5/13/11 Smackdown

Ratings:

Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan: ***

Wade Barrett vs. Kane: *3/4

Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase: *

Sheamus & Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton & Christian: **1/2

___________________

Reviews/Thoughts:

Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan must have really sent the IWC into a frenzy. I loved it. More from them please!

Great job in making Kharma look good. Layla gets taken out and the whole world wanted to see Cole get his ass kicked. I was marking out hoping for the latter to happen.

Decent match between Barrett and Kane. Ezekiel Jackson is now a face, and I thought it was a nice way to start that off. Jackson gets to look strong for a bit, but Corre also looks strong by getting the last laugh tonight.

Khali Kiss Cam! And yes, with Jinder Mahal showing up later, we’re definitely starting to see the seeds planted for what may be a Khali heel turn. How to get to that conclusion? Khali’s face act has long been stale. The point here is to keep pushing the envelope so that more and more people want to see Khali take Mahal’s head off (much like how WWE has done with Lawler and Cole). However, it’s best for Khali to side with Jinder because Khali has no mic skills (Mahal can be more of the mouthpiece and the wrestler, with Khali being just a guy who takes people out like a monster).

Cody Rhodes is doing a great job with his heel character. The paper bags are a nice touch. And now look at what happens over a couple years: Cody with a promising heel character and push, while DiBiase is really going nowhere.

Interesting conversation between Booker T, Josh Mathews, & Michael Cole regarding Christian defending the World Heavyweight Title a few days after Christian won the belt. Booker defends Christian, while Cole and Mathews side with Teddy Long and Randy Orton. Interesting how Cole, in usually playing the heel role, sides with a face GM, the top Smackdown face (Orton), and the wishes of the WWE Universe to see that title match.

5/12/11 Superstars

Ratings:

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

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Zack Ryder: *1/4

Chris Masters vs. Drew McIntyre: **3/4

___________________

Reviews/Thoughts:

Michael Hayes accompanies Tyson Kidd to the ring. Looks like Hayes is a manager (or advisor) now. I’ve read how WWE has wanted to revive the manager’s role to help elevate talent who are not able to speak on the main event level yet. This will be a great way to boost Tyson’s career, and I look forward to seeing what WWE does here.

I loved the Kidd/Barreta match. Looks like Barreta now also uses Jeff Hardy’s Whisper in the Wind.

Curt Hawkins helped out Zack Ryder? YES! Maybe there is a reunion for this tag team, please? Otherwise, both go nowhere.

McIntyre with the figure four around the ring post! Yes! Great main event.

This was a great episode of WWE Superstars. Very enjoyable.

5/12/11 Impact

Ratings:

Mickie James & Miss Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayna & Tara: 1/4*

Sangriento vs. Suicide: *1/2

Crimson vs. Abyss vs. Samoa Joe: *1/2

Battle Royal: **1/4

___________________

Reviews/Thoughts:

Personally, I think the acquisition of Chyna and the return of Mick Foley will help Impact in the ratings. Impact (yes, not TNA anymore) is off to a good start, in my book, with rebranding the product. The battle royal to finish the show off was given a lot of time, and while it wasn’t the best battle royal ever, it was still nice to see any free TV match get a lot of time.

Chris Harris back on Impact is also huge. I like how he’s already inserted into the feud alongside Matt Hardy to face Beer Money. America’s Most Wanted flashbacks FTW!

I’m not sure how long this thing will go on between Sangriento and Suicide, but at least it was a pretty entertaining match for the short time it got. I’m a little interested in the storyline between Tara and Madison Rayne, but other than that, I’ll pass.

5/10/11 NXT

Ratings:

Darren Young vs. Titus O'Neil: *

Byron Saxton vs. Conan O'Brian: *1/4

William Regal vs. Jacob Novak: *3/4

______________

Statistics:

Here are the official NXT rookie's records as of 5/10/11:

Titus O'Neil: 6-1

Lucky Cannon: 5-3

Conor O'Brian: 3-4

Darren Young: 3-6

Byron Saxton: 2-5

Jacob Novak: 2-5

WWE Redemption Points:

Titus O'Neil: 19 (Talk the Talk; Keg Carry; Arm Wrestling, Power of the Punch, King of the Hill)

Darren Young: 7 (Obstacle Course; Battle of the Mic)

Jacob Novak: 6 (Pull Through; Know Your Pro)

Byron Saxton: 4 (Trivia)

Conor O'Brian: 0

Lucky Cannon: 0

This Week's Challenge: King of the Hill Challenge (6 points)

This is basically a shortened, tweaked version of the challenge Naomi dominated in Season 3. Titus O'Neil won...very short and sweet here.

