WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 Review and Thoughts

Elimination Chamber is that little awkward spot between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. For my money, the Rumble and Mania are always the two events I anticipate the most and thus the Chamber PPV goes a little un-noticed. It takes place 6 weeks before the Granddaddy of them all and is usually a place to develop or help further along existing feuds for Wrestlemania, which sometimes results in a disappointing event. Was this the case in 2012? Lets take a look!

Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship featuring – CM Punk (C), Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, The Miz and Chris Jericho

While I thought this match should have been the main event (the PPV is called Elimination Chamber after all) it served as the 'hot opener' and did so in unrelenting fashion. The Raw Chamber match had solid star power in comparison to the Smackdown counterpart and each unique superstar was utilised to maximise the amount of action that occurred throughout the match. Kofi Kingston and CM Punk kicked things off with some nice back and forth trading of pinfalls. The chamber structure allowed Kofi Kingston to shine and execute some nice variations to his high flying arsenal. R Truth took part for a brief moment and was the first to be eliminated after a quick flurry of offense. Dolph Ziggler bumped like a champion and had an opportunity to 'show off' by implementing the chamber into his shtick. The Miz, who has been floundering for weeks with his promo's and in ring technique, took a step on the road to redemption with a strong and convincing showing in the chamber match. Of course the big story is between CM Punk and Chris Jericho. When the two squared off, the crowd popped in anticipation of the two finally going one on one. However, WWE are saving this one till Wrestlemania as Punk eliminated Jericho in controversial fashion. A knockout kick sent Jericho tumbling to the floor, into a camera man and some sort of box, rendering him unable to compete. This was a nice way of getting Jericho out of the match and means that Punk doesn't hold a clean victory over Jericho heading into Wrestlemania. It is also a source of frustration for Jericho as he never lost the match and can be held over Punks head as a feud between the two heats up. A really good action packed chamber match.

****

Winner and STILL WWE Champion – CM Punk
 

Beth Phoenix (C) vs Tamina Snuka for the Divas Championship

Without a doubt, the playing up of Tamina as the daughter of Jimmy Snuka and the perception that she has become a legitimate threat in recent weeks helped this match. Hell, the fact that Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox or The Bella Twins weren't involved helped this match. While not the greatest women's match ever, it was certainly better than any recent Divas ppv bout. Honestly, a decent match and the story of Beth avoiding Tamina's big blockbuster finish time after time before actually kicking out of the Superfly Splash was a nice touch. Sweet Dragon Sleeper by Phoenix too. I don't know where we go from here with the divas division because we've got to be getting Kharma vs Beth Phoenix at Wrestlemania. That's the best thing that can happen right now. Won't that render all this build for Tamina pointless though?

*3/4

Winner and STILL Divas Champion – Beth Phoenix

Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship featuring – The Big Show, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Santino Marella, The Great Khali and Daniel Bryan (C)

Again, a really entertaining chamber match. The star power wasn’t as strong as the Raw chamber, but everyone involved made the absolute best of the situation and delivered a thoroughly enjoyable story. The Big Show looked like the monster he is and the ongoing feud with Daniel Bryan was furthered in the chamber. The unique moment went Show broke into Bryan’s pod from the top was a nice touch. Speaking of Bryan, he took some nasty looking bumps. Going through the (what Michael Cole was all too eager to tell us) ‘bullet proof’ Lexan, the powerbomb into the chamber and the door being rammed shut on his neck were particular highlights. The real star of the match, however, was someone no one even considered to be anywhere near the Elimination Chamber PPV, never mind a chamber match in itself. I have to give credit where its due and Santino was booked to look like an absolute fighter last night. Gone was the comedy jobber and instead we saw an underdog who absolutely refused to give up, despite being beaten down time after time. Sure, it’s a classic story but its classic for a reason… it works. The crowd were molten crazy for Santino the entire time match and reached fever pitch following his pinfall eliminations of both Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett. The final moments between Daniel Bryan and Santino are worth a re-watch. When Santino hit the Cobra on Daniel Bryan EVERYONE thought the impossible had been achieved. Moments later when Santino temporarily broke the Lebell Lock, that same thought crossed peoples minds once again. Eventually Santino tapped and Daniel Bryan heads to Wrestlemania as World Heavyweight Champion. Sit back and think a minute, though. A superstar who has become nothing more than a comedy jobber was booked to eliminate two men who are considered the future of the company. On top of that, Santino was one of the last two survivors and almost fought out of a deadly submission. That’s quite the push. Judging by crowd reaction last night, WWE would be foolish not to capitalise on Santino as he proved he could hang with upper level talent.

As for the post match, if this was indeed WWE signalling Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan is happening at Wrestlemania, I’d more than welcome it. A match between the two was bumped off last years card, this year they’d be co-headlining for the World Heavyweight Championship. Quite the story.

*** ¾

Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion – Daniel Bryan

Jack Swagger (C) vs Justin Gabriel for the United States Championship

A throwaway match. Honestly, what is with not advertising matches anymore? Swagger and Gabriel are currently struggling to get on Raw and Smackdown and the United States Championship has once again become worthless. A three minute match has no business being on a Pay Per View.

½ a *

Winner and STILL United States Champion – Jack Swagger

John Cena vs Kane in an Ambulance Match

Apparently, WWE feels the need to cheapen their ‘Elimination Chamber’ PPV by having anything but a Chamber match as the main event. Honestly, when the feud started I was all for it. Cena and Kane had never really had a high profile one on one feud and there was a refreshing feeling about the whole thing. The fact that Kane was once again donning his mask was a bonus. However, WWE felt the need to turn one of their fastest rising stars in Zack Ryder into a human punching bag. Ryder has been saddled with a romance storyline with Eve and been made to look like a complete idiot. Racking up approximately 500 injuries in the process. I can’t help but feel WWE is playing a sick joke on Ryder. They’re sending the message that if they didn’t make him, he isn’t going to be the star he could potentially be. Ryder's involvement initially added something to the story, but has since become more comedic than anything else. Meh. Anyway, the match. It was a rather timid affair but one can blame that on the nature of a PG environment on a hardcore style match. There was no doubt who was going to win heading into Wrestlemania but, both men went out there, hit a few impact moves, told their story and ended it. Cena was never going to take part in anything too brutal considering the risk of injury and the disastrous consequences that would have for the yearlong hyped match with The Rock.

I’m still hoping Zack Ryder gets his Wrestlemania moment in a one on one match with Kane, hopefully minus half a storm trooper outfit.

** ½

Winner – John Cena

So there we have it, two very good chamber matches, a decent Divas match and an OK ambulance match. All in all, an enjoyable pay per view that looked less than friendly on paper. It also helped set up the two potential championship matches at Wrestlemania between CM Punk and Jericho and Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. Sweet. Two live shows to look forward to this week, Raw as usual and Smackdown on Tuesday night.

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Raw review, thoughts and opinions!

It’s Tuesday!

While nothing is inherently exciting about Tuesday, it does mean that Raw was on last night. The show, in my opinion, was a mixed bag of disappointment in hour one and satisfaction in hour two. Let's have a look at the positives and negatives.

Firstly, the tape around Zack Ryder was holding both himself and his push together. With WWE finally taking a chance on Ryder, the segment by segment viewership ratings breakdown haven’t shown Zack to be much of draw. Unfortunately, Vince McMahon seems to have discounted the fact that many of these segments also included John Cena, Kane and CM Punk among other big names. Ryder is being scapegoated for shoddy ratings that of course can't have anything to do with the staleness of the product and quality of the creative staff, oh no no no. Much like Sheamus was scapegoated for low PPV buyrates in 2010, Cena is completely untouchable when it comes to the placement of blame when ratings are weak. This led to Ryder losing the title last night, in essentially a squash match to Jack Swagger. Although the injury angle is being played out, there was absolutely no need to take the title from an over superstar in Zack Ryder and put it onto a guy who hasn't drawn heat since his world title run. So, I guess I'll make a bold statement and say that we are witnessing the burial of Zack Ryder. The reports of him being scapegoated for weak ratings, a 'demotion' from the main event into a relationship angle with Eve and now losing the title in a squash match, wow.  What the WWE don't seem to understand is that while Ryder was over with the smarter audience, the casual fans were beginning to warm to him as well. Things take time, WWE. Woo woo woo, you blew it. Just as I knew you would.

Elsewhere in the first hour, the newly crowned (at a HOUSE SHOW) tag champs - Epico and Primo, defended the gold (bronze?) against former champs Air Boom. Was it a good solid 15 minute title match? No. Infact, it barely lasted 3 minutes and most of the focus was on the 'hot manager' Rosa Mendes. Jesus christ, the tag division is still in tatters after what was a promising step in the formation of Airboom. As for the aforementioned, I fear for them come 'spring cleaning.' A suspension for Evan Bourne and a title loss at a house show? That spells 'future endeavoured' for me. As for Kofi, he was doing a whole lot of nothing before the tag run, expect him to go back to limbo or be released too.

The 'Deeeeeevas' *Justin Roberts voice* had a 'match.' Awful, as usual. However, for once the divas weren't the only ones stinking out the place. Perez Hilton joined the action as a special guest ring announcer and preceded to get shoved over by the Bella Twins. For those of you who are unaware, Perez Hilton runs a blog site which pretty much participates in cyber bullying and homophobic slurs such as 'faggot.' A company who advocates the 'Be A Star' campaign against bullying of all kinds pays this guy for an appearance? Show tolerance and respect, indeed. Hypocrisy thy name is WWE.

The opening segment was nicely executed. Ziggler proved himself once again on the mic and usage of the veteran Mick Foley was a nice touch. Foley's tease of entering the Royal Rumble warmed my cockles (pause) as I'd like to see him have one final WWE run before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in the next couple of years.

