Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of September 22nd, 2014

 

 

 1.       Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch, & Max Smashmaster @DevastationCorp)-Was there really any other legitimate option at #1 this week? While this is a 3 Man Team, they are NOT the first 3 Man Team to be ranked #1, however that may have been the only factor keeping them from sweeping the official voters this week. That being said, it’s hard to argue that the CHIKARA King of Trios 2014 didn’t deserve the #1 spot this week after knocking off Old Fashioned, Team UK, 3peck0, and Icarus & The Throwbacks in one single weekend. This is their first #1 and a very well-deserved/earned one at that. Congrats on hitting the pay window! #2 in the online poll.

2.       Juicy Product (JT Dunn @TheJuiceee & David Starr @TheProductDS)-It took the King of Trios to dethrone the former 8 time #1’s from the top spot this week, but it’s not like they didn’t continue their hot streak in the process. On 9/19 they retained the NYWC Tag Team Titles vs. Reckless and Wasted to run their 2 week record to 3-0. Pretty impressive stuff, not to mention the fact that they’re STILL FIP, CZW, WSU, and of course NYWC Tag Team Champions. On top of that, they’re still “over as fuck.” With a big weekend coming up, we’ll see if they can return to the #1 spot atop the Tag Team Top 5. 

 

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 22nd, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 22nd, 2014

                       

1.       Zack Sabre Jr. (@zacksabrejr)-Last week we had our first ever female in the #1 spot in Christina Von Eerie…this week, we get our first UK talent in the #1 spot in 2014 (Rockstar Spud did it in 2013)! Despite being ranked multiple times in 2014, Sabre has yet to grab the elusive #1 spot. This week, most of the official voters had to give a nod of the hat to him after he won the UK Super 8 Tournament after beating Marty Schurll, Dave Mastiff, and Will Ospreay. There were a few detractors though, as he did lose a tag team match to the London Riots, but the strength of his tournament victory was enough to put him over the top when no one was particularly DOMINANT as has been the case with a few other weeks. One of the UK’s top talents no doubt deserves this top ranking! #6 in the online poll.

 

2.       Ricochet (@KingRicochet)-When we go a week without mentioning his name in the Top 10, it’s pretty bizarre, but after his success over the weekend, he’s back again! The 8 time former #1, current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion, and HOG Champion retained the HOG title vs. Smiley on 9/19 and then followed that up with a 6 Man Elimination Match win at XWA vs. some of the top talent on the East Coast. This ranking combined with his many other rankings in the past year, just solidify his spot at #1 in the IPR 100 for 2014. The year’s not over yet, however, so the question remains…can he hang on to the #1 spot when the year ends? Time will tell.

 

Directionless: My Thoughts on the Current WWE Product

Directionless: My Rant on the Current WWE Product

For the past month, WWE has been producing lackluster shows. And before that, things weren't all that great either. I'd even go out on a limb and say that 2014 has been a horrible year for WWE. Sure, there's been some great matches here and there along with some moments to remember, but look at this year as a whole so far and you can't tell me it's been good.

WrestleMania felt like the start of something big after a disastrous first quarter. Unfortunately, the man that made the product worth watching again, Daniel Bryan got injured and was forced to surrender his title. Soon after that, Bad News Barrett got hurt in the midst of his push as well. The absence of Bryan, Barrett, and recent retiree CM Punk may have something to do with how lackluster things have been as of late, but in all honesty, it shouldn't have ANYTHING to do with how good the product is.

ROH TV Review - Death Before Dishonor XII Night 1 Highlights - September 21st, 2014

ROH TV Review - September 21st, 2014

The show opens with a solid promo from Christopher Daniels & Kazarian talking about addictions. I thought this was great because I was wondering how/why Daniels & Kaz chose "The Addiction" as their new name and this promo gave us some insight on that. The crux of it is that the people in the crowd are the addicts and Daniels & Kaz are The Addiction.

