WWE 205 Live 29/11/2016

The new reboot of the WWE cruiserweight division hasn't exactly set the world on fire on Raw, so I was pleased to learn of the new cruisers-specific show on the Network. There's a number of guys I've liked for a while in the division, and the chance to see weekly Drew Gulak/Noam Dar/Brian Kendrick matches, which are actually given some time, really appealed. So, for as long as I'm motivated to do so, I'm going to try and do a weekly look at this show. The first episode set a good tone for the coming weeks.

The Bollywood Boyz vs Drew Gulak & Tony Nese

Absolutely baffling that they would choose to put the Bollywood Boyz over here. They come across as the most bush-league act in the division – generic gear, generic moveset, generic act. It’s really noticeable against someone like Tony Nese. Nese is naturally more athletic than either Bollywood Boy, but he really tones it down here to avoid overshadowing the face team. Still, it’s him and Gulak who really shine here. Gulak takes control for his team with a massive dropkick, followed by a big slam where he drops his opponent in the ropes. It’s just obvious when watching that Gulak and Nese have better execution. One Boy does hit a decent springboard crossbody to the floor, but when they hit a dodgy double-superkick on Gulak to pick up the win, it feels like the wrong team has won.

Jack Gallagher vs Ariya Daivari

Gallagher’s style is so unique, it pretty much serves to get him over right away, as he ties up Daivari on the mat. The crowd seems fascinated by his abilities, with his fluid movement and innate charisma being summed up by him tying Daivari into a ball, miming kicking him in the arse, then doing so to a big pop. Daivari doesn’t get chance to show much, but I did like his big kneedrop to the back to briefly gain control. Gallagher counters a rolling elbow with an absolutely sick headbutt, before hitting a corner dropkick for the win. A star is born.

Rich Swann vs Brian Kendrick

Really dug this. Both guys drop big bombs early, Kendrick taking Swann down with a big back suplex and Swann hitting a nice tigerbomb. Really liked Swann getting to show off his athleticism by leaping to the ringside barriers and hitting a flip clothesline. Because they gave this match plenty of time, especially in comparison to the cruiserweight matches on Raw, they were able to tell a story, with Kendrick deciding to work over Swann’s neck, after opportunistically finding himself in position to hit a neckbreaker over the metal turnbuckles. Swann beats the count, but a dragon suplex and an attempt at the Captain’s Hook further weaken the neck. A second Captain’s Hook really sees the crowd onside with Swann, and there’s a big pop when he reaches the ropes. Swann kicking out of a top rope Sliced Bread did feel slightly too much – a superpowered version of Kendrick’s finisher on top of an already injured neck should have been enough to win. It does lead to the end, as frustration on Kendrick’s part causes him to rush in, and Swann is able to nail three big head kicks to win and gain the title. Really good main event for the first show.

VII: Fight Forever (16/09/2016)

So, there I was browsing through YouTube, when this little beauty popped up on my recommend section. VII Wrestling carried on the good work of the Shropshire Wrestling Alliance (whose Summer Blowout 2014 I reviewed last year on this very blog), before announcing they'd folded just over a month ago. Obviously, a big shame, especially as their YouTube channel looks to have a host of great matches which I'm looking forward to ploughing through in the coming weeks. This is a full show, with a loaded line-up, and it's an actual treat to watch all the way through. Check out the link at the bottom for the full show.

Wild Boar vs Travis Banks

I’ve heard a lot about Banks, but this was the first I’ve seen of him in ring. Enjoyed what I saw, loved the quick flurry of blows he hit to take advantage early on, dug him taking Boar on a tour of the ring by rolling him around in a bodyscissors to disorientate (with amusing dizzy selling by Boar) and a rolling corner kick looked great. For his part, Boar was reliably good. He’s not the biggest, but his offence always looks like it would hurt. Big forearm shots, nice running slam and a wicked exploder suplex (Boar’s lack of height and stocky frame allows him to get right under his opponent, makes suplexes look really good). The finish was kind of blown, with Banks slipping on the rope for a springboard kick, but this was a good opener.

