(UPDATE: So apparently, I watched the International show on my original post. That had just WM highlights. The U.S. version had two matches and some Axxess highlights.
Ratings:
Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre: **1/4
Chris Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Show starts with Ryder and Drew. Sounded like Striker indirectly referenced being fired as a schoolteacher when he initially tried out for WWE. I think McIntyre has potential, but he just needs momentum and the right feuds to elevate his status. I hope he gets a run with the IC title later this year, should Cody Rhodes move to the main event picture (or if they just keep doing some rotating champion carousel dealie). Anyway, a very good match between these two. Lively crowd helps.
Taker/HHH video package. Showing the evolution of both guys (no pun intended for HHH). Taker's gonna show a bald/shaved head at Mania, and I'm sure many people in the crowd will have those WTF moments.
Women's title split down the middle by LayCool! Awesome.
Buildup for the divas tag match, thanks to Maria Menounos and "Extra." MM has a couple of cracked ribs, from what I heard, so she may not get as much time in the ring. Kelly would do the brunt of the work anyway.
Loved the shots of superstars signing autographs for the fans. Edge has SHORT hair. He looks good, I must say. Well-deserved HOF induction for him. Too bad injury cut his career short.
Punk/Jericho video package. I'd like Jericho to win here, but only if he sticks around for a good while. I'd like this feud to continue after WM. Perhaps a fluky finish here could work.
Team Johnny and Team Teddy video highlights. No-brainer for me, Johnny's team will win. Long's run as GM went stale a long time ago. I'm with others who say Otunga likely gets the win for the team.
Unfortunately, Christian is not wrestling at WM. Injury probably didn't heal in time. He'll still be there. Perhaps Christian could help run interference in the 6-on-6 match? Or even interfere during Punk/Jericho?
Big Show promo. He's fired up and ready for Cody. I think Show wins at Mania. Cody's had a lengthy reign.
DB/Sheamus video package. I love how DB's garnered such momentum as a heel. As I've said in the past, look for DB to align with Brie Bella. I would have preferred AJ turn heel, but this could work if AJ still becomes part of the divas title picture. If DB loses, he probably blames AJ for his loss, leading to a split. Also, Sheamus winning would at least boost that stat of Rumble winners going on to win the World/WWE titles.
Finally, Kofi and Jericho go at it. Another high-caliber match here. Exciting stuff, very fluid sequences. Jericho with the old Lion Tamer version of the Walls. Generally, that means it's over, and it was here.
Show closes with more Rock/Cena stuff. Cena is the choice to win here. John's the present and future of the company, while Rock is a movie actor now. No point to having Rock win...he already made his mark in WWE. Better to add to a current star's legacy.
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International Show is DIFFERENT from the U.S. version!
This was really just a show meant to promote WM 28 in two days. Video packages of the big matches at WM 28, but also plenty of past matches to re-live the greatness on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Among them:
Taker/HHH from WM 27
Steamboat/Savage from WM 3 (haven't seen this a lot,but it was outstanding)
Edge/Cena/Show from WM 25 (better than I thought after watching it again)
HBK/Jericho from WM 19
Taker/Orton from WM 21
Rock/Austin from WM 19 (Rock's clearly more jacked now, thanks to his movie role)
Probably will just watch WM 28 the next day, fellas. Hope you enjoy the PPV!
Friday, March 30, 2012
3/29/12 Impact
Ratings:
Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne: *1/4
Crimson vs. Matt Morgan: 3/4*
Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy: *1/4
James Storm & Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode & Bully Ray: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Hogan to announce his decision if he accepts the GM spot tonight. Yeah, he's taking it. What else is he doing? Please don't make him wrestle anymore.
Roode starts the show? Thought he would just sit at home until Lockdown. Vintage security! Crowd sounds vocal, but I don't see nearly as much activity in the crowd until Storm came out. Mall cops! Bully Ray interference. Storm wants a handicap match...him against Roode and Bully. Crazy much?
Christy Hemme announcing from the crowd? That's a good one. Do that more often!
Aw, Gail and Madison are friends again. The queen is back. Velvet has a good entrance video. Sky's the limit! Yay for a fast start. What the heck kinda "spear" was that from Velvet? Double underhook sitdown facebuster for three. Good finisher from Velvet. In Yo' Face! Velvet wants that Knockouts Title.
Footage of Hogan and Dixie talking earlier today. I don't know about you, but doesn't the camera angle seem a bit creepy? Voyeur-like? Come on. Just put the damn camera in the open and conduct it normally.
Angle gives an ultimatum to Hardy: beat Anderson tonight or no match at Lockdown. Like that would fool me or other fans?
Aries comes on out unannounced. He's got a problem with Bully Ray, like that's anything new. A-double wants to tag with Storm tonight. Good plan to ensure Roode can keep away from Storm.
Crimson and Morgan. Finally, they go at it, and we come back from commercial with the two already trading blows. Double countout. Fitting, yet still lame at the same time. Good physicality, at least.
Anderson out first, and I don't care about his entrance anymore. Hardy is next and he's got the face paint as usual. Angle costs Hardy the win. Yup.
Goes right into the premiere of the "Longnecks and Rednecks" music video. Excellent stuff, loved it.
Oh man. ODB and Eric Young picking wedding dresses and tuxes. Nice job to get the cleavage so EY can go all nutso. How many can you take on at one time? Just classic there. Screw it, ODB and EY are getting hitched in a steel cage. Brilliant!
Bischoff segment. Gunner and Garett in a steel cage at Lockdown. Garett will be there. No intimidation here, fellas.
Video package on Storm and Roode. Very good to highlight the history between the two.
Tag match finishes the wrestling portion of the show. Good tease at the start between Roode and Storm. Aries eventually gets to fight Bully. Aries does the brunt of the work, as expected. Storm with the hot tag and he goes to town on Bully. RR goes for the beer but spits it in Bully's face. Roode shoves Bully in the way of the Last Call and Storm gets three.
By the way, how the hell do you just do a passing mention that the Motor City Machine Guns are returning next week?! The best tag team left in TNA, and they just get a mere mention during the main event?! Fail.
Dixie and Hogan segment at the end. Hogan's still refusing. Here goes Sting with a bunch of faces. Morgan, Styles, Hardy, Storm, etc. Hogan and Sting want to ensure each will back the other in Hulk's tenure. Yup. Hogan's the new GM in town. Hope this leads to some good stuff.
Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne: *1/4
Crimson vs. Matt Morgan: 3/4*
Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy: *1/4
James Storm & Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode & Bully Ray: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Hogan to announce his decision if he accepts the GM spot tonight. Yeah, he's taking it. What else is he doing? Please don't make him wrestle anymore.
Roode starts the show? Thought he would just sit at home until Lockdown. Vintage security! Crowd sounds vocal, but I don't see nearly as much activity in the crowd until Storm came out. Mall cops! Bully Ray interference. Storm wants a handicap match...him against Roode and Bully. Crazy much?
Christy Hemme announcing from the crowd? That's a good one. Do that more often!
Aw, Gail and Madison are friends again. The queen is back. Velvet has a good entrance video. Sky's the limit! Yay for a fast start. What the heck kinda "spear" was that from Velvet? Double underhook sitdown facebuster for three. Good finisher from Velvet. In Yo' Face! Velvet wants that Knockouts Title.
Footage of Hogan and Dixie talking earlier today. I don't know about you, but doesn't the camera angle seem a bit creepy? Voyeur-like? Come on. Just put the damn camera in the open and conduct it normally.
Angle gives an ultimatum to Hardy: beat Anderson tonight or no match at Lockdown. Like that would fool me or other fans?
Aries comes on out unannounced. He's got a problem with Bully Ray, like that's anything new. A-double wants to tag with Storm tonight. Good plan to ensure Roode can keep away from Storm.
Crimson and Morgan. Finally, they go at it, and we come back from commercial with the two already trading blows. Double countout. Fitting, yet still lame at the same time. Good physicality, at least.
Anderson out first, and I don't care about his entrance anymore. Hardy is next and he's got the face paint as usual. Angle costs Hardy the win. Yup.
Goes right into the premiere of the "Longnecks and Rednecks" music video. Excellent stuff, loved it.
Oh man. ODB and Eric Young picking wedding dresses and tuxes. Nice job to get the cleavage so EY can go all nutso. How many can you take on at one time? Just classic there. Screw it, ODB and EY are getting hitched in a steel cage. Brilliant!
Bischoff segment. Gunner and Garett in a steel cage at Lockdown. Garett will be there. No intimidation here, fellas.
Video package on Storm and Roode. Very good to highlight the history between the two.
Tag match finishes the wrestling portion of the show. Good tease at the start between Roode and Storm. Aries eventually gets to fight Bully. Aries does the brunt of the work, as expected. Storm with the hot tag and he goes to town on Bully. RR goes for the beer but spits it in Bully's face. Roode shoves Bully in the way of the Last Call and Storm gets three.
By the way, how the hell do you just do a passing mention that the Motor City Machine Guns are returning next week?! The best tag team left in TNA, and they just get a mere mention during the main event?! Fail.
Dixie and Hogan segment at the end. Hogan's still refusing. Here goes Sting with a bunch of faces. Morgan, Styles, Hardy, Storm, etc. Hogan and Sting want to ensure each will back the other in Hulk's tenure. Yup. Hogan's the new GM in town. Hope this leads to some good stuff.
3/29/12 Superstars
Ratings:
Alex Riley vs. Heath Slater: *1/2
Justin Gabriel vs. Tyson Kidd: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Riley and Slater start things off. A-Ry is getting better on the comeback offense. Slater's finisher doesn't impress me at all.
Long video packages with Punk/Jericho and Taker/HHH are shown. All about the WM buildup anyway. That, and the WWE Hall of Fame. HOF ceremony will be on Monday night before RAW.
Too bad they won't actually promote divas matches like Beth/Eve vs. Kelly/Menounos. Granted, they got "Extra" to help with this, but regardless, WWE actually cares about it.
Edge is in some movie called "Bending the Rules." Straight to DVD? Lovely.
Lord Tensai vignette is awesome. He'll debut after WM. Should be interesting to see how he's used.
Kidd and Gabriel in the main event. Two faces here, so expect a fun bout. Great stuff, very fluid moves throughout the match. Big moves and counters. Gabriel even has a bloody lip/mouth. Battle scars! Rollup for a finish, but a good decision to do that here. I hope to see more from these two.
Oh, I like how Striker is now supposed to be "kidnapped and missing" on NXT but he's still doing Superstars commentary. WWE doesn't always make sense anyway.
Alex Riley vs. Heath Slater: *1/2
Justin Gabriel vs. Tyson Kidd: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Riley and Slater start things off. A-Ry is getting better on the comeback offense. Slater's finisher doesn't impress me at all.
Long video packages with Punk/Jericho and Taker/HHH are shown. All about the WM buildup anyway. That, and the WWE Hall of Fame. HOF ceremony will be on Monday night before RAW.
Too bad they won't actually promote divas matches like Beth/Eve vs. Kelly/Menounos. Granted, they got "Extra" to help with this, but regardless, WWE actually cares about it.
Edge is in some movie called "Bending the Rules." Straight to DVD? Lovely.
Lord Tensai vignette is awesome. He'll debut after WM. Should be interesting to see how he's used.
Kidd and Gabriel in the main event. Two faces here, so expect a fun bout. Great stuff, very fluid moves throughout the match. Big moves and counters. Gabriel even has a bloody lip/mouth. Battle scars! Rollup for a finish, but a good decision to do that here. I hope to see more from these two.
Oh, I like how Striker is now supposed to be "kidnapped and missing" on NXT but he's still doing Superstars commentary. WWE doesn't always make sense anyway.
3/28/12 NXT
Ratings:
Hunico vs. Derrick Bateman: *3/4
Titus O'Neil vs. Jey Uso: *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
I like Hunico and Camacho shifting over to NXT. Right now, it's probably their best shot to get the most screen time. Kaitlyn has the Daisy Dukes-like short shorts tonight. I envy Bateman like no other. Dammit.
Quite a story Regal shared to explain the partnership between Hunico and Camacho. I like it. Bateman for some random reason, decided it was wise to dive on Camacho. Hunico adopts an Angle Slam for a finisher.
Maxine is still insane. And a Natalya backstage skit without the farting! Yay! By far, the best part of the entire segment was Titus and Maxine.
Only two matches tonight? Jimmy Uso and Darren Young on commentary. Regal with an indirect Rikishi reference. One too many stinkfaces for Regal, apparently. Knees up on the superfly splash. Clash of the Titus wins it.
Tamina comes out post-match to tend to Jey. Good build between Darren and Tamina.
Fairly average stuff this week. All about WM anyway.
Hunico vs. Derrick Bateman: *3/4
Titus O'Neil vs. Jey Uso: *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
I like Hunico and Camacho shifting over to NXT. Right now, it's probably their best shot to get the most screen time. Kaitlyn has the Daisy Dukes-like short shorts tonight. I envy Bateman like no other. Dammit.
Quite a story Regal shared to explain the partnership between Hunico and Camacho. I like it. Bateman for some random reason, decided it was wise to dive on Camacho. Hunico adopts an Angle Slam for a finisher.
Maxine is still insane. And a Natalya backstage skit without the farting! Yay! By far, the best part of the entire segment was Titus and Maxine.
Only two matches tonight? Jimmy Uso and Darren Young on commentary. Regal with an indirect Rikishi reference. One too many stinkfaces for Regal, apparently. Knees up on the superfly splash. Clash of the Titus wins it.
Tamina comes out post-match to tend to Jey. Good build between Darren and Tamina.
Fairly average stuff this week. All about WM anyway.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
3/26/12 RAW
Ratings:
Daniel Bryan & Kane vs. Sheamus & Randy Orton: **
Santino Marella vs. David Otunga: 1/4*
Eve Torres vs. Kelly Kelly: 3/4*
CM Punk vs. Christian: N/A (nukage)
Brodus Clay vs. Curt Hawkins: N/A (squash)
Big Show vs. Primo: 1/2*
Mark Henry vs. Great Khali: N/A (mercifully short)
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Before RAW, USA aired a one-hour special highlighting Rock/Cena ("Once in a Lifetime"). WWE's hyped this feud to astronomical heights. This special was really just a lot of promotional video packages. Showing a lot of TV appearances, making wishes come true, praising from WWE superstars. Best part was seeing the old home movies with young Rock and young Cena. Next best part...Fruity Pebbles! Great stuff.
Booker joins the commentary team tonight. Funny how Cole is friendly toward Booker at the start. I'm used to hearing these two at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
Tag match starts things off. Orton works with DB, while Sheamus works with Kane throughout much of the match. DB wants nothing to do with Sheamus unless it's a cheap shot. Orton with hot tag #1, before DB gets the upper hand. Sheamus gets hot tag #2. RKO on outside countered. AJ voluntarily got in the way this time? Interesting. Distraction enough for a Kane chokeslam. DB gets the pin.
Cole is the official commentator for Team Johnny? And he's got a red Team Johnny shirt. I didn't realize there are such titles. Vickie is a flag bearer? Now I've seen it all for six-on-six matches.
Otunga's entrance is reminding me more of Chris Masters each week. Booker's on the mic for Team Teddy? Um, sure. I can't believe Cole's trending worldwide on Twitter. Yeah, nice pole, Otunga. Go ahead and wave the RAW flag. Taking the Teddy flag, you accidentally hit yourself, and get a cobra. Fail.
Miz saves Johnny from the cobra. Miz is on Team Johnny. Good call.
What the hell was up with Beth's hairdo? Looked weird to me. Eve faces Kelly tonight. Hoeski chants. Average stuff here. Why didn't Beth at least attempt to get at KK when Kelly slid out of the ring right near Beth after the victory? Oh well.
Christian and Punk face off. Oops. Jericho mentions his mom. Oh, she's clean. Punk's a bastard! I wouldn't want to be Christian right now. Sure enough, Christian is decimated in what was not even a match. Christian's unable to compete at Mania.
Vintage disco ball for Brodus! Hawkins gets squashed tonight. In all fairness, people are getting a few more shots on Brodus these days. Did Lawler call Hawkins "Curtis"?! Naomi and Cameron act like Brodus won American Idol or something.
Big Show squashes Primo. More important part is post-match segment. Cody Rhodes with "Big Show" as a verb. "I gotta take a Big Show" was great.
Lord Tensai vignette. Another guy (who's probably like a sensei) is also featured. No question based on the size of the head that Lord Tensai is the former A-Train/Albert.
Why the hell does Johnny's face on that T-shirt remind me of DDP?
ROFL. Good one Zack. Tell one identical twin to change her face in front of the other twin. Eve's still toying with gullible Zack.
Good Punk promo. Mission accomplished for Sunday.
And of all combinations to put together on RAW, they just *had* to do Khali vs. Mark Henry. WHY?! Wow, Khali threw elbows! Has he done that before? Thankfully it was short, so I'm not rating it.
Post-match, Johnny gets Long in the ring. Rest of Team Johnny comes down. I guess Miz replaces Christian on the team. Team Long gets taken out one by one...and Booker saves the day?!?!
It's Booker and the Oddities! Love that reference. Vince fed you that line, huh Cole?
Rock and Cena close the show again. WWE programming starts with a one-hour special on these two, so it's only right RAW ends with these guys. Rock with entertaining stuff as usual, a Betty White roasting thrown in. Cena interrupts mid-Rock promo.
If you missed the past year of hype, this segment summed it up for everyone. I'd say Cena won this promo war. And at WM, look for Cena to win after a long battle of false finishes. I'm confident it'll be a MOTY candidate.
Daniel Bryan & Kane vs. Sheamus & Randy Orton: **
Santino Marella vs. David Otunga: 1/4*
Eve Torres vs. Kelly Kelly: 3/4*
CM Punk vs. Christian: N/A (nukage)
Brodus Clay vs. Curt Hawkins: N/A (squash)
Big Show vs. Primo: 1/2*
Mark Henry vs. Great Khali: N/A (mercifully short)
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Before RAW, USA aired a one-hour special highlighting Rock/Cena ("Once in a Lifetime"). WWE's hyped this feud to astronomical heights. This special was really just a lot of promotional video packages. Showing a lot of TV appearances, making wishes come true, praising from WWE superstars. Best part was seeing the old home movies with young Rock and young Cena. Next best part...Fruity Pebbles! Great stuff.
Booker joins the commentary team tonight. Funny how Cole is friendly toward Booker at the start. I'm used to hearing these two at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
Tag match starts things off. Orton works with DB, while Sheamus works with Kane throughout much of the match. DB wants nothing to do with Sheamus unless it's a cheap shot. Orton with hot tag #1, before DB gets the upper hand. Sheamus gets hot tag #2. RKO on outside countered. AJ voluntarily got in the way this time? Interesting. Distraction enough for a Kane chokeslam. DB gets the pin.
Cole is the official commentator for Team Johnny? And he's got a red Team Johnny shirt. I didn't realize there are such titles. Vickie is a flag bearer? Now I've seen it all for six-on-six matches.
Otunga's entrance is reminding me more of Chris Masters each week. Booker's on the mic for Team Teddy? Um, sure. I can't believe Cole's trending worldwide on Twitter. Yeah, nice pole, Otunga. Go ahead and wave the RAW flag. Taking the Teddy flag, you accidentally hit yourself, and get a cobra. Fail.
Miz saves Johnny from the cobra. Miz is on Team Johnny. Good call.
What the hell was up with Beth's hairdo? Looked weird to me. Eve faces Kelly tonight. Hoeski chants. Average stuff here. Why didn't Beth at least attempt to get at KK when Kelly slid out of the ring right near Beth after the victory? Oh well.
Christian and Punk face off. Oops. Jericho mentions his mom. Oh, she's clean. Punk's a bastard! I wouldn't want to be Christian right now. Sure enough, Christian is decimated in what was not even a match. Christian's unable to compete at Mania.
Vintage disco ball for Brodus! Hawkins gets squashed tonight. In all fairness, people are getting a few more shots on Brodus these days. Did Lawler call Hawkins "Curtis"?! Naomi and Cameron act like Brodus won American Idol or something.
Big Show squashes Primo. More important part is post-match segment. Cody Rhodes with "Big Show" as a verb. "I gotta take a Big Show" was great.
