Post by Ross Report on May 4, 2020 23:09:04 GMT
SLAM! returned to the world famous E-Arena last night for the inevitable fallout coming out of Civil War, and boy, did it deliver!
The night opened with an appearance by the winner of the men's Civil War Match, Jamie Noble! It's amazing to see just how much the EWA Universe has warmed to "The Redneck Messiah" in such a short amount of time, with Noble attributing his victory to the love of his life, Nidia, who just so happened to join him right there in the middle of the ring. Unfortunately though, that happy moment was soon interrupted by the arrival of "MJF," who unsurprisingly felt the need to run down Jamie Noble and his accomplishments before shockingly looking to buy the Civil War contract from him! After his initial offer of $100 was turned down, Friedman kept upping the price until he hit $100,000, showing just how much he fears the prospect of someone cashing in a shot at his championship whenever and wherever they want! Yet before Noble could respond, National Champion Sammy Guevara decided to crash the party, getting into a brief debate with "MJF" over whose fault it was that "The Spanish God" ended up being eliminated by Curt Hawkins at Civil War. Well, just as it looked as if Sammy was willing to put that issue to bed and join "The Dynasty" in attacking Jamie Noble, that would then bring out Hawkins himself! "The Ultimate Underdog" may not have evened the odds exactly, but his presence worked in making "The Dynasty"/Guevara thinks twice about their planned assault. Furthermore, Curt would also let it be known that he wanted a shot at Sammy's National Championship, inspiring Jamie Noble to lay down a huge challenge for next week's SLAM! Namely, a tag team match pitting the World and National Champions against the unusual duo of Noble and Hawkins! That one promises to be a match nobody can afford to miss, especially as Noble and Hawkins stand as the next potential challengers for both "MJF" and Sammy Guevara, meaning there's a lot riding on that result next Sunday!
It wouldn't be long before we saw our first match of the night as Goldberg took on Abdullah The Butcher in an encounter that proved to be a wild affair from start to finish! Indeed, Goldberg tried taking Sabu out of the equation before the bell even rang, only for "The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal Maniac" to continually get involved on multiple occasions throughout the contest, while Abdullah himself also used his trademark fork to try and take "Da Man" down! Alas, it's to Goldberg's credit that he managed to not only weather the storm but take out both Sabu and "The Butcher" as well, before finally landing a devastating Spear to finish things off! And while the fans might not have much reason to like this "new and improved" Goldberg right now, few can argue just how impressive he's been thus far into his return!
Talk about a dark and ominous warning from "UltraMantis Black," as the mysterious masked insectoid looks to make a comeback to the EWA. With such enigmatic talk though, I wouldn't like to guess where "The Great And Devious One" goes from here though!
Elsewhere, and following her surprise appearance at Civil War two weeks ago, Asuka was back and trying to get on the same page as EWA officials in her quest to find Carmella! Of course, it was "The Princess of Staten Island" who eliminated Asuka during the Women's Civil War Match, yet as Carmella herself has made abundantly clear, her return was only ever meant as a one-off, hence her not being around this week. If this evidence is anything to go by however, I think Asuka is going to have a hard time accepting that!
There's nothing quite like a good ol' fashioned "hoss fight," and that's exactly what we got as "Killer Kross" and "Ryback" did battle! Kross has obviously been making waves in recent months, but this was our first real look at "Ryback" in action, with "The Big Guy" showing exactly what he's made of! After knocking his opponent for a loop with a vicious powerbomb, "Ryback" was able to take advantage of "Killer Kross'" brains being scrambled to deliver the Shell Shocked and thereby picking up a huge win in his debut! The follow-up is always key in these scenarios, but there's no doubt "Ryback" has all the potential to be a big-time player in the EWA going forwards!
That was a classy move by Sasha Banks, as "The Boss" called into the show via satellite to offer her congratulations to the brand new Women's Champion. Of course, given the way her reign ended, it's little surprise Sasha would also make Aliyah aware that she was gunning for her as soon as she was fit and healthy, which hopefully shouldn't be too much longer now! Before we could get much more of an update though, the two women responsible for Banks' injury woes cut into the feed, leading to a heated discussion between Charlotte Flair and "The Boss!" Indeed, "The Queen" would explain the reasons for her absence from active competition this year, as well as why she returned at Civil War, making it crystal clear that she's eventually coming for that Women's Championship once again! And if she has to go through Sasha Banks to get that? Well, given half a chance, I fear next time "The Dominion" might finish what they started!
Moving on, and we had ourselves a match which featured a double debut as Elias Samson and Konnor squared off. While Elias was walking into this as a virtual unknown, his opponent obviously has some strong connections with "The Lucavi," that strange group under the thrall of "The Zodiac." And as such, Konnor fought with exactly the kind of aggressive streak we've come to expect from his fellow teammates in the last couple of months! Credit where credit's due though, Samson didn't hold back either, leading to these two former musicians making sweet music together inside the ring! You wouldn't really know that "The Drifter" is fairly new to the business from this performance here, showing great awareness throughout before finally managing to put Konnor away with his patented swinging fisherman neckbreaker. And while Elias gets off to a winning start, it'll be interesting to see how "The Lucavi" respond to this setback!
