Survivor Series Reaction / Monday Night Raw Preview

I'm writing this at 2am in the morning. I can't get to sleep simply because of how hyped I am about the ending of Survivor Series. The reason I'm so pumped however might be different than most.

Most people are excited simply over the fact that Sting made his debut tonight and rightfully so. I've never been a huge fan of his so I'm not gonna pretend that I marked out over his return. However, I will say that it was an epic moment in the history of professional wrestling. Whether you're a fan of Sting or not, you have to admit that. So while most are flipping out over Sting, the main reason I'm excited is because tonight we saw Dolph Ziggler get launched into superstardom.

For years, Ziggler has been deemed by many as the next big thing. He's got the look plus the in-ring skills and charisma to back it up. WWE has pushed him several times over the years, but never quite like they did tonight at Survivor Series. We've seen Dolph win the World Heavyweight Title and even defeat John Cena in a Ladder Match in the main event of PPV. However, none of that compares to what took place tonight.

Before we get into that though, let's take a step back and think about how much of a surprise it was for Dolph to be the sole survivor. The whole match was built around Ryback in recent weeks. So much so that if anyone was going to be the sole survivor, I expected it to be him. When Ryback was eliminated early in the match, I was confused and a bit aggravated because I thought things would end up like usual - the odds stacked against Cena. Well thankfully, I was wrong.

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 17th, 2014

 

1. Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano)-There was absolutely no debate this week among the official voters as to who was #1. This was as easy as it gets after Johnny Gargano went 4-0 at WWN Live in China and managed to dethrone Ricochet to win the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Title for a 2^nd time to cap off the week. It’s really hard to believe that Gargano has yet to reach #1 in 2014 after being #1 FIVE times (tied with Kevin Steen for the record at the time) in 2013. That being said, he’s definitely had a very solid 2013, but this was the week that really put him back on the map. Redemption is his. Now, can he build on this ranking and continue to improve his ranking in the 2014 IPR 100? #3 in the online poll with 18 votes

 

2. Caleb Konley (@CalebKonley)-1/2 of the DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions was as impressive as you can possibly be last week without getting the #1 ranking. Tough to overcome Gargano for that award, but regardless, Konley also went 4-0 with THREE successful tag team title defenses at WWN Live in China. While he hasn’t reached #1 in 2014 and he doesn’t have the PWX and WrestleForce Titles to his credit anymore…he has had a fantastic year despite all that. This is tied for his highest ranking this year as he continues to be one of the true work horses of DGUSA and EVOLVE.

WWE Match Rating Archive

This is a list of all the WWE matches I've reviewed that ranked in at *** or above which basically means they're worth checking out. I will update this list as I review/watch more matches. Thanks for checking out and supporting this blog, I hope this list will be helpful for you!

1986:
The Hart Foundation vs. The Killer Bees - Madison Square Garden - February 17, 1986 - ***3/4

1996:
Shawn Michaels vs. Vader - WWE Championship Match - SummerSlam 1996 - ***3/4

1997:
Owen Hart vs. British Bulldog - European Title Match - Raw - 3/3/97 - ****1/2
Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin - WrestleMania 13 - *****
Owen Hart & British Bulldog vs. Steve Austin & Shawn Michaels - Raw - 5/2/97 - ***3/4
Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels - King of The Ring - ***1/4
Terry Funk vs. Mick Foley - Falls Count Anywhere Match - Raw - September 22nd - ***1/2

1998:
Taka Michinoku vs. Pantera - In Your House: No Way Out - ***1/2

2000:
Triple H vs. Cactus Jack - Street Fight - Royal Rumble - ****1/4
Edge & Christian vs. The Dudleys vs. The Hardys - Triangle Ladder Match - WrestleMania 2000 - ****1/2
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit - 2 Fall Triple Threat Match for the IC & European Titles - WrestleMania 2000 - ***
Triple H vs. The Rock vs. Mick Foley vs. Big Show - WrestleMania 2000 - ****1/4
Edge & Christian vs. The Hardys vs. T & A vs. Too Cool - King of the Ring 2000 - ***1/2
Triple H vs. Chris Jericho - Last Man Standing Match - Fully Loaded - ****
Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christin vs. The Hardys - TLC Match - SummerSlam 2000 - ****3/4

