Wrestling’s 4R’s Tuesday Edition 12.16.08: TNA Impact, WWE Smackdown and WWE Armageddon Reviewed!

Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.16.2008

It’s the Tuesday Edition of the 4R’s, and thankfully the world didn’t end on Sunday.

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

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In HD where available…


By: Larry Csonka

iMpact! 12.11.08:

The Right:

AJ CONFRONTS THE MAFIA: While I am not a huge fan of the long interview segment to kick off the show, overall I liked this. Unfortunately it was largely downhill from here, but we'll discuss that later. The MEM was out to tell us all that they were right. Angle won and was going to face Jarrett and Sting retained his title. They were a group of smug bastards and it worked and worked well. This of course brought out AJ Styles, who reminded Angle that he would get what was coming to him, but more importantly he had a message for Sting. And that was the fact that Sting shouldn't be the champion and that he couldn't be proud of how he won. AJ said that Sting has been talking about respect, honor and doing things the right way, but that apparently doesn't apply to Sting himself. Great shit right there. They talked trash and AJ insisted that this was between he and Sting, and wanted the MEM to bail. This of course led to AJ and Sting brawling, the MEM getting involved and the Frontline making the save. I thought that this was a strong opening to the show, I just wish it would have stayed that way.

Curry Man - LEAVE THE MEMORIES ALONE: Oddly enough this was one of the few things I enjoyed on the show. They didn't jerk around with the cases like they did last year, they got to business and while the end result was predictable, I think that this is the best way to go. LAX isn't really being utilized as a unit right now, so freshening up things by giving them title shots is fine with me. Also, they are very high on Hernandez, and allowing him to get a title shot will, in theory, allow them to see what he has against "main event talent." Homicide will be fun in an X-Title match, and of course Curry Man needed to be fired. I admit to being a Christopher Daniels fan, and with all of the namedropping they have done, his return will be a bonus to the min program. Plus, the video shit was HILARIOUS! LEAVE THE MEMORIES ALONE! ONE MORE DANCE LAUREN!

puRgatoRy:

Rough Cuts – James Storm: I thought that the production of and story that the Rough Cuts segment told for James Storm was amazing. A kid that had to give up a dream to work when his father died, only to come back and get back his dream and make it in the business; truly moving. That all being said, this was the exact OPPOSITE of what they needed to air. James Storm is a cool heel that most people want to cheer. By airing this you made the man a hero, and now getting real heat on he and Roode is going to be even tougher. Seriously, someone think this shit out before they allow it on TV.

Beer Bottle on a Pole Match - James Storm w/ Jacqueline vs. Abyss: Everyone makes jokes about TNA and their love of the POLE MATCH, especially with VINNY RU on staff. Pole, staff…lulz, anyway, the fact is that this actually made sense. Abyss and Morgan have been battling with Beer Money and trying to win the tag titles. Abyss has got his cranium cracked roughly 63 times by James Storm and his beer bottle and or KNUX. Abyss was pissed and wanted revenge, I get that. Sure buckets of beer on a pole are ridiculous, unless it is a frat party (don't ask), but I get this. They had a fine little match, Beer Money screwed over Morgan and Abyss once again and then made sure to offer Morgan a cold and frosty beverage. But my problem is that this is a feud with history and they only gave it 4-minutes. Guys cannot have an effective match, get over or tell a story in this amount of time. Get used to that, you'll be reading it again.

Ray makes Angle an offer he can't refuse/Brother Ray vs. Kurt Angle and after…: The big show long angle was of course around the FL and the MEM, as it should be. After the opening segment, Ray realized that he could end all the pain, all the suffering and also save TNA before it was destroyed in this war. So he offers a one and off deal with Angle, no faction members in the building, Ray vs. Angle, the loser's faction is gone. A good ideal is theory, but this is what bothered me. You are making a match to end the BIGGEST ANGLE IN THE COMPANY and are giving it 90-minutes of hype? What kind of retarded/mentally challenged/fucking stupid idea was this shit? I get that this is an angle that you run on TV and I am cool with that, but to blow it ALL in one show was just so wrong. 90-minutes to build to a match that could potentially end this huge angle is just criminal booking. This is something that they should have begun, had video of Angle and Ray trying to convince their sides to take the deal, and then at the end of the show we would have gotten the announcement that this match will main event the show next week and potentially end the angle. That is how you do things, not this kill it all in one show. Talk about blowing your load, it's worse than a virgin on prom night. Speaking of virgins, sup Westerfeld? So they have the match, if you can call it that because they got maybe 5-minutes and since they booked themselves into a corner with no hype, they went for the bitch finish. Seriously, how many times in TNA have we seen a match go to the floor and brawl for 5-mintes, and nothing happens. But THIS match, THIS match was too out of control. Ugh. The beat down was a case of good and bad. Good because they did a great destruction of Ray, but bad because once again the Frontline looks like idiots. I did like the stuff with Sting. He is showing remorse for his actions, and is now doubting himself. I am still expecting the Sting/Joe double turn.

