Post by Ross Report on Nov 4, 2019 23:51:42 GMT
Welcome to the Ross Report, and boy, do we have a lot to talk about after this past Sunday's SLAM!
Interesting start to the show as we were treated to a video package documenting "The Reaper's" journey in last year's King of the Ring tournament, one which took him from a close-fought win against Fit Finlay to just falling short against the monstrous "PCO" in the finals. Needless to say, the 12 months since then have been filled with ups and downs for the man formerly known as Gabriel, but this year's tournament almost represents his chance at redemption. And as we witnessed a little later in the show, it's a chance that "The Reaper" intends to make the most of! Of course, that's a task easier said than done against an opponent like Shawn Spears! "The Perfect Ten" made a very big impression on me this week, engaging in a fantastic technical exchange with his opponent to kick off their first round match. As things progressed, it looked as if Spears had the former National Champion's number with some of the counter wrestling he was busting out, but as we've seen time and time again from "The Reaper," you just can't count this young man out. Just as it looked like Spears might be setting up for the big finish, "The Reaper" slipped free of his grasp to grab his opponent from behind and drop him with the Fall From Grace for the crucial three count. A tough loss for Shawn Spears, no doubt about it, but still a star making performance for the newcomer that was only really marred by the baffling attack he suffered at the hands of the "Glorious Bs" afterwards, who seem to have taken umbrage with "The Perfect Ten" for daring to refer to himself that way. And as for "The Reaper?" Well, I don't want to speak too soon, but it looks like he could be well on his way to getting back to his best again, which is encouraging to see. Can he go all the way this year after coming so close in last year's tournament? Only time will tell...
Rewinding a little bit, the first King of the Ring match we saw last night was the heated battle between Tom Lawlor and "Crazzy Steve," two diametrically opposed individuals in almost every conceivable way. Lawlor is a methodical fighter with a knack for picking apart opponents, while Steve is the epitome of the term "wildcard," with it being near impossible to predict what he'll do next at any given moment. That created somewhat of a styles clash between them which made for a high-paced start to the show. Indeed, the former MMA veteran looked to end things quickly only to have Steve narrowly avoid a Superman punch right off the bat before fighting back into the contest. Try as Steve might though, Lawlor was absolutely relentless in his pursuit of a place in the quarter finals. Not even the repeated attempts of interference by Su Yung could slow "Filthy" Tom down, especially not with Rhea Ripley in his corner to help even the score! In the end, Lawlor capped off an consummate display by putting his opponent down with the Event Horizon to advance to the next round. Judging by this evidence, this entire tournament could easily be Tom Lawlor's "coming out" party here in the EWA as he shows everyone just what he's capable of.
Color me shocked at the reception Marty Scurll received from the EWA Universe this week. In the last Ross Report, I commented that there was some obvious cheers by the end of last weekend's barnburner of a main event, but it seems as if the two-time World Champion has won over more than just the Amarillo crowd. And going by his address to the E-Arena, it sounds as if Scurll may have even turned over a new leaf as he showed respect to Pete Dunne, to the field of competitors in this year's King of the Ring, and to the paying fans as well. Still, while I truly hope this is a new beginning for Marty Scurll, I'm going to reserve judgment for the time being. Trust has to be earned in all walks of life, and there's still a ways for Scurll to go before he's proved this change of heart is genuine. Nonetheless, I'm rooting for the talented Cambridge native in his second run as World Champion.
It's nice to see all is well again within "The Flamingo Family" after months of turmoil. Buh Buh Ray is still the National Champion after successfully defending the gold against "MJF" last week at All Hallows' Evil, and now "Show E." has the opportunity to advance to the quarter finals of the King of the Ring tournament next week if he can follow in Bubbs' footsteps and defeat "The Salt of the Earth." However, as we'd hear later in the show, Maxwell Jacob Friedman has got his groove back. Sure, he may not have captured the National Title as planned, but he at least got his Burberry scarf back from "Show E." last Sunday. Not that that particular scarf was long for the world, as "MJF" threw it in a trash can and set it ablaze, having replaced it with a new Classic Check Cashmere scarf from the Burberry range! That wasn't all though, as Friedman made it crystal clear that he was going all the way in this year's tournament, with nobody being more worthy of wearing the crown than him! While that line of thinking is certainly up for debate, it's clear that "MJF" is feeling confident about his chances. First things first though...he needs to find a way to defeat "Show E." for the second time in a month, and something tells me that he won't be handed an easy DQ like their last go-around!
