Time is of essence in mini-reviews, so let's dive into the 6/28/13 episode of WWE Smackdown.
So, Sheamus is reminded of home by the surroundings of the Dublin Street Fight? I didn't know the streets of Dublin had wrestling rings, cameras, and colorful lights. It must be a private area of the neighborhood. The match goes about the way would you expect it. Since Sheamus doesn't need a filler feud anymore, he does what should've happened weeks ago and kicks Sandow's head off. Sheamus wins the match, Sandow loses the match, and the order of the world doesn't change in the slightest. It's funny how a year ago we were talking about the potential of Damien Sandow. When all else fails, it's time to create an online show. 'Trump the Sandow' begins next week.
I take your threats very…….very……..Ummm--very……Ummm…..Uhhh….LINE!!! Personally!! Yeah, I take your threats very, very……personally! And this is why Paul Heyman is the voice for Curtis Axel…..*whispering* he's not very good at it. Miz was pretty lame with those Star Wars joke…
Other than that, this was basic build towards the Miz/Curtis rivalry. It wasn't that bad, but not the most engaging scene created this evening.
Vince on Smackdown? This must mean something. Since Booker is still absent due to surgery, Mr. Tag Team Playa makes the MITB match for the WHC. This match will consist of Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, Dean Ambrose, Antonio Cesaro, Jack Swagger, and Faaaaaaaandaaaaaaaannnnngoooooooooooooo. So, we have one MITB match that only has faces, but another one that only has heels? Actually, I kinda like that idea, but it does give away possible events for the future. Since the WHC MITB only has heels, that has to mean Dolph Ziggler will get back the WHC, only to eventually lose it to the winner of this match. It's possible that won't be the case, but I feel there's a bit of a connection with all of this. What I like about this match is that it's more unpredictable to determine the winner as opposed to the other MITB match. There's 3-4 guys I can see winning the WHC MITB match for the time being. I'll talk more about this in the Raw review next week.
Debate of the week: could Randy Orton lose cleanly twice in one week? Okay, it wasn't really the main debate, but…..it could've…..maybe…..shut up! Daniel screwed over his former tag partner by rushing him back in the ring too soon, thus resulting in Randy hitting the RKO for the victory. Uh oh, spaghettios. Bryan was sorry for his actions, but he didn't seem that sincere with his apology. Bryan is nuttier than squirrel poop at the moment. Look forward to seeing how this plays out on Raw next week. Even though Team Hell No is no more, this pairing is still funny. I want a sit-com based around these guys.
It's funny how the Shield was undefeated when they had no gold, but put some gold on them and they become fragile. The victory for the Usos and Christian does help them out since the Usos have a tag opportunity, so that has to be worth something. Yeah, people will argue that Shield losing cleanly to these guys makes them look weak, but where is this written rule saying the Shield must win all the time? All three members of the Shield have gold, so them losing and being somewhat vulnerable is okay just as long as they don't get this dramatic drop of stock. To me, the sign WWE has given up on the Shield is when 3MB manages to defeat them. That hasn't happened yet, so I think WWE still wants to see this last a little longer. This also gives Ambrose more motive since he was the one who took the defeat, thus I can see this being used to build some stock towards Ambrose getting the briefcase…..Okay, it's a longshot, but it could happen.
It's time for Del Rio's fiesta….
Dolph Ziggler interrupts the party and takes his frustrations out on Del Rio and Ricardo. I'll admit that the ending to the show was pretty funny. It was entertaining to see Ziggles play along with the mariachi band. Ricardo better get a renewal on that life insurance policy or else he's screwed.
Overall Impression:
While not the most engaging episode, there was a few things out there that make it interesting. I love seeing the progression on Daniel's character. I know I've gone on and on about this, but he's really one the best characters to watch because of his over-the-top reactions and insane antics. The matches were also fair this evening. This is a show where you honestly won't miss much if you skip, but you might find something if you're looking for a distraction. That does it for the mini-review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of this and I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling 6/27/13. How do things go this week? Let's find out and begin.
X Division madness
We open up the show with Sting. This was a very basic opening where the MEM talked about revealing a new member and foreshadowing towards Aces & Eights. There's almost no point to talk about this opening. Hey, look at these magic beans? Why? Because it's about as engaging as this opening.
As Chris Sabin walks towards the ring, Doc greets him with some SURPRISE BUTT SEX!!! Noooo, not his innocence! What it boiled down to was the Aces & Eights warning him about cashing in the X Division title for the Destination X episode in the near future. Tonight's X Division title match will allow the winner to say if he wants to trade it in for a world title or continue being the X Champ. In a very good opening match, Suicide steals this victory by utilizing the ropes….Even though the ref clearly could've seen that--Oh, who cares at this point? I think this is the cue where the Sabin fanboys start waiving their flag and talk about how much TNA is making the wrong move, but there's a reason for Suicide stealing the belt. Mr. Brother stumbles upon a mystery, as it turns out the real Suicide is played by TJ Perkins, who is standing right next to Hulk during this whole sequence. It appears we have a mystery on our hands to determine who is the fake Suicide. Of course, it's well known that this is the 4-5 person to play the Suicide gimmick, but just be a good person and eat the wrestling logic sandwich so we can get this moving. Hogan is on the case….
Big O check
The Gut Check match for this evening features Ryan Howe, who looks like the crewed-up remains of Van Hammer, and Adam Ohriner, who's better known as the Big O from Zack Ryder's online show. I would call him by his ring name, but you're just gonna call him Big O anyway, so why even bother? The Big O picks up the victory. I honestly don't have anything to say about these two since I wasn't that impressed. They have potential, but neither of them are really grabbing my attention to the fullest. For the time being, I couldn't care less who gets the TNA contract. It definitely seems TNA is trying to cash in on Big O's internet popularity.
Dial 'M' for Magnus
Hogan and Scooby work together to crack the case, but it seems the referee can't supply the information Hulk needs. Wait, did Taz just claim the Magnus 'M' is a Super Mario logo? Just when you think Taz has said the stupidest line possible, he finds a way to top that. It truly is an amazing gift. Although, Taz does have a point since it really does look like Mario's 'M'. I wonder if Nintendo can sue? Magnus gets the clean victory over Bobby Roode. It definitely seems TNA is high on Magnus for the time being. I may prefer his heel character, but at least he's finally getting a chance to prove himself.
If you wish upon a bro...
Drunken Garbage comes out to talk about the tag division until Robbie E and Jesse come out to stick their claim at the tag titles. That's right, Robbie E and Jesse are now a tag team. In all honestly, I don't have a problem with this. TNA needs more tag teams and there's nothing wrong with utilizing undercard talent that's doing nothing to accomplish this. Still, I wonder if anyone will truly get into the tag team of Robbie E and Jesse? Well, Storm and Gunner don't look at them as competition since they made them look like bigger tools than they already were.
Main Event Mafia: It's the same as it was 4-5 years ago
In the second BFG match of the evening, Samoa Joe defeated Mr. Anderson thanks to the MEM coming to the aid of their comrade. Yeah, there's no point in delaying this. Joe is a next member of the MEM. Somebody better pick up that phone cuz I---Eh, not really surprising. It just seemed like a move TNA would do from the beginning. There's nothing wrong with bringing in nostalgic members of the stable, but they really do need some newer faces to the equation. Other than Taz, there's no other members they can rely on since Booker and Kevin Nash are under WWE contracts and Scott Steiner is busy playing Phoenix Wright. There's choices like Crimson and Matt Morgan still available, but we shall wait and see.
A suicidal reveal
Meanwhile, in the Hall of Brother Corp, Hulk has finally had enough of the games and wants to know who the imposter-cide is or he will strip him of the X Division title. Which really makes you question why doesn't Hulk just do that to Bully Ray since it would solve all his problems, but this is also the same man who made this….
Suicide finally talks and reveals himself to be Austin Aries….
