Weekly Watchlist 044 - April 13 2025

What's good 'rasslin amigo's?!

Happy Wrestlemania Week! (if you happen to be reading this on release day/week)

The biggest week in wrestling is here! I can't say that my Wrestlemania hype is as high as it has been previous years, and that's for a combination of reasons (some of which I'll talk about here, I'll probably get right into it next week) but I'll still be watching and doing my best to enjoy the show of shows. 

Let's get right into things.

WWE

Weekly Roundup

Here's what I watched for the week;

 

 Triple H - High Performance 

My YouTube feed dropped this little gem on me this week, an interview with Triple H on the High Performance podcast. I use the term "interview" very loosely, because there was very little in the way of back and forth questions. Instead it was more like Trips had been given a few prompts and used the floor to speak, which might appeal to some. I didn't mind it. It gave some more information on his heart condition and his brush with death, which was harrowing to hear about, but what it really did for me, was solidify my statement from a few weeks ago where I talked about why WWE just isn't for me anymore. 

Maybe I'm just a boomer, stuck in the past and unable to move forward, but with how much wrestling I watch away from WWE, I feel like I have a good enough foundation to make this statement.  

WWE is not a wrestling show.

Furthermore, WWE doesn't want to be a wrestling show anymore. I mean think about it, once McMahon refused to call it wrestling and decided "sports entertainment" was the go-to phrase, you had to know the company was headed this way. This entire interview is filled with Trips referring to WWE as "what we do" which, if I hear him say that one more time, I'm running head first into a wall. I swear to god. He talks about the Cena heel turn like he's a casting director giving an actor an idea for their character. "What if we went this direction? What if you did this?" Sure, creative discussions happen, not saying they never did, but this is dripping with someone trying to turn this wrestling show into a movie set. Like talking about how a camera missed a shot of a guy's face and we're so upset about that? Martin Scorsese talks like that! That's Spielberg! Was the match any good? Did the crowd enjoy it? Have we lost the plot here lads?

I don't want to be the old man yelling at clouds, because I know they aren't going to change just to please me. They can't at this point. I think my real gripe is how the biggest wrestling company in the world is presenting wrestling in a way that just isn't wrestling, to me at least. I dread to think what a Netflix era fan who wants to watch more wrestling will think when they try and watch an NWA title match or see what Japan was up to 30 years ago. God help them.

 

MJF and the Hurt Syndicate - The Art of a Bad Deal

Let it be known, I criticize all wrestling equally, not just WWE. When something needs to be talked about, I talk about it. And this needs to be talked about.

This past Dynamite was an all-timer episode, with multiple match of the year contenders and a main event that felt like a real step in the right direction for the downfall of Moxley and the Death Riders. In the midst of all this, a tag match featuring Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley defending their gold against the Gates of Agony ends with the champs retaining and MJF coming down to the ring to try and strike up another deal with the Syndicate. Keep in mind, Max has spent the last couple weeks trying to make his way into the Syndicate to no avail, so this could be seen as one of his last attempts.

So what does he do? Well, he does what he does best when he gets desperate! Lean into the most basic, cheap tropes possible to try and get a reaction. You know what I mean, calling someone a "dipshit" for a quick pop, going low when insulting his opponent's appearance, anything your typical bully would try and do to get one over as fast as possible. The MJF playbook. This week, however, he's trying to be far more diplomatic, shying away from quick wit and insulting barbs, and instead resorting to...

*checks notes*

Offering up women for sexual favours to the Hurt Syndicate.

Yes, you did read that correctly. Max brings down a group of women and promises the trio that, if they give him three big 'ol thumbs up, they get these lovely ladies for the night!

I'm sorry, who the fuck thought this was a good idea?! How quickly we forget? Did we learn nothing from the story of Janel Grant from just over a year ago?! Who in their right mind thought having Max promise Lashley, Shelty, and MVP a "night of fun" was a good idea? This is sexual trafficking. Or pimping, if you prefer a more colloquial term. 

