A Jon Moxley tribute

I came across 'The Shield's Final Chapter' in the WWE Network and after watching it, I couldn't help but decide to write about my most favourite member of The Shield: Dean Ambrose!

More popularly known in the Wrestling world today as Jon Moxley!

I'll take you into a journey of how I fell in love with this character. There are 3 important dates in the timeline of me being a fan of Jon Moxley.

18th November  2012. Back then, I was a pure WWE fan who devotedly watched nothing but RAW and Smackdown alone. I had no idea about any of the independent wrestlers or even NXT. So, as I watched the main event of Survivor series 2012 on the said date, I was in for a surprise. Three men debuted on the show and wrecked havoc, causing CM Punk to pin John Cena and retain the title. Those three men were Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. As soon as I saw what they could do, I was instantly captivated.

They called themselves "The Shield" and went on to dish out 'their brand of justice' on the WWE Superstars at that time. Nobody could stop them. John Cena, Randy Orton, The Rock, The Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Triple H, Batista...every single one of them fell prey to this group. They were literally setting WWE on fire.

I started paying attention to each of these three men and I noticed this one guy who got my attention more than the other two. Roman Reigns was the classic WWE guy, the type of wrestler Vince McMahon loves. The dominant powerhouse of the group. Seth Rollins was the best wrestler of them all, with amazing in-ring skills.

And then there was Dean Ambrose, a guy who didn't fit either bill.

But there was something in him that held my gaze. He had a fire and passion in his eyes that enchanted me. Every time, The Shield cut a promo, I was excited to hear what Ambrose had to say because he was basically the best talker among the three. And inside the ring, he was this unorthodox, rabid lunatic of sorts. He wrestled each move as if his life depended on it. While he didn't have Roman's power or Seth's technique, Ambrose still gave his heart and soul into what he did in the ring. It earned my respect.

I considered him the most dangerous member of The Shield. I'll tell you why.

Imagine being locked up in a fight with three hounds. One of them is the biggest. One of them is the fastest and most athletic. The third one is a rabid, mad dog with foam frothing in its mouth. Which dog would you worry about the most? If you ask me, I would be worried about the rabid dog because it was unpredictable. It could cause more damage than the other two combined.

That was the case here. Dean Ambrose was the rabid hound of The Shield. Unpredictable and unhinged.

With that said, I started liking Ambrose during his tenure with The Shield. He was growing on me.

Then came the next phase...

9th June 2014. The previous week, The Shield had imploded. Seth Rollins stabbed his brothers in the back and joined with Triple H and Randy Orton in what could be considered as one of the most heartbreaking moments in recent history.

On June 9th, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose arrived on RAW to address the situation. In that moment, Dean delivered a promo that I consider to be his best in his WWE tenure. The way he casually threatened to "rearrange Seth's face", his expressions and that intense look in his eyes...it was stunning to see him talk like that. As he finished with "...we're going to listen to every word of it and then we're going to beat the hell out of you" and slammed his microphone down, I found myself gripping the edge of my seat.

Because that was not an ordinary promo that you saw on a daily basis. It was one of those killer promos that grip your heart. It didn't sound like a ProWrestler talking at all. Dean Ambrose sounded like a psychopath who had done such stuff before in his life.

Seeing this, I became a big fan of this man. If there's one thing I absolutely love about ProWrestling, it's the characters. Call me 'Old School' but I love the characters a bit more than what they could do in the ring. Of course, in-ring work excites me. But that isn't the only aspect of ProWrestling, in my opinion. That is where Ambrose won my heart!

He was this raving, loyal, lunatic who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted. Dean Ambrose was a guy who loved getting beaten up. He embraced pain and in some cases, he wanted it so badly. Well, this is the guy who walked up to Brock Lesnar and said "Take me to Suplex City, Baby"! There was a level of heart to his character that utterly charmed me. In a way, he reminded me of the hardcore legend Mick Foley.

So, Ambrose became my favourite and I tuned into RAW every week to see what was up with him. I enjoyed his rivalries with Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt. His performance at Royal Rumble 2016 is still one of my favourites. After the hellacious battle with Kevin Owens, he walked into the Rumble match like a man possessed and fought with so much valor until the end where he was eliminated by Triple H.

At this point, I looked into some of his pre-WWE work. Hailing from a really rough childhood with a lot of bullying, lack of parental care and drug issues, this man had been through a lot. Wrestling was a means of an escape for him. He idolized Bret Hart and bought VHS tapes of old WWF shows and watched them for hours. As he said in one of his interviews, ProWrestling saved his life! In many ways, I was able to relate with him on all of these. 

Plus, I realized that he had wrestled really hardcore matches. He had been slammed into tables, glass panes, light tubes and thumbtacks. He had even had his head sawed by a chainsaw of sorts. Jon Moxley had voluntarily been living a life of pain and suffering before he had come to WWE. Not to mention, a huge amount of drug abuse problems that caused him to lose a lot of weight, thereby reducing his chance of entering into WWE earlier than 2011. 

I also came across several of his promos as Jon Moxley. They were jaw dropping. The man talked like a seriously deranged person and many of his hardcore fans actually compared him to the legendary Heath Ledger's version of the Joker. And in some of his promos, I really did see a shade of that!

That's when I realized that the WWE was underutilizing him. Dean Ambrose was just a kid-friendly, watered down version of Jon Moxley. I dearly wanted to see Jon Moxley as a character on live TV.

Because Dean Ambrose's character was spiralling downwards. Dean was being portrayed as a clown. WWE probably didn't know what they had in their hands and decided to play with it like a little kid. But, then again, this is the company that ruined Kane and Big Show on multiple occassions in a similar way.

They made him dress up like teddy bears, cameramen, spoil fellow wrestler's jackets and worry about some plant named "Mitch". Although I found some of those to be entertaining and funny, it just wasn't befitting someone as talented as Jon Moxley. While Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were living their careers with flying colours, Jon Moxley who was as much talented as those two men was being underutilized.

