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The Steel Cage Standings – December 2016

Hello and welcome to the Steel Cage Standings where I, Psyniac, go through the past month of WWE TV and rank the Top 5 Raw and Top 5 Smackdown superstars, Top 3 NXT superstars and then highlight three stars or teams that have been wasted or have been straight-up terrible. December 2016 was a bit of a weird one for quality and whilst I’ve recently enjoyed Raw more than usual, the general opinion has seen the divide between the red and blue brands grow wider. 2016’s final Raw was a bit of a shitshow whereas the final Smackdown was basically an awesome miniature PPV. Anyway, let’s get into it.

RAW Top 5:

05. Owens & Jericho

owens

The Universal Champion and his “bezzie mate” still hang onto a place in the Top 5 this month despite a few misplaced steps in their story. We had tension for the vast majority of December with Owens sorely trying to win his friend back for a second time and whilst they’ve had their moments (the shark cage thing was actually hysterical, even if it’s utterly stupid) we are beyond treading water at this point. Team Kevin and Chris/Chris and Kevin are now at the stage where breaking these two up for real has lost any shock value and when it happens we’ll be waiting for them to change their minds once again which is a shame. This time of year is always a bit of a clusterfuck whilst the Wrestlemania card falls into place but it’s sad to see these characters suffer because of it.

04. Neville

A surprising return this month and one of the only stand-out moments from Roadblock: End of the Line saw Neville come down to the ring to seemingly congratulate Swann on his victory before immediately taking him out and turning heel in the process. Bad, Beardy Neville immediately kept the fire burning with a killer promo the next night on Raw and ascending to the top of the Cruiserweight division immediately, where he obviously belongs. This no-nonsense, loner character is a strange fit for Neville but a fit it is and he’s pulling it off splendidly. It’s about time he got some of the spotlight on TV.

03. Bayley

bayley
Perhaps it’s just because it’s fresh but my God is it good to see Charlotte facing off against Bayley. The Banks feud, as I’ve said on numerous occasions, has been one of this year’s worst, ongoing (read: never-ending) things so to see Charlotte get to flex her muscles, literally and figuratively, against someone else has been fun. Moreover, Bayley has been able to come into her own better by interacting with more than just jobbers or being used as a jobber herself. She’ll be a fine competitor for Charlotte to blow past on her way to Wrestlemania and hopefully prominent screen-time will help her, too.

02. Braun Strowmann

Good lord, Braun is good. Two months he was a surprise entry, last month his booking allowed him to move up the list and here we are at the #2 spot. Following his excellent use at Survivor Series, Braun found his way back into his story with Sami with ease. The ten-minute time limit match at Roadblock: End of the Line was a weird one but it allowed Strowman to explode after the next few weeks, demand a rematch with Zayn. Whilst it has shades of Joe in NXT, Strowman interrupting matches and making a mockery of Raw has been a good use of him and he’s excelled in every segment they’ve given him, spoken or ring-work, over the last few months. Not bad for that green member of the Wyatt Family.

01. Cesaro & Sheamus

cesaro

Following their best of seven series in September, I was cautiously optimistic that Cesaro & Sheamus could work as a team. The two are incredibly hardworking dudes and between them could have a few decent ideas. Well, those decent ideas flourished and the two found themselves getting over in their respective face and heel roles. Nowadays, Sheamus is basically a face that’s fun to boo because of how entertaining their “yay/nay” dynamic is. That’s why, as much as I love The Club, I’m not surprised that the WWE cashed in on them (see also: they’re “WWE guys” more than “NJPW guys”).

Booked very suddenly into a title match at Roadblock: End of the Line, Cesaro and Sheamus winning the titles was a very real possibility but it was still a shock that WWE ended New Day’s run so suddenly. Gifted new belts, this is an example of WWE striking when the iron was hot after the tag division had been so cold for so long.

SMACKDOWN Top 5:

05. Baron Corbin

corbin

I’ve always been for Baron Corbin rather than against; stupid wolf shirts, receding hairline and belly-face be damned. Whereas Raw is very rigid, Smackdown Live has a really good way of making it feel as though guys can float around the roster without too much question and one example of this has been Corbin stepping up to challenge for the WWE title on the Wildcard Finals episode at the end of 2016. Was he ever going to win it? Not bloody likely. But did he look like a beast and give you the idea that maybe, someday he might get there? Yup.

04. The Miz

The Miz has had one of his weaker months here in 2016 but even still he lands on his list. Out of all the stars in WWE in this insane twelve months, Miz is one guy you could say stole the show on a regular basis and his match with Ziggler at TLC did just that. Following that, he handily moved into a feud with former WWE Champion Ambrose (see above about guys not feeling out of place) and made the whole thing very interesting with one line aimed at Renee Young. Shocking yet logical promos and storylines like that are a great way to help us forget about that confusing Bryan rivalry (which may be over but who knows?) for one thing but also just to hook viewers. I guess The Miz is must-see after all.

03. Alexa Bliss & Becky Lynch

alexa

First of all, congratulations to Alexa Bliss on becoming Smackdown Women’s Champion. Whilst their tables match at TLC was a bit of a disappointment, it was the right decision. Moreover, the two have managed to keep their feud and subsequent rematch storyline pretty interesting with the inclusion of Becky’s apparent alter ego La Luchadora earning her another shot at the end of the year which concluded with a very interesting twist. Who exactly is under the mask is one thing but having somewhere for Becky to go now she doesn’t have the belt makes sense, gives Alexa a month to breeze through an opponent whilst Nikki is feuding with Natala etc. As a whole, the Smackdown’s women’s division is very strong and constantly interesting. Most importantly, Alexa sits at the top of it.

02. The Wyatt Family

We were all very skeptical, fair to say, about Orton joining the Wyatt Family but when they shockingly took the belts off of Slater and Rhyno I think we were all made believers. That moment, post-match, was enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand-up as Randy and Bray handed Luke their belts and posed before the lights went out. Even still they played with us by teasing a break-up which I sincerely hope isn’t coming despite taking the belts off of the three. Hopefully that’s just a way to crown somebody two time champions and also to help American Alpha not fall away into obscurity. Either way their match at the end of the year show was fun and if it means we get more of that I’m down for it.

01. AJ Styles

AJ

WWE really has an issue with it’s heels sometimes by overbooking the turd out of them. Every match either has to have an over-the-top cheat finish or they’re booked to lose clean every damn week. I was getting a little worried about Styles losing to Ellsworth so many times so to see him get his own back so viciously put my mind at ease. Furthermore, he successfully defended against two guys who going into the match didn’t look like they had a chance and yet AJ made them look like a million bucks.

