Wrestling’s 4Rs 10.21.13: WWE Smackdown, TNA Impact & NJPW on iPPV Reviewed

THE RIGHT:
Redneck Hunting: The show running thread saw AJ fending off potential threats looking to cash in on Dixie’s bounty. Jesse Godderz was dispatched quickly in the back, leading to AJ coming to the ring and guaranteeing he wasn’t going anywhere. Aces and Eights came out and tried to attack , which made sense due to their alliance with Bully, but Storm and Gunner hit the ring for the save. Chris Sabin also tried his luck but then ran afoul of Samoa Joe. Finally Bad Influence were seen attacking AJ only to have him gain the upper hand with a fire extinguisher. Adding a running theme of the show helped tie the segments together and hopefully prevented channel surfing. The attacks were all very well done with AJ shedding his jacket and becoming more beaten down as the show progressed, if AJ is going to be the top guy, then this sets him up as a world beater and positions him well leading into the main event of BFG .

Sabin’s spotlight: Sabin’s heel turn has been very well executed after a shaky start leading up to it. Sabin as the smarmy heel works for him and his chemistry with Velvet is good, he has turned himself back into a player after a disappointing World title run , with a fresh new character.

Beware of Tapa: A brief backstage segment where Gail Kim offered an alliance with Brooke in event of another L’aiD Tapa run in. This combine with a recap video kept Tapa relevant and in the viewers minds and made her look a threat. Ideally Kim should turn face-to-face Tapa down the line, the matches would be great and it would establish Tapa.

Ultimate Xcitement: The Ultimate X saw a good amount of build , the video package was very classy and well produced. Sabin vs. Joe was kept short but well done, Velvet Sky’s involvement is great for Sabin’s character but disjoints the match and prevents momentum from being built. The follow up with Aries, Hardy and Manik all hitting their spots to each other was very good and Manik standing tall was the right move considering he is the underdog going into this Sunday. Look for these guys to steal the show and give you your money’s worth.

Carter comes to BFG: One of my favorite new comers is Ethan Carter III , the re packaging of the performer has been excellent , his build up has been good and he has a good position from the get go. With his referencing his Auntie mid promo, I’m assuming he means Dixie Carter, this could add a great wrinkle into Dixie’s new character , and fleshes out EC3’s goals and motivations. He announced his debut for BFG , definitely check this guy out.

Magnus doesn’t get his win …yet: The story which was told during the main event was well told, with Magnus overcoming Bully only to get caught with a low blow courtesy of unwanted Sting related interference. Bully and Magnus gelled a lot better than Bully and Joe a couple of weeks back and hopefully should be enough to keep Magnus in the top tier bracket. Magnus refused to shake Sting’s hand post match, which adds fuel to their program. Samoa Joe tried to play peacemaker backstage to no avail , with Sting again promising to put Magnus on the map this Sunday.

The be all and end all: The best part of the evenings’ show was the face of between Roode and Angle to setup their confrontation this Sunday. The intensity was off the charts, Roode stepped up to the plate and launched a home run promo full of conviction, and presence. After a cheap shot from Roode, Angle gained the upper hand but Daniels and Kazarian beat him down. Roode finished this on his own making Angle tap out to the crossface giving him the edge and leading to a huge boost in credibility. Everything about this was superb, check this out if nothing else, classic wrestling angle with very little superfluous fluff. No need for a drawn out 6-month build, instead we have had two confrontations, which were great, a good backstory and a reality-based occurrence with Angle. The story is that of Angle, a man who bled red, white and blue on that podium back in Atlanta 96, who built his reputation on professionalism, class and dignity, reduced to a losing battle against the one opponent he could not beat – Himself. Angle’s battle with his demons put to halt his career and made a laughing stock of his once gleaming carefully crafted concave of credibility. But now his road to redemption begins, it rolls right through San Diego and through Bobby Roode.

Bully puts TNA on hard times: My TNA Promo of the year occurred this past week, with Bully Ray cutting an incredible soliloquy on AJ Styles heading into their fight this Sunday, Bully referenced the 80’s feud between Dusty and Flair before bringing up Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, he not only tied in these obscure references but he did it beautifully, by the end of the speech , I guarantee more eyes will be on BFG because of it, AJ Styles then retorted before throwing away Dixie’s bounty money and brawling with Ray. I was very uneasy about how much Dixie was involved with the beginning of this feud but it has really not effected it much, AJ vs. Ray is the BFG main and will be a great match.

puRgatoRy:
Dixie the bounty hunter: For the second week running Dixie Carter opened up the show, this to me takes away a lot of the freshness of the turn and makes it more pedantic every time she appears, although her part in the segment was kept short. She issued a $50,000 bounty and the BFG main event spot to anybody who takes out AJ Styles. This steps up the ruthlessness of Dixie’s character due to her only using verbal means to achieve her goals thus far , and is a logical continuation as Styles turned down her money last week. Bully Ray came out and supported Dixie’s decision but was interrupted by Magnus who showed distain towards Dixie’s actions and claimed Styles deserves the shot due to winning the BFG series . Bully laid the verbal beat down on Magnus drawing out a brawl and setting up a match between the two later. Ray on the mic is always gold these days, him raising up Magnus only to bring him back down was nicely done , Magnus vs. Sting is the semi main at BFG and it was good to see Magnus interacting with the champ, will help make his transition to main eventer more seamless.

