Thursday, April 30, 2009

4/30/09 Superstars

Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox vs. Gail Kim & Maria: *3/4

Evan Bourne vs. Paul Burchill: **1/2

Ted DiBiase vs. Carlito: **3/4

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

4/28/09 ECW

Tyson Kidd vs. Finlay: **1/4

Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian (ECW Title): **3/4 (DQ finish)

Monday, April 27, 2009

4/27/09 RAW

Kofi Kingston vs. The Brian Kendrick: *1/2

Santina Marella, Kelly Kelly, Brie Bella, & Mickie James vs. Maryse, Rosa Mendes, Beth Phoenix, & Jillian Hall: 1/4*

Matt Hardy vs. Goldust: DUD

Randy Orton vs. MVP: **

Carlito & Primo vs. Jamie Noble & Chavo Guerrero: *3/4

Batista vs. The Big Show: -**

Sunday, April 26, 2009

4/26/09 Backlash

Christian vs. Jack Swagger (ECW Title): ***1/4

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat: ***1/2

Kane vs. CM Punk: **1/4

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy (I Quit Match): **1/2

Santina Marella vs. Beth Phoenix: DUD

Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase vs. Triple H, Batista, & Shane McMahon (WWE Title; Orton can win title on countout or DQ or if any member of his team pins any member of Triple H's team): **3/4

Edge vs. John Cena (Last Man Standing; for World Heavyweight Title): ****

4/25/09 ROH

Jon Davis & Kory Chavis vs. Grizzly Redwood & Andy Ridge: 3/4*

Nigel McGuinness vs. Alex Payne: 1/2*

Jay Briscoe & Kevin Steen vs. Eddie Edwards & Chris Hero: ***1/4

Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson: ***3/4

Saturday, April 25, 2009

4/24/09 Smackdown

Matt Hardy & Kane vs. CM Punk & Jeff Hardy: **

The Big Show vs. The Undertaker: **1/4

Maryse vs. Gail Kim (Divas Title): *1/2

MVP vs. Chavo Guerrero: *1/2

Batista & Shane McMahon vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase: **1/2

Friday, April 24, 2009

4/23/09 Impact

James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Jay Lethal & Consequences Creed: **3/4

Sojournor Bolt vs. Taylor Wilde (Ladder Match): *1/4

AJ Styles vs. Kevin Nash (Legends Title): *1/4

Jethro Holliday & Eric Young vs. Yujiro & Naito: *3/4

Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Steiner (Cactus Jack Smack Attack): **3/4

4/23/09 Superstars

The Big Show & Kane vs. Rey Mysterio & CM Punk: *3/4

Finlay & Hornswoggle vs. Tyson Kidd & Natalya: 1/2*

Edge vs. Kofi Kingston: ***

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

4/21/09 ECW

Hornswoggle vs. Natalya: 1/4*

Evan Bourne vs. Paul Burchill: **1/4

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Frankie Sloan: DUD

4/20/09 RAW

Batista vs. Chavo Guerrero: DUD

Kane vs. CM Punk: *

Melina vs. Beth Phoenix (Women's Title): *1/2

John Cena vs. Chris Jericho: ***1/2

The Big Show vs. Rey Mysterio: 1/2*

Randy Orton vs. Triple H (No DQ): **3/4

Sunday, April 19, 2009

4/18/09 ROH

Necro Butcher vs. Jimmy Jacobs: 3/4*

Eddie Kingston vs. Sami Callihan: *

Bobby Dempsey vs. Orange Cassidy: DUD

Rhett Titus & Kenny King vs. Cheech & Cloudy: **1/4

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright: ***1/4

4/19/09 Lockdown

Suicide vs. Jay Lethal vs. Kiyoshi vs. Consequences Creed vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir (X-Division Title Xscape Match): ***1/2

ODB vs. Madison Rayne vs. Sojournor Bolt vs. Daffney (Queen of the Cage Match): 3/4*

Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Yujiro & Naito vs. Homicide & Hernandez (IWGP Jr. World Tag Team Titles): ***3/4

Matt Morgan vs. Abyss (Doomsday Chamber of Blood): **3/4

Angelina Love vs. Taylor Wilde vs. Awesome Kong (Knockouts Title): **1/4

Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. James Storm & Robert Roode (IWGP and TNA World Tag Team Title Unification; Philadelphia Street Fight): ***1/4

Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, & Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle, Booker T, Scott Steiner, & Kevin Nash (Lethal Lockdown): ***1/4

Mick Foley vs. Sting (World Title): ***

Saturday, April 18, 2009

4/17/09 Smackdown

The Big Show vs. Jeff Hardy: *1/2

Gail Kim vs. Maryse: *1/4

John Morrison vs. R-Truth: *1/2

The Undertaker vs. Shelton Benjamin: **1/2

Dolph Ziggler vs. MVP: *

Batista vs. Ted DiBiase: *3/4

Friday, April 17, 2009

4/16/09 Superstars

The debut show of WWE Superstars on WGN America!

The Undertaker vs. Matt Hardy: **

Christian vs. Finlay: **1/4

Cody Rhodes vs. Shane McMahon: *3/4

4/16/09 Impact

Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Naito: **3/4

Taylor Wilde, Raisha Saeed, & Awesome Kong vs. Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, & Madison Rayne: 1/4*

Abyss & Daffney vs. Cody Deaner & ODB: -1/2*

Kurt Angle vs. Christopher Daniels: ***

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

4/11/09 ROH

Austin Aries vs. Kenny Omega: **3/4

Delirious vs. Ernie Osyris: *1/2

Nevaeh & Daizee Haze vs. Sassy Stephie & Sara Del Rey: *1/4

Jerry Lynn vs. Brodie Lee: **1/2

Thoughts on the WWE Draft

First, RAW received 15 superstars, Smackdown received 15 superstars, and ECW received 6 superstars. Based on who went where, it is obvious RAW won the draft, as the Supplemental Draft was mainly used to trade names that comprise the undercard or the jobbers. This way, RAW could get rid of a bunch of their jobbers to beef up the program. People like Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio were sent to Smackdown to keep some sort of balance between the programs - and of course to provide fresh storylines.

I like that they are keeping Cryme Tyme, the Colons, and the Bellas together for now. At least that is what appears to be the case. Morrison and Miz, on the other hand, will be fine on their own. Perhaps it is time for John Morrison, especially, to live up to people's expectations of being the next Shawn Michaels.

Speaking of HBK, it appears his knees are in very bad shape and he will need to take on a more reduced schedule from now on (until he retires). Quite frankly, I am fine with this. Mr. WrestleMania has given us so many memories over the years, he doesn't have to do any more for this company. And I still hope to God that Dave Meltzer gives Taker/HBK from WrestleMania XXV the full five stars. It's been way too long since WWE has had a five-star rating. Of course, Taker/HBK from the first Hell in a Cell in 1997 was the last five-star match. Surprisingly, I didn't give it the full five.

ECW gets the shaft again, with Kozlov (not the best worker in the world) the best known of the bunch, at least to how WWE is currently using that bunch of talent. It is unknown to me as to whether Helms will actually make an impact or be fed to guys like Mark Henry and Kozlov. Same goes for DH Smith, who has not appeared on TV in a very long time. Natalya will likely just take on more of a valet role with Tyson Kidd. It's a shame...Natalya is one of the few Divas on the roster with formal training. This is how the WWE repays the Harts?

So much for Alicia Fox remaining with DJ Gabriel. Does this allow Gabriel to turn full-on heel, you think? Or will this signal the end of DJ?

I have read rumors of Chris Jericho going to Smackdown so he can feud with the Undertaker. This should be quite the feud.

The Brian Kendrick and Ezekiel Jackson are finally splitting due to the draft. Kendrick, to my knowledge, is still in the WWE doghouse, which shows why his push from last year has been all but thrown into reverse. On the other hand, Big Zeke looks like he could become a big-time star on ECW. He has the size, but he needs to prove to me that his mic skills and in-ring skills can also do the job.

The Divas are being shaken up in a big way, and I like it. Maryse on RAW will get the Divas title more air time. Vince is high up on Maryse, so this should be good for the Divas belt. Notice that the Bellas have also moved to RAW collectively. Is this just so they can remain with the Colons? Will they form a formidable team to go after the Divas title? Or will they just be on TV as eye candy and then break up down the road? It just might be a combination of the first and last ideas.