R-Truth and Wade Barrett took part in an entertaining segment before an over the top rope challenge ensued. R-Truth was the victor. I guess that was WWE's way of saying 'happy Martin Luther King day.' Truth was way over with the Anaheim crowd and it seems that the face R-Truth has finally connected with the fans. In spite of that, I'm a little disappointed by the use of Wade Barrett. WWE seemed to be building Wade up for something special with the 'Barrett Barrage,' but thus far it has led to nothing and he seems to be moving down the roster once again. All them matches with Orton for nothing? Come on, man.

The funkasaurus has become a highlight for me. After initially being shocked and appalled when he came out gyrating and jiving around, the big guy is great in my eyes. He channels Dusty Rhodes, Rikishi and The Godfather into a massive mohawked package (err, what?) that's just hard not to like. It would have been all too easy on the part of creative to make him a monster heel and with Mark Henry reportedly using the gimmick that was created for Brodus, this is a fun way to put Brodus over that seems to be on its way to working. His in ring 'self commentary' and shouts to the crowd are so unique in the modern scene that it has me marking out every time he exclaims 'should I get him' or 'my bad.' Not to mention, I hear 'Somebody call my mamma' in my sleep. Damn song is catchier than herpes in a brothel.

Meanwhile, Cena embraced the hate and Jack Swagger received the brunt of it. Yeah that's right, have Swagger squash Ryder and then Cena destroy Swagger. Way to bury Ryder further and discredit your new US champ immediately. Tremendous fucking booking, dildos.

Daniel Bryan is destroying his new heel gimmicks sweet sweet vagina. He's on a tremendous roll and is one of the reason's Smackdown is just plain better on every level than Raw at the minute. He also took part in the 6-man tag main event along with David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, CM Punk and the long awaited in-ring return of Chris Jericho. Well, we got Jeritrolled once again. After parading around and shaking the fans hands and getting them to cheer for him, he again left after being tagged in. I'll again use the word from my blog on Jericho's return, genius. Jericho is a master at playing a character and it was once again demonstrated on Raw. Will the fans be less forgiving next week on Raw? Or Boo Jericho out of the building? One can only find out. I found this picture last night, I don’t know if its new or what but, wow. Genius or coincidence?

When CM Punk brings the emotion and passion on the microphone, everyone listens. Punk dropped a 'pipebomb' on John Lauranitis and damn was it enthralling to listen to and watch. Punk spouting off at the mouth is something the WWE has been taking advantage of less and less as of late and it hurt his momentum (as well as the god awful HHH/COO bullshit) since he became red hot last summer. I tell you what though, the reports going round are that they want Punk/Lauranitis to become a modern day Austin/McMahon and they damn sure built a sturdy foundation for that tonight. The crowd were white hot for Punk and Lauranitis got some nice heat for his rant and cheap shot on Foley who again, added that veteran presence. It just wouldn’t be an Austin/McMahon type feud without humiliating Mick Foley, right? Really enjoyable way to conclude Raw.

Just while we're on the subject of Punk, my prediction of a Punk/Jericho match was furthered on Raw tonight. Punk subtly called himself 'the best in the world,' something he hasn't done for a while. In addition, Jericho was on Punks team and simply walked away, leaving Punk with the deck stacked against him and planting further seeds for the potential feud. It’s coming!

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Thoughts on the return of Chris Jericho

The first Raw of 2012 had been hyped for weeks. Since the ‘It Begins’ videos began airing, rumours were rife as to who would be returning or debuting. Everyone from The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon as well as Skip Sheffield and Brodus Clay were mentioned as possible candidates behind the hype videos. One name stuck however, that name was none other than my second all time favourite wrestler (behind HBK) Chris Jericho.

Jericho had been playing the Internet for a while, denying rumours, laughing off accusations and claiming that he’d never wrestle for WWE again. Perhaps in retrospect, Jericho overplayed it a little too far as there were a fair few fans absolutely certain that Y2J would return. Well, he did and despite what some detractors would say, he did so in genius fashion.

Firstly, I’ve seen people complain that the videos were ‘too epic’ or ‘too dark’ to be placed as a platform for the return of a Chris Jericho type character. Really? I mean, his initial debut featured a mysterious countdown clock that counted down for weeks until his famous ‘Raw is Jericho’ appearance. His second re-debut featured another puzzling series of videos that featured a code to be cracked. So when you think about it, why wouldn’t they use another series of mystifying videos for Jericho? On Y2J’s DVD (highly recommended) he says that if he was to make another debut, he would have to do something completely different and come back with a new character… this is an opportunity to do so. Think about it, before Jericho started wearing suits, talking slowly and using long, brash words, who else did it? No one, really. Now all the heels in the WWE use that formula. A character change is a necessity for Jericho.

As for the televised return, it was nothing short of genius. The crowd were pumped and popped for everything Jericho did… initially. Y2J had the Memphis crowd and the audience at home in the palm of his hand. The more and more adulation Jericho sought from the crowd, the more he got. Until, some of the cheering turned to boos and Jericho’s wry smile appeared. One of the best talkers in the business returns without saying a word and plays everyone like a fiddle. Everyone would have expected Jericho to cut some sort of amazing welcome back promo but he didn’t. He simply asked the crowd to cheer for him, chant for him and then simply walked away. Genius.

Why genius? Well, if you follow Chris Jericho on Twitter you’ll notice that he takes exception to the fact that WWE took his heel formula and copy and pasted it on to anyone and everyone on the current roster. He takes exception to people stealing his moves. However, he especially takes exception to CM Punk calling himself ‘the best in the world’ and claims Punk stole that moniker from him. Of course, this is Jericho we’re talking about and he is a master at storytelling and playing his character thus he is most likely playing the Internet with these claims. However, I think it goes deeper than that. What if his comments have been designed to set up his return all along? Think back to the videos. Phrases like ‘take back what is rightfully his’ and ‘end of the world as we know it’ stand out to me. What if these two phrases are referring to CM Punk and the moniker of ‘best in the world?’ It WILL be the end of the world as we know it, because Jericho will once again become best in the world. His return segment showed a change in the Jericho character that left the WWE in 2010 to one more reminiscent of his old ‘Y2J’ arrogant bastard character. Without saying a word, Chris Jericho managed to piss off the IWC and confuse the hell out of everyone. He effectively managed to turn heel immediately. Genius.

On top of everything else, it extends the intrigue for the videos into another week. Who is the woman that is mentioned in the videos? What is Jericho taking back? Just what the hell is going on? Additionally, viewers will tune in next week for an explanation from Jericho as well as the next chapter in the storyline. Honestly, people need to think the whole thing through before criticising it. When WWE creative get it wrong, they damn sure get it wrong. However, creative as well as Jericho got this right on the money. If it leads to Punk vs Jericho at Wrestlemania, then bring it the hell on.

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Thoughts on the current WWE Product

Grievance’s.

I hate to be a whinge, but this is going to be a blog mainly consisting of whinging. Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely justified (in my head at least), but its whinging none the less. The WWE product at the moment is a total mess. I don’t mean a keyfabe mess either, in the sense that the creative team have missed opportunity after opportunity and have so many flaws in their storylines… it’s beginning to grate.

Following Money In The Bank, CM Punk was absolutely red hot. Punk managed to get himself OVER with the audience NATURALLY, using his ‘pipe bomb’ promos and technical ability to put on a 5 star classic with John Cena and winning the WWE title in the process. WWE could have capitalised on his comments and contractual situation by injecting more of a rebellious streak into Punk. Punk could have showed up all over the place with the WWE title, Ring of Honor shows, indy shows and fans could have really bought into his title thievery. It would have been a fresh storyline that both members of the IWC and casual fans could have enjoyed. Remember when Punk showed up at comic-con and disturbed Triple H’s press conference? People went mad for that and rightly so, it was awesome… and new. CM Punk could have become a truly legitimate top drawing superstar. Money in the Bank buy rates were up from 2010 and that trend could have continued. How things turned out however, were vastly different. 

Punk was rushed back and ended up losing the WWE title to Alberto Del Rio at Summerslam… who was the ref for that match? Triple H. Triple H seems to be the common denominator in all of MY personal problems (maybe other people’s too) with WWE at the moment. It seems the creative team couldn’t handle someone naturally getting over and the Triple H/Vince McMahon storyline has been pushed down our throats instead. Make no mistake, that’s what this whole storyline is about, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a HHH vs McMahon match at Wrestlemania 28. Add to that Triple H’s notorious reputation for being proudly jealous and selfish and using his position in the company to bury people to keep himself on top, Punk didn’t stand a chance. ‘But Punk has been in consecutive PPV main event’s’ I hear you say. Look at the record though, he’s lost since his win at Money In The Bank and on the way lost to an inactive wrestler in Triple H…if you can’t tell, I’m sick of Triple H.

WWE has completely dropped the ball by rushing storylines. Triple H and CM Punk was supposed to happen at Survivor Series but was bumped to (perhaps) get rid of some of CM Punk’ s momentum. By the way, I find it hilarious that Punk is now a top merchandise seller and WWE are looking to go ‘full steam ahead’ with a Punk push later this year… presumably when Triple H is off screen (trollolol). Kevin Nash, why the hell was time wasted on him? Alberto Del Rio’s push to the WWE title was rushed and resulted in absolutely no one caring and the roster merge has done nothing to help ratings or the product in general.

Lets evaluate the COO/walkout storyline. Firstly, the WWE superstars walkout and vote ‘no confidence’ in Triple H. Then guess what, they ALL appear on Smackdown… wait I thought they walked out until HHH stops running the company not JUST Raw. Apparently WWE quickly realised their mistake and had superstars directly mention RAW on Smackdown despite saying otherwise on the previous show. Good save… We then have Vince McMahon come out (wait, I thought he’d been relieved of his duties?) and tell Triple H he’s fired as COO and John Lauranitis has been hired as Raw GM. Ok. So who runs day-to-day operations now? Triple H wasn’t just Raw GM, he was Chief Operating Officer. It’s just an instance of WWE assuming it’s fans are retarded and don’t realise the holes in their story. Keyfabe is SUPPOSED to be portrayed as real; it just seems a little lazy and as if the creative team hasn’t thought thing’s through.

