Tag Archives: seth rollins

Quick Thoughts: Revolution Predictions

Zero Hour

Varsity Athletes & Ari Daivari vs Mark Briscoe & Lucha Brothers

Easy prediction. Mark Briscoe will continue his winning streak. Thinking maybe the finish would be the Lucha Brother’s finisher and then Briscoe hits the elbow drop to get the pin. Will it lead to anything? probably not, but the fans want to see Briscoe rack up some wins.

Winner: Mark Briscoe & Lucha Brothers

“Jungle Boy” Jack Jerry vs Christian Cage

This is Jack Perry’s time to steal the show. He’s been stale lately, but I think that’s due to Cage’s recovery time. Luchasaurus will be a factor. I think he is also poised for a singles run, but can he really make that push without Cage as his manager? I do wonder if this match will bring Luchasaurus and Perry back together. If Cage accidentally hits Luchasaurus costing him the match and then Perry comes to his aid after a Cage assault. Would Perry and Luchasaurus be better as a tag team now than as singles competitors in a crowded roster?


Winner: “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry

Chris Jericho vs Ricky Starks

Another match to Starks to steal the show. Jericho is with AEW to help develop stars and Starks is a star on the rise. I didn’t like Starks getting a match against MJF early on, I would’ve saved that for after this PPV, but this night should start Starks push towards some serious gold. Everyone is banned from ringside…..riiiiiiigght. I wonder if Starks will get some backup in this match, but I wonder if Starks could be hurt from outside help.

Winner: Ricky Starks

AEW World Tag Team Championship

How did AEW go from one of the strongest Tag Divisions in the wrestling world to this? Does anyone want Orange Cassidy or Danhausen to win this one? How about Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal? I’d rather see The Gunns vs The Acclaimed in a regular tag match than this.

Winner: The Gunns

AEW Woman’s World Championship

Winner: Jamie Hayter

No real description needed. A bathroom break match.

Samoa Joe vs Wardlow

I don’t see this feud ending tonight. I see Powerhouse Hobbs in a Triple threat against these two with Hobbs winning the title. There does seem like a lack of story with Joe and Wardlow going into this match. Joe’s heel turn was too fast and we should’ve seen this team do more than a few Dynamites. I’d love to see this match be a 20 minute brawl. Just two mammoths destroying eachother in endless stiff shots.

Winner: Samoa Joe  

AEW World Trios Championship

The House of Black is one of the most underutilized factions in AEW and tonight is the night for them to get the respect they earned. The Elite will give them one of the greatest matches of the year, but they need to go their separate ways. Not end their friendship, but the Young Bucks need to save the tag division and Kenny Omega has to have some great one on one feuds.

Winner: House of Black

Texas Death Match

I have a love/hate relationship with Jon Moxley. Sometimes I’m thinking “Wow can’t wait to see him” and others times I’m thinking “Really? You gave the belt to this guy again?”. Maybe my biases with Moxley are because I want to see the rest of the roster get a push and prime time booking, but I cannot deny the type of worker Moxley is. I imagine Jim Cornettee just clutched his chest right now.

This match is about building Hangman Page up. I do wonder

Winner: Hangman Page

AEW Championship

I’m nervous reading that Bryan Danielson wants this match to go on first so they don’t lose the crowd. I thought they would be happy to have a full hour to make one of the greatest matches of their careers. The big question is who will interfere to help MJF retain the title? Obviously, his whole character is based on others helping him, which is weird since AEW wants to make him a believable champion.

The Firm is still a factor…I think…or will there be someone else helping him? Can Claudio turn on Danielson? Yuta? I mean it didn’t make any sense story wise for William Regal to turn on Moxley, but it happened. The interference will be the talk of the night more than the actual match.

Winner: MJF

Joe

The Tragic Tale of Baron Corbin

I know that Baron Corbin is a good wrestler. You know that Baron Corbin is a good wrestler. I don’t think the WWE knows that Baron Corbin is a good wrestler. Corbin made his debut in NXT about 10 years ago, and since then he hasn’t made an impact in the WWE. He won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal (which means nothing now), he was a United States Champion (I don’t recall any big moments from it), he won the Money in the Bank Briefcase (lost it due to punishment) and won the King of the Ring (which means nothing).

You have a guy of Corbin’s size, very athletic, unique look, fun move set, can portray a bunch of different personalities and you not only leave him on the bench, but do everything in your power to make him look like a joke every time he’s in the ring.

