What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw on 7/18/11. After the epicness that was MITB and with CM Punk walking out as the champ, how would tonight play out? Well, let's find out and start the review.
We open up the show with Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis. They also show the entire roster watching this in the back on like a 27 inch tv screen. Seriously, can't they get something bigger? Anyway, the crowd starts off by chanting Punk's name, but Vince says this company will never mention that name on screen again. He also stated that Punk was the one who turned on the fans and calls hims a turd. He says they will crown a new WWE Champion tonight by putting together a tournament. There will be eight competitors in this tourney and the winner will be the new champion. Vince also says he will deal with John Cena later in the evening and mentions there will be consequences. Overall, an interesting turn of events. To keep up with the established kayfabe of Punk not being with the company, it makes senses for him to not show up immediately and they should wait. It would also be a good way of finding out how other audiences respond to Punk not being around and their continuing demand to see Punk. I think the audience gave a decent amount of cheers towards Punk. Funny thing was Punk was actually at a Chicago Cubs game earlier in the day since he is "unemployed". If Punk was really fired and wanted to do everything to hush this up, why are they still selling his merch and fans are allowed to bring in Punk signs? I pretty much think Punk has signed a new contract, but is taking a bit of a break for the time being. A series of events would definitely be on the way at the end of the show. If you saw the show, then you know that things just keep getting interesting. Again, I will have to wait til the end to discuss that.
Match #1: Alex Riley vs Miz in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
The Miz was selling the knee injury, but I almost wonder how much "selling" he was doing considering that it looks like a real injury. Seriously, did you see that fall the Miz took at MITB? That had to hurt. The match was ok for what it was worth and it ended when Miz shoved Riley towards the ref. With the slight hesitation, Miz hits SCF on Riley and moves on in the tourney. The booking made sense since Riley is still too early to be chasing the world title and he really should be going after a midcard title. Hmm....Riley vs Dolph Ziggler for the US Championship? I would like to see that match.
Winner via pinfall and advancing in the tournament: Miz
Match #2: R-Truth vs Jack Swagger in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
Pretty short match, but it was ok. The match ends when a quick roll up. I think it was a good thing to keep this match short considering this was heel vs heel and the audience has no idea who to side with. Still, Truth seems to be getting a lot of love these days. I guess as long as he isn't in Milwaukee, he will be fine.
Winner via pinfall and advancing in the tournament: R-Truth
Match #3: Alberto Del Rio vs Kofi Kingston in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
Del Rio cut a promo saying "that "guy (referring to Punk) is a chicken because he ran away and says Cena should be fired because he is way more talented than him. Ricardo Rodriguez showed up and said his usually Spanish announcing towards Del Rio. I thought Big Show killed him? Anyway, it appears he is back. Now, I didn't mention this during the Truth match, but King and Michael Cole were talking about Cena the entire time. Well, they did it again during this match as well. I know this is common in pro wrestling, but you would think they would be showing a lot of passion for crowning a "new champion" later tonight and pay attention to this match as opposed to all the Cena talk. I understand Cena is a big deal, but what about the tournament? Anyway, this matchup wasn't too bad. Most of the matches tonight were watchable....for the most part. The finish comes when Kofi sneaks a rollup and wins the match. I thought that was an interesting choice, but considering the winner to this match would face the Miz, it made the most sense. Plus, Del Rio can use the MITB briefcase at any moment. I almost thought of the possibility of Del Rio cashing in the briefcase against the winner of this tournament only for it to be revealed that Punk is back with the belt. I think it would be funny because Del Rio would have basically used the briefcase on a fake champion. Hey, I am just trying to add a new spin on Del Rio so he can bring something to the table as opposed to being slightly better than generic?
Winner via pinfall and advancing in the tournament: Kofi Kingston
Match #4: Rey Mysterio vs Dolph Ziggler in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
This was a pretty entertaining match for what it was worth. The finish comes when Rey hit the 619/Top Rope Splash for the clean win. I didn't have a problem in the booking because the winner was facing Truth and there is now way they are doing another heel vs heel match. Anyone else find it odd that all of the Raw MITB competitors got into this tournament except for Evan Bourne? Pretty much proves that WWE just uses Bourne for the "Ohhs" and "Awws".
Winner via pinfal and advancing in the tournament: Rey Mysterio
Match #5: Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Eve, Kaitlyn, and AJ vs Bella Twins, Melina, Alicia Fox, Tamina, Rosa Mendes, and Maryse
Pretty much a garbage time match. This match went just about as well as you would have expected. A brawl happens and a finisher later, it's already over. You know, if they are going to waste about 30 seconds on a match, I have to wonder why even put on the damn match? Oh well, I guess there had to be on diva match on the card....sadly. Phoenix hits the Glam Slam on Mendes to win for her time. What I found odd was Phoenix was wearing bright colored red lipstick. She never does that and it really stood out. Kinda sad when the lipstick is more exciting than the actual match.
Winner via pinfall: face divas
Match #6: Kofi Kingston vs Miz in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
They did a Kofi interview after his matchup in the back. Kofi mainly said the generic stuff in how this was going to be his time. Well, it was his time....for about five seconds. Another decent match and it ended when Miz hit SCF on Kofi and moves into the finals. It would have been interesting to see Kofi get into the finals, but what are you going to do? I think its pretty clear who is going to win the Rey/Truth match now. Oh well, let's get to it. There was a montage about Tough Enough winner Andy's life story and such. When is he going to get called up and start being used? In fact, let's place bets in who makes their in ring debut first, Johnny Curtis or Andy? I think its a toss up at the moment.
Winner via pinfall and in the finals of the tournament: Miz
Match #7: Rey Mysterio vs R-Truth in a WWE Championship Tournament
Just as you would expect, Rey ended up winning this match. Come on, it was evident since they already had the heel in Miz and of course they need a face to make it even. This match was actually the longest one of the night. It was also probably the best match of the night as well. None of the matches were bad (well....except for the diva orgy. What a minute? A diva orgy would have been better than that match) but nothing amazing. Keep in mind that outside of Ziggler, these guys were all banged up and I think delivered the best possible match with the lingering injuries. Rey wins the match with the 619/Top Rope Splash combo. I guess Truth is still going into this whirlwind of conspiracy theories since he is still not champ. Speaking of which, why does it seem that Cole's only joke he can make towards Truth is by saying he is a few fries short of a Happy Meal? He did this last night and tonight as well. In fact, I am sure I have heard him say this like 2 or 3 times as well. Talk about raping a joke to death.
Winner via pinfall and in the finals of the tournament: Rey Mysterio
After a commercial, Rey is waiting for the Miz to show up to begin the championship match. Instead, Vince shows up and tells Rey the championship match will have to wait until next week because he has more important things to discuss (So, Cena>WWE Championship? You know, I think we all thought that, but never really wanted to believe that. Well, the boss just said it, so there you go). Rey is very upset with this news and decides to leave the ring in disgust. Once he leaves, Vince beings to talk. He talks about how he can create another Cena and says nobody is larger than the WWE (well, not according to Hulk Hogan). There are several Punk chants going on at this time and he finally calls out Cena. He arrives to a very mixed reaction and he immediately grabs the mic. Cena says he did NOT want to be put in the same situation as Shawn Michaels was all of those years ago during the Montreal Screwjob. He says he didn't want to screw over Punk because he wanted him to have a fair shot. He also thanks Punk for the amazing match last night (you really have to see that match to experience how well done it was). He mentions that he loves the WWE and doesn't want to leave, but if Vince fires him, he will jump to another promotion "Brotha". This line was hilarious because THAT is about as close as TNA is going to get to an actual plug from another wrestling company. Again, NJPW and ROH got a plug a few weeks back, but TNA can't even buy a plug. See, even Cena knows that place will be a series of disappointing events. He also says he won't kiss Vince's ass and he will walk out. Vince says he will not let Cena have the satisfaction of stealing his catchphrase. Just as he is about to say it, Triple H's music comes on and Trips arrives in a suit and tie. Trips informs Vince that there was an emergency meeting with the Board of Directors after the events of Chicago. He mentions how the BOD were talking about dealing with the situation and says he would rather discuss this matter in the back. Vince says otherwise and Trips continues. You can tell that Triple H seemed like he didn't want to do this, but he did. Then again, based on what would happen, it was the best choice for his character and the storyline to do so. He informs Vince that the BOD have filed an injunction against Vince and that the family agrees (well, minus Shane McMahon since he no longer with the company) . He also informs Vince that the BOD voted in Trips to be taking over Vince's job. Trips says he won't be firing Cena and he keeps his job and Trips is having a hard time saying the next thing. Vince at this point is starting to realize everything that is going on and Trips says thank you for everything pops but you have been relieved of your duties. As Trips is walking away as a sad man, Vince is in the ring and he is crying. The show ends with Vince standing in the middle of the ring and while the audience was saying the "Goodbye" song, they are now saying "Thank you, Vince" to close out the show. Split personality audience for the win?
Ok, where do I start? I can definitely call this interesting tv and it just seems that the worked shoots keep coming. I actually enjoyed this segment because it almost seems like we are seeing the evolution of how one storyline can grow and effect other storylines or parts of the show. Who would have thought that Punk's shoot promo a few weeks back would have amounted to this? From a storyline perspective, it actually makes sense because Vince has made some very questionable calls the last few weeks. The first was suspending Punk and then he reinstated him and let him have his title match. Not only that, but he wasn't able to get Punk under contract and now he has left the company with his major prize and we currently have "no" WWE Champion and was about to fire the face of the company because Punk was the man at Chicago. Now, I know what a lot of people are going to say....mainly the TNA fans. They are probably asking me why I can enjoy this segment while TNA tried something like this between Dixie Carter and Hogan and I trashed it. A couple of reasons. One, it was explained much better in the WWE than it was on TNA. Again, that is like the Achilles' heel of TNA; not explaining s***. Two, WWE made this announcement in the ring while TNA was all over the place by showing crappy backstage stages and parts of it in the ring as well. Seriously, those backstage segments are hard to watch in TNA because I hate this whole spy camera/realistic camera because it doesn't come off well on tv. It almost feels like TNA didn't hire professional cameraman and hired a bunch of peeping toms with the way they are hiding behind windows, doors, and ect. Third, the acting was way.....WAY better in the WWE than it was in TNA. Dixie can't pull off a freaking emotion to save her life, while Vince was actually crying in the middle of the ring. He gave an emotion that felt real. It wasn't over the top crying nor was it a slight tear, it was done as well as you can make it look. Remember, this show is live so that was something to pull off. Think about this from a storyline standpoint. This man has been running this empire for over 30 years and he just lost his job and didn't even get a chance to fight back. If it was real life and you were in this situation, you would have felt the same way. Trips also did a good job acting here as well because he felt really bad about delivering the news. So, to those TNA fans that are set to complain, I will put it simply. WWE put more time, energy, and actually showed they gave a s*** while TNA half assed it and it comes off really bad on their end while WWE looks better. That is why worked shoots in WWE are working so well because the characters are so into the parts while it just feels too phoony in TNA land when they do this type of work. Of course after tonight, we are left with even more questions than answers and it really seems the WWE is getting interesting and good at the same time. What will Triple H do now that he is the "chairman" of the company? Will he make more on screen appearances? Will Vince fight back? Will Triple H try and hire back Punk or will he get in the ring to challenge him? Was this also the final goodbye of Vince's character? I would still like to think Vince is still in charge of this company and Triple H doesn't take over until Vince is no longer apart of this world, but what if Vince is really retiring and just giving the company over to the Game right now? I am pretty sure that isn't the case, but that would certainly be something. Still, I think Vince is still in charge of the company but maybe he won't be making on screen appearances with his Mr. McMahon character anymore....or maybe he will. I am loving what the WWE is doing because they are doing a lot of things that just feel real and it makes for very interesting television and I find myself interested in what happens next. Think about it? Punk is "no longer" with the company and he is now goofing off at baseball games while Vince has just lost his job and Triple H is now taking over. Not only that, but WWE has actually been able to make a storyline interesting without the WWE Title since we are lead to belive that Punk left with that thing back at MITB. This almost proves how one little worked shoot promo by Punk can literally turn things upside down. This again was an unpredictable outcome, and as I have said in the past. Pro wrestling is at its best when its unpredictable, has compelling storylines, and amazing wrestling matches. It almost feels like the WWE is going full steam ahead, but the engine has to eventually cool off. Then again, I hope that engine has a few more miles in it because its nice to sit back and enjoy the ride. Definitely a very intriguing storyline that may have just branched off into other storylines.
Overall Impression:
I thought this was an entertaining edition of Raw. The matches this week were better than the ones on Raw last week. Again, what sold this weeks show was the final scene of the Punk storyline possible branching off and unfolding another series of events now that Vince has been "fired". There is still a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. What will Triple H do now that he is in charge? Will in bring in an actual GM and finally just fire the Laptop GM or will the Laptop GM be revealed? Hey, how about Kevin Nash? Nash isn't a bad promo cutter and he could play an interesting GM if they wanted to go down that route. I think this was a worthy show to follow up MITB and the curiosity level is still there with the show. Damn, the week isn't even over yet because we still need to know what is going on in SD land with all the new things that developed at MITB. Yeah, so WWE has all these things clicking while TNA has.....clowns. I think that pretty much sums it up. That is 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. You can also find me on blogspot/blogger. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Money in the Bank Review
What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Money in the Bank. This PPV had a WM type build up, so was it equal to a WM or even better? Or did it end in a whirlwind of disappointment? Well, let's not waste any time and let's begin the review.
Match #1: Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
We open up the PPV with a video package about CM Punk, which of course was just about on everyone's mind going into this PPV. I know EVERYONE wants me to talk about that particular match, but we have five other matches to talk about first. I really enjoyed this matchup and it was an appropriate way to open up a PPV, with some fast paced and edge of your seat action. Justin Gabriel, Daniel Bryan, and Sin Cara were doing a lot of the high risk moves in the early going of this contest. There was also some pretty brutal spots as well. Sheamus Powerbombed Sin through a ladder on the outside of the ring. They had the medics take Sin away on a stretcher. I thought that Sin was taking away because the match was set to end, but this match ended up going for another 15 minutes. I thought it was very interesting for Sin to be taking away so early and hope this was a legit injury. You can never tell in ladder matches if the injury was real or kayfabe, but I guess we will find out soon. I personally think it was done to write him off the match, but who really knows? I like the little tribute to the Road Warriors when Kane, Sheamus, and Bryan did the Doomsday Device since they were in Chicago. Booker T keeps up with his flip flopping by saying Sheamus was his pick, but he would change it like 2-3 times during this match. Booker is more out of control than a kid on a suger high. There was a brief moment where Wade Barrett, Heath Slater and Gabriel were working together, which is resemblance of their Nexus/Corre days. Wade tried to take the easy road by telling the two guys to stand there and let him climb the ladder, but that alliance would die when they both attacked Wade. Gabriel also did a 450 Splash off one of the turnbuckles that had a ladder up in one of the corners like a table. There was just a lot of devastation to go around. People might argue with me on this one, but I personally found the SD MITB Ladder Match to be the better ladder match of the night, but it was for the right reasons. Kane also Chokeslammed Sheamus through a ladder. Again, this was a pretty brutal match and might be one of my favorite MITB ladder matches, but I would have to look back at some of the other ones to judge carefully. The finish comes when Bryan, Wade, and Cody Rhodes are fighting off the ladder and somehow Danielson fights them both off and wins the briefcase. This was one hell of a shocking moment. I did say during my Rundown that a win like this for Bryan would definitely elevate him and this shows the WWE hasn't forgotten about him and wants to keep him on everyone's mind. It was also a very interesting choice. Danielson was completely over with the Chicago crowd and were rooting for him from the beginning. They also seemed pretty high on Sheamus as well. Anyway, it will definitely be interesting to see what happens over on SD now that Danielson is holding onto the briefcase. Of course, this also brings up the argument if Danielson will be the first MITB winner to fail at getting the world title. At the moment, I don't think Danielson is ready for a world title. I think they need to really showcase Danielson from now until the cash in to really get himself over, but tonight was a good way to get him back on track. Superb match to open up what could be one hell of a roller coaster ride.
Quick Update: I am aware of Sin Cara's 30 day wellness policy violation that was reported as soon as I posted this. At this time, I don't have much to discuss with this matter and might talk about it later in the week, but maybe not. Thank you.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
A quick backstage scene of Vince arriving in a limo trying to restart contract negotiations with Punk one last time. Make of this moment whatever you will....
Match #2: Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella for the Divas Championship
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8436244732111617157
Ok, this wasn't a good match, but were you really expecting one? I think it was ok for what is was worth, but I think that is because they didn't play with the fan service that much tonight. Kelly wins when she hits the Infamassour. I thought it was interesting when they showed the SummerSlam video package and Punk was NOT in the video. I think the only way I would start getting interested in a divas match is if Princess Peach and Princess Zelda were fighting each other. Hmmm......
Winner via pinfall and still Divas Champ: Kelly Kelly
Match #3: Big Show vs Mark Henry
Not a great match, but again. Were you really expecting this to be a wrestling match classic? This was your basic giant vs giant match. I think in terms of two giants fighting in a wrestling ring, this wasn't that bad. I am not saying this was great, but it was ok for what it was worth. You can tell the Chicago crowd didn't give two s**** about this match since they booed both guys. I really felt both guys tried to bring something new to the table. In fact, Henry did a half Boston Crab, so you have to give both guys credit for trying. The finish comes when Henry hits WSS twice and does a couple of Irish Whip Body Slams and pins Show cleanly. I personally hoped they would go down this direction because Henry is just a lot more interesting than Show at the moment. I really like how this Henry push is coming along and maybe this might be the push that we remember Henry when his career is over. After the match, Henry grabs a chair and puts it around Show's leg and does that second rope Body Slam on Show's leg. Of course, Show is selling the hell out of this injury and for a second time tonight, we see the medical staff make their way towards the ring and carry Show out of the arena. Again, I think this is a nice touch with Henry's character and he might be working towards a world title if he keeps this up. What was funny here is while Show is being helped, the crowd is chanting "CM Punk". I think it was pretty clear what the crowd wanted to see tonight.
Winner via pinfall: Mark Henry
We are backstage where Vince and John Laurinaitis are backstage trying to figure out what to do next. John Matthews walks in and ask if Punk has signed a new contract. Vince says no and claims he offered Punk the best contract possible and it still wasn't a go. He also calls Punk the biggest ingrate he has ever met. Vince also flips out at John Cena and claims this was all Cena's fault. He ends the scene by saying if Cena loses, then God have mercy of Cena's soul. Man, I really can't wait for that matchup, and I think you feel the same way as well. We still have two other matches to get through, so hold on.
