The Wrestling Project

WWE Raw Review - 6th April 2009

2009-04-10T03:15:00.000-07:00

After a below standard Wrestlemania could the creative team restore my faith in good ship WWE.

Good Points

Wheels set in motion for Backlash

Vice was out on Raw to let Randy know that he would not be facing HHH one on one at Backlash but instead it would be a six man tag with HHH, vince and Shane McMahon going up against Legacy. However this then changed to a title match meaning if anyone on HHH side wins HHH keeps the belt but if anyone from Legacy wins Orton wins the belt. Vickie Guerrero also announced that it would be Edge vs. Cena in one on one competition for Backlash.

The return of the Animal

Batista made his return to raw last night a night after I predicted he would turn up. Batista came in to make the save for the McMahons and HHH after they were getting beaten down by legacy. This lead Vince to give his spot in the Backlash main event Batista. I smell a doublecross here, I think Batista will turn on HHH and the McMahons costing them the match at Backlash and helping Orton get the belt.

Tag match gets centre stage

After missing out on the main card at Wrestlemania The Colons and Miz & Morrison put on a superb match which would get anyone questioning why they lost their spot. I just hope the get a match on the main Backlash card.

Bad Points

HHH pushed to the side

After being victorious at mania I thought HHH would be given more ring and mic time but instead he had to take a backseat to his Father-in-Law Vince. I hope it gets back to normal next week letting HHH and Orton lead the feud.

All star mess

This was a weak creative idea and showed that creative team hadn’t put much thought in to what to do with these guys after mania. Seeing Steamboat on a one off was good but not any more and why have Edge and Big Show on the same team after they fought against each other last night.

Overall

A very decent raw with a great main event for Backlash pushed, build a couple of good things around it and it should be a good event.

WWE Wrestlemania 25 Review

2009-04-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

Now that all the dust has settled on Wrestlemania 25 here are my thoughts looking back at The Grand Daddy of them All.

Money in the Bank

As with each year there were some great innovative spots which as predicted were lead by the likes of Shelton, Christian and Kofi. I thought the pacing of the match could have been better as it was very noticeable when wrestlers were missing or taking a break. I thought it was good to have CM Punk create history with the win and getting him going again but the ending could have been a lot better.

25 Diva Battle Royal

The commentators did a rubbish job on this one at times had no clue who was in the ring and who was getting thrown out. As predicted Santino got involved and it was funny to see him in Drag as Santina which provided our comedy moment of the night.

Chris Jericho vs. The Legends

Luckily this match didn’t go long. The only legend that proved he could still go was Steamboat and there was a good five minutes or so between him and Jericho after the others had been eliminated. Jericho picked up the win but as predicted Rourke jumped in the ring at the end and beat on Jericho.

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

These two put on a good little match but due to the MITB using so many ladders Jeff couldn’t use his specialty. As I hoped for Matt got the win and they have built the match as a feud that could long continue, the innovative ending looked sick.

Rey Mysterio vs. JBL

This match had me thinking back to Adam Bomb vs. Earthquake at WM10. Was over in the blink of an eye as Rey Mysterio picked up a quick win leading to JBL announcing his retirement. I’m glad JBL got to retire on the biggest stage in his own home state but to do it like that was awful.

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

As expected match of the night by far as these two put on a drama packed thirty minutes of action. Undertaker took some sick bumps especially one to the outside which looked like he had dropped on his head. This match had lots of false finishes and some great back and forth action but in the end it was The Streak that was maintained as Taker ended up the victor.

John Cena vs. Edge vs. Big Show

This match was better than most expected and gave some good spots including a brilliant ending which saw Cena go one further than he did at WM20 when he did his finisher on Big Show by picking up both Big Show and Edge. As predicted Cena won the belt although I would have much preferred to see Edge retain.

HHH vs. Randy Orton

What an anti-climax if I ever did see one. After two months of great build it was all ruined by Vince’s want to send the fans home happy and have the face end the main event with the Title. They tried to do a different style in the match which was more of a fight style than pure wrestling but it just lacked the intensity and I can’t say I was that surprised to see HHH winning after year upon year of loses at Mania but it just made no long term sense.

Overall

There should be more than just one great match at Wrestlemania that’s what you expect from the other PPV’s. I thought it was scandalous to see the tag title match getting pushed to the dark match when we had ten minutes of Kid Rock giving a terrible performance. This was the worst Wrestlemania I have seen in some time, Wrestlemania 11 still holds the record of worst ever Wrestlemania for me but this wasn’t far off.

Wrestlemania 25 - My Predictions

2009-04-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the biggest weekend on the wrestling calendar as we all await Wrestlemania 25 this Sunday so with this in mind I thought you guys may like to know my thoughts and predictions on all the matches on the card.

Intercontinental Title Match
JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

Being in his home state could prove to be the deciding factor for JBL. WWE really haven’t done anything with Rey since his world title push and I don’t think he is in line for another crack at it so my predictions are a JBL win here. JBL hasn’t got that many memorable Wrestlemania wins under his belt and in what could and should be his last year I think he will get the win. As a match I am not expecting much from it and it could well be our opening match.

Winner: JBL

Tag Team Lumberjack Title Unification match

The Colons vs. The Miz and Morrison

This is a match I have been waiting for on PPV for some time. Over past months WWE haven’t really pushed any tag match at a PPV but hopefully now these two teams will have the stage to show why Vince should put more effort behind the tag scene. I am really torn in this one because I do think both teams are great. The only thing that will ruin this match is it being a Lumberjack Match, why WWE couldn’t just let these two teams bring the house down I don’t know, so I do fear that would could be a great match could get ruined.

Winner: The Miz and Morrison

Diva Battle Royal

The way they schedule Diva matches at Wrestlemania can sometimes be stupid. For many years they have sandwiched it in between the semi main event match and the main event match which instead of giving the fans some breathing space has killed them so I hope they get this one out of the way early. Expect Santino to get involved somehow and look out for a possible appearance from Trish Stratus but whatever you do don’t expect a great match.

Winner: Gail Kim

Money in the Bank
CM Punk vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Christian vs. Finlay

In this match expect Kofi, Shelton and Christian to provide you with some new and innovative bumps. Vince is down on Christian at the moment so don’t expect the obvious win for him given his history in ladder matches. If CM Punk were to win he would make history as first person to win it back to back but I don’t see WWE pushing him that hard. My thoughts are they could either give it to Kane as he hasn’t won before and is one of Vince’s most consistent stars, give it to MVP and finally give him the push they have been promising or an outside bet is Shelton Benjamin as I know a lot of people backstage are impressed with him right now.

Winner: Kane

Chris Jericho vs. Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka

What should have been a great entertaining match could be flop of the night, not many people want to see either of the legends wrestle let alone all three. Expect Jericho to go in to monster heel roll and beat on the legends a fair bit and then for them to have a heroic comeback with Flair helping them to the win.

Winners: The Legends

Extreme Rules Match: Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

The only thing that was going to make this match great at Mania was if there was some heat between the two of them and a great feud which had been built up for months but instead this match has really limped in to mania. As a tag team there styles use to compliment each other but against each other I really don’t think it is going to work. The only thing that will make the match interesting is the extreme rules stipulation so expect some ladders to come in to play and for one of the brothers to be taken out of there on a stretcher.

Winner: Matt Hardy

World Heavyweight Championship
Edge vs. Big Show vs. John Cena

In this match I really like the Love Triangle storyline but not sure if I am looking forward to the match. Edge is really going to have to keep this match together as Big Show and Cena can provide entertainment but without Edge it would just be a mess. I think we are going to see Edge and Big Show trying to team up on Cena and then double crossing each other. If they want to finish the love triangle storyline at Mania they will have Vickie come out cost both Big Show and Edge the match, leave the ring and let Cena pick up the win.

Winner: John Cena

The Undertaker vs. HBK

This is match I am looking forward to more than anything else on the card the two biggest legends in WWE right now both going at it in their own home state. The build up has been immense and miles better than anything else on the card. The only problem is I think the build up has been too good and overshadowed the title matches, just have to be careful we don’t get another Hogan / Rock Wrestlemania 18 situation where this match wasn’t the main event but burned the fans out before the main event. HBK in the past got some big wins over Undertaker, In Your House 17 first hell in a Cell and Royal Rumble 1998 casket match so I expect The Undertaker to get his revenge and keep the streak. Last year HBK got to steal the show and get a win over Flair so I think he should do the job and the honors for The Undertaker this year.

Winner: The Undertaker

WWE Championship
Triple H vs. Randy Orton

I have been saying for some time now that I think it is time for the year of Orton and over the last four months Orton has delivered. The segments between him and HHH have been brilliant and that has mainly been down to Orton and not HHH. These two have told an intense storyline which makes us all believe they really hate each other which is what great storytelling is all about and these two have the ability to back it up with a great match. Now HHH has lost quite a few big matches at Mania over the last six years so he is more than in line for a big win at Mania which would give me cause to believe it was going to be HHH retaining but I think Orton is just to on his game at the moment.

Winner: Randy Orton

Other things to watch out for

We have both Ken Kennedy and Batista who could make an appearance. Kennedy has been doing a lot of international PR for Mania so would make sense to see him and news on Batista and his recovery from injury has been very quiet as of late. The night before Mania Steve Austin is getting inducted to the hall of fame so in his home state will he make a Wrestlemania appearance and make an impact? With mania you always get the rumor mill and gossip but I really think there is a strong possibility of one of these things happening.

WWE Raw Review - 30th March 2009

2009-04-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Normally in the build for Wrestlemania all the storyline development is finished a couple of weeks before Mania with the last week just being used to hype Mania so I had no doubt it would be the same this year.

Good Points

HBK earning the title of Mr. Wrestlemania

HBK did another great set with the Undertaker, we first saw him inside a hearse backstage and then he brought a casket to the ring with him to deliver a promo on The Undertaker. During his promo the lights went out and Undertaker was in the ring but HBK had disappeared only for him to emerge from Under the coffin to lay another attack on Taker. Can’t wait to see these two go at it at Mania.

The fighting McMahon family

I always thought Vince and Shane would come back to fight alongside HHH against Legacy but I didn’t expect it to happen until Mania. Instead the show ended with Vince and Shane walking down the ramp with HHH and having a scrap with Legacy which I thought was a nice way to end the show.

Bad Points

Cena not given a chance

After hardly being in the ring and on TV as of late I think it was wrong to have him lose to Big Show and to then get beaten up by Edge. We know the main storyline is between Edge and Big show but it doesn’t mean they need to write off Cena completely.

Jericho fighting a losing battle

Jericho continued to put in some good work in the ring and on the mic but it is all really for nothing. This week he fought Lawler who many thought would be his Wrestlemania opponent. Jericho beat him in the match but didn’t do one of usual attacks and his opponents for Mania were nowhere to be seen.

Overall

A couple of highlights but all in all as expected a thin shown with not much going on.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 26th March 2009

2009-03-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

After a good little show last week it was time for TNA to bring us one step closer to Lockdown. At the moment they may be in WWE’ shadow with Wrestlemania upon us but TNA still need to show us what they can bring.

Good Points

The build for Lethal Lockdown

Tonight’s show was all about getting us ready for Lethal Lockdown with forty minutes spent deciding on team captains. To decide on captains they held a 20 man gauntlet match in a cage with the last standing being opposing team captains. Angle had promised to win it and captain MEM and he would stop at nothing to do it but after a very entertaining PPV quality match it was Samoa Joe that came out the victor beating Angle.

Sting has enough of Foley

Sting was in no mood to joke about with Foley this week as a little bit of heat got added to this feud from Sting’s side. This feud was started off by Sting trying to look out for Foley but now its personal and with Foley telling Sting he still has some cage dives left in him it should be an ok match at Lockdown.

Bad Points

Segment order

Again with TNA we had four non wrestling segments back to back. It’s not rocket science but TNA need to start mixing it up a little bit more in their running order to make the show flow better.

Dixie Carter tries to take the high ground and fails

This week Dixie Carter got in an argument on the internet where they both counter claimed that the other company isn’t producing family friendly TV and that they were. However Dixie needs to look at her own promotion if she is going to let wrestlers throw out throwaway lines which have sexual references which aren’t needed. This week it was Scott Steiner during a backstage segment with the Main Event Mafia.

Overall

A bit light but all in all a good show with a hot ending. Having these shows once in a while is great as it feels like you are getting PPV for free but they should go back to the usual format next week.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 27th March 2009

2009-03-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

After some good segments on Raw I was hoping that Smackdown could do its job to entertain and further the storylines ready for raw next week.

Good Points

Michaels shows he isn’t afraid of The Undertaker

The ending to Smackdown was great this week. We had an Undertaker style entrance with druids coming out and smoke filling up the arena but when the character we thought was the Taker came in to the ring in a white version of the Taker’s outfit it was HBK that revealed himself from under the hat. HBK proceeded to quote the bible before The Undertaker appeared from below the ring pushing his way up through the canvas to try and get to HBK before HBK could run for safety. I can’t wait for this match at Mania.

Gail Kim returns

Was great to see the return of Gail Kim to the WWE as she interrupted the Divas title match between Michelle McCool and Maryse leaving them both lying and holding the title aloft. Gail is now my pick for the Miss Wrestlemania match.

Bad Points

Still not pushing the Hardy feud right

This week we saw a pre-recorded video from them both and we saw Matt Hardy in a match. Both videos could have been so much better Matt just tried to be cocky and a bit weird and we had one of these arty, dark sets for Jeff’s interview reminiscent of what they were doing with him last year. They need them both in the same place at the same time to build this feud.

Money in the Bank

Instead of developing intriguing feuds between some of the competitors the WWE keep putting them all in a match together. Looking around I think this could be the weakest MITB match in its short history.

Push for title matches

This week we had neither champion on the show. Big Show was left to compete against Jesse and Festus whilst Cena and Big show also provided a comedy moment in the ring. This isn’t good enough for less than two weeks before Mania.

Overall

Undertaker and HBK stole the show but besides from that there was hardly any storyline development going on which is crazy considering Mania is just around the corner.

WWE Raw Review - 23rd March 2009

2009-03-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

After the Raw picked up a bit last week I was looking forward to seeing what they had to offer this week as are now under two weeks to Mania.

Good Points

Jericho proves a point

There is nothing like beating up an old respected man like Ric Flair to the point of making him bleed to cement yourself as a heel. Jericho is doing all he can to make his Wrestlemania match interesting but I fear now what could have been a major attraction if Rourke had gone through it with will now become a side attraction no matter what Jericho does. I just hope that Jericho gets the chance to continue his heel role in a better feud after Mania.

Orton’s turn to get one up

This week it was Orton’s turn to bash the living daylights out of HHH with the help of Legacy as the promise between the two not to touch each other before mania become a distant memory. This week they threw Steph in the mix as she came down to try and save HHH only to get knocked unconscious. I just think they either need to have someone fighting on HHH’s side or to get rid of Legacy for the last week to have an even battle before mania because I don’t think gang attacks do much to build characters.

Great video package

Really starting to look forward to Taker vs. HBK more than the two main events. Ok I don’t think Taker’s streak is any danger but the build up has been good with HBK this week doing a video package which saw at the graveyard burying Taker’s streak. The good thing with these two is that I know they can both deliver.

Bad Points

Poor build for Hardy feud continues

This week the build consisted of Jeff Hardy beating jobber to the stars Dolph Ziggler and then doing a ten second bit on the mic telling Matt that he hadn’t seen how extreme he can get yet. This could have been standout match but with the lack of these two being on the same show or doing anything meaningful when they have been together has spoiled it.

Cena on cruise control

Cena has been booked as a bit part player for Mania as this week he wasn’t in the arena due to an appearance on Jay Leno so all his segments were done through video as Edge and Big Show continue to tell the storyline for their match.

Overall

The show was made on the first and last segment, everything else expect the HBK bit was pretty much filler which isn’t good with Mania just round the corner.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 19th March 2009

2009-03-22T05:12:00.001-07:00

After a very disappointing Destination X could TNA produce the goods this week on iMPACT and get me excited for the product again?

Good Points

Interesting angle between Sting and Foley

Sting is doing a great job of playing this conflicted character between siding with the Main Event Mafia and the side of TNA management. Trying to look out for Foley, Sting tried to get the main event for iMPACT stopped so he wouldn’t have to wrestle but Foley saw this as a kick in the teeth and booked himself and Jarrett to square up against Angle and Sting in the main event which ended with Foley laying Sting out with a chair and getting the win. The only problem is I don’t want to see the match between them which is set for the next PPV.

Samoa Joe takes it to the extreme

I’m liking the off the wall crazy man that Joe is playing at the moment. This week he attacked Bashir and proceeded to torture him backstage. Their match lasted all of a few seconds on iMPACT before Joe got disqualified and took him to the back. Wonder who he is going to attack next.

Tag scene got a bit better

After being disappointed by the bogus ending to the tag title match between Team 3D and Beer Money they put it right this week on iMPACT. Now set for Lockdown is a steel cage match between the two in Philadelphia in a winner take all match as Team 3D put their New Japan titles up against Beer Money’s TNA titles.

Bad Points

Angle pushed to the side

Having Sting against Foley as the main event for Lockdown what does it leave for Angle? Angle did a great job on the mic tonight but needs someone to work with as am getting bored of him and Jarrett going at it because it has lost its intensity.

Frontline mess

When speaking about his Legends title win AJ addressed himself as part of the TNA Originals and not The Frontline so it looks like TNA are trying to remove The Frontline from everyone’s memories.

Overall

A quite decent show in all honesty was very entertained but thy need to be careful about the card for Lockdown.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 20th March 2009

2009-03-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

After an ok episode of Raw it was time to see if Smackdown could deliver with their 500th episode as we now only have a fortnight to wait until the grand daddy of them all.

Good Points

Love Triangle

I’m loving this storyline on Smackdown at the moment it is playing out so well. This week we went back and forth between backstage segments involving Vickie, Edge and Big Show leading to our final segment which saw them all in the ring together. After Edge speared Big Show on the last show this week Edge accidentally speared Vickie after she had called for a truce.

Push for Taker

After being made to look a fool on Raw, Taker was rebuilt with a strong promo on HBK and a victory over JBL. HBK also got a very rare Smackdown outing winning his match against Kane. This match should be one of the undercard fights of the night.

MVP new US Champ

After months of having wasting away with his terrible losing streak angle finally MVP dug himself out of it and won the US Title. Ok the belt may not mean much these days but hopefully it is a sign of better things to come for him.

Bad Points

No Matt Hardy

This week nothing has really been done to push what should be a heated feud and match between Jeff and Matt Hardy. This week Jeff won a throwaway match and Matt was nowhere to be seen.

Triple H reduced to a bit part player

HHH kicked the show off with a great promo which you thought would be a sign of things to come for later in the night but instead they had him compete in the first match against Kozlov and then after that wasn’t seen again.

Overall

Usual Smackdown trying to concentrate too heavily on one storyline which you can get away with for a small PPV but not for Mania. The love triangle may be great but Wrestlemania needs a whole four hours of great matches and storylines.

WWE Raw Review - 16th March 2009

2009-03-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

Due to being under the weather last week I wasn’t able to get any reviews online last week but normal service is resumed this week starting with my Raw review.

Good Points

HBK turns up the heat on the Undertaker

Raw kicked off with a tag match featuring the team of HBK and The Undertaker against JBL and Kozlov which really kicked off the Taker / HBK feud. HBK tagged himself in after Taker had done the hard work to get the win for the team only to be chased up the ramp by The Undertaker but as soon as his back was turned HBK reappeared to deliver his sweet chin music. Can’t wait to hear HBK’s explanation on Raw.

Triple H one step ahead

A one on one match was scheduled between Triple H and Cody Rhodes but as predicted Orton and Dibiase were quickly out to try and trap Triple H but Triple H being one step ahead got the cage to be lowered keeping Cody Rhodes in the ring and the others out so he could send his message to Orton.

Edge spears Big Show

After being made to look weak and stupid Edge finally got something back after closing the show by spearing the Big show who had come out to help him. I think this storyline is going to end with Vickie costing both Big Show and Edge the title after she realizes they have both been using her to get to the top.

Bad Points

Jericho storyline a waste of time

Ever since Rourke pulled out of the match at Mania this storyline has been a mess which has now lead to Jericho challenging Steamboat and Piper to a match. After what could have been a very interesting match I think this will turn in to one to be forgotten.

Dolph gets a random outing

After being on TV on a regular basis Dolph made a rare appearance losing in a throwaway match to Rey Mysterio. In the run up to mania all the segments should be building to Mania which this clearly didn’t.

Overall

Ok nothing special or much to get excited about, felt very much like WW were just treading water for a week.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 5th March 2009

2009-03-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

With it being the last iMPACT before Destination X I was expecting big things from TNA after being very impressed with their last outing.

Good Points

What side is Sting on?

TNA are pushing Sting well at the moment as he continues to play his cards close to his chest. Foley is trying to get him to leave the MEM but the MEM are doing their best to convince Sting that he needs to stay in the faction. I am intrigued to see what will happen following his match with Angle this Sunday.

Tag Team Scene hots up

After being on a run of victories and knocking people out of TNA Beer Money finally met their match in LAX as they had to get themselves disqualified in order to save their belts. Unhappy with what has been going on Team 3D finally had enough and have challenged Beer Money to a match at Destination X to shut them up once and for all which should be a great match.

