Friday 30 December 2011

My WWE SmackDown, December 30th 2011 Recap

Booker first thanked the fans for an amazing 2011, from his Royal Rumble participation to defeating Cody Rhodes on this weeks Raw. The Intercontinental Champion, Rhodes inevitably interrupted. He listed off his accomplishments from the year (and what a year it's been for the champ) and credited himself for taking a "washed up" announcer in Booker and returning him to his "former glory." Booker claimed that Rhodes should be congratulating him for his win on Monday, to which he obliged and congratulated Booker. And even shook his hand. But you knew it was all too good to be true as Rhodes then claimed that Booker's career was now all over. That as an announcer he is incompetent (sure, but entertaining) and as an in-ring competitor he's now a "nostalgia act."
Then the theme for Goldust hit and sure enough, a suited up Dustin Rhodes came out to join his younger brother. He explained that he understood Cody's need to make a name for himself, but just not at his good friend Booker's expense. Cody responded that he didn't need Goldust's help, and proudly said that he had "restored the rhodes family name after you threw up all over it." An irate Booker challenged Cody to a match for his title right there and then to settle things, but Cody decided to arrange the match for next week instead. As he was then about to leave, he Disaster Kicked his brother Dustin for good measure. There's been a lot of rumours and tweets from Dustin himself about a match at WrestleMania between him and Cody. Which I think could be a tremendous bout, and the build up could be easily executed in an effective brother versus brother fashion. With Dusty Rhodes obviously getting involved in the storyline. I'd love to see it personally.
Jinder Mahal defeated Ted DiBiase in a pretty brief but decent enough bout. Mahal forced DiBiase to tap to the Camel Clutch. They really need to move both these guys onto new opponents from January, they've squeezed all they really can from this feud I reckon.
Alicia Fox and Kaitlyn defeated Natalya and Tamina in a sloppy-at-places-tag team match that fortunately didn't last too long. Although Fox is showing more character lately, I'm still not convinced by her in the ring. After the match Tamina superkicked Natalya and applied a Superfly Splash. I guess we now see the turn of Natalya, although I don't quite get why they didn't have Phoenix turn on her rather then Tamina. It would've meant a lot more, and come off much more effectively.    
Hunico defeated Justin Gabriel in an entertaining and fast paced match up. Both guys pulled off their fair share of impressive and well-executed aerial maneuvers, much to the crowds delight. If I were booking I would give Hunico a more prominent role in the Royal Rumble match, he deserves even more attention with his talents. Plus, with all the recent injury woes in the company he could really move up the ladder.  
Big Show defeated David Otunga in an average and pretty forgettable bout. Show scored the pinfall with a chokeslam after Daniel Bryan had lured Mark Henry away from ringside with a distraction. 
Ezekiel Jackson defeated Drew McIntyre in another quite average bout for the night. Although Drew did look like he'd added a few more moves to his repertoire since I'd last seen him in the ring. 'Big Zeke' got the roll up pin, along with a handful of McIntyre's trunks for a strangely heelish win.    
Sheamus expressed his desire and confidence at winning the Royal Rumble match next month. Hornswaggle joined him and also expressed the same hopes to win the Rumble, along with Heath Slater shortly after. Who was thrown over the top rope rather quickly by 'The Great White'.  
Sheamus defeated Heath Slater in an impromptu match made my Teddy (ugh) Long. Sheamus dominated most of it with his usual powerful move set, while Slater looked his normal average self in the ring. It wasn't anything special.
Backstage Teddy Long informed both Daniel Bryan and Big Show that they would tangle for the World Heavyweight Championship on next weeks SmackDown. Bryan showed some more character here and was quite amusing as he asked Show for a thank you for helping him out. He almost seemed a little more like a heel with his cocky demeanor towards Big Show, I've been saying a heel turn could really work well with Bryan for a while now. Maybe we'll be seeing a possible turn next week against Show? That or Henry interfering I'm predicting.   
Randy Orton versus Wade Barrett in a Falls Count Anywhere Match ended in a no contest after the cameramen managed to get through a door too late and discover Orton at the bottom of a flight of stairs with Barrett then running out of the building. Up to that point the match up had been quite a solid main event, with Orton and Barrett having an equal share of the offense. At one point they even fought in an elevator, with us watching in black and white through the camera inside.    
Overall SmackDown was a pretty mixed bag this week I thought. The Orton versus Barrett match was the highlight, while the cockiness of Bryan coming through makes things interesting with the World Champion.

My Impact Wrestling, December 29th 2011 recap

In a rare moment, the Knockouts started Impact off with Madison Rayne (accompanied by tag team partner Gail Kim) informing Tara and Tessmacher that they were both"fired!" Sting decided to intervene in quite an amusing moment when he informed Rayne that she had, in fact "no power," or authority over the Knockout division. He also added that Gail Kim would have to defend her TNA Knockouts title against Mickie James that night. I'm so glad that they gave Sting this role as the GM (or whatever the title is) of Impact, I'm finding him more endearing now then I have for months.     
Kazarian and AJ Styles defeated Abyss and Scott Steiner in the tag team tournament to determine the new number one contenders. The actual bout itself was quite decent actually, considering Abyss and Steiner were on one of the teams. The finish came after Abyss turned on Steiner by Black Hole Slamming him and dragging Kazarian's body over for the cover.
After the match Bully Ray confronted Abyss and claimed that he was sick of him pushing people around, and called him a "bully." Ray carried on to query Abyss by asking "What do you want?" To which 'The Monster' replied "I want you. I want Bully Ray." Abyss then added a stipulation to his proposed match against Ray at Genesis, that if he lost he would once again join the ranks of Immortal. Bully accepted the challenge, that was before Abyss added that their match would be under Monsters Ball rules.  
Zema Ion defeated Anthony Nese in a Contract On A Pole Match to earn himself a spot in the Fatal Four Way Match at Genesis for the X Division title. While the match up was solid enough, it felt a little average compared to their previous two bouts on Impact to me.   
Douglas Williams won via disqualification against Gunner after Gunner had pushed over the referee. Up until that point the match had been quite heated, with plenty of shots shared between the two. It's just a shame it was so brief, especially with a wrestler the quality of Williams competing which we unfortunately don't get to see often enough for my liking. Afterwards Gunner once again applied a DDT to Williams on the outside of the ring to exposed flooring. Why couldn't he at least take out someone average like Anderson?
World Champion Bobby Roode introduced his friend Tracy Koleski, who he'd flown in from Canada, to bring him into his "world" as he put it. Koleski asked Roode why his demeanor had changed so much and queried "Who have you become?" After he had supposedly ignored all calls from his friends and family. Roode laughed at his friend and claimed that "there is nothing wrong with this picture" and called Tracy his "lackey" while they were growing up. Roode then resorted to attacking his ex-friend until Jeff Hardy raced out to his aid.
Samoa Joe and Magnus defeated ODB and Eric Young in another tag team tournament match up. The bout itself was entertaining enough, the moments with ODB in the ring were mainly for comical effect. It's also nice to see the solid Samoa Joe and improving Magnus being made relevant once again in the company.
Kurt Angle defeated Rob Van Dam via DQ when James Storm entered the ring and super kicked Angle. The bout had been decent, although you could tell it wasn't either mans best effort. 
Gail Kim (c) defended her TNA Knockouts Championship against Mickie James. The main event was a superb and intense contest, and proved how entertaining female wrestling can and should be. Both wrestlers clearly take pride in their work and you could see that they wanted to make the most of a rare main event spot for them both. Gail Kim grabbed the one-two-three after a masked woman ran in and attacked James from behind, most likely Rayne, although Tenay and Taz both mentioned Madison so maybe that's too obvious? Melina making her debut perhaps?
For all of TNA's flaws (of which there are many) their women's division far exceeds WWE's. Could you honestly imagine Beth Phoenix facing Kelly Kelly or Eve Torres in the main event of a Raw or SmackDown? Of course not. I'm not saying that WWE doesn't have some talented female wrestlers, just that they're not utilised correctly nowadays. Long gone are the days of Trish Stratus and Lita I'm afraid guys and girls.