I love that clip. Anyway, Aries was the culprit all along. He obviously attacked Perkins and stole his suit in order to get a shot at Option C. I know the Sabin fans are gonna be angry about this since they felt he should've been given the option for a world title match, but Sabin is no main eventer. I know those words are gonna upset people, but he doesn't have the tools to make it in the main event. He can make for a decent mid-card talent, but he doesn't have that personality/charisma you need in order to stand out. Aries has those tools, so I have no problem with Aries stealing the X title this evening. The Bully/Aries matches have always been entertaining, so sounds like a good combination.
Overall Impression:
Outside of the Aries/Suicide deal, there wasn't much to report. Yeah, there was Samoa Joe in the MEM, but that was so predictable that it almost doesn't warrant a watch. I'll admit that the Sui-troll was entertaining to sit through, but I'm not sure if that's enough to keep you invested. I admit that I had to stop watching after a while since nothing else was really grabbing my attention. This isn't what I call a bad episode, but it could've used more preparation. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 6/24/13. How do things go this week? Let's find out and begin.
YES! NO! YES!
We open up the show with Daniel Bryan. The man claims he wasn't in 'The Hobbit' and he will defeat Randy Orton tonight. For some reason, I'm just trying to picture Daniel in the 'Lord of the Rings' films….
Well, that's an image for you. Anyway, Randy comes out and continues to be a douchebag about the whole thing. I ask again, this is supposed to be a good guy? I think Randy's character lives in the realms of opposite day. The match doesn't last long as the referee can't seem to keep either person in control, thus resulting in a double DQ. Bryan would demand for another match with Orton this evening, but this sub-plot would be used to elevate the sub-plot of the McMahon storyline as well. Vickie Guerrero gives Bryan his rematch, but the evil, big, bad, Mr. McMahon says Bryan doesn't deserve a rematch because he's insane. Later on in the show, Vickie is about to cancel the match until Triple H comes in and claims Daniel should get this match since the fans want to see it. Vickie caves in to Trips' request since she can't seem to think for herself. That was all the interaction you got this week with the McMahons. I'm guessing Vince was more concerned about taking a nap than to build up his own storyline.
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More divas
During the Kaitlyn/Aksana match, AJ came out looking like Hulk Hogan dressed in drag since she wants to continue to embarrass Kaitlyn. Big E even joins in on the fun in order to add more salt to the wound. Layla was holding her back since she really has nothing else going in her career to end the scene. The AJ/Kaitlyn rivalry is one of the better rivalries that's happened in women's wrestling. While I have shown my hang-ups with the acting (Seriously, can't one woman on this show making crying look real?), the rivalry isn't too bad and it could be a lot worse. What I'm trying to say is I don't have a problem with WWE milking another match out of these two…..hmmm, something about that last sentence doesn't sound right.
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Chris Jericho/Alberto Del Rio delivered another good match. In fact, I felt it was better than the match they had on Smackdown last week. The finish comes when Ricardo attacks Jericho with a tin can that was loaned out from Spencers. Actually, this would explain why Del Rio never comes out in cars anymore. He can't afford them after all the months of just renting the automobiles. After the match, Dolph Ziggler comes in to attack Del Rio. Once it's down to Jericho and Ziggles, Dolph hits the Zig Zag on Jericho. After Jericho attacked Dolph on SD this past week, it only made sense for Dolph to retaliate in the same measure. I'm guessing we should prep for another Dolph/Jericho match in the next few weeks, but you have to wonder how that will go since Jericho would get a new program by the end of the night. More of that later in the review.
Video games & forced matches
Yes, purchase the latest copy of the WWE video game since it's the same game you've gotten in the past, but with FIVE NEW CHARACTERS!!! The Rock ended up being on the cover. I'm fine with the cover, but this is what I would've done….
Getting back to the show, Ryback vs Khali was the next match of the evening. I only bring this up for two reasons. Did JBL really just say this is something Steven Spielberg would book? Spielberg would book whimsical fantasies, not this cannibal fighting a giant tree. I mean, WOW was that a stupid line. The other reason I bring this up is because this would lead into a Ryback/Jericho match at MITB….what? Yeah, WWE just basically farted a Ryback/Jericho match out of thin air. What's the purpose? Nothing at all. Vickie just saw both guys bitching and figured, 'hey, let's make this happen'. I love how both guys complained about wanting in world title situations, but end up not caring now that they have a match against each other. Duuuurrrr, wasn't I in here for a reason? Oh no, I done goofed. Joking aside, the match isn't that bad of an idea. I may not be big on how this was slapped together, I can forgive it if they make this feud entertaining between now and the MITB match.
John Cena's bag of promos
After recovering from Mario's fight, John Cena comes out to talk about Mark Henry's fake retirement and how he tricked everyone. I swear that Cena is the master of cliches. While I respect what Cena does on a weekly basis, the man literally cuts the same 3-4 speeches every week. Blah, blah, blah, I will always fight. Blah, blah, blah, the champ is here. Blah, blah, blah, watch me smile. Blah, blah, blah, buy my products. That's basically what you get this time around as Cena sets up his match with Henry at MITB. Much later in the show, Henry would come out to make a speech in how he fooled everybody. That's right. Dance, puppets, dance!!! By the way, Spielberg's name was dropped yet again on this show. What's going on here? Is Spielberg making a movie with WWE being involved. Oh no, Spielberg's next movie is ET 2: ET Phones Cena. That might be a bigger train-wreck than the ET video game.
Friends lie to other friends....are you sure?
Paul Heyman finally explains himself to CM Punk….well, sort of. Punk and Pauly start to shoot as they talk about how backstage politics and Punk's stance in the company years ago. Thanks to Paul, Punk at least had a chance to get somewhere. Punk tells Heyman he's coming after Brock Lesnar and wants to know if Heyman had anything to do with Brock's attack. Pauly claims despite the circumstances, he had nothing to do with Brock's actions since there's always been jealously between Punk and Brock, but this is where Heyman continues to show why he's one of the best villains on this show. He agrees that he's a liar and a manipulator, but somehow made CM Punk look like a terrible friend in all of this. While it's clear Punk is the heel and Paul is deceiving, it's how he delivered the scene that makes it truly interesting. I knew this was gonna be an interesting storyline, but these two may have made an interesting storyline even more interesting. That doesn't come as a surprise to me since both guys are masters in explaining exposition. For the time being, Punk seems to believe that Pauly had nothing to do with the attack since Pauly somehow talked his way out of it, but it changes nothing between Punk and Brock. Things would not end as Punk had a match with Darren Young this evening. In a pretty good match, Punk manages to get the victory with the Anaconda Vice. I liked this match because of Punk's body language during this match. He shows that he's distracted because of Heyman's words earlier in the night. That's just good storytelling all around. After the match, the PTP attack Punk until Curtis Axel comes in to save Punk. It turns out Paul sent Curtis out there to 'protect his friend'. We would find out that PTP would face off against Punk and Curtis next week. Punk doesn't like this idea since he wants to do things on his own, while Heyman continues to cover ups his own tracks. It's definitely gonna be a fun couple of months watching this whole thing being played out.
Return of the Bryan
CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, 1-800-FELLA, Christian, Kane, and RVD will be competing in the WWE Championship MITB ladder match. No word if there's gonna be a MITB ladder match for the WHC, but we'll wait and see. Thanks to the WWE App….
…we get a Street Fight between Bryan and Orton. This was a very good match. This was right up there with the quality of a PPV match. I've talked about what Bryan can do in the ring, but Orton deserves some love as well. The man might have the personality of toilet paper, but Orton definitely knows how to tell a story inside a wrestling ring. Bryan makes things difficult for Orton while Randy is doing everything to finish him off….
The force is with you, young Bryan, but you're not a Jedi yet
Bryan continues to do everything in his power to make things difficult for Orton. Finally, Bryan has the No Lock applied and Orton cannot deal with it anymore. Orton taps out and Bryan has finally defeated Orton in clean fashion….
It was great to see Bryan get that victory, which I think sets himself up to be the favorite going into the MITB ladder match. They could use this big victory to carry Bryan to another big win. Right now, Bryan is one of the most interesting characters to watch. I say give him a shot and let him keep rolling with this hot streak.
