Wrestling’s 4R’s Tuesday Edition 05.12.09: WWE Superstars, WWE Smackdown and ROH on HDNet Reviewed!

Posted by Larry Csonka on 05.12.2009

Have you ever fallen off of a roof through a deck railing? Let me save you the trouble, it sucks.

If you haven't already, make sure you bookmark 411 or better yet, set us as your homepage! As always, thanks for choosing 411 for all of you pop culture needs!

How the 4R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R's. The column will run TWO times a week. On Tuesdays I will discuss TNA Impact and Jeremy will discuss WWE Smackdown. Also, if there is a PPV, that will be covered in this column as well. The column will run again on Friday's, covering WWE Raw (with Jeremy Thomas) as well as ECW on Sci-Fi. If there is a PPV that weekend, I will also run the RETRO R's of the show from the year before as well as address some comments when time permits. I will group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~! This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

---

NOTE: No Impact R's today. I hurt my back over the weekend, and haven't been able to do much. I had Superstars and ROH finished, so that's what I ran with, along with Jeremy's R's of SD. Thanks for understanding.


In HD where available…


By: Larry Csonka

WWE SUPERSTARS 05.07.09:

QUICK RESULTS:
- Santina and Kelly defeated Beth and Rosa [½*]
- Finlay defeated Zack Ryder [*]
- Chris Jericho defeated John Morrison [***]

THE RIGHT:

THE CUTTING EDGE: The Cutting Edge kicked off the show this week, and in my opinion this is a good thing. If you aren't going to have the main event guys wrestling every week, having an interview segment with the main eventers to hype a big PPV match will work just as well. Jeff did well, but Edge really carried the segment as they took a trip down memory lane, how they started together, battled each other, and of course this led to anger and physicality. I liked how they played up their history, because it does matter since they have been here for so long (minus Jeff's TNA hiatus) and now they go from struggling tag guys to the world title feud. Jeff would close things out with the old twist of fate and swanton to shut Edge up. This worked for me.

PURGATORY:

Chris Jericho defeated John Morrison: After their confrontation on Smackdown, Jericho and Morrison were set to face off on Superstars. They got roughly 9-minutes after the commercial break, and this was a fine TV main event. When I first heard the spoilers, I was pissed they said Morrison lost clean, and with no details, that was maddening. But the way he lost, with Shelton distracting him, while corny, was fine and played back into their feud. I do feel like I have to mention one thing. I feel like the WWE has once again done one of their classic "here's push, kinda" things. They plant the seed for Morrison and Jericho, and then they do the match on Superstars. But it isn't for the feud to build, it is to pull him back down into a feud with Shelton. To me it screams that, "we want to give you a push, but don't quite trust you yet. And finally, I think that we really need to talk about Morrison himself. He is talented, but the facts are that they need to do something to MAKE him a face. He still has the same cocky opening and demeanor in the ring, and even the announcers don't know how to treat him, even though he is the face. Essentially they need to make some changes to his personality and or his look to completely pull this off. It isn't that I don't have faith in him, but the only thing to change is that he now hits the corkscrew moonsault, and that along with calling Jericho a loser does not a face make. In the end there was good wrestling, but there are still problems to address.

THE WRONG:

Santina and Kelly defeated Beth and Rosa: I guess the one good thing about this is that they were able to keep some of the Santina stuff off of the main show. But this wasn't good at all. They are determined to drag out the Santino/Santina vs. Beth angle as long as possible. I know that some people seem to be enjoying the angle, and that's cool, but I don't enjoy it and haven't since they started it at Mania. I will say that there were a few glimpses of fun with Kelly and Beth, and credit to Kelly for slowly improving out there, but this is one of those parts of the show that I wish I could have skipped completely. I know this is the fourth show, but I would rather something more worthwhile than this. I would have given the time to Finlay and Ryder. Woo WOO woo.

Finlay defeated Zack Ryder: This week on Superstars we got to see the debut of the new and improved Zack Ryder. You may remember Zack as one half of THOSE EDGE GUYS, and a former tag team champion. But they were short lived when pulled away from Edge, faded away and most thought that they were released until the draft when Ryder was selected for the ECW brand. He appeared on ECW with his new look, which I will say was an improvement simply because he now has a look. He wanted a match and also wanted to prove that he was the next big star on ECW. So he was placed into a match with Finlay. First of all this is a good idea for the fact that Finlay is a good teacher. I figured that we would get a long match, making Ryder look good, and then losing in a tough battle. Well I was wrong. What we got was a short match that was nothing more than an extended squash for Finlay and made Ryder look like a goof, again. I don't understand the theory behind debuting a guy with a new gimmick and then having him lose like he did. It makes no sense.

