WIRTB Review: Backlash 2006

Greetings, losers and lovers. It's me, the man who taught Daniel Bryan about facial hair, the man who advised CM Punk to follow his dreams of getting the crap kicked out of him for reals, the one and only SOTB!!! back with another exciting edition of "Was It Really That Bad?" Review. For those who are unaware, WIRTB takes some of the crappiest PPVs known to man, puts them under a microscope, and asks, in hindsight, "was it really that bad?" Today, we look at that one time God got into the ring. I'm sure somewhere, an atheist is blowing their load over this one still.

But, before we get to the father of the Anointed One's debut in the WWE, we've got to get through the rest of this crap. We open with a video package full of Ruthless Aggression tropes: blood, tables, brooding faces, Vince McMahon referring to Shane as "the product of my semen." Y'know, normal shit for 2006 WWE. Oh, and JAAAAAAWNNNN CEEEENA, Edge, and Triple H yelling at the camera about the triple threat for the WWE Title. I'll be honest, this package actually (kind of) made me forget that this PPV was going to be hell on wheels.

And then the intro music hit.

Our first match of the night, because fuck Heat, is Carlito versus Chris Masters. For those who remember, Carlito and Chris Masters were feuding with each other because reasons. Well, technically, Chris Masters turned heel after attacking Carlito (who'd been attacking Masters post-match for somewhere short of two months before this) and they've been feuding ever since. But, "because reasons" just fits so much better with this match.

Carlito comes out to a pop and, after being choked out with his own shirt, gets leveled by Masters. JR and Lawler are gushing over the idea of God showing up and putting the smackdown on Vince to the point they start to not even give a crap about the match. Carlito puts the Masters Lock on Masters, then hits a body splash to the outside. Some more back and forth ensues and Carlito is getting Roman Reigns (pre-Royal Rumble 2015)-level pops at points. Wow, I forgot how in the RA Era, there was more of an organic approach to getting talent over (even more so than crowds chanting "YES!" and forcing WWE to put DB over to, potentially, their own chagrin). And then Masters starts going on offense.

As the match turns to shit, let's take time to notice something. Carlito and Masters kind of seem like color swaps of each other, a la Scorpio and Sub-Zero. Seriously, their attire is practically the same. Carlito goes all Eddie Guerrero, distracts Masters, and then goes on offense. Carlito should've been an Eddie-like star in WWE. But, well, that probably won't happen. Carlito gets a near-fall, which pisses off Masters. Masters goes all angry ape and tries to superplex him. Carlito hits a slightly botched moonsault for a near fall. We get a decent amount of chain wrestling, followed by a Codebreaker and a foot-on-the-ropes pin from Carlito for the win.

We get a backstage segment from Maria where she says that Chris Masters won over Carlito. We then go to a video where fans give their opinions on who's going to win the Triple Threat match.

Derp.

We get a couple black guys looking goofy as fuck cheering on Edge and Trips. We get a vet who one-ups himself on his birthday (can't be mad at that). We even get one young fan who says that Edge and Triple H "can't see this." This young man has probably grown up to "BELEE DAT, BITCH!"

After this, Lita and Maria have words. Lita gets called a ho, a cockgobbler, and she retorts with the following: "after Edge wins...we're gonna have a private sex show...because, unlike [the audience, I get sex]." Thankfully, this exchange is over and we can get to some great action.

What's that you say? Ric Flair and Umaga are up next? Armando Estrada's introduction and Umaga's entrance seems to last longer than the gotdamn match. May Umaga rest in peace, but this match was shit. Maybe if Flair was ten years younger and Umaga wasn't as meh as he was in the ring, we could've gotten a decent match. Instead, we get Umaga beating the fuck out of Flair outside. I'm surprised he didn't just start gushing buckets of blade blood. Flair gets the eye poke on Umaga and the crotch shot. Flair then takes to offense with Flair chops, but gets a throat thrust from Umaga for his troubles. Flair rolls out the ring after Umaga almost hits him with a Rikishi ass shot (and it works doubly because family values). This match is one of the flabbiest matches I've seen in a while.

Now, I try not to make comments on wrestlers' physiques because it's weird kinda and I'm not exactly Channing Tatum myself. But, the jiggle factor in this match was just pretty gross. Flair's got that old guy who used to be buff turkey thing going, and Umaga...well, he's fucking Umaga. Umaga gets the win after the Samoan thumb spike. Lawler utters something about, because Estrada is Spanish, he's probably an illegal who won't be seen on RAW because of the "illegal work stoppage."

This PPV of supreme tolerance of others' differences is brought to you by the Be a STAR campaign.

Speaking of being a star, Vince proceeds to pour out a bottle of water and stomp around in it like a senile old man who just got told it was raining. Why? To demonstrate he can, get this, walk...on...water. He then does his best Luke 9:16 interpretation and bread and fish just start flying at him and Shane (who's water makes a heel turn to wine).

Shane: You sure this is a good idea?
Vince: Yes, me dammit! It's GENIUS! Now get the me-damned fish ready.

Next up? We get the recap of the Mickie vs. Trish feud, complete with cooch grab and v-lick. Damn, I forgot how thick Mickie James is/was. That's that DMV booty. I legitimately spaced out of this match and mentally fapped to Mickie James. Sorry, True. Interesting sidenote, contrary to popular belief, Mickie James apparently hasn't lreally done porn. Sun Some other divas, on the other hand...

Trish gets the DQ win after Mickie chokes out Trish with her bracelet.

Oh, goddammit, Maria. I like Maria Kanellis. I really do. She's a talented woman. But, here, she's on the most annoying shit since I had to deal with everyone flooding my timeline with Breaking Bad spoilers. I get it, Walt died gently caressing the soft supple breast of a tank used to cook meth and symbolism. LEMME SEE THAT FOR MYSELF! I digress, though. Shawn Michaels appears, doesn't sell the "God" aspect of the match (lulz), and hypes the match along with a "I got two words for ya!" for the crowd. 