1) The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) vs. The Kingdom (Adam Cole & Mike Bennett)
The first thing I'd like to touch on is how fantastic The Kingdom is. I wasn't a big fan of Michael Bennett, but after his tag match w/Matt Hardy vs The Briscoes at Best In The World, I'm sold on him. He's a perfect fit with Adam Cole as they are both fantastic heel characters which makes for an awesome stable. They put in a solid performance here in the ring, although The Addiction was the highlight of this match for me as they continue to prove that they deserve to be back in ROH. Great tag match.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Michael Elgin (c) vs. Silas Young - ROH World Title Match

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 15th, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 15th, 2014

                       

1.       Christina Von Eerie (@CVEvil_138)-We wanted new blood and boy did we ever get it! Over the weekend, we saw some very good performances, but no one that really DOMINATED a weekend enough to be considered a clear cut #1…except for this talented lady. She answered the question as to whether we need separate rankings for women by becoming the first ever woman to be ranked #1 after winning the QPW Women’s Tournament on 9/13. It was a hell of a victory for a hell of a talent. Regardless of gender, she absolutely earned her #1 ranking this week with wins over Kahmora, Heidi Lovelace, and Joey Ryan on 9/14. Congrats to her! #6 in the online poll.

 

2.       Drew Galloway (@TheDrewMcIntyre)-The EVOLVE Champion has been bouncing around the Top 10 a bit without a very high ranking of note, but that all changed after the weekend he just had. First, he defeated Rich Swann to retain the title on 9/13 and then he defeated Roderick Strong in a non-title match (that he requested to be a title match to no avail) on 9/14. He’s obviously a fighting champion and this will continue to help his rankings in the future. More good things are obviously on the horizon for this WWE superstar.#7 in the online poll.

TNA Impact Wrestling: No Surrender 2014 Review

TNA No Surrender 2014 Review

TNA has had a consistently better product than WWE over the course of the past month. This week looks to continue that trend as there are three big title matches on the show including Samoa Joe defending the X Division Title against Homicide, Bobby Lashley defending the World Title against Bobby Roode, and the third match in the tag title series between The Wolves, Team 3D, and The Hardys!

PWG Match Rating Archive / Match Rating Recommendations

In the past few weeks, I've began putting together an archive of all the matches I've reviewed and this is the first list that I'm releasing. As you will notice, I no longer use the 1-10 rating system, I now use the typical star rating system. It's a much easier scale to work with. None the less, here's a list of all the PWG matches I've watched and reviewed along with my rating beside them. I'll be going through each individual show review and changing the ratings over to the star system in the coming days. I'll also be posting a WWE, WCW, and ECW Match Rating Archive like this in a few days as well.

This archive will be updated as I review more shows. Not every match from each show I review will be included here. The only matches that make this list are bouts that are worth watching and receive a rating of *** or higher. Enjoy!

2003:
The Briscoes vs. Super Dragon & B-Boy - Are You Adequately Prepared to Rock? - October 4th, 2003 - ***3/4
Super Dragon vs. Joey Ryan - Guerrilla Warfare Match - An Inch Longer Than Average - ****1/2
Super Dragon & Bryan Danielson vs. Scott Lost & Joey Ryan - Tango & Cash Invitational - ***1/2

2004:
Kevin Steen vs. El Generico - Free Admission - ***1/2
Super Dragon & Excalibur vs. Chris Bosh & Quicksilver - The Musical - ***3/4

Fantasy Booking: The WWE Title Picture & US Title Picture through WrestleMania 31

Fantasy Booking: Brock Lesnar, Cesaro, Curtis Axel through WrestleMania 31 + more.

Originally, this article started out as a piece on how to make Curtis Axel relevant again, but once I started writing, I found myself bringing some other names in and decided to expand this into a Fantasy Booking article. The focal point of the first half of this article is the WWE Title picture, Cesaro, & Curtis Axel, but once I get to the Royal Rumble I begin fantasy booking the Road to WrestleMania for every area of the WWE.

