Franklin Steele, FRS SLAM!

Franklin Steele

FRS SLAM!

Louisville, KY, United States

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Recent:
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Past:
  • FRS SLAM!
  • FRS Sports Network

Past articles by Franklin:

WWE wants you to sleep on Carmella's potential MITB cash in

Over the last several months, we've been treated to several solid feuds in the women's division on SmackDown Live, as well as a seemingly endless string of first-ever type matches -- including the women's Royal Rumble and the women's Elimination Chamber. Before those two matches -- both of which held Championship → Read More

Kevin Owens is finally a full-fledged heel

Since the night he made his debut on NXT, Kevin Owens has been a heel. He wrestled his first match against CJ Parker -- who is now "Juice" Robinson in NJPW -- and received the reception of a face, but that fell by the wayside later that night when he attacked Sami Zayn, power bombing him onto the ring apron after he → Read More

Building Ronda Rousey through vignettes great move for WWE

The WWE needs to get Ronda Rousey's build right the first time. There won't be any opportunities to repackage her in the future. She can't simply vanish off of television for six months if this doesn't click, and then reappear with new music and a fresh look. She's already an established superstar in the world of → Read More

Alexa Bliss has evolved into a wonderful squirrelly heel

If you've been watching NXT for the last few years, then you probably remember the first time you saw Alexa Bliss. Saddled with a cheerleader gimmick that saw her blow glitter out of her hands en route to the ring, virtually nothing stood out about her as a face. That was a problem considering that all of the original → Read More

What was WWE hoping to accomplish with Roman Reigns on Raw?

Builds in wrestling can sometimes be simultaneously intriguing and confusing. A few days ago, we gave WWE credit for the way it was going about the Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar build. On the March 12 edition of Monday Night Raw, things worked well because the line between reality and fiction had been blurred by all the → Read More

Do we need outright heel to make Styles-Nakamura work?

The WWE had its last real chance to pull the dream match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura out from under fans during the Fastlane network special. Styles was defending the WWE Championship in a six-pack challenge, and it would have been easy to put someone else over as we truck towards WrestleMania 34. The fine → Read More

WWE deserves credit for Reigns-Lesnar build

How do you build a wrestling match that surprises no one and that everyone sees coming? That's the question the WWE has been facing since Roman Reigns won the Elimination Chamber match last month. We've been heading towards Reigns versus Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship since WrestleMania 33 -- although the → Read More

Is Bobby Roode treading water?

Like most members of the SmackDown Live roster, it's tough to know how to feel about Bobby Roode these days. We felt good for the veteran performer when he won the United States Championship tournament in mid-January, but his title run was uninspiring, to say the least. That isn't on the Glorious One, of course. Roode → Read More

Finn Balor and Seth Rollins continue to be stellar rivals

No matter where they go or what they do, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins will always be connected. That's because of their one-on-one match at SummerSlam in August of 2016 when the former pinned the latter to become the first-ever Universal Champion. It was less than a month into Balor's career on the main roster, and he → Read More

WWE should say no thanks to Alberto Del Rio return

Last week, Mike Johnston of PWInsider.com reported that Alberto Del Rio was at WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT to shoot some interview footage for an upcoming project about Rey Mysterio. Johnston stated that while Del Rio was there, he met with Vince McMahon to discuss the possibility returning to the company. While → Read More

Brandon Saad has been a bust for the Blackhawks

When the Chicago Blackhawks traded for Brandon Saad this past summer, he was treated like the prodigal son who had returned after a two-year hiatus in Columbus. Looking for more lineup stability, both on the ice and in terms of the salary cap, general manager Stan Bowman traded Tyler Motte, Artemi Panarin and a 2017 → Read More

Fastlane more than just road bump on road to WrestleMania

This is the fourth year for the WWE network special, Fastlane. Generally considered the last chance to make any big shifts as we head towards WrestleMania, SmackDown Live has done an admirable job of trying to make us care about this year's edition of the show. Is it going to be the best pay-per-view of the year? → Read More

Balor vs Miz vs Rollins could steal WrestleMania 34

Everyone in the WWE goes to WrestleMania with one goal in mind: to steal the show. As various smaller promotions pick up steam and gain various amounts of traction in the United States, the one carrot they'll never be able to dangle in front of performers is that elusive WrestleMania moment. Sometimes that moment is → Read More

WWE doing phenomenal job with Nia Jax face turn

Nia Jax has slowly been picking up steam as we inch closer to WrestleMania 34. Her in-ring work is at an all-time high, and she has a handful of compelling matches against Asuka under her belt to show for it. The two women have managed to tell wonderful stories with limited time on Monday Night Raw, and they deserve a → Read More

WWE misses chance at huge payoff with Ronda Rousey

The WWE has been hit and miss with Ronda Rousey and her booking to this point. It still seems like they aren't sure how they want her to behave in the ring. Should she be a happy-to-be-here grinning babyface? Or a scowling, menacing tweener who takes liberties because of who she is and is a legit bad ass. Part of that → Read More

WWE Championship match at Fastlane has become ridiculous

Championship matches are supposed to be special -- especially when we're talking about the top championship for a given brand or company. These title bouts aren't always the main event of the evening, but it always feels like something special when the belt is up for grabs. That's what the WWE Championship match at the → Read More

Is WWE really going to bury Rusev?

You hear it reiterated from current WWE superstars and former performers alike: that no one in the back is actively attempting to prevent anyone from getting over. Vince McMahon is only concerned with making money, and that he doesn't really care where his top wrestlers come from. As long as they put in the work to get → Read More

How does Marty Scurll fit into warring Bullet Club?

During this past weekend's fantastic NJPW Honor Rising shows, Marty Scurll was involved in both main events. He tagged with Cody and Adam "Hangman" Page to take on the newly reformed Golden Lovers and Chase Owens on night one, and then teamed with Cody again on night two, matching up with the incredibly over Golden → Read More

Blurred lines make Bayley vs Sasha interesting again

The WWE has changed a lot since the beginning of the Attitude Era. At that point, the standard setup of heel vs face changed dramatically. No longer were wrestlers filed into strict lines of "good guy" gimmicks and "bad guy" gimmicks. Gone were the days of the proverbial Cowboys vs Indians and over went true-to-life → Read More

Does WWE think Rousey-Stephanie is new Austin-McMahon?

Fans had months to try and figure out what, exactly, the WWE would do with Ronda Rousey if they ever did manage to sign her. After the former UFC star made her debut at the Royal Rumble without really being folded into an ongoing storyline, the fantasy booking scenarios increased tenfold. Would she worm her way into a → Read More