Ratings:
Zack Ryder vs. Michael McGillicutty: **
Titus O'Neil & Darren Young vs. Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso: *1/2
Hunico vs. Justin Gabriel: ***1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Ryder and McGillicutty go at it to start the show. Good, lengthy match following the usual pro wrestling match style. You know, face with the upper hand first, then the heel, then the comeback. Several good near falls after the Ryder comeback. Hot crowd. I still don't understand why McGillicutty doesn't just use the Hennig name. Seems like many sons and daughters of famous past WWE superstars have done so.
Titus now styling D-Young's hair before the match? Guess tag partners gotta go the extra mile these days. Anyway, match against the Usos was quite basic. Hot tag to Jimmy produced the usual Uso moves that basically bore me more often than not. Primetime Players (that'd be Titus and Darren) hit that Demolition-like finisher for three.
Yes, WWE is on YouTube. Nine different shows. I don't watch any of them. Although Santino's show is reportedly pretty entertaining....
It shouldn't be surprising that Gabriel and Hunico got the longest match. These two guys are pretty damn talented. They fly pretty frequently. Each guy with restholds focusing on the shoulders. It's these two guys I'd like to push for titles. Wish WWE would actually pull the trigger on that fairly soon. They give all those lights to Sin Cara and all the pyros/squash matches to Ryback, but I'd rather watch two or more guys work a great, competitive match every week. Camacho played a big factor at the end. Hunico with an impressive pinning move for three.
Yes, Gabriel pulled a move out of AJ Styles with that backflip off the ropes into a reverse DDT. Hunico showed some deceptive power. All that versatility, all those reversals and near falls, are gold to me. I just wish the crowd was into it a bit more.
Friday, June 15, 2012
6/14/12 Impact
Ratings:
Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin vs. Zema Ion (Ultimate X; X-Division Title): ***1/4
Devon vs. Hernandez (TV Title): **
Bound for Glory Series Gauntlet Match: **3/4
Miss Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne: *1/4
Bobby Roode vs. Mr. Anderson (World Title): **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Ultimate X is back tonight! Also, the Bound for Glory Series commences! Remember, that BFG Series is what Roode won last year and started his huge main event run.
Aries gets a full entrance and a nice pop. Chris Sabin and Zema Ion are already in the ring. Sabin with almost an "I don't care" look on him.Very hot crowd, excellent wrestling. Aries again shows why he's the best in that X-division, and one of the best overall on the roster. Fun match to start. With Sabin reportedly headed out the door in a couple months, TNA was unlikely to put the title on him. It's unknown to me if Ion is in the doghouse for severely injuring Sorensen several months ago, but I wouldn't be surprised. Zema hasn't been on TV much lately.
Aries with a post-match promo, saying he's not satisfied with just the X-Division Title. He wants Hulk, and he gets him. Aries wants to be the main event, the top guy in TNA. Hulk is willing to do that and book him in a match at Destination X against Bobby Roode for the World Title. One condition: Aries must give up the X-Division Title if he accepts. Hulk gives Aries one week.
I LOVE that. It's clear the fans are behind Aries, and I personally have become a fan of his in-ring work. With Roode firmly the top heel and having enjoyed a lengthy reign, it's the perfect time for someone to step up and take Roode down. Who better than a person claiming he's the greatest man who ever lived?
Joseph Park enjoys a meal with people, but they scatter when a pissed-off Bully Ray shows up. He wants Abyss. Well, this storyline will be continuing for a while. Now that we see it's possible to have "Abyss" and Joseph Park on camera at the same time, it should be interesting to see how this one progresses.
Pretty hard-hitting match between two bulls in Devon and Hernandez. Crowd again very much into it. Hernandez couldn't get the right footing for his top-rope shoulder tackle. Devon hits a spinebuster for three. Nice lengthy reign for Devon continues.
Looks like more will be revealed later in the show regarding AJ and Dixie. But first, the BFG Series starts off with a gauntlet match! 20 points to the winner. It's basically an over-the-top-rope battle royal.
Gauntlet match begins with AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy. RVD enters a few minutes later. Magnus enters during the commercial, then Bully Ray comes down after commercial. Angle's the next guy in. Hey, D'Angelo Dinero is back from filming movies! Bully eliminates Hardy for the first elimination. "Abyss" comes from under the ring and eliminates Bully. Pope basically eliminates RVD. Robbie E and Daniels enter the gauntlet next. AJ accidentally kicks Angle, and Daniels eliminates AJ and then Angle. Here comes Samoa Joe next. Robbie E is gone. Joe and Magnus working as a team, but not for long. Joe with a low bridge to eliminate his tag partner. James Storm is the next guy in and quickly dispatches Pope and Daniels. Now just Joe and Storm. Nice sequence, Last Call superkick nets Storm 20 points.
There is also a 12th guy for the BFG series, and it'll basically be the loser of the Roode/Anderson title match later tonight. Storm with a great promo after the match. He's on a mission now to regain the title and he would love to take down Roode as a bonus.
Angle with a pep talk for AJ to get focused. Nope, AJ will still be all messed up with this Dixie stuff. Guaranteed.
Knockouts time with Tessmacher and Rayne. Not bad here. Tessmacher with another finisher, almost a stationary discus clothesline of sorts for three. Gail Kim turns down being part of Open Fight Night for the Knockouts Title and wants her one-on-one rematch, but apparently now Brooke Hogan gets to decide when that rematch happens. Gail gets a vacation (a.k.a. probably honeymoon with Robert Irvine).
Main event intros for the world title match. Anderson works on Roode's right arm. Roode later attacks Anderson's neck. Anderson caught in the crossface for a long time and had to tap. Convincing win for Roode.
Looks like we'll actually get more stuff on AJ and Dixie next week. They will apparently come clean with all this hubbub. Meanwhile, Open Fight Night also includes BFG series matches. Also, Gut Check returns. Can we actually have a guy who is ready for the main roster?
Sting promo closes the show. During his humble promo, then he gets jumped by three large masked guys with vests and jeans. End show. Awesome cliffhanger. I'm certainly interested as to what's up.
Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin vs. Zema Ion (Ultimate X; X-Division Title): ***1/4
Devon vs. Hernandez (TV Title): **
Bound for Glory Series Gauntlet Match: **3/4
Miss Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne: *1/4
Bobby Roode vs. Mr. Anderson (World Title): **1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Ultimate X is back tonight! Also, the Bound for Glory Series commences! Remember, that BFG Series is what Roode won last year and started his huge main event run.
Aries gets a full entrance and a nice pop. Chris Sabin and Zema Ion are already in the ring. Sabin with almost an "I don't care" look on him.Very hot crowd, excellent wrestling. Aries again shows why he's the best in that X-division, and one of the best overall on the roster. Fun match to start. With Sabin reportedly headed out the door in a couple months, TNA was unlikely to put the title on him. It's unknown to me if Ion is in the doghouse for severely injuring Sorensen several months ago, but I wouldn't be surprised. Zema hasn't been on TV much lately.
Aries with a post-match promo, saying he's not satisfied with just the X-Division Title. He wants Hulk, and he gets him. Aries wants to be the main event, the top guy in TNA. Hulk is willing to do that and book him in a match at Destination X against Bobby Roode for the World Title. One condition: Aries must give up the X-Division Title if he accepts. Hulk gives Aries one week.
I LOVE that. It's clear the fans are behind Aries, and I personally have become a fan of his in-ring work. With Roode firmly the top heel and having enjoyed a lengthy reign, it's the perfect time for someone to step up and take Roode down. Who better than a person claiming he's the greatest man who ever lived?
Joseph Park enjoys a meal with people, but they scatter when a pissed-off Bully Ray shows up. He wants Abyss. Well, this storyline will be continuing for a while. Now that we see it's possible to have "Abyss" and Joseph Park on camera at the same time, it should be interesting to see how this one progresses.
Pretty hard-hitting match between two bulls in Devon and Hernandez. Crowd again very much into it. Hernandez couldn't get the right footing for his top-rope shoulder tackle. Devon hits a spinebuster for three. Nice lengthy reign for Devon continues.
Looks like more will be revealed later in the show regarding AJ and Dixie. But first, the BFG Series starts off with a gauntlet match! 20 points to the winner. It's basically an over-the-top-rope battle royal.
