Post by Ross Report on Sept 17, 2018 15:56:46 GMT
This week's SLAM! was about as action-packed a show as I recall seeing, with so much incredible in-ring action coupled with plenty of interesting developments as we move ever closer to Sin City Survival. Let's take a look at how it all played out!
Things kicked off with yet another ominous video from an anonymous source seeking to "eradicate the disease" from the E-Wrestling Alliance. It seems that the clock is ticking too, as whoever the culprit (or culprits) might be have given a one week deadline for changes to be made or for consequences to be paid. I guess we'll find out one way or another how this all shakes out next Sunday on SLAM!
AJ Lee returned to action for the first time since her wild Kendo Sticks, Mirrors and Steel Chairs Match against Daffney five weeks ago. "The Crazed Skipper" made it clear on EWA.com that she still has a bone to pick with her former rival though, and if this performance was anything to go by, it seems like AJ is living proof of the idiom, "whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
After John Cena and the Midnight Rider gave Santino food poisoning last week, "The Monster Among Men" paid a visit to our guest GM for September, demanding another match against their enemies. Not only did Val Venis sign off on that, but he also made two matches for next week's show as it'll be John Cena versus Santino Marella and Braun Strowman taking on "The Midnight Rider." If "The Rider's" win over Tyler Breeze later in the show is anything to go by, the masked man is more than ready for the challenge of quite possibly the most physically intimidating presence to ever step foot in the EWA. But there's an added caveat as well, with Val threatening to cancel the tag match at Sin City Survival if either Santino or Strowman get involved in one another's matches next Sunday!
It was good to see Dolph Ziggler back in action again, looking as cocky as ever with a win over El Phantasmo. His "showing off" didn't end there either, as Ziggler would rant and rave after the match, feeling disrespected by EWA management, fans, and superstars alike. In particular, he has somewhat of a problem with Kenny Omega, Gabriel and Lio Rush, the same men who Dolph found himself brawling with on last week's show. As it would turn out, history would repeat itself this week as well, but we'll get to that in due time.
According to Paul Ellering, Awesome Kong sees this as a brand new start to her EWA career, drawing a line under all of her amazing accomplishments from years past. You have to respect that desire to not get by on old reputations but make new history. By that same token though, you also have to respect none other than Charlotte Flair showing no intimidation at all, letting it be known that if Kong was gunning for the Women's Championship, she'd have to get in line behind "The Nature Girl." That would soon be followed up with an impressive in-ring debut from Charlotte, making short work of Australia's own Charli Evans, only for Kong to make her presence felt post-match. Rather than jump Charlotte as most expected though, Kong would pick up poor Charli and flatten her with an Implant Buster, sending a message to Charlotte that whatever she could do, "The Barbie Killer" could do it better! It looks a whole lot like these two incredibly talented women are on a collision course!
Fair's fair...our colleagues running the EWA Twitter account made a flub last week and they were called out on it by Blue Pantaloons this week. It was of course Ms Pantaloons who defeated Dominatrix in non-title competition, not Tessa Blanchard, and as such, she was well within her rights to call out the champion for a title match. Instead, she was met by Val Venis, with our guest General Manager pointing out that "The Masked Mistress of the Santanic Clown Posse" wasn't at SLAM! last night. Still, Venis would come up with a compromise by making the Women's Championship match official for Sin City Survival instead. Alas, Blue Pantaloons' night wasn't quite done there though, as someone would tempt her into a room backstage where Ms Pantaloons would end up hogtied with chains, ropes and a ballgag! Seems to me like maybe Dominatrix had made the journey to the E-Arena after all, gaining a measure of revenge for her loss the previous week in the process.
Near the start of the show, Fit Finlay challenged Big Show to a rematch, looking to make amends for that loss to the "World's Largest Athlete" seven days prior, and expecting an answer after his match with Martin Kirby. "The Fighting Irishman" got back to winning ways in that one, but the Big Show still refused to give Finlay what he wanted. In fact, Show made it clear he had no intention of fighting Fit Finlay again, because he didn't want to end the fairytale comeback, a taunt which caused Finlay to slap the taste right out of the big man's mouth! Needless to say, things quickly broke down from there into an intense brawl that saw Show put Finlay down before coming close to delivering a WMD, only to feel sympathy for the veteran and have second thoughts. Yet for Finlay, the fighting wasn't done, surprising Big Show with a headbutt and then battling even more until security finally had to come down and separate them. It's safe to say then that this one has become mighty personal mighty quickly, and despite Big Show's protestations, it seems only a matter of time before they do battle once again!
