Wrestling fans! Welcome back and happy 2025!
Review 30 means it's time for another instalment of...
The Weekly Watchlist Wrestling Roulette!
For those who haven't seen my 2 previous editions of Wreslting Roulette, every 10 weeks/reviews, I let a random number generator pick a match from my master spreadsheet (almost 1600 entries!) Whatever number it picks (with some exceptions) I watch and review for the week! It's a fun way to shake things up and get me to watch stuff I've had sitting around for a while. Ideally, it'll spur me on to check out some more stuff like what I watched this week!
Let's see what was on offer this week, shall we?
Weekly Roundup
Here's the rules for Wrestling Roulette;
1: I am allowed to pick 5 matches of my own from the list/not on the list I want to watch.
2: I am allowed as many rerolls as necessary until I land on a match I have not watched yet.
3: I am allowed 3 rerolls total if I land on a match I do not want to watch.
I'm also adding a fourth rule, one that I added as a footnote to rule 3 but it's getting its own spot now, especially with the WWE Network sitting 6 feet under (I get into that in my next part of the roundup, buckle up)
4: I am allowed to skip a match for free if it is too difficult to find or exists behind a paywall I do not want to pay for.
Hopefully, that will suffice for the next Roulette. I wish it didn't need to be this way, but the amount I needed to skip this week because of the Network is ridiculous.
Anyways, here's what the roulette wheel spun up for me this week;
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| With watching RAW this week, I decided to note what matches were a Roulette match. I'll be doing this going forward. |
Yes, I did watch something not from my random number generator but the way I see it, if I don't factor it into my review, it really doesn't count. Maybe I'm already breaking my own rules and coming up with excuses. I don't see it that way. Send me hate mail if you think otherwise.
RAW is Netflix
Before I give you some of my thoughts on RAW's debut episode on Netflix, I just want to say thank you to Netflix. Cool website. For a 3 hour show, having only 4 matches totalling barely an hour of in-ring wrestling is insane. Look, I know RAW, or even SmackDown, aren't especially known for being loaded top to bottom with matches, but I'd expect a bit more than that guys. Guess we really are watching an entertainment program that just so happens to feature wrestling. What a world we live in. And yes, for the first time since probably 2023, I watched RAW live. What a horrible mistake.
Roman and Solo kicked off the night with Tribal Combat. The first bell didn't ring until we were 30 minutes into the show because we had to hear from The Rock first (which reminds me, thank you Netflix. You're the best) and once the bell did ring, we got exactly what you expected. Slow brawling, some weapon shots, high drama in the form of yelling in each others faces really intimate and emotional things like "I loved you!" and the like. The Bloodline (Solo's version) ran in but were ran off by Zayn and Jimmy. Kevin Owens tried to cost Roman the match but Rhodes, who was just hanging out in the crowd tonight, sends KO packing. Eventually, Roman gets the dub, Rock comes out, and bestows him with the title of One Tribal Chief. Yippie.
Liv and Rhea was next, and this was a really decent match! I know they've been dragging this story on for far longer than it needed to go, but I think they made a good call waiting for a big show like their Netflix debut to have the title change hands. Even their best moves couldn't keep the other one down at first, but Rhea eventually got Liv down with the Riptide and that was it. Dom tried to ask Rhea for forgiveness and a hug, and when it looked like she was going to forgive him, she 'sploded his jewels with a swift boot. Hell yeah. For whatever reason, The Undertaker (American Badass version) came out as Rhea was celebrating, did a lap of the ring, and then did the fist-look back pose on the ramp with her. Cool, I guess.
Drew and Uce were up next, with Yeetman Jay coming down with Travis Scott, complete with his own version of the WWE Hardcore Championship, a drink of some kind, and a blunt. Smoking it proud on live TV (oh yeah! I almost forgot! Netflix! I love you!) This match was terribly uneventful. Maybe it was the fact that I was falling asleep and losing interest by this point in the show, but I really didn't care what happened here. Love what Drew is doing with his vendetta against the Bloodline, but Jey has got go away heat with me. Less than a fan. Jey picks up the win, yeet, move on.
