Tuesday 26 March 2013

My WWE Raw, 25th March 2013


The Rock delivers the final blow of the show. Photo credit: WWE.com

CM Punk kicked things off by claiming that it's only his opinion that matters, and not those of people who believe in Undertaker's mystic powers and such. He also went on to state that 'The Dead Man' should've retired last year after going 20-0 at WrestleMania but now he's pushed his luck because he is taking on someone that will not loose on the grand stage.
After emulating 'Taker's trademark pose with Bearer's urn, The Undertaker himself then appeared and got a few strikes in on Punk before he managed to escape. This for me was the strongest segment for this feud yet, and the fans understandably went wild for 'Taker's appearance. 
As Fandango was announcing himself, Chris Jericho raced out and got some retribution in the form of some strikes after Fandango's attack on Y2J on last week's SmackDown. It was nicely executed.
Chris Jericho defeated Dolph Ziggler in an enjoyable encounter. It's hardly a shock that these two talents provided worthy efforts here, not their finest one on one match but a stellar one nonetheless. Y2J won via the Walls of Jericho. Afterwards Big E Langston applied a Big Ending to Jericho, leaving him to receive a beating from Fandango, who also landed a diving leg drop to finish him off. 
During an interview backstage The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) attacked Sheamus, but Randy Orton and Big Show came to the Irishman's aid and chased them off.
Mark Henry bested Jimmy and Jay Uso in a fair Handicap match. Nothing outstanding to be found here but it was fun for the most part. Afterwards Henry continued the assault on the two brothers.
Antonio Cesaro won via count out versus Alberto Del Rio in a contest that unfortunately wasn't given enough time to really get going. The action was solid while it lasted, until Jack Swagger made his way out and began once again attacking the leg of Ricardo Rodriguez.
This soon prompted Del Rio to run out and eventually chase off his WrestleMania opponent, but also costing him the match after being counted out. As Cesaro then celebrated, the World Champion decided to finish him off and applied his signature arm breaker for good measure. 
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) toppled the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a passable tag bout. While the action was always decent enough, it was just pretty pedestrian and unmemorable on the whole, like most match ups involving Young and O'Neil.
Triple H explained that while his career was on the line at WrestleMania XXIX versus Brock Lesnar, it made no difference since he'd always wrestled as if it was anyway. He also added that he wasn't planning to simply fight Lesnar, but kick his "ass." On his way out Wade Barett told him to hurry up, so 'The Game' retorted with a swift kick to the nether regions.
The Miz beat Wade Barett in a match that started off quite average, but had an entertaining finish. Once the two managed to hit their stride after an uninspiring beginning, we got some decent displays from them and the crowd begun to get into a bit more. Miz won via the figure four leglock.
Backstage Kaitlyn interrupted Bryan and Kane when arguing over who gets distracted more by AJ, unknown to them AJ Lee then overheard the Divas Champion talking about how unstable she was. This caused AJ to snap and attack her former friend until the Tag Team champions dragged her away.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder and The Great Khali in quite an enjoyable six-man tag bout, mainly due to the efforts of Rollins and Ambrose. Afterwards Orton, Sheamus and Big Show joined them and managed to send the trio packing. Should be an entertaining six-man between them all at 'Mania.
Jericho revealed backstage that Vickie Guerrero had granted him a match with Fandango on the grand stage next month.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) bested Brodus Clay and Tensai in largely mediocre tag contest. The wrestling was just average for the majority to be honest, nothing special. During the bout the Bella Twins and Naomi and Cameron also got into a scuffle on the outside.
Ryback toppled 3MB (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre) in a Handicap match with some fun moments here and there. It was the usual routine from Ryback, but I'll admit that he and his three opponents did provide some nice moments of action. 
AJ Lee won via count out versus Kaitlyn after the Divas champ accidentally landed a hard spear into the barricade. That was about the only interesting moment of the match up, outside of that it was Kaitlyn dominating for a minute or so.
Jerry Lawler hosted a WWE Hall of Fame panel of Mick Foley, Bret Hart, Booker T and Dusty Rhodes, who each got to ask The Rock and John Cena a question each, such as what they wanted from their WWE Title match at 'Mania and how they'd deal with a loss on the grand stage. After things got a bit more heated in Philly, Rocky asked Cena to bring it right there and then, so after a little tussle Rock managed to apply a Rock Bottom and flatten his future challenger. It was a strong segment to end the show on, and the best since the revival of their feud I felt.
Overall it was a mixed bag of a show, with some decent moments mixed in with more than a few forgettable ones. My highlights were Jericho versus Ziggler, the Shield six-man encounter and the Hall of Fame panel segment. Unfortunately as I said most of the show was fair if average, but at least this week's Raw was an improvement on the last couple. 

