Monday, January 31, 2011

1/31/11 RAW

Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty (Tag Team Titles): *1/2

Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd: 1/2*

Edge vs. The Miz: *3/4

Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Eve Torres & Natalya: 1/4*

The Great Khali & Mark Henry vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (Dance-Off): N/A

RAW Rumble: **1/2 (I don't know about you, but seeing Morrison keep himself alive in the match was really cool to watch)
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So WWE is hyping 2/21/11. Rumors running rampant that it could be Sting. Sting's gimmick certainly fit that teaser...we'll see.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

1/30/11 Royal Rumble

Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler (World Heavyweight Title): So if Edge used the spear, Ziggler would win the title. This was a tremendous match. Edge brought back his Edgucator submission move, too, a welcome sight to me. Wow, Killswitch FTW! Basically, this was a test for Ziggler to see if he could have a great match on a big stage. He passed with flying colors. Match of the night for me. ***3/4

The Miz vs. Randy Orton (WWE Title): The two big title matches at the start? Sure. Another solid match here with a lot of suspense. New Nexus of course made the difference. I did wish Miz went over clean, though. I'm not a fan of too many dirty wins to retain the title. ***

Natalya vs. Michelle McCool vs. Layla vs. Eve Torres (Divas Title): Changed to a Fatal Four Way at the last minute. I do like the outcome because McCool gets to protest and Natalya can still challenge for the belt because she wasn't officially pinned. All about the continuing storyline. Oh, the match? Um, didn't really watch much of it, but it was not horrid, in my book. *

Royal Rumble: Wow, Rumble already? Every 90 seconds, a new guy enters. Guess that's what happens when you have 40 superstars in this year. It was a very nice Rumble. ***1/2

Royal Rumble play-by-play below:
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Punk is #1, awesome! Corre and New Nexus brawl. Anonymous GM says everyone but Punk go to back or they are DQ'd from the Rumble. OH SHIT! Daniel Bryan is #2! WIN! Crowd marking out for both big time.

Gabriel of Corre is #3 and goes after Punk. Gabriel misses the 450. Bryan eliminates Gabriel.

Zack Ryder is #4. Striker says Ryder has the Nasty Boys trunks on, lovely. Bryan eliminates Ryder. Back to Bryan and Punk.

William Regal is #5. Great talent in the ring right now. Knee Trembler to Punk. Bryan and Regal trading Euro uppercuts. Punk kicks Regal and Bryan kicks Punk.

Ted DiBiase is #6. DiBiase tries to eliminate Punk, no success. Bryan tries to eliminate DiBiase, no success.

John Morrison is #7 and goes after everyone. Flash kick to Punk. Great move to Bryan. Morrison knocked out by Regal, BUT Morrison hangs onto the barricade. WOW, not eliminated because both feet never touched the floor. Regal eliminated. Morrison jumps onto the steps and gets back in the ring. Damn.

Yoshi Tatsu is #8 and goes after DiBiase. No New Nexus help officially for Punk yet.

Husky Harris is #9 to help Punk out. Bryan and Yoshi kicking DiBiase. Punk back suplexes Bryan.

Chavo Guerrero is #10, sixth guy now in the ring. Impressive start for Chavo. Three Amigos attempt on just about everyone in the ring. Always getting broken up on the third one, but Chavo finally gets the full Three Amigos on Bryan.

Mark Henry is #11, ruh roh. Henry eliminates Chavo. Yoshi tried to chop Henry, but gets nuked. Henry eliminates Yoshi.

JTG is #12 and goes after everyone. DiBiase and Morrison square off. Bryan and Punk square off. JTG and Henry go at it. I don't think this is every 90 seconds.

Michael McGillicutty is #13 to help Punk. McGillicutty eliminates JTG. Punk and Husky eliminate DiBiase.

Chris Masters is #14 and goes after New Nexus. Punk hides behind Husky in the corner. Masters gets Masterlock on Punk and almost eliminates Punk...not quite.

David Otunga is #15 to help Punk. New Nexus has a big presence now. New Nexus eliminates Bryan and Morrison. All four guys eliminate Henry. Only four New Nexus guys in the ring now.

Tyler Reks is #16...not a good situation for him. New Nexus beats Reks up and eliminates him. Who will be #17?

Vladimir Kozlov is #17 and immediately gets overwhelmed by New Nexus. Punk eliminates Kozlov after about 15 seconds. New Nexus dominating. Who's next?!

