Post by Ross Report on Oct 8, 2018 21:23:42 GMT
While this week's SLAM! was light on backstage drama, it more than made up for it in terms of in-ring action!
The night got underway with some words from the sole survivor of that wild Six Man Elimination Tag Team Match from Sin City Survival, Chris Sabin! I mentioned last week about "Detroit's Finest" intending to sit out of this year's King of the Ring as he focuses all his efforts in making the National Title the top prize in the EWA, something Sabin confirmed right here. To do so though, he's got to get past his first hurdle in the shape of the newly crowned number one contender to the gold, Dolph Ziggler. "The Show-Off" isn't likely to be coming alone however, with his mystery associate from last Sunday identified as Nathan Jones, an ex-convict from Australia, and by all accounts, a mean son of a gun to boot. Indeed, it looked as if Ziggler and Jones planned on making sure Sabin was next on their hit-list, only for Marty Jannetty to rush down to ringside and clear the ring of the would-be assailants. "The Rocker" still has a bone to pick with Jones after Dolph's hired gun ruined his chances of becoming number one contender, but in the meanwhile, Marty would get his chance for a measure of revenge against Ziggler himself in the evening's main event. More on that in a bit.
Marty Scurll and Velveteen Dream have been at one another's throats for several weeks now, and it was inevitable that this beef needed to be settled in the middle of the ring. That said, I don't think the issue is anywhere close to being resolved after the way "The Villain" lived up to his moniker and cheated his way to victory. Scurll may have won the battle, but I'm sure "The Dream" has every intention of winning the war!
This week's show saw several superstars making their debuts, and it turns out that two of those new talents in Aleister Black and Ariel Martinez have some shared history. While their paths seemingly took them on different routes to the E-Wrestling Alliance, you could almost say it was "in the cards" that they'd arrive at the same time.
I've seen it plenty of times over the years, where a superstar perhaps gets a little ahead of themselves when they start getting some momentum going. Consider Gabriel guilty as charged heading into his match with Big Show last night. After getting a little cocky following a month full of head-turning performances, including pinning the World Champion at Sin City Survival, Gabriel severely underestimated "The World's Largest Athlete" in their match this week! Big Show has proved time and time again why he's one of the most capable men on the entire EWA roster, something Gabriel found out first-hand before finally running off like a scolded dog to avoid any further punishment. Maybe this'll be the reality check "The Solitary Reaper" needs as he turns his attentions towards King of the Ring, where Big Show himself could be one of the top contenders for the crown.
"The Kings of Wrestling" are deservedly riding high following their first successful title defence last Sunday, but they aren't about to take it easy. No, Chris Hero and Cesaro made it loud and clear that they wanted their next challengers to step up to the plate so they can go on proving themselves the best team in professional wrestling today. Well, that would later lead to "The Vaudevillains" heading down to the ring to call the Champs out, demanding a rematch. Instead though, they were met with Braun Strowman and Santino Marella, fresh off their annihilation of "The Midnight Rider" at Sin City Survival. After a brief back-and-forth, it was finally settled...next Sunday, it'll be "The Vaudevillains" taking on Strowman and Marella, with the winners earning a shot at the gold! Keep your eyes peeled for that one, folks...it should be a barnburner!
In a double debut match, Lucas "The King" Calhoun found himself with the unenviable task of trying to defeat PCO, formerly known as Pierre Carl Ouellett. Rumors had been running rampant that PCO had shuffled off his mortal coil at the end of September, yet obviously that wasn't the case for him to be in action last night. There did seem to be something distinctly inhuman about him however, from his near braindead expression to the way he barely seemed to feel pain. Give it up to Calhoun though, who gave a damn good showing for himself even in defeat. Yeah, "The King" might be a little kooky, but I think it's safe to say he endeared himself to the EWA Universe in a way that won't be soon forgotten.
We were hoping to find out the identity of October's guest General Manager last night, but while that still remains a mystery, we did discover that Brock Lesnar is dealing with some injury issues centered around his shoulder. "The Beast" has always wrestled a hard-hitting style that has no doubt taken a toll on his body over the years, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we hope to see him back in the ring sooner rather than later. It would be a damn shame if injury resulted in the end of Lesnar's second reign as World Champion, that's for certain.
There was some strange goings on last weekend at Sin City Survival, with cellphones cutting out and mic issues at the announce desk, and we saw the same thing happen last night as well. It seems clear to me that all of these supernatural shenanigans are related to "Them," the bizarre clowns who have apparently blackmailed WALTER into doing their bidding. Honestly, clowns give me the creeps at the best of times, but this situation is like a nightmare come to life! I can only imagine what the Austrian grappler is experiencing right now! Still, Aleister Black didn't take it easy on his opponent despite his trying personal circumstances, resulting in an absolute slobberknocker of a contest between the two. Black and WALTER beat the holy hell out of one another in a battle that gave a strong indication of just what both men can offer the EWA ranks. It's just a shame then that PCO felt the need to get involved after the Referee had been knocked down, all at the behest of Ariel. I mentioned earlier about that shared history between Martinez and Black, and it would be appear that the message was crystal clear here...Black could either be with her or against her! I'm sure we'll see plenty more of this developing story in the coming weeks!
Charlotte Flair has been searching for some "real" competition from the moment she arrived in the EWA, and this week she finally got some thanks to Becky Lynch answering her challenge! "The Lass Kicker" is someone I've wanted to see in an E-Wrestling Alliance ring for a very long time, and she didn't disappoint last night, going toe-to-toe in a grueling contest with "The Nature Girl." In the end, Charlotte was just able to edge out the victory, but you suspect that it could have easily gone a different way on another night. Needless to say, I'd love to see these two talented young ladies have another go-around somewhere down the line. Charlotte's new purple-haired appearance is certainly eye-catching too! Perhaps I should ask my barber back home in Oklahoma for the same?
In our main event, Marty Jannetty looked to get some payback on Dolph Ziggler after the way "The Show-Off" stole the number one contendership to the National Championship thanks to Nathan Jones. Sporting a new shaven-headed look, "The Rocker" continued to showcase the improved form we've been seeing out of him ever since his return to the company. While I loved "Party Marty" and his fun-loving antics, there's no question that there's a serious edge to him now which has upped his game tremendously. Still, Ziggler is obviously a talented competitor in his own right, capable of going move-for-move with just about anyone in the business. And when you factor in the near seven foot tall ex-con in his corner, that only makes "The Show-Off" all the more dangerous. Indeed, Nathan Jones would once again prove to be the deciding factor, albeit not in quite such an ostentatious manner as we saw at Sin City Survival, handing Ziggler another big win. Marty tried to keep fighting after the bell, but with Jones' help, he was soon brought low, as a powerbomb through the announce table looked likely to be his destiny. That is, until Chris Sabin returned the favor from the start of the night, charging down to ringside to make the save! For a brief, shining moment, it genuinely looked as if he'd end SLAM! standing tall, just as he did at Sin City Survival, only for Nathan Jones to put paid to that idea. With Dolph Ziggler directing traffic, Jones would powerbomb the National Champion straight through the announce table, allowing Dolph to pose with the championship and perhaps give us a glimpse of the future. I hope I'm wrong on that front, but let's face it...Ziggler has seemingly found the missing piece of the puzzle now that he has Nathan Jones standing behind him. The question now is, how will Chris Sabin respond?
After all that exciting action, let's take a look at my picks for this week's top three movers and shakers:
1. Dolph Ziggler
2. Big Show
3. PCO/Lucas Calhoun/WALTER/Aleister Black
To the shock of no-one, Dolph Ziggler takes the top spot after picking up another big win, albeit thanks in part to his brand new insurance policy! I've given Big Show the nod for second place following a victory over the supremely talented Gabriel, even if he had to take it by countout due to "The Solitary Reaper" running to the hills. And lastly, I freely admit to this being a total cop-out, but I thought all four men who had their in-ring debuts last night knocked it out of the park, making it impossible to pick just one. Special shoutout to Becky Lynch as well, who found herself with a tough test in her first match, but still gave a great showing for herself. There's no shame in losing to a competitor like Charlotte, that's for sure.
As always, I'd love to hear from you if you want to share your own top three movers and shakers on our Twitter page. Likewise, you can contact me via Twitter or right here on EWA.com if you've got any burning questions for my next Mailbag column, due this Friday! As I always say, no subject is taboo, so don't be afraid to ask whatever's on your mind!
For now though, we turn our attention to next week's show. With a huge tag team match to determine "The Kings of Wrestling's" next challengers, and no doubt plenty that Chris Sabin will want to get off his chest, it's guaranteed to be a show you don't want to miss! And who knows? We may even find out just who's running the show this month as well! Until then,
BOOMER SOONER!