THE RIDICULOUS:

NONE

The 411

For the most part, I continue to find Superstars an average at best program for the company. But certainly not must see TV. This is your classic definition of a bookend show, much like last week's ROH show. The opening Cutting Edge was good, as was the main event between Morrison and Jericho. Unfortunately the middle was filled with more of the Santino bullshit, and the Zack Ryder re-debut that saw he lose in an extended squash. It isn't a bad show, but it also isn't anything that you need to watch.

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale. Also, PPV rankings can and will likely change through out the year:

0 - 0.9: Torture
1 - 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 - 2.9: Very Bad
3 - 3.9: Bad
4 - 4.9: Poor
5 - 5.9: Not So Good
6 - 6.9: Average
7 - 7.9: Good
8 - 8.9: Very Good
9 - 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

SHOW RATING: 6.0

---

In HD where available…


By: Jeremy "NOT LARRY CSONKA" Thomas

WWE SmackDown 05.08.09

THE RIGHT:

SO WHO'S THE FACE OF SMACKDOWN AGAIN?: Following a recap of last week's Fatal Four-Way match we went to SmackDown GM Teddy Long busting a move in the ring. He introduced Rey Rey as a man who had come over from the draft to become the face of SmackDown. The crowd was digging it as Rey made his way down to the ring in street clothes, which frankly looked kind of weird. Rey did the usual "I'm glad to be back" spiel before giving Jeff his props for winning the World Heavyweight Title shot last week. But apparently it was all good, because he'd get a World Title shot again someday and until then he was going to defend his Intercontinental Title against all comers. This brought down SmackDown's Savior Chris Jericho, who the crowd was more than happy to toss all their hate at. Jericho was NOT wearing his sharp suit this week, instead being all suited-up for action. He told Teddy that he was the true face on SmackDown. When Teddy disagreed, Jericho proceeded to run down his accolades and griped about how he was getting no love from anyone. Now, I know people talk about how Jericho's getting stale and all, but seriously folks, listen to the crowd when he talks. He has people eating out of the palm of his hand and he does it with ease. Jericho complained about the fact that no one had ever been disqualified in a Fatal Four-Way, and then tore down Rey as not having had a chance to win anyway. Rey then got all uppity on Jericho and we had Y2J trying to lord it over the IC champ. Rey was having none of it, and shoved Jericho down before taking off. While Jericho yelled after Rey, the Day-Glo Warrior's music played and down to the ring he came. It may just be me, but the Jeff reaction was a bit anemic. It wasn't dead, but it wasn't at the usual level of Jeffamania…at least in the entrance. Maybe it was just a delayed reaction, as soon they got into it, but I've sure as hell never seen a Day-Glo interview get more of a pop than his entrance until tonight. Probably didn't hurt that he was tearing down Jericho though. The gist here was that Jeff was challenging Chris to a match, and if Jericho won it put him in the main event at Judgment Day. This wasn't Jeff's best interview but I very much appreciate the booking; they're trying to build up Jeff as a threat to Edge, and that's a smart move. Not all the mic work was top notch, but not one bit of it was particularly bad either and with the smart booking, it easily earns a Right from me.

R-TRUTH vs. MIKE KNOX: The first match on the show had R-Truth rapping his way down to the ring in order to take on SmackDown newbie Mike Knox. I think Truth must be doing some conditioning work, because for once he was able to make it all the way down to the ring without being out of breathe. He asked the crowd what was up before Knox made his way out, again to what seemed like very little reaction. For those who are wondering what "very little reaction" might be, my rule is that if I can't hear it distinctly over the entrance music, it's pretty damned weak; Knox was an excellent case in point of that, and he's going to need some serious rebuilding once he floundered post-Rey Rey. J.R. and T-Grish did a good job of building Knox up a bit while the duo mixed it up in the ring, The match wasn't one of the best matches we've seen but I didn't have too many problems with it. It was fairly short, but at least wasn't one of the one to two-minute capers we've seen on Raw as of late. Knox and Truth aren't the most fluid of performers against each other and there were a few awkward moments in this match, but outside of them it was perfectly acceptable. Knox looked really damned good coming out of this match, having kicked out of a Scissor Kick and then pinning Truth cleanly for the win. I'm not sure what they're planning for the big man, but this seemed to be a step in the right direction to build him up.

