Ross Report - 1/20/20

It's that time of week again, as we take a look back at all the major happenings of this week's SLAM! And what a show it was!

The night began with Gabriel pontificating at length about why he shook Harper's hand at the end of last week's broadcast. I'm not sure there's many currently on the EWA roster who love the sound of their own voice quite as much as "The Archangel" seems to, but the message here was clear. While he is happy for Harper breaking through the proverbial "glass ceiling" and proving that anything is possible in the EWA, that doesn't mean Gabriel won't do whatever it takes to unseat him as champion and take the biggest prize in the business as revenge for the perceived injustices he's suffered at the hands of the E-Wrestling Alliance. Whether or not he does so remains to be seen however.

Our first match of the evening was a Super Brawl rematch, pitting "The Mighty Don't Kneel" against "The Vaudevillains." This turned out to be an even bigger disaster for the duo of English and Gotch than their showing on the grandest stage of them all, with their Australian opponents hitting them hard and fast, catching them off guard. The former Tag Team Champions barely knew what hit them as Haste and Silva secured a second straight win, putting them one step closer towards title contention, one has to imagine!

Speaking of the Tag Team Champions, it seems as if my old pal Jerry "The King" Lawler is plotting to take his half of the gold back from Santino Marella by whatever means necessary! That goal led to him and "The Honky Tonk Man" throwing a "welcome to the team" bash for Marella on this week's broadcast! However, they were far from genuine in their sentiments, instead trying to hide "The Italian Stallion's" title and then blame him for losing it, with the hope it would convince Santino to quit or potentially even get fired for negligence. Either way, the plan ended up backfiring (if you'll pardon the pun) as an accidental fire caused "Honky," "King," and Jimmy Hart to hightail it out of there, while Santino stayed to put out the flames, finding his championship along the way! Still, something tells me that the trio of Memphis legends won't give up their quest after the first setback!

Back to the action, and it was time for Rory Coyle to take a big step-up in competition from "Desperado" Joe Gomez as he faced off with Brady Pierce. While true, "Dr Fresh" has struggled to build momentum over the last year or so, there's no doubt he's still a highly-skilled competitor. Yet even he was caught by surprise by the sheer intensity of "The TV Nasty" when this one got underway, with Coyle quickly injuring Brady's shoulder and working it over throughout the contest. That left Pierce little choice but to fight from underneath, doggedly taking all the heavy hits that Rory Coyle delivered before dishing out some of his own. It all led to an exciting conclusion with "The Last True Sick Boy" seemingly setting Pierce up for his patented Dip In The Lake, only for Brady to somehow escape and cut the Irishman off with The Freshmaker from out of nowhere! What a crucial win for Brady Pierce, especially after the disappointment of last week's Tag Team Championship match! As for Rory Coyle though, he continues to prove just how deadly a competitor he truly is. Keep your eyes on this unorthodox superstar, folks!

Shortly after, the broadcast was once again interrupted for a special "Breaking News" bulletin from "Bad News Barrett." Much like last week, this wasn't one based in fact so much as it was Barrett's own opinions presented as such, as he mocked the recent re-signing of the Briscoes, applauded Pete Dunne's suspension, and claimed himself the real reason for the EWA's ratings success. If this counts for "news" these days, no wonder the media has such a bad reputation! And yes, I'm fully aware that being part of that same news media makes me a hypocrite.

We soon had our second tag team match of the night, as the unlikely duo of Chad Gable and Jack Gallagher teamed up ahead of their National Championship clash at St. Valentine's Day Massacre, taking on the debuting "Tokyo Vice." I was just as excited to see this new Japanese tag team in action for the first time as I was intrigued to see if champion and challenger could co-exist, and boy, this one did not disappoint! Needless to say, tensions were certainly frayed between Gable and Gallagher, with the two of them engaging in a game of "one-upsmanship" throughout the contest, something that almost worked to their detriment. Especially when you consider the quality of the competition, with Desperado an expert at flying around the ring while Shibata utilizes some downright ferocious strikes! Indeed, this turned into a violent affair as both teams held nothing back, with "The Extraordinary Gentleman" resorting to some of the nefarious means that served him so well in 2017. As a result, Gable and Gallagher walked out the winners, although that clearly didn't mean they were on the same page, as an intense post-match discussion allowed "Tokyo Vice" to get in the last shot, sending the National Champion and his number one contender to the floor before standing tall!

Elsewhere, we checked in with World Heavyweight Champion, Harper, not that he seemed to realize it at first! Evidently, "The Goatsman" heard what Gabriel had to say earlier in the night as he explained to his furry friend Larry that he couldn't allow Gabriel to end this journey Harper is on and send him back to where he came from. With that hint of desperation, for lack of a better term, it seems as if Gabriel could be in for more of a fight at St. Valentine's Day Massacre than he perhaps anticipates!

