10 Biggest Tag Team Splits

2017 has seen some major tag team breakups. Some have been more devistating to see than others. A couple of them have actually made my top 10 biggest tag team splits. For the sake of being easier to access for people who haven't seen the splits, I'm sticking with WWE owned properties (specifically WCW, NXT, and WWE/F).

10) Team DIY - At Takeover Chicago, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, collectively known as #DIY, lost to Authors of Pain in a tag team ladder match for the NXT titles. As the two walked up the ramp, a great production decision was made to show the ending graphic WWE product all have in the bottom corner as #DIY walked up the ramp. Suddenly, Ciampa snapped and attacked his partner in one of the most vicious assaults in recent memory. While the team had competed in a match in the CruiserWeight Classic, and teased the split then, it was hard to believe these two would break up on NXT programming. I expected at best, they would be split by being drafted to different brands. Seeing Ciampa expose his "Psycho Killer" side on his best friend was easily the best finish to an NXT show I've ever seen.

9) The Outsiders - Scott Hall and Kevin Nash revolutionized wrestling together. The Outsiders were some of the hottest television segments in the Monday Night Wars, and the two of them were what sold the NWO, alongside Hollywood Hogan. The swerve of them being on opposite sides of the ring was compelling television I suppose, but inevitably relatively meaningless. The team would eventually reunite, and all was right with the wrestling world once again.

8) The Steiner Brothers - Scott Steiner turned on his own flesh and blood in a match against the Outsiders to align himself with the NWO. The Steiners were often seen as one of the biggest weapons WCW had in the war against the NWO, so this was a blow to both the Steiner family, but to WCW as a whole. Of course, from this we received Big Poppa Pump, one of the most memorable personas in the history of the WCW and eventually TNA.

7) Miz and Morrison - The Miz and John Morrison were a fledgling tossed together at first who proceeded to get themselve's over through the power of the Internet. Before Long Island Iced Z, there was The Dirt Sheet. The team quickly became the talk of the midcard/ECW. Then the WWE draft happened. In a match to determine a draft pick, John Morrison was unsuccessful in his attempt to cheat, getting The Miz disqualified. Not only did it win Raw a draft pick, that draft pick turned out to be The Miz. After embracing in the middle of the ring, The Miz proceeded to attack Morrison. The Mix has of course gone on to be a multi time champion and is one of the biggest heels in the WWE, but Morrison, now Johnny Mundo has certainly done well for himself outside of the WWE.

6) The Acolytes/APA - In 2004, Paul Heyman was running Smackdown. After catching Farooq laughing at him backstage, the team was informed that if they lost their match to the team of Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty, Farooq would be fired. The fact that the team lost to the man I consider to be one of the two worst talents in WWE history (Scotty 2 Hotty being one, Brian Christopher being the other), only adds insult to injury for me in this one. When the two got to the back, the Smackdown creative team wasted no time in turning Bradshaw into JBL. While still in his APA gear, Heyman mentioned Bradshaw's book, Fox News personality, and prowess as a financial analyst. When he stayed behind in the office as Farooq left, my heart broke. Farooq went on to have a long career as a backstage persona, even though he only ever uttered one word (Damn), and JBL became one of the most prominent heels of post-Attitude Era WWE.

5) The Hardy Boyz - The Hardys have split several times, and I actually believe each time it has been fairly surprising and certainly compelling. Similar to the Steiners, the fact that these two are real life brothers certainly adds to the impact. The storyline of the first split, where Matt became upset with Jeff's daredevil style in the ring made great sense, and Lita being the special guest ref in the blowoff match for this feud was a nice touch. The team splitting over Matt's jealousy of Jeff's popularity was also logical and compelling. Of course in TNA, the feud that created the Broken universe between these two was one of the best things in wrestling for all of last year.

4) Enzo And Cass - There are two reasons this is so high on my list. Firstly, the storyline actually took time to develop which is very strange in today's WWE. Secondly, these two. We're a novelty act from day one. I have no idea what splitting the two will do to benefit either of them, though I'm sure in the moment people had the same comments about some of my other entrants.

3) LOD 2000 - The Road Warriors, Legion of Doom, LOD 2000, or simply Hawk and Animal are arguably (and in the Figure Four Writers Block world) the greatest tag team of all time. These two should have never been broken up. Between this split involving Hawk's real life history of substance abuse and the fact that the team had been together for literally decades, this breakup ruined many a childhood memory for countless wrestling fans.

2) Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens - This one ranks so highly for me as I consider Chris Jericho one of the greatest of all time and probably my personal favorite. The friendship Angle with him and Kevin Owens was right up there with the Broken Universe for my favorite programming of last year. When the two of them split during the Festival of Friendship, we got a new look at Kevin Owens, going back to being vicious and looking out purely for himself. We also got to see Chris Jericho being able to play to the crowd a bit more once he became a face. While the storyline hadn't quite become stale, it added a fresh new layer that gave a big boost to what was already the best thing on Monday Night Raw.

