The Wrestling Examiner

WWE's last PPV of the year, TLC, took place last Sunday. The build-up to the event was less than stellar and was coupled with low Raw ratings. Thus, not a lot of fans were pumped up about the event. But WWE can surprise us every now and then, and it sure did on Sunday. TLC was a great show with a lot of action that could very well change the course of action for WWE. In this article, we're going to break down every single match and how the angle will play out in time to come. We'll also tie in what happened with Raw this week (which was a great episode by the way). Let's get started. Pre-Show: Sasha Banks (w/ Team B.A.D.) def. Becky Lynch- A lot of fans probably forgot, but these two had an absolutely excellent match earlier this year. This effort was not as epic, but it was still a good match. It seems obvious that Sasha is being thrown into meaningless feuds and matches right now just to occupy her until she faces a heel Charlotte for the Divas title at 'Mania ...

The most recent episode of Raw was pretty good, but definitely not great. It advanced storylines and had some good matches and segments, so it was definitely much better than some awful episodes over the last year. As we draw closer and closer to the four-hour extravaganza that is SummerSlam , WWE will need to hype it up even more. Since there are only 7 matches announced for the show so far (and no pre-show match), expect a couple of matches to be announced over the next couple of weeks. After all, there is only one more Raw left before the PPV. In this article, we’re not going to review Raw, just simply examine 10 things that happened on Raw and see whether or not they worked and what will possibly result from it. Let’s get started. 10. Orton vs. Sheamus All but Set for Brooklyn On Raw, Sheamus interfered in Orton’s championship match with Seth Rollins, giving Orton the win but not the belt. Then, when Sheamus attempted to cash in on the vulnerable champion, Orton took ...

Two nights ago, WWE fans saw the return of one of the most brutal structures in WWE history: the Elimination Chamber. The Chamber is a monstrosity: it weighs over 10 tons and has over 2 miles of chains. Some of the greatest WWE superstars in history (such as The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Chris Jericho, Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Big Show) have done battle inside the structure. When the annual Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was replaced with Fastlane, many fans were disappointed. Fortunately for them, the Chamber has returned. The event as a whole has been touted as a massive success. In fact, it's being touted by many as the second-best PPV of the year (behind only WrestleMania). I don't know if I would agree with that, but the show was definitely a huge hit. There were a number of good matches with some awesome moments. Rather than reviewing each segment of the night, we're going to bring back an old segment: Stars of the Night. I have...

Now that WrestleMania 31 has come and gone, we have the rest of the year to look forward to. There's a lot to look forward to, including the return of Brock Lesnar and the eventual call-up of some of NXT's best and brightest stars. The first PPV of the post-Mania stretch is Extreme Rules . This PPV typically tends to be pretty good and feature some exciting matches and storylines. Last year, Daniel Bryan had his first-ever (and only) WWE World Heavyweight Championship title defense against Kane in an Extreme Rules Match and The Shield battled Evolution in one of the best six-man tag matches of the year. In 2013, all three members of The Shield walked away with gold while Brock Lesnar and Triple H did battle inside of a steel cage. The year before that, Brock Lesnar made his in-ring return in a bloody brawl against John Cena and Sheamus put his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Daniel Bryan in a four-star match. In 2011, we saw three new champions (WWE Champion...

The most recent episode of SmackDown took place last Thursday on April 9th and emanated from Dallas, Texas. It was a pretty good episode, but nothing really special. The main event featured a six-man tag match (it wouldn't be SmackDown without a tag match as the main event) with Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Roman Reigns taking on Big Show, Sheamus, and Bad News Barrett. In this article, we'll be looking at ten specific things on the show that need a little elaboration. They'll be such things as how good the matches were, how well stories are building up, and where the WWE is going to go from here. Let's get started. 10. Dallas liked Roman Reigns- If anything, the crowd in Dallas, Texas proved that Roman Reigns is still a crowd favorite. The crowd was hot for him all evening long. While there is no guarantee that every other future crowd will love him, things are looking up for Roman Reigns. Now that fans know that Reigns is not being unconditionally shoved down th...

Not all wrestlers can be a big star. For every Triple H, Shawn Michaels, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, John Cena, and Chris Jericho, there's a Trent Barreta, Caylen Croft, Jacob Novak, Lucky Cannon, and Percy Watson. Most stars who sign with the WWE will never reach the top echelon, try as they might. However, it doesn't mean that the other stars can't get anywhere either. Why should they be stuck in creative limbo? Unfortunately, a lot of current superstars are stuck in creative limbo. The creative team just doesn't have anything for them. It's really unfortunate, as these are talented guys and they deserve better. It just feels like the WWE doesn't really care about them. So, in order to combat this problem, I've come up with ways to help boost the careers of ten floundering stars. If the WWE takes some tips from this article (especially the last one), it would definitely help some guys out. Let's get started. 10. Make The Ascension more Po...

