Ratings:
Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen vs. Alex Shelley vs. Zema Ion (Ladder): **
Hernandez vs. Jesse Neal: N/A
Madison Rayne vs. Tara: 1/4*
D'Angelo Dinero vs. Mr. Anderson: DUD
Bobby Roode vs. AJ Styles: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Sting opens the show and talks about Angle trying to drive a wedge through Fortune. He calls out Roode...Bobby will do whatever it takes to become the champ, but he wants Sting to take care of Hogan. AJ comes out, then Angle. Angle promises a title shot to AJ if Styles beats Roode tonight. Oh yeah, here we go.
Aries on commentary for the X-Division ladder match. Pretty exciting here...crowd very much alive for this one. Aries is pissed.
Jeff and Karen Jarrett confront Kazarian. They go to the ring to publicly call out Kaz and Traci Brooks. Jeff brings up Kaz's release a while back and Jeff eventually brought him back. Insults fly from Jarrett, and Kaz attacks Jeff. Traci and Karen go at it. Crowd approves. Gunner comes out to help Jarrett. F-5 to Kaz.
They replay Ink Inc's attack on Mexican America last week at the tattoo shop. Jesse takes on Hernandez in this one, but Mexican America attacks from behind. Brawling on the outside, still no bell. Sarita still has the mask on. Shannon Moore taken out with a Hernandez top-rope splash, then Jesse suffers the same fate. Spray-painted backs for Ink Inc. Reminds me of nWo days.
Flair is pissed at Hogan, probably about Hogan's impending announcement. Hulk's made up his mind.
Replaying the evolution of Tara's storyline relationship with Madison Rayne. Queen's Qualifier between the two is next.
Crimson shows up to the Impact Zone, probably to cut a promo again or something.
Knockouts time. Tara out in a red skirt tonight. Interesting spot where Madison kicks Hebner but Earl thinks it's Tara doing it. Madison sucking up to Hebner. Finally Madison gets caught and Hebner lets all hell break loose. Madison eventually cheats to win.
Daniels still refuses to face AJ at Bound For Glory and leaves the building.
Crimson promo. He's ready and wants Joe now. Crimson sprints up the ramp and spears Joe. Brawling! Joe whacks Crimson's injured ankle into the barricade and nut-kicks Crimson. Heelhook to Crimson. Matt Morgan out to chase Joe away.
Pope and Anderson in a match now. Who knows how many face and heel turns these two have had over the last year. A bit sloppy in the beginning, in my opinion. Crowd marginally into it. Devon's sons are in the front row as usual. Anderson gets into an argument with them. Devon is out now and is pissed at his sons and at Pope. Anderson in the ring, but Bully Ray nukes Anderson with a kendo stick. Three-count. What the bloody hell was this?
Devon still pissed at his sons.
Bobby Roode video package building up how he's been wanting this shot for years. Family moments are shown to really amp up that whole "I'm the underdog babyface that really wants the crowd support and will overcome the odds and win" dealie.
AJ and Roode in a great match here. Styles went after Roode's leg very nicely. Crowd really into this one as well. Excellent end sequence.
Hogan's announcement ends the show. Hogan getting the crowd behind him...Sting is in the back. Hogan's basically calling it a career and thanking the fans for their support. Formal announcement and celebration in Knoxville next week. Will this lead to something? I know Hogan's not gonna wrestle anymore, but something has to occupy Sting after this.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
9/27/11 NXT
Ratings:
Jinder Mahal vs. Yoshi Tatsu: *
Tyson Kidd vs. Percy Watson: *
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. JTG & Darren Young: **1/2
Tyson Kidd vs. Percy Watson: *
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. JTG & Darren Young: **1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
I've stopped caring about the stats and the Redemption Points. Just pointless right now to even keep track of that. Will this season ever end?
JTG and Darren Young run their mouths at the start. Usos come out in street clothes. Tag match later tonight!
Yoshi still with his Nintendo-sounding music and intimidating ring gear. Mahal's been demoted to NXT now, apparently? Average match here, nice to see Mahal get a win for a change.
Hornswoggle bids farewell to AJ and Titus, stating in a letter that he's going to Smackdown. Thing is, AJ brings up a good point...she's on Smackdown as well.
Percy Watson comes out to zero pop. Tyson Kidd gets a very small reaction...probably closer to zero reaction as well. Nice agility and physicality from both guys in this one. A bit too short to really get a real good score, though.
We're over halfway into the show, and none of the NXT talent has wrestled yet. Pathetic.
Average promo from Mahal. Not horrid by any means, but not a mind-blowing one.
Main event tag match between Usos and D-Young/JTG closes the show. They got a good amount of time on this one. Great stuff here.
Wait, WTF? Now Hawkins and Reks attack the Usos? Why does the midcard talent invade NXT like this? At this rate, who gives a crap about the whole "Redemption" season anymore?
I didn't see Bateman or Maxine this episode. Either I fast-forwarded through their part, or they really weren't booked for it, I guess. Probably didn't miss much there anyway.
JTG and Darren Young run their mouths at the start. Usos come out in street clothes. Tag match later tonight!
Yoshi still with his Nintendo-sounding music and intimidating ring gear. Mahal's been demoted to NXT now, apparently? Average match here, nice to see Mahal get a win for a change.
Hornswoggle bids farewell to AJ and Titus, stating in a letter that he's going to Smackdown. Thing is, AJ brings up a good point...she's on Smackdown as well.
Percy Watson comes out to zero pop. Tyson Kidd gets a very small reaction...probably closer to zero reaction as well. Nice agility and physicality from both guys in this one. A bit too short to really get a real good score, though.
We're over halfway into the show, and none of the NXT talent has wrestled yet. Pathetic.
Average promo from Mahal. Not horrid by any means, but not a mind-blowing one.
Main event tag match between Usos and D-Young/JTG closes the show. They got a good amount of time on this one. Great stuff here.
Wait, WTF? Now Hawkins and Reks attack the Usos? Why does the midcard talent invade NXT like this? At this rate, who gives a crap about the whole "Redemption" season anymore?
I didn't see Bateman or Maxine this episode. Either I fast-forwarded through their part, or they really weren't booked for it, I guess. Probably didn't miss much there anyway.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
9/26/11 RAW
Ratings:
10-Man Battle Royal (IC Title): *3/4
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. Natalya & Beth Phoenix: *
Mark Henry vs. The Great Khali: N/A
John Cena vs. Christian: 1/2*
Dolph Ziggler vs. Zack Ryder (U.S. Title): 1/2*
Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, & Zack Ryder vs. Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & Mason Ryan: *3/4
CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio: ***1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Liked the opening segment with HHH, Ziggler, Cody, and Christian.
Battle Royal time for the IC Title. Didn't take long for two Sin Caras to appear. Good crowd reaction throughout. Christian of course costs Sheamus the title.
Natalya and Beth...the Sisters of Destruction. I like it. Natalya with great moves in the ring. Average here.
Henry squashes Khali...nice.
Time for Cena's match with Christian. Nice promo from Cena. Alberto and Punk (with announcer's jacket) on commentary! Christian now billed at 199 pounds...guess the sub-200-pound fad is in full force! Well, that didn't take long...basically all hell broke loose.
U.S. Title match! Good crowd reaction for Ryder. Swagger gets involved and helps Ziggler retain. Air-Boom comes out and take out Swagger. Teddy Long comes out and basically makes a 2-on-3 handicap match because Vickie couldn't find a third person for her team. Mason Ryan comes out to join Ziggler and Swagger! Great choice. Oops! Ryan takes out Swagger and Ziggler! Ryder wins! Ryder wins!
So is David Otunga gonna take on more of a lawyer role now? Might be the best thing for him.
Great main event between Punk and Del Rio. Nice ending with the cell lowering. Alberto with chair shots to get the upper hand. Guess Alberto's not winning on Sunday.
