Welcome everyone to the 83rd edition of Spandex and Suplexes: A Wrestling Review. I cover a week that saw the final build to WWE WrestleMania Backlash, the continued build to AEW Double or Nothing, and two NXT championships on the line. Let’s get started.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Asuka, Dana Brooke, and Mandy Rose defeated Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax, and Shayna Baszler
2. Jinder Mahal defeated Jeff Hardy
3. R-K-Bro (Randy Orton and Matt Riddle) and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) defeated AJ Styles, Omos, Elias, and Jaxson Ryker
4. Sheamus defeated Humberto Carrillo by referee stoppage
5. Shelton Benjamin defeated Cedric Alexander
6. Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka
7. Damian Priest defeated John Morrison
8. Drew McIntyre defeated Bobby Lashley by DQ after interference by Braun Strowman
Thoughts: This was the go home edition for Raw ahead of tonight WWE WrestleMania Backlash PPV. The Red Brand has, as of this writing, three matches on tonight’s card. My predictions for these three matches are as follows: First, Lashley will retain the WWE Championship over McIntyre and Strowman, most likely by pinning or submitting Strowman. The person Lashley ends up facing next, whether it be Drew again or someone else, is anyone’s guess. Second, Ripley will retain the WWE Raw Women’s Championship over Asuka and Charlotte, most likely pinning or submitting Asuka. This should then lead to a one-on-one encounter between The Nightmare and The Queen in a rematch from last year’s WrestleMania. Finally, Priest will defeat The Miz in the Lumberjack match, hopefully ending this feud once and for all.
Overall, this was a good episode of Monday Night Raw with the highlights being R-K-Bro/New Day vs. Styles/Omos/Elias/Ryker, Ripley vs. Asuka, and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Karrion Kross defeated Austin Theory by submission
2. MSK (Wes Lee and Nash Carter) defeated Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango)
3. Pete Dunne defeated Leon Ruff by submission
4. Raquel Gonzalez (c) defeated Mercedes Martinez to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
5. Kyle O’Reilly defeated Oney Lorcan
6. Kushida (c) defeated Santos Escobar in a 2-Out-Of-3 Falls match to retain the NXT Cruiserweight Championship
Thoughts: It was announced that next week, Johnny Gargano will defend his NXT North American Championship against Bronson Reed in a Steel Cage match. The Steel Cage stipulation should benefit Reed as it should keep Austin Theory from interfering (though how often has a Steel Cage actually prevented outside interference in WWE?). Even so, that may not matter as Gargano had managed to defeat Reed in their last title encounter without much help. With the odds stacked against Johnny Wrestling, this could be the end of his third reign as NXT North American Champion. Should Gargano mange to escape with the title, he still has Dexter Lumis leering in the background, waiting for his opportunity to take the gold from the leader of The Way.
Overall, this was a great episode of NXT with the highlights being the two championship matches with the NXT Cruiserweight Championship match being My Match of the Week.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Results:
1. Jon Moxley (c) defeated Yuji Nagata to retain the IWGP United States Championship
2. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) defeated SCU (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships (as a result, SCU must break up.)
3. Orange Cassidy vs. Pac in a World Championship Eliminator match went to a double countout after interference by Kenny Omega
4. Thunder Rosa defeated Jazmin Allure
5. Miro defeated Darby Allin (c) by submission to become the new AEW TNT Champion
Thoughts: Two big matches were made for the upcoming AEW Double or Nothing PPV. The first involves the AEW World Championship. Due to Kenny Omega interfering in the World Championship Eliminator match between Orange Cassidy and Pac, Omega must now defend his title against both men in a Triple Threat match at Double or Nothing. This three-way match should be excellent with all three men involved being extremely talented at what they do. I still expect Omega to retain as I feel that he will not be losing the title until he faces Hangman Page, most likely at AEW All Out in August.
The second match announced came after The Pinnacle tried to celebrate their win over The Inner Circle at AEW Blood and Guts. After being interrupted by The Inner Circle and The Inner Circle goading them for a rematch by shooting a water cannon at them, MJF finally accepted their challenge and said that it would be a Stadium Stampede match AEW Double or Nothing. MJF would then add the stipulation that if The Inner Circle lose, they will be forced to disband. The Stadium Stampede match from last year’s Double or Nothing between The Elite and The Inner Circle was a lot of fun, so I am glad they are bringing it back. With the added stipulation, I feel the rematch is going to end in a victory for Team Jericho as I do not see The Inner Circle breaking up anytime soon.
Overall, this was a great episode of Dynamite with the highlights being Moxley vs. Nagata, The Young Bucks vs. SCU, and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Natalya and Tamina defeated Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler (c) to become the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions
2. Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler
3. King Corbin defeated Shinsuke Nakamura
4. Cesaro defeated Jimmy Uso by DQ after interference by Roman Reigns
Thoughts: This was the go home edition of SmackDown before tonight’s WWE WrestleMania Backlash. The Blue Brand has, as of this writing, three matches on tonight’s card. My predictions for these three matches are as follows: First is the WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Cesaro. This one is hard to predict as it could easily go either way. A part of me feels that Reigns will not be losing the Universal Championship until WWE performs in front of a live crowd again. However, with Jimmy Uso not falling in line with The Tribal Chief, Roman having been champion for a while, and Cesaro being on a roll, I feel The Swiss Superman has a great chance of walking out of Backlash with his first World Title.
As for the second match, Belair will retain the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship against Bayley as I do not see Bianca losing her title so soon. Finally, Rey and Dominik Mysterio will defeat Ziggler and Roode to become the new WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions as The Dirty Dawgs have been champions for a while, and it would be an opportunity for The Mysterios to make history by becoming the first father-son team to win tag team gold in WWE.
Overall, this was a great episode of Friday Night SmackDown with the highlights being the opening segment with Reigns, The Usos, and Cesaro, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match, and the main event.
That’s it for this week’s Spandex and Suplexes. I am looking forward to tonight’s WWE WrestleMania Backlash PPV. While you are here on Florida Geek Scene, be sure to check out the second episode of my spin off series, Spandex and Suplexes: The Interview Series, where I interviewed veteran pro wrestler, Randy Hogan. 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.