The Aces in the hole: The ensuing escapades of the Aces and Eights continued this week , with Bully using blatant pandering to his henchman and issued promises of having their backs during their match as long as they watch his at BFG, after brief hesitation they agreed, only to get double crossed when Bully did not show up. Knux promised afterwards that things will be interesting at BFG. With the gradual wisening up of the faction ,it’s days look numbered , BFG might be the end of the road , one which has had many twists and turns , hopefully the climax is decent and it achieves something in the long run.

Pre show Preview: The four way collision began the show’s action and was okay while it lasted although nothing mind blowing. With the heel and face divide making it seem more like a tag match than a true four way. Hopefully the teams can get the crowd going in the pre show and set things up nicely

THE wRong:
A loaded gun hiding underneath the table This match just did not do it for me, both are best used in small doses and with more versatile opponents. Knux’s crossbody driver was great but the overall match was bad. Bully’s absence was the only story coming out of it, at least it made one of the tag champs look strong pre PPV.

THE RIDICULOUS:
NOTHING

ROLLING CHART: TNA MATCH OF THE NIGHT
How things Work – Each week one match is decided match of the night, the participants of that match are each awarded points (1=Impact, 2 =Impact Special, 5=PPV) the top five are listed on a rolling chart beginning 10.03.13

1. Jeff Hardy (2 Points)
2.(TIE) Manik (1 Point), Chris Sabin (1 Point), Kenny King (1 Point), Austin Aries (1 Point), Bully Ray (1 Point), Magnus (1 Point)

Smackdown 10.18.13
By: Maxwell Baumbach

THE RIGHT:
The authority showing some cracks: Daniel Bryan came across well in the opening segment, getting inside the head of Vickie and Maddox. This shows that the authority characters are finally starting to crack and become worried rather than looking invincible. Vickie’s reaction demonstrates that everyone in charge is frustrated and worried after the recent events surrounding Big Show. The heels desperately have needed this type of vulnerability, and I’m glad that it is finally happening.

The Wyatt Family vs. Miz and Kofi: Rowan and Harper had another entertaining tag team match this week, and they were put back into the win column as well. I’ve said it before, but I think that these two have auditioned much better than Bray Wyatt so far. They once again proved that they deserve to be in WWE for the long haul.

Big Show knocks out Brad Maddox: Big Show’s “nothing to lose character” is so much better than his “massive crying bitch” character that it’s not even funny, and it’s puzzling that it took so long for us to get to this point. The punch to Maddox looked awesome, and it’s great to see Big Show being booked as a bad ass who doesn’t have to answer to anyone. I also like that he slipped into the background to a point on Smackdown, as I think he is better served as an x-factor (not the Justin Credible kind) in this storyline rather than the focal point.

Big E steps up: First off, I think WWE made a mistake by having Big E on television doing jobs to people in short order prior to this angle. While that didn’t affect things on this particular episode of Smackdown, I’m worried about the long-term ramifications for Big E. That being said, it all clicked on Smackdown. Big E put on a great match with CM Punk, and then completed an awesome babyface turn. With the heel pecking order pretty well established at this point, Big E is going to have a lot more possible match-ups as a babyface. He’s been a strong face performer in NXT, and I hope he can carry that same success over onto the main shows.

Six-Man Main-Event: We got yet another great six-man from some combination of The Shield and Daniel Bryan. Cody and Goldust are super hot right now, and they have been parlaying that momentum into outstanding matches. These six guys might be the six most interesting performers to watch on a week-to-week basis at this point, and they were magic in the ring together. It was also good for Bryan to get the win, because he’s lost more of the spotlight than he should have on the way to Hell in a Cell.

puRgatoRy:
Brie Bella vs. AJ: This felt like nothing more than a placeholder to advance the storyline. If you’ve seen one non-title Diva’s match where the champion loses, you’ve seen them all, and this was just another one of those.

Usos/Real Americans and Matadores/RA build: While it was good to see The Uso’s pick up a win, I wasn’t a fan on the terms of how they got it. Los Matadores, who I adamantly defended upon their debut, have yet to show anything impressive. The crowd isn’t that into them, and they didn’t have much of a reason to attack The Real Americans. If Swagger and Cesaro, who have been consistently entertaining since linking up, have to put over these two, who have completely shit the bed thus far, it will be a damn shame.

THE WRONG:
NOTHING

THE RIDICULOUS:
NOTHING