One day after we gave out our own awards for the year in wrestling, the WWE copies us by giving out their annual Slammy Awards. I, for one, think the BWF Awards are more prestigious. After all, you can’t buy a BWF Award. Anyway, let’s get started so I can finish this by 3AM.
I watch 30 minutes of RAW. I leave for work. I obtain a copy of RAW when I get to work. And since I don’t have the foresight to start my review while I’m watching the first half hour, I have to sit through it again. That’s how ThinkSoJoE’s RAW reviews work.
This week on BWF Radio, it’s the 2012 BWF Awards! Joe, Jorge, JT, and Jee (Screw you and your one letter, G!) discuss the week in pro wrestling, and then give out a number of awards for this year in professional wrestling! Awards include PPV of the Year, Entrance of the Year, Surprise of the Year, Match of the Year, and Wrestler of the Year, and much, much more. Who ran away with the awards this year? Were there any big surprises in this year’s awards? Only one way to find out!
Fucked up news week. Toronto monkey in a suit, Manny KO’d and lifeless for minutes, Bieber murder/castration plot, Syria, Egypt, Prank call gone horribly wrong… and sadly the mass shootings in an elementary school. 🙁 I’m kind of dejected to say the least (and battling a headcold from last week, still). Maybe some Smackdown can lift my spirits. (more…)
We began the night with Sammy Geodollno offering her services to Mercedes Martinez. Nice, cute, short, character-driven.
Kalamity vs. Leva Bates
I am looking forward to this match. Kalamity has a good look and ring presence, even though she’s somewhat lacking in height. And to me, Leva reminds a lot in-ring wise of Shawn Michaels. By appealing to the geek in all of us, she has carved herself a really nice demand. Leva was rocking the Jigsaw outfit of Saw fame. It’s not exactly my favorite outfit of her’s, but I love her variety. We had a handshake to start the match. I’m going to compare old WSU to new WSU a lot. You can already tell an improvement in the crowd. They are alive. I really like Kalamity’s hard-hitting style. Her elbows look like they kill you. And Leva bumps like “H-She-K.” (I’m coining that term right now.) Leva’s chops have the perfect combination of cute and devastating. It had really strong wrestling and great back and forth. It was the perfect match for the opener. We had a nice show of sportsmanship. I know it’s ironic that the company is called Womens Superstars Uncensored, but I would let my daughter watch this match.
Brittney Savage vs. Tina San Antonio
I am intrigued by this match, as these were two stars created by the old WSU. What will happen in this new era? Where will they go? Tina is now a heel and if I may say, a rather good one. And even though I think Savage is a better heel, she is over with the crowd and they accept her as a face. San Antonio’s ring style in this match was slow and methodical. There was a nice exchange with the roll-ups. It was good old-school wrestling. You had the heel giving out punishment with the face taking it. I really liked the story of the finish. It opens them up for a good feud. After this match, Tina is a force to be reckoned with.
Addy Starr vs. Jessie Brooks
I like Addy’s cute, quirky look. I’m not too familiar with Brooks if I have seen her at all. She looks focused, no-nonsense. So far, 3 matches, 1 heel. Brooks is a very capable wrestler but comes off a little bland. Maybe being in a Sammy G skit would have worked better for her. Starr has a nice, unique ring style. One cannot deny Brooks’ in-ring ability as we got a cattle mutilation. I really liked the exchange when Addy had Brooks in the guillotine choke. Funny I should mention Sammy G because she came down to ringside. I really liked Jessie in this match. The crowd just needs a reason to care about her. The crowd loved Addy and even an incognito Sugar Dunkerton congratulated her after the match.
Mercedes Martinez vs. LuFisto
Yes, I just wrote that. Mercedes Martinez in the ring against LuFisto. Two pioneers in this generation’s era of great women’s wrestling going at it. It didn’t start in the ring. This match started off so intensly. Why? What is the heat between them? The play-by-play guy filled us in as the match began, but why couldn’t he tell me why they hated each other as they were entering? Also, this was the first time they had ever met on American soil. Why was this not more prominent in the card or build-up? LuFisto’s kicks look like they will make your head roll. Every move she does looks like she’s going to kill you. And Mercedes is Mercedes. She’s an icon of her era. Were it not for that pesky Sara del Rey, she’d be hands-down, the best of her era. This was LuFisto’s showcase, plain and simple. If you are not a fan of LuFisto or women’s wrestling in general, you need to watch this match. I try not to use this word too much, but I’d dare call this match epic. My only complaint is that the play-by-play guy started talking about how these two might go the distance. And then he updated us they were at the 21-minute mark. I knew it was going the 30-minute draw and the rest of the match became a chore. The drama was still good enough to fool me into thinking it might end. The ladies got a standing ovation and a “That was awesome chant.” Myself, I would have been chanting “Match of the Year.”
Niya vs. Saturyne
This is an interesting match-up. There is the veteran getting one more chance story with Niya. Plus, you have the up-and-coming hot rookie with Saturyne. I would have liked to seen more of an emphasis from commentary placed on this actual match. Saturyne is quite exciting to watch in the ring. It was hard to concentrate on the in-ring action, but this was a nice short match. The crowd needed something to come down from after that LuFisto-Martinez match.
After the match, Jennifer Cruz ran in and started taking out Niya. Jana came out to Niya’s rescue. Then Jennifer took the mic and cut a nice promo, dropping a Spanish p-bomb.
