Vishal Gullapalli: I’m here first today! No longer am I the latecomer, I set the pace! Muahahahahahaha!
Charlie Davis: Vishal is here to apparently Out Work Everyone. Wait… I think that one is taken.
Mikey Zee: No, Charlie, I’m pretty sure Vishal is making a Kazuchika Okada reference… anyway, on to this week in wrestling!
Monday: Monday Night Raw, That’s J-PW #9
VG: Wait, I don’t watch wrestling on Mondays.
Alright, so Raw was essentially the go home show for Wrestlemania ™️ ©️ ®️ Backlash, so we should have a sense of the planned card. For the WWE Championship there’s Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre vs Braun Strowman in a triple threat, which will probably be a fairly short match, but I’m hoping Bobby retains if only because Drew winning again would be tiring and Braun has never been a convincing world champion.
Rhea is facing Asuka and Charlotte for the Womens’ Championship, and I’m annoyed as all hell about it because Asuka deserves better than to job out in a feud that’s barely about her, and Rhea has still not convinced me that she’s a great champ – her matches with Asuka have been lackluster, and it is exceedingly rare for Asuka to not put on a great match.
Oh, and Damian Priest is fighting the Miz because this is all about Wrestlemania rematches.
Look, I like WWE more than your average contributor to this regular discussion. Beyond just the quality of their wrestlers, I’m personally someone who’s easily swayed by things like production values and video packages and those are WWE’s strengths as a company. But we’re off of the road to Wrestlemania, we’ve got no real hype for this corporate mandated Peacock-exclusive special, there’s a distinct laziness in the builds and matches they’re advertising that isn’t surprising but is still disappointing. Especially for Raw.
CD: I am actually surprised anyone stuck around after the abysmal Raw after Mania. Like, I am super serious. But you’re right Vishal, if WWE didn’t have the shiny production and the things that are staples of the product aside from the wrestling, I don’t think we’d still be talking about it. Those are real hooks for some people. I agree with all your points above, and much to my chagrin, I still like RKBro and am enjoying Randy. Just bring back the white gear and you can count me on team Orton from now on.
MZ: Alright! Time for That’s J-PW. This week was a singles bout between Pom Harajuku, the “Harajuku KAWAII Wrestler,” and Yuki Kamifuku, the “Casual Beauty.” The pre-match promo segment started with a flurry of noise and confusion as Pom entered and yelled that she’d win and get a bubble tea party, leaving both hosts rather confused by Pom’s, er, force of personality. Yuki was even put off by her, and called her opponent creepy and noisy, vowing to make her shut up. As a side note: I love Yuki’s embellished denim gear? It makes me think of Ed Hardy jeans, but good. I know that sounds weird, but trust me, it just works for her!
See what I mean? As for the match itself, it felt like the two wrestlers took some time to find their chemistry in the ring. None of their moves felt like they had any oomph to them, until Pom started to get really mean and start punishing Yuki for using her long legs, dropkicking her, slamming the legs against the ring ropes, and starting to piss her off a bit. Then Yuki unleashed a devastating sequence of a Big Boot and Famouser, which gave her the pin. Yuki’s legs were looking a little worse for wear after the match, and honestly she sells like a pro. Yuki is definitely someone I want to see more of, and it feels like her style lends itself better to a longer match than the typical That’s J-PW format. Not the best episode I’ve watched, but I’m glad to slowly get to know more of the TJPW roster.
Tuesday: NXT
VG: It’s a Vishal Day, yes it is. NXT’s my show. It’s always been my show. And this was a pretty big card, one with 4…ish title matches, and one that marks the midpoint between Takeover: Stand and Deliver and Takeover: In Your House 2021.
The card opened with a nebulously-for-the-title match between NXT Champion Karrion Kross, and The Way’s local idiot Austin Theory. On paper, this match was meant to establish how dominant of a champion Kross is against a guy who has no business being in the ring with him and is good booking, but honestly, I can’t get over the fact that neither of these guys should be working at NXT without some sort of statement. Kross’s known Qanon stuff sucks a lot, and the response to Theory’s allegations during #SpeakingOut was to take him off of Raw and bring him back to NXT a few months later. Even if I believe the best about Theory, that there was a thorough genuine investigation and it was discovered to be nothing, the lack of transparency makes it hard to stomach. And I don’t trust WWE enough for that.
Oof, sorry for the downers that early. This is supposed to be the show I like!
