Blog Archives
Notes In Observance – WWE 205 Live 3/7/17: The Greatest Message That Ever Lived
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 3/7/17)
The Greatest Message That Ever Lived
– The opening video recapped the previous night’s Raw where WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville pushed Commentator Austin Aries to his boiling point and was blindsided in the jaw by a microphone. All of this came after Neville’s two consecutive stellar performances in defenses against Gentleman Jack Gallagher at Fastlane and Rich Swann on Raw. The guy carries the division in the ring, Aries carries it on the mic, why not combine the two in WrestleMania season? They made it clear he was the new challenger, without the official announcement. Props to the video package as it worked in the loud chants for Aries brilliantly.
WWE Fastlane 2017 Reaction
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Indicative of the lackluster Raw brand compared to the glitz of SmackDown Live’s progressive storylines and vibe, Fastlane is what you get when you bring WrestleMania season into the fold.
Ice cream bars, Jinder Mahal singles matches, potential streaks ending and questionable creative decisions are what this Fastlane will be best remembered for.
Also let the record show that the Cruiserweights stole the show and it wasn’t close.
Deemed “the last stop before WrestleMania,” this one had us downright sleepy at the wheel at times. Drive with caution.
Notes In Observance – WWE 205 Live 2/28/17: Dress Shoes Dropkicks
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 2/28/17)
Dress Shoes Dropkicks
– The opening video looked at the previous night’s tag match where WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville looked to put Gentleman Jack Gallagher in his place since he was mocked at the contract signing the week before. They also showed “The Premier Athlete” Tony Nese and his concern of only doing what was best for him. Gallagher won the match for his team as he stared through Neville’s eyes and made Nese submit. Run-of-the-mill recap, but still good and where it needs to be with Neville-Gallagher for the belt at Fastlane in five days.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 2/27/17: Post Breaker
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)
Post Breaker
– We began with Goldberg, who we know challenges WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens at Fastlane in six days. Cue his classic “walk from the back and snort aggressively” entrance. Goddamn, his pyro gets so bright. Among the fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin looks like an adult woman decked out in WWE Raw Women’s Champion Bayley’s gear. Well, something seems off about that. Not a bad promo from Goldie – “KO talks too much” and “I’m six days away from gold” are things his character should be saying. It’s inevitable, isn’t it? We think people just like to chant Goldberg’s name more than it being an indication that he’s actually over. He sure was throwing a lot of promises out there. Things looked to wrap up there, but we got a KO appearance. Luckily for last week’s sit-down suit promo, we can take the Champ slightly more serious now. Okay, he flubbed “mood” for “mool,” but that can slide. We liked that he sold his credibility and reminded us of how he beat John Cena on his first night on the main roster and scored big wins over AJ Styles and WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. He even name-dropped WWE United States Champion Roman Reigns. The telling line was that he outright said Chris Jericho didn’t matter. Foreshadowing. We’ll say that Goldberg has gotten better at promos than we can remember. “I don’t speak neanderthal” was a very KO response. Ha. Pick on the hometown, classic heel move. “The Goldberg chant dies” was a pretty morbid way to end the exchange, but that set the table for FL nicely. KO ultimately stands no chance in the long run with Brock Lesnar in the wings and his history with Goldberg.
Notes In Observance – WWE 205 Live 2/21/17: Kings And Queens
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 2/21/17)
Kings And Queens
– The opening video recapped the previous night’s Raw contract signing segment for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship match at Fastlane on Mar. 5 between Champion Neville and Gentleman Jack Gallagher. They showed all the important parts, as Neville painted Gallagher as a live caricature of the things people laugh about British culture, to which Gallagher argued that being a gentleman was who he really was and not a part played. In the end, Gallagher got the last laugh as he outlasted Neville in impromptu combat and embarrassed him with William III, his trusty umbrella. Makes sense as Fastlane draws near. Gallagher should get as warm as possible for the belt.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 2/13/17: Festival Of Friendship
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 2/13/17)
Festival Of Friendship
– Raw was in Las Vegas, we had a big WWE Raw Women’s Championship rematch between Champion Charlotte and Bayley and above all else, a “Festival Of Friendship” WWE United States Champion Chris Jericho was throwing for WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens. Add up all the ingredients and figure out where it can possibly go wrong. Exactly. To start the show, out came Commissioner Stephanie McMahon, which meant we got the old-fashioned 20-minute talking promo. Vintage Raw. She “gave” General Manager Mick Foley “the week off” and emasculated him without his presence this time. She went for the classic hometown cheap pop. Lord. Here comes Roman Reigns. Just why? This “Big Dog” nickname sounds so forced and won’t ever catch on. He demanded Braun Strowman, even though he’s guaranteed to face him at Fastlane on Mar. 5., like bro, can’t you wait? Real world exercise – ask your boss for your vacation and then a month before it approaches, demand it right now. See how that works out for you. From Steph’s point of view, why on earth would she oblige? We’re reminded she’s a heel and gets the crowd worked up for the prospect of it happening and then does the “boss” thing and prevents it because “she cares.” Cue the boos. She does announce that Strowman would face Mark Henry later. That sounds nice. She’s the boss, so she threatened Reigns and teased taking away the FL match and subsequent WrestleMania bonus. Reigns only got more aggressive in his stance, which drew WWE Raw Tag Team Champions, Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson. This can’t be good. They sucked up to Steph and suggested a Handicap match. Why wouldn’t she? Anderson sported a Club shirt that had similar fonts to the classic Bullet Club tee. Oh, subtle copying. Cue a mini-“brawl” where Referees have to pull them apart before we go to break. Let’s get to the match portion of things. Not much to write here, as the “numbers game” ran the pace, though Reigns powered in some offense. For some reason, the Champs ignored requests from the Referee to not beatdown their single opponent and were disqualified. Meh. Reigns fought out of the Magic Killer and then walked away. The Tag Champs don’t look any stronger and neither did Reigns. What exactly was this supposed to be?
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 2/6/17: Wild Samoans
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 2/6/17)
Wild Samoans
– One week after Samoa Joe’s riveting debut that involved a sideline beatdown of Seth Rollins, it was probably no secret that the angle would be the focus to open the show. It’s funny how the Rollins-Triple H storyline mulls along through the months, but with big happenings, it heats up. At this time, Rollins was likely to miss WrestleMania, which actually put more heat on Joe and rather than ignore that, they used it to their advantage. The opening video delved into all that, with sleek editing that actually brought meaning to Trips’ promo on Rollins last week and set up the moment well for Joe to attack. We’ll guess Joe will be branded as “The Destroyer” from hereon out. The key as always is the followup.