WWE Armageddon 2008 Review

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.

WWE Survivor Series 2008 Review

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.

WWE Cyber Sunday 2008 Review

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.

WWE Unforgiven 2008 Review

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.

WWE Great American Bash 2008

The Great American Bash usually wins the award for worst PPV of the year, the card is normally terrible, the matches equally as bad and no good storyline developments. This got me to the point where I started to think if this was done deliberately by Vince to bury a PPV concept originally created by WCW for his own amusement. However on Sunday night I witnessed in my opinion the best minor PPV of the year so far.

Good Points

Freshening up

Was good to see the bottom end of the card getting a shake up with Hawkins and Ryder winning the tag title and Shelton Benjamin winning the US Title. This frees up Matt Hardy to go after the ECW title and gives Ryder and Hawkins the chance to establish themselves. The tag match was also very well put together.

Good Matches

With a few exceptions those being the ECW title match and the Divas title match there wasn’t a bad match on the card and luckily the two matches that weren’t up to scratch were kept short. Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels was another great match in the series between these two and kept their feud going.

We Make Movies

In the documentary Beyond the Mat Vince said that about the WWE ‘That they make movies’ which was true of the Cena vs. JBL match. Yes it was preposterous that Cena could get run down on Raw and not have a scratch on him and then participate in a match which saw cars getting set on fire, vehicles smashed and so on but it was great fun. Like every action film needs a good chase scene or a good fight scene I think there is a place for matches like the Parking Lot Brawl on a PPV.

Feuds continue to SummerSlam

I expected nothing else than HHH to keep his title but they managed to do it in a way that kept Edge strong which was important for SummerSlam then we had the double dq finish for the CM Punk / Batista match to keep that going. With one month to go to SummerSlam the Bash should be about building and developing feuds for SummerSlam.

Bad Points

Needed better build

WWE need to just be careful of how they build storylines for the PPV’s with the most exciting developments happening on the episodes of Raw and Smackdown directly before the PPV was a mistake. If fans had missed one week they would have missed some pretty pivotal developments. The big things should happen as early as possible as you want to start the build for a PPV on the first Raw after the last PPV.

Overall

A great PPV after some of the shockers of the last twelve months this restored my faith in the WWE.

TNA Victory Road 2008 Review

After a decent Slammiversary but a not so good last couple of weeks on impact I wasn’t sure going in to this PPV whether I was going to like it or not but still hoped TNA would pull something out of the bag.

Good Points

12 Man World X-Cup match

Match of the night by far this one but by having it on first and having it go for over half an hour it then meant nothing else on the card could compete with it. Would have made sense to have this further down the card. Will be watching this match again though, great action for the wrestling fan which is what a PPV should be about.

Push for Taylor Wilde

Just as the Knockouts division was getting stale in comes Taylor Wilde who out of nowhere wins the title on impact and then makes a successful defence against Awesome Kong on Victory Road. If this wasn’t enough it was Abyss who came down to save her from a beat down after the match.

Bad Points

Terrible ending

The ending to Victory Road is an ending which should be saved for TV. I won’t spoil it but if I had paid to watch it on PPV I would have felt ripped off as the creative team copped out. The first match of the night was what a PPV should be about the last match of the night was what a PPV shouldn’t be about. The ending just smacked of backstage politics.

Poor lighting and shot choice

Whenever TNA go outside of the Impact Zone they really struggle with lighting andcamera shots. I lost count of the time there was a camera or crane in shot. The lighting looked like an 80s style WWF with only the first few rows of the crowd visible and the rest of the arena in darkness. This was all capped with the ruining of the Jay Lethal vs. Sonjay Dutt match as every two seconds they had put the camera on Val which meant you couldn’t follow what was happening in the ring.

Ultimate bore

TNA have done everything they can with Ultimate X and should give it a rest now. Besides the odd new bump we have seen it all before. They should have just had one world cup match and left it at the twelve man and not have Ultimate X.

Overall

A shambles, if I had paid to see that I would have been ringing up and asking for a refund. It’s shows like this that show how far TNA still has to come and if backstage politics is already starting to play a part in this stage of the companies development it doesn’t look that hopeful for the future.

WWE Raw Review - 23rd June 2008

Instead of my usual style Raw review this week I am going to talk about the draft movements in detail that took place on Monday night.

From Smackdown to Raw – Rey Mysterio

Not surprised by this one Rey has done anything he possibly can on Smackdown and his highflying style will fit well on Raw. Being on Raw will also give him time to develop his character and persona which has never really been done well on Smackdown.

From Raw to Smackdown – Jeff Hardy

Again not surprised by this one after the drugs violation when Jeff was on a main event push on Raw this could be seen as some sort of punishment. Also Jeff Hardy’s body is worn down so I think Smackdown will be an easier gig for him. The fans love Jeff but has terrible mic skills and no character so I think he will fit in better at Smackdown.

From ECW to Raw – CM Punk

A great move to push CM Punk. However CM Punk struggles in five minute matches so he will never get the chance to show his full potential on Raw. I think he would have been a better fit with Smackdown.

From Smackdown to ECW – Matt Hardy

A great draft for ECW. I think Matt is a great fit for the brand and takes the US title with him. Shame the Hardy Boys reunion on Smackdown only lasted five minutes but for once I think Matt will have the chance to be the star he deserves to be on ECW.

From Smackdown to Raw – Batista

Batista needs freshening up as his character and work has been stale for some time. With Batista wanting to take time off I think this is another way of WWE convincing him not to take time off. Due to his cross promotional work as of late the only feuds out there for him at Raw are Cena and Orton when he returns.

From Raw to Smackdown – Umaga

Again Umaga needs freshening up. After a run in the main event when he first came the last 6 – 12 months have seen him rarely used in a major PPV feud. I think Umaga has the chance again for another main event run at Smackdown.

From ECW to Raw – Kane

Not a biggee, the only interesting thing about this one is that he still the ECW champion.

From Raw to Smackdown – Mr. Kennedy

Again not another biggee just another sign that Mr. Kennedy is going round in circles as he returns to where he came from. Annoyingly this may cut short his programme with Burchill.

From Raw to Smackdown – HHH

This has been rumoured for some time. With Smackdown going on to a new network and WWE wanting to start off strong and with Stephanie expecting their second a lighter schedule for HHH makes sense. Also HHH has been on Raw forever so it’s nice to show that nobody is safe in the draft and this could open up some interesting possibilities for him.

Commentator Draft – Michael Cole and JR change places

This was one of the most shocking drafts of the night JR and the King have be an institution on Monday nights and now its going to be Cole and The King. Michael Cole has called all but two Smackdown’s but again with Smackdown going to a new network and the chance to reunite old friends Foley and JR it makes sense.

Overall

Mainly good and interesting decisions by the WWE creative team. From a creative point of view I don’t think they should do a draft before a PPV as the week before a PPV should be used to build the matches not confuse them with draft moves but I understand from a promotional point of view as the draft is a way of getting viewers to tune in and then buy the PPV.

As far as the title picture is concerned this is what I think will happen. HHH will beat Cena and his title will be the Smackdown belt where as Edge will lose to Batista with that belt becoming the Raw title and start his raw career off with a bang. If not Cena will beat HHH and Edge will beat Batista which is equally as possible.