MICHELLE McCOOL vs. GAIL KIM: Michelle made her way to the ring with Alicia by her side; hey, remember when Alicia was Vickie and Edge's wedding planner and went from being that to being DJ Gabriel's dancing manager? Yeah, this character transition has about as smooth as that one was. J.R. and T-Grish sold the fact that both of them were looking for a shot at Melina's Women's Title; of course, what would make sense is for a heel to go over and take on Melina, which is exactly what happened here. Michelle was playing the attitude card very heavily here, stealing a page out of Scott Steiner's book by doing some push-ups mid-match; I will give her credit for this one, because it at least makes sense with her commonly-touted background as a personal trainer. She may be cribbing from TNA's roster, but at least that one makes total sense. The match itself didn't do too terribly; they had no awkward moments or miscommunication and pulled off their particular moments of offense well enough. Michelle got the win via the Faith Breaker, and Alicia was there to provide a distraction at one point to let Michelle take control. It all worked well enough and set Michelle up to be the next challenger to Melina's title, which is fine with me. Some people are noting that Gail is getting slid a bit down the totem pole in the Blue Brand Women's Division, but honestly, she kind of has to as a face right now, so I'm not going to relegate her to jobber status until I see where they're going.

JOHN MORRISON vs. CHARLIE HAAS: This match had several interesting things going on in it. Morrison, of course, is in the middle of a face turn-in-progress, and it looks as if they're setting him up for a feud with Benjamin following their match last week. At the same time, it appears that Haas has dropped the impersonator gimmick, for one night at least, and he came down to the ring with Shelton by his side to their old "World's Greatest Tag Team" music. They pointed out how Benjamin had cost Morrison a match against Jericho on Superstars as Goldilocks took a seat at the announcer's booth, though he didn't join on commentary. They went back and forth, putting on a really nice, competitive match that actually saw Haas getting far more offense than I expected of him. Morrison is definitely one of the rising stars on the Blue Brand, and I was a little surprised that he wrestled so evenly for a guy who's been built up as a comedy wrestler for several months. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for Haas, who could use a decent push. In the end Morrison got the clean when with the split-legged corkscrew moonsault and then taunted Shelton by inviting him into the ring, although Goldilocks declined. This was good stuff all around, and I'm actually very interested to see what they do with all three of these men from here.

JEFF HARDY vs. CHRIS JERICHO: Edge came down to the announcer's booth to provide commentary for this match, after which Day-Glo came out to a strong crowd reaction and Jericho followed to quite a round of boos. Edge was doing good work on commentary here, playing his whiny opportunistic heel well (while at the same time saying he hates whiners) and building both guys in the ring at the same time. They gave this match an exceptional amount of time for a television match and they made the most of it. They settled immediately into a solid match, acting like they were very familiar with each other as opposed to two guys who hadn't faced off since December. They did some really good give-and-take offense, letting the both of them look very competitive against each other and giving both guys the opportunity to play to their strengths. Jeff got some nice high spots in while Jericho did some great heel offense, getting that cocky, smarmy look on his face while he was in control. Jeff had a couple near-botched moves but they played off it and covered nicely enough; forcing Day-Glo to fight back and play the "never say die" attitude that Jericho just couldn't beat. Jeff got out of the Walls of Jericho, kicked out of the Lionsault and generally kept fighting back; of course, the match would eventually spill over onto Edge, which got him up on the apron to argue with Jericho and this nearly cost Y2J the match. Instead, it was Rey Mysterio who factored into the match, keeping Jericho from winning with his feet on the ropes and distracting Jericho enough for Jeff to get the win. There was a lot of this match I loved, and the few things that bugged me were weak by comparison. I didn't like that Rey came down mid-match and just hung out at ringside until his time to be involved came. But it worked out fine and it built both Hardy/Edge and Jericho/Rey Rey for Judgment Day, so my complaints are fairly small.

PURGATORY:

EDGE vs. CM PUNK: Maria was backstage with Ricky Ortiz and Teddy Long, showing off her clothing ideas. Gee, that's all I needed, was to remember that Ortiz has moved to SmackDown. Dammit! Anyway, the good news is that he wasn't there for long, as Edge came in and shooed them away so he could talk to Teddy. Rated-R was griping about Jericho's potential inclusion in the Judgment Day match, and Teddy pointed out that Edge was lucky to even have the title after last week when Punk's attempt to cash in Money in the Bank was stopped only by Umaga. Long booked Edge vs. Punk again tonight, which Edge was none too pleased about of course…but hey, at least it was non-title, right?

