Category: WWE

FTR with Dax Harwood Live (March 30, 2023) — Review

Clive BallsLeave a comment

In a weekend filled with wrestling, a live episode of FTR with Dax Harwood aired on Fite TV. It clashed with Impact and NJPW’s Multiverse United, so it speaks volumes about those involved that this writer believed it took precedence over a PPV crossover.

I’ve always been one for intrigue. I still slow down for car crashes. On some level, the FTR with Dax Harwood podcast offers a mix of these. You’re going to be afforded some insight, a look behind the curtain, and there’s a chance Dax will say something to anger either a fellow wrestler, the fans, or both.

He’s completely aware of this. Throughout, there were comments made about his tendency to rub people up the wrong way. It was good to see Cash Wheeler offer the sort of support most of us can only dream about receiving from our friends. It’s the strength of that connection which permeates into their on-screen characters. Fans want to fight for FTR.

The cloud of a WWE departure still looms large. Anyone hoping for hints here will be sorely disappointed. There were as many throwaway comments which support the idea as there were working against it. If they are leaving, they’re giving the job for The Gunns every service. The AEW Tag Champions appeared in the middle of proceedings, cut a generic promo, and were escorted out.

Gimmicks never take breaks, ask Mark Galloway.

Special mention for how good Matt Koon is live with an ad-lib.

What came across strong was how Dax has filled his life with good people. Powerhouse Hobbs appears to be the most genuine guy in the business. Despite personal tragedies that would have floored most people, he’s continued to develop into a main event player.

Shawn Spears is an honest speaker. Acutely aware that by not politicking, he’s probably placed a ceiling on his career. But I agree with the ethics of this choice: it’s better to have restrictions placed upon you that represent integrity, than sell your morals and float into corruptible purgatory.

With Wardlow on stage, they spoke of how good The Pinnacle should have been. FTR with Spears and Wardlow could still be repackaged, minus MJF, and cause havoc as a fan-favourite act. It would work because these guys have each other’s backs.

One thing that stood out for me was how this live chat inadvertently highlighted an issue affecting both AEW and WWE. In all fairness, it actually is a bigger problem for AEW. There were two moments in the show when it came to light. The first was when Cash and Dax took a question from a nine-year-old boy. He’d asked what their dream match would be and for what titles.

Dax, attempting to gauge the boy’s knowledge, asked for his favourite wrestler. Dax offered Cena from WWE, Kenny Omega from AEW. Cena probably hasn’t been around enough in recent times for a nine-year-old to appreciate. Kenny is beloved by wrestling purists and fans who have followed him elsewhere. But Orange Cassidy probably engages more with kids, and no disrespect – he is a special talent, and deserves all the success coming his way – OC isn’t a Cena, a Hogan, a Rock.

The silence of the nine-year-old made more sense when Shawn Spears spoke about how he loved the wrestling part but had always been driven by the character aspect. That characters pulled him into the sport. He mentioned Mr. Perfect. This rang so very, very true. He was the first character that pulled me into WWF. As a kid, my finisher of choice was the Perfect Plex. Not a fancy move (a fisherman’s suplex) but cool because I’d bought into the man delivering it.

Perhaps there are too many professional wrestlers nowadays too wrapped up in themselves. They’ve forgotten the goal to get over with the fans. Sure, many big names were notorious for backstage politics, but they used their drawing power to leverage the outcomes they wanted. Nowadays it seems wrestlers learn to politick an hour after learning their first hip toss.

FTR with Dax Live assured us there are genuine good guys in the business, we just need to give them a chance to shine.

FTR Risk a post-WrestleMania Backlash

Clive BallsLeave a comment

The are they, are they not staying? situation regarding FTR’s AEW status drags on. On this week’s FTR with Dax Harwood podcast, his opening language seemed to lean toward an impending exit.

The title and premise of the show was former boss Triple H. This in itself, looked like a pointer of sorts.

That some duly criticised on Twitter. The podcast account even quote retweeted it with the blithe remark: Or, a podcast topic. It would be naive to assume Dax Harwood and Matt Koon don’t meticulously plan the podcast and how FTR aren’t aware of its implications on their career. It’s more than just a place for musing over things, it can be a tool to get things rolling or support the gimmick.

It was telling that Dax stated he couldn’t reveal their decision because they were still under contract. That, taken on face value, would indicate they can’t say anything that could be misconstrued as a breach of AEW terms. Technically, they won’t have been able to hold talks with WWE yet. If they were staying with AEW, there’d be no contractual restraint to making the announcement.

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the once lost art of kayfabe. Resurrected here to make us ponder if they are/are not resigning. As I stated on Twitter, it’s either a great swerve or Dax is trying his best to prepare AEW fans for disappointment. He goes on to ask for understanding in the podcast, that he’s done what’s best for his family.

This could either mean more money with WWE or less dates away from home by staying with AEW.

All the issues that made him leave WWE in the first place could resurface, but if I’d been lucky enough to live out the dream as a professional wrestler, I’d be lying if I said the idea of a big WrestleMania moment wouldn’t prove tempting. But not many will get the Cody Rhodes style perfect return on the Grandest Stage of Them All. And such moments are fleeting and fade fast if the rest of the run is a painful slog.

