Saturday, February 27, 2010

2/26/10 Smackdown

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

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

Kane vs. Drew McIntyre: *1/4

Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk: *1/2

Edge vs. The Miz: **
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And in no surprise, the Women's Title match had quite a bizarre finish. While it had no real botches and was acceptable from a wrestling standpoint, Vickie falling out of the ring and Layla rubbing Vickie's rear was really unnecessary. Comedy in skits is generally acceptable, and I did laugh when Vickie got hit with the cottage cheese a couple weeks ago. But comedy in a match against two rivals is just out of place.

I like Drew McIntyre's entrance. Randy Orton probably provided a bunch of inspiration.

Now I understand why The Miz was picked to mentor Daniel Bryan: get Bryan exposure on all WWE shows. Very clever, WWE.

Friday, February 26, 2010

2/25/10 Superstars

William Regal & Jack Swagger vs. Chris Masters & Santino Marella: *1/4

Zack Ryder vs. Primo: *1/2

Luke Gallows vs. Sylas Young: 1/4*

Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, & Natalya vs. Matt Hardy, The Great Khali, & Maria: **

Thursday, February 25, 2010

2/25/10 Impact

Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags (Tables): 1/2*

ODB vs. Daffney: DUD

Kazarian vs. Brian Kendrick: *

Rob Terry vs. Mr. Anderson (Global Title): N/A

Abyss vs. Desmond Wolfe: 1/2*
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No rating for Terry/Anderson due to its brevity.

Looking for wrestling action? Don't watch this episode.

2/22/10 ROH

Rhett Titus vs. El Generico: **1/4

Colt Cabana vs. Bobby Shields: 1/2*

Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (Tag Team Titles): ***3/4
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ROH keeps bringing quality shows to HDNet!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

2/23/10 NXT (Premiere)

Season 1 Premiere!

Christian & Heath Slater vs. Carlito & Michael Tarver: *1/4

David Otunga vs. Darren Young: DUD

Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan: **1/4
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First, I am going to like Miz and Daniel Bryan being paired up.

Second, if that Otunga/Young match went longer than two minutes, that was getting negative stars. Short match, ugly match.

Third, what was this I heard when watching NXT? Michael Cole seemingly sticking up for Miz and thereby playing a heel role? That's way better than what he's been doing on RAW (and even Smackdown before that). He really seemed to click in that heel persona when announcing with Josh Matthews.

Fourth, I like Bryan's catchphrase: "You have two options: you either tap, or you snap." I like it. Short and to the point.
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And for the record, yes, I did catch Daniel Bryan's FCW match against Kaval (a.k.a. Low Ki/Senshi) from earlier this year. I would have rated that about ** to **1/4.

Monday, February 22, 2010

2/22/10 RAW (Jewel/Murray)

Maryse vs. Gail Kim (Divas Title): 3/4*

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

Christian vs. Carlito: *

The Big Show & The Miz vs. MVP & Mark Henry (Unified Tag Team Titles): *1/4

John Cena vs. Batista: N/A
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Wow. Taker/HBK really upped the ante this time, and I love it. The Streak vs. The Career. I must admit, even though I would not have booked the showdown like this (or would have gone through with another match between the two), this story has progressed extremely well.

"If I can't beat you, I have no career." Strong words from HBK. Love it.

Given that the match is similar to last year's (might be wishful thinking, but who knows), Meltzer could possibly give this the full five.

In other news, Wendi Richter joins the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2010. Good for her, she definitely deserves the honor, being a multiple-time women's champion. I didn't think this would happen, considering that Richter was the victim of the "Original Screwjob" concocted by Vince McMahon. For more about that, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendi_Richter#The_Original_Screwjob
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Four WM 26 matches were confirmed tonight:
Taker/HBK II (Streak vs. Career)
Jericho/Edge (World Title)
Batista/Cena (WWE Title)
Money in the Bank (Christian qualified so far)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

