Of course, it is WrestleMania Week and we are now
just days away from WrestleMania XXIX in the NY/NJ area. If you’ve not yet given our latest podcast a
listen, you can link to it directly to the right here from this page or do a
quick search on iTunes and subscribe to it.
Jim and Tom go Head 2 Head in picking the matches for WrestleMania and
give their opinions on the show heading in.
In addition to all of the WWE and WrestleMania buzz
going on, this weekend has grown over the years, beginning really in 2006 as a
spotlight weekend for many wrestling promotions to put on amazing cards and
bring in incredible talents. This,
coupled with the growth and expansion of iPPV in the last year, gives fans an
excellent and diverse opportunity to access many styles of wrestling and
promotions over the weekend. It all
begins tonight, where the PWS “Supershows” are available via
Highspots.com. There is a mix of today’s
top talent and legends. Tomorrow, EVOLVE
19 & Kaiju Big Battle are available via WWNLive.com (Use this link to order
and support Two Spot Monkeys: http://www.wwnlive.com/signup.
We now present what we’re watching for this weekend!
TOM
Unfortunately, I am not going to see all of the
wrestling I would have liked to this weekend, as juggling my desire to watch
baseball and NCAA basketball (Go Tigers and Go Michigan!), so I am limiting my
write-ups to what I will see first hand.
1. #1
Contenders Match: Michael Elgin vs. Jay Lethal, ROH Supercard of Honor VII
~Elgin
vs. Lethal is going to a lot of fun and with a rowdy NYC crowd who will be
pumped for some great wrestling. With
the chance at being #1 Contender on the line, this is going to be that much
more emotionally charged. Steen turned
back both Elgin (last Fall) and Lethal (early March), but by no means is the
chapter on the battles with these two complete.
I could really see it going either way, perhaps even a draw or a no
contest if S.C.U.M. gets involved, which would lead to the ROH World Champion
vs. Elgin vs. Lethal
2. ROH
World Title Match: Kevin Steen (c) vs. Jay Briscoe, ROH Supercard of Honor VII
~Jay
Briscoe is awesome. He is truly a pillar
of Ring of Honor and has been part of some of the most amazing and important
moments in the history of the company.
When he gets the chance to be in a World Title Match, he rises to that
occasion and creates memorable matches with his opponent. If you’ve not seen his bout with Samoa Joe in
a Cage, you must go out and find it. The
fans love Jay and believe in him and that is a HUGE reason why this will be a
must-see match. He’s been on the shelf
with a shoulder injury, but he’ll rise to the occasion and fight through. Couple all of what I stated and add Kevin
Steen into the mix and of course the rowdy NYC crowd and this has the makings
of another incredible ROH World Title Match.
I expect drama, violence, mayhem and most likely bloodshed and I CAN’T
WAIT! I feel like this match is worth
the cost of the iPPV alone.
3. Brian
Kendrick vs. Chuck Taylor, DGUSA Mercury Rising
~Brian
Kendrick (the former Spanky) has returned to the wrestling landscape in a big
way and is really rejuvenated. He’s
taken Taylor to task for his actions and attitude and it comes to this singles
match. I think this could be the sleeper
match of the entire weekend.
4.
Ladders are Legal – High Flyers Fray: AR Fox vs. Uhaa Nation vs. The Young
Bucks of Nick & Matt Jackson vs. Samuray Del Sol vs. Christina Von Eerie
vs. Façade, DGUSA Mercury Rising
~This is
going to be just crazy. The best
high-flyers on the scene today are in DG USA and many on display here – Fox,
Del Sol and Nation all stand out for me.
Add in The Bucks, Von Eerie in a male dominated match and the relatively
unknown Façade. Add ladders as well and
the insanity should just be one crazy spot after another. I hope no one gets seriously hurt in this
match and truly see this as a high risk, high reward match for all involved.
5.
Shingo vs. Akira Tozawa, DGUSA Mercury Rising
~This match will close out
the weekend for all of the shows pre-WrestleMania…and it is incredibly
deserving. Tozawa is an amazing star,
who has used previous WrestleMania weekends to build his star, as well as other
spots during his time in the United States to be somewhat of an iconic figure
across the landscape. Shingo’s path as
well mirrors that of Tozawa’s but occurred about 4 or so years prior and Shingo
was one of the first to help DG USA build their name, with classic bouts with
the likes of Naruki Doi, Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) and Davey Richards
among others. In some ways, it is the
two most impressive, organically-made stars from DG USA of the last 6 years in
a battle of who can be called the best today.