Gauntlet match begins with AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy. RVD enters a few minutes later. Magnus enters during the commercial, then Bully Ray comes down after commercial. Angle's the next guy in. Hey, D'Angelo Dinero is back from filming movies! Bully eliminates Hardy for the first elimination. "Abyss" comes from under the ring and eliminates Bully. Pope basically eliminates RVD. Robbie E and Daniels enter the gauntlet next. AJ accidentally kicks Angle, and Daniels eliminates AJ and then Angle. Here comes Samoa Joe next. Robbie E is gone. Joe and Magnus working as a team, but not for long. Joe with a low bridge to eliminate his tag partner. James Storm is the next guy in and quickly dispatches Pope and Daniels. Now just Joe and Storm. Nice sequence, Last Call superkick nets Storm 20 points.
There is also a 12th guy for the BFG series, and it'll basically be the loser of the Roode/Anderson title match later tonight. Storm with a great promo after the match. He's on a mission now to regain the title and he would love to take down Roode as a bonus.
Angle with a pep talk for AJ to get focused. Nope, AJ will still be all messed up with this Dixie stuff. Guaranteed.
Knockouts time with Tessmacher and Rayne. Not bad here. Tessmacher with another finisher, almost a stationary discus clothesline of sorts for three. Gail Kim turns down being part of Open Fight Night for the Knockouts Title and wants her one-on-one rematch, but apparently now Brooke Hogan gets to decide when that rematch happens. Gail gets a vacation (a.k.a. probably honeymoon with Robert Irvine).
Main event intros for the world title match. Anderson works on Roode's right arm. Roode later attacks Anderson's neck. Anderson caught in the crossface for a long time and had to tap. Convincing win for Roode.
Looks like we'll actually get more stuff on AJ and Dixie next week. They will apparently come clean with all this hubbub. Meanwhile, Open Fight Night also includes BFG series matches. Also, Gut Check returns. Can we actually have a guy who is ready for the main roster?
Sting promo closes the show. During his humble promo, then he gets jumped by three large masked guys with vests and jeans. End show. Awesome cliffhanger. I'm certainly interested as to what's up.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
6/13/12 NXT (Season 5 Finale)
Ratings:
Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks vs. Percy Watson & Derrick Bateman: **
Kaitlyn vs. Natalya: 3/4*
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Johnny Curtis & Michael McGillicutty: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
FINALLY, this is the last episode of Season 5! Starting next week, new taped episodes will air from Full Sail University and highlight more of Florida Championship Wrestling's talent. FCW is WWE's version of the minor leagues. From what I read, four episodes have already been taped. Now we'll have fresh faces to look at. Thank God.
Hawkins and Reks are wearing "People Power" shirts. Dynamic Dudes reference from Regal, since Laurinaitis was one half of that Dynamic Dudes tag team back in the day. Good tag match here. Both Bateman and Watson showed their agility. Hawkins with a kick, Reks with his power finisher for three. There are only so many tag teams to pay tribute to, so that whole deal from Hawkins and Reks may get old quickly. I'd just stick with the Dynamic Dudes stuff so they'd be in Laurinaitis' good graces for a tag title shot.
Teaser airs for the all-new NXT Season 6, starting next week. As stated above, new faces and a fresh look for this show. If it means we see guys like Bo Rotundo, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, etc., then hell yes. I'm willing to give new people a shot to shine. Looks like a good mix of men and women are finally getting more national exposure.
Footage of Cena and Show brawling at the end of RAW, plus Show's whiffed WMD on Vince. Again, at least it looked better on the second (replay) camera angle.
Divas match between Kaitlyn and Natalya, two of the "power" divas (although Nattie also has the technical skills). Great submissions again from Natalya. Heel tactics from the Canadian at times, getting frustrated. Kaitlyn reverses a rollup and gets three. Nattie's better as a heel, in my book. Pinup Strong with Beth was a great way to get heel heat. Why did they stop that momentum?
New NXT Season 6 people are mentioned. Among them is Bo Dallas, a.k.a. Bo Rotundo. I watched his FCW match against Seth Rollins the other week, and it was fantastic. Very much looking forward to his NXT debut.
Another NXT rookie is Richie Steamboat, son of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Again, son of a legend. Haven't seen him in action yet, but the video package of him looks great. He does look like his dad a bit.
Main event tag match closes the show. Usos take control early on, as expected. Heels work on the leg of one of the Usos (probably Jey). Just a beatdown for several minutes. Jimmy finally with the hot tag. Good stuff after that tag, a few superkicks from the Usos. Big top-rope splash gives the Usos the final victory of the season.
I guess all this "old" NXT talent now gets moved to RAW or Smackdown? Can't wait to see the new crop of talent debut next week!
Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks vs. Percy Watson & Derrick Bateman: **
Kaitlyn vs. Natalya: 3/4*
Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso vs. Johnny Curtis & Michael McGillicutty: **
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Reviews/Thoughts:
FINALLY, this is the last episode of Season 5! Starting next week, new taped episodes will air from Full Sail University and highlight more of Florida Championship Wrestling's talent. FCW is WWE's version of the minor leagues. From what I read, four episodes have already been taped. Now we'll have fresh faces to look at. Thank God.
Hawkins and Reks are wearing "People Power" shirts. Dynamic Dudes reference from Regal, since Laurinaitis was one half of that Dynamic Dudes tag team back in the day. Good tag match here. Both Bateman and Watson showed their agility. Hawkins with a kick, Reks with his power finisher for three. There are only so many tag teams to pay tribute to, so that whole deal from Hawkins and Reks may get old quickly. I'd just stick with the Dynamic Dudes stuff so they'd be in Laurinaitis' good graces for a tag title shot.
Teaser airs for the all-new NXT Season 6, starting next week. As stated above, new faces and a fresh look for this show. If it means we see guys like Bo Rotundo, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, etc., then hell yes. I'm willing to give new people a shot to shine. Looks like a good mix of men and women are finally getting more national exposure.
Footage of Cena and Show brawling at the end of RAW, plus Show's whiffed WMD on Vince. Again, at least it looked better on the second (replay) camera angle.
Divas match between Kaitlyn and Natalya, two of the "power" divas (although Nattie also has the technical skills). Great submissions again from Natalya. Heel tactics from the Canadian at times, getting frustrated. Kaitlyn reverses a rollup and gets three. Nattie's better as a heel, in my book. Pinup Strong with Beth was a great way to get heel heat. Why did they stop that momentum?
New NXT Season 6 people are mentioned. Among them is Bo Dallas, a.k.a. Bo Rotundo. I watched his FCW match against Seth Rollins the other week, and it was fantastic. Very much looking forward to his NXT debut.
Another NXT rookie is Richie Steamboat, son of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. Again, son of a legend. Haven't seen him in action yet, but the video package of him looks great. He does look like his dad a bit.
Main event tag match closes the show. Usos take control early on, as expected. Heels work on the leg of one of the Usos (probably Jey). Just a beatdown for several minutes. Jimmy finally with the hot tag. Good stuff after that tag, a few superkicks from the Usos. Big top-rope splash gives the Usos the final victory of the season.
I guess all this "old" NXT talent now gets moved to RAW or Smackdown? Can't wait to see the new crop of talent debut next week!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
6/11/12 RAW (3 hrs; Vince)
Ratings:
Sheamus vs. Tensai: *3/4
Santino Marella & Layla vs. Ricardo Rodriguez & Beth Phoenix: 1/2*
Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Jack Swagger vs. Great Khali (Elimination): ***
Ryback vs. Willard Fillmore & Rutherford Hayes: N/A (squash)
Big Show vs. Kofi Kingston (Cage): *
Sin Cara vs. Curt Hawkins: *1/4
Vader vs. Heath Slater: 3/4*
CM Punk & AJ vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Hartford, CT, hosts this 3-hour RAW. Laurinaitis and Vince basically kick the show off. Johnny's no longer officially VP of Talent Relations, for the record. Vince gets a huge pop. Johnny initially flubs and says "100th" RAW episode coming up, when it's 1000th. "Fire Johnny!" chants throughout the arena. Man, Vince is all over Big Show and makes fun of Johnny. Sheamus gets a pop. Nice time to take shots at Laurinaitis. #FireJohnny trending #1 on Twitter! Vince basically says if Johnny doesn't impress him tonight, Johnny's fired. Johnny now must pick Sheamus' opponent next. Vince leaves on that Hoveround, but runs it off the stage. Awesome.
They are making Khali responsible for ADR's concussion. Alberto will miss No Way Out, so a new #1 contender will be crowned tonight.
