The Ultimate NXT Draft: Picks 11-20

It has been three years since Jonah and I did an NXT Fantasy Draft to make our picks of who are going to be the next great superstars in the WWE. Then, about six months ago, we reviewed all of the picks to figure out what went right and what went wrong. We realized three things through this process. First off, very few wrestlers are in NXT from that original draft, and even the ones that are have changed dramatically over the last few years. Second, and more importantly for the strategy of this draft, is that we realized we cannot rely on WWE success to determine the strength of our selections as many of their creative decisions do not optimize their talent. So this draft is not predicting future success as much as it is drafting the wrestlers that we would want to build our organization around. Finally, we decided to be inclusive in this draft so not only will we have NXT and all of the wrestlers at the Performance Center, but we will include everyone over in NXT UK and even 205 Live since all of them are still working to progress in their career.

Today, we continue the series with the wrestlers who fell just beyond the top 10 picks.

11. Jonah selects Shayna Baszler

Jonah: She’s the NXT women’s champ and a very talented wrestler to boot. She’s not a great promo, but she’s not terrible either. She gets her point across through actions rather than words which works well for her. Baszler clearly made the transition from MMA to pro wrestling very smoothly, and she has good worked strikes as well as a strong technical wrestling ability. She’s a great heel, who generates lots of hate, but the good pro wrestling kind of hate. While Baszler was never anywhere near Ronda Rousey in terms of MMA, she may end up surpassing her in professional wrestling.

Joe: I would say that I’m actually a bigger fan of her promos than you seem to be. Her promos fit her wrestling style where she is a bully, and even though she can get mumbly in her promos, it totally fits that this is the bully that you can’t say anything to, because she will kick the crap out of you. She’s been the Women’s NXT Champion for quite a while, so it’s pretty easy to make the case that she should have been the first woman taken. Obviously, I am not making that case, but it’s not due to any flaw I see in Baszler, just the ceiling that I see in Belair.

12. Joe selects Io Shirai

Joe: There were only a small number of women that I really valued highly in the WWE system. There’s many more with potential to wow, but I wanted to get some guaranteed women that could carry my fantasy organization. I think it’s fairly safe to say that Io Shirai is the best women’s wrestler in NXT, and she might simply be the best women’s wrestler in the world. I’m not going to get into all of the arguments for other ladies in the WWE and around the world, but all you really need to know is Io Shirai OWNS. Now that she has unleashed her sadistic side by attacking Shayna Baszler after their Takeover match, I am really excited to see where things go for her. The sky is certainly the limit for this Genius.

Jonah: We need to get further down the list so I can actually shit talk some of your picks. I really wanted Shirai, she’s extremely talented. She does have the same issue Kushida does in having English as her second language, but that’s really her only downside. It’s actually an incredible compliment to NXT that I’m not sure if she’s the best women’s wrestler there, but she’s definitely one of the top ones. I see her challenging for the newly formed women’s trio belts with Kairi Sane and Asuka in 2022.

13. Joe selects Candice LeRae

Joe: This is me drafting with my heart instead of my brain. Now don’t get me wrong, Candice LeRae wasn’t going to fall much further than this, but even I have to admit that Pete Dunne was probably the way to go with this pick if I was picking logically. But Candice LeRae is responsible for me falling in love with independent wrestling.

Back in 2015, my brother and I went to our first WrestleMania. This was before Indys took over WrestleMania weekend, but I did find out about the WrestleCon Supershow. They announced some of the names that would be there, but there were also a lot of surprises. Most of the names meant nothing to me, because I was fully a WWE guy at the time. I was most interested in nostalgia, so needless to say, my mind was blown when Disco Inferno was in the opening match as I thought he was a big enough name to main event the card. The matches were fun, and I was seeing things that were definitely blowing my mind, but nothing compared to the tag match.

