Tuesday, May 29, 2012

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 5/28/12 (The BIG Memorial Day SHOW)


What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw 5/28/12. It's Monday night, so you know what that means? Time for people to complain about a silly, wrestling show. Let's see how it did and start the review. 

We open up the show with Big Show, but not before we see a complete recap of the John Laurinaitis/John Cena match and the murder of Cena. Don't worry, Cena is a cyborg, so he will only need one week off. Show cuts a promo about how it was easy to smile for the fans since it was all apart of his job, but he can do whatever he wants because of his new contract. Show is not an entertainer, he's a giant. Wasn't this the same guy who wore a diaper in the middle of that ring? He talks about how nobody cared about him getting fired and how Brodus Clay went out there to dance on his tears after he was canned. I'm surprised Brodus and crew didn't slip on that river of tears, but that's beside the point. He calls the fans shallow for abandoning him and how Cena didn't fight to keep his job and was more interested in trying to act like Jim Carrey. In many ways, this was very similar to his promo on Raw last week……and on Smackdown last week. To be fair, he did go into a little more detail this time around. Still, not a whole lot for me to say here, so I'm gonna stare at this magic eye deal for a couple of minutes……yeah, this is fun. 

Match #1: Alberto Del Rio vs Santino
Can we really call this a match? It lasted about 30 seconds. Del Rio locks in the Cross Armbreaker and gets the submission victory. You would think for being the US Champion that they would have Santino give Del Rio an actual match, but that wasn't the case. I think Santino as US Champion has run its course. I think it might be time to get the title off of him. 

Winner via submission: Alberto Del Rio

So, we have Eve and Alex Riley in a backstage scene. Riley is impressed with Eve's cleavage, but Show arrives and throws Riley against a wall. Show sends a message to the locker room. What's the message? Brick walls are dangerous? Oh well. In the meantime, Riley wonders how he's gonna get out of NXT. Don't drink and drive, kids. It will screw you up…..or screw you over…hehe. 

Match #2: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger; WWE Tag Titles
Did you catch the "We want Regal" sign. See, people besides me can appreciate the work of William Regal. Speaking of which, REGAL!!! REGAL!!! There was a line said by King that perplexed me. Michael Cole asked about Vickie Guerrero's outfit and wanted King to give his thoughts. I probably misheard this, but I swear that he said, "I can't talk and jack at the same time". What? Can he say that on this show? I don't want to know what you're doing over there. Anyway, this was okay match. It was nowhere near the match they put on at Over the Limit, but it wasn't bad. It was a lot shorter than the PPV match, but this is free tv. The finish comes when Truth hits the Little Jimmy on Swagger. After the match, Dolph is pissed off with Swagger and claims to be better than this. He leaves in anger. Hey, I would get angry having to team up with Biff Tannen on a weekly basis. Especially since Biff always loses. Seriously, watch the movies and you know what I'm talking about. 

Winner via pinfall and still Tag Team Champs: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that Show gets to choose his opponent for tonight. He runs into Santino and challenges him to a match. Brodus Clay interrupts and says he wants to have a match with Show. The giant accepts. So, we have a giant vs a dinosaur? Is this Super Mario World? Ah, never mind. 

The People Power scooter. Seriously, I want one!!! Johnny's in the ring and he makes a couple of announcements. The Show/Cena match at No Way Out will be a Steel Cage Match. Yeah, because nobody in the history of pro wrestling as ever interfered in a steel cage match. Johnny claims to be the best superstar of all time. He's the bewest of alllll tyme, yeeeeeeeaaaaaaah!!! I'm not sure what happened there. Anyway, Johnny reveals the cover of the WWE 13 video game. It has a giant photo of Johnny. Okay. The show has been pretty lackluster so far, but that was funny. Although, I would say that sales for that game would tank faster than the E.T video game on the Atari 2600. Johnny says he's better than Pac-Man. Better than Pac-Man? He wouldn't even beat out Bubsy. CM Punk interrupts and mocks Johnny. Punk reveals a giant banner of the real WWE 13 video game, which turns out to be him. We don't get WWE Ice Cream bars, but we get Punk on a video game cover. It's a start. Hehe…..mine is bigger than yours. Don't worry, Johnny. You may not be able to market the video game, but you can make a killing in the scooter department. Seriously, I want to see the PP scooter on sale. 

Match #3: CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan
Can't really compare this to their match at OtL, but it was a welcome edition. It was definitely the match that stood out tonight. AJ shows up in a Punk T-shirt and watches the match. Again, she's adorable. How can you not like her? She's my favorite diva at the moment. I think King asked the question of what goes on in AJ's head all the time. I wonder that myself…

Yeah, that seems like a realistic thought in AJ's head. The finish comes when Bryan rips off the padding off a turnbuckle. AJ gets in the ring apron and warns the referee, but the ref must argue at the person because of the WRESTLING LOGIC!!! Bryan bounces Punk's head off the exposed turnbuckle and ends up stealing this match. After the match, Kane arrives and attacks Bryan with a steel chair. Once Kane has finished off Bryan, he turns his attention to Punk. AJ tosses Punk a chair to defend himself. He fights off Kane with that chair and is able to avoid destruction. After all of that, AJ continues to be interested in Punk while he has no idea how to react this. So, it's amazing how things are going here. Punk and Bryan had very little story going into OtL, but now they have all these different elements with Kane and AJ getting involved. It's a good thing they are adding other things to it, but if they aren't careful, it can become too much. It could also lead to it becoming confusing, and we don't want to see confusing storylines here. Hopefully, that isn't the case. 

Winner via pinfall: Daniel Bryan

Match #4: Christian vs Miz
Cody Rhodes was on commentary for this match. It was also at this point where the commentators mentioned Chris Jericho getting suspended because he defaced a flag in Brazil. It was pretty smart on the King's part to not give his thoughts, considering he wouldn't want the company get into more hot water. It's unfortunate for Jericho, but it is what it is. Cody's argument is that Christian adds nothing to the IC title. In a way, he actually has a point. The finish comes when Christian hits the Killswitch and the Frog Splash for the victory. Cody didn't seemed impressed with Christian. That's pretty big talk since he actually lost to the guy. 

Winner via pinfall: Christian

Johnny is upset with David Otunga and Eve. Apparently, Otunga needs to stop drinking coffee and Eve is putting out enough. Wait, that didn't happen at all. Hmmm……Johnny brags about lasting longer than Otunga in the STF. Johnny is upset with Eve because Sheamus never apologized on SD. Well, at least they addressed it. While Johnny is telling them to do a better job, Eve demands for Teddy to get her some coffee. Teddy is wearing a maid outfit. What, did Halloween come early this year? A 64-year old man shouldn't be wearing that. Thank you for the mental scaring, WWE. Teddy arrives with the coffee and Eve is upset that it's cold. She spits it at Teddy's clothes. Teddy claims that it was iced coffee…

Well, she didn't say what kind of coffee she wanted. Then again, she works for Laurinaitis, so she's bound to mistranslate her dialogue. 

Miz is still in the ring. Miz is angry that he helped Johnny get the power of both Raw and SD and he hasn't gotten anything. Hey, at least you have shown up on television. Drew McIntyre was on the same team and he has made about 2-3 appearances during that time. Miz demands respect, so Randy Orton shows up and hits the RKO on him. By the way, his name is Randy Orton….I just wanted to tell you that. Dolph and Vickie are watching this in the back and that's when Dolph claims he wants that. You want some of Randy? Okay, I'm not judging. Oh, he wants to be a singles star again and wants out of tag team wrestling. With Jericho being suspended, an opportunity is open for someone to step up…..or get back in the singles spotlight. Hopefully, Dolph doesn't get pushed back again, considering that it has happened 2-3 times for him. As for the Miz, he can't catch a break. He loses matches and now gets killed while cutting promos. Somebody really hates the Miz. I would like to think with this promo, they do have plans for the Miz. I think Miz fans have to hold onto that since the guy hasn't had much going on for 2012. 

Match #5: Sheamus vs David Otunga
Sheamus hits the White Noise……hits the Brogue Kick…..Sheamus wins……and I found a dollar……YEA!!!

Winner via pinfall: Sheamus

Okay, so we are getting ready for the Show/Brodus match. Once this match was made, it was heavily stressed that Brodus was 22-0 since competing. Show arrives and says Brodus is the ultimate sell-out. Oh, you mean that fat man who's trying to dance like Michael Jackson while being around two women that are totally out of his league? Naw….he can't be a sell-out. Show says Brodus will end up being the next Doink the Clown, but Doink was more talented than Brodus. Brodus tries to attack, but Show pretty much kills him. The match never got started, so I wouldn't even call it a no contest. Kofi and Truth arrive to help Brodus, but they get killed as well. The show ends with the Show standing above the rest of the show……show. This whole scene was put together to show the Big Show's dominance. They wanted to show the mean streak of the big guy and how Cena has his work cut out for him. As for Brodus, the short speech that Show said opens up a couple of doors. This might mean the end of the Funkasaurus gimmick, or a more aggressive Brodus. Then again, it could also mean nothing since Brodus is mostly a comedy character. Hey, at least Kofi and Truth showed their "support" for Big Show, am I right? 