Sheamus faces Tensai. Tensai shoves Sakamoto. "Albert" chants from the crowd. This is not the most technically sound match, but was it ever physical. Tensai with a Vader Bomb for two. Two-handed chokeslam from Tensai only got two. So much for that move's effectiveness. Brogue Kick out of nowhere gets three. Again, Tensai seemingly de-pushed and virtually getting buried.
Vince wants to know how Johnny determines the new #1 contender. Vickie wants Swagger and Ziggler to both face Sheamus at NWO. Vince seeks a better idea, if any. Johnny's flustered. Teddy Long gets a say. Fatal Four Way between four former world champs: Ziggler, Swagger, Khali, and Christian. Johnny basically takes credit for that and tells Teddy to go get coffee. Can I have a cup as well? Fist bump? Vince says Johnny's got small hands. ROFL.
Tensai attacks Sakamoto. He shouts at Sakamoto in Japanese. Crowd doesn't really buy it.
RAW moment: Seth Green. WTF. Remember that 6-man tag? I don't. A bitchslap to Cody Rhodes. How fun.
Poor R-Truth has a broken foot. And then he gets WMD'd by Show. Sucks.
Vintage Santino power walk. Mixed tag match here, and Layla's his tag partner. Lucky guy. Beth basically drags Ricardo to the ring. I must say, Ricardo's hilarious...does his job very well. Ricardo wins simply for screaming like a girl and "embracing" Beth for security in the corner. Santino goes for the Cobra on the outside. Ricardo runs into the post. Classic. Meanwhile, in the part of the match that matters, Beth takes care of Layla. Hey, Ricardo wins!
Ricardo gets his dress shirt stripped off. JUSTIN BIEBER. OH GOD. Most of the fans probably didn't care anyway. But that was great.
Kofi finally shows a little attitude. He wants Big Show. Johnny gives him Show in a cage. Sounds good. oh, and Vince hates lawyers. Yeah Otunga, he hates us, but sucks more to be you.
Time for Daniel "YESYESYES" Bryan. Both Punk and Kane have AJ as a weakness. YES AJ, you had a shot to be with all of that. Probably the most hilarious DB promo in a while. Enter Punk. War of words. Calls DB a goat-faced moron. Wow. Vintage Kane pyros scared the hell out of DB. Who can ever forget electrocuting Shane McMahon's testicles? Hey, it's AJ! She sees Kane has a heart. Gotta love crazy chicks! YES! #GoatFace trending on Twitter! YES!
Johnny makes a tag match. DB and Kane vs. Punk...and AJ. Interesting. That'll be the main event, I guess.
Fatal Four Way Elimination match next to determine that #1 contender. Christian's back from Dallas after making that TNA appearance at Slammiversary. A zillion Khali chest slaps. Boring. Thankfully, Khali was gone in about two minutes. Ziggler and Swagger take out Christian. Good sequence from Swagger and Christian. Loved Ziggler pinning Swagger after Christian hit that Killswitch. Every man for himself! Vickie is pissed. Best two technically sound guys left. Ziggler with a great job on Christian's ankle. Near fall after near fall. Vickie with distraction, Zigzag for three. If Christian and Ziggler just had a singles match, that woulda been 10x better. Showdown between Sheamus and Ziggler on the stage.
Natalya with the reference to the Hart family nuking Vince at WM a couple years back. Random Vince dancing with Naomi and Cameron. Classic Zack Ryder stunned look. Out of the blue enough for a good chuckle.
Ryback time. He faces two jobbers who practically got their names from former U.S. presidents. Jobbers came out second this time to talk trash. End result doesn't matter.Crowd seemed to frown upon this one. Should be very clear this act got horribly old eons ago.
Vince and Hornswoggle. Vince mocks Jim Ross. Vince doesn't like other guys who kiss ass. Perfect cut shot to William Regal. Awesome again.
Cage match. You can escape to win if you can. Show clubs Kofi for a while. Trouble in Paradise, but Show with one of the biggest kickouts ever. Nice hangtime, Kofi. Kofi can't escape the cage. WMD shot and it's over. Ref actually waved the match off, but Show walks out of the cage for the official win via escape.
No Way Out pre-show on YouTube, Facebook, and wwe.com. Brodus Clay will face David Otunga. Hey, it's something.
Sin Cara faces Curt Hawkins. Hawkins doesn't get an on-screen intro. Vintage Sin Cara lights. Not many guys here can smoothly work that lucha style. Hunico was probably Sin Cara's best bet for an opponent. Or maybe the guys like Epico and Primo. Where are those Puerto Rican guys anyway? Fans were largely silent. Tough crowd.
Ziggler looks back at the debut RAW episode. I guess Ziggler said he was 13 at the time. Bobby Heenan trying to get in the building was fabulous.
Johnny apparently got a past RAW superstar to face Heath Slater. Slater says it's Slater Time. Perfect entrance for...VADER! YES! IT'S VADER TIME. Nice pop for Vader. Looks like he put on a few more pounds, but he was already a super heavyweight anyway. LET'S GO VADER! I would give him one star just for doing a moonsault again. Didn't get that, but we got a classic Vader Bomb for three.
Aj with a kiss for Punk in the back. Kiss of death? Punk pretty much worked over for a few minutes, although he got a few moves in. Ref apparently sees a tag, so AJ is now the legal combatant. She smiles, skips, circles Kane, jumps into his arms, and lays a HUGE liplock on him. Hell yeah, that easily gets a YESYESYES from me. Damn you Kane. You now are the envy of three billion dudes out there.
Kane tags in DB, Punks tags himself in. Punk tags DB with a kick. Savage elbow drop gets three. Yeah, that was one of the most bizarre things ever. Kane on the stage is flummoxed. Punk is trying to put one and one together...it's clearly three, like in your entrance theme. DB is on the other side, although I'm sure he's just thinking "YESYESYES."
Time for Vince's decision on Laurinaitis. Johnny makes his plea. Vince is ready to fire Johnny, but Big Show comes out to defend Laurinaitis. Vince should be worried about Cena instead. Yeah, that white knight, golden goose, cash cow, etc. Enter Cena. Mighty strong words from Cena to Show. Chaos ensues. Show with the WORST WHIFF OF A WMD EVER to Vince McMahon. Wow. Pathetic. Laurinaitis orders Show out of the ring.
At least on the replay from a different angle, it looks better. And you gotta add the sound effects!
Oh, so Iguess we're led to believe that if Show loses at No Way Out, Laurinaitis is fired. Obviously, Show now should win this. Laurinaitis has been a good heel GM here. Fans really love to hate the guy. Keep it up!
Sheamus vs. Tensai: *3/4
Santino Marella & Layla vs. Ricardo Rodriguez & Beth Phoenix: 1/2*
Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Jack Swagger vs. Great Khali (Elimination): ***
Ryback vs. Willard Fillmore & Rutherford Hayes: N/A (squash)
Big Show vs. Kofi Kingston (Cage): *
Sin Cara vs. Curt Hawkins: *1/4
Vader vs. Heath Slater: 3/4*
CM Punk & AJ vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane: *1/4
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Reviews/Thoughts:
Hartford, CT, hosts this 3-hour RAW. Laurinaitis and Vince basically kick the show off. Johnny's no longer officially VP of Talent Relations, for the record. Vince gets a huge pop. Johnny initially flubs and says "100th" RAW episode coming up, when it's 1000th. "Fire Johnny!" chants throughout the arena. Man, Vince is all over Big Show and makes fun of Johnny. Sheamus gets a pop. Nice time to take shots at Laurinaitis. #FireJohnny trending #1 on Twitter! Vince basically says if Johnny doesn't impress him tonight, Johnny's fired. Johnny now must pick Sheamus' opponent next. Vince leaves on that Hoveround, but runs it off the stage. Awesome.
They are making Khali responsible for ADR's concussion. Alberto will miss No Way Out, so a new #1 contender will be crowned tonight.
Sheamus faces Tensai. Tensai shoves Sakamoto. "Albert" chants from the crowd. This is not the most technically sound match, but was it ever physical. Tensai with a Vader Bomb for two. Two-handed chokeslam from Tensai only got two. So much for that move's effectiveness. Brogue Kick out of nowhere gets three. Again, Tensai seemingly de-pushed and virtually getting buried.
Vince wants to know how Johnny determines the new #1 contender. Vickie wants Swagger and Ziggler to both face Sheamus at NWO. Vince seeks a better idea, if any. Johnny's flustered. Teddy Long gets a say. Fatal Four Way between four former world champs: Ziggler, Swagger, Khali, and Christian. Johnny basically takes credit for that and tells Teddy to go get coffee. Can I have a cup as well? Fist bump? Vince says Johnny's got small hands. ROFL.
Tensai attacks Sakamoto. He shouts at Sakamoto in Japanese. Crowd doesn't really buy it.
RAW moment: Seth Green. WTF. Remember that 6-man tag? I don't. A bitchslap to Cody Rhodes. How fun.
Poor R-Truth has a broken foot. And then he gets WMD'd by Show. Sucks.
Vintage Santino power walk. Mixed tag match here, and Layla's his tag partner. Lucky guy. Beth basically drags Ricardo to the ring. I must say, Ricardo's hilarious...does his job very well. Ricardo wins simply for screaming like a girl and "embracing" Beth for security in the corner. Santino goes for the Cobra on the outside. Ricardo runs into the post. Classic. Meanwhile, in the part of the match that matters, Beth takes care of Layla. Hey, Ricardo wins!
Ricardo gets his dress shirt stripped off. JUSTIN BIEBER. OH GOD. Most of the fans probably didn't care anyway. But that was great.
Kofi finally shows a little attitude. He wants Big Show. Johnny gives him Show in a cage. Sounds good. oh, and Vince hates lawyers. Yeah Otunga, he hates us, but sucks more to be you.
Time for Daniel "YESYESYES" Bryan. Both Punk and Kane have AJ as a weakness. YES AJ, you had a shot to be with all of that. Probably the most hilarious DB promo in a while. Enter Punk. War of words. Calls DB a goat-faced moron. Wow. Vintage Kane pyros scared the hell out of DB. Who can ever forget electrocuting Shane McMahon's testicles? Hey, it's AJ! She sees Kane has a heart. Gotta love crazy chicks! YES! #GoatFace trending on Twitter! YES!
Johnny makes a tag match. DB and Kane vs. Punk...and AJ. Interesting. That'll be the main event, I guess.
Fatal Four Way Elimination match next to determine that #1 contender. Christian's back from Dallas after making that TNA appearance at Slammiversary. A zillion Khali chest slaps. Boring. Thankfully, Khali was gone in about two minutes. Ziggler and Swagger take out Christian. Good sequence from Swagger and Christian. Loved Ziggler pinning Swagger after Christian hit that Killswitch. Every man for himself! Vickie is pissed. Best two technically sound guys left. Ziggler with a great job on Christian's ankle. Near fall after near fall. Vickie with distraction, Zigzag for three. If Christian and Ziggler just had a singles match, that woulda been 10x better. Showdown between Sheamus and Ziggler on the stage.
Natalya with the reference to the Hart family nuking Vince at WM a couple years back. Random Vince dancing with Naomi and Cameron. Classic Zack Ryder stunned look. Out of the blue enough for a good chuckle.
Ryback time. He faces two jobbers who practically got their names from former U.S. presidents. Jobbers came out second this time to talk trash. End result doesn't matter.Crowd seemed to frown upon this one. Should be very clear this act got horribly old eons ago.
Vince and Hornswoggle. Vince mocks Jim Ross. Vince doesn't like other guys who kiss ass. Perfect cut shot to William Regal. Awesome again.
Cage match. You can escape to win if you can. Show clubs Kofi for a while. Trouble in Paradise, but Show with one of the biggest kickouts ever. Nice hangtime, Kofi. Kofi can't escape the cage. WMD shot and it's over. Ref actually waved the match off, but Show walks out of the cage for the official win via escape.
No Way Out pre-show on YouTube, Facebook, and wwe.com. Brodus Clay will face David Otunga. Hey, it's something.
Sin Cara faces Curt Hawkins. Hawkins doesn't get an on-screen intro. Vintage Sin Cara lights. Not many guys here can smoothly work that lucha style. Hunico was probably Sin Cara's best bet for an opponent. Or maybe the guys like Epico and Primo. Where are those Puerto Rican guys anyway? Fans were largely silent. Tough crowd.
Ziggler looks back at the debut RAW episode. I guess Ziggler said he was 13 at the time. Bobby Heenan trying to get in the building was fabulous.
Johnny apparently got a past RAW superstar to face Heath Slater. Slater says it's Slater Time. Perfect entrance for...VADER! YES! IT'S VADER TIME. Nice pop for Vader. Looks like he put on a few more pounds, but he was already a super heavyweight anyway. LET'S GO VADER! I would give him one star just for doing a moonsault again. Didn't get that, but we got a classic Vader Bomb for three.
Aj with a kiss for Punk in the back. Kiss of death? Punk pretty much worked over for a few minutes, although he got a few moves in. Ref apparently sees a tag, so AJ is now the legal combatant. She smiles, skips, circles Kane, jumps into his arms, and lays a HUGE liplock on him. Hell yeah, that easily gets a YESYESYES from me. Damn you Kane. You now are the envy of three billion dudes out there.
Kane tags in DB, Punks tags himself in. Punk tags DB with a kick. Savage elbow drop gets three. Yeah, that was one of the most bizarre things ever. Kane on the stage is flummoxed. Punk is trying to put one and one together...it's clearly three, like in your entrance theme. DB is on the other side, although I'm sure he's just thinking "YESYESYES."
Time for Vince's decision on Laurinaitis. Johnny makes his plea. Vince is ready to fire Johnny, but Big Show comes out to defend Laurinaitis. Vince should be worried about Cena instead. Yeah, that white knight, golden goose, cash cow, etc. Enter Cena. Mighty strong words from Cena to Show. Chaos ensues. Show with the WORST WHIFF OF A WMD EVER to Vince McMahon. Wow. Pathetic. Laurinaitis orders Show out of the ring.
At least on the replay from a different angle, it looks better. And you gotta add the sound effects!
Oh, so Iguess we're led to believe that if Show loses at No Way Out, Laurinaitis is fired. Obviously, Show now should win this. Laurinaitis has been a good heel GM here. Fans really love to hate the guy. Keep it up!
Monday, June 11, 2012
6/10/12 Slammiversary
Ratings:
Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe (X-Division Title): ***3/4
Hernandez vs. Kid Kash: **1/4
Robbie E and Robbie T vs. Devon & Garett Bischoff: *1/2
Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy: ***1/2
James Storm vs. Crimson: *
Miss Tessmacher vs. Gail Kim (Knockouts Title): *3/4
Joseph Park vs. Bully Ray (Anything Goes): **
AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian (Tag Team Titles): ****
Bobby Roode vs. Sting (World Title): ***1/4
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Dallas for Slammiversary! Celebrating 10 years. Who woulda thunk TNA would have lasted this long? A bunch of people in the stands. How many free tickets did they have to give out? Heard the Meet & Greet was a flop.
Hogan starts the show. He's going old school tonight from the first match. Joe vs. Aries for X-Division Title. I like that. Joe ruled in the X-Division before. I'm glad he's back where he should be. X-Division Title is what separates TNA from WWE. Hype that stuff. Don't try to just be a WWE carbon copy, because you'd get screwed that way.
Aries and Joe was fantastic from the start. Crowd super hot throughout the match. Incredibly hard-hitting throughout. Tons of chemistry between the two. Numerous counters. Great flow. Basically, this is how you start a PPV. Aries pulled off a 450, sweet! Last sequence was awesome. Joe took a dropkick in the corner right to the face, then got dropped on his head via Aries brainbuster. Awesome opener. Joe coulda had a broken nose there. Mutual respect shown after the match. THIS is how you start a PPV. I can just imagine the rating if they had even five more minutes. Both names trended on Twitter.
Kid Kash returns for this one; hadn't been seen in many weeks. He faces Hernandez, who's also back after a hiatus. Another great bout here. Best spot for me was easily the Hernandez dive to the outside. For a guy his size, just amazing athleticism. Top-rope splash gets three for Hernandez. Kid Kash trended on Twitter as well. Win.
Countdown for the first 10 years. #3 is AJ Styles becoming the first X-Division champ, pinning Jerry Lynn on June 19, 2002 (part of a four-way match). WHY did they have to deviate from all those quality PPV matches? They didn't have to follow WWE's mold and do a bunch of free TV. I'm confident they would have been fine -- perhaps better off -- to keep mostly PPVs, if not 100% PPVs. That is, assuming they played to their strengths and just kept dishing out incredible matches all the time.
