9-28-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 28, 2012 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Big Show coming to the ring. As he's making his way to the ring they replay him knocking out Tensai & Brodus Clay from Raw. Then Show has the mic and says that the most dominant force in WWE History is back and he wants the World Title. He mentions that his last title reign lasted 45 seconds. He says that was embarrassing for him. He says that then he had to watch the guy that took his title go to WrestleMania and lose the title to Sheamus in 18 seconds. That was a turning point in his career. He mentions that he wasn't in the main event at WrestleMania and he wasn't the World Champion. He was in a match where he was subject to ridicule and was mocked. He then says that no one is mocking him now and that no one will mock him when he is World Champion. He realizes that those are big goals. He also understands that he is the one guy on the roster who can beat the World Champion Sheamus. As far as how he will do that, he does gonna close his fist...Cue voices in the head and Randy Orton comes to the ring. Orton says that he finds it funny that Show is talking about how he will take out Sheamus when in reality he hasn't even gone through the most sadistic dominant guy on this show. That, of course, being Orton himself. Orton mentions that he heard backstage that their match tonight for the number one contender-ship. The winner will challenge Sheamus at hell in a cell for the World Title. Orton mentions that he is a 9 time World Champion and if Show thinks that he will stop him from becoming Champion a 10th time then Show won't be standing for much longer. Then Show says that it looks like either someone will get bit by an RKO or hit with a KO. Then out come Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio says that he was cheated by Booker T when Booker reinstated the Brogue Kick at Night of Champions. Then he tells Orton & Big Show that he is better than both of them put together. He says that the 2 Perros will go to the back of the line. Then he gets in the ring and Orton gives him an RKO. Then Orton walks up the ramp and poses as he looks at Big Show. This was a decent opening segment.

Santino Marella vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro for the Title. Cesaro gets the pin. This was a solid match.

They reshow the first Kane-Daniel Bryan at the diner segment from Monday.

Then they show a TOUT from Eve talking Kaitlyn being attacked at Night of Champions.

Beth Phoenix vs. Natalya. Beth gets the pin. This was a good match. Afterwards Eve comes out. She tells Beth that she wanted to apologize for acting in the heat of the moment on Raw. Then Eve says that until they know who it was that attacked Kaitlyn at Night of Champions they have to act rationally. Then Eve mentions that all they know now is that the attacker is a blond. Therefore until the investigation is concluded Beth will be indefinitely suspended. Beth is upset and Natalya taunts her. Natalya says that she had nothing to do with the attack. Beth says this isn’t fair as Natalya tells Beth again that she herself had nothing to do with this and tells Beth not to blame her. This part was a bit weak. Eve’s promo didn’t really work for me here. Also when did Beth try to put the blame Natalya?

Booker T & Teddy Long are backstage. Long says the tag division is looking really strong. Booker says it’s getting hot and they have to determine a number contender for the tag titles. Then Booker says there will be an 8 team tournament. The winning team challenges Kane & Daniel Bryan at hell in a cell for the tag titles. Then Beth comes in and protests to Booker about being suspended. Booker apparently wasn’t watching because he doesn’t know what Beth is talking about. Some GM. Beth asks Booker if Eve has the authority to do this. Then Eve comes in and says that she does since she is the assistant to the GM. Booker tells Eve that she doesn’t have the authority. Booker says that he is the GM and reverses Eve’s decision. He apologizes to Beth. Then Eve says that there must be some sort of miscommunication. Then Eve apologizes to both Booker & Beth. Beth tells Eve that she should be sorry and walks out. Then Eve tells Booker that she was just doing what she thought Booker would have wanted. Then Booker says that he doesn’t know what Eve is talking about. Then Eve says that Booker never told him but Teddy Long did. Long says that he hasn’t told Beth anything. Then Eve says that she should have followed her instincts on this. She says it’s clear that Long is jealous of Booker being GM and he will do whatever it takes to make Booker’s administration look incompetent because he wants to be GM again. Long asks Eve where she is coming up with this. Then Eve walks out. Then Booker looks at Long and Long says he knows Booker isn’t believing what Eve said. Booker says that right now he doesn’t know what to believe. Then he tells Long to give him some time to think about this. Long walks out and Booker is all pissed and confused. This was really weak.