The World’s Cutest Tag Team, Joey Ryan and Candice LeRae, took on the World’s Dudest Tag Team, Caleb Konley and Zane Riley (in drag). I didn’t know matches like this happened. I didn’t know women could be competitive with men. I didn’t know women could suplex men by their testicles. Most of all, I didn’t know wrestling could be this fun. Candice was the star of the match as she absolutely laid it all on the line and just went balls (ovaries?) out. Pete Dunne is objectively great, but I’m good to stick with the blonde girl.

Jonah: Joey Ryan? Whatever happened to that blonde girl he used to hang out with? He really needs her watching his back. LeRae is great, the only downside is that she hasn’t really been able to show her full skill set in NXT yet. They need to show she’s a real threat and a real wrestler, but Mrs. Wrestling should have a bright future ahead of her.

14. Jonah selects Pete Dunne

Jonah: Pete Dunne is straight up awesome. I’m sure this will get a big reaction out of Joe, but he’s as good as WALTER in the ring, and he has that same presence where he just feels like a big deal when he shows up. People just love the guy. He’s also only 25 years old. I think he has a real shot at becoming the first British WWE World Champion.

Joe: I am not about to dispute that Pete Dunne is awesome. That dude straight up owns. He’s phenomenal in the ring, and if Candice LeRae didn’t mean way too much to me, I would have taken him earlier. I have no issue with you saying he’s as good as WALTER in the ring; in fact, he might be better, but saying he has the presence of WALTER? Come on, now. WALTER walks into a grocery store, and people stop scanning items; Pete Dunne walks into the grocery store, and people ask him if he needs help reaching the top shelf.

Jonah: Pete Dunne is one of the most over people in all of NXT, that’s presence. He’s a badass without being big, that’s presence.

15. Jonah selects Toni Storm

Jonah: I’m not sure if this pick was a bit of a shock or not, but Joe had taken some talented women and I needed to make sure I wasn’t left behind. Storm was specifically mentioned by Becky Lynch as someone she would like to face at Wrestlemania in the future. She was a quarter finalist in the first Mae Young Classic and won the second. She’s the current WWE UK Women’s Champion and is incredibly over. She is beautiful, talented in the ring and over at the ripe old age of 23. She’ll be one of the top women’s stars in the WWE for the next 10 to 15 years once she moves to the main roster. She’s from New Zealand, so there’s nothing keeping her in the UK. Put it down, in a few years she will be a very early pick in a WWE mock draft.

Joe: I definitely expected Toni Storm to go in this range. She’s good in the ring and still has a lot of potential for more. I saw her live in one match, and since her opponent was garbage, the match kind of left a bad taste in my mouth since I was expecting to be wowed. I think that’s more the struggle of being a woman on the independent scene than anything against her though. She’s quite good, but I felt better about some other women on the roster.

16.Joe selects Shane Strickland Isaiah Scott

Joe: When we first started this draft, his name was still Shane Strickland, but he has been fully taken over by the WWE machine to become Isaiah Scott. You can call him whatever you want, but the guy has been one of the top independent wrestlers out there for the last few years. Jonah already hinted at it in the Matt Riddle portion of this draft, but seeing “Swerve” take on “The King of Bros” at Defy in Seattle was without a doubt one of the best matches I have ever seen, and it may very well have that top spot in my personal rankings. Anyway, I have personally seen Strickland have many great matches, some against well known guys like Cage, and some against some surprising names like Fabian Aichner and Jimmy Havoc. He’s awesome in the ring, and he has a persona that translates very well to WWE. It’ll be interesting where he gets slotted in early on as he won a ton of titles on the independent scene, but it never seemed like he reached the peak “indy darling” status. My only immediate hope is that he gets to keep the “Swerve” nickname. He’s an immense talent, can have great matches with anyone and could be somebody who Jonah deeply regrets not taking in a year or two.