10-Man Battle Royal (IC Title): *3/4
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. Natalya & Beth Phoenix: *
Mark Henry vs. The Great Khali: N/A
John Cena vs. Christian: 1/2*
Dolph Ziggler vs. Zack Ryder (U.S. Title): 1/2*
Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, & Zack Ryder vs. Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & Mason Ryan: *3/4
CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio: ***1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Liked the opening segment with HHH, Ziggler, Cody, and Christian.
Battle Royal time for the IC Title. Didn't take long for two Sin Caras to appear. Good crowd reaction throughout. Christian of course costs Sheamus the title.
Natalya and Beth...the Sisters of Destruction. I like it. Natalya with great moves in the ring. Average here.
Henry squashes Khali...nice.
Time for Cena's match with Christian. Nice promo from Cena. Alberto and Punk (with announcer's jacket) on commentary! Christian now billed at 199 pounds...guess the sub-200-pound fad is in full force! Well, that didn't take long...basically all hell broke loose.
U.S. Title match! Good crowd reaction for Ryder. Swagger gets involved and helps Ziggler retain. Air-Boom comes out and take out Swagger. Teddy Long comes out and basically makes a 2-on-3 handicap match because Vickie couldn't find a third person for her team. Mason Ryan comes out to join Ziggler and Swagger! Great choice. Oops! Ryan takes out Swagger and Ziggler! Ryder wins! Ryder wins!
So is David Otunga gonna take on more of a lawyer role now? Might be the best thing for him.
Great main event between Punk and Del Rio. Nice ending with the cell lowering. Alberto with chair shots to get the upper hand. Guess Alberto's not winning on Sunday.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
9/23/11 Smackdown
Ratings:
Sheamus vs. Heath Slater: 1/2*
Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel: *
Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs.AJ & Kaitlyn: 1/2*
Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes: **
The Great Khali vs. Jinder Mahal: DUD
Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan: *1/4
Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: *1/4
Mark Henry vs. Christian (Lumberjack; World Heavyweight Title): *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Lauranaitis gets everyone to ringside. While Lauranaitis was talking, all I really could think about was who was portraying Sin Cara during that segment (since I didn't see two of them out there). I'd probably just go with the original (Mistico). Mark Henry gets introduced and talks, only to be interrupted by HHH. Christian then comes down to suck up to HHH and get "one more match." Christian runs his mouth too much...HHH makes it a lumberjack match...against "you know who." Oops. Liked that segment.
Sheamus nukes Slater. When calling for that Brogue Kick, he reminded me of the Berserker. Yeah, old-school fans will remember that guy. Meanwhile, Christian tries to get Khali to side with him. But all Khali knows is that Christian is small. Yup, awesome!
Short divas match here. Not horrible, I'll say that.
Time for Orton and Cody to go at it. DQ finish here. Apparently we didn't see the part where Cody gets busted open post-match.
I didn't care for Mahal and Khali. Period.
Now, a match I care about. Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara! Sin Cara #2 gets the win behind the ref's back. Good storyline progression there.
Frankly, the last two matches were average again. I liked the spot where Henry takes out the Smackdown locker room. Gotta make Henry look that much stronger! As predicted, it's Henry vs. Orton at Hell in a Cell.
Sheamus vs. Heath Slater: 1/2*
Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel: *
Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs.AJ & Kaitlyn: 1/2*
Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes: **
The Great Khali vs. Jinder Mahal: DUD
Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan: *1/4
Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: *1/4
Mark Henry vs. Christian (Lumberjack; World Heavyweight Title): *1/4
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Lauranaitis gets everyone to ringside. While Lauranaitis was talking, all I really could think about was who was portraying Sin Cara during that segment (since I didn't see two of them out there). I'd probably just go with the original (Mistico). Mark Henry gets introduced and talks, only to be interrupted by HHH. Christian then comes down to suck up to HHH and get "one more match." Christian runs his mouth too much...HHH makes it a lumberjack match...against "you know who." Oops. Liked that segment.
Sheamus nukes Slater. When calling for that Brogue Kick, he reminded me of the Berserker. Yeah, old-school fans will remember that guy. Meanwhile, Christian tries to get Khali to side with him. But all Khali knows is that Christian is small. Yup, awesome!
Short divas match here. Not horrible, I'll say that.
Time for Orton and Cody to go at it. DQ finish here. Apparently we didn't see the part where Cody gets busted open post-match.
I didn't care for Mahal and Khali. Period.
Now, a match I care about. Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara! Sin Cara #2 gets the win behind the ref's back. Good storyline progression there.
Frankly, the last two matches were average again. I liked the spot where Henry takes out the Smackdown locker room. Gotta make Henry look that much stronger! As predicted, it's Henry vs. Orton at Hell in a Cell.
9/22/11 Impact
Ratings:
Mickie James vs. Miss Tessmacher: 1/2*
Austin Aries vs. Jesse Sorensen: *1/2
Bully Ray & Jerry Lynn vs. Mr. Anderson & Rob Van Dam: *1/2
Kurt Angle vs. James Storm: ***1/2
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Real life on TV. As Traci Brooks gets chewed out by Karen Angle, Kazarian steps in. As for the Knockouts match, it didn't really keep my attention too much. Tessmacher really had her head driven into the mat on the finisher.
Al Snow and Jeff Hardy backstage. Al's there for Jeff and gives him sound advice.
X-Division title time. Sorensen got his shot by winning at No Surrender. X-Division now has a 225-lb weight limit? So much for the old X-Division credo. Kash comes down and gets involved, costing Sorensen. Cheap win for Aries as predicted.
Mexican America at a tattoo parlor. Of course, they're jumped by Ink Inc. Maybe Jesse and Shannon can bring needles with them wherever they go, now that we know Anarquia is afraid of them.
Jeff and Matt Morgan backstage. Matt reveals he used to be addicted to painkillers and has almost been clean for five years. One last chance from Matt. On the other hand, Kurt doesn't want Jeff here. Good segments.
Angle wants Roode to face James Storm tonight, but Storm wants Angle tonight instead.
Tag match next. Well, it's actually a handicap match because RVD got taken out earlier. Heels cheated to win. Not surprised....
I'm liking the arrogant, heel Daniels. This is only gonna lead to more matches with AJ Styles, which I have no problems with.
Bombshell from Hogan next week. At least they know how to keep people like me interested.
Main event intros for Angle/Storm. Angle's continued to slim down...I'd put him probably closer to the 200-pound mark right now, not 225. Liked the mat wrestling to start. Crowd was into it. Didn't like that the match just ended in what I'd say was a no-contest, but the match was great.
Mickie James vs. Miss Tessmacher: 1/2*
Austin Aries vs. Jesse Sorensen: *1/2
Bully Ray & Jerry Lynn vs. Mr. Anderson & Rob Van Dam: *1/2
Kurt Angle vs. James Storm: ***1/2
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Real life on TV. As Traci Brooks gets chewed out by Karen Angle, Kazarian steps in. As for the Knockouts match, it didn't really keep my attention too much. Tessmacher really had her head driven into the mat on the finisher.
Al Snow and Jeff Hardy backstage. Al's there for Jeff and gives him sound advice.
X-Division title time. Sorensen got his shot by winning at No Surrender. X-Division now has a 225-lb weight limit? So much for the old X-Division credo. Kash comes down and gets involved, costing Sorensen. Cheap win for Aries as predicted.
Mexican America at a tattoo parlor. Of course, they're jumped by Ink Inc. Maybe Jesse and Shannon can bring needles with them wherever they go, now that we know Anarquia is afraid of them.
Jeff and Matt Morgan backstage. Matt reveals he used to be addicted to painkillers and has almost been clean for five years. One last chance from Matt. On the other hand, Kurt doesn't want Jeff here. Good segments.
Angle wants Roode to face James Storm tonight, but Storm wants Angle tonight instead.
Tag match next. Well, it's actually a handicap match because RVD got taken out earlier. Heels cheated to win. Not surprised....
I'm liking the arrogant, heel Daniels. This is only gonna lead to more matches with AJ Styles, which I have no problems with.
