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Wrestling’s 4R’s Monday Edition 2.15.10: ROH, Impact, Superstars and SmackDown Reviewed!
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In HD where available…
By: Aaron Hubbard
ROH on HDNet 02.08.10:
QUICK RESULTS:
Kevin Steen & Steve Corino def. Alex Payne & Bobby Dempsey [*]
The Dark City Fight Club def. The Bravado Brother [DUD]
#1 Contender’s Match: The Young Bucks def. The American Wolves [****1/4]
BUCKS VS. WOLVES II: The show lived or died by this match. At roughly a third of the length of the show, and with nothing else providing wrestling action, this had to deliver. But then, it couldn’t help but deliver. It’s The Young Bucks vs. The American Wolves. The two best tag teams of 2009. Imagine if the Rockers could face the British Bulldogs, both teams in their primes. That match would look a lot like this match. They worked the tag formula to a tee, with the Wolves just destroying The Bucks at every turn and making you want to see them get the hot tag. And then, once it was made, they did it in reverse. The finishing sequence was off the charts and had me marking out big time. The match was every bit as awesome as the first match these guys had on HD Net, with more steak added to the sizzle. Some minor quibbles (why did Davey use the bell, the Tombstone continues to be disrespected, somewhat anticlimactic finish) keep this from achieving true greatness, but it’s going to be hard to beat for free TV match of the year.
DCFC ON THE WARPATH: This was short, simple, straight-to-the-point and very effective. The Bravado Brothers were the Christians fed to the lions, and they were devoured in no time. The Dark City Fight Club then let out an open challenge to the Briscoes, the Wolves, and the Kings of Wrestling, showing that they don’t pick sides. These guys are doing wonderfully as the Road Warriors/Demolition of ROH and deserve an increased role after last year.
NANA BACKSTORY: Prince Nana got to cut a short promo explaining his character, that of a rich prince from Ghana, and his history of the Embassy. He brought up Alex Shelly, Abyss and Jimmy Rave and compared it to his current roster of Erick Stevens, Bison Smith and Joey Ryan. I wish they’d bring Rave back but Nana continues to be a good manager.
MISTERS WRESLING: I’m kind of split on the Corino-Steen pairing. One one hand, I like the connection between them both using the “Mr. Wrestling” moniker, and they are both strong promo men, so that’s usually entertaining. However, I really don’t like Steve Corino. This is because of Teddy Hart syndrome of using two many finishers in a match that would end a match under ANY other circumstances except a Steve Corino match. And he does it to JOBBERS! Why the HELL is Alex Payne getting dropped on his head in nothing tag team matches on HD Net? And WHY is that a set-up move for a sliding clothesline? I’m usually pretty lenient but Corino kills all semblance of reality for me. Steen was awesome when he was in this and Payne took a good beating, but overall it was a sloppy, uninspired match that did nothing except to establish the new bond between these guys.
RODERICK MALFOY: This is in reference to Tyler Black wearing a Gryffindor shirt to the ring on this night. Because nothing screams NEXT WORLD CHAMP more than Harry Potter merchandise. Then again, he is very much like Mr. Potter. Insanely popular, the chosen one who saves the company/world, vaguely resembles teenage angst, and is overshadowed by the much more interesting supporting cast. So I guess it’s apropriate. Anyway, Roderick wanted Black to admit that he didn’t beat him last week, Aries beat him. Tyler conceded the point, but said that when he becomes World Champion, Roderick won’t beat him. Well, Black is the champion, and this looks to be the next big money match (after Aries gets a rematch and Claudio and Hero get their dues) for the company. My only real problem with this is that Roderick Strong is now cuttin better promos than Tyler Black.