1) The Rockers - Everyone has seen the barber shop window moment. One of the most iconic moments in the history of the WWF if not all of pro wrestling, this moment separated Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels. Of course Jannetty would go on to float through a mediocre career while Shawn Michaels went on to be regarded as one of the greatest of all time. To this day, any time a tag team breaks up, people ask "who is going to be the Jannetty?" This is clearly the biggest and most iconic breakups on the list.

Who did I miss? Who do you think was ranked too high or too low? Who do you think doesn't belong? Let me know in the comments, and as always, stay (too) sweet!

ROH Best in the World

This Friday, Ring of Honor will be live from the Lowell Memorial Auditorium for their annual Best in the World pay per view. The card is pretty stacked, but that's to be expected at a show named Best in the World. I will be in attendance and hope to have a post about my experience by the end of the weekend.

As far as matches go, we will see:

The Rebellion taking on Search and Destroy in a loser must disband 8-man tag match
The Kingdom vs Ultimo Guerrero and El Terrible (both from CMLL)
Hangman Page in a strap match against Frankie Kazarian
Pro Wrestling's Last Real Man Silas Young battling Jay Lethal
Bully Ray &a The Brisco Brothers defending their 6-man tag titles against Dalton Castle and The Boys
The Villain Marty Scurll looking to regain his ROH TV title from Kushida
The Young Bucks defending the ROH tag titles against War Machine
And The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes challenging The Almighty Christopher Daniels

This will be my first ROH show I've attended. Missing last year's show sold me on needing to go Friday and I'm beyond excited for this card. Are any of you readers attending? Let me know in the comments, and until next time, stay (too) sweet!

The Evolution of Women in Wrestling

With the first ever women's Money in the Bank match in the books and the WWE Women's Tournament (the Mae Young Classic), I thought it would be interesting to look at how women's wrestling has changed over time.

In Japan, joshi puro, what the Japanese call women's wrestling, has been very prominent since the 1970s. Peaking between the mid 1980s and the 1990s, when talent like Manami Toyota, Aja Kong, and Kyoko Inoue were performing joshi puro has much more in common with Japanese strong style than what was happening with women's wrestling in North America at the time. Dave Meltzer considered many joshi puro matches from this era as some of the best matches, regardless of gender, in the world at the time. If you watch the upcoming Mae Young Classic on the WWE Network, you will most likely be seeing Io Sharai, Kairi Hojo, and Asuka, all of whom are top former or current Japanese talent.

While the Japanese pro wrestling scene has tended to keep the men and women separate, Mexico embraces the idea of the women competing with the men. Female luchadoras have often mixed it up with the male luchadores, although many promotions still keep a women's division. Famously, AAA has both a reina de reinas (queen of queens) championship and tournament, and a mixed tag team championship, where teams must consist of one male and one female. It is worth noting that the (male) exotico character Pimpinela Escarlata once held the reina de reinas belt for 137 days before dropping it to Sexy Star and the mixed tag titles are currently vacant, as Sexy Star and Pentagon Jr relinquished the titles in February of 2016. The previously mentioned Sexy Star also holds the honor of being the only female Lucha Underground champion, as well as the only female Lucha Underground gift of the gods champion. This is especially noteworthy when you consider that both of these titles have each only had seven different competitors hold them.

In the United States, the two biggest promotions (TNA and the WWE) seem to have had very different histories with female performers. TNA has always treated the knockouts division as one of the highlights of the show. Having been home for incredible talents like Gail Kim and Awesome Kong, who had one of the greatest feuds in company history, it should come as no surprise they were treated so well. Every woman in the ring seemed to have their own unique character, which is something that hasn't always been the case for the WWE.

The WWE has always had an interesting relationship with how they treat women. On the one hand, they own the lineage of the NWA world women's championship, having bought the rights from the Fabulous Moolah. This means that they can claim supporting women's wrestling all the way back to 1956, although the company didn't come into existence until 1963. This version of the title has Moolah being a 5 time champion for a combined 11,091 days. Throughout her career, Moolah came under criticism for taking young female talent under her wing, only to then allegedly sell them as sex slaves to performers, using them often to advance her own career. She also was notorious for politicking her way to continuously be booked at the top of the female division to a degree even Hulk Hogan would be jealous of. While some might argue that Moolah paved the way for women wrestlers, I believe she did just as much, if not more, to delay the growth of anyone other than herself.