Jonah: This one hurt. Isaiah Scott, AKA Shane Strickland AKA Swerve AKA Killshot is awesome. He’s incredibly talented in the ring, I mean he’s the other half of my favorite match that I’ve seen in person. His persona is good, but to be honest, his promo skills need some work. I guess it isn’t a huge deal when you’re that good in the ring, but if his promo skills develop in NXT he’s an early pick in our next draft.

Joe: I think he has shown a good amount in promos, especially with some of his work in MLW. I also admire the guy for starting a podcast to just get himself talking more; it’s a really great way to build comfort and piece ideas together verbally.

17.Joe selects Kacy Catanzaro

Joe: This was the last woman’s wrestler that I rated very highly on my list, and it is still a ton of projection, but the agility and balance is so ridiculous compared to anyone I have seen in women’s wrestling that she could be a true game changer. She is very small as I’m pretty sure she’ll be looking up to Alexa Bliss, but the athleticism is so out of this world that her potential is out of this world. Also, right now, I have only seen her strength used to support her own body weight, but considering how strong you have to be to succeed in American Ninja Warrior, it wouldn’t shock me if she showed some freakish strength in her matches at some point. And since I had my four horsewomen (everything is some variation of the Four Horsemen when describing four people in professional wrestling), I took some time off and let Jonah take the next seven ladies in this draft.

Jonah: Athleticism is off the charts, really unbelievable stuff. I actually remember watching her on one of the only episodes of Ninja Warrior I’ve ever seen, she can do things that 99.9% of people can’t, just like her boyfriend Ricochet. What a fun mixed tag challenge team they would make. She’s cute and can clearly play the underdog, book her like a female Rey Mysterio and things will go well for her.

Joe: I don’t think she has a 20-year-old kid that can stand around the back with her for months for no reason, but I love the idea of Catanzaro vs. Samoa Joe.

Jonah: Talk about a new money gimmick for Ricochet.

18. Jonah selects Tyler Bate

Jonah: Bate is a guy who seems to have gotten a bit lost in the shuffle of WALTER and Pete Dunne, but man can he still wrestle like a boss. He’s another guy with that same natural charisma, he got over by touching his moustache. He’s also crazy strong, especially for his size, he can really play off that by deadlift suplexing guys much bigger than him and getting those Cesaro pops. I’ve been a big fan of youth so far and Bate is the youngest of them all at 22.

Joe: Yeah, I probably would have taken Tyler Bate with my next go-around, but Catanzaro was the last woman that I felt like I needed to get. Bate is incredible in the ring for his age, and although his only discernible personality trait is, “has mustache,” currently, I think he will develop more of a persona as time goes on.

19. Jonah selects Mia Yim

Jonah: Yim is a talented wrestler who has experience performing for a “national” company in TNA as their world champion. I think her character is interesting and unique as it’s very different than what is usually seen from Asian females in professional wrestling. Her uniqueness and her wrestling talent will eventually lead to at least an NXT Women’s Title run for her, and she’s 29 meaning she has plenty of time left to succeed on the main roster as well.

Joe: Jonah, you love the ages of people. I do like Mia Yim as I think she’s very good, but I haven’t been wowed by her. She had a very entertaining series of matches with Bianca Belair, but I’m certainly not ready to crown her a future NXT Champion, a belt that Becky Lynch never obtained.

Jonah: As a guy who can barely walk at my age, let me tell you that age does matter. I draft for the future.

20.Joe selects Tommaso Ciampa

Joe: Neck injuries are scary, but modern medical procedures have elevated the chances of a full recovery. In real life, I am hoping for a full recovery from Ciampa, who has been through a lot of tough things, and deserves a positive break. As for my fantasy organization, this pick makes sense at this point since I really don’t have any reason to believe Johnny Gargano is better than Ciampa, so I’m getting an extra top-5 pick at best, top-10 at worst. Ciampa is really great at telling a story in the ring, and yeah, I just hope he gets healthy in real life, because he’s always been a pleasure to watch.