Palin Junk: Short and sweet here, this isn't the worst thing I have ever seen, but it also isn't good. Usually the Beautiful People are must see TV in my house, but this stuff is doing nothing for me at all. Hopefully it leads to Dafney getting a job, because she's fun and she could bring Shark Girl along with her. **wink wink, nudge nudge**

The wRong:

Sojourner Bolt vs. Christy Hemme: The ladies were in action this week, and really, they didn't need to be. I have nothing against the Knockouts, and I actually think they can be great. But this match did NOT need to be on the show. When you have X-Division Tournament matches getting a combined FIVE-MINUTES, we do not need this. Hemme and Bolt got 4-minutes to work, and they had a match. It was ok, Hemme finally got her own video package for her entrance, and she is slowly improving. They had their basic match, and Hemme got the win. And then since this is TNA, we have a USELESS HEEL TURN! Why? Seriously, what did this accomplish?

The Ridiculous:

18:00: I'd like to think we all know the drill by now. TNA is supposed to be the alternative, they try to be different, and they claim to be the wrestling promotion. So I am their conscience, their wrestling stopwatch. Each and every week I keep track of the time of wrestling on the show, and discuss it here. The in ring time is like a yo-yo here lately. This week we only got 18-Minutes of in ring action, and it was really a joke when you have matches getting three minutes. I have said it before and I will say it again, TNA really does need to streamline things. They need to cut down on some of segments, add a bit more ring time and remain focused on the goal, which is building the PPV and trying to SELL that PPV. It is becoming a joke, and it is a failure. Simple failure. There was a point in the show where we went like, 30 or 35 minutes WITHOUT a match.

X Division Championship Tournament Quarterfinal - Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Eric Young: This is actually worse than the fact that they gave Lethal vs. Shelley 2-minites, and here is why. First of all no one wanted to see Young vs. Bashir again. Secondly, why the hell would you, technically, have the last two champions face in the FIRST round? Seriously, do they have Duke and NC play in the first round of the ACC let alone the NCAA tournament? HELL NO! But then we had the finish. They get rid of Sewell and suspend him, but then run a finish here where the ref is involved YET AGAIN! WHO? WHAT? WHY? WHEN? WHERE? WHO????? And then there was the time they got. 3-minutes, that is all this match got. What bullshit. This has been a compliant of mine for some time, and I will voice it once again. This is a tournament to crowd a new champion of a division that helped keep this company interesting but has been shit on for two years. They just do not care or get it. Guys cannot have an effective match, get over or tell a story in this amount of time. Thusly, no one will give a flying fuck about the tournament, the matches or the titles due to that. I really think that the creative team thinks that these short ass matches are working, but they aren't. I would like to see some wrestling on my wrestling show please, KTNX!?

X Division Championship Tournament Quarterfinal - Alex Shelley w/Chris Sabin vs. "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal/Suicide debuts on Impact, and TNA Production HUMBLES HIM THE OLD COUNTRY WAY!: Some had hope that a tournament for the X Title would help bring it back. I knew better because when TNA runs tournament style matches on TV, they are always short and shitty, and in the end mean nothing. It continued here, and was even worse in my opinion than the first match. 2-minutes, fuck, I mean how could we do worse than the other match? BULLSHIT! This needs repeating. For a long time this has been a compliant of mine, and I will voice it once again. This is a tournament to crowd a new champion of a division that helped keep this company interesting but has been shit on for two years. They just do not care or get it. Guys cannot have an effective match, get over or tell a story in this amount of time. Thusly, no one will give a flying fuck about the tournament, the matches or the titles due to that. I really think that the creative team thinks that these short ass matches are working, but they aren't. So then there was the angle after the match. I actually have no issue with the Suicide character. Sure it is too late to hype the game and Kaz could be used a whole lot better, but hell, there are worse things. The run in at the PPV was fine, and this also would have been fine. But the fact is that TNA production has once again done a piss poor job, and that is going to hurt Suicide. If you watched, he came out, ran wild on the Guns and then went for a "Code Red" variation on one of the Guns. It got totally screwed up as one of the Guns fell as he hoped on their back and it looked like a day four wrestling school sunset flip. But the worst part isn't that this happened and not that they didn't re-shoot it. THEY ACTUALLY SHOWED THIS, UNEDITED ON SPIKE TV! This is an epic of epic fails by the TNA production crew. Absolutely horrible.

The 411

This was a bad show, there is no denying it, and I was a sad panda after I watched it. The matches weren't that good although they never got the chance to mean anything so I can't blame the guys out there trying. Seriously, I know I couldn't do better in three minutes, but something has to be done here. The production error in the suicide segment was absolutely unforgivable, throwing away the Ray/Angle build and match in one show was stupid and basically, there were issues all over this show. It is so frustrating to see all of this talent getting fucked up by poor booking and production work.