Time for the Raw Rebound.

Zack Ryder vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. This was decent. Barrett dominated most of this.

They reshow the second at the diner segment with Kane & Daniel Bryan.

Time for Miz TV. Miz welcomes everyone to the most must see talk show in WWE history. The Smackdown world premiere of Miz TV. He says that this show is unlike any other show. It’s extraordinary, revolutionary and the single best…Cue Sheamus’ theme music and he comes to the ring. He throws a chair from Miz’s set out of the ring and poses. Miz complained and Sheamus snatched the mic out of his hand. Then Sheamus says he didn’t want to wait for his introduction in the back because he was afraid Miz would get to say it. He says that Miz has been suffering from memory loss. Then Sheamus mentions Ryback kicking Miz’s “arse” on Raw and the week before that when Ryback tossed the couch out of the ring and just missed Miz’s head. Sheamus says that he’s gotta hand it to the Miz “fella.” “What a great start to Miz TV.” Sheamus sarcastically says that last week Miz raised the bar and Sheamus just needs to know how Miz will top it. He puts the mic to Miz’s mouth then snatches away. He says Miz will top it by having the World Champion on his show. Then Sheamus asks Miz how it feels to have the champ on his show. He puts the mic to Miz’s mouth and snatches it away again. Sheamus says that Miz is lucky to have a show at all. He says that Miz is useless in the ring and all he can hope for is a second career at a crappy C list talk show. Sheamus then says that if he were Miz he would till the end of the talk show before coming out of the fans won’t have to listen to Miz talk about himself for an hour and a half. He asks Miz what he thinks and puts the mic to Miz’s mouth again. Then Miz pulls out a mic. Miz says that the last time he checked he is still the Intercontinental Champion. Miz says that if these people and Sheamus want to see Miz excel at his finest they’ll have to pay. They’ll have to pay to see his movies. Then he plugs a movie he’s in that comes out in the spring. He says that everyone will have to pay to see him in the book Mick Foley wrote. Miz says that the book is based on him. Then Miz says that you can pay to hear his radio show (didn’t know he had one) the most must listen to talk show. Then he says that everyone can pay to see him excel in this ring. Then he says that if the fans paid to see him excel at Night of Champions they saw him beat 3 top guys (not sure I’d call them top guys) blindfolded to retain his Intercontinental Title. Then Miz says that tonight the fans have paid to see him on Miz TV. Sheamus says that no one wants to pay to see Miz. Miz says that he finds it amazing that Sheamus has jokes and isn’t being serious. Miz mentions that tonight there’s a match to determine who will challenge Sheamus for the World Title. Miz then asks Sheamus why he isn’t worried about that. He mentions that at hell in a cell Sheamus will have to face either Randy Orton or Big Show. Then Miz says that if you ask him, Sheamus will either get slaughtered by an RKO or have his face rearranged by a WMD. Then he asks Sheamus, “Now my friend, who is gonna have the memory loss?” Sheamus says he didn’t win the World Title at WrestleMania just so he can sit back and have a few pints. Then he tells the loud mouth Hollywood wanna be that no one takes the title more seriously then he does. He wakes up and trains every morning. He goes to bed at night knowing that 1 small mistake, 1 tiny era and it all goes away. Sheamus says that he likes to have fun and joke around. Then he tells Miz not to tell him that he doesn’t take the World Title seriously. Sheamus says the World Title is a privilege and an honor. This is 1 of the greatest achievements of his entire life. He says that not a day goes by that he doesn’t count the title as a blessing. Sheamus says that if Orton wins, great. He told Orton many times that it would be an honor t step in there and defend the World Title against him. If Big Show wins, fantastic. Sheamus says that he hasn’t stepped in the ring with Big Show. Then Sheamus says that he knows what the fans paid to see tonight and he’s more than happy to give it to them. Then Vickie Guerrero comes out. Then cue Dolph’s music and he shows up. Vickie then says that she doesn’t get why Sheamus is so concerned with Orton & Big Show when the guy that he needs to be worried about…Then Dolph takes the mic and says that he can speak for himself. Dolph gets in the ring and tells Sheamus that it doesn’t matter who Sheamus faces at hell in a cell because when it’s all over with Sheamus will be a broken, obliterated, drooling mess of a man. Then Dolph holds up the Money in the Bank case and says that’s when the case will be all that matters. Dolph then says that tonight’s main event much like Sheamus’ entire title reign is completely irrelevant. Then Dolph says that when the hell in a cell PPV comes to a close he guarantees that he will be World Champion. Then Sheamus says that he doesn’t know what sort of shape he will be in after his match at hell in a cell. He says that hopefully he will beat either Orton or Big Show. Sheamus says that if he does win and Dolph feels like cashing in that contract Dolph might get lucky. Miz taunts Sheamus and says the fans want to see Sheamus & Dolph go at it. Sheamus & Dolph both drop their mics and then Sheamus shoves Miz off a chair. Then Sheamus takes down Dolph and pounds away on him. Then Miz gets a hold of Sheamus but Sheamus throws Miz onto the couch, which falls over. Then Dolph goes after Sheamus. Then Sheamus & Dolph go back and forth on the mat. Then Miz hits Sheamus and Sheamus goes after him. He throws Miz over the top rope to the floor. Then Dolph runs at Sheamus but Sheamus back body drops Dolph over the top. Then Sheamus picks up the belt, pounds his chest and poses. I thought this was a good segment. Sheamus did a good job here putting over how much the World Title means to him. Miz was good here too egging on Sheamus. I thought Dolph’s promo was good too. They did a good job in putting over the title here.

