My WWE SmackDown, 17th May 2013 Recap

Orton clobbers Swagger in the solid main event. Photo credit: WWE.com

The Miz kicked things off with his show 'Miz TV', where he brought out his guests Randy Orton and Big Show. After showing footage from last Friday's SmackDown, the two Extreme Rules opponents each spoke about how they were going to win their match of the same name on Sunday, with Show talking about how the only weapon he required was his fist and Orton claiming that he refused to loose in his hometown of St Louis.  

Jack Swagger (or rather Zeb Colter), Mark Henry and Alberto Del Rio then each came out and stated how they would be victorious this Sunday in their respective match ups. It was all a bit drab. Sheamus then arrived and finally suggested that rather than talking, he fancied a fight instead and everyone began to brawl in the ring, with Orton, Sheamus and Del Rio chasing off their rivals. Teddy Long then (of course) strolled out and booked them all in a six-man tag main event. 

The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) bested Jimmy and Jay Uso in a fair tag contest. Everyone involved looked decent, but there was nothing exceptional about the match. Afterwards Kofi Kingston raced in to help the Usos as The Shield were about to finish them off, but was quickly tossed out of the ring. But the US Champion wasn't done as he then chased off the trio (including his opponent on Sunday, Dean Ambrose) with a steel chair in hand. 

Tons of Funk (Tensai and Brodus Clay) beat Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a pretty pedestrian and forgettable tag bout, much like their one on this Monday's Raw. I just can't really find the interest for either team. 

Chris Jericho defeated Antonio Cesaro in a largely stellar effort from both men. While it maybe didn't quite live up to my expectations (as a big fan of both talents, although I think that's just me being picky) it was an enjoyable back and fourth affair. After the bell rung Fandango attempted to attack Jericho from behind but was thwarted when Y2J saw him coming and beat him out of the ring. Jericho also applied a Codebreaker to Cesaro after he tried to attack him too.

The Miz bested Damien Sandow in a decent outing. I wasn't expecting much here so it was a pleasant surprise at what a fun watch it was, with a worthy display from both men. Cody Rhode's guest commentary was also a good listen at times.

Kaitlyn pinned Aksana in a drab encounter for the most part. The wrestling was unremarkable throughout, which wasn't a major shocker considering who's involved. Watching the female talent on NXT is a pretty big contrast, they actually look like they've got something to prove and want to impress. The most entertaining thing about the match was actually JBL and Michael Cole teasing Josh Matthews about being Kaitlyn's secret admirer on commentary, very funny.  

Randy Orton, Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio beat Jack Swagger, Big Show and Mark Henry in an entertaining six-man tag main event. From the opening bell we had solid action, with every man using their time in the ring effectively. Orton managed to eventually gain the one-two-three after RKOing Swagger as he applied a Patriot Lock on Del Rio. Good end to the show, although nothing on the finale to this week's Raw.

Overall it was an unremarkable show for the majority, like most of the time with the blue brand this year there was nothing you could imagine yourself still thinking of a few months from now, with no inspiring feuds or storylines at all on the show at the moment. The highlights for me were Jericho versus Cesaro and the main event. Now onto Extreme Rules! Which I'm actually fairly optimistic about, should be decent. 

My TNA Impact Wrestling, 16th May 2013 Recap

King comes in with a flying springboard leg drop on his way to retaining his strap. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com 

Hulk Hogan started things off by first announcing that at Slammiversary it would be AJ Styles versus Kurt Angle, claiming that he no longer cared if AJ joined Aces and 8s. 'The Hulkster' went on to then call out Abyss to thank him for helping defeat Aces in last week's main event. But after failing to appear, his brother Joseph Parks instead came out and spoke about his amazement at Abyss finally returning.  

Devon, accompanied by D'Lo Brown, then joined them and demanded that Abyss appear so he could exact some revenge on him. An angry Parks had enough and challenged the Television Champion to a match right there and then. Devon claimed that he hadn't earned it so D'Lo instead took him up on the offer to prove himself for Aces. Hogan accepted and made the bout official. I still enjoy the Parks character, he makes a refreshing change from most.   

Bobby Roode won via disqualification versus Chavo Guerrero after James Storm came down and spat beer in his face. 'The Cowboy' then looked as though he was going to smash the bottle onto Roode, but decided to walk away instead. The contest itself had been a solid one, with smoothly executed sequences and wrestling from both men.

