FROM MUSTAFA ALI TO TAYA VALKYRIE, DEREK HARMSWORTH RUNS THROUGH THE PAST SEVEN DAYS IN THIS WEEKS FRIDAY FIFTEEN!
- The “Mae Young Classic” has been taped all the way up to the finals, and will begin streaming on August 28th. A quick perusal of the spoilers makes me feel like were in for a fun tournament, and a hell of a finals. Can’t wait to see the finished product, and I for one hope some of these women stick around and give the NXT Women’s Division a much needed boot in the backside.
- Ronda Rousey is going to work in a WWE ring before the end of 2018. Keep this prediction handy, folks.
- The WWE has a license to print money with Johnny Gargano.
- WWE abandoning the purple ropes and mood lighting for the cruiserweights on Monday Night RAW is both a positive step and completely necessary. The competitors must feel as though they are a part of the roster as a whole, and not simply appearing as a sort of infomercial for their own Tuesday night program.
- Jason Jordan revealed as Kurt Angle’s son is interesting. I don’t know if it’s interesting good or interesting bad, but I guess we shall find out. I still feel WWE left a lot on the table having American Alpha go their separate ways so soon, but both have shown potential as singles competitors, and the rare amicable split allows them to revisit it rather easily.
- No matter what Matt and Jeff Hardy have to pay to get the rights to their “Broken” characters, I think it’s worth it. The exposure on WWE will certainly recoup the costs and then some.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzoiOTWLjxk
- GFW Impact Wrestling continued to post strong ratings for the second week in a row. Can they keep it up? That remains to be seen. While there is still plenty of things I would change about the current product, for a brand in transition, it’s mostly enjoyable.
- I don’t know what AAA did to Taya Valkyrie, but it doesn’t sound like things ended smoothly. Valkyrie, for what it’s worth, is wildly talented. The sky is the limit for her. She has a gig in Lucia Underground, and one would think NXT, ROH, and others would also be lining up for her services.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KJSoyEDNVc
- Kudos to Gail Kim on a great career. Currently plying her trade in GFW, she announced on the recent episode of Impact Wrestling that she would retire at the end of this calendar year. Cant wait to see what the next five months or so brings, as we know she’ll leave it all out on the line as she reaches the end.
- NJPW’s recent United States Championship tournament shows should have given the WWE a blueprint from a network exclusive G1-type tournament of their own. Allow four RAW and four SmackDown Live competitors (determined through qualifying matches on each brand) go head-to-head over a two night event to determine brand supremacy. Hell, brand it the “King Of The Ring” if you must.
- It seemed a little surprising and perhaps rushed that Drew McIntyre would find himself as the number one contender for Bobby Roode’s NXT Championship. But given the talent the two men have, I’m surprisingly okay with it. Should be a hell of a match at TakeOver:Brooklyn III.
- You know, it was short lived, but “Shotgun Saturday Night” deserves a lot of credit for being the precursor drug to the Attitude Era.
- I don’t know how legitimate the WWE’s interest in Rey Mysterio is, or whether he is simply using them to gain leverage in a deal with GFW. But I feel mighty confident in saying that the majority of the WWE Universe would welcome the high flyer back with open arms.
- The last Punjabi Prison match was a disaster, and Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship reign isn’t exactly setting the ratings world on fire. Be interesting to see how Battleground unfolds, and more importantly, whether WWE will let him carry their main championship into the biggest event of the summer, Summerslam. For what it’s worth, I have been just fine with his title reign. Problem is, sometimes “just fine” isn’t good enough.
- Don’t know what the future of 205 Live holds, but I know one thing: watching Mustafa Ali has been a revelation. Looking forward to hopefully much more from him.