X's Wrestling Review

AEW

2019-11-29T15:35:00.524-08:00

All Elite Wrestling

2018
9/1/18 Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe - ***1/4
9/1/18 Cody Rhodes vs. Nick Aldis - ***1/2
9/1/18 Hangman Adam Page vs. Joey Janela (Chicago Street Fight) - ****1/2
9/1/18 Jay Lethal vs. Flip Gordon - ***1/4
9/1/18 Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr. - ****
9/1/18 Kazuchika Okada vs. Marty Scurll - ***3/4
9/1/18 Kota Ibushi/Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson vs. Rey Mysterio/Rey Fenix/Bandido - ***3/4

2019
5/25/19 Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara - ***1/4
5/25/19 Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. CIMA/T-Hawk/El Lindaman - ***1/4
5/25/19 Britt Baker vs. Awesome Kong vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose - ***
5/25/19 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Jack Evans/Angelico - ***1/2
5/25/19 Hikaru Shida/Riho Abe/Ryo Mizunami vs. Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura - ***1/2
5/25/19 Cody Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes - ****3/4
5/25/19 Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix - ****
5/25/19 Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega - ****1/4
6/29/19 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***1/4
6/29/19 Riho vs. Nyla Rose vs. Yuka Sakazaki - ***1/4
6/29/19 Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin - ***1/2
6/29/19 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix/Laredo Kid - ***1/2
6/29/19 Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela (Non-Sanctioned Match) - ****
7/13/19 Evil Uno/Stu Grayson vs. Jack Evans/Angelico vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***
7/13/19 Hangman Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian - ***1/4
7/13/19 Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix vs. Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky - ***
7/13/19 Kenny Omega vs. CIMA - ***3/4
7/13/19 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Cody Rhodes/Dustin Rhodes - ***3/4
8/31/19 Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen vs. Jack Evans/Angelico - ***
8/31/19 Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Marko Stunt - ***
8/31/19 PAC vs. Kenny Omega - ****1/4
8/31/19 Jimmy Havoc vs. Joey Janela vs. Darby Allin (Cracker Barrel Clash) - ***3/4
8/31/19 Riho vs. Hikaru Shida - ***1/2
8/31/19 Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears - ***3/4
8/31/19 Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson (Ladder) - ****3/4
8/31/19 Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Adam Page - ***1/4
10/2/19 Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara - ***1/4

10/2/19 Pac vs. Hangman Adam Page - ***

10/2/19 Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz vs. Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***

10/9/19 Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****
10/15/19 Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela (Unsanctioned) - ****1/4

10/16/19 Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/4

10/16/19 Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin (Philadelphia Street Fight) - ***1/2

10/22/19 Dustin Rhodes/Cody Rhodes/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. CIMA/T-Hawk/Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/4

10/23/19 Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***

10/23/19 Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela - ***

10/23/19 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ****

10/29/19 Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Jack Evans (Falls Count Anywhere) - ***

10/30/19 Hangman Adam Page vs. Sammy Guevara - ***

10/30/19 Hikaru Shida vs. Shanna - ***

10/30/19 Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix - ***1/4

11/6/19 Pac vs. Trent Beretta - ***

11/6/19 Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen vs. Evil Uno/Stu Grayson - ***1/4

11/6/19 Emi Sakura/Jamie Hayter vs. Riho/Shanna - ***1/2

11/6/19 Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page - ***1/2

11/9/19 Santana/Ortiz vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***1/2

11/9/19 Hangman Adam Page vs. Pac - ***3/4

11/9/19 Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/2

11/9/19 Riho vs. Emi Sakura - ***1/2

11/9/19 Chris Jericho vs. Cody Rhodes - ****

11/9/19 Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega (Lights Out) - ****1/2

11/13/19 Pac vs. Hangman Adam Page - ***1/2

11/19/19 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/2

11/19/19 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. T-Hawk/Lindaman - ***

11/20/19 Rey Fenix vs. Nick Jackson - ***3/4

11/20/19 Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen vs. Santana/Ortiz - ***

11/20/19 Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin - ***1/2

11/26/19 Trent Beretta vs. Pentagon Jr. - ***1/4

11/26/19 Kenny Omega vs. Jack Evans - ***1/4

11/27/19 Kenny Omega vs. Pac - ***1/2

11/27/19 Chris Jericho vs. Scorpio Sky - ***1/4

12/4/19 Dustin Rhodes/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Sammy Guevara/Santana/Ortiz - ****

12/4/19 Rey Fenix vs. Trent Beretta - ***1/2

12/4/19 Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela - ***

12/11/19 The Butcher/The Blade vs. Cody Rhodes/QT Marshall - ***1/4

12/11/19 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Santana/Ortiz (Street Fight) - ***3/4

12/17/19 Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***

12/17/19 Kris Statlander vs. Bea Priestley - ***

12/17/19 Pac/Jack Evans/Angelico vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy - ***

12/18/19 Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page - ***1/2

12/18/19 Chris Jericho vs. Jungle Boy - ***

12/18/19 Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker - ***

12/18/19 Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***1/4

12/24/19 Santana/Ortiz vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Jack Evans/Angelico vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/2

2020

1/1/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin - ***1/2

1/1/20 Riho vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose vs. Britt Baker - ***1/2

1/1/20 Jon Moxley vs. Trent Beretta - ***1/4

1/1/20 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Pac/Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix - ****

1/8/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***

1/8/20 Dustin Rhodes/Cody Rhodes vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix - ***

1/15/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Santana/Ortiz - ***1/2

1/15/20 Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara - ***1/4

1/15/20 Pac vs. Darby Allin - ***1/2

1/22/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky - ***1/4

1/22/20 Jon Moxley vs. Pac - ***1/4

1/29/20 Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz vs. Darby Allin/Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/4

2/4/20 Kenny Omega/Riho vs. Kip Sabian/Penelope Ford - ***1/2

2/5/20 Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***

2/5/20 Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix/The Butcher/The Blade vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***3/4

2/5/20 Kip Sabian vs. Joey Janela - ***1/2

2/12/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky - ****

2/12/20 Nyla Rose vs. Riho - ****

2/12/20 MJF vs. Jungle Boy - ***1/4

2/12/20 Jon Moxley vs. Santana - ***

2/18/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Jack Evans/Angelico - ***

2/19/20 Tag Team Battle Royale - ****

2/19/20 Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb - ***1/2

2/19/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix - ****1/4

2/19/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Wardlow (Cage) - ***1/2

2/26/20 Kenny Omega vs. Pac (Iron Man) - ****1/2

2/26/20 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Marko Stunt vs. Sammy Guevara/Santana/Ortiz - ***

2/29/20 Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes - ***

2/29/20 Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara - ***1/2

2/29/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****1/2

2/29/20 MJF vs. Cody Rhodes - ***3/4

2/29/20 Pac vs. Orange Cassidy - ***1/2

2/29/20 Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2

3/4/20 Colt Cabana/Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky vs. Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/John Silver/Alex Reynolds - ***

3/4/20 Pac vs. Chuck Taylor - ***1/4

3/10/20 Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen vs. Sonny Kiss/Brandon Cutler - ***

3/11/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Ortiz - ***

3/11/20 MJF/The Butcher/The Blade vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Marko Stunt - ***

3/11/20 Pac/Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix vs. Joey Janela/Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/2

3/11/20 Dustin Rhodes/Hangman Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara - ***1/2

3/18/20 Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/4

3/18/20 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. The Butcher/The Blade - ***

3/18/20 Jake Hager/Santana/Ortiz vs. Cody Rhodes/Matt Jackson/Hangman Adam Page - ***1/4

3/25/20 Kenny Omega vs. Sammy Guevara - ***3/4

4/1/20 Kenny Omega vs. Trent Beretta - ****1/4

4/1/20 Shawn Spears/Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes/Darby Allin - ***1/2

4/8/20 Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker - ***3/4

4/8/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears - ***1/2

4/14/20 Shawn Spears vs. Billy Gunn - ***

4/15/20 Jon Moxley vs. Jake Hager (Empty Arena) - ***

4/22/20 Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara - ***1/4

4/22/20 Orange Cassidy vs. Jimmy Havoc - ***

4/29/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin - ***1/4

4/29/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Kip Sabian/Jimmy Havoc (No DQ) - ***1/2

4/29/20 Lance Archer vs. Dustin Rhodes - ***1/4

5/6/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Joey Janela - ***1/2

5/6/20 Jon Moxley vs. Frankie Kazarian - ***1/2

5/6/20 Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara vs. Kenny Omega/Matt Hardy (Street Fight) - ***1/2

5/13/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***

5/13/20 Kenny Omega/Matt Hardy vs. Santana/Ortiz - ***

5/20/20 Rey Fenix vs. Orange Cassidy - ***

5/23/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/4

5/23/20 Brian Cage vs. Darby A llin vs. Colt Cabana vs. Joey Janela vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Luchasaurus vs. Kip Sabian (Ladder) - ***

5/23/20 MJF vs. Jungle Boy - ***3/4

5/23/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Archer - ***1/2

5/23/20 Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose (No DQ) - ***1/4

5/23/20 Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee - ***3/4

5/23/20 Kenny Omega/Matt Hardy/Hangman Adam Page/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager/Sammy Guevara/Santana/Ortiz (Stadium Stampede) - ****1/2

6/3/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Jimmy Havoc/Kip Sabian - ***1/4

6/3/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Jungle Boy - ***1/4

6/10/20 Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. The Butcher/The Blade - ***1/2

6/10/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy vs. Jake Hager/Santana/Ortiz - ***

6/17/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall - ***1/4

6/17/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Ricky Starks - ***

6/17/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Jimmy Havoc/Kip Sabian - ***3/4

6/17/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara - ***1/4

6/24/20 Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus (Lumberjack) - ***1/2

6/24/20 Brodie Lee/Colt Cabana vs. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss - ***

6/24/20 Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian - ***1/2

7/1/20 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. MJF/Wardlow - ***1/2

7/1/20 Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford - ***1/4

7/1/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Jake Hager - ***

7/8/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen - ***1/4

7/8/20 Lance Archer vs. Joey Janela - ***

7/8/20 Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix/The Butcher/The Blade vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood - ****

7/8/20 Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy - ****1/4

7/15/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Sonny Kiss - ***1/4

7/15/20 Casb Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix - ***1/2

7/15/20 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Marko Stunt - ***1/2

7/15/20 Jon Moxley vs. Brian Cage - ***1/2

7/22/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Eddie Kingston (No DQ) - ***1/2

7/22/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. The Butcher/The Blade (Falls Count Anywhere) - ****

7/29/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page vs. Evil Uno/Stu Grayson - ***

7/29/20 Jon Moxley/Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage/Ricky Starks (No DQ) - ***

8/5/20 Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Brodie Lee/Colt Cabana/Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/Ten/Five - ***3/4

8/5/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Santana/Ortiz - ***1/4

8/5/20 Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin - ***1/2

8/12/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Evil Uno/Stu Grayson - ***

8/12/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Scorpio Sky - ***1/4

8/12/20 Orange Cassidy vs. Chris Jericho - ***

8/22/20 Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***

8/22/20 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall vs. Pentagon Jr./Rey Fenix/The Butcher/The Blade - ***

8/22/20 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Alan Angels/John Silver/Alex Reynolds - ***

9/2/20 Santana/Ortiz vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/4

9/2/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***1/4

9/2/20 Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb - ***

9/5/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/2

9/5/20 Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa - ***1/4

9/5/20 Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Adam Page - ***1/2

9/5/20 Orange Cassidy vs. Chris Jericho (Mimosa Mayhem) - ***1/4

9/5/20 Jon Moxley vs. MJF - ***1/4

9/9/20 Brodie Lee vs. Dustin Rhodes - ***1/4

9/16/20 Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/4

9/16/20 Hangman Adam Page vs. Frankie Kazarian - ***1/2

9/16/20 Chris Jericho/Jake Hager vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***

9/16/20 Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Santana/Ortiz (Parking Lot Fight) - ****1/2

9/22/20 Ben Carter vs. Lee Johnson - ***1/2

9/22/20 Scorpio Sky vs. Ben Carter - ***1/2

9/22/20 Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Spears - ***1/4

9/23/20 Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston - ***1/2

9/30/20 Darby Allin vs. Ricky Starks - ***1/2

9/30/20 Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Frankie Kazarian/Scorpio Sky - ***1/2

9/30/20 Chris Jericho vs. Isiah Kassidy - ***

9/30/20 Jon Moxley vs. The Butcher - ***1/4

10/7/20 Brian Cage vs. Will Hobbs - ***1/4

10/7/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Brodie Lee (Dog Collar) - ****1/4

10/14/20 Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/2

10/14/20 Cody Rhodes vs. Orange Cassidy - ***1/2

10/14/20 Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer (No DQ) - ***1/4

10/21/20 Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix - ****

10/21/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. The Butcher/The Blade vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy vs. John Silver/Alex Reynolds - ***

10/27/20 Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon (No DQ) - ***1/2

10/28/20 Hangman Adam Page vs. Wardlow - ***

10/28/20 Kenny Omega vs. Pentagon Jr. - ****

11/4/20 MJF/Wardlow vs. Ortiz/Sammy Guevara - ***

11/7/20 Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Adam Page - ****

11/7/20 Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver - ***

11/7/20 Darby Allin vs. Cody Rhodes - ***3/4

11/7/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood - ****1/4

11/7/20 Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston (I Quit) - ****

11/11/20 Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal - ***

11/11/20 Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall vs. The Butcher/The Blade (Bunkhouse) - ***1/2

11/11/20 Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix - ***3/4

11/18/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Darius Martin/Dante Martin - ***

11/18/20 Serena Deeb vs. Thunder Rosa - ***1/2

11/25/20 Hangman Adam Page vs. John Silver - ***

11/25/20 Jack Evans/Angelico vs. Darius Martin/Duante Martin - ***

12/1/20 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss vs. Alan Angels/Preston Vance - ***1/4

12/2/20 Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley - ****1/4

12/9/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Jack Evans/Angelico - ***3/4

12/15/20 Evil Uno/Stu Grayson vs. Bear Bronson/Bear Boulder - ***

12/16/20 Matt Hardy/Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy vs. Hangman Adam Page/John Silver/Alex Reynolds - ***

12/16/20 Chris Jericho/MJF/Jake Hager/Santana/Ortiz vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor/Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison/Darius Martin/Dante Martin - ***

12/23/20 Chris Jericho/MJF vs. Darius Martin/Dante Martin - ***1/4

12/23/20 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens - ****

12/30/20 Colt Cabana/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Matt Hardy/Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***1/4

12/30/20 Lance Archer/Evil Uno/Stu Grayson vs. Eddie Kingston/The Butcher/The Blade - ***

12/30/20 Hangman Adam Page/John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. MJF/Santana/Ortiz - ***

2021

1/6/21 Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens/Jack Evans/Angelico - ***

1/6/21 Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Sydal - ***1/4

1/6/21 Kenny Omega vs. Rey Fenix - ****1/2

1/13/21 Pac vs. Eddie Kingston - ***1/2

1/13/21 Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage - ***1/2

1/27/21 Jungle Boy vs. Dax Harwood - ***1/2

1/27/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows vs. John Silver/Alex Reynolds/Evil Uno/Stu Grayson - ***

2/3/21 Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa - ***1/2

2/3/21 Kenny Omega/Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows vs. Jon Moxley/Pac/Rey Fenix - ****

2/9/21 Joey Janela vs. Jack Evans - ***

2/10/21 Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela - ***1/4

2/10/21 Kenny Omega/KENTA vs. Jon Moxley/Lance Archer (No Holds Barred) - ****

2/17/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Santana/Ortiz - ***3.4

2/17/21 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal - ***

2/17/21 Jon Moxley/Lance Archer/Rey Fenix vs. Eddie Kingston/The Butcher/The Blade - ***1/2

2/24/21 Lance Archer vs. Rey Fenix - ***1/2

3/2/21 Stu Grayson vs. J,D, Drake - ***

3/3/21 Ryo Mizunami vs. Nyla Rose - ***

3/7/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Chris Jericho/MJF - ***1/4

3/7/21 Casino Tag Team Battle Royale - ***

3/7/21 Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami - ***1/4

3/7/21 Hangman Adam Page vs. Matt Hardy - ***1/4

3/7/21 Scorpio Sky vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Penta el Zero Miedo vs. Lance Archer vs. Ethan Page vs. Max Caster (Ladder) - ***3/4

3/7/21 Sting/Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage/Ricky Starks (Street Fight) - ***3/4

3/7/21 Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley (Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match) - ****

3/10/21 Rey Fenix vs. Matt Jackson - ***1/2

3/10/21 Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky - ***

3/17/21 Cody Rhodes vs. Penta el Zero Miedo - ***1/4

3/17/21 Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker (Lights Out Unsanctioned) - ****3/4

3/24/21 Kenny Omega vs. Matt Sydal - ***1/2

3/24/21 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix/Laredo Kid vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Brandon Cutler - ***1/2

3/24/21 Darby Allin vs. John Silver - ***1/4

3/29/21 Jungle Boy vs. Jack Evans - ***

3/31/21 Christian Cage vs. Frankie Kazarian - ***1/4

3/31/21 Kenny Omega/Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows vs. Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix/Laredo Kid - ***1/2

3/31/21 Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor vs. Miro/Kip Sabian (Arcade Anarchy) - ****1/4

4/7/21 Kenny Omega/Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows vs. Jon Moxley/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***

4/12/21 Konosuke Takeshita vs. Danny Limelight - ***

4/14/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. PAC/Rey Fenix - ****1/4

4/21/21 Hangman Adam Page vs. Ricky Starks - ***

4/21/21 Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti - ***1/2

4/21/21 Darby Allin vs. Jungle Boy - ***3/4

4/28/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal - ***1/2

4/28/21 Orange Cassidy vs. Penta el Zero Miedo - ***1/2

5/5/21 Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall - ***1/4

5/5/21 MJF/Wardlow/Shawn Spears/Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager/Sammy Guevara/Santana/Ortiz (Blood and Guts) - ****

5/12/21 Jon Moxley vs. Yuji Nagata - ***1/2

5/12/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian - ****1/4

5/12/21 Orange Cassidy vs. PAC - ***

5/12/21 Miro vs. Darby Allin - ***

5/19/21 Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal - ***

5/19/21 Serena Deeb vs. Red Velvet - ***

5/30/21 Serena Deeb vs. Riho - ***3/4

5/30/21 Hangman Adam Page vs. Brian Cage - ***

5/30/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston - ****1/2

5/30/21 Miro vs. Lance Archer - ***

5/30/21 Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida - ***1/2

5/30/21 Sting/Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page - ***1/4

5/30/21 Kenny Omega vs. PAC vs. Orange Cassidy - ****

6/4/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo - ***1/4

6/8/21 Matt Sydal vs. Dante Martin - ***

6/11/21 Christian Cage vs. Angelico - ***

6/11/21 Eddie Kingston/PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Brandon Cutler - ***

6/18/21 Ethan Page/Scorpio Sky vs. Darby Allin - ***

6/26/21 Kenny Omega vs. Jungle Boy - ****

6/30/21 Eddie Kingston/Penta el Zero Miedo vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***1/2

6/30/21 MJF vs. Sammy Guevara - ****1/4

7/7/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Eddie Kingston/Penta el Zero Miedo (Street Fight) - ***1/2

7/14/21 Ricky Starks vs. Brian Cage - ***

7/14/21 Christian Cage vs. Matt Hardy - ***

7/14/21 Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page (Coffin) - ***1/2

7/21/21 Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Spears - ***

7/21/21 Lance Archer vs. Jon Moxley (Texas Death Match) - ***1/2

7/28/21 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows vs. Hangman Adam Page/Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/John Silver/Alex Reynolds (Elimination) - ****1/2

7/28/21 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Santana/Ortiz - ***

8/3/21 PAC vs. Jack Evans - ***

8/4/21 Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera - ***

8/9/21 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal - ***

8/11/21 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal/Dante Martin - ***1/4

8/13/21 Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega - ***1/2

8/16/21 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Jack Evans/Angelico - ***

8/18/21 Sting/Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard (Texas Tornado) - ***1/4

8/18/21 Sammy Guevara vs. Shawn Spears - ***1/2

8/18/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/2

8/18/21 MJF vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2

8/20/21 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***

8/27/21 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/2

9/1/21 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Santana/Ortiz - ***1/2

9/1/21 Orange Cassidy vs. Jack Evans - ***

9/1/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows vs. Pentagon el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***

9/5/21 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor/Wheeler Yuta vs. Matt Hardy/Jack Evans/Angelico/Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***

9/5/21 Miro vs. Eddie Kingston - ***1/2

9/5/21 Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima - ***1/4

9/5/21 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson (Cage) - *****

9/5/21 Chris Jericho vs. MJF - ***1/4

9/5/21 CM Punk vs. Darby Allin - ***1/4

9/5/21 Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage - ***1/2

9/7/21 Joey Janela vs. Lee Moriarty - ***

9/8/21 Malakai Black vs. Dustin Rhodes - ***1/4

9/8/21 Jon Moxley vs. Minoru Suzuki - ***

9/10/21 Andrade el Idolo vs. PAC - ***1/2

9/15/21 Adam Cole vs. Frankie Kazarian - ***

9/20/21 Sonny Kiss vs. Joey Janela - ***

9/21/21 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Stallion Rogers/Anthony Greene - ***1/4

9/22/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega - ****3/4

9/22/21 Sting/Darby Allin vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler - ***1/2

9/22/21 Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho - ***1/4

9/24/21 CM Punk vs. Will Hobbs - ***1/4

9/24/21 Adam Cole/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Christian Cage/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***

9/24/21 Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston vs. Minoru Suzuki/Lance Archer (Lights Out) - ***1/4

9/29/21 Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy - ***1/2

9/29/21 Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson vs. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal - ***

10/1/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Nick Jackson - ***1/2

10/6/21 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Adam Cole vs. Bryan Danielson/Christian Cage/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/2

10/6/21 Sammy Guevara vs. Bobby Fish - ***

10/6/21 Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb - ***

10/6/21 Hangman Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley vs. PAC vs. Lance Archer vs. Matt Hardy vs. Andrade el Idolo vs. Orange Cassidy (Casino Ladder Match) - ****

10/8/21 CM Punk vs. Daniel Garcia - ***1/2

10/8/21 Ricky Starks vs. Brian Cage (Philly Street Fight) - ***1/4

10/15/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki - ****1/4

10/15/21 CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal - ***

10/15/21 Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page/Junior Dos Santos vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Jake Hager - ***

10/16/21 Malakai Black vs. Dante Martin - ***1/4

10/16/21 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix - ***

10/16/21 Adam Cole/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Evil Uno/John Silver/Alex Reynolds - ***

10/16/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Bobby Fish - ***

10/22/21 PAC vs. Andrade el Idolo - ****

10/23/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Dustin Rhodes - ****

10/23/21 Cody Rhodes vs. Malakai Black - ****

10/27/21 CM Punk vs. Bobby Fish - ***1/2

10/27/21 Sammy Guevara vs. Ethan Page - ***1/4

10/27/21 Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb - ***1/4

10/27/21 Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. Kenny Omega/Adam Cole/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***

10/29/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston - ****

10/29/21 Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal - ***

11/3/21 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Samurai Del Sol/Aerostar - ***

11/10/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Rocky Romero - ***1/2

11/10/21 Lio Rush/Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal/Lee Moriarty - ***1/4

11/10/21 PAC vs. Dax Harwood - ***1/2

11/12/21 Jungle Boy vs. Bobby Fish - ***

11/13/21 MJF vs. Darby Allin - ***1/2

11/13/21 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler - ***3/4

11/13/21 Bryan Danielson vs. Miro - ***1/4

11/13/21 Christian Cage/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Adam Cole/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson (Falls Count Anywhere) - ****1/2

11/13/21 Cody Rhodes/PAC vs. Andrade el Idolo/Malakai Black - ***

11/13/21 CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston - ****

11/13/21 Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Jake Hager/Santana/Ortiz vs. Ethan Page/Scorpio Sky/Junior Dos Santos/Andrei Arlovski/Dan Lambert (Minneapolis Street Fight) - ***

11/13/21 Hangman Adam Page vs. Kenny Omega - ****1/2

11/17/21 Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida - ***1/4

11/17/21 Lio Rush/Dante Martin vs. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens - ***

11/19/21 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Adam Cole/Bobby Fish - ***1/4

11/24/21 Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter - ***

11/24/21 Andrade el Idolo/Malakai Black/Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Cody Rhodes/PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix - ***1/4

11/26/21 Adam Cole/Bobby Fish vs. Orange Cassidy/Wheeler Yuta - ***1/2

11/26/21 Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia - ***1/4

12/1/21 CM Punk vs. Lee Moriarty - ***

12/1/21 Ruby Soho vs. Kris Statlander - ***1/4

12/1/21 Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade el Idolo (Street Fight) - ****1/4

12/3/21 Sammy Guevara vs. Tony Nese - ***1/4

12/3/21 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Penta el Zero Miedo/PAC - ***1/2

12/8/21 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Chuck Taylor/Rocky Romero - ***1/4

12/8/21 Riho vs. Jamie Hayter - ***1/4

12/8/21 Bryan Danielson vs. John Silver - ***

12/10/21 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler - ***3/4

12/15/21 Hangman Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - *****

12/15/21 Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb - ***1/4

12/15/21 MJF vs. Dante Martin - ***1/4

12/17/21 Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor/Trent Beretta/Rocky Romero vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Adam Cole/Bobby Fish - ***1/2

12/20/21 Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/Alan Angels vs. Matt Hardy/Isiah Kassidy/The Blade - ***

12/22/21 Adam Cole vs. Orange Cassidy - ***1/4

12/22/21 Sting/CM Punk/Darby Allin vs. MJF/Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler - ****1/4

12/25/21 Jungle Boy vs. Isiah Kassidy - ***

12/25/21 Cody Rhodes vs. Sammy Guevara - ****

12/28/21 Joey Janela vs. Sonny Kiss (No DQ) - ***3/4

12/29/21 Matt Hardy/Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler/Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy vs. Christian Cage/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/2

12/29/21 Adam Cole/Kyle O'Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/2

12/31/21 Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. The Bunny/Penelope Ford (Street Fight) - ****

12/31/21 Cody Rhodes vs. Ethan Page - ***1/4

2022

1/5/22 Hangman Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson - ****1/4

1/5/22 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix - ***1/2

1/7/22 Adam Cole vs. Jake Atlas - ***

1/8/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Dustin Rhodes - ***1/2

1/12/22 CM Punk vs. Wardlow - ***

1/12/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Daniel Garcia - ***1/2

1/14/22 Adam Cole vs. Trent Beretta - ***3/4

1/14/22 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. John Silver/Alex Reynolds - ***

1/19/22 Adam Cole/Britt Baker vs. Orange Cassidy/Kris Statlander - ***1/4

1/21/22 Trent Beretta vs. Nick Jackson - ***3/4

1/25/22 Penta el Zero Miedo vs. Wheeler Yuta - ***

1/26/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes (Ladder) - ****1/2

1/26/22 Orange Cassidy vs. Adam Cole (Lights Out) - ***1/2

1/28/22 Jon Moxley vs. Anthony Bowens - ***1/4

1/28/22 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Brock Anderson/Lee Anderson - ***

1/28/22 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***1/2

2/2/22 Malakai Black/Brody King vs. PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo - ***

2/2/22 MJF vs. CM Punk - ****1/4

2/4/22 Ricky Starks vs. Jay Lethal - ***

2/9/22 CM Punk/Jon Moxley vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler - ****

2/9/22 Hangman Adam Page vs. Lance Archer (Texas Death Match) - ****

2/11/22 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Trent Beretta/Rocky Romero - ****

2/11/22 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Austin Gunn/Colten Gunn - ***

2/16/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarty - ***

2/16/22 Thunder Rosa vs. Mercedes Martinez (No DQ) - ***1/2

2/16/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin - ****

2/18/22 Adam Cole vs. Preston Vance - ***1/4

2/18/22 Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Dante Martin - ***

2/18/22 Jay White vs. Trent Beretta - ***3/4

2/23/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia - ***

2/25/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Andrade el Idolo - ***1/4

3/2/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels - ***1/4

3/4/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin vs. Andrade el Idolo - ***3/4

3/6/22 Malakai Black/Brody King/Buddy Matthews vs. Penta Oscura/PAC/Erick Redbeard - ***3/4

3/6/22 Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho - ****

3/6/22 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Kyle O'Reilly/Bobby Fish - ****1/2

3/6/22 Wardlow vs. Christian Cage vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Keith Lee vs. Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (Ladder) - ***3/4

3/6/22 CM Punk vs. MJF (Dog Collar) - ***1/2

3/6/22 Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa - ***1/4

3/6/22 Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson - ****

3/6/22 Sting/Darby Allin/Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy/Andrade el Idolo/Isiah Kassidy - ***3/4

3/6/22 Hangman Adam Page vs. Adam Cole - ****

3/11/22 Swerve Strickland vs. Tony Nese - ***

3/16/22 Adam Cole/Kyle O'Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Hangman Adam Page/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/2

3/16/22 Bryan Danielson/Jon Moxley vs. Chuck Taylor/Wheeler Yuta - ***

3/16/22 Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***

3/16/22 Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker (Cage) - ***

3/18/22 Darby Allin vs. The Butcher - ***

3/23/22 CM Punk vs. Dax Harwood - ***1/4

3/23/22 Sting/Darby Allin/Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy/The Butcher/The Blade (Texas Tornado) - ***1/2

3/25/22 Dustin Rhodes vs. Lance Archer - ***

3/25/22 Ricky Starks vs. Swerve Strickland - ***

3/30/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Wheeler Yuta - ***

3/30/22 Andrade el Idolo vs. Darby Allin - ***1/2

4/1/22 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Dante Martin/Darius Martin - ***

4/1/22 Jamie Hayter vs. Skye Blue - ***

4/6/22 Adam Cole vs. Christian Cage - ***1/2

4/6/22 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****

4/8/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Trent Beretta - ***1/2

4/8/22 Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta - ****1/4

4/13/22 CM Punk vs. Penta Oscura - ***1/4

4/13/22 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Kyle O'Reilly/Bobby Fish - ***1/2

4/13/22 Ricky Starks/Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland - ***1/4

4/13/22 Samoa Joe vs. Minoru Suzuki - ***

4/15/22 Hangman Adam Page vs. Adam Cole (Texas Death Match) - ****

4/16/22 Jonathan Gresham vs. Dalton Castle - ***

4/20/22 CM Punk vs. Dustin Rhodes - ****

4/20/22 Kyle O'Reilly vs. Jungle Boy - ***

4/20/22 Darby Allin vs. Andrade el Idolo (Coffin) - ***

4/22/22 Adam Cole vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ***

4/22/22 Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia - ***

4/26/22 Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy/Frankie Kazarian/Dante Martin/Darius Martin vs. Angelico/The Blade/Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen/Max Caster - ***

4/27/22 Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler - ****

4/27/22 Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida (Philly Street Fight) - ***1/4

4/29/22 Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland - ***

5/4/22 Rey Fenix vs. Dante Martin - ***1/2

5/6/22 Riho vs. Yuka Sakazaki - ***1/2

5/6/22 Jay Lethal vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***1/2

5/11/22 Adam Cole vs. Dax Harwood - ****

5/11/22 CM Punk vs. John Silver - ***1/4

5/11/22 Ricky Starks vs. Jungle Boy - ***

5/11/22 Jeff Hardy vs, Darby Allin (Anything Goes) - ***3/4

5/13/22 Ruby Soho vs. Riho - ***

5/13/22 Scorpio Sky vs. Frankie Kazarian - ***1/2

5/17/22 Wheeler Yuta vs. Josh Woods - ***1/4

5/18/22 Hangman Adam Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***3/4

5/18/22 Rey Fenix vs. Kyle O'Reilly - ***1/2

5/20/22 Bryan Danielson/Jon Moxley vs. Matt Sydal/Dante Martin - ***1/2

5/24/22 Lee Moriarty vs. Alan Angels - ***

5/25/22 Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston vs. Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***

5/25/22 Swerve Strickland vs. Jungle Boy vs. Ricky Starks - ***

5/25/22 Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O'Reilly - ***1/4

5/27/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal - ****

5/27/22 Ruby Soho vs. Kris Statlander - ***

5/29/22 Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs. Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson - ****

5/29/22 Malakai Black/Buddy Matthews/Brody King vs. PAC/Penta Oscuro/Rey Fenix - ***3/4

5/29/22 Kyle O'Reilly vs. Darby Allin -***1/4

5/29/22 Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb - ***

5/29/22 Chris Jericho/Jake Hager/Daniel Garcia/Matt Menard/Angelo Parker vs. Jon Moxley/Bryan Danielson/Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz (Anarchy in the Arena) - ****1/2

5/29/22 Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Ricky Starks/Powerhouse Hobbs - ***1/2

5/29/22 CM Punk vs. Hangman Adam Page - ***1/2

6/1/22 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Kyle O'Reilly/Bobby Fish/Hikuleo vs. Christian Cage/Matt Hardy/Darby Allin/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus - ***1/2

6/1/22 Ruby Soho/Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter - ***

6/1/22 Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia - ****

6/3/22 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Penta Oscura/Rey Fenix - ****

6/8/22 PAC vs. Buddy Matthews - ***1/2

6/8/22 Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O'Reilly - ***1/2

6/10/22 Kris Statlander vs. Red Velvet - ***

6/10/22 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler/Trent Beretta vs. Will Ospreay/Mark Davis/Kyle Fletcher - ***1/4

6/15/22 Chris Jericho vs. Ortiz (Hair vs. Hair) - ***1/4

6/15/22 Will Ospreay vs. Dax Harwood - ****1/4

6/15/22 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus (Ladder) - ****1/2

6/17/22 Jon Moxley vs. Dante Martin - ***1/2

6/17/22 Darby Allin vs. Bobby Fish - ***1/4

6/22/22 Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Rocky Romero vs. Will Ospreay/Mark Davis/Kyle Fletcher - ***3/4

6/22/22 Malakai Black vs. Penta Oscura - ***1/2

6/22/22 Hangman Adam Page vs. Silas Young - ***3/4

6/22/22 Hiroshi Tanahashi/Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho/Lance Archer - ***

6/24/22 Andrade el Idolo vs. Rey Fenix - ****

6/26/22 Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland vs. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru - ***

6/26/22 Chris Jericho/Minoru Suzuki/Sammy Guevara vs. Eddie Kingston/Wheeler Yuta/Shota Umino - ***1/2

6/26/22 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta vs. Jeff Cobb/Great O-Khan - ***

6/26/22 PAC vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Clark Connors - ***

6/26/22 Sting/Darby Allin/Shingo Tagaki vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/El Phantasmo - ***3/4

6/26/22 Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm - ***

6/26/22 Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy - ****

6/26/22 Claudio Castagnoli vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - ***3/4

6/26/22 Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. Hangman Adam Page - ***1/2

6/26/22 Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - ***3/4

6/29/22 Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Claudio Castagnoli/Santana/Ortiz/Wheeler Yuta vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager/Sammy Guevara/Daniel Ortiz/Matt Menard/Angelo Parker (Blood and Guts) - ****

7/8/22 Eddie Kingston vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***1/2

7/8/22 Orange Cassidy vs. Tony Nese - ***1/4

7/12/22 Miyu Yamashita vs. Thunder Rosa - ***1/2

7/12/22 PAC vs. Shota Umino - ***

7/13/22 Wardlow vs. Orange Cassidy - ***

7/13/22 Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***1/4

7/13/22 Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Ricky Starks/Powerhouse Hobbs - ***1/2

7/20/22 Darby Allin vs. Brody King - ***1/4

7/20/22 Jon Moxley/Wheeler Yuta vs. Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/2

7/20/22 Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston (Barbed Wire) - ***1/4

7/26/22 PAC vs. LJ Cleary - ***1/4

7/27/22 Jon Moxley vs. Rush - ***1/2

7/27/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Dante Martin - ***1/4

7/27/22 Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson - ****1/4

7/29/22 Anna Jay vs. Ruby Soho - ***

8/1/22 Toni Storm/Hikaru Shida/Willow Nightingale vs. Emi Sakura/Nyla Rose/Marina Shafir - ***

8/2/22 PAC vs. Connor Mills - ****

8/3/22 Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy - ***1/4

8/3/22 Christian Cage vs. Matt Hardy - ***1/4

8/3/22 Chris Jericho vs. Wheeler Yuta - ***1/4

8/6/22 Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter - ***

8/6/22 Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***1/2

8/10/22 Darby Allin vs. Brody King (Coffin) - ***1/2

8/10/22 Andrade el Idolo/Rush vs. Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix - ****

8/10/22 Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho - ***

8/17/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia (2/3 Falls) - ****

8/17/22 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Andrade el Idolo/Rush/Dragon Lee - ***3/4

8/24/22 Jay Lethal vs. Dax Harwood - ***

8/24/22 Will Ospreay/Mark Davis/Kyle Fletcher vs. Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix/PAC - ****1/4

8/26/22 Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dustin Rhodes - ***

8/29/22 Hikaru Shida vs. Emi Sakura - ***1/2

8/30/22 Rush vs. Blake Christian - ***

8/31/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Jake Hager - ***1/2

8/31/22 Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter - ***

8/31/22 Wheeler Yuta vs. Rush vs. Rey Fenix vs. Dante Martin - ***1/4

8/31/22 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Will Ospreay/Mark Davis/Kyle Fletcher - ***3/4

9/4/22 Eddie Kingston vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ***1/2

9/4/22 The Joker vs. Rush vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Penta el Zero Miedo vs. Andrade el Idolo vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Dante Martin vs. Rey Fenix (Casino Ladder) - ***1/4

9/4/22 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Hangman Adam Page/John Silver/Alex Reynolds - ***1/2

9/4/22 Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens - ****

9/4/22 Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker vs. Jamie Hayter - ***1/4

9/4/22 Chris Jericho vs Bryan Danielson - ***1/2

9/4/22 CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley - ***1/2

9/7/22 PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/2

9/7/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Adam Page - ****

9/7/22 Daniel Garcia vs. Wheeler Yuta - ****

9/9/22 Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin - ***1/4

9/9/22 Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dax Harwood - ****

9/14/22 Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara - ***1/2

9/14/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho - ****

9/21/22 Chris Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli - ****

9/21/22 Max Caster/Anthony Bowens vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee - ***1/4

9/21/22 Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson - ***3/4

9/23/22 Sting/Darby Allin vs. Brody King/Buddy Matthews (No DQ) - ****

9/23/22 Jungle Boy vs. Rey Fenix - ****1/4

9/23/22 Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (Lights Out) - ***1/2

9/28/22 Toni Storm vs. Serena Deeb (Lumberjack) - ***

9/28/22 Chris Jericho vs. Bandido - ***1/2

10/5/22 MJF vs. Wheeler Yuta - ***1/4

10/5/22 Darby Allin vs. Jay Lethal - ***1/4

10/5/22 Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara vs. Bryan Danielson/Daniel Garcia - ***1/2

10/7/22 Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. Rush/Marq Quen/Isiah Kassidy - ***

10/7/22 PAC vs. Trent Beretta - ***1/2

10/12/22 Luchasaurus vs. Jungle Boy - ***1/2

10/12/22 Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson - ***3/4

10/12/22 Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter - ***

10/12/22 Orange Cassidy vs. PAC - ***3/4

10/18/22 PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/4

10/18/22 Chris Jericho vs. Dalton Castle - ***1/4

10/18/22 Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Adam Page - ***1/4

10/24/22 Claudio Castagnoli vs. QT Marshall - ***

10/26/22 Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler - ***1/4

10/26/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara - ***3/4

10/26/22 Jon Moxley vs. Penta el Zero Miedo - ***1/4

11/1/22 Rey Fenix vs. AR Fox - ***

11/2/22 Samoa Joe vs. Brian Cage - ***

11/4/22 Orange Cassidy vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***

11/9/22 Max Caster/Anthony Bowens/Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee/Austin Gunn/Colten Gunn - ***1/4

11/9/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Sammy Guevara (2/3 Falls) - ****1/4

11/15/22 Daniel Garcia vs. Brock Anderson - ***

11/16/22 Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara - ***1/2

11/16/22 PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. AR Fox/Dante Martin/Darius Martin - ***

11/18/22 Ricky Starks vs. Lance Archer - ***

11/18/22 Jun Akiyama/Konosuke Takeshita vs. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz - ***1/4

11/20/22 Orange Cassidy/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor/Danhausen vs. QT Marshall/Lee Johnson/Aaron Solo/Cole Karter/Nick Comoroto - ***

11/20/22 Eddie Kingston vs. Jun Akiyama - ***1/4

11/20/22 Jack Perry vs. Luchasaurus (Cage) - ****

11/20/22 PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****

11/20/22 Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Sammy Guevara - ****1/2

11/20/22 Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm - ***1/2

11/20/22 MJF vs. Jon Moxley - ***1/2

11/23/22 Ricky Starks vs. Ethan Page - ***1/4

11/23/22 PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***3/4

11/23/22 Chris Jericho vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****3/4

