Tuesday, November 30, 2010

11/30/10 NXT (Season 3 Finale)

Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, & A.J. vs. Alicia Fox, Aksana, & Maxine: 1/2*

Kaitlyn vs. Naomi: *
______________

Here are the final official NXT Rookie Divas' records as of 11/30/10:
A.J.: 7-2
Naomi: 5-4
Kaitlyn: 3-4
Jamie: 2-0
Aksana: 2-6
Maxine: 1-5
______________

Diva Face-Off Notes:
Kaitlyn's promo failed. Naomi didn't impress me, either.
______________

Elimination Notes:
Kaitlyn wins Season 3! Woohoo! We'll see Naomi on WWE soon anyway.
______________

Season 4 Pros and Rookies (there's another season?!):
Pro: R-Truth --> Rookie: Johnny Curtis
Pro: Chris Masters --> Rookie: Byron Saxton
Pro: Ted DiBiase --> Rookie: Brodus Clay
Pro: Dolph Ziggler --> Rookie: Jacob Novak
Pro: Daniel Bryan(?!) --> Rookie: Derrick Bateman
Pro: Alberto Del Rio(?!) --> Rookie: Conor O'Brian

Yeah, that's the same Byron Saxton that did commentary a few months back for WWE. He was better than that Stanford guy right now.

Glad to see they even brought Jamie back for the finale, even though she was released after being eliminated.

Oh, and one last thing from watching the WWE Title match last night...Miz's ring attire and Daniel Bryan's ring attire are pretty similar.

Speaking of Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio, they are NXT pros now?! Double win! Obviously, Daniel Bryan is the first NXT rookie alum to become an NXT pro (might be the only alum to do so if Season 4 is the last season). It means more screen time for them! I shall watch Season 4 just see how they do with their rookies.

Monday, November 29, 2010

11/29/10 RAW (KOTR)

Alberto Del Rio vs. Daniel Bryan: **1/2

John Morrison vs. Cody Rhodes: *1/2

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Drew McIntyre: DUD

Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston: *1/2

Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel vs. Yoshi Tatsu & Mark Henry: 3/4*

John Morrison vs. Alberto Del Rio: *1/4

Natalya, Melina, & Gail Kim vs. Maryse, Alicia Fox, & Tamina: 1/2*

Sheamus vs. John Morrison: ***

The Miz vs. Jerry Lawler (Tables, Ladders, & Chairs; WWE Title): **1/4
_________________

Line of the night: "Looks like he's dressed for court." -- CM Punk poking fun at Alex Riley (dressed in a suit) and his DUI when Riley was building up Miz's win at the beginning of the show

I wish they would have put the KOTR "title" on someone like Del Rio or Morrison. Sheamus already being a 2-time WWE champion, it doesn't add as much to his rep than it would a midcarder. Sheamus really only got the KOTR for his eventual clash with a returning HHH, likely early next year.

Oh, and one more thing: CM Punk also wins for sporting a Colt Cabana shirt on RAW.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

11/22/10 ROH

Colt Cabana vs. Erick Stevens: **1/2

Sara Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze: **1/4

Davey Richards vs. Shawn Daivari: ***1/4
_________________

I have not done ROH ratings for the last few weeks because I have not been able to view them. I don't get HDNet and would have to rely on the internet to view this program. In all likelihood, this might not continue, but we'll see.