Then they show the tag team title number one contender tournament brackets tournament brackets. The Usos vs. Rhodes Scholars, Zack Ryder & Santino Marella vs. Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd match, R-Truth & Kofi Kingston vs. The Primetime Players and Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. Primo & Epico. 

They show a Damien Sandow video package.

Then they replay the Jerry Lawler interview from Monday.

Number 1 Contender Tag Team Title Tournament, First Round: The Usos vs. Rhodes Scholars. Rhodes Scholars win when Cody pins Jimmy. This was a solid match.

Then they show the updated tournament brackets.

They reshow the third and final Kane-Daniel Bryan-Dr. Shelby at the diner segment.

Ryback vs. Tensai. Ryback gets the pin. This was weak. Ryback dominated most of this one.

Randy Orton is backstage on his way to the ring. Then Alberto Del Rio attacks him from behind. He throws Orton shoulder first into the wall. Then he rolls a crate and hits Orton’s leg. Then a referee comes by and tells Del Rio he’s done enough. Then Del Rio stares at Orton and walks off as the referee checks on Orton.

Big Show comes to the ring for his match. Then Orton’s music plays but Del Rio comes out. He says that it looks like Randy Orton will not be able to compete tonight. Then he says that all the fans will be happy to know that the guy taking his place in this match is none other then Del Rio himself. Then Orton comes out and attacks Del Rio from behind. He throws Del Rio face first into the WWE logo on the stage. Then Orton heads to the ring.

Randy Orton vs. Big Show in a number 1 contender match. Big Show gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. Big Show dominated most of it since Orton was selling the Del Rio attack. Big Show was going for a choke slam but Orton turned it into an RKO for a 2 count. Then he was going to punt kick Show but Show grabbed him by throat and choke slammed him for a 2 count. Then Big Show gave Orton a second choke slam and got the 3 count. Afterwards Big Show left the ring and then he came back in Orton the WMD. Then Big Show gets the mic. He tells Sheamus that he will see him at hell in a cell. Then Big Show left the ring as Orton laid on the mat selling the WMD to end the show. I thought this was a solid ending.