SHOW RATING: *

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By: Jeremy "NOT LARRY CSONKA" Thomas

WWE SmackDown 12.12.08

The Right:

WHO NEEDS TO WAIT FOR A MATCH?: SmackDown started off with ‘H making his way down to the ring when out of nowhere, the Day-Glo Warrior came out and attacked. Although really, I guess it wasn't out of nowhere, it was out from behind the set. The two started brawling as the poor ref tried to separate them, and then Vickie Chipmunk showed up with Chavo to have him break them up. That worked about as well as one might expect, and a sea of black-and-whites showed up to finally do the job. Vickie came down and started screaming at them and got knocked on her ass for her trouble. The look on Chavo's face of hilarity was priceless, for the record. This was an interesting way to start off the show, even if it seemed kind of out of nowhere; we would find out after the opening theme that this was a "before the show started" thing. It definitely wasted no time in getting the crowd hot and destroyed any thoughts of Jeff and ‘H having anything left in terms of mutual appreciation, so in that it was a pretty good way to start off the show.

THE DARKNESS IS COMING: We got an introductory vignette for Hade Vanson, appearing on SmackDown soon. Hanson was playing a dark spiritualistic sort of character—some have talked about how it's close to Chris Daniel's Fallen Angel gimmick, and while we've only seen a few seconds of it so far I can't disagree. Vanson did a good job delivering this promo and seems to have a good early grasp on the character he's playing, which is good. I like the idea of the character; when you consider that new characters of late have amounted to a Carney and a guy who can't stop introducing himself, hade really got the good end of the gimmick stick. My only question is how they're going to play a dark religious-type character in the new kid-friendly era of the ‘E; it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. If they do it right it will work out beautifully, but if they screw it up, poor Hade's gonna crash and burn. We'll see which way they go, but for now, I'm putting this in the win column.

THE BRIAN KENDRICK vs. PRIMO COLON: They set this up with TBK showing up to hit on the Bellas, to their disgust. Primo and Carlito showed up, with Primo sporting a (very) little facial hair, and Primo got in Kendrick's face. Nice way to add a little heat to their feud; Carlito and Primo were pretty funny bickering after TBK and Zeke left for the ring. Post-commercial we got straight to the match. These guys didn't have the best chemistry in the world when they started feuding a little while back, but I'll give them credit for working better and better with each other each week. Primo himself is continuing to improve on a consistent basis and it showed in this match, which was much better than I expected. They did some good back and forth stuff, with Kendrick using Zeke for protection a couple times and showboating nicely while Primo garnered a fair amount of face sympathy. Kendrick got the win, but this certainly isn't over and I wouldn't be shocked to see TBK and Zeke holding the tag belts soon.

HURRICANE HELMS vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN: This was a non-title match. Again. I've bitched about these prevalence of non-title matches on SmackDown, and this one irritated me too, although I'm willing to forgive it to a degree because they actually had a reason for the non-title, which was to give Helms a win. Hurricane was looking stronger than he did last week and put together a very nice match against Goldilocks; he's looking a little more fit then last week too, I might say. Shelton's really looking good lately as well, and he hasn't blown his latest push yet, which is a good thing. They did some good back-and-forth stuff with interesting offense and counters before Helms got the high cross-body for the pin. Personally I prefer his Shining Wizard, but hey whatever gets the three-count. After the match, Tazz came into the ring to interview Helms, and Helms gave…well, a pretty crappy interview. His mike skills are usually pretty tolerable, but that flat-out sucked. Gist is, we're getting Helms and Benji feuding for the US Title soon. I won't complain about that.

THE CUTTING EDGE: Edge was in the ring back from commercial for his interview segment. He recapped Jeff Hardy's attack by fingering Triple H as the attacker once again and acted indignant that anyone would consider blaming him for the attack. He then brought out his guest, who he admitted had a long history with and who was one of those accusing him…Matt Hardy. You know, I love these two guys's professionalism considering they can't stand each other anymore. Am I the only one who just wishes, deep down inside, that one of them would shoot on the other out of nowhere some day? Yeah, it would be a terrible thing for business, but it would be a classic "Holy Shit!" moment. They went back and forth, with Matt accusing Edge of being a scumbag and being the guy who attacked Jeff, and Edge diverting blame. Points to Edge for using "myopic" correctly. He pointed out all the guys who could potentially have reason to take Jeff out, and came around to ‘H. Matt was all about no-selling it, and wanted to get down to the truth; this let Edge divert again to turn it around on Matt and slam him, saying that he's only involved because no one cares about Matt.

This segment was, quite simply, all kinds of awesomeness. Matt has his problems on the mike, there's no question about that. However, when properly motivated he can step it up, and he's always—ALWAYS—stepped it up when he's in there with Edge. It's that extra kick of emotion that makes him rise up, and he showed that tonight. Meanwhile, Edge was perfect in his role of the manipulative opportunist, deflecting blame every which way he could. Matt popping Edge one was a good crowd-popping moment, even if it only set up Vlad coming down to obliterate Matt. I still, for the record, think the battering ram looks kind of silly, but Kozlov wiping Matt out is completely believable, especially when Edge gave Vlad the moment he needed to strike. I have no complaints about this segment, which advanced several possible angles and did it all pretty nicely.

'H vs. JEFF HARDY: These two have been facing each other enough that we pretty much knew what to expect here, and it was a good match for them to take the show home in the hard-sell attempt of SmackDown. ‘H came out first, and then Jeff, who appears to have stopped the face-paint for now. Probably best, as it really just looked silly most of the time. As many times as these two have worked together, they've put together a lot of good matches; in terms of television though, there haven't been many quite as good as this. SmackDown's been able to deliver on main events more often than not lately, usually when Day-Glo's in the match; this was one of the better of even those. It wasn't super-high impact and it wasn't mile a minute, but that actually worked out well as they worked a well-paced and put together a good match that really kept the crowd into it. The finish was pretty much expected, and it did knock a little bit off the quality of the match as a whole, but it advanced the feud which is the more important part and made complete sense for Edge to do. Edge stood tall to end the show, and it left things strong heading into Armageddon. I'm happy with that.

puRgatoRy:

KHALI vs. HAWKINS & RYDER: I don't have too much to say here. After being forced to watch that absolutely atrocious DAMN! segment from Raw again, we got right into this match without introductions. I'm pretty sure we're going to hear the ‘E wishing Hawkins and Ryder well in their future endeavors the way they were treated here. Khali killed them in almost less time than it took for Tony Chimel to announce the match. There was nothing to this match, and was only a way to get Khali to an appearance and squash win. It was pretty much a waste of a segment, but as squash matches go, I guess I've seen worse. The sooner they get out of a holding pattern with Khali and put him in a real feud though, the better, ‘cause these will only be harmless for so long.

BELLA TWINS vs. MARYSA & NATALYA: Pink is definitely the Bella twins color, as if we didn't know this already; they came down first, followed by Maryse and Natalya. This match was better than the Bellas' efforts since coming out as twins, as the girls seem to be picking it up in the ring and calming down some. Maryse looked pretty good in here two, and all in all this was a much better match then I expected it to be, and then it really had much right to be. It wasn't great, that's for sure, but it could have been far worse considering what we've seen. My only gripe is Natalya eating the pin; I understand that they're trying to get the Bella girls over because they're hot and twins, but turning Natalya into the new Victoria really isn't going to do the Butterfly Division many favors. Let the girl get a win from time to time, trust me. It'll work out well.

The wRong:

R-TRUTH vs. MVP: You know…when you think about it, Truth really is a kinda crappy rapper. Maybe it's because he's trying to perform as he walks to the ring, but his rhyme scheme just sucks. He's sure as hell over though, and no one can deny that. MVP was playing all pissy and impatient as Truth took his time, and he came in with an aggressive streak to control the majority of the match. The opening of this was actually pretty good, but it lost life as time moved on. The roll-up pin didn't do much for Truth, and of course it's the losing streak for MVP, so I wasn't too big on the finish. It had potential, but just didn't live up.

After the match, MVP got on the match and bitched out the crowd for finding his loss funny. You have to give credit to poor Montel for taking his lumps and giving it his all in this ridiculous losing streak angle. He got the crowd hot by pointing out he was still richer and better then everyone in the crowd until Star of the Upcoming Film Mr. Kennedy's music hit. The crowd was into this and popped big for Kenneth. He plugged the movie again (no surprise), and even tried to sell the direct-to-DVD aspect as a good thing, as you could enjoy it time and again. I'm sorry, but having seen that trailer like thirty times now, I have a feeling the only enjoyment I'm going to have is laughing at the shittiness of it. This was okay mike work, considering the subject matter was a crappy movie and not, you know…a wrestling feud. I'm sure they'll build a feud out of this, or at least hope they will, but for now it was just MVP losing again and Kennedy plugging his film again. I don't like either.

The Ridiculous:

DID YOU KNOW?: Nope. And still don't care…stop trying so hard to be liked.

The 411

After a slight drop in quality last week, SmackDown picked it up this week to really try and give those last-minute viewers a reason to buy the Pay-Per-View. The Edge/'H/Jeff saga continues, Matt vs. Kozlov was advanced, and there was very little to dislike here. Kudos to the ‘E to delivering as much high-quality television as they did this week between the strong three-hour Raw and the strong SmackDown.

SHOW RATING: ***¼

COMMENT TIME WITH JEREMY!

Slick is right Jeff's mic skills are pathetic, also AYTHING seems like an improvement when you have none!

Orton is Raw, period.

Posted By: Brad (Guest) on December 12, 2008 at 01:04 AM

No, Jeff's mike skills WERE pathetic. Now, they're just somewhat sub-par. However, we're not disagreeing on the other part; improvement doesn't mean he's amazing yet. He's not, and he still needs work, but he's been getting better week in and week out. We'll have to see where it goes from here, but I'm encouraged.

Jeremy Thomas continues to be one of the worst writers on the website. Ugh. Please edit his stuff so he's not such a mark for himself. Thanks, Larry.

Posted By: y2j420 (Guest) on December 12, 2008 at 01:48 AM

Keep on clickin', Stoner Jericho. S'all I gotta say. Thanks for reading!

Anyone notice the incredible amount of heat Vickie has? It was pretty amazing.

