Sunday, December 30, 2012

12/28/12 Smackdown

Ratings:
Brodus Clay vs. Primo: N/A (squash)

Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, & Kane vs. Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, & Damien Sandow: **

Dolph Ziggler vs. Miz: **1/2

Sheamus vs. Brad Maddox: N/A

Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Titus O'Neil & Darren Young: *

Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio (World Heavyweight Title): **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Sheamus starts the last Smackdown of 2012. He drank eggnog-flavored ale at Christmas. Interesting. He also now has a year's supply of sunscreen...ha. Sheamus wants to be champ again in 2013, but he calls Show out now and wants another title shot. Show asks if he looks like Santa Claus. Yup -- only fatter. More bickering because Show refuses to give Sheamus another title shot. Booker comes out. He's gonna put everyone's name -- including Sheamus -- in a tumbler and the name drawn faces Show for the title. Show's pissed and promises to KO who the challenger is. Teddy and Eve both want to help out and cause a ruckus. Duh. SANTINO WINS! Well, this will likely be comical. Show got a nice laugh out of this.

Primo in singles action against Brodus. I swear Brodus' dancing lasted longer than the actual match. Brodus wins in no time. Rosa gets in the ring to speak her mind. Naomi and Cameron with a DOUBLE SUPLEX? Double split legdrop as well. Ladies are finally getting physical. More of that, please.

Santino seeking pointers from Sheamus on how to beat Big Show. Santino pulls his hamstring. Now that's a girly scream. Guess we need another person to face Show now.

Six-man tag next. Kane and DB now more on the same page. DB worked on, hot tag to Kofi. Kofi with the high crossbody on Wade, but Rhodes Scholars breaks that up. Team Hell No takes out Sandow. Disaster Kick to DB. Trouble in Paradise to Cody. Barrett Bullhammer to Kofi gets three. Nice match.

Big Show now says he should have the night off. Booker's gonna pick another competitor for Show anyway. Teddy Long brings in Ricardo Rodriguez. Show puts the belt on Ricardo's shoulder. Ricardo told to announce himself as champ. Show KOs Ricardo. Problem solved for now.

Ryder and Cesaro next. "USA" chants. Neutralizer gets Cesaro the win. Well, that closes a crappy 2012 for Ryder -- at least the second half of the year, anyway.

Miz and Ziggler next. AJ and Big E Langston accompany Ziggler. Lengthy match with several counters and big-time moves. Miz blows a kiss to AJ, so Langston storms up the ring steps as a distraction. Ziggler hits the Zigzag for three. Look for Miz and Ziggler to have great years in 2013.

Miz with more insults to AJ on the mic, so Ziggler goes back to the ring. Miz with the mic shot. Langston sprints in and nukes Miz. Good to get Langston over as a big threat.

Brad Maddox pushes Booker's buttons for one more chance. What is this, a pathetic ripoff of Christian's "one more match" shtick?

Alberto Del Rio wants to kick Show's ass. So Booker gives ADR the title shot against Big Show. ADR says the match is for Ricardo. We see a face trend from Alberto, but WWE isn't going full-on with a face turn. Could be a way to test the waters for the future. WWE wants a new Mexican babyface star, and Alberto's the ticket for that one after the injury bug continues to plague Sin Cara.

Maddox to the ring. He faces Sheamus. Oops. Maddox gets nuked in four minutes. Enough said.

Usos and Primetime Players in a short match. Usos pull the switcheroo like the Bellas used to do, and Rikishi's sons get the win. Guess you gotta do what you can to get a tag title shot these days. JoshMathews and JBL didn't bother to mention this version of twin magic.

Shield highlighted in another video package. These three have major promise.

Title match ends the show. Real notable that ADR got a good pop on his entrance and ring introduction. Main event intros from Lilian Garcia. Crowd with the "Big Show sucks" chants. Nice superkick from ADR gets two. Cross armbreaker countered. Big Show decides to walk away. Sheamus attacks Show and the ref rings the bell. Well, that was a crappy way to end that match. Show dispatches Sheamus.

Show tries to leave again. Entire Smackdown locker room comes out because Show insulted them all in a promo earlier in the show ("losers, rejects, wannabes, and nobodies"). ADR with the running enzuigiri in the corner and Sheamus with the Brogue Kick to end the show.

WWE should hold more televised events in Rochester. Great crowd all night.

Friday, December 28, 2012

12/28/12 Superstars

This week's episode took a look back at what went down in 2012.

The show began with Big Show discussing his heel turn (Laurinaitis fired him and then re-hired him with that ironclad contract). Great move for Show's career, even if he's past his prime. Highlights of the Lumberjack match on RAW.

After that: Taker/HHH at WM 28. Amazing build and outstanding match. Easily one of the year's best matches. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Absolutely priceless HBK reaction when Taker kicked out of the Sweet Chin Music/Pedigree combo.

Next: Kane and Daniel Bryan anger management segments. Team Hell No is born. And I never woulda guessed "Hug it out!" would ever be chanted in WWE. One of the best comedic video packages ever.

RAW #1000 highlights follow. And next month, RAW celebrates 20 years! Unreal. Show of course ended with a nice Punk/Cena match and Punk's eventual heel turn. I think Punk's better as a heel anyway.

Speaking of which, Punk was the WWE champ for all of 2012. His reign is now over 400 days, the longest of the so-called "modern" era. Well deserved. I think it's a mistake to keep giving Ryback title shots when we know he's not gonna be winning the championship anytime soon. Everyone's already looking to Punk and Rock at the Royal Rumble.

I'm also unsure if the Punk/Ryback title match will (or should) take place on the first RAW of 2013. WWE could easily just say Punk's still not cleared to compete until the Royal Rumble and this title match is off for now. I understand WWE needing to stack the show, but that doesn't mean they have to necessarily go through with everything advertised. No match means no need for interference or creating another fluky way to have Punk retain. No, Ryback and Rock would not be a suitable alternative. A triple threat is not OK here. Besides, I don't mind Ryback getting his title shot later in 2013 anyway.

12/27/12 Impact

Ratings:
Samoa Joe vs. Aces & Eights masked guy: *1/4

Rob Van Dam vs. Christian York: **

Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs. Christopher Daniels & Hernandez: **3/4

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Tonight is Open Fight Night. Bully Ray starts the show and wonders what he has to do to gain Hulk Hogan's trust. Bully calls out Hulk to talk, not fight. Hulk's music plays, but Brooke Hogan eventually comes out. Brooke says Hulk isn't here and says Hulk knows about the two of them. I guess Brooke wasn't supposed to have a mic, but the fans in the arena are being left in the dark for a few minutes. Cameras at least pick up the conversation for the people at home. Awkward.

Aries out next. He says he should be the champ right now, but Roode screwed him. They're even now on the screwing-the-other department. He calls Roode out for a fight in the main event tonight.

Joe calls out the large masked Aces & Eights guy that attacked him from behind the other week. Joe chokes the masked guy to end a short match. Before the unmasking, other A&E members storm the ring. Joe with the wise move to bail.

A Bro-Off between Jesse and Robbie E?! Rob Terry must be wondering why the hell he has such a crappy sidekick/bodyguard gimmick. Rule #1: Every bro for himself. Rule #2: Everything you do must end with a "bro." So this is what TNA bathroom breaks have become? Robbie E goes first with lame dancing. Jesse's done this bodybuilding thing before. Very impressive physique. Robbie proclaiming himself the winner, but Rob Terry now goes. Rob showing the bodybuilding stuff, the dance moves, AND agility. Hey, I say Rob Terry's the winner! Priceless reaction from Robbie E, Jesse, and Tara. Rob Terry ends with "bro," so we got a winner! It was a horrible segment, but Rob Terry wins the internet.

Kenny's been doing the arrogant statements to Christian York, believing RVD will call King out. RVD calls someone out, but of course, it's York. Sounds right. Love the counters and moves York has pulled off. Experience abroad has served him well. Dreamscape (somersault splash in corner) misses. RVD really hits those split-legged moonsaults perfectly. Rolling Thunder and Five-Star get three. Good match, wish it got a lot more time.

Devon has the newest potential Aces & Eights member ready. Doc flanked by two gorgeous women. Doc approves.

Joseph Park OVW training update. Danny Davis hasn't seen any promise from Park except that one "snapping" moment. Park should just cut himself before getting in the ring. Unsanitary, but hell, it'd work.

Sting returns for vengeance next Thursday.

Daniels basically dancing to the ring. They tease the whole AJ Styles thing again, so Kaz comes out to portray AJ. Kaz with a great job of imitating Styles' accent. Tag champs Chavo and Hernandez out for a fight. Keep these two teams together for the long term, because this was great. Crowd enjoyed the physicality and athleticism. Kaz and Damiels even used the Hart Attack here. Kaz tries the Styles' springboard flying forearm and misses. Chavo hits the frog splash for three.

Devon, Doc, and VP talk with Devon's potential new recruit. Mr. Anderson with a bunch of stubble. Anderson also getting wooed with the women. Ken's gonna think about it.

Gail Kim to the ring. Gail's title reign ended with a "fluke" and she calls out Tessmacher. Tessmacher countered Gail's top-rope hurricanrana and Gail basically almost lands on her head. Tough to have to eat that bump. Speaking of eat, Tess misses the top-rope elbow and Gail hits Eat Defeat for three. Tessmacher now basically heading to the back of the line again, I suppose. Another nice match. Wishful thinking, but Gail and Tara could easily put on a heck of a title match. We're more likely to see Gail vs. the returning Velvet Sky. Yeah, I'm pegging Velvet to be the one to get the title next.

Aries and Roode close the show. Both familiar with the other's moves. Hell yes for counters. Last Chancery from Aries, crossface from Roode. Both rake the eyes to get out of the submission moves. Both still do the heel stuff of faking injuries, calling timeout, and pulling tights to gain leverage. Aries grabs a chair and Earl Hebner starts giving an earful to BOTH Roode and Aries. Roode and Aries take Hebner out. Win. Roode and Aries power struggle over the chair. Jeff Hardy's music plays. Hardy comes through the crowd. Aries chucked over the top and Twist of Fate to Roode. Match basically a no-contest. End show.
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Next week on Impact (first one of 2013):

Aces & Eights vs. Angle and Joe
Sting's return
Plus we'll obviously get more on this Bully Ray/Hogan storyline

Thursday, December 27, 2012

12/26/12 NXT

Tony Dawson hosted a "Best of" show here highlighting the best NXT moments this year:

Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT Title Tournament Finals; heck of a match here)
Shield highlights
Bray Wyatt vignettes (and he also competed in a match that aired in July)Kassius Ohno

Heck, CM Punk cut a promo and mentioned Seth Rollins (and the Shield). Says NXT has the future stars so we should be watching them. Fact.

Big E Langston has his "five-count" thing in NXT. It hasn't mattered when on RAW -- yet. The guy can't cut a promo if his life depended on it, but at least he won't have to talk when with AJ Lee and Dolph Ziggler. Great way to make an immediate impact is to go after the face of the company (Cena). Oh, and they actually say Camacho's dangerous. Gimmick-wise, Camacho hasn't shown me anything to make me think that.

And as I type all that above, Langston cuts a promo. He plans to still become NXT champion in the future. Way better mic presence than what I've seen in the past, but anything was better than the previous stuff.

Look for stars like Paige and Corey Graves to get major pushes in 2013. Paige should seriously get bumped to the main roster. I like Graves' look.

We see Cody Rhodes' injury on Main Event again.