ARIES PROMO: Clearly, Ari Berenstein and others found this hilarious. I thought it was stupid, immature, and a waste of time. AND it made Kenny King and Austin Aries look like a joke. The jist is that Aries was throwing a hall of fame hissy about his busted lip and his wine-covered shirt. Kenny told him he was still handsome, and then Aries made a joke about how Black’s girlfriend saw “God’s Last Gift” and went with him instead. OH HA HA HA HA! A DICK JOKE! HA HA HA HA! Oddly enough, this was like Shawn Michaels and his stooge Triple H being obnoxious idiots and making the fans want to see him get beat up by Stone Cold. Problem #1: Austin Aries is not Shawn Michaels. Problem #2: Black is not Stone Cold Steve Austin. I just didn’t care for this, much like I didn’t care for Aries looking like a fool in matches with Omega and Cabana. But hey, what do I know about booking?
NOTHING OF NOTE.
| The 411
It’s a tale of two shows. The first two thirds were far from compelling television, with nothing too insulting but nothing particularly compelling either. But then, the last third was a GREAT main event between two of the best tag teams in the world, and one of the last times we’ll see the Bucks in an ROH ring. You should go out of your way to watch the Main Event, but I’d recommend skipping the rest of it. Decent show that ended with a big bang (for your buck). SHOW RATING: 7.0 |
By: Steve Cook
Superstars 2.11.10:
JACK SWAGGER vs. SANTINO MARELLA: This was exactly what it needed to be…a strong victory for Swagger, coming off of an impressive showing against Triple H on Raw a couple of weeks ago. He managed to avoid the deadly Cobra strikes of Santino, who continues to excel as a comedic baby face that doesn’t win many matches but still has support from the masses. The All-American American American American seems to be on the verge of goodness, we’ll see whether or not he gets there pretty soon. At least with a show like Superstars around, guys like him have something to do. One wonders if a change of scenery might be what he needs to get to the next level.
CHRISTIAN vs. ZACK RYDER: The last ECW match on Superstars featured another good performance from a man who’s had many during his time on ECW, Christian. One hopes that this will continue once he moves to Raw or ECW, and one also has to hope that the Woo Woo Woo Man doesn’t get lost in the shuffle wherever he goes. The kid’s got some potential, and when you put him in the ring with somebody like Christian it’ll certainly help his case. That being said, I haven’t seen Captain Charisma have a bad match in a very long time. He’s one ECW guy whose future I don’t worry about. I do worry a little about Ryder & Rosa though, because both have been on one of the big two shows in the past and neither did especially well with their previous effort. Hopefully the refinement of their act will help them do better this time.
DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. JTG: This wasn’t a bad match, but it was a pretty boring one. I also have to wonder in what world this qualifies as a main event for any show. I don’t mean to disrespect Mr. JTG, but he hasn’t established himself as anything in the singles ranks. Cryme Tyme has main evented this show several times and most of their matches have been decent enough, but I’m not even sure if JTG has had a singles match on this show. I think he belongs in the tag team ranks with Shad Gaspard. Ziggler’s very similar to Mr. Swagger and Mr. Ryder in that they have some potential, but seem like they’re missing a little something in order to get to the next level. They’re all young, so there’s plenty of time for them and no need for us to worry about their futures.
Nothing.
ASK THE DIVAS: I think Alicia Fox wanting Bob Barker as her valentine qualifies as ridiculous, though it can also be described as hilarious. For the record, our favorite Raw guest host is indeed single…
| The 411
Pretty average episode of Superstars this week. While there wasn’t anything awful, if you missed the show you didn’t miss much outside of another solid Christian performance and a Santino promo. You can tell from my brief description of each segment that it didn’t exactly turn my world upside down. At least it didn’t suck. SHOW RATING: 6.0 |
By: Chad Nevett
iMpact! 02.11.10:
QUICK RESULTS
– 8-Card Stud Tournament Qualifier – “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero defeated Orlando Jordan [**3/4]
– 8-Card Stud Tournament Qualifier – Matt Morgan defeated Suicide [*]
– Doug Williams (C) defeated Amazing Red for the X-Division Championship [***]
– The Beautiful People defeated Tara and Angelina Love in a 3-on-2 handicap match [*1/2]
– Kurt Angle & Mr. Anderson defeated Desmond Wolfe & Hernandez [***1/4]
8-CARD STUD TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER – “THE POPE” D’ANGELO DINERO vs. ORLANDO JORDAN : A return match for these two after the Pope dropped a loss to Jordan a few weeks back. That match was decent, but didn’t impress me much with its abrupt ending. This match began similarly with Jordan looking rusty and slow, but he picked things up after a couple of minutes and the two delivered a good match that looked like an earned victory for the Pope. The match did lack any of those big moments that make you sit up and take notice of these guys, which I think it needed to establish Jordan as a legitimate wrestler in TNA and the Pope as deserving the push he’s getting. He definitely deserves it and, hopefully, at Against All Odds, he’ll step up and prove it.
