The VaudeHipsters

I like The Vaudevillains. They're talented guys who play well off one another and work well as a pairing. But their current gimmick is markedly different to the ones they had when they made their debuts and that's worth reflecting on. And it's one that may ultimately keep them as NXT guys, as opposed to WWE main roster guys.

The excellent 'Drama King' phase.

Aiden English first became a featured NXT performer in the latter half of 2013. He was a singer. Specifically a music hall singer (although he didn't actually sing in music halls what with being a wrestler ad all), emphatically not the sort of pseudo rock star wrestling has had an abundance of over the years (Chris Jericho, I'm looking your way, pal). And he actually could and did sing. He also had an entrance of above average flamboyance: he'd sing his way to the ring and be thrown roses after winning.

Aside from a rambling, hard to engage with rivalry against Big Cass there wasn't a great deal going on for English at this point. He clearly wasn't going to progress as a singles act. He lacked the physique, gripping promo skills or indy rep it takes to stand out in NXT as a lone star. Which is why someone made the smart decision to pair him up with someone as a tag guy.

That someone was, obviously, Simon Gotch. After a period of inactivity on the televised show English returned to Full Sail with Gotch and announced that they were The Vaudevillains, a clever name that acknowledged the music hall influences of 'The Drama King's' singles run and the Edwardian tropes of Gotch, who was sporting a waxed-up moustache and doing a circus strongman mixed with silent movie star routine. NXT has since become a show that has a healthy number of characters on it but at the time this level of detail for guys not at the top of the show stood out. It was engaging and helped them stand out. Which is the point, of course.

The pair were initially presented as bad guys. This worked for a while, mostly due to the strength of English's previous solo run. In terms of heelishness Gotch did very little for the tandem. His mute performance gave him an air of innocence and charm, not exactly the most intimidating, villainous traits a wrestler can have. The Full Sail crowd took to him even while they were still booing English.

The hipster lads.

Gradually they warmed to English too. Their various backstage skits aping the style of silent movies during their feud with the Lucha Dragons played a role in that opinion shift. Their music was a big part of it too. Catchy and carefree it encouraged people to clap along and engage with the entrance. Basically the two were never going to stay heels because pretty much everything they were given, from the above to feuding with the technically proficient and flashy but devoid of personality Lucha boys, was something that drew viewers in in a positive manner.

After their unsuccessful challenges against Sin Cara and Kalisto the 'villains were given a brief hiatus from NXT. They returned in June, fully embracing the babyface role and launching into a slow-building, eventually really very good series of matches with tag champs (Wesley) Blake and (Buddy) Murphy. There's a chance it could flare up again but that seems unlikely. The programme peaked at Takeover: Brooklyn on August 22 where English and Gotch dethroned BAMF for the NXT tag straps.

It was at that Takeover show that they were defined as hipsters for the first time. Which had been glaringly obvious for a while it just needed someone to verbalise it. They've got the joviality and facial hair generally associated with that subculture. It's not a bad move but it is a shame. A hipster tag team makes a great deal of sense but is it more than a music hall singer and a circus strongman teaming up to enjoy sepia entrances and a spot of wrestling? I don't think so. 

NXT Takeover: Respect review

Women headlining wrestling shows isn't unheard of. It happens on every SHIMMER and SHINE show. But with those being all-female rosters that's less impressive than it sounds. It's a rarity in mainstream wrestling where weekly TV shows are involved. In fact the last time I can remember it happening in WWE is the Stephanie McMahon versus Lita women's championship match on 21 August 2000. Even if it has happened since (which is entirely possible) that this is the last instance I can remember demonstrates how rare it is.

Takeover: Respect gave us a long overdue more recent example. Sasha Banks and Bayley got to main event this card in a title match and that's a big deal. A competitive match between two of the best in WWE's women's division getting the headline spot in one of the company's acclaimed Takeovers is a significant step forward for the way women are presented by the company (and in the careers of the wrestlers in question too). What's nice is that they weren't handed it as a stunt or an empty gesture, they and the rest of the division earned it by proving they can put on matches befitting the position.