It should be high on athleticism, hard-hitting moves and drama.JIM
1.
SHINGO IS BACK! - DGUSA (both shows)
~I know Tom talked about Shingo coming back, but I am a
HUGE fan of Shingo, have been since he spent time in ROH a number of
years ago so I just have to share my excitement as well. I have been
calling for his return to DGUSA basically since he was gone and I am so
excited that he’s back and in two huge main event bouts, facing Johnny
Gargano on Saturday night for the Open the Freedom Gate Title, and then
the one on one with Akira Tozawa to close out Wrestlecon on Sunday
afternoon. I do think there is a chance he wins the Open the Freedom
Gate Title on Friday night, but only if he’s able to be back more full
time now (which I obviously hope he is). Gargano’s reign has lasted
over 500 days now, and there doesn’t seem to be that “one guy” who will
surely take over the top spot from him at this point, so Shingo would
work quite well. If he does, I expect his match with Tozawa to become
the first defense he has of that title as well. Tozawa would work as a
champ too, so if Shingo isn’t coming in full time, you could hot shot it
two nights in a row to get it to Tozawa, but we shall see. Ultimately,
Shingo is here, and he’s going to be tearing down the house twice this
weekend, and I can’t wait!
2.
Evolve Title Tournament (Evolve 19)
~While I think it’s setup is a bit convoluted
(and that Gabe did things different just to be different), I LOVE
tournaments, and love new champs being crowned, so I’m anxious to see
who walks out of Evolve 19 as the champ. I think the front runners are
Jon Davis, Samuray Del Sol, and AR Fox. Interestingly, I don’t think
Ricochet or Chuck Taylor have a shot in heck, and they are the top 2
seeds!
3.
Who is QT Marshall’s Mystery Partner? - ROH Supercard of Honor VII
~If I had to venture a guess,
I’d say it’s Silas Young. Seems like they want to start using Young
more often, and putting him with Marshall and RD Evans might be a good
idea. I’m also curious to see if perhaps they’ll have Prince Nana show
up and manage Tadarius Thomas and ACH, if only for one night. The
Nana/Evans situation can always be re-started anytime they want. I’d
also expect to see Tomasso Ciampa show up for a cameo as well to keep
that storyline fresh while he continues to recover from his knee injury.
If it isn’t Young that teams with Marshall, I really have no idea who
it could be. I suppose it could be Evans himself. I loved the video
promo where Marshall was asking Evans if it was “Tanahashi, Devitt or
Shelley”, and Evans said “even bigger”...which means it won’t be...
4.
The return of Uhaa Nation - Evolve & DGUSA
~I was starting to really get into Uhaa
Nation last year, and then he got hurt. A huge blow to a guy that it
seemed was right on the cusp of getting a big push. I’m very interested
to see his one on one match on Saturday night with Sami Callihan, and
then as Tom mentioned, his entry in the Ladders Are Legal Fray on
Sunday’s show. He also is scheduled for the Evolve show on Friday in a
yet to be announced role (hopefully a match). I look for big things
from him this weekend as he looks to pick up right where he left off a
year ago and becomes a big star in DGUSA and Evolve!
5.
Who is CIMA’s “Secret Weapon”? - DGUSA (both shows)
~All we know is he’s never been in
Dragon Gate USA before and he’s “really strong”. I think it has been
insinuated that it is someone from Japan as well. I’m definitely
interested to see who this will be and hope they have a good showing.
Teaming with CIMA and the returning EITA (who I was very impressed with
the first time he was over) should give this person a chance to have a
big splash both in the 6 man on Sunday, and the tag match with EITA vs.
The Super Smash Brothers on Saturday’s show. Mystery wrestlers don’t
always pan out to be the “wow” that they can be, but something tells me
whoever this is will be worth waiting to see!
Well, that’s what Tom and Jim are looking forward to this weekend outside of Wrestlemania! Let us know what you are looking forward to! Leave us a comment here, or check us out on Facebook!
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