Those who say NXT is the only reason to subscribe to the WWE Network are now right. WWE has wisely removed the replay of NXT Takeover from being on the Hulu feed. I say wisely because, before AEW, that was how I watched those shows.
Why would I fund a company that many feel is responsible for three deaths due to their lack of concussion care and whom will gladly take blood money from Saudi Arabia if I could watch their best shows for free (well, at least $2 cheaper alongside "The Handsmaid's Tale")?
For someone who finds New York to be where quality goes to die, watching a Takeover on a Sunday was awesome. If WWE was going to counter program against themselves, what kind of contrarian would I be if I did not ignore Vince McMahon trying to fuel Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns's egos?
As Wrestletalk stated in their review for NXT Takeover Wargames 3, the refreshing thing about a NXT's Women's first (like the Wargames's match this year) is that it just feels like what women's wrestling should be, just wrestling. So, watching Takeover instead of Summer Slam means I did not have to deal with the bullshit that is the Women's Evolution of Stephanie McMahons.
NXT offered a lot for those fed up with the tired vision of Vince McMahon. It is a pity that fans like me should not have time for it.
How much wrestling do you expect me to watch in one night? When you have competition, and a side in the competition, I am not going to change the channel during a commercial break. If you work a relatively uneventful job like me, you need stuff to read. After reading DC Black's "Harleen: Number 1", and considering how the ultimate fictional empath can become a murderous malcontent, you best believe the NXT spoilers might be a better read for someone with codependency issues.
When you look at my other wrestling viewership, there is no time for replays anyhow. "NWA Powerrr" results are deemed not as newsworthy as those of the competitors, so I am free to watch (or binge) it at my own leisure (typically on Monday between 7 pm CST and 9 pm CST). Tuesdays are when the extra hour NXT lacks comes on YouTube. Do I need to mention these are free (sorry Impact, ROH, WOW and World of Sport on Stadium)?
The NJPW library at my finger tips, and I got plenty of catching up to do there. I am only going to devote 999 a month to one service. HBO Max getting AEW would be an ideal return to chord cutting.
Is there a way for NXT to win me back? Yes. Right now, it is all about match ups. Sorry Hunter, I get around to indie shows, so I have seen Dominik Dijakovic and Keith Lee in its purest form in person. Give me Chris Hero over Kassius Ohno any day. That reminds me of more things in my DVD collection that I need to get caught up on. As long as I am with a girl who still cannot keep the members of The Elite straight, I have enough classic pre-NXT material to last a lifetime.
AEW is currently the fresher product and they still have lacked bouts I would skip. Once we get there...if we get there...I may start watching Xfinity 939 on Wednesday. WWE's only other way to get my attention is to give the minority owner of Hulu a break and put the Takeovers back on the service or for them to sign away AEW talent. At least we would have a war. On the subject of warfare.
Rebooking Survivor Series 2019
Another year of the concept of brand supremacy and willful ignorance of storylines has passed. Aside from champion versus champion (versus champion) bouts, it comes across as the dumbest pay-per-view of the year.
That half of the card did not sound that bad. You have to appreciate them avoiding a Lesnar versus Fiend match, but that again placed the Women's matches as a not quite equal affair. But when you need 30 persons for your main events, you know that the writers' efforts over the past three months were for not (When you try to rebook it, effort was hard to find.). It just seemed like a waste of time. They should have advertised, no red light during the Bray Wyatt bout, and maybe they would have gained my attention.
Something AEW has been doing to gain my attention is referring to classic wrestling concepts like "Bash at the Beach", successfully using Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross, and ECW defining moments. It is definitely the right week for a nostalgia bug (you best be watching "Watchmen" on HBO). Which makes me think back to my favorite Survivor Series, Survivor Series 1990.
Please look pass the Gobbledy Gooker. We all want to remember the best of "Mean" Gene Okerlund anyhow. My favorite thing about the card was the Winner Take All Survivor Series match. It was just as awesome seeing Tito Santana in a main event as it was seeing The Undertaker debut. Plus, Bret Hart and Ted DiBiase battle to be sole survivor for a spot in the finale also makes this the most memorable edition of this pay-per-view.
Imagine the stars that could be made by trying this experiment over again. Yes, they would probably be glossed over like Dolph Ziggler's win five years ago, but the opportunity is there. By loading up sides with top draws, no one new gets over.
This is probably why it failed in 1990. Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior stood tall in the end. If there was evidence to prove Vince McMahon is out of touch, Survivor Series still seem to end like this, when the bout is the closer that is. It is the definition of insanity. Especially when there are no stakes like Survivor Series have had since the second brand split.
Returning to 1990 would add those stakes. 2019's edition will be tougher for me to book since I cannot tell you with great confidence who were top feuds that did not involve the titles, but I can still make it make sense.
But, the card could have make all the sense in the world if NXT beats AEW by a hundred thousand viewers this week. Would this blog be an exercise in futility? If you read my blogs that involve wrestling and suggests my career, probably. Then again, do you want impressionable old me to open DC Black's "Joker No. 1"?
Pre-Show: Survivor Series (4-on-4)
Natalya, Sarah Logan, The Iiconics versus Carmella, Dana Brooke, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans
Match 1: Survivor Series (6-on-6):
New Day, Heavy Machinery, The B-Team versus
The Revival, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura
Close it out with Kingston eliminating Nakamura.
Match 2: Survivor Series (5-on-5):
Roman Reigns, Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, Braun Strowman, The Miz versus
King Corbin, Cesaro, The Forgotten Sons
There are a lot of injuries to SmackDown's heels. I know there is a lack of depth in NXT's heel tag team, but that can be resolved by turning a beloved team heel. The Forgotten Sons are not going to get anywhere while Undisputed Era holds the tag belts, so give them some shine and let them end up getting triple disqualified. Even better, let them and Corbin be the survivors.
Match 3: No Holds Barred for WWE Championship:
Brock Lesnar defends against Rey Mysterio
Put the belt on Rey and send Lesnar back to SmackDown. That is what Fox wants.
Match 4: Survivor Series (6-on-6):
The Viking Raiders, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, Street Profits versus
The OC, Fin Balor, Authors of Pain
AOP and The Viking Raiders brawls to a double DQ. The Club picks up the pieces, but have AJ Styles get pinned by Montez Ford.
Match 5: Survivor Series (5-on-5):
Seth Rollins, Ricochet, Rusev, Aleister Black, Humberto Carillo versus
Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Buddy Murphy, Andrade
You need at least one Shield member in the main event and you need to protect Black, so those two will go over. Wish I could have had an uneven side in the grand finale.
Match 6: Triangle Tag Team Match for WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
Kabuki Warriors versus Boss and Hug Connection versus Becky Lynch and Charlotte
Match 7: WWE Univeral Championship: Bray Wyatt defends against Daniel Bryan
Match 8: Survivor Series for Brand Supremacy (5-on-5)
Gallows and Anderson, Fin Balor, Seth Rollins, Aleister Black versus
King Corbin, The Forgotten Sons, Kofi Kingston
Corbin bickers with Kingston resulting in him being eliminated. The Forgotten Sons ditch Kingston. Kingston pins both Gallows and Anderson. Kingston is about to hit Trouble in Paradise on Balor, misses, and receives Black Mass. Rollins follows up with a Curb Stomp. Balor scores the fall.
Gallows and Anderson go to pick the bones of Kingston. Black intervenes...
Either Rollins turns on Black and joins the OC or Black and Rollins runs them off and stand tall. Black still gets over huge.
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