Soon, he was turned into a villain. At least, they could have made him into a psychopathic villain, a role he could pull off with perfection. But they didn't. He was made to look like a clown again. He was forced to do things by Vince McMahon that he didn't want to do.

All this led to his departure from the company. He was booked to lose a lot of matches and they tried to embarrass him on his way out.

And then...

25th May 2019. At All Elite Wrestling's first PPV Double or Nothing, Jon Moxley was reborn! I marked out when I saw him walk through the crowd, the arena erupting in cheers. The character I wanted to see in ProWrestling was brought back, thanks to Cody and all the other AEW guys. I still can't forget the sight of Jon Moxley beating up Kenny Omega that night and standing on top of the set, as if he owned ProWrestling in its entirety.

Ever since, this man has shot up to success. His matches in AEW and NJPW were testament to the fact that WWE severely limited his capabilities. He was giving performances that many of us haven't seen him give before. Before long, he successfully captured AEW World Championship and has been the reigning champion ever since.

I find Jon Moxley's story and his onscreen persona to be inspiring. From a very rough childhood to substance abuse problems to an almost fatal staph infection to several downfalls in his career, this man has faced it all. On screen, he is literally one of the toughest performers in AEW today. He doesn't fear anybody, welcomes pain and loves to bust his butt on a day to day basis for the love of ProWrestling. The most endearing aspect about Jon Moxley is that he isn't the best wrestler in the world today. He isn't perfect. In many ways, he is flawed. But he has made it so far in the industry purely based on his passion and heart.

In many ways, he is a kind of modern day Mick Foley!

I would even say Jon Moxley is my spirit animal sometimes. The fact that he has grown accustomed to pain and is willing to endure it absolutely fascinates me and I wish to embody that element in my life.

You know how much I like to quote people. So, I'll end this with a quote by Jon Moxley. It is from one of his best promos ever and it paints a perfect picture of his entire onscreen character.

"I like it when I feel blood pouring out of my head and I hear it hit the canvas with the sound blood makes when it hits the canvas. I like to feel my fingernails digging into the forehead of somebody else. I like to feel when it hurts a little bit. I like to go to bars and bang really ugly girls. I'm just a sick guy...a really dirty guy!"

Wrestlemania 36 Night Two- A Review

So, Night Two of Wrestlemania 36 took place several hours ago and here's the review of it.

As I said, I watched this show with very less expectations, after suffering some disappointments the previous night.

Let's dive in.

Match #1: Natalya vs Liv Morgan

This was the match on the kick off show. Like the kick off match between Cesaro and Gulak the previous night, this match was a bit short. They trade holds and exchange some near falls early on in the match. Nattie dominates Liv for sometime, displaying her veteran experience. Some near falls later, Liv picks up the victory by a roll up, upsetting Natalya.

Again, a good short match which could have been better, given the talents of these two competitors.

Wrestlemania 36 Night Two officially starts and we're shown the same intro video package we were shown yesterday. My opinion on it still remains the same. 

We proceed to the next match.

Match #2: Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley (c) for the NXT Women's championship

Both are my favourite wrestlers on the roster today and they didn't disappoint. Charlotte and Rhea engaged in a very physical match-up that easily outshone the performance of Becky-Shayna the previous night. They were both evenly matched in some ways. At no point did I get the feeling that Rhea was just a rookie facing off against a top star like Charlotte. She gave an impressive showing and this will be remembered as one the best matches in her career on the Grandest Stage. It is a good thing for Ripley.

Charlotte, as usual, showed shades of her daddy in her performance and put up a good match. Although I found the execution of some moves to be sloppy, this was really good. In the end, they executed some submission moves on each other with Charlotte picking up the win with the Figure 8 and becoming the new NXT Women's champion.

Charlotte seems to be building a career where she's drowning in gold. I agree with people when they say she's being over-pushed. But, I still can't find it in myself to hate her because I'm a huge fan of what she can do in the ring. Hopefully, Charlotte being back in NXT is just the thing the division needs.

Anyway, this match really satisfied me and put a smile on my face. 

 Match #3: Aleister Black vs Bobby Lashley

As I expected, Bobby tried to dominate Black with his power but the latter tried his best to fight back with his admirable striking abilities. Lashley gets the early advantage in the match and Black retaliates later on. What I liked about this match was the fine execution of the moves. It was really gratifying to watch.

As Lashley for going to put Black away for good, Lana screams at him to hit a spear on Black. Lashley listens to his on-screen wife and goes for a spear, only to run into a Black Mass. Aleister Black picks up the victory.

There was nothing special or "Wrestlemania worthy" about this match but it was a quality one.  

Match #4: Dolph Ziggler vs Otis

After a long time, WWE has managed to carve up a romantic storyline that is actually enjoyable. Otis and Ziggler have been entertaining us on Smackdown with this storyline. The recent reveal on Smackdown by the unknown "Truth stranger" as I call him (bad name, bear with me!) made this pretty interesting. The match was a decent one too.

Otis showed a bit of aggression on Dolph but the latter tries to wear him down with his skill. We reach the point where Sonya distracts the referee allowing Ziggler to go low on Otis. This leads to Mandy Rose interfering (obviously!) who slaps Sonya and low blows Ziggler when the referee wasn't watching. Otis hits the caterpillar and wins this one. 

Otis and Mandy unite and they share a kiss. I'm sure the crowd would have loved it, had they been there!

I'm interested to see where this one goes from here...

Match #5 Edge vs Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match

This rivalry has been carrying RAW on its shoulders since Royal Rumble. Edge and Orton have dished out a phenomenal feud that would be remembered for ages. And this match was a testimonial to how wonderful storytellers these two performers are.

Orton, disguised as a cameraman, hits an RKO before the match even starts. They then begin brawling in the gym, backstage area, office area and even a storage facility of sorts. They're both aggressive and this was a very physical match. Their supposed on-screen hatred for each other and the personal nature of their rivalry bled into this match and made it worth watching. 