KURT ANGLE & MR. ANDERSON vs. DESMOND WOLFE & HERNANDEZ: Two odd pairings, but this gives the four participants of the 8-Card Study Tournament that had qualified prior to this week’s episode something to do. I like that they didn’t simply book it as faces versus heels and created two teams with more interesting internal dynamics. Angle and Anderson will be facing one another at Against All Odds in the first round, while Wolfe and Hernandez could face one another in the second round. Wolfe’s promo before the match began a little rough with the forced poker mention that went nowhere, but picked up when he began making fun of the other three guys in this match, including a hilarious Mr. Anderson imitation. His ending where he listed the circumstances in which he’d injure the other participants was great and I wish that had been picked up on in the match a bit more.
The psychology of the match was good with Wolfe and Hernandez working together more than Anderson and Angle, but not by much. Angle and Anderson came into the match as stronger rivals and Angle worked most of the match alone, not wanting Anderson’s help. And, when, he went for the tag, Anderson backed off. That was smart, good booking in one respect, but it also turned it into Kurt Angle more than holding his own against Desmond Wolfe and Hernandez, especially when Anderson came in and ‘stole’ the victory. That worked for that story, but didn’t necessarily help the other two guys. I would have liked to see Wolfe and Hernandez dominate more to set them up as credible threats to Angle (which Wolfe has already proven he is). Still, the three guys that actually participated in the match all looked great in the ring and the storytelling was sound. More than that, it built up the 8-Card Stud Tournament as something interesting and worth checking out.
X-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH – DOUG WILLIAMS vs. AMAZING RED: Another return match for a title (the British Invasion got one of the tag belts as well). When I called out TNA for not doing that for the Knockouts title, I was informed that they don’t do that… well, they do now, I guess. Or just whenever it suits them. I’m glad we got this match so we could see a proper meeting between the new X-Division Champion Doug Williams and the man he won the belt off of via Feast or Famine briefcase after he’d eaten the pin in a six-man tag match, Amazing Red. It began in the expected ‘quick smaller guy running circles around the slow bigger guy’ pattern before settling into Williams slowly taking Red apart with various holds. Given that Williams doesn’t do have many flashy high spots in his repertoire (that I’ve seen), it was interesting to see how he works in the X-Division, which tends to showcase that style more. Here, he came off as the type of wrestler who works in the opposite style, sticking to the mat a lot more, the perfect complement to the other X-Division wrestlers. It will be interesting to see his future title defenses.
JOE CALLS OUT AJ: By this point in the show, I was wonder if we were going to see Samoa Joe or AJ Styles at all, all fired up and angry how pushed off to the side the world belt is, but, then, we got Joe coming out to call out AJ and insult him some more. Joe expressed a lot of the same opinions as the fans about AJ’s heel turn, always a smart approach, and AJ was pretty entertaining and strong on the mic. His Ric Flair impression was solid as he captured the Nature Boy’s cadence and tone well. Then, they took it up a notch by having the old AJ come out when he lost his temper and tried to attack Joe. It was a little taste of the Phenomenal One we all know and love as Flair looked on, somewhat annoyed that AJ wasn’t listening to him. The double team made sense and brought it back to Flair’s influence. Later, adding Bischoff as the special guest referee for their match didn’t exactly wow me as I don’t think that will add much to that match (beyond speculation over a swerve of some kind).