After this, we're given Shelton Benjamin (who I forgot was the IC champion) versus RVD in a "winner takes all" match. First, Shelton is out looking like he just stepped on the scene fresh out of 2000 with his flow-y tiger-biting-a-dragon's-asshole print button up. Hell, I think I had the same shirt when I was in middle school. 

It's RVD circa 2006, and we're a few months out from ECW restarting. So...RVDWINSLOL. Seriously, though. It was a decent enough match, and the psychology was pretty on-point. But it didn't keep my attention like it should have, considering that Shelton and RVD are two pretty underrated wrestlers who almost always deliver. 

Kane versus Big Show is up next in a match that's still going on almost ten years later. As with many Kane versus Show matches, I've got two words for you: "fuck this." We also got more build-up for the (spoiler alert!) Kane versus Imposter Kane match in late May with the whole "oh, let's piss away a couple grand and have the lights redden and someone fuck-whisper the words 'May 19th, you know what happened that day!' over and over." Yes, it was how we got more of Kane's backstory. But hearing that shit over and over again? Nah. We also get another Show/Kane pseudo-double-turn. 

Candace Michelle (who has done porn) gets her rocks off with Vincey Baby, with a scene straight out of Big Black Booty Bitch Squirters 95. The audience goes deathly silent and JR asks what I'm thinking.

"What the hell is that?"

And now, for the greatest, most vainglorious, weird-ass match this side of Jim Neidhart dressing as a Klansman going up against Virgil. Now, I know wrestling sometimes has to be kind of hokey, but this is just completely over-the-top. For Fuck's Sake, "McMahonism?" The harp-centric "God" intro transitioned into a theme that sounded oddly like "Somebody Call My Mama," while making "God" pretty much shuck and jive for Vinnie Mac. The "No Holds Barred" aspect of the match. Jesus...this match is just sheer clusterfuckery. Apologies for being potentially blasphemous here, but what the fuck?

"You and God are going to go straight to hell," Vince says as Shawn goes apeshit. From there, we get Shawn being the hell out of everyone and a ton of Biblical puns from JR and Lawler. And now, this match actually becomes halfway watchable. 

You've gotta give Shane McMahon credit for the bumps he's taken over the years. He was/is a pretty decent wrestler. After Shane gets thrown into the Backlash sign, Vince gets crossbodied through the floor by Vince. Admittedly, that was a cool spot (especially considering that Vince is 60 at this point taking Dudley Boyz-level bumps). Shawn heads back up to the stage and gets KTFO by Shane with a steel chair. This match is made less tolerable by JR's puns, though. And, I think JR is a legend. However, here? I kinda just wish he'd shut up and let the match happen.

Shawn's busted open and Shane bathes in the blood of the innocent (sorry, I had to) while continuing to beat the high hell out of Michaels. Rolled back into the ring, Shawn (after rolling out of the way of a Shane elbow drop), gets beaten with a belt in a pretty uncomfortable spot, since Shawn was whipped like a runaway slave. All we needed were some dramatic stings from the Roots soundtrack. Shane hands Vince a trash can, which Shawn (of course) takes to the skull. Afterwards, Vince goads "God," who "leaves" before Shawn hulks up and takes out Vince. Vince gets his skull cracked by Shane swinging a chair, and Shane gets Shawn's WWE 2K14 comeback and double McMahon superkicks for his troubles. Shawn GETS THE TABLE(S)!!! for Vince and Shane, and goes under the apron for a ladder to give from. This match is starting to get my attention more. Sure, it still kind of sucks, but it's becoming "not that bad."

What happens next?

The Spirit Squad comes out, Shawn dives through them. The Spirit Squad then beats the crap out of Shawn then alley-oops him into the tables set up in the ring.

There's a reason why only Dolph Ziggler remains in WWE in 2015. The Spirit Squad versus DX feud was possibly one of the worst in the modern history of WWE. That and Dolph actually connected with the crowd in ways that the others couldn't. It's sad, too. The Spirit Squad wasn't shit. They were just unnecessary as fuck.

LOL at JR saying "that is bullshit," though.

After this trainwreck, we get Cena versus Edge versus Triple H for the WWE Championship. Do we really need to go through that one? Cena wins (LOL) using a Pedigree counter into a roll-up pin.

Verdict: So, after the dust cleared, the drinks got poured up, and God left the building, we've reached the end of this PPV (thankfully). Was it really that bad?

Yes. In 2006, this PPV, per Wikipedia, was pretty well-received. Looking back, one good match (the triple threat...sound familiar?) doesn't make a great PPV. It makes one good match, a slew of screwy, overbooked finishes, and "God" leaving the building. This is the same company that wanted and still wants people to be all unified and happy and shit outside of wrestling. 

Come for the Triple Threat, stay for nothing else...unless you came (get it?) to hear Candace Michelle fake an orgasm.

Next up? Probably something in WCW...again. So, until next time, I'm the one and only SOTB!!! bidding you adieu and remember: I review the crap, so you don't have to. Stay warm.

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Eyes on the Ring 2:42 PM  No comment

TNA Updates: Week of 2/16/15

It's me, it's me, it's SOTB!!! with a few nuggets of TNA news you (may) need to get through your wrestling week. And, no. There won't be (m)any spoilers.

Eddie Edwards Injured

As reported by other outlets, TNA tag teamer and former American Wolf Eddie Edwards was injured during a TNA taping over the weekend. During the taping of the upcoming One Night Only: Xtravaganza PPV, Edwards did a backflip off the ring apron. In doing so, he landed on his feet, apparently suffering a heel injury, before being helped off by trainers and Tommy Dreamer. This is the second major injury to The Wolves in their tenure in TNA. Months ago, Davey Richards broke his leg in a match. We at EOTR wish Edwards a speedy recovery as the Wolves are one of my personal favorite tag teams. I got into them a couple years ago, watching the mini-feud they had against Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan and Tyler Black/Seth Rollins in ROH on on-demand and have tried to follow them since.

More TNA/Wrestle-1 Collaborations Coming?