A couple segment later, it was time for the match, and the crowd was pretty jazzed to see Mr. Money in the Bank as he came down to the ring. Is it because of him, or is it because he's facing Edge; that's a question that's hard to determine at the moment, as Rated-R certainly was pulling as much heat with the crowd as Punk was cheers. They started off with a few wrestling holds exchanged back and forth until a high-risk move for Punk didn't pay off and Edge took control. They really kept these two on an even keel here, letting them go back and forth trading offense, and I was quite happy to see it as it is exactly the kind of building up they need to do with Punk if he's going to look even remotely credible a legit main eventer. This wasn't a perfect match necessarily, and there were a few times in the middle of the match when it slowed down, but besides that minor nitpick the in-ring portion of the match was very good. What bothered me about the match was the booking. I'm sorry, but I hate countout losses. I get that it fits perfectly within Edge's character to throw the match as long as he keeps his title, but it's just silly and lazy booking. The much stronger way to end this would have been to give Punk a DQ win over Edge when Umaga came in, but instead they saved that for the post-match antics. Umaga did a hell of a job destroying Punk and it built heat for their feud quite nicely, but I would have much rather had this match without the countout as it was unnecessary and drags this otherwise-excellent match just slightly down into puRgatoRy for me.

DOLPH ZIGGLER's OPEN CHALLENGE: It looks like the creative team is getting solidly behind Dolph, who had a US Title match last week and this week gets to set his own Open Challenge. Mr. "My Name Is" came down to the ring to a vague lack of crowd reaction and got on the mic talking about how he was going to show everyone what a real winner was, which is why he was issuing an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. This brought out the Great Khali, which was vaguely predictable (big man answers challenge by littler midcard guy), but got the crowd into it. Love him or hate him, Khali can pop a crowd folks. They did a little jawing before Dolph tried to play hit and run tactics to no avail. We had Khali dominate Dolph for a few moments before Dolph took advantage of an opportunity, grabbed a chair and then got himself DQ'd while ht just absolutely destroyed Khali with it. The match was nothing and this is capped for that, but the booking was a great way to get Dolph over more and finally snap Khali out of his happy, fun-loving Kiss-Cam way for a little bit. So much like the Edge/Punk match was a solid match ruined by booking, this was a nothing match saved by good booking.

THE WRONG:

CRYME TIME HAND SLAM WHOSE-A-WHATSIT THING-A-MA-JIGGER: When we came back from commercial there was an arm wrestling table in the ring. Anyone who's watched a lot of professional wrestling over the years knew to be worried at this point, because arm wrestling NEVER comes off well in wrestling segments. Ever. No, really, EVER. Soon after Cryme Tyme made their way down to the ring to a moderate crowd reaction while J.R. tried to say "It's Cryme Tyme" in a ghetto voice, which just sounded more like Beavis instead. Apparently Cryme Tyme was here to settle the differences between Eve and Layla after the dance-off last week, so they had decided to have the two ladies come down to have an arm wrestling match. Um, what? Oh, and it wasn't an arm wrestling match, it was a Cryme Tyme Hand Slam Jammy Jam Challenge. Seriously, I am not making this shit up. Layla came down first, looking at least less ghetto then she did last week, and the Notorious E.V.E. was next. Layla's elbow was taped up because she was supposedly nursing an injury, as we found out mid-challenge as she started screaming. Eve ended up winning and Layla attacked Eve to end the segment. Or, I suppose I should say, mercifully end the segment, because like most arm wrestling matches this was about as exciting as Maria's old habit of watching paint dry. What made it even worse was Cryme Tyme's annoying-ass commentary during the arm wrestling. Admittedly, it's not necessarily all on them, because you have to be just absolutely amazing to make arm wrestling seem exciting by the commentary, but it still didn't add any favors to this segment. Listen, if the ‘E doesn't trust Eve and Layla to wrestle in the ring, then they shouldn't be feuding; it's that simple. If they want to draw the feud out a little before they hit the ring, there's better ways than this, which just didn't work and bored the hell out of me.

THE RIDICULOUS:

DID YOU KNOW?: Nope. And as always, I don't care.

The 411

This was a damn fine show from start to finish, one of the better shows we've seen in a long time. The only thing I really didn't like was the arm wrestling bullshit and that was kept fairly short, the rest was okay to great and at no point did I get the "why the hell am I watching this?" feeling that Raw can inspire these days. I'm really digging on the Blue Brand as they work hard to create new stars and elevate people, and SmackDown has once again become the wrestling show of the week for yours truly.

SHOW RATING: ****

Comment Time with Jeremy!

From D-Man:
How did Shane get put over, if his ankle was broken, essentially writing him out of the storyline for the time being? An opening matches have been considered main events in the past, any match that's a featured attraction is called a "Main event" Also I'll have to go back and check but the match didn't officially start hence the brawling in the crowd even if it did start it wouldn't be the first time a regular one-fall match has gone into the crowd before. Sometimes officials use this term called personal discretion.

Also Batista losing to Ted was to show how hot headed Batsita is and that he again inadvertently screwed over one of his friends due to his temper, which will make him feel even more guilty in the up-coming weeks. Also Ted Jr. showed his smarts by slapping Batista and angering him into a DQ.