However, if I may go off on a slight tangent, watching this segment made me realize why AJ’s heel turn doesn’t work: he turned while champion. They haven’t explained why he needs Flair or what Flair brings to the table. AJ had the world belt already, he had made it to the top of the mountain his way… why would he want or need Flair to mentor him? It doesn’t make sense. Had he turned in an effort to win the belt, it would make sense, but turning as champ doesn’t. When Joe was talking, that occurred to me. (It has no doubt occurred to many others, but I haven’t read that perspective anywhere, so apologies to those smarter than I who noticed this right off…)
ERIC BISCHOFF JUST WANTS TO PROTECT JEFF JARRETT: Oh, this was just a mean segment as Bischoff spent the entire time sarcastically mocking ol’ Double J after Jarrett requested a chance to earn a spot in the 8-Card Stud Tournament. Bischoff laid it on nice and thick about how much Jarrett impressed him two weeks ago against Mr. Anderson and how he needs to be protected and needs to work his way up more before thinking about earning a chance to compete for the world belt. Taken alone, a really funny segment, but put into the context where the final two spots in the tournament were just given away (see blow… far below), it isn’t quite as fun or funny.
8-CARD STUD TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER – MATT MORGAN vs. SUICIDE: Hmm… first Hernandez beats Daniels to qualify for the tournament and, then, his tag team partner beats Suicide… could there be a message about who Hogan likes and who Hogan dislikes here? Maybe? I wonder… Focusing on this match, it was a pretty benign squash match. Morgan beat the crap out of Suicide except for those thirty seconds when the masked man got to do a few flippy moves that looked cool, but can’t compare to the sheer awesome might that is the Blueprint. The object of this match based on the execution seemed to be burying Suicide, not making Morgan look good. Maybe I think that because I know what Hogan thinks of the two guys, but that’s how it came off to me.
THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE vs. TARA & ANGELINA LOVE: I’ve enjoyed the Angelina Love/Beautiful People story, but this match took ten minutes to accomplish something that could have been done in three or four minutes better. Tara and Love didn’t work too well as a team and that’s to be expected given their history, but the Beautiful People weren’t effective in that area as well. The point of a 3-on-2 handicap match is for the numbers game to, partly, dictate how the match is wrestled, but this was done mostly as a strict tag team match. It ended with cheating and the Beautiful People using the extra teammate to their advantage, but I would have liked to see more of that. Plus, there was that inexplicable moonsault that accomplished absolutely nothing by Lacey Von Erich. What the hell was that? The end result of this match was obvious and they devoted more time to it than it needed — or than the women could fill effectively.
HULK’S MOMENT OF TRUTH: Where to begin…? The show began with Hulk Hogan coming out and delivering a baffling promo that had me alternately laughing and looking on in bewilderment. It was mostly the standard ‘TNA is awesome’ crap that we’ve gotten ever since January 4 that is, let’s be honest, a waste of everyone’s time, but can work in certain situations. This wasn’t one of them as Hogan told us that everyone is talking about TNA, including when he’s “hangin’ and bangin’, getting [his] pump on.” Maybe it’s my naturally geeky ways, but what the hell does that mean? Then again, Hogan feels like he’s cool again, so who am I to argue? Eric Young coming out gave the segment some focus, but it didn’t exactly make Young look good. He came out, demanding a shot at Scott Hall and Sean Waltman because of what they did to Kevin Nash last week and Hogan tried to show that he knows Young by giving a quick list of past angles Young has been involved in, but that came off as hollow and phony given Bischoff’s blow-off of Young last week and how underused he’s been recently. Hopefully, Hogan and Bischoff noticed the ‘underrated’ chant that accompanied Young when he came out. Young did the requisite asskissing before Hogan came around to his way of thinking and did the convenient rewording of Young’s idea to fight Hall and Waltman outside of the Impact Zone to make it seem like his idea.