With Cena returning, the course was clear and the two still produce one hell of an energy when they’re in the ring together. Considering the quality of the matches they put on earlier this year, colour me excited for their rematch at Royal Rumble. It’s possible Styles will surprise us by retaining yet again but if he doesn’t then there’s no qualms here with his run with the belt this year. 2016 was truly the year of AJ Styles.

THE BAD:

03. The New Day

“The bad” list this month may seem familiar to those of you who checked out last month’s list since it’s entirely the same. December is a good month for WWE to spin wheels and Raw has suffered the most with it. Hell, The New Day have practically defined the term over the last six months. Even so, losing the belts almost immediately after passing the record we were all waiting for them to break was a bit of a unceremonious way to do it. I suppose the bright side is that it’s over now. Move along, people.

02. Roman Reigns

Last month I was tearing my hair out over the fact that Roman was given the midcard title for Raw and proceeded to head straight back into the main event with it like it was an accessory to hang off his Big Cheater Vest. Roman is a fine wrestler but it seems like they keep making decisions with him specifically to piss off fans. Following Roadblock: End of the Line where he lost, Roman has another shot at the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble still whilst holding the United States Championship which is (at the time) not up for grabs. Utterly stupid, utterly infuriating, utterly indicative of Reigns’ booking.

01. Sasha Banks

sasha

We have a winner! Of the biggest loser award. For the third month in a Row Sasha Banks struggles to evolve from the utter garbage she’s become. After winning the Raw Women’s Championship for a third time this year (and third time crying about it, if I recall correctly), she went on to drop it back to Charlotte again in a poorly booked 2-out-of-3 Falls match at Roadblock: End of the Line. Instead of doing the right thing and taking her off television, she came to the ring on Raw to proclaim “I no longer feel like The Boss” (no shit) and then got attacked by Nia Jax, turning her even more into “sympathetic white meat babyface”. What a waste. Get off my TV and into the bin, Sasha.

THE NXT:

03. Asuka

I have to admit that during her reign I’ve gotten a little tired of Asuka and it’s not really her fault. With the women’s division all but cleared out before her debut, she was left with very little to do. That’s why this month’s bout against Nia Jax made me remember why we were all so excited to begin with. A much longer match that allowed Asuka to sell, making her opponent look super powerful; I almost thought for a moment that she might finally drop the belt. Two more months however, and WWE can clear Paige’s name off the record so you know that’s where this is going.

02. SaNiTY

This second half of this year has been a bit of an odd time for NXT with the show finally getting a lot of criticism for it’s shallow roster. Losing it’s lead writer to Smackdown hasn’t helped either. Gladly, this month saw some development in the newest faction SaNiTY. Whilst we’ve been spoilt with the cream of the former-TNA crop coming through WWE already, Eric Young is still a good get for NXT and his faction presents some intrigue with the whack-job Nikki Cross, the suddenly very missing Sawyer Fulton and the interruptions by Big Damo. It’s hard to know what exactly is happening but fingers crossed. And heads bopping to that totally screwed up Primus-esque theme music they have.

01. Bobby Roode

bobby

Just because it’s not surprising doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. Bobby Roode being crowned #1 contender for the NXT Championship is the right thing to do, especially as he’s one of the most over individuals in NXT if not WWE at large. Whether or not his opponent should be Nakamura or Joe is up for debate since chants of “GLORIOUS” may actually drown out support for the NXT Champion and King of Leaving Horrible Marks on Austin Aries’ face. Similarly, whether or not Roode will take the title or suffer his first loss makes for an interesting point of discussion and something to look forward to next month. Either way, the crowd reaction in San Antonio will be nuts and this you can all but guarantee.

You can find Psyniac on Twitter at Raw is Psyniac where he tweets about Raw and Smackdown 18 hours after they’ve aired, how much he loves Carmella and, occasionally, candy.

Photography credit (C) WWE.com



The Steel Cage Standings – November 2016

Hello and welcome to the Steel Cage Standings where I, Psyniac, go through the past month of WWE TV and rank the Top 5 Raw and Top 5 Smackdown superstars, Top 3 NXT superstars and then highlight three stars or teams that have been wasted or have been straight-up terrible. November 2016 saw the two brands of WWE collide in the first relevant Survivor Series pay-per-view in years. Not only was it relevant however, it was actually good and was topped off by this year’s biggest surprise. Let’s roll right into it.

RAW Top 5:

05. Enzo Amore & Big Cass

enzo
You know RAW is hurting for big stars when I put these guys in here for “making me laugh”. It’s no slight on Enzo and Cass, the tag division right now on RAW is a fucking mess thanks to New Day’s stalemate title run, but they’ve at least had some amusing segments. Be it hocking merch for Black Friday, (how you doin’), Cyber Monday (how you doin’) or ‘Zo walking around with a pixellated yellow banana hammock (how you… hm), at least the two are doing more than looking like jokes like the rest of the division. It may be another story where Rusev should be the face but them being paired up with the Bulgarian Brute, another immensely funny performer, should make for some entertaining moments.

04. Braun Strowman

Braun moves up the list for RAW by being continually booked correctly and taking advantage of the moments he’s given. On the lead into Survivor Series Braun was not made to look like anything over than what he is: a monster. Taking out members of Team Smackdown with his shocking speed and impressively convincing power-moves, we all knew Braun’s inclusion in the 5-on-5 could really help his push. He looked great too, even with only one elimination under his belt (which was helped by Smackdown in-fighting) and was thrown out of the match in a way that didn’t make him look weak whilst managing to call back to his earlier squash match with Ellsworth. Braun and his on-going story have been a highlight of RAW every week.

03. Rich Swann

swann
I’m not really sure how I’m going to tackle 205 Live, both in Steel Cage Standings and also in having enough time in my life to watch yet more WWE programming. But that’s besides the point. Since the debut of the terrible Cruiserweight Division, Swann has been the stand-out guy week-to-week. WWE clearly saw something in him early on which is why he was booked on every episode of RAW, saw his face plastered on the company’s trucks recently and then got a win over Cruiserweight Champion Kendrick. In order to shake things up and generate shock, Swann got the title on the very first episode of 205 Live. The title is already losing steam by being passed around so much but it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve it and hopefully he’ll be the first guy to get a decent run out of it.

02. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho

Before it even began to flourish into the friendship we know and love today, Jericho and Owen’s shaky, temporary partnership was fun. In fact, since the day JeriKO appeared on our screens they’ve been a part of the Steel Cage Standings and usually near the top. Every month however, it gets better. November constantly teased a break-up of the two and whilst it’s clearly coming they managed to subvert our expectations by having the two reconcile over their hate of Roman Reigns. Hell, in the last RAW of the month Kevin lost his cool with Chris, telling him his help was making him look bad (somewhat true, at least) and then later mentioned that their relationship would endure even this. It’s guy love between two guys.

01. Goldberg

goldberg

One of the most discussed subjects of November 2016 was whether Goldberg should or would beat Brock Lesnar. Bill has been known to be a bit of a tough businessman and he came back to WWE, twelve years after his initial departure, to show his kid and other children around the world that he’s a “superhero”. On the other hand, Lesnar has been booked as an unbeatable machine for the past two and a half years; beating the streak, decimating Cena and forcefully busting Orton open this summer. Still, with all the talk I don’t think anyone predicted what would transpire.

Goldberg beating Lesnar in 1:26 caused an initial shocked, confused, terrified outcry of many and I was one of them but after mulling it over for a brief period of time it started to make sense and where we’re at now it’s all excitement and all must-see TV. Goldberg has entered the Rumble to pursue the title, Lesnar promises to chase after him and Heyman has been unshaven and whimpering on TV. It’s starting to feel like WrestleMania this year could have some really interesting marquee matches and who would’ve thought Goldberg/Lesnar III would be one of them?

SMACKDOWN Top 5:

05. The Women’s Division

carmella
Let’s kick off Smackdown with a range of compliments so broad that I couldn’t just pick one woman or one feud. The Blue Team’s female roster has been booked in increasingly interesting ways basically from top-to-bottom. Carmella and Nikki’s personal grievances have made for brutal promos (something about Nikki being punched so hard her tits come out her back?!) with both of them really getting over in their respective roles. Add the wrinkle of Natalya potentially being the one who took out Bella at Survivor Series, who has been playing this insufferable yet hilarious character dropping song lyrics and talking about her cats and you’ve got some hints for future rivalries. In the title picture we have Alexa and Becky who have been particularly stiff with each other recently and are gearing up to a table match at TLC with very little “THIS IS A MOMENT” fanfare and it has the potential to steal the show regardless. Overall, the women of Smackdown, unlike RAW, haven’t felt like they’re treading water for a second.

04. The Miz

I’m not a fan of the WWE hot potato’ing titles (which is all they seem to do right now) but putting the Intercontinental Championship back on The Miz was the right thing to do, as was have him and Maryse cheat to retain at Survivor Series. Miz may as well have been shooting on Talking Smack when he said that he was making the IC title relevant again because it really feels that way; he’s one of the guys you can really depend upon to make the most of what they’re given and craft something great out of it. His feud with Ziggler is starting to get tired but when the champion is on screen you pay attention.

03. AJ Styles

styles
AJ Styles has come a long way since his time in TNA and the depth of his WWE character is picture-perfect proof of it. Skilled but too arrogant for his own good, Styles has played excellent foil to Ambroses’ chaotic persona and Ellsworth’s lucky streak. Angry, flustered and passionate; as good as every player in this feud has been, AJ has been carrying the story for the most part. With any other guy, this might not have worked. Coming up to a year in the company, Styles’ list of accolades is impressive and hopefully only continues to grow from here as he’s made his presence known as one of the most entertaining guys in WWE.

02. Bray Wyatt

I’ve said it before, numerous times, but I try not to get on the Bray Wyatt bandwagon. I’ve been burned before. Every time it seems as though Wyatt is on a roll he’s sure to lose at that integral moment then disappear off the face of the planet. I’m asking for trouble by saying this but right now it looks as though that may not happen this time. Bray got the most number of eliminations in the Survivor Series Men’s 5-on-5 match and they just so happened to both be the faces of the company; Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Definitely an unexpected end to the match but one that couldn’t come without….

01. Randy Orton

orton
Firstly, RKO put on the most solid performance out of all of the guys at Survivor Series. More importantly, we’ve all been a little worried that this Orton in the Wyatt Family storyline is about to cheapen at any moment with the not-so-sudden revelation that Randy has been planning to takedown the Wyatts from the inside but Orton eating a spear from Reigns and allowing Bray to capitalise says otherwise. For a few weeks now, Bryan and Renee have said they’re waiting for Orton to turn on his bearded brothers so I was starting to think this may be a much more long term deal.

Following their victory at Survivor Series, the two have found themselves in contendership for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship and there’s no reason why these two shouldn’t win. They’re both powerful characters in kayfabe that could do with the win, the gold (Orton’s last tag championship was 2004, Bray has never held a belt) and the extra ingredients to push this intriguing story forward. When Orton stinks, he stinks but when Orton is good, he’s damn fun and right now he’s hugely entertaining to watch.

THE BAD:

03. The New Day

Whilst I think things have at least taken an interesting turn in the last couple of weeks with New Day being instantly eliminated from their Survivor Series match and going on a spree of cheating matches to win, we need to address the fact that New Day’s push to beat Demolition’s Tag Team Championship reign and the damage it has done to WWE. The tag division on RAW was never in a great position to succeed with three decent teams and two joke teams making up the entire roster but New Day crushing them all over and over has not exactly done wonders for the future. Hopefully the writers have a plan for building guys back up when they finally drop those titles.

02. Roman Reigns

When Roman won the United States Championship from Rusev there was almost a collective sigh of relief. Point one; he was out of the main event picture for the time being. Point two; it was retreading old ground but at least the predicted US Open Challenge would give him something to do on TV that was worthwhile. Point three… wait, what? I haven’t even finished thinking about the positives and he’s already got a Universal Championship match? How does that make any sense? And what does that do for the poor US title? Holding it over your back like a dickhead definitely isn’t helping it look strong and neither is ignoring it and running headfirst back into boring Roman main event territory.

01. Sasha Banks

sasha
For the second month in a row Sasha Banks is the bottom of the WWE barrel. What a horrible state of affairs; once the shining jewel in the so-called “Women’s Revolution” and now a totally ruined character. I said in October that the plus-side to her losing the belt so quickly in her hometown was that she could move out of the title picture for a while and it seemed like this was the plan with Bayley and Charlotte having an altercation at Survivor Series but…. nope. On the final RAW of November, Sasha became three time Women’s Champion in Charlotte’s home city in some weird kind of 50/50 booking bullshit. Three time champion. She doesn’t even feel like one time champion. Oh, and she cried again too so there’s no hope that she’s bringing the boss character back. How tragically disappointing.