Shane is fighting on adrenaline the entire time, I could see if there were no tags involved but they were and he had time to recover. He's full of piss and vinegar, plus he's held his own in the past against world champions and with him being pissed off, he would no doubt be able to go one on one against Ted, Cody and Orton of course though Shane's emotions get the best of him (like what happened with Batista) and he makes the big mistake of missing an elbow drop on Orton (who was playing Possum) Honestly Orton is over as hell, he's not going to lose overness and at the end of night all that people will remember is that Shane's ankle is shattered. The end result is that the Legacy took out Shane and Orton accomplished his goal of taking out the McMahon's.

Honestly, D-Man, I've been defending Shane for quite a while here, and I'll continue to do so if I think it's warranted. However, I don't think the "fighting on adrenaline" thing works every single time he wrestles. It's literally that often that I have to think about it, because he goes over pretty much everyone on the roster. The bottom line here, although I do agree with you that he's been put out for a while and that's good, is that it took the WWE Heavyweight Champion and two of the 'E's supposed brightest stars to put down a 39-year-old who is not supposed to be a wrestler. That's pushing it too far in my eyes.


From August:
"I will say this..if the broken hand is legit, then the ‘E is retarded for booking Matt to wrestle around it, because he could really aggravate it even if they try to work around it"

what would you rather have Matt do, dissapear for four months after the most successful angle of his career? his whining, "wrestling under protest" gives him the perfect excuse to lose matches without hurting his credibility. He gets to stay on tv and evolve his heel persona to something besides "I'm jealous of my brother." Really, it sets up things so perfectly for Matt that I'm somewhat skeptical it's a legit injury, except the WWE writers haven't proven that they're clever enough to come up with a story like this themselves.

For the record, I'm skeptical that it's legit as well. That being said, it could very well BE legit, and if it is the case then fuck yes I want him to get out of the ring for four months. When you wrestle with a broken hand you risk aggravating that injury. It may not seem like much--it's just a broken hand, after all--but the more he works it, the more he risks nerve damage and other things that don't heal. I don't care how hot of an angle one is in, they shouldn't risk permanent injury to carry it out. I am working off the theory that it's a work because I don't think Matt or the 'E are that stupid. if it's legit though, then it's a phenomonally stupid move, as Matt couild stay on TV in other ways.


From Shockmaster:
SANTINO AND TRIPLE K…BOND? So that nonsense with Santina pinning Beth was the blowoff match? All those months, all the possibilities with Rosa and they just let it quietly fizz out? I know they can't have a man beat down Beth and keep her heel, but she could have beaten him once. It's not like his cred would be lowered any further.

THE MIZ AIN'T DONE WITH CENA YET: I had the worst feeling Cena was playing possum this time and would destroy Miz. Thankfully I was wrong. Obviously Miz is a sidebar in this angle. Again, if he just looks competitive in the eventual match I'll be happy.

SHANE-O MAC vs. THE LEGACY: To think just a week earlier the IWC was excited about the chance of new stars ascending on Raw. The entire show was built around making a handicap match. Jeremy I'm glad to see you threw your hands up too. Most baffling of all is they take SuperShane out and the guys this made look worthless are the ones left to carry the show going forward. And of course the obligatory "Where's Poochie?" montage of Orton/H had to be shown as it is at least once an hour on all WWE programming. God forbid they stop reminding us that Orton's entire reign is a farce because HUNTOR is going back on his throne by Summerslam.

Even using a DVR and cutting through replays, commercials, and the Jillian/Festus stuff this show was torture to watch. I try not to be one of those smarks who gripes about everything but they gave us one of the worst editions of Raw ever. And I was watching back in the Damien Demento and Giant Gonzalez days. Had I bought a ticket for Judgment Day I would hate myself right now.

I don't know that they're blowing it off quite yet between Santino and Beth, Shock. I sure as hell hope not, anyway, because we're in complete agreement, this needs to end some other way then this whimper of a finish. We'll see what happens on Raw, where hopefully we'll see some sort of a move toward resolution. I also agree with you that Miz is a sidebar, but that's totally fine with me because simply by association with Cena he's getting elevated. It pretty much looks like we're in complete agreement this week, although I didn't hate the Jillian/Festus thing quite as much. As for Judgment Day, I wouldn't hate myself because SmackDown's providing some good build to their matches at least.


