Charlie: I am so tired of Dynamite being on Friday, but at least there is a Takeover this weekend! Iāll grab the snacks.
Vishal: Tuesdays never gets messed up, Charlie. Itās a good deal for me.
Forrest: Itās E3 and you guys want me to talk about sports? Well, okay…
Monday: Monday Night Raw, Being The Elite
Charlie: You know. Maybe before I chatter away about BTE we should actually talk about something Raw adjacent. We talk almost every week about Raw a little, but I wanna say something. Uh. What happens when fans come back? How on earth are they going to be cool with everything that’s happened? No more Fiend on TV, no more Hurt Business…no more Auska champ. NO MORE NOTHING.
Forrest: I like how you implied that the fans arenāt aware, Charlie, because itās true nobody is watching Raw right now. That being said, I think the Fiend is the most interesting one because theyāve become more and more reliant on he and Alexaās supernatural cinematic abilities. Itās going to be a hard pivot back into in-ring work for them, and Iām not sure the Raw production team in particular is prepared for that. The finish to AEWās recent Stadium Stampede match, spilling into the live audience, might be the best framework they have but itās going to be messy.
Charlie: I cannot imagine they are prepared for what awaits them, especially on Monday nights. I think it will be super fascinating to see how they react to the fans actually reacting to them. My guess is some gimmicks will be dropped and changed almost immediately.
As for BTE this week. It was a nice wholesome one. You know, aside from The Bucks bullying Brandon and taking out Fenix. Iāve said it before and I will say it again. Brandon was the last little wall The Bucks had up protecting them from turning heel and when Brandon went off and said the same shit to them that everyone else did…it was the last straw. Brandon deserves what heās getting now because he wasnāt the friend Matt and Nick needed when they were in their time of need. Kenny and The Bucks bought The Cube at home board game or something and spent time just chilling. Some of my favorite BTE’s are about the boys just chilling together. Kenny didn’t have any pants on in that segment for some reason, but OKAY.
Tuesday: NXT
Vishal: As always, itās my day. Unfortunately, itās a go home show. Iāve never been a fan, honestly – they end up being more setup for the upcoming event than actually enjoyable individual pieces. This is also part of why main WWE programming doesnāt work for me – thereās so many PPVs that thereās far too many go home shows. But I digress, this is about NXT.
Charlie: This one was a bit uh. Lackluster.
Vishal: The best stuff this episode revolved around Poppy – one bit being the addition of even more drama into the InDex ship, in one of the funniest scenes in a wrestling show this year. The other was the return of Io Shirai! I was genuinely worried sheād be leaving NXT for the main roster, and while thatās never going to be off the table, this return feels like it ensures sheāll stay around for another couple months.
Charlie: Put William Regal on the show more. I love him. Io being back almost ensures sheāll start a feud with Frankie Monet. I would like to see it as they say. I hope the InDex stuff goes somewhere, itās starting to spin its wheels a bit for me.
Forrest: Internet wrestling sensation Danhausen once said the best advice he ever got from Regal was āwhen you donāt know what to do, make a faceā you can see Regal really taking his own advice in the background of this segment to a hilariously weird degree. Itās almost Lynchian melodrama.
Also, I love Poppy, heck Iām in the top 1% of her Spotify listeners, but I must reiterate justice for InDex. Indi…tall (eyes emoji).
Vishal: This 6-Man between Legado del Fantasma and Bronson Reed and MSK is a weird beast. Iām in favor of 6-man matches, and Iām certainly in favor of Legado del Fantasma getting shine, but the winner-takes-all stipulation is weird, because I feel like NXT would be more comfortable with having MSK drop the titles than Bronson drop his. At the same time, Iām vehemently against Legado del Fantasma losing this match – they already looked like chumps losing that match against Kross, and they as a faction deserve better than continued burial. If only one title match results in a title change, I want it to be this one.
Charlie: Iāll talk more about it in my predictions, but the whole MSK thing feels like weird wrestling marks being weird marks about MSK being pushed to the top of the card too soon or whatever. Sometimes I think hardcore NXT fans can be really insular and forget that these people were around way before they came to NXT. Maybe they deserved the titles, maybe they didnāt but it seems like the 6 man was set up to correct some mistakes. 6 man tags are usually also a vessel for character work. Maybe they can up their game to elite levels. Ahem.
Vishal: I donāt know, I donāt have much else to talk about for this episode. Grimes vs Knight should be fun, but Iām not HYPED for it. The Takeover card looks good, but Iām really just waiting for the event. The fatal five-way is what Iām really interested in, thereās a high chance they take the belt off of Kross and shoot him to the main roster, and Iād love for that to happen.
