6/30/09 ECW

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Shelton Benjamin: DUD

Sheamus vs. Oliver John: 1/2*

William Regal & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Christian & Tommy Dreamer: **3/4
_________________

Abraham Washington's show sucked. Enough said. I hope his wrestling (if he ever does wrestle) is better than his talking. I cringed about 45 times during the segment.

6/29/09 RAW

Triple H vs. MVP: *1/2

Edge & Chris Jericho vs. Primo & Carlito: ***

John Cena vs. The Miz: **1/4

Mickie James vs. Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Rosa Mendes: *

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

Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, & Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton (Gauntlet): 3/4*

WWE Tri-Brand Trade

There was a 15-superstar "trade" that took place recently, with each of the three WWE brands getting five superstars each:

Going to RAW:
Alicia Fox (from Smackdown)
Evan Bourne (from ECW)
Jack Swagger (from ECW)
Mark Henry (from ECW)
Gail Kim (from Smackdown)

Going to ECW:
Brie Bella (from Smackdown)
Nikki Bella (from Smackdown)
Goldust (from RAW)
Shelton Benjamin (from Smackdown)
William Regal (from RAW)

Going to Smackdown:
David Hart Smith (from ECW)
Natalya (from ECW)
Tyson Kidd (from ECW)
Finlay (from ECW)
Matt Hardy (from RAW)
__________________________________

Thoughts:
Alicia Fox and Gail Kim being sent to RAW could possibly help freshen the Divas title mix. However, at the same time, I fear that the roster will be too overloaded with them. The thought of seeing Gail moved to RAW is nice to see because this is a place where she can now contend for a title, rather than being overshadowed by Michelle McCool and Melina on Smackdown.

I like Bourne's move to RAW. He has become very popular with the fans and deserves to be on WWE's flagship program. He could likely contend for the United States belt in the future.

I am not too sure about Swagger's or Henry's move to RAW...at least for now. There is always the impending return of Shawn Michaels to help balance this out. Henry's appearance on RAW seemed to tease a possible face turn, but I would likely guess him staying a heel for the time being. On the other hand, I can see a Swagger/HBK feud, as this could really do wonders for the All-American American's career.

Bellas to ECW? Good move. They are pretty much just eye candy right now anyway, at least in the manner WWE uses them.

Goldust to ECW? Who cares, he is just being used for comedy relief anyway.

Shelton to ECW could be a good move. Expect him to have a run (or a few runs) as ECW champion.

William Regal to ECW should work out. He is one tough dude that can wrestle and can dish out punishment. He should be in the running for the ECW belt as well.

The Hart Dynasty's move to Smackdown should only boost the quality of the program and further skyrocket the trio's exposure. Expect a program with the Colons to develop; that will be an excellent feud if it does materialize.

Finlay to Smackdown is a decent move. It keeps him away from Hornswoggle, which is nice. I see him chasing the IC belt, but no higher. Now if he could only go back to his heel theme....

Matt Hardy to Smackdown is pure gold. I'd like the Hardys feud to continue, but Jeff is already in a program with Punk. Also, the rest of the Smackdown Six is currently feuding somehow with one another (or, in Edge and Jericho's case, together as a tag team). Perhaps Matt Hardy vs. Finlay as a feud for now?

As a note, with the Undertaker scheduled to return later this year, the Smackdown Six should break up and move on to other feuds, but we'll see what happens.

6/28/09 The Bash

Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Swagger vs. Christian vs. Finlay vs. Mark Henry (ECW Championship Scramble): **1/2

Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (Mask vs. IC Title): ****1/4

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali (No DQ): 1/2*

Edge & Chris Jericho vs. Carlito & Primo vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase (Unified Tag Team Titles): **

Michelle McCool vs. Melina (Women's Title): *3/4

Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk (World Heavyweight Title): ***

John Cena vs. The Miz: *1/4

Randy Orton vs. Triple H (Three Stages of Hell; WWE Title): **1/4
_________________________________

Match of the Night: Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho

Trash of the Night: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali

Surprise of the Night: Edge and Chris Jericho inserted into the Tag Title match and win.