Lone Wolf gimmick was good. Seeing Corbin lose all his money and then become rich was entertaining, but it didn’t lead to any World Titles. It didn’t lead to any big factions. He teamed with Madcap Moss, but that ended pretty quickly.

If Corbin does get released or decides to not accept a new deal, I’d like to see him join Impact Wrestling. There he can battle guys like Joe Doering, Black Taurus and most importantly Moose.

Whatever happens with the rest of Corbin’s career, I just hope he’s utilized properly. I think he can do great things in wrestling, but I don’t want to see him reduced to a jobber and a stepping stone for future world champions.

Artwork from Dream by Wombo

Joe

Reigns vs Zayn: Not Over Yet?

I said many times that I have a Love/Hate relationship with Brock Lesnar. I’ve seen many fantastic matches where he fought Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Triple H and others, but there have been a lot of terrible matches with Lesnar as well. the bad matchres consist of German Suplexes followed by an F5 and sprints to the finish of the match. A lot of high spots that get a quick reaction, but nothing long lasting.

This match was a bad Lesnar match in reverse. Slow, painfully slow. To the point where I questioned if Sami Zayn is even a good wrestler anymore. Zayn’s last couple of years in the WWE have been more theatrical than focusing on in ring ability. Yes, he was great in NXT, but I would say the most impressive thing he did on the main roster was his feud with Braun Strowman in 2016, which was 7 years ago. Since then, he has been bottom tier on the roster, lackluster feuds and essentially struggling to hold any type of spotlight. This could very well be the first time watching a wrestler be elevated to potential WrestleMania Championship match based on emotional storytelling and not in ring ability.

All this match did was show that Roman Reigns can command an arena doing very little wrestling. Roman yelled at the crowd, yelled at Zayn’s wife, mouthed off to Zayn’s father, yelled at the crowd again. Every now and then Zayn caught Reigns monologuing and took advantage, but not for long. It felt like watching a retirment match where Zayn’s career was on the line and we saw glimpses of great moments from his past.

Of course the referee went down, bringing in Jimmy Uso to Superkick Zayn until the ref woke up. The Jey Uso hesitation with the chair was interesting, but makes me wonder if this is leading to Jey and Zayn winning the tag titles, which wouldn’t surprise me, but would be an immense letdown of storytelling. Zayn winning the title from Reigns is the only outcome that makes sense. Anything else is a massive letdown.

So what did this match accomplish? That Zayn isn’t at the level that Reigns is? That the fans will chant for you more if your parents had unprotected sex in that city? This feud is over to me. Obviously, we have WrestleMania and an unfinished Jey Uso moment of truth, but this is now Cody Rhode’s time.

Did they bring back Rhodes to win the Royal Rumble and not be the focal point. That we are getting a Triple Threat Match for the titles that again reiterates the fact that Zayn can’t win the big one? So now, they’re sacrificing Rhode’s potential WrestleMania moment for Zayn, when his moment should’ve been in Canada. What a waste.

Art work from Dream by Wombo AI Art

Simptastic Joe

HookHausen

Hook might be one of the best written characters in AEW. They are smartly pacing his build, picking the perfect opponents and setting up meaningful feuds. But aligning Hook with Danhausen might be a detriment to his character.

The title picture in AEW is very crowded, but I can see Hook making that jump next year. Right now, the goal is building him more. Fighting against Tony Nese is a fantastic move in the right direction. Nese is highly athletic and is skilled enough to put on a show against anyone in AEW. I would make this a main event match for Rampage and give them a 20-minute match of pure wrestling and hard hitting. Hook needs to win the match, but only by a hair. Not his usual endings, where he puts his opponent in Red Rum and walks away after a tap out. I want to see Hook get the submission and then lay there in the middle of the ring, exhausted and beaten.

Now, to HookHausen….no…..just no. I don’t like Danhausen at all. When I said that online, I was sent a bunch of matches of Danhausen’s top matches and I wasn’t impressed at all. Danhausen isn’t good for AEW. The company is going in a more serious direction with its signings.

I will admit, I find some of Danhausen’s antics humorous. I was at Revolution and jumped and pointed to Danhausen appearing from under the ring and then cursed Ricky Starks, However, antics doesn’t translate over to money. Maybe merchandising, but try booking Danhausen as a main event fighter and see how that does.

So, pairing the men together isn’t going to be good for anyone. It might seem “fun” on paper, but overall, we aren’t going to see the duo going against FTR, the Young Bucks reDRagon, The Gunn Club, the House of Black and the Lucha Brothers.