Bad Points

How to kill Angle

Having Angle end the show by beaten up by Jarrett in a street fight and kicked out of the arena made no sense. Jarrett doesn’t have a match on the card but Angle is in the main event, if they wanted to build these two again they should have waited for after Destination X.

Stupid Police costumes

It is always cringe worthy when wrestling show’s pretend to bring the police in but TNA pushed the bar this week with the most ridiculous police costumes I have seen in my life.

Overall

Could have been so much better the only person that came out smelling of roses was Sting. Saying this though I am still hyped to see Sting vs. Angle this Sunday.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 6th March 2009

2009-03-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

After an abysmal Raw I was hoping for better things from Smackdown and hoped they could end the week on a high.

Good Points

Pushing Brother vs. Brother for Wrestlemania

Was great how they continued to the build for these two. First we had Matt Hardy losing clean to MVP and getting embarrassed in his MITB qualifying match. Then Matt not being able to take losing then had to go and cost Jeff his MITB match getting Jeff disqualified by hitting his opponent Shelton Benjamin. They are building this at a nice pace and can’t wait to see next week.

Three Way for the title

After Raw’s announcement of Big Show being put in the main event against Edge at Mania thy followed it up with a clear sign that Cena was going to be added to the mix as he gate crashed the contract signing for the title match leaving them lying and then whispering in to Vickie’s ear. Was also good how now Edge is beginning not to trust Vickie.

Bad Points

Killing Orton and HHH

After Raw’s mess thy followed it up with a mess on Smackdown as after only a few days earlier both parties saying they weren’t going to hit each other Orton with the help of Legacy laid the beat on HHH. This helped nobody it made Raw look stupid and both of them look weak.

Lack of content

The only reason I have less to criticise Smackdown about is because it is so content light. Only four matches and only two major storylines developing there just really isn’t anything to talk about.

Overall

Better than Raw although that wasn’t hard. With the cross branding at the moment Smackdown could have so much more content and should have.

WWE Raw Review - 2nd March 2009

2009-03-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

After the segment with HHH and Orton we left Raw on last week excitement was in the air to see if HHH could finally get his hands on Orton and tonight we were also going to find out whether it would be Kozlov or HBK facing Taker at Mania.

Now normally you are accustomed to me doing my review which highlights the good points and bad points of Raw but for once I couldn’t find any good points about the show.

Same old every week

This week it was the turn of Jimmy Superfly Snuka to be on the receiving end of a beating from Jericho, wonder who it will be next week? Yawn! To top all of this off before that segment lawler started Raw in ring with a mic to announced the main event, having these segments back to back is only adding fuel to the rumour of Lawler vs. Jericho at Mania which would suck.

HBK to face Taker

Now I wanted to see this match at Mania but the way they got it was crazy. First last week you have Kozlov beating Taker on Smackdown and next he is losing to HBK on Raw giving away his streak on a free show. I think they may turn this in to a triple threat but one minute you turn Kozlov in to a monster next he is getting beaten clean.

Orton’s heat and character killed

In a nice little swerve announced he would face the winner of Edge vs John Cena for the World Heavyweight Title and not HHH. Only for this to be destroyed within a few minutes as HHH after a few words on the mic got him to change his mind making him look so weak in the process. Then to make things worse he added a clause saying neither were allowed to touch each other until mania but wait there is more Orton then tried to bait HHH in to hitting him and he couldn’t even do that as HHH wouldn’t bite. Whoever wrote this segment should be fired.

John Cena underused

This week Cena got no promo time and only came out for his title match at the end which ended weak by Edge getting himself disqualified. The show ended with Vickie Guererro announcing it would be Big Show vs. Edge at Mania and not Cena. I personally don’t want to see Show in a main event and I can only hope they turn it in to a three way.

Overall

Before this show I was pumped for Mania but this is a great example by the creative team of how to kill the hype, the storylines and the wrestlers all in one night.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 26th February 2009

2009-03-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

After missing what looked like an exciting iMPACT last week i wanted tto get back in to the thick of it as we get closer to the next PPV.

Good Points

Sting takes the lead

TNA did a great job leading the storyline throughout the show of if Sting meant what he said when he said he was all in. Which culminated with a contract signing which saw Angle sign first and then attack Jarrett & Foley until Sting came out and laid Angle out with a bat before signing the contract and throwing it on Angle. Can’t wait to see these guys go at it.

Don West explodes

Don West gave a great promo on Mike Tenay saying how his best friend had screwed him over behind the scenes. It was out of the blue but was an interesting segment getting the commentators involved in a storyline. The only bad point was Mike Tenay’s over the top facial expressions, less is more my friend.

Bad Points

Abyss / Stevie segments not progressing

These segments could be great but they seem to be just fillers at the moment. I think they need to progress Abyss in to in ring action and then have these segments with him reacting to what has been happening to him. Also will be interesting to see what Stevie does after this.

Steiner / Joe needs more time

Iam liking what they are doing here with Joe’s sneak attacks but they need to give it more time instead of just one backstage segment that lasts a few minutes. Need to see these two in more in ring action to build this a bit better and make it mean a bit more.

Overall

I am totally loving what they are doing with Sting and Angle, finally after some mess ups of main events recently we have one i am really looking forward to. There is also enough happening in the undercard to keep me interested so at the moment things seem to be looking up for TNA.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 27th February 2009

2009-02-28T03:03:00.000-08:00

With Cena promising to turn up on Smackdown and the development of the Hardy Brother feud on paper we had what looked like a promising night of action ahead of us.

Good Points

Old storyline but with a twist

Now the brother feud storyline has been done before in the WWE like with Bret and Owen Hart. This time round it is the Hardy Brothers who are feuding and this week on Smackdown used the age old formula of having one brother wanting to fight the other but the other that being Jeff backing down from any confrontation. Of course Matt playing the heel is doing all he can to bait Jeff in to a fight but being a good guy Jeff will never fight his brother. Like I say this is old but the way that Jeff played at the end getting the fans to get on their feet to applaud his decision was something different. Normally the fans want to see the heel get taken down a peg or two so are annoyed when the face won’t fight so it’s a nice little twist.

Cena on Smackdown

Was great to see Cena on Smackdown after two years away from the show and he cut a nice little promo to kick off the show talking about how things have changed since he last was on the show. In typical cowardly heel fashion Edge won’t fight Cena but by using Vickie Guerrero as the one to block any match between the two it keeps Edge strong. In the main event we had Cena vs Big Show in which Edge distracted Cena so the Big Show could win but Cena still looked strong. This was good oslid booking by the creative team.

Bad Points

Giving away matches before Mania

Having Kozlov fight Undertaker when next week he is going to be on Raw fighting for the right to face Undertaker at Mania made no sense. With Kozlov picking up the win against Taker it now looks like it will be Kozlov vs Undertaker at Mania as now Taker has something to avenge.

Four matches is not enough

On a two hour show you should be getting in at least five matches, the matches were good and I enjoyed them but needed one more. Two matches continued on smackdown storylines that being the hunt for the US Title and the tag team feud between both tag champs but these are feuds which probably won’t even get a match at Mania. I thought it would have made more sense to have like on Raw a qualifying match for Money in the Bank.

Overall

Was a good show by Smackdown standards at least now with all the cross brand storylines it is helping the quality and big name draw power on Smackdown.

WWE Raw Review - 23rd February 2009

2009-02-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

No Way Out is now a distant memory as we start to only look forward to Wrestlemania. Although the creative team have more shows than for any other PPV to build it with they can’t afford to throwaway a two hour show so let’s see if the creative team used this week’s show wisely.

Good Points

Cena better as a challenger

I have always said Cena is a lot better when he is challenging for a belt. On Raw he went back to the Cena of five years ago that everyone loved as he poked fun at Big Show, Edge and Vickie Guerrero. Give Cena mic time and let him make fun of his opponents and he can get back some of those fans he has lost over the years.

HHH / Orton the hottest feud in WWE right now

This feud is going to transcend and engulf both brands. HHH showed his believable rage as he chased Orton and Legacy through out the backstage with his sledgehammer destroying things on his way until Orton finally escaped in a car. Orton is being a great heel by doing dastardly things and then running away instead of staying and fighting.

Jericho continues to build for Mania

With nobody still sure on who Jericho will be wrestling at Mania Jericho is doing a great job of hyping his involvement this week interrupting Steamboat after he was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee. Jericho left another legend lying cementing his position and his hate for the older breed of wrestlers.

Bad Points

Smackdown involvement

With the draft coming up in a month’s time and it continues to look pointless as this week Big Show and Chavo came to Raw. Big Show’s involvement was pointless as all he did was stand around during the Cena / Edge segment and then Chavo wrestled in the main event against Cena. To have a Smackdown guy in the main event and such a weak Smackdown guy it made the main event very poor to say the least and did little to build Cena.

CM Punk goes round in circles

After winning Money in the Bank last year at Mania CM Punk has qualified again. I thought it would make much more sense for him to have a single intercontinental title match at Mania to show how he has developed from last year’s MITB.

Overall

Both shows are now blending into one which I’m not sure at the moment if it is a good thing or not. I think they need to address who the champion of each show is as at the moment nobody is quite sure which belt belongs to which. There are al ot of great things happening at the moment but it could quite easily turn in to a mess so WWE need ot be careful.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 20th February 2009

2009-02-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

After all the developments from Raw it was now Smackdown’s turn to build their feuds for Mania.

Good Points

Jeff and Matt get ready to get it on at Mania

After a little lull in the Matt screwing Jeff storyline this week Edge was used as the decoy to push the feud. All show had been building the main event between Edge and Jeff after Jeff teased Edge about beating him in three minutes. After a solid main event Matt came down and got the match thrown out after he delivered a Twist of Fate to his brother and left him lying. The way they used Edge in this storyline makes me think he will on his way to Raw in the draft.

HHH shows the Smackdown crew about intensity

His pre-recorded interview with JR only lasted one question and a couple of minutes but HHH showed intensity on a crazy level which made the storyline fee believable. These two could tear the house down at Mania. The thing now is that with the level of intensity HHH has set they now need to maintain it five or six weeks.

Booking for next week

I liked how they started hyping matches for next week’s show on this episode of Smackdown the build also involved some hilarious segments which were filmed at the valentines date with The Miz, Morrison and The Bella Twins.

Bad Points

Kozlov in the Undertaker mix

On Raw both JBL and HBK were touting themselves as opponents for The Undertaker at Mania but this week Vickie said it was going to be Kozlov who gets the nod. All I can say is that I hope isn’t going to be Undertaker vs. Kozlov as rumours have it as Kozlov should be no where near Mania or no where near doing a programme with Undertaker. I think he needs to go to ECW.

Not much wrestling

Like Raw not much wrestling again this week with the only thing decent besides the main event being the US title feud match. To have only four matches in two hours is unacceptable to me as a wrestling fan.

Overall

Unlike Raw this show featured on two storylines and built them well which I found more interesting to watch than Raw’s scattergun approach. The only thing with the whole Orton / Stephanie thing is the fact that HHH is champion has been overlooked.

WWE Raw Review - 16th February 2009

2009-02-18T15:20:00.000-08:00

Afer a surprising and eventful No Way Out tonight was time to make sense of it all and see where we were going in the run up to Wrestlemania.

Good Points

Cena speaks

Finally Cena got some in ring mic time now that he isn’t the champion, go figure. Cena and Edge opened up the show with a great war of words which set the wheels in motion for their feud.

Great segment from Roddy

Jericho continued to build his Mania appearance and was then cut off by Piper who gave an emotional promo about the Hall of Famers to which Jericho retaliated by beating him down. WWE still look a bit uncertain on whether Rourke is going to be fighting at Mania but with or without him they are doing a great job of building the heat for Jericho.

Bad Points

Too much talking

It was like the WWE creative team wanted to set up the entire Mania card in one night. The little wrestling they had was poor and most of which had nothing to do with current feuds or build for Mania.

What’s the point of the Draft?

The Draft is next week but already we had Edge, Vickie Guerrero, HHH and Jamie Noble from Smackdown on the Raw show this week and throughout the year we have seen many stars show up on different brands. The Draft use to be major but now that anyone can turn up at any time on any show it has lost it’s appeal.

What was the point

After a heavily billed no holds barred match at No Way Out tonight Shane and Randy had coincidentally healed in order to main event Raw in a non sanctioned fight which set up a feud for Orton and HHH after Steph was on the receiving end of an RKO.

Overall

After the controversial booking of no Way Out WWE followed it up with a Raw that made matches that happened at No Way Out pointless and future shows like The Draft pointless. With the amount of weeks we have before Mania the WWE don’t need to rush what they are doing which they seem to be doing at the moment.

WWE No Way Out Review 2009

2009-02-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

With two Elimination Chamber matches and a well built Shane McMahon / Randy Orton match I was looking forward to No Way Out especially as this was one of the few PPV’s we get for free in the UK.

Good Points

A major push for Edge

After being the top draw on Smackdown for some time WWE furthered his gimmick of being the Ultimate Opportunist when after he lost the Smackdown Chamber interjecting himself in the Raw Chamber match and winning the title in a move reminiscent of when Jericho interjected himself in to the title scramble match many moons ago.

HHH back on top

It is great to see HHH back as champ. Hopefully they give him a long run with the title. After a few years of losing Mania main events it will be interesting to see if he can go in to Mania as champ and leave as champ although if Orton decides to challenge HHH it could be a short reign.

JBL / HBK storyline over

Was glad to see this storyline put to bed with HBK getting the win and I the process getting himself out of his contract with JBL hopefully this will free him up to have a good feud for Wrestlemania.

Bad Points

Orton pushed to the side

After winning the Rumble and his feud with Shane McMahon which built to their match at No Way out I thought his win was very much overshadowed by everything else going on and their match didn’t deliver on the build. Shane didn’t do any bumps better than what he has done in the past and I didn’t feel the intensity which this match needed was there.

Too many last minute changes

Now the odd last minute spontaneous change is good as it adds to the unpredictability factor but it just seems to becoming too commonplace and making the show hard to follow and hard to predict. A good swerve is when you don’t predict it is going to happen but when you look back on it you are kicking yourself for not seeing it coming.

Overall

A wild and entertaining night by the WWE but by having an Elimination Chamber match as the first match out it rather killed the next hour or so of matches before the other chamber match.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 12th February 2009

2009-02-15T14:30:00.000-08:00

After in what was in my opinion one of TNA’s poorest PPV’s to date last weekend I was hoping TNA could get back on track with a good iMPACT.

Good Points

The falling apart of MEM

With the frontline now a distant memory it’s now up to MEM to have inner conflict to create some main event matches. TNA are now doing the old classic of having two big draws Angle who wants to be the leader and Sting the champion getting angry with each other and falling out. This is great as it leaves the potential for a swerve by the MEM or for the members to pick sides in a proper inter faction war.

Solid Card

Besides from the usual TNA dusty finishes the actual card was very strong. We had three strong tag matches featuring, Beer Money, Team 3D, Angle & Sting, Lethal Consequences, MCMG and more. On top of this there was a great women’s match and a strong Steiner / Petey Williams match.

Bad Points

Hardcore History 101 with Mick Foley

This is a new segment where Foley talks about his favourite hardcore matches. This section is pointless as most fans won’t have a clue what he is talking about when he relives old matches and TNA don’t have any rights to his footage to show what he is talking about so it just turns out to be a pointless five minutes.

The Frontline

After what could have been a great faction war which could have run and run The Frontline aren’t even mentioned any more as over night they disappeared. If this was only ever intended to be a short feud they could have at least given it a proper ending and send off.

Overall

The MEM is the only interesting storyline at the moment on the show but it is a great storyline. They just need to invest in proper feuds and storylines down the card.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 13th February 2009

2009-02-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

After Raw’s limp effort earlier in the week and with the poor use of Christian in his return on ECW this week I was hoping that Smackdown could do something to get me excited for No Way Out.

Good Points

Push for the chamber

Was great to see a whole show geared around the Elimination Chamber something that Raw should have been doing this week. The show started with Edge talking about the chamber and then Big Show telling him he wasn’t going to walk out of it with the title. Then we had HHH doing a backstage interview talking about his experience in chamber matches and the show ended with a Fatal Four Way featuring four of the combatants in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber which ended with Edge getting involved and causing the match to be thrown out.

Good Jeff Hardy promo

Was great to see Jeff back in the ring giving a promo verbalising what has been happening lately. He sent an emphatic message to Matt and the entire audience that he will be winning his title back.

Bad Points

No Matt Hardy

With the return of Jeff it would have been great to see Matt somewhere on the show to build that storyline. Also I would have put in the chamber with Jeff so they could have teased what their in ring feud may be like but not throw it away too quickly as there are so many other people in there.

No lower card match

Now I loved the time that was given to the chamber but there were three matches on the show which had no bearing on No Way Out. I think Smackdown could have done with having one undercard match as they have built a nice programme with Shelton Benjamin, Chavo Guerrero and MVP or another match could have been Carlito and Primo against Miz and Morrison so there were options there.

Overall

Best show of the week for WWE by far and it has got me excited for their chamber match as I could actually see Edge losing his title but on the Raw chamber I don’t think Cena is any danger of losing his belt.

WWE Raw Review - Monday 9th February 2009

2009-02-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

With one week to go before No Way Out it was time for the WWE to put the finishing touches to feuds and matches which they have only had a few weeks to build since the Rumble.

Good Points

The Return of Ric Flair

WWE did a great job of developing the Jericho vs. Mickey Rourke match for Mania with Ric Flair and Jericho having a war of words on the mic to kick off the show. Jericho delivered a great speech to Flair about how over the last year he has prostituted his name like the character Rourke plays in the Wrestler. Adding Flair to the mix adds a great new dimension to the storyline which I can’t wait to see unfold however I will go on to talk about this segment in a bad light later.

A great end

Shane McMahon delivered a great end to Raw as he did one of his famous Van Terminators on Ted DiBiase. It has been a while since we have seen Shane do something death defying like he use to do and hopefully this is just a taste of what is to come this weekend.

Bad Points

No Push for The Chamber

Again there was little mention of it but the booking team had a great idea of putting all the competitors from the chamber in to a six man tag of faces against heels. However it was ruined by giving it no build and having it in the middle of the show. A match like that should be the main event and should have ended in a no contest with everyone pairing off in to their feuds they have going so Cena with Jericho, Mike Knox with Rey and so on.

Bad points about the good points

WWE should have saved the Jericho and Flair segment until after No Way Out there was no point giving time to a feud Jericho will be involved in after No Way Out when he already has a match for No Way Out. The ending was great but during the whole show we had no Shane and only one segment with Stephanie so overall there was little to build the Orton / McMahon match.

Overall

I know you don’t want hype the PPV before the big one too much but if you cut out the little things they could have a solid build. I don’t think anyone cares about The Chamber match and I am unsure to which match they will have as the last match because I have a feeling they may put Orton / Shane last the way they are promoting it when it should always be a title fight that ends the night.

ts

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 5th February 2009

2009-02-08T01:53:00.000-08:00

After missing last week’s iMPACT I was intrigued to see where the storyline had got to and what TNA were going to do with their last show before the Against All Odds PPV.

Good Points

Abyss’s best work for a while

Now the pay off for the Abyss / Matt Morgan tag team partnership was always going to be them turning on each other but I think they should have kept their tag run going a bit longer and given them the belts before tearing them apart. I haven’t been a fan of the way they have built the feud between these two until watching Thursday’s iMPACT. Abyss gave a great promo and put himself over again as Mr. Hardcore as he put his fists through thousands of thumbtacks for no reason. Can’t wait to see this match at the PPV.

Dissension in the ranks at Main Event Mafia

Now I think at the PPV Main Event Mafia will swerves us and that the apparent falling out between Sting and Angle will turn out to be manufactured by the MEM but that being said they are playing it well. Both Angle and Sting gave great promos on each other and then ended the show in a pull apart which is a great build for the four way title match they are both competing in.

Bad Points

No Joe, no AJ

The show really lacks quality-wise when these are two are not around and when Team 3D are main eventing you know you are in trouble. There is also a shortage of faces at the moment while the Frontline may as well not exist.

What are they doing with Booker

The Shane Sewell storyline is an interesting storyline for the mid card but to have him going against a so called Main event star makes no sense. It only brings Booker’s image down and makes you think why they are putting on the match in the first place as it will do neither of them any good.

Overall

All I can say is long live WCW, long live ECW and love live the Alliance. Without AJ and Joe it is basically like WCW in it’s last year. TNA need to create a new main event star as if they have more shows without these two the shows aren’t going to get any better.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 6th February 2009

2009-02-07T02:21:00.000-08:00

With things really hotting up on Raw could Smackdown deliver this week? I missed last weeks episode so was looking forward to see what was happening in the Hardy storyline.

Good Points

Stacked main event

It was great to see such a stacked main event with Edge and Big Show going against HHH and The Undertaker. There was also a nice little twist with Big Show punching out his tag partner to let HHH and Undertaker pick up the win. It looks like they are building Big Show vs. Edge for Mania.

MVP back on the winning streak

After months of going on a losing streak MVP is back to winning ways. It looks like he is going to be pushed for the US title after beating Shelton in a non title match. Now I would have preferred for him to be given a bigger push and not just back to the US title but I am just happy to see him winning again.

Bad Points

Jeff gets another week off

Since becoming champion in December and then losing it Jeff has hardly stepped foot in to the ring. This week he was absent again and it was up to Hurricane Helms to stand up for Jeff and fight Matt only to come out on the losing end. This could be the biggest feud at Mania but at the moment all they seem to be doing is killing it.