Overall Impression: 
I wasn't expecting much out of Raw tonight. Mainly because it was Memorial Day. Whenever you are on the week of a major holiday or there is a holiday on that day, WWE generally goes with a filler show because most people aren't watching the program. So, I was mostly expecting a filler evening without a whole lot jumping out at you. Yeah, this was one of the weaker episodes, but there was a couple things I did enjoy. I think the Punk/Bryan thing is getting a little more interesting and I did get a chuckle for a couple segments, but this was a pretty skippable episode. Nothing really stands out with tonight's program. It was kinda boring and it felt like a show that was just there, but you gotta keep in mind that it was a holiday and they were trying to play it safe. Then again, I think they were a little too safe with this episode, which is why it was a pretty boring evening. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time. 

Saturday, May 26, 2012

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Smackdown Review 5/25/12


What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 5/25/12. How does the blue brand fair this week? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with Eve. John Laurinaitis isn't here tonight since he needed an oil change, so Mrs. Hoeski gets to call the shots tonight. Her main goals are to make Sheamus apologize for bumping into Johnny on Raw this past week. At least they addressed it, but kind funny that Johnny enforces a rule and it's broken in less than five minutes. I guess Sheamus knocked out a few gears when he tackled Johnny. The other goal was to determine a new #1 Contender to the WHC. Alberto Del Rio arrives and butters up Eve. Mmmmm……buttered up Eve *slap across face*. What just happened? Anyway, Randy Orton shows up, but not before telling us his name is Randy Orton…

Kane also arrives and he wants a title shot. In my opinion, there was a missed opportunity between Kane and Eve, considering what happened all those months ago. Eve does what any GM has done in this situation…..orgy!!! Oh, it's a Triple Threat match. Not a whole lot for me to report here since it was a basic opening. 

Match #1: Christian vs Hunico
Yeah, that Sin Cara Black idea was gold, am I right? This was a short match, but not too bad. The finish comes when Christian hits the Killswitch and follows it up with the Frog Splash. At least Booker T called it by it's correct name. After the match, Cody Rhodes comes out and cuts a promo. He talks about bringing glory and honor to the IC title, but Christian ruined all of that in one night. Really? Because I'm sure Ezekiel Jackson did a much better job in destroying the honor. Anyway, Cody will get his rematch for the IC title very soon. Might want to pencil that one in for No Way Out. I liked Cody's promo. He really needs to cut more promos because he's a decent talker. 

Winner via pinfall: Christian

Match #2: Usos vs Titus O'Neil and Darren Young
Did you see the backstage scene these four shared? I thought it was pretty hilarious. Again, Titus and Darren are kinda growing on me. I know the internet is going to object when I say that, but they are pretty funny. At least they are doing something positive in the entertainment department. This was another short match, but it wasn't that bad. The finish comes when one of the Usos goes for the Superfly splash, but Titus causes enough of a distraction for Darren to get back up. Titus and Darren follow up with that double team finisher, which Booker called the Ghetto Blaster last week. I think that's what they should call it. It has a nice ring to it. 

Winner via pinfall: Titus O'Neil and Darren Young

Match #3: Ryback vs two more local jobbers; Handicap match
The names of the jobbers were Brian Edwards and Kevin Bendl. I know Ryback had a "tough" outing against Camacho, but Bendl? I'm sorry Ryback, but you're gonna have to up your game against Bendl. This was your typical, Ryback match, but something else caught my eye during this match. It was Ryback's face. Dear God, what happened to his face? It looked like a blood vessel popped in his eye, and he had a black eye. WWE doesn't really give you an explanation for this, so I'm gonna make up my own. Ryback was eating pancakes at IHOP and he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye with the fork. He demanded a discount, but the owners greeted him by hitting him in the eye with a frying pan. Ryback kills the owner and used his body to make the pair of spandex he's currently wearing. Ryback hits the Muscle Buster on both guys AT the same time. It was pretty impressive. Ryback against screams, "Bring me more…..twinkies". I know people are getting sick of the Ryback squash matches, but I didn't mind this one. I think it was because of the finish. We also find out that Sin Cara will be returning next week. The IWC is up for joy since they have been dying to complain about his botches. I'm kinda excited to see Sin Cara return. Hopefully, things go a little better for him this go around. 

Winner via pinfall: Ryback

Match #4: Santino vs Ricardo Rodriguez
This was a simply a comedy match, but this one actually lives up to its name. It was hilarious, and it was mostly thanks to Ricardo. He goes out there in his suit to compete. Ricardo also does his own in-ring introduction and has his own titantron. This guy's too much. I want to see more Ricardo on a weekly basis. The part where he was bouncing off the ropes was hilarious, but it was even funnier when he fainted. I know people are going to bitch about this one, but I don't care. If you didn't like this, you either don't have a sense of humor or take wrestling too seriously. It wasn't meant to be serious. This match is totally worth checking out if you want to have a laugh. Oh, Santino won with the Cobra. 

Winner via laughter: Santino (Ricardo won in my opinion)

Match #5: Sheamus vs Jack Swagger
Before the match, Sheamus cut a promo. He says the Johnny bump was an accident, but he will issue an apology. He apologizes for Johnny being an arse. He hopes that Randy is the winner of tonight's main event. Vickie Guerrero arrives and says because of Sheamus' actions, he will face Biff Tannen tonight. Kinda funny how Eve had a plan and didn't follow through with it. Is Eve turning into a robot? Anyway, I was surprised with this match. I thought they would've sent Swagger out there to get killed, but he actually put up a fight. This was a pretty decent match. It was probably the best match of the night, but I can see some people thinking the main event would be in that category. Still, the Ricardo match wins in the comedy department. The finish comes when Sheamus wins with the Brogue Kick. 

Winner via pinfall: Sheamus

Match #6: Damien Sandow vs Yoshi Tatsu
Damien has to cut a promo before competing. It's pretty much become his moniker. Damien says while he still considers Yoshi beneath him, he wants to teach him a lesson for his rude behavior. Damien kills Yoshi with the Straight Jacket Neckbreaker. After the match, Damien does his best Diddy Kong impression and does cartwheels around the ring. Apparently, intellectual people do cartwheels for a living. Seriously, look it up. 

Winner via pinfall: Damien Sandow

Big Show comes out to cut a promo. He pretty much says the exact same thing from Raw this past week. He talks about how nobody cared about him getting fired and how he always feels alone. I honestly don't have much to say here……BLEPAHALAOAALALALAAOALOAOALO.

Match #7: Kane vs Randy Orton vs Alberto Del Rio; winner is the #1 Contender to WHC
Before the match, Daniel Bryan attacked Kane with a steel chair. He did a lot of damage to Kane's arm, but Kane still competed in the match. As I mentioned earlier, this wasn't too bad of a match. While none of the action is going into that "Match of the Year" category, it was pretty enjoyable. The finish comes when Kane hits the Chokeslam on Del Rio. Just as Kane was about to pin Del Rio, Bryan showed up again and was about to get involved in the match. This allows Randy to arrive and hit the RKO on a distracted Kane. Del Rio is back up and kicks Randy in the head. Isn't that ironic? Del Rio pins Kane and we have a new #1 Contender in Del Rio. Considering that Randy was going to be facing Chris Jericho (WRONG!!! I'll talk more about this next week) and Kane was just there, Del Rio made the most sense. I'm still not really looking forward to the Sheamus/Del Rio storyline, but it could be a fun match. As for Kane, it seems like they are trying something with him. Bryan kept interfering in his match. In fact, Kane would've won if it weren't for the YES man. Not sure if Kane is working up towards a face turn or him being more involved with the CM Punk/Bryan thing, but that little curiosity is enough for me to pay attention to Kane, which we haven't done in over a month. 

Winner via pinfall and NEW #1 Contender to WHC: Alberto Del Rio

Overall Impression:
Most people would consider this an average episode of SD. While I would have to agree with that statement, it was an average show that I really enjoyed. I found this more entertaining than Raw. While the matches weren't anything to think twice about, they weren't too bad. That comedy match between Ricardo and Santino totally made my night. There was a couple of moments that did drag. Show's promo was fine, but it was a carbon copy of what he said on Raw, so that can make you lose interest. Also, not a lot of new things developed this week. It did feel like a filler episode, but this was filler that I can get behind. Not everyone is going to agree with me on this one, but I'm perfectly fine with that. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time. 