My WWE Raw, 25th March 2013


The Rock delivers the final blow of the show. Photo credit: WWE.com

CM Punk kicked things off by claiming that it's only his opinion that matters, and not those of people who believe in Undertaker's mystic powers and such. He also went on to state that 'The Dead Man' should've retired last year after going 20-0 at WrestleMania but now he's pushed his luck because he is taking on someone that will not loose on the grand stage.
After emulating 'Taker's trademark pose with Bearer's urn, The Undertaker himself then appeared and got a few strikes in on Punk before he managed to escape. This for me was the strongest segment for this feud yet, and the fans understandably went wild for 'Taker's appearance. 
As Fandango was announcing himself, Chris Jericho raced out and got some retribution in the form of some strikes after Fandango's attack on Y2J on last week's SmackDown. It was nicely executed.
Chris Jericho defeated Dolph Ziggler in an enjoyable encounter. It's hardly a shock that these two talents provided worthy efforts here, not their finest one on one match but a stellar one nonetheless. Y2J won via the Walls of Jericho. Afterwards Big E Langston applied a Big Ending to Jericho, leaving him to receive a beating from Fandango, who also landed a diving leg drop to finish him off. 
During an interview backstage The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) attacked Sheamus, but Randy Orton and Big Show came to the Irishman's aid and chased them off.
Mark Henry bested Jimmy and Jay Uso in a fair Handicap match. Nothing outstanding to be found here but it was fun for the most part. Afterwards Henry continued the assault on the two brothers.
Antonio Cesaro won via count out versus Alberto Del Rio in a contest that unfortunately wasn't given enough time to really get going. The action was solid while it lasted, until Jack Swagger made his way out and began once again attacking the leg of Ricardo Rodriguez.
This soon prompted Del Rio to run out and eventually chase off his WrestleMania opponent, but also costing him the match after being counted out. As Cesaro then celebrated, the World Champion decided to finish him off and applied his signature arm breaker for good measure. 
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) toppled the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a passable tag bout. While the action was always decent enough, it was just pretty pedestrian and unmemorable on the whole, like most match ups involving Young and O'Neil.
Triple H explained that while his career was on the line at WrestleMania XXIX versus Brock Lesnar, it made no difference since he'd always wrestled as if it was anyway. He also added that he wasn't planning to simply fight Lesnar, but kick his "ass." On his way out Wade Barett told him to hurry up, so 'The Game' retorted with a swift kick to the nether regions.
The Miz beat Wade Barett in a match that started off quite average, but had an entertaining finish. Once the two managed to hit their stride after an uninspiring beginning, we got some decent displays from them and the crowd begun to get into a bit more. Miz won via the figure four leglock.
Backstage Kaitlyn interrupted Bryan and Kane when arguing over who gets distracted more by AJ, unknown to them AJ Lee then overheard the Divas Champion talking about how unstable she was. This caused AJ to snap and attack her former friend until the Tag Team champions dragged her away.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder and The Great Khali in quite an enjoyable six-man tag bout, mainly due to the efforts of Rollins and Ambrose. Afterwards Orton, Sheamus and Big Show joined them and managed to send the trio packing. Should be an entertaining six-man between them all at 'Mania.
Jericho revealed backstage that Vickie Guerrero had granted him a match with Fandango on the grand stage next month.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) bested Brodus Clay and Tensai in largely mediocre tag contest. The wrestling was just average for the majority to be honest, nothing special. During the bout the Bella Twins and Naomi and Cameron also got into a scuffle on the outside.
Ryback toppled 3MB (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre) in a Handicap match with some fun moments here and there. It was the usual routine from Ryback, but I'll admit that he and his three opponents did provide some nice moments of action. 
AJ Lee won via count out versus Kaitlyn after the Divas champ accidentally landed a hard spear into the barricade. That was about the only interesting moment of the match up, outside of that it was Kaitlyn dominating for a minute or so.
Jerry Lawler hosted a WWE Hall of Fame panel of Mick Foley, Bret Hart, Booker T and Dusty Rhodes, who each got to ask The Rock and John Cena a question each, such as what they wanted from their WWE Title match at 'Mania and how they'd deal with a loss on the grand stage. After things got a bit more heated in Philly, Rocky asked Cena to bring it right there and then, so after a little tussle Rock managed to apply a Rock Bottom and flatten his future challenger. It was a strong segment to end the show on, and the best since the revival of their feud I felt.
Overall it was a mixed bag of a show, with some decent moments mixed in with more than a few forgettable ones. My highlights were Jericho versus Ziggler, the Shield six-man encounter and the Hall of Fame panel segment. Unfortunately as I said most of the show was fair if average, but at least this week's Raw was an improvement on the last couple. 