However, there weren't many jaw opening spots during most of the match-up. They were just brawling. But as we reach the end, Edge dived off from a height onto Orton on a table. The latter then DDTed Edge on top of a pickup truck. Then, things got even more riveting as Orton goes for the punt kick but Edge spears him. He goes for another spear but this time, it's countered by an RKO. Orton then goes for the Con-Chair-To on Edge but gets stopped. Edge, then tearfully, with so much emotion in his eyes, hits Con-Chair-To on Randy Orton which earns him the victory.

The final moments were just magic! 

Match #6 Street Profits (c) vs Angel Garza and Austin Theory for RAW Tag Team Championships

Profits get the first bite and get fired up but then the heels manage to gain control. This was a very energetic match from the start to the end. Garza hit a beautiful moonsault that I absolutely loved watching. 

Street Profits secured the victory and retained their titles. But they get beat down by the heels following the match. Vega gets involved too. And in response, guess who shows up? The EST of NXT, Bianca Belair! She makes the save and Street Profits stand tall with Belair on their shoulders.

The crowd would probably have popped big for Belair's entry. We missed that. Hopefully, this is Bianca's debut on the main roster. More importantly, I hope they don't screw her booking like they did with many of the previous NXT call ups because I love Bianca Belair a lot!

Match #7: Sasha Banks vs Bayley (c) vs Naomi vs Lacey Evans vs Tamina in a Fatal 5 way elimination match for Smackdown Women's championship

I wasn't much interested in this anyway. I didn't enjoy Bayley's heel run till now and that made me lose interest in her matches. But I watched this match, hoping to see a rift between Sasha and Bayley.

As the match starts, everyone goes for Tamina but she powers out. She dominates for sometime but everyone joins forces to eliminate her first. Soon after that, Naomi gets eliminated. Banks and Bayley team up on Lacey for sometime and then Lacey manages to put away Banks, following a miscommunication/disagreement between Bayley and Sasha. Lacey and Bayley wrestle and put up a good show before Banks comes back and helps Bayley retain the title.

Bayley celebrates as Sasha looks on, with a questionable expression on her face.  

The subtle drama between Sasha and Bayley along with Lacey's admirable performance makes this match worth watching.

Match #8: John Cena vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House match

This is probably one of the most unique things that has happened in Wrestlemania history. You can't even call this a match. It was just a pure psychological manipulation of John Cena by Bray Wyatt.

As soon as Cena walks through the door of Firefly fun house, Bray Wyatt takes Cena in a journey into the past where he has to fight with his own demons, with his own former self. We see revisits (or parodies) of John Cena's debut, his Dr. of Thuganomics shtick and so on. In each of them, Cena tries to gain an upper hand but Wyatt simply disappears. Then comes the best part. Wyatt, channeling Eric Bischoff, introduces "Hollywood Hulk Hogan" who turns out to be Cena in NWO shirt playing guitar with the title. (At this point, Vince on commentary goes, "This is such good shit" and that made me laugh my butt off.) Wyatt thus, compares Cena to Hogan who turned into a bad guy when he joined New World Order. Then, we see a revisit of Cena and Wyatt from Wrestlemania 30 and this time Wyatt manages to get Cena to swing at him with a chair, something the latter refused to do six years ago. 

Thus, Cena successfully falls prey to his own demons and swings the chair at Wyatt, hinting a heel turn. At this point, The Fiend appears and squashes John Cena for the victory.

I'm really confused about a lot of things in this match. I don't know if I even understand it completely. Hell, I don't think any of us do. But, the storytelling in this match is way off the charts. Bray Wyatt psychologically manipulated John Cena into fighting his demons and made him lose the fight. That is some kind of psychological mind games I've never seen in WWE in recent memory. 

Although, I wish there had been more wrestling to this, I still appreciate the match. Those who don't understand 'The Fiend' gimmick are hating on this match but a vast majority of hardcore fans are loving this. I'm very eager to see how this goes from here. I'm literally praying John Cena turns heel following this...Please, Vince, make it come true!

Match #9: Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar (c) for WWE Championship

This was a disappointment. This was a bit of a mirror image of Goldberg vs Braun Strowman from the previous night. Brock hits 3 F5s on Drew but couldn't get the job done. McIntyre retaliates with four Claymore kicks and wins this match.

I hate such matches. With Goldberg and Strowman, I didn't care much. Goldberg's career has many matches like that. That's how the guy works! But for Drew and Brock, I expected something better. Remember Brock Lesnar vs Daniel Bryan? Remember Brock vs AJ Styles? That was the type of match I was expecting and instead I was given a Goldberg-esque matchup.

Fine. Atleast, I'm happy we have full time Wrestlers as champions in Drew and Braun! Congratulations to both of them. Again, I wish there had been an audience to make this moment more special for them.

Conclusion

First, I respect the fact that WWE gave us Wrestlemania. They could have postponed it or cancelled it like many sporting events. But they decided to go forward. By doing so, they were taking a risk. A big one. So, I respect their courage to go ahead, do something like this and give the fans a show. Thank You WWE!

And, the show turned out to be pretty good. 

This wasn't one of the best Wrestlemanias ever. It certainly doesn't deserve that honor. But it is definitely the most unique Wrestlemania I've watched. Putting on a show without people, last minute changes to the line-up, cinematic match of AJ-Taker and pyschological exhibition of Cena-Fiend have made this Wrestlemania unique to me.

I agree, some matches could have been better. Some endings could have been better. But the other matches made up for those flaws.

Wrestlemania 36 Night One- A Review

Here we are, witnessing the 36th Annual Wrestlemania event! For a ProWrestling fan, Wrestlemania weekend is the best weekend of the year. Whether the show lives up to our expectations or not, we still find ourselves excited for it.  

