Saturday 29 June 2013

My WWE SmackDown, 28th June 2013 recap

Christian with the winning spear. Photo credit: WWE.com

Sheamus pinned Damien Sandow in a enjoyable enough Dublin Street Fight. It was a worthy effort from both men, although there was nothing particularly original or outstanding about it. Sheamus grabbed the one-two-three after Brogue Kicking Sandow while he was sitting on a couple of steel chairs. This feud has given Sandow some relevance but I'm still disappointed that he hasn't been granted a significant one on one win against Sheamus, and I think this match would've been ideal for it. 
The Miz quizzed his 'Miz TV' guest Paul Heyman on matters involving CM Punk, but Heyman refused to delve into his personal life and brought out his client Curtis Axel. Miz went on to accuse Heyman of being involved in Lesnar attacking Punk, so after a few more heated exchanges between the three Miz finally challenged Axel to an Intercontinental match right there and then, but Heyman refused on his client's behalf. It was a decent enough segment.
Before AJ Lee's match, Kaitlyn came out dressed as her rival (as AJ did to her on this week's Raw) and accused her of being intimate with various ringside officials, including the physician who had a hilariously stern reaction to that. It wasn't great by any means, and only a bit of an improvement on AJ's lame impersonation segment that we had to endure.   
Natalya beat AJ Lee in a very brief and forgettable affair. Natalya won with a quick roll up after Kaitlyn skipped around the ring in typical AJ fashion. Kaitlyn also hit the Divas Champion with a nice spear afterwards.
Backstage Teddy Long informed Vince McMahon that he was entering Wade Barrett, Antonio Cesaro, Jack Swagger, Fandango, Dean Ambrose, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow into the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match next month. I imagine Swagger and Ambrose as the most likely to win here, and given the choice I wouldn't mind Ambrose or Cesaro coming away with the briefcase.
Randy Orton defeated Kane in a decent back and fourth contest. Maybe I enjoyed it more since I wasn't really expecting much here, but it had some stellar action for the most part and fine displays from both wrestlers. Orton managed to catch Kane in an RKO for the win after Bryan pushed his former Team Hell No partner into the ring, seemingly encouraging him but also smirking at Kane failing to do what he did on Raw this week against Orton as he went down the ramp.
Ryback beat Justin Gabriel in a short and unremarkable outing where he managed to Shell Shock him for the win after having his leg damaged. Ryback's MITB opponent Chris Jericho then came out and mocked him for almost being brought to tears over the slight injury and called him "Cryback." Y2J went on to then run down and began brawling with Ryback, almost catching him in the Walls of Jericho before he managed to escape the ring.
Christian and Jimmy & Jay Uso defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) in an exciting six-man tag bout. As standard for most of Shield's match ups, this contained solid wrestling throughout and the fast pace made sure you never lost interest. While everyone provided worthy efforts, I'd have to mention Christian as the standout performer for me, who also managed to grab the win with a spear to Ambrose. 
World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio held a fiesta for himself, celebrating his fourth World Title win at Payback. After giving a speech in Spanish, he went on to bash in a pinata with Ziggler's face on it and then dared the man himself to come out. So Dolph Ziggler made his way to the ring where he managed to scare off Del Rio after applying a Zig Zag and threw Ricardo Rodriguez threw a table and smashed a guitar across his face. A much happier Ziggler then ended the show by singing along with the mariachi band.  
Overall it was a decent enough show, with only a couple of the match ups letting it down a bit. My highlights were Orton versus Kane, Sheamus versus Sandow and the entertaining six-man tag contest. The Miz TV and Del Rio Fiesta segments were also decent enough. 

Friday 28 June 2013

My TNA Impact Wrestling, 27th June 2013 recap

Magnus drives Roode into the mat on his way to victory. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com

Sting introduced his first member of the new Main Event MafiaKurt Angle, who explained that they'd brought back the group to destroy Aces & 8s and strip Bully Ray of the World Title, claiming that the gang had gone too far. Angle also announced that their latest member will be unveiled later on.
Backstage Bully Ray, with the aid of Mr. Anderson and Doc, warned X Division Champion Chris Sabin that he better not cash in his strap for a World Title shot at Destination X next month, or he'd be sorry. 
Suicide bested Chris Sabin (c) and Kenny King to obtain the X Division Championship in a largely entertaining Triple Threat contest with a confusing ending. Personally I felt the match could've been shortened a bit, condensing the fast action and cutting some of the awkward periods would've definitely benefited things here, otherwise it was a fun outing.
Suicide grabbed the dubious win by pinning King while holding ono the ropes. Afterwards Hulk Hogan then came out and revealed that wrestler TJ Perkins who normally portrays Suicide was jumped in the back and someone else was in the costume. So rather than restart the match or void it, Hogan demanded that the wrestler reveal their identity, but instead the new champion legged it out of the ring. 
Adam Ohriner pinned Ryan Howe in a Gut Check Challenge match. Both men still looked fairly inexperienced, but they gave fair efforts. Ohriner is probably best known as Zack Ryder's occasional guest on his 'Z! True Long Island Story' show. On his way in Howe played his electric guitar, which the fans began to quickly loose interest in. His VT seemed to be more about him talking about music than pro wrestling.
Mickie James (c) beat Velvet Sky to retain the TNA Knockouts Title via submission with a deathlock. The match itself varied in quality, but overall it was a rather average affair. Like the three-way earlier in the night I think this bout would've benefited from being a little shorter in length. There were more than a few sloppy moments too which was disappointing from two performers with this much experience. Afterwards a heartbroken Sky could barely talk when interviewed.  
Magnus defeated Bobby Roode in a solid Bound for Glory Series encounter. It started off a little slow but once the two got going it quickly became an engaging back and fourth contest, with effective near falls and smooth wrestling. It's looking more and more likely that Magnus will be the eventual winner of the BFG Series this year.
James Storm, accompanied by fellow Tag Team Champion partner Gunner, was giving a speech on being the champs when Robbie E and Jesse interrupted him and announced themselves as a new team called 'Bro-mans'. 'The Cowboy' however interpreted this as bromance, and after mocking Tara Jesse leapt for them, so Gunner KO'd him with a single strike. It was a pretty amusing segment, with Storm being his usual charismatic self.   
Samoa Joe forced Mr. Anderson to tap in a BFG Series match up. It was a passable bout, nothing outstanding to be found but it was watchable. Doc and Knox ran down towards the end to distract Joe, but Sting and Angle decided to even things up and chased off the Aces members. They then revealed that Joe was the latest MEM acquisition. So far I'm really liking the look of the brand new Mafia, some strong and interesting members.
Hulk Hogan, and shortly Bully Ray too, both demanded that the mysterious new Suicide reveal his identity to them. So finally he did, and it was none other than the same man that cashed in the X Division strap last year to win the World Title, Austin Aries. Admittedly I was a bit frustrated at the booking of Sabin loosing the belt in that fashion, but looking forward the prospect of Aries facing Bully does seem a lot more appealing to me.
It was a nice end to a decent enough Impact, and one that will have me interested in where this all leads next week. My highlights elsewhere for the show were Magnus versus Roode, the X Division three-way and the choice of Joe joining the MEM.  

