Post by Ross Report on Nov 4, 2018 21:38:42 GMT
While October may have left the identity of the guest General Manager as a mystery for most of the month, we're not messing around in November, folks! Indeed, it would only take the opening moments of SLAM! to find out that none other than former Warzone GM Sgt. Slaughter will be large and in charge for the next several weeks, bringing with him plenty of experience in running the EWA like a well-oiled machine! "Sarge" didn't take long to put his own stamp on proceedings either, not only rehiring Al Snow (and presumably the rest of the bWo with him), but also handing last year's King of the Ring a huge title opportunity against Brock Lesnar next Sunday! These two ring warriors have already competed for the biggest prize in the game once before this year, but that was a match that also involved John Cena way back at Red, White & Bruised. Will "The Snowman" have better luck when it's just him and Lesnar, mano-e-mano? Well, history suggests that Al has had "The Beast's" number more than virtually anyone else, although that amounted to only a couple of pinfall victories over him back in 2014 rather than 666. All jokes aside though, Lesnar has won every single one of their matches since then, so Al will have to bring his very best if he's to finally become World Champion after all these years. Even with major injuries and an angry soon-to-be-ex-wife playing on Brock's mind, can the leader of the bWo somehow derail the seemingly unstoppable runaway freight train that is Brock Lesnar in 2018? We'll find out next week!
Chris Sabin threw out an open challenge for his National Championship this week, only to be caught off guard by a man who's made his life a living hell throughout the summer in Jack Swagger! It's been a while since they've fought one another, but the "All-American American" wasted little time in targeting that ankle yet again, putting Sabin's title reign in serious jeopardy. Despite the fact that we've not seen or heard from Swagger since his disappointing showing at Sin City Survial, he took the fight right to "Detroit's Finest," almost as if he was trying to cripple him. In a bizarre move, Swagger even left Sabin to get counted out rather than trying to win the championship right then and there, instead declaring that the two of them would face each other one final time at King of the Ring in an I Quit Match! I can't say for sure if that's been cleared by Sgt. Slaughter, but at the same time, I'm sure Chris Sabin is eager to accept the challenge, even if he can barely walk right now. After yet another despicable assault by Jack Swagger, I'd bet the house on "The Motor City Machine Gun" coming after him with both barrels blazing until he finally gains some retribution!
It was damn good to hear from John Cena, who has been on the shelf ever since Braun Strowman annihilated him in late September. While "The Doctor of Thuganomics" isn't quite ready to return to action just yet, it does sound like he's eager to be involved in this year's Super Brawl in six weeks time. When you consider how injuries prevented John from participating as a Captain in last year's event, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand how desperate he is to be in the mix in 2018!
After coming so close to victory during that wild triple threat match for the Women's Title last weekend, Dominatrix was back in action this week, taking on the returning Lady Mumbai Cat. It was an impressive performance from "The Masked Mistress of the SCP," getting back to winning ways as she looks to re-enter the title hunt once more!
Speaking of the women's division, Charlotte Flair had plenty on her mind after Daffney ruined her big time submission victory over Becky Lynch by jumping the second generation superstar after the contest. As a result, "The Nature Girl" called Daffney out on this week's SLAM!, daring the "Scream Queen" to try it again when Charlotte was actually ready for her. However, rather than receive the showdown she was craving, Charlotte was instead the victim of more mind games from Daffney, who seemingly turned the arena lights off and then back on again, only to refuse to appear in person. I can only imagine how frustrated Charlotte Flair must be with this whole situation, as she must wait at least another week before crossing paths with "The Zombie Goddess."
If you had told me that we'd witness a barnburner of a match between IRS and Skinner on SLAM! in 2018, I'd have questioned if you'd been overdoing it on the barbeque sauce. And yet, that's exactly what we got this week, with these two veteran performers turning back the clock (on the weekend where daylight savings came to an end, no less) to deliver a hell of a tussle. Then again, I suppose I shouldn't really be *that* surprised considering how old half the EWA roster seems to be these days! Sorry, I obviously meant how "experienced" the roster is. It's further proof positive though that age is just a number here in the EWA, and I can't wait to see what else both Skinner and IRS can bring to the table in the coming weeks and months!
Gabriel and Fit Finlay both booked their places in the King of the Ring semi-finals at All Hallows' Evil in a pair of gruelling matches. The hard work is just beginning though as these two will have to do battle next Sunday to determine who goes on to reach the final and potentially take the crown itself. As such, Gabriel headed out to the ring to reflect on where his journey has taken him thus far and where it might end up, only to be interrupted by "The Fighting Irishman" himself. Finlay urged Gabriel not to overlook him next Sunday, and it's a sentiment I can't help but agree with when you take into account just how incredible he's been these last few months. "The Solitary Reaper" will definitely be in for the fight of his life when these two clash at King of the Ring, but who will walk out victorious? Fortunately for us, we won't have to wait long to find out!