Three Stars: (1) Chris Jericho; (2) Rey Mysterio; (T-3) Jeff Hardy and CM Punk

Overall Rating: **3/4

The Bash Predictions

Here are my predictions for The Bash, with possible ratings in parentheses:
____________________________________

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali (No DQ): Ziggler has gotten the best of Khali the past few weeks, so it only seems logical that Khali goes over here. However, WWE has given Ziggler new music (which I think is crappy) and increased air time, so that also needs to be taken into account. Would WWE make Ziggler, a person who needs the win a lot more, lose to a Punjabi giant? Frankly, Ziggler needs to move on to his next opponent by now. I pick Dolph here. Winner: Dolph Ziggler (1/2*)

John Cena vs. The Miz: Cena has still yet to pin Miz or make him submit in this latest feud. I like how WWE is pushing Miz as a brash, cocky person, getting all the heat. In the meantime, Cena, who has been either cheered a lot or booed depending on who he faces, has mostly been cheered during this time. Good work, Miz. Seeing that Miz has scored a few wins (cheap ones) over Cena and got in another cheap shot on RAW - and also seeing that this is a PPV - Cena is winning here. Winner: John Cena (**)

Michelle McCool vs. Melina (Women's Title): This has all the makings to actually be a watchable Divas match. First off, let's examine who we have on the Smackdown roster right now for Divas. We currently have two heels (McCool and Alicia Fox) and five faces (Melina, Maria, Eve, Gail Kim, and Layla - who seemingly turned face last week). Someone has to turn heel soon, and I'd vote for Maria to do the turn to freshen this division up. In the meantime, seeing this imbalance, I'd put the belt on McCool and hope for another good feud to start up...McCool vs. Gail Kim, anyone? Winner: Michelle McCool (new champ) (*1/2)

Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Primo & Carlito (Unified Tag Team Titles): The Colons are definitely over right now, so they really don't need the belts. On the other hand, Legacy could continue to cement themselves as a dominant force by winning here. My money is on Legacy. Winner: Legacy (new champs) (**1/2)

Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (Mask vs IC Title): I'm going out on a limb here and saying this will be the match of the night. The feud has been very well done, the second straight year that Jericho has had a great, long-term feud. I doubt WWE is willing to go through with having Rey being unmasked for the rest of his WWE career, especially considering his masks sell like hotcakes. I also don't see WWE dodging this like how they did a DQ finish with Kane vs. Mysterio a while back. I see a clear winner and it's Rey. Winner: Rey Mysterio (new champ) (****1/4)

Jack Swagger vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Mark Henry vs. Finlay vs. Christian (ECW Championship Scramble): Some good names in here, but I would have loved Evan Bourne to get his name in here as well. Twenty minutes with these five names might work, but I'm not holding my breath. I picture one of two scenarios: Swagger gets screwed at the last minute by someone else, or Swagger screws someone over at the last second and wins the ECW Title. Given how WWE has made Swagger look like the "I was screwed" person over the last few months, I think they pull the trigger and put the belt back on him now. Winner: Jack Swagger (new champ) (**3/4)

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (World Heavyweight Title): This has been a decent feud so far, considering it's only a few weeks old. I cannot see Punk losing the belt this quickly, and instead see him holding onto the belt for a while. Edge has been banged up with injuries and I would actually elevate Punk to a full-fledged heel and allow Edge to take more time off. I see Punk stealing the win after several near falls and a couple of false finishes. This could have match-of-the-night potential. Winner: CM Punk (still champ) (***3/4)

Randy Orton vs. Triple H (Three Stages of Hell; for WWE Title): Normal rules, then falls count anywhere, and then a Stretcher Match. It's pretty much a given that this thing is gonna go the full three falls. I'd have HHH win the first fall, then Orton steals the second. Third fall sounds like it'll be an asskicking where Legacy somehow gets involved. This is my other pick for match of the night - if done right. Winner: Randy Orton (still champ) (****)

6/26/09 Smackdown

R-Truth vs. Shelton Benjamin: **1/2

Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox vs. Melina & Gail Kim: *1/4

John Morrison vs. CM Punk: ***1/2

Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio vs. Edge & Chris Jericho (Rage in the Cage): ***
______________________

Smackdown does it again! Another fine show.

6/25/09 Impact

Brutus Magnus vs. Brother Ray (Street Fight): N/A

Kevin Nash vs. Abyss: 1/2*

Taylor Wilde vs. Daffney (Match of 10,000 Tacks): 1/2*

Scott Steiner vs. Robert Roode: *1/4

James Storm vs. Booker T: *1/2
__________________________

This show sucked. The matches were too simple or boring, and there were too many skits.

Overall: 1/2* (because the Knockouts tacks match was kinda cool, even though it was short and too simple for my taste)

6/25/09 Superstars

Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne: **3/4

Dolph Ziggler vs. Jimmy Wang Yang: *1/2

Kofi Kingston vs. MVP vs. Matt Hardy (U.S. Title): ***

King of the Mountain Matches

This past Sunday featured the seventh and eighth King of the Mountain Matches in TNA's history. I noticed that Dave Meltzer did not think as highly of the KOTM matches on Slammiversary as I did. Based on that, I decided to go on the internet and view some of the KOTM matches from year's past.