Friday, November 26, 2010

11/26/10 Smackdown

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger: **3/4

Alberto Del Rio vs. The Big Show: *1/4

Drew McIntyre vs. MVP: *1/2

Michelle McCool vs. Kelly Kelly: 1/2*

Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio: **1/4

11/25/10 Superstars

Curt Hawkins vs. Trent Barreta: **3/4

Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Zack Ryder & Primo: **

Mark Henry vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: *1/4

Thursday, November 25, 2010

11/25/10 Impact

Tommy Dreamer vs. Rhino (Street Fight): *3/4

Sarita vs. Madison Rayne: *1/4

Jeff Jarrett vs. Jesse Neal (MMA): *

AJ Styles, Kazarian, James Storm, & Robert Roode vs. Matt Morgan, Douglas Williams, Samoa Joe, & D'Angelo Dinero (Elimination): **3/4

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

11/23/10 NXT

Kaitlyn vs. Nikki Bella: 1/2*

A.J. vs. Naomi: **1/4 (best NXT Season 3 match and right up there with the best in NXT history)
______________

Here are the official remaining NXT Rookie Divas' records as of 11/23/10:
A.J.: 6-2
Naomi: 5-3
Kaitlyn: 2-4
______________

Rookie Diva Challenge Wins as of 11/23/10:
A.J.: 1 (WWE Trivia)
Kaitlyn: 1 (Last Sumo Standing)
Naomi: 0

NOTE: Standings reset, but doesn't matter. No immunity tonight for anyone.
______________

WWE NXT Trivia Challenge Notes:
A.J. knows her trivia...another win.
______________

Last Sumo Standing Challenge Notes:
I was on the phone with my dad during this one, so I pulled a Michael Cole here. Apparently Kaitlyn won. Sure...next!
______________

Elimination Notes:
A.J. eliminated. I'm a bit shocked by this, especially because she seemed to have the WWE Universe's backing. At least she goes out with the best record in NXT Season 3 (6-2) and a whole lot of challenge wins. Should be an interesting finale...and of course, not many will care. Funny how Cole and Josh Mathews actually started to care a little at the end of the show.

A.J. will definitely have a spot on the roster in due time, that's for sure.

Monday, November 22, 2010

11/22/10 RAW

Sheamus vs. R-Truth: **1/4

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Alex Riley: N/A (squash)

Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase: *

Natalya vs. Alicia Fox: 1/2*

John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd: *1/4

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett (WWE Title): *1/2

The Miz vs. Randy Orton (WWE Title): *
_________________

Many thoughts from tonight's show:

(1) R-Truth seems to have gone back to his "What's Up" theme. I like it better than the "Crunk" one anyway.

(2) CM Punk on the announce team = win

(3) Tyson Kidd went from Hart tag team to a guy with generic heel music. Oop.

(3) So Miz is champion. Figured it would happen sooner or later. Good for him. He's been one of the best things to happen to WWE in the last couple years. Another thing I liked: it wasn't a total squash. 411mania will have a bunch of screengrabs to use from this episode.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

11/21/10 Survivor Series

Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase (U.S. Title): Can Daniel Bryan open every show he's on? And of course, give him about 15 minutes to wow the crowd. I wish DiBiase would have tried to target Bryan's shoulder after that suicide dive to the outside. Again though, Daniel Bryan shows he can have a great match with just about anyone on the roster. ***1/4

John Morrison vs. Sheamus: Another very nice match. Morrison is able to show his acrobatic style against a larger opponent. Nice counters in this one. Looks like this feud will continue. **1/2

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval (Intercontinental Title): This was Kaval's longest match in the WWE, to my knowledge. They finally give him time to do his thing by letting him have his title match...and WWE books him to lose. Kaval's moves are awesome, they just need to have faith in him as much as WWE apparently now has in Daniel Bryan. I will say the last few minutes of the match had some awkward slow points. But anyway, the best thing right now, in my book, is for Kaval to turn heel. **3/4

Rey Mysterio, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, MVP, & Chris Masters vs. Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, & Tyler Reks: It was OK, although I wish I got to see more of Del Rio in there instead of seeing him get knocked out by Big Show. Swagger played a very nice role, as did Mysterio. Great Survivor Series matches have basically gone the way of the dinosaur, though. **3/4

Natalya vs. Michelle McCool & Layla (Divas Title): And finally, Natalya gets her Divas Title reign. I was pleasantly surprised to see Beth Phoenix return (of course, looking more muscular than ever). Does this mean Laycool gets sidetracked with Beth now? The match had some physicality to it, which is nice. *

