I don't think there has been a more fun Hall of Fame special in WWE history than the one that aired this past Saturday night from Dallas, Texas. In the hours before WrestleMania, the internet was still all abuzz about the rowdy induction of the Fabulous Freebirds and about the shocking announcement that Sting has officially retired from active competition.
But while these moments were history making in their own right, I feel the wrestling community didn't have enough time to acknowledge some of the more groundbreaking moments from the show. The WWE made some serious steps forwards with the broadcast, and they deserve to have those highlights acknowledged. To start with, the induction of former WWE Diva Jacqueline is actually more amazing than people realize. “Ms Jackie” as she's often known as at conventions, was the first Black woman to hold the Women's Championship, and the first Black woman to hold the Cruiserweight championship, the latter being a stunning achievement when you factor in that she was the third ever female to hold the male dominated title, and the second Black wrestler to hold it after Elix Skipper. And yet, despite this, the WWE did not acknowledge until recently that she was the first Black Women's Champion. They simply listed her as A champion, meaning they viewed her on the same level as the rest of the roster, not noticing color until a few weeks before the induction. This is an incredible leap forward, as most companies even outside the squared circle, still view their workers in terms of color. Jacqueline is viewed as a brawler, not a shade of brown. But another leap forward taken at the Hall of Fame last night comes in the form of the history of wrestling itself. And sadly, this was not well advertised prior to the Hall of Fame, but deserves its rightful place in the news. Stan Hansen's induction concluded with an important term. He said he wanted to “thank the carpenters”. This is an old-school term that was used prior to the 1980's, that has since been replaced with the term “Jobber”. In the days of Stan Hansen, a “Jobber” (hapless light heavyweight sent out to be the punching bag to the guy about to be pushed) was called a “Carpenter” because these men and women were designed to take the falls needed to make the next big star look amazing. Jobbers/Carpenters build the foundation for the more brilliant careers, but are often mistreated and over-looked by the fans. And yet on many occasions, those lesser known stars themselves have gone on to main event shows like WrestleMania. Some famous ex-Jobbers include Hall of Famer Mick Foley, Kane and at one point, even John Cena was a bright-eyed jobber on Velocity. The introduction of the term synced well with the groundbreaking announcement of the Legacy branch of the Hall of Fame, which while unadvertised, was an important and vital addition of the show. In a respectful video tribute, the WWE announced the following inductees into the Legacy: Ed "The Strangler" Lewis: A member of the Gold Dust Trio, one of the first wrestling groups to travel beyond their territory, credited with modifying a side headlock to create the sleeper hold. Lou Thesz: Creator of the Thez Press and the powerbomb, this former NWA “Hooker” wrestled off and on from 1932 to 1990. Frank Gotch: One of wrestling's first “Superstars” branched out as the world's first wrestler-turned-actor by starring in the play All About A Bout and by fighting a Ju-Jitsu fighter in the White House, became one of the first wrestlers to branch into Mixed Martial Arts. George Hackenschmidt: The first world-traveling Superstar and innovator of the modern-day Bear Hug, Hackenschmidt was an icon in Russia, France and England long before making a splash in America. He was also the first straight-edge wrestler and one of the first vegetarian grapplers. Mildred Burke: This woman not only held the Women's championship for nearly 20 straight years undefeated, she was also one of the first women to wrestle men on a regular basis, and was responsible for the NWA accepting women's wrestling as legitimate competition, and not as a side-show act. Pat O'Connor: A pioneer in his own right, this early televised Superstar was the first New Zealand native to win the NWA tag team championship and the AWA Heavyweight Championship. "Sailor" Art Thomas: An incredible brawler, Sailor Thomas became the first black WWA world heavyweight champion on April 25, 1972 and was the third man of color to hold the belt, behind Mitsu Arakawa and Billy Red Cloud. Some dispute the WWE for adding the above grapplers and for adding previous inductee Gorgeous George, since many of the names were not WWE wrestlers, but fans forget that WWE at one point was Capitol Wrestling, a tiny independent company that joined the NWA early in its start, which at one point owned many of the companies all of these legends worked for, not to mention that the eldest wrestlers of the group worked under the umbrella for the Gold Dust Trio, who in various ways helped shape what would become Capitol and subsequently Jess and Vince McMahon Sr. By proxy, the WWE is acknowledging its own history in keeping these names in the Hall of Fame, but they have also shown honor to the overall history of wrestling itself and in doing so, have set a good example for other companies to follow. This year's Hall of Fame expanded on the rich history and tradition of wrestling, and outclassed earlier televised installments with a good mixture of fun and grace. It is currently available on demand via the WWE Network and is worth the uncensored viewing. Koriander Bullard is an author, cartoonist and human rights advocate. Keep up with her on Facebook!
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Continuing where Part 1 left off...