Tuesday 25 June 2013

My WWE Raw, 24th June 2013 Recap

Priceless faces. Photo credit: WWE.com

Daniel Bryan started things off by talking about having to deal with his treatment as a smaller man (being asked if he was in The Hobbit, being accused of having little man syndrome, etc) and people not believing in his ability because of his image since he debuted in WWE, but he was still confident in what he could do and wanted to defeat Orton definitively and not by count out (which happened on last week's SmackDown). 
Randy Orton then joined him and told him to shut up and the two began their match. Unfortunately their bout was short lived and soon ended in a double disqualification after Bryan collided with the referee and the two continued to brawl on the outside of the ring. The match was exciting and heated while it lasted. A furious Bryan stormed into Vickie Guerrero's office and demanded a rematch with Orton, or else he'd face her assistant Brad Maddox. So she agreed to the match up.
Sheamus and Christian defeated Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) in an enjoyable tag bout. While not as technically impressive as the tag outings involving The Shield recently, this was still a fun watch with fine displays from every man. 
Kaitlyn pinned Aksana in a forgettable contest with average action. During the bout AJ Lee came out dressed up as Kaitlyn and along with Big E Langston mocked the former Divas champion when she was duped by believing that Big E was her secret admirer. It was a very lame skit that lacked any entertainment for me. I've quite liked their feud so far but this was just poor all round.
Chris Jericho won via DQ versus Alberto Del Rio in a solid and engaging back and fourth encounter. The wrestling was stellar for the majority (there were a few slightly off moments, but that's probably just me being picky) and I wouldn't mind another rematch, which is always a good sign.
The DQ came after Ricardo Rodriguez attacked Y2J with his trademark bucket as he'd latched the World Champion into the Walls of Jericho. Dolph Ziggler then once again raced out and began attacking Del Rio until he managed to get away, he also Zig Zagged Jericho after a face off between the two (Ziggler cost him a match against Del Rio on last week's SmackDown so Jericho Codebreakered him).
After Vickie and Brad Maddox introduced their attempts the new WWE 2K14 cover, Jerry Lawler finally presented the real one with The Rock on the cover. A wrestler we're going to barely see over the year is on the cover, I'd have even taken Cena over Rocky to be honest, he'd be more deserving.
Ryback beat The Great Khali in a mediocre affair. It was slow, drab, and had nothing eventful about it bar Ryback's Shell Shock on Khali for the one-two-three, but that wasn't enough to salvage it.
WWE Champion John Cena spoke about how the chase of the WWE Title can drive men to all sorts, including Henry's fake retirement speech last week. He then expressed how infuriated it made him and how he'd made a mockery of men that had given genuine retirement speeches such as HBKEdge, and Ric Flair (although his wasn't genuine either). But he warned Henry that at Money in the Bank he still had to go through him to win the strap and he wouldn't go down easily. it was better than most of Cena's promos, since he was serious and didn't have to include any childish jokes.
The Usos bested Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) and 3MB (Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) in passable three-way tag contest to earn number one contendership for the WWE Tag Team Title. The wrestling was fairly drab for the most part, but it wasn't a terrible match. Afterwards The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) appeared in the crowd and stared down their future opponents.
Paul Heyman came out and asked CM Punk to join him so they could publicly discuss Brock Lesnar's attack on him last week, so Punk did just that. After retelling their history in the company together dating back to 2005 when their relationship began in OVW, Punk asked Heyman to be honest with him despite his reputation and asked him if he had anything to do with Lesnar's actions last Monday night.
Heyman swore on his children's life that he had nothing to do with it and that he loved Punk as a friend and believed that one day he would walk him down to the ring once again. Punk apologised for doubting him and they hugged. It was terrific mic work from both men, plus material (or in this case most likely truth) taken from real events always heighten the interest and drama.
CM Punk pinned Darren Young in a fair match up. While the action was okay, it wasn't the most memorable or engaging outing. Afterwards Young's tag partner Titus O'Neil joined him to begin clobbering Punk, that was until Heyman's latest client Curtis Axel ran down to help chase them off. A confused Punk was told by Heyman that he had no choice but to send Axel out.
Stephanie McMahon announced that CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Kane, Sheamus, Christian and the returning Rob Van Dam will be participating in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match. That's a very impressive lineup, I'm leaning towards Bryan or RVD to take it at the moment.
Backstage Ryback and Chris Jericho staked their claims for participating in the WWE Title match and WWE Title MITB match respectively, so after arguing with each other Vickie decided to settle things by booking them in a match at Money in the Bank next month. 
Mark Henry boasted about fooling all the fans last week when he claimed that he was retiring, adding that since then he's been offered various roles from famous directors. He stated that he wouldn't apologise to anyone because he'd spent most of his life being told what to do and was sick of it. Henry then turned his attention to Money in the Bank where he promised that he'd be coming home with the WWE strap after beating Cena.
Daniel Byan forced Randy Orton to submit in an engaging Street Fight main event. The action was stellar throughout, and above average for a televised main event. A submission win like this for Bryan against Orton is a big victory too, and a sign that WWE are paying attention to his contributions and reactions from the fans he's been receiving over the last few months. Afterwards both men shook hands, although 'The Viper' had a stern look on his face as he walked down the ramp.
Overall it was a decent enough Raw, a step down from last week's great offering but it had it's entertaining moments. Unfortunately more than a few average promos and match ups let it down. My highlights were Heyman and Punk's segment, Jericho versus Del Rio and both outings between Orton and Bryan. 