THE NXT:

03. Peyton Royce & Billie Kay

Royce and Kay; or as Grieg likes to refer to them, “the Aussie cunts”, have found a hole in the NXT’s women’s roster and filled it with gusto. Dressed to the nines and slinking their way down to the ring, they’re the anti-thesis of a lot of the women in indie wrestling today and thus they make for perfect heels against NXT’s up and coming female roster. Them enlisting Daria to save them from Liv, Aliyah and Ember made perfect sense and was a great way to get her back on TV and leaving her out to dry was even better. For the time being, especially since Asuka has very little to do, they’re some of the more entertaining women in NXT.

02. Tye Dillinger

Whether you love it or you hate it the weekend of Survivor Series was permeated with “TEN” chants. I’ll admit that it got a little annoying and took focus away from the matches at hand but to begin with it was so good to see Tye so over. I’ve been a big fan of Dillinger for a good while and his match at TakeOver Toronto was thus far his biggest moment in a very lengthy developmental run. I’m worried for his future but I think we’re likely to see Tye on the main roster sooner rather than later and I’ll be damned if he isn’t ready for it.

01. #DIY & The Revival

diy
For the past year, The Revival have been the pinnacle of tag team wrestling in all of the WWE. Simple and effective at first glance, these guys have more depth than it appears as they have continually proved by putting on multiple match of the year candidates. At least two of these have been with Gargano and Ciampa, known collectively as Team #DIY. These two great single competitors appeared a year ago to take part in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and I don’t think anyone expected themselves to want them to stay as a team. Throughout the summer the two teased a break-up, had a duel in the CWC that has gone down as one of my favourite matches of all time and finally reached the peak of the mountain by knocking of Dash and Dawson for the NXT Tag Team Titles. A show stealing moment that all four guys should be proud of.

You can find Psyniac on Twitter at Raw is Psyniac where he tweets about Raw and Smackdown 18 hours after they’ve aired, how much he loves Carmella and, occasionally, candy.



The Steel Cage Standings – October 2016

Hello and welcome to the Steel Cage Standings where I, Psyniac, go through the past month of WWE TV and rank the Top 5 Raw and Top 5 Smackdown superstars, Top 3 NXT superstars and then highlight three stars or teams that have been wasted or have been straight-up terrible. October 2016 was our second round of brand-exclusive pay-per-views including the first shoe-horned-in gimmick show, Hell in a Cell. It also gave us the return of Goldberg out of the blue and the build towards Survivor Series. Let’s take a closer look.

RAW Top 5:

05. Braun Strowman

braun
Bit of a weird one to start off with but honestly Braun’s single push has been executed almost perfectly for my tastes. With the brand extension we saw the return of local indie schmuck jobbers and it was the perfect path to put The Abominable Strowman on. After clearing out a few, then “doing a Ryback” by beating multiple opponents at once with ease, Braun found himself in a program with a guy that also needed something to do before he got boring. He and Sami Zayn seem like a good fit although personally I would have had Zayn one-up him in the Battle Royal for a spot on the Survivor Series team to incite Braun’s rage. Still, it’s got some intrigue to it and Braun has even surprised me with his mic work. It’s been simple but effective.

04. Rich Swann

It’s always a relief when a guy you personally love gets over organically. The Cruiserweight Division on Raw has been pretty pointless since day one but if we get nothing but a Rich Swann push out of it then that’s enough for me. Swann has appeared every week since the division began (plus he’s still competing on NXT) and his music, entrance and in-ring style has given him responses that have snowballed every time. It seems pretty obvious that Kendrick taking the belt off the floundering Perkins (we’ll get to that) lines Rich up to be next in line, especially since he beat The Wizard of Odd on Raw recently. Can you handle this, can you handle this?

03. Charlotte

charlotte
Speaking of chicken salad amongst chicken shit, the women’s division on Raw has had it’s fair share of problems since it’s inception. Admittedly, part of this is due to injury and… whatever Paige is doing. But the rest is due to non-characters with lame motives building towards important matches for all the wrong reasons. The women’s Hell in a Cell match was pretty average and the flip-flopping off the Raw Women’s Championship is an eye-roll but all in fairness I’d take Charlotte as champion over anyone else these days. For the month of October, she was the only woman on the roster who seemed to understand her character and could cut a half-decent promo. Also, her attacking Sasha before the hell had fully descended made me pop.

02. Goldberg

Goooooldbeeeeeerg… For the third year in a row a star from the past has returned to the WWE via their involvement with the 2k video game. However, this is the first and hopefully last time a match has been built around the damn thing. Goldberg will be facing off against Lesnar because “reasons” at Survivor Series but before we get there we’ve thus far been treated to two appearances by WCW’s main guy on Raw which have been pretty good. His entrance remains intact, he looks decent and, most amazing of all, he managed to succeed on the microphone. Also, his “I’m Goldberg, BOY” on the Halloween Raw in the face of Rusev was lol-worthy. It’s all a very interesting discussion about whether he should or will beat Brock next month but that’s talk for the November edition. For now, he’s had one of the biggest crowd responses of the year.

01. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho

owens
It’s hard to talk about one without the other right now because they compliment each other so well. Their back and forth is incredible; Y2J’s entertaining side helps Owens keep his heat and KO’s frustrations turn his best friend steadily more face. Jericho definitely stole the spotlight during the build but Owens and Rollins had match of the night at Hell in a Cell. Hopefully their bad guy antics will help to make a more clear-cut babyface of Seth Rollins who, in all likelihood, joins them in the Survivor Series team that Owens and Jericho are co-captaining.

Slow and steady seems to win the race. Owens is still rolling his eyes at Jericho’s ridiculousness as the Ayatollah of Rock-and-rollah gets more and more over each week with his list of simple but effective catchphrases and props. It’s definitely just a matter of time until the bubble bursts but for now JeriKO stand united as the most entertaining thing on the RAW brand.

SMACKDOWN Top 5:

05. James Ellsworth

ellsworth
Wrestling is totally stupid. You all know this really. But it’s this kind of stupid that we love. Ellsworth previously appeared as a member of Adam Rose’s rosebuds and returned to Raw this year to job to Braun Strowman. Something happened though and he’s somehow found himself as part of the Smackdown main event scene throughout all of the month of October. I’m not sure he’s signed officially but he might as well be. Not only have his two victories against AJ been hilarious without being damaging to Styles’ character, Ellsworth has made Ambrose more interesting and kept him out of matches with the champion who he’s sure to continue to feud with. What a bizarre thing.

