Ratings:
Heath Slater vs. Alex Riley: **1/2
Lord Tensai vs. Tyson Kidd: N/A (squash)
Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Alex Riley gets a respectable reaction. Still love his theme music. Slater, still not too big a fan, but there are probably worse guys on the roster. Good point, never seen Slater really perform using actual musical instruments. Hot crowd on this one really helped. Good flow to the match. Just realized Heath Slater and Brooke Tessmacher have the same finisher.
Tyson Kidd has to face Lord Tensai. Tensai shoves Sakamoto aside, no entrance ring gear. All business tonight. Kidd with no shot tonight.
Everyone, including me, says Big Show returns as a heel at Over the Limit to help Laurinaitis. It seems logical, but will WWE actually go through with it now?
Team ZigSwag on Superstars facing the Usos. Ziggler showing off that athleticism. Jimmy with hot tag #1 for the Usos. Jey gets hot tag #2. Can't expect anything less from these guys; they all know what they're doing. Nice heel tactics from ZigSwag. Vickie with distraction, Ziggler with a punch, no Swagger gutwrench powerbomb, though. Usos rollup for three. Wow, thought ZigSwag would get the win here.
Friday, May 18, 2012
5/16/12 NXT
Ratings:
Johnny Curtis vs. Percy Watson: *1/2
Ezekiel Jackson & Great Khali vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks: *1/4
Kaitlyn vs. Maxine: *
Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty vs. Derrick Bateman: **1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Ratings have been delayed lately because I've just had so much stuff going on. Next week will be similarly busy.
Percy? Charismatic? The lack of big crowd reaction says otherwise. Decent standard match with Curtis hitting his finisher for the win.
Am I really supposed to feel threatened by Zeke and Khali? One guy who hasn't won in a long time, and another who only has about five moves in his entire arsenal? Khali basically had to get the hot tag by default. Wait...what?! Khali and Zeke won?! Maybe this is what the doctor ordered for these two.
More Kaitlyn and Maxine action. Kaitlyn can't get much of a reaction coming out, but she tried. Maxine has long pants tonight. Kaitlyn powers out of a guillotine choke after a couple of attempts. Maxine likes to scream. There was very little flow in this match, almost like they randomly decided to throw moves together. The finish was very good. I loved Kaitlyn's submission finisher. Just wish the crowd was more into that one.
This time, we have Kidd and McGillicutty again, but we add Bateman to the mix. MM wants the other two to start. Bateman suicide dive to MM, Kidd with a moonsault that largely missed both Bateman and MM. Regal raves that MMcan do a Saito Suplex again; Regal's only said that many times the last few weeks. I wonder if there have been any two guys that hit heads when doing the double crossbody KO spot. Kidd was again the star here. Each guy had their moments to shine, which was nice. Easily best crowd reaction of the night. Nice to see MM use his dad's Perfect-Plex, even though Bateman broke up that pin. Great job on the finish from Kidd, seeing both Sharpshooter and Dungeon Lock.
Tough crowd all night.
Johnny Curtis vs. Percy Watson: *1/2
Ezekiel Jackson & Great Khali vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks: *1/4
Kaitlyn vs. Maxine: *
Tyson Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty vs. Derrick Bateman: **1/2
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Ratings have been delayed lately because I've just had so much stuff going on. Next week will be similarly busy.
Percy? Charismatic? The lack of big crowd reaction says otherwise. Decent standard match with Curtis hitting his finisher for the win.
Am I really supposed to feel threatened by Zeke and Khali? One guy who hasn't won in a long time, and another who only has about five moves in his entire arsenal? Khali basically had to get the hot tag by default. Wait...what?! Khali and Zeke won?! Maybe this is what the doctor ordered for these two.
More Kaitlyn and Maxine action. Kaitlyn can't get much of a reaction coming out, but she tried. Maxine has long pants tonight. Kaitlyn powers out of a guillotine choke after a couple of attempts. Maxine likes to scream. There was very little flow in this match, almost like they randomly decided to throw moves together. The finish was very good. I loved Kaitlyn's submission finisher. Just wish the crowd was more into that one.
This time, we have Kidd and McGillicutty again, but we add Bateman to the mix. MM wants the other two to start. Bateman suicide dive to MM, Kidd with a moonsault that largely missed both Bateman and MM. Regal raves that MMcan do a Saito Suplex again; Regal's only said that many times the last few weeks. I wonder if there have been any two guys that hit heads when doing the double crossbody KO spot. Kidd was again the star here. Each guy had their moments to shine, which was nice. Easily best crowd reaction of the night. Nice to see MM use his dad's Perfect-Plex, even though Bateman broke up that pin. Great job on the finish from Kidd, seeing both Sharpshooter and Dungeon Lock.
Tough crowd all night.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
5/14/12 RAW
Ratings:
CM Punk & Santino Marella vs. Daniel Bryan & Cody Rhodes: **1/4
Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox: N/A (squash)
Kane vs. Big Show: *1/2
Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, & Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & Miz: *3/4
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
HHH starts the show off. Footage shown of Lesnar attacking HHH. High compliments for Brock on ability, but also mentions he quit. Enter Heyman and some guy to serve lawsuit papers. Brock's suing HHH. Oh how lovely. Heyman's great on the mic. HHH puts his hands on Heyman and tells Paul to tell Brock he'll get everything he deserves. Vintage assault and battery!
Punk comes out for a tag match w/Santino. They go against Daniel Bryan and Cody. Lots of "YES" chants even when DB just stays on the apron. Punk with the suicide dive, while Santino should never try that again. Santino worked over. Crowd very much into it. Santino dives to tag Punk and misses, but gets it on the second try. Punk a house of fire. DB gets away but Cody eats the GTS for three. I'd look for Punk to win this Sunday anyway against DB. Could be another epic Summer of Punk with these two.