Kozlov gets another push

Kozlov won himself a space in the Elimination Chamber and after stinking up one PPV main event match he has the chance to ruin another although at least this time there are five other people who can save it so it shouldn’t be that bad.

Overall

Smackdown desperately need an injection of talent and good storylines as at the moment it is a million miles away from Raw.

WWE Raw Review - 2nd February 2009

2009-02-03T04:19:00.000-08:00

Now with only two weeks to go until No Way Out the last PPV before Mania the storylines are really starting to hot up. What was going to happen between Shane McMahon and Randy Orton, what would Jericho have to say about Rourke and what would JBL do with his employee after not qualifying for the Elimination Chamber.

Good Points

Shane vs Orton signed for No Way Out

It was obvious these two were going to get it on at No Way Out but it was great to see it made official and that it would be in a no disqualification match. Shane got the upper hand originally as he beat on Legacy with a kendo stick only to be ambushed later in the evening by Legacy which ended with Shane having to protect his sister Steph and receiving an Orton punt to the ribs. I’m really loving the heat they are building in this storyline.

A fight for it all at No Way Out

JBL has offered HBK a chance out of his contract with him if HBK beats him at No Way Out but if JBL wins it means he owns HBK for life. I am looking forward to the non title matches more than the Elimination Chamber matches at No Way Out, this should be another excellent match.

Jericho doing a work / shoot

Jericho got on the mic this week to vent the feelings that many people have in real life about wrestlers who can’t step away from wrestling which tied in nicely with the film The Wrestler. It came across well as it felt real and this storyline will give the chance for hall of famers like Flair to come back in which should make or a great build to Mania.

Bad Points

No build for the Chamber matches

There was no storyline build for the Chamber this week. A couple of guys had matches and a couple of guys got put in the match but nobody came out and made a mention of the match. I think the Chamber matches are just going to turn in to throwaway matches which were just used to add something special to No Way Out.

Not much time for Cena

Again this week Cena had the main event but only had one segement before it which was backstage and to interrupt Jericho when he was talking about storyline that Cena is nothing to do with. I have never seen a fit champion get used this sparingly on a show ever.

Overall

If WWE just invested a little bit more time in Cena and the Chamber then it would have been an awesome show.

WWE Raw Review - Monday 26th January 2009

2009-01-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

After what was in my opinion one of the best Rumble’s for some years we are now truly on the road to Wrestlemania. What was going to happen on the first Raw after the Rumble. Was Orton going to get fired and what as JBL going to do about HBK’s actions at the Rumble.

Good Points

Shane o Mac is back

Was brilliant to see Shane back on Raw to defend his dad’s honour and attack Randy Orton. It was as Shane had flipped and wanted to kill Orton for what he had one which made for some great television. It would be good if they could build a feud between these two for No Way Out which will set Orton up nicely for Mania.

Mickey Rourke going to Wrestlemania

After the staggering success of the film “The Wrestler” Mickey Rourke is going to make art imitate life or will it be art imitating art when he squares off against Chris Jericho at mania. This was a big announcement on Raw and is a great sideway move for Jericho to get him in a big fight but not involved in the championship.

Push for Kofi

After doing nothing since his tag team title run Kofi is going to be given another push as he gets involved his first main event at a PPV after winning the right to be in the Elimination Chamber match announced for No Way Out. Will be interesting to see how he does.

Bad Points

Randy Orton’s reasoning

The end of Shane beating up Orton made up for a dire start to Raw but boy did it start dire. Randy Orton gave his reasoning for beating up Vince as him suffering from IED Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Surely anyone in wrestling could use this as a defence or reasoning for doing anything. It would have made more sense for him to be non apologetic for his actions but just solely use some contractual reasons for not being able to fire him.

Cena way down the pecking order

After playing second fiddle to JBL and Michaels in the build up to his Rumble match, Cena this week was only used in one segment and that was his match which was used to further the JBL and HBK storyline.

Overall

An exciting episode of Raw which kept me enthralled from start to finish. A great way to start the road to Mania I just hope the shows can continue to get better and better on the run to Mania.

WWE Royal Rumble Review 2009

2009-01-26T11:07:00.000-08:00

Following on from TNA’s Genesis earlier this month this weekend it was WWE’s turn to put on their first PPV of the year that being their annual Royal Rumble. I always think that the Royal Rumble is a great event to start the year off with as it is an exciting event which is truly different from any other PPV of the year.

Good Points

The Swerve

Was great to see Matt Hardy swerving his brother and costing him the title after cracking him with a steel chair. For weeks and weeks the fans on the internet had been predicting the return of Christian to cost Hardy the title but this was a great twist. This storyline will give them the chance to wrestle each other at Mania if played right which is probably what they have been dreaming about for some time.

It’s not over

HBK played his role brilliantly in the JBL / Cena title fight. After a poor match he laid out both JBL and Cena but left JBL on top to get what he thought would be the win. It wasn’t to be though as Cena kicked out and went on to win the match but now where does this leave HBK? Whose side is he really on?

The Rumble match

I will get on to some of the bad points surrounding the Rumble match later but there was some great stuff happening in there. RVD’s return for the Rumble match was brilliant and a surprise to many, the pacing was good, they really built the ring up well and let a handful of wrestlers really have some great moments in there.

Bad Points

Too predictable

After weeks on the blog saying that they weren’t building anyone for the Rumble match the first few minutes of the broadcast was dedicated to it with a video package which featured a heck of a lot of Orton and surprise, surprise Orton went on to win it. I think anyone that couldn’t spot that Orton was going to win it is blind, normally the match is great because you aren’t sure one hundred percent who is going to win.

Botching a match

Melina and Beth Phoenix showed us some really innovative spots and really tried to push the envelope but by doing this they botched quite a few moves. If they had just toned it down a little bit they could have had a really good match which came across crisp but instead you were worrying if one of them picked the other up if they were going to drop them by accident or not.

Overall

For Storyline development it was a superb show with four great matches already in the pipeline for Wrestlemania if they follow through properly on what they have started here. It was that good I will forgive the obvious ending to the Rumble match as at least with Orton it will now build some interesting storylines.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 22nd January 2009

2009-01-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

TNA are currently in the UK touring but before they crossed the pond they managed to film enough episodes of iMPACT to keep the loyal TNA fans happy.

Good Points

A great main event

I will never get bored of seeing AJ Styles and Kurt Angle go at it. This is a main event worthy of any wrestling show and applaud TNA for making it happen as many times as they have over the last year.

Storyline Progression

Is nice to see TNA progressing the Main Event Mafia storyline with Angle now proclaiming that they will cause the end of TNA. I think this storyline has the scope to run and run I just hope it doesn’t turn in to the NOW for the 21st century.

Bad Points

Telegraphing Storylines

This week on iMPACT they ran a storyline where Matt Morgan made up with Abyss and apologised for all his wrong doings only to then beat Abyss up with a chair in a match against Beer Money. The way they over did the in ring segment with Abyss and Morgan meant even a non wrestling fan could have seen what was coming.

Let the storylines dictate the matches

iMPACT started this week with the announcers telling the fans the big matches that were lined up for the show. In a TV wrestling show it should be through storylines and on screen talent that we find out what is happening. For me matches just lose intensity and my interest if every week it is the announcers just announcing them at the beginning of the show.

Segment order

Again this week I counted up five non wrestling segments in a row which went for about thirty minutes. This was after an opening match which had no build. Start the show off with something that builds the rest of the show not a throwaway match which does nothing only for you to have to wait thirty minutes to see another.

Overall

TNA have the wrestlers, the image and good ideas but without some clear direction and properly thought out storylines they ar going to continue in this same cycle.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 23rd January 2009

2009-01-24T02:00:00.000-08:00

With it being the last Smackdown before the Rumble it was time for the Smackdown crew to hype the Royal Rumble as much as possible but did they manage to get the fans excited about it.

Good Points

Edge doing his best

Edge is doing his best without the champion on the show to build their match at the Rumble with him still maintaining that he had nothing to do with all the incidents that have happened to Jeff Hardy. He then did the only thing he could do without Jeff there and that was wrestle his brother as Matt came to stand up for his brother.

Great Tag Team match

Was great to see both sets of tag champs Miz/Morrison and Carlito/Primo go at it. These two teams are the tag team division for the whole of the WWE and I wouldn’t mind seeing them go at it on a PPV.

Bad Points

Use of Jeff Hardy

Jeff hasn’t wrestled on Smackdown for age and has barely appeared in the arena. This week they did a pre-recorded interview with Jeff which I think would have made more sense to do in the ring. I know they are trying to do something different with Jeff but if the fans can’t see him they are not going to be able to get behind him.

The Triple H storyline

This week HHH ended up wrestling Kozlov and the Big Show in a handicap match after a streak of upsetting the odds he lost. However because there was no build up on the show for the match it had no heat whatsoever and had diddly squat to do with the PPV. Your last segment before a PPV should always be about promoting a match at the PPV which this show didn’t do.

Overall

Like Raw no promotion for the actual Rumble match itself but to add to it Smackdown have a poorly developed build for their title fight. My reckoning is that we may see the return of Christian at the Rumble as the man behind all these attacks to Hardy but we will have to wait and see.

WWE Raw Review - 19th January 2009

2009-01-20T16:14:00.001-08:00

With one week to go until the Royal Rumble and with Vince’s return to Raw tonights show looked on paper as if it was going to be a hot show but could WWE deliver.

Good Points

HBK Speaks

During the contract signing between Cena and JBL it was great to see HBK take the mic and verbalise his frustrations with his situation and with it has probably won back some of the fans sympathy. This should have been done a lot longer ago but at least it was done. I just hope that he doesn’t overshadow the match at the Rumble but I guess he will either cost Cena the title and go full on heel or do a swerve on JBL.

CM Punk new IC Champion

Was great to see a brilliant wrestling match to end the Regal / CM Punk series and to see Punk with a belt he truly deserves. I think he can elevate the Intercontinental title and it is a title he can be given a proper run with unlike the Heavyweight title. Hopefully this will bring an upturn in the Raw mid card.

Bad Points

Silly Storylines overshadow important ones

With it being one week to the Rumble the important storyline should be the title feud but no this week it was Jericho begging for his job back which he eventually got. Then it was Orton’s turn to come down to the ring to meet with Vince McMahon to demand an apology to which Vince didn’t take kindly to. So the upshot of this was Orton attacking McMahon to end a far fetched storyline and to end Vince’s first night back. If you are going to do silly things like this wait until after the Rumble.

No build for the Rumble match

There was no real build or mention of the rumble match on Raw. Nobody came out to deliver a promo saying that they could win the rumble and no one seemed to care about it which will only devalue the event.

Overall

Didn’t do what the show should have done which was to promote Cena/JBL and the Rumble match instead we were greeted by crazy booking.

WWE Raw Review - 19th January 2009

2009-01-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

With one week to go until the Royal Rumble and with Vince’s return to Raw tonights show looked on paper as if it was going to be a hot show but could WWE deliver.

Good Points

HBK Speaks

During the contract signing between Cena and JBL it was great to see HBK take the mic and verbalise his frustrations with his situation and with it has probably won back some of the fans sympathy. This should have been done a lot longer ago but at least it was done. I just hope that he doesn’t overshadow the match at the Rumble but I guess he will either cost Cena the title and go full on heel or do a swerve on JBL.

CM Punk new IC Champion

Was great to see a brilliant wrestling match to end the Regal / CM Punk series and to see Punk with a belt he truly deserves. I think he can elevate the Intercontinental title and it is a title he can be given a proper run with unlike the Heavyweight title. Hopefully this will bring an upturn in the Raw mid card.

Bad Points

Silly Storylines overshadow important ones

With it being one week to Mania the important storyline should be the title feud but no this week it was Jericho begging for his job back which he eventually got. Then it was Orton’s turn to come down to the ring to meet with Vince McMahon to demand an apology to which Vince didn’t take kindly to. So the upshot of this was Orton attacking McMahon to end a far fetched storyline and to end Vince’s first night back. If you are going to do silly things like this wait until after the Rumble.

No build for the Rumble match

There was no real build or mention of the rumble match on Raw. Nobody came out to deliver a promo saying that they could win the rumble and no one seemed to care about it which will only devalue the event.

Overall

Didn’t do what the show should have done which was to promote Cena/JBL and the Rumble match instead we were greeted by crazy booking.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 16th January 2009

2009-01-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

I have recently been reading news on ratings success for Smackdown but as of late I have found the show has been some what lacking at times but as always I go in to every show with optimism that it can prove me wrong.

Good Points

Good build for Triple H

The creative team are building Triple H’s feud with Vickie quite well as she keeps setting obstacles that he has to overcome before he gets to the rumble. This week MVP had to fight for him in a last man standing match against the Big Show and if MVP lost Triple H would lose his spot at the Rumble. Expect more hurdles for Trip H to jump over next week.

Jack Swagger on Smackdown

A lot of internet wrestling fans are saying this guy is one to watch. After winning the ECW title this week he followed up with a tag appearance on Smackdown. Was hard to judge him in the match but I look forward to seeing him at the Rumble.

Bad Points

Weak card

I counted only four matches on the show and neither featured a Smackdown champion. On top of this the three main stars HHH, Edge and Jeff Hardy did not compete. If Smackdown wants to compete with raw it has to have the guys wrestling on a regular basis.

Stupid Jeff Hardy storyline

After the hotel and the hit and run this week the show went of air with Jeff Hardy getting caught with some misfiring pyrotechnics during his ring entrance and having to be stretchered to the back. The Jeff storyline is like car crash but in the wrong way. Storylines which try to push that it is real and when it involves the so called suffering or personal problems of someone it always ends up badly.

Overall

A poor show with only one good thing going for it. I don’t know whether the viewers are watching the same programme as me if the ratings are actually going up.

TNA Genesis 2009 Review

2009-01-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

TNA Genesis kicked off the 2009 Wrestling PPV season this past weekend with a card which featured what they were calling a triple main event. The preparation and the build for the event had been hampered by the festive season but TNA had to forget about all that and show us an insight in to what 2009 is going to be like for TNA.

Good Points

Angle vs. Jarrett

These two put on another brutal match which left both the other main event matches in the shade. The match had been well built over the past few months and it more than delivered. In a match in which Jarrett said he couldn’t lose he was beaten in the idle of the ring by the bully Angle who reclaimed some pride after losing to Jarrett in their first encounter.

Shelley vs Sabin

These two put on a match of the night effort. Everyone going in to the match was unsure of whether they would actually fight each other due to their tag team partnership or if they would have a trick up their sleeve but to theirs and creative teams credit they put on a superb match. The ending spoiled the match for me with Shelley getting the cheap win but I understand why creative team needed to do it to develop the storyline.

Bad Points

Missing in Action

There were some big changes to the card that had been advertised and pushed over the last few weeks. Christy Hemme was injured during training so her match against Kong was scrapped, Nash was in hospital so he was out of the six man tag and then to top it all off they decided to run a storyline in which Rhino was late getting to the building after being beaten up by MEM earlier in the day. All this meant that we had an unannounced six man tag to kick off the show and that Kip James was bizarrely added to the six man main event.

Ordering of the card

To have a six man tag match with no major champion or challenger as the final match of the night ahead of the actual title match and the feud with the biggest stars in Angle/Jarrett made no sense whatsoever. All they managed to do was downgrade the title, take away from Angle / Jarrett and show how weak the MEM / Frontline factions are as D’Von, Kip James and Scott Steiner should be nowhere near a main event.

Overall

The show exposed TNA’s weakness at the moment which is having too many guys at the top that shouldn’t be there. If you are going to push MEM and the Frontline storyline which I think they should then they need to use the top guns to do it and not have a match where AJ Styles is the only credible performer in there.

WWE Raw Review - Monday 12th January 2009

2009-01-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

With two weeks before the Rumble it was time for WWE to go in to over drive pushing it’s only match on the card at the moment for the Royal Rumble whilst the return of Vince McMahon next week was left hanging over the heads of all on Raw.

Good Points

Cena HBK

They built the main event for Raw brilliantly through out the show with JBL telling HBK that tonight was his Wrestlemania and then some brilliant promos by Cena showing how much he respected HBK as every good guy should. These two then went on to put a brilliant main event to close out Raw with HBK getting the win in the non tile match leaving Cena laying in the ring for JBL to laud over.

Regal / CM Punk series

This week Regal managed to con the ref in to believing that CM Punk had hit him with a low blow to get him disqualified. Stephanie wasn’t having any of it though as she announced that there would be a third match which be no DQ next week. I just hope they finish off the series with a great match as they have built the storyline well they just now need the pay off of a great match.

Bad Points

Jericho is fired

The big shcker on Raw was Steph firing Jericho. This was done within the first half hour of the show when only after a few weeks of slight fallings out Steph fire her in the ring and then Jericho wasn’t seen for the rest of the show. I know this is just to set up a storyline for Vince’s return but it could have been handled so much better. Steph isn’t put across as an irrational character so it made no sense for her to fire Jericho for no reason.

Silly swerves

Raw saw the return of Ted DiBiase who looked to be returning to back up Madu and Sim in a scuffle with Orton and Cody Rhodes however Dibiase swerved them and then joined the team of Orton and Rhodes. DiBiase was put on the shelf in the storyline because he was kicked in the head by Orton so the swerve makes no sense. Swerves are great but there has to be a reason to them. Hopefully Dibiase will be given mic time next week and a decent reason in the storyline why he did what he did.

JBL not in action

In the run up to the Rumble we should be seeing square offs and coming togethers between JBL andd Cena but we haven’t seen any of it. The fans are more interested in what HBK is up to and what he is going to do rather than worrying about the two guys actually in the main event.

Overall

Quite simply a mess, the creative team needs to really refine it’s storylines and really think hard about which ones it should be pushing.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 8th January 2009

2009-01-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

After missing the last few iMPACT’s and with Genesis this weekend I was interested to see how TNA would build the matches in one night for the PPV.

Good Points

A show of emotion

Was great to see the emotion shown by Jarrett and Angle. TNA really pushed the Jarrett story hard with BG James taking up the fight for his friend against the bully Kurt Angle which lead to Jarrett having to make the save as Angle and the MEM tried to destroy his friend. Can’t wait to see this match at Genesis.

Build for the six man

There was some great build for the six man tag match as D-Von and AJ came together to fight for TNA and to have the back of Jarrett. The show of solidarity was added to by Foley’s impassioned promo as the show went off the air.

Unpredictability

We had the Shane the referee getting fired and then rehired as a wrestler, we had the debut of a new Knockout and new tag team champions as Creed & Lethal cashed in their shot. Not it can be a doubled edge sword which I will talk about it the bad points but I was happy with two of the unpredictable things than happened.

Bad Points

No Push for the title match

The Sting / Rhino match was only hyped by a few minutes on the mic by Sting which was underplayed as it came off the back of a killer Angle promo. This has the potential to win the award for the worst built title match in wrestling history which only devalues the TNA title.

Structure

TNA need to work on their structure I counted six non wrestling segments in a row at one point three of which were backstage interviews. Yes a TV show needs to have lots of non wrestling segments but you need to intersperse them not have them all in one chunk.

Title change before the main event

TNA had been pushing Matt Morgan/Abyss vs. Beer Money as the tag title match for some time and done a great feud between these pairings only on the iMPACT before the PPV to have Beer Money lose the belts to Creed and Lethal and for them then to turn the match in to a triple threat at the PPV. If a title match is advertised for a PPV don’t change the champions on the show before.

Overall

A mixed bag of crazy and inspired booking. I just hope for TNA’s sake that Jarrett vs Angle delivers.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 9th January 2009

2009-01-10T02:02:00.000-08:00

After missing the last couple of Smackdown’s I was looking forward to seeing what was going down on Friday nights.

Good Points

Good Push for HHH /. Big Show feud

It was great to see HHH wrestling three times on one show in Triple Jeopardy which Vickie Guererro had put him in. It also served well to intensify his feud with Big Show as after his first two matches he had to face Big Show in a last man standing match which he eventually lost but only after being beaten down in his matches before so it keeps both of them strong.

Good Wrestling show

With a rare Undertaker match on Smakcdown alongside HHH’s three outings and a tag title match which saw Carlito and Primo defending the belts it was a good night of action.

MVP just can’t get any luck

Love what they are doing with MVP at the moment it go that bad for him this week that during his VIP section with Mr, Kennedy as his guest his furniture was repossessed and he was then chased from the ring by the Boogeyman. This guy just can’t buy a break but MVP is playing the role well and there was even an MVP chant going throughout the segment so I must not be the only one.

Bad Points

Latest crazy Jeff Hardy storyline

Following the hotel incident before Survivor Series this week we had the storyline of Jeff being the victim of a hit and run accident which forced him to miss the show. Instead they showed alleged footage of the incident and a pre-recorded interview. When will the WWE ever realise that no one believes these stories no matter how much you want the fans to buy in to them.

Random matches

Was great to see Undertaker back but his match with Shelton Benjamin served no purpose. The tag title match developed nobody and the women’s match had more of a storyline than all of them put together which is saying some thing.

No Edge or Jeff in ring

With the Rumble only a few weeks away to have both Edge and Jeff not competing makes no sense. They are suppose to be pushing this feud not coming up with crazy creative ideas.

Overall

I know Smackdown is aimed at a younger audience to Raw but that doesn’t mean the WWE need to insult the fans intelligence.