Match #4: Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This was still a good MITB match, but I felt the SD one was better. Kofi Kingston was sporting black and yellow colors. I thought that was interesting since those are Punk's colors. It probably means nothing, but who knows? Every competitor brought a ladder with them to the ring. I found it a little funny when R-Truth came out and picked the smallest ladder. The crowd seemed to like him and the Miz tonight. Chicago loving the Miz? I have to admit I didn't see that one coming. Rey Mysterio got a lot of boos tonight. I guess they haven't forgotten about WM 22 in which Rey won the WHC Championship? The match begins and everyone targets Alberto Del Rio because of Del Rio's attack on Raw last week. I found it somewhat amusing when all the wrestlers were fighting each other for one ladder and it was a ladder that nobody would have been able to reach to get the briefcase. Seriously, I don't even think Mario with the giant mushroom would have reached that. There was a spot where Evan Bourne did Air Bourne off one of the ladders and hit just about everyone. There was a moment where Miz fell off a ladder and he was clinching his knee. He had to be helped to the back. Man, either a lot of injuries or worked injuries going around tonight. Then again, who said a ladder match was safe? I could have sworn that King called Michael Cole "amazing" on commentary when Cole was pointing out trending words over on Twitter while MITB was in progress. It almost brings up shades of the King/Cole feud and how it probably should have never happened. There was practically an orgy on top of the ladder as everyone was up there trying to grab the briefcase as everyone would fall off a ladder one by one. Miz would show up at this spot and tried to steal a victory, but Jack Swagger denies him. Crowd was hot when Miz ran out there. Alex Riley didn't seem to be much of a factor for most of this matchup. He did a few things, but nothing that really grabbed my attention. Swagger and Kofi had a pretty bad fall during one of the spots. Again, I think just about the entire roster got some scars after tonight. The finish comes when Rey and Del Rio are dueling on top of the ladder. Del Rio manages to rip off Rey's mask, throws it into the audience (I think after the match I saw the fan who caught Rey's mask on camera. Did anyone else catch that?), and climbs to grab the briefcase. This was still a pretty good match to check out. There was a couple of botchy moments in there, but I think we can excuse a few of them with how the show was coming across. Del Rio winning made the most sense since He is about the next one to get the world title.....or will he? Hmm...
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
There was a quick backstage interview with Del Rio talking about how he shouldn't have had to compete in tonight's match because he won the #1 Contenders match a few weeks ago during the CM Punk suspension. Del Rio adds he proved how good he is and he will become WWE Champion. How many of you think Del Rio would make another appearance tonight? Hmm....
Match #5: Randy Orton vs Christian for the WHC
To start off this match, Christian pushes a chair next to Orton to tempt him to use it, but Orton eventually throws it away. Once again, Orton and Christian put together an entertaining match. Not as great as their match at OtL, but this was a worthy edition into the rivalry. The crowd seemed to like both guys. The finish comes when Christian spits in Orton's face (and I think it went into his mouth....ewww) and Orton goes insane. He eventually kicks Christian in the happy sack and this calls for the bell. Remember, if Orton got DQed, he would lose the title. Yeah, so we just had Christian win the WHC via DQ. I was honestly surprised by this because it is common in pro wrestling to NOT go down this route. If you have been watching wrestling a long time, you know they add these "if a DQ or countout happens, you drop the gold" stipulations all the time and it usually ends with the face defying the odds and winning the match in a clean fashion. It is interesting to see them NOT go down the obvious route and try something different. Then again, Danielson winning MITB was a shocker, so why not add another one? As you would have figured, Orton lost it after the match. As with PPV tradition, it's time for the Spanish Announce Table to bit the dust...kinda. Orton hits RKO on Christian on top of the table, but it doesn't break. As Orton is walking away, he does another RKO and again it doesn't break. Apparently, the WWE actually put some money into the Spanish table or it has been taking steroids to somehow not break. There was a "break the table" chant from the audience. I like how King is blaming Christian for using a cheap trick to win, but Cole is right since it was Orton's fault because he lost his cool. I understand the announcers are supposed to stick up for the faces or heels depending on their character, but you would think they would think of a better argument at times? This pretty much guarantees the Christian/Orton rivalry in continuing. I said the only way this feud can continue is if a title change happened tonight and I am glad to see it. I have to say I am liking SD as of right now. Christian is champ, Orton is completely off the deep in and Bryan is holding MITB. Hopefully, this will be a series of interesting events in store for SD.
Winner via DQ and NEW WHC: Christian
Match #6: John Cena vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship
Hmm....Punk is wearing a NEW Punk T-shirt and it appears it is already on sale based on a number of Chicago fans wearing the shirt. Hmmm? Ok, I REALLY need to stop doing that. There was still about 50 minutes still to go with the PPV, so they definitely had something in store for this matchup. The entrances did eat up a decent amount of time since Punk was given a lot of time to soak in all of the applause. Punk was extremely over with the crowd, but it was expected since it was his hometown. Cena came out and I have never seen Cena get this much boos since his match against RVD at ECW One Night Stand all of those years ago. Honestly, what can I say about this match? If you saw this match, there are literally tons of adjectives you can say. This was just plain incredible. It has been a while since I have seen a live crowd get so invested into a wrestling match. The crowd was almost on their feet for the majority of this match and I was up in anticipation as well because my heart was racing during this match. Of course, King is trying to make Punk look like the bad guy while on commentary and jerk off that Cena cock, but I have to think a lot of people were fully supporting Punk regardless of what the announce team was saying. Punk and Cena went the extra mile and then some to make sure this was one of the most talked about matches in pro wrestling history. I was impressed by both guys tonight. It is amazing how much people like to bash Cena in saying he is a sh**** wrestler and how he does the same old s***. Well, he pulled out a few new moves and some moves I haven't seen him do in a while. Cena really showed that he CAN wrestle and the reason you see the "Five Moves of Doom" is because WWE books him to do so. Yeah, I guess everyone forgot about his debut match against Kurt Angle all of those years ago in how he knows what he is doing in the squared circle? Punk was also amazing in the ring as well and he managed to pull off a couple of moves I haven't seen him do in a while. You can tell both guys left it all in the ring because both guys looked extremely exhausted and broken down. I saw both guys limping at one point. I can respect the hell out of a wrestler when they are banged up and STILL want to give the audience more. As I have said in the past, I am not much of a Cena fan, but I do respect him. I think Cena gained a lot of respect from fans who dislike him with his performance tonight. I also felt Cole may have done some foreshadowing when he mentioned the Montreal Screwjob. I haven't talked about this in some of my reviews, but I have also thought of this being played out tonight as well. I liked how Punk countered the Five Knuckle Shuffle because I have been screaming for years for somebody to counter that stupid move. Of course, it isn't a Cena match is there isn't a feminine "Let's go Cena" chant going around. I like how seconds after this chant, King said how there is no Cena fans tonight. I guess King forgot to look in the audience since you can see the Cena signs and T-shirts? King and Booker tried to say how towards the end that Cena was getting more cheers, but I honestly felt this audience wasn't swaying away from their hometown hero. Yeah, they tried to make it a Rocky 4 deal when the Russian audience turned on Ivan Drago and were cheering for Rocky. I didn't feel that was the case, but I figure that's is what Vince is telling his announce team to say. The ending to this match was just amazing. Cena countered the GTS and locked in the STF. He even dragged Punk to the middle of the ring, which usually means the match is over. Punk however shows his cunning by reversing it into the Anaconda Vice. By the way, someone needs to SHOW Cole what the Anaconda Vice is because he still has no idea what it is. Cena hits AA, but a two count. Cena is stunned and he eventually hits a second one, but still a two count. These ending moments were just epic and almost made you have a heart attack as you were watching this. Anyway, the finish comes when Vince and Laurinaitis show up and he tells his "Yes Man" to ring the bell. Cena sees this and tackles Johnny Ace and tells Vince he doesn't want the match to end like this. Cena gets back in the ring, only to walk into a GTS and Punk has pinned Cena in a clean fashion and we have a NEW WWE Champion. The Chicago crowd is freakin going ape s*** as Punk is hoisting up the bling bling gold. Vince quickly runs over to a headset and tells them to cut off the Punk music and orders Del Rio to get in the ring. After a while, Punk realizes what Vince is plotting and once Del Rio has gotten in the ring, Punk immediately attacks him and gets out of the ring. The referee never rang the bell, so the match never happened. Punk grabs the title and runs through the audience. The show ends with Punk celebrating with the Chicago crowd as Vince looks like he is trying to pass a kidney stone.
Winner via pinfall and NEW WWE Champion: CM Punk
Woah....that was one HELL of a roller coaster ride. And you know what the fun part is? The ride isn't even over yet as it feels like we may have only started. I really love this ending because this is the ultimate cliffhanger. Punk has won the title and it appears he is no longer a WWE employee. Of course, we have to assume that Punk has either signed another contract or his ending date of the contract isn't until later. Either way, I like this ending. There is still a bunch of different routes they can take with an angle like this. We are to believe that Cena is "fired" from the WWE. It could be that those reports of Cena being banged up and injured were true. Vince wants to make sure he protects his WM main event and for that to happen, he needs to make sure Cena is ready to go and not going into the match hurt or else it will disappoint fans and ruin buyrates. Maybe they give Cena some rest and maybe they can roll with Punk for a while? I think Punk is playing the ultimate tweener role and it reminds me a lot of Stone Cold Steve Austin. In fact, is Punk/Vince the new Austin/Vince? I would like to think so. Still, Punk isn't totally ripping off Austin and has his own way of playing the character in the only way Punk knows how. It's like Punk has his variation on how a great tweener can be played. This is a great ending to MITB because we have a lot of questions as wrestling fans that want to be answered and I would like to think tomorrow night's Raw will be one of the higher rated shows out there and people will definitely be tuning in. Will Punk make an appearance tomorrow? Will Del Rio be able to succeed in cashing in MITB against Punk if he shows up or will he fail? Will Vince actually follow through with firing Cena? Will WWE ice cream bars make a comeback? This ending is very unpredictable. As a long time wrestling fan, I feel pro wrestling is at its best when it is unpredictable and brings forth excellent wrestling matches and amazing storylines. I would almost like to think this Punk storyline is only the start of things to come and I am glad the WWE made this decision. There is a couple of different ways this can all play out, but you cannot deny it spiking your curiosity level. This even puts a lot more interest in the Cena character because he failed to win the match. He also has himself to blame because he took his eye off the ball that allowed for Punk to win the match. Again, it will be interesting to see where Cena goes from here. I also liked the fact that Punk got the clean victory and in a way, he looked like Cena tonight since Cena is usually the guy who defies the odds. Tonight, it was Punk who defied the odds and continues to keep the wrestling world buzzing. I would like to think Punk has proven the world that he IS a main event star. As far as the match Cena and Punk put together, it will be one of those matches that will be talked about for ages. This might be the best wrestling match I have seen all year. Yep, even better than Undertaker vs Triple H earlier in the year at WM. I also liked how the audience really got into this match. I have always felt what makes a great wrestling match stand out is how invested or interested the audience is. The audience never let up and this really became a classic moment. Props to both Punk and Cena to delivering one hell of a 30+ minute wrestling clinic and I almost can't wait for the rematch. I almost have to think the WWE Title design will be changed by Punk to suit his taste. Does anyone else sense that will happen as well?
Overall Impression:
Honestly, what else can I say about this event? This PPV will blow your balls off because it was that awesome. This is hands down the best PPV I have seen all year. This is one of those PPVs that will be talked about for years to come since a lot of change happened in one night. We had two world titles switch hands. We also saw Danielson and Del Rio walking out with MITB briefcases. We saw great match after great match. The diva match wasn't good, but it was expected. The ladder matches were outstanding, Christian/Orton was an interesting twist with their current storyline, Henry taking down Show was watchable, and Match of the Night definitely goes to Punk and Cena. This type of PPV ranks up there with a WM quality, it's that good. There is a lot to look forward to after tonight's event. How do Punk and Christian begin their world title reigns? There is a lot of investment to see what Raw does this upcoming week, but SD looks pretty interesting as well. This PPV made sure there is a lot of interest for both shows in the next couple of weeks. This PPV is totally worth the price and I would even say it is worth purchasing on replay. This is definitely one of those PPVs you need to get on DVD when it's available. I have not seen a storyline that has gotten so much attention like the Punk storyline in years and he continues to prove that he IS a main event star and he IS one of the biggest wrestling stars out there. I think Paul Heyman said it best in how he is a CM Punk guy when he was referring to the promo that shook the wrestling world a few weeks back. Even if things take a drastic turn with this storyline, I think its pretty clear that tonight's MITB PPV will be the cornerstone and one of those moments we will be talking about in the future when we remember great wrestling moments. If I have to grade this PPV on a scale of 1-10 and 5 being average. Hmm....f*** it. I am totally going to give it this score because I think its worth it. I am giving this a 10 out of 10, meaning it was perfect. This is the highest rating I have ever given a PPV, and I think it deserves it. I know a lot of people will argue against that, but this was one of the best and biggest PPVs I have seen in a long time and I haven't been so interested to see what happens in the WWE after tonight. In fact, where the hell is Doc Brown with that Delorean so we can jump into the future and be watching Raw right now? Come on, you have to admit Punk walking out with the title was a pretty big surprise? If you disliked this PPV, you seriously need to get that TNA cock out of you or revoke your wrestling fan card because you just don't know good wrestling when you see it. 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 and tonight's show. Remember, you can also find me on blogger/blogspot in case your interested. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and I am a CM Punk guy.
WrestlingNerd's Official Money in the Bank Score: 10 out of 10
WrestlingNerd's Favorite Match of the Night: CM Punk vs John Cena
Match #1: Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
We open up the PPV with a video package about CM Punk, which of course was just about on everyone's mind going into this PPV. I know EVERYONE wants me to talk about that particular match, but we have five other matches to talk about first. I really enjoyed this matchup and it was an appropriate way to open up a PPV, with some fast paced and edge of your seat action. Justin Gabriel, Daniel Bryan, and Sin Cara were doing a lot of the high risk moves in the early going of this contest. There was also some pretty brutal spots as well. Sheamus Powerbombed Sin through a ladder on the outside of the ring. They had the medics take Sin away on a stretcher. I thought that Sin was taking away because the match was set to end, but this match ended up going for another 15 minutes. I thought it was very interesting for Sin to be taking away so early and hope this was a legit injury. You can never tell in ladder matches if the injury was real or kayfabe, but I guess we will find out soon. I personally think it was done to write him off the match, but who really knows? I like the little tribute to the Road Warriors when Kane, Sheamus, and Bryan did the Doomsday Device since they were in Chicago. Booker T keeps up with his flip flopping by saying Sheamus was his pick, but he would change it like 2-3 times during this match. Booker is more out of control than a kid on a suger high. There was a brief moment where Wade Barrett, Heath Slater and Gabriel were working together, which is resemblance of their Nexus/Corre days. Wade tried to take the easy road by telling the two guys to stand there and let him climb the ladder, but that alliance would die when they both attacked Wade. Gabriel also did a 450 Splash off one of the turnbuckles that had a ladder up in one of the corners like a table. There was just a lot of devastation to go around. People might argue with me on this one, but I personally found the SD MITB Ladder Match to be the better ladder match of the night, but it was for the right reasons. Kane also Chokeslammed Sheamus through a ladder. Again, this was a pretty brutal match and might be one of my favorite MITB ladder matches, but I would have to look back at some of the other ones to judge carefully. The finish comes when Bryan, Wade, and Cody Rhodes are fighting off the ladder and somehow Danielson fights them both off and wins the briefcase. This was one hell of a shocking moment. I did say during my Rundown that a win like this for Bryan would definitely elevate him and this shows the WWE hasn't forgotten about him and wants to keep him on everyone's mind. It was also a very interesting choice. Danielson was completely over with the Chicago crowd and were rooting for him from the beginning. They also seemed pretty high on Sheamus as well. Anyway, it will definitely be interesting to see what happens over on SD now that Danielson is holding onto the briefcase. Of course, this also brings up the argument if Danielson will be the first MITB winner to fail at getting the world title. At the moment, I don't think Danielson is ready for a world title. I think they need to really showcase Danielson from now until the cash in to really get himself over, but tonight was a good way to get him back on track. Superb match to open up what could be one hell of a roller coaster ride.
Quick Update: I am aware of Sin Cara's 30 day wellness policy violation that was reported as soon as I posted this. At this time, I don't have much to discuss with this matter and might talk about it later in the week, but maybe not. Thank you.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
A quick backstage scene of Vince arriving in a limo trying to restart contract negotiations with Punk one last time. Make of this moment whatever you will....
Match #2: Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella for the Divas Championship
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8436244732111617157
Ok, this wasn't a good match, but were you really expecting one? I think it was ok for what is was worth, but I think that is because they didn't play with the fan service that much tonight. Kelly wins when she hits the Infamassour. I thought it was interesting when they showed the SummerSlam video package and Punk was NOT in the video. I think the only way I would start getting interested in a divas match is if Princess Peach and Princess Zelda were fighting each other. Hmmm......
Winner via pinfall and still Divas Champ: Kelly Kelly
Match #3: Big Show vs Mark Henry
Not a great match, but again. Were you really expecting this to be a wrestling match classic? This was your basic giant vs giant match. I think in terms of two giants fighting in a wrestling ring, this wasn't that bad. I am not saying this was great, but it was ok for what it was worth. You can tell the Chicago crowd didn't give two s**** about this match since they booed both guys. I really felt both guys tried to bring something new to the table. In fact, Henry did a half Boston Crab, so you have to give both guys credit for trying. The finish comes when Henry hits WSS twice and does a couple of Irish Whip Body Slams and pins Show cleanly. I personally hoped they would go down this direction because Henry is just a lot more interesting than Show at the moment. I really like how this Henry push is coming along and maybe this might be the push that we remember Henry when his career is over. After the match, Henry grabs a chair and puts it around Show's leg and does that second rope Body Slam on Show's leg. Of course, Show is selling the hell out of this injury and for a second time tonight, we see the medical staff make their way towards the ring and carry Show out of the arena. Again, I think this is a nice touch with Henry's character and he might be working towards a world title if he keeps this up. What was funny here is while Show is being helped, the crowd is chanting "CM Punk". I think it was pretty clear what the crowd wanted to see tonight.
Winner via pinfall: Mark Henry
We are backstage where Vince and John Laurinaitis are backstage trying to figure out what to do next. John Matthews walks in and ask if Punk has signed a new contract. Vince says no and claims he offered Punk the best contract possible and it still wasn't a go. He also calls Punk the biggest ingrate he has ever met. Vince also flips out at John Cena and claims this was all Cena's fault. He ends the scene by saying if Cena loses, then God have mercy of Cena's soul. Man, I really can't wait for that matchup, and I think you feel the same way as well. We still have two other matches to get through, so hold on.
