Welcome everyone to the thirty-ninth edition of Spandex and Suplexes: A Wrestling Review. I cover a week that saw night two of AEW Fyter Fest, night two of NXT The Great American Bash, and the continued build to WWE Extreme Rules. Let’s get started.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Drew McIntyre defeated Heath Slater
2. Kairi Sane defeated Sasha Banks by DQ after interference by Bayley
3. Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio defeated Buddy Murphy and Seth Rollins after interference by Dominik Mysterio
4. MVP and Bobby Lashley defeated Cedric Alexander and Ricochet
5. Randy Orton, Andrade, and Angel Garza defeated Big Show and The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar)
6. Billie Kay defeated Ruby Riott after interference by Peyton Royce
7. Asuka defeated Bayley in a Champion vs. Champion match
Thoughts: Due to Rey Mysterio and Kevin Owens’ victory, Mysterio won the ability to choose the stipulation for his upcoming match with Seth Rollins at WWE Extreme Rules. Rey immediately announced that it would be an “Eye for an Eye” match which WWE later clarified to mean that in order to win the match, you must take out one of your opponents’ eyes. It will be interesting to see how this stipulation will be presented at Extreme Rules.
Prior to his and Bobby Lashley’s match against Cedric Alexander and Ricochet, MVP presented the new design for the WWE United States Championship after he declared that he would officially become the champion by defeating current champion, Apollo Crews, at Extreme Rules. There has been talk of redesigning the look of the U.S. Title for a while with the belt having had the same deign since it was reintroduced as a WWE title back in 2003. I personally like the new design as it has a cool and unique look.
During the show, Asuka and the returning Kairi Sane challenged Bayley and Sasha Banks to a match next week for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship to which Banks accepted. I don’t see The Kabuki Warriors regaining the Tag Team Titles just yet while Asuka is still the reigning WWE Raw Women’s Champion, but it should still be a great encounter between these two talented teams.
Overall, this was a great episode of Monday Night Raw with the highlights being Heath Slater’s promo, Sane vs. Banks, the promo exchange between Rollins and Owens, and Asuka vs. Bayley.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Candice LeRae defeated Mia Yim in a Street Fight
2. Bronson Reed defeated Tony Nese
3. Johnny Gargano defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
4. Legado del Fantasma (Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde, and Raul Mendoza) defeated Drake Maverick and Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze)
5. Mercedes Martinez defeated Santana Garrett
6. Keith Lee (c) defeated Adam Cole (c) in a Champion vs. Champion Winner Take All match to retain the NXT North American Championship and become the new NXT Champion
Thoughts: This was night two of NXT The Great American Bash. In the main event, Keith Lee made history by becoming the first man to hold both the North American and NXT Championships simultaneously when he defeated the longest reigning NXT Champion in history, Adam Cole, in what is My Match of the Week. While Lee was celebrating, Karrion Kross and Scarlett watched from a viewing area above, indicating that Kross will be The Limitless One’s next threat to his newly won NXT Championship in what should be a physical altercation. It will be interesting to see how long Lee will stay a double champion and who will be the one to eventually take away the NXT North American Championship from him.
Two matches were announced for next week with Damian Priest taking on Cameron Grimes and Io Shirai defending her NXT Women’s Championship against Tegan Nox.
Overall, this was a great special edition episode of NXT with the highlights being LeRae vs. Yim, Gargano vs. Scott, and the main event Winner Take All match.
Credit: AEW
Results:
1. Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page (c) defeated Private Party (Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy) to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships
2. Lance Archer defeated Joey Janela
3. The Lucha Bros. (Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix), The Butcher, and The Blade defeated FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
4. Nyla Rose defeated Kenzie Paige and KiLynn King in a 2-on-1 Handicap match
5. Colt Cabana and The Dark Order (Brodie Lee and Stu Grayson) defeated SCU (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky)
6. Chris Jericho defeated Orange Cassidy
Thoughts: This was night two of AEW Fyter Fest. The main event of Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy was a fantastic match that cemented Cassidy’s status as a future major star in AEW. While I would have liked Cassidy to pick up the win, the fact he came close to defeating a legend like Jericho on multiple occasions even with Jericho’s fellow Inner Circle’s members, Santana and Ortiz, multiple interferences, made Orange look like a credible threat. Hopefully, this is not the last time these two face each other.
During the show, three more matches were announced for next week’s Fight for the Fallen with Cody Rhodes set to defend his AEW TNT Championship in an open challenge, The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) taking on Jurassic Express in six-man action, and FTR taking on The Lucha Bros. in a tag team dream match.
Overall, this was a great special episode of AEW Dynamite with the highlights being FTR and The Young Bucks vs. The Butcher, The Blade, and The Lucha Bros. and the main event of Jericho vs. Cassidy.
Between NXT and AEW this week, I am going to have to give the win to NXT based on the overall match quality. This brings my personal 2020 WNW rankings to: NXT – 11 and AEW – 16.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Jeff Hardy defeated The Miz
2. Bayley and Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross
3. Lacey Evans vs. Naomi went to a No Contest after interference by Dana Brooke and Tamina
4. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships went to a No Contest
Thoughts: In the opening segment, Jeff Hardy was a guest on Miz TV. After being mocked by The Miz and John Morrison, Miz suggested that Hardy face Sheamus at WWE Extreme Rules in a Bar Fight. Realizing that it was Sheamus who put Miz up to say that, Jeff accepted the challenge before challenging Miz or Morrison to face him in match right then and there. It was accepted by Miz who The Charismatic Enigma managed to defeat with a roll up despite the attempted distraction by Sheamus on the big screen. Having Hardy and Sheamus fight it out in a bar could set up some entertaining moments and would be a great way for Jeff to finally get his revenge against The Celtic Warrior after weeks of torment.
Overall, this was an okay episode of Friday Night Smackdown with the highlights being the main event and post-match brawl.
That’s it for this week’s Spandex and Suplexes. I am looking forward to AEW Fight for the Fallen this Wednesday night. Until next time, I’ll see you at ringside!
Nicholas Slade
Nicholas grew up reading J.R.R. Tolkien's books, watching Disney and Studio Ghibli films, and reading Marvel comics and Japanese manga. The superb storylines and characters ignited his passion for writing. He graduated from Full Sail University in 2015 with a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment. During his writing career thus far, Nicholas has had numerous short stories and articles published in an array of literary magazines and websites.