Could it be that after over a decade of hijinks and shenanigans, Al Snow has decided it's time to finally settle down and be serious? I must admit, it's a bit disappointing to see the spark of mischief seemingly extinguished from "The Snowman," although with all these recent firings and rehirings its caused, perhaps it's a wise move.
Tessa Blanchard was right to feel aggrieved at being overlooked for her contractually obligated rematch for the Women's Championship, but I don't think the "Queen of the Carolinas" (or anyone else for that matter) was expecting Nia Jax to come back with a claim of her own! And boy, did she give a statement of intent in the way she spinebustered Tessa's mangled body right through a table in front of our guest GM for the month! And it's thanks to Val Venis that Blanchard will have her chance for revenge when she and Jax go toe-to-toe in a number one contenders match at Sin City Survival!
After a head-turning debut two weeks ago, Velveteen Dream had a step-up in competition against one half of the Authors of Pain last night. Of course, when it comes to the "AoP," where one goes, the other isn't far behind! In this case, Rezar tried to interfere on behalf of his partner, thereby handing Dream the DQ victory, but thankfully the enigmatic Velveteen Dream managed to escape before suffering any further harm. Shortly after Akam and Rezar left ringside however, Velveteen Dream's celebrations were interrupted by the arrival of Marty Scurll! The two superstars exchanged some taunts before Scurll decided to jump Dream, seemingly looking to make a name for himself at his expense! Well, that's exactly what happened, with "The Villain" planting his target with a wicked cradle DDT and standing tall to loud boos.
There's no other way to describe that match between Gabriel and Trevor Mann than a straight-up slobberknocker! Two of the most talented superstars in the E-Wrestling Alliance today tore the house down with a battle that could have easily gone either way, yet in the end, we were denied a winner thanks to the expiration of the 20 minute time limit! I wouldn't be too surprised if we saw these two go at it once again somewhere down the road to settle this unfinished business. In the meanwhile though, Gabriel found himself on the receiving end of an attack by Dolph Ziggler after the match, apparently taking offence to some of the things "The Solitary Reaper" said about him earlier in the show. That then brought out Lio Rush as well, someone who has lingering beef with Gabriel too, soon followed by "The Cleaner" Kenny Omega! In the ensuing battle, Omega and Gabriel managed to clean house and stand tall, yet it would appear that the talented Brit has no intention of aligning himself with "The Best Bout Machine" or anyone else, taking Omega out with a European uppercut for good measure! As things continue to break down between these four superstars, one can't help but wonder whether this might lead to a tag team or maybe even a fatal fourway match between them.
We've seen plenty of different "talk shows" in the EWA over the years, from "Piper's Pit" to "Paulton's Parlor" to "The Highlight Reel," and it seems we've got another to add to that list in "The World Service" from "The Vaudevillains." And what would a talk show be without some guests? Enter the reigning and defending Tag Team Champions, "The Kings of Wrestling," who seemed bemused to be there, especially so when asked to walk around their chairs and speak a tongue-twister. As things inevitably go in situations like this, tensions flared between champions and challengers, and sure enough, Cesaro and Chris Hero had enough of being insulted, finally coming to blows with Aiden English and Simon Gotch! This resulted in the set for "The World Service" and all the antiquities on display getting smashed to pieces, with the "KoW" standing tall while also perhaps proving "The Vaudevillains" assessment right, that the champions were little more than a couple of unruly thugs. Still, as far as unruly thugs go, there's no doubt that Hero and Cesaro continue to be extremely popular with the EWA Universe! And as we'd find out a little later, Cesaro will be taking on Aiden English next week for yet another taste of what's to come at Sin City Survival!
