Wrestling’s 4R’s Friday Edition 09.11.09: RETRO Unforgiven, ROH on HDNet, ECW and Raw Reviewed!
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 09.11.2009
Bob Barker rocked Raw, Regal's Round Table beat Christian and Dreamer, an Eight-Man Elimination Match highlighted ROH and more! The Friday edition of Wrestling's 4R's breaks down all the action from WWE Raw, ECW on SyFy, ROH on HDNet and of course RETRO Unforgiven!
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By: Jeremy Thomas
Raw 09.07.09
The Right:
BOB BARKER, COME ON DOWN!: So Raw started off with the Fink introducing our guest host, The Price is Right's Bob Barker. As he came out, the crowd lost their shit over him. Call me crazy, but I'm fairly sure he got the biggest pop a guest host has gotten to date. He played to the crowd a little, very quickly getting them eating out of the palm of his hand. Bob was just having a good old time here and had the Fink bring down his contestants: Santino Marella (of course), Jillian Hall, IRWIN R. FREAKING SHYSTER, and this man:
Dude, I don't care what anyone may say about the man. He taped a Price is Right name tag to his bare chest, which officially makes him awesome on unprecedented levels. They were bidding on the "Best of SmackDown 10th Anniversary" DVD. See, this is perfect. They were hawking their merchandise, being vastly entertaining and actually pushing an angle in the Jericho/MVP match that came out of this. How the hell can this be wrong? Well, Jillian singing sure as hell tried, but it was short and Bob played it off well. There was a momentary panic where I thought Jericho was going to be the Happy Gilmore of the night when he got in Barker's face. Instead he accidentally bid a dollar, which won him the Best of SmackDown set and a match with MVP. You know what, this opening bit didn't run too long, it was funny as hell and it did everything he needed to boot. Sue me, but I loved this.
CHRIS JERICHO vs. MVP: You know what made this opening awesome? By the time the match was beginning, Jericho actually wanted that damn trip to Hawaii. And he was far from pleased to see his co-opponent to be at Breaking Point was in his way. MVP has certaionly benefitted from this feud, as the crowd reaction is coming back to him. If he isn't booked in feuds to make the fans not care about him a la the Swagger feud, this could be very good for the man. These two worked a good match against each other and have a growing chemistry to them. Jericho looks good as the asshole schooling MVP and Montel looks good when he makes his comeback. Montel got the win of course to deny Jericho that Hawaiian vacation. Hey, if they want to extend this into a singles feud based on that, I won't complain. It sure as hell wouldn't be worse than spilling coffee on Kane. I was perfectly okay with MVP picking up the win as it makes the challengers look strong going into the Pay-Per-View, and it's just simply picking back up a win after taking the loss the week before. Nothing bad to see here, and I enjoyed it.
CODY RHODES vs. JOHN CENA: This was for payback after Cody and company set Cena up last week. I'll admit that I was expecting a squash, but I was happy to see it wasn't. Even better, Cody was good on the mic and didn't play Dusty off to be a dick father or even agree with what Orton did. It's a nice little character touch for him and I thought he did a good job with the promo. Once Cena got into the ring, they settled into what was a surprisingly good and even-handed match. Sure, Cena looked strong, but I submit that Cody looked pretty damn good as well. He worked Cena over and while he never looked dominating, he did look strong against one of the most legit main eventers the 'E has. Obviously the submissions played into the Breaking Point theme but they gave the match a story too as Rhodes tried to wear down Cena for Orton. Eventually of course Cena got the STFU in and that caused Orton to come down to the ring. Again, I don't mind this because Rhodes never tapped out, and even though he ate an FU at the end of the segment he still came out looking very good. I'm intrigued and impressed with the Priceless Rebuilding Project and am curious to see how far they take it.
CHRIS MASTERS & RANDY ORTON vs. D-GENERATION X: Chris Masters in a main event match. I know, my mind boggles, too. D-X got their big, super-long entrance and the crowd went nuts for them, all the way down to the "We got two words for ya" bit. The Game rocked a little promo about Ted and Cody being Siegfried and Roy and D-X were the white tigers hanging off their jugulars. PG, eh? Masters came out to a brief crowd reaction, then Orton made his heat look like nothing. Masters actually didn't look half-bad here, as he didn't look terrible and even held his own somewhat at times. Clearly, this was Orton's match and Masters was there to take the fall, but this actually got him over a little as well. Knock on wood, folks...is the 'E actually looking to give some of the Raw undercard half a chance? As main event tag matches go, this wasn't bad at all and it did what it needed to do in giving the crowd a D-X moment and a match finish to go home happy to, then let Legacy lure D-X out so Orton could do a hard-sell promo with Cena and leave him lying. Conventional booking says Orton loses now, but maybe not...we'll see. Anyway I thought this worked as an ending, even if it didn't blow me away or anything.
