Match of the Weekend

Hey guys!
I didn't want to leave you hanging for the ENTIRE weekend, so I thought I'd share a "throwback" match from Ring of Honor

This is a classic match up and apropos given the news I talked about in the last post.
The history between these two men is storied and continues today in the WWE with Kevin OWENS and Sami Zayn. Who knows? We may be seeing Steen vs Generico again in the not too distant future....

Without further ado:

Kevin Steen vs. El Generico
March 30, 2012
LAST MAN STANDING 
ROH PPV 'Showdown in the Sun'

News from Around the Pro Wrestling World 11/9

Another Post! I'm on a roll!

Here are some quick takes on a few news items from around the World of Professional Wrestling:


"Free Agent" John Cena joins "Team Smackdown" for 'Survivor Series'

     I'm surprised by this one. Cena has been M.I.A. from WWE television for awhile now so to hear he is joining with the Blue Brand at 'Survivor Series' has me intrigued.

     The WWE is working it's way toward Cena finally besting Ric Flair's record 16 World Championships (Though, in my opinion, Cena's reigns are a bit tainted given how the majority of his title reigns came during what is arguably the WWE's lowest point insofar as talent and creativity were concerned. (2005 - 2013))
     Word was Cena was going to be the special guest referee for Lesnar vs Mahal, but with that match off the card Cena's involvement in Lesnar vs Styles doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

     I believe that there are going to be more than a few shocking moments at 'Survivor Series' and Cena could be a part of at least one of them. What that will be? I have no clue. But it's still intriguing.
     The WWE did post a video to Instagram of Nakamura reacting to the news of Cena joining Team SD and it may be the company planting a seed for a future match between the two. One could hope. I would love to see Shinsuke drop Cena on his head half a dozen more times.)

Cody Rhodes will face Dalton Castle at ROH Final Battle

     Two of my absolute favorite wrestlers in the business today. Rhodes has truly reinvented himself since leaving the WWE and has produced the best work of his career since hooking up with the vaunted BULLET CLUB and signing with Ring of Honor.
     Castle is not only a terribly entertaining character but an absolutely special performer. His amateur wrestling background gives his flamboyant character an edge that keeps him from being taken too lightly. Don't sleep on castle's in-ring ability - This man can wrestle. A total package if there is such a thing. This card is shaping up. Ring of Honor is poised to have a great 2018.

ALPHA VERSUS OMEGA

WOW. Who saw THIS coming?!
     Chris Jericho is set to face Kenny "The Cleaner" Omega at New Japan Pro Wrestling's 'Wrestle Kingdom 12' on January 4th. This one is going to be special and has "Match of the Year" written ALL over it.
I'll get into more detail on this one in the coming days.

WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne "debuts" on Raw

I am an unabashed fanboy for Pete Dunne.
     I was first introduced to his talents by WCPW (WhatCulture Pro Wrestling) and was an immediate fan. He has that ever elusive "It" factor and is one HELL of a performer. It's obvious the WWE is investing in him and I wouldn't be surprised to see the WWE or Universal title around his waist at some point in the future.
Also, watching him destroy Enzo made me very happy. How you Doin'?

RUSEV DAY!

Rusev is the best. What more is there to say?

The WWE "working" the Internet

     Another subject I want to go into more detail on at some point in the near future, but I can't be the only one that has noticed that the WWE has been blurring the lines between entertainment and reality by "working" the dirt sheets and the so-called IWC.

     For the past few months I've noticed a lot more "news" abut backstage/behind the scenes stuff coming out and then being either referenced directly or strongly hinted at on WWE programming. The latest "Red Flag" for me is the story about Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn being "sent home" from the UK tour for "Disciplinary reasons". This fits right in with their characters at the moment and helps propagate a new sort of reality based KAYFABE.
Supposedly the two "went off script" and bailed on a "beatdown" by the New Day.
The WWE is, in my opinion, absolutely and unequivocally fucking with us.

     I could be way off base with these observations, but I somehow doubt it.
I'm of the belief that a number of things we've read or seen on the Internet have been "works" by the WWE and that they have finally come to realize that they can use the dirt sheets to their advantage as far as telling a story and building character. For instance, all of the stories about Enzo and his backstage "heat" have played right into his ongoing storyline.
As I said, I'll get more into it later, but I think the WWE is playing us all.



That's all for now. I'll be back with more ... at some point... oh, brother. What have I gotten myself into with this?!

JINDER HINDERED!

Welcome back, folks.

     Since my last entry here on "Phantom Bump" I've actually had a few minutes to sit down and WATCH the AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal WWE Championship match from this week's "Smackdown Live" and I have to say, it may have been Jinder's best performance to date.
I have to put a little asterisk on that statement given The Modern Day Maharajah's opponent that evening: The Phenomenal AJ Styles.