Hey, we see a never-before-seen match from NXT, taped in July! Kane and Cody here. Just sticking with the main camera for this one. Cody has 4.3% body fat. Yeah, just rub it in while others just pack on the holiday pounds. Cross Rhodes countered, and Kane hits a chokeslam for three. Probably about *3/4 from me.

Tony Dawson promotes three matches to air next week: Seth Rollins vs. Corey Graves for the NXT Title, and Bo Dallas vs. Epico. Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger take on Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd.

Shield interrupts with a promo to basically end the show. Ambrose and Rollins got most of the talking time. They got a New Year's resolution to bring justice to WWE and right the wrongs. I see bright futures for all Shield members. Happy New Year!

12/26/12 Main Event

Ratings:
Battle Royal: *1/2

Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel vs. Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Rochester for this episode. Miz and Cole on commentary. Lots of superstars already in the ring. 20-Man Battle Royal to start; winner challenges Cesaro for the U.S. Title on the next Main Event. Cesaro on commentary as well.

Poor Yoshi got eliminated first. I guess all the midcarders gotta get some work in for the holiday season. Khali and Brodus in a battle of big guys, and Khali wins this time around. Hey, Khali's in the final four with Barrett, Santino, and Ryder. Cobra to Barrett, but big deal here. Broski Boot to Barrett -- and then Santino eliminates Ryder! HA! So a non-American is gonna win this one. Barrett then takes out Santino. Down to Khali and Barrett. WTF KHALI WON?! The world's ending. Khali really got booked strong here.

Khali poses with the U.S. Title. "Happy New Year and see you next week."

We see a video package of the Santa skits on RAW. Yup, Santa pulled through. No surprise.

3MB comes out. Cole says the group's first single is now "on hold." Another one that doesn't surprise me. Slater's lost his voice. They cut a promo on Kidd and Gabriel, saying those two cost them a shot at the U.S. Title. So we got a tag match. Exciting offense from Kidd and Gabriel, as usual. Heels get their offense. Gabriel gets the hot tag. A few near falls for both Gabriel and McIntyre. JG holds Jinder up, and Kidd hits a blockbuster from the top. Has the roots of a Hart Attack, but takes advantage of Kidd's high-flying nature. Good stuff.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

12/24/12 RAW (Christmas Eve)

Ratings:
Kane vs. Cody Rhodes: *1/4

Santa's Helper 8-Diva Tag Match: *1/4

Sheamus vs. Big Show (Lumberjack): **1/4

Zack Ryder vs. David Otunga: 3/4*

Kofi Kingston & Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro & Wade Barrett: **1/4

Great Khali vs. Brad Maddox: DUD

Daniel Bryan vs. Damien Sandow: *3/4

12-man tag match: **1/4

John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio (Street Fight): **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Cena again is the face of the WWE, so he wishes everyone a great holiday season as the rest of the talent roster lines up on the entrance ramp. The show was taped last week in Pittsburgh.

Santa is giving out presents Alberto's music hits and Ricardo comes out. Stupid Santa doesn't get out of the way -- and actually walks right into ADR's moving car. ADR acts all concerned. Loved the "You hit Santa!" chants. Stretcher spot for Santa. WTF, isolating in the area with police tape. Santa's fault, dammit!

Booker comes out of the trainer's room and says Santa's down. You don't say? Technically, it's not ADR's fault! Santa had last words? Miracle on 34th Street Fight tonight against Cena. Lovely.

Kane and Cody in a match. Cody works on Kane's left arm. Love how the non-dominant limb is almost always worked on. Cody removed one of the turnbuckle pads and that came back to haunt him. Kane finishes Cody off with the chokeslam.

8-diva tag next, and it got way more time than I thought it would. Predictably, they're all in Christmas-themed outfits. Faces entered with Layla's music and the heels came out to Eve's music. Alicia is on the face side this time. Gotta hand it to the Pittsburgh crowd for actually caring about the match. Kaitlyn gets the hot tag and is able to get to Eve. Aksana's spinebuster was probably the best move she's ever pulled off in WWE. Nice finishing segment to get everyone involved. Kaitlyn pins Eve with the gutbuster.

Sheamus and Big Show in a "Lumber-Jack Frost Match" later.

Ziggler and AJ cuddled up for the holidays watching the TLC PPV. I envy Ziggler.

They supposedly have the EKG monitor hooked up to Santa. Good grief.

Lumber-Jack Frost match next between Big Show and Sheamus. Non-title. Show slides out of the ring on the Brogue Kick attempt, but it's by 3MB so no one touches Show. During the break, Sheamus got tossed out on the same side and 3MB attacked, duh. Vintage lumberjack brawl on the outside. Impressive Electric Chair Drop from Sheamus. Show chokeslam only gets two. Show back to slow resthold offense. Show misses the Vader Bomb. White Noise to Show. Brogue Kick avoided, Sheamus chucked to the outside. Brawl again. Sheamus tossed back in. KO punch misses, Brogue Kick hits for three. More brawling after the match.

Miz TV segment with the muppets last week was...awesome.

Otunga in the ring to list allegations Santa could be guilty of. Ryder comes out for a match. Basic stuff here, and Ryder wins with the Rough Ryder. Next!

Brad Maddox in Booker's office. Brad assumes he'll be offered a WWE contract. Brad gets a second chance for a contract. All Brad has to do is beat one of Santa's elves.

But now, a tag match. Miz/Kofi vs. Cesaro/Barrett. Cole says Kofi hasn't been able to get to the next level in WWE but is now the IC champ. Well, I hope Kofi finally main events soon, because he sure as hell has the talent. Miz gets the hot tag here. Kofi out of nowhere with the Trouble in Paradise while Barrett's hung on the second rope. SCF from Miz gets three.

Back to Ziggler and AJ. MITB briefcase has a stick-on bow on it. How can Ziggler repay AJ? AJ really knows how to wear that Ziggler shirt.

Another Santa update. Not much to report. Yeah, we know.

Brad Maddox is singing "Brad Maddox is coming to RAW" (in the style of "Santa Claus is coming to town") very badly. Who's Santa's elf? Hornswoggle comes out -- and then he introduces Khali. World's biggest elf there. Maddox knocked around for a while, but he attacks Khali's leg like everyone does. Punjabi Plunge gets three. I wonder how many brain cells I lost this year watching Khali matches. Luckily, he wasn't on all year long.

Punk and Heyman come out for a promo. Punk still on crutches for this episode. Ryback does get his title match on the first RAW of 2013. Crowd loves the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Punk doesn't even root for "losers" like the Cubs and trashes the fans for rooting for "losers" like the Steelers. And Punk wins the Internet again. Christmas and Hannukah are ruined because Punk can't wrestle (yet). Punk says he's still better than Ryback on one leg. Enter Ryback. Heyman with the "we'll sue you for assault" threat. The title match will be a TLC match. Might as well keep stacking the show. TLC! TLC! TLC!

Daniel "NO!" Bryan comes out and he faces Sandow. Not bad here. Flying Goat (headbutt) misses. Terminus countered into NO lock and Sandow taps.

12-man tag match next because we gotta get everyone involved. It's basically the lumberjacks from the earlier lumberjack match anyway. Kidd loves to mock his opponents these days. Tensai booked to look like a joke again from Santino's Cobra strike. Slater just NUKED by a superkick. Gabriel moonsault and Kidd elbow, then another Uso splash gets three.

Aw, Kane hates Christmas but still got DB a gift. A SLAMMY! YES! DB has a gift for Kane. Aw, it's a puppy. HA, Kane's starving. NO! Animals are our friends! Good stuff, but nothing tops Kane's Anger Management story.

AJ is wearing glasses. I love that. Keep the glasses!

Santa update: All of a sudden, "Jingle Bells" plays instead of the EKG. He's alive! Of course he is.

Street Fight time. ADR still saying the Santa thing was an accident. Mic shot from Cena to ADR. Ricardo has a gift for ADR, though. PUMPKIN PIE! Cena ducks and Ricardo (plus the first couple rows) get splattered. They battle to the entrance stage. Cena opens another gift. New TV monitor! Monitor shot to ADR. Ricardo helps ADR get control again. Another gift for Ricardo to open. ROFL IT'S A TEDDY BEAR! Classic. Cena with a wreath and box to the head for Ricardo. USE A TREE! So Cena does. Now that's Christmas.

Cena with a bowling ball. Strike to ADR's nuts. Win. Fire extinguisher to ADR. Ricardo with a sleeper on Cena. Santa comes out! Ricardo nuked with the big red sack. Santa Socko?! Mandible Claw to ADR?!?! Cena hits the AA to win. Well that was fun. End show with Santa and Cena in the ring.

Friday, December 21, 2012

12/21/12 Superstars

No Superstars matches were taped this week due to time constraints. This week looked back at "RAW's Best Moments of 2012." Among the highlights are the Slammys, Rock concert vs. Cena rap, and Brock Lesnar's return.

12/20/12 Impact

Ratings:
Devon vs. Kurt Angle (TV Title): **

Joey Ryan & Matt Morgan vs. Rob Van Dam & Kenny King: *3/4

Tara vs. Mickie James (Knockouts Title): **

Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries (World Title): ***1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
WWE recently said no more pyros for RAW in order to cut costs. You'd think TNA woulda done something similar a while back. They can't be doing well financially with the ratings they've had. At least TNA is supposedly cutting back on PPVs.

It's Championship Thursday!

TV Title up first. Angle wants Aces & Eights, so logically he goes after Devon's title. Since the A&E faction came out as well, Angle's ready and brings his own group (Joe, Garett, Wes). Doesn't take long for all hell to break loose around ringside. Devon clips Angle's leg to take advantage. Angle Slam countered, spinebuster (which Devon has used to win a bunch of matches) only gets two. German suplexes and ankle lock applied. Too many A&E guys for Angle's posse to fend off. One guy hits Angle with a lead pipe and Devon covers Angle for three to retain.

Brooke Hogan plays daddy's role for a night to determine who faces Tara for the Knockouts Title. Between Mickie, Velvet, ODB, and Tessmacher. Brooke quickly eliminates ODB. Yeah, take care of "family" (Eric Young) first.

Tag action next. Glad to see TNA give Kenny some more screen time. I think Morgan wants in the running next year for best beard in pro wrestling. Morgan looking dominant again, with Joey playing the role of "I'll come in when the opponent who beat me in singles action is weakened." Kenny bails after seeing Morgan get in the ring. Carbon Footprint to RVD for three and Kenny never bothered to make the save. Well, at least it makes sense to have Kenny and RVD in a full-on feud now.

We see the last part of AJ Styles' speech. Kaz loves Christmas and has a surprise for Daniels later (at least that's what he implied).

Hulk Hogan to the ring. Does Hulk really think TNA has grown into a full-fledged monster? That was good for a laugh. I will at least admit TNA's product got better in terms of quality. A&E music plays. Devon says 2012 was the year Aces & Eights was born and that A&E beat the hell out of every single TNA wrestler on the roster. Devon adds A&E represents the truth. A&E revealed in 2013? Probably true. A&E surrounds the ring Nexus style. Bully Ray runs to the ring with his chain and makes the save. Staredown between Bully and Hulk, and Hulk just walks away. Bully wondering what he has to do to earn Hulk's respect.

Mickie and Velvet admit they returned at the same time and each never got a fair shot at the title. Brooke agrees that has to play out and eliminates Tessmacher.