Match #4: Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This was still a good MITB match, but I felt the SD one was better. Kofi Kingston was sporting black and yellow colors. I thought that was interesting since those are Punk's colors. It probably means nothing, but who knows? Every competitor brought a ladder with them to the ring. I found it a little funny when R-Truth came out and picked the smallest ladder. The crowd seemed to like him and the Miz tonight. Chicago loving the Miz? I have to admit I didn't see that one coming. Rey Mysterio got a lot of boos tonight. I guess they haven't forgotten about WM 22 in which Rey won the WHC Championship? The match begins and everyone targets Alberto Del Rio because of Del Rio's attack on Raw last week. I found it somewhat amusing when all the wrestlers were fighting each other for one ladder and it was a ladder that nobody would have been able to reach to get the briefcase. Seriously, I don't even think Mario with the giant mushroom would have reached that. There was a spot where Evan Bourne did Air Bourne off one of the ladders and hit just about everyone. There was a moment where Miz fell off a ladder and he was clinching his knee. He had to be helped to the back. Man, either a lot of injuries or worked injuries going around tonight. Then again, who said a ladder match was safe? I could have sworn that King called Michael Cole "amazing" on commentary when Cole was pointing out trending words over on Twitter while MITB was in progress. It almost brings up shades of the King/Cole feud and how it probably should have never happened. There was practically an orgy on top of the ladder as everyone was up there trying to grab the briefcase as everyone would fall off a ladder one by one. Miz would show up at this spot and tried to steal a victory, but Jack Swagger denies him. Crowd was hot when Miz ran out there. Alex Riley didn't seem to be much of a factor for most of this matchup. He did a few things, but nothing that really grabbed my attention. Swagger and Kofi had a pretty bad fall during one of the spots. Again, I think just about the entire roster got some scars after tonight. The finish comes when Rey and Del Rio are dueling on top of the ladder. Del Rio manages to rip off Rey's mask, throws it into the audience (I think after the match I saw the fan who caught Rey's mask on camera. Did anyone else catch that?), and climbs to grab the briefcase. This was still a pretty good match to check out. There was a couple of botchy moments in there, but I think we can excuse a few of them with how the show was coming across. Del Rio winning made the most sense since He is about the next one to get the world title.....or will he? Hmm...
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
There was a quick backstage interview with Del Rio talking about how he shouldn't have had to compete in tonight's match because he won the #1 Contenders match a few weeks ago during the CM Punk suspension. Del Rio adds he proved how good he is and he will become WWE Champion. How many of you think Del Rio would make another appearance tonight? Hmm....
Match #5: Randy Orton vs Christian for the WHC
To start off this match, Christian pushes a chair next to Orton to tempt him to use it, but Orton eventually throws it away. Once again, Orton and Christian put together an entertaining match. Not as great as their match at OtL, but this was a worthy edition into the rivalry. The crowd seemed to like both guys. The finish comes when Christian spits in Orton's face (and I think it went into his mouth....ewww) and Orton goes insane. He eventually kicks Christian in the happy sack and this calls for the bell. Remember, if Orton got DQed, he would lose the title. Yeah, so we just had Christian win the WHC via DQ. I was honestly surprised by this because it is common in pro wrestling to NOT go down this route. If you have been watching wrestling a long time, you know they add these "if a DQ or countout happens, you drop the gold" stipulations all the time and it usually ends with the face defying the odds and winning the match in a clean fashion. It is interesting to see them NOT go down the obvious route and try something different. Then again, Danielson winning MITB was a shocker, so why not add another one? As you would have figured, Orton lost it after the match. As with PPV tradition, it's time for the Spanish Announce Table to bit the dust...kinda. Orton hits RKO on Christian on top of the table, but it doesn't break. As Orton is walking away, he does another RKO and again it doesn't break. Apparently, the WWE actually put some money into the Spanish table or it has been taking steroids to somehow not break. There was a "break the table" chant from the audience. I like how King is blaming Christian for using a cheap trick to win, but Cole is right since it was Orton's fault because he lost his cool. I understand the announcers are supposed to stick up for the faces or heels depending on their character, but you would think they would think of a better argument at times? This pretty much guarantees the Christian/Orton rivalry in continuing. I said the only way this feud can continue is if a title change happened tonight and I am glad to see it. I have to say I am liking SD as of right now. Christian is champ, Orton is completely off the deep in and Bryan is holding MITB. Hopefully, this will be a series of interesting events in store for SD.
Winner via DQ and NEW WHC: Christian
Match #6: John Cena vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship
Hmm....Punk is wearing a NEW Punk T-shirt and it appears it is already on sale based on a number of Chicago fans wearing the shirt. Hmmm? Ok, I REALLY need to stop doing that. There was still about 50 minutes still to go with the PPV, so they definitely had something in store for this matchup. The entrances did eat up a decent amount of time since Punk was given a lot of time to soak in all of the applause. Punk was extremely over with the crowd, but it was expected since it was his hometown. Cena came out and I have never seen Cena get this much boos since his match against RVD at ECW One Night Stand all of those years ago. Honestly, what can I say about this match? If you saw this match, there are literally tons of adjectives you can say. This was just plain incredible. It has been a while since I have seen a live crowd get so invested into a wrestling match. The crowd was almost on their feet for the majority of this match and I was up in anticipation as well because my heart was racing during this match. Of course, King is trying to make Punk look like the bad guy while on commentary and jerk off that Cena cock, but I have to think a lot of people were fully supporting Punk regardless of what the announce team was saying. Punk and Cena went the extra mile and then some to make sure this was one of the most talked about matches in pro wrestling history. I was impressed by both guys tonight. It is amazing how much people like to bash Cena in saying he is a sh**** wrestler and how he does the same old s***. Well, he pulled out a few new moves and some moves I haven't seen him do in a while. Cena really showed that he CAN wrestle and the reason you see the "Five Moves of Doom" is because WWE books him to do so. Yeah, I guess everyone forgot about his debut match against Kurt Angle all of those years ago in how he knows what he is doing in the squared circle? Punk was also amazing in the ring as well and he managed to pull off a couple of moves I haven't seen him do in a while. You can tell both guys left it all in the ring because both guys looked extremely exhausted and broken down. I saw both guys limping at one point. I can respect the hell out of a wrestler when they are banged up and STILL want to give the audience more. As I have said in the past, I am not much of a Cena fan, but I do respect him. I think Cena gained a lot of respect from fans who dislike him with his performance tonight. I also felt Cole may have done some foreshadowing when he mentioned the Montreal Screwjob. I haven't talked about this in some of my reviews, but I have also thought of this being played out tonight as well. I liked how Punk countered the Five Knuckle Shuffle because I have been screaming for years for somebody to counter that stupid move. Of course, it isn't a Cena match is there isn't a feminine "Let's go Cena" chant going around. I like how seconds after this chant, King said how there is no Cena fans tonight. I guess King forgot to look in the audience since you can see the Cena signs and T-shirts? King and Booker tried to say how towards the end that Cena was getting more cheers, but I honestly felt this audience wasn't swaying away from their hometown hero. Yeah, they tried to make it a Rocky 4 deal when the Russian audience turned on Ivan Drago and were cheering for Rocky. I didn't feel that was the case, but I figure that's is what Vince is telling his announce team to say. The ending to this match was just amazing. Cena countered the GTS and locked in the STF. He even dragged Punk to the middle of the ring, which usually means the match is over. Punk however shows his cunning by reversing it into the Anaconda Vice. By the way, someone needs to SHOW Cole what the Anaconda Vice is because he still has no idea what it is. Cena hits AA, but a two count. Cena is stunned and he eventually hits a second one, but still a two count. These ending moments were just epic and almost made you have a heart attack as you were watching this. Anyway, the finish comes when Vince and Laurinaitis show up and he tells his "Yes Man" to ring the bell. Cena sees this and tackles Johnny Ace and tells Vince he doesn't want the match to end like this. Cena gets back in the ring, only to walk into a GTS and Punk has pinned Cena in a clean fashion and we have a NEW WWE Champion. The Chicago crowd is freakin going ape s*** as Punk is hoisting up the bling bling gold. Vince quickly runs over to a headset and tells them to cut off the Punk music and orders Del Rio to get in the ring. After a while, Punk realizes what Vince is plotting and once Del Rio has gotten in the ring, Punk immediately attacks him and gets out of the ring. The referee never rang the bell, so the match never happened. Punk grabs the title and runs through the audience. The show ends with Punk celebrating with the Chicago crowd as Vince looks like he is trying to pass a kidney stone.
Winner via pinfall and NEW WWE Champion: CM Punk
Woah....that was one HELL of a roller coaster ride. And you know what the fun part is? The ride isn't even over yet as it feels like we may have only started. I really love this ending because this is the ultimate cliffhanger. Punk has won the title and it appears he is no longer a WWE employee. Of course, we have to assume that Punk has either signed another contract or his ending date of the contract isn't until later. Either way, I like this ending. There is still a bunch of different routes they can take with an angle like this. We are to believe that Cena is "fired" from the WWE. It could be that those reports of Cena being banged up and injured were true. Vince wants to make sure he protects his WM main event and for that to happen, he needs to make sure Cena is ready to go and not going into the match hurt or else it will disappoint fans and ruin buyrates. Maybe they give Cena some rest and maybe they can roll with Punk for a while? I think Punk is playing the ultimate tweener role and it reminds me a lot of Stone Cold Steve Austin. In fact, is Punk/Vince the new Austin/Vince? I would like to think so. Still, Punk isn't totally ripping off Austin and has his own way of playing the character in the only way Punk knows how. It's like Punk has his variation on how a great tweener can be played. This is a great ending to MITB because we have a lot of questions as wrestling fans that want to be answered and I would like to think tomorrow night's Raw will be one of the higher rated shows out there and people will definitely be tuning in. Will Punk make an appearance tomorrow? Will Del Rio be able to succeed in cashing in MITB against Punk if he shows up or will he fail? Will Vince actually follow through with firing Cena? Will WWE ice cream bars make a comeback? This ending is very unpredictable. As a long time wrestling fan, I feel pro wrestling is at its best when it is unpredictable and brings forth excellent wrestling matches and amazing storylines. I would almost like to think this Punk storyline is only the start of things to come and I am glad the WWE made this decision. There is a couple of different ways this can all play out, but you cannot deny it spiking your curiosity level. This even puts a lot more interest in the Cena character because he failed to win the match. He also has himself to blame because he took his eye off the ball that allowed for Punk to win the match. Again, it will be interesting to see where Cena goes from here. I also liked the fact that Punk got the clean victory and in a way, he looked like Cena tonight since Cena is usually the guy who defies the odds. Tonight, it was Punk who defied the odds and continues to keep the wrestling world buzzing. I would like to think Punk has proven the world that he IS a main event star. As far as the match Cena and Punk put together, it will be one of those matches that will be talked about for ages. This might be the best wrestling match I have seen all year. Yep, even better than Undertaker vs Triple H earlier in the year at WM. I also liked how the audience really got into this match. I have always felt what makes a great wrestling match stand out is how invested or interested the audience is. The audience never let up and this really became a classic moment. Props to both Punk and Cena to delivering one hell of a 30+ minute wrestling clinic and I almost can't wait for the rematch. I almost have to think the WWE Title design will be changed by Punk to suit his taste. Does anyone else sense that will happen as well?
Overall Impression:
Honestly, what else can I say about this event? This PPV will blow your balls off because it was that awesome. This is hands down the best PPV I have seen all year. This is one of those PPVs that will be talked about for years to come since a lot of change happened in one night. We had two world titles switch hands. We also saw Danielson and Del Rio walking out with MITB briefcases. We saw great match after great match. The diva match wasn't good, but it was expected. The ladder matches were outstanding, Christian/Orton was an interesting twist with their current storyline, Henry taking down Show was watchable, and Match of the Night definitely goes to Punk and Cena. This type of PPV ranks up there with a WM quality, it's that good. There is a lot to look forward to after tonight's event. How do Punk and Christian begin their world title reigns? There is a lot of investment to see what Raw does this upcoming week, but SD looks pretty interesting as well. This PPV made sure there is a lot of interest for both shows in the next couple of weeks. This PPV is totally worth the price and I would even say it is worth purchasing on replay. This is definitely one of those PPVs you need to get on DVD when it's available. I have not seen a storyline that has gotten so much attention like the Punk storyline in years and he continues to prove that he IS a main event star and he IS one of the biggest wrestling stars out there. I think Paul Heyman said it best in how he is a CM Punk guy when he was referring to the promo that shook the wrestling world a few weeks back. Even if things take a drastic turn with this storyline, I think its pretty clear that tonight's MITB PPV will be the cornerstone and one of those moments we will be talking about in the future when we remember great wrestling moments. If I have to grade this PPV on a scale of 1-10 and 5 being average. Hmm....f*** it. I am totally going to give it this score because I think its worth it. I am giving this a 10 out of 10, meaning it was perfect. This is the highest rating I have ever given a PPV, and I think it deserves it. I know a lot of people will argue against that, but this was one of the best and biggest PPVs I have seen in a long time and I haven't been so interested to see what happens in the WWE after tonight. In fact, where the hell is Doc Brown with that Delorean so we can jump into the future and be watching Raw right now? Come on, you have to admit Punk walking out with the title was a pretty big surprise? If you disliked this PPV, you seriously need to get that TNA cock out of you or revoke your wrestling fan card because you just don't know good wrestling when you see it. 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 and tonight's show. Remember, you can also find me on blogger/blogspot in case your interested. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and I am a CM Punk guy.
WrestlingNerd's Official Money in the Bank Score: 10 out of 10
WrestlingNerd's Favorite Match of the Night: CM Punk vs John Cena
Saturday, July 16, 2011
WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Smackdown Review 7/15/11
What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown on 7/15/11. I wasn't planning on reviewing this week's SD, but after witnessing TNA s***pact, I think I need to have a little bit of motivation and remember that pro wrestling can be a fun and entertaining place. So, let's begin.
We open the show with Josh Matthews ready to conduct an interview with Randy Orton. Orton talks about how he won't lose this Sunday and continues to give the audience that smug look whenever he talks. Christian interrupts the interview on the titantron. Christian talks about how the lawyers "forced" him to put the stipulation in if Orton gets a DQ or there is a ref screw up, Christian becomes champ and claims he wants a classic match. He does show Orton a photo of himself laid out while Christian is standing over him victorious and says Orton should use this as motivation and realize his title reign will end this Sunday. Orton says that is a lame comeback to set him off, so Christian one ups him by saying how his entire family is pathetic and that goes double for his father. He says "Cowboy" Bob Orton was nothing more than a sidekick and he is in the mockery part of the HOF with Bob Uecker and Drew Carey (hey, that's an insult to Bob and Uecker, but fits well with Carey. Plus, Cowboy was basically a sidekick for the majority of his career). Orton says what you would expect him to say and tells Christian to get in the ring. Christian says no and he will become champion at MITB. That pretty much ends the opening segment. Orton continues to not really get me interested at times because he is so bland on the mic. He is also pretty predictable on the mic as well. He will always talk about killing someone, play to the crowd and tries to act like a bad ass and tells his opponents to get in the ring and fight. Christian delivered a pretty decent promo to open up the show and I kinda liked it since I can at least buy his character a lot more than Orton.
Match #1: Ezekiel Jackson vs Ted DiBiase for the IC Championship
It was revealed by the commentators that because of DiBiase's win last week, he got a title match. That's kinda strange considering Cody Rhodes actually beat Zeke as well and also managed to do it in a singles match while Ted won in a tag team match. Anyway, Booker's Fave Five gets more confusing every week because it almost seems anyone gets on the list. Book said it changes every week, but it honestly feels like it changes every five minutes. It also feels like Booker is off in his own world when he is doing commentary because Michael Cole and Matthews ask him questions, but he completely answers another question. I like Booker, but he seems like he is out of his comfort zone with doing commentary. I guess working with Cole can drive a person insane? Anyway, the matchup was nothing special and kinda boring. I think the commentary was more interesting than this match. Once Zeke does the Scoop Slams of Doom, he locks in the Torture Rack and wins via submission. It just seems like Zeke isn't really getting over with the crowd because he is pulling in the basic face pop. It's like the WWE is saying "Zeke has muscles.....please like him". Rhodes was watching this match in the back and seemed to be disappointed.
Winner via submission and still IC Champ: Ezekiel Jackson
Backstage where Rhodes runs into DiBiase. Rhodes wants DiBiase to put on the paper bag because he is a loser while Ted is pleading his case that he tried his hardest. Rhodes decides to give DiBlandness one more chance, but if he loses again, he will get the Paper Bag of Embarrassment. Some random guy was walking by (who looked like D'Lo Brown on a diet. Yes, I am aware Brown works in TNA) ends up getting the paper bag treatment and scene ends with the guy just standing there. It was kinda odd how this guy didn't even fight the paper bag treatment and just decided to stand there in humiliation. It's like he told himself "My life is over......might as well give up....". Eitherway, I thought it was kinda funny. I think this angle might have taken an interesting turn because it could lead towards a DiBiase mean streak or a DiBiase face turn. At the same time, I don't know how well it would go for him because Rhodes is the more complete talent and it seems he is making strides every week to get a main event shot while DiBiase is just trying to climb back to the midcard rankings. I am a little invest in this deal.
Match #2: Cody Rhodes vs Daniel Bryan
I am starting to think Cole is a fan of Team Fourstar with his constant nerd jokes...
Did anyone notice the wrestling logic with Rhodes' mask? His face should have healed by now and thus shouldn't wear it, but he still does. I guess it is the Bob Orton effect where its just there for show and his character. Plus, did anyone notice the video package in which Rhodes says he dislikes Bryan because he is a common man? I wonder how Dusty Rhodes feels about that? In fact, I can almost imagine a conservation between father and son. Cody: "I dislike the common man". Dusty: "Oh yeah, well this "common man" put food on the damn table you ungrateful little bastard". Rhodes is still doing the Organization 13 deal with the hood. I wonder which member he would be? He would either be Marluxia or Zexion, what do you think? Joking aside, this matchup was pretty good and was giving a fair amount of time. Still, the commentary was very distracting since Booker, Cole and Matthews did nothing but bitch and moan and were worried more about paper bags and drum majors than the match. Something about the chemistry of all three of these guys just doesn't go over very well and its distracting. Anyway, I actually enjoyed this matchup and I found it entertaining. The finish comes when Rhodes gets Bryan's legs between the top rope. Rhodes would then follow up with a Shining Wizard from the top turnbuckle and pins Bryan for the clean win. I thought the finish was pretty creative. This should end things between Rhodes and Danielson and maybe Rhodes ends up winning the MITB briefcase. I think he has a good chance of winning the briefcase as of right now. I just hope Danielson doesn't fall too far off the radar and the WWE still uses him for something.
Winner via pinfall: Cody Rhodes
Backstage where Teddy Long is talking to someone on the phone and a ref walks in. He tells the ref about keeping Mark Henry and Big Show in check for their face off later in the evening. Once he leaves, Long is still talking on the phone about gambling (is this racial stereotyping?) until Kane walks in. Kane thanks him for giving him a match against Orton later tonight, but he senses something is off about himself. He says he doesn't feel like a monster anymore and feels more human, and he doesn't like it. I love the line Long delivered next in saying "If it makes you feel any better Kane, your scaring the hell out of me". It was the way he delivered the line that made it funny. This could be a storyline in the works for Kane. Not sure how I feel about it, but it might make for an interesting twist. Then again, what would this be, Kane push #659? WWE aired an old video of a match between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio while Chris Jericho was on commentary. Punk is so powerful that the WWE wants to showcase him for everything. Plus, I like Jericho's commentary during all of this. Punk and Jericho really are some of the greatest talents during our generation. There was a backstage photo shoot with Jinder Mahal and Great Khali. The cameraman is focusing on Khali and Mahal gets angry and tells him HE is the star and HE should get the attention. This Mahal does nothing for me like I have been saying for the past couple of weeks. He just seems really green at the moment. And another backstage/on location scene with Christian. Damn, SD sure did have a lot of backstage scenes tonight, but it was 1/10th to the amount of backstage scenes that happen in TNA. Again, wresting matters? Anyway, Christian comes across Orton's private bus and says this is a nice ride. He finds that it is defaced and says he will "find" the culprit. It is strange since this part was never addressed again, but we know Christian did the artwork since the defacing said how Long is a moron and how Orton is a joke.
Match #3: Sheamus vs Sin Cara
Wade Barrett was on commentary. FINALLY, someone I can actually stand to listen to on the headset. Wade is actually pretty decent on commentary, but he actually did some commentary while working in FCW in case you didn't know that. Wade needs to talk more because its his voice/mic skills that are going to get him back on track and get him in the main event. Sin is now doing a smoke style entrance at the ramp, which reminds me of Goldberg for some reason. Well, at least he wasn't breathing in the smoke like Goldberg. Anyway, the matchup didn't last too long, which was a bit of a disappointment because this sounds like a good match on paper. The finish comes when Sheamus attempts High Cross, but Sin rolls through and manages to get Sheamus' shoulders down for the quick three count. I think this was about the best way to book the match since you want both guys to have positive stock. It doesn't make Sheamus look weak because it was a quick win, but it doesn't make Sin look too shabby since they are putting a lot of time in getting the WWE Universe behind Sin. I would like to see another matchup between these two down the road because it would be interesting.
Winner via pinfall: Sin Cara
After the match, Barrett attacks Sheamus from behind. He hits Wasteland and gets his revenge from last week where Sheamus attacked him with a chair. I know it is kinda odd a heel would attack another heel, but I wouldn't make too much out of it. Then again, this is a chance to maybe turn one of them face and get a character change? I have been talking about how Barrett's stock has fallen, so this might be the change he is looking for? Then again, I am more than likely over analyzing it and it was just buildup for the MITB match. On location where Christian is now in a casino and claims he has Orton's wallet. Damn, where did he get a hold of that, and how dumb is Orton to leave his wallet laying around? To make Orton look even more stupid, Christian pulls out $1000 out of the wallet and looses it all in a game of roulette and says he is "sorry" for losing Orton's money. Who the hell walks around with that much cash in their wallet outside of a credit card? That is like the calling card for a mugger if you ask me. Anyway, identity theft for the freakin win by Christian. Oh, and it would have been hilarious if Christian actually won and to see what Christian would have done next? After a commercial, Long is in the ring and calls out Show and Henry. Show is in the ring while Henry is on the ramp. Henry says he doesn't want to get in the ring because he will beat him up while Show says otherwise. They were basically exchanging insults at each other and they almost started the fight early, but Long warned him he would call off the match and fine them if they exchanged blows tonight. Pretty boring sequence of events, but I suppose it did its job in hyping up the PPV match. I'm pretty sure some people are interested in this match, but I am not one of those guys.
Match #4: Kelly Kelly vs Rosa Mendes
Boring match with Kelly continuing her fan service. She wins with the Infamassour. Alicia Fox was at ringside and they did this little staredown between the two....why? It went nowhere afterwords and it just seemed pointless. It could mean Fox might play a roll in the diva matchup at the PPV or she will be the new #1 Contender, but here's a better question. Why do I give a s***?
Winner via pinfall: Kelly Kelly
Backstage with Johnny Curtis who says he will pull the cat out of the bag. Instead, he pulls a stuffed elephant. Curtis flips out at the old man from last week and ask him where is the cat? He says he lost the cat and this was the best solution. Curtis says "elephant in a room" is next week's pun. He rips off the head of the elephant and the old man cries again. Ok, so I kinda liked this particular Curtis segment because he actually showed some personality. Still, I feel bad for the old man and the elephant. Curtis killed Babar the Elephant? NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Match #5: Justin Gabriel vs Heath Slater
Gabriel came out to some boy band entrance music. It just sucked and I hope he changes that because it makes DiBiase's theme sound bad ass. Slater cut a promo in saying how Gabirel dropped the ball and how he is holding him back. The match was average and it ended when Gabriel hit the 450 Splash for the clean win. I think the purpose of this match was to show the tag team is dead and they are now going for their singles career. This also established Gabriel as a possible face. I honestly felt from the beginning that Gabriel was better suited to play face rather than a heel. It will be interesting to see what they do with both guys. There was also a Raw Rebound which featured Punk. I normally don't talk about these parts, but I brought it up because of one of Punk's lines. He talked about how lethal he is on the mic and I would have to agree.
Winner via pinfall: Justin Gabriel
Match #6: Randy Orton vs Kane
Oh great, time for the cliche SD ending. Christian was watching this match on the entrance ramp. The finish comes when Orton is about to be counted out, but Christian distracts him and throws water on him and he looses the match via countout. What is it with WWE and water being the weapon of doom? After the match, Kane and Christian attack Orton, but they argue for a bit. Orton hits an RKO on Kane while Christian follows up with a Spear. Christian is about to use a chair on Orton, but Orton is already back up (grade A job of selling, Orton...) and attacks Christian and he retreats. He uses the chair on Kane and the show ends with Orton standing tall....again. Why does it seem like every episode of SD ends with Orton standing tall? I thought the show was ok, but the ending was ridiculous since WWE wants Orton to look invincible and it would have looked a lot better if Christian ended the show standing tall and not Orton dominating like usual.
Winner via countout: Kane
Overall Impression:
Maybe it was because of the abomination that Impact aired this week, but I found SD this week to be much better than last week's show and it was pretty decent. They built up the current storylines going into the PPV while they established some new things like a possible Gabriel face turn and more development between Rhodes and DiBiase. Still, the ending to the show was very cliche and it does kinda ruin the show, but everything prior to that was ok. Pretty much an average showing of SD and it does get you a little more pumped for the MITB PPV, but I think Raw took care of that with the Punk storyline. Still, I thought this was an entertaining show for what it was worth. I think the SD announce team needs to change because the team of Cole, Booker, and Matthews isn't working since all they do is bitch and complain. Ok, time to rank the shows. In terms of in ring quality, I would rank it SD, Raw, and Impact. The Rhodes/Bryan match stood out as one of the better matchups for the week. In terms of promos/segments, I would rank it Raw, SD, and Impact. Punk once again steals the show with how well he is doing things, but Vince McMahon and John Cena deserve some credit as well. SD had some ok segments while Impact should be ashamed of themselves for even going through with the bulls*** they aired. Moment of the Week goes to the ending segment of Raw. MVP of the Week.....I have to give it to Punk again because he is the guy we are talking about the most this week. Yeah, I hate giving the award to the same guy within a short period of time, but Punk is just on another playing field and doing things we haven't seen in a long time and I think he has earned it. Ok, 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 and tonight's show. MITB Rundown is already up, so please check it out if your wondering what I think of the PPV and my predictions. The TNA Impact review is also up since I released both at a different time in case you missed it. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and we won't forget you Babar.....you will be avenged.
We open the show with Josh Matthews ready to conduct an interview with Randy Orton. Orton talks about how he won't lose this Sunday and continues to give the audience that smug look whenever he talks. Christian interrupts the interview on the titantron. Christian talks about how the lawyers "forced" him to put the stipulation in if Orton gets a DQ or there is a ref screw up, Christian becomes champ and claims he wants a classic match. He does show Orton a photo of himself laid out while Christian is standing over him victorious and says Orton should use this as motivation and realize his title reign will end this Sunday. Orton says that is a lame comeback to set him off, so Christian one ups him by saying how his entire family is pathetic and that goes double for his father. He says "Cowboy" Bob Orton was nothing more than a sidekick and he is in the mockery part of the HOF with Bob Uecker and Drew Carey (hey, that's an insult to Bob and Uecker, but fits well with Carey. Plus, Cowboy was basically a sidekick for the majority of his career). Orton says what you would expect him to say and tells Christian to get in the ring. Christian says no and he will become champion at MITB. That pretty much ends the opening segment. Orton continues to not really get me interested at times because he is so bland on the mic. He is also pretty predictable on the mic as well. He will always talk about killing someone, play to the crowd and tries to act like a bad ass and tells his opponents to get in the ring and fight. Christian delivered a pretty decent promo to open up the show and I kinda liked it since I can at least buy his character a lot more than Orton.
Match #1: Ezekiel Jackson vs Ted DiBiase for the IC Championship
It was revealed by the commentators that because of DiBiase's win last week, he got a title match. That's kinda strange considering Cody Rhodes actually beat Zeke as well and also managed to do it in a singles match while Ted won in a tag team match. Anyway, Booker's Fave Five gets more confusing every week because it almost seems anyone gets on the list. Book said it changes every week, but it honestly feels like it changes every five minutes. It also feels like Booker is off in his own world when he is doing commentary because Michael Cole and Matthews ask him questions, but he completely answers another question. I like Booker, but he seems like he is out of his comfort zone with doing commentary. I guess working with Cole can drive a person insane? Anyway, the matchup was nothing special and kinda boring. I think the commentary was more interesting than this match. Once Zeke does the Scoop Slams of Doom, he locks in the Torture Rack and wins via submission. It just seems like Zeke isn't really getting over with the crowd because he is pulling in the basic face pop. It's like the WWE is saying "Zeke has muscles.....please like him". Rhodes was watching this match in the back and seemed to be disappointed.
Winner via submission and still IC Champ: Ezekiel Jackson
Backstage where Rhodes runs into DiBiase. Rhodes wants DiBiase to put on the paper bag because he is a loser while Ted is pleading his case that he tried his hardest. Rhodes decides to give DiBlandness one more chance, but if he loses again, he will get the Paper Bag of Embarrassment. Some random guy was walking by (who looked like D'Lo Brown on a diet. Yes, I am aware Brown works in TNA) ends up getting the paper bag treatment and scene ends with the guy just standing there. It was kinda odd how this guy didn't even fight the paper bag treatment and just decided to stand there in humiliation. It's like he told himself "My life is over......might as well give up....". Eitherway, I thought it was kinda funny. I think this angle might have taken an interesting turn because it could lead towards a DiBiase mean streak or a DiBiase face turn. At the same time, I don't know how well it would go for him because Rhodes is the more complete talent and it seems he is making strides every week to get a main event shot while DiBiase is just trying to climb back to the midcard rankings. I am a little invest in this deal.
Match #2: Cody Rhodes vs Daniel Bryan
I am starting to think Cole is a fan of Team Fourstar with his constant nerd jokes...
Did anyone notice the wrestling logic with Rhodes' mask? His face should have healed by now and thus shouldn't wear it, but he still does. I guess it is the Bob Orton effect where its just there for show and his character. Plus, did anyone notice the video package in which Rhodes says he dislikes Bryan because he is a common man? I wonder how Dusty Rhodes feels about that? In fact, I can almost imagine a conservation between father and son. Cody: "I dislike the common man". Dusty: "Oh yeah, well this "common man" put food on the damn table you ungrateful little bastard". Rhodes is still doing the Organization 13 deal with the hood. I wonder which member he would be? He would either be Marluxia or Zexion, what do you think? Joking aside, this matchup was pretty good and was giving a fair amount of time. Still, the commentary was very distracting since Booker, Cole and Matthews did nothing but bitch and moan and were worried more about paper bags and drum majors than the match. Something about the chemistry of all three of these guys just doesn't go over very well and its distracting. Anyway, I actually enjoyed this matchup and I found it entertaining. The finish comes when Rhodes gets Bryan's legs between the top rope. Rhodes would then follow up with a Shining Wizard from the top turnbuckle and pins Bryan for the clean win. I thought the finish was pretty creative. This should end things between Rhodes and Danielson and maybe Rhodes ends up winning the MITB briefcase. I think he has a good chance of winning the briefcase as of right now. I just hope Danielson doesn't fall too far off the radar and the WWE still uses him for something.
Winner via pinfall: Cody Rhodes
Backstage where Teddy Long is talking to someone on the phone and a ref walks in. He tells the ref about keeping Mark Henry and Big Show in check for their face off later in the evening. Once he leaves, Long is still talking on the phone about gambling (is this racial stereotyping?) until Kane walks in. Kane thanks him for giving him a match against Orton later tonight, but he senses something is off about himself. He says he doesn't feel like a monster anymore and feels more human, and he doesn't like it. I love the line Long delivered next in saying "If it makes you feel any better Kane, your scaring the hell out of me". It was the way he delivered the line that made it funny. This could be a storyline in the works for Kane. Not sure how I feel about it, but it might make for an interesting twist. Then again, what would this be, Kane push #659? WWE aired an old video of a match between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio while Chris Jericho was on commentary. Punk is so powerful that the WWE wants to showcase him for everything. Plus, I like Jericho's commentary during all of this. Punk and Jericho really are some of the greatest talents during our generation. There was a backstage photo shoot with Jinder Mahal and Great Khali. The cameraman is focusing on Khali and Mahal gets angry and tells him HE is the star and HE should get the attention. This Mahal does nothing for me like I have been saying for the past couple of weeks. He just seems really green at the moment. And another backstage/on location scene with Christian. Damn, SD sure did have a lot of backstage scenes tonight, but it was 1/10th to the amount of backstage scenes that happen in TNA. Again, wresting matters? Anyway, Christian comes across Orton's private bus and says this is a nice ride. He finds that it is defaced and says he will "find" the culprit. It is strange since this part was never addressed again, but we know Christian did the artwork since the defacing said how Long is a moron and how Orton is a joke.
Match #3: Sheamus vs Sin Cara
Wade Barrett was on commentary. FINALLY, someone I can actually stand to listen to on the headset. Wade is actually pretty decent on commentary, but he actually did some commentary while working in FCW in case you didn't know that. Wade needs to talk more because its his voice/mic skills that are going to get him back on track and get him in the main event. Sin is now doing a smoke style entrance at the ramp, which reminds me of Goldberg for some reason. Well, at least he wasn't breathing in the smoke like Goldberg. Anyway, the matchup didn't last too long, which was a bit of a disappointment because this sounds like a good match on paper. The finish comes when Sheamus attempts High Cross, but Sin rolls through and manages to get Sheamus' shoulders down for the quick three count. I think this was about the best way to book the match since you want both guys to have positive stock. It doesn't make Sheamus look weak because it was a quick win, but it doesn't make Sin look too shabby since they are putting a lot of time in getting the WWE Universe behind Sin. I would like to see another matchup between these two down the road because it would be interesting.
Winner via pinfall: Sin Cara
After the match, Barrett attacks Sheamus from behind. He hits Wasteland and gets his revenge from last week where Sheamus attacked him with a chair. I know it is kinda odd a heel would attack another heel, but I wouldn't make too much out of it. Then again, this is a chance to maybe turn one of them face and get a character change? I have been talking about how Barrett's stock has fallen, so this might be the change he is looking for? Then again, I am more than likely over analyzing it and it was just buildup for the MITB match. On location where Christian is now in a casino and claims he has Orton's wallet. Damn, where did he get a hold of that, and how dumb is Orton to leave his wallet laying around? To make Orton look even more stupid, Christian pulls out $1000 out of the wallet and looses it all in a game of roulette and says he is "sorry" for losing Orton's money. Who the hell walks around with that much cash in their wallet outside of a credit card? That is like the calling card for a mugger if you ask me. Anyway, identity theft for the freakin win by Christian. Oh, and it would have been hilarious if Christian actually won and to see what Christian would have done next? After a commercial, Long is in the ring and calls out Show and Henry. Show is in the ring while Henry is on the ramp. Henry says he doesn't want to get in the ring because he will beat him up while Show says otherwise. They were basically exchanging insults at each other and they almost started the fight early, but Long warned him he would call off the match and fine them if they exchanged blows tonight. Pretty boring sequence of events, but I suppose it did its job in hyping up the PPV match. I'm pretty sure some people are interested in this match, but I am not one of those guys.
Match #4: Kelly Kelly vs Rosa Mendes
Boring match with Kelly continuing her fan service. She wins with the Infamassour. Alicia Fox was at ringside and they did this little staredown between the two....why? It went nowhere afterwords and it just seemed pointless. It could mean Fox might play a roll in the diva matchup at the PPV or she will be the new #1 Contender, but here's a better question. Why do I give a s***?
Winner via pinfall: Kelly Kelly
Backstage with Johnny Curtis who says he will pull the cat out of the bag. Instead, he pulls a stuffed elephant. Curtis flips out at the old man from last week and ask him where is the cat? He says he lost the cat and this was the best solution. Curtis says "elephant in a room" is next week's pun. He rips off the head of the elephant and the old man cries again. Ok, so I kinda liked this particular Curtis segment because he actually showed some personality. Still, I feel bad for the old man and the elephant. Curtis killed Babar the Elephant? NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Match #5: Justin Gabriel vs Heath Slater
Gabriel came out to some boy band entrance music. It just sucked and I hope he changes that because it makes DiBiase's theme sound bad ass. Slater cut a promo in saying how Gabirel dropped the ball and how he is holding him back. The match was average and it ended when Gabriel hit the 450 Splash for the clean win. I think the purpose of this match was to show the tag team is dead and they are now going for their singles career. This also established Gabriel as a possible face. I honestly felt from the beginning that Gabriel was better suited to play face rather than a heel. It will be interesting to see what they do with both guys. There was also a Raw Rebound which featured Punk. I normally don't talk about these parts, but I brought it up because of one of Punk's lines. He talked about how lethal he is on the mic and I would have to agree.