2/21/10 Elimination Chamber

John Cena vs. Sheamus vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. Kofi Kingston (Elimination Chamber Match; for WWE Title): Sheamus starting was a clever move because it finally gave the viewers a chance to see if he has any endurance. I still would have had Orton and Kingston start, though, just my opinion. HHH was out third, which I liked because he and Sheamus got to face off. I thought it was a smart move to have Legacy team up to establish who would take over for the next few minutes; it helped make DiBiase (inexperienced in the Chamber) look strong without having to have the entire spotlight on him. We had a few nice sick spots (Kingston's head in the chains and then a Boston Crab by DiBiase; hangman's DDT on the steel by Orton to HHH). Rhodes came with the steel pipe, so DiBiase nailed both Orton and Cena. That was awesome for DiBiase to stall, pick who to pin, and eliminate Orton. This should set up Orton vs. Legacy or Orton vs. Rhodes vs. DiBiase at WM 26. Nice move to have HHH and Cena at the end. I really didn't see Cena winning, honestly. However, HHH eliminating Sheamus may still give us HHH/Sheamus at WM 26.

The match itself, to me, was not as good as last year's. First, we had a stronger cast last year (in terms of abilities and fan reaction). Second, the finish wasn't as good. The last two guys gotta battle longer than that! But then again, it's Cena and HHH, so what did you expect? Third, I thought the flow of the match was only average. It was still 45 good minutes overall, but the action seemed stretched out and, all of a sudden, the eliminations pretty much came one after the other. ***1/2

Batista vs. John Cena (WWE Title): OK, the picture just got much clearer. This was a decent way to further this storyline (which involves Vince and Bret). Now Vince can say he screwed not just Bret, but Cena as well. And who knows, maybe Vince can come out on RAW to say it was planned for the blonde woman to back the car into Bret. Just a thought. No rating for this because it was so simple and short (less than 30 seconds). N/A

Since Smackdown technically has the WWE Title, does this mean Shawn Michaels will come into the Smackdown chamber match later to win the World Heavyweight Title (possibly pinning Undertaker last)? We'll see.

Drew McIntyre vs. Kane (IC Title): This was a decent showing, probably as good as I think a Kane one-on-one match will be nowadays. McIntyre looked like the resilient champion, fighting off a valiant effort from Kane. However, I did not like the dirty finish (basically the same way McIntyre won the title in the first place). If McIntyre is to impress me more, he needs to win much cleaner and show me he belongs. He's already proven to me that he can cheat to win; show me something else. **1/4

Layla & Michelle McCool vs. Maryse & Gail Kim (Divas Title): I guess we again must wait for the Divas Title match. Could it be on RAW tomorrow night? I have no idea why they keep putting it off. I also have no idea how Vickie Guerrero can all of a sudden make matches with RAW divas. In a nutshell, the tag match made zero sense and the delaying of the Divas Title match made zero sense. DUD

The Miz vs. MVP (U.S. Title): You know it's been a bad few months for Tiger Woods when both King and Cole take shots at him. Not a surprise that Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) has gotten more mention than any other NXT "rookie." Good moves by Miz; he has really learned how to control the pace of the match. Miz got busted open in the match (inadvertent). Nice spot by Henry to pretty much take out the barricade. Big Show's KTFO punch was awesome (now even Striker calls it KFTO, yay). Overall, a nice match; much better than their Royal Rumble encounter -- which was also booked at the PPV with no hype. ***