Kaz bringing presents to the ring. Big red chair and Christmas tree in the ring. Gee, I wonder what's gonna happen...? Kaz and Daniels are collectively known as Bad Influence, just FYI. He introduces Daniels, who gets to sit in the big red chair "for now." Why? Santa Claus and his big red sack comes out, woohoo. Nice "Hug it out!" reference. Daniels gets to sit on Santa's lap! Picture time! Daniels tells Santa to give stuff to AJ Styles' kids since daddy is a "loser." James Storm comes out. Daniels says to put Storm on the "naughty" list. Storm enters the ring for a fight. Storm quizzes Santa on not getting stuff he wanted in the past, then Last Calls him. Nice segment. What's a Christmas without having Santa get his ass kicked?

Sting is coming back on the first Impact of the new year, seemingly for revenge on A&E. The VP wants new people -- smart muscle. Devon says he has a person willing to step up. Group agrees.

So who gets the Knockouts Title shot? Mickie gets the nod tonight. Doesn't take long for Jesse to interfere again. Mickie with a nice counter on the Spider Web into a hurricanrana. Physical, back-and-forth match here. Widow's Peak countered into that jumping DDT. Jesse pulls Tara out so Mickie jumps on Jesse (and a slap for good measure). Jesse again holds on to Mickie's right leg. Knee from Tara (knee brace to face) and Tara retains. Mickie's right leg bent back weird but Taz made a bigger deal out of it than it really needed to be. Basically, it didn't make the title picture any clearer. Mickie can still say she wasn't given a fair shot because of Jesse's interference. Velvet will now want her title shot and should get it soon.

Joseph Park training at OVW. Park looks pathetic until he gets bloodied by a right forearm. Woohoo Black Hole Slam! So all he needs to do is cut himself before each match. Sounds logical.

World Title match next. Borash with the main event intros. Third match in the series. Taz notes the stitches around Hardy's eye (from A&E attack). Aries to the outside and Hardy crashes on the guardrail. Aries gets cocky as he works on Hardy. Signature/finishing moves countered multiple times. Hardy especially with impressive counters on the brainbuster. Twist of Fate (stunner style) on Aries. Second one countered. Ref bump! Low blow from Aries, then a brainbuster. Aries motions for another ref. Ref comes down, but Roode pulls the ref out! Revenge from the other week. Spinebuster to Aries. Original ref is back up. Twist of Fate and Swanton get three. Great match.

Hulk Hogan says he'll clear the world title picture up in 2013 and says not to worry about the Bully Ray situation. Cur Brooke and Bully smooching! This whole kissing thing has really taken off again in 2012, huh? Hulk doesn't say anything and drives off. End show.

Good wrestling show to help close out 2012.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

12/19/12 NXT

Ratings:
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Primo & Epico: **1/4

Big E Langston vs. Camacho & Aiden English: N/A (squash)

Kassius Ohno vs. Percy Watson: *1/2

Big Show vs. Bo Dallas: N/A
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Tag match starts the show. Primo and Epico vs. Usos. So WWE's way of beefing up the tag division "demotes" actual tag teams. Jimmy has the sleeve tattoo on his left arm (I think). Jimmy gets the hot tag tonight. Couple of superkicks. Jey with the splash for three.

Ascension lights? O'Brian and Cameron on the Titantron for a promo. Guess this was taped before Kenneth Cameron's release.

Camacho and Aiden English get a 2-on-1 handicap match against Big E Langston. Gotta love how these NXT tapings go now that guys like Langston, Rollins, and Reigns are on the main roster. Camacho and English have to tag in and out. English gets pummeled and Camacho doesn't want in. Langston finishes English and pins him. Another squash.

Kassius Ohno and Percy Watson next. Watson still in NXT purgatory. The guy needs a new gimmick and a reason for me to want to keep watching him. Perhaps a mentor, as Regal suggested. Agility will only take you so far in WWE. Rolling elbow to the side of the neck gets the win. Ohno has words for Regal after the match.

Jim Ross interviews Seth Rollins. Rollins still enjoys being the hunted. Corey Graves comes out and puts Rollins in his submission finisher. Graves motions Ross over so Corey can make his own statement. Graves wants that NXT Title, and that stairway to the title goes straight through hell. Now Graves reminds me of a hybrid between John Cena, Jeff Hardy, and Kane. Announcers (especially that Dawson guy) need to work on that emotion on these segments.

Next week, NXT episode is a Year Review show looking at all the up-and-coming stars from RAW and Smackdown.

Big Show accepted Bo Dallas' open challenge. Talk about a giant challenge. Quite painful to watch the early beatdown. Bo gets a sleeper on Show, but Show turns it into a side slam. Show ends it with the KO punch. Bo never had a shot in this one. Ross praised Bo in this one, but frankly, all it did was make the young NXT star look like he's way in over his head. Didn't help him one bit on making me think he'll be a star. Questioning the booking there. Would have preferred another main-roster star (midcard or upper midcard) that Bo could score an upset over.

12/19/12 Main Event

Ratings:

Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (Tag Team Titles): ***1/4

Titus O'Neil & Darren Young vs. Santino Marella & Zack Ryder: *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Tag title match is up first and is the featured bout tonight. Multiple replays of when Cody got injured taking a botched back body drop against Kane. Miz making fun of Cody's mustache. Miz still taking credit for teaching everything DB knows. Good lengthy tag match. Sandow took a back body drop over the top and he holds his knee. He's fine, though. Double team to Kane late in the match. Terminus to Kane, but DB breaks it up. Cross Rhodes to DB. Disaster Kick to Kane and only two! Wow. DB with the blind tag. Kane chokeslam to Cody, then a DB flying goat (headbutt) for three. Great match.

Miz gets to fly in an F-18 after passing some challenging tests.

Team CoBro faces the Primetime Players. Santino tries the football spin move on Titus and that doesn't work. Haha. Santino gets pummeled for a little while, then Ryder comes in. Broski Boot to Titus. D-Young tries a gutbuster but Santino hits his Cobra. Titus knocks Santino out of the ring. Rough Ryder countered and Clash of the Titus hit for three. Hope 2013 treats Ryder a lot better; getting demoted back to midcard sucks.

12/19/12 Tribute to the Troops

Ratings:
Sheamus & Randy Orton vs. Big Show & Dolph Ziggler: **1/4

Ryback vs. Alberto Del Rio: N/A

Miz vs. Damien Sandow: *1/2

Kane, Daniel Bryan, & R-Truth vs. Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre: *1/2

John Cena vs. Antonio Cesaro: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
President Obama with a message to start the show. This is the 10th Annual Tribute to the Troops. What started as JBL's idea has really taken off. This year's event was taped in Norfolk, VA. Large American flags hang from the rafters.

Right into Sheamus/Orton vs. Show/Ziggler. A lot of crowd energy. Cole notes the Shield attack even though this TTTT was actually taped before that. Ziggler and Sheamus go at it; Ziggler wants to tag out but Show fakes the "gotta fix my boot" spot. Orton legit injures his shoulder during this match (was working with Show at the time of the injury) and the Shield attack was the way to write him off TV for a few weeks. You can see the trainers tend to Orton outside the ring after Sheamus gets the tag. Orton still manages to get back in and hit two RKOs. Brogue Kick gets the three. Kudos to Orton for working through that shoulder injury.

Video messages from Fergie and the U.S. women's gymnastics "Fierce Five" (although only four shown). Layla and the muppets. Damn those muppets.

Flo Rida performs his newest single "Let it Roll."

Cena promo thanking the troops and telling them to enjoy the rest of the show.

ADR in the ring. It's Ricardo's birthday! "Happy Birthday" sung in Spanish. Ryback's hungry, though. Match lasts a couple minutes and then Ricardo gets involved. Match thrown out. Meathook to Ricardo and ADR. Ryback with Shellshocked to Ricardo. Nice birthday present. Another Shellshocked for ADR.

Kid Rock performs "Let's Ride."

More muppets. So they're all gonna be on Miz TV? Really? Really? Really?

Miz TV next. There's Kermit. We're exposing Kermit! Nice one with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" reference. Miss Piggy time! Marriage time! YES! Damien Sandow appears and Kermit's so happy. 78% have pictures of Sandow instead of Miss Piggy. Miz decks Sandow for Miss Piggy and we have a match.

Kermit and Miss Piggy watch Miz/Sandow. JBL wants bacon and frog legs for dinner. And that's why JBL rules. Yum. Decent match here. Sandow with the neckbreaker for two, then Miz rolls Sandow up to steal the win. Miss Piggy smothers Miz after the match. Now Miz knows how Kermit feels. Could challenge AJ Lee for Kiss of the Year at next year's Slammys.

Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James with a video speech.

Flo Rida back on stage to perform "Wild Ones."

Team Hell No needs a partner for a six-man tag against 3MB (coming up next). Daniel Bryan recommends Little Jimmy. Enter R-Truth. Oh, Little Jimmy's going to a wedding, so Truth will fill in instead. Let's kill some spiders! Kane blames DB for this. "It's not my fault!" Vintage Snitsky reference! The beard makes it all better.

DB with a NO YES war with the muppets. YES A GOAT! COUSIN DANIEL! YES! This was gold.

Six-man tag time. So Slater's the lead singer, Drew's on guitar, and Jinder's on bass. JBL with more cracks at 3MB and Cole. JBL's really on fire with the one-liners tonight. Truth with the blind tag and hits Little Jimmy on Slater for three.

Kid Rock back again to perform "Born Free."

Muppets are back to watch Cena/Cesaro. Muppets introduce Cena. A very pro-Cena crowd tonight. Another standard and short match. Cena does his moves of doom and wins it with the AA.

Cena with the closing speech to thank everyone. All the talent on the stage to applaud the troops. And Santa's here! Santino is Rudolph. Saw the Primetime Players, Usos, Tyson Kidd, Ryder, etc., all as reindeer. Natalya and Eve out to celebrate as well. Nice way to end the show.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

12/18/12 Super Smackdown (Live)

Ratings:
Damien Sandow vs. Sin Cara: *1/2

Santino Marella vs. Tensai: *

Kofi Kingston, Kane, & Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett, Titus O'Neil, & Darren Young: **1/4

Ryback vs. Antonio Cesaro: *1/4

Eve Torres vs. Kaitlyn (Divas Title): *3/4

Brodus Clay vs. Brad Maddox: 1/2*

John Cena & Sheamus vs. Big Show & Dolph Ziggler: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Commercial-free Smackdown!

Show goes right to Miz TV. Guests are Ziggler and AJ. Big E Langston also there. AJ kisses Ziggler. I am very jealous. AJ said Cena toyed with her heart and she lost her job to keep his good name clean. So those bows really were from AJ. AJ now knows Cena doesn't care about anyone but himself. Fans say AJ's crazy. Big E Langston is basically AJ's friend and doesn't like it when AJ is called "crazy." Ziggler kept his briefacse, stole the show, and stole Cena's girl. Miz says Ziggler's the sixth member of One Direction (current British boy band). Langston takes Miz out.

Long trying to persuade Booker to sign Brad Maddox. We'll know his opponent later.

Sandow faces Sin Cara. Cody at ringside. Rey's music plays, but no Mysterio. Hey, no Sin Cara lights this time! Not bad here, the usual fun Sin Cara offense. Shield comes through the crowd and tosses Mysterio's mask in the ring. Sandow hits Terminus off the distraction and gets three. Shield nukes Sin Cara after the match and attacks the right knee. Funny how we only learn AFTER Sin Cara's match that the Shield attacked Mysterio and injured the neck.

Tribute to the Troops airs tonight (12/19).

Tensai and Santino fight tonight because Santino made fun of Tensai at the Slammy awards presentation. JBL wins the internet with a Shockmaster reference. You can win awards for power walking skills? Santino slammed Tensai! Cobra hits right on Tensai's hard head, little effect. Tensai misses the senton and Santino covers for three.