Bombshell from Hogan next week. At least they know how to keep people like me interested.
Main event intros for Angle/Storm. Angle's continued to slim down...I'd put him probably closer to the 200-pound mark right now, not 225. Liked the mat wrestling to start. Crowd was into it. Didn't like that the match just ended in what I'd say was a no-contest, but the match was great.
9/22/11 Superstars
Ratings:
Alex Riley vs. Primo: *1/4
Mason Ryan vs. Drew McIntyre: *
Brodus Clay vs. Joey Gray: N/A
Ted DiBiase vs. Tyson Kidd: ***1/2
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Primo's still with the company? Never woulda guessed. Not bad here. A-Bomb wins it for A-Ry.
Battle of the UK here. Ryan from Wales and McIntyre from Scotland. I think Ryan looks better without all that flowing hair, but then again, WWE is probably still trying to avoid the "Batista" chants. Average stuff here, crowd was not as alive as the first match.
Brodus kills another skinny hometown hero. Not worth your time to watch this one.
Main event time with two promising young stars in Kidd and DiBiase. They really delved into the historical stuff here (Stu Hart and Iron Mike DiBiase, then Bret Hart and the Million Dollar Man). A very good match here. They got a bunch of time, and it was a back-and-forth physical affair.
Alex Riley vs. Primo: *1/4
Mason Ryan vs. Drew McIntyre: *
Brodus Clay vs. Joey Gray: N/A
Ted DiBiase vs. Tyson Kidd: ***1/2
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Primo's still with the company? Never woulda guessed. Not bad here. A-Bomb wins it for A-Ry.
Battle of the UK here. Ryan from Wales and McIntyre from Scotland. I think Ryan looks better without all that flowing hair, but then again, WWE is probably still trying to avoid the "Batista" chants. Average stuff here, crowd was not as alive as the first match.
Brodus kills another skinny hometown hero. Not worth your time to watch this one.
Main event time with two promising young stars in Kidd and DiBiase. They really delved into the historical stuff here (Stu Hart and Iron Mike DiBiase, then Bret Hart and the Million Dollar Man). A very good match here. They got a bunch of time, and it was a back-and-forth physical affair.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
9/20/11 NXT
Ratings:
AJ vs. Maxine: *1/2
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Derrick Bateman: **1/4
JTG & Darren Young vs. Percy Watson & Titus O'Neil: *3/4
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Derrick Bateman: **1/4
JTG & Darren Young vs. Percy Watson & Titus O'Neil: *3/4
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Statistics:
Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 9/20/11:
Titus O'Neil: 15-9
Darren Young: 11-15
Derrick Bateman: 4-5
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:
Percy Watson in a suit to start the show off...looking good. Hosting Showtime! His guest is Titus. Titus also coming out in a nice suit. JTG and Darren Young interrupt. My God, this show's been going on for 30weeks? We're never getting to season 6! Titus and Percy clean house.
AJ and Maxine tango again. Loving Maxine's outfit. Announcers note that AJ is 0-2 against Maxine, so does this mean AJ wins this time? This was actually a decent match. Here...Shining Wizard FTW!
Maxine stirring up trouble to separate AJ and Hornswoggle while Bateman and Tyson Kidd talk strategy for Bateman's match against Yoshi. Speaking of Yoshi, he seriously needs new music for his new ring gear. Yoshi's still got the happy music, but all that face paint usually tells me there is a more serious, dark side.
Yoshi and Bateman had a pretty physical match. Bateman looked pretty good, but Yoshi carried him to that match. Kidd interfered to stop everything...sucks.
Titus and AJ are talking and they hug at the end, which was the perfect time for Hornswoggle to come on in. Gotta keep that storyline going, I guess -- since this season's NEVER ending at this rate....
Time for the main event. Love Percy's agility and incredible leaping ability. He shoulda also been teaming with Kofi Kingston. This was a pretty long match for free TV (or I guess webcast) standards. Percy needs work on selling the low bridge. D-Young, impressive gutbuster for the win. Usos are back! They clean house. Interesting. Nice Superfly splash. Real high praise from Regal at the end.
AJ and Maxine tango again. Loving Maxine's outfit. Announcers note that AJ is 0-2 against Maxine, so does this mean AJ wins this time? This was actually a decent match. Here...Shining Wizard FTW!
Maxine stirring up trouble to separate AJ and Hornswoggle while Bateman and Tyson Kidd talk strategy for Bateman's match against Yoshi. Speaking of Yoshi, he seriously needs new music for his new ring gear. Yoshi's still got the happy music, but all that face paint usually tells me there is a more serious, dark side.
Yoshi and Bateman had a pretty physical match. Bateman looked pretty good, but Yoshi carried him to that match. Kidd interfered to stop everything...sucks.
Titus and AJ are talking and they hug at the end, which was the perfect time for Hornswoggle to come on in. Gotta keep that storyline going, I guess -- since this season's NEVER ending at this rate....
Time for the main event. Love Percy's agility and incredible leaping ability. He shoulda also been teaming with Kofi Kingston. This was a pretty long match for free TV (or I guess webcast) standards. Percy needs work on selling the low bridge. D-Young, impressive gutbuster for the win. Usos are back! They clean house. Interesting. Nice Superfly splash. Real high praise from Regal at the end.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
9/19/11 RAW
Ratings:
Sheamus, Justin Gabriel, Kofi Kingston, & Evan Bourne vs. Christian, Wade Barrett, David Otunga, & Michael McGillicutty: *1/4
Alberto Del Rio vs. John Morrison: DUD
Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes: N/A
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. Natalya & Beth Phoenix: DUD
Zack Ryder vs. Dolph Ziggler: 1/4*
John Cena & CM Punk vs. The Miz & R-Truth: **
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Live in Cleveland! Punk starts the show, selling the beatdown from Night of Champions. Uh oh, Punk agrees with Truth and Miz...there is a conspiracy! HHH interrupts. Alberto deserves a rematch, and so does Punk. So at Hell in a Cell, it's a Triple Threat HIAC match! HHH doesn't mind going through Punk again. Punk agrees it's not HHH. John Lauranaitis comes out, hoarse voice and all. Punk blames Lauranaitis and is at the center of the conspiracy. Lauranaitis "future endeavors" Punk, but HHH vetoes that quickly. HHH says someone's getting fired tonight. Uh oh.
8-man tag starts the wrestling portion of the night. Average here. Good ending to further the deal between Sheamus and Christian.
Alberto wants Vince back. HHH wishes him luck in that HIAC match. Alberto comes out in his ride tonight. Ricardo announcing him, of course. ADR hit a stunner on Morrison, but got no reaction from the crowd. Submission win. That was a fast match, about a minute.
Hugh Jackman is the guest star tonight. Vickie interrupts...announcers calling her a wolverine tonight (the whole Ohio State/Michigan thing, even though they're not in Columbus). Vickie hits on Jackman. Ziggler is just not believing his ears. Ziggler says he doesn't like Jackman interrupting his celebration time. Cleveland is the city of underdogs, and Ziggler says they will lose to him. Jackman will take an underdog and get him to win against Ziggler. "We want Ryder!" chants start! Jackman agrees! Ziggler vs. Ryder tonight!
Sin Cara #1 (Mistico) is in action tonight. Cody then comes out. Then Sin Cara #2 (Hunico, the slightly bigger of the two) comes out. Announcers are confused. We get a lucha libre show between the two Sin Caras. No match here.
Awesome Truth both apologize to HHH. HHH accepts the apology, but they are both fined $250,000. Oh, and they face Punk and Cena in tag action tonight.
Jim Ross interviews Henry in the ring. Henry looks at JR and basically tells JR to apologize for not having faith in Henry and for wanting to fire Mark. JR apologizes. Mark hates asskissers and assaults JR. King intervenes. King gets nuked. World's Strongest Slamin the ring, then through the announce table. Sucks to be him.