04. Nikki & Carmella

It’s kind of funny because looking at those two names… isn’t one just a stupid reality star bimbo and isn’t the other the lady doomed to fail since she got split up from Enzo and Cass? And yet the two have been putting on one of the most personal feuds in the WWE right now and doing it with fantastic in-ring and on-mic work. Nikki has improved a lot in the last year or so and Carmella has definitely made the most of the time and attention given to her. Good on Smackdown for giving her a chance and good on her for grabbing the so-called brass rings.

03. Dolph Ziggler

dolph
I’m not as sour as some people on Miz dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Ziggler, I’m hoping they can make it work. So far so good; Ziggler captured the belt in a title VS career match at No Mercy that had many questioning if Dolph was done in WWE. Following this, Miz bringing in two former Spirit Squad members to reign hell on Ziggler was perfect with the new champion fighting them off as best as he could before a brawl ensued. WWE embracing Dolph’s past has been interesting to see and it’s the kind of reference that long-term fans enjoy. Also, it means this feud at least has something new to keep it moving along a little longer.

02. AJ Styles

Last month I mentioned just how good it was that Styles had the world championship because of the number of fresh title feuds that meant for. To begin with, he beat Cena and Ambrose in a triple threat which is pretty cool and then… went on to have a legitimate storyline with a jobber? Well, can’t say I saw that coming. All our lofty ideas on who he could face, it says a lot about Smackdown’s writing staff and Styles’ talent that he’s made facing off with Ellsworth and continuing to feud with Ambrose actually geniunely interesting. Most importantly, AJ gets his character in a way that comes across so confidently on screen. His emotions and motive are so easy to understand because he’s such a rounded character. Also, he basically saved Ellsworth’s life after a near-botched Styles Clash. So we should probably thank him for that.

01. Alexa Bliss

alexa
I mentioned how surprising it was that Nikki and Carmella are doing so well but they’ve got nothing on the current contender to the Smackdown Women’s Championship. When Alexa Bliss was drafted, it’s fair to say we were all a little surprised; not because she was green but more because perhaps she hadn’t reached her full potential in NXT. Well, she’s already jockeying for the belt on Smackdown and someone must’ve seen something in her for her to be doing it so soon. Whoever tat person was, they’re right.

It’s no secret that Smackdown is a much more enjoyable show; concise with better understanding of their roster and very clearly pre-planned storylines so Alexa Bliss should be thrilled about being one of the most exciting things about it. She plays her role so well, has mainstream appeal, spits a mean promo and has got it going on in the ring too. It may be too early to give her the belt but she’s basically ready for it. If and when that day comes, Smackdown is in for a treat. Hell, it could be next month.

THE BAD:

03. The Club

Remember how excited we all were for Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows joining the WWE as The Club? No? Good, it’s best you don’t. With The New Day’s grasp on the Raw Tag Team Championship until December at earliest, The Club have been treading water being beaten, mocked and delivering terrible comedy segments. This month they started a second feud with Enzo & Cass and got a solid win at Hell in a Cell. Then the next night Gallows got beaten in a dumb gimmick match whilst having a pumpkin on his head. Great.

02. TJ Perkins

Music cannot save you from a terrible, terrible character. TJ Perkins was nobody’s favourite guy in the Cruiserweight Classic but he was fine enough to put the belt on. Now, retroactively, I can almost let the boos as he was crowned slide. His backstage segments on Raw have been awful as he shoe-horns in random gaming terminology, falling for Kendrick’s fake injury at Hell in a Cell made him look like a chump and on the following night’s Raw he almost killed himself due to a botch over the top-rope. It’s all gone horribly wrong and taking the belt off TJP was the right choice.

01. Sasha Banks

sasha
Oh dear, how the mighty have fallen. Sasha has never really reached the heights we saw of her in NXT but since she returned from her first injury this year things have been questionable at best. Her character has been gutted; they refer to her as the “boss” but all I see is Bayley. Her entire lead into the Hell in a Cell was about making history, “being born to do this” and something about Eddie? Plus, her ring work has gotten sloppier and sloppier… hence injuries. Putting the belt on her before the event was totally confusing and I would guess Charlotte was not going to win the match originally but things have taken a turn for the worse with Sasha and she needs to be kept away from the main event, at least for now.

THE NXT:

03. Tye Dillinger & Bobby Roode

It was only a matter of time before Tye turned face really and NXT have embraced it well by originally pairing him with Bobby Roode and exciting the fans with the prospect of the “Glorious 10” taking the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic by storm. Then Bobby turned his back on Tye immediately in the face of Sanity, giving the Glorious One some heat (as much as NXT can offer such an astounding character) and the Perfect Ten a little sympathy. In all likelihood, Toronto will side with Bobby over Tye but the two should put on an excellent match that’ll help propel them into their next stories. And Bobby’s will surely be the NXT title…?

02. The Women’s Division

NXT’s dry period post-brand extension is definitely coming to an end. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is helping to bulk out that part of the show but also of note is the speed at which NXT is building up it’s next handful of female stars. Liv Morgan failed to topple Asuka, which is fine, and is being built up by her feud with Peyton and Billie. Nikki is so far the stand-out member of Sanity. Ember Moon is finding her footing slowly. We also have Mickie James returning to give Asuka something to do until a new star is ready. It all makes sense and it’s all come together pretty quickly.

01. Samoa Joe

joe
Samoa Joe holds his top spot for the most interesting guy in NXT this month by continuing his role of being the pissed off asshole that makes the life of those in power hell in pursuit of his NXT Championship. After taking Nakamura off TV, Joe spent a few weeks causing havoc by interrupting matches and unblinkingly facing off against Regal. Dan Matha, a guy that NXT fooled us into thinking they were legitimately building, made his debut and was totally destroyed by Joe in his warpath seeking his championship rematch and it was amazing. Now Shinsuke is back things are coming to a boiling point with the champion looking for revenge and playing into Joe’s hand. As always, NXT’s title picture is emotional, engaging and looks to make for one hell of a match.


You can find Psyniac on Twitter at Raw is Psyniac where he tweets about Raw and Smackdown 18 hours after they’ve aired, how much he loves Carmella and, occasionally, candy.



The Steel Cage Standings – September 2016

Hello and welcome to the Steel Cage Standings where I, Psyniac, go through the past month of WWE TV and rank the Top 5 Raw and Top 5 Smackdown superstars, Top 3 NXT superstars and then highlight three stars or teams that have been wasted or have been straight-up terrible. September saw the first set of brand-exclusive pay-per-views so we definitely have a lot to talk about. Here we go.

