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Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown Live 8/23/16: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures
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 8/23/16)
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures
– Headed out of WWE SummerSlam on the SmackDown Live side was the news that AJ Styles cleanly pinned 15-time World Champion John Cena in the ring and despite a close effort (in a dud match), Dolph Ziggler didn’t fulfill his opportunity against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose and fell short yet again. It was a smart idea to have the gloating Styles and upset Ziggler collide in the locker room based off SummerSlam alone. The only thing that confused us was a random locker room as Baron Corbin talked to Erick Rowan (with the sheep mask on) and Apollo Crews spoke with Rhyno. Like, what? Anyways, Styles had Ziggler snapping at him coming since he called the guy a loser to his face. Styles has comfortably settled into the “pest heel” role and it doesn’t hurt to have a solid character behind the guy who can go in the ring.
WWE SummerSlam 2016 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Within the “New Era” has been an attempt by WWE to showcase new talent on the precipice of an ever-growing content generator known as the WWE Network, where fans can not only tune in to live Pay-Per-Views (seven of more which were announced to be added to the already-stacked yearly 12 to make an absurd 19) but go back and watch almost everything WWE has ever produced.
That said, sometimes more new content isn’t necessarily the best scenario.
If you count the two-hour pre-show, SummerSlam clocked in and six hours and three minutes with 13 matches.
On a stacked Supercard, only a third of it was deemed excellent. The rest of it couldn’t have been more filler if we tried.
SummerSlam was the personification of having too much of a good thing and not knowing how to properly utilize it.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown Live 8/16/16: Styles Crash
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 8/16/16)
Styles Crash
– The opening backstage segment with Commissioner Shane McMahon, General Manager Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Heath Slater was a fine open to the show, as we saw Orton officially sign off on the contract that ensured that he and Brock Lesnar would battle at SummerSlam, only five days away. Slater continued to use his “Free Agent” gimmick more to the comedic side, as he presented Bryan/Shane a fruit basket (likely stolen from a funeral parlor, funny) since he recalled them close to signing him, before they said no because of how they were dissed. We were left with how Orton “had an idea.” Wonder what that could possibly be. At least there was a tie with Slater to Lesnar. It’s actually pretty smart to have the one guy who could bounce back and forth between shows interact with the two feuding guys on separate shows.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown Live 8/9/16: Channeled Energies
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 8/9/16)
Channeled Energies
– The backstage segment with Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio provided nice hype for their match later on in the show. as Orton mentioned he was focused on his SummerSlam opponent Brock Lesnar and looked forward to taking Lesnar to Viperville, to which then Del Rio walked up and made light of the city name. It was basically a little war of words between the two. On paper, Del Rio was a notable name that Orton could defeat en route to SummerSlam.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown Live 8/2/16: Returning The Favor
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 8/2/16)
Returning The Favor
– The backstage segment with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon, General Manager Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton was a good follow-up to Raw’s ending, since we saw Orton’s surprise RKO on his SummerSlam opponent Brock Lesnar, before he was chased away by security. Luckily and logically, we opened up as Shane reprimanded Orton for his actions. That went down the drain once Shane praised it as “awesome.” Really, Shane? Anyways, with all the security presence to keep Lesnar out of the building, that basically meant that Lesnar would appear. The part that followed where WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz/Maryse complained to Bryan/Shane about the way they were treated was okay, but one big hurt to his argument was that while he complained about not being celebrated by the locker room in the ring after he retained the IC Title at Battleground like they did with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose was that Miz himself was one of the people holding up Ambrose on their shoulders. Yikes. The lack of logic here. Anyways, this led to a half-assed announcement where Bryan booked a triple threat between Apollo Crews, Kalisto and Baron Corbin to determine Miz’s #1 contender. This was then followed by the authoritative duo running into Ambrose, who made it known that he was about to head to the ring to address his #1 contender, Dolph Ziggler.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 7/4/16: Independence Dud
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 7/4/16)
Independence Dud
– WWE and holidays never mix if you seek quality television. It was the Fourth Of July and America celebrated it’s 240th birthday with greasy grilled goodness and such. WWE threw on a three-hour Raw with the agenda of half-assedly pushing Battleground with holiday filler. It worked in some ways and was missable in many others. Case in point – the opening segment was your general locker room food party. The Golden Truth performed on stage before The Vaudevillains forced them off and then Aiden English had food thrown at him. WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz/Maryse warned everybody not to let it end in a food fight and sure enough, that’s what happened. Kevin Owens also got pied by someone in the face off-camera, Heath Slater went through a table, Darren Young sat with other heels and we knew we were in for one of “those” nights.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown! 6/23/16: The Perfect Example
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 then bottom of the post.
(Aired 6/23/16)
The Perfect Example
– With Roman Reigns out of the picture due to a 30-day suspension via a Wellness Policy violation, we wouldn’t have the benefit of seeing him interact with brand-new WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose and scorned opportunist Seth Rollins, who again “got robbed” as it was revealed they’d all battle at (no pun intended) Battleground on Jul. 24. The opening video showed us how we reached the triple-threat, as it all played out on Raw. That review is very cool and you should read it.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 6/20/16: The Dude Abides
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 6/20/16)
The Dude Abides
– Affected by flushed ratings and maybe an attempt to shake things up, WWE firmly decided to put the WWE World Heavyweight Championship around Dean Ambrose’s waist with the story of the latest Money In The Bank cash-in. At the same time, they’ve used the circumstances of a Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins Title feud as the catalyst for all three former Shield members to intertwine once more. WWE portrays Ambrose as an edgy carefree renegade who enjoys a good drink. Of course, he’s uber-over with the fans, so this was a perfect time to make the change and let the “Ambrose Asylum” lead the way. What better way to start the show off than to have a taxi with the rebel Champ to come out of, looking like he had a rough night? It was quite Ambrose.
WWE Money In The Bank 2016 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
When the words “Money In The Bank” are uttered within earshot of a wrestling fan, few things will come to mind.
Edge’s opportunistic cash-ins, the chaos itself of the MITB ladder match, past winners and probably the easiest tie to the phrase – 2011 – when CM Punk shocked the world and “left” the company with the WWE Championship after a money match with John Cena.
MITB has become a tradition itself and what does one do with tradition? They carry it on with new generations.
What happens when “The New Era” (wink, wink) collides with this concept?
Thanks to a tightly packed uppercard with three WrestleMania-worthy matches and a crazy ending, it was easily high on the list for Pay-Per-View of the Year.
Calling it the “Greatest MITB in history” before the show even streamed live was a bold statement, but one that could be hard to argue.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 6/13/16: Same Ring, Same Time
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 6/13/16)
Same Ring, Same Time
– Obviously, it made sense to open with the appropriate moment of silence for the Orlando shooting victims, just like Slammiversary did.
Pro Wrestling Opinion 