Friday, April 30, 2010

4/30/10 Smackdown

Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho: **

Cody Rhodes vs. John Morrison: *3/4

Beth Phoenix & Kelly Kelly vs. Michelle McCool & Layla: *

Rey Mysterio & MVP vs. CM Punk & Luke Gallows: **

4/29/10 Superstars

Gail Kim vs. Jillian Hall: *3/4

Zack Ryder vs. Primo: **

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith vs. Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft: **1/4

Thursday, April 29, 2010

4/26/10 ROH

Tyler Black vs. Rhett Titus: **3/4

Skullkrusher Rasche Brown vs. James Stone: N/A

Eddie Edwards vs. Davey Richards (TV Title Tournament Finals): ****

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

4/19/10 ROH

Colt Cabana vs. Ricky Reyes: *1/2

Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. Josh Raymond & Christin Able: **1/4

Davey Richards vs. Kenny King: ***1/2

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

4/27/10 NXT

Chris Jericho & Wade Barrett vs. Christian & Heath Slater: *1/2

Darren Young vs. Michael Tarver: *

Skip Sheffield vs. Daniel Bryan: 1/2*
____________________

Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 4/27/10:
Darren Young: 7-2
Justin Gabriel: 5-2
Heath Slater: 5-3
David Otunga: 4-3
Wade Barrett: 5-4
Skip Sheffield: 1-5
Michael Tarver: 0-7
Daniel Bryan: 0-9
____________________

Here is the complete Supplemental Draft that took place today:

RAW gets:
The Great Khali & Ranjin Singh
Natalya
Ezekiel Jackson
Goldust
Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith

Smackdown gets:
Chavo Guerrero
Cody Rhodes
Chris Masters
Hornswoggle
Rosa Mendes
MVP

Finally, Tyler Reks and Vance Archer were moved to Smackdown after the Supplemental Draft ended.

4/26/10 Impact

Madison Rayne vs. Angelina Love vs. Tara (Knockouts Title): *3/4

Kazarian vs. Shannon Moore (X-Division Title): *3/4

AJ Styles & Sting vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jeff Hardy (Anything Goes; Falls Count Anywhere): **

Matt Morgan & Jesse Neal vs. Brother Ray & Brother Devon (Tag Team Titles): N/A

Abyss vs. Ric Flair (Ring vs. Ring): *1/4

Monday, April 26, 2010

4/26/10 RAW (WWE Draft)

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith vs. The Big Show & The Miz (Unified Tag Team Titles): **3/4

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

CM Punk vs. Evan Bourne: *1/2

Battle Royal featuring Ted DiBiase, Santino Marella, MVP, Mark Henry, Yoshi Tatsu, Kane, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre, & Shad Gaspard: *3/4

Chris Jericho vs. Christian: **3/4

Jack Swagger vs. John Morrison: **1/2

Hornswoggle vs. Dolph Ziggler: N/A

Batista vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton: **3/4
____________________

Draft Results:
Kelly Kelly drafted to Smackdown
The Big Show drafted to Smackdown
John Morrison drafted to RAW
R-Truth drafted to RAW
Edge drafted to RAW
Kofi Kingston drafted to Smackdown
Christian drafted to Smackdown
Chris Jericho drafted to RAW

Sunday, April 25, 2010

4/25/10 Extreme Rules

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith, R-Truth & John Morrison, and MVP & Mark Henry vs. The Miz & The Big Show (Gauntlet): I liked this match because it accomplished two things: (1) it got otherwise-unused talent on the show; and (2) it furthers the storyline between the Hart Dynasty and ShowMiz. Kidd and Smith get their Unified Tag Title match on RAW, and it should finally give the Hart Dynasty the tag gold. The triangle choke Morrison had on Big Show was pretty cool. I would give it higher, but the Hart Dynasty only needed about 10 seconds to win the match after ShowMiz dealt with two other teams. *3/4

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio (If CM Punk loses, he is shaved bald): They got way more time this time, which is how it should have been at WrestleMania. Excellent match with a lot of excitement. Seems like we have the return of Joey Mercury (or whatever name they choose for him now) as the latest member of the SES. ***1/2

JTG vs. Shad Gaspard (Strap): Not much here. Just your typical strap match where both guys got their shots in on each other with that leather strap. Very common finish where both guys touch the first three corners and then JTG got the last corner at the end. I guess this storyline is continuing. *1/4

Jack Swagger vs. Randy Orton (Extreme Rules; World Heavyweight Title): Another great match that delivered. WWE may be PG now, but that did not stop these two from using garbage cans, chairs, and the title belt. I thought it was yet another stellar performance by Swagger as he continues to cement his main event status. The post-match RKO says these two will continue to feud. And based on the crowd reaction, the WWE Universe will probably want another match. ***1/4

Sheamus vs. Triple H (Street Fight): WWE gets another solid match here. Very physical contest that, despite the similarity between a "Street Fight" and "Extreme Rules," still managed to differentiate themselves. I thought 4-5 bicycle kicks was a bit excessive, but it was still an OK finish nonetheless. I believe HHH could be shooting a movie soon, so will the feud end here? Perhaps, based on the post-match attack. ***1/4

NOTE: They showed a teaser for WWE Over the Limit, to be held on May 23. Isn't it eerie how it was 11 years ago on May 23, at a similarly named PPV, Over the Edge, where Owen Hart fell to his death? And Bret Hart right now is involved in the WWE storylines.

