Review of Smackdown House Show from the Birmingham NEC

Hi Guys

The reason for the delay in reviews this week has been because I managed to catch some live WWE action this week. To read my review of the Smackdown House Show from Birmingham go to:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/article1059467.ece

WWE Raw Review - 14th April 2008

Raw came to my home country of jolly old England this week. I always enjoy the Raw shows the WWE produce from countries outside the USA as for me it always seems to add to the excitement of the show. I was hoping that the creative team could use this platform to bounce back from last week’s disappointment.

Good Points

Unpredictability is back

In one of the most unpredictable moments in Raw for some weeks Mickie James won the Women’s championship beating Beth Phoenix in the centre of the ring. Now most people probably used this match as a time for a beer run or to go to the toilet so will be kicking themselves that they missed it. Not sure where this leaves the Glamazon now after being built as a monster just to lose clean to a simple pinning combination and not even on PPV but it did make for great entertainment.

The rise of Carlito and Santino

In only the second week of their build they beat Kendrik and London to win the number one contenders spot for the tag team championship. The WWE also gave them some good mic time after the match as they dubbed themselves ‘The International Superstars.” If they are going to give Santino mic time after matches he needs to work on his cardio-vascular as he was gasping for breath throughout his promo.

Solid matches

The card for Raw this week was one of the best for solid wrestling matches with JBL vs. HHH, Orton vs. Regal and Chris Jericho vs. Umaga. With cards like this Raw can put on a solid two hours of wrestling. Only thing to be careful of is balance as I find on Raw that the first hour of the show is mainly talking and the second hour is mainly wrestling.

Bad Points

Burchill misued

After not being seen on Raw for some time Burchill was put on as one of the last matches with no build against Jim Duggan. Now to get a match that close to the end of Raw is great but matches against Jim Duggan are one way for your career to be killed. Add to this the fact that his angle with Katie lea seems to have been dropped or forgotten about there doesn’t seem to be much happening for him.

Orton vs. Regal misplaced in the card

You’re in England you have the Raw GM and England native Regal going up against the champion and you put it on at the mid way point of the show it makes no sense. To have HHH vs. JBL as your main event with the only build for the match being that they have never fought each other before is terrible.

Weak ending

I thought the ending to Raw this week was weak with JBL leaving the ring after laying the beat to HHH and Randy Orton, it just seemed like something else was going to happen and nothing did. The WWE are really pushing JBL at the moment with lots of promo time and main event matches, need to be careful that they don’t push him too far.

Overall

I thought it was a really good Raw that could have been great. WWE just have to watch that they don’t mess up on any segments as one bad segment can ruin a show especially the ending segment.

Ticket information for TNA’s First Ever UK tour

America’s fastest growing wrestling promotion TNA will present its hugely anticipated, first ever, UK tour in June of this year. Featuring the top stars from their hit show on Bravo TV, the “UK Impact Tour” will make three stops around the country.

* On Friday June 13th the TNA crew will make their first stop in the North of England when they storm the Liverpool Olympia with their debut UK show. Doors will open at 6pm with a 7pm bell time.

* On Saturday June 14th the boys and girls of Total Non Stop Action Wrestling will be in the Midlands as they tear the house down at the Coventry Skydome for the largest of the three events. Once again doors open at 6pm with a 7pm bell time. Plans are also in place to hold a special TNA Fanfest event during the day in Coventry city centre with more details to follow shortly.

* The whirlwind tour will conclude on Sunday June 15th for TNA’s fans in the South of the country with a special matinee performance at the Brentwood International Centre in Essex. Doors will open at 4pm with a 5pm bell time.

The full list of stars appearing for this tour, along with the matches taking place will be announced exclusively in the Daily Star newspapers, Fighting Talk columns every Friday over the coming months.

Ticket information

Tickets are priced at £65 Gold Ringside, £50 Silver Ringside, £35 Bronze Ringside and then at £25, £20 and £15 for all other seats.

Tickets go on sale on Monday March 10th and are available on line at www.tnawrestling.com or by calling the individual venue box offices on the numbers below:

Liverpool Olympia Box Office: 0151 263 6633

Coventry Skydome Box Office: 02476 630 693

Brentwood International Centre Box Office: 01277 262 616

To keep up to date with all the most recent happenings in TNA and to find out the latest UK tour news, check out the official TNA website at www.tnawrestling.com

Don’t forget that you can watch the latest episodes of TNA “Impact” every Saturday night at 9pm on Bravo.