For all intents and purposes, this is a different Wrestlemania compared to all the other events before it. Because of all the COVID-19 scare, there has been a lot of uncertainty around this event. The Big Dog Roman Reigns has pulled out of the event stating his immuno-compromised health. His massively promoted match with Goldberg has been affected and Braun Strowman has been scheduled to take his place. Major stars like The Miz and Rey Mysterio have been forced to isolate themselves because they fell sick. The United States champion Andrade has been sidelined due to a rib injury. Thus, storylines have been affected, promotions have been spoiled and so on. 

Worse than all that, the show is taking place in the WWE Performance Center with no audience! Can you imagine Wrestlemania without the people? 

Amidst all this, WWE has decided to go ahead with Wrestlemania instead of postponing it. That is a questionable decision and I still don't know if that was the right thing to do on their part. A part of me even wondered if this year's event is worth watching. Man, half the card has just been thrown together in the last minute without proper storylines or builds. 

But, the hell with it, it's Wrestlemania and I decided to watch it. 

Here's my review of the matches that took place on Night One. 

Match #1: Drew Gulak vs. Cesaro

This match took place on the Kickoff show. Gulak tried to take down Cesaro with his technical prowess but the Swiss Superman showed amazing display of his power and thwarted his attempts. In the end, Cesaro picked up the victory after an impressive 'airplane spin' move. You gotta watch this match for that. 

My thoughts on this match? Firstly, I expected it to be a clinic. Given the extraordinary talent both these men possess, it was hard not to expect one. But WWE disappointed me in the very first match. Secondly, the match went on for just around 5-6 minutes. Why couldn't it have gone longer? The fans would have loved to see these men tear the house down with 15-20 minutes of Wrestling match. I'd take that over Corey Graves-Peter Rosenberg duo's stupid discussions anyway. 

Moving on...

The main show kick-starts and we're shown the intro video. I honestly found the intro to be comical. WWE has tried to make it sound like a "Pirates of the Caribbean" type thing and it just didn't fit. The intro didn't get me hyped up for the event like it is supposed to. (or maybe it was just me!)

Match #2: Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross vs The Kabuki Warriors (c) for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship 

The team of Bliss and Cross take the early advantage. Following which, the match became a little back and forth. As expected, the heels dominated a good portion of the match and all through it, you can see Asuka and Kairi Sane toying with their opponents and mocking them in japanese. It was a bit comical to see.

There were a couple of good spots in the match. Once, Kairi hit a splendid elbow onto Cross as she was pinning Asuka. The same thing repeated when Alexa hit the 'Twisted Bliss' move on Asuka who was pinning Nikki. After some near falls, Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross picked up the win to become the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.

Nikki Cross was solid in this match. Am I a fan of her? No. But she's starting to grow on me. Plus, at last year's Wrestlemania, Nikki got eliminated second in the Women's battle royal. This year, she's winning gold. That's a good Wrestlemania moment for her resume (too bad there was no crowd to make it more special).  

On the whole, a decent match. Let's see how things go forward from here.

Match #3: King Corbin vs Elias 

I'll be honest. I was completely disinterested in this one. Corbin and Elias are two wrestlers that just don't grab my attention. Sure, Elias has a good level of charisma and Corbin can give a good match sometimes. I don't take that away from them. But, they just don't click with me.

Some people consider Corbin to be the best heel on the roster today and that, in my opinion, is a load of waffle. He has a droning voice and at best, he just comes across as a whiny high school bully, not a legitimate bad guy. His interview before this match was the cringiest thing I've seen in recent memory. 

Anyway, Elias wins this uninteresting match with a roll up. I can't help but notice Michael Cole comparing Corbin with John Bradshaw Layfield. Really, Cole? (*sighs*)

Let's move on... I'm yet to get the "Wrestlemania feel" as I like to call it! It just feels like an episode of RAW until now.

Match #4: Becky Lynch(c) vs Shayna Baszler for the RAW Women's Championship

Becky arrives in a truck, something the WWE Creative team probably thinks makes her look like a badass but in reality, it just makes us sigh and facepalm ourselves. Shayna takes the early offence. The match is a bit physical. Both the woman are good in the ring and they manage to keep things interesting. Shayna unpacks some submission moves on Becky but 'The Man' powers her way out of it. At one point, Shayna lifts Becky and gnashes her head in the announce table, like she did on RAW. A few back and forth moves later, Becky rolls up Shayna for the pinfall victory and retains her RAW Women's Championship. 

Again, I expected a better match and a better ending. Given Shayna-Becky's talents and the personal aspect of this rivalry, this match should have gone longer with more physically demanding spots. And second roll up in a single night on Wrestlemania? Nah! That's not my thing.

So, another underwhelming match. 

Match #5: Daniel Bryan vs Sami Zayn (c) for Intercontinental Championship

When this match was first announced, I jumped up in excitement. Because, this match promised to steal the show. Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan, two of the finest competitors on this planet today, going at it for the Intercontinental Championship. What else could I expect?

What did I get? As usual, a huge disappointment. WWE wanted to show Sami as a cowardly heel so badly that they probably forgot that he could put on really good matches. Sami was running away from Bryan or begging him, for 99% of this match. And somehow, suddenly, he hits Bryan with his finisher and gets the victory to retain his championship. 

At this point, I really lost interest in the show. 

But, as they say, the night is darkest just before the dawn...

Match #6: Kofi Kingston vs John Morrison (c) vs Jimmy Uso for Smackdown Tag Team Championship

What do you get if you throw in three of the most athletic guys you have, in a ladder match? That's exactly what we got with this one. A pure entertainer!

John Morrison was absolutely stunning in this match. The guy walked on ropes from one end to another end to deliver a spanish fly on Kofi Kingston. Kofi kept leaping through and to ladders every now and then, keeping this match energetic. Jimmy Uso did his share of athleticism too. That ending was the unique one in ladder match history with Morrison managing to fall off with the titles in his hand. You gotta feel bad for Kofi and Jimmy. They were so close!