John Lauranitis. There’s no doubting the guy generates heat. He’s been disliked by the IWC for years regarding the talent decisions he has made as well as being a ‘yes man’ to Vince McMahon. Despite that, the dude really shouldn’t be on screen. His voice renders his promos emotionless and I don’t think his heat will last for long without Triple H around. 

Moving on from the HHH/McMahon story, another opportunity missed is Zack Ryder. Ryder had a nice video package shown on Raw a few week’s ago followed by two pins on the United States Champion including one with Hugh Jackman in his corner. Flash forward to two weeks later and Ryder hasn’t been seen. Seemingly, his push has been given to Mason Ryan instead… Once Zack Ryder had been on a win streak, the majority of the live crowd got behind him immediately and WWE should have jumped right onto that. Instead, Vince is fapping himself over Ryan’s size and physique rather than a genuinely entertaining and capable superstar. Mason Ryan is incredibly robotic and clumsy in the ring, has more tan on than the chicks in Oceana and isn’t even strong. You see, that’s the thing about guys on steroids, they look strong but aren’t. Watch him try to pick up Jack Swagger on Raw, he struggles and botches the move. That isn’t the first time I’ve seen him do it either. Ryder has broken into the top merchandise sellers pack and WWE should capitalise NOW.

CM Punk’s storyline, a potential money feud between Punk, Triple H and Kevin Nash, rushing Del Rio to the RAW main-event and taking Zack Ryder off television because you think you've found the next Dave Batista. WWE, show some patience and put thought into storylines for fuck sake!

Hell, weren’t The Miz and R-Truth meant to be ‘outsiders?’ They’ve now been rushed back and put into a tag match with Triple H and CM Punk who are now apparently best buds. What the fuck? Another opportunity missed.

To top it all off Jim Ross was ‘fired’ for the 987766778^th time… in Oklahoma.

*Cornette Face* Fuck this company.

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Night of Champions - review and thoughts!

I’ve been scratching my head so much after last night’s Night of Champions PPV that I fear I may have brought on premature balding. Regardless of my follicle situation, WWE’s last PPV of the summer brought up more questions than answers…Lets dive right in.

Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (Air Boom) vs The Miz & R-Truth (Awesome-Truth) for the World Tag Team Championship.

A nice little opener this one. What struck me were the little things. The use of tag team psychology including the fake ‘clap’ tags and referee distractions are things we just never see in a WWE ring anymore. Just think back to Otunga & McGillicuty’s reign, Santino and Koslov’s reign even Big Show and Kane’s reign, never once did we see those little things that make tag team matches great. Despite the praise however, did the outcome really make sense? The Miz and Truth, storyline wise, can’t really claim a conspiracy against them if they get them selves intentionally disqualified. The story is clearly that The Miz and Truth flipped out because the ref missed a few things that ended up benefiting Air Boom, however an intentional DQ just makes you look stupid rather than victims of a ‘conspiracy.’ I found it rather odd that the FACE champions resorted to dirty tactics to overcome their challengers, surely a sneak victory may have been a better option playing into the ‘conspiracy’ storyline all the while giving your face champions a clean victory. As I say, some nice action but slightly dodgy action.

Winner’s and still World Tag Team Champions: Air Boom

** ½

Cody Rhodes vs Ted Dibiase for the Intercontinental Championship

Quite a slow match that never really had the opportunity to liven up. Reports have claimed that matches they’ve been having at live events have been garnering rave reviews… this can’t have been their best outing. Ted Dibiase just doesn’t connect with the fans whatsoever. Periodically, the crowd would start random chants ranging from ‘We Want Ryder’ to ‘Un-der-ta-ker’… with both men sitting at home, that sounds like a crowd that cares about Dibiase. With this being WWE’s latest attempt to push the million dollar son, one has to wonder, was this his last shot?

Winner and still Intercontinental Champion: Cody Rhodes.

**

Dolph Ziggler vs Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger vs John Morrison for the United States Championship

See above. This match never really had the time to hit top gear. Aside from one showcase of incredible core strength from Morrison, it was pretty forgettable. I had to laugh at Ziggler screaming at Vickie ‘you just cost me the match!’ after she put Swagger’s foot on the rope. Of course, she actually saved the title for him… derp. Dolph stole the pin from Swagger for the win. This means we’re going to have a continuation of the whole Swagger/Vickie/Dolph storyline regarding Guerrero’s cliental that seems to have been going on for years with no advancement. Joy.

Winner and still United States Champion: Dolph Ziggler

Mark Henry vs Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship

Colour me every shade of shocked at the quality of this match. I have never been a fan of Mark Henry, but his recent booking has warmed me up to him (no homo). His hall of pain shtick and dominance has worked wonders for his character and it showed in this match. These guys told a great story with Orton constantly trying to put Henry down but failing because Henry was just too strong. The finish made Henry look like an absolute bad ass, with Orton spent and Henry scooping him up for the Worlds Strongest Slam for the 1,2,3.

The amount of cheers following the victory told its own story. In an era where WWE are too reliant on Cena and Orton carrying the company, a brand new and fresh champion is something to be celebrated. Can it last though? I can almost guarantee that Randy Orton will get his rematch in two weeks (!?!?) at the Hell in a Cell PPV. With the way things have been going with brand new champions recently, that aligns the stars for Orton to win back the title and thus wasting all that time spent building up Mark Henry as something special. I hope and pray that doesn’t happen and Henry enjoys a decent chance at finally breaking through as a legitimate main event player.

Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Mark Henry

*** ¼

Beth Phoenix vs Kelly Kelly for the Diva’s Championship

Pretty much a repeat of the Summerslam match. It’s worth noting how OVER Beth Phoenix was in her hometown and the ‘Kelly sucks’ chant was delicious … and true… in more ways than one. Nice top rope superplex that was unique for a diva’s match in recent times, so props on that, I guess.

What I can’t fathom is the booking. Kelly has gone over Beth on multiple occasions now. If the so-cal ‘Divas of Doom’ are actually meant to be taken seriously, Beth had to get the win here. I mean, where do they go from here? Certainly in the world of keyfabe Beth doesn’t deserve another title shot, will they go with Natalya? I suppose they could have Natalya win and Beth become jealous, eventually splitting up the pair? Meh.

Winner and still Divas Champion: Kelly Kelly

*

John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship

I’m not upset with John Cena winning the WWE title, that’s not my issue. My issue is why did they give Del Rio a reign in the first place? He started the year with all the momentum in the world. He won the Rumble, he won Money in the Bank but after all that, he faded away. The booking of Alberto Del Rio has been very hit or miss, but this is ridiculous. I have mentioned it before in these blogs but I absolutely hate short title reigns. In recent times we’ve had the following reigns for the WWE title:

CM Punk: 28 days

Rey Mysterio: 1 hour

John Cena: 20 days

Alberto Del Rio: 35 days

And for the World Heavyweight title:

Christian: 2 days and then 28 days

Randy Orton: 35 days

That’s just shocking. With the title being flip flopped around it gives absolutely no time for a champion to establish themselves, especially in the case of Christian, Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk’s first WWE title reign. Fuck, no wonder WWE rely on Cena and Orton so much when other superstars aren’t allowed to prove their reliability.

Now I’m not upset that John Cena became champion again, because fans simply weren’t buying into Del Rio. They need to freshen up his character because his ‘destiny’ shtick is getting old. Who bets that he’ll claim it’s his ‘destiny’ to regain the title tonight on Raw? WWE booking 101. Decent enough match, but not as memorable as Cena’s previous two efforts.

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: John Cena

** ½

CM Punk vs Triple H – No Disqualification

Punk vs HHH was a decent brawl. We got a tour around the arena, some nifty little spots and the Spanish announce table took a beating for old times sake. Half way through however, what could have been an entertaining 1 on 1 encounter turned into an overbooked clusterfuck.

Here we go…

The Miz and R-Truth attacked CM Punk and Triple H, The Miz put CM Punk on top of Triple H, the referee counted to two, the referee attacked The Miz, The Miz attacked the referee, John Laurinaitis and a new referee came out, Triple H covered CM Punk, John Laurinaitis didn't let the ref count, CM Punk covered Triple H, R-Truth broke up the pin, The Miz and R-Truth randomly left, John Laurinaitis started texting, Kevin Nash came out and randomly attacked everyone, Triple H smacked Nash with the sledgehammer and then Triple H got the win.

Ho. Ly.

At face value it was extremely and unnecessarily convoluted. The abundance of interference reminded me of WCW in its dying days and modern day TNA. I don’t believe it should have gone down like that, not one bit. It left a sour taste of disappointment and anger. It was billed as ‘personal’… it should have been.

In storyline and keyfabe terms, it somewhat made sense. Awesome-Truth wanted to get noticed. They felt CM Punk and Triple H were in a conspiracy, so they attacked them both and tried to get Triple H out of the picture. When Triple H kicked out of the pin they forced upon him with Punk, they beat the ref down, as they did earlier in the night. I guess following their comments earlier in the night of "Triple H may not even be C.O.O after tonight," you could feel it coming.

Lauranitis seems to want HHH’s job, and it appeared as if he was revealed to have sent the original text to take Punk out. Did you notice that after H kicked out of the GTS pin, he had a phone out and was shown texting? Nash came down (after being texted by Johnny Ace) and attacked both men because he has a beef with both, but he really went out of his way to take out Triple H. However, Punk stopped that, and Nash lost his cool and rocked Punk, which led to the Triple H win.

It has been built up ever so intricately across recent Raw shows and the action earlier in the PPV. It was just so OVERbooked though and seemed to go on forever and brought the match’s momentum to a screeching halt.