Friday 23 December 2011

My WWE SmackDown, December 23rd 2011 Recap

Big Show announced that he wanted to call out the new World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and personally congratulate him. But before he could do that ,Mark Henry interrupted him. Henry suggested that Show should take the week off and quit the business, he also announced that he wanted his rematch against Bryan for the title that night. The World Champion decided to enter the ring with the giants and admitted that although he's not the most charismatic or powerful wrestler in the company, he's a damn good wrestler. He speaks the truth. Big Show and Henry began to bicker once again until Teddy Long (ugh) announced a number ones contender match to the World Heavyweight Title between the two.  
Zach Ryder defeated Cody Rhodes in an average match up and great result for Ryder. Nice to see WWE wisely capitalising on Ryder's momentum at the moment. The win came after Booker distracted Rhodes with his own special Christmas carols just for the Intercontinental Champ.
Just before the Big Show versus Mark Henry match could commence, the assistant to the terminally boring John Laurinaitis, David Otunga announced that due to Henry's leg injury he was not medically cleared to compete that night. Show thanked him for the news by WMDing Otunga.     
Backstage The Miz confronted a confused Teddy Long, asking him who his opponent was that night. Long had no idea who had called Miz to SmackDown, so Miz decided to protest in the ring until an opponent made himself available to face him. Sheamus decided to accept the challenge.
Sheamus defeated The Miz in a decent enough bout. It actually made a bit of a nice change seeing Miz on the blue brand. Sheamus defeated Miz after executing the Brogue Kick for a clean win, which I wasn't expecting. 
Wade Barrett on the mic bragged once again about his win over Orton at Survivor Series and his Wasteland to Orton on this weeks Raw through a table. Barrett expressed his opinion that after his wins and actions on Orton, he should be next in line for a World title shot. As Wade was on his way out 'The Viper' halted him and chased him backstage to the parking lot where Orton hosed him down, then slammed and RKO'd him onto a car. It was a nicely executed segment I thought, bringing back more of the dangerous side of Randy.  
Kofi Kingston defeated Primo in quite an entertaining match. Although not as exciting as their previous match ups featuring Kingston and Bourne facing off against either Epico or Primo. 
Daniel Bryan versus Dolph Ziggler was a solid and intense encounter between the two talented wrestlers. Bryan has obviously had the ability to pull off these technically brilliant bouts for years but Ziggler has really upped his game this year and shown he belongs with the top tier performers in the company. Although I can't see him winning the Royal Rumble in January like some are predicting, I can definitely see a World Title around his waist next year. The match didn't end due to Big Show chasing Swagger into the ring and causing Teddy Long to instead create a tag team match between the four men. 
Daniel Bryan and Big Show defeated Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger in a solid and thoroughly enjoyable main event. I found it entertaining from start to finish with a nice pace of action throughout. Daniel Bryan grabbed the win via submission when he forced Swagger to tap to his patented LaBell Lock. Afterwards Josh Matthews even called Bryan, no, not a 'superstar' but "a great wrestler, and a great submission expert." Wow, maybe things are changing in WWE. I'm also relieved to see that they haven't just decided to turn Big Show heel for the sake of his match with Bryan for the title. I'm much more intrigued to see how it progresses as a face versus face feud. 

My Impact Wrestling, December 22nd 2011 Recap

Bully Ray and World champion Bobby Roode explained in the ring how they loved this time of year, and how "giving" they were by giving everyone a beaten up Sting and Jeff Hardy as an early Christmas present on last weeks Impact. Roode went on to urge 'The Stinger' to suspend him for his actions, since he could use the time off this time of year. "Do the right thing Sting," he pleaded. Jeff Hardy decided to join them and threatened that Roode wasn't going to be suspended because at Genesis he was going to take his World title from him. Next Sting then announced that for the main event it will be him and Hardy versus Roode and Bully Ray in a tag team Street Fight.
AJ Styles and Kazarian defeated Christopher Daniels and Rob Van Dam in a decent, if not a little disappointing (considering the wrestlers involved) tag team match. Daniels purposely tagged in late and didn't really get as much time as Van Dam, which was a shame. The finish came when RVD, who'd had enough of his neglectful partner, kicked Daniels in the head and Kaz applied the Fade To black for the one-two-three. There could've only been one sensible result here, Styles and Kazarian are still good friends whilst Daniels and Van Dam have only just come off of their feud.
In a VT featuring clips from Anthony Nese and Zema Ion's match from last weeks Impact, along with interviews, Ion states "I'm sick of waiting at home for opportunities," I'm sure there are plenty of guys who feel the same in TNA. That's why talented wrestlers like The Young Bucks are leaving the company, yet we're forced to watch the likes of Anderson and Abyss every week.
Backstage Pope was threatened by Devon during an interview until Devon's son helped take his father out with a steel chair. D'Angelo then screamed in Devon's face that his sons were now "My boys!"
Anthony Nese defeated Zema Ion in another solid and fast paced bout between the two. I personally thought this match was even better then last weeks. The action was crisp and both men were clearly out there to leave an impression with the high flying moves they were pulling out.
Madison Rayne, who had apparently been names executive VP of the Knockouts division last week by the now fired Karen Jarrett, demanded that tag team partners Tara and Ms. Tessmacher face each other in a one on one match because she was sick of them as a team.  
Tara versus Tessmacher ended in a, well, it had no official ending. The two wrestlers at first began to joke around, feigning holds and pin attempts, much to the chagrin of special referee Rayne. It was a waste of time really, Tenay at one point even asked in bemusement "What the hell are we watching here?" Good question Mike. As the match went on both women began to slowly get more and more aggressive and the action began to pick up a bit. But after a while they finally caught on to Rayne's game of having them turn on each other and double-elbowed her. Forcing the bout to end, apparently. The actual match up was pretty average and felt like a waste of time when they could have had a decent match with some Knockouts.
James Storm (looking a little like a modern-day Jesus in a suit and shades) gave a charismatic promo where he spoke about Angle's demand of a rematch with him and claimed that when he beat Kurt at Final Resolution he "got the job done." We were then shown Angle at a bar that Storm supposedly attends regularly, all dressed up in a red and black cowboy outfit. The Olympic gold medallist offended a woman he was talking to and spat out a beer that Storm normally has in her face, claiming it tasted like "piss water." He ended the segment by warning Storm "sorry, about their damn luck."
ODB and Eric Young defeated Shannon Moore and Anarquia in a mostly comedy match up. Again it was another match that probably could've been something decent but ended up quite forgettable really. The ending came after Moore left his partner Anarquia for scoop slamming a woman (ODB) and when the referee was distracted she low blowed him and scored the pinfall victory.
Kurt Angle back at the bar, took out a few of the local residents and lined them up on bar stools to be superkicked each. To finish things off he also threw a Christmas tree on top of them.
Sting and Jeff Hardy defeated Bully Ray and Bobby Roode in the Street Fight main event. The actual match was the usual TNA weapons-spot-fest hardcore match, it was pretty mediocre but not awful. Sting looked a little sloppy at parts in another indication that 'The Icon' should probably end his in-ring activities sooner rather then later. Hardy got the pinfall after body splashing Bobby Roode through a table.          