Beth Phoenix no longer selling the ankle, and she faces Layla at Over the Limit. Layla watches on the ramp. Basically a Beth dominating performance here to make a statement. Layla then rushes the ring and makes her own statement. Layla should retain the title this time; she needs the title more.
Cena has over 11 million people liking his FB page. I'm not one of them.
Over the Limit pre-show will be shown on YouTube and all other social media. Ryder faces Kane. Sucks to be Zack.
I like Laurinaitis using Show to get major heel heat. People are saying Show turns heel on all this, and I hope he does. He's entertaining as a face, but just better as a heel to me. Kane with a crossbody?! Interesting. When was the last time Show even hit that Vader Bomb? Physical on the outside. Spear to Kane! Laurinaitis demands an apology mid-match. Kane delivers one of the worst chokeslams ever to get three.
Show cuts an emotional promo for his apology. Johnny keeps refusing to accept, stepping up the humiliation with each passing minute. Watch the segment. Listen to that crowd. They were totally drawn in. One of the best non-wrestling segments of the year. Johnny gets his heel heat, Show gets "fired." Not sure if this was meant as a vacation for Show, but he probably comes back a destructive force. Might be a heel run. We'll see.
Six-man tag time. Or is it seven guys with Little Jimmy? Seems like your usual six-man tag here. AW giving his clientele the royal treatment. Epico, Primo, and Rosa are all dressed up. Mason Ryan gets to show the muscles. Brodus blind tag, Trouble in Paradise and Brodus splash to Miz gets three.
Punk and...AJ? I dunno why yet, but I like it. Vintage instability!
Here we go with Orton and some guy with a light-up jacket. Sheamus on commentary. Good match here, with Jericho throwing Orton into Sheamus. Orton gets his hangman's DDT in. Sheamus nukes Jericho so Orton gets DQ'd. I like the booking here. They want to fight now, but a zillion officials separate the two. Through Eve's Twitter account, Sheamus and Orton are booked in a match for Smackdown.
Cena's back in a WWE ring. He'll be single again for the ladies soon enough, with all that divorce stuff he's going through. Desperation is such a stinky cologne. Cena makes fun of JL's voice. Cena's in a very joking mood tonight. LOSER for Laurinaitis. Hard for JL to not bust out laughing, you can tell. Lots of crowd response, awesome. Cheap pop for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Penguins in the house! Cena tells Johnny to go puck himself. HA.
Here comes Eve with some papers. Cena takes it -- accidentally ripping it in two -- and reads it. WWE Board of Directors. One on one. No superstar interference (or be fired), no special refs, pinfall or submission wins only. If Laurinaitis loses, he's fired. Huge stakes.
Now I have a feeling this is where Big Show "returns." After all, this is for business. If not at the PPV, it could be the next night. Any way you slice it, Laurinaitis is winning by evil means. Vintage slap to Cena closes the show.
CM Punk & Santino Marella vs. Daniel Bryan & Cody Rhodes: **1/4
Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox: N/A (squash)
Kane vs. Big Show: *1/2
Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, & Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & Miz: *3/4
Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
HHH starts the show off. Footage shown of Lesnar attacking HHH. High compliments for Brock on ability, but also mentions he quit. Enter Heyman and some guy to serve lawsuit papers. Brock's suing HHH. Oh how lovely. Heyman's great on the mic. HHH puts his hands on Heyman and tells Paul to tell Brock he'll get everything he deserves. Vintage assault and battery!
Punk comes out for a tag match w/Santino. They go against Daniel Bryan and Cody. Lots of "YES" chants even when DB just stays on the apron. Punk with the suicide dive, while Santino should never try that again. Santino worked over. Crowd very much into it. Santino dives to tag Punk and misses, but gets it on the second try. Punk a house of fire. DB gets away but Cody eats the GTS for three. I'd look for Punk to win this Sunday anyway against DB. Could be another epic Summer of Punk with these two.
Beth Phoenix no longer selling the ankle, and she faces Layla at Over the Limit. Layla watches on the ramp. Basically a Beth dominating performance here to make a statement. Layla then rushes the ring and makes her own statement. Layla should retain the title this time; she needs the title more.
Cena has over 11 million people liking his FB page. I'm not one of them.
Over the Limit pre-show will be shown on YouTube and all other social media. Ryder faces Kane. Sucks to be Zack.
I like Laurinaitis using Show to get major heel heat. People are saying Show turns heel on all this, and I hope he does. He's entertaining as a face, but just better as a heel to me. Kane with a crossbody?! Interesting. When was the last time Show even hit that Vader Bomb? Physical on the outside. Spear to Kane! Laurinaitis demands an apology mid-match. Kane delivers one of the worst chokeslams ever to get three.
Show cuts an emotional promo for his apology. Johnny keeps refusing to accept, stepping up the humiliation with each passing minute. Watch the segment. Listen to that crowd. They were totally drawn in. One of the best non-wrestling segments of the year. Johnny gets his heel heat, Show gets "fired." Not sure if this was meant as a vacation for Show, but he probably comes back a destructive force. Might be a heel run. We'll see.
Six-man tag time. Or is it seven guys with Little Jimmy? Seems like your usual six-man tag here. AW giving his clientele the royal treatment. Epico, Primo, and Rosa are all dressed up. Mason Ryan gets to show the muscles. Brodus blind tag, Trouble in Paradise and Brodus splash to Miz gets three.
Punk and...AJ? I dunno why yet, but I like it. Vintage instability!