WWE Raw Review - 5th January 2009

2009-01-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

After taking a break from reviewing WWE and TNA over the Christmas break Monday saw me getting back in the swing as I watched my first show of 2009 WWE Raw. In usual style below are my good points and bad points of this week’s episode.

Good Points

Great storyline development for JBL and HBK

The show kicked off with a great video package recapping the history of the JBL / HBK partnership and then when the action got to the ring they continued to give it a push. HBK unwillingly bowed to JBL’s commands including having him not compete in the Rumble match. However he is still torn with doing the right thing as in the main event he was paired with John Cena against Jericho and Orton and did not do as JBL instructed him to do in taking Cena out he did the right thing and helped his team to get the victory.

Heels getting pushed

Orton is being put over as a bully by forcing members of the second generation to win matches in order to stay in the faction whilst Jericho is acting like the world is against him. The HBK storyline is good for Jericho at the moment as he gets to get on the mic and say how he was right last year for calling HBK a hypocrite but yet the fans still wont get behind him.

Vince is coming back

It was announced by Chris Jericho to Stephanie McMahon that her dad is coming to Raw. After Stephanie has been running Raw for some weeks now it will be interesting to see how impressed or disappointed her Dad will be and what they are going to do with Vince after the storyline stage collapse of last year.

Bad Points

Too many Heels

Because fans are turning on HBK now and because he is aligned with a heel it only leaves Cena left as a true face in the main event scene. Even in the lower card outside of CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston you are struggling to see a lot of faces. To add to this they were all beaten which doesn’t help.

Poor Continuity

At the moment we have two storylines that could be big on Raw but just seem to come and go those being the Rey Mysterio / Mike Knox story line and the Kane / Kelly Kelly storyline. Because these storylines are on and off they lose their intensity and viewer interest.

Overall

As the first show of the year it wasn’t too bad but can’t say I am really looking forward to a Royal Rumble headlined by Cena vs. JBL.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 18th December 2008

2008-12-21T13:14:00.001-08:00

After a good show at iMPACT last week would TNA go back to its usual hit and miss formula of weekly TV programmes or would we see consistency creep in to TNA it is Christmas after all.

Good Points

Good Build for Angle vs. Jarrett

TNA did a good job of pushing this one as Angle went out to the ring to attack Jarrett’s family on the mic to force him to come out to the ring. The heated altercation ended with a nice pull apart and left Jarrett fuming backstage about Foley asking him who’s side he was on after cavorting with the Main Event Mafia over the last few weeks.

X-Division Tournament

The X-Division tournament is providing us with some good wrestling matches and a good storyline for the MCMG as they both try and make the finals and continue to try and prove they are the big guns in TNA.

Suicide

Another nice piece for Suicide this week as he appeared in the ring to fend off Awesome Kong from attacking ODB and Christy Hemme only for the lights to go down and for him or her to vanish. There is a lot thy can do with this character so long may this kind of stuff continue.

Bad Points

Frontline made to look pathetic

It’s the NWO all over again. TNA are pushing MEM too strong every week and not letting The Frontline get one back on them. After not protecting Bubba last week this week The Frontline were helpless but to watch Samoa Joe get a beat down. The booking decisions reek of backstage politics.

Most obvious swerves in history

At the moment TNA are setting up the most obvious swerves in history. I think it is obvious that Mick Foley is befriending the MEM is to turn on them as siding with them is out of his character and I think it is obvious the Team 3D may switch to MEM. I hope it doesn’t go down this way but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does.

Overall

If it wasn’t for Angle and Jarrett the show wouldn’t be worth watching when you have a feud which isn’t involved with the title and the main stable feud stealing the show you have major problems.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 19th December 2008

2008-12-20T03:31:00.000-08:00

With 2008 drawing to end Smackdown couldn’t forget that tonight they needed to start building for Royal Rumble. With the Smackdown title match being the highlight of Armageddon would Smackdown continue this momentum in to their weekly TV shows.

Good Points

Jeff gets his moment

Was great to see Jeff being introduced to kick the show off with a huge pyro and confetti entrance as he got the chance to address the fans. It looks like they are building him vs. Edge for the Royal Rumble which will be a good new feud to kick off 2009 with.

Use of Matt Hardy

Great to see Smackdown weaving Matt Hardy in to the storyline of his brother as champion. Last week they had Matt Hardy and Edge disputing who was the one to beat up Jeff in the hotel and this week they had a one on one match on th show in where Edge got some revenge for his lost at Armageddon.

Bad Points

Hardly any HHH

HHH made an impact at the end of Smackdown by coming on to save Jeff from an attack from Edge and Kozlov but outside of those few minutes he was nowhere to be seen. With no good undercard feud at the moment on Smackdown they need HHH to start a feud to be the second main event.

No tag team scene

The tag belts on Smackdown are worthless. Not only are they not defends on PPV’s but they don’t ever seem to be defends on Smackdown these days, if you aren’t going to use the belts your only degrading them by not using them.

Overall

Smackdown have on great feud that could steel the show at the Rumble, but outside that they have nothing.

WWE Raw Review - 15th December 2008

2008-12-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

After a really good Armageddon I was looking forward to see how WWE were going to end out 2008 over the next few weeks on Raw.

Good Points

Finally doing something with Kane

It may be a convoluted way to start a storyline but after presenting an award together last week at The Slammys Kane has now fallen for Kelly Kelly. To the point that he chased her backstage and kidnapped her while Kane tried to find out who Kelly Kelly’s boyfriend was. After many segments of kidnapping he went to the ring and destroyed The Miz so we are lead to believe that Kelly told Kane that The Miz was her boyfriend.

Orton back on top

It looks like Armageddon was just a blip as Orton was back on top after delivering a good promo and then laying the beat on Batista which ended up with him punting Batista in the head and getting disqualified in the main event but it was Orton who left celebrating as he got what he wanted done.

Good storyline development for Jericho

Since losing to Cena at Armageddon Jericho saw being put in a match with Duggan as being moved to the bottom of the pile so refused to wrestle him comparing it to if someone missed the winning hit in sport they don’t get dropped for the next game. I like where his character is going.

Bad Points

Wanted to see CM Punk in singles action

After winning number one contenders spot for the IC title and dropping the tag belts I was looking forward to seeing CM Punk return to singles action but again he was thrown back with Kofi against The Miz and Morrison.

Dolph Ziggler beats on Santa Claus

If they are going to get Dolph over thy need to give him some promo time and actually build him in to a proper storyline or else he is just going to turn in to another Burchill where he is used for a few weeks in random matches and then dropped in to obscurity again.

Overall

A solid outing with some good new storylines to keep the product fresh for the end of 2008.

WWE Armageddon 2008 Review

2008-12-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

After a poor Survivor Series I was hoping WWE would end the year with a bang as they presented their last PPV of 2008 Armageddon. Armageddon has for me normally been a strong and enjoyable event with some memorable matches happening during the nine year history of this event but this year WWE wouldn’t have to do much to beat TNA’s last offering of the year.

Good Points

Jeff Hardy finally wins the gold

After six or so months working main event matches and to have Jeff Hardy come up short every time you either had to have the pay off of him finally winning the belt or remove him from the main event scene altogether and thankfully it was him winning the belt. This was a great moment to end 2008 with as many people believed that they were never going to give Jeff the belt because of his backstage problems and the booking over the last six months but it was a real history making and satisfying moment.

Cena / Jericho much better second time around

Now that these guys actually had a back story they had built up on Raw they put together a great match. Jericho was on top form and there were a lot of great spots. The only thing that spoiled the match was the ending, Jericho should not have tapped that quickly but besides from that I never expected Cena to drop the belt so it went as planned.

Great Midcard prospect

I would pay again to see CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio. After Mysterio had been lumbered with Kane for so long and being unable to do a lot of high flying offence it was great to see him and CM Punk put on a high paced high flying affair. The only thing with CM Punk is he is a little bit dangerous I think he may have broken Rey’s nose with his Go To Sleep finisher.

Bad Points

Match order

As soon as Cena vs. Jericho came out before the Smackdown main event I knew we were going to see Hardy win the belt as the only time McMahon puts the Smackdown as the main is if a face is going to win the title.

Smackdown title scene

After months of seeing HHH as champion on Smackdown we have now had two new champions in the space of the month. I’m not sure if the title was given to Edge as a way to get the belt to Hardy without him beating HHH or if Edge was still not ready physically for a title run. Now we have Hardy as champion and I don’t see him holding on the belt for too long so we can have three different champions in the space of months.

Orton’s push ended in a week

After being put over strong on Raw last week with a killer promo and a win to have him lose to Batista made no sense. He needs to be pushed as Raw’s top heel again and this isn’t helping.

Overall

Much better than Survivor Series or TNA’s last offering of the year and a nie history making moment to end the show off with.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 11th December 2008

2008-12-14T04:25:00.000-08:00

After a poor Final Resolution and with WWE’s last PPV of the year coming up this weekend TNA really needed to put in a decent show this week. With rumours circulating that Angle is on his way back to WWE when his contract expires these are uncertain times for TNA.

Good Points

The Intensity is back

On tonight’s show we had intensity like we haven’t seen since the Angle / Karen / AJ love triangle. Bubba took up the lead of the Frontline as he challenged Kurt to a match to end the rivalry between them and the Main Event Mafia with the condition being that all other members of the Frontline and the MEM having to leave the building. The match was intense and went to the back where the MEM had as all heels do broken their word and been hiding to lay the beat on Bubba.

Jarrett takes a backseat

Now Jeff has a match with Kurt coming up he has left the running of TNA down to Foley and it will be interesting to see what Foley does now he is in sole charge. This week he was seen coming out of the MEM locker room all smile and pally with his old friends so at the moment we are not sure which side he is on.

Bad Points

Abyss and Matt Morgan

These two should have been pushed to run roughshod over the tag division in TNA but instead they have been made to look like bumbling idiots on the verge of falling apart. The tag division need freshening up as Beer Money have gone stale and yet again TNA waste an opportunity.

MCMG

I don’t like what creative are doing with this team. Chris Sabin has been pushed to the side and they seem to have no direction. The only direction they have is complaining it seems at the moment. I think it is time they pushed Alex Shelley just as a singles wrestler and drop the MCMG team.

Overall

Coming out of Final Resolution I was hating the Frontline / Main Event Mafia but in one show they managed to turn it around which TNA deserve a lot of credit for. They just need to tighten up the undercard with some proper direction and they will have a great show.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 12th December 2008

2008-12-13T03:56:00.000-08:00

After a three hour special episode of Raw and with this being the last show before Armageddon it was Smackdown’s turn to put the last things in place before the PPV.

Good Points

Triple Threat feud

HHH and Jeff Hardy have built an intense feud over the last few months and have been holding Smackdown together. As Edge’s in ring work has been limited due to injury these two hav stepped up to the plate whilst the creative team have tried to keep Edge involved as much as possible. To have Hardy and HHH fight the main event in a knock down drag out affair before Edge speared them both causing the match to be thrown out was a great way to set up the PPV.

Hurricane Helms

Helms is looking great since his return and securing a non title win over Benjamin has really pushed him in to the mix. I think Helms will dominate the midcard at Smackdown given the chance.

Backstage love

Now to me weekly wrestling shows are suppose to be about entertainment so I liked the segment backstage where the Bella twins were talking to Primo and Carlito before The Brian Kendrink came in with his bodyguard which lead to a confrontation. You can’t every storyline being about I hate you there has to be a mix of things happening.

Bad Points

Not many Smackdown matches on the main event

You know you’re in problems where there are two ECW matches on the PPV and only one Smackdown match and only four Smackdown guys on the entire card. After their cage match on Smackdown Undertaker an Big Show were nowhere to be seen which has left Smackdown short of big names and main event talent.

MVP and R-Truth lost in the mix

Both of these guys promised so much when they broke in to Smackdown but both seem to have already gone stale with no consistent push given to either of them. The only thing interesting about their match on Smackdown was wondering which guy thy were going to give the win to.

Overall

For what they had Smackdown produced a good show but due to lack of matches on the PPV most of the show was taken up with feuds an storylines not connected to the PPV.

WWE Raw Review - 8th December 2008

2008-12-11T11:47:00.000-08:00

With one week to go to Armageddon, the return of the Slammys and a three hour show with some huge cross brand matches WWE were promising a lot with this week’s episode of Raw but the question was could they deliver.

Good Points

Push for Orton

The episode of Raw really pushed Orton for the first time in a long time. Orton cut a killer promo proclaiming “Tonight the legacy is born” and then went on to get to the win for his team over Batista and HHH. I see WWE sliding him back in to the main event scene by Royal Rumble as the new feud for Cena.

Good Ending

The ending to Raw had the feeling of the old days as Edge vs. Cena was interrupted by Jericho and HHH going after their respective opponents for Armageddon which has got me really pumped for the double main event.

Nice build for Cena / Jericho

Was great to see Cena mocking Jericho’s promo from last week and then to see their in ring altercation with Cena telling Jericho he was coming after him and not acting the heel like way Jericho did last week.

Bad Points

Why so many three hour shows

There seems to be a three hour episode every other month at the moment. Now used say once or twice a year you can build them as special but with the glut of them that we have had they are no longer special. Aside from that I don’t think you can expect the younger audience to keep with a show and entertained for three hours straight.

MVP pushed further down the heap

I wasn’t expecting to see him on Raw so it was a nice surprise but again he continued his storyline of losing every match as this week he lost to Charlie Haas. I think the WWE need to take him off TV for a while and bring him back fresh and start again.

Slammys

For me this just brought back to many bad memories of the cheesy mid 90s era of WWE. The awards instead of being done properly and meaning something were just used for storyline advancement which was too blatantly obvious for them to be taken seriously.

Overall

The show got me excited for Armageddon but a two hour episode minus the Slammys could have done exactly the same if booked right.

WWE Smackdown Review - 5th December 2008

2008-12-07T04:34:00.000-08:00

With Raw picking up since the in ring return of Cena and Orton it’s now time for Edge to pick things up on Smackdown following his in ring return at the last PPV.

Good Points

Huge Main Event

The Big Show / Undertaker feud is really going the distance and following their Casket Match they engaged in a cage match to headline Smackdown. To have such a big match on a weekly TV show is a rarity and really showed that the creative team are trying tp ush the boat out.

Edge and Vickie running the show

Was great to see these two baack as the evil couple ruling Smackdown unfairly. The only problem is with Edge booking himself in to easy matches the fans aren’t seeing the best of him and isn’t developing his worth whilst HHH and Jeff Hardy put in quality matches and develop their feud.

Bad Points

Khali kiss segments

The quicker Khali’s contract expires the better. I think WWE would be better off buying Khali out of his contract because his segments are terrible.

MVP under used

Since getting involved in the Scramble title match a few PPV’s ago MVP’s career has taken a nose dive with loss after loss and not having the VIP lounge segment any more to develop his character. They could use him to do so much more and could be a bigger player on Smackdown given the right push.

Overall

When Edge gets himself more involved in main events and quality matches then Smakcodnw will be hittting them out of the park. Good to see both Raw and Smackdown ending the yeaar on a high.

TNA iMPACT Review - 4th December 2008

2008-12-07T04:11:00.000-08:00

After missing last week’s iMPACT I was looking forward to see what TNA were going to do with their last show before Final Resolution. With the biggest faction war in TNA history going on it was going to be interesting to see if it would be the Main Event Mafia or the Frontline getting the upper hand before the PPV.

Good Points

Jarrett / Angle feud

It’s great to see this feud continuing as it has some great emotion in it and is believable. The intensity of Angle’s and Jarrett’s confrontation in the iMPACT zone was immense and I for one hopes Angle beat Rhino so we get to see Angle vs. Jarrett 2.

Faction Wars

Finally the Frotnline have a name and look like a cohesive unit because when I last watched they were a mess. I think team 3D is a great addition to the faction I just hope that they don’t do the obvious and turn them heel having them double cross the Frontline.

Bad Points

Sarah Palin lookalike

The Sarah Palin lookalike was a terrible idea. We’ve moved on from the election and her segments were just awful. Having comedy segments like this just took us out of the intensity that the faction wars were building.

Abyss drinking with beer money

These segments took Abyss from an unstoppable monster to a pathetic bumbling idiot as he was lead in to drinking by Beer Money and then beaten up.

Overall

A solid episode of iMPACT which was got me excited for the PPV. It is very hard to promote a PPV which has an eight man tag for a main event but they did their best.

WWE Raw Review - 1st December 2008

2008-12-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Recently Raw has been consistently good but not excellent. Now that all the big hitters like Cena, Orton, Batista, HBK, Jericho and JBL are all fit it will be interesting to see if the show quality improves with it as normally the more main event stars you have the better the show is.

Good Points

John Cena against the world

Chris Jericho did a great job on the show tonight. He started off with a great n ring promo which was set up reminiscent of Cena’s last week with Jericho walking through the crowd. Then then antagonist Chris Jericho managed to get under Orton’s skin telling him how Cena always upstaged him and managed to get hi on his side against a common enemy. The show ended with Jericho, Orton and Second generation stars laying the beat on Cena which was a good finish.

Stephanie takes control

No Shane tonight as Steph laid down her authority in control with some good backstage stuff and some good mic work which included a great line about Adamle. She also announced a huge three hour special of Raw next week which will see the return of the Slammys and some big cross brand matches.

Santino Marella

Again Santino provided us with some great slapstick comedy on Raw as he tried to emulate Melina’s ring entrance. This segment was also used to push a Melina / Beth Phoenix feud which should be interesting.

Bad Points

JBL / HBK deal storyline

The storyline idea between these two does not play out well on a wrestling show. Supposedly JBL has offered HBK a private deal that the fans don’t know about and JBL is waiting for HBK’s response. This storyline may have played out in a soap but in wrestling it ended up in a mess which saw HBK walking out of the ring to a chorus of boos.

Dolph Ziggler

After many weeks of backstage segments featuring Dolph he was thrown in the deep end with Batista. Dolph a) shouldn’t have been put in a match against a main event star right away and b) shouldn’t be in there with Batistaa who couldn’t help anyone have a good match and would just be interested in squashing him. I think a feud between Dolph and Santino would have been the best way to start.

Overall

A good show with lots going on. It’s still a case of the main storyline being executed well but the rest of the show flagging behind some what. WWE creative need to invest more time in the under card feuds.

WWE Raw Review - 24th November 2008

2008-11-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

After a pretty average Survivor Series tonight it was the WWE’s turn to start the ball rolling for Armageddon. Who would win the right to face Cena and what other feuds were they going to build for the Undercard.

Good Points

Shane and Stephanie running the show

Was good to see these two attempting to run the show in the absence of a GM. They made some good matches and argued over the direction of the show which was a good little storyline. Not sure how long this will continue but to me it beats having a GM.

Cena vs. Jericho for Armageddon

I think this was the right choice of match to end the year with. They set it up nicely with a triple threat on Raw to find out who would face Cena between Batista, Randy Orton and Jericho. Although Batista got the shaft when he was champion it has set him up nicely for a feud with former Evolution team mate Randy Orton which will help Orton get back to the main event scene after months off.

Bad Points

JBL / HBK feud

Haven’t really got in to this one so far and the horrible direction on Raw isn’t helping. This week it was JBL alluding to a deal he was trying to strike with HBK which nobody in the audience knows about. They need to get HBK out of this tag pairing with Rey Mysterio and just let him get on with his feud properly.

Intercontinental Title tournament

This is something you have when a title is vacant not when you have a champion. I believe the tournament will run to Armageddon with the winner getting the shot at the PPV but by having a tournament it will give little or no time for a real storyline or feud to develop between Regal and his challenger.

Overall

Seen a lot worse outings than this. Did what it needed to do and with the Main Event scene looking stacked again it should hopefully be a good end of year in the WWE.

WWE Survivor Series 2008 Review

2008-11-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

After much hype about Cena’s return it was the Jeff Hardy storyline which was getting all the attention as Survivor Series went on air. All day it has been plastered on wwe.com that Jeff had been found unconscious in a hotel and after Jeff’s problems no one was quite sure whether it was a work or a shoot which added some spice to an already good looking card.

Good Points

The Champ is here

Good to see Cena back in the ring. Love him or hate him you have to admire how he has gotten back in so quickly and having him win the title on his first night back will only annoy the haters of him even more so it should be an interesting few weeks on Raw.

Edge is back

Although if you went on the forums before the event you knew Edge was going to be coming back but none the less it was good to see him back and shaking things up by beating HHH for the Smackdown belt on his first night back after taking Jeff’s place in the triple threat.

Traditional Survivor Series matches

Although not the best wrestling matches ever I thought some of these matches were good fun and helped the event stand out as a bit different from the other PPV’s. Both men’s tags did what they needed to do and built the right feuds.

Bad Points

Quality of matches

Was below poor. Both heavyweight title matches were snore fests which had the pace of an 80 year old grandma. At least Edge came out and saved HHH’s match but this was only after ten to fifteen minutes of falling asleep.

Tarnishing a legacy

I think personally you shouldn’t bring back a match unless you are going to add something new, different or better. This did neither and was a mess. It was the right idea for the Big Show Undertaker feud but so poorly executed.

Overall

The event was dire in the extreme. It’s ok having poor wrestling on TV shows but people buy PPV’s expecting to see some good matches which they didn’t get at Survivor Series.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 20th November 2008

2008-11-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

After missing a few episodes of iMPACT I was quite out of the loop of the latest TNA going on’s so I was looking forward to see where the Main Event Mafia vs. Originals storyline had go to.

