WWE Big 3: Lorcan, Gallagher, Gulak 9/15 - 9/21

Clash of the Champions 9/15

Drew Gulak vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado

ER: Fun match with typical problems that curse three ways. I don't know why Lince was added to the match, but I would have been far more interested in Gulak vs. Carrillo or Gulak vs. Dorado. But we got a three way instead, and it had awkward three way moments where timing was off or someone accidentally kinda took a move instead of dodging it, and of course disappearing for minutes. But it was genuinely fun, in spite of those accurate complaints. Dorado had a cool pescado with his arms at his side, following it up with a slick rana to Gulak on the floor, and then turns a potential silly hot shot bump into a dangerous tumble to the floor. I like Gulak against lucha guys, like how he can make flippy offense seem legit, and Carrillo is someone who tries a lot of things even if they don't always work flush. They try a wild tower spot with a Doomsday Device dive to the floor, I enjoyed the moment where Gulak got his feet up on Carrillo's moonsault but Carrillo anticipated it, Carrillo takes a great posting bump, Gulak breaks out cool things like a gutbuster, and then some other things don't work. But it was a fun opener on a PPV pre-show.


205 Live 9/17

Jack Gallagher vs. Brian Kendrick

ER: This is the cruel opposite of what we've been getting from 205 Live. We've been getting 20 minute matches from guys who I don't want to see go 20, but that's way better than this. This was 2 really great minutes followed by a dead ass ending that got no reaction from the crowd. I mean, the 2 minutes of awesome action they gave us got no reaction either, but fans are idiots fuck 'em. I'd love to see these two work a Bloodsport match. If Kendrick ever gets released (fyi I'm really glad Kendrick has been cashing a nice WWE check for a few years now, he's earned it) he'd be a cool out of the box guy to have on some cards. He and Gallagher on the mat just made me want to see more of that and made me made we got deprived of it. Gallagher doing his recline while trapping Kendrick's arms, and Kendrick escaping by hooking Gallagher's calf. There standing exchanges were really cool and I thought the work around the apron on the floor was slick. Kendrick finds cool ways of getting into position for offense, really approaches moves and takes moves from cool angles. He and Gallagher clearly have a series of classics in them, and I hope they get the platform to have them. Also, I realize I have not watched a single bit of their 2017/2018 205 Live output teaming with each other, or opposite each other. I'm going to change that.

PAS: This was fun while it lasted, although it didn't last long. We had the opening couple of minutes of a great match, with Gallagher using a bunch of tricky WOS to frustrate Kendrick, and Kendrick getting more and more agitated. Kendrick has a really great wiry junky energy, I could totally see him as a guy in a Abel Ferrara movie who pulls out a straight razor in the middle of a bar. Finish was blah, I grew up on the Sandman, if you are going to clean someones clock with a Kendo stick, make sure that clock is clean.

Oney Lorcan vs. Tony Nese

PAS: I certainly prefer brawling heel Tony Nese to athletic combo babyface Tony Nese, but I would really prefer anyone else to be getting his airtime. Nese is a good bumper, so the highlights of this match were Lorcan beating on him and making him bump, there is a great spot where Oney tosses him into the barricade and Nese lands kidneys first into the top of the barricade and flies into the crowd,  Tony also took a big bump to the floor after an uppercut. It is when he is on offense that it gets more problematic.  His punches and stomps look so bad that it is hard to buy him holding his own in a fight with Lorcan. He also does of couple of his signature do-si-do reversal sequences. Pissed off Lorcan is great, and overall makes this match pretty enjoyable, but goodness elevate someone, anyone else to the long main event matches.

ER: Man Tony Nese has been the scourge of this project. He's a pest and he just will not go away. If he has to exist, why does he have to exist in this close proximity to all of the guys we set out to watch? We've already been forced to write up seven Tony Nese matches this year because of this project! You guys are now reading your seventh Tony Nese joint review instead of whatever seven matches we would have reviewed instead. Think of what seven matches you'd absolutely LOVE to have us review, and now think of how we've instead written about seven Tony Nese matches.

