Post by Ross Report on Jul 1, 2019 7:38:46 GMT
If you're not feeling hyped for Red, White & Bruised after the final SLAM! before the hottest show of the summer, I don't know how to help you! This week's show was another rip-roaring rollercoaster ride of high-octane action and shocking moments, so let's break down everything that took place!
And if we're talking about shocking moments, how about the huge upset that took place in the opening match of the night! The Briscoes seemed as if they were well on their way to victory over "The Ding Dongs" in a warm-up match ahead of Red, White & Bruised, yet the arrival of the Tag Team Champions changed all that! While it may have looked as if Nick Aldis and Chris Hero were just scouting their next challengers, it turned out that they'd distracted Jay and Mark from the more pressing matters at hand, causing them to lose the contest via countout while the two teams faced off at ringside! However, while "The Ding Dongs" may have won the battle, you could argue it was "Dem Boys From Delaware" who won the war! Indeed, with "The Kings of Wrestling" beating a hasty retreat as soon as the bell sounded, The Briscoes turned their ire on the masked men, dishing out a vicious double team beatdown! And that wouldn't be the last we saw of them either, but we'll get to that a little later!
It seems like the never-ending saga of who will lead the "bWo" has taken another unexpected detour this week with the news that Al Snow (that's the REAL Al Snow, not Santino Marella dressed in a dime-store outfit) has finally been captured by the detective who's been investigating his various crimes and misdemeanors over the years. Furthermore, not only is "The Snowman" under arrest, but he'll be going on trial next Sunday...which just so happens to coincide with Red, White & Bruised! It's my understanding that the EWA is going to try and be on hand to capture "the trial of the century" as best we can, as Al's fate (and perhaps that of the entire "bWo" too) is finally decided!
Bobby Lashley had one hell of a showing in his surprise return against Samoa Joe last week, pushing "The Destroyer" to his absolute limit! While it wasn't quite enough to get the job done thanks to his fellow "SCP" members interfering on his behalf, Lashley followed it up with a quick and dominant (if you'll pardon the pun) win over Billy Pizza on this week's SLAM! It's great to see the former National Champion not only refreshed from his time away but rejuvenated as well! Based on the evidence we've witnessed so far, no doubt he'll be looking to work his way back into the mix over the coming weeks and months!
I think we all knew it was coming, and from her own comments last week, I think even JoJo expected it herself, as "The Dominion" looked to dish out another sneak attack against the number one contender to the Women's Title! However, their victim turned out to be "Bradley" in disguise, taking the hit for his pal as JoJo then swooped in and got the jump on Lacey Evans instead! This would quickly bring Charlotte Flair onto the scene as both she and JoJo decided to save their fight for next Sunday and check on their respective partners. Needless to say, I can't wait to see them finally go at it with the gold on the line! This week not withstanding, while "The Queen" has arguably had the run of this rivalry outside the ring, JoJo has seemed to have Flair's number bell-to-bell. However, will that still be the case at the hottest show of the summer?
Tensions continue to fray between "The Horde," and in particular, between Ember Moon and "The Reaper." Ember has never truly trusted the man formerly known as Gabriel since he was indoctrinated into Marty Scurll's lethal legion, and "The Reaper's" flirting with the World Title did little to diminish her suspicions either! This led to some tense words between the two this past week, resulting in "The Reaper" storming out before the show had even begun to make his way to Binghamton alone, with a later promo making it clear that the talented young Brit is determined to stand on his own two feet next Sunday. In fact, it almost came across as the same sort of fire and dogged determination that we saw from "The Reaper" back when he was Gabriel, if you ask me. Could it be that his former self is starting to come back to the light once more? I can't say for sure, but I would certainly hope so. No matter what name he's wrestled under, "The Reaper" has always been far too talented to be someone else's sidekick or henchman.
Well, that was a...unique debut from Orange Cassidy this week! The word lackadaisical springs to mind when talking about "Freshly Squeezed," whose lethargic pace completely threw Pete Gas through a loop! The "Mean Street Posse" veteran didn't seem to have a clue how to react to Cassidy's laid back counters to everything he was trying, which is probably why his fellow "MSP" members Joey Abs and Rodney decided to join Gas in delivering a three-on-one beatdown! You can't help but feel bad for the "OC" after suffering an assault like this, but something about his general demeanor suggests he'll probably shrug it off in no time at all.