Viktor is not a happy customer, and who can blame him? After coming up just short against Marty Scurll a couple of weeks ago and then missing out on a World Title opportunity after Pete Dunne lost the gold last Sunday, he was then snubbed for a spot in this year's King of the Ring tournament just to top it all off! To make matters even worse, as Viktor and Nigel Rabid bounded about their conspiracy theories, they would soon be interrupted by the arrival of "The Sandman!" The ECW veteran just recently signed a deal with the EWA and quickly made a big impact as he sent Viktor packing via some wicked Singapore cane shots, before then taking out a young Aussie grappler by the name of Rufio in double quick time. "The Sandman" might be one of the most unorthodox superstars in the history of the business (not to mention one of the most dangerous, when he wants to be), and it looks like he's going to be a welcome addition to our roster going forward!
After standing up to Simon Dean at All Hallows' Evil, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate seem worried that the loss of the sponsorship deal with "The Simon System" might derail their plans to get into Tag Team Title contention. If there's any justice in this world, that hopefully won't be the case, since "The Don" did us all a huge favor by getting rid of that charlatan! Still, while the "Mustache Mountain" boys were in attendance last night, their fellow "British Strong Style" member clearly wasn't. And reading between the lines here, it sounds as if Pete Dunne might be taking the loss of the World Championship pretty hard right now. I can't say I blame him for feeling that way, but at least the "Bruiserweight" has his chance to bounce back right away when he sees first round action in the King of the Ring tournament. Of course, he'll be facing another former World Champion in Ken Shamrock, someone who is likewise looking to regain some lost momentum after spending much of the past couple of months on the sidelines. With so much at stake, you can bet your bottom dollar that's going to be one hell of a contest next Sunday in what, on paper at least, potentially looks like the match of the entire first round!
I was hoping we might get some kind of explanation from Sasha Banks regarding her actions at All Hallows' Evil, but to me at least, it felt like "The Boss" was simply out to justify taking advantage of a controversial situation. While Banks was technically well within her rights not to call a timeout as she and JoJo checked on Bradley, surely the new Women's Champion must realize just how shady it came across to the EWA Universe when she surprised her unsuspecting opponent with a roll-up from out nowhere? Well, either way, Sasha has thrown down the gauntlet to the entire women's division and I can't wait to see who steps up next. Be it JoJo in search of a rematch, Charlotte Flair looking to reclaim the gold, Becky Lynch, Kelly Klein, Toni Storm, Rhea Ripley or anyone else all aiming to stake their claim, Banks has no shortage of potential challengers, that's for sure!
When I saw it was going to be Tommaso Ciampa against Jon Moxley in the first round match of this year's King of the Ring, I had a feeling it was going to be a wild affair, and boy, was I not disappointed! Both superstars are cut from a similar cloth and both have a major chip on their shoulder, so it's little surprise things got off to a slugfest! However, Ciampa showed a real ruthless streak as he soon dropped Moxley with an Air Raid Crash on the ring apron and then focused his assault on the head and neck of his opponent throughout the rest of the contest. "The Death Rider" quickly found himself overwhelmed by that onslaught, as a Fairy Tale Ending and Sicilian Stretch in quick succession finally forced the submission. That just goes to show why Ciampa could well be one of the favorites in this year's tournament with his penchant for targeting body parts in deadly fashion, something Harper can attest to after their previous battles as well. That sets up what looks to be a big time contest in the quarter finals as Ciampa will go one-on-one with "The Reaper," in a match that has all the makings of an instant classic! I can't wait for that one!
While most everyone else might be excited about this year's King of the Ring tournament, it's fair to say that my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler doesn't exactly share in that enthusiasm. To be fair to Jerry, I can totally understand why he'd be disgruntled at the crowning of a new "King," but at least "The Honky Tonk Man" and Jimmy Hart were on hand to raise his spirits by taking aim at the Tag Team Championships. And speaking of our brand new champions, Heath Slater and Trevor Murdoch were in a celebratory mood after dethroning the Briscoes at All Hallows' Evil last week! That is, only to have the party interrupted by Tammy Sytch, who claimed the responsibility for their victory. That's right...Tammy has ditched yet another tag team to attach herself to the latest champions, much as she initially did with "The Revival" first! And to prove just how effective this new alliance is, the champs happened to run into Trevor "Don't call me Jethro" Murdoch's old tag team partner, Skinner, making an example out of him with a nasty backstage beatdown! Consider that a message sent to Jerry Lawler and "The Honky Tonk Man!"