As is always the case with Takeovers this wasn't a one match card, evidenced perfectly by the NXT champion wrestling in the opener. Finn Bálor teamed with Samoa Joe to take on Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson, a team that once upon a time went by the excellent name The Mechanics, in the first semi-final of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Not only did the match work as the tribute to Dusty it was intended to be it also worked as a satisfying opener and fulfilled one of the stated goals of NXT: giving wrestlers a platform to improve. Dawson and Wilder got to share the ring with talented veterans Bálor and Joe. They may have been tagging for years but they've not shared matches with names like them that often.

This is why they were called The Mechanics!

Dawson and Wilder isolated Finn for the majority of the match, stoking the crowd like pros to keep them invested in the champ's plight to make a tag to his burly comrade. He eventually broke free and hot tagged Joe, who cleaned house and set Wilder up for a Muscle Buster. Bálor pleaded to get back into the match legally and end things for his team. Joe acquiesced, tagging out before hitting his move and hit his move. Bálor followed up with the Coup de Grâce and got the pin for his team but he hurt his knee in the process. It was a development that would (obviously) come back to haunt him later in the night.

The second semi-final saw Jason Jordan and Chad Gable face Rhyno and Baron Corbin. It was an amazing match, not least because of how raucously the fans reacted to everything Gable did. After opening with some slick teamwork Gable and Jordan got split, Gable being cut off by the heels. He eventually managed to escape to his corner after Rhyno missed a top rope splash. JJ battered everyone. After the match broke down with big moves and near falls Corbin caught Gable with End of Days and pinned him. It was a disappointing result because Gable and Jordan v Joe and Bálor could have been incredible but the match was still damned fine. And they did at least have a reason for this ending: continuing to build up big, bad Barry Corbin for better things by sharing the ring with NXT's two most significant regulars. A run at the NXT title can't be too far off for him.

Dat entrance gear doe.

Match three saw Asuka make her in-ring debut for both WWE and NXT. She faced Dana Brooke, who I maintain is good and constantly improving, although she clearly wasn't in the league of ten year veteran Asuka. They had a spirited match with Asuka easily upstaging Brooke and working over her arm with multiple armbars. Emma interfered but it came to nothing. Asuka tapped out 'The Total Diva' with the arm-centric Asuka lock and mocked her signature poses afterwards.

After the match Asuka fended off an attack from Brooke and then intimidated mean girl Emma at ringside. She left smiling. The segment made her look like an absolute beast. As an intro this couldn't have been better. We saw her trademark stiff work and her charisma as she mocked Brooke's posing. The NXT women's division has been made very strong with her addition.

After a shot of Finn Bálor being looked at by a doctor, while Samoa Joe had what looked to be a right old go, and a vignette for the still-yet-to-debut Nia Jax it was time for Apollo Crews versus Tyler Breeze. Their match was fast and filled with good stuff: 'Prince Pretty' going on an extended period of offence after an attack outside the ring; Breeze using a Sharpshooter; Apollo lamping Breeze with a leaping super kick; a great close two off a super model kick; Apollo catching a Swanton bomb and turning it into a power slam; Breeze getting his knees up on a standing moonsault and turning it into an inside cradle for two; and the match winning belly-to-back into a power bomb by Crews.

They didn't get as long as they could have (the match was just shy of ten minutes) but they did lots with what they had. The crowd were into everything the pair did and, even though it was frustrating to see 'The King of Cuteville' stare at the lights on another Takeover, it featured the right result. Breeze is the more established of the two within NXT. Crews is just starting out in the company and a win here was required to illustrate that he is the big deal he's made out to be.

The tournament finals were preceded by a reminder that Finn Bálor had a hurty knee from the opening match and that Corbin and Rhyno are Big Lads. Bálor continued to sell the knee as he entered. Corbin and Rhyno continued to be big lads. So did Samoa Joe for that matter.

Bálor started the match for his team, immediately going for quick rollups on 'The Man Beast' before drop kicking Corbin and tagging out to Joe. It was a sequence designed to demonstrate that he was feeling the injury. It did exactly that. Once it was established that the champ was hurt Joe was isolated by the heels (Corbin getting loud boos whenever he tagged in) as the commentary team teased that Joe was possibly trying to go it alone to improve his team's chances of winning by not tagging out.

Naturally he did end up tagging Bálor in. Despite a minor twinge he controlled the pace against Corbin. But he couldn't overcome a cheap shot from Rhyno or the targeting of the knee that 'The Wolf Shaman' followed up with. Bálor got flattened for several minutes before getting a desperation slingblade on Corbin and tagging back out to Joe, who cleaned house before getting hit with a Gore. Bálor broke up the following pin attempt and threw Corbin out of the ring. The faces then hit their Muscle Buster-Coup de Grâce combo for the win at just over eleven minutes.