Tuesday 20 December 2011

My Raw, December 19th Recap

The WWE Champion CM Punk started off Raw by introducing himself as the winner of his triple threat TLC match and by also introducing the brand new United States and World Heavyweight champions Zach Ryder and Daniel Bryan. He congratulated them both for where they had come from and how hard they had worked, like himself, to get to where they were now. Punk then passed the mic over to Zach Ryder for a few words who claimed that he had to ring up his Dad to verify that he had really won the title and that it wasn’t a dream, to which he answered “Woo woo woo, you know it!” Daniel Bryan then expressed how unbelievable it was for him also, and of course mentioned Cole’s ridiculous remarks about him since he joined the company.
The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler then made their way to the ring but were soon chased off by the three champions until John Laurinaitis (even typing his name bores me) put a stop to it and announced a six man tag team match for later on in the show between the six men.    
Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett via DQ when he thumbed Orton in the eye in front of the referee, when was the last time you saw that as finish? Up until that point the match had been quite average, definitely nothing on their table match encounter from TLC. After the bell rang Barrett continued the offense on ‘The Viper’ and applied a Winds Of Change and Wastelanded him through a table.
Alicia Fox defeated Beth Phoenix cleanly in a nonsensical and very brief bout. The fact that Phoenix lost the the fumbling Fox wasn’t just enough to kill off any remote aura she may have had left as a powerful diva, but to loose as quickly as she did and cleanly like that was a joke. I’d understood if Fox had at least beaten her after a decent amount of time with a fluke win but this is just further proof how badly the booking team have missed the mark with what could have been a great ‘Divas of Doom’ storyline to help rejuvenate a division that desperately needs rejuvenating.     
Sheamus defeated Jinder Mahal in an average match up. Okay I’m going to put out my prediction now, Kane versus Sheamus at WrestleMania. Remember that’s just a prediction don’t take it seriously.
John Cena in the ring claimed that he understands people not liking him but did not understand why there was a “monster on the loose,” that monster being Kane. This speech had the usual lame, childish Cena attempt at a joke. Cena went on to say that him and Kane had unfinished business and that they “should handle that business.”But before Kane could respond, Mark Henry made his way out and warned Cena that he would’ve been entered into the ‘Hall of Pain’ last week if it weren’t for Kane and was “all the business you have to worry about.”
 Kane then halted these proceedings and slowly made his way to the ring where he headed for Henry, but changed his mind and instead entered the ring to face Cena. Super Cena began the attack and clotheslined Kane back to the outside to the sound of boos, but the ‘Big Red Monster’ the turned it around and threw Cena across the announce desk. He carried on to choke out Cena and ripped off his T-Shirt and took it with him. To be honest the segment felt a little tame to me compared to his return last week. And before Kane had even left the clueless no-selling Cena had already risen up and recovered from the attack.   
Primo and Epico defeated The Usos in a solid and fast paced tag team bout. Possibly the best match either team has had in the company so far too, look forward to a probable rematch between Primo and Epico against Air Boom.
Cody Rhodes defeated Cody Rhodes in a short and forgettable match up. I’m predicting that he’ll be heavily promoted as a realistic possibility to win the Royal Rumble over the coming weeks. Although I can’t see him winning a world title just yet, but over the over the next six months I reckon. 
Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and Zach Ryder defeated Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and The Miz in an exciting and action packed six man tag bout. The crowd from Philadelphia understandably got behind and rallied the WWE champ CM Punk and new US and World Champions Bryan and Ryder. Michael Cole throughout kept going on about how it was like a “nightmare” having these three as champions representing the company, how they didn’t even look like champions, okay Cole, okay. It was a feel good end to the broadcast when Daniel Bryan forced Del Rio to submit to the LeBell Lock and all three champions (feels so good to type that, champions) celebrated with the Philly crowd.
Overall the Raw was a definite step up to the Slammy awards ceremony from last week, with the two tag matches providing some great action. My only concern is that they’re going to ruin what could potentially be a great comeback for Kane, the unbeatable Cena was probably the wrong choice for his first feud back.   

Monday 19 December 2011

Mark Henry injured legitimately

Posted by: Kenny Williams of WrestlingNewsSource.com on Dec 19 2011

"Numerous sources are reporting that ex-World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry is legitimately injured, which is the reason why he dropped the title at last night's WWE TLC pay-per-view event.

Reports are that Henry suffered what was originally thought to be a pulled groin during his match with John Cena on last week's "Slammy Awards" edition of WWE RAW SuperShow. However, after an evaluation, it was determined that the injury was more serious than originally speculated.

Sources within WWE are also reporting that the company's creative team was in favor of putting Henry on a lighter schedule to allow his injury to heal, but at last night's pay-per-view, Vince McMahon was said to be "less sympathetic" regarding the situation and ordered that the title switch take place instead."

Wonder how long he could be out for? It's never nice to hear about an injury....but at least out of all the possible performers in WWE it was only Mark Henry. And a Big Show Daniel Bryan feud could be interesting.