Even having Danhausen manage Hook in some way is bad for business as well. Team Taz is a fantastic team and due to bad booking they could’ve been even better. Hook is an essential piece of that team and Team Taz having Danhausen walk to the ring with Hook doesn’t make the faction look as strong.

What do you think of the pairing of Hook and Danhausen and what teams do you picture them fighting?

Simptastic Joe

NXT Spring Breakin’ 2022 Prediction

Grayson Waller vs. Nathan Frazer

Grayson Waller is who NXT should be building up as champion. I think Nathan Frazer is a good opponent, but shouldn’t be the focal point of the future of the 2.0 division. Waller is getting lost in the shuffle compared to his War Games teammates. I would’ve argued that Waller shoudlve been moved the main roster before WrestleMania in a match against AJ Styles, leading to a partnership between the 2 men.

Winner: Grayson Waller

The Creed Brothers vs. The Viking Raiders

The Creed Brothers have been sensational recently. I disagree how they won the titles, but if I had to put the belts on someone it would be them. The team is a more athletic Authors of Pain and even though they are very similar, you can see uniqueness in their moves. The Viking Raiders were a fantastic team on the main roster, I just don’t think they had the right opponents to create instant classics.

Winner: Creed Brothers

Natalya and Lash Legends vs. Cora Jade and Nikita Lyons

Nikita Lyons is the future of the Woman’s Division. This match will be focused on her mostly and the other women just adding her dramatic win.

Winner: Nikita Lyons and some other girl

Cameron Grimes vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship

Is the Bloodline going to interfere in this match? Is this all part of Roman Reign’s  proficy to get all the gold in the WWE? I think it’s the perfect time for it. the Bloodline and Reign’s title run can only last so long. Sikoa needs to get himself in that group as soon as possible to make sure he gets proper screentime.

If this doesn’t happen then Carmelo Hayes is my favorite to win. The future ids bright for Hayes and I don’t believe in Cameron Grimes. I feel like he is a filler champion and that NXT really doesn’t know how to write him.

Winner: Solo Sikoa

Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Championship

Love Joe Gacy, but now isn’t the time to hold this belt. I think they’ve been playing title hot potato too much between Bron Breakker and Dolph Ziggler with all their matches. Fight for the title on a PPV and then it changes on RAW? Kinda weird to me.

The only way I see Gacy winning this match, is if we unveil a new teammate for him. Harland has been released, and Gacy needs a big on his team. I see Gacy as the new Bray Wyatt and needs to start recruiting the future faction of NXT.

Winner: Bron Breakker

Why Punish Him?

I don’t know the full story of what happened, but Nash Carter (current NXT Tag Team Champion) has been released from NXT following a domestic abuse allegation. Then they stripped Nash and his tag team partner Wes Lee of the titles….why? Why is Lee being punished for Carter’s actions?

This could’ve been a great opportunity for Lee. A storyline could’ve been created of Lee trying to find a tag team partner for an upcoming match. Maybe have him being jumped and be in a handicapped match against the number 1 contenders for the title.

A few members of NXT UK have been wrestling in the United States for a few months, so it wouldn’t be ridiculous to bring over another wrestler for a few weeks to team with Lee and eventually drop the belts. My top picks would be Dave Mastiff. Mastiff has been one of my favorite wrestlers of the UK division and I don’t think he’s been in the title picture enough.

If you want to go with a current NXT member in the US then Xyon Quinn (my new favorite wrestler) would be a great pick. Quinn is being booked perfectly as of late and it would be cool to see him in some tag matches. Or you can go with a current main roster wrestler who has done absolutely nothing and needs a rebranding. T-Bar (barf) sorry I mean Dominik Dijakovic was amazing on NXT, but never won any titles before going up to the main roster. Or if you want to trying building up someone on Smackdown devoid of a story then Mansoor is perfect. I think Mansoor should have an amazing year as the WWE is looking to branch out and make an NXT company in the Middle East. Mansoor needs to get better if he is going to lead that brand. And a great way to get him more screentime is teaming him up with Lee and holding those belts for a while.

Who would you team Wes Lee with and do you think striping him of the belt was a smart idea?

Simptastic Joe

Cody Invasion

Imagine this. WrestleMania. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar in a title vs title match. The ref is knocked out. The Usos charge the ring. Brock takes them both out with double clothesline. He starts beating them down. Heyman comes in with a chair and hits Lesnar across the back. Lesnar grabs Heyman by the throat and yells in his face. Reigns gets up and goes for the Spear, but his Heyman instead. Lesnar hits Reigns with the F5. 1. 2. 3. Lesnar celebrates, holds up both belts and makes his way up the ramp. He takes one last look at a defeated Reigns who finally made it to his feet. Then it happens. Cody Rhodes jumps the barrier, slides in the ring and hits Reigns with the Cross Rhodes. Then he takes a look at Lesnar and we cut to black.

