK Rant for NXT Takeover In Your House – 06.13.21
Apparently this show is “back by popular demand”. Say what you will about Todd Pettengill, but he can sell the hell out of a show just by doing a 2 minute voiceover. Why can’t they do these on the weekly shows? Run down the card and explain the motivations, how hard is it?
Live from Orlando, FL
Your hosts are Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix and Vic Joseph.
Takeover: In Your House 2021
Date: June 13, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph
We’re back to this series but in this case, the card isn’t looking like the strongest in the world. That has been the case for some of the last few of these have not exactly had a great build. I’m not sure what to expect from this one, as the main event is a five way match for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.
If you’re not interested in NXT, Cards/Cubs is the MLB Game of the Week. Or you can just go to bed early like I will. Lots of soccer makes me a happy guy.
Enjoy the show!
Hogan/Andre
Austin/McMahon
Nexus
Summer of Punk
The Authority
DBry Yes Movement
These season type arcs didn’t just touch two wrestlers feuding, they set direction, touched multiple players, generated buzz. Some ended well, some fizzled (Nexus) but we now have the same rinse and repeat of USO losing to whomever Roman will challenge, they losing to Roman. Or Drew with a dozen title shots.
What can bring back the enthusiasm and direction? Which arc worked best, which didn’t?