Here we go with Orton and some guy with a light-up jacket. Sheamus on commentary. Good match here, with Jericho throwing Orton into Sheamus. Orton gets his hangman's DDT in. Sheamus nukes Jericho so Orton gets DQ'd. I like the booking here. They want to fight now, but a zillion officials separate the two. Through Eve's Twitter account, Sheamus and Orton are booked in a match for Smackdown.
Cena's back in a WWE ring. He'll be single again for the ladies soon enough, with all that divorce stuff he's going through. Desperation is such a stinky cologne. Cena makes fun of JL's voice. Cena's in a very joking mood tonight. LOSER for Laurinaitis. Hard for JL to not bust out laughing, you can tell. Lots of crowd response, awesome. Cheap pop for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Penguins in the house! Cena tells Johnny to go puck himself. HA.
Here comes Eve with some papers. Cena takes it -- accidentally ripping it in two -- and reads it. WWE Board of Directors. One on one. No superstar interference (or be fired), no special refs, pinfall or submission wins only. If Laurinaitis loses, he's fired. Huge stakes.
Now I have a feeling this is where Big Show "returns." After all, this is for business. If not at the PPV, it could be the next night. Any way you slice it, Laurinaitis is winning by evil means. Vintage slap to Cena closes the show.
Monday, May 14, 2012
5/13/12 Sacrifice
Ratings:
Christopher Daniels & Kazarian vs. Samoa Joe & Magnus: ***
Gail Kim vs. Brooke Tessmacher (Knockouts Title): **3/4
Devon vs. Robbie E vs. Robbie T (TV Title): *1/2
Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy: **1/4
Crimson vs. Eric Young: *1/4
Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray: ***3/4
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles: ****1/4
Bobby Roode vs. Rob Van Dam (Ladder; World Title): ****
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Earl Hebner comes to get Roode's title so he can hang it for the ladder match tonight. Needless to say, Roode's pissed and complaining.
Tag title match starts the PPV off. Magnus impressive, catching Daniels on a crossbody and lifting him up for a delayed vertical suplex. Champs dominate early, then Daniels with the heel tactics to seize control. Heels isolate Magnus. Joe gets the hot tag and goes to town. Double-team on Joe leads to STO from Daniels for two. Daniels gets nuked good by Joe in the corner, snapmare into flying elbow only gets two because Kaz pulled Magnus out of the ring. Nice high clothesline-low sweep from Kaz and Daniels gets three. New tag champs. Solid opener.
Knockouts title match next. New ring attire for Tessmacher, Captain America-like colors, with Undertaker-like coat (no hood). As a note, Gail actually got married a few days ago to chef Robert Irvine, congrats to the newlyweds. Brooke tries Gail's own finisher early on for mind games. Crowd is somewhat into it, which is nice to see. Gail in control for much of the match, fairly slow pace. Wow, not often that I see a woman hit a top-rope elbow. Gets only two for BT. BT goes for her finisher, countered. Gail tries Eat Defeat, countered. BT hits Eat Defeat on Gail! GK to the outside. BT had to roll Gail in, and that cost her, only two. Gail uses the rollup with the ropes to cheat and escape with the title. Very good match, was the proper way to end it.
Great promo from Kaz and Daniels gloating about their title win and sticking it to AJ some more.
Triple threat TV title match next, although it'll resemble more of a handicap match. Devon isolates Robbie E early before Robbie T starts getting physical. Basically the Robbies double-team Devon before Devon makes a comeback. Robbie T with a powerslam on Devon, and here goes the ol' heel arguing about who should win the title. Devon physically introduces the Robbies to each other, then Robbie T rolled up for three. Robbie T looks pissed, but they reconcile. Vintage noogie! Robbie E should never hug another guy ever again. Awkward.
Anderson and Hardy starts with ground moves from Jeff. They fight on the outside, Hardy still in control. Anderson attacks Hardy's left arm. Hardy hit a Mic Check on Anderson?! Anderson later hits Twist of Fate on Hardy. What's with the talent doing other wrestler's finishers so much now? Totally destroys the awesomeness of that scenario. Senton by Anderson, but Hardy with the knees up. Swanton by Hardy...only two! Hardy atomic drop, goes for his heels to midsection move with Anderson's legs spread.Anderson blocks and rolls Hardy up for a close three count. On replay, looked like Hardy kicked out before three. Slightly awkward, not sure if that was supposed to be the end. Christy Hemme announced it pretty quick, so it probably was planned that way. Anderson acts surprised. They shake hands and a friendly embrace after the match. Would be a decent explanation to extend the storyline.
Video shown of Abyss resurfacing on Impact. JB has Joseph Park in the crowd. Joseph is not surprised if Abyss appears tonight. He wants Aries to kick Bully's ass.
Crimson again comes out. Open challenge. Brian Hebner to the ring. Bullies Hebner to ring the bell and count. At about eight, here comes Eric Young and ODB. Really?! ODB calls Crimson a douche. EY has some nice moves and chases Hebner. You can tell ODB wants to get involved. Nice suplexes and throws from Crimson. ODB with the liquid courage but Crimson shoves her down. Not on Spike TV, so that's fine. EY's pissed. Again, EY checks on ODB. Opening for Crimson to hit Red Sky for three. Actually better than I thought it would be.
Hit up Bully Ray on MySpace! Aries doesn't back down from the bully. Now it's Bully who wants Aries to calm down. More stalling in the ropes. Bully gets caught in the nuts (by AA kicking the ropes). Bully uses power to get the upper hand. Spit to Aries' face. Aries biting the calf of Calfzilla! Whoa, Aries got kicked when on the top rope, and he flew into the barricade. Ouch. Aries in a bad way now. Back probably hit the guardrail; it's all bruised. Bearhug by Bully. Big Rock Bottom-like move got two for Bully. NICE, lifted Aries up into an Ace Crusher for two. A solo 3-D! Bully with the chain. Joseph Park makes his voice heard and face seen. Bully assaults Park as Aries hits his dive through the ropes. Aries a house of fire now. BRAINBUSTER! One, two, NO! Wow. Bully for a powerbomb, countered! Last Chancery! Bully taps! Best match of the night so far.