How good would that be?

Simptastic Joe

Control Your Narrative Promotion?

When I first heard of the Control Your Narrative movement, I thought this was just a wrestling faction, but I later learned this is going to be a new failing company in the world of wrestling. The company’s 3 main stars are EC3, Killer Kross (Karrion Kross) and Adam Scherr (Braun Strowman). In their mission statement, the men explained what the company is. They first took shots are shareholders and billionaire owners.  Saying that owners collect wrestlers like “toys”. Clearly these men have never ran a company before. The “toys” they are talking about are employees, not friends and not members of a bigger picture. If a wrestler or “toy” is not putting in the work, not loved by the fans and making for lower ratings, then a change will be made. That’s running a business.

The letter than goes on to name drop popular wrestlers that have joined the company. Names like Moose, Matt Sydal, Matt Cardona and some no names. Now, are you telling me that Moose, a superstar in Impact Wrestling who is probably being paid very well, is planning on leaving Impact to join this company?

Who’s paying for this? You don’t have a billionaire owner like Tony Khan or Vince McMahon, you don’t have or want shareholders, so where is the money coming from? The top 3 wrestlers starting this company I imagine have some savings, so they can go a little while without getting a regular paycheck, but the others can’t. Matt Sydal was never a “run the company” wrestler. He has been bouncing around from company to company since he left the WWE. And more importantly, why would he want to leave AEW in any capacity?

I don’t know what to think about this company after reading this letter. I’m very confused with a lot of wrestling companies these days. The WWE looks like the only real wrestling company and the others are just all working together in some way.

Jon Moxley still does shows in Japan and backyard wrestling promotions, but still works for AEW. This move I find incredibly stupid because why would AEW be ok with letting one of their most popular wrestlers go to other places? More importantly, Mox went to some unknown company for his first match after rehab, kinda dulling the moment of his return. Why would Impact Wrestling be ok with Moose playing in this other company. If he gets hurt that’s a MAJOR blow to your company.

The whole promotion just seems like a great faction idea, one that would thrive on grabbing wrestlers who are lost or on losing streaks to be more, but as a company they are failing before they even got started. My prediction gets stronger when I read their website. Apparently, if I’m reading this wrong, fights (not matches) are decided by Tap Out, Knock Out or Can’t Stand……so not wrestling. Is this a better version of Raw Underground?

Another section of the website says “FTN blends professional wrestling, cinema, and harsh reality”. The cinema part throws me off. Because they are going to have live crowds. Are these planned out fist fights? I HATED the cinematic matches during the Pandemic Era for the WWE. I thought nothing had to change with the style, just put on great matches and you captures your audience interest.

If I was running this show, the first thing I would do is write up a REAL mission statement of their promotion, take it to Rumble and do shows exclusively on there. Rumble was ready to give Joe Rogan $200 million dollars to be exclusively there. I wonder how much they would pay for the exclusive rights to a wrestling promotion? I wouldn’t do shows on the road. Like NXT, I would do shows exclusively in one location. Buy a simple warehouse or property you can make into an arena and that solves where it would be. I would put the arena somewhere in the South or mid-West because it’s cheaper to buy property there. Maybe one day take the show on the road, but when you’re stating a new company saving money is key.

The next step does against everything they believe in, getting shareholders. They NEED some big money bankrolling this operation. Let’s say if the Rumble deal happens, they give, let’s say 10 million dollars, you still have a lot of things to buy. The biggest would be the location. I saw just use one because you don’t have to worry about costs of travel and you can control the environment more than using someone else’s building.  

Getting wrestlers shouldn’t be that difficult. Yes, I crapped on Sydal before, but he’s a good wrestler. Not someone who can lead the company, but a suitable wrestler. Moose would be way out of their pay range, but Cardona might be a great addition. The 3 creators would be taking a pay cut for the first few months so that’ll save some money. There are a ton of unknown wrestlers and released wrestlers looking for a shot to be on tv again. If anything, this new promotion might be a way to help them. But that would be a WRESTLING promotion and not a….whatever this is.

I don’t think the Control Your Narrative promotion will be a success. The idea is enough to get some early viewers, but this doesn’t seem realistic and will fail pretty soon.

World War Joe