Yes, it is WrestleMania 31, not just WrestleMania . Vince McMahon reportedly has stopped naming the annual editions of 'Mania, as he does not want them to seem old. Is 31 years really that old though? Nonetheless, WrestleMania is the year's biggest event in professional wrestling and has an extremely rich history. So many great matches (like "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, and Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon), great performers (Kurt Angle, The Rock, and CM Punk), and great moments (Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant, Brock Lesnar beating The Streak, and Mike Tyson holding up "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's arm) have taken place at 'Mania. For a wrestling fan, it's easily one of the best nights of the year. Add in the fact that the Hall of Fame ceremony takes place the night before, and the whole weekend becomes a huge event. Last year's edition was a truly incredible spectacle: Brock Lesnar broke The Stre...

The first-ever edition of the Fastlane PPV took place yesterday, and while it wasn't a great show, it was still a pretty good show. Many fans were expecting a train wreck of a show, but things worked out pretty well. In this article, we'll identify ten positives from the show and how things will move forward. Let's get started. 10. It's 'Mania Season, and People are Excited- This show was all about getting ready for WrestleMania , and it did just that. People aren't all that big about 'Mania as they were in any of the years before. I think that will change as we get closer and closer to the big day. 9. Barrett vs. Ambrose Continues- In my predictions, I predicted that Ambrose would win this title, as he is a lot hotter than Barrett, who has appeared really weak as of late. However, Barrett won by DQ and was taken out by Ambrose after the bell rang. I'm glad to see this feud continue a little bit, it will make fans tune in to Raw to see Ambrose win t...

The next WWE pay-per-view takes place today in Memphis. This is the first-ever edition of Fastlane, which replaced the Elimination Chamber PPV, which ran from 2010-2014. This is also the last PPV before WrestleMania . There are currently seven matches on the card, four of which are for titles. None are for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, although Paul Heyman is scheduled to appear on MizTV on the pre-show. Let's get started with the predictions. Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose- Remember eight months ago, when Bad News Barrett was one of the hottest superstars on the roster? He was extremely over, was the Intercontinental Champion, and seemed poised for bigger and better things. Now, he's pretty much just a regular midcarder. Dean Ambrose was one of the hottest superstar on the roster just a few months ago. He's still pretty over, and it seems like the WWE is still interested in pushing him. So, it only makes sense for Ambrose to win th...

Last Wednesday night gave us the latest NXT special: NXT TakeOver: Rival. This was the fifth NXT special and the fourth under the TakeOver name. The other TakeOver specials were all instant classics (with matches like Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd, Charlotte vs. Natalya, and Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze). Unfortunately, this one wasn't as good. There were some good matches, and storylines furthered, but this show just wasn't as good as the others. There's no need to panic of course, as the ship will no doubt right itself in time. In the meantime, we're going to break down each match on the card and analyze everything. Let's get started. Pre-Show and Commentary: The pre-show panel featured Renee Young, Corey Graves, Jason Albert, and Byron Saxton. It's a shame Graves will never wrestle again, but he has settled nicely into his commentating role. As a former NXT wrestler, he is able to give good insight on the matches. Young was great as always (though she did sl...

I haven't done a Talking Points segment in a while, so I wanted to do one just to change things up. This is an article I've been meaning to do for a while, for a number of reasons. One: the Intercontinental Championship no longer means as much as it used to do. Remember the days of Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Triple H, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin? Those were the days when the title meant something. Now, even though it's the second-most prestigious title in sports entertainment, it really doesn't feel like it. The IC title was seen as a stepping stone to the World title picture, but those days have passed us by. Two: we don't see a lot of great reigns these days. Think about it: the last great WWE/WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign was CM Punk's 434 day reign from 2011-2013. So what makes a great title reign? It's hard to define exactly, but there are some defining characteristics. One, the title must be a long one. It's ha...

It's January, so that can only mean one thing: it's time to Rumble. The Royal Rumble is my favorite match of the year. Not only does it mark the start of the road to WrestleMania, but the match itself is full of drama and suspense. Think about some of the greatest Rumble moments in history: Kofi Kingston walking on his hands to save himself from elimination in 2012, Shawn Michaels' foot touching the floor in 1995, and John Cena making a surprise return in 2008 to win the match. There is no match in WWE (except for possibly Money in the Bank Ladder matches) that are as exciting as the Rumble. However, there are other matches on the card besides the Rumble match, and in this article we'll preview and predict every match on the card. Let's get started. WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. The Miz and Damien Mizdow- Miz and Mizdow are getting their rematch for the tag titles after losing them a few weeks ago. This should be a fun match especially, with the involvement...