Kofi and Team Hell No backstage. Daniel's still bitter about not winning a Slammy. Kofi has his. Kofi says Daniel got to hang out with Ric Flair and Flair's got the best catchphrase. NO! NO! NO! Awesome.

Barrett and Primetime Players face Kofi and Team Hell No. DB worked over, but tag to Kofi and he works on Barrett. D-Young distracts Kofi, though.Kane with the hot tag after that. Titus and D-Young go for some tandem 3-point stance move on Kane, but DB pulls Titus out of the ring. Chokeslam to D-Young gets three.

Cena talking with Sheamus in the locker room. Cena praises Langston as possibly the strongest guy he's been in the ring with. Bro secrets! Sheamus cringes. Cena's messin' with Sheamus. "But is it possible?!" Hey, we want to know! Or do we?

Punk promo. He's still pissed that he wasn't Superstar of the Year and says even Cena knows he wasn't supposed to win the award. Also pissed Cena gave the Slammy to Flair. Punk's a real man and the gold standard who doesn't lose in title fights. Ryback's coming out...oh crap. Ryback still has his guaranteed title match. WWE Title match between Punk and Ryback set for first RAW of 2013 (January 7).

Cesaro and Ryback next. More "GOLDBERG" chants. Cesaro tries to leave and Ryback stopped that. Cesaro shoved Ryback into the steps and goes for a countout win, no dice. Ryback offense is simple and effective. Meathook and Shellshocked end it.

AJ wishes Kaitlyn luck in her divas title match against Eve. Kaitlyn doesn't buy it and calls AJ a lunatic. Catfight! Where's Joey Styles when you need him?

Divas Title match next. Eve in control early. JBL wins the internet again taking shots at Michael Cole. Kaitlyn with several nice moves for near falls. Kaitlyn to the top, but Eve holds on to the ref and then takes him down to get intentionally DQ'd. Well that let all the air out of this one. The match was actually not bad.

Ziggler assuring AJ he'll be the future world champ. Enter Show, who will KO Ziggler far into next year if Dolph tries to set up Show and cash in MITB again tonight.

Brad Maddox to the ring. He's facing Brodus Clay tonight. Brodus dancing Gangnam Style = ugh. Simple match, Brodus wins with the splash. Shield come out to nuke Brodus.

Main event tag match next. Show toys with Cena and taunts Sheamus. Sheamus tags in and gets some shots in, but he gets worked on next. Sheamus counters the chokeslam and hot tag to Cena. Cena with the moves of doom to Ziggler. Sheamus takes Show out of the ring. Zigzag to Cena only gets two because it's Cena. AA from Cena. Big E Langston gets in the ring and nukes Cena again. Ref rings the bell. Vintage AJ skipping much like on RAW. Vintage makeout session with Ziggler and many guys around the world want to be in Ziggler's shoes. End show.

Again, Tribute to the Troops airs in a few hours. Should have that up tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

12/17/12 RAW (Slammy Awards)

Ratings:
Rey Mysterio vs. Damien Sandow: *1/2

Kaitlyn vs. Eve Torres: 1/4*

Kofi Kingston vs. Tensai: N/A

Great Khali vs. David Otunga: N/A (ugh)

Brodus Clay vs. JTG: N/A (squash)

Cody Rhodes vs. Sin Cara: *

Alberto Del Rio, Miz, & Tommy Dreamer vs. Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre: **

Ryback vs. Antonio Cesaro: N/A

John Cena & Vickie Guerrero vs. Dolph Ziggler & AJ Lee: 3/4*
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Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Philly tonight!

NOTE: commercial-free live Smackdown tonight (Tuesday)! Three-man broadcast team tonight with Cole, Lawler, and JBL. WWE Universe decides who wins a Slammy, but you gotta have a smartphone and use the WWE app. Guess I couldn't have participated anyway.

Mysterio starts the show; Sin Cara accompanies him to the ring. Sandow just gets a mention in the ring. Cody's at ringside as well. Decent, albeit short, match with Mysterio hitting the 619 and dropping the dime for three.

Booker T out to present the first Slammy. Nice tux. Fittingly presenting the "Tell Me I Didn't Just See That?!" award (most shocking moment of the year). Nominees are Maddox's low blow to Ryback, the 18-second World Title match, Kofi's handstand to stave off Royal Rumble elimination (amazing), and Punk attacking Rock on the 1000th RAW. OH YES IT'S THE BOOGEYMAN! Priceless face from Booker. Maddox comes out prematurely, thinking he's gonna win, but Booker announces Kofi as the winner. Short speech from Kofi.

Eve and Kaitlyn already in the ring for a match. Short match again. Kaitlyn doesn't hit her gutbuster finisher well but gets the three. Guess it's a way for Kaitlyn to remain somewhat relevant without actually winning the title. Wouldn't call it a huge upset, though. Kaitlyn mocks the photo posing Eve recently did.

"Comeback of the Year" Slammy Award. HI NEW AGE OUTLAWS! Billy Gunn reads from his hand. Ha. Nominees are Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, DX, and Jerry Lawler. Guess Rock wasn't nominated for this, huh? In a feel-good story, Lawler wins. Of course, this award was for Lawler returning from a serious heart attack. Awesome to see Lawler running to get his Slammy.

Kofi faces Tensai next. Tensai only gets a mention in the ring. Basically, I went to use the bathroom and came back to find Kofi already won with Trouble in Paradise. Oops. Wade Barrett attacks Kofi after the match. Guess we'll see another IC Title match soon. Kofi whipped into the post, then a Bullhammer.

Vickie Guerrero presenting the next Slammy for "Kiss of the Year." Or should I say it's the "AJ Kiss of the Year." Nominees are AJ & Daniel Bryan; AJ & Kane; AJ & CM Punk; and AJ & John Cena. AJ basically wins no matter what, which is why Vickie was presenting. Vickie of course does the whole "I would never do this stuff" speech, and one could have only hoped for Edge to show up at that point. Anyway, Cena wins again because he's John Cena. AJ comes out and says she doesn't owe anyone an explanation for her actions at TLC. Vickie calls AJ a piece of trash. Ziggler comes out. LIPLOCK BETWEEN AJ AND ZIGGLER. YES YES YES. Ziggler really loves this moment. AJ wins the internet.

Khali and Otunga next. Natalya loves seeing this carnage. Wait, Khali can tweet? Guess he can't mess his knees up that way. Khali wins with that overhand shot to Otunga's head. Next!

Next award is "Superstar of the Year." DID I HEAR FLAIR'S VOICE?! Nominees are Sheamus, Cena, Punk, and Big Show. YES, IT'S RIC FLAIR! WOOOOO! Because the WWE Universe is voting, no surprise Cena wins for the third time. Crowd reacts big time. Class move by Cena to say Flair is the real Superstar of the Year. Punk enters, calls the fans stupid, lists all of Cena's main losses, and delivers a horrid "WOOO." Punk says he can beat Flair with one leg. Flair rips the coat off and marches to the ring. Punk gets in the ring and delivers crutch shots. Flair thumb to the eye. FIGURE FOUR TO THE WALRUS (Heyman)!

Flair promo in the ring. Shield comes out. Abrupt commercial break again?! Daniel Bryan and Kane came out during the break to help Flair. Team Hell No taken out, then Shield focuses back on Flair. Reigns readies the announce table. Ryback comes out to save the day. BIG pop for Ryback. Brawl's back on. Rollins again eats an announce table. All four babyfaces celebrate in the ring. Flair hoisted on Kane and Ryback's shoulders.

Flair, DB, and Kane in a "WOOOO NO YES" war. RON SIMMONS! DAMN! Win.

Brodus Clay in the ring. JTG's still employed. JTG basically botched the only real move he had (although Brodus didn't help matters). Brodus wins in less than two minutes.

Santino and Tensai present "LOL Moment of the Year" award. Tensai sporting a bandage and ice pack on his head from his Kofi match earlier. HA, Santino called him Albert! LOL, FAT ALBERT! Nominees are Rock (John Cena dissing), Team Hell No (anger management segments), Randy Orton (sending Striker into the pie), and Vickie Guerrero (dancing). Rock wins but of course he's not there. DB comes out with the "NO NO NO." Kane literally carries him away to the back.

Cody Rhodes and Sin Cara in the ring already. Still don't understand the Sin Cara lights. Announcers mention Sin Cara's leg getting worked on at TLC, yet Sin Cara flies like nothing ever happened. Logic! Sandow and Mysterio are also out there. Cody wins with Cross Rhodes.

Zack Ryder and Layla present the "Trending Now Hashtag of the Year" award. Gotta love Twitter. Nominees are #FeedMeMore (Ryback), #PeoplePower (Laurinaitis), #LittleJimmy (R-Truth), and #WWWYKI (Zack Ryder). Ryback wins and Ryder will give it to him in the back.

Big Show comes out with his big chair. Sheamus comes out to be the bigger man and shake Show's hand. Hey, an actual handshake! Show with words for Sheamus, so Sheamus takes down Show, then wallops the giant with the big chair. Brogue Kick to finish. Oh great, we're having another match in the future, me thinks.

Ziggler comes down to cash MITB! Cena comes down to attack Ziggler. Bell never rang so Ziggler still has the briefcase. Ziggler is irate that Cena cost him the chance to become champ again and takes it out on Vickie. Business relationship between Ziggler and Vickie is officially over (finally). So now, Vickie books a match: Dolph and AJ Lee vs. Cena and...Vickie?!?! Wouldn't have imagined that a few weeks ago.

Six-man tag match. 3MB comes out. Alberto and Ricardo are faces now, I guess, but fans still seemingly on the fence. Del Rio's and Miz's tag partner tonight is TOMMY DREAMER, WOOOOOO! Dreamer's still got the skills. Miz worked over for a few minutes, but eventually the hot tag to ADR. ADR with a superkick KO shot to Slater, but Jinder breaks that up. ADR sets Slater up for the cross armbreaker, but Dreamer wants in. Much like Brooklyn Brawler at TLC, Dreamer gets the win here with his signature DDT.

Sheamus comes out to present the Slammy for "Newcomer of the Year." Fitting that a former winner crowns a new winner. Nominees are Antonio Cesaro, Brodus Clay, Damien Sandow, and Ryback. Ryback wins, again no surprise. Ryback quotes Owen Hart: "Enough is enough, and it's time for a change." Instant win for that. Ryback is a multi-time Slammy winner in his first year for this gimmick. Much better than Skip Sheffield.

Ryback in action against another newcomer nominee, Cesaro. "GOLDBERG" chants again. Not much of a match here. Cesaro avoids the meathook and bails. Ryback wins by countout. Waste of my time.

Hall of Famers (Mean Gene Okerlund, Ricky Steamboat, and Jim Ross) come out to present the next award. Fittingly, it's for "Match of the Year." Nominees are Taker/HHH (WM 28), Lesnar/Cena (Extreme Rules), Show/Sheamus (Hell in a Cell), and Rock/Cena (WM 28). Winner is Taker/HHH, and I agree.

HHH -- remember, he has short hair now -- comes out to accept the award. Funny he mentions the Slammy in circa 1997 for Best Hair. Fans want Taker. HHH assures we haven't seen the last of the Dead Man. So we can basically book Taker in a Mania match now. Odds are it'll be Punk or Cena as the opponent.

Shield attacks Tommy Dreamer backstage. It's the Shield's house now. Ricardo then gets assaulted.

