The Man Comes Around! Becky Lynch is the top wrestler of 2018!

Becky Lynch by Rob Schamberger.

Rarely can I say a talent topping the year end list made a mark on only part of the calendar year. Sasha Banks, Broken Matt Hardy and AJ Styles had career defining years with matches and stories that reshaped the wrestling world for much of 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively. The same cannot be said for Becky Lynch.

Becky first came on my radar when she was still Rebecca Knox. In the earliest days of Shimmer, she worked for the promotion yet her career seemed to be speeding to an end. She retired from in ring activity in 2008, a perplexing decision for me as she seemed to be one of the best women on the independents at the time.

In 2012 she returned to wrestling and almost immediately signed with WWE, as the promotion clearly had something in mind for the woman they renamed Becky Lynch. If you look at those early days, she clearly seemed positioned to serve as a training body for the talents WWE wanted to bring up. She wrestled regularly against Bayley, Carmella and Sasha Banks. But even as she became a more important figure in NXT, she was the one member of the Four Horsewomen never to hold the title.

Even when she was called up to the main roster, it seemed like she was destined to forever be the bridesmaid but never the bride. Even when called up to the main roster, the Divas and then Women's title eluded her grasp until the new brand split. She seemed mostly defined by betrayals during this period, with both Paige and Charlotte turning on her at one point or another. She became the inaugural Smackdown Women's Champion, but no one saw her reign as anything exceptional, and Alexa Bliss quickly stole her thunder as the next "in" star.

She spent much of the first part of the year as a body in various battles with the Riott Squad. The Iiconics became her next regular feud, but one confined only to television, and one frequently interspersed with random battles with Mandy Rose or Sonya Deville. She seemed stuck in a rut.

But SummerSlam... well, it changed a few things. In the lead up to the match between Becky Lynch and Carmella, Charlotte made her return to the roster. She won a match that inserted her into the SummerSlam title match. Becky was none too pleased that her friend turned enemy turned friend was inserted herself in Becky's chance for the title.

Things came to a head at SummerSlam. Charlotte stole a victory and became Women's Champion, only to be brutally assaulted by Becky Lynch. Thus, The Man was born.

Image credit: WWE.com.

Since that time, Becky has become a dominant force on Smackdown. She would win the title at Hell in the Cell and defend it against Charlotte twice more. It's hard to argue that she's the top female wrestler in the company when she went on to put on multiple amazing matches for the remaining pay-per-views of the year. Her new personality came with a cutting wit that she was only allowed to show rarely before. Even dropping the title at TLC (without being pinned) just set her up to continue a dominant streak in the months ahead.

Yet the most interesting thing about Becky throughout her WWE career is that she's carried a narrative through-line. She's always been the good person, the one that wants a better division, a better place on the card and friends. Yet even since NXT, she's always the one being betrayed by those friends. Even in her turn to the Man, she continued to be the face in her own story. Charlotte betrayed her by inserting herself in the match and taking Becky's victory. The Man is just Becky finally letting her old friendships go in favor of a better her and a better women's division.

Perhaps no place shows this better than Smackdown's invasion of Raw before Survivor Series. While it would cost Becky a place at the pay-per-view, the invasion marked her as the leader of an entire division. Her dominance made it clear she could main event anywhere and the inadvertent injury may very well end with her facing Ronda Rousey in the first ever women's main event at Wrestlemania.

Becky Lynch is the Man. And we can all be damn glad she came around.

A Phenomenal rise to the top: AJ Styles is the top wrestler of 2017

It's hard to argue that the obvious most valuable player of WWE today deserves a place at the top of the list. Over his twenty year career, we've watched AJ evolve from a cruiserweight jobber alongside Air Paris, to a foundation of the early days of TNA as X Division champion to a seasoned champion in Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and now World Wrestling Entertainment.

Image credit: WWE.com.

While he missed ranking on the Top 10 during the final days of his NJPW run (he actually came in #24 in the overall poll), he ranked at number two last year behind only Broken Matt Hardy. But this year, he would prove why he carried his nickname for all these years.

AJ opened and closed the year with the WWE World Heavyweight champion. But he would quickly drop the title at Royal Rumble to give John Cena his sixteenth (and three week) reign with the title. He took his immediate anger out on Shane McMahon. Their hatred brewed for several weeks until the two met in a brutal match to open Wrestlemania. With the anger between the two cooling, AJ turned face and started a run of matches like no other in WWE.

He entered a stellar feud with this year's #7, Kevin Owens. Over several months, the two men had amazing match after amazing match that extended through the summer. Ultimately, he would walk out with a short reign with the United States title. Though he quickly dropped that belt in match with Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, he quickly rose to prominence by beating Jinder Mahal for his second title. He wrestled Brock Lesnar in an epic encounter at Survivor Series. From there he finished his feud with Jinder, only to move back to another series of stellar matches with Kevin Owens and Owens' new ally Sami Zayn.


AJ didn't come in at first place based on his winning record. In fact, he dropped far more pay-per-view matches than he won in 2017. But winning is far from everything in an entertainment form as subjective as professional wrestling. Every week he appeared in a match, Styles wowed fans. He consistently pulled out some of the best matches ever from Jinder Mahal or Baron Corbin. His in ring psychology is second to none and his offense is filled with flashy moves he can hit quickly and effectively. With a control of his body like no other talent on the planet, he can switch from solid mat skills to high flying in an instant. This versatility gives him so many ways to keep a match's momentum moving forward, that it may actually be impossible for AJ to have a bad match.

Over the course of the year, AJ has done something WWE has tried to do for over a decade with limited success (and rarely succeeded purposefully.) They have created a true blue white meat babyface that children, casual fans and the more jaded older fans (like myself) can get behind. It's made him easily the most popular talent online in the WWE roster. He's even one of the four talents focused on for merchandise over at WWE Shop. Sharing company with massive merch sellers like John Cena, The Shield and Finn Balor is nothing to scoff about.

The real question for AJ is where he's going in 2018. A feud with Shinsuke Nakamura may be in the future. If AJ retains and Nakamura wins the Rumble, they could set up a super-hot feud that could re-energize Nakamura. If they can come even close to their mat classic at Wrestle Kingdom 10 they could create something truly... phenomenal.

Mr. Threepeat: Kevin Owens clocks in at #7!