Friday 21 June 2013

My WWE SmackDown, 21st June 2013 recap

Bryan goes flying towards Orton in a great pic. Photo credit: WWE.com

Daniel Bryan kicked things off by accusing the officials and medical staff (who stopped his match on Raw due to an injury on his behalf) of only ending his bout with Orton because they saw him as the "weak link." He also claimed that Orton's pat on his back was patronising. So Randy came out and explained that it was out of respect, but Bryan wasn't having any of it and called him a liar. A frustrated Orton retorted by saying that Bryan was loosing it and had enough of him before storming away. 
Sheamus beat Cody Rhodes in a passable, if forgettable outing. Both men were competent in the ring, but it lacked any real excitement or interest for me. Boy, hasn't Cody become a real punching bag over the last year? Afterwards Damien Sandow ran in and savagely clobbered his rival Sheamus.
Curtis Axel (c) pinned Wade Barrett to retain the Intercontinental Championship in a decent back and fourth encounter. Once again Axel looked solid here, and Barrett also gave a respectable display. Afterwards The Miz (who'd provided guest commentary) had a brief face off with the champ until his manager Paul Heyman convinced him to back off.
AJ Lee bested Natalya in a fair Divas bout, largely thanks to the effort of Natalya. AJ looked okay here, but pretty unremarkable as usual.  Backstage Aksana called Kaitlyn "trash" so the former Divas Champion launched herself at Aksana. It was atrocious acting all round as they were eventually split up.
Alberto Del Rio won via disqualification versus Chris Jericho in a solid contest. As expected both wrestlers were on stellar form, with nicely executed action from the opening bell. The DQ occurred when an enraged Dolph Ziggler ran in to attack Del Rio.
After the World Champion managed to escape the ring, an upset Jericho Codebreakered Ziggler for costing him the match. Del Rio then snuck back into the ring to swiftly kick Ziggler in the head, as he had done to finish him off at last Sunday's Payback event to win the title.
Christian defeated Drew McIntyre in a brief match up. The wrestling was fine, but unfortunately they didn't have enough time to make a real impact. That being said I'm still just grateful we have Christian back, he's one of the most consistent performers in the company. As 'Captain Charisma' was talking about how glad he was to be back in the ring, The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) came down the ramp (rather than through the crowd, which looked odd) and attacked Christian, finally finishing him off with a triple powerbomb.  
Daniel Bryan won via count out versus Randy Orton in an engaging main event. The count out occurred after Bryan struck Orton with a suicide dive to the outside, however an irate Bryan refused to let the match end that way and demanded that the bout be restarted so he could beat Orton definitively, but the referee refused. The match of the night had been very entertaining, with top wrestling from both men and plenty of excitement. 
Overall it was a decent show, with most matches being enjoyable enough. However after a great Raw you couldn't help but feel a bit deflated after the momentum had dropped, but that's often the case with the blue brand this year. My highlights were Axel versus Barrett, Del Rio versus Jericho and the great main event. 

