Tuesday, December 29, 2009

12/21/09 ROH

Chris Hero vs. Kyle O'Reilly: *1/2

Necro Butcher vs. Joey Ryan: *

Colt Cabana vs. Claudio Castagnoli: **3/4

Monday, December 28, 2009

12/28/09 RAW

Ted DiBiase vs. Evan Bourne: *

Cody Rhodes vs. Mark Henry: 1/2*

Maryse vs. Kelly Kelly: DUD

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz: 1/4*

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz (U.S. Title): 3/4*

Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Big Show & Chavo Guerrero: *1/4

John Cena vs. Sheamus (WWE Title): 1/2*
______________________

If the exchange between Big Show and Chris Jericho outside was meant to be as gay as possible, they pulled it off nicely.

Timbaland was a poor guest host.

And Sheamus got DQ'd, just like I predicted in my fantasy booking (see previous post).

Luckily, next week's RAW is stacked. Big time. The capper: Bret Hart guest hosts!

Fantasy Booking

Since John Canton has done some fantasy booking for the Jan. 4, 2010, RAW up until WM 26 (go here), I decided to do something similar. Please take into account that I have not completely factored in Bryan Danielson's debut on WWE programming yet (although I tried). So here we go:

Sheamus vs. John Cena happens tonight for the WWE Title. While Cena vowed to win until he got his WWE Title back, I see this scenario: Sheamus will get pissed after being unable to put Cena away clean. Sheamus will then likely DQ himself (inadvertent or not). Thus, he loses the match (Cena wins), but Sheamus retains the title. This sets up a return match at the Royal Rumble (see below).

Bret Hart guest hosts the January 4 RAW with the week's worth of hype. And I would hype it as much as possible. Hype it huge on ECW, Superstars, and Smackdown, as well as reserve commercials and teases throughout the week for it.

On January 4 RAW:
(1) Show animosity between Bret and Vince and/or Bret and HBK. Plant seeds for a possible Mania match, either between Bret/Vince or Bret in a six-man tag with Hart Dynasty versus three others. John suggested both scenarios, and I agree either way.

(2) I also like John's idea about Orton/Kingston on 1/4/10 RAW, with the winner being #30 in the Rumble and the loser #1. John suggested Kingston should win and be #30. However, I prefer Orton to win and be #30 after a very solid match (about ***1/2 or so on my rating scale). Then Orton will gloat about how this will be the year that he takes down Kofi for good.

(3) I love the proposed MVP heel turn to side with Big Show. Elevates MVP and Jericho is free to do what he wants (see below).

(4) Finally, I like John's idea of having Hart Dynasty win the Unified Tag Titles from DX on RAW. Good stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if it again hits about *** to ***1/2.

Buildup to Royal Rumble on 1/31/10:
(1) It's three more RAWs until the Rumble. Kingston and Orton will continue to feud through tag matches against one another or backstage skits, but it will never be one-on-one.

(2) Bret and Vince continue to get TV time. I like John's idea of using Vince to keep Bret on TV to try and get back at Bret.

(3) WWE Title picture: Sheamus challenges Cena for the title again at the Rumble. I like John's Street Fight idea.

(4) World Title picture: Batista gets another crack at Taker's title.

(5) Unified Tag Title picture: Hart Dynasty faces DX again, likely as ordered by Vince.

Royal Rumble:
(1) WWE Title: Sheamus wins again in a "brutal" match (while of course somehow keeping it PG). Nothing super dirty, and each man uses all his signature moves. The end comes at about the 20-minute mark, when Sheamus counters Cena's Attitude Adjustment and hits his Razor's Edge-like move on a table set up in the ring (maybe set up in the corner). It would remind the announcers and the fans of the TLC buildup when Sheamus won the title in the first place. Hopefully the match would get ***1/2 or better from me.

(2) World Title: Batista wins the title after 15 minutes or so. None of this "chairs match" crap. Let them loose and get at least ***. The end should be clean, and Batista should hit the Batista Bomb for the win. The reason? So Batista can gloat on Smackdown that not even Teddy Long could overturn and restart that match (remember TLC, when Long ordered the match restarted after Batista had low-blowed Taker, leading to the supposed Batista win).

