The Silver Report: April 2019

WrestleMania 35 has come and gone. To be quite honest, I enjoyed this year's show for a good four out of seven hours. The wrestling was solid and despite some silliness, I was thoroughly entertained. Especially when Shane McMahon bounced off the top of that golf cart.

After the show hit its peak with Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Title (more on that in a bit), it just lost all momentum. Other than the main event, which exceeded my low expectations, it was such a drag to watch the last few hours.

While I can dissect this show even further or debate how WWE should shorten WrestleMania until the cows come home, we got a report to dive into.

The Underdog Story

Considering how big WrestleMania Weekend has become over this past decade, it always plays host to an insane amount of feel-good moments. Be it show-stealing matches, awe-inspiring spots, unbelievable surprises, or star-making performances, there is a lot to enjoy about the biggest weekend in wrestling.

Despite all our harping on them, the company that made this weekend a destination in the first place can still create some of the most emotional moments in the business. This year, WWE put on two matches that had many in tears — yours truly included.

The first match came to us on the Friday of WrestleMania Weekend at NXT TakeOver: New York. Adam Cole and Johnny Gargano clashed in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the vacant NXT Championship.

Looking at this match with a critical eye, Cole and Gargano had a very standard WWE multi-fall match, where the first two falls are little more than window dressing for the final fall. What made this match special — and completely overshadowed this big negative — was the crowd and their relationship with Gargano.

At the beginning of the match, the New York crowd completely turned on Gargano because they all decided that Cole deserved to win. Despite the initial boos, Gargano persevered and slowly won the crowd over with every kick out, rope break, and finisher reversal. By the end of the match, the entire Barclays Center was behind the man they vehemently booed earlier. The crowd's slow but organic turn amplified the emotion of the final fall to the point I had to fight back the tears as Gargano locked in the Gargano Escape for the victory.

Despite the obvious flaw of the first two falls doing nothing to build the final fall, you can't help but smile ear-to-ear when watching the final 15 minutes and seeing Gargano finally hoist the NXT Championship. Plus, Ciampa's surprise embrace at the top of the match made it all the sweeter.

The second match was on the big show itself, WrestleMania 35. Halfway through the nearly eight-hour show, Kofi Kingston faced off with Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship.

After 11 years with the company, Kingston finally got his shot at the top prize. Considering the emotional underdog story, nobody was going to accept anything but Kingston walking away with the gold.

As such, everybody in the sea of 82,000+ people in the crowd and the millions watching around the world sat on the edge of their seats for every move, every swing of momentum, and every near fall. Although Kingston and Bryan didn't have the smoothest of matches, the heightened tension made you look past the blemishes and get even more invested in the bout. This tense 23-minute match culminated with Kingston hitting the Trouble in Paradise to a thunderous pop from the crowd.

The cherry on top was the post-match celebration. As the crowd erupted in joy, Big E and Xavier Woods rushed Kingston for a loving embrace. You could even see the tears flowing as Woods lifted Kingston onto his shoulder. To make the moment more magical, Kingston brought his two sons into the ring to celebrate with the New Day.

These were easily two of the best matches WWE put on this past WrestleMania Weekend. From action to drama to emotion, they had everything you need for great pro wrestling. Most importantly, both had excellent stories that the audience could get behind. That's why people couldn't fight back the tears when watching these underdogs win the big one for their respective brands.

Source: Bleacher Report

A Tale of Two Promotions

After All In's sellout proved there's an audience large enough for promotions other than WWE to run 10,000+ seat venues, ROH and New Japan took a big leap by announcing their intention to run a show from Madison Square Garden. Despite some interference by WWE, tickets went on sale for the ROH and New Japan's G1 Supercard in early August 2018 and sold out in record time. With that, WWE's 58-year stranglehold over MSG ended, allowing any wrestling promotion to run "The World's Most Famous Arena."

Although the G1 Supercard made history months before it even began, ROH and New Japan still had the monumental task of putting on a show worthy of its historic moniker. Could they deliver? The answer to that is a little more complicated than you would think.

On the New Japan side of the show, they absolutely delivered. From the strength versus speed matchup of Ospreay and Cobb to the nine-minute joyous spot fest that was the Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way to the high drama of Ibushi and Naito, every match that had Gedo's guiding hand was wonderful. Even though I'm disappointed that Jay White's IWGP title reign couldn't make it through one title defense, the quality of the match, the resulting pop from Okada's win, and my confidence in New Japan's booking have me optimistic.

Unfortunately, the ROH portion of the G1 Supercard dropped the ball hard. While there wasn't anything egregiously bad, all of the segments and matches produced entirely by ROH were incredibly underwhelming, especially when compared to New Japan's output.

On top of it all being underwhelming, it all felt uncharacteristic of ROH. The company has always been known for its high-quality wrestling, but you wouldn't know it from this show. More effort was placed on poorly emulating ECW's hardcore matches and WWE-like angles rather than what made ROH in the first place — superb professional wrestling.

Looking at the show as a whole, G1 Supercard was a success. Much like All In did before it, it proved that wrestling fans are willing to support good wrestling on a grand stage. So, hopefully, this isn't the last time we'll see New Japan and ROH (as long as they get their act together) on such a big stage.

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Must-See Matches of April

4/5/2019
NXT TakeOver: New York
Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. War Raiders
Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano - 2 out of 3 Falls Match

4/6/2019
G1 Supercard
Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay
Taiji Ishimori vs. Dragon Lee vs. Bandido
Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

4/7/2019
WrestleMania 35
Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

4/17/2019
NXT
Buddy Murphy vs. Velveteen Dream

4/20/2019
Sengoku Lord
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

4/24/2019
NXT 
Johnny Gargano vs. Roderick Strong

4/26/2019
Road to Wrestling Dontaku Night 9
Roppongi 3K vs. Bushi & Shingo Takagi

The Silver Report: March 2019

WrestleMania is just around the corner and if you looked below, I have a whole lot to talk about. Maybe a little too much, but WrestleMania season really gets me in the mood to rant. And to be honest, I'd rather write my frustrations here than screaming at my TV.

Who am I kidding? I'll scream at the TV regardless.

The State of WrestleMania

Maybe it was rose-tinted glasses or a lack of exposure to wrestling outside of WWE, but WrestleMania was the be-all-end-all for the formative years of my fandom. Although shows, matches, and storylines could surpass the Grandest Stage of Them All throughout the year, I always looked to WrestleMania to consistently be the best that wrestling had to offer.A decade ago that idea slowly started to be chipped away with WrestleMania 25.

Despite having arguably the greatest match of all time in Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels on the card, WrestleMania 25 was nowhere near the standard that I held WrestleMania to. A few years later, I eventually started to notice the build to WrestleMania slowly deteriorate. No longer did it feel that WrestleMania was built on the biggest and best feuds WWE had to offer, but whatever matches got the most people and the biggest stars on the card.

WrestleMania lost the spark that made it special in order to appeal the most casual audience possible. While I've reluctantly come to accept this fact, there are ways for WWE to make WrestleMania appeal to both casual and hardcore audiences. WrestleMania 30 and 31 are proof. The problem is that most of WWE — chief among them being Vince McMahon — is out of touch with the companies' fanbase and the current state of the industry, so they don't change their way of booking until they absolutely have to. The "Women's Evolution" is more than enough evidence of that fact.

With the stage set, let me say that the build to WrestleMania 35 has been the worst I've experienced in 16 years watching.

Mainly due to the card not being finalized backstage until early March, the last couple of months have been rudderless. As a viewer, it has felt like stories and possible matches changed dramatically from week-to-week with no real direction. Due to this haphazard approach to booking, the last two months following the Royal Rumble has been wasted. For proof, just look at the main event program.

Over the course of the last two months, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey has gone from one of the most anticipated main events in WrestleMania history to a nonsensical mess. To help demonstrate how insane it has gotten, the build for this match has consisted of:

• Becky Lynch being suspended for not getting her injured knee checked by doctors;
• Becky attacking Stephanie McMahon, which led to Steph further injuring Becky's knee;
• Becky being reinstated after apologizing to Triple H and Steph;
• Vince McMahon suspending Becky until the after WrestleMania because he doesn't like her attitude; 
• Vince placing Charlotte Flair in the WrestleMania match in Becky's stead;
• At Elimination Chamber, Becky outrunning trained security guard while hobbling on crutches to attack Charlotte and Ronda Rousey with said crutches;
• Becky being arrested for doing the same thing on Raw a week later;
• Ronda "vacating" the Raw Women's Championship because she wanted to fight Becky;
• Becky being reinstated to fight Charlotte Flair for the "vacant" Raw Women's Championship at Fastlane;
• Ronda returning to take back the championship she previously vacated (that's not how vacating a title works!!) and turning heel by attacking Becky;
• Heel Ronda going on to remind the world that professional wrestling is fake ad nauseam;
• Becky finally being added to the WrestleMania match thanks to a Ronda rundown and beatdown;
• Charlotte beating Asuka for the Smackdown Women's Championship;
• Steph announcing both Raw and Smackdown Women's Titles will be on the line in the WrestleMania main event, and;
• All three getting arrested for brawling after their match against the Riott Squad.