Winner via pinfall: Justin Gabriel
Match #6: Randy Orton vs Kane
Oh great, time for the cliche SD ending. Christian was watching this match on the entrance ramp. The finish comes when Orton is about to be counted out, but Christian distracts him and throws water on him and he looses the match via countout. What is it with WWE and water being the weapon of doom? After the match, Kane and Christian attack Orton, but they argue for a bit. Orton hits an RKO on Kane while Christian follows up with a Spear. Christian is about to use a chair on Orton, but Orton is already back up (grade A job of selling, Orton...) and attacks Christian and he retreats. He uses the chair on Kane and the show ends with Orton standing tall....again. Why does it seem like every episode of SD ends with Orton standing tall? I thought the show was ok, but the ending was ridiculous since WWE wants Orton to look invincible and it would have looked a lot better if Christian ended the show standing tall and not Orton dominating like usual.
Winner via countout: Kane
Overall Impression:
Maybe it was because of the abomination that Impact aired this week, but I found SD this week to be much better than last week's show and it was pretty decent. They built up the current storylines going into the PPV while they established some new things like a possible Gabriel face turn and more development between Rhodes and DiBiase. Still, the ending to the show was very cliche and it does kinda ruin the show, but everything prior to that was ok. Pretty much an average showing of SD and it does get you a little more pumped for the MITB PPV, but I think Raw took care of that with the Punk storyline. Still, I thought this was an entertaining show for what it was worth. I think the SD announce team needs to change because the team of Cole, Booker, and Matthews isn't working since all they do is bitch and complain. Ok, time to rank the shows. In terms of in ring quality, I would rank it SD, Raw, and Impact. The Rhodes/Bryan match stood out as one of the better matchups for the week. In terms of promos/segments, I would rank it Raw, SD, and Impact. Punk once again steals the show with how well he is doing things, but Vince McMahon and John Cena deserve some credit as well. SD had some ok segments while Impact should be ashamed of themselves for even going through with the bulls*** they aired. Moment of the Week goes to the ending segment of Raw. MVP of the Week.....I have to give it to Punk again because he is the guy we are talking about the most this week. Yeah, I hate giving the award to the same guy within a short period of time, but Punk is just on another playing field and doing things we haven't seen in a long time and I think he has earned it. Ok, 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 and tonight's show. MITB Rundown is already up, so please check it out if your wondering what I think of the PPV and my predictions. The TNA Impact review is also up since I released both at a different time in case you missed it. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and we won't forget you Babar.....you will be avenged.
Friday, July 15, 2011
WrestlingNerd Presents: TNA Impact Wrestling Review 7/14/11 (It's one of THOSE episodes)
What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another....
I don't want to do this.....I REALLY don't want to do this. Ok, so I will admit that TNA has actually been tolerable lately, but you have to take caution when things are actually going ok in TNA land. Usually when it is going well, you just know that sh** storm is going to hit and your quickly reminded why TNA is in the gutter. Well, guess what? It is going to be one of THOSE episodes. That's right, TNA went on the deep in for the showing of TNA Impact Wrestling on 7/14/11. Just so much stuff that doesn't make any sense and a wave of stupidity to go around. Can't we just skip Impact this week? F*** it, let's get this over with and start the review. By the way, I am probably going to swear more than usually, but that's what happens when an episode pisses me off. Anyway, I apologize in advance.
We open the show with Immortal heading to the ring in tuxedos and various hookers walking to the ring with them. Since these are Ric Flair's women and they need to go back to his hotel room, they quickly walk away. Already we have something that was just pointless since these women serve no purpose to the show and were just a waste of time. Plus, are you telling me one of those women is willing to let Abyss stick his dick inside her? Whatever they are paying you ladies, it isn't enough. There is also a poker table in the ring, why? I don't know, but they would get good use out if it by making horrible poker puns. Somehow, Immortal has made poker so lame that playing 52 Pickup is now interesting. Eric Bischoff talks about how they are going to gamble away people's careers tonight and are throwing a party for Mr. Anderson. Bischoff also made a horrible ejaculation joke by saying how Anderson's party a few weeks back was premature or something like that. I would go back are get the proper line, but I just don't care anymore and anyone else who knows the full "joke" already proves they care more about TNA than they should. Anderson arrives, who looks like Two Face from Batman Forever with his camouflage tux. In fact, I wonder what kind of look the tailor gave towards Anderson when he placed the order for this abomination? Anderson talks about how it is great to have friends...even though he said a few weeks back he doesn't need friends. Once Hulk Hogan welcomes Anderson to the group, the lights go off and it is time for the Joker Sting to appear. The lights come back on and Sting is right next to the poker table and brings up more poker puns and claims he will be the world champion after tonight and begin his crusade of giving the company back to Dixie Carter. Yes, because God knows having the emotionless and brain dead Dixie is going to save TNA. Hogan makes a threat towards Sting and this causes Sting to flip the table over and go insane. Sting brings up stuff about "The Network" and how they have Hogan and crew on a thin leash and warns them to not try any shenanigans. Hey look, TNA brought up a subplot that people thought was stupid. Sting tells them to look up and we see a bunch of guys in clown mask up in the rafters and says they are working with him...
Not sure if I am referring to the guys in the rafters or the creative staff with the song, but either way it's just silly. That's how the opening scene ends. So, we are opening up with IT rejects and prostitutes walking around. Just what you wanted on a Thursday night, right? Now, I will be fair and say the opening does its job by setting up the show, but if you saw THIS to open up Impact, you would be running for the hills. In fact.....why didn't I just change the channel at this point? I hope you guys and girls appreciate the lengths I have to go through to being the WrestlingNerd. By the way, if Mike Tenay's line of "Evil clowns in the house" doesn't get you interested in watching this week's Impact, nothing will...
Match #1: Robert Roode vs Poper vs Samoa Joe in a Triple Threat Match-BFG Series Match
All of the entrances were done off screen. I am going out of the way to say the reason they did this was to film more stupid s***. You will know what I mean by that later in the review, so prepare to be disappointed. I like how in one spot, Pope was pinning Roode while Joe just stood back like he doesn't care. Come on Joe, you can at least make it look like you give a s*** while your on camera? Maybe that is why Joe doesn't get a push, because he isn't going the extra mile anymore and is just trying to get by? The match was ok for what it was worth, but nothing worth bragging about. The finish comes when Joe locks the Rear Naked Chokehold on Roode, but Roode leans his body back to put Joe's shoulders on the mat and Roode gets the sneaky pinfall victory. That officially leaves us with two guys who haven't won any points in this series in Joe and Pope. Kinda funny how the guys with no points were the same guys who took part in one of the worst feuds earlier this year. After the match, Joe argues with the referees and a bunch of officials come out to support the ref's decision while Joe whines like a bitch. Based on the past history of the "wrestlers complaining towards referees" storyline, this basically means your scrapping the bottom of the crap barrel for a direction with your character. So, why did Joe resign with this company again?
Winner via pinfall: Robert Roode
A somewhat pointless backstage scene of the Jarretts arriving in the Impact Zone. After a commercial, we would follow up with another backstage scene with Immortal. Bischoff is giving his members a pep talk in taking out Sting because he is out of control (Yeah, who would have thought a senile 52 year old man is like the weapon of mass destruction in the wrestling world?). Abyss is all for doing this, but Bischoff quickly reminds him of losing the X Division title and tells him he needs to follow the directions of the other members. Ok, considering that Bischoff already GAVE the freakin orders and Abyss is doing as he is told, Bischoff comes off as an idiot with his line. I swear that the people involved in TNA don't even pay attention to the script and just say anything. Then again, maybe there is no script to begin with? The Jarretts comes barging in and act like they have no care in the world and reveal they have one of the world titles in Mexico. Hogan and Immortal is celebrating because.....why are they celebrating? Are they hoping to kill another promotion? Joking aside, I am not sure where this whole Jarrett/Mexico thing is going. It could lead to other talents being showcased on TNA and vica versa, which could be an interesting idea if done well. The belt looked like the US Championship but with the Mexican flag colors. By the way, I like how the Jarretts are completely aware of Scott Steiner and Anderson being in the meeting and not questioning why they are there because they were not in Immortal when they left. Again, it's TNA so you have to fill the plotholes yourself because you know TNA isn't going to explain it. Oh, and wrestling logic. Seems I can go an edition without saying that line. Another backstage scene where Pope is talking to Devon's kids about the BFG Series, but Devon comes in and tells his sons he warned them to not go near this clown (His exact words. Don't we have enough clowns on tonight's show?). The kids leave and Devon tells Pope he doesn't trust him because he has seen what kind of character the Pope is. The Pope claims he is trying to gain Devon's trust and enjoys the company of his sons (don't get any sick thoughts readers). Devon says he doesn't give a crap about the points he gave him last week and tells him to stay away from his family. Pope walks away, but you know that won't be the last time they interact. This isn't one of the worst storylines in TNA. In fact, I might even defend it and say it is one of the easier storylines to follow in TNA. I will admit I have gained a little more interest in this storyline and seeing where it goes. Hell, it has more of a story than Pope/Joe. It could be along the lines of Pope turning face or forming a tag team with Devon, or he is just tricking Devon to get to his family. Hey, at least the Pope is in a storyline with a wrestler and not a referee.
Match #2: Shannon Moore vs Austin Aries
Oh great, a guy with loads of talent versus a guy who is just a spot monkey and I think CM Punk can summarize Shannon the best...
Thank you Punk. You explain why I don't care for Shannon. The matchup wasn't anything amazing, but Aries being in the match at least makes it worthwhile. The finish comes when Aries gets the book of dilligaf and unhooks the chain. He is about to use the book as a weapon, but the referee intercepts it and while he is dealing with that, Aries grabs the chain and does a CHAIN LINK PUNCH to Moore's skull. Aries hits a finisher to add insult to injury and picks up the win. After the match, Alex Shelley runs out and complains about Aries using a weapon while Aries is saying otherwise. Ok, I understand they seem to be sparking a Shelley/Aries rivalry, but Shelley looks like a dork when he is complaining about a guy cheating. First of all, doesn't Shelley recall cheating during his career? Second, is this your first day on the job? That is what heels in professional wrestling do, they cheat. Why does Shelley act like this is the most shocking thing around? Not every wrestler is going to act like a boy scout. Why did he cheat? Because he wanted to win the match and he is freaking evil, end of story. Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of a Shelley/Aries feud, but they could have written or thought of a better plot device than this. Oh wait, this is TNA and they have no creativity or imagination. Plus, shouldn't Shelley be focusing on Brian Kendrick and the X Division title before setting his sights on Aries? Why does it feel that TNA tends to give a wrestling multiple storylines? They did that with Sky, and based on how the rest of this night plays out, it will happen again.
Winner via pinfall: Austin Aries
Backstage scene of Abyss talking about taking back his championship tonight until one of the clown warriors from earlier attacks Abyss with a baseball bat. He took out Abyss with ONE swing, one. Come on, at least you could have made it seem real and do a couple more attacks? Wrestling logic, a chair shot to the skull will get you up in about five minutes, but a baseball bat will basically KO you. And a Randy Orton punt will freaking kill you. Another backstage scene of Shelley and Aries doing more padding, so we will just skip it. Finally, another backstage scene of Steiner hitting on So Cal Val while another of the clowns attacks Steiner and I guess he has been taken out as well. Who the hell would have thought you would get cock block from a clown? And because wrestling matters, we have a video package on the Madison Rayne and Tara feud that should have ended about a month ago. Seriously, what is it with TNA and doing a storyline, putting it on hold for a few weeks, and then bring it back since the audience is supposed to automatically know what is going on? If there is one thing TNA should copy from the WWE, is consistently airing your rivalries and storylines so people don't get confused.
Match #3: Madison Rayne vs Tara
Tara brings a present with her, but she tells Rayne she has to wait until after the match. The match is about what you expect out of the KO division. The finish comes when Rayne opens the present and it reveals to be a tarantula. She freaks out and this allows Tara to hit the Widows Peak for the win. I kinda like Rayne, but TNA made her character look dumber than Kelly Kelly tonight. First of all, Rayne expected Tara to lie down on the mat and take the dive. What the hell made her think that? Tara hates you know, so what makes you think she was going to align herself with you again? Second, you know the present is going to be something bad and not a positive for you. And third, you open up the present to reveal a giant spider and you scream your lungs off. That is not the silly part. What IS the silly part is how she is screaming and manages to gently put down the cage where the spider is being held in. Of course, if this was real, she would have thrown the fu***** thing or killed it. Of course, wrestling logic because if she had thrown the thing, the spider could have died or gotten loose and TNA risk the possibilities of lawsuits if it harms anybody. I just hated this whole sequence of events because we already had a show with killer clowns, and now we have bimbo ladies screaming over giant spiders. I swear this sounds like a bad horror film, but I assure you this is a wrestling show....at least according to TNA. After the match, Tara scares away Rayne with the spider like she used to do by taking it out of the cage. The spider looks slightly different from the original Poison (Tara's name for the tarantula). Either she has multiple tarantulas or the original Poison died and this was the replacement. The spider's orgins are more interesting than Impact.
Winner via pinfall: Tara
We are back in the ring with Kurt Angle, but since we have had so much stupidity for the first hour, let's take a break. Here is a random clip from Seinfeld. It serves no purpose to TNA or this review, but I figure a show about nothing is a lot more entertaining and makes more sense than TNA...
Well, I feel refreshed. So, let's continue. Angle talks about getting his title match at Hardcore Justice and claims he would like to face Anderson because of how he screwed him over last week (I want you to remember this line for later in the review). But he also remember he old days of Main Event Mafia and says he has never beaten Sting and would like to have that matchup. If you pay attention to this scene, Angle is pretty much saying he would rather face Sting than Anderson. Did TNA already give away the outcome to the main event or not? Backstage of the Jarretts already going back to Mexico and getting in their van until another clown stalker comes out and attacks Jarrett while Karen is just screaming and runs away. Wait, so Jarrett made a trip all the way back to the states to show up for about 30 minutes and now he is going back? Either Jarrett has tons of frequent flying miles, or he just loves spending money on pointless s***. Plus, I thought they said this was supposed to be Jarrett's birthday and they were going to celebrate? Can't TNA follow through with stuff that was only addressed a week ago?
Match #4: Mexican America vs British Invasion winner is the #1 Contender to the Tag Team Titles
Mex American cut a typical promo. Have you noticed their titantron? There characters do everything to show they don't like USA or Americans, but they have an American flag in their titantron. What the f***? Plus, I would hate to be the audience who gets blocked off from seeing the match when there is a giant Mexican flag blocking the view. Then again, who would want to watch this piece of s***? Since TNA feels to have one more cringing moment, the Brits do a sneak attack on Mex and Tazz screams "The British are coming"....
Sorry about that. That line was so bad that I got a heart attack out of sheer stupidity. The match was nothing special and it ended when Rosita distracted the ref and Mex cheats to become the number one contenders.
Winner via pinfall and NEW #1 Contenders to the tag titles: Mexican American
Time for a waive of backstage scenes that question heelish logic. Bischoff tells Gunner and Bully Ray to take care of Sting right now. Gunner says to Bully they should go find them right now. Bully agrees and as both are walking out, Bully pulls back and lets Gunner fly solo. Another scene of Gunner now in a parking lot with a pipe calling out the attackers. Four guys in clown mask show up and each of them have a baseball bat. Unless that pipe is named John Cena, Gunner is screwed. He pretty much gets his ass handed to him and it is revealed that clowns were 4Tune in AJ Styles, Kaz, James Storm, and Christopher Daniels. Wow, Gunner is an idiot. Didn't he realize Bully didn't follow him? If he knew that, he should be smart enough to not do this plan because he was completely outnumbered. I guess you can give Gunner credit for having guts. Well, there is having guts and just being plain stupid, and this was a non-winnable fight. Well, at least the Gunner attack looked the most convincing because they half assed the Abyss, Steiner, and Jarrett attacks.
Match #5: Mr. Anderson vs Sting for the World Championship
This was not a good match, but it wasn't designed to look good. Sting was booked to look completely bats*** insane while Anderson is just trying to fight him off. Of course, it isn't a TNA world title match without a ref bump. Bully arrives to double team Sting, but then the lights go out. Lights go back on and its another clown who takes out Bully. Lights go off again and the clown is on top of the entrance while Sting runs from behind and hits SDD and we have a new TNA world champion in a 52 year old man.....again. The show ends when the clown reveals himself to be Angle. Wow.....just wow. This is so stupid. So, you mean to tell me after one week of Immortal getting Anderson and the world title, he already loses it to Sting? Then what was the point of Anderson having the title? In fact, what was the point of the month long buildup of Anderson joining/not joining Immortal if it almost amounts to nothing? Plus, Angle is now the biggest hypocrite in pro wrestling by saying he would not be involved in this match. In fact, Angle just basically chose his opponent tonight. A Sting/Angle match? Are people REALLY wanting to see this match? Sting should not be champion anymore since he can barely move in the ring. I liked Sting when I was a kid and I like what the guy has brought the business, but he seriously needs to step aside and let the younger blood handle the load. I guess this adds more fuel to the Sting/Hogan storyline, but Sting doesn't need the title for tha- oh God!!! If TNA is seriously thinking in having Hogan vs Sting for a world title in 2011, then I officially have no hope for this company and it just shows that TNA can't grow the f*** up and get away from the old ass and work with their younger talents. Oh, and did I mention with the established kayfabe that Sting winning this matchup makes no sense. In fact, that is like the freakin theme of TNA. TNA: where wrestling matters and we don't make any fu***** sense. TNA was doing well the last couple of months, but they quickly took a s*** on everything they have established and bring you back to the world that makes no sense. Oh, and the people who complain that Sting got a big reaction last night and thus should get the title, he was performing in front of the Impact Zone. You know, that arena that basically shows the same 1000 fans every week. That doesn't tell me Sting is really over when you broadcasting it to the same people every week. Just another example that TNA needs to go on the road and see how OTHER people react to this. Besides, Sting is one of those guys who will always be over like Undertaker or Triple H and he doesn't need a belt to do so. Honestly, I can talk about how this is really pissing me off as a wrestling fan, but what's the point? It isn't going to make this show any better and TNA will take the direction of the company down route number 1724629.
Winner via pinfall and NEW TNA World Champion: Sting
Overall Impression:
....and then some. This episode quickly reminded me why TNA is in the crap barrel. You don't know how much I want to see TNA put a wrestling show with good matches, good storylines, and entertainment, but this is anything but that. The matches were fair to bad, the promos were awful, and the entertainment....where the hell was it? I hate to say I told you so that the Destination X PPV wouldn't serve no purpose for the future of TNA, but....I told you so. They barely acknowledged the PPV and this company doesn't have much of a direction and its completely lost. Not the worst Impact I have seen, but one of the worst ones I have seen in a while. Last week was bad, but it was awesome compared to this. Almost nothing good came out of this evening....except for the only guy with some freaking charisma in Aries making an appearance tonight. He was about the old redeeming factor after tonight. I have an idea on the direction of the company, but I am not excited about it. Sting and Hogan is tired and played out and it's just a cheap trick by TNA to get a bunch of PPV buys. As bad as this matchup will look, it will probably get PPV buys because of the star power of Hogan and Sting. You know it is bad when Sting is going to carry Hogan in the match and Sting can barely do that these days. Good luck TNA fanboys with your Angle vs Sting match, because it's going to be Angle carrying his ass because Sting can't do very much at his age. You don't know how sad it is watching this guy who I idolized as a kid and seeing him move in there makes me sad, disheartening, and sick. That is going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry about all the swearing and over complaining, but this one really got to me and it basically made me snap. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and thank God for CM Punk.