It's tough not to feel Shamrock's frustrations with the way the All Hallows' Evil main event played out. He seemingly had Lesnar right where he wanted him until Sable decided to try and involve herself. Ironically, that came in an effort to throw in the towel for her estranged husband, but "The World's Most Dangerous Man" didn't want to win the match or the gold in such a cheap fashion, only for that decision to backfire on him. I've gotta say though, going by Shamrock's confrontation with Sable on SLAM!, it sure sounded as if she was admitting to being in bed with Shamrock, for lack of a better term. Before we could get any definitive answers however, Brock Lesnar himself came storming down to ringside, alongside his friend (or perhaps more?) Amy Weber. Just when it looked as if we were going to see them pick up where All Hallows' Evil left off, an errant punch from Shamrock accidentally connected with Weber when Brock moved out of the way. I dare say that the MMA veteran was lucky that Lesnar's concern for Amy's well-being outweighed his anger towards Shamrock, or else who knows what else might have happened here! Either way though, the EWA fans are rightfully not too pleased with Ken Shamrock right now and neither is "The Beast." If you ask me, he owes every last penny of that $50,000 that Sgt. Slaughter fined him for his actions, and here's hoping Shamrock does the right thing and publicly apologizes to Amy next Sunday.
As things settled down again, it was PCO versus Marty Jannetty for a place in the King of the Ring semi-finals, with neither man holding anything back! I say "man," but let's face it...Pierre Carl Ouellet is more of a monster these days, with "The French Canadian Frankenstein" taking no prisoners during recent performances. Not bad for a man we thought had died barely six weeks ago! That said though, Marty Jannetty is no slouch either! While the wins have dried up slightly in the last month, "The Rocker" is arguably looking better than ever, once again showing why you'd be a fool to underestimate him. Alas, on this night, it simply wasn't to be for "Party Marty" as PCO utilized that devastating combination of power and agility to score the victory and book his place next Sunday! While I'm sure Jannetty feels disappointed to have come up short, I hope he's proud of the fantastic effort put forth. It certainly doesn't go unnoticed by the EWA faithful, that's for sure. Meanwhile, PCO continues to impress as he secured the third spot in the semi-finals, and you can be sure he turned his good eye towards the main event to find out just who he'd be facing too!
Before that though, a strange video cut into the SLAM! broadcast with some choice quotes picked from various famous movies. Could it be offering a hint as to the arrival of a new superstar perhaps? Time will tell...
Whether you want to call him Trevor Mann or Ricochet, the fact is he's one of the very best in the EWA right now. After taking Ken Shamrock to the limit in what was billed as their final clash back at All Hallows' Evil, "The One And Only" would find himself with another tough task in the gigantic Big Show! "The World's Largest Athlete" didn't exactly have it easy last week either after a knock-down, drag-out war with Brock Lesnar that turned plenty of heads. Still, despite both men coming into this quarter final match without much in the way of momentum behind them and no doubt still carrying the war wounds from All Hallows' Evil, you wouldn't know it to watch this battle unfold! In fact, I genuinely believe that both Big Show and Ricochet showed here why they have all the potential to become future World Champions somewhere down the line if they're able to keep putting in efforts like this. Ultimately though, there was only room for one final participant in the semi-finals of this year's King of the Ring, and that potentially golden ticket would wind up going to Ricochet. You could say it took a slice of luck thanks to Show getting caught up in the ropes and being wailed on for several moments, but sometimes, all that matters is the result. And in this instance, Ricochet did what he needed to earn a match with PCO next Sunday, putting him one win away from the final itself!
So, who's stood out from the pack this week to make my list of the top three movers and shakers? Let's find out:
1. Ricochet
2. PCO
3. Jack Swagger
It's a bit of a toss up for numbers one and two, as both Ricochet and PCO had to dig deep to overcome tough opponents in order to advance to the next round of this year's King of the Ring tournament. Unfortunately for both superstars, it won't get any easier next Sunday either! And in third place, I'm giving the nod to Jack Swagger for his decimation of Chris Sabin. I'll be honest, I thought we'd probably seen the last of the "All-American American" after Sin City Survival, but he made a big impression at Chris Sabin's expense yet again. Special shoutout to IRS and Skinner on a pair of impressive debuts as well!
As always, I encourage you to share your own picks via our Twitter page. And don't forget to send in your questions for the next edition of JR's Mailbag in just under two weeks, which you can do either on Twitter or right here on EWA.com.
I don't think we've ever had quite such a quick turnaround between Pay Per View events before, but with Super Brawl season now in full swing, we don't have time to mess around! Next Sunday will see four hugely talented superstars fight it out for the coveted crown, while Brock Lesnar will also defend the World Title one final time before Super Brawl itself! And that's not to mention the blockbuster I Quit Match for the National Title, as Chris Sabin looks to dish out some comeuppance to Jack Swagger after months of being picked on and picked apart! You won't want to miss this one, folks! We'll see you next Sunday!
BOOMER SOONER!