Was this one of the best ladder matches ever? Nope, not in my opinion! But it certainly entertained me more than all the previous matches put together. This match was good enough to get me hooked back into the show. 

Match #7: Seth Rollins vs Kevin Owens

Man, oh Man! If the previous match ignited a spark, this one blew it into a fire. As billed, these are two of the best wrestlers of this generation. They were fighting for a deeply personal reason and this was worth a watch.

As always, Owens was the aggressive guy, trying to punish the Monday Night Messiah. At one point, Rollins hits a falcon arrow on Owens on the apron. It was pretty impressive. Following a sequence of moves and counters, Rollins hits Owens with a ring bell and gets himself disqualified. For one brief moment, I was so frustrated that WWE was giving us this. And then, Owens dared Rollins to come back and finish the match, which was now a No Disqualification match. That's when things got more interesting. Rollins hit Owens with chairs and stairs. Kevin Owens responded by diving from the top of Wrestlemania sign onto Rollins on the announce table, which could be probably remembered as his Wrestlemania moment! The match ended with Kevin Owens picking up the big win.

This match kinda portrayed how deeply personal this rivalry was and that was wonderful to watch. These are two of the best in the business!

Match #8: Goldberg (c) vs Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship

I don't care about this match so much that I was waiting for it to get over. Leave it to Goldberg to provide the worst wrestling match of the night! Strowman wins this one and becomes new Universal Champion.

Good luck, Strowman! May WWE book you better from now on.

Match #9: The Undertaker vs AJ Styles in a Boneyard match

WWE can surprise you in really unbelievable ways. I thought this match wouldn't be that great. The Undertaker is 55 years old and he's having a huge list of health problems in his body. This man can't perform to the level that he used to. So, I thought this match won't amount to much. But I was interested in seeing it, mostly because it's a clash between my Favourite Wrestler of all time and my Favourite Wrestler of this generation. Although I had very little hopes for it.

Boy, how wrong was I?! This match stole the entire night! The Phenom and The Phenomenal One delivered an instant classic in terms of storytelling.

This match saw The Undertaker return to his roots as the American Badass gimmick. No queer words, no mind games, no satanic aura...just pure human version of The Undertaker, a man who just wanted to beat down AJ Styles for disrespecting his wife and age. This was pure brawl between the two men. Gallows and Anderson also got involved, only to get their butts handed to them by Taker. In the end, Taker ended up burying AJ Styles and riding off in his motorcycle. 

This whole match didn't take place in a ring. It took place in a graveyard of sorts and it was shot like a movie. So, anybody watching it felt like they were trapped in a weird B-movie from Hollywood. Yet, it was entertaining all the same. The match is being praised on social media by all fans alike. It is quite awe inspiring that Taker pulled this off at this age. As far as AJ is concerned, well, he's called The Phenomenal One for a reason!

That's it for Night One!

Was the entire show good? Hmm, I would say average. If it weren't for Taker vs Styles, the ladder match and Owens vs Rollins, this show would have gone down in history as the worst ever. But, now, it is pretty decent. 

Let's hope Night Two is better! Although, knowing WWE, it is better to watch without expectations...

I'll be back tomorrow with my review of Night Two!

My Perfect dream

I'm a person with an intense obsessive nature. If I like something, it takes over a large portion of my brain. ProWrestling is one such thing. As I already mentioned in a previous post, I love ProWrestling so much that I get weird dreams sometimes.

A couple of days back, I had another one of those dreams and this time...it was too perfect to not talk about it. 

I've already made two posts about who my Top 10 Favorite Wrestlers of all time are. If you've seen them, you'll know that my No.1 Wrestler is The Phenom himself, The Undertaker!

I've been fascinated by his work ever since I started watching ProWrestling. He has had several good matches and some worst matches but I've watched them all with the same excitement. Recently, the man has aged a lot and can barely give amazing matches like he used to. Yet, I watch him every time with a certain level of awe for the star power and in-ring presence he brings to the shows and matches. I respect him a lot. Hypothetically speaking, if I became a ProWrestler in the future, the one guy I would want to have a storyline with would be none other than The Undertaker. 

Let me cut short my monologue and dive right into my dream. It might sound surreal and unusual in many places, but bear with me. That's just the way most dreams are!

There are some aspects of the dream I've forgotten. But most of it is still vivid in my memory...

I was watching a live wrestling match in an arena with my friends. It seemed to be a battle royal match with numerous wrestlers in the ring. There were several of my current favourites such as Kevin Owens, A.J Styles, Seth Rollins and so on. As I was watching them brawl with each other, something happened that made me go crazy. 

The gong sounded! 

For normal human beings, the gong is simply a musical instrument of Asian origin. But for ProWrestling fans, the gong sound implies that the Lord of Darkness is here!

And as soon as I heard the gong, I stood up from my seat, ran past the other fans, jumped over the barricade and slid into the ring where at least 20-25 other wrestlers were brawling. Yeah, I know, overreaction on my part. But this is The Undertaker, dammit! Call me crazy but I would even roll over in mud to get to see him up close. This was one such situation and I had absolutely no control over myself. 

(Now, in real life, if a fan tries to get into the ring, the securities would bodily grab that person and take them away. Even the wrestlers themselves don't appreciate such actions by the fans. But this was my dream. My brain was making up the rules and constructing this imaginative experience for me as I was snoring in my bed. So, in my dream, I ran into the ring and nobody stopped me!)

Just as I slid into the squared circle, The Deadman rose up from underneath the ring in his own macabre way...

The arena was going crazy. I was going crazy. The wrestlers stopped their fighting to see this legend make his entrance. This was the first time I was seeing this man, known for his awe inspiring entrances, do it before my eyes and my heart beat rose up several notches. 

And then the brawling continued. The Undertaker began wrestling with several wrestlers. The fans were chanting for Taker to fight with some of their favourites, hoping to get to witness some dream face-offs. Similarly, I had one of my own. I chanted for Taker to face Kevin Owens. Don't forget, I was still standing in the ring, in a safe corner. So, the wrestlers could very well hear me. Owens, who was probably being a heel at that time, saw me and went "Dude! Really?"

