The word is out. Last night, Raw was a hit. The show was great from top to bottom and now it’s SmackDown’s turn to woo the pro wrestling faithful. The blue brand is fighting an uphill battle not only because they have the weaker roster, but the length of their show is held to a strict two hours with no five to fifteen minute overrun.
There is one thing that SmackDown must do to make sure that their maiden voyage into the new era is smooth sailing.
Continue reading “What SmackDown Needs Tonight”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8THyF0k9Q9s
Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries, Bayley, American Alpha…with the WWE Draft coming up on July 19, everyone wants to know the fate of NXT as 6 – 12 wrestlers are rumored to be called up to the main roster. Breaking Raw co-host Adam Kohn and I break it all down and give our thoughts on who’s staying and who’s leaving NXT for Raw and SmackDown.
I’m six days removed from the NXT live event that took place in Lowell, MA. Words such as amazing, spectacular, and shocking don’t even begin to describe the experience. The night was capped off by the surprise title change where Samoa Joe pinned Finn Balor to win the NXT Championship, which is a rare occurrence for a non-televised event.
Continue reading “Samoa Joe’s Shocking NXT Title Change in Lowell, MA”
If Shane McMahon beats the Undertaker at WrestleMania, he gains complete control of Monday Night Raw. This has fans talking about the possibility of another brand extension. PWInsider noted that WWE has discussed the idea, even before Shane returned to the company. I would like to put to rest and let me explain why.
The reason why WWE is not going to move forward with a second brand split is because Monday Night Raw is three hours. The length of the show makes it a chore for most fans to watch while the writers have a hard time producing 180 minutes worth of content. That’s with the entire main roster and Imagine splitting that in half? Continue reading “Is WWE Planning Another Brand Extension???”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v28Wiz58IGw
Frank Dee and I discuss Shinsuke Nakamura, his scheduled NXT debut, and the one mistake WWE can’t afford to make with the former New Japan Pro Wrestling superstar.
If you like this clip, check out the entire episode of The Raw Deal at Gerweck.net: Pro Wrestling Since 1997
Professional wrestling maybe the strangest business in existence. That doesn’t mean the word “respect” is lost on the genre. In fact, it’s one of the first things listed on the syllabus of Wrestling 101. Whether you are humble or arrogant, no one is immune to taking part in this lesson.
Those who learn to appreciate the privilege of being in the business will, in time, start to earn respect from those who’ve come before you. The ones who are stubborn and hard headed will either learn the hard way or be shown the exit.
Tough Enough winner, Josh Bredl, made headlines this week for a disparaging remark he made on Twitter about the Social Outcasts being “Social Jobbers.” This reportedly drew the ire of several WWE superstars, with Stardust and Kevin Owens publicly firing shots at the Division I athlete.
Click here to check out the column in its entirety at Gerweck.net: Pro Wrestling Since 1997
WWE brought out the big guns this week in order to prevent what could have been a historically bad rating for Monday Night Raw. While the ratings did improve from last week’s record low number of 3.27 million viewers, it was only a slight increase to 3.35 million viewers. Even with the combined competition they faced, WWE can’t be happy with an increase of only 80,000 viewers considering the big names they had on the show. Continue reading “Raw Ratings Suffer Despite Star Studded Lineup”
Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger captured my imagination from the moment he emerged from the curtain at WCW Superbrawl II. Liger lost the Light Heavyweight championship to Brian Pillman on that February evening in 1992, but it didn’t matter. The mixture of revolutionary high-flying moves and technical wrestling coupled with his anime inspired ring gear had me at hello.
Liger has wrestled all over the world. You name the promotion, and he has been there. That is, except for WWE. That will finally end as it was announced that Liger will appear at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on 8/22/15. The event will air live on the WWE Network and spoiler alert, he will square off against Tyler Breeze. Continue reading “Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger will appear at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn”
“The NXT Women alone are worth more than $9.99.” Lance Storm
Any wrestling fan worth their salt logged on to the WWE Network on Wednesday evening and watched NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable. It was a great night of action and excitement that culminated with the debut of former TNA star Samoa Joe. While Joe’s arrival means a plethora of dream matches for the energetic brand, the women’s championship match featuring Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch stole the show.
In fact, they didn’t just steal show, they flat out hijacked it at point blank range. Continue reading “The Ladies Prove Unstoppable in NXT and Hopefully Beyond”
What appeared to be another U.S. open challenge suddenly turned into a much more exciting affair as the guitar riffs of the CFO$ song, “Fight”, coursed through the sound system of the Richmond Coliseum. For some, it was an audible invasion of the unknown. For others, it was familiarity at its finest as Kevin Owens unexpectedly emerged on Monday Night Raw. Continue reading “The WWE Debut of Kevin Owens”
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