CD: I do think this raises a good point, Vishal. Even if they are on TV without direct competition it doesn’t mean NXT can just coast. They did such a good job of building things up before AEW came around and had managed to morph into most people’s favorite wrestling show, and for good reason. Now, it’s just chock full of people who I have a really hard time rooting for. I made jokes about him last week, but I was almost immediately soured on Kross when I saw his first squash at Takeover. Everything I’ve learned after that has just been a no-go for me. It’s not hard to dig yourself out of a hole with me if you’re just a wrestler trying your best. It is if you’re someone who holds beliefs I cannot stomach. But, this is your time, Vishal. Go off.
VG: And of course, immediately after this match, Finn challenged Kross again. They’re gonna have a rematch on TV, it looks like, and Finn will likely lose because I cannot see them taking the title off Kross this early. Alas.
Gargano vs Reed has been a fun little feud, but at this point if Reed doesn’t take the title off of Johnny he’s done. I am of the (apparently not super popular among my friends) opinion that wins and losses matter, and constantly losing big matches is poison for any wrestler who hasn’t had their big win yet. It’s ironic I say this when Johnny Gargano is one of my favorite wrestlers, but his whole saga of losses to Andrade came after he was proven as the beloved heart of NXT. Bronson Reed has proven nothing, and if he can’t beat Gargano in a steel cage next week, I worry that he never will.
CD: I loved Johnny breaking Regal’s pencil. He is really thriving as this comedy heel and I am appreciating it a lot.
VG: MSK defended their tag titles against Breezango, and while I like MSK as a team and as wrestlers, I don’t get them. I don’t know why they were handpicked to debut in the Dusty Cup and win the belts. At this point Grizzled Young Veterans have a clearer purpose, and that’s not a good thing. I hope they can get their out-of-ring presence sorted out because every match they put on is a banger.
I’m really appreciative of how NXT’s continued to back Leon Ruff and didn’t just have him be a one-time North American champion as a bit. The former jobber’s feud with Swerve has been really engaging, and evokes an earlier time when NXT’s undercard had some of its longest-running and most engaging feuds. Even when Swerve and Ruff aren’t looking at each other, they’re furthering their stories, and I like that a lot. Pete Dunne’s a nasty man, too – he’s been claiming he’s the best technical wrestler in the world so my biggest hope is that another incredible technical wrestler joins NXT to dispute that. Maybe someone who recently had to leave their show after losing a title match?
Raquel and Mercedes finally had their match, which has had a fun little build. I think the story’s been a bit muddy – is Raquel a heel? Is Mercedes a face? – and not in the intentionally ambiguous way that the folks in Jacksonville like to pride themselves in doing well. The match ruled though. I’m a sucker for two big people just slamming each other over and over again, and these two monster ladies did just that. I don’t think the winner was ever in doubt, but regardless it was a very solid first big defense for Raquel.
There’s a new 4-person stable in NXT, and it’s Hit Row. I’m curious to see if they’ll match up against The Way, and I’m glad that Swerve’s getting his dues after sticking around and working in NXT for so long.
Kyle O’Reilly fought Oney Lorcan, won, got beat down, and got saved by Bobby Fish. This should be more exciting than it ended up being, even if the Bobby Fish return/ReDragon reunion was neat. Everyone involved is capable of better.
And of course, the main event, a 2 out of 3 falls match for the Cruiserweight Championship. I don’t think it is ever said enough how important Santos Escobar is in WWE – he took the Cruiserweight Championship from the belt that only existed on 205 Live and made it prestigious and meaningful, defending his title very frequently for a heel while also establishing himself as a fantastic wrestler even in heavyweight competitions. Io Shirai was the MVP of NXT’s 2020, but Santos Escobar was very close behind.
KUSHIDA winning the title the NXT after Takeover was a fun and exciting upset, and I’m glad to see him finally getting the respect he deserves. This is the guy who beat Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship, he’s a proven established talent and fantastic wrestler.
CD: Butting in to say that you should all watch that Wrestle Kingdom 10 match. It’s perhaps one of my favorite NJPW matches. Here is a gif of Kenny being sassy with some cold spray. You can now continue.
VG: NXT hasn’t had a 2 out of 3 falls match in a while, but they feel like a staple of the company. Matches like DIY vs the Revival, Sami Zayn vs Samoa Joe, Johnny Gargano vs Adam Cole, and more all have this prestige given to them by this rare but recognizable stamp of NXT approval, and this match has certainly joined their ranks.