R-Truth is #18 and gets nuked as well. Truth is gone after about a minute-plus.

OH CRAP. Khali is back at #19! He takes out Husky! Punk begs off.

Mason Ryan of New Nexus is #20 to help Punk. Mason takes out Khali!! Punk in a crucifixion sacrificial pose.

WTF? Booker T is #21?!?!?!?! Booker gets to New Nexus! Crowd marks out for spinaroonie! Booker nearly took Punk out, but Mason eliminates Booker. That was worth the minute he was in.

JOHN CENA is #22! Great spot to put him in, since he faces New Nexus now and probably Corre later. Cena taking it to New Nexus. Cena takes out McGillicutty, Mason, and Otunga. Down to Cena and Punk right now! Crowd is going bonkers. Punk tries for GTS, countered out, double KO spot. Who is #23?

WTF? Hornswoggle is #23?! He mocks Punk, and Punk knocks Hornswoggle down. Punk back to work on Cena. Cena AAs Punk over the top! Punk is gone! Down to Cena and Hornswoggle in the ring now.

Tyson Kidd is #24...and gets double-teamed by Cena and Horny. Cena AAs Kidd. WTF, Horny does an AA to Kidd as well! Kidd is tossed out by Cena.

Heath Slater is #25. Cena does his hulking up moveset to Slater. Double Five Knuckle Shuffle to Slater. Tadpole Splash to Slater. Cena eliminates Slater.

Kofi Kingston is #26. Interesting. Starting out slow after staring at the WM27 banner. Kofi gets the upper hand for now. Horny just standing on the side.

Jack Swagger is #27, goes after Cena and Kofi. Horny helps Kofi deliver a Boomdrop to Swagger, ha.

King Sheamus is #28, here we go. Knocks down Kofi. Irish Curse to Cena. Sheamus knocks down Horny. Horny loading up for...Sweet Shin Music? Cena saves Horny. Swagger knocks down Cena. Brogue Kick eliminates Hornswoggle. OK, back to serious business.

Rey Mysterio is #29. Rey doing well. Sheamus breaks up the 619 attempt on Swagger. Trouble in Paradise to Sheamus. Swagger held on, but Rey eliminates Swagger with a 619.

Wade Barrett of the Corre is #30, goes after everyone. Wasteland attempt to Kofi broken up by Rey. Barrett gets in most of the offense early in his appearance.

Dolph Ziggler is #31! Goes after Kofi first. Kofi and Cena tried to take out Barrett. Barrett tried to take out Cena, no success.

YES! DIESEL IS #32! His hair is jet black again! Diesel going after everyone.

Drew McIntyre is #33, goes after Diesel. Sheamus and McIntyre going after Diesel. Big "Let's Go Diesel!" chants. 619 to Diesel. Barrett works on Rey. Ring is filling up, so someone big must be coming in soon.

Alex Riley is #34, coming out to Miz's music. Cena big right hand lays out Riley. Barrett eliminates Diesel, aw. Miz on commentary now. Striker late on the Diesel elimination.

Oh crap! Big Show is #35! Show and Diesel stare down at the entrance, interesting. Sheamus and McIntyre get on Show as he enters the ring. Show still gets offense in. Chokeslam to Barrett. Show eliminates Ziggler.

Ezekiel Jackson is #36. Drew McIntyre eliminated. Zeke eliminates Show! Zeke knocking everyone down but Barrett (his own Corre team member). No New Nexus members remain so no showdown between the factions.

Santino is #37! Can he last longer than one second? Yes he can! Santino gets hammered by Zeke and Sheamus. Santino out of the ring but not eliminated. Cena is the current ironman now at over 25 minutes and counting. Zeke and Barrett try to eliminate Cena.

Alberto Del Rio is #38! Ricardo announces Del Rio, of course. This entrance might take long enough that #39 comes down as well. Rey wants Del Rio in the ring. Sheamus attacks Rey. Countdown is on, and Del Rio isn't even in the ring yet! Striker said Riley got eliminated.

Randy Orton is #39! He takes down Alberto in the aisle! RKO to Del Rio. Another to Sheamus. Another to Kofi. Kofi is gone via Orton. Sheamus gone via Orton. Orton and Cena stare down!