Going to Orlando this Monday for a big reason.I don't think TNA has announced yet but this will be a big deal. #TNAOrlando #impactwrestling
— Jimmy Suzuki (ジミー鈴木） (@JimmySuzuki1) February 14, 2015

Wrestle-1 member Jimmy Suzuki took to Twitter to hint that another collaboration between the Japanese federation and TNA is in the works. Now, I'm not entirely sure what this means. However, their collaborations in the past have been both mindblowingly great (their run in late 2013) and headscratchingly weird (BFG 2014), so let's take this one with a grain of salt for the time being.

Is the BDC one of the best stables in wrestling at the moment?

Seriously, guys. They seem to have the right mix of hellish heelishness, hokey-ness, smugness, and cultural diversity to boot. Yes, MVP has been in more main event storylines in this past year or so than you can do a "YES!" chant at. However, MVP and company have stepped their game up drastically. I no longer run for the remote/restroom when a MVP-centric segment comes on. Back in the day, while he was one of my favorite wrestlers, his promo skills were pretty subpar. However, since coming back to America, he's become one of my favorite talents. The BDC also benefits from having talents that can carry matches on their own (the entire faction can go, not just 1-3 guys), from not having Big Show/Kane in the mix, from not completely dominating the show with BDC-centric storylines (hi, The Authority)and from not having Jeff Jarrett in the mix (sorry Bullet Club fans. I like Jarrett, but he has the nasty habit of sucking the energy out of many factions he aligns with). Plus, maybe now, Eric Young won't get WWE-exclusive fans chanting "Daniel Bryan" at him over the internet. Maybe, maybe, maybe?

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Eyes on the Ring 8:31 AM  1 comment

Nathan's ROH TV Review 2/14/15

By: Nathan Neumann

Twitter: @Headliner5

Hello Eyes On The Ring readers. Another week means another review of Ring Of Honor Wrestling.  We are drawing closer to Las Vegas, Nevada and the 13th Anniversary show by the week (I’ll be there live and I can’t wait) and the event will be available for viewing live on Pay Per View.  This week’s show progressed us further down the road to the 13th anniversary.  

I should also mention that this is my  first ROH review as part of the brand new EyesOnTheRing.com. It’s quite an accomplishment from where we were when we first started to where we are now and I’m happy to be a part of it.

Now that all of the housekeeping is out of the way, lets get to the review shall we?
The show opens with the current ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe making his way to the announcer’s desk to join both Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.  All three of the men that Briscoe will be facing at The ROH 13th Anniversary show will be in action tonight so he’s there to get a closer look. From there, Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino welcome us to the show, which is emanating from the 2300 arena (The former ECW Arena), which has gone through some extensive renovation.
We now head to the ring for the first match of the night.

Match 1
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Result: Tommaso Ciampa defeats Jimmy Jacobs via referee stoppage.

Thoughts: As both guys were in the ring ready for the match to start, Ciampa went to the outside of the ring and started mouthing off to Jay Briscoe at the announcers table.  Meanwhile in the ring, Jimmy Jacobs gets sick of waiting for him to enter the ring, so he runs against the ropes and dives out through the top and middle rope to try and hit Ciampa, but Ciampa who has recently grabbed a chair throws it right at the face of the oncoming Jacobs. Back in the ring, the match finally gets underway and Jacobs delivers a flying head scissors which sent Ciampa through the ropes back to the outside of the ring. Jacobs gets on the apron and dives to the floor to hit a downed Ciampa with an elbow drop. As the two recover and get back in the ring, Jacobs positions Ciampa in the corner and hits a sliced bread for a near fall. Ciampa rolls back to the outside of the ring and is followed by Jacobs, as Ciampa takes control on the outside and delivers a few punches to the face, which puts Jacobs in a seated position right in front of the guardrail.  Ciampa runs to the opposite end and runs back at Jacobs full speed and delivers a knockout knee.  From here referee Todd Sinclair stepped in to stop the match.

Match Rating: **

This was the perfect way to build Ciampa as an unstoppable monster headed into his match in Vegas.  He’s the only guy I could realistically see defeating Jay Briscoe to win the title and that’s if there ends up being a title change.  Hanson is good but he’s nowhere near ready and is in the match as more of a place holder. and with the direction that Michael Elgin’s character has been headed as of late I don’t see him winning because it wouldn’t make much sense with the story they are trying to tell (although I’m still trying to figure out what that story is).
From here we go to the next match and out comes The Romantic Touch, it’s fitting that he was on the show considering it was Valentines Day and his character is perfect for it so I can’t complain.  Plus I like the gimmick even though I shouldn’t given that it’s a bit over the top and I don’t necessarily like that but they do it right with him.  Romantic Touch gets into the ring and there were two women with him who had a bottle of wine along with a few wine glasses.  Instead of drinking the wine from a glass like a gentleman he grabbed the bottle and chugged it, which was pretty funny.
From there Hanson made his way out to the ring and we are set for the next match.

Match 2
Hanson vs. The Romantic Touch
Result: Hanson defeats The Romantic Touch via pinfall with the Spin kick of doom.

Thoughts: There wasn’t much to this match at all. Romantic Touch had a piece of chocolate in his hand and when the bell rang he tried to hand it off to Hanson who was having nothing of it.  Hanson proceeded to deliver the spin kick of doom to The Romantic Touch, which sent the chocolate flying.  Hanson picks up the win via pinfall from here.

Match Rating: N/A. I can’t give this match a real rating because it wasn’t really that much of a match.
From here we go into the third match of the night.

Match 3
Moose vs. Michael Elgin

Result: No winner due to interference from Jay Briscoe, Tommaso Ciampa.