Only one name has made everyone of the annual Top 10 lists on this site. And that is a man that has taken WWE by storm since he first signed in August 2014. A dominant former NXT Champion, WWE Universal Champion, two time Intercontinental Champion and three time United States Champion (the most recent of which came in mid-2017), Kevin Owens makes a solid argument for being WWE's most valuable player.

Image credit: WWE.com.

2017 opened with Owens at a new high. He won the WWE Universal title after the first champion Finn Balor went down with an injury sustained in his first title match. He held it all through the second half of the year, even beating Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble to retain. But his obsession with his own greatness made him turn on his friend and ally Chris Jericho. This turn would lead to a distraction at Fastlane that would cost Owens his title and his main event berth at Wrestlemania. Owens and Jericho degenerated into a feud that would lead through a transfer to the Smackdown brand. They would trade the United States title twice before the feud was over.

From there, Owens moved into a feud with AJ Styles over the United States title that carried both through the summer. They put on a series of epic matches, but ultimately the Phenomenal One came out on top.

But it was his shenanigans in the ring that ultimately lead to Summerslam and Shane McMahon's insertion in his match for the US title with Styles. He segued into a feud with Shane himself, one that still burns as 2017 closes.

Owens beat down Mr. McMahon to really kick it off, followed by a destructive Hell in a Cell match at that same pay-per-view. Sami Zayn would rescue him there, joining forces with his own friend as both felt Shane failed to give them the chances they deserved in Smackdown's "land of opportunity." He would interfere against his own brand's team (lead by Shane) at Survivor Series. Shane wanted to fire both men afterwards, but Daniel Bryan stepped in to keep both employed. Bryan would also count the deciding three count at Clash of Champions in a match for Owens and Zayn's jobs. This would turn Shane's enmity towards Bryan as well, but even as Owens moves back into the World title picture, his enmity with his boss still holds.

Kevin Owens is one of those rare talents that shines past any flaws. He looks like a pretty normal guy thrown in a world of lithe high fliers and muscular giants. But this belies his immense in ring skills, his ability to cut wicked promos (in his second language no less) and his ability to tell some of the best stories in wrestling today. Only a handful of talents can rise above the often dreadful storytelling of WWE programming. Kevin Owens deserves his place on this list for his ability to outshine so many talents around him.

Now Kevin Owens enters 2018 as the most hated man on the Smackdown roster. With multiple potential opponents to face moving forward, it remains to be seen if he can continue his streak into a fourth year. But now aligned with Sami Zayn, the future continues to be bright for the Top 10's most decorated entrant.

As we close out this entry, let's look back at one of Owens' finest moments as the Festival of Friendship comes to dark close...


Tomorrow, we introduce the talent with the highest rise in profile of the year, that rose out of a burgeoning wrestling scene to become one of the top talents in the world.

WWE exists in an endless cycle of one step forward, two steps back

WWE's worst booking decision in a series of abominable booking decisions.
Image credit: WWE.com.

WWE has made its share of announcements in the last week, but nothing they can do will overcome the bad blood many fans feel after the debacle that was the first ever women's Money in the Bank match. James Ellsworth won the match for Carmella, basically showing exactly how much WWE management really cares for its supposed women's revolution.

Let's be honest: Tuesday's Smackdown wasn't originally booked the way it was booked. Damage control was in full effect, as even major news outlets started to notice the ill fated storyline WWE produced on Sunday night. Vince lives in a world where exposure is always a good thing, but even he can't fix that problem.

Coupled with the ongoing problematic players still in positions of powers (folks like John Bradshaw Layfield and Michael Hayes) creating hostile work places, all while WWE pushes its anti-bullying narrative, the company seems divided between a newer generation of management that wants to take the company into the 21st century and Vince's old boys club.

Mauro is back... in a role far from the auspices of JBL and
Vince McMahon. Image credit: WWE.com.

Don't get me wrong. WWE has tons of bright points in the last week. Braun Strowman, arguably the biggest new star the couple actually developed in house since John Cena, made an impactful return on Monday night. Abbey Laith, better known to indie fans as former Chikara Grand Champion Kimber Lee, will make her debut in the Mae Young Classic. And perhaps the biggest news of all: WWE has signed a deal to bring Mauro Ranallo back into the company as the new play by play commentator of NXT (opening Todd Grisham to be Smackdown's lead full-time.)

However, while the Mae Young Classic has announced several great talents in the likes of Laith, Tessa Blanchard, Sarah Logan and Jazzy "Alpha Female" Gabert, the competition also has already added two homegrown WWE talents with almost no wrestling experience. Lacey Evans has worked a series of uninspiring job matches while MMA veteran Taynara Conti has exactly one match under her belt, and a battle royal no less. It again leaves a lot of wrestling fans disappointed to see amazingly talented females left by the wayside while WWE pushes unknown stars instead. It's entirely contrary to the hopeful spirit created by the Cruiserweight Classic.

WWE's booking on both main brand shows remain a complete mess as well. Mike and Maria Kanellis debuted at Money in the Bank, but barely blipped on Smackdown. Roman Reigns continues to be pushed over all others, though at least WWE seems to be letting him embrace his heeldom at last. The Raw tag division continues to be a complete mess despite a half dozen great teams on its roster. 50/50 booking and Orton's continued challenges against Mahal (seemingly for no reason after two straight losses) threaten to neuter the drawing power of names like Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, all of which are arguably bigger draws than Randy Orton has ever been in his career.

I love to look on the bright side, but in the last two months I have felt zero urge to renew my WWE Network subscription. With the advent of the Mae Young Classic this summer, my opinion might change, but for now WWE still has a logn way to go to earn back my eight dollars a month.

The Smackdown Top 10 for February

After the events of Elimination Chamber, the stars of Smackdown Live edge closer to the lineup for Wrestlemania. With no matches official yet for the biggest show of the year, everything seems up in the air with the men and women of the blue brand. But even with as many questions as answers left, The Wrestling Weekday takes a look at the top ten superstars or teams of the brand.