RAW Top 5:

05. Charlotte

charlotte
The women’s division on Raw this month has been shaky at best and cracks have begun to show over the last few weeks in the strength of the roster as a whole but also in their individual talents. Sasha’s fake retirement speech was at best confusing and I’ll go into Bayley’s issues a little later in this article; it hasn’t helped that there’s no secondary storyline for the girls on Raw so week in and week out we see the same combinations of talents. Through it all, however, Charlotte has been doing some of her best heel work yet. Her last reign was rocky at times but since reclaiming the belt she has been unexpectedly on top of her game. I don’t see her holding it past Hell in a Cell but it does give me hope that she’ll be a strong heel for years to come.

04. TJ Perkins & The Brian Kendrick

The cruiserweights have finally arrived on Raw and it’s… kind of odd. I mean, it’s cool but, as has already been pointed out on the podcast, they’re not doing anything we don’t see throughout the rest of the show considering Raw is SO wrestling heavy these days. Still, I’m happy to see them pushing my absolute favourite dude ever Rich Swann, and Perkins and Kendrick leading the division with an actual storyline makes a lot of sense. It’s good use of both guys. Perkins is the young, upstart champion and Kendrick is the disgruntled veteran clawing at his chances to get back to his former glory. So far, so good and I’m looking forward to more. Also Perkin’s music, am I right?

03. Cesaro & Sheamus

cesaro
From what started off as a kind of boring feud to the groan heard around the world when it was booked as a “best of seven” (discounting the previous two matches) to… the best match on the Clash of Champions card for my money. To be honest, nearly every week Sheamus and Cesaro managed to outdo themselves until their pay-per-view bout which grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. Well, until the bullshit ending. It’s hard not to feel like we were cheated out of something and yet again when it seemed like Cesaro was going to ascend from midcard hell he gets pulled back down. BUT the idea of the two teaming makes some sense and it looks like it could honestly be entertaining, not to mention useful for the lacking Raw tag division. I’m cautiously optimistic.

02. Chris Jericho

I’m pretty sure I’m on the List of Jericho and that’s okay. I’ll happily put him on the Steel Cage Standings. Ask anyone anywhere and they’ll probably tell you the same thing: Jericho is one of the most entertaining things in the WWE right now. But what’s so remarkable about that is the evolution of his character. Even just in recent months; his latest heel run has changed and morphed subtilely over time. Just try and list all the little things and catchphrases he’s gone through already! Currently, he’s the perfect sidekick to Kevin Owens with his constant “my best friend” remarks and the occasionally questionable “we’re the Universal Champion”. He may have been in the WWE for over 15 years now but he still has… it.

01. Kevin Owens

owens
Excuses, excuses but last month’s Standings had to come a little early so I didn’t get a chance to expel my happiness about Owens grabbing Raw’s major title from out of nowhere. Without a doubt the best possible scenario coming out of the sad injury of Finn Bálor; Owens has made a fun champion for the first month of what is sure to be a memorable reign. Sure, we don’t really have any true justification of why Triple H threw Rollins under the bus and gave the title to Owens and it seems as though he’s just replacing Seth’s former role buuuuut it’s hard not to be excited by this sudden, fresh change. Owens has been one of the best heels in WWE since he joined the company and he goes out there and proves his worth every night by turning Raw into the Kevin Owens Show.

SMACKDOWN Top 5:

05. The Usos

usos
On the list of things I never thought I’d do, putting The Usos in the top 5 of anything (beyond “most boring human beings”) is pretty high up there. I was so glad to see that after they turned heel on American Alpha this month they changed a little more from week to week. Their wrestling slowed down from the Uso-crazy (kill me) suicide dives into rest holds and submission finishers, their gear lost all of it’s bright colours and this final week on Smackdown the pair came out to music much more befitting their current state of mind. Call me impressed and, for the first time ever, actually interested in Uce #1 and Uce #2.

04. Heath Slater & Rhyno

#IGotKids. Apparently. DOUBLE-WIDE, BAYBAY. And so on. Getting to the point… what the hell happened? Turn the clocks back a mere two months and explain to your average smart WWE fan that the company would crown the One Man Band Heath Slater and freaking Rhyno from ECW inaugural Smackdown Tag Team champions and they’d laugh in your face. It sounds like nonsense. And yet, it happened and, more to the point, it should’ve happened. There’s no denying that this is the logical end point to the #SignHeathSlater storyline and he and Rhyno have milked it for all of it’s worth throughout by being wonderfully entertaining and a highlight of a show with very little to dislike anyway. Do I see it having legs beyond this? Not especially. But it doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of the best things on Smackdown this month. Lunacy.

03. Becky Lynch

bex
Speaking of inaugural champions, Becky Lynch deserves a mention. After the draft it seemed like Becky had her own little island; like she was being cast away from Sasha and Charlotte to “make do” with the B-show and Bayley heading to Raw not long after didn’t help. However, as it turns out, the Smackdown women’s roster is far superior and better written and thus Becky jockeying for the new belt was far more interesting. It’s pretty cool that she gets to be the first to hold the Smackdown Women’s Championship since she never got the chance to win the Raw or NXT belts and her developing feud with Alexa Bliss looks like the kind of thing we’ll look back on fondly in a year or so’s time.

02. AJ Styles

The face that runs the place. The champ that runs the camp. AJ Styles is WWE World Champion. In who’s imagination are we living right now? Styles first few months in the company were definitely exciting but it’s only recently that he’s hit his stride; beating Cena, wearing his arm-band on his head and stepping up to take on Smackdown’s first draft pick Dean Ambrose. We all saw it coming, because most often Smackdown books predictably but logically, but that makes it no less important that Styles is the champion because he’s one of the best workers in the WWE right now. The best part is that he has so many fresh potential feuds between now and WrestleMania.

01. The Miz

miz
This list seems to be a list of the surreal but I suppose the point is that Smackdown has made absurdly good use of bright sparks. In a month where AJ Styles is WWE champion, The Miz still ranks higher. That’s how good he was this September. His ongoing feud with Ziggler has been excellent for both of them, from start to finish. Hell, even this week when Dolph said he’d put his career on the line at No Mercy it felt exciting and like it still had life in it. Both of them played their role perfectly.

But Miz has been the star among stars since that Talking Smack promo and there’s been endless discussion about his ongoing spat with Daniel Bryan. Lord knows where it leads to but whatever the case I’m sure Smackdown’s writers have at least a few good ideas and, surprising myself, I trust them. And I trust Miz to pull it off superbly.

THE BAD:

03. Daniel Bryan

I’m expecting to get a lot of heat for this but… where all my homies at that were moaning about The Authority opening up Raw every week when they were in their so-called prime? Out of the eight or so episodes of Smackdown since the draft, I’m pretty sure half of them have opened up with Daniel Bryan and the “yes chant”. Just… because people like it I guess? Don’t get me wrong, him being out there usually serves a purpose and he’s not doing intentionally but can we have a little more focus on the stars and not the management, please?

