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WWE Extreme Rules 2019 Preview/Predictions
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
The main roster has been in a place of recovery in recent weeks after the announcement of both Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff as Executive Directors of Raw and SmackDown respectively.
Although Bischoff is expected to begin his role after this event, it has been said that Heyman had his “fingerprints all over” Raw the last two weeks. The first week was complete with Corey Graves swearing on air, a stage explosion/pyro angle and logical storyline developments, a key aspect to Heyman’s creative skills.
This most recent Raw episode felt like more of the same filler we had previously, yet SmackDown was the better show, so who knows if Heyman had his way with the blue brand just prior to Bischoff’s beginning?
Extreme Rules is being looked forward to by many, only because it will mean the end of one era (hopefully the dreadful Wild Card) and the start of a more meaningful one. Enthusiasm is dead with the current main roster product and if anybody knows what to do to rejuvenate it, it might as well be Heyman and Bischoff at this point.
Let the games begin.
WWE WrestleMania 35 Preview/Predictions
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
NXT TakeOver: New York (or TakeOver: Brooklyn V?) came, conquered and impressed everyone in all its glory.
300-pound Heavyweight Hanson performed a handspring back elbow and a top rope senton to the floor, Velveteen Dream was the GODDAMN STATUE OF LIBERTY and the main event between Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole delivered more wows than a summer blockbuster.
To be frank – WrestleMania will pale in comparison to its NXT counterpart and that’s to put it nicely, despite the fact that Mania will run more than twice the amount of time and contain more than three times as many matches.
Below are our predictions to shape Mania into a halfway decent show. If you’ve followed the Raw side (without falling asleep), the build has been abysmal while SmackDown has held themselves together better thanks to Kofi Kingston’s journey, but there are still some flaws here and there.
Let’s get to it.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 3/8/17: Don’t Steal Moves, Steal Moments
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 3/8/17)
Don’t Steal Moves, Steal Moments
– The opening video hyped Shinsuke Nakamura’s well-awaited return to NXT after he was soundly defeated for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: San Antonio by Bobby Roode. In the thick of it all, he suffered a “knee injury” and was left off television for a few weeks to sell it. Well, he’s back now. Apparently he’s also got an awesome opponent in TJ Perkins. We like that they can just pluck random Cruiserweights into filler spots like these on NXT. Now, if only they were allowed to do that on the main roster. Let’s not get TOO progressive now. Insert thinking face emoji here.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/22/17: Ohno Way Jose
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 2/22/17)
Ohno Way Jose
– The opening video hyped the NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender Triple Threat match between Peyton Royce, Ember Moon and Liv Morgan to set up Champion Asuka’s next challenger. That’s a marquee right there.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/15/17: Moustache Mounting
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 2/15/17)
Moustache Mounting
– The opening video hyped the first-ever defense of the WWE United Kingdom Championship, as Champion Tyler Bate would battle Trent Seven. Color us stoked.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/8/17: A Stand Against SAnitY
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)
A Stand Against SAnitY
– Well, nothing quite says “Welcome Back To Full Sail University” like the darkness and haunting realism of SAnitY’s entrance. Look Mom, Mad Max has some new friends. Once they get in the ring, we’re subjected to some subtle hardcore dancing from Alexander Wolfe as we wonder what the hell this group is out for so soon into the show. The silence was broken by upbeat Indian music, as The Bollywood Boyz came out with a cultured toy to raise some fun or something like that. Nah, they’re gonna get their asses kicked. In case you wondered, Eric Young/Nikki (not NXT Women’s Champion) Cross would sit this one out. As the match begins, it’s rather hard to not notice Killian Dain’s rampant back hair. Just imagine a furry bear and translate that to a human being. You’ve met your match. Funnily enough, at that point, the Full Sail faithful break out a “Shave your back!” chant. See, they’re not all that resentful. The bout goes on and it’s basically Dain having his way with the fun-lovers. He powerbombed one on top of the other and hit a senton on both. Just, ouch. On top of it all, he hits that sweet move that transitions from an electric chair to the Michinoku Driver. Wolfe never even tagged in, which goes to show that they accomplished the goal to make Dain look scary, though his back hair already did that. Post-match, Cross screamed for Champion Asuka, because well, she’s crazy. Young bragged about his victory over Tye Dillinger at TakeOver: San Antonio and again claimed that “The Perfect 10” belonged with them and it wasn’t a choice anymore. Right. This is like the friendliest group ever.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 2/1/17: End Of Graves
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 2/1/17)
End Of Graves
– With NXT TakeOver: San Antonio officially done, it was time for another post-TakeOver edition. Ultimately, these are notorious with backstage reactions from winners and “dark” matches that were taped before the show, even though it’s supposed to be like they’re happening after TakeOver itself. Strange stuff, but in NXT, we’ll just roll with it and ask for more. There you go. The opening video wasn’t without its highlights, showcased in all of its epic slow-motion glory. To sum it up, Roderick Strong bested Andrade “Cien” Almas, Eric Young (and SAniTY) defeated Tye Dillinger, The Authors Of Pain added Championship gold under their perilous penmanship, Asuka remained on top after she defeated three other women and above all else, Bobby Roode was now NXT Champion and things were set to be more “Glorious.”
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 1/25/17: Femme Fatale Four-Way
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 1/25/17)
Femme Fatale Four-Way
– The Ember Moon-Liv Morgan match was set up last week as a friendly competition to see who’d “unofficially” face the NXT Women’s Champion coming out of NXT TakeOver: San Antonio. Moon was still undefeated, yet Morgan was the one to challenge her. The story was there at least. They exchanged some chain wrestling and rolled around in package pin attempts for a good 25 seconds. Morgan seemed to have improved a bit as she hit a huracanrana. Moon applied a crossface, though Morgan fought out of it with a pin attempt that took Moon’s momentum back. Morgan laid on a guillotine, but was taken and dumped over the top rope by Moon. A minute later, Moon Eclipsed Morgan to take the win. It’s obvious how Moon’s in a holding pattern until TO:SA, but it also helped Morgan here. She could use more of a gimmick than “tough Jersey girl.” It was enough to make us want more, but what we got was good. They shared sportsmanship after the bell to keep the friendship going.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 1/18/17: The Glorious Shiba Inu
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 1/18/17)
The Glorious Shiba Inu
– The opening video hyped the contact signing segment between NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode. It pretty much wrote itself. Hopefully they’d so something to make this feud personal.
Notes In Observance – WWE NXT 12/14/16: Four To Play
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 12/14/16)
Four To Play
– The opening video recapped last week’s big rematch for the NXT Championship in Osaka, Japan between Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe. “The King Of Strong Style” had a loyal home country following and after a grueling contest, he got back his gold with a Kinshasa for the history books. We saw the hype that went down, as Joe immediately sought his rematch clause, so much so, that five days later in Melbourne, Australia, we’d see them duke it out again for the Title in a Steel Cage match. We assumed this would be the main event.
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