Kane vs. Edge (World Heavyweight Title): Real good for what it was. A double pin? That works to keep the feud going. With the chaos after the match, a gimmick match will eventually be in order. Last man standing? Street fight? We'll see. **1/2

Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (Tag Team Titles): Typical tag team match that you would see on free TV. Crowd really loves Santino, that's for sure. *1/4

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett (WWE Title): The buildup for "Free or Fired" was done extremely well. All participants told a great story. Unfortunately, the match itself was fairly average -- a huge letdown. No swerves, no controversies. There was really even no chaos at all. Too bland for me. And trust me, Cena will be back soon anyway. See comments below for more. **
_________________

MVPs: Daniel Bryan won the best match on the card, and he wins MVP honors tonight.

Overall Rating: Yet another PPV where it needed way more. Things started promising with three solid matches. And did I mention that Daniel Bryan should open every show he's on for at least the foreseeable future? And you know what, make Bryan vs. Kaval happen eventually (if not Bryan vs. Punk).

However, the main event is what people should remember. In that sense, the last images (for now) of John Cena amongst the crowd is a vivid one indeed. But the problem is Cena was the referee in the match. Generally, the wrestlers should be remembered more than the ref (think Austin/Dude Love when Vince was the ref). I'm not a fan of when the referee is clearly more important than the two actual wrestlers -- and especially in such a match like this, with all the buildup. **1/4

Friday, November 19, 2010

11/19/10 Smackdown

MVP vs. Drew McIntyre: *1/2

Jack Swagger vs. Chris Masters: *

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval: *1/4

Cody Rhodes vs. Kofi Kingston: **

Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Natalya & Kelly Kelly: 1/2*

The Big Show vs. Tyler Reks: 1/4*

Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio: N/A

Survivor Series 10-Man Battle Royal (Team Mysterio and Team Del Rio): *3/4

11/18/10 Superstars

Chavo Guerrero vs. JTG: **

Curt Hawkins vs. Trent Barreta: *3/4

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Primo: *1/2

Melina & Gail Kim vs. Alicia Fox & Maryse: *3/4
_________________

CM Punk announcing = epic win

Thursday, November 18, 2010

11/18/10 Impact

Max Buck, Jeremy Buck, Robbie E., & Cookie vs. Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Jay Lethal, & Velvet Sky: **

Jeff Hardy vs. Raven: *1/4

Abyss vs. Shannon Moore (Casket): *1/2

Mickie James vs. Angelina Love: *3/4

Matt Morgan vs. Ric Flair: *

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

11/16/10 NXT

Naomi vs. Kaitlyn: *1/2

A.J. vs. Aksana: *1/4

Probably the best wrestling show on NXT Season 3. All four appear to have improved from the season premiere.
______________

Here are the official remaining NXT Rookie Divas' records as of 11/16/10:
A.J.: 5-2
Naomi: 5-2
Kaitlyn: 2-3
Aksana: 2-5
______________

Rookie Diva Challenge Wins as of 11/16/10:
A.J.: 2 (High School Photo; Know Your Pro)
Kaitlyn: 1 (Arm Wrestling)
Naomi: 1 (Diss the Diva)
Aksana: 0

NOTE: A.J. had the most challenge wins in this challenge cycle and was immune from elimination tonight.
______________

Know Your Pro Challenge Notes:
A.J. and Primo definitely know each other well. Surprised Vickie thought so highly of Kaitlyn's current in-ring ability.
______________

Diss the Diva Challenge Notes:
Naomi did the best, I agree. Kaitlyn was not bad. And Cole was his usual annoying self.
______________

Elimination Notes:
Aksana eliminated...not surprised. Next week is another elimination. Tough to predict who will be the next to go. If I had to pick one, it would likely be Naomi because the crowd seems to really like A.J. and Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn has the only real storyline of the season with Vickie/Dolph right now, and A.J. of course is simply the darling "nerd" of the competition that has the captivating smile. It really might all come down to who gets any sort of immunity next week to determine who stays and who goes.