2001:
Steve Austin & Triple H vs. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit - Raw - 5/21/01 - ****1/4
Edge & Christian vs. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz - Smackdown - 5/24/01 - ****1/4
Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn - No DQ Match - Sunday Night Heat - August 2001 - ***1/2

2002:
Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle - Smackdown - ***1/4
Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit - Smackdown - ***1/2
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rob Van Dam - Raw - 5/27/02 - ***3/4
Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy - Ladder Match - Raw - 7/1/02 - ****1/4
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero - No DQ Match - Smackdown - 9/26/02 - ****
Kane & The Hurricane vs. Rob Van Dam & Jeff Hardy vs. Bubba Dudley & Spike Dudley vs. Chris Jericho & Christian - Raw - 10/7/02  - ****
Rey Mysterio & Edge vs. Eddie & Chavo Guerrero - Smackdown - 10/24/02 - ***1/4
Triple H vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Booker T vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kane - Elimination Chamber Match - Survivor Series 2002 - ***3/4

ROH TV Review - November 16th, 2014 - Lethal/ACH II

The big draw going into this week's show is the highly anticipated rematch between Jay Lethal and ACH for the TV Title. Their 30 minute time limit draw was a MOTY candidate. Now, the question is, can they top it? Let's find out!

1) Roderick Strong, BJ Whitmer, & Adam Page vs. Caprice Coleman, Tadarius Thomas, & Will Ferrara
The Decade has been having problems lately so I was interested to see how things would turn out in this match. Once again, Adam Page jumped the gun by trying to bring a chair into the ring which in turn pissed Roderick Strong off. This led to some miscommunication between the two that ended up costing them the match. That aside, this was a very fun opening six man tag with alot of action.

Match rating - ***

Match of the Week for November 9th - November 15th, 2014

It's been a few weeks since I've done a match of the week article, but a bout happened on Smackdown this Friday that I had to talk about. My last match of the week was a throwback, however as I mentioned before, this one actually happened just this week.

On Smackdown, The Authority continued stacking the odds against Dolph Ziggler by making him defend his title in a triple threat elimination match against Cesaro & Tyson Kidd. When I heard that this match was taking place, I was immediately excited.

I was excited simply because Dolph Ziggler & Cesaro have been producing quality matches over the IC Title for several weeks now and adding someone like Tyson Kidd to the mix would be a nice change of pace. Also considering Kidd's past history in multi-man matches (the NXT four way), I had a feeling these guys would steal the show.

As soon as the bell rang, that initial feeling of these three stealing the show came to fruition as we got a flurry of fast paced exchanges and roll ups to begin the bout. They cut to a quick commercial break which frustrated me because of how invested I was in the match. However, we return from the break and the match continues to unfold with a variety of double team maneuvers.

In fact, that's one of the things that made this match so good. They didn't follow the basic multi-man match formula by using the same old spots. We saw some unique moves such as a tower of doom variation, Cesaro suplexing Ziggler & Kidd at the same time, multiple submissions involving all three men, Ziggler holding Cesaro across his knees as Tyson came down off the top rope thus driving Cesaro's back further onto Dolph's knees, and Ziggler hitting a DDT/Facebuster combination on both Cesaro & Kidd.

Buyer's Guide for PWG's 5 for $40 Winter Sale

For the past several years, PWG has done a winter sale where you can get 5 DVD's for only $40. After months of waiting, the sale has finally returned! This sale is the perfect chance for you to save big on events (and compilations) from arguably the best wrestling company in America, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

With this sale brings the question - what DVD's should I get?

I've had many people tweet me asking this question because most are aware that I'm an avid PWG fan and while I don't have every single show, I have alot of them. And the ones I don't have, I've done my research on. With that being said, I've decided to put together a buyer's guide for this sale to help new fans of PWG decide what shows would suit them best.

If you've never watched PWG before, but have heard how awesome it is, now is the best time to pick up some events and see the spectacle that is PWG for yourself. So, below I've put together certain packs that you can choose from that may help you decide what shows to get.

But before we get into it - you can take advantage of this great sale by visiting prowrestlingguerrilla.com/merch/winter!

Please note, these aren't official packs put together by PWG, you can get any combination of the DVD's included in the sale, these are just packages I've put together to give new fans something to go by when trying to decide what DVD's to get.