I thought this was a decent to solid show overall. The opening segment with Big Show, Orton & Del Rio was a decent promo to start the show. I thought the Orton-Big Show match was solid too. I thought they did a better job with Del Rio this week too. The Miz TV segment was actually pretty good. I thought Sheamus did a great job with his promo about how much the World Title means to him. Having Dolph come out and hint at cashing in Money in the Bank was good here too. Usually the constant hints of the MITB holder cashing in get old but I thought they did a good job here. The brawl was ok too. I like that they have a tournament to see who will challenge for the tag team titles. They’re actually giving the titles a bit of meaning. Santino-Cesaro was solid too. This was 1 of Santino’s better matches. Ryder-Barrett was decent and Ryback-Tensai was weak. Beth-Natalya was good too. I liked that Beth acknowledged the fans in her home town of Buffalo. Having Eve come out and suspend Beth didn’t really work for me though. The Booker-Long-Eve-Beth segment that followed this was weak. Also Natalya telling Beth not to frame her for the Kaitlyn attack came out of no where. I forget where I heard, but the attacker could’ve had on a blond wig. I also liked that Michael Cole pointed out that the attacker could have been Natalya. So on the whole I thought this was a decent to solid show this week.

9-27-12 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 27, 2012 episode of Impact

 The show starts with Hulk Hogan coming to the ring. He gets in the ring and poses. He says that he & Aces & 8s have a date, “Brother.” The fans chant Hogan and he tells them to watch his back. He says this episode of Impact is a Turning point because Bound for Glory is only 3 weeks away. He mentions that he’s been distracted by Aces & 8s, but it’s time to get to the business at hand. He says that the TV Title hangs in the balance. He says Devon was a great Champion. Then he says that the negotiations with Devon fell apart, they have to move forward. He says that Magnus, Samoa Joe, Garrett Bischoff & Ken Anderson are backstage. Tonight they’ll crown a new TV Champion. Then he says that Storm and Roode will face each other at BFG in a street fight. Hulk then says that there will be a special enforcer for that match. King Mo. Hulk then says it’s time for Aces & 8s. He says that he’s going to their club house and will see what they’re made of. Then he mentions that he took one of their guys and they took Joseph Park. He then mentions that they cornered Brooke so now he’s going into their clubhouse for a fight even if it means going in to face Aces & 8s by himself. Then Sting comes to the ring. Hulk says he just borrowed Sting’s bat. Sting says the Aces & 8s bit started with him. Sting says that he has Hulk’s back. They’ll visit Aces & 8s together. Hulk says to get another bat, “Brother. Let’s do it.” This was a typical Hulk Hogan promo. I’m really hoping they do something to further this storyline because it’s starting to get old.

Kurt Angle vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. TNA World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels. Daniels wins when he pins Chavo. This was a good match. AJ, Hernandez & Kazarian got involved of course. Then the referee sent them to the back during the break.

Hulk Hogan has Joe, Garrett, Magnus & Anderson in his office. Hulk says they need a new TV Champion. He says there are 4 men who are ready. Then he asks Garrett why he should be TV Champion. Garrett says Devon saw something in him. Hulk says he needs to see that same something. Then Joe & Magnus argue. Anderson’s turn. He says that what you see is what you get with him. Joe says this about the TV Title. Magnus says the TV Champion needs to be someone who knows about TV. Joe says none of them want to get into a fight with him. Hulk then eliminates Magnus. This was the typical “guys pleading their case to Hogan in the GM office” bit.