I don't want to do this.....I REALLY don't want to do this. Ok, so I will admit that TNA has actually been tolerable lately, but you have to take caution when things are actually going ok in TNA land. Usually when it is going well, you just know that sh** storm is going to hit and your quickly reminded why TNA is in the gutter. Well, guess what? It is going to be one of THOSE episodes. That's right, TNA went on the deep in for the showing of TNA Impact Wrestling on 7/14/11. Just so much stuff that doesn't make any sense and a wave of stupidity to go around. Can't we just skip Impact this week? F*** it, let's get this over with and start the review. By the way, I am probably going to swear more than usually, but that's what happens when an episode pisses me off. Anyway, I apologize in advance.
We open the show with Immortal heading to the ring in tuxedos and various hookers walking to the ring with them. Since these are Ric Flair's women and they need to go back to his hotel room, they quickly walk away. Already we have something that was just pointless since these women serve no purpose to the show and were just a waste of time. Plus, are you telling me one of those women is willing to let Abyss stick his dick inside her? Whatever they are paying you ladies, it isn't enough. There is also a poker table in the ring, why? I don't know, but they would get good use out if it by making horrible poker puns. Somehow, Immortal has made poker so lame that playing 52 Pickup is now interesting. Eric Bischoff talks about how they are going to gamble away people's careers tonight and are throwing a party for Mr. Anderson. Bischoff also made a horrible ejaculation joke by saying how Anderson's party a few weeks back was premature or something like that. I would go back are get the proper line, but I just don't care anymore and anyone else who knows the full "joke" already proves they care more about TNA than they should. Anderson arrives, who looks like Two Face from Batman Forever with his camouflage tux. In fact, I wonder what kind of look the tailor gave towards Anderson when he placed the order for this abomination? Anderson talks about how it is great to have friends...even though he said a few weeks back he doesn't need friends. Once Hulk Hogan welcomes Anderson to the group, the lights go off and it is time for the Joker Sting to appear. The lights come back on and Sting is right next to the poker table and brings up more poker puns and claims he will be the world champion after tonight and begin his crusade of giving the company back to Dixie Carter. Yes, because God knows having the emotionless and brain dead Dixie is going to save TNA. Hogan makes a threat towards Sting and this causes Sting to flip the table over and go insane. Sting brings up stuff about "The Network" and how they have Hogan and crew on a thin leash and warns them to not try any shenanigans. Hey look, TNA brought up a subplot that people thought was stupid. Sting tells them to look up and we see a bunch of guys in clown mask up in the rafters and says they are working with him...
Not sure if I am referring to the guys in the rafters or the creative staff with the song, but either way it's just silly. That's how the opening scene ends. So, we are opening up with IT rejects and prostitutes walking around. Just what you wanted on a Thursday night, right? Now, I will be fair and say the opening does its job by setting up the show, but if you saw THIS to open up Impact, you would be running for the hills. In fact.....why didn't I just change the channel at this point? I hope you guys and girls appreciate the lengths I have to go through to being the WrestlingNerd. By the way, if Mike Tenay's line of "Evil clowns in the house" doesn't get you interested in watching this week's Impact, nothing will...
Match #1: Robert Roode vs Poper vs Samoa Joe in a Triple Threat Match-BFG Series Match
All of the entrances were done off screen. I am going out of the way to say the reason they did this was to film more stupid s***. You will know what I mean by that later in the review, so prepare to be disappointed. I like how in one spot, Pope was pinning Roode while Joe just stood back like he doesn't care. Come on Joe, you can at least make it look like you give a s*** while your on camera? Maybe that is why Joe doesn't get a push, because he isn't going the extra mile anymore and is just trying to get by? The match was ok for what it was worth, but nothing worth bragging about. The finish comes when Joe locks the Rear Naked Chokehold on Roode, but Roode leans his body back to put Joe's shoulders on the mat and Roode gets the sneaky pinfall victory. That officially leaves us with two guys who haven't won any points in this series in Joe and Pope. Kinda funny how the guys with no points were the same guys who took part in one of the worst feuds earlier this year. After the match, Joe argues with the referees and a bunch of officials come out to support the ref's decision while Joe whines like a bitch. Based on the past history of the "wrestlers complaining towards referees" storyline, this basically means your scrapping the bottom of the crap barrel for a direction with your character. So, why did Joe resign with this company again?
Winner via pinfall: Robert Roode
A somewhat pointless backstage scene of the Jarretts arriving in the Impact Zone. After a commercial, we would follow up with another backstage scene with Immortal. Bischoff is giving his members a pep talk in taking out Sting because he is out of control (Yeah, who would have thought a senile 52 year old man is like the weapon of mass destruction in the wrestling world?). Abyss is all for doing this, but Bischoff quickly reminds him of losing the X Division title and tells him he needs to follow the directions of the other members. Ok, considering that Bischoff already GAVE the freakin orders and Abyss is doing as he is told, Bischoff comes off as an idiot with his line. I swear that the people involved in TNA don't even pay attention to the script and just say anything. Then again, maybe there is no script to begin with? The Jarretts comes barging in and act like they have no care in the world and reveal they have one of the world titles in Mexico. Hogan and Immortal is celebrating because.....why are they celebrating? Are they hoping to kill another promotion? Joking aside, I am not sure where this whole Jarrett/Mexico thing is going. It could lead to other talents being showcased on TNA and vica versa, which could be an interesting idea if done well. The belt looked like the US Championship but with the Mexican flag colors. By the way, I like how the Jarretts are completely aware of Scott Steiner and Anderson being in the meeting and not questioning why they are there because they were not in Immortal when they left. Again, it's TNA so you have to fill the plotholes yourself because you know TNA isn't going to explain it. Oh, and wrestling logic. Seems I can go an edition without saying that line. Another backstage scene where Pope is talking to Devon's kids about the BFG Series, but Devon comes in and tells his sons he warned them to not go near this clown (His exact words. Don't we have enough clowns on tonight's show?). The kids leave and Devon tells Pope he doesn't trust him because he has seen what kind of character the Pope is. The Pope claims he is trying to gain Devon's trust and enjoys the company of his sons (don't get any sick thoughts readers). Devon says he doesn't give a crap about the points he gave him last week and tells him to stay away from his family. Pope walks away, but you know that won't be the last time they interact. This isn't one of the worst storylines in TNA. In fact, I might even defend it and say it is one of the easier storylines to follow in TNA. I will admit I have gained a little more interest in this storyline and seeing where it goes. Hell, it has more of a story than Pope/Joe. It could be along the lines of Pope turning face or forming a tag team with Devon, or he is just tricking Devon to get to his family. Hey, at least the Pope is in a storyline with a wrestler and not a referee.
Match #2: Shannon Moore vs Austin Aries
Oh great, a guy with loads of talent versus a guy who is just a spot monkey and I think CM Punk can summarize Shannon the best...
Thank you Punk. You explain why I don't care for Shannon. The matchup wasn't anything amazing, but Aries being in the match at least makes it worthwhile. The finish comes when Aries gets the book of dilligaf and unhooks the chain. He is about to use the book as a weapon, but the referee intercepts it and while he is dealing with that, Aries grabs the chain and does a CHAIN LINK PUNCH to Moore's skull. Aries hits a finisher to add insult to injury and picks up the win. After the match, Alex Shelley runs out and complains about Aries using a weapon while Aries is saying otherwise. Ok, I understand they seem to be sparking a Shelley/Aries rivalry, but Shelley looks like a dork when he is complaining about a guy cheating. First of all, doesn't Shelley recall cheating during his career? Second, is this your first day on the job? That is what heels in professional wrestling do, they cheat. Why does Shelley act like this is the most shocking thing around? Not every wrestler is going to act like a boy scout. Why did he cheat? Because he wanted to win the match and he is freaking evil, end of story. Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of a Shelley/Aries feud, but they could have written or thought of a better plot device than this. Oh wait, this is TNA and they have no creativity or imagination. Plus, shouldn't Shelley be focusing on Brian Kendrick and the X Division title before setting his sights on Aries? Why does it feel that TNA tends to give a wrestling multiple storylines? They did that with Sky, and based on how the rest of this night plays out, it will happen again.
Winner via pinfall: Austin Aries
Backstage scene of Abyss talking about taking back his championship tonight until one of the clown warriors from earlier attacks Abyss with a baseball bat. He took out Abyss with ONE swing, one. Come on, at least you could have made it seem real and do a couple more attacks? Wrestling logic, a chair shot to the skull will get you up in about five minutes, but a baseball bat will basically KO you. And a Randy Orton punt will freaking kill you. Another backstage scene of Shelley and Aries doing more padding, so we will just skip it. Finally, another backstage scene of Steiner hitting on So Cal Val while another of the clowns attacks Steiner and I guess he has been taken out as well. Who the hell would have thought you would get cock block from a clown? And because wrestling matters, we have a video package on the Madison Rayne and Tara feud that should have ended about a month ago. Seriously, what is it with TNA and doing a storyline, putting it on hold for a few weeks, and then bring it back since the audience is supposed to automatically know what is going on? If there is one thing TNA should copy from the WWE, is consistently airing your rivalries and storylines so people don't get confused.
Match #3: Madison Rayne vs Tara
Tara brings a present with her, but she tells Rayne she has to wait until after the match. The match is about what you expect out of the KO division. The finish comes when Rayne opens the present and it reveals to be a tarantula. She freaks out and this allows Tara to hit the Widows Peak for the win. I kinda like Rayne, but TNA made her character look dumber than Kelly Kelly tonight. First of all, Rayne expected Tara to lie down on the mat and take the dive. What the hell made her think that? Tara hates you know, so what makes you think she was going to align herself with you again? Second, you know the present is going to be something bad and not a positive for you. And third, you open up the present to reveal a giant spider and you scream your lungs off. That is not the silly part. What IS the silly part is how she is screaming and manages to gently put down the cage where the spider is being held in. Of course, if this was real, she would have thrown the fu***** thing or killed it. Of course, wrestling logic because if she had thrown the thing, the spider could have died or gotten loose and TNA risk the possibilities of lawsuits if it harms anybody. I just hated this whole sequence of events because we already had a show with killer clowns, and now we have bimbo ladies screaming over giant spiders. I swear this sounds like a bad horror film, but I assure you this is a wrestling show....at least according to TNA. After the match, Tara scares away Rayne with the spider like she used to do by taking it out of the cage. The spider looks slightly different from the original Poison (Tara's name for the tarantula). Either she has multiple tarantulas or the original Poison died and this was the replacement. The spider's orgins are more interesting than Impact.
Winner via pinfall: Tara
We are back in the ring with Kurt Angle, but since we have had so much stupidity for the first hour, let's take a break. Here is a random clip from Seinfeld. It serves no purpose to TNA or this review, but I figure a show about nothing is a lot more entertaining and makes more sense than TNA...
Well, I feel refreshed. So, let's continue. Angle talks about getting his title match at Hardcore Justice and claims he would like to face Anderson because of how he screwed him over last week (I want you to remember this line for later in the review). But he also remember he old days of Main Event Mafia and says he has never beaten Sting and would like to have that matchup. If you pay attention to this scene, Angle is pretty much saying he would rather face Sting than Anderson. Did TNA already give away the outcome to the main event or not? Backstage of the Jarretts already going back to Mexico and getting in their van until another clown stalker comes out and attacks Jarrett while Karen is just screaming and runs away. Wait, so Jarrett made a trip all the way back to the states to show up for about 30 minutes and now he is going back? Either Jarrett has tons of frequent flying miles, or he just loves spending money on pointless s***. Plus, I thought they said this was supposed to be Jarrett's birthday and they were going to celebrate? Can't TNA follow through with stuff that was only addressed a week ago?
Match #4: Mexican America vs British Invasion winner is the #1 Contender to the Tag Team Titles
Mex American cut a typical promo. Have you noticed their titantron? There characters do everything to show they don't like USA or Americans, but they have an American flag in their titantron. What the f***? Plus, I would hate to be the audience who gets blocked off from seeing the match when there is a giant Mexican flag blocking the view. Then again, who would want to watch this piece of s***? Since TNA feels to have one more cringing moment, the Brits do a sneak attack on Mex and Tazz screams "The British are coming"....
Sorry about that. That line was so bad that I got a heart attack out of sheer stupidity. The match was nothing special and it ended when Rosita distracted the ref and Mex cheats to become the number one contenders.
Winner via pinfall and NEW #1 Contenders to the tag titles: Mexican American
Time for a waive of backstage scenes that question heelish logic. Bischoff tells Gunner and Bully Ray to take care of Sting right now. Gunner says to Bully they should go find them right now. Bully agrees and as both are walking out, Bully pulls back and lets Gunner fly solo. Another scene of Gunner now in a parking lot with a pipe calling out the attackers. Four guys in clown mask show up and each of them have a baseball bat. Unless that pipe is named John Cena, Gunner is screwed. He pretty much gets his ass handed to him and it is revealed that clowns were 4Tune in AJ Styles, Kaz, James Storm, and Christopher Daniels. Wow, Gunner is an idiot. Didn't he realize Bully didn't follow him? If he knew that, he should be smart enough to not do this plan because he was completely outnumbered. I guess you can give Gunner credit for having guts. Well, there is having guts and just being plain stupid, and this was a non-winnable fight. Well, at least the Gunner attack looked the most convincing because they half assed the Abyss, Steiner, and Jarrett attacks.
Match #5: Mr. Anderson vs Sting for the World Championship
This was not a good match, but it wasn't designed to look good. Sting was booked to look completely bats*** insane while Anderson is just trying to fight him off. Of course, it isn't a TNA world title match without a ref bump. Bully arrives to double team Sting, but then the lights go out. Lights go back on and its another clown who takes out Bully. Lights go off again and the clown is on top of the entrance while Sting runs from behind and hits SDD and we have a new TNA world champion in a 52 year old man.....again. The show ends when the clown reveals himself to be Angle. Wow.....just wow. This is so stupid. So, you mean to tell me after one week of Immortal getting Anderson and the world title, he already loses it to Sting? Then what was the point of Anderson having the title? In fact, what was the point of the month long buildup of Anderson joining/not joining Immortal if it almost amounts to nothing? Plus, Angle is now the biggest hypocrite in pro wrestling by saying he would not be involved in this match. In fact, Angle just basically chose his opponent tonight. A Sting/Angle match? Are people REALLY wanting to see this match? Sting should not be champion anymore since he can barely move in the ring. I liked Sting when I was a kid and I like what the guy has brought the business, but he seriously needs to step aside and let the younger blood handle the load. I guess this adds more fuel to the Sting/Hogan storyline, but Sting doesn't need the title for tha- oh God!!! If TNA is seriously thinking in having Hogan vs Sting for a world title in 2011, then I officially have no hope for this company and it just shows that TNA can't grow the f*** up and get away from the old ass and work with their younger talents. Oh, and did I mention with the established kayfabe that Sting winning this matchup makes no sense. In fact, that is like the freakin theme of TNA. TNA: where wrestling matters and we don't make any fu***** sense. TNA was doing well the last couple of months, but they quickly took a s*** on everything they have established and bring you back to the world that makes no sense. Oh, and the people who complain that Sting got a big reaction last night and thus should get the title, he was performing in front of the Impact Zone. You know, that arena that basically shows the same 1000 fans every week. That doesn't tell me Sting is really over when you broadcasting it to the same people every week. Just another example that TNA needs to go on the road and see how OTHER people react to this. Besides, Sting is one of those guys who will always be over like Undertaker or Triple H and he doesn't need a belt to do so. Honestly, I can talk about how this is really pissing me off as a wrestling fan, but what's the point? It isn't going to make this show any better and TNA will take the direction of the company down route number 1724629.
Winner via pinfall and NEW TNA World Champion: Sting
Overall Impression:
....and then some. This episode quickly reminded me why TNA is in the crap barrel. You don't know how much I want to see TNA put a wrestling show with good matches, good storylines, and entertainment, but this is anything but that. The matches were fair to bad, the promos were awful, and the entertainment....where the hell was it? I hate to say I told you so that the Destination X PPV wouldn't serve no purpose for the future of TNA, but....I told you so. They barely acknowledged the PPV and this company doesn't have much of a direction and its completely lost. Not the worst Impact I have seen, but one of the worst ones I have seen in a while. Last week was bad, but it was awesome compared to this. Almost nothing good came out of this evening....except for the only guy with some freaking charisma in Aries making an appearance tonight. He was about the old redeeming factor after tonight. I have an idea on the direction of the company, but I am not excited about it. Sting and Hogan is tired and played out and it's just a cheap trick by TNA to get a bunch of PPV buys. As bad as this matchup will look, it will probably get PPV buys because of the star power of Hogan and Sting. You know it is bad when Sting is going to carry Hogan in the match and Sting can barely do that these days. Good luck TNA fanboys with your Angle vs Sting match, because it's going to be Angle carrying his ass because Sting can't do very much at his age. You don't know how sad it is watching this guy who I idolized as a kid and seeing him move in there makes me sad, disheartening, and sick. That is going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry about all the swearing and over complaining, but this one really got to me and it basically made me snap. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and thank God for CM Punk.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
WrestlingNerd Presents: WWE Money in the Bank Rundown
What is up wrestling fans, I am back once more for the PPV Rundown. Today, we rundown WWE Money in the Bank. That's right, CM Punk is so awesome that I am releasing this two days early. If you have been checking out my reviews of the past few episodes of Raw, you will know that this has been one of the biggest hyped main events in a long time and can literally be a company changing day. And it is all because of what CM Punk has brought to the table for over the last month. The way I do things here on the Rundown is I will talk about every matchup on the card and then I will break it down into who should win, who creative will pick, and I will finally throw in my pick but my pick doesn't mean anything. Alright, let's begin.
Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella for the Divas Championship
Now, I know most people generally want me to talk about the MITB ladder matches and the WWE Championship match, but we should at least be fair and talk about the other matches as well. Overall, the hype for this matchup hasn't be done very well. Then again, what diva match is these days? I am personally not very impressed with Kelly's title reign. I am aware it's still in the early stages, but most champions by now would have made a bigger impression. I personally would have gone with Beth Phoenix or Natalya to lead the division since they are the most complete divas. I just find Kelly too boring and her in ring style is just being reduced to a side show since she feels the need to do the stink face. If your a WWE diva and your move is the stink face, your the fan service diva. I am also not too fond of the Bella Twins because they are very generic heels. I said this in a previous post, but I actually find the diva division better on SD than I do on Raw. I guess it is because they actually have new faces over there and seem to be showing them off (at least outside of Natalya, but that is a different discussion for another day). Now, I am aware that the diva match is generally the bathroom break match, but it can still be a match that makes you care. I advised to use this match as a way to grab snacks or bust out the NES.