Chris Jericho vs. The Undertaker vs. R-Truth vs. John Morrison vs. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk (Elimination Chamber Match; for World Heavyweight Title): Now this is how you work an Elimination Chamber match. Punk and Truth started, which I did like (after all, they did have a confrontation many weeks ago). Punk's mic work was awesome, and I loved it that WWE made R-Truth have a respectable showing, but also letting Punk get some time to do more mic work and take verbal shots at the other participants -- similar to what he did at the Royal Rumble. Mysterio and Punk = greatness. Rey + Jericho + Morrison = excellent. Jericho cowering inside the pod to stay away from Taker was classic. Morrison had an impressive showing and I loved that he sold the ankle at least once in the match. Jericho and Taker had a great duel. And in what was another predictable moment, HBK came out to cost Taker the title. I thought it was cool that HBK came from a compartment under the chamber. This match was outstanding overall, clearly better than the RAW chamber. Definitely more action and better use of the steel and plexiglass pods. ****1/4
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So now we are set for WM 26. This should be the lineup:
(1) Chris Jericho vs. Edge for the World Heavyweight Title.
(2) Batista vs. John Cena for the WWE Title (Bret Hart will either come out in Cena's corner or make a "surprise" appearance to help Cena)
(3) Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, part II
(4) CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio (likely Mask vs. Hair)
(5) Triple H vs. Sheamus (appears likely)
(6) Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase
(7) A divas match for either the Women's Title or Divas Title
(8) IC Title match(?)
(9) MVP & Henry vs. Big Show & Miz (Unified Tag Title match?)
(10) Money in the Bank may be off the card, but I hope it's still there
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MVP: Chris Jericho and the rest of the Smackdown Chamber crew deliver the match of the night!

Overall Rating: ***1/4

Friday, February 19, 2010

2/19/10 Smackdown

Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler: *1/2

JTG & Shad Gaspard vs. Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft: *3/4

John Morrison & R-Truth vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows: **

Matt Hardy, The Great Khali, & Maria vs. Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, & Natalya: *

Edge vs. Batista: *3/4
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Hey, John Morrison mentioned Tough Enough! I guess it actually does exist!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

2/18/10 Superstars

Evan Bourne & Primo vs. Carlito & Chavo Guerrero: **1/2

Gail Kim vs. Katie Lea Burchill: *1/2

Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox: **1/4

2/18/10 Impact

Tara vs. Daffney: 1/4*

Orlando Jordan vs. Samoa Joe: *

Amazing Red, Generation Me (Max & Jeremy), & Kazarian vs. Doug Williams, Brian Kendrick, Chris Sabin, & Alex Shelley: **

Jeff Jarrett vs. Abyss: *1/2

James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Brutus Magnus & Rob Terry: 3/4*

Kurt Angle vs. Daniels: N/A
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Angle/Daniels gets no rating (match too short). Angle working a storyline with Mr. Anderson should help the latter's career, that's for sure.

2/15/10 ROH

Necro Butcher & Eddie Kingston vs. Erick Stevens & Joey Ryan: *1/4

Skullkrusher Rasche Brown vs. Christian Moreno: N/A

Cheech & Cloudy vs. Sonjay Dutt & Andy Ridge: *3/4

Kevin Steen vs. Delirious: ***
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No rating for Brown/Moreno due to its brevity.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

2/16/10 ECW (Series finale)

The Big Show & The Miz vs. Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust: *3/4

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Christian (Extreme Rules; ECW Title): **1/2
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Look for WWE NXT next week on SyFy!

2/15/10 RAW (Jerry Springer)

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton: *1/2

MVP & Mark Henry vs. The Big Show & The Miz: *

Ted DiBiase vs. Kofi Kingston: 1/2*

Triple H vs. John Cena: **
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Jerry Springer Show + WWE = beyond bizarre

And folks, this is how you put fewer matches on the card (fewer than Smackdown's usual 5-6 matches), poorly promote Elimination Chamber this coming Sunday, and have one of the most bizarre skits in the WWE in a while all rolled into a two-hour show.

2/14/10 Against All Odds

D'Angelo Dinero vs. Desmond Wolfe: I really liked this match. It was very simple, yet very well-worked and virtually flawless for what it was worth. It was very competitive and showcased the unorthodox arsenal Wolfe has. The crowd was also very much into it. Solid opener. ***

Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez: This was good. The pace was slow for me at the start, and the botch (Morgan failing to catch Hernandez coming off the top) stuck out. However, the two stepped it up late. Does the finish to the match signal an impending breakup of this tag team? *3/4