Brooke Hogan comes up to Tara backstage. Tara’s phone rings. She says that she talked to Stacy and the red carpet’s glowing. Brooke says that Tara will have to get in the ring and earn a Knockouts title match. Her phone rings again. Tara says Brooke doesn’t respect her. Brooke takes the phone and tells Tara’s new “Boo” that Tara’s match is next. Tara flips and asks who she’s facing. This was awful. What was the point of mentioning George Clooney & Stacy Keibler?

Tara comes to the ring for her match. Taryn Terrell is the referee. Tara will face ODB.

ODB (With Eric Young) vs. Tara to determine number 1 contender for the Knockouts Title. Tara gets the pin with her foot on the rope. This wasn’t much. Tara faked having a hurt knee, which of course Terrell falls for. Then Tara rolled up ODB for the pin. Afterwards Tara fakes being injured again and Terrell falls for it again.

They show Al Snow & Bruce Pritchard in an office and Bruce is pissed at Al for hitting Joey Ryan. Then Taz comes in and they talk about Evan. Taz says he looked good. Al says starting at 13 takes a lot. Bruce has his say. Then Al asks if Evan can handle this level of the business since he's only 18.

Bully Ray is backstage and the camera guy asks him who his partner will be. Ray says not to bother him when he’s on the Twitter. Then he asks how good he looked holding the World Title last week.

Hulk Hogan is backstage with Joe, Garrett & Anderson. Hulk tells Anderson that Garrett thinks he can hang with him. Hulk tells Garrett it’s not his time. He tells Joe & Anderson that he wants a war out there and to see the greatest         TV Champion of all time. So we got Joe vs. Anderson for the held up TV Title. This wasn’t much of a segment. I’m not into having Hulk pick who gets the title match. They could have had a 4 way or a 4 man tournament.

Bobby Roode & Austin Aries are backstage. Roode says that he respects Aries and says that he will team with Ray to face Aries & Jeff Hardy. Roode then mentions that he can’t get a title match while Aries is champion so Roode wants Jeff to win the title. Roode then mentions that he’s beaten Jeff but hasn’t beaten Aries. He tells Aries that Aries is better than Jeff. Then Roode asks Aries if he wants Jeff taking the spot light. Roode wishes Aries luck. Aries says luck is for losers. This was ok. I thought Roode did a good job in trying to stir the pot. I’m not sure why TNA is doing the old “PPV opponents team together” bit.

Samoa Joe vs. Ken Anderson to crown a new TV Champion. Joe wins by KO to become the new TV Champion. Joe had a rear choke on Anderson. The referee checked Anderson’s arm, but only once for some reason. Then he called for the bell. This was a solid match however.

They show a video package recapping the Hulk Hogan-Aces & 8s storyline.

Hulk Hogan & Sting are backstage. Hulk says he will be peacemaker. Then some chick shows up and tells Hulk that needs to sign a few papers. Then she sprays something in their eyes and then Aces & 8s jump them and throw them in the back of their van. I thought this was weak. 

JB is in the ring with Bruce Pritchard, Al Snow & Taz. Then JB brings out Evan Markoplous. JB asks Evan if fells he gave it his best last week. Evan says he doesn’t because he lost. Time to vote. Taz goes first. He says he thinks Evan has a huge future and is way ahead of the curve for a guy his age. Taz votes yes. Pritchard’s turn. He respects what Evan has done in this business at his age but he votes no. Time for Evan to cut a 30 second promo for Al. Evan says he was born in 1994. The same year Al tried to break into SMW & ECW. Evan says that if Al says yes he will grab that ball and run all the way with it. Time for Al to vote. Al says that Evan is the epitome of what gut check is about. Finding kids who have the heart for the business. He says Evan has the talent to be a star but he doesn’t think Evan’s ready because he is only 18. So Al votes no. So Evan doesn’t get a TNA contract. I thought this was 1 of the better gut check segments but I wanted Evan to get the contract.

They show Hulk Hogan & Sting tied with blindfolding hoods over their heads. One of the Aces & 8s guys comes in and takes the bags off. He tells them the boss is on his way. This is getting really hokey.