From 1984 through 1990 seemed to be treated more like a novelty than an actual competition. From Wrestlemania 1 through Rockin' Robin earning the title, every time the title changed hands was at a live event. When Rockin' Robin left the WWF, the title was deactivated. In 1993, the title was finally reactivated when Alundra Blayze won a six-woman tournament to become the latest women's champion. During this era of WWF's relationship with women's wrestling, while Alundra Blayze vs Bull Nakano felt like a good enough feud, they were really the only competitors worth mentioning. After the feud between these two ended the WWF brought in Bertha Faye. To generate more interest in the women's division, the creative team thought it was a good idea to bring in a comedic character. Faye's gimmick revolved around the idea that she lived in a trailer park and was in love with her manager, Harvey Whippleman. Surely that will sell tickets. While the company may have been looking to have a three woman division, just before Faye's debut, Nakano was arrested for possession of cocaine. After Faye captured the title and held it for just under two months, Blayne regained the title, before leaving the company. In what was considered a very controversial moment, analyze, now going by Medusa, threw the WWF women's title in the trash, literally. While this was also an appropriate metaphor for the state of women's wrestling, WCW was doing no better. Marisa seemed to float around for a few years,every now and then getting a storyline. During her time in WCW she developed a passion for monster trucks, which is what she does now.

When the Attitude Era began, women's wrestling started to pick up steam again. There were many legitimate talents at the start of the era, including Molly Holly, Jacqueline, and Ivory. There was also the "ninth wonder of the world" Chyna. For every one of these competitors with legitimate wrestling pedigrees, there was a Sable, a Debra McMichael, or a Terri Runnels. These three had little to no wrestling talent but were pushed to the top of the card because of their looks. Eventually the WWF brought in a fitness model named Trish Stratus. Trish was initially brought in as a valet for the tag team of Test and Albert, or T&A (get it?...) but eventually found herself involved with a storyline with the owner of the company, Vince McMahon. While Trish was certainly pushed into the main event scene because of her looks, she was improving in the ring. Stratus had a lengthy, career-defining feud with Lita, a feud that would cause both names to regularly enter the conversation of greatest female talent in the US of all time.

 

As the Sables, Terris, and Debras started to move away from in-ring action, they were being replaced by equally beautiful talent with significantly more skill. With that said, this certainly didn't all of a sudden make everything okay. The women would still find themselves competing in "bra and panties matches", "gravy bowl matches", and "lingerie pillow fights". You would still see certain women receive title Reigns purely because of their looks, despite being dangerous workers. And when the WWE split their roster, one half of the talent started competing for the divas title, which of course was silver and had a butterfly on it. When the rosters were unified once again, they took the divas title as the new legitimate women's belt. While this was clearly a branding move, the name still comes across as insulting. The "Total Divas" television program era had begun. The female performers were suddenly being booked to the needs of a reality show. Notably, when AJ Lee pointed this out, she was playing the role of the heel. There were weeks when the women, or "divas," were given less than five minutes of programming. In NXT, women like Paige, Emma, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks were tearing it up, but it didn't translate to time on the main roster.

When Paige started to develop a bit of a following, as well as the "Total Divas" stars Brie and Nikki Bella, fans started to take notice. The Bella Twins, Natalya, Paige, and others were making a connection with the crowd, but still weren't getting what the viewers found to be fair tv time. This sparked the #GiveDivasAChance movement. After enough attention was drawn to the lack of time and storyline the majority of the women get, the WWE had Stephanie McMahon come to the ring and declare that there has been a "women's revolution" in wrestling. The "voice of the WWE universe" had been heard. Immediately announcing that Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair were now all on the main roster, she broke the women's roster into three teams. For the next several months, the women would have a weird series of matches where you would see some combination of these teams facing off on every show, often in two segments. While the storyline was still weak ("hey look! This is a revolution" mixed with a lackluster sense of gang warfare), the women were starting to get decent airtime. Even better, the majority of these women could really go in the ring.

Soon, the WWE declared the Divas title was being replaced. In a one on one match, Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella to become the newest WWE women's champion. By October of 2016, it seemed as if the women's revolution was no longer just a marketing ploy. At the Hell in a Cell pay per view in Boston, Sasha Banks and Charlotte headlined the night in a Hell in a Cell match. Not only was this the first women's Hell in a Cell, the two were trusted with the main event spot.

Women's matches are getting more and more gimmicks added to them. Kendo stick on a pole, 30-minute iron man, Hell in a Cell, and last night was the first ever women's Money in the Bank match. In a moment that was meant to be the highlight of how far the women have come, we would see one of the five women involved climb to the top of the ladder and retrieve the briefcase. It should have been a moment that would go down in WWE history. Instead, James Ellsworth took the case down, before tossing it to his friend Carmella. For those not familiar with who James Ellsworth is, he is a comedic jobber, who rarely has any matches, and basically has a contract because he is a funny looking man. This was built to be one of the best moments of the year, but it was spoiled for an attempt at cheap heat. This just shows that the revolution still has a long way to go. Are we seeing steps in the right direction? Yes, but last night was two giant steps back. The WWE not only needs to get with the times when it comes to how they treat and portray women, they need to get with the rest of their own industry.

