JR's Super Brawl XVIII Team Breakdown

Super Brawl is upon us once again, and this year's event is already shaping up to be one of the greatest that the EWA has seen! Now that the annual draft is complete, I've put together this breakdown of all four teams, to give the EWA Universe some insight of what to expect next Sunday!


We start off with the team belonging to Brock Lesnar. This will be "The Beast's" sixth Super Brawl appearance, more than anyone else in this year's match, after having been a member of Team Rebellion in 2005, replacing Eddie Kingston on Team Venis in 2013, being on Team Conglomerate in 2014, being a runner-up as Captain of his own team in 2015, and finally winning the event as part of Team Demise in 2016. At this point, I'm sure I don't need to tell about Brock's credentials, most notably having the record for the longest World Championship reign in EWA history at 273 days. On top of that, he'll have been World Champion a further 231 days by the time Super Brawl rolls around, after capturing the gold by winning this year's Civil War and successfully defending it against Heidenreich, Chris Sabin, Al Snow, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Jack Swagger, Matt Morgan, Big Show and Ken Shamrock along the way! It's Brock's rivalry with Shamrock that might be one thing to watch out for however, with Lesnar having fooled not just "The World's Most Dangerous Man" but the entire EWA Universe into thinking he'd turned over a new leaf and split from Sable, only to reveal it had been a ruse to eliminate Shamrock. Alas, Lesnar didn't get the job done, with Shamrock soon becoming one of his fellow Captains and gunning for revenge. Still, when it comes to Super Brawl, Brock Lesnar has more than proven his pedigree, holding the record for the most eliminations in over-all Super Brawl history with 9 to his name, having taken out the likes of EWA legends such as Kurt Angle, DDP, Richard Blood, Val Venis, Paulton Burchill and Brent Albright. He's only officially lost one match this year as well, a six man tag that pitted "The Beast" and OVE against Al Snow, Chris Sabin and Kenny Omega, and that came via disqualification. In short then, Lesnar is unquestionably the man to beat in this year's Super Brawl Match. It's worth mentioning though that only two men have successfully defended the World Title in the previous 17 Super Brawl's, that being Randy Orton in 2004 and Brock's own Captain in 2016, Samuel Shaw. Of course, with Lesnar having been on the losing end of a Super Brawl Match as defending champion (and under some highly controversial circumstances to boot), you'd have to think that makes him more determined than ever not to let history repeat itself.

He won't be doing it alone though, as Brock welcomes back his former Conglomerate team-mate Seth Rollins. This will be Rollins' first match of 2018, and his first since "The Architect's" previous run between September 2014 and August 2016. We know how good the former National Champion is on any given day, and while he might be coming into this year's Super Brawl cold, he does have plenty of experience at the "grand daddy of 'em all," having been a member of Team Conglomerate in 2014 and Captaining Team EWA in 2015, while also picking up 2 career eliminations along the way. The question is though, will being part of Team Lesnar go against the credo that Seth Rollins has adopted in this latest return? After all, he has made crystal clear his intentions for the EWA, threatening to "burn it down" and rebuild the company better than ever from the ashes. You'd have thought part of that battle plan would include removing the long-standing World Champion from the equation at some point, but I guess we'll have to wait and see where Rollins' loyalties lie come the Super Brawl Match next Sunday.

It's safe to say that Fit Finlay isn't one of Brock Lesnar's biggest fans, having made no bones about his feelings towards "The Beast" in recent promos. That may have something to do with the fact that "The Fighting Irishman" also has intentions of being World Champion for the first time in his storied 44 year career, with his son Brogan's fight against cancer providing plenty of inspiration to make that dream become a reality. While I wouldn't wish those tragic circumstances on anyone, it's hard to dispute that they have seen Finlay not only turn back the clock, but become arguably better than he ever was in his heyday, only losing twice since debuting in August. Still, while Finlay has proven that age is just a number these last four months, one has to wonder if it will play a factor in the Super Brawl Match, especially as he'll be the oldest competitor this year and one of the oldest competitors ever to compete in Super Brawl. Incredibly, for all of the things he's accomplished and all the multitude of matches he's wrestled in, this will also be the very first time that Fit has competed in the Super Brawl Match. It's not often you can accuse the Irish veteran of lacking experience in anything to do with professional wrestling, but could that come into play in this unique match environment?