Who should win:
Personally, I don't like either of these choices and I almost don't care as to who wins.
Who creative will pick:
Kelly just won the title and I imagine they would at least make her win this time around. I may not be fond of her, but the creative staff seems to be behind her (....that's what she said).
My final pick:
I almost feel embarrassed to make a pick here......I pick Kelly since she just won the title and I imagine they want to keep going with her. Kelly, you ought to thank Kharma for getting pregnant because I imagine your title reign would have never happened if she was still around.
Big Show vs Mark Henry
To my surprise, the buildup to this match has actually been done pretty well. Reckon I am not that interested in this match, but I have to at least give WWE points for trying. The story here is Show beat the crap out of Henry. Ever since that day, Henry has had a mean streak and is destroying things left and right. It has gotten to the point where Henry is actually taking Show down on numerous occasions and for the first time in quite a while, Show has met his equal in terms of strength and size. Henry looks like the more dominate one going into this match because Henry has taken out Show a few times and has beaten guys like Kane while Show only has tossing around Drew McIntyre to his credit. Also, why did they move Show to Raw if they seem to be using him more on SD? I think it has to do with the fact Great Khali is there and WWE wants to hold true to the World's Largest Athlete gimmick, but does anyone really care if Show and Khali are on the same show? Anyway, it will be a showcase of punches, clotheslines, and power moves. Just what you want on a Sunday evening....hey, at least there is a couple of ladder matches to make you forget about this, right? You could always bust out the NES for this one if you wanted to.
Who should win:
I kinda like how Henry is coming along while I don't really care for Show all that much. Monster heels are always better than giant faces, so I want to see the heel win.
Who creative will pick:
I would imagine this being the blow off feud. I know the feud just started, but rivalries like this don't tend to last very long. Show just "put over" Alberto Del Rio (if THAT is what you want to call it) and I don't think creative will give Show that roll once more.
My final pick:
I would rather see Henry win since I like the buildup on his character, but I just feel they will give this to Show because he is the good guy.
Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
The best way to break down this matchup is to talk about every individual in the competition, but first a history lesson. To people who don't know what a MITB match is, I will explain it. A MITB ladder match is a match designed for the wrestlers/superstars to climb a ladder and grab the briefcase. If you get the briefcase, you win the match. Inside this briefcase is a contract (It would be hilarious if one of these days the briefcase opened up and it revealed there was nothing inside. Come on, I couldn't have been the only one to think about this?) that guarantees the winner a title match at any moment possible. Over the last few years, the MITB concept has been used to cash it in on a weaken champion and congratulations, your instant heel champion is born. Everyone who has won MITB has become champion, and RVD was the only one to NOT use the cheap trick to beat a broken down man to win the title. Some MITB winners have had decent title reigns while a few have had it rough (Mr. Kennedy won MITB, but lost the briefcase because of injury and Jack Swagger wasn't even ready and it became a Bomb-omb). Ok, so I think I have explained this concept for people who are in the dark about it (....even though I would imagine anyone reading this knows a thing or two about pro wrestling), now let's move on. In this matchup, we have Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, and Kane. With matchups like this, I like to look at every competitor and see which one has the greatest odds of winning. Right off the bat, I think we have to say Slater has no shot of winning this match. In fact, Slater being in the match is kinda odd since they have Ezekiel Jackson and Ted DiBiase sitting on the sidelines. WWE also likes to add guys to add a high spot, and Slater doesn't really add that, which makes him being in this matchup even more perplexing. Maybe they just wanted to give both members of the tag team a break? Gabriel also doesn't have much of a shot of winning this matchup and is there to add a high spot. Sin is still in the early stages of his WWE career and while a MITB win would elevate him, he is not ready for something like that and should start off slow. Like Gabriel, Sin is in this matchup to add a high spot or two. Kane is in this matchup for star appeal and doesn't have much of a shot of winning as well because he has no buildup towards this. Yes, I am aware he won last year's SD MITB, but he had momentum going into that while that is not the case this year. Bryan is still in the early stages and while a MITB win would help him get over, he is not ready for that type of win. That just leaves us with Barrett, Sheamus, and Rhodes. I think all three guys have the best odds of winning this match. WWE seems primed on Rhodes since they keep giving him the screen time and he is generally winning his matches. Not to mention his win would spark a Rhodes/Orton feud, which is something we really haven't seen yet and I am all for seeing new rivalries. Barrett has seen his stock drop big within the last six months. A win like this can quickly get him back in the swing of things. I honestly feel they are miss using Barrett because he was one of the bigger heels when he was leading the Nexus and dealing with John Cena. Honestly, I have no idea why his stock has fallen so fast since it seemed the WWE was behind the guy. Sheamus has had the most buildup to get the win for this match. He is actually getting in the face of Orton, which might indicate Sheamus will end up getting the win. Still, Sheamus vs Orton is another matchup we have already seen before and not sure how well it will go a second time. SD has become a little stale at the moment and I think a Barrett or Rhodes win would spark the interest level. As for Sheamus winning, not really sure about that since the feud has been done before. Then again, these briefcases don't have to be cashed in right away and they could just wait for this one.
Who should win:
I would rather see Rhodes or Barrett get the win, but I am not completely against Sheamus winning it either.
Who creative will pick:
I would imagine creative still up in the air on this one. Still, they have given Sheamus the most buildup to the world title and I would think they would go with him.
My final pick:
I am going to be different and pick Rhodes to win this match. Even though the Emperor gimmick is kinda lame, Rhodes is still making the character at least somewhat interesting. But those paper bags are quite ridiculous.
Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This is the same concept as the previous match, but this one has different competitors involved. In this matchup, we have Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio, Miz, R-Truth, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, and Kofi Kingston. Time to break it down like the last match. Bourne has no shot of winning since he is involved to add a high spot or two. If Kofi was being built better, he would have a chance. However, that isn't the case and is just here for star power and a high spot. Swagger was a failed experiment when he won MITB last year and has done nothing to deserve another chance. Mysterio's role with the company has changed since he is putting people over and is in this match to add another face and star power. Riley is the darkhorse in this match. He has had some decent buildup going into this match and it would be something to see one of the young guys win this matchup. While him winning the matchup would do a lot for Riley, he isn't ready to go after the world title and they would be rushing him. I feel with the way Riley is coming along, he can be one of the major playmakers for the future of the WWE, but he is still new and thus he shouldn't be rushed. I would like to see what Riley can do with a midcard title before going after the big prize, but it would be interesting to see if they went down the route of him winning this match. That leaves us with Miz, Truth and Del Rio. Miz won last years MITB and him winning again would show the WWE has every intention of keeping the Miz as a main eventer. His stock has dropped a bit since he lost the title, and this win would get him back on track. Truth just had a title match....in which it ended with him getting water splashed in the face. Thus proving how water bottles are the ultimate weapon in professional wrestling. Yeah, I know it is silly, but it does add to his whole conspiracy thing. Then again, I think Truth losing this match would add more to his conspiracy deal. Del Rio seems to be the guy the WWE wants to push, but they keep delaying him. I have said in the past that while I like what Del Rio brings to the table, I feel he is just drawing generic heat at the moment. Look back at some of Del Rio's past segments? Again, just generic heat and doesn't seem to bring a tremendous amount of heat or a big crowd reaction like a Punk or Cena. Then again, Del Rio cashing in the briefcase on a fan favorite will give him a lot of heat and maybe he can roll with that? Foreshadowing? Maybe or maybe not, but that is one way to go about.
Who should win:
Del Rio winning makes the most sense. If done properly, Riley winning could be a good move, but it would depend on how WWE uses him for the time being. The contract states you have a year, so why not roll with it for Riley if you do it right? Still, I think Del Rio is the safer pick.
Who creative will pick:
I think creative wants to give this one to Del Rio and really see what he can do in the prime time.
My final pick:
Everything seems to be leaning towards Del Rio, so I am going to have to pick Del Rio. Time to see what Mexican JBL can do....
Randy Orton vs Christian for the WHC
The story with this rivalry is Christian felt he got a raw deal by having to lose the title so suddenly (and rightfully so, he has an argument) to Orton. Since then, Christian has gotten the case of sour grapes and is almost obsessed with beating Orton. He has also made a heel turn during this time. At first, I thought when Christian started to undergo his heel turn that Christian would get the title back for a while until it eventually went back to Orton (I know most fans would like to see Christian get a lengthy title reign, but WWE seems primed on making Orton the top guy on SD, so it's just something your gonna have to accept...). However, the longer this rivalry keeps going, the more likely it seems Orton is set to never lose this title. As most people who check out my reviews on a weekly basis know, I am not the biggest fan of Orton. I just find him to be boring because he basically has no personality and it's still puzzling how the audience jumps the 180 and completely cheers for anything Orton does. I get it. He is supposed to the the modern day Stone Cold Steve Austin, but Austin's charisma and moxie is what made the character convincing and real. Orton just seems like he is trying too hard to act like an anti-hero and it feels phoned in. To me, he still acts like a heel or an asshole when he threatens to send people to the hospital and acts like every superstar he faces killed his puppy as a child. Hey, it would explain why he is so angry all the time. If you look at a guy like Punk, I think he said it best earlier in the week. He admits to being a bad guy, but his mic skills, charisma, and just the way he acts at times is what makes him seem real. Again, I don't see this from Orton because whenever he cuts a promo, I feel like I want to take a nap. Seriously, speaking really slowly doesn't make you tough, it just makes me look like your trying to remember your lines. There is a chance this matchup can happen again at SS (no, not Summer Fest....Jeremy Piven was probably one of the worst things to ever grace a wrestling ring. Cue the David Arquette debacle), but the only way that happens is if Orton actually drops the title here. At the moment, it doesn't really seem like it can happen. They might as well change it from SD to Randy Orton vs the world.
Who should win:
I would really like to see Christian get the belt since it might actually make SD worthwhile. Has anyone notice SD basically doing the same thing for the last month? Seriously, there is always a Sin match, something between Danielson, Rhodes and DiBiase, and the show ends with an RKO. Talk about an overused cliche.
Who creative will pick:
Creative staff is still in full support of Orton, so they will go with him.
My final pick:
Even though Orton pisses me off, I have to pick him. Then again, I kinda hope I am wrong with this one that way we can see something different on SD.
John Cena vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship
Now we have come into the matchup that has gotten a lot of talk. First, a quick update on how this all started. When Punk became the #1 Contender, he quickly revealed to the world that his contract is up after the MITB PPV and plans to leave the WWE with the title. In the real world, Punk was telling the truth because his contract was either coming to an end or it was set to end very soon. During this time, Punk has gone on to deliver promo after promo in how the WWE has mistreated him and how he feels he is the best complete wrestler in the world. It was captivating in how Punk was delivering one hell of a worked shoot. To keep the storyline interesting, the WWE suspended Punk. This lead to a confrontation between Vince McMahon and Cena. Vince revealed he suspended Punk because he couldn't bare the thought of losing the most important title in the WWE. Even though Cena was verbally abused by Punk, he still went to bat for him and felt Punk earned the opportunity to become champ and he should get his match. Vince would eventually cave and give Cena his match and reinstate Punk. However, the stipulation stats if Punk leaves Chicago the WWE Champion, Cena is fired from the WWE. While off in the real world, there have been reports of Punk still in negotiations with the WWE to sign another deal, but these are always up for debate. As of this moment, we have no idea if Punk has signed another contract, if he plans on taking a leave of absence, or he is flat out leaving the WWE and jump ships to another promotion. The buildup to this match has been very well done and is a shoe in for Rivalry of the Year because it has been played well from all corners. Even though Vince and Cena had a hand in making this storyline the talk of the wrestling world, it is Punk who is clearly stealing the show and is getting everyone excited for something they haven't seen in quite a while. I think Punk wouldn't really consider going to another promotion, but if he did it would probably be ROH, and TNA is an afterthought. ROH has a tv deal on the way and are set to be making their tv debut within the year, and a guy like Punk can take them to the top. Punk has abused TNA for their creative direction and how they don't use talent correctly. Plus, Punk has had issues with the Hardys and even Hulk Hogan, so it just seems Punk would never consider going to TNA. Then again...can you blame him? There are a few possibilities they can go with a serve like this, but it would piss off a lot of people if WWE ended up going the predictable route and having Cena win. The way you have built up this match, you have to let Punk win no matter what because anything short of Punk NOT becoming the WWE Champion on that night will be an utter disappointment to what was one of the best worked shoots in wrestling history. Since this is MITB and there are two guys who can crash the Punk party, most indications show that what will happen is Punk beats Cena, but the MITB winner will cash it in on Punk and become the instant heel and forever bad guy of Chicago. The early candidate for this would be Del Rio. I said earlier that Del Rio is drawing basic heat, but cashing it in on Punk would definitely give him a ton of heat. Because of this stipulation, Cena would keep his job because Punk technically didn't leave Chicago with the title and everything goes back to normal. This seems like the biggest possible outcome at the moment because we still think Punk has NOT signed a new deal and this is the easiest way of setting up future events. Well, Punk and Vince could be talking as of right now and might be able to get a deal worked out in time to make sure Punk remains with the company. Either that or Punk has signed a deal this whole time and this is his and the WWE's way of throwing a middle finger to all of those websites of IWC members who think they are the smartest wrestling fans in the world. I said a while back what the WWE should try and do is have Vince help Punk defeat Cena and become the champ. Cena would get "fired" while Punk goes on a world title crusade. Keep in mind in how the storyline is being played out, Vince would have every reason to fire Cena because if Cena hadn't opened his mouth this past week, Punk would have "signed" the contract and Vince wouldn't have to worry about losing his championship. What it can boil down to is Vince selling his soul to Punk so he can protect his creation or Vince siding with Punk at the last second because Cena was the one who put his WWE Championship in jeopardy. It could later be revealed by Punk that this entire "contract/no contract" deal was just a set up from the beginning to get rid of Cena and ultimately make him the star of the show. He would eventually kick Vince to the curb because he doesn't need him anymore. Punk would then go on and become the biggest heel in the WWE with the title around his waist and completely doing away with all challengers. At somepoint, Vince buckles down and decides to give Cena his job back because he realizes Punk has gotten out of control and Cena is the only one to stop him. If they did a swerve like this, it would totally get people interested in the product. It is a longshot and it will probably never happen, but it would be one hell of a roller coaster ride if I say so myself. Punk is really the kind of guy who is not only a person with a passion for the business, he clearly shows his emotions as a fan of pro wrestling. Why else would he be wearing a Colt Cabana T-shirt in the WWE? Not to mention paying tribute by wearing the Macho Man Randy Savage's original colors a few months back. I really bought when Punk says he cares too much about the business, especially if ice cream comes into play. I think Punk has gained a lot of respect from seasoned and casual wrestling fans with his words over the past couple of weeks because you can really buy what he is saying. What makes a good worked shoot is the emotion by the one cutting the promo. This is why Punk's worked shoots will be better than any of the worked shoots TNA does because they just look too fake in TNA while Punk's words almost seem real and I think they are at times. I also wonder if Colt Cabana will play a roll in this match? Cabana himself has stated he would be attendance for the MITB PPV. So, will Colt help out his fellow friend or will he betray him to help Cena and maybe reveal in kayfabe that Vince told him to screw Punk to gain a WWE contract? Well....I don't know about that, but there is a chance it could happen. There is also the possibility that Punk is committed to the WWE, but he simply needs a 4-6 month break because he is tired and the schedule is taking his toll on the guy. Keep in mind that Punk holds true to being Straight Edge, so he doesn't take any pain relievers in case he takes a bad bump and relies on the old school way of heeling. He could be physically and psychologically drained and needs a break. Even though it would only be a few months, it would be kinda sad to see him leave.....even if it was for a short amount of time. I think Punk truly wants to be the best in the world in the WWE and I don't think he would go to another promotion. The TNA fanboys can keep dreaming that they will get Punk in October/November, but it isn't very likely. Either way, the buildup to this match has been very well done and it could lead to one of the biggest moments in pro wrestling, but it can also be shades of disappointment. I think what should happen is Punk actually gets the CLEAN win over Cena and doesn't win with cheating or shenanigans. That would really show how much the WWE is trying to clinge to Punk since Cena never loses cleanly these days. Plus, it might do wonders for Cena's character to maybe realize something about himself. One of my biggest gripes about Cena is he has been doing the same character for over the last 6-7 years now. It has gotten to the point where it has become stale and I just want to see the guy take a new direction with his character and not do the same old same old. I don't like Cena that much, but I have grown to respect the guy. Still, his character needs a slight change and you can do this with this storyline. It doesn't mean you have to turn him heel (I know, the IWC has been calling for a Cena heel turn since the birth of the Nintendo Wii), but add something new to this face character and make him better than before. I know the kiddies and Cena fans like having Cena win all the time and defy the odds, but we need to get away with that for a moment because Punk has proved that this is HIS time to shine. He is the underdog in this rivalry and it is always a great story when the underdog wins. Truth be told, I can talk about this angle and all the characters involved for another hour, but I think we need to move on. If you want to find out what else I had to say about Punk, please check out my last three Raw reviews and hopefully I got a lot of the major points I wanted to discuss about this storyline.
Who should win:
Punk should win, no question about it.
Who creative will pick:
Let's be honest here. If we knew the answer to that question, this storyline wouldn't have been hyped up this well. It all depends if Punk resigns another contract or not.
My final pick:
I gotta go with the guy who has looked awesome throughout this entire segment and go with CM Punk to win. Keep in mind, just because he wins, it DOESN'T mean he will leave Chicago as the champ.
That is going to do it for the MITB Rundown. Overall, this PPV has a good head of steam going into this event and it is roughly because of the WWE Championship storyline, but there are some other matches that we should be paying attention to as well. I like to refer to this PPV as WrestleMania 27 1/2 since the card has been built up like a WM. Either that or Punk in the Bank? Anyway, this should be an interesting show and it will be interesting what happens and the PPV and what new storylines or questions we are left asking after the evening has concluded. Tell me what YOU will think will happen at the PPV and what you thought of my rundown. Also, you can find me on blogger/blogspot. I will see you guys and girls at the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and I am still waiting for my ice cream bar....ICE CREAM!!!