puRgatoRy:
CHAVO vs. HORNSWAGGLE EVAN BOURNE: Okay, I really wanted to give this the usual graphic, but this was at least something different. Chavo was ready to finally give it to Horny, and then found out that he would get a new car by picking up a win. He was all happy, thinking he was going to face the leprechaun--but instead it was Evan Bourne. It's nice to see the crowd is still popping for Bourne despite him doing basically nothing since coming back. There was Chavo actually getting some offense on Bourne, as if the road agents remembered suddenly that Chavo does in fact have a move set that doesn't involve wearing a cow suit. And Bourne was impressive as he always is. Chavo looked to be on the verge of winning, until Horny came in with a super soaker. That let Bourne pick up the win. Basically, this was a decent match and I would like to see Chavo and Evan transition into a feud, but the appearance of the midget to continue the humiliation bothered me. I know they might well transitioning, but that doesn't mean I have to like it until Horny's out of the picture. Sure as hell could have been worse, though.
THE OTHER BOB BARkER HIJINKS: So, we got more D-X having fun with the guest host this week, and this time they showed up as Bob was shilling the book for his animal control cause. They praised Bob and gave him props for kicking Adam Sandler's ass, then asked how to spade Cody and Ted. This brought them over to a game show wheel game where they got random opponents. Shawn thought they weren't taking it seriously enough, but spun and got Chris Masters. The Game...err...played the Game and got Randy Orton. Gee whiz, who'da guessed that? Still, D-X had fun with it and so did Bob, so it worked despite giving us a stale-ass match.
Then, we had a segment where Josh Matthews interviewed Bob Barker. This had nothing to do with wrestling, but I dug it. Yes, I will admit I am a Price is Right mark. Sue me. But it worked in a logical sense to, as with the 'E trying to appeal to a younger crowd, they aren't as familiar with Barker and who he is. This was a nice little way to remind people how awesome Barker is without having to go overboard and explain everything. Just a few anecodtes in a JR-like sit-down interview that didn't take up too much time. Works for me.
The last Barker thing is something I expect people figure I'll be pissed about. Chavo was pissed because he didn't win the car and Hornswaggle cheated. Has Chavo forgotten what family he's part of? He got in Bob's face, reminded us that Barker trained with Chuck Norris, then got sucker-punched and karate-chopped by the man. You know what, I would be pissed about this except that Chavo's jobbed to a midget for weeks straight. Losing to an 85-year-old man who learned karate from Chuck Freaking Norris is a step up the card by comparison.
The wRong:
SANTINO vs. BIG SHOW: Later in the show, we had another contestant, and that was AJ Pierzynski. He got the hometown pop (and a bit of heat), and bid $1000 for a WrestleMania travel package. IRS bid two grand, Jillian screeched $5000 and Santino bid 1200. This got Santino the win and the travel package to WretsleMania. Well, it's nice to see Santino's going to WrestleMania somehow. He also had a chance to win a new hot tub if he won a bodyslam challenge. Which, of course, guaranteed the presence of the Big Show. This was over quickly, and despite Santino and Barker played well off each other, this was a very cheap-ass way to get us to the actual bodyslam challenge: Henry vs. Big Show. This led to a slow, painful three minutes as Show and Henry that was basically "Punch, punch, forearm, bodyslam attempt...punch, kick, forearm, bodyslam attempt." Rise, lather, repeat. They wanted to get Henry over as a threat to Show, but there were better ways than this. It's not like Show's never been slammed before.
The Ridiculous:
DID YOU KNOW?: Nope. And, as always, I don't care.
The 411
I had to think about this one for a while. This could easily be considered cheesy and hackneyed over-the-top Barker shilling, but you know what? I decided there's nothing wrong with that. The show sold the major angles heading into the Pay-Per-View, and had enough humor—GOOD humor—to entertain throughout. Outside of the Santino/Show/Henry thing nothing was really bad, and overall I thought this was a good show, even if it won't be one for everyone.
SHOW RATING: 7.0
From JUSTINW:
Undertaker will not get the World Title in his feud with Cm Punk. Anyone who says differently is just being a 'Taker-hater' and not looking at the big picture, being this feud equals to Lesnar/Taker in the fall of 2002. Get a 'controversial-DQ' finish at their first PPV meeting, and then Punk goes over HUGE in their HIAC match, and he is a made man.
That would certainly be my hope! And I think it has potential. Taker is the kind of guy who has put over people when the time is right, and I can't imagine he's not of that mindset here. I'm hoping, anyway!
From The Great Capt. Smooth:
Good point about the WWE not trying to bury Rey on the way out. It shows that they are thinking about this in the long term. Also, remember that kid with glasses staring down Punk, when he first came out as Hardy? Is that kid's hair related to Knox's beard?
Not burying Rey was a great move by the 'E, and I would expect nothing less than long-term booking from the Blue Brand Creative team. Still, this was probably Vince's call overall and it's nice to see he made the right choice. As for the kid, you just made me laugh my ass off. Thanks!
