Writer’s Note: I had an entire column about the Raja Jackson/Syko Stu nonsense typed out and ready to go. Then, I read it back, and I just wasn’t feeling the direction I took things in. My anger over the entire situation bled through in my words, and I feel like it hurt the entire column when all was said and done. It’s currently 3:59am on Monday, mere hours before I post my column, so I just scrapped the original idea, and I’m just going to post my Weekly Power Rankings instead. I already had that typed out, anyway, so it wasn’t a difficult transition or anything.
Weekly Power Rankings
John Cena vs Logan Paul: A red hot crowd, a super heel that is one of the best in the business, and a super face that is turning the clock back with a lot of his recent performances. Mix it all together, and you have a great match. Logan isn’t going to get anywhere near the credit he deserves for this, as usual, but he hit it out of the park. Cena, of course, is continuing to prove that he is every bit of the GOAT that WWE has claimed him to be.
Bandido vs Hechicero: The first half of the match featured a slower pace, with Hechicero trying to control things with his submission offense. Then, they flipped a switch, and the second half of the match was about as balls-to-the-wall as can be. Bandido continues to do amazing work in a very tough position, as Ring Of Honor shows aren’t exactly being viewed by a ton of people.
Sheamus vs Rusev: We knew we were going to get a wild, physical brawl. What we got was a wild, physical brawl. These two beat the hell out of each other, and that live crowd ate up every moment of it. Sometimes, you don’t need much more than that.
Lee Moriarty vs Xelhua: Unlike most luchadores you’ll see, Xelhua isn’t about flying all over the ring. It’s something he can do, sure, but he would much rather twist you into a pretzel and use an impressive arsenal of submission moves to get the job done. This was a wonderful display of technical wrestling from both men.
Roman Reigns vs Bronson Reed: Roman picked up the win, as expected, but this was the type of star-making performance that we could look back on years from now as the moment Bronson Reed truly “arrived.” He looked like an absolute monster, and that’s before the post-match attack he and Bron Breakker laid on Roman.
Athena vs Mina Shirakawa: As she approached the 1,000-day mark as the RoH Women’s Champion, all of Athena’s matches have carried a bigger sense of urgency and importance. She has been desperate to continue the reign and reach that 1,000-day mark, while all of her opponents have been desperate to get the “rub” that comes with knocking off a champion with that type of reign. This was a really fun, hard-hitting affair that saw both women wrestle like it was a pay-per-view main event title match, because that’s exactly what it was.
Wild Crowds: Whether it was WWE in England and France, or AEW and Ring Of Honor in the old ECW Arena, there were a ton of super hot crowds in wrestling this week. It makes things so much more enjoyable when we get to see crowds like that.
Seth Rollins vs LA Knight vs Jey Uso vs CM Punk: Another really good multi-man match. WWE really does a good job with their Triple Threats and Fatal Four Ways. My only complaint here is just how heavily WWE choreographed that Seth Rollins was going to receive help from someone “new” here. With Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed barred from the building, and with Paul Heyman in a local hospital selling an attack from Roman Reigns, Seth leaned very heavily into the “I’m all alone now” aspect of things, so it was pretty clear someone would be helping him. Most people were predicting people like Ilja Dragunov to be chosen, but instead, it was Becky Lynch. I’m sure the power couple will be even more obnoxious moving forward.
Solo Sikoa vs Sami Zayn: A really fun match, and a nice “reward” for the television crowd to get a title change. It was Sami’s first United States Title reign, and you could tell by the look on his face that it meant a lot to him.
Darby Allin vs Claudio Castagnoli: Darby loves to get thrown around. Claudio loves to throw people around. That’s always going to make for a fun combination, and this was no different.
Brody King, Bandido, “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight vs Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita, Josh Alexander & Hechicero: For the love of all that is holy, I am BEGGING Tony Khan to stop the “All-Star” tag matches. On a related topic, I am also begging him to stop the “Winner Of This Match Receives A Random, Arbitrary Amount Of Money” stipulations. He’s doing these things every week, and sometimes, more than once a week. Lazy, lazy, lazy.
Penta vs Kofi Kingston: Pay-per-view quality on “television.” It’s hard to complain too much about stuff like that.
LA Knight vs Bron Breakker: *ahem* Pay-per-view quality on “television.” It’s hard to complain too much about stuff like that.
Rhea Ripley vs Roxanne Perez: Welp. Pay-per-view quality on “television.” It’s hard to complain too much about stuff like that.
Cody & Brandi Rhodes: Congratulations to the couple on the birth of their second child, a daughter named Leilani Ella Runnels. They kept everything a complete secret, as nobody even knew they were expecting. Even with Brandi appearing on Cody’s podcast a few months back, there were no signs of a pregnancy. Either way, it’s awesome news.
Matt Taven & Mike Bennett vs Blake Christian & Lee Johnson: The more I see the team of Blake Christian and Lee Johnson, the more I am impressed with their work together. They appear to have a bright future in Ring Of Honor, but can that extend to getting some shine in AEW, as well? Time will tell.
Ross Von Erich, Marshall Von Erich & Sammy Guevara vs Shane Taylor, Capt. Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo: Similarly to the previous entry, I have really become a fan of the Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo team in recent months. They have busted their asses to move up the card in RoH, and putting them with Shane Taylor adds a strong veteran presence to their act, allowing all three men to shine. They earned the Six-Man Tag Team Titles.
Daniel Garcia vs Jon Moxley: Mox trying to recruit both Daniel Garcia and Kris Statlander terrifies me, because it seems to mean that the Death Riders aren’t going away anytime soon. The group ran its course a long time ago, but it just keeps going and going and going.
Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii vs Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander: Something had to give here, as both Ishii and Alexander seem to lose every big match they’re in. I was almost expecting this to be a draw, simply based on that fact.
Ricky Saints vs Josh Briggs: Fun stuff here, with two clashing styles coming together in a match to earn a shot at the NXT Championship. Simple, yet effective.
Sammy Guevara & Rush: The match itself missed the cut here, but congratulations to the new RoH Tag Team Champions. There’s just one problem. It’s Ring Of Honor, and almost nothing matters there, which is a damn shame. I hate what Tony Khan has done to a once soaring brand.
Sol Ruca, Zaria & Lola Vice vs Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx: A simple, crowd pleasing six-woman tag match. Another instance of not needing much more than that to be successful sometimes.
This Week’s Playlist: “Ice In My OJ” by Hayley Williams… “Love Me Different” by Hayley Williams… “Daddy’s Little Girl” by Key Glock… “READY TO LOVE” by Joey Bada$$ & Ty Dolla $ign… “Came From Nothing” by DJ Paul, Krayzie Bone & Seed Of 6ix… “Closure” by Caskets… “Somebody Should Kiss You” by Teddy Swims… “luther” by Kendrick Lamar & SZA… “I’d Die Without You” by PM Dawn… “End Of The Road” by Boyz 2 Men… “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” by Toni Braxton… “There U Go” by Johnny Gill… “So What’Cha Want” by Beastie Boys… “How’s It Going To Be” by Third Eye Blind… “I Alone” by Live… “Tonite’s Tha Night” by Kris Kross… “Blue Angels” by Pras… “Black Magic Woman” by Santana… “After The Love Has Gone” by Earth, Wind & Fire… “Reasons” by Earth, Wind & Fire