That said, I liked this match, and while I don't like Tony Nese I like this version more than his other forms. Lorcan was obviously the star, but Nese filled in his share. Totally agree with Phil about his punches and stomps, but at least here he was doing delayed one armed vertical suplexes, working a body vice, grabbing a rear waistlock as an offense, that kind of stuff is Tony Nese offense that I like. And he is a good bumper, a guy who when he misses has no problem missing big. His missed Asai moonsault looked really painful, and I loved the match long contest between the two of them to see who could take crazier bumps into the barricade. Nese is brave about flying into Lorcan's offense, and Lorcan is someone who will fly into his own offense. His running elbows and uppercuts and body as weapon abandon is fun against someone who leans in and bumps big. I wrote a paragraph grousing about watching so many Tony Nese matches by choice, but I actually quite liked this one.

NXT 9/18

20. Oney Lorcan vs. Lio Rush

ER: I thought this ruled, with a super fast start and a ton of neat moments peppered throughout. Lio came off more interesting than most of the 205 Live juniors, and Lorcan looked like a guy who needs to be slotted much higher on the roster. Rush was a perfect Lorcan opponent, leaning into his strikes, bumping uniquely for his big shots, and firing back with actual interesting cruiser offense. Rush gets demolished by Lorcan's charging uppercuts and whips his body to the mat for the blockbuster, but soon after he's hitting three straight suicide dives that I guarantee hit harder and looked better than whatever Seth Rollins' three best dives this year have been. This felt like one of the best uses of the suicide dives trio, as they hit flush and I dug how Lorcan sold them. This felt almost like an updated Psicosis/Rey match, the way Lorcan would fling Rush around (look at that gutwrench powerbomb!) and even simple things Lorcan would do like bodyslams would look devastating with Rush taking them. I was super impressed by Rush's body control in this match, felt closer to Low-Ki movements than most guys are capable of. Rush getting whipped into the corner and winding up half out of the ring/half tied up in the ropes was awesome, and it lead to a Lorcan uppercut that looked even cooler with Rush recoiling in the ropes.  Lorcan kept getting meaner, and that STF choke was real nasty, good enough that I would have bought it as a finish, and before long he's grabbing Rush right by the jaw and slapping him. Rush is fast enough to snap off cruiser offense that looks less mapped off than others doing the same, like his cool bottom rope rebound cutter or the fluidity of his one-man Spanish Fly; plenty of other juniors use those moves, but few looked as good as Rush, and it's possible that some of that is because Lorcan is great at taking quick offense. The Spanish Fly transition was unexpected and came at a cool moment, really stopping Lorcan's freight train in its tracks, and it's among the best the spot has looked. I was hoping the match would keep going, not because it ended abruptly, but because I was loving how they worked together so much. To my knowledge they've never matched up together before, and they nailed it on the first shot. Not to mention, this was Rush's first match back in 6 months, and how could you possibly have a better reintroduction than this?

PAS: When I read Eric's review, I went and checked Cagematch, I figured they must have run across each other in CZW, but outside of a house show NXT tag this was a first time matchup. It really felt like a totally polished touring feud, just awesome chemistry. Rush is super flexible, and Lorcan is very willing to twist his body in horrific ways (those may have been the most violent looking single leg crabs I can remember seeing). Loved the way this match was paced, with a crazy opening couple of minutes, some dips in pace, and a big wild finish. They really knew how to work the timing. Rush has real explosiveness which is rare, he hits spots that might look lame normally (think about how bad Gary Jay's multiple tope's look, or most standing Spanish Fly's), but snaps them off with such speed and force that they look awesome. The WWE house style is still toned down enough that we don't have to worry about Rush no selling piledrivers off ladders, so I am excited to see what he can do with that fear removed. This was great, and I am amped for Rush vs. Gulak.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST