On Episode 202, we continue to try and get caught up with an Episode that is long overdue. In Episode 202, we take a look at the road towards Battleground ’17 while also recapping a surprisingly good PPV with a really bad name: Great Balls of Fire 2017.
We begin by looking at the action of Smackdown Live, 205 Live, and NXT from the week of June 19th, 2017. On Smackdown Live, the controversy over the Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match put Daniel Bryan in a tough position. Despite the protestations of Carmella and James Ellsworth, Daniel decided that the only fair thing to do would be to have a second MITB match on the following weeks edition of Smackdown Live. Also on this episode, Dolph Ziggler battled Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens took on Chad Gable, and Jinder Mahal tangled with Luke Harper. On 205 Live, the battle between Mustafa Ali and Drew Gulak continued while in the Main Event, Neville took on the former Cruiswerweight Champion, Rich Swan, in another excellent match between these two. On NXT, Ember Moon returned to action against Peyton Royce while Kassius Ohno went up against Alestair Black in an awesome Main Event.
It is then on to the action from the week of June 26, 2017. The Hype Bros tried to earn a title shot as they took on The Usos, Naomi defended the Smackdown Women’s Championship against Lana, Sami Zayn continued his war with Baron Corbin, and we learned of the return of the Punjabi Prison for Battleground. The real story of this episode of Smackdown Live, however, was the second ever Women ‘s MITB match. How did Carmella manage to walk out with the Briefcase…again? We let you know on Episode 202. On 205 Live, Mustafa Ali and Drew Gulak could not get enough of each other as they met again, Cedric Alexander took on Ariya Daivari, and the King of the Cruiserweights, Neville, had some words for Akira Tozawa. NXT saw the return of Mauro Ranallo to the announce booth. Oney Lorkin and Hideo Itami had an absolute war that saw Hideo suffer a broken nose. In the Main Event, in a week where women headlined the Main Event of Raw, Smackdown Live and NXT, the best may have been saved for last as Asuka and Nikki Cross tore the house down in a Last Woman Standing match for the NXT Women’s Championship.
It is then on to the July 4th Episodes of Smackdown Live, and 205 Live, as well as the 400th Episode of NXT. On Smackdown, John Cena returned for the first time since WrestleMania and immediately got into a war of words with Rusev that would lead to a Flag Match between the two at Battleground. AJ Styles took on Chad Gable for a spot in the Independence Day Battle Royal, Naomi again defended the SD Women’s Title against Lana, the New Day and The Usos met in a pretty awesome Rap Battle, and Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton promised to destroy one another, inside the Punjabi Prison at Battleground. In the Main Event, an Independence Day Battle Royal took place with the winner getting a shot at Kevin Owens’ United States Championship at Battleground. 205 Live saw an awesome match between Rich Swan and TJP. On the 400th Episode of NXT, Kassius Ohno and Hideo Itami teamed up against SAniTY, while in the Main Event, Roderick Strong sought glory as he tried to end the glorious reign of the NXT Champion, Bobby Roode.
If you missed anything from these various Episodes of Smackdown Live, 205 Live, or NXT, then tune in to Episode 202 as we have all the details for you.
To close off Episode 202, we take a look back at Great Balls of Fire ’17. Without question, one of the most questionable names for a PPV ever ended up being a surprisngly good PPV. Neville took on Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship. Seth Rollins tried to prove that Bray Wyatt was a fraud. Big Cass tried to rid the world of Enzo Amore. Cesaro and Sheamus defended the Raw Tag Titles in an amazing 30-minute Iron Team Match. Sasha Banks tried to reclaim the Raw Women’s Title from Alexa Bliss, Dean Ambrose tried to recapture the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz, and Roman Reigns tried to kill Braun Strowman…literally. In the Main Event, Brock Lesnar got the fight he was looking for from Samoa Joe…and then some. We have all the details for you about this excellent event right here on Episode 202.
Please make sure you are following the Attitude Of Aggression and all the other great Podcasts at the YES Wrestlign Network at https://yeswrestling.com/yes-wrestling-podcast-network-ca6b750e8f79