Playard Wrestling Post

T he blue brand has been really mediocre in recent weeks and this episode was no exception.  Images via WWE.com   Charlotte Flair Was Like, "I'm Done Facing Sasha Banks. It's Time For Newcomers"  That newcomer is Shotzi Blackheart or just Shotzi as she's now known and she got a number one contender's match against the champion herself which is another trope that I absolutely dislike especially since we just saw a number one contender's match as the main event attraction in the latest episode of RAW.  The match between Shotzi and Charlotte, ended with Shotzi losing the golden opportunity for being in the championship picture.  Post-match saw Shotzi's frustrations getting the best of her as she absolutely gave Banks a beating, signalling a heel turn in the process.  Banks doing the beating instead would've fit the scenario a lot better than what I've seen here because that heel turn is as unnecessary as putting oil in boiling water for pasta maki

The 2021 edition of NXT's Halloween Havoc event didn't live up to last year's show which is why the show felt like an episode of Smackdown back in 2013/2014 with Halloween decorations. This ain't a Halloween Havoc show without the presence of Chucky (aka Chunky if you're grammarly.com) and pretty much, he just gave the rundown for the show's match card.  Images via WWE.com Toxic Attraction vs Io Shirai And Zoey Stark vs Persia Pirotta And Indi Hartwell For The NXT Women's Tag Team Championship In A Ladder Match.   An enjoyable opening match although Io Shirai took a nasty fall on the ladder that was set up between the announce table and the ring. Hoping she's fine and well.  NXT continues to build the so-called "momentum" for the Toxic Attraction as Gigi Dolin climbed up the ladder to win the tag belts for the very first time.  I mean, considering the division has no tag teams, why not give them the belts besides Zoey Stark and Io Shirai are be

Was Monday Night RAW's new set of characters, made the show as lacklustre as Smackdown a few days back?  For the most part, I'll say no. This week's episode was actually watchable and the 3 hours flew by so quick, Quicksilver was jealous.   Images via WWE.com Big E Had Fresh Challengers To Engage With. Aka the "one wrestler after the other stating why they should be number one contender" cliche.  The segment that involved Finn Balor, Rey Mysterio, Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens, led to a brawl because of course, it did.  A four-way ladder match was pencilled in for the main event and if I had to rate this in the "Siskel and Ebert" format, it's two thumbs up.  Sethy Rollings emerged victorious which means he's facing Big E for the championship hopefully at the upcoming Survivor Series PPV because I'm getting sick of the "RAW vs Smackdown" concept like two Smackdown intros ago.  The Street Profits vs Alpha Academy vs Dolph Ziggler And R

Hello, my fellow wrestling fans and welcome to the 5 news week. The post where I report 5 major or minor pro wrestling news, rumours and spoilers of the week that I don't have time to do it separately.  Without further ado, here are the 5 news week.  Some images via wwe.com Vinnie Massaro On Training Cain Valesquez.  Vinnie Massaro is one of those performers in the business where you didn't know his fingers have shaped up some of the most well-known competitors.  One of those competitors is Dominik Mysterio's God son, Cain Valesquez.  During an Interview with Last Minute Wrestling Podcast's Frank Mandolini , Massaro described how he trained Velasquez:  "When I got him, he had like literally nothing so he didn't know anything about pro wrestling. I taught him a lot more of the basic stuff.  I showed him a couple of things here and there, some arm drags and stuff like that.  But, once he got to Mexico, I think he got in the ring with some of those Lucha guys.  He

First off, apologies for not reviewing RAW and NXT this week. Blame this thing called "productivity".  Secondly, the 2021 edition of the Crown Jewel PPV is actually watchable as well as you know, GOOD!?  I swear to God, their marketing didn't get me. The Usos defeated the Hurt Business in a solid tag team bout. This may sound repetitive but God, I'm so happy that The Hurt Business are reunited and guess what? It feels so good.  Images via WWE.com Seth Rollins vs Edge In A Hell In A Cell match.  We kicked things off hot (get it? Because it's taking place in Saudi Arabia).  The only time I can recall Edge being inside Hell In A Cell was when he went straight to Hell thanks to a chokeslam by the Undertaker (no sh*t, Omar).  The question is, did the same lose fate happen to Edge? Nah. The dude prevailed in the end with a stomp on Seth Rollins while the chair was on the mat.  I enjoyed the hell out of this encounter (pun intended). The ending was a fitting note to a fe