Monday, November 15, 2010

11/15/10 RAW (Old School)

Dolph Ziggler vs. Mark Henry: *1/4

Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel vs. Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith: *

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Brooklyn Brawler: N/A

John Cena vs. Alex Riley: *

Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: *1/4

Kofi Kingston vs. David Otunga: 1/2*

Wade Barrett vs. R-Truth: *3/4

Alberto Del Rio vs. Sergeant Slaughter: 1/2*

Mae Young vs. Michelle McCool & Layla (No DQ; Falls Count Anywhere): N/A

Daniel Bryan vs. Jack Swagger: **1/4
_________________

Loved the old school RAW for, well, the old school feel. The original Monday Night RAW theme, opening, set, and graphics. Good to see the WWE Legends, especially Jim Ross. Perfect for him to call the Bryan/Swagger match.

Wrestling-wise, of course, we had crap, with Bryan/Swagger being the exception.

Friday, November 12, 2010

11/12/10 Smackdown

Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston: **1/4

Natalya vs. Layla: *1/4

David Otunga vs. Edge: *1/2

Dolph Ziggler vs. MVP (IC Title): *3/4

The Big Show vs. Kane: **

11/11/10 Superstars

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

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Primo: *

Drew McIntyre vs. Kaval: ***

Thursday, November 11, 2010

11/11/10 Impact

Robbie E. & Cookie vs. Jay Lethal & Taylor Wilde: -*

Samoa Joe vs. Gunner & Murphy: DUD

Kazarian vs. Rob Van Dam: *

AJ Styles vs. Stevie Richards (TV Title): **

Matt Morgan vs. James Storm, Robert Roode, & Douglas Williams: *3/4
_________________

Seems like Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer both liked the Tara/Mickie match from Turning Point, each giving it ***1/4. I respect their ratings, but I personally didn't like it that much.

I'm out visiting friends in Minneapolis for the weekend. Superstars and Smackdown will likely be late.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

11/9/10 NXT

A.J. vs. Nikki Bella: *

Naomi vs. Aksana: *1/2
______________

Here are the official remaining NXT Rookie Divas' records as of 11/9/10:
A.J.: 4-2
Naomi: 4-2
Kaitlyn: 2-2
Aksana: 2-4
______________

Rookie Diva Challenge Wins as of 11/9/10:
Kaitlyn: 1 (Arm Wrestling)
A.J.: 1 (High School Photo)
Aksana: 0
Naomi: 0

NOTE: Rookie diva with the most challenge wins by the end of next week is immune from elimination at the end of next week's show.
______________

Arm Wrestling Challenge Notes:
Aksana is much stronger than I thought; she held on a lot longer than Naomi did against Kaitlyn. A challenge tailor-made for Kaitlyn to win.
______________

High School Photo Challenge Notes:
This was actually pretty interesting. A.J. knows her photos for sure.

11/8/10 RAW

Eve Torres, Nikki Bella, & Brie Bella vs. Maryse, Alicia Fox, & Tamina: 1/2*

Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith: *

Goldust vs. Ted DiBiase: *1/4

John Cena vs. David Otunga: *1/2

Sheamus vs. Santino Marella: N/A

Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Michael McGillicutty, & Husky Harris vs. Randy Orton, The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, & R-Truth: **3/4
_________________

I would seriously watch the Santino/Kozlov/Sheamus "Tea Time" segment. That was actually pretty good.