Friday, May 25, 2012

WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Impact Wrestling Review 5/24/12 (Open Fight Night=Old Man River Returns)


What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling 5/24/12. How did the second edition of Open Fight Night fair? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with a very intense, heart-racing, and eye-popping……negotiation. Hulk Hogan is talking to all the challengers of the world title match. It worked like the first OFN. Basically, they would make their arguments in wanting to get the championship match, but they would also trade insults with some of the other competitors. Kurt Angle makes the case that being the longest reigning world champion isn't important, while AJ Styles says it's important. Kurt also says he has won the most championships between any of them, but AJ says only the TNA ones count. Judges, what do you think…

Nice try, AJ. In my opinion, Bully Ray was the one who stood out the most in this segment. It's amazing how much he has improved in the last year and a half. Jeff Hardy doesn't say very much. I guess he was more concerned with his face-paint. At the end of the segment, Hogan ended up eliminating Bully because Bully hasn't won a singles championship. Is that really Hogan's analysis? If Bully hasn't won a singles championship, wouldn't it be even better to consider him since he has the most to prove? Talk about a very biased opinion. I know that Bully isn't going to get chosen because he's a heel, but I can at least playing along with the kayfabe. TNA can use this scene for the basis of Bully getting the singles championship down the road. The question is, will they actually do that or was this only written up for tonight? Well, only time will tell. By the way, what's up with the music here? Sounds like something you would hear in an action-movie trailer. Makes me a little disappointed that there wasn't at least one explosion or car chase. 

Match #1: Gail Kim and Madison Rayne vs ODB and Eric Young
Gail issues the open challenge to ODB and EY, while Madison is completely love-struck. Yeah, we all have a hard time getting over Devon. According to Gail, she wanted to fight the odd couple because they hold the KO tag titles…

Who cares if they hold the belts. The damn things shouldn't even exist. What's wrong with Gail's promo? She emphasized the strangest words. You know, because this MAAAAAAAN and so-called WOMAAAAAAAN are here. This is really ANNOOOOOOOYYYYYYING. I know, bad joke. The finish comes when Gail pins ODB. Madison was holding ODB's legs on the outside of the ring. This is a prime example of WRESTLING LOGIC. ODB's legs are under the rope, so the pinfall shouldn't even count. Then again, I don't give a s***. 

Winner via wrestling logic: Gail Kim and Madison Rayne

Match #2: RVD vs Gunner
RVD issues a challenge to Gunner because of what happened in January. Oh yeah, that unfinished storyline. I'm actually stunned that TNA remembered that moment. This match was pretty basic and it ends when RVD hits the Frog Splash. That would be another lose for Mr. Garbage-Man Gunner. I hear they are hiring at the local dump. Gunner should consider it. 

Winner via pinfall: RVD

Match #3: Devon vs Garett Bischoff; TV Championship
Can I please use Chaos Control for this? All right….FINE!!! Devon wants to be a fighting champion and defend his title every week. Kinda ironic since he didn't defend his title on last week's Impact. To be fair, he did defend it at the Sacrifice PPV. Anyway, Devon issues the challenge to Garett because he showed him something last week. How does Garett keep getting these programs/storylines? I guess TNA doesn't want to realize when a project has totally failed. Then again, this can sum it up….

The match lasted about two minutes until the two Robbies attacked. Tazz is pretty delusional when saying that Devon/Garett was a great wrestling match. I know he has to say that, but come on? I really didn't like this segment. Not only does Garett get screen time, but why is this Robbie E/Devon crap still going on? That pretty much tells me that TNA doesn't know what else to do with the TV Title, so they keep running the same program for 3 PPVs. No….no……..NO!!! Did I mention no?

Winner via uncreative staff: Devon

Bully Ray comes out and he's pissed off. Oh, and Hogan eliminated Hardy from the challenge because he has been shaky as of late. Did you care? Neither did I. I do want to bring up that Bully's interaction with the woman in the audience was gold. She was probably the most convincing actress I've seen on this show since……..moving on. Bully ask the question, "Do you know who I am". What do you think, Daniel Bryan? 

Hey, I had to do it. You'll see why as this scene continues. Bully is searching for Joseph Parks, who is sitting in the audience. Bully wants Joseph in the ring. We go from one defining Impact Zone fan to the Impact Zone making themselves look like idiots. They're doing a "Yes" chant for Joseph Parks. Joseph f***ing Parks is getting a "Yes" chant. Not one, but two "Yes" chants? The Impact Zone quickly reminds me what they can offer on a weekly basis. If you chant "Yes", then I have another one-word chant for this. Lame……Lame…..LAME…..LAME…..LAME!!! It would be ironic if that actually turned into a chant…….No, it would be mostly stupid. Anyway, Joseph is in the ring and talks about how Bully is guilty. He gets the Impact Zone to pass down judgment. Yeah, because you definitely want THESE people to determine your fate. I love Bully's reaction towards this whole lawyer talk…….What the f***? Bully eventually attacks him with the Vampire Killer..er, I mean the chain. Now, despite how negative I am towards the Impact Zone, I actually enjoyed this segment. I liked Joseph's reaction for when he got called out and Bully cuts another great promo. As I mentioned last week, I would like to see a plot twist where Abyss AND Joseph show up at the same time. Abyss has a twin brother? It all makes sense!!!

Match #4: Austin Aries vs Joey Ryan; Gut Check Challenge
Kinda hard for me to think the Gut Check is gonna work since Alex Silva hasn't shown up since getting the contract. Then again, I'm jumping the gun with that statement. Well, they brought in somebody who was a little more charismatic this time around. The guy was very over-the-top. He has this '80s look about him. Then again, there's something interesting about his look. It's Ron Burgundy. It's the anchorman from San Diego. Seriously, look at him? He has the hair, the mustache and really looks like what Ron Burgundy would look like if he became a pro wrestler. This Gut Check match was a lot better than the first edition. Joey played his character during in the match and his ability wasn't too bad. Nothing amazing about his ring ability, but he's still young. The guy had a porn-star vibe to him. Then again, that probably because of the mustache. The finish comes when A Double hits the Brainbuster for the clean victory. We will find out next week if Joey will get a job or not. I know there's going to be some people who want me to talk about a particular dirt sheet popping up about the Gut Check. Primarily one of the judges that takes part in this concept. Because I don't like to base so much facts on the dirt sheets, I'm going to wait a week and see how TNA handles it. It will also give a sense if the rumors are true or just more crap to get the IWC riled up. Sorry, but most of you know how I feel about dirt sheet reporting. 

Winner via pinfall: Austin Aries

Match #5: Robert Roode vs AJ Styles; TNA World Championship
At the end of the day, Hogan picked AJ because he knows Bobby. I guess Hogan didn't pay attention about six months ago. That's the reason Hogan gave, but I would like to think Dixie Carter gave Hogan a call and helped her boy out. Win or lose, AJ is gonna show Dixie why he's "phenomenal". This match was given a lot of time. We still had about 40 minutes left in the program (Counting commercial breaks), so I'm a little shocked. Despite the fact this was given a lot of time, I can't help but wonder how much of the match was lost during the editing process. In fact, I think the same thing with Smackdown. That's the advantage of going to a live show, you don't have to worry about that stuff. By the way, I caught that Tazz…..That's vintage AJ Styles. Vintage copycat. Vintage announcer. Vintage…..vintage? Okay, I'm done. AJ kept turning his back during this match. What kind of fetishes are you doing with Dixie? Anyway, he misses the 450 Splash, which allows Bobby to hit a Fisherman Suplex for the victory. Again, they gave Roode the clean victory. I like the fact that Roode has picked up some impressive clean victories. I know that pro wrestling usually resorts to heels being cowards and try to cheat, but getting a clean victory isn't going to completely destroy the babyface. Somebody should send this to John Cena.

Winner via pinfall and still TNA World Champion: Robert Roode

After the match, Bobby drinks champagne and confetti rains down. Oh, would this be that Canadian confetti Bobby was talking about? Yeah, I didn't know that confetti-making was such a serious thing. Bobby is rolling around in the confetti. I'm convinced that Canadian confetti is made of drugs. I see what you were trying to do, Bobby. Hogan arrives and gives Roode credit for pulling it off, but he has a surprise for Bobby. Sting makes his return and attacks Bobby. Hogan says that next week will open up with Roode vs Sting in a Lumberjack match. Hogan keeps mentioning that TNA is starting at 8 PM (EST, 5 PM PST). I almost expected the new time slot to show up during Hogan's speech. In fact, I'll do it for you…

I'm not really looking forward to Bobby/Sting. Mainly because of how the last match turned out. Sting KO'd himself. What's the encore? Sting slipping on a banana peel? Is he going to run head-first into a brick wall? Some people have probably wondered what are my feelings on TNA moving to a new time slot. To be honest, it isn't that big of a difference. It could take a while to adjust, but I don't think it will be that big of a difference. Then again, I live in the West Coast, so I get the show early. I think this will have a bigger effect on the East Coast, but I really have no idea. Then again, most people are getting off work at 5 PM, so maybe it will have an effect? There will definitely be an adjustment period for some people, including myself. 

