Tags
205 Live, Ace Austin, AJ Styles, Akira Tozawa, Angel Garza, Ariya Daivari, Atticus Cogar, Austin Aries, Braun Strowman, Buddy Murphy, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, Dave Turner, Drew Gulak, Erick Rowan, Freelance Wrestling, Get Over Or Die Tryin', Gregory Iron, Humberto Carrillo, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Jack Gallagher, James Drake, Jimmy Havoc, Karl Anderson, Kevin Quinn, King Of The Ring, LA Park, Luke Gallows, Maria Kanellis, Mark Andrews, Mike Kanellis, MLW, MLW Fusion, NXT UK, Oney Lorcan, Promociones Dorado, Raw, Ring Of Honor, Roman Reigns, Rowan, Salina de la Renta, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, The OC, Tony Nese, WWE, WWE Raw
As I have said many many times and I’ll say it again there is an abundance of wrestling at our disposal that it’s almost a dream come true because I remember being a teenager and wanting more wrestling than just the WWE and WCW because they were only on certain nights of the week. Now, we live in a world where you are getting WWE’s programming (RAW, Smackdown Live, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK plus PPV’s when applicable), Impact Wrestling (free on Twitch), and so much independent wrestling whether it be Ring Of Honor TV on Fite, or all the various independent promotions that are on Independent Wrestling TV like Beyond Wrestling and ICW New York to name a few. Now, we are in the midst of a revolution in wrestling especially since AEW debuted with Double Or Nothing and with the fact that they have a weekly show coming in September. So with all this wrestling going on, I am once again here to present to you guys what I consider to be the top matches of the week from all the promotions that I have watched. If there is any match I may have missed and you think I should check it out then tweet me @EddieValiant82 on Twitter. Here are the matches that I believe you should check out, but to hear what my match of the week was, you’ll have to tune into my podcast Five Star Wrestling Podcast to find out when we read our five star moments/match of the week.
Dave Turner vs Gregory Iron vs Atticus Cogar (Freelance Wrestling: Get Over Or Die Tryin 8/16/2019)
Freelance Wrestling were celebrating their 50TH ever show and they did it in style with so many matches, but one match stood out to me and that was a triple threat match that saw Dave Turner take on the only wrestler with Cerebral Palsey in Gregory Iron, and Atticus Cogar. For most of the match, Dave Turner used his size difference to his advantage as he was able to throw the other two around. Don’t be fooled though because Iron and Cogar showed us some impressive wrestling proving why they belonged in the squared circle. At one point though, it looked like Turner was ready to put things away as he was able to halt Iron who was sitting on the top turnbuckle. He picks up Cogar in a fireman’s carry position and proceeds towards Irons who he places on top of Cogar and delivers a Death Valley driver to both of them. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the pinfall and he would miss a splash attempt from the top that allowed Cogar and Iron to recover and eliminate him from the match as Cogar hit him with a shining wizard. Cogar tried to neutralize Iron, but he wasn’t phased as he nailed Cogar with handicap parking for the win.
Austin Aries Vs Ace Austin (MLW Fusion Ep. 71 8/17/2019)
One of the brightest young stars in the cruiserweight or as MLW puts it, the middleweight division in Ace Austin took on legendary competitor Austin Aries in a match. Aries was looking to use Ace Austin as a stepping stone to get closer to current Middleweight champion Teddy Hart while Ace was trying to prove that it was time to make way for the new. The match seemed pretty even for the most part as both men were throwing everything at each other, but at one point it looked like Ace had it in the bag. After getting too cocky, he gave Aries time to recover while in the tree of woe and Aries took advantage by hitting a jawbreaker. While recovering from the move, Ace panicked and pulled out his metal wand and it did it’s job as the referee Kevin Quinn, turned his back giving Ace enough time to hit a low blow, but unfortunately for him he couldn’t get the pinfall. Ace then tried charging at Aries, but he was met with a vicious forearm to which Aries followed up with his patent brainbuster which was all she wrote for Ace as Aries got the 1-2-3.
LA Park Vs Jimmy Havoc (MLW Fusion Ep. 71 8/17/2019)
This was a very interesting match that was on the card because this was a New York City street fight that pitted two member’s of Salina de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado as Jimmy Havoc took on “The Chairman” LA Park. From watching this match, you would never be able to tell that these two guys were teammates as they hit each other with everything from chairs to garbage cans. At one point, Jimmy Havoc was lying in the corner and LA Park set up the door in front of him to which he then proceeded to hit the door with a missile drop kick. Jimmy then did what Jimmy always does and he gets dark and he breaks out the staple gun to which he starts hitting LA Park with staples. After face planting LA Park against some steel chairs that were set up, Jimmy looked to be in full control and as he charged at Park, Park used all of his momentum and overhead tossed him right into the chairs. Park the sized him up and took his chance and nailed a giant spear right back into the chairs which was all Park needed to get the 1-2-3.
