Wrestle Soup

WWE TLC 2010 Review

2010-12-20T11:07:00.014-06:00

WWE invaded Houston last night for TLC. Although my seat wasn't great, I did have a perfect view of the ring all night and my viewing wasn't blocked for any of the action. Justin Roberts did his usual pre-show/PPV spill, but I was surprised when he said "and now for the United States Championship". After opening the last few PPVs, Bryan Daniel would be working the Dark match (or the "Bonus match" WWE announces it as to the live audience).

Daniel Bryan © vs. Ted Dibiase
WWE kicked live action off inside Toyota Center with Daniel Bryan, accompanied by the Bella Twins, defending his US Title against Ted Dibiase, who was accompanied by Maryse. Generic 5-minute, back-and-forth match which the crowd reacted to accordingly. Bryan received a nice pop. Good to see the kids rally behind him. Bryan won via the LaBelle lock after the Bellas & Maryse got into it on the outside.

PPV time !

How did WWE wrap up the 2010 PPV Calendar? Let's get right to it.

Dolph Ziggler © vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger
Fun Triple-Threat Ladder Match to kick the show off as Ziggler put his Intercontinental Title on the line. The crowd was going crazy for Kofi, but can you blame them when he's so gifted at what he does? Especially in Ladder matches. A couple comical spots with Vickie added a little humor, but the fans weren't laughing when Ziggler tip toed out with his title after Kofi & Swagger "dropped" it after battling for it. A little on the short side, but this match was a fun opener.
Predictions: 0-1

Natalya © & Beth Phoenix vs. LayCool
Once a few officials brought out the pink, decorated table. . .you knew it was LayCool time. Good Divas match (did I just say that?). There were a couple spots towards the end where I wasn't sure if McCool would save Layla in time. I'm not sure if the table was suppose to stay unbroken after Natalya shoved McCool & Layla off on to it, but hey LayCool took one for the team then via Natalya's awesome cross body!
Predictions: 1-1

Kane is in no Christmas mood!

Santino & Kozlov © vs. Nexus (Slater & Gabriel)
Tag Titles on the line in this impromptu match. Bland filler that hyped Cena/Barrett later in the evening after the Nexus leader smacked a few chair shots on our Tag champs.
Predictions: 1-1

Sheamus vs. John Morrison
Match of the Night here as The Celtic Warrior & The Shaman of Sexy battled it out in a #1 Contenders Ladder Match. I'm not sure how Morrison's leg looked on the PPV broadcast, but it resembled an accordion after being squashed with the ladder several times. Good drama, storytelling & build-up here before Morrison overcame the onslaught and captured the contract. It was obvious at this point that Miz would retain in the next match, it was just a matter of how screwy it would get.
Predictions: 2-1

Speaking of The Miz, his promos continue to deliver.

Half of Nexus is laid out backstage. What? Who did this?!

The Miz © vs. Randy Orton
Putting The Miz at this point in the card wasn't too much of a surprise since the outcome was obvious, and WWE would rather of had a baby face win the Main Event to send the fans home happy. However restarting the match was obsessive and too overbooked. The fans were already hot that Miz was claimed victorious after outsmarting the referee by laying Orton on the broken table he slammed A-Ri through. No point to restart it. Bland match, bleh result (the restart that is). However, now we have The Miz vs. Morrison down the road for the WWE Title. Should be good. With 6 weeks to go until the Royal Rumble, the WWE could juice their history and hype the match efficiently.
Predictions: 3-1

Kane © vs. Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio
I would listen to anyone who argued that is was MOTN over Sheamus/Morrison because this was a very good Fatal Four-Way TLC Match. Several rough bumps including Del Rio falling off the ladder through the table placed on the outside. Edge winning was a surprise, but surprises are good sometimes in wrestling. Great match.
Predictions: 3-2

Just when I thought a Cody Rhodes' sighting was almost impossible with the PPV being in the last hour, "WOAH OH, ONLY SMOKE AND MIRRORS" plays. I was the only one in my section that jumped up and started applauding. Lot's of concerned faces came my way. Everything Rhodes said was hilarious and actually spot on about the statistics on Houston. The only botch was him calling Houstonians, "Houstoners". . .ouch. Santa "Big Show" Clause then got a pop from everyone else, besides me.

CM PUNK!

John Cena vs. Wade Barrett
Main Event time! One complaint I have about this PPV is the lack of originality. The actual match quality was very good with every match, besides the tag team filler contest, being above average. This show was too generic. Everything besides Edge winning was as expected heading into the show. Anyways WWE went with Cena winning to send the fans home happy, but in the mist of that-- possibly and likely burying the final shovels of dirt on Nexus' grave.

Barrett was dominated towards the end of the match, but he still has tons of upside. Where does Cena go from here? The whole Nexus debacle is done right? Miz is set to embark with a feud against Morrison for the title. Maybe a Punk v. Cena feud? I still need to re-watch the PPV broadcast, but I've read that Punk had a couple negative lines on Cena during the match? Also why else would he come out to commentate during the match, unless Vince just thinks highly of him?
Predictions: 3-3

Show Rating: 7/10
Overall a good PPV. Every match (besides the impromptu tag match) was above average. The Morrison/Sheamus Ladder & the Fatal-Four-way TLC matches were both awesome live. As mentioned a little earlier, my only complaint was the lack of anything happening storyline wise besides Morrison becoming #1 Contender & Edge winning the World Title. Everything else went as expected. WWE always puts on a fun live show. Also anyone who is hoping the "PG" rating is dropped within the next several years, definitely not happening. Way too much revenue would be lost. The arena was around 60% kids last night and even that percentage might not be doing it justice.

WWE TLC 2010 Predictions

2010-12-19T11:39:00.006-06:00

WWE wraps up their PPV calendar with the 2nd annual Tables, Ladders & Chairs event this evening. Last year's show wasn't all that bad, can WWE make it a 2-peat? I'll be attending the event, so expect a review late tonight or early in the morning. I'll attach a few pictures to go along with it. Should be a lot of fun. Let's get right on to the predictions.

World Title - Fatal Four-Way TLC Match
Kane © vs. Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio
Likely Main Event of the evening since Rey Mysterio usually receives the loudest pop when WWE comes to Houston. Despite Rey being injured, I'm a little worried WWE might still put the title on him. I'll go the safe rout though and predict a Kane victory. Much to the chagrin of a lot of people. Personally cheering for a Del Rio win, but he doesn't need the title yet. He's already getting over. However, down the road Mr. Del Rio needs the title!

WWE Title - Table Match
The Miz © vs. Randy Orton
The Miz's first PPV WWE Title defense! Since I predicted a J-Mo win (later on in the post), The Miz has to win here. The Miz vs. John Morrison at the Royal Rumble? Too much back story there to pass it up. Miz retains due to a lot of interference from Alex Riley and maybe a few other superstars. . .or commentators.

Chairs Match
Wade Barrett vs. John Cena
Nexus is falling apart. Barrett had to rehire Cena or he would've lost his team members. Cena has had the upper hand since Survivor Series, back firing Barrett's plan. I'll be stupid and predict a Barrett win here. Just on the hunch that Cena's roll will come to an end tonight. It defies my logic deep down since I believe Nexus will self-explode even more heading into the New Year. I'm using reverse-psychology on this month's PPV. Highly difficult thinking patterns. While WWE writers could be relaxing on tonight's show, I REFUSE TO THINK THAT.

Intercontinental Title - Triple-Threat Ladder Match
Dolph Ziggler © vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger
Match of the Night potential here with Mr. Ziggles defending his Intercontinental Title against Kofi & Swagger. I'll go on a limb and predict KOFI wins. My gut was Dolph retaining, but I'll go with Mr. Boom Boom Boom instead. Vickie's interference somehow accidentally distracts Dolph allowing Kofi to plant Swags with Trouble in Paradise and a jog up the ladder to retrieve the title. Please don't lay any real money on these predictions.

Ladders Match - #1 Contender
Sheamus vs. John Morrison
What does winning the King of the Ring get you in today's storylines? A nice little crown and a tad bit of cred. What does winning a #1 Contenders match get you? A title shot. J-Mo vs. The Miz next month at the Royal Rumble. Book it!

Divas Tag Team Tables Match
Natalya © & Beth Phoenix vs. LayCool
LayCool held the titles for awhile during their reign. It's too early for Natalya to lose the Diva's belt. Beth plants McCool or Layla through a table to pick up the win. I'm sensing The Glamazon vs. our Diva's Champ at the RR.

Also, where's Cody Rhodes on the card? WHERE IS THE DASHINGNESS?

Predictions - Quick Form
- Kane
- The Miz
- Wade Barrett
- Kofi Kingston
- John Morrison
- Glama-Hart

WWE Smackdown Review - 11/26/10

2010-11-27T16:13:00.010-06:00

The ongoing feud between World Champion Kane & Edge kicked the Black Friday edition of Smackdown off. Kane is irate that Edge still has Paul Bearer held hostage. Our Champ then began to sputter from his usual "demonic, heel" role by saying he has feelings too. He enjoys the holidays like everyone else. Edge then wheels out an empty wheelchair and tells Kane all he has to do is ask and receive in terms of getting his father back. Kane then does a pretty good job by saying please a few times, only to be rejected by the Rated R Superstar to end the opening segment.

Thoughts: Am I the only one who was actually getting behind Kane in this segment? WWE is having Edge be involved in a heel-like situation by being the kidnapper, while Kane is in the baby face spot of being desperate to rescue his Dad who's being held captive. I guess WWE is having Edge in this role just due to the fact Kane pointed out in his promo that the only thing he cares more than the World title is Paul Bearer, but still. . .

(All matches are King of the Ring Qualifiers)
*excluding the Diva's match of course.

Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger
Watch this match if you missed it. Very good TV match as both men continue to gel well in the ring together. Nearly a 20 minute match as well. Kofi escaped with a narrow victory after catching an unexpected All American American with the Trouble in Paradise to become the first Smackdown superstar to advance to the King of the Ring. Also, Swagger's Soaring Eagle is back after a 2 week hiatus. The commentators said he was afraid of being around due to Thanksgiving. Can't blame him. If I were a bird, I'd be hiding left and right around this time of year as well.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show
Kind of surprised this wasn't the Main Event since WWE advertised it all week heading into the show. Del Rio picked up a count out win on the big man as Ricardo Rodriguez got involved. That's one way to beat the Big Show. Below average match with a heelish win. Not much to this one besides the fact that Del Rio is now a King of the Ring Qualifier! Striker picked him to win it all and I might just hop on board the "King Del Rio" bandwagon as well.

The hide-and-seek game between Edge w/Paul Bearer & Kane was the theme to this show along with the KOTR qualifying matches. Kane gave Edge another title shot in return to have Bearer back, but even that didn't stop Edge from constantly running away from the Big Red Machine. The way this angle is going. . .I'm really beginning to want Kane to annihilate Edge at TLC. Thank you WWE writers for dumping this angle on it's head. The only thing Edge has going for him is that I find Paul Bearer to be absolutely annoying which kind of makes me want to put duct tape over his mouth myself. See how confusing this angle is making me feel?

MVP vs. Drew McIntyre
A thumbs up to commentary for mentioning MVP needs to do something to rejuvenate his status in the company. All three men agreed that being in the KOTR and having a chance to win it all would be a big step in the right direction for MVP. McIntyre had different plans, however, as he picked up the victory via his Future Shock DDT. Another match that was just "there". Nothing too significant or fancy. McIntyre becomes the third man to qualify for the tournament. I'm sure Tiffany is happy.