Main event mixed tag ends the show. Seems funny now that it's become AJ and Ziggler paired together against Cena and Vickie. Two guys put a big ladder in the middle of the ring. AJ climbs to the top for a promo. She kept getting asked "why?" for the last 24 hours. Before she can give her explanation, Vickie comes out.

Match is what you'd expect this to be: not great. AJ walks out of the match early and Vickie follows suit, so it turns into a singles match again for about 90 seconds. Cena gets Ziggler in the STF.

WTF...BIG E LANGSTON?! This guy is just as bad as Eli Cottonwood on the mic. AJ leads Langston to the ring. Big E hits his finisher on Cena, which I admit looks cool. Ref throws the match out. AJ skips around the ring as usual. AJ really gets around with the guys, doesn't she? Oh wait, that sounded very wrong. I still adore her. End show.

Not a great night for wrestling. Nice to see the cameos of Flair, Ron Simmons, and Boogeyman. Big E Langston was a huge head-scratcher for me. Langston just may have the look to be a star, but I guess if someone talks for him, it'll be OK.

Monday, December 17, 2012

12/16/12 TLC

Ratings:
Divas Battle Royal (pre-show match): 1/2*

Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow vs. Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara (Tables): **3/4

Antonio Cesaro vs. R-Truth (U.S. Title): **

Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett (IC Title): ***

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, & Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan, Kane, & Ryback (TLC): ****1/2

Eve Torres vs. Naomi (Divas Title): 1/2*

Big Show vs. Sheamus (Chairs; World Heavyweight Title): ***1/4

Alberto Del Rio, Miz, & Brooklyn Brawler vs. Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre: *1/2

John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler (Ladder; MITB Briefcase): ****1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Decided to rate the pre-show match for whatever reason. Scott Stanford and Matt Striker announcing. And of course, the pre-show match has to be a divas battle royal. Winner challenges Eve for the title later in the night. FML.

We see some of the Slammy Award winners already:

Best Dancer: Brodus Clay
Top Social Media Ambassador: Charlie Sheen
WWE.com Exclusive Video of the Year: Jerry Lawler's return from heart attack
Crowd Chant of the Year: "Feed Me More!" (Ryback)
Upset of the Year: Daniel Bryan retaining World Title against Big Show and Mark Henry
Diva of the Year: AJ Lee
Insult of the Year: John Cena ("one enjoys eating a lot of nuts (Vickie) and the other is still looking to find his (Ziggler))
Tweet of the Year: Daniel Bryan (hates Goat Face, wants to be called Beautiful Bryan)
YouTube Show of the Year: Z! True Long Island Story
Facial Hair of the Year: Daniel Bryan
Feat of Strength of the Year: Sheamus hitting White Noise on Big Show
Betrayal of the Year: Big Show (KOs Cena while Cena attempts AA on John Laurinaitis)

The rest will be revealed on Monday night.

OK, divas battle royal. Divas all in the Christmas spirit. Eve at ringside. Natalya wears pink and everyone else wears red. Funkdactyls probably stole the show on the battle royal with the double-team splits. Aksana with the bonehead move to do her pose in the ropes and then easily gets eliminated. Glad to see Kaitlyn and Naomi (NXT season three finalists) in the last two. Eve with the cheap shot to Kaitlyn and Naomi gets the win. Well, at least we can finally see Naomi do something other than dance.

26-bell salute to Sandy Hook Elementary School victims. Classy move there. Announce team for main show is Cole, Lawler, and JBL.

Opening match is a tables match to determine #1 contenders for the tag titles. Only one person of the opposing team must be put through a table. Table makes its appearance a minute in. Cara's leg sandwiched between the steps and the post, ow. "Cody's Mustache" chants again. Fun match here. Great ending with Sin Cara going for a springboard move, but Cody pushes him off the top through a table.

Shield with another promo. Ambrose looks great again.

U.S. Title match next. Cesaro walks everywhere? So he walks to Europe and Asia for those tours as well? Standard match with several near falls for Truth. "Little Jimmy" chants. Euro uppercut and Neutralizer gets Cesaro the win. Cesaro heel promo afterward. Truth later tweeted that he suffered a nasty gash on his knee during the match.

Great Ziggler promo. Rightfully pissed that he has to put his briefcase on the line. It's not like Cena doesn't get enough chances at the title anyway.

Miz doesn't have a match, so we have Miz TV on the PPV. Guests are 3MB. McIntyre says 3MB is better than Jay-Z. HA. Well, I love the confidence. 3MB performs live on RAW tomorrow. Miz with the quick one-liners. So 3MB talks trash to the Spanish announce team. Ricardo Rodriguez?! Guess he's helping his fellow Mexicans. 3MB bullies Ricardo. Del Rio comes in for the save?! 3MB works on ADR. Miz gets shoved, so he takes 3MB out of the ring. Six-man tag later tonight. 3MB vs. Miz, ADR, and another partner. Why not Ricardo? He's more than capable of wrestling.

Daniel Bryan hates it when people repeat themselves. Ha.

Barrett says Kofi is a cat without nine lives. Nice. IC Title match next. Another awesome match with several counters and near-falls. All the signature moves came out to play here. Bullhammer signaled, but Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise for three. Solid.

Punk promo while sitting in the skybox. "Knees 2 Faces" shirt as a parody to the "Boots 2 Asses" shirt Rock wears. Obviously ready to take on Rock at Royal Rumble. Ryback deemed dumb and lucky.

Six-man TLC tag next. Just found out a buddy of mine knows Seth Rollins from childhood, awesome. Shield comes through the crowd with generic entrance music. First TLC match where it must end by pinfall or submission. Fast start! Woohoo! "GOLDBERG" chants to Ryback. Crowd going bonkers with the "YES" chants as DB kicks Reigns. Crowd wants tables. Ryback with a double suplex to Rollins and Ambrose on the ladder. Ambrose face is priceless. Reigns takes the Spanish table apart. Triple powerbomb on Ryback through the Spanish table. Shield doing a great job of attacking in packs. Table propped on the top rope in the corner. Superplex on DB from the top; Kane breaks the pin up at the last moment. No superplex to Kane. Rollins takes a big spill to the floor. Kane with a bunch of offense. Chokeslam to Ambrose on the chair. Chair snaps in a few pieces. Reigns breaks up that pin. Reigns spears Kane through the barricade at ringside. Shield burying Kane in a lot of stuff, and that's the last we see of him tonight. "This is awesome" chants. NO lock to Ambrose in the ring, then to Reigns. Shield back to the pack mentality on DB. DB fights back, but Blackout to DB on the chair. HI RYBACK! Taking out all Shield members. Meathook and Shellshocked to Ambrose. Rollins and Reigns break it up. This is freakin' awesome. Ryback awkward spear on Reigns into a ladder in the entranceway. Shield with multiple chair shots to Ryback. Ryback on a table. Rollins looks at HUGE ladder. Crowd goes NUTS as Rollins starts to climb. Ryback comes to and Rollins is trapped. Rollins keeps climbing?! Ryback pulls Rollins off and Rollins with a SICK bump through a table. Rollins' head hit one of the unbroken tables. Ryback slowly getting back to the ring. Reigns and Ambrose powerbomb DB through a table in the ring and get three. The right people won and a war of a match. Hell freakin' YES.

Divas title match now so the crowd can recover from the TLC match. Naomi having some fun and she can jump. Unfortunately, Naomi didn't look good at the end and didn't take Eve's finisher cleanly. Eve retains. Random time for a photo shoot.

World Title chairs match. It's time for another war. Scott Armstrong has been pumping major iron in the gym. Look at that, Ed Hochuli! Sheamus chases after Show with a chair but Show kicks the chair back in his face. Sheamus with two chair shots and a slam to Show for two. Battering Ram with the chair. Sheamus tries it again, and Show spears him. "OLE OLE OLE OLE" chants from the crowd. Nice. Chokeslam only gets two. It's raining chairs in the ring now. Chair placed on Sheamus, then Show with the Vader Bomb for two. Sheamus with White Noise to Show on two chairs! Only two! Sheamus calling for Brogue Kick. Big Show moves and KOs Sheamus...TWO! Show pulls out a GIANT chair! One shot to Sheamus with that, and Show retains. Love the giant chair spot for the finish. Thought it added a bit of comedy to the execution-like finish. Obviously not the most technically sound match, but the crowd loved it.

Six-man tag next. So who's Miz's and Del Rio's partner? BROOKLYN BRAWLER FTW! Aw, he's wearing a Brooklyn Nets jersey. JBL: "He's still around?!" AHAHAHA.

So it turns out ADR can fly and Ricardo can get a pop from the crowd when interfering. SCF to Jinder. Brawler tagged in. Brooklyn Crab wins it! Pigs are flying and hell has frozen over. Brooklyn Brawler wins at TLC should be trending on Twitter.

Promos already promoting Rock for Royal Rumble.

Cena and Ziggler get the main event slot. Cena with the split crowd as usual. Crowd with LOUD chants for Ziggler. Cena with a monkey flip, woohoo. Hey, Ziggler uses a chair in a ladder match! Yay! Cena with the steel steps to Ziggler. Sick thud there. Trading blows leads to Ziggler sleeper. Cena still climbs the ladder with Ziggler on his back. Cena's right eye looks cut. Cena passes out and both go through a table. Ziggler with a small cut on his left leg. Ziggler to his feet first. Cena lifts Ziggler AND the ladder?!?! Damn. Ziggler hops off, but now the Cena comeback moves. Ziggler with a kick and a Rocker Dropper. More split chants. STF to Ziggler. Tapping out won't work. Ropes won't save Ziggler. Ziggler passes out. Cena sets up ladder. AA countered into Zigzag. Ziggler sets up a table in the corner. Cena has AA countered again and a jumping DDT. Ziggler with a bigger ladder now. Cena stops Ziggler again. Trading blows on the ladder. Cena close to winning, but Ziggler gets Cena off the ladder. WTF CENA WITH A HURRICANRANA SENDING ZIGGLER THROUGH A TABLE?!?! Ziggler dropkick to Cena and the ladder flies to the outside. Cena counters for the AA again, but Ziggler uses a chair (propped in the corner) to get out again. Ziggler clears the ring of the broken tables. Ziggler superkick misses, and Cena hits the AA. Vickie Guerrero to the ring with a chair. AJ Lee comes down -- and uses all the Cena moves on Vickie?! Um, wow. AJ's skipping as Cena climbs the ladder. AJ SHOVES THE LADDER! AHAHAHAHA! THE CRAZY CHICK DOES IT AGAIN. Ziggler climbs the ladder and gets the briefcase. WIN.
__________________

Kudos to WWE for having the right people win their matches, namely Ziggler and Shield. Rollins took an extremely sick bump at the end of the match. WWE finally let many of their fans know what the company knew for a long time: these are three blue-chip talents. WWE, as usual, also made sure to make Ryback look strong without having him actually take the pinfall in defeat.

The Del Rio face turn was not entirely out of left field because WWE wants a big-time Mexican babyface on the roster for the long term. Mysterio's career is winding down and Sin Cara isn't as over as WWE had hoped (not to mention the injuries and suspensions the two masked stars have). Ricardo is expected to stick with Alberto through the face turn.

I was happy to see Naomi get a chance to wrestle. She has the athleticism but unfortunately is green in the ring on taking proper bumps. Just being a Brodus dancer over the past few months hasn't helped.

Lastly, I loved seeing Ziggler retain his briefcase. AJ turning on Cena isn't surprising because, hell, she's a crazy chick. Cena doesn't need a damn briefcase, and he'd probably be booked to lose the title match again even if he had it anyway. The fans loved it, too. Will Ziggler cash the briefcase with Show as the champ? It wouldn't be unprecedented (see Daniel Bryan).

