Author: Saintmort

Survivor Series started off with a tough start right out the gate. For starters it had to follow NXT Takeover which is always going to make things difficult. On top of that the show was very good but mostly forgettable. The matches were fun but most of them didn’t stand out.

This was an issue I was certain was going to occur. While the idea of a champion vs. champion match is fun… a four hour pay per view without any chance of title changes will always cause  the tension to be a little low. Do we really care about the fictional battle between two TV shows? It’s not like the winner of Survivor series was gonna stay on the air and everyone else would be fired. It was a very weird show in that sense.

Before I discuss this match (which was definitely the only stand out in my eyes) I want to draw attention to the main event which really shined a bright light on an overwhelming issue with WWE. The main event’s survivor series match basically involved all the guys who’ve been in the company for well over 10 years eliminating 4/5 of the newer generation wrestlers right out the gate to basically have a bunch of 40 year old men fight it out. It’s a shining example of some of the things that WWE is still doing very wrong. On the plus it set up a few future matches that I’m stoked for, definitively made Braun Strowman a babyface and gave more fuel to Owen/Zayn’s “Land of Opportunity is bullshit” stance. How much Opportunity is there when your final 3 guys are well established superstars from yesterday-year? Anyway I hope they do something with it.

Now to Brock vs. A.J.

At first I thought this match was a disappointment. The A.J. Styles super-fan in me was just frustrated. Here was Brock just manhandling arguably the most over babyface in the company. The announcers even made sure to bring up how much it resembled John Cena getting his ass handled to him at Summerslam. I sat with a knot in my stomach.

Then the tide changed and I realized that it was a brilliant match playing with our past expectations and building a sense of false hope. There was a point where I genuinely thought … “Holy Shit! It’s gonna happen! A.J. is going to beat Brock clean!”

Of course that didn’t happen but that’s not the point. More than any other match last night, this is the match that made me believe. Looking at a few other people’s twitter and Facebook updates, I wasn’t the only one.

The highlight of the match was when Brock was caught in A.J’s Calf Crusher. They teased Brock tapping. Heyman stood on the sidelines looking genuinely concerned that his Beast would tap and then Brock provided the most violent and incredible defense. Brock grabbed A.J’s head and began to lift his head up and down repeatedly smashing the back of his head into the ring until he let go. It was brutal and amazing. When Brock finally got in his F5 for the win the crowd exploded in cheers, not necessarily because they liked the result but because respect deserves respect. The match was fucking baller.

What this also highlights is how amazingly Brock has been booked over the last few years, but most specifically since Wrestlemania. Him and Goldberg put on a much better match than we had any business getting and while people will continuously complain that the champion is never around it doesn’t matter. When Brock IS around, it matters. There has never been a wasted Brock Lesnar appearance in 2017. Every time he’s there, it matters.

Every match Brock has builds this “will this be the one” feeling. Brock has these nail-biter matches. Deep down we all know that he’s most likely going to hold the title until Wrestlemania and then drop it to the Big Dog. At this point we’ve all just come to this realization and begrudgingly accept it, yet every match be it Brawn Strowman or Samoa Joe, we have a split second where we believe just for a second that they’re about to flip the script.

Last night was no exception. If you only watch one Survivor Series match tomorrow, at least check this one out.

It’s Survivor Series Weekend and that seems as good of a time as any to introduce our newest Wrestling blog feature. Match of the Night where Wrestling Fan (and host of multiple podcasts) Matt Kelly discusses the Match of the Night from the previous night of Wrestling. We kick off from NXT Takeover: War Games and the match between Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream.

It’s typically a given that NXT takeover is good. Last night was no exception. As it’s been with Takeover’s of the past, it’s tough to pick a “bad match”. Usually the worst match of the night is still a 3.5 to 4 star match. Last night saw a title change, the crowning of a new NXT Women’s champion and a jaw-dropping War Games match full of great spots, blood, compete destruction and Adam Cole living up to all his hype. However the best match of the night saw Aleister Black defeat the Velveteen Dream.

The build to this match is one of the best in a long time. Black was dope, always. But he really had no solid storyline backing him. He was just a bad ass dude who wrecked house and took names. Then we have Velveteen Dream. He (Patrick Clark) has been in developmental for years and when I saw his world Goldust meets Prince gimmick I didn’t know what to think.

Multiple wrestlers (Ric Flair and Bruce Prichard come to mind) have always stated there is no bad gimmick as long as the wrestler gives it 100%. While I think there are plenty of examples where this is not the case, Clark has really made the Velveteen Dream a great and memorable character.

I was hype for this match, but I had no preparation for how great it would be. Every element of it represented everything I love about wrestling. You have to larger than life characters ripped straight out of a warped comic book, tons of outrageous movements and a compelling story (regardless how silly the story may feel). Even though there were a few awkward moments where moves could have been sold a little better it didn’t distract or affect the overall flow of the match.

The catalyst of the storyline is so dumb it borders on brilliant. Dream just wants Black to say his name. It’s bizarre and stupid but by both performers committing 110% to the bit this silly concept ends up coming off quite dark and at times disturbing. The match is a heavy hitter filled with brilliant moves and hard hits but the highlight was a moment than involved the bare minimum of movement.

Mid-match Black throws Dream from the ring and then charges, however instead of jumping the ropes as you’ve become accustomed to he bounces off the ropes and lands indian style in the ring and just stares at Dream. Instead of attacking, Dream sits Indian style and locks eyes with him. At the end of the match, after winning… Black congratulates Dream and in doing so finally says his name. It’s hard to not think that the eye locking moment was the second that Dream earned Black’s respect.

The match is fun and worth watching but there’s one thing that truly steals the show. Velveteen Dream’s tights. Throwing a total homage to Rick Rude he reveals a pair of tights that have his face airbrushed on the front with his name across the top. It’s everything you need to see to understand the character.

NXT has had a real struggle in the past making the main-roster fans care about their more eccentric characters. Tyler Breeze, Vaudevillians and to an extent Finn Balor have not lived up to the MASSIVE popularity they had in development and I think a large portion can be blamed on the main-roster fans not knowing how to feel about these characters. Velveteen Dream is the first one in a long time that I think will do exactly what he’s supposed to. Patrick Clark still has a lot of a work to do to be main roster ready but if last night was any indication he’s going to be just fine when he gets there.

Casablanca or Citizen Kane?

That’s the great debate among film geeks and historians. Which film is truly the greatest? Each film has it’s own specific merits. Citizen Kane was a game changer for the art of filmmaking. Throughout it’s 2 hour run time Orson Welles broke so many rules and developed countless camera techniques that are still utilized damn near 80 years later. However for me the vote always goes to Casablanca. Today I got to see it on the big screen in a sold out theater. My vote remains the same.

I’m not going waste too much energy discussing why this movie is a masterpiece or why you should see it. The fact is the movie is 75 years old this month and you’re either (a) a film geek and have made it a point to see this film or (b) you haven’t seen it yet and thus probably never will see it.

What I will say is this, Casablanca is the kind of film that exemplifies every great element of the Golden Age of Cinema. You have an incredible cast putting in top notch performances, a script that balances drama, romance and comedy in a beautiful mixture and captivating sets and camera work.

Seeing it with an audience only makes the strengths even clearer. Every joke lands, the rapid fire dialogue is still insanely fresh and the ending of the film is still as powerful and uplifting (while heartbreaking at the same time) as it was in 1942. There will be another screening of Casablanca through Fathom Events on Wednesday November 15th. If you can get to a theater to see this masterpiece, it is worth the two hours of your time. I’m genuinely consider going again.