We can blame MJF all we want, as I'm sure he had no small part in coming up with this idea, but there has to be far more names involved in crafting, organizing, and ultimately green-lighting this segment that need to be held accountable. Hold everyone's feet to the fire, no sacred cows. If a lesson is going to be taught, cover all bases. This is the furthest thing from okay.

•  •  •  •  •

Robbie Eagles vs. Jackson Drake - DPW Carolina Classic 2024 - 09/15/2024

For the soul of all mank- oh wait, just Australia. DPW

As we near closer and closer to DPW's biggest show to date, Super Battle, I decided to do a double shot of DPW and leave Super Battle in the queue as my next show to watch. High Noon was a decent show with a card that wasn't blowing me away at first, but it managed to be a fun show! Carolina Classic 2024 was bell to bell exceptional, and stands near the top of the list as one of DPW's best shows. To me, at least, and that's all that matters in the end!

I was really hoping that something from this card would jump out at me for a review, and if it wasn't for this match, I'd have been reviewing the tournament final four way match. No lie, it had one of the most exciting and compelling final stretches I've seen in a while. God, what a roster these guys have, it's insane. The entire show was great, but this match really leapt off the screen at me. Read on, dear reader, and find out why!

 Jackson Drake was featured all the way back in post #009 in a fantastic three-way, but that was a year and a half before this match, and the plucky young Jackson Drake has found his voice and is clearly comfortable in his skin as a loud mouth, self righteous heel. If there's one thing I love, is seeing younger talent figure themselves out and grow on our screens, the indies are made for those kinds of changes. Robbie Eagles has been travelling the globe, spending most of his time in Japan, and comes into this match as the Soul Of PWA Champion, a title belonging to Pro Wrestling Australia. The title is on the line tonight, which is always nice to see when two promotions can get along like this. If you want to make a title feel really important, take it across the globe and defend it against everyone, why not?

Eagles starts in the drivers seat for this match, snatching the arm of Drake and wringing it round and round, with Drake able to slip free and pull Eagles to the canvas. He gets him in a front facelock on the canvas and Eagles bridges out, going back to the arm and pulling it down flush to the canvas, stepping on the wrist to trap it behind Drake's back. He mocking claps Drake's free hand before letting him roll out, waiting to reset in the middle. 

With Eagles holding the much taller Drake in a side headlock (Drake is a lanky bastard, all limbs) Drake pushes him back to the ropes and starts to shoot him off to break the hold. He does, but immediately takes Drake by the waist and pulls him back to the ropes, rolling forward and waiting for Eagles to come back off the ropes and into a big arm drag. I've never seen someone do an irish whip fake to reposition themselves in front of the person getting whipped, very clever. 

Drake snatches the left arm of Eagles and pushes him into the ropes again, trying to shoot him off but Eagles holds on. Trying only twice, Drake shifts gears and wrings the arm around, pulling it straight down to hyper extend the elbow across his shoulder. He's able to shoot Eagles off the ropes but he gets caught with a headscissors that drops him to the canvas instead. Recovering in the corner, Drake turns just in time to catch a spinning heel kick from Eagles like he's about to walk his bride into their honeymoon suite. He tries to take him up into a firemans carry position, but Eagles slips behind and takes off for the ropes. 

Well would ya look at that! DPW

 

It really is the little things in this match that please me, honestly. With Eagles running the ropes, Drake goes for the typical "lariat, back elbow" combo but gets nothing but air. On Eagles' next rebound, Drake drops down and, holy shit! The drop down does what it's supposed to do! It actually trips up Eagles! This gives Drake the opening he was hoping for, going up and over a charging Eagles in the corner and planting him with an Orton-style powerslam and a cover, but it's only a one count. More than that, young Drake. 

With Eagles on the backfoot, he laces him with a chop in one corner and follows him for a kick to the chest in the neighbouring corner. With Eagles sat against the bottom buckle, Drake shoves his foot into the face of Eagles and lays out completely horizontal along the middle rope! All of his weight is being put on the throat of Eagles, squirming and fighting to escape the hold while the referee counts in the face of Drake. 