Update on Earlier Post of MITB Predictions

Fhe card had been changed to now have the Hype Bros of Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder taking on the Colons. In this case, I take the Hype Bros still, as it has been announced as the preshow match. This is the most lackluster way Zack Ryder can return, unless they double it with a loss.

Money In The Bank Predictions

Money in the Bank is quickly becoming many people's favorite payperview. With a guaranteed title shot on the line, and how low level the stakes of Survivor Series seem these days, many even declare it part of a new big 4 of WWE shows, alongside Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, and Summerslam. It is disappointing to see that this year's show is a Smackdown Live exclusive, but on the bright side, we get the first ever women's Money in the Bank match.

The women's Money in the Bank match, according to the WWE's social media presence features six women, though only Carmella, Natalya, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Tamina have been announced. Current rumors say that Maria Kanellis will be the sixth entrant. If that is the case, she's my pick. If it was just a typo, I've got Carmella winning. Becky and Charlotte don't need the briefcase to be considered title contenders, and I imagine creative lives the idea of James Ellsworth carrying around the case for Carmella.

Two tag team matches will be featured on the card, starting with the Fashion Police taking on the Colons. The backstage segments with the Fashion Police have been hilarious, their matches have been fun, and the crowd seems to really love this team of talented young NXT vets. While the win helps the Colons more, I see the Fashion Police winning, possibly injecting themselves right back into the title scene.

The previously mentioned tag title scene is currently filled with the New Day and the Usos. Either team could win this match, as the Usos have had a great heel run. The New Day, on the other hand, are the New Day. They're gold on the mic, great in the ring, and their most recent tag title run has proven they are the measuring stick. I've got the New Day capturing the gold.

The women's title is on the line as well at Money in the Bank, when Lana challenges Naomi. I'm interested to see how Lana will be in the ring. Looking at the talent in the two women's matches though, I just can't drive myself to be excited for his one. I'll take Lana winning, just for the surprise factor.

The men's Money in the Bank match features Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, and Shinsuke Nakamura. This has to be WWE's match of the year, no? A great combination of talent will be in the ring, in one of the best gimmick matches possible. I expect KO and Sami to destroy each other and AJ to pull off a spot like his old TNA days where he essentially eliminates himself by doing something so incredible he can't recover. Nakamura is in an awkward limbo spot where he's arguably too new to get this win, but also doesn't need the briefcase to be relevant or appear in the title picture. Been there done that with Ziggler, and for me, it wasn't that great. This leaves Baron Corbin. The Lone Wolf would look like such a badass with the briefcase, and I think he and the briefcase can do wonders to make each other feel more important.

Lastly, Jinder Mahal defends his word heavyweight championship against Randy Orton. Jinder has to get the win here in my eyes. Randy doesn't need the title, and you just gave Jinder the ball, might as well let him run with it. You don't hinder the Modern Day Maharaja a month into his reign. I expect an okay match from the two but, depending on how Lana has improved, quite possibly the worst match on the card. Perhaps some sort of shenanigans or a big return will make this a bit better (I'm looking at you, Rusev).

Pro Wrestling & Sexuality: Where Does Sports Entertainment Stand in 2017?

At the time of writing this entry, it is Pride month in 2017. With how far sexuality identity has come in mainstream society, I thought it would be interesting to look at how this issues has progressed in professional wrestling.

Throughout history, professional wrestling has been notorious for creating villains out of people because of their differences, it is no surprise that the industry has had some difficulty portraying LGBT characters well. For the sake of brevity, I will be looking at from the year 2000 through today.

The earliest notable characters we will be looking at are Billy and Chuck. Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo became a tag team after Chuck Palumbo was kicked out of the Alliance. As the team progressed, the two began to become affectionate towards one another. As the affection became more frequent and forward, Billy and Chuck had essentially become a homosexual couple. Eventually, there was a proposal, and the two would have a commitment ceremony on Smackdown. GLAAD even publicly supported the team and the ceremony. Until the ceremony happened. The ceremony included moments like the duo dancing in the ring to "It's Raining Men," a pimp coming to the ring to convince the two to become straight again, and eventually, when the ceremony was about to become official, Billy shouting that the entire thing has been a publicity stunt. The crowd erupted in cheers, after generally trashing the entire segment. The two continued as a tag team for a bit longer, though immediately dropped all aspects of the gimmick that made the team appear as stereotypical homosexuals.

While Billy and Chuck were developing their relationship, they hired a personal stylist. Rico made his debut in March of 2002, and continued with the character, becoming more and more flamboyant and ambiguous until 2004, when he was released from the company. One of the biggest exotico characters in mainstream wrestling, Rico was definitely one of the most memorable gimmicks of the period.