Speaking of momentum (it seems to be a common theme) has CM Punk been buried? I’ve seen plenty of outrage over Punk’s loss and I both agree and disagree.

I mean, during the match Punk suffered shots from a steel chair, a jacknife powerbomb, a pay dirt from R-Truth and three pedigree’s. That means it took FIVE ‘finishing moves’ for HHH to defeat Punk. It may be stating the obvious, but Punk has been in the storylines that have consistently had the most time on television ever since his promo in July. On top of that he has main evented the past three pay per views. That sure as hell doesn’t seem like someone who’s ‘buried.’

On the other hand, instead of capitalising on Punk’s WWE title win and the potential of him being a ‘renegade’ champion, the WWE chose to put the spotlight on Triple H replacing Vince McMahon as the ‘authority figure’ of the WWE. Now we know that Triple H has buried people in the past by using his unique position to keep himself in the spotlight. I mean, HHH is 40 and wrestled one match this year, are fans really supposed to buy into him being able to beat CM Punk? The Triple H vs CM Punk match seemed hot-shotted and could have been built up better had they given it more time. Of course Punk was on the losing end so could Punk be HHH’s next victim? His momentum has certainly cooled, but with some decent booking to round off this storyline Punk could be the TOP WWE draw.

Winner: Triple H

** ½

Money in the Bank and Summerslam were fantastic, and I was hoping for a lot more from Night of Champions. The match quality was nowhere near the level it should have been and some of the booking decisions were questionable at best. Still, the CM Punk/HHH storyline is still must see just to find out what the hell is going to happen.

Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts.

Big shout to Laila K of Sonic Boom Six for recommending this blog to Barney on my last post, if you read this one, thanks alot and I hope you enjoyed it! 

Richard McMaster

Lets Talk Wrestling

Twitter: @crapminitweets
Facebook:Lets Talk Wrestling LIKE! if you enjoy the blogs!

WWE Summerslam 2011 review and thoughts.

Off the back of my prediction’s posted yesterday, I couldn’t have been more wrong about the match outcomes. I did, however, predict the style of each match correctly AND Del Rio cashing in, I might add. I guess that’s something to drag about… Last month’s Money In The Bank PPV was an absolute blinder in terms of match quality and Summerslam was no different. Yet, as entertaining as the matches and segments were, a few contentious booking decisions had me (and others) shaking their head a little. Lets get on with the show…

Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston & John Morrison vs. R-Truth, The Miz & Alberto Del Rio

The writing was on the wall really. Each man involved had been feuding with each other, with the exception of Del Rio. In terms of storyline, Dolph Ziggler (feuding with Kofi Kingston, sorta) should have been the 3^rd heel. With Alberto Del Rio included, WWE would expect us to be lulled into thinking we weren’t going to see the Mexican Aristocrat appear again. Smart move really. In terms of the PPV, it made sense for these guys to be included. They’re the entire upper-midcard/cusp of the main event on Raw at the minute and not having them involved on the ‘second biggest show of the year’ would do little for interest and investment into the product’s superstars, especially heading into the dreaded ‘Monday Night Football’ season. The match was a solid ‘hot opener’ and had a good amount of athleticism and nice little spots. It served its purpose as the bout excited the crowd and kicked things off in flying fashion. The face team got the win after Mysterio hit the 619 and splash, which makes sense leading into his title shot on Raw.

Winners: Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston & John Morrison

** ½

First shocker of the night, Stephanie McMahon. A nice little segment ensued which ended with Stephanie wishing CM Punk good luck and offering him a handshake. His response? "I would, but I know where that hand's been." CM Punk is money.

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

WWE had a bit of a conundrum heading into this match I feel. Both men are on the receiving ends of a push. Mark Henry has been booked to look like an unstoppable monster with destruction laying in his wake. Sheamus has JUST turned into a ‘badass’ face. Who needs legitimising more? To their credit, both men told a fantastic story in this match, with Sheamus trying to take down Henry but falling short each time. The two made sure to beat the living hell out of each other and some of the welts on Sheamus were visible and looked brutal. Essentially, neither competitor should have won cleanly with the possibility of derailing the loser’s momentum. In the end, Henry plowed Sheamus through the barricade and won on a count out. It made a lot of sense, with Sheamus proving too tough to pin and only in having received so much punishment could he be out for the count.

Winner: Mark Henry 

** ¾

Cee Lo Green comes out in a glittery bin bag. The divas dance. Alicia Fox has a sailor’s hat on. Yeah.

Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix for the Diva’s Title

Honestly, one of the better divas matches on PPV in a long time. Kelly Kelly showed that she has a small amount of wrestling ability hidden away somewhere. I think the fact that she was working with someone skilled and strong in Beth Pheonix helped a lot. She could bust out some offence that some of the other divas just wouldn’t know how to handle. The finish? Lame. Does anyone really think that a stick like Kelly Kelly can beat Beth Phoenix? I was preparing for Beth and Natalya to take over the role that Kharma was beginning… the annihilation of the ‘bimbo’ divas. Much to my chagrin, I was wrong. Kelly Kelly walked out victorious with the pink, shiny butterfly belt in tow.

Winner and STILL Divas Champion: Kelly Kelly

* ¾

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

A really nice technical, back and forth match from these two. I thought the chemistry might have been lacking but both men put on the match of the night so far. Daniel Bryan showed once again that given a PPV opportunity he can deliver a really good midcard match. Barrett was impressive too and had his best match since his feud with Cena last year. I thought the match was booked perfectly, until the ending. I thought Daniel Bryan could use the victory more here. If his storyline aspirations really are to cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase at Wrestlemania 28, the WWE are going to have to work hard to legitimise him. Either that or (as some have predicted) have him be the first man to lose his Money in the Bank briefcase cash in or the briefcase altogether. Barrett has main evented PPV’s and had WWE Title shots, he should have been booked to be the first person to put Bryan over. As it is however, at least Bryan looked very strong in defeat.

Winner: Wade Barrett

*** ¼

Christian vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred match for the World Heavyweight Championship

This was advertised as the ‘final match’ between the two but honestly, they could be on the next PPV for all I care. Four PPV match’s in a row and they can still deliver a fantastic spectacle. Christian and Randy Orton just ‘click.’ The little intricacies they throw into their matches and the air of unexpectedness is a sign of a great feud. To no one’s shock Edge came out, not to help Christian however, but to call him a ‘whiny bitch.’ That’s not very nice. Anywho, the match had it all, kendo sticks, garbage cans, Spanish announce tables and… blood! It’s a rare occasion we get one of these types of matches in the WWE nowadays and the audience ate it up. It was a nice mixture of wrestling and hardcore moments, seamlessly interchanging between the two. Christian pulled a few moves to suggest that he’s not out of it yet, the key moment coming at the very end with the RKO from the ropes onto the stairs. My only gripe with the match is that the WWE can’t have paid too much attention to that ratings plummet when Orton was champion and the ratings rise when Christian won back the title. Either that or… they just dislike Christian, hur hur. Christian deserves a lengthy title run to prove that he can be a long term main eventer, if he hasn’t done so already (did you hear that duelling Christian chant… Cena style?), and solidify that in the eyes of the WWE Universe. I really wouldn’t mind another match at Night of Champions but I think Mark Henry might be next in line.

Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Randy Orton

****

John Cena vs. CM Punk to become the Undisputed WWE Champion

Again, an excellent match between the two. The seemless transition and fluidity of moves was better than their Money in the Bank match and given more time to work with could have transcended to another 5 star quality match. The crowd, while not as uniquely vocal as the Chicago crowd were by no means dead. Far from it infact as the chanting was relentless and split, maybe slightly in favour of Punk about 55% - 45% … on my TV anyway. Cena played to the crowds reactions in perfect fashion. A moronic section started a ‘You can’t wrestle’ chant and you know what? Cena busted out chain wrestling, reversals and submissions time after time, causing them to sit down and shut up. The finish fell a little flat in my opinion, with Cena’s foot clearly on the rope and Triple H counting the 3 anyway. I felt the audience (and myself) were left thinking, ok… is that ACTUALLY it? I thought the match was going to be restarted and Punk get a legitimate win…

Winner and NEW WWE Champion: CM Punk

**** ¼ 

Of course that’s not how it went down. Kevin Nash came through the crowd and delivered a jacknife powerbomb to Punk before Del Rio runs down the ramp and cashes in his Money in the Bank to become the new WWE Champion.

Now, I have a number of problems with Punk being the one to be cashed in on. CM Punk IS the hottest thing in wrestling right now and could in a few months be a bigger draw than John Cena. However, this has de-railed that momentum in my opinion. In fact, ever since Triple H’s arrival I feel he’s begun to cool off again. Maybe R-Truth’s conspiracy theories are right? Punk certainly shouldn’t be caught off guard and get destroyed by a 52 year old man, that’s for sure. Further, I just don’t think Alberto Del Rio is ready yet. If you’ve watched his promo’s and segments, the crowd have been silent during them as of late. He’s a talented in ring performer and a good character but the audience doesn’t seem to be buying into him at the moment. I feel the only reason he’s WWE champion (if reports are to be believed) is because of the upcoming tour and TV tapings in Mexico. Really? WWE, Really? You’re going to sacrifice potentially millions of dollars in favour of a champion of the same nationality as your TV tapings later in the year. Maybe it’s just sour grapes in my part because I’ve been a fan of Punk for so long. His World Title run’s were abysmal and de-railed due to his locker room disrespecting of The Undertaker one time, pathetic. I’ve seen a host of outcries from fans voicing the same opinion, so at least I’m not alone.

Nevertheless, I suspect Kevin Nash will return as a bodyguard/goon for Triple H and Alberto Del Rio (oh, the irony) and Triple H will (thank god) turn heel and maybe we’ll get an Austin/McMahon situation with Punk/HHH?

Summerslam poses a lot of intrigue heading into tonight’s Raw.