Cesaro Vs Samoa Joe (WWE RAW 8/20/2019)
Let me start off by saying that there were a lot of decent to good matches on this week’s episode of RAW, but the thing I was excited for is the King Of The Ring tournament. The WWE brought it back and it kicked off this week and the first match saw the “Swiss Cyborg” Cesaro take on the always deadly Samoa Joe. Cesaro literally came out swinging right from the start of the bell as he came flying in with a huge European Uppercut that stunned Samoa Joe, but Joe was able to kick out of the ensuing pinfall attempt. He managed to keep himself in the match despite all of Cesaro’s European Uppercuts and even his submission attempts. Finally at one point, Cesaro was frustrated as he couldn’t figure out how to put away Joe so he tried for the neutralizer, but Joe was able to counter and he then placed Cesaro right in the Coquina Clutch and that was all she wrote as Cesaro tapped out securing Samoa Joe a place in the very next round.
Daniel Bryan Vs Buddy Murphy (WWE Smackdown Live 8/20/2019)
As the fans are desperately clamoring to figure out just in the hell has been responsible for what has happened to Roman Reigns, the situation has gotten a little out of control as Buddy Murphy has pointed fingers towards Rowan which has incensed Daniel Bryan and all of that has led to this week’s edition of WWE Smackdown Live as Bryan and Murphy locked up for the first time in what could be considered a dream match. While Murphy was holding his own in the match with Bryan, you had to wonder what kind of a factor was Rowan going to platy through out the match as Rowan did have a reason to be pissed. Nonetheless, there were times when you thought the veteran in Bryan was surely going to put away Murphy especially when he had locked in the Labell lock. As Murphy was desperately trying to make it to the ropes, Bryan was able to convert it into the rings of Saturn, but he would quickly lose momentum as he tried grabbing for the leg as well allowing Murphy to finally make it. Then finally on schedule, Rowan would get involved and he would prove to be a distraction for Bryan as he ate a superkick from Murphy and with his back turned, Bryan tried to roll him up for a pin, but Buddy kicks out. As soon as they rise to their feet, Daniel charges, but Murphy avoids it and hits with a high knee right to the chin and then Buddy does the impossible as he hits Daniel with the Murphy’s Law for the win.
Captain’s Challenge (205 Live 8/20/2019)
You may be wondering what the Captain’s Challenge is and it was basically 205 Live’s version of a Survivor Series match where Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak and the number one contender Oney Lorcan were able to pick up to four teammates to do battle. Drew Gulak chose Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, Angel Garza, and Mike Kanellis while Oney Lorcan chose Humberto Carrillo, Akira Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott. The match for a little while featured no eliminations until an accident allowed Mike Kanellis to score a pinfall over Akira Tozawa, but Jack Gallagher was able to get the rebound for his team as he knocked out Kanellis with a headbutt to even the odds. Tony Nese would then gain the advantage for his team when he was able to hit Gallagher with the Jig ‘n Tonic. We would see Oney Lorcan even the odds again by eliminating Tony Nese. Then it would be a while again before we saw another elimination as Team Gulak worked on Isaiah until Gulak was able to finally eliminate him with the cyclone crash. In pure frustration, Gulak would get himself eliminated after using a steel chair on Lorcan, but Lorcan would recover as he eliminates Daivari. Then an excellent matchup between cousins Carrillo and Garza would ensue as the two went back and forth, but Carrillo was the better man as he nailed Garza with a twisting splash for the win.
Honorable Mention:
There are a couple of matches from Raw that you can check out that were good and one of the is the main event that saw Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman take on the Raw Tag Team Champions The OC’s Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The other match is the second King Of The Ring match that saw Cedric Alexander take on Sami Zayn. One match you should definitely check out is the King Of The Ring match between Andrade and Apollo Crews from Smackdown Live. On this week’s episode of NXT UK, Mark Andrews had a really good match against James Drake who is one half of the NXT UK Tag Team Champions. Another match to check out is the six man tag match from this week’s Ring Of Honor TV show that featured Villain Enterprises taking on Lifeblood.
