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WWE NXT TakeOver: XXV Preview/Predictions
Photo courtesy of Deviantart.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
All Elite Wrestling grasped the wrestling world after their first Pay-Per-View last week, topped off with a Five-Star Rhodes Brothers match, Awesome Kong, a tag team classic between The Young Bucks and Fenix/Pentagon Jr. and of course, Jon Moxley (the former Dean Ambrose of WWE fame) at the end.
Anybody who looked to WWE for an answer was left hopeless on Raw and SmackDown, side for a surprise mention by Sami Zayn on Raw.
The only true competitor with WWE’s name is its NXT brand, spearheaded creatively by Triple H. The 25th TakeOver event celebrates all that has happened before while also giving us another five-match standout card to feast on.
The essence of TakeOver is the heart of NXT itself – it’s where the up-and-comers showcase their true potential. Who knows where we would be if we didn’t get Zayn-Shinsuke Nakamura, Bayley-Sasha Banks, Johnny Gargano-Adam Cole and The Revival-#DIY, amongst other countless memorable bouts? It’s matches like those that have elevated NXT to the bar that has been set for wrestling expectations in 2019.
TakeOver has become more than a live event. It’s a movement. Beyond that, it has happened in America, United Kingdom, Canada and other places. It has brought NXT to the conversation of actual world domination.
Triple H’s formula to build stars, sign big names, focus on wrestling and characterization is one for success. It’s hard to believe there have been 25 TakeOvers, but we don’t think anybody will disagree that NXT can make 25,000 more TakeOvers for all we care.
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 SmackDown Live 1/24/17: Brother Vs. Brother
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 1/24/17)
Brother Vs. Brother
– The General Manager Daniel Bryan/Miz/Maryse backstage segment was another perfect example of chemistry done right. For months, Miz had been at his boss’ head ever since he was criticized in that infamous Talking Smack promo. There was no better way to set up a Lumberjack Match than have Miz boldly claim he “paid all of the locker room’s salaries with star power.” Bryan, apple aside, was all wits, as he used Miz’s statements against him to give him a WWE Intercontinental Championship rematch, but under his rules to prevent outside interference. Welcome to the world of logic. None of that on Raw.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown Live 12/6/16: Drunk Off Chin And Juice
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 12/6/16)
Drunk Off Chin And Juice
– The opening video replayed James Ellsworth’s betrayal of Dean Ambrose, as he tipped over a ladder with him on it and caused him to land through two tables outside, which helped WWE World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles retain. As we learned on the post-TLC Talking Smack, Ellsworth planned to challenge Styles for the belt and pawned off the idea of an angry Ambrose as an obstacle. The dynamic would be interesting this time since Ellsworth was on his own.
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 SmackDown Live 7/26/16: Superkicking The Glass Ceiling
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 7/26/16)
Superkicking The Glass Ceiling
– On the SmackDown side of the WWE Brand Split, we were promised live shows on Tuesdays and a crew led by Commissioner Shane McMahon/General Manager Daniel Bryan. As for the announce team, gone were Byron Saxton and Jerry Lawler, replaced with JBL and David Otunga. Mauro Ranallo is great as always, but that’ll take some getting used to. SmackDown started in similar fashion to Raw, but with Shane/Bryan backstage as they led the camera to the ring, already filled with roster inhabitants. Of course they hit Bryan’s music so the crowd had an excuse to chant “Yes!” and act all crazy on camera. SmackDown also had new generic rock music and a montage for its theme. Shane revealed that SmackDown would have its first exclusive Pay-Per-View on Sep. 11 entitled “Backlash.” After that, they introduced WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose and announced the goal was to find him an opponent for SummerSlam, which would be done via a Six-Pack Challenge, that’d involve Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt and AJ Styles thus far. The last contestant would be decided though an impromptu Battle Royale. Not a bad start to the show, since it set the table for what we could expect and this played into the “Break The Glass Ceiling” mission objective of the show.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown 7/14/16: The End Of The Taped Era
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 7/14/16)
The End Of The Taped Era