Posted By: Justin (Guest) on December 12, 2008 at 01:39 AM

Yea i did too- Vickie has to be 'Heel of the Year'. No heel has that much heat right now, kudos to Vickie. WWE now needs to figure out how to translate that use that heel to it's potential

Posted By: Guerroro (Guest) on December 12, 2008 at 05:08 AM

I gotta agree with you guys on this. Obviously, I've been critical of Vickie in the past, and I still find her voice only degrees less annoying then Jillian's singing. But she's learned to use that to her advantage as a heel, and I give her credit for that. She's not heel of the year yet, but she's got definite potential to be the front-runner next year if this keeps up.

Ok.. I hear 411mania. com is looking for new writers.. Hmm.. Maybe I can take over your job.. Let's start with making this a PROFESSIONAL column and leaving out all the cursing and cussing.

Next, I'll spell the names correctly, i.e., Hornswoggle instead of Hornswaggle!

Now, onto the R's:

How in BLUE HELL could you put MVP vs MVC in the WRONG column? It was entertaining, it continued an on-going storyline (and since Steph is looking for compelling TV, it must be going somewhere), and it was a pretty decent match!

You once again, put JBL/HBK in the WRONG column! Unlike you, most of the general population is actually intrigued and wants to see where this goes! The crowd BOO'D HBK! Which doesn't happen often! It's a good lead-in to a possibly great storyline! SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!

As for the DAMN! Moment of the Year, it is what it was meant to be: a chance for Ron Simmons to come out and say DAMN! to something outrageous! It's an entertainment company and everybody in PHILLY (home of ECW) loved it! And I know my roomie and I were both laughing our asses off! You really do need to grow a funny bone.. or as Joker would say, "Why so serious?"!

It's an entertainment company! Get over it!

Posted By: Spyke (Guest) on December 12, 2008 at 08:39 AM

Hey, Spyke. First off, it's true, 411Mania is hiring, though something about your comment didn't actually suggest to me you're gunning for a job, you were just using that as a backdrop for your post. Now, as someone pointed out, cursing and cussing are the same thing. Yes, I use profanity in my R's. If you want to see where I can speak without using curse words, check out any of my film reviews, but the R's have a different tone then some of my other work, and I'm able to cut loose a little more. Whether you like that or not is up to you, some don't, some do, but the don'ts seem to in the minority. As to the specific R's this week, MVP vs. MVC may have been entertaining and advanced a storyline, but it's a storyline I despise. I hate the MVP losing streak, and as we're hearing now, MVP's only being put through this because Lesnar and Lashley fucked Vince over. Thus, the losing streak isn't going anywhere other than "let's see if he can take it and pay his dues." Thus, it's a stupid angle and I have no qualms about where I placed it.

Regarding HBK/JBL, clearly you and I have different versions of the word "most." Some people do, and feel free. As is said in the beginning of this column—in the header that a lot of people don't seem to read—"I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether positive of negative." I've listed my reasons why I hate this whole angle. I think it's stupid and unnecessary. That's how I see it. If you want to disagree, that's fine, but when you finish an argument with "SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" you need to take a chill pill and turn the caps lock off. And the DAMN! moment…not even getting into that. If you laughed at that whole thing, I weep for your sense of humor. Thanks for reading!

Jeremy, tell me if you're with me on this one...

The single worst part of this HBK/JBL angle is that we haven't seen any anger from Michaels. Isn't Shawn Michaels supposed to be full of pride and fighting spirit and all that crap? Yet, all we've seen from him, when faced with a man taunting him the the possible ruination of his life and his family's lives, is, as you said, the sad panda face. It just comes off as goofy...

Posted By: KanyonKreist (Guest) on December 12, 2008 at 09:55 AM

Exactly. Couldn't have said it better myself, Kanyon…thank you.

im sick of these columnists calling the wrestlers and everyone else on tv insulting names. vickie "chipmunk" guererro? give it a rest.

also candice was looking lovely on monday and saying elsewise is just incorrect. i wanted her dress.

Posted By: iLoveY2J (Guest) on December 13, 2008 at 08:01 PM

Actually, saying different is having a different opinion then you. Opinions are not incorrect, facts are. We can have opinions that disagree and they are both perfectly valid from our ends. As for the insulting names, well…if you don't like it, I can appreciate it. Some people seem amused by them, so I'm not going to stop. Thank you for reading though!

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~ARMAGEDDON 2008~
By: Larry Csonka

The Matches:

NON-TITLE MATCH: Vladimir Kozlov defeated Matt Hardy @ 10:00 via pin *¾

IC TITLE CONTENDER FINALS: CM Punk defeated Rey Mysterio @ 12:00 via pin ***½

BELFAST BRAWL: Finlay defeated Mark Henry @ 9:00 via pin **

Batista defeated Randy Orton @ 17:00 via pin **½

Santa's Little Helper Match: Maria, Mickie, McCool and Kelly defeated Jillian, Victoria, Natalya and Maryse @ 5:00 via pin *

WORLD TITLE MATCH: John Cena defeated Chris Jericho @ 13:00 via submission ***½

WWE TITLE MATCH: Jeff Hardy defeated Edge and HHH to become the NEW WWE Champion @ 18:00 via pin ****