From SD = A Show Of Pro Wrestling:
Justin is spot on minus the controversial finish on the sub thingy, to me Taker won't "tap" or quit, he will...Pass out and his arm will touch the ground three times after some vicious beatdown by Punk and the anaconda vice... Think Bret vs Austin here and you will get what I mean, this way Punk retains in a super heelish way and Taker is keeping his bad ass character who never taps (as the "dead man") at all... And yes Taker's role in this feud is to establish Punk even more as the super dominant force of SD ! , he definitively does NOT Need the World Title while I would not mind him geting it at HIAC to drop it back to Punk later en route to his next Mania Match (probably with Cena).
This I would be totally okay with. Punk beats Taker first match and then later loses it. The win over the Dead Man will mean the world to Punk as a credible main eventer, and after that Taker can go over. Of course, if he loses the feud, even better.From guest wrong: I agree with your comments on the Mysterio-Morrison match. It was two guys with flashy moves trying to top each other. I was just hoping we could have seen another side of Morrison's game. It's not very often he has a weight and strength advantage over an opponent. Some innovative power moves and strikes would have been nice to see.
Morrison did do a few things, like the tests of strength and such. As much as I would have loved to see him bust some more out, I was glad he didn't. As reported they didn't know what they were doing with the title until the night of the show, and Morrison & Rey Rey didn't have much of a chance to plan anything out. That just makes their match that much more impressive, as a side note. But I think that they could have had some problems if they tried to venture out of their comfort zones, so I was fine with how it played out.
From Guest#5270: Punk is losing at Breaking Point and hell win it back at Survivor series or Armageddon in a casket match or burred alive match
I would rather Punk not lose the belt, as he just got it. I could see him doing it, and losing to Taker wouldn't kill him. However, beating him, even via shenangians, would be huge.
From Steveberman1022:
Hey Jeremy, just cuz it bugged ya as it did me too, I want to ease ur mind. according to Matt Hardy's Twitter, Punk was DQ'd but when Punk went to grab the belt, he lost the happer to ring it. Odd, but Matt said it was a DQ. You'd think they'd be able to throw a bell in there what with it being pre-recorded but....whatever. Wow. No, that does completely make sense and I can understand that now. I think it's an odd choice especially without having the announcers point it out, but it was a brilliant little move by Punk...assuming Matt wasn't just coming up with something to cover for it. Maybe they'll cover it this week in the opening promo or the like. From jbard: I think that Punk will win on Sunday & then might drop it in a Cell match at the next ppv to Taker but then at the end of the year he will get it back & keep it till Mania, thats what i hope anyway.
I would personally rather see him retain, but I could understand them having Taker win it. After all, this would be his first match back and you want your talent to look strong coming back. I don't think the Dead Man would take a hit by losing though, especially if Punk uses nefarious tactics to retain. We'll see how it goes though.
From Chungles:
I thought Matt's revelation that Punk threw away the little hammer thing so as to not have the bell rung only added to his growing brilliance in his current heel role. If only Hidden Highlights were still kicking around... You don't have to be an average-penis-swinging teacher-turned-commentator to deliver those either...
And the Wierd Sentence of the Week Award goes to...seriously though, I agree it was a smart move by Punk and is just another example of how Punk does the little things that get his character over. I love it and hope to see him continue them, even if the 'E didn't acknowledge it on-camera.
By: Michael Bauer
ECW on SyFy 09.08.09
QUICK RESULTS:
The Hurricane defeated Paul Burchill via pin at 12:00 [***]
Shelton Benjamin and Sheamus defateted Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust via pin at 3:45 [*1/4]
Zack Ryder defeated a jobber via pin at 1:30 [3/4*]
Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson defeated Christian and Tommy Dreame rvia pin at 16:00 [***]
The Right:
HURRICANE FACES HIS ARCH NEMESIS: So following the Abraham Washington show this week, we get Hurricane taking on Paul Burchill in the opening match. This was the third meeting between the two, while Hurricane taking the first match and Burchill winning on Superstars. And this match was pretty damn good. Hurricane and Burchill have had better chemistry in the ring than I could imagine and it shows. Also, when the hell did Burchill learn to do flip kicks? The ending was a little cliché with Katie Lea getting involved, but it was perfectly acceptable for such a close match up. I can only hope this match isn't the end of the feud, because I am enjoying watching these two go at each week.
REGAL'S ROUNDTABLE STANDS TALL: The main event saw Christian team up with Tommy Dreamer to take on the two headed monster of Kozlov and Big Zeke. Say what you want about those two, but Regal's Roundtable has been looking better than I would have ever imagined and I saw it again this week. Then again, ever since he came back, Christian really hasn't had a bad match in ECW and that he makes everyone around him look better. Maybe that happened again, maybe it didn't, but what I saw was Kozlov and Jackson looking quite good against their leader's main target. The ending was exactly what it should have been, with Dreamer eating the pinfall and with Regal being the difference. Regal and Christian has been built pretty nicely in the past few weeks and makes this match one I want to see this Sunday.
SOMETIMES IT IS WHAT YOU DON'T DO: Take a look again at the matches this week. We had four them that went a combines 33:15 in time. Cut out commercials and you are talkinhg about 27 minutes of wrestling on a one hour show. That is freaking impressive and this is the quality you can provide with no Abraham Washington and no talking about Raw or Smackdown. This is why this week's show was great and they should remember this formla for the upcoming weeks. Of course, knowing the WWE, it won't happen.
puRgatoRy:
SHELTON CAN'T GET ALONG WITH ANYONE, CAN HE?: I am joking, but seriously, Shelton has teamed up with Zack Ryder and Sheamus in the last three weeks and both have ended with Shelton brawling with his team mate after the match. Now, I went into this match thinking of it as a way to expand on the Sheamus and Goldust feud, but why would you have Shelton in the match then? The match itself was passable, with everyone playing their role in the right way. My main problem was that the ending happened so fast, that I still don't exactly know what the hell happened because I was typing up the recap. From what I got, Shelton got a blind tag and dropped Goldus for the pinfall, while Sheamus had no clue what the hell happened. Yet, he was standng on the ring apron like he knew he got tagged out. So, I'm not exactly sure why Sheamus was so confused by what happened. Anyway, he got in Shelton's face and the brawl ensued. The brawl was nice, but I also felt like it made Sheamus look weak. Brawling is right down his alley and he simply got punked out by Shelton in that exchange. It's a nice step up for the Celtic Warrior, but I'm not sure where it is exactly leading to.
The wRong:
ZACK RYDER FACES A JOBBER: So last week I references Zack Ryder as Shelton's bitch. This week, he was back to facing a jobber and beating him in a standard squash match. This felt like a huge step backwards for Ryder and I'm not sure where they are going with him. Ryder has the ability to hang with anyone on the roster and he has proven that. Now, they need to do something with him and stop pushing guys like Tyler Reks and giving feuds to veterans like Goldust that simply don't impress me. Of course, this is the WWE and I don't actually believe they will do it.
The Ridiculous:
NOTHING
The 411
What more can be said about a shot that had 27 minutes of wretsling on the air? They had a great opening match, great main event, and the two matches in between weren't absolute killers. The best part is that they spent the only backstage segments focused on the main event and the major feud of ECW between Regal and Christian. This was one of the better ECWs in quite some time.
SHOW RATING: 8.5
By: Aaron Hubbard
ROH on HDNet 08.31.09:
QUICK RESULTS:
- Delirious defeated Sonjay Dutt[**]
- The American Wolves defeated Up In Smoke [3/4*]
- Erick Stevens defeated Silas Young [**1/2]
- Colt Cabana, Brent Albright, Necro Butcher & Grizzly Redwood defeated The Embassy [***3/4]
THE RIGHT:
AMERICAN WOLVES SQUASH: Like last week, we get a tag team semi-squash, and this time, it's the Wolves getting the win. I'm a big fan of the Wolves as they always have fun matches and look great destroying people. Cheech and Cloudy are fun guys two, and made me mark when they missed the stereo pescados after the rest of the simultaneous offense. Up in Smoke got to look decent, arguably better than they've gotten to look on HDNet, but they lost, and in awesome fashion as the Wolves hit the Alarm Clock and a sick powerbomb/lungblower combo before Eddie won with a half crab. Edwards has always played second fiddle to Richards and I'm glad he got the win. Plus, after the match we got an awesome beatdown from the Dark City Fight Club, which is always great.
ERICK STEVENS VS. SILAS YOUNG: I enjoyed this match, as it really elevated Silas Young and gave Stevens a chance to show his skills in something other than a squash. It was a good, solid, back and forth wrestling match from two guys who don't wrestl the typical "ROH" style. I've always thought that Erick should be pushed as one of ROH's "next big things", but he's been meandering around for a long time. Hopefully this is a sign that they want to push him more seriously. With Nigel and American Dragon leaving, now is the time to build new stars and Erick is one of the best potential main eventers they have.
EIGHT MAN ELIMINATION: First, I have to mention the promo gold that was General Cabana and his army.. Cabana was awesome in this, calling Albright Sgt. Meathead and acting very commanding...until he was talking to Necro Butcher. It was the promo I was missing last week and it made me laugh. This set up the funniest match to be on TV. Some people were bound to hate this because it was not the ROH style and it was "fun", not serious. But I freaking loved this match. I like all of these guys on some level or the other and they all worked together and made it entertaining. Osiris played the whipping boy as usual, Rave and Claudio did the heavy lifting, and Nana stayed on the apron until the very end. Albright was the juggernaught face and played it well, while Cabana got to be a comedian and make a huge comeback. Grizzly just busted out "lumberjack" offense, like the flapjack and the LOG ROLL. Necro actually tried to wrestle, and even busted out a headscissors that I really wasn't expected. He then put on an abdominal stretch and all of his teammates helped, and Cabana got the fans to help as well. It was GLORIOUS and totally made me mark out.
The booking was excellent, as Osiris got to pin Grizzly and get a rare "win" so to speak. Albright and Claudio brawled through the crowd and were counted out, which got rid of one of the only real threats on the heel side and continued the feud between those two that has really been the centerpiece for this whole feud. The Embassy then took on Necro by trapping his leg in a chair and Osiris hit a hilo onto the leg. It was SICK and made the tapout to the heel-hook academic. We then got a three on one as Rave, Osiris and Nana all gained up on Cabana, and Cabana made the huge comeback, eliminating all three men and winning the match for his team. Now, you can complain about Cabana winning a handicap match, but Osiris is just above Hornswoggle on the believable threat level and Nana is BELOW Hornswoggle. Cabana won and got to look like a star.
PURGATORY:
DELIRIOUS VS. SONJAY DUTT: I can't pin this on anything, but I just couldn't get into this. Dutt is playing a cocky heel now, but his offense just isn't made for being an active heel. It's a bunch of flippy stuff and it's make you want to cheer him, not boo him. It worked for AJ Styles because he had high-impact stuff that looked like it hurt, and it made him a dick for trying to cripple people. Delirious can work with anyone, and the match was fine. But sometimes the dynamics just hurt a match, and this was an instance where it killed it for me. If you enjoyed it, great.
THE WRONG:
KINGSTON WANTS HERO...STILL: Okay, I like Kingston and his promos rule. He makes you believe what he's saying and makes you want to see the match he's building up. But that's the problem...I'm sick of hearing about Kingston wanting to kill Hero. I want to SEE him kill Hero! I understand slow build, but this is ridiculous.
THE RIDICULOUS:
NONE
The 411
I liked this show a lot this week. There was more in-ring action and fewer promos, and the main event was tremendously entertaining. Some people are going to hate it because there wasn't a lot of technical wrestling or stiff strikes, but this showed that ROH is more than that. They can do different stuff. Some of the unsung heros (Cabana, Stevens, and The Embassy) got to shine and it was very different from most other episodes
SHOW RATING: 7.0
~WWE UNFORGIVEN 2008~ By: Larry Csonka
The Matches:
Matt Hardy won the ECW Title Scramble Match @ 20:00 via pin to become the NEW ECW CHAMPION **¾
Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes defeated Cryme Tyme @ 11:55 via pin to retain the World Tag Team Titles *½
HBK defeated Chris Jericho @ 28:00 via Referee Stoppage in an Unsanctioned Match ****½
HHH won the WWE Title Scramble Match @ 20:00 via pin to retain the WWE Title ***½
Michelle McCool defeated Maryse @ 6:00 via pin to retain the WWE Diva's Title ½*
Chris Jericho won the World Title Scramble Match @ 20:00 via pin to become the NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION **½
The Right:
ECW TITLE SCRAMBLE: As I predicted the ECW Scramble match kicked off the PPV. I figured this would because they had to spread out the scrambles, ECW usually curtain jerks and I also figured that this is where the title change would happen. Go me! For the most part they built to the match well on TV, and with the hometown boy Miz and fan favorite Matt Hardy opening up the match I have to say that it was certainly the right call. I thought that the match was laid out well, as it worked to everyone's strong points and with everyone working hard, it clicked. Matt Hardy winning the ECW title was coming as soon as he was drafted to the brand, due to his popularity and the fact that a perceived "major star" now holds their title. In the end the Hardy title win comes off as a bit anticlimactic to some, but the way he was booked in the homestretch of the match, clawing and doing anything he could to keep the title came off very well in my opinion. This was a good match to open the show with and it is nice to see the ECW brand gain some success on PPV.
UNSANCTIONED: HBK should win some sort of Emmy, because the man gets across so much emotion just through the look on his face. An amazing performance once again from HBK as they played off of the angle leading in very well and continued the trend of making the match feel completely different from anything else on the card. The stoppage fell flat, partly because the audience isn't educated on it and partly because they announced that "The only way to win is by pin or submission." The stoppage can be seen like an MMA fight, in where the fighter cannot submit himself, so the referee does it for his own safety. But overall this was great stuff that will be remembered for a good while. As for the no blood stuff, I will again say that I completely understand those that were unhappy that they didn't bleed. I too expected blood here, but again they brutalized each other and were showing the signs with REAL injures, not blade jobs. Jericho's elbow was shredded, he was bleeding from his nose and had a TON of bruising on his back. So real injuries and bruising with real blood, plus the great storytelling were enough for me. Again if it wasn't for you, I completely understand. Part of me wished they would have kept it one on one, but the run in by Cade makes sense. Unfortunately he got treated like an incompetent goof, sucks to be him. But the rage in the eyes of Shawn was amazing, a man full of rage not only out for personal revenge but out for revenge for what Jericho did to his wife. I loved the way that Shawn constantly looked torn towards the end, falling down and weeping at one point. Finally the way that commentary played the, "will God ever forgive Shawn Michaels, but more importantly can Shawn Michaels forgive Shawn Michaels" was excellent. I want these men to feud forever, and judging by the excellent interview by Shawn later on in the show, this feud WILL continue and in this case that is a VERY good thing.
