Tuesday, August 30, 2011

8/30/11 Super Smackdown

Ratings:
John Cena vs. Wade Barrett: 1/2*

Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan: *3/4

Natalya & Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly & Alicia Fox: 1/2*

Sheamus vs. The Great Khali: DUD

Randy Orton vs. Christian (Cage; World Heavyweight Title): ***3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
A live Super Smackdown tonight! Live from Wichita, Kansas! Liked the Cena opening promo, especially when taking jabs about the Shockmaster and the XFL. Cena calls Alberto out again, but gets Ricardo Rodriguez instead (in reality, ADR has visa issues so he missed this week's shows). "You sound like two cats trying to have sex and throw up at the same time." Haha.

Match between Cena and Barrett was not really worth my time to watch...next!

Oh wow, Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara. A very good match because they got time. Sin Cara looked like he had a version of an Angle Slam. Nice win forSin Cara...he needs it more than Daniel. Looks like Sin Cara is more a heel now after decking DB after the match.

Guess it's really official now. Bourne and Kingston are Air-Boom.

Aksana is the special ring announcer. Divas of Doom in a tag match. Alicia now tagging with Kelly only because Beth and Natalya nuked Alicia a couple weeks ago. Not bad, but the crowd was mostly dead.

Contract signing between Punk and HHH for Night of Champions. Punk's crowd reaction is not as strong tonight. Whatever the case, these two are so damn good on the mic. I love it. Did HHH just say "skinny fat ass?" Yeesh. Here comes Nash! Nash even exploded on HHH...hmm.

Sheamus and Khali? Uh oh...don't like the sound of that on paper. Yeah, this match was pretty bad.

Cage match finished this show. Again, Orton and Christian got lots of time, which was awesome. Match of the night by far, and probably match of the week. They even got "this is awesome" chants! Orton scaled that cage like a cat. Vintage fighting on top of the cage! Super RKO FTW! Uh oh, here comes Mark Henry! The #1 contender nukes Orton to finish off the show.

Probably the end to the Orton/Christian feud, but what a run it was. People say it's the Summer of Punk (especially with the Cena feud -- and now HHH), but it's the Orton/Christian series of matches that really impressed me more. More quality matches on one storyline than I've seen in a very long time, probably ever.

8/30/11 NXT

Tonight was a special episode of NXT, basically looking back at past seasons and seeing how the NXT "graduates" have fared in WWE. Superstars prominently featured included Wade Barrett, AJ, and Justin Gabriel. And then, the Smackdown MITB ladder match which Daniel Bryan won.

Right now, I doubt many people care about this season of NXT -- or the overall product, for that matter. Frankly, I want this season to just be over already.

8/29/11 RAW

Ratings:
Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***1/4

CM Punk vs. The Miz: **1/2

Sin Cara vs. Jack Swagger: *1/4

Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty: *

Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly: DUD

John Cena & Sheamus vs. Christian & Mark Henry: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Well, I guess the brand extension is over, officially anyway. HHH unites both brands. Not anything new, since that's what's really gone on (off and on) for the last few years. Nash comes out to the nWo music! WTF, Nash vs. Punk at Night of Champions? Oh good grief. But damn, I love Punk's mic work.

Awesome match between Orton and Ziggler. Great chemistry in the ring. Ziggler's adopted the superkick in more of his matches. Wonder if he'd ever use that as a finisher like HBK -- or if WWE would let him.

Cena wants Alberto, but Mark Henry comes down instead. And now, enter Christian. Christian and Henry want to get Cena, but Sheamus comes down. Great White!

Nice Miz shirt. Good match between Miz and Punk, but damn that R-Truth interference....

Sin Cara time...a.k.a. Hunico. Average match with Swagger. Again, more of a shot for Sin Cara to show off flashy moves. At least Swagger got some offense in before Ziggler and Vickie got involved.

Air-Boom time! Well, that was a relatively quick match.

Divas match was short. Oh...Kelly finally lost and Brie finally won. Something like a 15-match win streak for Kelly and a 9-match losing streak for Brie. At least Beth and Natalya look real dolled up tonight. Barely much crowd reaction. Not much interest from me, either.

Main event was good. Liked hearing about Mark Henry's "Hall of Pain."

