tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90437229949482534282024-03-12T16:26:31.181-07:00The Wrestling ProjectThe Wrestling Project is a blog dedicated to discussing the weekly TV shows and monthly PPV's of World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-6836876108656188672009-04-10T03:15:00.000-07:002009-04-10T03:17:01.323-07:00WWE Raw Review - 6th April 2009After a below standard Wrestlemania could the creative team restore my faith in good ship WWE.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Wheels set in motion for Backlash</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />The return of the Animal</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tag match gets centre stage</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />HHH pushed to the side</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">All star mess</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-56475344989090110502009-04-10T03:14:00.000-07:002009-04-10T03:15:14.603-07:00WWE Wrestlemania 25 ReviewNow that all the dust has settled on Wrestlemania 25 here are my thoughts looking back at The Grand Daddy of them All.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Money in the Bank</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">25 Diva Battle Royal<br /></span><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris Jericho vs. The Legends</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rey Mysterio vs. JBL</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">John Cena vs. Edge vs. Big Show</span><br /><br />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. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HHH vs. Randy Orton</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-91710201930255534722009-04-03T14:55:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:57:35.224-07:00Wrestlemania 25 - My PredictionsThis 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Intercontinental Title Match<br />JBL vs. Rey Mysterio<br /></span><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Winner: JBL<br /><br />Tag Team Lumberjack Title Unification match<br /><br />The Colons vs. The Miz and Morrison</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Winner: The Miz and Morrison<br /><br />Diva Battle Royal</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Winner: Gail Kim<br /><br />Money in the Bank<br />CM Punk vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Christian vs. Finlay</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Winner: Kane<br /><br />Chris Jericho vs. Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Winners: The Legends<br /><br />Extreme Rules Match: Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Winner: Matt Hardy<br /><br />World Heavyweight Championship<br />Edge vs. Big Show vs. John Cena</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Winner: John Cena<br /><br />The Undertaker vs. HBK</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Winner: The Undertaker<br /><br /><br />WWE Championship<br />Triple H vs. Randy Orton</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Winner: Randy Orton<br /><br />Other things to watch out for</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-61960092455440281162009-04-01T14:54:00.000-07:002009-04-01T14:56:05.935-07:00WWE Raw Review - 30th March 2009Normally 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />HBK earning the title of Mr. Wrestlemania</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The fighting McMahon family</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />Cena not given a chance</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Jericho fighting a losing battle</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Overall</span><br /><br />A couple of highlights but all in all as expected a thin shown with not much going on.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-75742341589552972782009-03-29T03:43:00.000-07:002009-03-29T03:44:32.431-07:00TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 26th March 2009After 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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Good Points<br /><br />The build for Lethal Lockdown</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sting has enough of Foley</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />Segment order</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dixie Carter tries to take the high ground and fails<br /></span><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-85479129742797340892009-03-28T04:47:00.000-07:002009-03-28T04:48:57.697-07:00WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 27th March 2009After 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Michaels shows he isn’t afraid of The Undertaker</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Gail Kim returns</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />Still not pushing the Hardy feud right</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Money in the Bank<br /></span><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Push for title matches</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-89484887834946327182009-03-25T15:34:00.000-07:002009-03-25T15:35:24.168-07:00WWE Raw Review - 23rd March 2009After 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Jericho proves a point</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Orton’s turn to get one up</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Great video package<br /></span><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Poor build for Hardy feud continues<br /></span><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Cena on cruise control</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-46689542776900558482009-03-22T05:12:00.001-07:002009-03-22T05:14:06.880-07:00TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 19th March 2009After a very disappointing Destination X could TNA produce the goods this week on iMPACT and get me excited for the product again?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Interesting angle between Sting and Foley<br /></span><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Samoa Joe takes it to the extreme</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tag scene got a bit better</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Angle pushed to the side</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Frontline mess</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />A quite decent show in all honesty was very entertained but thy need to be careful about the card for Lockdown.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-68786426859815945462009-03-22T05:05:00.000-07:002009-03-22T05:12:35.014-07:00WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 20th March 2009After 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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Good Points<br /><br />Love Triangle</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Push for Taker</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">MVP new US Champ</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />No Matt Hardy</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Triple H reduced to a bit part player</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-29039816822655686822009-03-18T15:27:00.000-07:002009-03-18T15:28:29.520-07:00WWE Raw Review - 16th March 2009Due 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />HBK turns up the heat on the Undertaker</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Triple H one step ahead</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Edge spears Big Show<br /></span><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />Jericho storyline a waste of time</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dolph gets a random outing</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Overall</span><br /><br />Ok nothing special or much to get excited about, felt very much like WW were just treading water for a week.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-18208851542900396622009-03-08T14:55:00.000-07:002009-03-08T14:56:59.135-07:00TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 5th March 2009With it being the last iMPACT before Destination X I was expecting big things from TNA after being very impressed with their last outing.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Good Points<br /><br />What side is Sting on?</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Tag Team Scene hots up</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />How to kill Angle</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Stupid Police costumes</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-87728252832698544902009-03-07T11:29:00.000-08:002009-03-07T11:30:10.491-08:00WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 6th March 2009After an abysmal Raw I was hoping for better things from Smackdown and hoped they could end the week on a high.