Michelle McCool vs. Kelly Kelly
Short match just to get Beth Phoenix's return to free TV in after LayCool attacked Kelly Kelly post-match. This was the snack portion of the show. The only problem was it was too short. The leftover turkey was still in the microwave while this match and Phoenix's return were wrapping up. No bueno. With Beth returning, one would assume she'll take on Natalya for the Diva's title soon. That gets me psyched just thinking about it. Getting psyched over a WWE Divas' match? When has that ever happened the last few years? It'll happen again if these two lock up. Sooner rather than later (hopefully).

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
Not only did Cody Rhodes get featured in the Main Event, but he won it against Mysterio due to interference from Alberto Del Rio. So Rhodes rounds out the 4 competitors from the Blue brand who will be featured on Monday's King of the Ring edition of Raw along with Kingston, Del Rio & McIntyre. Not too shabby. I read some critscm over on Twitter from a couple people saying how this was a crappy Main Event due to Rhodes being involved. However, these two had quite the match a month or so ago if you remember. Rhodes looked very good. This match wasn't as good, mainly due to Del Rio's distraction, but no complaints from me for this headlining the show.

The show ends with another lure and bait switch from Edge as he leads Kane outside only for him to see a dummy version of Bearer get ran over before Edge drives off with the actual Bearer himself. Snooz. Can't Kane technically take back his World Title match offer he made to Edge if he keeps this up with Bearer? I would tell T-Lo, but Kane even pleaded to him for help throughout the show. See how easy WWE made it to get behind Kane during this show when that wasn't even the purpose of the kidnapping angle? Jeez Louise *scratches head*.

Show Rating: 5/10
If you missed the show, you didn't miss much. You could have easily just read who advanced and qualified for the KOTR tournament and saved yourself some time. However, Kofi/Swagger is the one bright spot from the show definitely worth checking out. It could have very well delivered as a mid-card match on any WWE PPV. Other than that, we basically found out that Kane v. Edge II will be taking place at TLC next month. What are your thoughts on the whole kidnapping angle? Are you as frustrated and mind boggled as me? Or am I on a completely different planet? As a fan & just by going along with the storylines, I'm beginning to pull for Kane to absolutely clobber Edge at TLC. Maybe the next few weeks will make me feel differently.

TNA Turning Point 2010 Review

2010-11-08T13:06:00.015-06:00

Jeff Hardy is the self proclaimed "anti-Christ" of professional wrestling. Read that sentence 5 times and that was your opening videopackage to the PPV. Not sure how I'm feeling about Hardy looking eerily similar to Raven now with the eye makeup. Onto the PPV! (takes deep breath)

Robbie E vs. Jay Lethal
The X Division Title Match opened the PPV and it turned out as expected unfortunately with Robbie E winning the belt. Drawn out with several failed attempts of interference by Cookie, before her and E finally gained the upper hand. So TNA started the PPV with complete referee incompetence and a dirty finish. This could be a long night ahead of us. Steer the ship fast TNA!
Predictions: 1-0

Mickie James is awesome. Glad to see her back in wrestling.

Tara vs. Mickie James
Knockouts time. A technical match? By no means. This was more like a street fight. Both women played their role great and kept this feud alive towards next month. The audience was superb during this match, which only helped. Ended in a no contest, but still delivered. I guess Madison Rayne is keeping her Knockouts title a little bit longer seeing this feud is far from over unless she defends against another Knockout in the near future.
Predictions: 1-0-1

With Team 3D's retirement here, what's your favorite Dudley Boyz moment?

Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns
TNA Tag Titles on the line and this was Match of the Night. Awesome tag match with a couple near falls that literally had me surprised. Sabin kicking out of 3D towards the end and with the announcers/Team 3D selling shock, might be one of my favorite moments in a long time in the world of professional wrestling. MCMG squeak out the victory. Win or lose, Team 3D leaves on a good note with a great match. Also can't say enough about Sabin & Shelley. Best tag team in wrestling?
Predictions: 1-1-1

Tommy Dreamer vs. Rob Van Dam
Dreamer's entrance was almost Tyler Reks' like from Bragging Rights last month. The crowd cooling down from the tag match had something to do with it, but still a little surprised. One way to spark a cooling off crowd is RVD's theme though. THE WHOLE FN' SHOW! Ahem. Onto the match which made the opening X Division title contest seem super short. It was like deja vu repeated over and over. Failed 5-Star Frog Splash here, failed 5-Star Frog Splash there, failed tree of woe here, failed tree of woe there. RVD finally picked up the victory connecting with the frog splash after 36 previous failed attempts. This match ran 16 minutes, but could have been done in 5 or 6. RVD made up with his EV2 buddy after the match.
Predictions: 2-1-1

Fortune vs. EV2
Raven must have been having fun on the grounds of Universal Studios since he came out with his fellow EV2 mates wearing a "Thing 2" shirt. I was close to buying one of those myself when I visited the theme park/Impact zone a couple of years ago. Enough babble. Fortune wins a decent tag match. Sabu is then "fired". I predicted Kaz to pin Sabu in my predictions. Darn, close. Styles pinned him instead after connecting with the Styles Clash for the win. 3 factions is one too many. Maybe EV2 will "deteriorate" a little more after this Sabu firing.
Predictions: 3-1-1

I wouldn't mess with The Pope's "congregation" in a dark alley. Mickie James & Tara continued to brawl in the back before Pope's gang held them back. They leave before Madison Rayne helped Tara attack Mickie a little more. TNA should just schedule this week's Impact to be a 2 hour brawl between Mickie & Tara. Have them battle it out all over Universal, through the Hard Rock cafe, in Emeril's restaurant, etc. Now that would be fun. (And that's why I'm not a booker).

"The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero vs. Abyss
Lumberjack match with Pope's "congregation" constituting as the helpers. So a heel is placed in the sympathetic role. Another pretty dull match before Eric Bischoff appeared on stage and signaled a money sign. Pope's congregation then attacked him from behind allowing Abyss to win the match. I knew picking Pope was too easy knowing there's always a couple swerves on a TNA PPV. Shame on me.
Predictions: 3-2-1

Jeff Jarrett vowed to finish Samoa Joe once and for all. The Impact audience started a "Sold Out" chant which just prompted Jarrett to threaten to end the show. Too bad Samoa Joe was right there to stop Double J in his tracks. Semi-Main Event is upon us.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Samoa Joe
Good match until a second consecutive screwy finish of the night took place with Jarrett's security goons getting involved letting JJ steal the win. Ref Brian Hebner was knocked out on the outside via a Samoa Joe flying dive. Anti-climatic finish with Joe being unable to lift his arm during Jarrett's full-body submission. However, the majority of this match was decent. Joe showcased plenty of his offensive maneuvers and looked good. No way this feud is over though.
Predictions: 3-3-1

Main Event is next and no mention of Matt Morgan until a few moments before the match. With him being added to the card/Main Event against Champion Jeff Hardy in his first title defense. It's pretty obvious who took the cake. With that aside, let's see how the match played out anyways. Could it somehow dethrone Team 3D vs. MCMG as MOTN?

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Morgan
The answer is no, but it was the runner-up. Decent match with a awkward finish as Hardy picked up the win. Not sure if there was a spot blown, but the ending was kind of a buzz kill. After the match, Fortune & Immortal celebrated in the ring to close the show. I think TNA overdid it with the excessive amounts of confetti.
Predictions: 4-3-1

Show Rating: 4/10
I can't remember a PPV where each match had a good amount of time devoted to it, yet hardly anything overly-exciting happened in any of them (excluding Team 3D vs. MCMG, which was very good). Hardy/Morgan, Jarrett/Joe & Tara/Mickie were all decent, but it wasn't enough to make this PPV come close to the price tag. All the heels won, besides in the lone Face v. Face match (of course). If you missed it, you didn't miss much. Plus you saved your money! However, find a way to check out the Tag Title match. Good stuff from both teams. Plus it's Team 3D's last match (supposedly). TNA's next PPV offering is Final Resolution on December 5th.

TNA Turning Point 2010 Predictions

2010-11-07T09:04:00.007-06:00

6 years ago today, TNA held their first-ever Sunday night PPV (Victory Road - November 7, 2004). This also marks the 7th annual Turning Point event. Will you be watching or skipping tonight's show? Several of the matches were pieced together at the last minute, which one would think might hinder some fan's minds about ordering the event. Let's get to the predictions!

TNA World Title
Jeff Hardy © vs. Matt Morgan
A match that was made official just 3 days ago. Morgan was turned baby face last week after being attacked by Immortal. With Hardy still young in his title run and with Morgan being quickly thrown in the mix, I'll make the safe pick and go with the Champion. Jeff Hardy retains via dirty tactics.

TNA Tag Titles
Motor City Machine Guns © vs. Team 3D
A "Titles vs. Careers" match. From that title alone makes me lean towards Team 3D. As good as MCMG is and as over as they are with the fans, Team 3D turns heel in this match and scores their 24th Tag Title win. I wouldn't mind if I turned out to be completely wrong.

Fortune vs. EV2 Tag Match
The participants and the type of tag match have not been disclosed by TNA. What the hell, Fortune for the win. To make it a even more far fetched prediction: Kaz pins Sabu for the win.

X Division Title
Jay Lethal © vs. Robbie E
Sigh TNA, sigh. (covers eyes). Picks Robbie E to win.

Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett
One of the matches that should be highlighted as possible match of the night. I know I just included Jarrett and match of the night in the same sentence. TNA did an awesome job on the last Reaction hyping this match with Jarrett talking about how feuds are won and lost on pay-per-views. Samoa Joe, on the other hand, is determined to finally get his revenge on Jarrett. He also said he's been stalking Jarrett. Samoa Joe is one creep I wouldn't want to mess with. With that said, Samoa Joe wins and gets the last laugh (for now).

Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer
Dreamer professed to doing this match "old school". Which means Dreamer can use weapons and other objects laying around to cover his wrestling inabilities. RVD wins and then makes up with his fellow EV2 buddies. Sometimes its hard to predict matches on a TNA PPV because Russo can swerve you out of the room with head scratching decisions. So I wouldn't be surprised if I did terrible on this card. (Make sure not to look at my predictions from WWE Bragging Rights last month).

Lumberjack Match
D'Angelo Dinero vs. Abyss
The Pope's "congregation" will be used as the lumberjacks. After this past Thursday, I think that will be enough for Dinero to win. Unless Abyss has a card up his sleeve. On paper, Dinero doesn't lose. In reality, anything can happen. This is Russo's booking after all.

Mickie James vs. Tara
Two former WWE Women's Champions going at it here as Mickie James takes on Tara. Should be a great Knockouts match. I'll use the reverse-psychology notion and predict Mickie to win after she and Ink Inc. were attacked after their mix-tag match victory last week on Impact. Regardless of the winner, this match should deliver. Excited to see it.

In quick form, my predicted winners again are:
- Jeff Hardy
- Team 3D
- Fortune
- Robbie E
- Samoa Joe
- Rob Van Dam
- D'Angelo Dinero
- Mickie James

TNA Impact Review - 11/4/10

2010-11-04T23:07:00.014-05:00

How did TNA do on their "going home" edition of Impact heading into Turning Point this Sunday? Let's find out!