A lot of what happened next has escaped my memory, as dreams usually do. 

But then the show ended. Owens and The Undertaker came up to me and we greeted each other. The fanboy inside me was going to die of too much excitement. I called up my friends to click a picture and they said they'll be there in a minute. 

That's when Taker himself put a hand over my shoulder and said "Let's take a walk" in his deep voice.

Imagine hero-worshipping a character for 11 years and meeting that very character where he puts a hand over your shoulder like you were his best pal and asks you to walk with him. Imagine the exhilaration and elation associated with something like that. I was experiencing that in the dream.

We took a walk along a grassy path. (Now, don't ask me where grass appeared in a Wrestling arena. This is a dream, remember? Kings Cross station seemed shining white and without people when Harry dreamed about it in Deathly Hallows. This works the same way.) 

We were walking and chatting about a lot of topics related to The Undertaker's character, his health and so on. It gave me so much pleasure to know that I wasn't talking to The Undertaker. Instead I was talking to Mark William Callaway himself. 

And the dream ended...

For anyone who has obsessed over someone they considered their hero, you would understand why this dream is perfect. I have no idea if I will ever get to meet this man in person. Given his age and list of injuries, there is even a slimmer chance of me getting to see this man wrestle up close in my life. 

But, this dream made it all come true.

And for that reason, it is perfect and the wrestling fan in me would never forget it.  

My Top 10 Favourite ProWrestlers of all time- Part Two

This is a continuation of my previous post. I'll be talking about my Top 5 favourite ProWrestlers of all time.

Let's hit the road!

5. Stone Cold Steve Austin

I waited till 3:16 AM to start typing this.

For all the other wrestlers, I used a solo picture of them. But for Austin, I had to use a picture where he stares defiantly into the eyes of Vince McMahon. Because, that precisely sums up everything I love about the "Texas Rattlesnake" Stone Cold Steve Austin!

Bold, brazen, uncouth, rugged...all these words can be used to describe him. He is a person who does what he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it and wherever he wants to do it. If a tyrannical jerk of a boss like Vince McMahon tries to order him around, Stone Cold will take it upon himself to give his boss the finger and make his life a living nightmare. I just described the entire Attitude Era for you, didn't I? Yup, Austin-McMahon rivalry is, in my opinion, the most entertaining rivalry ever and it played a major role in helping WWE win over WCW, thus changing everything forever. So, Stone Cold Steve Austin revolutionized the entire industry.

Also, Austin was an absolute brawler in the ring and a phenomenal mic worker. He invented the "What?!" chants that fans still use to mock wrestlers when they're talking. And as a testimonial to how extraordinary Austin was, just listen to the crowd when his entrance music hits. Nobody gets a thunderous reception like Stone Cold. When he walks into an arena, like Jim Ross used to say, "Business is about to pick up!"

My favourite Steve Austin quote:

"Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16...Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!"

4. Triple H

There's only one word that comes to my head whenever I see Triple H: Tenacity. On-screen and Off-screen, this man has a level of tenacity that I absolutely worship. Having been on the receiving end of a brutal burial after "Curtain call" incident and multiple career threatening injuries, he has always bounced back better than before. That is textbook definition of tenacity right there.

Talking about who Triple H is as a ProWrestler, he's a ruthless brawler who would go to any lengths to win a match. He can be the perfect fan favourite and can make an entire arena cheer for him. Or he could be a sadistic villain who can make even his dearest fans hate him enough to wish death on him. Truth be told, he would go down in history as one of the most hated heels ever. That's how good Triple H was. Criminally underrated is the term that would define his mic work. And his list of achievements is something many wrestlers can only imagine in their wildest dreams.

One another facet I appreciate about Triple H is that the King of Kings is a beacon that heralds the future. He has played a role in the creation of top stars like John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. And he still continues his work as a creator of WWE's developmental territory NXT which far outshines the main roster in terms of story telling and wrestling. Thus, the Game has proven that he is an irreplaceable asset for WWE and has been that way for the past two decades. Because, he's that damn good!

My favourite Triple H quote:

"You talk about being students of the game...well, I am the fucking Game, J.R.!"

3. The Rock

Here comes the second biggest star of the Attitude Era, a wrestler with so much charisma and electricity that he could light up an entire city, The People's champ himself...The Rock!

His charisma and mic skills are sky-high. In my eyes, this man is the best talker in WWE history. You could bring up "Cream of the crop" or "tear in my eye" or "cow palace" promos but The Rock is perfectly capable of delivering something similar (without snorting coke). Am I saying that he's better than Flair, Savage or Piper? Hell No. But he can stand toe to toe with them on mic work.

Secondly, he's an outstanding entertainer. From addressing himself in the third person to talking about Stephanie's breasts to shoving things up people's asses to monkey nipples to poontang pies, The Great One is capable of getting even a dead wood to laugh its butt off. He bullies the interviewers and makes an ass-clown out of every one of his opponents, literally burying them with his words. I'm yet to find someone who is capable of doing half of what this man can do. Hell, his eyebrow alone has more personality than many wrestlers today. 

My favourite The Rock quote:

"Now, seeing as The Rock is done with you Chris Benoit, The Rock wants you to take your tongue and stick it through that goofy gap of yours and go lick a Wolverine's anus!"

2. Shawn Michaels

Remember Bret Hart and Kurt Angle? Here's one another guy who is capable of performing to their level. Heck, I'd even say he's above their level. Shawn Michaels is, as Matt Striker said, "The Greatest in-ring competitor in WWE history" and I am one of those guys who believe that. There have been days when I've spent hours and hours watching Shawn Michaels matches because I just venerate his in-ring work.