Kurt Angle came to the ring and said that he didn't want to wait until Slammiversary to get his hands on Styles and demanded that he face him there and then. Mr. Anderson instead came out and informed Angle that on next week's Impact AJ would officially be inducted into the Aces & 8s, so an upset Angle retorted by attacking and chasing off Anderson. 

AJ Styles himself then appeared and quickly took out Kurt with an enzuigiri kick. This all seems to be leading to a '97 Sting esque move into Aces for Styles where he'll bring them down from the inside, probably leading to a World Title match with Bully at Bound For Glory, which I wouldn't mind myself.  

Jay Bradley pinned Christian York in a pretty unremarkable encounter. Neither man was bad by any means, but they still look a little out of their depth on Impact at the moment.

Velvet Sky beat Gail Kim in a fair outing. Kim dominated for the most part, targeting the injured leg of Sky who was unfortunately a bit inconsistent in selling it. Sky managed the gain the one-two-three with a quick roll up pin, which caused a bitter Kim to once again attack her opponent by applying a figure four around the ringpost.  

Kenny King (c) bested Petey Williams and Chris Sabin to retain the X Division Title in a blistering three-way. This was old-school style X Division at its best, a consistently fast pace throughout with crisp and impressive maneuvers. Unfortunately the fans in attendance were a bit weak, but that's my only gripe from an otherwise entertaining contest.

Hernandez pinned Christopher Daniels in a decent enough bout. While never outstanding, it was still a fun and enjoyable match with solid performances. James Storm strolled down afterwards and stated that after his actions earlier Hogan had asked him to announce that at Slammiversary it will be Chavo and Hernandez versus Bad Influence (Daniels and Kazarian) versus Austin Aries and Roode versus himself and a partner of his choosing in a four-way for the tag title.

Joseph Parks beat D'Lo Brown in a largely pedestrian and forgettable affair. Sloppy moments from D'Lo also hindered a pretty average match up, looks like he's on his way out of his beloved gang too after this loss. 

World Champion Bully Ray came to the ring and called out Sting and Hogan, going on to brag about how he screwed them both over and proving while he's one of the (if not the) top heel in pro wrestling right now. Sting responded by claiming that he's going to have to damage him beyond repair at Slammiversary because if not that was what he was going to do to the Aces President first, also asking for their title clash to be under No Holds Barred rules.

Bully accepted the match proposal, but only if Sting would never be able to challenge for the World Championship again if he was victorious. Sting also accepted, despite Hogan trying to persuade him otherwise,  and the two began brawling as the show ended. I think a No Holds Barred match is the way to go, that added element should gain some much needed interest and excitement on the night. 

Overall it was a fair Impact, not much that was exceptional but nothing too bad. The highlight was the exciting X Division Triple Threat, I'm sure I would've said Roode versus Chavo and Hernandez versus Daniels too if they'd been allocated a bit more time. Slammiversary looks like a solid enough card for the most part at the moment, should be a decent event I reckon. 

My WWE Raw, 13th May 2013 Recap

Triple H and Lesnar battle it out in the cage. Should be a great one on Sunday. Photo credit: WWE.com

Jerry Lawler kicked things off by bringing out Fandango and Chris Jericho for a dance off. But as Fandango got started his partner Summer Rae accidentally tripped and couldn't continue. A furious Fandango then decided to abandon his dance partner, but made a quick return to cheap shot Jericho, eventually taking him out of the ring and cracking a bit of the flooring from their contest into Y2J's head. It was then revealed that it was all a ruse as Summer jumped up and danced away with Fandango.  

Ryback pinned Zack Ryder in a brief and forgettable squash match. Nothing much to see here.

Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) bested Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) in a short and average tag bout. It was passable, but there were no remarkable performances to be found. O'Neil grabbed the winning schoolboy pin after Young had struck Clay in the throat. I can't say a feud between these two teams will exactly set my World alight.  

Teddy Long announced that due to Dolph Ziggler's injury (he suffered a concussion during last week's SmackDown taping) he would not be able to defend the World Championship at Extreme Rules, so instead there would be a number one contenders match for the title pitting Del Rio against Swagger in an I Quit match. The announcement was met with indifference and boos, fans grew tired of seeing these two face each other a long while ago. 