Beth Phoenix vs. Michelle McCool (Extreme Makeover; Women's Title): I really was not expecting much in this match, based on how WWE has treated women's matches in the past. However, this was very good. It was very physical, we had some actual wrestling moves, and, most importantly, these two were given a decent amount of time to show their stuff. Frankly, I thought Layla and Vickie using the brooms to distract Beth (when Beth was on the second rope) just looked weird, but I'm glad the match was just not horrid. **

Edge vs. Chris Jericho (Cage): Yet another great match. We saw a few false finishes and excellent use of the cage. I loved the ending; it was fitting that Edge used the cage door to "injure" Jericho's left ankle and Achilles' tendon before putting him away. There were really no sick spots to push this over the top (even though we had a couple of good moments at the top of the cage), but it was still nice to watch. ***1/2

John Cena vs. Batista (Last Man Standing; WWE Title): Holy crap. The two basically tore each other -- and the ringside area -- apart. There was really nothing else these two could have possibly done, and there were so many times in the match where I thought the match was over. The duct tape finish was probably the most original finish I've seen in quite some time. I know people will hate the finish and say, "No, it humiliated Batista as he exits WWE," but looking at it from a match and storyline standpoint, it was brilliant. I mean, how else was anyone winning?

I understand people's concerns that the ending of the match was probably not the appropriate finish. After basically destroying one another for about 30 minutes, to win with duct tape was a buzz-killer.

Regardless, for the suspense and the physicality alone, this was the match of the night. Cena haters may riot, but it was entertaining. And if this is Batista's last match (as it is rumored to be), this was a nice way to go out. ****1/4
______________________

MVPs: John Cena and Batista go extreme -- on more than one spectrum.

Overall Rating: Who knows, maybe Vince McMahon finally took notice of TNA's strong matches lately, but this, to me, was WWE's best PPV this year -- and the best in a while. I'd say it was definitely worth the price of admission. See what happens when you don't have a gazillion matches AND you give matches proper time? Hey, the PPV even went to the top of the hour and did not end 15 minutes early! Wow. ***3/4

Friday, April 23, 2010

4/23/10 Smackdown

John Morrison vs. Jack Swagger: ***

Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy & R-Truth: *1/2

JTG vs. Mike Knox: *1/4

Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Beth Phoenix & Mickie James: *1/4

CM Punk & Luke Gallows vs. Rey Mysterio & Kane: **1/4

4/22/10 Superstars

Shad Gaspard vs. Goldust: *3/4

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Zack Ryder: **1/2

John Morrison vs. Carlito: **3/4

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

4/20/10 NXT

Justin Gabriel vs. David Otunga: *1/4

Darren Young vs. Skip Sheffield vs. Michael Tarver: *1/2

Heath Slater vs. Chris Jericho: *1/2
____________________

Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 4/20/10:
Darren Young: 6-2
Justin Gabriel: 5-2
Heath Slater: 5-2
David Otunga: 4-3
Wade Barrett: 4-4
Skip Sheffield: 0-5
Michael Tarver: 0-6
Daniel Bryan: 0-8

4/19/10 Impact

Velvet Sky & Lacey Von Erich vs. ODB & Daffney (Knockouts Tag Team Titles): *

Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy: ***

Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, Rob Terry, & Samoa Joe vs. Sting, Desmond Wolfe, James Storm, & Robert Roode: **3/4

Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles (World Title): **3/4

Monday, April 19, 2010

4/19/10 RAW (SD is RAW)

Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy: *

The Undertaker vs. Jack Swagger: **3/4

The Great Khali & MacGruber vs. Vladimir Kozlov: -**

Triple H, Edge, & Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho, CM Punk, & Luke Gallows: **1/2
___________________

Please do not have Khali and Kozlov in the same match ever again.