(3) Unified Tag Titles: Hart Dynasty wins after about 15 minutes, and Vince is pissed.

(4) Royal Rumble: It would be Kingston, Morrison, HHH, Drew McIntyre (gotta elevate him as well), and probably Punk left in the match. Orton then comes out at #30. Orton goes right after Kingston and spends all that time trying to eliminate Kofi. In the meantime, McIntyre eliminates Punk. Morrison knocks out McIntyre with a Flying Chuck, sending McIntyre through the ropes (but not over the top, so he's not eliminated). Morrison then works on HHH and eliminates HHH with some nice sequences. Orton RKOs Kingston. Morrison is all tired after his sequence with HHH. Orton punts Morrison and throws Morrison's limp body over the top. McIntyre charges Orton from behind to eliminate him, but in the process eliminates himself (so McIntyre is finally gone). Down to Orton and Kingston again. Orton looks like he is about to eliminate Kofi but Kofi holds on as Orton prematurely celebrates. Kingston springboards onto Orton back into the ring and the two go at it for about 5-7 minutes, doing whatever they can to electrify the crowd. Orton gets the better of the situation and throws Kingston over. Kingston holds onto the ropes, skins the cat, gets Orton in a head scissors, and pulls Orton over the top, eliminating him. Kingston wins the 2010 Royal Rumble as he skins the cat again back into the ring and celebrates as one of the few to enter #1 and win the Rumble. Orton looks pissed, and Kofi continues to gloat as the show goes off air.

Road to WrestleMania 26:
(1) WWE Title picture: Orton starts the RAW right after the Rumble and again complains about Kingston screwing him over. Kingston comes out and talks trash to Orton, pretty much saying Kingston comes out on top again. Cena comes to congratulate Sheamus and again puts Sheamus over as a legit threat. However, Cena wants one more chance at No Way Out (or whatever the PPV will be called). Crowd gives its mixed reaction because people love or hate Cena. Sheamus doesn't want any more of Cena, claiming he's already beaten him three times. The 2/1/10 guest host doesn't care, and says the WWE Title will be contested inside the Elimination Chamber. Sheamus will defend against Cena, Orton, Kingston, Miz, and HHH. I put Miz in there to elevate him.

Kingston, being the face, stays out of it, knowing he'll get a title shot at Mania even if he loses the Chamber match. Orton still cries foul and demands a title shot right now (as in the RAW after the Rumble). A guest host (at any point leading up to NWO) can grant Orton his wish (probably through duress). Orton loses the match against Sheamus for the title when Kingston somehow distracts Orton, leading to a Sheamus rollup for the win. This keeps the feud between Orton and Kingston going.

At NWO, Kingston and Miz start in the chamber, with Miz holding his own. HHH enters next, and this is where Miz gets knocked out, eating a HHH Pedigree. Sheamus enters. HHH goes out next via Sheamus' Irish Curse (or Razor's Edge-like finisher). Cena and Orton enter the match. Sheamus eliminates Kingston with another Irish Curse. Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment on Sheamus, but Orton punts Cena in the head to get three on Cena. Orton then covers a fallen Sheamus for three to win the WWE Title at about 28 minutes. However, remember, Kingston still has his WWE Title shot at Mania, so it'll be Orton vs. Kingston for the title.

Hopefully a big-time star like The Rock will guest host one of the RAWs in late February or early March. If Rock guest hosts, Cena can come out to challenge Rock (just like John Canton suggested). I would love Sheamus facing HHH based off of my Chamber scenario. If no Rock/Cena, then Sheamus/HHH/Cena could be an option.

(2) World Title picture: Batista has the belt until Mania. At NWO, another Elimination Chamber match takes place between Batista, Taker, Mysterio, John Morrison, Drew McIntyre, & CM Punk. Punk and Morrison start. McIntyre enters next, followed by Mysterio. Taker enters fifth, and Batista last. McIntyre takes out Mysterio with his Scot Drop. Morrison takes out McIntyre with Starship Pain. Morrison then takes Punk out with the Flying Chuck. We are down to Morrison, Taker, and Batista.