11/25/22 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Dante Martin/Darius Martin - ***1/2

11/30/22 Bryan Danielson vs. Dax Harwood - ***1/4

11/30/22 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix - ****

12/7/22 Samoa Joe vs. Darby Allin - ***1/4

12/7/22 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Max Caster/Anthoney Bowens - ***1/4

12/9/22 Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***

12/14/22 PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****

12/14/22 Action Andretti vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2

12/14/22 MJF vs. Ricky Starks - ***3/4

12/21/22 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix - ***1/2

12/21/22 Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida - ***1/2

12/27/22 AR Fox vs. Slim J - ***

2023

1/4/23 Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2

1/4/23 Swerve Strickland vs. AR Fox - ***

1/4/23 Darby Allin vs. Samoa Joe - ***1/2

1/6/23 Jon Moxley/Bryan Danielson vs. Dante Martin/Darius Martin - ****

1/6/23 Darby Allin vs. Mike Bennett - ***1/2

1/6/23 Max Caster/Anthony Bowens vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal (No Holds Barred) - ***

1/6/23 Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian - ***1/4

1/11/23 Hangman Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley - ***3/4

1/11/23 Bryan Danielson vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ****

1/11/23 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. PAC/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix (Ladder) - ****3/4

1/13/23 Ruby Soho/Willow Nightingale vs. Tay Melo/Anna Jay (Street Fight) - ***1/2

1/18/23 Dante Martin/Darius Martin vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***1/2

1/18/23 Bryan Danielson vs. Bandido - ***1/4

1/18/23 Darby Allin vs. KUSHIDA - ***1/4

1/25/23 Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara vs. Ricky Starks/Action Andretti - ***1/4

1/25/23 Darby Allin vs. Buddy Matthews - ***1/4

1/25/23 Bryan Danielson vs. Brian Cage - ***

1/25/23 Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal - ***1/4

1/27/23 Hangman Adam Page vs. Wheeler Yuta - ***3/4

1/27/23 Jamie Hayter vs. Emi Sakura - ***1/4

2/1/23 Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Adam Page - ****1/2

2/1/23 Konosuke Takeshita vs. Brian Cage - ***

2/1/23 Bryan Danielson vs. Timothy Thatcher - ***1/4

2/1/23 Samoa Joe vs. Darby Allin (No Holds Barred) - ****1/4

2/3/23 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Matt Hardy/Ethan Page/Isiah Kassidy - ***

2/8/23 MJF vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***1/2

2/8/23 Bryan Danielson vs. Rush - ****

2/8/23 Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. AR Fox/Dante Martin/Darius Martin - ***1/2

2/10/23 Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. Kip Sabian/The Butcher/The Blade - ***

2/15/23 Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rush/Preston Vance (Texas Tornado) - ***3/4

2/17/23 Dustin Rhodes vs. Swerve Strickland - ***1/4

2/21/23 Emi Sakura vs. Billie Starkz - ***

2/21/23 Trent Beretta vs. Tony Nese - ***

2/22/23 Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta - ***3/4

2/22/23 Jon Moxley vs. Evil Uno - ***

2/24/23 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis - ***1/2

2/24/23 Sammy Guevara vs. Action Andretti - ***1/4

3/1/23 Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Eddie Kingston vs. Ortiz vs. Action Andretti vs. Komander vs. AR Fox (Ladder) - ****

3/3/23 Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. Darius Martin/Dante Martin vs. Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis - ***

3/3/23 Riho vs. Emi Sakura - ***1/4

3/5/23 Mark Briscoe/Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Ari Daivari/Josh Woods/Tony Nese - ***1/4

3/5/23 Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/4

3/5/23 Jack Perry vs. Christian Cage (Final Burial) - ***1/2

3/5/23 Malakai Black/Brody King/Buddy Matthews vs. Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****

3/5/23 Hangman Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley (Texas Death Match) - ****1/2

3/5/23 MJF vs. Bryan Danielson (Iron Man) - ****3/4

3/8/23 Orange Cassidy vs. Jay Lethal - ***1/2

3/8/23 Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevera/Daniel Garcia vs. AR Fox/Dante Martin/Darius Martin - ***

3/8/23 Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Wardlow (Falls Count Anywhere) - ***1/4

3/10/23 Sammy Guevara vs. Action Andretti - ***1/4

3/10/23 Riho vs Nyla Rose - ***

3/15/23 Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. Hangman Adam Page/Evil Uno/Stu Grayson - ***1/2

3/15/23 Orange Cassidy vs. Jeff Jarrett - ***

3/15/23 Malakai Black/Brody King/Buddy Matthews vs. Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Daniel Garcia - ***1/2

3/17/23 Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Rey Fenix - ***1/4

3/22/23 Sting/Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian/The Butcher/The Blade - ***1/2

3/22/23 Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo del Vikingo - *****

3/25/23 Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Penta el Zero Miedo - ***

3/29/23 Kenny Omega vs. Jeff Cobb - ***1/2

3/31/23 Sammy Guevara vs. Konosuke Takeshita - ***1/2

4/5/23 Malakai Black/Brody King/Buddy Matthews vs. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor - ***1/4

4/5/23 Jamie Hayter vs. Riho - ***1/4

4/7/23 Hook vs. Ethan Page (FTW Rules) - ***

4/7/23 Orange Cassidy vs. Dralistico - ***1/4

4/7/23 Penta el Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix vs. Powerhouse Hobbs/QT Marshall - ***

4/12/23 Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland - ****1/4

4/12/23 Orange Cassidy vs. Buddy Matthews - ***1/4

7/7/23 Evil Uno/John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. Hangman Adam Page/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****

7/7/23 Brian Cage/Big Bill vs. Trent Beretta/Matt Sydal - ***1/4

8/27/23 Hook vs. Jack Perry - ***1/2

8/27/23 CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe - ***1/2

8/27/23 Konosuke Takeshita/Jay White/Juice Robinson vs. Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi/Hangman Adam Page - ***1/4

8/27/23 Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ****

8/27/23 Eddie Kingston/Penta Oscuro/Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor vs. Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta/Santana/Ortiz (Stadium Stampede) - ****1/2

8/27/23 Sting/Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage/Swerve Strickland (Coffin) - ****1/4

8/27/23 Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho - ****

8/27/23 MJF vs. Adam Cole - ****

2024

3/3/24 Sting/Darby Allin vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson (Tornado) - *****

3/16/24 Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***1/2

9/25/24 Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness - ****1/4

9/25/24 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Will Ospreay/Kyle Fletcher - ***3/4

9/25/24 Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin - ***3/4

2025

1/18/25 Hangman Adam Page vs. Christopher Daniels (Texas Death Match) - ****1/4

3/5/25 Will Ospreay/Orange Cassidy/Mark Briscoe/Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Brian Cage/Lance Archer/Mark Davis/Bryan Keith - ***1/4

3/5/25 Kazuchika Okada/Ricochet vs. Swerve Strickland/Brody King - ***

2026

5/9/26 Mark Davis vs. Jack Perry - ***

5/9/26 Darby Allin vs. PAC (No Count Out) - ****1/4

5/24/26 Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler (I Quit) - ****1/4

5/24/26 Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada - *****

5/24/26 Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa - ***

5/24/26 Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O'Reilly (No Time Limit) - ***1/2

5/24/26 Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe - ***3/4

5/24/26 Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido - ****1/4

5/24/26 Thekla vs. Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter - ***1/2

5/24/26 Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson/Jack Perry/Shelton Benjamin/Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet/Andrade el Idolo/Mark Davis/David Finlay/Clark Connors/Toa Lloa/Bishop Kuan (Stadium Stampede) - ****1/2

5/24/26 MJF vs. Darby Allin (Title vs. Hair) - ****1/4

8/30/26 Roulette Royale Match - ***1/4

8/30/26 Jon Moxley vs. Nigel McGuinness - ****

8/30/26 Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kyle Fletcher - ****

8/30/26 Andrade el Idolo vs. MJF vs. Jericho vs. Mistico vs. Nick Wayne vs. Mark Davis vs. Komander vs. Jack Perry vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mike Bailey vs. Daniel Garcia (Casino Gauntlet) - ***1/2

8/30/26 Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson - ***3/4

8/30/26 Darby Allin vs. Kevn Knight (Falls Count Anywhere) - ****

8/30/26 Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale - *****

8/30/26 Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega - *****

9/2/26 Swerve Strickland/Kofi/Austin Creed vs. Desmond Xavier/Myron Reed/Zachary Wentz - ***1/4

9/2/26 Darby Allin vs. Mark Davis - ***1/4

9/2/26 Will Ospreay/Andrade el Idolo/Callum Newman/Francesco Akira/HENARE vs. Ricochet/Bishop Kuan/Toa Liona/Clark Connors/Gabe Kidd - ***1/2

9/26/26 Andrade el Idolo vs. PAC - ***1/2

9/26/26 Persephone vs. Dani Luna - ***1/4

9/26/26 Kazuchika Okada vs. Tommaso Ciampa - ***3/4

9/26/26 Jamie Hayter/Alex Windsor vs. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross (Chicago Street Fight) - ****

9/26/26 Swerve Strickland/Kofi/Austin Creed vs. Hangman Adam Page/Bandido/Brody King - ****

9/26/26 Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler (Ladder) - ****1/4

9/26/26 Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley - ***1/4

2015-11-11T09:58:00.006-08:00

Hey, look! New ratings added to the blog! These are from the last few months and include two new five star match additions:

AJPW | 6/9/95 | Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue
AJW | 2/4/93 | Akira Hokuta vs. Shinobu Kandori

WWE
9/21/87 Islanders vs. Strike Force - ***1/2
11/6/87 Hart Foundation vs. British Bulldogs - ***
2/11/89 Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior - ***
12/1/93 Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (Cage) - ***1/4
5/23/98 TAKA Michinoku vs. Sho Funaki - ***
5/26/99 X-Pac/Kane vs. D-Lo Brown/Mark Henry - ***1/2
10/24/99 D'Lo Brown vs. Chris Jericho - ***
10/31/99 Hardcore Holly/Crash Holly vs. Bradshaw/Faarooq (No DQ) - ***
7/30/00 Dean Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hotty - ***
9/22/02 Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero - ***
2/15/03 Billy Kidman vs. Jamie Noble - ***
1/28/15 Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd - ***1/4
2/4/15 Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami - ***
2/10/15 Cesaro vs. Sin Cara - ***
2/11/15 Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville - ****
2/11/15 Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch - ***3/4
2/11/15 Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn - ****
2/18/15 Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville - ****
2/22/15 Rusev vs. John Cena - ***
2/22/15 Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan - ***3/4
3/4/15 Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte - ***1/4
3/23/15 Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan - ***
3/25/15 Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor - ***1/2
3/29/15 Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper vs. Stardust vs. R-Truth (Ladder) - ***1/2
3/29/15 Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins - ***1/4
3/29/15 Triple H vs. Sting (No DQ) - ***1/4
3/29/15 John Cena vs. Rusev - ***
3/29/15 Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns - ***1/2
3/30/15 Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***
3/30/15 John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose - ***1/4
4/7/15 John Cena vs. Stardust - ***
4/13/15 Dolph Ziggler vs. Neville - ***
4/15/15 Sami Zayn vs. Rhyno - ***
4/26/15 Neville vs. Bad News Barrett - ***1/4
4/26/15 Kofi Kingston/Big E vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd - ***1/4
4/26/15 Roman Reigns vs. Big Show (Last Man Standing) - ****
4/27/15 Neville vs. Luke Harper - ***
5/4/15 Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins - ***3/4
5/4/15 John Cena vs. Sami Zayn - ***1/2
5/7/15 Kofi Kingston/Big E/Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd/Ryback - ***
5/17/15 Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***1/2
5/17/15 Kofi Kingston/Big E vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd (2/3 Falls) - ***1/4
5/17/15 John Cena vs. Rusev (I Quit) - ***1/2
5/17/15 Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns - ****
5/18/15 Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - ***1/4
5/20/15 Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze - ***
5/20/15 Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch - ****
5/20/15 Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn - ***1/2
5/21/15 Kalisto/Sin Cara vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd vs. Diego/Fernando vs. Konnor/Viktor - ***
5/28/15 Kalisto/Sin Cara vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd (Lumberjack) - ***1/4
5/31/15 Kofi Kingston/Big E/Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd vs. Titus O'Neil/Darren Young vs. Kalisto/Sin Cara vs. Fernando/Diego vs. Konnor/Viktor (Elimination Chamber) - ***1/2
5/31/15 Kevin Owens vs. John Cena - ****3/4
5/31/15 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - ***3/4
6/8/15 Kevin Owens vs. Neville - ***
6/11/15 Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***
6/14/15 Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane vs. Neville vs. Kofi Kingston (MITB Ladder) - ***1/2
6/14/15 John Cena vs. Kevin Owens - ****1/4
6/14/15 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Ladder) - ****
6/25/15 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - ***1/4
6/29/15 John Cena vs. Cesaro - ****
7/4/15 Chris Jericho vs. Neville - ****
7/4/15 Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens - ****1/2
7/6/15 John Cena vs. Cesaro - ****1/2
7/7/15 Cesaro vs. Luke Harper - ***1/4
7/13/15 Rusev vs. Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro - ***3/4
7/15/15 Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte - ***1/4
7/19/15 John Cena vs. Kevin Owens - ****
7/27/15 John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - ***3/4
7/30/15 Cesaro/Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens/Seth Rollins - ***
8/3/15 Seth Rollins vs. Neville - ***
8/5/15 Bayley vs. Charlotte - ***1/4
8/10/15 Randy Orton vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens - ***3/4
8/12/15 Bayley vs. Becky Lynch - ***
8/22/15 Bayley vs. Sasha Banks - ****1/4
8/22/15 Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens (Ladder) - ****
8/23/15 New Day vs. Primetime Players vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores - ***
8/23/15 Seth Rollins vs. John Cena - ***3/4
8/23/15 Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro - ***1/2
8/23/15 Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar - ***3/4
8/31/15 Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro - ***
9/9/15 Samoa Joe/Finn Balor vs. Kalisto/Sin Cara - ***
9/20/15 John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - ***3/4
9/20/15 Seth Rollins vs. Sting - ***1/4
9/21/15 John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - ***1/2
9/24/15 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - ***1/4
10/3/15 Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho - ***
10/3/15 John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (Cage) - ****
10/7/15 Finn Balor/Samoa Joe vs. Dash Wilder/Scott Dawson - ***
10/7/15 Rhyno/Baron Corbin vs. Chad Gable/Jason Jordan - ***
10/7/15 Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (Iron Man) - ****1/4
10/12/15 John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***1/4
10/25/15 Barrett/Rusev/Sheamus vs. Neville/Cesaro/Ziggler - ***
10/25/15 Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt (Hell in a Cell) - ***1/2
10/25/15 Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker (Hell in a Cell) - ****
10/26/15 Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens - ***1/2
11/2/15 Paige vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Brie Bella - ***
11/2/15 Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens/Kofi Kingston/Big E/Xavier Woods vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose/Ryback/Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso (Elimination) - ***
11/4/15 Finn Balor vs. Apollo Crews - ***

TNA
10/22/03 Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles - ***
11/19/03 AJ Styles vs. Abyss - ***1/4
12/3/03 Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Kid Kash - ***
12/17/03 James Storm/Chris Harris vs. David Young/Glenn Gilberti (Street Fight) - ***
1/28/04 Chris Sabin vs. Michael Shane - ***
2/11/04 Juventud Guerrera vs. Chris Sabin - ***1/2
2/11/04 Juventud Guerrera/Abismo Negro vs Jerry Lynn/Sonjay Dutt - ***
2/11/04 Juventud Guerrera/Hector Garza/Mr. Aguila/Abismo Negro vs. Jerry Lynn/Chris Sabin/Elix Skipper/Sonjay Dutt (Elimination) - ***1/4
2/25/04 Abyss vs. AJ Styles (Tables) - *** -
7/11/13 Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell (Ladder) - ***
7/25/13 Manik vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Greg Marasciulo (Ultimate X) - ***
4/3/15 Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Lashley - ***1/2
5/15/15 Kurt Angle/Bobby Lashley/Drew Galloway/Chris Melendez/Mica vs. Eric Young/MVP/Low Ki/Kenny King/Bram
(Hardcore War) - ***1/4

LUCHA UNDERGROUND
1/21/15 King Cuerno vs. Drago (Last Man Standing) - ***1/4
2/4/15 Cage vs. Johnny Mundo - ***
3/11/15 Johnny Mundo vs. King Cuerno (Cage) - ***1/2
3/18/15 Aerostar vs. Drago - ***1/2
3/18/15 Fenix vs. Mil Muertes (Casket) - ****3/4
3/25/15 Alberto El Patron vs. Texano (Bullrope) - ***1/4
3/25/15 Prince Puma vs. Cage (Street Fight) - ***3/4
4/1/15 Johnny Mundo vs. Angelico - ***
4/8/15 Angelico/Ivelisse/Son of Havoc vs. Aero Star/Drago/Fenix - ***1/4
4/15/15 Cage/Texano/King Cuerno vs. Johnny Mundo/Hernandez/Prince Puma - ***
4/15/15 Drago vs. Aero Star - ***3/4
4/22/15 Sexy Star vs. Pentagon Jr. - ***

WCW/NWA
3/12/83 Roddy Piper vs. Dick Slater - ***1/4
3/12/83 Ricky Steamboat/Jay Youngblood vs. Sgt. Slaughter/Don Kernodle (Cage) - ***1/2
1/9/88 Ric Flair vs. Sting - ***
1/4/92 Riki Choshu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - ***1/4
1/4/92 Great Muta/Sting vs. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner - ***1/4
1/18/92 Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat - ***
5/17/92 Brian Pillman vs. Tom Zenk - ****
5/17/92 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Tatsumi Fujinami/Takayuki Iizuka - ****1/4
6/16/92 Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson/Bobby Eaton - ***1/4
7/12/92 Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude/Steve Austin - ***1/4
8/2/92 Ron Simmons vs. Vader - ***
9/2/92 Ricky Steamboat vs. Steve Austin (No DQ) - ***1/4
10/17/92 Shane Douglas vs. Brian Pillman - ***
10/25/92 Ricky Steamboat vs. Brian Pillman - ***1/4
10/25/92 Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Williams/Steve Austin - ***1/4
11/18/92 Sting vs. Rick Rude - ***1/4
11/18/92 Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Barry Windham/Dustin Rhodes - ***1/4
12/28/92 Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Barry Windham/Brian Pillman - ****
1/13/93 Chris Benoit vs. Brad Armstrong - ***
1/13/93 Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Brian Pillman/Steve Austin - ***1/2
2/21/93 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Chris Benoit - ***3/4
2/21/93 Cactus Jack vs. Paul Orndorff (Falls Count Anywhere) - ***1/4
2/21/93 Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson vs. Stan Lane/Tom Prichard - ***1/2
3/27/93 Ricky Steamboat/Shane Douglas vs. Brian Pillman/Steve Austin - ***1/2
5/23/93 Vader vs. Davey Boy Smith - ***
6/16/93 Barry Windham vs. 2 Cold Scorpio - ***1/2
6/16/93 Vader/Rick Rude/Sid Vicious vs. Sting/Davey Boy Smith/Dustin Rhodes - ***
6/16/93 Brian Pillman/Steve Austin vs. Ric Flair/Arn Anderson (2/3 Falls) - ***3/4
7/3/93 Barry Windham/Brian Pillman/Steve Austin vs. Ric Flair/Arn Anderson/Paul Roma - ***1/4
7/18/93 Brian Pillman/Steve Austin vs. Arn Anderson/Paul Roma - ***
8/21/93 Ric Flair vs. Sting - ****
11/10/93 Ric Flair vs. Vader - ***
11/13/93 Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Vader/Steve Austin - ***3/4
1/27/94 Ric Flair/Sting vs. Vader/Rick Rude (Elimination) - ***1/4
2/20/94 Brian Knobbs/Jerry Sags vs. Cactus Jack/Maxx Payne - ***
2/20/94 Sting/Brian Pillman/Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude/Paul Orndorff/Steve Austin (Thundercage) - ***1/2
4/17/94 Bunkhouse Buck vs. Dustin Rhodes (Bunkhouse) - ***3/4
4/17/94 Vader vs. The Boss - ***1/4
4/30/94 Vader vs. Cactus Jack (Texas Death Match) - ***
5/22/94 Terry Funk vs. Tully Blanchard - ***1/2
5/22/94 Sting vs. Vader - ***1/4
5/28/94 Ric Flair vs. Lord Steven Regal (Marquis of Queensbury Cup) - ***
7/30/94 Sting/Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair/Steve Austin - ***1/4
8/24/94 Ricky Steamboat vs. Steve Austin - ***3/4
8/24/94 Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair - ***1/4
9/18/94 Johnny B. Badd vs. Lord Steven Regal - ***1/4
9/18/94 Vader vs. Sting - ***3/4
9/18/94 Dusty Rhodes/Dustin Rhodes/Brian Knobbs/Jerry Sags vs. Terry Funk/Arn Anderson/Bunkhouse Buck/Col. Rob Parker (War Games) - ***
10/23/94 Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson - ***
11/16/94 Vader vs. Dustin Rhodes - ****
2/19/95 Hulk Hogan vs. Vader - ***
6/18/95 Alex Wright vs. Brian Pillman - ***1/4
6/18/95 Sting vs. Meng - ***
6/18/95 Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage - ***
9/4/95 Sting vs. Ric Flair - ***
9/17/95 Johnny B. Badd vs. Brian Pillman - ****
9/17/95 Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair - ***1/2
10/2/95 Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko - ***
10/7/95 Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero - ***3/4
10/16/95 Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero - ***1/2
10/23/95 Cnris Benoit/Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero/Mr. JL - ***1/4
10/29/95 Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko vs. Lord Steven Regal/Bobby Eaton - ***1/4
10/29/95 Johnny B. Badd vs. Diamond Dallas Page - ***
10/29/95 Ric Flair/Sting vs. Arn Anderson/Brian Pillman - ***3/4
11/6/95 Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit - ***1/4
11/6/95 Sting vs. Ric Flair - ***
11/13/95 Johnny B. Badd vs. Eddie Guerrero - ***
11/18/95 Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero - ***1/2
11/26/95 Johnny B. Badd vs. Diamond Dallas Page - ***1/2
11/26/95 Bull Nakano Akira Hokuto vs. Mayumi Ozaki/Cutie Suzuki - ***1/2
11/26/95 Sting vs. Ric Flair - ***
11/27/95 Bull Nakano/Akira Hokuto vs. Cutie Suzuki/Mayumi Ozaki - ***
12/25/95 Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair - ***
1/8/96 Chris Benoit vs. Alex Wright - ***
1/15/96 Ric Flair vs. Sting - ***
1/29/96 Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan - ***
2/19/96 Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage - ***1/4
3/11/96 Road Warriors vs. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner - ***1/4
3/24/96 Konnan vs. Eddie Guerrero - ***1/4
3/24/96 Belfast Bruiser vs. Lord Steven Regal - ***
4/29/96 Lord Steven Regal vs. Belfast Bruiser (Parking Lot Brawl) - ***
5/19/96 The Giant vs. Sting - ***
5/20/96 Ric Flair vs. Eddie Guerrero - ****
5/20/96 Sting/Lex Luger vs. Meng/Barbarian - ***
6/10/96 Sting/Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair/Arn Anderson - ***
6/16/96 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Scott Norton/Ice Train - ***
6/16/96 Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mystero Jr. - ***3/4
6/16/96 Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan (Falls Count Anywhere) - ***1/2
6/16/96 Sting vs. Lord Steven Regal - ***
6/16/96 Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Steve McMichael/Kevin Greene - ***1/4
6/17/96 Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage - ***
6/17/96 Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. - ***1/4
7/7/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psychosis - ****1/2
7/7/96 Dean Malenko vs. Disco Inferno - ***
7/7/96 Hulk Hogan/Scott Hall/Kevin Nash vs. Randy Savage/Sting/Lex Luger - ***
7/8/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko - ****
7/8/96 Eddie Guerrero vs. Psychosis - ***1/4
7/15/96 Dean Malenko vs. Billy Kidman - ***
7/22/96 Eddie Guerrero vs. Psicosis - ***
8/10/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon - ***
8/10/96 Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko - ***3/4
8/10/96 Ric Flair vs. Eddie Guerrero - ***1/2
8/12/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon - ***
8/15/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko - ***1/2
8/19/96 Dean Malenko vs. Lord Steven Regal - ***
9/2/96 Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko - ***
9/15/96 Diamond Dallas Page vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. - ***
9/15/96 Konnan vs. Juventud Guerrera - ***1/4
9/15/96 Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho - ***3/4
9/15/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Super Calo - ***3/4
9/16/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera - ***1/2
9/16/96 Konnan vs. Super Calo - ***
10/7/96 Rick Steiner vs. Chris Benoit - ***1/4
10/27/96 Dean Malenko vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. - ***3/4
11/4/96 Chris Benoit vs. Hector Guerrero - ***
11/11/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ciclope - ***
11/18/96 La Parka vs. Juventud Guerrera - ***1/4
11/18/96 Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero - ***1/4
11/24/96 Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. - ****1/2
11/24/96 Dean Malenko vs. Psicosis - ***
12/2/96 Chris Benoit vs. Lord Steven Regal - ***
12/23/96 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Mr. JL - ***
1/21/97 Chris Jericho/Chavo Guerrero Jr./Super Calo vs. Konnan/La Parka/Mr. J.L. - ***1/2
1/25/97 Eddie Guerrero vs. Syxx (Ladder) - ***1/4
2/17/97 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Super Calo - ***
2/23/97 Syxx vs. Dean Malenko - ***
3/16/97 Ultimo Dragon vs. Psicosis - ***
4/6/97 Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon - ***3/4
5/18/97 Steven Regal vs. Ultimo Dragon - ***1/2
5/18/97 Meng vs. Chris Benoit (Death Match) - ***
6/9/97 Ultimo Dragon/Juventud Guerrera/Super Calo vs. Psicosis/La Parka/Silver King - ***
6/15/97 Ultimo Dragon vs. Psicosis - ***1/2
7/13/97 Mortis/Wrath vs. Glacier/Ernest Miller - ***
7/13/97 Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon - ***1/4
7/13/97 Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan (Retirement) - ***
8/18/97 Scott Hall/Kevin Nash vs. Lex Luger/Diamond Dallas Page - ***
9/1/97 Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Eddie Guerrero/Jeff Jarrett - ***
9/14/97 Jeff Jarrett vs. Dean Malenko - ***1/4

UWF
7/24/89 Tatsuo Nakano vs. Masakatsu Funaki - ****1/4

ECW
6/22/96 Chris Jericho vs. Pitbull #2 - ***
6/22/96 Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam - ***1/2

JAPW
4/21/01 Trent Acid vs. Ric Blade - ***

NJPW
9/23/81 Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen - ****3/4
1/4/92 Riki Choshu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - ***1/4
6/6/12 Prince Devitt vs. PAC - ****1/4
11/11/12 Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki - ***1/4
1/4/13 Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - ***1/2
1/4/15 Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs. Alex Shelley/KUSHIDA vs. Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson vs. Rocky Romero/Alex Koslov - ***1/4

WCCW
7/4/84 Kerry Von Erich/Kevin Von Erich/Mike Von Erich vs. Michael Hayes/Terry Gordy/Buddy Roberts (Badstreet) - ***

CWA
6/6/83 Jerry Lawler vs. Bil Dundee (Loser Leaves Town) - ****

AJPW
12/8/84 Tiger Mask II vs. Pirata Morgan - ***
6/9/95 Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue - *****

AJW
2/28/85 Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dump Matsumoto (Hair vs. Hair) - ****
2/4/93 Akira Hokuta vs. Shinobu Kandori - *****

ROH
12/9/06 Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Cross - ***
12/9/06 Homicide vs. Adam Pearce (Cage) - ***1/4
12/9/06 Jay Briscoe vs. Davey Richards - ***1/2
12/9/06 Delirious/Nigel McGuinness/Colt Cabana/BJ Whitmer vs. Bryan Danielson/Jimmy Jacobs/Jimmy Rave/Shingo (Elimination) - ***1/2
12/22/06 Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe - ***
12/22/06 Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards - ***1/2
12/22/06 Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Shingo/CIMA - ***1/4
12/23/06 Jimmy Rave vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Davey Richards vs. El Generico - ***
12/23/06 Jimmy Jacobs/Brent Albright vs. BJ Whitmer/Colt Cabana - ***1/4
12/23/06 Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli - ****1/4
12/23/06 Jimmy Rave vs. Nigel McGuinness - ***
12/23/06 Matt Sydal/Shingo/CIMA vs. Austin Aries/Roderick Strong/Delirious - ***3/4
12/23/06 Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson - ****
1/26/07 Rocky Romero vs. Davey Richards - ***1/2
1/26/07 Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness - ***
1/26/07 Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs. Austin Aries/Roderick Strong (2/3 Falls) - ***1/4
1/27/07 Austin Aries/Roderick Strong/Jack Evans vs. Delirious/Davey Richards/Shingo - ***1/4
2/16/07 BJ Whitmer vs. Brent Albright (Tables) - ***1/4
2/16/07 Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries/Roderick Strong - ***1/4
2/16/07 Nigel McGuinness/Colt Cabana vs. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe - ***
2/16/07 Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima - ****
3/27/15 Jay Lethal vs. Jushin Liger - ***
3/27/15 Jay Briscoe vs. Samoa Joe - ***1/2
4/25/15 Kyle O'Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian - ****

CHIKARA
9/7/08 Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brodie Lee (Cage) - ****1/4

PWG
7/26/14 Joey Ryan/Candice LeRae vs. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson (Guerilla Warfare) - ****1/4

I'm Still Watchin'

2015-03-24T17:37:00.001-07:00

I may not be posting new reviews but just thought I'd let people know, I am in fact still watching and rating wrestling. I've been doing my best to catch up on all the WWE and TNA (and now Lucha Underground) I've missed as well as filling in the blanks on what's left of WCW, ROH, and others. Right now I'm mainly watching older WCW, filling in the gaps from 88-97 that I haven't rated, currently in the midst of 1992 (Kip Frey deserved better!). Finishing up the year 2006 in ROH also, closing in on that big Homicide title win at Final Battle. Otherwise I've also been watching older TNA, have watched a good chunk of late 2002 to most of 2003 and plan on continuing to chip away at that. Also cycling through ECW, in the midst of 1996 right now. As far as puro and indies go I've been a bit scarce in my viewing habits, but I hope to fix that soon. Anyways, here's a ton of new ratings I've added to the blog over the last month or two. Also added a shit ton in January but deleted them from my word file so I don't have them anymore (they are all on the blog though).

WWE
8/8/14 Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***
8/14/14 Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze - ***1/2
8/15/14 Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro - ***
8/17/14 Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro - ***
8/17/14 Rusev vs. Jack Swagger (Flag) - ***
8/17/14 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Lumberjack) - ***
8/17/14 Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton - ***1/4
8/17/14 Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena - ***1/4
8/18/14 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Falls Count Anywhere) - ***3/4
8/28/14 Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn - ***
8/29/14 Rusev vs. Jack Swagger (Submission) - ***
9/1/14 John Cena/Chris Jericho/Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton/Kane/Seth Rollins - ***
9/8/14 Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho (Cage) - ***1/4
9/11/14 Justin Gabriel vs. Sin Cara - ***
9/11/14 Sin Cara/Kalisto vs. Konnor/Viktor - ***
9/11/14 Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Tyler Breeze - ****
9/21/14 Goldust/Stardust vs. Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso - ***1/4
9/21/14 Sheamus vs. Cesaro - ***1/2
9/21/14 Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho - ***
9/21/14 John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar - ***1/4
10/2/14 Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd - ***1/4
10/13/14 Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***
10/16/14 Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd - ***
10/20/14 Randy Orton/Kane/Seth Rollins vs. John Cena/Dean Ambrose (Street Fight) - ***1/2
10/21/14 Seth Rollins vs. Jack Swagger - ***
10/24/14 Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro - ***1/2
10/26/14 Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro (2/3 Falls) - ***1/2
10/26/14 Goldust/Stardust vs. Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso - ***
10/26/14 John Cena vs. Randy Orton (Hell in a Cell) - ***3/4
10/26/14 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose (Hell in a Cell) - ****
10/27/14 John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - ***
11/3/14 Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton - ***
11/4/14 Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn - ***
11/13/14 Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn - ***1/4
11/14/14 Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd (Elimination) - ****1/4
11/23/14 The Miz/Damien Mizdow vs. Goldust/Stardust vs. Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso vs. Diego/Fernando - ***
11/23/14 John Cena/Dolph Ziggler/Big Show/Ryback/Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins/Kane/Mark Henry/Luke Harper/Rusev (Elimination) - ****
12/11/14 Finn Balor/Hideo Itami vs. Konnor/Viktor - ***
12/11/14 Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks - ***1/2
12/11/14 Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville - ****
12/14/14 Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper (Ladder) - ***1/2
12/14/14 John Cena vs. Seth Rollins (Tables) - ***1/4
12/14/14 Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose (TLC) - ***1/2
12/15/14 Seth Rollins vs. John Cena (Cage) - ***
12/17/14 Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt (Bootcamp) - ***
12/22/14 Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper - ***
12/22/14 Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose (Street Fight) - ***
1/1/15 Finn Balor/Hideo Itami vs. Konnor/Viktor - ***
1/5/15 Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose (Ambulance) - ***
1/14/15 Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd - ***
1/14/15 Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville - ***1/2
1/15/15 Daniel Bryan/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins/Kane/Big Show - ***
1/21/15 Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze - ***
1/22/15 Ryback vs. Rusev - ***1/4
1/25/15 Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - ****3/4

TNA
2/19/03 Jeff Jarrett vs. AJ Styles - ***3/4
2/26/03 Jerry Lynn vs. Juventud Guerera - ***1/2
3/5/03 Jerry Lynn vs. Super Crazy - ***1/4
3/5/03 Kid Kash vs. Amazing Red - ***
3/12/03 Kid Kash vs. Amazing Red vs. Jonny Storm - ***1/4
3/12/03 Christopher Daniels/Low Ki vs. James Storm/Chris Harris - ***
3/19/03 Raven vs. AJ Styles (Ladder) - ***
4/16/03 Jerry Lynn/Amazing Red vs. Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper - ***3/4
4/23/03 Perry Saturn/New Jack/Sandman vs. Mike Awesome/Brian Lee/Slash (Hardcore) - ***
4/23/03 Amazing Red vs. Jerry Lynn - ***
4/30/03 Jeff Jarrett vs. Raven - ***
5/14/03 Chris Sabin vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Amazing Red - ***
5/21/03 Paul London vs. CM Punk vs. Kid Romeo vs. Jason Cross (Elimination) - ***
6/18/03 Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper vs. James Storm/Chris Harris - ***
6/25/03 Frankie Kazarian vs. Chris Sabin - ***1/2
7/9/03 James Storm/Chris Harris vs. Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger - ***
7/9/03 Frankie Kazarian vs. Kid Romeo vs. Matt Sydal vs. Delirious vs. Matt Stryker vs. Altar Boy Luke (Elimination) - ***
7/16/03 Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible (Last Man Standing) - ***1/2
7/23/03 AJ Styles vs. D-Lo Brown (Ladder) - ***1/4
7/30/03 Chris Sabin vs. Michael Shane - ***1/4
8/6/03 James Storm/Chris Harris vs. Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger (Strap) - ***1/2
8/13/03 Frankie Kazarian vs. Michael Shane (Ladder) - ***1/4
8/13/03 AJ Styles vs. Low Ki - ***1/4
8/20/03 Michael Shane vs. Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian (Ultimate X) - ***
8/20/03 Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger vs. James Storm/Chris Harris (Bullrope) - ***
8/27/03 Simon Diamond/Johnny Swinger vs. James Storm/Chris Harris - ***
9/3/03 Juventud Guerrera vs. Teddy Hart - ***1/2
9/3/03 Chris Sabin vs. Juventud Guerrera - ****
9/17/03 AJ Styles vs. Jerry Lynn - ***
6/13/13 AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle - ***1/4
7/4/13 Chris Sabin vs. Austin Aries vs. Manik - ***1/2
7/5/13 Christopher Daniels/Kazarian vs. Generation Me (Ladder) - ***3/4
3/13/15 Bobby Roode vs. Eric Young (Last Man Standing) - ***1/4
3/13/15 Ethan Carter III vs. Rockstar Spud (Hair vs. Hair) - ***3/4
3/20/15 Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Lashley - ***1/2

LUCHA UNDERGROUND
10/29/14 Johnny Mundo vs. Prince Puma - ***
11/12/14 Fenix vs. Drago vs. Pentagon Jr. - ***1/2
12/10/14 Johnny Mundo vs. Prince Puma vs. Big Ryck (Ladder) - ***1/4
12/17/14 Fenix vs. Big Ryck vs. Drago vs. El Mariachi Loco vs. King Cuerno vs. Mascarita Sagrada vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Prince Puma vs. Son of Havoc vs. Super Fly - ***
1/7/15 Aztec Warfare Match - ***3/4
1/14/15 Prince Puma vs. Fenix - ***1/2

WCW
11/27/86 Big Bubba Rogers vs. Ron Garvin (Street Fight) - ***
11/27/86 Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson vs. Arn Anderson/Ole Anderson (Cage) - ***1/2
11/27/86 Ric Flair vs. Nikita Koloff - ***1/4
4/11/87 Lex Luger/Tully Blanchard vs. Bob Armstrong/Brad Armstrong - ***1/2
4/11/87 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Animal/Hawk - ***
4/11/87 Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham - ****1/4
11/26/87 Nikita Koloff vs. Terry Taylor - ***
11/26/87 Arn Anderson/Tully Blanchard vs. Road Warriors - ***
3/27/88 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Bobby Fulton/Tommy Rogers - ****
3/27/88 Barry Windham/Lex Luger vs. Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson - ***1/2
4/23/88 Arn Anderson/Tully Blanchard vs. Bobby Fulton/Tommy Rogers - ***
4/23/88 Sting/Lex Luger vs. Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson - ***1/4
6/8/88 Bobby Fulton/Tommy Rogers vs. Sheepherders - ***
7/10/88 Arn Anderson/Tully Blanchard vs. Sting/Nikita Koloff - ***1/4
7/10/88 Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger - ***
9/7/88 Mike Rotunda vs. Brad Armstrong - ***
9/7/88 Nikita Koloff/Steve Williams vs. Sheepherders - ***
9/7/88 Sting vs. Barry Windham - ***1/2
12/26/88 Kevin Sullivan/Steve Williams vs. Bobby Fulton/Tommy Rogers - ***
12/26/88 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Dennis Condrey/Randy Rose - ***
12/26/88 Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger - ***3/4
2/20/89 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane/Jim Cornette vs. Randy Rose/Jack Victory/Paul E. Dangerously (Loser Leaves NWA) - ***1/4
2/20/89 Lex Luger vs. Barry Windham - ***
4/1/89 Sting vs. Mike Rotunda - ***1/4
6/14/89 Kevin Sullivan/Mike Rotunda vs. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner - ***1/4
9/12/89 Michael Hayes/Jimmy Garvin vs. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner - ***1/4
9/12/89 Lex Luger vs. Tommy Rich - ***1/2
11/15/89 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Shane Douglas/Johnny Ace - ***
11/15/89 Lex Luger vs. Brian Pillman - ***1/4
11/18/89 Ric Flair vs. Great Muta - ***
12/13/89 Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger - ***
1/26/90 Ric Flair/Sting/Arn Anderson vs. Great Muta/Buzz Sawyer/Dragonmaster - ****
2/2/90 Ric Flair vs. Tom Zenk - ***1/4
2/6/90 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Doom (Title vs. Masks) - ***
2/17/90 Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson vs. Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane - ***1/4
2/17/90 Ric Flair vs. Brian Pillman - ****
2/18/90 Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson - ***1/2
2/25/90 Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson vs. Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane - ****
2/25/90 Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger - ****1/2
3/9/90 Ric Flair vs. Tommy Rich - ***
3/23/90 Cactus Jack vs. Eddie Gilbert - ***1/4
3/30/90 Ron Simmons/Butch Reed vs. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner - ***
4/6/90 Ric Flair vs. Robert Gibson - ***1/4
5/19/90 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Brian Pillman/Tom Zenk - ***3/4
5/19/90 Ron Simmons/Butch Reed vs. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner - ***1/4
5/19/90 Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (Cage) - ***1/2
6/13/90 Ricky Morton/Robert Gibson vs. Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane - ***1/4
6/13/90 Ron Simmons/Butch Reed vs. Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner - ***1/4
7/7/90 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Steve Armstrong/Tracy Smothers - ****1/4
7/7/90 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Michael Hayes/Jimmy Garvin - ***
7/7/90 Sting vs. Ric Flair - ***1/4
8/18/90 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Brian Pillman/Tom Zenk - ***
9/5/90 Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair - ***1/2
9/22/90 Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane vs. Steve Armstrong/Tracey Smothers - ***
9/22/90 Scott Steiner vs. Ric Flair - ***
10/13/90 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane - ***
10/27/90 Tommy Rich/Ricky Morton vs. Bobby Eaton/Stan Lane - ***1/2
10/27/90 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Brian Knobbs/Jerry Sags - ***1/2
10/27/90 Ric Flair/Arn Anderson vs. Ron Simmons/Butch Reed - ***
11/20/90 Brian Pillman vs. Buddy Landel - ***
11/20/90 Ric Flair vs. Butch Reed - ***
12/16/90 Bobby Eaton vs. Tom Zenk - ***
12/16/90 Arn Anderson/Barry Windham vs. Ron Simmons/Butch Reed (Street Fight) - ***3/4
1/30/91 Ric Flair vs. Scott Steiner - ***
2/24/91 Bobby Eaton vs. Brad Armstrong - ***
2/24/91 Itsuki Yamazaki/Mami Kitamura vs. Miss A/Miki Handa - ***
2/24/91 Lex Luger vs. Dan Spivey - ***3/4
2/24/91 War Games - ****1/2
3/21/91 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Hiroshi Hase/Kensuke Sasaki - ****1/2
3/21/91 Great Muta vs. Sting - ***
3/21/91 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ric Flair - ***1/2
5/19/91 Barry Windham vs. Brian Pillman (Taped Fist) - ***
5/19/91 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Sting/Lex Luger - ****1/4
5/19/91 Bobby Eaton vs. Arn Anderson - ***1/4
5/19/91 Ric Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - ***1/4
6/12/91 Sting vs. Nikita Koloff - ***
6/12/91 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Masahiro Chono/Hiroshi Hase - ***3/4
6/12/91 Ric Flair vs. Bobby Eaton (2/3 Falls) - ***1/2
9/5/91 Brian Pillman vs. Badstreet - ***1/4
10/27/91 Bobby Eaton vs. Terrence Taylor - ***3/4
11/17/91 Ricky Steamboat/Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson/Larry Zbyszko - ****
11/19/91 Sting vs. Cactus Jack (Submit or Surrender) - ***3/4
11/30/91 Cactus Jack vs. Brian Pillman - ***
12/29/91 Lex Luger/Arn Anderson vs. Terrence Taylor/Tom Zenk - ***
1/21/92 Scott Steiner/Rick Steiner vs. Big Van Vader/Mr. Hughes - ***1/4
1/21/92 Brian Pillman/Marcus Alexander Bagwell vs. Taylor Made Man/Tracy Smothers - ***
1/21/92 Cactus Jack vs. Van Hammer (Falls Count Anywhere) - ***1/4
1/21/92 Barry Windham/Ron Simmons/Dustin Rhodes vs. Arn Anderson/Bobby Eaton/Larry Zbyszko - ***1/4
1/21/92 Sting/Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude/Steve Austin - ***1/4
2/15/92 Sting vs. Big Van Vader - ***
4/4/92 Brian Pillman vs. Brad Armstrong - ***
10/9/95 Sabu vs. Mr. J.L. - ***1/4

ECW
5/13/95 Dean Malenko vs. Eddy Guerrero - ***1/2
2/3/96 Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera - ***1/2
2/17/96 Shane Douglas vs. Cactus Jack - ***
3/8/96 Chris Jericho vs. Cactus Jack - ***1/4
3/9/96 Cactus Jack vs. Mikey Whipwreck - ****
4/20/96 Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam - ***3/4
5/11/96 Chris Jericho vs. Mikey Whipwreck - ***1/2
5/11/96 Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio - ***1/4
5/11/96 Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu - ***1/4
8/3/96 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2

NJPW
1/28/82 Tiger Mask I vs. Dynamite Kid - ***3/4
8/2/96 Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto - ***1/2
1/4/15 Bobby Fish/Kyle O'Reilly vs. Alex Shelley/KUSHIDA vs. Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson vs. Rocky Romero/Alex Koslov - ***1/4

ROH
11/3/06 Matt Sydal vs. Claudio Castagnoli - ***
11/3/06 Bryan Danielson vs. Delirious - ***
11/3/06 Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs. KENTA/Davey Richards - ***1/2
11/4/06 KENTA vs. Matt Sydal - ***1/2
11/24/06 Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Jacobs - ***
11/24/06 Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Austin Aries/Roderick Strong (No DQ) - ***
11/24/06 Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Delirious/Davey Richards - ***3/4
11/25/06 Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli - ***1/4
11/25/06 Homicide/Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (Elimination Street Fight) - ***1/2
12/8/06 BJ Whitmer vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Davey Richards vs. Matt Cross - ***1/4
12/8/06 Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs. Matt Sydal/Shingo - ***3/4
12/8/06 Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe (Cage) - ***3/4

OMEGA
4/26/14 Jeff Hardy/Matt Hardy vs. Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe - ***1/2

FMW
5/16/92 El Hijo del Santo/Atsushi Onita/Tarzan Goto vs. Negro Casas/Horace Boulder/Tim Patterson (2/3 Falls) - ***3/4

HWA
5/25/00 Chris Benoit vs. William Regal - ****

WWE Extreme Rules 2014

2014-05-19T00:30:00.005-07:00

WWE Extreme Rules 2014

May 4th, 2014

Izod Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Attendance: 15,907

Well we're a month removed from YES!lemania and though Bryan has taken a bit of a backdrop in his feud with Kane to the Shield and Evolution's feud, this looks to be a solid show on paper and the one gimmick show a year where the guys really try to go all out. I've heard good things about this show so let's get to it.