The two Robbies face Devon and Garett, stemming from the last couple weeks. Devon gets the hot tag, and the crowd responded accordingly. Devon spinebuster wins it. Random dancing post-match.
I'm unsure right now what this does for Garett, other than to give him screen time. I'm hoping he turns on Devon at some point, once GB gets more comfortable in the ring. Note Madison Rayne all dolled up on the stage. I hope she's eyeing Garett Bischoff. It would give the young man a (possibly good) storyline to work from to establish himself. Garett doesn't even have to turn heel if that happens. Riding Devon's reputation and veteran leadership is fine for now. I just hope, with all this slow buildup (which I really love), it actually turns into something worth watching. Madison left the stage by the time the match was over, so the slow build continues.
Borash with a short interview for Daniels and Kaz. All three are basically TNA lifers. Celebrate!
Three-way match to determine World Title #1 contender is next. Hardy flips a coin, attacks RVD anyway, and we're off. Anderson trends on Twitter during the match. Again, a very good pace throughout. Awesome balance of aerial offense and ground moves. "This is wrestling!" and "This is awesome!" chants from the fans. Credit all three guys in this one, but I continue to marvel at RVD's cardio and flexibility. Mic check from Anderson gets the win. Ending surprised me, a bit abrupt there. Wish the match went longer.
Crimson interviewed, confident as usual. Heel promo before his open challenge. OOPS, James Storm! Crimson is livid. Usual offense from both guys. Storm Last Call superkick ends the streak at over 470 days. One star for the crowd reaction. After, Storm celebrates with showering the front row with beer.
I'm on the fence as to whether this was the best way to end Crimson's run. This basically turned into a squash for Storm overall. Is that really how you want a streak to end, one that you had hyped the last few months? It wouldn't have been so bad had Crimson gotten more offense in, but it was short and mostly all Storm in this one. At least for me, it would have been better to end it via a fluke. Then it can at least generate more smoothly into a storyline.
Countdown for the first 10 years. #2 is signing Hulk Hogan to the TNA family. It was a blockbuster move, that's for sure. Arguably the biggest name in pro wrestling generates a big buzz. Questionable moves during Hulk's tenure, but also some good ones (i.e. signing Aries). Hoping more good comes out of this over time.
Dixie Carter comes out. This PPV is the largest U.S. live crowd in TNA's history. Not a huge surprise. She calls out the entire roster for a standing ovation. Well deserved. Note AJ Styles was the first guy out there, not just for being one of the original talents, but perhaps for storyline purposes.
Goes right into the first TNA Hall of Fame inductee. STING! I love that HOF logo. Wonderful tribute video. Sting first debuted in the company in 2003, and it's been nine years. I'm sure TNA wanted to pull the trigger first on inducting Sting before WWE had a chance to. ROFL, THEY GOT A "YES!" CHANT GOING! That was golden. Formal induction ceremony will be at Bound For Glory. Sting with a short speech, seemingly impromptu.
Knockouts Title match followed. Tessmacher is no longer called "Brooke" anymore because Brooke Hogan is officially on the roster. Tessmacher's home state, so she's clearly the crowd favorite. Gail shows some deceiving power in this match. Several submissions and rest holds from Gail. A couple of shaky spots (perhaps botches) from Tessmacher. Tess into the guardrail. Gail wants to pin Tess in the ring. Gail teases Eat Defeat, then tries Tess' finisher. Tessmacher counters into a pin for three. New champ! Thank God. I really wanted this to happen, given the push she's gotten over the last few months.
Well, I hope this whole Joseph Park character gets axed after this one. Park faces Bully Ray. Park basically comes out in workout sweats. "Yankees Suck!" chants from the crowd. Match basically starts with Bully taunting and Park whiffing on haymakers. Each time Park has an opening, he turns his back and Bully attacks. How freakin' stupid are you, lawyer boy?! Chair shots to Park's back. Big "New York sucks!" chants, which I'm glad Taz acknowledged. Table is in play. Nut shot to Bully, then a kendo stick to the head for two. Park knocked to the outside, then goes under the ring. Yup, Abyss comes out. Who didn't see that one coming? Abyss chokeslams Bully through the table, then goes back under the ring. Duh, Joseph Park then reappears a few seconds later to get the three. Not the most technically sound match, that's for sure. But the crowd was great.
For the record, there was a separate guy playing Abyss for the PPV. Fittingly, it was a student from the Team 3D wrestling school.
Hulk comes out to reveal the #1 TNA moment in the first 10 years. WTF, CHRISTIAN IS THERE?! Wow. How much did TNA pay Vince for that one? Huge "YES" chants again. Christian pokes fun at TNA going from the six-sided ring to four corners. He presents the #1 TNA moment: Sting returning in 2006 as Christian's tag partner to face Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown at Final Resolution. Really?! That's #1?!
Glad Christian got to appear. It was in TNA that he got a main event push. When he returned to WWE, Vince practically had to pull the main event trigger himself. Edge's retirement merely sped things up.
Tag title match is next. Great video package to hype this. One of the best storylines going right now. Styles with new music and entrance video. "P1" for "Phenomenal One." Fast start here because Styles wants to kick some ass. It quickly went back to a traditional tag match, but that's not bad when you have four of the top wrestlers in the company. Great double-team moves from Daniels and Kaz. Angle hot tag. Sweet double German by Angle. Crowd appreciated that one. Hot tag to Styles now. Reverse DDT-traditional DDT combo for Styles. Another awesome spot. Some new stuff from everyone, which is already amazing considering the vast moveset of all four guys. Outstanding spotfest ensues. AJ WITH THE SPRINGBOARD SHOOTING STAR! Haven't seen that in years. Fade to Black countered into Ankle Lock! Kaz taps and we have new champs. Best match of the night right there.
Sting video package. With Sting being the first TNA HOF inductee, you think he HAS to win the title now.
Sting out first to an enormous pop. Roode comes out with a new entrance video and a new robe. Borash with the main event intros. Bunch of stalling from Roode. Some offense from the champ but Sting keeps frustrating him. Roode tries to walk away, but that doesn't work. Sting has complete focus. Roode gets the upper hand eventually. Sting with the comeback. Scorpion Death Lock applied! Great stuff from Roode by teasing the tapout multiple times. Roode tries to run and Sting just attacks him anyway. No countout tonight. Stinger Splash to Roode on the guardrail! Now on the broadcast table. Scorpion applied again. Roode taps on the announce table, but duh, ref doesn't count it. Sting plays dumb and is like "how does that not count?" Roode grabs the six pack of beer from Storm's celebration. Sting blocks one, then gets nuked with another. Yeah those were real bottles, not some breakaway crap. Roode gets three and the crowd boos.
Sting then gets up all busted open. Takes out Roode and the ref. Suplex on the entrance ramp to Roode. Scorpion Death Drop off the stage onto probably a padded table. Roode escaped, but the feud looks like it will continue. While I liked Roode retaining, Sting just may win the rematch, if there is one. That I continue to not be a fan of. It would be a feel-good story for the new Hall of Famer to win the gold, but what else does that do? Sting's career is winding down. It's the young faces who need to be lining up to topple Bobby. This is why I wanted Storm to come back against Roode, instead of ending Crimson's streak.
The PPV was overall a great one. Several prime matches here. Solid opener, strong finish. Crowd explosive throughout. Christian's appearance was a nice surprise, and for all those reasons, it merits a nice rating. ***3/4
Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe (X-Division Title): ***3/4
Hernandez vs. Kid Kash: **1/4
Robbie E and Robbie T vs. Devon & Garett Bischoff: *1/2
Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy: ***1/2
James Storm vs. Crimson: *
Miss Tessmacher vs. Gail Kim (Knockouts Title): *3/4
Joseph Park vs. Bully Ray (Anything Goes): **
AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian (Tag Team Titles): ****
Bobby Roode vs. Sting (World Title): ***1/4
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
We're in Dallas for Slammiversary! Celebrating 10 years. Who woulda thunk TNA would have lasted this long? A bunch of people in the stands. How many free tickets did they have to give out? Heard the Meet & Greet was a flop.
Hogan starts the show. He's going old school tonight from the first match. Joe vs. Aries for X-Division Title. I like that. Joe ruled in the X-Division before. I'm glad he's back where he should be. X-Division Title is what separates TNA from WWE. Hype that stuff. Don't try to just be a WWE carbon copy, because you'd get screwed that way.