Kofi Kingston defeated Damien Sandow in a fair encounter. I'd personally like to see the US Champion do well, but he's had pushes stopped and started so often it's hard to invest in him, nevertheless he's on good form at the moment. 

After a brief interview, Mark Henry used Josh Matthews as an example of how to win a Strap match after pushing him over and dragging him around the ring, then letting him go. Henry then asked Sheamus to join him in the ring to get an taste of what's to come this Sunday, which the 'Celtic Warrior' did, but not before grabbing his own strap and managing to whip Henry out of the ring. 

Randy Orton beat Antonio Cesaro in a decent outing. Both men looked solid in the ring, with crisp action as expected from these two talents. It just needed a bit more time to make more of a lasting impression.

Absurdly during the match we had Michael Cole urging us to get the WWE app so we could see a live interview with Big Show, amongst other things while the show's going on. Where's the sense in having other segments happening at the same time match ups are taking place? Just daft.

The Miz beat Heath Slater in a passable contest. Miz gave a decent effort here, and Slater looked okay, but the wrestling never reached a particularly high standard. Miz gained the submission victory after applying the Figure Four Leglock. I don't mind him using the move like a lot of fans, but I'd like to see him break down the legs of his opponent a bit more beforehand.   

John Cena and Team Hell no (Daniel Bryan and Kane) won via disqualification versus The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) in a stellar six-man elimination tag match. The contest contained plenty of exciting action and some terrific displays, especially from Bryan, Ambrose and Rollins.

Kane was first eliminated via DQ after he assaulted Ambrose on the outside with the covering for the announce desk. An angered 'Big Red Machine' ran rampant through the trio just before he was sent to the back. Next his Team Hell No teammate Daniel Bryan was eliminated after being pinned by Ambrose. Rollins was then pinned after a poorly executed AA from Cena, and Reigns next DQ'd for shoving the referee.

As Cena then looked to make Ambrose tap with the STFU, the other two Shield members ran in to attack the WWE Champion and Triple Powerbomb him, causing the ref to ring the bell for another disqualification and end the bout. Ryback then marched out and looked to leave Cena alone, but decided otherwise and then smashed a steel chair onto his injured ankle.

Jack Swagger won via count out versus Big E Langston in a pretty pedestrian encounter. Swagger was selected over Del Rio to face Big E via a vote on the WWE app, which did surprise me a little. To be fair the match was certainly watchable, which exceeded my expectations, and Big E looked like he'd improved a bit in the ring, although he still has a fair way to go. As Big E dominated on the outside he was caught out by the wily Swagger, who managed to get back into the ring before the ten count. 

Alberto Del Rio then ran out and after tussling with Big E and Swagger, managed to lock on his signature armbreaker on the 'All American'. To be honest Del Rio's actions were more heel-like here than anything.

AJ Lee bested Natalya in a drab affair up until the very end when AJ pulled out a nice submission for the win as Natalya went for a sidewalk slam.

Rightfully Divas Champion Kaitlyn asked on commentary during the bout why Nikki and Brie Bella were even out there. They have nothing to do with the current title picture and it did seem quite odd, plus it overshadows AJ and Kaitlyn's feud. Add all that to the Divas champ receiving another gift from her secret admirer during all this and it seemed overkill.   

Triple H stood in a steel cage and stated that earlier in his pro wrestling career he was advised to "hate" in order to succeed and advance himself, and had learnt to hate and damage people because of it, which he claimed he would do at Extreme Rules. He then dared Lesnar to join him in the cage right there and then, Paul Heyman then came out with Brock Lesnar and urged his client not be lured by 'The Game'.

Heyman went on to state that "hate" was an appropriate word for the COO's situation, since he would hate facing all his loved ones after loosing to Lesnar this Sunday and failing them. Triple H had enough and claimed that Heyman was holding Lesnar back because he was his meal ticket and he couldn't afford for him to loose his mystic by falling to him once again, and finally asked if Lesnar was the beast, or if he was "Brock Lesnar, the bitch." This was enough excuse for Lesnar to storm down to the ring, where the two had a heated brawl until Triple H managed to send Lesnar through the cage door and into Heyman. It was a strong end to the show, with the fans well into it.