-         Why were Kevin Nash and Stephanie McMahon there?

-         Will Alberto Del Rio’s reign be short lived?

-         What’s next for Punk and Cena?

-         Did Triple H screw Cena?

So much intrigue... WWE has upped the excitement levels tenfold in recent weeks. Until next time, thanks for reading.

What were your thoughts on Summerslam? Leave me a comment below!

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Cheers.

"I'm Here To Make This Shit Cool Again"

I’ve wanted to write on this subject ever since I heard CM Punk’s ESPN ‘BS Report’ interview with Bill Simmons. I came across another column writing about the same topic, so I feel inspired to put my spin on the situation on this humid English Summers day.

"I think a lot of people are embarrassed about pro wrestling and I don't think they should be. I wanna make this shit cool again."

When I heard CM Punk say that on the podcast, I immediately tweeted it because it resonated with me. I mean, how many times has someone you’re talking to discovered you like wrestling and their only response is “It’s fake?” Yeah, I’ve heard that one a lot too. It’s an answer usually backed up with absolutely zero knowledge of the craft or any desire to listen to what you have to say about it. However, how many times have you or other pro-wrestling fans covered up the fact that you like and follow the sport as if you’re an MI6 agent and you’re life depended on it? The answer to that is probably a whole bunch of times too. CM Punk summised how a lot of pro-wrestling fans feel in just that one sentence, embarrassed.

The column I was reading referenced the ‘Attitude Era’ and the ‘Monday Night Wars’ as primary examples of when people WEREN’T embarrassed about wrestling. Now, I’m not from the United States and I was only 8 or 9 years old when this occurred, however, I remember every single one of my school friends liking WWE and/or WCW and following them religiously. I remember wrestling merchandise being everywhere you looked, whether it be t-shirts, posters or trading cards the ‘Attitude Era’ boom was evident even over here in the UK. The WWE was so huge that it successfully put on special PPV’s exclusively in the UK, namely Rebellion from 1999 – 2002.

That’s when it ended however, ratings declined after Vince McMahon bought WCW both in the US AND over here. Wearing a wrestling t-shirt became un-cool again. Merchandise (especially in the PG era) is now designed and geared towards younger audiences, top sellers John Cena and Rey Mysterio especially. Wrestling changed once again. As I grew up, I was forced to stop watching wrestling partially, because my friends stopped watching. The only way I could see Raw and Smackdown was at a friend’s who had Sky Sports and after Channel 4 (can you believe WWE used to be on free tv!?) stopped showing Sunday Night Heat and Pay Per Views (another victim of post-attitude era) the only source I had was results on wwe.com. That was until I got Sky Sports myself and began watching again as HHH dominated every show to the point where I wanted to smash his big ass nose in myself. Anyway, I digress…

I was now one of only two people (that I can remember) watching wrestling regularly. Everyone around me now used that phrase “its so fake.” I didn’t give a flying fuck… and I still don’t. I’m PROUD of the fact that I love this craft, I love analysing it, I love getting frustrated with it and most importantly I love the fact I’m entertained by it.

What does that phrase even mean? “It’s fake.” Yes, its scripted, but the sacrifice, bumps and torture that these men put their bodies through almost every single night of the year is immense. You don’t like it because its not ‘real’ fighting? MMA fighters fight every couple of months… these guys are bumping their ass off 365 days a year with no rests or off-season. They work through injuries and only take time off when their injuries are near debilitating. Take a look at a guy like Hulk Hogan who has had around 9 back surgeries all because of the bump he took from delivering his patented leg drop night after night…”its fake” …please.

I’ve heard from people who read this blog and say they don’t comment on it because they have “a reputation to uphold.” Yet again, please. Why be so concerned with what other people have to say, especially when it's just something you're watching on television? All you’re doing is watching a product that you love. If a fan of rugby took the piss out of you for preferring football, what would you say? You’d say fuck off. It’s the same principle. If you’re entertained by it and enjoy it, tell people. I constantly see facebook updates about buses, work, and other ailments. Why not update your status with something that you love instead and tell people what you thought about a pro wrestling show?

That brings me back to CM Punk. I absolutely 100% unequivocally agree with him, I think a lot of people are embarrassed about pro-wrestling and bow to peer pressure regarding how ‘cool’ it is to like it. Come on people, if we were all made the same the world would truly be a horrible place to live. Treat wrestling like you treat you’re favourite sports team. If you have wrestling merchandise, don’t be afraid to wear it, show off your favourite superstars shirt! You know those ‘rainbow coloured’ tops that John Cena has? Yeah, I have the purple and red one and I don’t give a damn about wearing them in public because he is one of my favourite superstars in the WWE and I’m proud of that fact. I’m proud of wearing my old school Austin, Hogan, DX and Rock shirts… fuck, I’m even proud of wearing my TNA shirt, most of the time.

The best thing about pro-wrestling is that it’s FUN, and if CM Punk stays true to his word then this ‘pro-wrestling isn’t cool’ stigma may just be broken once more. Everyone will be seen in John Cena, Miz and CM Punk t-shirts and WWE will once again be one of the hottest topics at school, university and even the office water cooler. In the mean time however, be proud to be a supporter of the most entertaining craft on this planet, don’t hide it for the sake of giving a damn about what people think.

Richard McMaster

Leave me some feedback! The blog is called Lets TALK Wrestling after all, and hell, that’s what the column was all about!

Thank You for reading.

Twitter: @crapminitweets

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Monday Night Raw Thoughts - Cena/McMahon/Punk

My anticipation for this week’s Raw was higher than it has been in sometime. Coming off the back of that fantastic unscripted WORKED shoot promo from CM Punk, I was intrigued as to how the WWE would move the storyline forward. On the topic of the promo (since I didn’t write last week) I thought it was a bold move by WWE as it went against their usual policy of never over-exposing the business but, boy did it pay off. The Internet was a-buzz and no one really knew what to think of it, some people STILL think it was a shoot. Lets not get it twisted, if the WWE is airing video packages of the promo as well as mentioning CM Punk over the week’s programming, then you’re kidding yourself if you think it was a shoot. WWE executives most likely told CM Punk to go out there, stir up some controversy and didn’t give him a script to follow. Therefore, Punk’s promo was a worked – shoot and it was probably the best promo to come out of the company for a few years.

 One of the things that made it great was the fact that it was soaked in a realism that you rarely get in this PG era. The results meant that adults can appreciate the storyline as well as younger fans and even Internet fans like myself found it compelling due to the usually ‘taboo’ subjects of creative team members, other wrestling promotions and the insulting of legends that were mentioned during Punk’s tirade. The WWE are on to absolute money with CM Punk IF they can convince him to stick around. Many people were calling it Punk’s ‘Austin 3:16’ moment, and I don’t think they’re far wrong. Punk showed an aggression and temperament that was reminiscent of the Attitude Era. I’m not saying that Punk’s promo brought about a new era in the WWE, I think they’re too caught up with pleasing sponsors and other organisations and too worried about shrinking stock to abandon PG just yet, however I think it was very significant in shifting the landscape at least for a couple of weeks.

This was evidenced by the opening to this week’s Monday Night Raw. The WWE Champion John Cena came out to start the show, however, he didn’t look very happy. His reason? He feels it was the wrong decision to ‘suspend’ CM Punk for speaking his mind. That direction came as quite a shock to me, but it was a fantastic decision I feel. John Cena has become the stale ‘company man’ in that he never really questions authority like he used to in his early days. Its tried and tested throughout the Attitude Era that wrestlers who challenged authority became the biggest draws I.E. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. People can easily relate to wrestlers that are aggravated by their boss (as they are themselves) and is part of the reason Austin became the biggest drawing superstar of all time. Cena delivers a solid promo and asks the chairman himself Vince McMahon to join him in the ring later for a face off… more on that later.

Raw was actually in-ring heavy this episode (aside from the start and finish), which was a nice change. However, none of the matches were really anything to write home about. First up was Kelly Kelly & Eve vs The Bella Twins. I didn’t really glean that much from the match apart from the fact they’re all hot and Eve continues to be a waste of space by not being able to execute a standing moonsault properly. I’ve never really understood what happened to ‘twin magic’ as it seemed to disappear after the Bella’s began to be pushed. WWE exploiting the fact that they’re twins in a tag match is a great way to attempt to garner some heel heat for the pair. They should be cheating their way to victory through dirty tactics and entering the ring without tagging… but I suppose psychology is a little too much for them to handle.

It seems as if Santino & Kozlov have faced various members of the Nexus/ Corre for about 5 years at this point. Honestly, WWE should form some serious and legitimate tag teams or just can the titles completely because they have been worthless for too long now. Word is that they’re possibly signing The Kings of Wrestling and maybe the Briscoe Brothers… for the love of god I hope they don’t… because they’ll be separated within a month of debuting.

Zack Ryder came out… said ‘WOO WOO WOO, You Know It’ and… erm… that was it. What the fuck?

4^th of July, what does that mean? Well… not a lot to us English folk but I hope American readers had a great day. I can never see England having something like the 4^th of July, celebrating the country and ourselves… why the fuck not? We should have something similar for sure. Anyway, 4^th of July means that Sgt. Slaughter is at Raw apparently. We get an awful match between Slaughter and Swagger that Swagger wins… thank god. Slaughter wrestling added absolutely nothing and he could have just said the Pledge of Allegiance in a backstage segment.

The audience… oh god the audience. They had to sit through a dark match, a Superstars taping, a live Raw and then a taping of Raw… they must have been half dead and the terrible editing and piped sound in post-production did absolutely nothing. You hear a decent-sized crowd pop, while the crowd is shown on the screen just sitting there and not reacting to anything. This was evident during The Miz FINALLY getting his chance to beat down on Alex Riley, the crowd was absolutely silent and none of them seemed to give a flying fuck.