The uncertainty of their status risks alienating notable portions of their fanbase regardless. From a selfish point of view, this writer wants them to remain with AEW. Both weekly TV shows are watched and every PPV, sometimes the Dark and Elevation get added. As for WWE, it’s only the Premium Live events and the odd highlights package.

If they make the switch, I can’t see me coming along for every minute. Despite Triple H’s improvements to the product, WWE television still fails to match my expectations of what a wrestling show should be. Any spare time would go to NJPW first.

Aside from WrestleMania, there is still more they can add to their legacy in AEW. They could restore credibility to the Tag Team division. Quite how it’s gone from the strongest tag team pool on the planet to having The Gunns as champions is a mystery, a crime, and Tony Khan’s biggest failing since starting AEW.

Having FTR win the belts, and spend a significant amount of time overcoming all challengers, while reclaiming gold from elsewhere, holds more weight than a pop at a WWE event. By staying in, they can be accredited with any rise the company sees, perhaps one day filling a stadium under the AEW banner.

Still, the choice is theirs. But the extended wait risks causing more damage than any pay-off is worth.

Listen to FTR with Dax Harwood on all major providers of Podcasts and via Megaphone.

Why I’ll Watch WrestleMania (by an AEW fanboy)

Clive BallsLeave a comment

I haven’t watched a full WWE PPV since Evolution. I totally believe in the positive strides taken to recognise women in Sports Entertainment, and in that particular point in time, they deserved all the attention not because of the “Women’s Revolution” but down to the fact they were markedly better than the male counterparts.

I stopped watching WWE because of Bad Creative and the Saudi situation. Any company that can ignore murdered journalists and still collect a pay cheque is morally bankrupt. Evolution came at an unfortunate time for me to make that ethical choice. Once the PPV was over, the Network was cancelled.

On Saturday, I will again decide to become an active subscriber. (This will be on the back of one of my many personas who have yet to take a free trial.) Much has changed in the intervening period. I’ve become AEW – I’m All In. WWE has further morphed into the modernised version of eighties WWE that was trounced by an emergent WCW. If you can’t learn from history, you are destined to fail. Vincent K. McMahon doesn’t view history – he has a clearly defined end version he’s been trying to paint for years.

Starting Saturday, even Vince will be forced into parts unknown. Everyone around him advised it was best to have a WrestleMania delay. Vince refused. It could be he’s so stubborn, he needs to see WrestleMania chalked off his calendar on exactly the correct date.

It could also be that the most successful and influential wrestling promotor of all time knows how to make prosperity out of chaos.

WWE will always be able to say WrestleMania proceeded unabated. The pre-filmed nature means they can aim for a cinematic feel. Vince is on record saying he makes movies. This is his chance to make The WrestleMania Movie. The two-night affair is also a handy trial. The event has become too long. Now they have a chance to see if two nights, two main events, is palatable.

I’ll be watching WrestleMania this year because it’s a once in a lifetime experiment. If they get it right, it’ll be like nothing we’ve seen before – or will again. AEW has done a far better job with its crowd-less shows so far. It could be WWE has deliberately downplayed the Performance Centre so what we see this weekend blows us away.

The Showcase of Immortals has never been so intriguing.

Now, as long as The Fiend wins, Goldberg is exiled, The Man finishes looking strong, Charlotte Flair loses, Drew looks strong, The Undertaker comes as the American Bad Ass and Edge is retired with an RKO, WrestleMania will be a great success.

WWE Battleground 2017 – Review

Clive BallsLeave a comment

Let’s get a few things straight from the start here, this isn’t going to be the sort of look back that slates Battleground. There has been quite enough of that from different quarters already. Also, they’re wrong to do so. Nobody moans more than me when a show masquerading as a PPV is no better than the weekly programme. But it wasn’t the case here.

Likewise, it wasn’t the best example of a premier event either. It was average. But PPV average.

Picking out the highlights here should illustrate the point. Does this mean missing half the card goes against it? Perhaps. But we all need toilet breaks and stock up supplies when watching live, or parts to skip when watching on catch-up.

The most positive reaction from the crowd on the night went to The New Day taking gold from the Usos. A fine match lead to cheers and it shows how over and valuable the trio are.

The Fatal 5-way for the Women’s belt once again failed to live up to its name: not one person died. Nor did the women exactly kill it but the result was a fresh direction. Remember a while ago, yours truly moaned that Natayla should have been given the Money in the Bank briefcase, somebody in the halls of WWE must have been listening. Or thought so themselves or planned it. But the idea of WWE Creative planning so well in advanced is far-fetched. There’s more chance that Vince McMahon personally reads every word I write and follows my career avidly.

It means Natayla can use her experience to carry the SummerSlam match with Naomi.

Based on the 5-way on display here, the bar does need raising.

As does the United States Championship. The Miz, an often-derided Superstar, continues to elevate Raw’s secondary title (as he did with the belt on SmackDown), yet two of the most lauded wrestlers in the business have further devalued the gold in question.