Last but not least, Brock Lesnar has drafted perhaps the closest carbon copy to himself one can imagine in WALTER. That's not to disrespect the Austrian grappler or accuse him of being a cheap knock-off however, as he's been building a solid reputation for years over in Europe as a near immovable man-mountain before finally being brought over to the States. However, it's the how and why of his journey across the Atlantic which has proved extremely traumatic for the "Ring General." After all, his daughter was kidnapped by an undetermined number of evil clowns known only as "Them" or "They" and then used as leverage to force WALTER into doing their bidding. "They" may have finally gone too far however, as WALTER has looked broken in his last couple of appearances, losing to his Super Brawl team-mate Fit Finlay in the quarter finals of the King of the Ring tournament and then disappearing for six weeks before finally making his return decked out in clown make-up and screaming hysterically just one week ago. Talk about a real wildcard, with it being anyone's guess whether WALTER will even be in the right frame of mind to compete in a match as hugely important as Super Brawl.


When Chris Sabin arrived in the EWA, it didn't take him long to make an impact. Indeed, his very first match saw him strike up a short-term alliance with Kenny Omega to challenge for the Tag Team Titles in the "Ohio vs Everyone" Melee at Mayhem, in what would be the first of several title opportunities within the first couple of months of his debut. However, while Omega and Sabin wouldn't quite capture the Tag Team Titles on three separate occasions, it was the match that pitted "Detroit's Finest" against Brock Lesnar for the World Championship which really opened a lot of folks' eyes. Even in defeat, Sabin had seemingly earned Lesnar's respect, although how genuine that was is up for debate given Brock's actions later in the year. Still, it helped to propel the "Motor City Machine Gun" towards challenging Matt Morgan and capturing the National Championship, a title he vowed to defend on a weekly basis and make even more important than the World Title. While those plans didn't come to fruition thanks to nagging injuries courtesy of repeated attacks by Jack Swagger, Sabin has successfully defended the gold three times, including against "The All-American American" himself, which helped see him named as a Super Brawl Captain. It's a match Chris hasn't been a part of in almost a decade however, with his first appearance coming as part of Team Corino in 2007, before then featuring on Team Franchise in 2009. The Chris Sabin of 2018 is a completely different man and performer to that plucky young kid from yesteryear though, which is why I fully expect to see him rise up to the challenge of Captaining a Super Brawl team for the first time. Still, it'll be interesting to see whether or not Sabin intends to try and defend his National Title in the Super Brawl Match and continue the goal he set himself of making it the most important championship in all the EWA, or if he'll instead look to capture the World Title. Either way, only two men have successfully retained the National Title in the Super Brawl Match before, The Brian Kendrick in 2010 and Teddy Hart in 2014, so if he does opt to retain his title, it would certainly put Chris Sabin in the history books for more reasons than one!

As far as Sabin's first pick goes, he's brought into the fold a superstar with arguably the biggest chip on his shoulder of anyone else on the EWA roster, Gabriel. After all, it was almost ten years ago that Gabriel was lumbered with a ridiculous "dancing" persona in another wrestling promotion which unsurprisingly didn't lead to much success. Instead, it sent him on a downward spiral that led directly to the wrestling wilderness, from which he's had to fight tooth and nail to overcome depression and preconceived notions to reclaim the career that many had felt him capable of. As such, Gabriel has been one of the breakout stars in 2018, putting on a series of impressive matches, including going all the way to the King of the Ring final, only to fall short to PCO at the last. One could say that his biggest achievement came the month prior however as part of the Sin City Survival Elimination Match. Gabriel might not have been on the winning team that night, but he did accomplish something that nobody else has done in the EWA this year when he pinned Brock Lesnar 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring. Granted, it came under auspicious circumstances and with Trevor Mann dog-piling on top, but take nothing away from "The Solitary Reaper" for accomplishing something that few men can claim. While it should have been a scenario which launched him into title contention, a countout loss to Big Show the following week put paid to those plans, which have left Gabriel struggling to get back on track since then. No one's doubting that the talented young Brit has all the potential in the world though, and perhaps it'll be the grand stage of Super Brawl where it all comes together for him. That is, if he doesn't lose his spot later tonight when he puts it on the line against Ricochet and Marty Scurll in a triple threat match on SLAM!