Overall Impression:
While this isn't quite as good as last week's show, this was still pretty damn good. There was a couple of matches that really stuck out this evening, but things also got interesting with the storytelling side of things. I like how things went between Punk and Heyman since it shows two people with different ideals for what they want/don't want. Things did lighten up with the McMahons this week, but I admit that I'm interested to see where this is headed. And of course, the DB/Randy match. This is another episode of Raw that should be worth a look if you're interested. Things are looking good in WWE Land as we get closer to Money in the Bank. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
Okay, so I'm gonna try something a little different this week. I know people are used to longer reviews, but I want to try something along the lines of mini-reviews since I know some people haven't been fond of the lack of Smackdown updates. I'm simply trying this out to see how well it comes across. Depending on how it goes, this could become a regular thing I do every week/other week. On mini-reviews, I'm mostly gonna stick to the main parts of the show and ignore anything that's padding from the previous week's episode of Raw….unless it's something worth mentioning. Without delay, let's give it a shot.
Daniel Bryan kicks off Smackdown by bitch-slapping WWE officials for calling off his match on Raw this past week. Bryan is convinced the company thinks of him as the weak link. I think Daniel would solve a lot of his issues if he just got laid, but I can see that backfiring on him. Bryan also wasn't happy about Randy Orton's actions after the match since he felt it was as if he treated him like a dog. If could've been worse. Bryan could've been his boss….
Randy claims he showed respect and not pity towards Bryan, but Bryan doesn't seem to care. Bryan wants a rematch with Randy, to which Randy claims he'll send Bryan to the hospital. So….Randy's a face, isn't he? And people still cheer for him to be a dick. I think Randy Orton is the only guy that can literally say 'I'm gonna shoot you in the f***in' face' and somehow still get applause.
Sheamus takes out Cody Rhodes with the Brogue Kick. Seriously, Cody Rhodes is pretty much Damien Sandow's bitch at this point. Let's ask Samuel L Jackson how he feels about Cody…
Well, that's one way of putting it.
Curtis Axel defeated Wade Barrett in an IC title match, thus closing the book on the remains of Wade's career. There's always a chance he can get another chance, but it doesn't seem likely at this point. As we hit the fast-forward button, we come across Chris Jericho vs Alberto Del Rio. I bring this up because Dolph Ziggler interfered in the match to get back at Del Rio. Jericho greets Dolph by hitting the Codebreaker on Dolph. This is gonna start the talk of Jericho possibly turning heel, but I think this was just a typical reaction for somebody who got screwed over in a match. Besides, I think WWE has more than enough characters going through a face/heel transition for the moment. They can afford one more (Possibly Orton). but that's about it in terms of big names.
Christian squashed Drew McIntyre and….prepare yourself…..declares that he needs….wait for the reveal….
That's the Christian we know and love! Unfortunately, the Shield doesn't seem to think so since they take out Christian with the triple powerbomb. With Team Hell No on a break and Randy being Randy, I guess you need others to join in the fight. Christian hasn't done it, so why the hell not? Besides, I think we can get some fun matches. Hell, Christian vs Dean Ambrose sounds like some delightful entertainment.
The last match of the night was Daniel vs Randy. Once again, the two put on a really enjoyable match. This was definitely the match of the evening if you were curious to know. Randy is about to hit the Vintage Orton on the outside of the ring…
Thanks, Marty. Anyway, Bryan fights out of it and eventually wins with a countout victory. Bryan isn't pleased with hand-out victories, so he demands for the referee to restart the match. And….that's how the show ends. Somewhat anti-climatic since it honestly felt the show just stopped, but it doesn't matter. WWE continues to build upon Bryan's character and it's straight up awesome right now. I can't wait to see what this leads towards.
Overall Impression:
This wasn't a bad episode of Smackdown. I don't really expect much with SD and I mostly just want to be entertained with the matches/segments to at least make it worthwhile and I think they delivered in that department. It may be a filler episode, but it's filler that could be worth a look. That does it for the mini-review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think of this concept and if this is something that could work for future SD reviews. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling 6/20/13. How did the show do? Let's find out and begin.
It's brother time!
We open up the show with brother, brother, brother!!! Hulk Hogan comes to the ring and talks about the BFG Series, brother! Wow, Jeff Hardy won the poll? I haven't been this surprised since I found out drinking water is good for you. Seriously, why even make the poll when you knew what you were gonna do? Hardy decides to challenge Bobby Roode since they had a moment last week, so Hardy needs to see if it's worth it….Wait, am I still talking about wrestling at this point? Anyway, this starts a brawl between the 12 BFG competitors to close the segment. I think the most disappointing thing about this segment is Hogan not getting enough 'brothers' in there. He could've fit five more 'brothers' if he tried hard enough. Other than that, it was a pretty traditional opening to the show. It sets the theme of the night right away, so that's a positive.
Is Vice President of Aces & Eights really that big of a perk?
So, let me get this straight. A countout victory gives you five points, but wrestling to a 15-minute draw only gets you 2 points? That's pretty harsh if you think about it. Then again, what do you expect when this guy makes some of the decisions……
Mr. Anderson calls out overweight Phoenix Wright to a BFG Series match. Thanks to Doc, Anderson steals this match with the Mic Check. Wait a minute, why did Doc help Anderson? The reasoning for this is Anderson and Doc are fighting for the Vice President of Aces & Eights. Why do you even want this power? D'Lo Brown did nothing with it, so it seems like you would be better off without it. At least it shows some minor tension in the group, so it's actually not a bad idea.
Shouting and blindness
While Jay Bradley SHOUTS AT YOU, Austin Aries puts him away with the Brainbuster. The match wasn't half-bad, but why the shouting? I don't get that. It's not even over-the-top like Roman Reigns, so what's the purpose? Shouting randomly without any feeling isn't gonna help you grow charisma. Joking aside, I like the idea of the rookie calling out one of the big dogs….or would it be little dogs? Little big dogs? Regardless, it's not a bad move to at least get his characterization started since he has no identity/personality thus far.
Hernandez calls out Daniels to a match. Due to Earl Hebner being blind and not seeing the low blow---wrestling logic or not, how did he not see that? He was standing right in front of his face while he kicked him. What, did TNA hire Mr. Magoo to officiate? Anyway, Christopher Daniels uses the kick to the balls to hit the BME to steal the 7 points. Kaz challenged Magnus because he's British. Too bad that doesn't pan out for him since Magnus defeats him with the Texas Cloverleaf. Wait, shouldn't we call it the British Cloverleaf? Naw, who cares. Out of the first week of action, Magnus is the leader of the BFG standings. I expect to see Magnus as one of the top four guys, but I don't expect him to win for the time being. I really like Magnus since I've always said he has a ton of potential and the look to go far, but I still prefer him as a heel rather than a face.
The best part of the show
Since we gotta have that one over-the-top segment of the night, we have Hogan and Bully come across each other in the back. I love how Hogan catches him and tells him you're a dead man. How can you look at this and NOT laugh your ass off? It's like getting a death threat from Santa Claus. How am I supposed to be intimidated by that?
Oh nooooooooooo. The only thing that would top this scene is if Hogan gave some crazy eyes at the end of t--and the hilarity comes full circle! I don't even give a s*** what the scene was talking about. It was Hogan doing what he does best, being hammy. That was some good entertainment right there.
Brooke's just here to look pretty and nothing else
Brooke Hogan addresses the entire KO division. She tells Eric Young and ODB to hand over the KO tag titles since EY has a penis. No, that's seriously the argument. Why is she only addressing this now? Because the segment was written with a 30-second time limit. I actually like how EY and ODB don't really seem to care about this. Even they know how stupid these titles are, and they were supposed to represent them. That's actually pretty funny if you think about it. Oh, and there's gonna be a ladder match between Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell in a ladder match. You think you would get a ladder thrown in another ladder, but we have a different Hogan making the call. So, what are they competing for? Well, we honestly don't know since Brooke failed to explain that. Well, at least she kept one trait from her father.