Divas time. KK and Eve are getting cheered tonight, unlike in Buffalo. As usual, a short match.A sloppy match as well. Not good.
Time for Ryder and Ziggler. Jackman sporting the Ryder headband. Huge following for Ryder here. Vickie slaps Zack, ref tosses Vickie out. Jackman punches Ziggler, Rough Ryder for three!
Cena and Punk talk backstage, and the crowd is nuts even for that. Time for the main event! Decent match here. Followed the usual tag match formula, but the crowd was into it. Punk got the hot tag tonight. Miz and Truth collide. GTS to Miz for three. Nice end to this one.
HHH is back out. Punk...good match. Miz and Truth...fired! Huh? The locker room is shocked too. Scott Stanford wants a word with HHH, which didn't last long. Miz and Truth attack HHH, and the locker room literally throws Awesome Truth out of the building. This will be interesting to see....
Sheamus, Justin Gabriel, Kofi Kingston, & Evan Bourne vs. Christian, Wade Barrett, David Otunga, & Michael McGillicutty: *1/4
Alberto Del Rio vs. John Morrison: DUD
Sin Cara vs. Cody Rhodes: N/A
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. Natalya & Beth Phoenix: DUD
Zack Ryder vs. Dolph Ziggler: 1/4*
John Cena & CM Punk vs. The Miz & R-Truth: **
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Live in Cleveland! Punk starts the show, selling the beatdown from Night of Champions. Uh oh, Punk agrees with Truth and Miz...there is a conspiracy! HHH interrupts. Alberto deserves a rematch, and so does Punk. So at Hell in a Cell, it's a Triple Threat HIAC match! HHH doesn't mind going through Punk again. Punk agrees it's not HHH. John Lauranaitis comes out, hoarse voice and all. Punk blames Lauranaitis and is at the center of the conspiracy. Lauranaitis "future endeavors" Punk, but HHH vetoes that quickly. HHH says someone's getting fired tonight. Uh oh.
8-man tag starts the wrestling portion of the night. Average here. Good ending to further the deal between Sheamus and Christian.
Alberto wants Vince back. HHH wishes him luck in that HIAC match. Alberto comes out in his ride tonight. Ricardo announcing him, of course. ADR hit a stunner on Morrison, but got no reaction from the crowd. Submission win. That was a fast match, about a minute.
Hugh Jackman is the guest star tonight. Vickie interrupts...announcers calling her a wolverine tonight (the whole Ohio State/Michigan thing, even though they're not in Columbus). Vickie hits on Jackman. Ziggler is just not believing his ears. Ziggler says he doesn't like Jackman interrupting his celebration time. Cleveland is the city of underdogs, and Ziggler says they will lose to him. Jackman will take an underdog and get him to win against Ziggler. "We want Ryder!" chants start! Jackman agrees! Ziggler vs. Ryder tonight!
Sin Cara #1 (Mistico) is in action tonight. Cody then comes out. Then Sin Cara #2 (Hunico, the slightly bigger of the two) comes out. Announcers are confused. We get a lucha libre show between the two Sin Caras. No match here.
Awesome Truth both apologize to HHH. HHH accepts the apology, but they are both fined $250,000. Oh, and they face Punk and Cena in tag action tonight.
Jim Ross interviews Henry in the ring. Henry looks at JR and basically tells JR to apologize for not having faith in Henry and for wanting to fire Mark. JR apologizes. Mark hates asskissers and assaults JR. King intervenes. King gets nuked. World's Strongest Slamin the ring, then through the announce table. Sucks to be him.
Divas time. KK and Eve are getting cheered tonight, unlike in Buffalo. As usual, a short match.A sloppy match as well. Not good.
Time for Ryder and Ziggler. Jackman sporting the Ryder headband. Huge following for Ryder here. Vickie slaps Zack, ref tosses Vickie out. Jackman punches Ziggler, Rough Ryder for three!
Cena and Punk talk backstage, and the crowd is nuts even for that. Time for the main event! Decent match here. Followed the usual tag match formula, but the crowd was into it. Punk got the hot tag tonight. Miz and Truth collide. GTS to Miz for three. Nice end to this one.
HHH is back out. Punk...good match. Miz and Truth...fired! Huh? The locker room is shocked too. Scott Stanford wants a word with HHH, which didn't last long. Miz and Truth attack HHH, and the locker room literally throws Awesome Truth out of the building. This will be interesting to see....
9/18/11 Night of Champions
Ratings/Analysis:
Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. The Miz & R-Truth (Tag Team Titles): Bourne and Kingston got matching ring gear now. Nice double-team moves from Air-Boom. Air-Boom with the upper hand early. Heels, a.k.a. Awesome Truth, take control later in the match. Nice job to prevent Bourne from reaching Kingston, but Evan manages to get to Kofi eventually. SOS for two on Miz. Miz with an interesting version of a stunner/cutter/DDT for two. Kofi tries to reach for Bourne, Bourne slaps his hands together behind the ref's back to signal a "tag," to Cole's dismay. Miz is a bit rattled, Bourne gets a near fall with a rollup. Miz plants Evan on his head with a DDT, but Kingston breaks it up at two. Ref occupied with Kingston. Miz tags Truth in but the ref doesn't allow it because he didn't see it. Skull-Crushing Finale on Bourne. Ref still occupied with Truth now even though Truth is on the apron. Cole basically counts to five by this point, and of course Bourne kicked out. Miz is pissed and shoves the ref down. DQ finish. Conspiracy continues! ***
Cody Rhodes vs.Ted DiBiase (IC Title): I'm liking this feud because it's elevating DiBiase -- or at least making him relevant. Cole probably getting fed lines from Vince again regarding the IC title history. Pretty basic match for the first few minutes. Liked that double bridge spot with the hands clasped, but the crowd didn't care. Ted tries to get the mask off Cody and succeeds. Ted tries to deck Cody with the mask but Cody ducks and rolls Ted up for three. Lame. *1/4
Christian is out and he wants one more match for the World Title (duh). Low blow to Buffalo fans about them never winning the Super Bowl. Hey, he's getting the crowd to chant "one more match" with him! Can't blame the crowd; Christian and Orton have really had some great matches this year. Sheamus interrupts. Sheamus says if he gets Christian one more match and wins the belt, Christian promises to give Sheamus the first title show. Christian agrees. Sheamus then Brogue kicks Christian. Yeah, so much for that.
Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison vs. Jack Swagger vs. Alex Riley (U.S. Title): Fatal Four Way for the title here. Cole probably getting fed more historical info from Vince. Swagger and Ziggler left in the ring, here we go. A-Ry with the TKO on Swagger, but Vickie gets Jack's foot on the ropes. JoMo with the Flash Kick to Ziggler for two. Ziggler with a Rocker Dropper for two. Nice spot with A-Ry leaping to the top, Morrison was hanging upside down but crunched up to suplex A-Ry off. Morrison favoring the knee, Swagger favoring his midsection. Morrison with more flashy stuff; his tights remind me of HBK. Starship Pain countered. Ziggler with the sleeper. A-Ry in Swagger's ankle lock. Ziggler and Swagger collide! A-Ry with an impaler DDT! Only two! Crowd really into it now. A-Ry in ankle lock again. Morrison misses Flash Kick. Swagger with the gutwrench on Morrison. Ziggler knocks Swagger over and gets the three, pinning Morrison. ***
Vickie says if HHH loses, she knows she will make a great COO, then locks lips with Striker. Uh...yeah. Moving on!
Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Title): Staredown to start. Henry gets the first shot in but Orton comes back. Henry is pissed. Orton for the RKO early, but Henry blocks it. World's Strongest Slam countered into Orton sleeper. Orton with shots on Henry, but a clubbing blow from Henry sends Orton from the top rope to the outside. Ouch. Orton getting wrapped around the ringpost by Henry. Big splash by Henry gets two. Henry misses another splash. Orton punches away on Henry; ref needs to restrain him. Orton tries for that hangman's DDT, Henry blocks. World's Strongest Slam! Just two...what?! Henry misses a Vader Bomb. Orton gets a DDT on Henry. Orton signaling for RKO, Henry rolls to apron, but hangman's DDT! Henry gets his hands on the ropes to stop the count. Henry attacks Orton's knee. Sounds like we may have another victim on our hands. RKO countered again. World's Strongest Slam again! New champ! Great powerful promo afterward. Just hoping WWE follows through on that. Great job, Mark. Fifteen years. Never thought you'd win the big one, but you did. ***
Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix (Divas Title): Kelly out first, because Beth (despite being the heel) is the hometown hero tonight. Huge pop for Beth tonight. Good moves from Kelly, but she's getting booed tonight. Hurricanrana from KK for two. Kelly gets caught and Beth spanks KK in the rear. Gutbuster for two from Beth. Beth slingshots KK into the bottom rope for two. Eve takes out Natalya. Beth takes out Eve. KK inside cradle for two. Another rollup for two from KK. KK goes for K2 but Beth counters. "Let's go Buffalo" chants. Both divas on the top rope...superplex from Beth! Both ladies are down. Beth crawls to cover KK...only two! Beth also wobbly after that superplex. Beth goes for a powerbomb, but Kelly counters into a pin for three! Buffalo's probably rioting tonight. **1/4
John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio (WWE Title): I'm seeing these huge cardboard "heads" of Alberto and Cena. ADR is walking to the ring all pissed. Oops! Cena took Alberto's car for a joyride! Ricardo does ADR's entrance, while Cena and Justin Roberts team up for Cena's intro. Chain wrestling to start...Cena's been doing more of that lately. Split crowd for Cena matches as usual. Ricardo's booted from ringside. ADR starts kicking Cena. Cena back on the upper hand with a gutwrench and fisherman's suplex. ADR back to working on Cena's arm. ADR with more kicks and rest holds on Cena. "You can't wrestle" chants directed at Cena. ADR tries for a big move and lands with a splat on the outside. Cena with his usual five moves of doom. ADR counters the AA for two. Cena with a dropkick(?!) for two. Cena tried a top-rope move but ADR caught him and got a two-count. Cena for STF but ADR countered into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. ADR works on Cena in the corner as the crowd was largely dead -- until ADR hit the post HARD. Was there a mic on the post or something? Geez. Top-rope legdrop from Cena for two. Cena gets his AA countered. ADR German suplex with a bridge for two. Great stuff here. ADR goes to the top, senton splash for two! Cross armbreaker, but Cena counters. Holy crap, strength of Cena again, basically deadlifting ADR and hitting a powerbomb. Ricardo tries to interfere but gets decked again. STF on Alberto! ADR taps, Cena's champ for the 12th time, and Buffalo probably riots some more. ***1/2
Triple H vs. CM Punk (No DQ): I LOVE the Punk Ice Cream Bar shirt. They started in the ring, but brawl on the outside to start. GTS countered, Pedigree countered. More fighting in the ring. It's really just a fight right now, no technical stuff. HHH using the ringpost as an ally on Punk. Cole's been silenced on the mic, a welcome sight for me. Punk with the running knee to HHH on the outside. HHH launches Punk into the barricade. They are fighting in the stands now. They get to the entrance ramp. Punk catapulted onto one of the structures on the ramp. Pedigree countered, and HHH goes flying over the structure onto the concrete (still on the ramp, though). Punk flies headfirst through the chair set up in the corner. HHH takes Punk's leg out. HHH uses the post, then sandwiches that leg between the post and a chair shot. Ow. Figure four countered, HHH into the steps. HHH tries to nail Punk with the TV monitor, but Punk halts that. HHH on announce table. Punk to top rope. SAVAGE ELBOW TO THE TABLE! Woohoo! Got three replays from WWE.
Wait, WTF? Miz and Truth come out to attack BOTH Punk and HHH. SCF to HHH, Truth hits his finisher on Punk. Guess they're still mad about the conspiracy stuff. They put Punk on top of HHH! Only two! Miz is pissed. Miz all over Scott Armstrong. Miz piefaces Armstrong, and Scott does his Earl Hebner acting job. Armstrong nails Miz! Awesome Truth takes out Armstrong. John Lauranaitis comes out. HHH and Punk take out Awesome Truth. Pedigree to Punk! Another ref comes out, but Lauranaitis tells him to check on Armstrong instead. HHH is pissed. GTS to HHH! Lauranaitis tells the ref to count. One, two...Truth pulls Punk out of the ring! GTS to Truth! Springboard from Punk...CAUGHT! Pedigree! TWO! WHAT?! Crowd is the most vocal it's been all night.
Wait! It's Nash! It's freakin' Kevin Nash! He decks Punk and HHH. Nash beating the heck out of HHH. Jackknife interrupted by Punk! Jackknife to Punk! Nash decks HHH on the outside. Sledgehammer shot from HHH to Nash! Crowd going nuts. Pedigree number #445343! Finally a three-count! Holy crap that was nuts. One of the weirdest-booked matches I've seen in a while. ****
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Final Thoughts:
A pretty solid PPV here. Even the divas match was good. Kelly has improved big time over the years, and Beth proves she's got major talent as well. I love that they finally pulled the trigger on Mark Henry to become champ, because I thought he'd be future endeavored years ago. Cena's the champ again, no surprise there. Despite the weird booking of HHH/Punk, I enjoyed the match overall because the crowd was into it. It was obvious that HHH would get this one in order to keep the storyline going. ***1/4
I'm a day or so behind on the whole wrestling thing due to school, but I'm slowly catching up. Should be an interesting RAW to watch.
Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. The Miz & R-Truth (Tag Team Titles): Bourne and Kingston got matching ring gear now. Nice double-team moves from Air-Boom. Air-Boom with the upper hand early. Heels, a.k.a. Awesome Truth, take control later in the match. Nice job to prevent Bourne from reaching Kingston, but Evan manages to get to Kofi eventually. SOS for two on Miz. Miz with an interesting version of a stunner/cutter/DDT for two. Kofi tries to reach for Bourne, Bourne slaps his hands together behind the ref's back to signal a "tag," to Cole's dismay. Miz is a bit rattled, Bourne gets a near fall with a rollup. Miz plants Evan on his head with a DDT, but Kingston breaks it up at two. Ref occupied with Kingston. Miz tags Truth in but the ref doesn't allow it because he didn't see it. Skull-Crushing Finale on Bourne. Ref still occupied with Truth now even though Truth is on the apron. Cole basically counts to five by this point, and of course Bourne kicked out. Miz is pissed and shoves the ref down. DQ finish. Conspiracy continues! ***
Cody Rhodes vs.Ted DiBiase (IC Title): I'm liking this feud because it's elevating DiBiase -- or at least making him relevant. Cole probably getting fed lines from Vince again regarding the IC title history. Pretty basic match for the first few minutes. Liked that double bridge spot with the hands clasped, but the crowd didn't care. Ted tries to get the mask off Cody and succeeds. Ted tries to deck Cody with the mask but Cody ducks and rolls Ted up for three. Lame. *1/4
Christian is out and he wants one more match for the World Title (duh). Low blow to Buffalo fans about them never winning the Super Bowl. Hey, he's getting the crowd to chant "one more match" with him! Can't blame the crowd; Christian and Orton have really had some great matches this year. Sheamus interrupts. Sheamus says if he gets Christian one more match and wins the belt, Christian promises to give Sheamus the first title show. Christian agrees. Sheamus then Brogue kicks Christian. Yeah, so much for that.
Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison vs. Jack Swagger vs. Alex Riley (U.S. Title): Fatal Four Way for the title here. Cole probably getting fed more historical info from Vince. Swagger and Ziggler left in the ring, here we go. A-Ry with the TKO on Swagger, but Vickie gets Jack's foot on the ropes. JoMo with the Flash Kick to Ziggler for two. Ziggler with a Rocker Dropper for two. Nice spot with A-Ry leaping to the top, Morrison was hanging upside down but crunched up to suplex A-Ry off. Morrison favoring the knee, Swagger favoring his midsection. Morrison with more flashy stuff; his tights remind me of HBK. Starship Pain countered. Ziggler with the sleeper. A-Ry in Swagger's ankle lock. Ziggler and Swagger collide! A-Ry with an impaler DDT! Only two! Crowd really into it now. A-Ry in ankle lock again. Morrison misses Flash Kick. Swagger with the gutwrench on Morrison. Ziggler knocks Swagger over and gets the three, pinning Morrison. ***
Vickie says if HHH loses, she knows she will make a great COO, then locks lips with Striker. Uh...yeah. Moving on!
Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Title): Staredown to start. Henry gets the first shot in but Orton comes back. Henry is pissed. Orton for the RKO early, but Henry blocks it. World's Strongest Slam countered into Orton sleeper. Orton with shots on Henry, but a clubbing blow from Henry sends Orton from the top rope to the outside. Ouch. Orton getting wrapped around the ringpost by Henry. Big splash by Henry gets two. Henry misses another splash. Orton punches away on Henry; ref needs to restrain him. Orton tries for that hangman's DDT, Henry blocks. World's Strongest Slam! Just two...what?! Henry misses a Vader Bomb. Orton gets a DDT on Henry. Orton signaling for RKO, Henry rolls to apron, but hangman's DDT! Henry gets his hands on the ropes to stop the count. Henry attacks Orton's knee. Sounds like we may have another victim on our hands. RKO countered again. World's Strongest Slam again! New champ! Great powerful promo afterward. Just hoping WWE follows through on that. Great job, Mark. Fifteen years. Never thought you'd win the big one, but you did. ***
Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix (Divas Title): Kelly out first, because Beth (despite being the heel) is the hometown hero tonight. Huge pop for Beth tonight. Good moves from Kelly, but she's getting booed tonight. Hurricanrana from KK for two. Kelly gets caught and Beth spanks KK in the rear. Gutbuster for two from Beth. Beth slingshots KK into the bottom rope for two. Eve takes out Natalya. Beth takes out Eve. KK inside cradle for two. Another rollup for two from KK. KK goes for K2 but Beth counters. "Let's go Buffalo" chants. Both divas on the top rope...superplex from Beth! Both ladies are down. Beth crawls to cover KK...only two! Beth also wobbly after that superplex. Beth goes for a powerbomb, but Kelly counters into a pin for three! Buffalo's probably rioting tonight. **1/4
John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio (WWE Title): I'm seeing these huge cardboard "heads" of Alberto and Cena. ADR is walking to the ring all pissed. Oops! Cena took Alberto's car for a joyride! Ricardo does ADR's entrance, while Cena and Justin Roberts team up for Cena's intro. Chain wrestling to start...Cena's been doing more of that lately. Split crowd for Cena matches as usual. Ricardo's booted from ringside. ADR starts kicking Cena. Cena back on the upper hand with a gutwrench and fisherman's suplex. ADR back to working on Cena's arm. ADR with more kicks and rest holds on Cena. "You can't wrestle" chants directed at Cena. ADR tries for a big move and lands with a splat on the outside. Cena with his usual five moves of doom. ADR counters the AA for two. Cena with a dropkick(?!) for two. Cena tried a top-rope move but ADR caught him and got a two-count. Cena for STF but ADR countered into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. ADR works on Cena in the corner as the crowd was largely dead -- until ADR hit the post HARD. Was there a mic on the post or something? Geez. Top-rope legdrop from Cena for two. Cena gets his AA countered. ADR German suplex with a bridge for two. Great stuff here. ADR goes to the top, senton splash for two! Cross armbreaker, but Cena counters. Holy crap, strength of Cena again, basically deadlifting ADR and hitting a powerbomb. Ricardo tries to interfere but gets decked again. STF on Alberto! ADR taps, Cena's champ for the 12th time, and Buffalo probably riots some more. ***1/2
Triple H vs. CM Punk (No DQ): I LOVE the Punk Ice Cream Bar shirt. They started in the ring, but brawl on the outside to start. GTS countered, Pedigree countered. More fighting in the ring. It's really just a fight right now, no technical stuff. HHH using the ringpost as an ally on Punk. Cole's been silenced on the mic, a welcome sight for me. Punk with the running knee to HHH on the outside. HHH launches Punk into the barricade. They are fighting in the stands now. They get to the entrance ramp. Punk catapulted onto one of the structures on the ramp. Pedigree countered, and HHH goes flying over the structure onto the concrete (still on the ramp, though). Punk flies headfirst through the chair set up in the corner. HHH takes Punk's leg out. HHH uses the post, then sandwiches that leg between the post and a chair shot. Ow. Figure four countered, HHH into the steps. HHH tries to nail Punk with the TV monitor, but Punk halts that. HHH on announce table. Punk to top rope. SAVAGE ELBOW TO THE TABLE! Woohoo! Got three replays from WWE.
Wait, WTF? Miz and Truth come out to attack BOTH Punk and HHH. SCF to HHH, Truth hits his finisher on Punk. Guess they're still mad about the conspiracy stuff. They put Punk on top of HHH! Only two! Miz is pissed. Miz all over Scott Armstrong. Miz piefaces Armstrong, and Scott does his Earl Hebner acting job. Armstrong nails Miz! Awesome Truth takes out Armstrong. John Lauranaitis comes out. HHH and Punk take out Awesome Truth. Pedigree to Punk! Another ref comes out, but Lauranaitis tells him to check on Armstrong instead. HHH is pissed. GTS to HHH! Lauranaitis tells the ref to count. One, two...Truth pulls Punk out of the ring! GTS to Truth! Springboard from Punk...CAUGHT! Pedigree! TWO! WHAT?! Crowd is the most vocal it's been all night.
Wait! It's Nash! It's freakin' Kevin Nash! He decks Punk and HHH. Nash beating the heck out of HHH. Jackknife interrupted by Punk! Jackknife to Punk! Nash decks HHH on the outside. Sledgehammer shot from HHH to Nash! Crowd going nuts. Pedigree number #445343! Finally a three-count! Holy crap that was nuts. One of the weirdest-booked matches I've seen in a while. ****
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Final Thoughts:
A pretty solid PPV here. Even the divas match was good. Kelly has improved big time over the years, and Beth proves she's got major talent as well. I love that they finally pulled the trigger on Mark Henry to become champ, because I thought he'd be future endeavored years ago. Cena's the champ again, no surprise there. Despite the weird booking of HHH/Punk, I enjoyed the match overall because the crowd was into it. It was obvious that HHH would get this one in order to keep the storyline going. ***1/4
I'm a day or so behind on the whole wrestling thing due to school, but I'm slowly catching up. Should be an interesting RAW to watch.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
9/16/11 Smackdown
Ratings:
Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara: *1/2
Beth Phoenix vs. AJ: DUD
Sheamus & Justin Gabriel vs. Christian & Wade Barrett: *3/4
Heath Slater vs. The Great Khali: N/A
R-Truth vs. Evan Bourne: 1/2*
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Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Toronto, and that means Edge is here! Huge ovation for Edge here. Edge has been doing a bunch since retirement, but misses the pyros and the fans. He's hosting the Cutting Edge tonight, with Mark Henry and Randy Orton as guests.
Oops, Cody Rhodes interrupts and he does the plugging for Edge being on "Haven" (awesome moment there). Paper bag given to Edge. Cody says he's the new face of Smackdown. Edge takes verbal shots at Cody and leaves. Cody goes off on the crowd, but then some guy in a paper bag decks Cody! It's Ted DiBiase! I guess we got another match at Night of Champions. Real good job here. Ted really got a nice pop for that.
Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan! DB wastes little time attacking Sin Cara. Physical match throughout. Cole even gave DB a few compliments...never thought I'd hear much of that again. Lame finish though. Uh oh! Looks like we got two Sin Caras now! Mistico is back under the mask as well (and he's the smaller of the two Sin Caras). We'll probably see a match between those two soon enough.
Aksana makes another cameo. Yes, I'd like a massage too...bend over Teddy! YES! Trish Stratus! Awesome timing there (think Trish and HHH with Stephanie walking in). Dang, I wanted Teddy to do some yoga with Trish.
AJ out with Kaitlyn. Ouch, she's facing Beth -- and Natalya is with her. Beth will be in her hometown at Night of Champions to face Kelly Kelly. Will be interesting to see and hear the crowd reaction for Beth on that night. I like Beth all dolled up like that...is she going out right after or something? Well, that didn't last long.
Edge and Trish are talking. Christian shows up. Seems like no hard feelings shown, but Christian still wants one more match with Edge. Edge doesn't like it, and Christian gets pissed. So much for that. Woo woo woo! Zack Ryder quick cameo!
Barrett and Christian team up to face Sheamus and Justin Gabriel. Sheamus does one of those limericks again. I admit, Sheamus really can pull off the face thing pretty well. Boss Man Slam from Barrett, and Booker with the Big Bubba Rogers (Big Boss Man) reference...love it. Hard to believe it's been almost seven years since Traylor died. Anyway, Gabriel gets beat up on, then eventually the hot tag to Sheamus (who hadn't been involved all match prior to that). Decent stuff here.
Khali out solo to face Slater. Jinder Mahal shows up about 30 seconds in, all pissed at Khali. He screams at Khali in Hindi, I guess. Well, so much for that match, as Mahal enters and attacks Khali. Khali gets the upper hand, and the crowd, for the most part, doesn't care.
Bourne in singles action tonight, and Kofi is by his side. He faces Truth (Miz by his side). Short match here, not much to look at.
Cutting Edge ends the show. Edge mentioned WM 6 in Toronto and talks about Warrior/Hogan, then reminisces about his first IC title win in Toronto. No-contact rule invoked. Edge asks Orton if he can beat Henry this Sunday. Orton of course says yes. Mark Henry says he's been around for 15 years, seeing people smaller than him become champion, but now it's his time. he's done smiling and showing personality; he's out to take Orton's title. Orton says Henry will still be the world's strongest failure. Cutting Edge is over. Henry and Orton start fighting. Long gets 10 or so guys to separate the two. Doesn't work. Henry gets the upper hand tonight. Nice ending.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara: *1/2
Beth Phoenix vs. AJ: DUD
Sheamus & Justin Gabriel vs. Christian & Wade Barrett: *3/4
Heath Slater vs. The Great Khali: N/A
R-Truth vs. Evan Bourne: 1/2*
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Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Toronto, and that means Edge is here! Huge ovation for Edge here. Edge has been doing a bunch since retirement, but misses the pyros and the fans. He's hosting the Cutting Edge tonight, with Mark Henry and Randy Orton as guests.
Oops, Cody Rhodes interrupts and he does the plugging for Edge being on "Haven" (awesome moment there). Paper bag given to Edge. Cody says he's the new face of Smackdown. Edge takes verbal shots at Cody and leaves. Cody goes off on the crowd, but then some guy in a paper bag decks Cody! It's Ted DiBiase! I guess we got another match at Night of Champions. Real good job here. Ted really got a nice pop for that.
Sin Cara and Daniel Bryan! DB wastes little time attacking Sin Cara. Physical match throughout. Cole even gave DB a few compliments...never thought I'd hear much of that again. Lame finish though. Uh oh! Looks like we got two Sin Caras now! Mistico is back under the mask as well (and he's the smaller of the two Sin Caras). We'll probably see a match between those two soon enough.
Aksana makes another cameo. Yes, I'd like a massage too...bend over Teddy! YES! Trish Stratus! Awesome timing there (think Trish and HHH with Stephanie walking in). Dang, I wanted Teddy to do some yoga with Trish.
AJ out with Kaitlyn. Ouch, she's facing Beth -- and Natalya is with her. Beth will be in her hometown at Night of Champions to face Kelly Kelly. Will be interesting to see and hear the crowd reaction for Beth on that night. I like Beth all dolled up like that...is she going out right after or something? Well, that didn't last long.
Edge and Trish are talking. Christian shows up. Seems like no hard feelings shown, but Christian still wants one more match with Edge. Edge doesn't like it, and Christian gets pissed. So much for that. Woo woo woo! Zack Ryder quick cameo!
Barrett and Christian team up to face Sheamus and Justin Gabriel. Sheamus does one of those limericks again. I admit, Sheamus really can pull off the face thing pretty well. Boss Man Slam from Barrett, and Booker with the Big Bubba Rogers (Big Boss Man) reference...love it. Hard to believe it's been almost seven years since Traylor died. Anyway, Gabriel gets beat up on, then eventually the hot tag to Sheamus (who hadn't been involved all match prior to that). Decent stuff here.
Khali out solo to face Slater. Jinder Mahal shows up about 30 seconds in, all pissed at Khali. He screams at Khali in Hindi, I guess. Well, so much for that match, as Mahal enters and attacks Khali. Khali gets the upper hand, and the crowd, for the most part, doesn't care.
Bourne in singles action tonight, and Kofi is by his side. He faces Truth (Miz by his side). Short match here, not much to look at.
Cutting Edge ends the show. Edge mentioned WM 6 in Toronto and talks about Warrior/Hogan, then reminisces about his first IC title win in Toronto. No-contact rule invoked. Edge asks Orton if he can beat Henry this Sunday. Orton of course says yes. Mark Henry says he's been around for 15 years, seeing people smaller than him become champion, but now it's his time. he's done smiling and showing personality; he's out to take Orton's title. Orton says Henry will still be the world's strongest failure. Cutting Edge is over. Henry and Orton start fighting. Long gets 10 or so guys to separate the two. Doesn't work. Henry gets the upper hand tonight. Nice ending.
Friday, September 16, 2011
9/15/11 Impact
Ratings:
D'Angelo Dinero, Devon, Tara,& Miss Tessmacher vs. Hernandez, Anarquia, Sarita, & Rosita: *1/2
Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love: *
Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan (Submission): *1/4
Bobby Roode vs. Kazarian: *1/2
Sting vs. Ric Flair: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
As with all Impacts that I've seen for a while now, a promo starts the show off. Flair kicks it off this time. He calls out Sting, and they both are sporting flashy robes! Sting's ready to go now, Flair's gonna wait till later. Security breaks everything up. Boo.
Jeff Hardy hoping to get accepted by the locker room again.
Mexican America is out again for a match. Tessmacher and Tara are awesome for this 8-person mixed tag. So wait, is Tessmacher gonna use "Brooke" as her first name, or are we still referring to her as "Miss Tessmacher?" Seems like TNA can't really make up their minds, as I coulda swore they would use "Brooke" from now on. Sarita and Rosita hit on Devon's sons...oh, that's touching. Not too bad a match.
Madison Rayne is back on TV to suck up to Karen Jarrett! Mickie vs. Tessmacher, Tara vs. Madison, Velvet vs. Angelina. Good pairings.
Fortune promo. Great stuff here. Building Roode up as a big force, Daniels taking jabs at AJ, it all worked for me and then some. Angle comes out to spoil the party and stir up trouble.
Angelina and Velvet square off. Winter is looking smokin' hot tonight. Not letting the pigeons loose tonight, as Angelina attacks Velvet before the bell rings. Average here, but I just don't get how Hebner lets Winter get involved and attempt to clock someone with the belt.
Guess AJ's not accepting Jeff Hardy anytime soon.
Crimson interview. He'll be back in two weeks and he's looking for Samoa Joe. Speaking of Joe, he's in the next match against Morgan in a submission match. The usual match, then Joe gets Morgan in a heelhook and Morgan taps.
Devon says he has Jeff's back. Encouraging for the Charismatic Enigma.