Thoughts: Michael Elgin made his entrance in a full Karate gi accompanied with weird music, I really don’t know what they are trying to accomplish with him at this point but I guess I’ll see where it goes. Elgin grabs Moose and lifts him up for a hanging vertical suplex where he had Moose up in the air for thirty seconds while the crowd was counting along. After said 30 seconds Elgin drops Moose but Moose immediately got up from the mat and dropkicks Elgin.  Moose takes over and delivers a running sit out powerbomb from the corner to the center of the ring for a near fall.  Elgin recovers and takes over on offense and downs Moose near the apron from here Elgin leaps over the top rope with a double foot stomp.  As Moose tries to recover Elgin ascends to the top rope and goes for a splash but Moose moves out of the way which causes Elgin to CRASH AND BURN.  Elgin recovers and whips Moose into the ropes; he catches an oncoming Moose with a pop up powerbomb.  Elgin hangs on and delivers another powerbomb after pulling Moose up from the ground, which gives Elgin a near fall when Moose kicks out at 2.  Elgin gets distracted when he goes after Jay Briscoe. Briscoe gets mad and it draws the champion into the ring.  From here Moose accidentally spears Briscoe and the referee calls for the bell to signal a DQ with no winner.

Match Rating: *3/4

Ciampa then runs to the ring and Elgin, Ciampa, and Briscoe start brawling.  Mark Briscoe runs to the ring and wastes no time diving out over the top rope onto everyone who was crowded around one another with the exception of Moose who remained in the ring.  Mark recovers and gets back in the ring and is immediately caught by Moose with a Spear back in the ring.  This might mean that we get Moose vs. Mark Briscoe at the 13th anniversary show, which will be weird...but at least Mark gets a spot on the card.  I honestly have no idea what happened to Hanson during all of this whether he did anything or completely disappeared because there was too much action going on to keep track of.
I didn’t really like this finish, not so much the finish itself but the way they accomplished it because it was a mess not to mention confusing because at first I wasn’t sure who got disqualified but I think it was a double DQ which I understand because they want to protect Moose and his undefeated streak while also protecting Elgin as he heads to the main event at the ROH 13th anniversary show.
This match probably would have gotten a better rating from me but the finish dragged it down a bit.

From there we get a lead up video to the Alberto El Patron vs. Jay Lethal match that will be taking place in Las Vegas at ROH’s 13th Anniversary Show.
Immediately after that we head straight into the main event.

Main Event – Match 4
Team ROH: Matt Sydal, ACH, and Tadarius Thomas vs.  Team Bullet Club: AJ Styles and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)

Result: The Bullet Club defeats Team ROH via pinfall after a Styles Clash/Duel Super kick combination.

Thoughts: The match started out very slow and there weren’t to many noteworthy things in the early going other than the fact that ACH can do a mean headlock takedown.  Matt Sydal who is the legal man at this point hits a spin kick to Styles and then grabs both of the Bucks by their respective heads to deliver a face buster/Flatliner combination.  AJ Styles recovers and hits Matt Sydal with a back breaker, The Bucks hit another double team maneuver where Matt delivers a neck breaker to Sydal, which puts Sydal on the waiting knee of Nick in a cool combination.  From here AJ Styles follows up with a jumping knee that sends Sydal off of Nick’s knee to the mat.  Sydal gets worked over a bit but manages to recover long enough to hit a desperation hurricanranna after which he tags in ACH.  ACH comes into the ring and wastes no time by hitting AJ Styles with a flying head scissors.  Nick Jackson who is on the apron springs onto the top rope and catches Cedric Alexander with a face buster.  A powerbomb double knee combination from Sydal and Alexander onto one of the Bucks gets team ROH a near fall.  The bucks recover and make it to their feet, the bucks hit Alexander with a double super kick and AJ hits Sydal with a Pele kick.  AJ and ACH both make it to the outside of the ring where ACH hits AJ with a hurricanranna.  Back in the ring The Young Bucks hit the Indytaker on Sydal followed by a Styles Clash.  Styles sets Sydal up for the Styles Clash.  From here the Young Bucks hit Sydal with Duel super kicks while Sydal is hanging upside down in the hands of AJ.  Once the Bucks hit their super kicks AJ Styles hits the Styles Clash on Sydal and rolls over in a pinning position to score the pinfall victory.

Match Rating: **3/4
This match was very good I actually enjoyed it for the most part but whenever the Young Bucks are in a match they always manage to go overboard on the amount of super kicks they hit per match.  I understand that that’s their gimmick but they’ve completely killed the meaning of that move for me on the indie scene.  Others contributed to doing this as well because a lot wrestlers on the indie scene do the move but the Bucks go overboard on too many occasions, which is one of many reasons why I don’t like them and why they don’t appeal to me as a wrestling fan.
That however will do it for me and this review of Ring Of Honor wrestling television.  This show did a lot of good things and had some very good progression towards the Pay Per View on March 1st.  I made mention of this to a friend of mine that I was watching the show with that I was enjoying the build to the PPV because they are doing it right.  That’s one problem I have with WWE nowadays because since the WWE Network launched on February 24 of last year PPV’s have seemed to lose their meaning a bit.  However this has a completely different feel to it and even I wasn’t going to be at the 13th anniversary show live I would gladly pay the price tag for the PPV because Ring Of Honor has done a great job in selling it to me.
I hope you enjoyed the read on the brand new website be sure to update your bookmarks and visit us often as we bring you all of the results, news, and views within the wrestling world.  Make sure to follow us on twitter @EyesOnTheRing where you can also follow me @Headliner5.  Be sure to check out EyesOnTheRing.com your source for all things wrestling.  Also don’t forget to tune into our weekly radio show each and every Sunday night over at blogtalkradio.com/ElitePodcastNetwork at 11:00pm Eastern Time.  Last but not least go like us on facebook at Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing

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Eyes on the Ring 2:46 PM  No comment

CJ's Top Five: NXT Matches

5. Seth Rollins vs. Big E, NXT Championship

Seth Rollins became the first-ever NXT Champion after defeating Jinder Mahal in the finals of an 8-man "Gold Rush" tournament. While Rollins was riding high as champ, a new face on the scene by the name of Big E. Langston was bulldozing his way through the competition. The 290-pound behemoth was demolishing opponents to the point of demanding that the referee count to 5 instead of 3 when he pinned his opponents. It was only a matter of time until Big E. and Seth Rollins would collide over the NXT title. On the December 6, 2012 edition of NXT, these two finally faced off for the gold in a no-disqualification match. Both men went at each other with everything they had, but in the end, it was Langston who had his hands raised in victory. It cemented Big E at the top of the food chain, and freed up Rollins to continue his role as one-third of The Shield.