My WWE Raw, 25th March 2013


The Rock delivers the final blow of the show. Photo credit: WWE.com

CM Punk kicked things off by claiming that it's only his opinion that matters, and not those of people who believe in Undertaker's mystic powers and such. He also went on to state that 'The Dead Man' should've retired last year after going 20-0 at WrestleMania but now he's pushed his luck because he is taking on someone that will not loose on the grand stage.
After emulating 'Taker's trademark pose with Bearer's urn, The Undertaker himself then appeared and got a few strikes in on Punk before he managed to escape. This for me was the strongest segment for this feud yet, and the fans understandably went wild for 'Taker's appearance. 
As Fandango was announcing himself, Chris Jericho raced out and got some retribution in the form of some strikes after Fandango's attack on Y2J on last week's SmackDown. It was nicely executed.
Chris Jericho defeated Dolph Ziggler in an enjoyable encounter. It's hardly a shock that these two talents provided worthy efforts here, not their finest one on one match but a stellar one nonetheless. Y2J won via the Walls of Jericho. Afterwards Big E Langston applied a Big Ending to Jericho, leaving him to receive a beating from Fandango, who also landed a diving leg drop to finish him off. 
During an interview backstage The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) attacked Sheamus, but Randy Orton and Big Show came to the Irishman's aid and chased them off.
Mark Henry bested Jimmy and Jay Uso in a fair Handicap match. Nothing outstanding to be found here but it was fun for the most part. Afterwards Henry continued the assault on the two brothers.
Antonio Cesaro won via count out versus Alberto Del Rio in a contest that unfortunately wasn't given enough time to really get going. The action was solid while it lasted, until Jack Swagger made his way out and began once again attacking the leg of Ricardo Rodriguez.
This soon prompted Del Rio to run out and eventually chase off his WrestleMania opponent, but also costing him the match after being counted out. As Cesaro then celebrated, the World Champion decided to finish him off and applied his signature arm breaker for good measure. 
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) toppled the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a passable tag bout. While the action was always decent enough, it was just pretty pedestrian and unmemorable on the whole, like most match ups involving Young and O'Neil.
Triple H explained that while his career was on the line at WrestleMania XXIX versus Brock Lesnar, it made no difference since he'd always wrestled as if it was anyway. He also added that he wasn't planning to simply fight Lesnar, but kick his "ass." On his way out Wade Barett told him to hurry up, so 'The Game' retorted with a swift kick to the nether regions.
The Miz beat Wade Barett in a match that started off quite average, but had an entertaining finish. Once the two managed to hit their stride after an uninspiring beginning, we got some decent displays from them and the crowd begun to get into a bit more. Miz won via the figure four leglock.
Backstage Kaitlyn interrupted Bryan and Kane when arguing over who gets distracted more by AJ, unknown to them AJ Lee then overheard the Divas Champion talking about how unstable she was. This caused AJ to snap and attack her former friend until the Tag Team champions dragged her away.
The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder and The Great Khali in quite an enjoyable six-man tag bout, mainly due to the efforts of Rollins and Ambrose. Afterwards Orton, Sheamus and Big Show joined them and managed to send the trio packing. Should be an entertaining six-man between them all at 'Mania.
Jericho revealed backstage that Vickie Guerrero had granted him a match with Fandango on the grand stage next month.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) bested Brodus Clay and Tensai in largely mediocre tag contest. The wrestling was just average for the majority to be honest, nothing special. During the bout the Bella Twins and Naomi and Cameron also got into a scuffle on the outside.
Ryback toppled 3MB (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre) in a Handicap match with some fun moments here and there. It was the usual routine from Ryback, but I'll admit that he and his three opponents did provide some nice moments of action. 
AJ Lee won via count out versus Kaitlyn after the Divas champ accidentally landed a hard spear into the barricade. That was about the only interesting moment of the match up, outside of that it was Kaitlyn dominating for a minute or so.
Jerry Lawler hosted a WWE Hall of Fame panel of Mick Foley, Bret Hart, Booker T and Dusty Rhodes, who each got to ask The Rock and John Cena a question each, such as what they wanted from their WWE Title match at 'Mania and how they'd deal with a loss on the grand stage. After things got a bit more heated in Philly, Rocky asked Cena to bring it right there and then, so after a little tussle Rock managed to apply a Rock Bottom and flatten his future challenger. It was a strong segment to end the show on, and the best since the revival of their feud I felt.
Overall it was a mixed bag of a show, with some decent moments mixed in with more than a few forgettable ones. My highlights were Jericho versus Ziggler, the Shield six-man encounter and the Hall of Fame panel segment. Unfortunately as I said most of the show was fair if average, but at least this week's Raw was an improvement on the last couple. 

Friday 22 March 2013

My WWE SmackDown, 22nd March 2013 Recap


The Miz's own 'Miz TV' kicked things off, with guests Randy Orton and Sheamus disputing over having Big Show as their partner against The Shield at WrestleMania. 'The Viper' did, but the Irishman didn't. Big Show then joined them and after some heated words with Sheamus was calmed down by Orton who stated that they needed to "work together." GM Booker T then decided to test out their teamwork ability by booking them in a six-man tag match that night.
Mark Henry pinned Zack Ryder in a brief squash match. Afterwards Henry then applied a few more World's Strongest Slams for good measure. Remember when Ryder actually had some momentum? I know, hard to believe now. Ryback then stormed out and managed to successfully clothesline Henry off his feet after an intense face off. I can't say I'm particularly hyped for their upcoming bout.
Dolph Ziggler bested Kofi Kingston in an enjoyable outing. Both men provided fine displays here, and even though they've fought a fair bit recently they managed to still keep things interesting. Towards the end Kofi decided he'd had enough and body splashed Big E Langston on the outside, this then allowed Ziggler to take advantage and Zig Zag him back in the ring for the one-two-three. AJ Lee also provided amusing guest commentary.
Zeb Colter, accompanying Jack Swagger, claimed that while the attack on Ricardo Rodriguez and Del Rio by Swagger on this past Raw was unfortunate, he was willing to do anything to claim the World Title. He also added that those actions should serve as a warning to everyone, including his following opponent Chris Jericho.
Jack Swagger defeated Chris Jericho in a decent back and fourth contest. It was never particularly exciting but it was a fun watch for the majority, with worthy enough efforts. During the bout Fandango appeared and kicked Y2J as he went for a Lionsault, allowing Swagger to apply a Swagger Bomb for the winning pin. This was retribution for Jericho mocking Fandango's name this past Monday on Raw. I wouldn't mind seeing a match between them at 'Mania.
Brodus Clay and Tensai versus Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes) ended as a No Contest after the Bella Twins and Naomi and Cameron got into a scuffle outside the ring. Can't say I was too fussed that the match ended abruptly to be honest, it was all right.
The Miz beat Antonio Cesaro in a rather forgettable affair. The wrestling wasn't bad, just uninspiring for the most part with little interest to be found until the finish when Miz forced Cesaro to tap to the Figure Four. Did Antonio upset someone in the back? Since when is he being forced to tap to Miz after beating him multiple times only a month ago over the US strap? He deserves better than this.
Sheamus, Big Show and Randy Orton toppled 3MB (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre) in an enjoyable six-man tag main event. For the most part it was the winning side dominating, and although it wasn't the most technical wrestling it was still entertaining. Afterwards The Shield (Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns) made their way down to the ring, meanwhile the other three were beginning to argue amongst themselves, but they managed to sort themselves out and The Shield backed off this time. 
Overall it was a fair SmackDown, nothing outstanding but it was never bad at any point. The highlights were Ziggler versus Kofi and the main event. Still disappointed in this years run up to WrestleMania so far, I know it'll be an enjoyable event but the hype hasn't set in just yet.

