A LESSON IN REALITY: I knew this segment would happen at some stage with what I’m privy to, though I thought it might occur later on in the timeline. It was well-written in parts, sloppy in others, but overall, it’s a very interesting segment that I’m curious to get other people’s thoughts on. It fits here in a way that it may not in many other places, and I’m not sure how I feel about it as an opener, either. Due to the timeline, I decided to stick with this spot, but overall, an intriguing piece and largely excellently-executed.
PROTECTING THE TRUTH: A terrific title in more ways than one. I thought this was a really, really well-done piece. I understand John is a divisive character so far, and people are entitled to their thoughts on him. I respect that 100%. I am a fan, rightly or wrongly, and have more than an inkling where this is going, so really enjoyed the laying of foundations here. Well-written, as always, and a taste for what’s to come later on in the show. Great.
READY PLAYER ONE: I remember watching the film on a flight. Anyway, that aside, this was a fun segment with a clear purpose to me from the off, given what I’m privy to, but I believe by the end of the segment it was clear to everyone. Trouble Roxx are a team on the up, and to me, a unit who can get on with most other teams (I say MOST) and still go in the ring and have a match with them. Look at their budding relationship with Team United/RAF. These streams are a cracking idea, and in a way, could be a device like the old ‘Piper’s Pit’ and not-so-old ‘Highlight Reel’ segments in which Trouble Roxx stream with characters, asking them questions, and also fielding questions from fans. In other words, an entertaining way to showcase the girls’ personality and help others in their feuds/angles.
WHAT IS NORMAL, ANYWAY: Kudos to Blair on writing as much as he did, and handling a lot of moving parts on behalf of three handlers and four characters. Not an easy task, and he did an excellent job, making it easy for me to work around him. This sets the stage for the match, a dial back to the PPV stipulation between Crusader X and Alfie, which couldn’t be done on 6 due to Button’s participation in the tournament. Of course, he’s A GIT to put it mildly for choosing the people he did, but after the initial shock, Amber appeals to Alfie and Darren, making them see it from a different angle and yet still shows her suspicions of him. So, like I said, a lot going on and there has been from Show 1 with Alfie essentially having 3 different relationships with the other people involved. Crusader X is the star of the segment though, and again, we’re not quite sure what to make of him. Is he a nice guy? Yes or no? Some reckon he’s a top 5 face while others have got him on the heel list. The main thing, for some, is he’s getting a reaction, and we get more of an idea into what he’s angling at, I think, in this segment, though let’s see where we go.
As for the match, I wrote it, but I never quite got going with it and haven’t been as happy with my match writing since the PPV, so I apologise to Blair in advance for not ‘hitting the heights’ I would’ve liked.
GREEN TEA: This advert had to happen, didn’t it? I asked for it, and it was short, sweet and did what I wanted. Don’t know if I’ve used the right adjectives there, but thank you, Scott.
GLOBAL CHALLENGE: Solid Sean Darring goodness, as always. It demands a response from ATG, plays to both characters and what we’ve come to expect from them, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Aleczander reacts. Great world-building from Brian as well, as he refers to a character who I’ve had for years and never really handled, and is a blink-and-you’d-miss-them kind of guy, however did appear on Domination 1, so I want to say thank you and congratulations on that. That attention to detail, willingness to read and check is part of what makes you special. This angle is bubbling nicely and this pushes it in the right direction, and I can’t wait for the SHOVE.
AN OPEN CHALLENGE: I am waiting for some people to talk about how these shouldn’t be placed together, and while I get that argument per se, I have no issues with it (in advance) and happen to like the continuing of the theme. For the record, I really liked this. It was full of wit, charm and attitude, and I now get why Crash asked me who was in the opening tag match. A fine job indeed, showcasing their personality AND laying down an open challenge for the next show. They seem to have quite a few enemies, and they’re not afraid to call any of them out. Well done, sir. Grand.
DO YOUR DUTY: Man, this segment took the piss from start to finish. What a pairing these two could be, Gemini has got a killer catchphrase that’s already massively over and this segment was a lot of fun from a comedic duo that could bring another dimension to the tag team division in what I hope will be a big(ger) arc for the teams. Chris, well done, my man. Very happy for ‘My Chris’ to be the straight man to Gemini’s antics, and in fairness, Gemini has been brilliant to read in both arcs so far.
A SLIGHT DETOUR: Chris did this for me as a favour, so thank you very much for that, so we’d have SOME kind of reference to these two following their grand entrance last week and it keeps that going. How much of a part will they play? Wait and see. Decent segment.
THE LAW V THE ANGEL AND THE JERK: I’m in two minds myself whether to lead off with two tag matches, but again, have decided to stick to it, so any problems with that, it’s on me, and now onto the important matter of the match itself.
Liked the entrances, and more to come on that later in the show.
Firstly, cheers, Pedro. We didn’t even speak much about The Law, but you did a great job of capturing the essence of the team through their actions and the commentators’ reaction. A big thank you and well done from me because it was most definitely on point.
It makes complete sense that even though Strauss and Brady are bigger, again speaking to their character, they’d isolate Angel and do it as quickly as possible. Sound-as-you-like psychology there.
When Angel does get back into it, it plays to her skill set of speed, agility and quick thinking and I, for one, loved the ‘parkour skills’ on display. She comes across as fiery and gritty while battling The Law, great traits for a babyface.
The Fallway Slam – OUCH! Nicely done, though, and it played up Strauss and Angel in one swoop, so excellent stuff once again.
I thought we’d see more of Saul, especially off the back of the promo last week, BUT, and it’s a BIG BUT, AHEM. It made sense for The Law to keep him on the outside, the outcome sets up an obvious rematch in which Saul will definitely play more of a role, I believe, it builds on Angel’s fine first arc and we got Valorie involved, as well. Between the match and what happened in its aftermath, it felt like everyone got a chance to shine.
The commentary was brilliant, as usual, and a soundly-written ‘start-up fight’ full of psychology, which won’t be the best bout in the series, and that’s a good thing. Plenty left in the tank, but an enjoyable affair, nevertheless.
A RICH PROBLEM: They’re doing to The Bro what they did to Tobias Bellamy, guys, and it’s great to see. They kept things ticking over by staying at the beach, and following on from their Fanatics feud, they’ve earmarked The Rich Family as the next rung on the ladder, almost like it’s planned to get them even more attention. The fact that Brian is finding their voice and still pumping out segments that makes them one of the top 2-3 teams in the league speaks volumes for his ability. Again, I loved the attitude of these two guys, and I would personally love to see them in an angle with Trouble Roxx down the road.
CANCELLED PARTY PLANS: Here he is! The response we expected, and you just know he’s not going to face the toughest possible competition, right? Even if he should be! As deluded and delightful ever, this was a good segment and keeps things ticking over nicely, and I got a surprise when he physically put his hands on The Bro and went off on a rant, though in a positive way, for sure. He has got that aggression and nastiness to go with the over-the-top antics.
BATTLE PLANS: A nice continuation of where this is going and AN EXAMPLE of what I saw GLOBAL doing before I opened the place. We know Truth has got something going on, but what and who is he speaking to? Plus, we’re powerless to do anything as viewers and the wrestlers themselves have no idea.
THE C WORD: Risky title! No, not really. I sat back and enjoyed the segment. Out of the two teams in the main event, the much more likely unit to speak, great to see Daniel Dream do his thing on the microphone and Aug be Aug, basically. That’s a whole lot of fun by default.
JOHN J. TRUTH V THE GREAT WALL: Smartly done on Brown’s introduction to show the general disdain shown towards Truth by the fans, and even the employees! Not very professional on Jason’s part, but indicative of how people feel.
Part of me has thought about having signs play more of a role in the show. I haven’t for a few reasons. It worked wonderfully well here.
Pedro, well done on the justification part of keeping John J. Truth around, both in terms of commentary and the beginning of Truth’s promo, which was opened well by HIS catchphrase.
Shae often, and this was seen in our Discord server recently, talks about how certain characters should even revile the commentators, and not be supported ‘just because they’re heels.’ John J. Truth, along with Alex Reyn, are fine examples of that, and I’m happy to see everyone put up a united front in character to tell this guy he’s wrong.
Pedro has referred to Referee Powell in two matches and done a fabulous job in putting the guy over! As for the shenanigans, hey, I’m personally enjoying his crusade because I know he’s going to get punched in the face shortly, regardless of who comes out, which was probably spoiled in the title.
Again, it’s hard at times giving a totally visceral reaction, knowing where certain things are going, but I like how Truth has also subdued TGW with some help. Good on Principe for coming out, and Truth, a little bit like Ted DiBiase for COMPLETELY different reasons, has a tendency to turn people face by default, which is what El Principe and The Great Wall, and Xiang by association, were in the first arc.
GLOBAL Wrestling has…A very satisfying line for multiple reasons.
A segment rather than a match in the end, but one with MULTIPLE faces to it, pun intended, and some downright horrible, loathsome heels for them to overcome.
Handled fantastically.
Doritos: He lives the life, doesn’t he? I imagine he’ll be burnt to a CRISP, by being on the beach for too long? GET IT, EH?
THE DUDE PATROL: It’s a pity this may not be going anywhere as I write this, but it was a fine introductory piece to a team I have A LOT OF TIME for. It’s a shame to miss out, but out of respect to the handler, of which I have a lot, I have decided to leave it on the show and say THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
DRIVE: Every time these guys sound off, square off…damn, it’s entertaining and personal at the same time. I LOVED THIS. It had humour, drama and I don’t want to undersell it by not writing much, but basically, it was one of the highlights on Domination 7, so thank you, lads.
BIANCA V ALF: What another stellar entrance by Queen B. Brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed that. I also had a rough, not an exact idea, of where everything was going, and Alf Alferson is coming for you, Sean Darring! It keeps things going between The Jester and Bianca.
As an aside: I know that people are going to say we’ve had a few non-matches tonight, and that’s true. On one hand, I’m not exactly thrilled by it myself, but by the same token, I appreciate that people plan angles from the start of the arc, and aren’t always aware of what’s going on elsewhere. What I will say is, better to do it here than on 9 or the PPV itself, and I trust everyone is using these tactics to go somewhere. In fact, I already know they are.
NAKED AND AFRAID: I know where it’s going, it’s a nice little introduction and I am looking forward to the sheer fucking insanity this will bring.
CHANCE MEETING: A lot of fun between two handlers/characters that know one another so well, plenty of chop-busting from both with some in-jokes. This could be left as a nice little standalone segment or develop into something much, much more…
SON OF MALTA V DECLAN RICH: A GREAT intro by Brian, who incorporated a lot of things about one of the other (Face it, some of you like The Rich Family, but it’s Freddie and the rest) members of the stable, and did a marvellous job in bringing up Declan’s potential, as well as tying what this match means to him, a delayed reaction to Freddie’s injury, after attending the party first, you see. He had to.
Nice action in the early going. A hell of a job putting the Maltese Cross over, as well. Shortly after that, the tempo and intensity sure increase.
Wonderful commentary, and you can tell this person appreciates it
LOVELY use of Freddie’s Nightmare and the fans’ reaction to it. Sweet, indeed. And the FALSE FINISH, the real meaning of the word, worked very, very well. Not the first time you’ve done that, my man. I remember the Crusader X v Alfie match at the PPV.
Brilliant finish, admittedly. Yes, you did a superb job, grand master. The right result, put both people over and made Declan stand out – for once.
STATE OF THE NATION: This raises the stakes, and I cannot wait for that PPV match.
TRUTH HURTS: Another sound segment title, and this may get JJT ‘the right kind of heat.’ This was nasty, more in line with what we’ve seen from David and Rah, and shows John isn’t just a mouthpiece. In my mind, this takes things up a notch for all of the ‘hate’ and John has had a hell of a show, whether others agree with me or not, I’m not sure.
RECYCLING ADVERT: YOU’RE WELCOME!
ALECZANDER V CHETT: Yep, TOUGH opposition, all right. However, I LOVED the promo that followed it and it reminded me of Bubba sounding off in that very arena in real life. I could just imagine the heat the crowd would’ve given him…
MEDICAL UPDATE: Amen to that last line.
COMATOSE CONVERSATION 2: I enjoy every single segment that these two are involved in, and well done on the feedback jokes, Chris. Anyone would think they were intentional. Manny is one of my favourite heels in the league, for the record. And Pierson segments always stand out.
MAIN EVENT: Wow. I’m going to say some of the action really was on point, and I fully expect the MOTN to be between SOM/Rich and this, but there were some sloppy things when I originally read it, and I wasn’t a fan of the entrances, which I felt worked far better in Saul and Angel v The Law.
Rather than go back and re-read everything for the third time, and apologies if I missed anything, everyone was given a chance to shine, which was terrific, and there were some HOLY SHIT moments, no doubt about that. The finish is also fine by me, and I’ll take this on the chin, it may be disappointing given that there have been a few ‘cop out’ moments/non-starters/screwy finishes.
Overall, a good/very good match with GREAT spots. As a main event, not as good as last week’s, which is no worries, and a different type of match to 5. Match of the night? In terms of action, yes. In terms of psychology, no.
The show? Some similarities to the second show of the first arc, but ultimately, a better offering. I expect some feedback to call out the matches, as I’ve alluded to myself. Honestly, mixed reactions from me surrounding this show and I challenge you all to raise your game for 8, as you did for 3. We’ve got 2 shows left before the PPV and it feels like we’ve been slow to get out of the blocks in some ways. Again, not the best Domination nor the worst. I don’t give ratings out of 10 for plenty of reasons, but I reckon this was middle-of-the-road and the segments, GENERALLY, outshone the matches.
Onto the next one, and hopefully less drama following 8’s release. Thanks for reading, writing and being here, and have a great cycle ahead of 8.
I’m not done, either. I’ll put some GENERAL thoughts and complaints in here later on.