4.  Charlotte vs. Natalya, NXT Women's Championship, NXT Takeover

It's been quite a while since WWE has produced a strong and all-around competitive women's division. The match between Charlotte and Natalya proved that the women could tear the house down just as well as the men. Both women come from wrestling royalty, Charlotte being Ric Flair's daughter, and Natalya being a member of the legendary Hart family, so both went in fighting for their family's legacy. From the opening bell, these two went right at each other. A good, solid pace throughout the entire match, and showing levels of skill and athleticism that haven't been seen in the women's division in quite some time. Sharpshooter after sharpshooter, figure four after figure four, the match ended when Charlotte landed a seated blockbuster on Natalya for the pinfall victory to become the new NXT Women's Champion. The ovation from the crowd was all the proud you needed to see that the women of NXT were there nut only to look beautiful, but to put one hell of a wrestling match.

 
3. Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville, Number 1 Contender's Match, NXT Rival

The description sounds as simple as it looks. This was a straight-up number one contender's match for the NXT title. When it comes to Adrian Neville and Finn Balor, however, nothing is plain and simple. These are two of the most athletically gifted wrestlers on the planet, and they left it all in the ring that night. This match was full of hard-hitting and high impact moves and reversals, all performed at break-neck speed. Everything from Neville's missle dropkicks and German suplexes, to Balor's neckbreakers and unreal suicide dives, these two held nothing back. The match ended when Finn connected his dagger-like diving double foot stomp for the pinfall victory. This was my personal match of the night, and just goes to show that the future is very bright when it's in the hands of NXT.

2. Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville, NXT Championship, NXT Takeover

The rivalry between Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville has been a staple of NXT ever since they debuted. It's one of the most hard-fought and emotionally charged feuds in all of WWE in the past few years, with Sami always coming so close to taking the NXT title from Neville, but always falling short. The culmination of this feud at NXT Takeover was put under the stipulation of title vs. career, meaning that if Sami beat Neville, he would finally obtain the championship. If Sami lost, he would voluntarily leave NXT forever. You want to talk about a fight, this was a FIGHT. it seemed like these two never slowed down or even took a breath, it was the definition of a knock-down, drag-out brawl. After many attempts, and interferences by of all people the referee, Zayn was finally able to connect with the most vicious Helluva Kick he's ever hit, and pinned Neville for the victory. He was finally able to break the glad ceiling and obtain the championship that had eluded him for so long. This match was the perfect ending to a perfect feud, and it's one that you can watch over and over again.

1. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro, 2-out of-3 Falls Match

This is an absolute marathon of a match, and was the choice of a lot of people for match of the year. Zayn and Cesaro have always had an electric chemistry since their days in ROH, and that chemistry shone through on this night. An unreal pace showed the true athleticism of these two men, stringing moves together that give me flashbacks of the old WCW cruiserweight scene of the 90s. The brute strength of Cesaro blended perfectly with the speed and acrobatics of Sami Zayn. Sami won the first fall with a devastating Helluva Kick. Cesaro was able to pick up the second fall by working on Sami's head and neck, and eventually choking him out with a sleeper. These two warriors put every ounce of energy they had into this third and final fall. The ending of the match came when Sami attempted a Tornado DDT, but Cesaro caught him mid-air and countered with his Very European Uppercut. Cesaro then capitalized by hitting the neutralizer for the pinfall and the 2-1 victory. Matches like this are what fans hunger for in WWE, and matches like this are what pro wrestling is all about.

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Eyes on the Ring 2:40 PM  No comment

Nathan's NXT Takeover: Rival Review

By Nathan Neumann @Headliner5 on twitter

Hello ladies, gentlemen, and Eyes On The Ring readers. Nathan here to bring you something a bit out of my comfort zone in an NXT Takeover review for the latest special on the WWE Network.

Normally, you’ll catch me doing ROH reviews. Now, that’s not to say that I only care about Ring Of Honor because that’s not at all true. However, due to the fact that I was able to watch tonight’s NXT Takeover live (which isn’t always the case), I figured why not expand my horizons in the reviewing department and bring you something a bit different than you are used to seeing from me? So without any further ado lets get it going.

NXT Takeover: Rival kicks off with a video package, which highlights the action that we are in store for during this show. From there we go inside of Full Sail University where we are live with a packed house. Rich Brennan, Jason Albert, and Corey Graves are on commentary and from there we go straight to the ring for the first match of the night.

Match #1

Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

Hideo Itami makes his way to the ring to a big pop. Out next is Tyler Breeze. A female fan runs and jumps on Breeze as he makes his entrance. Security promptly removes her from the sight of the fans. To me, it was obvious that it was a plant and that Tyler Breeze was never in any real danger from crazy chicks.

In the ring, Hideo tries to land some big kicks. But Breeze acts like a hated villain and pulls the referee in harm’s way--only to hit a kick of his own to get the first shot in.  Breeze hits a splash in the corner and does some showboating but Itami turns it around with a big corner Lariat. They both run the ropes, Itami misses a kick but hits a knee to the gut and a big kick that this time connects and as a result sends Breeze out of the ring.  From there the two run around the ring and back in, once the two are back in the ring Breeze misses an aerial attack and gets knocked to the ground. Itami again goes for kicks to set up a running boot in the corner but Breeze rolls out to the floor. Itami then brings Breeze back up to the apron and hits a pair of kicks. Breeze goes for the leg and fights back in the ring. Breeze chop blocks Itami’s knee as the referee checks on him.

From here, Breeze continues to work on Itami and the referee stops to check on him yet again. Breeze then whips Itami into the corner, slams his knee into the ring post and applies a figure four leg lock on the ring post (a move I haven’t seen in WWE since Bret Hart). Breeze breaks by the count of five and comes back into the ring and keeps on the leg Breeze applies a sharpshooter but Itami makes it to the ropes quickly. Breeze breaks the hold and stomps away at Itami’s injured leg. Itami goes for the GTS out of nowhere but Breeze counters with a roll up to get a two count. Breeze blocks a kick and hits a superkick of his own for a two count.  Breeze nails Itami from his knees and Breeze capitalizes with more strikes as he makes it back up to his feet.  Itami takes all of the strikes that Breeze has in him and fires up.  Itami hits a forearm and a kick and then delivers more kicks with Breeze against the ropes.  Breeze drops to his knees and takes more damage to his chest due to kicks.  Itami hits the hesitation dropkick and follows it up with a running kick to score the pinfall victory.