Lord Tensai vignette. Another guy (who's probably like a sensei) is also featured. No question based on the size of the head that Lord Tensai is the former A-Train/Albert.
Why the hell does Johnny's face on that T-shirt remind me of DDP?
ROFL. Good one Zack. Tell one identical twin to change her face in front of the other twin. Eve's still toying with gullible Zack.
Good Punk promo. Mission accomplished for Sunday.
And of all combinations to put together on RAW, they just *had* to do Khali vs. Mark Henry. WHY?! Wow, Khali threw elbows! Has he done that before? Thankfully it was short, so I'm not rating it.
Post-match, Johnny gets Long in the ring. Rest of Team Johnny comes down. I guess Miz replaces Christian on the team. Team Long gets taken out one by one...and Booker saves the day?!?!
It's Booker and the Oddities! Love that reference. Vince fed you that line, huh Cole?
Rock and Cena close the show again. WWE programming starts with a one-hour special on these two, so it's only right RAW ends with these guys. Rock with entertaining stuff as usual, a Betty White roasting thrown in. Cena interrupts mid-Rock promo.
If you missed the past year of hype, this segment summed it up for everyone. I'd say Cena won this promo war. And at WM, look for Cena to win after a long battle of false finishes. I'm confident it'll be a MOTY candidate.
Friday, March 23, 2012
3/23/12 Smackdown
Ratings:
Mark Henry vs. R-Truth: *1/4
AJ vs. Brie Bella: *
Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger: *3/4
Big Show vs. Kane: *1/2
Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater: N/A (squash)
Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler: *
CM Punk & Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan & The Miz: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Lilian announces Daniel Bryan at the start of the show. DB is getting booed more and more each week, which is great. YES YES YES! Telling AJ to get to the point. "In a word...it's heaven." That's two words! Caressing, soft lips, and...well, I did NOT need to hear that last one. It's Daniel, not Danny! You can really get the awkwardness in AJ's voice as the time went on. Yeah! Let's hear it for Daniel Bryan! And he threw in a fourth "YES!" for the hell of it!
I now want to call DB "Danny Boy."
Was that Abraham Washington with Mark Henry? *shrug* Anyway, Henry and Truth go at it now. Not too bad, considering it was smaller man vs. big man here. Good finish to showcase Mark's power. R-Truth's not necessarily very small, you know.
Video package confirming Yokozuna is in the HOF this year. He started in WWE billed as 505, but was easily over 600 by the time his WWE career was over. They even showed those PAINFUL Banzai Drops where all his weight came down on the poor guy's chest. Makes me cringe to this day. Anyway, Usos and Rikishi are inducting Yokozuna, from what I read. Very good choices.
Ryder was shown on RAW with the fans. Hornswoggle even has a Team Teddy flag! Hornswoggle is the mascot? WTF, Khali doing Ryder's catchphrase?! Khali's on Team Teddy now as well?!?! Shoot me. Please.
DB still giving a nervous AJ pointers before her match. And a good luck kiss. Give me a bucket as well, Booker. Quite a long, physical match for divas standards. I liked AJ's armbar submission there. Good use of Nikki and DB. All fodder for future storyline use.
Another very interesting segment post-match: Nikki's rooting for Team Teddy. Brie's for Team Johnny. A very awkward segment. Anyway, what does that mean? Bellas are likely splitting later. Why, you ask?
In case you didn't know, Daniel Bryan is legitimately dating Brie Bella. WWE may weave that into the on-camera storyline. Brie goes with Daniel, while Nikki probably could manage someone else. They would be better off as eye candy right now, especially if WWE is unwilling to devote a good match to them. We have divas like Beth and Natalya holding the fort down anyway.
Ryder and Swagger go at it. More interesting tidbits from this one:
If you've been to wrestling news sites, you've probably heard that Lilian Garcia botched introducing Zack Ryder during his entrance, calling him "Jack Swagger." No problem here. Since the show was taped, they edited a new Lilian do-over, with dubbed-over commentary. Crowd was also fiddled with to make it as seamless as possible. The match otherwise went as planned. Cena, Ryder, and Tony Chimel poked fun at Lilian after the show. All in good fun, and Lilian was a great sport.
Still, it's the THIRD time in about a month that Lilian has messed an intro up. Last month, it was the Usos. Not too long ago, she messed up Laurinaitis' intro on RAW, causing Cole to go berserk on the headset. Considering all the mishaps (she also had a bunch during her first run with the company), she's an amazing singer and great eye candy.
Anyway, not a bad match here between Zack and Jack. Swagger really ate that Broski Boot. Big-time ouch. Buckle Bomb and Swagger Bomb gets two. Good stuff there. Vickie up on the apron and Hornswoggle distracts her and Jack. Swagger turns around and eats a Rough Ryder for three.
Cody Rhodes with more promos and videos about Big Show's WM record. Again, Show doesn't have the worst record, although it's not a great one.
Show faces Kane. Kane has that black mask over his red one. Two fairly agile big men here, so not too bad. Pretty basic moves. Nice jumping DDT from Kane gets two. Cody-ference didn't really work. Show pushes Cody and took out a couple security guards accidentally. Keep stirring that pot for the WM blowoff match.
Meanwhile...Orton with an RKO "out of nowhere" to Kane!
Funkasaurus for another squash match! Slater gets to be on TV to get squashed! Slater did get in a couple moves, so it wasn't a total squash, I guess. No more flying splash, but his regular splash looks good.
Eve still playing games with Ryder. Good for Eve's character, but couldn't they have gotten another fool instead of Zack?
Christian on commentary during Ziggler/Khali. Christian gets texts from Johnny as well! Vintage Johnny! Khali might have exclusively inherited the huge Big Show chops; Show has slowly deviated from that. Oh please, no Michael Cole mascot.
Vintage screwjobby finish with Johnny ringing the bell early to get Dolph a "submission" win. Teddy gets involved and overrides all that. Khali gets a countout win. Kofi and Sanitno throw Ziggler back in. Big hand from Khali. Ow. Well, at least we know Teddy Long runs Smackdown.
Tag match with the two big champs was the main event. Going into it, I had a feeling who was getting pinned or submitted -- and I was right. Punk with the hot tag and even gestures to AJ...awesome. Really weird now that DB is the champ and Miz is the guy looking weak. Remember, although a bunch of people knew this would be the case eventually, it's still a sight to see how things have changed in a couple years, four NXT seasons removed.
"Danny Boy" chants. Oh man, that'll be trending worldwide. I'm sure the IWC again loved seeing DB and Punk go at it for a bit. Sheamus got in, and Miz was still out, so DB had to suffer. DB got Miz in, DB escaped, Miz ate a Brogue Kick. Sounds about right to me. Message sent loud and clear.
"Miz disappointed again!" Really, Cole? Really?
Ordinary Smackdown tonight.
Mark Henry vs. R-Truth: *1/4
AJ vs. Brie Bella: *
Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger: *3/4
Big Show vs. Kane: *1/2
Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater: N/A (squash)
Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler: *
CM Punk & Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan & The Miz: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Lilian announces Daniel Bryan at the start of the show. DB is getting booed more and more each week, which is great. YES YES YES! Telling AJ to get to the point. "In a word...it's heaven." That's two words! Caressing, soft lips, and...well, I did NOT need to hear that last one. It's Daniel, not Danny! You can really get the awkwardness in AJ's voice as the time went on. Yeah! Let's hear it for Daniel Bryan! And he threw in a fourth "YES!" for the hell of it!
I now want to call DB "Danny Boy."
Was that Abraham Washington with Mark Henry? *shrug* Anyway, Henry and Truth go at it now. Not too bad, considering it was smaller man vs. big man here. Good finish to showcase Mark's power. R-Truth's not necessarily very small, you know.
Video package confirming Yokozuna is in the HOF this year. He started in WWE billed as 505, but was easily over 600 by the time his WWE career was over. They even showed those PAINFUL Banzai Drops where all his weight came down on the poor guy's chest. Makes me cringe to this day. Anyway, Usos and Rikishi are inducting Yokozuna, from what I read. Very good choices.
Ryder was shown on RAW with the fans. Hornswoggle even has a Team Teddy flag! Hornswoggle is the mascot? WTF, Khali doing Ryder's catchphrase?! Khali's on Team Teddy now as well?!?! Shoot me. Please.
DB still giving a nervous AJ pointers before her match. And a good luck kiss. Give me a bucket as well, Booker. Quite a long, physical match for divas standards. I liked AJ's armbar submission there. Good use of Nikki and DB. All fodder for future storyline use.
Another very interesting segment post-match: Nikki's rooting for Team Teddy. Brie's for Team Johnny. A very awkward segment. Anyway, what does that mean? Bellas are likely splitting later. Why, you ask?
In case you didn't know, Daniel Bryan is legitimately dating Brie Bella. WWE may weave that into the on-camera storyline. Brie goes with Daniel, while Nikki probably could manage someone else. They would be better off as eye candy right now, especially if WWE is unwilling to devote a good match to them. We have divas like Beth and Natalya holding the fort down anyway.
Ryder and Swagger go at it. More interesting tidbits from this one:
If you've been to wrestling news sites, you've probably heard that Lilian Garcia botched introducing Zack Ryder during his entrance, calling him "Jack Swagger." No problem here. Since the show was taped, they edited a new Lilian do-over, with dubbed-over commentary. Crowd was also fiddled with to make it as seamless as possible. The match otherwise went as planned. Cena, Ryder, and Tony Chimel poked fun at Lilian after the show. All in good fun, and Lilian was a great sport.
Still, it's the THIRD time in about a month that Lilian has messed an intro up. Last month, it was the Usos. Not too long ago, she messed up Laurinaitis' intro on RAW, causing Cole to go berserk on the headset. Considering all the mishaps (she also had a bunch during her first run with the company), she's an amazing singer and great eye candy.
Anyway, not a bad match here between Zack and Jack. Swagger really ate that Broski Boot. Big-time ouch. Buckle Bomb and Swagger Bomb gets two. Good stuff there. Vickie up on the apron and Hornswoggle distracts her and Jack. Swagger turns around and eats a Rough Ryder for three.
Cody Rhodes with more promos and videos about Big Show's WM record. Again, Show doesn't have the worst record, although it's not a great one.
Show faces Kane. Kane has that black mask over his red one. Two fairly agile big men here, so not too bad. Pretty basic moves. Nice jumping DDT from Kane gets two. Cody-ference didn't really work. Show pushes Cody and took out a couple security guards accidentally. Keep stirring that pot for the WM blowoff match.
Meanwhile...Orton with an RKO "out of nowhere" to Kane!
Funkasaurus for another squash match! Slater gets to be on TV to get squashed! Slater did get in a couple moves, so it wasn't a total squash, I guess. No more flying splash, but his regular splash looks good.
Eve still playing games with Ryder. Good for Eve's character, but couldn't they have gotten another fool instead of Zack?
Christian on commentary during Ziggler/Khali. Christian gets texts from Johnny as well! Vintage Johnny! Khali might have exclusively inherited the huge Big Show chops; Show has slowly deviated from that. Oh please, no Michael Cole mascot.
Vintage screwjobby finish with Johnny ringing the bell early to get Dolph a "submission" win. Teddy gets involved and overrides all that. Khali gets a countout win. Kofi and Sanitno throw Ziggler back in. Big hand from Khali. Ow. Well, at least we know Teddy Long runs Smackdown.
Tag match with the two big champs was the main event. Going into it, I had a feeling who was getting pinned or submitted -- and I was right. Punk with the hot tag and even gestures to AJ...awesome. Really weird now that DB is the champ and Miz is the guy looking weak. Remember, although a bunch of people knew this would be the case eventually, it's still a sight to see how things have changed in a couple years, four NXT seasons removed.
"Danny Boy" chants. Oh man, that'll be trending worldwide. I'm sure the IWC again loved seeing DB and Punk go at it for a bit. Sheamus got in, and Miz was still out, so DB had to suffer. DB got Miz in, DB escaped, Miz ate a Brogue Kick. Sounds about right to me. Message sent loud and clear.
"Miz disappointed again!" Really, Cole? Really?
Ordinary Smackdown tonight.
3/22/12 Impact
Ratings:
Austin Aries vs. Zema Ion vs. Kid Kash vs. Anthony Nese (X-Division Title): **3/4
Eric Young & ODB vs. Sarita & Rosita (Knockouts Tag Team Titles): 3/4*
Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle: N/A (was this really a match?!)
Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Hernandez & Anarquia (Tag Team Titles): **
James Storm vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
TNA is going full steam ahead with Roode's heel reign. Threatening Dixie at Victory Road was just another step in that direction. The crowd was really all over RR.
Dixie starts the show with no entrance music. "Fire Bobby!" chants from the crowd. Dixie's bringing in the attorneys! Before she can fully disclose what she wants to do with RR (teasing firing him), Sting comes out. He doesn't want RR fired since it would be "too easy." The GM position is not working. A commercial break?! Mid-promo?!
Sting basically says he wants to wrestle full-time again; he's stepping down as GM. A short sabbatical for Sting to get better and face RR. Which means Sting's likely burnt out and needs a little break. Or Sting's got some other plans. Sting's replacement...Hulk Hogan! Crowd finally cares and goes bonkers.
X-Division Title 4-way match. Kash and Nese got only brief mentions. Ion comes down next, then Aries. Guess Kash and Nese aren't winning. Ion and Aries pair off, so Kash and Nese start in the ring. Was AA skipping in the ring against Nese?! Nice DDT-flatliner combo from AA on Ion and Nese. Love the high-flying stuff this match had. Ion with a nice moonsault, but Nese had that backflip plancha that was pretty damn cool as well. Love that Tower of Doom spot. Unfortunately, Bully Ray came in and spoiled the party. He even took out Aries. Yikes.
Josh from Repo Games? Never heard of this guy or the show. Oh, the season premiere is next Wednesday. Look out, Josh may be repo-ing Mexican-America's car. Oops.
Knockouts tag titles first. Aw, the wedding for EY and ODB is April 12. Honestly, EY grappling with the ref has gotten old hat. ODB again gets most of the in-ring time, although could it really be any other way if EY can't physically strike women? Spike's policy, not TNA's. EY's strips down to purple underpants. Senoritas are playing sexy games with EY. ODB's pissed. Where's the engagement ring, EY? Big kiss and a pin? WTF. Awkward.
Crimson's finally (probably) getting his singles heel push. Next week, he faces Morgan. Matt doesn't wait and attacks already, with security conveniently there to pull MM off.
Hardy wants Angle in a cage at Lockdown. That should be good, but don't expect Angle to do any risky spots if he's still training for the Olympics. Leave the nutso stuff to Hardy.
I wonder how long this Joseph Park guy will be on Impact....
RR and Storm video package, even showing RR from Team Canada and Storm/Harris (America's Most Wanted). A great video to show how these two guys have grown over the years -- and also shows their loyalty to the company.
Storm calls RR out, but some other guy comes down to RR's music. William Kelly? William Kelley? He's got one of those British accents, so who knows what the spelling of the last name is. Oh, so RR now has legal counsel? Pbbft. Don't try to be similar to Laurinaitis and Otunga (although I don't know if this legal guy is a wrestler).
What a professional letter. Basically, RR's at home 'til Lockdown (unsafe working conditions?!) and Storm faces either Kaz or Daniels tonight. Storm picks both, duh. Nice superkick. Very nice.
Angle challenge Garett to a 3-minute match. Thank you for being a shorter "match." Garett with energetic offense this time. Last 80 or so seconds turns into a stalling match. Who didn't predict that one? Gunner-ference with about 30 seconds left ends in a DQ or no-contest. Hardy makes the save.
Teaser vignette for the return of Motor City Machine Guns. I've missed these guys. Chris Sabin should be 100% soon.
Tag title match now. Mexican-America must win the titles or I guess their car is repoed. BTW, where the hell have these guys been? Maybe with Ring Ka King (TNA's other promotion)? Sorry, I don't watch that program, so I wouldn't know.
Forgot how strong Hernandez is. Bizarre spot where Hernandez had Magnus down, but goaded Joe in the ring. Ref subdues Joe, but that prevents Hernandez from actually getting a pin on Magnus. To make it more confusing, Magnus had his hand on the ropes and the ref didn't see that for a good two seconds. Huh?!
Joe gets the hot tag. Choke to Anarquia, but Sarita and Rosita interfere on that. Josh Lewis comes down to take both ladies away. Solid finish, love that double-team finisher Joe and Magnus have. Simple and effective to put a guy down for three seconds.
Hernandez and Anarquia got no cash. Josh Lewis -- who took Sarita and Rosita against their will minutes earlier -- now go with Josh. "No money, no honey." Well now, that made so much sense! Completely brutal segment.
I like Storm's entrance theme ("Longnecks and Rednecks"). And now there's a music video for it next week.
Fast start to the handicap match. Awkward ways of "teaming up" from Kaz and Daniels, more of a one-upping scenario or an ego trip dealie. Daniels hits the ringpost, Kaz eats a superkick. One more Last Call for Daniels. Pin.
Sting comes out. Oh, now Dixie gets entrance music! Dixie's on board for Hulk being GM. Hogan comes out to a huge pop. And that's pretty much that as the show ends. Perhaps we'll hear more about this next week. Good teaser.
Austin Aries vs. Zema Ion vs. Kid Kash vs. Anthony Nese (X-Division Title): **3/4
Eric Young & ODB vs. Sarita & Rosita (Knockouts Tag Team Titles): 3/4*
Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle: N/A (was this really a match?!)
Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Hernandez & Anarquia (Tag Team Titles): **
James Storm vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
TNA is going full steam ahead with Roode's heel reign. Threatening Dixie at Victory Road was just another step in that direction. The crowd was really all over RR.
Dixie starts the show with no entrance music. "Fire Bobby!" chants from the crowd. Dixie's bringing in the attorneys! Before she can fully disclose what she wants to do with RR (teasing firing him), Sting comes out. He doesn't want RR fired since it would be "too easy." The GM position is not working. A commercial break?! Mid-promo?!
Sting basically says he wants to wrestle full-time again; he's stepping down as GM. A short sabbatical for Sting to get better and face RR. Which means Sting's likely burnt out and needs a little break. Or Sting's got some other plans. Sting's replacement...Hulk Hogan! Crowd finally cares and goes bonkers.
X-Division Title 4-way match. Kash and Nese got only brief mentions. Ion comes down next, then Aries. Guess Kash and Nese aren't winning. Ion and Aries pair off, so Kash and Nese start in the ring. Was AA skipping in the ring against Nese?! Nice DDT-flatliner combo from AA on Ion and Nese. Love the high-flying stuff this match had. Ion with a nice moonsault, but Nese had that backflip plancha that was pretty damn cool as well. Love that Tower of Doom spot. Unfortunately, Bully Ray came in and spoiled the party. He even took out Aries. Yikes.
Josh from Repo Games? Never heard of this guy or the show. Oh, the season premiere is next Wednesday. Look out, Josh may be repo-ing Mexican-America's car. Oops.
Knockouts tag titles first. Aw, the wedding for EY and ODB is April 12. Honestly, EY grappling with the ref has gotten old hat. ODB again gets most of the in-ring time, although could it really be any other way if EY can't physically strike women? Spike's policy, not TNA's. EY's strips down to purple underpants. Senoritas are playing sexy games with EY. ODB's pissed. Where's the engagement ring, EY? Big kiss and a pin? WTF. Awkward.
Crimson's finally (probably) getting his singles heel push. Next week, he faces Morgan. Matt doesn't wait and attacks already, with security conveniently there to pull MM off.
Hardy wants Angle in a cage at Lockdown. That should be good, but don't expect Angle to do any risky spots if he's still training for the Olympics. Leave the nutso stuff to Hardy.
I wonder how long this Joseph Park guy will be on Impact....
RR and Storm video package, even showing RR from Team Canada and Storm/Harris (America's Most Wanted). A great video to show how these two guys have grown over the years -- and also shows their loyalty to the company.
Storm calls RR out, but some other guy comes down to RR's music. William Kelly? William Kelley? He's got one of those British accents, so who knows what the spelling of the last name is. Oh, so RR now has legal counsel? Pbbft. Don't try to be similar to Laurinaitis and Otunga (although I don't know if this legal guy is a wrestler).
What a professional letter. Basically, RR's at home 'til Lockdown (unsafe working conditions?!) and Storm faces either Kaz or Daniels tonight. Storm picks both, duh. Nice superkick. Very nice.