Time for Angle and Styles. Angle's put on weight in the last few months. AJ with the mat wrestling! Very good start. Angle quickly shows Styles who's the king of all that. Angle tries to give AJ a chance to take him down with the leg, Angle ducks, and walks right into a kick. Numerous counters out of the Clash and Ankle Lock. Outstanding stuff even on the floor. If there are three things you can expect between these two, it's counters, a consistent flow, and nice crowd reaction. Each guy got great time for a bunch of offensive moves. Huge springboard Superman punch to Angle on the outside! AJ landed pretty hard. Angle still quick well into the match. Amazing conditioning. Styles with the Clash! Only two! Angle Slam a bit later, and that only got two. Angle tries the Clash, blocked. Ankle lock countered. AJ hurricanrana countered. Angle hits the Styles Clash?! Only two!!! Wow. Angle badly misses a moonsault. AJ springboard senton for two. I think he wanted the 450 but wouldn't have been able to flip over to finish it. Kaz and Daniels interfere. Angle doesn't see the interference. Angle Slam...TWO?! Ankle lockwith grapevine, and AJ taps. Excellent match.
Kaz and Daniels attack AJ post-match. Angle doesn't like it and decks Kaz. Respect for AJ and Angle. Awesome.
Facebook poll: fans pick RVD to win there. Duh. Roode with another promo.
Time for the ladder match. RVD out first, then Roode. Roode looks nervous. Main event intros. The usual wrestling to start. Spills to the outside. RVD with his 360 guillotine legdrop on the guardrail. RVD just impales himself headfirst when taking a DDT. To me, the best part of the match was seeing the ladder in the supporting role, instead of just seeing ladder shots every 2 seconds. Slingshot by Roode, and RVD's head gets caught in the ladder. Wow. RVD suplexes Roode on the ladder, then springboard moonsault. Roode wedged in the corner by a ladder. RVD gets a chair. He dropkicks the chair and the ladder into Roode. Ouch. RVD goes for the title, and Roode cuts him off. OW, spinebuster to RVD on the ladder. RVD comeback. Monkey flip on the ladder. Rolling Thunder! RVD's elbow is busted and swollen. RVD misses the five-star and crashes on the ladder. RVD to the outside. Crowd is very much into it. Roode sets up the ladder and slowly climbs. RVDtries to do the Spiderman spot onto the ladder but misses. Roode falls off to play along. RVD leg twists badly in the ladder. Roode gets the other ladder. RVD tries to stop Roode. Roode knocks RVD off and Rob's head hits the chair. Roode climbs and takes the belt down to retain. Another excellent match.
Trainer comes down, but RVD looks pissed. Not sure if he's just mad at himself.
___________________
I really liked the show. Fairly solid from top to bottom. The knockouts match impressed me the most; it showed that Gail is the proper person to carry the division, and she's turned Brooke Tessmacher into a legitimate threat. She made BT look awesome in that match.
OK, I really, REALLY don't like how so many matches here had people stealing finishers. It just cheapens its use. It wasn't necessarily novel coming into this one, but it should really be saved for the huge feuds. Otherwise, great stuff. Slammiversary is June 10. ***3/4
Christopher Daniels & Kazarian vs. Samoa Joe & Magnus: ***
Gail Kim vs. Brooke Tessmacher (Knockouts Title): **3/4
Devon vs. Robbie E vs. Robbie T (TV Title): *1/2
Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy: **1/4
Crimson vs. Eric Young: *1/4
Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray: ***3/4
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles: ****1/4
Bobby Roode vs. Rob Van Dam (Ladder; World Title): ****
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Earl Hebner comes to get Roode's title so he can hang it for the ladder match tonight. Needless to say, Roode's pissed and complaining.
Tag title match starts the PPV off. Magnus impressive, catching Daniels on a crossbody and lifting him up for a delayed vertical suplex. Champs dominate early, then Daniels with the heel tactics to seize control. Heels isolate Magnus. Joe gets the hot tag and goes to town. Double-team on Joe leads to STO from Daniels for two. Daniels gets nuked good by Joe in the corner, snapmare into flying elbow only gets two because Kaz pulled Magnus out of the ring. Nice high clothesline-low sweep from Kaz and Daniels gets three. New tag champs. Solid opener.
Knockouts title match next. New ring attire for Tessmacher, Captain America-like colors, with Undertaker-like coat (no hood). As a note, Gail actually got married a few days ago to chef Robert Irvine, congrats to the newlyweds. Brooke tries Gail's own finisher early on for mind games. Crowd is somewhat into it, which is nice to see. Gail in control for much of the match, fairly slow pace. Wow, not often that I see a woman hit a top-rope elbow. Gets only two for BT. BT goes for her finisher, countered. Gail tries Eat Defeat, countered. BT hits Eat Defeat on Gail! GK to the outside. BT had to roll Gail in, and that cost her, only two. Gail uses the rollup with the ropes to cheat and escape with the title. Very good match, was the proper way to end it.
Great promo from Kaz and Daniels gloating about their title win and sticking it to AJ some more.
Triple threat TV title match next, although it'll resemble more of a handicap match. Devon isolates Robbie E early before Robbie T starts getting physical. Basically the Robbies double-team Devon before Devon makes a comeback. Robbie T with a powerslam on Devon, and here goes the ol' heel arguing about who should win the title. Devon physically introduces the Robbies to each other, then Robbie T rolled up for three. Robbie T looks pissed, but they reconcile. Vintage noogie! Robbie E should never hug another guy ever again. Awkward.