Winner: Hideo Itami
Match Rating: **3/4

After the match, we get a few replays. Back in the ring, we see Itami clutching his leg and limping after he gets his hand raised. Itami does one final pose before heading to the backstage area.

After that we go backstage and see William Regal and a referee backstage as they talk with Kevin Owens.

From here we head back to the ring for the next match up where Bull Dempsey makes his way out first.

Match 2

Bull Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin
No Disqualification Match

Baron Corbin runs to the ring and starts brawling with Dempsey both in and out of the ring. Bull slams Corbin onto the apron and suplexes him on the steel ramp. Bull maintains control and beats on Baron at ringside. Fans chant for tables, but Bull can’t find any--which gets boos from the fans. Not sure if that was intentional. However, even if it wasn’t, it’s a nice way to get some heat from the crowd. Bull goes back to working on Baron with stomps and slams his face into the apron. Bull brings Baron back into the ring but Baron musters up enough strength to deliver a spinebuster for a two count.

Both men recover and tumble over the top rope as the fans boo, they get up and Bull drops Baron with a right hand.  Bull rolls Baron in and goes to the top rope for his signature headbutt.  He nails it and Baron kicks out but barely.  Bull has a look of disbelief on his face so he stomps and kicks Baron back out of the ring. Bull throws Baron into the steel steps and rolls him back into the ring. Bull brings a steel chair in but Corbin counters it and manages to hit End Of Days for the win. The finish would have looked better but Baron kind of lost his grip on Bull, which made for a bit of a botched finish.  Not sure who’s fault it was...but it really doesn’t matter because even with the mini botch, it was still effective.

Winner: Baron Corbin
Match Rating: **

After the match, Baron Corbin takes a seat in a chair while Bull tries to recover. From there we see William Regal in the backstage area talking to Sami Zayn, which brings us to a commercial. Back from commercial and we get shots of both Becky Lynch and Bayley who are both preparing for their match in the backstage area. From here, we go to the next match of the evening and the first of three championship matches tonight.

Match 3
The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) vs. Blake and Murphy {C}
NXT Tag Team Championship Match

The challengers Sin Cara and Kalisto are out first followed by the new champions Blake and Murphy. They come out to a decent reaction, but a terrible theme song.

Sin Cara kicks off the match with Buddy Murphy as they lock up in the center of the ring. Wesley Blake quickly makes a tag from his position on the ring apron and tries to double team Sin Cara but it backfires and allows Sin Cara to take control.  in Cara goes down on the apron and Blake stomps away at him. Sin Cara hits a head scissors takedown and Kalisto comes in with a big kick. Kalisto slips on the rope but recovers and leaps onto Murphy. Cara and Blake battle it out in the corner, Cara hits a victory roll from the top rope for a near fall. Murphy tags in and squares off with Kalisto. Kalisto gets the better of the exchange and tags in Sin Cara for some duel kicks and a double team senton splash for a two count.

Blake tags back in and him and Murphy hit a big double team neckbreaker on Sin Cara for a two count.  Blake stomps Sin Cara in the corner and Murphy comes back in for a one count. Kalisto comes into the ring with a corkscrew cross body and a kick. Kalisto spikes Murphy on his head (it looked nasty). From there Murphy counters Salida del sol from Kalisto. Kalisto gets another two count after a powerbomb reversal. From there we have some more back and forth action with pin multiple unsuccessful pin attempts.  Both Sin Cara and Wesley Blake rush into the ring to break up the pin attempts. They tag out and we get several more pin attempts and counters.  Sin Cara hits a huge powerbomb on Murphy that gets two count. Kalisto gets kicked to the floor and Murphy tags in Blake, Murphy hits a big suplex and the now legal Blake follows it up with a frog splash for the win and the retention of the tag team titles.

Winners (and still NXT Tag Team Champions): Blake and Murphy

Match Rating: **

This match could have been a bit better had they slowed down some. But, sadly, that’s the problem with some developmental guys. They are given a set time and try to pack to much stuff in to the time period that they are allotted. Not a bad match by any stretch but it felt like they were rushing through things to a degree in order to get to the finish.

After the match the champions celebrate but the tron is interrupted by a mixed signal video from Solomon Crowe that says NEXT WEEK!

From here we get a video for tonight’s number one contenders match between Balor and Neville.

Match 4
Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville
#1 Contenders match for the NXT Championship

We head to the ring and Adrian Neville makes his way out. Finn Balor makes his way out to the ring next with his body paint.  Balor’s entrance gave this match a big fight feel.  Neville watches on from the apron and lets Balor finish doing his thing.  

Balor charges in to start the match but Neville takes him down with a headlock.  They make it to their feet and Neville drops Balor with a shoulder block followed by another headlock takedown.  Neville maintains control for the time being until Balor puts Neville down with a shoulder block but Neville quickly nips up to his feet as the fans cheer and we have a stand off.

Balor rolls through and hits a drop kick on Neville and Neville rolls to the floor to catch a breather and bide his time before getting back into the ring.  Balor gets set to dive out at Neville but Neville runs in, both men run the ropes and Balor nails a drop kick Neville rolls back out to the floor.  Balor goes for another dive but Neville jumps on the apron in order to stop him.  Neville hits a springboard dropkick that gets a two count and from there Neville goes back to the headlock.

After some back and forth action both men end up on the apron Neville nails a dropkick as Balor goes for a springboard.  Neville brings Balor back in with a big suplex, which gets a two count.  Neville keeps Balor grounded but Balor finally turns things around with an enziguri that sends Neville back out to the floor.