Kicking Eagles off into the ropes to break his attempt at a submission, Drake goes for the drop down trip again but Eagles is wise to his tricks. He catches himself on the ropes and pauses for half a second, lining up the left leg of Drake and leaping off the canvas, coming down hard with a knee drop to the left calf that causes Drake to leap up in pain before rolling to the outside. Eagles dives through the middel rope and flips onto Drake on the floor, rolling him back inside and crushing him doubly with double knees as he begs off into the corner for air. First as he stands, the second volley comes when he falls to his ass, nearly falling outside the ring over the top rope as he eats the second set of knees. 

Slippery guy, ain't he? DPW

Eagles goes for a pin but Drake escapes, pie-facing eagles as he sits up, defiant as ever even after getting his face and chest caved in. Drake pays for it with a kick to the back of the head from Eagles, moving around the semi-prone body of Drake and standing on the foot of his previously target leg. Drake tries to fight out with kicks to the torso of Eagles and swiping at his face, his shots barely registering. It's not until Eagles tries to tie the leg up in a figure four two times in a row that Drake is able to do some damage, grabbing the bandana around the neck of Eagles and using it to hold him in place for punch after punch to the forehead. Eagles releases his hold and stomps Drake's chest, trying for the figure four one more time only to get kicked into the corner. May want to avoid spamming that submission for a while pal.

Drake is pulled off the canvas and finds the fire within him to fend Eagles off toe to toe, delivering a ferocious combo of forearms, a chinbreaker, and a kick to the chest. He tries to sweep the legs but Eagles jumps to avoid, going for a kick to the head but Drake catches the shot, standing to his full height and pulling Eagles around by the leg for a pin, but Eagles kicks out! Not letting the leg go, Drake rolls through the escape and tries to rip Eagles foot from his body with an ankle lock!

 Rolling through and breaking the hold, Drake tries to take Eagles up for a firemans carry again but Eagles, again, slips out the back. This time, he catches the back of Drake's left leg with a kick, dropping him to his knees as he rebounds off the ropes and crashes into the back of Drake's head with a nasty elbow strike, folding him up as Eagles lands in a heap next to him. Pulling Drake back to his knees as Eagles rises to his feet, he uses Drake's chest as a heavy bag and drills him with kick after kick. The shots drop Drake every time, but he defiantly rises back up and challenges Eagles for more. His face shifts from cool confidence to pure anguish within seconds, but Drake refuses to take this punishment without making it seem like he wants this. 

Dead in his tracks. DPW

 

Stopping what surely would have been the killshot, Drake catches Eagles as he runs off the ropes and goes for another kick to the chest, lacing him across the face with a slap before pulling him in for a tight powerbomb, but it only scores him two! Nursing his leg after jumping over the top rope to the apron, Drake ascends to the top and soars with a swanton bomb, crashing into Eagles but pays for it himself, clutching at his back before going for the cover, only scoring two. 

They trade quick, slick pinfall attempts back and forth. A sunset flip, a jackknife pin, a crucifix and a magistral cradle are all attempted, the back and forth halted as both men go for a big boot at the same time, cracking each other in the jaw and collapsing back onto the canvas. Desperate for relief, Drake starts to untie the shoe on his left foot as he crawls to the corner, taking a seat and removing his shoe completely. 

Eagles climbs to his feet at the opposite corner, a little loop from the kick but able to avoid a Drake-sized splash by ducking out of the way, leaving Jackson to eat the top buckle chest first. Eagles' charge in attempt is blocked with a quick elbow, but Drake is unable to stop Eagles from going for a Tiger Feint Kick (that's the real name for the 619 children) through the middle and bottom rope, targeting the left shin of Drake. He falls to the middle and clutches at the leg, howling in pain as he struggles to his feet, only to turn right into a sniper-precise springboard dropkick to the leg from Eagles. 