My TNA Impact Wrestling, 20th June 2013 recap

Hulk Hogan started things off by introducing the twelve men involved in the Bound for Glory Series and revealed that via an online fan vote, Jeff Hardy had the first choice of opponent. After Austin Aries and Christopher Daniels advised Jeff that picking them would be a poor choice, Hardy decided to go for the man that he'd confronted last week and that was Bobby Roode. Things then quickly escalated and all the men in the ring began to brawl. 
Mr. Anderson pinned Joseph Parks in an average Bound for Glory Series bout. The wrestling was fairly clumsy and didn't flow, which wasn't a shock considering who was involved. Anderson grabbed the one-two-three with a Mic Check after Doc struck Parks on the middle rope. Anderson called out Parks as part of the Open Fight Night rules.
Austin Aries defeated Jay Bradley in a decent BFG Series contest after Bradley called him out to make an impact. In Bradley's finest singles match in the company both men gave worthy displays as they went back and fourth, with Aries especially on stellar form as usual. Bradley looked competent enough but he's still severely lacking character.
Christopher Daniels beat Hernandez in an enjoyable BFG Series match up. It didn't really have enough time to leave a lasting impression but it was a fun watch while it lasted, and both wrestlers looked good. Daniels grabbed the win with a BME. 
Magnus bested Kazarian by forcing him to tap to the Texas Cloverleaf in a fair BFG Series encounter. Both men worked well, but it wasn't very memorable or remarkable to be honest. While I'm also appreciating Magnus' clearly hard work to improve himself in the ring, I don't feel that he should win this series as the plan could possibly be, he's not there yet. 
Brooke Hogan held a conference of sorts for the Knockouts division (most of whom were in attendance), where she brought up the fact that even though he was a dude, Eric Young was still one half of the Knockout Tag Team Champions with wife ODB, in response he said that it was national kissing day and snogged his missus before leaving. 
Brooke went on to announce that Velvet Sky had been cleared by her doctor and she would face James next week for the strap. She also booked Gail Kim versus Taryn Terrell in a Ladder match after their successful Last Knockout Standing contest at Slammiversary. Quite looking forward to that one.
Before his following match, AJ Styles explained that he was simply chasing the TNA World Title for the money, not the glory or the fame. He also added that the company was "no place for a hero" and that he was finally doing things for himself. I'm still not completely won over by AJ's new persona, it feels like it's lacking a bit.
AJ Styles versus Samoa Joe in a BFG Series outing ended in a time limit draw. The action was stellar throughout, although it didn't have the same excitement and fast pace a lot of their past match ups have. If I'm going to be really picky than I'd say I was actually a little disappointed here as a big fan of both men.
Jeff Hardy defeated Bobby Roode in a terrific BFG Series contest. Both top talents delivered an engaging back and fourth bout, with solid wrestling and well executed and exciting sequences. Hardy pulled out a quick Twist of Fate after reversing a crossface attempt for the winning pinfall.
World Champion Bully Ray came to the ring and warned every Bound for Glory Series entrant that he will do anything it takes to retain his championship. He then called out his wife Brooke Hogan, but instead Sting joined him and explained that although he can't win he World Title from him (as per the stipulation of their Slammiversary clash) he can still gain retribution.
As an angry Bully called out to his Aces & 8s members, he was soon shown them taken out on the floor backstage on the big screen. So while trying to make a getaway, the champ was then attacked by the second member of the new Main Event MafiaKurt Angle. As the show ended Bully was trapped in an ankle lock on the ramp. Angle's unveiling wasn't exactly a big shock, but it makes sense. 
Overall it was a fair show, nothing outstanding but decent enough. My highlights were Daniels versus Hernandez, Styles versus Joe and the very entertaining Roode versus Hardy. I'm hoping that the new Main Event Mafia will work, and lend something worthwhile to the product (and maybe even help elevate up and coming talent) that being said I am glad to see the solid Angle in the group.