My WWE TLC 2011 Recap

Zach Ryder defeated Dolph Ziggler (c) to win the United States championship in an exciting and genuinely feel good opener to the pay-per-view. The bout itself kicked off with a faster pace but slowed down during the middle when Ziggler took control, applying some impressive maneuvers to the 'Long Island Iced Z', including an Angle slam and a set of ten elbow drops in a row. Ryder inevitably made a valiant comeback towards the end, which included a nice hurricanrana from the top rope and a lot of intense near falls for both men. But all during this you just couldn't help but believe that this was Ryder's night, his moment, his well-deserved first ever singles title. And it was. All his hard work this year, from being a regular on Superstars (which is never good security for your job in WWE) to becoming a Raw regular who gets a huge reaction every single broadcast, even when he's not there. The finish came when Ryder executed the Rough Ryder and got the one-two-three on Ziggler.
The crowd were obviously firmly behing Ryder during the match and genuinely happy for him after. I can't honestly remember the last title win that felt this good in the company, I mean a genuinely feel good title win. It was a satisfying, if predictable, victory anyhow. WWWYKI.
Backstage while Booker T was talking to Alicia Fox, Cody Rhodes once again attacked him from behind.
Air Boom (c) defeated Primo and Epico to retain their WWE Tag Team titles. The tag bout was even and picked up with the excitement towards the end when Kofi Kingston was tagged in with crisp high flying moves from him and Bourne. Kingston grabbed the win after a Trouble in Paradise to Primo. Maybe not the best match involving Air Boom but it was decent and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing both teams tangle again in the future, which I'm sure they will. 
Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett in an enjoyable and well paced tables bout. Both men went back and fourth with some nicely executed sequences, especially one on the outside of the ropes as each man threatened to put the other through a table on the outside until Orton turned it to his advantage as he performed his signature hangman DDT into the ring. Orton won after RKOing Barrett through a table in the ring as Wade came flying down with an elbow drop for an effective finish. Although Orton won Barrett certainly looked his equal and had a lot of offence, he didn't come out of it damaged in my opinion and the 'Barrett Barrage' should continue.
Beth Phoenix (c) defeated Kelly Kelly to retain her Divas championship. The match was actually fairly decent considering it involved Kelly, and wasn't kept too long which suits their match ups more effectively. The crowd were indifferent throughout most of it, perhaps like me they were also tired of seeing these two tussle over the title once again on pay-per-view. They really need to give Phoenix some new competition that she deserves, like Natalya who's face turn is surely impending.  
As Booker made his way out to face Rhodes, he was once again attacked from behind by the Intercontinental champion. I feel this was a bit overkill having two attacks in one night. What was the point in having Rhodes attack Booker earlier if he was just going to take him out before their match then? Strange booking.
Triple H defeated Kevin Nash in the Sledgehammer on a ladder match. The actual bout was pretty intense with a predictably slow pace. For the most part it was quite average for a ladder match, with the crowd for a second match in a row quite indifferent and quiet for the majority of it. Although I'll give Nash credit, he took more bumps then I was expecting him to in the shape he's in. For the finish Triple H struck Nash with the sledgehammer (which was still hung up) at the top of the ladder, sending him crashing into a table. Trips then Pedigreed Nash and approached him with the sledgehammer slowly. Nash pleaded with 'The Game' by signalling the old Kliq sign, but he wasn't having any of it and he mercifully cracked Nash with the weapon and got the one-two-three.     
Sheamus defeated Jack Swagger in a decent enough bout. Swagger was once again booked to look competitive against one of SmackDown's top faces, just like he had been against Big Show on last weeks SmackDown. Although he gained another loss things seem to be looking a bit more positive for the 'All American American' lately. 
Big Show defeated Mark Henry (c) to win the World Heavyweight title in a Chairs match. The actual bout was average and thankfully kept quite short. Big Show got the pinfall victory after applying a WMD to Mark Henry. After the match Henry knocked Show in the leg with a chair and then DDT'd him onto a pile of steel chairs that had been left in the ring.
And as if cued by chants of "Daniel Bryan" from the crowd in attendance, the 'American Dragon' raced out and cashed in his Money In The Bank contract and pinned Big Show to win his first ever World title in WWE. It was once again another well received and feel good title win on the pay-per-view. No one has deserved to win a World title for the first time this year more then that man Daniel Bryan (I still count the ROH title as a World championship but you get what I mean.) If I were booking this, I'd use Bryan cashing in on Big Show as an excuse to turn him heel and go on to WrestleMania to face a major face for the title.
Cody Rhodes defeated Booker T in an average match up. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad and I did enjoy parts of it, but it didn't really live up to what I'd hoped it would. I wasn't expecting a classic by any means but with Booker's return to action and Cody's great form as of late I was expecting a solid and exciting bout between the two. Unfortunately it didn't quite get up to that standard for me, which is a shame. Although I still have belief in the feud, and they're definitely capable of putting on a better match together I believe.
CM Punk (c) defeated The Miz and Alberto Del Rio to retain his WWE Championship in a triple threat TLC match. The actual match up was a worthy and exciting main event to the pay-per-view. Each man was on form and gave a great effort, even Ricordo Rodriguez who fell from a ladder inside the ring straight through a table on the outside. At one point when Punk was handcuffed ( the handcuffs which Rodriguez had brought into the fray earlier on in the match) to the corner turnbuckle I was expecting R-Truth to possibly return and take out Miz. But fortunately they didn't go down that route as it would have tarnished the match a bit I reckon and distracted fans from the three main competitors here, and Miz's current reputation of taking out these wrestlers. My only complaint about the match is that you never really believed that Punk wasn't going to retain here. The Miz and Del Rio weren't built up well enough before the pay-per-view, you just couldn't see them toppling the current champ.     
It made perfect sense that Punk won. He's the man on fire in the company right now and as he's promised before, he wants to make the championship interesting once again. Which I believe he's succeeding in. They should keep this title run going all the way to Mania in my opinion and give him a major wrestler to take on on the big stage. A major marquee match up that he deserves, can you give me a  "hell yeah" to that?   