All of that happened over the course of 10 weeks. Just take all that in. It didn't happen over a six months, a year, or some other reasonable timeline. No, it was all crammed in 10 damn weeks! 

As proved by the build to Survivor Series, WWE had an open goal with Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey. Instead, they overbooked this match way past the point of jumping the shark. They cleared the shark and have completely obliterated my confidence in this match. While the talent may be there, none of the booking has proven that this match won't be as big of a debacle — if not worse.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is KofiMania.

This campaign to get Kofi Kingston into the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania all started with an unfortunate twist of fate. Mustafa Ali was originally meant to compete in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber but had to be pulled from the match following a concussion. Kofi would take Mustafa's place in the match and go onto steal the show in a gauntlet match on the Smackdown before the pay-per-view and in the Elimination Chamber itself.

Despite plans for the WWE Championship already being put in place, these incredible performances along with the thunderous crowd reactions forced WWE creative take notice and give Kofi the chance to finally shine in the main event scene.

While the road to the WWE Championship match being set in stone was a little rough, the story has been a resounding success. Much like Daniel Bryan's road to WrestleMania 30, Kofi's plight has felt organic and heartwarming. Little touches, like the entire face roster cheering on Kofi and callbacks to Bryan's plight with the "B+ player" verbiage, have gone a long way in making this feud feel well thought out and main event caliber. Instead of insulting our intelligence with overbooked nonsense, out-of-touch booking, and drastic changes on a weekly basis.

At the end of this long, long rant, all I really have to say is WrestleMania has the lost the magic that I remember from my formative years of watching. Although I don't hold it to the same reverence, it's not all doom and gloom. For all the underdeveloped stories, overpacked matches, and hotshot booking, there are some glimmers of greatness. You just have to expect it won't be for the entire eight-hour runtime.

Source: Digital Spy

March Madness

You can't talk about wrestling in March without talking about the New Japan Cup. However, this year New Japan's annual March tournament saw a few changes.

First, a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of G1 Supercard was on the line, instead of the winner getting a shot at the singles title of their choice. With these higher stakes, the field of competitors was expanded from the regular 16 to 32. Considering the entrants doubling for this year's New Japan Cup, entry was given to all comers including junior heavyweights, Young Lions, and champions.

As the biggest New Japan Cup in history, did bigger mean better?

Yes and no.

Doubling the pool of competitors opened the tournament to a lot of variety, be it in style, character, or even move set. Within a three week period, we saw epic strong style slugfests, stunning technical showcases, hilarious comedy matches, and unbelievable athletic performances. Out of the 31 matches, no bout felt the same — a very impressive feat.

Unfortunately, not everything was the best New Japan had to offer. Despite playing host to the best match of the tournament in Ishii vs. Nagata — no joke, it's a bona fide Match of the Year contender — the first round was a mixed bag as New Japan put everybody in this year's Cup including green newcomers, broken down older talent, and Taichi. Plus, some highly anticipated match-ups, such as Okada vs. Ospreay and Tanahashi vs. Sabre Jr., were a little disappointing in my opinion.

Although some may scoff at Okada, an established main eventer, winning the Cup over pushing somebody new into the main event picture, remember that the current IWGP Champion Jay White is that new star in the midst of a push. Plus, the New Japan Cup elevated talent in different ways. Just look at Young Lion Shota Umino's incredible performance against Tanahashi, Ishii getting the best out of Nagata, Taichi, and Yoshi-Hashi, Chase Owens' surprise victory over Juice Robinson, and Will Ospreay defeating two more heavyweights. On top of all that, Sanada had a career-defining run in this year's tournament beating the likes of Hirooki Goto, Minoru Suzuki, and Hiroshi Tanahashi before falling to Okada in the finals.

All-in-all, we won't fully know if the 2019 New Japan Cup was an outright success until we see its fallout at the G1 Supercard. However, we do know it put a spotlight a great wrestling and some upcoming stars.

Source: New Japan Pro-Wrestling

Must-See Matches of March

3/3/2019
Stardom
Momo Watanabe vs. Jungle Kyona

3/6/2019
47th Anniversary
Jay White vs. Will Ospreay

NXT

Aleister Black & Ricochet vs. Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner

#DIY vs. Undisputed Era

3/8/2019
New Japan Cup Night 1
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuji Nagata

3/10/2019 
New Japan Cup Night 3
Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

3/11/2019
New Japan Cup Night 4
Hirooki Goto vs. Sanada

3/16/2019
New Japan Cup Night 7
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

3/21/2019
NXT
Adam Cole vs. Aleister Black vs. Matt Riddle vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

3/23/2019
New Japan Cup Night 11
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sanada

3/24/2019 
New Japan Cup Finals
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sanada

The Silver Report: April 2018

You can't talk about April without talking about the biggest weekend of the year for pro wrestling, WrestleMania Weekend. Thousands of wrestling fans descended upon New Orleans for a weekend full of wrestling, not only from WWE, but promotions across the world. There was so much wrestling going on that no normal person could watch everything available. Personally, I only got a chance to watch the main WWE shows and some of the ROH and RevPro matches highlighted on NJPW World.

But with so much variety, there was something for every type of wrestling fan.

Forever Fighting

With an insane ladder match for the new North American Championship, Roderick Strong turning on Pete Dunne to finally join the Undisputed Era, and Aleistar Black claiming the NXT Title in a great bout, NXT TakeOver: New Orleans was well on its way to becoming the best show of WrestleMania Weekend. Then the main event took the show to a whole new level.

The third five star match for WWE in 2018 (the second being the aforementioned ladder match) and the second for Johnny Gargano, this unsanctioned fight between Gargano and Ciampa was nothing short of perfection. Building off of the last two years of their WWE careers, Gargano and Ciampa clashed in an emotionally draining main event that referenced everything from their match at the Cruiserweight Classic to Gargano's sacrifice in their ladder match with the Authors of Pain to Ciampa's recent crutch attacks. Unlike the last five star TakeOver main event which was a fast-paced wrestling clinic, this match built slowly to its intensely emotional climax as Gargano locked in a crossface with Ciampa's knee brace for the win.

When all was said and done, Gargano and Ciampa delivered a match that lived up to immense hype and proved yet again why NXT is so special. In all honesty, we would never have gotten a feud this visceral and thoroughly planned out on the main roster with its short-term booking and ever-changing politics. Although this match felt like the blow off for this feud, Ciampa attacked and subsequently injured Gargano before his NXT Championship match against Black, meaning this personal war is far from over.

The End of the Elite?

Unfortunately, the Bullet Club Civil War couldn't compete with the emotionally draining NXT main event, which happened 30 minutes before. Although Cody and Kenny put on a very good bout that weaved in plenty of stories from Being the Elite, it just didn't live up to the hype in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, the story during and following the match was top-tier. Sadly, the in-ring action just didn't have the same emotional weight and fluidity as past bouts in this feud.

Despite my feelings on the match, Cody vs. Kenny served its purpose of moving the Bullet Club Civil War storyline forward. The most significant story beat happened at the end of the match when the Young Bucks went to superkick Cody only to accidentally hit Kenny. Immediately following the Bucks' interference, Cody would hit the Cross Rhodes for the win. Emotionally distraught by the Bucks being the ones to cost him the match, Kenny later told the Jacksons that there was no more Elite and that they're no longer friends.

This devastating break-up and Cody standing victorious with no Elite to stand with him to celebrate were the two somber moments that ended the landmark 100th episode of Being the Elite. As for when this story should continue, the Bullet Club Civil War was the focus of the first night of Wrestling Dontaku. Plus, April ended with the tease of Being the Elite coming back, but does this signify the reformation of the group or are things too far broken to fix?