While some might look to relish winning the TV Championship, "Rhino" already has his eyes on the next fight! And he's turned them towards "Killer Kross," the individual who eliminated him from Civil War two weeks ago! One would assume that with "Kross'" defeat at the hands of "Ryback" a little earlier in the night, "The Devil of Sin City" is eager to get back on the proverbial horse as soon as possible...and what better way to do so than by challenging for the TV Title and proving that loss was just a minor blip!
Following on from their impressive debut on Fury (and speaking of which, how great was it to see our old Friday Night showcase back this past weekend?), Jimmy and Jey Fatu have obviously announced their arrival in the tag division in a major way! And with Rikishi and Jacob Fatu in support, I'd be shocked if they aren't making waves really quickly! Of course, they're not the only new team looking to make a splash, as we saw "iRoyalty" make an example out of poor "Desperado" Joe Gomez on Fury, before later making an appearance on SLAM! that we'll get to shortly as well. In the meantime though, "The Flying Fatus" found themselves face-to-face with "The Dogs of War," after James Storm and Jax Dane returned at Civil War, clearly not in the market to make friends! In fact, "The Dogs of War" and the Fatus had themselves a tense stand-off backstage which thankfully didn't erupt into anything more! Still, the prospect of seeing these two highly talented teams clash inside the squared circle has got me licking my lips more than a plate of Oklahoma's finest BBQ ribs, so here's hoping we don't have to wait too long to see that unfold!
It's been months since we've seen "Blue Pants/Pantaloons" on SLAM!, and even longer still since she last saw action! The former Women's Champion didn't exactly have it easy in her first match back either, as she stepped up against one of the brightest new signings in the women's division, Daizee Haze! "The Haze" has admittedly found it difficult to build on her initial success in recent weeks, meaning she really brought the fight to her opponent last night while looking to get some more wins under her belt! And what a barnburner of a contest it was, with the only downside being the confusing moment that saw Momo Watanabe come down to ringside! For reasons that are yet to be explained, "Dark Peach" would surprisingly involve herself in the closing pinning exchanges of the match, helping "Blue Pants" counter a victory roll to secure the victory! While that's a story in of itself, so too was "Blue Pants" reaction to winning, seemingly suffering somewhat of a mental breakdown as she tore up her signature azure jeans while looking to move on from being thought of as just "The Vaudevillians'" sidekick!
That wasn't our only action from the women's division either as the brand new Women's Champion would likewise "grace" us with her presence! "The Boujee Bratz" invited the wrestling press down to ringside (although my invite must have got lost in the mail, I guess), not to ask questions but to record her first comments since winning the second-ever Women's Civil War and the biggest prize in women's wrestling. In particular, Aliyah had some disparaging comments to make about Toni Storm after the Gold Coast native put her career on the line in her quest for the Women's Championship, only to fall at the final hurdle. This all led to Aliyah seemingly teasing giving a match to the Australian grappler...only to bring out independent wrestler Shazza McKenzie rather than Toni Storm! With all due respect to Ms McKenzie though, she's hardly on her fellow Aussie's level, meaning Aliyah made short work of her. But then, perhaps that was the entire point of this exercise, as Aliyah went all out to make herself look better than every other woman in the business! The question is though, is anyone actually buying it? This is just one old Okey's opinion, but I'd venture not until she starts testing herself against a higher level of competition.
I'm glad to see that there's no hard feelings between "MJF" and Judy Bagwell over the latter's elimination of Mandy Rose at Civil War. Still, Judy's offer to show "MJF" what it's like to be with a REAL woman painted a picture I'd certainly like to scrub from my brain.
After playing his part in setting up that humongous tag team match next week, Curt Hawkins would find himself interviewed by Renee Young later in the night about his career aspirations, now that he's officially part of the EWA roster. Before they could get too in-depth though, the duo of Saint Synclair and Jamie Senegal showed up to cut the discussion short! As mentioned already, "iRoyalty" already made their presence felt on Fury, and they took things a step even further right here as Synclair provided the distraction while Senegal SMASHED a light tube against the back of Hawkins' head, leaving him in a heap! It seems as if nobody is truly safe while this brand new tag team is around!
It's safe to say that the wrestling world was abuzz for the debut of "One-Eye" Lorcan this week, and boy did it deliver as "The 21st Century Pirate" made sure Bobby Salsa walked the plank in double quick time! With more performances like this, it won't be long before Lorcan fills up his treasure chest with plenty of pieces o'eight!
From a fun-loving pirate to someone who wouldn't know "fun" if it bit him on the ass, Pete Dunne headed down to ringside to offer an explanation of sorts for seemingly ending Samoa Joe's career two weeks ago. Rumor has it that EWA management gave Dunne the choice of another suspension or paying a six figure fine for his disgusting actions at Civil War, with "The Bruiserweight" obviously choosing the latter. Regardless, nothing Dunne said here really sits right with me, as it clearly doesn't with most of the EWA Universe either. It's like I've said before (and I hope I don't have to say again), it's one thing trying to best an opponent in a wrestling match, but to actively try and take his livelihood away is a step too far. The former World Champion might be proud of himself now, as evident by him carrying around that sledgehammer with him wherever he goes, but it remains to be seen if he can live with his actions in the long run.