It's probably better to talk about Chris Hero and Cesaro together, as that's how they've spent the majority of this year competing. If truth be told, "The Kings of Wrestling" hadn't quite clicked whenever they had attempted coming together in the EWA in years gone by, but that's now changed in a big way. In fact, they hold a better tag team record than anyone else over the last 12 months with 7 wins and only 3 losses to their name, including their run to victory in the Hulk Hogan Rock N' Wrestling Tag Team Tournament this past summer. Perhaps even more impressively though, Hero and Cesaro were the first team to hand OVE a loss after the Crist brothers had dominated the early part of 2018, one from which they have yet to return! It's been an incredible run, yet all good things must come to an end as "The Kings" finally came undone just last week on SLAM! when they were defeated by Braun Strowman and Santino Marella to deny them the chance of heading into Super Brawl as defending Tag Team Champions. However, that may well prove to be a blessing in disguise as only a handful of Tag Team Champions have walked out with the gold after walking in with it. Of course, it's worth noting that while they have developed into a perfect symbiotic unit this year, the Super Brawl Match is one environment where they won't have one another to rely on, as they'll have to wrestle their portion of the match individually until they're finally eliminated. Fortunately for both "The Knockout Artist" and the "Swiss Superman" though, at least they have some Super Brawl experience to fall back on, so I'm sure they know exactly what to expect. Hero was part of Team Del Rio back in 2011, while Cesaro joins Lesnar and Rollins as another member of Team Conglomerate in 2014 who's returned for this year's event.


Much like Fit Finlay, Ken Shamrock is another superstar who's enjoyed a career renaissance this year, getting himself into amazing shape and putting on some of the best matches he's ever had. It's a big part of why "The World's Most Dangerous Man" quickly captured the attention of the EWA Universe and became such a huge fan favorite too, although you could say that Shamrock's rivalry with Trevor Mann/Ricochet also contributed to that popularity. Indeed, many feel it could be high in the mix for feud of the year as Shamrock and Ricochet spent months going back-and-forth with one another, exchanging wins and losses until finally settling the score at All Hallows' Evil! That victory also guaranteed the MMA veteran a shot at the World Championship later in the evening, pitting Shamrock against Brock Lesnar for the first time ever in exactly the kind of hard-hitting battle you'd expect from two grizzled ring warriors. On that occasion, a seemingly inadvertent distraction from Sable helped cost Shamrock the match, but as we'd discover in the weeks after the event, it was all part of the grand plan employed by the former Women's Champion and her husband to get payback for Shamrock's role in Brock's elimination at Sin City Survival. As such, Shamrock suffered a vicious beating at Lesnar's hands that put him in the hospital and left "The World's Most Dangerous Man" partially blinded, although doctor's are hopeful that his condition will only be temporary. Either way, Super Brawl is more than just a chance for Ken Shamrock to finally become World Champion...it's personal! But while that might help him stay focused on leading his team to victory, one has to wonder if his obsession with gaining revenge against Lesnar might also lead to his team's undoing, especially as he doesn't have any prior Super Brawl experience to go by. Time will tell!

One of the biggest surprises in this year's Super Brawl draft has to be the choice of Frank Shamrock. Obviously, that's taking nothing away from him as a competitor, as his UFC record speaks for itself with Frank being the first man to hold the Middleweight Championship (later renamed the Light Heavyweight Championship), and the fact that he was ranked as the number one pound-for-pound UFC fighter in the world during his reign. However, that's UFC and this is the EWA, a world in which the MMA veteran has had no prior experience. While there might be some similarities between the two, it could be a steep learning curve and a hell of a stage to figure it all out on for the younger Shamrock sibling. And that's before you take into account the somewhat tempestuous relationship he's had with his brother over the years, with the two having fallen out over training methods in the late 90s before finally reconciling when their adoptive father was on his deathbed. By all accounts, things are still better now between Ken and Frank than they were for a long time, which you'd have to assume is a big reason why the elder Shamrock turned to his brother when putting his team together. Still, there are some major question marks about Frank Shamrock and his ability to make his wrestling debut on Super Brawl against one of the most talented line-ups we've ever seen.

When Paul Heyman brought Braun Strowman into the EWA last year as his "Destroyer," it seemed he was destined to cut a swathe right through the entire roster. However, after being embarrassed at Civil War by Jack Gallagher, "The Monster Among Men" spent a long time struggling to recover. It was only when he made his return to action this year that we finally had a chance to see the competitor Heyman had been touting, making a big impression against John Cena in a match with Santino Marella as the special guest referee. When Santino played a role in Braun losing that contest though, Strowman set his sights on tearing the "Italian Stallion" limb from limb to gain his revenge, only to be stopped at the last minute by Samuel Shaw. Instead, the serpent-tongued former World Champion somehow manipulated Strowman and Marella into forming what could best be described as an "odd couple" alliance. Since then, they've slowly but surely developed a unique chemistry which finally took them to the Tag Team Titles just one week ago, with Strowman becoming a true force to be reckoned with. Even with the likes of Brock Lesnar and Big Show around, you won't find too many superstars bigger or stronger than Braun in this year's Super Brawl, which could well give him a distinct advantage, even if it is the first time he's ever competed in the match before. What he lacks in experience though, he more than makes up for in dominance, that's for damn sure.