My TNA Impact Wrestling, 21st March 2013 Recap


Hulk Hogan admitted that he'd never been as badly fooled as he had with Bully Ray joining Aces & 8s. He then called out his TNA "troops" Samoa Joe, Magnus, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, who suggested a four-way match between them all that night to determine who'll next face Bully for the World Title, which struck me as odd considering Jeff would surely have a rematch anyway? Hogan liked the idea and officially booked the match. 
Bobby Roode and Austin Aries (c) defeated Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez to retain the TNA Tag Team Titles in a stellar contest. All four men contributed worthy efforts here, providing crisp action for the majority. The champs grabbed the win after Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) ran down and distracted the referee and knocked Chavo off the top rope. They then also took out Aries and Roode with their own straps, I'd certainly be all for a title match between these four.
It was announced that all X Division Title matches in the future will be held under Triple Threat rules. What exactly is the point of this? Surely it will only hinder the division and hold them back?
Kenny King (c) bested Zema Ion and Sonjay Dutt to retain the X Division Championship in an exciting Triple Threat bout. It started off a little sloppy but once it picked up there was some terrific sequences from all three wrestlers, especially from the severely underutilised Dutt.
Taryn Terrell admitted that putting her hands on Kim as an official was wrong and she was ready for the consequences. Gail Kim then joined her and claimed that no one messes with her and gets away with it, then asked the Knockouts VP Brooke Hogan to come on out and fire her.
Sure enough Brooke came out and terminated her, but then also signed her on as a member of the Knockouts roster. So Taryn took advantage of this and speared the formerly smug Kim. Bully Ray then confronted his wife Brooke and reminded her that they were still married by signalling to his ring.
Throughout the night we witnessed VT's of Bully explaining the rise of Aces from last year and why certain members such as Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco joined up. It was a nice touch I thought, if not all obvious already.
Matt Morgan pinned Joseph Parks in a mediocre outing. As Morgan dominated the start and toyed with Parks it was all quite drab, and as Joseph made a brief comeback the action was still pretty pedestrian and unremarkable for me. Morgan finally gained the one-two-three after applying a Carbon Footprint. 
Mike Tenay asked AJ Styles to explain his recent actions and respond to the rumours that he'd turned to alcohol and drug abuse recently. But Taz interrupted and offered AJ a spot in Aces from the bottom. James Storm then also joined in and claimed that while his old friend Styles may have changed, he's still the "same old cowboy." But AJ wasn't interested in talking as he failed to utter a single word and simply walked away. It was a fair segment, I'm quite liking the more serious AJ at the moment.
Jeff Hardy beat Magnus, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle in a Four Way to earn a World Title shot. In the terrific main event the wrestling was kept to a constantly quick pace so you were always engaged, with a high standard of display from all four men involved. I was expecting an enjoyable one here and it did not disappoint.
Overall it was a solid show for the most part, with only the daft X Division announcement and average Morgan versus Parks encounter letting it down. Apart from that all the matches were stellar outings, especially the main event. My only other slight issue was the lack of any really decent promos, but I can excuse that for the high standard of wrestling they provided. Once again TNA has trumped WWE this week on television.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

My WWE Raw, 18th March 2013 Recap


Heyman reveals the stipulation for Lesnar versus Triple H on the grand stage. Photo credit: WWE.com

John Cena started things off in his new bright yellow top (about as appealing as it sounds) and claimed that in the build up to his match with The Rock at WrestleMania XXIX this time he will not promise victory, but instead warn him and his fans that his time is now.
The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil, who was dressed as his uncle Rufus 'Pancake' Patterson for some reason...) then interrupted Cena and told him that no one wanted to see him on the grand stage and challenged him to a one on one match with Young, so Cena accepted.
John Cena pinned Darren Young in a brief squash match. I guess this helped build up Cena (not that he needs it) for 'Mania but I can't help but feel the start of the show was a waste of time.
Ryback beat David Otunga in another squash match. And much like the previous one you wouldn't miss much by skipping it. Afterwards the victor warned Henry that their paths will cross again after the 'World's Strongest Man' attacked Ryback on last week's SmackDown. Mark Henry then came out but was soon halted by Teddy Long and Vickie Guerrero, who announced that Ryback would no longer be facing The Shield at 'Mania, but Henry instead. 
Fandango made his full entrance this week, but made a quick getaway after Natalya failed to pronounce his name properly. I'm quite liking the persona myself, he certainly stands out.
R-Truth won via count out versus Damien Sandow in a largely average and forgettable outing. There were a few nice moments here and there and it wasn't bad by any means, but it just failed to ever create some real excitement.
The Undertaker warned CM Punk that after what he did last week involving Paul Bearer's urn and the disrespect shown, he's going to "hurt you bad." He also demanded the urn be returned back. CM Punk then appeared on the big screen, mocking Bearer and claiming that while 'Taker is the best at WrestleMania, he's the best all year round and is the only one that can carry the burden of ending the 20-0 streak.
All the while Punk was also throwing around Bearer's urn, dropping it at one point. I haven't minded this feud so far, but I'm not blown away by it. It certainly hasn't lived up to the build ups between Taker and Triple H and Michaels over the last few years.
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) bested Epico and Primo in a decent enough tag bout. All four men provided fine displays, with only a bit of a botched chokeslam at the end looking sloppy. During the match AJ Lee ran out and skipped around the ring, but this failed to distract the tag champions enough as they still gained the win. 
Alberto Del Rio defeated Cody Rhodes in a solid contest, and top match of the night. It contained well executed back and fourth action, with worthy efforts from both men. Del Rio really is on great form this year. Afterwards Jack Swagger began attacking Del Rio from behind, with the World Champion briefly making a comeback until Zeb Colter caught his attention, which allowed Swagger to once again take out his 'Mania opponent. Swagger also damaged the ankle of Ricardo Rodriguez after being instructed by Colter to do so. It was a decent segment.
Booker T was announced as the next inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2013. I have absolutely no quarrels at all with him being inducted, he more than deserves it, but I feel he could've gotten a fairer spot in a not so busy year of high class inductees.
Randy Orton and Sheamus toppled 3MB (Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre) in a fun enough tag match. Not the greatest bout you'll witness but it had some entertaining moments, and there's no doubting the crowds support for the team of Orton and Sheamus. Afterwards The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) made their way to the ring, but soon backed up and left after Big Show came out and joined Orton and Sheamus. Show pointed towards the WrestleMania sign as a clear hint that he should be a part of their unit on the big stage before leaving.
Dolph Ziggler pinned Kofi Kingston in a fair bout. These two always deliver stellar displays against each other but unfortunately I feel like I've seen their encounters a hundred times now, and after a while you can't help but start to find them unmemorable and a bit dull to be honest. Nothing against either wrestler of course
Afterwards Team Hell No challenged Ziggler and Big E Langston to a tag match, so AJ accepted on their behalf, but only if the tag team titles were on the line and it took place at WrestleMania, which they agreed to. Should be a decent match.
Wade Barrett (c) bested The Miz and Chris Jericho to retain the Intercontinental Title in a Triple Threat match. The contest was entertaining for the majority, with nice sequences and plenty of effective near falls. Jericho was definitely the top performer here, with the fans firmly behind him. Barrett grabbed the win by applying a schoolboy for the one-two-three after Miz had flattened Y2J with a Skull Crushing Finale.
Paul Heyman, along with his own security, joined Triple H in the ring and once again reiterated that he won't reveal the stipulation of his match with Brock Lesnar until after 'The Game' had signed the contract. After Heyman had winded Triple H up, including bring Stephanie into things, he had enough and took out the three security guards, then began beating down and slapping around Lesnar's manager.
After the 'Cerebral Assassin' had signed the contract, Brock Lesnar himself appeared and circled the ring, but decided after some convincing from Heyman to leave things for now and walked back down the ramp. Heyman then officially announced that at WrestleMania it will be a No Holds Barred match between the two, with Triple H's career on the line. It was a strong end to the show, and felt like a WrestleMania build up.
Overall it was a largely pedestrian show, with a few solid matches and promos that managed to save it a bit. The highlights were Triple Threat for the IC Title, Del Rio versus Rhodes and the final segment. Other than that it was pretty unmemorable, but at least they made a few matches official for the grand stage. 