Aries and Joe was fantastic from the start. Crowd super hot throughout the match. Incredibly hard-hitting throughout. Tons of chemistry between the two. Numerous counters. Great flow. Basically, this is how you start a PPV. Aries pulled off a 450, sweet! Last sequence was awesome. Joe took a dropkick in the corner right to the face, then got dropped on his head via Aries brainbuster. Awesome opener. Joe coulda had a broken nose there. Mutual respect shown after the match. THIS is how you start a PPV. I can just imagine the rating if they had even five more minutes. Both names trended on Twitter.
Kid Kash returns for this one; hadn't been seen in many weeks. He faces Hernandez, who's also back after a hiatus. Another great bout here. Best spot for me was easily the Hernandez dive to the outside. For a guy his size, just amazing athleticism. Top-rope splash gets three for Hernandez. Kid Kash trended on Twitter as well. Win.
Countdown for the first 10 years. #3 is AJ Styles becoming the first X-Division champ, pinning Jerry Lynn on June 19, 2002 (part of a four-way match). WHY did they have to deviate from all those quality PPV matches? They didn't have to follow WWE's mold and do a bunch of free TV. I'm confident they would have been fine -- perhaps better off -- to keep mostly PPVs, if not 100% PPVs. That is, assuming they played to their strengths and just kept dishing out incredible matches all the time.
The two Robbies face Devon and Garett, stemming from the last couple weeks. Devon gets the hot tag, and the crowd responded accordingly. Devon spinebuster wins it. Random dancing post-match.
I'm unsure right now what this does for Garett, other than to give him screen time. I'm hoping he turns on Devon at some point, once GB gets more comfortable in the ring. Note Madison Rayne all dolled up on the stage. I hope she's eyeing Garett Bischoff. It would give the young man a (possibly good) storyline to work from to establish himself. Garett doesn't even have to turn heel if that happens. Riding Devon's reputation and veteran leadership is fine for now. I just hope, with all this slow buildup (which I really love), it actually turns into something worth watching. Madison left the stage by the time the match was over, so the slow build continues.
Borash with a short interview for Daniels and Kaz. All three are basically TNA lifers. Celebrate!
Three-way match to determine World Title #1 contender is next. Hardy flips a coin, attacks RVD anyway, and we're off. Anderson trends on Twitter during the match. Again, a very good pace throughout. Awesome balance of aerial offense and ground moves. "This is wrestling!" and "This is awesome!" chants from the fans. Credit all three guys in this one, but I continue to marvel at RVD's cardio and flexibility. Mic check from Anderson gets the win. Ending surprised me, a bit abrupt there. Wish the match went longer.
Crimson interviewed, confident as usual. Heel promo before his open challenge. OOPS, James Storm! Crimson is livid. Usual offense from both guys. Storm Last Call superkick ends the streak at over 470 days. One star for the crowd reaction. After, Storm celebrates with showering the front row with beer.
I'm on the fence as to whether this was the best way to end Crimson's run. This basically turned into a squash for Storm overall. Is that really how you want a streak to end, one that you had hyped the last few months? It wouldn't have been so bad had Crimson gotten more offense in, but it was short and mostly all Storm in this one. At least for me, it would have been better to end it via a fluke. Then it can at least generate more smoothly into a storyline.
Countdown for the first 10 years. #2 is signing Hulk Hogan to the TNA family. It was a blockbuster move, that's for sure. Arguably the biggest name in pro wrestling generates a big buzz. Questionable moves during Hulk's tenure, but also some good ones (i.e. signing Aries). Hoping more good comes out of this over time.
Dixie Carter comes out. This PPV is the largest U.S. live crowd in TNA's history. Not a huge surprise. She calls out the entire roster for a standing ovation. Well deserved. Note AJ Styles was the first guy out there, not just for being one of the original talents, but perhaps for storyline purposes.
Goes right into the first TNA Hall of Fame inductee. STING! I love that HOF logo. Wonderful tribute video. Sting first debuted in the company in 2003, and it's been nine years. I'm sure TNA wanted to pull the trigger first on inducting Sting before WWE had a chance to. ROFL, THEY GOT A "YES!" CHANT GOING! That was golden. Formal induction ceremony will be at Bound For Glory. Sting with a short speech, seemingly impromptu.
Knockouts Title match followed. Tessmacher is no longer called "Brooke" anymore because Brooke Hogan is officially on the roster. Tessmacher's home state, so she's clearly the crowd favorite. Gail shows some deceiving power in this match. Several submissions and rest holds from Gail. A couple of shaky spots (perhaps botches) from Tessmacher. Tess into the guardrail. Gail wants to pin Tess in the ring. Gail teases Eat Defeat, then tries Tess' finisher. Tessmacher counters into a pin for three. New champ! Thank God. I really wanted this to happen, given the push she's gotten over the last few months.
Well, I hope this whole Joseph Park character gets axed after this one. Park faces Bully Ray. Park basically comes out in workout sweats. "Yankees Suck!" chants from the crowd. Match basically starts with Bully taunting and Park whiffing on haymakers. Each time Park has an opening, he turns his back and Bully attacks. How freakin' stupid are you, lawyer boy?! Chair shots to Park's back. Big "New York sucks!" chants, which I'm glad Taz acknowledged. Table is in play. Nut shot to Bully, then a kendo stick to the head for two. Park knocked to the outside, then goes under the ring. Yup, Abyss comes out. Who didn't see that one coming? Abyss chokeslams Bully through the table, then goes back under the ring. Duh, Joseph Park then reappears a few seconds later to get the three. Not the most technically sound match, that's for sure. But the crowd was great.
For the record, there was a separate guy playing Abyss for the PPV. Fittingly, it was a student from the Team 3D wrestling school.
Hulk comes out to reveal the #1 TNA moment in the first 10 years. WTF, CHRISTIAN IS THERE?! Wow. How much did TNA pay Vince for that one? Huge "YES" chants again. Christian pokes fun at TNA going from the six-sided ring to four corners. He presents the #1 TNA moment: Sting returning in 2006 as Christian's tag partner to face Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown at Final Resolution. Really?! That's #1?!
Glad Christian got to appear. It was in TNA that he got a main event push. When he returned to WWE, Vince practically had to pull the main event trigger himself. Edge's retirement merely sped things up.
Tag title match is next. Great video package to hype this. One of the best storylines going right now. Styles with new music and entrance video. "P1" for "Phenomenal One." Fast start here because Styles wants to kick some ass. It quickly went back to a traditional tag match, but that's not bad when you have four of the top wrestlers in the company. Great double-team moves from Daniels and Kaz. Angle hot tag. Sweet double German by Angle. Crowd appreciated that one. Hot tag to Styles now. Reverse DDT-traditional DDT combo for Styles. Another awesome spot. Some new stuff from everyone, which is already amazing considering the vast moveset of all four guys. Outstanding spotfest ensues. AJ WITH THE SPRINGBOARD SHOOTING STAR! Haven't seen that in years. Fade to Black countered into Ankle Lock! Kaz taps and we have new champs. Best match of the night right there.
Sting video package. With Sting being the first TNA HOF inductee, you think he HAS to win the title now.
Sting out first to an enormous pop. Roode comes out with a new entrance video and a new robe. Borash with the main event intros. Bunch of stalling from Roode. Some offense from the champ but Sting keeps frustrating him. Roode tries to walk away, but that doesn't work. Sting has complete focus. Roode gets the upper hand eventually. Sting with the comeback. Scorpion Death Lock applied! Great stuff from Roode by teasing the tapout multiple times. Roode tries to run and Sting just attacks him anyway. No countout tonight. Stinger Splash to Roode on the guardrail! Now on the broadcast table. Scorpion applied again. Roode taps on the announce table, but duh, ref doesn't count it. Sting plays dumb and is like "how does that not count?" Roode grabs the six pack of beer from Storm's celebration. Sting blocks one, then gets nuked with another. Yeah those were real bottles, not some breakaway crap. Roode gets three and the crowd boos.
Sting then gets up all busted open. Takes out Roode and the ref. Suplex on the entrance ramp to Roode. Scorpion Death Drop off the stage onto probably a padded table. Roode escaped, but the feud looks like it will continue. While I liked Roode retaining, Sting just may win the rematch, if there is one. That I continue to not be a fan of. It would be a feel-good story for the new Hall of Famer to win the gold, but what else does that do? Sting's career is winding down. It's the young faces who need to be lining up to topple Bobby. This is why I wanted Storm to come back against Roode, instead of ending Crimson's streak.