NXT’s greatest successes tend to be letting their best wrestlers and performers do their thing, and this match was certainly that. It was a fantastic ending to a rocky show, and I look forward to this new era of the Cruiserweight Championship.
Wednesday: AEW Dynamite
VG: I thought I liked Dynamite after I turned off my TV, but on reflection (and on reading a recap of the show) I have to say I really only liked the first and last matches of the show. Jon Moxley vs Yuji Nagata was exactly what Mox vs Nagata should have been, except for maybe Bryce being slow at the 20-count. Darby Allin vs Miro was perfect, aside from a poorly timed ad break that’s a sign of one of my biggest problems with a nearly 2 year old AEW. More on that later.
CD: The beginning of Dynamite had me smiling ear to ear. You might not know it fine reader, considering how hard I go for The Elite usually, but Mox takes the top spot in my heart for favorite wrestler on most days. His presentation in AEW has been nearly flawless and he’s just a really special talent. The fact that it was HIM who facilitated AEW’s working relationship with NJPW and not others that had deeper roots, says a whole lot about what the wrestling world at large thinks about Mox.
MZ: Absolutely incredible work by both Mox and Nagata for the IWGP US title. And I will admit, I definitely popped to see him seconded by none other than Ren Narita, who may be one of the most promising (and most handsome) Young Lions out there! Seeing Eddie second Mox was also absolutely great, because their relationship has just revitalized Mox in an absolutely incredible way. Mox has always been great, but Mox with a friend? Superb.
Not only was the match itself excellent, it was a showcase of the legacy of Japanese “strong style” wrestling with a great who himself has trained many of the greats. Also, Mox’s display of superb respect, the moment he shared with Nagata at the end… I’ll be honest, it brought tears to my eyes a bit. Mox is someone who manages to simultaneously be both an absolute badass and someone who makes you care about and respect his opponents. The promise and build to this title match was absolutely delivered on.
VG: So that Cody promo, huh? What a thing to say in 2021. I don’t want to get too ranty about it, but it is a WILD thing to try and say that the US is better than the UK because you have a biracial daughter… when your British opponent is biracial himself. Cody has long been on the “do not trust” list for me since I saw his tweets about immigrants from back when he was Stardust, and I have no time for his new “American Dream” thing. Begone.
MZ: I actually entirely skipped the promo. Vishal, you and I talked at length the other day about how cold Cody has gone for us as a wrestler since the Jericho match for the AEW title. I was worried after Blood & Guts that we would be going in a Rocky 2-esque “us vs them” direction, and I’m very disappointed that I was right. This is not the moment for nationalism whatsoever… literally 3 months ago you were fundraising for Black Lives Matter, Cody! Racism isn’t over–you said it yourself! Ugh.
VG: The Bucks vs SCU match was good! I popped for the “I’m sorry, I love you” spot because it was exactly the kind of evil snark that the Bucks should be going for. I honestly don’t remember most of the match besides that, but we all knew what was going to happen and they delivered it fairly well.
CD: This is the match I liked the most on the card. I actually really, really loved it. The Bucks and SCU have a lot of history. Ladder wars, tag team title matches… LOTS. Not only did it have the moment you referenced above, Vishal, it has a cold spray spot that was just wonderful. The Bucks are great as these horrible people. I’m having the time of my life watching them get worse and hotter every week.
MZ: God, there’s SO much I could say about the Young Bucks vs. SCU. Just… a perfectly-paced tag team bout, full of emotion, excellent wrestling… everything I’d want. Chef’s kiss. Also, we got maybe one of the best calls from JR he’s had in a while: him reprimanding Nick Jackson with “The Young Bucks are not gonna retain the titles by fighting the hard camera… and staring at it!”
I could go on and on about the Bucks’ absolutely perfect gear, but I will keep it short… first, I love it when the opposing tag teams have complementary gear, with SCU keeping Christopher Daniel’s red and black color scheme, and the Bucks wearing their own red, gold, purple, and black variation. Speaking of which… at first, I couldn’t place why part of the Bucks gear looked so familiar. But then Matt did a Tombstone Piledriver, and I knew. I knew. Who else wore long pants with side fringe and gold embellishments?
Their friend, Kazuchika Okada. Okada’s far from the only influence on this set of Bucks gear–the cargo pockets are evocative of the Hardy Brothers, for instance. I feel it’s worth mentioning that they are specifically calling back to their NJPW days, especially because that piledriver was itself an answer to Frankie calling out the Bucks’ Bullet Club days with his perfectly-executed Styles Clash.