Anderson and Hardy starts with ground moves from Jeff. They fight on the outside, Hardy still in control. Anderson attacks Hardy's left arm. Hardy hit a Mic Check on Anderson?! Anderson later hits Twist of Fate on Hardy. What's with the talent doing other wrestler's finishers so much now? Totally destroys the awesomeness of that scenario. Senton by Anderson, but Hardy with the knees up. Swanton by Hardy...only two! Hardy atomic drop, goes for his heels to midsection move with Anderson's legs spread.Anderson blocks and rolls Hardy up for a close three count. On replay, looked like Hardy kicked out before three. Slightly awkward, not sure if that was supposed to be the end. Christy Hemme announced it pretty quick, so it probably was planned that way. Anderson acts surprised. They shake hands and a friendly embrace after the match. Would be a decent explanation to extend the storyline.
Video shown of Abyss resurfacing on Impact. JB has Joseph Park in the crowd. Joseph is not surprised if Abyss appears tonight. He wants Aries to kick Bully's ass.
Crimson again comes out. Open challenge. Brian Hebner to the ring. Bullies Hebner to ring the bell and count. At about eight, here comes Eric Young and ODB. Really?! ODB calls Crimson a douche. EY has some nice moves and chases Hebner. You can tell ODB wants to get involved. Nice suplexes and throws from Crimson. ODB with the liquid courage but Crimson shoves her down. Not on Spike TV, so that's fine. EY's pissed. Again, EY checks on ODB. Opening for Crimson to hit Red Sky for three. Actually better than I thought it would be.
Hit up Bully Ray on MySpace! Aries doesn't back down from the bully. Now it's Bully who wants Aries to calm down. More stalling in the ropes. Bully gets caught in the nuts (by AA kicking the ropes). Bully uses power to get the upper hand. Spit to Aries' face. Aries biting the calf of Calfzilla! Whoa, Aries got kicked when on the top rope, and he flew into the barricade. Ouch. Aries in a bad way now. Back probably hit the guardrail; it's all bruised. Bearhug by Bully. Big Rock Bottom-like move got two for Bully. NICE, lifted Aries up into an Ace Crusher for two. A solo 3-D! Bully with the chain. Joseph Park makes his voice heard and face seen. Bully assaults Park as Aries hits his dive through the ropes. Aries a house of fire now. BRAINBUSTER! One, two, NO! Wow. Bully for a powerbomb, countered! Last Chancery! Bully taps! Best match of the night so far.
Time for Angle and Styles. Angle's put on weight in the last few months. AJ with the mat wrestling! Very good start. Angle quickly shows Styles who's the king of all that. Angle tries to give AJ a chance to take him down with the leg, Angle ducks, and walks right into a kick. Numerous counters out of the Clash and Ankle Lock. Outstanding stuff even on the floor. If there are three things you can expect between these two, it's counters, a consistent flow, and nice crowd reaction. Each guy got great time for a bunch of offensive moves. Huge springboard Superman punch to Angle on the outside! AJ landed pretty hard. Angle still quick well into the match. Amazing conditioning. Styles with the Clash! Only two! Angle Slam a bit later, and that only got two. Angle tries the Clash, blocked. Ankle lock countered. AJ hurricanrana countered. Angle hits the Styles Clash?! Only two!!! Wow. Angle badly misses a moonsault. AJ springboard senton for two. I think he wanted the 450 but wouldn't have been able to flip over to finish it. Kaz and Daniels interfere. Angle doesn't see the interference. Angle Slam...TWO?! Ankle lockwith grapevine, and AJ taps. Excellent match.
Kaz and Daniels attack AJ post-match. Angle doesn't like it and decks Kaz. Respect for AJ and Angle. Awesome.
Facebook poll: fans pick RVD to win there. Duh. Roode with another promo.
Time for the ladder match. RVD out first, then Roode. Roode looks nervous. Main event intros. The usual wrestling to start. Spills to the outside. RVD with his 360 guillotine legdrop on the guardrail. RVD just impales himself headfirst when taking a DDT. To me, the best part of the match was seeing the ladder in the supporting role, instead of just seeing ladder shots every 2 seconds. Slingshot by Roode, and RVD's head gets caught in the ladder. Wow. RVD suplexes Roode on the ladder, then springboard moonsault. Roode wedged in the corner by a ladder. RVD gets a chair. He dropkicks the chair and the ladder into Roode. Ouch. RVD goes for the title, and Roode cuts him off. OW, spinebuster to RVD on the ladder. RVD comeback. Monkey flip on the ladder. Rolling Thunder! RVD's elbow is busted and swollen. RVD misses the five-star and crashes on the ladder. RVD to the outside. Crowd is very much into it. Roode sets up the ladder and slowly climbs. RVDtries to do the Spiderman spot onto the ladder but misses. Roode falls off to play along. RVD leg twists badly in the ladder. Roode gets the other ladder. RVD tries to stop Roode. Roode knocks RVD off and Rob's head hits the chair. Roode climbs and takes the belt down to retain. Another excellent match.
Trainer comes down, but RVD looks pissed. Not sure if he's just mad at himself.
___________________
I really liked the show. Fairly solid from top to bottom. The knockouts match impressed me the most; it showed that Gail is the proper person to carry the division, and she's turned Brooke Tessmacher into a legitimate threat. She made BT look awesome in that match.