Pre-Show WeeLC Match
El Torito (w/ Los Matadores) vs. Hornswoggle (w/ 3 Man Band)
Well this should certainly be interesting if anything. We're joined at ringside by miniature versions of the commentary team with their own table and headsets and everything. Even the ring announcer is a little person.Torito immediately sends Swoggle to the floor with a headscissors and wipes out the entire 3 Man Band with a tope. Swoggle goes for one of his own but can't quite clear the ropes. Torito sets up Swoggle in the corner for the Bronco Buster off of a mini chair. Swoggle hits a clothesline and.asks for a mini-ladder from his teammates. He sets it up and misses a splash. Swoggle comes back with a powerbomb as take an ad break. When we return both stables are just brawling at ringside and one of the Matadores gets back dropped through a mini-table. Back in the ring Swoggle hits Rolling Thunder with a mini-chair. The action spills out to the floor where Swoggle sets up Torito on the mini-commentary table and then elbow drops Torito through it! 3 Man Band sets up another mini table for Swoggle in the ring and Slater tries holding Torito so Swoggle can give him a chair shot, but Torito moves and Slater winds up sailing off the apron through 3 more mini-tables! Although there might have been a regular sized one in there, it's hard to tell. Back in the ring Torito climbs up the ladder while Los Matadores hoist Jinder Mahal on thei shoulders so that Torito can dive off the ladder and give him a tower of doom clothesline through another two mini-tables with two mini-ladders on top of them! These little guys are bumping their asses off. Swoggle sets Torito up on a regular sized table on the other side of the ring for McIntyre, but the little guy escapes and nobody's home for Drew's somersault plancha through the table! Finally Torito wins it with a springboard seated senton through another mini-table at 10:53. This was shockingly awesome, it's rare for what is essentially a comedy match here to deliver so well, but they nailed it here. It was funny, and it was definitely extreme, and reminded one of an ECW show in the way that they broke about nine tables in the opener. Way more fun than it had any right being. ***

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and John Bradshaw Layfield

Triple Threat Elimination Match
Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swagger
Glad to see Cesaro getting the rocket push with Heyman as his manager now. All three men exchange blows at the bell until Swagger slams Cesaro. Van Dam hits a springboard thrust kick on Swagger and then monkey flips Cesaro on top of Swagger. Cesaro catches Van Dam in mid air off a cross body attempt and Swagger kicks them both down. Swagger gets sent out to the floor and then Cesaro joins him after a sunset flip powerbomb off the apron from RVD. Back inside Swagger gets a two count off of a wheelbarrow suplex on RVD. Swagger Bomb gets another two count but then Swagger is met by Cesaro with a spinebuster and the big swing, which RVD breaks up with a kick. Van Dam looks for the Frog Splash but Swagger gives him a big belly to belly suplex off the top and then slaps on the Patriot Lock. Cesaro breaks the hold up with a springboard European uppercut. Swagger tries for the top but Cesaro uppercuts him again and then superplexes him back into the ring from the apron when out of nowhere RVD comes flying off the top with the Five Star Frog Splash on Swagger to follow up and eliminates Swagger at 6:27! Cesaro gets a two count on RVD off an uppercut and them delivers a trio of gut-wrench suplexes in Guerrero fashion. Van Dam tries for a spin kick but Cesaro counters with a German suplex for another close two count. RVD tries to catch his breath outside the ring but Cesaro meets him with a flying double axe handle and then tosses him torso-first into the barricade. Cesaro tries climbing the barricade but gets knocked off and draped over it so RVD can hit the flying spinning heel kick over the apron for our first "ECW!" chant. Rolling Thunder and the split legged moonsault both get Rob two close near falls, so he goes out under the ring for some plunder. Van Dam grabs a trash can but Cesaro just dropkicks it right into him, crushing it. Van Dam uses the trash can to hit the Van Daminator on Cesaro and then tries for the Five Stat Frog Splash but finds only the trash can instead. Cesaro gives Van Dam the Neutralizer onto the crushed trash can for the win at 12:34. This was pretty solid stuff with all three men's styles meshing together cohesively, and there were some nice spots, but it felt lacking in places and a bit light on the plunder when the crowd was hungry for it. Still a good way to kick off the PPV. **3/4

Backstage Stephanie McMahon warns Daniel Bryan that she can't control Kane and that she doesn't want to see him hurt so she offers for him to not compete at all and just surrender the WWE title. Bryan tells her to get out of his face and that he's going to walk in and out tonight with the belt. Steph thinks he'll be walking out Kane's bitch instead.

Alexander Rusev vs. R-Truth/Xavier Woods
Before the match begins Lana dedicates the match to Vladimir Putin, getting some nice heat. Putin may be bad news for global peace but he's good news for WWE creative, who can milk the old Russian heel character again. Woods eats a big axe kick from Rusev before the match even begins and then delivers a nice overhead belly to belly suplex to him outside the ring. Back inside the bell officially rings and Rusev tosses Truth into the corner. Truth gets some petty offense in and then hits a dropkick from the second rope and a corkscrew elbow. The axe kick gets him a two count. Back on his feet Rusev nails Truth with a spinning heel kick. Spinning sidewalk slam from Rusev is followed up by the Camel Clutch to make Truth tap out at 2:53. After the match Rusev delivers a fallaway slam to the already hurt Woods on the outside. Rusev shows some promise, but this didn't belong on PPV. Truth and Woods could be a solid boost to the tag division with so many teams having broken up recently. *

Backstage Renee Young is with Evolution. Hunter talks about the 31 World championships between them and says their egos are well deserved. Orton says tonight the Shield will perish.

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Big E © vs. Bad News Barrett
Barrett informs us that we're all going to be struck down with a debilitating sickness but even that will pale in comparison to the pain Big E will feel when Barrett wins the title tonight. Shoulder block from Big E sends Barrett to the floor at the bell. Outside the ring E sends him into the turnbuckle and then gives him the old football tackle into the post. Barrett catches E with a stiff kick off the apron and then drops an elbow from off the apron on him. E blocks a suplex with one of his own and then Barrett counters into a suplex of his own as well. Barrett gives E a big boot while he's tied up in the opes. Big overhead belly to belly suplex from E. Another belly to belly followed by a clothesline sends Barrett to the apron, where E spears him right off of it to the floor! Love that spot. Barrett hits the Winds of Change for a two count back inside. Barrett hits the Waste Land and that gets him only two as well. E blocks the Bull Hammer elbow with a uranage for two and then delivers a big splash. He tries for the Big Ending but Barrett slips out and hits the Bull Hammer to pick up the win and the title at 7:55! Crowd was really hot for Barrett here so I don't mind the title change, E had a solid run with it. The match itself was stiff and hard hitting, high-impact stuff, just as you'd expect from these two. Another very solid if not spectacular match. **3/4

The Shield (Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns) vs. Evolution (Triple H/Batista/Randy Orton)
This one has been brewing for awhile now and on paper this should probably be the main event, but I like that they're giving Bryan and Kane those honors. If this is even half as good as the trio of six man tags the Shield had with the Wyatts than I'll be one happy camper. Cole reminds us it's been ten years since we've seen these three wrestle together and that they look better than ever. JBL goes a step further and says they are better than ever. I don't know about better, but they definitely used to have more hair because now all three are looking a bit like generic meatheads. Shield make their entrance and we're under way with all six men brawling at the start of the match. Shield dumps Evolution out of the ring completely and the bell officially rings when Triple H makes his way back in to eat some right hands from Rollins. Clothesline from Rollins sends the Game to the floor where Seth meets him with a big tope. Back inside Hunter takes Seth inside out with a clothesline. Batista tags in to beat down on Seth for a bit before tagging out to Randy. Orton catapults Seth throat first into the bottom rope and tags Hunter back in. Triple H works him over for a moment until Batista tags in and gives Seth a big boot on the floor while he's dangling off the ring apron. Orton tags back in and this is all the Seth Rollins as YOUR Babyface in Peril Show so far. Rollins tries for the tag but Batista and Hunter break it up. Randy tries grabbing Seth off the mat but instead Rollins springboards himself up with a stiff kick and finally manages to tag out to Dean Ambrose. Ambrose takes Orton's head off with a lariat and then slaps the figure four on him, but Hunter breaks it up. Outside Reigns misses a spear and flies into the steps. Back inside Evolution continue their quick tags while working Ambrose over behind the ref's back in true heel fashion. Orton works a chinlock on Ambrose, ah yes that's the rest hold loving young Orton from Evolution I remember. Hunter tags in and gets a two count off a spinebuster on Dean. He tries for the Pedigree but Ambrose counters into a DDT and gets the REAL hot tag to Roman Reigns, who nails Orton and Batista with right hands. He hits the running boot on Batista outside the ring and tosses Orton into the barricade. Back inside Batista sets up for the Batista Bomb on Reigns but Rollins breaks it up with a springboard flying knee! Superman punch from Reigns to Batista followed by all three members of the Shield delivering a triple powerbomb to Batista for a close near fall. Rollins tries to take out Triple H with a tope but just nails himself headfirst into the barricade instead. Back inside Triple H hits the Pedigree on Reigns, but Ambrose breaks up the cover attempt and he and Hunter topple on top of the Spanish commentary table while Orton manages to sneak up on Reigns for the RKO. Total chaos now as everyone is just brawling at ringside and into the timekeeper's section. Ambrose dashes across both commentary tables like a madman and wipes out all of Evolution with a body splash! Brawling into the crowd now where Orton and Ambrose are exchanging fisticuffs while Hunter and Rollins do the same. Meanwhile Batista and Reigns are still the legal guys in the ring. We're up into the cheap seats now and Ambrose tumbles down a set of stairs. Orton and Hunter work over Ambrose for a bit while Rollins makes his way further up into the stands and comes flying off the balcony with a crossbody wiping out all three men in a sick spot! Someone's been watching his old school Big Japan tapes, as that's a spot they used to love to run for all their big matches. Back inside the ring Batista hits a spinebuster, but Reigns counters with the Superman punch and then finishes Batista with the spear at 19:50! This was all kinds of awesome, an intense throwback to the wild Attitude Era brawls or even Mid-South with all six men just going at it tooth and nail. Some nice heel work from Evolution as a group early in the match set up the hot finish, and Rollins continues to shine as the arguably the most fearless of the Shield in terms of willingness to take bumps. This was a real throwback match. ****1/4

Legends House promo. I haven't caught any of the episodes yet but I imagine it's a slightly more boring version of The Surreal Life. If the talk of getting Flair and Hogan together into the house for the next season winds up being true though, I'll definitely be tuning in.

Steel Cage Match
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena
The week to week promo stuff for this feud has continued to be good, if a bit over the top. Wyatt dominates to start with right hands and stomps in the corner. Fisherman suplex from Cena and he goes to climb the cage but is brought back down by Wyatt. And already we've got the dueling Cena chnts. Wyatt sends Cena face first into the cage. Wyatt holds him up against the cage and Rowan nails him from outside the ring as the crowd starts singing that damned song again. Wyatt tries to escape but Cena cuts him off and catapults him into the cage. Cena climbs to the top of the cage and gets over but Wyatt drags him back inside. Cena sends Wyatt off the top rope and tries to climb the cage again but Wyatt crotches him on the top rope. He plants Cena with a euranage for a two count but Cena fights back with a dropkick. Cena stupidly tries to scale the cage again (there's a door right over there John) and Wyatt takes the opportunity to bust out the creepy Linda Blair spider walk towards the door. Cena sends Wyatt into the cage and follows up with a pair of shoulder blocks and a sidewalk slam. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and goes for the AA but Wyatt pops out to try and climb the cage so Cena just powerbombs him off the top rope instead for a two count. Cena goes to the door but Rowan just shuts it in front of him. Cena tries muscling it open and Harper helps out but Cena is just to gald darned strong darnitt! Wyatt grabs him and DDTs him for a two count back in the ring. Cena tries climbing out of the cage again but Rowan meets him and forces him back inside. Seriously, what the fuck is the point of having a cage match when you're just going to run interference anyways? Cena bulldogs Wyatt off the top for a two count and tries to climb the cage again, but Harper meets him this time and punches him back in. Cena drags Harper into the cage and tries climbing out again. Meanwhile Wyatt is crawling towards the door, but Cena slams it in his face. Rowan comes up with a chair and backs Cena back into the cage now with two men. Release suplex from Wyatt followed by a senton for two. Wyatt tries to climb out but Cena grabs him and gives him the AA off the top rope. It only gets two because Harper breaks up the pin. Cena tries to escape but Rowan meets him off again. Cena hits the top drop legdrop on Harper and tries crawling towards the door when suddenly the Wyatt's music hits and the arena goes dark. When the lights come back on a small child in a black robe is singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" in what sounds like a retarded android's voice. Well that was stupid. This gives Wyatt the chance to hit Sister Abigail on Cena and just walk out for the win at 21:26. This was nowhere near as good as their Wrestlemania match and suffered from way too much interference, the stupid escape rules, and an absolutely goofy finish. The little kids creepily being swayed into the Wyatt's cult is a good thing, but they used it in the wrong way here and it hurt the match. Not that the match they were having was even anything special to begin with. **

Over at the WWE Network analysts table Josh Matthews, Booker T, Sheamus, and Alex Riley are all shocked by Wyatt's actions. Well, Sheamus isn't. But everyone else is just appalled. Won't somebody PLEASE think of the children?!

WWE Divas Title Match
Paige © vs. Tamina Snuka
Oh yes I love me some Paige. Beautiful and a solid worker. Paige stomps away at Tamina at the bell and then follows with a dropkick. Victory roll from Paige only gets one. Paige sets Tamina up in the ropes and nails her with a few knees. She goes to the top but Tamina hits her with a kick and Paige falls to the floor. Back inside Tamina scoop slams Paige for a two count. Another pair of bodyslams gets her another near fall. Both ladies tumble out to the floor where Paige tries for a 'rana off the apron but Tamina just slams her head first into the barricade instead. Sunset flip powerbomb from the top garners Paige a two count and the flying headscissors gets her another one. Tamina catches Paige on a body press and hits a nice tilt-a-whirl slam. Tamina tries for the superkick but Paige catches her and locks her into the modified scorpion cross lock for the submission victory to retain at 6:18. This was solid but nothing special, there were a few awkward moments but overall perfectly acceptable wrestling. **1/4

Backstage Bray Wyatt does some more preachin' and prophesizin' to Little Johnny, who again talks with the weird Children of the Corn voice and puts a lamb mask on. All righty then.

WWE World Heavyweight Title Extreme Rules Match
Daniel Bryan © vs. Kane
Glad to see these guys getting the main event spot, the title should always go on last. Also glad to see Kane back with the mask, not that Corporate Kane wasn't amusing. Bryan doesn't wait for the bell to run out to the aisle and start brawling with Kane as soon as he makes his entrance. Kane immediately goes under the ring and grabs a kendo stick and meekly hits Bryan with it before tossing it aside. He climbs to the top rope where Bryan meets him with a running knee and a top rope Frankensteiner. Bryan sends the both of them to the floor with a crossbody over the top rope, but outside the ring Kane takes the upper hand again with a big boot. He grabs a chair and uses it to assist him in slamming Bryan into the barricade. He grabs another chair and sets it up in a corner in the ring but Bryan takes the time to grab the kendo stick and mash Kane with it. He tries another attack with the stick off the top but Kane blocks it and waffles him with another steel chair. He sets the chair up and then side slams him right through it for a two count. Bryan blocks a chokeslam attempt and drop toe holds Kane into the chair in the corner he previously set up. Missile dropkick sends Kane out to the floor where Bryan delivers a big tope to him. Bryan slams the monitors and covering pieces of the commentary tables into Kane, and Kane returns the favor. Kane tries for a chokeslam on the Spanish announcer's table but Bryan blocks and counters with a big tornado DDT off of the table. Kane tries for a tombstone on the steel steps but Bryan slips out and slams him into the steel post. Guy in the front row to Kane: "You're terrible! You have fake hair!" Well that's just mean. Bryan grabs the kendo stick and starts going to town on Kane with it, hitting him repeatedly with it up the aisleway. Kane cuts him off though and then just sends him sailing head first into the LED display on the stage. The action spills into the backstage area now where Kane unsuccessfully tries to throw a TV at Bryan. They brawl all the way out to the parking lot now where Bryan hits Kane with a snow shovel and this is like an old Hardcore Title match now with them brawling on top of a car. Bryan takes a nice back body drop onto the hood of the car. Kane tosses what looks like an oxygen tank through the windshield just inches away from Bryan's head and then slams his own fist through another car's back window trying to punch Bryan. Bryan cleans Kane's clock with a tire iron out of the trunk, seemingly knocking the big monster out, but this isn't a falls count anywhere match so he can't just pin him here unfortunately. Since it would be foolish to try dragging the big man all the way back to ringside, Bryan loads him onto a forklift and just casually drives him back to ringside and just dumps him into the ring. The crowd seems bummed he didn't just keep Kane on the forklift and do a spot from it into the ring, so Bryan being the people pleaser that he is, he just climbs right up to the top of the fully raised forklift and delivers a sick flying headbutt halfway across the ring to a huge pop for a near fall. Crowd goes into YES! mode but Kane does his usual late match sit-up for the comeback and chokeslams Bryan for a two count. He sets up for a tombstone on a chair, but Bryan counters with a DDT onto it instead. Bryan has a hold of the chair now and slams it over Kane's back a good eight or nine times and then slaps on the YES! Lock. Kane tries breaking the hold with a kendo stick but Bryan just grabs it from him to help assist in the hold. Kane barely manages to escape out of the ring, where again Bryan tries a tope but this time Kane sees it coming and grabs him throat first to choke slam him right through the announcer's table! Kane tosses Bryan back into the ring and then sets up another table outside, and then grabs a god damn can of gasoline from under the ring! He douses the table in it and yes sir we have ourselves a good old flaming table. Kane goes to the apron but Bryan meets him there and simply flings him off the apron through the flaming table! Personnel are all over Kane with the fire extinguishers only seconds after the bump and apparently were blatantly obvious at ringside, kind of telegraphing the finish to the live crowd, but it still provided a great visual. After Kane has been extinguished completely he slides back into the ring where Bryan meets him with the running knee to retain at 22:28. This was a great way to cap off another good show, as both men have a decent amount of chemistry due to all their ring time together as a tag team. This was a pure old school Attitude Era brawl mixed with some ECW styled spots, and it was a very heated and well executed brawl at that. They worked in some creative stuff amidst all the plunder too and this was really a perfect way to end a show called Extreme Rules, by giving the fans something you don't usually see anymore in wrestling with the flaming table. It really drove home the whole old school ECW PPV vibe this whole show has had going for it. Also one of Kane's best singles matches in a long time. ***3/4

After the match Bryan celebrates for a bit before Kane awakens again and gets to do his fire pyro to close out the show.

Bottom Line: This was another winner from the WWE as this PPV typically tends to be, but this year they really delivered something special that gave off an old ECW vibe I hadn't really felt since watching...well, the original ECW. For a show built on that companies legacy, that's a very good thing and this was a solid show with two great matches in the main event and six man tag matches. The undercard is solid if not entirely spectacular, but combined with the fun pre-show antics I have no problem giving this one a hearty Thumbs Up.

Score: 8.0

WWE Wrestlemania XXX

2014-05-13T01:49:00.002-07:00

WWE Wrestlemania XXX

April 6th, 2014

Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 75,167

Well it's been awhile, hasn't it? I can't remember the last time I properly sat down to do a full review, but it had to have been at least a year ago or so. With Daniel Bryan fever spreading across the nation I got sucked back into the product again and have spent the last few weeks properly watching all of the shows I missed out on to have everything in the proper context and all that jazz. The fact that the fans basically had to tell the WWE who they wanted to be in the spotlight at Wrestlemania this year and they actually listened is great, and a testament to hard work and wrestling talent overcoming things like marketability and crossover appeal.

Pre-Show WWE Tag Team Title Fatal Four Way Elimination Match

The Uso's (Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso) © vs. The Real Americans (Cesaro/Jack Swagger) vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Los Matadores (Diego/Fernando)

Jimmy and Axel start us off with a headlock than Axel tags Ryback in for a big boot. Diego makes the blind tag and exchanges chops with Jimmy until Cesaro tags himself in. Diego hits an Asai moonsault and suddenly everyone gets thrown out to the floor where the Matadores wipe everyone out with stereo flying elbows. Axel sets up for a top rope move but the Matadores holster him up on their shoulders so El Torito can give him a flying body press off the top and take everyone out tower of doom style. Back inside Swagger eliminates the Matadores with the Patriot Lock at 5:44. Axel tags back in and hits a knee before tagging Ryback in who gives Jimmy (or Jey who knows) delayed brainbuster. Ryback hits a splash and Axel follows up after him with an axe handle for two. Ryback works a sleeper on Jimmy to build some heat and then misses a shoulder block in the corner allowing Jey to tag in and clean house with a Samoan drop on Axel. Swagger powerslams Jey but gets cut off on the Swagger bomb and Ryback cleans house on everyone in the ring. Cesaro tags in and gives Ryback a stiff European uppercut and the Neutralizer to eliminate Ryback and Axel at 11:45. The Uso's wipe out both Swagger and Cesaro outside with stereo planchas and the crowd is fired up already. Cesaro catches Jimmy off the top in a backbreaker for two. Swagger tags in but Jey wipes both of them out with a corkscrew moonsault. Swagger has the Patriot Lock on one of the Usos but eats a superkick while the other Uso is busy eating a European uppercut from Cesaro and bodies are flying everywhere. The Usos hit double superkicks on Cesaro and then follow up with a double flying splash off the top for the pin on Cesaro to retain at 16:13. After the match Cesaro turns on Swagger. splitting up yet another of the great tag teams the WWE had going for themselves and gives Jack the Big Swing to the crowd's pleasure. Typically red-hot action from the on-fire tag team division here and one of the better pre-show Wrestlemania matches I can remember ever seeing, did a good job of getting the crowd hot and ready for the show. ***1/4

We get a jazzy little opening video package showcasing Wrestlemania's history, the Yes! Movement, and of course the heritage of the city of New Orleans.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and John Bradshaw Layfield

HULKAMANIA IS RUNNING WILD BROTHER! What better way to kick off a celebration of Wrestlemania than with Hulk Hogan, the man who ensured the success of the inaugural show in the first place? Hogan seems to think he's back in the Pontiac Silverdome, but this is the Superdome brother. Hogan doesn't get to say much else before the glass shatters and Stone Cold Steve Austin himself makes his Wrestlemania return as well. Austin asks the crowd if they want him to open up a can of whoop ass on Hogan, and of course they do Steve, of course they do. Austin tells Hogan he appreciates what he's done for the business though and shakes his hand instead. Austin gets a 3:16 line in and then The Rock's music hits to have this whole segment come full circle. Rock and Austin embrace each other like old war buddies and it's a glorious sight to behold all three of these men in the ring at the same time. The Rock makes striking comparisons of Daniel Bryan to Steve Austin and John Cena to Hulk Hogan Rock does some comedy stuff before all three do their catch phrases and share some beers.

Winner Gets a Spot in the WWE Title Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H
Great video package for this one and you've got to give the WWE credit for recognizing that their initial plans of Batista and Orton wasn't going to fly at Wrestlemania and finally giving into the fans demands. What a novel concept. Triple H's entrance this year is perhaps his most decadent and over the top yet, complete with Viking music, armor, and a trio of slave girls as well as Steph introducing him. 75,000 people doing the YES! chant simultaneously is quite the sight. Credit to Steph for still being a great heel after all these years, all of her facial reactions and mannerisms are gold. Hunter offers his hand to start but Bryan kicks it away and rolls him up for two. Hunter rolls out of the ring and gets a pep talk from Steph. Back Bryan dropkicks out of a hammerlock and works a headlock, feeling out the veteran. Hunter targets the injured shoulder but eats a dropkick on the apron and Bryan catches him with a flying DDT off the apron to the floor. Bryan follows up on Hunter with a somersault plancha off the top and gets a two count back inside. Bryan gets crotched on the top rope and Hunter sends him back out to the floor and clears off the announcer's table. He sets Bryan up for the pedigree on the table, but Bryan fights out of it only for Hunter to slam his injured shoulder into the table. Back inside Hunter stars targeting the shoulder and arm again, working it over with knees and another hammerlock. Hunter misses a charge and is sent out to the floor again so Bryan attempts a tope but gets cut off by a right hand from The Game. Hunter follows up with a nice suplex on the ring apron, once again targeting the injury. Bryan barely beats the ten count back in and is met with a cross face chicken wing and then just a traditional cross face. Back on their feet they trade blows and Bryan backflips into a waistlock, but he reverses that into a pair of German suplexes. Triple H blocks a third one with a sick Tiger suplex right on the injured shoulder. When's the last time you saw Hunter bust out a move like that? Bryan counters a superplex attempt with a sunset flip powerbomb off the top. He blocks a Pedigree attempt and goes for the flying headbutt but Hunter moves and slaps the crossface back on Daniel. Bryan manages to counter that into the YES! lock but Hunter gets to the ropes and goes outside for a breather, but Bryan hits him with a pair of topes to the floor. Back inside he hits a missile dropkick on the Game and follows with a flurry of stiff kicks. Hunter counters a running knee with a spinebuster and then hits Bryan with the Pedigree, but Bryan kicks out! Hunter is frustrated now and just starts laying in closed fists on Bryan in the corner. He goes for another pedigree but Bryan counters into a nearfall. Bryan counters another pedigree attempt with a kick and then flips out of a back suplex and hits the running knee for the win and the title shot at 26:01! The crowd goes wild but after the match Hunter attacks Bryan with a steel chair to further injure his shoulder. This was an awesome opener, a hot match with great psychology and a classic story of the overconfident grizzled veteran getting his comeuppance from the hard working young rebellious babyface. Steph's heel mannerisms and the story really put this over the top from goodness to greatness. ****1/4

The Shield (Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns) vs. New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg/Billy Gunn)/Kane
The Shield's entrance cuts off the Outlaws usual pre-match mic work, which is what you want when they're playing heels. Reigns hits some big forearms on all three of his opponents and then hits the running boot on the apron on both of the Outlaws. Kane blocks a Superman punch but Rollins sends Kane to the floor and wipes him out with a plancha. The Outlaws try to regroup outside but Rollins and Ambrose take them out with topes while Reigns spears Kane inside. Reigns hits a spear on the Outlaws back inside and all three members of the Shield deliver a triple powerbomb to the Outlaws for the quick and decisive victory at 2:56. Just a dominant squash for The Shield and that's all it should have been, though I wish they could have come up with something better for them to do on the biggest show of the year than this. *

31 Man Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
(Featuring Alberto Del Rio, Big E, Big Show, Brad Maddox, Brodus Clay, Cesaro, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Darren Young, David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Fandango, Goldust, The Great Khali, Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, Justin Gabriel, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, The Miz, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Titus O'Neil, Tyson Kidd, Xavier Woods, Yoshi Tatsu, & Zack Ryder)
Winner gets themselves a big old shiny golden statue of Andre himself. Odd numbered battle royals give me the creeps. Yoshi is the first eliminated (racism!) and is then shortly followed by Maddox. Khali eliminates Clay with a chop but then gets dumped out by a group of guys himself. Ryder gets tossed out by 3MB and is followed shortly by Young. Henry eliminates McIntyre and Jinder at the same time and then tosses Slater onto them for good measure before getting dumped out himself by Big Show. Show eliminates Titus next. Santino eliminates Miz with the Cobra (hard to believe he was main eventing this show a few years ago) and Sandow joins him. Big E dumps Gabriel and Otunga out but then gets eliminated by Fandango of all people. Sheamus breaks up his dancing celebrations with the clubbing forearms in the ropes and then just shoves him off the apron and eliminates him. Show tosses Truth out next while Tyson Kidd, Goldust, and Cody Rhodes are all eliminated by Del Rio kicks. Mysterio hits the 619 on Del Rio and then tries it on Cesaro but gets eliminated by a stiff European uppercut. Kofi gets seemingly eliminated but his feet hit the steel steps and technically he's still in the match, playing off his Rumble appearances. He hands out some spin kicks to everyone in the ring but then gets caught in an extra long big swing from Cesaro. Cesaro walks right into a chokeslam from Show, who eats a Brogue Kick from Sheamus who then eliminates Kingston. Ziggler gets superkicked out of the match by Del Rio to huge heat bringing it down to Cesaro, Show, Sheamus, and Del Rio as our final four. Sheamus tries to counter out of Del Rio's arm lock but both men wind up tumbling over the top and to the floor, leaving it down to just Show and Cesaro. Cesaro can't eliminate the big man with just a clothesline and he nearly gets tossed himself. He eats a huge chop from Show after coming off the top but Cesaro feeds him an uppercut and then picks the big man up off his feet and body slams him out of the ring ala Hogan slamming Andre at Wrestlemania 3 to pick up the win and the trophy at 13:25. Crowd pops big for Cesaro's win and it gives him a nice Wrestlemania moment early into his career. Show shakes his hand afterwards in a show of respect. This one was fun once most of the clutter was removed. **1/2

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
Wyatt offers John a free shot to finish him at the bell but Cena isn't having any of that and works a headlock instead. This is all Bray in the early going as he gets as much heat as he can muster from this decidedly anti-Cena crowd before John gets fed up manhandles Wyatt in the corner. Cena does a good job of selling the psychological aspect of the feud with his facial expressions here, appearing to take the crowd's jeers to heart for once and slowly doubt himself. Dropkick from Cena is followed by a long sleeper hold from Bray. John breaks it up and gets freaked out by Bray doing the Linda Blair crabwalk (and really, who isn't freaked out by that?) and slammed to the mat. Spinning DDT out of the corner gets Cena a two count. Cena goes for his top rope legdrop but Bray catches him mid-air with a powerbomb in a great counter for two. Five Knuckle Shuffle from Cena and he looks for the AA but Wyatt counters with a nasty gutbuster. Bray plants Cena on the apron with a DDT and looks for a superplex back inside but Cena blocks it and then wipes out Luke Harper and Erick Rowan on the outside with a plancha! Cena grabs the steps and thinks about hitting Bray with them but his conscious gets the better of him and he doesn't go through with it. Back inside Bray misses the back seton and walks into the AA but Wyatt kicks out at two. Harper attacks Cena behind the ref's back and Wyatt gets his own near fall. Best sign of the night pops up in the background here: "If Cena Wins, We Wyatt". Cena spears Harper through the barricade outside the ring and back inside slaps the STF on Wyatt briefly but it's broken up and Bray manages to deliver the Sister Abigail for a near fall the crowd buys into. Wyatt grabs a chair...and then tosses it to Cena and begs him to become the monster he truly is and finish him with it. Cena hits Rowan with it instead and blocks another Sister Abigail attempt with the AA for the win at 22:25. This really wasn't the right crowd for the Cena babyface shtick, but you can't fault their effort as both men wrestled a good match that was made even better by the running story and Cena's layered character work. They probably should just have taken a chance and pulled the trigger on Bray here, but he doesn't lose anything from the loss. ***

All of this year's Hall of Fame inductees get their moment on the big stage as they do every year. Surreal to see Warrior so happy knowing now that he'd be dead less than 48 hours after this.

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
The build for this infamous match was one of the weakest in years, but it's to be expected after the great builds they had for the HBK/Taker and Hunter/Taker series of Mania battles. Even the Punk build was better than this, but I always go into things with an open mind so lets get to it. Taker starts off with some punches but Lesnar gives him a nice overhead belly-to-belly suplex and sends him to the floor. Back inside Undertaker sends Brock into the ring post. Lesnar blocks an Old School attempt and they tussle out to the floor. Undertaker gives Brock a leg drop on the apron and back inside he gives him snake eyes. Brock blocks a chokeslam attempt and goes for the F5 but Taker blocks that as well. Lesnar works over Taker's leg for a bit with stomps and a half Boston crab. They fight to the outside again and Lesnar sends Taker into the barricade. Back inside Brock gives him a suplex. The announcers are calling this almost like it's an MMA fight, talking about Lesnar setting the pace. Lesnar lays into Taker with a series of punches for a bit until Undertaker counters with a DDT. Undertaker finally puts together a string of offense with another snake eyes and a big boot followed by a chokeslam for a two count. He tries for a Tombstone but Lesnar counters with the F5 for his own near fall. Undertaker catches Brock with the Hell's Gate submission but Brock just lifts him up and slams him to the mat. Taker catches him in the hold again and Brock slams him even harder. You knew they were going to work some MMA styled spots into this one with Taker's love for the sport. Lesnar gets the Fujiwara armbar on Taker but he reverses it into one of his own. It should be noted that the crowd is dead for all of this. Lesnar counters Old School with the F5 for another near fall. Brock follows up with a pair of German suplexes and then works Taker over in the corner with punches until Undertaker counters into the Last Ride. Taker follows up with the Tombstone but Lesnar kicks out. Undertaker goes for another tombstone but Brock counters into another F5 and yes, gets the pin to end the streak at 25:13. The crowd is in complete shock at this, as was everyone, and the camera catches some incredible reactions from some of the fans at ringside. I'll just say that I understand why they wanted to book Lesnar over Taker here because of the shape Undertaker is apparently in, but they really fumbled this one. The streak is something that should just have been left alone as an accomplishment in Undertaker's career and there are other ways you can give Lesnar a rub from Undertaker instead of him flat out losing to him. As for the match itself, it was a plodding affair that definitely showed Undertaker's age, focused more on slow matwork and a few bursts of offense. It's not nearly as bad as some people might have you believe, but it obviously just didn't work as a match or an angle. **1/4

Vickie Guerrero Diva's Championship Invitational Match
AJ Lee vs. Aksana vs. Alicia Fox vs. Brie Bella vs. Cameron vs. Emma vs. Eva Marie vs. Layla vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella vs. Rosa Mendes vs. Summer Rae vs. Tamina Snuka
Ah yes the annual piss break match. Perhaps that will change next year with women like Paige and Charlotte being thrown into the mix. Usual chaos you'd expect from a match like this. They do a suplex spot where everyone covers one another for a two count. The announcers are more interested in talking about the streak ending than this match. Emma works the Tarantula on Summer Rae but then eats an axe kick from Alicia Fox. All the divas fall to the floor where the Bellas wipe them all out with stereo topes in a fun spot. Back in the ring it's the BATTLE OF THE BELLAS! That gets broken up quickly though. Tamina tries for the splash but Naomi sends her sailing. Aksana comes to meet her up top and Natalya comes over as well and they do the tower of doom powerbomb/superplex combo. Outside Natalya hits a nice spinning clothesline on Tamina. Back in the ring AJ puts Naomi into the Black Widow for the submission victory at 6:48. All of the divas have improved remarkably in the ring and this was a fun match even if the crowd didn't care. **1/2

Backstage Mean Gene Okerlund is joined by the Hulkster and then Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful, Paul Orndorff! I can't even remember the last time we saw Orndorff, but I'm pretty sure it was the 80s. Orndorff says every week of his life someone brings up the fact that he lost the first Wrestlemania main event and here comes Mr. T to back up Hulk and Pat Patterson in a referee's shirt for some bizarre reason. Hogan and Orndorff shake hands and bury the hatchet after all the years, and even Piper reluctantly shakes T's hand.

We get a shot of all the legends in the audience tonight, and when the camera pans to Bob Backlund he seems to be locked in an intense battle of trying to get something out of his teeth with his tongue.

WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
Randy Orton © vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan
Whatever terrible Jersey Shore radio rock band that does Orton's theme music is here to perform it live for him for some reason. Batista tries for a Batista bomb right at the bell on Bryan but he counters and sends him to the floor. Orton cuts off some kicks from Bryan and just like Hunter targets Bryan's injured shoulder. Orton cuts in and gives Batista a backbreaker before getting clotheslined out of the ring himself. Batista slams Orton into the announcer's table and barricade while the crowd generally shits on them both. Orton back drops Batista onto the steps and then grabs Bryan and slams him into the barricade. Randy gives Batista a back suplex onto the barricade and soaks up some heat. Back inside Orton gets a two count and then both men are met with a double missile dropkick from Bryan. Bryan takes out Batista with a head kick and tries one on Orton but Randy counters into a powerslam for a near fall. Bryan hits a flurry of running kicks into both men in opposite corners and then gives Randy a Frankensteiner off the top. Batista suplexes Bryan out of the ring and then gets superplexed off the top from Orton. Bryan has recovered by then and hits a flying headbutt then follows up with a crossface on Orton when suddenly Triple H and Stephanie McMahon make their way to ringside through the crowd and pull the referee out of the match. They bring in their own personal official, Scott Armstrong, playing off the Bryan/Orton match at Night of Champions back in September which is a brilliant little bit of psychology to bring into the match but he can't get a fast count on Bryan down in time. Bryan kicks Armstrong to the floor and then wipes out Scott, Hunter, and Steph with a big tope to pop the crowd. Triple H pulls out a sledgehammer now but Bryan grabs it from him and cleans his clock with it. He rolls up Batista for a hot near fall and the regular referee is back with us now. Orton tosses Bryan into the barricade outside and then double teams Daniel with Batista for a bit as the McMahon family exits the ringside area. Orton slams the steel steps into Bryan's injured shoulder and both Orton and Batista are fed up now and strip the regular and Spanish commentary tables clean. Orton sets up the steel steps next to the tables and Batista delivers a Batista Bomb to Bryan right into an RKO through the announcer's table from Orton! Great spot there. They bring out the EMTs to put Bryan onto a stretcher while Batista works over Orton in total control. Orton fights back with a DDT from the apron and the crowd goes nuts as Bryan pulls himself off the stretcher and begins crawling back to the ring! Orton cuts him off with the steel steps though and tosses his limp body back into the ring as the crowd is back alive now. Orton looks for the RKO but Bryan counters into the YES! lock briefly until Batista breaks it up. Bryan slaps the hold on Batista for a bit as well but that's broken up too. Batista blocks an RKO from Orton and goes for a spear but Orton leap frogs him and he winds up taking out Bryan instead before turning around right into the RKO for a two count. Orton sets up for the punt but Bryan hits the flying knee on him instead. Batista looks to steal Bryan's pin attempt but only gets two. Batista Bomb on Orton but Bryan hits him with the flying knee out of nowhere and then slaps on the YES! Lock and Batista taps to give Bryan the title at 23:20! Bryan celebrates with pyro and confetti and all that jazz as the crowd goes ballistic and everyone is sent home happy. They don't catch it on the PPV broadcast but moments after we go off the air Bryan thanks the now deceased young "Stone Cusher" Connor Michalek at ringside with a hug and some heartfelt words in one of the classiest things a champ has ever done afterwards. This one started off a bit slow but the run-ins and double-team psychology actually helped elevate it and the crowd was rocking for all the near falls for the home stretch. Bryan gets his deserved moment in the sun in another great match to cap off the night. ****

Bottom Line: This was definitely a show where they had to give the fans what they wanted or there would have been hell to pay, but fortunately enough they actually listened to the audience and put over Daniel Bryan in a major way with this show. Solid recommendation on this one because of the great opening and closing matches, but the stuff in the middle isn't bad either for the most part. Not one of the greatest Wrestlemania's of all time like I've seen some people say, but one of the better ones for sure.

Rating: 8.0

Back in the Swing of Things

2014-04-23T21:23:00.003-07:00

I know, I know, this is probably the fourth post in the last year and a half where I claim to be back into wrestling and rating again. Well, fuck it, I'm back again. And I'm super serial this time. Already catching up on a lot of WWE stuff I missed out on and dipping my toes back into puro and other stuff. Once I'm all caught up rating stuff I've missed from my favorite promotions I might even start actually reviewing again. We'll see how things go. For now, here's a bunch of ratings I've added to the blog over the past few weeks, including a new five star match!

WWE
9/24/79 Bob Backlund vs. Pat Patterson (Cage) - ***1/2
1/18/98 Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker (Casket) - ***1/2
2/15/98 TAKA Michinoku vs. Pantera - ***
2/15/98 Steve Austin/Owen Hart/Cactus Jack/Terry Funk vs. Triple H/Road Dogg/Billy Gunn/Savio Vega (Non-Sanctioned) - ***1/2
6/5/13 Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro - ***1/4
6/13/13 Antonio Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn - ***
6/14/13 Randy Orton/Daniel Bryan/Kane vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns - ***
6/24/13 Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***
6/24/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (Street Fight) - ***1/2
6/26/13 Chris Jericho vs. Cody Rhodes - ***
7/1/13 John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***
7/8/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus - ***1/2
7/12/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Christian - ***1/4
7/15/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***1/4
7/15/13 Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2
7/22/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Antonio Cesaro - ***3/4
7/29/13 Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***
8/2/13 Christian vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton - ***1/4
8/9/13 Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam - ***
8/9/13 Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***1/4
8/14/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Cody Rhodes - ***
8/16/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett (No DQ) - ***1/4
8/21/13 Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro (2/3 Falls) - ***1/2
8/30/13 Antonio Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***
9/4/13 Sami Zayn vs. Jack Swagger - ***1/4
9/6/13 Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam - ***
9/11/13 Kofi Kingston vs. Antonio Cesaro - ***
10/4/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***1/4
10/6/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Rob Van Dam (Hardcore) - ***
10/6/13 Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns - ***1/2
10/6/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton - ***
10/14/13 Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns (No DQ) - ***3/4
10/16/13 Bo Dallas vs. Sami Zayn - ***1/2
10/16/13 Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***1/4
10/18/13 Daniel Bryan/Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns - ***
10/21/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Dean Ambrose - ***
10/27/13 Cody Rhodes/Goldust vs. Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns vs. Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso - ****
10/27/13 Randy Orton vs. Daniel Bryan (Hell in a Cell) - ***1/4
10/28/13 John Cena vs. Damien Sandow - ***

WCW
8/19/96 Dean Malenko vs. Lord Steven Regal - ***1/4

ROH
3/29/14 AJ Styles vs. Michael Elgin - ****

NJPW
2/9/84 Antonio Inoki/Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Akira Maeda vs. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Animal Hamaguchi - ***
7/29/12 Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki - ***3/4
10/8/12 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki - ****1/2
4/7/13 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - ****3/4
8/4/13 Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ***3/4

PWG
10/22/11 EL Generico vs. Kevin Steen (Ladder) - ****1/4
7/21/12 Player Uno/Player Dos vs. Kyle O'Reilly/Adam Cole vs. Nick Jackson/Matt Jackson (Ladder) - *****
12/1/12 Adam Cole vs. Kevin Steen (Guerrilla Warfare) - ****1/4

WWE Extreme Rules 2013 and TNA Turning Point 2012 Ratings

2013-08-28T18:46:00.004-07:00

Yep, I'm finally back on the saddle of watching pro-wrasslin' on a more regular basis again, so I'm finally catching up. Slow but steady wins the race, right? Slowly catching up on WWE and taking chunks into the backlog of TNA PPVs I've missed. Stay tuned, I shall be back with a vengeance this fall (no, really, this time I will!)

WWE Extreme Rules 2013
Randy Orton vs. Big Show (Extreme Rules) - ***
John Cena vs. Ryback (Last Man Standing) - ***1/2
Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H (Cage) - ***1/4

TNA Turning Point 2012
Samoa Joe vs. Magnus (No DQ) - ***
Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez vs. Christopher Daniels/Kazarian - ***
AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode vs. James Storm - ***1/4
Jeff Hardy vs. Austin Aries (Ladder) - ***3/4

Wrestlemania 29 Ratings and future

2013-08-14T17:56:00.005-07:00

Finally getting back into the swing of things, still lots of chaos in the coming weeks as I'm officially moving to Boston but I got around to seeing Wrestlemania finally last night and have the next few PPVs lined up, so I'll try to catch myself up atleast as far as ratings go for 2013 so far. Have some ratings.

Wrestlemania 29
The SHIELD vs. Randy Orton/Sheamus/Big Show - **1/2
Mark Henry vs. Ryback - **
Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler/Big E Langston - **1/4
Fandango vs. Chris Jericho - **3/4
Undertaker vs. CM Punk - ****
Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar (No Holds Barred) - ***1/4
John Cena vs. The Rock - ***1/2

Probably going to be alot of neglect on the blog this early fall, atleast until I get enough free time to catch up on/watch the goings on in WWE, TNA, and maybe even ROH. But this winter I should have plenty of time to finally catch my breath and start doing reviews again.

Until next time, your humble scribe,
Colin Rinehart

Boston Strong

2013-04-24T20:53:00.001-07:00

Well folks, I was planning on reviewing Wrestlemania 29 a few weeks back as my big huzzah and comeback to the world of writing reviews again. Then the Boston Marathon bombings happened. Thankfully none of my family or friends in the Boston area were hurt, but as you might imagine, it put a bit of a damper on anything entertainment-related. So all apologies folks but the Wrestlemania 29 Review won't be up for atleast another week or two (although I should finally have all the ratings done and updated for the show on the blog by later this week). Lots of things going on in my world right now that take precedence over my loyal duties as your trusted wrestling analyst and blogger unfortunately though, so for the time being, the blog is back on a kind of hiatus atleast until further notice, when I can sort things out, get in touch with certain loved ones, figure out plans, and all in all begin the healing process.

Thanks for understanding everybody. Be safe, be happy, and always fight for what's right. Until next time, signing out, X.

Pre-Mania Update!

2013-03-28T20:36:00.001-07:00

So the whole "this is going to be the banner year for the blog!" thing isn't really feasible at least until my living situation is fixated as I plan to move to Boston in the fall with my girlfriend/future fiance. I'll definitely do a Wrestlemania review for old times sake, but don't expect anything in the way of reviews for awhile, atleast until the summer. I will however still continue to DVR all of the WWE, TNA, and ROH programming and I promise to keep up to date with ratings for both TV shows and PPVs going forward. Here's a massive update of ratings of stuff I've watched in the last few weeks. It's a great time to be a wrestling fan, innit?

1/25/13 Alberto Del Rio/Kane/Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show/Cody Rhodes/Damien Sandow (Elimination) - ***
1/27/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show (Last Man Standing) - ***1/4
1/27/13 Royal Rumble Match - ***3/4
1/27/13 The Rock vs. CM Punk - ****1/4
1/28/13 Randy Orton vs. Antonio Cesaro - ***
2/1/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***
2/4/13 CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2
2/6/13 Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes - ***1/4
2/11/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho - ***1/2
2/13/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***3/4
2/17/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show - ***
2/17/13 Jack Swagger vs. Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane vs. Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry (Elimination Chamber) - ****
2/17/13 John Cena/Sheamus/Ryback vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns - ***1/4
2/17/13 The Rock vs. CM Punk - ***3/4
2/18/13 Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***
2/18/13 Chris Jericho/Sheamus/Ryback vs. Seth Rollins/Dean Ambrose/Roman Reigns - ***
2/25/13 John Cena vs. CM Punk - ****3/4
3/1/13 Alberto Del Rio vs. Damien Sandow - ***
3/2/13 Antonio Cesaro vs. Justin Gabriel - ***
3/4/13 CM Punk vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Big Show - ***
3/6/13 Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett - ***
3/6/13 Sin Cara vs. Antonio Cesaro - ***
3/8/13 Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***3/4
3/11/13 Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler - ***3/4

Phew! Been a hell of a few months, hasn't it? I haven't been this happy with the WWE's product since I was a kid during the Attitude Era. Could a new neo-Attitude Era be on the cusp? Who knows! Until Wrestlemania-time, I'm your most humble wrestling journalist/reviewer/blogger/radical in arms signing off and saying good night and good luck!

It's Alive!!!

2013-01-13T14:20:00.001-08:00

No, not a reanimated corpse monster (though I've been called worse), rather, this blog still is! I know, some of you must be wondering where the hell I've been for the last 4 months or so. Long story short, lots of upheaval and personal changes going on in my life over this past fall/early winter and between a new girlfriend, work, and school I just simply haven't had the time for much wrestling reviewing. I do plan on returning to my monthly TNA PPV reviews for 411mania soon so stay on the look-out for that, and while I haven't kept up with the last few PPVs from the big two companies, I have been watching the TV shows diligently and rating matches accordingly, so there is SOME new content on here over the last few months. In the coming month I plan on catching up with all of the WWE, TNA, and hopefully even ROH PPVs (and iPPVs) so never fear wrestling fans, I am in fact still alive, and so is this blog. Also, if you're into comics or music (what young male isn't?) stay on the look-out for contributions to a local blog by the name of xx0011 by yours truly (mainly comics and music reviews).

Thanks to everyone who still gives hits to this humble little blog of mine, 2013 is going to be one of the biggest, best years this blog has seen since it's creation, that my friends, is a promise!

TNA No Surrender 2012

2012-09-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

TNA No Surrender 2012
September 9th, 2012
Impact Wrestling Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Well it's that time of the month again---yep, time for more coverage of TNA PPVs on 411. With the promotion on a bit of a creative hot streak the last few months the company has seemingly become the smark darling again that it once was years ago, but just how long can the goodwill last? We'll see as tonight's show, while solid enough looking on paper, was very poorly hyped and is clearly a stopgap or "filler" show before the big one next month, Bound for Glory. All that said, the company has delivered big on it's last few PPVs and I'm hoping tonight continues that trend. Let's do this thing.

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Taz

Bound For Glory Series Semi-Final Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe
Crazy how good booking has turned Joe from a pushover midcard act to badass main eventer again, isn't it? Joe's arm is bothering him early dating back to a steel chair attack from Magnus on Impact this past week. Hardy headscissors Joe out of the ring but Joe drags him out after him and socks him with a right hand. Jeff teases the poetry in motion off the steel steps but seeing Joe avoiding the move Hardy re-routes himself to the apron to hit the move instead. Back inside Joe hits an atomic drop/big boot combo before finishing with a back senton for our first near fall. Running spinkick in the corner from Joe. Joe works a chinlock and then sends Hardy to the floor, where he wipes him out with a big tope, clutching his sore arm in the process. Back inside Joe gets a two count. Hardy counters with some offense of his own in an atomic drop and running clothesline. Joe misses a back senton and Hardy hits a big dropkick. Whisper in the Wind out of the corner gets Hardy a close near fall. Hardy makes the silly mistake of charging Joe in the corner and he's slammed to the mat like thousands before him. Joe looks to set up a superplex but Jeff counters into a Twist of Fate! Hardy goes up for the Swanton but Joe blocks it and tries for the muscle buster. Hardy blocks that and counters into the same armbar he beat Joe with last Thursday, but Joe counters into a cradle that Hardy then counters into a cradle of his own for the win at 12:36. I would have preferred to see Joe win here to continue my dream of seeing the Aries/Joe feud renewed in TNA, but the match itself was hot stuff with bot guys working hard and busting out all the swank counters you expect. Great kick-start to the show. ***1/2

Backstage Jeremy Borash is with James Storm, who explains that he chose Bully Ray as his opponent tonight because last year they faced off in the BFG series and he couldn't get the job done and tonight he wants to right that wrong by defeating Ray.

Bound For Glory Series Semi-Finals Match
Bully Ray vs. James Storm
This is in fact a rematch from last year's No Surrender and BFG series, which Ray won. Ray gets up in Storm's face so the cowboy spits in his face and Ray throws a hissy fit outside the ring, slamming a fan's sign into the ring repeatedly in anger. Ray eats a few right hands from Storm and stalls some more. Ray rakes the eyes back inside and slams Storm into a few corners. Storm backdrops him though for a two count. Storm goes for the Last Call superkick but misses and Ray takes the upper hand with a big bear hug. Ray hits a big suplex then pounds away on Storm in the corner with right hands.Storm powerbombs Ray right ouf of the corner and both men wind up trading punches on their knees. Storm hits a spinkick in the corner and gets a two count off a flying cross body from the top rope. Ray hits a side-slam for his own near fall. Storm hits an enziguri but then accidentally wipes out the ref with a flying forearm. Bully hits a cheap shot and tries for a cover with a new ref but only gets a two count. He misses the back senton off the top rope and when Storm gets to his feet he wipes out the second ref with another forearm. Ray awakens the first ref and Storm hits the Last Call superkick and seemingly has the win, but Ray takes out the ref in the process and this all leads to Bobby Roode running out to the ring and smashing a beer bottle over Storm's head, allowing Ray to cover him finally for the pin to advance at 13:56. There was a solid match here mostly, but the beginning and end dragged it down a bit. Lots of stalling followed by a cliched ref-crazy finish, but the middle portion of the match was quite good. **3/4

Brooke Tessmacher is backstage to explain to JB that she needed to face Tara tonight to prove to herself that she can defeat her longtime mentor and friend.

TNA Knockouts Title Match
Miss Tessmacher © vs. Tara
The former Tiffany from WWE is our special referee again. Basic lock-up to start with each women cautiously applying holds and countering out of them. Tessmacher takes a quick breather and Tara schoolgirls her for a two count, apparently bringing out Tessmacher's nasty side as she dishes out a few arm-drags. Tessmacher hits a clothesline out of te corner and tries to rally the crowd but it's piss-break time for most. Tara blocks a move with an elbow and then hits a tilt-a-whirl slam from te death valley driver position. She lifts Tessmacher to the top turnbuckle and superplexes her off for a two count. Tara is stunned that doesn't put her away so she goes for the Widow's Peak but Tessmacher counters into a roll-up to retain at 6:37. This was actually pretty good by Knockouts standards, Tara helped carry the load for most of the match but Tessmacher didn't look terrible either, and the "teacher vs. student" trope is a classic story that's hard to mess up. **1/4

Backstage Hulk Hogan berates a handcuffed Bobby Roode who is under arrest for his actions tonight apparently.

Austin Aries comes out to te ring in street clothes and tells us that there will be no capes and fancy clothes tonight for him (or as he bluntly puts it "none of that bullshit"). This isn't a wrestling match, it's a FIGHT and Aries is ready to take him on with no rules and no referee. Aries calls out the Aces & 8's again. One of the henchmen in a mask comes out to the ring and Aries nails him with a huge flying tope. He pummels away at the masked man and then slides him into the ring to kick and punch the crap out of him in the corner. Aries tries to rip off the mask but gets low blowed and dumped to the floor. Lots of heat for the Aces and 8's here, which is virtually impossible to get from the Impact Zone. The masked man goes to work on Aries outside before tossing him into the ring and calmly beating him down. The masked man goes for a big powerbomb but Aries pulls out a bag of flour or powder and blinds the big man with it. Aries hits the running dropkick in the corner and then a high cross-body off the top to the floor wipes out the villain. Aries goes to the top again but this time the masked man sends him crashing to the floor. The masked man grabs a steel chair but he misses his shot at Aries and the champ slugs him in the mouth with a roll of quarters in his hand and then drops the big man with one of the biggest brainbusters I've ever seen.

Aries goes to unmask the man and the entire Aces and 8's crew comes out to make the save and jump Aries. This clears out the entire locker room now and it's total fucking chaos as everyone on the roster is arm-in-arm trying to fight off the common enemy of the Aces and 8's. A small "TNA!" chant even starts up for the first time in seemingly years. Finally Hulk Hogan walks out and the Aces and 8's take off, clearing out of the Impact Zone. Hogan demands security lock down every door in the building and that the police are to be called. Jeff Hardy, who appears to have been injured during the fracas, limps off with some of the trainers backstage as Aries and Ray share a mutual fist-bump of respect.

This entire segment was great, creative, original and best of all it drew me into the angle. This reminded me of something you might see during the glory days of WCW and WWF in the early Attitude Era days, it felt real and unscripted and totally fresh. I was skeptical of this segment when it became clear it wasn't going to be an official "match", but TNA turned it into the best segment of the show so far. Kudos.

TNA X-Division Title Match
Zema Ion © vs. Sonjay Dutt
There has been absolutely zero hype or build to this match, but whatever, these two are talented enough to improvise something good I'm sure. Ion and Dutt start off by trading holds but Dutt quickly clotheslines the champ to the floor. Springboard wristlock by Sonjay followed by a hurricanrana to the floor as Taz recants a tale of watching Dutt for the first time years ago on a hotel TV. Another hurricanrana on the floor by Sonjay and back inside he springboards right into Zema's knee, which demolishes Dutt's lower abdomen. Ion lays in some chops and snaps off a suplex for two. Outside we see the police have arrived to the arena just as Ion hits the backflip into a kneebreaker spot of his on Dutt. Dutt manages another nifty hurricanrana counter that sends Zema to the floor, but Ion cuts off his tope attempt. Dutt hands out some clotheslines and a big Yakuza kick before hitting a Frankensteiner off the top rope on the champ and following it with a moonsault for a two count. Dutt and Ion meet at the top rope where Dutt front-suplexes Ion right out to the floor before hitting a beautiful running moonsault off the second turnbuckle to the floor. Springboard splash from Sonjay back in the ring gets a hot two count. Dutt tries for the Electric Chair but gets powerbombed and then Ion puts in a nasty submission with Dutt's arms both grapevined around Ion's body. Sonjay lures Ion in for the Sliced Bread #2 then he rolls through a moonsault attempt and trades crazy counter cradles with the champ. Both men try for a cradle and bridge out and Ion winds up flapjacking Dutt in a nasty slam that finishes it and gives Ion the win at 11:34. This one started off slow as the crowd was drained from the last segment but both guys worked hard enough to get the match over with sheer willpower and by the last five minutes the crowd was hot for every near fall and chanting for more. Spectacularly solid title defense by Ion and Dutt looks just as great as he ever did. ***1/2

Outside Hogan tells the cops that he wants anyone who tries to get in or out to be beaten and arrested. Kinky. Elsewhere Magnus interrupts JB's update on Jeff Hardy's injury to tell us he's got RVD's number.

Rob Van Dam vs. Magnus
This match came out of Magnus reacting very poorly to losing to RVD in an earlier BFG series match and attacked RVD incessantly since. Magnus starts us off with a nice wristlock and a drop toehold but RVD feeds him a big kick and he slumps out to the floor. Rob sets Magnus up for the legdrop on the guardrail spot but nobody's home when RVD attempts it and he crashes nastily into the steel. Magnus slides him back inside and goes to work on Rob's lower body and legs in a logical move. Decent heat for Magnus as he applies the Texas cloverleaf submission on Van Dam. Van Dam escapes to the floor but back inside Magnus hits him with a big elbow drop from the top rope. Finally RVD fires off a spinning heel kick to try and cut off the momentum of Magnus. RVD hits the Rolling Thunder moments later for a two count. RVD misses a springboard kick but he launches Magnus off the top rope. Rob unleashes a pair of spinkicks and then finishes Magus with the Five Star Frog Splash at 10:07. Solid enough match as Magnus has really improved by leaps and bounds since he first arrived with the British Invasion, but I don't see why they wouldn't try and give Magnus a rub here with a win, even a tainted one, instead of just giving RVD another meaningless win. Good, but nothing you can't see on TV every week for free. **3/4

Backstage Christopher Daniels and Kazarian are upset that they aren't getting the proper respect they deserve what with having to defend the titles twice in two days, Claire Lynch defiling their good names, and Kaz not even being included in the BFG series. Daniels then just goes off on a wild rant about Romans and throws in biblical references by referring to himself and Kaz as the "Rocks of Gibraltar" of TNA. Daniels continues to be one of the most underrated guys on the mic in the business, this was a great old school heel promo.

TNA Tag Team Title Match
Christopher Daniels/Kazarian © vs. AJ Styles/Kurt Angle
Note the emphasis on these being the world tag team titles of the world as Daniels puts it. This could be seen as a re-match from their great Slammiversary title match, and though a bit lazy it's solid booking because you know these four will deliver every time together. Angle (sporting some bandaging on his upper leg and probably wrestling injured for the ten thousandth time) works over Daniels in the corner before tagging in AJ for a double clothesline. Daniels tags out to Kaz who eats a spinning neckbreaker and a powerful brainbuster from Styles. Angle tags back in and he and AJ send Kaz back to the mat with a huge back body drop. Kaz manages to break up the challenger's momentum with a monkey flip and tags out to Daniels. The champs hit some nifty double team leap-frog/leg drop combos to put over their unity and Styles is our babyface in peril tonight of course. AJ teases a tag but Kaz cuts him off and Daniels and Kaz go really old school by doing the old "tag out behind the ref's back while the babyface complains" bit as Daniels slaps on a sleeper on Styles. Finally Styles gets te ot tag and Angle explodes with SUPLEXES EVERYWHERE. First Daniels gets a suplex then Kaz gets two thirds of the Rolling German suplexes, but while Angle belly-to-belly suplexes Daniels Kaz comes in with a codebreaker on the Olympian. The champs hit a tandem leg and elbow drop combo on Angle but that won't put the gold medalist away silly. Kaz goes to the top for a moonsault but instead Angle runs up behind him and gives him an Angle Slam off the top rope. AJ tags in now and hits a suplex/backbreaker combo on Daniels. AJ hits the moonsault into reverse DDT spot but then he gets absolutely BLASTED by a nasty drop-sault from Kaz. Never fear because Angle gets the tag and frog-splashes Daniels off the top before handing out Angle Slams to both of the tag team champions. Angle puts on the ankle lock on Daniels but Kaz breaks it up with an enziguri. Styles gets monkey flipped to Daniels but turns it into a hurricanrana in mid-air in a neat spot before nailing Kaz with the pele. Angle applies the ankle lock to Daniels on the apron wile Styles hits the springboard 450 splash on Kaz, who somehow kicks out on the hottest near fall of the evening. Daniels gets dumped to the floor and now it's AJ and Kaz on the top rope as Kaz delivers the Spanish freaking Fly of all things! Angle gets in to break up any pin attempt though and wipes out Daniels again. AJ looks for the Styles Clash but Daniels throws his martini that was placed at ringside into Style's face and Kaz rolls up AJ for the cheap pin at 19:31. This was actually even better than their first encounter as we had the added backstory and more time to develop things here and god damn did they deliver in spades as all four men were busting out new and innovative double-team moves everywhere. This was absolutely fantastic, the best American tag team match I've seen this year certainly. ****

Outside the arena Hulk tells the cops not to let anyone interfere or get into the arena or ring during our most important main event. It's been awhile since a wrestling company actually gave me a sense of atmosphere and foreboding, but kudos to TNA again tonight with these segments. Elsewere backstage Ray promises to win the BFG series and go on to win the World title from Ray at Bound For Glory. He's not just bound for glory, he's destined for greatness. Considering his newly signed contract, I'm not quite sure I can disagree with him.

The BFG Series Finals match is ready to be our main event, but Jeff Hardy is injured and instead of Jeff out comes Hulk Hogan. He's a bit suspicious of Ray's intentions but Ray sticks to his story of hating the Aces and 8's but that he should still win because Jeff can't compete. Hogan says if he wants to do this the right way then he should wait until next Thursday to face Jeff Hardy in the finals. Ray doesn't seem too opposed to the idea but suddenly out comes Jeff Hardy, clearly wounded, but still willing to fight. The subtle storytelling touches here of teasing a babyface turn for Ray these last few weeks in the
midst of the Aces and 8's angle is delicious, because you really could see Ray going either way in this angle and in his face or heel status after this. What's this, complexity to our wrestler's motivations? Whoda thunk it?

Bound For Glory Series Finals Match
Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy
Ray extends his fist for a fist-bump of respect as the bell rings. Jeff tries for a sleeper but can't even hold onto it so Ray sends him to the corner and works over his arm a bit. The commentators put over Ray as just doing what he has to do to advance in this business. Jeff goes outside for a count and back inside Ray stomps him mercilessly before Jeff bails again for a breather. Back inside Ray goes back to work on Hardy's arm, but Jeff kicks out on sheer adrenaline. Bully continues the beatdown, stomping on Hardy in the corner and unwrapping his bandages. Suddenly Jeff fights through the pain and hits the Twist of Fate out of nowhere, followed by the Swanton bomb, but Ray kicks out at two! Ray sends Jeff shoulder-first into the corner and hits the Bubba Bomb for a close two count. Jeff hits the Whisper in the Wind suddenly out of nowhere for his own two count. Jeff misses a second Whisper in the Wind and eats the Bubba Cutter but Hardy manages to still kick out. He hits another Twist of Fate but misses the follow-up Swanton and eats the Bubba Cutter again, and again Jeff kicks out. Jeff is pissed now and hits not one but TWO Twist of Fates and he goes to the top but it takes him too long so Bully meets him up there. Jeff kicks him off though and finally nails the Swanton for a final time to win the match and the Bound for Glory series at 12:23. This one took a bit to get going and it started off giving you the implication that Bully would win quickly but begrudgingly and earn the fans respect in a way, but instead they did a total 360 mid-match and had Jeff make the whole babyface comeback and win the BFG series clean to justify his redemption story. Solid story told in the match and though it was a bit finisher-heavy, it served it's purpose well and ended the show on a high note. ***

We go off the air with Jeff Hardy celebrating his victory.

Bottom Line: I came into this show with very little expectations, seeing this as a stopgap or filler show before BFG, complete with a last-minute announced card and all. I came out of it pumped up and excited to watch Impact this week and looking very much forward to Bound for Glory next month and feeling like I got my money's worth on the show itself with solid action through-out. Throw in a possible MOTYC tag team match, a crazy segment that reeled me into the Aces and Eight's angle, and the general strength and unpredictability (in a good, non-Russo way) of this entire show and I can say this was a pleasant and rewarding surprise tonight. Another winner from TNA, who continues their hot streak with another very good show. Easy Thumbs Up.

Score: 8.5/10

TNA Hardcore Justice 2012

2012-08-12T20:05:00.003-07:00

TNA Hardcore Justice 2012
August 12th, 2012
Impact Wrestling Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to another edition of 411's live TNA PPV coverage with your always humble host, yours truly. We're a month removed from one of the better TNA PPVs in recent memory and the crowning of a new, somewhat unlikely World champion in Austin Aries and everything from now until October is all about the build for Bound for Glory. With the new Aces and 8's faction running roughshod over the roster and Hardcore Justice's reputation for gimmick matches we can surely expect an interesting show tonight. So sit back, keep your finger near that refresh button, and enjoy the play-by-play and analysis.

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Taz

Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez vs. Kid Kash/Gunner
Nice choice for the opener. I like the pairing of Gunner and Kash too, give 'em a Briscoes-lite gimmick and they could be quite entertaining. The heels jump the faces before the bell can even ring and we're not three seconds into the match before Chavo is pulling out the Three Amigoes on Kash and looking for the frog splash. Gunner trips him up though and the heels trade quick tags, working Chavo over in their corner. Crowd is vocally behind Chavo from the start here and the heels are doing good work of getting heat. The heels take their time to build heat with Chavo in their corner, trading tags and grinding him into the mat with submissions. Chavo busts out an Electric Chair on Gunner and nearly is able to get the tag but Kash cuts him off again before he can. Chavo leaps onto the top rope from a slingshot attempt, backflips out of the corner, and clotheslines Kash in a neat moment which finally gives him enough time to get the hot tag to Super Mex. Mex cleans house on the heels and then delivers a sick Dominator to Kash for a two count. He clotheslines Gunner out of the ring and then wipes him out on the floor with a huge suicide dive. Chavo actually manages to tag Hernandez while he's soaring in mid air though, and he climbs to the top rope and leaps off to finish Kash off with the Frog Splash for the victory at 9:32. Mostly formula stuff but that's all it really needed to be, Chavo and Hernandez both looked good and the crowd was hot all the way through, solid opener. **3/4

Bound For Glory Series Falls Count Anywhere Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Pope D'Angelo Dinero vs. Magnus vs. Mr. Anderson
Pope gets jumped by Aces & Eight's backstage during his entrance...so I guess he's not competing tonight. This is one of three four-way (or three way now I guess) matches for 20 BFG Series points tonight. RVD does his usual showboating to start and Magnus sends him face-first into the steel steps out of the ring for his cockiness. Magnus is only able to fire off a clothesline before RVD returns to the ring to try and monkey flip one man onto the other. RVD gets sent off the apron into the steel guardrail while trying to set up Anderson for his leg-drop spot and all three men are brawling on the floor now. Anderson grabs a chair to DDT Magnus on it but gets shoved back-first onto it instead. Anderson gives Magnus a gourdbuster up the ramp onto the guardrail and RVD comes running up to set Anderson up on the guard rail and dive off the ramp with his signature legdrop in a sick spot. These guys are going hard early. Magnus tries a sharpshooter on the ramp on RVD but Anderson breaks it up and all three men find their way back into the ring again. All three men tease going for the Tower of Doom spot but Anderson sends Magnus out of the ring and winds up eating the Frog Splash instead for a two count (cool to finally see someone block the Tower of Doom spot). Magnus grabs RVD and suplexes him nastily onto the rampway then kindly asks for a "fucking chair" from a fan. Of course bringing a chair into a fight with RVD is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy and he spin-kicks the chair right back into his face to pick up the somewhat surprising pin and 20 points at 9:06. I'm a bit surprised this didn't get more time to develop, but I guess that explains why they were so quick to start going for the spots in this one. Magnus didn't look out of place at all with two relative main eventers, which has to be seen as a success. Fun stuff. ***

Backstage JB informs us that Aces and Eights are nowhere to be found, those dastardly villains. Madison Rayne joins him to insure us that Miss Tessmacher doesn't stand a chance tonight.

TV Title Match
Devon © vs. Kazarian
Fingers crossed for a title change here. Kaz stalls to start and gets tossed back into the ring for it. Backdrop from Devon and he sends Kaz out of the ring for a refreshing beverage to the skull. Devon sends Kaz into the steps and back in the ring Kaz wants to shake his hand, but Devon will have none of that. Finally Kaz gets a finger to the eyes and is able to mount some offense. Kaz hits a sick leg lariat and starts to get a bit cocky, so Devon sets him straight with knife edge chops. Devon hits a flying shoulder-block for a two count and then hits a nasty running neckbreaker out of the corner. Crucifix pin gets Kaz his own near fall and he tries for the Fade to Black, but Devon blocks it and hits the spinebuster to retain at 8:33. One of the better TV title matches in recent memory thanks to Kaz's involvement, and I'll give Devon credit for holding his own here tonight, but man, at the end of the day, I still can't take Devon Dudley seriously as a singles champ. **1/4

TNA Knockouts Title Match
Miss Tessmacher © vs. Madison Rayne
Earl Hebner is our ref of course, lets see if Rayne's wiley womanly antics can persuade him to give her favor tonight. Brooke takes Rayne into the corner but has to break. Madison stalls for a moment and then works over Tessmacher in the corner with her boot. Butterfly suplex from Rayne gets her a two count. Tessmacher comes off the top with a haggard looking elbow drop but Rayne gets the ropebreak. Tessmacher doesn't see the ropebreak though and argues with Earl, which gives Rayne enough time to roll her up from behind and steal the pin and title with her hands on the ropes for leverage at 5:30. Could have seen that finish coming a mile away and I really have no idea what they're trying to do with the KO division anymore. The match itself started off decent but Tessmacher was a bit awkward and sloppy and it hurt things. *3/4

Backstage JB is with Bully Ray, whose pissed off about Aces and Eights apparently putting out the hit on him. He shows off some cards they left on his truck that morning and then promises to pick up 20 points in a few minutes by putting someone through a table, and then he'll be going on to become the TNA World champion at Bound For Glory.

Bound For Glory Series Tables Match
Bully Ray vs. James Storm vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Robbie E
Hmm, one of these things is not like the other. Crowd is very hot to start and there are tables set up all around the ring. Robbie E gets in Ray's face to start and gets the taste slapped out of his mouth. Moments later Ray works over Storm and actually convinces Robbie E to bring a table into the ring in a sign of teamwork before nailing him on the apron as soon as he does in a funny bit. Storm and Hardy try to suplex Ray through a table but E moves it (mostly) out of the way to save the match. E actually works Hardy over a bit and sets him up on a table but Storm grabs him on the top rope. Hardy meets them there and they do the Tower of Doom spot as Ray moves the table out of the way again. Hardy gives E a sitout gourdbuster and then sets him up on a table outside the ring. Robbie T comes down the ramp to intervene so Hardy flies off the top rope and wipes him out with a plancha. This gives E time to recover though and set Hardy up on the table outside the ring. He tries for an elbow drop off the top rope but Hardy moves at the last second and Robbie crashes through the table instead, which means the match continues. Back in the ring Bully slams Storm face-first into a table in the corner and sets up for a move, but here comes Aces and Eights. Storm hits the Last Call superkick on Ray and Aces and Eights give Storm the Thumbs Up as if to signify this was all a plan under Storm's order. Hardy jumps Storm from behind while he's distracted and sets a table up and then nails the Whisper in the Wind. Hardy hits the Twist of Fate but Aces and Eights distracts him again and Storm hits the Last Call only for Ray to send Storm out of the ring, sneak inside and powerbomb Hardy through a table to pick up the win and 20 points at 13:46. Ray immediately high-tails out of there as soon as the bell rings. Another entertaining BFG series match, E actually fit nicely into the scheme of things providing some comedy and they were able to work the Aces and Eights storyline into the story of the match without hindering any of the action, can't ask for much more than that. ***

Backstage Austin Aries explains again that his World title victory was not a fluke and that he will not need a rematch, hence why he waived his rematch clause for tonight's title match. Oh boy, that doesn't bode well for Austin does it?

X-Division Title Match
Zema Ion © vs. Kenny King
This is exactly the kind of fresh match up between two talented young guys that the X-Division made it's name off of and is exactly what I wanted to see out of this division going forward, kudos TNA. It's also nice to see the X-Division title not relegated to the opening slot like it usually is. Both men lock up and King takes advantage of a wristlock. Both men trade some nifty counters on the mat before Ion gets sent to the floor with a haymaker. Ion blocks King's first moonsault attempt but King winds up hitting it off the apron anyways. Ion sends King back to the floor and it's his turn to fly now as he hits a big tope and then nails a neckbreaker back inside the ring. Ion hits a big DDT for a two count but then misses a moonsault from the second rope. King hits a spinkick then delivers a sick cradle exploder suplex into the corner! Ion bails to the floor for a reather but King wipes him out with a corkscrew tope on the floor moments later. Springboard neckbreaker from King back inside and King evades a kick from Ion before putting him deep into a single leg Boston crab. Ion breaks it up and then flips King backwards and face-first into his own knee in a unique move I've seen him use a few times. King fires back with a rolling spinkick and another cradle that nearly gets him a two count. King gets caught by Ion out of the corner and just drops him face first onto the mat to pick up the win and retain the title at 11:09. Easily Zema's best singles match in TNA so far and another great outing from King, this was excellent stuff while it lasted and it left me wanting to see more out of what these two could do together in the future. Good old fashioned X-Division fun. ***1/4

Backstage JB is with Samoa Joe, who of course lets us know he's going to win the ladder match and the 20 points in the BFG series next. They should really add something different to these backstage segments sometimes because they're a bit formulaic and cookie-cutter. Even a change of scenery for the interviews would be nice to see. Minor quibble though.