Tuesday 18 June 2013

My WWE Raw, 17th June 2013 recap

Henry delivers a WSS after a superbly delivered turn. Photo credit: WWE.com

The new World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio started things off by questioning the fans poor reaction to him winning the title after beating down an already hurt Ziggler at Payback the previous night, reminding them that 'The Show Off' did the same when cashing in his MITB contract a while back on him. His temperament soon turned to anger when Del Rio  berated the fans for supporting a "coward" like Ziggler. 
As Del Rio was going to give the fans another chance to show him some respect, CM Punk joined him (to a very healthy response from the crowd) and despite advise from his manager Paul Heyman, challenged the World Champion to a match that night. Vickie Guerrero liked the idea and came out to make it official. 
Backstage CM Punk warned Heyman about interfering in his affairs, including the previous night where he almost cost him the match against Jericho, and asked him to stay out of his business from here on out.  
Instead of receiving his Intercontinental Title rematch, Vickie Guerrero informed Wade Barrett that he'll be facing the returning Christian. As a big fan of 'Captain Charisma' I was very pleased to see him finally back. 
Christian pinned Wade Barrett in a decent encounter. As standard for him Christian looked stellar in the ring, and Wade looked okay when he managed to get in a little bit of offense. I'd personally love to see Christian victorious in one of the Money in the Bank matches next month.
Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) defeated Sheamus in an average Handicap match. The action was fair at best to be honest, and not very memorable. Sandow grabbed the winning pin with a quick roll up, so in retaliation an annoyed Sheamus Brogue Kicked Rhodes.
Randy Orton won via referee stoppage after Daniel Bryan could not continue in a No Disqualification match. Up until Bryan picked up the injury it'd been a solid affair, with well executed back and fourth wrestling from both men.
The new Divas Champion AJ Lee bragged about breaking Kaitlyn's spirit and toppling her for the strap at Payback. She also went on to claim that she was the strongest and most courageous woman in the whole arena and the locker room. This cued Stephanie McMahon to come out and first congratulate AJ on overcoming a lot in her life and finally becoming the champion, but also added that what she did to Kaitlyn was degrading to women everywhere.
After a few more heated words were exchanged, Kaitlyn came out, accompanied by a few fellow divas and after being warned by Stephanie not to ever interrupt her again, warned AJ that she was going to break her too and began brawling with her former friend. Big E Langston eventually got AJ out of the ring and carried her off. It was a fun segment, and interesting to see Steph interact with AJ a bit. As I've already said it's also nice to see the Divas division get some much needed attention, most likely due to their new reality show coming out soon I'd imagine. 
Kane won via DQ versus Dean Ambrose after Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ran and beat down the 'Big Red Monster', eventually triple powerbombing him. The match hadn't really been given time to make an impression. Backstage as Vickie was about to reprimand the trio under Triple H's earlier orders, Vince McMahon came along and congratulated The Shield on their success and even said their ruthlessness and aggression reminded him of himself. 
Zeb Colter once again drivelled on about the state of the US and the immigrant situation, then introduced Antonio Cesaro as the newest member to his cause.
Antonio Cesaro beat William Regal in a brief squash match. The action was decent, but it's a shame these two weren't given more time to really deliver a top class contest. 
WWE Champion John Cena came out and thanked all the fans for their support for the company, and admitted his respect for the one that jeer him for their honesty. It was all pretty drab until Mark Henry joined him and asked him to stay for his speech. An emotional Henry went on to thank the fans and his family and announced his retirement. 
It was a touching moment, and delivered so convincingly that what came next was a genuine shock. As Henry went in to hug Cena he then turned it into a World's Strongest Slam, much to the delight and surprise of the fans in attendance, and myself. Backstage afterwards he officially challenged Cena to a championship match. It was without a doubt the finest promo of Henry's career, and my personal favourite moment of his ever. I'm admittedly not a massive fan of his but even I'm interested in a title match between him and Cena now.
Chris Jericho pinned Heath Slater in an enjoyable enough bout. In probably Slater's finest singles match to date, both men gave worthy displays and delivered a fun watch. Afterwards fellow 3MB members Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal attempted to take out Y2J but quickly failed and were chucked out of the ring.
Curtis Axel bested Sin Cara in a fair, if forgettable outing. The bout was never terrible by any means but you wouldn't miss a great deal by skipping it. Axel as usual looked good in the ring, gaining the one-two-three after applying a modified DDT.
CM Punk won via count out versus Alberto Del Rio in an exciting main event. From the opening bell the fans delivered a great atmosphere, and the wrestling itself was thoroughly entertaining. Both men gave PPV-level efforts here as they effectively and smoothly went move for move. It's not quite up there with the best televised bouts of the year, most including The Shield and Bryan, but it was a solid outing.
Afterwards an enraged Dolph Ziggler brutally attacked Del Rio from behind before giving chase to the champ behind the stage. I can envisage Ziggler being a very effective face. Then Brock Lesnar strolled out, smiled a little at Punk and applied a well executed (almost realistic) F5. It was a strong end to a strong show on the whole.
This was one of the best Raws of the year for me, with mostly enjoyable match ups and very memorable segments. Plus there were new and interesting feuds being kicked off and a nice development with Ziggler and Del Rio's (who was actually engaging, who'd have thought?). My highlights were the main event, Henry's promo and turn (superb), the opening and closing segments and the return of Christian. How can next week live up to this I wonder? 

Monday 17 June 2013

My WWE Payback Recap

That it was. Photo credit: WWE.com

Sheamus pinned Damien Sandow in a fair pre-show contest. It was pretty unremarkable for the majority, but there were a few nice moments from each of the two talents. I can't see why Sandow (who received most of the support from the fans in Chicago) wasn't afforded even a cheap win here, he could've really used it.
Curtis Axel bested Wade Barrett (c) and The Miz to obtain the Intercontinental Championship in a decent Triple Threat once it got going. The first half of the bout had its moments, although it felt a little slow for me. But once the pace picked up so did my interest and the three men put together some nice sequences with effective near falls. Axel managed to finally gain the one-two-three on Barrett as he was stuck in a Figure Four Leglock from Miz. The choice of victor went down very well with the terrific crowd in attendance.
Backstage Triple H  blocked off the new IC Champion's path, until Vince McMahon walked in and enthusiastically congratulated both Axel and Paul Heyman on the win. Vince went on to ask his son-in-law if he fancied facing Curtis, but Trips still refused.
AJ Lee beat Kaitlyn (c) to obtain the WWE Divas Title in a suprisingly enjoyable outing. Maybe I'm being generous since I wasn't expecting anything substantial here, but I was actually impressed with both wrestlers efforts here, they seemed to want to deliver a memorable match with a lay out that made sense, which is rare from the female performers on the main WWE roster nowadays. Granted there were a few slightly sloppy moments but considering both ladies abilities I think they should be proud of their displays. 
Afterwards an upset Kaitlyn was supported by fellow divas Alicia Fox, Layla and Natalya backstage. 
Dean Ambrose (c) won via count versus Kane, thereby retaining the United States Championship. While this wasn't the most exciting match, the wrestling itself was stellar enough so I can't complain. Ambrose managed to DDT Kane on the outside, earning himself the count out win.
We then witnessed a VT fo the return of Rob Van Dam at next month's Money in the Bank event. I was never overly impressed by most of his TNA run but he looked decent towards the end, could be interesting. Hopefully another WWE run will reinvigorate him a bit. 
Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler (c) to obtain the World Heavyweight Championship in a strange title clash. During the bout Ziggler was knocked on the head, which Del Rio continuously (and logically) targeted. Ziggler already had the support of the fans but his battling back (which reminded me a bit of HBK actually) really brought him across as a face and Del Rio beating on him when the referee was checking on the champ was extremely heelish. It was a smart move if the roles were meant to be reversed here, which I'm sure they were.
The wrestling itself had been largely solid, with only a few sloppy moments here and there. The crowd occasionally lost interest and began chanting for RVD and CM Punk, but soon got back into it. Del Rio shockingly won with a swift kick to the struggling Ziggler's head.
I think a comeback win for Dolph would've made much more sense here and given him some much needed credibility. His reign had only just begun after a long, long wait holding the MITB briefcase, and Del Rio has been stale for a long time as a face and heel. The new opponents Ziggler could've competed against over the title was a much more interesting prospect. This must've been a massive blow for 'The Show Off' too, he deserved better. Afterwards Del Rio came back out and asked the (booing) fans for their support and bigged himself up as the new World Champion.
CM Punk pinned Chris Jericho in a solid affair. Punk understandably received a tremendous reaction from the crowd throughout. The back and fourth action was decent, with exciting near falls (which maybe went a little overkill at points) and a nice ending (Punk applied two GTS's on Y2J) but this was by no means a classic. Both men gave worthy efforts, and the atmosphere was great but I just felt like there was something lacking a bit.
Much like Punk's famous title match with Cena at Money in the Bank 2011, it was a memorable contest but not either man's best by a fair distance. Maybe I'm being a little harsh and may change my mind after watching it again at some point, but I won't be in a rush to do so just yet.
The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) (c) bested Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton to retain the WWE Tag Team Title in an engaging bout. I'm struggling to think of new ways to type this about The Shield and Bryan's recent outings but to sum it up this was exciting and contained satisfying wrestling from the opening bell, so do yourself a favour and check it out. For the finish Orton moved out of the way of an oncoming spear which struck Bryan, then RKO'd Reigns but was chucked out of the ring by Rollins who applied a Blackout on Bryan for the winning pinfall.
John Cena (c) won the Three Stage of Hell match versus Ryback two to one, thereby retaining the WWE Championship. Ryback won the first stage Lumberjack match after Shell Shocking Cena after the champ had been tussling with the wrestlers on the outside. Cena managed to win the second stage Tables match after quickly reversing a Shell Shock attempt into an AA through a table in the ring. And finally Cena won the third stage Ambulance match by again Attitude Adjusting Ryback through the vehicle itself.
Overall it was an entertaining main event that didn't disappoint, although I was personally hoping for a Ryback win to make things a bit more interesting. Much like Extreme Rules last month these two were smartly booked to utilise various weapons and outside elements to hide their limitations and keep things engaging.
Admittedly there was nothing particularly new to be found here, Cena's top rope body splash onto the lumberjacks and AA on Ryback through the Ambulance were exciting moments but nothing original. Still I came away from another Ryback versus Cena encounter having fun, and that's more than I was expecting when their feud started.
On the whole Payback was a passable pay-per-view, with no bad contests to speak of and some satisfying match ups to take away from it. My highlights were the IC Title Triple Threat, the Tag Team Championship bout, CM Punk's return and the main event. Despite a few fair matches that I'll probably forget about this time next month, it had its fair share of memorable moments which is fine with me for a lower level event. 