     Styles is, if not THE best all-around performer in the business, then he is right up there with the best the business has to offer (Hot take, right?)
His skills in the ring were on display in Manchester this week as he took Jinder to a new level and removed any lingering doubt I may have had about Mahal's legitmacy as a Main Event player... The irony is, of course, that it took Styles relieving Mahal of the belt to finally get Jinder "Over" fully with me.
AJ made Jinder look like a million rupees. (OK, given the exchange rate I'd probably be more correct in saying he made him look like 10 BILLION rupees. But I digress.)

     I've been on board with the Mahal "experiment" since day one (is H) and thought that he could "hang", as it were, in the Main Event scene if given the chance.
I wouldn't say Jinder's reign as WWE Champion has been outstanding, but I think he acclimated himself well and was a more believable champion than guys like Sheamus, Jack Swagger, et al. If I had to give Mahal's reign a letter grade I'd say C minus.
He held his own but never "wowed" me. I thought he improved over time and got more comfortable in the role, and I also think his character work was as good as anyone could hope for given his limited usage in the WWE during his first run with the company and the start of his second. However, Jinder never  got over with me in the way the WWE had hoped he would with fans.
That is, until this past Tuesday.

     There are guys like Styles that are so obviously talented that they can't be denied. They can wrestle the proverbial broom and put on a great match. Then there are the guys that are decent workers but, on their own, don't elevate their game to the next level. These performers, however, can be made to have outstanding matches if they are in there with a guy like Styles.

     Styles didn't "Carry" Mahal through the match, but he was a hell of a ring general and played to Jinder's strengths and hid his weaknesses. I hope the rest of the boys in the back (and the women) were watching, because Styles provided them with a very important lesson by example - Yes, he won the match and Mahal did the job, but in winning Styles was able to MAKE Mahal look like the credible heel main eventer that the WWE has been trying to build him into.

     I was thoroughly impressed with BOTH mens work in that match and when it was over I thought that Styles cemented Mahal's place at the top of the card.

So, what does the future hold for these two? Time will tell.
     The word on the street and in the sheets is that Styles will face Lesnar at "SS". I find it hard to believe that the WWE would invest as much time and effort into the Lesnar vs Mahal match build up just to throw it all away 2 weeks out from the event.
I, personally, don't believe things are as settled as they appear at the moment. If Mahal doesn't win back the title on the upcoming "go home" edition of "SDL" then I'd expect him to be involved in some capacity with the Lesnar vs Styles match at "SS".

Ring Rust (SPOILER ALERT - Well, for maybe another half hour at this point)

Hello (potential) Readers, It's back - the 37th million most popular Pro Wrestling blog on the internet today - PHANTOM BUMP!
It's been about, oh, FIVE YEARS since I graced the World with my opinions on Pro Wrestling and I thought, being the foremost purveyor of opinion-based Pro Wrestling commentary in the World I'd restart this little blog and share with you all of the insightful "hot takes" I have on the subject. You're Welcome.

With the pleasantries out of the way, I'd like to make my thoughts known on some "breaking news" from the WWE "Universe"; AJ Styles is, once again, WWE Champion.

I was, as I'm wont to do, surfing the dirt sheet sites earlier today and came across the spoiler for Tonight's 'Smackdown Live' pre-tape.
Tonight is is one of those rare occaisions when the normally LIVE shows "Raw" and "Smackdown Live" (SDL) are PRE-TAPED due to - this time -  the WWE being in the U.K.. This is par for the course with shows that fall during overseas tours.

With pre-tapes come the inevitable spoilers we all just HAVE to read - A typical, run-of-the-mill, SDL doesn't normally have much in the way of content that could be "spoiled". However, tonight IS that rare exception.
 On to the Spoiler:

It would seem - less than two weeks out from one of the WWE's "Big Four" Events; 'Survivor Series' ("SS") - they decided to take the Championship off of Jinder Mahal and put it on AJ Styles.

WHAT!?!
This is not without precedent, mind you.
 On the previous Night's Raw telecast (Monday November 7, 2017) "The Bar" (Sheamus and Cesaro) were able to best two thirds of "The Shield (Ambrose and Rollins) and recapture the Raw Tag Team Championships.
The Raw Tag belts and the WWE Championship are, without a doubt, two very different animals. The decision to change title holders so close to "SS" is a head-scratcher.

 I haven't heard anything from any of the big names in Pro Wrestling News i.e. Sam Roberts, Steve & Larson, et al so I'm not sure what they may have heard and are reporting. All I've heard are, as of this writing, unsubstantiated rumors about Mahal being  potentially injured and THAT is the reason for moving the title off of him.

Jinder being Hindered?

It seems odd to me, given that we were supposed to get a "Champion versus Champion" match at "SS" between the current Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Jinder Mahal. Given that Jinder is no longer Champion it begs the question: Is the match still on? It begs a further question: Is Styles going to replace Mahal in that match?

"And your NEW WWE Champion...A...J... STYLES!" What?

The WWE have spent months building Jinder and trying to legitimize his title reign. For him to suddenly lose the title on a SDL (Pre-taped to boot) stinks of something going on behind the scenes.
I'm going to wait until I hear more about the situation, but One can only wonder what the WWE is thinking and what their plans are going forward. Time will tell.

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