Bound For Glory Series Ladder Match
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
As if this four-way wasn't already going to be awesome, they went and added a ladder into the mix to spice things up. I can dig it. Daniels is the first to be sent out of the ring as Joe hits running elbows on Angle and AJ in opposite corners. Joe and Daniels brawl outside on the floor and AJ wipes them out with a soaring tope. AJ gets absolutely nailed with a ladder by Daniels in the corner moments later and I crack up as a fan heckles Daniels by screaming "Daniels you suck! You haven't won a match in two months!". Daniels makes the mistake of charging into the corner on Joe and winds up getting an STO onto the ladder for it. He briefly attempts to climb the ladder but AJ breaks it up. Daniels tries to climb the ladder but Joe power-bombs him off of it into the corner! He turns around right into a belly-to-belly suplex from Angle though and a huge "USA!" chant breaks out. AJ just rockets a ladder right into Angle's face and somewhere Joey Mercury is cringing. AJ hits Joe with the pele kick and then unloads on Daniels in the corner with big punches. Outside the ring Joe delivers a belly to belly to Angle but eats an ace cutter on the floor from Daniels. Back in the ring AJ, Joe, and Daniels do some of their signature three-way spots before Daniels gets belly-to-belly suplexed into the corner. Joe tries for the Muscle Buster on AJ but Kurt sneaks up behind him and hits a German suplex on Joe while AJ is still on Joe's shoulders! Daniels gets put into the ankle lock briefly but Daniels breaks it off only to eat a springboard forearm from AJ. Styles climbs the ladder and nearly grabs the clipboard but Daniels dumps him out to the floor like a sack of potatoes instead. Daniels tries the same thing but Joe knocks the ladder out from under him and he and Angle decide to have a suplex-off on Daniels, delivering different variations of German and t-bone suplexes one after another in an awesome spot. Daniels gets stuck in between the rungs of one of the ladders that Kurt climbs while Joe climbs a ladder right next to him, but here comes AJ like freaking Superman springboarding onto the top of the ladders and grabbing the clipboard for the sneaky win at 16:22. Just the kind of awesome wrestling match you'd expect with these four in a ring at the same time, they didn't really work many ladder spots into things but it was fine because they worked so much nifty stuff into such a short amount of time that there was never a dull moment to be had here. I'd still like to see these four wrestle in a non-gimmick match with a good 20-30 minutes though. ***3/4

Backstage JB asks Bobby Roode a question posted on Twitter--"Are you afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Wait, no, that's not right. "Are you afraid of Austin Aries?", yeah, that sounds better. Roode makes a promise to walk into Bound For Glory the World Heavyweight champion.

TNA World Title Match
Austin Aries © vs. Bobby Roode
Win or lose tonight Aries has had about as good of a one month run as champ so far as anyone I can remember and it's really elevated him to a whole other level. The fact that he beat Roode clean in the rematch on Impact helped alot, but kind of makes the outcome of tonight's match a bit predictable. Aries almost immediately is able to put Roode into the Last Chancery but Roode is able to escape, though he's suitably pissed now. Back inside Aries hits a dropkick in the corner and teases going for the brainbuster, but again Roode escapes to the floor to stall. Aries wipes him out with a pescado and Roode again tries to escape so he just gives him another pescado on the opposite side of the ring. Back inside he dropkicks the back of Roode's head from the corner. Roode falls out to the floor and Aries meets him with a big double axe handle. He brings him back into the ring with a suplex from the apron and gets a two count off a kneedrop. Roode counters by lifting Aries onto his shoulders and then driving his chest down into his knee in a sick gutbuster. Roode wraps his legs around Aries in a legscissors and the crowd tries to rally behind the young champ by chanting his name. Aries gets set up in the tree of woe but he manages to counter out of it with a unique stunner variation. Aries sends Roode out of the ring and hits a huge double axe handle off the top that sends Roode into a chair in the corner where Aries quickly dropkicks the everloving fuck out of his face. Ouch. Back in the ring Aries has the Last Chancery but Roode rakes Austin's eyes to break it up. Aries locks him into his own crossface instead, but Roode counters that into his own crossface. Aries is able to break that up and both men trade chops on their feet. Roode fires off the spinebuster and nearly regains the belt, but Aries kicks out. Aries blocks a superplex attempt with a sick Mongolian chop and then tries for the 450 Splash, but Roode gets the knees up. Roode goes for the spear but winds up taking out the ref instead of Austin. Roode spears Aries now as a new ref runs down but he takes too long to hit the ring and Roode only gets a two count. Aries blocks a Fisherman's buster and sets up for the brainbuster, but Roode knocks him into the second ref, knocking THAT ref out too. Aries nails Roode in the head and then hits the brainbuster just as Brian Hebner regains consciousness but Roode still kicks out at two! Damn I thought Aries might escape right there. Roode crotches Aries on another 450 attempt and then superplexes him off the top and both men wind up in a cradle with both of their shoulders down and both refs make a double-count, and we have ourselves a controversial draw of sorts it seems. Earl Hebner comes down to the ring to try and clear things up and grabs the title out of Roode's hand, and he decides instead to re-start the match! Aries goes for the tope while Roode is arguing with the refs outside the ring but Roode is still holding the title belt and he smashes Aries with it in mid-air, knocking him out. Roode puts his lifeless body into the ring...but Aries still kicks out at two! Aries turns Roode around and rolls him up and manages to sneak away with the pin to retain at 26:18! Okay I take everything back about what I said about this being predictable. TNA planted a red herring with the no rematch clause to make you think Roode would cheat him out of the title here and screw the good guy out of the title, but instead they went the other way and had Aries retain, and retain cleanly albeit after a bit of hijinx. The match itself was the usual stellar encounter these two have every time they wrestle each other, but the added drama and element of story added another layer onto this great match. Another winner from these two. ****

We close out the show with a stunned Bobby Roode storming off while Austin Aries celebrates in the ring.

Bottom Line: Another good show in a string of them from TNA lately, they've really been on a roll as of late and even a relative B-show like this wound up being worth my money with solid undercard matches abound, a fun ladder match and X-title match, and another killer main event that not only delivered the goods, but managed to surprise me in the best way possible, really can't say enough good things about the direction TNA has taken lately and this PPV is a shining example of that. Nothing extraordinary but lots of good stuff and a killer main event so an easy Thumbs Up tonight.

Score: 8.0/10

WWE Money in the Bank 2012

2012-08-02T19:51:00.001-07:00

WWE Money in the Bank 2012
July 15th, 2012
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 10,800

I know, I know, I'm weeks late on this review but you'll have to forgive me as my life has become increasingly busy and occupied with work and a social life. Wrestling shows have started to pile up on my DVR, so I've got to knock this one out and get moving because I can't let you fine readers down, now can I? Hard to believe it was just one year ago we were all in a buzz about Punk's promos and excited about the product and a year later it feels like we're back to business as usual with another fucking Cena vs. Big Show feud of all things, because we haven't seen that thoroughly dead horse beaten to shit before, right? Luckily we have guys like Punk and Bryan to save the shows and tonight's show being Money in the Bank we have the added benefit of gimmick matches, so this should be pretty fun regardless of the general malaise the WWE product has filled me with as of late.

Your pre-show hosts are Matt Striker and my main man Scott Stanford

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Hunico/Camacho
This...isn't a tag title match for whatever reason. Truth takes Camacho down with some Austin like fists after he insults Little Jimmy and then slaps him the face. Kofi tags in with a springboard splash and then fires off a big hurricanrana on the big man. Truth tags back in for a leg-drop and Hunico manages to tag in and gain the upper hand. Camacho tags back in for a sleeper but Truth breaks it up with a leg lariat and tags in Kofi, who springboards in with a clothesline. Boom Drop from Kofi on Camacho but he blocks the Trouble in Paradise. The heels work over Kofi with some dirty antics and Camacho plants Kingston with a huge back suplex and a legdrop for a two count. Camacho rolls through an armbar attempt and slams Kofi to the mat. Kofi responds with a leaping hurricanrana off the top rope. and tags Truth in. Powerslam from Truth and a big DDT but Hunico eats the Trouble in Paradise and Camacho gets finished off with another big DDT at 8:22. Decent tag match for the pre-show, they threw in a few nice bits towards the end and for a free match you can't complain. **1/4

Your real hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T

SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella vs. Sin Cara vs. Tensai vs. Tyson Kidd
Quite the odd bunch of participants here in this match and you can tell they have no idea what they're doing booking wise with most of these guys. Everyone tries attacking Tensai to start to little affect. He grabs a ladder and sets it up in the corner and quickly introduces Tyson Kidd's face to it with a catapult in the corner. Kidd and Christian team up to take Tensai out with ladders but Christian quickly turns on Kidd afterwards. Christian, Santino, and Kidd all try to scale the ladder but Sandow tosses them all off. Ziggler knocks Sandow off and then tosses Cody into the ladder. Cody eats a 'rana from Sin Cara out of nowhere, and Cara then kicks Ziggler in the corner and hits a really awkward DDT you could argue was botched. He tries for a splash on Rhodes on a ladder but Christian tosses him off and goes for the splash himself only for Rhodes to move out of the way at the last second. Rhodes hits Sandow with the Disaster Kick out of nowhere but eats a springboard missile dropkick from Kidd. Tensai returns to the ring and powerbombs Santino before attempting a powerbomb on KIdd that he counters into a 'rana out of the ring. Sandow tries to climb the ladder but Cara stops him briefly. Sandow succeeds but Christian climbs right over him and almost grabs the briefcase. Sandow sets up a ladder and tries a running powerslam onto it, but Christian counters into a reverse DDT at the last moment. Sandow blocks a spear attempt at first with a knee but Christian eventually spears him into the ladder in the corner. Dolph, Cody, and Christian try climbing the ladder but all get thrown off by Tensai eventually. Tensai nearly climbs to the top despite the efforts of Kidd and Cara, but Christian knocks him off with another ladder and he and Santino slam it over the big man again. Santino tries climbing the ladder but he's somewhat afraid of heights of course. Sandow climbs to meet him but eats the Cobra and Rhodes dropkicks Santino off the ladder from the top rope. Rhodes tries to climb to the top but Vickie Guerrero decides to come in to distract him long enough for Ziggler to just nail Rhodes with the Zig Zag from off the ladder. Ziggler nearly grabs the case but Christian stops him and then Kidd decides to be a maniac and uses one ladder to leap into mid air and powerbomb Ziggler onto his face off the top of the ladder. A bit sloppy but cool nevertheless. Christian nails Sandow with a ladder and takes him to the floor with the Cactus clothesline. Tensai sets up a ladder in between the ring and announce table and then powerbombs the everloving fuck out of Sin Cara onto the ladder. Tensai tosses Ziggler over the table but eats the disaster kick from Rhodes. Rhodes and Kidd climb the ladder back in the ring and Rhodes gives Kidd a gourdbuster off the top of the ladder! And then Rhodes gets speared by Christian from one ladder off of another! Christian nearly captures the briefcase but Ziggler tosses him off like a madman and grabs the briefcase for the win at 18:23! I'm so happy they actually gave Ziggler the win here and are seemingly going to finally give him that main event push he's been busting his ass and killing himself for. The match itself was pretty ho-hum to start but picked up towards the finish and they worked some nice spots into it. In the grand scheme of ladder matches this is but a mere blip on the radar, but it had it's enjoyable moments for sure. ***1/2

Backstage Sheamus talks a bit about one of Del Rio's favorite topics, cars, before threatening to leave Del Rio and Ricardo lying with some rusty drive shafts.

The Miz makes his return (I legitimately did not realize he was gone) and the crowd actually gives him a "Miz is Awesome" chant. Miz is sick of being overlooked, as usual, so he's inserting himself into the RAW Money in the Bank Ladder match. Well that should add some levity to things. Miz came off great here with the crowd even finishing his catch phrases for him, weird.

Flashback to Mick Foley winning the WWF title on RAW in 1999. Classic stuff that I'll never tire of seeing, keep the Attitude Era nostalgia coming WWE, enough of that 80s shit.

World Heavyweight Title Match
Sheamus © vs. Alberto Del Rio
The match they kept trying to hold off because no one wanted to see it. Sounds promising already. Cole recounts a bit about Del Rio ripping an original Action Comics #1 in half at Comic-Con a few weeks back and as someone whose recently rediscovered their love for all things DC and Marvel related, I take offense to that. Lock up to start followed quickly by a round of brute fisticuffs. Del Rio tries for an early armbar but Sheamus blocks it. Sheamus suplexes Del Rio into the ring and hits a shoulder block off the top. He allows himself to be distracted by Ricardo though and Del Rio knocks him to the floor with a dropkick. Back inside Del Rio goes to work on the Irishman's arm. Sheamus hits a swinging neckbreaker after a vicious headbutt from Del Rio. Del Rio continues the head butt action and goes for the armbar, but Sheamus avoids it. Sheamus tries for his slingshot shoulder block but Del Rio turns it into an armbreaker in mid-air. Sheamus returns fire with a big knee and powerslam for a two count. Sheamus hits the ten clubbing forearms spot and then follows up with the Irish Curse backbreaker for a close two count. Sheamus misses the Brogue Kick and Del Rio hits a big lung-blower for a two count.; Sheamus avoids an enziguri kick and hits Del Rio with the White Noise. Sheamus finishes Del Rio off with the Brogue Kick to retain at 14:22. Maybe a little bit better than you'd think, but still very bland from two guys who just have totally different styles in the ring. There were some good bits and pieces but nothing was ever able to be strung together particularly well. **1/2

After the match Del Rio and Ricardo beat down Sheamus and out comes Dolph Ziggler ready to cash in! He gets into an argument with Del Rio first though and eats a Brogue Kick but even though he handed the case to the ref this isn't a match and Sheamus just walks off. Phew, was scared Ziggler might be the first to lose his shot there for a second.

Earlier today Josh Matthews asks Daniel Bryan about AJ and he reiterates that they're soul mates.

Epico/Primo vs. Darren Young/Titus O'Neill
I appreciate the effort to make the tag division seem more important, but man we need some fresh match ups. Primo and Titus start off and Young quickly tags in but eats a 'rana from Primo. Epico tags in and 'ranas him again out of the ring, where Primo wipes him out with a tope. Epico sends Titus outside with Young and wipes them all out with a somersault tope. Titus grabs Epico and sends him back-first into the steel post. Titus stretches him out over the post some more and the crowd is so dead right now. Titus does some dancing but Rosa's dancing efforts are much more appreciated by the crowd. Primo tags in and hits a springboard...tomahawk chop?" That was weird. He follows with a springboard corkscrew moonsault and tries another springoard but Young blocks with a Codebreaker. Primo rolls him up anyways for the win at 7:27. Not terrible but also not very good, this was exactly what it felt like---filler. *3/4

WWE Title No DQ Match
CM Punk © vs. Daniel Bryan
With our hottest special guest referee in awhile, AJ. Odds this is anything less than awesome? Slim. Bryan tries to work over Punk's fingers to start (I love stuff like that) but Punk is primed and ready to go. Both men unload strikes on eachother and the action quickly spills to the floor where Bryan sends Punk into the barricade. Back inside Bryan lays in some kicks and Punk responds with knees. Punk misses a legdrop from the top and eats more kicks. Once again they hit the floor and Punk sends Bryan into the steel barricade near the ramp. On his way back in Bryan sends Punk right into AJ, sending her flying. While Punk checks on her Bryan attacks Punk, tosses him into the steel steps...and then goes to check on AJ. That's devilishly dickish. Bryan just keeps delivering the kicks and then hits a nasty running knee off the apron before suplexing Punk onto the steel steps. Punk back drops Bryan into the time keeper's section and then springboards off one guardrails and clotheslines Bryan off of another. Crowd chants for tables, so Punk pulls one out. Bryan slams him though and then grabs a kendo stick. He slams it on Punk a few times and back in the ring they go into a nifty counter sequence in the corner with the end result being Punk springboarding right into a big kendo stick shot from Bryan. Bryan wails away on Punk for what seems like a good minute but only gets a two count from it. Bryan lays in more vicious kicks and hits a snap suplex on the champ. He tries for the diving headbutt from the top but Punk moves at the last moment. Punk fires back with a reverse neckbreaker and then hits the high Muay Thai knee in the corner. Punk follows with a powerslam for two. Both men tease going for their finishers with Bryan countering Punk's GTS for a hot near fall. Bryan just knocks Punk's lights out with one sick kick in response. Bryan puts Punk into the Mexican Surfboard but Punk manages to escape and grab the kendo stick and nail the hell out of Bryan with it for two. Both men scale the top rope and Bryan superplexes Punk just in time for AJ to return from the back...and skip...and grab a steel chair from under the ring. She places it in the middle of the ring between Punk and Bryan like a cruel mistress for the first one to grab it. Bryan does and waffles Punk with it several times for a two count. Bryan gets in AJ's face and gets rolled up himself. Bryan continues to kick the crap out of Punk in the corner but the champ responds by firing off a big clothesline. Punk takes his turn to waffle Bryan with the chair a few times and then sets it up in-between the turnbuckle. AJ blocks Punk from using it though and in the ruckus winds up getting dropkicked into the chair. Punk kicks Bryan and then slams him with the steel chair underneath him before missing the Macho Man elbow drop and slamming his arm into the chair! Bryan takes advantage by applying the Yes! Lock, even using the Kendo stick for leverage. Punk manages to escape the hold and drop Bryan's head on the turnbuckle before hitting him with the GTS. Punk takes too long to cover him though and only gets a two count. Punk grabs the table he pulled out earlier from outside and sets it up in the ring. Punk lays Bryan over the table and then signals for the elbow drop again, but Bryan gets off the table and nails him with forearms on the turnbuckle. Bryan gets crotched on the top and Punk lays in some vicious elbows before giving him a huge back superplex off the top through the table for the win at 27:45! Well that was one hell of a finish to another damn fine match in this feud, they managed to fit in all of their usual great stuff while embellishing on it all with the No DQ stip by introducing different weapons and gimmicks perfectly into the mix. The whole thing built up and we got the pay-off with the finish, 'tis a thing of beauty. ****

Ryback vs. Curt Hawkings/Tyler Reks
Seems like they're throwing a Ryback squash on every PPV now. Ryback launches Hawkins but he runs off and tags Reks in, who manages to clothesline the big man. Hawkins and Reks continue to trade tags in their corner, working over Ryback with double team moves and actually having a bit of success with it. Ryback manages to powerslam Hawkins and then just knocks Reks down with several shoulders. He powerbombs Hawkins twice while a mild "Goldberg" chant starts up. Ryback finishes Reks off with the Shell Shock at 4:20. This seemed like an experiment to see how the crowd would react to Ryback actually selling some moves for a few minutes. He did, and no one gave a shit.*

Layla/Kaitlyn/Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix/Natalya/Eve Torres
Say it with me kids: F-I-L-L-E-R MATCH! Layla does a nice crossbody on Beth and misses a kick It's not long before all six women are in the ring, hair-pulling. Seriously. And they wonder why nobody gives half a shit about the divas? Layla finishes Beth off with a neckbreaker amongst the ruckus at 3:23. I hate paying to watch matches like this on PPV. 1/4*

RAW Money in the Bank Ladder Match
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show vs. Kane vs. The Miz
On paper this might be the least interesting looking ladder match in wrestling history. Usual total brawl to start with all five men outside the ring, meanwhile the Miz tries to sneak up the ladder but Cena quickly nixes that plan. Show grabs a ladder and just tosses it at Jericho. Kane and Jericho grab ladders but Show just knocks them into them. Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Show, and Miz follows with the DDT on the big man. Kane boots him out of the ring and Cena finishes off the assembly line of destruction by giving Show the Attitude Adjustment through the Spanish announcer's table! Everyone piles five or six ladders on top of Show afterwards just for good measure until Jericho comes in to break up the party and indulge in the crowd's love for him momentarily. Jericho counters a rollup from Miz into the Walls of Jericho. Miz escapes the hold but Jericho gives him a snap suplex. Miz tries climbing the ladder as we have huge dueling Cena chants again but Jericho sends him off into another ladder and makes the climb himself only for John Cena to hop up and knock him off. HUGE DDT from Miz on Cena, and he nearly nabs the case but Kane knocks him down by tossing a ladder casually at him. Kane tries to chokeslam Miz and Jericho but instead gets suplexed by both of them onto another ladder. Cena hits some shoulder tackles and then hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle on both men on a ladder before handing out another AA to Kane. Jericho tries scaling the ladder but Show finally returns and then just rips the ladder apart and sandwiches Jericho in between them. Damn. Show lays in big body shots on Cena and then slams him into a ladder in the corner Show goes underneath the ring and pulls out a special gold ladder that is huge and fortified to hold Show's massive weight. I always wonder who makes these ladders for the WWE, they have to be custom ordered. The ladder weighs a ton so it takes Show a minute to actually set it up in the ring but when he does he nearly climbs right to the top and grabs the case, but Kane meets him on the other side of the ladder Show knocks Kane off but Cena takes his place and meets the giant at the top, but he too is sent off with a headbutt. Finally Jericho takes him down with a steel chair shot to the spine. Several of them in fact. Jericho and Cena climb the ladder now and battle at the top, where Jericho hops onto Cena's back and applies a sleeper hold. Jericho won't let go of that sleeper but Cena powers up and climbs to the top with him. Finally Jericho sends Cena off the ladder with the sleeper but Miz scurries right up the other side and those two begin grappling over the briefcase, with Jericho hanging onto only the case at one point. Show knocks both Miz and Jericho off the ladder but Cena hightails it up the other side and uses the brief case as a weapon to blast Show with before unhoooking it for his first Money in the Bank win at 20:03. These guys really worked hard to make this one good as they must have known some of them weren't exactly the best candidates for a ladder match. They seemed to really hold back in this one but it actually didn't hurt the match because it felt like it was bringing the match back to it's roots---to be about the suspense and build of the climb as opposed to just having several huge spotfests. This worked surprisingly well. ***1/2

Bottom Line: There was no way they were going to live up to last year's show but they gave a valiant effort with this show I thought, Giving Ziggler the ball to run is a good choice and I can't wait to see this kid start making real money. While both ladder matches were a bit underwhelming in the grand scope of ladder matches the WWE has had over the years, they were unique and fun. Luckily we have two stalwarts of an era passed in CM Punk and Daniel Bryan to come along and drop their usual awe-inspiring four-star match. Overall the positives outweighed the negatives on this show, but they can only lean on the shoulders of guys like Punk and Bryan for so long. Overall Thumbs Up for MITB 2012

Rating: 7.5/10

TNA Destination X 2012

2012-07-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

TNA Destination X 2012
July 8th, 2012
Impact Wrestling Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to another edition of 411mania's monthly TNA PPV coverage! I'll be your host tonight as usual for what looks to be one of the best TNA PPV offerings in quite some time with a stacked card focusing on X-Division action and classic TNA rivalries like Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe and AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels. Of course the big match tonight is the World title match pitting Bobby Roode against challenger Austin Aries, but the whole show looks solid on paper and there's been a great build to the event, so enough with the preambling, let's start this bad boy!

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Jeremy Borash

Last Chance X-Division Tournament Qualifying Match
Rubix vs. Mason Andrews vs. Lars Only vs. Dakota Darsow
Hmm, no Taz on commentary tonight. This match pits all of the guys who didn't advance in the last few weeks together in one match for one last shot at entering tonight's X-Division tournament to crown a new champ. Rubix (or Jigsaw as CHIKARA fans know him) starts off snapping a headscissors on Lars Only before bailing, allowing Lars to work a few armdrags on Darsow. Darsow smashes Only's head over his knee and elbows Rubix off the apron. Minor "We love Jigsaw!" chant from the Orlando faithful as Rubix hits a cross-body off the top on Darsow. Falcon Arrow from Darsow is broken up by Only and finally Mason Andrews (Scorpio Sky to longtime PWG fans) returns to the fracas. Now the fans are chanting for Rubix again as Andrews ducks Rubix and wipes out Darsow and Only outside the ring with a huge tope con hilo. Rubix follows up with a huge suicide moonsault out of the ring to take out all three men moments later! Back in the ring Andrews works a nasty armbar on Rubix until Only breaks it up and hits an awkward double STO move on Rubix and Mason. Andrews takes out Darsow with some stiff low kicks and tries for a superplex on Only in the corner but instead all three men do the powerbomb/superplex tower of doom spot and as soon as they're done with that Rubix hits a springboard dropkick to take out Darsow and ignite another HUGE "Rubix" chant. Seriously, this crowd is vocally and clearly behind the guy and it's obvious they're familiar with his background, so hopefully the boys backstage are taking note of this. Rubix hits a kick on Darsow but then eats a codebreaker from Only. Andrews counters into a TKO/stunner combo on Only moments later and picks up the surprise win at 8:23. They probably should have called an audible and put Rubix over after the huge reception for him but Andrews/Sky is a very talented guy who has long deserved a break in this business so I can't complain seeing him win here. The match itself was just what you'd want out of an X-Division opener, quick and spotty but fun and they didn't blow their loads early, saving momentum for later. I like it. **3/4

X-Division Title Tournament Match
Kid Kash vs. Mason Andrews
And moments later former X-Division champ Kid Kash runs down to the ring to kick start our first official tournament match, giving Andrews no time to rest at all. Kash tries a cocky pin inside the ring for two. Total domination early from Kash as he overpowers Andrews with a few nifty suplex and slam variations, making sure to trash talk him all the while to firmly establish himself as the heel here. Kash works over Andrews arm, doing a great job of eliciting heat from this crowd in and old school Southern kind of way, just working simple holds over, wearing Andrews down and never letting his mouth stop running all the while. Finally Andrews is able to get something going with a few dropkicks and a headscissors out of the corner. He only grazes Kash with a missile dropkick for a two count but then nails him with a running knee to make up for it moments later. Both men do the rolling bridge spot and then Andrews counters a knee strike attempt into a roll up for the upset pin on Kash to advance at 8:09. This was worked at a much slower pace than the opener but it worked because of that as Kash does a great job as a retro Southern heel displaced in the X-Division. Simple stuff, building up heat for the upset win by Andrews and they've quickly made him out to be an underdog favorite for the tournament tonight. **1/2

Backstage Christy Hemme is with Samoa Joe, who gives props to Austin Aries before promising to defeat Kurt Angle tonight "by any means necessary" to earn 10 points in the Bound for Glory series standings. Atleast I think he said 10 points. And then JB plugs Twitter. Always with the damn Twitter.

X-Division Title Tournament Match
Douglas Williams vs. Kenny King
King, whose still technically one half of the ROH tag team champions much to Cary Silkin's chagrin (and also an original Tough Enough competitor), looked impressive in his Impact debut and Williams is one of the most valuable members of the X-Division thanks to his classic, grounded technical game. Douglas dominates early with some trademark hold-for-hold grappling while Borash makes World of Sport references on commentary. Crowd seems behind King here as he takes out Williams on the floor with a twisting pescado. King shows some wrestling acumen of his own with a floatover into a headlock after a rope-running sequence. Williams hits a big clothesline but King rolls him up for a near fall. Suplex from Williams and he teases going for the Chaos Theory but King sees it coming and counters into a stiff enziguri. Spinebuster gets King another two count. Both men fight to the top rope where Williams sends King flying out to the floor before taking him out with a high knee from the top! You don't see that too often. King responds with a springboard neckbreaker back inside the ring but again Williams kicks out. King hits a TKO into a spinebuster to pick up the win and advance at 10:37. Another slower paced match to start but King looked great once again and Williams did his usual admirable job on the losing end. King also had to be considered a favorite going forward tonight with some of this momentum. **1/2

Backstage Christopher Daniels explains what kind of man he is and more importantly, what kind of despicable man AJ Styles is. And that's something we can drink to.

X-Division Title Tournament Match
Sonjay Dutt vs. Rashad Cameron
It's great to see Sonjay back in TNA but man, I had really hoped we would never have to be subjugated to a BLK Jeez match on a real, bonafide PPV. Armdrag exchange to start and both men seem evenly matched as JB hypes how over Dutt was during his recent stint in India with Ring Ka King. Dutt bails out and Cameron wipes out him with a nice suicide dive. Back inside Dutt fires off a hurricanrana and then nails Cameron with a baseball slide dropkick out of the ring. Cameron slows things down with some heel work on Sonjay in the ropes while the fans vocally get behind Dutt. Dutt hits a slingshot guillotine legdrop on Cameron then springboards in with a splash for a two count. Headscissors from Cameron out of the corner and he rolls into an armbar submission briefly on Dutt before getting in referee Earl Hebner's face. Sonjay blocks a DDT and then finishes Cameron with the moonsault into a doublestomp at 7:16. This seemed almost like a squash for Sonjay at times though Cameron/Jeez did get to a chance to work a decent amount of heat from the crowd during the match here. Weakest match so far tonight but still perfectly adequate and solid for the time and spot allotted. **1/4

JB and Tenay bring us back to Against All Odds in February this year and the tragic neck injury to Jesse Sorensen before introducing a video package to update us on Jesse's recovery. After the video package Christy Hemme introduces Sorensen himself who gets a nice reception from the fans as he comes out with a neckbrace on (I'll take a neckbrace over paralysis any day, yes sir). Big Welcome Back chant for Jesse and you can see his mom crying in the front row. He talks about how scary the injury was but tells us he knows that God wanted him to be a professional wrestler and thanks the fans and his family for the support. Finally Jesse gets to Zema Ion, the man who caused his injury, ad he tells him that he hopes he wins the title tonight so that he can come back and take the belt from him. Jesse promises to be the X-Division champion next year at Destination X 2013 and that he'll cash in that title to become the World champion. This was nice but I hope that wasn't the big surprise Dixie tweeted about having in store for us tonight.

X-Division Title Tournament Match
Zema Ion vs. Flip Cassanova
Of course Ion's match is next so he and Jesse do a staredown during his entrance. Flip Cassanova/Kendrick might be familiar to more diehard indie fans but isn't anything too special to be honest. He doesn't like Zema's cocky attitude to start so he sends him to the floor and takes him out with a tope. He tries for a back senton but Zema blocks with his knees. Cassanova is sent to the floor and Ion takes him out with a dropkick. Zema misses a moonsault back inside and Cassanova makes him pay for it with a springboard corkscrew moonsault. Flip misses a shooting star press back senton and eats the back-flip into a knee from Ion before Ion finishes him with what I can only describe as a reverse Gory Bomb at 3:55. Well that really was just a squash match this time, which makes me think they may be serious about pushing Ion for the eventual return feud and blow-off with Sorensen going forward, which I like. Quick and fun but really just a blow-out for Ion. *3/4

Backstage Christy Hemme is with Mason Andrews, Kenny King, and Sonjay Dutt who are excited about their X-Division shot when suddenly Robert Roode walks up to interrupt and mock them for being excited about the X-Division title. He says the X-Division and Austin Aries will both fail tonight and he'll walk out with his World title intact.

Bound For Glory Series Match
Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle
The first match these two had together in this company might be my favorite TNA match ever, so I was very excited to see that these two were being matched up again after a few years tonight (not counting their recent Impact match, which was solid). Crowd is hot for this one with dueling chants to start (this crowd has been great all night, where has THIS Impact Zone crowd been hiding at?). Joe quickly evades some hold attempts by Kurt to start and gives him a look as if to say "Yeah, I've seen this from you before and I know what to do". Headlock from Angle is countered by Joe into the corner, where he lays in big right hands. Joe back drops Angle over the top rope out to the floor and then wipes him out with a tope suicida moments later. Back in the ring Joe hits a spinkick on Angle in the corner and sets up for the Muscle Buster, but Kurt comes off the top with a dropkick before he gets a chance to attempt it. Belly to belly suplex from Angle and Joe fights back with a boot and a back senton. Angle grabs a hold of Joe's waist and hits his trademark trio of rolling German suplexes though. Angle looks for the Angle Slam but Joe counters and sets up for the Muscle Buster, but Angle counters out of that into the ankle lock on Joe! Sweet countering there and Joe slams Angle to the mat when he foolishly charges in on him in the corner. Joe hits the Muscle Buster, but Angle kicks out at two. They kind of treated the Muscle Buster very nonchalantly there. Joe tries for the rear naked choke but Angle counters into the ankle lock and really syncs it in until Joe manages to counter into the Coquina Clutch! Kurt manages to power out of the hold though into the Angle Slam, but Joe kicks out just in the nick of time at two. Again Angle tries for the Angle Slam but Joe counters into the Coquina Clutch and Joe is really wrenching away on the submission now, adding pressure and strain to the hold until Angle simply passes out and Hebner calls for the bell to award Joe the match at 14:37. Another simply fantastic match in the long running series between these two men, and they totally did the right move by having Joe go over here as it seems like they've finally realized how valuable he can be to them as a main event player again and a true "TNA original" as it were. All kinds of slick countering and psychology in this one, just like you'd expect, and the finish leaves the door open for a rematch down the line. With this win Joe is now atop the Bound For Glory Series leaderboard. ***1/2

Last Man Standing Match
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
Even though it was a bit harebrained you have to keep props to TNA for atleast attempting a dramatic soap-like angle with some actual intrigue to it, even if it did fall flat on it's face. I love Styles and Daniels but I hope this is the last they wrestle each other for a very long time, because we've seen it ten billion times. So make this one the bloody, wild blow-off boys please and thank you. Daniels stalls early for some cheap heat and then just spits in Styles face. Daniels gets sent into the steel guard rail outside the ring as both men begin brawling now. Back in the ring AJ hits a dropkick and then suplexes Daniels into the corner turnbuckle. Haven't seen that from AJ in awhile. Daniels blocks a whip into the corner and just pokes AJ in the eye in true slimy heel fashion before grabbing a steel chair from outside the ring and tossing it inside. Styles stumbles out of the ring and Daniels hits him with a knee. Back in the ring Daniels sets up the chair and then hits a reverse STO on Styles through the chair! Nasty. Outside the ring Daniels slams AJ into the floor and now AJ is busted open and bleeding from the forehead. Daniels sets up the steel steps but winds up tossing AJ into the ring instead to try and waffle him with a chairshot. AJ blocks that though and then hits a springboard forearm onto Daniels while he's holding the chair! Outside the ring AJ tosses Daniels into the steps ferociously like a lawndart and now Daniels is busted open too. Both men brawl up the ramp now and thy wind up wiping each other out with a double clothesline as both men are bleeding on the ramp while the crowd cheers on in a great, visceral image. Pele kick from AJ. AJ finds a bit of stage equipment just high enough to climb onto and then does his usual moonsault into a reverse DDT spot on Daniels in a very clever variation on a classic Styles move. Suddenly Kazarian comes running out and sends Styles flying off the ramp onto the concrete the hardway. You had to know it was only a matter of time before Kaz got involved. AJ makes it up at an 8 count from the ref but gets sent into the guardrail by a pissed off Daniels who then promptly retrieves a table from underneath the ring and sets it up back near the rampway. He brings Styles back onto the ramp and sets up for the Angel's Wings, but AJ blocks it with a low blow and hits the Pele kick again. Styles then grabs Daniels and hits the Styles Clash off the stage through a table! Styles barely makes it back to his feet at the ten count while Daniels stays down to give AJ the big win at 17:42. This was the best match these two have had together in years and was a suitably brutal and heated fight, just as it needed to be given the angle going in. In simple terms this with two highly professional veterans of their craft finding new ways to make the same old formulas fun and exciting. Hell of a match. ****

The internet polls have picked Aries to win tonight, which makes sense from a kayfabe sense given all of Aries' momentum. Backstage Christy Hemme is with the man himself, who talks about how he was beating people with brainbusters while Bobby Roode was beating people with beer bottles. Aries says he's going to walk out the new World Champion and change the industry.

TNA X-Division Title Ultimate X Match
Mason Andrews vs. Zema Ion vs. Kenny King vs. Sonjay Dutt
I love the influx of fresh talent into the company lately and that we're about to get to see this match on PPV. JB makes a very sly comment about King being a "TNA exclusive", hardy har har. Zema is quick to try and climb the ropes at the bell but he eats a trio of dropkicks from all three of his competitors instead. Dutt hits a 'rana on King while Andrews hits a missile dropkick on Ion. Ion counters with a tornado DDT and then gets to be on the brunt end of King suplexing Andrews into the corner in a neat spot.King hits a cartwheel kick on Dutt and then springboards up to the X ropes to try and make a grab at the title, but Dutt springboards into the ring and spears him off the ropes in mid-air and follows up with an elbow drop just for good measure. Ion tries shimmying across the X ropes as well but gets yanked down by Andrews and King. King hits the springboard legdrop on Ion but then eats a top rope back suplex from Dutt. King misses a tope outside the ring but moments later Andrews takes out both King and Ion with a corkscrew moonsault. Andrews shimmys across the X ropes again but King hits a nice springboard spear in mid-air to break up that attempt. Now King and Andrews are both shimmying across the X rope to the middle, where they drop off with a huge neckbreaker! Meanwhile Dutt and Ion have climbed past the ropes onto the steel structure above the ring! Suddenly Ion sprays Dutt with his hairpsray and Dutt flies from the structure all the way down to the ring mat, allowing Ion to unhook the belt and become the new X-Division champion at 8:47! This was wild, fast, furious, and nearly impossible to cover move-for-move. I can't believe they didn't give it more time to develop as a match but what we got was absolute balls-to-the-wall craziness in the best way possible and this seems to cement the whole Ion/Sorensen angle going forward. ***1/4

After the match Ion is getting a ton of heat from the fans when he dedicates his win to Jesse Sorensen (while some absolutely incredibly unbearably annoying smarks in the front row scream "TRANSITION! TRANSITION!" at him to let him know he's only a transitional champion) to wrap up this whole thing.

TNA World Title Match
Robert Roode © vs. Austin Aries
Kudos to TNA for doing an incredible job of hyping and building up this match for the main event tonight and even if Aries walks out without the title tonight he's clearly been put over onto another level and with how they've built the X-Division up again it's like they have a perfect feeder system to create main eventers for themselves going forward. To say Aries is over here would be like saying Madison Square Garden was fond of Hulk Hogan in the late 80s, it's a gross understatement. Aries wants to lock up with Roode but he wants nothing to do with him at the bell before grabbing a hold of Austin's wrist and going to work a wristlock. Aries works his own hammerlock and then outclasses Roode for a big pop. He hits the tope con hilo into the ring on Roode but then gets caught in a side headscissors as he tries for a side headlock. Aries does his trademark headstand and then dropkicks Bobby in the face, sending him to the floor where he wipes him out with a Macho Man like double axe handle smash off the top! Back inside Roode hits a nice vertical suplex and a knee drop. Roode misses a knee drop from the second rope and Aries goes to work with a few kicks before attempting for the Last Chancery, but Roode gets the ropebreak. Roode gets sent to the floor and and Aries goes for his trademark heat seeking missile tope suicida but Roode has him scouted and gets out of the way, leaving Roode to faceplant into the steel guardrail! Great psychology there. Back in the ring Roode hits a back suplex,and then sends Aries into the corner for a nasty case of whiplash against the turnbuckle. This has been a perfectly crafted match so far, I must say. Roode hits a sitout Samoan Drop on Aries and then nearly takes his head off with a big lariat. Aries responds with a huge discus forearm of his own and he has the eyes of a madman as he clotheslines Roode out of the ring and successfully connects with the heat seeking missile outside the ring! Back inside Aries hits a missile dropkick off the top but Roode responds with a running powerslam. Aries counters a spear into a Last Chancery briefly but Roode counters that into a crossface and Aries simply counters back into the Chancery again. That was quite the incredible display of stamina and strength by both men. Roode tries for a superplex but Aries knees him in the head in mid-air and then sends him to the mat and comes off with the 450 splash, but he misses it and instead walks right into the spinebuster from Bobby Roode! Roode cranks on a crossface on Aries afterwards and is really working the hold over on him until finally Aries gets the rope break. Behind the ref's back Roode low-blows Aries and tries to get the cheap pin, but thankfully Aries kicks out. Roode gets in the ref's face and then Aries hits him with the dropkick in the corner. He goes for the brainbuster but Roode counters out and sends Aries into the ref, bumping him. Roode then nails Aries with the title belt and drags the referee over to count the pin...but Aries still kicks out at two! This man isn't mortal! Aries gets a nearfall off a cradle then kicks Roode in the head and HITS THE BRAINBUSTAAAH...and WINS THE TNA WORLD TITLE AT 22:43! I wasn't sure they'd really pull the trigger here but damnit give them credit they did it Aries is now a made man in TNA. The match itself was absolutely stellar, a combination of Southern psychology and the hard hitting indy style Aries made his name off of, but throw in the story and emotion of it all and everything here was just firing off on all cylinders. Hands down our TNA Match of the Year thus far, no doubt about it. ****1/2

After the match Aries celebrates with the World title as confetti flies down on him and the crowd continues to chant his name all night long. We close out the show with Austin Aries as our new World Champion.

Bottom Line: Tonight we truly saw what TNA is capable of when they make smart booking decisions, hire fresh and hard working young talent, and build up logical, long-term angles and stars. Destination X has officially catapulted into the heavyweights of gimmick PPVs these days and I'm so happy to see all of the investment TNA is putting into this PPV and division each year going forward. Nevermind the fact that we got several absolutely stellar wrestling matches on tonight's show trumped by one of the flat out best wrestling matches I've seen all year with a fresh, over young face going over in the main event. This delivered in every way I thought it would and alongside that Silva/Sonnen fight made this weekend a hell of a good time for buying PPVs, easy and enthusiastic Thumbs Up tonight.