Just a reminder about the numbers at the end of each entry. The first number is the wrestler's rank from the last list. The second is the number of months they have been ranked on the list.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

1. American Alpha: I've got to be honest; I wish I could rank the Smackdown Tag Team Champions a lot higher than the number ten spot. But while Chad Gable and Jason Jordan are infinitely talented, their booking has been one of the weakest part of Smackdown Live. A feud with The Usos looks to be in the cards, but already this team seems hungry for new challengers. (10/5)
2. Dolph Ziggler: His heel turn came about a year too late, nor will a feud with Apollo Crews or Kalisto really help him move up the ladder. An entourage would actually be a great thing for him right now, but WWE seems unlikely to make that happen. For now it seems Dolph is destined to play the perennial midcard talent until the end of time. (7/3)
3. Dean Ambrose: Dean's push has faltered post-WWE title reign quite a bit. As Intercontinental Champion, he feels like he's mostly treading water, even as he seems destined to be thrown into the annual seven way ladder match for that belt at Wrestlemania. It's a far cry from the solid and steady booking of Reigns and Rollins, which is a true shame for (IMHO) the most talented of the former Shield members. (8/12)
4. Alexa Bliss: The former Women's Champion took a tough loss at Elimination Chamber. But even though she lost her belt, it is hard to argue that Alexa has had one of the fastest rises on the main roster of any star post-draft. Even without the title, she is still arguably the top dog of the women's division, with battles with Becky Lynch and Naomi to continue in the future. (4/3)
5. Baron Corbin: The Lone Wolf has cemented himself as a dominant force on the WWE main roster post-Survivor Series. With a series of strong wins and a pair of near misses for the WWE title, he seems clearly poised to enter the main event scene post-Wrestlemania. I still suspect he lost his position for that show to Orton, but even if his push has been slowed, he clearly will be one of WWE's top stars in the years to come. (9/2)
6. John Cena: The face that runs the place won his record tying sixteenth world title, only to drop it two weeks later. Going into Wrestlemania, his future seems unclear but with his time divided between Hollywood and WWE, he will likely pop on and off this list frequently. (U/1)
7. AJ Styles: The former WWE champion has made a huge splash in his year with WWE. Though he's lost the title and seems clearly out of that picture for Wrestlemania, he clearly has a strong future on the blue brand in the coming months. (1/2)
8. Randy Orton: His push from Survivor Series to Royal Rumble has been astronomical, but the fan reaction to his sudden rise to the top of the card has been less than stellar. Though he could be destined for a stellar match at Wrestlemania, the situation between him and the current WWE champion is far from clear as of this writing. (3/2)
9. Naomi: Few wrestlers have deserved a major run with the women's title as Naomi. She is a natural talent and showed great promise back to her earliest days in FCW, but the Funkadactyls gimmick hampered her rise in WWE's women's division. After her last push was halted by the arrival of Paige, she floundered until recent weeks when the writers saw fit to move her to the top of the Smackdown women's division. Hopefully she can retain a presence there, but with a multi-woman match at Wrestlemania likely in her future, she could face more contenders than she could handle very soon. (U/1)
10. Bray Wyatt: In the last few months, Bray Wyatt has won his first two titles in his four years as a WWE star. Now as WWE champion, he's finally arrived at the pinnacle of the blue brand. The position is well deserved, but whether or not he will hold on to it for more than a few weeks remains to be seen. But with Wyatt as champion, it seems clear he will have the fans eating from his hand for some time to come. (3/2)

Image credit: WWE.com.

AJ Styles: #2 in the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2016

Last year, I rated AJ as the eleventh best wrestler in the world on my personal list. Through his second year in New Japan Pro Wrestling, he completely reinvented himself as an exciting star after years of mediocre booking in TNA, where he was arguably the biggest star in the company despite TNA's seeming desire to focus on anyone but him much of the time. Two IWGP Heavyweight Championship did far more for his career than any of the five world championships he won in TNA.

Then 2016 happened.

Image credit: WWE.

Opening the year against #5 wrestler on this list in front of 25,000 fans in the Tokyo Dome couldn't have been the worst way to kick off a year. While he didn't beat Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental title there, he did manage to steal the show even as he prepared to leave New Japan for greener pastures.

The 2016 Royal Rumble continued a streak of rumble matches lacking in well thought out booking, but the one thing it got right was Styles debut as the third man in the match. While it did no favors for Roman Reigns as the newcomer already had far more cheers than the supposed top babyface of the company, it cemented Styles as an important new player in WWE. He continued his battles with names on this list, battling #7 Chris Jericho in a series of show-stealing matches yet again.

From there, WWE showed they finally understood what they missed for all the years they didn't sign AJ to the promotion. Over the spring and summer, he feuded with the company's top two stars, barely losing to Roman Reigns in two title matches then turning heel on John Cena. Alongside The Club, he would go on to pick up multiple wins over "The Face That Runs the Place." When he finally beat Cena and Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Heavyweight Title, he even chose to mock Cena, dubbing himself "The Champ That Runs the Camp."

Since SummerSlam, AJ has dominated Smackdown's programming. It is hard to argue he's the best booked talent in the company today. He's been so impressive on the roster that he even was able to eat three straight losses to James Ellsworth without a bump in the step of his run on top of the WWE mountain.

While AJ turns forty later this year, he's barely lost a step in the wrestling ring since he was a young up-and-comer in the final days of WCW. One of the most seasoned stars in professional wrestling, if he stays healthy he could have an equally impressive 2017 with a place on the top of the Smackdown card very likely. Even if he should drop the title pre-Wrestlemania, AJ still has the potential to have an epic spot at that card, with rumors of Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement for one last match against "The Phenomenal One".

The Smackdown Top 10

It has been far too long since The Wrestling Weekday last ran down the top ten stars of any promotion. But with WWE split into three distinctive brands, it seems apt to focus on the Smackdown Live brand in the aftermath of Sunday's TLC pay-per-view. So let's take a look at the ten big winners for the brand coming out of the show.

