Sheamus Vs Cesaro - WWE Monday Night Raw (05/09/2016)

 

Match three and Cesaro has kinesio tape on his lower back as well as his shoulders, so that finish from the previous match is now canon in this series - His back is fucked.  I look forward to match 7 where Cesaro will be more kinesio tape than man. 

Cesaro comes out swinging right from the bell, going for a quick pin and a flurry of offence.  His desperation showing here, but one simple back body drop has him playing defence immediately due to his pre-existing back injury.  I can’t say the action is anything to go out of your way to see, but I’m digging the week to week story.  Commentary are doing a great job in pointing out that match #4 is scheduled to be just 2 days later on a live event in London and with such a short recovery time, plus a flight across the Atlantic, Cesaro will be in an even worse condition for that match.  Corey Graves suggests that if Cesaro can’t win this match, the clean sweep is on.

Sheamus shows as much mercy here as Anakin Skywalker shows to younglings.  He puts about 8 knees into the back of Cesaro, does 4 consecutive Irish Curse Backbreakers and then when you think he’s gonna execute the Celtic Cross, he drops Cesaro on his knee again for the first ever Celtic-Backbreaker I can remember seeing.  The referee asks if Cesaro wants to give up, but Sheamus runs in with the Brogue Kick to end this one at around 5 minutes for 3-0.  I think a back related move would have come off better here than Sheamus just winning with his routine finisher.  A celtic cross would have been perfect.  That’s nitpicking though.  This is such a fun Sheamus performance as a ruthless heel showing no mercy to his opponent.  I imagine this will be the match I’d recommend the least as a match to watch in a vacuum as it’s so short and there’s very little Cesaro on show (I did love him punching his way out of a cloverleaf attempt but that’s about it for impressive Cesaro offence), but it perfectly fits the story they’re telling and I look forward to seeing how they progress that story in London.

And now for my first gripe about this series - The worst possible way to book a best of seven series is to have someone go 3-0 up.  This matters less in a retrospective re-watch where you already know what the outcome of the series is, but in real time the 3-0 lead gives away the finish to the next three matches as the guy chasing is obviously winning the next three matches to avoid it wrapping up quickly.  Wrestling is always at it’s most exciting when matches are unpredictable, and now we’ve got three predictable outcomes coming up in this series.  While Guy Pearce in Memento would have a better shot at recalling the action of the 3^rd Elite/Death Triangle match than I would, Tony at least avoided the 3-0 problem.   

Match of the Week - Fire Ant vs Vin Gerard - CHIKARA Young Lions Cup VI

Truthfully I've never been one to watch much CHIKARA. I've dabbled here and there but it's not a promotion I dedicated a lot of time to. So this review may lack a bit of context, but will hopefully be good for an outsider's perspective. At the same time, this match is very accessible due to how simple (that's not to say bad) the backstory to this match is. CHIKARA as a whole has always had its clear identity within US indies, and that identity plays into the story of the match. Vin Gerard is despised within the promotion for being an antagonist against the masked wrestlers of the promotion. Fire Ant meanwhile came into this tournament as a replacement for Worker Ant. This is the finals of the 6th Young Lions tournament. 

I thought this was a great match with an easily digestible story that is effortless to get into. Prior to the match, Gerard slaps Fire Ant across the face, setting the tone for the entire match. Once the match starts, Fire Ant begins with an aggressive flurry. It doesn't take long from there before Gerard takes control of the match, taunting Fire Ant and the crowd. Early on, we've quickly established the characters and their personalities. Once Worker Ant comes out on crutches to support Fire Ant, the stakes of the match are set out. Worker Ant isn't the only man to come out in support of Fire Ant and the sight of the masked wrestlers from CHIKARA coming out in support of Fire Ant is by far my favourite part of the whole match. It's always a fantastic moment when a heel gets his comeuppance from multiple sources in a single match or moment. It's that sort of touch that heightens the importance of the match while also making it feel unique. Similarly, I loved the moment later on where Gerard hit a powerbomb and tried to use the ropes for leverage purely from the reaction to it. The reaction from the wrestlers on the outside and the commentators put the spot over fantastically.

The emotion of the match is heightened by the character performance of both wrestlers. It's remarkable to see how good Fire Ant is both with and without the mask as Orange Cassidy. It's reminiscent of how effortlessly Sami Zayn went from being a masked wrestler to unmasked while still being a fantastic babyface. I guess being a great babyface just comes naturally to them. 

That's not to say the match is without its faults. Part of this is due to the inherent rules of the match, namely the 20 count on the floor. After Fire Ant hits a sick looking fireman's carry to the floor, it begins a very, very long 20 count to tease a countout finish. Gerard, in fairness, sells this well - both visually and audibly. The problem is it comes relatively early in the match, isn't a believable finish, and you feel every second of that 20 count. That's not a problem in and of itself, but later in the match they repeat a count out spot. After a couple of long STFs by Gerard, including one on the outside, its clear that he's trying to win by countout. It also includes a neat spot where he moves Fire Ant further from the ring. The problem is that I found it brought the pace match to a screeching halt for a second time in this 15 minute match. I don't think this is an inherent flaw of the 20 count either - if the workers know they have a 20 count, then I think the should work around that a little smarter.

Nonetheless, the finishing sequence with Fire Ant firing up is great, and even the no-sell of the Burning Hammer didn't bother me too much based on what we had been shown earlier in the match and the importance of it. Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable match that is easy to watch and show to anyone. While it may not be technically spectacular, the emotion and story of the match made this feel special and gripping.