Back to Aces & 8s. The guy talks a bit. Hulk asks who he is and what he wants. He says who he is isn’t important. He says the problem he’s having is that they were having so much fun till Hogan decided to lock them out. He has a proposition. Hulk has a proposition, untie them and they can go at it. The guy says they’ve learned to like Hulk & Sting. Then the show Joseph Park tied and gagged. The guy says that at BFG he wants to pick 2 TNA guys to face 2 Aces & 8s guys. The guy says if Aces & 8s win then they get access to the Impact Zone. If Hulk & Sting win then Aces & 8s will go away. Hulk says he will pick 2 guys and to let Park go. The guy says Park will go after BFG. Hulk says to make sure no one hurts Park. They have his word. This was corny. This storyline started out good but it has become really dumb over the past 2 weeks. Hulk agreeing to let Aces & 8s have access to the Impact Zone if they win was idiotic! I’m hoping they end this at BFG but they’ll probably have Aces & 8s win and this story will continue.

James Storm is backstage. He says he’s tired of Roode’s games. He says that at BFG 2 guy will walk in but 1 will walk out. Then he says it’s nice King Mo wants to make a name for himself, but all Storm needs him for is to raise his hand. He tells Roode, “Sorry about your damn luck.” Good promo from Storm.

World Champion Austin Aries & Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray & Bobby Roode. Jeff & Aries win when Jeff pins Roode. This was a good match. Aries wouldn’t tag in Jeff. Jeff tagged himself in and gave Roode the Swanton for the pin. Then Jeff & Aries have words.

Then they show Aces & 8s bringing Hulk & Sting back to the Impact Zone. Aces & 8s tell them not to try anything. Hulk tells Sting to settle down since they still have Park hostage. Sting is all enraged and says he’s gonna bring the fight to them and will find someone. Sting says that he’s coming to Bound for Glory. Then Sting unties Hulk. This ended the show. This was a weird ending.

I thought this week’s show wasn’t as good as others overall. The opening segment with Hulk in the ring was your typical Hulk Hogan promo. The main event tag match was good. I don’t know why they had Jeff & Aries team up but it was a good match. The Aces & 8s storyline is becoming really hokey. I wasn’t into the segment where they had Hulk & Sting in their clubhouse. I thought it was idiotic. The Angle-Chavo-Daniels match was good too. ODB-Tara wasn’t much. Tara faked a knee injury and Terrell fell for it because referees are idiots. I wasn’t into the whole bit with Hulk Hogan picking which 2 guys would face each other to crown a new TV Champion. Why do they always have Hulk pick a number 1 contender on championship night? It would be better if they had number 1 contender matches/tournaments. They could have had a 4 way or a 4 man tournament tonight for the TV Title. I liked the Aries-Roode backstage segment. I thought Roode did a good job in stirring the pot. Aries was good here too. I liked the gut check segment. This was 1 of the better ones and I was hoping Evan would get the contract. Storm’s promo was good too. I’m not sure why they’re having King Mo as the enforcer for the Storm-Roode match at Bound for Glory though. The end was weird when Aces & 8s dropped Hulk & Sting off at the Impact Zone. This is getting predictable. They’ll have the Aces & 8s guys win at Bound for Glory and they’ll be around the Impact Zone for God knows how long. I’m really hoping that they go to the next level with this storyline. They should unmask these guys at Bound for Glory. The Brooke Hogan-Tara segment was meaningless. Joe-Anderson was a solid match. It was for t a belt that doesn’t mean much but I thought the match was alright. Samoa Joe is now a Grand Slam TNA Champion which I think is cool. I’m thinking they’ll have Joe vs. Magnus at Bound for Glory for the TV Title. On the whole I thought this week’s show was mediocre at best. There were some solid to good matches and segment but the whole Aces & 8s storyline has gotten old and the show focused on that a lot this week.