Later in the show, the story shifted from Eric Young to Kurt Angle because Angle was still convinced that Hogan was working with Hall and Waltman. Just when it seemed like Young may actually do something besides job to the Nasty Boys… When Angle went down to the ring at the end of the show and took on Waltman and Hall after Hogan opened the door to the Impact Zone and let them in, I kept waiting for Young to come out, figuring that he wouldn’t let Angle fight his fight despite Kurt’s insistence that he not get involved, but, nope, we got Hogan coming out seemingly in cahoots with Waltman and Hall as Angle said. Of course, Hogan took out his ‘buddies’ and showed that he was on the level, surprising no one and making himself the center of attention when a younger, talented guy could have been put over.
BISCHOFF PUTS FOLEY AND ABYSS IN THE 8-CARD STUD TOURNAMENT: I actually liked the work Foley and Bischoff did here as Foley came in and said he would tow the company line if it meant that Abyss and Borash were taken care of. It was a nice, short segment that didn’t go on too much, and communicated its point effectively. I even dug Bischoff making fun of Foley’s clothes. I didn’t like Foley and Abyss just being given the last two spots in the 8-Card Stud Tournament when there were numerous guys who weren’t even given a shot like Eric Young, Homicide, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss’s rivals Dr. Stevie and Raven, and many others. What’s the point of having qualifying matches when you’re just going to give the last two spots away to an unrelated storyline? I don’t mind Foley or Abyss being in the match, I would just have preferred they earned it. Are we to assume that they had no plans for those final two spots? No matches scheduled? No guys lined up to earn those spots?
| The 411
Not as strong as last week’s show, but not a big step down either. The 8-Card Stud Tournament qualifiers and tag team matches were all good, while the confrontation between Samoa Joe and AJ Styles built up their match effectively. As always, when the focus was on the in-ring stuff, the show was at its best, ignoring the dull Knockouts match that suffered from not having enough content to fill the time allotted, and some of the non-wrestling segments were entertaining. The focus for a lot of the show was on Against All Odds, but not strongly enough. Giving away those final two tournament spots was lazy, wrong-minded booking and the continued burial of Eric Young bugs me. Overall, though, a good show. SHOW RATING: 7.0 |
By: Jeremy Thomas
WWE SmackDown 12.18.09
QUICK RESULTS:
Rey Mysterio d. CM Punk [*** ½]
Drew McIntyre & Kane fought to a double count-out [* ½]
Michelle McCool & Layla d. Mickie James [½* ]
Matt Hardy & The Great Khali d. The Hart Dynasty [* ½]
R-Truth d. John Morrison [DUD]
Chris Jericho d. The Undertaker [** ½]
REY MYSTERIO vs. CM PUNK: SmackDown kicked off as only the Friday night show can…with a bad-ass opening bout. This was one of three preview matches for the Elimination Chamber match coming up at…uh, Elimination Chamber. I hate the way the ‘E names their Pay-Per-Views. T-Grish proceeded to rather awkwardly talk about the Unified Tag Title match on Raw while Striker covered for him. This opened up kind of nicely with Punk bullying Rey Rey before the little guy caught on fire. Mysterio controlled the opening moments of this match before Punk got a break, then went to a test of strength with Punk. If you were as comparatively small as Rey, why in the world would you agree to a test of strength? Whatever the reason, it did help Punk take control and he looked good there. These guys had a very good, fast-paced match that served very nicely in terms of getting the crowd hyped up for the show. Both men sold nicely to each other and the match was pretty give-and-take, with Punk controlling the middle portion while Gallows gave a couple assists when needed. They did some fun spots in there and the finish didn’t hurt either man; plus, Punk got his heat back with the post-match attack. The crowd deservedly loved it, as did I.
RATED-R & Y2J GET INTO IT AGAIN/TAKER vs. JERICHO: So we had another promo this week as Edge came down to the ring to talk about how as the Rumble winner, he had the added bonus of not having to compete in the dangerous Elimination Chamber match. He then began to run down who he could face, including Orton (who got a Rated RKO reference tossed his way), John Cena, Rey Rey, or CM Punk who is apparently the love child of Ed Leslie and Charles Manson. Mr. Csonka, if you please…
That thing always makes me chuckle for some reason. He then brought up the Dead Man and brought up THE STREAK. Ahh yes, everyone wants to break the streak. Edge then moved onto Big Dave. He even called him “Big Dave.” Hey Edge, thanks for reading the column! Anyway, that brought Jericho down with Angry Face, and he run Edge down for not mentioning Jericho as a potential opponent. He brought Edge’s injury and so on, told him to choose the winner of the Raw Chamber and said not to antagonize Jericho before bad things happened. Good work by both men, which was interrupted by the Dead Man’s Gong. Yes, gong. Not Dong. You people need help.
Edge sat out there for commentary as Taker started off the match in solid control of Jericho. Rated-R is always great at the booth and this was another good job as he put over the Dead Man and pretty much everything he talked about while we had a slow build to the match. This is nowhere near the match it could have been a few years ago; Taker of course just doesn’t like he could have and this was only a TV match, after all. I did enjoy Edge talking about how he hated whoever he was facing at the particular moment he was in the ring, and how he offered a perfectly reasonable justification for it. Things were moving along when Jericho came to the outside to avoid a choke slam, taunted Edge and then the Dead Man came out to do the same. Edge got all up in Taker’s face and eventually ate a big boot for it. We got a Last Ride from taker and then Edge speared the hell out of the champ to allow Jericho to get the pin. As a match this wasn’t as great as I’d hoped, but the booking was solid and I’m enjoying Edge’s character. So this very nominally gets a Right.
THE MANIMAL SPEAKS: As Big Dave came through the backstage area to talk to us (or so the brief vignette claimed), we got a recap of what he did to Bret Hart and then to John Cena on Raw, and then what happened last week on SmackDown where he walked out of his Elimination Chamber match with CM Punk. By the time we came back Josh Matthews was in the ring and Batista was making his way down to the ring. Josh asked why he did what he did, and the answer was…um. Well, I don’t have anything to write, as he didn’t have an explanation he was prepared to give us. Dude, did someone give the big guy laryngitis or something? Frog in his throat? This whole thing is playing out some way, to be sure; I just don’t know how it’s playing out. And no, neither do you. I do know that once again, this could have played out better if they had kept it short. But the crowd loved it and it’s keeping people hot into the angle/feud, and that’s certainly a positive. I didn’t like it, but I can recognize the success it’s inexplicably having.
DREW McINTYRE vs. KANE: This started out with McIntyre coming out to a new, somber entrance music that got some surprisingly long play. I like the song and the lyrics fit him, but it doesn’t seem to fit what traditionally works as an entrance theme. I’ll see how it grows on me; I used to hate the SmackDown theme, after all. Drew got on the mic and said that he told the Powers that Be that he didn’t care who he would face, because he is undefeated and unstoppable. As it turned out, Kane had something to say about that as he came down to the ring to a very decent pop from the crowd. Drew started backpedalling and said he didn’t have anything to prove to Kane and he could have a match tonight, but the bell run anyway and Kane rung Drew’s bell right after. These two…well, didn’t have a particularly good match. Listen, I love Kane and I like Drew’s potential, but this just wasn’t that good. Kane has to be motivated to bust out good matches and that motivation fails more often than not, and when Drew isn’t at a point where he can pull good matches out of unmotivated performers. It was slow and plodding, and they just didn’t seem to have any real chemistry. But we’d better get used to that because we’ll be seeing more of them considering the ending. I know what the point of that was, which was to protect Drew’s “undefeated” status, but it was a poor ending to a poor match.
MICKIE JAMES vs. LAYLA (AND MICHELLE McCOOL): This one got a pre-match segment, with Mickie backstage eating fruit. That of course brought Team Lay-Cool to make fun of her. Mickie told them it was over and done, but Michelle and Layla had other ideas. Cottage Cheese came into play, and Mickie knocked it out of her hands and onto Vickie. That allowed her to scream, which allowed the Mean Girls to suck up enough to get their match changed to a handicap match. Yes, that’s just lovely. This didn’t get much going in the one-on-one affair before Vickie came out and made the change. Once again, I must point out that Vickie’s heat isn’t helping Team Lay-Cool one bit. They actually had a fun spot or two, but this was a standard, overly short and boring match that we frankly didn’t need to see. There are more than enough heel Divas—and whatever alignment Beth is these days—that we don’t need this. Move along, nothing to see here.
MATT HARDY & THE GREAT KHALI vs. THE HART DYNASTY: I still don’t get the Khali/Hardy pairing, but you know what…whatever works. Apparently Matt’s Valentine was Maria; nice to see she’s got an on-screen man who’s not an asshole. By WWE logic, I predict a heel turn in three weeks. Maria cheered on her man for the night and tackled Natalya when she got involved, which allowed Matt to pick up the win in nothing flat. This match had potential, but it was too short and didn’t do anything at all. I’m happy to see Matt getting wins, but I’d prefer they be in actual good matches. Call me crazy.
R-TRUTH vs. JOHN MORRISON: Sadly, there isn’t much to say about this and some might question me even rating it, as you can’t fairly rate a match that ended so early due to an injury. I must say that my rating is based off the fact that—clearly—it failed as a match, but I’m not going to put a huge amount of blame on Morrison and Truth. This match had the potential to be awesome, but a simple missed landing and a rolled ankle ended it early. My big problem is that if this is a legit injury and not an angle—and by all accounts it was—they shouldn’t have kept the match. It would have been very simple for them to not include it, unless they plan on removing him from the Chamber and even then it could have been explained away easily enough. Putting this match on the air when they have plenty of time to edit it was a mistake and while I’m not going to fault the talent, I do have to put it in the wRong.
DID YOU KNOW?: Nope. And, as always, I don’t care.
| The 411
This wasn’t as good of a SmackDown as we’ve seen in recent weeks. There was a lot of good stuff, particularly the opening match, but the bad stuff weighed it down from a good show to one that was just okay. I understand what they’re doing with most of the booking but the matches didn’t hold up to it and that brought it down. I guess it could have been worse, we could have gotten a Diva Valentine’s Day match. In the end I would recommend this episode only mildly and if you had to miss this show, you wouldn’t be losing all that much. SHOW RATING: 6.5 |
From Manu:
I’m loving the Legacy’s slow break-up and Rhodes did a great job in the match,he’s much better than Dibiase and he also gets a bigger reaction.
I think Cody has a better look to him than Ted and is a bit better overall, but “much better” is a bit of a stretch. Still, I am enjoying it so far and can certainly agree with that part.
From Point:
RAW was great for the 4th week in a row, really surprised, and about the tag title change…..
If Punk would have won, people would bitch he is being wasted and deserves a singles run. He loses, and people bitch he should have won…really?!?!?
I don’t know if that’s true; I think some people would have bitched if he had won, and others would have bitched if he lost. On the internet, you can always find any opinion you’re looking for, generally.
From perez:
christian jobbing to sheamus was great thinking. he will be on sd, so he was quickused to put over sheamus and will likely not be seen monday nights again so it kills two birds with one stone.
Don’t be so sure. I could easily see Christian on Raw, and I don’t think he was really buried either. Not that I think he wouldn’t be great on SmackDown too, I’m just saying.
From Cockpunch Joe:
xSx
Damn fingers betrayed me. That’s all I got to say about that.
From Guest#1257:
I’m trying SO hard to get into Sheamus but I just dont care for the guy. I honestly think his match against Christian was his best match thus far in the WWE.