Bad day to be a leg. DPW

 Trying for the figure four again, Eagles hooks it and turns through, but Drake pulls him in for a small package but Eagles gets free, catching Drake with multiple kicks to the head that sends Drake reeling into the ropes. Rebounding with all the fire left in his soul, Drake drills Eagles in the skull with a huge knee strike, collapsing with the impact as Eagles lays prone. He's too exhausted and spent to roll over for the pin, but is able to rally himself around the same time Eagles does, both men rising to the hands and knees and facing one another, Drake shouting in his face and gesturing for him to bring it. 

From two knees, to one knee, to both feet, Drake and Eagles trade stiff forearms back and forth, Drake defiantly pie-facing Eagles again despite barely being able to stand on his one leg. Rising to the challenge, Eagles rams his leg through the chest of Drake with a kick, standing and waiting for Drake to try a shot of his own, taking his best and coming back for more. Drake is clearly worse for ware, but Eagles isn't light on his feet either, eating a volley of shots from Drake that is capped off with a step up enziguiri, dropping both men onto the canvas again. 

Looking to put the death nail through Eagles, Drake picks him up and holds him upside-down as if to go for a tombstone, but Eagles thinks quick and snatches at the shoeless foot of Drake and forces him to fall forward, rolling through and locking in a calf crusher of sorts as Drake begins to flail in agony. He's close to tapping out, but uses his long frame to pull himself to the bottom rope to break the hold. Refusing to give up control, Eagles pulls Drake by the bad wheel and drills him in the thigh with kicks, trying again for the figure four but Drake tags him under the jaw with a kick. 

With Eagles stunned, Drake goes for a big boot that pushes Eagles into the ropes, rebounding off only to get caught by Drake in a firemans carry! Finally! He's got Eagles on his shoulder but before he can capitalize, his leg begins to buckle and he collapses, dropping Eagles as he falls forwards. The pain is too much to handle at this point, ripping off the kick pad to expose bare skin. It feels weird seeing someone's hairy leg like this... like, should we be allowed to see this? Y'know what I mean? No? Whatever, man...

Stopping another kick from Drake, Eagles twists around and pulls Drake up and over for the Turbo Backpack, pulling him in for a pin but it's somehow only two! Eagles wastes no time, cracking Drake in the jaw with a superkick as he sits up out of the pin, flying to the top rope and coming off with a 450 splash to the exposed and damaged leg of Drake. This time, Eagles locks in the figure four, twisting around to his stomach as Drake follows suit, howling in pain and reaching desperately for the referee, but it's no use, he's alone in the centre of the ring. Out of options, Drake taps out, with Eagles retaining his championship. 

Lil' Drake spinaroonie. DPW

This was a really fun match. I can see why some people might call this indie-spot heavy, and it was at moments, but Drake and Eagles had a really compelling, competitive fight with both men needing to dig just a bit deeper than they thought to not only survive, but have a chance at winning. I really like how much Drake sold the leg in this match, even if it wasn't worked on as much as you may expect, it was still a compelling through line for this match that led to the satisfaction of Eagles finally getting his figure four locked in. Good stuff. Very, very good stuff. 

•  •  •  •  •

Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross - NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver 2021 - Night 2 - 04/18/2021

The Devil on his shoulder. WWE

This pick snuck up me this week, I really wasn't expecting to do another NXT match this week but c'est la vie, as they say. This past week on RAW, Karrion Kross had himself a match against AJ Styles that had a lot of people talking (which I've thrown up to watch as I draft the beginning of this review, gotta see what it's all about). What this match really did for me was make me ask, "why is AJ fighting Logan Paul at Mania and not Kross? On the one hand, I get it, Paul is the bigger name and AJ can absolutely get a great match out of him, but from everything I've seen on my socials the last month has been Kross trying to get into the head of AJ, trying to pull the darkness out of AJ. Why not let this match culminate at Mania? Kross is billed from Vegas, Mania is in Vegas, surely it would be a decent enough match at Mania? Right?