Oh, there we go! Punk vs. HHH! Sounds a lot better than having Nash in there.

Friday, August 26, 2011

8/26/11 Smackdown (Bret = GM)

Ratings:
Christian vs. Daniel Bryan: ***

Wade Barrett vs. (jobber): N/A

Sin Cara vs. Heath Slater: *1/4

Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase: ***

Kelly Kelly vs. Tamina: 1/4*

Ezekiel Jackson vs. The Great Khali: *

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Bret Hart is the GM tonight in Calgary! Woohoo! Super Smackdown next Tuesday! Christian weasels his way to getting a World Title rematch against Orton first, which irks Mark Henry. Henry gets the winner of that match.

Woohoo, Daniel Bryan on Smackdown to face Christian. DB is growing out that beard. Really love it when Bryan uses those kicks and knees.Helluva match. Back and forth stuff. Crowd really alive for it.

Barrett refuses to participate in his match against a jobber. Interesting.

So which Sin Cara shows up this week? A short spot-fest of a match here. Fun to watch, but Slater really didn't get much to do other than job here.

I really liked the Orton/DiBiase match. The go-home sequence was outstanding. Unfortunately, DiBiase is back in the doghouse. So much for the life coaching deal with Cody.

Divas match time. Obvious as to who would win this one.

Zeke vs. Khali...oh boy. Two big men usually doesn't bode well for a good match. Impressive with Zeke getting Khali in the Torture Rack. Miscommunication at the end with Khali and Mahal. Wondering if that will lead to something.

Again, I loved the new Mark Henry video package. Main event time! Loved the spot where Henry had Sheamus in the gorilla press, but Sheamus countered into a DDT. Countout win for Sheamus basically to allow Henry to get angry and nuke the Celtic Warrior post-match.

8/25/11 Impact

Ratings:
Velvet Sky, ODB, & Jackie vs. Angelina Love, Sarita, & Rosita: 3/4*

Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen: *1/4

Rob Van Dam vs. D'Angelo Dinero: *1/2

Bully Ray, Scott Steiner, & Gunner vs. AJ Styles, James Storm, & Bobby Roode (Falls Count Anywhere): **

Crimson vs. Kurt Angle: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Angle and Crimson with the war of words to start the show, then Immortal comes out. But Angle wants Crimson one-on-one. Love it.

Six-Knockout tag match was OK. So far, so good with ODB and Jackie abiding by the rules.

X-Division match time. Big letdown here with a heelish way to win.

BFG Series standings...Crimson still in the lead with 50 points. Final four go to No Surrender. But wow, now Devon is injured? Sucks. Samoa Joe has negative 10 points, good grief. And people think RVD was slipping down the list after Jerry Lynn kept costing him matches.

Pope vs. RVD. That was unique...a surfboard won the match. Nice submission win for RVD to get 10 points and get back to a tie for fourth. Heel Samoa Joe time to take out Pope! When Devon is in street clothes, it's even clearer he lost a lot of weight.

Well, Robbie E wants Rob Terry to be his bouncer. Two Robbies possibly teaming together, lovely.

Hogan saying Impact is a family show? Since when? WWE's a family show more than TNA's been. Sting's channeled his inner Goldust! Flair goes off the deep end. Expletives!

AJ/Daniels next week. This should be good.

We got another six-man BFG series tag because that's how we can get more people on the show (otherwise they will not get paid and gripe about it). At least it was Falls Count Anywhere. Remember, only the guy who gets the pin or submission gets BFG series points. Amused that they had three refs at ringside. Must note AJ seemed to tweak his knee on his somersault dive to the outside on Bully Ray. Bully Ray gets the 7 points! Mr. Anderson nukes Gunner and Steiner after the match. Bully Ray, you're next!

Crimson/Angle time. Main event intros and split chants early on. Great match here. Lots of intensity. Samoa Joe broke up a very nice match here.

8/25/11 Superstars

Ratings:
Sheamus vs. Heath Slater: *3/4

Brodus Clay vs. Pete Gibson: N/A

Justin Gabriel vs. JTG: **

Daniel Bryan vs. Drew McIntyre: ***
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Sheamus now on Superstars, huh? Not a bad match with Slater. Crowd really behind the Celtic Warrior.