9-24-12 Raw results and thoughts

       Coverage and thoughts on the September 24, 2012 episode of Raw

The show starts with CM Punk & Paul Heyman in the ring. Heyman says they have bad news because this show is grinding to a halt right now. Raw won’t be presented until justice is served. Heyman then has the end of last week’s tag match played on the Tron. They show the finish in slow motion. Heyman says that everyone witnessed a great injustice to Punk. Therefore he would like to summon out to the ring the referee for last week. Brad Maddox. Heyman says that the referee will resign tonight live. Heyman says they have all night. The referee comes out. Heyman tells him to get inside the ring. Maddox says that he made a mistake. It was his first match and he was nervous. Heyman says that the referee messed up. Now he should resign. Maddox apologizes but he doesn’t feel…Punk says he doesn’t care what he feels unless he feels ashamed. Punk says the referee embarrassed him on his show. Punk asks him how he became a referee in the first place. Maddox says when Raw went to 3 hours he got a call from AJ Lee saying they needed more referees. Heyman says he is a rookie. Heyman then talks more. Punk mentions that the ref was hired by AJ the idiot GM. Punk then says if she had any brains she’d can Maddox. Then AJ skips to the ring (I don’t know why in this situation). She tells Brad he can go to the back. Heyman assumes she’s going to reverse the decision from last week. AJ says that when you assume you kind of make an ass out of you and me but mostly you. She says she’s not going to let them berate a ref and hold HER show hostage. She asks them who they think they are. Punk says he’s the WWE Champion. He is the reason she has a job and the reason the fans are in the arena. Punk says he knows why there’s such hostility between Punk & AJ. Punk then asks for a clip to be shown of why she has it out for Punk. They show AJ proposing to Punk from 2 months ago. Punk says that’s the reason for the tension. Punk says she sent an incompetent ref to screw him last week. Then Punk says that if AJ will forget what happened last week, then he will forget how she came to every show in a Punk T-Shirt. He will forget all the messages that can’t be mentioned on TV. Then Punk tells her to justify the decision and he will forget everything she’d done. Punk tells AJ to tell everyone how intimate they were behind closed doors He then tells her to tell everyone why he is the reason she always skips. Then he tells her to tell everyone that he is the best in the world. Heyman then says he’s got this. Heyman then says to AJ based on everything that he’s seen tonight….Then Heyman gets on his knee and tells AJ to marry him. He says they’ll trump all the power couples. They’ll be the most influential couple in sports entertainment history. Heyman says he will come up with all the ideas and he will give her all the credit. Then AJ slaps Heyman and heads up the ramp. Punk & Heyman stand in the ring in disbelief. This was a solid opening segment. Punk & Heyman were good on the mic as usual. The referee was ok here. AJ was decent here too.

Brad Maddox is backstage with another ref. Then AJ shows up. He thanks her for standing up for him and he won’t screw up again. AJ tells him that won’t happen again because she will see to it that he never referees again. She says that he embarrassed her and made her look like an idiot. Maddox again says he’s sorry and walks off. AJ has the blank look on her face. This was weird. AJ complained that the referee made her look like an idiot? She’s been a crazy whack job & idiot for months!

Before the next match starts, R-Truth gives “Little Jimmy” a soda. Vickie taunts him. Then Dolph & Kofi come by and Vickie eventually gets the soda thrown on her. Then the referee kicks out both Truth & Vickie.

WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph gets the pin. This was a really good back and forth match.

Jim Ross mentions that John Cena had elbow surgery done. Then Cole reeds a tweet from Cena. JR says Cena’s there and we’ll hear from him later tonight.

They recap the latest on the Kane-Daniel Bryan saga from Smackdown.