Sunday 16 June 2013

My WWE Payback predictions

Photo credit: WWE.com

Three Stages Of Hell WWE Championship Match:
Stage 1 - Lumberjack Match; Stage 2 - Tables Match; Stage 3 - Ambulance Match: John Cena (c) versus Ryback:

I'm quite optimistic about this one, especially after their entertaining outing at Extreme Rules last month. Considering the limitations of these two talents the bookers made a smart move by having them compete in stipulation bouts, with plenty of distractions and weapons to keep things interesting for the viewers. I've been going back and fourth but I can actually see an upset here and Ryback taking the title, to shake things up a bit and get people checking out Raw Monday night. If not then at least it's a suitable way to finalise their feud.

Winner: Ryback


World Heavyweight Championship Match -  Dolph Ziggler (c) versus Alberto Del Rio:

I can't see this being anything but stellar in the ring, but to be honest I've grown tired of their feud and Del Rio in general as of late so I can't say I'm too hyped for this one. But at least this should mean that Ziggler moves on to a more engaging and exciting rivalry over the World Title next. 

Winner: Dolph Ziggler


Best In The World Match - Chris Jericho versus CM Punk:

The match me and I presume the majority fans are mostly anticipating tonight, not only is it the return of one of the companies top overall talents but it should be a terrific contest. I personally very much enjoyed their previous two pay-per-view encounters, so I'll be shocked if I fail to enjoy this one. I know some fans have predicted that Punk will fail to turn up, but I just can't see it. This is one of the big attractions of the event (well the biggest attraction of it) and I can't imagine that WWE would be foolish enough to short change all the many fans who are paying for the main reason of seeing the return of CM Punk. 
Oh, and the returning Punk to win, always bet on the returning wrestler, always.

Winner: CM Punk


Tag Team Championships Match - The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) (c) versus Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton:

Well when you consider the fantastic form that these four men have been in as of late in match ups together, it's hard to imagine this match being anything but entertaining. Despite The Shield's first six-man loss on SmackDown last Friday, I can't see them dropping the tag straps just yet. Plus I see the slow burning Bryan and Orton feud developing with a big argument after their loss.

Winners: Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns


Triple Threat Intercontinental Championship Match - Wade Barrett (c) versus The Miz versus Curtis Axel:

Should be a decent enough match here, but nothing that special I reckon. With his recent run it's hardly a shock that I'm picking Axel to pick up his first singles strap, hopefully he'll add some much needed relevance to it.

Winner: Curtis Axel


United States Championship Match - Dean Ambrose (c) versus Kane:

My prediction to open the event. Quality-wise I expect this to be an enjoyable affair, not either man's finest but something worth checking out. As I typed earlier I can't see The Shield dropping any titles yet, and I think it'd be a daft move if they did. They still have quite a few significant feuds in them for a while to come and their strong booking needs to keep up.