Eric Bischoff attacking a ref in a karate outfit opened this week's show. This came after Bischoff offered Anderson to come out and pin him to keep his shot at Jeff Hardy's title intact for Turning Point. Of course Anderson is unavailable due to sustaining a concussion at the hands of Hardy himself a couple of weeks ago. All of this is just leading to an obvious (after last week) Matt Morgan v. Jeff Hardy match for the pay-per-view in 3 days.

Katie Lea is awesome. Rhino goring RVD when he meant to gore Styles is awkward. Tenay informed us we'd be seeing a Three Way match between RVD, Rhino & AJ later in the show. Also AJ is so corny at being a heel, that him being a heel actually works. From a character's point of view -- I simply just want to smack the man (along with Dixie, Hogan, Russo, Flair & Bischoff. . . but that's another story).

Sarita vs. Velvet Sky
Knockout action kicked us off on the wrestling front and this was pretty enjoyable actually. No interference along with back-and-forth action. Sarita picked up the victory after catching Velvet with the Tiger Driver. Velvet still needs a lot of polishing up in the squared circle. Maybe if she spent as much time as making sure her ass gets enough camera time of its own, she'd be a little better (that was wrong of me. I know it's TNA's decision to be TV-14 and be "racy"). Sorry Velvet.

Tara & Generation Me vs. Mickie James & Ink Inc.
Another enjoyable match on the broadcast as Mickie, Shannon Moore & Jesse Neal defeated Tara & Generation Me. A couple spots with Mickie against the guys as well as Tara doing her own thing. Still mind boggling why WWE cut Mickie loose. She was one of, if not, the best Diva's wrestlers they had.

Orlando Jordan & Eric Young are a couple? What, what?

A love fest between Team 3D & Motor City Machine Guns takes place in the back. Team 3D vows on retiring after the match and they would like nothing better than to go out with the belts. This was a hard segment to watch just due to all the love going on. I felt like the ass kissing was oozing through my TV screen. One team has to turn heel after all of this smooching. Team 3D retiring? We'll see about that.

[start of hour 2]

Interesting Tidbit:
TNA opened the show with a Eric Bischoff promo and started the second hour with a promo from Jeff Jarret. With these two spots usually being the more watched segments every Thursday, it's kind of head boggling why TNA went with them. Last week the Knockouts started the show with a seeming-less endless brawl, but the ladies are one of TNA's strong points (drawing wise). I'm not sure how many people want to see Bischoff "attack" a referee in the opening few minutes, but then again. . . look who's in charge of the writing at the moment.

When Samoa Joe breaks through under a ramp, you know shit is about to go down. Jarret vs. Joe is confirmed for Turning Point on Sunday.

Rhino vs. Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles
RVD has one of the best theme songs in wrestling right now. Almost impossible for the crowd not to get involved when it hits. TV Title on the line and AJ retains after the arguing continued between RVD and Rhino. Okay match, but nothing to shout home about. This was all about the continued tension between Rhino/RVD.

After the match, Dreamer & RVD agree to a match for Turning Points.

Doug Williams vs. Kazarian
Oh hey, another match featuring guys on the same faction facing each other. This contest made by Flair earlier in the show, so both men could settle things the "old fashion" way. Another meh match, that was too short. Kaz used James Storm as a shield to pick up the victory over his faction team mate. After the match, the whole Fortune group made up in the middle of the ring.

Abyss vs. The Pope
This match was basically just a promo towards a match between these two at Turning Point. However that match will feature Lummberjacks since Abyss took out a few plants ringside as he flinged some "fans" over the railing. You don't mess with The Pope's congregation like that and get away with it!

Seeing Robbie E in pro wrestling (even TNA) makes me kind of throw up in my mouth. I wouldn't be surprised to see TNA have him win the X-Division Title Sunday either. (throws up in mouth again).

"He weighed in this morning at a slim and trim 160 pounds with just 4% body fat. 8th degree black belt in the discipline of karate. He steps into this contest with 34 wins and 0 defeats, all of them by technical knockout. Please welcome: Artist, Musician, Best Selling author, role model, fighter and visionary. . . Eric Bischoff."

You know for a guy that hasn't proved at drawing sustained (if you can even call it that) ratings, that's quite a long introduction he ordered announcer Jeremy Borash to read. Bischoff began to attack Borash before Anderson's music started to play only for Matt Morgan to sneak attack EB from behind with his big boot and a cover for a three count. Morgan then signed the contract to face Hardy at Turning Point taking the place for Anderson. This final segment oozed over onto Reaction like it has been doing the last few weeks. TNA trying to draw ratings for their "post Impact show". I think it's a clever idea, but for TNA to talk and use up a lot of time for their backstage "scenes" during Impact, it's kind of irritating to be forced to watch beyond 2 hrs & a few minutes just to see the finish of the show.

Show Rating: 5/10
All but a couple matches for Turning Point were set in stone before this week's episode. Adding Matt Morgan into the mix for the Main Event 3 days before a PPV is kind of late, especially after just turning him face last week. The only positive is the fans were behind him pretty strongly on this week's show. How will that translate to PPV buys on Sunday though when he faces Hardy? Other than that the actual wrestling on the show was pretty weak besides the inter-gender tag match. If you missed the show and have free time, check it out if you're bored. If not, don't waste your time.

Turning Point has the chance to deliver on Sunday, but we'll see. Morgan winning the title from Hardy would surprise me greatly with him turning face this fast and with TNA inserting him last minute. However, TNA likes to swerve more than a 85-year old on a freeway. Who knows. I'll have my predictions on the event sometime over the weekend.

ROH Review - 11/1/10

2010-11-01T23:01:00.010-05:00

Hopefully everyone had a great October. The site got revved up a little after a dismal Summer in terms of updates. With November here, Wrestle Soup is back in 100% form and ready to go. With that said, we're kicking Turkey month off with a little ROH on HDNet review from this week.

Eddie Edwards vs. Rhett Titus
Eddie Edwards defended his TV Title successfully over a impressive, meaner than usual Rhett (a lot meaner, less 'ladies man' like) Titus. Edwards won it after hitting a dive on the outside, before rolling Titus in the ring and covering him for the three. Surprising way to finish a match, but I read somewhere that Edwards received a cut on his hand from the dive (hence having the match end early). Still a good match despite the abrupt ending. Also weird to see Titus as a more serious figure.

El Generico & Colt Cabana are determined to end their feud with Kevin Steen & Steve Corino tonight. It's our Main Event and it'll take place in a steel cage. HDNet then ran a spot for 'The Crow' which was coming up after the broadcast. One of my favorite movies growing up and still one of my favorite movies to date. R.I.P Brandon Lee.

Rachel Summerlyn vs. Sara Del Rey
A little SHIMMER action up next as Rachel Summerlyn took on Sara Del Rey. Decent contest with Death Rey picking up the win via a leg lock submission. After the match, Del Rey said she wanted a little competition, stating she wasn't getting any as of late. Not a great match (super short) in terms of what SHIMMER and ROH are capable of in Women's action. Sara Del Rey is simply awesome though. The Queen of Wrestling.

Steen & Corino vs. El Generico & Colt Cabana
Main Event time! The bad guys prevailed again as Steen & Corino got the last laugh inside a steel cage. Good match but it just felt disoriented at times. Generico found himself on the outside looking in after stumbling off the top of the cage from being pushed by his former tag partner. This then of course caused Cabana to get attacked relentlessly by Steen & Corino. So Cabana's vowed statement to end the feud earlier came up short. However, it appears ROH is heading into Final Battle (fitting enough) 2010 this year with this feud still in tact. A feud that has lasted since last the last Final Battle PPV (last December). Generico & Cabana HAVE to win at Final Battle this year. There's no way they come up short. Is there?

Show Rating: 6/10
I feel pretty dirty in giving any ROH show below a 7, but I thought this week's show could have been a little better. Sure the Edwards/Titus match ended early for a good reason, but the Main Event came up a little short in the expectations category. Del Rey handling Summerlyn was fine since its just preparing Rey to wrestle someone "worthy" of her status. All in all a decent, but tad disappointing episode. Next week Edwards defends his TV Title against the Necro Butcher and Homicide makes his HDNet debut. He'll probably face a jobber. We'll see. Should be interesting.

WWE Bragging Rights 2010 Review

2010-10-24T23:12:00.008-05:00

Did Bragging Rights deliver? Let's find out!

Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler
Once this match was made official last week on Raw, I knew it had the potential to be a show stealer. It did just that and better yet -- had no interference! Kaitlyn was nowhere to be seen & Vickie only berated the ref AFTER the match was over. US Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion Good pace + good storytelling + good back & forth action = awesome match (Match of the Year candidate). Second PPV in a month and the second consecutive time Bryan has been in a match that stole the show.
Predictions: 0-1

Team Raw is not on the same page. Comical segment.

Rhodes & McIntyre vs. Otunga & Cena
"Dashing" Cody Rhodes on the PPV? As much as I disliked him in the past, I'm growing to like his gimmick over on the blue brand. Unfortunately for him & McIntyre, they had to defend their Tag Titles against David Otunga & John Cena per request of the Raw GM & Wade Barrett. Right when I started liking Rhodes WWE, you take gold off him? Don't you know he's dashing? Don't you know he uses an electric toothbrush? Decent match, but nothing to shout home about. This was all about Nexus' domination. The fans continue to cheer for Cena, despite him being 'property' of Barrett's crew.

Ted Dibiase vs. Goldust
Glad to see this match get added to the card this morning and it delivered. Not great by any stretch, but Goldust worked well with Dibiase and who doesn't like seeing Maryse & Aksana get into a scuffle? Dibiase & Maryse appeared to be home free after Ted picked up the victory, but that was all wiped clean when Aksana teased Dibiase allowing Goldy to take advantage. So Dibiase wins, but Goldust keeps the Million Dollar belt. Not bad WWE.
Predictions: 1-1

Layla vs. Natalya
"Natalya lost to McCool at Hell in a Cell, which means she probably wins here." was the reason I picked Layla to lose. Nope! Basic WWE style Divas action with basic LayCool interference to pick up the victory. Meh.
Predictions: 1-2

Survivor Series is of course next month. Nice Wade Barrett spot.

Kane vs. The Undertaker
WWE having the Buried Alive match a little past the second hour likely meant one thing: Kane would leave victorious. Indeed that was the case and no wonder WWE had this match as early on as it was, the finish was pretty lame. Nexus attacked Taker who had the match won before Kane came back and buried his 'Brother'. I'm sure WWE will explain why Nexus helped Kane, if not it just makes it more stupid. Disappointing match. Sure I love wrestlers brawling in-and-out of the crowd, but it didn't do it for me here. I expect to see Taker back in a few months. It's time for him to heal his wounds and take it easy (even though I predicted him to win here).
Predictions: 1-3

Randy Orton will drop Cena like a sack of potatoes if he gets involved later. He didn't say sack of potatoes. That probably wouldn't come off as very "intimating" or "viperish".

Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
In hindsight of viewing this show, this should have been the Main Event. Team Smackdown had dominated Team Raw this past week. Team Raw was the obvious choice right? I thought they were. I was wrong. The Blue Side wins for the second year in a row after Edge delivered a spear to The Miz. A couple of unique match-ups were created such as Punk vs. Del Rio and Zeke vs. Rey, but it didn't overtake the multiple of dull periods in the match. Still a decent match. Alberto Del Rio took out Mysterio for a good portion of the match and Smackdown still won. Yikes Raw!
Predictions: 1-4

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett
Main Event time for the WWE Title! This finish wasn't as lame as the Buried Alive finish earlier in the show, but still lame regardless. Barrett told Cena if he didn't win the match, Cena would be fired. So Cena got Orton DQ'd by giving Barrett the Attitude Adjustment. The commentators tried hyping the fact that Cena was still employed as crickets could be heard in the arena. Orton ended the show by giving Cena an RKO to draw a little crowd reaction, but that was an ugly way to finish a PPV. All 3 headline matches had interferences (5 out of 7 matches on the card).
Predictions: 1-5 (ouch)

Show Rating: 5/10
Enjoyable show for the first half until it went down hill in the second. Just a head scratching number of unclean finishes. Is this TNA? 5 out of 7 matches had interferences to finish them. Sure a match like Dibiase vs. Goldust is pretty obvious to have interference with Aksana & Maryse on the outside. Also Orton vs. Barrett since Cena was in Barrett's corner, but to have the PPV end on that note was pretty disappointing. It made sense to have Cena find a loophole in Barrett's plan, but Team Raw v. Team Smackdown should have been the Main Event. Ziggler vs. Bryan, surprisingly, had no interference. Match of the Year Candidate as well. Check it out if you missed it.

A few things this PPV brings to the surface is: Why did Nexus attack The Undertaker? Did Kane seek their help? How bad will Barrett punish Cena tomorrow on Raw since he's not Champion? So we're coming out of this PPV with more questions than we came into it with. Time will tell how things pan out. Onto Survivor Series next month.

WWE Bragging Rights 2010 Predictions

2010-10-24T10:43:00.013-05:00

It's PPV day once again in the WWE Universe. If you ordered Hell in a Cell, is tonight's card impressive enough for you to shell out another $55? With Hell in a Cell 3 weeks ago and with SS next month, I'm hesitant to give you a a 'definite' yes, but tonight's show has the makings to be a pretty enjoyable PPV. Check back to the site a couple hours after the show for a complete review.

Also before I begin, if you've been away from the computer or missed UFC 121 last night, The Undertaker & Brock Lesnar exchanged a couple of words after Brock's fight with Velasquez (feel free to express your opinions on the fight in the comments section. Would love to hear them. What a beat down at the hands of Velasquez). Here is a link from Fightline.com which contains a post-fight interview with Taker. People are now gushing over a possible Taker/Lesnar WrestleMania match. Could it happen? Bret freaking Hart returned to WWE this year. Anything is possible. Let's just not wet our pants in excitement or dis-excitement over this possibly happening. With that said, let's switch gears back to tonight's Bragging Rights PPV!

World Title - Buried Alive Match
Kane © vs. The Undertaker
This is likely the end of this feud (for now). I mean, how can you top a Buried Alive match? Have an inferno match next month at Survivor Series? Kane has gotten the upper hand against Taker the last couple of months. However, that changes tonight as The Undertaker buries not only Kane, but Paul Bearer as well to win the World Title. Take these picks with a grain of salt. They're just merely for entertainment of course.

WWE Title - Cena in Barrett's Corner
Randy Orton © vs. Wade Barrett
There's only 2 ways I see this match going. Cena either actually happily helps Barrett (and actually goes heel) or Cena continues his hesitant "ah noes, I HAVE to help Barrett or I'm fired" role as a fallen, in the dumps good guy role, but in the process screws up somehow allowing Orton to sneak away with a victory. Out of those 2 scenarios, I'm leaning towards the latter which will just ensue further punishment on Cena heading into Survivor Series next month. Orton for the win.

Bragging Rights Tag Team Match
Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
Despite Team Smackdown having the better overall team, Team Raw finds a way to win this year. WWE can then hype next year's match as a "Rubber Game" like they do in baseball when two teams split the first 2 heading into a finale of a 3 game set. The comical thing would be someone like Santino picking up the decisive and final pin fall for the red brand.

WWE Unified Divas Title - McCool in Layla's Corner
Layla © vs. Natalya
Technically a inter-branded match for the second PPV in a row involving Natalya vs. a member of LayCool. I'll go on a limb and predict a Natalya victory since she lost to McCool 3 weeks ago at Hell in a Cell. Plus Natalya is simply better in the ring, wrestling wise, than Layla. Not that it means anything. McCool tries to get involved, but much like Cena later in the night screws up allowing the opponent to get the pin fall or submission.

Champion vs. Champion
Daniel Bryan © vs. Dolph Ziggler ©
Glad to see this get added on Raw last week. Could be a show stealer if given enough time. Interference by Vickie or Kaitlyn is likely which dampers the excitement a little, but hopefully the match still delivers before 'such' and 'such' happens. I can see this going either way, but I'll go with Mr. Ziggles. Maybe Kaitlyn distracts Bryan allowing Ziggler to get the win. After the match Vickie finally gets enraged enough to attack Kaitlyn physically.

Goldust vs. Ted Dibiase
Announced by Goldust on his Twitter account this morning, he'll be squaring off against Dibiase tonight. Good to see this angle make the PPV because its one of the better ones going on at the moment. Its arguable that this angle is 3rd best on the show after Cena/Barrett (overshadowing Barret's match with Orton) & Taker/Kane. As much as I like Aksana & Goldust, I think we're due for a Dibiase & Maryse bright moment in this angle. Dibiase gets the win as well as his Million Dollar Belt back.

In quick form, my predicted winners again are:
- Team Raw
- Orton
- Undertaker
- Natalya
- Ziggler
- Dibiase

What are yours? Let's discuss!

WWE Superstars Review - 10/14/10

2010-10-14T21:36:00.008-05:00

10 days until Bragging Rights already?!

Kelly Kelly vs. Layla
A rematch from last week's Smackdown opened up the WGN broadcast. The babyfaces prevailed this time as Natalya got involved allowing Kelly Kelly to get the win. A better match between the two than last week, but that's not saying a whole lot. I suspect we'll see Kelly Kelly vs. McCool or Natalya vs. Layla next week in preparation for Natayla vs. McCool at Bragging Rights.

"Knucklehead" looks bad, really bad.

Curt Hawkins vs. Trent Barreta
Next is Curt Hawkins vs. Trent Barreta in the second contest of the night. Great showing by Hawkins as he picked up the victory via his "heat-seeking" elbow off the top rope. Maybe WWE will push Hawkins after the apparent split between him & Archer last week on WGN. I'm personally hoping for it.

How is everyone's Rocktober going so far?

Primo vs. Darren Young
Raw's portion of the show began with Primo (accompanied by his NXT rookie A.J.) vs. former Nexus member Darren Young. Lawler asked why Young's hair wasn't its usual out of control style. Cole suggested that maybe he was seeking Cody Rhodes' tips over on Smackdown. Wait. . . did Michael Cole just make me laugh? Whoa man, whoa. Decent match here as Darren came out victorious. WWE has watered down his character since his Nexus departure. He's pretty good in the ring, but he definitely needs a gimmick. Something, anything. He's like a generic CAW on a Smackdown vs. Raw video game now.

Melina vs. Alicia Fox
Main Event time! Has a Divas' single match ever headlined Superstars before? Alicia Fox accompanied by her NXT rookie Maxine taking on Melina in a good contest. Melina rolled a typical schoolboy pin into a reversed body bridge cover for the win. Nice to see the Divas headline the show for a change.

Show Rating: 7/10
Always consistent in providing decent actual wrestling, this week was no different for Superstars. The Divas opened and closed the show with two respectable matches. In between we received a very nice match with Hawkins/Barreta & an okay Darren Young/Primo contest. If you have free time and missed the show, you may want to check out the Hawkins/Barreta match. I would LOVE to see a Curt Hawkins push. How about you?

WWE NXT: S3/E6 Review

2010-10-14T11:30:00.010-05:00

WWE Smackdown Review - 10/8/10

2010-10-13T14:05:00.000-05:00

T-Lo opened the show and welcomed Smackdown's newest acquisition via trade: Edge! The Rated R Superstar makes whatever brand he's on better, but it's hard to get really excited when he's been on the blue brand more this past year than on Raw. Jack Swagger then came out with his eagle mascot. Edge poked some jokes about the mascot which just irritated our All American American. Who pokes fun at a cute dancing eagle?! So the show kicked off with a Hell in a Cell rematch. Also, Micheal Cole joined Striker & Grisham on commentary. My question: why? What purpose does it serve?

Edge vs. Jack Swagger
Hell in a Cell rematch here. The similarity: Both matches delivered. The difference: This crowd is actually making a little noise whereas the Dallas crowd was quite silent. I love seeing a wrestler with a mascot (a heel wrestler at that, which makes it more comical). Edge picked up the victory in his first match back on the blue side. Despite my love for Swagger's Soaring Eagle, hopefully WWE doesn't make it a regularity of having him look foolish & continue to job/lose every week again. With that said, we're nowhere near the point of the whole Santino/Swagger "feud" awhile back. I would love to see Swagger back in the Main Event picture eventually.

"Regular toothbrushes are for regular people. Use an electric toothbrush and then make sure to rinse afterwards with a nice cold glass of bottled water." Why thank you Cody Rhodes for keeping my hygiene well above par.

Layla vs. Kelly Kelly
What you'd expect from a WWE Divas' match. Layla picked up the win before Natalya came to the aid of Kelly Kelly saving her from a LayCool beat down.

Big Show is happy, he's loving life, he's also team captain of Team Smackdown for Bragging Rights. We also learn that Hornswoggle is the mascot for the Blue Team. Well, mascots seem to be in now. Swagger's Soaring Eagle > Hornswoggle though. The Dude Busters want in on the team, but Show gave them a double choke slam instead. I like Big Show as a face, but now he's too much of a face. . . if that's even possible. He's so much of a face, I'm kind of cheering for Team Raw now at Bragging Rights. I'm sure The Miz is happy to have me as a supporter of his team. Hmph.

McIntyre & Rhodes vs. Kaval & Kingston
Non-title match but it didn't matter in the end as Cody Rhodes & McIntyre squeaked out a victory. I don't know what's more irritating: Rhodes pinning Kaval or Micheal Cole continuing to be an ear sore on commentary. Despite those two minor complaints, this was a fun, short tag match. Kaval got the crowd "oohing" and "awhhinggg" with his always innovative offense. Hopefully we see a rematch between both teams with a longer match time than 5 minutes. Make it happen WWE, make it happen!

Paul Bearer joined Kane for another awesome promo. You know a promo is good when it overcomes corny background music. Really WWE? I know there's a lot of kids in the crowd these days, but they should know when a promo is suppose to upbeat, mellow or "I HATE YOU BIG BROTHER!"ish. My favorite lines from Kane: "Just like The Undertaker, all of you answer to someone. Whether its your parents, whether it's your spouse, your boss. . . ALL of you answer to someone."

Dolph Ziggler vs. MVP
Intercontinental Title on the line as Mr. Ziggles took on MVP. Quite the dull match that was easily overshadowed by the love triangle storyline between Dolph, Vickie & NXT Rookie Kaitlyn. Vickie bailed on her boyfriend (for now), only for Kaitlyn to come out and distract MVP allowing Ziggs to retain his title. So the plot thickens. MVP, on the other hand, remains very stale.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio
Main Event time! Solid TV match which surprisingly saw Mysterio pick up the clean pin fall victory giving Del Rio his first defeat in WWE. I'd be very surprised if this feud is over. I expect it to continue until at least Survivor Series. You don't beat El Hijo de Dos Caros and get away without anything happening! Mysterio started the match strong, Del Rio bounced back midway before both men took turns of momentum at the finish. So the week long hype heading into this match paid off. I'm excited to see the two square off again in the near future (hopefully).