6/19/05 Raven vs. Monty Brown vs. AJ Styles vs. Abyss vs. Sean Waltman (Slammiversary; KOTM II)
Meltzer: ***
S2X: ***1/2

6/17/07 Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage vs. Chris Harris (Slammiversary; KOTM IV)
Meltzer: ****1/4 (his highest rating for any KOTM match)
S2X: ****1/4

6/5/08 Kaz vs. Chris Sabin vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Johnny Devine vs. Curry Man (TNA Impact; KOTM V)
Meltzer: ***3/4
S2X: ***3/4

6/8/08 Samoa Joe vs. Booker T vs. Robert Roode vs. Rhino vs. Christian Cage (Slammiversary; KOTM VI)
Meltzer: ***1/2
S2X: ***1/2

Hmm. Looks like I at least agree with him on most of those.

6/23/09 ECW

Evan Bourne vs. Tyson Kidd: **1/4

Finlay vs. Zack Ryder: *3/4

Jack Swagger & Mark Henry vs. Christian & Tommy Dreamer: **3/4

6/20/09 ROH

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Necro Butcher: *1/4

MsChif vs. Neveah: *

Kenny Omega vs. Kenny King: ***1/2

Eddie Kingston vs. Andy Ridge: 1/4*

KENTA vs. Roderick Strong: ***1/4

6/22/09 RAW

(Donald Trump's commercial-free RAW)

Jeff Hardy, The Great Khali, & Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, & Edge: **1/2

Cody Rhodes vs. Primo: *3/4

Randy Orton vs. Triple H (Last Man Standing; WWE Title): ***

Mickie James, Nikki Bella, & Brie Bella vs. Maryse, Beth Phoenix, & Rosa Mendes: *1/4

The Big Show vs. John Cena: **1/4

6/21/09 Slammiversary

Suicide vs. Consequences Creed vs. Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin (King of the Mountain; X-Division Title): ****

Daniels vs. Shane Douglas (Second Chance): **

Angelina Love vs. Tara (Knockouts Title): *1/2

Abyss & Taylor Wilde vs. Raven & Daffney (Monster's Ball): ****1/4

Sting vs. Matt Morgan: **1/2

James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Brother Ray & Brother Devon (Tag Team Titles): ***1/4

Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles (King of the Mountain; World Title): ***3/4
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Easily TNA's best PPV this year and likely one of the best TNA PPVs I've seen, period.

Overall rating: ****

6/19/09 Smackdown

Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho: *3/4

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali: 1/2*

Melina vs. Alicia Fox: 1/4*

Edge vs. John Morrison: ***3/4

R-Truth, JTG, & Shad Gaspard vs. Ricky Ortiz, Charlie Haas, & Shelton Benjamin: *1/2

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: ***1/4
______________________________

So it's Jericho vs. Mysterio in a Mask vs. Title match at The Bash. Should be over four stars from me. Given my schedule, we'll see if I can watch the PPV, or if I will have to wait until a later date.

Smackdown is so loaded with talent right now, to the point where it brings back the 2002 "Smackdown Six" days:

The accepted list that is the 2002 "Smackdown Six": Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, and Rey Mysterio.

My personal 2009 "Smackdown Seven": Edge, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, and Shelton Benjamin (I include Benjamin in here, even though he has not been involved in as many marquee matches as the other six, because he has had awesome matches when working with the others involved).

6/18/09 Impact

Daniels vs. Amazing Red: **1/4

Raven vs. Jethro Holliday (Clockwork Orange House of Fun): *1/2

Awesome Kong & Taylor Wilde vs. Daffney & Angelina Love: *

Brother Ray, Brother Devon, James Storm, & Robert Roode vs. Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Chris Sabin, & Alex Shelley: 1/4*

Samoa Joe & AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle & Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett & Mick Foley: **

6/18/09 Superstars

Chavo Guerrero vs. Santino Marella: *3/4

Zack Ryder vs. Mike Williams: 3/4*

Eve Torres vs. Layla: 1/2*

Christian, Carlito, & Primo vs. Jack Swagger, Tyson Kidd, & David Hart Smith: **3/4

6/16/09 ECW

David Hart Smith vs. Christian: ***

Mark Henry vs. Evan Bourne: *

Jack Swagger vs. Tommy Dreamer: **1/2

6/15/09 RAW (3 hours)

Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio (IC Title): ***1/2

Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian (ECW Title): *1/4

Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. The Big Show vs. Triple H (WWE Title): ***

Mickie James vs. Rosa Mendes: 3/4*

CM Punk vs. Edge vs. Jeff Hardy (World Heavyweight Title): ***3/4

Carlito & Primo vs. Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith: *

Triple H vs. MVP vs. William Regal vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Matt Hardy vs. The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston vs. John Cena vs. The Big Show (Battle Royal): **3/4

6/13/09 ROH

Jay Briscoe vs. D'Lo Brown: *1/4

Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Bobby Fish & Silas Young: **1/2

Jimmy Rave vs. Grizzly Redwood: 1/2*

Jerry Lynn vs. Chris Hero: ***3/4

6/12/09 Smackdown

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali: -1/4*

Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Melina & Eve Torres: *

John Morrison & R-Truth vs. Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas: **3/4

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho: ***1/4

Edge vs. Jeff Hardy: ***

6/11/09 Superstars

Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes vs. Nikki Bella & Brie Bella: 1/2*

Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder: **1/4

Chris Jericho vs. John Morrison: ***1/4

6/11/09 Impact

Jay Lethal & Alex Shelley vs. Brother Ray & Brother Devon: **

Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner & Booker T (Nation of Violence First Blood): **1/2

AJ Styles vs. Shane Douglas: *3/4

Tara vs. Madison Rayne: *

Kurt Angle vs. Sting: ***

6/9/09 ECW

Evan Bourne vs. Tony Atlas: *

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Luke Hawx & Chris Lewie: DUD

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith vs. Christian & Jack Swagger: **3/4

6/8/09 RAW

Kofi Kingston vs. William Regal: *

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

Santino Marella, Goldust, & Festus vs. The Brian Kendrick, Jamie Noble, & Chavo Guerrero: *3/4

The Miz vs. John Cena: N/A

MVP vs. Matt Hardy: *1/2

Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Primo & Carlito: **1/2

Randy Orton vs. Batista (WWE Title): N/A

6/7/09 Extreme Rules

Kofi Kingston vs. William Regal vs. Matt Hardy vs. MVP (U.S. Title): **3/4

Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio (IC Title): ****

CM Punk vs. Umaga (Samoan Strap): **1/4

Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian vs. Jack Swagger (ECW Title): **1/2

Santina Marella vs. Vickie Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero (Hogpen): -***

Batista vs. Randy Orton (Cage; WWE Title): *1/2

John Cena vs. The Big Show (Submission): -**

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge (Ladder; World Heavyweight Title): ****1/2

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (MITB Cash-in; World Heavyweight Title): 1/2*

6/6/09 ROH

Colt Cabana & Brent Albright vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Ernie Osiris: **

Bobby Dempsey vs. Sal Rinauro: DUD

Jerry Lynn vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries (ROH World Title): ****

6/5/09 Smackdown

John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin: **

Chris Jericho vs. R-Truth: *3/4

CM Punk vs. Umaga: **1/4

Alicia Fox, Layla, & Michelle McCool vs. Eve Torres, Gail Kim, & Melina: *1/4

The Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler: 1/2*

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio: ***1/4

6/4/09 Impact

Kiyoshi & Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Daniels & Suicide: **

Beer Money, Inc. vs. Chris Sabin & Consequences Creed: **1/2

Daffney vs. Taylor Wilde: 3/4*

Matt Morgan vs. Jesse Neal: DUD

Samoa Joe vs. Kevin Nash (Lethal Lockdown): **

6/4/09 Superstars

Goldust & Hornswoggle vs. Jamie Noble & The Brian Kendrick: *1/4

David Hart Smith vs. Tommy Dreamer: *3/4

R-Truth & Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho & Dolph Ziggler: **1/4

6/2/09 ECW

Evan Bourne vs. Mark Henry: *1/4

Zack Ryder vs. Dustin Carwile: 1/4*

Tommy Dreamer vs. Paul Burchill: *3/4

Christian vs. Tyson Kidd: ***1/2

6/1/09 RAW

Batista vs. Cody Rhodes (Cage): 1/4*

Kelly Kelly & Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix & Maryse: 3/4*

Primo & Carlito vs. William Regal & Matt Hardy: *3/4

John Cena & Chavo Guerrero vs. The Big Show & The Miz: *1/2

MVP vs. Kofi Kingston: ***

Vickie Guerrero vs. Santino Marella: N/A