Kimber Lee & Annie Social vs. Allysin Kay & Sassy Stephanie
This is where it gets hard for me to be partial as I’m a total mark for the Midwest Militia. Kay is my very favorite in-ring worker, and I have this weird schoolboy crush on Stephanie. Stephie was wearing her t-shirt from Gimick$ whom I strongly recommend for your wrestling t-shirt needs. I don’t see Lee’s and Social’s chemistry on paper. Lee is a great “girl next door” and Social is a great counter-culture heel. This was good classic tag team wrestling. Militia killed Social with the face in peril. If there are young upstarts wanting to know how to do “face in peril” from a heel’s perspective, watch this match. Kay & Stephie put on a clinic. I was ok with the non-finish. Allysin’s kick to the stumbling Kimber Lee was so wrong. It was so simple and subtle, yet so enraging.
Nikki Adams vs. Marti Belle
I should probably know her better, but I don’t think I’ve seen a Nikki Adams match before. And Marti Belle, in my opinion, has got to be the perfect combination of beauty and wrestling ability. I really didn’t get the build-up here. Who is Nikki Adams? Why does she have that title shot? Nikki had good crowd engagement. Marti as champ has a certain swagger about her. She now looks like a top name. The commentary started off really strong here. There are going to be some people watching WSU for the first time. They put over the Spirit championship and what it means to the former champ Jana who was doing the commentary. Adams worked a very strong heel style and Marti bumped like crazy for her. Watching Adams reminds me of watching an 80’s old school heel, like how every inch of that thing is a weapon for her. I thought this was a good match to add credibility to Adams. Plus we had the build-up with Ezavel Sueña.
Lexxus vs. Alicia vs. Jessicka Havok
This is Lexxus’ big chance as a main eventer. Alicia is the icon of WSU so I can see how she figured prominently in this match. And then there’s Jessicka freakin’ Havok. She is the best female wrestler not currently signed to the big two, and arguably the best wrestler, male or female, not currently signed to the big two. The commentary helped put this match in perspective nicely. There were some pretty cool spots. It just didn’t quite click for me like I thought it should. I wonder if it’s that I knew there was no way Havok was losing here. But they made Lexxus look like she belonged in the top spot. And Alicia served to take the pin so they can do Lexxus-Havok in the future. Lexxus-Havok is not done, and I think there was enough here to establish Lexxus as a credible contender.
We ended with Sammy G offering her services to Jessie Brooks, which I think is great.
All in all… I followed the company before the new ownership and am somewhat of a WSU mark so this was quite interesting for me.
1. There was SUCH an emphasis on the wrestling in this show. There wasn’t as much “garbage” and insultingly bad gimmicks. Wrestling mattered here.
2. Production values were so much better than the old WSU. I could hear the announcers. It just looked night and day with the difference.
3. I’d like to hear some consistency in the commentary. I’d like to hear a permanent person in color commentary, like a lady who’s given everything for the industry, like an Amy Lee or Cindy Rogers. Alicia’s a company icon; maybe she’d fit well in the role.
If you have never seen women’s wrestling, this is a really good DVD to start off with. LuFisto-Martinez is worth seeing for any wrestling fan. Kay/Stephie was a tag wrestling clinic. And something stands out to me about Saturyne. I feel like we are on the cusp of something very special with her. Most everything seemed to click.
Ever wonder what I like to watch this time of year. I know people watch their array of Charlie Brown, Frosty, and Rudolph, but for me, I like things different. So here much like Booker T’s Fav 5 list of the week, here is JT’s All Time Favorite Christmas Movies: (more…)
Welcome friends, it is I, ThinkSoJoE, returning to review the flagship show of the WWE while RYTMAN attends to some family issues. Before I get started, I’d like to send my well wishes to RYTMAN and his family in these trying times. Your job is waiting for you when you get back, bud.
I watch 30 minutes of RAW, leave for work, and avoid spoilers like the plague. Not the character BWF Radio’s Jorge played in the band Dead Before Dawn, the one that killed a bunch of people in the middle ages. Then I watch the show while I’m sitting around doing nothing else of note at work. That’s how ThinkSoJoE’s RAW reviews work.
This week on BWF Radio, an update on the Chris Jericho interview, a preview of next week’s BWF Awards, and much more! We look at RAW, SmackDown, Impact, and other pro wrestling television. We talk Jeff Hardy on Ink Masters, and what his inner thoughts would have consisted of if they were aired on the episode. Tyler Recks has words on twitter about John Cena. The whereabouts of “Harold” from the Bryan/Kane anger management classes is revealed. We ponder who would have a reason to send William Regal death threats. We debate whether or not Undertaker’s streak should ever be broken, and we give you the latest on CM Punk’s condition, including a Tout from Dr. James Andrews. Tune in!
In honor of ThatDamnCC, this entire review will consist of one giant Youtube link to the RAW is War theme song. “Dribbel” for all! Well, maybe not so much. Our resident Kiwi is as bitter as I that the NHL can’t resolve this damn fucking lockout, he’s resumed to hating on Gretzky and denying Hull’s fluke goal. But we’re not here to talk hockey, it’s hopping time or something. I have a terrible head cold. Good times.
Due to technical issues on both ends of the call, the interview with Chris Jericho did not go as planned today. We are working diligently with Jericho’s publicist to reschedule as soon as possible. Stay tuned to our twitter or facebook feeds for updates as they become available.
This week on BWF Radio, it’s the 2012 BWF Awards! Joe, Jorge, JT, and Jee (Screw you and your one letter, G!) discuss the week in pro wrestling, and then give out a number of awards for this year in professional wrestling! Awards include PPV of the Year, Entrance of the Year, Surprise of the Year, Match of the Year, and Wrestler of the Year, and much, much more. Who ran away with the awards this year? Were there any big surprises in this year’s awards? Only one way to find out!