Score. 9.0/10

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! 6/8/12

2012-06-13T20:25:00.002-07:00

WWE Friday Night SmackDown!
June 8th, 2012
Colonial Center, Columbia, South Carolina
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to another edition of 411's WWE SmackDown report with your resident recapper. We're inching closer to the No Way Out PPV and apparently Vince has gone into panic mode again and wants CM Punk and all sorts of other bigger name guys back on Smackdown now to help that show's ratings, so let's see what we have in store for us.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews

We open the show with Alberto Del Rio making his way out to gloat about his attack on Sheamus on last week's show. He says maybe two sentences before we hear Sheamus' music, but instead of the World champ it's Ricardo Rodriguez dressed up as Sheamus.. Ricardo falls on his ass and Del Rio mocks him a bit before the real Sheamus comes out to interrupt. Sheamus tosses Ricardo and he and Del Rio trade strikes before Del Rio tries to high tail it out of the arena. Sheamus catches him up the rampway though and tosses Del Rio into a stage structure. Ricardo comes and saves Del Rio long enough for him to attack the arm of Sheamus a bit before some refs come out to break things up. Teddy Long, who is apparently in charge again while John Laurinaitis gets ready for his job evaluation on RAW (that makes little to no sense) comes out to book Sheamus in a match against Kane later tonight as well as Del Rio against the Great Khali, and that match is up next.

Alberto Del Rio (12-10) vs. The Great Khali (9-8)
Khali should just become a modern day 911 and not actually wrestle, just come out and wreak havoc and then leave. Big chop from Khali at the bell but Del Rio quickly takes Khali's legs out from under him and targets Khali's knee like everyone does. Ricardo distracts Khali long enough for Del Rio to apply to the cross armbar and Khali taps at 3:23. Your usual "heel targets the Khali's limbs to beat him" match, which seems to be all Khali is capable of working anymore. Very dull. 1/2*

They replay the Big Show's pretaped heel promo from the last week. Afterwards we cut to Teddy Long backstage with Brodus Clay, who is informed by Teddy that he's off RAW and on SmackDown now apparently.

"The Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay (5-4) vs. Derrick Bateman (0-2)
So after getting squashed by Big Show it's back to midcard jobber matches for Brodus. He's much more aggressive tonight though, taking Bateman into the timekeeper's area and brawling with him a bit before tossing him into the ring and finishing him off with a t-bone suplex and the running splash at 1:06. Your usual Clay squash and afterwards the kids hit the ring to dance with him as usual. You've seen this before. 1/4*

Sin Cara (20-5) vs. Drew McIntyre (6-18)
Glad to see Sin Cara back though I'm not sure McIntyre is the best choice of opponent for him. He does a bit of gymnastics before eating a kick to the face off the apron from Drew. Drew applies a chinlock then tries for a press slam but Cara counters with a 'rana into the corner. He takes Drew down with another headscissors and a springboard back elbow for a two count. Huge boot from Drew and he tries to catch Cara off the top rope into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, but Cara counters it into a DDT for the win at 3:18. This could have used a lot more time to develop as Drew seemed game enough to have Cara bump off him like a pinball, but what we got was fairly good anyways. Abrupt finish though. *1/2

Ryback (8-0) vs. Tony Andriotis/Kevin Mahoney
Guess what happens here. Go on, guess. If you guessed anything other than "Ryback wrecks shit up", you do not pass go and you do not get to collect $200. Ryback finishes them at the same time with the double marching Samoan drop at 1:46. I guess Ryback only does the two on one Goldberg special now. 1/4*

Cody Rhodes comes out while the production crew are still trying to set up the Peep Show interview segment for Christian and he tries to explain that Christian is pandering to the fans agains but Christian's music hits and the Intercontinental champ himself comes out to interrupt. Christian explains that when he inducted Edge into the Hall of Fame, he had a sudden change of heart in realizing that performing in front of the fans is a privilege that could be taken away at any minute. He claims he doesn't want to be the guy asking for "one more match" but rather a proud champion like his best friend. Cody scoffs at all this, proclaiming himself a future Hall of Famer in the process and Christian interrupts him again by telling him to shut his mouth and threatening to fight him then and there. Dolph Ziggler decides to come out to interrupt so we he can get to his match with Christian up next.

Christian (18-13-1) vs. Dolph Ziggler (4-17)
Non-title affair here as Cody joins the commentary team and we're off. Christian sends Dolph out to the floor and nails him with a baseball slide dropkick, but he gets caught with a stiff knee on his way out to the floor as we take a commercial break. When we return Dolph is sending Christian chest first into the corner turnbuckle for the Bret Hart bump. Dolph spears Christian's torso in the corner a few times and then looks for the Fameasser, but Christian counters into a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Drop toe hold/right fist combo from Christian and he tries for the sunset flip but Dolph counters out right into the Fameasser for a close two count. Reverse DDT from Christian and he looks for the spear, but Ziggler nails him with the dropkick and looks for the MAIN EVENT SLEEPER HOLD (all rights reserved Scott Keith) but Christian avoids that hits the frog splash out of nowhere for the pin at 6:04 (shown). I really would have loved to have seen this get another five minutes, but maybe Christian isn't comfortable working a long match back yet? More likely they're just cramped for time on the show and booked it short, but what we got was really good and I'd actually love to see these two wrestle on a PPV sometime after the Cody feud ends. **3/4

Raw Rebound shows Cena triumphing over evil by single handedly defeating the entire Viet Cong army on horseback Braveheart style. Wait, wrong show. No this is just Cena beating Tensai and then that incredibly long, drawn out beatdown of Cole. Afterwards Cole gets on the mic but is interrupted by JR's theme music, which the crowd pops huge for. Unfortunately for them it just turns out to be Hornswoggle dressed up as JR and not the real deal. Oh die in a raging kerosene fire Vince.

Damien Sandow comes out to interrupt all of this nonsense, because wrestling is serious business damnit! I like this guy. As the avenging sword of taste and decency, Sandow will not allow this charade to go on. Sandow informs Hornswoggle he's welcome before Tyson Kidd runs in to make the save with a springboard dropkick. Kidd challenges him to a match on the spot and Sandow pretends to take off but returns to the ring to nail Kidd with his neckbreaker anyways and gloat a bit. I demand a Kidd/Sandow match on a show like Superstars where they'll get some time to work with.

Backstage Matt Striker wants to know how Kane feels about potentially defeating the WWE and World Heavyweight champions in the same week if he beats Sheamus tonight. Kane isn't concerned with it though, just with the title match at No Way Out. Striker asks about AJ's "look" at Kane on RAW but he won't answer that one and he takes off as we see AJ lurking behind in the shadows, watching all of this from afar. Creeeeper.

Antonio Cesaro (2-0) vs. Jimmy Uso (4-10)
Teddy has to introduce Cesaro with his "lover" Aksana still, even though he's in charge for the night with Johnny nowhere in sight. Jimmy gets some feisty babyface offense in on the former King of Wrestling at the bell but it's not long before Antonio nails him with the pop-up European uppercut and then finishes him with the inverted cradle piledriver at 1:00. These short squashes against guys who can get great air for the pop-up European uppercut spot just make Claudio (excuse me, Antonio) look great. I can't wait until they book him into an actual feud. 1/2*

Sheamus (35-16-1) vs. Kane (18-14)
Non-title match here for our main event as well. Kane dominates to start with some dull brawling in the corner. Sheamus tries fighting him off but gets booted off the ring apron as we take our last commercial break. When we return Kane is working over the champ with a chinlock. Sheamus breaks it up with a boot and then hits a diving shoulder block from the top rope. High knee and clothesline get him a two count. Bodyslam from Sheamus but Kane comes back with a dropkick. Sheamus hits the Irish Curse backbreaker but again Kane kicks out. Kane gets caught in the ropes and eats the ten big hammerfists but he blocks the follow up suplex attempt. Sheamus tries to superplex Kane but he gets knocked off. Kane tries for the clothesline from the top but misses and gets nailed with the White Noise from Sheamus. Kane blocks the Brogue Kick and tries for the chokeslam but Sheamus counters out of that and out runs Del Rio for the lame DQ at 9:13 (shown). Much better than I was expecting honestly, Kane may be incredibly stale and unhelpful in his current role in the main event between Punk and Bryan but he seems to have his working boots on most nights these days so I can't fault his effort, this was a solid match that would have been even better with a clean finish. **1/2

After the bell rings Kane chokeslams Sheamus anyways and AJ comes prancing out to smile and wave at Kane a bit. Sheamus gives Ricardo a Brogue Kick and we go off the air with Del Rio and Sheamus trading angry eyes.

Bottom Line: Ho-hum show this week, really paint-by-numbers stuff. There was some good stuff on here like the Christian/Cody promo segment and the subsequent match between Christian and Ziggler and our main event was once again solid (though once again with a lame finish) but everything else was just the usual parade of meaningless jobber matches and squashes. If they want people to start watching SmackDown more, here's an idea: cut down on the 15 minute RAW Rebounds and highlight packages and fill that time with more wrestling. Fans might be more inclined to watch if they know guys like Christian and Ziggler are going to get 10-15 minutes to work with instead of 5 every Friday night. Could go either way on tonight's show, not bad but not really good either, Thumbs in the Middle.

Score: 5.0/10

TNA Slammiversary X 6.10.2012

2012-06-10T21:57:00.002-07:00

TNA Slammiversary X
June 10th, 2012
College Park Center, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: Early Estimates-5,000-6,000 +/-

Welcome everyone to another edition of 411's live TNA PPV coverage. I'll be updating this page periodically through-out the show tonight with coverage and analysis of all the happenings on tonight's big tenth anniversary show for TNA. Our main event tonight pits Bobby Roode against Sting in a World title match but we've also got a huge tag team title match with Christopher Daniels and Kazarian taking on the team of AJ Styles and Kurt Angle in what's bound to be a good match. Also tonight we've got a battle of former ROH World champions in Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe as well as a triple threat match between Jeff Hardy, Mr. Anderson, and Rob Van Dam to determine the next in line to the World title. We've also got the official opening of the TNA Hall of Fame with an announced appearance by current WWE superstar Christian so it should be an interesting evening. All of this and more, so let's kick off the festivities.

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Taz

We open the show with a highlights package of some of the big moments in the past ten years of TNA (the debuts of Kurt Angle, Sting, and Hulk Hogan among others) before doing the usual live open in the arena, which is legitimately packed in what has to be one of the biggest crowds in TNA history as the place looks to be just about legit sold out. Hulk Hogan makes his way out to kick off the show (of course). He talks about how excited he is with the current TNA product and then announces that we're going to open the show tonight old-school style with Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe and it's going to be for the X-Division title instead of a non-title affair.

X-Division Title Match
Austin Aries © vs. Samoa Joe
Good to see Joe back in the X-Division as it's certainly better than him being routinely forgotten about. Big dueling chants from the crowd to start, and boy is it refreshing to hear a hot TNA crowd. Both men are cautious to start, gauging each other with quick kicks and stiff chops before Aries sends Joe to the floor with a hurricanrana. He attempts the tope but Joe meets him with a forearm at the apron. Back inside Joe hit the facewash boot on Austin in the corner. Joe catches Aries off the top rope and tries a back senton but Austin gets the knees up. Forearm from Joe sends the champ to the floor and Joe teases a tope but tumbles to the floor and eats a tope from Aries instead. Missile dropkick from Aries back in the ring but Joe catches his cross body attempt in the corner and plants him with a running powerslam for a two count. Aries tries another 'rana but Joe counters with a big powerbomb and of course transitions into the Boston crab afterwards before transitioning into an STF. And if that wasn't enough he transitions from THAT into an abdominal stretch. Joe looks motivated tonight. Vicious headbutts in the corner from Joe and he looks for the Muscle Buster but Aries blocks it with a Mongolian chop and then hits the 450 Splash...but Joe kicks out! Forearm exchange back on their feet and Joe loosely applies the Coquina Clutch, but Aries counters into a close pin attempt. STO in the corner from Joe and he looks for the Muscle Buster again, but Aries counters into a Crucifix Bomb! Roaring elbow from Aries in the corner and he finishes Joe off with the brainbuster to retain at 11:49. Hell of an opening match between two guys intimately familiar with each other, Joe continues to look newly motivated in 2012 and Aries excellent title reign rolls on with another great title defense. Perfect way to kick off the show and both men trade a fist-bump of respect afterwards. ***1/2

Kid Kash vs. Hernandez
Talk about random, when was this match even announced? Kash is a former X-Division champ from the early days of the company though, so it fits tonight's theme. Kash shows off the speed early with a leapfrog but Hernandez sends him flying out of the ring with a shoulder block and then brings Kash back in the hardway. Kash is able to target Hernandez's shoulder with a dropkick and works it over with a submission, which is a unique strategy against the big man. Hernandez gets his face planted directly into the mat in a nasty moment after taking a top rope flying headscissors and Kash follows up with a tornado DDT. Slingshot shoulder block from Hernandez cuts off Kash's spurt of offense. Another shoulder-block sends Kash out to the floor and Hernandez takes him out with a huge suicide dive over the top rope! There's that crazy agile Hernandez we all fell in love with years ago. Kash gets sent off the top rope back inside and Hernandez finishes him off with a top rope splash at 5:52. Kind of a random match up but both guys looked good and worked in a few nice spots in the short time they had to work with. I've said it a few times now but Kash would be a perfect veteran addition to the X-Division on a more long term basis. **1/2

We flashback to another historical TNA moment, this time AJ Styles being crowned the first ever X-Division champion.

Devon/Garrett Bischoff vs. Robbie E./Robbie T.
This match screams "pre-show" to me but they're quite keen of Devon and Garrett for some reason. Garrett starts off with Robbie E with some Erik Watts-like basic babyface offense. Hey, wasn't Watts in TNA for a cup of coffee? Shudder. Robbie T tags in now and Garrett can't get anywhere with him as Madison Rayne makes her way out to the ramp all dressed up, presumably to watch her "mystery love" in this match. How funny would it be if it wound up being Devon? E tags back in and hits a clothesline for a cover and the heels double team Garrett for a bit. E works a sleeper on Garrett for a bit until the younger man gets the hot tag to Devon, who's a HOUSE OF FIRE. Where did that cliche even originate from? Bischoff takes out T with a cross body outside the ring and Devon finishes off E with the spinebuster at 5:56. Just a quick formula tag match, not bad but not particularly exciting either. Devon and Garrett bust out some of the goofiest dance moves afterwards to celebrate. **

Backstage Jeremy Borash, whose been here since before the first show, is with the tag champs Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Kaz brags about all of his past accolades in the company while Daniels hands a fruity looking drink in a martini glass to JB and raises a glass of his own to toast to the champs.

TNA World Title Number One Contender's Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam
Anderson does his usual pre-match promo before we start. Jeff gets a pretty lukewarm reaction surprisingly. Jeff attacks Rob at the bell and then nails Anderson (who has way more hair than I've ever seen him with) with a forearm. Hardy uses Anderson to launch himself into Rob in the corner with a leg lariat but gets caught with a swinging neckbreaker from Anderson. Anderson blocks the Rolling Thunder from RVD in the corner with a jack-knife cover attempt for two. All three men tease the Tower of Doom spot in the corner but Anderson sends Rob out to the floor and just superplexes Jeff instead., Rob tries for the Five Star Frog Splash directly afterwards but both men move out of the way. Neat spot. Rob tries a leg scissors cover on Jeff for two then hits a top rope thrust-kick for another near fall. Split-legged moonsault from Rob onto Anderson but Jeff breaks the cover up. Rob monkey-flips Anderson onto Jeff and gets another near fall. Really good timing and delivery so far from everyone. Hardy and Anderson both cover Rob at the same time in another inventive spot. Rolling senton from Anderson on Hardy and he clotheslines Rob out of the ring when he pops back up from the move. Anderson and RVD begin brawling outside the ring and Hardy wipes them both out with a big cross body off the top rope to the floor! Back inside Jeff hits the Whisper in the Wind on RVD and we've got our first "This is Awesome!" chant in awhile. Big time DDT from Jeff plants Rob and he follows up with the Swanton, but Anderson breaks up the count by pulling out the ref. Anderson tosses Hardy out of the ring into the guardrail but eats a boot from RVD. Rob tries the Rolling Thunder again but eats the Mic Check from Anderson and that's enough to give Anderson the win at 11:25. I wasn't sure this was going to work but boy was I wrong as these guys pulled out some really inventive spots and went all out for the duration of the match. They were able to avoid the cliche "knock one guy out of the ring and then do a bunch of spots with the remaining two guys, switch a guy, repeat" formula that triple threats can fall into sometimes too so extra points there. Fun stuff. ***1/2

Backstage Crimson informs JB that he doesn't care who accepts his open challenge. Heel Crimson is much more tolerable than bland babyface Crimson. He heads out to the ring to brag about his undefeated streak and talk down the crowd a bit and a "You suck!" chant starts up. Crimson waits for someone to come out and answer his open challenge...and out comes the former World champ James Storm!

James Storm vs. Crimson
Nice surprise bringing Storm back here, didn't realize he was healthy enough to wrestle. Storm immediately sends Crimson to the floor with some big right hands and we're off. He suplexes Crimson back into the ring and when he tries to finally take his jacket off Crimson is able to get some offense in. Big forearm from Storm and he blasts Crimson with the Last Call superkick to end Crimson's streak finally at 2:11. This was as good of a way as any to end Crimson's streak as that angle had more than run it's course and at this point was more of a detriment than an attribute for Crimson. The crowd really went apeshit for this whole segment and match too so this worked. *

Backstage JB is with the X-Division champion Austin Aries and wants to know what's next for him. Aries says he wants to be the man that sets the bar and in the main event, and he'll do anything to get there. Damn right, this X-Division title reign for Aries has been the perfect way to establish him as a star in the company and at this point he's above the title and deserves the push into the main event, which if you can't tell from the involvement of Sting in our main event tonight, badly needs fresh talent. For once I'm extremely happy with how TNA has handled building up a talent, but alot of that credit goes to Aries for getting over so quickly and easily.

Resident Texan Dixie Carter comes out next and receives a very warm reception despite her recent tawdry affair angle with AJ Styles. Dixie announces that tonight's crowd is the largest in the United States in TNA history. Dixie thanks her parents, Jeff and Jerry Jarrett, Spike TV, and all of the fans for bringing them to this moment. Dixie says they aren't ashamed of being a "WRESTLING company" and then decides to bring out the whole damn roster to milk in the fan's appreciation a bit. Everyone from Angle and Styles to the Knockouts and the refs come out. Dixie Carter next decides to introduce the first introduction into the TNA Hall of Fame...Sting!

We get a nice video package with members of the roster praising Sting's historic career. Sting hits the ring to a big ovation and hugs Dixie. A "Thank You Sting!" chant starts up before it's quickly replaced by a monster "YES!" Daniel Bryan chant, much to my amusement. Dixie puts over how much Sting has meant to TNA's growth as a company (which is true, they never would have gotten the Spike TV deal without him) and then makes me laugh a bit by claiming he's doing his best work ever at the current moment. She says the official induction ceremony will happen at Bound For Glory however, not tonight. Sting, always humble, thanks Dixie, the roster, and of course the fans. He claims tonight will be SHOWTIME and that wraps up our segment. Hmm, no Christian? Maybe he's involved in something else tonight?

TNA Knockouts Title Match
Gail Kim © vs. Miss Tessmacher
Nice pop for the native Texan Tessmacher. Kim nails her with a dropkick after the bell but Tessmacher delivers an armdrag and Gail bails to the floor. Tessmacher follows her out and gets her back sent into the ring apron. Back inside Brooke hits a clothesline from the second rope and fires off a decent hurricanrana. Gail drops her throat first over the top rope from the wheelbarrow position and feeds her forearms. Shoulderbreaker out of the corner gets Gail two and she works a neat headscissors submission on Tessmacher as the smarky crowd seems more into Gail then the hometown girl. Tessmacher fires off a neckbreaker and then hits a dropkick in the corner. Tessmacher botches a move and seems legit hurt and it doesn't help that Gail bumps her off the apron, sending her into the guard rail outside the ring. Tessmacher reverses a suplex attempt into a roll-up and gets the three count and the title at 6:44. Tessmacher is over so she's not a bad candidate to take the belt off Gail even if she's not a great worker, but I figured it would be later down the line. Match was decent enough but Tessmacher was sloppy and this probably should have been a bigger "moment" in front of her hometown crowd than it actually wound up being. *3/4

Bully Ray sneaks up behind JB backstage for some promo time. He says he's from Hell's Kitchen, "God's Country", which has to be the line of the night so far. Ray reminds Joseph Park that he's not going to be legally responsible if he plays dirty with Park because "anything goes" in their match.

"Anything Goes" Match
Bully Ray vs. Joseph Park
How dumb did I feel when I realized only about three weeks ago that Park is actually Abyss without the mask, but I guess that just speaks to how well he plays the Park character. He comes out in a jogging suit and a big "Yankees Suck!" chant starts up in reference to Ray's hat. Have I mentioned I love this crowd? Park takes off his glasses and Ray wants him to take a free shot. He does and misses of course. Bully spits in his face and Joseph slaps him in the face for a big pop. Ray nails him with a forearm and Park goes down. Bully grabs a chair but Park manages to grab it from him. He teases hitting him with it but turns his back stupidly and Ray nails him with another forearm before waffling him with two chairshots. The action spills to the floor where Ray blasts Park with a water bottle. Back inside Ray misses the back senton from the top and Park HULKS UP, feeding off the crowd enough to lay in some girlish fisticuffs on Ray in the corner before Ray kicks his face off. Ray pulls a table out and sets it up in the ring as an "E-C-Dub!" chant breaks out. He grabs a kendo stick as well but Park grabs a hold of it and nails Ray with the kendo stick for a near fall. Park slides out of the ring and underneath the ring....and then Abyss slides out the other side! Abyss chokeslams Ray through the table and then disappears back under the ring, and Park conveniently returns from under the ring and covers Ray for the win at 10:25. Park played his role as a non-wrestler very well here and while this wasn't as brutal or exciting of a match as I was hoping for they did work a good story and the finish was amusing. Park was way over too. **1/2

Backstage the World champion Bobby Roode shits on the party by claiming no one cares about Sting's Hall of Fame induction and that he'll be retaining his title later tonight.

Hulk Hogan comes out next and announces his next surprise for the fans...Christian Cage! It's pretty surreal to see the current WWE Intercontinental champion rolling up into a TNA ring in the middle of a PPV. Tenay puts over his time in the company and his former NWA World title reign. He gets some "Welcome back!" and "Please come back!" chants. Christian jokes that the last time he was here there were a few more corners to the ring but even though some of the faces and venues have changed the one thing that hasn't changed is the fans. Christian says everyone in attendance and watching at home should get up and give themselves a round of applause. Christian gets down to business now though, paying off the historical moments countdown by showing us the number one moment in TNA history, the debut of Sting. We go right into the video package for the next match afterwards but this was a neat and surreal little moment to see a current WWE champion in a TNA ring for a PPV. I doubt it will lead to anything but just the fact that the two companies are working together in some way gives me hope for the future that perhaps they could work out some sort of talent exchange.

TNA Tag Team Title Match
Christopher Daniels/Kazarian © vs. AJ Styles/Kurt Angle
I have to admit I've been really looking forward to this one. AJ hits the ring as soon as his music starts and we're off. Kaz tries a rollup but AJ hits a pair of dropkicks. The action spills to the floor where AJ is nearly sent into the guardrail but he slides underneath the rail then launches himself off of it with a flying forearm on Kaz! Off-camera Angle apparently hits Daniels with a flying forearm of his own and AJ tags Angle in for a double team suplex. Angle backdrops Daniels and then tags AJ back in, who delivers a big backbreaker. Kaz tags in and nails AJ on the top rope with a big spin kick, leaving AJ hanging from the top rope by one knee in grotesque fashion. Daniels and Kaz trade quick tags in their corner, working AJ over as our babyface in peril. They hit a nice reverse 3-D of sorts on AJ and Kaz tries for a suplex, but AJ counters into a nasty neckbreaker. Daniels tags in but AJ gets the hot tag to Angle. Kurt hands out a belly to belly to Daniels before giving both of the tag champs a German suplex. Angle Slam on Daniels but Kaz breaks the cover up. Another pair of Germans on Kaz and when Kaz tries to grab the ropes to break up the third one he winds up grabbing a hold of Daniels so that Angle delivers a double German suplex to both men! Slightly contrived but a cool spot nevertheless. Angle blocks the Angel's Wings from Daniels and tags AJ in, who cleans house on the champs and then delivers a reverse/standard DDT combo to both of them for a thunderous pop. All four men take each other out with big moves and Styles nearly wins it with a wheelbarrow facebuster. Top rope belly to belly suplex on Kaz from Angle but he gets wiped out with an STO from Daniels when he tries celebrating. Daniels misses the Best Moonsault Ever but lands on his feet only to be planted with a German from Angle! Pele kick on Kaz and AJ makes the tag to Angle, who hits a top rope splash for a two count that nearly wins it but Daniels pulls the ref out. No worries, AJ wipes Daniels out with a springboard shooting star press! Insane. Angle applies the ankle lock to Kaz in the ring and he taps out despite being two inches away from the ropes to give Angle and Styles the titles at 14:25. I could have totally used another five minutes to really flesh this one out but what we got was flat out amazing as all four men went balls to the wall just as I expected and delivered all kinds of awesome sequences and spots. Styles and Angle as tag champs should lead to some interesting stuff down the line too. ***3/4

TNA World Title Match
Robert Roode © vs. Sting
I love Sting and am glad he's the first induction into the TNA Hall of Fame, but I really hope that doesn't mean we're in line for another Sting title run. Roode stalls for quite a bit to start but finally hits the ring and Sting nearly gets him in the Scorpion Death Lock, which sends Roode bailing out of the ring for a breather. Sting follows him out and throws him into the guardrail. Why does every modern Sting match wind up outside the ring within 20 seconds of the bell? Roode teases walking off on the match but Sting grabs him and sends him into the steel steps. Back in the ring Roode takes back the momentum with some big chops in the corner. Roode works a sleeper on Sting but Sting breaks it up and delivers a superplex. Sting locks him into the Scorpion Death Lock but Roode is able to escape the hold barely. The action spills outside once again and Sting hits a Stinger Splash on Roode on the guard-rails. Sting locks Roode into the Scorpion Death Lock on top of the announcer's table and Roode taps out, but you can't win by submission outside the ring! Roode grabs a beer bottle left over from James Storm's return and smashes Sting over the head with it behind the ref's back to get the cheap win to retain at 10:55. A fun brawl and much better than some of Sting's recent efforts, this made both guys look good (Roode winning in the cowardly heel way works perfectly with his character) and was a fine way to cap off a surprisingly fun show. ***

After the match Sting is pissed, so he suplexes Roode on the ramp. Sting winds up giving Roode a Stinger Death Drop off the ramp through a bit of staging for a big bump to close off the PPV.

Bottom Line: This show was far better than I was expecting as the card looked solid but unspectacular going in. Every match I was looking forward to delivered here though and even some of the matches I wasn't anticipating wound up being pretty good. Throw in some really cool moments like Christian showing up, the Hall of Fame announcement, and the final bump to end the show and this wound up being a pretty damn good show tonight. Easy Thumbs Up.

Score: 8.0/10

EVOLVE 8: Style Battle iPPV (5/20/11)

2012-06-04T13:30:00.001-07:00

EVOLVE 8: Style Battle
May 20th, 2011
ACE Arena, Union City, New Jersey
Attendance: 100

So after nearly a year of letting indy shows pile up I've decided to work my way back into the pile again, and one of the promotions I promised myself I'd keep a tab on is Gabe Sapolsky's EVOLVE. It's becoming less and less relevant with Dragon Gate USA getting more attention but I still like the roster and the wins/losses system, so let's do this thing. Tonight's show is a live iPPV mini-tournament being dubbed a "style battle" as every competitor has been chosen for their unique style and set of skills in the ring. The Win/Loss records will not be affected by the results of tonight's tournament however, it's a one-off deal.

Your hosts are Lenny Leonard and Rob Naylor

Style Battle Quarter-Finals Match
A.R. Fox vs. Rich Swann
These two guys would be great additions to the X-Division if TNA ever actually got serious about getting fresh young talent for it. Quick moonsault from Fox and we're off. Swann eats a leaping ace crusher from Fox but sweeps his legs out from under him and hits a standing SSP. Step up enziguri from Fox and he follows up with a guillotine leg drop over the apron. Swanton from Fox gets him a two count. Package piledriver of sorts from Swann and he follows with the standing 450 splash for a near fall of his own. Swann eats a Codebreaker from the top rope and that's enough to give Fox the win at 5:23. Pretty standard stuff from these two, which means it was highly athletic and certainly fun but they kept it short and sweet so as not to blow their loads early in the event, and I can appreciate that with the tournament format of the show. After the match Fox says he's glad to be moving onto the next round and Swann refuses to shake his hand. **1/4

Style Battle Quarter-Finals Match
Jon Davis vs. Tony Nese
Nese was recently in TNA for a cup of coffee and is a pretty well-rounded worker in the ring with a good look. Davis is an underrated powerhouse himself. Davis shrugs off some early kicks from Nese but Tony hits a springboard lionsault for a quick pin attempt. Davis delivers a big powerslam out of the corner and then cuts off a comeback attempt by Nese with an elbow. Delayed suplex gets Davis two. Back suplex out of the corner gets him the same results. Davis catches Nese off the top in a bear hug and starts squeezing the life out of him like a rag doll. Spinning heel kick from Nese and both men briefly jockey for position on the top rope before Nese fires off a top rope frankensteiner for another near fall. Davis takes his head off with a lariat but Nese fights off a second one with a bridging German suplex. Nese gets caught off the top rope with a spinebuster then gets buckle-bombed in the corner before Davis finishes him off with the 3 Seconds Around the World at 10:02. Power vs. Speed always works when you've got two guys who can go like these two, and this was a lot of fun as Nese did a good job of putting doubt into my mind about what the finish would be. After the match Davis tells AR Fox he's next. ***

Style Battle Quarter-Finals Match
Brodie Lee vs. Sami Callihan
Now this should be some rough and tough fun. Lee finally got a WWE developmental deal and is now Luke Harper in FCW, but this was when he was still rippin' up the indies and impressing people with his agilit. Brodie uppercuts Sami in and out of the ring and then cuts off a missile dropkick attempt on the apron with a fist. Delayed suplex from Lee and he follows it by tossing Sami up and over his head with a belly to belly suplex like a ragdoll.Sami is able to apply a sleeper briefly to Brodie but the big man breaks it up soon enough and delivers a huge pumphandle slam for a two count. They trade stiff shops and Brodie boots his head off. Brodie falls out to the floor and Sami takes advantage of the circumstances with a big tope against the guardrail. Brodie recovers and slams Sami on the ring apron with a series of back suplexes before tossing him into the front row and hitting the ring before the ref's count. Sami barely makes it back into the ring before 20 but gets caught with a pair of swinging sidewalk slams. Sami takes all this punishment and manages to muster up a lariat in defense. Brodie blocks a springboard attempt and plants Sami with a Liger Bomb, but he kicks out. Sami manages to lift the big man up for a Death Valley Driver but Lee responds with a big chokeslam. Callihan grabs him anyways and puts him into the Stretch Muffler, kicking his head while applying the move until Brodie taps out at 12:36. In front of a bigger crowd this could have been something special but as it remains it was still a hard fought, stiff, manly and brutal match that woke the crowd up. Clobberiffic. ***1/4

After the match Sami gloats about making the biggest, baddest dude in the company tap out.

Style Battle Quarter-Finals Match
Bobby Fish vs. Austin Aries
Fish has become a NOAH regular in Japan while Aries finally managed to cash in on his buckets of talent and charisma in TNA with a bonafide push as the central point of their X-Division. Lots of amateur takedown attempts to start with the feeling out process. Aries works Fish out with some nice armdrag exchanges off the ropes. Aries tries for a backslide but Fish counters into a submission attempt that Aries quickly breaks up. Aries hits a dropkick on Fish in the corner and then begins some upper leg work on Bobby. They trade stiff chops and Fish hits a tope con hilo for a near fall. Fish drives Aries chest first into the turnbuckle Bret Hart style then refocuses back on the knee. Northern Lights suplex by Aries but Fish catches him in the old abdominal stretch. Fish gets sent out to the floor and Aries delivers a very Macho Man-esque double-axe handle off the top to Fish on the floor (I believe this event aired on or around the day Savage passed away).Both men tease a suplex on the ring apron until Aries snaps Fish's neck over the top rope and then puts him in the Last Chancery. Fish gets the rope break though and they're trading forearms back on their feet. Aries teases the powerdrive elbow but goes for a Macho Man elbow drop instead for a two count (prompting a Macho Man! chant). Fish misses a moonsault attempt and lands on his head. Aries misses a frog splash but makes up for it by sending Fish to the floor and hitting another tope that knocks down the guard rail completely in a neat bump. Aries misses the missile dropkick back in the ring though and Fish targets that same leg he was working early in the match with a dragon-screw and some kicks. He hits an exploder suplex out of the corner and a diving headbutt off the top rope. Aries responds with a back suplex but gets caught in a gutbuster and Fish is pissed now, all fired up and delivering stiff roundhouse kicks straight to Austin's head. Aries hits the patented dropkick/brainbuster combination but only gets a two count from it. He misses the 450 splash and tries a second brainbuster but that won't do it either so he transitions into the Last Chancery. but Fish escapes it and grabs a hold of Aries in a nasty heel hook submission that he doesn't let go of until Aries taps out at 22:35. I watched the first few minutes of this and thought it was going to play out to a familiar formula but instead these guys totally superseded my expectations and delivered a match that was chock full of psychology, sick bumps and passion. The only thing missing was a bigger crowd, but a minor gripe for a great match. ***3/4

After the match Bobby says that was the biggest win of his career, and explains that he learned that variation of the heel hook from one Mr. Bryan Danielson himself. He doesn't seem to connect with the fans as well as he should, but that's probably just because the crowds are usually so small and quiet at these shows. Fish definitely has all the tools necessary to be a helpful part of the roster.

Next up Larry Dallas and Reby Sky make their way to the ring for some promo time. Lenny Leonard brings up their actions at the last show, throwing in the towel for one of their wrestlers and that a new rule has been enacted that from now on only licensed trainers and managers can be at ringside during a match. They talk a bit about their newest acquisition participating in the FRAY match later tonight and then take off before they get fired for being out here without a reason.

Style Battle Semi-Finals Match
AR Fox vs. Jon Davis
Now we're onto the semi-finals of the tournament here. Fox fires off a quick 'rana to start but gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb from Davis. Stiff knee from Davis and he delivers a pair of scoop slams before hitting a running powerslam out of the corner. Davis muscles Fox up in a big vertical suplex then goes to work on his mid-section in the corner. Davis falls out to the floor and Fox nearly kills himself on a moonsault off the apron. Back in the ring he hits a springboard 450 splash for two but Davis hits him with a huge football tackle. Codebreaker off the top from Fox gets him the pin at 7:16. This match never got a chance to build any kind of momentum or story and it was clear this was just a filler spot in the tournament, but the action flew by atleast. Finish came out of nowhere. After the match Jon Davis wishes AR Fox luck. **

Style Battle Semi-Finals Match
Sami Callihan vs. Bobby Fish
Winner faces Fox in the finals. Both men shake hands to start then trade kicks.Fish goes for the heel hook he won with earlier but Sami quickly escapes it. Falcon Arrow from Fish and he follows with an exploder suplex out of the corner, followed by a diving headbutt for two. Sami lays in some stiff forears on Fish then takes him to the mat and begins reigning down big elbow smashes on Fish's head when the ref calls for the bell to stop the match at 4:10. Well that was a lame finish, if you're going to do the "ref stop the match because the opponent can't protect himself" finish you need to make sure you put over how much punishment the guy has taken that night and in that match. This just felt like Fish was on top one second and being knocked out with a few forearms seconds later, which was especially strange after they put Fish over so strong against Aries earlier in the night. Weird match. *1/2

After the match Fish congratulates Callihan, whose ready to take on AR Fox in the finals.

The S.A.T. (Joel Maximo/Wil Maximo) vs. The New Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes/Alex Colon)
Both of these teams have a long history with Gabe and the old ROH but each team here features a new member with cousin Wil replacing brother Jose in the SAT and Alex Colon replacing Rocky Romero whose graduated onto bigger and better things in Japan as the fourth incarnation of the famous Black Tiger character that Eddie Guerrero once played. Joel is quickly sent to the floor by Colon but he sends Alex into the guardrail as Wil 'ranas Reyes out after him. Reyes cuts off a tope attempt and elbows Wil back inside. Colon tags in and lays in big kicks on Wil, who counters with a German suplex. Reyes tags in and applies a chinlock but Wil fights it off with a jumping DDT and tags Joel in. Powerslam from Joel but Reyes catches him with a kick and a neckbreaker. Pitbulls take control with a double team double-stomp manuever and tag rules went out the window in this one about twenty seconds in. The SAT finish Alex off with the Spanish Fly at 5:29. While it's nice to see the SAT getting some work again, this felt like filler and the fans just didn't care about any of it. It didn't help that they basically threw the tag rules out the window within a minute of the match. It's one thing to throw them out late in a match when the action is hot and heavy but what's the point of even having tag rules if you can just come in and do whatever you want within 60 seconds anyways? *1/2

FRAY! Match
Scott Reed vs. Cheech Hernandez vs. Brian XL vs. Blain Rage vs. Kory Chavis vs. Pinkie Sanchez vs. Derek Ryze vs. Ahtu
The rules here are that two guys start out and every 90 seconds a new guy enters the match and there are eliminations until there's only one man left. Winner gets booked on the next slew of Dragon Gate USA shows. Reed and Cheech start us off and you just can't help but hate Reed's guts because of his goofy Mortal Kombat-esque ponytail haircut. STO from Reed and the next man out is Brian XL, who old school indy fans will remember from the very early days of ROH and CZW (there's a reason he was gone as as soon as both companies could employ better talent) but he hits a nice headscissors on Reed before totally botching a springboard DDT on Cheech. And just to make sure to get over how bad XL still is he immediately botches the suicide dive out of the ring onto Cheech moments later, nearly breaking his own neck in the process. Reed hits a back suplex and someone named Blain Rage is out next. I watch the most obscure of indies and even I haven't heard of this guy. He and Cheech fire off stereo hurricanranas on Reed and XL and the next man out is Kory Chavis, the tag team partner of Jon Davis in the Dark City Fight Club. He hits an inside out suplex on XL and quickly eliminates him at 5:45. Kory lariats Rage and then plants him with a pendulum slam at 6:30. Well atleast we got the scrubs out now. Next man out is Pinkie Sanchez, still freshly canned from CHIKARA around this point. Pinkie hits a German on Kory out of the ring and then takes him out with a somersault senton over the top rope. Reed eliminates Cheech in the ring with the Roll of the Dice neckbreaker at 8:13. Derek Ryze is in next, another kid I've never heard of just as Reed gets his head booted off by Chavis, who eliminates Reed at 9:03. Pinkie stomps Derek's head into the mat but Ryze hits a blockbuster on Chavis off the top. He tries for a cross body but Chavis catches him, tosses him aside like a ragdoll, and eliminates him at 10:19. The final man out is Ahtu, the mystery man in Larry Dallas' stable. He spears Chavis in the ring and eliminates him immediately at 10:52. Ahtu is ripped and huge and looks like he would do well in the big leagues but he sloppily tosses Pinkie out of the ring and a few fans chant "You can't wrestle!" at him. Pinkie barely makes it back inside before the 20 count and it's surreal seeing a crowd rally behind Pinkie as the underdog babyface here as I'm so used to him a slimy heel. Rob Naylor makes a Devo reference, earning cool points in my book while Pinkie launches off the top and hits Ahtu with a DDT out of nowhere for the win at 14:56. This was a total mess for the most part as you had guys nobody knew in there, a guy nobody has seen in several years botching things left and right, and no flow whatsoever to this match. Even the spots were lame. The finish was decent as the crowd actually got invested and behind Pinkie against the meathead heel Ahtu, but everything before that was a waste of time. After the match Pinkie promises to see everyone in Dragon Gate. *3/4

Style Battle Finals Match
AR Fox vs. Sami Callihan
And we arrive at the finals tonight with Fox representing the high-flying style and Sami the hard-hitting. Fox calls for the Lo Mein Pein (a top rope reverse STO of sorts) early but Sami blocks it and wipes out Fox on the floor with a tope. Fox slides right back into the ring though and wipes out Sami with a springboard 450 splash on the floor. But Fox is fired up and that's not enough for him, so he goes back in the ring and hits a huge somersault senton out of the ring as well just for good measure. Back in the ring Sami retorts with a STIFF jumping clothesline on the apron. Fox drops a leg over Sami's neck on the ring apron and looks for another moonsault but Sami catches him with an exploder suplex on the floor. Back in the ring Sami hits a back suplex and slaps on a tight chinlock. Fans seem split, chanting for Sami one minute and then getting behind Fox as the underdog the next. Bicicyle kick/death valley driver combo from Sami followed by a slingshot body press gets him two. Sami gloats a bit while beating down Fox with chops but AR hits a chinbreaker and then a leaping ace crusher for a two count. Swanton bomb from Fox and he tries for a follow up moonsault but Sami gets the knees up and lariats him for two. Fox hits the Codebreaker off the top (the move he won his first two matches with), but Sami kicks out this time. Fox goes to the top but Sami takes him off with a super Saito suplex, then follows with another Saito and a lariat but still Fox kicks out. Fox hits a boot on Sami up top in the corner and then hits him with the Lo Mein Pain that he teased earlier to pick up the pin and win the tournament at 10:13. This was a great little finals match for the short time they had to work with, even if the roles were a bit confusing at points. They went right to high gear pretty much from the bell and didn't let up for ten minutes so it's hard to fault their effort here, even if the whole thing felt slightly underwhelming for a main event. These two were definitely the right choices for the finals though. ***

After the match Fox thanks the fans for attending and he basks a bit in their chats for a minute as the winner of the inaugural Style Battle tournament tonight.