Show Rating: 7/10
A strong opening and a fantastic Main Event makes Smackdown's 2nd week on Syfy a hit. Not much actual wrestling in the middle, but Kane delivered another strong promo (despite ridiculously lame background music), Cody Rhodes continues to be hilarious with his dashing/charming gimmick. Speaking of Rhodes, his and Mcintyre's tag match with Kaval & Kofi was also pretty good, despite being short. If you missed the show, at least check out the Del Rio/Mysterio match. You won't regret it.

WWE NXT: S3/E5 Review

2010-10-07T12:33:00.007-05:00

Season 3 Cast Reminder
- Rookie: Kaitlyn Pro: Vickie Guerrero
- Rookie: A.J. Pro: Primo
- Rookie: Jamie Pro: Bella Twins
- Rookie: Naomi Pro: Kelly Kelly
- Rookie: Maxine Pro: Alicia Fox
- Rookie: Aksana Pro: Goldust

Scoreboard after Week 4:
- A.J.: 3 points
- Naomi: 2 points
- Kaitlyn: 2 points
- Jamie: 1 point

Competition 1/2 of the Show
Since Smackdown made the switch to Syfy last week, NXT is now a webcast on WWE.com. Same night, same time. With this being the rumored last season of the show and with the way WWE uses their Divas, I can't help but think "what a waste of time". Ray from Wrestlegasm posted a nice piece the other day covering the similar issue. Check it out. Good stuff. With that being said, I've found myself *gulp*.... liking the way this season is playing out.

I find 3 out of the 6 women to be interesting and all being capable of being WWE Divas (Kaitlyn, Aksana & A.J.). Not like its very hard being a WWE Diva (looks at the Bella Twins, who gives the likes of Natalya among others a bad name). Yes the show is silly at times, as was some of the past 2 seasons with the guys, but its been a nice cup of "who gives a damn" (with me anyways) this season. The winner will most likely be meshed into the pool of the other Divas and be misused on a frequent basis, but with that still being said, I've still enjoyed this season thus far.

The first competition of the show: Mechanical bull-riding. Aksana & Maxine needed a point the most with both failing to accord a win yet in the season. Luckily, the Lithuanian rose to the occasion and recorded the longest time at 17.9 seconds. I didn't know attractive Lithuanian women were good mechanical bull riders. Aksana won and was rewarded a match with Maxine. I honestly think matches should be factored into the point system or remotely count. *scratches head a little*

Updated Scoreboard:
- A.J.: 3 points
- Naomi: 2 points
- Kaitlyn: 2 points
- Jamie: 1 point
- Aksana: 1 point

Aksana vs. Maxine
Aksana made it 2-for-2 on the show by successfully defeating Alicia Fox's rookie. Just a two minute match. There's no way Maxine is continuing much further on the season. Aksana, however, had a great showing this week besides receiving a notice from an immigration person saying she had 4 weeks to prove she had the right to work in the States. Who does that to the lovely Aksana?! Goldust vowed to take care of it. One can only think Dibiase's stolen million dollar belt comes into play here. This could be a pretty interesting storyline. Plus we could see Maryse vs. Aksana. Absolutely no complaints from me on that one. I dare anyone to object.

Competition 2/2 of the Show
The second and final competition of the night: a Talent show. Aksana did some of the most incredible push ups I've ever seen, Naomi actually did a really good rap, A.J. showed her flexibility, Jamie tried to prove she excelled at turning men on, Kaitlyn drew a stick figure of Vickie and Maxine got a pie to the face at the hands of Hornswoggle. Who won? Kaitlyn! Although Kaitlyn was my choice to win from the beginning, Aksana and Naomi were better choices. Shame on you live WWE audience! Kaitlyn looks to be the clear cut winner with the fans. What can you do, she has one of the best heels in the business as her pro. Speaking of which, that's our Main Event.

Updated Scoreboard:
- A.J.: 3 points
- Kaitlyn: 3 points
- Naomi: 2 points
- Jamie: 1 point
- Aksana: 1 point

Kaitlyn vs. Vickie Guerrero
I might not be the first to say this on the interwebz or Twitter, but Vickie is looking pretty good. She seems to be losing weight by the week and is looking quite fit. Anyways, decent match here as Kaitlyn picked up the win after hitting a back breaker. The crowd liked it, Kaitlyn hugged Dolph and Vickie stormed off disgusted. My only minor complaint (very minor) is that after weeks of tension between both Kaitlyn & Vickie, Kaitlyn didn't seem too "distraught" at Vickie at points during the match. I know Vickie is your pro Kaitlyn, but there's no need to check on her when she's faking an injury. Otherwise, this was a nice payoff to the first several weeks of the season. One can guess Vickie will come back more enraged than ever next week.

The Elimination:
The first elimination of the season went to. . . . Jamie! Not all that surprised. Her or Maxine were the ones I thought would probably pack their bags as the first entrant gone this season. Speaking of Maxine, I think she'll be eliminated next week. She's not on the scoreboard, plus she's not over at all with the fans. And if the fan vote even exists, they're probably not voting for her. For anyone that actually watched the show or has watched the season, who's your favorite Diva from the bunch? Also, Wrestle Soup is back for good in terms of being consistently updated. I'm sorry for the last few months. Real life has been quite hectic with college. Expect a complete overhaul of the layout before the new year, which also marks Wrestle Soup's 2 year anniversary. Crazy how time flies!

Updated Scoreboard:
- A.J.: 3 points
- Kaitlyn: 3 points
- Naomi: 2 points
~~- Jamie: 1 point~~
- Aksana: 1 point

Luna Vachon Passes Away

2010-08-27T14:06:00.005-05:00

It's been sadly confirmed by WWE.com that former women's wrestler Luna Vachon (Gertrude Vachon) has passed away (age 48). She was staying at her Mother's house due to a house fire at her place a little more than two weeks ago. Another tragic death in the professional wrestling world. This comes right after the passing of Lance Cade just a couple of weeks ago.

Daughter of Butcher Vachon and niece of "Mad Dog" Vachon, Luna made her wrestling debut in 1985 and later retired in 2007 after stints in WWF/E in the early and late 90s, ECW in the mid-90s and independent circuits mixed throughout. She never held the WWF Women's title, but did become a 6-time Champion in 6 different organizations:

- Wild Women of Wrestling TV Title
- USWA Women's Title
- SWF Women's Title
- LMLW Women's Title
- GLCW Ladies Title
- AWF Women's Title

Luna was one of the most unique superstars in the business. I'll remember her most for her stint in The Oddities in the late 90s. Oh the memories...

R.I.P Luna Vachon
(January 12, 1962 - August 27, 2010)

WWE Superstars Review - 8/26/10

2010-08-26T19:16:00.016-05:00

Show Card:
Goldust vs. William Regal
Curt Hawkins & Vance Archer vs. The Dudebusters
Drew McIntyre vs. Chris Masters

No pyro to open up the show, just the sound of shattered dreams...

Goldust vs. William Regal
Decent opening match between two long time veterans. William Regal actually got a quality win as both men looked good. The ending seemed a bit abrupt with Goldust gaining the upperhand, only to be smacked with a Regal running knee, but that just underlines the theory, "you can't take your eye off of your opponent even for a split second." Good match. Goldust & Regal continue to be quality assets in pushing younger talent. Both were very good in that role in ECW a year ago.

WWE celebrates Raw's 900th episode next Monday. Imagine in under two years, we'll be watching the 1000th episode. Crazy. How time flies.

Smackdown headlines this week's episode as Chris Masters takes on Drew McIntyre. Masters is becoming "Mr. Thursday Night" along with Primo. Maybe the two can have a Inter-promotional match at WrestleMania 27. The Battle of "Superstars"! Okay, maybe not. I regress. Time for a little tag action!

Curt Hawkins & Vance Archer vs. The Dudebusters
Two teams wrestling for a spot for a Tag Title shot went at it here. Vance Archer's beard and tight look (with the tramp stamp and thigh tattoos), looks pretty tacky to me. Maybe the tackiness is what allowed Trent Baretta to sneak a win via a DDT. That was lame, my apologies. Good win for the Dudebusters. We'll see if they keep it up and get a Tag Title shot at Night of Champions next month. OKAY match, nothing memorable. Skipable for you who DVRed the show.

The Raw Rebound is shown. Remember when Sheamus was a bad ass and took out everyone in his path? He's still legit, but WWE having him pick matches with Zack Ryder recently to defend his title against and acting sissy when hearing the news of having to defend his title in a Six Pack Challenge at Night of Champions? Come on young fella! Oh, and this is the perfect opportunity for Wade Barrett to win the WWE Title. Why not let him win it on his first try? Can't get a bigger first title win than against Sheamus, John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton!

Drew McIntyre vs. Chris Masters
Main Event time, and this could have easily been a mid-card PPV contest. Strong TV match as McIntyre barely outlasted Masters by hitting the Future Shock for the win. Masters looked really good. We'll see if WWE continues to make him a Thursday night mainstay or actually have him get more time on Friday nights. As far as McIntyre, who knows. His future is still very bright, but not as shiny as it was when he first made his debut. Not too big of a concern though, WWE can easily pull his "Vince McMahon favoritism" card anytime and put him right back on track. Definitely check out this match, if you missed the show. If not, what did you think of it or this week's show in general? Do you even bother watching Superstars any more?

Show Rating: 6/10
Nice episode of Superstars this week. The tag match was a nice cushion between a decent opening Goldust/Regal contest and the strong McIntyre/Masters Main Event. If you missed the show, at least check out the Main Event and if you have time, the Goldust/Regal match as well. If not, thanks for checking out the review. I know things have been very slow as of late. Don't worry, as of today, that changes. Thanks for your patience. For those one or two of you out there. -double bow-

ROH Review - 6/14/10

2010-06-19T17:16:00.003-05:00

Show Card:
Christopher Daniels vs. Bobby Shields
The Briscoes vs. Bobby Evans & Sid Reeves
Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino

Christopher Daniels vs. Bobby Shields
Opening the show with "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels! Awesome seeing him back in ROH, but what a big loss for TNA. Dixie and co dropped the ball with CD. You're telling me they couldn't use him in feuds against Desmond Wolfe or Kurt Angle? It's too bad his last days in TNA will be known for losing to Val Ven--er.. Sean Morley. Anyways, Daniels puts on a clinic against Shields in this one to pick up the victory. After the match, Daniels delivered a nice promo on how he came back to teach every guy in the back from Delirious to Tyler Black.

Take note ladies & gents, Steve Corino doesn't like Keanu Reeves or J.D. Drew. Good follow up promo from Kevin Steen concerning his match at Death Before Dishonor VIII. A video package followed concerning the 6-month build up between Steen & Generico.

The Briscoes vs. Bobby Evans & Sid Reeves
The Father of the Briscoes, Mike, was ringside for this one as his sons made fast work of Bobby Evans & Sid Reeves. The big news from this one however was The Kings of Wrestling assaulting Dad Briscoe after the match via a Hero elbow. Briscoes vs. KOW was already a must-see match. This just adds even more fuel to the fire. Bringing family into things is an easy given to make things extremely personal. As if this match needed any more great hype leading into it...buy the iPPV!

Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino
Smart Main Match on the show with Cabana's friend El Generico & Corino's sidekick Kevin Steen going to battle at the iPPV. Just a simple outside the ring brawl here. Cabana clocked Corino in the skull with a steel chair a couple times along with tossing him into the audience. The match ended in a DQ due to the chair shots from Cabana. Following the match Cabana, Generico, Corino & Steen all went at it.