Taker and Morrison gang up on Batista, then do a sick spot by having Taker throw Batista through a plexiglass chamber. Crowd does the "Holy Shit!" chants as Taker and Morrison square off (it's good for PPV; it's too logical to have Morrison vs. Batista a.k.a. the face vs. the heel). Remember, this is for the World Title, so who cares about face vs. heel in an elimination match?

Good back-and-forth stuff for about 7-8 minutes. Batista may intervene once but would get chokeslammed by Taker. Morrison dazzles with more moves. He goes to the top of a chamber like RVD or Jeff Hardy would, but misses a splash (or some acrobatic move). Batista still groggy on the outside. Taker gets up and Tombstones Morrison for three. Animal and Deadman are alone again. Taker continues to beat down on Batista, but Batista counters at some point. Batista would hit the Batista Bomb on Taker, but be too tired to cover immediately. When going for the cover, Batista would position his body just right for Taker to lock in Hell's Gate. Batista looks like he will tap, but instead shows amazing strength by picking Taker up into a version of the Batista Bomb, breaking the hold. Taker is slow to get up, and Batista is also struggling to get up, Taker and Batista turn around about the same time to face one another, and Batista spears Taker in the middle of the ring for the three. Batista retains at about 30-32 minutes.

On Smackdown, Teddy Long congratulates Batista on retaining his title, and Batista proved to Long that Batista can beat Undertaker. Batista interjects and threatens Long that he'll kick Long's ass if Batista has to face Taker again. Long says that he's already agreed to having Taker face HBK at Mania, so Batista would not face Taker. Batista is happy with that. But, Long then says that Batista will be defending his World Title against another worthy opponent, one who has been impressing on Smackdown for about a year. John Morrison enters to his music and the fans go nuts. Morrison will bring up how he's been IC champ, been one of the last superstars in the Rumble, and also eliminating two people in the Chamber at NWO.

Enter Drew McIntyre (who will still be IC champ at this point). Drew points out that he lasted longer than Morrison at the Rumble and that Morrison got lucky at NWO. Long makes a non-title match between Morrison and McIntyre on Smackdown to determine who faces Batista at WM26. Morrison and McIntyre have a 15-20 minute match with Morrison winning. McIntyre faces someone else for the title. Would it be Danielson? I dunno. To me, Danielson has an equal chance of facing Miz for the U.S. Title on RAW.

(3) Unified Tag Team Titles: Hart Dynasty keep the belts through Mania, with Uncle Bret going to Smackdown at one point. Hart Dynasty tell Teddy Long that Uncle Bret is to be a "consultant" or "mentor" to the Harts. Long does not agree at first, but eventually says he has great respect for Bret, so he grants the wish. This is how Bret gets to be on both RAW and Smackdown, even without Vince interjecting. This way, Bret becomes part of the Hart Dynasty stable, making the name (Hart Dynasty) that much truer.

Hart Dynasty would be featured on each RAW and Smackdown, either in a match or a backstage skit (or both). On RAW, Harts would face Legacy a couple of times and win each time. This sets the seeds for a Ted DiBiase face turn, as Cody Rhodes gets fed up with losing and turns on Ted. Harts could face DX, but that is unlikely if HHH is to go for the WWE Title and HBK to feud with Taker. On Smackdown, Harts can face Cryme Tyme, Slam Master J/Jimmy Wang Yang, and even jobber teams. Eventually, Big Show will come into the mix with MVP and keep attacking the Harts. Do this every week or so until Big Show gets his wish for a tag title shot.

WrestleMania 26:
(1) MITB Ladder Match between Christian, CM Punk, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Drew McIntyre, & Shelton Benjamin. Christian wins.

(2) Divas match of some sort. Maybe Maryse vs. Gail Kim, or Michelle McCool vs. Beth Phoenix. I probably wouldn't have more than one Divas match on the card, so the latter looks like the best bet.

(3) Hart Dynasty vs. Big Show and MVP for the Unified Tag Titles. Big Show and MVP win.

(4) Edge vs. Chris Jericho. Edge's rehab is going well, so vignettes highlighting Edge's return could air in February. Then Edge, if healthy in time, will return in March to confront Jericho on Smackdown. Both men are talented enough on the mic to do jaw-jacking back and forth until Mania. Edge wins, should this match happen. If this match does not happen, look for Jericho to try and reunite with Big Show to get the tag titles back.

