Casual Friday, July 1, 2022

 

Well hello dear reader! Welcome to Casual Friday here at the Let’s Watch Some Wrestling blog! I’m your beloved host, Oso Pequeño. We had a little drama this morning, as blog mascot and cutest pug Mudge had to head to the vet for a look. She wasn’t feeling herself, and her back was a little hurty - it was suggested that maybe she took a bad bump. Poor goober. Above is Zelda, middle dog child of the family and an avid stand-up paddleboarder.

But I digress! A lot happened this past week, with more to come over the next couple days! Let’s get things started with…

Some Stuff To Talk About!

AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door was a success! I’m seeing reports that it did around six million dollars between the gate and PPV buys. Not as many as the big four AEW shows, but still a strong showing and proof that plenty of people wanted to see something like this come together. I don’t understand the mindset of folks rooting for this show, and for AEW, to fail. Isn’t it better when wrestlers can choose where they want to work? I think so. Plus, more national exposure to pro wrestling of any kind can make new fans. That will keep the sport alive in all its forms! Everybody wins!

Even though the injury bug took a bite out of what this card could have been (more on that in a bit), what was assembled took me by surprise. Every match on this card was great in its own way; even the women’s match that didn’t showcase NJPW talent still looked pretty damn good. And just think what the card can include next time out. Maki Itoh and Orange Cassidy versus Britt Baker and Will Ospreay! Bryan Danielson versus Zack Sabre Jr.! CM Punk versus Hiroshi Tanahashi! Miro versus Ishii! Kenny Omega versus literally anyone! The possibilities are endless!

John Cena celebrated twenty years of WWE performances! An entire Raw, the go-home show for Money In The Bank, was dedicated to putting over John Cena as a WWE Superstar. Multiple, lengthy video segments. Stars of the past fawning over the man. Current talent singing his praises and cheering his arrival. And then…Vince McMahon putting himself on television again to introduce Cena.

Cena is a larger than life superstar. I love that he’s granted more wishes for kids in the Make-A-Wish Foundation than anyone else. I think he’s great in movies, and I liked him as a performer. He’s willing to put people over, even at this point in his life when he doesn’t need to and clearly doesn’t need to keep showing up on Raw. And he’s just a good dude.

But it’s gross to see that desperate, pathetic old guy known as Mr. McMahon hitch his wagon to Cena right now. It just brings out the cynic in me, which is the last thing I want when I watch the gloriously dumb sport that is pro wrestling. He’s obviously using TV and, in this case, the most popular stars he can get to make sure fans keep cheering for him regardless of what comes out as investigations continue. I realize that without Vince there is no Cena, but at this point in his career WWE needs Cena a lot more than Cena needs WWE, and it’s a bad look for Cena to share a screen with McMahon right now.

Blood and Guts was a messy improvement over last year’s show! I really liked the build to this match, as the Jericho Appreciation Society and Blackpool Combat Club expanded to match up really well this past Wednesday. The variety of weapons used ranged from kendo sticks and tables to forks and bamboo skewers! Bloodshed ran rampant, and there were a number of creative spots to keep us all entertained. If you enjoy the old WCW or NXT War Games matches, this is similar while also being its own unique, bloody thing. Read more about Blood and Guts on the blog HERE!

WWE’s next pay per premium live event, Money In The Bank, is coming up on Saturday night! A nice lead-in to a long weekend here in the States, Money in the Bank has long been one of my favorite matches and concepts since it was introduced. I don’t love the move to a full show around the match but, much like a three hour RAW, once it was put out there it’s there to stay. I’ll likely write a full predictions post tomorrow morning once I’m caught up on SmackDown and Rampage, but I really feel like there’s a lot of mystery around the two MitB matches this year. I have favorites, but one could easily make the case for just about everyone in both the men’s and women’s matches for the championship contracts.

AEW continues to deal with more and more injuries, with Santana being added to the DL during the Blood and Guts match while performing a relatively safe move! I hope everybody heals up and the storylines that were brewing (and in some cases are continuing to build in their absence). I also hope AEW takes advantage of the situation they have been put in by building up some stars that have been flying under the radar. Build up more big attractions on that ever growing roster and you’ll always have a plan B or C when plan A does a Uranage and his leg disagrees with his decision!

I would love to do the top five matches from the week, but this week is an odd one. WWE did literally nothing to sell me on any of the matches from SmackDown or Raw this week, and I watched every one of them! And since we just spoke in depth about both Forbidden Door and Blood and Guts in the Thursday Blog, I think we’re just going to cut things off here for today. If you have the opportunity and haven’t already, I earnestly suggest you take some time to watch both the Forbidden Door show in its entirety, and the Blood and Guts match. You’ll have a great time!

I appreciate your support and if you have any suggestions, drop your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Twitter @ElOsoPequeno. Tomorrow morning I’ll write predictions for Money In The Bank, along with any highlights from the Royal Rampage or SmackDown. Enjoy your weekend!