WWE TITLE SCRAMBLE MATCH: I had high hopes for the WWE Title Scramble match, there was a lot of talent in there and there was NO reason that it shouldn't have delivered. It did. Everyone worked hard and played their roles just about perfectly. Again I feel that they used the concept very well and it had a different feel than the ECW Scramble match, which is also good. A good show of athletics from the usual suspects, if they choose this is a good "close but not enough" angle for the possible Jeff Hardy title win. It is the tease, the "he was that close" feeling that they want to play off of. Lets hope he doesn't hit strike three before they pull the trigger. Even though he took three pins, THE Brian Kendrick had a star making performance here on PPV. He looked as if he belonged in there, he had a title run in there and for 10-minutes he got to shine on PPV, and he did it WITHOUT the help of Zeke. If they want to get behind him, they easily can after this performance. I think we're heading towards HHH vs. Jeff, and a possibly three-way feud with the heels (Kendrick, MVP and Shelton) over the US Title. My only complaints are that I wish Kendrick didn't have to take THREE pins, and fuck man, would it kill HHH to drop a pin? Help make some stars man.
ORTON TEACHES THE KIDS: Playing well off of the return of Randy Orton, he continued to teach the young kids how this shit works in the WWE. Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu were very proud of themselves for retaining the title and beating down Cryme Tyme. Orton claimed that they had skills, but everything that they were doing was luck. "Why should I be proud of you, keep telling yourselves that you accomplished something. But I will tell you that luck runs out, but ability and skill lives on forever. Truth me on that; I am NOT impressed AT ALL." Later on as Orton and Punk had a confrontation, Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu attacked and helped Orton take Punk out of the scramble match. "THAT was impressive. " The continued association between Orton, DiBiase and Rhodes and now Manu is a very good thing, ala Cena and Cryme Tyme. After a bit of a set back on Raw, I feel that with Orton in the mix that Rhodes and DiBiase not only gain instant credibility but will also be a good part of the show in the coming months. I also think a lot of others are seeing where this could be heading. With Cena out for 2-4 months, this could build to the Survivor Series where Punk, Kofi and Cryme Tyme face Orton, Manu and Simply Priceless. If booked correctly, this could work out nicely.
WORLD TITLE SCRAMBLE MATCH: With Punk all but gone from the match as it began, it would be interesting to see how things worked out. This was another solid match that worked the gimmick a little differently than the other matches did, but I will freely admit that this was the weaker of the scrambles. JBL and Kane seemed particularly slow during the match, Rey looked pretty good, and I give credit where it is due, Batista was on his game. Jericho's involvement was perfectly played because he barley got to the ring, he got beat down more and only snuck in for the last minute pin. He's an asshole, he's undeserving, people are pissed and IT DID ITS JOB. He sold the earlier beating and it worked. Punk NOT making it out also works perfectly because four guys kicked his ass and he took the CONCUSSION KICK. A move that has been put over very well and yes, beat John Cena. If it can beat the company's top star, it can take out the on the rise CM Punk. The win does some interesting things. It freshens up the World Title scene with HBK and Jericho now at the top. That is nothing but a good thing there. CM Punk loses the title WITHOUT LOSING. Now if he would have came out, been the brave soldier and then lost, people would have bitched there as well. He got jumped by FOUR guys, was then taken out of the match by the GM and LOST without LOSING. I repeat, CM Punk lost the title WITHOUT BEING PINNED, JOBBED or SUBMITTED. He was summarily FUCKED IN THE ASS by Orton and his cronies. Now he can move onto the biggest feud of his career with Randy Orton, while the whole time chanting that he NEVER lost the title. He's the rightful champion and the people can get behind that. Kane and Rey will pair off, Batista and JBL as well. I feel that these are all good things that came from an average PPV match. One thing is for sure, no one saw Chris Jericho winning the world title coming. Sometimes surprises are good. Bottom line is this: People bitched that Jericho hadn't won the title yet. People bitched because Punk was the champion. People bitched about no surprises. Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.
puRgatoRy:
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Ina refreshing change a set of tag team titles was not only on the line on PPV, and not only was built to but they actually got time to work. Color me shocked. Overall this was a match that was just there. It wasn't bad in any way, but it just seemed as if they didn't quite know hot to fill the time given to them. The heat on JTG lasted seemingly forever and when the match was done, it felt much longer than it was, which is never a good sign. But it was passable as the first meeting, the heels won through sneakiness and afterwards they debuted a new member of the second-generation stable in MANU, aka Afa Jr. The match was not much to write home about, but hopefully a sign of good things to come.
