FanPost

What was the best televised wrestling show you watched last week?

ImpactWrestling.com

The fall out from Survivor Series and World title defences in both AEW and MLW were the major attractions in the wrestling world last week. As always, here's the rundown of my favourite shows broadcast on TV, or streaming platforms.

1. Impact Wrestling

Impact's one off 80s special was a blast from beginning to end. Everyone threw themselves into their new characters and seemed to have a blast in doing so.

Every segment succeeded in getting laughs. The highlights were numerous, Sami Callihan spoofing Jim Cornette.Tessa Blanchard's led gender flipped four horsemen stable brought about some crude innuendo and some top action. Madison Rayne's nervous jazzercise when seeing off the sleazy Jimmy Jacobs was endearing, as was Kiera Hogan's Miss Mile High being smitten with Moose's DJ 2 Large.

The main event which saw Downtown Daddy Brown capture the IPWF Commonwealth Title over Julian Cumberbund was a well worked match which evoked some classic main events of yesteryear

Show's MVPs: Everyone

2. Monday Night Raw

Following on from Survivor Series, Raw had a real return to form. The show was anchored by 'Locker room leader' Seth Rollins. The bookers made the smart decision turning Rollins heel. The Architect excelled in giving the 'rah rah' speech, pissing off the roster and fans. The main event match with Kevin Owens was decent, and left plenty of room for a future Pay Per View match. The edition of AOP to the feud is great, as Akam and Rezar look great as enforcers.

The best action came from US title division. The four way number one contenders match between Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre and Ricochet was entertaining, but was topped by Mysterio overcoming AJ Styles to capture the belt.

Even the Rusev-Lashley feud, which for so long had been a low point for the show delivered, as a handcuffed Bulgarian brute managed to decimate the All mighty one.

Show's MVPs: Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles

3. AEW Dynamite

Le Champion's antics were once again the highlight of Dynamite. The opening Thanksgiving celebration was ridiculously over the top.

The match quality was decent. PAC clash with Kenny Omega was the pick of the action. I still feel we haven't seen the best of Omega on TNT, but this was a teasing appetiser. We did also see an attempt to create rivalries in the women's division, as Emi Sakura's character was more clearly defined as she worked heel with Bea Priestley.

The final third of the main event was well done, as Scorpio Sky showed some great babyface fire to nearly capture the AEW World title.

Show's MVP: Chris Jericho

4. NXT

The black and gold brand continued their hot streak with another great two hours of action on Wednesday night.

I want to give some love to Lio Rush. The man of the hour is quietly putting together a high quality resume of matches as Cruiserweight champion. His clash with Akira Tozawa was another addition as was my match of the night.

Keith Lee added a great meme, pouncing Adam Cole into row Z of Full Sail arena. This was the start of a bad night for Cole, who was the victim of a Pele Kick from Finn Balor, following his victory over Tomasso Ciampa.

Rhea Ripley continued to shine as the hottest thing in wrestling beside Question Mark, as she shone again in a verbal altercation with Shayna Baszler, whilst Dakota Kai showed some more viciousness in an entertaining clash with Candice Larae.

Show's MVPs: Rhea Ripley, Lio Rush, Akira Tozawa, Finn Balor

5. MLW Fusion - Thanksgiving Edition

Tom Lawlor's betrayal of the Von Erich family was the headline turn from the second MLW YouTube show of the week. The filthy one was overly pally towards Ross Von Erich before his world title match against Jacob Fatu. It came as little surprise when the Filthy one smashed the tag team champion with a steel chair.

The opening tag match was frenetic. Zenshi was the star performer in the Elimination tag match which saw him team up with Gringo Loco to take on Injustice's Kotto Brazil and Jordan Oliver. I didn't agree with eliminating Zenshi and Brazil first, as they are the two better workers, and the match quality suffered because of it

Priscilla Kelly making a big impression by attacking Kaci Lennox. Her debut match wasn't great, but every other segment she's been in has been a home run.

King Mo looked like a star on his debut, as he took out Ricky Martinez. The former MMA star has a certain natural presence which makes him stand out.