Angle challenge Garett to a 3-minute match. Thank you for being a shorter "match." Garett with energetic offense this time. Last 80 or so seconds turns into a stalling match. Who didn't predict that one? Gunner-ference with about 30 seconds left ends in a DQ or no-contest. Hardy makes the save.
Teaser vignette for the return of Motor City Machine Guns. I've missed these guys. Chris Sabin should be 100% soon.
Tag title match now. Mexican-America must win the titles or I guess their car is repoed. BTW, where the hell have these guys been? Maybe with Ring Ka King (TNA's other promotion)? Sorry, I don't watch that program, so I wouldn't know.
Forgot how strong Hernandez is. Bizarre spot where Hernandez had Magnus down, but goaded Joe in the ring. Ref subdues Joe, but that prevents Hernandez from actually getting a pin on Magnus. To make it more confusing, Magnus had his hand on the ropes and the ref didn't see that for a good two seconds. Huh?!
Joe gets the hot tag. Choke to Anarquia, but Sarita and Rosita interfere on that. Josh Lewis comes down to take both ladies away. Solid finish, love that double-team finisher Joe and Magnus have. Simple and effective to put a guy down for three seconds.
Hernandez and Anarquia got no cash. Josh Lewis -- who took Sarita and Rosita against their will minutes earlier -- now go with Josh. "No money, no honey." Well now, that made so much sense! Completely brutal segment.
I like Storm's entrance theme ("Longnecks and Rednecks"). And now there's a music video for it next week.
Fast start to the handicap match. Awkward ways of "teaming up" from Kaz and Daniels, more of a one-upping scenario or an ego trip dealie. Daniels hits the ringpost, Kaz eats a superkick. One more Last Call for Daniels. Pin.
Sting comes out. Oh, now Dixie gets entrance music! Dixie's on board for Hulk being GM. Hogan comes out to a huge pop. And that's pretty much that as the show ends. Perhaps we'll hear more about this next week. Good teaser.
3/22/12 Superstars
Ratings:
Primo & Epico vs. Mason Ryan & Alex Riley: *3/4
Beth Phoenix & Eve Torres vs. Tamina & Natalya: *1/4
Titus O'Neil vs. Yoshi Tatsu: *1/2
Drew McIntyre vs. Ezekiel Jackson: *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Another makeshift tag team with physique and technique: Mason and A-Ry. Too much body oil, Mason. I can't stand Scott Stanford saying "man oh man!" every single damn episode. A-Ry got beat down for a good while in this one. Mason with the hot tag. I liked how Epico flailed his arms, acting helpless on that delayed vertical suplex. Nice double backstabber to end it. Typical Rosa-terference.
Tag match to show off Beth and Eve as a tag team. They'll face Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos at WM, so it's clear who's winning here. "Hoeski" chants at Eve. Natalya and Beth at the start. Remember when Nattie was a heel and they were Pinup Strong? Nattie's now all happy and playing games with Beth. I think Santino's got a bunch of influence on her. Tamina gets a...lukewarm tag. House of fire in there. Eve practically missed that moonsault. Fail. Still gets three.
WWE Hall of Fame video package. Four Horsemen, Mike Tyson, and Edge are the featured inductees, although I also read Yokozuna's going in, too. I'm sure there were others, but the names escape me right now. Ceremony on March 31.
No face paint or mask for Yoshi Tatsu. Did they just totally abandon that? So we're probably supposed to forget that whole NXT feud he had with Tyson Kidd. Lovely.
Hey, Titus made it to Superstars! Didn't he star at Florida? Too bad he can't do a Gator chomp instead of a dog bark. Pretty standard match, frankly. Titus ducks the KO kick and hits Clash of the Titus to win. Right person won here.
Another video package promoting Taker/HHH HIAC match with HBK as special ref. I'm hoping for an epic match.
Drew and Zeke in the main event. Good power moves from Zeke, very hard hitting stuff. Unfortunately, Future Shock got Zeke. Zeke's losing streak continues. He was better off as a heel anyway. Zeke is otherwise lost in the shuffle. Drew's apparent push continues. Would be a good story for him to go from "fired" to a champion.
Primo & Epico vs. Mason Ryan & Alex Riley: *3/4
Beth Phoenix & Eve Torres vs. Tamina & Natalya: *1/4
Titus O'Neil vs. Yoshi Tatsu: *1/2
Drew McIntyre vs. Ezekiel Jackson: *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Another makeshift tag team with physique and technique: Mason and A-Ry. Too much body oil, Mason. I can't stand Scott Stanford saying "man oh man!" every single damn episode. A-Ry got beat down for a good while in this one. Mason with the hot tag. I liked how Epico flailed his arms, acting helpless on that delayed vertical suplex. Nice double backstabber to end it. Typical Rosa-terference.
Tag match to show off Beth and Eve as a tag team. They'll face Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos at WM, so it's clear who's winning here. "Hoeski" chants at Eve. Natalya and Beth at the start. Remember when Nattie was a heel and they were Pinup Strong? Nattie's now all happy and playing games with Beth. I think Santino's got a bunch of influence on her. Tamina gets a...lukewarm tag. House of fire in there. Eve practically missed that moonsault. Fail. Still gets three.
WWE Hall of Fame video package. Four Horsemen, Mike Tyson, and Edge are the featured inductees, although I also read Yokozuna's going in, too. I'm sure there were others, but the names escape me right now. Ceremony on March 31.
No face paint or mask for Yoshi Tatsu. Did they just totally abandon that? So we're probably supposed to forget that whole NXT feud he had with Tyson Kidd. Lovely.
Hey, Titus made it to Superstars! Didn't he star at Florida? Too bad he can't do a Gator chomp instead of a dog bark. Pretty standard match, frankly. Titus ducks the KO kick and hits Clash of the Titus to win. Right person won here.
Another video package promoting Taker/HHH HIAC match with HBK as special ref. I'm hoping for an epic match.
Drew and Zeke in the main event. Good power moves from Zeke, very hard hitting stuff. Unfortunately, Future Shock got Zeke. Zeke's losing streak continues. He was better off as a heel anyway. Zeke is otherwise lost in the shuffle. Drew's apparent push continues. Would be a good story for him to go from "fired" to a champion.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
3/21/12 NXT
Ratings:
Justin Gabriel vs. Curt Hawkins: *1/4
Darren Young vs. Jimmy Uso: *1/2
Percy Watson vs. Tyler Reks: *1/2
Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Striker's growing facial hair. Four matches tonight...thanks Regal.
I'm a big fan of Justin Gabriel. He's clearly got the in-ring moves, but now can he become a more complete wrestler with solid mic work? Pretty short, standard match here. Good slight tension between Hawkins and Regal post-match.
Tamina straightened her hair? In any event, she looks nice. Titus and Darren now act like she exists and is so freakin' awesome. What?! Usos back with Tamina? So I guess we should just forget about the last few months. Remember when Tamina and JTG were together and the Usos opposed JTG? Oh right, WWE usually doesn't give a crap about continuity.
Good physicality between Jimmy Uso and D-Young. Jey's on commentary. Jey gets off the headset to get "U-SO!" chants going, probably also because the crowd woulda been mostly dead otherwise. Decent match.
Why does Johnny Curtis have a chloroform rag? Did he steal it from the late Giant Gonzalez's old bag of foreign objects? He took out Striker with it, and Maxine is all stressed.
Regal's left alone on commentary, but not for long. Maxine out with gifts for Regal to butter up to him more. Oh crap, she's also gonna don the headset. Vintage body oils and lotion!
Percy and Reks have a match. Reks jawjacks with Regal for a little bit. Maxine's giving Regal a foot massage, then a scalp massage. Really? Really? Whatever the case, it made the match much less important, a shame because Percy's a great athlete. The crowd barely cared, though. See, look what happens when Josh Mathews leaves his post.
Anyway, it looks like Regal gained the upper hand against Hawkins and Reks this week.
Johnny Curtis is just bizarre. How the hell? Someone now has Striker and there's some note left behind? Oh, enter Kaitlyn and Bateman. Kaitlyn's smokin' hot again tonight.
And finally, the main event where we actually have a good NXT storyline. Kidd and MM go at it, building a good rivalry. I love how this can really be the next generation of when Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect went at it over 20 years ago. Their match at SummerSlam 1991 was one of my favorites back in the day.
Kidd and MM was the best match on the card, although it wouldn't be too hard to get those honors this week. Check out the last minute or so of this match. Beautiful counters. Solid, fitting finish, even if it was a rollup. I just wish the crowd was more into it. Match was very, very good.
The post-match talk from MM got me thinking...will he go after Natalya? It's supposed to be something that hurts Kidd's heart. I think it'd be a wonderful addition to the storyline. If this gets Natalya to drop the farting gimmick, let it happen. Or if WWE wants to keep that gimmick, MM might worsen that "problem," leading to an on-screen breakup of sorts? Again, this is probably the only interesting storyline NXT has, so I'm really investing a bunch of thoughts in this one.
Justin Gabriel vs. Curt Hawkins: *1/4
Darren Young vs. Jimmy Uso: *1/2
Percy Watson vs. Tyler Reks: *1/2
Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Striker's growing facial hair. Four matches tonight...thanks Regal.
I'm a big fan of Justin Gabriel. He's clearly got the in-ring moves, but now can he become a more complete wrestler with solid mic work? Pretty short, standard match here. Good slight tension between Hawkins and Regal post-match.
Tamina straightened her hair? In any event, she looks nice. Titus and Darren now act like she exists and is so freakin' awesome. What?! Usos back with Tamina? So I guess we should just forget about the last few months. Remember when Tamina and JTG were together and the Usos opposed JTG? Oh right, WWE usually doesn't give a crap about continuity.
Good physicality between Jimmy Uso and D-Young. Jey's on commentary. Jey gets off the headset to get "U-SO!" chants going, probably also because the crowd woulda been mostly dead otherwise. Decent match.
Why does Johnny Curtis have a chloroform rag? Did he steal it from the late Giant Gonzalez's old bag of foreign objects? He took out Striker with it, and Maxine is all stressed.
Regal's left alone on commentary, but not for long. Maxine out with gifts for Regal to butter up to him more. Oh crap, she's also gonna don the headset. Vintage body oils and lotion!
Percy and Reks have a match. Reks jawjacks with Regal for a little bit. Maxine's giving Regal a foot massage, then a scalp massage. Really? Really? Whatever the case, it made the match much less important, a shame because Percy's a great athlete. The crowd barely cared, though. See, look what happens when Josh Mathews leaves his post.
Anyway, it looks like Regal gained the upper hand against Hawkins and Reks this week.
Johnny Curtis is just bizarre. How the hell? Someone now has Striker and there's some note left behind? Oh, enter Kaitlyn and Bateman. Kaitlyn's smokin' hot again tonight.
And finally, the main event where we actually have a good NXT storyline. Kidd and MM go at it, building a good rivalry. I love how this can really be the next generation of when Bret Hart and Mr. Perfect went at it over 20 years ago. Their match at SummerSlam 1991 was one of my favorites back in the day.
Kidd and MM was the best match on the card, although it wouldn't be too hard to get those honors this week. Check out the last minute or so of this match. Beautiful counters. Solid, fitting finish, even if it was a rollup. I just wish the crowd was more into it. Match was very, very good.
The post-match talk from MM got me thinking...will he go after Natalya? It's supposed to be something that hurts Kidd's heart. I think it'd be a wonderful addition to the storyline. If this gets Natalya to drop the farting gimmick, let it happen. Or if WWE wants to keep that gimmick, MM might worsen that "problem," leading to an on-screen breakup of sorts? Again, this is probably the only interesting storyline NXT has, so I'm really investing a bunch of thoughts in this one.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
3/19/12 RAW
Ratings:
Kane vs. Big Show: 1/2*
David Otunga vs. Santino Marella: 3/4*
Daniel Bryan vs. Zack Ryder: *
John Cena vs. Mark Henry: *1/2
Sheamus vs. The Miz: *1/4
Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth: *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Rock's live in Philly, cool!
Punk starts the show. No theatrics, he's serious tonight. He's letting the monster out at Mania. He refuses to let the past dictate his future. Extremely passionate promo, and I love it. Nice to know Punk's dad overcame his demons. Jericho's an obstacle to Punk, and Punk will run right through him. Jericho apologizes via satellite about Punk's dad. OH SNAP. Jericho talks about Punk's sister. Seriously great stuff. Listen to that crowd react. OH! Punk swore on TV (but it was likely delayed by a couple seconds so the censors could actually get it). Punk basically said Jericho's a bunch of bullshit and probably gave him the ol' FU as well. Loved this segment. Loved it.
Two big guys wrestling again. Kane and Big Show. Oh how lovely. What would the show be without a Cody Rhodes appearance? Video of Big Show's follies at Mania. HA, even clips from when Show actually had hair. Cody's wearing boxing gloves and shadow boxing. Guess he wants to be like Mayweather. Cody got up on the apron, and of course Cole doesn't mind that. Distraction allows Kane to deliver a chokeslam of sorts for the win. Cody with a post-match attack. Vintage handcuffs! Didn't think the cuffs were big enough to put it on Show, but they were. Cody tees off on Show with a ton of punches. Show tells Cody to run as some guy gets bolt cutters to free Show. I wish they coulda done a spot where Show tears the cuffs apart.
Vintage excess body oiled Otunga! Santino is his opponent tonight. Santino's posing! That was a nice spot. Short match here. Santino stomps on Johnny's phone, but that cost Santino the win. Vintage Long slap! Never seen Teddy run so fast. Cole wonders how Johnny can tell him how good a job he's doing now. Um, it's called telling it to someone in person, dimwit.
Vignette promoting Lord Tensai. It's likely the former A-Train (Prince Albert) returning to WWE. He's had a great career in Japan, winning multiple titles there. Quite a feel-good story, in my book. When A-Train was in WWE, he seemed destined to be a midcard lifer. I think Lord Tensai has possibilities for main event status. He's rumored to start out as Laurinaitis' bodyguard, which means Johnny's team is winning at Mania. BTW, I love those tattoos. The music, while generic, is still catchy and appealing to me.
Rock taped promo at the Rocky statue! Philly's the city of asskickers! Damn right. His little pebbles were coming out at 12. Aw. Hogan, Warrior, and Austin references! Oh, Rock mentions Pat's cheesesteaks! Guess we now know which place Rock prefers for cheesesteaks. Honestly, I'd try all the great joints there. It's a frickin' iconic sandwich! Rock with the "bang bang" (Cactus Jack), "wooooo" (Flair), and "ohhhhh yeahhh dig it!" (Savage). So now we know Rock's got a quest to become the greatest of all time. Excellent promo, as usual.
Daniel Bryan faces Zack Ryder! AJ's looking awesome again. Ryder was campaigning to be on Team Long earlier, and he'll likely get on. Cole actually references when Punk, DB, and Ryder all stood in the ring as champs. A great moment when they all came through the crowd, and I still remember Cole going all berserk that they were doing that. Ryder got brief offense in before DB countered the Rough Ryder with the LeBell Lock. Ryder instantly taps.
Oh good grief. TMZ headline with Cena getting "rear-ended." Yeah, it was a legit accident, and Cena's fine. But cue all the immature jokes on that one.
25th annual SummerSlam at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this August. WWE hitting a lot of nice milestones on their big PPVs. Wish I could go to that. I've been to RAWs, Smackdowns, and live events, but never a PPV.
Cena faces Henry tonight. Crowd vocal here, either with or against Cena. Henry tossing Cena all over the place, so I guess Cena really is OK. Mark dominating virtually the whole match before Cena did his usual comeback. I don't care who you are, it's impressive to pick up Henry for any power move, and Cena's AA put Mark away tonight. Fairly standard match, but gotta love that crowd reaction. It's a huge reason why Cena's a main eventer.
OH, HERE COMES ROCK. Rock Bottom to Henry! Poor Mark. At least he's still got a Mania match. Good short confrontation to send a message.
Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, and Eve Torres were on Extra. Maria Menounos will participate in a Mania tag match with Kelly against Beth and Eve. Good for national exposure. Like I previously mentioned in other posts, Maria actually has in-ring training, so it shouldn't be a horrible match. I'm thinking Maria gets the hot tag. I'd rather have KK take the beatdown when the heels are in control. Ha, Beth says she's a woman, so don't touch her. She's no woman...she's a glamazon!
Miz promo. King Kong Bundy reference, going from facing Hogan at WM 2 to teaming with two midgets at WM 3. Miz doesn't want to be the biggest dropoff in WM history.
Oh great, Miz is facing Sheamus. Nice knowing ya, Miz. The usual formulaic match, and a Brogue Kick ends it. Johnny will still likely pick Miz for one of his final slots anyway.
Josh Mathews is on the ramp to interview Orton, much like when wrestlers were interviewed on some platform on WWF Superstars back in the day. Love having the crowd in the back holding the signs. Decent promo from Randy tonight. Confident.
Tag match next. Four guys that will be a part of the Team Johnny vs. Team Long WM match. Aksana with Kofi and Truth, and she wants to go after Vickie. That's right, Swagger and Ziggler will join team Johnny. Truth gets the hot tag here. Ziggler with the Rocker Dropper for three because Vickie pushed Truth's foot off the ropes behind the ref's back. Aksana gets in Vickie's face and pushes her down. Aksana finally does something right and takes down Vickie! Vintage catfight! All four guys have to pull the two ladies apart. Good for a crowd reaction.
WWE.com exclusive of a house show at Madison Square Garden the previous night. HHH did Taker's signature throat slash, Tombstone, and pin. Nice way to send a message.
"End of an Era" faceoff ends the show. HBK starts off. Gong! Here comes Taker with his hood. HHH's music hits, and The Game enters. HHH and Taker have been in 19 of the 24 HIAC matches, an incredible stat. Big line from HHH: "If it means giving you the end which you so richly deserve, then I am -- and I will." Long story short: HHH puts Taker over one more time, allowing Taker to retire 20-0 at WM.
Ha, good way to end the show. Nice smirk from HBK probably pissed HHH off even more.
Kane vs. Big Show: 1/2*
David Otunga vs. Santino Marella: 3/4*
Daniel Bryan vs. Zack Ryder: *
John Cena vs. Mark Henry: *1/2
Sheamus vs. The Miz: *1/4
Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger vs. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth: *1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Rock's live in Philly, cool!
Punk starts the show. No theatrics, he's serious tonight. He's letting the monster out at Mania. He refuses to let the past dictate his future. Extremely passionate promo, and I love it. Nice to know Punk's dad overcame his demons. Jericho's an obstacle to Punk, and Punk will run right through him. Jericho apologizes via satellite about Punk's dad. OH SNAP. Jericho talks about Punk's sister. Seriously great stuff. Listen to that crowd react. OH! Punk swore on TV (but it was likely delayed by a couple seconds so the censors could actually get it). Punk basically said Jericho's a bunch of bullshit and probably gave him the ol' FU as well. Loved this segment. Loved it.
Two big guys wrestling again. Kane and Big Show. Oh how lovely. What would the show be without a Cody Rhodes appearance? Video of Big Show's follies at Mania. HA, even clips from when Show actually had hair. Cody's wearing boxing gloves and shadow boxing. Guess he wants to be like Mayweather. Cody got up on the apron, and of course Cole doesn't mind that. Distraction allows Kane to deliver a chokeslam of sorts for the win. Cody with a post-match attack. Vintage handcuffs! Didn't think the cuffs were big enough to put it on Show, but they were. Cody tees off on Show with a ton of punches. Show tells Cody to run as some guy gets bolt cutters to free Show. I wish they coulda done a spot where Show tears the cuffs apart.
Vintage excess body oiled Otunga! Santino is his opponent tonight. Santino's posing! That was a nice spot. Short match here. Santino stomps on Johnny's phone, but that cost Santino the win. Vintage Long slap! Never seen Teddy run so fast. Cole wonders how Johnny can tell him how good a job he's doing now. Um, it's called telling it to someone in person, dimwit.
Vignette promoting Lord Tensai. It's likely the former A-Train (Prince Albert) returning to WWE. He's had a great career in Japan, winning multiple titles there. Quite a feel-good story, in my book. When A-Train was in WWE, he seemed destined to be a midcard lifer. I think Lord Tensai has possibilities for main event status. He's rumored to start out as Laurinaitis' bodyguard, which means Johnny's team is winning at Mania. BTW, I love those tattoos. The music, while generic, is still catchy and appealing to me.