Kane is #40! He goes after everyone. Kane gets knocked down by Zeke. Kane pulls the ropes down and eliminates Zeke! Rey takes out Kane! Barrett takes Rey out.

Cena, Barrett, Del Rio, and Kane in the final four! Cena and Barrett pair off. Orton and Del Rio square off. Cena gutwrench suplex to Barrett. Orton stomps on Del Rio in the corner. Cena and Orton stare down again! RKO and AA are both countered. Barrett takes down Cena.

Del Rio on Cena, Barrett on Orton. Cena gives an AA to Del Rio. Riley runs interference, Miz takes out Cena! Cena doesn't like it.

Orton goes after Barrett, but Del Rio goes after Orton. Snap powerslam to Barrett, Orton backbreaker to Del Rio. Barrett eliminated by Orton, but Del Rio eliminates Orton!

Oh wait! Santino wasn't eliminated! Cobra to Del Rio! Crowd pumped up!

And Santino charges Alberto!

...Santino dumped over by Del Rio!

ALBERTO DEL RIO WINS THE 2011 ROYAL RUMBLE!
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MVPs: This is a tough one. Edge and Ziggler really impressed me in the opener, and Alberto gets props for winning the Rumble. So those three are co-MVPs.

Overall Rating: The crowd was electrifying for this one. The Northeast has some awesome crowds (i.e., Boston, Philly). Del Rio was a proper pick to win. No HHH sighting here, although it might just be a matter of time before Sheamus faces him one more time.

The crowd went bonkers for Booker T and Diesel. Loved to see them in a WWE ring again. Apparently, Booker's appearance may not be a one-shot deal, as I read reports of him also announcing in the future. Four matches, but that's still fine for me. Very nice PPV overall. ***1/2

Friday, January 28, 2011

1/28/11 Smackdown

Michelle McCool & Layla vs. Kelly Kelly & Kaitlyn: 1/4*

Drew McIntyre vs. JTG: *1/2

Alberto Del Rio Royal Rumble Exhibition: N/A

Rey Mysterio & Kofi Kingston vs. Kane & Alberto Del Rio: ***

The Big Show vs. Heath Slater: N/A (squash)

Edge & Randy Orton vs. The Miz & Dolph Ziggler: *3/4

1/27/11 Superstars

Tyler Reks vs. Trent Barreta: *1/4

Primo & Zack Ryder vs. David Hart Smith & Yoshi Tatsu: **

R-Truth vs. Tyson Kidd: **1/4

Thursday, January 27, 2011

1/27/11 Impact

Angelina Love, Mickie James, & Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne, Tara, & Sarita (Elimination): *

Max Buck vs. Chris Sabin vs. Amazing Red: *3/4

Mr. Anderson vs. Matt Hardy: *

James Storm, Robert Roode, Rob Terry, Kazarian, Gunner, & Murphy vs. Kurt Angle & Crimson: N/A
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Scott Steiner back? Really now?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

1/25/11 NXT

Ted DiBiase vs. Daniel Bryan: *** (Best NXT match in its history)

Brodus Clay vs. Johnny Curtis vs. Byron Saxton vs. Derrick Bateman (Elimination): * (Nice! Brodus switches to Alberto Del Rio!)
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Here are the remaining official NXT rookie's records as of 1/25/11:
Brodus Clay: 3-2
Byron Saxton: 3-4
Johnny Curtis: 2-4
Derrick Bateman: 1-4
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Challenge Wins:
Brodus Clay: 0
Byron Saxton: 0
Derrick Bateman: 0
Johnny Curtis: 0
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Out-think the Fink Challenge (2 points if more points than Finkel):
Oh boohoo, Bateman gets docked 10 seconds. Fink still wins. No one gets immunity points.
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NXT Elimination:
Another one will be gone next week!