Kelly Kelly vs Brie Bella for the Divas Championship
Now, I know most people generally want me to talk about the MITB ladder matches and the WWE Championship match, but we should at least be fair and talk about the other matches as well. Overall, the hype for this matchup hasn't be done very well. Then again, what diva match is these days? I am personally not very impressed with Kelly's title reign. I am aware it's still in the early stages, but most champions by now would have made a bigger impression. I personally would have gone with Beth Phoenix or Natalya to lead the division since they are the most complete divas. I just find Kelly too boring and her in ring style is just being reduced to a side show since she feels the need to do the stink face. If your a WWE diva and your move is the stink face, your the fan service diva. I am also not too fond of the Bella Twins because they are very generic heels. I said this in a previous post, but I actually find the diva division better on SD than I do on Raw. I guess it is because they actually have new faces over there and seem to be showing them off (at least outside of Natalya, but that is a different discussion for another day). Now, I am aware that the diva match is generally the bathroom break match, but it can still be a match that makes you care. I advised to use this match as a way to grab snacks or bust out the NES.
Who should win:
Personally, I don't like either of these choices and I almost don't care as to who wins.
Who creative will pick:
Kelly just won the title and I imagine they would at least make her win this time around. I may not be fond of her, but the creative staff seems to be behind her (....that's what she said).
My final pick:
I almost feel embarrassed to make a pick here......I pick Kelly since she just won the title and I imagine they want to keep going with her. Kelly, you ought to thank Kharma for getting pregnant because I imagine your title reign would have never happened if she was still around.
Big Show vs Mark Henry
To my surprise, the buildup to this match has actually been done pretty well. Reckon I am not that interested in this match, but I have to at least give WWE points for trying. The story here is Show beat the crap out of Henry. Ever since that day, Henry has had a mean streak and is destroying things left and right. It has gotten to the point where Henry is actually taking Show down on numerous occasions and for the first time in quite a while, Show has met his equal in terms of strength and size. Henry looks like the more dominate one going into this match because Henry has taken out Show a few times and has beaten guys like Kane while Show only has tossing around Drew McIntyre to his credit. Also, why did they move Show to Raw if they seem to be using him more on SD? I think it has to do with the fact Great Khali is there and WWE wants to hold true to the World's Largest Athlete gimmick, but does anyone really care if Show and Khali are on the same show? Anyway, it will be a showcase of punches, clotheslines, and power moves. Just what you want on a Sunday evening....hey, at least there is a couple of ladder matches to make you forget about this, right? You could always bust out the NES for this one if you wanted to.
Who should win:
I kinda like how Henry is coming along while I don't really care for Show all that much. Monster heels are always better than giant faces, so I want to see the heel win.
Who creative will pick:
I would imagine this being the blow off feud. I know the feud just started, but rivalries like this don't tend to last very long. Show just "put over" Alberto Del Rio (if THAT is what you want to call it) and I don't think creative will give Show that roll once more.
My final pick:
I would rather see Henry win since I like the buildup on his character, but I just feel they will give this to Show because he is the good guy.
Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
The best way to break down this matchup is to talk about every individual in the competition, but first a history lesson. To people who don't know what a MITB match is, I will explain it. A MITB ladder match is a match designed for the wrestlers/superstars to climb a ladder and grab the briefcase. If you get the briefcase, you win the match. Inside this briefcase is a contract (It would be hilarious if one of these days the briefcase opened up and it revealed there was nothing inside. Come on, I couldn't have been the only one to think about this?) that guarantees the winner a title match at any moment possible. Over the last few years, the MITB concept has been used to cash it in on a weaken champion and congratulations, your instant heel champion is born. Everyone who has won MITB has become champion, and RVD was the only one to NOT use the cheap trick to beat a broken down man to win the title. Some MITB winners have had decent title reigns while a few have had it rough (Mr. Kennedy won MITB, but lost the briefcase because of injury and Jack Swagger wasn't even ready and it became a Bomb-omb). Ok, so I think I have explained this concept for people who are in the dark about it (....even though I would imagine anyone reading this knows a thing or two about pro wrestling), now let's move on. In this matchup, we have Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan, Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, and Kane. With matchups like this, I like to look at every competitor and see which one has the greatest odds of winning. Right off the bat, I think we have to say Slater has no shot of winning this match. In fact, Slater being in the match is kinda odd since they have Ezekiel Jackson and Ted DiBiase sitting on the sidelines. WWE also likes to add guys to add a high spot, and Slater doesn't really add that, which makes him being in this matchup even more perplexing. Maybe they just wanted to give both members of the tag team a break? Gabriel also doesn't have much of a shot of winning this matchup and is there to add a high spot. Sin is still in the early stages of his WWE career and while a MITB win would elevate him, he is not ready for something like that and should start off slow. Like Gabriel, Sin is in this matchup to add a high spot or two. Kane is in this matchup for star appeal and doesn't have much of a shot of winning as well because he has no buildup towards this. Yes, I am aware he won last year's SD MITB, but he had momentum going into that while that is not the case this year. Bryan is still in the early stages and while a MITB win would help him get over, he is not ready for that type of win. That just leaves us with Barrett, Sheamus, and Rhodes. I think all three guys have the best odds of winning this match. WWE seems primed on Rhodes since they keep giving him the screen time and he is generally winning his matches. Not to mention his win would spark a Rhodes/Orton feud, which is something we really haven't seen yet and I am all for seeing new rivalries. Barrett has seen his stock drop big within the last six months. A win like this can quickly get him back in the swing of things. I honestly feel they are miss using Barrett because he was one of the bigger heels when he was leading the Nexus and dealing with John Cena. Honestly, I have no idea why his stock has fallen so fast since it seemed the WWE was behind the guy. Sheamus has had the most buildup to get the win for this match. He is actually getting in the face of Orton, which might indicate Sheamus will end up getting the win. Still, Sheamus vs Orton is another matchup we have already seen before and not sure how well it will go a second time. SD has become a little stale at the moment and I think a Barrett or Rhodes win would spark the interest level. As for Sheamus winning, not really sure about that since the feud has been done before. Then again, these briefcases don't have to be cashed in right away and they could just wait for this one.
Who should win:
I would rather see Rhodes or Barrett get the win, but I am not completely against Sheamus winning it either.
Who creative will pick:
I would imagine creative still up in the air on this one. Still, they have given Sheamus the most buildup to the world title and I would think they would go with him.
My final pick:
I am going to be different and pick Rhodes to win this match. Even though the Emperor gimmick is kinda lame, Rhodes is still making the character at least somewhat interesting. But those paper bags are quite ridiculous.
Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This is the same concept as the previous match, but this one has different competitors involved. In this matchup, we have Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio, Miz, R-Truth, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, and Kofi Kingston. Time to break it down like the last match. Bourne has no shot of winning since he is involved to add a high spot or two. If Kofi was being built better, he would have a chance. However, that isn't the case and is just here for star power and a high spot. Swagger was a failed experiment when he won MITB last year and has done nothing to deserve another chance. Mysterio's role with the company has changed since he is putting people over and is in this match to add another face and star power. Riley is the darkhorse in this match. He has had some decent buildup going into this match and it would be something to see one of the young guys win this matchup. While him winning the matchup would do a lot for Riley, he isn't ready to go after the world title and they would be rushing him. I feel with the way Riley is coming along, he can be one of the major playmakers for the future of the WWE, but he is still new and thus he shouldn't be rushed. I would like to see what Riley can do with a midcard title before going after the big prize, but it would be interesting to see if they went down the route of him winning this match. That leaves us with Miz, Truth and Del Rio. Miz won last years MITB and him winning again would show the WWE has every intention of keeping the Miz as a main eventer. His stock has dropped a bit since he lost the title, and this win would get him back on track. Truth just had a title match....in which it ended with him getting water splashed in the face. Thus proving how water bottles are the ultimate weapon in professional wrestling. Yeah, I know it is silly, but it does add to his whole conspiracy thing. Then again, I think Truth losing this match would add more to his conspiracy deal. Del Rio seems to be the guy the WWE wants to push, but they keep delaying him. I have said in the past that while I like what Del Rio brings to the table, I feel he is just drawing generic heat at the moment. Look back at some of Del Rio's past segments? Again, just generic heat and doesn't seem to bring a tremendous amount of heat or a big crowd reaction like a Punk or Cena. Then again, Del Rio cashing in the briefcase on a fan favorite will give him a lot of heat and maybe he can roll with that? Foreshadowing? Maybe or maybe not, but that is one way to go about.
Who should win:
Del Rio winning makes the most sense. If done properly, Riley winning could be a good move, but it would depend on how WWE uses him for the time being. The contract states you have a year, so why not roll with it for Riley if you do it right? Still, I think Del Rio is the safer pick.
Who creative will pick:
I think creative wants to give this one to Del Rio and really see what he can do in the prime time.
My final pick:
Everything seems to be leaning towards Del Rio, so I am going to have to pick Del Rio. Time to see what Mexican JBL can do....
Randy Orton vs Christian for the WHC
The story with this rivalry is Christian felt he got a raw deal by having to lose the title so suddenly (and rightfully so, he has an argument) to Orton. Since then, Christian has gotten the case of sour grapes and is almost obsessed with beating Orton. He has also made a heel turn during this time. At first, I thought when Christian started to undergo his heel turn that Christian would get the title back for a while until it eventually went back to Orton (I know most fans would like to see Christian get a lengthy title reign, but WWE seems primed on making Orton the top guy on SD, so it's just something your gonna have to accept...). However, the longer this rivalry keeps going, the more likely it seems Orton is set to never lose this title. As most people who check out my reviews on a weekly basis know, I am not the biggest fan of Orton. I just find him to be boring because he basically has no personality and it's still puzzling how the audience jumps the 180 and completely cheers for anything Orton does. I get it. He is supposed to the the modern day Stone Cold Steve Austin, but Austin's charisma and moxie is what made the character convincing and real. Orton just seems like he is trying too hard to act like an anti-hero and it feels phoned in. To me, he still acts like a heel or an asshole when he threatens to send people to the hospital and acts like every superstar he faces killed his puppy as a child. Hey, it would explain why he is so angry all the time. If you look at a guy like Punk, I think he said it best earlier in the week. He admits to being a bad guy, but his mic skills, charisma, and just the way he acts at times is what makes him seem real. Again, I don't see this from Orton because whenever he cuts a promo, I feel like I want to take a nap. Seriously, speaking really slowly doesn't make you tough, it just makes me look like your trying to remember your lines. There is a chance this matchup can happen again at SS (no, not Summer Fest....Jeremy Piven was probably one of the worst things to ever grace a wrestling ring. Cue the David Arquette debacle), but the only way that happens is if Orton actually drops the title here. At the moment, it doesn't really seem like it can happen. They might as well change it from SD to Randy Orton vs the world.
Who should win:
I would really like to see Christian get the belt since it might actually make SD worthwhile. Has anyone notice SD basically doing the same thing for the last month? Seriously, there is always a Sin match, something between Danielson, Rhodes and DiBiase, and the show ends with an RKO. Talk about an overused cliche.
Who creative will pick:
Creative staff is still in full support of Orton, so they will go with him.
My final pick:
Even though Orton pisses me off, I have to pick him. Then again, I kinda hope I am wrong with this one that way we can see something different on SD.
John Cena vs CM Punk for the WWE Championship
Now we have come into the matchup that has gotten a lot of talk. First, a quick update on how this all started. When Punk became the #1 Contender, he quickly revealed to the world that his contract is up after the MITB PPV and plans to leave the WWE with the title. In the real world, Punk was telling the truth because his contract was either coming to an end or it was set to end very soon. During this time, Punk has gone on to deliver promo after promo in how the WWE has mistreated him and how he feels he is the best complete wrestler in the world. It was captivating in how Punk was delivering one hell of a worked shoot. To keep the storyline interesting, the WWE suspended Punk. This lead to a confrontation between Vince McMahon and Cena. Vince revealed he suspended Punk because he couldn't bare the thought of losing the most important title in the WWE. Even though Cena was verbally abused by Punk, he still went to bat for him and felt Punk earned the opportunity to become champ and he should get his match. Vince would eventually cave and give Cena his match and reinstate Punk. However, the stipulation stats if Punk leaves Chicago the WWE Champion, Cena is fired from the WWE. While off in the real world, there have been reports of Punk still in negotiations with the WWE to sign another deal, but these are always up for debate. As of this moment, we have no idea if Punk has signed another contract, if he plans on taking a leave of absence, or he is flat out leaving the WWE and jump ships to another promotion. The buildup to this match has been very well done and is a shoe in for Rivalry of the Year because it has been played well from all corners. Even though Vince and Cena had a hand in making this storyline the talk of the wrestling world, it is Punk who is clearly stealing the show and is getting everyone excited for something they haven't seen in quite a while. I think Punk wouldn't really consider going to another promotion, but if he did it would probably be ROH, and TNA is an afterthought. ROH has a tv deal on the way and are set to be making their tv debut within the year, and a guy like Punk can take them to the top. Punk has abused TNA for their creative direction and how they don't use talent correctly. Plus, Punk has had issues with the Hardys and even Hulk Hogan, so it just seems Punk would never consider going to TNA. Then again...can you blame him? There are a few possibilities they can go with a serve like this, but it would piss off a lot of people if WWE ended up going the predictable route and having Cena win. The way you have built up this match, you have to let Punk win no matter what because anything short of Punk NOT becoming the WWE Champion on that night will be an utter disappointment to what was one of the best worked shoots in wrestling history. Since this is MITB and there are two guys who can crash the Punk party, most indications show that what will happen is Punk beats Cena, but the MITB winner will cash it in on Punk and become the instant heel and forever bad guy of Chicago. The early candidate for this would be Del Rio. I said earlier that Del Rio is drawing basic heat, but cashing it in on Punk would definitely give him a ton of heat. Because of this stipulation, Cena would keep his job because Punk technically didn't leave Chicago with the title and everything goes back to normal. This seems like the biggest possible outcome at the moment because we still think Punk has NOT signed a new deal and this is the easiest way of setting up future events. Well, Punk and Vince could be talking as of right now and might be able to get a deal worked out in time to make sure Punk remains with the company. Either that or Punk has signed a deal this whole time and this is his and the WWE's way of throwing a middle finger to all of those websites of IWC members who think they are the smartest wrestling fans in the world. I said a while back what the WWE should try and do is have Vince help Punk defeat Cena and become the champ. Cena would get "fired" while Punk goes on a world title crusade. Keep in mind in how the storyline is being played out, Vince would have every reason to fire Cena because if Cena hadn't opened his mouth this past week, Punk would have "signed" the contract and Vince wouldn't have to worry about losing his championship. What it can boil down to is Vince selling his soul to Punk so he can protect his creation or Vince siding with Punk at the last second because Cena was the one who put his WWE Championship in jeopardy. It could later be revealed by Punk that this entire "contract/no contract" deal was just a set up from the beginning to get rid of Cena and ultimately make him the star of the show. He would eventually kick Vince to the curb because he doesn't need him anymore. Punk would then go on and become the biggest heel in the WWE with the title around his waist and completely doing away with all challengers. At somepoint, Vince buckles down and decides to give Cena his job back because he realizes Punk has gotten out of control and Cena is the only one to stop him. If they did a swerve like this, it would totally get people interested in the product. It is a longshot and it will probably never happen, but it would be one hell of a roller coaster ride if I say so myself. Punk is really the kind of guy who is not only a person with a passion for the business, he clearly shows his emotions as a fan of pro wrestling. Why else would he be wearing a Colt Cabana T-shirt in the WWE? Not to mention paying tribute by wearing the Macho Man Randy Savage's original colors a few months back. I really bought when Punk says he cares too much about the business, especially if ice cream comes into play. I think Punk has gained a lot of respect from seasoned and casual wrestling fans with his words over the past couple of weeks because you can really buy what he is saying. What makes a good worked shoot is the emotion by the one cutting the promo. This is why Punk's worked shoots will be better than any of the worked shoots TNA does because they just look too fake in TNA while Punk's words almost seem real and I think they are at times. I also wonder if Colt Cabana will play a roll in this match? Cabana himself has stated he would be attendance for the MITB PPV. So, will Colt help out his fellow friend or will he betray him to help Cena and maybe reveal in kayfabe that Vince told him to screw Punk to gain a WWE contract? Well....I don't know about that, but there is a chance it could happen. There is also the possibility that Punk is committed to the WWE, but he simply needs a 4-6 month break because he is tired and the schedule is taking his toll on the guy. Keep in mind that Punk holds true to being Straight Edge, so he doesn't take any pain relievers in case he takes a bad bump and relies on the old school way of heeling. He could be physically and psychologically drained and needs a break. Even though it would only be a few months, it would be kinda sad to see him leave.....even if it was for a short amount of time. I think Punk truly wants to be the best in the world in the WWE and I don't think he would go to another promotion. The TNA fanboys can keep dreaming that they will get Punk in October/November, but it isn't very likely. Either way, the buildup to this match has been very well done and it could lead to one of the biggest moments in pro wrestling, but it can also be shades of disappointment. I think what should happen is Punk actually gets the CLEAN win over Cena and doesn't win with cheating or shenanigans. That would really show how much the WWE is trying to clinge to Punk since Cena never loses cleanly these days. Plus, it might do wonders for Cena's character to maybe realize something about himself. One of my biggest gripes about Cena is he has been doing the same character for over the last 6-7 years now. It has gotten to the point where it has become stale and I just want to see the guy take a new direction with his character and not do the same old same old. I don't like Cena that much, but I have grown to respect the guy. Still, his character needs a slight change and you can do this with this storyline. It doesn't mean you have to turn him heel (I know, the IWC has been calling for a Cena heel turn since the birth of the Nintendo Wii), but add something new to this face character and make him better than before. I know the kiddies and Cena fans like having Cena win all the time and defy the odds, but we need to get away with that for a moment because Punk has proved that this is HIS time to shine. He is the underdog in this rivalry and it is always a great story when the underdog wins. Truth be told, I can talk about this angle and all the characters involved for another hour, but I think we need to move on. If you want to find out what else I had to say about Punk, please check out my last three Raw reviews and hopefully I got a lot of the major points I wanted to discuss about this storyline.
Who should win:
Punk should win, no question about it.
Who creative will pick:
Let's be honest here. If we knew the answer to that question, this storyline wouldn't have been hyped up this well. It all depends if Punk resigns another contract or not.
My final pick:
I gotta go with the guy who has looked awesome throughout this entire segment and go with CM Punk to win. Keep in mind, just because he wins, it DOESN'T mean he will leave Chicago as the champ.
That is going to do it for the MITB Rundown. Overall, this PPV has a good head of steam going into this event and it is roughly because of the WWE Championship storyline, but there are some other matches that we should be paying attention to as well. I like to refer to this PPV as WrestleMania 27 1/2 since the card has been built up like a WM. Either that or Punk in the Bank? Anyway, this should be an interesting show and it will be interesting what happens and the PPV and what new storylines or questions we are left asking after the evening has concluded. Tell me what YOU will think will happen at the PPV and what you thought of my rundown. Also, you can find me on blogger/blogspot. I will see you guys and girls at the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and I am still waiting for my ice cream bar....ICE CREAM!!!
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