Rock taped promo at the Rocky statue! Philly's the city of asskickers! Damn right. His little pebbles were coming out at 12. Aw. Hogan, Warrior, and Austin references! Oh, Rock mentions Pat's cheesesteaks! Guess we now know which place Rock prefers for cheesesteaks. Honestly, I'd try all the great joints there. It's a frickin' iconic sandwich! Rock with the "bang bang" (Cactus Jack), "wooooo" (Flair), and "ohhhhh yeahhh dig it!" (Savage). So now we know Rock's got a quest to become the greatest of all time. Excellent promo, as usual.
Daniel Bryan faces Zack Ryder! AJ's looking awesome again. Ryder was campaigning to be on Team Long earlier, and he'll likely get on. Cole actually references when Punk, DB, and Ryder all stood in the ring as champs. A great moment when they all came through the crowd, and I still remember Cole going all berserk that they were doing that. Ryder got brief offense in before DB countered the Rough Ryder with the LeBell Lock. Ryder instantly taps.
Oh good grief. TMZ headline with Cena getting "rear-ended." Yeah, it was a legit accident, and Cena's fine. But cue all the immature jokes on that one.
25th annual SummerSlam at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this August. WWE hitting a lot of nice milestones on their big PPVs. Wish I could go to that. I've been to RAWs, Smackdowns, and live events, but never a PPV.
Cena faces Henry tonight. Crowd vocal here, either with or against Cena. Henry tossing Cena all over the place, so I guess Cena really is OK. Mark dominating virtually the whole match before Cena did his usual comeback. I don't care who you are, it's impressive to pick up Henry for any power move, and Cena's AA put Mark away tonight. Fairly standard match, but gotta love that crowd reaction. It's a huge reason why Cena's a main eventer.
OH, HERE COMES ROCK. Rock Bottom to Henry! Poor Mark. At least he's still got a Mania match. Good short confrontation to send a message.
Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, and Eve Torres were on Extra. Maria Menounos will participate in a Mania tag match with Kelly against Beth and Eve. Good for national exposure. Like I previously mentioned in other posts, Maria actually has in-ring training, so it shouldn't be a horrible match. I'm thinking Maria gets the hot tag. I'd rather have KK take the beatdown when the heels are in control. Ha, Beth says she's a woman, so don't touch her. She's no woman...she's a glamazon!
Miz promo. King Kong Bundy reference, going from facing Hogan at WM 2 to teaming with two midgets at WM 3. Miz doesn't want to be the biggest dropoff in WM history.
Oh great, Miz is facing Sheamus. Nice knowing ya, Miz. The usual formulaic match, and a Brogue Kick ends it. Johnny will still likely pick Miz for one of his final slots anyway.
Josh Mathews is on the ramp to interview Orton, much like when wrestlers were interviewed on some platform on WWF Superstars back in the day. Love having the crowd in the back holding the signs. Decent promo from Randy tonight. Confident.
Tag match next. Four guys that will be a part of the Team Johnny vs. Team Long WM match. Aksana with Kofi and Truth, and she wants to go after Vickie. That's right, Swagger and Ziggler will join team Johnny. Truth gets the hot tag here. Ziggler with the Rocker Dropper for three because Vickie pushed Truth's foot off the ropes behind the ref's back. Aksana gets in Vickie's face and pushes her down. Aksana finally does something right and takes down Vickie! Vintage catfight! All four guys have to pull the two ladies apart. Good for a crowd reaction.
WWE.com exclusive of a house show at Madison Square Garden the previous night. HHH did Taker's signature throat slash, Tombstone, and pin. Nice way to send a message.
"End of an Era" faceoff ends the show. HBK starts off. Gong! Here comes Taker with his hood. HHH's music hits, and The Game enters. HHH and Taker have been in 19 of the 24 HIAC matches, an incredible stat. Big line from HHH: "If it means giving you the end which you so richly deserve, then I am -- and I will." Long story short: HHH puts Taker over one more time, allowing Taker to retire 20-0 at WM.
Ha, good way to end the show. Nice smirk from HBK probably pissed HHH off even more.
Monday, March 19, 2012
3/18/12 Victory Road
Ratings:
James Storm vs. Bully Ray: 1/4*
Zema Ion vs. Austin Aries (X-Division Title): **
Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Matt Morgan & Crimson (Tag Team Titles): *1/2
Devon vs. Robbie E (TV Title): *
Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne (Knockouts Title): DUD
AJ Styles & Mr. Anderson vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian: **1/2
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy: ***1/2
Bobby Roode vs. Sting (No Holds Barred; World Title): ***1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Bully Ray promo at the start, and crowd starts "We want Devon!" chants. Bully wants his match with Storm to be for the #1 contendership at Lockdown. Vintage hostage taking! Storm says Bully's calves are chicken legs. Chicken legs are probably trending worldwide.
Didn't think that match would start the show, as I was certain something X-Division-related would have that slot. Bully spilled beer! That's never good. Sure enough, Storm caught him with the Last Call. Vintage beer spitting moment! Storm wins a short match. Why the hell was this at the start?!
Borash tries to interview Aries, but Eric Bischoff steps in. Looks like they are going with a take on the real interview Bischoff gave trashing Borash (look it up if you don't know what I'm referring to).
Ion comes out first, then Aries. Fun stuff at the start, trading arrogant/cocky segments. Aries tweets during a match. Yeah, don't see that one very often. Aries with control early, then Ion. Pretty formulaic match with extra theatrics. Ion puts the hairpsray in his tights. Crowd loves Aries more than Ion, that's for sure. Ion distracts ref by bringing the title in, then sprays AA. Rollup only got two, classic Ion stunned reaction. Nice AA powerbomb counter out of the corner. Blinded AA gets help to find Ion, brainbuster gets three. Not bad. And "Austin Aries" trended worldwide on Twitter. Awesome.
Tag title match is next. Seems pretty clear who will win here and how. Crimson unbeaten for 14 months -- as in he hasn't been pinned or forced to submit. All about the technicalities! Crimson keeps telling Morgan he's got things under control, refusing to get Morgan in the contest. Morgan grows more agitated by the second. Crowd wants Matt in the match. Magnus gets the hot tag to Joe, and Crimson again refuses to tag Morgan in. Morgan drags Crimson to their corner and tags himself in. Crimson does the same thing a bit later. Predictable argument, then Crimson leaves the corner. Crimson says he's the winner of the team. Morgan flips the double bird. Crimson spears Morgan, leading to Magnus and Joe retaining. As expected, official severing of Morgan and Crimson as a tag team. Let the singles feud resume!
Borash is back to let Roode cut a promo. Storm gets in RR's face. Storm wants to fight Roode now. Roode walks away.
Here we go with the Robbies. Open challenge #2. It's happening tonight -- open challenge to anyone in the Impact Zone. How fun. Me! Pick me! Oof, he dissed the large women! I woulda paid to see Robbie and SoCal Val go at it. Come on!
Vintage Robbie posing. Uh oh, it's a trimmed-down Devon! HA, Brian Hebner on the mic, and he said "ass" to big Rob! WTF, Brooke Hogan?! She tried to grab the chair from little Rob. There are Hogans everywhere, dangit! Small comeback from Devon, and a spinebuster gets three. That's it? Lame.
How the hell has TNA been in business for 10 years?! They'll be in Dallas (Dixie's hometown) for Slammiversary. UT-Arlington's new arena. Cool beans.
Knockouts title time. So I guess we have five titles on the line tonight. Seems like Taz is down with the latex on Gail. OK, the crowd can go back to being mostly dead now. Faint split chants. Gail with that missile dropkick, but Madison seemed a bit close to the ropes, so Gail took a hard splat on the mat as well. Crowd is still dead. Really feeling sorry for the ladies at this point. Madison goes for her finisher, but Eat Defeat "out of nowhere" for three. Well, that filled time.
At least "Gail Kim" trended worldwide on Twitter.
Tag match with AJ/Anderson vs. Daniels/Kaz was good. Since they know each other very well, there were many counters. But dammit, the crowd. They need to be injected with more life. Cool spot with Styles landing on his feet after getting monkey flipped. Clothesline and a Pele. That was awesome. Hot tag to Anderson. Great counter by Daniels on AJ's backflip inverted DDT attempt. Nice finish with AJ countering the Fade to Black into the clash.
Split chants for Angle and Hardy. Finally, TNA's version of a lively crowd shows up! Nice battling on the outside. Angle did the Cactus Jack bump with the steel steps. Hardy crashed and burned against the steel barricade. This was a pretty slow-paced match here. Hardy's Twist of Fate looks like a Stunner now. Angle kicked out of another Twist of Fate, which didn't draw a huge gasp from the crowd. Didn't understand Hardy just gingerly walking to Angle, only to get kicked in the gut. Really? Angle's cut up. Angle slam gets two, and crowd is saying it's awesome. Angle chokes Hardy with those arm sock bands. Third Twist of Fate. Conditioning on these two is amazing. Swanton hit! Angle counters using the ropes. Ref in an overall poor position but counts three. Great match overall.
Main event title match. Champ out first, then Sting. Dixie cheering Sting on. Borash main event intros. "You still got it" chants for Sting. Icon with upper hand early as the chants get a little louder. RR tries to walk away but that's not working here. "Over here!" chants from the crowd, telling Sting to go where they are. Haven't really heard that too often. Stinger Splash on RR against the rail! Figure four on Sting. Reversed after a few minutes. Crowd cheers for this one. Vintage Sting hulking up! Sting attacks RR's legs to set up for the Scorpion Death Lock. Sting gets it on and with great ring positioning before RR gets to the ropes.
RR gets a chair, and it's in the middle of the ring. Sting counters. Scorpion Death Drop...OH SNAP. Sting's head snapped back into the chair hard. Hope that was planned because that hurt like hell. He hit the chair so hard that he broke the seat off its hinges. RR covered for three in another shady finish.
Post-match, RR gets another chair and grabs Dixie. All in the ring now. RR threatens Dixie, Sting tries to intervene but gets cut down. RR duct tapes Sting to the bottom rope in one of the corners. RR leads Dixie to the opposite corner. RR wants to deck Sting with one final chair shot but Dixie crawls over and lies down as a shield on Sting. RR wipes a bunch of Sting's sweaty face paint on Dixie. "Fire Bobby!" chants from the crowd as the show goes off the air.
Must admit, the last two matches and the post-main event segment had the most crowd reaction.
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Yet another so-so PPV, in my book. The last two were physical and by far the best of the night. Even when Angle is going much slower than he usually does, he's still an amazing athlete.
I was very happy with the heel reaction Roode got after the match, and I thought the finish was fine. He's the top heel, winning in underhanded or controversial manners, and now Roode's really gotten to threatening Dixie Carter even more. The focus should be on strengthening Roode's heel run. This sets up Roode and Storm at Lockdown. I can't tell for sure right now if TNA will just let Storm win at Lockdown, but I'd just go with the title change because Roode already has a (controversial) win over Storm during his reign. **1/4
James Storm vs. Bully Ray: 1/4*
Zema Ion vs. Austin Aries (X-Division Title): **
Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Matt Morgan & Crimson (Tag Team Titles): *1/2
Devon vs. Robbie E (TV Title): *
Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne (Knockouts Title): DUD
AJ Styles & Mr. Anderson vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian: **1/2
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy: ***1/2
Bobby Roode vs. Sting (No Holds Barred; World Title): ***1/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Bully Ray promo at the start, and crowd starts "We want Devon!" chants. Bully wants his match with Storm to be for the #1 contendership at Lockdown. Vintage hostage taking! Storm says Bully's calves are chicken legs. Chicken legs are probably trending worldwide.
Didn't think that match would start the show, as I was certain something X-Division-related would have that slot. Bully spilled beer! That's never good. Sure enough, Storm caught him with the Last Call. Vintage beer spitting moment! Storm wins a short match. Why the hell was this at the start?!
Borash tries to interview Aries, but Eric Bischoff steps in. Looks like they are going with a take on the real interview Bischoff gave trashing Borash (look it up if you don't know what I'm referring to).
Ion comes out first, then Aries. Fun stuff at the start, trading arrogant/cocky segments. Aries tweets during a match. Yeah, don't see that one very often. Aries with control early, then Ion. Pretty formulaic match with extra theatrics. Ion puts the hairpsray in his tights. Crowd loves Aries more than Ion, that's for sure. Ion distracts ref by bringing the title in, then sprays AA. Rollup only got two, classic Ion stunned reaction. Nice AA powerbomb counter out of the corner. Blinded AA gets help to find Ion, brainbuster gets three. Not bad. And "Austin Aries" trended worldwide on Twitter. Awesome.
Tag title match is next. Seems pretty clear who will win here and how. Crimson unbeaten for 14 months -- as in he hasn't been pinned or forced to submit. All about the technicalities! Crimson keeps telling Morgan he's got things under control, refusing to get Morgan in the contest. Morgan grows more agitated by the second. Crowd wants Matt in the match. Magnus gets the hot tag to Joe, and Crimson again refuses to tag Morgan in. Morgan drags Crimson to their corner and tags himself in. Crimson does the same thing a bit later. Predictable argument, then Crimson leaves the corner. Crimson says he's the winner of the team. Morgan flips the double bird. Crimson spears Morgan, leading to Magnus and Joe retaining. As expected, official severing of Morgan and Crimson as a tag team. Let the singles feud resume!
Borash is back to let Roode cut a promo. Storm gets in RR's face. Storm wants to fight Roode now. Roode walks away.
Here we go with the Robbies. Open challenge #2. It's happening tonight -- open challenge to anyone in the Impact Zone. How fun. Me! Pick me! Oof, he dissed the large women! I woulda paid to see Robbie and SoCal Val go at it. Come on!
Vintage Robbie posing. Uh oh, it's a trimmed-down Devon! HA, Brian Hebner on the mic, and he said "ass" to big Rob! WTF, Brooke Hogan?! She tried to grab the chair from little Rob. There are Hogans everywhere, dangit! Small comeback from Devon, and a spinebuster gets three. That's it? Lame.
How the hell has TNA been in business for 10 years?! They'll be in Dallas (Dixie's hometown) for Slammiversary. UT-Arlington's new arena. Cool beans.
Knockouts title time. So I guess we have five titles on the line tonight. Seems like Taz is down with the latex on Gail. OK, the crowd can go back to being mostly dead now. Faint split chants. Gail with that missile dropkick, but Madison seemed a bit close to the ropes, so Gail took a hard splat on the mat as well. Crowd is still dead. Really feeling sorry for the ladies at this point. Madison goes for her finisher, but Eat Defeat "out of nowhere" for three. Well, that filled time.
At least "Gail Kim" trended worldwide on Twitter.
Tag match with AJ/Anderson vs. Daniels/Kaz was good. Since they know each other very well, there were many counters. But dammit, the crowd. They need to be injected with more life. Cool spot with Styles landing on his feet after getting monkey flipped. Clothesline and a Pele. That was awesome. Hot tag to Anderson. Great counter by Daniels on AJ's backflip inverted DDT attempt. Nice finish with AJ countering the Fade to Black into the clash.
Split chants for Angle and Hardy. Finally, TNA's version of a lively crowd shows up! Nice battling on the outside. Angle did the Cactus Jack bump with the steel steps. Hardy crashed and burned against the steel barricade. This was a pretty slow-paced match here. Hardy's Twist of Fate looks like a Stunner now. Angle kicked out of another Twist of Fate, which didn't draw a huge gasp from the crowd. Didn't understand Hardy just gingerly walking to Angle, only to get kicked in the gut. Really? Angle's cut up. Angle slam gets two, and crowd is saying it's awesome. Angle chokes Hardy with those arm sock bands. Third Twist of Fate. Conditioning on these two is amazing. Swanton hit! Angle counters using the ropes. Ref in an overall poor position but counts three. Great match overall.
Main event title match. Champ out first, then Sting. Dixie cheering Sting on. Borash main event intros. "You still got it" chants for Sting. Icon with upper hand early as the chants get a little louder. RR tries to walk away but that's not working here. "Over here!" chants from the crowd, telling Sting to go where they are. Haven't really heard that too often. Stinger Splash on RR against the rail! Figure four on Sting. Reversed after a few minutes. Crowd cheers for this one. Vintage Sting hulking up! Sting attacks RR's legs to set up for the Scorpion Death Lock. Sting gets it on and with great ring positioning before RR gets to the ropes.
RR gets a chair, and it's in the middle of the ring. Sting counters. Scorpion Death Drop...OH SNAP. Sting's head snapped back into the chair hard. Hope that was planned because that hurt like hell. He hit the chair so hard that he broke the seat off its hinges. RR covered for three in another shady finish.
Post-match, RR gets another chair and grabs Dixie. All in the ring now. RR threatens Dixie, Sting tries to intervene but gets cut down. RR duct tapes Sting to the bottom rope in one of the corners. RR leads Dixie to the opposite corner. RR wants to deck Sting with one final chair shot but Dixie crawls over and lies down as a shield on Sting. RR wipes a bunch of Sting's sweaty face paint on Dixie. "Fire Bobby!" chants from the crowd as the show goes off the air.
Must admit, the last two matches and the post-main event segment had the most crowd reaction.
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Yet another so-so PPV, in my book. The last two were physical and by far the best of the night. Even when Angle is going much slower than he usually does, he's still an amazing athlete.
I was very happy with the heel reaction Roode got after the match, and I thought the finish was fine. He's the top heel, winning in underhanded or controversial manners, and now Roode's really gotten to threatening Dixie Carter even more. The focus should be on strengthening Roode's heel run. This sets up Roode and Storm at Lockdown. I can't tell for sure right now if TNA will just let Storm win at Lockdown, but I'd just go with the title change because Roode already has a (controversial) win over Storm during his reign. **1/4
Friday, March 16, 2012
3/16/12 Smackdown
Ratings:
Kofi Kingston vs. David Otunga: *1/2
AJ vs. Nikki Bella: *
Cody Rhodes vs. Great Khali: DUD
Big Show vs. Drew McIntyre: 1/4*
Mark Henry vs. Yoshi Tatsu: N/A (squash)
Chris Jericho vs. Sheamus: ***1/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Small tidbit: Lilian Garcia's right shoe broke when she made her entrance before the show. She still carried on in good spirits.
Christian starts with the Peep Show, even getting a few pops. So it will indeed be a 12-man tag match at WM, six guys for Long and six for Laurinaitis. Johnny and Otunga are on the show. Then it's Long and Aksana coming out. No elbow drops needed for Aksana. Time to recruit Christian's services! Cheap heat on Columbus fans. One more match for the World Title. Pretty obvious that Christian was headed to Johnny's side anyway, so I'm glad Teddy said what he said, refusing to "beg" for Christian's services.
I'll admit, WWE has done a good job of building Johnny's team up strong at the outset. Christian's "not medically cleared" yet, but Otunga gets fed to Kofi tonight. Kofi's the newest member for Long's team. Nice pick. Poor Otunga the ambulance chaser gets to compete in his slacks and dress shoes. Christian has one of those Johnny faces. Cole is doing some major kissing up. Sorry, you'll never replace Bobby Heenan.
Good, Otunga doesn't have excess body oil. Christian gets involved, so Long tells the ref and ref throws Christian out. Cole and Johnny are like..."how is this fair?" Um, it is. Good job on failing reasoning and logic, now go back to school. Otunga removes the belt to use as a weapon, Santino takes that. Trouble in Paradise and Kofi wins. Sounds about right.
DB is in AJ's corner for her match against Nikki Bella. DB continues to show more dominance in the relationship. Note that AJ came out alone, then DB got his own entrance. DB did root AJ on, I'll say that. Good spin kick by AJ on her comeback. Nice job by DB to avert twin magic, good counter by AJ to get the rollup win. DB celebrates like he won the Stanley Cup.
I hope AJ actually turns heel in all this. She played a decent heel role in FCW.
Cody and Big Show at Mania for the IC Title. If Show wins, Cody should be elevated to the main event picture. I think Cody's ready. The match was not good at all. Cody did all he could, but Khali is just horrid.
New shirt for Orton as he delivers a promo. Front of the shirt is a simple "RKO" with a neat design. Randy embraces hate. Feud apparently stems from last summer, when Orton won against Kane and Kane shook Orton's hand. Orton's now facing the monster again at Mania. Good. Let them go all out.