Good Points

Main Event Mafia

They are running rough shot like all heel factions should. They are laying the beat on wrestlers in five on one attacks and trying to dictate to management on how the show should be run. They opened the show with a nice burial segment which ended with Rhino being put in the coffin and then ended the show dismayed after not getting there own way in the booking of the next PPV.

Push for Rhino

Rhino has been pushed to the front of the Originals cause after attacking the Main Event Mafia by himself and then ending the show by goring Angle after being informed that the two would face each other at the next PPV.

Bad Points

Cage of to WWE

Now it has been widely reported for some time that Christian was done with TNA and wanted back to WWE but addressing the situation live on iMPACT I thought was stupid. Instead of just leaving it as Main Event Mafia having a burial service for him they had to bring up that he was going to WWE. It would have made more sense to just say that they had laid a beating to him so bad next week that he would never return to TNA.

Originals are a shambles

To have a proper stable war you need two recognised stables something TNA doesn’t have at the moment. To book the faction that people are referring to as the Originals but are yet to be given a proper names as fighting each other and with some people on the fringes not sure if they are part of the faction is stupid. To be great heels Main Event Mafia need a good face stable to work off.

Overall

TNA have a good storyline going at the moment and one I have been calling out for, for some time but they are executing it so poorly it’s cringeworthy.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 22nd November 2008

2008-11-22T04:07:00.000-08:00

After a good Raw showing it was up to the Smackdown crew to show what they had in the last episode before Survivor Series. Not only was the show the last before Survivor Series it was extra special as it came from Manchester England.

Good Points

Proper push for Jeff Hardy

After pushing Hardy to main event status but not spending much time on his character development many thought that Hardy would slip away from the main event scene. But now they have changed his make-up and given him some fresh and exciting promos which are filmed completely different to everything else. His out of control character is very believable and for the first time I am buying him as a possible champion.

Good build for Undertaker / Big Show casket match

I am looking forward to the return of the casket match. WWE put some good video packages together and a great last segment to the show which even saw Vickie Guerrero getting stuffed in a casket.

Bella Twins

It’s good to see a good storyline in the divas division. After weeks of Brie Bella going under the ring during her matches and then ending up winning it was finally revealed last week that she has a twin under the ring. Even though they have been uncovered they are still using their twin thing to win tag matches which is great to see.

Bad Points

Lack of good matches

Despite the HHH vs. Jeff Hardy match the card was full of below standard matches which saw Primo and Carlito losing and rehashes of matches which have been seen before.

Wrong guys getting pushed

MVP over the last few months has been reduced to bit role and since the championship scramble Brian Kendrik has been slid back in to the mid card. When most of your best talent has been used up in the first match then you know you are in trouble.

Overall

The show lacks quality and good storytelling at the moment. Smackdown seems to be stuck between not being a house show and not really being a TV show in its format and layout. The card at Survivor Series doesn’t lie with both Survivor Series tag team matches having Raw superstars as captains and the main event being the Raw title match.

WWE Raw Review - 17th November 2008

2008-11-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

After being away for a week and missing a whole weeks worth of programming I was out of the wrestling loop. Being out of the loop and it being the last Raw before Survivor Series I had some catching up to do.

Good Points

Freshening Up

It was good to see Stephanie McMahon on the show and an opening segment which was reminiscent of the late 90s where Stephanie came out to lead an open forum in the ring which lead to huge in ring melee in which HBK got the upper hand on JBL. Also the presentation of backstage segments was different with HBK’s backstage segment walking through the corridors with Rey where HBK addressed the camera and the fans at home whilst acting like an announcer announcing that his match was coming up after the break.

Push for Miz and Morrison

After appearing on the 800th Episode of Raw against DX this week they got an upset win over Rey Mysterio and HBK with HBK being the one getting pinned in the centre of the ring. It made no sense for HBK to be the one to take the fall but it was great to see the continuing rise of this tag team.

New faces

After a little bit off screen it is great to see Dolph Zigler doing his usual bit getting involved in backstage segments. It’s also good to see Mike Knox getting some TV time as he got a couple of segments in which he got to intimidate the injured Evan Borne as this also gave Evan a reason to still be on TV. Mike may be another Snitsky but great to see him getting a chance.

Bad Points

Structure

The structure of Raw needs changing as it is too formulaic at the moment. Now people are giving promos and backstage segments just before the commercial break and then having their match straight after. You need to build matches throughout the show and not just a few minutes before the match.

Not enough Cena

As the big thing about Survivor Series is Cena’s return I was expecting more mentions to it, more videos about it or even an appearance from the man himself. I think this could have been built a lot better but we will see what the fan reaction is like this Sunday.

Overall

A good outing of Raw but due to no Cena they couldn’t build the main event which a PPV should be all about. It will be interesting to see how the Survivor Series Tag matches pan out and what Cena does on his return.

WWE Raw Review - 3rd November 2008

2008-11-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

This week were greeted with a three hour special episode of Raw to celebrate its 800th show. Now regular readers know I’m not usually a fan of three hour TV shows so I was curious to see if this show would change my mind.

Good Points

Return of Randy Orton

Was great to see the in ring return of Randy Orton, it wasn’t the most convincing or well crafted segments that lead to his in ring return but all that matters is that he’s back competing again as Raw needs more big stars at the moment.

Adamle Resigns

Glad to see the back of Adamle as GM. In a show which is all about feuds and characters trying to have a non biased one dimensional GM just doesn’t work. The GM needs to be a character just as much as the wrestlers.

Big Matches

Was great to see some big matches on Raw including a rare reuniting of the Hardy Boyz, Undertaker vs. JBL and the cage title match between Jericho and Batista. On top of this we had a rare performance from DX, now I usually say they should bury that gimmick and leave it buried but they had a great match with Miz and Morrison and although they won they did a lot to put over Miz and Morrison.

Bad Points

Title mess

Now I know they wanted to do something big for the 800th but having Jericho win his title back was terrible booking. Even CM Punk held the belt longer than Batista and he was a transitional champ. It made Cyber Sunday look pointless, made Batista look weak for dropping the belt clean on Raw and did nothing to build Jericho as he would have been a stronger champ if he had retained it at Cyber Sunday.

Shane and Steph

Now I normally love it when the McMahons are on TV but I didn’t think the segments with these two were up to the normal McMahon standards. Bring back Vince that’s what I say.

Overall

One of my favourite ever three hour shows. I still think it is too long for a casual fan but for a wrestling fan it was a great three hours of TV.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 30th October 2008

2008-11-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

Due to other commitments I had missed the last couple of iMPACT’s so I was this week trying to get back in to the loop. After TNA’s rating success last week in Las Vegas it was the first night back in the redesigned iMPACT Zone.

Good Points

Stable Wars

Ok so it looks like the old days of WCW when it was the New Blood vs. The Millionaires club but the feud TNA have started between The Main Event Mafia and the yet to be named band of TNA originals and up and coming stars has got me interested. It’s a reverse of the old WCW storyline with the established stars being the heels and the new guys being the faces and I am looking forward to see how it plays out. It’s about time one promotion started proper stables in their storylines.

Push for MCMG

Was good to see MCMG getting a push. For months I have been complaining about how they have been used poorly but this week they got a lot of TV time whilst deciding not join with Samoa Joe and AJ or not.

Foley in Control

Great to see Foley being used in a non wrestling but central role a he is the on screen executive share owner. Will be interesting to see how they will keep Jarrett in the storyline now that Foley seems to be taking the duties that were once Jarrett’s.

Bad Points

Main Event

Made no sense to have Abyss going against Angle considering the storyline at the moment although it did give chance for the run in ending.

Lost in the shuffle

I think TNA needs to be careful how they work this stable wars as it needs to not end up like the NWO did. At the moment there are quite a few guys who no one knows where they fit and are in danger of being lost.

Overall

A great show, not one hundred percent sure of having so many of the WCW old guard in the main storyline but the storyline should be interesting enough to keep the fans intrigued. A lot better than when I last watched iMPACT.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 31st October 2008

2008-11-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

After a better than usual Raw I was looking forward to see how the fallout from Cyber Sunday was going to develop on Smackdown and what direction they would be going in towards Survivor Series.

Good Points

Kozlov calls out HHH

It looks like the Smackdown title match for Survivor Series is going to be Kozlov vs. HHH after Kozlov . Personally I would have done this first at a smaller monthly event to see how the fans were going to react o it but it is good to see the Smackdown team trying to change it up and they are doing their best to put Kozlov over as a believable threat.

Casket Match

It’s not often we are given a casket match on Smackdown but as it was Halloween we got a treat. Undertaker beat Chavo Guerrero in the match and fended off the interfering Big Show to continue on his roll since Cyber Sunday but I’m sure this feud isn’t over yet.

Bad Points

Khali Kiss Cam

I think the quicker that Khali’s contract expires the better. After not being successful in the main event scene and having no one to work with in the mid and under card Khali is not relegated to comedy and cringeworthy moments through feuds with the Jackass guys and now in each week coming out to kiss some fans that they deem to be the leat attractive.

Jeff Hardy pushed to the side

So not only did Jeff suffer a succession of clean defeats to HHH but now he has completely been pushed to the side as tonight his only involvement as in a six man throwaway match. His time in the main event scene could have been handled so much better just like his exit from the main event scene.

Overall

Nowhere near as good as Raw this week, after the draft Smackdown looked like the strong brand but the card and booking is making it to start to look weaker than ever and that is with HHH.

WWE Raw Review - 27th October 2008

2008-10-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

After a lacklustre Raw last week and a lacklustre Cyber Sunday I was hoping that tonight’s Raw the start of the road to Survivor Series would be the start of an upturn for the WWE.

Good Points

Adamle / Orton Feud

With Orton still not ready to compete yet they have built him a great storyline with Mike Adamle. Orton blames Adamle for getting him stunnered by Steve Austin at Cyber Sunday and has called for Shane and Stephanie McMahon to come to Raw next week to fire him or he will walk. Orton’s mic work was some of the most intense on Raw in recent weeks and I think has put everyone on notice for his upcoming in ring return.

A Great wrestling match

It was so good to see Rey Mysterio against Evan Bourne on Raw, with a couple of more good cruiserweights they could build a division to Rival WCW’s in the late 90s. Hopefully these two will get to go at it again soon.

Santino take another beating

Santino again provided the comedy for the evening continuing on his programme with the WWE legends from last night’s Cyber Sunday. As the legends came out to commentate on his match he threw some good lines at them on the mic and then once again took a beating at their hands but again it was great character development for Santino.

Bad Points

Not buying Batista as champ

I thought tonight proved why they should have kept the belt on Jericho as after Jericho delivered a solid in ring promo it was then left to Batista later on in the show to deliver a weak promo that lacked any kind of intensity. I’m already looking forward to Batista dropping the belt.

More change for change sake

After last night’s title change tonight we had the makeshift partnership of CM Punk and Kofi Kingston winning the tag belts from DiBiase and Rhodes. I thought the WWE were trying to build the second generation stable but this did nothing to help. I think it’s was done because they wanted to give a title to CM Punk and this was hat would have probably happened if CM Punk and Kofu had been voted in to the tag match at Cyber Sunday.

Overall

A big improvement lots going on and the show got back to feeling like an action packed two hours.

WWE Cyber Sunday 2008 Review

2008-10-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

With a pretty tepid build up I wasn’t expecting much from Cyber Sunday. I do like the concept behind Cyber Sunday and enjoy the fact that we now have distinct events outside the big four like One Night Stand being a show of hardcore matches and this show having a card full of matches which fans get to vote on but I don’t think the WWE have really delivered on the potential of this event.

Good Points

Evan Bourne on PPV

It was great to see Evan winning the vote to challenge for the ECW title and then put on a brilliant match with Matt Hardy. This was my favourite match on the card and I hope it will be the start of a great push for Evan as I think he would make a good ECW champion or could revitalise a cruiserweight division on Raw or Smackown.

Santino is comedy gold

Santino did a great job with the Honky Tonk man and provided some great comedy moments in his match which saw Piper and Goldust get involved. Santino showed that it’s not about winning or losing it’s about entertaining.

Bad Points

Changing for change sakes

Putting Batista as champion for me just smacked of just making a change for change sake. Now things always need freshening up but that doesn’t mean you have to change the champion to do it. Just as Jericho had established himself as the champion to have him give it up made no sense.

Killing Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy as predicted got voted in to the title match against HHH but again he was made to lose clean. The fans love Jeff Hardy and he moves a lot of merchandise but the creative team aren’t ready to trust him with the ball and the Smackdown brand is getting very stale with HHH consistently winning clean against Hardy. To save Hardy’s position they should have had Kozlov coming down and costing him the match so then that would have built a good triple threat match for Survivor Series.

John Cena’s return

The event was used to push John Cena’s return at Survivor Series. Now it makes great sense to promote the next PPV whilst people are watching a PPV but to promote it so heavily that the show you have paid for looks like a commercial for the next PPV is wrong. The most important thing on the PPV should be making the show they are watching the best it can be and not promoting the next PPV. If a PPV is really good people will buy the next one regardless of promotion.

Overall

CM Punk was the main face of the promotion and WWE didn’t even use him and then put on a below standard show with very few highlights was very disappointing. Hopefully things will pick up for Survivor Series with all the promotion they are putting in to it.

2008-10-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

After a below standard Raw I was hoping Smackdown could provide some light at the end of a dismal week to get us hyped for Cyber Sunday. With a huge main event I was interested to see what the show was going to be like.

Good Points

Main Event Push

I thought it was great that they made the main event HHH vs. Undertaker as that is a huge match that gets people interested and it provided scope for various run ins as these two are in separate matches at Cyber Sunday. The match was one of the longest Smackdown main events in some time and although the ending was predictable it did what it needed to do for Cyber Sunday.

Use of Primo and Carlito

It’s great to see WWE really pushing this team. Carlito has had to put up with a lot over the last few years but this brother tag team was worth the wait. They scored a good win over Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neeley as well as getting some backstage segments of them goofing around. With these two at the helm Smackdown could have a good tag division again.

Bad Points

Jeff left out in the cold

I think WWE are really trying to get people to vote for Kozlov as they are really going out of their way to push Jeff to one side. Jeff is such a fan favourite I don’t think it matters but this week to open the show he was pedigreed by HHH and then didn’t get involved in the run ins at the end of the main event or have his own match on the card.

Khali Kissing segment

This is cringeworthy TV and a reason why people are scared to tell their friends that they are wrestling fans. I hope this idea gets killed really quickly as at the moment it is just more ammunition for the anti wrestling brigade.

Overall

A much more exciting show than Raw although that wasn’t hard. Had some lulls during the show and maybe had some of the wrongs guys used for matches but the right stuff got pushed and the ending was effective.

WWE Raw Review - 20th October 2008

2008-10-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

With one week left to go to Cyber Sunday it was time for the Raw brand to put the final parts in the storylines together for their matches at the PPV.

Good Points

Nice build for Main Event

The creative team did a good job of building Jericho vs. Batista with both getting mic time in the ring and then both of them participating in the evenings main event. Mike Adamle put them both in gauntlet matches which gave the fans a chance to see and predict who they thought would come out on top this Sunday. If you are judging by what happened on Raw you would have to make Batista the favourite this Sunday.

Great Santino Segment

Santino came to the ring to deliver a promo dressed as a mixture of all three of his possible opponents this Sunday at Cyber Sunday. I enjoy Santino’s comedic work so he had me in stitches and although I am no Jim Duggan fan it was good to have him involved in the segment.

Bad Points

The return of Snitsky

Just when you think the WWE have gotten rid of Snitsky as you haven’t seen him for ages he comes back only to be used to lose in a throwaway match. This week it was a loss to Rey Mysterio. So I except to be writing the same sort of comment in a couple of months time.

Cryme Time / 2nd Generation feud

I like this feud but what they did for it on Raw was shocking. Their match was thrown out before it even started as Manu got involved in a three on two beat down which last a couple of minutes and then that was it. Didn’t do anything to inspire or get me interested.

Overall

Not the most exciting Raw ever and really missed Randy Orton and Michaels who I thought would put in an appearance as they are involved in the voting for the main event at Cyber Sunday. Maybe this all a ploy by WWE to make their shows boring so that people crave John Cena’s return more.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 17th October 2008

2008-10-18T03:37:00.000-07:00

After a fairly poor Raw I was looking forward to see what the Smackdown crew were going to produce this week. With viewing ratings being considerably low even by Smackdown’s standards since the switch to MyNetworkTV would WWE be working hard to get those ratings back.

Good Points

Undertaker on Smackdown

It was good to see Undertaker in ring action this week against Khali. The match kept his feud with the Big Show going nicely as it gave Big Show the chance to interfere only for The Undertaker to get the last laugh. Next week’s main event is Undertaker vs. HHH which could be the biggest main event in Smackdown history and is being hyped as such.

Nice title feud

Slingshotting Kozlov to the top has added some extra spice to the title scene. Now we have Jeff Hardy the fans favourite wanting another crack at the belt but then we have Kolov the guy that the fans hate but seems to be an unstoppable force at the moment.

Bad Points

Kizarny

Two vignettes were played for this new character which reminded me a bit of Michael PS Hayes back in the day. His character a make up wearing either Carnival worker of Carnival enthusiast didn’t do much for me. When I see characters like this it gives me awful memories of WWE in 1992/1993 with characters like Papa Shango an Doink.

Another John Cena video

Ok I understand the WWE promoting John Cena on Raw but we don’t need it on Samckdown as well where he isn’t on the roster. Also WWE seem to be playing the same two videos over and over again. If it was a new video every week I could understand but it is getting a bit repetitive now.

Overall

A great episode of Samckdown two great main event feuds which should deliver at Cyber Sunday, can’t wait for next week’s episode.

TNA Bound for Glory IV 2008 Review

2008-10-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Bound for Glory is TNA’s version of WrestleMania and has been hyped as such by TNA over the last few weeks so I was expecting the best event of the year.

Good Points

Jarrett back on top form

Jeff Jarrett made an awesome in ring return after nearly two years out of action against Angle. The match was well paced told a great story and although predictable at times Foley’s involvement as Special Enforcer added to a great match. Foley helped Jarrett to the win but it was stressed by the commentators that this was Foley’s only contractual obligation which is obviously just part of the storyline so it will be interesting to see where this goes.

Sting wins the gold

After being pushed to the side in recent months it was great to see Sting win the TNA heavyweight title. In recent weeks TNA have been circulating news that Kevin Nash is out of contract with TNA but that didn’t stop him from costing Samoa Joe the title which makes me think this news is just part of the storyline and now Nash and Sting are going to be the leaders of the established stars vs. the TNA originals.

Great Monsters Ball match

The four way tag team title match was great. Although the ending was weak there were some very memorable moments. We had Abyss going through the flaming tables and then unlike what normally happens when the fire dies on impact Abyss was left rolling around afterward still engulfed in flames, I think something went wrong there but it was memorable to watch. Then we had Hernandez going through a table covered in thumbtacks chest first instead of back first which is how wrestlers normally take that bump.

Bad Points

No Wrestlemania

I thought that the second half of the show was awesome but the first half was quite hard to sit through and no Wrestlemania by any means. When WWE do Wrestlemania it has a distinctly different feel to all other PPV’s whereas although this had some good moments felt no different to any other TNA PPV.

Main Event Booking

When you book a show with such a strong under main event match I think you are asking for trouble. With Jarrett’s return against Angle and with Foley as special enforcer it took the shine off which should have been a night we went home remembering Sting. When you have such a strong match which isn’t for the title you need to put it last or book that match so that it is for the Heavyweight Title.

Overall

Although I didn’t finish the show thinking I had seen the most special event of the year I did think it was a really good event. Lots of scope for storyline development and some memorable matches.

WWE Raw Review - 13th October 2008

2008-10-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

With Cyber Sunday getting ever closer it was going to be interesting to see what matches and storylines WWE were going to add and work on this week.

Good Points

Good Build for Batista vs. Jericho

They actually did a good job of developing the feud this week. Jericho and Batista were given the chance to pick opponents for each other to face on Raw so Jericho picked Michaels for Batista and Batista picked CM Punk for Jericho putting himself as the referee. I like the Cyber Sunday gimmick for this one with the fans being able to pick the referee as it keeps Michaels involved in the storyline as he is one of the options.

John Cena video

Another John Cena video again this week to keep his name around. I like them as they are doing a good job of trying to show John Cena’s passion for the sport and to win over his detractors although they have to be careful not to over do the videos too much.

Bad Points

Jackass Crew

Now I understand the idea behind getting outside celebrities involved in wrestling storylines to help generate a buzz but I think with Jackass that their popularity is on the decline so they have missed the boat with this one. Also the section they featured in was an absolute mess with everyman and his dog getting involved when it should have just been about developing their feud with Khali.

Poor storyline development

Besides the main event nothing else was really developed on the Raw side of the card for Cyber Sunday Mysterio tagged again with Matt Hardy, JBL wrestled against Charlie Haas and Cryme Time had a throwaway match against the Miz and Morrison.

Overall

As a two hour TV show I don’t think it would have entertained the casual fan. I know Cyber Sunday isn’t a big PPV in the WWE calendar but they still need to do more than what they are doing to hype it and get fans interested.

WWE Raw Review - 6th October 2008

2008-10-08T14:58:00.000-07:00

After a good No Mercy it was time to get down to business again and the road towards Cyber Sunday. Would there be any fallout from Jericho and Michaels and what will Batista do now he is number one contender.