Monday, January 24, 2011

1/24/11 RAW

King Sheamus & Alberto Del Rio vs. John Morrison & Mark Henry: **1/4

Natalya vs. Melina (Divas Title): 3/4*

Edge vs. The Miz: **1/2

Ted DiBiase, Maryse, & Alicia Fox vs. Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella, & Nikki Bella: N/A (I won't even rate this "match"...it was what, 30 seconds? I turned around to look at the computer and then the match was over)

Husky Harris & Michael McGillcutty vs. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov: 1/2*

Wade Barrett vs. CM Punk: *

Friday, January 21, 2011

1/21/11 Smackdown

Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth: *1/2

Beth Phoenix vs. Layla: *

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes: *1/4

Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston (Amateur Wrestling): N/A

Drew McIntyre vs. Trent Barreta: *

Justin Gabriel vs. Edge: **

1/20/11 Impact

Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne vs. Sarita vs. Velvet Sky: *1/4

Matt Morgan vs. Rob Terry: N/A

Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal (X-Division Title): *1/2

Jeff Hardy vs. Tommy Dreamer: *1/4

Mr. Anderson & Rob Van Dam vs. James Storm & Robert Roode: *3/4

1/20/11 Superstars

JTG vs. Chavo Guerrero: *3/4

Chris Masters vs. Curt Hawkins: *

Primo & Zack Ryder vs. David Hart Smith & Darren Young: *1/2

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Tyson Kidd: **1/4

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

1/18/11 NXT

Chris Masters vs. Byron Saxton: *1/2

Daniel Bryan & Derrick Bateman vs. Ted DiBiase & Brodus Clay: *1/4

Ricardo Rodriguez vs. Conor O'Brian: DUD
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Here are the remaining official NXT rookie's records as of 1/18/11:
Conor O'Brian: 3-1
Brodus Clay: 2-2
Byron Saxton: 3-3
Johnny Curtis: 2-3
Derrick Bateman: 1-3
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Challenge Wins:
Derrick Bateman: 8 (Slingshot (2); Superstar Password (2); Know Your Pro (4))
Brodus Clay: 0
Byron Saxton: 0
Conor O'Brian: 0
Johnny Curtis: 0

NOTE: Bateman gets immunity this week!
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Know Your Pro Challenge (4 points):
Seeing Daniel Bryan match Bateman all the time was funny. Some answers were actually amusing.
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NXT Elimination:
Conor O'Brian was eliminated tonight. Crappy farewell speech. At least he had the best record of all the rookies (3-1) -- but his "match" with Ricardo Rodriguez was horrible. I know it was basically supposed to be a comedy match, but hell, Santino's matches are filled with comedy and they are actually good. This was just bad.

Before the show even started, I had predicted Johnny Curtis would get eliminated next. It seemed like everyone else had some sort of storyline going for them, but I just couldn't see what WWE had for Curtis. Curtis seemed pretty disinterested all night. I would say he's still next to leave.

1/17/11 RAW

Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso (Tag Team Titles): *

John Morrison vs. Daniel Bryan: **

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler: **3/4

Natalya vs. Maryse: 1/4*

John Cena vs. CM Punk: ***

Friday, January 14, 2011

1/14/11 Smackdown

Rey Mysterio & R-Truth vs. Alberto Del Rio & Cody Rhodes: **1/2

Trent Barreta vs. Drew McIntyre: *

The Big Show vs. Wade Barrett: 1/2*

Beth Phoenix vs. Michelle McCool: *1/4

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger: **

1/13/11 Superstars

Chris Masters & JTG vs. Chavo Guerrero & Curt Hawkins: **1/4

Gail Kim vs. Alicia Fox: *3/4

Yoshi Tatsu, David Hart Smith, Primo, & Darren Young vs. William Regal, Zack Ryder, Jimmy Uso, & Jey Uso: **1/2

Thursday, January 13, 2011

1/13/11 Impact

James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley (Tag Team Titles): **3/4

Angelina Love & Winter vs. Madison Rayne & Tara (Knockouts Tag Team Titles): 1/4*

Matt Morgan vs. Abyss: DUD

Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson & Rob Van Dam: *3/4

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

1/10/11 ROH

Mike Bennett vs. Nick Dinsmore: *1/2

Kyle O'Reilly & Adam Cole vs. Mike Posey & Corey Hollis: *

Roderick Strong vs. Colt Cabana: **3/4
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Yay for seeing Dinsmore in a non-Eugene role.

1/11/11 NXT

Conor O'Brian vs. Byron Saxton: *1/4

Johnny Curtis vs. Ted DiBiase: *1/2
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Here are the remaining official NXT rookie's records as of 1/11/11:
Conor O'Brian: 3-0
Brodus Clay: 2-1
Byron Saxton: 3-2
Johnny Curtis: 2-3
Derrick Bateman: 0-3
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Challenge Wins:
Derrick Bateman: 4 (Slingshot (2); Superstar Password (2))
Brodus Clay: 0
Byron Saxton: 0
Conor O'Brian: 0
Johnny Curtis: 0
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T-Shirt Slingshot Challenge (2 points):
Somewhat entertaining. Another controversy with O'Brian not being able to put the would-be-tying T-shirt in the basket. Bateman wins.
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Superstar Password Challenge (2 points)
This really wasn't Password, but more like Pyramid clue-giving. The clue giving was pretty bad, in general. Really felt too rigged for Bateman to win.
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NXT Elimination:
Will happen next week!