Chris Brookes vs Drew Parker

Brookes is defending his Young Lions title here. Bell rings, and Brookes’s CCK partner Kid Lykos immediately levels Parker with a weapon for the DQ. Chris Ridgeway makes the save, leading to…

Chris Ridgeway & Drew Parker vs CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos)

Parker immediately kicks off the match, following the Ridgeway tag challenge, by hitting a big flip dive on CCK. I’d not seen Ridgeway until he suddenly hit a few local shows last month, and he was really impressive (as well as his ring music helping me get into Slaves). Was interested to see him work face here, and he looked great, really nice on-point strikes. Parker plays FIP early, which makes sense as he was taken out with a weapon in the original match. Nice teamwork by CCK to get to that point, a Lykos flyingheadscissors landing Parker on the middle rope for a Brookes kick to the temple. Brookes looked fantastic here, all his little bits of offence looked nasty. He drops really sharp kneedrops and did some nasty joint wrenching to the downed Parker. After Ridgeway becomes FIP following an outside trip, Brookes hits these painful looking kidney punches in the corner. Parker is a guy I’d never seen, but his hot tag work was great, firing up the crowd with a springboard dropkick to Lykos and hitting a backwards flip to the outside on Brookes. In fact, this is a really great match, until Lykos brings in his weapon to draw another DQ. Felt like a bit of an anti-climax, stick a finish on this and it’s a great match.

Chuck Mambo vs Isaac Zercher

Zercher attacks Mambo at the bell and doesn’t really look back, flinging his opponent into the corner. He also hits a great capture suplex and a snap Samoan drop, which both look brutal. Mambo’s offence doesn’t look as good, but he’s a really sympathetic seller and his timing on a hope spot superkick is perfect, getting a really effective nearfall. Zercher tries for a second Samoan drop, but gets caught in a Mambo crucifix for the win.

Nixon Newell & Dahlia Black vs Jinny & Sierra Loxton

Interesting contrast, as the opening Nixon/Loxton segment sees them take it to the mat, whereas Black and Jinny go straight to the impact blows as soon as they tag in. Jinny is really good here, manages to get across a really nasty character, but also having the ring chops to back it up. Her catching a boot from Black, swinging it backwards and driving a knee into Black’s face in one swift motion looked vicious. I’d only previously seen Black at the BEW/Stardom show in London, where her and Toni Storm basically got destroyed by Alpha Female and Kairi Hojo for 10 minutes, so I knew she could take an effective beating, and she does the same here, with great rubber-legged selling. A Loxton headbutt looks really nasty the way Black sells it. Newell gets the hot tag, making her entrance with a great missile dropkick, before everything breaks down. Nice to see Black give Jinny a receipt for her beating with a stiff kick before Nixon Rolls The Dice on Loxton to win.

Pete Dunne vs Tyler Bate

Two long-time favourites here, with Pete defending his heavyweight title against Bate. Dunne’s transformation over the past 12 months has been a revelation, he’s rightly become one of the leading lights in the UK. This match is worked very evenly, with the two almost being portrayed as mirror images of the other. The opening matwork sets the tone, both guys really selling the struggle and working the holds, forcing the other to thing practically about escaping. Bate’s fighting spirit really comes across here, as even when on the mat he finds time to blast Pete in the legs with a few big kicks. They exchange suplexes, in a state of one-upsmanship and showing off, and I love how, even though they both get up after the moves, it takes a bit longer each time, both guys showing the effects. The same happens later as both are worn down, but both try and counter German suplexes, the suplexer holding on partly to hit another and partly to prevent his opponent getting up before them. Bate hits a vicious looking thrust headbutt to send Pete out of the ring to give a moral victory. Loved Pete taking the low road in what had been an even contest by choking Tyler with a towel, and the pair of pump kicks to a kneeling Bate looked on-point. Bate shows his superhuman strength with a Backlund lift to escape a triangle, before Pete rolls him up for two. 15 minutes in, and I hadn’t realised there had been no pin attempt to that point. Bate gives a big airplace spin, but this allows Dunne to quickly roll him up again, this time with feet on the ropes for the win. Excellent match.