To me, Smackdown did win with respect to gaining the Women's Title. They get a great talent in Melina, and now Alicia Fox, Candice Michelle, and Layla might get into the mix. Note that Alicia and Layla were likely thrown to Smackdown also because their in-ring abilities are not up to par and WWE can do some major editing (remember, RAW is a live show with no edits). A Melina/McCool rivalry seems to be the best bet here. Throw the belt on McCool, and she will have all sorts of challengers, including Gail Kim. There actually might be a reason to watch Divas matches now!

Of course, Smackdown gets Rey Mysterio, and it was no surprise. Rey never wanted to leave Smackdown in the first place due to the strong Hispanic demographic that the show has. Now that Rey is back on Friday nights with the IC title, maybe I can see a feud with Shelton Benjamin on the horizon.

It will be interesting to see how Miz does on his own. Miz turning on Morrison just after finding out about the draft move seems to at least spark interest that Miz will be a more aggressive heel character. But will he end up just being fed to the big-name stars?

One more name drafted to RAW that really intrigues me is Festus. WWE has now officially split up Jesse and Festus. While it seems clear to me that Jesse will just disappear fromTV now (or become a jobber), Festus may have a chance. If they give Festus a push, it makes me wonder if he will have the same gimmick (ring the bell and he goes nuts, ring it again and he becomes a lazy defenseless person), or if WWE will repackage him?

Expect Matt Hardy to become a major superstar and establish himself as a top heel on RAW. Maybe not in the short term, but perhaps later down the road.

Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder are officially split apart. Not that it mattered, because after their alliance with Edge faded, they were basically thrown into jobber roles - if even on TV at all. Theoretically, it could be a chance for Ryder to do something, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Finally, Vladimir Kozlov is another name to throw into the mix of people who could claim the ECW Title. However, Swagger seems to be doing pretty good, and I wish WWE would go ahead and put the belt on Christian already. Enough dragging this Elimination Chase for the ECW Title. I seriously don't see how Vince McMahon can be so negative on Christian's abilities when "Captain Charisma" has proven otherwise.

4/15/09 WWE Draft

There were 36 trades in all, including today's Supplemental Draft. The following list includes the 12 names that were drafted on Monday's RAW broadcast, and the 24 names that were drafted today.

RAW Draft Picks:
MVP (from Smackdown)
Big Show (from Smackdown)
Matt Hardy (from Smackdown)
Triple H (from Smackdown)
Miz (from ECW)
Maryse (from Smackdown)
Mr. Kennedy (from Smackdown)
Primo (from Smackdown)
Nikki Bella (from Smackdown)
Chavo Guerrero (from Smackdown)
Hornswoggle (from ECW)
Carlito (from Smackdown)
Festus (from Smackdown)
The Brian Kendrick (from Smackdown)
Brie Bella (from Smackdown)

Smackdown Draft Picks:
Melina (from RAW)
CM Punk (from RAW)
Kane (from RAW)
Chris Jericho (from RAW)
Rey Mysterio (from RAW)
Shad Gaspard (from RAW)
Alicia Fox (from ECW)
Mike Knox (from RAW)
Candice Michelle (from RAW)
Ricky Ortiz (from ECW)
Layla (from RAW)
John Morrison (from ECW)
JTG (from RAW)
Dolph Ziggler (from RAW)
Charlie Haas (from RAW)

ECW Draft Picks:
Vladimir Kozlov (from Smackdown)
Ezekiel Jackson (from Smackdown)
Zack Ryder (from Smackdown)
DH Smith (from Smackdown)
Natalya (from Smackdown)
Hurricane Helms (from Smackdown)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

4/14/09 ECW

John Morrison vs. Evan Bourne: ***3/4

Vladimir Kozlov vs. David Floridia: DUD

Finlay vs. Christian vs. Tommy Dreamer: **1/2

Monday, April 13, 2009

4/13/09 RAW (WWE Draft)

Rey Mysterio vs. Evan Bourne: *1/2

Kane vs. The Brian Kendrick: DUD

Maryse, Natalya, & Michelle McCool vs. Melina, Kelly Kelly, & Mickie James: -1/2*

John Cena vs. Jack Swagger: *3/4

The Great Khali vs. Santino Marella: -*

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz: *1/4

15-Man Tri-Branded Battle Royal: 1/2*

Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin: *3/4

Matt Hardy vs. CM Punk: *1/4

Chris Jericho vs. Tommy Dreamer: *1/2

Triple H, Shane McMahon, & Batista vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase: *1/2
__________________________