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Pushing Brother vs. Brother for Wrestlemania<br /></span><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Three Way for the title</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />Killing Orton and HHH</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lack of content</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-41556078505282026962009-03-04T14:57:00.000-08:002009-03-04T14:58:52.061-08:00WWE Raw Review - 2nd March 2009After 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Same old every week</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />HBK to face Taker</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Orton’s heat and character killed</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">John Cena underused</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-62252376891559683732009-03-01T13:48:00.000-08:002009-03-01T13:50:05.267-08:00TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 26th February 2009After 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Sting takes the lead</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Don West explodes</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Abyss / Stevie segments not progressing</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Steiner / Joe needs more time</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-48890234184254609182009-02-28T03:03:00.000-08:002009-02-28T03:05:12.472-08:00WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 27th February 2009With 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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Good Points<br /><br />Old storyline but with a twist</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cena on Smackdown</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Giving away matches before Mania</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Four matches is not enough</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-8531826574697300312009-02-25T14:36:00.000-08:002009-02-25T14:38:00.728-08:00WWE Raw Review - 23rd February 2009No 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Cena better as a challenger</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HHH / Orton the hottest feud in WWE right now</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jericho continues to build for Mania</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />Smackdown involvement</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />CM Punk goes round in circles</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-47205087847486507242009-02-20T16:16:00.000-08:002009-02-20T16:17:45.642-08:00WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 20th February 2009After all the developments from Raw it was now Smackdown’s turn to build their feuds for Mania.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Jeff and Matt get ready to get it on at Mania</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HHH shows the Smackdown crew about intensity</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Booking for next week</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Kozlov in the Undertaker mix</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Not much wrestling</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-72831833404519325252009-02-18T15:20:00.000-08:002009-02-18T15:22:23.912-08:00WWE Raw Review - 16th February 2009Afer 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Cena speaks</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Great segment from Roddy</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Too much talking</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What’s the point of the Draft?</span><br /><br />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. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What was the point</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-65775256359235669252009-02-16T14:20:00.000-08:002009-02-16T14:21:59.561-08:00WWE No Way Out Review 2009With 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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Good Points<br /><br />A major push for Edge<br /></span><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HHH back on top<br /></span><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />JBL / HBK storyline over</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Orton pushed to the side</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Too many last minute changes</span><br /><br />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. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-1453162964736913852009-02-15T14:30:00.000-08:002009-02-15T14:31:32.516-08:00TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 12th February 2009After 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />The falling apart of MEM</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Solid Card</span><br /><br />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. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />Hardcore History 101 with Mick Foley</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Frontline</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall<br /></span><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-23510910265417032122009-02-14T11:05:00.000-08:002009-02-14T11:07:10.161-08:00WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 13th February 2009After 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Push for the chamber</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Jeff Hardy promo</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />No Matt Hardy</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">No lower card match</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-9459574245152255892009-02-11T14:31:00.000-08:002009-02-11T14:33:51.563-08:00WWE Raw Review - Monday 9th February 2009With 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />The Return of Ric Flair</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A great end</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />No Push for The Chamber</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad points about the good points</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br />tsAdam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-81398522183482863962009-02-08T01:53:00.000-08:002009-02-08T01:55:43.692-08:00TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 5th February 2009After 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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Good Points<br /><br />Abyss’s best work for a while</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dissension in the ranks at Main Event Mafia</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">No Joe, no AJ</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What are they doing with Booker</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />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.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-7029108737093579282009-02-07T02:21:00.000-08:002009-02-07T02:22:52.510-08:00WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 6th February 2009With 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Stacked main event</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />MVP back on the winning streak</span><br /><br />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.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Bad Points<br /><br />Jeff gets another week off</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Kozlov gets another push</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />Smackdown desperately need an injection of talent and good storylines as at the moment it is a million miles away from Raw.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9043722994948253428.post-13108147391862081042009-02-03T04:19:00.000-08:002009-02-03T04:20:43.082-08:00WWE Raw Review - 2nd February 2009Now 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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Good Points<br /><br />Shane vs Orton signed for No Way Out</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A fight for it all at No Way Out</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jericho doing a work / shoot</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bad Points<br /><br />No build for the Chamber matches</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Not much time for Cena</span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall</span><br /><br />If WWE just invested a little bit more time in Cena and the Chamber then it would have been an awesome show.Adam Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03596642054542531745noreply@blogger.com0