Balor goes for a dive and nails it to the outside of the ring.  Balor stalks around the ring and hits a big running dropkick, which sends Neville through the steel barricade.  Fans chant “Holy Shit” as Balor grabs Neville and brings him back towards the ring.  Balor goes to the top and hits a huge stomp to the back of Neville’s head for a two count.

Balor goes for a reverse DDT which is blocked by Neville who then scores with a series of kicks.  Balor blocks a dropkick and hits a Pele kick. Neville comes back with a huge kick of his own when the Pele by Balor doesn’t connect all the way. After some back and forth, Neville comes right back with a big German suplex.  Neville hits another German suplex but holds it for a close 2 count. Frustrated, Neville heads to the second rope for a corkscrew splash and nails it but Balor is able to kick out at two. Neville capitalizes further with a running uppercut in the corner. Neville stuns Balor with a forearm shot, Neville runs but Balor drops him. Balor hits a huge lariat followed by a reverse DDT but Neville again kicks out at two. Balor goes to the top but Neville crotches him, Neville with an enziguri, Neville brings Balor to the mat and goes up for the Red Arrow. Balor gets up and Neville lands on his feet like a cat. Neville delivers a kick to Balor’s head.  Balor falls to the ground and Neville goes back up for the Red Arrow, but Balor counters by getting his knees up. Balor gets another near fall after rolling Neville up for a near fall.  Balor dropkicks Neville when Neville is in the corner. As Neville is down Balor ascends to the top rope and hits a double foot stomp to not only secure the win but to become the number one contender to the NXT Championship.

Winner and New #1 Contender to the NXT Championship: Finn Balor

Match Rating: ***3/4

After the match, Neville and Balor shake hands. We then are treated to replays of some of the action. Afterwards, we come back to the ring as Balor is celebrating, he gets out of the ring and heads up the ramp to cheers from the crowd.

Backstage we get shots of Sasha Banks and Charlotte who are both getting ready for tonight’s Fatal 4 Way match.  We then go to a video package which hypes up the match and tells us what we need to know heading into it.

Match 5

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte {C}

Fatal 4 Way match for the NXT Women’s Title

We head to the ring and Bayley is out first followed by Sasha Banks. Becky Lynch makes her way out next followed by the reigning and defending WWE NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte.  

There’s a lot of back and forth action between all four participants, Sasha gets thrown into the ring and breaks the LED board. Becky takes Sasha out with a huge suplex after they both go for a pin. Becky ends up going at it with Bayley putting her in a submission, Sasha comes back in to break it up. Sasha and Becky square off. Sasha makes her way to the corner and goes for a double knee drop but it’s blocked. Becky Lynch hits a big drop kick for a two count which is broken up by Charlotte. Charlotte hits a beautiful neckbreaker on Becky, then maintains control and hits another neckbreaker on Sasha Banks to get a two count.

Charlotte takes control of Becky and goes for a pin but Sasha is in to break it up.  Sasha and Charlotte trade big punches. Sasha blocks a move and Charlotte spears Becky.  Bayley runs in for a double team move with Charlotte but gets dumped back out.  Charlotte ends up going into the ring post. Sasha hits a double knee in the corner on Becky and Charlotte simultaneously. Sasha covers Charlotte for a two count and after Charlotte kicks out Sasha goes over to Becky who she also gets a two count on. Becky kicks out and Sasha goes back over to Charlotte and tries to pin her again but she gets yet another near fall which leads Sasha to scream in frustration.  Becky runs in with a suplex on Sasha, Bayley with four back elbows on Charlotte in the corner. Bayley takes Charlotte up for a hurricanranna and nails it as the fans start chanting for her.  Bayley hits the Belly to Bayley but Becky breaks up the pin and shoves Bayley out to the floor.

Out on the floor Bayley takes out Becky and Sasha leaps out onto both of them on the ramp. Charlotte recovers and dives out and takes out the other three women.  Charlotte brings Becky back into the ring but as Charlotte is coming back in Becky meets her with a big shot. Becky hits an overhead suplex for a two count and delivers some uppercuts afterwards. Becky takes Charlotte to the top, Sasha comes up on to the apron but Bayley grabs her and pulls her off. Bayley climbs into the ring and hits a German suplex on Becky. Bayley climbs up to the top turnbuckle with Charlotte and hits her Belly to Bayley suplex from the top rope but Sasha breaks up the pin attempt. Sasha then covers Charlotte for a near fall of her own. Sasha locks in a cross face submission hold on Charlotte but Bayley and Becky try and interfere. Sasha kicks both Bayley and Becky off of the apron and re-applies the hold.  Charlotte crawls desperately for the ropes but at that point Rich Brennan points out that it’s a fatal four way and the ropes mean nothing which was a nice touch.  Sasha pulls Charlotte back, and Sasha turns the hold into a crucifix for the pinfall victory and the title.

Winner and New NXT Women’s Champion: Sasha Banks

Match Rating: **3/4

After replays, we come back to Charlotte and Sasha who are both in the ring looking like they’re about to hug but Sasha pushes Charlotte away and goes back to dancing.  Charlotte thinks nothing of it and leaves the ring letting Sasha celebrate and have her moment as her music plays.

A fantastic women’s contest; Sasha earned that one.

From there we get a promo for tonight’s main event.

Main Event – Match 6

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn {C}

Grudge Match for the NXT Championship

We see Kevin Owens pacing back and forth in the backstage area before coming out to the ring. NXT Champion Sami Zayn enters soon after to a big pop as Owens looks on from the corner unimpressed.

The fans chant “ole” in the arena as Sami’s entrance music cuts out and we go to the formal ring introductions from NXT ring announcer JoJo. Both men get pops and chants during their respective introduction. The bell rings and they stare at one another from their corners. They go to lock up but Owens goes out to the floor to some jeers from the fans. Owens takes some time before making his way onto the apron and right as it looks like he will be getting into the ring he drops to the floor once again.  Owens toys with the crowd some more by teasing that he will go into the ring one more time which he again doesn’t do. Sami is growing impatient and runs the ropes and leaps out of the ring over the top rope taking Owens out Sami recovers and brings Owens back in and works him over a bit.  Sami delivers some kicks and punches in the corner as the referee counts.  Sami climbs up with right hands in the corner.