Roode vs. Kazarian in a battle of Fortune stablemates. Not bad here for a match that lasted roughly six minutes.
Austin Aries defends his X-Division title next week, while Roode faces Daniels. Match #2 in the Queen's Qualifier is also slated for next week...Mickie vs. Tessmacher. Bullly Ray/Jerry Lynn vs. Anderson/RVD.
Time for the main event. Sting loses, his career is over, so that means we know he's winning. Flair gets caught on the top rope for the zillionth time. Flair resorting to his usual dirty tactics again. Figure Four from Flair, but Sting eventually reverses before the hold is broken. Mass chaos from Immortal, but Anderson helps Sting out. Flair tries to cheat with the brass knuckles, but only gets two. Sting gets the upper hand, gets the Scorpion Death Lock on Flair. Flair taps (or looked like he passed out or something). Liked Sting staring back at Hogan on the ramp.
D'Angelo Dinero, Devon, Tara,& Miss Tessmacher vs. Hernandez, Anarquia, Sarita, & Rosita: *1/2
Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love: *
Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan (Submission): *1/4
Bobby Roode vs. Kazarian: *1/2
Sting vs. Ric Flair: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
As with all Impacts that I've seen for a while now, a promo starts the show off. Flair kicks it off this time. He calls out Sting, and they both are sporting flashy robes! Sting's ready to go now, Flair's gonna wait till later. Security breaks everything up. Boo.
Jeff Hardy hoping to get accepted by the locker room again.
Mexican America is out again for a match. Tessmacher and Tara are awesome for this 8-person mixed tag. So wait, is Tessmacher gonna use "Brooke" as her first name, or are we still referring to her as "Miss Tessmacher?" Seems like TNA can't really make up their minds, as I coulda swore they would use "Brooke" from now on. Sarita and Rosita hit on Devon's sons...oh, that's touching. Not too bad a match.
Madison Rayne is back on TV to suck up to Karen Jarrett! Mickie vs. Tessmacher, Tara vs. Madison, Velvet vs. Angelina. Good pairings.
Fortune promo. Great stuff here. Building Roode up as a big force, Daniels taking jabs at AJ, it all worked for me and then some. Angle comes out to spoil the party and stir up trouble.
Angelina and Velvet square off. Winter is looking smokin' hot tonight. Not letting the pigeons loose tonight, as Angelina attacks Velvet before the bell rings. Average here, but I just don't get how Hebner lets Winter get involved and attempt to clock someone with the belt.
Guess AJ's not accepting Jeff Hardy anytime soon.
Crimson interview. He'll be back in two weeks and he's looking for Samoa Joe. Speaking of Joe, he's in the next match against Morgan in a submission match. The usual match, then Joe gets Morgan in a heelhook and Morgan taps.
Devon says he has Jeff's back. Encouraging for the Charismatic Enigma.
Roode vs. Kazarian in a battle of Fortune stablemates. Not bad here for a match that lasted roughly six minutes.
Austin Aries defends his X-Division title next week, while Roode faces Daniels. Match #2 in the Queen's Qualifier is also slated for next week...Mickie vs. Tessmacher. Bullly Ray/Jerry Lynn vs. Anderson/RVD.
Time for the main event. Sting loses, his career is over, so that means we know he's winning. Flair gets caught on the top rope for the zillionth time. Flair resorting to his usual dirty tactics again. Figure Four from Flair, but Sting eventually reverses before the hold is broken. Mass chaos from Immortal, but Anderson helps Sting out. Flair tries to cheat with the brass knuckles, but only gets two. Sting gets the upper hand, gets the Scorpion Death Lock on Flair. Flair taps (or looked like he passed out or something). Liked Sting staring back at Hogan on the ramp.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
9/15/11 Superstars
Ratings:
Ezekiel Jackson vs. Tyson Kidd: *
Brodus Clay vs. Mike Palmer: N/A
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Trent Barreta & Johnny Curtis: *1/4
Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Zeke and Kidd start the episode off. Well, that was over in about five minutes. Meanwhile, Brodus destroyed yet another hometown hero.I like Brodus' nickname. The Mastodon of Mayhem is awesome.
Why am I not surprised? Barreta and Curtis are paired up as a tag team and will ultimately job to the Usos here. At least Curtis had a chance to show his stuff to make NXT mean something.
Main event time. McIntyre still stuck in midcard purgatory ever since he made that strong heel debut. Ryder wins! Ryder wins! Good match here. Crowd was not a ton into it, though.
Looking forward to Punk vs. HHH. Should be pretty good. What are the odds that Nash interferes in some way? Or even Lauranaitis? I'd say a virtual certainty.
Ezekiel Jackson vs. Tyson Kidd: *
Brodus Clay vs. Mike Palmer: N/A
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Trent Barreta & Johnny Curtis: *1/4
Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Zeke and Kidd start the episode off. Well, that was over in about five minutes. Meanwhile, Brodus destroyed yet another hometown hero.I like Brodus' nickname. The Mastodon of Mayhem is awesome.
Why am I not surprised? Barreta and Curtis are paired up as a tag team and will ultimately job to the Usos here. At least Curtis had a chance to show his stuff to make NXT mean something.
Main event time. McIntyre still stuck in midcard purgatory ever since he made that strong heel debut. Ryder wins! Ryder wins! Good match here. Crowd was not a ton into it, though.
Looking forward to Punk vs. HHH. Should be pretty good. What are the odds that Nash interferes in some way? Or even Lauranaitis? I'd say a virtual certainty.
9/13/11 NXT
Ratings:
Percy Watson & Titus O'Neil vs. Tyson Kidd & Derrick Bateman: *1/2
Maxine vs. AJ: 1/4*
JTG & Darren Young vs.William Regal & Matt Striker: *3/4
Maxine vs. AJ: 1/4*
JTG & Darren Young vs.William Regal & Matt Striker: *3/4
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Statistics:
Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 9/13/11:
Titus O'Neil: 15-8
Darren Young: 10-15
Derrick Bateman: 4-4
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:
We're in Toronto for this one. All these hockey references. Striker disses JTG and Darren Young, so those two come out. Verbal jabs exchanged. We got a tag match tonight! Wow Regal. You're straight up gangsta trippin'!
Bateman and Kidd teaming up here against Titus and Percy. That music suits Percy more than Titus. Really diggin' Percy's style. Korpela pretty much called Bateman a big man. Really? Hot tag to Titus. Faces get the win. Typical tag match here.
AJ and Maxine backstage. So Hornswoggle's with the Bellas? I've never been so jealous of Hornswoggle in my life. First AJ, then purportedly the Bellas. Then it's time for the divas to battle. No crowd reaction for Maxine at all. Maxine as Regal's17th ex-wife? I think that beats Lawler's record. But damn, the match went too long. Boring. I will admit, I like Maxine's finisher.
Oh what the hell? Michael Cole commentating the main event on NXT? Well, that just sucks. The show really must be horrid if they tell Cole to commentate. Not bad here. Feed just was going cuckoo on me, unfortunately. Usos came out at the end to take on Young and JTG. Making a statement.
Bateman and Kidd teaming up here against Titus and Percy. That music suits Percy more than Titus. Really diggin' Percy's style. Korpela pretty much called Bateman a big man. Really? Hot tag to Titus. Faces get the win. Typical tag match here.
AJ and Maxine backstage. So Hornswoggle's with the Bellas? I've never been so jealous of Hornswoggle in my life. First AJ, then purportedly the Bellas. Then it's time for the divas to battle. No crowd reaction for Maxine at all. Maxine as Regal's17th ex-wife? I think that beats Lawler's record. But damn, the match went too long. Boring. I will admit, I like Maxine's finisher.
Oh what the hell? Michael Cole commentating the main event on NXT? Well, that just sucks. The show really must be horrid if they tell Cole to commentate. Not bad here. Feed just was going cuckoo on me, unfortunately. Usos came out at the end to take on Young and JTG. Making a statement.
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