He seems to have decent matches and on the mic but I just don’t like him. Not even in a “I hate the heel” kind of way but I dont want to watch him.
Could be worse though, HHH could be champ.
Maybe he will impress me at EC.
I appreciate that you don’t really think he sucks, you just can’t get into him. It’s fine to not like someone just because you don’t, and that’s just the way it is sometimes. Keep it real.
From theHomewrecker!:
Just so we’re clear, you didn’t address what I said. Kanyon’s idea was a good one but wasn’t what you originally said, you said “Now, if only the match had been…well, a match at all, then this might have been in the Right.” that’s what I reponded to, just so we’re clear… plus I got to see heel Batista do his thing (hated him as a face, diggin him as a heel) and CMPunk’s reaction the whole time that he was getting a shot at the title was great… no matter how he got it… but thanks for the non-response or whatever that was! Good work.
I didn’t really address it because you didn’t address my full point. That’s one quote taken out of context, because after I said I could have been fine with it if he’d just come out onto the ramp or not shown up as opposed to wasting all that time. I agree the angle itself would have worked okay with Batista not competing, it was the time-wasting that bugged me.
From Guest#3876:
” I will say that Bret’s punches didn’t look their strongest, but otherwise I thought this segment came off quite well. It ended with Bret trashing the production equipment and that was probably the weakest moment, as he just seemed to be missing a step. I hope that’s not a forecast of things to come, because if it is than the physicality of a match is something Bret can’t even begin to handle”
Jeremy just in case you don’t remind it or just don’t get it :
Bret Hart is 52 years old with a stroke.
So wondering why he can’t push someone while it’s already a MIRACLE he can walk and talk all by himself is plain ridiculous.
Yes, I am aware he’s a fifty-two year old stroke victim. But the fact of the matter is, if he can’t do it then he shouldn’t be booked to do it. I give Bret all the respect in the world for coming back from everything he’s been through–the concussion, the stroke, personal tragedy and such. But if they had him do a Swanton off of a ladder, I would criticize it as well because it’s something he’s in no condition to do. Props to Bret, but the whole thing played out badly because it seemed above his limitations.
From HellRaiser:
“Sheamus is a bigger name in the ‘E than Christian is right now”
Really oh come on dont tell me u actually think sheamus would main event wrestlemania. whether WWE trusts christian or not I dont care but sheamus will never ever ever ever be a bigger name in WWE than christian.
HellRaiser, I have a bridge if you’re in the market. Lemme know!
From MasterShake:
A couple weeks ago, I said that Sheamus sounded more natural on the mic than Kofi Kingston…and was promptly called a “hipster” by someone in the comment section. Care to discuss?
Some people are idiots. End of discussion.
From Flinny316:
If you’re going to put videos up, could you use something else besides Hulu. Since it only works in the U.S. its hard for us Canadians to watch it.
Sorry about that. I forget that Hulu doesn’t show in outside the U.s., and they tend to stay up longer than YouTube clips. I’ll keep it in mind.
From Brad B:
Jeremy, point well taken (and I’ll try to up the dosage).
I just don’t think Cole deserves any props for actually doing something right for a change. It doesn’t cover up the fact that he sucks horribly and has done little to improve.
You also neglected to answer my question: how does somebody who has been so bad for so long – and who the “mark” and “smart” crowd seem to hate equally – manage to have one of the longest stretches of continuous employment in the company’s history?
Frankly, I don’t know how. I think it’s because there weren’t better options for a long, long time. Maybe Vince isn’t willing to give up the amount of time that has been invested in him. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t look like he’s leaving any time soon I’m afraid.
From Chico:
4R’s should not have an apostrophe.
It’s an abbreviation, so it should.
From The Great Capt. Smooth:
Does anybody else think that Sheamus looks like a Patronus charm?
I can’t see it, but many Geek Points for the reference!
Until Friday, keep on kickin’ it!
~446~
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