(5) John Morrison defeats Batista for the World Heavyweight Title after 15-17 minutes.

(6) This is iffy, but Bret Hart defeats Vince McMahon in an exhibition match.

(7) Sheamus defeats HHH (and John Cena?) Could be a one-on-one match, or a triple threat.

(8) Kofi Kingston defeats Randy Orton for the WWE Title.

(9) John Cena defeats The Rock. If this match happens, it'll be a miracle, but it would be incredible to see the fan response. Cena will be getting booed a lot, that's for sure. I'm still waiting for the Cena heel turn. Maybe later this year?

(10) The Undertaker defeats Shawn Michaels to go 18-0 at WM. The Streak is NOT ending. HBK may gain a win at any other PPV, but not at Mania. I would put this match last, no matter what. The match may not gain five stars from me like it did at WM 25, but it will be close.

Friday, December 25, 2009

12/25/09 Smackdown

John Morrison, Matt Hardy, R-Truth, & Finlay vs. CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, & Luke Gallows: **1/2

The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio (World Heavyweight Title): **1/4

JTG & Shad Gaspard vs. Bryce Andrews & Pat Buck: 1/2*

Mickie James & Maria vs. Beth Phoenix & Layla: 1/2*

Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith (Unified Tag Team Titles): ***
______________________

Merry Christmas everyone! ROH ratings will likely be up on the weekend.

After RAW next week, other ratings could be delayed as I go to Maui.

12/24/09 Superstars

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Vladimir Kozlov: DUD

Chavo Guerrero vs. Primo: **

Kane vs. Mike Knox: **1/4

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

12/22/09 ECW

Zack Ryder vs. Tommy Dreamer: *1/2

Vance Archer vs. Goldust: *

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Jack Swagger: **3/4

Monday, December 21, 2009

12/21/09 RAW

Melina, Gail Kim, & Kelly Kelly vs. Maryse, Alicia Fox, & Jillian: 3/4*

Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, & Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, & Ted DiBiase: **1/2

John Cena vs. Jack Swagger: **1/4

Chris Masters vs. Carlito: 1/2*

Sheamus vs. MVP: *

The Miz vs. Santino Marella: 1/2*
____________________

Gee, it took me a while before I realized that WWE was parodying Tiger Woods' infidelity all night. Amusing. Although I think I woulda gotten it sooner if they had a built African-American in a red polo shirt being chased all over the building (instead of a guy in a tiger suit).

Sunday, December 20, 2009

12/20/09 Final Resolution

Doug Williams & Brutus Magnus vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin (Tag Team Titles): ***

Tara vs. ODB (Knockouts Title): 3/4*

Jay Lethal vs. Consequences Creed vs. Cody Deaner vs. James Storm vs. Robert Roode vs. Eric Young vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Kiyoshi vs. Big Rob vs. Homicide vs. Kevin Nash vs. Samoa Joe (Feast or Fired): *1/2

Hernandez, Matt Morgan, D'Angelo Dinero, & Suicide vs. Brother Ray, Brother Devon, Rhino, & Jesse Neal (Elimination): *3/4

Bobby Lashley vs. Scott Steiner (Last Man Standing): *1/2

Abyss & Mick Foley vs. Dr. Stevie & Abyss (Hardcore): **1/4

Kurt Angle vs. Desmond Wolfe (Three Degrees of Pain): ****1/4

AJ Styles vs. Daniels (World Title): ****
_______________________

Match of the Night: Angle/Wolfe gets a slight nod over Styles/Daniels. Angle/Wolfe displayed the versatility and skills that the two possess more than Styles/Daniels. Angle and Wolfe also were more limited by the cage and the stipulations (could not use the cage in the first two falls and could not go outside to brawl). Wolfe sold the ankle lock extremely well and his blade job was pretty nasty.

Trash of the Night: Tara/ODB. It was a mostly putrid match that had a couple of OK spots. And I do not like the emotional crying Tara who plays the sympathy card with the fans. I really wanted to puke after seeing yet another one of those "I did it and I love you all!" speeches.