Show's MVPs: Tom Lawlor, Zenshi, King Mo

6. MLW Fusion - YouTube November 25th edition

The preceding edition of Fusion was bookended by a crazy brawl between Jimmy Havoc and Mance Warner. They took the falls count anywhere stipulation to the extreme, brawling in the ring, Havoc's apartment and Full Sail's car park. The highlight was Havoc committing Grand Theft Auto, stealing some poor blighters' car.

We saw the genesis of Lawlor's heel turn, when Marshall Von Erich was attacked by a mystery assailant in black, which was the same colours Tom was sporting in his press conference announcing he had re-signed for MLW.

The first ever MLW women's match between Zeda Zhang and Spider Lady wasn't good. The reveal of Priscilla Kelly was well done, and her promo was excellent. She should be a huge asset going forward.

Show's MVPs: Jimmy Havoc, Mance Warner, Priscilla Kelly

7. AEW Dark

AEW's YouTube show saw three good matches, and an exceptional promo section for two of the brand's women.

One of the major criticisms about AEW is the lack of focus on the women's division. This episode went some way to correct this with Shanna and Big Swole coming across well in their promo segments. Their match was pretty basic, but both women need the reps.

Trent overcame Pentagon Jr in the opener. The match was good, but I wasn't a fan of how the package piledriver was no sold.

The main event saw Kenny Omega defend his AAA title against Jack Evans. This was an impressive outing for both men, particularly the Hybrid 2 member.

Show's MVP's: Shanna, Jack Evans

8. NXT UK

The UK brand delivered a solid show. The best match was Noam Dar's win over Ashton Smith. Smith continues to impress in losing efforts, and has shown the ability deserving of a push.

The main event saw Gallus and Ilja Dragunov battle Imperium to a no-contest, as the referee could not stop all eight men brawling outside the ring. The inter-gang feuds are heating up nicely on the road to Takeover Blackpool.

Piper Niven continued her winning ways with a fine with over Jinny. The main talking point was the return on Toni Storm to the show. The former champion attacked Kay Lee Ray after she had been called out by Niven.

Show's MVP: Noam Dar

9. Friday Night SmackDown

This episode had a house show feel to it. The opening contest between Roman Reigns and Bobby Roode was good, but I feel it was overkill to have the King Corbin/ Reigns segment take 40 minutes out of the show. Underutilized talents like Drew Gulak and Sonya Deville could do with a few extra minutes TV time, but their matches were seemingly curtailed due to the opening shenanigans.

Lacey Evans' face turn is interesting, as the women's division is lacking in that department. As a attractive woman who holds traditional values, I can see why some of the fan base may be taken with her as a face. Most of them are unlikely to be commenting on the Internet. Evans, Banks and Bayley were all hampered with a mediocre script, but the crowd ate up the segment.

It is good to see Alexa Bliss return, as her and Nikki Cross are a fun act. Elias' who was once touted as SmackDown's biggest ever signing made a lower key return.

Bray Wyatt's firefly segment's were a rare miss for me. The rap section was really bad. Daniel Bryan returning to the Yes movement is an interesting wrinkle, but seeing as Bray won at Survivor Series, and destroyed him here, this feud needs Bryan to get the upper hand quickly to sustain my interest.

Show's MVPs: Roman Reigns, Bobby Roode, Alexa Bliss

10. NWA Powerrr

NWA threw together a clip show, possibly to ensure Jim Cornette's commentary wasn't heard, and the results weren't great.

Thunder Rosa video package about her preparation for her MMA debut was well done, and gave a glimpse into the woman behind the character. It felt out of place in the NWA world. There's was huge disconnect between the mysterious heel in NWA, to the humble hard working woman who previously worked with disadvantaged children. It was highly out of kilter with the kayfabe world NWA have stuck to so.

Some of the other promo's were downright confusing. Eli Drake came across as a babyface in his promo, when he had previously attacked Ken Anderson. Melina was all over the place in hers, and a great deal of what she said made no sense.

The only match of the evening was inconsequential. There was not enough heat between Question Mark and The Dawson's to warrant an empty arena match. There was an extremely cheap laugh for Aron Stevens vomiting at the Dawson reciting Shakespeare, as the forfeit for them losing.

Show's MVP: Melissa Cervantes

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.