Just a reminder about the numbers at the end of each entry. The first number is the wrestler's rank from the last list. The second is the number of months they have been ranked on the list.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

1. American Alpha: Jason Jordan and Chad Gable have become the kings of the pre-show for WWE in recent months, but on television, they continue to score some great looking wins. Probably the crispest team on the roster, both men are great all arounders with huge futures as a team or in singles competition. They've clearly been kept away from the tag titles for the last several months, but one should strongly suspect a huge push for the team heading into Wrestlemania season. (6/4)
2. Baron Corbin: Corbin needs better quality of foes if he is ever going to hope to succeed on WWE's main roster. But he faces a major dilemma in Smackdown's complete lack of depth on the midcard level. His feud with Kalisto now done (hopefully), he can perhaps move on to the former tag champions, as Heath Slater and his old foe Rhyno both seem like great foes for him in the months ahead. (U/1)
3. Dean Ambrose: I'm not sure if anyone came out of TLC looking as bad as Ambrose. He put up a valiant effort, almost got the win, but still came up short against AJ, this time because of the betrayal of a man that he helped bring into the company. A feud with Ellsworth seems nonsensical, but he might be able to do something interesting if someone like Dolph Ziggler would align with Ellsworth against him. (2/11)
4. Dolph Ziggler: Sure, he didn't regain the Intercontinental title. But Dolph looks strongly poised to move into a higher position yet on the card. He could easily be the next opponent for AJ Styles or he could continue his short feud with Ambrose from earlier in the year. But it seems clear he's a key player in the future of Smackdown Live. (10/2)
5. WWE Super Card: The promotions for the game were integrated right into the programming. The game often seemed ignored in the push of the 2k series of games, but the free mobile game is literally one of the most addictive things ever and a blast to play. Good for WWE and company for making the game feel like a true part of the WWE Universe. (U/1)
6. James Ellsworth: I am still not sure how a chinless jobber has become pivotal to Smackdown storylines yet here we are. He's played a huge role on TV in recent weeks and his apparent heel turn at TLC poises him to be a huge part of Dean Ambrose's continuing saga. (U/1)
7. Alexa Bliss: If there's one talent that has came into her own best on the main roster since their recent NXT days, it is Alexa Bliss. While never dominant in the NXT women's division, she has been a spitfire in her quest for the Smackdown Women's Title. She picked up the title in a tables match, a convenient stipulation often used for heels to steal a title from a face. Her feud with Becky seems to be far from over, but whether she can maintain the title will show where she stands in the future firmament of Smackdown Live. (10/2)
8. The Wyatt Family: I have absolutely no idea where WWE is going with Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton as a unit, but having the evil influence of Wyatt finally sway a foe does amazing things to cement his importance to the brand. Randy Orton continues to put on some of the best matches of his career while also having a unique direction of his own right now. And while Luke Harper didn't get to be a part of the tag champions, he still is the hossiest hoss in WWE. (U/1)
9. The Miz: He put on a hell of a match with Dolph Ziggler, but it might be his continued battle with Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack that might make him one of the true icons in the future of wrestling. Much like Corbin, he's left with little competition with Ziggler out of the way, but he seems poised to have a big Wrestlemania moment as a match between him and Daniel Bryan looks incredibly likely. (U/1)
10. AJ Styles: Eleven months ago, he was in the semi-main event at the Tokyo Dome in New Japan. Now he seems like the most dominant star in WWE today. "The Champ That Runs the Camp" seems almost unbeatable on the WWE roster. So unbeatable that he seems destined for a huge match at Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania. Sure, John Cena could return to feud with him before either event, but with both Undertaker and Shawn Michaels looming in the rumors, AJ Styles could be on his way to his biggest match ever. (U/1)

Image credit: NJPW.

Agree with my list? Disagree? Let me know who your choices would be in the comments section below or on social media. 

I don't get the hatred of David Otunga

Look, we all know the ideal Smackdown Live! announce team would be Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves. We all hoped for it. It didn't happen however. Instead JBL made the move, and the recent replacement for Jerry "The King" Lawler became a full time member of the announce team.

But while the show has brought some great storytelling back to WWE television, I hear way too much about David Otunga and how terrible he is. Look, we can all agree Otunga isn't exactly the world's number one announcers. But I see no problem with him. He's perfectly capable of telling the story in the ring. He creates a good counterpoint to Ranallo's over-enthusiasm and JBL's constant push for the heels.

Sure, he will never be the perfect member of any announce team, but neither is he the abomination the internet seems to think he is. Let's give the man a break and focus on the real problems WWE needs to fix: the lack of midcard depth on Smackdown or Raw's inability to get any new stars not named Kevin Owens over.

Tommy's Take on WWE No Mercy 2016

Hey all, I have returned nearly a month after my first post.

My time management sucks.

Credit Heavy.com

For what it's worth, my thoughts on Raw's Clash of the Champions, in a nutshell? Smackdown blew them away.

Now we're on to the second Smackdown PPV, No Mercy. Again, this is not a comprehensive recap. For that, there are better writers to seek out. These are just my thoughts on the show.

Kickoff Match: American Alpha & The Hype Bros. beat The Ascension & The Vaudevillains.
WWE World Title Triple Threat Match: AJ Styles (c) retained against John Cena and Dean Ambrose by pinning Cena.
Nikki Bella pinned Carmella.
Smackdown Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Rhyno stopped The Usos.
Baron Corbin toppled Jack Swagger.
Title vs Career Match: Dolph Ziggler pinned The Miz (w/Maryse) to become the Intercontinental Champion.
Naomi beat Alexa Bliss.
Bray Wyatt pinned Randy Orton.

 My thoughts:

• Miz and Ziggler steal the show...again. Dolph Ziggler versus The Miz wasn't just a great match, it had emotions. The fans bought into Ziggler's struggle and The Miz needing to be taken down a peg. This was a better match than Backlash, if only because Ziggler was selling both the desperation and his leg (more consistently than last month, anyway). The key, of course, is what happens next. Fans care about Ziggler again, and Miz is still on fire...but aside from the mandatory rematch, what happens to capitalize on this? There's not a lot of heel depth for Ziggler to feud with (aside from revisiting his feud with Baron Corbin, which nobody wants). Maybe Luke Harper or Bray Wyatt, intertwining Ziggler with Orton?
• Welcome back. It takes a lot to really get me to mark out these days, and I had become convinced that Wyatt versus Orton was going to end with Orton punting Bray Wyatt into the WWE history books. Instead, we got the return of Luke Harper, and it gives me (foolish) hope for the future of The Wyatt Family. Orton and Bray had a good match, but the crowd was dead and even I never felt like Orton was ever in any real danger until Harper showed up. That's what two and a half years of booking Bray as a punching bag for the top stars will do to "The New Face of Fear". I have seen calls clamoring (again) for a Harper vs Wyatt feud, but let's be honest: It will be a long time before that feud will ever do either man any favors. Let them run roughshod. Heck, at this point I would be happy with Harper and Wyatt as tag team champions.
• Poor Ms. Bliss. I felt, going into this show, that Alexa Bliss was in no way a threat to Becky Lynch, and that Lynch was probably just treading water until Eva Marie returns. I like Bliss, as she's very athletic, has a great look and is promising on the microphone (it just seems like her comfort level isn't quite there yet)...and so Lynch's mysterious injury seemed like a perfect opportunity to begin building her as a proper threat. I got nervous when she came out and cut her promo, because that seemed like the perfect set up for the arrogant heel to get squashed (I was almost expecting an Asuka debut). Instead we got Naomi. What followed was a sloppy match that seemed like it was telling a story (Alexa Bliss working the arm in response to Becky's own Dis-Arm-Her)...and Naomi squeezing out a lucky win. If you want to make Alexa seem like a legitimate threat to the title, that wasn't the way to do it. Instead she's been repeatedly overshadowed by Eva Marie and Carmella, the former of whom is a notoriously bad in ring worker and the latter of whom hasn't been able to draw a crowd reaction on the main roster as a face or a heel. Hopefully they bail Bliss out before she become another NXT also-ran (like most of the Kickoff show's Superstars).
• The pacing of the show. I enjoyed the show. I even understand putting the World Title match on in the beginning because of the Presidential debate. That said, the pacing was just a little weird, especially when the pacing peaked with the Intercontinental Title Match and the last two matches were largely performed in front of dead crowds...and this wasn't even a Raw/WrestleMania/Summerslam effect where the fans had been sitting through a show that was just waaaaay too long. Obviously, it doesn't help when someone as popular as Becky is taken off the show at the last minute, but Miz hasn't wrestled in front of a dead crowd in years, and he and Ziggler stole the show last month, so they should have been the obvious choice to end the show if the World Title Match was going on first.
• Faces and heels are officially dead. Jim Ross said on his blog today that he didn't understand AJ Style being booked to cheat when he was clearly the crowd favorite. Unfortunately, Jim Ross and I both need to come to grips with the fact that faces and heels are dead. There are several examples of this in WWE right now, but when The Miz and Dolph Ziggler are getting split "Let's go, Ziggler!" "Let's go, Miz!" chants, it is time to stop worrying about who is getting booed and who is getting cheered once and for all, and just focus on who elicits a crowd reaction and who doesn't. ESPECIALLY when a certain segment of the audience loves to voraciously boo babyfaces until they turn heel...then cheer them to the point that they turn them back into babyfaces...at which point they are booed again. Stop worrying about it. That goes to you, me, Jim Ross and WWE Creative. The wrestling audience has morphed into a whole other beast, for better or for worse.
• Stop being too smart for your own good, WWE. WWE matches have been having lots of creative spots and finishes these days...and it's not necessarily a good thing. Some things (like Luke Harper appearing in the ring, but not actually touching Orton, so as to not cause a DQ) aren't bad. Other things (like Cesaro and Sheamus fighting to a draw in a Best of Seven Series, or AJ Styles tapping out to two men, and so the match carries on as if nothing had happened) are pretty silly at best, or make you feel like you wasted your time at worse. This is made doubly bad when it seems like cutesy finishes like these are popping up on every major show now. Possibly the only thing that annoys me more at this point are all the false finishes that pop up in just about every match, especially all the finisher kickouts. Heck, the biggest highlight I've seen on regular TV in months was Ambrose pinning Cena with a sunset flip, because it was a non-finisher pinfall, which made non-finisher/interference/weapon pinfalls look possible again.

Thanks for reading, and I'll try to manage my time better to post new thoughts sooner.

Tommy's Take on Backlash 2016

Hey everyone, let me introduce myself real quick: My name is Tommy Brownell, and I am a writer, editor, blogger, forklift driver and retired pro wrestler (I never did anything of note and you never heard of me). I was musing recently about blogging about wrestling and my buddy Nicholas Ahlhelm offered to let me contribute here instead of starting a whole new blog, so here I am.

With that out of the way, I just wanted to share a few thoughts on Backlash 2016, the first single-brand PPV since the brand split. This is not an exhaustive play by play recap. You can find those all over the internet. So, to that end, I assume that you have either seen the show or you read the recap of your choice already.

Image credit: WWE.com

So this happened...

When did The Miz become this good? I'm not sure if this is Bryan and Miz going into business for themselves or if this is part of a major push for Mike Mizanin, but I honestly think he needed a desperate refreshing of his character as he seems to be more of a host than an Intercontinental champion of late. I pray this leads to more interesting things for him in the future, as he is one of the few traditional WWE wrestlers I still really like to see get pushed.

Shelton Benjamin is no longer WWE bound

Image credit; Benjamin on Twitter.

One of the most anticipated comebacks, hyped by video packages over the last two weeks, won't happen on Smackdown. Shelton Benjamin failed his pre-hire wellness checks, which have exposed a bad shoulder Benjamin has been working with for months. The injury will have to be treated before he signs with WWE. This could mean he will be back with WWE somewhere midway through next year or it could mean he will never make his return to the promotion that trained him to professionally wrestle.

I am both disappointed & sadden to announce that due to a serious injury to my shoulder I will not be returning to @WWE at this time.

— Shelton J. Benjamin (@Sheltyb803) August 7, 2016

A product of the OVW school, Shelton signed with WWE alongside his fellow University of Minnesota amateur wrestler Brock Lesnar. The two even teamed for months as the Minnesota Stretching Crew. But after Lesnar was called up first, he formed a team with Charlie Haas. They joined the main roster as Team Angle, briefly changed their name to The Best Damn Tag Team Period, but became best known as The World's Greatest Tag Team.


After two tag title reigns, he would become a solo star, famously beating Triple H. Though he would win the United States title once and the Intercontinental title three times, Benjamin repeatedly hit the McMahon glass ceiling, a complaint Benjamin has made in past shoot interviews. Unable to ascend to main event status, he was forced to constantly try to maintain an upper midcard presence, even switching gimmicks to become "The Gold Standard", complete with a blond dye job.

After his release in 2010, he moved to Ring of Honor alongside Charlie Haas, where abominable booking eventually drained most of the fans' appreciation for the duo. After two uneventful title runs, Haas moved into semi-retirement and Benjamin followed MVP into New Japan.