MVPs: Angle, Wolfe, Styles, and Daniels. Need I say more?

Analysis: The PPV was a true hit-or-miss PPV. The four aforementioned MVPs stole the show, and Shelley and Sabin provided a nice opener. However, the other matches ranged from OK to ugly. The Knockouts match was ugly, the Feast or Fired match was terrible with no flow, the 8-man elimination match was weird with little flow, the Last Man Standing match was barely salvageable because Steiner did his Frankensteiner from the top rope, and the four hardcore nutcases were at least entertaining by engaging in a toned-down spotfest.

For the record, in the Feast or Fired Match:

Kevin Nash pulled down Case #1 and received a Tag Team Title shot.
Samoa Joe pulled down Case #3 and received a World Title shot.
Rob Terry pulled down Case #4 and received an X-Division Title shot.
Sheik Abdul Bashir pulled down Case #2 and was fired.

This PPV was really only worth it to see the last two matches. Otherwise, pass.

Overall Rating: **1/2

Saturday, December 19, 2009

12/19/09 Tribute to the Troops

Rey Mysterio & Mark Henry vs. CM Punk & Carlito: 3/4*

The Miz vs. John Morrison: *

John Cena vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Title): *1/2
_________________

Please note that this show was taped before the TLC PPV. At the time Tribute to the Troops was taped, Morrison was still IC champ and Cena was still WWE champ.

12/19/09 Final Battle

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rhett Titus vs. Colt Cabana vs. Kenny Omega: ***1/2

Bison Smith & Erick Stevens vs. Delirious & Bobby Dempsey: ***

Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero: ***3/4

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico: ****

Kenny King vs. Roderick Strong: **1/4

Rocky Romero vs. Alex Koslov: **1/2

Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe vs. Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards (Tag Team Titles): ***3/4

Jack Evans vs. Teddy Hart: ***1/4

Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black (World Title): ***
____________________

Match of the Night: Bucks vs. Steenerico. Excellent stuff. The Steen heel turn after the match was also well done.

Trash of the Night: Aries/Black. It really looked like a dream main event on paper, but the fact that it dragged for an hour (until the end) really hurt the rating. If Aries was not such a chicken in running from Black for a bunch of the match, maybe we'd get somewhere. They do get some kudos for lasting 60 minutes, though (see the rating). Crowd was really split between this being a good match and a crappy one.

MVPs: Steen gets part of the award for his role in the match and the heel turn. Young Bucks also get a share of MVP honors for their flashy performance. Oh, and how about Teddy Hart and Jack Evans, huh? They arrived late, but those two made up for it and gave us a fun spotfest.

Analysis: The PPV was a very consistent PPV. It was mostly awesome (Kingston/Hero, Bucks/Steenerico, Briscoes/Wolves, and Hart/Evans). Aries/Black was borderline ugly for what it was. Final Battle was an excellent PPV with seven matches above three stars. While that last match left me very disappointed, I am thoroughly pleased with the PPV.

Overall Rating: ****

Friday, December 18, 2009

12/18/09 Smackdown

Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, & Luke Gallows vs. John Morrison, Matt Hardy, & R-Truth: **1/4

Kane vs. Eric Escobar: 1/2*

The Great Khali vs. Chris Jericho: DUD

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith vs. Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J: **

Beth Phoenix vs. Maria: 1/2*

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

Thursday, December 17, 2009

12/17/09 Impact

Roxxi vs. ODB: *1/2

Brother Ray vs. Matt Morgan (Lumberjack): *1/2

Awesome Kong & Hamada vs. Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne vs. Sarita & Taylor Wilde: *1/4

Tatanka vs. Jay Lethal: **

Daniels vs. Desmond Wolfe: ***1/4

AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley, Kurt Angle, Abyss, & Tomko vs. Scott Steiner, Dr. Stevie, Raven, Brutus Magnus, & Doug Williams: *3/4
________________

No Impact next week (Christmas Eve), but there will be a four-hour Impact on New Year's Eve. I will be in Maui at that time, so ratings may be delayed by a day or two.

Daniels/Wolfe was a great match. Such a shame they had only 10 minutes for a draw.