Brodus Clay squashed another hometown hero, this time in Calgary. Nothing to write home about here.

Good match between Gabriel and JTG. Definitely better than I thought it would be.

Bryan and McIntyre had the best match of the show (no surprise here). I like McIntyre's music, but man, he's been stuck in midcard purgatory for a while. I guess we're supposed to forever forget about RVD telling everyone when he would cash in his MITB (did that about five years ago). Great stuff in this one.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

8/23/11 NXT

Ratings:
Trent Barreta vs. Tyson Kidd: **1/2

Maxine vs. AJ: 1/4*
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Statistics:
Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 8/23/11:
Titus O'Neil: 13-8
Darren Young: 9-14
Derrick Bateman: 4-2

Conor O'Brian: 6-6 (eliminated)
Lucky Cannon: 6-6 (eliminated)
Jacob Novak: 2-5 (eliminated)
Byron Saxton: 2-8 (eliminated)

WWE Redemption Points:
Titus O'Neil: 28 (Talk the Talk; Keg Carry; Arm Wrestling; Power of the Punch; King of the Hill; Talk the Talk Part 2; Talk the Talk Part 3; Dummy Demonstration)
Darren Young: 7 (Obstacle Course; Battle of the Mic)
Derrick Bateman: 0

Jacob Novak: 6 (Pull Through; Know Your Pro) (eliminated)
Byron Saxton: 4 (Trivia) (eliminated)
Conor O'Brian: 3 (Tag Team Turmoil) (eliminated)
Lucky Cannon: 0 (eliminated)

This Week's Challenge: None.
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Reviews/Thoughts:
This is Todd Grisham's last NXT taping; he's going to ESPN after this. Best of luck to him. We're in Calgary for this episode!

Looks like Darren Young is going against Regal next. Meanwhile, Tyson Kidd continues to see all the kanji characters. Yoshi Tatsu on the horizon there, probably.

Kidd is the hometown hero tonight against Barreta. Seriously, shouldn't NXT focus more on the rookies? Before leaving, looks like Grisham established a new way of saying someone got crotched on the ropes..."right in the capital of Thailand." Ha. Anyway, a very long match here for free TV purposes. More kanji characters distract Tyson, and Trent wins, to the dismay of the Calgary crowd. Good match, but if you want crowd reaction, look at Punk/Cena from RAW (or their other matches in the last couple months).

Wait, now two NXT diva alums get wrestling time? Not really caring for Maxine's music, but I really love the makeover. A bit slow to start, but AJ's offense got the crowd back in it. Bateman then got involved as buzzkill. Of course, Titus was too late to the party.

Speaking of Punk/Cena, WWE replayed their match from RAW to end this episode. Again, a great match.

Monday, August 22, 2011

8/22/11 RAW

Ratings:
Alberto Del Rio vs. John Morrison: **3/4

Eve Torres vs. Nikki Bella: 3/4*

Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger: 1/4*

Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty (Tag Team Titles): *1/4

John Cena vs. CM Punk: ***1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
First of all, I have recently gone back to school, so my reviews may be a heck of a lot shorter at times. It may even start reverting back to what I initially did (just rate each match without much commentary), although I will try to put some thought into PPV events.

A great opening match here. ADR and Morrison got a bunch of time to shine. A bunch of near falls and the crowd was into it.

Not much to write home about in the divasmatch. It was OK. Still setting the stage for the impending tag match between Kelly/Eve and Natalya/Beth, I guess?

Vickie Guerrero managing Jack Swagger now? I guess it could work out for Jack...he's been lost in the shuffle for a while now. Ziggler comes out unhappy, Vickie looks like she either got knocked down by accident or fell. Swagger turns his back and of course, Riley wins in about two minutes. Instant feud created between Ziggler and Swagger. Match was just meaningless otherwise.

Punk/HHH/Nash segment was awesome, especially Punk. Woohoo. I love it when Punk crosses the line.

Tag title match time. Pretty short here as well, but not bad a match. Crowd got hot at the end, at least.

John Lauranaitis continues to get screen time, this time telling HHH that Nash has been in a car accident. I guess whatever creates an explanation to get HHH off TV, right?

Hey, R-Truth in Canada? I thought he couldn't get into the country. Santino gets nuked by Miz and Truth anyway. Good heel promos from Truth and Miz.