Overall Impression:
So, how did the second edition of OFN fair? Well, I will definitely say that it was a lot better than the first edition. The first OFN seemed very choppy and not planned out. This time around, I think they learned from their mistakes and were able to improve upon it. It does show, but it's far from perfect. The first hour of the show did seem to drag quite a bit. Sure, there was a moment or two that stood out in the first hour, but it can turn some people off. The second hour of Impact was definitely a lot better. The action flowed together a lot better and there was more interesting segments during this time. I would consider this an average episode of TNA. It wasn't great, but I would say it's far from terrible. In fact, I found this more enjoyable than Raw this past week. Oh, did I just say that out loud? You don't know me. I'm not crazy, you're crazy. LALALALALALALALA, I'm not listening, lalalalalalalala. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time……lalalalalalala. 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Raw Review 5/21/12 (The John Cena Show)


What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw 5/21/12. After the WWE went over the limit, how will they go back to the speed limit?

Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with John Cena. Did you watch the video package to open up the show? Did you see those shocked fans? I always love the reactions you get with the casual audience. See, THAT'S the power of not looking on those websites. Mr. Green Ranger arrives and he's pissed off. He's also upset that John Laurinaitis beat him. Well, Johnny is a robot. What did you think was gonna happen? If you think about it, Cena only has himself to blame. He could've ended the match early, but he kept stalling and didn't want to pull the damn trigger. Well, at least he brought that up in his promo, so he's self-aware. Why is Cena screaming so much? Did he get inspired by Shia LaBeouf? LOUD NOISES!!! Cena even begins to outrage over the fact that he would rather have the computer be the Raw GM as opposed to Johnny. Well, there's only one option for Cena to look into….

Eve and Johnny arrive. A People Power scooter? That's…..that's……that's awesome. I want one. I told every single one of you that Johnny was a robot. He's riding around on a scooter. What more proof do you need? Johnny talks about the injuries he received at OtL, but he proved to be a fierce competitor. Johnny also says if anyone touches him, they will be fired. So, I guess Johnny isn't breaking off a piece from Eve? He introduces Big Show. Johnny did state that he did rehire him on Saturday. There was a bit of controversy with this part since social media was finding a major plothole in the kayfabe. If Show had been rehired on Saturday, wouldn't he be fired since he interfered? They totally have a point. Michael Cole brought this up and said that Johnny and Show had a VERBAL agreement on Saturday, but the contract wasn't signed until late last night or early Monday. At least they tried to clean up the kayfabe…..or the WRESTLING LOGIC!!! To be fair, being "rehired" can mean orally or contractually. Hehe….orally. Luckily for Johnny, he didn't say he signed him to a new contract. WWE should give Cole some credit for covering the slip up. Despite the cover up, expect to see the internet trash the hell out of this. Anyway, Show cuts a typical heel promo. He says the WWE Universe didn't show any sympathy for him getting fired and he did the only thing he could do……buy a lawnmower. Oh, and he agreed to a new contract with a bonus. See, this is why he can buy a lawnmower. Cena and Show will face off at No Way Out, which is the next PPV. Great, Cena/Show for the 1 millionth time……good. I will say that I enjoyed Show's promo delivery. It wasn't too bad. David Otunga comes out and wants a match with Cena. Cena explains he's not in a good mood. Otunga doesn't care and dedicates this match to Johnny. Yeah, so a lot of things going on in the opening. Then again, it was expected after the events of Over the Limit. I'm fine with the opening. Cena had some pretty decent moments during his promo, but that screaming. I know he's upset, but part of his promo kinda comes off as overacting. Then again, I would rather have overacting than no acting. Can we have a giveaway for a free People Power Scooter? 

Match #1: John Cena vs David Otunga
Cena RAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGE!!! Cena pretty much kills Otunga. All those muscles and brains don't amount to s***. The finish comes when Cena locks in the STF and Otunga taps out. After the match Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Darren Young, and Titus O'Neil arrive and attack Cena. Sheamus arrives to help out. Once Cena and Sheamus clear house, Johnny says he did NOT give permission to the young bloods to attack Cena. He sends them to the back. As for Cena and Sheamus, they will be competing in a 2-on-3 Lumberjack match. The three opponents wouldn't be mentioned until the actual match. So, two Cena matches on the same night? Well, this is gonna get a mixed result from the IWC. 

Winner via submission: John Cena

Ricardo Rodriguez is about to do the introduction of Alberto Del Rio, but Santino interrupts. He says nobody understands what he's saying and he doesn't know how to roll his 'R's…..They proceed to roll their 'R's. It was slightly amusing, but you can't beat out Togepi. Santino scares Ricardo with the Cobra…..Ricardo gets angry……Ricardo can't take off his jacket…..Cobra…..Santino does Del Rio introduction……and everyone cries. There really was no purpose for this scene. Other than a comedy bit, it wasn't necessary. When they had an R-off, that was funny, but everything else just seemed stupid. I would rather watch an Eric Young/ODB comedy segment than this……no, I take that back. Nobody should be subjected to that type of torture. I agree with Cole. That introduction by Santino was pretty bad, but I'm sure that was the idea. Oh, and WWE is going to start doing three-hour Raws on July 23. I have mixed views on this. They do need extra time out of the week to showcase up-and-coming talents, but are they going to do that or use it on more of their established talents? Well, only time well time. Great, that means my reviews are going to get longer…..*sigh*. 

Match #2: Randy Orton vs Alberto Del Rio
I kinda wonder if Del Rio/Santino is the next rivalry? Like with Christian, it would seem like a step backwards for Del Rio, but it really could help him gain an identity. Then again, it's probably nothing. The match was fair, but it was nothing amazing. The finish comes when Randy is setting up for the RKO, but Chris Jericho arrives and hits the Codebreaker on Randy. He keeps talking about how he's the best in the world at what he does. He hits two more Codebreakers. Damn, what has gotten over Jericho? This is what happens when you haven't won a PPV match since 2010. It's funny how Jericho had high expectations when he returned, but keeps dumbing down his goals. He went after WWE Title, but failed. He went after WHC, but failed. Now, he targets Randy….and he'll probably fail that one too. That sparkle jacket is a curse upon then universe. 

Winner via DQ: Randy Orton

Daniel Bryan arrives and…..He's going to confront CM Punk? A promo between Punk and Bryan? Well, it's about freakin' time. Anyway, Bryan is pissed off that he isn't the champion. He made Bryan tap out, but completely forgot about the fact he was pinned. Should Bryan be the champion? YES!!! According to Daniel Bryan. He demands to get a rematch for the WWE Title. CM Punk shows up and says while Bryan is right about the submission, he pinned Bryan. He reminds him of the Kane attack on Smackdown last week. Punk ends up putting Bryan in a match against Kane. Umm….How did Johnny approve of this? Then again, it's always funny how the superstars/wrestlers can magically create their own matches. WRESTLING LOGIC!!! Anyway, we have a match to get started with. 

Match #3: Daniel Bryan vs Kane
Punk was on commentary for this match. Now, I can see the argument in why Kane would face Bryan, but I'm sure Kane has seen the video footage at this point. Plus, it's Kane. He does whatever he wants and doesn't afraid of anything. The match doesn't last long.We are in the same set-up as on SD last week. Lucky, lucky. Punk grabs a chair and is about to use it on Bryan, but decides to go after Kane. Bryan intercepts it. Kane is back up and sees Bryan with the chair. Bryan tries to talk his way out of it, but kinda hard to get through Kane's ears with all that hair. Kane beats the crap out of Bryan with two Chokeslams and some chair shots. After the attack, Punk locks in the Anaconda Vice to Bryan. Bryan is tapping out to the submission hold. The scene ends with Punk saying YES. I know it seems kinda odd for Punk and Bryan to be using Kane as a tool for their rivalry, but at least they are starting to show some tension between one another. 

Winner via DQ: Daniel Bryan

Speaking of Punk, he had a backstage scene with AJ. She is glad that Punk beat Bryan at OtL. This is the tale of AJ having bi-polar. She gets a little ticked off when Punk said she's completely insane, but starts to cry when Punk says she creates all of her problems. Punk tries to calm her down. AJ is crazy I'm telling you…CRAZY!!! She might be crazy, but how can you be angry with her? She's adorable. Apparently, Punk is okay with that since he admits that he likes crazy chicks. Well, don't we all? Wait, what? 

Match #4: Christian vs Jinder Mahal
Jinder puts hat and talent in that case, and he's ready to get destroyed. Well, it's good to see where his priorities lie. Leave it to Christian to deliver one of the better matches tonight. The finish comes when Christian hits the Killswitch, but he wants to do something else. He goes to the top rope and hits the Frog Splash. It's amazing how every commentator in pro wrestling reacts to a new move. Cole and King were all, "Wow, look at that splash. What do you call it?". Well, there's some more WRESTLING LOGIC for you. Why do I keep doing that? 

Winner via pinfall: Christian

Match #5: Kelly Kelly vs Beth Phoenix
Phoenix wins with the Glam Slam. What else can I say? It appears they will continue the Beth/Layla deal. Whatever happened to Kharma? Oh well….lalalala. 