Friday 16 December 2011

My iMPACT Wrestling, December 15th 2011 Recap

The show opened with AJ Styles versus Bobby Roode in an extended five minutes to their previous Iron man match at Final Resolution for the World title, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Although it was only five minutes it was an intense and exciting bout while it lasted. Roode again decided to waste time towards the last thirty-seconds and wonder in and out of the ring, but it almost backfired as AJ managed to pull out a pele kick and went for the 450 splash but just ran out of time.
Sting then announced that Roode and Styles would continue the battle over the TNA World title in a first pinfall or submission match with no time limit. Roode defeated AJ via submission with a single leg boston crab on his injured leg, which made sense and it was a nice touch carrying on the fake injury for Styles. Some consistency makes a nice change in TNA, rare as it can be.
Abyss and Scott Steiner defeated Hernandez and Rob Terry in an above average tag team match. The action in the ring wasn't always great but the it was entertaining at parts and the crowd certainly got behind it. Abyss allowed Steiner to have the winning pin on Terry after tagging him in. He also raised his hand at the end in victory, much to Steiner's bemusement.   
Kurt Angle ordered Sting to the ring and demanded a rematch against James Storm after not one but two consecutive losses to 'The Cowboy'. Sting refused as he explained that Storm now had to move "onwards and upwards" and face some new competition on his way to a rematch with Roode in the future for the title. Kurt Angle then threatened to go "cowboy" on Storm's hometown and take people out until he got what he wanted.
Zema Ion defeated Anthony Nese in the best two out of three series to determine the number one contender to the X Division title at the Genesis pay-per-view. Both men looked very good as they put on an exciting match up with some nicely executed high flying maneuvers. I wouldn't mind seeing some more of Nese in action in the company too in the future, they could use some fresh faces in the division.
Gunner versus Jesse Neal ended in a count out draw when Gunner continued assaulting Neal on the outside of the ring and DDT'd him onto the exposed floor, similar to what he did to Garrett Bischoff last week (except that was a piledriver.) The match up until that point had been nothing special.
Jeff Hardy in the ring began to express his optimism for 2012 and his excitement at the chance to become World champion at Genesis, but was shortly interrupted by Bully Ray. Ray informed Hardy that he was his opponent for the night and also thanked him for his departure from the company after the Victory Road debacle, as it then freed up a slot for Ray to join Immortal. Before Ray was done he claimed that "I'm better then you Jeff Hardy, and I'm going to prove it tonight."
Samoa Joe and Magnus defeated Douglas Williams and Robbie E as part of the wild card tag team tournament. The actual tag team bout itself was decent enough, and it's always nice seeing Williams in action, who in my opinion is far too talented to be left out of iMPACT so often. The duo of Magnus and Joe has some potential too I reckon, Magnus looked pretty sharp here.
Devon warned D'Angelo Dinero that his two sons were his boys and that he was going to "train them the way I want to train them. I'm going to bring them up the way I want to bring them up." He also added that their relationship with Dinero was over, but as he was about to leave Pope halted him "these boys want a cool Dad," he claimed. He went  on to explain that they want someone to look up to that's moving with the times and that Devon wasn't as "fly" or "pimping" as he is. As Pope then went into more personal territory about Devon's ex-wife, Devon began to beat on him until Pope low blowed Devon as his two sons made it clear that they had sided with Dinero.
Madison Rayne defeated Traci Brooks in an average Knockouts bout, quite a fair bit below the standard of the Mickie James versus Gail Kim title match at Final Resolution.  
In an amusing backstage segment Sting exposed footage to both Jeff and Karen Jarrett of them both trying to convince him throughout the night to fire the other one. Sting also announced that he was going to fire both of them.
Jeff Hardy defeated Bully Ray in a decent main event with moments of exciting action. Hardy pinned Ray after a second twist of fate. After the bout Hardy continued the attack on Ray until Roode raced down and helped Bully Ray put Hardy through a table. But Stinger wasn't having any of it as he came to Hardy's aid and struck Ray, only to have Roode crack him from behind with his World title belt. The crowd were indifferent to most of this.  

Tuesday 13 December 2011

My Slammy Awards 2011 Recap

Booker T and Hornswaggle awarded the 'Tell me I did not just see that' award to-Jim Ross for his awesome breakdancing in the Michael Cole challenge. Of course Michael Cole couldn't let this go without interrupting and claimed that JR only won because the dance contest was "rigged." Booker T on JR's behalf then challenged Cole to a rap off right there and then, which JR predictably won. The segment was about as painful as you'd expect.
Mick Foley and 'The Million Dollar Man' Ted Dibiase awarded the 'Holy %&@*! move of the year' award to- Big Show for the superplex that destroyed the ring along with Mark Henry.
Big Show versus Wade Barrett ended in a disqualification when Show punched a steel chair out of Barrett's hand. The actual match was short and forgettable, but it did the job in protecting both wrestlers in time for TLC on Sunday. Although they could have made it a little longer and more interesting, just felt like a waste of time.
Jesse James (with full Road Dogg theme and DX top on) awarded the 'Pipe bomb of the year' award to- CM Punk, who collected the award with a mannequin dressed up with a Dynamic Dudes' T-Shirt and blonde mullet whig (basically a dig at John Laurinaitis and his old persona from years ago in NWA.) He also presented a moving (no, not really) and hilarious tribute video to the duller then watching paint dry-Laurinaitis. The old footage of him had to come out at some point.
Lita awarded the 'Divalicious moment of the year' award to- Kelly Kelly. Yes for God knows what reason, the award was given to someone who can't even work the ropes. Beth Phoenix interrupted the victory speech, only to be slapped by Kelly Kelly and back away. Wow, her and Natalya really look like 'Divas of Doom' here backing away form the smaller Kelly. The booking team really screwed a potentially great gimmick with them two this year.  
Santino Marella and the Bella Twins awarded the 'OMG moment of the year' award to- Undertaker for kicking out of Triple H's Tombstone Piledriver attempt at WrestleMania. I'd actually forgotten about that, as I reckon most had. It was just a excuse to have Triple H make his return there and then.
Triple H spoke about his match with Taker and how for the first time at WrestleMania the 'Deadman' had to be stretchered out. He also obviously mentioned the attack from Kevin Nash with the sledgehammer and warned him that he "should've finished the job buddy, cause I'm back." He carried on and claimed that he'll win at TLC because he is right, and ended with a simple "Kevin Nash. You. Are simply. Done." It was a typically intense promo from 'The Game'.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Zach Ryder, Cody Rhodes and Daniel Bryan in a superb fatal four way match. The action was crisp and fast paced form start to finish. Ziggler got the win after Zig Zagging Daniel Bryan for the one-two-three. I personally felt Bryan needed the win the most out of these four after his loss of momentum lately, and as the MITB holder.
Then the award for the 'Trending star of the year' (whoever out of those previous four competitors was trending at the end of the fatal four way) was presented to- Zach Ryder. Unfortunately Zach didn't get to celebrate for long as he was Zig Zagged by Ziggler (bit of a tongue twister!)
Christian presented the 'Game changer of the year' award to- The Rock challenging John Cena at WrestleMania 28. How could they not give it to Edge for his retirement? Not just out of a sign of respect to him and all of his accomplishments but it would've made perfect sense with Christian handing out the Slammy to his old partner.
Cena, rather amusingly and in a quite heelish fashion (which was interesting) teased The Rock making an appearance and sending a message via satellite, of which Rocky did neither. Cena explained that he did it to get Rock fueled up and at his best for their match at Mania.
The Miz and Alberto Del Rio defeated Randy Orton and CM Punk in a decent tag team match. The Miz scored the win after Wade Barrett had snuck through the crowd and pulled Orton from off of the apron, eliminating him form the match and allowing Miz to apply the Skull Crushing Finale on Punk.
After the match Del Rio and Miz attacked Punk with a ladder that had been set up outside the ring as part of the promotion for TLC. The Miz grabbed a mic and warned Punk that either him or Del Rio will be taking away the WWE Championship from him on Sunday.   
Vickie Guerrero and Goldust presented the 'A-Lister of the year' award to- Snooki. I give her credit for her in ring effort at WrestleMania to be fair, she did a lot better then most celebrities do in pro wrestling. I personally would've given the award to Hugh Jackman, he brought a lot of energy and fun to his appearance on Raw.
Sheamus versus Jinder Mahal didn't even get to start as Sheamus Brogue kicked Mahal before the bell rang.  
Rey Mysterio presented the 'Superstar of the year' award to- CM Punk. Unfortunately, due to the attack from Miz and Del Rio he couldn't collect the award for himself, so Laurinaitis accepted it for him.
John Cena versus Mark Henry ended sooner then expected when Kane finally made his welcome return. Up to that point the match had been a drab affair as you'd have expected. Kane came out with a metallic mask covering his face and chokeslammed Cena in the ring. He then pulled off the mask to reveal a new design of his older mask he wore years ago covering the majority of his face, I was relieved to see that they've masked Kane once again and that the metal mask wasn't staying (it looked a bit silly in my opinion.) This is a chance to revitalise the character once again. I was predicting that he would return at TLC to take out Henry but I'm quite glad to see that I was wrong.  
Overall the Slammy Awards was a decent enough show, the fatal four way being the highlight. A couple of the awards felt a bit too similar and we probably could have done without them to free up some more time for actual wrestling, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Monday 12 December 2011