Monday, January 10, 2011

1/10/11 RAW

Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth: N/A (I refuse to rate this "match")

Daniel Bryan & Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase & Tyson Kidd: *

John Morrison vs. King Sheamus: ***

Randy Orton & Jerry Lawler vs. The Miz & Alex Riley: *1/2
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My thoughts on Shawn Michaels being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame? He definitely deserves it, that's for sure. It was never a question on if he would get in, but only when. I'm not totally on the bandwagon that it should have been this early (doesn't hurt to wait a year or so more), but it should at least get some more buys in for WM when all the inductees are announced again (the HOF ceremony is the night before on free TV and HBK will almost surely be the featured inductee).

I would have preferred to have all the "lesser-known" names or old-timers mentioned first, as a note.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

1/9/11 Genesis

Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal (X-Division Title): A very nice opener to the show. The two clearly have good chemistry working together. End felt a bit flat, however. **3/4

Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James (Knockouts Title): I had very little interest in this one. The pace was slow, Rayne played the underhanded or scared heel during the match, and of course, the (predictable) dirty finish. I do agree that Mickie should still chase the title a while longer. *1/4

James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley (Tag Team Titles): Yes...yes, I approve. Brought back great memories of their Best-of-Five series last year. Undoubtedly two of the best tag teams today. ****

Bully Ray vs. Brother Devon: This was basically a fight, and I have no idea if the ref was supposed to be so lenient at first on allowing the chain to be used. I find these types of matches tough to rate. All I know is that the feud will continue on. The crowd seems to like it anyway. **

Abyss vs. Douglas Williams (TV Title): So AJ Styles gets pulled (I read that it is a legit injury) and Abyss is put in the match instead. Shame, too, because you knew AJ vs. Williams would be good. Another dirty finish. What else is new? *3/4

Matt Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam: Well, well, well. Matt Hardy finally shows up in TNA after months of just making web videos and annoying many a great wrestling fan. Matt looked quite rusty out there, but that was expected. How many dirty or controversial finishes do we need here? Really now? *1/2

Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett (MMA Exhibition): Best line of the night..."Angle's gonna kill you!" There's really no way for me to rate this one. Poor job by production truck, as we basically got a good five seconds or so of Angle unwrapping the razor to blade himself. And going along with the theme of the night, can someone say dirty finish? Jarrett's got strong heat for his gimmick right now, I'll give him that. N/A

Mr. Anderson vs. Matt Morgan: The match was OK to me. We had a couple kickouts of finishing moves, as a note. The finish itself was quite lame. **

Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy (World Title): A surprise World Title match to finish the PPV. Never a good idea, in my book. Another one of those moments where you figured it would just be another squash by the heel champ, but it turned out to be anything but. Basically a match with a bunch of parties involved to try and keep the match one-on-one. Is 2011 the Year of the Asshole? *1/2
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MVPs: Beer Money vs. Guns steal the show again. Clear MVPs tonight.

Overall Rating: The show had some promise on paper, but in my view, only one match truly delivered (Beer Money/MCMG). Lethal and Kazarian was good stuff, and the Devon/Bully Ray feud got off to a decent start. The impromptu World Title match sent the fans home happy. Other than that, I saw way too many dirty/controversial finishes for my liking, so it made the faces look pretty stupid. **

Friday, January 7, 2011

1/7/11 Smackdown

Edge vs. Kane (Last Man Standing; World Heavyweight Title): ***3/4

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler (IC Title): **1/4

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler (IC Title (rematch)): N/A

Dolph Ziggler vs. The Big Show vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Cody Rhodes: ***

Michelle McCool vs. Kelly Kelly: 1/2*

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio (2 Out of 3 Falls): **1/2
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Great Smackdown! Great week for wrestling!