He quickly turned his back on MVP there, and joined Suzuki-gun, a.k.a. the heel stable that wasn't Bullet Club. He jumped with the rest of his stable to NJPW's sister company Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he wrestled for the last 18 months. His last major appearance for the company was in June as he unsuccessfully challenged for the GHC Heavyweight title, losing to Go Shiozaki.

His time in Japan showed he still had the talent to go and to go hard. Hopefully time healing will allow him to continue his career in a final WWE run. And hey, maybe we will see the rematch of this G1 Climax match.


Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shelton Benjamin (NJPW) by JAHMAL1111

Congratulations, Rhyno

Image credit: @Rhyno313 on Twitter.

Not only did the Manbeast rejoin the Smackdown roster in the last 8 days, he could be heading to the Michigan state house next January. Rhyno, a.k.a. Terrance Guido Gerin (did that make him ECW's Big Guido?) won his primary by a whopping 56 votes in a three way race. Even as the results were coming in, Rhyno was busy goring Heath Slater this last Tuesday.

He will challenge for the 15th District seat in a voting battle with no gores allowed. Nor is his opponent Abdullah Hammoud any relation to the famous Butcher of the same name.

Also, Rhyno is amazingly only forty going into this election, meaning he's got lots of longevity left in both his wrestling and political careers.

The final WWE Top 10

Today, I am posting the final WWE Top 10 for at least the foreseeable future. Why? Because as of SummerSlam, I will start posting individual rankings for the Raw and Smackdown rosters. Stay tuned for that, but in the mean time let's take a look at the top stars of WWE after the first week of the brand extension!

Sasha Banks, new Women's Champion

1. Sasha Banks:  The Boss finally reached the top of WWE, a place millions of fans have wanted her at since she joined the main roster. Despite some pushbacks, it is also clearly a place WWE management wants her at, as she has been groomed as the female face of the company for quite some time in advertisements and group photos. Her team with Bayley at Battleground and her huge victory on Raw make it hard to not treat her as the biggest WWE star coming out of July. (U/1)
   
2. Dean Ambrose: Dean retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for Smackdown at Battleground. The Shield three way was an amazing match and Dean looks poised to be a major face of the company for the rest of the year. (2/10)
   
3. Finn Balor: Beating four of Raw's top talents in your debut cannot be overstated. Finn is a world champion level competitor and WWE made that clear as they framed him as one of the two men that will battle for the new WWE Universal championship at Summer Slam. (U/1)
   
4. Seth Rollins: He didn't win at Battleground, but Seth Rollins is still clearly the biggest star on Raw. Whether he can maintain that role after Summer Slam is anyone's guess, but he is poised to continue his role as one of the top players in WWE for months to come. (U/1)
   
5. John Cena: Cena feels like he's suffering from a slight demotion right now, but he is still a key player for WWE and should remain so in the coming years. While he didn't win the title shot on Smackdown Live! last week, he did score his first pinfall on AJ Styles, a feat I suspect he will try to repeat at Summer Slam. (U/1)
   
6. The Club: They might not have won at Battleground, but they made a statement the next night on Raw. The Club clearly are poised to be dominant in the tag team division and that might soon cost The New Day their championships. (U/1)
7. Sami Zayn: His victory may have been a moral one only, but Zayn seems poised for bigger stakes as his WWE main roster career continues outside the shadow of Kevin Owens. (2/2)
8. The New Day: The end of July was rough on The New Day, but they did take the title of the longest reigning tag champions of the modern era. Don't suspect that reign to last much longer though under the threat of The Club. (4/6)
9. Kevin Owens: He didn't win at Battleground, but anyone in a match that good deserves a featured place on this list. (7/4)
10. Dolph Ziggler: He didn't even get a match at Battleground, but Ziggler gets a major push as he scored the number one contendership at Summer Slam. A fresh face in the Smackdown main event scene should help differentiate the blue brand going forward. (U/1)

Ziggler made a splashy entrance into his first Top 10 on the first Smackdown
of the brand extension.

Agree with the list? Disagree? Let me know your thoughts of who you think deserved to be in the post Battleground Top 10.

Bullet points: Week one of the brand extension

A few more bullet points, this time focused on the highlights of this week's Raw and Smackdown.

Finn Balor looked amazing while Roman Reigns' wellness policy
punishment streak got underway. Image credit this page: WWE.com.

• The Raw roster is infinitely deeper than the Smackdown roster. Even without the incoming cruiserweight division (I assume in September), the roster already feels bloated. The brand certainly doesn't need the influx of classic talent that the Smackdown roster is already getting.
• WWE has been wise so far in their additions from the past on Smackdown. Rhyno is a guy that

  

  Rhyno still has a lot he can give
  to the blue brand. 

  never got a real shot to shine in WWE for any significant period of time. He's got all the tools he needs to be a credible upper midcarder for years to come and hopefully he'll get that chance. Shelton Benjamin is honestly one of the most talented WWE stars to never be a World champion. While I don't see him ever getting to that plateau with his return, he should continue to bring great matches. And if WWE can lure Charlie Haas back even for a few weeks, American Alpha versus the World's Greatest Tag Team is a definite dream match.
• Nia Jax isn't ready for the main roster. Dana Brooke got a lot of flack when she was called up, but in my opinion, Nia is worse. She's going to get a huge push and she simply doesn't have the seasoning she needs for it to work. I could be proven wrong, but she has no place anywhere near Charlotte, Paige or new champion Sasha Banks yet.
• The Miz should have been in the battle royal, not sitting on the sidelines to get beat by Randy Orton. Ditto for American Alpha. I get you don't want them to debut in a battle royal they lose, but it makes no sense when the heads of the brand say "everyone has a chance" and three talents not booked for Summer Slam yet don't get a chance. 
• I'm excited to see new talents rise to the top of the rosters, but it very much feels like the writing is already on the wall about the placement of title matches on Summer Slam. Either Orton versus Lesnar or Styles versus Cena will almost certainly get the main event spot on the pay-per-view while Dolph Ziggler and Finn Balor get their chances farther down the card. 
• I really hope WWE uses a Dean Ambrose / Dolph Ziggler feud to turn Ziggler heel. In the perfect world, they would team Ziggler with his now respected rival Baron Corbin and let the two have a strong Michaels / Diesel style run with the title before the inevitable breakdown. 
• Enzo and Big Cass need to find a storyline quickly. The two Certified Gs are far too important to The New Era to have them beating up jobbers on Raw without any real purpose. 
• I expect next week's Smackdown will give us the start of at least one title tournament. I suspect we will see some kind of tag team title as well as a second women's belt (which I'm guessing will be called the Revolution title.) If the blue brand really is the show to go for solid wrestling, they would be foolhardy not to book solid tournaments as opposed to the fatal four way setup Raw gave on Monday night. 
• I'm personally more excited about WWE's weekly shows than I have been for months. I'm back to watching them regularly after over a year of pay-per-view only viewing. If they can keep up the quality, I can seriously see the brand extension pulling in a lot of new or lapsed viewers.