RAW Draft Picks:
MVP (from Smackdown)
Big Show (from Smackdown)
Matt Hardy (from Smackdown)
Triple H (from Smackdown)
Miz (from ECW)
Maryse (from Smackdown)

Smackdown Draft Picks:
Melina (from RAW)
CM Punk (from RAW)
Kane (from RAW)
Chris Jericho (from RAW)
Rey Mysterio (from RAW)

ECW Draft Picks:
Vladimir Kozlov (from Smackdown)

Saturday, April 11, 2009

4/10/09 Smackdown

The Big Show vs. Kofi Kingston: 1/4*

The Great Khali vs. Santino Marella: DUD

Gail Kim vs. Michelle McCool: 3/4*

Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Primo & Carlito: **

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy (Stretcher): **3/4

Thursday, April 9, 2009

4/9/09 Impact

Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Suicide: *1/4

Samoa Joe vs. Booker T: 1/4*

James Storm vs. Scott Steiner: DUD

Awesome Kong vs. Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne: -1/4*

Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Mick Foley (First Blood): *1/2

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

4/7/09 ECW

Carlito, Primo, & Evan Bourne vs. The Miz, John Morrison, & Tyson Kidd: ***1/4

Finlay vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian vs. Mark Henry: *3/4

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

4/4/09 ROH

Erick Stevens vs. Sterling James Keenan: **3/4

Jon Davis & Kory Chavis vs. Cheech & Cloudy: *1/2

Chris Hero vs. Necro Butcher: *3/4

Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries: ***

Monday, April 6, 2009

4/6/09 RAW

Primo & Carlito vs. The Miz & John Morrison: ***1/4

Melina, Jillian Hall, Layla, Mickie James, & Kelly Kelly vs. Maryse, Natalya, Maria, Gail Kim, & Eve: *

Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Ricky Steamboat, & John Cena vs. Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, The Big Show, & Edge: ***1/2

Santina Marella vs. Beth Phoenix: 1/4*

Randy Orton vs. Vince McMahon: 1/2*

Sunday, April 5, 2009

4/5/09 WrestleMania XXV

DARK MATCH: Carlito & Primo defeated The Miz & John Morrison to unify the Tag Team Titles.

CM Punk vs. Mark Henry vs. MVP vs. Finlay vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Christian vs. Kane (Money in the Bank Ladder Match
)
S2X: ***3/4 (Just your typical great MITB match, which is still a great thing. Nice innovation.)
Red: ***1/4 (Fun as always. Kofi was a beast, but I was expecting a lot more. Probably the worst one we've had. But very nice surprise with Punk winning for the second year in a row.)
Tom: ***3/4 (Woulda been a helluva main event on any other card. :-D)
Chris: **** (Gets the rating for Kane protecting Punk)

Overall rating: ***1/2

NOTE: Tom rates Kid Rock's performance ***

25-Diva Battle Royal (Santino Marella wins)
S2X: DUD (Sorry, Santino post-match celebration does not count here. Crowd completely dead.)
Red: 1/4* (You knew Santino was winning as soon as he was seen. Pretty bland. Mickie had a couple nice moves, though. And Torrie is still hot.)
Tom: ** (Santino for Hall of Fame!)
Chris: * (Bonus for the bad Santino dancing.)

Overall rating: 3/4*

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka, & Roddy Piper

S2X: **1/4 (Steamboat was the star here...he was unbelievable. Unfortunately, Piper and Snuka were practically dead weight and didn't need to be involved.)
Red: **1/4 (Pipeer and Snuka were blah, but the match really picked up when Steamboat was in the ring. The dude has still got it! Some awesome near falls. I was shocked.)
Tom: *** (We've seen tonight that the legends can still go when they want to.)
Chris: **** (Great match.)