ECW Hardcore TV #4 27/04/1993

The Super Destroyers vs Tony Stetson & Larry Winters

The Super Destroyers are supposed to be the monster heels of the tag division, so seeing them selling for the weak offence of the face team is really off-putting. Lots of hiptosses and armdrags to seemingly send these big lads all over the place. We get a bit of heat on Stetson, but his hot tag out sees no reaction from the crowd. Winters hits a nice kneelift and locks in a figure four, but the other Destroyer brings in a cane from manager Hunter Q Robbins III, and we get a DQ. Bad start

The Suicide Blondes vs JT Smith & Tommy Cairo

The Blondes are Johnny Hotbody and Chris Candido. Cairo is a really frustrating character to watch – he can hit some really nice offence, like the swank back suplex he hits in this match, but he seems mentally unable to put together a good match. Here, he does dumb stuff like hold a headlock on Hotbody whilst watching Candido come over and just punch him in the face. He also hits really odd looking armdrags. Loved the diving elbow from the apron to the concrete by Hotbody, looked like a rough landing. Candido was also great here, and the Blondes stooged nicely for some of Cairo’s power offence. The end sees Smith hit a moonsault on Candido, but Hotbody comes off the top rope to the back of Smith’s head to give Candido the easy pin. Not terrible.

Jimmy Snuka & Don Muraco vs The Hellriders

Third tag bout in a row. Muraco wasn’t in great shape here, looked pretty old and fat. Nothingabout this match felt competitive, no sense of struggle from any combatant. Muraco seems to stumble on a discus clothesline attempt, and when he misses a corner charge to allow the tag for the Hellriders, he doesn’t bother with any selling. Muraco hits a tombstone and elevates Snuka onto a Hellrider for the win. Pretty lame.

The Sandman vs Rockin’ Rebel

The only single bout on the show, the only match with back story and a bout for the ECW title…is the only match joined in progress. So stupid. Rebel dominates with some really good clotheslines, including one which belted Sandman in the chin. Sandman takes over with some knees in the corner and a shit facebuster, before Rebel’s manager Tigra gets involved to draw the DQ. Unbelievable waste of time.

WWF Raw 18/04/1994

Bret Hart vs Kwang

Non-title opener to kick things off. Really good little match, especially considering the respective card position of the two. Loved Bret avoiding a corner charge at the last split second, timed to perfection. Bret takes a big spill to the floor to give Kwang control, really heavy landing. Kwang is decent on offence, working in his killer running corner kick and though he slows things with a nerve hold, he at least has the decency to work the shoulders over with some big blows first. Kwang cuts off Bret’s comeback’s nicely with some throat chops that look vicious. Bret sidesteps a back bodydrop attempt, hits a side Russian legsweep and locks in the Sharpshooter for the win.

Jeff Jarrett vs PJ Walker

Love watching these Jarrett squashes. He’s totally in control of his character and knows how to play it into these matches. He’s so cocky, swaggering about after cheapshotting walking, posing after hitting basic moves. Love him doing a little pose before missing an elbow, then getting up angrily to stomp Walker due to his embarrassment. Slingshot suplex is followed by a spike DDT for the win.

The Steiner Brothers vs Mike Khoury & Barry Hardy

Aggressive side of the Steiners shows here, not just because they decimate their opponents, but the manner in which they do it. Big crossfaces thrown by Rick, Scott beating up guys as they try to climb into the ring, just a nastier side shown. Obviously, on top of that, there’s some big bombs thrown. Big Dragon suplex and a top rope Samoan drop by Scott, massive clothesline and a top rope belly-to-belly by Rick. Scott finishes it with a Steiner Screwdriver. Lovely stuff.

Earthquake vs Mike Bell

Bit of comedy to start, as Bell is too short for a test-of-strength, so climbs to the second rope…only for Quake to just throw him off. From there, Quake blasts him with two dropkicks, a slick belly-to-belly suplex, a legdrop and the big splash for the easy win.

IRS vs Major Yates

IRS isn’t a fun squash wrestler. Bit of token leg work to kick things off, followed by some plodding offence. IRS locks in a chinlock, before going back to the injured leg and locking in an STF for the win. Might have been better if he’d focussed his offensive run to concentrate on Yates’ leg, this was pretty dull. 

CHIKARA - Best of UK Tour 2016

This was another great DVD that came in a Wrestlecrate box. They've given away a few DVD's linked with CHIKARA UK tours in the past, and they've always been really fun. This was no exception.