My TNA Final Resolution 2011 Recap

Rob Van Dam defeated Christopher Daniels in a decent enough opener. It wasn't the most exciting match featuring either man but it was okay, and for the most part technically sound. It just felt strange having an ordinary match between the two after they had a (what would usually be) feud-ending No Disqualification match at the last pay-per-view. Why didn't they just leave it there and move on to new opponents?
Robbie E (c) defeated Eric Young to retain his TNA Television title. The bout itself was a pretty average one really. Although I think Robbie E is looking better. I still believe that Eric Young was far more effective in his role as a more serious heel persona in the company. There's more possibilities for him like that then there is as this silly random character (that's run its course for me) in my opinion. Robbie E grabbed the win after an attempt from Young to slam both him and Rob Terry following a distraction and top rope choke from Terry. He used a Codebreaker like maneuver as a finisher.  
Matt Morgan and Crimson (c) defeated Devon and D'Angelo Dinero to retain the TNA Tag Team titles in a fair but at times sloppy match up. Afterwards Devon's two sons (can't be asked to learn their names just yet) expressed their disappointment at their Dad's performance and loss.
Austin Aries (c) defeated Kid Kash to retain his X Division Championship in a very entertaining title match. I predicted that it'd be a solid encounter between the two but it was even more engaging then I'd thought it'd be. The two went back and fourth and even traded moments of getting caught with knuckle dusters and having their legs on the ropes during pin attempts by the referee. It was a smart move leaving Kash heel for the bout. Aries caught Kash with a brainbuster for the one-two-three. As fun as it was, I still believe Aries needs to move on and battle some fresh X Division talent. I'd pick Alex Shelley myself, he's been seriously underutilized for months now.
Gail Kim (c) defeated Mickie James to retain her Knockouts Championship. Predictably the match was technically great and solid from start to finish with great exchanges between the two competitors. This was also a hell of a lot better then any match WWE have produced form the Divas division in years. Which is funny considering this is the calibre of female talent that they could still have if they'd treated them the way they actually deserve. This is something I do applaude TNA for, bar the way Kong was treated towards the end of her time in the company.
James Storm defeated Kurt Angle in an intense and technically brilliant (it's Kurt Angle, after all) match up. Angle dominated most of the bout but Storm began battling back towards the end and was victorious after applying a swift super kick to his opponent. Wise move giving Storm the big clean win over Angle, he definitely has a lot more to gain from it.  
Jeff Hardy defeated Jeff Jarrett in an exciting cage match. It was a good effort by both wrestlers, one of the highlights being an insane Swanton from the very top of the cage by Hardy onto the mat. As per the stipulations of the match Hardy on Thursday's iMPACT will get to choose to fire either Karen or Jeff Jarrett, it'll most likely be Karen. Although she's done a decent job in her role as Knockouts VP, I feel the division will benefit from her not being there any more.
Bobby Roode (c) versus AJ Styles in a thirty-minute Iron Man match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship ended in a 3-3 draw. The action was worthy of the main event spot but failed to hold the crowds attention at certain points. AJ sold the leg injury very well and it fitted into the match stipulation, considering how long the match was and how Roode could exploit it. Although it was a good match, the build up and Styles Roode feud has just felt rushed and unconvincing. I never believed that Styles was going to beat Roode for the title at any point. I am however hopeful for the Hardy versus Roode match up for next months Genesis PPV and the potential it brings.
Overall Final Resolution was probably one of the better TNA pay-per-views as of late. With entertaining bouts involving Gail Kim and Mickie James, Angle and Storm, Aries and Kash, Hardy and Jarrett and Styles and Roode. Plus the level of Russo-ridiculousness was kept low so an added bonus.

Friday 9 December 2011

My SmackDown, December 9th Recap

SmackDown opened up to news that on his way out to the announce table, Booker T had been attacked from behind by Cody Rhodes. We also had the return of Lilian Garcia as a full time ring announcer, which was a pleasant surprise. But as she began talking Rhodes (who had stuck around) interrupted her, explaining how he enjoyed the symmetry of the departure of one announcer and the return of another. He also announced that he would be taking over Booker T's position as announcer for the night.
Wade Barrett defeated Ezekiel Jackson in the Beat The Clock Challenge for a time of 7:53. The challenge was between Barrett and Randy Orton and whoever got the quickest time would be able to choose the stipulation for their bout at the TLC pay-per-view. The actual match itself was average really.
Barrett grabbed a mic afterwards and bragged some more about his wins over Orton. Wade also claimed that he had the psychologically advantage over 'The Viper' "Randy, there's only one voice in your head right now. Mine."
Josh Matthews then conducted an interview with Daniel Bryan regarding his loss to Mark Henry last week. Bryan began to explain his disappointment at letting people down until his long time adversary Michael Cole interrupted him. As the argument began to get more and more heated Bryan approached the announce desk and threatened to make Cole "tap out," until Rhodes raced to Cole's aid and knocked over the MITB holder. He continued the assault until WWE official escorted him away. 
Zach Ryder defeated Heath Slater in a brief but not bad match. It wasn't a classic but it did the job in helping build up Ryder so it was a success. 
Ted DiBiase defeated Jinder Mahal in a decent bout. Both guys are looking solid enough in the ring, now they just need to actually move on to some fresh new opponents to get them interesting once again.
Big Show spoke about the last time he won a World title when he beat Brock Lesnar nine years ago at Madison Square Garden. He also spoke about the carnage that will ensue in his match with Mark Henry at TLC and threatened that the doors to Henry's 'Hall of Pain' are "gonna get slammed closed!" Mark Henry predictably joined Show and asked as a courtesy that he not touch him as he's injured while he was in the ring, Show agreed. He began to talk about their match at TLC and in a preposterous statement claimed "We're gonna have a fight that people are gonna be talking about for decades!" Hm, possibly for how dull or bad it will be. As they were almost done and after they grudgingly shook hands after Henry said "lets let bygones be bygones. Let the best man win," Henry sucker punched Big Show. But Show turned it around and began to beat down the World champion to the outside of the ring and continued the assault with a steel chair.   
Sheamus defeated David Otunga in an average match. Otunga's offence was limited, which is a wise move with his limited ability in the ring. Sheamus got the one-two-three after a Brogue kick.
Daniel Bryan versus Cody Rhodes ended as a no contest after Booker T raced in and began attacking Rhodes. The actual bout before then was a solid encounter between the two wrestlers. 
Randy Orton defeated Dolph Ziggler in an exciting and intense main event. Ziggler has really hit some superb form as of late and Orton has been on great form all year as far as I'm concerned. The finish came when Orton managed to just about avoid being counted out after an attack from behind by Wade Barrett, and then quickly hit Ziggler with an RKO to beat Barrett's time by two seconds.
After the match Barrett again attacked Orton from behind and suggested helping him out in choosing a stipulation for their match at TLC. But as Barrett was about to Wasteland Orton through a table Randy wriggled out and Wade ran off after an attempt by Orton to put him through the table instead. Orton realised that his previous opponent Ziggler was still nearby and instead powerbombed him through the table with Barrett looking on.

