We’re getting a touch nostalgic this week with two momentous events in wrestling history.
We relive Undertaker and Mankind’s infamous Hell in a Cell match from King of the Ring and CM Punk’s notorious pipebomb segement from Raw. Also, Josh goes off on a tangent about the Ball family and their segment on Raw. That and more from this week with Coast 2 Coast.
1) This has been a pretty nostalgic week for epic moments in WWE. For instance, this week was the 19 year anniversary of the King of the Ring Hell in a Cell match between Mankind and The Undertaker. What do you remember regarding that match?
Corey: I watched that pay per view live with my mom, my brother, and his dad and our entire family watched in awe as those two men beat the living daylights out of each other. To this day there still aren’t very many bumps that can match up to the one of Mankind being thrown off the top of the cell or with him getting choke slammed through the Cell. Taker took a beating as well and most don’t know he had wrestled with a broken foot for that match as well.
Josh: Terrifying. I remember that match being terrifying. Wrestling history will always have the image of Mankind with his tooth hanging out of his nose immortalized in photos, but at the time I had no idea what I was looking at. I don’t think my brain could grasp the concept of a tooth being somewhere other than in my mouth or on the floor.
2) This week also marked the six-year anniversary of the legendary CM Punk pipebomb promo. How do you think it affected the product to this day?
Corey: That promo set in motion for guys like Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and many other indie guys to get a shot in the WWE. Prior to that promo things had gotten pretty stale but Punk literally woke every wrestling fan up with it. I can admit it was the first time since I was a child where I didn’t know if what was happening was planned or if he really did take things into his own hands.
Josh: Ultimately I don’t think it really affected the product. It was the opening salvo to a super hot angle, but really Punk’s run with the WWE Championship following that promo felt like a door getting kicked down for the influx of ‘indie’ talents. It was a great promo, probably one of the best promos that’s ever occurred on Raw, especially for what was a very sleepy time in WWE.
3) This week on Smackdown we saw a redo of the Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match with Carmella still winning. What are your thoughts?
Corey: Like last week I still believe the right person won, but honestly this is how the original match should have ended. Doing a redo like this was very Eric Bischoff-y to me.
Josh: It was fine. Good match, nice way to end Smackdown. The whole thing didn’t make a ton of sense, but I’m willing to give it a pass if Carmella’s run with the briefcase is as entertaining as I’m anticipating it to be.
4) This week we also got the see the Last Woman Standing match between NXT Women’s Champion Asuka and Nikki Cross for the title. What are your thoughts?
Corey: I absolutely loved it! It was amazing. Those two women had an incredibly physical match and gave us multiple holy sh*t moments. Bravo ladies, bravo!
Josh: Amazing! Incredibly physical match with a great finish. I’m totally fine if those two wrestle another 100 matches like the one we saw this past week.
5) Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar have had yet another encounter with Joe looking as strong as ever. Do you think there could be a title change at Great Balls of Fire pay per view?
Corey: Ok for one I would like to say I hate the name of that PPV. Secondly I love how Joe is being built. It’s absolutely amazing but I don’t think there’s any chance if Lesnar dropping the title before SummerSlam.
Josh: No, but I kind of wish they would. SummerSlam seems destined for one of two matches to headline the event, either Lesnar versus Reigns or Lesnar versus Braun Strowman for the title. If Joe comes away from Great Balls of Fire still looking like a monster heel with Lesnar squeaking by a victory then it’s all good. If Lesnar walks over Joe then this past month and a half will sort of feel like a waste.
Additional Notes:
Corey:
– Apparently there was a lot of heat on the Lavar Ball segment due to his son saying the n-word on live cable tv which I definitely understand. WWE doesn’t want any fines but the statement they issued got a side eye from me because I don’t recall them issuing a statement when Vince said it to Cena a few years ago.
Josh:
– Man WWE could not get out of that Ball family segment fast enough. I genuinely feel bad for Miz and Dean Ambrose because that segment derailed in a hurry. It’s one thing to have guests on your show, but this should be a lesson to not give untrained people a live microphone. Between LaVar spitting nonsense and LaMelo … (see Corey’s bit above) … it was just supremely uncomfortable and the LA crowd was not about it. Quick basketball aside: Lonzo Ball better play out of his mind as a Laker because stuff like this before you’ve actually proved yourself in the NBA is a quick way to have a town like LA turn on you and the rest of the league label you as toxic. I wish Lonzo the best (I still hope the Lakers are terrible, Celtics fan all the way here) but it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if in five years the kid is playing in China.
Corey Stewart
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