Overall it was a decent enough show, and above average for this year. The highlights were the entertaining six-man tag, Orton versus Cesaro and the heated battle between Lesnar and Triple H, now that is how you end a Raw heading into a PPV. The only poor periods for me were the divas match (with way too much going on), the Prime Time Players versus Tons of Funk and the constant mention of the WWE app. That kind of thing doesn't normally bother me, but when they're telling you to check out what's happening backstage when a match is actually taking place it's just ridiculous. 

My WWE SmackDown, 10th May 2013 Recap

An intense Jericho locks on the Walls. Photo credit: WWE.com



Chris Jericho kicked things off with his signature show the 'Highlight Reel', where he called out Ryback and admitted that he actually agreed with his actions as of late to help him become WWE Champion. But Y2J also warned him that while he may win the strap at Extreme Rules against Cena, at the same time he'll loose all the fans respect.

Of course Ryback didn't care about any of that and as the two began to face off Teddy Long came out and booked the two in the main event. Ryback then took the opportunity to sucker punch Jericho before leaving. It was a pretty drab start to the show.

Kofi Kingston pinned Cody Rhodes in a fair encounter. Both men looked decent here, but they didn't really have the time to make a real impact. Kofi grabbed the one-two-three after applying a Trouble in Paradise as Cody came in for a Disaster Kick.

Before Jack Swagger versus Big E Langston could get underway, Alberto Del Rio decided to make things interesting by inserting a ladder into the ring. After a brief tussle over it, Swagger managed to gain the upper hand and chuck Langston out of the ring, with Ziggler then attacking Swagger and Colter. This then allowed Del Rio to use the ladder to take out the World Champion and Swagger, and finally stand tall on top of it with Ziggler's strap. Unfortunately Ziggler suffered a concussion here, here's hoping he makes a full recovery soon.

Dean Ambrose versus Daniel Bryan ended in a no contest after Kofi Kingston ran in and got some revenge after The Shield attacked him last Monday night, nice bit of continuity I thought. With Kane and Bryan's help the US Champion managed to clear the trio out of the ring. The actual match itself had unsurprisingly been a stellar one, with Bryan and Ambrose giving solid displays as usual. While it was a good watch, I was maybe expecting a bit more considering Bryan and Ambrose's history and past work together, but I feel petty complaining.  

In the parking lot Mark Henry broke a World record by dragging an incredible two tractor trailers. This was to help promote the strap match between him and Sheamus at Extreme Rules, which could be decent.

Big Show beat Tensai in a short and forgettable affair. Just as 'Sweet T' got in a bit of offense, Show managed to quickly apply a KO punch for the winning pin. Afterwards he then decided to also (clumsily) spear Tensai's tag partner Brodus Clay. Show's rival Randy Orton then appeared to gain some retribution in the form of an RKO. It's still yet to be announced what kind of match these two will have at Extreme Rules.

Chris Jericho won via disqualification versus Ryback in an enjoyable main event. For the second SmackDown in a row Ryback was involved in a solid one on one match, who'd have thought it? Granted it was largely thanks to the hard work of Jericho (and Bryan last Friday) but still. The DQ came after Ryback picked Y2J up and rammed him into the ringpost for a low blow. But he wasn't done as he then clotheslined Jericho over the announce table and roared "Ryback rules!" With Josh Matthews defiantly claiming that he'll beat Cena next Sunday. I doubt it myself.

Overall it was a fair show, with a few above average bouts for the blue brand. My highlights were Bryan versus Ambrose and the main event. Unfortunately like most SmackDowns I didn't come out of it thinking that anything was particularly must see, but the two aforementioned bouts were fun watches. 

My TNA Impact Wrestling, 9th May 2013 Recap

Sting, accompanied by Kurt Angle, started things off by claiming that he didn't want to wait until Slammiversary to get his hands on Bully Ray so he'd asked for the six-man main event that night pitting him and Angle against three Aces & 8s members. Angle then took to the mic and demanded an answer from AJ Styles on whether he was on their side or not.

