Blog Archives
WWE NXT TakeOver: San Antonio Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Even though it boasted the same static screen transitions and synth-powered alternative rock theme songs, there was something about this “TakeOver” that didn’t feel like “TakeOver.”
At least headed in.
With what could be considered a lackluster build to a card with throwaway bouts, it’s a testament to NXT and everything it stands for that even with “in-the-middle” shows like this compared to past TakeOvers, they can still spin yards of gold.
We also dug the ambition to continue the tradition of hard-fought contests, excellent teases and above all else, the element of surprise. While on a lesser level, we still got our “TakeOver” money’s worth.
Notes In Observance – WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament – Part 2
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 1/15/17)
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament – Part 2
– The opening video replayed Night One’s spectacular happenings, as we went from Triple H’s epic intro to a brief run-through of the current competitors and how they came to be. To this point, we had Trent Seven, Joseph Conners, Mark Andrews, Wolfgang, Jordan Devlin, Pete Dunne, Sam Gradwell and Tyler Bates. It finished with Dunne’s sinister attack on Gradwell to end the show, as he rushed across the stage to deliver a forearm and hit the Bitter End on the ramp. Everything about this was great and the attention to detail to further establish Dunne as a renegade heel went over well. These final eight are about right too, with some great personalities here.
Notes In Observance – WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament – Part 1
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 1/14/17)
WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament – Part 1
– The opening video showcased WWE’s longtime relationship with England that brought us classic moments such as Bret Hart-British Bulldog from Wembley Stadium at SummerSlam 1992 among others. In recent years, WWE NXT “took over” London and that turned out well. Pushed with mid-tempo hype in the last couple of weeks, we learned how it all went down when it was announced that there’d be an official WWE United Kingdom Championship and subsequent tournament to crown the inaugural Champion. With 16 competitors announced, this would essentially be a British version of the Cruiserweight Classic. Safe to say, we were curious what the end result would be.
Top 20 Of 2016
Graphic by Salwinder Singh.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“It.” “Delete.” “Obsolete.” “The List.” “10.” “The Champ That Runs The Camp.” “Stupid Idiot.” “Glorious.” “Too Sweet.”
The list above describes a fiesta of phrases commonly found in pro wrestling jargon that made 2016 possibly its best year ever.
The one below describes select moments that help seal that argument and make us forget about things like The Titus Brand, The Cruiserweight Division, Raw’s Third Hour, WWE’s overloaded Pay-Per-View schedule, TNA’s X-Division and Matanza Cueto.
If you want to remember that bad stuff, check this out.
Worst 10 Of 2016
Graphics by Salwinder Singh.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
2016 was possibly professional wrestling’s most newsworthy year.
Whether it was “Broken” Matt Hardy, Chris Jericho’s transformation into a walking meme, Goldberg’s unexpected return or the Cruiserweight Classic, everywhere you looked, there was something to talk about.
For all those moments however, came some head shakers.
With the unenviable task to cover every single 2016 episode of Raw, SmackDown (even before it was “Live”), NXT, Impact Wrestling and Pay-Per-View/Live Specials (all 29), we’ve seen things that cannot be forgotten.
We’re here to bring them to light.
Manopera! Episode 32: The Best and Worst Wrestling of 2016
Image courtesy of The Bonesaw.
*Courtesy Of The Bonesaw*
Check out the latest edition of “Manopera! A Wrestling Symposium,” as PWO’s own Nicholas Jason Lopez guest stars to discuss the best and worst of wrestling in 2016 with Hosts Chris Butera and “Spaceman” Frank Lucci.
In a year filled with twists, turns and too many Pay-Per-Views, this thrilling trio breaks it all down!
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Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 9/26/16: A Feel-Weird Story
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 9/26/16)
A Feel-Weird Story
– The night after Raw’s first brand-exclusive Pay-Per-View Clash Of Champions and you’d think they’d start the show with a cool, still-shot frenzied video package of how great it was? Of course not. Guess even they didn’t want to revisit that. Anyways, things went straight to business with the WWE United States Championship match between Champion Roman Reigns and Rusev. Rematch, because why not? Commentator Michael Cole said so. He also mentioned another belt would be on the line before the show was up. In fact, Rusev already waited in the ring while Reigns’ entrance was televised. Luckily for Reigns, he had a mixed reaction but more cheers than jeers. Kudos for both men as far as their mat-based approach for the ring work, but this severely lacked the energy even their mediocre COC match had. This was slow and boring for almost most of it, though they had their competitive moments to hold our interests. The near-falls weren’t too shabby and we get why they’d brawl into the crowd, but why on Earth end this in a double countout after 25 long minutes? That only makes their plan to extend this to Hell In A Cell on Oct. 30 all the more obvious. The post-match angle with the chair helped enhance the “brawl” vibe, but it would’ve been better had Rusev gotten the better of Reigns and not the other way around.
Notes In Observance – WWE CWC 9/14/16: The Finale
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 9/14/16)
The Finale
– From its inception to the two-hour live finale, the Cruiserweight Classic was treated like the hand-crafted gift to the IWC it was meant to be. Where else on a WWE platform would you see the likes of Zack Sabre Jr., Cedric Alexander, Johnny Gargano, Rich Swann, Drew Gulak, Kota Ibushi and TJ Perkins among others do what they truly are known for? On top of it all was a credible commentary team of Mauro Ranallo and SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan. Through it all, we saw the rise of relatively unknown talent like Gran Metalik and Noam Dar to an American audience while indie mainstays like ZSJ, TJP and Alexander stepped their own games up to prove their worth. The opening video highlighted all the tourney’s happenings with a voiceover from Triple H as he talked about how far they’d come. From 32 men from 16 countries, it was now down to four men from four countries. We also heard separately from the final four, who were GM, ZSJ, TJP and Ibushi about how much the tourney meant to them.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 8/29/16: Welcome To The Kevin Owens Show
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 of the bottom of the post.
(Aired 8/29/16)
Welcome To The Kevin Owens Show
– SummerSlam showcased the best of WWE’s future in Finn Balor and Sasha Banks as they each held the top Title in their respective divisions; the WWE Universal Championship and WWE Women’s Championship. Unfortunately, both Balor and Banks suffered injuries that put them on the shelf. For poor Balor, he’d be out until perhaps early Mar. 2017. Where one door closes, another opens. WWE was smart to take this approach into the next Raw episodes, as the opening video highlighted last week’s “series of matches” that determined the participants for a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match for this show. In the end, it was Big Cass, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
WWE NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
While that cliche can apply to most things in life, it especially applies to NXT, particularly around SummerSlam weekend.
Again, despite efforts to divert attention to the six-hour spectacle that is SummerSlam itself, it only goes to that of its previous-day predecessor, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.
Last year, 15,000 Brooklynites held witness to one of WWE’s matches between WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Bayley.
While this year’s bouts didn’t capture that match’s emotional whirlwind, just like every previous TakeOver special, we left each contest with a “talking point” of some sort.
Pro Wrestling Opinion 