Time for the Roman Reigns Experiment to Die

If you've followed WWE for the past few years, you know the story surrounding Roman Reigns. He's been pushed as the new face of the WWE since 2015, only to be rejected by the audience again and again. While Reigns has improved drastically since first being chosen by management, he's still seen as tainted goods by the audience despite WWE's best efforts to change said reaction. Long story short, it's been a trying few years following WWE's main event scene, which has been exasperated by everything that happened this past month.

Leading up to WrestleMania 34, WWE spent a full year building up Brock Lesnar as an unbeatable champion and the F5 as a one-hit KO in order for Roman Reigns to be the only person to kick out of the F5 and take the Universal Title from the self-proclaimed Beast. Well, one of those feats came true as Reigns kicked out of five F5s in the main event of WrestleMania 34. Surprisingly, Reigns fell to the sixth F5 in one of the most baffling decisions in wrestling history. In a mere three seconds, WWE wasted a year of build just to swerve their fans. How's that good storytelling? Plus, how does WWE expect us to get behind a top babyface that can never win the big one?

As bad as Roman's WrestleMania loss was, that wasn't the end of this lunacy. Three weeks later, Reigns got one more chance at Brock Lesnar and the Universal Championship in a Steel Cage match at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Although leaps and bounds better than their WrestleMania encounter, the match ended in one of the dumbest finishes in a long time. In the final moments of the match, Reigns speared Lesnar through the steel cage with Lesnar landed on the cage panel while Reigns rolled onto the floor. Instead of naming Roman (the rightful winner of the match) the new Universal Champion since his feet touched the floor, the ref called Lesnar the winner.

This controversial ending may have worked as the first or second match in a series, but not as the third and hopefully last match between these two. Just like the WrestleMania match, this finish did no favours for Roman. Although it has given WWE a new "uncrowned" champion angle to take Roman's character in, it didn't endear him to the audience as Roman's pleas come off as unjustified whining and complaining.

It may have taken three years, but WWE might have finally booked Roman Reigns into oblivion.

Must-See Matches of April

4/1/2018
Sakura Genesis
Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

4/2/2018
Raw
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

4/6/2018
RPW Live @ WrestleCon 
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

4/7/2018
NXT Takeover: New Orleans
Adam Cole vs. EC3 vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream - Ladder Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa - Unsanctioned Match

Supercard of Honor XII
Adam Page vs. Kota Ibushi

4/8/2018
WrestleMania 34
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair

4/23/2018
Road to Wrestling Dontaku
Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

4/24/2018
205 Live
Mustafa Ali vs. TJP vs. Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese vs. Kalisto - Gauntlet Match

4/27/2018
Greatest Royal Rumble
50-Man Royal Rumble Match

4/30/2018
Raw
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

The Silver Report: March 2018

Although the build to WrestleMania and all the big shows happening that weekend was a big part of March, tournaments were the flavour of the month.

205 Live continued its Cruiserweight Championship tournament with a stellar semifinal. Despite not watching it myself, ROH continued their Women's Championship tournament to great fanfare. But it was the 2018 New Japan Cup that stood tall with two weeks of high-quality matches and one great star building performance which I will go into more detail a little later.

So let's get to it!

Do Something

I have to get something off my chest. I hate the build to John Cena vs. Undertaker for WrestleMania. It is redundant, annoying, frustrating, and any other negative adjective you can throw at it. 

It is insulting for WWE to think that their audience would believe that John Cena couldn't get a match for WrestleMania. This is John Cena we're talking about here — the face of this bloody company for over a decade — many would kill for a match with him on the biggest PPV of the year. So, WWE tell me why I should believe this premise when it has more holes in it than a pasta strainer?

If you can get past all the holes in the premise, the entire build for the last month has been nothing more than John Cena calling out the Undertaker to no response ... each ... and ... every ... bloody ... week. Maybe the payoff will make it all worth it in the end. Unfortunately, it is test of patience to sit through a 20-minute John Cena promo where he spews on about how a retired Undertaker should feel sorry for letting down the fans and being a coward because the Undertaker is retired. Not the fact that it hurts Cena's massive ego to be continually denied the match HE wants the most.

And that leads into my final point, the build has been so frustrating because of all the wasted potential. WWE could of easily built this match in a similar fashion to Shawn Michael vs. Undertaker from WrestleMania 26. You have the same story starting from the beginning of the year to Fastlane where Cena is desperate to main event one more WrestleMania, but you change the build from Fastlane onward.

Instead of the redundantly long promos, explore Cena's psyche and how Undertaker's silence affects him on an emotional level. Have other wrestlers, like Kane or Goldust, put aside the gimmicks and talk to Cena about his obsession with calling out the Undertaker. Hell, make mention that Undertaker is retired, so there is no way this match will happen. And when John Cena is at his lowest, the Undertaker answers the challenge. Not because he wants to fight, but to put Cena out of his misery.

Maybe I put far more brainpower into this feud than WWE ever did, but it's so frustrating to see WWE and namely John Cena do nothing to evolve his character after all these years. This reluctance to change has plagued WWE's main roster for a very long time now and this John Cena vs. Undertaker build is just another example of why it isn't working.

WWE should take Cena's pleas to the Undertaker to heart and actually "do something" next time.

The American Dragon Rises Again

March 20 was just a regular Tuesday. Well until WWE dropped a bombshell of an announcement in clearing Daniel Bryan for competition.

As the Internet exploded with pure excitement and elation, I felt conflicted. Seeing Bryan get a chance to finally wrestle again after all his trial and tribulations of the last few years made me feel so happy. At the same time, a part of me was worried that all his issues with concussions haven't fully healed even with his clearance. Also the selfish part of me was disappointed that we wouldn't see Bryan compete in the indies again.

All that worry melted away in the final segment of that SmackDown Live. After firing Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for their assault on Shane McMahon the week prior, Bryan was forced to get physical with the two former roster members. Bryan fired off his signature kicks and corner dropkicks with such force and passion that it made me remember how much I missed watching him perform. Plus, the devastating apron powerbomb Bryan took at the end of the segment showed that WWE has faith in him to take big bumps again.

Bryan's return to the ring couldn't have come at a better time as it revitalized my excitement for this feud between Owens, Zayn, and SmackDown's authority figures, SmackDown Live, and even WrestleMania. It really seems poetic that the spot of Bryan's greatest achievement will be place he makes his triumphant return. Onward to New Orleans!

Just Tap Out!

Debuting just over a year ago for the company, Zack Sabre Jr. made a splash by aligning himself with Suzuki-gun and dispatching eventual 2017 New Japan Cup winner Katsuyori Shibata. Despite the immediate success in New Japan's heavyweight division, Zack didn't make much of an impact during the rest of 2017. While he did challenge for Hiroshi Tanahashi's Intercontinental Championship in September and got a few noteworthy wins in the G1 Climax, Zack was mostly used fill out a spot in tournaments and tag team matches.

Well that all changed this past March when Zack tapped out Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, Sanada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi (some of the best wrestlers that New Japan's heavyweight division has to offer) on his way to winning the 2018 New Japan Cup. In just four unbelievable performances, Zack Sabre Jr. cemented himself as a viable contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and a force among New Japan's heavyweights.

This major push came alongside a chance for Zack to build his character from a skinny British submission wizard to a sharp-tongued torturer. His post-match promos throughout the New Japan Cup were phenomenal, especially the one on Ibushi's recklessness. Add in Taka Michinoku as Zack's hype man for the Japanese crowd and you got one incredible package.

So like Taka exclaims before every match. "He is submission master! He is Z-S-J! He is ... Zack Sabre Jr.!" And New Japan locker room, he's coming to tap you out!

Must-See Matches of March

3/6/2018
46th Anniversary Show
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

3/9/18
New Japan Cup Night 1
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Michael Elgin

3/11/2018
New Japan Cup Night 2
Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Fastlane
AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn - Six Pack Challenge

3/13/18
205 Live
Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong

3/16/18
New Japan Cup Night 7
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Juice Robinson

3/18/18
New Japan Cup Night 8
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Sanada

3/19/18
Raw
Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt - The Ultimate Deletion

3/20/18
205 Live
Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak

3/21/18
New Japan Cup Finals
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

3/25/18
Strong Style Evolved
Golden Lovers vs. Young Bucks

3/27/18
205 Live
Akira Tozawa vs. Buddy Murphy vs. Kalisto vs. TJP

The Silver Report: February 2018

With past Silver Reports, these introductions can get a little long-winded when summarizing a week or month of wrestling into a paragraph or two.