The Right:

IC TITLE CONTENDER FINALS: CM Punk defeated Rey Mysterio: The finals of the IC Title Tournament were set for Armageddon and saw CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio. I had hopes that this would be a good match, and thankfully I was right. First of all I loved the touch of having Regal and Layla at ringside for the match. No commentary, which was fine, because the shots of Regal looking on in his throne with her at his side were a simple, yet effective touch. Rey and Punk had a really good match, Rey has been better over the last month or so and especially when he has been away from Kane. I thought this ended up being a very strong addition to the card, and I think for 4-6 more minutes, it could have been even better because they were working very well together. Plus the no bullshit/clean finish was great as it doesn't hurt Rey but does help Punk, who has been incomplete limbo since losing the World Title. They may want to drop that GTS by the way, it just isn't working well.

Batista defeated Randy Orton: Randy Orton has been owning Batista for weeks, and overall I feel that the build was done well as they played extremely well off of the history both men shared through Evolution. I particularly loved the video packages they ran. But damn, Dave had some silly ass hair back in the day, didn't he? I thought they worked a smart match and the crowd seemed into it, which is a good thing. The finish I felt was well done, and while this isn't a classic, it is a good starting point for the two men. In the end, while it was good, I feel that it never really got going in some ways. I think part of that is due to the fact that the feud is really just beginning. But Batista needed the victory since he has been losing so much, but Orton still does have the advantage in victories and also he has Cody and Manu at his side. Overall it was good and the follow up will be key.

WORLD TITLE MATCH: This was a match I had some decent hopes for. Their last match was solid and overall this one was as well. In the end it clocked in as a shorted title match than we have been getting, but for 13-minutes it was a very exciting match. Cena is back and got another clean victory over Jericho, and WWE is set to have Cena back on top and is ready to run to WrestleMania. I am not sure where Jericho goes from here (as I write this before Raw) but he has had a great 2008. But as great as it was, there is more money overall in Cena and that is why he kept the title. Another good match that could have been better with more time, but worked out perfectly for its spot on the card.

WWE TITLE MATCH: The main event was for the WWE Title, HHH vs. Edge vs. Hardy. This was another match I had very high hopes for and in the end it delivered. All three guys worked very hard, Edge is showing no ring rust at all, HHH was in prime form as well and it clicked. They played the formula to where Jeff was on the defense the majority of the time, including where he got taken out with a cool spear spot through one of the announce tables. They did some quick bullshit with Mat and Kozlov getting involved, but that was quick and painless as they got back to action. The finish, and I mean this in a good was, was right out of old school TNA. Back in the early days of TNA when Ki, Lynn and AJ feuded, they had a very good three way and they did a very similar finish to the one the WWE did here. It is a cool finish, but can't be over done. It worked here as Jeff finally got to take advantage and not get burnt due to that. After years of wondering if he would ever win the title, Jeff Hardy finally did it. He becomes a Grand Slam champion, and while some will argue that it was too late or that it shouldn't have happened at all (for various reasons), WWE pulled the trigger. It also came off as a huge moment. Edge and HHH disappeared and Hardy got the big celebration in the ring and then posed on top of the set to close out the show. Armageddon is a PPV that is seen as a throw away, but I feel another reason for the title victory was to make the show seem important. The one thing they did was cause people to talk and that is a good thing.

puRgatoRy:

JBL and HBK: The JBL/HBK angle seems to be splitting people. In theory it isn't a bad idea as it looks to give HBK a bit of a break from the ring to heal up, while still giving him an angle that will feature him on TV. The angle is in an odd place right now. I do not think it is bad. Some question the believability of it, but that is up to HBK and JBL to make us believe. I thought HBK got off to a good start with his promo at the show. The crowd didn't quite know how to react at times, but near the end they got some heat and HBK got some more "you sold out" chants. I am interested to see where it goes from here. I think my issue is that this is a TV angle. The explanation should come on TV so everyone is in the angle, they know what is going on and they can follow it. This kind of angle development is suited for TV, and takes time away from PPV. Time that could have been used for wrestling, and to maybe get the new tag team champions on the show. Instead they were placed in a dark match. I usually don't like the long interview angles on PPV, especially when they could have added a match or given other matches more time. I did like how they seem to be playing off of real life, and to an extent the wrestler. Shawn doesn't want to be "that guy" still working gym shows to make ends meet, and his execution was great. But the fact that they showed nearly the entire thing on Raw makes this even worse.

The wRong:

BELFAST BRAWL: Finlay defeated Mark Henry: Mark Henry and Finlay had a match on this show a Belfast Brawl. Their matches haven't been horrible, and with the gimmick I thought that it would be fine. Overall it was fine as both men worked hard and the match wasn't offensive in anyway. But here is my issue. This was the same match and same finish that we have seemingly been watching for months. Seriously, Henry and Finlay have a match. Henry dominates, Finlay fights because he loves it, Tony Atlas gets involved, the midget gets involved, Finlay uses the SHACKALACKI and wins. Rise, wash and repeat. BLAH! Why am I paying to see this on PPV when I can watch ECW any week and see roughly the same thing? Seriously, It makes me feel ripped off. Also, Finlay beats Henry clean once again (SHACKALACKI in the Brawl is clean) so what does this do for Henry? He has been such a focal point, but now he has been devalued in a way. Lord, we're probably going to have to sit through a Henry vs. Atlas feud. Oh well, at least Mark's promos will be fun.