Main segment time and it's the Contract Signing for the World Title Match at Death Before Dishonor VIII. Short promos from both men before Christopher Daniels interrupted saying he'd like to challenge both the winner and loser from the Title Match at the iPPV. The show ended with Daniels leaving the ring and with Champion staring down Challenger 5 days before show time. See...you don't always need a Contract Signing to end in a brawl to leave a message. This did it's job. Everyone knows the match Saturday night will be all sorts of havoc though. It has Match of the Year candidate written all over it and will be worth the $14.95 by itself.

Show Rating: 7/10
Not a lot of good actual wrestling on the show, but there didn't need to be. ROH pushed the iPPV heavily here and I thought they did a pretty good job without making things seem too bunched together. Daniels' HDNet debut wasn't a side attraction to all the PPV hype so thumbs up to ROH for blending things together nicely. As for DBD VIII...the show is stacked and will be well worth the $15. Remember you can buy the iPPV right here.

TNA Impact Review - 5/27/10

2010-05-28T12:02:00.017-05:00

Show Card:
Jesse Neal & Shannon Moore vs. Team 3D vs. The Band (c) (Non-Title)
Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal
Orlando Jordan vs. Abyss
Taylor Wilde & Sarita vs. The Beautiful People (c) (Knockout Tag Titles)
Desmond Wolfe vs. Jeff Hardy
AJ Styles vs. Mr. Anderson

The show started with a comical promo exchange between Jeff Hardy & Mr. Anderson. Hardy wanted an explanation from Anderson on why he helped him win last week. Anderson responded by telling Jeff maybe he just wanted to confuse him and maybe he's just an asshole. TNA is really going all out with this asshole stuff from Anderson. Sad part is most of the Impact Zone loved it. Styles came out next and we learn our Main Event for the evening: AJ vs. Anderson. Not too shabby.

Jesse Neal & Shannon Moore & Team 3D vs. The Band
Decent action here, however, it was Bubba Ray's recent disdain for Jesse Neal that was the headline coming out of this one. Ray went for a chair shot, Devon intercepted, which allowed Neal to hit his spear (a very weak looking spear here) which allowed him & Shannon to pick up the win. After the match, Ray challenged Neal to a match at Slammiversary. If Slammiversary is one of TNA's biggest offerings of the year, I'm not sure how I feel about a Bubba Ray/Jesse Neal match being on it. No disrespect to Jesse Neal, I just don't think we should be seeing singles matches with either member of Team 3D on a PPV. Especially not a "big" PPV.

Ric Flair is talking to Kazarian? Styles is irritated! Also RVD will call out Sting later in the show. At first I wasn't liking the theatrical backstage pieces, but its a different style which I'm growing to like now.

Kazarian vs. Jay Lethal
On paper this match has all kinds of potential, however Ric Flair was the highlight of this one as he made an appearance during the contest. Kaz won via dirty tactics before Flair went into post match beat down mode on Lethal. Lethal countered with chops and the typical Flair back body drop before Styles attacked Lethal. So basically Styles & Kaz are trying to prove themselves to Flair. I'm not feeling this storyline. The only thing I like here is Kaz getting pushed which feuding with Styles would do nicely. Rumors have it that Flair might turn on Styles at Slammiversary. We shall see. I would like to see AJ as just AJ again though.

Orlando Jordan vs. Abyss
Orlando Jordan vs. Abyss, both men are involved in different feuds which both got tangled at the end which made this match seem a little pointless but it wasn't all that bad of a contest. Abyss picked up the win via DQ as Wolfe came out and attacked the big man with a pipe. Both he and Jordan then went to unload more damage, but Rob Terry came out to the rescue. Definitely not crazy about this Terry/Jordan feud. You have a bland personality in Terry, who just gets his nickname "The Freak" because he's abnormally big (that's an understatement) and Jordan who plays his role nicely but I believe he just needs to feud with someone else for people to really give a crap about his eye liner and covered nipples. Maybe people never will but feuding against Terry is a tough feat to get over on.

Decent promo exchange between TNA World Champion Rob Van Dam and Number One Contender Sting. RVD made a good point about how they've both achieved great things in the business, but have never met before in an actual match. News broke last week of Sting needing shoulder surgery soon, so that definitely puts a damper on the match. The match already looked "okay at best" on paper without the news of Sting needing surgery but now it's looking like "only a miracle will make this match okay at best". We'll have to see how things pan out in 2 weeks.

Hulk Hogan sees Mr. Anderson as a great talent, but thinks his recent actions have backed him into a corner. Anderson tells the Hulkster he'll prove his new found sincereness later tonight against Styles.

Roxxi returned last week with a non-title win over Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne. Christy Hemme informs the well traveled Diva her victory last week earned herself a title shot at Slammiversary. I love Roxxi but she could definitely tone down her "enthusiasm". Came off way faker than it should have been.

Taylor Wilde & Sarita vs. TBP (c) (Knockout Tag Titles)
This match was a perfect example to why non-wrestling fans don't bother to tune in. This was Spike's best attempt to advertise "Pint size Brawlers" which looks ridiculous to say the least. No offense to midgets. Puppet "The Psycho Dwarf" (lead star of the new show) made out with Lacey Von Erich after the match. Oh yeah...there was a match. The Beautiful People retained their titles. Not much to speak of here.

Desmond Wolfe vs. Jeff Hardy
Kurt Angle accompanied Tazz & Tenay on commentary for this one as he scouted 2 stars off the current Top TNA standings. Good match that saw another unclean finish as Wolfe clocked Hardy in the head with a foreign object. Both men actually gelled nicely together. This could be a feud TNA could go to if they're going to the well for ideas. I'm pretty sure you could give Desmond Wolfe anyone in the company and he could give you a decent match at the very least. Also I'm looking forward to seeing Angle wrestle all 10 of the guys on the Top 10 Standings in the near future.

Matt Morgan referring to himself as "we" and Kurt Angle as "kid" were both pretty hilarious. Morgan "asked" Angle to be his tag partner at Slammiversary before shoving the Olympic Gold Medalist down. Officials broke it up before Samoa Joe came out and stared Angle down. Alright, I'm down for another Angle/Joe match but I thought this confrontation was weird especially right after the Morgan/Angle shuffle.

AJ Styles vs. Mr. Anderson
Main Event time! Both men squaring off for the first time. Good 10 minute match here as Styles picked up the win via a little help from the bottom rope. Anderson congratulated Styles on beating him at his own game, but then attacked him anyways. Beer Money then came out to help AJ which then brought out Jeff Hardy who got the last laugh before the show came to a close.

Show Rating: 6.5/10
Not a bad episode of Impact but still not a great showing from Dixie and company. Good wrestling in the time given along with a few comical promos. The RVD/Sting promo was decent heading towards their question filled match at Slammiversary. The OJ/Terry & Abyss/Wolfe feuds are still alive and kicking despite weird booking having Jordan wrestle Abyss on the show. The Knockout stuff was pointless and Hardy/Wolfe + Styles/Anderson delivered despite both suffering from dirty finishes.

Shelly Martinez Interview

2010-05-22T11:14:00.006-05:00

Wrestle Soup has been around for nearly a year and a half now, but this marks the first time I've ever interviewed an ex or active star in the industry. I was lucky enough to get a few questions in for Ms. Martinez who nicely accepted. Note: I asked these questions before the whole Wrestlicious news/rumors broke. With that said...drum roll please.

WS: Here we go!

WS: What was more enjoyable? Being Ariel in WWE or or Sallinas in TNA? Are they even comparable in any way?

Shelly: They really aren't. They are two different characters but both I can relate to.

WS: What are your thoughts on the current state of pro wrestling? Is there anything major you would change if you were in charge of say WWE or TNA?

Shelly: I do not watch WWE but I do watch TNA every week. I think there is one thing they are missing, ME!! :)

WS: Speaking of TNA, you've made it clear you would be open to a return to the company. Is this still accurate?

Shelly: Yes sir :)

WS: Finally just a fun little non-wrestling question. If you could interview any front lead singer of a band, who would it be and why?

Shelly: Dang, that is sooooo hard. Mmmmm, I would say Black Eyed Peas because they inspire me in a way that music has never inspired me before. I will always be rock n roll but BEPs do something strange to my soul :)

WS: Thanks for taking time out of your schedule to answer my questions. It's appreciated.

Shelly: Anytime!! :)

Wrestle Soup is on Facebook!

2010-05-10T02:43:00.013-05:00

Before I begin, I want to apologize for flip flopping so fast after announcing that the site was closed indefinitely until further notice last night. Technically the site was closed for a few hours and I'm now notifying you that its back open. Won't happen again. Yes, a few hours does not make me any happier with the current product of pro wrestling, but I'll get through it because I do love wrestling and have since I was a child.

With that said, Wrestle Soup is now on Facebook! Following the footsteps of Kick-Out!! Wrestling, The Superplex and Wrestlespective. Become a fan, I mean "Like" Wrestle Soup today! You can find the site's page on Facebook simply by clicking here.

WWE Superstars Review - 5/6/10

2010-05-07T13:31:00.003-05:00

Show Card:
Carlito vs. Primo
Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Masters
Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Rosa Mendes (Non-Title)
JTG vs. Shad Gaspard

Carlito vs. Primo
Shad vs. JTG is our Main Event, Carlito vs. Primo is our opener...what is this? Former tag team squares off night? The first thing I thought of during the start of this one was the rumor of both Brothers getting back together (future house shows have the Brothers wrestling as a tag team against the likes of Hart Dynasty). Sure enough a few minutes into the contest, Carlito got on the mic and cut a pretty good mini promo about how they should reunite. Primo agreed and that was that. Great moment.

For anyone that has seen Iron Man 2...what are your thoughts?

Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Masters
Two newcomers to the Blue brand, Chavo Guerrero & Chris Masters squared off here. Short, but decent TV match. Masters took a SICK spill as Chavo drop kicked him off the ring apron to the floor. Both men looked good in this contest, but it was Masters getting the last laugh as he keyed in his patented Master Lock for the win. Poor Chavo Guerrero hasn't been used right in years. It's a shame he spent most of last year being the Coyote to Hornswoggle's Roadrunner.

Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Rosa Mendes (Non-Title)
Comical stuff from Rosa before the contest as she told Beth her days as Champion are numbered. "Adios, Glamazon". Rosa is still very green in the ring and it showed here in a short contest. Beth suffered an injury, which prompted the match to end in a sudden school girl roll up by our Women's Champion. No need to worry about the Glamazon though, she posted on her Twitter that she's feeling just fine.

JTG vs. Shad Gaspard
A rematch from Extreme Rules last month as both former tag partners went at it again. Good TV Main Event as JTG controlled the latter only to be slammed down via the STO to take the loss. So the score is tied 1-1 now. I'm guessing we'll get at least one more match between the two before its all said and done. Also, Matt Striker played the heel announcer role by saying he buys more into Shad than JTG. I'm not a big fan of Mr. Striker, but I have to agree. I think Shad has the look to do big things in the company. With Smackdown undergoing all the changes as of late, I wouldn't call it impossible we see Shad as a possible World Champion...by year's end. Yes, I just said that. May 7, 2010...bookmark this page!

