Isenberg Reacts: WWE Raw “Tournament Exhilarates, Controversial Ending”

November 17, 2015

Tyler Breeze vs. R-Truth

wwe raw Prince Pretty gets his first win on the main roster against R-Truth. It was your typical match with R-Truth and the new guy. One of the questions that I think about is “why?”

A guy like Tyler Breeze makes his debut in a great match against Dean Ambrose and then beats Truth in under five minutes the following week. Instead of a continuous pairing of main event talent, they throw the absolute worst guy with him.

Everyone knows that Truth is irrelevant right now and Tyler Breeze picking up a win over him really does not do anything. So, does a loss against Ambrose do more than a win over Truth? His gimmick is too polished and too good to be wasted this early.

WZ 3.5

Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

Both men kick off the match with hand grappling. Dean applies a wrist lock and sends him to the mat, but Dolph fights through and both men are at a standstill. A very slow start with mat techniques and they try to feel the other one out. Dolph tried to hit a superkick, but Dean stopped him in his tracks. Dean kicks Dolph in the chest and clotheslines him to the outside, which set up a missed Suicide Dive. Dolph takes him down and more slow technical wrestling.

The pace begins to pick up with a dropkick from Ziggler. Dean connects with a back breaker and then slugs away at Dolph. Dean tries a flying elbow, but Dolph reverses it and then applies a sleeper hold. He forces the break and then Dolph rolls him up for two. Both men exchange pinfalls and it ends with both men hitting a crossbody on one another. Both men head up top and knock each other off the rope. Dean takes over, but Dolph hits a dropkick and a Fameasser for a two count. He gets a DDT and then Ambrose counters a superkick for a two count. Dolph hits a Superkick and only gets two. Ambrose connects with Dirty Deeds for the win.

The second match of the tournament was much different, more meticulous and slow paced. They grappled, brawled and really focused on each other trying to “one up” their opponent. I think the split crowd helped these two favorites, especially since they enjoyed the beginning of the match while seemed slow. Either way, it is hard to hate the traditional and classic back and forth technicality. While we knew Dean would probably win, they kept us on the edge of our seats with drama.

WZ 7.5

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.

Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.

Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.

His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.