Sure enough AJ joined them but he refused to say a word after 'The Stinger' tried to convince him to join them in the main event. A hasty Angle had enough though and screamed at Styles, demanding to know who's side he's on. So AJ had enough and left, but Kurt gave chase and as the two began exchanging punches on the ramp Bully Ray, Devon and Anderson took out Sting. Everything was coming up Aces.  

Mickie James and Velvet Sky bested Tara and Gail Kim in a largely decent tag bout. I feel like a broken record typing this but James and Kim were (as usual) the top performers here, each giving stellar displays. Sky looked quite average as she finished off Tara with the In Yo' Face for the one-two-three. 

Afterwards a frustrated Kim then clotheslined Tara and applied a Figure Four from the outside around the ringpost just like she did to Terrell last week. I wouldn't mind seeing Tara and Jesse turn face actually, could be quite entertaining.  

Aces & 8s made their way to the ring, where Bully reprimanded D'Lo for loosing to Angle in an I Quit match last week, and demanded he hand over his Aces jacket. D'Lo refused and asked for another chance, so a few other members snatched the jacket off of him, with Bully ordering him to sit near the announce desk and watch the following match. Ray's mic work was solid, as standard for him.  

Magnus pinned Doc in a match of two halves. The start was pretty drab and pedestrian, but fortunately the contest picked up and both men gave worthy enough displays as they upped the pace and interest. The finish did look daft however as D'Lo was somehow blinded by an earlier Irish Whip by Magnus into steel steps (how does that work?) and then accidentally pulled Doc's legs near the ropes which allowed Magnus to grab a quick roll up pin for the victory. 

Afterwards as punishment Bully then demoted D'Lo to the gang's lackey and barked at him to leave.

Austin Aries and Bobby Roode versus Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) in a Tag Team number one contenders match ended in a No Contest after special referee James Storm had enough of Aries and Daniels and Last Call Superkicked them both. It was an exciting match for the majority, with crisp wrestling as excepted with this level of talent. The ending was a little strange but a three way between these two teams and the champs does make sense for Slammiversary.

Backstage we witnessed a few Aces members beat down Magnus. The Brit managed to make a brief comeback but it wasn't enough as the gang managed to get him down and ram a trolley of some kind into his head (which happened where we couldn't see it).

X Division Champion Kenny King came out and after bigging himself up,  called out Chris Sabin to tell his story of his recovery from his injury. Sabin explained to King that at this point he had nothing left to lose and would do everything to win back the X Division strap. After the champ feigned some more admiration for his future opponent, he then claimed that even if he hadn't had the two operations on his ACL then Sabin still wouldn't be as talented as him, so Chris retorted with a swift punch to send King packing. It was a nice segment, with King especially oozing confidence on the mic.

Backstage we saw a beaten down Storm on the ground, with Aries, Roode, Daniels and Kazarian all nearby and screaming at each other and officials.

Abyss, Sting and Kurt Angle beat Bully Ray, Devon and Mr. Anderson in a fair main event. Once the bout got going it was enjoyable enough, with nice work from Devon, Bully and Angle. During the match we were shown footage from backstage where various Aces members had been taken out by a mystery assailant which turned out to be Abyss, who Hulk Hogan had called earlier on in the show to help out. 

Abyss made his way down at the end where he clumsily and slowly beat down Bully and also chokeslammed Anderson through a table before Black Hole Slamming and pinning Devon for the win. Compared to Lesnar's awesome attack on 3MB a few weeks back on Raw this looked sloppy. I can't say that he's a welcome return for me, I personally prefer his Joseph Parks alter ego.

Overall it was a decent enough Impact, with not one bad or unwatchable match on the card. My highlights were the tag team bout and Bully and Kenny King's very nice mic work. Unfortunately I still can't say I'm hyped for the Bully and Sting title match at all right now, but at least we should still be grateful for Ray making Aces & 8s interesting at all.

My WWE Raw, 6th May 2013 Recap

Lesnar and Heyman during their 'invasion'. Photo credit: WWE.com

WWE Champion John Cena kicked things off by stating that he will be able to defend his title at Extreme Rules against Ryback, he also made a series of lame jokes, with Lawler as usual cackling from the desk. Finally Cena got serious again towards the end of his speech when Vickie Guerrero joined him and called out Ryback to determine the kind of match they'll have over the WWE Title. 

