the undertaker — Photo Credit: Getty Images

Isenberg Reacts: WWE RAW “The Deadman’s Statement and Jericho Makes History”

January 10, 2017

HBK, Enzo and Cass

With the return of one of the best in ring performers in WWE history, you knew that fans were going to complain. You sensed it as soon as he began to tease about coming back and missing the fans. Instead of making a huge announcement, Shawn Michaels hyped his movie and then helped Enzo and Cass make fun of Rusev, Jinder Mahal and Lana. All three faces worked great together, with Rusev adding just enough dry humor to keep it going. At the end of the segment, Sweet Chin Music knocked out Rusev and Big Cass ended the night for Jinder Mahal.

Yes, we all want to see Shawn Michaels have one more match. He looks in great shape, but is it really necessary? With Brock, Goldberg, Undertaker, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Randy Orton and everyone else healthy, his return would be completely overshadowed by everything else going on. It would be special, but not special enough. When his career is over, will the fans remember the 20 years of greatness or that ONE match when he kinda came back? What do you remember Sting by? What do you remember Goldberg by? Let HBK stay on the sidelines, even though the fan inside of me would pay top dollar to see him fight someone like AJ Styles. Tonight, he helped an average feud feel more important and that was absolutely alright with me. Good to see him back and hit his finisher one more time. That never gets old to me.

Do I wish Seth Rollins would have come out and confronted him about his best friend, Triple H? Absolutely. Sometimes, the logical thing is the smartest thing. WWE did not want to do the logical thing (for whatever reason) on January 9th.

WZZ 6.5

Neville defeated Lince Dorado

The king of the Cruiserweights took on Dorado in a fast paced match that got a lot of offense in early. Neville, an athletic freak and ridiculously strong, hit a Northern Lights Suplex and then would get Dorado to tap out to the King Lock. Rich Swann made his way down to the ring, and both men got into it. Neville escapes unharmed. All that you need to know is that Neville’s time is coming. There is no way you cannot have him as champion heading into WrestleMania. He can save the division and make the match in Orlando special. Will it be a Cruiserweight Invitational? I would not be against that, especially if the last person would end up being Austin Aries. He will only stay on commentary for a little bit, as there is so much more in the tank for him.

WZ 5

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.

Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.

Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.

His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.