Mr. Anderson vs. Kurt Angle: Good stuff. Angle bled a good amount there, but that still did not detract from the match. I like Anderson winning here because it helps elevate him while not really hurting Angle's stock in the company (can Angle's stock ever go down anyway?). Anderson took the cheap way to win, which did affect the rating. **3/4

Abyss vs. Mick Foley (No DQ): I'm glad they made this match no disqualification because it would have been real bad. Actually, never mind, it was still pretty bad. I mean, these two are supposed to be friends, but aside from the tack spot at the end, this was pretty uneventful. One nitpick: when Abyss was in the Mandible Claw, his body was against the ropes, but the ref did not signal for the break. What gives? Anyway, I would retire Foley from active in-ring competition. Please. *

Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags: Speaking of being past your prime...oh God. The Nasties should have retired years ago, period. A slow, sluggish, and very poor showing. This match was just very bad. The only cool thing was seeing Jimmy Hart helping the Nasty Boys to end this awful thing. -**

D'Angelo Dinero vs. Matt Morgan: Perhaps this was because they competed earlier in the night, but it was another match with a slow pace to it. Morgan was in control for a bunch of the match, Pope makes a comeback and wins. Ho hum. It was nothing more than your average TV match -- maybe a little more thrown in. *1/2

Mr. Anderson vs. Abyss: I swear Abyss's character must have a gay gene or something. I like how Anderson targeted Abyss' injuries. Abyss did get his moves in, so it was not as bad as I originally thought (I viewed it more than once). But that does not mean it was great. *1/4

AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe (World Title): You figured there would be some sort of screwy finish with a special referee (Eric Bischoff) involved. The match was the best of the night, but barely. This performance left a lot to be desired. Regardless, it was a physical match and they are still two of the best pro wrestlers in TNA. ***1/4

D'Angelo Dinero vs. Mr. Anderson: This was a pleasant surprise, considering both men had two prior matches on the PPV and Dinero had been roughed up by Hall and Syxx-Pac backstage. Good work by Anderson to work on the injured areas. Couple of nice false finishes thrown in at the latter stages of the match. Just misses out on three stars for me, though; not as much action as I would have liked. **3/4
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MVPs: The Pope (D'Angelo Dinero) is a star!

Overall Rating: **1/4

Friday, February 12, 2010

2/12/10 Smackdown

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk: ***1/2

Drew McIntyre vs. Kane: *

Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Mickie James: 1/2*

Matt Hardy & The Great Khali vs. Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith: 3/4*

R-Truth vs. John Morrison: N/A

Chris Jericho vs. The Undertaker (No DQ): **
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No rating for Truth/Morrison due to its brevity. Morrison's right ankle injury is a work and seems to be a part of some bigger storyline. Could it be similar to how CM Punk turned his eye injury into a full heel turn?

2/11/10 Superstars

Jack Swagger vs. Santino Marella: *1/4

Christian vs. Zack Ryder: **3/4

Dolph Ziggler vs. JTG: **1/2

Thursday, February 11, 2010

2/11/10 Impact

D'Angelo Dinero vs. Orlando Jordan: *1/2

Matt Morgan vs. Suicide: 3/4*

Doug Williams vs. Amazing Red (X-Division Title): **1/4

Angelina Love & Tara vs. Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne: *1/4

Desmond Wolfe & Hernandez vs. Kurt Angle & Mr. Anderson: *3/4

2/8/10 ROH

Kevin Steen & Steve Corino vs. Bobby Dempsey & Alex Payne: *1/2

Jon Davis & Korey Chavis vs. Lance Bravado & Harlem Bravado: DUD

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards: ****1/2
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Easily your match of the year so far. Wow. Richards and Edwards definitely remind me of how tenacious Chris Benoit was in the ring, but quicker. Add that to the Bucks' flashy double team style, and you have a near-flawless match.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

2/9/10 ECW

Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust vs. Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft: **1/2

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Perry Wallace: DUD

Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer (No DQ; No Countout): **3/4
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When ECW is also having some nice matches, you know WWE is on a roll.