Bottom Line: This wasn't one of the stronger EVOLVE shows and a lot of that can be accredited to the tournament concept. While the whole style battle tournament idea is a good one in theory, they didn't really showcase any differing styles in the ring other than your standard indie head-drop high-spot formula. Some of that can be blamed on the short time restraints a few matches had in order to fit under the 2 hour broadcast, but they could have cut the Fray or tag team match easily I thought to accommodate them there. All that said though, there were some enjoyable matches on this show, particularly Sami/Brodie and Aries/Fish, so I can't call it an outright bad show by any means, but just a rather boring and average one. Some solid stuff on here for sure but as a whole you don't have to go out of your way to see this one, so we'll go with a Thumbs in the Middle sort of deal as half of this is quite good and half of it is boring and amateurish.

Score: 5.5/10

WWE Over the Limit 2012

2012-06-01T15:05:00.003-07:00

WWE Over the Limit 2012
May 20th, 2012
PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Attendance: 8,000

Well we've arrived at what many are predicting to be one of the least bought WWE PPVs in recent years with a main event of John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis, but to be honest I've seen worse cards and atleast we've got a WWE title match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, something I couldn't have imagined typing seven years ago when they were both in ROH. Rest of the card is so-so, but let's do this thing anyways.

Your hosts are Matt Striker and Josh Matthews

YouTube Pre-Show Match
Kane vs. Zack Ryder
The viewership numbers for last month's YouTube pre-show match were so good they decided to make it a regular thing, which I have no problem with, I always liked the idea of a pre-show match. Ryder lures Kane out of the ring in a chase and then sends the big man face-first into the steps before wiping him out with a nice pescado. Back inside Kane regains the upper hand with a backbreaker and a dropkick. Ryder hits a lucky neckbreaker and then tries for the Rough Ryder, but Kane counters into a side slam. Ryder blocks the top rope lariat attempt and hits Kane with the Broski Boot in the corner, but only gets a one count out of it. Ryder again looks for the Rough Ryder, but gets caught with the chokeslam instead for the pin at 6:52. Not nearly as lopsided as I was expecting, they actually let Ryder hit a few of his spots and it made this far more entertaining than the squash I was expecting. Still, hopefully Ryder gets some kind of win in this feud at some point to regain any of the heat he's rapidly been losing since becoming a punchline on RAW with Cena, Eve, and Kane. **

Backstage during the preshow Santino Marella and Cody Rhodes argue over whether the Intercontinental or US title are more prestigious. Eve tells them that to decide the matter we'll have a "People Power" battle royal up next to kick off the PPV with the winner of the match getting a title shot against either the IC or US champ (whoever they choose) later tonight on the show. Well, why not.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Booker T

"People Power" Battle Royal
(Featuring The Great Khali, The Miz, JTG, Ezekiel Jackson, Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Michael McGillicutty, Yoshi Tatsu, Tyson Kidd, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Titus O'Neill, Alex Riley, David Otunga, William F'N Regal, and Christian)
I was excited enough just to see William Regal getting in this thing, but a returning Christian makes this much more interesting. We kick off the PPV live with the match just under way and both US and IC champs sitting at ringside watching on. Heath Slater is our first man gone, and he's followed quickly by McGiillicutty. JTG is eliminated by a sweet pair of stereo superkicks from the Uso's and Tatsu joins him moments later after being suplexed out of the ring by McIntyre. Big Zeke nearly eliminates Hawkins, but Reks saves him and the two eliminated Jackson instead. Jey Uso is gone next after a low bridge from D-Young. McIntyre is gone next from Hawkins and Reks, but both men are eliminated themselves moments later by the Great Khali, who tosses Jinder Mahal out to join them as well. Khali gets tossed by Miz, Young, and O'Neill not long after. Titus misses a kick though and gets eliminated by Jimmy Uso. Regal is really stiffing Christian with some nice European uppercuts in the corner while Darren Young clotheslines Jimmy Uso out of the ring, nearly eliminating himself in the process. Regal is tossed next by Christian to some minor boos. Sadface. Riley eliminated D-Young with a dropkick and then lays out his former mentor Miz with a big spinebuster. Miz knees Riley out of the ring moments later and we're down to our final four, Christian, Miz, Kidd, and Otunga. Kidd lays in some stiff kicks on Miz then takes out both Miz and Otunga with a sweet springboard dropkick for a nice pop. Look at Kidd getting over as a babyface. Too bad he's eliminated moments later by Otunga and Miz. Otunga and Miz team up on Christian, so I guess he's a face again after that brief heel turn to join Team Johnny. The crowd gets behind him while the heels do the usual beatdown. Christian fights back with that feisty Canadian offense and eliminates Otunga. Miz and Christian tease their finishers on another but neither connect. Christian is nearly eliminated, hanging on the apron until he manages to toss Miz onto the apron with him and spear him to the floor, giving Christian the win at 12:24. Pretty good stuff for a battle royal actually, they got rid of alot of the jobbers quickly and managed to let a few guys hit a nice spot or two to showcase them (Kidd in particular popped the crowd big with his dropkick spot). The final four was worked well too and though I think Christian is above the IC/US title level at this point, it's better than him being a sidebar on the GM feud. **1/4

WWE Tag Team Title Match
Kofi Kingston/R-Truth © vs. Dolph Ziggler/Jack Swagger
All four of these guys are just lost in the midcard right now, but on paper this still looks solid. Kofi starts off with Swagger, fighting off his larger foe's power game with the usual flashy high-flying antics before tagging Truth in for his dancing legdrop. Swagger tags out and Truth cranks on Ziggler's arm a bit and tags Kofi back in for a flying cross-body and two count. Inside-out suplex from Ziggler and the heels take firm control here, suplexing Kofi around and trading tags. Truth gets the tag in though and hits the corkscrew elbow and a sitout gourdbuster. Swagger Bomb out of the corner gets two and the heels do an extended heat segment on Truth in their corner for several minutes. Nifty double-team move from the heels with Ziggler driving Truth's head into the mat as Swagger holds him in a wheelbarrow position and Ziggler applies a chinlock. Truth breaks it up as Swagger tags in and fires off a huge tornado DDT on the All American out of the corner, finally allowing him to get the hot tag to Kingston. Kofi takes out Ziggler with cross-bodies and dropkicks before hitting the Boom Drop. Kofi misses the Trouble in Paradise and the SOS, but he hits a huge cross-body for a pin that Swagger only barely is able to break up. Jack unsuccessfully tries to suplex Kofi out of the ring and falls out himself, but it gives Ziggler enough time to nail Kofi with the Fameasser back in the ring. Truth breaks up the pin before wiping out Swagger on the floor with a pescado just as Kofi hits the Trouble in Paradise on Ziggler in the ring to retain the titles at 12:17. Standard formula stuff for the most part but great talent will always find ways to spice up that formula and all four men did here. Lots of fun and this probably should have been the opener. ***

Backstage Eve hires Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks to go out into the audience and remove any disrespectful signs about Johnny Ace.

WWE Diva's Title Match
Layla © vs. Beth Phoenix
Where the hell is Kharma? I thought she was all healed up. Sloppy lock up and some hair pulling to start. Layla hits a cross-body and the crowd is so bored already some fans randomly chant for Colt Cabana. Que? Beth wraps Layla's surgically reconstructed knee around the post and works the limb over back inside. Layla misses a spinkick and Beth tries for a press slam, but Layla counters into a DDT. Both ladies trade roll up attempts and Layla hits a nice neckbreaker for the win at 7:10. Fans just did not care at all about this and you can't blame them either. Boring match that only slightly picked up a bit of steam towards the end. *1/2

Backstage Chris Jericho and Randy Orton get in each-others faces before the fatal four way match

World Heavyweight Title Fatal Fourway Match
Sheamus © vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio
Thank God they changed this from Sheamus/Del Rio to the four-way because I'm not sure anyone cared at all about seeing that title match on PPV. All four men immediately brawl out of the ring to start where Sheamus and Orton dispatch of the heels and return to the ring for a stand-off. They trade punches until Jericho low bridges the champ out of the ring, allowing the heels to team up on Orton with a double suplex. Outside the ring Del Rio hits a running knee to Sheamus' repeatedly injured shoulder and now the heels team up on the champ, tossing him into the announcer's table. They try to the same act on Orton back in the ring but the Viper fights them off, suplexing Jericho. Del Rio tries a cover and Jericho breaks it up, ending their temporary alliance. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Del Rio on Jericho, but Alberto turns around into a lariat from Orton, sending him out of the ring. Jericho, Orton, and Del Rio all battle into the same corner back in the ring where they tease the Tower of Doom spot, but Sheamus breaks it up and nails Alberto with a flying shoulderblock from the top rope. Rolling senton from Sheamus but he lets Ricardo distract him from outside the ring, allowing Del Rio to recover and nail a huge spin kick on the champ for a near fall. Sheamus comes back with a big knee and sideslam but Del Rio counters when he signals for the Celtic Cross. Sheamus lays in the hammerfists on Del Rio in the corner but Jericho breaks it up with a springboard dropkick. Orton hits the ring and hands out powerslams to Jericho and Sheamus before hitting the champ with the second-rope DDT. Del Rio puts Orton into the cross armbar as he goes into his Viper pre-RKO sequence but Jericho breaks up the hold. Del Rio blocks a Lionsault attempt from Jericho and Orton gives him the over-the-shoulder backbreaker. Not to be outdone Sheamus gives Del Rio the Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus and Orton tease their finishers until Sheamus is sent out again. Orton gives both Del Rio and Ricardo the second rope DDT for a nice pop and a near fall. Codebreaker on Orton out of nowhere, but Jericho turns around into the cross armbar from Alberto. No problem, he just counters into the Walls of Jericho. Sheamus tries to break it up but eats a Codebreaker of his own for another near fall. Jericho counters a rolling senton from the champ into the Walls as well but Orton breaks it up with a RKO on Jericho. Del Rio breaks up the pin but eats his own RKO. Randy turns around into the Brogue Kick from the champ, who then finishes Jericho with Finlay's old Celtic Cross (now dubbed "White Noise") at 15:53. Phew, that was just going a mile a minute and was hard to just keep up with let alone recap, but it was chaotic in a very good kind of way. Not much flow to begin with but by the time we got to the finish everyone was firing on all cylinders. ***1/4

Backstage Cody Rhodes wants to wish Christian luck on challenging the US champion tonight, but Christian isn't buying it and tells him he's changed his mind and wants to wrestle Cody for the IC belt instead tonight.

"The Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay vs. The Miz
From World champion to jobber for Brodus freaking Clay, my how Miz has fallen. Miz does his usual mic shtick before the match and mocks Clay's dancing a bit. Miz gets a few minor bits of offense in but it's not long before Brodus takes him off the top rope with a huge pumphandle slam and then finishes him with the splash at 4:12. Who's coffee did Miz piss in to become such a joke these days? 3/4*

WWE Intercontinental Title Match
Cody Rhodes © vs. Christian
Cody takes it right to Christian with a gourdbuster to start but Christian sends him out to the floor quickly and then nails him with a running dropkick. Back inside Cody hits a dropkick and then delivers a big superplex to Christian. He gives Christian the Cactus clothesline then launches a kick off the steps on his challenger. Missile dropkick from Christian but he misses a top rope cross body. Cody blocks a tornado DDT out of the corner and hits a nice moonsault for a near fall. Christian counters a whip into the corner into the Killswitch to pick up the win and the title at 7:25. The work here was fine and even good at points but there wasn't much heat or spark to anything here, just felt a bit like going through the motions for most of the way through. Not sure if I approve of a demotion to the midcard for Christian either. **1/4

Backstage CM Punk does a terrible impression of Vince McMahon while reflecting on the fact that he and Daniel Bryan are actually one of the main events of a WWE PPV, fighting for the WWE tite. It is a rather surreal moment for a longtime fan of both men like myself. AJ interrupts to wish Punk luck tonight.

WWE Title Match
CM Punk © vs. Daniel Bryan
This match almost made me buy this PPV. Almost. Long and LOUD dueling chants from the fans for both men to start as the two men trade your basic opening exchange of holds and strikes. Stiff kicks from Bryan in the corner and back-flips out of the corner and almost right into an early GTS. Punk just curb-stomps Bryan's face into the mat for a two count and then back suplexes him right out of the ring. Punk follows him out but gets tossed into the time-keeper's section. Back in the ring Bryan hits a missile dropkick and tries applying a neck crank but Punk breaks it up and tries for the figure four, which Bryan counters into a cradle for two. Bryan stretches Punk out in one of the more vicious Mexican Surfboards I can ever remember seeing, chanting "YES!" the whole way through. Punk was being stretched like a pretzel and/or 90 pound Joshi wrestler right there. Punk is finally able to break through with some stiff elbows and fires off a fisherman's suplex. Bryan responds with a diving headbutt off the top rope and both men wind up colliding in mid-air as they simultaneously attempt cross-bodies off the ropes. Punk picks up some momentum with a swinging neckbreaker and a huge powerslam for a near fall. Bryan gets backdropped out of the ring and Punk takes him out moments later with a tope. Back inside Punk tries coming off the top but Bryan catches him with a dropkick. Bryan lays in more stiff kicks but Punk counters with a dragonscrew legwhip and then slaps on the figure four. Both men begin trading stiff slaps while in the hold in a flashback to some of their ROH matches. Punk tries La Magistral for a near fall and likes the idea so much he goes for the same move a second time, but Bryan counters into a Magistral attempt of his own, which Punk escapes only to be met with a sickening kick to the temple from Bryan. That whole sequence was smoother than silk, but it only gets Bryan a two count. Cole actually does a good job on commentary for once, bringing up some of the nasty injuries both men have suffered in the past and fought through. Bryan tries setting Punk up in the corner for a frankensteiner but gets crotched on the top rope, and Punk follows it up with a sick springboard clothesline just for good measure. Both men are drained by now but still trade tired forearms on their knees before each man misses a wild spin-kick attempt. Bryan counters a GTS attempt into a cradle and then tries for the YES! Lock but Punk counters that by launching Bryan over the top rope. Bryan catches the ropes though and skins the cat back into the ring only to be met with a knock-out kick to the temple from Punk. Another fantastic sequence there. Macho Man elbow drop from Punk, but he hurts his ribs again and can't get the cover quick enough. Bryan targets in on the ribs with huge knees but misses a running dropkick in the corner. Punk hits the Muay Thai knee in the corner and goes for the requisite running bulldog to follow up but Bryan counters into the YES! Lock! Bryan cranks away on it but Punk manages to shift into a cover on Bryan as the ref counts the three count just as Punk begins tapping out to the move as soon as the ref calls for the bell at 23:56. This was everything we were expecting it to be, and that's the kind of stellar affair that can only be provided by two guys who are very familiar with one another in and out of the ring. Some incredible sequences and counters in this one and the crowd was with them the whole way through too in a way rarely seen in title matches anymore. Potential Match of the Year candidate. ****1/2

Backstage Teddy Long threatens to have Eve and Otunga fired if Johnny loses tonight.

Ryback vs. Camacho
I hate squash matches on PPV, save that shit for TV. Goldberg chants for Ryback and we've got our typical squash of his. Hunico tries to interfere behind the ref's back to give Camacho an advantage but soon enough Ryback is tossing him around like a scrub and finishing him off with the marching Samoan drop at 1:54. As I like to say, your typical Ryback squash. 1/4*

John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis
SMELL THE BUYRATE! Always a good idea to base a PPV around a comedy match main event guys, really. Cena gives Johnny an airplane spin and then grabs the ring bell and hammer and rings it right next to Ace's head. Cena slams him into the commentary table and sets Johnny up in Booker's seat before taking Cole's seat, putting headsets on both of them. Cena does a mildly amusing Cole impersonation and Laurinaitis is so out of it he even musters up a "Five time...five time" to parody Booker. Cute spot. Back in the ring Cena gives Johnny the STF for ten full seconds and Johnny manages to not tap out, so Cena applies it again. Cena grabs a fire extinguisher from under the ring and blows it in his face a bit. Johnny tries to run off again so Cena dumps a garbage can full of popcorn and empty drinks on top of his head. Ace finally gets some offense in, targeting Cena's arm and grabbing a steel chair to hit Cena with it a few times. Cena grabs the chair from him though and gives him the Five Knuckle Shuffle with it. Ace hits a low blow and tries to leave again, and gets all the way backstage before the Big Show comes out to drag him back to the ring. Gee, I wonder what could happen next? And in a turn so un-shocking it reminds me of half of the NWO turns in WCW, Show hits Cena with the WMD fist, allowing Johnny to get the pin and keep his job at 17:04. Good God that was one long and tedious comedy match with a finish that absolutely everyone and their mother knew was going to happen and saw coming a mile away. I have no idea who the hell thought this was a good idea for a PPV main event, but they should be canned. Don't be surprised if this PPV's buyrate bombs and then they go and blame Punk and Bryan or something. Horrible, piece of shit match. DUD

We go off the air with Big Show and John Laurinaitis celebrating over a fallen John Cena. As Michael Cole would say, this is truly the darkest day in the history of our sport.

Bottom Line: I was all set to give this show the surprise thumbs up because of the absolutely killer Bryan/Punk match and a really fun tag title match, but then the rest of the show had to go and happen, including one of the worst PPV main events I can remember in a long, long time. There's some stuff worth seeking out here (mainly the two previously mentioned matches) but just as we all thought going in this turned out to be a total filler show with a terrible main event, so feel free to skip this one as a whole. Slight Thumbs Down.

Score: 5.0/10

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! 6/1/12

2012-06-01T14:03:00.002-07:00

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
June 1st, 2012
Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Attendance: Unknown at this time

You know the drill by now, another Friday, another edition of WWE Smackdown. While the brand has been relegated to B-show status for quite some time now there are rumors that McMahon and company want to try and bolster the show a bit with bigger matches and names, starting with a WWE title match tonight between CM Punk and Kane so tonight's show look's a bit more interesting than usual.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews

We open the show with the World Heavyweight champion Sheamus making his way out to the ring for a bit of promo time. He cuts right to the chase, talking about how rich and arrogant his opponent at the PPV Alberto Del Rio is. He says you can't buy the title when suddenly David Otunga decides to come out to interrupt. Otunga shows the clip of Sheamus mowing down Johnny Ace on RAW two weeks ago again and orders him to apologize yet again. Sheamus refuses of course and now out comes Del Rio to call Sheamus a peasant and a hooligan before promising to win the title. Otunga says that Del Rio can pick an opponent for Sheamus later tonight when Sheamus gives Otunga a Brogue Kick out of nowhere. Del Rio bails unscathed though and takes off up the ramp as Sheamus tells him to "never trust a hooligan." Sound advice.

Sin Cara (19-5) vs. Heath Slater (4-31)
This is (finally) Sin Cara's return match after a 7 month layover due to a knee injury. He's decked out in new red gear and immediately takes Slater out of the ring with a lucha libre wristlock before taking him out on the floor with a cross body. Slater catches him coming back in the ring and applies a chinlock. Cara hits a springboard cross body then a variation on his old La Mistica finisher for the quick win at 2:25. Just a total squash to welcome Cara back, as I guess they're going to try using the La Mistica-like finisher again instead of the C4 suplex, which sure makes him a lot less exciting. *

Damien Sandow (1-0) vs. Ezekiel Jackson (14-17)
Sandow of course calls Zeke an ignoramus before the match and tries to walk off, but Zeke tosses him back into the ring and clubs him in the corner. He tries for the torture rack but Sandow slips out and hits a series of knees followed by a Russian leg sweep. The cross-armed neckbreaker finishes it for Sandow at 1:37. Sandow props his head on his hands over Zeke's chest while laying on him afterwards, looking delightfully evil in the process. I can't get enough of the old school heel swagger of Sandow, keep this man on my TV please. 1/2*

Backstage Dolph Ziggler approaches Del Rio and volunteers to wrestle Sheamus for him tonight, and Del Rio obliges him, setting our match for later.

Ryback (7-0) vs. Ryan Shelton/Chris Lyons
This week's jobbers try to get some cheap heel heat by doing the University of Alabama "Roll tide" chant before the match. Booker tries to say these two guys are huge on the independent circuit---no sir, they are not. The usual dissection via power moves from Ryback here and he finishes them off with the double marching Samoan Drop at 2:02. Your usual marginally entertaining Ryback squash. 1/4*

Sheamus (34-16-1) vs. Dolph Ziggler (4-16)
Lock up and a side headlock takeover from Sheamus to start. Dropkick from Ziggler but the Irishman responds with a clothesline. Ziggler leaps off the top rope but Sheamus catches him and flips him onto his shoulders for the rolling senton. Ziggler gets tossed to the floor and we take a break. When we return Sheamus hits a knee and wants to go for the Celtic Cross but Ziggler grabs the ring apron and ropes to separate himself from the champ (subtle but cool touch) before dropping Sheamus throat-first over the top rope and dropkicking him off the apron and right into the Spanish commentary table. Subtle but awesome psychology. Back in the ring Dolph hits a neckbreaker for a two count. DDT gets him another near fall and he applies his patented sleeper-hold. Sheamus flips him off his back into the ropes though and lays in the clubbing hammerfists before suplexing Dolph back into the ring. Dolph tries desperately to block the Irish Curse backbreaker but the champ hits it anyways. Sheamus goes to the top but Dolph crotches him and then hits a top-rope X-Factor on him! That was sick and unexpected. Sheamus fights off the Zig-Zag attempt and then hits the White Noise (Finlay's old Celtic Cross) on Ziggler. Jack Swagger hits the apron for the distraction, but Sheamus just boots him off quickly before taking Ziggler's head off with the Brogue Kick for the win at 10:01. Now that was a hell of a TV match right there, Dolph as always was awesome here bumping like a madman and pulling out moves you never see anymore like a top-rope X-Factor. Sheamus looked dominant and powerful in the win as well, just a great match. ***1/4

Backstage CM Punk explains to Matt Striker that John Laurinaitis represents everything he can't stand in the world before promising to make Kane go to sleep later tonight.

Zack Ryder/Santino Marella vs. Titus O'Neill/Darren Young
D-Young and Santino start off but Titus quickly tags in and suplexes his own partner onto Marella. Young tags back in and Santino rolls him up...for the pin? Match is over at a whopping 1:16. The match is so short though because the Big Show comes out as Santino and Ryder are celebrating on the ramp to destroy them with steel steps on the stage. And I mean DESTROY. It's not like one of them is our US champ or anything and Big Show so clearly needed to squash those two guys, right? DUD

Backstage Daniel Bryan asks AJ if she thinks CM Punk actually cares about her. AJ says it sounds like he's jealous and Bryan scoffs, saying atleast he cared about her once upon a time unlike CM Punk.

Cody Rhodes (21-25) vs. Tyson Kidd (0-12)
Christian joins the commentary team for this match involving his next IC title contender Cody Rhodes. This isn't NXT or Superstars so Kidd is in jobber mode here, eating a quick suplex from Cody. He does some nice rope flipping but gets caught with the Cross Rhodes almost immediately for the pin at 1:20. Another quick squash match, but atleast they actually gave the IC title angle some TV time. Hopefully they give Cody and Christian some time to work on the PPV. 1/4*

WWE Title Match
CM Punk © (2-3-1) vs. Kane (18-14)
This is the first WWE title match on Smackdown in four years, showing you just how much of a B-show it truly has become. Both men lock up and Kane is quickly sent to the floor by a dropkick from Punk, who follows up with a double axe handle from the top rope. Punk wraps Kane's arm around the steel post and goes to work on it with kicks and elbow smashes. Punk works a wristlock briefly until Kane powers out and clotheslines him to the floor as we take a commercial break. When we return Punk is back to working over Kane's arm but waits too long on the top rope and Kane lariats him off to the floor in nasty fashion. AJ decides to run down to the ring to cheer on Punk now as Kane launches the champ into the guard barrier. Back inside Kane works a chinlock and then tries for the chokeslam, but Punk counters into a DDT. Muay Thai knees in the corner from Punk. Punk counters a suplex attempt and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Spinkick to Kane's arm but he responds with a huge big boot. Punk blocks a charge into the corner and hits a leaping bulldog from the top for a two count. He tries for the GTS but collapses under Kane's weight, allowing the monster to hit a running dropkick for a near fall. Kane goes for the top rope clothesline but Punk dropkicks the arm again. Punk goes to the top when suddenly Daniel Bryan runs down to the ringside area, so Punk leaps off and wipes out Bryan outside the ring. The champ hits the Macho Man elbow on Kane moments later and nearly wins it but Kane somehow kicks out and this crowd is hot now. Kane clotheslines Punk and sets up for the chokeslam when Daniel Bryan returns and delivers a missile dropkick off the top rope to both men for the DQ finish at 11:52 (shown). Started off pretty slow but picked up very nicely after the commercial break, the armwork was the recurring theme through-out the match and while it would have been nice to see it play into the finish, Bryan interrupting things makes sense from a storyline perspective, even if it cheats us out of a clean finish to an otherwise good little TV match. **3/4

After the match Punk tries to give Bryan the GTS but Kane chokeslams both men instead. Johnny Ace comes out moments later to announce that the WWE Title match at No Way Out is now a Triple Threat match involving Kane. I know I'm not the only one who saw that awesome classic encounter between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and thought "You know what this classic scientific wrestling feud needs? KANE!", right? Oh, wait, no one has thought that ever in the history of anything ever. Goddamnit WWE, why ruin a perfectly awesome thing (just about the only good thing you've got going these days) by injecting Kane into the mix? That's like throwing molasses into the gears of a well-oiled machine. That's our show for the week though folks.

Bottom Line: Apart from the ending of injecting Kane into the Bryan/Punk title match leaving a sour taste in my mouth, this was a really solid show this week. There was a bit more star power than usual with Punk defending his title on the show in a rather solid match against Kane but we also got a great TV match in the middle of the show between Sheamus and Ziggler and Dolph continues to bust his ass on a nightly basis in the apparent hope that maybe someday they'll actually reward his constant hard-work with something besides being a jobber to the stars. Everything else was rather perfunctory but it did the trick and I certainly enjoyed this more than last week's show. Thumbs Up.

Score: 7.0/10

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! 5/25/12

2012-05-25T17:49:00.001-07:00

WWE Friday Night SmackDown
May 25th, 2012
Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to another edition of 411mania's Friday Night Smackdown coverage. I'll be your guide to the world of the blue brand as usual as we're less than a week removed from the Over the Limit PPV which saw Sheamus retain his World Heavyweight title in a four-way match among others. The build to the next PPV, No Way Out, should begin for the brand tonight so let's see what's in store for us.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews

We open the show tonight with the assistant GM Eve coming out to gloat a bit about John Laurinaitis' victory over John Cena at Over the Limit, despite the fact that Johnny isn't here tonight (again), so Eve is in charge. She promises that tonight Sheamus will apologize for tackling Ace on RAW this week, and that we'll also decide who the new number one contender is. Alberto Del Rio promptly comes out as soon as she says this to suck up and try to get the title shot. Since this is the opening segment of Smackdown and that means we need atleast 3-4 interruptions, out comes Randy Orton to try and lay claim to the shot. And now here comes Kane, who---yep, you guessed it, wants the title shot for himself, but atleast he's got a clever reason---tonight is the 666th episode of Smackdown. Eve decides to just book them all into a triple threat match for our main event tonight, with the winner becoming number one contender.

Christian (17-13-1) vs. Hunico (7-5)
This is apparently Christian's first Smackdown match in 8 months, though that seems a bit long. Non-title too. Christian quickly sends Hunico to the floor with a back body drop but misses the baseball slide dropkick to follow up. He takes his eye off Hunico for a second to keep his eye on Camacho when Hunico sends him into the steel post, returns to the ring, and then wipes him out with a nice tope. Hunico misses a springboard senton but manages to catch Christian off the second rope into a jackknife cover. Flying elbow from the second rope by Christian and he sets up for the Killswitch, but Camacho distracts him briefly. Christian shrugs it off and gives Hunico the Killswitch anyways though and then finishes him with the frog splash at 3:04. Just a quick TV return match for Christian here, but both guys looked good in the short time they got. Still not sure how I feel about Christian being knocked back to the midcard, but he could bring some respect back to the IC title I suppose. **

After the match Cody Rhodes comes out with a mic to brag about how epic his IC title run was, comparing himself to Razor Ramon, Randy Savage, and Shawn Michaels. Cody claims no one cares about Christian and that when he gets his contractual rematch, it's only going to take him 3 seconds to win the title back. Give those two atleast ten minutes and I'm confident they could have a darn good match.

Titus O'Neill/Darren Young vs. The Uso's (Jimmy Uso/Jey Uso)
We see a backstage confrontation between the two teams from before the show went on the air tonight as Titus and Jimmy start us off while Michael Cole refers to O'Neill and Young as the future of the WWE tag team division. Shudder. The Uso's trade quick tags and try isolating Titus in their corner but he breaks free and tags Young in, suplexing his own partner onto Jey. The heels trade quick tags in their corner now until Jey fires off an elbow and tags Jimmy back in. Jimmy hits the running ass slam on Young in the corner but Titus breaks it up. Huge superkick on Young from Jimmy, but Titus distracts him when he goes for the Superfly splash and the heels finish Jimmy off with the double team elbow drop at 3:12. Nice to see them give O'Neill and Young another win after they got squashed by the champs last week, but frankly I don't think I'm alone in thinking I'd rather see the Uso's getting the push. *1/2

Advertisement for Sin Cara to return on next week's show. Finally.

Ryback (6-0) vs. Brian Edwards/Kevin Bendl
Back to squashing no-name jobbers for Ryback. Bendl looks alot like former ROH tag champ Ricky Reyes. Ryback seems to have a black eye and a busted eye vessel for some reason. Typical Ryback squash, a few power moves and then he finishes both guys off by giving them both the marching Samoan drop SIMULTANEOUSLY for the win at 1:29. Starting to tire of these Ryback squashes, but man that finish was awesome. 3/4*

Santino Marella (7-5) vs. Ricardo Rodriguez (0-0)
I can't help but notice how much more over Ricardo is then Del Rio. This match came out of an announcing dispute on RAW, if you missed it. Nice leap-frog from Ricardo in the tux to start and they go into a rope-running sequence, but Santino just stops and let Ricardo tire himself out. Airplane spin from Santino but he trips and falls out of the ring himself. He tries hiding under the ring apron and then pops back into the ring behind Ricardo to nail him with The Cobra for the win at 1:52. A comedy match that was actually funny, that's a rarity these days. I really have no idea why they put the US title on Santino though if they're just going to continue to use him as a comedy act. *

Sheamus comes out next for his apology to John Laurinaitis. Sheamus claims it was an accident though and can't quite get the apology out. Finally he apologizes...for John Laurinaitis being a massive arse. He apologizes for Eve, Otunga, and Big Show all being his personal ass kissers as well. Sheamus moves onto No Way Out, saying if it were up to him he'd be facing Randy Orton. Vickie Guerrero comes out to interrupt though and informs Sheamus that Eve just booked him into a match right now, against Jack Swagger.

Sheamus (33-16-1) vs. Jack Swagger (9-12)
Intense lock-up to start before Swagger takes the champ down with a waistlock takedown. Sheamus elbows out of it and hits a flying shoulder-block off the top. The action spills to the floor briefly and Vickie distracts Sheamus long enough on his way back into the ring for Swagger to tackle his knee, sending him flying to the floor as we take a commercial break. When we return Swagger has begun working over the same knee, wrapping it around the steel post and working an old school stepover toe hold. Sheamus manages to break up the limb work with a neckbreaker out of the corner. Sheamus gives him the hammer-fists on the apron and suplexes him back in for a two count. Sheamus blocks the ankle lock and then goes for the Brogue Kick, but misses and Swagger takes his knee out again with a chop block. He follows with a Swagger bomb in the corner but Sheamus kicks out. Sheamus flips out of the Gut Wrench powerbomb attempt and hits the Brogue Kick out of nowhere for the win at 7:04 (shown). Pretty solid little match here, but man that finish makes no sense. Swagger spends the entire match working over the knee only for Sheamus to totally no sell it in the finish with the Brogue Kick. Would have been better had Sheamus remembered to sell in the last two minutes. **1/4

Damien Sandow (0-0) vs. Yoshi Tatsu (0-4)
Sandow cuts his usual pre-match promo about how we're all not worthy, especially Yoshi. He freaks out at the bell when Yoshi tries to attack him while he's in the ropes, demanding the ref do his job. Sandow delivers a series of knees and a Russian legsweep before quickly putting Yoshi away with his neckbreaker at 0:45 seconds. Just to add to his whole throwback heel shtick, Sandow does a celebratory cartwheel after the match. I love this freaking guy, his promo work is great, he's solid in the ring, and how can you not love the Rick Martel-esque tights? Squash city for Yoshi though. 1/2*

Big Show, in work clothes with a tie, comes out next. Show sits down in the middle of the ring for a lengthy promo to explain again why he did what he did. Long story short, Big Show lives for wrestling and is apparently incapable of doing anything else, and when no one came to his defense, he had no choice but to help Johnny. This promo just drags on and on and on until finally Show takes off as Kane makes his way out to the ring for our main event.

Before the main event can actually start though, Daniel Bryan jumps Kane from behind in the dark with a steel chair and waffles the everloving hell out of him while the crowd chants "YES! YES! YES!" in appreciation. Well that was...random.

World Heavyweight Title Number One Contender's Match
Alberto Del Rio (11-10) vs. Kane (18-13) vs. Randy Orton (31-11-1)
Orton sends Del Rio out of the ring quickly but turns around into a big boot and dropkick from Kane. Del Rio returns to the ring only to be clotheslined out by Orton, who is then clotheslined out by Kane. Orton drags Kane back to the apron and tries for the second rope DDT, but Del Rio hits a spin kick to Orton to break it up as we take our last commercial break. When we return Kane is back in control. Orton dropkicks Del Rio out of the ring but walks right into a sideslam from the Big Red Machine. Kane heads to the top rope but Del Rio hits his step-up enziguri, sending him crashing out to the floor. Kane quickly returns to the ring and Orton hands out powerslams to both him and Alberto. Second-rope DDT on Del Rio from Orton out of the corner and he sets up for the RKO, but Del Rio blocks it and Kane sends Orton crashing into the steel steps outside the ring. Kane blocks the cross armbar attempt from Del Rio and hits him with the chokeslam, but Daniel Bryan runs back down to the apron to distract him and Kane takes off to chase him. He returns to the ring and walks right into the RKO from Orton, but before Orton can cover him Del Rio kicks Orton right in the head and steals the pin and the title shot at 7:20 (shown). Meh, this was decent enough but there was just zero flow whatsoever here, this just felt like a few spots strung together in the loosest of ways. Just chaos, and not the good kind. **

Del Rio celebrates on the ramp after the match when Sheamus comes out to jump him from behind as we go off the air.

Bottom Line: Okay show this week, Swagger/Sheamus was pretty solid apart from some shoddy selling but really there wasn't much else to see here. Big Show cuts basically the same promo from RAW, and Del Rio once again is the number one contender, even though people just flat out don't want to see him in that position right now, atleast not against Sheamus. Really just not much to say here tonight, run-of-the-mill show and for Smackdown that just isn't very exciting these days. Not a bad show by any means, just a boring one, so a very minor Thumbs Down tonight, though not by much.

Score: 5.0/10

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! 5/18/12

2012-05-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

WWE Friday Night SmackDown
May 18th, 2012
Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to 411's SmackDown report as we're on the last stop tonight before the Over the Limit PPV and it's main event of doom, Johnny Ace vs. John Cena. I can't believe I'm typing that in the year 2012. A non-title match between Sheamus and Randy Orton is scheduled for tonight though so it doesn't look to be a total filler show, so let's kick it off.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews

We open with Johnny Ace coming out. I liked Ace's heel shtick at first, but the more RAW and Smackdown become the Johnny Ace show, the less I care. He rants a bit about how he's still as tough in the ring as he ever was when he's promptly interrupted by the WWE champion CM Punk. Brand split? What brand split? Punk asks Ace how it feels to be on the other end of the stick for once, looking at his upcoming match with Cena and his potential impending dismissal. Ace still has some power though and books Punk into a match tonight with Kane. Punk doesn't mind though, because Ace will be in the unemployment line soon enough. Not sure why Punk's on the show tonight, but I'm not complaining, it certainly spices things up a bit. Ace lets the fans know they can all go to hell if this is his last night on the job. That's nice.

John Cena loves children! Just not in that way.

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Titus O'Neill/Darren Young
I've got to admit, as much as I've hated Titus and Darren's entire body of work thus far in the company, they're actually somewhat entertaining as a duo. Non-title match here, as if that matters. Truth starts off with Young, booting him in the face before tagging Kofi in for a cross-body. Young gives Kofi a nice back suplex onto the ring apron then gets a two count back inside. Titus tags in for a bit of work on Kofi but before long Truth and Young are tagged back in as Truth gets a near fall off the corkscrew elbow. Kofi takes out Titus outside with a pescado as Truth hits Young with the Little Jimmy for the win at 3:00. Well I'm not sure what the point of squashing what little heat Titus and Young had here was, but it makes the champs look competent going into their title match at the PPV. What's up though, were the Usos busy? *1/4

Backstage Zack Ryder appears to be taping himself with his own camera-phone for an episode of his web show when Damien Sandow walks by. He is not amused by Ryder's zany antics.

Damien Sandow vs. Yoshi Tatsu is scheduled as our next match, but as has been the trend these last few weeks, Sandow refuses to fight Tatsu because he isn't worthy. Tatsu calls Sandow a chicken and apparently Damien is Marty McFly because that's all it takes for him to hit the ring to attack Tatsu. No match, he just hammers Tatsu a bit and gives him a variation of a neckbreaker to beat him down and send a message.

Backstage Matt Striker is with Sheamus and Randy Orton for a few words before their main event match tonight. They share some calm but heated words and Orton says that Sheamus is a nice guy, and you know where nice guy's finish---last.

Daniel Bryan (16-21-2) vs. Zack Ryder (8-1)
I would love to see this get ten minutes but methinks this will just be a squash for Bryan, and considering their respective places on the card that's fine. Bryan takes it right to Zack with some forearms and then kicks his knee out from under him. Running dropkick in the corner gets Bryan two. Bryan works the arm and channels his inner Destroyer by twisting on Ryder's fingers while he's in the hold, but Zack breaks it up and fires off a missile dropkick. He tries for the Broski Boot but misses and Bryan nails him with a kick to the temple before putting him into the YES! Lock for the win at 2:28. Just a quick squash for Bryan and though I wish Ryder wasn't the one doing the job, it's not like the loss will actually hurt him more than he's already been hurt. Good, dominant showing for Bryan before his title match this Sunday, simple and effective booking. *

CM Punk (2-2-1) vs. Kane (17-13)
Bryan sticks around after his match to do color commentary for our next match-up. Punk starts off cautious with the big man, firing off half-hearted kicks early on. Punk clotheslines Kane out of the ring and we take a break. When we return Punk gets a one count off a DDT. Punk applies the figure four on Kane just as Josh Matthews is putting over his submission skills on commentary in a nice moment, but Kane quickly breaks it up and sends him outside. Punk tries springboarding back in but gets met with a big right hand and boots in the corner. Backbreaker from Kane and the big man wraps his legs around Punk in a body scissors of all things. Kane tries for a chokeslam but Punk counters into a swinging neckbreaker. Muay Thai knee from Kane followed by a leaping bulldog from the second rope nets Punk another near fall. He hits a springboard clothesline but again Kane kicks out. Punk tries to get Kane up for the GTS but his ribs are too weak and Kane counters with a big boot. Punk knocks Kane off the top and then hits the Macho Man elbow, but again Kane gets the shoulder up. Punk tries transitioning into the Anaconda Vice but Kane counters with a sidewalk slam. Top rope clothesline from Kane and Bryan is loving it at ringside. Punk sends Kane out of the ring and then wipes him out with a big tope, but before he can capitalize on it Bryan gets up from the commentary table, grabs a chair, and teases hitting Punk with it. Instead he waffles Kane with the chair, giving Kane the win by DQ at 8:35 (shown). After the match Kane beats down Punk, giving him two chokeslams. Are they actually making the title challenger look like a threat for once going into a PPV? I thought they gave up on that crazy notion years ago. The match itself was damn good for a modern Kane match, it seems if you put him in there with a solid smaller guy like Punk or Orton more often than not he can hold his own and deliver a fun contest, and this was no exception. The finish hurt it a bit but it makes perfect sense booking wise and for once they're actually trying to make you think Bryan has a shot with Punk having weak ribs and getting another beatdown from Kane here while Bryan dominated Ryder earlier, a far cry from their usual strategy of "Let's just book both guys to lose going into the PPV!", which has never made sense to me. Solid match, would have been better with a legit finish. **3/4

Cody Rhodes (21-24) vs. Santino Marella (6-5)
This is billed as a meeting of the IC and US champs (though neither title is on the line), but it's not like holding either of those belts actually means a thing these days, not when these two are used as jobbers to the stars most of the time. Match starts off hot with Cody missing a beautiful moonsault out of the corner before Santino quickly teases the Cobra. Cody gives him a dropkick instead though. Santino ducks a clothesline with the splits and then hits the Cobra out of nowhere for the anemic win at 2:00. Wow, with an epic encounter like that I'm so glad they put over how prestigious each title used to be once upon a time. One of these days they're going to find something, anything for Cody to do besides constantly job to everyone, and I'll be a happy fan that day. Match was ho-hum. 3/4*

Next we see the ENTIRE re-airing of the Big Show's "firing" on RAW, 'cause that's big news that is. Every time they show the footage of Show bawling his eyes out, I laugh hysterically. Maybe it's because I've grown incredibly tired of him constantly squashing hot young talent while offering almost nothing in return, but I found his whole firing segment to be unintentionally hilarious. Bad acting, goofy delivery, and at the end of it I was just hoping this might lead to less Big Show on my TV.