The Five Star Package - 2007 Battle of Los Angeles Night 3, Guerre San Frontieres, Steen Wolf, Threemendous III, & 2013 Battle of Los Angeles Night 2

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of November 11th, 2014

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of November 10th, 2014 

 

1. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly @ROHOReilly & Bobby Fish @TheBobbyFish)-The ROH World Tag Team Champions and “best team on God’s green…” score their SIXTH #1 ranking this week after not only winning the New Japan Super Junior Tag Team Tournament vs. The Young Bucks (in the Finals on 11/3) but by adding more gold to their collection by defeating The Time Splitters for the IWGP Junior Tag Team Titles. This ranking puts them right behind Juicy Product (with 8) for most times in the #1 spot this year for a single tag team. They did everything any team could possibly do to get the #1 ranking yet again this week and they were rewarded among the official voters with a clean sweep of the ballot. Keep in mind our official voters consist of voters from across the world. reDRagon’s favorite quote may just be a reality at this point. Who can really argue with them? #3 in the online poll with 26 votes.

2. Young Bucks (Nick Jackson @NickJacksonYB & Matt Jackson @MattJackson13)-Had they defeated reDRagon in the finals of the New Japan Super  Junior Tag Team Tournament, the rankings could have looked a bit different this week, but their one loss cost them the #1 spot this week. Their week was still absolutely nothing to be ashamed of as they went 3-1 on the week. They have won 10 of their last 11 matches and the rankings the last few weeks have shown just how good they’ve been lately. Best tag team in the world? Possibly, but for the first time they’re not holding any major titles like they have in the past. Will that change before the end of 2014?

3. BULLET CLUB (Karl Anderson @machinegunka & Doc Gallows @ImpactDOC)-It’s been a few months since the IWGP Tag Team Champion cracked the top 5. They went through a slow period, but they have picked up their winning ways in a major way. They had a valid argument for #2 this week, but they end up with the #3 ranking as they have only 1 straight up 2 on 2 tag team victory in their last 10 matches. That being said, they’ve still been victorious in ALL of their last 10 matches, which is obviously easier said than done in New Japan with that level of competition. With the Tag Team Top 50 approaching, they’ll need to pick up some wins to really push themselves into one of the top spots before the end of the year.

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 11th, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 10th, 2014 

1. Adam Cole (@AdamColePro)-The former ROH World Champion hits #1 again! It was a quiet few months for last year’s #2 in the IPR 100 until this week when he picked up the pace by winning the 2014 ROH Survival of the Fittest. This big win not only earned him a #1 ranking this week, but it also earned him an ROH World Title shot at Final Battle. First, he defeated Delirious to move onto the Finals, and then he defeated Adam Page and Hanson and Matt Sydal and Roderick Strong and Tommaso Ciampa to win the tournament. Big win for a guy who was dominant in 2013 and is looking to return to the form in the waning months of 2014. #6 in the online poll.

 

2. Kongo Kong (@RealKongoKong)-The IWA Mid-South World Champion and resident “Monsta” continued to impress this past week as he once again turned away the challenge of the super popular John Wayne Murdoch on 11/6 at “What If?” and then added more gold to his collection when he won the Neo Pro Title in Canada on 11/8. Very few men have defeated Kong in 2014 and absolutely no one in IWA Mid-South have done it. Will his reign last the rest of 2014? With IWA running shows on a weekly basis, it will interesting to see if Kong can continue to defend his title successfully and in doing so, move up the IPR 100 ladder. Tied for #8 in the online poll.

 
3. Eddie Kingston (@MadKing_ston81)-Week after week we talk about how someone is being ranked and it’s long overdue. Perhaps no better example of that is Eddie Kingston who finally gets into the Top 10 this year after having a pretty good 2013. He had been snubbed on multiple occasions by the voters, but this week was different as he finally broke through as he once again defeated former #1 Shane Hollister to retain the AAW Heavyweight Title on 11/7. It’s been a long climb for one of the best talkers in independent wrestling, but his first ranking this year is a very high one. As the 2014 IPR approaches (12/29, 12/30, and 12/31) can he build on this ranking and move up the Top 100 before the end of the year?
 
