Post by Ross Report on Nov 19, 2018 21:45:39 GMT
As some may have noticed, there was no JR's Mailbag this past Friday, and for that I can only apologize. Unfortunately, good ol' JR took a bad bump over the weekend which has taken its toll. Still, despite currently looking bowling shoe ugly, I'm back and ready to talk about last night's SLAM!, which was another "slam dunk" of a show, if you'll pardon the pun.
As expected, we had the first announcements regarding Super Brawl and the Captain positions, with Sgt. Slaughter handing two of those coveted spots to our respective World and National Champions, Brock Lesnar and Chris Sabin! After the year they've both had, it's not hard to understand why "Sarge" rewarded both superstars with such a momentous opportunity. And next week, we'll find out who'll be the third Super Brawl Captain as Ken Shamrock must do battle with the man he cost the gold at King of the Ring, Al Snow! However, one has to question just what kind of condition "The World's Most Dangerous Man" will be in when that match rolls around after the downright shocking conclusion to last night's broadcast.
I'm still struggling to get my head around what we witnessed after Brock Lesnar realigned himself with Sable. Actually, that's not even the correct turn of phrase, as it seems as if they were in cahoots all along and pulling a fast one over the entire EWA Universe. While many are questioning why they would go to such great lengths to make it look as if they'd broken up all to get at Shamrock, it doesn't change the fact that the MMA veteran had no idea any of this was coming, resulting in a vile beatdown. Not only was he busted open and drilled with F-5 after F-5, but there's every chance Shamrock could be partially blinded thanks to that heel shot to the eye, with Lesnar making a hell of a statement before the biggest show of the year! And ironically, after the last few weeks where Brock has been the fan favorite and Shamrock has drawn the ire of the EWA Universe, the opposite is now true thanks to Lesnar showing his true colors. Will Shamrock even be able to compete against "The Snowman" next Sunday, let alone potentially participate in Super Brawl? It's looking awful doubtful right now. And as for "The Beast" himself, how will Sgt. Slaughter react to all of the chaos and brutality Lesnar unleashed last night? Something tells me we'll find out next week!
Last Sunday saw an unusual alliance struck between Becky Lynch and Daffney, two women who seemingly have one thing in common, a mutual hatred of Charlotte Flair. This week, "The Queenslayer" appeared on "The Dead Zone" to reveal more about this newly formed "Revelation," making it be known that they won't stop until they have broken Charlotte once and for all! If I was "The Nature Girl," I'd perhaps consider the possibility of swallowing my pride and looking for some help, otherwise she may not last long against the combined onslaught of Daffney and Becky Lynch.
It was great to see Aleister Black back in competition again for the first time in just over a month. He found himself in there though against a really crafty veteran in "IRS," someone who has plenty of experience in the ring. On this occasion, Irwin R. Schyster managed to pull off the somewhat surprising upset, as both men jockey for position on one of this year's Super Brawl teams in just four weeks time!
Following on from that incredible victory in the King of the Ring tournament, we heard from PCO's new "handler," Father James Mitchell. "The Sinister Minister" has always struck me as the kind of man that loves the sound of his own voice, and my opinion hasn't much changed after listening to him talk up "The French-Canadian Frankenstein's" success last week as well as their plans for the future. No doubt about it, PCO will be a tough first challenger for whoever walks out of Super Brawl as the winning Captain!
For about a month now, Lucas Calhoun and Marty Scurll have had their issues, something that seemingly culminated in a slobberknocker of a match between the two this week. "The King" was clearly out for revenge after all the cheapshots and put-downs, showing a fire we've not seen from him in any of his other EWA outings. However, "The Villain" is a true student of the game, and one who has no qualms about employing the "darker arts" to get ahead. Just as we've seen time and again, Scurll pulled out yet another win against stern opposition, damn near breaking Lucas Calhoun's fingers in the process before finally forcing "The King" to tap out to the Crossface Chickenwing. My gut instinct tells me that Scurll will be looking to move on from this rivalry, continuing to make a name for himself. Meanwhile, it's back to the drawing board for ol' Lucas Calhoun as he looks to build some momentum heading into 2019.
It's good to see Gabriel taking the disappointment of coming so close to King of The Ring victory and using it to try and propel himself towards greater goals. He's got every right to feel deflated after falling to PCO in the finals, but I would be hugely surprised if he doesn't get his chance to redeem himself on the grandest stage of them all at Super Brawl!