3. Sami Zayn Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: If you thought the crowd reactions to American Alpha’s title win and Aries’ NXT debut were deafening, those were nothing compared to the reaction Japanese wrestling star Nakamura received from the live crowd in Dallas. This was the best match of the card: one of the stiffest and most brutal matches ever to take place on American soil. Both men sized each other up before trading some of the stiffest blows I’ve ever seen on a WWE show. Nakamura nailed such stiff kicks and chops that Zayn’s back and chest were as red and lumpy as raw hamburger meat afterward. Zayn fought back with a flurry of stiff forearms, busting open Nakamura’s nose. Nakamura fought back with ultrastiff kicks and knees to Zayn’s head and body. HHH wisely allowed Nakamura to retain the ring style and charisma that brought him great acclaim in his native Japan. By contrast, if this was the main roster WWE, Vince would force Nakamura to work a dumbed down style as a comedic jobber. This is what Vince has done to every Japanese wrestler since taking over the WWF, forgetting that when his father ran the company, the Japanese talents were treated seriously and with respect. The match continued to be very evenly matched. Nakamura lands more kicks to the head. Zayn fights back like a prize fighter quickly dodging a stronger opponent. Zayn nailed an armbar but Nakamura reversed it into a triangle submission that turned into a pin position. But Zayn reversed that into a submission of his own. Nakamura and Zayn traded more stiff kicks before the latter locked on the Koji Clutch for a near submission. Zayn misses a Helluva Kick, allowing Nakamura to nail the Blue Thunderbomb for a near fall. They took the action outside the ring where Nakamura dodged Zayn’s running DDT and slammed him hard into the floor. Back in the ring, the action continued to be evenly matched until Nakamura dodged the Helluva Kick once more and finished off Zayn with the running Bomaye knee to the head for the pin. Nakamura paid respect to Zayn by helping him up and embracing as the crowd chanted “Thank You Sami”, appropriate since this was Zayn’s swan song from NXT on the way to the main roster. Let’s hope WWE Creative doesn’t blow it this time with an NXT call-up. ******+++ 4. NXT Women’s Champion Bayley Vs. Asuka: In what was one of the highpoints of Wrestlemania weekend, WWE made the long overdue decision to finally end the Divas division, rechristening it as an actual bona fide Women’s division. I’m convinced that this was due to HHH’s commitment to treat women’s wrestling in North America as a serious athletic division worthy of respect. Things have changed so drastically that fans will no longer tolerate the brainless, unathletic gigglefests that the Divas division often consisted of. The NXT women’s division featured some of the standout wrestling matches of 2015. Many believe (myself included) that the best wrestler of 2015 was Sasha Banks, who dominated the women’s title for close to eight months. In fact, several NXT women were strong contenders for that great honor, including the champ in this match, Bayley. Having to follow Nakamura/Zayn would be a tough act for any wrestler to follow, but Asuka and Bayley managed to do just that. The key may have been in making this one of the stiffest women’s matches ever to take place on any show connected to WWE. After a slow start that included some excellent mat wrestling, the match started to pick up steam with some of the stiffest blows ever doled out in a women’s match. Asuka dished out the punishment, but Bayley could dish it right back. The live crowd in Dallas was completely into this match, with their interest never flagging once. The story being told was that Bayley was an underdog who always managed to find a way to win, which made the finale a heartbreaker. Bayley attempted to finish off her rival with the Belly-to-Bayley suplex but Asuka gave her a stiff kick and locked on the Asuka Lock. Bayley struggled to break free but ultimately succumbed to the hold, passing out and giving Asuka the win and the Women’s Championship. Bayley sold a shoulder injury while Asuka played total heel in refusing to see if her opponent was all right after such a brutal match. A strong contender for Match of the Year. ****** Bobby Roode, who recently quit the TNA wrestling promotion, was in the audience here in Dallas. Guess who’s coming on board the NXT locomotive! I’ll bet you Cowboy James Storm is regretting his decision to turn down NXT to remain on board TNA, the current Titanic of professional wrestling. 5. NXT World Champion Finn Balor Vs. Samoa Joe: Balor came to the ring sporting a chainsaw, Leatherface style. Not only was it a tribute to a Japanese wrestling legend, but after all, they ARE in Texas. Let’s see how many people write in failing to get the reference. Since this was technically a grudge match, both men just got right to it by beating each other senseless with one stiff blow after another. Joe busted his cheek open hardway (meaning he didn’t use a blade to create that gash) after taking a nasty spill on the guardrail after a flying senton from Balor. The blood was flowing like wine, adding to the feel of this match being a brutal grudge match. Alas, since Vince McMahon was backstage and he is anti-blood to a sickening degree, the ref stopped the match dead to tend to Joe’s gash. Joe was royally pissed over the ref stoppage and tried to swat the medical staff away to no avail. The live Dallas crowd was even less pleased, making their displeasure over the situation extremely vocal to say the least. Unfortunately, the gash kept bleeding, resulting in several more ref stoppages. All this did was kill the hot momentum of the match and turn a hot crowd against the show in the process. Luckily, Joe and Balor worked extra hard to overcome these handicaps, with phenomenal ring work. Thankfully, it worked. Each near fall had the crowd riled up and energized. The finish was a neat tribute to the classic Bret Hart/Roddy Piper showdown at Wrestlemania VIII: Joe clamped on the Kokina Klutch, but Balor managed to stagger slowly to the ringpost and used his feet to launch himself backwards into a pin to retain his title. This was a stellar match that would have been a surefire ****** gem if not for those awful ref stoppages early on. ****3/4