I mean, this RAW match isn't anything to write home about, if we can be honest... The injury fake and the "accepting" of the forearm at the end from Kross was a nice little detail, something I think he's really good at, but that's about it. 

So, with that match in mind, I felt like giving Kross his flowers, because I'm in the extreme minority of people that thinks Kross is really quite good! Sure, he's not delivering bangers every week, but he's compelling and gets me interested in the things he's doing and comes across really genuine most of the time. I spent a lot of time watching his Twitch streams years ago when the world was upside down so that's partly why I have a soft spot for him. 

So, to CAGEMATCH I went to find the matches of his that people like the most, and to no surprise, his bouts with Finn Balor in NXT were some of his most popular, bringing me back to the tail end of black and gold's glory days. By this point in NXT, we were a year into the pandemic and things were looking kinda rough. I've thought about this time period a lot and I still can't wrap my head around some of the stuff they did. The panic of trying to counter book AEW week after week only to get trounced week after week, a roster of champions and contenders that kept dropping like flies, a 60 minute iron man four way match that ended in a tie, meaning you needed to tune in a week later for the conclusion. What were these guys thinking?! And then they decided "I know what will fix NXT! 2.0! That's genius!" these were dark days my friends. 

But, despite all that, this Stand and Deliver was actually pretty good! Ciampa and WALTEr had an insane match, I enjoyed seeing Raquel at the top of the card, Gargano and Reed was fun, Cole and O'Reilly was... a match that happened. Too much hype, far too much time given to them for what they did, and what felt like the beginning of the end for the deep, rich storytelling that NXT became known for. And to top it off, Kross is set to challenge Finn Balor for his NXT Championship, to regain a title he had to relinquish after separating his shoulder after beating Keith Lee to win the title for the first time. 

If looks could kill. WWE

This is a heavy-hitting pair, with Kross saying time and time again that Balor was his favourite opponent, loving how hard they were able to hit each other and keep coming back for more. This being Balor's second run in NXT, he's much different and for more seasoned than he was as The Demon King a few years prior. You can tell from the stare down during the introductions that this match is not going to be an easy night for either man. 

Something I didn't mention before was the little detail during Kross's entrance, which is one of my all-time favourites. Their debut was during the height of the pandemic so it was in a completely empty arena, but let me tell you, the internet went fucking insane, one of the craziest looking entrances anyone had seen in a long time. Tonight, however, Kross gets to do it in front of fans, and right before Scarlett gets set to make her way to the ring, he gestures as if he's looking towards the horizon, pointing to his ear and mouthing"I can hear you now." It's these little details I love.

Anywho, back to the action. Right from the lock up, it's clear that Balor is not going to be able to muscle his way through this, getting slammed face first into the canvas right out of a lockup. Balor tries to lock up the arm of Kross in a standing arm bar but literally gets shoved off and sent to the corner, with Kross dismissively wagging his finger at Balor as if to say "not gonna work, pal" Kross shoots in for the waist of Balor and gets behind, but this allows Balor to reapply the arm bar and get Kross down to a knee, the pressure folding Kross for only a moment before effortlessly pulling him up in a bodyslam, drilling a knee into the gut of Balor after he slips free down his back. 

You'd think that Balor would know better than to put himself in a vulnerable spot, and I kinda wish Kross followed through here, just to prove that. Balor pulls Kross into a side headlock and Kross gets Balor up off his feet and nearly takes him over for the Doomsday Saito Suplex, but plants Balor back on his feet as he keeps the squeeze on. Kross is pulled down to a knee but muscles his way back up, using the ropes to break the hold and send Balor rebounding into a shoulder tackle, dropping the champion at his feet effortlessly. Skill and experience only matters so much when the gap between weight and strength is as wide as it is here. 