McIntyre is back on TV thanks to Johnny. Big Show's the opponent tonight. Oops. Nice and short. Nice knowing ya, Drew.
Yoshi's getting fed to Mark Henry tonight. Squash. If you're not in a Mania match (at least on the main card), you're getting fed to those who are.
Jericho promo. I like the "alcoholic gene" storyline. It's well-known to wrestling fans that Punk's dad was an alcoholic, but it's a nice twist on the real-life situation. Didn't think a guy mentioning taking a drink of alcohol could get booed. Guess Stone Cold's influenced me a bunch. DB and AJ come down to the ring in the middle of the match.
Jericho and Sheamus was really good. Back and forth, crowd loved it. Impressive how Sheamus skins the cat to get to the top, even when it's late in the match. Multiple close near falls. Sheamus throws Jericho near DB and AJ, so DB hits a low dropkick to Sheamus behind the ref's back. Jericho gets a countout win. Not the finish I wanted, but it makes sense. Sheamus goes after DB. Since DB got away, Sheamus nuked Jericho with the Brogue Kick. Good finish to the show.
Kofi Kingston vs. David Otunga: *1/2
AJ vs. Nikki Bella: *
Cody Rhodes vs. Great Khali: DUD
Big Show vs. Drew McIntyre: 1/4*
Mark Henry vs. Yoshi Tatsu: N/A (squash)
Chris Jericho vs. Sheamus: ***1/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Small tidbit: Lilian Garcia's right shoe broke when she made her entrance before the show. She still carried on in good spirits.
Christian starts with the Peep Show, even getting a few pops. So it will indeed be a 12-man tag match at WM, six guys for Long and six for Laurinaitis. Johnny and Otunga are on the show. Then it's Long and Aksana coming out. No elbow drops needed for Aksana. Time to recruit Christian's services! Cheap heat on Columbus fans. One more match for the World Title. Pretty obvious that Christian was headed to Johnny's side anyway, so I'm glad Teddy said what he said, refusing to "beg" for Christian's services.
I'll admit, WWE has done a good job of building Johnny's team up strong at the outset. Christian's "not medically cleared" yet, but Otunga gets fed to Kofi tonight. Kofi's the newest member for Long's team. Nice pick. Poor Otunga the ambulance chaser gets to compete in his slacks and dress shoes. Christian has one of those Johnny faces. Cole is doing some major kissing up. Sorry, you'll never replace Bobby Heenan.
Good, Otunga doesn't have excess body oil. Christian gets involved, so Long tells the ref and ref throws Christian out. Cole and Johnny are like..."how is this fair?" Um, it is. Good job on failing reasoning and logic, now go back to school. Otunga removes the belt to use as a weapon, Santino takes that. Trouble in Paradise and Kofi wins. Sounds about right.
DB is in AJ's corner for her match against Nikki Bella. DB continues to show more dominance in the relationship. Note that AJ came out alone, then DB got his own entrance. DB did root AJ on, I'll say that. Good spin kick by AJ on her comeback. Nice job by DB to avert twin magic, good counter by AJ to get the rollup win. DB celebrates like he won the Stanley Cup.
I hope AJ actually turns heel in all this. She played a decent heel role in FCW.
Cody and Big Show at Mania for the IC Title. If Show wins, Cody should be elevated to the main event picture. I think Cody's ready. The match was not good at all. Cody did all he could, but Khali is just horrid.
New shirt for Orton as he delivers a promo. Front of the shirt is a simple "RKO" with a neat design. Randy embraces hate. Feud apparently stems from last summer, when Orton won against Kane and Kane shook Orton's hand. Orton's now facing the monster again at Mania. Good. Let them go all out.
McIntyre is back on TV thanks to Johnny. Big Show's the opponent tonight. Oops. Nice and short. Nice knowing ya, Drew.
Yoshi's getting fed to Mark Henry tonight. Squash. If you're not in a Mania match (at least on the main card), you're getting fed to those who are.
Jericho promo. I like the "alcoholic gene" storyline. It's well-known to wrestling fans that Punk's dad was an alcoholic, but it's a nice twist on the real-life situation. Didn't think a guy mentioning taking a drink of alcohol could get booed. Guess Stone Cold's influenced me a bunch. DB and AJ come down to the ring in the middle of the match.
Jericho and Sheamus was really good. Back and forth, crowd loved it. Impressive how Sheamus skins the cat to get to the top, even when it's late in the match. Multiple close near falls. Sheamus throws Jericho near DB and AJ, so DB hits a low dropkick to Sheamus behind the ref's back. Jericho gets a countout win. Not the finish I wanted, but it makes sense. Sheamus goes after DB. Since DB got away, Sheamus nuked Jericho with the Brogue Kick. Good finish to the show.
3/15/12 Impact
Ratings:
Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky: *1/4
Crimson vs. Samoa Joe: *1/2
Gail Kim vs. Mickie James: *1/4
Mr. Anderson vs. Christopher Daniels: **
Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle: -*
James Storm vs. Gunner: *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
James Storm starts the show off with a promo on Roode, then Bully Ray comes out. Bully Ray says to kiss his calves. How lovely. Vintage confrontation! Gunner is one of the toughest men Bully knows? What a ringing endorsement.
Gail and Madison arguing. Sting plays matchmaker. Gail vs. Mickie and Madison vs. Velvet. Sounds good.
Madison out first. No pigeons loose today, as Velvet gets the fast start on Madison. Crowd really behind Velvet here. Good moves from Madison while she was on offense, albeit a slow-paced affair. Rollup at the end. Velvet had the tights briefly, then Madison countered, held Velvet's gear, and got three.
Crimson says it's all about getting the win. I'm sure this starts a slow heel turn for Crimson; his words are getting more heelish and arrogant. Above-average pace for two big guys. Magnus and Morgan fight on the outside as Joe went for the Muscle Buster. Morgan helps Crimson get the win this week.
Aries promo, and he's got some bubbly. He's broken the record for the longest X-Division title reign. Nice accomplishment. The video was actually very well done. Aries dancing in the ring, good grief. Good heel promo, then Ion comes out. I like Ion's swagger against Aries. Jesse Sorensen reference was low, though. Bubbly to Ion's hair! Oh, his pretty hair!
Joseph Park is still around looking for brother Abyss. Gunner hightails it, smart man. Joseph is an attorney from Chicago. I'd think that info has to get woven into the bigger picture somehow.
This EY/ODB deal is bizarre, but entertaining. Props there. Married on Impact? Gee, what a novel idea! Can you just see the sarcasm oozing?
Gail and Mickie was fine. Gail attacked Mickie's knee. Good submissions from Gail as the crowd got behind Hardcore Country. Shady finish as expected.
Honestly, I haven't missed Ken Anderson on TV. Just shows the guy is replaceable if need be. Only a few guys on the TNA roster are really that special, and I'd put Daniels and AJ among the top of that short list.
Daniels got bloodied very quickly. Match was good as Kaz comes down to ringside. Kaz hops on the apron but AJ comes down to get Kaz out of the equation. Mic Check from Anderson wins it. Faces get good momentum for Sunday, which means heels probably win at Victory Road.
Angle and Garett in a five-minute match. Just brutal. Crowd looked dead, so it's quite clear that TNA pumped crowd noise into this taped show. Totally one-sided until Garett evaded Angle just enough starting with maybe 30 seconds left. Angle punches the ref and slaps the ankle lock on. Jeff Hardy makes the save. That was extremely forgettable.
Gunner got sent to the wolves against James Storm. Yeah, he got in a bunch of offense, but do you really think Gunner was winning when they want to build Storm up as a threat for Victory Road? Nice to know that Codebreaker move Storm uses is called "Closing Time."
Bully Ray teases getting in the ring. Good tease for Sunday.
Contract signing between Sting and Roode. We didn't need Borash for this, thanks. I usually don't like these segments. I mean, all it does is try to make a match just that much more important, and then allow time for promos. But screw that. Roode references 22 years ago, Sting vs. Flair. Yeah, the surfer dude Sting that had the blonde hair. Roode says Sting is another one of the veterans stealing the young guy's spotlight. Good promo from Roode.
Sting unveils the paint! Sting beats down Roode to end the show. I'd have RR retain by some shady move again at Victory Road. Easier to do when it's No Holds Barred.
Victory Road this Sunday!
Madison Rayne vs. Velvet Sky: *1/4
Crimson vs. Samoa Joe: *1/2
Gail Kim vs. Mickie James: *1/4
Mr. Anderson vs. Christopher Daniels: **
Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle: -*
James Storm vs. Gunner: *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
James Storm starts the show off with a promo on Roode, then Bully Ray comes out. Bully Ray says to kiss his calves. How lovely. Vintage confrontation! Gunner is one of the toughest men Bully knows? What a ringing endorsement.
Gail and Madison arguing. Sting plays matchmaker. Gail vs. Mickie and Madison vs. Velvet. Sounds good.
Madison out first. No pigeons loose today, as Velvet gets the fast start on Madison. Crowd really behind Velvet here. Good moves from Madison while she was on offense, albeit a slow-paced affair. Rollup at the end. Velvet had the tights briefly, then Madison countered, held Velvet's gear, and got three.
Crimson says it's all about getting the win. I'm sure this starts a slow heel turn for Crimson; his words are getting more heelish and arrogant. Above-average pace for two big guys. Magnus and Morgan fight on the outside as Joe went for the Muscle Buster. Morgan helps Crimson get the win this week.
Aries promo, and he's got some bubbly. He's broken the record for the longest X-Division title reign. Nice accomplishment. The video was actually very well done. Aries dancing in the ring, good grief. Good heel promo, then Ion comes out. I like Ion's swagger against Aries. Jesse Sorensen reference was low, though. Bubbly to Ion's hair! Oh, his pretty hair!
Joseph Park is still around looking for brother Abyss. Gunner hightails it, smart man. Joseph is an attorney from Chicago. I'd think that info has to get woven into the bigger picture somehow.
This EY/ODB deal is bizarre, but entertaining. Props there. Married on Impact? Gee, what a novel idea! Can you just see the sarcasm oozing?
Gail and Mickie was fine. Gail attacked Mickie's knee. Good submissions from Gail as the crowd got behind Hardcore Country. Shady finish as expected.
Honestly, I haven't missed Ken Anderson on TV. Just shows the guy is replaceable if need be. Only a few guys on the TNA roster are really that special, and I'd put Daniels and AJ among the top of that short list.
Daniels got bloodied very quickly. Match was good as Kaz comes down to ringside. Kaz hops on the apron but AJ comes down to get Kaz out of the equation. Mic Check from Anderson wins it. Faces get good momentum for Sunday, which means heels probably win at Victory Road.
Angle and Garett in a five-minute match. Just brutal. Crowd looked dead, so it's quite clear that TNA pumped crowd noise into this taped show. Totally one-sided until Garett evaded Angle just enough starting with maybe 30 seconds left. Angle punches the ref and slaps the ankle lock on. Jeff Hardy makes the save. That was extremely forgettable.
Gunner got sent to the wolves against James Storm. Yeah, he got in a bunch of offense, but do you really think Gunner was winning when they want to build Storm up as a threat for Victory Road? Nice to know that Codebreaker move Storm uses is called "Closing Time."
Bully Ray teases getting in the ring. Good tease for Sunday.
Contract signing between Sting and Roode. We didn't need Borash for this, thanks. I usually don't like these segments. I mean, all it does is try to make a match just that much more important, and then allow time for promos. But screw that. Roode references 22 years ago, Sting vs. Flair. Yeah, the surfer dude Sting that had the blonde hair. Roode says Sting is another one of the veterans stealing the young guy's spotlight. Good promo from Roode.
Sting unveils the paint! Sting beats down Roode to end the show. I'd have RR retain by some shady move again at Victory Road. Easier to do when it's No Holds Barred.
Victory Road this Sunday!
3/15/12 Superstars
Ratings:
Hunico vs. Justin Gabriel: ***
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks: **1/4
Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly: *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Starting things off with Gabriel against Hunico. When the heck will Camacho actually wrestle in a match? JG had a controlled energetic pace early on. Hunico with facial hair now, which probably explains why he hasn't been on TV very much lately. Michinoku Driver II from Hunico was nice. Good JG comeback got the crowd fired up again. Couldn't tell if JG wanted to do a springboard senton on Hunico and Camacho, or just do a springboard crossbody. Great counters in the second half of the match. Loved the Gabriel counter into a tornado DDT. Nice positioning by Camacho to prevent the 450. It's the little things that impress me, too. Very nice finish. I'd say this was one of Hunico's best matches (if not his best) in WWE.
Wonder if Evan Bourne will be back on TV (his 60-day suspension expires soon). Would be interesting if Evan came back a heel. Could happen. I just hope Bourne has cleaned his act up.
Kofi and Truth are the Hip Hop Express? Nice play on Rock 'n Roll Express. Kofi and Truth work well together. Match with them and Hawkins/Reks started fairly standard, with more high-flying stuff thrown in from the faces. Loved Kofi using Truth as a step to springboard over the top. Nice Kofi counter leads to the hot tag to Truth. Short, yet very good here. Spinning flying forearm is a comeback move and no longer a finisher, good call there. Trouble in Paradise and Little Jimmy win it.
Divas have the main event slot again tonight. Divas tag match rumored for Mania with Maria Menounos and KK going against Eve and Beth. It's good for more national exposure. Maria actually has in-ring training, so it's far from the worst idea. I guess the other divas get backstage segments.
Beth really loves that makeup. Vintage glamazon!
I dunno why, but I just can't really appreciate the stinkface move. Maybe it's because I still think of Rikishi doing that same move years ago.
Good counter on the first Glam Slam, but a second one did KK in. Better than your average divas match.
Hunico vs. Justin Gabriel: ***
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks: **1/4
Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly: *3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Starting things off with Gabriel against Hunico. When the heck will Camacho actually wrestle in a match? JG had a controlled energetic pace early on. Hunico with facial hair now, which probably explains why he hasn't been on TV very much lately. Michinoku Driver II from Hunico was nice. Good JG comeback got the crowd fired up again. Couldn't tell if JG wanted to do a springboard senton on Hunico and Camacho, or just do a springboard crossbody. Great counters in the second half of the match. Loved the Gabriel counter into a tornado DDT. Nice positioning by Camacho to prevent the 450. It's the little things that impress me, too. Very nice finish. I'd say this was one of Hunico's best matches (if not his best) in WWE.
Wonder if Evan Bourne will be back on TV (his 60-day suspension expires soon). Would be interesting if Evan came back a heel. Could happen. I just hope Bourne has cleaned his act up.
Kofi and Truth are the Hip Hop Express? Nice play on Rock 'n Roll Express. Kofi and Truth work well together. Match with them and Hawkins/Reks started fairly standard, with more high-flying stuff thrown in from the faces. Loved Kofi using Truth as a step to springboard over the top. Nice Kofi counter leads to the hot tag to Truth. Short, yet very good here. Spinning flying forearm is a comeback move and no longer a finisher, good call there. Trouble in Paradise and Little Jimmy win it.
Divas have the main event slot again tonight. Divas tag match rumored for Mania with Maria Menounos and KK going against Eve and Beth. It's good for more national exposure. Maria actually has in-ring training, so it's far from the worst idea. I guess the other divas get backstage segments.
Beth really loves that makeup. Vintage glamazon!
I dunno why, but I just can't really appreciate the stinkface move. Maybe it's because I still think of Rikishi doing that same move years ago.
Good counter on the first Glam Slam, but a second one did KK in. Better than your average divas match.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
3/14/12 NXT
Ratings:
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Titus O'Neil & Darren Young: **
Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks vs. Percy Watson & Alex Riley: *3/4
Derrick Bateman & Kaitlyn vs. Johnny Curtis & Maxine: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Regal's official title is "match coordinator." For this episode, every single match will be tag team matches. I like this because it reincorporates the whole NXT aspect of learning some of the basics of pro wrestling matches. In WWE, at least, you'll probably have to participate in some makeshift tag matches.
Darren and Titus get to tag together tonight. Usos are flying in the early going, nice aerial moves. Heel NXT rookie team took control after that, but should I even refer to the whole rookie/pro concept anymore? That went the way of the dodo months ago. Jimmy looks strong after the hot tag. Samoan drop followed by a big top-rope splash gets three. Jey really nailed that splash. Solid here.
Percy and Alex are unofficially Ebony and Ivory now. Guess they face Hawkins and Reks next after their earlier (taped) backstage segment. The usual tag match again, with A-Ry getting the hot tag. Slight distraction allows Hawkins to seize control and get the win via elbow drop.
Leave it to Kaitlyn and Bateman to play tag, while Curtis keeps up his usual awkward shtick. Nice job with the Michigan reference to get cheap heat.
McGillicutty promo regarding Tyson Kidd. Well, at least he's getting a reaction. Kidd confrontation and brawl. Very good intensity here. I'm with Regal. Let them fight. Regal says it will happen next week.
Mixed tag was the main event this week. Vintage Maxine slap to Bateman! Guys had most of the time, as expected. No hot tag to the divas; Bateman with a whimper of a comeback to get the pin. Aw, Kaitlyn hugs Bateman's mom. Bateman and Kaitlyn are officially a couple now. Tag, you're it!
Teaser for Smackdown promotes Christian's return. He's slated to be part of the Team JL vs. Team Long match at Mania.
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Titus O'Neil & Darren Young: **
Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks vs. Percy Watson & Alex Riley: *3/4
Derrick Bateman & Kaitlyn vs. Johnny Curtis & Maxine: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Regal's official title is "match coordinator." For this episode, every single match will be tag team matches. I like this because it reincorporates the whole NXT aspect of learning some of the basics of pro wrestling matches. In WWE, at least, you'll probably have to participate in some makeshift tag matches.
Darren and Titus get to tag together tonight. Usos are flying in the early going, nice aerial moves. Heel NXT rookie team took control after that, but should I even refer to the whole rookie/pro concept anymore? That went the way of the dodo months ago. Jimmy looks strong after the hot tag. Samoan drop followed by a big top-rope splash gets three. Jey really nailed that splash. Solid here.
Percy and Alex are unofficially Ebony and Ivory now. Guess they face Hawkins and Reks next after their earlier (taped) backstage segment. The usual tag match again, with A-Ry getting the hot tag. Slight distraction allows Hawkins to seize control and get the win via elbow drop.
Leave it to Kaitlyn and Bateman to play tag, while Curtis keeps up his usual awkward shtick. Nice job with the Michigan reference to get cheap heat.
McGillicutty promo regarding Tyson Kidd. Well, at least he's getting a reaction. Kidd confrontation and brawl. Very good intensity here. I'm with Regal. Let them fight. Regal says it will happen next week.
Mixed tag was the main event this week. Vintage Maxine slap to Bateman! Guys had most of the time, as expected. No hot tag to the divas; Bateman with a whimper of a comeback to get the pin. Aw, Kaitlyn hugs Bateman's mom. Bateman and Kaitlyn are officially a couple now. Tag, you're it!
Teaser for Smackdown promotes Christian's return. He's slated to be part of the Team JL vs. Team Long match at Mania.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
3/12/12 RAW
Ratings:
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***
Mark Henry & David Otunga vs. Santino Marella: *
Brodus Clay vs. Jinder Mahal: N/A (squash)
CM Punk vs. The Miz: *3/4
Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
In Cleveland for this RAW. Wonder if Miz will wrestle and get a win....
Rock and Rap concert on RAW! Woohoo! Obviously that means Rock and Cena will entertain.
And Cena starts the show! OH SNAP, rapper Cena is back! Thuganomics time, complete with Word Life music! Cena's got the Mark Price jersey. Ohhhh...LeBron reference! I so miss this every week. See, this is the Cena a lot of guys wanted, not some tame Fruity Pebbles Kung Pao Chicken person. This was gold.
Did Cole just say attitudinal? God, he said it at least three times throughout the show! Stop making up words!
Ziggler continues to impress me. I'm a huge fan of his in-ring work, and I hope he continues to deliver many more great moments throughout the rest of his career. He's already drawn comparisons to HBK. Love the counters in his match with Sheamus. Nice spot where Sheamus went for the Celtic Cross, DZ countered into a crucifix pin, then Sheamus power countered back into a CC attempt. Didn't really work out, but it still looked very good. Has DZ's Rocker Dropper ever put anyone away lately? Sudden Brogue Kick ended it.