Drew Gulak vs Officer Warren Barksdale

Really great Gulak performance here, as he has a really enjoyable match with a guy  who is very early into his career. The opening mat work was really fun, Barksdale not looking out of place against a more experienced opponent. Gulak locks in this wicked Gory Special, squatting low to the ground to really bend Barksdale. Also love Gulak kicking out of a pinfall and keeping hold of Barksdale, muscling him up into a slam. Barksdale keeps it simple on offence, going for basic impact moves, though his back suplex into a bridging pin was really good. The competitiveness of the match really boosted Barksdale, and the end was really nice. Gulak rolls under a Barksdale leapfrog and grabs the leg upon landing to flip Barksdale over for the pin. Really good stuff.

Hallowicked, Frightmare & the Batiri vs Princess Kimberlee, Heidi Lovelace & the Colony

For the most part, I really enjoyed this, and especially the underlying story that carried the match. After some fun early stuff, with neat Colony double-teams and a goofy 8-way submission, Hallowicked and Kimber Lee end up alone in the ring together. Frightmare takes out two of the technicos team with a big flip dive, and suddenly Kimber Lee finds herself in a 4-on-1 situation. To add to this, she’s defending the CHIKARA championship against Hallowicked in a forthcoming match so, having isolated her, the rudos proceed to work over her leg to weaken her for the upcoming title match. Lovelace is the only technico on the apron, and at one point she’s able to take out enough rudos for Lee to tag out….only for Lee to tag Soldier Ant, who has just got on the apron. Lovelace looks rightly annoyed, which feels like it’s setting up something. In a neat twist on the hot tag, the rudos throw Soldier Ant out of the ring, and drag Lee back in by her bad leg, continuing to work over it. Then, in a moment that feels like it undermines most of what we’ve just seen, Lee pops up and nails a string of German suplexes on the rudos, with each guy eating two. So the beatdown, designed to wear Lee’s leg out for the upcoming title match, wasn’t even enough to stop her being able to reel off a ton of suplexes on guys who all weight more than her, with no effect to the leg she’d be supporting all the weight on? Just feels like a waste. Everything breaks down, with no real hot tag, and there are some nice touches – dug one of the Batriri droptoeholding Lovelace face first into his partners knee, and the match-ending cross-legged DDT Hallowicked hits on Lee is pretty great – but the main meat of the match feels for nought.

Fire Ant vs Ophidian

Really great stuff here, these two worked really well together. Absolutely loved the opening exchanges, some really nice counter wrestling including a one minute period where Fire Ant was trying to prevent an Ophidian cobra clutch, stood up with Ophidian draped around his body, carrying his opponent’s entire bodyweight. Ophidian has some nice looking offence here, hitting two big boots to the head and nailing a nasty looking top rope double-kneedrop. Ophidian is really fluid, but gets caught trying to be too clever with an handstand on the apron, and Ant kicks him to the floor with a 619. A battle on the top rope ends with a super Frankensteiner by Fire Ant. The end sees Ant escape a cobra clutch, and nail a rana and a brainbuster for two, before hitting White Noise for the victory. Loved this.

Heidi Lovelace vs Nixon Newell

Even worked to start, but things heat up quickly following a big Lovelace forearm. Nixon nails her with an enzugiri, almost to prove she wont be backing down from hitting some big impact strikes of her own. Really dug Lovelace elevating herself out of the corner, catching Nixon’s head between her legs and propelling her facefirst into the turnbuckles. Looked really good. Really like how evenly they worked this, as the commentary highlights this is Newell’s CHIKARA debut and by being presented on a par with someone like Lovelace, it makes her look legit right off. Double superkick puts both women down and they get up to exchange some vicious looking blows, and both gets really close falls in the closing straight – Lovelace getting two from the Heidicanrana, and only a foot on the ropes prevent Newell winning via the Welsh Destroyer. A second try is blocked and they exchange roll-ups, with Lovelace getting the deciding fall. 

WWE Main Event 29/04/2014

Goldust vs Alberto Del Rio

Quick little match, but a fun one. Goldust is fired up after ADR beat Cody on the previous Raw, but this costs him as the referee has to separate them in the corner, giving Del Rio an opening. Del Rio keeps control but maybe takes too long to set up a superkick (including taking down his kneepad, which I’m sure doesn’t help a superkick). Goldust blocks and hits a leg screw, before hitting the Final Cut for the unlikely win.

Paige vs Alicia Fox

Pretty heated to start, few nasty sounding strikes on the apron before Paige ranas Fox to the floor. Nice big boot to the face by Fox. Love the two of them really battling over a suplex before Paige turns it into the Rampaige for the win. This was pretty choice.