Main event was Punk and Rollins, a match a decade in the making. I was interested in this match but not quite as much as everyone else was. Really enjoying what Punk is doing right now, but Rollins has just been doing a whole lot of nothing for me for about 5 years. Seriously. I liked this match, but I really can't remember a whole lot about it or much that stood out. I just know I liked it. The trading of finishes was nice, works for big matches with big rivals like this one. The ending was smooth with Punk hitting one GTS, collapsing, as Rollins stumbles back into and off the ropes, falling onto Punk's shoulders to set up for a second GTS, pinning him for the 3. Did the same thing against Mox in his AEW Title Match at All Out 2022. Good match, best thing of the whole show.
But not nearly as great as Netflix! Guys, seriously, have I told you lately how much I LOVE Netflix?! Like, if they were a person, and I wasn't already engaged, I'd be down on one knee after tonight! Unreal!
The night as a whole was pretty good. The production was top notch, even if the audio cut out on them when they did an arena shot every single time. The arena looked really good, the set was clean, I'm totally indifferent about the canvas having sponsors on it, almost every other ring has them at this point, WWE is just slow to the draw on that one is all. The parade of "legends" was meh, as always for me. I could do without a 30 minute glad-handing Rock promo, Cena was a treat, making his first appearance of his final year, and Hulk Hogan can get off my TV screen. It's 2025, not 1985. We don't want you around anymore. Leave.
But top to bottom, not an awful show. Not great by any means! Just a lot of lipstick on the same pig we've been with for a long time now.
Netflix pins the Network
Boy, I picked a bad time to do Wrestling Roulette. With the WWE Network dead and buried for us users in the Great White North, our only option is Netflix (well... not for those who aren't afraid to sail the seven digital seas) Whoever is at WWE, or Netflix, and is in charge of putting stuff up, I've only got one question. Why? Why is it so difficult to just upload everything? Why are we only uploading 3 episodes of SmackDown from 2003? Huh? Couldn't we have gotten all our digital ducks in a row months in advance so when you put the bullet in the brain of the Network, Netflix would be a half ways decent resource for what was taken from us? Apparently not. But fear not guys! We've got all 3 Fully Loaded events on here! And, every Judgment Day pay-per view!! Who cares about WCW? Who watched AWA or ECW anyways?! World Class?! More like no class! Honestly. Stop drip feeding us shit. Open up the vault, let us in. Give us everything and I don't care how it happens.
John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio - WWE SmackDown - 11/04/2003
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| These two are still active in 2025. Utterly insane. WWE |
I was initially a bit thrown off when I went digging for this match, because it doesn't exist on Netflix, and there's no more Network in Canada. It's fine, I'm fine. Not upset about it at all. When i went to YouTube to see if it was available there, to my surprise it was! But it was dated for 2 days after what my spreadsheet said. Confused, I went and consulted the great CAGEMATCH.net to see what the story was. Lo and behold, I had the date this match was taped, as SmackDown was a taped show until the SmackDown Live era in 2016. How could I forget.
Also, while consulting the 'cage, I was caught off guard by the length of this match. 5:46?! I'm sorry?! Why is this on my spreadsheet? It can't be any good if it's only 5 minutes! Oh boy, was I wrong.
The first 3 minutes of this video is entrances, with Cena doing his Thuganomics rapping in the ring before the match starts. He makes a fat joke about Big Show, references Matrix: Reloaded, calls Mysterio a midget dominatrix, a "Mexican Gary Coleman", and questions if he's a child as well. For what it's worth, I got a kick out of it. Nothing more than a "sharp exhale from my nose" kind of laugh though, I have standards.
Right off the bat, we're reminded what Cena this is. This isn't Super Cena yet, this is "post prototype, pre Hustle Loyalty Respect" Cena. The Thuganomics Cena was as close as we ever got to pure heel Cena, and he was all about power. It's easy to forget given how he measures up to just about everyone else in the company, but Cena is a big fucking dude. Like, legitimately huge when you think about it. Especially when you compare him to Mysterio, who gets flattened by a shoulder tackle from Cena after running around the ring to try and throw him off his game.
This match is almost entirely Cena, with commentary speculating that he may join Team Lesnar at Survivor Series later in the month. He ends up on Team Angle, but they bring up how much of an asset to the team he would be throughout the match, especially when he's sending Mysterio from corner to corner like a missile with a disgustingly hard irish whip.