OK, I really, REALLY don't like how so many matches here had people stealing finishers. It just cheapens its use. It wasn't necessarily novel coming into this one, but it should really be saved for the huge feuds. Otherwise, great stuff. Slammiversary is June 10. ***3/4
Friday, May 11, 2012
5/11/12 Smackdown
Ratings:
Chris Jericho & Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus & Randy Orton: *1/2
AJ vs. Kaitlyn: N/A (squash)
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show: 3/4*
Ryback vs. Heath Slater: N/A (squash)
Antonio Cesaro vs. Alex Riley: *
Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio: *1/2
R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger: *1/2
Titus O'Neil & Darren Young vs. Santino Marella & Zack Ryder: *1/2
Brodus Clay vs. Hunico: N/A (squash)
Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho: **1/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Video package of Orton and Sheamus. Fatal four way at Over the Limit. Starting the show with a return tag match. Didn't realize 25% chance means it's just about impossible to retain the title. Nice logic, Cole. Also didn't realize Orton just added a dropkick to the arsenal. He's only been doing it for years. Ref calls for the bell after he lost control. So Eve relays the message...Sheamus faces Jericho, Orton faces Alberto.
Oh, this should be fun. AJ and Kaitlyn. Vintage NXT moments! Kaitlyn with new music? I don't really keep track anymore. Bell rings and AJ turns nutso. Takedowns and a shining wizard later, AJ wins in like 20 seconds. No offense for Kaitlyn whatsoever.
DANIEL BRYAN TIME YESYESYES. DB's looking forward to moving on! He's moving on...to Kaitlyn?! YESYESYES. AJ's reaction was great. Twitching a little. I'm gonna really like this.
DB faces Show right after the commercial. Huge Big Show slaps. DB gets Show in the YES lock and bell rings immediately. Laurinaitis positioned right at the timekeeper's table. How convenient. Laurinaitis embarrasses Show and puts him in his place. Show must apologize for real on RAW. Laurinaitis is getting very good on the mic.
Slater with a big mouth. Ryback squashes Slater. Ryback rules. 'Nuff said.
Teddy Long gets to ring announce Antonio Cesaro's match. Of course it's a long-winded intro. Aksana looks great. Antonio with a decent win. Aksana and Antonio...yup, get a room, you two.
Orton and Alberto time. Ricardo gets involved. ADR works on Orton's shoulder. Orton fights back, still favoring that injured body part. ADR does well to keep attacking the shoulder. Ricardo to the top rope and he eats an RKO, very nice. DQ win for Orton. ADR attacks Orton after the bell.
Next is Truth and Swagger. I see Little Jimmy! OK, maybe not. AW now has Mason Ryan in his corner? Cool, at least the stable's getting built quick. Truth with that Lie Detector move that never pins anyone anymore. Ziggler pulled Truth's leg. Kofi gets involved. Swagger gets Truth in the ring. Oops. Trouble in Paradise to Swagger and Little Jimmy gets three.
Cena and Laurinaitis go face to face on RAW. Yay.
Santino and Ryder...Team Co-Bro! I like it. Nice way to let Titus and D-Young make a name for themselves. Decent tag match. I love the double-team finisher. Very old school. And they still like to be goofs after the match.
More Damien Sandow talking. Yeah, the words went over my head as well.
Hunico and Camacho jump Brodus before the bell rings. Brodus does the Ultimate Warrior-like hulk up thing, but he jiggles up instead. He smiles. It's a squash. Cameron and Naomi react like Brodus just won the WWE Title. Vintage dancing!
Main event is Sheamus and Jericho. Nice job to work on Sheamus' shoulder. Jericho with a great dropkick. Very good counters here. Gotta expect a few of those in a Jericho match. Jericho launched to the outside. ADR out of nowhere rams Jericho into the steps. Then cross armbreaker on Sheamus. Orton in for some action. He and Sheamus quarrel. Codebreaker to ADR by Jericho. RKO to Del Rio. Brogue Kick to Del Rio. Ouch. End show.
Chris Jericho & Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus & Randy Orton: *1/2
AJ vs. Kaitlyn: N/A (squash)
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show: 3/4*
Ryback vs. Heath Slater: N/A (squash)
Antonio Cesaro vs. Alex Riley: *
Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio: *1/2
R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger: *1/2
Titus O'Neil & Darren Young vs. Santino Marella & Zack Ryder: *1/2
Brodus Clay vs. Hunico: N/A (squash)
Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho: **1/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Video package of Orton and Sheamus. Fatal four way at Over the Limit. Starting the show with a return tag match. Didn't realize 25% chance means it's just about impossible to retain the title. Nice logic, Cole. Also didn't realize Orton just added a dropkick to the arsenal. He's only been doing it for years. Ref calls for the bell after he lost control. So Eve relays the message...Sheamus faces Jericho, Orton faces Alberto.
Oh, this should be fun. AJ and Kaitlyn. Vintage NXT moments! Kaitlyn with new music? I don't really keep track anymore. Bell rings and AJ turns nutso. Takedowns and a shining wizard later, AJ wins in like 20 seconds. No offense for Kaitlyn whatsoever.
DANIEL BRYAN TIME YESYESYES. DB's looking forward to moving on! He's moving on...to Kaitlyn?! YESYESYES. AJ's reaction was great. Twitching a little. I'm gonna really like this.
DB faces Show right after the commercial. Huge Big Show slaps. DB gets Show in the YES lock and bell rings immediately. Laurinaitis positioned right at the timekeeper's table. How convenient. Laurinaitis embarrasses Show and puts him in his place. Show must apologize for real on RAW. Laurinaitis is getting very good on the mic.
Slater with a big mouth. Ryback squashes Slater. Ryback rules. 'Nuff said.
Teddy Long gets to ring announce Antonio Cesaro's match. Of course it's a long-winded intro. Aksana looks great. Antonio with a decent win. Aksana and Antonio...yup, get a room, you two.
