Around The Wrestling World In 7 Days: March 22nd, 2015

Every weekend, Joey will give a glimpse of the things that have entered his mind.

Hi. I have a lot of thoughts about wrestling. I decided to start a concept where I talk about what’s on my mind every weekend. I hope it’s enjoyable.

Follow me on Twitter and let me know if you want me to hit on any wrestling topics next week: @JoeySplashwater

WWE Universe

Stinger

I did not watch RAW this week. The only thing I looked for after the show was Sting’s appearance helping Randy Orton take down The Authority. This was by far the best Sting has looked in a WWE setting so far. His past appearances have made me care significantly less about his debut match at Wrestlemania but this added more optimism.

Ultimate Ladder Spotfest

A myriad of great in ring performers having a ladder match full of dazzling spots will always be fun but I can’t get myself interested in this the way others are. It reminds me of when TNA would randomly book all the X Division talent they don’t care about in an 8 man Ultimate X spotfest. Sure, it’s fun but it means absolutely nothing no matter how many times you try to tell yourself it will make a division/belt more credible.

NXT

This week’s NXT episode was one of my favorite TV episodes they’ve done. I absolutely loved the opening match between Tyler Breeze and Kalisto. It was only about 7 minutes and nothing too special occurred but it was straight up fun wrestling.

The setting of a new crowd in Cleveland was a bonus as Full Sail is starting to remind me of the Impact Zone during the “Hoytmania” days.

Kevin Owens kicking Alex Riley in the face was a beautiful moment.

The Impact Zone

Lashley vs. Angle

Bobby Lashley and Kurt Angle had a very good match on Impact this week. Lashley has been outstanding in his TNA run. Angle somehow still putting out impressive performances is mind boggling. I know Destination America loves him and he’s a big reason they market TNA so much so the title win wasn’t surprising.

Rockstar Spud

Congrats to Rockstar Spud on winning his first title in TNA as he became the X Division Champion. For someone who worked for years with the hope of making a living wrestling in America, Spud’s journey is an inspiring one.

TNA is good?

I watched *most* of Impact this week and it was a very good show. Good for TNA. It’s still hard to generate interest in the product as a whole due to the damage done over the years but at least they’re giving some interesting content.

I didn’t attend any of the NYC shows they did in the Winter due to not caring (and it being very cold) but I probably would attend one today. That’s progress, I guess?

ROH World

ReBorn

Matt Sydal looks ecstatic when wrestling. I can’t get enough of his entrance as he dances around, high 5’s everyone ringside and does a slide into the ring. I’m quite content with Sydal being a fixture in ROH, PWG and other promotions. When you can see the love for wrestling in someone’s work, it’s always a beautiful thing.

Thank you Jimmy

Rumors and circumstantial evidence indicates Jimmy Jacobs is leaving the in-ring wrestling world to become a member of WWE creative as a writer. When I first started to delve into the independent wrestling world and Ring of Honor, Jimmy Jacobs and Lacey’s storyline was chronicled over YouTube videos on the ROH channel. It was the first ROH storyline I was able to sink my teeth into and I enjoyed it.

From the Lacey days to Age of the Fall to current day, Jacobs has always entertained me. I’m not sure how big of an independent wrestling fan I would have become if not for what Jimmy offered to ROH in the first few shows along with the aforementioned Lacey stuff.

I’ll always remember fans putting up their flip phones for the lights and singing along to “The Ballad of Lacey.” I’m very happy to see Jimmy Jacobs get what he deserves in pro wrestling.

The Lucha Underground Underground

Casket Match lives

Mil Muertes and Fenix had the greatest Casket Match I’ve ever seen. Here’s how I’ll sell you this. I didn’t particularly care about these two going into the match nor did I invest myself in their story like I do others in Lucha Underground. They used things I typically dislike in wrestling – blood, ripping a masked wrestler’s mask during the bout and the casket match stipulation. Yet the match blew away my expectations and left me in awe. Everything just worked flawlessly.

If you’ve never seen Lucha Underground before, find this match and let it introduce you to an amazing world.

Drago vs. Aerostar 

These two are having a best of five series and it’s one of my favorite things in wrestling right now. Both men have innovative styles and do high risk moves with charisma and grace. Their chemistry is tremendous and this match was a perfect opening bout under 10 minutes. You all need to see this episode (March 18th) if you want to try a new wrestling show. You’ll know whether this show is for you just by watching this one hour episode.

Other wrestling (on earth)

Wednesday rundown

Next Wednesday looks like your best bet for top level great wrestling matches during Wrestlemania week. Finn Bálor vs. Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship will air on NXT. Prince Puma vs. Brian Cage for the Lucha Underground Championship will air on LU.

These are the two matches each program has been building towards over the last month or two. It’s basically their version of a PPV main event. I doubt any match on Wrestlemania will be better than either of these two.

Y2Jaybrone

Chris Jericho ranted about “the internet wrestling community” recently. Does he not realize that demographic he’s trashing makes up 90% of people who attends Fozzy concerts?

Not to mention the outdated term of “internet fans” while asking to buy his shirt, listen to his podcast and watch his matches all on the internet.

Other planets

Hulu Plus fucking sucks

Every time I try to use Hulu Plus, there are so many ads and a lot of them are clunky and slow on the video player. Why is this more expensive or equal to the price of Netflix? I get the concept of current TV shows striking a deal with them but most cable systems have the same shows onDemand for free. The movie library on Hulu Plus is absolutely atrocious as well. Amazon Instant is vastly superior but no one realizes its underrated library.

Dwayne Wayne – television icon before his time

I’ve been watching A Different World on Netflix over the last week and Dwayne Wayne is among the best characters I can recall in a sitcom. Originally introduced as a goof, Wayne gradually became one of the most likeable characters. Not to mention with his immaculate fashion, Dwayne Wayne was a legend before his time.

Community

It’s back. It’s still very good. I’m happy.