Meanwhile, DB and AJ watch RAW from the skybox. So much for getting a lot out of him. Good work by AJ to show that tolerating demeanor, yet one can easily tell she's intimidated.
Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis will have teams represent them at Mania. I'm assuming this is for the right to run both RAW and Smackdown. All signs point for Johnny's team to win. Not sure what Long would otherwise do right now. Maybe he can ref again. But his GM act has been stale for a while.
Otunga captains Johnny's Mania team. Like that was a surprise. Too much damn body oil, David! Johnny changes his mind and makes it a handicap match. Mark Henry! Guess he's also on Team JL for Mania. Teddy Long gets a pop coming down to ringside?! And he shoves Johnny again! Let's keep Teddy physical! I mean, if he goes back to reffing, he can be the next Earl Hebner (not in the Montreal fashion, though). Mark Henry comes in off the blind tag (a good one, too, because even I missed it the first time) and puts Santino away.
Kofi got nuked post-match, as did R-Truth. So now we likely know who Teddy's representatives are for the Mania match.
Miz will be on Psych this Wednesday. Good for him.
The Eve and Zack segment was awkward. Then you throw Beth in there -- and it got even worse. Ugh.
Nice pop for Miz as he goes to Johnny's office. Miz faces Punk to be able to get onto Johnny's Mania team. Oops.
Funksaurus is back! I honestly can't tell on TV if he's really dangerous to work with in the ring. Only seen squashes. Same thing here tonight, but now Brodus just does a regular splash instead of a crossbody. It's a better splash than the one Henry gave to Kofi earlier in the night.
HBK and Taker encounter. Taker still wearing the hooded coat; I've read he'll reveal his new look at Mania. Taker messed up on the promo, saying April 21 instead of April 1. But whatever, it's still a great segment. Lots of tension. Nice spot where HBK backed up and almost wanted to deliver the Sweet Chin Music to Taker. HHH and HBK meet on the ramp. DX crotch chop! Hmm....
James Roday of "Psych" is the guest ring announcer. Not bad on ring announcing. Miz gets a pop in his hometown. Punk comes out to a good pop as Jericho watches in the back. Not bad here. Miz loses again. Sucks to be in your hometown....
Jericho cuts a promo after the match. Brings up Punk's real life situation about his father being an alcoholic. Gotta love how the real-life stuff gets woven in. Punk played it very well, almost like Jericho's gotten inside his head.
WTF. Otunga law office advertisement? Oh good grief.
Orton and Kane look like they are gonna collide at Mania. Tonight, Orton goes against Swagger. Finally, Cole correctly calls Orton's snap powerslam a "powerslam" and not a "scoop slam." Orton wins via RKO. Kane ringpost pyros and red lights!
Show ends with Rock's concert. Vintage guitar! The largest sellout crowd in WWE history in Cleveland? I'm assuming that's for RAW only. Wow, a Teletubby reference. Rock's awesome.
Rock's songs = epic win. Enough said. But Rock, leave rap for Cena. Seriously. This isn't karaoke hour.
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***
Mark Henry & David Otunga vs. Santino Marella: *
Brodus Clay vs. Jinder Mahal: N/A (squash)
CM Punk vs. The Miz: *3/4
Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
In Cleveland for this RAW. Wonder if Miz will wrestle and get a win....
Rock and Rap concert on RAW! Woohoo! Obviously that means Rock and Cena will entertain.
And Cena starts the show! OH SNAP, rapper Cena is back! Thuganomics time, complete with Word Life music! Cena's got the Mark Price jersey. Ohhhh...LeBron reference! I so miss this every week. See, this is the Cena a lot of guys wanted, not some tame Fruity Pebbles Kung Pao Chicken person. This was gold.
Did Cole just say attitudinal? God, he said it at least three times throughout the show! Stop making up words!
Ziggler continues to impress me. I'm a huge fan of his in-ring work, and I hope he continues to deliver many more great moments throughout the rest of his career. He's already drawn comparisons to HBK. Love the counters in his match with Sheamus. Nice spot where Sheamus went for the Celtic Cross, DZ countered into a crucifix pin, then Sheamus power countered back into a CC attempt. Didn't really work out, but it still looked very good. Has DZ's Rocker Dropper ever put anyone away lately? Sudden Brogue Kick ended it.
Meanwhile, DB and AJ watch RAW from the skybox. So much for getting a lot out of him. Good work by AJ to show that tolerating demeanor, yet one can easily tell she's intimidated.
Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis will have teams represent them at Mania. I'm assuming this is for the right to run both RAW and Smackdown. All signs point for Johnny's team to win. Not sure what Long would otherwise do right now. Maybe he can ref again. But his GM act has been stale for a while.
Otunga captains Johnny's Mania team. Like that was a surprise. Too much damn body oil, David! Johnny changes his mind and makes it a handicap match. Mark Henry! Guess he's also on Team JL for Mania. Teddy Long gets a pop coming down to ringside?! And he shoves Johnny again! Let's keep Teddy physical! I mean, if he goes back to reffing, he can be the next Earl Hebner (not in the Montreal fashion, though). Mark Henry comes in off the blind tag (a good one, too, because even I missed it the first time) and puts Santino away.
Kofi got nuked post-match, as did R-Truth. So now we likely know who Teddy's representatives are for the Mania match.
Miz will be on Psych this Wednesday. Good for him.
The Eve and Zack segment was awkward. Then you throw Beth in there -- and it got even worse. Ugh.
Nice pop for Miz as he goes to Johnny's office. Miz faces Punk to be able to get onto Johnny's Mania team. Oops.
Funksaurus is back! I honestly can't tell on TV if he's really dangerous to work with in the ring. Only seen squashes. Same thing here tonight, but now Brodus just does a regular splash instead of a crossbody. It's a better splash than the one Henry gave to Kofi earlier in the night.
HBK and Taker encounter. Taker still wearing the hooded coat; I've read he'll reveal his new look at Mania. Taker messed up on the promo, saying April 21 instead of April 1. But whatever, it's still a great segment. Lots of tension. Nice spot where HBK backed up and almost wanted to deliver the Sweet Chin Music to Taker. HHH and HBK meet on the ramp. DX crotch chop! Hmm....
James Roday of "Psych" is the guest ring announcer. Not bad on ring announcing. Miz gets a pop in his hometown. Punk comes out to a good pop as Jericho watches in the back. Not bad here. Miz loses again. Sucks to be in your hometown....
Jericho cuts a promo after the match. Brings up Punk's real life situation about his father being an alcoholic. Gotta love how the real-life stuff gets woven in. Punk played it very well, almost like Jericho's gotten inside his head.
WTF. Otunga law office advertisement? Oh good grief.
Orton and Kane look like they are gonna collide at Mania. Tonight, Orton goes against Swagger. Finally, Cole correctly calls Orton's snap powerslam a "powerslam" and not a "scoop slam." Orton wins via RKO. Kane ringpost pyros and red lights!
Show ends with Rock's concert. Vintage guitar! The largest sellout crowd in WWE history in Cleveland? I'm assuming that's for RAW only. Wow, a Teletubby reference. Rock's awesome.
Rock's songs = epic win. Enough said. But Rock, leave rap for Cena. Seriously. This isn't karaoke hour.
Friday, March 9, 2012
3/9/12 Smackdown
Ratings:
Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger (U.S. Title): *3/4
Drew McIntyre vs. Hornswoggle: N/A (squash)
Mark Henry vs. Ezekiel Jackson: 1/4*
Teddy Long vs. John Laurinaitis: N/A
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Primo & Epico: *3/4
Sheamus, Randy Orton, & Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan, The Miz, & Cody Rhodes: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
U.S. Title cage match to start things off. Come on, we all saw this coming with Santino having to put the title on the line, right? Lilian announces Swagger as the former champ. Not often you hear that..."former" champion.
Cobra apparently struck both Ziggler and Swagger. Ziggler ejected. Cobra sleeve was taken away as well. Santino kicked out of the Swagger Bomb, so I guess it's no longer as devastating a finisher, huh? Swagger tried to go over the top of the cage when he coulda walked through the door. Same with Santino. Really? Santino finally tried the door. Ankle lock! Vickie wanted the door. Santino countered, and Vickie unknowingly slammed the door in Jack's face. Santino retains. Pretty good. Long comes out to celebrate with Santino.
So we finally have a match booked between Long and Laurinaitis. If Teddy wins, then Aksana must face Kane. Unusual stipulation.
Replayed the opening segment with HHH and HBK from RAW. So who decided to make Shawn the special ref again?
McIntyre comes to the ring in his gear. Johnny's giving him one more shot. Khali?!?! Really? Of course not. Otunga names his real opponent: Hornswoggle. Yeah, sounds more like it. It's an obliteration. Khali nukes McIntyre after the match. Good grief, Khali's hand is as big as Hornswoggle's head.
Zeke against Henry. Geez, two power guys again. Mark's got the blue gear tonight, but I miss the red Kool-Aid color. Short match, Mark mows Jackson down.
Here we go with the two GMs going at it. Bell rings and Johnny's on the mic. Why would Teddy put Aksana in harm's way, Johnny? Look in the mirror, moron. Long refuses. Here comes Kane. Whoa, Orton out of nowhere! RKO! Oops. So much for that, Johnny. Wow, Teddy rolled up Johnny for three? I was so expecting Long to just kick Johnny in the nuts.
Kofi and Truth are a tag team, lovely. Fairly basic, and the crowd finally perked up with the hot tag to Truth. Good win for the faces. Guess they'll be getting a title shot soon.
Video package for Rock and Cena. Yup, you'll be seeing a lot of time devoted to this one and to the Taker/HHH/HBK scenario.
Cole interviews Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. Big win for DB saying he has charisma and sex appeal. DB's showing more and more control over AJ each week. Now it's the "telling her to shut up" deal.
That Show slap to the chest must really suck to experience. Cody plays scared on Big Show. Sheamus is slowly incorporating more of Finlay's old moves into his arsenal. Ha, DB now screams "YES!" with each kick. Show takes care of Cody, while Sheamus takes DB out. Faces get the win tonight, and poor Miz is pinned from an Orton RKO.
Kane attacks Orton post-match. Into the universe!
Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger (U.S. Title): *3/4
Drew McIntyre vs. Hornswoggle: N/A (squash)
Mark Henry vs. Ezekiel Jackson: 1/4*
Teddy Long vs. John Laurinaitis: N/A
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Primo & Epico: *3/4
Sheamus, Randy Orton, & Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan, The Miz, & Cody Rhodes: **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
U.S. Title cage match to start things off. Come on, we all saw this coming with Santino having to put the title on the line, right? Lilian announces Swagger as the former champ. Not often you hear that..."former" champion.
Cobra apparently struck both Ziggler and Swagger. Ziggler ejected. Cobra sleeve was taken away as well. Santino kicked out of the Swagger Bomb, so I guess it's no longer as devastating a finisher, huh? Swagger tried to go over the top of the cage when he coulda walked through the door. Same with Santino. Really? Santino finally tried the door. Ankle lock! Vickie wanted the door. Santino countered, and Vickie unknowingly slammed the door in Jack's face. Santino retains. Pretty good. Long comes out to celebrate with Santino.
So we finally have a match booked between Long and Laurinaitis. If Teddy wins, then Aksana must face Kane. Unusual stipulation.
Replayed the opening segment with HHH and HBK from RAW. So who decided to make Shawn the special ref again?
McIntyre comes to the ring in his gear. Johnny's giving him one more shot. Khali?!?! Really? Of course not. Otunga names his real opponent: Hornswoggle. Yeah, sounds more like it. It's an obliteration. Khali nukes McIntyre after the match. Good grief, Khali's hand is as big as Hornswoggle's head.
Zeke against Henry. Geez, two power guys again. Mark's got the blue gear tonight, but I miss the red Kool-Aid color. Short match, Mark mows Jackson down.
Here we go with the two GMs going at it. Bell rings and Johnny's on the mic. Why would Teddy put Aksana in harm's way, Johnny? Look in the mirror, moron. Long refuses. Here comes Kane. Whoa, Orton out of nowhere! RKO! Oops. So much for that, Johnny. Wow, Teddy rolled up Johnny for three? I was so expecting Long to just kick Johnny in the nuts.
Kofi and Truth are a tag team, lovely. Fairly basic, and the crowd finally perked up with the hot tag to Truth. Good win for the faces. Guess they'll be getting a title shot soon.
Video package for Rock and Cena. Yup, you'll be seeing a lot of time devoted to this one and to the Taker/HHH/HBK scenario.
Cole interviews Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. Big win for DB saying he has charisma and sex appeal. DB's showing more and more control over AJ each week. Now it's the "telling her to shut up" deal.
That Show slap to the chest must really suck to experience. Cody plays scared on Big Show. Sheamus is slowly incorporating more of Finlay's old moves into his arsenal. Ha, DB now screams "YES!" with each kick. Show takes care of Cody, while Sheamus takes DB out. Faces get the win tonight, and poor Miz is pinned from an Orton RKO.
Kane attacks Orton post-match. Into the universe!
3/8/12 Impact
Ratings:
Eric Young & ODB vs. Gail Kim & Madison Rayne (Knockouts Tag Team Titles): *1/4
Zema Ion vs. Austin Aries (X-Division Title): *3/4
Bobby Roode vs. Bully Ray: **1/4
Matt Morgan & Crimson vs. Robbie E & Robbie T: *1/2
Jeff Hardy & Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle & Gunner: **1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Garett shows up, as expected. Flair, Eric, and Gunner go to the ring for a promo. Tag match tonight, and Angle will be Gunner's tag partner. Nice. If you've watched Impact lately, you should have an idea who Garett's partner will be.
Hulk's still out of the country? Not sure when this episode was taped. In the meantime, HH has some sex tape scandal dealie on his hands. Oops.
Knockouts Tag Titles on the line. More tension teased between Madison and Gail due to the finish. I must admit, EY and ODB have become quite the entertaining pair. Clever how EY has been used all this time without actually physically striking a woman (airplane spins and putting people on the top rope don't count). By the way, the finish was not bad and makes sense -- sorta.
EY drops to a knee and holds a ring. Oh God. ODB's response was awesome. She's clearly the man in this relationship.
EY and ODB winning the titles help keep them on TV -- and may somehow make the titles more relevant than they previously were. Still, this had to be a Russo-influenced decision. Argh.
You know, if you want a drinking game, go watch an ODB match (any match) and take a shot whenever ODB holds her boobs or does some other act involving her crotch.
Joseph Park? Who?!
Zema Ion finally gets his one-on-one title shot against Aries. Ring reeks of arrogance. I'm amused with Aries' celebrations. Then Ion does his celebrating. Good use of high-risk moves here, many of them missing. DQ finish was lame. Dang smoking gun.
Oh, so it's slowly becoming clear. "Joseph Park" is Abyss' brother and wants to know where he is. He visits Velvet. No help there.
Bully Ray is Calfzilla. Good grief. Joker Sting comes out. Bully apparently wants Bobby Roode. Sting grants it next! Roode's gonna be busy the next few weeks.
The crowd is alive for this one. Title's not on the line,but Taz mentions it's good for Bully's confidence and argument to get a title shot. Fairly standard match, and Bully plays the face here with the comeback. Roode tries to use Bully's chain but fails. Bully grabs the chain. Storm comes through the crowd tochase Bully away and then nails RR with the Last Call. Abrupt finish....
Joseph talks to Morgan and Crimson, no help again. Anyway, the two Robbies now wear matching pink sweaters. Real men wear pink, after all. Crimson pretty much booked to look strong again; Robbie E needed to use a clipboard to help get control for his team. Crimson still touted as undefeated even though the team still lost the tag belts the other week. Morgan got the hot tag. Carbon footprint, but then Crimson tags himself in to get the pin. Good job for storyline purposes. Stir the tension!
AJ, Kaz, and Daniels again. More promos. Kaz finally speaks a bit more. Kaz says the problem could be with AJ. Asshole! Mr. Anderson?! And he's aligned with AJ? WTF.
Time to find out Garett's partner. Duh, it's Jeff Hardy. Hardy's done a great job so far on his latest comeback. Main event intros. Heels control Hardy for a while...over half the match. Angle takes advantage of Garett's inexperience and hot temper, a nice touch to this one. Nice hot tag to Garett. Cutter-like move to Angle, which is really the same thing Bateman does in WWE. Nice blind tag by Hardy. Swanton to Angle wins it.
Eric Young & ODB vs. Gail Kim & Madison Rayne (Knockouts Tag Team Titles): *1/4
Zema Ion vs. Austin Aries (X-Division Title): *3/4
Bobby Roode vs. Bully Ray: **1/4
Matt Morgan & Crimson vs. Robbie E & Robbie T: *1/2
Jeff Hardy & Garett Bischoff vs. Kurt Angle & Gunner: **1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Garett shows up, as expected. Flair, Eric, and Gunner go to the ring for a promo. Tag match tonight, and Angle will be Gunner's tag partner. Nice. If you've watched Impact lately, you should have an idea who Garett's partner will be.
Hulk's still out of the country? Not sure when this episode was taped. In the meantime, HH has some sex tape scandal dealie on his hands. Oops.
Knockouts Tag Titles on the line. More tension teased between Madison and Gail due to the finish. I must admit, EY and ODB have become quite the entertaining pair. Clever how EY has been used all this time without actually physically striking a woman (airplane spins and putting people on the top rope don't count). By the way, the finish was not bad and makes sense -- sorta.
EY drops to a knee and holds a ring. Oh God. ODB's response was awesome. She's clearly the man in this relationship.
EY and ODB winning the titles help keep them on TV -- and may somehow make the titles more relevant than they previously were. Still, this had to be a Russo-influenced decision. Argh.
You know, if you want a drinking game, go watch an ODB match (any match) and take a shot whenever ODB holds her boobs or does some other act involving her crotch.
Joseph Park? Who?!
Zema Ion finally gets his one-on-one title shot against Aries. Ring reeks of arrogance. I'm amused with Aries' celebrations. Then Ion does his celebrating. Good use of high-risk moves here, many of them missing. DQ finish was lame. Dang smoking gun.
Oh, so it's slowly becoming clear. "Joseph Park" is Abyss' brother and wants to know where he is. He visits Velvet. No help there.
Bully Ray is Calfzilla. Good grief. Joker Sting comes out. Bully apparently wants Bobby Roode. Sting grants it next! Roode's gonna be busy the next few weeks.
The crowd is alive for this one. Title's not on the line,but Taz mentions it's good for Bully's confidence and argument to get a title shot. Fairly standard match, and Bully plays the face here with the comeback. Roode tries to use Bully's chain but fails. Bully grabs the chain. Storm comes through the crowd tochase Bully away and then nails RR with the Last Call. Abrupt finish....
Joseph talks to Morgan and Crimson, no help again. Anyway, the two Robbies now wear matching pink sweaters. Real men wear pink, after all. Crimson pretty much booked to look strong again; Robbie E needed to use a clipboard to help get control for his team. Crimson still touted as undefeated even though the team still lost the tag belts the other week. Morgan got the hot tag. Carbon footprint, but then Crimson tags himself in to get the pin. Good job for storyline purposes. Stir the tension!
AJ, Kaz, and Daniels again. More promos. Kaz finally speaks a bit more. Kaz says the problem could be with AJ. Asshole! Mr. Anderson?! And he's aligned with AJ? WTF.
Time to find out Garett's partner. Duh, it's Jeff Hardy. Hardy's done a great job so far on his latest comeback. Main event intros. Heels control Hardy for a while...over half the match. Angle takes advantage of Garett's inexperience and hot temper, a nice touch to this one. Nice hot tag to Garett. Cutter-like move to Angle, which is really the same thing Bateman does in WWE. Nice blind tag by Hardy. Swanton to Angle wins it.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
3/8/12 Superstars
Ratings:
Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater: ***
Jinder Mahal vs. Ted DiBiase: *1/2
Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Gabriel and Slater go at it for the zillionth time. Some new, innovative stuff from Slater, of all people. Good counters and crowd reaction. Loved that Slater kicked out from that springboard moonsault. This was honestly a very impressive performance from both guys. Gabriel is positioning his opponent further from the corner with each 450 splash attempt. I just hope the 450 splash equivalent of Lesnar's shooting star (on Angle at WM) doesn't occur.