All credit to Sasha Banks for pushing herself to make it to the Cajundome with her knee being in as bad a condition as it is, but I can't help but echo my thoughts from last week. While it's understandable she wants to show "The Dominion's" attack at SuperBrawl XIX hasn't affected her, the doctors say otherwise, so there's no good reason to put herself at risk before she's ready to return to action. As it so happened, Sasha's defiance in the face of injury saw Rhea Ripley emerge to declare she wants the title shot that was stolen from her at SuperBrawl. Yet that then signalled the arrival of Becky Lynch and Winter, with the latter once again doing the talking for "The Queen Slayer." Indeed, Winter would make the case for Becky receiving a rematch to that closely-contested classic on the grandest stage of them all, claiming unfinished business! As such, Sasha agreed to face both Becky and Rhea in a triple threat match whenever she next defends the title!

On the theme of championship matches, Braun Strowman looked to make the first defense of his TV Title when he faced Jon Moxley. "The Monster Among Men" was given a stern test here, with Moxley looking to overwhelm the big man early on with a relentless assault. However, we know Strowman is tougher than a two dollar steak, not to mention the ungodly strength he possesses! And no matter what Moxley threw at him, Strowman kept coming back like some kind of nightmare! In the end, Mox tried to take a page out of last week's playbook when he controversially beat Jeff Cobb after removing the turnbuckle pad. He ripped it off once again, exposing the steel underneath and trying to goad Braun into colliding with it, but it seems turnabout is fair play, with Strowman sending Moxley into the steel instead before finally putting him away with the Running Powerslam. A hard-fought match for "The Monster Among Men," but that's just the way that big ol' country hoss likes it, I'm sure!

Just before our main event, Scott and Cody Hall approached Marty Scurll to discuss some last minute strategy ahead of their match against "The Dynasty." However, it seems as if Cody doesn't share his father's ambitions, especially the suggestion of potentially forming "The New Outsiders" with Scurll, contingent on their success last night. That jibes with what we saw last week when his brief partnership with Brady Pierce fell apart as Cody didn't want to share the spotlight with anyone else. Still, the second generation superstar willingly allowed Scurll to start this one, presumably since "The Villain" was the one with a bone to pick against Alexander Hammerstone and Richard Holliday after the roles they played in his losing the World Championship. For their part though, "MJF's" lackeys were out to make their in-ring debuts for the EWA and take out Friedman's rival at the same time. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, they used some of the tactics "The Salt of The Earth" is famous for, like eye pokes and cheap shots, isolating Cody Hall once he'd entered the match. After Hall eventually managed to create an opening though, "MJF" himself came marching down the ramp to direct traffic and potentially get involved. Not that he had the chance to do so, as Marty Scurll hopped down from the apron to block his path! Alas, he did so just as Cody Hall tried to tag out, almost costing the makeshift duo the match when Holliday rolled Hall up for a close two count! It also allowed Hammerstone to get the jump on Marty Scurll from behind, yet back in the ring, Cody Hall managed to take advantage this time by hitting the Outsider's Edge and scoring the three count! He was then joined by his father to help run off "MJF" and Hammerstone before they could get more licks in on Scurll, saving the day! It goes without saying though, this business between Marty Scurll and Maxwell Jacob Friedman is far from over!

With all that in mind then, let's take a look at my picks for this week's top three movers and shakers:

1. Braun Strowman
2. Marty Scurll/Cody Hall
3. Brady Pierce

Top spot goes to Braun Strowman, who was given a hell of a fight by Jon Moxley in his first Television Title defense. Coming in at number two, the unlikely duo of Marty Scurll and Cody Hall managed to overcome "The Dynasty" despite the best efforts of "MJF." And last but not least, Brady Pierce scored his first victory in almost a year, perhaps marking a significant change for "Dr Fresh's" fortunes going forward!

With there being just three more SLAM!'s between now and St. Valentine's Day Massacre, expect to see the tension ramp up over the coming weeks as more matches start coming together! We already know it'll be Gabriel challenging Harper for the World Championship and Chad Gable doing the same for Jack Gallagher's National Title, but it seems there is plenty of other trouble brewing that might lead to further additions! Will the Women's Championship triple threat be made official? Could Marty Scurll and "MJF" be on a collision course? And who, I wonder, will challenge for the Tag Team Championships? I expect things will become clear sooner rather than later, so with that in mind, we'll see you next week when we head to Wichita, Kansas! Until then,

BOOMER SOONER!