Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
Reviewing Sasha Banks' Return to SmackDown
On April 9, 2021, the first night of WrestleMania 37 took place, and that night's main event was historic, as Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair ended that evening competing for the SmackDown Women's Championship. It marked the first time that a one-on-one match involving Black women main evented a night of WrestleMania, and the title bout saw Bianca (who won this year's Women's Royal Rumble) capture the title from Sasha; capping off a huge elevation for Bianca. Sasha had only been seen on WWE TV once since losing the title, while Bianca had successful defenses against former champions Bayley and Carmella during her 100+ day reign. Their historic main event won an ESPY at this year's event, under the category of "Best WWE Moment."
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing The End of Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez's Alliance
We all saw this coming ever since Raquel Gonzalez became NXT Women's Champion. We all figured that it was only a matter of time before Raquel and Dakota's year-plus long alliance would end because of that title. None of us were surprised with what went down on the latest edition of NXT. The only one who was surprised: none other than Raquel Gonzalez herself.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Presenting the Cleveland Guardians
On July 23, 2021, it was announced that Cleveland's MLB franchise will now be known as the Guardians, with the news being broken on Twitter. The franchise debuted in 1894 as the Grand Rapids Rustlers for their first six seasons, until undergoing three different name changes between 1900 and 1902. In 1903, they became the Cleveland Napoleons (shortened to "Naps"), named after their star player, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, but after Lajoie's departure following the 1914 season, the team adopted their long time familiar name: the Cleveland Indians.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Game Six: Giannis Gets His Ring
Milwaukee, it's time to party like it's 1971! The Milwaukee Bucks won Game Six of the NBA Finals by a score of 105-98, clinching their second NBA Championship and first in 50 years. Their overall series win came after the team lost the first two games to the Phoenix Suns, and needed to win back-to-back at home just to draw even. After succeeding, the Bucks stole Game Five in Phoenix to earn the right to clinch their championship on their home court.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Nikki A.S.H.'s Big Championship Win
I watched Nikki A.S.H.'s big moment twice; once when it happened, and once again on YouTube. The second time, I cried. The reason: as I stated in a previous story, Nikki A.S.H. will always be Nikki Storm to me, and in her indy matches, she always gave these uproarious and boastful promos that would always get her over and get cheers (despite being a heel at the time). Part of Nikki's promos had her referring to herself as the "greatest in the galaxy." Those four words entered my mind when I relived her capturing the Raw Women's Championship.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
The Vast Decline of the NFC East
I am a Green Bay Packers fan, so why am I talking about the NFC East? The reason is simple: my dad is a longtime Dallas Cowboys fan, and when I was a kid, one of the many things my dad told me was how good the NFC East was. It was true back then. The National Football Conference's Eastern Division was once the best division in the entire league. Back then, it was three divisions per conference, which was the format that had existed since the AFL-NFL merger back in 1970. Being an NFC guy, I took notice on how the divisions operated, and it was the same for several years: the West wasn't good (49ers ran away with it every year), the Central was moderate (the Packers were the class of the division for years, though the rivals had their moments), and the East was just beastly.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Game Five: How to Steal a Game in 12 Minutes
After four games in this year's NBA Finals, it's now a two-out-of-three series. Home court remained on the side of the Phoenix Suns entering this pivotal Game Five, meaning that while the Milwaukee Bucks earned one final home game, they had to win on the road to make things easier for themselves. They hadn't done so in this series, and regarding this game, the task became harder with a dominant first quarter for the Suns. After the first dozen minutes, it was 37-21 Suns, and while watching, I simply thought that we'd see the home court dominance pay off for Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and the Phoenix Suns.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Women's Money In The Bank 2021: Who Deserves It the Most?
For the fifth straight year, WWE's Money in the Bank PPV will feature a women's match under that same title, but it will be the sixth such match overall. The Money in the Bank Ladder Match first came to be back in 2005, with Edge winning the first ever match at WrestleMania 21. The prize, as we know, is a briefcase containing a contract for a World Championship match at any time within the next year, and per tradition, the briefcase is actually "cashed in" when said winner hands in the briefcase and usually does so against a prone and beaten champion. The two times it wasn't: 2006 (the contract was actually taken out and signed; Rob Van Dam was the holder) and 2012 (the holder--John Cena--announced his plan to cash in a week later).
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Game Four: Back and Fo(u)rth
The Milwaukee Bucks headed home down two games in the NBA Finals, and they needed to bounce back to make it a true series. They got off to a good start with their 120-100 Game Three victory, but they still needed to take Game Four; though the Phoenix Suns did not make it easy for them. This game was very close throughout; in fact, at halftime, it was all even at 52. The Suns took over the third period, leading to a six point lead entering the fourth and final quarter. It looked like the Bucks were in trouble and on their way to facing elimination heading to Phoenix.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing Mandy Rose's Return to NXT
A week removed from a memorable Great American Bash special, NXT featured three women's matches; one of them being Sarray facing off against Gigi Dolin. Sarray was originally supposed to face Toni Storm, but the announcement of Toni's promotion to SmackDown threw a proverbial monkey wrench into things. Gigi Dolin decided to step on and challenge Sarray, leading to the match taking place, but during their bout, everyone was surprised by sudden appearance of Mandy Rose, who was making her first appearance on NXT since late 2016.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Game Three: Giannis Dominates Again
The Milwaukee Bucks had two days off to reflect on their situation and prepare for Game Three of the NBA Finals. The Bucks entered the game with their backs to the wall. Down 2-0 in the championship series against the Phoenix Suns, the Bucks were now in the safe confines of their home court for not only this game, but Game Four as well. However, that is not enough. The Bucks needed to win these games, because a loss would be immensely detrimental to the team.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Reviewing a Night of Big Changes to SmackDown's Women's Division
The latest edition of SmackDown was a big one: it was their final one inside the ThunderDome. Among many things, the COVID-19 pandemic affected World Wrestling Entertainment's programming, as beginning in March 2020, all shows and PPVs originally took place inside their Performance Center with no fans in attendance. It was in the late summer of 2020 that the ThunderDome debuted; a bubble that allows fans to attend virtually, with SummerSlam being the first event to take place inside the ThunderDome. The bubble was the site for Raw, SmackDown, and PPVs, though this year's WrestleMania did take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, in front of fans.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