It's been a strange year for Santino Marella. He kicked it off by turning on his former friend Spudley and becoming somewhat of a jerk to the EWA faithful, for lack of a better term. Eventually, it would be revealed that Samuel Shaw was the man responsible for this change in attitude, exploiting Santino's insecurities to turn him into an agent of chaos. That all led to Marella's alliance with Strowman as detailed above, but don't be fooled into thinking that theirs is a one-sided team. On the contrary, Santino might be one of the most decorated men on the EWA roster right now, with four Tag Title reigns to his name as well as a lengthy run as National Champion last year, and winning events like Lethal Lottery 2015, Civil War 2017, and yes, being one-fourth of the victorious Team Demise back at Super Brawl XVI! That right there is the experience which may well cause Santino's inclusion to be an inspired choice, as he's one of only three men in this year's match to know what it takes to walk out as a Super Brawl winner! He's also one of only six men to have successfully defended the Tag Team Titles at Super Brawl as well, along with his former partner Damien Sandow, Bradshaw and Farooq in 2001, and the greatest tag team in EWA history, the Vegas Connection in 2012. However, for all those plaudits, Santino does have a habit of getting caught up in his own head sometimes, and you have to wonder just how well he'll deal with the pressure of a match as important as Super Brawl without his old friends around him for support. While he and Braun Strowman are on a high right now and gelling together nicely, this is undoubtedly going to be a big test for the pair of them.


When we reach the back end of the year, it's sometimes easy to forget how things started. Well, let me assure you that nobody had a better start to 2018 than John Cena. "The Doctor of Thuganomics" went on a huge winning streak that saw him undefeated all the way until Red, White & Bruised in early July, when both he and Al Snow unsuccessfully challenged Brock Lesnar for the World Championship in a wild triple threat match. After that, Cena formed a team with Big Show based on their mutual respect for one another, but it would prove short-lived when Show was put on the shelf. Cena soon found himself with a replacement ally in "The Midnight Rider," going to the finals of the Hulk Hogan Rock N' Wrestling Tag Team Tournament and just falling short to "The Kings of Wrestling." However, run-in's with Braun Strowman and Santino Marella would soon take their toll and leave Cena battling injuries as well, yet he thankfully made his return right in time for Super Brawl to ensure he didn't miss out on the festivities for a second year running. On a personal level, I'm really happy to see "The Doctor of Thuganomics" get another stab at the apple here, as he's a shining example to the entire EWA Universe, never giving up no matter what adversity he faces. He's also one of the most loyal superstars I've ever encountered too, as we'll soon discus. I was extremely surprised to realize that this is only Cena's second Super Brawl appearance, having been a member of Team 3:16 way back in 2004, as I felt certain he'd been far more ubiquitous than that over the years. There's also question marks over Cena's ability to finish the job as well, having failed to win any kind of championship since a run with the United States Title way back in late 2007 despite multiple title opportunities in the interim. Still, if there's anyone capable of stepping up their game for the biggest match of the year, I'd bet good money on it being John Cena!

It really shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the very first pick Cena made as Captain was Big Show. After all, the two struck up a solid friendship this year and looked like they had the makings of a damn good team as well, at least until Matt Morgan and "The Steel Horsemen of Doom" took Show out of the equation anyway. You can't keep a good giant down though, and Big Show came back stronger than ever, racking up more wins this year than anyone else on the EWA roster! And it's included victories over some tough competition too, like the aforementioned Morgan, Marty Scurll, Fit Finlay, Gabriel, and Bobby Lashley for the National Championship. That run with the National Title certainly helped to put "The World's Largest Athlete" back on the wrestling map, but if there was one criticism you'd have to level at him, it would perhaps be the lack of consistency. After losing the title, Show has struggled to string together a series of wins and go on that momentum-building run which would make him tough to topple. As a result, not only does he have the record for most wins in 2018, he's also the joint record holder for the most losses this year as well, which is something he'll need to work on heading into 2019. It also means that he's wrestled far more than anyone else on the roster over the last 12 months, even after being on the shelf all of August, and you've got to believe that the rigors of such a schedule will take its toll on any competitor, especially one of Big Show's stature. Of course, he does have some Super Brawl experience at least, joining Brock Lesnar and Santino Marella as the only men in this year's match to have won Super Brawl before after being part of Team Y2J in 2002, but that was virtually a lifetime ago, meaning Show will need to find a spark from somewhere if he wants to win Super Brawl a second time.