Winner via pinfall: Beth Phoenix

Match #6: John Cena and Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and Tensai; Lumberjack match
For some reason, they are just calling him Tensai. I guess he got demoted since they took out the "Lord" part. Either that or it's religious censorship. And what happened to the Shredder helmet? I want to see the Shredder helmet. We gotta punish these turtles. The lumberjacks featured nothing but heel superstars. This is what happens when robots call the shots. This match was given a fair amount of time. It wasn't too bad, but nothing special. For the most part, the action was lacking. Then again, we just got out of a PPV. It's natural to get a lot of talking after a PPV because you need to establish the new rivalries and expand the current storylines. Yeah, so the action portion of the shoe didn't help. Why does Dolph dance like that? Really makes you wonder what the guy did before getting a WWE contract. The finish comes when all the lumberjacks attack Sheamus and Cena. The babyfaces of the WWE arrive to help out Sheamus and Cena. Cena gets out of it and charges after Show (Who was watching the match). Just watch the remainder of the show….

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMN!!! Did you hear that? Sounded like a gun going off. I love that way that sounded. Although, it did sound pretty painful. Big Show just Falcon f***in' Punched your ass. What would've been really funny is if Johnny came back into the scene and say, "Hey John. I found him". I kinda like the way the show ended. That punch was great. And before I get complaints, I'm not saying this because I want to see Cena on his ass. I respect Cena for what he has brought to the business, but there are times where he can tick me off. I can watch that punch all day. 

No Contest

Overall Impression:
I have mixed feelings on tonight's show. While I admit the action wasn't there, I did enjoy a couple of moments. The opening continued to show how Johnny has gone completely out of control and is drunk with power. Show establishes himself as a heel. Yeah, Show has done this type of thing before, but we got to get it established. I know the IWC doesn't want to see this because its been done before, but we gotta to do it…..unfortunately. I liked the Punk/Bryan exchange. Plus, even though it was awkward, I actually enjoyed the Punk/AJ scene. I also like the last two matches of the evening. Still, I will admit that this was a pretty below average show. Then again, I still found a way to have to have some fun with it. That won't work for everyone, but that's what works for me. Its a pretty skippable episode. There was a brief mention of the Triple H/Brock Lesnar deal. It was probably best to take a week off with it since they are pretty much dealing with courtroom stuff. One of the disappointing things about tonight was no new storylines. Yeah, they established Cena/Show and Jericho/Randy, but not a lot after that. Then again, maybe that's what SD is for? This is a show that is not for everyone. In fact, I can admit that it was kinda bland, but I enjoyed parts of it. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time.  

Monday, May 21, 2012

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Over the Limit 2012 Review


What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Over the Limit 2012. How did this event turn out? Let's find out and start the review. 

Match #1: People Power Battle Royal; Winner gets a mid-card championship match
Yeah, I got to explain this one. In fact, if you didn't watch the pre-show and went straight into the PPV, you would be totally lost in what's going on. I will first start off with the Zack Ryder/Kane match. It went the way I expected. Ryder had a couple of moments where he was about to knock off the giant, but falls victim to the Chokeslam. Honestly, this shouldn't be considered a shock. Ryder wouldn't stand a chance against Kane's predator mask, let alone Kane. Cody Rhodes and Santino are arguing in a backstage scene. This forces Eve to put together a People Power Battle Royal, where the winner would choose which mid-card champion will be defended tonight. Wait, how is putting together a battle royal gonna settle things between Cody and Santino? That literally doesn't make any sense, but we a match regardless…..WRESTLING LOGIC!!! The rest of the pre-show was the arrival of the talents competing in the Battle Royal. I'm not gonna name everyone that competed in the match, but I will name some. You had Miz, Drew McIntyre, William Regal…..Excuse me for one moment.

REGAL!!! REGAL!!! REGAL!!!

And, I'm back. Sorry, but I had to do it. Before the pre-show ended, Christian was the last entrant. That's a good way to get a couple of extra buy-ins for people thinking about ordering this event, but I don't think it had that big of an effect. Anyway, this was a pretty decent start to the PPV. It wasn't an amazing Battle Royal, but it was fun at times. The final five ended up being Miz, Christian, David Otunga, Alex Riley, and Tyson Kidd. Tyson was a bit of a surprise in this match. He was pretty impressive this evening. Not bad for somebody gracing NXT, huh? The finish comes when it's down to Miz and Christian. Both guys are on the outside ring apron. Christian was close to elimination, but he kept fighting off Miz. He finally hits a Spear on Miz and Christian is the winner. It seems that Christian has chosen Santino as his opponent later tonight. So, I was pretty excited to see Christian return. I know some people are going to complain about the fact that Christian is being reduced to the mid-card. While I admit that it's a step backwards, I'm just glad to see the guy compete again. It feels like it has been forever since we seen Christian compete. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Christian can do tonight. 

Winner: Christian

Match #2: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger; WWE Tag Titles
Did anyone see the intro video for OtL? Do you recall the "People Power" graph? I like how People Power is through the roof, but the term, "Everything Else" is tanking. What does that mean? Does it mean everything in general? Does that mean it's better than women? People Power is better than a million dollars? Is it better than the f***ing Triforce? I'll admit that graph was pretty hilarious, but it really makes you think. Anyway, the Spanish commentators talk about the theory of life. After that insightful look into modern day society, we are ready to begin this match. The King was talking about Vickie Guerrero's naval? Yeah, I think somebody is "preoccupied". Almost makes you feel bad for Michael Cole……sort of. This was a great match. It was given a fair amount of time and everyone got to showcase their talents. This match showed me that the WWE is very capable of putting together a great tag team division. Its just the matter of actually doing it. Dolph and Biff Tannen have things rolling, so Vickie is shouting….

…..They get denied. The finish comes when Dolph ends up running into the Trouble in Paradise of Kofi Kingston. The Champs retain their titles. Again, this isn't a surprise. Kofi and Truth just barely got the belts and I think they want to roll with this for a while. As for AW's crew, they were Casper this evening. The AW thing is something that is slowly growing and it will be interesting to see what happens there. 

Winner via pinfall and still Tag Champs: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth

Match #3: Layla vs Beth Phoenix; Divas Championship
I think the audience was chanting, "We want Kharma". I'm not completely sure since my hearing can be off sometimes. I think Layla has improved in the last few years, but I'm still convinced the IWC will never accept her. I get it. She was in the Diva Search competition, but she actually has learned to move around that ring rather well. In fact, I even wonder if they are even looking at her in-ring skills before throwing her under the bus. Oh well, it isn't important. IWC is only 10% of the fan-base. Plus, casual fans seem to like her, so she's obviously doing something right. I thought this was a fairly decent match. At least in terms of Diva standards. Beth was targeting Layla's knee in this match. The finish comes when Layla counters the Glam Slam by…..

This eventually leads to Layla hitting the Lay Out for the victory. Yes, Layla got the clean victory. Get over it. 

Winner via pinfall and still Divas Champ: Layla

Match #4: Sheamus vs Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho vs Alberto Del Rio; WHC
Part of me kinda wonders why this match was put on so early. Then again, WWE doesn't want to have two world titles back-to-back. This was a pretty good match. So far, every match at the PPV has been pretty decent to sit through. All four guys had a chance to showcase their skills. I did feel the match was rather short. They easily could've given this another 10-15 minutes. It was very fast-paced, so not a dull moment here. The finish comes when Sheamus hits White Noise on Jericho. So, Jericho has failed yet again to capture a world title. Not only did he fail, but he took the pinfall once again. I still think the best course is to have Sheamus and Jericho put in a rivalry. Sheamus and Randy has gotten some attention, so that would work as well. As for Del Rio……you still have Ricardo Rodriguez……..yeah. 

Winner via pinfall and still WHC: Sheamus

Cody is talking to Eve backstage. Cody is happy the US Championship will get honor since it will get a worthy champion. Cody even says Christian would have no chance against him. Well, it turns out Christian heard this conversation. Christian changes his mind and he will be challenging for the IC title tonight. IRONY!!!

Match #5: Miz vs Brodus Clay
Remember a year ago at this same PPV? Miz was battling for the WWE Championship. Now, he's losing to the guy who looks like Donkey Kong. How the mighty have fallen. Brodus wins with the Funk It. Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks confiscate anti-Johnny signs. That was probably more worthwhile than the match. 

Winner via pinfall: Brodus Clay

Match #6: Cody Rhodes vs Christian; IC Championship
So, does this count as Christian getting……wait for it…..ONE MORE MATCH? I guess not since it wasn't for the WHC. It wasn't a long match, but it was pretty decent. The finish comes when Christian hits the Killswitch and we have a NEEEEEEEEW IC Champ. So, what do I think of this? As I mentioned earlier, I'm just happy to see Christian back. I don't care if he's taking a step backwards and is going to be the IC Champion. Now, the other thing we need to address is Christian's change of character. It was pretty obvious that they turned Christian face tonight. How do I feel about this? I have stated in the past that Christian plays a better heel. Still, I don't think turning him face is the worst course of action. We got to have a moment of silence. It's a moment for the one…..the only…..ONE MORE MATCH….

….Dammit!!! Cody has done everything possible with the title. In fact, Cody needs a change of scenery. He got wrapped up with the Big Show deal, but now that's over, it was best for him to drop the title and do something else. 

