As a wrestling fan, you should have no disappointment after this weekend of wrestling.
On television, you got an awesome NXT Takeover on Saturday, an enthralling SummerSlam on Sunday, and an excellent Raw on Monday. If you were in the New York/New Jersey area, not only did you have the option of attending the WWE events, but you could have attended some incredible independent events put on by Ring of Honor, House of Glory and Pro Wrestling Syndicate, with the last two promotions featuring rare in ring wrestling appearances by the one and only Rey Mysterio Jr.
Because of budget constraints, many independent wrestling promotions run in smaller halls and have less expensive production values, but ROH, HOG, and PWS put on high quality productions with incredible athletes that puts many promotioms to shame. This weekend was no difference. I can’t really speak about the ROH event, as I wasn’t there, but I heard it had a great turn out and was a great card. I did have the pleasure of being on both the HOG event and PWS with my tag team partner, Zach Gowen.
The selling point of the HOG event on Friday was a first time ever match up between Amazing Red and Rey Mysterio Jr. Dubbed “At Last,” the bout was wrestled in honor of the late, great, and legendary Eddie Guerrero, who as we all know, was best friends with Rey, and was a huge fan of the work of Red. The match did not disappoint. The nearly 1,000 people in attendance were treated to a high flying, fast paced contest that chances are, will never occur again. Every guy in the locker room found a spot in the beautiful NYC Arena to watch as two of the greatest luchadores of our generation. I was proud to be a small part of the card, teaming with Zach and Red’s immensely talented student Nicky Heat, and even prouder to watch a contestate that meant so much to Rey and Red.
PWS was a spectacular card in it’s own right Saturday night. Featuring Rey opposite Red in Tag Team action, the card also featured the likes of Brian Myers, Mick Foley, and of course, The Handicapped Heroes and our deaf manager Hush defended the Tag Team Titles against the ultra talented Heavenly Bodies. The Ballroom in New Jersey was a sell out, a testament to PWS and it’s loyal fan base. Many in attendance could have chose to spend their money on WWE and NXT that evening, yet spent their hard earned money on The Syndicate.
Speaking of NXT– what an event! I got the opportunity to sit down and watch it this morning, and the card was sweet. The fans in Brooklyn were into every character and every match. Seeing Jushin Liger in a WWE ring was surreal. The K.O. vs. Balor ladder bout ruled, and Bailey vs. Sasha Banks was one of the best wrestled and most emotionally driven matches not just in the history of NXT, but WWE in general. Kudos to those two ladies for keeping the Diva’s Revolution going strong.
I mentioned it on social media, and I’m standing by it: SummerSlam 2015 was an instant classic. Every match, from first to last, was something special, however, there were complaints about the Jon Stewart interference in the WWE Championship/U.S. Championship match, but had no problem with it. In my opinion, it didn’t taint the match, and gave WWE additional exposure using a celebrity, who mind you, actually follows the product religiously and has respect for what the wrestlers do. You’re telling me if you have Jon Stewart on your wrestling event, you wouldn’t utilize him to garner the most attention possible?
Also, news flash, guys– SETH ROLLINS IS A HEEL. Heels cheat. Many were saying it made him look weak by cheating. Those who made that comment clearly don’t get wrestling. Furthermore, Jon didn’t do it for Seth– or The Rock– he did it for The Flair.
In the main event, the finish between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar was– unique. I had no problem with it Sunday night, and still don’t, really.. except technically speaking, I don’t think the time keeper could have seen Taker tapping from his point of view. All things considered, it was a great television finish, but I think it left a lot to be desired for the live crowd. A finish like that really has to be spelled out to those in attendance, and I’m not sure that it was. All and all, though, great main event.
SummerSlam usually has that WrestleMania feel, and 2015 was no exception. That feel carried right over into Raw, having a post-Mania Raw type-atmosphere. Brock killing Bo Dallas. The return of The Dudley Boyz. The debut of a new Wyatt Family member. The return of Sting. What a night… what an extended weekend for wrestling.
You don’t have to like everything that happened live or on TV in the world of wrestling this weekend… but you’re not allowed to be angry. If you’re threatening to cancel your WWE Network after what you were treated to over the last few days, perhaps you’re only watching wrestling so that you have something to complain about.
If Jon Stewart ends up winning the Heavyweight Championship, then you’re allowed to complain and cancel.
-Greg