Royal Rumble means Rock vs. Punk finally happens. Punk should be good to go for the match. By that time, Punk will be well over 400 days as champ. I'd rather have Punk retain at the Rumble (by cheating) and then have a rematch at Mania. Cena might be a good fit for an Undertaker opponent.

But WWE could also have Rock become champ and then face Cena at Mania, leaving Punk and Taker to square off (where Taker would of course win). This latter scenario seems likely if WWE wants to have Cena try to avenge his loss this past year. Might also be a final passing of the torch from Rock to Cena.

Before I watched the replay, Meltzer commented that it was an outstanding PPV. I didn't think it was necessarily "outstanding" (better without the divas match), but it was very good. ***3/4

Sunday, December 16, 2012

12/14/12 Smackdown

Ratings:
Big Show vs. R-Truth: *1/2

Cody  Rhodes & Damien Sandow vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: *1/2

Kaitlyn vs. Aksana: 3/4*

Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel, Great Khali, & Hornswoggle vs. Titus O'Neil, Darren Young, Primo, & Epico: *1/4

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio: **

Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro: **1/4
__________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Sheamus and Cesaro at ringside to "scout" their respective opponents for TLC. Show faces Truth here. Painful beatdown from Show for the first few minutes. Cesaro stands over Truth and Sheamus shoves Cesaro. Show KOs Truth in the ring for three. Show taunts Sheamus some more. Sheamus stalks Show. Cesaro pushes Sheamus into Show. Show gets all giddy because he thinks the match is off now that Sheamus made contact with him. Booker says the match is still on.

Sandow re-introduces Cody Rhodes as his tag partner. Cody had been sidelined until this past week with injuries. They face the Usos tonight. Standard match here. Sandow holds the tights on the rollup to get three.

Show has Otunga by his side to get out of his title match. Otunga demands to the WWE Board of Directors that the match be called off and that Booker gets removed as Smackdown GM. Booker says the match is still on. Show is pouting like a big baby. Whoa, Otunga brought up Booker's past of serving jail time eons ago! Sheamus storms to the ring with a chair. Sheamus says if the match is off, he'll just kick Show's arse right now. Show says the contract's fine and the match is on. Brogue Kick to Otunga. Well, that was entertaining.

Shield shown taking Randy Orton out. Orton apparently went through a table. Injury angle?

Kaitlyn and Aksana in another match. No intros. They've had some bad matches in the past but have developed a decent back story over the last few months (Aksana being the mystery person taking Kaitlyn out before her divas title match against Eve). Frankly, JBL's commentary was much more entertaining. Gutbuster wins it for Kaitlyn, the so-called "hybrid" diva in WWE.

Striker says Orton has a separated shoulder and a possible concussion.

Miz TV next; guests are Team Hell No. DB and Kane will use tables (YES), ladders (YES), and chairs (YES), and will love every single second of it (YES YES YES). Shield interrupts with their camera. Ambrose again comes out as the big star in that one. Kane invites them to the ring to fight. Shield spotted in the crowd. They make their way down the crowd, but Ryback comes out. Shield retreats.

Khali and Hornswoggle in tag team action again. Natalya is now a valet. Why?! 8-man tag right now. Rosa slaps Tyson Kidd, so Natalya comes over and takes out Rosa. Kidd counters a rollup with one of his own and gets the win. Fairly abrupt ending. The face team ends up dancing in the ring after. Yup.

Kofi and Alberto next. Gotta love the Kofi high-flying stuff to pump the crowd up. Kofi counters an ADR suplex and rolls him up for three. Barrett sprints to the ring and tries a sneak attack, but Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise.

Recap of RAW with the World Heavyweight Title picture. We also see the Sheamus/Ziggler match again from Monday night.

Shemaus tells Regal he will hit Show with a ton of chair shots and become champ again. Tonight, the Celtic Warrior faces Cesaro. I agree with JBL, I love that Euro uppercut as well. It looks vicious and you can hit it from just about any angle. Sheamus with the comeback. Shemaus then sees Show on the stage with a fallen Regal. Show with the chair shot to Regal as Regal holds Sheamus back. Ref counts Sheamus out in the process. I have to give it to WWE. It's been a very nice build for the PPV.

I frankly want to literally see blood flowing between Show and Sheamus. It's not PG, but dammit, if WWE really wants an edgier product now, just do it. Don't show blood all the time, but show it when you need to. This is one instance where adding a bit of color would make it that much better. Show and Sheamus was not built up to be a wrestling clinic. This was made to be a war from the start. Let it be a war with blood.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

12/13/12 Superstars

Ratings:
Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre vs. Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd: **1/4

Brodus Clay vs. Michael McGillicutty: *
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Reviews/Thoughts:
3MB starts the show against Gabriel and Kidd. Kidd has a lot of fun mocking 3MB. Gabriel with a nice moonsault to Jinder's arm. Good action throughout. Jinder takes advantage of the distractions and hits a full nelson slam on Kidd to get the three-count.

We get another recap of Punk's "health update" from RAW.

Another recap from RAW: AJ Lee vs. Vickie Guerrrero. Brad Maddox was the ref. You can probably figure out what happens from here.

Brodus faces McGillicutty. Whatever hair Brodus has left on his head is all curled up. Nice hair. Doesn't take long for Brodus to win this with the splash.

Superstars finishes with Cena/Show from RAW.

TLC PPV on Sunday.

Friday, December 14, 2012

12/13/12 Impact

Ratings:
Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne: *

Garett Bischoff & Wes Brisco vs. Robbie E and Robbie T: *3/4

Jeff Hardy & James Storm vs. Aces & Eights: ***

Kenny King vs. Rob Van Dam: ***

Bully Ray vs. Jesse: *
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Roode starts the show and he wants answers as to why Aces & Eights jumped him. Devon said someone offered the group a better deal. Devon won't tell Roode who it was. We might get an answer tonight, though. Hardy and Storm come down to chase A&E away.

Velvet Sky has new ring gear, a catsuit. Not bad. Velvet hits her finisher (double underhook facebuster) to get the win.

Daniels and Kaz deny any A&E involvement, saying they wouldn't have someone attack their friend (Roode).

Angle tells Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco to down some 5-Hour Energy instead of getting coffee. Another pitch for the sponsors. Match sees Brisco get isolated for a bit, hot tag to Garett. Good energy from GB. Blind tag from Brisco. Brisco with the high crossbody to Robbie T to get three. A&E guy then with a hit-and-run on the back of Angle's knee during the celebration.

Joseph Park driving a VW Bug is just hilarious on its own. He's there for wrestling school at OVW. He gets his ass handed to him. Fun.

Jesse and Bully Ray are battling tonight. Tara wants no hard feelings and offers to pick her own opponent for next Thursday's championship week. Doesn't work.

Storm/Hardy vs. A&E next. Doc and a masked guy to the ring. Storm still might be wrestling injured, but at least the shirt's off tonight. It would explain why he's done way more talking than wrestling lately. Hardy isolated. Love the crowd energy supporting Hardy. Nice tag wrestling strategy from A&E. Hot tag to Hardy. Huge house of fire here. A&E members come in and Hardy/Storm take them all out one by one. Last Call to Doc. Twist of Fate to the masked guy for three. Awesome.

Devon reveals Austin Aries is the guy who outbid Roode. Don't be surprised, fellas. It makes total sense. Aries has bad blood with Roode, Hardy, and Storm. Hogan tells Aries over the phone that HH will give him a chance to tell his side of the story later tonight. Roode's pissed.

AJ Styles speaks to the fans. He quickly tells people he's not going anywhere. AJ's tired of being the corporate guy and looking out for everyone else. From now on, he says, it'll be about AJ Styles first. he tosses the Impact Wrestling shirt to Dixie Carter and walks away. Might be a way to take time time to rest and come back with a vengeance. I don't know if that means another Styles heel turn in the future or just a face guy with a bigger attitude. No world title shots for 10 more months. Feud with Daniels and Kaz might finally be over. Should be interesting.

Daniels and Kaz celebrate that AJ has apparently left.

Kenny King says he learns more from his losses than his wins, so let's see how much he learned facing RVD in a non-title match. King being more aggressive in this match. Crowd rallies around RVD. Lots of counters and agile spots. King rolls through the RVD crossbody and gets the three with the foot on the ropes. I like King better as a heel.

Bully and Hulk in a heated exchange regarding Bully's supposed relationship with Brooke Hogan. Love the intensity they had.

Jesse and Bully next. Bully's pissed, to say the least. Extra force on the slaps tonight. Even a slap for Tara's rear. Basic Jesse offense. Bully wins it with the cutter.

Aries to the ring for his side of the story. He just wants his World Title back. Hardy basically gives him the title shot next week on Championship Thursday. Hardy fires the first shots and Aries backs off. End show.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

12/12/12 NXT

Ratings:
Paige vs. Sasha Banks: *

Rowan vs. Oliver Grey: N/A (squash)

Seth Rollins vs. Jinder Mahal (NXT Title): ***1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Finally, the much-hyped NXT Title match between Seth Rollins and Jinder Mahal happens tonight.

Paige faces Sasha Banks to start this show. Sasha is also known as Mercedes KV in the indies and has lived or wrestled all over the states. First match for Sasha on NXT. Not bad here. Paige Turner finisher gets three.

So much for trying to get a word with Roman Reigns. Tough life to be a backstage interviewer.

Bray Wyatt comes out for more preaching and introduces his "son." Big bald guy with a large red beard comes out to face Oliver Grey. Wyatt gets to sit and watch in a rocking chair. A few sloppy spots. Side slam wins it. Wyatt says the name of his second son is Rowan.

Dusty Rhodes promo. No bounties on Dusty's watch. Hey, Camacho is still employed! He wants the money because Hunico's stuck in Mexico (in other words, Hunico is still injured). El Capitan! Well, Camacho gets a match next week. Camacho and a partner to face Langston. Thankfully, Langston only said three words this time.

Big Show answers Bo Dallas' challenge from last week. Ow.

3MB's Jinder Mahal comes out. Tapings finally caught up to the present gimmick. Rollins is still the firecracker of a dude that doesn't have his Shield gimmick yet. Main event intros. Mahal uses all parts of the ring as a tag partner to work on Rollins. Rollins with great stuff. Rollins top-rope hurricanrana countered into Mahal rollup for two. Seth with a bunch of near falls. Buckle Bomb from Rollins. Jinder gets the knee to the back, but Rollins blocks the Camel Clutch. Superkick to a kneeling Jinder. Skywalker finisher gets three for Rollins. Another fantastic match that lives up to the hype.

Corey Graves in the stands with the "applause" for Rollins. Seeds for the next feud have been planted. WWE thinks highly of Graves, so this could be Corey's golden ticket to a higher profile on this show.

12/12/12 Main Event

Ratings:
Ryback vs. Alberto Del Rio: *3/4

Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre vs. Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Cole and Miz on commentary tonight. Video package on Ryback. Ricardo then comes out to introduce a 17-minute video package for Del Rio. Ryback comes out in the middle of the video. Ryback dominant early on. ADR focuses again on the left arm, wedging Ryback's arm between the post and the steps to deliver more damage. Ryback still pulls off the convincing win with Shellshocked.

Striker asks Ryback for thoughts on the six-man tag at the TLC PPV. Will Ryback and Team Hell No be able to co-exist? YES YES YES from Ryback.