This year has been one for comeback stories, so it was a pleasant surprise to see Jerry Lynn recently emerge as the latest superstar looking to rekindle his glory days. "The New F'N Show" had a hell of a run back in 2011, defeating Sabu for the Iron Man Title and beating Sir Douglas Williams to capture the National Championship over the course of that year. It also helped earn him a spot as one of the four Super Brawl Captains, where his team ended up as runners-up to Rene Dupree's Team Genesis. Since then though, the former ECW mainstay had seemingly fallen off the face of the earth for going on 7 years until he finally reappeared on last week's SLAM! to face his soon-to-be Super Brawl team-mate, the Big Show. That would be his very first match of any kind since Super Brawl XI, but if there was any ring rust visible, I sure as hell didn't see it. Still, there's a major difference between wrestling a singles match on SLAM! and wrestling on the grand stage of Super Brawl, and next Sunday will be a true test of just what "The New F'N Show" still has left in the tank. There's also the question of whether the nature of his win over Show might cause some tension between the two heading into Super Brawl XVIII, which is surely the last thing that John Cena wants to see. Cena himself may have exacerbated matters even more with his revelation this week that he originally wanted to make Fit Finlay his second pick during the draft, but was beaten to the punch by Brock Lesnar, something that can't sit well with the Minnesota native. Still, if Jerry Lynn can find a way to co-exist with his team-mates and tap into that ability which nearly took him to the top in 2011, there's every chance that he could end up being the dark horse of this year's event.

In another show of loyalty, "The Doctor of Thuganomics" turned to his old Bullet Club team-mate Kenny Omega to round out his Super Brawl team. Together, the two of them sought to make the Bullet Club a dominant force in 2017, helping propel Cena towards two World Title opportunities. However, they amicably went their separate ways in January, where it's fair to say that Omega has had a rollercoaster of a year with plenty of ups and downs. It started well enough as he built himself into a seemingly sure-fire National Title contender ready to challenge Bobby Lashley, yet the war against the rest of the "Santanic Clown Posse" derailed that momentum and caused "The Cleaner" to miss out on his shot. After teaming with Chris Sabin over the early summer and coming close to defeating OVE for the Tag Titles on three separate occasions, Kenny has once again struggled to find a direction, eventually resulting in a leave of absence after being defeated by Gabriel in a King of the Ring qualifier. While it might seem I'm being overly critical of this talented young man from Winnipeg however, believe me, that couldn't be further from the truth. I know what he's capable of and I know how hungry he is to be a success here in the EWA, just as I know how valuable he can be to John Cena's team when push comes to shove. While luck hasn't always been on Omega's side, there's no doubt in my mind he's got the talent to make up for it. And what better place or time to finally have it all come together than Super Brawl XVIII!

On top of all those draft picks, we should really make brief mention of the Alternates too! There's been several years recently where the Alternates have proved crucially important, from Richard Blood replacing CM Punk on Team Corino and thus helping them emerge victorious in 2012, to last year's event where Brent Albright made a shocking substitution onto Team Gallagher in place of Drew McIntyre, despite not officially being named as an Alternate!

This year sees an interesting dynamic as well, with all four Alternates having the potential to be game-changers. Goldust is someone who has not just won Super Brawl before (as part of Team Genesis), but who's also won the Alternates Match itself, doing so in 2009 before going on to cash in his title shot and defeat Daniel Bryan for the National Championship. We've not seen "The Bizarre One" in an EWA ring since 2012 though, which could well be the reason Brock left him on the bench rather than the starting line-up. As for Christian, this is his first experience as an Alternate after having competed in six previous Super Brawl Matches, so you can be sure he knows what's at stake. Like Goldust though, it's been a while since we last saw "The Instant Classic" in action, going back to December 2016. Skinner is a really interesting choice by Ken Shamrock, as while he might be a veteran of the ring, it's still very much early days in the EWA career for the "Bayou Bully." Then again, underestimating him could well work to Skinner's advantage. And last but by no means least, Scotty Flamingo rounds out the Alternate field after not having competed in the EWA for almost two years. I mentioned in this week's Ross Report that Flamingo doesn't appear to be quite his normal self right now, so who knows what he'll bring to the table or if he even wants an opportunity at the National Title? 

Either way, it's all to play for next Sunday! And I for one can't wait to see how it all plays out!