From Jeremy from Palmdale:
Santina/KKK/Chavo - First off, SantinA is a face, "her" brother SantinO is a heel. That being said this segment was ridiculous, but in a humorous way, it really didn't hurt anyone (except Vickie) so I think it belongs in purgatory

Cody Rhodes vs. MVP with Regal on Color- As good as regal is on commentary, I think his accent will prevent him from having a career on commentary but he could be greatly utilized as a trainer. The match didn't hurt anybody and built a feud. MVP vs. Regal will tear the house down and help the image of the US title

The Sing Off - Belongs squarely in Ridiculous. While it did provide for the entertainment value, it seemingly killed the mystique of Festus. Why, in the past year and a half, has Festus not talked? Perhaps if he did, even if it is in short bursts, 1 or 2 word sentences, Jesse and Festus would have gotten over more.

The Miz/Cena/Big Show - I would have loved if at the end of the segment, The Miz ran back in the ring and pinned Cena, but that would have cheapened the severity of the angle.

Matt Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston - I think the cast gives Matt Hardy a character like Bob Orton and Owen Hart had, so he isn't just another a-hole heel. He is now a "weakened" a-hole heel who is being conspired against by the company.

Maryse vs. Mickie - It seems that half of the announcers call her Maurice

Chavo Guerrero - "There's a new boy in the neighborhood, lives down on the card and its understood, he's there to take good care of Vickie, cause she's one of the family. Chavo's in Charge, of our RAW's on Monday Night. Chavo's in Charge of our wrongs and our rights and I see I want Chavo in Charge of me. Chavo's in Charge, of our RAW's on Monday Night. Chavo's in Charge of our wrongs and our rights and I see, I want, I want Chavo in Charge of me"

The Brian Kendrick vs. Carlito - The thing that ruined this for me was I was expecting somebody to run in and attack Carlito. Who? I have no clue, but Carlito sending Primo to the back gave me the feeling that it was gonna come back to bite him in the butt.

Hello, my like-named reader who also lives on the West Coast! Nice to have you here. Your Santina face/Santino heel thing doesn't make a lot of sense though, since Santino was the one here who was bonding with the face Diva and giving the heels shit. I'm just not at all sure where they're going with Santino, and I think we'll see better in the next week or so. You do make a point with Regal's accent as a commentator, however you have to remember Lord Alfred Hayes provided commentary for many years and didn't have any problems with his accent. He would make a great trainer.

Now, as far as the sing-off goes...with all due respect Jeremy, since when did Festus have mystique? If you're looking for mystique in him, I think you're looking too hard. He's an autistic inbred idiot savant, who loses his mind when the bell rings. There wasn't much secret to him, and this didn't hurt that much in my mind. I absolutely agree with you on the Miz thing, and I do think that the cast is perfectly fine for Matt, it just limits what he can do in the ring some. The Chavo in Charge thing is brilliant, by the way...verty impressed. Thanks for reading!


From Cyrith:
I thought that Miz bailing after Show's entrance made Miz look weak, especially as it was barely even mentioned. I think to really rub it in that Miz thinks he's a bad ass he should have got in Show's face about this being his segment, and his fight, Show should have decked him and stepped over his body to get to Cena. Instead, Miz bails and isn't mentioned for the rest of the segment. Very ADD booking.

Like I mentioned about Cyrith, Miz is being elevated simply bvy virtue of being involved in such segments. That being said, I would have loved seeing them do what you suggested here, it would have played off beautifully and really driven Miz's character home.


From Guest#3939:
"I can see where you're going with the Jericho argument, and it would probably be nice if he developed things a bit further. However, there's also something to be said for stability of character, and if Jericho's still over and not losing any crowd reaction I say that he should stay with it for a bit longer"

What a surprise, because it's Jericho it's okay. When are you all going to change your act?

Ahh, yes. Jericho's an IWC darling and thus we all must believe he can do no wrong, right? Wrong, Guest#3939...if that IS your real name! Let's face it, there's things I really don't like in the 'E. I hate the Khali Kiss-Cam, I hate the whole Santina thing, etc. However, when such things don't bury their respected talent, have a specific point to them and get the crowd involved then I will give them passes. Yes, I like Jericho. No argument. But when he misteps I call him on it, and I think that as long as the characted is working for him and it's not tapering off yet, he should stay with it.

---

By: Larry Csonka

ROH on HDNet 05.09.09:

QUICK RESULTS:
- Delirious and Daizee Haze defeated MsChif and Jimmy Jacobs [**]
- The American Wolves defeated Leslie Butterscotch and Orange Cassidy [*]
- Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson fought to a double count out [***¾]

THE RIGHT:

NIGEL SPEAKS: Nigel McGuinness opened up the show this week with an in ring interview. I dug the interview big time. Nigel explained his road to the title, and how great it was to win the title, as well as all of the injuries he suffered. But then a fan asked him when he would lose the title and basically told him to fuck off. He then made it a goal to be the best, and he battled injuries and all of the top contenders to make the ROH title what it is today. He went to Houston with his arms completely shot, and he lost the title to GERITOL LYNN, clean and in the middle of the ring. He then put over Lynn as the man in the company, and promised to come back and challenge for his title. Simply good work from Nigel, and hell, when you compare being the ROH Champion to banging a porn star, that's funny shit.