Charlie: Go away bad magician man is what I say! Give the belt back to my sweet boy made of poison, Adam Cole.
Thursday: Impact!
Charlie: Ah beans itās Thursday again.
Joking aside. Don Callis, Tony Khan and Scott D’amore all had a talk on Impact this week about Kenny’s match. TK declared that it would be held in an AEW ring and Scott declared that whoever wins the belt would fact Sami Callahan at the next PPV. Interesting things afoot.
Friday: Smackdown, Dynamite
Charlie: Okay! So! I actually have something to say about Smackdown this week. In that, uh, aside from the Roman and Uso stuff, I donāt think itās a very good show either right at the moment. Everyone is trapped in the same feud. Seth is still menacing Cesaro even though there were glimpses of something happening between him and Roman. KO and Apollo are trapped in a never ending cycle of the same match in which they will rotate Big E in and out as they see fit. They are PRETNEDING ALEISTER BLACK NEVER SHOWED UP. Sami is buzzing around SOMETIMES and there are 7 women left on the Smackdown roster. Roman and his cousins elevate things so much that I think it rubs off on other things. Ever since Jimmy came back Iāve been digging the story more. Choosing between whatās right and your family…hmm. Interesting.
ANYWAY.
Dynamite was really fun! Last weeks show was kinda weird, but things picked up here. The Bucks and Brandon v Death Triangle and Eddie Kingston was really great (it was a bucks match you should know by now) I loved the promo Eddie cut about The Elite and I love that Kaz has joined forces with him. The locker room is about to rally around the fact that The Elite have lost their souls. Love that. And uh Kenny. Kenny was off the charts manic on this episode as well. It’s really important to note that Kenny’s actions in the ring and during his promo really sell how broken he has become. He held onto the belt like a CHILD whos stolen toy was about to get taken away. He’s going to lose his mind actually when he loses it for real.
Forrest: I think they need to reign the tributes to Brodie in just a little bit, if they have no intention of giving anyone from Dark Order the TNT title, continuing to do it āfor Brodieā loses a bit of its emotional effect. I want his impact and legacy to matter, not to just be attached to everything they do (though within the year, I absolutely understand and empathize with where itās coming from).
Charlie: I do agree, Forrest. The more that happens, the more it dilutes what it means. In other Dynamite happenings, Cody rambled on about QT, Darby and Sting had a father son bonding moment where instead of finding a partner he decided heās going to go it alone in a handicap match against Ethan and Scorpio next need. As we mentioned above Evil Uno and Miro had a great TNT title match that was a bit watered down because we all kinda knew the outcome. The show moved along at a really good clip and Leyla Hirsch and Nyla Rose put on a really good banger of a match. Andrade had a video package that sold him as a top star in 5 mins or less AND the team of Hang10 fought team Taz in a fun main event that saw the progression of Brian Cageās story and had a feel good moment for Hangman and the Dark Order. Fun show. Excited to be out and about and OUT of Dailyās Place soon. I will miss the era for some specific things, but the return to different cities and live fans could not come soon enough.
Saturday: Against All Odds
Charlie: Impacts Against All Odds is tonight and our dear belt collector is having a match…I wish he would rest instead. That being said, Impact puts on these little mini PPV’s every month they aren’t having a big event and they are usually pretty breezy. There is too much wrestling for me to catch nearly every day of the week so I always joke that I miss Impact, but the Knockouts Division is killer and the X Division is much the same. I would go out of your way to watch this one as it did have an awesome main event between Kenny Omega and Moose. They all left me to talk about this one so I would like to advise the what I deem the most important happening in the match was the Young Bucks coming out to help Kenny win. You might say, Charlie, the Young Bucks always come out to help Kenny win and I would say NO not since this heel turn they haven’t. It’s always been the Good Brothers, especially on Impact. The OG Elite coming together marks some sort of shift again in the dynamic between them, I am just not certain what it is yet. I for one, am VERY excited my evil family is back together. Oh and Sami Callahan showed up and Don fired him from the company. Expect…a hardcore gimmick match between he and Kenny.
NXT Takeover: In Your House 2021 Predictions
Fatal 5-Way Match for the NXT Championship: Karrion Kross [C] V Kyle OāReilly V Adam Cole V Johnny Gargano V Pete Dunne
Vishal: I know I said itās possible they take the belt off of Kross here, but honestly I donāt think they will. I think theyāre still really invested in making Kross look legitimate before he loses a match, so unless the main roster has IMMEDIATE plans for him, heās retaining here. I donāt get that many nice things.