And then, of course, there was the “I’m sorry, I love you” moment calling back to the Heartbreak Kid that Vishal mentioned, which speaks for itself. After this and Nagata, I would’ve honestly been completely satisfied and called the show there. That was enough for me. But it continued. We got more Mox and Eddie, which I will always appreciate.
Orange Cassidy vs PAC was good, even if they had to call an audible due to injury. If AEW has shown that they excel at one thing maybe even more than WWE, it’s their ability to pivot. Kenny Omega came to help out, and. Well. He was wearing a suit lined with comic book fabric, which I will have more to say about… later. What did you think about the rest of the show, Vishal?
VG: I… don’t have much to say about the rest of the card, as I had honestly zoned out for most of it and was doing other stuff. But Darby vs Miro was pretty much exactly what I wanted it to be. Darby looked as defiant as anyone could in this loss, and Miro looked nearly as dominant as Brodie Lee did in his title victory. There were a lot of points where I was like “Oh my god, is Darby going to pull off the upset?” even after the brutal beatdown he was taking. Great work from both of them.
The only real problem I had was Ethan and Scorpio’s interference which happened during an ad break. AEW’s problems with ad breaks are honestly embarrassing at this point – it was at its worst for Blood and Guts but it’s still bad here. There’s two potential solutions to this – either TNT gives AEW a little bit of control over the ad breaks so they can place them in spots where they wouldn’t be intrusive, or AEW needs to find out exactly where their ad breaks are and schedule the show around them.
What sticks out to me is that NXT, just a day before, was about to cut to commercial break when KUSHIDA put Santos Escobar in the hoverboard lock, and rather than just cut to ad break and recap, NXT actively pushed their ad break a little bit back so we’d get to see the second fall. It made the program feel produced well and it felt like the people in charge were making sure we didn’t miss the important action. I don’t get that from Dynamite right now, and it needs to get to at least that level of polish. I should not feel frustrated that I’m missing out on the important parts of a match.
MZ: I totally agree. I know I’m probably higher on AEW overall than you are, Vishal, but I agree that one thing they could benefit from is better production all around. Combined with last week’s ad break issues, and a recent interview QT Marshall gave about formatting AEW’s shows where TK was being overly precious with details about creative, it’s clear something just isn’t working. I enjoy AEW, it’s the wrestling I make sure to watch every week even when I don’t catch anything else. I want to see it succeed. In my opinion, they should be strongly considering bringing someone with experience in to help bridge these production issues. I get it’s all a learning curve, but when it starts negatively impacting your bouts with the biggest build-up, that’s when you have to make a change in my opinion.
Overall, my thoughts are: this week’s Dynamite had a stacked card that largely delivered, with a side of bad Cody promo and some production issues. I can live with that.
Thursday: UpUpDownDown, Impact! Highlights, That’s J-PW #10
VG: IDK about the rest of y’all but the only wrestling content I watch on Thursdays is UpUpDownDown’s Battle of the Brands. And this week was the livestream for Breeze’s Backlash show, serendipitously right on the eve of this year’s Backlash. The show was really fun! I love that we get to actually watch the AI vs AI matches for all the PPVs, it ends up being really similar to how I consume main roster WWE content currently. I really hope WWE 2K22 brings back some sort of GM Mode.
CD: [waves to Impact]
MZ: I’m pretty sure something with Kenny Omega happened this week on Impact… oh right.
This happened.
Once again, I was busy on Thursday and didn’t have time to catch Impact, but something I can definitely make time for is TJPW. This episode’s bout was another singles match, Shoko Nakajima the “Big Kaiju” vs Marika Kobashi the “Gyaru Wrestler,” gyaru being a specific fashion subculture in Japan. Marika’s promo segment started off… with her literally belittling her opponent, leaving hosts Chris Brookes and Baliyan Akki both shocked. “She called the big kaiju small, you can’t do that!” Shoko, on the other hand, is angry. Not only is Marika a college student who doesn’t study, according to Shoko, I think she also said she’s a kaiju and therefore “the ass eats me!” Did I hear that right?
I like this kind of attitude. I also liked her entrance, which was thumping dance music punctuated by Shoko growling ferociously into the camera.