Overall rating: **3/4

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy (Extreme Rules)
S2X: ***1/4 (Great use of weapons; nice sick spots; creative use of chair for finish.)
Red: ***3/4 (Jeff Hardy is just insane. And every spot he did just proved it. These two know extreme rules and dammit they proved it here tonight.)
Tom: ***1/2
Chris: ***** (Especially with Matt getting the win)

Overall rating: ***3/4

JBL vs. Rey Mysterio (IC Title)
S2X: DUD (A squash?! Why?! Not at WrestleMania!)
Red: DUD (What the hell?)
Tom: ** (21 seconds! They essentially gave the match away on free TV.)
Chris: ***3/4 (Back to the commentator's desk for JBL.)

Overall rating: *1/2

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
S2X: ***** (We just might have the first WWE five-star match from Meltzer in 12 years. How fitting would that be? That last WWE five-star match: HBK vs. Taker in the Hell in a Cell.)
Red: ***** (Oh. My. God. One of the greatest matches I have witnessed in my life. These two are insane. The near falls in this match were amazing, especially that first Tombstone. I can't wait to watch this match again.)
Tom: ***** ($TEXAS STARS!)
Chris: ***** (What a match. Great match with an awesome spot. Line of the night: "I just had an out-of-body experience.")

Overall rating: *****

John Cena vs. Edge vs. The Big Show (World Title)
S2X: **1/4 (The match was OK, but nothing to write home about. Oh yeah, and it had the crappy position of being the match right after a classic.)
Red: *** (Ehhh. Some fun things. Cena lifting both men up for the FU was just amazing. I got into the match, but I think its placement just killed it for me.)
Tom: DUD (*Insert rioting intelligible language here*)
Chris: *** (It was OK.)

Overall rating: **

Triple H vs. Randy Orton (WWE Title)
S2X: ** (It just seemed like the crowd didn't know what to think at times. It just seemed like a bunch of moments all bunched up into a good 15 minutes. Some nice spots, some sloppy spots.)
Red: ***1/2 (Intensity was definitely here, but I really feel this match was 70 percent kicks and punches. It just got boring to me. I just didn't really get this match, even though it was good.)
Tom: ** (Meh match, meh ending to show.)
Chris: ***3/4 (Match kinda lagged in the middle.)

Overll rating: **3/4

Overall rating of PPV
S2X: ***3/4 (Aside from the Taker/HBK match, the show was a pretty ordinary PPV. But this PPV was still better than a ton of other PPVs.)
Red: **** (I think a lot of potential was missed here. The HBK/Undertaker match was so great that anything that followed it suffered greatly. I blame Kid Rock. Still a very fun PPV though. And I got to see one hell of a match.)
Tom: **** (HBK and Taker carried the night. Enough said.)
Chris: **** (Hardys, Taker, and Michaels really carried the show. Honorable mention to Steamboat who showed he could still go full speed. Only critique would be the position of the mikes made the crowd seem dead.)

WrestleMania 25 predictions

Chris Jericho vs. The Legends (Steamboat, Piper, Snuka)
S2X: Legends
Red: Legends
Tom: Chris Jericho

Diva Battle Royal
S2X: Michelle McCool
Red: Maryse
Tom: Mae Young

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
S2X: Shelton Benjamin
Red: MVP
Tom: Kofi Kingston

Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
S2X: Undertaker
Red: Undertaker
Tom: Undertaker

Tag Team Title Unification Match
S2X: Miz & Morrison
Red: Miz & Morrison
Tom: Miz & Morrison

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy (Extreme Rules)
S2X: Matt Hardy
Red: Matt Hardy
Tom: Jeff Hardy

JBL vs. Rey Mysterio
S2X: JBL
Red: JBL
Tom: Rey Mysterio

John Cena vs. Edge vs. Big Show (World Title)
S2X: John Cena
Red: Edge
Tom: John Cena

Triple H vs. Randy Orton (WWE Title)
S2X: Triple H
Red: Randy Orton
Tom: Randy Orton

Saturday, April 4, 2009

4/3/09 Smackdown

Gail Kim & Maria vs. Maryse & Michelle McCool: *1/4

MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin (U.S. Title): **3/4

Jeff Hardy vs. Ezekiel Jackson: *3/4

Friday, April 3, 2009

4/2/09 Impact

Sheik Abdul Bashir, Kiyoshi, Yujio, & Naito vs. Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Homicide, & Hernandez: **

Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. Sal and Rocco: *3/4

Taylor Wilde vs. Madison Rayne: 1/2*

Scott Steiner vs. AJ Styles: *1/2

Sting vs. Samoa Joe: DUD