Blog Archives
Notes In Observance – ROH 2/27/17: Less Handshake, More Finger Break
Image provided courtesy of Ring Of Honor.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 2/27/17 On FITE)
Less Handshake, More Finger Break
– With the focus on Christopher Daniels and his quest to become an ROH World Champion, the opening video wasted no time to remind us of his journey, as it culminated with his defeat of Jay Briscoe in the ROH Decade Of Excellence Tournament Finals. It was all “15 years in the making,” you know. It was good to see Daniels in this kind of light, as his recent underdog gimmick makes ROH World Champion Adam Cole and his Bullet Club stand as good foils.
Notes In Observance – ROH Wrestling 2/8/17: Taking Umbrage To The Umbrella
Image provided courtesy of Ring Of Honor.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 2/8/17)
Taking Umbrage To The Umbrella
– The Punishment Damien Martinez/BJ Whitmer-War Machine match carried off past quarrels where a match went to the wayside for the purpose of pointless brawling. At least it gives the four something to do, as Martinez’s future’s the most to gain here. It also helped this episode that Colt Cabana was on commentary in classic boastful heel mode. We also liked the little touch that WM wore face paint. It adds to their look, albeit in a “Braveheart” way. Whitmer seems to get “go away heat” and that continued here as not much action occurred. There was a moment where Hanson performed a spot where he repetitively ran his opponents in the corner, to the point the fans did the rally cries with him. It lasted about a minute, legitimately. There were some consistent double-teams on both ends, including an impressive pop-up powerslam by WM. The finish is where things get silly again, because the four men are so into the brawl, the damn 20-count passes them right by. Countouts in ROH are just ridiculous. The only solace taken here was that Martinez/Hanson could make an intriguing singles match one day. Let’s hope they go that route.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 5/16/16: Flair For The Dramatic
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 5/16/16)
Flair For The Dramatic
– Broadcasted from North Carolina, it was expected that the southern crowd would favor AJ Styles and they treated him like a star. He wasted no time as he referenced endless tweets and accusations from fans and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns that he used Karl Anderson/Luke Gallows as a “master plan” to get him to the top gold. Convenient that he had time to compose all those tweets in a simple video, huh? Anyways, Reigns’ two cents on this made sense, especially after Styles defended himself when he said he sold out arenas and won World Titles elsewhere all on his own. Reigns continued to play up his tweener side as he reacted to fans’ “Seth Rollins” chants and told them they wouldn’t get him. Both guys played up the later Usos-Anderson/Gallows tag match as they hyped that they’d both be out in their respective corners. It was well-established that their next match would be unlike what we saw at Payback, because this time it was Extreme Rules. The physicality to end things was okay for what it was, as Styles was cocked with a right from Reigns when The Usos emerged behind the Champ after Gallows/Anderson’s music hit. Your usual “combustible elements” to further this feud between “The Bloodline” and “The Club.”
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 5/11/16: The Day The Music Died
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 5/11/16)
The Day The Music Died
– This show had purpose from the first second, as the opening video hyped Finn Balor’s first appearance since he lost his NXT Championship to Champion Samoa Joe at a live event in Lowell, Massachusetts. Oh snap.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 3/30/16: Ready For A Takeover
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 3/30/16)
Ready For A Takeover
– The American Alpha-Corey Hollis/John Skyler was a logical squash for AA to hit their signature moves en route to their biggest match to date at TakeOver: Dallas when they’d fight for the NXT Tag Team Championship against Champions The Revival, who watched attentively backstage. Good energy from the Title challengers here.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/10/16: A Friendly Battle
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 2/10/16)
A Friendly Battle
– NXT continues to make moves in 2016, this episode taking place in the CFE Arena in Orlando, Florida, a packed house ready to make themselves heard. The opening video did a good recap of hyping the NXT Women’s Championship match between Champion Bayley and #1 Contender Carmella. This was your “bestie relationship” being tested with a grand prize thrown in the middle.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 1/27/16: Remnants Of An Unclear Future
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 1/27/16)
Remnants Of An Unclear Future
– American Alpha (Jason Jordan/Chad Gable) continue to kill it right now and can easily be regarded as the NXT Tag Team Division’s hottest commodity. Their “onwards and upwards” push continued this week when they took on the former Tag Champs, Blake/Murphy in an opening contest that revolved around the quick-paced, excitable offense of AA, meshed with occasional dastardly doings by the heels to get ahead. The storyline reason for the match was AA eager to continue to prove themselves by showing that even though they weren’t in the category for “Best Tag Team Of 2015,” they could still beat one of those teams were nominated. Between Gable’s amateur background and innovative, flexible offense and Jordan’s suplex prowess, the sky’s the limit. We particularly liked how the hot tag quickly transitioned into their Grand Amplitude finisher.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 12/9/15: Full Sailing To London
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 12/9/15)
Full Sailing To London
– Ah, NXT: the one WWE show you can watch lately without getting your intelligence insulted. Feels refreshing. With this the go-home show for NXT TakeOver: London, it was clear the agenda was to give some finishing touches to that card and there was evidence of that from top to bottom. The first match pitted Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady against Corey Hollis/John Skyler, with the usual fun-loving faces in a mood for absolute retribution. They skipped their SAWFT routine and went straight to business, with an amped up demeanor. Cassady’s facial expressions were perfect and Amore even impressed with his hard strikes, ending the bout with their classic Rocket Launcher finisher. The post-match promo was the real money, as they made it clear that the NXT Tag Team Champions Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson tried to end their careers and they had waited too long for their shot to miss it. The lesson – don’t mess with Enzo’s family. Cassady brought perfect rage at the end, as his face was practically about to explode with it.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 11/18/15: A Lesson In Respect
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 11/18/15)
A Lesson In Respect
– The Carmella-Nia Jax match was about Jax having her most tested opponent to date and seeing how she’d fare out. Carmella had the crowd’s support and mounted some offense, but the end result was the same. Didn’t do much to convince us that Jax has more depth than what we’ve already seen.