Friday 15 March 2013

My WWE SmackDown, 15th March 2013 Recap


Sheamus and Randy Orton defeated Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) in a solid tag bout to open the show. Each man gave a worthy effort and provided an enjoyable outing. Afterwards The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) claimed that after taking out The Rock and Cena in the past, it was a travesty that they weren't even included on the card for WrestleMania XXIX, so they challenged Orton and Sheamus to a six-man tag match on the grand stage, which they accepted.
Backstage Big Show asked Sheamus and Orton to be the third man in their team for 'Mania, but they revealed that they'd already asked Ryback instead.
Kaitlyn and Layla bested Aksana and Tamina in an average tag contest. As usual with the current Divas division it all just felt very pedestrian and very similar to what we see each week from the female performers. 
Backstage the Bella Twins took out Naomi and Cameron as a way of introducing themselves after putting down the way they act and dress. I presume this will lead to a tag match no one really wants.
Dolph Ziggler pinned Kane in a decent outing. Nothing exceptional but stellar enough wrestling from both men, as you'd expect. Towards the end Daniel Bryan and Big E Langston began tangling outside the ring, causing Kane to be distracted and Ziggler to capitalise for the win. Big E then helped deal further damage to Kane afterwards. Could this be leading to a tag team title match at 'Mania involving these four? It would make sense, but I'd rather Dolph didn't end up back in a team.
Fandango mocked The Great Khali's dancing ability, then once again refused to compete due to his name being announced to a sub-par standard for him.
During an interview backstage The Shield took out Orton and Sheamus, chucking the Irishman through a table and 'The Viper' into a wall. A frantic Booker T told the concerned Ryback to just go ahead with his match with Mark Henry. But as their match begun, The Shield made their way out and began briefly attacking Ryback until he removed them from the ring.
This was short-lived however as the trio made a comeback and took out Ryback with a triple powerbomb. After they left Henry then crept back into the ring and applied multiple World Strongest Slams.
Jack Swagger pinned Chris Jericho in a largely solid affair. Again much like the Kane Ziggler bout this was an enjoyable watch, but it wasn't anything outstanding or that special. Swagger managed to apply a gutwrench powerbomb to Y2J for the one-two-three after he'd collided with the ropes head first.
Overall it was a fair SmackDown, with the opening tag match, Ziggler versus Kane and main event upping the quality and providing some matches worth a look at. We also finally had The Shield versus Orton, Sheamus and most likely Big Show set up officially for WrestleMania, with a healthy amount of time to build it up some more. Unfortunately the rest of show was either quite pedestrian or just average and unmemorable. 

My TNA Impact Wrestling, 14th March 2013 Recap

It was as great as the photo suggests. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com