From the New Japan debut of Rey Mysterio to the launch of ROH's HonorClub streaming service to end of Johnny Gargano's NXT career, February was packed with huge developments in the world of pro wrestling. While I can't get to everything, I got three big stories to talk about in this month's edition of the Silver Report.

Tournament Breathes New Life into 205 Live

From its inception, it was an uphill battle for 205 Live. No matter the talent of its roster or the amount of quality matches it laid witness to, it was the home of a division that was poorly booked from the moment it debuted on Raw. Eventually, all that talent and quality match-ups gave way to redundant feuds of the cartoonish variety and silly theatrics.

Well that all ended this past January, when former Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore was fired due to sexual allegations he kept from WWE upper management. As January became February, 205 Live got its very first general manager in Drake Maverick (the former Rockstar Spud of Impact Wrestling fame), a new show runner in Triple H, and a tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion.

For the first time since the Cruiserweight Classic, WWE's Cruiserweight division is must-watch television and it's all thanks to this tournament. From crazy spot fests to technical showcases to hard-hitting affairs, every match has been a delight to watch. Even the matches on the lower end of the spectrum are better than your average Raw/Smackdown match.

With new faces running the show and serious, more wrestling-oriented direction, 205 Live has finally found its footing after a year and a half on air. Now, fingers crossed that Triple H and company can keep this show on the right course. If so, 205 Live may be able to compete with NXT as WWE's best weekly program.

Monday Night Rollins, Sunday Night Strowman

One week. Two superstars. Two unbelievable performances.

It all started on the February 19th edition of Raw. WWE announced a Gauntlet Match featuring all seven men in the Elimination Chamber, but nobody expected the nearly two hour match we got.

Although Braun Strowman stood tall at the very end, it was Seth Rollins' iron man performance that left a huge impression. Lasting a total of one hour and five minutes, Rollins dispatched both Roman Reigns and John Cena in two hard fought matches (a feat comparable to Chris Jericho beating the Rock and Steve Austin in the same night back in 2001) before falling to a fresh Elias. Despite the loss, Rollins came out more over as a babyface than he has ever been.

The next incredible performance came from the very winner of that Gauntlet Match, Braun Strowman. While Strowman was the second last competitor to enter the Men's Elimination Chamber, he left the biggest impact. Adding to his long list of amazing feats, Strowman would go onto eliminate five men before losing the bout to Reigns. Which came after kicking out of a quadruple powerbomb, Attitude Adjustment, Curb Stomp, Coup d'Grace, and Frog Splash off the top of a pod! For lack of a better term, it was bonkers. Even with the formulaic Super Roman ending, Strowman looked like the true face of the company at the end of this match.

Bullet Club isn't Fine

After all the turmoil that January brought to the Bullet Club, things only got worse in February as Kenny and Cody's feud ravaged the faction.

The month started with the announcement of Kenny Omega vs. Cody for the leadership of the Bullet Club for ROH's Supercard of Honor show on WrestleMania weekend. From there, Cody planted seeds of dissension among the Young Bucks and Marty Scurll (the three members that were conflicted by Cody's power plays). By the end of the month, the conniving Rhodes convinced Scurll to break off and form the Villain Club. Plus, he slowly worked the Young Bucks into moving up to the heavyweight tag division and in the process, turning on Omega.

On the other side of this conflict, Omega made strides in renewing his relationship with Kota Ibushi. The two were featured in a mini-documentary on New Japan World, which gave fans an inside look at their first practice back as a team and built excitement for their first matches back as the Golden Lovers.

All this turmoil came to a head at NJPW and ROH's joint Honor Rising shows at the end of the month. The Golden Lovers faced the likes of Cody and Marty Scurll in the main event of both nights (first in a six-man tag with Chase Owens and in a regular tag match the next). Despite ending the weekend with a 1-1 record, the Golden Lovers showed the world that they haven't lost a step with their unbelievable tag team offence and high energy. Plus, the fans in Korakuen Hall showed their appreciation tenfold as their cheers were deafening.

Although the Golden Lovers were successful, they didn't leave Honor Rising unscathed. Cody continued his mind games with Omega by planting a kiss on Ibushi in the middle of their tag match. Plus, the Young Bucks cutoff the Lovers' celebration to officially announce their aspirations in New Japan's heavyweight tag division and challenged to the Golden Lovers to a match, which New Japan later booked for March's Strong Style Evolved show in Long Beach.

In summation, February was an insane month for this ongoing Bullet Club saga and March should be even crazier as tensions build to Strong Style Evolved and Supercard of Honor respectively. So if you want to follow the best storyline of 2018 so far, best to keep up with the latest and greatest episode of Being the Elite.

Must-See Matches of February 

2/6/2018
205 Live
Roderick Strong vs. Hideo Itami

2/7/2018
NXT
Sanity vs. Undisputed Era - Six Man Tornado Tag Team Match

2/10/2018
New Beginning in Osaka
Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sanada

2/19/2018
Raw
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena vs. Elias vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz vs. Braun Strowman - Gauntlet Match

2/21/2018 
NXT
Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano - Title vs. Career

2/24/2018
Honor Rising Night 2
Hangman Page & The Young Bucks vs. Jay White, Chuckie T & Yoshi-Hashi
Golden Lovers vs. "The American Nightmare" Cody & Marty Scurll

2/25/2018
Elimination Chamber
Women's Elimination Chamber
Men's Elimination Chamber

2/27/2018
Smackdown
AJ Styles vs. John Cena

205 Live
Roderick Strong vs. Kalisto

The Silver Report: January 2018

I started the Silver Report a good seven years ago as my weekly round-up and analysis on "all" (mostly WWE and TNA at the time) wrestling news. Over the years, it took on different forms and lengths, but it was always a nice outlet for my thoughts on professional wrestling.

Now as my taste in wrestling has matured and my knowledge of the industry has grown tenfold, I re-debut the Silver Report. Not just as an outlet for my thoughts and opinions, but to hopefully introduce newcomers to wacky world of pro wrestling while enriching the tastes of current fans.

One of the ways I hope to achieve that goal is through the brand new Must-See Matches section at the end of every Silver Report going forward. Must-See Matches will be my curated list of the best matches for the current month of discussion. So if you don't have the time to keep up with everything going on, these are the matches that will give you the most enjoyment for your time.

Naito! You Just Made the List!

January 4th and 5th had tons of great moments for New Japan from Minoru Suzuki shaving his head to Jay White declining an offer to join the Bullet Club, but nothing was bigger than the closing moments of New Year's Dash.

After Tetsuya Naito and his stablemates in Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) dispatched Kazuchika Okada and Chaos in tag team action, Chris Jericho rushed the ring and attacked Naito. Although the attack was brief as Jericho was quickly pulled out of the ring, it was such a surprise to see Jericho since everybody thought his deal with New Japan was for just one match with Kenny Omega.

Starting this feud with Naito opens up the possibilities for Jericho to feud with more excellent New Japan talent like Ishii, Ibushi, Tanahashi, and even Okada! It's unbelievable to see the 47 year old Jericho on top of the wrestling world in 2018, but it is well deserved.

Almas and Gargano Steal Royal Rumble Weekend

It is rare to see any match in January eclipse the excellently crafted bouts of NJPW's WrestleKingdom supershow, but WWE did just that with the main event of NXT TakeOver: Philadephia. As the first WWE match in over six years to receive five stars from Dave Meltzer, Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT Championship was nothing short of an instant classic.

Leading up to the match, it felt like such an unlikely main event. Almas had been dwelling in the obscurity of NXT's mid-card for most of his tenure, while Gargano seemed to be in a holding pattern as his feud with former partner Tommaso Ciampa was on hold until Ciampa had healed from injury.

Despite all the baggage these two had coming in, it all melted away when the match started. Almas and Gargano just work so well together as they chain their moves together like no one else in the business. The fast pace and smooth wrestling made the 32-minute long match fly by. When all was said and done, both Almas and Gargano solidified their positions as major players in the WWE for years to come.

Golden Lovers Reunite

Ever since "The American Nightmare" Cody joined Bullet Club at the end of 2016, tensions between him and leader Kenny Omega have been building. Those tensions would come to a head at the end of NJPW's second New Beginning in Sapporo event.