Because when it comes to big match situations, Shawn can put up a performance that would be talked about for decades after that. If you try to search for some of the best matches in WWE's history books, it would not be complete without this man's name on it. He is capable of selling his opponent's moves and some sensational mic work that Bret Hart can't match up to. I said Kurt Angle is one of the most humorous wrestlers ever, right? Well, before Kurt even entered the company, Shawn Michaels was doing some groundbreaking adult comedy with Triple H as a part of D-Generation X. Additionally, he can be savage at trolling the fans ("Who's your daddy, Montreal?"). Who else has the balls to step in front of a Canadian crowd and pick his nose with the Canadian flag? Well, he did it.  

Call him 'The Show Stopper', 'The Icon', 'The Main Event' or 'Mr.Wrestlemania'...each one of those nicknames fit him perfectly. Sure, he has had behavioural problems back in the 90s. But he changed. He has put over innumerable amounts of younger talent later on in his career. For all that, he's worth respecting.

And if you're not down with that, I've got two words for ya!

My favourite Shawn Michael's quote:

"I'll give you a show like you've never ever seen before. Why? Because I can!"

1. The Undertaker

You must probably have guessed this. Yes, The Phenom is my most favourite ProWrestler of all time. There are tons of reasons as to why I love this guy. No, love isn't the word for it. I worship and idolize him. If I start talking about all the reasons for me idolizing The Undertaker, I may need a separate blog post altogether. So, for now, I'll just state three summarized reasons. 

First, his character! For all intents and purposes, this character is completely ridiculous from a modern day perspective. A supernatural character that comes back from the dead, shoots lightning with his hands and takes people's "souls"? Unrealistic. But what then makes ProWrestling fans love The Undertaker? Why then has this gimmick been popular for 30 years while so many similar gimmicks in 90s barely lasted a few weeks? The reason is not because people believe in his satanic character. The reason is that Mark William Callaway has managed to perform the role of The Undertaker in a stellar way and captured the hearts of fans, both young and old, for 30 years. Nobody except him could ever perform such a feat and uphold such a different character. That's an untouchable fact!

Second, his work. The Undertaker has faced all the big names in ProWrestling. From Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to every wrestler on this list, The Undertaker has had a wonderful rivalry with each of them, having provided some sensational matches in history. That in itself is a master stroke! In the ring, he is a dominant powerhouse. One of the best "big man" to ever do this! On the microphone, The Lord of Darkness is a man of few words but when he does talk, he leaves the fans hanging onto every word he says. That is rare. And given the longevity of his career, all this is no ordinary feat.

Third, his dedication. The Undertaker has been with WWE throughout its highs and lows. He's been the cornerstone of all eras...Golden Era, The Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression Era, PG Era and whatever era we're in right now. That shows his dedication to the business. 

Conclusively, I believe that The Undertaker is the embodiment of all things I love about ProWrestling. The in-ring work, the aura, the drama, stories, entertainment, personality...this man brings it all to the table. Like Triple H once said, "He is the benchmark of what this business is about!"

My favourite Undertaker quote:

"The spirit of The Undertaker lives in the souls of all mankind."    

My Top 10 Favourite ProWrestlers of all time- Part One

I've talked about my love for ProWrestling and about the first match I watched. So, it is just kind of mandatory that I talk about My Top 10 Favourite ProWrestlers of all time.

Now, I have a certain amount of respect for every wrestler that has ever stepped foot inside the squared circle. It takes a level of grit and passion to decide to do this for life and it is worth respecting. So, even if I don't like them that much (*cough* Goldberg *cough*), I have respect for them. To be honest, I like a lot of wrestlers and I appreciate little things about many of their work. I would really like to write about everyone but then this would become as much uninteresting as Roman Reigns's 'beanstalk' promo. Hence, I decided to write about just ten of them. My Top 10.

Here's the first part of it... 

NOTE: These are just my Top 10 Favourite Wrestlers, purely my personal opinion. I'm not stating that they are THE Top 10 Greatest Wrestlers of all time. I've not watched that much ProWrestling to make such a claim yet. So, these are just the ones who made me fall in love with ProWrestling. Plus, most of these wrestlers are from WWE because I grew up a WWE fan before I was introduced to AEW, New Japan and so on.

So, let's begin...

Honourable Mention: Mick Foley

I have not studied Mick Foley's career as much as I have followed the careers of the rest of the wrestlers on this list. There are still many things I do not yet know about this man. But I think he deserves a honourable mention on this list. The reason is because Mick Foley taught me that there are human beings in this world who are literally willing to destroy and decimate themselves for something that they love. Mick Foley loves ProWrestling and he's willing to experience any amount of pain to entertain the fans. 

Foley is a wrestler whose career defining moments aren't winning championships, or defeating top wrestlers in big match-ups. Instead, his career defining moments are those where he went to great lengths to destroy himself for the fans. He has crashed down from great heights, been speared into a flaming table, torn his right ear off his head, broken/dislocated his bones, had his skin ripped apart by barbed wire, got his skull crushed by repeated steel chair shots and so on. As if these weren't enough to justify his enormous passion for the business, Mick Foley is a wonderful entertainer in a more broader sense. He has had three different wrestling gimmicks which are Cactus Jack, Dude Love and Mankind. He played all three roles with stupendous perfection which many wrestlers could only dream of doing. Foley could talk on the mic like a method actor and has had amazing, thrilling matches with many of the wrestlers on this list. For these reasons, this "Hardcore Legend" has a special place in my heart, for mesmerizing me with his love and passion for ProWrestling. BANG BANG!

My favourite Mick Foley quote: 

"The name 'Hardcore' signified that I had an attitude that meant I was going to go above and beyond what it took to give the fans the greatest show possible..."

10. Edge

If you are a fan of ProWrestling and you want to become a successful ProWrestler in the future, take this man as your inspiration. Edge was like us, an ardent wrestling fan. With a single mother to take care of, Edge shed every bit of sweat, blood and tears he had to make it in the WWE. For that, he'll always be an inspiration to all of us Wrestling fans.