Mysterio climbs to the top to try and fly, but Cena crashes a forearm across his back and picks him up for a vertical suplex. As effortless as someone playing with a stuffed animal, Cena walks to the centre of the ring with Mysterio completely vertical. He gives an effortless "You Can't See Me" taunt and then drills Mysterio with a vertical suplex.
At almost every turn, Cena is able to out power Mysterio and turn the tide to his advantage. He sends Mysterio to the corner with a whip and charges in. Mysterio attempts to go up and over but Cena catches him on his shoulder and drops him throat first across the middle rope. Cena makes a move on Mysterio but he dropkicks Cena in the leg and takes off, rebounding off the ropes for the 619! Cena stumbles back and bumps into the ref, who has his back turned as Mysterio takes off with his springboard splash as Cena crushes Mysterio with a mid-air low blow.
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| F-U! I say! As I adjust your attitude! WWE |
Taking advantage of the weakened Rey, Cena gets him up in the firemans carry and plants him for the 3. They don't yet call it the Attitude Adjustment, or the FU, just Cole saying "plants him!" after a couple seconds. They'll figure it out soon.
This was a really fun spring. Getting to see early John Cena run through someone who knows how to just eat offence like it's going out of style in Mysterio is so fun. This was definitely the era of SmackDown where they leaned more towards in-ring stuff on a week to week basis. Especially coming out of the Attitude Era, a period of time where you got good to decent to great matches week in and week out was a necessary change.
Giulia vs. Mina Shirakawa - Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2023 - Day 8 - 08/12/2023
It's actually really interesting watching this match in early 2025, the benefit of hindsight puts all the players in this match in a very different context now. Mina is getting to be a mainstay in AEW, mixing it up with the likes of Toni Storm and Mercedes Mone. Mariah May, in the corner of Mina, has stood across the ring from her former stable mate recently and currently sits at the top of the AEW Womens division. And finally, one of NXT's hottest signings, Giulia is the most recent NXT Womens Champion having beaten Roxanne Perez at NXT's New Years Evil. Both of these women, as well as Mariah, who can be seen multiple times ringside, have only gotten better and progressed further since this match. You love to see it.
From the opening bell, Mina and Giulia are going hell for leather, with Mina charging in immediately with a forearm that stuns Giulia. Not taking the attack without coming back in equal measure, a exploder suplex and dropkick keeps Mina down for a 2 count, as Giulia locks in a nasty crossface as Mina crawls to the ropes to escape it.
They're on the outside early, with Mina moving away from a Giulia running knee as she crashes into the ringpost. Giulia sells the knee well at the start here, with Mina targeting it almost exclusively with some devastating looking moves, made more impactful from the camera angle in the match. All the cameras are ringside, so when Giulia gets dropped with a shinbreaker, the camera shakes violently and it looks like her legs should have exploded from the impact.
The sad part is, Mina puts some good effort into trying to tear Giulia down from the start, but she forgets to sell the leg in seconds. She takes off from the ropes with no struggle and lands an effortless droppkick. It's only when Mina dropkicks her in the leg again does Giulia decide "shit! guess I'll sell this again!"
One thing I really liked, even though it makes no real sense, is the point when both ladies find themselves fighting on the top rope. Guilia hooks Mina for a superplex to the outside and starts climbing, putting both feet on the top rope. Mina is on the top buckle and Giulia is up with her, but her footing is visibly shaky. Together they decide to abandon the spot, instead going for a much safer outside-in double underhook superplex. I respect them both for abandoning ship when it seemed like things were about to get worse
Now, it's big shot after big shot in the middle. Giulia cracks mina with a huge right hand and knee as she gets up, but it's only enough for 2. She tries to drill her with a driver but Mina is able to pull her down for a pin and dragon screws her bad legs down, locking in a figure four as Giulia struggles to make it to the ropes. Look, Giulia sells the legs when it's attacked, but you also gotta sell it when it's not being attacked. I don't want to forget you're hurt until you're being attacked.
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| Something was bound to work eventually. STARDOM |
Eventually, an impaler DDT is enough to finish off Giulia, both of their best shots came close in the final five minutes, but Mina ultimately had the killshot.