Note the lack of Stardust.

Dusty's family hit the ring to congratulate the winners. Cody Rhodes (as Cody Rhodes, obviously) gave a heartfelt speech talking about Dusty's impact and significance in wrestling and NXT specifically. His dad's Common Man theme then hit as the audience chanted "Thank you, Dusty!" It was the perfect cap to the tournament. Nice to see that it wasn't used to hotshot a Joe and Bálor feud too. That was teased and I wouldn't have been against seeing it but there was something nice about two mates winning and celebrating together.

That left only the main event: a half hour iron woman match for the women's championship. Bayley defending against Sasha Banks. It was preceded by a recap of the Bayley versus Banks feud, which was obviously great, and a shot of Lita, Stephanie McMahon, Charlotte and Becky Lynch chilling at ringside. Because I'm sure Steph hangs out with the talent all casual like all the time. This wasn't designed to paint her in a specific light at all. Definitely not.

Their last match before Bayley gets called up to join 
the other Horsewomen on the main roster.

"Women's wrestling" and "You deserve it" chants rang out at the start of the match. The pair were slow to get going, understandably not wanting to rush when they had half an hour to play with. Banks was first to get advantage, going for flash pins on the champ. Bayley retaliated in kind. 'The Boss' would come back with a drop kick and the top rope arm drag before trying a Bank Statement. Bayley sandbagged her then offered a handshake. Banks accepted only to sling Bayley down to the mat. Because hey, she's a devious heel and Bayley was naive to trust her. Bayley fired up and came back to hammer Banks with clotheslines and her drop kick through the turnbuckle spot.

Back in the ring Banks tried a rope assisted rollup but the ref caught her in the act. He didn't catch her thumb gouging Bayley's eye seconds later though. That was enough to get Banks the first three count of the bout.

'The Hugster' threw Banks head first into a turnbuckle. Sasha turned the tables and tried her double knees. Bayley escaped and got her Bayley-to-belly for a three count. Banks rolled out of the ring looking for space. Bayley followed and tried for her turnbuckle drop kick again but Banks caught her and tossed her into steel stairs. Then she picked her up and tossed her in twice more before getting herself some crazy heat by rubbing her success in the face of Izzy (Bayley's ever present ringside super fan) and rammed her into the LED board in the entranceway to earn herself a count out victory (and set up Bayley for the big comeback, natch).

Banks had a 2-1 lead when Bayley crawled back into the ring. She immediately tried to extend it to 3-1 with a cover but Bayley kicked out. Sasha ran her mouth and cut off a comeback with a backbreaker and the Lion Tamer. Bayley made the ropes and then surprised the challenger with a hurricanrana to even the score to 2-2.

Bayley continued to fire up with clotheslines, forearms, elbows and a spear before popping off the second rope with a back elbow and a suplex into the tree of woe to set up an elbow drop. Banks fought back with her corner hung double knees and a tree of woe of her own. Bayley pulled herself up to avoid a spear from Sasha then drop kicked her outside the ring and slammed her hand into the steel steps, a call-back both to Sasha's actions earlier in this bout and their collision in Brooklyn back in August.

Bayley leapt off the steps with a clothesline then got kicked back into them by the challenger. As the clock hit five and a half minutes Banks flew out of the ring with a suicide dive, only to be caught and Bayley-to-bellied on the outside. Back in the ring Sasha kicked out. Then they headed to the ropes for a reprise of their exchanges at Takeover: Brooklyn. Bayley got a second rope Bayley-to-belly but Banks saved herself from the pin by getting her foot onto the ropes.

Desperate for a decisive win, Bayley hauled Banks to the second rope again, this time hitting an inverted hurricanrana. Banks rolled through and hit a belly-to-belly of her own then clamped on a Bank Statement. The crowd lost it at that, a combination of the two women telling a great story and the timing of bringing out such an over and protected move. It's been so well-established as a match-ender that people could easily believe Bayley would tap and be left prone to further pins from Banks.

Bayley fighting to survive Banks' devastating finisher.