12/17/09 Superstars

JTG & Shad Gaspard vs. Dolph Ziggler & Mike Knox: **1/4

Vance Archer vs. Tommy Dreamer: *1/4

Jack Swagger vs. MVP: **1/2

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

12/14/09 ROH

Delirious vs. Kenny King: **3/4

Lance Lude vs. Steve Corino: N/A

Erick Stevens vs. Remy Marcel: 1/4*

Tyler Black vs. Sonjay Dutt: ***1/4

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

12/15/09 ECW

The Hurricane vs. The Ripper (Paul Burchill): **

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Vladimir Kozlov: 1/4*

Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft vs. Julio Cruz & Jorge Arias: DUD

Kane vs. Zack Ryder: *1/4
_________________

The gamers (Barreta & Croft) finally got new music. The original music they had was crappy. Still though, this new theme is pretty generic.

12/14/09 RAW

(3-hour special guest hosted by Dennis Miller)

Christian, Kane, & The Great Khali vs. William Regal, Vladimir Kozlov, & Ezekiel Jackson: 1/4*

Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne: *1/2

John Cena vs. CM Punk: 1/2*

Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker: 3/4*

Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho & The Big Show (Unified Tag Team Titles): N/A

John Morrison, Yoshi Tatsu, & Mark Henry vs. The Miz, Zack Ryder, & Drew McIntyre: 1/2*

Mickie James, Melina, Gail Kim, Maria, Eve Torres, Nikki Bella, & Brie Bella vs. Michelle McCool, Layla, Rosa Mendes, Natalya, Beth Phoenix, Maryse, & Alicia Fox: -*

John Cena vs. Randy Orton: **1/2
_______________________

2009 Slammy Awards:

Chris Jericho & The Big Show win WWE Tag Team of the Year: This was a no-brainer. They were not only the most dominant tag team of the year in terms of wrestling, but they were excellent on the mic in the process. At least putting the tag belts on them has made the tag division watchable again -- OK, maybe not totally watchable (since there still really is no tag division), but still.

Sheamus wins WWE Breakout Superstar of the Year: After TLC last night, this was a logical choice. With all due respect to Drew McIntyre (who won the IC belt from John Morrison), and Yoshi Tatsu (who has impressed me in some of his ECW matches), Sheamus's win was one of the most shocking in WWE history and to me was the "WTF moment of the year" for WWE matches.

CM Punk defeating Jeff Hardy in a Cage Match on Smackdown (and forcing Jeff Hardy to "retire") wins WWE Shocker of the Year: If you did not know Jeff Hardy was not interested in re-signing with WWE and wanted to take time off, then yes, it probably would be shocking to a WWE fan. However, for all intents and purposes, this was meant to further the CM Punk character as a mega heel. To me, Sheamus winning over Cena at TLC was truly the legit shocker of the year, but it probably happened too late to be considered a nominee.

Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXV wins the WWE Match of the Year: Again, another no-brainer. It is one of the few matches I have ever given the full five stars to. Sad to see that Morrison/Mysterio and Jericho/Mysterio were not nominated. I guess it was supposed to really be WWE PPV Match of the Year, huh? Nice tease by HBK. Could we have HBK/Taker again at Mania? Not sure if WWE will pull the trigger on that.

Bob Barker wins RAW Guest Host of the Year: I agree with this. Bob was a great host, and his segment with Chavo (poor Chavo) was entertaining. Dennis Miller really did put Vince on the spot here. Bret Hart as a RAW Guest Host? Now THAT is something I would love to see.

Jeff Hardy's Swanton Bomb on CM Punk at SummerSlam wins WWE Extreme Moment of the Year: While yes, it was quite an extreme moment for WWE purposes, this was also one of those feel-good moments to really send the fans home happy. I think the fans only had a hand in determining the Diva of the Year (see below) so the fans had no say here. And hey, Carlito had his 15 seconds of fame before getting nuked by Masters. Did anyone care? Nope.