Cena/Punk was great before the match even started. Cena's shirt got chucked back to him more than once, ha. Punk has really gotten Cena to do more chain wrestling at the start of the match, which could finally help put those "You can't wrestle!" chants to bed. I mean, if you can even be carried to such a match, that's better than what the vast majority of the population could do right now.

John Lauranaitis at ringside for the match coming back from the last commercial break...why am I not surprised he's out there? Wow, Cena broke out a crossface?! Damn. Punk hits the GTS and couldn't put Cena away, because this is Cena we're talking about here. Crowd was the hottest it was all night...a great showing here. Loved the Punk multiple elbows and the running knee. Of course, Nash reappears at the arena, showing it was all a ruse between Lauranaitis and Nash. Wanted to give it a higher rating if not for the Nash "interference." Lauranaitis trying to control Del Rio was pathetic.

A pretty good RAW this week.

Friday, August 19, 2011

8/19/11 Smackdown

Ratings:
Cody Rhodes vs. Ezekiel Jackson (IC Title): *

Justin Gabriel vs. Tyson Kidd: *3/4

Alberto Del Rio vs. Daniel Bryan: ***1/4

Kelly Kelly & AJ vs. Natalya & Alicia Fox: *1/2

20-Man Over-the-Top Rope Battle Royal: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
I like Cody Rhodes interrupting the opening segment with Orton and Long. And DiBiase gets nuked again. Poor Ted. Cody rants. Long puts him in a title match. Sounds about right to me. Average match here.

More video packages on Justin Gabriel and his return to South Africa. Guess they really are trying to get him over as a face. Crowd is still sorta lukewarm on him. In the meantime,Tyson Kidd has had a stellar year so far...it's just gone largely unnoticed by a bunch of people because guys like Orton, Christian, Punk, and even Cena have stolen the show. Not a bad match here. Wanted them to get more time, though.

Yeah! It's Del Rio time! Visiting Smackdown as the new WWE champ. Oh, it's Daniel Bryan! Cole is absolutely the most annoying during the Daniel Bryan matches. Good grief. Thank you, WWE. Give DB time in a match. Give Alberto lots of time. Loved this one. Sin Cara saves DB? Well, let's see if the new guy portraying Sin Cara will get a shot here to prove himself.

Divas match time. AJ got new ring gear. Natalya teams with Alicia Fox...wait a minute, no Beth, huh? No Divas of Doom just yet? Not a bad match here, especially for a divas match. Well, at least the point of Natalya teaming with Alicia was crystal clear by the post-match segment: Alicia was fed to the wolves in this one.

And it's battle royal time! Liked everyone going after Mark Henry early, but that didn't last long. Mark Henry got to nuke a lot of people in this one. Very good job to keep building Henry up. I think the ending was a bit improvised...felt the end was supposed to be Henry catching Sin Cara as Cara came from the top with a splash, but Henry couldn't hold on. A bit more time there before Henry took care of business, as predicted.

Not a bad show -- especially with Bryan/Del Rio leading the way tonight.

8/18/11 Impact

Ratings:
Scott Steiner vs. Devon: DUD (WTF?)

8-Man X-Division Gauntlet: **

Mickie James vs. ODB: *1/2

AJ Styles vs. Rob Van Dam: *3/4

Hernandez & Anarquia vs. James Storm & Bobby Roode (Tag Team Titles): *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
TNA is real high on Crimson, putting him in a feud with Kurt Angle. It automatically gives Crimson more prominence on TV because Angle has been that main eventer for years.

Sting opened the show with a bizarre entrance. We need not say again that Sting's crazy persona is entertaining and weird all at the same time. Whoa, Flair returns? Flair v. Sting. Flair wins, Sting retires forever. Guess we know who's winning this one.... And of course, Hogan is pissed because he knows Flair's losing and thus Sting will get Hogan.

BFG Series update: Bully Ray got 7 points over the weekend and got to second place. Steiner v. Devon tonight. Morgan says Devon has lost about 60 pounds. Not sure if I believe 60 pounds, but Devon has indeed lost some weight. By the way, that match sucked. Oh, I see. It's so Samoa Joe can beat him up and Pope can come out. I loved Joe's promo afterward. Lots of aggression in him, that's for sure.