– A SmackDown novelty the past few weeks, we had another “promo mash-up” as a cold open to the show, which previewed the Kevin Owens-WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose/Sasha Banks-Dana Brooke matches and the MizTV segment that’d star Darren Young/Bob Backlund. This was also regarded as the “end of an era” by commentary, as this was the last SmackDown to air on Thursdays, since from this point forward, it’d be live on Tuesdays. As for the promos, they were fun. Owens focused on a card Sami Zayn gave him last December for his son that had $20 in Canadian money and how it was horrendous since they were best friends at the time and promised to send Zayn to a hospital if he stuck his nose in his main event match with Ambrose. Good stuff. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte did most of the talking in her open promo outside of a limo with Brooke as she again referred to Banks as a “Nicki Minaj knockoff” and Brooke swore that lightning wouldn’t strike twice. Next was WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz/Maryse, as they prepped for MizTV and he lightly insulted his soon-to-be guest. Lastly, we had Ambrose who soaked in the last Thursday SmackDown as he embraced the chance to do something he loved with someone he hated. All sounds about right and then some simultaneous hype. Hopefully they keep these cold opens when they go live.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 6/6/16: Holla, Holla, Holla
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 6/6/16)
Holla, Holla, Holla
– The opening in-ring segment with Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Teddy Long, Stephanie McMahon and Alberto Del Rio was an obvious ploy to hype the Money In The Bank ladder match. On one hand, it worked as an entertaining comedic segment with unique banter from all involved. On the other, the visuals were silly. Why would they open the show with everyone standing on a ladder so vulnerable? How did they get to that point? It would’ve made more sense had Steph forced them to do so, rather than have it organically come off that way. They just looked downright silly. We liked that everyone’s lines stayed true to their characters. Owens name-dropped Nation Of Domination and Waylon Mercy as challengers he’d take on as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. This made our heart flutter. The back-and-forth between Zayn and Jericho on Jericho’s claim to have won the first or sixth MITB match was funny, even though Jericho looked like a dope for how he stood on the ladder and let Ambrose climb it and punch him in the face. Long’s appeal lasted about two minutes, since he was made to look like an incompetent old man. We got this was likely the first of many authority figure teases for the live SmackDown, while we seen Steph show her true self with Shane “on vacation.” With her announcement of the Zayn-Del Rio, Ambrose-Owens and Jericho-Cesaro matches, we had something to easily look forward to throughout the night.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 5/9/16: 15 Grand Unplugged
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 5/9/16)
15 Grand Unplugged
– The saga that’s “The Family” (WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns/The Usos) and “The Club” (AJ Styles/Karl Anderson/Luke Gallows) continued in a new way this show, as we’d see a six-man elimination tag later on, as the opening video reminded us of the carnage that went down the week before. Basically, Styles’ boys had Reigns sitting prey for steel chair vengeance, but Styles thought twice and ended up going through the announce table. Tsk, tsk.
Notes In Observance – WWE SmackDown 5/5/16: Royal Warfare
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 5/5/16)
Royal Warfare
– The “Highlight Reel” segment with Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Maryse was a good opener, in that it did several things within 10 minutes. Jericho got to brag about taking Dean Ambrose out with his potted plant, Mitch, on Raw, building some good heat and making us anticipate Ambrose’s return for the following Raw. Apparently getting hit in the back of the head with a potted plant can cause contusions, bulging disks and signs of whiplash, so be careful out there. Zayn fit nicely in this segment, talking well for himself when accused of being a “sore loser” and “thief” by Jericho. Jericho had good heel logic in pointing out that Kevin Owens beat Zayn fair and square and got attacked for it the next night, while Zayn said his reasoning was because of Owens’ actions after their Payback match when he threw him out of the ring after slapping him. All the talk of the IC Title brought out Miz, who was the proud Champion who was offended at having his property touched by Zayn. Also liked the line where Miz put over his 11-year experience in the business comparing it to Zayn’s “kiddie pool” experience. Zayn continued to poke fun (literally) by touching Miz’s belt. Jericho leaving his own talk show segment felt random, but fit his character. Also liked the hook if the Zayn-Miz match was going to happen after some brief physicality.
Pro Wrestling Opinion 