Good Points

Chris Jericho

Jericho gave a good in ring promo to kick the show off showing the world how Michaels has permanently disfigured him last night as his injury was well woven in to the storyline. He also put the wheels in motion for his feud with Batista as he was in the receiving end of Spine Buster from the Animal and then as acting GM tried to screw Batista out of his number one contenders spot in which he was unsuccessful.

John Cena videos

It’s been a while since was last saw Cena on our screens so WWE put out two well crafted video segments following his surgery and featuring positive comments about him from fellow wrestlers. Good to see them trying to keep his name out there.

Push for Ted Dibiase

The WWE are really pushing Ted junior as this week he got a singles win against former Intercontinental champion Kofi Kingston. Expect him to be the next Randy Orton within a year.Loss of intensity for Rey and Kane

Bad points

Not much going on

Besides the build for Jericho vs. Batista there really wasn’t much going on. We had a few throwaway matches featuring people that weren’t feuding with each other and a few backstage segments. The content really wasn’t enough to keep the viewer hooked for two hours.

No Heat

After last night’s dramatic end to their match I was expected the heat to be turned up even further on this feud but instead were put in a mix storyline match as Rey tagged with Matt Hardy to go against Kane and Mark Henry.

Overall

Another average Raw. Not enough exciting stuff happening backstage and not enough good matches in the ring. Without Orton being able to wrestle and Cena off the show Raw is really lacking at the moment.

WWE No Mercy Review

2008-10-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

After a mixture of good and bad WWE programming as of late it was time for the first of to PPV’s in October for WWE that being No Mercy. The event was largely built around the ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title.

Good Points

The ladder match

Although it won’t get down as one of the best ladder matches of all time there were some good bumps in there and some great psychology. There was no way they were going to make Jericho give up the belt a month after he won the belt especially as the last holder before him CM Punk was always seen as a transitional champion.

Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy

This match did a lot to enhance Jeff Hardy although he came up on the losing side of the result again. The lat few minutes of this match really got the fans believing that Jeff could win this and it was only a sneak roll up manoeuvre that got HHH the win. However now it looks like HHH is going to go straight in to a feud with Kozlov so I’m not sure where it leaves Jeff.

Bad Points

It’s getting like TNA

There were some silly endings tonight which came straight out of the TNA book with Rey Mysterio beating Kane by dq after Kane gave him a chairshot when he flew out of the ring in to Kane and Big Show beat The Undertaker following referee stoppage due to Big Show knocking Undertaker unconscious.

Where do we go from here?

With Batista winning a number one contender match what will Michaels do now and now that Kozlov is set up in a feud with HHH what will happen to Hardy? Will Kane continue to feud with Rey Mysterio? It’s good to have a little bit up in the air after a PPV but I feel there are too many top names without storylines at the moment.

Too Many TV like moments

The PPV at times felt a bit like an episode of Raw or Smackdown with in ring promos and mic segemtns involving Orton, JBL, Cryme Time and others. I think at a PPV the only in ring stuff happening should be the matches or things with affect matches with everything else happening backstage.

Overall

The last two matches saved it if it wasn’t for them it would have been an absolute dud of a PPV.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 2nd October 2008

2008-10-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

With only two weeks to go until Bound for Glory and with Mick Foley set to make his presence felt in the iMPACT Zone I was looking forward to what TNA had in store this week for us after I missed last week’s episode.

Good Points

Jarrett / Kurt feud

TNA have done orchestrated this perfectly with the help of the UK media especially Simon down at The Sun they have created a great angle. Kurt gave shoot style interviews to The Sun where he claimed he didn’t like TNA and still had respect for Vince at WWE. These comments then got printed and TNA have sewn in to the storyline where Jarrett now takes exception to the comments made about his company and the storyline is coming over as real which makes for entertaining TV.

Foley makes his iMPACT

Ok it wasn’t a great in ring promo that Foley delivered but it got attention and built to the announcement that he was going to be special enforcer for the Angle vs. Jarrett match. Will be interest to see where Foley fits in to this whole new school / old school situation currently going down in TNA.

A new name about to start

TNA produced a really good video teasing the debut of a new character called Suicide who looks really interesting. On the back of it TNA have launched a viral type campaign with a website and everything set up for fans to try and find out who this new guy is.

Bad Points

Samoa Joe pushed to the side

Samoa Joe was left with just a pre-record interview with Tenay and Sting as his involvement this week. Yes Angle vs. Jarrett is huge but it doesn’t mean you completely under sell your title match. I wouldn’t be happy if I was Joe at the moment.

Poor main event

The last match on the card before the final Foley segment was a woman’s tag which featured the Beautiful People vs. ODB and Raka Khan and as the girls aren’t currently in a match at the PPV it made no sense.

Overall

I thought bar the minor exceptions it was a great show and that momentum is starting to build again for TNA.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 3rd September 2008

2008-10-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

It was a special Smackdown tonight not only was it the last Smackdown before No Mercy but it was also the first Smackdown on the new network and to start with a bang on the new network the card was stacked.

Good Points

Stacked card

The show kicked off with an eight man tag that went half an hour which included Batista, Rey Mysterio, jeff Hardy, JBL and others. Then all through the night we had mix brand matches followed by an awesome champion vs. champion triple threat main event.

Good build for Big Show vs. Undertaker

Undertaker may be having problems with his knee but he has still managed to put on a good package with Big Show. This week Undertaker’s music hit whilst Big Show was in the ring then when Big Show went up the ramp the Undertaker appeared in the ring.

Bad Points

Not much storyline development

Because it was a mixed brand show there was little storyline development besides from Undertaker Big Show which was a shame just before No Mercy.

Use of Kozlov

Kozlov isn’t on the PPV but again he was put over as the top dog after laying out HHH following his main event. It may be that he will get involved at No Mercy but at the moment it makes no sense.

Overall

Match quality was great but there was little in the way of backstage segments and in ring promos so it had a feel of a house show at times.

WWE Raw Review - 29th August 2008

2008-10-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

After last week’s 800th episode special of Raw I was looking forward to see what they were going to do with the last Raw before No Mercy. With two big Raw feuds on the PPV it would be interesting to see what they did to hook people to buy the PPV.

Good Points

Good development for JBL / Batista feud

This feud got some great TV time on Raw. To make up for not giving Batista a title push this year as of yet creative are trying to keep him strong and in the focus. Both JBL and Batista landed sucker blows on their No Mercy opponent blindsiding each other after their respective matches. This should be a brutal match at No Mercy.

Second Generation Stable

WWE are building this faction of DiBiase. Rhodes and Manu brilliantly as this week they were all able to compete in one match on the same team in a rare eight man tag on Raw. Not only did they get this but they got good backstage time as they tried to convince Kane to join their group.

Orton kept in the Spotlight

I like what the creative team are doing with this making Orton feud with Adamle as it keeps Orton on TV and it help builds Adamle. Just the question is at the moment when will Randy return to full ring action.

Bad Points

Poor build for main event

Besides the main event match Jericho didn’t get any TV time. When you are building for a PPV the best way to do is through backstage segments, promos and mic time but when the champion isn’t given any of that how is he suppose to get the feud to boiling point. To add to this ad make it worse instead of build Jericho Michaels they decided to bring HHH back and reform DX again for another one night special which overshadowed the actual feud they are suppose to be building.

Too much time for Santino

Now I love Santino, the boy cracks me up but when he is getting more time on the mic at backstage than your main event guys then there is a problem. Although I bet Santino isn’t complaining.

Overall

A decent outing nothing to jump and down about, can’t say I am excited about No Mercy but it is normally the events that you go in with low expectations that turn out to be the good ones.

No reviews

2008-09-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

due to being away this weekend there will be no Smackdown or iMPACT reviews

WWE Raw Review - 22nd September 2008

2008-09-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the 800th episode of Raw and I was looking forward to a great show. Wasn’t expecting any major shocks or news but a well produced show in the run up to No Mercy.

Good Points

Punk back in the mix

Was great to see CM Punk in a face to face with Orton and watching him slapping Orton down after Orton had informed everybody that Mike Adamle had passed a sanction which meant no one could touch him. This forced Adamle to suspend CM Punk indefinitely which was then overruled by Shane McMahon who made a rare Raw appearance. Can’t wait to see how the Punk / Orton feud develops.

Jericho does his best to push the main event

Jericho started the show off on top of a ladder in the centre of the ring to cut a good promo for the No Mercy main event however with HBK only appearing in the main event on Raw and having no mic time he needed to deliver. If Jericho keeps this up and HBK gets more time then they can this feud to even higher heights.

More time for Evan Bourne

Evan put in a great display going one on one with Kane and although Kane picked up the win Kane really did a lot to help Evan and put him over in the match. I think Evan’s going to have a bright future and if the WWE sign a few more lightweights they could have an exciting lightweight division again.

Bad Points

Storylines not followed through

There is a lot happening on the periphery at the moment on Raw. We have Zolph Digler a guy that is new to raw and all he seems to do is just introduce himself to people backstage. We have Charlie Haas now breaking in to doing videos either paying tribute to mocking other wrestlers and many more. WE needs to invest its time properly in a handful of storylines and not try and jam too much on a show. This is added to by strange booking like at the last minute changing the tag team main event to a handicap match.

Wrong time to push Lance Cade

I think WWE should push Cade and see what he can do but in the run up to Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels at No Mercy it wasn’t the time. Cade went over clean getting the pin for his team which pushed him as the main attraction as Raw went off air.

Overall

Really good solid show. If WWE deliver another good outing like this one next week I’m sure people will be buzzing for No Mercy.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 18th September 2008

2008-09-21T02:11:00.000-07:00

After a pretty good PPV TNA were looking to follow it up with one of their biggest iMPACT’s to date. With lots of storylines developing nicely and a new arrival looming TNA are starting to get that momentum back.

Good Points

Brilliant Jarrett Promo

Jarrett showed the boys how it was done in the final segment as he explained his reasons for his actions as of late letting the world know that he set up TNA to give young guys the breaks they deserve and not to be another WCW. It was heartfelt, emotional and felt real something which a lot of TNA promos and storylines haven’t been.

Cactus Jack makes his presence known in the iMPACT zone

As Angle came down to try and set up a match between himself and Jarrett for Bound for Glory Jarrett turned the tables on Angle by pointing to the video screen where Foley cut a short promo in his Cactus Jack Persona. It is going to be interesting to see how they use him next week on iMPACT.

Abyss and Matt Morgan continue to be pushed

Was great to see these two get good backstage interview time and for the feud with 3D to keep on rolling as the old protagonists interrupted their segment. Matt Morgan is being built as the future of TNA and a good run with Abyss which ends in the tag titles will do him no harm.

Bad Points

Jay Lethal’s promo

A lot of words get bleeped on iMPACT but during Jay Lethal’s promo one was let go. I don’t think wrestling is a place for swear words, I think a more creative mind can deliver a heated promo or a promo that really gets attention without swearing. Also I don’t see the point of just letting one swear word go, if you are going to use that language on a wrestling show either use it often or not at all there is no point in just having one.

Samoa Joe pushed to the side

With Jarrett, Angle, Sting and Mick Foley all getting either more TV time or better TV time than Samoa Joe he has been put in a bad situation. As champion if one maybe two people are pushed above you then you can handle it but when there are four guys above you in the pecking order it has a detrimental affect on your standing and the standing of the title belt.

Overall

Brilliant iMPACT. The focus was given to the right feuds and matches whilst still some attention paid to the lower card. I can’t wait to see what else happens in the run up to Bound for Glory.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 19th September 2008

2008-09-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

After a decent enough Raw it was Smackdown’s turn to see how they were going to build for No Mercy. Would The Undertaker show up and what would they do with Kozlov this week.

Good Points

Good build for Undertaker / Big Show

Smackdown did everything they could to build the feud without having Undertaker on the show. They built it well with Big Show and Vickie having many backstage segments including Chavo impersonating The Undertaker and then later on getting choked out by what we assume was The Undertaker as we didn’t get chance to see who it was.

Primo & Carlito

It’s good to see these two together and given some mic time as they had the funniest segment of the night as Primo co hosted or should I say guest appeared on Carlito’s Cabana. The segment also served to set up a tag title match as Hawkins and Ryder came down to interrupt the segment.

Big with for R-Truth

R-Truth got a big non title victory over Shelton Benjamin. On Smackdown with some of the guys that are and aren’t currently on TV they have the potential to have a great United States title division.

Bad Points

Use of HHH

No promo time for HHH this week just a quick instantly forgettable main event against MVP which was then overshadowed by Kozlov beating him down. I don’t know what this sudden Kozlov push is all about and to have him dismantle the champion and make him look week a couple of weeks before the PPV when Kozlov isn’t in the main event I think is a little crazy.

Jesse and Festus

It’s already getting stale, out of nowhere they turn themselves in to some form of package and delivery men and you know now that at the end of every match they are going to try and tape their opponent up.

Guys not getting a run

After appearing a few weeks on the trot there was no Kenny Dykstra this week on Smackdown and after not appearing for a couple of weeks Scotty Goldman was back jut to beaten in a Squash match by Khali. They need to give some of these guys a run and not bit parts.

Overall

Not as good as Raw but by far not the worst Smackdown ever. Although I don’t agree with how they are using Kozlov at least he is making it interesting at the moment.

TNA No Surrender 2008 Review

2008-09-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

After a good PPV last time out I was looking forward to seeing what TNA would deliver on their first PPV outside of the United States. As most of you know it takes a lot for me to get excited about a TNA PPV but here are my thoughts on what went down.

Good Points

Team 3D help build talent

Was great to see Team 3D building the team of Abyss and Matt Morgan. The match had a great tempo and really pushed Abyss and Matt Morgan strong as they came back after every other handed trick in the book by Team 3D and so many false finishes to finally get an impressive victory.

SoCal turns on Lethal

After a terrible storyline it had a really good payoff as SoCal deliberately cost Jay Lethal the match so that Sonjay could win and that she could go off with him. It will be interesting to see what they do with this new heel couple in TNA. Having a Heel couple on a show is always fun for the creative team.

Good X-Division match

The quality of wrestling was phenomenal in this one with some great spots as Bashir won the X-Division title in the backyard of the X-Division champion. Consequences Creed and Petey Williams put in an awesome performance but it will be interesting to see what Bashir does with the title as he has great character skills.

Bad Points

Sting kicking the show off

With Sting hitting the ring to do a long in ring promo to kick the show off made the show feel like a regular weekly TV show. In the promo he then went on to say he would face the winner of the title match at the next PPV. Message to TNA concentrate on the PPV you are doing and not the next one, that was a promo which should have been kept for the iMPACT after the PPV.

Two Women’s matches on one PPV

It shows how much belief that TNA has in this division to put two all female fights on a PPV card when guys like Rhino are just reduced to support roles on the card. ODB and Kong put in some awesome performances but I just wasn’t feeling the Knockouts tonight.

Main event not living up to the hype

I thought that TNA could have done more with the event it just seemed to predictable at times especially when Jarrett came out to nail Angle. Now if TNA hadn’t mentioned Jarrett at all in the build up to the PPV and then have hit Angle with the guitar and then explain his actions on the next iMPACT would have caused interest. As it happened you knew Angle was going to be feuding with Jarrett so wouldn’t win the belt and as they hand’t been doing much with Cage recently he wasn’t going to win the belt so it was another easy predictable win for Samoa Joe.

Overall

A couple of solid matches, nothing to jump up and down about. I think the next PPV should be a lot better though with some good storyline movement in this show which sets us up nicely.

WWE Raw Review - 15th September 2008

2008-09-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

With the promise of a steel cage title match I was looking forward to seeing Raw this week, add to this I had the week off work so I could stay up and watch it live for once whilst switching between my beloved Dallas Cowboys.

Good Points

Good Cage Match

We all knew CM Punk wasn’t going to win the title back but the creative team handled it well giving CM Punk a good long match which ended with Jericho falling out of the cage after a CM Punk head butt so it kept CM Punk strong.

Push for Evan Bourne

Great to see Evan getting slingshot to the top as he came in to save Rey Mysterio in his main event bout against Kane. After only two weeks on Raw he is already making a big impact which is great to see, I for one can’t wait to see what they have him doing next week.

Matches lined up for No Mercy

This episode of Raw did a great job in building No Mercy as two matches got announced those being Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels in a Ladder match for the title and JBL vs. Batista for number one contendership.

Bad Points

Burchill push is over

When they have you losing to Jamie Noble when you are a big guy you know your push is over. Word is that Burchill could be close to on his way out so the result was of no rel surprise.

Tommy Dreamer and Jerry Lawler

These two shouldn’t be wrestling on Raw if the WWE want to push a young and fresh product they need to keep these two off the cards.

Overall

Great show one of the best Raw’s of the last few weeks. More like this please Vince.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 11th September 2008

2008-09-15T01:57:00.001-07:00

With only three days to go to No Surrender Thursday’s iMPACT was going to be an important one to hype the PPV. What finishing touches would the TNA creative team but on storylines and would Jarrett finally show his face in the iMPACT Zone.

Good Points

Push for Matt Morgan and Abyss

Was great to see these two getting pushed and a good feud developing between them and Angle / Booker T. They also have another feud in the making now as Team 3D interfered in their main event match against Angle and Booker T.

Push for the Beautiful People

I think these two are great characters and it is good to see them involved in so many segments. Although TNA need to be careful not to give them too much time over the big title feuds.

Jarrett’s back

Ok he only made it to the ramp but it was great to see him back on the show and it was a nice teaser to see if he would be involved at No Surrender.

Bad Points

Little Wrestling

There was very little wrestling on tonight’s show with most of the matches either being thrown out or very short squash matches. Storylines are more important than wrestling in the last show before a PPV but that still means you have to have some wrestling.

Terrible Promos

The promos which should have been long and delivered didn’t. Samoa Joe opened up the show with a very short promo which was then greeted by Sting coming out and stumbling over an unconvincing promo. This was added to by a rushed last segment of the show between Samoa Joe and Sting. They weren’t the only culprits though as Nash joined the stumbling over his words club.

Overall

For a show before a PPV I thought it was pure awful. A lot of the guys appearing at the PPV weren’t even on the show and those that were made a hash of developing their storylines.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 12th September 2008

2008-09-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

After Unforgiven I was looking forward to how Smackdown were going to fair in comparison to Raw’s offering this week. Who is next for HHH and what’s going to happen between Big Show and Taker.

Good Points

Triple H built strong

Triple H cut a good promo to kick off the show putting himself over as the only champ to walk in and walk out of Unforgiven with his belt. All through the show he had backstage segments with the guys he beat at Unforgiven which also helped to put his competition over which was great to see.

Push for Jeff Hardy

He interrupted Triple H to deliver his strongest mic work yet in a war of words with Jeff Hardy which I was glad centred around things in the ring and now his personal life. Jeff went on to win the Smackdown main event to get a shot at Triple H at the next PPV.

Tag division getting better.

Was great to see a tag match involving the champs even if it was a non title match but even better to see the new Colon family pairing of Carlito and Primo. When the brand split first happened Smackdown was renowned for its tag team wrestling so hopefully they can get back to it.

Bad Points

Crazy booking

First we had a match with Festus and Kenny Dykstra which I think went to a no contest when Jesse and Festus taped him to a board, bubble wrapped him and took him to the back which was just weird. Then we had out of nowhere Kozlov attacking Jeff Hardy after he won the main event. The ending should have been Jeff’s moment and if they were going to do something with Kozlov they should have built it gradually not just all of sudden slingshot him to the top.

No Undertaker

After having Undertaker on the last few Smackdown’s it was a shame to see him not on the show. Big Show and Vickie did their best to put over the feud by delivering a couple of in ring proms but Samckdown needs to keep him on the show every week if it is going to continue to develop.

Overall

A solid episode which did the right thing and focusing on the title feud. All we need now is Undertaker back and some not so crazy booking and the show should be back up to where it was before Unforgiven.

WWE Raw Review - 8th September 2008

2008-09-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

After a great ending to Unforgiven I was looking forward to seeing the first Raw under the reign of Jericho. What would happen to Batista? Would we see CM Punk or Michaels show up? All these questions had to be answered.

Solid start from Jericho

It was nothing flashy but Jericho did what he needed to do selling the beating that Michael gave him and acting like any good heel does by trying to squirm his way out of matches that Adamle had set up for him. Next week it will be Jericho vs. CM Punk in a steel cage for the title meaning that we may not see Punk in the main event scene for the next PPV as he gets his rematch early. When Michaels and CM Punk are back then we will see the real start to his reign I think.

Second Generation stars get a backbone

Over the last few weeks Orton has been the master manipulator backstage getting fellow second generation stars to his dirty work for him whilst taking all the credit for it. This week on Raw Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu had, had enough as Orton managed to get clear of the ring before an altercation could happen. Does this now mean they are pushing the group o second generation stars as faces now?

Bad Points

Push for Batista or lack of it

Just after you started to think they were going to push Batista they have now got him involved in a feud with JBL which is not what I would call a push. I’m no Batista fan but they have kept him hanging on down the card for some time now and really need to do something big with him.

Not enough going on

The three main storylines the show featured around weren’t ground breaking and there weren’t any what I would call major developments. The three storylines being, Jericho, Batista/JBL and the Second Generation storyline. Everything else was just filler.

Overall

Not much to get excited about or memorable from this episode. Was good to see Evan Bourne who most wrestling fans who follow the indy scene will know as Matt Sydal get a chance on Raw after some time spent on ECW. Was interesting to see him use the shooting star press in his match as I thought this move had been outlawed after Billy Kidman once messed it up a few weeks on the trot.