Jonah: Ciampa fell too far, he’s awesome in the ring and very charismatic, but man has he been hurt a lot. It’s not just his recent neck injury, but his old knee injury that worries me as well. I love Ciampa and I hope he comes back healthy and stays healthy.

Previously in the NXT Draft:
Picks 1-10

Did Evolve 114 Change Things for the Better?

This past weekend, as many of you were watching WWE Evolution, or doing something else if you're a well-adjusted person who does not have their schedule revolve around what wrestling is going on. I was in Ybor City, the place where cool people go to party in Tampa, to surround myself with degenerate wrestling fans and attend Evolve 114.

Evolve has been one of the top independent promotions for a while now as they have been instrumental in the careers of Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, and Johnny Gargano. Since they recently lost those first two guys, they are in a bit of a rebuilding mode. Shane Strickland led them into the card as he was not only the Evolve World Champion, but has held belts for countries all around the US and is universally considered one of the top guys on the Indys.

Usually when this happens, new talent rises up to take up the spots that are now open. Evolve has a ton of guys that can do it as they had a ladder match with six super talented guys in JD Drake, Austin Theory, Darby Allin, Anthony Henry, Harlem Bravado, and probably my favorite Indy wrestler, AR Fox. But instead, Evolve went in the total opposite direction and picked up guys from above the Evolve level.

Evolve has had a working relationship with the WWE for the past couple years, and it has worked out for both sides. Evolve helps develop talent to get them ready for NXT, and WWE will occasionally send guys to Evolve shows to help boost the card. They have now taken that to the extreme.

The week of the event, Evolve's tag champions, Doom Patrol, Chris Dickinson and Jaka, issued an open challenge. This open challenge was answered by NXT's Street Profits, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, the latter of which should turn into a massive star if the WWE has any inkling of ability to develop talent. That's a pretty awesome upgrade for the card, and I assumed that they could put on a fun match where Doom Patrol finds a way to win, and they both go their separate ways.

But when the WWE announced that Street Profits would challenge, they also mentioned that other NXT stars may be interested in seeing what Evolve was all about. Considering that Shane Strickland did not have an opponent for his world title, my interest was definitely piqued. Strickland came out early to brag of dispatching the best that Evolve has to offer, so who would answer his challenge? The music hit, and out came the one and only...Fabian Aichner? Well, not exactly Riddle, Keith Lee, or Ricochet, but whatever, it should be a watchable match.

Then, throughout the night, we saw little used NXT wrestlers Jessie, Adrian Jaoude (with Cesar Bononi), and Dan Matha make appearances. This could have been very cool to see these wrestlers take a few more chances and let loose, but it was much more of NXT style matches than Evolve style matches. They were fine, but the most memorable thing from any of them was Dan Matha saying that he is the sauciest of sauces, and he goes drip, drip, drip, which made me laugh out loud as now every time I see Matha, I will only be able to think of Ol' Drippy from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

On the positive side, the tag team title match between Doom Patrol and Street Profits was awesome. The crowd loved Street Profits, because really, how can you not love Street Profits? It was still more of an NXT match, but it was closer to the level of NXT Takeover tag matches as it was a good back and forth battle. And the crowd all erupted when Street Profits actually got the victory to win the Evolve Tag Titles.

Still, it was clear that the Evolve roster would have their revenge when Shane Strickland took on Fabian Aichner for the Evolve World Title. This was a really good match and is a great reminder of how awesome the talent in NXT is. Aichner is super good, and Strickland will always put on good matches. Still, the crowd knew that Strickland wasn't losing, so they never fully embraced the match. The ending was fast-paced back and forth with Aichner hitting a revolution powerbomb to win the match...wait, what? Fabian Aichner is the new Evolve World Champ? I now know what it would have been like to see The Undertaker's streak ended, because it was the same sense of shock when Aichner beat Strickland. Just total disbelief and dismay.