Bayley was still in the hold at the one minute mark. She loosened Banks' grip then slammed her hand to the mat (another nice call-back). Banks again went for the Statement but Bayley reversed it, an armbar with some nasty torque. Banks gave up to the hold seconds before the match ended. It was absolutely worthy of the main event slot. A great match between great wrestlers for a belt that means so much.

After the match champion and challenger were greeted with a standing ovation from the entire roster in the aisle. Banks got a "Thank you" chant from the crowd, this very obviously being her last regular appearance at Full Sail. Meanwhile Bayley was congratulated by Triple H in the ring. It was the perfect end to yet another top notch NXT Takeover.

***

Results summary:

Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe defeated Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semi-final
Baron Corbin and Rhyno defeated Chad Gable and Jason Jordan in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semi-final
Asuka defeated Dana Brooke
Apollo Crews defeated Tyler Breeze
Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe defeated Baron Corbin and Rhyno in Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals
Bayley defeated Sasha Banks 3-2 in an iron woman match to retain the women's championship

WWE Live From MSG: Lesnar Versus Big Show review

This was not a pay-per-view. It was a Network special. That was an important distinction to remember watching this event because the standard of WWE PPVs is generally pretty high while the previous two Network exclusive cards had been rejigged house shows with a camera crew and a production budget. By now it's clear that Network shows are not going to be of a pay-per-view standard. It you expected a lot from this show you were always going to be disappointed. But was it good on its own level? Let's find out...

After a brief opening video package focusing on the Cena v Rollins cage match and Big Show v Lesnar we were introduced to the show by Rich Brennan, JBL and Byron Saxton. JBL has lost his edge and Byron is irritating but Brennan is good and warrants more chances to call bigger shows like this. It's cool to see a bit of experimentation with the commentary lineups even if two of the guys have their drawbacks. Announcing is probably one of the most stale parts of the product.

The opening match was Rusev and Sheamus versus Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton. That Orty was on curtain jerk duty demonstrates that he has virtually nothing going on right now. This was a holdover from his rivalry with Sheamus which ended a while ago. There was no reason for it to be revived here beyond a mentality of "Welp, let's stick Orton on the spesh!"It was also strange that this was the first broadcast match in which Rusev and Orton faced each other because that's a singles pairing that could have been saved and built up. They could have done it here. The venue was ideal and it would have made Network specials seem more worthwhile, even if the match had ended up relatively basic.

The four ran through standard house show stuff, something which would be a theme throughout the evening. The faces larked about because they're Great Mates (or something) while the heels glowered. Shaymo and Rusev controlled most of the match before a hot tag was made, ultimately leading to the finish. The Show Off Vipers won when Orton sidestepped a brogue kick and Ziggler super kicked 'The Celtic Warrior' into an RKO.

After the match Rusev called Sheamus a "stupid non-American" (implying Rusev's hate campaign now includes both Americans and non-Americans, truly a vast scope) and berated him for being stupid, losing the bout, and being more useless than Lana. Sheamus Brogued him and sauntered to the back. The purpose of this was lost on me. They're not going to do Rusev v Sheamus. They're not going to turn either man face. It was just a way of killing a little bit of time.

Next was a recap. We were shown Rollins Pedigreeing Kane on RAW and the whole multiple personality thing that's going on with the COO pretending his unaware of his antics as 'The Demon'. Then Renee caught up with him in the back. He teased being out of control but ultimately assured Renee that if the demon that's been terrorising Seth appeared he'd come running. This isn't the best feud for Rollins or the best spot for Kane in 2015 but Kane is great with the material he's being given. He's one of WWE's better wrestlers at handling comedy segments.

Match two was Stardust v Neville. It was a fun match but there was nothing exceptional on offer. It was the quality of a standard TV match between the two. Neville won with the Red Arrow. I was disappointed we didn't get to see the Cosmic Wasteland out in full force, either as backup for 'The Prince of Dark Matter' or as part of a trios match.

Renee Young got more screen time after that when she chatted to Paul Heyman. He taught her how to do hyperbole, introducing himself and the show, building up MSG and dropping an uncharacteristic sports team mention. He ended by telling Big Show he'd be losing to Barack Lesnar. It was standard Heyman. Not that that's a bad thing.

Team Bella got a loud pop when they entered for their six woman tag match, actually louder than the ones Paige, Becky lynch and Charlotte got for their individual entrances. This illustrates that for all certain people hate on them the Bellas are genuinely popular with the majority of WWE crowds. That's overlooked too often. Their popularity is why the Bellas are so valuable to the company and they haven't been quietly de-pushed in favour of the new batch of call-ups.