Before the following tag team title match could begin, Aces & 8s raced out and attacked Chavo Guerrero and HernandezDevon then told all the fans to shut up and introduced the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Bully Ray. Bully spoke about how proud he was of his fellow Aces members and how he fooled Hogan, Brooke and the fans for nine months. He also added that in one night he'd accomplished what the NWO never had. It was a decent start to the show, with the always solid Chicago crowd getting into it.
Velvet Sky and Mickie James bested Tara and Gail Kim in a largely enjoyable tag bout. Every performer gave a worthy display here. Referee Taryn Terrell was once again pushed to breaking point by Kim and slapped her in the face, shortly after Sky managed to apply an In Yo' Face on Tara for the one-two-three.
Rob Terry pinned Robbie E in a pretty worthless outing. The only positive was how brief the match was kept, the wrestling was just very mediocre, Terry even seemed to struggle applying a spinebuster at the end. Afterwards Terry then began dancing...badly. It was just awkward. And why is Rob announced as haling from New Jersey? He's from Wales?
Hulk Hogan blamed Sting backstage for trusting Bully and therefore helping Aces gain the upper hand, claiming that he never trusted him. Didn't Hogan walk his daughter down the aisle to marry the guy and admit that the only reason he wasn't sure of him was because he didn't like the idea of Brooke being with a pro wrestler, not who he actually was? TNA defies logic. Sting then begged Hogan not to fire Aces & 8s, and stated that he had a plan for them. But Hulkster wasn't having any of it and told him to get out, adding that "You make me sick." Harsh words, eh?
Backstage Austin Aries and Bobby Roode rubbed in how Sting was wrong about Bully Ray and how it was all his fault right to his face. So 'The Stinger' retorted by challenging Aries to a match later on.
As AJ Style's music hit for his return, there was no sign of the man himself, so Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) came out dressed as Chicago's own Legion of Doom and claimed that it wasn't the first time Styles had let down his fans. They also announced their tribute as "throwback Thursday" and stated that LOD were just fake tough guys, unlike them. Daniels also added his own funny twist on the legendary tag teams famous line with "Ooooooh what a tush!" As usual Bad Influence were on great form.
James Storm then joined the duo and reminded them that LOD were a fair bit taller and bigger than them, and were also a lot more over. He then went on to challenge one of them to a match right there, deciding on Daniels after flipping 'The Fallen Angel' into the ring.
James Storm defeated Christopher Daniels in a solid encounter. Not either man's finest contest but a fun one nonetheless, with nicely executed action. Afterwards as Kaz and Daniels began beating down 'The Cowboy', a worse for wear looking AJ Styles appeared and chased them off, only to then turn on Storm by clotheslining him. 
Backstage we witnessed various Aces & 8s members taking out Kurt Angle, a target they'd anonymously picked out at random earlier.
Joseph Parks came out and told the fans that standing in the ring in his home town of Chicago was the proudest moment of his life. Matt Morgan then joined him and accused Parks of being the biggest mistake that Hogan ever made, and that he planned to eliminate all the errors of the Hulkster. But Parks refused to leave and claimed that in Chicago no one backs down from a fight and challenged Morgan to one. An amused 'Blueprint' told Parks that they'll fight when he wants to, then applied a Carbon Footprint, announcing that they'll have a match next week. 
Sting versus Austin Aries ended in a No Contest after Aces & 8s ran in and took out 'The Stinger'. The match itself had been a very entertaining one, and far better than I was expecting. I was predicting a fair contest here, nothing much, but both men gave great efforts and provided a fun watch from the opening bell. This is one of Sting's finest single bouts in a long while. After Aces beat down Sting (Aries had made a quick getaway) Bully demanded Hogan come out and dared him to fire them. 
Sure enough Hogan came out, but instead announced that he had convinced all the wrestlers in the back to band together to take out the gang. As members of the roster ran out, including former champ Jeff Hardy, they were not enough as Aces also eventually took them out. What's Hogan going to do now?
Overall it was a decent enough Impact, with almost all the matches providing stellar action and some nice progression in the Aces & 8s and TNA feud, with Bully injecting some much needed interest back into the gang as the top heel in the company. Actually, bar the Robbie E versus Terry match I liked all of the show really. My personal highlights were the Bad Influence promo ("Oooooh what a tush!" I will forever remember) Daniels vs Storm, Styles' return and the enjoyable main event.  