Unfortunately the champ then resorted to going back to making childish and unfunny jokes regarding Ryback's voice and Vickie wearing "Grandma pants" even though she'd just given him a fair chance to choose what kind of bout he'll have. Ryback retorted by claiming that he knew that despite his injured ankle, Cena's ego would cause him to still defend the title, and then logically chose a Last Man Standing match for Extreme Rules. It was a pretty weak start to the show.  

Randy Orton pinned Damien Sandow in a fair outing. As with their match on last Friday's SmackDown, the wrestling from both men was solid enough but the bout was just lacking in excitement. The most entertaining thing about this was actually Sandow's very funny version of Orton's theme he sung on the way to the ring (check out an edited version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kgWUlU6N7f0). Afterwards Big Show then KO'd Orton with a punch as he was about to enter the back. 

Chris Jericho brought out Tons of Funk (Tensai and Brodus Clay) to help critique the performance of Fandango in his following match up.

R-Truth won via count out versus Fandango after he'd had enough and decided to leave with his dance partner. The match itself wasn't anything special, and the judging didn't really add anything to it either. In fact, you can safely skip all of this. Before the match Michael Cole gushed that Truth is a man that "can sing and dance!" Clearly Cole has some hearing and seeing difficulties. 

Alberto Del Rio won via disqualification versus Dolph Ziggler in an exciting back and fourth contest. Both men gave great displays, despite a few minor mistakes. The DQ came after Big E Langston dragged Del Rio out of the ring and threw him into Swagger (who'd come down during the bout with Zeb Colter who provided guest commentary). 

Swagger then exacted his revenge by taking out Langston by forcing him into a ringpost, then Ricardo Rodriguez, Del Rio and Ziggler with a ladder. This was by far the strongest segment (including the bout) promoting the Triple Threat Ladder match at Extreme Rules so far.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) bested Kofi Kingston and Jimmy and Jay Uso in a decent six-man tag bout. Certainly far from their most exciting match, The Shield still delivered here with worthy efforts, as did their three opponents. Worth a watch.

Antonio Cesaro pinned Zack Ryder in a match the Swiss dominated. The action wasn't anything outstanding, but Cesaro as usual looked stellar. Afterwards Antonio questioned the level of competition he was receiving, and added that no one in the WWE could touch him when it came to ability in the ring. It was very well delivered, and you could believe each word he was saying. Now WWE should build on this and have him beat Orton on Main Event on Wednesday, maybe with Big Show making an appearance.  

Via satellite Paul Heyman presented his self-recorded footage of his client Brock Lesnar's little trip to WWE's Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, where he made his way up to COO Triple H's office and trashed it. It was a fun watch, and witnessing Lesnar intimidate the employees and destroy Trip's belongings didn't get old. There was also an interesting moment where Brock paused to observe a poster featuring The Rock for the Royal Rumble, a feud with those two could be potentially interesting if Rocky returns.

Heyman then explained that after being Pedigreed on last week's Raw he was now going to stop holding back and instead encourage Lesnar in his attacks, and especially in maiming 'The Game' in their Steel Cage match. Triple H then came out and accused Heyman of knowing full well that he wouldn't be in his office that day, and called the ring his other office and dared Lesnar to enter it with him and try and do what he did to his other one in Stamford. It was a strong segment on the whole, from Heyman's superb promo work to Lesnar just being Lesnar.

Kaitlyn, Cameron and Naomi beat AJ Lee and the Bella twins in a mediocre and forgettable tag match. There was just no interest to be found here, plus couple that with some of the clumsy wrestling and you get the idea of the quality of this affair.

Mark Henry presented footage of his attacks on Sheamus over the last month and then challenged him to a match at Extreme Rules, so the Irishman joined him and also showed footage of his attacks on Henry recently and decided to challenge him right there and then to a fight. The two were about to square off until Wade Barrett made his way out for his scheduled contest with Sheamus.

Sheamus pinned Wade Barrett in a largely pedestrian encounter. I feel a lesser wrestler than Barrett would've been a better choice for this match, it did no favours to the IC Champion (almost forgot about that, didn't you?) that he was overshadowed by the feud with Henry and fairly easily beaten here. The bout wasn't terrible but there was nothing remarkable about it.