Maria wins the WWE Diva of the Year: Strictly a feel-good moment for Maria. Fans really do love her. You know, I would love for this to lead to a Maria heel turn in the future (basically let the award get to her head and get an "I'm better than you" persona). As far as the award goes, I personally would have voted for either Michelle McCool or Melina, since they have had the most camera time and have been the most consistent Diva performers during the year (especially with Maryse out for a few months due to injury and Mickie James having a bunch of bad matches during the year). Of course, Batista has to pull a Kanye West during the show, and no one really cared about that. Oh, and Goldust helped present the award with MVP, and Goldust tried to pull some jokes that completely fell flat. Nice seeing ya, Goldy.

Michael Cole puking on Chris Jericho during the Smackdown 10th Anniversary Special wins the "Oh My!" Moment of the Year: I must admit, Big Dick Johnson and Tony Atlas were awesome. Abraham Washington was clearly disturbed in presenting the award. Personally, Michael Cole gets props for moving as fast as Usain Bolt up the ramp and showcasing one of the wildest celebrations for a Slammy award ever. I also loved his poking fun at J.R. and catering to the Texas crowd with the "Hook'em Horns!" Good stuff...VINTAGE COLE!

John Cena beats CM Punk and Randy Orton in separate matches on RAW to win WWE Superstar of the Year: As much as some fans hate Cena, he is truly the franchise player of WWE. Cena = money and ratings.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

12/13/09 TLC

Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin (Ladder; ECW Title): ***1/2

Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison (IC Title): **3/4

Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James (Women's Title): **1/4

Sheamus vs. John Cena (Tables; WWE Title): **1/2

The Undertaker vs. Batista (Chairs; World Heavyweight Title): **

Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston: **3/4

Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho & The Big Show (TLC; Unified Tag Team Titles): ***3/4
___________________

Match of the Night: Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho & The Big Show (TLC). TLC won out over the ECW Ladder match for two reasons: (1) more original spots and (2) better crowd reaction.

Trash of the Night: The Undertaker vs. Batista (Chairs). It was a decent effort, but the restart finish all but sealed its fate as trash of the night. Sheamus/Cena would have nabbed TOTN honors from me, but then Taker/Batista came along.

MVPs: The veterans had their moments (see Christian/Shelton and DX/JeriShow), but newcomers Drew McIntyre and Sheamus get a special nod for winning their first titles in WWE.

Analysis: Shelton/Christian was great. Nice sick spots from Shelton, while not as much from Christian. it was clear to me that Shelton was the star. Ladder-split-in-two spot has been done several times before, so not as many points from me as one may think. It was a great effort, though, and while I think the two of them did not necessarily steal the show in the end, it came close.

Drew wins the belt? I'm not sure if I agree totally with doing that, but it's good to elevate a young star's career. It was a pretty standard match in my book, nothing overly spectacular. Maybe a few more points for the Morrison Flying Chuck on the outside and McIntyre's foot under the bottom rope.

McCool/Mickie was a surprisingly good match. Nice aggression shown, and the crowd got into it at the end. Good tease with Mickie looking like she would win with the rollup. Actual finish was a bit weak. I mean, just a kick to the head wins it? Hopefully there's more to this, because it's actually one of the few Diva storylines existing right now -- actually, it's really the only noteworthy one (sorry Maryse/Melina).

Sheamus winning over John Cena? Wow. I can guarantee people betting on Sheamus won a TON of money tonight. I was pretty much like the rest of the WWE Universe: in complete shock at the finish. The match was good for what it was, but did it really deliver for me? Not totally. I liked some of the tease spots, but the match lagged A LOT. I definitely grew restless with the slow pace, and I'm pretty sure a bunch of the crowd boos in the match were not only because people hate Cena (X-Pac heat) and Sheamus (gimmick heat). I think if more tables broke (with the opponent moving out of the way), that would have been a better showing. After all, a person must put the opponent through the table on an offensive move; putting oneself through the table doesn't count.

Taker and Batista were going pretty good, in my book, until the weird "restart" finish. It basically made a passable match that much crappier. So this is what happens when you have two 40-year-olds battling it out and HBK is not one of them. The match is...meh.

Orton and Kingston had a decent match. The storytelling was great before the match, and kept going strong throughout the match. Kofi has definitely established himself as a force even with the loss.

DX vs. JeriShow was awesome. There were innovative spots, and the crowd reaction was great. Big Show breaking two ladders was impressive. Jericho cracking his head on the table at the end (when he should have gone cleanly through) and the innovation on trying to retrieve the tag belts (Jericho climbing on Show and DX using half a ladder) really stood out and made it better than the ladder match, in my opinion.