Sheamus (32-16-1) vs. Randy Orton (31-10-1)
Non-title match here of course since the four-way is this Sunday. They start off with a lock up all technical like but it's not long before it breaks down into a round of fisticuffs. Orton clotheslines Sheamus out of the ring and they trade shots outside before Sheamus counters an Irish whip, sending Orton shoulder-first into the steel steps. Sheamus tries for the Brogue Kick but hits the steel post instead, and Orton slams Sheamus down against the steps before slamming his arm and shoulder several times back into the steel. We take a break and when we return Orton is still working over Sheamus, in the ring now. Shoulder-breaker from Orton as Randy continues to dissect the Irishman's shoulder, which if you'll remember was taped up and injured only a week ago and was a focus of his match with Bryan on that show. Sheamus manages to send Orton to the apron, where he knees him hard in the face and then begins laying in his signature hammer-fists in between the ropes before bumping Orton off the apron and into the barricade as we take our last commercial break. When we return Sheamus has taken the advantage with a chinlock. Orton tries breaking it off but eats a knee to the gut. Rolling senton from Sheamus and he sets up for the Celtic Cross, but Orton counters into his over-the-shoulder backbreaker. Powerslam from Orton and he follows it with a new trick, a belly-to-belly suplex to Sheamus. Nice to see Randy throwing more suplexes into his arsenal. Sheamus counters right back with the slingshot shoulder-block though and follows it with a high running knee and a bodyslam for a near fall. Orton manages to block the Irish Curse backbreaker once, but takes the move on the second attempt. Sheamus climbs to the top rope, but Orton just meets him up there and delivers a towering superplex! Back on their feet both men are brawling when Sheamus looks for (and misses) another Brogue Kick attempt, which leaves him wide open for the second-rope DDT from Orton. He looks for the RKO but Sheamus avoids it and tries for the Brogue Kick again, but Orton avoids that as well and Sheamus winds up rolling up Orton for the clean pin at 16:01 (shown). Excellent main event this week between two men who've become familiar with one another, this was so much better than their Royal Rumble 2010 match or even some of their matches last winter. They put Sheamus over big here with a clean pin on one of the golden boys in Orton and they gave the match enough time for both men to fit in some of their usual stuff along with some new bits so the whole thing just came together nicely in the end. I would absolutely LOVE to see more 15+ minute long matches shown on TV time like this. Only (minor) problem was that the two commercial breaks hurt the flow a bit. Still, great stuff. ***1/4

After the match both men shake hands seemingly in a sign of respect when Orton gives the champ the RKO out of nowhere! Decent amount of boos for that and we go off the air with Orton looking smug over a fallen Sheamus.

Bottom Line: Damn good show from Smackdown this week after a bit of a misstep last week. Solid Punk/Kane match in the middle of the show that actually left me wanting to see more of it with a clean finish, a great main event that got over 15 minutes of TV time (which almost never happens anymore) and ended cleanly between two of the top dogs on the show, and even the usual quickie match stuff was kept quick and inoffensive. Really I've got no complaints about this show apart from a few minor quibbles in personal taste with the current booking and use of a few talents, but that's not a big deal. Easy Thumbs Up tonight.

Rating: 8.0/10

TNA Sacrifice 2012

2012-05-13T19:53:00.002-07:00

TNA Sacrifice 2012
May 13th, 2012
Impact Wrestling Zone, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to another edition of 411's LIVE TNA PPV coverage. I am your loyal host and recapper tonight once again and though Sacrifice hasn't exactly been known as a blow-away event in years past for the company, this year's card doesn't look half bad with a ladder match between Bobby Roode and Rob Van Dam for the TNA World Title set as our main event an undercard featuring Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson, Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray, and a tag title match between Joe & Magnus and Daniels & Kaz among others. If most of those matches can deliver, I'll be a happy customer. Hard-sell over, let's start the show!

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Taz

TNA Tag Team Title Match
Samoa Joe/Magnus © vs. Christopher Daniels/Kazarian
Looks like we're starting off tonight with the tag title match. Magnus and Daniels start off trading wristlocks before Magnus gets the upper hand with a pair of scoop slams. Magnus delivers a beautiful vertical suplex to Daniels and Joe tags in to lay in some rights before Daniels is able to bail finally to catch his breath and tag Kaz in. Joe tags Magnus back in and the faces put together a few double team moves. Daniels tris Magnus up from the floor and Kaz hits him with a springboard leg-drop before tagging Chris back in. Daniels works over Magnus a bit as the camera shows Joseph Park, the brother of Abyss, in the audience. Kaz tags in to continue working Magnus over with a bow and arrow stretch, but Magnus is able to break free and get the hot tag to Joe. Joe does his signature walk-away spot as Daniels misses a moonsault and eats the uranage out of the corner from Joe. Daniels takes Magnus down with a judo toss (even though he's not legal) for a two count. He tries the BME but misses and Joe nails him with a pele kick just as Magnus hits the top rope elbow drop. That combo usually ends it for the champs, but Kaz breaks up the pin. Joe gets sent out of the ring and the heels hit a variation of Total Elimination on Magnus to pick up the win and the titles at 10:54. Match was just as solid as you'd expect out of these four, but I have to question taking the belts off of Joe and Magnus just as they were really starting to get over and come into their own as a team. Good opener, but it lacked a certain spark. **3/4

Taz and Tenay put over the usual social media blabber.

TNA Knockouts Title Match
Gail Kim © vs. Brooke Tessmacher
If only Brooke could wrestle half as well as she looks. She takes it right to Gail at the bell with a monkey flip and Brooke looks to use Gail's own finisher, Eat Defeat, on her to no avail. Clothesline from Gail and she follows with a cross-body in the corner. Backbreaker from Kim and she stretches Brooke out a bit until the challenger is able to break it up and build up a bit of momentum with a nice elbow drop from the top for a two count. Brooke nails the champ with her own finisher, Eat Defeat, but the move sends Gail out of the ring and by the time Brooke brings her back in, she's able to kick out. Gail crawls away and when Brooke chases after her, she rolls her up and puts her feet on the ropes for extra leverage to get the cheap win and retain at 6:54. This was actually much better than I was expecting and I might have to take my opening comments back because Brooke seems to have actually improved a good bit in the ring. Cheap finish, but you come to expect that from the KO division. **

Backstage the new TNA Tag Team champions Kazarian and Christopher Daniels are with Jeremy Borash. Instead of talking about their title win though they go right into talking about AJ Styles again. Can we PLEASE get something for Daniels and Kaz to do that doesn't involve AJ Styles for once? Pretty please?

TNA Television Title Match
Devon © vs. Robbie E vs. Robbie T.
Who booked this crap? Devon makes a fool out of both guys early, sending T out and slamming E to the mat with a uranage before T pulls him out of the ring for a sloppy clothesline. Back inside the heels double-team Devon some more as Robbie E gets a few near-falls. Devon sends E out of the ring and eats a running powerslam from T, but E hits the ring to break up the count. The heels argue for a bit until Devon rolls Robbie E up to retain at 5:34. About as exciting as your average Xplosion main event---which is to say not very. Lord knows why this company feels the need to have Devon carrying the TV title when it could be used to get a young talent over. Blegh. 1/2*

Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Anderson
Odd to see these two so low on the card, but maybe it'll motivate them to step their game up. Both men slap hands at the bell in a sign of respect and then lock up. Wristlock exchange and Hardy dropkicks Anderson out of the ring. He sends Anderson face first into the steel steps and Hardy pulls the steps out for the Whisper in the Wind, but Anderson moves and Hardy crashes into the steel guardrail instead. Back inside Hardy hits a Russian legsweep and a leg-drop to the abdomen. Anderson blocks the slingshot dropkick in the corner with a pair of boots and tries for a few near-falls. Anderson starts to work over Jeff's arm, trapping it behind him and slamming him to the mat. Hardy is able to break it up and nail Anderson with his own finisher, the Mic Check, but only gets two. Anderson responds by hitting Hardy with his own finisher, the Twist of Fate, but Hardy kicks out at two as well. Anderson tries a Swanton, but Hardy gets the knees up. He hits his own Swanton, but Anderson kicks out again! Jeff tries the legdrop to the abdomen again, but Anderson blocks it and counters into a roll-up that Hardy appears to kick out of at the last milli-second, but the bell rings and apparently the ref counted to three, giving Anderson the odd win at 11:55. On replay it appears Jeff absolutely kicked out before 3. The match itself was good but not quite up to some of Jeff's matches in the last few months, and the weird finish didn't help matters. Still, this is the match of the night so far. ***

Christy Hemme is backstage with the Greatest Man That Ever Lived, Austin Aries. She asks him a question from a fan on Twitter about whether he's intimidated by Bully Ray, and Aries scoffs at the question. He tells us it's about skill, not size, and tonight he's going to show Ray who the better man is.

After a quick replay of the return of Abyss on Impact this past week we cut to Jeremy Borash, whose in the audience with the brother of Abyss, Joseph Park. The fans even start a "Joseph!" chant for him, proving once and for all that the Impact Zone will literally chant for anything and anyone. He says he's going to kick back and watch Austin Aries kick Bully Ray's ass.

Crimson makes his way out next to cut a promo. Heelish Crimson is so much more tolerable than babyface Crimson. He was originally set to take on Matt Morgan here but the company apparently ran out of contractual appearances for him, which seems like something you'd be able to avoid. Crimson issues an open challenge, brings in a ref, and has him begin counting to 10 even though no one's here. Before the ten count though Eric Young and ODB come out and apparently EY is here to accept the challenge.

Crimson vs. Eric Young
EY locks up with the ref when he hits the ring but then realizes he's wrestling Crimson and clotheslines the big man out of the ring. It's not long before Crimson has taken the upper hand though, tossing Young out of the ring easily. ODB tries to get in Crimson's face to defend her man, but Crimson shoves her into the corner, enraging Young who strips off his pants to reveal an American flag pair of tights. He cleans house on Crimson then hits an elbow drop, but ODB gets sent out of the ring in the process. When he goes to check on her Crimson pulls him around and hits him with the Red Sky to pick up the win at around 5:00 (the "official bell" started before Young ever even came out). Pretty much just an excuse to get Crimson a quick pin in lieu of the blow-off match with Morgan, inoffensive but nothing particularly good. Heel Crimson > Face Crimson though, easily. *

Backstage Bully Ray tells Jeremy Borash that he doesn't mess with that TWITTAH thing, no, he's old-school....he still rocks MySpace! He tells Aries that he won't be able to get him into the brainbuster tonight, no matter how big his heart is. Awesome promo from Ray, as usual.

Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray
The build for this one has been great with these two exchanging excellent promos for weeks. Both men start trash-talking in each other's face at the bell and the crowd is hot for Aries as he looks to lock up, but Ray ducks out instead. Ray spits right in his face and Aries fires back with big rights and lefts in the corner. Aries bites a chunk out of Ray's pride and joy (his calves) and the fans love it. Aries climbs to the top rope but Ray boots him right off the top and he just plummets back and head first into the steel guardrail! Holy shit, Austin Aries is DEAD. That was one of the sickest bumps I've ever seen, and Aries has several straight up neon-purple bruises and welts on his back already from that. I'm still cringing from that bump a full two minutes later as the crowd chants "Bully sucks!" Ray works a brief bear hug but Aries breaks it up with big Mongolian chops. Ray lays in some chops on Austin but he just stands right back up and demands to know if that's all he's got. Ray responds with a chop so stiff it would make Kobashi cringe but Aries won't stay down, as he gets back to his feet and asks Ray for some more, but instead of obliging Ray goes right for an eye-rake like a true heel. Aries slips out of a powerbomb attempt and hits a discus elbow, but Ray responds by launching him 10 feet into the air and giving him an Ace Crusher in mid-air! Somehow Aries still kicks out though. Ray grabs a steel chain from ringside and this brings Joseph Park down to ringside to try and alert the ref. Ray brings him onto the rampway and grabs a chair, but turns around only to meet the heat-seeking missile tope from Aries. Back inside Aries hits a missile dropkick then nails Ray with the brainbuster! He actually got him up for it! Ray kicks out at two though to everyone's shock. Ray tries for a powerbomb again but Aries slides out of the move at the last second, flips over, and applies the Last Chancery submission to Ray...and Ray taps out! Aries picks up the win at 13:17. This totally exceeded all of the expectations I had going in, I was expecting a solid big/little man contest but what we got here was so much more. Aries took one of the sickest beatdowns I've ever seen (including a bump on the railing so sickening it would make an early 90s Cactus Jack blush) to build up just fantastic heat for the finish, which practically had the place coming unglued by the time Aries hit the brainbuster. Excellent story told here from both men, kudos. ***3/4

Backstage AJ Styles is with Jeremy Borash to voice concern over his match with Angle next if he isn't focused. He doesn't want to talk about the Dixie Carter photos though, he's just here to wrestle damnit.

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle
We've probably seen this match twenty times in the past, but considering how awesome they usually are, I can't exactly complain. Great amateur sequence to start with Angle gaining the upper-hand predictably. Leapfrog from AJ and he blocks a belly-to-belly attempt before both men tease going for their finishers (the Styles Clash and ankle lock respectively) unsuccessfully. Side headlock by Angle, but AJ breaks it up with a dropkick and tries a headlock of his own. Angle gets sent to the floor and AJ tries for a pescado as Angle moves and he lands on his feet. Angle tries a German suplex on the floor, but AJ flips over onto his feet in a neat spot. Back in the ring he can't block the overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Kurt though. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Kurt and he follows with a back-body drop. AJ hits a fireman's carry slam on Angle, nailing his neck over AJ's knee in the process. Angle blocks another Styles Clash attempt but gets sent out to the floor, where AJ nails him with a springboard forearm off the top rope. Back in the ring Kurt sets Styles up on the top turnbuckle and then belly-to-belly suplexes him off for two. Styles hits the pele kick out of nowhere though and then follows with the Styles Clash, but this is TNA remember so of course it only gets two. Does anyone's finisher ever actually FINISH a match anymore? Release German suplex from Angle takes Styles inside out. Both men trade forearms and Kurt avoids the backflip-into-reverse DDT spot Styles is famous for before hitting the Angle Slam (only for two of course). Angle looks to hit AJ with his own Styles Clash, but AJ blocks it and the follow up ankle lock attempt from Kurt. Kurt turns him around and tries for the Clash yet again, and this time he connects, but again Styles kicks out. Angle misses the moonsault and Styles goes for the springboard 450, but doesn't get quite enough air though and can't complete the second rotation, turning it into a flipping back senton of sorts instead. Kazarian and Daniels run down to ringside now though and trip Styles up behind the ref's back, allowing Angle to hit the Angle Slam...but AGAIN Styles kicks out so Kurt just locks him into the ankle lock and Styles taps out at 20:51. After the match Daniels and Kaz jump Styles again, but Angle makes the save for his opponent. Face turn for Kurt? The match itself wasn't as good as some of the classics these two have had in the past, but when you've got Angle and Styles in the ring together, even when they're off it's still a great contest. Some smart psychology behind some of the counters too. ***1/2

We get another "Top Ten Moments of TNA" clip, this time highlighting Kurt Angle's insane moonsault off the top of the cage against Mr. Anderson back at Lockdown 2010, which is still one of the craziest spots of the last few years.

Elsewhere backstage Jeremy Borash is with the World champion Bobby Roode, who doesn't feel right without the World title around his waist right now. He makes the usual promise of victory and takes off as we get the pre-match hype package.

TNA World Title Ladder Match
Robert Roode © vs. Rob Van Dam
Good thing they turned this into a ladder match because I'm not sure anyone really card about a non-gimmick match between these two. Barely a minute passes before both men are out on the floor to no one's surprise as RVD drapes Roode over the guardrail and hits his trademark spinning leg-drop off the apron on him. Back in the ring Roode nails a DDT. He slides out of the ring to grab a ladder but turns around just as RVD slingshot-flips himself out of the ring onto him. Back inside Roode jumps Rob from behind and sets up the ladder in the corner, but winds up getting sent face-first into it instead. Jeremy Borash for some reason is one of our camera-men outside the ring, as I guess JB really DOES do just about every odd job for this company at times. RVD gets catapulted face-first into the ladder in the corner and Roode slams it over his back for a bit of good measure. Bobby sets up the ladder against the second rope and tries for a suplex, but RVD counters with a suplex of his own onto the ladder before hitting a beautiful Lionsault on Roode against the ladder. RVD scissors his legs around Roode's legs and sends his back of the head into the ladder yet again as these guys just aren't wasting any time getting to the spots. Rob grabs a chair from ringside and hits the running dropkick on Roode in the corner with the ladder draped over him (double the steel and only half the price!). RVD grabs another, oddly colored ladder and tries climbing it, but Roode climbs up to meet him at the top and sends him off lazily. Rob knocks Roode off the ladder by sheer accident but eats a lariat. Huge spinebuster from Roode sends Van Dam back-first onto the new ladder in a nasty spot. Not to be out-done, Rob sends the champ into the second ladder with a big monkey flip and then follows up with the Rolling Thunder. RVD sets Roode up on another ladder in the center of the ring and then tries for the Five Star Frog Slash from the top rope, but Roode moves and Van Dam eats steel. Roode sets up the ladder and tries to climb it when Van Dam makes his way back to the ring and tries to leap from th top rope onto the ladder, but his side of the ladder collapses under his leg and Rob crashes to the mat in an ugly botch. Rob is able to recover but Roode sends him off the ladder again, this time sending Van Dam's skull into a steel chair on the mat. This allows Roode to grab the title and retain at 15:26. Aside from the botch at the finish this was your usual fun car-crash ladder match with both guys just going straight to the crazy high spots because of the lack of time left on the show. Still, RVD really is great in these kinds of matches and this was non-stop action the whole way through. I could have definitely used another five minutes here instead of, say, Crimson vs. Eric Young earlier in the evening, but otherwise a good way to close out a solid show. ***1/2

We go off the air with RVD checking in with some trainers at ringside about his possibly injured ankle while Roode celebrates with his title in the ring.

Bottom Line: Well I said that as long as all of the main matches on this show delivered in one way or another I'd be a satisfied customer, and that's exactly what happened. The tag title opener was solid if unspectacular, Aries/Ray was an outstanding slice of superb storytelling, Styles/Angle was it's usual goodness, and the main event delivered the high spot fest fun you expect from a ladder match. Everything else was pretty disposable, but I doubt anyone bought this show for the TV title match. Solid show with a good crowd for once (unlike Lockdown last month) and a pretty easy Thumbs Up even if there was nothing amazing here.

Rating: 7.0/10

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! 5/11/12

2012-05-11T12:40:00.001-07:00

WWE Friday Night Smackdown
May 11th, 2012
Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to another edition of 411's WWE Smackdown report, I am your loyal recapper as always. Hard to believe we're little more than a week away from the next PPV, but that's the norm in the modern WWE. With the World Heavyweight title match at the PPV being changed from Sheamus/Del Rio to a fourway including Chris Jericho and Randy Orton, which was definitely the right choice because I don't think anyone could have given less of a shit about a Sheamus/Del Rio match or feud. Without any more preambling, let's jump into the thick of things.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews

Sheamus/Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho/Alberto Del Rio
Solid looking tag involving all four men in the fatal fourway to kick off the show, I like it. Orton and Sheamus trade angry tags to start against Jericho, teasing the dissension already. Del Rio tags in and goes right to working on Orton's arm. Randy shoves him off and tags Sheamus back in, who delivers a rolling senton to Alberto before being low-bridged out of the ring by Jericho on the apron. Jericho tags in and works a loose Fujiwara armbar on Sheamus. Sheamus breaks it up and tags Orton back in. Powerslam from Orton on Jericho and he follows it with the second-rope DDT. You know what's coming next. Jericho shoves off the RKO attempt only to turn around into a dropkick from Orton though. Del Rio and Sheamus hop in now to join the action as well and barely two seconds pass before the ref is already calling for the bell to throw out the match at 5:18. Are you kidding me? Since when did referees throw out tag matches because all four men were in the ring for a whopping 5-10 seconds? That has to be the cheapest cheap finish in the history of cheap finishes, I have never in my life seen a referee throw a match out because all four men were in the ring for barely FIVE SECONDS. To call that a stupid and insulting finish would be an understatement, which is a shame because the match was going along quite nicely until that monumentally dumb ending. *3/4

After the match all four men continue brawling into the commercial break. When we return Cole informs us that Sheamus will take on Chris Jericho and Orton will take on Del Rio later tonight. That almost makes up for the finish to that tag match.

AJ (5-10) vs. Kaitlyn (1-9)
The battle of the BFFs! Total catfight to start with AJ going right for the hair-pulling and clawing. She hits an awkward dropkick to her mid-section and then finishes Kaitlyn off with a nice Shining Wizard at 0:35 seconds. Not much of a match obviously, just something to set up what's about to happen. 1/4*

After the match Daniel Bryan makes his way out to the ring, and he seems impressed by how ruthless AJ was in the ring with her former best-friend. Bryan says he's seeing her in an entirely new light and that he's ready to move past all of the tension in their relationship (once he's become WWE champion at Over the Limit of course) and ready to move on...TO KAITLYN! He laughs in AJ's face and she storms off in a rage. Bryan heels it up some more with some YES! chants just to close up this entire golden segment. Bryan is taking the slimy, narcissistic heel boyfriend character to new levels of awesome and I can't wait to see how this plays out now that he has his eye on Kaitlyn, AJ's best friend.

Daniel Bryan (15-21-1) vs. Big Show (24-6)
We return from the break with Bryan still in the ring for his match-up against the Big Show, who of course dominates to start with those frying-pan sized hand chops. Bryan tries to fire off some kicks but eats another slap. Show looks for the spear but Bryan kicks his leg from out under him. Bryan locks in the YES! Lock and the bell rings before the submission is even fully locked in and without Show ever tapping at 1:17. Johnny Ace pops up from the timekeeper's table out of nowhere to announce Daniel Bryan as the winner, as yes, they can't even give Bryan a half-way decent win going into his WWE title match at the PPV, opting instead for the ten thousandth Montreal Screwjob rehash. Boy they are really killing any interest I had in this show with these atrocious finishes. 1/4*

After the match Bryan takes off as Ace hits the ring to make Show apologize for mocking his voice on RAW this week. He makes him call him "Sir" and then tells him to prepare for another apology on RAW. Don't care.

Heath Slater is in the ring when we return. He lisps his way through a mediocre heel promo on Ryback, so you can guess where this is going.

Ryback (5-0) vs. Heath Slater (4-30)
Ryback has pyro now apparently to go along with his transition from squashing no-name jobbers to in-house jobbers. Well, atleast he's progressing. Your usual Ryback squash match follows with Slater trying to get in some feisty offense to start only to be totally dominated and pinned with the marching Samoan drop at 1:18. Your usual 1998 Goldberg squash match. 1/4*

Antonio Cesaro (1-0) vs. Alex Riley (0-1)
Riley doesn't even get an entrance anymore, poor schmoe. Cesaro is with Aksana again. Cesaro tosses Riley to the mat with a vicious waistlock to start and then boots him in the face in the corner. Vicious gut-wrench suplex from Cesaro, who really shows off his strength by tossing Riley around like he was a pillow. Riley is able to get some offense in with a few clotheslines, but Cesaro grabs Riley by his EAR of all things and then finishes him with the cradle-piledriver slam at 2:24. Claudio/Cesaro continues to look absolutely stellar each week and though it may be a bit early to say I think he's got a promising future ahead of him in the WWE. After the match Aksana tells Teddy that Antonio's her lover. SHOCK! *1/4

Randy Orton (30-10-1) vs. Alberto Del Rio (11-9)
Orton takes it right to Del Rio from the bell, catapulting him throat-first into the bottom rope. Del Rio goes for the armwork again, bodyslamming Orton to the mat with his arm trapped behind him. Del Rio blocks the second-rope DDT and hits a nice step-up enziguri on Orton for a two count. Orton responds with the over-the-shoulder backbreaker but Del Rio counters with a vicious armbreaker. Orton blocks the cross-armbar attempt and then DDTs Del Rio from the second rope in the corner. Orton sets up for the RKO but Ricardo Rodriguez leaps into the ring to interfere and gets RKO-ed in mid-air, which still somehow calls for the DQ at 5:18. Definitely the best match of the night so far up until the non-finish, but this time you expected it and it really doesn't particularly hurt either man so I'm okay with it. **

R-Truth (8-5) vs. Jack Swagger (9-11)
Apparently Truth and Kofi will be defending the tag belts against Ziggler and Swagger at the PPV, and that could actually be pretty good if given time. Truth hits the dancing leg-drop to start for a one count while Primo, Epico, and company watch on from backstage. Swagger tries a chinlock but Truth breaks it up with a DDT. Corkscrew elbow from Truth, but Ziggler pulls Truth out of the ring at the count of two. Kofi takes out Ziggler outside the ring but this provides the distraction for Swagger to ambush Truth. Kofi hits the Trouble in Paradise on Swagger behind the ref's back and then Truth finishes him off with the Little Jimmy at 3:19. Nothing wrong with this match and segment here, just a quick thing to move along the tag team title program. Harmless stuff. *

Titus O'Neill/Darren Young vs. Zack Ryder/Santino Marella
Remember when we thought Ryder was actually getting a push? Good times. Titus starts off dominating Santino, then tags Darren in. Young delivers a back suplex to Santino then tags Titus in, who gives his own partner a gourdbuster onto Santino's chest in a nice display of teamwork. Santino manages to escape a chinlock and tag Ryder in, who cleans house on the heels before hitting Darren with the Broski Boot for a two count. Titus trips Ryder up so Santino goes after him with the Cobra, but Young wipes him out from behind. Ryder and Young are the legal men back in the ring as Titus hops back in to drape Ryder over his knee while Young hits an elbow drop off the top rope, a double-team move Booker calls the "Ghetto Blaster", to pick up the win at 3:04. O'Neill and Young are starting to look more comfortable together and could actually make a decent heel tag team believe it or not, despite how badly each man sucks individually they aren't half bad together. After the match Titus and Young get on the mic to dance and taunt the fans a bit about their "millions of dollars" (that's a funny one). *

Backstage Matt Striker is with Damien Sandow, who cuts another smarmy and pretentious promo about how he's here to save all of us poor cretins.

"The Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay vs. Hunico
Camacho jumps Clay with Hunico before the bell ever rings, but the beatdown only serves to pump him up more for when the match actually starts. Clay flattens Hunico with a backdrop then tosses him halfway across the ring with a big t-bone suplex before pinning him with the What the Funk splash at 0:57 seconds. You know I was just thinking to myself that this show needed more short squash matches. 1/4*

Sheamus (32-15-1) vs Chris Jericho (2-0)
Main event time though we've only got less than ten minutes left in TV time and you know damn well this isn't going to finish clean so I'm not expecting much. Booker tries to claim Jericho's return has been a huge success, despite him thoroughly and cleanly losing every feud and big match he's been involved in since that return. Sheamus uses his power early, getting Jericho tied up in the ropes and laying in the ten hammer-fists before bouncing Jericho off the mat and into the barricade as we take our last commercial break. When we return Sheamus hits a slingshot shoulder-block on Jericho for a two count. Jericho targets the injured shoulder of Sheamus and then dropkicks him off of the apron to the floor. Back inside Jericho hits another dropkick then lands on his feet in a Lionsault attempt. Sheamus hits him with a running knee but then gets caught in the Walls of Jericho but he gets the rope break eventually and then back-drops Jericho out of the ring. Del Rio runs out and tosses Jericho into the steps for the DQ finish though at 5:45 (shown). About as good as the Del Rio/Orton match from earlier, though the commercial break hurt it's flow a bit. Another cheap finish, but again, this one was atleast expected. **

After the match all four men involved in the fatal fourway hit the ring, where the faces give Del Rio their finishers while Jericho sneaks off as we go off the air.

Bottom Line: Well that was...a show. I wish I had something good to say about the show but outside of some angle advancement this was pretty much two hours of filler TV, chock full of 2 minute matches with shitty finishes. It seems like everytime this show builds up some good will with me after a good show like last week's, they return the next week with a stinker like this one. Feel free to skip this whole show as there's really nothing here worth your time outside of a quick and interesting development in the Bryan/AJ angle. Thumbs Down.

Score: 3.5/10

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! 5/4/12

2012-05-04T18:08:00.002-07:00

WWE Friday Night SmackDown
May 4th, 2012
Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Attendance: Unknown at this time

Welcome back everyone to another edition of 411's WWE Smackdown report from yours truly. We're only five days removed from the Extreme Rules PPV and the colossal encounter that was Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena, but there's no time to rest as we're already only a few weeks away from the next PPV, Over the Limit. Tonight's show looks to be a solid one on paper with an Extreme Rules rematch between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan being advertised, so let's jump right into the thick of things and hope tonight's show is better than that dreadful RAW earlier this week.

Your hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews

We open the show with the World Heavyweight champion, Sheamus, making his way out to the ring. He tells us just how much he loves to fight, and that's exactly what he's come to do tonight with Daniel Bryan (big YES! chant starts up before Sheamus steals the thunder and starts leading the fans in the chant). Really? They're just going to take this incredibly over chant that was totally Bryan's idea and baby and just start handing it out to babyfaces just because the fans love to chant it and Bryan's a heel? Bryan, the number one contender to CM Punk's WWE title, interrupts and makes his way down to the ring as apparently we're going to kick-start the show with our Extreme Rules rematch

Sheamus (30-15-1) vs. Daniel Bryan (15-19-2)
Sheamus goes for a shoulder-block at the bell but starts favoring his arm, selling the injury from the Extreme Rules match (big points to Sheamus there). Bryan hits a drop-toe hold and tries for a wristlock but Sheamus just socks him in the jaw. Bryan comes back with a big armbreaker though and then stomps away at the Irishman in the corner. Sheamus drives his shoulder into Bryan's stomach in the corner and then clotheslines him out of the ring when all of a sudden Ricardo Rodriguez leaps into the ring and takes out Sheamus off the top rope with a cross-body to draw the DQ at 2:49. Del Rio hops in to give Sheamus the cross armbar afterwards and then Bryan gives him the YES! Lock as well to work over the injured arm even further. Well that wasn't much of a rematch, but it started off very good before the run-in. Hopefully this isn't the last we've seen of these two tonight though. *1/2

Backstage after the break Sheamus gets checked on by a doctor and writhes in pain.

Kofi Kingston/R-Truth vs. Hunico/Camacho
Oh, right, Kofi and Truth are the tag champs. I forgot about that in about twenty seconds. Non-title match here and Epico, Primo, Rosa Mendes, and A.W. all come out to watch. Truth and Hunico start off with Truth hitting a nice Japanese armdrag before tagging Kofi in, who hits a flying forearm from the top rope. Kofi gets sent out of the ring and Camacho lariats him behind the ref's back. Back in the ring Camacho tags in and hits a big legdrop on Kingston. Hunico tags back in with a slingshot dropkick in the corner and they tease the tag between Kofi and Truth with Hunico holding him back briefly before being monkey flipped, allowing Truth to get the hot tag. Truth hits Camacho with the corkscrew elbow and then launches Kofi over his head into mid-air where he gives Hunico a big hurricanrana out of the ring, taking a page out of the Billy Kidman/Rey Mysterio handbook. Truth hits Camacho with the Little Jimmy (god that name is terrible) to pick up the win at 4:07. Damn, that was a hell of an energetic little four minute match, I would have loved to have seen more of that. Truth and Kofi don't make much sense as a tag team but they do work well together and Hunico and Camacho make a great addition to the tag division. **1/4

"The Funkasaurus" Brodus Clay (4-4) vs. Jack Swagger (9-10)
Clay hits a belly-to-belly suplex right at the bell and then takes Jack's head off with a clothesline. Dolph Ziggler distracts Clay long enough for Swagger to tackle him out of the ring, where Ziggler eats another headbutt from Clay when he tries to interfere. T-bone suplex from Clay and he tries for the What the Funk splash, but Swagger leaves the ring...and gets intentionally counted out at 1:43. Wait, so Clay can squash Ziggler clean but they need to protect Swagger? Huh? Some little kids hit the ring to dance with Clay after the match. 3/4*

Highlights of the attack on John Cena by John Laurinaitis and Lord Tensai from RAW. OTL is going to bomb if Cena/Ace is the planned main event. Michael Cole informs us that Laurinaitis has taken a personal day tonight and isn't here.

Backstage Eve breaks up an arguing Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio. Bryan says he would have beaten Sheamus if Del Rio didn't interfere but Del Rio doesn't care since he's the number one contender for the WHC. Bryan demands that he and Sheamus wrestle again tonight, and Eve tells him that she'll decide if they wrestle again after talking to the doctors.

Up next we've got Damien Sandow vs. Derrick Bateman, which is Sandow's debut after weeks of pretaped promos and he comes out to a deliciously pretentious choral rendering of "Hallelujah" (or some similar sounding hymn, I'm not great with those) as his theme music before cutting an excellent heel promo about how he doesn't want to wrestle a "miscreant" and "ignaramus" like Bateman for his debut. Bateman mentions that he apparently earned this match FIVE MONTHS AGO on NXT, so he wants to wrestle someone. Boy, what a prestigious prize. Sandow takes off and Ryback comes out as his opponent of course. Guess where this is going. Go on, guess.

Ryback (4-0) vs. Derrick Bateman (0-1)
Petty offense from Bateman while the crowd chants "Goldberg!" at Ryback. He hits a neat backpack chinbreaker and a lariat before finishing off Bateman moments later with the marching Samoan drop at 1:12. Squash city. 1/4*

Randy Orton/Big Show vs. Kane/Cody Rhodes
Not a bad looking match for the middle of the show. Orton and Rhodes start us off with Orton takes the upper hand with a lariat. Show tags in and drives his backside into Cody in the corner before bodyslamming him and tagging Randy back in. Dropkick from Orton and Cody tags Kane in. Kane goes to work on Randy's mid-section in the corner but Orton escapes and tags out to Show, who spears Kane and then tosses Cody into the ring for a big chop. Kane fires off a big DDT on Show as we take a commercial break. When we return Cody is working over Show before tagging out to Kane. Kane works over Show a bit before the big man is able to hit a huge back suplex and get the hot tag to Orton. Randy hits the powerslam on Cody but eats a right hand from Kane when he tries for the second-rope DDT so Orton just hits Kane with the DDT instead. Kane blocks the RKO and Cody low-bridges Orton out of the ring as the crowd goes from nearly exploding to dead in seconds (that's good heel work). Kane boots Orton outside the ring and covers him back inside for a two count. Cody tags back in and hits a big dropkick for his own near fall before tagging Kane back in. Orton is able to hit the over-the-shoulder backbreaker on Kane but he wanders into the wrong corner looking for a tag and the heels exchange tags again, cutting Orton off from his corner. Cody applies a chinlock but Orton fights it off and then counters the Cross-Rhodes attempt with a back body drop. Randy gets the tag to Show, who cleans house on Cody. He looks for the chokeslam, but Kane breaks it up with the top rope clothesline. He turns around right into an RKO from Orton however! Cody sends Orton out of the ring but Show hits him with the WMD fist for the win at 10:44 (shown). Another really solid tag match here, I wasn't sure how well this one would gel but by the time hey hit the finish with everyone trading big moves everything was gravy. **3/4

Backstage Matt Striker tries to get a word with Sheamus about whether he'll wrestle Bryan tonight, and Sheamus tells him yes.

Layla (8-8) vs. Natalya (9-14)
I must say, Layla returning to win the title is just superbly random (where's Kharma?). Layla tries a headscissors on the mat to start but Nattie escapes and they trade wristlocks. Sweet spinning lariat from Natalya gets a two count. She tries for a slam but Layla counters with a roll through and hits a big neckbreaker for the win at 1:58. Your usual quick divas TV match here though Nattie showed a bit of fire. Hopefully Layla's just a placeholder until Kharma returns for good. 3/4*

Backstage Antonio Cesaro (the former Claudio Casagnoli) and Aksana take some photos with a photographer while Eve talks them on. Eve thinks Antonio looks dry though and Eve orders Teddy Long to rub oil on Cesaro. Awkwaaaard.

Elsewhere backstage AJ is full of remorse over striking Kaitlyn last week and tries to apologize. Kaitlyn tells her she was just being her friend but that this "pity party" over Daniel Bryan needs to stop. AJ rears back and bitch slaps her again for that comment and storms off. I shouldn't enjoy two hot women slapping each other so much.

Highlights of Brock Lesnar's attack on Triple H this past week on RAW.

Sheamus (31-15-1) vs. Daniel Bryan (15-20-2)
Alberto Del Rio comes out to join the commentary team before the match starts. Bryan goes right to work on the injured shoulder of Sheamus (now taped up) with kicks. Nasty shoulder-breaker from Bryan, but Sheamus counters with a big tilt-a-whirl slam. He tries for the Brogue Kick but Bryan avoids it and sends Sheamus out of the ring as we take our last commercial break. When we return Bryan is diving onto the shoulder of Sheamus outside the ring. Sheamus tries to return to the ring but Bryan sends him back out again and then sends him shoulder-first into the steel post. Back in the ring Bryan hits the diving headbutt off the top rope for a two count. Bryan manages to unwrap most of the bandages on the shoulder, but Sheamus sends him shoulder-first into the steel post in a taste of his own medicine. Sheamus rips off the bandages like a badass and then lays in the ten hammer-fist forearms on Bryan in-between the ropes not once, but twice, leaving Daniel's chest beet red. Sheamus suplexes Bryan back into the ring, but Bryan kicks out of the pin. Bryan hits a knee but Sheamus hits the Irish Curse backbreaker in response and then begins kneeing the ever loving bejesus out of Bryan on the apron. Bryan drapes the injured shoulder over the top rope and hits the missile dropkick from the top, but now it's Sheamus' turn to kick out. Bryan continues the shoulder-work but Sheamus lariats him inside-out 360 degrees in one of the sickest damn clotheslines I think I've ever seen, that was downright Hansen-esque. Del Rio hits the apron but Sheamus sends Bryan into him to bump him off the apron. Bryan tries for another missile dropkick from the top, but Sheamus BOOTS HIS HEAD OFF with the Brogue Kick for the win at 9:27 (shown). I was already digging this quite a bit but by the last few minutes Sheamus was just murdering Bryan and he was taking all the bumps like a champ as they just kicked this one into overdrive for the finish. This feud continues to be awesome when they actually give them time to wrestle, what a shocker. Great TV match. ***1/4

We close out the show with Sheamus celebrating in the ring as Bryan lays dead and Del Rio storms off up the ramp with Rodriguez.

Bottom Line: This was an excellent show tonight from the blue brand, they gave time to several matches and the results were a few solid ones and an excellent main event between Sheamus and D-Bry. The tag match in the middle of the show was good as well and got time which is exactly the kind of stuff I'd rather see carrying the mid-section of the show instead of three or four more 2 minute matches to be honest. Damn good little show from Smackdown tonight and an easy Thumbs Up.

Rating: 8.0/10