The wRong:
BIG SHOW/VICKIE/TAKER:Working off of the recent Smackdown shows, we knew at some point that the Undertaker would be coming for Vickie's soul, and that Vickie wanted an apology for the Undertaker's actions. With the way Vickie was treating the Big Show, the blind man saw this one coming. Show was out to talk to us, because he's a nice guy. Vickie yells at him, Taker comes for her soul and Show makes the much-needed heel turn and beat up Taker for Vickie. I suppose that it was not wrong in ways, but seeing it coming a mile away just killed it all. Besides the fact that the beat down was slow and did nothing for me or the live crowd, I generally do NOT like these segments on PPV. This is the kind of shit that should be reserved for TV, not a filler for a PPV. That's my gripe, it is something I have generally always disliked unless it has been done perfectly and this wasn't one well. It was slow, predictable and felt as if it went too long, and that is never a good thing. Actually it didn't feel like it lasted too long, it WAS too long. It lasted FOR-EV-ER, FOR-EV-ER, FOR-EV-ER!
DIVA'S TITLE MATCH: While the build wasn't bad and the ladies are improving, as far as the matches go this was the only real blemish on an otherwise excellent PPV. They got some time to work, but the fact is that the match wasn't that good. This was not as bad as some have said, it is not the worst match of the year, but the work overall was sloppy, they forgot to sell the knee work the majority of the match and unless I am mistaken, Maryse got confused on which leg to work during the match. I don't want to hear that she is still learning and that horseshit either, they put her on PPV, therefore she is open to critique and criticism. While McCool is better than Maryse, she is not in the position to be carrying anyone, especially on PPV. Again if they do sign Gail Kim she desperately needs to be on Smackdown.
The Ridiculous:
NONE
Closing Thoughts:
Overall I will go with a 7.0 out of 10 for the event and a recommendation to order. I like Lockdown, I liked No Way Out, when booked the correct way I like concept PPV's. I felt that Unforgiven delivered big time. All three scramble matches were good to very good, Michaels and Jericho delivered big time once again, Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu gain credibility with their association with Orton, Punk loses without losing and that sets him up for the biggest feud of his career with Randy Orton. While Jericho gets the surprising title win, which will continue his feud with HBK. I felt that there was a lot to like here, and that WWE did a lot to set up for the future. Punk vs. Orton, Taker vs. Show, HHH vs. Hardy, and more of HBK vs. Jericho. The show felt fresh to me and never slowed down.
**LARRY'S** RANKINGS THUS FAR
2009 PPV Rankings:
-ENTER THE DRAGON {9.9}
-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.0}
-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.0}
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY {8.0}
-[ENTER THE DRAGON] - Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant vs. Amasis, Icarus, Hallowicked and Gran Akuma (****¼)
-[ENTER THE DRAGON] - Yamato vs. BxB Hulk (****¼)
-[TAKE NO PRISONERS] – Tyler Black & KENTA vs. Austin Aries & Katsuhiko Nakajima (****¼)
-[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)
-[TNA SLAMMIVERSARY] – X-Division King of the Mountain Match: Suicide vs. Lethal vs. Creed vs. Sabin vs. Shelley (****¼)
-[WWE NO WAY OUT] – THE RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER (****¼)
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
-[WWE NO WAY OUT] – EDGE – The Ultimate Opportunist
-[WWE 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
-[WWE BACKLASH] – Edge and John Cena – Stealing the Show
-[TNA SACRIFICE] – The TNA Roster – Making the Best Out of Shitty Booking
-[WWE EXTREME RULES] – Rey, Jericho, Edge and Hardy – They Are Awesome
-[TAKE NO PRISONERS] – Tyler Black, KENTA, Austin Aries and Katsuhiko Nakajima – Main Event Excellence
-[TNA SLAMMIVERSARY] – Daffney and Taylor Wilde – Two Hardcore Bitches
-[WWE THE BASH] – Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho – Making the Show Worth It
-[WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS] – CM Punk – Solidifying His Spot
-[TNA HARD JUSTICE] – The Terror Dome Guys – Continuing to deliver despite the booking of the division
-[WWE SUMMERSLAM] – CM Punk and Jeff Hardy – THIS IS AWESOME!
-[ENTER THE DRAGON] – The Entire PPV Roster – Redefining PPV
2009 TOP TV Match Rankings:
I will update as often as needed.
-Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black – (ROH on HDNet: 07.25.09) {****½ }
-STEEL CAGEMATCH: Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk - (Smackdown: 08.28.09) {****}
-Jeff Hardy vs. John Morrison - (Smackdown: 07.31.09) {****}
-Edge vs. Rey Mysterio - (Smackdown: 06.05.09) {****}
-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) {****}
-Christian vs. Zack Ryder - (ECW: 07.28.09) {***¾}
- Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho - (Smackdown: 07.24.09) {***¾}
-Edge vs. John Morrison - (Smackdown: 06.12.09) {***¾}
-Edge vs. Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk - (Raw: 06.08.09) {***¾}
-Edge vs. Jeff Hardy - (Smackdown: 06.12.09) {***¾}
-CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - (Superstars: 05.21.09) {***¾}
-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}
I know everybody is talking about WWE 'raiding' ROH's talent pool, and who could be 'next to jump, so I thought I might pass this along. I live near Milwaukee, where the local ESPN radio station features a man who has friends inside the business. Well, he said that in the next few days to a week, not one, but two men will leave ROH for WWE. Who are they you ask? The Briscoes.
Posted By: JUSTINW (Guest) on September 10, 2009 at 11:24 PM
kingston and hero fued in CZW= GREAT
KINGSTON and hero fued in ROH-Booooo
Posted By: jamille 5150 (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 12:06 AM
Batista looks so gay in that pic
Posted By: D-Steak (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 12:25 AM
Is batista covering Celine Dion or Rihanna in that pic?
Posted By: Alex (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 03:15 AM
Have you ever seen Burchill's C4? Before WWE neutered him?
Posted By: Alyaz (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 04:20 AM
The opening segment on Raw made me laugh out loud for the first time on a WWE show. IRS cracked me up with the taxes line!
Jericho vs. MVP was really good as was Cody vs. Cena
Interestingly I have to agree on the Chavo - Swoggle angle which is the pits imo & Show - Henry which was so boring.
Wouldn't it have been a great moment if Santino had defied the odds & slammed the big show...you would have thought we would have put more effort given the Bellas in the Hot tub...Hubba Hubba!
Although Masters is an awful opponent. Why couldn't Legacy get one over on DX. I can't remember the last team that beat them.
ECW was great too. Thought it was the best showing by Paul Birchall in the WWE...if only they'd let him show a bit more offence like when he was in the FWA...Hurricane makes a great opponent for him.
Thought it was a weak finish in the tag match especially given the hardcore match between Sheamus & Goldust.
As for Zach Ryder. Well i think his opponent will be known as Dick Fargo after the match lol.
Posted By: Carbs (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 04:51 AM
This biggest Right of RAW was missed: I've got two words for you...spin it!
Posted By: Guest#2412 (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 05:20 AM
I know everybody is talking about WWE 'raiding' ROH's talent pool, and who could be 'next to jump, so I thought I might pass this along. I live near Milwaukee, where I have an internet connection that allows me to access a site called 411mania that features a guy called JUSTINW who has friends (well, "friends"; most people think he's a douche) inside the business. Well, he said that in the next few days to a week, not one, but two men will leave ROH for WWE. Who are they you ask? The Briscoes.
You heard it here first.
Posted By: Chungles (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 05:22 AM
Just to clear up what happened on ECW in the Shelton/Sheamus vs. Goldust/Tatsu tag match (you really should type up the recap AFTER the match to avoid these things) - Goldust charged at Sheamus in the corner, ate a massive boot to the face that put him on his back immediately, then Shelton slapped Sheamus's back, making the blind tag and Benjamin stole the pin as Sheamus was exiting - which is why he looked so confused. I believe he thought Shelton was going to continue the offense.
Posted By: Devin (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 07:43 AM
Bob Barker is neck and neck with Seth Green for best guest host so far. Summer vacations in childhood were always made better by seeing The Price is Right every morning, and it's amazing how seamlessly they combined it with Raw. If we can't have the long, classic matches we get from the blue brand, at least we still have a very entertaining show. I was relieved to see that Bob's mental faculties are still sharp, which was my only worry going in.
CHRIS JERICHO vs. MVP: With Bob standing on the stage, I realized for the first time that MVP acts just like a contestant at the start of his ring entrance. This was a good match and another step forward for MVP.
CHAVO vs. HORNSWAGGLE EVAN BOURNE: So entering the ring and, um, hydrating someone isn't grounds for a DQ? Is only water legal, or will we see cold coffee as a weapon again?
ECW: What was with Matt Striker's commentary? I somewhat expect him to do it with the Hurricane, but with Christian he made some bizarre rant about poker. Does WWE test their commentators for wellness? Really, the guy was scaring me.
Posted By: Jason Douglas (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 10:07 AM
If wrestler's in general aren't booked into feuds that make fans care about them, then very few fans will care about them. Only a couple of wrestler's can be booked into lower level midcard matches and make fans still care about them. The rest will all flounder a little and experience middling success.
Posted By: Dwayne (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 06:52 PM
I'd love for the WWE to start selling Barker products. He'd be one of their biggest sellers.
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on September 11, 2009 at 06:56 PM
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