This was a relitavely quick match, but was a pretty good showing from both! Hard hitting, quick, and fun. I wish Giulia would have given more emphasis to the leg that Mina was really trying to work over, but having it factor into the finish so little means I care a bit less. Wouldn't mind seeing these two in a longer match that really lets them get into it a bit more.
Mercedes Mone vs. Anna Jay - AEW Dynamite - Holiday Bash 2024 - Day 1 - 12/18/2024 - Cliff's Pick
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| The Dapper Yapper doing it as only he can. AEW |
Keen readers of the Weekly Watchlist Wrestling Roulette may have noticed that, despite doing two of these prior, I have yet to pick a match myself. As in, not let the RNG gods have their way with me. but this week, all that changes! The next two matches are a "Cliff's Pick" The rules (created by me) clearly state I am allowed to pick 5 matches of my own for the week, and I decided that the two that have been sitting in my spreadsheet waiting to be watched since they made their way on need to get watched now before they get forgotten about.
This match kinda showed up out of left field. Anna Jay hasn't really been up to a while lot as of late, but Mone has been on a major tear the last while. She won the NJPW Strong title off Vaquer and the TBS title off of Willow, going international and proving that she may be one of the best womens wrestlers in the world. My opinion has definitely softened towards her this past year, saying in my review of her match against Vaquer at Forbidden Door 2024;
"I understand that this is absolutely an unpopular opinion, and I can't really pinpoint it on any one particular thing about her, her personality, her promos, her ring work, pieces of her just don't click with me like I know they do for other people."
But here I am, after watching a whole lot more of her work this past year, starting to see what everyone has been saying. Took some time, but I'm coming around.
Mercedes starts this match with a clear point to prove, slapping the shit out of Anna Jay after extending a hand to her out of faux respect. Anna is able to fend Mercedes off for the moment, but Mone halts her momentum with the Three Amigo's early. She goes up for the frog splash but Anna avoids it, getting off a flipping neckbreaker, making an attempt at a pin for only two.
With Mone seated on the top, Anna tries to cross her arms up and whip her off the top but Mone pulls back instead, chocking Anna with her own grip as referee Aubrey Edwards starts the count to break the hold. Breaking the hold but not the grip, Mone jumps down from the top and drives double knees into the back of Anna.
Rising up from a seated choke, Anna drops down and catches Mone under the jaw to break the hold. As Mone comes back to continue her assault, she takes Mone down with an O'Connor roll into the Queenslayer! Her version of a rear naked choke. To my surprise, the crowd pops for the move! Sure, Anna has been having matches pretty consistently for the last year, but she's been far from the top of any card. The crowd either just loves to see a choke hold or remembers her stuff. Either way, love the reaction.
With the momentum on her side, Annay hits three running spin kick to Mone while she's trapped in the corner. She whips Mone down with an iconoclasm off the top rope and rolls through, maintaining her grip as she gets her up for what looks to be the Mone Maker but is instead a Gory Bomb! She goes for the pin but Mone grabs the ropes right before the three.
Anna puts up a good fight at the end, able to escape Mone's submission attempts and blocks the Mone Maker at first. Eventually, a sunset bomb into the corner and a meteora is enough for Mone to land a successful Mone Maker for the three.
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| Mone is about to be made! AEW |
This was a surprisingly great match! I did not expect Anna Jay to have such a solid little match but, let's face it, Mone is just that good. I think I can admit that now. I don't think Anna is ready to be getting the big push/spotlight just yet, but more matches like this one and some minor improvements (her reverse head kick could use some work) will go a long way. This was the exact match she needed.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hechicero - CMLL Sabados De Coliseo - 06/22/2024 - Cliff's Pick
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| Estoy muy emocionado! CMLL |
Here it is, match number 2 of Cliff's Picks, a match I've been trying to hunt down since it aired all the way back in June. I distinctly remember sitting on a buddies couch during DnD night, right around the same time as the Hackenschmidt footage was unearthed. I saw so many people online talking about some Zack Sabre Jr. and Hechicero match that was blowing minds in CMLL. So, I went looking around, and I couldn't find it! It only excited on CMLL's YouTube channel behind a subscription paywall! Was the match worth the money to watch? What if I didn't like it that much? Ultimately, I opted to keep searching around for a version of the match that was more readily accessible and one surfaced recently.