Could Becky Lynch be the face of a new title on Smackdown?

Both shows looked solid and if this is truly the beginning of a New Era of dual brands, WWE is off to a great start. Hopefully the momentum can continue in the weeks ahead as both shows prepare their matches for the four hour Summer Slam spectacle.

The draft... happened: a few underwhelmed thoughts

I know I am certainly not the only person that found the WWE Draft a bit underwhelming. While far stronger than the version we got from WWE way back in 2002 or the random lottery of later years, the order of so many of the picks were so random. Midcard champions not going until the sixteenth and seventeenth overall pick is certainly insane, while the number one contenders to those titles are treated like also-rans drafted on the secondary show.

Despite much ballyhoo about WWE trying to make Smackdown as strong as Raw, the action of the night really didn't bring that out. Raw seemed programmed to the future with Zayn, Cesaro, Owens and Balor all in strong places while Smackdown feels like it will have to be built around Ambrose, Styles, Wyatt and Cena simply because the roster isn't very deep beyond them. Orton could be a wildcard but he likely will be looking few live events, similar to Cena's new schedule. That especially makes Smackdown an incredibly weak touring brand.

The NXT signings were mostly underwhelming. Balor went high and should get a massive main roster push. American Alpha should be the focus of the Smackdown tag division going ahead, although if that comes with no title belts who knows how important that will really feel. Nia Jax feels way too soon. Alexa Bliss, Carmella and Mojo Rawley could all work on the main roster, but none really feel like they've accomplished enough in NXT to make the call-ups sensible. Other NXT veterans like Tye Dillinger would be more sensible, while Austin Aries, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode have already showed they can be main event players. However one shimmer of sunlight: it does seem likely we will see the Hype Bros finally start a strong run on Smackdown, though whatthey can accomplish is anyone's guess.

Of course, the real question of the future will be built around the writers. Raw continues with the same writer it has had for quite some time, a man without a real good sign of knowing how to freshen things up. Smackdown looks to be in the charge of Ryan Ward, former NXT head writer, which could mean a stronger simpler booking method for the show. More storylines built around strong athletic competition seems sensible, but without so many of the superstar NXT alum like the aforementioned Zayn, Cesaro, Owens and Balor, it feels more like rehabilitation for older stars (Dolph Ziggler) and continued Ward pet projects (Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews.)

Next week, we will see with the beginning of a new era for the two brands. Here's hoping they give us the future WWE deserves with the talent it now possesses.

Wrestling Weekday presents the WWE fantasy draft

It has been weeks since WWE first announced the return of the roster split as part of an ongoing move to broaden the viewership of Smackdown. This Tuesday on the first live Smackdown, it will take place, complete with a second screen experience to keep the draft going into the evening.

Over the weekend I teamed with John Morgan Neal of the ESO-PRO podcast for something just about every wrestling site is doing over this weekend, predicting their layouts one-on-one of the WWE draft. John Morgan picked Smackdown as his brand, and I took Raw. With the assumption Smackdown gets the first pick, we started to run down our own rosters. 

We had a few simple rules: single stars remained singles stars while tag teams remained tag teams unless a good reason existed to break them apart. Any NXT star of extended service (i.e. ready for the main roster) was allowed as a draft pick, but no higher than round four. Brock Lesnar is considered an automatic free agent, as Paul Heyman refuses to have him tied to a single brand. Finally, we were each allowed one surprise outside pick which you will see down the list at certain points. 

With the assumption that this draft will be extended longer than the show itself, probably through WWE Network picks, John Morgan and I went twenty rounds to pick our choices for the best names on both new brands. 

FIRST ROUND

Image credit: Rob Schamberger.

SD: Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon choose for their first pic of the draft, JOHN CENA.   While Shane and Daniel are all about the New Era.  The New Era isn't about erasing or denigrating the past.  And they realize Smackdown needs things to get eyes on the new Smackdown.  Going live and having their own roster is the start. But having the biggest name in all of pro wrestling exclusively on your show is another.  John Cena would be an excellent start to a brand new Smackdown roster.

Image credit:
Rob Schamberger.

RAW: Stephanie McMahon wants the newest star on the WWE roster, a man that has made a name for himself in just the six months since his first appearance at the Royal Rumble. He's the man that beat John Cena. He is a wrestler and a man that inside or outside the ring is simply Phenomenal. Raw's first round pick is AJ STYLES.

Analysis: Clearly both John Morgan and I knew the importance of John Cena to WWE's product. If JMN hadn't recruited him, he would have been Raw's first pick. But with Cena taken for Smackdown, his current foil seemed like the perfect first round pick for Raw, even if it did leave the World Heavyweight champion and his contenders by the wayside. Besides, I am still amazed that I live in a world where AJ Styles could have an outside shot of being a first round draft pick for a WWE draft. Five years ago, I would have told you that you were clearly insane to even think that idea. Oh how the times change.

SECOND THROUGH FIFTH ROUNDS

SD: While Shane's first pic was using the past to help the future his next pic is the future, the face of the future in fact and a potential new  WWE champion as of Battleground: SETH ROLLINS!

RAW: Raw's second pick is a man Stephanie doesn't like very much, but who has proven he can survive a beating and keep going. That resiliency made him the WWE champion and his name is DEAN AMBROSE.

SD: Well one world champion deserves another so Shane decides to be positive with his next draft as to not be booty and picks the two times Double U. Double U. E. Tag Team Champions THE NEW DAY:  Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods.