My iMPACT Wrestling, December 8th 2011 Recap

The Stinger started things off by calling out the World champion Bobby Roode and the dull TNA President Dixie Carter. Sting demanded that Roode publicly apologise to Carter after using her as a shield two weeks ago on iMPACT. Bobby obliged and apologised to Carter, but then also went on to express how now he's the champ he can be much more honest. Honest about how since he's won the championship "business is better then ever" for TNA, which isn't really true at all but whatever.
Roode went on to give his honest opinion on Dixie Carter, who he believes is "a fake, a wannabe, Daddy's little rich girl," who's had everything handed to her. Not sure how true that is to be honest but I do believe that Carter doesn't deserve a place in professional wrestling, that's not a personal jab but my own opinion. He continued, "You couldn't run a lemonade stand, never mind a wrestling company, Dixie" my sentiments exactly. She just doesn't seem to have a clue how to run things and is a poor, worthless on screen persona to boot. The champ carried on to call himself "the leader of the selfish generation" (a moniker I quite like actually) and just before he left, spat in the face of Dixie Carter. For me this was a great promo by Roode and definitely the strongest since he won the World title. Most of it you could actually believe in, and the spit at the end just added that dramatic factor and is sure to buy him a ton load of heat. Nicely done Roode.
AJ Styles confronted Roode backstage but explained that the only reason he doesn't "rip him apart" right then and there was that he instead wanted everyone to see it in the ring. 
Abyss defeated Samoa Joe in a decent enough match up, for Abyss anyway. The finish came when Joe and the referee got distracted by Immortal member Scott Steiner at ringside. During this Bully Ray ran in and struck Joe with a chain, leaving Abyss (who had seen the attack by Ray) to choke slam Joe and grab the one-two-three. Ray and Steiner celebrated with 'The Monster' after believing that they had turned Abyss back into an Immortal member after helping him out, but instead he Black Hole Slammed Steiner and chased off Bully Ray. So why did they do this with a heel like Samoa Joe? And why was Abyss, a face, so happy to go along with the tainted win? Welcome to Russo-ville folks! Where it doesn't matter if you're good or bad!
D'Angelo Dinero and Devon asked out their opponents on Sunday, the TNA Tag Team champions Crimson and Matt Morgan to congratulate them on winning the titles and Devon also gave them his own personal belief that they could be "number one for a long time," really, Devon? He also warned them that him and 'Pope' will be bringing their A game at Final Resolution. Pope with a different tune then called the champions"two of the biggest, dumbest honkies that we've come across in some time," so there's clearly a heel turn approaching here. He also added that they were going to be taking the tag titles from them. It was a strong speech from Dinero that elicited a big cheer from the crowd, and proved once again that he deserves to be in a bigger position in TNA. Like for instance, the one that's been given to the average Anderson.
After the exchange of words Dinero barged Morgan on the way out which sparked a brawl between the teams. As Crimson and Devon wondered off out of the ring, Devon's two sons entered the ring to help out D'Angelo take out 'The Blueprint'.           
Mickie James defeated Madison Rayne in a bout that started off quite heated and exciting but ended sloppily. Should be a solid match between James and Gail Kim on Sunday though. Although I see Gail retaining with some outside help.
Garrett Bischoff defeated Gunner once again with a lucky pinfall victory. The match itself was average. Afterwards Gunner continued attacking Garrett and threw him into the steel steps. He also piledrivered him onto some exposed floor (uncovered by Eric Bischoff) on the outside of the ring. That's something you wouldn't see done in WWE, the piledriver is saved for only certain experienced wrestlers there.   
James Storm confronted Kurt Angle in the ring. Angle gave Storm credit for coming back so soon to action after the concussion he had caused him, he also warned that at Final Resolution when Storm enters the ring with him "you come into my world." Storm retaliated his threats by letting Kurt know that "there's nothing on God's green Earth that intimidates me." He also threatened Angle by adding that when he beats him at Final Resolution, he's going to crush his head "like a beer can."
Gail Kim defeated Traci Brooks in a heated match up where Brooks denied Karen Jarrett's earlier orders of just laying down and giving Kim the victory. Brooks had the majority of the exchange until Karen approached the ring, distracting the ref and allowing Madison Rayne to crack Traci over the head with her title belt and Gail Kim to pick up the pinfall win.
AJ Styles and Jeff hardy defeated Jeff Jarrett and Bobby Roode in an exciting main event. Hardy and Jarrett's battle ended up spanning off into the backstage area while AJ managed to get the win (with an injured leg and all) with a quick roll up pin on Roode. The fight continued after the match where Styles took the offence to the World champion until he ran off, only to return to take out the story-line-injured leg of AJ Styles.     