As recently as October of 2006 the WWE had run bra and panties matches - matches where the winner was the competitor who removed all of the opponents clothing, aside from the previously mentioned garments. Female talent was more likely to be found from swimsuit magazines than wrestling schools. TNA, on the other hand, had what most would consider a more talented women's roster (or Knockouts, as the company referred to them), the fact that the talent was treated as legitimate competitors certainly helped the female talent seem much more serious. When TNA signed Orlando Jordan in 2010, who was released by WWE shortly after pitching a bisexual character (which is how he identifies himself), we would see what they would do with sexual orientation.

At the beginning of Jordan's run with the company, he would find himself accompanied by both a male and female valet who were portrayed as love interests. With an overly sexualized gimmick, he started a feud with Rob Terry, where the two battled for the global championship. Using mind games to taunt the overly macho Terry, Jordan almost started to become similar to an early Goldust. Eventually, however, Jordan would quickly find himself becoming aa stereotypical homosexual character in the world of professional wrestling. Still, the early work of this character was interesting, and it was nice to see TNA running with the gimmick that the WWE originally rejected.

Another notable character, in 2011 Joey Ryan performed under the name Chase Walker in the Wrestling Retribution Project. Walker performed without any of the stereotypes that had been traditionally associated with homosexual characters. Heel rivals began to threaten to out his character to the audience, and eventually did. The following week, Walker came to the ring and came out publicly to the audience and continued to perform as an openly gay character. This was an incredibly progressive storyline, and it was nice to see that he wasn't treated any differently than other performers by fans.

On the current WWE roster, Darren Young is a member of the Raw brand. While he is openly gay in real life, his character really doesn't have any sort of leanings or love interest angles. I appreciate this approach, as there are tons of performers who never have any sort of romance angles. Some have raised issue with the fact that his on air persona doesn't have his orientation referenced at all. Regardless of where you stand on the argument, I felt that he was an important person to include. I am curious to see if his sexual orientation is something that is ever brought up on screen.

While the world of professional wrestling still has quite a way to go in terms of equality, I do believe progress is being made in the way the LGBT community is presented. The four examples above show how far we have come just since the turn of the century. 

Okada vs Omega

In January, at Wrestle Kingdom 11, Kazuchika Okada successfully defended his IWGP heavyweight championship against Kenny Omega. At the time, this match was getting praise as the greatest pro wrestling match in decades. Dave Meltzer, one of the most well-respected writers in professional wrestling, if not all of sports journalism, gave the match six stars on a five star system. Okada and Omega clearly tore down the Tokyo Dome. 

Fast forward five months and travel about 500KM to Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. Kenny Omega left Tokyo a broken man, but has been called out by Okada, who arrogantly wants to prove that his victory at Wrestle Kingdom wasn't a fluke. With his second chance before him, Omega accepted this challenge, claiming that Okada needed the victory to justify his reign. What happened from there was what the world has almost unanimously called an even better match. The reaction to this match is an absolute justification for giving NJPW your $10 a month, even just to check out Dominion. I know it worked for me.

Marty Scurll Sums Up Wrestling in One Tweet

"The Villain" Marty Scurll generated quite a bit of conversation with a tweet he sent out asking "If fans moan about selling & lack of psychology today can wrestlers moan of 10 chants and fans acting like numpties in general?" I had to Google what a numpty is, but after finding a definition, I realized that this is the perfect summation of the current state of the wrestling industry. In a time of unparalleled access through a combination of dirt sheets and social media, it has become more and more difficult for the modern fan to understand or perform their role in modern wrestling without disturbing the show.

When Hogan joined the NWO, the ring began to fill with trash thrown from the audience. Viewed as an impressive visual, WCW began to encourage the fans to continue with this act. ECW included the crowd filling the squared circle with steel chairs in the opening video for their weekly television series. At times, they would have matches where fans were encouraged to bring weapons from home. Slowly but surely, we would see the crowd become a bigger and bigger part of the show. While fans would often finish the catchphrases of their favorite wrestlers, things seemed to be all in good fun until Stone Cold Steve Austin introduced his "what" catchphrase. To this day, you will still see some talent become noticeably thrown off by the fans answering every sentence of a promo with "what?" It was starting to become questionable whether the audience was at the event to have fun or to get themselves over on television.

Why do we, as fans, try to damage the thing that we've paid to enjoy? These fans spend so much time and effort to get themselves over, that they can't see the irony of what they're doing to the performers. For me, one of the most drastic examples of fans damaging the ability of someone to get over is a character that actually overcame the chants. Leading up to the debut of the Wyatt Family (which I discuss in the following entry: http://figurefourwritersblock.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-curious-case-of-bray-wyatt.html), the vignettes were unlike any we had seen in quite some time. They built intrigue, they developed character, and they made the Wyatts seem downright creepy. When the Wyatts finally hit the ring, a small portion of the crowd insists on chanting "Husky Harris," a reference to Bray's character prior to being repackaged who never got over with the crowd. This adds nothing to the show, and only assists in taking people out of the moment. It is something that only happened once to my memory, which is probably why it did no true harm to the character, but had it been louder or more frequent, the chant could have caused irreparable damage.