3MB to the ring. They really would be a great fit in Vegas, wouldn't they? 3MB wants to know why they weren't invited to play at the 12/12/12 Sandy benefit concert. Oh, a taste of their first demo! They basically scream into the mic. Kidd and Gabriel come out. 2-on-3 handicap match tonight.

High flying from Kidd and Gabriel, but the numbers game plays a factor. McIntyre shoves Gabriel into the steps...ow. Gabriel isolated. Gabriel with the great agile counters to get the hot tag to Kidd. Tyson's mocking of Heath Slater should seriously become a .gif on the internet. Sharpshooter from Kidd, but McIntyre with the big foot to the face for two. Gabriel takes himself and Jinder out of the match. Drew to the outside. Kidd with a rollup for two. Kidd eats a Drew right hand, then the Smash Hit for three. Great stuff, very much worthy for Main Event.

Kane vs. Cody Rhodes advertised for next week's Main Event. Kane inadvertently injured Cody during a tag match on Main Event a few weeks back. Impressive that Rhodes healed so fast. Should be good next week.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12/10/12 RAW

Ratings:
R-Truth vs. Wade Barrett: *

Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Titus O'Neil & Darren Young vs. Primo & Epico (Elimination): **1/2

Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox: N/A

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***1/4

Alberto Del Rio vs. Zack Ryder: *1/2

Vickie Guerrero vs. AJ Lee: N/A

Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston: **3/4

Big Show vs. John Cena: **1/2
__________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Newark, and Ziggler starts the show on top of the ladder in the middle of the ring. Tables, ladders, and chairs surround the ring. Ziggler's confident he'll beat Cena and retain his MITB briefcase, then become World Heavyweight champ. Enter Sheamus. Big Show and his blah blah blahs. Sheamus pushes Ziggler off the ladder. Ow.

Vince is back. More awkward Vickie Guerrero segments. Vince says Show and Cena in one main event, thanks to Vickie. But Vince wants two main events. Sheamus now in a match against Ziggler. Good job, Vickie. Oh wait, three main events! Vickie says AJ in a handicap match? Nah, AJ against Vickie instead. Talk about having the mic blow back up in your face. Pipebomb...

Truth and Barrett next. Kofi and Cesaro at ringside on commentary. Pumphandle slam countered and Truth steals the win with a victory roll.

An energetic AJ Lee gets to barge into the men's locker room again. Fun, isn't it?

Fatal Four Way elimination tag match to determine #1 contenders. Cody Rhodes is back after healing damn quick from his injuries. Usos eliminated Primo/Epico and the PTPs. Camera got a good shot of Cody's mustache. Hey Cody, Movember is over already. "Cody's Mustache" chants?! WTF. Usos looked like they'd run the table, but Cody got the knees up on the splash. Cross Rhodes gets three.

Divas will get more than one wrestling match tonight! Yeah, I'm even counting Vickie's upcoming participation as a match this time. Eve and Alicia are up first. Alicia with a colorful outfit. Basic match, mostly dead crowd. Eve wins with the neckbreaker in under 3 minutes.

Punk on crutches this week. No, his injury is not really that bad. Regardless, he's off the TLC PPV. We see Ryback's dominance on Punk again from last week. Punk's focus switches to Rock now at the Royal Rumble.

Ziggler and Sheamus next. Sheamus quickly attacks Ziggler's left leg (hamstring taped up). Sheamus into the ringpost and Ziggler attacks the injured shoulder. Ziggler scales the ropes and scores a super facebuster for two. Each guy with counters and several near falls at the end. Ziggler ducks the Brogue Kick and uses the chair for the DQ. Sheamus Brogue Kicks the chair back in Ziggler's face.

Vickie's a little tight, so Hornswoggle and Khali offer to help Vickie stretch. Vince walks in. Thought it was supposed to be a family show. ROFL. Vintage awkwardness. That how you like it, Vickie?

More Shield promos. Win.

Del Rio and Ryder next. Crowd still loves Zack. More time given to this match than I thought they'd give. ADR ducks the Broski Boot and right into the cross armbreaker for the submission win.

AJ and Vickie are finally up. AJ with the homestate pop. Vickie doesn't get ring music. There's no ref in the ring. Oh, it's Brad Maddox in a ref's shirt! AJ with the slap and Maddox doesn't count. Vickie with the rollup and Maddox counts three. Yup. Not sure why Maddox didn't just count fast there. Vickie skips and AJ with the screaming tirade. AJ slaps Justin Roberts pretty hard. Ow.

10th Tribute to the Troops will air over the holiday season. Oh, and the Slammy Awards return next week!

Cesaro vs. Kofi in another champion vs. champion match. Nice match here. Even the little things like grabbing the rope on the SOS was great. DAMN, Cesaro caught Kofi off the top and into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Neutralizer gets three. Impressive.

This show has felt ridiculously long.

Miz TV is next. Nice suit, Miz. Guests are Rhodes Scholars a.k.a. "The Beardo and the Weirdo." Miz with the jokes for Cody's mustache. More shots at Pacquiao getting KO'd. Ow. Miz trying to create tension between the two tag partners. "Cody's Mustache" should just get its own shirt. "The Pink and the Stink." BURN.

AJ wants to accompany Cena for his match. Ziggler on commentary. Show basically controls most of the match. Show can't put Cena away. AA hits. Shield hits the ring one by one to attack Cena. Team Hell No comes in to attack Shield. Ziggler works on Cena. Show works on Cena. Sheamus enters and goes after Ziggler because of the no-contact rule with Show. Cena spears Show through the table. Ryback time. Loved how he tossed a ladder to nail all three guys. Big brawl ends the show. TLC this Sunday.

12/9/12 Final Resolution

Ratings:
James Storm vs. Kazarian: **1/4

Rob Van Dam vs. Kenny King (X-Division Title): ***

Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs. Joey Ryan & Matt Morgan (Tag Team Titles): **3/4

Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray: ***

Tara vs. Mickie James (Knockouts Title): **1/4

Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Garett Bischoff, & Wes Brisco vs. Aces & Eights: ***1/4

Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles (No DQ, No Countout): ***3/4

Jeff Hardy vs. Bobby Roode (World Title): ***1/4
___________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Storm and Kaz in an impromptu opening match. Good crowd, although a bit dead in the middle of the match. Kaz tries to cheat to win, doesn't work. Fade to Black countered, Last Call hits for three. Read that Storm has taped-up busted ribs. Probably explains why he worked the match with his shirt on.

X-Division Title next. Kenny King finally gets to work another PPV.  Interesting to see RVD go to the ground game against KK. Fun match here to show the in-ring style similarities. Amazing agility from both. Frog splash from RVD misses. Royal Flush countered, RVD rolls up KK for three. Very nice.

Tag title match next. Morgan can apparently bench a lot and is really growing that beard. Don't be taking the goat face title away from Daniel Bryan! Morgan looking real strong here.Chavo is the one worked over, then hot tag to Hernandez. Chavo nails the frog splash. Morgan pulls the ref out before he can count three. Ref DQs Morgan. We'll see a rematch very soon.

Next is Aries and Bully. Liking this Bully Ray face turn because he really hasn't changed his gimmick at all. Just being who he is. Why they decide to do another "scandal" or relationship storyline baffles me. Bully with a missile dropkick made me do a double take. Brainbuster countered into a big Bully Cutter for two. Crowd wanting tables. Bully into the steps and does the blade job. Brooke Hogan to the ring. Yeah, come down to the ring NOW?! Serious Hulk walking to the ring. Brooke ushered to the back. Aries with the low blow and rollup for three. Yup.

Knockouts Title next. Mickie donning some sexy attire with overalls. Yay for hardcore country gimmick? Jesse plays distraction role multiple times again. Tara takes advantage and hits the Widow's Peak for three.

We got the 8-man tag next: Angle's squad vs. Aces & Eights (Devon, Doc, and two masked guys). Competitive match here. Angle with the hot tag. Bischoff and Brisco help clean house. Spotfest of signature moves follows. Angle ready to put one of the masked A&E guys away. Bischoff intercepts Doc as he wanted to use that hammer. Angle Slam and it's over. Thought A&E should have won here. I hope this isn't TNA's version of the Nexus storyline all over again.

Styles and Daniels in another classic match. Winner only by pinfall or submission. These two may have been feuding off and on forever, but I'll never tire of the in-ring work. Holy physicality, Batman! Collision looked to be the reason for AJ getting busted open over the left eye. Styles Clash from AJ only gets two. Super Styles Clash countered. Daniels then uses the Styles Clash back on AJ for three. Well, that wraps up a year to forget for AJ, doesn't it? But a heck of a match.

World Title match closes the show. Main event intros from Borash. Hardy still selling the attack from Impact where Roode allegedly paid A&E to hurt Hardy. Roode with methodical offense to Hardy. Action to the floor for more punishment. Hardy with the comeback for a few near falls. Hardy with a nasty bump when missing the poetry in motion on the guardrail. Still, Hardy survives and the crowd loves that. Hardy manages the Swanton, but he's too hurt to get the pin. Roode spear only gets two.

A&E shows up at ringside. Roode wants them to interfere but they don't. Hardy with a Twist of Fate for three. A&E then gets in there and beats Hardy up. Roode's pissed that he should be the champ. A&E takes out Roode. End show.

For me, I'll say that it was a solid, consistent PPV. Nothing four stars and above, but Styles and Daniels came close. Hoped for the crowd to be just a bit more lively at times, but OK overall. ***1/4

Saturday, December 8, 2012

12/7/12 Smackdown

Ratings:
Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan: *3/4

Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, & Drew McIntyre vs. Brodus Clay, Jimmy Uso, & Jey Uso: *

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett: **1/4

Great Khali & Hornswoggle vs. Primo & Epico: DUD (ugh)

Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio: ***1/4
__________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Announcers say that Punk had minor surgery on his knee and won't be wrestling at the PPV. Lilian Garcia is back announcing after getting hit by a car a couple months ago.

Booker T in the ring for contract signing between Sheamus and Big Show. It's a chairs match. Video package of the feud the two have had. Booker T says no-contact clause until the PPV match, effective immediately. Both Sheamus and Show come out. Booker then tells Show that if he violates the no-contact clause, Show would be stripped of the title. Sheamus says his Christmas comes in nine days. Show can't wait because he believes he only needs to hit Sheamus once to win. Show shoves the table on Sheamus, then signs the contract. Guess there's a technicality that Show still hadn't signed the contract (or that he didn't actually touch Sheamus). I've been impressed by these two in this storyline. Quality matches. Hoping for more of that at TLC.

Sheamus gets Alberto Del Rio later tonight. Show gets Daniel Bryan now. Show slaps hard and DB kicks hard. Show works on DB's left arm. Shield comes down through the crowd. DB distracted, and Show with a chokeslam for three. Show leaves and Shield attacks DB. Kane arrives, but he too gets mugged. Kane through the announce table. Wow, table spot this early in the program?

Sandow still looking for an apprentice.Guy in glasses gets picked, could pass for Daivari's brother. And another failure. Miz comes out. Sandow apparently wears his dad's bathrobe and gets pink trunks from Victoria's Secret. Burn.

Brodus comes out with the Usos to face 3MB. So Brodus = Shrek + Aretha Franklin? Duly noted. Short match here. Drew hits the Future Shock for the three.

Barrett and Orton next. Kofi on commentary. Action to the outside, and Orton tosses Wade into the barricade. Barrett whips Orton into the steps. Typical Orton comeback moves. RKO blocked. WB tries to remove the turnbuckle but Kofi stops that. Orton RKO gets three.