After Omega lost the IWGP U.S. Championship to Jay White in the main event, Cody made his move by hitting a Cross Rhodes on Bullet Club's leader. But before Cody could hit the finishing chair shot on Omega, Kota Ibushi made the save. After dispersing Cody and his fellow Bullet Club usurpers, Ibushi and Omega embraced each other in a surprising reunion of former tag partners.

While many suspected a Bullet Club implosion sometime in 2018, nobody thought it would be this soon. Plus, nobody thought we'd see Omega and Ibushi reunite as the Golden Lovers. Most of the rumour and scuttlebutt surrounding these two centered around them feuding instead of reuniting.

Although the story may end up with them fighting in the end, Omega's current ousting from the Bullet Club and his reunion with Ibushi opens up plenty of intriguing possibilities. Could we see the Golden Lovers vs. the Young Bucks in the not-so-distant future?

Tale of Two Rumbles

The 2018 Royal Rumble was an interesting show. It had arguably one of the best Royal Rumbles of all-time in the men's bout, one of the most disappointing in the first-ever women's bout, and a lot of disappointing finishes and average matches in between. While it was a better than average show, the position of the two Royal Rumble matches and their drastic difference in quality made for an uneven four plus hours.

First up, the men's bout was a high-octane affair with excellent storytelling, fun eliminations (especially Slater's elimination of Sheamus), nice surprise entrants, and an intense final 15 minutes. Its hour plus run time flew by because of how entertaining the match was. And to put the cherry on top, the right wrestler won in Shinsuke Nakamura.

On the flip side, the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble was another misfire in WWE's so-called "Women's Evolution." Although the right woman went over in Asuka, the match was full of sloppy wrestling, focused far too much on the nostalgic entrants, and criminally held its biggest surprise for the post-match theatrics.

Speaking of those post-match theatrics, what an awfully lame way to debut Ronda Rousey. Yes, it was done to protect both her and Asuka, but what was the point of her eclipsing Asuka's moment at the very end of the show? It undermined the preceding match while simultaneously teasing viewers of what we should've had.

In all honesty, I would take Asuka vs. Ronda Rousey as the final two in the Women's Royal Rumble over Rousey cartoonisly pointing at the WrestleMania sign any day.

Must-See Matches of January 

1/4/2018
WrestleKingdom 12
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida vs. Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay - Four Way Match
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho - No DQ Match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

1/23/2018
205 Live
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali

1/24/2018
NXT
Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream

1/27/2018
NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia
Aleistar Black vs. Adam Cole - Extreme Rules
Andrade "Cien" Almas vs. Johnny Gargano

1/28/2018
New Beginning in Sapporo Night 2
Roppongi 3K vs. The Young Bucks

Royal Rumble
Men's 30-Man Royal Rumble

1/29/2018
Raw
Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

1/31/2018
NXT 
Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Bate - No.1 Contender's Match for the UK Championship

Royal Rumble Fiasco

I am going to preface this by saying, I have watched professional wrestling for 12 years now and watched 15 Royal Rumble matches in that time.  In all my years watching, I have never seen a Royal Rumble as poorly booked as last night's match in Philly.  It's not just the fact that Roman Reigns won or Daniel Bryan was eliminated too earlier.  It's the pacing of the match, the handling of major eliminations and the need for a run-in by The Rock to "save" the match.

The match started out fine with a surprise entry of Bubba Ray Dudley and the Wyatt Family squaring off, but slowly lost its momentum when Bray Wyatt started dispatching people left and right.  While things got better when Daniel Bryan made his entrance, that only lasted 10 minutes as the moment Bryan was eliminated, the crowd and many fans at home turned on the match itself.  The atmosphere felt exactly the same as the end of last year's Rumble, but it lasted the majority of the match instead of 15 minutes.  The volatile atmosphere only got worse when Reigns came out as everybody knew he was hand-picked to win the match.  It didn't help that any of the guys people were invested in and should have been part of the final four (Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler) were nonchalantly dumped over the top rope by Kane and the Big Show.  No exciting eliminations or set-up for a WrestleMania feud, just dumped like a piece of trash by two guys that should be putting them over.  Weeks of build wasted in a matter of moments didn't help this match.

When the odds were stacked against Reigns, The Rock made a run-in to help his little cousin.  Something done to clearly win back the crowd did exactly the opposite as it made Reigns look inferior to The Rock.  Why should the audience believe in a babyface like Reigns to beat the indestructible Brock Lesnar when he needs help to eliminate Kane and the Big Show?  It's not that I'm against Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble at some point in his career.  Looking at his current in-ring ability and mic skills, Reigns isn't anywhere close to being the successor to John Cena at this point in time.  Reigns needs more time to learn, mature and organically come into the role.  Forcing him down people's throats much like WWE did with Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio and The Miz will only damage Reigns in the end.

A series of unforgivable creative decisions made the 2015 Royal Rumble the worst of all-time.  WWE understood exactly what they were getting into when they booked the Royal Rumble for Philadelphia, a city filled with hardcore wrestling fans.  It baffles my mind that WWE didn't learn from last year's debacle with Batista.  Yes, the product may be targeted for younger audience, but that isn't going to get buys for the WWE Network.  The people who will buy the Network are the passionate, hardcore, "Internet" fans that WWE despises and the target audience will eventually grow into.  As seen by the CancelWWENetwork hash tag running rampant on Twitter, it isn't smart to alienate the fans which are the lifeblood of your business going forward.  Guess we're in for an interesting WrestleMania season once again.

The Streak is Over

WrestleMania XXX has come and gone.  It was much better than yours truly initially expected following the results of Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber.  More so than in years prior, WrestleMania as an overall show was fun and thoroughly enjoyable.  There were a good number of great moments from Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock all in the same ring and Daniel Bryan's winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after having the odds stacked against him to Cesaro slamming Big Show over the top rope and The Shield's triple powerbomb on both members of the New Age Outlaws.  While a couple matches did not live up to this writer's expectations namely John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt and Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar, it was a pleasant surprise to see the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton exceed my low expectations.  Out of everything that happened at WrestleMania XXX, one moment in particular clearly defined this event and cemented its spot in wrestling history.  That moment was the end of The Streak at the hands of Brock Lesnar.

Over the course of the Undertaker's illustrious career, no accomplishment has been greater than his winning streak at WrestleMania.  As countless wrestlers fell to the Deadman at WrestleMania year-in and year-out, The Streak grew in prestige and importance.  One could easily argue that The Streak was the most prestigious and important accomplishment in the WWE and professional wrestling as a whole.  To break such an unprecedented streak would be greater than winning any match or championship in wrestling.  Considering the lacklustre events leading up to the match between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, no one could have imagined The Streak would end in that very match.  You would expect the WWE to pull out all the stops and put together some epic build for a result this monumental and polarizing to even considered.  Wrestling fans have been so invested in The Streak that it is understandable to see such a wide array of emotions come from it ending.  Being of the camp that never wanted The Streak to be broken, I am personally surprised at how well I have received it.  Even though Brock Lesnar is a part-timer and has already established himself as a premier athlete, I am perfectly fine with him ending The Streak.  Actually, having Lesnar end The Streak gives the Beast nuclear heat that will never wear off and establishes him as THE dominant force in the WWE.  Also it sets up whoever beats Lesnar next, which better be Bryan, as a bona fide superstar in the WWE.  Personally, I am bummed out that Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar could not develop into a great match.  While it was still a pretty good match at best, they could never take the match to the next level and really get our blood pumping like all of the recent Undertaker matches at WrestleMania.  Not putting on an excellent match to rival the moment of The Streak ending just made things feel surreal and uncomfortable.  The match did show that it is definitely time for Undertaker to hang up the boots for good.  People may be concerned about how WWE will book a possible Sting vs. Undertaker match for next year, but this writer would rather not see that smoke-and-mirrors show become a reality especially since neither Sting or Undertaker can perform anywhere close to the level they use to.

WWE could not rely on The Streak to solely sell WrestleMania forever; now is the time to let it go and make new selling points for WrestleMania.  To launch the WWE into a new era, it is beneficial to honour both the Undertaker and The Streak as an important part of WrestleMania and wrestling history with Raw tonight and the 2015 Hall of Fame at WrestleMania 31.  As hard as it may seem for some, the unthinkable has happened.  The Streak is over and we all have to come to accept it one way or another.  WWE took an incredible risk with ending The Streak, but the only way to know if it was truly the right call or not is to see what happens next.  Tonight's Raw is the first page of this next chapter.  Will you be watching?

End of The Silverdome?