Overall, it was a solid show. Two matches stood out (Ladder and TLC), and Kofi continues to impress in his feud with Orton, even in defeat. But let's face it, the night was also about two newcomers -- Drew McIntyre and Sheamus -- getting their first taste of gold.

Overall Rating: ***1/4

Friday, December 11, 2009

12/11/09 Smackdown

CM Punk & Luke Gallows vs. Matt Hardy & R-Truth: **1/4

Chris Jericho & The Big Show vs. Eric Escobar: 3/4*

Kane vs. Mike Knox: *1/4

Mickie James & Maria vs. Michelle McCool & Layla: *

Batista vs. Rey Mysterio: *3/4
_______________________

Punk's mic work = awesome

I love the name of Gallows's finisher ("The 12th Step")

And Morrison = win

12/10/09 Superstars

Dolph Ziggler vs. Finlay: **

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith vs. Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J: **

MVP vs. Jack Swagger: **1/2

Thursday, December 10, 2009

12/10/09 Impact

Chris Sabin vs. Brutus Magnus, Doug Williams, & Big Rob: *1/4

Bobby Lashley & Kristal Lashley vs. Scott Steiner & Awesome Kong: *

Eric Young vs. Hamada (Global Title): 3/4*

ODB vs. Tara (Trailer Park Throwdown): *

Brother Ray, Brother Devon, Rhino, & Jesse Neal vs. Matt Morgan, Hernandez, & Suicide: **

Velvet Sky vs. Lacey Von Erich (Mud Wrestling): -*

AJ Styles vs. Desmond Wolfe (World Title): *1/2

12/7/09 ROH

Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico: **3/4

Austin Aries vs. Kenny Omega vs. Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong (World Title): ***3/4

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

12/8/09 ECW

Vance Archer vs. Tommy Dreamer: *1/4

Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft vs. Mark Franks & Danny Vaughn: 1/4*

Christian, Shelton Benjamin, & Yoshi Tatsu vs. William Regal, Vladimir Kozlov, & Ezekiel Jackson: *3/4

Monday, December 7, 2009

12/7/09 RAW

John Cena vs. Carlito: 1/4*

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

Maryse vs. Gail Kim: 1/2*

Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton: **

The Miz vs. Mark Henry (U.S. Title): *1/4

Hornswoggle & Eve Torres vs. Chavo Guerrero & Jillian: 1/2*

Chris Jericho vs. Triple H & Shawn Michaels: N/A
________________________

Mark Cuban did well as guest host.

Jericho vs. DX was a no-contest and really was not enough of a match to get me to rate it, but it was good storytelling for what we got.

Friday, December 4, 2009

12/4/09 Smackdown

R-Truth vs. CM Punk: *1/2

Kane vs. Mike Knox: *1/4

Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Natalya: *1/4

Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison: **1/2

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith vs. Eric Escobar: *

Chris Jericho & The Big Show vs. JTG & Shad Gaspard: *1/4

12/3/09 Superstars

Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase vs. Evan Bourne & Primo: **

The Hurricane vs. Zack Ryder: *1/4

Dolph Ziggler vs. Matt Hardy: **1/2

Thursday, December 3, 2009

12/3/09 Impact

Alex Shelley vs. Doug Williams: *3/4

Suicide vs. Homicide: *1/2

D'Angelo Dinero vs. Jesse Neal: 1/2*

Eric Young & Kevin Nash vs. James Storm & Robert Roode: *3/4

Daniels vs. Abyss: 1/4*

Hamada vs. Sarita: *1/4

Kurt Angle vs. Raven & Dr. Stevie: *1/2

11/30/09 ROH

Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli: *3/4

Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe vs. Jon Davis & Kory Chavis: **1/2

Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Lance Lude & J-Sinn: *

Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana: **1/2

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

12/1/09 ECW

Goldust vs. William Regal: *

Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft vs. Bobby Shields & Tyler Hilton: 1/4*

Christian & Shelton Benjamin vs. Vladimir Kozlov & Ezekiel Jackson: **