Main events
TNA's exercise app? Actually, I'm not even surprised anymore. It was almost inevitable for TNA to get their own app out there. AJ Styles talked before his match with Samoa Joe. He pretty much said the same thing all those months ago about doing what he feels is right for himself and not for the company. Styles claims this is no place for heroes…
Styles and Joe wrestle to a draw. It's a bit unfulfilling, but it's not a bad plan for the sake of storytelling. The Styles/Joe match was actually pretty good. I would even say it's the best match out of the evening. Hardy and Roode is up next and why do I get the feeling Tazz is grabbing his dick while watching Roode? All he did during this match is orgasm over Roode's wrestling skills. Imagine his disappointment when Hardy won the match? For a short match, it was pretty good. I feel sorry for the custodian since he probably has to put away that announce table. Ewwww….
Bully wants to get his sexual aggression out, but Sting decides to use this time to introduce the newest member of the Main Event Mafia. Bully calls his crew to fight him, but it seems they have either gotten beaten up by 1-2 guys or they passed out from alcohol poisoning. For some reason, I believe the second option a little more. It's finally revealed that Kurt Angle is a member of the new MEM. This honestly shouldn't be that surprising of a move considering Angle is one of the few remaining members of the stable. The only other one left is Samoa Joe, who I think will be in the stable for nostalgic feeling. While I may not be big on the stable returning, I don't mind them putting in some of the original members. Still, I would like to see some new names being put into the mix so you can pay homage to the originals, but allow newer names to rise. Just my honest two cents.
Overall Impression:
I wasn't expecting much out of the evening since TNA was competing against Game 7 of the NBA Finals. While I can't stand basketball, you had to figure this would put a dent in people even bothering with tonight's show. If you were one of the few who skipped basketball to watch this, you honestly didn't miss much. For this being the first official night of the 2013 BFG Series, it felt okay. The matches were okay and so were the segments. Yeah, so it was just an 'okay' evening. There's nothing wrong with 'okay' since that could be considered an average episode, that has to be worth something, right? I honesty think the best part of the show was the Hogan/Bully backstage scene, but that's because Hogan was being over-the-top hilarious. The show does have some qualities that can pull you in, but don't be shocked if you forget about it seconds after you're done watching. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I'll see you guys and girls in the next one.
What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 6/17/13. With Payback out of the way, how does WWE start the build towards Money in the Bank? Let's find out and start the review.
It's my destiny to hate the audience
We open up the show with Mr. Del Rrrrriiiiio. Alberto claims to be the Mexican Superman, but he's also pissed off. Apparently, it's okay for Dolph to cash in the MITB while he was banged up, but it was crossing the line when he took advantage of Ziggles head issues. You know, he totally has a point there. He does what the audience wanted him to do, but it was never enough. I just want to be loved, dammit! Love me!!! Anyway, Del Rio pretty much says 'f*** off' to the audience as he's gonna do whatever it takes to be successful. It makes you wonder what Zeb Colter would think about a foreigner hating the WWE Univ--WAIT A MINUTE!!! CM Punk decides to interrupt Del Rio's character transition so he can continue to show his change of persona. Damn, there sure are a lot of face/heel turns happening this month, don't you think? It's like the show got thrown in a washer machine and everything went bats*** insane. Punk wants a match with Del Rio tonight, while Paul Heyman doesn't seem keen on that idea since it wouldn't be a title match. Oh no, it appears there's trouble in paradise. Vickie Guerrero decides to make the match official. Definitely an interesting way to start off the show. As I projected after Payback, Del Rio has become an asshole while Punk (Who's turned face in the process) is wanting a match and sticking up for the victim, Dolph Ziggler. As you could imagine, this upsets Pauly. In fact, Punk tells Pauly that he's not his client anymore and wants to fly solo, but will always be a Paul Heyman guy….
I'm sure this won't come back to haunt Punk later in the evening…None whatsoever.
Christian returns & Pale force
Wow, two Vickie Guerrero appearances in less than 30 minutes? What, is it her birthday or something? I guess people were complaining that there wasn't enough shriek bats on this show. It turns out that Christian has made his return after all those months off. He wins in a short match against Wade Barrett. Yeah, so when does Wade start thinking of a career change? Hey, maybe bare-knuckle fighting wasn't so bad? It's great to see Christian return. I always look forward to his work…..
I love how King was shocked to see Rhodes Scholars defeat Sheamus. Still, you think this would've turned out different if Sheamus started waving a hand in front of his face, but I digress. I feel like something's missing…..oh I know, DOWNLOAD THE APP! DOWNLOAD THE APP! DOWNLOAD THE APP! You're a pussy if you don't have the WWE App surgically attached to your ass!
McMahon adventures
In the ever-continuing adventures of the McMahons, Triple H calls out Vickie for running the show….Even though she barely makes any decisions and it pretty much comes down to Vince and crew. Trips ordered Vickie to make an example out of the Shield since Trips feels they've been out of control. Or he could--Oh, I don't know, FIRE THEM!!! Oh, but we gotta remember that pesky wrestling logic. Never forget that. I might as well get these scenes in one shot so it will be easier to talk about. Vickie was about to cry in a corner and go in the fetal position until Vince arrives and claims the Shield is doing an awesome job. So, Vince approves of the renegades senselessly beating up his talents? Sure, why the hell not. I'll buy it at this point. Much later in the evening, we get a scene where Vickie isn't sure which McMahon to listen to. Vince claims she's doing a great job, Steph thinks she can't control things and Trips isn't happy that Vickie didn't do anything to the Shield. What it boils down to is the McMahons and Trips having their own agendas and not caring what the other thinks. I do have to wonder where this whole thing is going, so I gotta give them credit for keeping me invested in this whole thing.
Bryan vs Orton
UPDATE: This review was written before I heard about Bryan getting a real injury from this match. I guess this wasn't acting at all and it was genuine. I bring this up in case somebody mentions it. I'm aware of it, but didn't want to make any changes to the review since I don't like to make much from the dirt sheets.
Kane wants to work out his relationship issues with Daniel Bryan, but Bryan appears to be acting like a douche bag. They didn't say Team Hell No was over since they left it in the air, but it appears they will be taking a leave of absence. I gotta give them credit. At least they didn't resort to the cliche of having the broken-up tag team fight each other to end things. Something tells me years from now, we'll get to witness Team Hell No once again. I look forward to what both guys can do as individuals, but it definitely seems that DB has the edge over Kane right now. Daniel had a match against Randy tonight. It was a good match to watch while continuing to progress Bryan's storyline. Bryan played up an injury storyline. It was played up to the point where the officials called off the match due to Bryan's health. Randy is awarded the victory, but Randy does show some respect for Bryan not wanting to give up. So, if Cena never gives up, he always wins, but when anybody else tries it, it doesn't work. You can't troll me!!! Joking aside, this isn't a bad way of writing things. I think by having him take baby-steps towards those bigger victories, it's a better way of him being booked. I would say if Bryan gets the MITB briefcase and/or the WWE title, I would say that's the ultimate payoff. I think people forget that you have to build up these things and not show everything off in one night. Just my honest two cents on the whole thing.
An interesting diva segment?
Yeah, it's great to see that AJ isn't completely thinking about herself instead of her kayfabe boyfriend. Oh, you're so gonna get dumped by Ziggles before you know it. It figures as much since it's about that time for AJ to leach onto another 2-3 guys in that time. I think Big E is still holding out hope that he's one of those choices, but only time will tell. AJ gloats about how she can manipulate anybody in order to get what she wants. Stephanie McMahon interrupts the segment to….well, to pretty much out-bitch AJ. That's pretty much what it was. Still, it was those few moments that made the Divas Championship something, which is more than what I can say for the last couple of years. Kaitlyn comes out to attempt acting and WOW was this bad. You manipulated meeeeeee…..squeak. In fact, I honesty think she was aware of it because she managed to get a nip slip in there. It's like she was saying 'I apologize for my acting. Here's my nipple….I hope you enjoyed it'. That's some family friendly entertainment….wait, what! By the way, I know the wardrobe malfunction wasn't intentional. Learn to have a sense of humor.
