Post-TakeOver episodes are usually bland affairs. With a mix of highlight films from the event and pre-show matches, there’s usually nothing worth noting that happens in these episodes. NXT tried to buck this trend this week with mixed results.

During a short match between the always fun Rich Swann and Kona Reeves, who can’t seem to stick to a name, new stable SAnitY interfered. After beating down both competitors—including Eric Young nailing Swann with Youngblood—Young took the mic to explain that they’re done playing by the rules and will start taking what’s theirs. When No Way Jose decided to get payback for his Dusty Classic teammate, he got beaten down too.


Now, I’m a fan of big bad stables, and I’m also a fan of making sense, so this development is welcome, though a bit late. Purpose is one of the necessities of the pro wrestling narrative. Without answering the question of why someone is doing something, fans don’t really have something to latch on to. With a mission statement…

Last week saw Lucha Underground hold Aztec Warfare 3, once again putting on a display of carnage and violence no one else could. Pentagon Dark was destroying people left and right, but was taken out by the Black Lotus Triad midway through the match. Defending champion Matanza started off red hot, but was eventually pinned by the legendary Rey Mysterio in one of the night’s shocking moments. That meant we would have a new Lucha Underground Champion, and 4 fighters stood until the end—Johnny Mundo, The Mack, Sexy Star and Mil Muertes. Mundo and the Worldwide Underground looked set to win, until a timely return from Angelico made sure that wouldn’t happen. At the end of it all, Sexy Star managed to capitalize on Mil Muertes’ hubris, pinning the big undead to become Lucha Underground’s first-ever female Lucha Underground Champion.


Best in the Mundo

Since the very first episode of Lucha Underground, Johnny Mundo has been at the top of the list of people who’ve shown enough talent to be Luc…

All hail the Queen!

Less than a month back, we witnessed the first women’s Hell in a Cell match in history, which featured two of our favorite female superstars, then-champion Sasha Banks and her career nemesis Charlotte. The two once again redefined women’s wrestling as they provided yet another historic match for the books.

Although fans are upset that Sasha did not walk out of her hometown as champion, in the realm of her Queen Majesty Charlotte who the hell cares. After all, she does own the distinction of being one of only two team captains to emerge victorious at the 2016 edition of Survivor Series.


Spawn of the 16-time World Champion “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Charlotte is yet to be defeated in a pay-per-view event, has established herself as the face of the women’s division, and moreover has held the Women’s Championship title the longest during the New Era.

THE FIGURE FOUR vs. THE FIGURE EIGHT
Ric’s Figure Four is one of the most iconic moves in wrestling, and yet Charlotte…

It’s another edition of SmackDown RunDown Live and this week, don’t expect a cohesive show because the quality drought of the Blue Brand is here to stay. If you haven’t watched the show, good for you. Go watch Sherlock or something. Let’s get this over with.
James Ellsworth just made 2016 a lot worse than it already is

In a previous edition of SmackDown RunDown Live, I argued to keep James Ellsworth on the main roster after serving his purpose in the Styles-Ambrose storyline. What I meant was for him to be the new Santino Marella—the comic relief guy, the lovable loser every aspiring babyface needs to protect. Make him do jobber work every now and then. As long as he’s not involved in a big storyline, he can stay.
Well, they made him stay, but they forgot to remove him from the title picture.
We all laughed along at James Ellsworth’s epic struggle to become a WWE Superstar. He was the man with two hands and a fighting chance. We all laughed as Dean Ambrose befriended the little bugger and…

Apologies to all rabid fans of the Philippine Wrestling Revolution, but it seems the two-year-old promotion is going on early holiday vacation.

Despite newly-reinstated PWR General Manager Stan Sy's announcement at Suplex Sundayearlier this month that Terminus, the company's traditional year-end show, would be happening on December 3rd at an undisclosed location, the show will not in fact be pushing through.

The official press release on PWR Central indicates that the company will not be staging any further shows until late January next year.

Due to directional developments within Philippine Wrestling Revolution, it was decided on by the Board of Directors as well as PWR General Manager Mr. Sy to move all remaining events of this year to 2017.  The first live event of 2017 will be happening late January and will be debuting a brand new event title. With these developments, Philippine Wrestling Revolution is looking to kick off 2017 BIG.
Fear not, fans. The company is in great…

Good morning, and this is your daily Grapevine! This section of Smark Henry is where we round up all the founded and unfounded rumors abound the pro wrestling scene that you may have missed over the evening.

We're sure you all want to know what the holy hell just went down in the main event of Survivor Series:



The reason why Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar was as short as it was is because other than the former still not being in ring-ready condition, he had just signed for another match at Royal Rumble. The deal was reportedly made last week, with Brock especially pushing for it because he thought there was a lot of potential for money, and they decided to do a squash because that was what got him over in the first place. (Source: F4WOnline)
We say: There you have it, then. Does the idea make sense? Sure. Was it the best idea? We'll see.

Shane McMahon was legitimately hurt after the Coast 2 Coast was countered into a Spear by Roman Reigns. Both men were hurt from the spot after they …

I guess I don't have to tell you what you already know by now.
This is what we've come to: shock value for shock value, the big casual moment for the many casual fans who have come back to witness Goldberg, bread crumbs once again for the fans who have to worry about and deal with the complexities that make the business palatable for the casuals. Goldberg is, once again, a dominant force of nature, even though all outside factors point to the opposite. This is what they came for.
You can be mad, but at the same time, you can't be mad. It's the ultimate throwback, the ultimate act of subversion against a business that's become too full of itself. It's a business that, thanks to the internet and the billions of magnified voices around the globe who think they know what's about to happen next, has reached the critical mass of the fullness of itself.
It makes sense, doesn't it? You went into Survivor Series either rooting for Goldberg or thinking why we ne…

I have to admit, I wasn’t really as hyped up for TakeOver: Toronto as I was for Brooklyn II. Not that I wasn’t excited for it, I was. It’s just the whole buildup to the show wasn’t all that great. Only three matches had significant a set-up. Nonetheless, whatever the faults the road to Toronto had, this was a pretty entertaining card.

Bobby Roode def. Tye Dillinger

It makes perfect sense to put this match first. Put two Canadian natives in a hot feud, and you’ll get the crowd pretty hot really fast. That being said, it wasn’t a brilliant match. Roode’s a great worker; but he’s not going to outwrestle anyone. Dillinger’s character work outshines his workrate. What we had was a good match that showcased both guys and the right person went over. The Glorious One is poised for greatness, so picking up the win in his first major feud in the company only makes sense. The Perfect 10 might have eaten the pin, but he’s over as fuck and isn’t going down the totempole anytime soon.

The Authors …

NXT TakeOver: Toronto is on this Sunday morning(Manila time). With NXT’s adventure to the Great White North this close, that only means one thing: PREDICTION TIME.


Bobby Roode vs. Tye Dillinger: This is one of my favorite feuds on the card. Roode as a revisionist douchebag is awesome but still dastardly. Dillinger has grown into the role of beloved underdog. I think Roode wins here, but a great match will up both guys’ stocks.

TM61 vs The Authors of Pain in the finals of the Dusty Classic: I’m not all that excited for this match. We’ve seen this play out before Brooklyn, and neither team have really changed significantly in the past 3 months to expect anything different. I’m also not sold on the necessity of the stipulation of Paul Ellering being locked in a cage so he won’t interfere. Here’s the thing, AoP is pretty freaking dominant on their own, and they’ve won all except two of their matches without Ellering doing anything. They’ve beaten TM61 without interference. This is pointless…