Welcome to another edition of eWN Round Table, where we gather some of the most active writers here on eWrestlingNews and share the platform to answer some questions surrounding a centralized topic, upcoming event, etc.
This is meant to showcase the potential for both a wide range of perspectives as well as how sometimes, there can be a group consensus no matter what your viewpoint is, so we also invite all of you to join in on the discussion by answering these questions yourself in the comments section below.
For this particular volume, we’ll be focusing on NXT TakeOver Toronto and SummerSlam 2019.
Participants for this round = Anthony Mango, Richard Staple, Ethan Absler and Kyle Dunning.
1) “How long should SummerSlam be?”
MANGO: Ideally, start time at 4pm EST, end time at either 10 or 11pm EST. The first hour is strictly recap material and nothing more, not even advertised as anything else, and no video packages on the actual show (watch the pre-show if you want to be caught up, or just watch Raw and SmackDown). That should be the pre-show, and there should be no kickoff match. It should just be an event from 5-10/11, all matches. However, WWE doesn’t do that, so I say keep it from a 5pm start time with a 2-hour kickoff and the main card from 7-11 with the slight possibility you go into 11:30, but it shouldn’t end at midnight.
STAPLE: Ideally it will be no more than 3 and a half hours, but knowing WWE will end up being closer to 5. Let’s hope Summerslam doesn’t end up being the cure for insomnia.
ABSLER: I believe SummerSlam should be no longer than 3-4 hours. Anything longer than that, and even the most passionate wrestling fan will have trouble paying attention for the whole show.
DUNNING: Four hours is enough for me, including the pre-show. There’s only so much any fan can watch before it feels like we’re running a marathon.
2) “Which top champion has the highest chance of losing his/her title between Brock Lesnar, Kofi Kingston, Becky Lynch and Bayley, and why?”
MANGO: I expect all four to retain their titles, but if I had to pick, I’d say Kofi Kingston by a narrow margin over Bayley. Essentially, I’m 100% certain Lesnar and Lynch keep their belts (even with Nattie being in Canada), 99% sure Bayley retains and 98% sure Kingston is still champion, too.
STAPLE: I was gonna say Becky because we’re in Toronto, but I actually am going to go with Kofi Kingston. With Smackdown’s move to FOX looming, they may want more mainstream stars holding their top titles at the moment. Orton has the name and the legacy.
ABSLER: I think Kofi Kingston is in the most jeopardy of losing his title. There is no way that Lesnar loses on his first defense, Natalya defeating Lynch seems unlikely, and same with Ember Moon’s match. Kingston on the other hand, must face Randy Orton. Orton has proved time and time again that he’s still relevant and this will be Kofi’s toughest challenge yet.
DUNNING: Hard to say, because I believe they will all retain. If I have to pick someone though? It will be Randy Orton winning in controversial circumstances.
3) “What are you hoping the third stipulation will be for Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano?”
MANGO: It’s a waste that one of them is a regular match, and with Street Fight being #2, that really renders most other stipulations pointless (like Falls Count Anywhere). What would be hilarious is if the final stipulation was “2-out-of-3 Falls”, making this an Inception-like maze. However, I’ll keep it simple and say Last Man Standing with Cole only winning because The Undisputed ERA pick him up.
STAPLE: The feud between the two has to end, and I’m hoping that the final fall will end up being the first ever Hell in a Cell match in NXT history. Then again, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise considering that the cell would have to be suspended above the ring and everyone would know it’s coming. So I’ll hope for Falls Count Anywhere to see the craziness they can come up with.
ABSLER: I am hoping that the third and final stipulation is a “Falls Count Anywhere” match. This match will allow the two to fight anywhere in the arena, a great and violent climax for their match.
DUNNING: We’ll know if it’s a cage match early in the night, but if it’s not? I’d like to see an I Quit stipulation to decide the NXT Championship.
4) “Have you enjoyed the NXT Breakout Tournament so far? What are your thoughts on the competitors? Who should win the title shot?”
MANGO: I don’t see why they went with Cameron Grimes for a finalist, as he hasn’t impressed me too much. Bronson Reed, Joaquin Wilde, meh. Angel Garza stood out to me. Jordan Myles is worthy of a finalist spot. Dexter Lumis has something to offer, for sure. Boa is big. Overall, I really like that they did this out of the blue, as it makes all 8 guys seem more important than if they just slowly rolled them out.
STAPLE: The Breakout tournament has provided some quality matches on NXT, and I’ve very much enjoyed it. I am very much high on Cameron Grimes to get the shot.
ABSLER: So far I have loved the NXT Breakout tournament. All of the talent is incredible including the in-ring work and character work. Some of the matches have been the match of the night and competitors such as Dexter Lumis were able to effectively get over despite losing.
DUNNING: It’s been enjoyable seeing familiar faces from Impact, ROH and other promotions. While I’ve seen more of Cameron Grimes’ work, Jordan Myles is a more exciting talent. In future, I’d like to see more of Angel Garza and Dexter Lumis. Myles is my pick to earn the title shot with the biggest smile.
5) “Agree or disagree: Trish Stratus should retire with this being her final match.”
MANGO: Disagree. I think this should be “her final match” only in the sense of it possibly functioning in that role. But what about Alexa Bliss and other people who she wanted to work with? If she’s able to go at any point in the future, it should be left open without her having to formally come out of retirement. This should be a spiritual final match, similar to The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns, but not something where she says she’s officially done, like Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin.