The PPV was overall a great one. Several prime matches here. Solid opener, strong finish. Crowd explosive throughout. Christian's appearance was a nice surprise, and for all those reasons, it merits a nice rating. ***3/4
Saturday, June 9, 2012
6/8/12 Smackdown
Ratings:
Alberto Del Rio vs. Great Khali: 1/2*
Brodus Clay vs. Derrick Bateman: N/A (squash)
Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre: *1/4
Ryback vs. Tony Andriotis & Kevin Mahoney: N/A (destruction)
Christian vs. Dolph Ziggler: *3/4
Antonio Cesaro vs. Jimmy Uso: N/A (squash)
Sheamus vs. Kane: *3/4
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Smackdown is from the University of South Carolina!
Alberto with his grand entrance with a promo directed at Sheamus. Ricardo comes out dressed as Sheamus and makes a fool of hjimself. Real Sheamus comes out and they brawl. Ricardo allows ADR to get several shots in, even as they battle on the stage. Refs come in a few minutes after the brawl starts. Were they all getting something to eat? Teddy Long acts on Laurinaitis' behalf tonight. Sheamus faces Kane later. ADR faces Khali now. Ugh.
Alberto is smart to attack Khali's knees. Khali gets in maybe 2-3 different moves. Just a simple match to make Alberto look strong. Nothing else really to take away here.
Teddy Long with the Funkadactyls and Funkasaurus. Brodus no longer on RAW ("to protect (Brodus) from Big Show") but they are on Smackdown now. Good move if it gives Brodus a push. Unfortunately, Vince seems set on pushing Ryback to the moon first.
Brodus in action against Derrick Bateman. More NXT guys get nuked. Ruthless aggression from Brodus, no more of this playing to the crowd during the match. Bateman is squashed. At least Brodus and the ladies all dance afterward. Next!
1000th RAW episode countdown. WCW Title defended in July 2001, Booker vs. Buff Bagwell.
Sin Cara next. Glad they got rid of that trampoline jump over the top rope. Less chance now to blow a knee out. So how do people slow Sin Cara down? Take his legs out, duh. Drew McIntyre gets a passing mention as Sin Cara's opponent. More lucha stuff from Sin Cara. Amazing finish with basically three counters on one sequence. DDT counter basically gets the win for the masked one. Otherwise, not too much offense from McIntyre.
Ryback gets to nuke two more guys! The two poor jobbers are billed from rival Clemson. OK, enough's enough. This guy better get a feud soon. Ryback's impressive. I get that. A lot of people get that. Now serve up some real opponents. And WHY do they have to get on the stupid mic? They absolutely suck cutting promos. It's probably on purpose, but still....
The announcers are horrid at playing dumb. Ryback picking up two jobbers for his finisher? Of course he's done that before! He's only done that the past several weeks!
Peep Show time? Cody is the guest but comes out before Christian. Christian basically explains the reason for his face turn. Christian wants to nuke Cody, but Ziggler comes out for his match. Ziggler has gotten excellent at selling moves; reminds me a lot of Shawn Michaels. Decent match, even though I woulda loved it to have more time. Christian looking strong heading into his IC Title match with Cody at No Way Out. That frog splash has gotten serious build as a new finisher.
Video from RAW where Cena humilates Cole at the end of the show. Very entertaining, but I want wrestling! Cole addresses the crowd, but Hornswoggle comes out dressed as Jim Ross to poke more fun at Cole.
Damien Sandow with words for Hornswoggle. Tyson Kidd to the rescue. Sandow backs off, then comes back and jumps Kidd from behind. Neckbreaker finisher and a little posing for the camera. Not bad, merely to get Sandow more heat.
Striker interviews Kane. He only cares about winning the WWE Title. AJ comes out of hiding behind one of the metal production crates. Gotta dig the crazy chicks!
Jimmy Uso faces Antonio Cesaro. Teddy Long painstakingly announces Cesaro. Squash win for Antonio, pretty much about a minute here.
Sheamus' favorite RAW moment: winning that "breakthrough battle royal" in November 2009 that ultimately propelled him to his first WWE Title win over Cena.
Sheamus/Kane closes the show. Physical match here, as expected. Sheamus and Kane do the double KO spot. Ricardo and Alberto storm the ring. Ricardo gets in first and gets nuked, so Alberto stays away. Ref throws the match out. Kane gets up to knock Sheamus down. AJ comes out?! She distracts Kane, Sheamus with a Brogue Kick. Alberto retreats. Ricardo gets a Brogue Kick. Message sent. End show.
Interesting they're staying with AJ and Kane. Haven't we been down this road before with Kane eventually having feelings for a diva? Oy....
Alberto Del Rio vs. Great Khali: 1/2*
Brodus Clay vs. Derrick Bateman: N/A (squash)
Sin Cara vs. Drew McIntyre: *1/4
Ryback vs. Tony Andriotis & Kevin Mahoney: N/A (destruction)
Christian vs. Dolph Ziggler: *3/4
Antonio Cesaro vs. Jimmy Uso: N/A (squash)
Sheamus vs. Kane: *3/4
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Smackdown is from the University of South Carolina!
Alberto with his grand entrance with a promo directed at Sheamus. Ricardo comes out dressed as Sheamus and makes a fool of hjimself. Real Sheamus comes out and they brawl. Ricardo allows ADR to get several shots in, even as they battle on the stage. Refs come in a few minutes after the brawl starts. Were they all getting something to eat? Teddy Long acts on Laurinaitis' behalf tonight. Sheamus faces Kane later. ADR faces Khali now. Ugh.
Alberto is smart to attack Khali's knees. Khali gets in maybe 2-3 different moves. Just a simple match to make Alberto look strong. Nothing else really to take away here.
Teddy Long with the Funkadactyls and Funkasaurus. Brodus no longer on RAW ("to protect (Brodus) from Big Show") but they are on Smackdown now. Good move if it gives Brodus a push. Unfortunately, Vince seems set on pushing Ryback to the moon first.
Brodus in action against Derrick Bateman. More NXT guys get nuked. Ruthless aggression from Brodus, no more of this playing to the crowd during the match. Bateman is squashed. At least Brodus and the ladies all dance afterward. Next!
1000th RAW episode countdown. WCW Title defended in July 2001, Booker vs. Buff Bagwell.
Sin Cara next. Glad they got rid of that trampoline jump over the top rope. Less chance now to blow a knee out. So how do people slow Sin Cara down? Take his legs out, duh. Drew McIntyre gets a passing mention as Sin Cara's opponent. More lucha stuff from Sin Cara. Amazing finish with basically three counters on one sequence. DDT counter basically gets the win for the masked one. Otherwise, not too much offense from McIntyre.
Ryback gets to nuke two more guys! The two poor jobbers are billed from rival Clemson. OK, enough's enough. This guy better get a feud soon. Ryback's impressive. I get that. A lot of people get that. Now serve up some real opponents. And WHY do they have to get on the stupid mic? They absolutely suck cutting promos. It's probably on purpose, but still....
The announcers are horrid at playing dumb. Ryback picking up two jobbers for his finisher? Of course he's done that before! He's only done that the past several weeks!
Peep Show time? Cody is the guest but comes out before Christian. Christian basically explains the reason for his face turn. Christian wants to nuke Cody, but Ziggler comes out for his match. Ziggler has gotten excellent at selling moves; reminds me a lot of Shawn Michaels. Decent match, even though I woulda loved it to have more time. Christian looking strong heading into his IC Title match with Cody at No Way Out. That frog splash has gotten serious build as a new finisher.
Video from RAW where Cena humilates Cole at the end of the show. Very entertaining, but I want wrestling! Cole addresses the crowd, but Hornswoggle comes out dressed as Jim Ross to poke more fun at Cole.
Damien Sandow with words for Hornswoggle. Tyson Kidd to the rescue. Sandow backs off, then comes back and jumps Kidd from behind. Neckbreaker finisher and a little posing for the camera. Not bad, merely to get Sandow more heat.
Striker interviews Kane. He only cares about winning the WWE Title. AJ comes out of hiding behind one of the metal production crates. Gotta dig the crazy chicks!
Jimmy Uso faces Antonio Cesaro. Teddy Long painstakingly announces Cesaro. Squash win for Antonio, pretty much about a minute here.
Sheamus' favorite RAW moment: winning that "breakthrough battle royal" in November 2009 that ultimately propelled him to his first WWE Title win over Cena.
