Well it’s officially August (there is salt in the air and rust on the door-sorry non-Taylor Swift fans) and that means it’s time to take a look back on alllllllll the happenings in July. I would say July was a big month for wrestling, and it set us up for an even bigger August. So without further ado here are some things I loved in July.
GCW Settlement Series
Going all the way back to the beginning of July for this one. This show was so so fun. The courtroom references were spot on and I would put all of (some of) my trust in the Bussypreme Court. Wrestling can be so serious most of the times, and it was nice to just have a goofy show for once.
Liv Morgan Wins Money in the Bank
Again, taking it back to the beginning of the month, WWE helped their Money in the Bank pay-per-view- sorry, “premium live event”- on July 2nd. The spectacle features fan-favorite, Liv Morgan, winning the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase and successfully cashing it in on Ronda Rousey to become the new Smackdown Women’s Champion. This moment was so big and it was so earned by Morgan. It genuinely seemed like everyone was rooting for her and was on her side. The support and love she’s garnered from fans has been so organic, and it’s exciting to see her finally get a push after being in the shadows for so long.
Cole Radrick Wins the GCW Extreme Championship
Cole Radrick has been someone I’ve enjoyed watching so much this year. He’s been a favorite of mine since I started watching GCW regularly early this year. Friday July 30th GCW held their “GCW vs the People” event in Nashville, Tennessee. And who would walk away with a championship? None other than the Raddy Daddy himself, Cole Radrick. This moment was so cool, and so well deserved. I am still kicking myself I rolled into Nashville the night after this show. Radrick’s run with this championship is going to be absolutely off the charts- he’s the kind of guy that delivers in every single match, and I know the championship will elevate him even further.
Renee Paquette’s “The Sessions” Live
As some of you may know, I am such a big fan of Renee Paquette. She’s one of the main reasons why I started this website in the first place. So when it was announced she would be doing a live episode of her podcast, “The Sessions,” at Starrcast I knew I had to be there. Seeing her live for the first time in three years can only be described as magical. She has such an incredible presence, and Bryan Danielson was the perfect guest for this episode. She’s been my biggest inspiration when it comes to wanting to get into the wrestling media world (in some capacity) and this moment was so special to me. I’ve been lucky enough to attend quite a few wrestling shows, but this will always be one of my absolute favorite things. The episode itself was great-Paquette and Bryan have such great chemistry- and if you missed it, definitely make a point to listen!
ROH Death Before Dishonor
As far as pay-per-views and premium live events go, Death Before Dishonor(DBD) was my favorite one in July. I mean come on, FTR vs the Briscoes?!?! There is literally not enough positive words in the English language to describe this match. FTR IS SO FUCKING GOOD. I’ve always been a big tag team wrestling fan, and while I kind of fell out of it within the past few years, there is so much incredible tag team wrestling going on right now it’s impossible not to love. AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT CLAUDIO. I feel like every time I talk about Claudio I have to scream, isn’t that great? DBD featured Claudio winning the ROH World Championship. I am such a sucker for those moments where someone wins their first big championship and you can see it slowly hit them after the bell rings. Instant tears every time. The entirety of Death Before Dishonor was fantastic, and as someone who’s new to ROH, the PPV did a great job of getting me absolutely hooked. TK, the next move is yours….. I’ll be watching.
NJPW’s G1 Climax 32
I’ve been covering (most of) the action of the G1 Climax, so you all probably know I’ve been watching. But I’ve been doing a terrible job of translating just how much I’ve been enjoying the tournament in my result articles. I’ve been having so much fun watching and further familiarizing myself with New Japan stars. There is so much good wrestling going on, it’s mind blowing. I haven’t been catching all of it live due to my work schedules, but when I do get to wake up at an ungodly hour and watch it’s one of my favorite things. I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s so peaceful to be up watching wrestling early in the morning. I would offer my pick to win the whole thing but the truth is I cannot make myself choose. We’re nearing the end though and I’m so excited.
WWE Summerslam
I’ve been saying it so much recently but it is such an exciting time for wrestling. So many changes and so many big events coming up, it’s impossible for me to calm down. It received mixed reviews, but I throughly enjoyed Summerslam. It was the first WWE *cough* “premium live event” I had watched in full in a long time and it felt so nice to be excited about it again. One of the biggest moments of the night was, of course, the return of Bayley and Dakota Kai, and Iy Sky’s main roster debut. This trip is exactly what the women’s division needed and they are going to kick so much ass. And can we talk about the main event for a moment? Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar isn’t shocking matchup at this point, but their last-man-standing match stole the whole show. I am obsessed with Lesnar’s current character, I love that he’s a little bit goofy. Reigns has had an extremely long championship reign and the whole “will he, won’t he win” spiel makes any of his championship matches a least a little bit interesting. Summerslam really made me look forward to the future of WWE. It’s no secret some changes are going to come, and it warms my heart to be excited about it again.
Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta (BCC) vs The Best Friends
This was one of those huge “I love wrestling” moments. I love a good wrestling match as much as the next guy, but for me, the best part of wrestling is the stories. The BCC vs The Best Friends was an incredible story. In case you didn’t know, Wheeler Yuta used to wrestle alongside The Best Friends (and Orange Cassidy) before joining the Blackpool Combat Club. GUESS WHO MADE THE PIN IN THE MATCH ?!!!! Oh yes. Wheeler Yuta pinned Chuck Taylor. 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲. The significance of this is huge. Let me break it down for you. Yuta left The Best Friends the BCC because he didn’t need to be a best friend, he needed to be the best wrestler (and in the words of Chuck Taylor “Greg bullied my son so much he joined a fight club). AND THEN YUTA CAME BACK AND BEAT THE BEST FRIENDS USING A PIN THAT CHUCK TAYLOR TAUGHT HIM. God I love wrestling.
Let me just say there was a great amount of things that happened in July that made me smile, jump around, and say “I love wrestling.” I’ve learned my lesson and will be taking notes during August because I know I left some things off of this list.
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