It should be impossible for AJ Styles and Kevin Owens to be slightly above mediocre. It seems the Land of Opportunity can make anything happened and they’ve pulled it off.

Who now cares about the man holding the US Title?

Still, it was cool to claim Owens and AJ had a good match and slag off John Cena versus Rusev.

Sure, we all knew Cena had to win. Rusev has had solid pushes crushed by this opponent before, so he can absorb this defeat. What it does is highlight the regard Cena has for the Bulgarian. He knew they could put on a good match and they did.

The stipulation gave us a reason to go up the ramp which in turn meant we saw some big hits. Cena needing props to see off Rusev does the loser no harm. It was almost like John was putting someone over. Almost.

Jinder Mahal against Randy Orton in a Punjabi Prison match drew more groans than sounds of excitement from the WWE Universe. To be fair to the former jobber, WWE should have moved his story on from Orton by now.

Again, they proved to be good methodical workers but in a match already viewed as a crammed concept, it didn’t go down well.

Then the inevitable happened followed by genuine shocks.

As expected the Singh Brothers interfered. They’d been hiding beneath the ring and prevented The Viper from escaping. For their troubles Sami Singh took a bump from high up through an announce table. It was a bad landing, almost as bad as Tom Philips’ commentary.

Still, even when it looked like Orton would prevail, we knew he couldn’t. What prevented this was a shock. Down the ramp walked The Great Khali. In a time when we have to accept Mahal as WWE Champion, it’s not a stretch to pretend Khali is a threat again.

He placed his gigantic hands through the cage and choked out Randy – Indian Interference Outta Nowhere – to allow his kayfabe countryman slowly climb and ascend to victory.

Brace yourself for Cena squashing Jinder sometime soon.

5/10

WWE Great Balls of Fire 2017 – Review

Clive BallsLeave a comment

Before we begin, apologies for delayed reporting. Currently in Tokyo and Danny Simms said my diligent output was putting him to shame. Top tip for site editors: don’t hire staff more talented than you are, you’ll only begin to feel inadequate. While in Japan, an eye has been kept on WWE, so here comes the first of two reviews.

After choosing the worst name for a PPV, WWE had its work cut out. It was either going to bomb in style or redeem itself on air. Overall, it kinda swung to the latter. Just about.

The theme of the night, for this fan, was how – finally – WWE Creative haven’t been scared to create the correct results. In the case of this PPV, for differing reasons.

First bout of note was Bray Wyatt versus Seth Rollins.

These two have been billed as the future but sold down the river with misdirection. But at this point, a Wyatt defeat would be like serving him his P45 (for non-UK fans, firing him). A man can only claim deity status so many times before it becomes white noise during regular defeats.

Okay, so this wasn’t a classic clash. Which is surprising given the talent on show. But it doesn’t matter. It was always going to be about the result here and they handed the win to Wyatt. He needed an eye gouge but it’s hardly the type of cowardly move that could condemns him.

The Kingslayer has enough in the bank to move on and seek revenge. Wyatt is fighting for his WWE career.

Cesaro and Sheamus against The Hardy Boyz in an Iron Match was further example of WWE investing in the Hardy’s legacy. The result was secondary to allowing them another type of bout added to a career retrospect that’s second-to-none.

The levels maintain throughout the bout were exemplary.

The brothers trailed by a deficit that appeared unattainable . . . until the final minutes. Cue the high-risk spots – one of which left Matt bleedy profusely – and last second drama.

It was the Swiss Superman and the faux Irishman that left with the gold but the Hardys are surely taking slow steps to a Broken story.

The best thing that can be said about Alexis Bliss and Sasha Banks ending in a count-out is that we’ll get to see it again. Nice to see an original gimmick as Bliss used her double-jointed nature to fool opponent and ref.

Dean Ambrose and The Miz is another match that needed the right result, regardless of in-ring quality.

WWE needs to move past these two; The Miz doesn’t deserve to drop a belt only he has made credible in the last year.

So, the only thing that matters, is to say WWE Creative got it right again.

Then they did the unimaginable. They let Braun Strowman beat Roman Reigns in their ambulance match.

It was a brutal bout and Reigns didn’t look weak (golden boy protection). If the shock of the fall wasn’t enough, Reigns did something that was pure heel: he attempted homicide on a live PPV.

After fighting out of the ambulance, he threw Strowman in the back, drove out of the arena into the parking lot and then reversed – at pace – into an overhanging trailer.

The ambulance was partly crushed, Strowman inside.

My beady eye noticed the stunt was pre-recorded but this can be forgiven.

Oh, and The Monster Among Men eventually walked (hobbled) away from the wreck.

Which leaves us the main event. Lesnar v Joe.

Some will say Samoa Joe deserved a chance with the strap. I can’t disagree with the sentiment but we have to remember, he was here through chance. Injuries to others, thus, changes to the programme, meant this was a placeholder.

But Creative allowed Brock to once again appear beatable. Joe took his best, and for a while, traded with Lesnar.

He attacked him before the bell and never let up.

Brock Lesnar left your Universal Champion but the seed has been planted that he can be overthrown.

Expect Joe and those involved in the ambulance match to make that come true at SummerSlam.

6/10