Bad News Barrett vs Kofi Kingston

Another really quick bout tonight. Loved the superkick to the midsection of Kofi, which lifts him into the air. Kingston is still a guy with floaty light offence that never looks particularly good. The match ends with them outside, with Kingston trying to leap off the steps, only to fly right into a Bullhammer. Barrett rolls him in for the academic pin.

Sheamus vs Bray Wyatt

Wyatt, for all his faults, is a guy unafraid to have a big fight with a guy, and Sheamus is always happy to oblige, so it’s no surprise that this is pretty good. Loved Sheamus just grabbing Wyatt by the beard and punching him in the face. Wyatt’s senton always looks crushing, and I loved him trying a second time, only to land on Sheamus’ knees. Sheamus was fired up here, with a running knee into the corner having so much momentum he flew out onto the apron. Sheamus gets a few close nearfalls from White Noise and the Irish Curse, but with Wyatt due to face Cena at the next PPV, he was always going to win here. The end sees Sheamus try to Brogue Kick an interfering Luke Harper from the apron, only to get caught up on the top rope and Sister Abigail finishes. Great match.

WWE True Giants - Disk One

As a fan of the Big Lads of pro-wrestling, this was a really great 3 disk collection put out last year. The documentary part was really fun, and then 2 disks were just made up of some really interesting looking matches. This is the first disk, with the other one hopefully coming up later this week.

Bruno Sammartino vs Ernie Ladd

Pretty enjoyable match for the most part, with Ladd working a load of fun cheating into the match. They establish before the bell rings that Ladd has a thumb weapon hidden on his person that you know will come into play at some point. Really liked Ladd’s sense of positioning, using his long legs to put his feet on the ropes when applying a bearhug to Bruno, and constantly circling whilst choking Bruno to prevent the referee seeing what he’s doing. Bruno makes a comeback, and Ladd bumps big for him, seesawing himself in the ropes. Ladd retrieves his weapon and uses it to take advantage again. Ladd hits some weak looking shoulderblocks, but his big legdrop looks as good as ever. Ladd misses a top rope splash, however, and that’s good enough for the pin for Sammartino.

Gorilla Monsoon vs Superstar Billy Graham

I can only assume they didn’t have many Monsoon matches in the archives, as this is pretty poor. Shame, as it starts off really well. Graham tries to knock Monsoon down, with Monsoon barely reacting. Suddenly, Monsoon explodes with his own shoulderblock to down Graham, quickly locks on a giant swing and then blasts Graham with a splash, with only the ropes saving Superstar. So great, it just came out of nowhere and suddenly Graham was nearly done. From then on, it’s all Superstar. He takes control with a low blow and applies two back-to-back bearhugs on Monsoon. He continues working the lower back, ramming Monsoon into the railings outside then hits a top rope kneedrop for the anticlimactic win (with Monsoon’s feet clearly in the ropes). Graham’s control was pretty dull and this went rapidly downhill after the fun opening.

Haystacks Calhoun vs Nikolai Volkoff

Very quick match. Some basic brawling to start, before Calhoun traps Volkoff in the corner and splashes him. Volkoff misses a knee charge and gets splashed for the win. Nothing to this.

Ernie Ladd vs Kerry von Erich

Bit scrappy this one, I’ve seen better from these two. There’s just too many moments where it feels like they aren’t on the same page, and have to slow it down to reset. That said, there were good things here too. Ladd is so good at using his size to immediately reach for the ropes when Von Erich puts any hold on him, and I love little things like shaking his own hand after a chop because he hit Kerry so hard. Kerry wears the Big Cat down by ramming his head into the turnbuckles, with Ladd slowly going down to a knee and getting rammed into the middle buckles. Ladd takes over with a foreign object, just as in the Bruno match, but there’s some fun turnabout as Kerry grabs the fist and causes Ladd to hit himself instead. These moments just make it more frustrating when things go off the rails again, before Kerry wins with a sloppy top rope sunset flip.