The American Wolves defeated Leslie Butterscotch and Orange Cassidy: The American Wolves finally made their debut as a tag team for the ROH TV show, and they came out and dominated the feared team of Leslie Butterscotch and Orange Cassidy! Awesome names, awesome names. The Wolves came out, dominated and took the victory with the Alarm Clock, followed by the superkick into the German combo. It was good stuff, but even at 4-minutes I felt that it lasted a little too long. They needed to run out Road Warriors style and run through the jabronies like a bad taco. Sometimes I feel that the art of the squash is lost. That bugged me a bit. But they looked good, and they announced their intentions for the tag titles. This was good stuff.

FLAIR SPEAKS/COLT and the EM BAH C/LYNN WATCHES: After last week's debut of Ric Flair I had wondered how much they would use Flair. I really was worried that they would have shoved him down our throat because he's Ric Flair. Thankfully that's not that case, as of now. This week we had a short backstage interview with Flair, putting over the company and the main event. It was short and sweet, and it served its purpose.

They also showed clips of Colt Cabana addressing the crowd before the show before it "went on the air". It was short, and Colt was stopped by Prince Nana! THE "EM BAH C" IS BACK! The short of it was that Nana talked shit, bailed, and Cabana took out Ernie Osiris to pop the crowd. This is all building to the June 6th show, due to Colt's non-compete ending in late May. This worked fine.

Finally, they had Jerry Lynn watching on from the production truck during the main event. It's a very small thing, but I also think that it is something that adds to the match. Lynn is the champion, he is looking on because one of these guys is going to challenge for his title. I like little things like this. These were all good little additions to the show this week.

Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson fought to a double count out: Since their first match resulted in a time limit draw, Black and Danielson were set to meet in a top contenders bout on this week's edition of ROH TV. The match was filled with great work, from the slow start, to the match progressively getting better as it went on. While overall a notch below the draw, they built very well to the finish. The finish was good, I felt, as once again Danielson didn't get the win, but he also stopped the young buck from winning the match. Black was so close to beating the count, only for Danielson to grab his leg. I think it's important because it showed Danielson's desperation, knowing that he is this close to losing to the young up and comer, that may just be better than him. But nothing is resolved, and that isn't a bad thing. Again, like in the time limit draw, what they did here was put on a very good match between the "established star" of the company and the "up and coming star" of the company. Danielson was not beat, BUT the young buck took him to the limit. Time limit draws are not a bad thing, and are actually a part of TV wrestling that is missed by many. They played up hard that Black never defeated Danielson one on one, and now, who is the top contender? Booking is fun. The main thing that keeps this from not being as good as the time limit draw is Black's lack of selling the leg down the stretch.

PURGATORY:

Delirious and Daizee Haze defeated MsChif and Jimmy Jacobs: The opening match on ROH TV this week was Delirious and Daizee Haze vs. MsChif and Jimmy Jacobs. They have done a decent job of trying to keep the people updated on why there is an issue, and if you don't know, here's a brief description from JD Dunn:

Delirious had a crush on Daizee. Rhett Titus kept cock-blocking him (which will happen when he always try to ask a woman out in the middle of a wrestling show). Daizee was shocked and said she just wanted to be friends, which broke Delirious' heart and led him to join the Age of the Fall. Daizee had a change of heart and vowed to redeem herself by saving Delirious' soul. Jimmy just abused Delirious until he snapped rather than Delirious seeking redemption in Daizee.

-JD Dunn

Thanks Dunn, you're a great man. They had a solid match for the 5-minutes they got. Delirious and Jacobs worked well together, and MsChif and Haze always work well together, so there was no problem at all with the in ring action. But if I am being completely honest, and I have mentioned this before, I hated the result of the match. Jimmy Jacobs, who looked strong as he came into episode one through video packages, has been booked like a complete bitch and the balls have been cut off of the AoTF. They have no heat, and well, come off as useless now. The other thing I disliked was that MsChif makes her debut as the SHIMMER champion, working with Jacobs, and SHE takes the loss. I have no problems with the champion doing a job like this to help put on a title match later down the line, but not in her debt appearance. Sorry Scrap Daddy, I don't like that.