WWE Unforgiven 2008 Review

2008-09-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

After a better than average SummerSlam WWE were following this up with another gimmick PPV which seems to be WWE’s theme of the year with Night of the Champions, One Night Stand and Cyber Sunday still to come all surrounding around gimmick matches. The gimmick for Unforgiven was every Heavyweight title being defended in a scramble match. There was a shadow of doubt cast over the PPV when Michaels got injured on Raw the week before his big showdown with Chris Jericho so I wasn’t as hyped for this one as I usually am but as it was broadcast free in the UK I wasn’t complaining.

ECW Championship Scramble match

Was better than I was expecting this one and a nice little kick off to the PPV. As I predicted Matt Hardy got the win without Mark Henry being involved with keeps him strong and builds their feud nicely. By having this one first and by having Matt win it started to make you wonder if we were going to see Hardy clean sweep and see scenes reminiscent of WrestleMania 20.

World Tag Team Championship: Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase (c) vs. Cryme Tyme by Cody Rhodes

It’s good to see the tag belts being defended again on PPV on a regular basis. The result of this match was never in doubt as Rhodes & DiBiase are getting a big push. Cryme Tyme need to be given more promo time and made to be thought of as believable contenders and not just a comedy act. Was good to see Manu come down the son of Afa the Wild Samoan to help Rhodes and DiBiase to add to the second generation wrestlers stable. Again my prediction was correct in this one.

Unsanctioned Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

After much doubt about Michaels injuries and if he would be able to put in a good performance here Michaels contributed to a match of the year contender here. The last ten minutes were just brilliant as Michaels beat Jericho to a pulp but played the character of being remorseful for what he had been forced to do. I thought the pay-off was a bit too quick and they should have waited longer before the fight but as events unfolded later it made a lot of sense. As predicted Michaels picked up the win.

WWE Championship Scramble

We already knew HHH was going to win this but as I said in my predictions this match as all about how the other guys got on in a main event. I think Kendrik, Benjamin and MVP all put in credible performances, nothing special mind. The match was good at keeping Jeff Hardy strong as they eventually build to another Hardy / HHH match at a PPV.

Divas Championship: Michelle McCool (c) vs. Maryse

Nothing much to get excited about here except another correct prediction by me.

World Heavyweight Championship Scramble

This match was built excellently during the PPV as CM Punk was set upon by Randy Orton and his new stable of second generation wrestlers before his match making him unable to compete and a space open in the scramble match. This also gave CM Punk the ability to lose his title whilst never being beaten for it keeping him strong for another push at the title and creates a strong feud with Orton when he returns. In a surprising move Jericho limped out to take CM Punk’s place and managed to steal a victory and World Heavyweight Championship. Kane and Rey can now go on in their feud which leaves JBL and Batista to build a feud. By giving Jericho the belt it keeps him strong and adds a new dimension to his feud with Michaels. Being the top feud it only makes sense for it now to revolve around the title. Am so happy to see Jericho as champion that I don’t care that I got this prediction wrong and missed out on a possible 100%.

Overall

The show on the whole was very predictable until the end which made the ending even more engaging. The show did what it had to do to build storylines and also had The Big Show turning heel on Undertaker in the most telegraphed storyline of the year that even someone who hadn’t seen wrestling before could have seen what was going to happen. I’m looking forward to the first Raw under the new reign of Jericho.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 4th September 2008

2008-09-07T03:25:00.000-07:00

After an average episode of iMPACT last week I was hoping for something good this week but I am not sure if TNA would deliver.

Good Points

Old School / New School set in motion

After this week’s episode of iMPACT it looks like it’s going to be Sting, Angle and Booker representing the old school and Cage, AJ Styles and Jarrett representing the new school. We are still yet to see Jarrett but Angle is starting to reference him in promos and his music is constantly hitting to unnerve Sting, Angle and Booker T.

Abyss being positioned under the main event

Now we knew that Abyss wouldn’t be getting main event status in TNA but it looks like they are building a feud involving him and Matt Morgan against Team 3D which could be interesting. The only problem is that with all this talent used up in two storylines it is really highlighting the weakness of the rest of the roster.

Bad Points

Top guys not delivering on the mic

I am usually a fan of Angle and Booker promos but the fifteen minutes they were given on the mic to kick the show off just seemed to drag and put the audience in a sleeperhold. Added to this we have Sting’s promos which aren’t working as after being positioned as a heel by taking a strip off fan favourites Samoa Joe and AJ Styles the fans are still cheering him.

Not enough wrestling

Yes I know I say that your weekly show isn’t about wrestling but building storylines and entertainment you still have to have some wrestling as on a two hour wrestling show to go the first forty minutes with only one quick throwaway match is terrible. Wrestling matches need to be used on TV to build storylines you can’t just build matches with promos.

Overall

TNA should be at it’s hottest right now with Samoa Joe as champ and the return of Sting and Jarrett but instead these last couple of shows have been the least entertaining for me in some time.

WWE Unforgiven Preview

2008-09-06T02:23:00.000-07:00

WWE Divas Championship match
Maryse vs. Michelle McCool

Raw still has by far the superior Women’s division but with the Divas title now on Smackdown at least there seems to be some point to having women wrestle on Smackdown. I wouldn’t have a Divas title match on PPV instead of having a Women’s Title match though. Michelle McCool should retain here as her off screen relationship with The Undertaker has obviously given her power backstage by association with the Phenom.

Championship Scramble for the ECW Championship
Mark Henry (c) vs. Matt Hardy vs. The Miz vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Finlay

Regardless of what you think of the current state of ECW that is a strong match to put out. I remember when the new ECW brand first started and you had matches with the likes of Kevin Thorn and others but now you have a match where all guys have experience on either Raw or Smackdown. I want to see Matt Hardy win but with Mark Henry’s current push I could see him retaining and there is always a outside chance that they could give it to Finlay as he comes nearer to the end of his career it may be nice to see him as a champion. Saying all this though I’m going to go with a gut instinct and go with Matt Hardy on this one.

World Tag Team Championship
Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (c) vs. Cryme Time

For a tag match this has been built quite well over the last month on Raw with Cryme Time stealing the belts and then Rhodes and DiBiase attacking them to take them back. I for one am just glad they are doing something with Cryme Time at the moment as for weeks they were left with nothing. WWE at the moment are trying to mould DiBiase as the next star, the new Randy Orton if you will so I think this will be a successful title defence for the pairing.

Unsanctioned Match
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels

This has had the best build up for a match at a PPV in some time. The rivalry is so heated and has been crafted so well that you could easily believe that it’s real. Nothing about it has been rushed and we were all expecting a great match at Unforgiven but now with Michaels injury on Raw no one is sure how this match will pan out. People were expecting great things from this match but now if it doesn’t deliver it could undo a lot of the good work already done in this feud and affect the future storyline and matches this pair could have. My prediction is a win for Shawn Michaels.

Championship Scramble for the WWE Championship
Triple H (c) vs. The Brian Kendrik vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Jeff Hardy

Expect Triple H to easily retain in this one but that isn’t the interesting thing to watch for in this one. This match is a gauge for where Kendrik and Benjamin are at and if they can fit in to the main event scene. MVP has been waiting for a main event push for sometime but with his recent backstage antics I’m not sure if the wait will go on or not. The match also sees Hardy’s return to main event so will be interesting to see what he brings.

Championship Scramble for the World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk (c) vs. Batista vs. Kane vs. JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

This has the potential to be an interesting match as it has many different storylines going on and unlike the Smackdown scramble match each competitor has been pushed as a potential winner. This match will be used to develop the Kane / Mysterio feud but I don’t see either of them winning as Rey has just come back from injury so won’t be put in to a main event feud. The match gives CM Punk the chance to lose the title without losing believability as he doesn’t have to be involved in the deciding decision afterwards he can then continue a feud with JBL. Leaving Batista as the winner as he has now been a while without the belt and will be a babyface champion ready in waiting for Orton’s return. Don’t even be surprised to see Orton get involved somehow in this one.

Overall

With three scramble matches all only going twenty minutes and a Divas match which won’t go much over ten minutes it leaves a lot of PPV to fill which I think they were expecting Jericho and Michaels to fill but with his injury will that be possible. Having three identical gimmick style matches on a PPV doesn’t work in this day and age, that’s why Survivor Series is not done how it use to be any more. This event was going to be remembered for Jericho vs. Michaels but now everyone is unsure how it is going to go down but I hope even with an injury they can steal the show.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 5th September 2008

2008-09-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

With ir being the last Smackdown before Unforgiven and with some exciting storylines happening on Smackdown I was quite interested to see how tonight’s show was going to unfold.

Good Points

Structure

For one the champion HHH kicked off the show with an in ring promo about the main event this Sunday and the show ended with him in the main event. I think this is the first show that HHH has started and ended since he moved to Smackdown. I know HHH doesn’t need a push but your champion should always be the one you put the most time in to. Added to this there were a lot more promos and interviews on the show which was a good thing.

More great work by The Undertaker

Before the show started we saw a video package highlighting The Undertaker / Vickie storyline. Then early on in the show we had another awesome Undertaker promo which although not as good as last weeks was still the best promo of the night.

Good build for the Championship Scramble

We had a great push for The Brian Kendrik as he lead the beating on HHH in the first segment and then secured a big win over Jeff Hardy later in the show. Jeff Hardy although losing to Kendrik got a push of his own as he made the save for HHH early on and then at the end turned on him and left him lying in the ring after his main event and as the cameras stopped rolling.

Bad Points

Match Quality

There were some really good matches on Smackdown this week but the show was let down by the inclusion of a throwaway match that being Ryan Braddock vs. Super Crazy and by having two Diva matches. I’d prefer to see less matches than have these spoil to flow of the show.

Vickie Guerrero

Many people love Vickie but I think her promos need work as she is a great character but on the whole her promos go on far too long. When you’re in a programme with The Undertaker your promos need to be spot on which hers weren’t.

Overall

The bad points were only nit picks so again another great Smackdown, really liking what they are doing at the moment, roll on Unforgiven.

WWE Raw Review - 1st September 2008

2008-09-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

With one week to go until Unforgiven I was excited to see what was going to happen on Raw although this week’s episode was a pre-record so wouldn’t have the normal live feeling which makes Raw stand out from it’s competitors.

Good Points

Returning Stars

Instead of the weeks of build that TNA does for it’s returning stars WWE surprised us this week with no build Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio made their returns to Raw. Randy still claiming to be injured and probably still is didn’t wrestle but came to give a damning promo on the current state of WWE and Rey Mysterio made a surprise entrance at the conclusion of the main event to attack Kane. In the long run I always think it is better to surprise people and not have big builds for returns as it adds to the spontaneity of the show and that feeling that anything can happen. To add to this we also saw the return of Candice Michelle.

Great psychology between HBK and Jericho

These two will be forever famed for their Wrestlemania match but the great thing with the feud this time round is they are getting to do a great and heated storyline to build up to their PPV match. I always think the champion should be pushed the most but am glad if they aren’t doing that, that this match is getting all the time and attention. The only problem on Raw was that Michaels tore his tricep which may have a huge impact on the quality of their match at Unforigiven.

Kane getting the push

Kane is being put over as a likely winner of the scramble match at Unforgven as he got three big segments on Raw and was the winner of the Battle Royal main event on Raw. Personally I don’t think he is right to be champion and I don’t think they will give the belt to him but it is good that they are making him believable as a possible title winner.

Bad Points

Batista pushed to the side

With being the main babyface of Raw and the main face of the advertising of Unforgiven I thought they would be giving Batista an actual storyline or feud to go in to the main event with as at the moment we have the JBL/Punk feud and the Kane/Mysterio feud with Batista just making up the numbers so it would seem. Saying this it probably means he will win the belt on Sunday.

Too much time given to ECW stars

This week we had an ECW Battle Royal, a tag match featuring Morrison and The Miz as well as backstage time for Teddy Long. If Raw are doing a crossover storyline with ECW then yes have their stars on the show but if not it makes no sense.

Overall

For a show that wasn’t live it was brilliant, lacked focus at times but worked brilliantly at getting done what was needed to be done. I am now looking forward to Unforgiven it’s just a shame about Shawn Michaels injury as I was really looking forward to his match with Jericho.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 28th August 2008

2008-08-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

After a good iMPACT last week and the promise of Sting appearing on this episode people were interested to see how TNA was going to handle the storyline and so was I.

Good Points

Abyss on Karen’s Angle

Abyss delivered a great promo and finally got chance to verbalise about his return and his action as of late, it also explained what was going on during his absence. It was a master class of character work in wrestling. Abyss should be given more time on the mic to voice his character as I fell it would get the fans back in to him again.

Knockouts Division

The Knockouts division really held this show together with Awesome Kong kicking the show off with a win against an unknown which forced ODB in to make a save which she backed up with an awesome promo later. We then had another excellent Beautiful People promo and finally a win for the pairing over Roxi and Taylor Wilde. If this wasn’t enough we learnt that Traci Brooks has been assigned by Cornette to run the division which should make things interesting as they get their very own GM style character.

Tying up loose ends

I always like it when promotions remember about loose ends and go back to them which is what TNA did here with Nash cashing in his favour for helping our Cornette many, many iMPACT’s ago and getting himself a shot at Angle. This shows great writing and gives people a reason to watch every week as they get a better understanding of why things are happening.

Bad Points

Sting's lack of impact

After watching Undertaker’s promo on Smackdown Sting’s big promo at the end of iMPACT wasn’t even close. Sting started spouting his message of how the new guys need to respect the old guys which we expected he would but it is a tired storyline idea and a flawed one at that. Sting claimed that AJ needed to pay his dues to the legends that paved the way where in fact he has been with TNA since the start and when comparing him with Angle as he has only been in the business just over 10 years I am sure AJ was getting in to wrestling before Angle came on the scene.

SoCal story line

This is ridiculous soap opera writing at the moment with the latest idea being that Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt as going to wrestle for a ring and whoever gets it will marry So Cal. It’s storylines like this which get wrestling a bad rep.

Team 3D

This week their role was reduced just to comedy heels and as a side part of a Booker T promo. Normally they at least get a match or a chance to do something which backstage makes them seem like heel team and not just goofballs.

Overall

After all the build up not enough substance. It’s not going to happen but they need to push Abyss back to main event. Instead we are going to see a new school, old school feud over the next months with I’m sure some surprising heel or face turns.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 29th August 2008

2008-08-30T02:43:00.000-07:00

With the Undertaking stealing the show last week and with him being more involved with storylines on Smackdown than ever before I was looking forward to see what this weeks offering had in store.

Good Points

Use of The Undertaker

The Undertaker showed again why he is the biggest star on the roster as he stole the show. He kicked the show off delivering an awesome in ring promo telling Vickie that he was coming for her soul and that he wasn’t the forgiving kind. The show then ended with him making his presence felt in Vickie’s office as the show went to a close. They are building the Vickie / Undertaker storyline well as there was a real sense of suspense as Vickie panicked backstage about what was going to happen.

Finally HHH wrestle in a proper match and in the main event

Was great to see HHH headlining Samckdown in a champion vs champion match as he took on Shelton Benjamin. The match wasn’t a squash and served a purpose for Khali to come down after the match to try and beat on HHH.

Big Show serves notice

The Big Show is doing a great job and really getting over with the fans. After being overlooked for the championship scramble match he is now interrupting matches and destroying everyone in them. This week he decided to beat on everyone in the tag title match. What makes these segments are the funny / serious promos he delivers afterwards.

Bad Points

Too many guys on the periphery

Last week we saw the debut of Scotty Goldman who was nowhere to be seen this week, we also saw Mike Knox from ECW get involved with Finlay and again wasn’t on this week’s show. If this wasn’t enough we had two new debutants this week R-Truth and Brie Bella who both picked up impressive victories. The only thing is that I don’t know if I will see them next week.

Overall

Awesome show so many other good points I didn’t have chance to go in to like Kendrik’s backstage promo and the quality of wrestling matches. This could have possibly been the best Smackdown show in recent history, if Smackdown delivered like this every week it would be the number one brand.

WWE Raw Review - 25th August 2008

2008-08-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

After more bad than good last week I was hoping Raw could turn the corner this week especially with Unforgiven edging ever nearer.

Good Points

Build for Unforgiven

The creative team did well to get to more matches announced and built in to the storylines for Unforgiven. These two matches will be Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels which we all expected and Cody Rhodes / Ted DiBiase vs. Cryme Time. So that’s three strong matches Raw are offering with the possibility to squeeze a few more out if needed with the most likely being something to do with Santino and Beth.

Shawn Michaels / Chris Jericho feud

I am more excited to see the unsanctioned match between these two at Unforgiven than the title match. Chris and Shawn have done an excellent job of building this up with great psychology without even having to lay a finger on each other to build the heat. This should be one of the most intense matches of the year but me personally I wouldn’t waste a match this good and this well built on Unforgiven I would have saved it for one of the big four. Shawn’s promo was great as he told Jericho it would be an eye for an eye at Unforgiven.

Bad Points

John Cena out indefinitely

Ok nothing the writers could have done about this one but it is a big blow to WWE. Love him or hate he drew numbers and got backsides on seats. With Batista and CM Punk left as your only major babyfaces at the moment the show looks weak which isn’t helped when you have the likes of Jerry Lawler and hacksaw Jim Duggan getting ring time on Raw.

CM Punk might as well not be there

CM Punk should be the main attraction and in the main feud on Raw instead this week he was first out and after his win against JBL wasn’t seen again for the whole show. Like I said last week please get the belt off CM Punk for his own good.

Rey Mysterio added to Scramble at Unforgiven

Because of John there was one space open in the Scramble which Mike Adamle announced had gone to Rey Mysterio who we still haven’t seen for some time. After his mask has been randomly used in the Kane storyline he is now going to comeback with no build and go straight in to the main event. It makes no sense added to this he is probably being rushed back because of the injury to Cena so may hurt himself again like he has done every other time he has rushed back.

Overall

Again if it hadn’t been for Jericho and Michaels the show would have been terrible. I think as soon as they have a marquee talent as champ again Raw will improve a lot as they won’t give the ball to any champ who isn’t marquee talent and let them run with it.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 21st August 2008

2008-08-24T02:39:00.000-07:00

After a nice iMPACT last week I was looking forward to seeing how TNA were going to improve and get us closer to No Surrender. Was Sting going to show up and was Jarrett going to put in an appearance.

Good Points

MCMG turning heel

Good to see TNA doing something with MCMG. After a big push as top babyface tag team there act had become a bit stale recently so to see them pushed heel should see them getting back up the PPV card again.

Angle screwed again

Once again Angle was screwed at the hands of a guitar. TNA are really pushing an Angle / Jarrett feud for when he returns. This week Angle tried to get his medals again but this time in a ladder match in which when it looked like he was going to do it the lights went out and AJ had a guitar in his hands. As well as pushing Jarrett / Angle these wins are really pushing AJ even though they aren’t clean.

Push for Matt Morgan

It looks like Matt Morgan has a feud finally and with Team 3D. After Morgan’s win he was jumped by Team 3D to which Abyss made the save. It’s good to see Matt Morgan involved in a storyline around such established names.

Bad Points

Two main storylines both carbon copies

To bring back two of the biggest TNA stars in the same fashion by having lights go out and then wrestlers appear with their weapons of choice with the wrestlers in question never actually appearing on TNA is terrible. Ok Sting has been announced for a comeback next week on iMPACT but it still isn’t the best. These are both major returns of Sting and Jarrett and to do them both at the same time and in the same way isn’t the way to go.

TNA need to do more to appeal to the casual fan

With the wrestling audience shrinking TNA need to stop doing the storylines that appeal to the internet wrestling fans which is an even smaller group again. This week we had Nash talking about the backstage workings of wrestling which didn’t need to be said.

Overall

A really good show which will be a million times better when Sting and Jarrett are on the show. TNA need to b careful not to drag the Jarrett storyline out too long.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 22nd August 2008

2008-08-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

Fter Raw was a bit of a mess I hope the Smackdown brand could do a good job with their first show since the PPV. Would the Undertaker appear? Who will be HHH’s next challenger? And is it the last we have seen of Edge?

Good Points

The Undertaker speaks

Was great to see The Undertaker rock up at the end of Smackdown after being promoted heavily during the show. The two lines Undertaker delivered were awesome and showed everyone else that it’s not about how much mic time you have when you deliver like he does. After getting his revenge on Edge Undertaker also got the chance to get revenge on the family as he left them lying in the ring to end the show.

Use of Big Show

Big Show was overlooked for the qualifying matches to see who would be involved in the title match at Unforgiven. He played the angle well having words with Vickie and then clearing house during a ten man battle royal that he wasn’t even a part of. I just hope they put him in a programme with Taker as both don’t yet have a match for Unforgiven.

Nice Unforgiven Promo

Really like the promo vid for Unforgiven. A real push for Batista as he alludes to thing he has done in his life for which he will be unforgiven.

Bad Points

Copying Raw

Smackdown will have the same title match as Raw for Unforgiven that being the 5 man scramble. There were some interesting inclusions in the match with The Brian Kendrick, Shelton Benjamin, MVP and Jeff Hardy all getting a chance to take HHH’s belt. It doesn’t look as good as the Raw five man but am happy MVP is getting the push. The match was announced with little fanfare as if the fans already knew what the main event was going to be. If you truly want to build two brands then you need to act as if the fans only watch your show and not the other.