NON-TITLE MATCH: Vladimir Kozlov defeated Matt Hardy: This was how they say, not good. It wasn't the worst thing I have ever seen, but this was not a good match. Sorry Lansdell, you're on crack. The layout was fine, Matt worked hard and sold everything very well for Kozlov, but in the end it was just not good. Kozlov is a big and scary dude that does the monster/Russian brute gimmick well. But this man cannot sell at all. It is comical at times watching him try to sell. Forge about Hogan's CCW, Vladimir Kozlov's selling exposes the business. Seriously, Vince should sue his own man for that. And I love the defenses that, "Kozlov just needs a bit more seasoning." Here's a fucking clue, don't push him to the top of the card if he still needs more seasoning. I think what I hated more about the match was that they just used the ECW Champion to give Kozlov a victory. The moment that they made it a non-title match we all knew that Matt was losing and that he was going to be the sacrificial lamb for our Russian friend. Overall I didn't like it, no sir, I didn't like it at all. But I will give Matt an "A" for effort.

The Ridiculous:

Santa's Little Helper Match and Beyond: I did not like this at all. First of all, we have TWO ladies champions, but they apparently don't give two shits about that so the titles do not get defended. Secondly, the match wasn't good. Thirdly, they used this all as a set up to get to the Khali Kiss cam horseshit and to trot out Mae Young once again. Really? Is that really the best way to utilize your PPV time? I mean, that's pretty stupid. Don't get me wrong, I love hot chicks and I love hot chicks in Christmas outfits, but this is what we do on TV, not PPV. Also, they make a big deal out of changing McCool's finisher because they thought it was dangerous, and then give her the Clash? Seriously? I thought she was going to kill Jillian with that thing. Go back to the damn heel hook, for the safety of others if nothing else. I would compliment them on the work for the McCool heel turn, but since that was supposed to mean something it was completely covered up in the bullshit.

The 411

WWE entered December, and instead of a throw away show they actually tried to give us something to remember. That doesn't make it a homerun show like some are saying, but it is also a lot better than what some thing. Punk vs. Rey, Batista vs. Orton and Jericho vs. Cena were all good matches, and the main event was not only a great match, but gave us the moment of Jeff Hardy winning the title, a moment not many thought would happen. It felt like an important show when all was said and done, which is a good thing. In the end I will say that this was a solid show, some good wrestling and angles happened, and I was entertained. WWE ends the year on a solid note, but with some intrigue and Jeff Hardy as the WWE Champion. That's weird to say.

SHOW RATING: 7.2

2008 PPV Rankings:
Over the last few weeks I have been going back through the PPV library and columns, and have made some adjustments to the scores to reflect that. There were some ties I broke, and a few places I changed. Compared to 2007, 2008 has been a MUCH better year for PPV.

-ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II {9.1}
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA {9.0}

-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.9}
-ROH UNDENIABLE {8.8}
-ROH DRIVEN {8.7}
-TNA TURNING POINT {8.6}
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS {8.5}
-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.4}
-TNA BOUND FOR GLORY {8.3}
-WWE UNFORGIVEN {8.2}
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {8.1}
-TNA LOCKDOWN {8.0}

-WWE CYBER SUNDAY {7.9}
-TNA VICTORY ROAD {7.8}
-ROH NEW HORIZONS {7.7}
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY {7.6}
-TNA HARD JUSTICE {7.5}
-WWE NO MERCY {7.4}
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {7.3}
-WWE SUMMERSLAM {7.2}
-WWE ARMAGEDDON {7.2}
-TNA NO SURRENDER {7.1}
-WWE BACKLASH {7.0}

-TNA DESTINATION X {6.9}
-WWE ONE NIGHT STAND IV {6.8}
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {6.7}
-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS {6.6}
-WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH {6.5}
-WWE JUDGMENT DAY {6.0}

-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {5.9}
-TNA SACRIFICE {5.5}
-WWE SURVIVOR SERIES {4.5}

2008 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) CAREER THREATENING MATCH: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels *****

-(WWE UNFORGIVEN) UNSANCTIONED MATCH: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho ****½
-(WWE SUMMERSLAM) HELL IN A CELL: Edge vs. The Undertaker ****½
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge © vs. The Undertaker ****½
-(ROH NEW HORIZONS) Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black ****½
-(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Tyler Black ****½
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries ****½
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Age of the Fall (Jacobs and Black) © vs. Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries ****½
-(ROH DRIVEN) ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Age of the Fall (Jacobs and Black) © vs. STEENERICO ****½
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Samoa Joe ****½
-(TNA VICTORY ROAD) (World X Cup Semifinal Elimination Tag Match) Curry Man, Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin vs. Puma, Yoshino and Milano Collection AT vs. Rey Bucanero, Averno and Ultimo Guerrero vs. Williams, Dux and Kozlov ****½