______________

Reviews/Thoughts:

Happy Birthday, William Regal! 43 years old today!

Average match between Darren and Titus. Nothing really noteworthy. Matches got better as the show went on. I do like how Saxton is going on his own and playing the heel.

Someone's getting eliminated next week! Personally, I want Lucky Cannon gone, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Novak gone, either.

5/9/11 RAW

Ratings:
Brie Bella & Nikki Bella vs. Eve Torres & Kelly Kelly: 1/2*

Mason Ryan vs. Kane: 1/2*

Dolph Ziggler vs. Santino Marella: 1/4*

John Cena vs. Alex Riley: 1/2*

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger (U.S. Title): *3/4

The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio: ***1/4
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Was that Nunzio refereeing the divas match? Cool. Divas match was short. The whole point...Kharma destruction again! Poor Eve gets taken out this time.

Yawn...a short Kane/Mason Ryan match. Best part was Punk's involvement and then getting nuked with Big Show's WMD.

Another short match followed...Dolph and Santino this time. This is not impressing me at all.

I have to say, the Cole/Lawler segment was good again. WWE is really capitalizing on how good Cole is at playing his heel character. Sure, I can't stand Michael Cole on commentary, but the feud overall has been a success, in my book. I've been getting antsy wanting Lawler to just absolutely nuke Michael Cole without any controversial finish. But you know, I'll settle for Lawler grabbing Cole's tie and smashing Cole's face into the Cole Mine. That was good.

So, because of Swagger "accepting" on behalf of Cole, it's on: Cole/Lawler in another match, and Cole is pissed. If Cole wins this time, Lawler will induct Cole into the WWE Hall of Fame and give Cole his Hall of Fame ring. I would guess Lawler wins this time.

Main event was very good. Lots of action, nice flow to the match.

Oh great. Cena vs. Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match. Guess Cena's winning. Again. Unless they pull a Rock/Mankind in that one.

As for R-Truth, his feud with John Morrison will likely still continue. Morrison only has a pinched nerve in his neck, so he's out 4-6 weeks -- instead of what I feared (major neck surgery can put people on the shelf over one year). Hope Morrison heals fast.

5/9/11 Tough Enough

Reviews/Thoughts:
Christina and Ivelisse continue to have their little feud on one another. I like the competitiveness, but there are times where I think...just move on with your lives, people.

Man, Jeremiah spit up blood and still kept going. Kudos.

The contestants did bodyslams to a weighted dummy bag and then did some elbow drops from the second rope. There were some pretty good ones in there. I chuckled a bit when Jeremiah basically overshot the bag. Ivelisse has heart, that's for sure. Booker doesn't like Ivelisse showing she's injured, which I do agree with. WWE superstars and divas, when playing their characters in the ring, suck it up and go full throttle. Christina was having fun in the ring...love that!

Woohoo, John Morrison guest appearance today! And they showed a highlight of him actually hitting Starship Pain! Ropes course time! It looked pretty fun, actually -- especially that last part down the zipline. Why am I not surprised Eric had trouble with the course?

Skills challenge...doing squats and holding a squat on the top rope? Wow, that'd be too much for me. Jeremiah did well until the finals. Luke did extremely well...excellent job!

Ivelisse is basically gone because of her leg. But Eric is also gone because he was just not good enough. I'm personally glad Eric is gone...he had way more low moments than high moments on the show.

Next week, the WWE divas make an appearance!