I’ll be honest. This match slapped from the jump. This was what I wanted to see since I started watching TJPW. From the moment the bell rang, the competitors kept up a breakneck pace, starting with Shoko wrapping her less-experienced opponent’s leg up in a hold, through Marika’s devastating chops. Marika’s style was inspired by Abdullah Kobayashi, who was a deathmatch wrestler who even came to the US to fight none other than Nick MDK Gage. Even though she was the junior wrestler in the bout, it was obvious that Marika has great instincts and lives up to her inspiration well. If you can catch this one… I absolutely recommend it. Wrestling at its finest in under eight minutes.
Friday: Smackdown
MZ: Uhh…. guys? Anyone watch SmackDown this week? I didn’t, because, um. I had some Apex Legends to play. (It’s free, and the new season is great. Queer pilot mech lady, anyone?) But, since I’m here anyway and I do hear it was real fun this week… shoutouts to Jason and all the WWE refs, production, and logistics staff who put in the work to make it fun.
CD: Listen. There are a few things that I wanna say. I was kinda busy on Friday so I didn’t get to watch Smackdown like I did last week. Here is what I know and what I am enjoying. I REALLY like what they are doing with Roman now that Jimmy is involved again. I like the fact that Jimmy may be on the same page, but he doesn’t want to do the things that way that Jey and Roman have been doing them. He even got pissed at the DQ that Roman caused in his match against Cesaro. Damn that is refreshing considering how WWE is about DQ endings. It feels NICE. I will admit, that I was a little more invested when Seth was intersecting with it, but this is still good. I do not like Jimmy’s new shirt though. If you aren’t anyone’s bitch, then why are you acting like it Jimmy?
There was a tease of the King of the Ring coming back which I will take if we can get Corbin to go away and get Shinsuke on the throne instead.
The women’s tag team championships changed hands! Thank GOD Nia does not have them anymore. I am happy for Nattie and Tamina!
Roundup: WWE Backlash Predictions
VG: So, Backlash is tomorrow! Seems like as good a time as any to do some predictions.
CD: Oh yay!
WWE Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman
VG: I feel like this one’s gotta be Lashley. I don’t see a good reason to give Drew the belt back here if you didn’t do it at Mania, and Braun was never convincing as a world champ and won’t be here.
CD: Mmm I would usually agree with you, Vishal, but Jinder is back and that would mean that this might be the perfect time to give Drew the belt back so he can enter into that feud that didn’t happen last year because of injuries. My money is on Drew.
Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cesaro
VG: It’s obviously Roman with his new final boss music, but I’m just happy Cesaro’s getting a big PPV singles title match. He deserves it.
CD: I want it to be Cesaro, but I know it won’t be. Hopefully they put on one hell of a show. Cesaro is more than worthy.
Smackdown Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley
VG: Bianca retains here – Bayley’s great and I love her but it would be a bad call to just hand her the belt again. Also, WWE weirdly undervalues her, based on how they treated her at Mania.
CD: It would be downright foolish to take the belt off Bianca right now. Again, hoping this match slaps.
Raw Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
VG: Sadly, I think Charlotte wins, and I think Asuka’s only here to eat the pin. WWE loves Charlotte just a little bit too much. I’d be very happy if I was proven wrong though – Rhea striking back after her performance against Charlotte last year would be satisfying.
CD: I think we all know the outcome here. Charlotte wins LOL.
Smackdown Tag Team Championship: Dirty Dawgz (c) vs The Mysterios
VG: The Mysterios have to win this – I don’t think anyone at all cares about Ziggler and Roode.
CD: Dad and son tag team champs activate! Honestly though, they should win. The other team is full of nothing people.
Lumberjack Match: The Miz vs Damian Priest
VG: You don’t pick a stipulation like a Lumberjack Match to have the cowardly heel win. Damian Priest all the way.
CD: If this ends Damian Priests feud with the Miz, it won’t be soon enough. Damian had gotta win.
MZ: Okay, I don’t have any Backlash predictions just because I don’t feel like I’ve been watching enough WWE product to be In The Know, but what I do have is…
Steal Their Look: Kenny Omega
MZ: Except I’m gonna pull a swerve on ya, you CAN’T steal his look because Kenny Omega was wearing a custom-made, bespoke suit lined with comic book panels. Folks, you can’t make this shit up.
But lucky for you, I happen to have Kenny Omega’s number (metaphorically speaking)… behold. Kenny’s Mark Russell custom suit.
Charlie Davis is the world’s premier Shatterstarologist, writer and co-host of The Match Club.
Vishal Gullapalli is highly opinionated and reads way too much.