So what the hell does this mean? Both the Evolve World and Tag Champs are from NXT. With The Street Profits, I get it. They are one of the most fun acts in NXT, and even though they haven't quite risen to Championship level, if they found their way to a title shot and even a win in the next few months, it wouldn't be all that surprising. If they show up on NXT television with the Evolve titles, there is potential to draw a lot more interest from WWE fans in turning them into pro wrestling fans. I think that makes a ton of sense as it increases interest in Evolve, and it elevates Street Profits as just holding titles from another organization immediately puts them in the conversation for NXT Tag Titles.

But Fabian Aichner? That one is more puzzling to me. If Fabian Aichner shows up wearing the Evolve title on NXT television, nobody is thinking that they need to watch Evolve, they think that Evolve must suck, because Fabian Aichner can't beat anybody important. What is Aichner's best singles win over the last year? He has beaten Raul Mendoza four times over that stretch, but Mendoza has still beaten Aichner eight times overall, so maybe that isn't the best example. I mean he did beat Jeet Rama in April, but Rama got his revenge two weeks later. So I guess it is his big win over Humberto Carillo, and if you're wondering why you don't remember any of these matches, it's because all of these matches were on house shows. So I would say the decision to give Aichner the title is puzzling.

So what the hell does that make Evolve? I think the most interesting thing is if Evolve was fully embraced by WWE as their Double-A organization (NXT is AAA, Raw/Smackdown is the majors). People in the business always talk about how titles only matter to marks, but if you're a wrestling fan, that makes you a mark and titles are important. If you told me that Fabian Aichner was going to be on the next NXT Takeover special, I might pass out from how aggressively I gave the wanking motion. But if you tell me that he is going to be there defending his Evolve title against Shane Strickland or AR Fox, well, that actually does get me invested in a Fabian Aichner match, because I would be fascinated to see either of those challengers on WWE television. WWE has shown a willingness to use guys that do not have WWE contracts, most notably for the Cruiserweight tournament with Kota Ibushi and Zach Sabre Jr.

That sort of partnership between the organizations could be a win-win if done correctly. I'd love to see Evolve guys on WWE Network, and it would definitely increase the interest in Evolve as an organization. Eventually, Evolve may be able to be a part of the WWE Network, although that is more me dreaming of an idealistic world as a fan as I doubt it makes much sense for either side financially. Although I was pretty skeptical of things the night of the event, it could be laying the groundwork for something special down the line.

Before I go, I need to point out that the ladder match for the WWN Championship is the type of match that could make anyone a pro wrestling fan. All six guys had a chance to shine, and it was a sensory overload that was a blast to watch from start to finish. It was more than worth the price of admission alone. If you show that on WWE Network, you will have a whole lot of people wondering how they can see it in person, and that is why I am so interested to see where Evolve goes from here.

Independent Wrestling Is on the Verge of Being Cool

Last weekend, I made what is now becoming an annual trip across the country, from Tampa to Seattle, to watch independent wrestling (and see my brother). This trip was pretty incredible as I was able to see two top notch shows with Progress traveling in from the United Kingdom for their first ever US tour, and Defy putting on another incredible local show where they continue to gain buzz. These shows were so good that I realized that it went beyond great pro wrestling shows; they were simply incredible shows, and I truly believe that pro wrestling is on the verge of being considered the best live entertainment option for regular folks. That's right; pro wrestling might actually become...cool?

I know you are laughing at me right now, and I'm not even mad about that. It's totally understandable, and I was hesitant to write this post, because I knew how outlandish the idea was at first glance, but I also 100% believe that going to pro wrestling will not only be acceptable, but a desirable weekend night out.

When I talk about pro wrestling, let me make it clear that I am not referring to the WWE. The WWE has, by far, the most talent in the world, and I would be fine if I never saw another WWE arena show again in my life. They are the ketchup of the pro wrestling world; popular mostly because availability and reliability, but you're rarely wowed by ketchup. WWE is fine, but WWE is not nearly as fun.