4.  Jake Crist-The former #1 was probably a lock for an even higher spot this week had he not lost the RWA Tag Team Titles over the weekend. That being said, he gets in for the 3^rd straight week after defeating Ron Mathis at Rockstar Pro on 11/5 and then he defeated DJ Hyde for the Rockstar Pro Title on 11/7. He also had a successful CZW World Tag Team Title defense on 11/8. Pretty impressive week for a guy who we’ve said before is more known as a tag team specialist, but there’s no doubting his talents all around as he once again used those talents to get ranked again. As we continue to mention throughout every write-up the last couple of months (and will continue to do so) this just helps to add to his end of year ranking in the IPR 100. Tied for #4 in the online poll.
 

Who Should Round Out Team Authority & Team Cena at Survivor Series?

This Monday's episode of Raw featured one of the best closing segments in recent memory. We saw alot unfold in the form of Randy Orton turning on The Authority and Triple H allowing Kane & Seth Rollins to "finish" his long time protege. They told a phenomenal story and in turn got myself along with many others, excited about the upcoming Team Authority vs Team Cena match at Survivor Series.

The match has already acquired that "big time feel". That means there's only one thing left for WWE to do leading into this colossal main event - pick the right people for each team.

So far, things have went like many expected. Kane & Rollins are leading Team Authority and Cena has recruited the second most popular guy on the roster, Dolph Ziggler, for his team. That means there are three open spots left for each team.

WWE has two options in filling the remaining spots. They could do the predictable and put veterans like Big Show & Mark Henry in those spots OR they could take a chance with some younger talent and give them some big match experience.

Obviously, I think they should do the latter. It's no secret that the WWE roster is overflowing with talent, but it's also obvious that they are lacking "top stars" so to speak. With Punk, Bryan, & Del Rio leaving, it's came back to Cena & Orton as the only two true main event players. At Hell In A Cell, WWE took a chance with Ambrose & Rollins and I'd argue to say it paid off. That's why Survivor Series is the perfect time to continue building towards that next generation.

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 3rd, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 3rd, 2014 

 

1.   El Ligero (@Ligero1)-This has been a very long time coming! Not just the #1 ranking for El Ligero, but a high ranking, in general. There were a lot of close calls over the last few months that had him sitting in a lot of ballots at #1, but inevitably a loss on a Sunday would drop him down. This week he took it out of the hands of fate and just swept the week completely. The GPW British Champion/NGW Heavyweight Champion/PBW Heavyweight Champion/NEWS British Champion/SWE Champion/one half of Infinite Promotions Tag Team Champions defeated Robbie Dynamite at ASW on 10/27, then defeated him in a Ladder Match on 10/28 & 10/29. He then beat Mad Man Manson at PCW on 10/31 and then beat Rampage Brown to retain the PBW Heavyweight Title on 11/1 then beat defeated Damian Dunne, Ryan Smile & Chris Ridgeway in a Fatal Four Way at PAID Promotions on 11/2 to rattle off his 7th straight win. Well-deserved #1 for one of the best in the UK (Mexico?) and the world! #6 in the online poll.

 

2.  Ricochet (@KingRicochet)-The former EIGHT time #1 had a very solid shot at his 9^th #1 ranking this week, but it wasn’t to be. That being said, he still had a spectacular weekend after he took he defeated Low Ki to retain his HOG Title on 11/1 and then beat Josh Alexander to retain his DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Title on 11/2. His win over Low-Ki was particularly impressive as it’s rare that Low-Ki drops a singles encounter on the indies, but Ricochet is a obviously notch about most talent on the indies. It’s now onto China for the man who is looking to end the year at #1 in the IPR 100. Time will tell if he can leave China with the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Title still in his possession.

 

3. Heidi Lovelace (@VintageHeidi)-The AAW Heritage Champion took her momentum from her recent title win to WIF! where she moved onto the Finals of the Young Lions Cup 2014 by defeating Eddie Smooth in Round #1 on 11/1 and then defeated Arctic Rescue Ant, Joe Black, Kimber Lee, The Proletariat Boar of Moldova, and Will Ferrara in the 6 Way Elimination Semi-Final the same night. She has been wrestling absolutely all over the U.S. throughout 2014 and yet this is her highest ranking to date. She has definitely proven that she can’t just compete with men, she can’t compel versus them. Tied for #8 in the online poll.