Winner: Dean Ambrose


Divas Championship Match - Kaitlyn (c) versus AJ Lee:

I'm not expecting a great match here at all to be honest, but I am grateful for the thought that has actually gone into this rivalry, it's a lot more than any other Divas feud has received in a long time. I also see AJ picking up the belt, based on her current string of wins and Kaitlyn loosing her mind a bit. 

Winner: AJ Lee


Pre-Show - Sheamus versus Damien Sandow:

Should be okay to get the crowd going, but I don't foresee a technical marvel by any stretch of the imagination between these two. It would seem like a waste of their feud for me if Sheamus won, I have nothing against him but imagine the faith lost in any future Sandow push if he were to loose cleanly here in their first PPV outing. Plus Sheamus could quickly recover from a loss here. So considering all that I can see Sandow grabbing a cheeky win in a heel-like fashion somehow.

Winner: Damien Sandow 

Saturday 15 June 2013

My WWE SmackDown, 14th June 2013 Recap

The three men that finally defeated The Shield. Photo credit: WWE.com

The always entertaining Daniel Bryan kicked off the show by first amusingly boasting about his accomplishments in the WWE and how he wasn't surprised he'd achieved them, and then called out his soon to be ex-tag partner Kane. After reminding him that at Payback he'll be challenging for the tag title with Orton, Bryan officially ended Team Hell No and broke up with Kane.
Bryan also went on to claim that he believes he and Orton could do what Team Hell No couldn't in beating The Shield, insinuating that Kane was the "weak link" of their unit. As an upset Kane grabbed his former tag partner by the throat, Randy Orton warned Kane that he couldn't stand back and let him attack his tag partner.
As arguments ensued between the three men, their rivals The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) appeared on the big screen and expressed their amusement at the their frustration and anger, putting it down to them maybe finally realising that after months of defeating various teams The Shield are an unstoppable force in WWE. They also claimed that that night was going to be like every other in that they'll fall to them in the ring. It was one of the best openings to a SmackDown in a long, long time, with strong mic work from all involved, and it was simply fun and engaging to watch.  
Sheamus pinned Antonio Cesaro in a decent back and fourth contest. Both participants gave solid efforts here, and it was enjoyable enough. Unfortunately for me I felt it was lacking that little bit of extra excitement to make it a memorable or great match up.
Before the match Sheamus' Payback Kickoff opponent Damien Sandow bragged about outdoing the Irishman both mentally and physically in the recent weeks, and claimed that he will do the same Sunday. After the bout Sandow also blindsided Sheamus from behind. It's nice to see the 'Intellectual Saviour' with a more substantial feud, and hopefully he'll gain the much needed win at Payback, he could use it a lot more than the 'Celtic Warrior'.
Heath Slater bested The Great Khali in a mediocre outing. The wrestling was average, which tends to be the trend with the very limited Khali. 
Alberto Del Rio and Chris Jericho defeated Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston in an enjoyable tag bout. Admittedly it didn't contain any of the four men's finest ever performance, or even great ones, but it was still entertaining for the most part. 
Kaitlyn versus Aksana ended in a no contest after the enraged Divas Champion slapped the referee and chased away her opponent after mauling her. Kaitlyn was still reeling from her humiliating set up by AJ Lee on this week's Raw when she duped her into believing that Big E was her secret admirer. I'm not expecting anything special in their title match but I can appreciate some thought finally going into a Divas feud, it's been a long time.
Before their following match up, Wade Barrett tried to convince Curtis Axel to cancel their bout and reduce the risk of picking up an injury before their Triple Threat this Sunday for the Intercontinental Title. But the third man involved in said contest The Miz reminded the two that the fans came to see a fight, which convinced them to carry on. 
Curtis Axel pinned Wade Barrett in a brief and forgettable affair. Both men looked decent, but they didn't have enough time to make a real impression, which was unfortunate. During the encounter Axel accidentally struck Miz at ringside, so afterwards he applied a Skull Crushing Finale on Curtis as retribution. 
Daniel Bryan, Kane and Randy Orton defeated The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) in a thrilling six-man tag main event. The first two thirds of the contest were stellar, with worthy efforts from ever man, but it was the final few blistering minutes that really turned it up and delivered a memorable end to the show, The Shield had finally lost a six-man tag team match.
The fast pace only heightened the intensity at the end as Kane managed to take out both Ambrose and Reigns on the outside, allowing him to then deliver Rollins into Orton for an RKO and then into No lock by Bryan where he tapped out. Terrific televised outing, and one that adds intrigue to the two title bouts that Shield will compete in at Payback, are they so unstoppable now? I still see them retaining but it does add a little question mark.
Overall it was an enjoyable show for the most part, and above the usual standard for the blue brand this year. My highlights were the opening segment, Del Rio and Jericho versus Ziggler and Big E and the exciting main event. I almost feel worried that I may start taking The Shield and Bryan for granted with the standard of matches they deliver every week. Like Raw the show also delivered a strong ending to go into Payback with, which isn't always the case with WWE with shows before pay-per-views. 