Show Rating: 6/10
Good, but not great, showing from Superstars this week. Shad/JTG was a solid TV Main Event, Chavo/Masters was a decent contest for the time given and it was nice seeing Carlito & Primo reunite. If you missed the show, which is a good chance a lot of people did with the whole Chicago Cubs game preempting things, it's worth checking out for what I mentioned at the top.

ROH Review - 4/26/10

2010-04-26T23:25:00.006-05:00

Show Card:
Rhett Titus vs. Tyler Black (c) (Non-Title)
Rasche Brown vs. James Stone
Eddie Edwards vs. Davey Richards (TV Title)

Our ROH Champ isn't happy with Roderick Strong's griping. Come May 8th in New York, he'll need to put up or shut up. Black/Strong has a lot of potential, but I can't see Strong with the belt, even though he has all the tools in the ring. I see Black holding the title a little while longer like Aries did.

Rhett Titus vs. Tyler Black (c) (Non-Title)
Speaking of Tyler Black, he kicked things off on the wrestling front as he took on Rhett Titus. Good match that saw Black win, but at the same time made Titus look credible as he stood his ground against the Champ. Austin Aries & Kenny King tried distracting Tyler, but Roderick Strong came to Black's aid. After the contest, we got a very awkward exchange between the Champion and Number One Contender. Neither man is strong on the mic and with a quiet crowd...it was just awkward television. Both men then had enough and started a brawl which cleared the locker room. Hard feud to build towards a big match with the limited mic skills, but I know both men will deliver come May 8th. Should be good stuff.

Rasche Brown vs. James Stone
The "Skull Crusher" Rasche Brown easily defeated James Stone here. Stone sporting a cigarette behind his ear. I'm still not sold on Brown, he has the size to be used as a dominant star in the ring, but I want to see him compete in a back-and-forth contest. I'm sure we're on the verge of seeing more quality competition for Brown. ROH is just showcasing the big man before he gets his feet really wet.

Shawn Daivari was out next to cut a promo with his usual rants on what America is doing wrong. Good promo from Daivari, who should be a nice fit in ROH. Of course the crowd chanted "USA". Of course. Hodgewood said they weren't chanting that directly towards Daivari himself, they are just loyal to their country. Speaking of Daivari, he recently joined the world of Twitter!

Eddie Edwards vs. Davey Richards (TV Title)
Main Event time and the Finals of the TV Title Tournament. This one lived up to the hype and then some. What a great contest that told a nice story. Tag partner vs. Tag partner, both men being cautious from the start before slowly picking up into an all out onslaught, both men taking advantage of missed opportunities, both men knowing eachother's weaknesses and strengths so well...I could go on, this was 20 minutes of quality, wrestling awesomeness. The crowd was more on Richard's side throughout the contest, but were rightfully cheering for both men after this match. Edwards escaped with the win and the TV Title after he made his partner tap with his Achilles lock. I marked a few times in this one, I admit. Davey Richards is a machine.

Show Rating: 9.5/10
Great show from ROH this week. You could of had Tyler & Strong do a 30-minute promo at the start and with a match as good as Edwards vs. Richards in the second half? The show would have still gotten two thumbs up. Tyler/Rhett was a decent match, Rasche's squash calmed things down a little and was a nice cushion until the Main Event which was easily a TV Match of the Year candidate (up to this point). It was a busy night for wrestling last night, but if you missed the show...find a way to catch Edwards v. Richards. You won't regret it. "AMERICAN WOLVES!"

Extreme Rules 2010 Predictions

2010-04-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

Can you feel the extremeness in the air?

He can. I'm scared.

Another month, another pay-per-view from WWE! For the first time in nearly a decade, Backlash is not the following PPV after WrestleMania. Backlash was of course known for being the "fall out pay-per-view" for feuds still with a little flame left in them after the "Super Bowl of wrestling". That all changed, however, as WWE scrapped Backlash and rearranged some of it's pay-per-view calendar. Extreme Rules now takes Backlash's place and honestly, I have no problem with it. People just shelled out $55 on WrestleMania last month, why not have 4 rematches and just throw stipulations on them? Simple, yet effective (well WWE is hoping it's effective) marketing. Lets get right to my predictions. Hit the music, maestro!

[Artist: Caribou Song: Odessa Album: Swim (2010)]

John Cena (c) vs. Batista (WWE Title) (Last Man Standing)
"CENA, you made me tap...but you still can't beat me! You hear that? You beat me, but you still can't beat me!" A lot of people are dogging this match, but their WrestleMania match was really good. I'm expecting this match to be the same way. Cena sends the fans home happy, though, and retains his WWE Title. Because at the end of the day, we all need to be happy.

Jack Swagger (c) vs. Randy Orton (World Title) (Extreme Rules)
Swagger has one win since becoming the World Champion last month (and that was against Jericho), but the All American American has hardly any momentum going into this one against Orton. I'm still picking Swagger, but I'm not confident at all. Maybe Swagger retains and then gets switched to Raw and Cena gets moved to Smackdown.

Triple H vs. Sheamus (Street Fight)
Hunter won at WrestleMania, I'm using simple logic and saying Sheamus wins here to get revenge. Their match at Mania was one of the sleepers on the card. Add weapons to this one and we could see a surprising MOTN candidate.

Who knows.

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk (Hair Match)
Mysterio won at WrestleMania, I'm using simple logic and saying Punk wins here to get revenge and to save his hair. No way can I see Punk going bald. NO WAY. Now, if Punk would have won at WrestleMania, I would be a little worried about him losing his hair tonight, but since he lost, I'm feeling pretty confident that our Straight Edge Savior escapes with a victory tonight. Now place your hand on your computer screen and savior the power of our Straight Edge Savior. Then, tell your family and friends to go to Wrestle Soup and bow in complete quietness because great things in life should be bowed to in silence because noise distracts and resembles the sinners from below. As Kevin Spacey would say in American Beauty: "..You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry...you will someday."

Edge vs. Chris Jericho (Steel Cage)
Mysterio vs. Punk & this contest are my top 2 Candidates in being Match of the Night. Edge & Jericho's WrestleMania match was good, but it wasn't great (which I was hoping for going into it). With a Steel Cage involved, I'm sure we'll see a few cool spots. I'm trying to think how Edge could do a Spear off the top of the cage, but I don't think that's humanly possible. I'm using simple logic again and picking Edge here since he lost last month at WrestleMania. I'm expecting to do really well or downright terrible on this card. If it's in between, I'll be surprised.

Michelle McCool (c) vs. Beth Phoenix (Women's Title)
(Extreme Makeover)
What's an "Extreme Makeover" match you ask? I have no clue, but I will say, if I see another McCool, Vickie & Layla celebration after this one...I may just vomit. Therefore I'm picking The Glamazon to win the match and the Women's Title. With the Draft tomorrow, I'm hoping WWE drops a bomb on the Women's division. They need to do something drastic. The release of Mickie James this past week was a big surprise and very sad to see since Mickie was one of WWE's better women's wrestlers. Now we have Beth, McCool, Gail Kim, Melina....Kelly Kelly (?)....Eve (?)....Maryse (?) as the best women's wrestlers the WWE has at the moment. Not good at all. No more Mickie James, but don't worry...The Bella Twins are still around.

Shad Gaspard vs. JTG (Strap Match)
It's the MEGA-POWERS EXPLODE all over again! CAN YOU FEEL IT?! Okay, not quite and I'm honestly a little surprised this match made the card. I'm assuming we may get a Hart Dynasty vs. Sho-Miz Unified Tag Title Match as well on the show, but that's just my gut feeling. Back to the match at hand though. I'm picking Shad here. To me, he has more potential than JTG to be a long-term singles star in the company. Why not start him off with a PPV win here over his former tag partner?

My Quick Predictions:
- Cena def. Batista to retain WWE Title
- Swagger def. Orton to retain World Title
- Sheamus def. Triple H
- Punk def. Mysterio
- Edge def. Jericho
- Beth def. McCool to win Women's Title
- Shad def. JTG

Smackdown Review - 4/16/10

2010-04-18T23:32:00.006-05:00

Show Card:
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Kane (Non-Title)
Dolph Ziggler vs. R-Truth
Michelle McCool (c) vs. Mickie James (Non-Title)
Straight Edge Society vs. Rey Mysterio & Hart Dynasty
Caylen Croft vs. JTG
Jack Swagger (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge (World Title)

Smackdown came to us from the 02 Arena in London and what better way to kick things off than with Chris Jericho on the mic? Jericho is irritated that Randy Orton gets a shot at Jack Swagger's World Title when he's on Raw and Swagger being the Champ on Smackdown (very valid point Chris, I'm wondering that myself). Jericho also wants Teddy Long to start doing his job and stop acting like a buffoon. Edge came out next and to make things more complicated, he also wants to keep the title on the blue side. T-Lo wrapped up the opening segment by making a Triple Threat World Title Main Event with Swagger defending his World Title against Jericho & Edge. Not bad!

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Kane (Non-Title)
We don't care about McIntyre? Well McIntyre doesn't care about us! OKAY match here before McIntyre bailed to the outside, only to be rolled back into the ring by Matt Hardy which prompted the ref to end the match in a DQ. Really? I guess the rules mean "any outside interference", but geez. Kane isn't happy with Hardy's interference so he simply plants him with a choke slam. Maybe we're getting a Triple Threat Match between the three men at Extreme Rules...

Jack Swagger isn't happy with defending his title tonight. I wouldn't be either if my first tile defense was against the likes of Chris Jericho and Edge.

Dolph Ziggler vs. R-Truth
So about Ziggler's attack on Josh Matthews last week? Dolph is terribly "sorry". R-Truth, on the other hand, knows Ziggles doesn't have any heart and doesn't mean anything he says. Unfortunately for Truth, Dolph made him go to sleep via his new found finisher in the classic sleeper hold submission. Short contest, but was decent in the time given. I wonder how long of a hot streak Dolph will have before he gets some sort of title shot. Maybe as soon as after the Draft?

Michelle McCool (c) vs. Mickie James (Non-Title)
Please hurry Draft, so we hopefully have a mix-up of the Divas on each brand. I'm past tired of seeing Mickie getting one-upped by the likes of McCool, Vickie & Layla. This has been going on for MONTHS. Despite my griping, this was actually a pretty good Women's match with a typical, crappy finish. Mickie showcased her high risk ability by hitting a splash off the barricade and McCool whipped out a nice leg scissors submission hold. Mickie was on a roll, before Vickie got involved, allowing McCool to smack a big boot on James for the win. The Glamazon made the save for Mickie afterwards as McCool's gang looked to do even more damage to Mickie.

Speaking of the 2010 Draft, it's next Monday!

Straight Edge Society vs. Rey Mysterio & Hart Dynasty
A little 6-Man Tag action here as the SES took on Mysterio & The Hart Dynasty. Good match, but kind of lost it's focus with Miz being on commentary. Yes, I know we're likely getting Sho-Miz vs. Hart Dynasty at Extreme Rules, but when you have the likes of CM Punk & Rey Mysterio in the ring...the match should get full attention. I know WWE is a business though, advertising PPVs is where the money potential is at. Speaking of potential, Hart Dynasty could soon be potential Unified Tag Champs. David Hart Smith picked up the win for the pink & black after delivering a running powerslam to our Straight Edge Savior. Will Punk come up in a losing effort at Extreme Rules? If so, he'll have to be shaved bald! I just don't see it happening. Mysterio won at WrestleMania, Punk wins at Extreme Rules?