Owens turns things around and drops Sami’s face into the turnbuckle. Owens hits a huge closeline in the corner and stomps away at the fallen Zayn.

Owens hits another big clothesline in the corner and yells out to the fans asking “How is that?” Owens whips Sami hard into the opposite corner.  Owens hits a huge chop in the middle of the ring and covers for a two count. Owens kicks Zayn yet again and delivers even more trash talking. Owens delivers some forearm shots which knock Sami down to the mat.  Owens mounts some more offense sending Sami back to the mat for a two count.  Owens keeps the pressure on Sami by keeping him grounded in the process.  Owens maintains control and slams Sami hard over the top rope for another two count.  Owens again maintains control and keeps Sami down with a headlock.  Owens hits a back suplex for another near fall, the two men end up on the floor and Owens delivers some big chops.

Owens stands on the steps and slams Zayn on the apron. Owens delivers a strike to Sami and rolls back into the ring to break the referee’s count. Owens drops Sami on the floor and brings him back in for another near fall.  Owens hits a big gutbuster followed by a senton for a two count. Sami finally comes back with a big closeline and sends Owens out to the floor. Sami slams Owens head first into the steel steps. Sami with right hands on the floor, Sami breaks the referee’s count and goes back to the outside of the ring to work on Owens some more but Owens rolls Zayn back into the ring. Sami rolls right back out of the ring and Owens follows. Sami nails a closeline on Owens.

They make their way back into the ring and Owens hits a back Elbow. Sami misses a shot of his own but nails Owens with the Blue Thunder Powerbomb for a near fall.  Sami runs but Owens nails a big superkick to the chin. A groggy Zayn falls in the corner of the ring, Owens capitalizes and runs into Sami hitting him with a cannonball for a near fall.  Owens drops Zayn’s neck over his knee for a near fall. Sami counters a powerbomb attempt and hits a dropkick. Sami hits the half and half suplex for another near fall.  Sami slams Owen’s head first into the turnbuckle

Owen’s counters another move from Sami and drops Sami neck first over the top rope.  Owens ascends to the top but he’s cut off by Sami who climbs up for a suplex but gets fought off by Owens who head butts him down to the mat. Owens goes for the top rope senton but Sami gets his knees up. Both men get back to their feet and Owens charges but Sami catches him with an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle. Sami gets up and goes for the Helluva kick but Owens avoids it by rolling out to the floor.

Sami follows Owens to the outside but Owens makes him pay for it. Owens goes for the powerbomb on the apron but Zayn jumps onto the apron instead. From there, Sami jumps up to the second rope to hit a springboard moonsault to Owens but in doing so Zayn smacks his head on the steel ramp and appears groggy.

The two men make their way back into the ring and Sami is a bit worse for ware however Sami waits for Owens to get up in the corner. A dazed Sami runs into Owens but gets caught in a pop up powerbomb to allow Owens to get a near fall. The referee goes to check on Sami and Graves makes mention of his history of concussions and about how Sami has that glazed over look in his eyes. Owens comes over and hits a bunch of big punches to the head of Zayn, knocking Sami back down. Owens goes back to work on Zayn and hits him with an uppercut which knocks him back into the ropes.

The referee rushes in and backs Owens off and checks on Sami but Owens is relentless and goes right back to beating on Sami’s head.  The doctor comes over to check on Sami, Owens grabs Sami and powerbombs him as Owens could care less about Zayn’s health and well-being.  Owens nails another powerbomb and Sami just gets the shoulder up in time.  From here we get some shots of some fans who are concerned for Sami’s health.  This brings out more trainers who check on Sami.  

Owens pulls Sami back for two more powerbombs. Owens sets up for one more but before he can do it the trainers yell at the referee to stop the match.  The referee pulls Owens off of Zayn as the fans boo.  The referee ends up stopping the match as Sami is not able to continue.

Winner and New WWE NXT Champion: Kevin Owens

Match Rating: ****

After the bell the referee hands Kevin Owens the title and he starts to celebrate as we get a few replays of what went down.  Trainers check on Sami Zayn as Takeover goes off of the air.

What a great show NXT Takeover Rival was and it more than lived up to the hype, I went six for six on predictions so I can’t complain about that.  The question is where does former WWE NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte go from here?  Also what happens to Sami Zayn from here?  I’m sure we will get a few more Zayn vs. Owens matches which is fine with me and although I predicted a Kevin Owens win on Wrestling Heads Radio this past Monday night, I had my doubts and I didn’t know if they would pull the trigger that quickly.

This opens up some interesting scenarios for Sami Zayn going forward as he got to the top of the mountain but couldn’t manage to keep the title for more than two months (to the date that he won it) either way I have a feeling that this was a way to get Sami Zayn to the main roster eventually and it also shakes up the entire NXT landscape.  Plus now we have Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens for the title to look forward to, I saw a lot of people say that this was perhaps the worst of the NXT live specials and I would disagree.  I think it was one of the best if not the best of the five specials that we have seen from the crew at full sail.

Well that’ll do it for me and this review of NXT Takeover Rival.  This was a hell of a show with some damn good stuff on it so if you are looking for a way to spend two hours and you are a wrestling fan then look no further than this show.  It will be interesting to see how things play out in the coming weeks and where we go from here and while it’s a not so exciting time to be a WWE fan right now (even though it should be because we are in Wrestlemania season) it’s a great time to be an NXT fan so if you have the WWE Network watch some NXT and if you don’t have the Network and are on the fence about it February is a free month.  For a free show where they could have half assed a lot of the stuff they didn’t do that at all.  I hope the same can be said for Fast Lane in the next few weeks and that it will be a surprisingly good show but I don’t see it toping this although it should be able to because NXT is the “Minor Leagues”.

However that does it for me until Saturday so until then when I bring you my next Ring Of Honor Review I am Nathan saying so long for now and be sure to keep your Eyes On The Ring for all of the great articles that True, Peagle, Jon, Myself and the rest of the Eyes On The Ring team promise to bring you in the near future.

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Last but not least I leave you with this.

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