Weeee the hypocrites
Zeb Colter claims he hates all foreigners, so he's gonna align himself with a foreigner to beat up other foreigners….what? I agree with Michael Cole on this one. Did I just say that? It of course makes absolutely no sense, but I actually don't mind this pairing. Antonio Cesaro hasn't been doing anything for a while and maybe something like this could help him out. Zeb did state that him and Jack Swagger are currently working on this. I wonder how that meeting went….
Zeb: We need Antonio Cesaro!
Swagger: Weeeee the people!!!
Zeb……Yes, I realize that, but Antonio would be a good ally.
Swagger: Weeeee the people!!!
Zeb: I got it the first time, Jack. Anyway, what do you think of Mr. Cesaro?
Swagger: Weeeee the people!!!
Zeb: You know what? F*** it! Good luck with your court date.
Swagger: Weeeee the people……I'm lonely….
Yes, this pairing doesn't make any sense, but I enjoyed this scene for what it was worth. I look forward to seeing what Antonio can do with this group, and I'll admit that even Cole's over-the-top reactions were pretty funny. Antonio takes out WILLIAM REGAL! It's f***in' Regal!
Mark Henry's Oscar
John Cena comes out to talk about Payback and how there will never be an opportunity for the MITB holder to cash in the MITB contract on him since he'll always be ready. You know, except for that one time where he wasn't ready and lost the title. The next person to holds it, earns it? Am I the only one that thought that was an innuendo? Yeah, so it's basically Cena putting the MITB competitors on notice and there's nothing wrong with that. One of the things hyped up all night was Mark Henry retiring from pro wrestling. WWE went overboard with hyping up his retirement, but I can understand why. Based on that, I think you had to suspect something was fishy about all of this…..Well, at least a tad. And another alarm had to go off in your head when he just so happen to make his retirement speech while Cena was out there talking. I think you had to sense that something was up. Now to Henry's credit, he really went out there and made it seem like he was retiring. Look at the body language? The tears? The heartfelt speeches? Henry really made people buy into the kool-aid that he was retiring. It was so well done that I started to think this was legit. Sure enough, he pulled one over on everybody by hitting Cena with the World's Strongest Slam…..
Henry obviously used this angle as a means of sending Cena a message, but damn was that a good performance. Give that man an Oscar. In fact, I'll do it for you….
I finally found somebody on this show that can make crying look legit. The entire diva roster should take crying lessons from Mark Henry. Bravo Mr. Henry, bravo!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot….
Curtis Axel squashed Super Sentai Cara in a matter of minutes. I really wonder how Mexico feels about Sin's place in the company. I'm actually being serious here. If you're from Mexico, how do you feel about Sin Cara's spot in the WWE? Miz was on commentary for this match, so I guess we have to prep for a Curtis/Miz rivalry. I really don't have anything to say about this potential feud for the time being. It could be good, but we shall wait and see.
You cannot escape the dark side
Before the Punk/Del Rio match, Pauly runs into Punk backstage and is completely okay with him doing his own thing. Yes, Heyman is completely okay with Punk leaving him. Smithers, release the hounds….
The match goes well until Del Rio decides to run away. After the match, Dolph comes out to attack Del Rio. I think that's all the proof you need in order to figure out what Dolph and Del Rio are up to. Once they brawl towards the back, Brock Lesnar arrives and hits the F5 on Punk. The show ends with Brock Lesnar laughing while Punk is left licking his own wounds….
Since Punk has turned in back on Pauly, it was enviable for Brock to step in and do something about it. I kinda look at this like a scene from 'The Godfather'. Punk tries to leave the family, but the don isn't gonna have any of that, so he order one of his guys to think twice about his decision. There's always a consequence for leaving the team. Things are definitely only getting started with this angle and I'm already excited about it. Very well done if you ask me.
Overall Impression:
This was a damn good episode of Raw. I know I poke fun of a few things, but that's just me having fun with the product. It's guys in tights acting flamboyant. It doesn't need to be taken seriously and I think most fans can admit that pro wrestling is a bit of a guilty pleasure. There was some decent matches to check out, but what really sold this episode was the storyline progression. They continued to build upon the events of Payback, while adding some new things to the equation like Henry's troll-tirement and Brock attacking Punk. I said in the Payback review that things are starting to pick up for the summer season and they definitely continued that trend tonight. If they keep doing things like this all the way towards SummerSlam, I think we could witness some really good storylines/matches in the next couple of months. Hey, a great PPV followed by a great Raw? It's win, freakin' win in my book. That's gonna do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of the review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Payback. Did the PPV deliver or was it a flop? Let's find out and start the review.
Bring down the ax
We open up the show with the IC Championship match, but I guess we should talk about the pre-show. If only I had the WWE App…..
If I did have the WWE App, I would've found out five-seconds faster than Sheamus defeated Damien Sandow with a Brogue Kick. This is literally the same match you've seen for the last 6-8 months. No new surprises or tricks, just the same old schtick. Continuing into the pre-show, it seems that having wrestlers/superstars give their critical analysis is quickly become WWE's way of saying, 'Sorry we don't have anything for you at the moment, so please offer some bulls*** opinion so you can afford dinner this week'. Hey, they have to eat too. The IC match was decent to sit through, but nothing really leaped out at me until the ending. The finish comes when Miz has Wade Barrett in the Figure 4, but Curtis comes in to pin Wade while Miz has the lock applied. I really liked the ending to the match, but do we have co-champions now? I guess it's the Miz, so it doesn't matter. I guess this is the part of the review where I talk about the importance of Curtis winning the title, but look at the current stock of the championship. I would love to come on here on a weekly basis and claim the IC title being important and how it holds prestige, but I honestly can't say that with a straight face based on how the IC title has looked for the last couple of years. I think winning a toy from a crane game holds more honor than this championship. Now that we have a new IC Champion, I would like to see a change of pace since I actually don't mind the Curtis Axel character. I don't think he looks like somebody who will literally be one of the top five guys of the company, but he does possess a certain amount of skill to get somewhere. Only time will tell if Curtis and the IC can continue to rise after tonight.
Crocodile tears
Did I just see the city of Chicago with a '#CHI' sign? I wonder how souls were harvested to give birth to that? Anyway, let's move on with the review with…..AJ/Kaitlyn? This is a little early for the bathroom break, but this was anything but a break for the viewing audience. AJ and Kaitlyn went out there and put on a pretty good match. I highly recommend checking this one out since the story was told very well. Still, you have to wonder what Kaitlyn was thinking when she hit her finisher and decides to taunt instead of pinning her. She pretty much became one of those cliche villains who has the protagonist where they want him but resort to talking instead of pulling the damn trigger. I understand why she did this, but you gotta admit that it makes her look stupid. I also thought she was gonna admit to her true feelings and start making out with a lifeless AJ, but I digress. Since Kaitlyn couldn't hide her emotions very well, this allowed AJ to apply the Black Widow and we have a new Divas Champ. After the match, Kaitlyn was crying. I know I should feel bad for her, but the only thing I could think about was the poster/box of Fruity Pebbles that was in the background while Layla was trying to comfort Kaitlyn. It's amazing how many divas show tears and not have it mean anything. Could you at least pretend your cat/dog died? You know…..so you can make it look good or somewhat believable? It's just a thought.
Internet rage!!!
Dean Ambrose defeated Kane via countout……In other news, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio had a WHC match. Did anybody catch the spot where Dolph's ass was hanging out while Del Rio was just standing right behind him. It's time for some surprise butt sex!!!
Del Rio: It's time for my new finisher…..The Burrito Special!
Dolph: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
#surprisebuttsex!!! Anyway, Del Rio kept kicking and punching Dolph's skull while Dolph is doing everything in his power to stay in the match. As the match progressed, you can see Del Rio tapping into more and more of his inner asshole. The match ends when Dolph cannot stand up to any more kicks to the head. We have a new WHC. After the audience chanted for Mr. Ziggles, Del Rio comes out to talk about how he's the champion everybody deserves. As soon as this match ended, I bet this was the general reaction amongst the internet….
