The Taz Show Recap – Jericho vs. Omega, Clash of Champions Predictions, Rousey Already Signed in WWE? More!

Taz opens today’s show speaking about the recent angle between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega in NJPW. He loved what those two guys did here, and Jericho’s surprise appearance in Japan really shocked the live crowd. However, he didn’t like how Kevin Kelly and the commentary team handled this. Jericho was back on to the camera so the viewers at home couldn’t tell who it was initially, yet the announcers began screaming “Oh my God, it’s Jericho!”

Taz says that commentators need to use their monitors because that’s what the viewers at home are seeing. He recalls McMahon telling him and Michael Cole in their ear pieces to look right into their monitors because a surprise was coming and he wanted the announcers to react to what the viewers were seeing at home.

He points out that NJPW is usually great at keeping secrets, but he can tell by the way that they called the action that the commentary team knew Jericho was going to make an appearance. If Taz was running NJPW he would have kept this from the commentators so they would have reacted organically like a fan.

He credits Jericho for his great beatdown of Omega, and he adds that Omega sold all of Jericho’s offence  wonderfully. The entire thing felt old school and Taz calls it ‘badass’. Jericho is the perfect guy to pull this off in Taz’s opinion because he has the experience and knowledge, and he knows exactly the kind of heat that was needed to make this angle work.

At the end of the segment Don Callis got in the ring and Jericho returned to beat him up. This part of the angle was unnecessary in Taz’s opinion. Jericho already had great heat after his vicious attack on Omega, and returning to attack Callis was an anticlimactic finish to the segment. Other than that, the entire thing was fantastic.

Taz particularly liked Omega jumping Jericho at the press conference after. Once again this felt very real, and it’s the type of thing that WWE’s programming has been lacking as of late. He adds that kayfabe is still a priority in Japan, and the media are never aware of what’s transpiring behind the scenes. They cover wrestling like a legitimate sport in the newspapers there which is really cool in Taz’s opinion.

Commenting on the news that Ronda Rousey is about to sign a contract in WWE, Taz mentions that her recent UFC losses won’t hurt her legitimacy in the wrestling world. He also thinks that she’s already signed a WWE contract and they’re just holding that information from the public until the time is right to announce it. He thinks she’s going to have a very successful run in WWE

He points out that Rousey’s Judo training will really assist her in her professional wrestling training because she’s already spent years rolling around on mats. Taz points out that he had some Judo experience before training in professional wrestling, and he thought it really helped him pick up the physical parts of the wrestling business quicker.

Taz gives some quick predictions on this Sunday’s Clash of Champions PPV.

Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango: Bludgeon Brothers
* Bludgeon Brothers are in the building phase right now, and this is a match they need to win.

Mojo Rawley vs. Zach Ryder: Mojo Rawley

Baron Corbin vs. Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler: Bobby Roode
* Taz thinks this match has a chance to steal the show. He thinks Roode will win here but he’d have no issue with WWE keeping the US Title on Corbin either.

Nakamura/Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn: Nakamura/Orton

Fatal Four Way Tag Team Title Match: The Usos

Charlotte vs. Natalya: Charlotte
* Taz points out that a lot of the build up for this match revolved around Ruby Riott and he would have preferred the story focusing on Charlotte. Nonetheless, he thinks it’s time for the Women’s Title to return to Charlotte’s waist.

A.J. Styles vs. Jinder Mahal: Jinder Mahal

That sums up today’s episode of The Taz Show. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!