THE WRONG:

NONE

THE RIDICULOUS:

NONE

The 411

This was a really good show this week. They are working to make the top contenders for the title, and along with that not making it an easy thing, getting a title shot that is. We also have continued actions with Delirious/Jacobs/Haze, although as mentioned, Jacobs has become a complete bitch. The Nigel interview was good, the short Flar interview was good and I liked the touch of having Lynn looking on from the "production truck" as little things like that go a long way. They still could be using the time better to put over angles and DVD's, but I liked the show better than most thus far.

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale. Also, PPV rankings can and will likely change through out the year:

0 - 0.9: Torture
1 - 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 - 2.9: Very Bad
3 - 3.9: Bad
4 - 4.9: Poor
5 - 5.9: Not So Good
6 - 6.9: Average
7 - 7.9: Good
8 - 8.9: Very Good
9 - 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

SHOW RATING: 7.75

---

2009 PPV Rankings:
-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.0}
-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.0}

-WWE BACKLASH {7.5}
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {7.3}
-TNA GENESIS {7.2}
-TNA LOCKDOWN {7.2}
-ROH CAGED COLLISION {7.1}
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA {7.0}

-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {5.5}

-TNA DESTINATION X {3.5}

---

2009 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
-[WRESTLEMANIA] – HBK vs. The Undertaker (*****)

-[ROH RISING ABOVE] - ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Bryan Danielson (****½)
-[NO WAY OUT] – THE SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER (****½)
-[BACKLASH] – LAST MAN STANDING: Edge vs. John Cena (****½)

-[ROH RISING ABOVE] – I QUIT MATCH: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries (****¼)
-[TNA GENESIS] - Kurt Angle defeated Jeff Jarrett (****¼)
-[TNA GENESIS] - X-Division Title Match: Alex Shelley defeated Chris Sabin (****¼)
-[NO WAY OUT] – THE RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER (****¼)

-[WRESTLEMANIA] – MONEY IN THE BANK (***¾)
-[CAGED COLLISION] #1 CONTENDERS MATCH – Tyler Black vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries (***¾)
-[CAGED COLLISION] ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH – Nigel McGuinness vs. El Generico (***¾)
-[TNA LOCKDOWN] – PHILLY STREET FIGHT: IWGP vs. TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH – Team 3D vs. Beer Money (***¾)
-[TNA DESTINATION X] - X-Division Title Ultimate X Match: Suicide defeated Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Consequences Creed and Jay Lethal (***¾)
-[WWE ROYAL RUMBLE] – THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH (***¾)
-[WWE ROYAL RUMBLE] – WWE TITLE MATCH: Edge defeated Jeff Hardy (***¾)

---

2009 PPV MVP AWARDS:
Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.

-[TNA GENESIS] Sabin, Shelley, Angle and Jarrett – Rocking The House
-[ROH RISING ABOVE] – Danielson and McGuinness - Defining the ROH World Title
-[WWE ROYAL RUMBLE] – RVD – The Joke Pays Off
-[NO WAY OUT] – EDGE – The Ultimate Opportunist
-[WRESTLEMANIA] – HBK and The Undertaker – Stealing the Show
-[ROH CAGED COLLISION] – Nigel McGuinness – Better Than You Sugar Nuts
-[TNA LOCKDOWN] - Christopher Daniels – Pulling Double Duty
-[BACKLASH] – Edge and John Cena – Stealing the Show

---

2009 TOP TV Match Rankings:
I will update as often as needed.

-Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black – (ROH on HDNet: 04.25.09) {****}
-Evan Bourne vs. John Morrison - (ECW: 04.14.09) {****}
-Christian vs. Jack Swagger - (ECW: 02.24.09) {****}
-Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena - (Raw: 01.12.09) {****}

-Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black – (ROH on HDNet: 05.09.09) {***¾}
-Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries – (ROH on HDNet: 04.04.09) {***¾}
-Beer Money vs. Team Canada – (Impact: 02.19.09) {***¾}
-Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles – (Impact: 01.22.09) {***¾}

-Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho - (Smackdown: 05.08.09) {***½}
-Edge vs. Kofi Kingston - (Superstars: 04.23.09) {***½}
-John Cena vs. Chris Jericho - (Raw: 04.20.09) {***½}
-Undertaker vs. Shelton Benjamin - (Smackdown: 04.17.09) {***½}
-Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy - (Smackdown: 04.10.09) {***½}
-Primo vs. The Miz - (ECW: 03.10.09) {***½}
-Edge vs. John Cena - (Raw: 03.02.09) {***½}
-Lethal Consequences vs. Motor City Machine Guns – (Impact: 02.19.09) {***½}
-Undertaker vs. Shelton Benjamin - (Smackdown: 01.09.09) {***½}

---

And I'm out of here!



TWITTER
I don't use it, but Ashish says he'll stop paying me if I don't put this here…

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma