Notorei
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Jolt Intense 36 Review:
Note: with limited prior knowledge of happening in LoC or the previous version of Jolt.
I.SEGMENT: “Out With the New, In With the Old, and Out With the Old Again” feat. Damien Lee
Note: with limited prior knowledge of happening in LoC or the previous version of Jolt.
I.SEGMENT: “Out With the New, In With the Old, and Out With the Old Again” feat. Damien Lee
a. Like: Face in charge.
b. Dislike: Legacy championship inclusion. Two month rehire.
c. Comments: I was wondering when jOlt would gain control back and stop all these assaults we’ve been seeing. It had gotten to a point where people were just waiting in shadows and injuring some pretty decent wrestlers. I don’t think Lee should have mentioned the sixty day rehire rule. I felt it took away from the Loser Leaves jOlt sip or anytime a wrestler gets fired. Aside from letting fans know Blade would return (why ruin it?) it really was a bad call. Finally, the inclusion of the Legacy Championship in jOlt strikes me as a double-edged sword. Aside from a possible storyline, why would Lee include this championship on the same level as jOlt belt? I get that the wrestler is on that level, but why the title? It felt like the jOlt title took the back burner, which I’m not sure was entirely smart, even if a title unification ends up happening later on. LoC was great, don’t get me wrong, but shouldn’t they play to jOlt being “it”? I just don’t want to see a bunch of defunct promotion title making their way into jOlt to get defended, ouch.
II.SEGMENT: “The Mighty Have Fallen” feat. Ray Chavez
a. Like: The return.
b. Dislike: Nothing.
c. Comments: Ray returns with a new look and new attitude. Unless familiar with the LoC/fWo backstory, I don’t think this segment will have the desired effect on the reader because of the lack of explanation. If this was intended, then I’m sure a new piece of the puzzle will be revealed next week. I would have liked to hear more from Ray about where he’s been. Keith is conning this popular individual, which will make for an interesting story. Also, why is Ray making $250 per appearance? He has to be the lowest paid on the roster, which is odd for such a well-known wrestler.
III.MATCH: “Manzo Tanaka v. Sam Sweet”
a. Like: Big man match.
b. Dislike: Lackluster performance.
c. Comments: This felt like a squash match. Tanaka’s size is impressive, but his in-ring performance wasn’t something that seemed to impress the fans. The match was fast, but there should have been a little bit more to it. Where were the introduction and themes? I also didn’t see the point of it being and Underground Rules match. If it wasn’t the first match of the night, I would have been a little harder on it.
IV.SEGMENT: “No Escape” feat. Sylo
a. Like: Everything.
b. Dislike: Nothing.
c. Comments: This multilayered segment was chalked full of surprises and questions. People need to pay attention to this segment, because it sets the bar for what a top superstar in jOlt is supposed to accomplish. While most of us don’t have the ferocious nature like Sylo, this can be accomplished by means other than violence. For Sylo, violence is a given. I wonder how SVJ is going to react to Natalia visiting Sylo, unless it was planned to take his guard down before AJ and Bane showed up. Think twice about attacking Sylo! He took the initial beating and demolished both afterwards. This is only a prelude to what the SVJ match is going to be like, one can only hope. Because Sylo was attacked, I’m curious to see what punishments befall AJ (unless hospitalization is punishment enough, lol) and Bane. Good work here.
V.SEGMENT: “Honest Mistake” feat. Heirs of Wrestling
a. Like: RingRats not backing down.
b. Dislike: Heirs’ performance.
c. Comments: I’m not sure if this team is supposed to be comic relief. I liked segment on Intense 35 because it showcased Frank and introduced this arrogant group to the tag division. They beat a pretty good team last week and seemed to lose the momentum with this segment. The talking between the Heirs confused the hell out of me (galactic nines?). Last week I understood, a bit, the differences between each group member. This week, they seemed to mesh together and were lost in translation. Am I supposed to take these guys serious? They talk together like friends while most the audience is confused about what they’re saying, or what the purpose is of the entire segment. Why were they mad at Ryan? All this wasn’t clear to me. This segment actually made the RingRats look good by holding their ground.
VI.MATCH: “Adam Lazarus v. Bane Loneheart”
a. Like: Win for Laz.
b. Dislike: Lack of entrances.
c. Comments: This is the second match of the night with no entrances. This seems lazy. Either jOlt decides to include them all the time or omit them entirely, choose one guys. Bane wants respect, but he’s going about it all wrong. Sylo messed up his plans. I honestly don’t understand, now, why Bane went to attack Sylo in the first place. AJ, yes, but Bane? This guy is pretty far down the ladder now. Ass kicked by Sylo, elimination, injured knee. Where does this guy go from here? He lost considerable heat with this show.
VII.SEGMENT: “Party Crashing” feat. Marcus Davis
a. Like: The effort.
b. Dislike: Segment.
c. Comments: This is my first time hearing of both these guys, yet they speak as if they’ve accomplished so much in wrestling and I’m supposed to know all this? There was a reference to another promotion and Marcus being the current heavyweight champion there. No offense to the company, but why do the people of jOlt care? The fact that he’s the current champion there gives this character an Indy feel. Matthews comes out and both bicker back and forth. There was a lot of talking, but not much was being said. These characters should have had some type of individual introduction so they fans could familiarize themselves with them. These two apparently have history, but aside from that fact alone, fans aren’t really connecting. The entire segment was written in past tense too. Fix this next time. The whole thing felt very amateur.
VIII.SEGMENT: “You’re Ready” feat. Ray Chavez
a. Like: Insight into Ray’s problems.
b. Dislike: Logic.
c. Comments: Am I to believe the only reason Ray came to jOlt is because his daughter needs some tuition money? If that’s the sole reason, then it’s a pretty boring one. I don’t buy it. There is more to this story than what we’ve been told. There has to be another reason he’s back. This guy is covered in scars (burns?) and he’s different than what he once was, I got that. This guy was once a threat, but now he’s pushing the wrong side of forty and lacks confidence. This better be going somewhere.
IX.MATCH: “Heirs of Wrestling v. RingRats”
a. Like: Solid tag match.
b. Dislike: Nothing.
c. Comments: What the Heirs lacked in segment they made up for with their match. They’re an odd team, but that is also their strength, especially with Brody. I enjoyed Graham’s performance more than Dallas. Graham shouldn’t have gone for the high risk dive, which ultimately cost them the match. Heirs are moving up in the tag division. I would like to see them do something to garner some more heat instead of play with cell phones.
X.SEGMENT: “A Citizen’s Warning II” feat. Citizen
a. Like: Segment.
b. Dislike: No reference to Derecho.
c. Comments: I know its Derecho, but please put “Derecho” somewhere in the next vignette. It helps the reader remember this fact, that they are one in the same. This segment was much better than the previous one. Why does the voice sound like the villain from SAW in my head? I swear it. This one was to the point and creepy again. Something inside me wants to see Citizen break out as jOlt’s “creepy/scary” character. I’m not talking over the top, but just stamped as the eerie guy. His videos this week received the desired response from the fans, but left them wanting more. Citizen, get a horror team on board and really scare the pants off this crowd, because they’re aching for it!
XI.MATCH: “Ray Chavez v. Grendel”
a. Like: Two big returns.
b. Dislike: Placement.
c. Comments: It was obvious this match should have directly followed the previous segment. Ray is obviously not ready to be in the ring. Kane saved his ass by grabbing the mic and seemingly doing what he does best, talk. They key word used here was movie star and the fans just salivated over it. Smart thinking on Keith’s part. I personally think people are just happy to see Ray back since he was given a solid run in LoC. I didn’t expect Ray to lose his first match, but I also didn’t expect to see Grendel again. Ray was unprepared and knocked out as a result. Please keep this guy away from any hardcore rules matches until he’s back in shape, sheesh.
XII.SEGMENT: “The One Eyed Man is King” feat. Phoenix
a. Like: The handling of two fan favorites.
b. Dislike: Broken English.
c. Comments: One Eye’s broken English worked in the beginning of the segment, but seemed to get better as it progressed. This is a tough one to write. You have to figure out a way to get One Eye over with the fans with only a limited amount of English at his disposal. Also, there must be consistency in his speech to ensure people understand the character and his culture. I’m a bit confused with Phoenix. No idea what he’s about, first of all. If I read correctly, did he just appear from thin air beside One Eye? Seemed that way. I did enjoy the one eyed man is king statement, I got it. The Golden Masked Man on Fire, hmm… is this wrestler constantly ablaze? Or should it have read of Fire? In need of some expository from Phoenix.
XIII.SEGMENT: “Will Your True Friends Stand Up?” feat. Superstar Vince Jacobs
a. Like: Coolness.
b. Dislike: Nothing.
c. Comments: SVJ comes off as a real cool, calm, and collected. He’s the Legacy champion, so you know the guy can back up what he says. Very simple segment which I enjoyed. Jacobs isn’t scared of Sylo, at all it seems, even after all the destruction he’s been causing. Either SVJ has a plan or he truly believes he has everything under control. Something seems off about this. Could we have just witnessed SVJ scared? Food for thought.
XIV.MATCH: “Jason Rau v. Khristian Keller”
a. Like: Overall match.
b. Dislike: KP mention.
c. Comments: I was confused at the beginning. Was Kayden Paulton supposed to wrestle Rau instead? What happened then? Either way, Keller came out and went straight for Rau. I liked the fact that he was actually cheered for a while over the face. Fairly quick match that saw Rau take his second loss. Huge match error, where Keller put Rau in a submission and the ref tried breaking it. It’s supposed to be Underground Rules. Too late for changes, the fans saw it! Ha Ha. Expect the fanboys to have a field day with this one on their internet sites. I would say the ref gets in trouble for this one. Also, making reference to LoC is fine since its transition and we still have remnants of the company mixed in with jOlt. Why are we still making reference to other companies (no offense to them), but who cares about zTw Steel champion, hell I don’t even know what that is. I’ve said it three times now; I get it we all have superb histories that we wish stayed relevant. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and start a new legacy in jOlt, cause that’s all the recreational fan is going to remember.
XV.SEGMENT: “Shots Fired” feat. Chris Titan
a. Like: Entire segment.
b. Dislike: Nothing.
c. Comments: Titan is like a raving lunatic barbarian, haha. You have to love that guy. Register finally had enough and stood up for himself, good job Chris… err Register. This was the perfect premium channel lunacy that equates to great TV! It’s sad to see this once awesome team break up when jOlt is just getting back on its feet. This move will hurt the tag division, mark my words, unless we see one of them pick up a new partner, hmm. Ultimately, here is my concern. Damien Lee already banned the attacks backstage, in the arena, etc… if it wasn’t a sanctioned match. I’m sure beating your tag partner within an inch of his life falls in that category. I want to see what Lee is going to do to AJ, Bane, and now Chris Titan. Hell, we may even see something happen to Sylo and Register, even though they defended themselves, they were still a part of it.
XVI.SEGMENT: “The Slow Death of Truth and Honor” feat. Phoenix
a. Like: Mystery with attack.
b. Dislike: Phoenix speech.
c. Comments: I don’t know what it is, but I’m just not connecting with Phoenix. The character is written to be taken seriously, I think, yet I have trouble taking him seriously when he speaks oddly. Don’t tell me the only eye open to the truths in this world isn’t going to go into combat with me tonight. Yeah, that just made me puzzled at first then chuckle at its corniness after. If this character is for comedic purposes, then it makes more sense, but I’m not getting that either. And why was Derecho the first suspect that came to Phoenix’s mind? I thought it might be Bane Loneheart, fresh off his loss to Laz. I mean, hell, he’s been attacking everybody since this whole thing began. This segment just didn’t have the right impact on the fans.
XVII.MATCH: “Superstar Vince Jacobs© v. Sylo”
a. Like: Solid main event.
b. Dislike: Belt shot sell.
c. Comments: The match was a solid main event for iNtense. Many fans were anxiously waiting for these two to step in the ring with each other since the start of jOlt. This match left the fans wanting more, which I believe was its purpose. I liked how SVJ kept coming at Sylo with everything but the kitchen sink, even though Sylo didn’t stay down. At any moment it felt like these two could blow the roof of the building, but that never came to fruition. I’m guessing they’re saving it for the D&C. Aside from handing SVJ the belt, I couldn’t really feel what she was feeling in this match. She cares for both men, but was almost nonexistent in the match. Finally, I really feel that Sylo should have sold the title shots more than he did. I understand Underground matches are common and weapon usage is expected, but when weapons no longer are a threat, what’s next? Bringing guns and knives to the match? It’s still sports entertainment and chair shots should hurt as match as your classic belt to the head, especially when SVJ hit him multiple times.