The story of the match was that Team Bella had better teamwork than Team PCB because they all get on, although this came as much from commentary as it did from anything anyone did in the majority of the match. Aside from Paige showing some generally snarky body language and tagging herself in on Charlotte PCB got on fine. The Bellas and Fox managed to control the match less because of problems on the opposing team and more because they were simply better and outwrestled their opponents. This sort of booking will only help those face reactions. It makes Nikki, Brie and Alicia look competent, and modern audiences like competent wrestlers.

Dissension did play a part in the finish. Paige had tagged herself in and been worked over for a while. She finally managed to break away to make a tag only for Charlotte and Becky to jump to the floor. A shocked Paige was left alone to eat a Rack Attack from Nikki, putting her down for three. After the match Paige said she'd never behave like that and that she couldn't forgive their behaviour. This made sense for the PCB characters and long term stories it's just a pity it was all tied together with an average match.

Chris Jericho cut a promo about his twenty-five years in the business and pointed out Lance Storm before his IC championship bout with Kevin Owens. He pandered to the crowd by chatting about his dad playing hockey at MSG and pointing out more friends in the crowd (including one of my faves, Don 'Cyrus' Callis) and running through his catchphrases. The audience responded well to this but it didn't put them off KO. They were always going to pop for the former NXT champ.

This was the best thing I've seen involving 'Y2J' in I don't know how long. I'm chalking that up to Owens, a guy whose character and ring work I enjoy, because 'Y2J' did nothing outside of his usual "embarrassing dad" routine. Y'know, the same moves and mannerisms he's been doing for years. The match was lacking  in big moves from KO but that was okay, it played into his character: he got a cheap win raking Jericho's eyes and rolling him up as he tried for the Walls of Jericho. Then he left shouting "Happy anniversary!"

The first truly great moment of the night was New Day's pre-match promo on the Dudleys. They danced, the mocked the Dudleys' routine, and Xavier played the trombone. I'd recommend watching this skit and the last two matches from this show.

Sadly the match that followed couldn't equal that greatness. It was good, maybe slightly better than their clash at Night of Champions, but it was let down by another disqualification finish. The Dudleys caught Kofi with a 3D (outta nowhere) and Xavier, not legally in the match for his team, broke the pin up to save the belts. As with NOC New Day grabbed a table after the match only for Bubba and Devon to make a miraculous comeback and put Xavier through it with another 3D.

I understand the logic here. The Dudleys are chasing the belts and keep getting denied them by the rotten, cheating bad guys, which will eventually lead them to issuing the challenge for a tables match. But the specifics are uninventive. They could at least have come up with a different sequence to end on. Network specials may be treated internally as house shows but if we're expected to take it as a reason to subscribe (or stay subscribed) to the Network it needs to present us with more than reruns. DQ finishes aren't really the problem, the repetitiveness of them is. 

A picture of your boy Brock Lesnar. Because why not?

Big Show and Brock Lesnar took the semi-main event slot. They deviated from the Lesnar format established over the last few years with Show fending off the clotheslines, double leg takedowns, and suplex attempts thrown at him and dropping 'The Pain' with three choke slams. Lesnar would kick out and comeback with four suplexes and an F5 to win a four minute match. No, it wasn't exactly Show trouncing Lesnar and Lesnar getting a fluke win but Show got a lot more on offence in than I'd expected him to. 'The World's Largest Athlete' let tone giants everywhere down. Andre watched on from the big ring in the sky shaking his head sadly.

After the match Lesnar left then returned to give Show a belly-to-belly and an F5. Because there's time that needs filling on that there Network.

After some ads and a reminder of the two previous PPV encounters in their feud, including Jon Stewart's (who was in the front row) interference at SummerSlam, the cage lowered and we got the main event: United States champion John Cena defending against world champion Seth Rollins. In terms of match quality nothing else on this show came close to this, not that that's saying a great deal. They traded escape attempts, top rope moves, near falls (for the record I hate pinfalls and submissions being a thing in cage matches, but at least these guys made good use of them), an amusing but brief top-of-the-cage boo-yay, and signature and finisher attempts before Kane wandered out and scared Rollins back into the cage just as he was about to escape and regain the US title. Rollins dithered between leaping down and getting the title, leaving himself prone to an attack from Kane, and returning to the ring to defeat Cena honourably, something against his standard behaviour. 'The Future' chose the latter, leaping off the cage with a frog splash. Cena rolled out of the way and immediately scooped Seth up for an AA. That was enough to earn Big Match John a three count. Arguments could be made that this weakened the WWE champ but I'd disagree. He fell to an established match-winning finisher from a top guy after throwing himself to the mat from ten feet in the air.