Balor kicks Kross in the leg to try and weaken his foundation, but Kross eats the shot and laughs in Balor's face, taking a couple more strikes before pushing the champion into the corner and bieling him across the ring. Tit for tat, thinks Balor, pulling himself up in the corner and laughing back at the challenger, mockingly twisting his torso as if to stretch and work out the damage just inflicted. This battle of wills is going to test both men's limits.

The early stalemate is broken when Balor cracks Kross across the face with a slap, waking the sleeping giant as he picks Balor up off the canvas and charges him into the corner, driving his shoulder through the torso of the champion. A hard irish whip sends Balor across to the opposite corner, with Kross following in for another shoulder tackle. He tries this one more time but pays for it, diving in as Balor side steps leaving Kross to fly between the top and middle turnbuckle, crashing into the ring post shoulder first. Balor takes this opportunity to keep working on the left arm of Kross, taking him to his knees in the centre and standing over and wrenching back on the shoulder. Kross was put out with an injury to his right shoulder, but damage done to either shoulder will weaken someone as strong as Kross. 

Corner clubbin' WWE

 Balor tries to backpack himself to keep a single arm straight jacket held on Kross, bit gets driven back into the corner for his troubles. Making even the most fundamental move look brutal, Kross takes Balor up and over with a slick vertical suplex with ease, stalking Balor as he crawls to recover. Tying Blaor upside down in the corner in the tree of woe, Kross charges in with a high knee to the legs of Balor, doing a far more effective job of weakening the foundation of the champion in a single strike than Balor did. 

Balor snatches the arm of Kross again in, what I can only describe as a partial LeBell lock, keeping him flat on his stomach, with Kross fighting through the pain as best he can. He flips and twists through the hold, standing and nearly getting himself caught in a triangle choke but is able to muscle Balor up onto his shoulder, possibly trying for a powerslam of some sort but Balor shifts his momentum and forces Kross down with an arm DDT, sometimes called the Divorce Court. It divorces your arm from your shoulder, get it? 

The target is obvious for Balor now and he goes right back to work, hammerlocking the left arm of Kross and trying to wrench his arm out of its socket. Kross stumbles to the corner for refuge but a chop from Balor opens the chest and breaks his focus, letting Balor use the top rope to twist the arm around and apply more pressure. Everything about Balor's offence right now is focused on destroying the arm of Kross, with his much larger challenger on the back foot for the first time in a long time. 

Following Kross around the perimeter of the ring as he tries to find a safe corner, Balor tries to whip Kross out but he holds onto the top rope with his good arm, digging in his heels to stay put. Balor lets go of Kross and twists around with a kick to the gut, once again seizing on the opening created to drive his foot into the gut of Kross. Fueled by rage and adrenaline, Kross lunges out of the corner and Balor recoils back, not expecting this response, but it doesn't last. Suddenly, Kross falters and collapses to the canvas, the pain in his gut finally registering fully and forcing him down. 

The brain catching up with the body. WWE

 

A punt to the gut and stomps against the rope capitalize on the new wound, Balor now having two weak spots to target. He ties Kross up in the ropes and cracks him with liver shots before taking of for the ropes, rebounding only to eat a sudden kick from Kross that drops him. The ferocity of Kross drives him through his already high pain threshold, hoisting Balor onto his shoulder in powerslam position, driving him back first into the corner over and over. He tries for a third charge but Balor slips down the back, holding the head of Kross and driving him down with an inverted DDT/elbow combo. 

Balor is on his ass now and is shoving himself toward the ropes with Kross still flat out on his back in the centre of the ring. Just as Balor is about to be far enough away from Kross, he's stopped in his tracks. The vice-like hand of Kross snatches Balor by the foot and holds him in place, the challenger sitting up and growling with animalistic fury. Balor shoots a foot out to try and break the grip but Kross refuses to let go, pulling Balor in and flipping him back to his feet. He catches Balor as he charges in and looks to drill him with an atomic drop, but instead pops his hips and takes him over with a bridging northern lights suplex. Flipping through while maintaining his grip and pulling Balor to his feet with him, he decapitates him with a lariat before pulling him up and driving him down with a modified powerbomb, holding Balor on his good shoulder. Kross recoils from the impact and holds his gut, the extra second more than likely costing him the three count as he goes for the cover on Balor. 