Winner via pinfall and NEW IC Champion: Christian

Match #7: CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan; WWE Championship
Punk cut an interview before this match. The Vince McMahon impression was pretty funny. Let Punk be naturally funny, not forcefully funny. He just shines more when he does that. AJ interrupted the interview. I think Dr. Evil would say it best…….This is uncomfortable. I'll get back to AJ in a moment. As for the Punk/Bryan match……wow. It was awesome. The audience was kinda there tonight, but it really woke up when these two got in the ring. The crowd was split in their reactions, but for good reason. This was simply a wrestling match. Both guys were countering left and right and there was a number of submission holds featured. You don't see WWE do this very often. Then again, there's a reason it doesn't occur very often. Casual fans don't really like submission wrestling. In fact, I have seen audiences boo or chant "boring" when you see this type of wrestling. Personally, I enjoy watching this stuff from time-to-time. You don't want to do it all the time or else it will get old, but it's nice to bring it back every now and then. In fact, I even heard the audience say "This is Awesome"….

Hey!!! This isn't TNA. Put that counter away….

Sorry about that. Yeah, so it was a great match. The King was talking about how Punk's leg was not supposed to bend like that. So, it's not supposed to go at an angle? About 10 of you are going to get that reference. The finish comes when Bryan locks in the YES Lock. Punk ends up rolling through while in the submission hold. Bryan's shoulders are down and the ref makes the three count. A second after the three count, Punk starts to tap out. Since the three count came before the tap out, Punk is still the champion. I like the way this match ended. It ended with a little bit of controversy. If not, it didn't make Bryan look weak. This type of ending means the rivalry will definitely continue. So, I see an awesome AND I might get to see a rematch?

It shouldn't come as a surprise. Now you know why AJ had nothing to do with tonight's match. She will definitely factor in at a later date. Definitely the match of the night…….YES!!!

Winner via pinfall and still WWE Champion: CM Punk

Match #8: Camacho vs Ryback
Teddy Long is so happy backstage. Yeah, that's all I got. When I first saw Hunico and Camacho, I thought a certain masked wrestler was going to return. Well, that didn't turn out to be the case. Ryback was actually taken off his feet, but that didn't last long. Ryback wins with the Muscle Buster. Hunico and Camacho better think about getting a new job. I don't think they will survive the next round of roster cuts. 

Winner via pinfall: Ryback

Match #9: John Cena vs John Laurinaitis
I very confident that I will get this prediction right. In fact, I'm so confident that I'm betting….

...on John. Yep, I bet that John is gonna win this match. You can't go wrong with John. What is with Johnny and tight clothing? I feel like he should be getting ready to compete in a marathon, not a wrestling match. Now, I want to get this out of the way. People were very upset with this match for many reasons. One of the reasons being the quality of the match. What did you expect? Did you really think Johnny was going to go out there and give you five-star quality? Come on. Be more realistic. This match was simply there for the sake of storytelling and comedy. I knew it was going to be terrible, but I was hoping that it would make me laugh at some point. Well, this match did have a couple of funny moments, but it did drag out a lot longer than it should've. Still, let's focus on the good parts. I liked what Johnny did after the helicopter spin…..

He didn't quite do that, but he did stumble like a drunk person. I thought the part where Cena and Johnny did commentary was pretty hilarious, but it was because of Johnny. The Booker T impression was probably the funniest thing out of the whole evening. Still, there was plenty of stupid moments. The water bottle bit was just childish. Then again, it's coming from Cena, so it actually makes sense. Plus, they actually had a moment where Cena started to sell the arm injury. Really? Why? He already did a terrible job of selling it on Raw and tonight's show, so why go back to it? Even after Johnny got to attack Cena's arm, Cena eventually got back and felt perfectly fine. I swear that Cena can't sell anything…..Unless his name is on it. I know this is nothing new after all these years, but it really gets stupid when you see it THIS often. Big Show arrives and is about to Chokeslam Johnny, but he tosses him to Cena. As Cena is getting ready to deliver the AA, Show hits Cena with the KO punch. I'm actually surprised Cena sold that punch as long as he did. Anyway, Johnny picks the bones and he keeps his job. The show ends with Show raising the hand of Johnny. I wish I could say I didn't see this coming, but I totally saw this coming. I said it during the Raw and SD reviews last week, and I'm kicking myself for saying it. It really was that predictable. I was really hoping for a surprise or somebody else. Anybody besides Big Show. Why, you may ask? Because Show just got "fired". The surprise element is pretty much gone. If Show had been fired for 2-3 months ago, then it would be a surprise, but that wasn't the case. Yeah, so there isn't a whole lot more to say. Johnny got some help because of the giant, and Show will most likely do evil things. One thing I hope DOESN'T happen after tonight is a Show/Cena rivalry. It's been done before. In fact, it has been done to death. I think it happened two years ago. I don't think WWE would go that direction, but I wouldn't put it past them. People Power and robot destruction lives. That green ranger failed yet again. 

Winner via pinfall: John Roboinaitis 

Overall Impression:
I want to get this out of the way. Was this a predictable PPV? Yes. It was very predictable. My predictions, which I don't give a s*** about, were all correct. I got everything right about this PPV. I'm actually one of those people who would rather get his picks wrong than right. Mainly because it would show them thinking outside the box and doing something different. Well, that wasn't the plan tonight. Because of the predictability of the event, it kinda hurts the show. Now, did it completely ruin it? No. This was a good PPV because of the wrestling matches. It was the action that made it stood out. While the predictable nature of something can ruin it, I don't think it kills it. Heck, look at the Mario franchise? Every video game is practically the same. Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, so Mario must save her. The Mario games are pretty predictable in their own way, but they are still fun to play. I felt that OtL was a good show to watch. Punk and Bryan put together a great wrestling match, while some of the other matches were no slouches. Outside of the Ryback/Brodus/Cena matches, everything else was good. Yes, even the Divas match was considered good. But you knew what you were getting with those matches. Brodus and Ryback were going to give you a squash match, while the Johns were going to give you comedy, so you shouldn't have expected anything special out of those matches. I think the main problem with tonight's show was there wasn't much done in terms of surprise. I had an idea somebody was going to show up in the Cena match, but I was hoping it would be anybody besides Show. It would make a bigger impression if somebody else showed up. Then again, it was obvious they didn't have anyone available OR they were going with this from the very beginning. Then again, you generally want to do the big surprise for a bigger PPV. If I have to give Over the Limit 2012 a score on a scale of 1-10 and 5 is considered average(No decimal points here), I would give this PPV a 7 out of 10. If the PPV had given me a couple of bigger surprises, I would've given it a higher score, but it was missing something. Christian's return was pretty big, but I'm mainly referring to a surprise or one of those moments we will be talking about in years to come. Not sure how memorable this show will turn out, but I do want to add this. My expectations were pretty low going into this event. WWE did manage to put together something fun, despite the lackluster build-up. It may be predictable and feature a pretty bad main event, but the rest of the card and wrestling quality makes up for it. This is a show you might want to consider watching for the matches, but keep in mind on the predictable nature of the event. If you're a fan of quality wrestling, ignore the final hour of the PPV and I think you will be very satisfied with the show. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time. 

WrestlingNerd's Official Score of WWE Over the Limit 2012: 7 out of 10

Saturday, May 19, 2012

WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Smackdown Review 5/18/12 (Plus WWE Over the Limit thoughts)


What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown 5/18/12. Why am I reviewing this? I don't know, but let's begin. 

We open the show with John Laurinaitis. He is upset with the Board of Directors changing the rules of the match. Johnny brags about bench pressing 250 pounds and running a mile in six minutes, but he's not in the greatest shape going into the match. Cena is so overpowered that the combined powers of Super Man and Wolverine wouldn't stand a chance against him. Yeah, so running a mile in six minutes isn't gonna do you a lot of good against Cena. He wanted the BOD to call off the match, but they refuse. Again, if the BOD have this much power, why don't they run the show? After having a moment for a prayer, CM Punk arrives to crash the party. Punk talks about throwing together a party for when Johnny is fired. Let's bring in Andrew WK and……wait, I did that bit in the TNA review. Punk continues to mock Johnny, which leads to Punk vs Kane for later tonight. Punk is okay with this match since he's a real man….

After watching that, life makes so much sense. Anyway, Punk leaves, which allows Johnny to completely flip out at the WWE Universe. He is angry that the fans keep giving him crap and blames them for the antics of Cena and Punk. I think Johnny also said this…

Overall, I liked what Johnny did here. In fact, it was one of the rare times Johnny stood out in the promo. I think he has grown very comfortable with his character. As for Punk, this was not one of his better promos. In fact, that's two promos he has cut that have been well below his normal rants. You really have to wonder why Punk and Bryan aren't exchanging more promos towards each other? I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this is a one-time match between Punk and Bryan. For some reason, I can't help but think it should be more. Hopefully, they will give this rivalry more than one match. 