After shocking the world with that unprovoked attack on Braun Strowman and Santino Marella at King of the Ring, "The Kings of Wrestling" once again made their presence felt by "defending" their titles against the Mumbai Cats in an unscheduled, unsanctioned match. Truth be told, it was more of a chance of Chris Hero and Cesaro to show off than anything else, as they continue to let their success over these last few months get to their heads. Maybe it's just me, but it's sad to see these two talented individuals resorting to such cheap antics. Thankfully, this farce was finally interrupted by Braun Strowman marching down to gain some revenge for his partner, with "The Monster Among Men" momentarily having the champs on the run! However, an unfortunate collision with the exposed corner turnbuckle put paid to that flurry as "The Kings" took Braun down, only for Santino to come hobbling out, trying to protect Strowman but instead putting himself in the firing line as well, despite still feeling the effects from the previous week. Say what you want about some of their actions in recent months, but Braun sticking up for his partner and Santino doing the same suggests there's more to this team than we perhaps saw from them initially. Still, for the second week running, "The Kings of Wrestling" reign supreme over their rivals...will they make it a third though?
It was great to see "The Vaudevillains" back in tag team competition once again, looking to work their way back into title contention. They didn't exactly have it easy though against Skinner and Jethro, as "The Bayou Bullies" continue to impress. While they might have come up short here just as they did against "The Rockers" one week prior, I see a whole lot of star potential in this unorthodox pairing. Skinner and Jethro are money, mark my words. As for English and Gotch, they were interviewed post-match by my broadcast colleague Todd Grisham, only for Simon Gotch to grow frustrated at the questions and put his hands on poor Todd. Speaking from experience, no talent should ever put their hands on a member of the broadcast team, no matter whether they appreciate the job we're doing or not, and I hope Sgt. Slaughter doles out an appropriate punishment for that "ungentlemanly" conduct. Eventually, the mysterious masked man known as Jervis Cottonbelly hit the scene to help convince Gotch to release the ankle lock, but even he too ended up with a sucker punch for his troubles. All is not well in "The Vaudevillains" camp, and I can't say it has been for some time now thanks to Simon Gotch's wild mood swings.
Following on from Sgt. Slaughter's announcement at the start of the show, it seems as if Chris Sabin was in good spirits now we're on the final stretch before Super Brawl, even if a little disappointed over how his I Quit Match finished against Jack Swagger. Still, Sabin's had a history of ankle issues over this last month, resulting in him needing crutches as a precautionary measure, as we saw last night. Here's hoping when the "grand daddy of 'em all" rolls around, he'll be as close to 100% as possible, because Lord knows he'll need to be!
In our wrestling main event on the show, the newly reformed "Rockers" were back in action once again, looking to follow up on their sensational victory over Skinner and Jethro at King of the Ring. They found themselves against some tough opponents though as Big Show and John Cena looked to pick up where they left off during their run in the Hulk Hogan Rock N' Wrestling Tag Team Tournament earlier in the summer! "The Doctor of Thuganomics" has spent the last several months sidelined with injury, but it seems as if that time away has done him the world of good, allowing Cena a much-needed chance to rest up and recuperate. As for the Big Show, there's an argument to be made that few superstars have had as fine a year as he has in 2018, racking up more wins than anyone else and continuing to prove why he can beat anyone on any given day! That made for a tough test for Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels in their first proper match together, after "HBK" only made an appearance in the dying moments of last week's contest. In the end though, it came right down to the wire with Cena pinning Shawn Michaels to secure a big win! I'm excited to see where both of these teams go from here though, as I think either pairing would make great challengers for the Tag Titles down the road!
With all that said and done then, let's take a look at my picks for this week's top three movers and shakers:
1. Brock Lesnar
2. John Cena/Big Show
3. The Kings of Wrestling
To the surprise of no one, Brock Lesnar once again takes top spot after pulling the wool over the eyes of the entire EWA Universe and taking Ken Shamrock out in dramatic fashion thanks to the assist by Sable. In at number two, John Cena and Big Show had their first match together as a team since July and looked just as impressive as they did back then, scoring a huge win over "The Rockers!" And speaking of tag teams, I'd hardly call that a "match" against the Mumbai Cats, but the Tag Champs certainly made an impact by leaving Braun Strowman and Santino Marella laying for the second week running! Not many other teams can claim to have done the same to that odd couple pairing!
As always, if you disagree with any of that, please feel free to let me know your own picks via our Twitter page. And since JR's Mailbag got postponed last week, I can confirm that it will be returning this Friday instead! Send in your questions on Twitter or right here on EWA.com, and I'll do my best to provide some answers!
Right now though, the big question on everyone's mind is whether or not Ken Shamrock will even be able to show up to SLAM! next weekend, let alone compete against Al Snow for the elusive third Super Brawl Captain spot! Perhaps if this was 20 years ago, "The World's Most Dangerous Man" might be able to shake it off and return to action, but I'm not sure if it's physically possible for him to do at this stage of his career, no matter how great a shape he was in before this all went down. And on top of that, will there be an announcement about a fourth Captain's spot as well, not to mention when we might see the draft itself? With another three SLAM!'s to go before Super Brawl, expect plenty of twists and turns as we edge ever nearer to "The Showcase of the Immortals!"
BOOMER SOONER!