In this article, I book the debuts of five NXT stars on the main roster and I also push three young stars to superstardom. The five stars that debut are Sami Zayn, The Ascension, Kevin Steen, & Fergal Devitt. The three young stars that are made into superstars/main eventers by the end of this article are Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Cesaro. I tried to keep things as realistic as possible in this article. For instance, if I did this based on personal taste, I would have pushed Ambrose to the top instead of Reigns, but it's clear that WWE wants to go with Reigns so I came up with a way that I think he could be made into a star without being pushed too far too soon. So if you feel Reigns isn't ready to be a main eventer yet (like I do), don't be worried, I don't make him the focal point of things, but I do use him in a way that I think will help him grow into the main eventer he is destined to be.

Beyond making new top stars and debuting future ones, I also bring one guy who was once extremely popular back to being a top babyface and I also bring a former World Champion back into the WWE Title picture.

None the less, before I give away too many things that are included in this article. Let's get started!

Night of Champions PPV:
Cesaro defeats Sheamus to become the new United States Champion and Brock Lesnar defeats John Cena to retain the WWE Title.

The episode of Raw after Night of Champions
Sheamus gets his rematch for the US Title and loses which leads to a Fatal Four Way match to determine the new #1 Contender to Cesaro's United States Title. The match features Sheamus, Curtis Axel, Jack Swagger, and Bo Dallas. During the match, Sheamus is about to pin Curtis Axel after hitting him with a brogue kick when Brock Lesnar's music hits. Sheamus is immediately distracted as Lesnar & Heyman march towards the ring. Meanwhile, Curtis Axel rolls Sheamus up from behind to get the pin and the victory. Curtis Axel is the new #1 Contender to the United States Title! Lesnar and Heyman get in the ring while Axel is celebrating. Axel comes face to face with them and hugs Heyman. Lesnar and Heyman hold up Axel's hand and the celebration continues. Heyman grabs the mic and proclaims "Once a Paul Heyman guy, ALWAYS a Paul Heyman guy!" Heyman says that last year,

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - September 10th, 2014

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - September 10th, 2014

TNA has been on a roll the past few weeks and with another chapter in the Hardys/Wolves/Dudleys rivalry being written tonight - I expected this week's episode to be just as good. Just like last week, I live tweeted the show from this blog's Twitter account @ThePWTruth. I've decided to make that a weekly thing so be sure to follow us on Twitter to keep up with my thoughts throughout the show.

Before I get started reviewing this show, I'd like to announce a bit of a change in things. I normally rate matches on a scale of 1-10, but I'm gonna try giving star ratings for this show just to switch things up. Who knows, I may like it better and start doing that from now on. None the less, let's get into this week's episode of TNA Impact!

1) Chris Melendez vs. Zema Ion
This was war hero Chris Melendez's in ring debut so I didn't really know what to expect. Team 3D sung the praises of him a few weeks ago though so I had a bit of a good feeling about this. Once the match got started, I noticed

What to Expect from Pro Wrestling Truth in the Remainder of 2014

What to Expect from Pro Wrestling Truth in the Remainder of 2014

Hello everybody! There's been alot of stuff going on lately and there's also some exciting stuff coming up so I figured I'd write out a blog to keep you all updated.

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who has read this blog since I started it back in January because a few weeks ago, it eclipsed 10,000 views. It's completely mindblowing for a guy like me. I never expected this blog to take off like it has so it means alot to know that so many people like reading my thoughts and analysis on pro wrestling. Thank you!

After seeing how many views I've garnered in the past 8 months, I decided to make a Twitter to help promote the site and keep people updated with everything that is posted here. So if you like Pro Wrestling Truth, please follow us on Twitter @ThePWTruth!

Now that I've covered some things that have happened in the past, let's look ahead to the future. There are alot of new segments coming to the blog, the first being a "Match of the Week" article. Each week, I will select a particular match and take a look back at it. This will give you, the reader of this blog, something new to check out on a weekly basis. The match picks will come from various companies such as WWE, ROH, TNA, PWG,

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 8th, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 8th, 2014

 

1.       Davey Vega (@DaveyVega85)-It was a bit of a shocker, but Davey Vega absolutely earned his first-ever #1 ranking this week! His 3 successful defenses of his AIW Intense Title on 9/5 vs. Pete Dunne, on 9/6 vs. Louis Lyndon, and on 9/7 vs. Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, and Tyson Dux were enough to grab that #1 spot. It was a career weekend for one of the most underrated talents in the Midwest who is finally starting to get the credit he deserves. We put it out there on the IPR Live last week that this week might produce a new #1 and we weren’t sure who, but those words were prophetic. Congrats to Vega! #2 in the online poll with 40 votes.

