When I first heard about WWE’s new show Speed I knew it was something I had to watch. It is a show that airs on Twitter Currently Known as X where two dudes wrestle in a match with a three minute time limit. The first batch of episodes are a single elimination tournament to crown a WWE Speed Champion. What will happen after that I cannot say as the tournament is still ongoing. Anyway here are words about the inaugural episode.
Match 1: Ricochet vs. Dragon Lee
WWE Speed Championship Tournament Match
Everything about this is fast paced. Neither dude gets entrances and they are fighting as soon as the video starts. Corey Graves seems to be soloing commentary for this which given the show’s concept is fine since all you really need is a guy talking about moves since you don’t really have time to do any other storytelling.
The match starts off with both dudes going all out only for the other guy to dodge or counter pretty much anything. Ricochet earns the first near fall of the match off an early roll up but Dragon Lee comes back with a wonky roll up for a two count of his own.
Over on commentary Graves explains that due to the time limit the style of the matches on Speed is going to be a bit different from the sort of action we are generally accustomed to.
Ricochet, meanwhile goes out to the apron and comes flying back in with a springboard forearm for another near fall. A standing moonsault earns Ricochet another two count. Ricochet gets Lee up in the Fireman’s Carry position but Lee fights free with elbows leading to a strike exchange in the middle of the ring.
Lee looks for a snap German suplex but Ricochet lands on his feet and looks to boot Lee. Lee has other ideas though and catches Ricochet’s foot and causes Ricochet to do a flip before nailing him with a super kick.
Another series of counters and reversals follows before Lee manages to catch Ricochet with a step-up kick. Then, with about a minute left on the clock, Dragon Lee hits a Poison Rana but Ricochet comes back with a desperation clothesline that turns Lee inside out for a near fall. Ricochet then charges into the corner but Lee avoids the charge and boots Ricochet in the solar plexus and rolls him up with a near fall of his own. Lee hurks Ricochet up and slams him to the mat for another near fall.
Dragon Lee goes for Project Dragon but Ricochet counters and boots Lee in the dome. With about 10 seconds to go Ricochet hits the Recoil and then covers to pick up the win with 3 seconds left on the clock.
Winner: Ricochet
This was a pretty good proof of concept for what the “Speed Division” could be. It was just a couple of real flashy dudes going a million miles an hour doing really crazy moves and because there was only three minutes on the clock it never got to the “Ok we get it…” point that this style of match often does for me if it goes longer than maybe 10 or 12 minutes. [**½]
Next Week on Speed…
We get a look at the tournament bracket but none of it is filled in save for the match we just saw. We are then informed that next week we will see Axiom take on JD McDonagh though where that match is on the bracket is unknown.
Match 2: Bronson Reed vs. Cedric Alexander
WWE Speed Championship Tournament Match
Cedric Alexander comes out of the gate hot with a dropkick and a series of chops that barely stagger big ol’ Bronson Reed. Alexander then looks to send Reed of the ropes but Reed’s too big and heavy so he easily reverses the Irish whip and sends Alexander for the ride. He tries to nail Alexander with some forearm shots as Alexander runs the ropes but Alexander uses his speed and agility to avoid the big man so Reed just trucks into him sending Alexander crashing to the mat.
Reed looks to follow with an elbow drop but Alexander avoids it. Alexander then catches Reed with a series of kicks including a springboard kick to the head that staggers Reed. A springboard moonsault off the middle rope takes Reed off his feet and earns Alexander the first near fall of the match.
Reed rolls out to the floor to regroup but Alexander throws caution to the wind and comes flying over the top rope to take out Bronson Reed on the floor. Back in the ring, Alexander does a handspring roundhouse kick that has Reed wobbling. Alexander then goes for a springboard maneuver but Reed grabs him before he can come off the ropes and plants him with a Death Valley Driver for two.
Alexander is then flattened with a massive senton by Reed who drags Alexander over to the corner. Reed then heads up top and comes flying off with a splash that earns him the win with 1:10 left on the clock.
Reed then gets in the camera and informs us that “Speed was made for Bronson Reed because I only need three minutes to make people my victim. REED IS SPEED!” Fuck it I want Bronson Reed to win this whole thing for that catchphrase alone!
Winner: Bronson Reed
This was stylistically very different from the opening match which played more like 205 Live for people with ADHD and kind of made me like the concept of the show a lot more. Like yeah a big mean motherfucker that just mauls dudes would also well in a division where you’re competing against the clock as much as you are your opponent. [***]
Final Thoughts
I legitimately like when WWE tries stuff outside of their wheelhouse. Stuff like Saturday Morning Slam or Mixed Match Challenge was rad because they were maybe the closest we’ll ever get to WWE doing Chikara style comedy wrestling and here we’ve got a show that’s somewhere between TNA’s X Division (I heard someone joke that the slogan of this show should be “It’s not about weight limits…it’s about time limits!”) and WCW’s (or anyone else that had a similar title) Television Championship and honestly that’s kind of cool. If WWE is adding another title to the mix for lower card guys I’d honestly rather have something like a TV title where there’s a stipulation gimmick attached to it than a weight limit thing that doesn’t really make sense in the modern wrestling world.
The show itself was quick and easy to watch, which makes sense since all together it was like maybe six minutes total including Corey Graves hyping up next week’s show and showing us brackets. Will I watch more of this? Yeah probably. It’s three minute wrestling matches I can watch on my phone while sitting on the toilet or waiting for a train and there’s definitely a place for a show like that.
Atomic Drop 