I’ve mentioned it before in these blogs but how the fuck can WWE support various anti-bullying schemes when the superstars are bullying people on screen? Jerry Lawler continuously reels off joke after joke about Vickie Guerrero’s weight, looks and age. Of course after this we’ll see a video package telling us that WWE doesn’t condone any sort of bullying. It’s just fucking amazing.

Quite a decent match was had between R-Truth, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio to determine the new number one contender for the WWE title. There was some nice back and forth action but eventually Mysterio hits Truth with the 619, and when he goes for the pin, Del Rio sneaks in and locks his armbar on Rey. Rey taps, and Del Rio is the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title. I think Del Rio has lost a ton of heat since his arrival on Raw and his feud with the Big Show, I fear WWE are going to fast track him to the WWE title just to make him look legitimate again. This can be a terrible mistake as we have seen with Sheamus and recently The Miz… don’t make it again WWE!

I was definitely intrigued by the addition of Mr. McMahon to close the show and that intrigue was rewarded. I thought it was a very nice exchange between McMahon and Cena and again goes back to my point of people loving the challenge of authority. Cena broke out of the cookie cutter mould he has once again become to accuse McMahon of going ‘soft’ and to hang it up if he doesn’t feel like fighting anymore. Cena once again became the ‘company man’ however, it was for a different reason. The champ claims to have signed up to WWE to defend the brand, to represent it and its fan’s freedom of expression… this only exasperated McMahon. There were plenty of ‘ooo’s’ to be heard when Vinnie Mac stated ‘don’t piss me off!’ but the audience was near dead for this segment as well. Its shame because had it been live, I’m sure there would have been some big reactions. As I mentioned before, what makes this storyline so appealing to me is the element of realism. When McMahon stated ‘don’t be Hogan’ and basically told Cena he is replaceable, the sentiments rang true… this is McMahon’s company and he can do exactly as he wants. That’s some great heel work right there. Eventually Cena said Vince has rendered the WWE Title useless, and handed the belt to him. This is not what people would expect the face John Cena to say and do and it gives a nice little twist to his character… maybe that heel turn is coming!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!…. probably not. We can hope though. Vince then goes onto re-instate CM Punk and claims that if Cena loses the match, he’s fired. The end.

WWE have raised the interest levels for Money In The Bank incredibly high. People are still reeling from Punk’s promo, the stakes have been raised for Cena and the storyline has been enhanced with the inclusion of Mr. McMahon. Could we be heading for a McMahon vs Cena feud similar to the Austin one? Perhaps, I’m not sure it would work as well in a PG environment but it could be fun… I guess we’ll wait and see.

Thanks for reading

I’ll be on holiday next week so no blog until after Money In The Bank, which is free in the UK on Sky Sports 1. Nice.

Let me know your thoughts.

Lets Talk Wrestling.

Twitter - @crapminitweets

WWE Capitol Punishment review/thoughts.

(I apologise in advance, this isn’t very well written at all. But I think I make some valid points that are worth your time, so check it out!)

Capitol Punishment is here, fresh off the lowest bought PPV in a number of years. Looking at the card, from top to bottom it screams LOW NUMBERS! I mean when you have to push R-Truth to try and establish a new main eventer, something’s gone wrong.

May I just say that the Capitol Punishment set is pretty swank, I miss interesting PPV sets. Speaking of things I miss, the Spanish announce table is here! You just KNOW someone is going through that at some point during tonight’s proceedings.

We open up the show with Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship!

Ziggler and Kingston have faced each other numerous times before, however, they always put on a quality bout. This one was no different. It was a solid ‘hot opener’ with the crowd lapping up every believable near fall. The match effectively made both men look strong. Kofi looked strong in defeat and Ziggler looked like a legit force, with plenty of counters and kick outs. WWE seemed to experiment with a crane camera angle in this match that surveyed the action in the ring, which was, erm, new.

I found the ending a little dodgy, Ziggler picked up the win after the referee stopped the match while the Sleeper Hold was applied. It was almost MMA style, rather than the typical Pro – Wrestling style of letting the arm flop down 3 times. Perhaps maybe it was a botch? Who knows! I just hope that Dolph Ziggler is given a chance to rebuild the shattered US title and bring back some interest to the once prestigious championship. Ziggler and Zack Ryder have been involved a lot with each other, maybe its time to turn Ryder face and give him a shot at Ziggler! Dolph could turn on Zack Ryder and it could lead to Ryder finally getting some real television time. Time will tell.

***

Winner and new United States Champion: Dolph Ziggler.

The Miz vs Alex Riley

I tell you what, Alex Riley is getting over quickly. He received a nice pop, albeit from his hometown crowd. It was a classic Mentor vs Student match. The Miz dominated most of the action, inflicting punishment on Riley for betraying him. I have to give props to Miz for delivering the best Scorpion Death Drop I’ve seen in years. WWE is getting dangerously close to imprinting the John Cena formula onto Riley. We already have Cena and Orton who do the outdated ‘hulking up’ at the end of the match and winning in a matter of a few moves.

Furthermore, I found it a bit tragic that The Miz was beaten by… a DDT. A move that is no longer synonymous with being a finishing manoeuvre defeated a former WWE champion. It’s just a continuous burial of The Miz at the minute that shouldn’t be happening. While I understand the company obviously see something in Alex Riley, they could go about it in a better way and is a clear indication that the company have no idea how to build a face at the moment.

** ½

Winner: Alex Riley.

We are introduced to a Barack Obama impersonator, more on him later.

Big Show vs Alberto Del Rio

The giant is ANGRY! But before he gets a real chance to exert his anger, Mark Henry shows up. I’m not going to lie, I have been bored to tears by the Del Rio/Big Show feud. Nothing about it has interested me and its clear from the silent crowd reactions, I’m not the only one. It’s no secret that Mark Henry is one of my least favourite wrestlers in history. I shudder to think what its going to be like having to sit through a Big Show vs Mark Henry feud. Slow lumbering matches, dull promo’s … uck.

Hey, at least the Spanish announce table got smashed in. However, absolutely nothing happened in the match, which basically served as storyline advancement. This should have taken place on Raw or Smackdown NOT a PPV that people are paying $45 in the US. The WWE wonders why buyrates are down, take a fucking look at what you put out on a show maybe?

*

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

Wade Barrett vs Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Championship

Barrett’s promo before the match was the most entertaining thing he’s had to do in weeks! One thing that can be said about Barrett is he is extremely adept at cutting promos. He had a go at American officials, the national debt and even the American education system. He said in a few years, everyone will be speaking Chinese. Excellent heel work. USA chants aplenty, despite the fact that neither Barrett OR Jackson are from the country. Just great.

Big Zeke eventually came up with the win. That isn’t the direction I would go in just yet. The fans just aren’t buying into Jackson. He has a great look, but he is awful on the mic and robotic in the ring. In time he could develop into something great, but he isn’t ready for a title run at the moment. We got some filler with an in-ring interview and my point about him being terrible on the mic is reinforced!

During the match we got quite a big ‘We want Ryder – woo woo woo’ chant going. PUSH HIM!

** ½ stars.

Winner and NEW Intercontinental Champion: Ezekiel Jackson

Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

At this point this is probably the one millionth time they’ve faced each other and there should have been a stipulation to add some excitement and intrigue to the match. Noticeably, CM Punk is getting a bigger face reaction than Mysterio, he’s sort of turned into the opposite of Cena recently.

I honestly don’t think creative know what to do with Rey Mysterio at the moment. He feuded with Alberto Del Rio on Smackdown, then it continued on Raw. He then had a mini feud with R-Truth before re-igniting a feud with CM Punk. Mysterio is stuck in a rut at the moment and creative don’t have a clue.

As for the match, I would have like to have seen it be a bit more athletic. CM Punk can fly around as well but he relied on submission and it lulled the crowd for a large portion of the match. It did liven up, eventually and turned into a nice back and forth match with some decent near falls. The match ended with a very nice counter in the GTS for the Punk win. Either WWE is trying to appease him into signing a new contract or they’re letting him go out on top. It will be very interesting to hear what he has to say on Monday Night Raw.

***

Winner: CM Punk.

Randy Orton vs Christian

Not as good as their encounter at Over The Limit, which was the shining match of the PPV. It was still a decent match, again though its one that I feel like I’ve seen 20 times before at this point. There are no opponents for Christian if he wins the title as a heel, besides… Randy Orton. Daniel Bryan isn’t over enough anymore, Sin Cara is nowhere near ready and there isn’t anyone else on Smackdown big enough for a title shot. Smackdown is in dire straits at the minute, so I don’t see Christian regaining the title any time soon. I do think Christian will get another match however, because of his foot being under the bottom rope on the 3-count. Perhaps they’re leading to a triple threat match with Sheamus included at the next Pay Per View.

*** ½ stars

Winner and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Randy Orton.

Shane McMahon’s music was playing! I marked out for a couple of seconds, however it turns out it may be the theme song for Money In The Bank. A little odd.

The Bella Twins and some bloke named Keith Stone are out for a cheap plug and we go to the same video package we had opening the PPV… err what the fuck was the point in that?

Jack Swagger vs Evan Bourne

We get a token bonus match and the crowd couldn’t have cared less. The two had a quite a bit of build together, so God knows why this wasn’t an advertised match. Infact, I’d argue they had more build than Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler. On the subject of Evan Bourne, he is just as flashy as Sin Cara and about 10 times better at the high flying style (in the WWE) push Evan if Sin Cara continues to fail! The match was half decent, but in the end, no one really cared.

**

Winner: Evan Bourne

Someone thought it would be a fantastic idea to have a Barack Obama impersonator come out and spout off some one liners that again, no one seemed to give a flying fuck about. Someone else thought it would be fanatastic for Booker T to call the ‘president’ homie all the while forgetting to take his headset off when making his way to the ring. We then got a Barackarooni. That’s one for Botchamania 178.

