Welcome everyone to the forty-ninth edition of Spandex and Suplexes: A Wrestling Review. I cover a week that saw the continued build to WWE Clash of Champions and NXT TakeOver, AEW’s first ever Parking Lot Fight, and multiple championships on the line. Let’s get started.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) defeated Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura in a Champions vs. Champions match
2. Cedric Alexander defeated Ricochet
3. Asuka (c) defeated Mickie James by referee stoppage to retain the WWE Raw Women’s Championship
4. Bobby Lashley defeated Erik by submission
5. Seth Rollins defeated Dominik Mysterio in a Steel Cage match
6. Kevin Owens defeated Aleister Black
7. The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan) defeated Natalya and Lana
8. Drew McIntyre vs. Keith Lee went to a no contest after interference by Retribution
Thoughts: The main focus of the night surrounded the WWE Championship picture and Retribution. At the top of the show, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre challenged his WWE Clash of Champions opponent, Randy Orton, to make their title match an Ambulance match. Drew was then interrupted by WWE Producer, Adam Pearce, who has taken a position of authority in the absence of the McMahons. Pearce then told McIntyre that since it is not certain if Orton will be cleared to compete in time for WWE Clash of Champions, The Scottish Psychopath’s match with Keith Lee later in the night now has the added stipulations that if Lee wins, and The Viper is not cleared by WWE Clash of Champions, The Limitless One will be the one to face Drew for the title at the PPV.
This led to a backstage brawl between McIntyre and Lee later in the night before they were separated by Pearce and WWE security. In the main event, after an even back and forth between the two former NXT Champions, the match was interrupted by the invading Retribution. This led to The Hurt Business, who made a deal with Pearce earlier in the night to take care of Retribution in return for financial compensation, storming ringside and getting into a massive brawl with Retribution. Drew McIntyre and Keith Lee then got in on the action as the show went off the air.
Due to Retribution’s interference, The Legend Killer is currently the only person in line for the WWE Championship match at WWE Clash of Champions. The fact that their match will now be an Ambulance match heavily indicates that Orton will be walking out of the PPV with the WWE Championship as the rules of the match would protect McIntyre in defeat as he would only have lost because he was thrown into the back of an ambulance instead of being pinned or submitted.
The question is then, who will be the one to take the title from The Apex Predator? While the rumors have been that WWE planned to have Edge make his return and take the title from Orton at either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania, I believe it would be better to have that position given to Keith Lee. Lee is a massive star in the making and WWE needs to take advantage of his hot streak sooner rather than later.
Overall, this was a great episode of Monday Night Raw with the highlights being Drew McIntyre’s opening promo, The Street Profits vs. Cesaro/Nakamura, Rollins vs. Dominik, and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Io Shirai defeated Shotzi Blackheart
2. Tommaso Ciampa defeated Desmond Troy
3. Kushida defeated Austin Theory by submission
4. Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) (c) defeated Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships
5. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro defeated Jessie Kamea and Xi Li
6. Drake Maverick and Killian Dain defeated The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish) by DQ
7. Damian Priest (c) defeated Timothy Thatcher to retain the NXT North American Championship
Thoughts: Two matches were announced for next week to determine who will face Finn Bálor for his NXT Championship and Io Shirai for her NXT Women’s Championship at the next NXT TakeOver on October 4th. The first match announced was a Battle Royal to determine the number one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship. The second match was announced by William Regal as he introduced his new match concept called the Gauntlet Eliminator with the winner becoming the next challenger for the NXT Championship. The rules for the Gauntlet Eliminator work essentially the same as a regular Gauntlet/Royal Rumble match with the difference being that you can only be eliminated by pinfall or submission rather than being thrown over the top rope to the floor.
It is hard to predict the outcomes for either of these matches due to nature of Battle Royals and Gauntlet matches as luck can play just as big of a role as skill in winning these types of matches. As a result, it is truly anyone’s game which makes for exciting television. However, two names do stand out in the Battle Royal in Candice LeRae and Tegan Nox due to how high profile their feud has been so far. It all depends on when NXT wants to have the big clash between the former friends. If they are planning to have it at TakeOver, then we will most likely see both women cause each other to be eliminated next week. We will have to see who will end up earning at shot at championship gold next week.
Overall, this was great episode of NXT with the highlights being Shirai vs. Blackheart, Breezango vs. Imperium, Maverick/Dain vs. Undisputed Era, and the main event.
Credit: AEW
Results:
1. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) defeated Jurassic Express after interference by Tully Blanchard
2. “Hangman” Adam Page defeated Frankie Kazarian
3. MJF defeated Shawn Dean by submission
4. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho and Jake Hager) defeated Private Party (Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy)
5. Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Ivelisse to retain the NWA World Women’s Championship
6. Best Friends (Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor) defeated Santana and Ortiz in a Parking Lot Fight after interference by Orange Cassidy
Thoughts: The Young Bucks cemented their heel turn this week when they attacked a referee before the opening match for seemingly no reason. Matt and Nick Jackson have been needing a fresh start after spending the last year putting over other teams. This new attitude should result is greater success for the Jackson brothers, though it will be interesting to see how AEW books the eventual dream match between them and FTR due to Harwood and Wheeler also being heels. One intriguing question is will Kenny Omega join them on the dark side? Omega has been hinting at a heel turn himself for a while, so we will have to see when The Cleaner decides to pull the trigger.
Overall, this was a great episode of Dynamite with the highlights being FTR vs. Jurassic Express, Page vs. Kazarian, Rosa vs. Ivelisse, and the main event Parking Lot Fight which is my Match of the Week.
Between NXT and AEW this week, I am going to have to give the win to AEW due to the overall match quality. This brings my personal 2020 WNW rankings to: NXT – 13 and AEW – 24.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Cesaro defeated Gran Metalik
2. Nikki Cross defeated Lacey Evans
3. AJ Styles defeated Sami Zayn
4. Roman Reigns and Jey Uso defeated Sheamus and Baron Corbin in a Samoan Street Fight
Thoughts: Sasha Banks delivered a great promo in her response to Bayley’s vicious attack on her two weeks ago. While I know we are supposed to feel sorry for Banks, as someone who has been following this storyline from the beginning, I have some trouble feeling completely sorry for her as she is the one who convinced The Role Model to turn heel in the first place. In a Frankenstein-like situation, The Boss has now become a victim of the very monster she helped create. The sneak attack chair shot from behind by Bayley was excellent as it cemented Bayley as a truly dangerous, heartless villain. I look forward to the eventual clash between these two former best friends.
After AJ Styles defeated Sami Zayn, both men were attacked with a ladder by the WWE Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Hardy. Hardy then grabbed a mic and said he was sick of Styles and Zayn claiming he was not the legitimate champion and challenged both men to ladder match at WWE Clash of Champions to determine who is the true WWE Intercontinental Champion. Having these three men battle it out in ladder match with both Intercontinental belts hanging above the ring (ala Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X) is the most logical way for this storyline to conclude and should result in an awesome match. While I expect Hardy to retain, I would not be surprised to see Styles or Zayn walk away with the win.
Overall, this was a great episode of Friday Night SmackDown with the highlights being the continuation of the Alexa Bliss/Fiend storyline, Sasha Banks’ promo and Bayley’s sneak attack, Big E’s return, and the main event.
That’s it for this week’s Spandex and Suplexes. I am looking forward to the two NXT number one contender matches this Wednesday. While you are here on Florida Geek Scene, be sure to check out the first episode of my new spin off series, Spandex and Suplexes: The Interview Series, where I interviewed 17-year veteran pro wrestler, Alex Chamberlain. 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.