My old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler was justifiably frustrated with "Desperado" Joe Gomez and Ken Raper after their attempted run-in last week created an opening for "The Honky Tonk Man" to defeat Lawler, thus saving "Honky's" career AND earning a final shot at reclaiming the Carl Perkins guitar at Red, White & Bruised! As such, Lawler tried calling Gomez and Raper out, only to instead find himself opposite "Mr Shake, Rattle And Roll" instead! The two sworn enemies ran one another down and each vowed to walk away with the guitar when it's all said and done, but it's anyone's guess which of them will do so! Considering both "Honky" and "The King" have a propensity for rule-breaking, the only thing I'd say for sure is it's not likely to be a clean match!
Few would argue that the rivalry between Tom Lawlor and Ilja Dragunov has seemingly gone from 0-100mph in the span of just a few short weeks, with the "Singularity" member calling out his and Rhea Ripley's tormentor for a one-on-one conversation. The mysterious "Russian Nightmare" obliged, laying down his reasoning for targeting the former MMA veteran, all of which seemed to hit a little too close to home from where I was sat. However, even when Dragunov dared to take things too far by bringing up Lawlor's deceased sister, it wasn't enough to spark the brawl that the devious Russian was after. Give "Filthy" Tom Lawlor a ton of credit for keeping his anger in check and promising instead to save the violence for next Sunday's Pay-Per-View, which is guaran-damn-teed to be an absolute barnburner of a match, mark my words!
While "The Flamingo Family" attempted to lay low ahead of Red, White & Bruised, they clearly didn't count on our intrepid interviewer extraordinaire Renee Young looking for an inside scoop! And even though Buh Buh's challenger might be fully focused on the task awaiting him next week, the man from Dudleyville seems to be in less-than-high spirits. Hell, he looked downright paranoid, almost as if he believed "The Reaper" was death personified! Of course, we know that's not really the case, but should Buh Buh Ray not get his head in the game, it could well spell the death of his National Title reign!
Mike Mizanin has had enough of "MJF's" games, calling the brash youngster out for a good ol' fashioned throwdown! Instead though, he found himself come face-to-face with "Luchasaurus," as the lucha-dinosaur sought some revenge after being accidentally struck by "The Miz" last week! The big guy wiped Mizanin out with a wicked looking chokeslam, resulting in Maxwell Jacob Friedman making his presence felt! "The Top One-Percenter" clearly picked his spot wisely as he came down to gloat over the fallen "Miz"...yet Friedman forgot all about "Luchasaurus," who has his own bone to pick with "MJF" over the result of their match one week prior! That meant Friedman was laid out with a Mass Extinction chokeslam just the same as "The Miz," leaving "Luchasaurus" to demand a triple threat match between the three of them at Red, White & Bruised! And what a match that has the potential to be!
Not content with getting words from "The Flamingo Family," Renee Young's inquisitive streak also saw her investigate some strange noises coming from one of the locker rooms in the Verizon Arena, discovering a poker game taking place with Ace Austin running the show! As he tried dealing Renee into the game, Austin revealed that he'd be watching Red, White & Bruised very closely, particularly the National Title scene by the sounds of it! While he could do with a few more wins under his belt first, I think it's only a matter of time before "The Ace of Spades" starts moving up the card!
What a battle we witnessed between Pete Dunne and Nick Aldis, as these two Brit grapplers put on a back-and-forth battle for supremacy. This was, of course, the final match in the "Pick Your Poison" Series, something that Samoa Joe was winning 2-1 after beating both "Show E" and Bobby Lashley in recent weeks. A victory here would have tied things up, meaning Joe and Dunne would then get to each pick a stage for their Red, White & Bruised encounter, with the EWA Universe then picking the third and final one. However, Dunne not only had to contend with "The National Treasure" last night, but also Chris Hero at ringside as well, with "The Knockout Artist" providing his partner with some crucial assists. The most notable of which came when Dunne actually forced Aldis to tap out to a triangle choke, only for the submission to happen behind the Referee's back while he dealt with Hero! However, "The Bruiserweight" would receive some unexpected help when The Briscoes suddenly showed up, looking to gain some vengeance for what happened earlier in the night! Their fight with the Tag Team Champions was quickly broken up by security before it could really get started, as Aldis returned to the ring and looked to finish his opponent off, only to get trapped in a Kimura! With Dunne looking to break another "Kings of Wrestling" arm, Samoa Joe's music blasted out as "The Destroyer" marched his way to ringside! I was just like everyone else, stunned that Joe would seemingly defy Harry Smith's strict orders and risk getting fired by putting his hands on Pete Dunne...but instead, Joe delivered a vicious slap to his own teammate, drawing a cynical disqualification! I've heard plenty of rumors about things being bad in the "Kings of Wrestling" camp since Nick Aldis came on board, with "The National Treasure" rubbing up several other members of the group the wrong way, and this seemed as much of a warning shot to Aldis as it was a screw job for Pete Dunne! After all, with "The Bruiserweight" technically losing the match, that meant Joe was then free to announce all three stipulations for their Three Stages of Hell Match, choosing a No DQ fall, a Submissions fall, and then (if necessary) a steel cage! It's safe to say then that Pete Dunne and Samoa Joe's longstanding rivalry that has been over four months in the making will finally come to an explosive and downright dangerous head next Sunday! And there's a damn good chance that neither one of them will ever be the same once it's all said and done!