Tuesday 12 March 2013

My WWE Raw, 11th March 2013 Recap


The Undertaker pays respect to the late William Moody. Photo credit: WWE.com

The show started with a nice tribute to  William 'Paul Bearer' Moody, with The Undertaker coming out afterwards and doing his trademark routine in the ring with Moody's urn. CM Punk then interrupted things, which understandably generated some real heat for him from the fans. Punk claimed that while to Bearer will always have known the perfect 20-0 WrestleMania streak, everyone else will know the 20-1 record after he defeats him on the grand stage. It was an interesting start to the show.
During the break a furious Kane then attempted to chokeslam Punk off of the stage, but Punk managed to escape and legged it.  
Big Show versus Seth Rollins soon ended in a disqualification when Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns helped out their Shield teammate by beating down Show, who managed to make a brief comeback but was then taken down by a spear by Reigns and a triple powerbomb.  
An upset CM Punk stormed into Vickie Guerrero's office and demanded something be done about Kane's actions, so she decided to put him in a No Disqualification match against the 'Big Red Monster'. Punk was not amused.
Dolph Ziggler pinned Daniel Bryan in a solid encounter. As expected, these two wrestlers who clearly take pride in their work both gave great efforts here, providing an exciting match with nicely executed back and fourth action. For the finish Bryan had the No Lock on Ziggler, but a distraction from AJ Lee and Big E Langston pulling Ziggler towards the ropes soon put an end to that. Ziggler then countered another No Lock and quickly applied a Zig Zag for the one-two-three.
In his trademark segment, Fandango once again refuse to compete due to his name being pronounced to a poor standard. He also called Brodus Clay and Tensai an "abomination" with their poor dancing skills. 
Team Rhodes Scholars performed their own amusing rendition of the New Age Outlaws intro promo, which was actually well executed by both men. Road Dogg and Billy Gunn then joined them and did the original version before their following match up. But as the tag bout begun Brock Lesnar, accompanied by Paul Heyman, walked out and took out Triple H's fellow DX members with an F5 a piece.
Paul Heyman went on to explain that Lesnar could do whatever he pleased, evidenced by him breaking Shawn Michael's arm and breaking Vince McMahon's hip. He also added that Lesnar accepted Triple H's challenge for a match at WrestleMania, but only if they got to name the stipulations after the COO had signed the contract.
Mark Henry beat Kofi Kingston in a fair outing. Rather than the usual squash matches involving Henry, we at least got a bit of offense from Kofi here to make it a bit more engaging. 
Ryback bested Heath Slater in a brief squash match. Afterwards fellow 3MB member Drew McIntyre tried his luck to take out Ryback, but failed miserably. Henry watched on from the stage, then marched to the ring and had a contest with Ryaback on who could dish out more damage to the fallen McIntyre.
Alberto Del Rio defeated Antonio Cesaro in a highly enjoyable contest. Two of WWE's most consistent performers once again delivered here, each giving worthy efforts and providing stellar wrestling.
We were then shown a nicely produced Rock versus Cena promo for 'Mania, and as someone that has little interest in their rematch even I have to admit that it peaked my interest.
Sheamus and Randy Orton beat Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes) in a decent enough tag bout. While there was nothing particularly exceptional I can't fault the displays of any of the four men, they put on a largely fun match to watch. Afterwards The Shield appeared and attacked Sheamus and Orton.
Wade Barrett soon interrupted Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel with special guest The Miz, and stated that his latest starring role in 'The Marine 3' was nothing compared to his in 'Dead Man Down'. After some more bickering between him and Miz (it really wasn't great) Y2J interjected and warned Barrett that he might have to take the Intercontinental Title from him.
Brad Maddox then joined them and booked Jericho versus Miz to determine the number one contender to the IC strap. The segment was quite painful to watch, even Jericho wasn't on great form. I also couldn't quite tell if Maddox was purposely being awkward here or not, I'm hoping he was because I'm a fan, he's got plenty of charisma and is always one of my highlights of a show when providing guest commentary. 
Chris Jericho versus The Miz ended in a DQ after Barrett started brawling with both men. The contest itself had been quite pedestrian, and certainly not up to the quality of Jericho's more recent outings since returning. After attacking them, Y2J and Miz then turned things around and took out Barrett.
Jack Swagger bested Sin Cara in a passable match up. While the action was decent enough, it wasn't the most remarkable or memorable affair. Afterwards Del Rio ran down to stop Swagger as he refused to let go of the Patriot Lock on Sin Cara and chased him off. 
Kane pinned CM Punk in the No Disqualification main event. It was an enjoyable enough match, both men looked good. It just failed to really get me excited at any point, but I can't fault the displays given. I did however have a big gripe with Kane winning, Punk has lost recently to The Rock and Cena so WWE should be doing everything they can to make him a more believable contender to 'Taker's streak. Kane gained the victory after applying a chokeslam when Undertaker's bong hit and distracted Punk.
Afterwards as Kane and 'Taker both posed with respect to Paul Bearer, CM Punk cracked Kane multiple times with Bearer's urn and made a quick getaway when 'The Deadman' made his way to the ring, mocking The Undertaker's pose on the stage. I'm hoping we get a bit more of the down to earth, 'Bad Ass' 'Taker in the lead up to their match to add a bit more depth to the feud.
Overall it was a fair, if unremarkable Raw. The highlights for me were the Ziggler versus Bryan and Cesaro versus Del Rio bouts, which were both very solid, the Heyman and Lesnar segment and the nice William Moody tribute package. The main event was also a decent enough watch, and The Rock versus Cena VT was well executed. Unfortunately the rest of the show failed to engage me much at all. 

Monday 11 March 2013

My TNA Lockdown 2013 Recap


Bully stands tall as the new champ. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com