Instead, I am talking about independent wrestling. Many independent wrestling shows are 21+ which means there are no children there, and drinking is not only allowed but encouraged. The value of the former is that independent wrestling is allowed to put on a show for adults. They will cuss, be sexually provocative, and occasionally fly into the crowd. The value of the latter is that everything is better when you can have a beer of seven.

I have been fortunate to see some really awesome events. I love sporting events, but they all have their issues. Baseball can be slow, football is always slow, basketball and hockey are great, but they have their fair share of blowouts, soccer ain't too bad, but it ain't too great either, and golf is nice because you get to be outside and walk around, but it isn't that much better than just a day at a park.

On the cultural side, I have seen great bands, entertaining plays, and even a few musicals, but even at their best, they can't compare to pro wrestling (although Steel Panther does come close).

Here's the thing: Pro wrestling is the best of both worlds. First off, it involves insane athleticism. I know they are not necessarily competing against each other, but instead with each other, but you get the same high of watching people compete. Also, with them competing together, they can do far more to put on a better show. When going to a sports contest, you are lucky to see a handful of memorable athletic feats, but you will likely see at least that many in most live wrestling matches. And if your only argument is, "Durr, it's fake," all I can say is that it may be predetermined, but there are certain things that you simply cannot fake, and you and I would both likely vomit from pain and exhaustion if we were put through a five minute wrestling match.

Oh yeah, it also adds the characters and built-in drama that you would see on stage. Are some of the characters over-the-top and cheesy? Of course they are, but let's take a step back and recognize that rapping Alexander Hamilton and singing cats are as stupid as anything pro wrestling has done, and people seem to be just fine with that. Oh yeah, and every single performance is unique. I haven't seen Hamilton, but I can tell you how it ends. In wrestling, the script changes, and even though it is predetermined, you WILL pick a wrestler to cheer for. It's logically stupid, but it's just like a TV show or movie, where you find characters you pull for, and characters you want to see horrible things happen to, and doing it live adds so much fun.

And although I mentioned it being scripted, it's much more of an outline, and the outline is basically, start off like this, do a bunch of cool shit in the middle, finish with this. That do a bunch of cool shit in the middle is not only awesome, but you can help influence it. If you see two brutal chops to a man's chest that are so loud and hard that it sounds like a shotgun blast, you can start a "One more time" chant to get that poor wrestler even more abused. When you see something great, you can repeatedly yell "This is awesome." And if you see something disturbing, it is more than acceptable to chant, "You sick fuck" at the wrestler. Let's face it, we'd all be happier if we got to call people sick fucks more often.

Now, I must admit that Defy and Progess put on INCREDIBLE shows. They had it all; action, drama, comedy, and over the two nights, I probably saw two matches that I would consider average, where everything else was good to "OH MY GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT IS HAPPENING." I'm a fan of brutality, so seeing a guy from Austria named WALTER (it's in all caps so you know he's awesome) brutalize opponents will always appeal to me. There were also genetic freaks like Brian Cage, possibly the next big thing in all of wrestling with Shane "Swerve" Strickland, incredibly crazy luchadors like Bandido, and even some comedy with Trent Seven. Shit, man, this show even bucked the stereotype that wrestling is only for backwoods rednecks by having well-respected women wrestlers like Toni Storm and, GASP, positive representations of homosexuals with the tag team of Sexy Starr. When I type all of that out, I refuse to believe there is a person out there that wouldn't want to see an independent wrestling show.

Not all independent shows are going to be at that level so you may not see that great of variety of amazing wrestling, but you would be surprised at how many places have incredibly good shows. You can find a great show in any major city, and even if you live in a smaller city, there is always independent wrestling. Sure, you might not be watching future superstars, but the beer is probably cheaper, and that's tough to beat.

Considering the cost of live entertainment, you can definitely find an affordable show, and there is no such thing as a bad seat, because they are always in very small buildings. The shows I went to were about as expensive as it gets, but there are very few shows that you can't get into for $20 or less. I went to a show in Tampa where I was in the third row, and if I did a 180 in my seat, I was bellied up to the bar - best of both worlds.

