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Wrestling’s 4Rs 8.12.13: WWE Smackdown & TNA Impact Reviewed
How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our 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 needs 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 and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. 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, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.
Impact 8.08.13:
By: Maxwell Baumbach
QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
THE RIGHT:
All Things Bobby Roode: As loyal readers know, I am a fan of stories, and stories need the development of deep characters to make them interesting. In this sense, TNA has been knocking the ball out of the park with Bobby Roode. Roode was a high-end talent who had been floundering in a tag team and seemed lost in the BFG Series. This week, Roode’s character had a few realizations, the first of which dealt with his intelligence. Roode figured out that one of the easiest ways to come back in this series was to get Magnus disqualified (more on that later). Secondly, he noticed that the spotlight in TNA has shifted off of him and onto Ace’s and Eights, The Main-Event Mafia, and Tito Ortiz. Roode has decided to counter-act that by joining forces with Bad Influence, who, along with him, make up 25% of the Bound for Glory Series. In the last few weeks of television, Roode has taken himself from being a guy without much going for him to a man with a reinvigorated passion and a streak of vengeance. Not only has he now put himself in a situation to succeed, but he has also shifted the spotlight back onto himself. Though he has used underhanded means to get what he wants, everything he has done makes sense. To me, this is the most compelling part of TNA television at the moment.
Magnus Gets Disqualified: I’ve touched on how this affects Bobby Roode’s character, but this will also add some depth and struggle to Magnus’ character. Magnus had been dominating the BFG Series, but now, he is surrounded with question marks. He will now have to keep a keen eye and be able to overcome adversity in order to keep winning matches. As a result, his struggle will make a stronger connection with the fans, who can sympathize him rather than merely seeing him as a guy who wins a lot.
The Main-Event: TNA reducing their number of live Pay-Per-View events has led to better main-events on TV, and this week proved that. We got a high-quality match out of Sabin, Angle, Bully, and Devon. I also liked that Chris Sabin got the pin on Bully Ray, as it showed that he can beat the former champion cleanly. On top of that, he finished Bully off with a move that is not his traditional finisher, which adds a great potential near-fall spot for their upcoming cage match. Sabin getting the victory further solidified him as a top guy, and this should keep him at the top of the card even if he does drop the belt.
puRgatoRy:
Opening Segment: While I appreciated the build-up to next week’s match, much of this segment fell flat. Sabin’s insults were lame, and he clearly isn’t on the same level as Bully on the microphone. Brooke’s actions weren’t compelling either, and I believe that the stipulation all but confirms that Bully will be winning the title back.
Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy: These two got off to a hot start, but I didn’t care for the finish. Samoa Joe looks pretty gullible falling for Anderson’s tactics yet again, and it seems as if his fire has been diminished a bit over the past few weeks. Hopefully we can get something different involving Joe and Anderson soon to avoid Joe looking like an idiot. This could be as simple as Joe being prepared for it or Joe bringing a member of the Main-Event Mafia to ringside with him to prevent Anderson from getting involved.
Where Does Tito Stand?: I understand that TNA wants to make Tito a big deal, but it is difficult to care when you are an MMA fan and understand how limited Tito’s involvement will be in the near future. I didn’t like him shaking hands with Angle, as any alignment with the MEM wouldn’t make a ton of sense due to his impending fight with Rampage. Hopefully this will lead to some sort of swerve, but the reality of the situation is that nothing will be happening here any time soon, and this didn’t give us anything to be on the edge of our seats for.
THE WRONG:
Floundering Titles: The six-person tag match showcased the shallowness of TNA’s Knockouts and tag team divisions. ODB, who was strictly a referee a few weeks ago, is now back as an active competitor. However, her primary feud with Gail Kim. As a result, the champion Mickey James doesn’t have much to do, and her feud with Velvet Sky has slid into the background. Due to many competitors being tied-up in the BFG Series, The Bro-Mans have emerged as the main foes of Gunner and James Storm. However, TNA has been afraid to pull the trigger with them, and as a result, they come across as scrubs. While I understand wanting to focus on the BFG Series, I would really like to see some new faces brought in, even if they are only one-shot deals, to spice up the Knockouts and tag team divisions.
THE RIDICULOUS:
Nothing!
There wasn’t really anything offensive about this week’s show, and we got some awesome development with Bobby Roode. The main-event was a nice capper to the show, and made this episode seem important even if it was primarily build-up to Hardcore Justice. This episode was successful in making me want to see what happens next without doing anything totally off-putting. It was a solid show, and if you haven’t seen it, look up the Bobby Roode segments and the main-event. Show Rating: 7.0 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale… 0 – 0.9: Torture |
Smackdown 8.09.13
By: Jack Stevenson
QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
THE RIGHT:
Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam: This week’s Smackdown was book ended by two excellent matches, with Orton and Van Dam’s tussle opening the show in fine fashion. It bears repeating that the Rob Van Dam we’ve seen in the last few months bears no resemblance to the lazy, uninterested, hollow shell that shuffled aimlessly through TNA for three years; this Van Dam is motivated, as crisp as he’s ever been in the ring, and putting on a string of excellent matches. Orton was on form here as well, and the result was a sharp opener which built nicely to a superb finish. As if to underline his recent improvement, RVD’s selling of the finishing RKO was terrific. Great match.
Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio: And this was arguably even better! Although I personally preferred Orton-Van Dam, which was tighter and snappier- the near-falls felt like they started too early in this, and were starting to get repetitive towards the end. This was still a sparkling main event though, one that reminded me of Christian’s great run as ECW Champion in 2009. There was an almost relentlessly fast pace, a few beautiful moves and counters, a lot of energy, and a good crowd. You can’t ask for much more really, can you?
Continuity!: One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about Smackdown over the last couple of weeks is the way it picks up on relatively minor plot threads from Raw, and expands on them to enjoyable effect. This week, for example, we had Daniel Bryan taking on Wade Barrett in a mini-grudge match after Bryan butchered Barrett’s beard on Monday Night, while Kofi Kingston and Fandango had a meatier version of their match from earlier in the week. This sort of thing makes Smackdown an infinitely more satisfying watch than it’s recent policy of ‘just throw out some random matches-‘ while you can just follow Raw and keep up with all the important developments, you’ll miss out on some fun B-stories, like Bryan and Barrett feuding over facial hair. It doesn’t hurt that the B-Stories are by and large more fun than their Raw equivalents, either.
A Brock Lesnar Exclusive: In between CM Punk and Paul Heyman cutting some of the finest promos of their careers in recent weeks, we’ve had very little opportunity to hear from the imposing third man in this rivalry, Brock Lesnar. Smackdown rectified this with an interview/video package hybrid, and while Lesnar had nothing groundbreaking to say and is not as charismatic in a pro-wrestling way as CM Punk or Paul Heyman, it was still worthwhile to hear some of his thoughts. This was an effective addition to the story so far.
If Bray wins, Kane Wyatts: It appears my disappointment with the Kane/Wyatt feud is not shared by much of the 411 readership, so perhaps I need to start being more generous. And, indeed, this was a pretty good segment; Kane battered the incompetent goons in the 3 Man Band for a bit, and then saw his victory celebration interrupted by a Bray Wyatt promo delivered via hologram, which was pretty fucking cool. Wyatt’s insistence that he himself is dead was nicely mysterious (though may well turn out to be nothing more than cryptic blathering,) and while I still maintain the feud as a whole is neither showing nor telling us enough, in and of itself this was a fun segment.
Damien’s taken sanDown: Damian Sandow sought to capitalize on an opportunity with Alberto Del Rio flattened after an exhaustive main event, hitting the ring with his suave leather briefcase to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. However, before he could do so, Cody Rhodes flew from the top rope to crash into his former partner and prevent him from a superb chance at the World Heavyweight Championship. Much like Rhodes stealing the briefcase from Sandow and dumping it into the Gulf of Mexico to the intellectual’s ire, this doesn’t make much sense with some thought- why would Cody intervene before the match, rather than letting the match begin, then attacking Sandow to ensure his title shot went to waste? However, it took me by surprise when it happened- I really did think briefly that Sandow was going to cash in, and Rhodes’ appearance was almost literally out of nowhere. Interesting, important moments like this are only going to help revitalize these two’s feud, and so I’m willing to be kind here.
puRgatoRy:
The fact that this is the second week ago I’ve not put anything in purgatory on Smackdown: Sure, this may sound like good news, but doesn’t this seem a little suspicious to you? Nothing on the most mediocre show in WWE being mediocre for two consecutive weeks? What nefarious scheme is Vince McMahon trying to distract us from? OPEN YOUR EYES
THE WRONG:
MizTV with the AJ Lee Circus: This was one of the more tolerable episodes of MizTV in the same way that a sore throat with a tickly cough is one of the more tolerable illnesses. It’s a relief to see the Ziggler/Kaitlyn/AJ/Langston story finally winding down, but while it lasts it still isn’t much fun, and the Miz is very hard to like right now; his wise-cracking fan-favorite schtick feels incredibly forced and often gets confused, turning into an obnoxious annoying dick instead. At least this afforded AJ the opportunity to show off her under-utilised promo skills, and didn’t feature Dolph Ziggler trying to be witty, but I still couldn’t find much enjoyment here.
NOTHING
Two excellent matches and a little angle advancement is pretty much the very best Smackdown can do these days, so there’s no complaints from me about this episode. In Orton-Van Dam the blue brand boasts a low-end TV match of the year contender, while the rest of the show breezed merrily by. Much, much better than Raw. Show Rating: 7.5 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale… 0 – 0.9: Torture |
That right there is a gentleman’s briefcase.
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