To the point of fans and critics citing a lack of psychology, I would argue they are watching the product incorrectly. The world of professional wrestling is a world of super human feats. Competitors no longer pretend that they were incapacitated by a shoulder tackle because later in the match they will be taking dives off the top rope and suplexes that throw them clear across the ring. As the moves have become more complex, I accept the kayfabe-based argument that these performers are expected to be more resilient and have a stronger fighting spirit to keep up. Kicking out of the Attitude Adjustment doesn't make John Cena or his finisher look weak, it just shows how badly his opponent needs the victory. Those same modern conveniences mentioned above make it so the average fan has seen everything before. This means the performers need to go even bigger to get a reaction. While I'm certainly concerned for the health of the athletes in the ring, I absolutely enjoy the higher risk style and enjoy how wrestling has evolved.

At the end of the day, the world of professional wrestling is as wide as you want it to be. If you long for the days where a sleeper hold was seen as one of the most legitimate and deadly finishers in the game, you can easily seek that out on YouTube or the WWE Network. If you like the way wrestling seems to be moving, you can find that through many on demand streaming options, or at many wrestling shows throughout the country. Attend one in person, it's a great time. Just be mindful of the rest of the crowd, and respect the talent putting their body on the line each and every night for your enjoyment.

The Young Bucks: My Excuse To Try To Make the Term Metakayfabe A Thing

On February 10th, 1989, Vince McMahon told the New Jersey State Senate that was "an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators rather than conducting a bona fide athletic contest." In this context, McMahon was looking to avoid taxes, fees, and regulations that he would have to face from various athletic commissions, much like legitimate combat sports. Those within the community knew of this case, and many were upset about Vince peeling back the curtain a bit, but for McMahon (and the industry as a whole), this was a smart business decision. On December 15th, 1997, things got even more exposed as Vince McMahon opened Raw with a prerecorded statement. The promo he cut basically declared that Raw and the WWF as a whole borrow more from soap operas than from legitimate sports, and that promotions that do not acknowledge this are insulting the intelligence of their audience. Kayfabe had been killed on one of the biggest stages possible.

Fast forward to 2017, and we've found wrestling going even further into a post-kayfabe world than that fateful night twenty years ago. Two of the biggest stars in the world are Matt and Nick Jackson, and their gimmick could best be described as the most on the nose parody of 1990's wrestling possible. They're members of a massive faction known as the Bullet Club. They throw up "Too Sweet"s to every BC member they see and they give DX crop chops while shouting "suck it". Aerial acrobatics are their specialty, second only to their superkicks, which they throw en masse in every match. They're like DX, the NWO, and WCW's cruiserweight division had a wild night together, and based on some of the stories that have surfaced about the way things were during that era, I wouldn't be surprised if such a night existed.

The Young Bucks, the more common moniker of the Jacksons, take this gimmick and have created a world of metakayfabe. While the industry as a whole has a problem with taking itself too seriously, the Bucks make a living off of turning every match into a "Superkick Party." The team will perform a couple flips just to hit their opponent with a simple backrake. Using a finisher called the "Meltzer Driver," which is a modified version of the "indytaker," these two point to the fact that what they are doing is a performance, rather than a competition, and that they are here to entertain you... or at least Dave Meltzer. Meltzer is one of the most well respected writers in the industry of professional wrestling, and has been reviewing matches all over the world for decades. Meltzer's Wrestling Observer has been giving people an insider's view of the industry since issue one. Unsurprisingly, he has been vocal about how much he enjoys the matches of the Bucks, even giving them a 5-star rating for their six man tag match with Adam Cole against Will Ospreay, Ricochet, and Matt Sydal. With their YouTube series "Being The Elite" (also starring Kenny Omega), the Young Bucks have now begun to build storylines into a documentary-style look at their lives, further blurring the line between work and shoot. The series did most of the work in building Adam Cole being fired from the Bullet Club and his replacement, Marty Scurll, joining the group.

Certainly everyone isn't a fan of the team. Jim Cornette is probably the loudest voice against them, but many of the industry's old guard think they are killing the business (something they have proudly turned into many merch designs). By exposing that wrestling isn't a legitimate competition between opponents, but rather, to use that Vince McMahon quote again, "an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators," Cornette would argue that this is somehow taking money out of the pockets of people who still try to act like the industry is a true combat sport. Others would argue that the Young Bucks are nihilists, deciding that nothing matters at a show, and rejecting the traditions of kayfabe, ruining the entire industry. Others still think that they are terrible at telling in-ring stories, which is why they must constantly fill the ring with high spots.