Despite taking place on April 1, NXT Takeover Dallas was no April Fool’s joke. Taking place at the Kay Hutchinson Bailey Arena (apparently this country has gone from selling arena naming rights to corporations to selling naming rights to politicians dead or alive), this was one terrific show from start to finish. In fact, I believe Takeover Dallas may have been the best of the Takeover specials to date. Considering that all but one has been terrific, that is indeed saying something. That’s not to say there weren’t a few issues. After all, no major wrestling card is perfect. Lead announcer Tom Phillips made several blunders over the course of the opening match, resulting in audibly annoyed color commentator Corey Graves having to correct him on-air. There was also the insipid stoppage of the main event multiple times, which you’ll read more about in Part 2 of this recap. It also would have been nice to be told that one match would not take place on the live broadcast. However, compared to the various faults of Wrestlemania two nights later, Takeover Dallas’ issues were more like hiccups. A. Apollo Crews Vs. Elias Samson: This match was pulled last minute from the live broadcast, but was taped for airing on the April 6 episode of NXT. Reports from those attending live said the match was really bad, but having watched the broadcast version, I disagree with that consensus. It was not a great match, as Samson’s in-ring ability is mediocre at best. Not to mention this match was far too long for someone as marginal as Samson. Crews did as good a job as possible carrying a total zero like Samson and the match was definitely watchable. Crews scored the pin with a spinning power bomb. **1/2 Strangely, the live broadcast didn’t open with HHH making his customary welcoming remarks. The Wrestling Observer reports that this was a call by Vince McMahon, who was backstage since this was Wrestlemania weekend. Apparently, Vince was terrified of Roman Reigns being booed out of the building Sunday while HHH would be heavily cheered, as has been happening in arenas nationwide for the last three months whenever the two faced off. So he felt that by preemptively striking HHH off Takeover, the Dallas fans would rabidly cheer Reigns. Well, mission not accomplished as Reigns was definitely booed Sunday while HHH had far more cheers. Another interesting note is that Takeover Dallas is the first NXT Takeover special to feature a corporate sponsor: DiGiorno. If this isn’t a sign that NXT is now a major player in the professional wrestling scene here in North America, nothing is. 1. NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival (Dash & Dawson) Vs. American Alpha (Chad Gable & Jason Jordan): The show got off to a hot start as the crowd was amped up for this contest. It didn’t hurt to have two of the best tag teams in NXT facing off. This was a throwback to the great tag team battles of the 1980s, when tag teams like the British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Road Warriors, Demolition and the Brain Busters ruled supreme. Two solid tag teams fighting for the ultimate prize: the tag team titles. What a novel concept! It was also great to see the classic psychology of the traditional tag team match revived: specifically when the heel team isolates one member and prevents him from making the tag, prolonging the agony until the hot tag is finally made. When Gable finally made the hot tag to Jordan, the place exploded. This kind of psychology is largely absent from modern day tag team matches in main roster WWE, so it’s nice to see it used here. The Revival did screw up one spot, in which Gable was to be lifted up for a combination clothesline and power bomb. Alas, they didn’t get Gable up high enough and the move looked a tad sloppy. While some would dock the match a star or two for that miscue, I don’t believe it harmed the match to an irredeemable degree to justify that drastic action. Besides, both teams just dusted themselves off and kept going. There was one clever spot where Dash and Dawson switched places prior to a pin attempt. The live crowd took it as another screw up, but this was a throwback to the days when the heels would try and convince the ref that a tag had indeed been made. The last five minutes were thrilling, with one near fall after another. Finally, Gable and Jordan finished off Dawson with a dropkick that bridged into a suplex pin for the win and the titles. ****** Legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross was shown in the audience, as was- most tellingly- New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kota Ibushi. I have a feeling that Ibushi is HHH’s next big signing from Japan and just in time for the eagerly anticipated Global Cruiserweight tournament that’s set for airing on the WWE Network in July. 2. Austin Aries Vs. Baron Corbin: The live crowd reaction to Aries was deafening, serving as a fitting rebuke to those TNA officials who foolishly let Aries walk away last year. It was quite a shock to realize just show short Aries is, especially when facing a man who is one foot and three inches taller. Despite the size difference, Aries and Corbin had a strong match. Corbin has shown great improvement since the days when his matches were limited to 30 second squashes. He plays the role of aggressive heel to perfection. Corbin still has some rough edges that need to be polished and sanded further, but the potential for greatness is there. Corbin dominated at first, tossing Aries around in brutal fashion. Aries made a comeback, only to be leveled by one of the most devastating spinning side slams in wrestling history. Eventually Corbin went for the End of Days, but Aries broke free and rolled up Corbin for the pin. Strong match with a clever finish, showing that size doesn’t always triumph over brains in the ring. **** Scott Hall and Sean Waltman were shown in the audience. Hall looked fantastic, having successfully remained clean and sober for almost two years now. He looked happy to be there as the live crowd cheered around him. Unfortunately, time hasn’t been as kind to Waltman, who looked considerably older than his 42 years.
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