The ECW finale next week will have two title matches:

(1) The Big Show & The Miz vs. Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust for the Unified Tag Titles
(2) Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson for the ECW Title

Monday, February 8, 2010

2/8/10 RAW (Carl Edwards)

Sheamus vs. Christian: **1/4

The Big Show & The Miz vs. Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows (Elimination; Unified Tag Team Titles): **3/4

Gail Kim vs. Jillian Hall: DUD

Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton: 3/4*

John Cena vs. Ted DiBiase: N/A
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ShowMiz = win!

The "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase was announced as the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame's Class of 2010. All signs point to the younger Ted DiBiase inducting his father.

Friday, February 5, 2010

2/5/10 Smackdown

John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane: **1/4

R-Truth vs. Mike Knox: 1/2*

CM Punk vs. Batista: N/A

Chris Jericho vs. Matt Hardy: **1/2

Mickie James & Beth Phoenix vs. Michelle McCool & Layla: 3/4*

Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler: **3/4
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Smackdown has put a bunch of up-and-comers in the Elimination Chamber. Again, a nice mix of established stars (Undertaker, Jericho, Punk, Mysterio) and midcarders (Morrison, R-Truth). Here are the Smackdown participants:

The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Champion)
John Morrison (defeated McIntyre and Kane)
R-Truth (defeated Knox)
CM Punk (Batista counted out)
Chris Jericho (defeated Hardy)
Rey Mysterio (defeated Ziggler)

2/4/10 Superstars

Alicia Fox & Katie Lea Burchill vs. Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres: *1/2

Evan Bourne vs. Carlito: ***1/4

John Morrison, Matt Hardy, & The Great Khali vs. Drew McIntyre, Tyson Kidd, & David Hart Smith: **1/2
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Whoa, what is up with WWE lately? Another very strong show. Two weeks in a row, we get some impressive matches on Superstars from midcard to lower card wrestlers. I like it...a lot.

It's confirmed, ECW will be replaced by WWE NXT.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

2/4/10 Impact

Mr. Anderson vs. Brutus Magnus: *

Matt Morgan & Hernandez vs. Brother Ray & Brother Devon (Tag Team Titles): *3/4

Samoa Joe vs. Jesse Neal: 3/4*

D'Angelo Dinero vs. AJ Styles: **1/4

Kurt Angle vs. Tomko: *1/2

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

Kevin Nash vs. Mick Foley (No DQ): DUD

2/1/10 ROH

Delirious vs. Rhett Titus: **1/2

Colt Cabana vs. Sonjay Dutt: **

Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong: ***1/4

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

2/2/10 ECW

Vance Archer vs. Shelton Benjamin: *3/4

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Trent Barreta: *1/2

Christian vs. Zack Ryder: **1/2
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Vince McMahon announced on ECW tonight that ECW would be ceasing to exist in three weeks, being replaced by an all-new WWE program. I'm glad for this change because this brand does not deserve to have the ECW name. It's so far removed from being "extreme," it's not even funny. The WWE's "PG" format has basically pushed the "extreme" out the door.

And Tony Atlas still rules.

Monday, February 1, 2010

2/1/10 RAW (William Shatner)

John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes: *

Triple H vs. Jack Swagger: *3/4

Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels: **

Ted DiBiase vs. Mark Henry: 1/2*

Kofi Kingston vs. The Big Show: *
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RAW Elimination Chamber participants are:
Sheamus (WWE champion)
John Cena (beat Rhodes)
Triple H (beat Swagger)
Randy Orton (beat HBK)
Ted DiBiase (beat Henry)
Kofi Kingston (beat Show)

I'd say this is a pretty successful Elimination Chamber match. A nice mix of established stars (HHH, Cena, Orton) and up-and-coming stars (Sheamus, DiBiase, Kingston)

Looks like the Divas Title match got bumped to next week.

Shatner was OK as a guest host. He did one good segment and that was it.

Bret appearing on RAW is always a win. Batista factoring into this? Sounds like we could have a tag match at Mania? How about Cena/Bret vs. Batista/Vince? We'll see.

The matches? Average to below average. Not surprising because it's RAW.