My Recap of the Week In Wrestling
As we come to the end of another week, I wanted to do a brief recap of what’s been going on in the world of wrestling here recently. Lots of news has been coming out. We are getting closer to AEW’s first show on TNT (Which I’ll be attending). Next week, NXT will be going live on the USA Network. I can wait for that. That’s just a couple of things that are going on. Let’s get into some more wrestling topics.
We had a blast from the past on this week’s Raw and Smackdown shows. WWE returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time in about 10 years. Stone Cold kicked off the Raw show. While The Undertaker kicked off Smackdown. Stone Cold’s impact was a little more meaningful I felt. Taker cut a brief promo and was soon interrupted by Sami Zayn. That did not end well. Zayn got a chokeslam for his troubles.
Stone Cold, on the other hand, led the contract signing for Seth Rollins vs Braun Strowman Universal Title match this Sunday at Clash of Champions. After the contract was signed, AJ Styles comes out with his OC (Original Club) buddies Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to interrupt Stone Cold. Austin would have a back and forth confrontation with AJ Styles. Which of course led to Styles taking a Stone Cold Stunner. That had to be his first one. With Styles spending most of his time in TNA, these two legends paths never crossed. Austin would come back out and celebrate with The Viking Raiders, Seth, Braun, and Cedric Alexander who picked up the pin in a 5 on 5 tag team main event between The OC, Robert Roode, and Dolph Ziggler. Beer was drunk and it was classic Stone Cold.
Austin even tried to make peace with AJ after the show went off the air. This lead to the two having a beer together but AJ taking another stunner. I loved it. Yes, it’s nostalgia but I find it entertaining. Seeing Austin drink beer and Taker walk down to the ring will never get old.
Impact Wrestling will have a new home come October. Their weekly show will be moving from Pursuit TV to AXS TV. Mark Cuban sold his stake in AXS to the Impact Owners Anthem Sports and Entertainment. Impact Wrestling will join WOW Woman of Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling on the station that will now carry three wrestling shows. Good for Impact. No one could find them on the Pursuit station. They have plenty of talent over there such as Tessa Blanchard, Rosemary, Brian Cage, RVD, Tommy Dreamer and so much more. I haven’t watched my Impact since The Hardy Boyz left the company. I look forward to watching them again.
NXT had another solid week of programming. I’ll do a more detailed recap of the show next week when they move live to the USA Network. I’m so excited about this. The show will finally get the mainstream attention it deserves. As successful as NXT has been, you still have a lot of people who don’t watch. I hope new fans will tune in and enjoy the best show in wrestling today. Velveteen Dream will take on Roderick Strong for the North American Title, Killian Dain will take on Matt Riddle in a Street Fight.
Who will meet Shayna Baszler for the NXT Woman’s Title next? We will find out after the winner of the number one contenders Fatal 4 Way match. It was a Triple Threat match which featured Mia Yim, Io Shirai, and Bianca Belair. Candice LeRae has been added to the match. I’d like to see her win. All the others have fought Shayna already. Give someone new a shot. I like all four ladies so I’d be happy either way. What a great way to kick off the live show than with these series of matches
This Sunday is Clash of Champions. All of the Titles will be on the line. 11 matches are on the card. The only non-title match is Roman Reigns vs Erick Rowen. Seth and Braun are doing double duty. They are defending the Raw Tag Team Titles against Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler. Then facing each other for the Universal Title. I see them dropping the Tag Titles which will lead to more tension for the title match.
Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch should be good for the Raw Woman’s Title Match. Bayley vs Charlotte for the Smackdown Woman’s Title should be good too. All four horsemen are in title matches. I got a feeling we gonna get interference in both matches. We shall see. Those are the main matches I’m looking forward to. I hope it’s a good show.
That’s it for my week in wrestling. What a great time to be a fan. Once October hits, you will have Raw on Monday, NXT and AEW Wednesday, Smackdown Friday, and WOW Woman of Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling on Saturday. Impact Wrestling didn’t announce what night they would be on yet. They had been coming on Friday’s. I’d shot for Tuesday or Thursday. Those nights are vacant for wrestling. Especially Tuesday since Smackdown is switching nights.
In closing, I wanna say this, as a fan you don’t have to choose one company to support. You can enjoy it all. That’s the beauty of DVR too. Watch some episodes live and watch some on your DVR in your free time. Even CM Punk said the same thing in Chicago at his Starrcast interview. Set back and enjoy the ride wrestling fans. This is our time so let’s make the most of it.