Tuesday 6 December 2011

My Raw, December 5th Recap

John Cena opened up the show by saying how grateful he was to the 'WWE Universe' for their support and for basically letting him do what he loves for a living, so basically sucking up again really. He also mentioned the fact that CM Punk was now lacking a number one contender to the WWE Championship, which cued Alberto Del Rio to join in and claim how he got robbed out of the title after Punk snake eyed him into an exposed turnbuckle in their title match on last weeks Raw. Then everybody's favourite 'Hash Tag Heel' Dolph Ziggler explained why he deserved the next World title shot ahead of those two after his recent series of wins at Survivor Series and over Orton last week. The Miz gave his own points as to why he should challenge next also. The duller-then-watching paint-dry-John Laurinaitis cleared things up by announcing that each man would compete on Raw and whoever won their match would be entered into the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the WWE Championship at TLC.
The Miz defeated Randy Orton to qualify first into the title match. The bout was decent enough and one of the better ones of the night. Miz got the win after Wade Barrett once again distracted Orton, thereby leading him away and allowing the referee to count him out.
Backstage Laurinaitis explained to John Cena and Zach Ryder that as part of a "social experiment" he was going to pit the two of them against each other as part of Cena's qualifying match. But he also added that if Ryder won, he would get his United States championship match against Ziggler.
Once again we were shown backstage where David Otunga (who I think has fitted well into this new 'assistant to Laurinaitis' role) told Kevin Nash that at TLC he would face Triple H in a sledgehammer on a  ladder match. What a ridiculous match, it's sounds like a Vince Russo idea. Nash can barely walk, never mind climb a ladder. Why didn't they just have the WWE title match a ladder match with something that's actually valuable for grabs at the top and make the Nash vs Triple H bout a TLC match where there's more options for the limited Nash?     
Alberto Del Rio defeated Daniel Bryan in a senseless match where Del Rio fairly quickly made Bryan tap out. After all the good work they've been doing with Bryan lately and they then have to tarnish it by having a submission specialist like himself submit. I'm not saying he should never tap out but if he does it should be saved for special opponents in a special match, not Del Rio in a televised qualifying bout.
Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres defeated Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a quick tag team match where Kelly got another roll up pin victory. I've grown tired of the likes of Kelly and Fox grabbing fluke wins over Natalya and Phoenix, it's just dampening their Divas of Doom aura. WWE should have booked them to be far more dominant then they have been, they could have really revitalised the Divas division if they had.
John Cena defeated Zach Ryder in an average match. The only real positive to take from it was that Ryder was made to look competitive against the unstoppable Cena, but other then that it pretty forgettable.
After the bout Cena went backstage to talk to Laurinaitis to try and persuade him to give the hard working Ryder an opportunity he's earned for the US title. Laurinaitis agreed to give Zach one more chance but only if he wins another match and if Cena gives up his spot in the WWE title match at TLC. Cena agreed to the terms, noting that he had been successful in his career not only from his hard work but from being given opportunities along the way too, like he was doing for Ryder now.
Zach Ryder defeated Mark Henry in a no disqualification match to earn his chance at the United States Championship. The match was brief but not bad. Ryder fought valiantly against the powerful Henry, but just as the World champion was dominating John Cena ran out and applied an Attitude Adjustment to Henry and dragged Ryder over him for the win, much to the crowds delight. Now if Ryder doesn't win the US title after all of this, the booking team should all be fired on the spot. 
Kevin Nash defeated Santino Marella in a predictable squash match. Afterwards Nash threatened Marella with a sledgehammer that he'd brought out with him, but left him and walked back up the ramp instead.
Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler in probably the best match of the night. The two went back and fourth and the crowd seemed to get into it a fair bit. Sheamus won after Ryder distracted Ziggler at ringside. After the bout Ryder Rough Rydered Ziggler. Ziggler has been on superb form as of late and with booking decisions such as him pinning Orton last week, management clearly have a lot of faith in him too. It would make sense for him to drop the title to Ryder and then challenge Punk for the WWE Championship in the near future.   
For the final segment of the show we had a contract signing for the WWE title match at TLC between CM Punk, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio. As soon as Punk arrived he moved the chairs and the table, explaining that it was such a stereotypical contract signing where they'd all inevitably start to fight anyway so he might as well move them aside. Each competitor took their turn to explain why they will win the title match. In a funny moment The Miz was explaining how he took out R-Truth and John Morrison, to which Punk answered back with "You took them out? Like on a date? Wait; Where did you take them? Based on how you're dressed, your faux hawk and your prima-donna attitude; Imma go ahead and guess that you took them to see that new Twilight flick. Not like there's anything wrong with that." They then all signed the contract and as predicted by Punk, began to fight. Punk came out on top as he (very nicely) bulldogged Del Rio through the table and applied the GTS to Miz. 
The Raw was decent enough, although again there was a lack of actual decent match ups, but I'm happy that Ryder is finally getting his title shot and I'm very pleased with the set up for what should be a very good TLC Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship. And as for the no show of Brodus Clay once again? I just think they're either dragging this for too long and people are going to start getting bored of him already before he even debuts on Raw, or he's going to make a major interference very soon. We'll see...

Friday 2 December 2011

My iMPACT Wrestling, December 1st 2011 Recap

Sting started things as he called out Bobby Roode to confront him about his recent behaviour and change in attitude. Roode for me really looked the part of the premier heel and World champion of the company right here, as he bragged about taking out Hardy and AJ Styles last week on iMPACT. Not only does he act the part with his mannerisms but he’s smartly dressing up in suits to bring across the perfect image for the character. Sting warned Roode that “for every bad choice that you make, there’s going to be a really bad consequence. And the consequences start right now Bobby!” Which cued AJ Style’s entrance to join them. The Stinger also warned of more consequences as Jeff Hardy also made his way out. Sting announced that it would be a three-way between AJ, Hardy and Roode in the main event of the show.
In the parking lot the Knockouts VP Karen Jarrett demanded that all the Knockouts (bar Gail Kim naturally) wash the wrestler’s cars in their lingerie after disrespecting her last week. Karen is starting to warm on me a little as Knockouts VP, although it doesn’t make much sense that she’s still in charge considering Dixie Carter took back the company and put Sting in charge of iMPACT.
Backstage Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett began to fight until Jarrett scarpered. To be honest I’m just starting to grow tired of this feud now, hopefully both guys will move on after the next pay-per-view.
D Von and D’Angelo Dinero bested Ink Inc and Mexican America in a three way tag team match to become number one contenders. The actual match wasn’t terrible but wasn’t terribly exciting either. D Von had most of the offence as he cleared house and got the pinfall victory. I’d still rather see The Pope as a singles competitor, I feel he has more to offer there.  
The charismatic X Division champion Austin Aries announced that he had now out grown the X Division. That he was a level above all the other wrestlers in the division (which is true in most cases) and that he’d defeated every competitor available to him. He even suggested that they rename the X Division the A double division.” Kid Kash the interrupted him and reminded Aries that he had never defeated him fairly. So the champ agreed to give him a title shot to prove who was the better wrestler and to seal the deal they would shake hands, of course being pro wrestling it didn’t go down so easily and they both went to punch each other as they shook hands. Well at least Kash is a bit more interesting as a face at the moment.
Backstage Bully Ray tried getting advice from Scott Steiner in recruiting Abyss back into Immortal. I love the chemistry between these two, they honestly make me laugh out loud every time they’re in a segment together.     
Mickie James defeated ODB in an exciting and heated street fight. Definitely a wise choice on TNA’s part brining back ODB and Gail Kim to the Knockouts division. The standard has already taken a step up in my opinion and I’m looking forward to Kim taking on James for the title too, should be a solid match up.  
Taz and Mike Tenay began interviewing the injured James Storm via satellite until Kurt Angle interrupted and explained Storm had brought it all on himself after causing him to loose the World title. Angle then also challenged Storm to come to iMPACT next week to make their match official, doctor’s permission or no doctor’s permission. Storm naturally accepted.
Robbie E (c) defeated Rob Van Dam to retain his Television title in a pretty forgettable match up. RVD largely dominated it but as the referee was distracted by Eric Young confronting Rob Terry at ringside, Christopher Daniels entered the ring and took out Van Dam leaving him to be pinned by Robbie E.   
Bobby Roode defeated AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy in the triple threat main event. The bout itself was decent enough with the exchanges between AJ and Hardy being the highlight. Roode got the win after Jarrett pushed Hardy off the top rope as he was going for a Swanton attempt and Bobby grabbed the pin on Hardy. Earlier in the show Sting had warned Jarrett that if he interfered in the three way dance there would indeed be consequences for him, and he lived up to that promise. As punishment Sting put Jarrett in a steel cage match at Final Resolution against Jeff Hardy, and if Jarrett wins then Hardy has to leave TNA but if Hardy wins then he becomes number one contender to the World title. It should be a fitting end to their feud and an exciting cage match but I don’t quite understand why Sting as a face would add a stipulation that required Hardy leaving the company if he lost, a little odd right?