Match #1: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Titus O'Neil and Darren Young
For some reason, Titus and Darren are starting to grow on me. I like what they are doing as a tag team. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to call them up to the main rosters. The match was short, but it was okay. The finish comes when Truth hits the Little Jimmy. It would look pretty stupid for the tag champs to lose this match, so they needed the victory. On paper, the tag title match at Over the Limit sounds great, but I'm just not into it. I guess it's because what AW has brewing in the pot seems more interesting at the moment. Oh well, I'm sure it will be a decent wrestling match. 

Winner via pinfall: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth

I like the bit where Zack Ryder was filming a spot for Z Long Island, while Damien Sandow seemed disgusted with Ryder. Sandow is walking towards the ring. He's supposed to have a match against Yoshi the Dinosaur, but Damien isn't impressed with Yoshi. He declines the match since he wants someone who can give him something meaningful. Yoshi calls him a chicken and starts to act like the giant chicken from Futurama…..

Damien is pissed off, so he beats the crap out of Yoshi. Damien is sporting pink tights and purple kneepads. I guess those are the sophisticated colors of society. Damien finishes off Yoshi with a Straight Jacket Neckbreaker. He will probably call it the Peace of Justice. Anyway, I like this Damien character. Still, why does he look like Ask that Guy? 

Match #2: Zack Ryder vs Daniel Bryan
Oh, I didn't know Ryder was still working here. Sorry about that, but he really has been a ghost these last few months. Ryder actually makes the match interesting, but he falls victim to the Yes Lock. Bryan winning should be no surprise here. With that said, Ryder fans will probably complain. 

Winner via Daniel Bryan: Submission

Match #3: CM Punk vs Kane
Bryan was on commentary for this match….

I actually enjoyed parts of this match, but I can see some people not liking it. The finish comes when Punk and Kane are on the outside of the ring. Bryan gets a chair and is about to use it on Punk, but thinks twice and hits Kane with it. Because of the attack, Kane wins via DQ. Bryan drops the chair and leaves, which gives new meaning to the term "Runaway Guys". Punk grabs the chair (WRESTLING LOGIC!!!) and is angry with Bryan. Now, Kane was not aware of who attacked him. Since he saw Punk with the chair, he assumed it was Punk. That's when Kane starts to go ape s*** and destroy Punk. After a bunch of chair shots and two Chokeslams, Kane finally leaves Punk alone. During the attack, Bryan was enjoying himself on the entrance ramp. Once again, that's all the build-up you get with Punk and Bryan. You practically have to go on WWE.com to get more of a storyline. The Indy fans know that Punk and Bryan (Bryan Danielson) have known each other for ten years, but I wish they would've cut more promos towards one another. I'm looking forward to the match, but part of it feels empty because of the very little interaction between Punk and Bryan. Punk and Johnny have had more interaction in that time-frame. Hell, Bryan and AJ have had more interaction. Do you see where I'm coming from? If this rivalry is gonna continue, I hope they can at least address these situations on TV. This is why putting a PPV in three weeks isn't a good idea. I would actually cut down on the PPVs, but now I'm thinking about the days in which I did the Wrestle Ramble. Plus, we can talk about that on another day. Again, I want to see Punk vs Bryan, but I always wanted to see more promos between the two. 

Winner via DQ: Kane

Match #4: Cody Rhodes vs Santino
I really didn't like this match. I'm fine with Cody and Santino having a rivalry. I'm fine with the IC vs US Championship approach, but here's a tip. If you're gonna have your two mid-card champions face each other, make it longer than a 2-3 minute match. These are supposed to to be the top mid-card guys, so wouldn't a longer match be more meaningful? It kinda blows my mind. Who's idea was this? The rivalry just barely started and it's already on thin ice. By the way, Santino won with the Cobra. Again, I'm not upset about Santino winning. If you want Santino to win, that's fine, but this should've been a longer match. Heck, you can put this on PPV and I think it would make it more meaningful. Then again, maybe that's not the idea? Maybe creative isn't quite sure what to do here? Well, it wouldn't surprise me after…..THAT. I need something to calm me down. I need something to distract me…..

That will do!!!

Winner via something: Santino

Match #5: Randy Orton vs Sheamus
It's pretty custom to get some lackluster matches on the week of a PPV. Mainly because you want to play it safe and make sure the competitors are healthy going into the PPV. With that said, I was impressed that they allowed Randy and Sheamus to deliver this type of match. I thought it was awesome. It was very physical and intense. I highly recommend this match. Outside of TNA Sacrifice, this was the best match out of the week. The finish comes when Sheamus gets a rollup on Randy. I can see people not liking the finish. Keep in mind that they want to make both guys look good going into the world title match. A rollup victory protects both guys, so this was the best way to do it. I would rather see this match end in a rollup than via countout/DQ. Speaking of the Fatal 4Way match, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio were absent tonight. I can allow for Jericho to pass since he was on Raw, but where has Del Rio been? You almost forget that he's apart of this match. Maybe he had a family emergency or got a minor injury? Still would like to know why he wasn't here. 

Winner via pinfall: Sheamus

Overall Impression:
In terms of wrestling quality, SD was pretty decent this week. Then again, that's mostly thanks to the Randy/Sheamus and Punk/Kane matches. Damien was pretty entertaining and Johnny continues to get comfortable with his character, but there wasn't a whole lot groundbreaking about this show. I was mostly expecting a filler show since we are on the week of the PPV. Well, that's pretty much what we got. Unlike last week, the filler this week was pretty entertaining. Again, I would've liked a promo between Bryan and Punk. Come on, WWE. At least give me one. One promo. One promo is all I ask for……and a possible date with AJ, but that's beside the point. The other area this show falls short on is building up OtL. Certain elements of OtL are intriguing, but it really feels rushed. I'm not a fan of these PPVs that get less than three weeks of build-up. There really is too many PPVs out of the year. Now, there was a particular headline that did show up in the middle of the week. WWE will be starting three-hour Raws in July 23. I know some people will ask what are my thoughts on this. Well, I'm gonna save that for the upcoming Raw review. Mainly because I'm gonna put some very quick thoughts on the OtL PPV right now, so I didn't want to crowd everything in one article. Okay, here we go….

Zack Ryder vs Kane: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha……oh, that's funny. Yeah, I got Kane winning……woo woo woo….

Layla vs Beth Phoenix; Divas Champion: Layla just became the champion, so it would be really odd to see Beth get this one. Then again, I have said that the Diva Division is more confusing than Sonic '06's storyline, so nothing would surprise me at this point. Even with that said, I have Layla retaining the title. 

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger; Tag Titles: Part of me wonders if AW's crew is going to crash this party. Plus, I'm not big on the idea of Dolph getting the tag titles. I can actually see a title change here, but I'm sticking with Jamaican Jimmy to win this match……HA!!!

Sheamus vs Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho vs Alberto Del Rio; WHC: It would seem a little premature to have Sheamus drop the title, but this might be the best scenario. Maybe they have a particular "rockstar" win the title and carry it all the way into SummerSlam? Hey, it's just a thought? Randy and Del Rio don't really seem prime on capturing the title this Sunday, so I think I narrowed it down to two. I say Sheamus gets this match for the time being, but the next rivalry should be Sheamus and Jericho. I think that could be a lot of fun. 

CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan; WWE Championship: I haven't seen Punk losing his championship lately……until now. Since Bryan is one of the hottest things in pro wrestling, I can see WWE give him the championship because they want to embrace the art of the orgasm. This is a potential show-stealer right here, but I'm still gonna pick Punk to retain the championship. If this rivalry continues, Bryan should eventually get the title. 

John Cena vs John Laurinaitis: The battle of the Johns. The only thing missing is the John itself……aw, never mind. As I mentioned on Raw this past week, I think Johnny will get some help to win this match. It will probably be the Big Show, but maybe there will be a surprise return…..

Well, that's what I'm hoping for. My prediction is for Johnny to still be the GM after the PPV. Why give him the power of both Raw and SD and only take it away after two months? Yeah, sounds pretty dumb. 

Those are my predictions…..which I don't care if I get right or wrong. Still, people want to see them, so….there you go. That's also gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time. 

Friday, May 18, 2012

WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Impact Wrestling Review 5/17/12


What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling 5/17/12. After Sacrifice, how do things pan out? Let's find out and start the review. 

We open up the show with Robert Roode. How many times have I said that to open up a review? I should create a counter for that……naw. Bobby talks about how nobody can defeat him. He gives RVD credit for giving him a tough match, but he still wasn't good enough to defeat Bobby. Since Bobby is one week away from being the longest reigning TNA World Champ, he wants to throw a party….

