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Good Morning!
Holy cats! It’s been quite the recovery here at Let’s Watch Some Wrestling, as your old pal Russ has been trying to rebound from That Chicago Trip that left me six pounds lighter and a lot less spry. But we’re back to normal and ready to roll, with a week full of WWE developments leading up to this weekend’s Elimination Chamber show in Australia. Will we stay awake for it, given it’s a 3am start here in Colorado, or is this a “stay off social media and enjoy the show with breakfast on Saturday morning” situation? WHO’S TO SAY?
In a fun play on our segment title below, Sheamus was recently on Twitter asking if folks missed him and his streak of “banger after banger after banger.” After a fan replied, saying they prefer “characters and stories,” Sheamus fired back, “Watch a soap opera then!” As if what we’ve been watching all these years is anything but a glorified version of All My Children! But I digress…
Acting like we can’t have both five-star matches and character development in our wrestling shows seems silly to me. Guys like Bret Hart and Jake Roberts made careers out of not only building dramatic storylines on the microphone, but using in-ring psychology to make their rivalries all the more intense. Separating the two, especially on the basis of the letters the promotion one prefers, doesn’t do anyone any favors. I guess I just like liking things, but I don’t think I’ve ever watched a wrestling show that I didn’t get some form of entertainment from. Whether it’s great storytelling, amazing in-ring action, or some combination of both (or neither, which can end up pretty fun in its own right) it’s a good time and the whole reason we keep watching!
“It’s A Soap Opera With More Suplexes and Less Violence”
…in which I discuss the storylines that keep us watching week to week
Speaking of the reason so many people have been tuning in…The Rock appeared on SmackDown last week! Given my temporary health issues, I wasn’t able to review last weekend’s events in a more timely fashion, but I assure you the Rocky heel turn was appreciated here in the LWSW headquarters, AKA my office and living room. It appears that someone in WWE, maybe Triple H, maybe some shareholders, maybe old Dwayne himself, realized that the Cody thing might be too big to put off for a “dream match” and decided to pivot. Regardless of the reason, we got the best version of the Rock back on TV, demeaning fans and running down his opponents and their supporters. I’m still not sure what the overall plan is, but I think we’ll get a clearer picture after this weekend. SmackDown is the go-home show before the Elimination Chamber, which is the last big main roster event before WrestleMania in April. So we’re bound to continue putting the pieces in place for what might be the biggest ‘Mania of all time!
RAW gave us some of those pieces, as Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa (predictably) interfered in two high-caliber matches that could main event any premium live event: Cody Rhodes took on Drew McIntyre to open the show, and Jey Uso faced Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship in the main event. WWE did a bit of trolling in the opener, recreating the finish of WrestleMania 39 with Sikoa and Uso attacking Rhodes and allowing a briefly-hesitant McIntyre to hit the Claymore and pick up the victory. Those two would reappear at the end of the show to cost Jey Uso the IC title, distracting and attacking Jey before and after the end of the match to keep Jey without a belt. I’d love to see Jimmy and Jey face off at WrestleMania, and I think Drew McIntyre might come out of this weekend with a WrestleMania title shot as well.
AEW gave us TWO women’s matches on one Dynamite, although one was a squash and the other almost got a participant hurt so it’s hard to celebrate that just yet. I learned that some injuries meant the show was changed on the fly, so maybe Madison Rayne wasn’t prepared to have a match at all. But, woof, the match was just bad and borderline dangerous.
In happier news, we got a hell of an opener in Jon Moxley and Claudio Castignoli facing off with FTR. Even though it ended in a draw, the match was fantastic and hard hitting – and SHOCKINGLY bloodless – and will likely lead into some kind of stipulation match at next weekend’s Revolution show.
Wardlow had a very passionate speech later in the show, which kinda made me feel bad for the guy. He keeps getting pushes that just fizzle out, but he’s obviously dedicated to getting better at mic work as well as in the ring, and he’s jacked as all get out. But we’ve been through so many of these half-assed pushes that I just can’t bring myself to care anymore. I will, however, happily be proven wrong if he and AEW can stick with it this time around.
Oh, and NXT happened! Shotzi was hurt in the main event, and a quick replacement match with Lash Legend facing Lyra Valkyria was put together, but it really felt unnecessary, especially since the show was taped. Regardless, the women on this show continue to be a high point, and WWE really has a solid crew developing to continue the recent trend of good women’s wrestlers being molded from solid athletes in other fields.