Even though there's so much to look forward to at Red, White & Bruised, I think we've figured out when the best time for a bathroom break will be after discovering "The Great Khali" has some promo-time booked for the Pay-Per-View. And don't even get me started on whatever this mystery "costume" one of the "Mumbai Cat's" has planned for the Punjabi redwood!
I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure how wise it is to not treat a man like Brock Lesnar with anything less than 100% seriousness. Yet that's precisely what Joey Ryan and "Hangman" Page seemed to do, the former especially, during their handicap match against the three-time World Champion. As a result, "B.D.E." ended up paying for the sins of their "Kingdom" leader here, with "The Beast" mauling Joey Ryan during the early goings until "Hangman" Page finally got in the match! That advantage would soon prove to be short-lived however, with Lesnar turning things around and tossing his opponents around like a couple of ragdolls! In the end, a double stack F-5 was enough to put Ryan and Page away, clearing the path for Lesnar to finally get his hands on Matt Taven, presumably next Sunday at Red, White & Bruised! However, we're still waiting on an official announcement for that one, and considering how Taven has managed to avoid facing Lesnar in a fair fight for nearly two months now, I'm not taking anything for granted!
To cap off another stellar show, Fit Finlay made his way down to the squared circle, looking more mentally exhausted than I think we've ever seen him. Understandably so too, given how Marty Scurll has managed to exploit "The Fighting Irishman's" own family in order to get in his head. It was little surprise then that Finlay was done talking and simply wanted a fight instead, demanding the World Heavyweight Champion join him in the ring. Rather than meeting Finlay head-on however, "The Villain" stuck to the stage as they went back-and-forth until Scurll pulled a truly shocking move by bringing out Fit's own son, Brogan! Indeed, it would appear as if the leader of "The Horde" has won over Finlay's wife and son completely, with Brogan expressing his disappointment in Fit being so absent recently and their need for some space to clear their heads, a suggestion that Marty Scurll no doubt planted! I can't even begin to imagine what poor Fit Finlay must be going through to hear comments like that and see Brogan go off with a man like "The Villain," but he's going to have to somehow get his own head on straight if he wants to stand any chance of victory next week. This isn't just a battle for the World Championship anymore...it's a battle for Finlay's family as well! And I dread to think what might happen should he lose it!
Well, it's that time of the week again as we break down my top three movers and shakers:
1. Brock Lesnar
2. Nick Aldis
3. The Ding Dongs
"The Beast" put in a typically impressive performance as he laid waste to both Joey Ryan and "Hangman" Page, sending a crystal clear message to Matt Taven in the process! It was a busy night for Nick Aldis, playing a part in costing The Briscoes a match before then taking Pete Dunne to the limit, all while picking up the tainted victory courtesy of his "ally" Samoa Joe damn near slapping the taste from his mouth. And in third spot, "The Ding Dongs" picked up their first ever EWA victory in seven years of being with the company! It may have come as a result of "The Kings of Wrestling" distracting their opponents and allowing for a cheap countout, but I'll be damned if that's still not the highlight of their entire careers!
And so Red, White & Bruised is finally here. Quite honestly, I don't think I can recall a show I've been more excited about in my 45 years in this business. Each and every match on this gigantic card has the potential to steal the show, with so many rivalries culminating on this one glorious weekend! I won't even try and sell you on buying the Pay-Per-View, since it should be a no-brainer at this point! This could well go down as the greatest show the EWA has ever put on...so miss it at your own peril! Until next time,
BOOMER SOONER!