Bobby calls out Hulk Hogan. With the Hulkster in the ring, Bobby has a list of demands for his party. He wants good furniture for his locker room, five bottles of cold champagne, a bowl of GREEN M&Ms. Not red, not blue, and I pray to God that you don't even think about giving him yellow ones. He wants Green M&Ms. Unfortunately, Bobby doesn't realize that TNA already has plenty of green M&Ms. You would know them better as the TNA locker room…

Oh, they set me up for that one. I REGRET NOTHING!!! He always wants golden confetti flown in from Canada. What? I didn't realize that Canada had the good stuff when it came to confetti. Yeah, this is serious thing. You didn't know this? Hogan praises Roode as champion, but he won't be celebrating anything since he will be defending his world title on Open Fight Night (Next week). Hogan puts together a series of qualifiers to determine the final four competitors to choose from. So, you have a group of guys to choose from, so you make them compete. That way, you have another group of people to choose from. Oh, that makes perfect sense. Hey, I'm just having fun. So, it will be Bully Ray vs RVD in the first qualifier, Jeff Hardy vs Mr. Anderson in the second match, Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe in the third match, and a Wild Card Battle Royal to determine the final competitor. The segment ends with Bobby being pissed off. So, I like the choices, but something feels off. RVD, Kurt, Hardy, Anderson, and Bully are deserving of their spot, but why is Joe here? What has he done to get a world title qualifier? Heck, Austin Aries has done more than Joe. Then again, that's wrestling logic for you. Oh, and don't give me that, "Joe was just tag team champion" argument. That's a lazy argument. In case you're still lost, OFN qualifiers was going to be the theme of tonight's show. Some might consider that a crime, but I'm okay with this approach. That, and the biggest crime of the night is Bobby not getting his green M&Ms. Those bastards!!!

Match #1: Bully Ray vs RVD; OFN Qualifier 
Throughout the match, Bully was targeting the injured knee of RVD. It appears RVD is selling the hell out of it, but I wonder how much "selling" is going on here. RVD took some really bad bumps in that match, so I wouldn't be surprised if he really was a little banged up. Because of the constant knee attacks, this would be RVD's downfall. He tried a heel kick, but landed awkwardly on his knee. This allowed Bully to take control and toss up RVD for a solo 3D…..Which totally looks like the RKO/Cutter. Bully will now be one the four choices for OFN. Since he's a heel, his chances of getting the title match aren't very good. Bully also had an exchange with Joseph Abyss in the back. They don't like each other. I'm still waiting for the moment Abyss AND Joseph show up on the same screen. Just imagine it….

Winner via pinfall: Bully Ray

TNA showed the signing of King Mo. He's mostly known for MMA fighting, but he will be doing MMA gigs AND working part-time for TNA. They kept claiming that he was the first person to do MMA and pro wrestling at the same time, but didn't Bobby Lashley do the same thing at one point? Then again, I don't pay attention to MMA, so I could be wrong here. What does this move mean for TNA? Well, it will give them more mainstream attention, which is something this company needs a hell of a lot more of. It will be interesting to see what they do with him, but who knows how long this will last. The interview completely broke kayfabe, but it was almost unavoidable. Still, the fourth wall is shattered so much that the glass has turned into dust particles. Be careful breathing in the rest of the evening. It could be fatal. Madison Rayne is interested in some guy while Gail Kim is complaining. Velvet Sky and Brooke Tessmacher mock Gail…..yada yada. How do you go from a MMA killing machine to the Knockouts? Unless…..no, I shouldn't be thinking like that. 

Match #2: Wild Card Battle Royal; OFN Qualifier
There was a number of competitors in this match. Oh, TNA. You start to get in the right direction, but then you have those moments that are completely stupid. So, you have Crimson, who is undefeated, struggling to fight ODB and ends up getting eliminated by ODB AND Eric Young. This guy is undefeated in singles matches? Is this the same guy or did you clone Crimson? Now, I admit that Crimson's undefeated streak is very forgettable and not a whole lot stands out about him, but you aren't doing him any favors when you write things like this. It makes even less sense to put him in a possible rivalry with the comedy couple. I don't know why, but I just find it pretty stupid. As the match continues, Madison shows up and watches the match. Apparently, the guy she has her eye on is possibly in the ring. So, your choices would be AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Robbie E, Robbie T, Devon, Garett Bischoff, and Gunner. I know I should take this seriously, but I can't help but put together the worst combination possible. Madison and Devon, huh? Sure, whatever floats your boat, creative staff. I wouldn't be surprised if the person they choose is Garett. Why? Because TNA loves handing out storylines/programs to people who haven't earned it. This was a fair match, but I think Tazz was blowing his own load a little much here. He said this was the best Battle Royal ever. No, no, no, no, so much no with this sentence. And, this would be reason #47981 for the TNA fans to hate me. It's a growing list. I was entertained by this match, but I wouldn't call it the best. The Robbies might have some foreshadowing with Robbie E eliminating his bodyguard, but who really cares. The finish comes when AJ eliminates Gunner, thus winning the match. Why was Gunner the last elimination? Gunner hasn't contended for anything since……back to the review. 

Winner: AJ Styles

After the match, AJ cuts a promo. He talks about going after Bobby, but you aren't interested in this. You want to hear about the stuff involving Dixie Carter. He says things aren't always as they seem. Did you tell you wife that, AJ? Christopher Daniels and Kaz interrupt. Kaz wants to know the reasoning behind these allegations, while Daniels wants to know, but seems to be having fun at AJ's expense. This week, Daniels and Kaz show a video of AJ and Dixie walking into a hotel room together. Why didn't they post this on the titantron. Did TNA want to show off their IPad? Then again, I'm impressed that they were able to afford one. Once AJ sees the video, he leaves without saying anything. AJ left because he remembered he left something at the zoo……a cougar…

Again, I regret nothing. Now that they have finally picked a direction for this storyline, expect it to linger for 2-3 months until they decide for AJ to explain himself. Hey, it already happened once in this storyline, so it wouldn't surprise me. Oh, and Kurt and Joe remember their dinosaur days rivalry. It was a pretty pointless backstage scene. I get what they are trying to do, but there's no reason for it. Gotta add the filler at somepoint. 

Match #3: Mr. Anderson vs Jeff Hardy; OFN Qualifier
I don't know about you, but do you feel like you aren't getting good in-ring quality with this rivalry? There are times where it look good, but there are also times where it starts to look sloppy. Maybe the chemistry between the two is off? The finish comes when Anderson does the Green Bay Plunge on Hardy, but Hardy quickly counters with a roll-up victory. I wasn't a big fan of how they ended this match. It just felt rushed. I guess Hardy was suppose to win at Sacrifice? I hope we don't see this match again. With that said, look for Anderson/Hardy to happen 8 more times until the end of the year. 

Winner via pinfall: Jeff Hardy

Match #4: Gail Kim vs Brooke Tessmacher vs Velvet Sky; KO title
I think it's clear TNA isn't sure what to do with the KO title. They want Gail to be the champion, but they aren't sure who should be the #1 Contender. It seems they want BOTH Tessmacher and Velvet. Either that, or TNA really wants to grab hold of their assets. Anyway, Velvet hit In Yo Face on Tessmacher, but Gail arrives and tosses Velvet out of the ring. Gail pins Tessmacher to retain her title. You see what I mean? Last week, Velvet took the defeat since they were pushing Tessmacher, but Tessmacher takes the pinfall tonight? What's the thought process here? Then again, I don't think they care since they are probably trying to milk the sex appeal factor. 

Winner via pinfall and still KO Champ: Gail Kim

Match #5: Samoa Joe vs Kurt Angle; OFN Qualifier
Okay, what is up with the fan sitting in the front? Did you read his signs? He had a "We want four sides". Ummmm…..isn't that what they are using? I think he had another sign about whales. As soon as I saw that sign, this is what came into my mind….

Gotta love Team FourStar. This was a pretty good match. I really enjoyed it. Bobby joined the commentary team for this match. He actually did pretty good on commentary. In fact, can we put him on commentary and get rid of Tenay? If there's one thing I didn't like about this match, it was the ending. Roll-up victories are kinda cheap. I understand that it's used to protect the stock of certain stars, but what kind of stock does Joe have? Maybe they are gonna start using him, but we've been down this road before. I always find it funny when people chant, "Joe's gonna kill you". Please, Joe hasn't killed anyone since 2008. As you would've guessed, the finish comes when Kurt gets a roll-up on Joe for the victory. After the match, all four qualifiers show up and turn their attention to Roode. 

Winner via pinfall: Kurt Angle

Overall Impression:
You would think TNA would start the build-up for Slammiversary tonight, but that wasn't the case. They have been showing a lot of advertisements for the event, so they definitely what it to do well. So, why dedicate an entire night to who will qualify for the OFN?To be fair, they can use tonight's action for the PPV, but it seems kinda reckless. Keep in mind that these four aren't gonna compete in another match, as Hogan will make the decision on who gets the title match. I'm okay with that idea, but I'm not loving it at the same time. I just keep getting reminded of Hogan's five-year decision making from the last OFN. At least it shows that TNA wants the OFN to work, since they are putting extra time into it. With that said, I was entertained by tonight's show. I thought it was pretty decent and it was a little fun. It wasn't groundbreaking television, but it wasn't terrible. The matches were decent, the storytelling aspects were okay, and the promos were fair. Again, TNA seems to have things going in the positive direction. Then again, that's usually when you have to remain the most cautious. That storm never seems to be late for TNA land. Then again, maybe it's getting delayed? That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show. See you next time.