1/6/11 Superstars

Tyler Reks vs. JTG: *1/2

Chris Masters vs. Curt Hawkins: *

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Zack Ryder: *3/4

Tyson Kidd & Ted DiBiase vs. Daniel Bryan & Mark Henry: **3/4

1/6/11 Impact

Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. AJ Styles & Kazarian: **

Madison Rayne & Sarita vs. Mickie James & Velvet Sky: *1/4

Douglas Williams vs. Rob Terry: N/A

Jay Lethal vs. Abyss: 1/2*

Jeff Jarrett vs. Rob Van Dam (No DQ): *

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

1/3/11 ROH

Eddie Edwards vs. Mark Briscoe (TV Title): ***1/2

Mike Mondo vs. Grizzly Redwood: *3/4

Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas vs. Lance Bravado & Harlem Bravado: N/A (squash, but a cool squash anyway)

Homicide vs. Claudio Castagnoli: ***1/4

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

1/4/11 NXT

Over-The-Top-Rope WWE Pro Battle Royal: * (So Ziggler wins and trades away Novak for Byron Saxton...good move)

Byron Saxton vs. Jacob Novak: *1/4

Brodus Clay vs. Johnny Curtis: *
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Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 1/4/11:
Conor O'Brian: 2-0
Byron Saxton: 3-1
Brodus Clay: 2-1
Jacob Novak: 1-2
Johnny Curtis: 1-3
Derrick Bateman: 0-3

NOTE: Not sure what to make of the prize the winning rookie receives: a WWE Tag Team Title shot with his pro as his tag partner. It sounds good, since the rookie will not likely be main eventing anytime soon (and thus wouldn't make sense to put him in the WWE Title match just yet). But then again, I kinda liked how Daniel Bryan used his title shot to win the U.S. Title from The Miz. But then again, we're talking about Daniel Bryan....
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Challenge Wins:
Johnny Curtis: 5 (Obstacle Course (2), Power of the Punch (2), Talent Show)
Conor O'Brian: 4 (Battle of the Mic (4))
Derrick Bateman: 3 (Wheelbarrow (2), Hot Seat Trivia)
Byron Saxton: 1 (Karaoke)
Jacob Novak: 1 (Capture the Flag)
Brodus Clay: 0

NOTE: Johnny Curtis won immunity tonight for having the most immunity points.
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Battle of the Mic Challenge (4 points):
I liked that this was worth4 immunity points because mic talking is huge in WWE if you want to survive.

Round One: I thought Brodus and Curtis were bad on the first pairing. Bateman and Saxton were both decent. Novak was below average. O'Brian was good.

Round Two: Curtis spent too much time on Bateman. Bateman was good. O'Brian was also good with the snaps. O'Brian won, but I thought Bateman should have won because I felt he was more creative. Anyone can think of "Yo Mama" jokes.
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NXT Elimination:
Jacob Novak was eliminated tonight. A wrestling record of 1-2 and one immunity challenge win. To me, it was an easy elimination. The only thing else I remember about this guy is that he wears white.

I seriously want Brodus Clay or Derrick Bateman to win. Clay is intimidating and has great work ethic (from what I have read online). Bateman has serious talent and might only be considered a dark horse due to (1) Daniel Bryan being his pro and (2) his seemingly goofy (or not taking things seriously) gimmick. But Bateman's goofy gimmick is entertaining, and I like it.

Conor O'Brian has some rat gimmick I guess. Wouldn't get him to main event status by any means, I don't believe, but at least it could be good for comedy relief -- somehow.

Johnny Curtis could be considered a dark horse to win. He's won a bunch of challenges, but can he impress me on the mic and in wrestling matches?

And Byron Saxton...not sure what to make of him yet. Good talent, and he's winning, at least. His pairing with Ziggler should blossom into something, I'd think.

Monday, January 3, 2011

1/3/11 RAW

The Miz vs. John Morrison (Falls Count Anywhere; WWE Title): ****1/4 (A heck of a match here. The proper way to kick off WWE programming in 2011. These two went all out. It needed to be like this to elevate both men, and tonight it was pure gold.)

Melina, Maryse, & Alicia Fox vs. Natalya, Eve Torres, & Brie Bella: *

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

Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth: **1/2

Randy Orton vs. King Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett (Cage): ***3/4
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Amazing show. The one thing I can always count on with WWE: December through the end of Match generally has a lot of great free TV matches as they march toward WrestleMania.

Definitely the best RAW I've seen in a while.