If you take all the video packages, the Obama segments, the cheap plug for Keystone and you have well over 30 minutes of filler. There is absolutely no business for that amount of filler being on a PAY PER VIEW. Along with the storyline advancement match between ADR and Big Show and your pretty much looking at daylight robbery from the paying customers. Stop treating them like shit, WWE.

John Cena vs R-Truth for the WWE title.

Speaking of Pay Per View buyrates, honestly, it makes you think where WWE would be without John Cena. They’d probably be pushing 30,000 buys for this PPV without him. So take that haters.

Anyway, the writers have gone back to the ‘Super Cena’ formula HARD. In his time last year without the WWE title, Cena’s matches weren’t the same old, same old, and he was allowed to break loose of the formula. Although, you can’t argue that the formula AT LEAST allows Cena and the WWE to put over new main eventers and I think it worked in adding to R-Truths rising star last night. The pace of the match added to Truth’s character with the slow dissection of the champion telling the story of Truth’s frustration. In the end however, Cenation prevailed. R-Truth was bested by a kid throwing water in his face, I suppose it was a unique touch. The crowd were electric throughout the match with the usual duelling Cena chants, it really helps add excitement to the match. Fairly decent, but not great.

** ½ stars

Winner and STILL WWE champion: John Cena.

Overall, Capitol Punishment far exceeded my expectations to be honest. I was expecting terrible things, but what we got was something decent. That isn't going to change the fact that the buyrate number for the show probably will set some record lows. I just hope WWE really step up their game on the road to Summerslam. The Money In The Bank pay per view should attract more buys, however, I’m looking for some big things to happen on tomorrow nights Monday Night Raw. We’ll see.

Lets Talk Wrestling.

Leave me some feedback, and thanks a lot for reading.

Richard McMaster.

Oh Radi...no? - A blog on WWE Raw and Zack Ryder.

Every time I sit down to write down some thoughts, in typical fashion, something comes up. Today’s blog is going to be a short one as again, something came up. In short, Raw has been pretty dismal since Wrestlemania. Never has the statement ‘post-Wrestlemania lull’ been more profoundly correct. Instead of writing my thoughts on Raw, I’m going to do a short blog on the main broski, Long Island Iced Z – Zack Ryder.

To use the old cliché, if you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months the name Zack Ryder might mean nothing to you. Zack Ryder was a mainstay on the WWECW brand, managing building up some nice momentum until of course, the brand died a well deserved death. He then came over to Raw where he got lost in the shuffle and sporadically appeared on Superstars. In a recent interview, Ryder explains why he developed his Youtube show Z True Long Island Story:

“What happened was that about three months ago I was sick of just not being on TV, sick of just sitting in the background on the sidelines. So I created my opportunity. I created my own Youtube account. My parents got me a Flipcam for Christmas. And I started to make my own shows. And 16 episodes later, more than a million views, it’s starting to pick up… All my days off is basically doing that show. It’s thinking of things and messing around with my friends. They’ll help me film stuff, like the Superstars General Manager—just things to create controversy in a funny, light hearted way… I think I had no creative output before, so they really didn't know who I was. I had a couple matches here and there, but I never really had a chance to show who I really was, my personality and show how charismatic I was. Now this show has taken off. Guys like John Cena, The Miz, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Chris Jericho are all praising me on Twitter and stuff like that. I wrote the bonus forward to Chris Jericho’s book. It’s just unbelievable. I think everyone is starting to notice."

Zack Ryder’s Youtube show certainly displays his charisma, creativity and above all else…a star quality. More importantly, he has managed to gain droves of new fans to follow his every move. The guy oozes potential. It came as quite a shock then, particularly with Raw emanating from Ryder’s hometown of Long Island, that WWE decided not to use him.

If you follow the show or Zack Ryder’s Twitter account, you’ll know that in the weeks leading up to the Raw show at the Nassau Coliseum he was rallying fans with the #RyderorRiot hashtag on Twitter and even dedicated an entire montage segment to his return to the LI on his Youtube show. Honestly, I was expecting WWE to finally take advantage of the hype and momentum that Ryder has on his side. I was expecting maybe a face turn (finally) or a rub with the main event. After all, Z True Long Island story has more hits than the Youtube versions of Superstars and Smackdown combined. At the end of Raw I found myself asking the question (as many others did) where was Zack Ryder then? Throughout the show we heard LOUD ‘We Want Ryder!’ chants, particularly in the Sheamus vs Santino match. I’m pretty sure I heard one nearly get going during the main event as well.

Take yourself on a journey back to King of the Ring 1996 (if you didn’t watch it, you’ve DEFINITELY seen footage.) After Stone Cold Steve Austin won the King of the Ring tournament he got on the mic and uttered the famous ‘You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!" promo. Austin 3:16 signs began appearing all over the very next night and WWE took advantage of that… of course we all know how that turned out. Austin 3:16 t-shirts became not only the best selling piece of merchandise in WWE history but, synonymous with an entire era of Professional Wrestling. Following the creation of Z True Long Island Story, we have seen Zack Ryder signs plastered across arenas and his t-shirt (even as dreadful as it is) keeps selling out on WWE shops across the globe… Why won’t WWE take advantage of this? Sure we’ve seen him make brief backstage appearances and one job match against Kofi Kingston but that isn’t what he deserves. After gaining a following (including a significant backstage following) like he has, WWE NEEDS to push him. I’m not saying that Zack Ryder will become as big a draw as Stone Cold but in the industry of pro-wresting, you never know.  Maybe its because his character is a little goofy and they feel he couldn’t really be taken seriously as a threat. That can be fixed. Lets face it, The Rock’s character was pretty goofy but when the time came to Layeth the Smackdown, he brought much needed intensity. The same can be said of John Cena in recent years, the cartoonish promo’s and one liners, however again, when push comes to shove Cena can bring the aggression and ruthlessness needed to stay legit. I think Ryder could tweak his character in such a way to make sure that while he’s funny as hell, he can be a serious force to be reckoned with.

WWE well and truly missed the boat by not having Ryder on Raw. Reports say he was on Superstars against Primo (aren’t they supposed to be a tag team) and that he got as loud a pop as Cena and Austin. It was a total kick in the balls to Ryder and all his supporters both backstage and in the WWE universe by not having him on Raw. WWE NEEDS to see the potential in Ryder and utilise it. Hype doesn’t last forever and the creative team and Vince McMahon need to take a chance on Ryder because it could very well be good for business…

Don’t even get me started on why Scott Stanford should be announcing…

Thanks for reading

Leave me some feedback! Either in the comments, Facebook www.facebook.com/richard.mcmaster3 or Twitter (@crapminitweets)

I’ll be back with those expanded 30 Day Wrestling Challenge answers I promised as well as thoughts on all the shows sometimes this and/or next week.

Lets Talk Wrestling.

Bitter taste - Randy Savage and this weeks shows.

(Quite a long one this week, haven’t written a blog for a while and got a lot to get off my chest.)

This week was mired with the news of ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage passing away due to a massive heart attack while he was driving his vehicle causing him to lose control.

I’m not going to pretend to be Savage’s biggest fan, nor am I going to pretend I’ve seen every single one of his match’s, well, because I haven’t. I started watching wrestling in around 1995/1996. I was limited to WCW Nitro and Thunder, which Channel 5 showed, WWF Heat and Pay Per Views on Channel 4 and Smackdown, Bottom Line, Velocity and Afterburn on Sky at my friends’ house. I’ve watched some of his classic match’s; Wrestlemania 3 vs Ricky Steamboat, vs Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 5, vs The Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 7… match’s like that. My biggest personal memories come from his time in WCW with the N.W.O, some of his hilarious promos and commentary and his very brief stint in TNA. With his peak being in the 80’s, fans who began watching during the Attitude Era and who were too young to have lived through the 80’s have little experience of what the Macho Man brought to the table. I can safely say he was a great performer and a great entertainer. Something I’ve always admired about Randy Savage is that unlike many other stars of the 80’s, he knew when to quit.

After departing from WWE in 1994, there have been rumours, whisper’s and hearsay’s regarding why he left. Savage is one of the men who are guaranteed a WWE Hall of Fame spot one day. Will it happen next year? Possibly. One thing’s for sure if Vince McMahon decides to put him in the Hall of Fame in 2012 people will say he is cashing in on his death. On the other hand, if he waits he’ll be called the scum of the earth.

Rest in Peace Randy Poffo.

Onto this week’s shows starting with Raw.

Another go home Raw before a PPV, another Raw with little in the way of in-ring action.

A rather random match between CM Punk and Kofi Kingston kicked off the ring action and Punk won. You’re telling me WWE couldn’t choose another opponent for Punk to go over rather than the UNITED STATES CHAMPION? They really do love making any other title except the WWE Title look like utter shit don’t they? The match also looked like it was put together by a five year old with Kofi gently falling to the mat apparently being enough to incapacitate him for Punk to deliver the GTS. Just dumb booking all round really.

I thought Kharma flicking Kelly Kelly on the swede was a quality touch. It echoed her vignette’s leading up to her debut and indicated that she has something bigger in store for the Barbie look alike. Remember when I said that Brie Bella was going to be a transitional champion? (Well I did look it up) Isn’t it just OBVIOUS that Kelly Kelly is going to come out victorious at Over the Limit? Honestly, if she doesn’t win, I’ll chew my left testicle off… God I hope she wins. Saying that however, I’d much rather see Kharma square off against Natalya, Beth Phoenix or re-ignite the great feud she had with Gail Kim in TNA.

We have another Rey Mysterio vs Alberto Del Rio match. I’ll be honest, despite the fact that they have the ability to put on a great match, I’m getting a little sick of seeing them square off. WWE could at least give us a few months off because it seems as if they’ve faced each other every other show since Del Rio’s debut. Give it a rest dammit!