Primo and Epico are former tag champs, and now they get to job to a 7-footer with horrible knees and a short guy with a leprechaun gimmick. Why?! Also a shame that Natalya is picked for the whole "I got a huge crush on Khali" storyline. Hornswoggle gets picked on, so he does the Warrior shaking ropes spot and runs away so Khali can do the damage. Tadpole splash gets three. Infinite facepalms.

Shield does their raw-looking, attitude-filled taped promos. Woohoo.

Cesaro in the ring. America is weak, he says. They all look like the American Dream. Dusty Rhodes, that is. Nice picture. R-Truth comes out for his spiel. Cesaro says Truth's delusional. You don't say? Brawl in the ring, Cesaro bails.

Sheamus and ADR next. Show comes out when ADR seizes control of the match. Del Rio, as usual, works on the left arm. Whoa, ADR did a moonsault! YES! Cross armbreaker on Sheamus while in the ropes. Sheamus comeback later on, but great ADR counters. Back and forth for the last few minutes. ADR moonsault again. Sheamus moves, but ADR lands on his feet. Irish Curse backbreaker and cloverleaf. ADR taps. Awesome.

Show comes to the ring and dares Sheamus to hit him. Sheamus motions for the Brogue Kick, then throws Ricardo into Show's nuts. No actual contact from Sheamus! Match is still on. End show.

12/6/12 Superstars

Ratings:
Tensai vs. Zack Ryder: *3/4

Brodus Clay vs. David Otunga: *1/4
__________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Ryder and Tensai start the show. I shake my head why the announcers still build up Tensai as a big deal when he hasn't really done anything lately to get me on the bandwagon. Tensai with the methodical offense, then Ryder with the comeback. Variation of Broski Boot, then second-rope dropkick for two. Walks right into a two-handed chokeslam. Tensai running sention for three. Well, at least the big man won.

We see stuff from RAW with Punk and Miz, then the tag match pitting Cena/Sheamus vs. Show/Ziggler.

Otunga vs. Brodus. Natalya on commentary and Hornswoggle is the timekeeper. Khali is the world's largest ref. Nice to have Natalya share some info about the late Stu Hart. Don't ever compare Khali and Stu Hart again. Rosa attacks Hornswoggle with a bouquet of flowers. Natalya stops that. Brodus wins with the splash. Laughed when Khali didn't even bother to get down to count three. The most imposing three-count ever.

Superstars ends with lie detector test on RAW and Ryback's beatdown of Punk. No Punk at the PPV, we get a six-man TLC tag instead.

Friday, December 7, 2012

12/6/12 Impact

Ratings:
Devon vs. Samoa Joe (TV Title): *3/4

Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez vs. Robbie E and Robbie T: **

Kurt Angle vs. Doc: **1/2

Kenny King vs. Zema Ion vs. Kid Kash: ***

Jeff Hardy, James Storm, & AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels, & Kazarian: **3/4
__________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Roode, Daniels, and Kaz start the show. They'll be partners in a six-man tag tonight against Hardy, Storm, and Styles. Nice Fortune reference. Daniels calls Styles to the ring and AJ comes down. More words between Styles and Daniels. Styles takes Daniels down. 3-on-1 beatdown before Hardy and Storm arrive.

TV Title match again. Devon gets his title shot at a belt he never lost (he originally left TNA as the champ). Reportedly the first time Joe and Devon faced off in singles action. Real hot crowd here. Joe gets Devon in the choke. Good-looking blonde hops on the apron to distract the ref. Doc nails Joe from behind with that hammer. Devon gets three and we have a new champ. So Aces & Eights got the ladies now? Win.

Brooke Hogan on the phone. Sounds like she signed a new Knockout.

Sounds like Al Snow got attacked or something, wound up in the hospital last week. Explains his absence from the Gut Check judging.

Mickie James to the ring. Mickie says she's had a humbling year, but is back now to regain her Knockouts Title. Tara interrupts. Jesse's obviously there.

OH HI, VELVET SKY! More "welcome back" chants. Velvet says she'll be Knockouts champ in 2013. Sounds good.

Robbie E doesn't know how to work a touchscreen. Well, at least he can be a pitchman for Direct Auto Insurance. He and Robbie T against Chavo and Hernandez. Nice to see Robbie T's still been hitting the weights hard. Hot tag to Hernandez. Shoulderblock to Robbie E, then Chavo frog splash for three. Matt Morgan runs over the tag champs while Joey Ryan talks smack.

A&E celebrating in the back. Doc doesn't appear to be in a celebratory mood, though. He's got Angle next. Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff have Angle's back. But we'll see. Seen photos online of Garett being a possible A&E member. They rotate guys, so it's not set in stone yet.

Angle works on Doc's left knee, and that knee bugs Doc even when dishing out punishment of his own. Lots of German suplexes from Angle. Good counters from Doc. Doc with a chokeslam for two. Angle Slam, straps down. Ankle lock is on, but A&E charges the ring. Ref calls for the bell. Joe, Brisco, and Bischoff to the rescue. Angle says 8-man tag (with Joe, Brisco, and Bischoff) against any four A&E guys at Final Resolution.

Bully Ray wants at match against Austin Aries. Hogan says no, so Bully's threatening to take over the show.

#1 contender's match for the X-Division Title. Triple threat action. A lot of fun here. Mix of counters and aerial moves. Tower of Doom spot. Great to see even Kid Kash doing some high-flying. King wins it with the Royal Flush. Best match of the show so far.

Here's Bully to take over the show. Aries comes out and even he plans to do his own taking over. Not on Hulk Hogan's watch. Hey, Brooke called Bully by his real name (Mark). Hulk says Bully and Aries can fight at Final Resolution. Was that so hard?

6-man tag main event. Main event intros from Borash. Kaz and Daniels wearing purple pants that would look better in the 1980s. Again, a hot crowd. Hardy worked over for a few minutes, then hot tag to Styles. Storm helps clean house, but gets sent into the ring steps. Awesome reverse DDT-regular DDT combo by Styles. Storm and Styles look to disagree on something. Hardy tags himself in and Twist of Fate to Kaz gets three. Styles and Storm still not happy with the other.

A&E hits the ring and attacks Hardy. Roode paid A&E in the ol' hired gun spot. Storm returned alone (with a chair) to fend off A&E. End show.
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Final Resolution predictions:
Aries probably cheating to beat Bully Ray
I'd like Kenny King to win the X-Division Title to freshen things up, but RVD might retain
Tara to retain over Mickie James
Morgan and Ryan should become the new tag champs
Aces & Eights should win in the 8-man tag
Styles should beat Daniels
Hardy likely retains over Roode

Thursday, December 6, 2012

12/5/12 NXT

Ratings:
Antonio Cesaro vs. Michael McGillicutty: **1/4

Bo Dallas vs. Axl Keegan: *1/4

Corey Graves vs. Yoshi Tatsu: *1/2

Roman Reigns vs. Gavin Reid: *

Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
McGillicutty starts the show, nice pop from the fans. Facing Cesaro tonight. Hearing the hot crowd makes me wonder if this was the start of a new set of tapings. Several near falls. MM with a good showing against the U.S. champ. Euro uppercut connects, then Neutralizer wins it for Cesaro.

Bo Dallas battles Axl Keegan. Noticed Saxton is doing ring announcing for this one. Simple match here. Bo wins with the spear. Match lasted about two and a half minutes. Bo promo afterward. He loves to fight and issues an open challenge to anyone in WWE. Love the confidence.

Yoshi Tatsu's still in WWE and jobs to Corey Graves tonight. Graves had control before the bell even rang. Graves worked on Yoshi's left knee throughout the match. Graves' finisher is called The 13th Step, basically a modified figure-four. I love submission moves.

Roman Reigns (pre-Shield days) faces Gavin Reid. Reigns with the win in a little over two minutes. Reigns tosses Reid out of the ring. Saxton wants a word with Reigns but Roman does the traditional heel intimidating to get Byron out of there.

Kidd says he will be the next NXT champ someday. Kassius Ohno doesn't agree. Nice beard, Kassius. You want in the running to be the next goat face?

Next week, Jinder battles Seth Rollins for the NXT Title.

Main event is Kidd and Kruger. I'm a fan of Kruger's unstable demeanor in the ring, plays the part very well. Good amount of time given to this one. Mat wrestling at the start. Crowd not as hot for this one. Kidd on the comeback. Kruger blocks the springboard elbow drop. Kidd with the arm drag while Kruger's on the top rope. Action briefly to the floor. Kidd with springboard elbow attempt, Kruger tries to counter, but Kidd's ready for that. Tyson slaps on the Dungeon Lock for the quick submission win.

Kassius Ohno attacks Kidd after the match. Kruger and Ohno with the double-team offense. Neat rolling elbow-facebuster combo. William Regal to the ring to help Kidd to safety, and Ohno doesn't like it.

12/5/12 Main Event

Ratings:
Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro: **3/4

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Antonio Cesaro & Wade Barrett: ***
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Cole and Miz on commentary. They immediately mention Punk's knee surgery after RAW this past Monday. Punk's unable to wrestle at the TLC PPV, and his streak will remain intact. Doubt that was ever the original plan, but let's face it: Ryback wasn't winning the title. Probably a blessing that the surgery did happen. If I were pushing someone to the moon but not wanting the title on him yet, I'd try to avoid too many losses, even if all are deemed controversial.

Hyped match for tonight is the champion vs. champion match between U.S. champ Antonio Cesaro and IC champ Kofi Kingston.

Promo from Kofi, then a replay of the Fatal Four Way highlights on RAW that had Cesaro's U.S. Title on the line. Really liked that match. Cesaro video package after that.

Cesaro promo in the ring and the singles bout gets under way. Truth on commentary to scout Cesaro for the TLC PPV. Barrett also out to scout Kofi. Cesaro works on KK's left arm. Armbar submission from Cesaro. Cesaro dominated most of the match. Great counters from both guys. KK with the comeback. Kofi about to deliver Trouble in Paradise and Barrett interferes. Ref throws the match out. Truth helps Kofi out. This leds to a tag match between the four.

Impressive that Kofi and Cesaro are still going at relatively full speed after their singles match. Heels work over Kingston. Truth with the hot tag. Crowd into it. Barrett runs interference to get his team back in control. Nice tug of war between Cesaro and Truth. Truth manages hot tag to Kofi. Great segment between Kofi and Barrett. More good stuff from Kofi and Cesaro. Little Jimmy to Barrett. Blind tag from Truth. Trouble in Paradise to Cesaro. Truth rolls the U.S. champ up for three. Great stuff. Very exciting; gotta give major props to Kofi and Cesaro for working two lengthy matches.

Kofi and Truth with short, confident promos on their PPV opponents.

nWo the Revolution is the #1 sports DVD in America. Wait, I thought this was entertainment? Sure.

We see highlights from RAW with the Punk lie detector test. Shield comes out. Team Hell No and Ryback enter. Then Ryback takes out CM Punk. Punk needed legit emergency knee surgery stemming from previous wear and tear (partially torn meniscus). Short written statement from Vince McMahon that Punk will not wrestle at the TLC PPV and now the TLC match will be a six-man tag: The Shield vs. Team Hell No and Ryback.

This match can only be won by pinfall or submission, unique because previous TLC matches were won by climbing the ladder and grabbing whatever was at stake. If WWE learned anything from the Nexus debacle, the Shield should win, perhaps with Daniel Bryan getting pinned via tandem powerbomb through a table.

Vince also mentions through his statement that Ryback will still get a WWE Title match in the future. Might not be against Punk, though....

Next week's advertised match for Main Event: Ryback vs. Alberto Del Rio.