But that is not the only reason he's on this list. Edge is practically one of the best all-round performers in the history of WWE. Mostly, he is a natural at being the heel, a villain. He can make us hate him with every fibre of our being and that is something many modern day heels in WWE lack. The Rated R Superstar is also known for his ladder matches and romantic storylines (Hello Lita!). Quite honestly, for any WWE fan that started watching after 2005, their day doesn't feel complete until they watch The Ultimate Opportunist go to the corner, pull his hair back with a crazed look in his eye and hit that stunning spear on his opponent. 

On a side note, I think Edge has the coolest hairstyle and entrance music of 21st Century in ProWrestling. Plus, it takes a certain amount of passion to work hard and come back from a career ending injury so that you can end your career on your terms. Edge has done that. So, he just reeks of awesomeness! 

My favourite Edge quote:      

"I've always lived by the motto, find something you love and do it. And I did. Now I'm a Hall of Famer!"

9. Chris Jericho

For any fan who has enjoyed the Attitude Era, Y2J Chris Jericho would certainly be on their Top 10 list. Frankly speaking, it is hard to find another wrestler in the world who is capable of doing what Jericho has been doing for the past 25-30 years. He is such an interesting blend of a ProWrestler and a Sports Entertainer. 

Jericho has faced most wrestlers on this list and has had noteworthy matches with each of them. He has reinvented himself multiple times over the past two decades in a breathtaking manner. Just when you think he can't get more creative, he amazes you. This man could get a drink and a list popular with the fans, he could cut promos on a freaking drone, he could invent catchphrases and wrestling holds on the go...etc. He's even doing all that at 49 years old, something many wrestlers can't even do in their youth and prime. 

Notably, the Ayatollah of Rock n Rollah is literally a God on the microphone. He can play the audience with his mere words and get the reaction that is required. A finest example would be his debut. You could see that the crowd that reacted with deafening cheers on seeing him was booing him badly at the end of the segment. That's how powerfully he controlled them.

In the ring, Chris Jericho is on another level altogether. The record setting nine time Intercontinental Champion is one of the finest in-ring performers ever. Just like many fans boldly proclaim, Le Champion is certainly one of the Greatest Of All Time!

My favourite Chris Jericho quote:

"..I'm the best in the world at what I do; I prove it, I claim it, I AM it... every single night!"

8. John Cena

Ouch! How could I place John Cena on a list above Chris Jericho and Edge? That's as blasphemous as Kane tombstoning a Priest, right? You must be wondering how old I am.

Hold your horses, I have my reasons. There are some aspects about John Cena that many of his "critics" fail to realise. First of all, he's not as bad a wrestler as some of you all make him sound. Second of all, John Cena is one of the most charismatic superstars in the history of WWE. He literally carried the company on his shoulders, especially after many legends retired (or became part-timers). He is astounding on the microphone and from what I've noticed, Cena can even revive a dead crowd and get them fired up with just a microphone in hand. It is hard to find that much charisma and verbal talent in a wrestler these days which is why Cena's absence has left a void that is impossible to fill in modern day WWE.

Third of all, in real life, this man has granted most wishes in Make-A-Wish foundation's history. He has been an inspiration to many people, especially kids, dealing with severe health issues. For all that, I respect him and adore him.

And if you still can't respect my opinion, bruh, You can't see me!

My favourite John Cena quote:

"I get more done in a day than you do in a career and I never never talk about what I deserve or how many critics I got; I just earn every day and shut every mouth!"

7. Bret Hart

A vast majority of 90s Wrestling fans would have this guy on their Top 10 list. Bret 'The Hitman' Hart was simply a human wrestling thunderstorm that took over WWE (back then, it was called WWF) in the late 80s and continued well into the 90s. 

Born into the famous Hart Dynasty, wrestling flowed in Bret Hart's blood. Having trained since he was nine years old, he was such a natural in the ring. There was a fluidity to his moves and maneuvers that earned him the moniker "The Excellence of Execution". Different wrestlers taught me to appreciate different aspects about ProWrestling and Bret Hart was among the ones that taught me about in-ring work. His wrestling ability is the sole reason why he's on my list. Because there are literally very few wrestlers who can hold a candle to what this man can perform in a ring. No wonder he called himself "The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be"!

I'm so huge a fan of Bret Hart that I sometimes wish I was one of those kids he put his sunglasses on before entering the ring. 

My favourite Bret Hart quote:

"I dedicate this moment to all the people that believe that the biggest dreams can still come true."

6. Kurt Angle

I talked about Bret Hart, didn't I? I'll go into Masterchef mode and ask you to take several spoonfuls of Bret Hart's wrestling ability. Now, add a spoonful each of intensity, integrity and intelligence to it. Then add a whole bowl of humor and attitude and Boom! You get Kurt freaking Angle!

I'll just say one thing about his wrestling ability: He won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1996 with a broken freaking neck! I think that pretty much sums up how gifted he is in the ring. There are a myriad of amazing matches that Kurt has had, in WWE, TNA, ECW, NJPW and the indies. As far as his gimmick or persona goes, he is, hands down, one of the most humorous wrestlers to ever step foot in WWE. He's been the butt of so many jokes and has entertained us all with his funny shticks, be it drinking milk or rap battles with John Cena or remaking Shawn Michaels's entrance music. Ofcourse, who can forget him singing "Jimmy Crack Corn" to cheer up Vince McMahon only to have his guitar snatched away by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Sometimes, his mere facial expressions are enough to crack us up.

If needed, he can also be the ruthless "wrestling machine" who likes to break wrestler's ankles with his ankle lock submission move. Hell, he's the only wrestler to have made The Undertaker and John Cena tap out. And he could perform some stunning moonsaults when required. If all that ain't a big deal, I don't know what is. This man is one of a kind. Oh, it's true! It's damn true!

My favourite Kurt Angle quote:

"I'm just a sexy Kurt! I'll make your ankle hurt" (sing along)

To be continued...