Butch Reed passed away over the weekend, one of the all-time great pro wrestlers based on the fire and bass factor in his early-80s Mid-South run alone. Check the unbelievable intensity of him vs. Buzz Sawyer from New Year’s 1985 in a Dog Collar Match, or against Dick Slater in November in a Bounty Match.
Thanks to time spent in the WWF during the WrestleMania III era flanked by Slick and calling himself “The Natural,” there was a legend around him that had some staying power even if he mainly flexed and feuded with Koko B. Ware and hip surgery Billy Graham. Then came Teddy Long, Ron Simmons and Doom — and I can’t wait to really dig into their whole deal sometime here at Happy Wrestling Land. That’s how I know Butch Reed: talented wrestler in singles and tags with personality for days. Rest in peace.
The story with WWE as we approach Valentine’s Day 2021 is that RAW is bad and SmackDown is good and if not it at least resembles an attempt at a wrestling show, though one working through the limitations of a Thunderdome.
Anything Worth Watching?
Promos: Cameron Grimes returns a rich man (NXT 2/10/21)
Angles: Big E/Apollo Crews confrontation (SmackDown 2/12/21)
Wrestlers: Mustafa Ali, Keith Lee, Asuka, Xia Li, Johnny Gargano, Cameron Grimes, Meiko Satomura, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Big E
Key Trends: RAW is Bad, Old Man Elimination Chamber, Lukewarm Dusty Classic, Meiko Satomura Debuts, SmackDown is Good
RAW (2/8/21)
RAW has good personalities around. Even saddled with Retribution, Mustafa Ali has such conviction in his voice. Even wearing a Newsies costume, Sheamus is havin’ a laugh. Asuka danced in response to the threat of Bianca Belair, and, well – it was better than any of Belair’s other post-Rumble awkwardness last week.
Otherwise this was the usual territory-killing kind of week, highlighted by the introduction the Elimination Chamber participants – Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Jeff Hardy, The Miz, and AJ Styles – with the exception of AJ, five guys who could’ve been in the Elimination Chamber ten years ago. They’ve been around forever, and I believe the issue is that they and the company they work for are not interesting enough to overcome that.
There was a Keith Lee/Riddle singles match and a Nia Jax/Lana tables match, which might have meant something if anything did anymore (it does not).
The Lee/Riddle match was just good enough to put some steam on a Triple Threat with Bobby Lashley.
Why was Shane McMahon here?
NXT (2/10/21)
MSK vs. Legado del Fantasma had MSK’s awesome dive and some pretty cool work in a vacuum, and I honestly can’t tell you if the Ciampa/Thatcher vs. Grizzled Young Veterans was any good or not. I think it might have been.
Xia Li has returned an elite performer but the Tian Sha lore and presentation feels more suited to RAW if Alexa Bliss and Bray Wyatt weren’t doing their bullshit.
Johnny Gargano and The Way meanwhile is on the pulse, or at least my pulse. “I swing my arms when I walk!”
Karrion Kross did another TV actor promo backstage on Santos Escobar but the GameStop stock-rich Cameron Grimes promo in the ring felt way more wrestling. He was either parodying something specific from the past or just all of professional wrestling period.
The TakeOver card rundown at the end was cool bordering on cute, which is kind of a vibe wrestling should avoid but it’s one of the only ones that exists in NXT right now besides just… I dunno, tepid? Candice LeRae/Indi Hartwell vs. Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart was real cool and the show ended with a Finn Balor/Pete Dunne showdown but it’s all just happening at the Capitol Wrestling Center under the direction of the Cerebral starfucker.
MAIN EVENT (2/10/21)
Then Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo went ahead and had a whole last 5 minutes of a New Japan big show undercard match, good stuff.
NXT UK (2/11/21)
Johnny Saint was back too, though he just announced a match from a video call. And uh, jeez – this show is more digital shorts than wrestling, huh? Real strange approach to a wrestling show. Piper Niven and Amale hit each other hard and the Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster vs. Eddie Dennis/Primate street fight main event was… not exactly the KENTA tag on Dynamite. I think it went longer too.
SMACKDOWN (2/12/21)
Kevin Owens STILL chasing Top Guy Roman Reigns and his lackeys as the backbone of this show ensures goodwill for the rest of whatever they’re trying, and Roman’s flex that WrestleMania last year without him had no fans was something else. Heyman Guy Reigns opposite WWE official Adam Pearce feels like a weird play for CM Punk, doesn’t it? No? Just me?
Rey & Dominik Mysterio getting to team together is cool but right now — Dominik’s crazy-ass tope suicida aside — it’s as lukewarm as that Rey and Sin Cara team that never took.
What wasn’t lukewarm was that Big E and Apollo Crews showdown, a result of a storyline that might be as layered as WWE is capable of these days. Big E’s near-angry “bring out my next challenger” as he tried to get Crews to move on was some top guy shit and I am digging these two finding the intensity in each other.
Elsewhere: Seth Rollins is back and alienating everybody, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks are finding power through a mutual disdain of Nia Jax, and Daniel Bryan & Cesaro teamed up to beat the tag champs and qualify for the Elimination Chamber. It was all pretty fine! Then Kevin Owens closed the show by Stunning everybody and calling out Roman again and it was awesome.
205 LIVE (2/12/21)
It was an OK match, as all these usually are. Just OK. Competent wrestling. Fake crowd noise. Little forward movement. Tony Nese. 205 Live rages on…