2.       Jay Briscoe (@jaybriscoe84)-September 6^th may go down as one of the most shocking nights in ROH history after Jay Briscoe abruptly ended the ROH World Title reign of Michael Elgin. To say we were stunned would be putting it lightly. As great as that win was for Briscoe, he didn’t quite grab the #1 ranking this week as Davey Vega edged him out with his multiple wins against very strong opponents at AIW over the weekend. With Briscoe’s amazing title win, there’s no doubt that if he can hang on to the gold for a while, another #1 ranking (he was ranked #1 before his injury in 2013) is inevitable. #4 in the online poll with 20 votes.

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - September 8th, 2014

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - September 8th, 2014

Last week, WWE showed me how terrible of a product they could present. It was so bad that almost didn't tune in tonight. None the less, I decided to give them a chance to turn things around and I figured they would because two big matches had already been announced. Could WWE turn things around from last week? Let's find out!

1) Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt - Steel Cage Match
The first few encounters these two had weren't that great, but I felt like something really clicked here. From the opening bell, these two put on a match that kept me interested throughout, depsite the fact that I wasn't too intrigued going into it. Jericho's crossbody off the top of the cage was

ROH All Star Extravaganza 6 Preview & Predictions

ROH All Star Extravaganza 6 Preview & Predictions

Tonight, ROH will present it's viewers with an iPPV titled All Star Extravaganza 6. There are many matches on the card to look forward to which led me to write this article giving my thoughts and predictions on each.

1) Monster Mafia (Ethan Gabriel Owens & Josh Alexander) vs. BJ Whitmer & Adam Page vs. Caprice Cole & Watanabe vs. RD Evans & Moose (w/ Veda Scott)
In the opening match of the evening, four of the newest tag teams in ROH will square off in a four corner survival match up. There's a lot of great talent in this match, but as I stated above, the majority of the teams are new. Evans & Moose have only had one match together, Whitmer & Page haven't been partners long plus they've had disagreements as of late, and Cole & Watanabe will be making their debut

WWE Friday Night Smackdown Review - September 5th, 2014

WWE Smackdown Review - September 5th, 2014

John Cena opened the show with a promo on people questioning whether or not he could beat Lesnar. Cena is soon interrupted by Kane & Seth Rollins. Soon after this, The Wyatt Family comes out followed by Roman Reigns followed by Chris Jericho with Mark Henry and Big Show by his side. This was set up to be a cluster of a segment, but it turned into one of the best opening segments on Smackdown this year as Triple H came out and acted like Teddy Long by saying "playa" and making a 10 man tag for the main event. Hunter then leaves to Teddy Long's old theme music. Brilliant segment.

1) Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro
This is a match that I've been wanting to see for a while considering that Ziggler and Cesaro are two of the best in-ring workers in WWE. They proved that to be true once again

Super Dragon: Destruction DVD Review

 

Ever since 2013, I've been hooked on PWG. I've bought over 20 of their DVD's since then and continue to buy them. So last month when they released a compilation for one of the founders/owners of the company, Super Dragon, it was a must have for me. I had only seen two Super Dragon matches before buying this DVD, but I was eager to see more bouts from the career of the man behind one of the best wrestling companies in the world, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

This DVD features bouts from throughout Dragon's career in PWG, CZW, WXW, Revolution Pro, and GSCW. There are also a variety of opponents featured here. Some you may know include Kevin Steen, El Generico, Joey Ryan, The Young Bucks, Samoa Joe and Necro Butcher. This is bound to be an awesome DVD so let's get right into it!