Kenny King (c) defeated Christian York and Zema Ion to retain the X Division Championship in a Triple Threat match. And what a great choice for opener this was, with blistering action and plenty of excitement throughout. All three men looked on top form and provided more than worthy efforts, giving probably their best performances in the company to date.
For me this certainly toppled anything involving RVD and King, and proves that the division didn't need him but the younger, fresher talent to bring back the excitement which the division was built on.
Joseph Parks pinned Joey Ryan in a passable comedy match. There was nothing exceptional here but it wasn't bad, there were some fair moments of wrestling. Parks gained the one-two-three after sitting on Ryan as he went to roll him over for a pin attempt.
Velvet Sky (c) beat Gail Kim to retain the Knockouts Title in a largely pedestrian affair until the final couple of minutes. Kim looked stellar as normal, while Sky looked okay if unremarkable, so also the norm for her. For the finish Kim confusingly pushed and slapped referee Taryn Terrell for counting slow and then dared her to call for a disqualification. Why on earth would Kim call for a DQ when the title was on the line and she was the challenger? It made no sense. Eventually having enough Terrell then snapped and attacked Kim, allowing Sky to apply an In Yo' Face for the win. 
Rob Terry pinned Robbie E in a mediocre outing. The match contained  uninspiring wrestling that was occasionally sloppy at times, which wasn't a shock considering the two talents involved. You wouldn't miss much by skipping this one to be honest.
Austin Aries & Bobby Roode (c) bested Chavo Guerrero & Hernandez and Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) to retain the TNA Tag Team Titles in a superb three way tag bout. The action was red hot here as all six men kept up a terrific pace throughout with solid wrestling and plenty of excitement. I was trying to pick out a standout performer or two but it was too hard, with every man giving a great effort. Definitely lifted the quality of the event after some lacklustre few match ups.
Wes Brisco beat Kurt Angle in a Steel Cage match. This was actually a lot more enjoyable than I'd anticipated. Kurt as standard for him was on top form, helping Wes to provide a fun first match inside a cage for the night. Brisco looked competent enough here, but clearly still has some work to do in the ring. As usual Angle provided a very memorable moment inside the steel structure in the form of a German Suplex from the side of the cage towards the end.
For the finish D'Lo Brown, the VP of Aces & 8s, cracked Angle from behind after he'd exited the cage (Kurt had accidentally KO'd the referee a few moments earlier) and threw him back him and helped drag Wes out as the ref recovered.
Team TNA (Sting, James Storm, Eric Young, Samoa Joe and Magnus) defeated Aces & 8s (Devon, Doc, Garett Bischoff, Mr Anderson and Knox) in the Lethal Lockdown match. The match got off to a bit of a slow start as each man entered the steel structure, which is understandable. After the last man Sting entered with two dustbins (if you haven't guessed yet, I'm British) full of weapons the bout started to get a bit more interesting.
Each unit took it in turns to dominate, with some nice bits of action here and there. But the biggest highlight of the match (and one I'll always remember) was when Samoa Joe pulled down five stacked men above him (including Garett at the top of the cage) down to the mat, it predictably got a standing ovation from the fans in Texas. Eric Young gained the winning pin after applying a diving elbow drop from the top of the cage, it was a nice finish.
Overall it was an enjoyable enough Lockdown match, but certainly not the best. The removal of the roof from the past (which contained weapons and would be lowered after all men had entered) was a bit disappointing for me, some of the most dramatic moments from previous LL matches happened at the top on the roof (normally involving AJ Styles). But I can't fault the efforts of most men involved, they provided a fun watch.
Bully Ray pinned Jeff Hardy (c) to obtain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a Steel Cage main event. The bout itself was a tremendous one too, with effective near falls and dramatic back and fourth wrestling, plus an ending I very much enjoyed, but I'll get to that in a bit...
Both men gave displays to be proud of and contributed a worthy main event to an otherwise up and down night in terms of quality. During the contest Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff came in, only to be soon chucked out by Hardy and Ray. Later on the rest of Aces also entered the cage, and this was when Devon passed over a hammer to Bully to strike down Hardy with and cover him for the World strap. Now my only gripe with the match itself was Wes and Garett entering it, what was the point? it just made them look weak. I can't fathom any reason or point to it.
Afterwards Brooke and Hulk Hogan (poorly) feigned shock at what they'd just witnessed, with Hulk's expression especially amusing. Bully then explained that he'd used Hulk, "screwed" Brooke and fooled all the fans, and announced himself as the President of Aces & 8s. He delivered the promo brilliantly, and reminded me why I loved him so much as a heel before, calling the Hulkster an "old bastard" and Brooke a "stupid bitch." The fans then began to rain down bottles and cups onto the gang in the cage, it was like a scene from pro wrestling in the nineties, it was a memorable end to the show. 
On the whole Lockdown was a mixed bag of a pay-per-view, with the majority of matches pretty pedestrian and unmemorable. My highlights were the tag team title bout and the main event, both terrific outings with great displays from all involved. The Lethal Lockdown match was also decent at parts, it's just a shame the rest of the card didn't live up to those three. Most importantly the event had a strong finale, leaving me wanting to see more from the solid heel that is Bully Ray and what's going to happen on Thursday night.  

Friday 8 March 2013

My WWE SmackDown, 8th March 2013 Recap

Del Rio applies a double knee backbreaker to Ziggler in their terrific bout. Photo credit: WWE.com

Zeb Colter, who'd accompanied Jack Swagger, claimed that secretly every American in attendance held the same values as them that they're tired of all the immigrants coming into their country and taking what's theirs. The World Champion Alberto Del Rio then joined them and presented quite an amusing VT of himself and Ricardo Rodriguez mocking the two in a parody of one of their YouTube videos. Del Rio's character and interest have risen so much since turning face.
Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) defeated 3MB (Drew McIntyre & Heath Slater) in a fair tag bout. The action was solid enough for the most part, but a few slightly sloppy moments and lack of real excitement let it down a bit. Are we still going to maybe get that Kane versus Bryan match at WrestleMania? Here's hoping so.
Ryback pinned Damien Sandow in an average contest. There was nothing exceptional or that engaging to be found here unfortunately. That may sound a bit harsh considering neither man was bad by any means, they just failed to produce anything memorable. 
Alberto Del Rio beat Dolph Ziggler in an exciting back and fourth encounter. Both men gave terrific efforts here, with an especially entertaining final few minutes to the bout. What a contrast to the previous match up this was, with refreshing wrestling that stood out. 
Mark Henry beat Yoshi Tatsu in a brief squash match. Afterwards we were shown Henry and Ryback have a face off backstage, hopefully their match won't be too long at 'Mania, I can see it dragging a bit.
Tamina pinned Kaitlyn in a short and forgettable affair. During the match Layla (who'd said she'd accompany Kaitlyn to give her tips, which Josh Matthews rightly called a bit daft considering she's the Divas Champion) was struck by Tamina so she attempted to get some payback, but as the referee held her back this allowed Tamina to gain the upper hand and finish off Kaitlyn for the one-two-three. Seems a Triple Threat for the Divas strap is on the cards for WrestleMania I guess.
Once again Fandango refused to compete due to his name being announced poorly to his standards, this time by Lilian Garcia. Oh Lilian, you have to breathe in the A's, honestly...
Big Show versus Sheamus ended in a No Contest after The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) ran down. While it was a decent bout on the whole, admittedly it started off a bit slow and drab, but as with their World Title series they began to gel and worked well together, building up some excitement and fun sequences. While their encounters are never technically amazing, I can't help but get drawn in and just have fun watching them. 
As The Shield began beating on Sheamus (Show was KO'd after receiving a Brogue Kick on the apron) Randy Orton ran down and tried to help out but fell victim to the numbers, that was until Show woke up and helped chase off the trio after they took him out on this week's Raw. Show then took advantage of the distraction and KO'd Sheamus with a punch, in turn Orton then RKO'd the giant.
Overall it was a fair, if unremarkable show. The highlights were the great Del Rio versus Ziggler match, main event, Del Rio and Rodriguez's parody video and best of all (for me personally) Brad Maddox on guest commentary, the guy has plenty of charisma and genuinely makes me chuckle, which is more than I can say for most commentators in WWE today. Unfortunately the rest of SmackDown you could skip and not really miss much, which is pretty poor for a show heading into WrestleMania.