Tuesday 11 June 2013

My WWE Raw, 10th June 2013 Recap

I wonder how many other wrestlers on the roster could do that? Photo credit: WWE.com

Curtis Axel won via disqualification versus Triple H after Vince McMahon strolled down and called for the bell to be rung. But 'The Game' wasn't having that as he then restarted the bout, much to the disappointment of Axel and Paul Heyman. But once again Triple H's Father-in-law came back out and this time had Axel announced as the winner via forfeit.
So Trips stormed out of the ring and had Justin Roberts announce that the two would compete in a sixty-minute Iron Man match, but Vince wouldn't be having it and took the bell and told Axel to leave the ring. Backstage Stephanie McMahon begged her husband not to get physical with her much elder Father, so Triple H agreed if she went to talk to him.
Kane won via DQ versus Dean Ambrose in a fair encounter. I have no major issues with the match, both men gave worthy displays as they went back and fourth but it felt like there was that bit of excitement missing from it to really gain my interest.
The DQ occurred after Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ran in and attacked Kane. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton then evened the odds and helped chase off The Shield. After Bryan and Orton argued backstage over their altercation on last week's SmackDown (Orton RKO'd Bryan after he'd accidentally dropkicked him) with Kane trying to calm them down, Vickie Guerrero informed them that at Payback Orton and Bryan will compete for the tag titles while Kane will challenge for the US Title. After Orton and Bryan went off in a huff, an appreciative Kane gave Vickie a hug. It was a decent segment, and I'm personally enjoying this slow burning feud between Orton and Bryan.
The Miz defeated Cody Rhodes in a passable contest. Both men worked well together and provided nice sequences here. Admittedly it wasn't a particularly memorable match up but it was better than I was expecting.
As the Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett (who'd provided guest commentary) was about to capitalise on Miz's leg injury afterwards, Paul Heyman came out and announced that this Sunday his client Curtis Axel will join them in making it a Triple Threat for the IC strap,  replacing Fandango after he suffered a concussion at last week's SmackDown taping. I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing Axel with the title this time next week. 
Chris Jericho claimed that out of all the great pro wrestlers he's faced in WWE, his opponent at Payback CM Punk was the one that brought out the best in him. While I'm a fan of both their previous pay-per-view outings, I would've said that Jericho has definitely had superior matches against the likes of Rey MysterioThe Rock, Shawn Michaels (my personal favourite feud Y2J's ever had) and more.  
World Champion Dolph Ziggler then made his Raw return after suffering a concussion last month, and spoke about how close he was to having his strap taken away from him. In response Jericho challenged him to a match to shake off the ring rust, so Ziggler accepted, but with Big E Langston in his place.
Chris Jericho pinned Big E Langston in a largely average affair. Unfortunately more than a few sloppy moments hindered the match for me, although it picked up a bit towards the end. Alberto Del Rio decided to get some payback (no pun intended) by pushing his future opponent Ziggler into the ringside form behind (which seemed a bit cowardly and heel-like I thought). This caused Big E to become distracted and finally Codebreakered by Jericho for the one-two-three.
Antonio Cesaro bested Sin Cara in an enjoyable bout. Sin Cara and Cesaro managed to compliment each others styles and made it work well, and when Sin Cara comes across an opponent like that then we usually get something worth checking out, but unfortunately that's a rare occasion. 
Randy Orton versus Roman Reigns ended in a no contest after both Bryan and Rollins interfered. The match itself had been a fair one, there was nothing remarkable about it but Orton gave a solid enough performance. How many DQ's and no contests are WWE throwing out at the moment?
Daniel Bryan pinned Seth Rollins in a tremendous back and fourth encounter. I've already gone on and on about Bryan's great form as of late so I won't again, but he and Rollins really worked hard here and provided a thoroughly engaging match, with stellar wrestling and an electric crowd behind Bryan. For the finish Orton managed to swipe Reigns from ringside as he was about to attack Bryan, allowing the victor to catch Rollins in a small package for the win. Afterwards Bryan and Orton seemed to put their differences aside, for now...
Big E Langston came out and revealed to Kaitlyn that he was her secret admirer, but as he then went to kiss her it was all revealed to be a ruse as he dropped the Divas Champion and AJ Lee skipped out and stated that she was behind it all.
AJ claimed that she wanted Kaitlyn to feel low and worthless like she did when she'd "abandoned" her after failed relationships with Punk, Bryan and Cena, and that she was finally going to take away her title belt at Payback. After having enough (I'm surprised it took her so long) Kaitlyn lashed out on her former best friend. It was some nice mic work from AJ here, and at least we're getting a Divas feud with some substance behind it.  
Damien Sandow beat R-Truth in a pedestrian contest. I was struggling with the urge not to fast forward here to be honest, it was just pretty drab for me, with uninspiring action. Afterwards Sheamus came out and after congratulating Sandow, warned him that in the Payback Kickoff match they'll have he felt it perfect to kick off his head. See what he did there?
In an office backstage Stephanie managed to get Vince and Triple H together to figure things out. After some heated exchanges they then began to see each other's point of view, with Vince liking the idea of Axel versus his son-in-law and Triple H agreeing with Vince that he was probably bigger than a match with Heyman's client and didn't need to prove anything in the ring. So after a bit more arguing Stephanie returned and convinced everyone to have a group hug. I'm not sure even they know where they're heading with this storyline right now.
Rather than enter the ring for the booked 'Face to Face' with lumberjacks surrounding them, Ryback decided to stand on the stage away from John Cena, claiming it was for the champ's own safety. Ryback then went on to say that Cena never helped him against Shield attacks because he saw him as a threat to his position in the company.
Cena of course denied this and decided that enough was enough and attempted to chase his rival but was pushed back into the ring each time by the lumberjacks. This allowed Ryback to race into the ring and the two began brawling until the other wrestlers managed to seperate them. It was a decent and exciting end to the show, with nice work from Ryback on the mic I thought.
Overall it was an enjoyable show for the most part, with only a few quite forgettable or sloppy match ups letting it down a bit. My highlights were the opening and ending segments, Cesaro versus Sin Cara and the tremendous Rollins versus Bryan contest. And most importantly it had a strong finish heading into a PPV, something we haven't always seen from WWE this year on Raw.