This decision is a hard one to make, but it is time to hang up my wrestling boots for the time being.  Ever since I have gone back to school, I have severely cut back my wrestling consumption.  Before going back, I can watched Raw, Smackdown, Impact Wrestling, ROH and NXT on a weekly basis.  I consumed enough professional wrestling in a week to easily fuel this blog.  That is no longer the case.  Now I only watch Raw on Mondays, casually check the results for Smackdown every other week and read the stories from Lords of Pain that pop up on my Facebook News Feed.  Sometimes with my job, I don't even get a chance to watch all of Raw.  The WWE Network would make it easier to follow all the wrestling I want, but my family doesn't have the internet plan to support that large amount of streaming.  So that option is quite a few years away from being a reality for yours truly.  

On top of my cutbacks, I just don't have the drive anymore to write about wrestling.  In no way am I losing my love for professional wrestling.  I am just very disenchanted with the WWE's current direction.  With such a monumental event like WrestleMania XXX, I had such huge expectations for WWE to take things to the next level (say CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan in the main event).  Disappointingly enough, the WWE has resorted to bringing in the part-timers yet again to build WrestleMania around.  While it was a novel idea the first time around, that doesn't mean people will keep eating up year after year.  We need new talent and fast!  There are glimmers of hope with Daniel Bryan, The Shield, the Wyatt Family and Cesaro.  Due to the WWE's current state of pushing established stars and holding down the rising stars, it is extremely hard not to be pessimistic.  

So is this the end of The Silverdome?  Yes and no.  It is the end of The Silverdome as we currently know it.  No longer will there be any sort of regularity to this blog.  I may go back to weekly or monthly posts, but that will be in the far distant future if it ever happens.  If there is something in professional wrestling I feel compelled to write about, I will post it up here.  It may be in a weeks time or may be months from now.  Thank you to everybody for following, reading, sharing and anything else you did to support The Silverdome.  Until next time, I bid you all farewell.

Straight to Hell... in a Cell: Preview of WWE Hell in a Cell 2013

Ever since Triple H pedigreed Daniel Bryan and handed Randy Orton the WWE Championship at Summerslam, we were firmly placed upon this road straight to Hell in a Cell.  The journey has had its peaks and valleys, but it has all led to this one climactic match-- Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton in Hell in a Cell.  The result of this one match will heavily influence the Authority storyline from this point forward as well as the directions for Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Big Show and Triple H leading to WrestleMania XXX.

Considering how Battleground felt less like a PPV and more like an episode of Raw, the storylines surrounding Hell in a Cell have been cooking for well over a month now.  Even though there are only five matches announced for this show, Hell in a Cell hits all the major feuds taking place in the WWE right now.  Creative will definitely add a match and/or segment to pad out time for the PPV and create buffers between big matches as it is very rare to see a five match card from WWE nowadays.  Personally, I cannot fully articulate my feelings about this PPV.  I am cautiously optimistic as Hell in a Cell feels like the climax of many ongoing storylines.  At the same time due to this PPV being such a pivot point in all these feuds, this writer is worried that WWE in their infinite wisdom will find a way to screw it up.  It is a very interesting predicament as in actuality Hell in a Cell can either make or break the rest of the year for WWE. 

Cody Rhodes & Goldust (c) vs. The Shield vs. The Usos in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match for WWE Tag Team Championship

The trials and tribulations of the Rhodes Family has been the most enthralling program in WWE today.  WWE has legitimately made the audience care so much for Cody and Goldust that they were able to take the tag titles from the Shield, something this writer did not think we would see for a long while.  While this writer does not want to get hopes up for the resurrection of WWE's Tag Team division, putting the Rhodes Brothers as the champions of this division seems to have given the tag team division a much needed shot of adrenaline.  Quality tag team matches have been main eventing Raw for the last two weeks and there are a good number of heel tag teams to challenge for the titles (The Shield, Wyatt Family and Real Americans to name a few).  If there is more variety needed, WWE can easily bring a few tag teams up from NXT to fill the void such as Kidd & Gabriel and the Ascension.  This Triple Threat Tag Team Match can be the first step in putting the spotlight firmly on tag teams once again as it could easily steal the show.  WWE needs to figure out fast that this push cannot be sporadic.  It has to be a major focus of WWE programming going forward in order for this push to truly work.

Prediction:  Cody Rhodes & Goldust retain

AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella for the Diva's Championship

No matter how hard WWE tries the Bellas will not magically garner support when there has been no official face turn on WWE programming whatsoever.  Other than comfort Daniel Bryan after beatings, they have done nothing to categorize them as face.  Handing the Diva's Title over to Brie will not automatically correct the crowd's view of the Bellas either.  Just get us out of this lame program and move AJ and the Diva's Title onto something worthwhile.

Prediction:  AJ Lee retains

CM Punk vs. Ryback & Paul Heyman in a Hell in a Cell Match

While this writer does love both CM Punk and Paul Heyman, this feud has gone on long enough.  One can only go so long seeing Punk almost get his hands on Heyman just to be cut off by Curtis Axel or Ryback at the last minute.  At first, it was entertaining; now it is boring.  It is time for Punk to get his revenge on Heyman and move onto the WWE Championship.  Considering this is a handicap match taking place in the confines of Hell in a Cell, do not expect a spectacular wrestling showcase.  This match will be a brutal manhandling of both Ryback and Heyman and nothing more.

Prediction:  CM Punk wins

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship

When John Cena announced he needed to take time off for surgery, nobody expected him back before Royal Rumble.  Correction, nobody wanted him back before Royal Rumble.  It is not very often that wrestling fans get a reprieve from John Cena's endlessly tiresome antics that when it does happen, we cherish it.  John Cena may be able to compete, but just two months after leaving for surgery seems too soon to risk possible re-injury of WWE's top star.  While Raw ratings might be down, there is no need for WWE to bring back John Cena to be an unnecessary addition to storylines already in motion.  Also the incredible lack of hype for the announcement of Cena's return makes this entire situation seem very shortsighted on WWE's end.  Placing Alberto Del Rio in the middle of this return is just a waste for the World Heavyweight Champion, which should be taking on actual contenders instead of being fed to the wolves.  Maybe Cena's pairing with Del Rio at Hell in a Cell will introduce a new storyline about Cena returning to action too soon as his elbow has not properly healed yet.  One can dream.

Prediction:  Alberto Del Rio retains

Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan for the vacant WWE Championship in a Hell in a Cell Match with Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest Referee

If there is one match to watch this Sunday, it is Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan in Hell in a Cell.  The ultimate showdown between Bryan and Orton has been building for two months and it is finally time to close the curtain on this chapter in their rivalry.  Although the intensity of this feud has not built to the point that Hell in a Cell is particularly needed in this writer's opinion, the Cell adds a sense of finality to the match.  Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton are trapped in an impenetrable cage with any sort of weapon at their disposal.  If you thought their No Disqualification match from Raw a few months back was brutal, expect this Hell in a Cell match to turn the brutality up to eleven.  Two men will enter the Cell, but only one will emerge with the WWE Championship around their waist.  Do not forget that Shawn Michaels is officiating this match and has a history with both men.  The Heartbreak Kid will definitely be a factor in the finish for this match.  While Michaels trained Bryan, there is a possibility for HBK to turn on his pupil as Triple H hinted at on Monday with his comment that HBK will do what is "best for business".  Big Show may also play a factor in the result of this match for better or worse.  Nonetheless, this match has high expectations to live up to.  Hopefully, WWE can pull it off and successfully start a new chapter of the Authority storyline.

Prediction:  Randy Orton wins the WWE Championship

The Best vs. The Beast: Preview of WWE Summerslam 2013

The Best vs. The Beast, The Champ vs. The Beard.  These are two tag lines that easily describe this year's Summerslam in a nutshell.  While Summerslam is being built as a two match show, it is understandable when WWE picks the two of the largest matches of the year to headline the second biggest PPV of the year after WrestleMania.  These two matches could single-handedly sell an entire PPV so having both on the same show is unbelievable.  So unbelievable in fact that WWE has sold Summerslam to yours truly on these two matches alone.  Personally, it is the most excited I have been for a PPV since Money in the Bank 2011 and we all know how that PPV turned out.  Looking at the card top-to-bottom, Summerslam does not seem that impressive outside of the two main events.  Hopefully the buzz surrounding both CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar and John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan will inspire WWE creative and the wrestlers to produce a Summerslam worthy of being called the second biggest PPV of the year.  We will have to tune in this Sunday to find out if WWE can pull it off.

Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Rob Van Dam for the U.S. Championship

Most times the pre-show match can be easily dismissed as a throwaway match, but not as of late.  Last month, the WWE Tag Team Championship match placed on the pre-show was said to be a great match-up.  The pre-show match for Summerslam looks to be another exciting affair.  While this writer does have reservations about placing a big draw like RVD on the pre-show, he is a great veteran wrestler to test Ambrose on such a big stage.  Given enough time, these two stars should be able to put on a very entertaining show to lend into the main attraction- Summerslam.

Prediction:  Dean Ambrose retains

Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow

The logic behind this match might be a little wonky considering Damien Sandow never really betrayed Cody Rhodes.  All Sandow did was knock Rhodes off the ladder in  the Money in the Bank Ladder match, which has a free-for-all format, to win said match.  If you take a closer look at it it was not a betrayal, more like the spirit of this competition.  While the storyline might not be the best, this match should be the start of great things for both Rhodes and Sandow.  Having a singles match booked for the second biggest PPV of the year is an excellent opportunity to put the spotlight on both men and their many talents.  We will have to wait and see how things go for both superstars' singles career in the months and years to come, but this writer expects to see their A games come Sunday.

Prediction:  Damien Sandow wins

Dolph Ziggler & Kaitlyn vs. Big E Langston & AJ Lee

As a huge fan of Dolph Ziggler seeing such a phenomenal talent wasted in a mixed tag match is just disheartening.  Dolph's World Title run was criminally short and he barely got a chance to chase after the title before WWE decided to start this feud with Langston and AJ.  If WWE wants to get Dolph Ziggler over as a face, it is better to have him chasing Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship rather than fooling around with his ex-girlfriend, former bodyguard and the girl he made out with on NXT Season 3.  No offence to the other talent in this match; Ziggler should be in the main event, not the lower mid-card.  The expectations for this match are very low, but this writer is hoping to be surprised by the effort these four superstars give us.

Prediction:  Dolph Ziggler & Kaitlyn win

Kane vs. Bray Wyatt in a Ring of Fire Match

I never understood the excitement brought from the Wyatt Family vignettes.  I heard a lot of good things about the Bray Wyatt character from NXT online reports, but the vignettes were more odd than exciting.  Then Bray Wyatt and his family made their debut and my opinions on them did a full 180.  The Bray Wyatt character is just so fascinating because his character is so different from most of the cookie cutter faces and heels that permeate the WWE.  Even though the wrestling fan in me was praying for the Brothers of Destruction vs. the Shield for Summerslam, Wyatt's brief feud with Kane has served as a very enjoyable alternative.  Considering this match will be the in-ring debut of Bray Wyatt, there is a little bit of anticipation building inside as we see if Bray Wyatt can live up to the hype.

Prediction:  Bray Wyatt wins

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship

After reading the paragraph about the mixed tag team match, I think you know who I wanted in this match instead of Christian.  Actually this writer along with many others thought Christian would be the one challenging for the U.S. Title so to see WWE put him in the World Heavyweight Championship match came as a surprise.  It was a very nice surprise because I am a bigger peep than a Dolph Ziggler fan.  Alberto Del Rio and Christian have had many matches before this meeting and all of them have nothing short of great in my opinion.  These two have the chemistry and the history to put on a highly entertaining and exciting World Heavyweight Championship belt.  While I am a big peep, I do not see Christian walking out with the World Title around his waist at this point in time.  There is much more WWE Creative can do with Alberto Del Rio as World Heavyweight Champion at the moment than Christian can.  Although Christian would make a perfect champion for Damien Sandow to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase on.  Now that is some food for thought.

Prediction:  Alberto Del Rio retains

John Cena (c) vs. Daniel Bryan with Triple H as Special Guest Referee for the WWE Championship

The Beard is here!  It has been a long time coming, but finally Daniel Bryan is where he belongs- the main event of the WWE.  Bryan has had some stints in the main event holding the World Heavyweight Championship or feuding with CM Punk.  Aside from those brief runs, Bryan has stayed in the mid-card for the majority of his WWE career.  Well times are changing for the American Dragon.  He has gone on a such an incredible roll these last few months, his popularity has skyrocket and he is coming into his own on the microphone.  With everything coming together for Daniel Bryan and John Cena rumoured to be taking time off for surgery, it seems like the best time to put the WWE Championship on him.  While everything would be sunshine and rainbows, there are a couple of complications to this situation.  First is the McMahon situation that seems to now engulfed the WWE Championship feud.  Triple H is now the special guest referee for the match, Vince is trying everything in his power to make sure Bryan does not leave with the title and Stephanie is trying to appease both.  It is a crazy family affair.  Next is Randy Orton and his Money in the Bank briefcase.  Orton has been teased cashing in his briefcase for weeks now.  To see Orton cash in against the winner at Summerslam will not be a surprise.  All-in-all, there are so many moving parts in this WWE Championship match that there is no doubt in this writer's mind that something big will happen.

Prediction:  Daniel Bryan wins the WWE Championship

Natalya vs. Brie Bella

WWE's newest reality show Total Divas may be a success for the company.  That success does not mean that they need to unnecessarily force matches involving the cast on their shows.  It is easy to tolerate the atrocities that the current divas division creates on Raw or Smackdown because you do not have to watch them.  It stings a bit when you are paying hard earned cash to watch these messes.  Please WWE, pull this match from Summerslam and give us Mark Henry and the Big Show vs. the Shield instead.  I promise you it will make a lot of people happy.

Prediction:  Natalya wins

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar

If you told me a few months ago that CM Punk vs. Brock Lesner would be main eventing Summerslam, I would have laughed.  Undertaker vs. CM Punk II all the way!  In all seriousness, I never thought WWE would turn CM Punk face less than a year after turning him heel.  The jury is still out on Punk's current turn, but so far so good.  This feud between Punk and Lesnar has been one of the most exciting feuds of 2013.  Honestly, I have been ready to pay money to watch this match since the Raw after Money in the Bank.  This feud has only gotten better as the weeks have gone on.  The verbal duels between Punk and Heyman and the physical brawls between Punk and Lesnar have both been sights to behold.  The main reason Punk vs. Lesnar is so captivating is due to how unpredictable the match will be.  Aside from a slight advantage to Brock Lesnar due to WWE possibly wanting to preserve his monster persona, this match can go either way.  You can legitimately believe that either wrestler can come up on top.  A match this even does not come around too often in professional wrestling, but it is a special event when it happens.  There is no doubt in this writer's mind that CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar, The Best vs. The Beast, will be something special.

Prediction:  Brock Lesnar wins

The Silver Report: May 19-25

Extreme Rules marked the end of WrestleMania season.  Now we enter the dry spell, which are the spring months, as nothing big happens during these months.  Most of the bigger angles are left for the most important season after WrestleMania season, the summer.  The seeds for these angles are usually planted in the spring.  To see these seeds come to fruition can be absolutely exciting or excruciatingly boring.  As the WWE heads toward the new Payback PPV this coming June, it will be interesting to see if the spring slump takes hold this year.  

Game Over?

When you are the COO of the WWE, the question comes up whether you should still be competing as a wrestler anymore.  Over the past year that question has come up multiple times for Triple H.  While Triple H may still be a big star, the company has moved on from the point of needing him to sell an event.  Considering that Triple H is not the most enthusiastic about giving rubs to the younger talent, there is not much reason for him to stick around in a wrestling capacity.  Look no further than this past Monday when Triple H made his way out to interrupt the reveal of Paul Heyman’s newest client, Curtis Axel (the re-branded Michael McGillicutty).  Instead of making Axel look like a million bucks, Triple H made him look like a chump in the span of three minutes.  It did set up a match later in the night between Triple H and Curtis Axel, but that match did not go any better.  Triple H did absolutely nothing to put over Axel as Creative decided to do a concussion angle with Triple H about four minutes into their match.  The match went to a supposed No Contest and everybody was left confused as Raw came an abrupt ending.  If a concussion angle was planned, the least Creative could do was put over Axel in the process.  Have Axel beat Triple H in a quick five-minute match or have the referee call for the bell after Axel beats Triple H to the point where he cannot compete any longer.  There were definitely better ways to put together this angle, but we were left with one of the worst endings in Raw history possibly due to Hunter’s ego.  After this past Monday, it might just be time for Triple H to step away from the ring and take on the Mr. McMahon role that he is currently being groomed for.