After promising to make his debut on SLAM!, Jeremy Wyatt quickly made a bad impression when he arrived at the E-Arena earlier in the show and treated Todd Grisham with total disdain while he tried to conduct an interview. One thing's for sure, Wyatt certainly has one hell of an ego on him, confident almost beyond measure in his own abilities! Compare that to a man like Tom Lawlor, someone who's much more humble and respectful, and they couldn't be more contrasted! Lawlor has obviously taken himself off the chess board for the past few months after his open challenge following a win over Rory Coyle went unanswered, but the MMA veteran is back and in tremendous shape! That made for an incredibly competitive match between the two, with both men clearly having something to prove as they went back-and-forth for ten hard-hitting minutes! The match wasn't without controversy though, as Lawlor thought he'd scored the three count after a brutal German suplex, only to have the official wave it off after accidentally hitting the mat a third time despite Jeremy getting the shoulder up! While the two had a frank exchange of opinions, Wyatt would then knock "Filthy" Tom Lawlor into the Referee before striking him with a low blow while the official regained his bearings, allowing "The Monarch" to deliver his Kansas Tumbleweed maneuver to score the three count! Not the return I'm sure Tom Lawlor wanted to make, I'm sure, but a win for Jeremy Wyatt which immediately puts him on the map here in the big leagues! Let's see how he follows that up!
Renee Young had a bit more luck interviewing Bo Dallas than she did Curt Hawkins earlier on, and it's nice to see that despite coming damn close to breaking Christian Cage's record for quickest Civil War elimination, Dallas was still his typical upbeat self coming out of the event! And furthermore, "The Inspirational One" has apparently struck on the idea to find himself a "BOdyguard" to make he's got someone watching his back at all times as well! To do so, Bo intends to compose a list of candidates before he and a panel of judges whittle them down until they find the perfect one, so I guess we'll have to tune in next week to see how this search goes!
I'm sure I'm not the only one excited to see Will Ospreay sign with the EWA this week, one of the most talented high-flyers in the world today. But that's not to undersell his other skills inside the squared circle either, as "The Aerial Assassin" prepares to make his in-ring debut next Sunday!
In our main event of the evening, the unlikely duo of "The Honky Tonk Man" and Santino Marella defended their Tag Titles once again, this time against "Trent?" and Chuck Taylor! Talk about a contrast in teams as well, with relations seemingly being at an all-time low between the champs while their challengers are quite literally "Best Friends!" That reflected in the match itself, with "Honky" refusing to let Santino in on the action, not wanting him to screw things up...but that instead put "Mr. Shake, Rattle And Roll" at the mercy of their opponents, who quickly wore him down with some exciting tandem offense! Eventually, Santino was forced to tag himself in to try and help out, but that just led to more problems between him and "Honky" that "Best Friends" were able to capitalize on. Indeed, it looked for sure like we were about to see new champions crowned as they set up for Strong Zero...when all of a sudden, "The Shining Colons" appeared with an ice cream cart! As Orange Cassidy went to investigate, "The Honky Tonk Man" sneakily took advantage by knocking "Trent?" into Taylor before rolling up the former with a handful of tights to score the unlikely pinfall! However, if they thought their night was over just because they'd sneaked the win, they soon had another thing coming thanks to "Tokyo Vice" suddenly hitting ringside! Rather than stand side-by-side with his partner to help fight off "El Desperado" and Katsuyori Shibata though, "The Honky Tonk Man" ran for the hills, leaving Santino Marella to take a brutal beating at their hands! The message couldn't have been clearer, as "Tokyo Vice" look to build on their win over "TMDK" at Civil War and aim for the Tag Team Titles! And with things as bad as they are between the champs, this might be the perfect time to strike!
Time now for my choices for this week's top three movers and shakers:
1. Jeremy Wyatt
2. Blue Pants/Leva Bates
3. Goldberg
With so many superstars having such a strong week, it's been tough to pick three out! However, I've given Jeremy Wyatt top spot after backing up all the great things he's said about himself by defeating a truly game Tom Lawlor. Whether you want to call her "Blue Pants" or Leva Bates, the former Women's Champion did enough to earn second spot on my list thanks to a big win over Daizee Haze. And last but not least, Goldberg continues his impressive streak by racking up another win, this time over Abdullah The Butcher! And that despite the interference of Sabu as well!
All in all then, it was a hell of a show with plenty of moving parts! And most importantly, it feels like the wheels are in motion as the EWA continues along the road to Red, White & Bruised, via Mayhem in Miami! From "MJF" and Sammy Guevara teaming to take on Jamie Noble and Curt Hawkins, to Bo Dallas starting his search for a "BOdyguard," to Asuka's hunt for Carmella, to the promise of in-ring debuts for the likes of Will Ospreay and Matt Riddle, it feels like next week's SLAM! is already shaping up to be another "can't miss" show! No doubt I'll see you all there as the EWA hits up Baltimore this coming Sunday! Until then,
BOOMER SOONER!