After the match Kane got into the ring and choke slammed and Tombstoned the WWE champion. The show closed with 'The Demon' dropping the title belt on Rollins and leaving. Because, hey, there are rivalries to keep heated here for the more important shows, okay?

Taken as the glorified house show from a major arena that it was this special was fine. The main event was good and Lesnar v Show provided what it needed to and surprised us as it did so. Everything else would have fitted in on an episode of RAW but this was at least shorter.

***

Results summary:

Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler defeated Sheamus and Rusev

Adrian Neville defeated Stardust

Team Bella defeated Team PCB

Kevin Owens defeated Chris Jericho to retain the Intercontinental championship

The Dudley Boyz defeated New Day by DQ

Brock Lesnar defeated Big Show

John Cena defeated Seth Rollins to retain the United States championship

NXTweet 30.09.15

Next week is a Takeover special and this episode was just shunting bits and pieces into place. I'll leave the lengthy chat for the Takeover review.

Kyle Edwards recaps the Dusty Tag Classic so far

Tweet 1: Going to squeeze in some NXT. May pause though. Don't like doing it but whatevs.

Tweet 2: Hot start with Kyle Edwards and his Tenth Doctor cosplay.
Tweet 3: Flashbacks to Michael Cole on Livewire.
Tweet 4: Pleased to see my boys Gability and 'The New Double J' getting a win.
Tweet 5: And Dash and Dawson, the Not-Mechanics, are still my picks to win.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Enzo Amore and Big Cass v Samoa Joe and Finn Bálor

Tweet 6: What's up with Carmella's dancing? Pubic lice?

Tweet 7: Actch promo from The Realest Lads. #treat
Tweet 8: Billy Gunn would be in the Hall of Fame right now if he'd spelt out his two words.
Tweet 9: Finn Bálor thinking his leather jacket is all that and a bag of snazz. Nah mate. Joe's towel is where it's at.
Tweet 10: I did like WWE's shameless pilfering of the Bullet Club font though.
Tweet 11: Corey, Joe's good but he doesn't move like a lightweight.

Unbeatable combo? Sure... for now!

Tweet 12: Imagine Big Cass getting pinned off an STO. Takes more than that to put down Kevin Nash's spiritual son.
Tweet 13: Who'd have thought Enzo and Cass would lose that?!

Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa discuss their NXT careers then get interrupted by Tyler Breeze

Tweet 14: 'Sweet' Johnny G and 'Wreck-It' Tommy Champ.

Tweet 15: These lads being on NXT is still pretty surreal. Getting promos. Sharing the screen with Tyler Breeze. When did WWE adopt this approach pls?
Tweet 16: Apollo Crews v Johnny Gargano. Winner gets an EVOLVE championship match.
Tweet 17: Waiting for Ethan Page to run in.

Museum piece, apparently.

Tweet 18: "That drop kick belongs in a museum because it's a work of art" - Byron Saxton, confusing museums and galleries
Tweet 19: Hope Johnny Gargano starts calling this abdominal stretch the Johnny Abdominal because why not?
Tweet 20: Looking forward to Sami Zayn coming back and Triple Paul booking an ROH v WWN thing.
Tweet 21: The guy with the contract won? I'm shocked (I'm not).

William Regal, Emma and Dana Brooke backstage

Tweet 22: #Regalpop

Tweet 23: Emma and Dana acting like naughty school kids here. Lol stuff.
Tweet 24: "Looks like a high-heena" - Dana Brooke
Tweet 25: Regal showing two women a video of another woman grunting and making slapping sounds. Sexual harassment in the workplace!

Dana Brooke and Emma v Billie Kay and Peyton Royce

Tweet 26: Dana Brooke. Now with added gloves.