02. Darren Young & Titus O’Neil

The last two weeks of Raw have been pretty decent and that’s partly because it seems like whoever was pushing this boring ass feud has finally surrendered or been shut up. Week to week it was the same schtick with Darren and Titus facing off in a generic match with a dusty finish that involved Bob Backlund in some way with zero progression and zero intrigue. Where both of these guys have had their moments, Young’s new gimmick never really had a chance to get off the ground after being immediately thrown into this yawn-a-thon. Shame.

01. Bayley & Sami Zayn

sami
God damn Billi. He’s always saying what we’re all thinking, even if some of us don’t want to admit it. Bayley’s main roster stint so far has been hugely unfulfilling; her character hasn’t really been established at all and so far she’s been “colourful girl who hugged Foley once and now LOSES EVERY WEEK”. And whilst that’s been discussed plenty, nobody has really addressed that the same thing has happened to Sami Zayn. He’s had his moments since joining Raw earlier this year (particularly in his rivalry with Owens) but both of these characters have had their stories told in NXT so on the main roster they both seem to be playing the role of “ambitious underdog babyface” and little else. Less time wrestling and more time establishing a new journey would help but don’t look now, Jericho needs to be made to look strong. Could we use enhancement talent? We did, and his name is Sami Zayn.

THE NXT:

03. Hideo Itami

Since returning at Brooklyn, Itami has been warming up the engine. After a year off, it’s tough to find your footing as well as your place in the show when it’s changed so much but it only took a handful of appearances to really feel like Hideo was getting back into the swing of things. With him now finally using the GTS as a regular finisher and a much better grasp on English, as judging by this week’s promo, Itami may now be in a better place. I did have and still have my fears that he’ll “do a Neville” and be entirely forgotten on the main roster but at least now he has a better chance, especially since his debut wasn’t lost in the shuffle of so many others moving up.

02. Bobby Roode

September 2016 saw the in-ring debut of Bobby Roode at Full Sail University and his incredible entrance was at least as good, if not better, than his appearance at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn II. Every time we see the guy he just looks like he’s living his gimmick. He looks insanely confident in his character and that’s the kind of thing we need at the top of NXT. Admittedly, he might be too good for the show but if nothing else a megaheel like Roode will give an up and coming hopeful babyface someone to knock off to better establish themselves. And pairing him with Tye for the second Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic? Interesting stuff that may reaffirm the readiness of both guys.

01. Samoa Joe

joe
I had hoped that immediately following the most recent TakeOver special that we’d see Samoa Joe moving straight onto Smackdown. I suppose I was worried that he may have peaked and had little else to do. I’m happy to report that I was wrong and that Joe continues to be one of the most engaging parts of NXT. Working us all by pretending to swallow his pride, admitting his respect for Nakamura, setting up his rematch and then – WHAM – catching the champ off guard? Excellent. Joe is the perfect fit for essentially “minor league Brock Lesnar”; causing damage and then disappearing or holding the show hostage. It’s all very interesting and is leading up to something clearly memorable.


You can find Psyniac on Twitter at Raw is Psyniac where he tweets about Raw and Smackdown 18 hours after they’ve aired, how much he loves Carmella and, occasionally, candy.



The Steel Cage Standings – August 2016

Hello and welcome to the Steel Cage Standings where I, Psyniac, go through the past month of WWE TV and rank the Top 5 Raw and Top 5 Smackdown superstars, Top 3 NXT superstars and then scrape the Bottom 3 in WWE from the bottom of the barrel. This month marks the first edition of the ‘Standings since the Draft and, if nothing else, it’s been a long month. With Summerslam and TakeOver Brooklyn II now behind us and all of the new belts, debuts, turns and champions with it; let’s take a look at who topped the rankings in August 2016.

RAW TOP 5:

05. Bayley
bayley
Whilst it wasn’t the most flawless debut, it’s good to finally have Bayley on the main roster for good. After losing her NXT Women’s Championship rematch with Asuka it seemed like it was time but, then again, it’s felt like it was time on multiple occasions. So, in a non-kayfabe sense, I think we’re pleased that Bayley has finally joined the rest of her division on the main roster. With the women strangely split across both shows, Bayley is a fine addition to Raw’s somewhat lackluster division. Better yet, she’s come with a variety of aspects from her NXT gimmick (wacky waving arm inflatable tube men and hugging Foley) so it doesn’t look like her character will be neutered for Raw.

04. Nia Jax

Slow and steady wins the race and so far so good with Nia Jax’s booking. That being said, it doesn’t really feel like she’s been a part of WWE TV all that long, NXT included, but since coming up to Raw with the Draft she has looked confident, in control and like a total badass. Jax appearing sporadically is the best tact for building her character and reputation. Right now it’s fine for her to tear through randoms because it’ll make when she faces off with a real competitor actually interesting. For now though I’m happy to be terrified of her as she breaks poor jobber-ladies in half.

03. Jeri-KO
owens
Much has been said about how Jericho is the master of reinvention; tweaking his character with every return just that little bit to remain interesting. He’s also pretty good at making thrown-together tag-teams actually seem like the done thing (JeriShow, anyone?). His latest series of escapades has seen him pair up with perpetual douchebag Kevin Owens to go on to cheat, lie and generally cause uproar. Oh yeah, and terrorise poor Keith Phil Steve Tim Tom Phillips backstage. Whether or not Raw are going to go on with this path, especially with the shake up in their main title picture, is up in the air but I could see Jeri-KO running for at least a little bit longer. Separately they’re masters but together these guys have just got… “it”.

02. Brock Lesnar

Controversy is king. What happened in the final moments of Summerslam and whether or not it was supposed to happen, who knew and whatever else are all up for discussion and much discussion there has been. When mainstream media starts reporting on it, you know Vince is happy. After all, they do say that any news is good news. Strangely, they didn’t really capitalise on it in the following week and they worryingly seem to be trying to make this about the McMahon Family (but of course…) BUT whatever the case this is yet another powerful notch in Brock’s career. Whoever beats him, when we finally get there, is going to be the ultimate superstar.

01. Finn Bálor
finn
Despite it all, he still deserves it. The build to Finn VS Seth at Summerslam was underwhelming at the best of times but the two certainly delivered on the night. Hell, even the earlier reveal of the Demon King didn’t take as much away from the event as I had expected. It was cool. What was cooler was realising the barricade powerbomb spot was followed by Bálor popping his dislocated shoulder back in and finishing the match to be crowned the first WWE Universal Champion. What a total dude. Seeing him have to step down due to injury so soon was heartbreaking but now he’s had his hands on the belt it will be very easy, and very logical, for him to return to it next year.