Use of Kenny Dykstra

Now I like Kenny I think he has some potential but he is being pushed in a stupid way. First they bring him back to be squashed in a title match by HHH with no build and then on this week’s Smackdown he had to interrupt HHH’s in ring promo just to get pedigree’d right away. It’s good to see him around the main segments but it is doing him no good in the long run.

Overall

More good than bad which is more that can be said for Raw. The one thing Smackdown needs to do is develop another strong mid card talent. Benjamin Kendrick and Hardy are good wrestlers but not the best on the mic. With it being a five man main event for Unforgiven I can only see Smackdown putting two matches worth seeing in to Unforgiven that being the five man and an Undertaker match as there is no other real talent or feud which you would pay to see.

WWE Raw Review - 18th August 2008

2008-08-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

After an average SummerSlam I was still looking forward to Raw as coming out of the PPV there seemed to be some interesting directions they could take the storylines in the run up to Unforgiven.

Good Points

Build for Jericho

After not having much of a push since his return finally Jericho is getting pushed back to the top in his feud with Shawn Michaels. Jericho gave a great promo in the ring to start the show off where he blamed Michaels and the fans for him hitting Michaels wife. He also ended the show with a non tile victory over Cm Punk so is being pushed as the main draw.

New concept for title match at Unforgiven

The theme for Adamle’s tenure as GM on Raw has been coming up with new and different concepts for matches. This time in a TNA style idea they are having a scramble match for the title between five competitors which will have a twenty minute time limit with the last competitor to get a submission or pinfall victory being declared the champion. Although I’m not sure about the quality of the match it will be a way of getting the belt off Punk which doesn’t harm him.

Santino stealing the show

Santino marella along with Beth Phoenix are stealing the show in the undercard right now. Who cares that Santino can’t wrestle as his character skills and mic skills put even the main eventers to shame. If only he was a bigger guy who could wrestle, if he was he would be the new Rock which the WWE really needs.

Bad Points

Killing CM Punk

CM Punk’s credibility was killed on Raw as in his hometown he lost a non tile main event to Jericho who isn’t even a challenger for the title. I think now the sooner they got the belt off him the better as he will never be allowed to go over big on anyone and it is doing him no favours to continue to be the champion the way he is being booked.

Main event stars put in throwaway matches

The guys who main evented SummerSlam were all put in terrible matches as JBL beat Jamie Noble, John Cena beat DiBiase and Holly. Then to add to this Batista was allowed to run over Burchill. It’s great to see Burchill being booked against the main event stars but he shouldn’t just be used for this.

Kane off the backburner

After having nothing to do at SummerSlam they are pushing Kane again by putting him in the main event at Unforgiven, giving him promo time on Raw and then having him chokeslam Batista. They should have continued Batista’s heel push and have him as champion not have him feuding with a heel who is probably not going to be given the title.

Overall

If it wasn’t for Jericho and Santino the show would have sucked. When the two guys you tune in for aren’t the main eventers in the championship scene you know there’s a problem.

WWE SummerSlam Review

2008-08-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

Back in the day SummerSlam was sold as the hottest event of the Summer however in recent years I think it has lost it’s magic and it’s importance. To me SummerSlam is now just another monthly PPV which was proved by a gimmick match with no title at stake being booked as the main and two horrible title matches which haven’t been hyped. So with this in mind here are my thoughts on the show.

Good Points

Development of Jericho / HBK feud

Now everyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that HBK isn’t going to retire and him coming out to announce his retirement was just a way to get even more heat on Jericho and to add to it they have brought HBK’s wife in the mix. As Jericho went to confront HBK he accidentally hit HBK’s wife instead which will goad HBK to change his mind to defend the honour of his wife. The way that have brought his wife back I think that she is going to end up turning on HBK to add even more spice to this feud which could be the feud of the year.

Batista vs John Cena

I thought these two for the suppose little wrestling talent they have put on a superb match which was really entertaining and left you wanting more. By not having JBL win the title they needed a heel to go against CM Punk and this match did good at turning Batista in to a heel as he did everything that good heel does in the match. The only problem is besides another feud with JBL where does this leave Cena?

Bad Points

Two worst title matches ever

A major PPV should revolve around the title matches but it was the two non title main event matches that stole the show. By putting both of the matches early in the card this event devalued the belts in my eyes as the championship match should always be the match people come to see and the match people go home talking about.

Hell in a Cell

Now if you watch the original Hell in a Cell between HBK and Undertaker you will see an impressive match with lots of psychology which kept you on the edge of your seat without any major spots. Then you had the spots in the Hell in a Cell between Undertaker and Mankind that will never be topped. So to do a good entertaining Hell in a Cell match is very hard. When these two had a brilliant story to tell they instead had a match that was geared round a couple of spots which compared to the Mankind match weren’t that impressive.

Overall

A PPV that will soon be forgotten about and that lacked substance. There are too many titles in the WWE right now which only goes toe devalue them and dilute them and they need to cut back on the number of title matches on a PPV. When my highlight of the night was a non wrestling section it kind of tells you all you need to know.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 14th August 2008

2008-08-17T03:50:00.000-07:00

After an ok Hard Justice I was looking forward to iMPACT as the event had left some questions to be answered and some doors wide open which should be what a PPV tries to do.

Good Points

Jarrett on his way back

The show was all about teasing the return of Jarrett with Samoa Joe teasing it in the opening interview of the show and then by at the end having the lights go out, Jarrett’s music hitting and AJ having a guitar in hand. They really need to finish the Sting storyline properly first but at least it is keeping things interesting.

Nice reference to the Olympics

Was good to see TNA linking in to the Olympics with Angle doing an interview about his success at the Olympics and then putting his Gold Medal o the line in an Olympic wrestling style challenge against AJ for the main event.

Push for Matt Morgan

After being left out of the PPV Matt Morgan got his biggest push to date as after a promo in which he referred to himself as a the Blueprint and after a win over Jonny Divine, Abyss came down to the ring and when it looked like Abyss was going to take Morgan out he just shook his hand as both stood and posed for the cameras. This new partnership could be a force to be reckoned with in TNA.

Bad Points

No Sting

Even though we had another blackout moment with his music we could have really done with a Sting promo to explain his actions at Hard Justice. The only thing I can think is maybe Sting, Jarrett and Nash are going to be forming a faction at some point and takeover TNA as Nash says he hasn’t told Joe everything and now Sting and Jarrett are doing similar things with blackouts and having their music play.

Segment arrangement

Yet again I witnessed three back to back backstage interviews. Like I keep on saying this stuff should take precedent in a weekly TV show but it doesn’t mean you have three like segments bunched together.

Overall

Highly enjoyable if not a bit rough round the edges. TNA needs to be very careful how it builds the main storylines as it could very easily become quite confusing.

My SummerSlam Predictions

2008-08-16T01:23:00.000-07:00

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

MVP is stuck going nowhere at the minute, at one point I thought they may give him a main event push but seem to be stalling with him here. This match does nothing for either guy really, I expect Hardy to get the win in his first major Smackdown feud and help propel him further up the card on Smackdown.

Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy is going to be the new face of ECW so I expect him to win this one. To have him lose would ruin his position and with him winning Mark Henry can always have a rematch which would keep ECW moving nicely for the next month.

Kofi Kingston and Mickie James vs. Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix

I know WWE are really starting to push Santino and Beth as a couple so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the titles changing here. Love the concept for the match by having singles titles on the line in a tag match. Mickie James has got stale as champ and I’m not sure if Kofi is ready for a title yet but it will be a bold move by the creative team to switch both titles in one night.

John Cena vs. Batista

Since coming back and winning the Rumble Cena really hasn’t done much he has lost at Mania and on PPV to JBL. He really needs a win to get it back on track but WWE seem to be really pushing Batista at the moment. With this in mind I would probably go with a Batista win.

CM Punk vs JBL

I love CM Punk but with the undercard that Raw has at the moment with John Cena and Batista both being seen as faces it makes sense for JBL to win the title here to set up a feud with either or. CM Punk is only a transitional champ and has held the title for longer than I expected him to.

Triple H vs. The Great Khali

Word is that Khali is soon to be done with wrestling and after being booked in a shocking match I don’t think they are going to have the belt taken off Triple H as well. With no title change here it then makes sense for this title to stay the same.

The Undertaker vs. Edge

Makes no sense for The Undertaker to lose although when people get built up in a match for not being able to lose they normally have them lose to build the other guy. If Edge wins it will be a screw job type finish but my money is still on an Undertaker win.

One more thing to look out for

When Randy Orton got injured WWE originally said SummerSlam as his return date and this week there have been many stories circulating about Orton getting injured which could be a cover story for the fact that he will be at SummerSlam. If he is to get involved anywhere it will either be in the John Cena / Batista match or Hell in a Cell.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 15th August 2008

2008-08-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

It being the last Smackdown before SummerSlam I was expecting to see some great build up for Edge vs Undertaker which should headline the show.

Good Points

HHH actually has a wrestling match

Was good to see HH actually wrestling on Smackdown all it be it in a throwaway match against Kenny Dykstra. The match set up the situation for HHH to get Khali in to the ring who was watching from the outside and lay a beat on him which is all good build for SummerSlam.

Good build for MVP vs. Jeff Hardy

Although this match will do for their future career the build has been really good for this one. I feel the animosity from MVP and can’t wait to see the match. This week MVP cost Hardy the US title as he had Shelton beat but Hardy still managed to lay a beating on MVP. MVP followed this up by later cutting a great promo on Hardy.

Bad Points

Match order

For the last match of the card to be Kozlov vs. Festus is shocking there is no way that should ever be a last match of any show. They should have saved either HHH or the Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin match for last.

Too many new guys

This week we had Scotty Goldman who many wrestling fans will know as Colt Cabana, Bryan Braddock and Kenny Dykstra who may not be new but has not be on TV for some time. I love Colt or should I say Kenny but the rest I’m not a big fan of. If you are going to bring new faces in the fold you have to do this gradually not all at once.

Overall

It was like wrestling the 90s when the big named stars use to wrestle local jobbers. The show lacked any entertainment and quality, it was of house show standard at best.

TNA Hard Justice 2008 Review

2008-08-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

If you have been reading my blog for some time now you will know that I haven’t enjoyed many TNA PPV’s. So I wasn’t expecting too much from this one but I was hoping there would be a few standout moments.

Good Points

Angle vs AJ Styles match of the year candidate

This was one of my favourite matches of the year so far. As you already know I’m a huge AJ Styles fan and have loved the storyline between him and Angle. However I haven’t been a fan of their recent bouts but this one really showcased both at their best. The only problem I have is with Angle’s history of neck problems I cringe hen I see some of the moves and some of the risks he takes especially where they do endings when a stretcher comes out because with Kurt’s history there is always a chance it could be real.

Great effort put in to the Knockouts Division

The six woman tag was brilliant one of the best women’s tag matches I have seen in some time. The promos and videos before hand were brilliant as they labelled The Beautiful People as the step sisters from the Cinderella story. I like videos like this which are made to feel more like short films than wrestling promos.

Bad Points

LAX lose titles to Beer Money

This had the potential to be a great feuds but I feel that the longevity in this was to keep LAX as champs for a bit longer to build them and make it mean more when Beer Money finally got the belts off them. I feel this results weakened LAX and didn’t enhance Beer Money.

More could have been done with Sting

To have Sting come out and attack AJ Styles was the wrong thing to do. AJ had just been built as a heel for going back and attacking Angle whilst on a stretcher and that heat was then ruined by Sting. For all the build up they did with Sting they should have done more with him. It started off well with him being filmed coming in to the arena but after that it soon went downhill.

Team 3D losing their way

Their feud with Cage and Rhino isn’t really helping develop either team at the moment. The inappropriateness of their characters behaviour round women doesn’t fit in the current climate and to top this off they are suppose to be pushed as believable heels but then have comedy moments like getting them to go in the rafters and say they are scared of heights. You can have comedy heels but they need to be built as such and not just try and change between comedy and bad ass heels.

Booker T killed off

After having him beaten to a pulp at Victory Road in his home town and to have him lose clean well at least clean for a weapons match is stupid. You now have Angle who can’t wrestle a full programme, AJ and Sting put in a feud together and the other main eventers like Christian Cage pushed so far down the card they aren’t seen as main eventers any more. The only thing I can think of is that this leaves the way clean for Jeff Jarrett to come back.

Overall

Well worth the watch for the two matches I have mentioned. As an event as a whole again it didn’t work for me. They need to try and stop having too many matches which are overhyped and instead have a double main event which is hyped and an undercard which isn’t hyped that much but develops the talent involved well and is a talking point after the event.

WWE Raw Review - 11th August 2008

2008-08-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

With this being the last Raw before SummerSlam I wa hoping the creative team were going to do something to get me interested in the Raw side of the card.

Good points

Nice build for CM Punk vs. JBL

These two should have been giver a larger chunk of the show but they did well with what they had. With JBL you are almost guaranteed a great build up if he is allowed to play his bully character. It was nice how they wove CM Punk’s straightedge character in t it with the liquior challenge and CM Punk throwing it back in JBL’s face.

Good build for Kofi/Mickie vs Santino/Beth

I’m really looking forward to this match. The concept is great they have Santino who is great on the mic and some guys who can really work. They promoted well on Raw with Santino challenging Mickie James to a atch winning it and then celebrating like he had won Gold at the Olympics.

Another solid outing for William Regal

Before his last suspension Regal wasn’t given much inring time but since his return he has been my winner of match of the night on all the Raw’s he has wrestled on. I just hope they get give him more mic time again soon as to build himself properly he needs both in ring time and mic time.

Bad Points

Kane’s bag containing Rey’s mask

In a terribly executed swerve we finally found out what Kane had been hiding in his bag which turned out to be Rey’s mask. With rumours that he may be departing soon I’m not surprised if WWE may want to kill his character off. The problem with this was its execution. A great swerve is one that you didn’t see coming but when you look back on it makes logical sense which this one didn’t. It just again smacked of last minute thinking by the creative team.

Poor build for Cena vs Batista

This match has been so poorly handled it’s untrue. This match should have been saved for Wrestlemania or if they were going to do it have it be for a heavyweight title and have a brilliant storyline to go with it. Try as they might this week on Raw they didn’t generate any interest to me as they both gave weak in ring promos to a mixed crowd response and went off air having lost the tag titles.

Lack of substance

For a Raw before one of the four biggest PPV’s of the year there wasn’t enough substance for me, not enough meaningful matches and not enough storyline development. With time given to Kelly Kelly, The Highlanders, Cryme Time, Jamie Noble, William Regal and Rhodes & DiBiase it broke up the hype for SummerSlam as they are not on the cardas and more time should have been given to the eight Raw stars that are on the card for SummerSlam.

Overall

A pretty boring episode of Raw which didn’t feature enough good non-wrestling segments. The only match on the Raw side I am really looking forward to is the mixed tag and that’s saying something.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 7th August 2008

2008-08-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

After a disappointing TNA last week in terms of setting up Hard Justice I hoped that this week would be a more focused edition of iMPACT and that the right feuds would be developed. The show was good last week but this week’s episode isn’t about being a good wrestling show it’s about selling the PPV.

Good Points

Jay Lethal / SoCal Val / Sonjay Dutt storyline developing nicely

The TNA creative team did a good job with this one as they developed the feud nicely for a Hard Justice. Just as we thought Sonjay was going to be rumbled for stealing the wedding ring, Sonjay managed to worm his way out of the situation and back in to the affections of Val. Looking forward to seeing what the outcome is or if there will be another twist this Sunday.

Karen’s Angle turning in to Jerry Springer

They are using Karen’s Angle well now as they have taken it away from the shoot style interview it started like when it first aired. Now it’s more like Jerry Springer which fits perfectly on a wrestling show as Karen’s guests get out of control.

Liking the new start style.

On WWE they usually start with the announcers sat behind the desk promoting what was going to be happening but now TNA have a new style which they should keep to. The style is to have Mike Tenay in the ring with a mic and his broadcast colleagues like Jeremy Borash out in the crowd giving their opinions which I think is better than having them behind a desk.

Bad Points

Stuff that shouldn’t be on a wrestling show

Team 3D’s backstage interview with Beer Money had no place on a wrestling show. In a world where we are looking even more closely at how media with a large male following portrays women this segment had me reaching for the remote to change channel. The interview consisted of Brother Ray making sexual comments about the female interviewer and then trying to pull at her top. There wasn’t any need for Brother Ray to do this as he is already one of the top heel in the promotion and the creative team should be ashamed of themselves.

Too many backstage interviews

At one point I counted three backstage interviews in a row. Now I agree that the spotlight shouldn’t be on actual wrestling matches on a TV show but you have to keep the show moving and keeping it fresh. Having three backstage interviews in a row was overkill.

Poor storyline development

Again TNA need to learn how to sell a PPV today on iMPACT not all feuds were featured and then those that were most were just featured in the last twenty minutes so if you missed that you wouldn’t have a clue about Hard Justice. In the last twenty minutes the main event was a gauntlet match featuring many different feuds which really did nothing to further any of them as it was just a mess.

Overall

TNA has the potential to be great but until thy learn how to sell PPV’s properly they are just going to keep going round in circles.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 8th August 2008

2008-08-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

After not being too impressed with recent editions of Smackdown I was hoping this week would see an upturn as we get closer to SummerSlam.

Good Points

Edge going off the rails

Edge is doing a brilliant job at the moment playing this out of control guy who has been pushed over the Edge by the fact that he has been put in Hell in a Cell with the Undertaker and is slowly going crazy. He is carrying Smackdown at the moment with the highlight this week of him turning on Chavo and delivering a beatdown on him whilst scaring Vickie half to death. The greatest thing about though is the logic put behind it with Edge saying he has to get himself this on Edge to survive Hell in a Cell.

Creative team taking a leaf out of TNA’s book with the Undertaker

It looks WWE creative read this blog as they followed my ideas from last week of having the WWE do a similar thing that TNA is doing with Sting. This week they had people being found laid out all over the building with a black rose left by every beaten man as the calling card of the Undertaker. It is a great way of hyping his return without him being on the show.

Bad Points

Worst title match for some time

HHH vs. Great Khali is going to be the worst match in PPV history at SummerSlam. Khali can’t wrestle and HHH has done nothing to sell the feud. With it being the title feud and involving HHH thy only give it under ten minutes in the middle of the show for an arm wrestling contest between the two to hype the match. I have never been this uninterested with a heavyweight title match in my entire life.

Wrestling quality continues it’s downwards spiral

If it wasn’t for Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin saving the show it would have been a dire night on Smackdown for wrestling. The thing that made Smackdown unique and made me want to watch is that time was given to quality matches featuring quality wrestlers but that doesn’t sem to be the case anymore.

Overall

I think Hell in a Cell will steal the show at SummerSlam but nothing else much excites me on Smackdown at the moment, the hype of the good names acquired in the draft seems to have worn off and if Edge was to win an Oscar for his wrestling performance as lead guy best supporting wrestler wouldn’t go to anyone at the moment.

WWE Raw Review - 4th August 2008

2008-08-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

With it being Mike Adamle’s first Raw as GM I was very intrigued to see if my opinions of Mike would change after viewing this weeks episode or whether this would be the worst raw in history.

Good Points

Interesting matchmaking

I will get on to Mike Adamle the character a bit later on but I was impressed with his match making. First we had Jericho and JBL in a handicap match against CM Punk with the stipulation being whoever got the pin would get the title match at SummerSlam. Then he made an interesting match for SummerSlam which will see IC Champ Kofi Kingston tagging with Womens champ Mickie James against Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix and if the team of Santino and Beth win they both win a title.

John Cena gets bigger cheer than Batista

With Cena being the most controversial face in WWE for some time with his mixed fan reactions it was great to hear him getting a louder pop than Batista at the close of the show. I think he WWE were hoping for Batista to get the pop as they seem to be building him as the to face in the promotion so I found this comical as the WWE need to learn they can’t push a face and make the audience like them

William Regal back in the mix

After having the best match on Raw last week with CM Punk it was good to see Regal getting some mic time. Regal made mention to his King of the Ring win earlier in the year so it look like the WWE are pushing him to be a major player which was the plan before his last suspension.

Bad Points

Paul Burchill getting used as a jobber

First it looked like Paul was going to feud with Mr. Kennedy then they had him lose in their first match which killed that and now they have done the same with him and Kofi Kingston. After a little build up he has already jobbed to Kofi killing that dead. The only thing they can do now to save Burchill is to have him and Katie lea interfere in Kofi’s tag match at SummerSlam.

Mike Adamle’s terrible character

A GM needs to be ruthless and stick up for the heels if he is a heel GM or if he is a face GM he needs to be assertive and stop the heels at every turn. Instead we have him built like Cena was to start with as a man that wants to win over the fans as a face. Mike shouldn’t be left too long by himself with the mic as he worked ok when in a segment with another person but his opening address was terrible.

Tired old storyline

The WWE have recycled a very old storyline idea for SummerSlam as they had John Cnea and batista winning the tag belts before their match at SummerSlam. This has been done icountless times when two faces are going head to head to try and build discontent between the two as they soon fall out and distrust each other.

Overall

A good episode but not the best didn’t like Jericho’s new ring attire with trunks instead of tights ut I do hope they make the title match a triple threat with Jericho involved as he deserves a big match and it will give HBK the chance to interfere. Although the show wasn’t the best there are a lot of things which could happen because of the storyline developments so it has made me want to tune in next week which is the whole point of a weekly wrestling show.