Ernie Ladd & the Wild Samoans vs Andre The Giant, Dusty Rhodes & Junkyard Dog

This is a really quick sprint, but it’s a load of fun. It’s not pretty, but they work a high tempo and keep the tags quick enough to maintain that pace. Loved the heels trying to isolate Andre in their corner, only for him to free himself, dragging Ladd and one of the Samoans with him as he gets to his own corner. The heels find it hard to gain any traction, until Ladd breaks an Andre pin with a legdrop, and the Samoans slam Andre. Things quickly break down and Andre is able to hit a 2^nd rope splash on Ladd for the win.

King Kong Bundy vs Dusty Rhodes

Two big boys colliding here. Dusty outpaces Bundy to start, peppering him with punches. Dusty gets huge reactions just by teasing the elbow. Bundy works a bearhug, which is fun as they pepper in fun comebacks for Dusty. Dusty elbows his way to freedom and peppers Bundy’s head with more elbows, busting him open. This cues up One Man Gang to enter and draw the DQ ending. Fun match

Hulk Hogan vs Big John Studd

This seems to be right at the start of Bobby Heenan’s WWF run, with Gene Okerlund and Monsoon basically introducing him to the audience with their commentary. Hogan is so great in this match, all fired up and ready to fight. He absolutely nails Studd with a running back elbow in the corner, which looks great. Studd takes over after blocking a slam, and he’s really not a fun offensive wrestler. Just methodical clubbing blows. Hogan bleeds nastily, with blood smearing the ring apron and his white trunks, and this seems to fire him up. Hogan’s angry attack is great, but they end up fighting outside the ring, with Heenan pushing Studd back in to beat the count at Hogan’s expense. This was the best Studd match I’ve seen, and that’s because Hogan brought the fire.

Kamala vs Andre The Giant

This is a cage match, and is exceptionally tedious. The start is fine, with Andre ramming Kamala into the cage causing Kamala to want to find a way out quickly. He does manage to overwhelm Andre and nail a splash, but tries for a pin due to not knowing the rules. We then endure a LOOOOOONG stretch of Kamala chopping and choking Andre, trying to escape, Andre grabbing his foot, repeat ad infinitum. This is finally broken by Andre grabbing Kamala and choking him out, slamming him and nailing a top rope buttdrop before escaping. This was terrible.

One Man Gang vs Shawn Michaels

Complete squash. Gang clubs Michaels to the floor, hits a big clothesline and powerslam in the ring and finishes with the 747

The British Bulldogs vs King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd

Same match as from the Bulldogs’ VHS I wrote about 5 years ago. Decent little match, with the Bulldogs using speed and superior double-teaming to control early on, but suffering as soon as Bundy isolates Davey Boy. Bundy is clearly better than Studd, with his offence looking far more painful and moving with more speed. Bit of a cheap ending as Dynamite Kid suddenly runs in, locking on a sleeper that looks like he’s pulling Studd’s head off, and we get a DQ win for the Bulldogs as Studd pushes the referee over. This was fine.

One Man Gang vs Ted DiBiase

Really liked DiBiase here, showed great babyface fire. Gang was the perfect foil, not only having good control and convincingly wearing DiBiase down, but also allowing for well timed openings on DiBiase’s comebacks. A missed elbow by Gang shakes the ring, and I loved how DiBiase keeps moving wherever possible. Gang misses the 747, and DiBiase tries a figure four. Gang’s leg strength sends Ted into the ropes, where he bumps heads with Skandor Akbar, the Gang’s manager. DiBiase is out, and Gang hits the 747 to the back, before hitting one from the second rope to confirm the pinfall victory. Really dug this.

Andre The Giant vs Randy Savage

This is for Savage’s WWF title. Some fun hullaballoo to start, with the ref sending Bobby Heenan to the back. Andre sneak attacks to start, hitting a big headbutt to send Savage to the floor. Even better, when Savage is on the apron, he hits a massive chop to bring Savage back into the ring. Loved Savage’s comeback where he just runs right by a big boot and hits a clothesline to tie Andre up in the ropes. Andre frees an arm and one chop is enough to stagger Savage, playing up Andre’s size advantage. Savage goes up and hits the double-axe handle, but misses the top rope elbow (with terrible camera work missing the whole thing). Andre goes to the floor and tries to grab Elizabeth, leading to a brawl and double count out. Disappointing ending. The post-match is pretty wild, with Andre grabbing the belt and roughing up the referee, demanding to be declared champion. Andre stands alone in the ring with the title to round out this disk.