Smackdown Top 5

05. Dolph Ziggler
dolph
Whilst his booking has been a bigger dumpster fire than Derek’s Lana podcast, Dolph Ziggler can usually be relied on to turn things around in the ring and he’s continued his consistency into the first title defence of the post-draft WWE World title against Dean Ambrose. The lead up to the PPV was pretty intriguing, with Ziggler screaming some of his best promos in the Lunatic Fringe’s face and blurring the line between the in-ring and real world. Hell, he even managed to bring a little heel out of Dean. With him losing at Summerslam and missing out his chance to enter the Backlash main event, the future remains uncertain for Dolph but at least this month gave him back some intensity and made him a more interesting character.

04. Heath Slater

There’s definitely some comparison to be drawn between current day Heath Slater and Damien Sandow’s Mizdow gimmick leading into WM31. Starting out as a series of jokes, the crowd unexpectedly went full-force into getting behind Slater as he hopped between both Smackdown and Raw asking for a contract and usually winding up being the slapstick comic relief for his efforts. Seems like he might have a decent shot at staying on Smackdown though, with Shane and Bryan offering him a position if he can win the Tag Team Tournament with his new found friend Rhyno. Doesn’t part of you want to see him succeed?

03. Bray Wyatt
brat
Stay with me here. Bray Wyatt’s career has surely been one of the biggest missed opportunities in the WWE over the last few years. And whilst there’s a lot of bad things we can say about the Smackdown Draft roster, at least it makes some space for Bray to finally grow a little more. He’s been featured multiple times as a contender for the World title and it looks as though he’ll be facing off against Orton next, who is definitely one of the more established stars that Wyatt has faced and had a chance of going over on. I’m not 100% hopeful, because we know what happens when it seems like Bray has a chance, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t what the writers should be doing.

02. The Miz

In ring, The Miz is a man of consistency and since adopting his Hollywood shmuck character he’s been a pretty stable part of each show. Apparently, he feels as though this (at least the former) has gone unnoticed as of late as he went on a tirade in Smackdown’s “Talkin’ Smack” post-show. Starting with how he’s never been off TV hurt, he launched into Bryan’s injury woes causing the General Manager to storm off. Work or not, it was an incredible display of intensity and, pulling it all back around to the belt, has made the Intercontinental Championship more prestigious as a result and making The Miz an even more hate-able scumbag.

01. AJ Styles
styles
Few man have done what AJ Styles have done; become the face of a decently large federation in TNA, jump ship to NJPW to hone your craft further and finally make it to WWE when they’re practically begging for you. From one of the greatest Royal Rumble moments of all time to WrestleMania 32 to the heel-turn to the present day, it’s been a fun and incredibly surreal ride. AJ very much fits into the WWE and he’s carved himself a place. This weekend, he put his mark on things by doing something else that not everybody gets to do and that’s beat (up) John Cena clean. Styles is now rightfully #1 Contender for Ambrose’s title. Who’d have thought we’d actually have a good shot of seeing Mr TNA hold a WWE belt?

THE BAD:

03. Curtis Axel

Gotta suck to be The Axe Man right now. He’s drafted last and dubbed “Mr Irrelevant” which is prime for at the very least a comedy gimmick. Perhaps a comedy gimmick that gets over. Sadly, Axel has been entirely forgotten about in favour of the (much more suited) Heath Slater “free agent” character. Time for another repackage or time to let it go?

02. Gallows & Anderson

I’m going to get some heat for this but this month Gallows & Anderson have been off. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great at what they do. What they do however, is not dress up as doctor’s for three weeks straight. The first time was kind of amusing I’ll admit but when they showed up on Raw in their doctor’s coats again the next week I was already totally off the boat. Luckily it seems that they’re ditching the entire thing and going full serious mode which is needed after their really stupid DQ win at Summerslam.

01. Roman Reigns & Rusev
rusev
These two are tying for first place. WWE really know how to drop the ball with Rusev, don’t they? On the lead up to this month’s PPV, Rusev defended his woman’s honour against the man who just came back from a drug suspension which is a little iffy especially considering he lost this match clean. Then at Summerslam itself the poor guy had the snot kicked out of him, the match never started and Reigns walked off looking like a total dickhead, devaluing the United States Championship in the process. With the Finn Bálor injury shaking up the next night on Raw, what I can only assume was the next step in this feud was put on hold as Reigns went back into contention for the main belt of the show as, apparently, a face. This is not how a face behaves. My brain hurts.

THE NXT:

03. Ember Moon

NXT’s Women’s Division right now is at an awkward time. We can definitely see the progression in wrestlers such as Billie Kay, Liv Morgan and so on but after it was so stacked it’s definitely strange to see Asuka standing tall with basically zero competition. Chances are the newly-debuting Ember Moon rises to this challenge soon. She certainly seems capable, has a great look and that stunner off the top rope was a thing of beauty.

02. Bobby Roode

What happens when you take a very, very good, established talent like Bobby Roode, turn his gimmick up to 11, give him insanely OTT music and then get him over even further on Twitter with (Match of the Year candidates) Gargano and Ciampa’s #GloriousBombs? You get one hell of a debut, that’s what. NXT TakeOver Brooklyn II’s crowd was kind of all over the place but hearing 15,000 people sing “GLORIOUS” as Bobby Roode made his way to the ring via an elevated platform was… well, you know. It’s crazy to think this guy has barely been on NXT TV and he’s already incredibly over. Probably too over. Poor Cien… I guess.

01. Shinsuke Nakamura
nakamura
Who didn’t love Nakamura stealing Joe’s nose on the build to Brooklyn II? C’mon. Admittedly, I don’t think Nakamura/Joe really got off the ground. It wasn’t bad at all but it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. Again however, the hype was real and the NXT team showed their understanding of how to handle their roster. If Shinsuke debuted on Raw he would be irrelevant already, competing in fatal four ways for a mid-card belt or referencing “choppy choppy pee pee”. NXT has him coming out to a live violinist to win the NXT Championship and continuing his undefeated streak. These kinds of things will carry him to success on Raw or Smackdown. For now, Nakamura is champ and here to stay.


You can find Psyniac on Twitter at Raw is Psyniac where he tweets about Raw and Smackdown 18 hours after they’ve aired, how much he loves Carmella and, occasionally, candy.



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