Image credit:
Rob Schamberger.

RAW: Last year, Stephanie started the revolution. This year she will take control of that revolution. The third pick for Raw is the WWE's women's champion CHARLOTTE. 

SD: And Shane was instrumental in the New Era which Smackdown is going to be all about.  And that area is all about the new!  For his next pick Shane welcomes someone new to the main roster.  FINN BALOR!

RAW: Stephanie doesn't like him. Heck, she hates him. But she knows that in this business respect must be played to the man that rises against all obstacles. Whether he's the good guy or the bad guy, he is Raw's guy: ROMAN REIGNS.

SD: Shane shows he is not above picking someone he doesn't care for either.  But talent is talent and no one in the WWE has more of it than KEVIN OWENS!

RAW: He's perhaps the most dominant champion in WWE today and has destroyed the competition that has came in his path. The fifth pick for Raw is the United States champion, RUSEV.

Analysis: I'm not sure I agree with John Morgan in choosing Seth over Dean unless he wins the title on Monday night. I think the third round feels right as I expect both the tag and women's championship to be high in the prize list. I certainly wanted Stephanie to continue to focus on the women's division as well, so Charlotte had to go high to guarantee the title was held there. I wasn't surprised by most of the other picks on the list, but I was a bit surprised either secondary champion wasn't picked until the fifth round. I actually waited that long assuming JMN would take his pick and I could counter with the other. But I happily took Rusev, a man with tons of potential still untapped.

Roman Reigns isn't the guy anymore

Image credit: WWE.com.

A lot of ink has been written about how well Roman Reigns is succeeding as a top WWE star. But just as much will be written over the next few days about his 30 day Wellness Policy violation. Reigns went from one of the biggest stars WWE has to a man that will be sidelined until Battleground on July 24th. Whether WWE will keep him in the main event of that show remains to be seen, but answers will probably come on tonight's prerecorded Smackdown.

This also creates a huge hole in WWE storytelling as not only does the company lose him for four weeks of television, but he will also be gone for the huge Smackdown live debut and the roster draft that takes place.

That being said, I don't feel bad for Reigns. He did what he did and he's paying the consequences.

I do think WWE should look closely at this incident however. They put a year into building this man as a top star at the expense of all other talents. It should be time to reconsider that as a long term booking strategy for the company, instead focusing their energy on building an array of new stars. One look at Sunday's Money in the Bank ladder match should show them where to start.

I strongly suspect that Reigns might stay in the main event scene for a few weeks after his return, but much like Randy Orton after his violations, I wouldn't expect to see it last. I would guess Reigns is in for some lean times for the rest of 2016, and maybe beyond.

With a WWE that finally seems ready to push their New Era properly, this creates even more possibilities for newer stars to grab the brass ring.

Let's hope they make it happen.

On Smackdown live and the new roster split

Image credit: WWE.com.

In the unexpected news department, WWE announced an return to the brand roster split as Smackdown is set to go live on USA in the near future. Both pieces of information are good news for the burgeoning roster and the talent that occupy it.

The original brand split worked well for a couple ears, but the split pay-per-views lost viewers. The existence of the WWE Network curbs most of that problem. Meanwhile live Smackdown allows that show to finally overcome the problem it faced in the original brand extension. Without the live element Raw had, it was easy to overlook any surprise angles on the show. But with Mauro and The King̵s team can do just that. Now the fight can begin between the announce teams about who gets Byron Saxton.

My assumption is the extension will come with Shane and Stephanie splitting the brand. It will be interesting once it happens to see what WWE will do to removed the stigma of Smackdown as the WWE B-show. With it being an hour shorter than Raw, it could also suffer from a smaller roster and less of a big show feeling.

Of course, rumors are already in place that the women's division might find its way a single brand. Whether WWE gives the other brand a sub-division (the Cruiserweight Classic alumni, perhaps?) remains to be seen. How WWE treats their unified World title and Tag Team titles, also remains to be seen.

I an only think of this new brand extension as a wise move for WWE. It should set up a future for the company and find roles for many of the superstars that have been overlooked and lost in the last few weeks.

Dust to Dust. . .

My morning started with the death of Christopher Lee, and it ended with the death of the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.

I never was a fan of Dusty Rhodes, for mainly the same reasons the WWF never used him; he looked old, tired and out of shape. His Southern drawl, especially to a Canadian, was weird and annoying. In fact for many years, I used to get him confused with Adrian Adonis. But I learned as the years went by how much he contributed to wrestling, how many young stars he helped put over, how much knowledge he had about The Game. Dusty was a legendary wrestler, even if he wasn't "my type" of guy, or Vince McMahon's.

What I DO know is that Dusty's two sons, who wrestle under the names Golddust and Stardust, would not exist if not for the American Dream. Their gimmicks are certainly inspired by their father and I am sure he gave them a ton of direction over the years. In fact it was that match that got me interested in wrestling again; Fastlane 2015 was all new wrestlers and the Rhodes family were the only ones I recognized and I am glad that we got to see that battle between the Rhodes brothers with old Dusty on screen, one last time.

Now, watching his victory over the Honky Tonk Man at Meadowlands Arena back at Summerslam 1989, jiggling and dancing with a big smile on his face, I can see what a huge influence he was on that generation. Much like Daniel Bryan and Kevin Owens, Dusty inspired people who might not ever think they weren't good looking enough or had the right physique to be a wrestler. Dusty had fun and he loved wrestling more than just about anyone. For that, I will salute and respect him and I wish I'd been a little more open-minded when I was child because I know now that men like Dusty Rhodes are far more inspirational than men like Hulk Hogan.

You can see Dusty in his polka dots face the Honky Tonk Man at the link below.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2dz68r_wwf-summerslam-1989-dusty-rhodes-vs-the-honky-tonk-man_sport

In tribute to Dusty, I am posting a couple of my favorite Goldust matches. Hopefully one day his youngest son, Cody Rhodes, AKA Stardust, will reach the same level of fame and success his father enjoyed.

Cheers to you, Dusty, and thank you.

A classic: 

Interesting side note: The term "Dusty Finish", which is mentioned in my blog partners post below, was just used to set up the current battle between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
The Dusty Finish is the nickname for a match ending where one man was named the winner, only to have the victory overturned on some small technicality (such as a second referee entering the match).