fighting
From MMA, wrestling, boxing, and more, fighting satisfies your hunger for a good KO.
Kiana James' Road to Becoming #1 Contender
The latest edition of NXT was main evented by a Fatal Four Way to determine the #1 Contender for the NXT Women's Championship, and the combatants were Gigi Dolin, Kiana James, Blair Davenport, and former champion Roxanne Perez, with the bout being just a week in the making after all four women confronted the reigning champion, Tiffany Stratton. The bout was hotly contested and actually combined two feuds in NXT's Women's Division, as Kiana was feuding with Gigi, while Roxanne and Blair had a heated feud after the latter was revealed as the mysterious villainess behind a series of attacks on NXT's Women's Division, including Roxanne.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
CM Punk: It's Always Something
I've been wrestling (no pun intended) with writing this piece for the better part of a year. I have my reasons. One of them is because I didn't want to waste (at least) 600 words on such a toxic human being. So for a while, I wasn't going to write about this. However, after his latest incident, I had to do it, mainly to call out Punk's bullshit, but also to serve as a long and drawn out "I told you so" to anyone who actually supported Punk's return to AEW earlier this year.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Top 5 Favorite Bray Wyatt Moments
This really, really hurts. The wrestling world, wrestling fans, and everyone affected felt the terrible heartbreak of the news that broke a day prior: Bray Wyatt suddenly passed away at the tender age of 36. The eldest offspring of Mike Rotunda (aka Irwin R. Schuyster), Windham Rotunda was born on May 23, 1987 in Brooksville, Florida, and it was in 2009 that he delved into the family business of wrestling. He was part of a vast collection of third-generation wrestlers, as his maternal grandfather was the legendary Blackjack Mulligan. In addition, his uncles were wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, and Bray wasn't the only one in his generation to enter the ring, as his younger brother, Taylor Rotunda, joined WWE as Bo Dallas.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
A Look Back: The John Cena/Edge Rivalry (Part II: 2009)
When we last left these two legends, they had fought in a steel cage match to end their feud at that time. What has happened with Edge and John Cena since then? Well, Edge would be part of Rated RKO with Randy Orton, and hold the World Tag Team Championship twice, and 2007 would see him capture the Money in the Bank briefcase from Mr. Kennedy, and then cash in on The Undertaker to capture the World Heavyweight Championship. Edge would surrender the title due to injury, but after returning at Survivor Series, he would regain the title at Armageddon, and would spend 2008 in a big feud with The Undertaker, which saw Edge regain the title he lost to Taker at WrestleMania. Edge would add two more runs as WWE Champion after his feud with Taker ended.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
A Look Back: The John Cena/Edge Rivalry (Part I: 2006)
On the August 18, 2023 episode of SmackDown, WWE Hall of Famer Edge was celebrated in his hometown of Toronto, as the evening marked the observed 25th anniversary of the beginning of his WWE career. I've seen a lot from Edge in his career, but I cannot help but basically obsess over what I consider his greatest rivalry: the one with John Cena. I had been planning to write about this for a long time, and during that time, the plan was to split this up into two parts, because I am very detailed and can pretty much describe this bit-by-bit. Plus, the stories differed in each half of this amazing feud.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Stating the Obvious: Tony Khan is a Toxic Enabler
I just had to write about this. I had to. Other wrestling fans reading this know why. You've all heard about it. However, the main part of this story will be saved for later, I promise. Because of that, and everything else I've seen, I've come to a conclusion: Tony Khan is a big time enabler. The evidence is right in front of us, but first, an introduction.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Hikaru Shida's Big Win at Dynamite 200
200 episodes already?! By my mental math, that's nearly four years' worth of wrestling episodes. Time sure flies, doesn't it? October 2, 2019, that was the date that the very first episode of AEW Dynamite aired on television. August 2, 2023: that's the date that the show's 200th aired on TBS, and it was amazing. WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam made his appearance on Dynamite to confront the now-villainous FTW Champion Jack Perry, and speaking of champions, we saw World Champion MJF actually bare his soul, call out Adam Cole, and officially sign a title match between the two of them at All In, the upcoming event set to take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
A Look Back at Layla's 2013 Heel Turn (and What Could Have Been)
One thing I've noticed as a wrestling fan is that for the last decade-plus, August has been the month for the women of wrestling to go from good to evil. A lot of female heel turns seem to take place in the eighth month--including, but not limited to, Beth Phoenix and Natalya banding together to form the villainous Divas of Doom duo in August 2011, as well as Nikki Bella turning against twin sister Brie Bella at SummerSlam in 2014. One such moment that has stayed in my memory even now, 10 years to the day later, was Layla's heel turn in 2013.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Pros and Cons: The WWE Divas Championship
It's hard to believe that the now-defunct WWE Divas Championship first appeared on WWE television 15 years ago. It was during the summer of 2008 that the Divas Championship was added to WWE's collection of titles, originally serving as a title for the SmackDown's Women's Division for the first few months until the 2009 WWE Draft saw the title switch brands with the more prestigious WWE Women's Championship. The two titles became unified at Night of Champions 2010, and it was the Divas Championship that ended up as the sole title for WWE's Women's Division until WrestleMania 32 in 2016, when the title was replaced with the revamped WWE Women's Championship.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
A Look Back: Edge and Undertaker's 2008 Feud
This month, WWE celebrated the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the storied career of WWE Hall of Famer Edge. What a career! Understatement, I know, but still. SummerSlam 1998 was his first PPV bout, as he served as Sable's tag team partner, and we know the rest after that. Became part of The Brood, teamed with Christian and won various tag titles, went solo and finally worked up to becoming an iconic main eventer, only for his career to come to a premature end barely a week after WrestleMania 27. Nearly nine years later, Edge returns at the 2020 Rumble, and has since been involved in several different and amazing angles since then.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Money in the Bank 2023...and Its Many Shockers
The first thought I had as I watched the pre-show for this year's Money in the Bank event: the titular match has been around for 18 years! It doesn't seem like it. It seems like yesterday that I watched the very first Money in the Bank Ladder Match, but it was actually 18 years ago: April 3, 2005 at WrestleMania 21. In the years that have passed, Money in the Bank continued as a WrestleMania staple until 2010, when the namesake event was born. For those of you who are new to this phenomenon, here are the details.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing AEW Collision's Premiere Episode
I remember being excited over the premiere of AEW Collision, especially due to what would come with the show. Based on what I read, this show is part of AEW's equivalent of a "brand split," if you will. The idea is due to some growing tensions between some members of the AEW roster, so the company decided to add a second two-hour program with a separate roster from their flagship show, Dynamite--with the move also including the shutdown of web shows Dark and Dark: Elevation. The last few weeks prior to the premiere saw announcements regarding future destinations for the show, as well as the site of the premiere episode: Chicago.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