Sheamus/Kane closes the show. Physical match here, as expected. Sheamus and Kane do the double KO spot. Ricardo and Alberto storm the ring. Ricardo gets in first and gets nuked, so Alberto stays away. Ref throws the match out. Kane gets up to knock Sheamus down. AJ comes out?! She distracts Kane, Sheamus with a Brogue Kick. Alberto retreats. Ricardo gets a Brogue Kick. Message sent. End show.
Interesting they're staying with AJ and Kane. Haven't we been down this road before with Kane eventually having feelings for a diva? Oy....
Friday, June 8, 2012
6/7/12 Impact
Ratings:
Crimson vs. Austin Aries: *1/4
Miss Tessmacher vs. Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James vs. Tara: *1/4
Devon vs. Robbie E (TV Title): 3/4*
Sting, Kurt Angle, & AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels, & Kazarian: *3/4
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Show starts with a recap of the AJ/Dixie stuff. Video after Impact went off the air last week. Dixie was pissed and went to the director of the show. Nice realism to all this. Now Dixie's in the ring this week. Dixie wants to just tell the truth. Enter Daniels and Kaz on cue. Verbal harassment, and then a bit pf physicality. AJ storms the ring. Daniels and Kaz bolt.
There's Serg, Dixie's husband. He throws one of the WORST "all-out knockout" punches I've ever seen a supposedly enraged husband deliver. To make it worse, AJ flops, then gets back up for a virtual no-sell. Dixie was fine in her role. Fans sound like they chant "photoshop!" which was amusing. AJ and Dixie leave the arena, but wait, he's supposed to be in a six-man tag later tonight...
Crimson now undefeated for 16 months. Aries is his opponent tonight. Love how A-double has gone from heel to face without really changing anything about his character. Nice pace again, typical of an Aries match. Joe and Aries had an altercation before the match, and Joe basically distracts Aries here. Aries' head hits the apron. Crimson covers for three to keep his streak alive. I'd say Joe's as much of a tweener as a wrestler can get.
Crimson promo post-match. He's been undefeated for 468 days, "one longer than that Goldberg guy." Crimson open challenge at Slammiversary. Would be a nice time to debut a new guy. I wonder if John Morrison is available....
Brooke Hogan with the four top face Knockouts. Four-way match to determine #1 contender for Gail's title. Velvet gets to shoot a music video, and Mickie looks rather miffed. Don't think I should really look much into that one, but who knows.
Hulk Hogan plugs Slammiversary and that next week's Impact will be live. World Title to be defended on that Impact no matter what. Roode, of course, doesn't like it. Roode verbally laces into Hulk. Sting comes out. Sting beats Roode down and the champ bolts.
Four-way Knockouts match next. I especially like Tessmacher's ring gear to represent Texas. Even before the match begins, she'd be my pick to face Gail in Dallas. Gail makes an appearance on the stage to do commentary and watch the proceedings. Nice triple submission spot with all four ladies. Tessmacher indeed gets the win -- over Mickie. Semi-botch on the finisher, though. Good way to elevate Tessmacher. I actually hope it results in a title change.
Bully Ray and Joseph Park contract signing. Bully has a new contract for Park to sign. No standard wrestling match. Hold harmless clause for Bully Ray. Clearly Park has several contract defenses if he really was a lawyer. Park goaded into signing. ABYSS ON THE SCREEN. Taped speech, of course. Abyss coming to Slammiversary. It might as well read Abyss faces Bully Ray. Bully with a cheap shot to Park to end the segment.
There was a Joey Ryan segment after the Gut Check portion of the show aired last week. Joey basically rants, Al Snow puts him in his place.
TV Title match again. Garett Bischoff out to support Devon. Crowd really behind the champ. The end was just lame. Small package with a couple reversals from Robbie T and Garett. Devon retains. Bleh.
Hulk's back out, but here's Mr. Anderson. Hulk brings RVD down, then Jeff Hardy. Three-way at Slammiversary, winner faces the champ for the World Title on the live Impact. Hulk's voice is all hoarse.
Six-man main event. AJ's not there, so it's really a handicap match. Daniels and Kaz attack Sting and Angle. No surprise that Roode doesn't want to be involved. Double submission early! Sting beaten down by the heels. Roode with the crossface. Styles hops the guardrail and here we go with the face comeback. Sting with the Scorpion Death Lock on Roode for the submission win. Crowd liked that ending, that's for sure. Not bad overall.
Pretty average Impact show, but a couple of good storylines for Slammiversary. That'll be on Sunday in Dallas.
Crimson vs. Austin Aries: *1/4
Miss Tessmacher vs. Velvet Sky vs. Mickie James vs. Tara: *1/4
Devon vs. Robbie E (TV Title): 3/4*
Sting, Kurt Angle, & AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode, Christopher Daniels, & Kazarian: *3/4
_________________
Reviews/Thoughts:
Show starts with a recap of the AJ/Dixie stuff. Video after Impact went off the air last week. Dixie was pissed and went to the director of the show. Nice realism to all this. Now Dixie's in the ring this week. Dixie wants to just tell the truth. Enter Daniels and Kaz on cue. Verbal harassment, and then a bit pf physicality. AJ storms the ring. Daniels and Kaz bolt.
There's Serg, Dixie's husband. He throws one of the WORST "all-out knockout" punches I've ever seen a supposedly enraged husband deliver. To make it worse, AJ flops, then gets back up for a virtual no-sell. Dixie was fine in her role. Fans sound like they chant "photoshop!" which was amusing. AJ and Dixie leave the arena, but wait, he's supposed to be in a six-man tag later tonight...
Crimson now undefeated for 16 months. Aries is his opponent tonight. Love how A-double has gone from heel to face without really changing anything about his character. Nice pace again, typical of an Aries match. Joe and Aries had an altercation before the match, and Joe basically distracts Aries here. Aries' head hits the apron. Crimson covers for three to keep his streak alive. I'd say Joe's as much of a tweener as a wrestler can get.
Crimson promo post-match. He's been undefeated for 468 days, "one longer than that Goldberg guy." Crimson open challenge at Slammiversary. Would be a nice time to debut a new guy. I wonder if John Morrison is available....
Brooke Hogan with the four top face Knockouts. Four-way match to determine #1 contender for Gail's title. Velvet gets to shoot a music video, and Mickie looks rather miffed. Don't think I should really look much into that one, but who knows.
Hulk Hogan plugs Slammiversary and that next week's Impact will be live. World Title to be defended on that Impact no matter what. Roode, of course, doesn't like it. Roode verbally laces into Hulk. Sting comes out. Sting beats Roode down and the champ bolts.
Four-way Knockouts match next. I especially like Tessmacher's ring gear to represent Texas. Even before the match begins, she'd be my pick to face Gail in Dallas. Gail makes an appearance on the stage to do commentary and watch the proceedings. Nice triple submission spot with all four ladies. Tessmacher indeed gets the win -- over Mickie. Semi-botch on the finisher, though. Good way to elevate Tessmacher. I actually hope it results in a title change.
Bully Ray and Joseph Park contract signing. Bully has a new contract for Park to sign. No standard wrestling match. Hold harmless clause for Bully Ray. Clearly Park has several contract defenses if he really was a lawyer. Park goaded into signing. ABYSS ON THE SCREEN. Taped speech, of course. Abyss coming to Slammiversary. It might as well read Abyss faces Bully Ray. Bully with a cheap shot to Park to end the segment.
There was a Joey Ryan segment after the Gut Check portion of the show aired last week. Joey basically rants, Al Snow puts him in his place.
TV Title match again. Garett Bischoff out to support Devon. Crowd really behind the champ. The end was just lame. Small package with a couple reversals from Robbie T and Garett. Devon retains. Bleh.
Hulk's back out, but here's Mr. Anderson. Hulk brings RVD down, then Jeff Hardy. Three-way at Slammiversary, winner faces the champ for the World Title on the live Impact. Hulk's voice is all hoarse.
Six-man main event. AJ's not there, so it's really a handicap match. Daniels and Kaz attack Sting and Angle. No surprise that Roode doesn't want to be involved. Double submission early! Sting beaten down by the heels. Roode with the crossface. Styles hops the guardrail and here we go with the face comeback. Sting with the Scorpion Death Lock on Roode for the submission win. Crowd liked that ending, that's for sure. Not bad overall.
Pretty average Impact show, but a couple of good storylines for Slammiversary. That'll be on Sunday in Dallas.
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