There's a part of me that wanted to save this for a regular Weekly Watchlist so I could heap this match the mountains of praise it deserves, but I'm also really glad I waited until a Roulette week. The technical wrestling in this match is insane. This isn't you're typical "Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Gurrero, Halloween Havoc 1997" type lucha matches. Far from it, ZSJ and Hechicero keep this thing on the mat the majority of the time and it's a breath of fresh air to see. Combine that with the atmosphere of this CMLL crowd, it's unreal. Something about the roof dripping water in the ring really made this whole match feel special.
I should also mention, this match is two out of three falls, which I only realized once the first fall happened and they went to a break before the second fall. I can't hope to give you an accurate, or even appropriate breakdown of what happens in this match between falls, so I'm not going to! Watch this match for yourself and enjoy technical wrestling at its absolute finest.
I will, however, give you some of my favourite moments from the match, so you don;t feel like I'm cheating you out of coverage.
-ZSJ escapes a headscissors on the mat by hooking Hechicero's own head with his feet. Whe he rises to his feet, he spins in place and cranks the neck of Hechicero at a gross angle. ZSJ walks around the ring and mocks Hechicero to the crowd, stumbling around like he has a bad kink in his neck.
-ZSJ hooks Hechicero's legs as if to apply a crossface but turns his body over top and instead hooks a rear naked choke instead, still holding the legs trapped with his own.
-ZSJ rolls to the outside and enjoys a fans drink to recover.
-The first fall comes from a ZSJ octopus hold. He's able to position himself just off the back of Hechicero enough to grab both arms and pull them back while holding his head with his legs. Gnarly move.
-Hechicero ties ZSJ up in the most insane way I've ever seen. Draping his right leg across ZSJ's back, weaving it under ZSJ's arms which are held back like he is about to receive a Pedigree, Hechicero rolls forward and cloverleaf's ZSJ's legs together. He sits up enough to grab the right wrist of ZSJ and then rolls back, trapping every single limb of ZSJ in a horrible way. His face is covered with agony. ZSJ submits for the second fall.
-Hechicero goes for a single leg takedown and charges for the ropes, stopping on a dime once ZSJ rolls over in dropdown position. Hechicero uses this advantage to tie ZSJ up for a pinfall attempt.
-The referee almost seems to be encouraging the crowds chanting, motioning to parts of the crowd as they chant "Hechicero!"
-Hechicero takes a punt to the chest from ZSJ and asks for more. When he gets kicked again, he catches the foot and uses it to take ZSJ down, twisting him around into what I can only describe as a version of the Rings of Saturn.
-ZSJ gets Hechicero in a version of the Rings of Saturn as well, using his leg to hook the right arm of Hechicero while he grabs his right leg an hooks it too. It looks horrifically painful.
-They exchange strikes. A european uppercut from ZSJ staggers Hechicero. An overhand chop drops ZSJ to his ass.
-Hechicero goes for a big crossbody off the top rope (literally off the top rope, he stands a good three feet away from the corner to do this) but ZSJ catches his left arm mid air in an armbar.
-Hechicero takes ZSJ up and around off a headscissors attempt and holds him in front, hammerlocking the right arm as he takes him for a giant swing into a huge backbreaker.
-The third and final fall comes when Hechicero runs to the corner but ZSJ gets his feet up and pulls Hechicero around for a quick pin. Hechicero rolls back and uses the bottom rops for leverage, holding ZSJ down for the three.
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| The rudo strikes again! CMLL |
Wow, this match was unreal. Technically incredible, sound from bell to bell. Everyone knows Zack Sabre Jr. is an incredibly gifted wrestler, but Hechicero needs more love man. I know he was getting some good showings in AEW for a while, but more people need to see what this guy is capable of. He's magnetic, I love him. Can't wait to see more from him down the line.
There we have it! Another exciting week of Wrestling Roulette! Got some matches I've been meaning to watch watched finally, and that felt really good. Roulette has served its purpose this week. I'll be seeking out more Hechicero, maybe watching some more early 2000's era WWE (if I can fucking FIND IT), more Bockwinkel and Hennig, and maybe catch up on those modern Ring of Honor shows. Who knows! If you've got any match suggestions or want to get in touch, cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
Until next week, take it easy friends.
Cliff Morgan
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