Smackdown stars wrestled on RAW tonight; the RAW roster is still stuck in Europe due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

WWE Draft is next week, a 3-hour special.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

4/18/10 Lockdown

Rob Van Dam vs. James Storm (Cage): Very good use of the cage. No idea why Hebner was trying to get involved when Storm had the beer bottle in his hand (last time I checked, cage matches were no DQ), but anyway, a solid opening bout. **1/2

Homicide vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley (Cage; Must Escape Cage to Win): Good stuff from Sabin and Shelley, very nice spots from all those involved. Not a bad spotfest, really. **

Kevin Nash vs. Eric Young (Cage): Honestly, I have no clue on what to think about this one. The match basically was kept short because Syxx-Pac no-showed (again). So it's understandable that the match was short, but come on, it was a virtual squash. DUD

Madison Rayne & Velvet Sky vs. Tara & Angelina Love (Cage; Knockouts Title; Knockouts Tag Team Titles): The cage was still up for this match, but it was not really even used, so it doesn't matter. At least to me, it makes sense -- for the big picture -- why Love's title reign was so short: to set up Tara's heel turn. I think Tara will work better as a heel. She has the look for it, and let's face it, Tara as a face was horrible. As for the match, it was pretty basic, save for the Tara moonsault. It accomplished its purpose. *1/4

Kazarian vs. Shannon Moore vs. Homicide (Cage; X-Division Title): Great use of the cage and a nice variety of aerial maneuvers. Good mix of people kicking out of pins and having people break up pin attempts. Everyone had their time to shine in that match and the right person won, in my opinion. Finish was just awesome. I would honestly want Homicide and Hernandez to re-form LAX again. Hernandez's singles push has slowed and Homicide is going nowhere. ***1/2

Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. Kevin Nash & Scott Hall (Street Fight; Falls Count Anywhere): I really liked that TNA made this a street fight with falls counting anywhere; the steel cage would have made for a very boring match, especially without Syxx-Pac bouncing all over the ring. The match did finish in the ring, but I liked that they fought in the crowd and used weapons. Crowd was definitely into it. **1/2

Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson (Cage; Must Escape Cage to Win): Wow. Match of the Night for sure -- and would likely be Match of the Year if not for Taker/HBK II. Excellent buildup for this match. Angle bled pretty good here. Angle's moonsault off the top of the cage was sick. The finish was absolutely fantastic and brought the entire storyline full circle. Angle may be taking time off after this match, but not before he delivered -- again. ****1/2

AJ Styles vs. D'Angelo Dinero (Cage; World Title): Crowd was amped up for this one. Dinero hit the Codebreaker-like move and many people probably thought it was over. I must admit, despite the loss, Dinero really looked good in the cage. Styles also went to the top of the cage, but missed. Still a sick spot indeed. Styles continues to cheat to win, and honestly, that can be construed as a good thing. ***1/4

Jeff Jarrett, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, & Abyss vs. Sting, Desmond Wolfe, James Storm, & Robert Roode (Lethal Lockdown): So Abyss got run over by a car three days before Lockdown and now he shows up to the PPV with really no lingering injuries? OK... Hardy did his vintage sick spot in a gimmick match. But all I have to say is...what the hell was up with that finish? That absolutely killed a ton of the fan reaction and really wasn't needed. **3/4
_____________________

MVP: Kurt Angle delivers one more time before taking a leave of absence from TNA.

Overall Rating: TNA definitely delivered on its share of matches, namely Angle/Anderson. A very solid PPV -- even with the bizarre ending to the main event. ***1/2

Friday, April 16, 2010

4/16/10 Smackdown

Drew McIntyre vs. Kane: 3/4*

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

Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James: *1/2

Rey Mysterio, Tyson Kidd, & David Hart Smith vs. CM Punk, Luke Gallows, & Darren Young: **1/2

JTG vs. Caylen Croft: *

Jack Swagger vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge (World Heavyweight Title): ***1/2

4/15/10 Superstars

Matt Hardy vs. Carlito: *3/4

Christian vs. Chavo Guerrero: **

Ted DiBiase vs. MVP: *1/2

Thursday, April 15, 2010

4/12/10 ROH

Jerry Lynn vs. Jake Manning: *1/2

El Generico vs. Steve Corino: N/A

Eddie Edwards vs. Kevin Steen: **3/4

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

4/13/10 NXT

Christian vs. Wade Barrett: **

William Regal vs. Daniel Bryan: 1/4*

Darren Young vs. Luke Gallows: DUD
____________________

Reports are circulating that NXT will be canceled after this "season" runs its course. Smackdown will likely be moving into SyFy. WWE may consider moving NXT to another channel, like Bravo, or just put it on WWE.com.
____________________

Apparently, the only matches that count toward the rookie records must be on NXT. Thus, the rookies' losses to Kane on Smackdown and Otunga's tag team loss on RAW don't count in the records.

Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 4/13/10:
Darren Young: 5-2
Justin Gabriel: 4-2
David Otunga: 4-2
Heath Slater: 4-2
Wade Barrett: 4-4
Skip Sheffield: 0-4
Michael Tarver: 0-5
Daniel Bryan: 0-8

4/12/10 Impact

Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, & Syxx-Pac vs. Brother Ray, Brother Devon, & Jesse Neal (Street Fight): *1/2

Shannon Moore vs. Kazarian: ***1/4

Angelina Love vs. Velvet Sky (I Quit): -*

Matt Morgan & Amazing Red vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley: **1/2

Robert Roode vs. Jeff Hardy: **

D'Angelo Dinero & Jay Lethal vs. AJ Styles & Desmond Wolfe: 1/4*

Monday, April 12, 2010

4/12/10 RAW (Hasselhoff)

Eve Torres vs. Maryse (Divas Title): 1/4*

The Miz vs. David Hart Smith: *

Evan Bourne vs. Carlito: *1/2

John Cena vs. David Otunga: 3/4*

Kofi Kingston vs. Sheamus: *3/4

Nikki Bella & Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly & Gail Kim vs. Jillian Hall & Rosa Mendes: DUD

Randy Orton vs. Batista: **3/4

4/5/10 ROH

Steve Corino vs. Bobby Shields: DUD

Jon Davis & Korey Chavis vs. Lance Lude & J-Sinn: N/A

Erick Stevens vs. Pelle Primeau: *

Chris Hero vs. Jay Briscoe: **3/4

Friday, April 9, 2010

4/9/10 Smackdown

Jack Swagger vs. John Morrison: **1/2

Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy: **1/4

Tyson Kidd & Caylen Croft vs. Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft: *1/2

Edge vs. Chris Jericho: ***

4/8/10 Superstars

Beth Phoenix vs. Layla: 1/2*

Evan Bourne & Yoshi Tatsu vs. Chavo Guerrero & Zack Ryder: **1/2

MVP vs. Carlito: **3/4

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

4/6/10 NXT

Darren Young vs. Daniel Bryan: *

Justin Gabriel vs. Michael Tarver: *1/4

Wade Barrett vs. David Otunga: *1/2

Kane vs. Heath Slater: *3/4
____________________

Apparently, the only matches that count toward the rookie records must be on NXT. Thus, the rookies' losses to Kane on Smackdown and Otunga's tag team loss on RAW don't count in the records.

Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 4/6/10:
Justin Gabriel: 4-2
David Otunga: 4-2
Heath Slater: 4-2
Darren Young: 4-2
Wade Barrett: 4-3
Skip Sheffield: 0-4
Michael Tarver: 0-5
Daniel Bryan: 0-7

4/5/10 Impact

Rob Van Dam vs. James Storm: **3/4

Rob Terry vs. Homicide (Global Title): 1/2*

Tara, Angelina Love, ODB, & Hamada vs. Velvet Sky, Madison Rayne, Daffney, & Lacey Von Erich (Lockbox Showdown; Knockouts Title): *1/4

Mr. Anderson vs. Kurt Angle (Ladder): ***1/4

Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Brother Ray & Brother Devon: *3/4

Doug Williams vs. Max Buck & Jeremy Buck: *1/4

D'Angelo Dinero vs. Desmond Wolfe: 3/4*

Monday, April 5, 2010

4/5/10 RAW (David Otunga)

Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston: *

Divas Battle Royal: 1/4*

The Big Show & The Miz vs. John Cena & Batista: N/A

Ted DiBiase vs. Christian: *3/4

Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger: **3/4

The Big Show & The Miz vs. John Cena & David Otunga: *1/2
__________________

Looks like WWE is not recognizing the loss Otunga suffered as part of that 8-on-1 handicap elimination match on Smackdown against Kane -- unless WWE ruled that a no-contest. Otunga is still 4-3 now in my books.

Friday, April 2, 2010

4/2/10 Smackdown

Jack Swagger vs. Chris Jericho (World Title): N/A

John Morrison & R-Truth vs. JTG & Shad Gaspard: N/A

Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy: N/A

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

Beth Phoenix & Tiffany vs. Michelle McCool & Layla: *

Kane vs. Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, & Darren Young (Handicap Elimination): 3/4*
____________________

First three matches were basically squash matches. Not the best night for wrestling.
____________________

So does this mean we add another loss to each NXT Rookie? If so:

Here are the rookie's records as of 4/2/10:
David Otunga: 4-2
Heath Slater: 4-2
Justin Gabriel: 3-3
Darren Young: 3-3
Wade Barrett: 3-4
Skip Sheffield: 0-5
Michael Tarver: 0-5
Daniel Bryan: 0-7

Thursday, April 1, 2010

4/1/10 Superstars

Kofi Kingston & MVP vs. Zack Ryder & Carlito: **1/4

Yoshi Tatsu vs. William Regal: *1/4

Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith vs. Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft: **1/4