5/6/11 Smackdown

Ratings:
Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan: **

Ezekiel Jackson vs. The Big Show: *

Layla vs. Alicia Fox: N/A

Sin Cara vs. Tyson Kidd: *1/2

Randy Orton vs. Christian (World Heavyweight Title): ***1/4
_________________

Reviews/Thoughts:
Mark Henry challenging Christian is a nice boost to Henry's career, and I guess I could believe that. But Khali?! Really?! I would cringe if Khali contending for the title again actually becomes reality. I wish Khali never became World Heavyweight Champion...seriously.

Orton is sporting a bit of facial hair tonight. He's also growing his hair out a little instead of sporting a shaved head. I think this new look could be good for him -- especially if he turns heel (see below).

Jinder Mahal is an intriguing character. I'm certainly interested in how WWE will use him in the storyline with Ranjin Singh and Khali. I definitely see Singh caught in the middle of a power struggle. Mahal may use a lot of persuasion and mind games, perhaps getting Singh to join him and leave Khali. It may be an acceptable feud for Mahal to get introduced to WWE fans, we'll see.

Good six-minute match between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. A nice flow to the match, with lots of action and impactful moves.

Good promo from Cody Rhodes. WWE might try to keep the feud going between Rhodes and Mysterio. I know I want WWE to continue the feud, anyway.

Not a bad match between Ezekiel Jackson and the Big Show. Obviously it was going to be a power match. Zeke made a big statement with his showing.

Layla has inherited Michelle McCool's entrance theme (complete with new titantron)! Well, at least for now perhaps. Not sure if Layla will keep the entrance theme or just get new music later. In any event, Michael Cole, the heel commentator that he is, blames Layla for McCool leaving WWE.

The divas match was just real short, so I'm not rating it.

Kharma came out again for destruction. I did like Michael Cole's description of the divas' reactions to Kharma: almost as if Kharma hypnotizes the ladies into fear. And of course, Alicia Fox should have been a blonde because she made a very egregious move in trying to assault Kharma. Unfortunately, Alicia Fox suffered a legit right shoulder injury in the assault due to Kharma's stiff clothesline (you could see Alicia landing hard on her shoulder). Hopefully that won't affect Kharma's standing in the company too much. Kharma has to learn to work "WWE style" now. Triple H was the one who brought Kharma in, and he's probably pretty nervous about this acquisition -- and probably nervous with Sin Cara as well. The "One more time!" chants from the crowd...I liked that. It shows Kharma's buildup is working very well.

And the Corre has disintegrated again. Why excommunicate an imposing figure like Ezekiel Jackson? Oh, that's right, WWE doesn't care much for stables anymore.

Oh, and speaking of Sin Cara, another nice showing, this time against Tyson Kidd. Unfortunately, it was just too short to get a real high rating.

I found it interesting Chavo Guerrero came out for commentary. We may have a feud in the future between Sin Cara and Chavo. I still have no clue why Sin Cara's entrance lighting stays the way it does during the actual match. Chavo is right in one respect...Sin Cara is one-dimensional right now. I think Sin Cara is too much a high-flyer and risk-taker. Sin Cara is a spot monkey right now.

Christian dropping the title this early? WTF? OK, I know this was meant to be a fairy tale-like ending for Christian -- especially with Edge's retirement -- but to only let him have a two-day reign (Smackdown is taped on Tuesdays) is bloody ridiculous. Perhaps Christian's reign was doomed from the start when he cut the sappy promo at the beginning of the show.

Maybe Orton is meant to turn heel on Smackdown? He was complaining to the ref a little more than usual in the title match. Ever since I got the "no more Mr. Nice Guy" talk from Orton a few months back, I've been theorizing (probably along with many others) that a slow heel turn is imminent. Also, an Orton heel turn allows Christian to stay as a main eventer.

Or could Christian be the one turning heel? He cut a sappy promo at the beginning of the show. Then, Orton celebrated with the title and left the ring early, leaving WWE to cut to Christian's stunned reaction. WWE continued to show Christian as he walked up the entrance ramp to the back. R-Truth did something similar in his heel turn, although R-Truth's turn was more immediate (attacking Morrison right after the match) and involved more bad-guy factors (smoking and taking heelish breaks). Regardless, one of Orton or Christian is probably turning heel. Orton's new look may cut against a Christian heel turn occurring, but I can't ignore the dejected Christian reaction that was played on TV. We'll see what happens.