Afterwards Henry gave a convincing beat down on Sheamus after the 'Celtic Warrior' had taunted him by pretending he was going to chuck Barrett into him during their bout. Henry had grabbed a leather belt from an official at ringside and began whipping Sheamus, finally finishing him off by World's Strongest Slamming him. 

Ryback beat Kane in a rather average main event. It may have just been me but Kane looked like he was struggling a little at parts here. I wasn't expecting much here and didn't receive it, both men did okay but I just failed to engage in it at all. The match came about after Ryback refused a match with Daniel Bryan due to his attack from The Shield, so Kane stepped up to take his tag partner's place.

After the main event The Shield made an appearance, so Daniel Bryan and John Cena raced out to repel them. As Ryback looked as though he was then helping, he attacked the WWE Champion with a few chair shots to end the show. Maybe that'll stop Cena's lame jokes about him.

Overall it was a passable Raw for the majority, with Del Rio versus Ziggler (plus the subsequent attack), The Shield's six-man tag bout and Lesnar's invasion of the WWE Headquarters being the highlights and helping make the show worth watching. The other match ups were average or forgettable for the most part, and I'm still not that interested in the Cena and Ryback feud. But at least Extreme Rules is looking to be an enjoyable event. 

My WWE SmackDown, 3rd May 2013 Recap

The Shield victorious once again. Photo credit: WWE.com

Ryback pinned Daniel Bryan in an enjoyable opener, largely thanks to the hard work of Bryan who really can bring out the best in any wrestler. In Ryback's finest ever singles match both men played their part well as they battled back and fourth, each giving worthy efforts. It was also nice to see Bryan made to look very competitive here too, he deserves another World Title run somewhere down the line.

Fandango beat Zack Ryder in a rather forgettable contest. Neither man looked terrible by any means, but they failed to really engage me at all. Fandango gained the winning pinfall after applying his signature flying leg drop.

Ricardo Rodriguez versus Zeb Colter ended in a disqualification after Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio ran in and began attacking each other and their rival's allies. This cued Teddy Long (who was in charge for the night) to play a classic Long move and put the four into a tag match. But once again the tag bout ended in a DQ after Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston ran in and began beating on the World Champion's rivals, so Long once again booked another tag match, but this time a three way one. It was all a bit overkill I felt.

Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez bested Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter and Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston in a decent enough three way tag bout. Del Rio and Ziggler were the two standout performers here, each giving fine displays. The match on the whole was quite enjoyable, with a fast pace and effective short bursts from most involved. I'd have much rather had more of this match than the waste of time that was the two previous ones, just strange booking.

After a message from The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) from backstage regarding The Undertaker and Kane, it was revealed that they'd taken out Daniel Bryan as he lied beaten on the floor. Not very nice, eh?

Randy Orton defeated Damien Sandow in a fair encounter. The wrestling was stellar enough, but nothing exceptional. After the win Big Show accused Orton's selfishness and ego of costing them the match against The Shield at WrestleMania. This then gave Sandow the chance to apply a Terminus, which Show found very amusing, but warned 'The Viper' that at Extreme Rules things won't be so funny.  

Mark Henry beat Sheamus in an arm wrestling contest, so the Irishman goaded Henry into doing another one with the left arm. But once again this was a ploy by Sheamus, much like in the tug of war on Monday night, and he punched Henry and applied a Brogue Kick to topple the 'World's Strongest Man'. Much like the tug of war segment on Raw it was also a bit drab.

Dean Ambrose pinned Kane in a solid main event. Both men worked well here and sold like pros, which is a rarity for most matches in WWE nowadays where the majority of wrestlers seem to recover a bit too quickly from attacks.

Kane getting some retribution on Reigns and Rollins at ringside also added some excitement to the bout, but the numbers caught up to him as the Shield members distracted Kane towards the end which allowed Ambrose to apply a headlock driver for the one-two-three. The trio then beat down 'The Big Red Monster' and triple powerbombed him before taking the tag team title belts and posing with them over the fallen champion.

Overall it was a fair SmackDown, with a mixed bag as far as match quality goes. The highlights were the triple threat tag team match, Bryan versus Ryback and the main event. The rest of the contests were pretty unremarkable to be honest, and there was a lack of any substantial promos or segments. Fortunately the most promising young act in WWE today The Shield are still looking strong and providing solid matches.