Charlie: I think youāre probably right, Vishal. But I will say that I am gonna make a pick outside of Kross because I absolutely despise him as champ. Adam Cole wins and sets up the feud with Kyle for the actual belt. I hope Kross is main roster bound.
Forrest: Thereās been substantial buzz around a big wave of main roster call ups, and I think youāre both right that you could make the case for any of these guys either in losing or winning here. That being said, I think Kross retains into a spin off feud with one of these guys that then heralds his own call up.
Ladder Match for the Million Dollar Championship: LA Knight V Cameron Grimes
Vishal: Cameron Grimes is taking this. Heās been an underrated workhorse at NXT for a while now, and this is a good āprove yourselfā match for LA Knight – heās still a mostly unknown quantity for me, I donāt know how he performs in good 1 on 1 matches.
Charlie: Itās gotta be Cameron Grimes. I can see him chasing this belt too, but I really donāt want LA Knight to win. To the Moon, Cameron. To the Moon!
Forrest: I hope Cameron wins this and Ted Dibiase’s management. M1LL10N D0LL@R B0YZ.
Mercedes Martinez V Xia Li
Vishal: This is the least interesting match for me, but thereās at least a neat hook. Xia Li wins this one, because Mercedes won their first ever bout and having the Tian Sha thing lose their first ever Takeover match when theyāre the ones who challenged Mercedes would be a major nail in the coffin.
Charlie: This has to go to Xia Li. I donāt know why else you make this match if youāre not going to put over the scary dragon stable which should be a lot radder than it actually is.
Forrest: Mercedes is the kind of veteren that functions well to put over new talent. Xia has a big upside winning over her here.
NXT Womenās Championship Match: Raquel Gonzalez [C] V Ember Moon
Vishal: Emberās a fantastic wrestler, and former NXT Womenās Champion – had Asuka not gotten injured, Iām sure Ember would have beaten her for it. That being said, her return to NXT has mostly positioned her as a tag team wrestler, and I donāt think she has the kayfabe legitimacy to carry the gold again. Plus Raquel needs a few more notches in her title reign – NXT makes sure to make this belt matter, even when the others donāt always.
Charlie: I canāt see Raquel losing this belt now. What seems to be down the road, is Dakota turning face or Raquel turning face depending on whoās gonna be the one to break bad in their relationship. The writing has been on the wall ever since I caught Dakota make that wayward glance at the title when Raquel first one it. Love Ember though, this one should be a banger.
Forrest: Given that I actually think Rhea and Bianca coming back to NXT to celebrate their wins actually overshadowed Raquelās win and imminent reign a bit, I think Ember is the perfect opportunity to re-legitimize it.
Winner Take All NXT North American and NXT Tag Championship: Bronson Reed [C] and MSK [C] V Legado del Fantasma
Vishal: As I mentioned, I need Legado del Fantasma to win this. Thereās other reasons beyond me being a massive fan, though. MSK have gotten booed throughout their title reign, something I didnāt really understand. Sure, theyāre not great characters (or theyāre not characters at all) but they put on incredible matches. But the crowd is not having them, and it shows. I saw a comment comparing them to the pre-Day One Ish Usos, in that theyāre babyfaces who people generally like, and they regularly come out to save babyface singles stars, but no one really wants them to have the titles. Having them drop the belts to Wilde and Mendoza is a smart idea, let them figure out some personalities before they make another attempt at the belts. Itād be sad for Bronson Reed to lose his title so soonāitād be the worst North American title reign since Johnny Garganoās firstābut he hasnāt shown too much personality honestly. The weird continentalism angle is not great, though, and it could lead to a āBronson retains because you donāt need to be from North America to be championā but I would be sad.
Charlie: The crowd not liking flippy wrestlers with no personality? Oh my, what has the world become! Jokes aside, I donāt really know why the crowd doesn’t like MSK. Maybe because they were shipped directly over from impact and won the belts basically immediately with no build to get invested in them. They are bland and their in ring work, while fantastic, doesnāt show any personality either. If youāre gonna do flips and be impressive, you gotta back it up with character work or marks are just gonna say your matches are spot fests. Just ask the best tag team in the world about that. Iād be sad for Bronson to lose too, but he doesnāt have anything for me to latch onto either. This is kind of a typical NXT thing where they make the heels so cool they become the fan favorites. Maybe…they should work on not doing that.
Forrest: Please, someone, just tell me what MSK means. I need them to win so they get more mic time.
Charlie Davis is the worldās premier Shatterstarologist, writer and co-host of The Match Club.
Forrest is an experimental AI that writes and podcasts about comic books and wrestling coming to your area soon.
Vishal Gullapalli is highly opinionated and reads way too much.