Orton and Alberto time. Ricardo gets involved. ADR works on Orton's shoulder. Orton fights back, still favoring that injured body part. ADR does well to keep attacking the shoulder. Ricardo to the top rope and he eats an RKO, very nice. DQ win for Orton. ADR attacks Orton after the bell.
Next is Truth and Swagger. I see Little Jimmy! OK, maybe not. AW now has Mason Ryan in his corner? Cool, at least the stable's getting built quick. Truth with that Lie Detector move that never pins anyone anymore. Ziggler pulled Truth's leg. Kofi gets involved. Swagger gets Truth in the ring. Oops. Trouble in Paradise to Swagger and Little Jimmy gets three.
Cena and Laurinaitis go face to face on RAW. Yay.
Santino and Ryder...Team Co-Bro! I like it. Nice way to let Titus and D-Young make a name for themselves. Decent tag match. I love the double-team finisher. Very old school. And they still like to be goofs after the match.
More Damien Sandow talking. Yeah, the words went over my head as well.
Hunico and Camacho jump Brodus before the bell rings. Brodus does the Ultimate Warrior-like hulk up thing, but he jiggles up instead. He smiles. It's a squash. Cameron and Naomi react like Brodus just won the WWE Title. Vintage dancing!
Main event is Sheamus and Jericho. Nice job to work on Sheamus' shoulder. Jericho with a great dropkick. Very good counters here. Gotta expect a few of those in a Jericho match. Jericho launched to the outside. ADR out of nowhere rams Jericho into the steps. Then cross armbreaker on Sheamus. Orton in for some action. He and Sheamus quarrel. Codebreaker to ADR by Jericho. RKO to Del Rio. Brogue Kick to Del Rio. Ouch. End show.
5/10/12 Impact
Ratings:
Brooke Tessmacher vs. Velvet Sky: *
Crimson vs. Matt Morgan: N/A
Austin Aries vs. Zema Ion (X-Division Title): **3/4
Devon vs. Robbie E (TV Title): N/A (meh)
Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson: **
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Roode again starts the show, gloating he took out three guys. Nice to know he's held the title this long. Something that TNA has actually done right. RVD spoils the party to get some shots in before Roode bails. Anderson comes to get shots on Roode now. Then Hardy. Hogan comes out and wants a fatal four way tonight. Is RVD willing to sacrifice his #1 contender shot? Yup. RVD wins, he gets to pick the stipulation. Roode wins, he gets to pick any of the three guys. If Hardy or Anderson win, that winner replaces RVD as #1 contender against Roode.
Gail and Madison Rayne in the back. Madison wants to impress this guy. I won't lie...I had an awesome dream with Madison Rayne in it. 'Nuff said. I'll watch the TNA knockouts over the WWE divas, thanks.
Brooke and Velvet square off. What is it with this whole "stinkface" move the ladies like to do? Velvet uses the knees and legs well. Velvet has her finisher countered. Brooke didn't really nail her finisher, but it still gets three. Gail with the post-match attack.
Morgan comes out for his match with Crimson, but the match doesn't happen. Bully's pissed and takes Morgan out to send a message to Aries. MM blades on that chair shot. Stretcher for Morgan. Meanwhile, Crimson does his heel shtick and gets a "countout win." Nice job.
Oh, Zema Ion is back to wrestle. Vintage hair spray! Nice brisk pace at the start. A few aerial moves. Crowd thought it was awesome and we're only like two minutes in. Crowd is awake! Really, they are enjoying this! Woohoo! Match was maybe...a bit over 4 minutes. I loved it. If this went 10, it would be on pace for four stars.
Here we go with the stuff about AJ Styles. Daniels and Kaz in the ring. AJ comes out. Pics are revealed. First, an innocuous picture of AJ and Dixie Carter. Next, AJ with his hands on Dixie's cheek. Third one is a full-on kiss. Lovely. AJ's embarrassed. I'm sure the frat boys are considering Styles a god, though.
Devon and Robbie E again?! Devon physical on both Robbies early on. Devon with a quick win, and Rob Terry jumps Devon right after. Is it a handicap match at Sacrifice now? I couldn't tell. Devon just wants both guys at Sacrifice.
Nice video on James Storm. Seems like he went back home, almost like he's finding himself again.
Hey, Joseph Park to the ring! He can barely get in the ring, way to go. Give him a mic! Lots of sweating. Park plans to be at Sacrifice for Bully Ray, but he doesn't have to wait. Bully comes on down now. Intimidation from the Bully. Park back with facts of his own showing Bully is a loser. Bully is pissed and shoves Park down.
If RVD wins the fatal four way tonight, the stipulation is a ladder match.
Great fatal four way here. Fairly short but filled with nice spots. RVD fittingly pins the champ to get his ladder match stipulation.
HOLY CRAP ABYSS WTF. Woohoo. Roode's reaction is awesome. Abyss tells Joseph Park to back off before he gets burned. End show.
Brooke Tessmacher vs. Velvet Sky: *
Crimson vs. Matt Morgan: N/A
Austin Aries vs. Zema Ion (X-Division Title): **3/4
Devon vs. Robbie E (TV Title): N/A (meh)
Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson: **
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Roode again starts the show, gloating he took out three guys. Nice to know he's held the title this long. Something that TNA has actually done right. RVD spoils the party to get some shots in before Roode bails. Anderson comes to get shots on Roode now. Then Hardy. Hogan comes out and wants a fatal four way tonight. Is RVD willing to sacrifice his #1 contender shot? Yup. RVD wins, he gets to pick the stipulation. Roode wins, he gets to pick any of the three guys. If Hardy or Anderson win, that winner replaces RVD as #1 contender against Roode.