When you stop and take a look at the story being told, you would've realized something. The match started with Del Rio as the babyface while Dolph was the heel, but it now seems that the roles have been reversed. That's right, we may have just witnessed a double turn. If this is the idea, than I encourage people who are Ziggler fans to take a deep breathe and calm down. Once you have done that, give them time and see how it plays out before coming off as an immature child. WWE knew that Chicago would be pro-Ziggler and I think used that to their advantage to tell the story. For the time being, I think this is a brilliant move. It's still possible for Dolph to come out of this better than before. Although, I do wonder how Dolph will respond as a face. We've already gotten a taste of Del Rio as the bad guy and that doesn't get me ultra excited. At the same time, he will have more ammo at his disposable since he's had a chance for the audience to back him up and turn on him. If their plan was to go for a double turn, I think it will be interesting to see what they do moving forward. Speaking of which, wouldn't Dolph be contradicting himself with his Twitter account? What do you do now? Create a new profile @BabyfaceZiggler? I couldn't have been the only one to think this.
Best of the best
I'm one of the few people who thought CM Punk would no-show Payback, but I was wrong. Punk did return at Payback and put on another great match against Chris Jericho. The audience was very loud for their hero while Punk was playing to the crowd. If anything, he felt more like a good guy rather than a heel. When Punk was due to come back, I always figured he would come back to a warm response and possible tension between him and Pauly, thus resulting in a separation between Punk and Heyman. There was a split moment where Pauly tried to insert himself in the match, but Punk was thrown off and almost lost the match. I think this is gonna get the ball rolling for that storyline. I guess we have to wait to see how this will play out. Punk got the victory with the GTS. I honestly don't have anything else to add. It was a very good match and worth checking out, but would you have expected less from Punk and Jericho?
Rob Van Dam set to return
I freakin' love this. It's amazing how the internet is blowing up and talking about how RVD returning to WWE is the greatest move since slice bread, but it was those same people who basically trashed RVD whenever he did something in TNA. That pretty much convinces me there is fanboy/double-standards between WWE and TNA, but are you really surprised? In fact, I always knew this was the case with wrestling fans. As far as my feelings on RVD's return…..it's okay. Yeah….just okay in my eyes. If he returned to TNA….it's also okay. Overall…..it's just okay. RVD is at the stage of his career that while he can add something to the table, I don't think it's gonna be a whole lot. He does have veteran leadership and can do what Jericho is currently doing in the WWE. If that's the case, RVD being back isn't a bad idea. Sad truth is this is what he should've been doing in TNA, but it never happened. And if you use the argument of 'RVD helping out Kenny King' as you argument, just shut up. Kenny King is about as over as a rotting corpse.
Whatever happened to 'injustice'?
Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton couldn't get along, thus the Shield took advantage to steal the match. Yeah, some pretty basic booking for the Shield even though they finally lost a six-man tag match on Smackdown last week. I have to wonder why have them lose on Smackdown and not somewhere more mainstream like Raw or a PPV. They were due to lose, but I personally think they should've saved it on a bigger scale. At the same time, it's doing wonders for Daniel Bryan's character. Daniel takes the lose yet again, but it was mostly due to Daniel and Randy not being on the same page. The match was fine, but my favorite part of the match was Roman Reigns' roar. It reminded me of Nuclear Man's roar in Superman 4. Good thing I can rely on REIGNS to bring out that glazed ham.
Ryback Doesn't Rule!
The final match of the evening was the Three Stages of Hell match between John Cena and Ryback. While pro wrestling is gonna have those ridiculous moments, there was two moments in this match that were so ridiculous that they could be considered stupid. One of the spots was in the Lumberjack match. No matter how much you want to make Cena look like a superhero, the domino effect would NOT work when Cena jumps into 31 people. Let's look at it this way. There's an orgy circle going on while Cena is off on the corner shouting 'CANNONBALL!!!' while everybody falls victim to it. You have to admit it's a little silly. Ryback pins Cena with the Shell Shock to take the early lead. So, do the steel steps have a vendetta against tables? We saw those steps take out two tables this evening. Two tables! Don't f*** around with the steel steps. Cena pulls it out of his ass to send Ryback through the table. You knew Cena was gonna win the Tables match based on the earlier outcome. In fact, Ryback should've just saved you the trouble and just intentionally threw himself through a table. It would've saved the time. We get to the Ambulance match and it was pretty hammy as well. So, who authorize that ambulance? Was that thing made by Wal-Mart or did WWE hire a group of 8th Graders to build this thing? Yeah, we know things would've been more bloody if that was a legit vehicle. I love the moment where a pile of crutches open the door and Cena still manages to pick out his crutch. He was really determined to use that particular crutch. Remember when I said there was two ridiculous spots? Well, this is the next one. The match actually ends with Cena sending Ryback through the ambulance. Yeah, Cena sent Ryback through an ambulance. Well, I guess we know why they never opened the back doors to that thing. My guess is there was a mattress in there so Ryback could take a nap after this match. Anyway, back to…..this. Let's get this straight, this is an ambulance that cannot support sirens, the doors break easily, and the roof of the thing is made out of paper mache? Even in the realms of wrestling logic that's a bit much. I know WWE wants to make Cena look like the benchmark for superheroes, but there are times where even YOU think they are going too far. I've said in the past that if they could have Cena fly around the arena and defeat people with his laser eyes, they would do it. WWE would seriously book that if they could. It shouldn't be surprising that Cena won this match, but I'm convinced that they only turned Ryback heel so they could give Cena a new opponent for the next two months. Ryback really works better as a face than a heel. He just doesn't feel comfortable 'heeling out'. These weren't great matches, but matches that can be entertaining if you aren't taken it seriously. I did enjoy all three matches for what they were worth, so that has to be worth something, right?
Overall Impression:
I wasn't expecting much with Payback. After all, this isn't one of the big four, nor is it one of those gimmick PPVs that everyone at least gives a shot. Despite all of that, this might've been the best PPV WWE has put together all year. There was some good matches that really made the show worthwhile, lots of championship changes, new storylines that look interesting as we get into the summer season, and even some over-the-top moments that while stupid, are always a guilty pleasure. I would definitely say this is a PPV worth checking out for all types of wrestling fans…..but Ziggler fans may want to avoid being near any weapons just in case you get too caught up in it. If I have to give WWE Payback 2013 a score between 1-10 and 5 considered average, I'll give this PPV an 8 out of 10. What really helps this show is all the new storylines that should get people invested as the WWE works towards some of their bigger PPVs. I'm very interested to see what Raw has to feature since it looks like things are starting to get very intriguing. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
WrestlingNerd's Official Score of WWE Payback 2013: 8 out of 10
What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling 6/13/13. How did the show turn out? Let's find out and begin.
Seriously thinking about a 'Brother' Counter…
We open up the show brother! Brother, brother, brother!!! Let's see how many 'brothers' I can get in one episode, brother! Brother-Man sent daughter-woman home this week after her actions in trying to protect Bully Ray. I would've fired her since her presence is most likely gonna bite you in the ass, but let wrestling logic have its moment. Hogan announces Bobby Roode and Jeff Hardy are automatically in the BFG Series since they've won in previous years. After some tough guy talk from both competitors, Hogan says the fans will get to determine who gets the first decision to call out somebody in Open Fight Night. The fans will choose between Hardy and Roode to see who gets the first choice. Gee, I wonder who's gonna win the poll? Then again, it is no WWE App….
Bully and some goons complain about no Aces & Eights representation in the BFG Series. Hogan says only one member will get a shot, but they will all have to fight for it in an Aces & Eights Battle Royal. I love how Bully Ray sends Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco to fight Hardy and Roode. That's like fighting Godzilla with a water gun. Yeah, so the opening scene was pretty ridiculous to say the least, but it does set up the rest of the evening.