For those critics, I'd like to offer the idea that they are viewing a theatrical performance of an athletic contest, through the lens of, for all intents and purposes, a variety show. The story they are telling in the ring is certainly there, if you're willing to look deep enough. It is a story of how the industry has changed. Living in the past won't get you very far, and these two will gladly pull you into the future of professional wrestling. Looking at the sheer amount of merch they produce (and move), clearly this point isn't lost on the majority. For those of you unfamiliar with their work, I highly recommend looking them up on the internet. Enjoy the Superkick Party.

Extreme Rules Review

Extreme Rules 2017 is in the books and the Raw roster is heading into Great Balls of Fire after what felt like a pretty average card. Let's get right into my thoughts on the night.

The preshow saw Apollo Crews take on Kalisto. If it weren't for the final couple matches this easily would have ran away with match of the night. These two really compliment each other well, and while I don't necessarily want to see the feud continue, this was probably my favorite preshow match I've seen, other than the first Aries vs Neville match. Titus O'Neil playing the role of overly-excited-AAU-coach/dad was hilarious and added a really great element to the bout that might have suffered from a lack of psychology without this aspect to it. Overall, this was a really entertaining match.

The first match on the main card was the IC title showdown between Ambrose and Miz... again. With the added stipulation of the title changing hands via DQ, I'm glad the teases of a disqualification were relatively limited, while still playing a major role in the outcome of the match. Throwing Maryse out and having an actual pinfall victory was a nice twist that I didn't see coming, at least in the moment. In retrospect, it was pretty obvious booking, but as an entertainment spectacle, it certainly worked for me. The Miz getting the victory was absolutely the right move here, as Ambrose does nothing for the title, and The Miz brings it to heights that it seems no one else can. His promo on Raw Talk after was a great addition to the night, and I'm looking forward to see how The Miz's Intercontinental Title Reunion Tour goes.

The next match was the mixed tag team battle with Alicia Fox and Noam Dar competing against Sasha Banks and Rich Swann. This match was overall just okay. Alicia still isn't the best in the ring, and at the end of the day, I didn't really find much reason to care. Sasha's top rope double knees to Dar on the outside was a pretty cool spot that I wasn't expecting. The faces get the victory and dance their way into a camera fade to commercials. A simple match that was just kind of there.

Elias Samson drifts his way into the ring and sings a song. People seem to really enjoy hating this guy. I can definitely get behind this guy being used as a midcard heat magnet to get faces over.

The women's title was on the line in a kendo stick on a pole match. Bayley name dropped Steve Blackman in her pre-match promo. This is the most positive thing I can mention about this feud and match. Alexa Bliss is serviceable on the mic and in the ring, but for some reason the internet has coronated her as the female love-child of The Rock and Stone Cold. The creative team has no idea what they're doing with Bayley. The sad thing about how she was booked tonight is that overall, if you were to just read a summary of the match, it plays to her character very well. The lovable hugger showed hesitation about using a kendo stick on her opponent. The problem is, not only is it inconsistent with how she's been booked on the main roster. Is she cool with people helping her win titles, or is she so moralistically strong, she won't use a weapon in a match revolving around said weapon? Overall, the match just felt weak. Bliss retains in what was the lowlight of the night, much like most interactions between the two.

Cesaro and Sheamus challenged the Hardy Boyz (shame on spellcheck for not having an issue with "Boyz") for the tag team titles in a steel cage match. I like that they went with the old-school cage rules where you can only win by escape. This match felt the most extreme of all the matches up to this point. It was also the start of the quality of matches starting to ramp back up. I loved the angle of Matt having to fight off both Sheamus and Cesaro because Jeff had escaped. Jeff's desperation move to save the team was one of the most memorable spots of the night, but turns out it was all for not, as the tandem of Sheamus and Cesaro escaped the cage just a second before the Hardys. I imagine this feud will continue as the Hardy Boyz should have a rematch in their future, but I could also see them rushing a split here. The motivation for a Matt heel turn would be that he could have finished the match without Jeff having to come to save him, and Jeff was the one who didn't have his feet on the floor before their opponents.

Our last match before the main event was a submission match between Austin Aries and Neville for Neville's cruiserweight title. This was my favorite singles match of the night, and if it weren't for the next match, it would have been my favorite of the entire evening. This match had highflying, it had submissions, it had brawling. There were plenty of moments where I thought we were going to see the finish, just for the challenger or champion to escape or shift the momentum. The red arrow immediately into the rings of Saturn is a great finishing combo that looks particularly vicious, I wouldn't mind seeing this get busted out in matches where Neville is having difficulty finishing off a particularly resilient challenger. While this was one of my two favorite matches of the night, I have to feel for Austin Aries and wonder where he goes from here. The weird smile thing made a lot of people assume a heel turn, and certainly something will need to be done to make us forget about his three failed attempts to capture the title.