Will you watch some things and think, "Oh, that is so stupid?" Yeah, of course you will. Even I think some things are stupid, and there are pro wrestlers that I simply don't care for. But on the whole, you are going to find way more things to like than not. At its best, you're giggling with excitement at what you are seeing, and at worst, you are giggling at the performers, but either way you're smiling and having a good time. All I'm saying is to give it a chance, because I would hate to see you realizing five years down the line that you could have seen the most incredible combination of athleticism and drama, but you were too much of a nerd to realize how cool it was to go to a wrestling show.

Defy 8 Was Great

A few months ago, my brother let me know that he had two front row tickets for an independent wrestling show in Seattle. I live in Clearwater, FL, nearly the furthest place possible from Seattle in the United States. I have NXT shows five minutes from my house. It makes zero sense for me to trek across the country to watch more professional wrestling. But I am a child, so I looked at flights, got approval from my wife, and booked my trip to the great northwest. Traveling that far may seem insane, but Defy 8 was well worth the trip.

So before I even knew who would be on the card, I booked the trip. But I really lucked into things, as an organization really couldn't have brought in a more ideal collection of stars at the top of the card for this event.

Shane Strickland - Also known as Killshot on Lucha Underground. He's pretty awesome, but since he is also the Defy Champion, I basically knew I could count on him being there for the event.

Jeff Cobb - Also known as "The Monster" Matanza Cueto on Lucha Underground. He's a former Olympian in Greco Roman Wrestling, which means he has stupid strength and can basically throw around anyone from any angle.

John Hennigan - Also known as Johnny Mundo on Lucha Underground. Also known as John Morrison from the WWE, and Johnny Nitro from WWE. Oh, and also he's the star of Boone: The Bounty Hunter which you should definitely buy from Wal-Mart or watch on Amazon Prime. And as an added bonus, that meant that Taya was there to wrestle as well.

Matt Riddle - Also known as Matthew Riddle when he was fighting in the UFC. This was weirdly the guy I was most excited to see despite him having the least notoriety of the big names. I had seen him one other time in Orlando, and it was an eye opening experience. He had me when he came out to Warren G's "Regulate" but his wrestling cemented himself as one of my favorite wrestlers out there.

Even in the matches that didn't feature names that I knew, there was still a lot of talent and some really fun wrestling from guys I had never heard of. I saw a sexually provocative wrestler, fat Aleister Black, ladies wrestling men, ladies taking suplexes on the damn stage, a giant wrestler who called himself The Giant Slayer which really didn't make sense until I saw the woman he was talking to after the show, and TWINS.

But the highlights were the two main events. In the match before intermission, John Hennigan took on Jeff Cobb. This kind of showed the beauty of pro wrestling. It wasn't a traditionally great pro wrestling match, but it was so much fun that it really didn't matter. They had some great spots in it, and they had the entire crowd entertained from start to finish. Jeff Cobb is out there throwing Hennigan around and doing back flips. Meanwhile, Hennigan is out there doing a backflip while mooning the crowd. Why did he do that? No idea, but I was laughing my ass off, because sometimes sophomoric humor just hits the right spot.

As fun as that match was, it still really couldn't compare to the main event with Shane Strickland defending his Defy Championship against Matt Riddle. It was one of the best matches I have ever seen in person. These guys just got after it, and the pace they set was unbelievable. On top of that, every single thing they did seemed to have bad intentions. I know pro wrestling is scripted, but I was totally lost in the moment as the thing felt like a fight. I had so much fun and was truly convinced on multiple occasions that the match would end. Strickland is awesome, and I believe any person on this Earth can enjoy a Matt Riddle match.

Does it help to be a pro wrestling fan to enjoy something like Defy 8? Sure. But shows like that are so much more than a pro wrestling show; it's just a damn show, and anybody can enjoy that.