Monday, November 8, 2010

10/29/10 Bushido

Chuck Taylor vs. Arik Cannon vs. Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano: Four-way freestyle contests are pretty awesome to me, basically because it's an awesome spotfest. Loved this one just as much as previous freestyles. Virtually no downtime in the match and the crowd was loving it just as much as me. ***1/2

Homicide vs. Rich Swann: Crowd reaction was OK, but it seemed pretty basic and slow at times. Then again, it is pretty hard to follow up a match where virtually every move was impactful or crazy awesome. Swann showed some pretty good stuff here, and at least it sorta got better at the end. **1/2

Masato Yoshino vs. Austin Aries: I liked this match. Slow again at the beginning, but really picked up with some great stuff as the match went on. Not the greatest match ever, but it showcased both wrestler's talents. **3/4

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jon Moxley (I Quit): Very nice, bloody match. Great back story to this match. Jacobs bled real badly in this one. And now I will never forget the spike to the nuts. Wow. ****

Brodie Lee & Akebono vs. Asyrian Portal: The match was horrible. The only reason it's not negative stars is because Akebono getting hypnotized and dancing was at least somewhat entertaining. DUD

Yamato & Akira Tozawa vs. CIMA & Genki Horiguchi: Excellent match there. Weird though, the crowd loved it but wasn't as vocal as previous DGUSA crowds. I guess the change of venue does matter quite a bit. Nice hard-hitting action with a bunch of false finishes. ***3/4

BxB Hulk vs. Shingo (Open the Freedom Gate Title): Another hard-hitting match with a bunch of crowd reaction. Several great false finishes. Barely the best match of the night, in my book. ****1/4
_________________

MVPs: Jacobs and Moxley. Any match with that much bleeding and a spike-to-nuts spot should automatically win MVP honors.

Overall Rating: The show was excellent. I like the idea of stables to help with storylines. Also, stables help build new stars, which WWE and TNA are not doing well at. If the Brodie Lee/Akebono tag match never happened, the show would have been better.

One more thing: if CIMA and Yoshino can speak pretty damn good English, why can't people like Khali learn? ***3/4

Sunday, November 7, 2010

11/7/10 Turning Point

Robbie E. vs. Jay Lethal (X-Division Title): Crowd was definitely on Lethal's side. Good stuff from Lethal, while Robbie had average offense at best. Interference was predictable, and Robbie has one of the lamest finishers ever. *3/4

Mickie James vs. Tara: Looks like we have a potential good feud on our hands. This started out a match, but just turned into a brawl at the end with no clear winner. For that reason, I felt like it doesn't deserve two stars from me. However, it was good for what it was: advance the storyline. *1/2

Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Brother Ray & Brother Devon (Tag Team Titles): I loved the buildup to this match. It was perfect, because everyone knows these two teams are fantastic. Why waste time on free TV to put them in any type of "warmup" match? Just let these two go at it at the PPV. It's a lost art these days with multiple free TV shows in between PPVs. The crowd was pretty much going apeshit. A couple of nice false finishes, although I have to say, it got slightly flat at the very end with all the "confusion" on the 3-D kickout. ***3/4

Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer: The match was not bad, but pretty slow. Crowd was in it at times, but appeared dead for others. Good counters, and Dreamer fought through that wrist injury very well. *3/4

AJ Styles, Kazarian, Douglas Williams, James Storm, & Robert Roode vs. Raven, Rhino, Stevie Richards, Brian Kendrick, & Sabu: The person that gets pinned or submits is fired from TNA. The fact that James Storm seemed concerned over Kendrick for a little while makes it appear it was a legit injury. Match was slow and pretty normal until the spotfest at the end. Sabu getting pinned was not a surprise. *1/2

Abyss vs. D'Angelo Dinero (Lumberjack): So the lumberjacks were the Pope's friends and family. Bischoff stirs more controversy with seemingly paying off Dinero's brother and the rest of the congregation. Good storytelling, average match at best. *1/2

Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe: Again, a very slow match with a dirty ending. Really, now? The crowd was pretty dead except for a couple points where Joe was on offense. I liked the rapid chops anyway. Not something I care to watch again. *1/2

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Morgan (World Title): I like that Hardy's move is called the "Twist of Hate" now. But again, this match was horrible. Much of the match was too slow, and I felt like there were times where both appeared lost. I have no clue if the ref screwed up on the count after the Carbon Footprint, or if Hardy really was supposed to kick out and didn't because he really got hit pretty good with the boot. Nevertheless, the crowd was just not there, and that would kill virtually any match. I get that TNA probably wants to say it took three Twist of Hates to finish Morgan, but the match was just plain sloppy. *1/4
_________________

MVPs: Team 3D and the Guns. Great farewell match.