The main event of the evening was a Fatal 5 Way to determine the number 1 contender for the universal title. The match featured everyone on the Raw roster that you could see in the current title picture, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Samoa Joe. A few interesting themes ran through the match, including the alliance between Wyatt and Joe, and Roman Reigns doing his best superman act. Seth Rollins continued his perpetually injured leg thing (insert joke about Crossfit and injuries here). Finn had a great showing here, and after the injury setback he had, I felt like this was his night where he truly cemented himself into the main event scene amongst these other talents. Along those same lines, who saw Samoa Joe winning this match? I've been a huge Samoa Joe fan ever since I first saw him in TNA, and a showdown between him and Brock is something I always have loved the idea of, but never thought I'd see. It looks like we'll be getting exactly that at Great Balls of Fire. A lot of people are questioning the idea of him being in a title match this early in his main roster run, but I like it in this context. As part of a B-show, we get to see what he can do when given the ball, let's just hope Brock decides to play. Either way, all involved in this match came out looking like a million bucks and like legitimate contenders for the next shot after Great Balls of Fire.

Extreme Rules Predictions

Now that Pay Per Views happen every two weeks, we are closing on yet another big show, with Extreme Rules happening this Sunday. No wonder people are becoming fatigued with the programming. Add in the fact that many of these matches are rematches on Sunday, and it is becoming harder and harder to become excited for these shows. With that said, I could easily see Sunday's main event being a contender for match of the year if given the proper time.

Extreme Rules features a continuation of the storyline with Noam Dar and Alicia Fox. On Sunday, they will be teaming up to face Sasha Banks and Rich Swann. As this match will most likely be relegated to the preshow, I have to assume the faces go over to keep the crowd happy. Even though this match is taking place in Swann's hometown, I'm cautiously predicting that he and Banks get the win.

Sticking in the cruiserweight division, we have Neville taking on Austin Aries yet again. This is the third major show in a row where these two will face off, this time in a submission match. I have to imagine Aries locks on Last Chancery for the win, or else what is the point in this feud continuing for so long? Aries has looked great in all of the matches up until this point, but at some point he has to win or it just becomes too redundant. Here's to hoping that Sunday is the night for The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, A Double. Iv'e got Aries capturing his first cruiserweight title.

With the women's title on the line, Bayley challenges Alexa Bliss in a kendo stick on a pole match. I've never been a fan of "on a pole" matches, and I'm even less of a fan of how they've been treating Bayley. While they've been building her to look like an underdog, I believe they've gone way too far in the other direction, and they've just made her look pathetic. Sadly, I don't expect this to change Sunday, and predict that Bliss will retain.

The tag titles are on the line in a steel cage match, as the Hardys (are they still the Hardy Boyz?) defend against Sheamus and Cesaro. This is the perfect match I would imagine for Sheamus and Cesaro to recapture the titles. They've been firing on all cylinders lately, the stipulation, although chosen by the Hardys seems to favor the brutal style of Sheamus and Cesaro than the high-flying attack of Matt and Jeff. I do expect a crazy spot off the top of the cage, but Sheamus and Cesaro really do deserve this victory. I don't think the Hardys holding the titles necessarily hurts the tag teams on Raw, but I see their opponents doing more to elevate the division.

Our last title match is for the intercontinental championship. Dean Ambrose is defending the title against the Miz, in a match where the title will change hands via disqualification. From the reactions I have seen, a lot of fans seem to have issue with this stipulation at Extreme Rules. I think it is a great move for that exact reason. In a previous post, I mentioned how much I enjoy the Miz as a heel. This is the ultimate heel move. He adds a stipulation that the fans will hate, while simultaneously stacking the deck in his favor. The Miz does a great job of making the IC title feel important and Dean Ambrose doesn't really need a title to stay over with the crowd. I imagine the Miz captures the title on Sunday as his title reign will certainly elevate the title once again, and Ambrose will probably inject himself into a feud slightly higher on the card.

The main event of Extreme Rules is a Fatal Five Way to determine the number one contender for the universal title. Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Samoa Joe will all enter the ring looking to earn a shot to take down Brock Lesnar. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Finn Balor will win the match, but I'm curious to see how the match itself goes down. Balor getting his title shot at a smaller card like Great Balls of Fire makes sense, as you can hold off on the inevitable showdown between Reigns and Lesnar for a bigger card, most likely Wrestlemania. The other option I could see is Lesnar coming down and screwing everyone over, leading to another massive multi-man match so you can take the title off of him without weakening his character. Otherwise, I don't see how you can have him hold the belt for an entire year. If I have to pick one person as a winner, I'm going with Balor (potentially officially becoming a Paul Heyman guy?), but I wouldn't be surprised to see a no-contest.

So there you have it, my predictions for Extreme Rules. Who do you have winning? Let me know in the comments, and until next time, stay (too) sweet!