X-Division gauntlet time. Don't blink here. Lots of fast-paced action. Very fun match. Lots of hard hitting, reversals, and flashy moves. But then again, Robbie loses in five seconds. Oops. Ion missed most of that 450 splash. Unfortunately, this match was also pretty short. Yeah, way to give eight talented guys only a blip of time. I did like the ending because it looked like Aries wouldn't have to do a damn thing, but at least they booked Sorensen to not just lay down for A-double. Nice short heel promo from Aries.

Knockouts time. Traci Brooks getting to be Knockout Law in the future again? I'd like that. ODB and Jackie come out to no music again. ODB with that kip-up is just damn impressive, especially with the...large chest she has. Interesting how Jackie didn't pull the heel tactics when she could have, and ODB obviously ends up losing. Jackie reluctantly shakes Mickie's hand again...also interesting.

BFG match again. Styles and RVD. Sounds so awesome on paper, huh? Spit chants at the start of this match. Impressive monkey flip from RVD on AJ. Lynn costs RVD another 10 points.

Flair sets a trap for Sting, but Sting takes Gunner out. Oops. Eric Young is still a part of weird segments. I don't care. Crimson/Angle promos. That was damn good. Crimson will be a big star at this rate.

Tag title match closes the show. Jarrett on commentary. So it took six people to beat Beer Money? Pathetic.

8/18/11 Superstars

Ratings:
Wade Barrett vs. Trent Barreta: *1/2

Brodus Clay vs. Jose Vargas: N/A

Santino Marella vs. Primo: *1/4

Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre: ***
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Barreta hit some nice moves in the opener. Even Barrett pulled out a dropkick, of all things. Still too short a match, though.

Brodus got to squash another guy. Big deal.

Well, Primo's wearing the traditional tights now. Not a bad match here, but it didn't really keep my attention.

They replayed the WWE title match between Alberto and Rey Mysterio. A great match there.

Main event time. Pretty loud chants for Ryder in this one. Loved this match. They had time to showcase what they could do, and they delivered.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

8/16/11 NXT

Ratings:
Tyson Kidd vs. JTG: *3/4

Darren Young vs. Matt Striker: **

Derrick Bateman vs. Titus O'Neil: *
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Statistics:
Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 8/16/11:
Titus O'Neil: 13-8
Darren Young: 9-14
Derrick Bateman: 4-2

Conor O'Brian: 6-6 (eliminated)
Lucky Cannon: 6-6 (eliminated)
Jacob Novak: 2-5 (eliminated)
Byron Saxton: 2-8 (eliminated)

WWE Redemption Points:
Titus O'Neil: 28 (Talk the Talk; Keg Carry; Arm Wrestling; Power of the Punch; King of the Hill; Talk the Talk Part 2; Talk the Talk Part 3; Dummy Demonstration)
Darren Young: 7 (Obstacle Course; Battle of the Mic)
Derrick Bateman: 0

Jacob Novak: 6 (Pull Through; Know Your Pro) (eliminated)
Byron Saxton: 4 (Trivia) (eliminated)
Conor O'Brian: 3 (Tag Team Turmoil) (eliminated)
Lucky Cannon: 0 (eliminated)

This Week's Challenge: None.
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Reviews/Thoughts:
I shook my head at the opening segment. That's really all I have to say. Promise ring...a Ring Pop? Well...then again, thank you, Derrick Bateman. I'm digging the heel Bateman style. And damn, I love Maxine's new look.

Average match between JTG and Kidd. I was more interested about the Japanese symbol on the Tron. I guess Kidd's feud with Yoshi Tatsu is far from over.

Striker wrestles again! Very good showing here. Striker looked strong, D-Young looked good. Props to both.

Maxine's on-camera role now is to be Bateman's girlfriend. Hey, I'm all for it. Two more NXT diva alums get screen time, and it may get WWE fans to notice them for future purposes as well. Divas division is not necessarily strong anyway (and hasn't really been probably since Trish, Lita, and Victoria a.k.a. Tara were around in WWE). Average match here. Point was to reinforce Maxine's alliance with Bateman anyway.

The last part of NXT was a replay of the WWE Title match (Alberto/Mysterio) from RAW.