STAPLE: If WWE has shown us anything over the past couple of years, it’s that retirement matches mean little. WWE will goad recognizable faces into matches on big stages at any time. Whether or not this “should” be Trish’s farewell match is on her. I personally wouldn’t mind seeing her again, but if she wants to focus on being a mother and other pursuits, then SS should be her swan song.
ABSLER: I believe that Trish deserves a Wrestlemania ending to her career. This should be one of her final matches with next year’s Wrestlemania being her last. She is 43 years old and has had a terrific, HOF career, but all great things must come to an end and her time is winding down.
DUNNING: Unless Trish is planning on returning as a regular competitor, this should be her swansong. I’m not expecting much from the encounter with Charlotte, but hopefully
she’s still capable of hitting the right notes. Charlotte needs the win after being passed over for Bayley.
6) “Over/under 2 minutes for Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler?”
MANGO: Under. Spear, Jackhammer, the end. I’d like to see them do more, though.
STAPLE: I’ll give Dolph Ziggler 3 minutes against Goldberg. 2 of them will be taunting outside of the ring and 1 minute for in-ring stuff.
ABSLER: Like I said in my recent article, I really hope this match lasts more than two minutes for Dolph’s sake. This match is an opportunity for Ziggler to turn his career around, but sadly I think he’ll be squashed.
DUNNING: It will go over a few minutes, as Dolph will evade and find a way to use Goldberg’s gung-ho nature against him. But the result is inevitably in favor of Goldberg, as he needs to make up for what happened in Saudi Arabia.
7) “Which superstar do you feel is the biggest omission from these lineups?”
MANGO: It will always bug me when WWE has champions not on the card because they put the belts on people they clearly don’t want to give a spotlight to, so while I can’t say Shinsuke Nakamura himself is the biggest omission, the Intercontinental Championship is. No Raw, SmackDown or women’s tag titles are on the line, either, and there are so many others like Braun Strowman who I wish could get a spot, but at least if the intercontinental champion were booked, I’d feel less annoyed about that.
STAPLE: The women’s tag team titles will probably end up getting defended in a multi team scramble, but I have to say, the lack of Asuka in singles competition from the start of this year is absolutely disgraceful. She’s been treated terribly.
ABSLER: To see that Shinsuke Nakamura is not a part of the card as the new Intercontinental champion is so disappointing. I believed WWE was going to take him seriously again, but it doesn’t look like the IC title is going to change anything about his status on the card.
DUNNING: The tag team champions? Where’s all the tag teams? WWE has three tag team championships, yet none are scheduled for SummerSlam?
8) “If you could add one more match to each of these cards, what would those 2 matches be?”
MANGO: Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain for the TakeOver card would have been my answer, but they decided to go back on their idea of having the NXT Breakout Tournament final on TakeOver itself, so Jordan Myles vs. Cameron Grimes would be my pick for that. However, as I mentioned elsewhere, I wouldn’t have booked those two, so it would technically be Myles against either Dexter Lumis or Angel Garza. As far as SummerSlam, I think they never should have done Ali against Nakamura at Smackville and that match should have taken place at SummerSlam, even on the kickoff, or the Fatal 4-Way for the women’s tag titles.
STAPLE: I think both cards will fill out to capacity. I don’t like adding to Takeover cards because the five match formula has always worked. As for Summerslam, I don’t need another five hour show.
ABSLER: I would add Shinsuke Nakamura vs Mustafa Ali for the Intercontinental Title. On the NXT side of things, I would love to see Matt Riddle in action.
DUNNING: Same as above. Add some tag team matches. Knowing Vince, we’ll get an impromptu match somehow.
9) “Which match are you most excited to see this weekend?”
MANGO: Cole/Gargano. It’s hard to ignore that one, despite how good I think Street Profits vs. Undisputed ERA and the North American Championship triple threat will be. Cole and Gargano are just too good not to get that spot at the top.
STAPLE: Most of the big matches such as Cole/Gargano and Rollins/Lesnar has been replayed ad nauseum. The NXT North American Title Triple Threat seems like fun tho.
ABSLER: This weekend has a lot of promising matches, but Adam Cole vs Jonny Gargano in a 2/3 falls match with different stipulations… it’s going to be incredible and I just can’t wait to see it.
DUNNING: Hands down Velveteen Dream vs. Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong. I’m behind the Bruiserweight claiming the North American title. Otherwise, I’m interested to see how Bray Wyatt wrestlers as The Fiend, and whether Finn Balor will counter him with The Demon.
10) “Which event will be better, TakeOver or SummerSlam?”
MANGO: While SummerSlam has more to work with, history has shown that there are so many ways a main roster event can go south and be problematic, whereas TakeOver events are almost always not just better in terms of in-ring competition, but length (they tend to not be overkill and tiresome), and overall satisfaction. TakeOver has the advantage, for sure.
STAPLE: Takeover will probably end up crushing Summerslam, but I’ll give SS a fighting chance. It seems like a decent enough card.
ABSLER: Takeover, in my opinion, is usually better than the WWE show and there’s nothing to suggest it won’t happen again. A triple threat match for the North American title, Io Shirai and Candice Lerae, The Street Profits vs Undisputed Era, and more! The card is just stacked. SummerSlam will be good this year, but Takeover promises to be next level.
DUNNING: TakeOver always has better quality wrestling, while SummerSlam will possibly have more memorable moments. It depends on if you care about star power over wrestling.
It’s hard for me to pick anything over TakeOver’s, as they let all the talent work to their limits. There’s no filler or BS, and it’s never too long, so TakeOver wins every time.
Big thanks to everyone who took part in this edition!
Those are our thoughts, but what do you have to say about these issues? Keep the discussion going by chiming in via the comments section below!