It’s becoming a trend that the first hour of a Raw show has to be terrible the past few weeks and this week was no different, check out this tweet:

@crapminitweets Omg, this Raw. I don't think I can make it another hour without falling asleep. #tiredandthisrawsucks

It must have been bad, or maybe I was indeed just tired.

I noticed that someone needs to tell R-Truth that the magic stick that he holds in his hand when he talks PROJECTS his voice. There is no need to YELL and YELL as he talks into the microphone. Like I’ve said, WWE need to tone down the goofyness to R-Truth’s heel character, the way he talks just makes him seem like a retard… and he’ll never be a legit character in my eyes unless he can tone that down. I did like his new look however, I’m glad he lost that graffiti jacket.

King vs Cole contract signing. What can I say? This was a hot feud a few months ago and I was a big fan of the direction it was taking pre – Wrestlemania. After we were forced to watch Michael Cole try to wrestle and then WIN at Wrestlemania, it has gone completely down hill. While I’m a fan of Michael Cole as a heel commentator, I do NOT want to see him competing in matches. I can’t believe WWE haven’t learnt their lesson after the shambles of the Wrestlemania match, followed by clusterfuck of a ‘country whipping match.’ We’re now treated to a ‘Kiss My Foot Match.’ I don’t know about anyone else but I have a horrible feeling that due to the Athlete’s Foot angle Cole is going to win this match as well, continuing the feud. This feud needs to be put out of its misery.

Going back to my earlier sentiment, WHY did Punk go over the United States Champion? He’s been thrusted into a tag title match with Mason Ryan? Ok then. Mason Ryan is so green it’s unreal so I can see Punk carrying the majority of the match. Do I see them winning the titles? It’s really give or take, it would at least give the Nexus something to do but then again, Punk is too good to be wallowing down in the mid card with Batistwo.

WWE decided to skip the opportunity to pull the trigger on a Jack Swagger face turn and instead had him face Cena as The Miz’s chosen opponent. We saw a bit of a return of the ‘SuperCena’ booking here as he was dominated for the vast majority of the match, hit two moves and won. It continued after being beaten down with a led pipe, before hulking up and dominating The Miz and Riley. Please don’t return to this style of booking for Cena, WWE. It’s enough that you’ve copy and pasted the formula for Randy Orton in recent months, we don’t need to superchamps.

I liked the Miz’s promo at the end however; he promised to do something never before seen and it gave intrigue to the match. At the very least, it made this viewer want to see what The Miz pulls out. Lets be serious though, Cena’s winning.

Raw was pretty ‘meh’ for the most part, nothing really happened. What about Smackdown?

We kick off with a nice match between Christian and Sheamus, some nice back and forth action before we get an interference from Mark Henry: Buzz kill. Henry waddles to the ring and both he and Sheamus beat on Christian. Randy Orton comes out and  just stands there on the stage while Sheamus and Mark Henry are attacking Christian. Can't argue with that strategy, I guess. He has a World Title defense against Christian this weekend, so he might as well let Christian take just a little bit more of a beating before he makes the save… nice touch I thought.

Ladies and gentleman, prepare yourself for more… BOOKER T COMMENTARY HATRED. That man on commentary Christ a-fucking-live. I wouldn’t be surprised if he causes a world wide rapture one day. After a two-count for Christian, Booker said that proves how bad Christian wants to win. Why? Because he didn't get the win? Because he went for the pin in the first place? As opposed to what, all of those wrestlers who don't want to win, so they refuse to go for pins? Booker, you're a fucking idiot, and I hope you permanently lose your voice soon.

Brie pins Natalya cleanly and Kharma doesn’t come out. Seriously? Whatsupwitdat?

Ezekiel Jackson, the man of five powerslam’s, is on the mic. It’s pretty clear from the way he’s talking that the ‘What?’ chants have been edited out in post – production. This guy is just terrible on the stick. We get a Corre vs Kane, Show and Zeke match whereby the faces win, but the match went on way too long, considering how.. well.. limited most of the guys in the match are. Nice that they gave Zeke a Torture Rack finisher, though, even if he's going to end up killing someone in the move one day.

Another example of dumb booking in preparation for Over The Limit came in the form of Chavo Guerrero vs Daniel Bryan. While I don't want to see Daniel Bryan squashed, and would have booked someone else in the match if I were in charge, does Bryan have a match at Over The Limit? Does Chavo Guerrero? Chavo should have been booked to look strong going into the pay-per-view. It's not rocket science, shit.

I absolutely LOVED the Cody Rhodes/Ted Dibiase segment and match. Cody Rhodes is the current WWE MVP in terms of character development. He is mastering his current character, but just needs that big win and main event push… we could see big things in the future for Mr Rhodes. His paper bag gimmick is priceless (pun intended) and his manipulation and utilisation of Ted Dibiase when addressing the Corpus Christi crowd was great. Dibiase as Cody Rhodes sidekick could be a good thing for both men.

The Great Khali’s entrance music hit. I fast-forwarded.

Booking Randy Orton vs Mark Henry is always a risk. Randy Orton works a slow and methodical style, Mark Henry is just slow. Christian comes out, and he's returning the favor to Orton, just standing there on the stage while Sheamus and Henry beat Orton up in the ring. Fair play. I think the big news coming out of the main event is Randy Ortons cheer leader leap celebration on the dance that ensued. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? Seriously, if you missed it, check it out.

 

Weird.

Smackdown trumped Raw for WWE show of the week this week for sure.

Impact. The first ‘Impact Wrestling’ show since their name change and a set change that makes the Impact Zone look like TNA: Smackdown. I warn you now, there’s going to be a couple of spoilers here if you haven’t watched the new Impact, read on regardless… as I’m sure you’re interested in whether watching it will be worth your time or not.

First of all Impact Wrestling’s new tag line is ‘Wrestling Matters.’ Does it? Does it really? I’m going to do a bullet point list right here proving that this is utter bullshit.

-         Abyss defeats Kazarian for the X- Division Championship. A 300 pound man, is the X-Division champion. The X- Division put TNA on the map. It was a company that embraced smaller workers and made them the cornerstone of the company. The X-Division matches were amazing in the company’s early days. One can argue this is all just part of a storyline that brings the X-Division back to prominence after Hogan and Bischoff try to storyline destroy for a couple of months. However, if Hogan and Bischoff hadn’t destroyed it in the first place, this never would have had to happen. Further, this isn’t the way to go about it. Put some amazing X-Division matches on again. Bring Daniels, Samoa Joe and Styles back into the division and lets have some rematches from their past classics. Fuck me, a child could book this shit. The promo poster for Destination X has surfaced online recently. It features a six – sided ring and a tag line of ‘The future is the past.’  Lets hope it’s not a one time deal and TNA show us once again that the X-division is a cornerstone of the company.

-         Stop trying to ruin AJ Styles by having him take part in fucking pointless feuds. TNA has already ruined Samoa Joe. At one point, he was primed to be the next big thing in wrestling, and in one of the worst cases of not listening to your fans that I've ever seen, the company royally fucked up his push and ruined him. I don't think he'll ever reach legit main event status again, and it's a shame. TNA has tried to ruin AJ Styles on multiple occasions, but, as a sign of just how much the TNA fans love him, they continue rooting for him as if he were someone special. The company has him jobbing to Tommy Dreamer, for fuck's sake. Tommy Dreamer was a jobber in ECW, when he was in his 20s. Now he's 40 and we're supposed to believe he's going to be winning matches? Fuck outta here with that garbage. TNA tried to turn AJ Styles into Ric Flair Jr, and that certainly didn't work. They're always trying to do all these different things with AJ, instead of just letting him loose and having him work his ass off for people. It shows how lost and in their own little world the TNA writers are. They have no idea what they have in AJ Styles, and if they continue taking him for granted, he'll be on the WWE roster before you know it, and TNA fans will be out for blood at every Impact taping. Wise up, TNA.

-         Speaking of Samoa Joe, I have no idea what’s going on with him at the minute. One minute he’s face, one minute he’s heel and where the fuck did his feud with Crimson come from?

-         Matt Hardy and Eric Bischoff beat Generation Me, Bischoff gets the pin. I don’t even know where to begin here. Aren’t Gen Me supposed to be heel? Aren’t Gen Me supposed to be broken up? WHY is written all over this situation. Again, the X-Division are getting screwed in the storyline, but again there’s better ways to go about it then having Eric Fucking Bischoff go over one of the most promising young tag teams in the world. Uck.

-         Knockouts match is a main event. I like the job they’re doing with making Velvet Sky their top knockout. She’s over as hell! GOOD JOB! But, If I have to watch Angelina Love’s ugly, fucked up, botoxed to shit face blankly stare at people one more time. I’m going to punch the screen.

-         We have a main event of Rob Van Dam vs Kurt Angle GREAT MAIN EVENT… in 2001 maybe. PUSH your original talent. Fuck me.

-         We had nearly the same amount of talking we’ve had on Impact the past few months. Wrestling sure does matter TNA… Bullshit.

I desperately want TNA to succeed, don’t get me wrong. It's honestly not that difficult. There's so much talent on the TNA roster, and it's a crying shame that the current product is what it is. They have all the potential in the world to be pulling in Raw-like numbers if they really put their minds to it. If "wrestling matters", though, it would be nice if they actually tried to prove it, instead of just talking the talk and then giving us the same fucking routine that they've been giving us.

This blog has been bitter. This week’s wrestling shows have left nothing but a bitter taste in my mouth. We’ve come off the back of a very mediocre Raw, into another example of TNA promising change and delivering sweet fuck all, into a mediocre Smackdown. To add to that we’ve lost a wrestling great topping it all off with what could be a terribly Pay Per View in Over The Limit and it’s been a bit of an off week for Wrestling.

I really do dread to see Over The Limit’s buyrates…I hope I have something pleasant to write about. Now, if only I could find some ROH streams online… my sources have disappeared.

What were your thoughts on this week, leave me some feedback.

Lets Talk Wrestling