Since this past week’s news was slower than a 70s wrestling match, I decided to provide you guys with a few news, I guess?  Now, there was supposed to be a 3rd story that talked about the IATSE Strike and how it would affect professional wrestling television production but just yesterday, the 128-year-old union's West Coast area just reached a 3-year agreement with the producers union, the AMPTP which isn't a great deal for the workers but corporations, am I right?  Let's say if IATSE did go on strike today, I honestly can't see it affecting WWE all that much (I do see it affecting AEW though since they utilized IATSE to handle their production side of things).  Besides, if there's one thing we've learned from last year is that even at the height of the pandemic, WWE's televised programs were still airing. For all we know, their shows will still be on the air even in a post-apocalyptic world.  I don't know if y'all played the Last Of Us but there wa

Smackdown was probably the only time in current WWE TV that I didn't feel the time slot.  Keep in mind, I live outside of the US and I was watching this IN THE FREAKING MORNING.  Oh, and the show was a solid program.  Images via WWE.com   Backstage, Sethy Enjoyed Edge's Promo Until………. Edge mentioned his wife and I thought the promo was going in the "wide eyes open" direction but instead, he basically said that he'll end the saga of himself and Seth inside Hell In A Cell.  It was a decent promo but isn't noteworthy.  Rollins' entire dialogue later in the night? Well, that's a different story. Seth is just so good at playing a goofy pick, it's pure comedy at this point.  I mean, if his "101 dalmatians" look doesn't convince you of his comical ways, I don't know what is.  Finn Balor vs Sami Zayn. King Of The Ring Tournament Semi-Finals.  Other than the Xavier Woods and Ricochet encounter, this tournament has been nothing but a quick

In this week's episode of Monday Night RAW, the show decided to bring back the wildcard rule of some sort aka according to Louis Dangoor, nostalgia.  It's not called as such but it sure does feel this way to me.  Besides that, how did the red brand perform yesterday?  Well, the show went right back to its old ways in that it sucks.  Images via WWE.com   Big E Confronted Drew McIntyre Once Again.  The current WWE champion as well as Drew McIntyre talked about the WWE championship until The Usos came out to hype up Roman Reigns and how he'll tear up Drew McIntyre once McIntyre moves to Smackdown.  The segment led to a tag team match later in the night which saw some miscommunications (to say the least) between the WWE champion and its challenger because I have to see the "can they coexist" trope again.  The match concluded with a count-out because of Drew and Big E beating each other up which led to The Usos ensuing chaos onto Drew McIntyre and Big E.  After The Uso

The internet. The only place where your YouTube recommended is filled with "I DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT'S PG".  It is also home to Netflix which released an interactive movie produced by future Raspberry award-winning movie studio, WWE films. Look, the idea of 3 black dudes being trapped inside a house by a white conservative dead hog, is offensive and by that description alone, you weren't sure for a sec whether you were watching Netflix or the Daily Wire.  Luckily, there wasn't a cameo from Tessa Blanchard so you should be fine.  As a fan of Mass Effect 2, I love some dialogue trees that alter the events of a movie/game.  And, from a functionality standpoint, it is a technical marvel how it gives the audience the illusion of choice (you know, like our current economic system).  I say "illusion" because therein lies the main problem I have with the film. Your choices don't matter here. Even in a WWE movie, they're still trying to avoid the fan

I'm so sorry that I haven't done a "Coherent AEW Take" in *checks the archives* ALMOST 2 MONTHS but I'm back and another week, another decent episode of both Rampage and Dynamite.  Rampage.  Highlights.  Bryan Danielson vs Matt Jackson.  Bryan Danielson. A name I should get used to saying since I've been calling the guy Daniel Bryan my entire wrestling fandom (yes, I was a semen until the year 2000 hit).  And no surprise, a match that involved Bryan Danielson and one half of the Young Bucks is actually, you know, GOOD!  Danielson won the encounter with a submission move I can't name because I'm a fake wrestling fan.  The Jurassic Express, as well as Christian Cage, showed up and a brawl between them and The Elite ensued.  Some Other Things That Happened.  Jade Cargill defeated Nyla Rose And Thunder Rosa - An exciting match on paper but the execution was fine at best in my opinion.  Orange Cassidy defeated Jack Evans In An Hair vs Hair Match - Tips for

  NXT: Mid 2000s watermark edition was a solid 2 hours of wrestling this week although the program is showing main rosterisms in its worst of ways sometimes.  Still getting used to seeing the overall presentation due to the fact that, as mentioned previously, the stage reminds me of Wrestlemania 27 and for that, I'll be a picky POS and put it in my "don't like" section of the review.  Also, what in Joe Pesci's universe was Parker's new look? My man looks like an extra out of Blade Trinity.  Images via WWE.com   Ember Moon vs Mandy Rose. "Toxic Attraction" is a great podcast name for podcasts starring white dudes that rant about WWE given how they basically hate-watching something that they're a fan of.  Mandy Rose was honestly the highlight of the match. She stood toe to toe with a great performer like Ember Moon.  Rose defeated Ember with an impressive looking kick.  While I'm not the biggest mark for this new stable, I will give Mandy Rose