DiBiase and Mahal also square off for what seems like the zillionth time. Fairly standard stuff here. Jinder's had a good roll of wins. Couldn't really tell where Ted got injured, but he'll be out for a few weeks. Sucks. The good news is that it's "just" a torn ligament and small break; no surgery is required.
Ziggler and Kofi on Superstars? I'll take that any day. Superior athleticism. Chuckled when Ziggler was doing situps and Kofi kicked him in the head. Nice comeback from Kofi. SOS countered...countered back into an SOS. Very nice. Boomdrop. Lots of near falls at the end. Frog crossbody from Kofi missed. Rocker dropper from Ziggler gets another two. Zigzag countered, Trouble in Paradise for three! Holy cow.
An excellent Superstars this week! It's clearly WM season.
Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater: ***
Jinder Mahal vs. Ted DiBiase: *1/2
Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Gabriel and Slater go at it for the zillionth time. Some new, innovative stuff from Slater, of all people. Good counters and crowd reaction. Loved that Slater kicked out from that springboard moonsault. This was honestly a very impressive performance from both guys. Gabriel is positioning his opponent further from the corner with each 450 splash attempt. I just hope the 450 splash equivalent of Lesnar's shooting star (on Angle at WM) doesn't occur.
DiBiase and Mahal also square off for what seems like the zillionth time. Fairly standard stuff here. Jinder's had a good roll of wins. Couldn't really tell where Ted got injured, but he'll be out for a few weeks. Sucks. The good news is that it's "just" a torn ligament and small break; no surgery is required.
Ziggler and Kofi on Superstars? I'll take that any day. Superior athleticism. Chuckled when Ziggler was doing situps and Kofi kicked him in the head. Nice comeback from Kofi. SOS countered...countered back into an SOS. Very nice. Boomdrop. Lots of near falls at the end. Frog crossbody from Kofi missed. Rocker dropper from Ziggler gets another two. Zigzag countered, Trouble in Paradise for three! Holy cow.
An excellent Superstars this week! It's clearly WM season.
3/7/12 NXT
Ratings:
Tamina Snuka vs. Maxine: 1/4*
Johnny Curtis vs. Yoshi Tatsu: 3/4*
Darren Young vs. Jey Uso: *
Percy Watson vs. Titus O'Neil: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Striker gets the same reaction -- if any -- each week. But it's the first week with Regal on the job making matches!
Maxine interrupts and no one cares. Sounds the same like every week. She wants to work underneath Regal! And Regal shows great appreciation! Tamina on NXT is nice, but I fear Tamina's big push could be lost. I mean, who's challenging Beth now? Kharma...who hasn't been on TV in a while? The divas title could still be defended at Mania, but any buildup won't be so good. But when was the last time a divas angle had great buildup? Not a very long match. Guess Tamina needed some air time to show she's still relevant. Not very much to look at here.
Hawkins and Reks want to be the rebels of NXT. They could do better. Regal's got janitor mops for the two. Vintage Regal ultimatum! Aw, the mops aren't even wet!
Yoshi and Curtis go one on one. Again, the crowd doesn't care. Johnny's got a thing with lotion, but I guess we all got our own passions and fetishes (maybe). Cutting to the crowd. Oh, I'm glad to see at least one fan cares about the match! The crowd is as dead as a damn ghost town. Yoshi woke the ghosts up with chops. Yoshi missed his top rope kick and Curtis hits his finisher (suplex into powerbomb) for three. I like the finisher and it's probably something I woulda used for myself if I were a superstar. Against the smaller guys, anyway.
Rock has more Twitter followers right now than Cena. Big deal.
Aw, Kaitlyn's apparently not on the show? It's my one reason for watching! OK, maybe not, but Kaitlyn's still very attractive. Mixed tag next week. Bateman and Kaitlyn vs. Curtis and Maxine. Regal has good match ideas, but the storyline just sucks.
Usos are on the show. Only Jey is wrestling. He takes on Darren Young. Jimmy gets to do commentary and explain the Siva Tau. DY with control early before Jey makes a comeback. A pretty abrupt finish with the rollup. Again, it mostly failed to keep my attention, but at least Jey was able to connect a bit with the crowd.
Edge starring in a movie! "Bending the Rules" only in select theaters starting this Friday. At least it's not straight to DVD!
WWE reiterates Laurinaitis runs Smackdown on Friday. I'll assume he could throw Long out of the building and possibly forces Santino to put his U.S. title on the line against Swagger in a rematch.
Titus and Percy finish the show. Titus with control early and trying to tease the crowd. Good physical shots on Percy, but too many restholds for me. Vintage Percy athleticism! I don't like Percy taking his time on the comeback. He should be at least a bit quicker. Countered Clash of the Titus. Titus looks real winded. Percy hits that fireman's carry pancake finisher for three. Crowd was very mild for this one.
Reks and Hawkins jump Percy post-match. Unfortunately, the end didn't make sense for me. Why give some mild attitude against Regal at the end of the show? Reks and Hawkins need to make more of a statement, given their position with the fans. I think slower, mild attitudes work better if you've already connected.
Earlier in the show, I woulda had Reks/Hawkins take the mops, but also slap Regal in the face (at the very least). Then post-match, I'd have the two come through the crowd to attack Percy with more aggression. Regal can call for security or try to get in there, but Reks/Hawkins escape. Gotta create a buzz early and fast. Here, the crowd stayed mostly dead. I felt like I was in a movie theater and not a WWE event.
Tamina Snuka vs. Maxine: 1/4*
Johnny Curtis vs. Yoshi Tatsu: 3/4*
Darren Young vs. Jey Uso: *
Percy Watson vs. Titus O'Neil: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Striker gets the same reaction -- if any -- each week. But it's the first week with Regal on the job making matches!
Maxine interrupts and no one cares. Sounds the same like every week. She wants to work underneath Regal! And Regal shows great appreciation! Tamina on NXT is nice, but I fear Tamina's big push could be lost. I mean, who's challenging Beth now? Kharma...who hasn't been on TV in a while? The divas title could still be defended at Mania, but any buildup won't be so good. But when was the last time a divas angle had great buildup? Not a very long match. Guess Tamina needed some air time to show she's still relevant. Not very much to look at here.
Hawkins and Reks want to be the rebels of NXT. They could do better. Regal's got janitor mops for the two. Vintage Regal ultimatum! Aw, the mops aren't even wet!
Yoshi and Curtis go one on one. Again, the crowd doesn't care. Johnny's got a thing with lotion, but I guess we all got our own passions and fetishes (maybe). Cutting to the crowd. Oh, I'm glad to see at least one fan cares about the match! The crowd is as dead as a damn ghost town. Yoshi woke the ghosts up with chops. Yoshi missed his top rope kick and Curtis hits his finisher (suplex into powerbomb) for three. I like the finisher and it's probably something I woulda used for myself if I were a superstar. Against the smaller guys, anyway.
Rock has more Twitter followers right now than Cena. Big deal.
Aw, Kaitlyn's apparently not on the show? It's my one reason for watching! OK, maybe not, but Kaitlyn's still very attractive. Mixed tag next week. Bateman and Kaitlyn vs. Curtis and Maxine. Regal has good match ideas, but the storyline just sucks.
Usos are on the show. Only Jey is wrestling. He takes on Darren Young. Jimmy gets to do commentary and explain the Siva Tau. DY with control early before Jey makes a comeback. A pretty abrupt finish with the rollup. Again, it mostly failed to keep my attention, but at least Jey was able to connect a bit with the crowd.
Edge starring in a movie! "Bending the Rules" only in select theaters starting this Friday. At least it's not straight to DVD!
WWE reiterates Laurinaitis runs Smackdown on Friday. I'll assume he could throw Long out of the building and possibly forces Santino to put his U.S. title on the line against Swagger in a rematch.
Titus and Percy finish the show. Titus with control early and trying to tease the crowd. Good physical shots on Percy, but too many restholds for me. Vintage Percy athleticism! I don't like Percy taking his time on the comeback. He should be at least a bit quicker. Countered Clash of the Titus. Titus looks real winded. Percy hits that fireman's carry pancake finisher for three. Crowd was very mild for this one.
Reks and Hawkins jump Percy post-match. Unfortunately, the end didn't make sense for me. Why give some mild attitude against Regal at the end of the show? Reks and Hawkins need to make more of a statement, given their position with the fans. I think slower, mild attitudes work better if you've already connected.
Earlier in the show, I woulda had Reks/Hawkins take the mops, but also slap Regal in the face (at the very least). Then post-match, I'd have the two come through the crowd to attack Percy with more aggression. Regal can call for security or try to get in there, but Reks/Hawkins escape. Gotta create a buzz early and fast. Here, the crowd stayed mostly dead. I felt like I was in a movie theater and not a WWE event.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
3/5/12 RAW
Ratings:
Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger (U.S. Title): *1/4
Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox: N/A (WTF)
Daniel Bryan & Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk & Sheamus: **3/4
Big Show vs. The Miz: N/A (squash)
Kane vs. R-Truth: 1/2*
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Teddy Long is running RAW tonight in Boston (Laurinaitis runs Smackdown for Friday). Like this for the storyline.
HBK starts the show off, a fitting start on the road to WM. Loving this HIAC match with HHH and Taker. HHH comes out. HBK with a few jabs at HHH, prodding Game to spill the beans on why he took the match. HHH says he wants to end Taker for himself and HBK. I love how HBK just drops that he's the ref at the end of the segment. Very well done.
U.S. Title match. Vickie introduces Swagger, so I covered my ears pretty good. Dolph and Vickie accompany Swagger. Johnny and Otunga are at ringside as well, so it's really five on one. Can't believe Santino kicked out of the gutwrench power bomb...that used to be Swagger's main finisher before. Long comes out with Aksana, fine. But Kofi as well?! Um, sure. Laurinaitis back on the apron and Long gets him down. I love physicality with the GMs. Dolph knocks Kofi down and Santino nails Ziggler with the Cobra. Crowd loves it. ROFL, Aksana shoves Vickie down. Aksana did a move properly! Nice ankle lock from Swagger and Long shoves Laurinaitis down again. Counter by Santino and a rollup for three! Johnny tries to intervene and reverse the decision but Long throws him and Otunga out of the building. Santino is the champ, and Cole's livid. Basic, short match. Crowd was awesome.
Santino's crying?! There's no crying in WWE! OK fine, I guess there is.
Rock first taped history promo with Boston Tea Party reference. Rock's throwing Cena merchandise into the Boston Harbor. Vintage Rock here. I was laughing so hard, oh man. Possum piss! This is why there's no one in WWE history that matches this guy's promo skills. Punk is close. Jericho is also close. But Rock's just on a completely different level. The perfect mix of serious and funny. This, my friends, is entertainment.
Divas time. Kelly Kelly on commentary. Kids Choice Awards! I love that the Eve pose is back when doing the ring entrance. I think Eve should be a good heel. But really? Really? The match was literally 35 seconds, if even that. A leg sweep and a rollup? Give me a break. Just the latest installment in how Vince doesn't give a crap about divas segments. If Vince does this with Kharma when she returns, I riot.
Uh oh. Zack Ryder's back! And Zack doesn't have a wheelchair or a neck/back brace anymore! Ryder with a cane now. Anyone else catch he held it up with his crotch at the end of the promo? Just an observation. "#Broskisbeforehoeskis" probably trended worldwide.
Eve plants a big kiss on Ryder backstage. More using Zack on the horizon?
Cena empty arena promo? Huh? Good heartfelt promo. The empty arena adds to the seriousness, and I love that WWE went this route. It really highlights how Rock and Cena play polar opposites. Rock has the Attitude-era edgy, funny promos. Cena has become more serious and passionate. Cena hasn't embraced hate, at least for now, but he's still not always the smiling cartoon-character person we've seen him play for the last few years.
I'm reading how Cena could have new theme music for Mania. Might just be a rumor.
Tag match with the two world champs and the respective #1 contenders. I remain envious of Daniel Bryan. The guy gets to work a storyline with AJ. Love the chain wrestling with Punk and Jericho, perhaps a teaser of what's to come at Mania. Punk and DB with a staredown, but then Sheamus gets in the match. Good physical match. Hot tag to Punk, and he favors his back. Doesn't stop him from doing all his usual comeback moves. Check out the end. Smooth, sweet counter of a counter for three. More momentum for Jericho.
Rock history lesson #2 with Paul Revere! Vintage flux capacitor reference! Rock's part clydesdale! Amazing how he can break into song without hestitation, eh?
Miz comes out. Nice shirt. Oops, he's facing Show. Cody with another video. What?! the WWE Restaurant in New York?! That's truly vintage! Wish I had the shot to go there. Hey, Show had hair! Show's pissed. Sucks to be Miz. Short squash. My, how Miz has fallen....
Third Rock history promo. Boston Common and Massachusetts State House. John Hancock reference. Not as funny as the other two, but it just sets up the live in-ring showdown.
As a note, I'd love to head to Boston one day. But for eating, not necessarily sightseeing. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a great city. Just my food addiction talking.
R-Truth comes out for a match...against Kane. Nice knowing ya, Truth. Awkward spot with Kane looking like he wanted to do a low dropkick to a seated Truth, but Truth never sat up so Kane looked like he did a weird legdrop instead. Didn't matter. Orton comes out afterward. Truth holds onto Kane, allowing Orton to RKO the monster. "It's good to be back."
Rock and Cena live segment closes the show. Yeah, this is Cena's home state, so he got a real nice pop. "Fruity pebbles" chants. Jersey Shore reference! Uh oh, jabs at Rock! Miami reference! The U! Here comes Rock, and the crowd loves it. Tooth fairy chant! I think Cena got the better end of the exchange again this week.
Afterward, celebrating with some friends and family. Hey, wasn't Cena's dad "banned" from future events? There's his wife and brother-in-law. Yup, sorry ladies, he's taken.
My take on the build so far? It's been great. Rock's done his whole spiel to promote WM, but Cena's really amped the hype up. Cena has to win this one, as Rock passes the torch to the new generation of main eventers. Frankly, anything less than a four-star match would disappoint me after all this.
Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger (U.S. Title): *1/4
Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox: N/A (WTF)
Daniel Bryan & Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk & Sheamus: **3/4
Big Show vs. The Miz: N/A (squash)
Kane vs. R-Truth: 1/2*
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Teddy Long is running RAW tonight in Boston (Laurinaitis runs Smackdown for Friday). Like this for the storyline.
HBK starts the show off, a fitting start on the road to WM. Loving this HIAC match with HHH and Taker. HHH comes out. HBK with a few jabs at HHH, prodding Game to spill the beans on why he took the match. HHH says he wants to end Taker for himself and HBK. I love how HBK just drops that he's the ref at the end of the segment. Very well done.
U.S. Title match. Vickie introduces Swagger, so I covered my ears pretty good. Dolph and Vickie accompany Swagger. Johnny and Otunga are at ringside as well, so it's really five on one. Can't believe Santino kicked out of the gutwrench power bomb...that used to be Swagger's main finisher before. Long comes out with Aksana, fine. But Kofi as well?! Um, sure. Laurinaitis back on the apron and Long gets him down. I love physicality with the GMs. Dolph knocks Kofi down and Santino nails Ziggler with the Cobra. Crowd loves it. ROFL, Aksana shoves Vickie down. Aksana did a move properly! Nice ankle lock from Swagger and Long shoves Laurinaitis down again. Counter by Santino and a rollup for three! Johnny tries to intervene and reverse the decision but Long throws him and Otunga out of the building. Santino is the champ, and Cole's livid. Basic, short match. Crowd was awesome.
Santino's crying?! There's no crying in WWE! OK fine, I guess there is.
Rock first taped history promo with Boston Tea Party reference. Rock's throwing Cena merchandise into the Boston Harbor. Vintage Rock here. I was laughing so hard, oh man. Possum piss! This is why there's no one in WWE history that matches this guy's promo skills. Punk is close. Jericho is also close. But Rock's just on a completely different level. The perfect mix of serious and funny. This, my friends, is entertainment.
Divas time. Kelly Kelly on commentary. Kids Choice Awards! I love that the Eve pose is back when doing the ring entrance. I think Eve should be a good heel. But really? Really? The match was literally 35 seconds, if even that. A leg sweep and a rollup? Give me a break. Just the latest installment in how Vince doesn't give a crap about divas segments. If Vince does this with Kharma when she returns, I riot.
Uh oh. Zack Ryder's back! And Zack doesn't have a wheelchair or a neck/back brace anymore! Ryder with a cane now. Anyone else catch he held it up with his crotch at the end of the promo? Just an observation. "#Broskisbeforehoeskis" probably trended worldwide.
Eve plants a big kiss on Ryder backstage. More using Zack on the horizon?
Cena empty arena promo? Huh? Good heartfelt promo. The empty arena adds to the seriousness, and I love that WWE went this route. It really highlights how Rock and Cena play polar opposites. Rock has the Attitude-era edgy, funny promos. Cena has become more serious and passionate. Cena hasn't embraced hate, at least for now, but he's still not always the smiling cartoon-character person we've seen him play for the last few years.
I'm reading how Cena could have new theme music for Mania. Might just be a rumor.
Tag match with the two world champs and the respective #1 contenders. I remain envious of Daniel Bryan. The guy gets to work a storyline with AJ. Love the chain wrestling with Punk and Jericho, perhaps a teaser of what's to come at Mania. Punk and DB with a staredown, but then Sheamus gets in the match. Good physical match. Hot tag to Punk, and he favors his back. Doesn't stop him from doing all his usual comeback moves. Check out the end. Smooth, sweet counter of a counter for three. More momentum for Jericho.
Rock history lesson #2 with Paul Revere! Vintage flux capacitor reference! Rock's part clydesdale! Amazing how he can break into song without hestitation, eh?
Miz comes out. Nice shirt. Oops, he's facing Show. Cody with another video. What?! the WWE Restaurant in New York?! That's truly vintage! Wish I had the shot to go there. Hey, Show had hair! Show's pissed. Sucks to be Miz. Short squash. My, how Miz has fallen....
Third Rock history promo. Boston Common and Massachusetts State House. John Hancock reference. Not as funny as the other two, but it just sets up the live in-ring showdown.
As a note, I'd love to head to Boston one day. But for eating, not necessarily sightseeing. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a great city. Just my food addiction talking.
R-Truth comes out for a match...against Kane. Nice knowing ya, Truth. Awkward spot with Kane looking like he wanted to do a low dropkick to a seated Truth, but Truth never sat up so Kane looked like he did a weird legdrop instead. Didn't matter. Orton comes out afterward. Truth holds onto Kane, allowing Orton to RKO the monster. "It's good to be back."
Rock and Cena live segment closes the show. Yeah, this is Cena's home state, so he got a real nice pop. "Fruity pebbles" chants. Jersey Shore reference! Uh oh, jabs at Rock! Miami reference! The U! Here comes Rock, and the crowd loves it. Tooth fairy chant! I think Cena got the better end of the exchange again this week.
Afterward, celebrating with some friends and family. Hey, wasn't Cena's dad "banned" from future events? There's his wife and brother-in-law. Yup, sorry ladies, he's taken.
My take on the build so far? It's been great. Rock's done his whole spiel to promote WM, but Cena's really amped the hype up. Cena has to win this one, as Rock passes the torch to the new generation of main eventers. Frankly, anything less than a four-star match would disappoint me after all this.
Friday, March 2, 2012
3/2/12 Smackdown
Ratings:
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***1/2
Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater: 3/4*
Eve Torres vs. Natalya: 1/2*
Big Show vs. Mark Henry: *1/2
Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre: *
Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton: **1/2
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Smackdown was taped in Seattle. Argh, had to miss this as well. Sheamus with a good promo at the start before tangling with Ziggler. Vickie is experienced! That clearly can be taken the wrong way. Hashtag "cougarinchief" trending on Twitter! Vickie really had to get in the ring to get Dolph's foot on the ropes that time. Loved the match, lots of near falls. Normally it'd be over after Swagger interfered, but we went longer. Sheamus' new finisher...White Noise.
Long and Laurinaitis continue their feud. It has its entertaining moments. This one, I could easily fast forward through.
Santino and Heath went at it for a bit, then it was over. Josh, this was not impressive. Sorry.