Gail and Madison Rayne in the back. Madison wants to impress this guy. I won't lie...I had an awesome dream with Madison Rayne in it. 'Nuff said. I'll watch the TNA knockouts over the WWE divas, thanks.
Brooke and Velvet square off. What is it with this whole "stinkface" move the ladies like to do? Velvet uses the knees and legs well. Velvet has her finisher countered. Brooke didn't really nail her finisher, but it still gets three. Gail with the post-match attack.
Morgan comes out for his match with Crimson, but the match doesn't happen. Bully's pissed and takes Morgan out to send a message to Aries. MM blades on that chair shot. Stretcher for Morgan. Meanwhile, Crimson does his heel shtick and gets a "countout win." Nice job.
Oh, Zema Ion is back to wrestle. Vintage hair spray! Nice brisk pace at the start. A few aerial moves. Crowd thought it was awesome and we're only like two minutes in. Crowd is awake! Really, they are enjoying this! Woohoo! Match was maybe...a bit over 4 minutes. I loved it. If this went 10, it would be on pace for four stars.
Here we go with the stuff about AJ Styles. Daniels and Kaz in the ring. AJ comes out. Pics are revealed. First, an innocuous picture of AJ and Dixie Carter. Next, AJ with his hands on Dixie's cheek. Third one is a full-on kiss. Lovely. AJ's embarrassed. I'm sure the frat boys are considering Styles a god, though.
Devon and Robbie E again?! Devon physical on both Robbies early on. Devon with a quick win, and Rob Terry jumps Devon right after. Is it a handicap match at Sacrifice now? I couldn't tell. Devon just wants both guys at Sacrifice.
Nice video on James Storm. Seems like he went back home, almost like he's finding himself again.
Hey, Joseph Park to the ring! He can barely get in the ring, way to go. Give him a mic! Lots of sweating. Park plans to be at Sacrifice for Bully Ray, but he doesn't have to wait. Bully comes on down now. Intimidation from the Bully. Park back with facts of his own showing Bully is a loser. Bully is pissed and shoves Park down.
If RVD wins the fatal four way tonight, the stipulation is a ladder match.
Great fatal four way here. Fairly short but filled with nice spots. RVD fittingly pins the champ to get his ladder match stipulation.
HOLY CRAP ABYSS WTF. Woohoo. Roode's reaction is awesome. Abyss tells Joseph Park to back off before he gets burned. End show.
5/10/12 Superstars
Ratings:
Drew McIntyre vs. Ezekiel Jackson: *
Natalya vs. Alicia Fox: *3/4
Hunico vs. Tyson Kidd: ***
Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks vs. Zack Ryder & Santino Marella: **3/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Drew and Zeke, in a battle of midcarders to start. Average showing. No torture rack for Zeke, Future Shock gets three for Drew. Zeke may be on the future endeavors chopping block soon.
Divas match next. Alicia the fiery redhead gets a little face pop coming out. Nice slaps. Actually some decent offense. Matrix move and some more agility from Fox. Wait, a divas match that actually got time! Must be an alternate universe. Natalya sharpshooter FTW.
Kidd and Hunico? Gonna like this one, just know it. Camacho predictably interferes to allow Hunico to get the upper hand. Kidd comes back with a ton of kicks. Crowd amped up for the comeback. Lots of high-flying stuff. Kidd took Camacho out. Senton from Hunico countered. Sharpshooter by Tyson, but Hunico gets the ropes. Hunico catches Tyson off the springboard attempt into a Samoan Drop for three. Very good match.
RAW recap of Brock "quitting" (after injuring HHH), then Paul Heyman's return. Should be interesting to see this one develop.
Time for the main event. Santino with the delayed high-pitched scream on the atomic drop. Funny stuff there. Nice to see Ryder show Hawkins some respect (remember when they used to be a tag team?). Good chain wrestling between the two. Ryder with the agile stuff early on. Heels then worked on Santino. Ryder comes in and does his thing, then heels get to him. Santino hot tag. Usual signature moves, nice interception by Ryder. Cobra wins it.
Drew McIntyre vs. Ezekiel Jackson: *
Natalya vs. Alicia Fox: *3/4
Hunico vs. Tyson Kidd: ***
Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks vs. Zack Ryder & Santino Marella: **3/4
__________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Drew and Zeke, in a battle of midcarders to start. Average showing. No torture rack for Zeke, Future Shock gets three for Drew. Zeke may be on the future endeavors chopping block soon.
Divas match next. Alicia the fiery redhead gets a little face pop coming out. Nice slaps. Actually some decent offense. Matrix move and some more agility from Fox. Wait, a divas match that actually got time! Must be an alternate universe. Natalya sharpshooter FTW.
Kidd and Hunico? Gonna like this one, just know it. Camacho predictably interferes to allow Hunico to get the upper hand. Kidd comes back with a ton of kicks. Crowd amped up for the comeback. Lots of high-flying stuff. Kidd took Camacho out. Senton from Hunico countered. Sharpshooter by Tyson, but Hunico gets the ropes. Hunico catches Tyson off the springboard attempt into a Samoan Drop for three. Very good match.
RAW recap of Brock "quitting" (after injuring HHH), then Paul Heyman's return. Should be interesting to see this one develop.
Time for the main event. Santino with the delayed high-pitched scream on the atomic drop. Funny stuff there. Nice to see Ryder show Hawkins some respect (remember when they used to be a tag team?). Good chain wrestling between the two. Ryder with the agile stuff early on. Heels then worked on Santino. Ryder comes in and does his thing, then heels get to him. Santino hot tag. Usual signature moves, nice interception by Ryder. Cobra wins it.
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