One of the biggest news stories this week in the world of wrestling was the return of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. He came back on Friday Night Smackdown to confront Roman Reigns and claim a shot for Reigns’ title at WrestleMania. But for many wrestling fans, that wasn’t the exciting announcement the WWE fans hoped for.
With The Rock returning to face Reigns at WrestleMania, Cody Rhodes is left in the dust. The man who has been a workhorse for the company and has built a long-term storyline with Reigns now has to wait his turn to face the Tribal Chief. It just doesn’t seem fair, but hey, that’s the business.
Aside from that, the company put on some great matches over the past week, especially from NXT Vengeance Day. Their NXT talent is so promising; for example, Tiffany Stratton officially signed her contract with Smackdown last week, thus “graduating” from NXT.
So, here are the top pro wrestling matches from the past week leading up to the Royal Rumble.
Dijak vs. Joe Gacy (NXT Vengeance Day, February 4)
No disqualification matches are always a treat, and this one was no different. You never know what Joe Gacy will pull out, and in this match against Dijak, he did just about everything. I’m talking chairs, kendo sticks, duct tape and tables filled with legos. On Dijak’s end, his weapons of choice were a nightstick and trash can. Dijak used the nightstick to clobber Gacy before hitting him with a brutal knee to pick up the victory.
Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams (NXT Vengeance Day, February 4)
Two of the most talented men in NXT faced off for the NXT Championship. The crowd was absolutely behind Williams, who had a match earlier in the night with his tag-team partner Carmelo Hayes. The match started off intense from the start, with bloody noses and mouths. Dragunov was the dominant man in the beginning, hitting Williams with devastating clotheslines, big boots and chops. Things continued to get brutal, with Dragunov delivering a German suplex outside the ring, followed by a head drop on the ring apron.
The commentator said it best, Williams dug deeper than he ever did before and started gaining back momentum. Williams hit a ring apron slam of his own. Sadly, this is where things got messy, with referees getting knocked down and Carmelo Hayes — who was ringside as a friend in support of Williams — getting in the way and hurting Williams’ leg on accident. Dragunov and Williams both lined up to deliver their finishers, but Dragunov connected first and pinned Williams for the 1, 2, 3 to retain his championship. And right after the match, Hayes did a heel turn on Williams, attacking him with a steel chair.
Gunther vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Monday Night Raw, January 29)
I can never give enough praise to Gunther, who shows out every time he’s in the ring, but this match continued to showcase his immense talent. Kofi Kingston is considerably underrated but matched Gunther in every way possible to produce a classic. As the more powerful competitor, Gunther held the momentum early on, hitting some slams on top of a Boston crab submission hold. Once momentum finally shifted to Kingston after his ‘trouble in paradise’ finisher had Gunther roll outside the ring, Kingston jumped off the ring barricade to slam Gunther’s neck against the ring steps. Once Gunther was back in the ring, Kingston followed it up with a double-leg drop from the top rope. When I say Kofi was doing it all, he even landed his signature ‘SOS’ move after that. But Gunther’s resiliency is almost unmatched in this company, so nothing would be enough to take him down. Gunther won the match with a massive powerbomb.
Their feud is incredibly entertaining, and, if it continues, it will provide some more great matches.
“Sports Entertainment Solidified” is a pro wrestling column by Maddy Myer that runs every Monday.