"Doomsday!" bellows Kross, pulling Balor to his feet and going for the Saito suplex but Balor shifts and tries to get Kross into a tight guillotine choke, driving knees to the gut and double-legging Kross to the canvas before double stomping him through the gut for maximum damage. Balor holds Kross open wide with an abdominal stretch, forcing the challenger to suck back huge lungfulls of breath to survive until he musters the strength to flip Balor through with a hip toss to break the hold. 

Doomsday draws near. WWE

 

Running out of the corner, Kross gets caught with a slingblade from Balor as the champion looks to have this match in hand, leaning in the corner and lining up his prey. He takes off for the basement dropkick but eats a lariat instead, with kross able to finally drive Balor up, over, and down with a Doomsday Saito suplex. Backing himself into the corner, Kross lines Balor up for the Kross Hammer but a pele kick snipes Kross and staggers him, with Balor finally able to land not one, but two basement dropkicks, the second hitting Kross in the back and dropping him to the canvas. 

Ascending to the top strand, Balor takes flight with the coup de grâce, both feet plants in the torso of Kross. He rolls forward but lays back into the cover on Kross, looking to have the match won until Kross springs to life, snatching Balor in the Kross Jacket to break the fall and sap the life from the champion. 

A coup de grâce, but for whom? WWe

Stopping Balor from grabbing the rope to break the hold, Kross tries to lay back down but Balor uses his momentum to roll through and slip free, double stomping the chest of Kross again, keeping the pressure on at a near constant pace. Another punt, liver shots, and a grounded abdominal stretch from Balor brings Kross back to the mat, but Kross rolls through and put himself on top, the hold still on tight but the pressure reduced. Kross is able to slip out of the hold and roll Balor to his stomach, seizing on the opportunity to crush Balor with sledgehammer-like forearms to the base of the skull, dribbling Balor's head on the canvas. 

Deadlifting a lifeless Balor into a german suplex, Kross snatches Balor up for the Doomsday Saito suplex one more time. With Balor stumbling to his feet and holding the top rope for support, Kross rebounds off the ropes and cracks Balor in the back of the head with the Kross Hammer, backing himself in the corner and lining up Balor for another Kross Hammer. Mercifully, Kross folds Balor up for the pin and scores three, winning the NXT title for the second time. 

Kross out another challenger. WWE

 This match was a heck of a lot of fun, and I really, really enjoyed breaking this one down move for move here. Initially, I didn't have this as a "match of the month" contender but after really watching it and analyzing it in this format, I found a new appreciation for the match. Kross and Balor brought out the absolute best in each other, the attention to details and care for everything done between those ropes was second to none, honestly. I can't help but agree with Kross when he says that Balor was his best opponent, nobody since or before brought this kind of fight out of him, they're wrestling soul mates and I hope they get some time together in the future on RAW or SmackDown. Let them knock lumps out of each other on a PPV/PLE in the next year or two, why the hell not, I'll watch it!

•  •  •  •  •

Well, there we have it folks! Another week down! Wrestlemania is upon us which means its the busiest, most wrestling-packed time of year. I can't promise I'll watch everything, in fact, I can promise you I won't watch everything, but I'll try and check out some shows that catch my interest this week. As far as a Mania review/recap, that may be the last WWE show I talk about for the next while, I'm pretty serious about checking out after this show. Unless they do something utterly insane to draw me in for the next few shows, I can't see myself caring a lot for a while. But we'll see. If I remember, I'll try and get into more details about exactly why next week.

As always, cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com if you want to tell me what I'm doing wrong, give me some stuff to watch, or whatever else you want to say. Inbox zero is easy to deal with, but I wouldn't mind seeing something in there one day soon.

Until next week, take it easy friends.

Cliff Morgan