Eve becomes a real diva, Natalya becomes a farting diva. At least the farting part was entertaining. Can Natalya come and fart in Michael Cole's face?
Cody Rhodes promo. Vintage Akebono and Mayweather moments! Show gets Cody for the IC title at WM. That means no brotherly feud between Cody and Goldust. Also, Shaq was still rumored to be at WM, so we'll see how he's used, if at all.
So while Henry nukes Show, Cody hops down for commentary. Can't believe they had Show kick out of Henry's finisher. That's one powerful right hand. Wonder what woulda happened had Mayweather ran into that.
Drew McIntyre probably has more lives than a cat. Long says if Drew loses tonight, the Scot is fired. It's Justin Gabriel tonight. Didn't matter because Drew lost in what...maybe five minutes? Drew's fired. Watch him resurface thanks to Laurinaitis.
They killed about 20 minutes to replay the whole Rock/Cena segment from RAW. Saw it already, and it was great. Moving on!
Hey, a cheap pop for Daniel Bryan! Aberdeen is what, maybe an hour-half to two hours south of Seattle? Passed by it a few times, but always had business to attend to. Maybe I'll go down there next time, snap a photo or two, then tweet it to DB.
I loved the "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" signs in the crowd for DB. Oh, and a "Mike Knox" sign in the front row! Good match here, with the usual DB weasel countout victory, thanks to...
...WTF, Kane? Um, OK. Laurinaitis thinking of booking Kane against Aksana next week? I guess whatever it takes to get people to tune in....
Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler: ***1/2
Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater: 3/4*
Eve Torres vs. Natalya: 1/2*
Big Show vs. Mark Henry: *1/2
Justin Gabriel vs. Drew McIntyre: *
Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton: **1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Smackdown was taped in Seattle. Argh, had to miss this as well. Sheamus with a good promo at the start before tangling with Ziggler. Vickie is experienced! That clearly can be taken the wrong way. Hashtag "cougarinchief" trending on Twitter! Vickie really had to get in the ring to get Dolph's foot on the ropes that time. Loved the match, lots of near falls. Normally it'd be over after Swagger interfered, but we went longer. Sheamus' new finisher...White Noise.
Long and Laurinaitis continue their feud. It has its entertaining moments. This one, I could easily fast forward through.
Santino and Heath went at it for a bit, then it was over. Josh, this was not impressive. Sorry.
Eve becomes a real diva, Natalya becomes a farting diva. At least the farting part was entertaining. Can Natalya come and fart in Michael Cole's face?
Cody Rhodes promo. Vintage Akebono and Mayweather moments! Show gets Cody for the IC title at WM. That means no brotherly feud between Cody and Goldust. Also, Shaq was still rumored to be at WM, so we'll see how he's used, if at all.
So while Henry nukes Show, Cody hops down for commentary. Can't believe they had Show kick out of Henry's finisher. That's one powerful right hand. Wonder what woulda happened had Mayweather ran into that.
Drew McIntyre probably has more lives than a cat. Long says if Drew loses tonight, the Scot is fired. It's Justin Gabriel tonight. Didn't matter because Drew lost in what...maybe five minutes? Drew's fired. Watch him resurface thanks to Laurinaitis.
They killed about 20 minutes to replay the whole Rock/Cena segment from RAW. Saw it already, and it was great. Moving on!
Hey, a cheap pop for Daniel Bryan! Aberdeen is what, maybe an hour-half to two hours south of Seattle? Passed by it a few times, but always had business to attend to. Maybe I'll go down there next time, snap a photo or two, then tweet it to DB.
I loved the "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" signs in the crowd for DB. Oh, and a "Mike Knox" sign in the front row! Good match here, with the usual DB weasel countout victory, thanks to...
...WTF, Kane? Um, OK. Laurinaitis thinking of booking Kane against Aksana next week? I guess whatever it takes to get people to tune in....
3/1/12 Impact
Ratings:
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels: *3/4
Kazarian vs. AJ Styles: N/A
ODB vs. Madison Rayne: 3/4*
Zema Ion vs. Shannon Moore: *1/2
Mickie James & Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love & Sarita: *3/4
James Storm, Samoa Joe, & Magnus vs. Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, & Bully Ray: **3/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
WTF. Kurt Angle with cue cards and acting crazy? Is joker Sting rubbing off on other people now?
Styles and Daniels have a match, and if AJ wins against both Daniels and Kaz tonight, the secret comes out. Match is going fine, then randomly, Kaz comes in and hits the Fade to Black on AJ for the DQ. Daniels is not liking it. Kaz then covers AJ for the win, so the secret stays that way. I like this whole Kaz attitude. It gives the storyline an additional dimension.
Ha, I love Gail's gifts to Madison. A spa day, but first a match with ODB. But that means you'll enjoy the spa day more tomorrow! Yeah, you know, ODB, the knockout that slaps her big boobs and has tattoos. I like how Tenay basically said Madison put the foot up in ODB's rear end, but it was more in a spot where ODB is lucky she doesn't have the anatomy of a dude. EY distracts ref, Gail can't get up to the apron (she "slips") and ODB counters for the win.
Velvet's voicing her displeasures, then Angelina and Sarita physically attack Velvet. Nice running gear, Mickie.
Garret has one week to listen to Flair. Yeah, that's not happening.
Alliance with Roode, Aries, and perhaps Bully. Yeah, nice calves, Bully. Vintage sit-in! Nice centerfold shot, Bully. Blackout! Hi Sting! Sting threatens to fire them all and strip RR and AA of the titles. Didn't think that through so well, huh? Six-man tag for the main event tonight.
Another video on Sorensen. Ion does an in-character heel promo. That'll get him more heat. Decent match here, although a short one.
Angelina and Sarita tagging? Where's Winter and Rosita? Vintage fast start! Sarita looks good in there against Mickie. Solid finish.
Now that Mr. Anderson isn't on TV all the time, is Bully filling that void with his own self-intros? Otherwise, yeah, main event intros. Aries loves to show off, doesn't he? Roode loves being scared, eh? Joe and Magnus look great as a team. Excellent finishing sequence.
Bully stands tall at the end, just so we know he's still a force here.
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels: *3/4
Kazarian vs. AJ Styles: N/A
ODB vs. Madison Rayne: 3/4*
Zema Ion vs. Shannon Moore: *1/2
Mickie James & Velvet Sky vs. Angelina Love & Sarita: *3/4
James Storm, Samoa Joe, & Magnus vs. Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, & Bully Ray: **3/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
WTF. Kurt Angle with cue cards and acting crazy? Is joker Sting rubbing off on other people now?
Styles and Daniels have a match, and if AJ wins against both Daniels and Kaz tonight, the secret comes out. Match is going fine, then randomly, Kaz comes in and hits the Fade to Black on AJ for the DQ. Daniels is not liking it. Kaz then covers AJ for the win, so the secret stays that way. I like this whole Kaz attitude. It gives the storyline an additional dimension.
Ha, I love Gail's gifts to Madison. A spa day, but first a match with ODB. But that means you'll enjoy the spa day more tomorrow! Yeah, you know, ODB, the knockout that slaps her big boobs and has tattoos. I like how Tenay basically said Madison put the foot up in ODB's rear end, but it was more in a spot where ODB is lucky she doesn't have the anatomy of a dude. EY distracts ref, Gail can't get up to the apron (she "slips") and ODB counters for the win.
Velvet's voicing her displeasures, then Angelina and Sarita physically attack Velvet. Nice running gear, Mickie.
Garret has one week to listen to Flair. Yeah, that's not happening.
Alliance with Roode, Aries, and perhaps Bully. Yeah, nice calves, Bully. Vintage sit-in! Nice centerfold shot, Bully. Blackout! Hi Sting! Sting threatens to fire them all and strip RR and AA of the titles. Didn't think that through so well, huh? Six-man tag for the main event tonight.
Another video on Sorensen. Ion does an in-character heel promo. That'll get him more heat. Decent match here, although a short one.
Angelina and Sarita tagging? Where's Winter and Rosita? Vintage fast start! Sarita looks good in there against Mickie. Solid finish.
Now that Mr. Anderson isn't on TV all the time, is Bully filling that void with his own self-intros? Otherwise, yeah, main event intros. Aries loves to show off, doesn't he? Roode loves being scared, eh? Joe and Magnus look great as a team. Excellent finishing sequence.
Bully stands tall at the end, just so we know he's still a force here.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
3/1/12 Superstars
Ratings:
Santino Marella vs. Curt Hawkins: *1/2
Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox: *
Great Khali vs. Jinder Mahal: 1/2*
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Santino's getting more muscle mass! Before we know it, he could have Cena's physique. Wonder if that would be a good thing.... The match got more time than I expected. Heh, Hawkins slapped Santino's ass. Cue to turn it into a jackknife pin for three!
I just realized that WWE, at least to my knowledge, has not referenced Wade Barrett's elbow injury on TV the last week or so. I'm assuming WM storylines are more important at this time?
Beth and Alicia next in a divas match. Beth's the right person to have as champ for Mania, so will we actually have a divas title match this time, instead of sticking 3000 divas in the ring for a battle royal? I'm wondering if there's any diva that does NOT wear makeup for a match. Random scream from Alicia before trying the scissors kick.Is she trying to channel her inner MsChif? Glam Slam won it for the Glamazon.
Khali on Superstars. Why is he even wrestling? Let him do promotional work overseas. I'm fine with that one. But he should be done as an in-ring performer. Khali and Jinder AGAIN? Never thought I'd see Khali on his back so much during a match. I can't believe this match lasted as long as it did. Crowd even got behind Khali. Doesn't necessarily mean I thought it was any good, though.
Rock and Cena video package ended the show. Pretty excited for this one, along with Punk and Jericho. Not sure what to think about Sheamus and DB just yet.
Santino Marella vs. Curt Hawkins: *1/2
Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox: *
Great Khali vs. Jinder Mahal: 1/2*
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Santino's getting more muscle mass! Before we know it, he could have Cena's physique. Wonder if that would be a good thing.... The match got more time than I expected. Heh, Hawkins slapped Santino's ass. Cue to turn it into a jackknife pin for three!
I just realized that WWE, at least to my knowledge, has not referenced Wade Barrett's elbow injury on TV the last week or so. I'm assuming WM storylines are more important at this time?
Beth and Alicia next in a divas match. Beth's the right person to have as champ for Mania, so will we actually have a divas title match this time, instead of sticking 3000 divas in the ring for a battle royal? I'm wondering if there's any diva that does NOT wear makeup for a match. Random scream from Alicia before trying the scissors kick.Is she trying to channel her inner MsChif? Glam Slam won it for the Glamazon.
Khali on Superstars. Why is he even wrestling? Let him do promotional work overseas. I'm fine with that one. But he should be done as an in-ring performer. Khali and Jinder AGAIN? Never thought I'd see Khali on his back so much during a match. I can't believe this match lasted as long as it did. Crowd even got behind Khali. Doesn't necessarily mean I thought it was any good, though.
Rock and Cena video package ended the show. Pretty excited for this one, along with Punk and Jericho. Not sure what to think about Sheamus and DB just yet.
2/29/12 NXT
Ratings:
Titus O'Neil & Darren Young vs. Alex Riley & Percy Watson: *3/4
Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd: ***1/4
Kaitlyn vs. Maxine: 1/4*
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Yeah, this'll likely be the only Leap Year NXT we'll ever have. Historic!
See? They taped NXT in Seattle! I was like...an hour from there. Ugh.
Percy and A-Ry teaming up? Might as well. Yet two more makeshift tag teams for the heck of storylines. Ithink A-Ry's embraced the NXT colors a bit. Not bad here. Percy shows good offense. Unfortunately, I wanted A-Ry to come back in somewhere after Percy got the hot tag.
Why are Kaitlyn, Alicia, and Gabriel in the ring? WTF is this trust tree? Crowd's bombing on the segment, and so am I. You know, this is the best acting Kaitlyn has done in her short WWE career. Kaitlyn locking lips with Bateman! Why can't I be Derrick right now? Oh, that's why. Maxine's pissed. What...Maxine and Kaitlyn was the main event for tonight? What alternate universe is this show located?
McGillicutty and Kidd. I guess Tyson must be happy to have Natalya on the same show. I liked the hammerlock counter from Tyson, very cool. ROFL. Tyson got crotched on the top and a few fans chanted "no more children!" Classic. Amazing stuff from Tyson. Check out that moonsault. Still not a fan of MM's finisher. Give him the Perfect Plex or something.
Aksana can't even play a peacekeeper role properly. At least Maxine is great playing her crazy role.
Striker's major announcement now. He sucks up to Tony Chimel. Yeah, it only took six ring announcers. Anyway, Regal's making matches. I like it. I was waiting for him to have some authoritative role again.
Did Regal just say flippity-gibbetts? WTF. Is it trending worldwide? Does this mean we'll see Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose now?
Why the hell are Curtis and Bateman on commentary? Best part was Regal saying he's open to bribes. I'm too amused with Regal, Curtis, and Bateman. This match is not keeping my attention at all. Good finisher and a nice pinning move for Kaitlyn. That saved this from being a total dud.
Future exchanges with Maxine and Regal should be interesting....
Titus O'Neil & Darren Young vs. Alex Riley & Percy Watson: *3/4
Michael McGillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd: ***1/4
Kaitlyn vs. Maxine: 1/4*
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Yeah, this'll likely be the only Leap Year NXT we'll ever have. Historic!
See? They taped NXT in Seattle! I was like...an hour from there. Ugh.
Percy and A-Ry teaming up? Might as well. Yet two more makeshift tag teams for the heck of storylines. Ithink A-Ry's embraced the NXT colors a bit. Not bad here. Percy shows good offense. Unfortunately, I wanted A-Ry to come back in somewhere after Percy got the hot tag.
Why are Kaitlyn, Alicia, and Gabriel in the ring? WTF is this trust tree? Crowd's bombing on the segment, and so am I. You know, this is the best acting Kaitlyn has done in her short WWE career. Kaitlyn locking lips with Bateman! Why can't I be Derrick right now? Oh, that's why. Maxine's pissed. What...Maxine and Kaitlyn was the main event for tonight? What alternate universe is this show located?
McGillicutty and Kidd. I guess Tyson must be happy to have Natalya on the same show. I liked the hammerlock counter from Tyson, very cool. ROFL. Tyson got crotched on the top and a few fans chanted "no more children!" Classic. Amazing stuff from Tyson. Check out that moonsault. Still not a fan of MM's finisher. Give him the Perfect Plex or something.
Aksana can't even play a peacekeeper role properly. At least Maxine is great playing her crazy role.
Striker's major announcement now. He sucks up to Tony Chimel. Yeah, it only took six ring announcers. Anyway, Regal's making matches. I like it. I was waiting for him to have some authoritative role again.
Did Regal just say flippity-gibbetts? WTF. Is it trending worldwide? Does this mean we'll see Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose now?
Why the hell are Curtis and Bateman on commentary? Best part was Regal saying he's open to bribes. I'm too amused with Regal, Curtis, and Bateman. This match is not keeping my attention at all. Good finisher and a nice pinning move for Kaitlyn. That saved this from being a total dud.
Future exchanges with Maxine and Regal should be interesting....
2/27/12 RAW
Ratings:
Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk: **
Kelly Kelly vs. Nikki Bella: 1/4*
John Cena vs. The Miz: *1/2
Primo & Epico vs. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger: **1/4
Sheamus & Big Show vs. Mark Henry & Cody Rhodes: N/A
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Yup, I'm finally getting caught up on my missed episodes this week. Hellish exams will do that. It also forced me to miss going to this RAW live -- Portland's maybe an hour-ish away from me. Yeah. So basically, I missed seeing Rock live. Oh well.
Portland's had some killer RAWs. Punk came out and then Jericho interrupted. Amazing Jericho promo. Vintage Punk rebuttal! Did Jericho invent Canada? That'd be nice. Some of the best back-and-forth exchanges I've ever seen on the mic.
See? Look what I missed. Punk and Bryan going at it AGAIN. Laurinaitis came out with DB, and I guess Santino and Long are on Punk's side tonight. Another controversial finish just to advance multiple storylines.
Last year's Mania between HHH and Taker, with superstar commentary. Great video package. I just hope for a better ending this year.
Divas match. No actual TV entrances for them. Nice finish with the bridge for KK. Twin magic averted tonight. Other than that, I'd call it yet another predictable and short match.
Time for Cena and Miz. Miz was off his game on the mic that night. Stumbled a bit. Cena showing a few more basic moves he usually doesn't use. End was quite familiar, though. Cena trying to gain momentum for his match with Rock.
Triple threat tag team title match? I don't ever recall seeing this type of match before. Good use of these six guys. I like it because there's always a bunch of action going on. See, tag matches don't have to be boring! Nice action. Kane came out afterward and destroyed everyone.
Teddy Long should say "horse's ass" more often. I think that would make the ratings jump.
More Eve heel turn video package! I think Eve should get new music now. "Hoeski" chants for Eve. Short and to the point.
Cody shows Big Show a video package of Show vs. Mayweather. Yeah, that Mayweather guy can punch. Cody played scared throughout this brief deal. Sheamus tagged in, did one move, and it's over. Not rating it.
HBK returns next week. Should be awesome.
Rock segment got a ton of time. Damn. And the first time he was in Portland as a WWE superstar (technically speaking, anyway, since I'd call him a part-time WWE guy and a full-time movie star now). Slap Cena with some kung pao chicken! And Cena's now a kung pao bitch! Let the chants roll! Whoa, Rock used the word babyface! Lady parts! Rocky! Why the hell couldn't I be there for this?! This was freakin' awesome. ROFL. "Cena's Missing Balls" trending worldwide! Wow.
Cena came out and did a great job as well. This is supposed to be PG stuff? I like it.
Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk: **
Kelly Kelly vs. Nikki Bella: 1/4*
John Cena vs. The Miz: *1/2
Primo & Epico vs. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger: **1/4
Sheamus & Big Show vs. Mark Henry & Cody Rhodes: N/A
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Yup, I'm finally getting caught up on my missed episodes this week. Hellish exams will do that. It also forced me to miss going to this RAW live -- Portland's maybe an hour-ish away from me. Yeah. So basically, I missed seeing Rock live. Oh well.
Portland's had some killer RAWs. Punk came out and then Jericho interrupted. Amazing Jericho promo. Vintage Punk rebuttal! Did Jericho invent Canada? That'd be nice. Some of the best back-and-forth exchanges I've ever seen on the mic.
See? Look what I missed. Punk and Bryan going at it AGAIN. Laurinaitis came out with DB, and I guess Santino and Long are on Punk's side tonight. Another controversial finish just to advance multiple storylines.
Last year's Mania between HHH and Taker, with superstar commentary. Great video package. I just hope for a better ending this year.
Divas match. No actual TV entrances for them. Nice finish with the bridge for KK. Twin magic averted tonight. Other than that, I'd call it yet another predictable and short match.
Time for Cena and Miz. Miz was off his game on the mic that night. Stumbled a bit. Cena showing a few more basic moves he usually doesn't use. End was quite familiar, though. Cena trying to gain momentum for his match with Rock.
Triple threat tag team title match? I don't ever recall seeing this type of match before. Good use of these six guys. I like it because there's always a bunch of action going on. See, tag matches don't have to be boring! Nice action. Kane came out afterward and destroyed everyone.
Teddy Long should say "horse's ass" more often. I think that would make the ratings jump.
More Eve heel turn video package! I think Eve should get new music now. "Hoeski" chants for Eve. Short and to the point.
Cody shows Big Show a video package of Show vs. Mayweather. Yeah, that Mayweather guy can punch. Cody played scared throughout this brief deal. Sheamus tagged in, did one move, and it's over. Not rating it.
HBK returns next week. Should be awesome.
Rock segment got a ton of time. Damn. And the first time he was in Portland as a WWE superstar (technically speaking, anyway, since I'd call him a part-time WWE guy and a full-time movie star now). Slap Cena with some kung pao chicken! And Cena's now a kung pao bitch! Let the chants roll! Whoa, Rock used the word babyface! Lady parts! Rocky! Why the hell couldn't I be there for this?! This was freakin' awesome. ROFL. "Cena's Missing Balls" trending worldwide! Wow.
Cena came out and did a great job as well. This is supposed to be PG stuff? I like it.
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