BFG Series Qualifications #1
The first qualifier match is Bad Influence vs Drunken Garbage. The match was okay to sit through. Due to some shenanigans, Kaz and Daniels are now in the BFG Series. Considering Storm and Garbage Man just became tag champs, it makes sense to not have them in the BFG Series. Although, I have to wonder who in the blue-hell challenges for the tag belts now? Crimson made his return after a year off and lost his BFG Series qualifier against Joseph Park. Wow, you go undefeated for 470 days, return after a year off and lose to the bumbling lawyer. Crimson is straight to the unemployment line after the show. Joking aside, I actually thought it was a good thing for Crimson to lose this match. If you really think about it, only 4-6 people truly matter in the BFG Series. The rest are just throwaway entries. By taking him out of the BFG Series, it gives him a chance to continue his repackage. Crimson came in with a new look and I thought it wasn't half bad. In fact, I liked the promo he cut tonight. I think this character can do a whole lot more for him than the stupid undefeated streak. While you can argue he could've continued to rebuild his persona in the BFG Series, Crimson wasn't gonna win it the BFG Series so is it really that big of a deal? I personally think this is a better move.
Why am I talking about this?
In the Knockout division, Velvet Sky continues to be a moron while Mickie James adds to her bitchiness. That's pretty much the best way to describe the KO scene of the evening. Why did I even bring it up? In fact, I apologize for even talking about this. Hmmm....Oh look, a monkey...
BFG Series Qualifications #2
Matt Morgan talks about being the best guy in the BFG Series, so he shows himself off by losing to Magnus in a Fatal 4-way BFG qualifier. While I could make the same argument for Morgan that I made for Crimson earlier in this review, it seems Morgan has been at this stage of his career for the last five years. It looks like they're gonna try something with him, but he ultimately goes nowhere and gets pushed back and disappears until it's time to repeat the process. I've always thought of Morgan as a decent talent. He's got the size, skill, and isn't a bad talker. What's holding him back? I want to be optimistic, but his history is really against him. I actually feel bad for the guy. He's trying to do something, but somebody on that staff just doesn't seem to care. Eric Young comes out and is still together with ODB. Why? Because somebody in TNA still thinks this is funny. Can you even consider EY a full-time wrestler anymore? You see him more on Animal Planet than TNA these days. While the match was entertaining, it was pretty short. Austin Aries defeats EY with the Brainbuster. Thanks for the appearance, Eric, your check is in the mail.
It's time for the Aces & Eights battle royal, but not before we witness Card Games belching in the back. Thanks, TNA, that's really what people wanted to see tonight. What you get is a series of joke-style eliminations. While people are gonna complain about this, I thought it was pretty funny. The only bad spot was the finger poke. What is Hogan fetish with the finger poke? It's pretty funny how Doc went out of the way to actually put up a fight, but only to lose in less than 20 seconds. Even when you try to escape jobber status, you get reduced to jobber status. You know you got it bad when that happens. Seriously, it really makes you feel for the guy. I guess this could lead to a storyline where Doc leaves Aces & Eights to side with TNA, but why should I care? Outside of Bully and occasionally Anderson, there's no other members of this stable that really stand out. Hell, D'Lo Brown got kicked to the curb and not a single f*** was given. While I have more interest in Doc than D'Lo, will that small edge be enough to make him important? I honestly don't think so.
Stable Wars
Sting comes out to call out the TNA roster for not backing him up at Slammiversary. Oh God, he's turning into another Ryback. Stop bitching and moaning! Actually, Sting decides that since nobody will help him, he's gonna bring back the Main Event Mafia to take the war towards Aces & Eights. Okay, so I might as well say this right now….I never liked the original Main Event Mafia….
I'm gonna get a lot of crap for this one, but that's honestly how I felt back when I saw this stable run around. I remember back when the MEM controlled everything on the show and I found myself completely non-invested in this storyline. You think with talent like Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, and Booker T would be exciting, but I just never got into it. Admittedly, I was in a different stage of my life and perhaps I should look back at older stuff get a second chance, but I don't have enough time on my hands to do something like that. I guess I'm open to the idea, but it really depends on who's gonna be in the stable. I know there's a lot of websites already talking about who should be in the stable and whatnot, but I'm not gonna do it. I'm sorry if I'm disappointing you by not dropping a name, but I'm just not as excited about this idea as others. We already have one hammy stable in this organization, do we really need another one? Plus, do I have to remind people that it was only a few years ago when TNA had both Fortune AND Immortal running around in TNA and they teased this idea? Things can get really complicated when you have too many stables in one show. I pray this idea works for TNA, but don't be surprised if they become overwhelmed with another stable in the mix. For some reason, I can see this turning into that Robot Chicken skit where instead of getting the A-Team, you got the B-Team. The Semi-Main Event Mafia? Or how Bout the Mid-Card Event Mafia? And what about the We could possibly be main eveners, but most likely will not go anywhere Mafia? Or my personal favorite, the Stinger and Brother Mafia, Brother! Again, I apologize for not drinking the kool-aid as much as others, but everybody has their own preferences. For others, this stable meant more in their eyes than myself and there's nothing wrong with that.
BFG Series Qual---eh…
If you're still here and haven't got on a bitch-fest in the comments on how you hate me (Despite me not caring) let's continue with the rest of the show. Last week, you had Kurt and Rampage showing respect, but also brought intensity to their segment. This week, you have them talking as if they're best friends without that intensity. Something clearly got lost in the script. The Angle/Styles match was the final qualifying match of the evening. Like any Styles/Kurt match, it was good. What more can I say about this match that I haven't said in the past? The finish comes when Aces & Eights run interference. They were trying to screw Styles over, but Kurt ended up getting screwed over with a rollup lose. Styles is the final entry in the BFG Series. After the match, Card Games continues to attack Kurt because they have nothing better to do on a Thursday night until Rampage runs out to save Kurt…..Well, more like he's jogging as slowly as possible. This is why wearing a giant chain around your neck is stupid. The show ends with Kurt and Rampage standing tall. Like I said earlier, there was no tension between Kurt and Rampage. I don't have a problem with Rampage saving Kurt, but keep the tension you had while still showing off the respect. I just think it would've told a much better story. I guess it could've been worse.They could've gone with the this….
I take that back. That was funny.
Overall Impression:
If you think about it, this show didn't have a whole lot going for itself. Sure they put together the BFG Series and set up some things, but I just didn't feel this episode…if that makes any sense. You can argue that last week's show was worse, but it was a show that I managed to have fun with because of the silly segments. There was very little to have fun with this week. Part of me is a bit disappointed by tonight's show. To be fair, the show wasn't bad. In fact, I would mostly consider it average. I guess with the BFG Series set up, might as well pick somebody who should win it. Based on the storyline, AJ Styles has to be the most likely candidate, but now it seems like TNA is retconning themselves since Styles technically isn't supposed to get a championship match until November of 2013. I guess Hogan took a month away for good behavior? Sure, I'll buy it! It doesn't really matter at the end of the day. As long as you continue to build things correctly and tell a good story, you can retcon as much as you want. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
What up wrestling fans, I'm the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today we take a look at WWE Raw 6/10/13. With Payback set for this week, how can WWE prepare you for this Pay-Per-View? Let's find out and start the review.
Back to the '90s
We open up the show with Triple H vs Curtis Axel. The match doesn't last long as Vince McMahon comes out and tells Justin Roberts to choke himself out with a tie. He dies and everybody goes home with a million dollars….
Okay, that's NOT what happened. Vince declares Curtis the victor via DQ. Trips decides to restart the match--wait, can he do that? I know you can argue he's the Chief Operating Officer, but can he overrule the Chairman of the company? Oh wait, he's not the chairman anymore…..
The match gets restarted only for Vince to give another victory to Curtis. Trips declares a 5-Second Iron Man match and this once again goes nowhere. Vince decides to make sure Trips can't make any matches by taking away the ring bell. Oh no, not the ring bell? It only had two more days until retirement. So, Vince is going through extreme measures to not allow Triple H to compete….or trollin' his ass off. It can go either way at this point. Trips and Stephanie would have a scene where they talk about how things between Trips and Vince are getting out of hand. Apparently, Vince was spraying his grandchildren with a hose. Yeah, cuz putting this guy…
…near your children is totally a good idea, but I digress. The main idea is Vince and Trips having two different agendas because they both have egos. Not really sure what to make out of this, but there's more insanity that would unfold later in the evening.
Team Snake No?