Overall Rating: In my opinion, the show was pretty bad. Aside from the Team 3D and the Guns, most everything else was forgettable or confusing as hell. The last three matches were average to below average, not what I would expect anyone to be showing on a PPV, let alone the high midcarders and main eventers.

Nice waste of three hours there, TNA. You're bleeding money by spending it on B-show or C-show actors and actresses, and also not giving the wrestling talent the time, storylines, or even health insurance coverage they desperately need. As a viewer, this was a hard show to watch. When I read about how things really work in the business, it sickens me to view the show. *1/2

Friday, November 5, 2010

11/5/10 Smackdown

Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge: **1/4

Dolph Ziggler vs. JTG: 1/2*

MVP vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre: **1/2

Vickie Guerrero vs. Kaitlyn: -*1/2

Tyler Reks vs. Chris Masters: *

Kane, Edge, The Big Show, Kofi Kingston, & Alberto Del Rio vs. David Otunga, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Michael McGillicutty, & Husky Harris: **

11/4/10 Impact

Sarita vs. Velvet Sky: *1/4

Shannon Moore, Jesse Neal, & Mickie James vs. Max Buck, Jeremy Buck, & Tara: *3/4

AJ Styles vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Rhino (TV Title): *

Kazarian vs. Douglas Williams: *1/2

Abyss vs. D'Angelo Dinero: N/A

Matt Morgan vs. Eric Bischoff: N/A

11/4/10 Superstars

Jack Swagger vs. Kaval: **1/2

Luke Gallows vs. Vance Archer: *

Gail Kim vs. Alicia Fox: *1/2

Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Mark Henry: 3/4*

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

11/2/10 NXT

Kelly Kelly vs. Alicia Fox: 1/2*
______________

Here are the official remaining NXT Rookie Divas' records as of 11/2/10:
A.J.: 3-2
Naomi: 3-2
Kaitlyn: 2-2
Aksana: 2-3
Maxine: 1-4

Oh, no rookie divas wrestled tonight. That's nothing new....
______________

Rookie Diva Challenge Wins as of 11/2/10:
Naomi: 3 (Power of the Punch; Who's That Body; Limbo)
A.J.: 2 (Name That Tune, Kissing)
Kaitlyn: 2 (Costume; Find the Flag)
Maxine: 1 (Halloween Candy Eating)
Aksana: 0

NOTE: Naomi won the most challenges (3) this last go-around and was immune from elimination tonight.
______________

Kissing Challenge Notes:
I'd show A.J. what I got. Otherwise, let's move on.
______________

Find the Flag Challenge Notes:
Well, that was a waste of 30 seconds. Moving on....
______________

Second Elimination:
Maxine eliminated. Not really a surprise here, either, as she basically had nothing going for her other than getting into spats with Hornswoggle. I think Aksana would be the next to go; haven't seen much from her lately.

Oh, we only have four more weeks of this? Sweet! Then we can revive Tough Enough! Is it bad that I am enjoying Josh and Cole bashing NXT on the air?

Monday, November 1, 2010

11/1/10 RAW

Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel vs. Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith: *1/4

Sheamus vs. Vladimir Kozlov: DUD

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Zack Ryder: N/A (squash)

The Big Show vs. The Miz: *1/2

Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase: *3/4

Natalya vs. Michelle McCool: *

Randy Orton & R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett & David Otunga: *1/2
__________________

Looks like Big Show lost a bunch of weight. Either that, or the black really made him look thinner.