The Ryback Situation

Well, the misfortunes of Ryback continue.  WWE must be scared to pull the trigger on a Ryback WWE Championship reign because they trying to find any way possible to keep it off of him.  While Ryback did not face defeat at Extreme Rules, he did not leave Extreme Rules in better standings as the Last Man Standing Match ended in a No Contest.  WWE has hit Ryback’s glass ceiling.  The only way to get him more over as a heel now is to destroy John Cena and take the WWE Championship.  As much as Ryback still has room to improve on both the mic and in the ring, he will not be able to improve if not given the opportunity to excel.  It might seem too early to place the title on Ryback considering he debuted only a year ago, but WWE has booked this powerhouse into a corner.  The only way to get Ryback out of that corner is to give him the WWE Title and see if he can run with it.  If Ryback cannot carry the title, there are ways to take the belt off of him.  To push Ryback so heavily and do next to nothing with him in the main event scene is a complete and utter waist.  With the right direction, Ryback could be WWE’s equivalent to a Goldberg-like monster.  Even though this writer may sound like a broken record by now, it is time to stop stalling and take the Ryback experiment to the next level.  A dominating victory in the Ambulance Match against Cena at Payback will be the best time to take that next step.

Moving On: Preview of WWE Extreme Rules 2013

WrestleMania only comes once a year.  When the festivities of that one grand weekend come to an end, it is time for the WWE and the fans to get their heads out of the clouds and back to reality.  The show never stops, so we move onto the PPV that immediately follows WrestleMania, Extreme Rules. 

The one night of the year where the WWE packs some of their biggest gimmick matches all onto one show.  At its best, Extreme Rules can be one of the most entertaining PPVs of the year.  At its worst, Extreme Rules can be a complete mess of bland and boring gimmick matches.  Even with the loss of the Triple Threat Ladder Match (a match plenty of wrestling fans, myself included, were looking forward to), this year’s card looks solid.  Hopefully, the WWE can put on a good show with all the talent on the card.  There is only three hours to put on eight matches, a couple backstage promos, a few video packages and dozens of pre-match entrances; this writer is a little worried that a few matches will be rushed while others will given too much time.  Time constraints are always a factor, but when it comes to gimmick matches sometimes giving too much time to a boring gimmick or too little to an interesting gimmick can hurt the show.

Randy Orton vs. Big Show in an Extreme Rules Match

Big Show turned on Randy Orton and Sheamus at WrestleMania after Orton lost the match for their team, thanks to a blind tag.  Big Show was the man wronged by the distrust of Orton and Sheamus.  Funny enough, this match has been built around the idea that Orton should not have trusted the Largest Athlete in the World, a little backwards if I say so myself.  Who cares that much about the generic storyline when the wrestling is all that matters?  Big Show has been at his best this past year so hopefully he and Orton can put together an enjoyable brawl.  Considering Extreme Rules is in St. Louis, expect Randy Orton to get the win in front of his hometown crowd.

Prediction:  Randy Orton wins

Chris Jericho vs. Fandango

Ever since WrestleMania, Fandango’s popularity has been all over the place.  His popularity skyrocketed WrestleMania weekend with his win over Chris Jericho and the rise of the Fandangoing Internet dance craze.  After that faithful week, Fandango seems to all over the place.  Fandango has jumped between pandering to the crowd one week, to feuding with the Great Khali the next and finally coming back to feuding with Jericho the week after that.  Creative does not seem to know what exactly to do with Fandango as they try to push him as a heel while the crowd dances and hums along to his entrance theme.  Putting this young gun with a ring veteran like Jericho is the best direction to take Fandango at this present time, but it seems Extreme Rules will be the end of this little feud between Fandango and Jericho.  Since Jericho is being advertised to feud with Ryback in the coming months, it would be best for Y2J to win this Sunday.  As long as these two put on a competitive bout, one loss will not hurt Fandango.

Prediction:  Chris Jericho wins

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a Strap Match

This feud came straight out of left field.  There was perfect set-up for a Triple Threat Match between Big Show, Randy Orton and Sheamus for Extreme Rules considering the fallout from their match at WrestleMania.  The plans never seemed to materialize as WWE was set on a one-on-one match between Orton and Big Show.  Since being left out of that feud, Sheamus did not had much to do so enter random Mark Henry attacks and another big man trying to get Sheamus to be serious (honestly I will applaud the person that finally gets Sheamus to stop being funny man and back to being a no nonsense ass-kicker) and we got a match.  Sorry for the lack of excitement, I just do not care for a match where two big guys are going whip each other with a strap for ten minutes instead of actually wrestling. 

Prediction:  Sheamus wins

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dean Ambrose for the U.S. Championship

Let the Shield’s stranglehold of championship gold begin.  Everything the Shield has touched since they debuted last November has turned to gold.  They are one of the best factions in years and to put the United States and Tag Team belts on them will hopefully bring prestige back to those divisions.  Creative will definitely not feed these stars to the dogs of the main event scene like they have been doing with mid-card champions for the past year now.  With the unorthodox style of Dean Ambrose and the high-flying fast-paced offence of Kofi Kingston, this match could be one to possibly steal the show.

Prediction:  Dean Ambrose wins the U.S. Championship

Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger in an “I Quit” Match for the No. 1 Contendership for the World Heavyweight Championship

As much as it hurts to see such an amazing match taken away due to an injury, the world of wrestling is definitely unpredictable.  Hopefully Dolph Ziggler has a speedy recovery, but we are left in good hands, Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio.  While a ladder match may not play to the strengths of Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio, an “I Quit” Match certainly does.  The story just might not be there, but these two can and have put on some great wrestling matches.  This “I Quit” Match will be no different as I personally expect a grueling submission clinic on display at Extreme Rules.  There are rumours floating around that the WWE wants to have the Triple Threat Ladder Match for Summerslam.  If that is the plan, there are definitely plans to keep both Swagger and Del Rio in the World Title picture for the time being.

Prediction:  Jack Swagger becomes the No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship

Team Hell No (c) vs. The Shield in a Tornado Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

A 6-Man Tag between the Shield and Team Hell No and the Undertaker would have easily blown the roof off the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.  Sadly, not everything we dream becomes reality, but this match should be very good as well.  In one corner, you got the Tag Team Champions Team Hell No, one of the best pairings the WWE has made since Jeri-Show back in 2009.  In the other, you got Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of the Shield, the best thing to happen to the WWE in what seems like ages.  Expect some great action to result from this Tornado Tag Team match, a stipulation that is more akin to a Fatal 4 Way than a traditional tag team match.  When the dust settles, the Shield will prevail and leave Extreme Rules with gold around their waists.

Prediction:  The Shield wins the WWE Tag Team Championship

Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H in a Steel Cage Match

The one feud nobody wanted to see more after their main event match from Summerslam.  Having Triple H and Brock Lesnar on Extreme Rules definitely adds enough star power to garner some buys from casual wrestling fans.  Setting their third and hopefully final match in the Steel Cage will provide a brutal canvas for Triple H and Lesnar to paint their final masterpiece or disasterpiece.  Steel Cage matches have been hit or miss in the WWE the last few years.  As long as Lesnar emerges from the cage as the victor of this match and feud, this writer will be happy.

Prediction:  Brock Lesnar wins

John Cena (c) vs. Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship

There is no doubt in this writer’s mind that it is time for John Cena to step aside as Ryback’s time is now.  You can debate all day whether Ryback is ready to hold the WWE Championship or not.  The fact of the matter is Ryback has lost so much on PPV the last few months that a loss against Cena at Extreme Rules just might be the tipping point for fans.  It is hard to believe in a monster that cannot win a big match on PPV.  With how Cena has buried Ryback verbally the last few weeks, there is no way Ryback can leave Extreme Rules with loss without serious damage done to his image with the audience.  Also dropping the title to Ryback will allow Cena to properly heal for his Achilles tendon injury.  It is time to take this Ryback experiment to the next level and see if he can succeed as the WWE Champion. 

Prediction:  Ryback wins the WWE Championship

The month long build for Extreme Rules went a long way in creating a solid card with some well put together feuds.  Now WWE needs to combine the longer build with actual PPV hype and the interest and buy rates in PPVs will definitely improve.  It is a good start and WWE can make steps forward from here.  Top to bottom, Extreme Rules looks like a good card with no filler except for the Strap Match, but that is more my personal opinion.  If you are looking for some wrestling to watch this Victoria Day weekend, look no further than Extreme Rules.