-(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries ****¼
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) GRUDGE MATCH: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong ****¼
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER ****¼
-(WWE NO MERCY) WORLD TITLE LADDER MATCH: Chris Jericho © vs. HBK ****¼
-(TNA HARD JUSTICE) LAST MAN STANDING MATCH: Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles ****¼

-(TNA BOUND FOR GLORY) Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett ****
-(TNA TURNING POINT) FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE: Kurt Angle vs. Abyss ****
-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(WWE ROYAL RUMBLE) The Royal Rumble Match ****
-(WWE ARMAGEDDON) WWE TITLE MATCH: EDGE © HHH vs. Jeff Hardy ****
-(WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS) WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH © vs. John Cena ****
-(WWE NO MERCY) WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH © vs. Jeff Hardy ****
-(WWE CYBER SUNDAY) LAST MAN STANDING: The Undertaker vs. The Big Show ****
-(WWE ONE NIGHT STAND) TLC: The Undertaker vs. Edge ****
-(WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH) Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels ****
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR: Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong ****
-(ROH DRIVEN) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Roderick Strong ****
-(ROH NEW HORIZONS) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Claudio Castagnoli ****

-(TNA TURNING POINT) TNA TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Beer Money © vs. The Motor City Machine Guns ***¾
-(TNA No Surrender) (Ladder of Love Match) Sonjay Dutt vs. Black Machismo Jay Lethal ***¾
-(TNA VICTORY ROAD) (Full Metal Mayhem – Six-Man War Match) AJ Styles, Christian Cage & Rhino vs. Kurt Angle & Team 3D ***¾
-(TNA SLAMMIVERSARY) TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Petey Williams © vs. Kaz ***¾
-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA NO-DQ WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH: Gail Kim ©vs. Awesome Kong ***¾
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) LETHAL LOCKDOWN: Team Cage vs. Team Tomko ***¾
-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) HARDCORE STREET FIGHT: Team 3D and Brother Devine vs. Black Machismo and the Motor City Machineguns ***¾
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH - 2 of 3 Falls: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Go Shiozaki ***¾
-(WWE CYBER SUNDAY) WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH © vs. Jeff Hardy ***¾
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WWE TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena vs. HHH ***¾
-(WWE BACKLASH) WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker © vs. Edge ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH: Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin ***¾
-(WWE JUDGMENT DAY) HBK vs. Chris Jericho ***¾
-(WWE SUMMERSLAM) John Cena vs. Batista ***¾

2008 PPV MVP AWARDS:
This is a little added deal I started last year, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV's. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.

-ROH RISING ABOVE: Nigel vs. Aries (Stealing the Show)
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong (Making us Care about Women's Wrestling on the National Stage)
-ROH UNDENIABLE: Strong vs. Aries (The Grudge is Settled)
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE: John Cena Shocks the World (No One Saw it Coming)
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS: Black Machismo Saves the X-Division (He is a Superman)
-WWE NO WAY OUT: Taker Eliminates the Competition (Elimination Chamber MVP)
-TNA DESTINATION X: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong © vs. ODB (Stepping up Again)
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXIV: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Thank You Flair)
-TNA LOCKDOWN: Angle vs. Joe (Great Build, Great Delivery)
-TNA SACRIFICE: Roxxi gets a Haircut (And makes the ultimate sacrifice…)
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS: Tyler Black (Becoming a Star at 21)
-WWE ONE NIGHT STAND: The Undertaker (You Crazy Fuck)
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY: Kaz vs. Petey (Stealing the Show)
-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS: HHH (Silencing the Critics)
-TNA VICTORY ROAD: Alex Shelley and Yoshino (Stealing the Show)
-WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (The Art of the Story)
-ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II: Tyler Black (Stealing the Spotlight …Again)
-TNA HARD JUSTICE: AJ Styles and Kurt Angle (Last Man Standing)
-WWE SUMMERSLAM: Hell in a Cell (Edge and Taker do it again!)
-WWE UNFORGIVEN: Unsanctioned (Jericho and Michaels Deliver Again)
-TNA NO SURRENDER: Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal (Making Chicken Cordon Bleu out of Chicken Shit)
-ROH NEW HORIZONS: Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson (Just Doing What They Do Best)
-WWE NO MERCY: HHH, HBK, Jericho and Hardy (Hey ROH New Horizons, Great Idea, Double Main Event Delivery)
-TNA BOUND FOR GLORY: Angle vs. Jarrett (You Don't Want Any Part of This Pain…)
-WWE CYBER SUNDAY: The Undertaker and The Big Show (The Big Guys Can Go)
-TNA TURNING POINT: Angle vs. Abyss (They're Going to be Sore in the Morning…)
-ROH DRIVEN: Steen and Generico (YOU FINALLY DID IT BOYS!)
-WWE ARMAGEDDON: HARDY WINS! (Hardy Hits the Grand Slam)


And I'm out of here!