During the Kane/Ambrose match, one of the officials brought back the ring bell Vince stole. Multi-million dollar company can only afford one bell? Hey, that thing still has two more payments on it. We're learning a lot about this bell today. I love how Kane knows about the results from the WWE App seconds after the announcement. I think I figured it out. Kane had the WWE App downloaded into his skull. This makes way too much sense! Due to Kane/Ambrose getting interference, they will have a rematch at Payback for the US Championship. Meanwhile, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton will combine their powers and get a WWE Tag Championship match at Payback. Well, that's certainly an interesting way of dividing things up if you ask me. I'll admit that it's a bit surreal seeing Bryan partner up with somebody other than Kane that involves a championship. Bryan isn't with Kane? This is unacceptable!!! Nooooooo*sob*oooooo!!!
Switch 'em out
We received word that Fandango has been taken out of the Triple Threat match due to a concussion. Wow, seems that's been going around a lot lately. I'm not even making a joke here. It's actually kinda scary if you think about it. Miz has a match with Cody Rhodes where it---honestly, do you care about this match? I honestly don't think you do. After Cody taps out, Miz and Wade Barrett are informed that Curtis Axel will be taking Fandango's spot in the triple threat this Sunday. I think putting Curtis in the match is actually a good idea. He's got momentum (If that's what you want to call it) and getting him in this situation isn't a bad idea. I can see a lot of people arguing that Curtis being the IC Champion is way too soon and shouldn't happen. At the same time, they can write a scenario where Curtis doesn't take the defeat, thus keeping his imaginary win streak, if it even matters. I personally wouldn't mind the idea of Curtis gaining the IC Championship, but would that really help him? This belt is so underplayed that winning a free pizza holds more prestige than having this hunk of metal on your shoulder.
Ziggles returns
So, what's the purpose of Dolph Ziggler interrupted Chris Jericho? Seriously, Jericho's talking about CM Punk and Ziggler comes out to be a douche? I think WWE really wanted a Jericho/Big E match but didn't want to put effort into creating it. The match was okay to sit through. It wasn't amazing, but it was at least trying. The finish comes when Alberto Del Rio comes out and causes enough of a distraction to allow Jericho to hit the Codebreaker on Big E. While I don't find myself interested in the WHC match, it isn't WWE's fault. Dolph has been out dealing with a concussion, so I can't really blame them for practically no storyline between these two. At this point, Del Rio/Big E have more of a storyline than Del Rio/Ziggler. I bet they could write a book on Del Rio/Big E at this point. As for Jericho/Punk, there's something I've been thinking about for a while but haven't really brought up since I keep forgetting to mention it. It has been mentioned in the comments how the projected guess is for Punk to no-show the event. It didn't occur to me to think that when the match was first announced, but it truly felt like this was the plan after Pauly was negotiating for a different time/place with Jericho. I think Punk no-shows the event and we get a match between Jericho and Curtis. That idea is up in the air now that Curtis is in the IC title match, but Curtis can work double duty that night. I guess the only thing left to do is wait until Sunday to see if Punk arrives or decides to drink a Pepsi at home.
'Merica ideals
Zeb Colter was supporting Antonio Cesaro on commentary? You know, the guy that seems to hate all immigrants is impressed with Antonio? Although, he did go on and on about how Sin Cara can't speak English…
Zeb is racist against mimes since Sin doesn't talk. I guess it could be a Swagger/Antonio pairing or Zeb ditching Swagger for Antonio? That's all I can gather from this for the time being. Antonio squashes Sin in minutes. Sin Cara has to wonder if he read the contract properly before signing it.
Team Daniel Bryan
It's time for Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns, but time for a commercial break….
………Well, it makes more sense than Vickie Guerrero chomping down on a burger. Randy and Reigns put on a fair match. The match ends in a no contest when Bryan and Seth Rollins get involved in the match. We immediately jump into the Bryan/Seth match that was brought to you by the WWE App….
Bryan/Rollins was really an entertaining match. It was definitely the match that stood out from the evening and it was very well done. Bryan picks up a rollup victory. The crowd was loud for this spot. I know I've said it before, but Bryan really is one of the most interesting characters to watch right now. Not only is he putting on amazing matches, but his split personality is what really makes him intriguing to watch. I just hope that Bryan continues to excel like this to bigger and better things.
Talking about a diva segment? Waaaaaaaa
At this rate, I think the Wyatt family is gonna start giving me nightmares with these videos. Still, there's something very riveting about these videos. You think the main headline of the week would be the world of politics, the NBA Finals, or the coverage of E3, but none of those even come close to the topic of the week…..who's Kaitlyn's crush? Well, it turns out to be Big E. So, a black guy and a white girl? I'm not even gonna go there. Big E claims he's sincere and has always had a crush on Kaitlyn. Big E was so awkward in his delivery that I'm not even sure if this was good or bad acting. Reckon a guy coming forward to his 'crush' would be nerve-wracking, but I wonder if that's giving Big E too much credit. This is what happens when you haven't seen a guy talk very much. You just don't have a whole lot to go from. Sure enough, Big E was just faking it as it's revealed AJ set this whole thing up to make Kaitlyn an easy target. AJ does play her part well if you think about it. She really does come off as somebody who's completely insane. It's her character that even makes this rivalry worth looking at. Expect a new divas champ this Sunday.
Perfect Strangers: Starring Triple H and Vince McMahon
Wait, wasn't there a match between R-Truth and Damien Sandow?
That's what I thought. So, Stephanie McMahon basically tells Trips and Vince to stop acting like idiots and sort this crap out. Vince claimed he wanted Trips to think about his future as a businessman and he doesn't need to prove anything against Curtis while Trips understands. This moment calls for a hug and the ending credits…
Yeah, so that was a bit disappointing to say the least. I think they just wanted an evening where the McMahons would go around bitching about things. Can you feel the nostalgia yet? You can't? Well, too bad. This is all you get.
Watching Ryback heel out is so bad that it's funny to see what ridiculousness he's gonna say this week. They should literally run these videos to up-and-comers so they gain the proper knowledge on how to not portray a heel. Like I said, he looks more like a bully in an '80s movie than a heel. While the wrestling world is known for being over-the-top, this isn't quite what I had in mind. Unathletic body? What the hell does that mean? Ryback is complaining about not being champion, Cena not helping him out, Shield attacking him, losing the Royal Rumble, Cena eating his dog, Cena not giving him a quarter for a soda, Cena eating his turkey sandwich, Cena stealing his turn on the swing, Cena making him repeat the 3rd Grade, Cena killing his Chia-Pet….
Yeah, no kidding. All Ryback's doing is bitching and moaning. Is this a wrestling rivalry or the IWC? Anyway, Cena goes into a speech that you've heard about a million times. I'm John Cena and I'm here to fight. I don't complain about my spot since I did it all through hard work. I don't care if the fans hate me or love me, but as long as I---Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, it's really bad when the diva rivalry seems more like a genuine feud than the WWE Championship feud. The two got into a bit of a scuffle to end the show. By the way, gotta love how 30 guys have a problem stopping two guys from fighting. It's because of dramatic effect!
Overall Impression:
There were a few moments out of tonight's show that I enjoyed, but there was some strange moments to say the least. The Vince/Trips build started off good, but that ending just seemed so phoned in and lazy. While it's hard to say if things are over between these two, I have to argue why even go forward with this if that's how you're gonna end things? Trips/Vince/Steph was literally like watching a sitcom from TGIF. They had an issue and managed to get it solved by the end of the show. If you add up all the scenes that included them, it probably added up to about 22 minutes. It was a freakin' sitcom! Outside of the Bryan/Rollins match, there wasn't much that really stood out, but I can't fault them for that since they generally want to have their guys healthy going into the PPVs. The Kaitlyn/AJ segment was also pretty funny to watch. While not a whole lot stands out from the show, there was at least something there to hold you over. Tonight's show was to set up WWE Payback. Did they do that? Well, yes and no. While they did hype up every match for the event, you do take away from the show when you have the McMahons play out their family drama on television. This is one of the lesser-end PPVs, so I guess you can get away with it? Ummmmmm, I'll let you be the judge of that. That does it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls in the next one.