1) Super Dragon vs. Bobby Quance - GSCW - December 14th, 2002
The first bout on this DVD is the SoCal Match of the Year for 2002 between Super Dragon and Bobby Quance. There are several matches on this DVD that don't take place in PWG and this is one of them. This bout took place in a company called GSCW. Alot of things here were similar to PWG though such as the fact that Rick Knox is the referee and we also get to hear Excalibur during the match, but not on commentary. Here he is managing Super Dragon and

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - September 3rd, 2014

TNA Impact Review - September 3rd, 2014

TNA has been on a roll as of late producing solid shows. In fact, Impact was better than WWE Raw last week. With that being said, the question going into this show for me was whether or not TNA would be consisent and deliver a good show for the second week in a row. I live tweeted this week's episode of Impact on the Twitter account I made for this blog a few weeks ago, @ThePWTruth. Be sure to follow that account to keep up with everything going on with this blog. I might end up live tweeting Impact each week on that account, but we'll see. None the less, let's get into this week's episode of TNA Impact Wrestling.

Bobby Lashley, MVP, and Kenny King open the show. MVP cuts a promo on Lashley being the toughest guy in the city when he's interrupted by Samoa Joe! Shit just got real! I've been a mark for Joe for years now so I was hyped to see what he had to say. From the get go, he got in the face of Lashley and laid out a challenge. Kenny King started running his mouth and recieved a right jab for his troubles. Lashley and MVP then attack Joe. It turns into a three on one assault before security comes out to pull them off of him. Lashley says he accepts Joe's challenge and we've got a Champion vs. Champion match set up for later in the night! Hype opening segment!

1) Gail Kim (c) vs. Taryn Terrell - Knockouts Championship Match
Here we have the fourth match between these two women. The first two were epic and the last one was ruined by The Beautiful People so I was interested to see what would happen here. Kim and Taryn had the same chemistry they've always had here and created a very entertaining match that garnered "Better Than Divas" and "This is

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of September 1st, 2014

 

1.       reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly @ROHOReilly & Bobby Fish @TheBobbyFish)-Three’s a charm for one of, if not the best tag teams in the world as they score their 3^rd #1 ranking this week. They had not been scheduled to compete as a team at PWG, but by chance and unfortunate injuries, they found themselves in a tag match vs. Drew Gulak and Biff Busick on 8/29. As they have done in 9 of their last 10 matches, they came out on top. The ROH World Tag Team Champions have definitely hit their groove and it’s going to be hard to knock them out of the top spot on weekends when they compete as a team. Not only that, they are soaring up the Tag Team Top 50 for 2014. Can they reach #1 before the end of the year? #4 in the online poll.

2.       World’s Cutest Tag Team (Joey Ryan @JoeyRyanOnline & Candice LeRae @CandiceLeRae)-This tag team got several #1 votes from the official voters despite the recent dominance of reDRagon. Perhaps their quality victory vs. Bad Influence and Inner City Machine

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 1st, 2014

1.       Ricochet (@KingRicochet)-It didn’t take long for the king to reclaim his throne! While he did suffer a loss in a 3 Way Tag Team Match at PWG on 8/29, he then went into full scale domination mode as he marched his way through PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles, defeating Chris Sabin, TJ Perkins, Kenny Omega, and Johnny Gargano & Roderick Strong along the way. What a year for Ricochet as he has won the Dragon Gate Open the Dream Gate Title, the Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate Title, the HOG Heavyweight Title, the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors, and now PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles. He has earned his place and position back in the #1 spot this week AND the #1 spot in the IPR 100 after his record 8^th #1 ranking. #4 in the online poll with 27 votes.

 

2.       Oliver Grey/Joel Redman (@NXTOliverGrey)-Whatever you want to call him, you have to agree that his 2014 has been a success. He suffered just one loss this past week mixed with 6 wins, but before that loss, word is that he had rattled off 40 straight wins. With a  record of 6-1 in just one week, it was impossible to deny him a spot in the Top 10 and not only that, a very high one. It was a dog fight at 2-10, but Oliver Grey left enough of an impression on the voters to gain a very good ranking this week. We hope to see more of him in the upcoming months.

 

3.       Brodus Clay @BrodusClay)-This one came out of nowhere. Brodus Clay travelled to the UK after his return to the indies and absolutely dominated the week with a 5-0 record, having now won 6 straight matches since his departure from the WWE. Question marks were raised about h