It's been far too long since we last saw Marty Jannetty as a regular competitor on the EWA roster, during which time he has parted ways with his old "Party Time" pals to strike on his own. However, he faced a stiff test in his return against Jack Swagger, a man who still feels aggrieved over not being the World Champion following Summer Stampede. It's perhaps fair to say that Swagger's preoccupation with last month's Pay-Per-View meant he didn't give "The Rocker" quite the attention he deserved. That was compounded when Swagger tried to utilize a distraction from Zeb Colter to finish "Party Marty" off, only for Brock Lesnar to appear from out of nowhere and deliver a devastating F-5 onto the very same concrete that Swagger himself had exposed! With the Referee counting, Jannetty was able to make it back inside, yet Swagger was unable to do the same, resulting in one of the biggest upsets of the year! Sure, you can chalk up the assist to "The Beast," but take nothing away from Marty Jannetty. He may not have the best win/loss record in the world, but he's a superstar who always gives it his all every night he's in the ring, something he did in spades last night. And in so doing, Jack Swagger has been humiliated just weeks away from that huge Sin City Survival Elimination Match! How will the "All-American American" respond to this latest set-back? I suppose we'll have to wait until next week to find out!
After impressing in his match with Gabriel earlier on, Trevor Mann tried to convince Val Venis to remove Ken Shamrock out of the Sin City Survival Elimination Match, dressed up with excuses of looking out for Shamrock's own well-being. Perhaps unsurprisingly, "The Working Class Hero" wasn't biting, leaving Mann to think of some alternate options if he wanted to ensure not having to face off against Ken Shamrock once again.
Speaking of, "The World's Most Dangerous Man" found himself in the fight of his life against Drew McIntyre during SLAM!'s main event. "The Sinister Scotsman" was coming off a huge victory over Roman Reigns the week prior as he looks to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. There's no doubt in my mind that McIntyre has got all the tools to go far in the EWA, and he proved it once again by taking Ken Shamrock to the limit. However, Ken Shamrock is no slouch either, and as we found out on EWA.com this week, his injuries suffered in the run-up to Summer Stampede weren't quite as severe as first feared. Still, that didn't mean they'd completely healed, with the savvy McIntyre targeting that bad wheel throughout the match. To his credit though, the veteran MMA fighter refused to quit, digging deep into his soul to battle back and finally apply the Ankle Lock! That is, until Trevor Mann decided to stick his nose into proceedings, looking to distract Shamrock and cost him the win! Somehow though, Shamrock survived that distraction before managing to cinch in the Ankle Lock one more time, finally forcing Drew to tap out! It was undoubtedly a big win for "The World's Most Dangerous Man," and an important tune-up as we prepare for Sin City Survival. Judging by that staredown between Shamrock and Mann, I'd wager this issue between them is still far from over.
With so many amazing superstars to choose from, here's my picks for the top three movers and shakers on this week's show:
1. Marty Jannetty
2. Ken Shamrock
3. Gabriel/Trevor Mann
I can't see how anyone can argue against Marty Jannetty taking the top spot, with "The Rocker" picking up arguably the biggest win of his EWA career in a huge upset over Jack Swagger. Meanwhile, Ken Shamrock's miraculous recovery from what we feared might be a career-threatening injury was confirmed when he defeated a game Drew McIntyre, despite the attempted distractions of Trevor Mann. And speaking of whom, "The Spoken" put on an instant classic with Gabriel earlier in the night which showcased exactly why EWA officials think so highly of both superstars. Trust me, folks, it's a matter of "when" not "if" both these men eventually wear championship gold.
Feel free to share with us your own top three movers and shakers via our Twitter page. Likewise, you can contact me via Twitter or right here on EWA.com if you've got any questions for the next edition of JR's Mailbag due one week from Friday!
As things stand though, the Sin City Survival card is really coming together! We already knew what the main event will be in Las Vegas in two weeks time, as well as the "Kings of Wrestling" defending the Tag Titles against "The Vaudevillains," but now we know that it'll be Big Show taking on Fit Finlay in a grudge match, John Cena and "The Midnight Rider" doing battle one more time with Braun Strowman and Santino Marella, not to mention Dominatrix defending the Women's Title against Blue Pantaloons, while two former champions do battle to determine a number one contender as Nia Jax takes on Tessa Blanchard! Make no mistake, Sin City Survival is already looking like one show that you definitely do not want to miss, but there's still one more SLAM! to get through before it takes place! Until next week,
BOOMER SOONER!