Tweet 27: Heel Emma with her Heel Music and her Heel Gloves that don't cover her palms. She should've never been broken in the business!
Tweet 28: Third match in a row with obvious winners. The first two were good enough for that not to be an issue. Can this be too?!
Tweet 29: "Emma isn't my friend, she's my strategic ally."

Raw power.

Tweet 30: Peyton and Billie wearing matching gear, desperately trying to entice a women's tag division. I reckon NXT could handle it.
Tweet 31: "C'moooooooon!" - 'White Meat' Peyton Royce
Tweet 32: 'White Meat' got got by Dana's Alex Shane tribute.

Jason Jordan and Chad Gable talk to Devin Taylor then get interrupted by Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder

Tweet 33: JJ embracing his status as Jeff Jarrett's heir.

Tweet 34: Jamoke. Strong words, mate.

Tommaso Ciampa v Tyler Breeze

Tweet 35: Ciampa v Breeze. O rly?

Tweet 36: Assuming Breeze will win but it's the least obvious thing on this show so far.
Tweet 37: Ciampa being like "Breeze is stiff" though. FFS.
Tweet 38: Did I do a Tommy Penmanship gag last week? Think I did.

Snug.

Tweet 39: Ciampa reveling in his stiff ring work here. Whaddaguy.
Tweet 40: Good match this. Ciampa getting built up is pretty cool.
Tweet 41: Barry and Big Terry have this tourney sewn up. Don't believe me? Ask 'em.
Tweet 42: Ending on a vid so I'm going to say that this show had some good hustle now. The video in question will obviously be great.

Bank of Ireland

Last time I wrote about Sheamus it was shortly after his return as a heel. With that haircut and those piercings. I've not mentioned him outside of reviews since because, as I feel is pretty well-established by this point, I find him dreadfully uninteresting to watch and as a character. The heel turn has helped with both of these things but not enough to make him actually enjoyable for me.

But he's swaggering around with that Money in the Bank briefcase isn't he? The one that entitles him to a WWE championship match whenever he fancies, something he's statistically likely to win. Which means the prospect of 'Great White' getting a third WWE title reign has been looming over WWE for a few months now. But as useful as statistics are in analysing these things I don't think they're an especially good indicator here. 

Fella in the Bank.

On the one hand I wouldn't enjoy a Shaymo title win. Not just because I find him dull (although there is that, of course) but because I'm enjoying the current work of Seth Rollins. He's not being booked especially well but 'The Future' does the best he can with everything he's given. He's become way more comfortable on the microphone than I ever expected him to during his Ring of Honor days and in the ring he's had cracking matches with guys like Cena, Orton, Neville, Ambrose, Reigns and anyone else he's been put in a match with. That he managed to make Sting look good in 2015 speaks volumes about S-Roll's ability. He's great, basically, and he utterly deserves a lengthy title reign because of this and because it makes sense for his character and the characters of The Authority. He's a weasel who'll do anything to stay on top and they want a toady who'll go corporate for them. It works.

It also feels like the natural guy to take the title from Rollins is Roman Reigns. Rollins won the strap at his expense, interjecting into the assumed chosen one's WrestleMania main event showdown with Brock Lesnar and essentially stealing his spot. Something which, by the way, could have been an incredible Reality Era (because that's what we're in, right?) story had it been played up correctly.

As the babyface Reigns has to get retribution on Rollins. This being WWE he has to do this for the title and enjoy a reign of significance after because Vince loves a happy ending. There's something quite appealing about the two having a rematch at WrestleMania and for it to have the full impact Rollins needs an uninterrupted title run. Because that builds him up as a rascal and increases the need for someone to finally knock him off his perch. It means more if Reigns gets to do this before anyone else because being the second guy to do something just isn't as meaningful. It would utterly ruin the Rollins v Reigns dynamic (although I will say that they could add Dean Ambrose to the mix and make it more interesting, because of the there's shared history as The Shield). Plus he'd be avenging Rollins' play at WrestleMania 31.

Which basically makes Sheamus a gooseberry. He can't defeat Rollins because he needs to hang onto the gold for his match with Reigns. He can't defeat Reigns within the first two months of his (assumed) 'Mania win (which he'd have to because MITB gimmicks run for a year and a year only) because Reigns needs a long run to validate his claim of being the biggest dog in the Fed. For all Sheamus's heel antics since late March have been entertaining the timing just doesn't seem right for him to get a world title reign. Which, ultimately, is okay because he's boring anyway, right?