Beloved learning institution Chase U, a full university that somehow exists in the NXT universe, defeated superheroes Axiom and Nathan Frazer in a really fun number one contenders match. Really, NXT always brings that 80’s “I am a wrestler but also I have one interest or job that my whole personality is based upon” vibe that got me into this whole sport. It’s so dumb, and I love it so much.
Let’s Remember A Blog!
…in which we reminisce about a lesser-known bit of my writing from the past
So, in a bit of a twist here, I’m gonna link to an article I wrote for Goomba Stomp / Tilt Magazine last year. While the site is no longer actively producing new content, it does still exist on the internet, meaning I can’t in good conscience just repost the whole dang article here.
In the piece, I assembled a list of the best Elimination Chamber matches, and then pitted the winners of those Chamber matches against one another using the magic of technology, i.e. WWE 2K23. Kind of like Inception, but with a big cage match instead of guns. Give it a read! It’s one of the few times I’ve been published on the internet while being allowed to have some fun with an idea I came up with. I might even have the match footage lying around somewhere…checks folders* nope, I guess not.
Oh, speaking of that, we’ve preordered WWE 2K24! I was probably going to regardless, but I might try streaming some footage of the game since the pre-order gets us a few days of early access. Is that something you’d be interested in seeing? Let me know!
The Let’s Watch Some Wrestling Elimination Chamber Preview!
And, keeping in the Elimination Chamber spirit, let’s dive right into our preview! According to Wikipedia, we’ve got four matches scheduled for the Perth edition of the show. Oh, AND Grayson Waller will be hosting a talk show segment featuring Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, which I assume will lead to an attack by some Bloodline members as well as longtime Waller pal Austin Theory.
It’s a bit of a shame that both Bronson Reed and Indi Hartwell* not only aren’t scheduled to be on the show, but actually lost qualifying matches. Seems pretty rough of WWE, long-known as the caring wrestling company, to tease home country appearances for both of these young stars before pulling the rug out from under them. (end sarcasm)
The Kabuki Warriors (c) versus Indi Hartwell and Candice LaRae for the Women's Tag Team Championships
Oh hey they added a kickoff show tag team match! And Indi got in! That's really nice. Indi and Candi will absolutely lose here but at least Hartwell made the card, and I never scoff at a chance to watch Asuka and Kairi in the ring!
Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Tiffany Stratton, Naomi, and Raquel Rodriguez in an Elimination Chamber match for a title shot at WrestleMania
I mean, it’s gotta be Becky Lynch, doesn’t it? WWE has all but telegraphed her and Rhea Ripley facing off at WrestleMania for months now, including a face-to-face at the WrestleMania preview event at Super Bowl week. I’m more curious as to whether any of the other women in this match end up having something to do at the Show of Shows. Bianca has a win streak to maintain, but I really can’t see a reason for the other four to make the card. Maybe a few of them team up for the annual Tag Team Showcase? Who’s to say?
Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, and Logan Paul in an Elimination Chamber match for a title shot at WrestleMania
This one is a bit harder to call, but my money’s on Drew McIntyre. Drew has interacted with almost everybody involved in the biggest storyline in the company, and his justified heel work has been top notch. I could see him winning Seth Rollins’ title at ‘Mania, or getting involved with the Bloodline as well. Randy Orton is a wild card, as a guy who’s as close as anyone to Triple H / John Cena / Ric Flair title territory, and I’m sure we’ll see all of the participants in this Chamber match on the biggest show of the year as well.
The Judgment Day versus New Catch Republic for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
This isn’t the team to take the belts off of the Judgment Day. Hell, this team didn’t even have a name until a week ago, wasn’t actually a team until a month ago, and Pete Dunne hasn’t existed in this form in years! No, Judgment Day will win, possibly with some assistance from Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonaugh, and some interference by Miz and R-Truth, who should get these titles at WrestleMania.
Rhea Ripley © versus Nia Jax for the Women’s World Championship
Rhea Ripley is going to be cheered like a hero in Australia, and there’s no way she drops her title to Nia despite the great work Jax has been doing since her return. I expect her to hang on until WrestleMania and fall to Becky Lynch, but that’s a ways off. Tonight is all about the hometown gal getting her flowers, and deservedly so.
Closing Up Shop
…in which I say goodbye for now
And that’s it! We’ve got SmackDown, Rampage, Collision, and the Elimination Chamber to keep up with this weekend, so warm up those couch cushions because it’s gonna be a comfy few days!
I’ll see you next week for the usual Casual Friday and Untitled Monday blog posts. If you have questions, concerns, or comments, drop 'em in the comments section below! And follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, BlueSky and/or Instagram using the links on the right.
Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here next time, dear reader. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!
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