Caylen Croft vs. JTG
Who you going to call?! Dude Busters?! Yes, that's what Caylen Croft & Trent Barreta are calling themselves now. Okay match here with Shad looking on at the outside. Croft put up a valiant effort, but JTG managed to get the win. Afterward, Shad tried to ambush his former friend, but JTG fought back and planted Shad with his face buster. I know Cryme Tyme was getting stale, but with the lack of tag-team depth in WWE, its kind of sad to see one of the few teams left, get erased.

Jack Swagger (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge (World Title)
Main Event time! Always a nice, little treat to have a World Title match on free television. This one definitely delivered as we received a near 20 minute, back-and-forth match. Edge connected with the spear on Jericho, only to be dragged out by Swagger who got the win to retain. The All American American now has a very credible win on his resume as World Champion. Can't get much bigger than Chris Jericho (and Edge as a little side tally).

Show Rating: 7.5/10
Good episode from the blue brand. WWE always seems to deliver when they go overseas and this was no different. Nothing overly fancy on the show, just a solid wrestling broadcast. Smackdown's serving for Extreme Rules isn't overly impressive as of yet (Punk vs. Mysterio, Jericho vs. Edge and Swagger in the inter-branded World Title Match against Orton), but I'm sure with most of the Raw roster being stuck overseas due to the volcanic ash from Iceland, we'll be getting more Smackdown hype on Raw and of course on Smackdown itself heading down the home stretch towards Extreme Rules.

TNA Impact Review - 4/12/10

2010-04-14T17:32:00.009-05:00

Show Card:
Team 3D & Jesse Neal vs. The Band (Street Fight)
Shannon Moore vs. Kazarian
Angelina Love (c) vs. Velvet Sky (Non-Title)
Matt Morgan & Amazing Red (c) vs. MCMG (Tag Titles)
Robert Roode vs. Jeff Hardy
AJ Styles (c) vs. D' Angelo Dinero (Non-Title)

Jeff Jarrett got the show rolling and told us instead of asking Sting to come out to the ring, he's going to find him instead and beat answers out of him. With that said, Jarrett went up to the rafters, found The Icon, before dragging him to the squared circle. Jarrett continued to dominate the Stinger, that's until someone used the clapper and clapped the lights off. Once they came back on, Sting had his trusty bat in hand as he dished out some punishment of his own. The rest of Team Hogan came to the rescue, but the damage to Jarrett had already been done.

Team Flair is confident heading into this Sunday's Lockdown. Also, can someone tell Flair to stop yelling in his promos? Its very irritating.

Team 3D & Jesse Neal vs. The Band (Street Fight)
I can sum this one in a very long (fragmented) sentence. Team 3D & Jesse Neal dominated 99.9% of the match until Bubba the Love Sponge made an appearance, which allowed Syxx-Pac to hit the X-Factor on Bubba through the table, to pick up the win. After the match, Eric Young cleaned house and told Nash he would get his revenge on him at Lockdown. Yes, Young did use the word "righteous" in his little spill. I find that pretty cool and pretty corny at the same time. Weird.

Eric Bischoff is talking to Ric Flair? Oh noes! Hogan wants to have a few words with EB in his office. A little food for thought, Mr. Bischoff...Don't try to do secret business when there's an interview going on 10 feet away. I know there was a curtain in between, but still...

Shannon Moore vs. Kazarian
Nice X Division action here as Shannon Moore & Kazarian went at it until the 10-minute time limit expired. Really? A 10-minute time limit? I know its only a 2 hour show and all, but TNA could really use a nice 15-20 minute X Division match like a Shannon Moore vs. Kazarian. I rather see these two go at it for 45 minutes than hearing Ric Flair butcher my ears on a weekly basis. Ahem. Anyways, good match before our X Division Champ himself got on the mic and played his nice heel role, badmouthing Moore & Kaz. Williams plays his role so nicely, I WANT him to lose his title at Lockdown, but at the same time, I want him to keep it since he's such a great heel champion. What are your thoughts on Mr. Williams?

Velvet Sky faces Angelina Love in a "Leather and Lace" match later tonight, but it won't be for the Knockouts Title. Instead the title will be on the line this Sunday on the PPV as The Beautiful People will face Love & Tara. If Love or Tara win, they'll become the Knockout Tag Champions. If any member of TBP win, they'll become the new Knockout Champion. Are you still with me?

Did Jay Lethal really just ask Hogan if they could form the Mega-Powers "again"? As comical as it would be, I would like to see them tag together for atleast one match. Call me crazy, but it would be some comical stuff.

Angelina Love & Tara are tag partners at Lockdown, but they're not on the same page since Angelina did basically steal Tara's title due to TNA's failure of a creative staff. Their tension is what sells the tag match on Sunday.

The Pope is always a fun promo. Abyss? You know the drill with The Monster. Both are eager and ready for Lockdown this Sunday. Shannon Moore vs. Kazarian seems like a long time ago with all these backstage promos/interviews.

Angelina Love (c) vs. Velvet Sky (Non-Title)
Which was intended to be a "Leather and Lace" match turned into Angelina being forced to wear handcuffs against her former BFF. Velvet then changed the stipulation to an I Quit match before the rest of TBP came out and continued the onslaught on Angelina. Tara then came to Angelina's aid and that was that. The tension between the two, however, continued as Tara declined a Angelina handshake before walking out.

Abyss...is...down...outside the Impact Zone. What happened? No one knows...

[Commercial Break]

...Now we do. Abyss was hit by a car. Ouchies.

Matt Morgan agreed to team up with Amazing Red to defend "his" Tag Titles coming up next. It's pretty obvious whats going to happen here.

Matt Morgan & Amazing Red (c) vs. MCMG (Tag Titles)
Decent tag match here. Morgan connected with a NASTY clothesline on Sabin which caused him basically to do a moonsault of his own. Morgan then went for his usual "check the invisible watch" suplex, but Red connected with his Code Red for the win before Morgan could connect on his own. This, unfortunately, caused Red a lot of pain as The Blueprint went bizerk. Luckily and surprisingly, MCMG came to Red's aid.

Surveillance cameras caught the whole "Abyss getting ran over by a car" incident. A guy with sunglasses is the culprit. Tenay & Tazz didn't want to point the figure. I honestly have no idea. I'm trying to think who possibly wears sunglasses and doesn't have much hair, but I'm still coming up blank.

Robert Roode vs. Jeff Hardy
Mike Tenay announced that the opening match for Lockdown will be Roode vs. RVD with the winner helping his team get the numbers advantage in Lethal Lockdown later in the night. A little surprised to see that match opening, but RVD is very capable of putting on a high-flying show especially with a cage involved. We all know TNA loves opening PPVs with a little X Division action.

Last week, RVD got smashed in the head with a beer bottle courtesy of Beer Money. This week, Jeff Hardy gets smoked in the face with a James Storm fireball. The censors did not allow the fireball to be shown as it was "very graphic and not suitable for everyone". However, you can still view the incident on TNA's website. Alright. Speaking of Jeff Hardy, he actually won the match (before being flamed in the face). Decent match. The Impact Zone is truly gaga over Hardy, just like arenas were during Jeff's recent stint with WWE. The guy is still very popular.

AJ Styles (c) vs. D' Angelo Dinero (Non-Title)
Main Event time! Jay Lethal offered to be Dinero's tag partner with Abyss being injured earlier, however Beer Money was shown ambushing Lethal in the back. So now we're getting a 2-on-1 handicap mat--nope, Hogan smacked Desmond Wolfe with a steel chair during his entrance. The Main Event at Lockdown is now our Main Event on the show as Styles & Dinero went at it for a little while before Flair interfered with a title shot across the back of Dinero's head. Beer Money then came out to deliver even more damage. The show ended with Hogan looking on concerned near the entrance way.

Show Rating: 5/10
For a show heading into a PPV, TNA really made this episode a big clutter. Impact usually is a clutter anyways, but this was really cluttered. TNA did a decent job at selling Lockdown, but the clutter really gave me a headache. The bright spot on the show was Moore vs. Kazarian which was really good. The whole Knockout scene is sad and hopefully will be resurrected after Lockdown. The whole 3D vs. The Band angle couldn't bore me more and we're getting two matches on the PPV concerning that storyline. zZzZz. Abyss getting ran over was also comical. Overall, the show was a thumbs down with a couple positives here and there. If you missed it, don't bother unless you want to catch Moore vs. Kazarian and Doug Williams' great heel work.

ROH Review - 4/5/10

2010-04-05T21:31:00.007-05:00

Show Card:
Steve Corino vs. Bobby Shields
Dark City Fight Club vs. The Set
Erick Stevens vs. Pelle Primueau
Chris Hero vs. Jay Briscoe

I've still yet to watch the Big Bang iPPV from this past Saturday and I also haven't read the results from the big show. Expect a review a little later this month. Sorry for the delay, real life has been pretty busy as of late. Luckily this episode of ROH on HDNet was in production before the iPPV.

Steve Corino vs. Bobby Shields
Starting the show off on a total buzz kill with Steve Corino vs. Bobby Shields. The crowd was dead, the match was dull as Corino finished Shields off with a running lariat and the crowd remained dead as Corino & Colt Cabana went at it afterwards. "Boring" chants could easily be heard as Corino got on the mic after the match.

Very long, yet very good videopackage on the Triple Threat Big Bang Main Event. Tyler Black defends his ROH gold against Aries & Strong.

Dark City Fight Club vs. The Set
Short squash match here as DCFC overpowered The Set. Always an interesting sight to see The Set in action. Remind me of cartoon characters.

Not a big Jerry Lynn fan, but I respect the guy greatly.

Erick Stevens vs. Pelle Primueau
Another squash match?! Not exactly, Primueau had a decent showing here, but Stevens was the obvious winner here with Prince Nana & Ernie looking on from the outside. Stevens finished Pelle off with his Doctor Bomb finisher. Ever since joining The Embassy, Stevens' look has changed pretty drastically. No more crazy hair and now he sports green and black tights. As much as I dislike The Embassy, if Stevens gets more airtime...so be it. He's decent enough in the ring.

Another lengthy videopackage on the broadcast, this one featuring highlights throughout the TV Title tournament thus far. The final four men remaining? Eddie Edwards, Kevin Steen, Davey Richards & Kenny King. The fallout towards the final will take place over the course of the next 2 weeks.

Chris Hero vs. Jay Briscoe
Main Event time! Chris Hero accompanied by Shane Hagadorn, Claudio Castagnoli & Sara Del Rey took on Jay Briscoe accompanied by brother Mark Briscoe. I wanted this match to save this show, and it did a little, but it wasn't as good as expected. The crowd remained dead until the last few minutes of the contest (for good reason since the match was kind of dragging throughout). Along with outside interference from Hero's side and 39 Hero elbows, Jay Briscoe finally gave up.

Prizak & Hodgewood said Jay is one tough dude to be taking so many elbow shots, but we see the same thing in every Chris Hero match-- a lot of elbow shots! Decent match, but failed to deliver with the caliber of both men in the ring. The match didn't paticulary make me want to see the Tag Title match at the Big Bang iPPV. I might be in the minority.

Show Rating: 4/10
After returning from a 2-week hiatus on HDNet, ROH delivered a snoozer. I was looking past the first 3 squash matches in hopes of Hero/Briscoe possibly being a great contest, but things didn't pan out as so. Definitively not a memorable show, if you missed it, you didn't miss much. Check out Hero/Briscoe if you have free time and/or bored. Just because I'm a big fan of That Young Knockout Kid.