I've had several people asking me on Twitter what the mysterious "It's Coming" message was all about, and frankly, I haven't a clue. All I know for sure is, it looks like Halloween isn't over just yet...
In our final first round match of the week, Harper looked to get back to winning ways again as he took on a man who has also struggled to score many points in the win column this year, Brady Pierce. Don't let his record fool you though, folks...while Pierce has struggled to get over the finishing line on numerous occasions this year, he's always pushed his opponents to their limit, and things were no different here. Indeed, this was every bit the hoss battle I'd hoped it would be, with both men showing off their impressive strength to great effect. It looked for sure though that the presence of Bull Moose Calhoun might play the difference maker as he helped save Pierce from getting taken out, only to have Harper take him down instead! That distraction swung the ball back in Brady's court however, yet "The Goatsman" kept coming back, only for a brawl on the outside to nearly result in both superstars being counted out! Instead, Pierce made the mistake of rolling Harper back inside when it looked like he could have taken the count out win, seemingly trying to put more of an exclamation point on matters. However, that allowed Harper to surprise Pierce with a devastating Truckstop Lariat to finally score the three count and advance on to face Tom Lawlor in the quarter finals! I'm sure Brady Pierce will be kicking himself over that one, but you've got to hand it to Harper, who has proven himself to be a tough cookie to crack ever since arriving in the EWA. Will Tom Lawlor figure out a means to do so? Or could "The Goatsman" soon find himself advancing to the semi finals as well? I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
In our main event of the evening, Cesaro was putting his spot in this year's King of the Ring on the line against his two former fellow "Kings of Wrestling," Chris Hero and Samoa Joe! This one has been brewing for months now, ever since the "Kings" collapsed under the weight of their losses at Red, White & Bruised, and with so much enmity between these former allies, it turned this triple threat match into a non-stop rollercoaster ride! Samoa Joe was taken out of action early, leaving it to Hero and Cesaro to duke it out during the early goings, their long-term friendship seemingly well and truly over. Soon enough, Joe got back in the match and all three superstars were pulling out all the stops to try and put one another away, with Chris Hero particularly standing out. While his self-destructive problems with drink are well documented, this was as focused a "Knockout Artist" as maybe we've ever seen. Yet even that wasn't enough as Cesaro put a stop to a flurry of offence by dumping Hero to the floor, with the "Broadsword" then countering out of a Coquina Clutch attempt from Samoa Joe to lay "The Samoan Submission Machine" out with his very own Muscle Buster! That proved all she wrote for Joe, meaning not only has Cesaro stood tall in this battle between former "Kings," but he'll also face Brian Pillman Jr as scheduled on next week's show for a spot in the quarter finals!
With everything covered, I guess it's time to check out my picks for this week's top three movers and shakers:
1. Cesaro
2. Harper
3. The Reaper
A tough call to make this week, as several superstars put in some outstanding performances. I've given Cesaro the top spot though because he had to beat two game opponents in Samoa Joe and Chris Hero, seemingly winning the war between these former allies and cementing his spot in this year's King of the Ring tournament. Speaking of which, I've gone for Harper in second place as I felt like he had to dig a little deeper than any of the other first round competitors in order to defeat his opponent, Brady Pierce. And last but by no means least, "The Reaper" kickstarted his attempt to ensure history doesn't repeat itself by overcoming Shawn Spears in one hell of a slobberknocker. And the more momentum "The Reaper" builds, the harder he could be to beat down the road.
All in all then, it's been an amazing start to the 2019 King of the Ring...and things are only warming up as we've got the rest of our first round matches to come this Sunday! Cesaro faces a tough test in the shape of Brian Pillman Jr, with the second generation superstar on the verge of breaking out. Meanwhile, "MJF" has a shot at revenge against "Show E." for stealing his Burberry scarf, which you've got to believe will be just as motivating as advancing in the tournament. Then there's the veteran Tim Storm trying to earn a permanent deal as he takes on our resident troublemaker extraordinaire, Brian Kendrick. And to cap it all off, there's the clash between two former World Champions looking to get back on track as Ken Shamrock faces off against Pete Dunne! That one has dream match written all over it! And the only way to see how that and the rest of our first round matches unfold is to join us when the EWA rolls into New Mexico next Sunday! We'll see you there!
BOOMER SOONER!
