Posts Tagged ‘Samoa Joe’
Who’s Hot and Who’s Not – 05/26/15 Edition
This is a pretty self-explanatory post and will possibly become a regular feature here at the Real American Wrestleblog. Let’s dive right in and see how it goes.
Who’s Hot
#1 – Kevin Owens – Owens won the NXT Championship just two months after his arrival at NXT R-Evolution. Despite his two championship matches with Sami Zayn (at NXT Rival and NXT Unstoppable) being aborted by referee interference, Owens has not lost any steam. In the first match with Zayn, the result was what amounted to a TKO, which wasn’t ideal, but it was palatable because it set up for what we thought would be an epic rematch. However, the second match was unable to finish due to multiple referees, the NXT commissioner and finally the debuting Samoa Joe getting in between Owens and Zayn and not allowing Owens to finish Zayn off. Despite all of that, Kevin Owens is as over with the crowd as ever, just like every WWE signing to come out of ROH has been. And now, this Sunday, Owens gets to make his WWE main roster PPV debut with a one-on-one match against John Cena. When was the last time somebody making their PPV debut was given a match with John Cena? My best guess would be maybe Carlito’s lackey Jesus back during their United States Championship rivalry back in 2004. It says a lot about WWE’s opinion of Owens, especially since he’s not the most in-shape of athletes, to put him in the ring with the face of the company on his first major WWE event.
#2 – Dean Ambrose – In what week would this list be complete without Dean Ambrose? But he has to be here this week, especially since he’s getting a one-on-one opportunity for the WWE Championship this Sunday at the Elimination Chamber. Ambrose’s antics usually make him the highlight of the night every single week on both Raw and Smackdown. It’s not just the Lunatic Fringe crazy antics, but it’s the over the top theatrics and top notch ring psychology that have made him an unwavering fan favorite since The Shield turned face approximately 15 months ago. Win or lose, no matter what the outcome of any given match, Ambrose seems to come out of it better than he went in.
#3 – John Cena – Cena’s United States Championship Open Challenge, since it began, has provided the best match of the night on every episode of Monday Night Raw where the match wasn’t interrupted by interference. Cena has really stepped up his game in the ring, adding that new Springboard Stunner maneuver to his arsenal. Plus, defending the title every week against an unknown challenger adds a lot of drama and entertainment value to the show, even if we know that no matter who it is that answers the challenge, Cena is still leaving with the belt. At this moment in time, Cena might just be the best entertainer that he’s ever been.
Who’s Not
#1 – Stardust – Other than using the bag of spiders to steal a win over R-Truth on Raw a few weeks ago, when was the last time that Stardust won a match? He lost to Truth on the Payback preshow. He lost to Neville last night. He lost to his big brother back at Fastlane. He lost in the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match at Wrestlemania. And he lost back in either the second or third United States Championship open challenge that Cena offered. Any other wins that he’s picked up in 2015 have not been very memorable. As much as I enjoyed the Goldust / Stardust tag team for a while, it’s gotta be about time for Cody to take off the facepaint and get back to what worked for him before.
#2 – The Bella Twins – Nikki and Brie got steam-rolled by Naomi and Tamina at Payback. When Nikki came out to rescue Paige on Raw last week, she tripped on the apron leaving the ring and fell flat on her face trying to chase Naomi and Tamina up the rampway. And heel or face, the Bellas just aren’t getting much of a reaction from the crowd, it seems to me. It’s well past time to give some different divas a chance. I predict we see a new Divas Champion this Sunday at Elimination Chamber.
#3 – Adam Rose – Instead of wrestling every week, Rose appears relegated to making out with Rosa Mendes backstage. And when it happens, Kane is usually walking by or forced to otherwise bear witness to this unsavory sight. It definitely feels like another run-in with the Big Red Machine is looming in Rose’s future and it won’t have a happy ending. Next time time, since the Rosebuds have been dismissed,there won’t be The Bunny or any other of the other residents of the Exotic Express to shield Rose from Kane’s destruction.
Real American Live Reactions – NXT Takeover: Unstoppable NXT Championship Match – Huge NXT Debut
Now it’s time for the Main Event – Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn part two. Kevin Owens promises that he will injury Sami Zayn again and this time there will be no coming back for Zayn. Sami comes out and they got the InZayn backward on the video board on the walkway. Upside down. Made it look like Nyazni. here comes Kevin Owens wearing a John Cena US Title Champ is Here t-shirt. After what happened on Monday and the announcement that Kevin Owens will go one-on-one with John Cena at Elimination Chamber in a week and a half, I’m half expecting Cena to make a run-in on this match.
The match starts out on the floor, with Sami taking the upper hand. Back in the ring, Owens gets in a shot as Sami comes through the ropes and gets in a few more shots in the corner. Sami whips Owens into the ropes, but Owens catches the ropes and blocks it so Zayn Clotheslines him out to the floor. Owens kicks him in the gut and goes for a Powerbomb into the side of the ring, but Sami counters into a Back Body Drop. Sami tackles Owens back against the steps and stands on him while pummeling him with a flurry of punches. Sami tosses Owens around outside the ring and slams him head first into the steps and whips him into the barricade. Owens stays down. Sami drags him back up by the hair and Owens punches him in the gut. Owens retreats into the ring, but Zayn dives on his legs and drags him back out and throws him over the barricade into the crowd. Sami over the barricade after him and gets in a few more big right hands. Owens tries for a Powerbomb into the side of the bleachers and gets Sami up, but Sami catches the railing to stop himself and punches Owens until he’s able to get away. Sami takes Owens back to the ring and hits the Blue Thunderbomb, but Owens kicks out for a near fall. They fight each other off some more and Sami hits a Half and Half Suplex (Half Nelson on one side, Underhook on the other side) for another near fall. Zayn goes for a Tornado DDT, but Owens drops to his knees and counters into a Gutbuster over his shoulder. Zayn fires back and hits an Exploder Suplex into the corner and goes for the Helluva Kick in the corner, but Owens drops out to the floor. Zayn out after him with a Suplex on the floor. Sami charges and dives at Owens, but Owens catches him with a Pop Up Powerbomb into the side of the ring. Sami is down and out, selling the move hard as he should and Owens slinks back into the ring while two officials check on Sami. Owens catches his breath and then goes out to the floor and mounts Zayn and pummels him with some punches. The referees pull him off, but he goes right back and does it again. They pull him off again. The trainer starts to pull Sami up, but Owens charges over and kicks Sami in the face three or four times. This goes on for quite some time until they prop Sami up against the steps and Owens finally pulls him back up and puts him in the ring. The referees are begging Owens to stop and here comes William Regal. Just let them finish the match already. This referee stoppage garbage and referee interference in the progression of a match has got to stop. Regal fishooks Owens, but Owens turns around and Headbutts him, knocking him out of the ring. Owens goes out and gets a chair and decks Zayn over the arm with it.
And holy crap, Samoa Joe’s music hits. here comes Samoa Joe! The match is apparently over, but now it’s Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe nose to nose and this is gonna be EPIC! Major mark out moment for everybody. These two guys are gonna be phenomenal in the ring together in the future. Owens back down and leaves the ring. Joe stares a hole through him. Joe poses for the crowd and it looks like the show is over. Great match comes to another crappy finish, but Samoa Joe makes his NXT debut and Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Owens looms in the future. Oh crap, here comes Owens back right now, but he’s surely not gonna get in the ring after already backing down once. And he’s not. Such a tease.