They show a segment from earlier today at a diner. Daniel Bryan & Dr. Shelby are there. Shelby says that he’s set up a role playing exercise that will show that Kane & Daniel can co exist. Daniel asks how he plans to do that. Then Kane comes by with a waiter’s apron. Kane says this is stupid (Boy is he right). Shelby asks Daniel what he wants. Daniel says that he wants a partner who isn’t a psycho. Shelby tells Daniel this isn’t Kane. The waiter’s name is Gerald. Kane says they have a new cook because the old one took credit for everything and that annoyed him. So he grabbed him by his goat beard shoved his head into the fryer. Then he says that he sprinkled the remains of the cook’s head over everyone’s food. This was really idiotic!

Later tonight the fans can decide the team name for Kane & Daniel Bryan. Give me a break! This “fan interactive” stuff is dumb too

Zack Ryder & Santino Marella vs. The Primetime Players. The Players win when Titus pins Santino. This was a really short match.

They show a Special Guest dressing room door. We’ll find out who it is next.

Mick Foley comes to the ring. He says that he sees things on Raw that inspire him. Then he talks about the emergence of CM Punk last year. He then asks that what kind of change has punk inspired a year later. He says that this isn’t the Punk he knew and then CM Punk comes out. He tells Foley not to grand stand in front of the fans. He tells Foley that if he has something to say then he can say it to his face. Punk asks Foley if he’s selling a new kids book. Foley says he struggled with the thought of if he matters or not and Punk cleared that thought up for him. Foley says that last year he texted Punk asking how it feels to be the best in the business. 2 minutes later Punk responded thanking Mick. Foley says that he is disturbed not just by Punk’s action but his being with Heyman. Punk yells at the fans and then tells Mick he has no idea what he’s taking about. Foley says he was also a Heyman guy. Foley then says he became somebody after he stopped listening to Heyman. Punk says he gets it; he should stay away from Heyman. Foley says Heyman never lied to him but the end of the day Heyman will only do what is best for Heyman. Then Foley asks Punk why he needs a mouth piece. He tells Punk that needs to decide if he wants to be an inspiration or just a Kool-Aid drinker. Foley then mentions hell in a cell. Foley talks about the match from 1998 that made him famous. He says that he earned respect that night. Anybody who’s been in the cell goes on to be respected throughout their entire careers. Foley mentions, Shawn Michaels, Triple H & The Undertaker. Punk says that was a brilliant speech. Punk asks if Foley wants the voice of the voiceless. Foley says he wants Punk to that he’s the best in the world by getting in the cell with Cena. Punk says he heard the same speech from Cena. He talks about how Cena and Bret Hart and he says how they see them in Punk. Punk says that Bret disrespected him in Bret’s hometown. He says what would be more embarrassing is if he tried to put his hands on Foley. He says that Foley and the fans are beneath him. Punk says he’s always told the truth. He doesn’t know how often he needs to beat Cena but he does know that he doesn’t have to do anything for the fans. Punk then mentions everything that Foley did throughout his career. Punk says he won’t be a bump machine in hell in a cell. He raises the bar by being champion for 309 days. Foley then mentions 29, which is the total number of days Foley held the WWE Title during his reigns. Foley says that numbers don’t matter. The moments that define a superstar’s career does. Then he says that he talked to AJ and she let him come out to extend this opportunity to him. AJ is allowing Punk to decide for himself if he will face Cena in the cell. Foley tells Punk to make the right decision for Punk himself, for Foley and for the fans. This was a good back and forth promo here. Both Punk & Foley were great on the mic. There was a lot said here and it was difficult to recap everything that was said.

Ryback vs. Intercontinental Champion The Miz. Ryback gets the pin. This was a solid match. A fan came in the ring and security took him out. Cole & JR didn’t mention it.

Back to Kane & Daniel Bryan at the diner. Daniel says them having lunch together to settle their issues is impossible. Kane says they’ll never be friends. Then they talk about how they laid out 8 guys with the chairs. Then Daniel screams Yes and gets all psyched too. Then they show Mae Young and she says she’ll have exactly what their having. Thankfully this segment was shorter. Kane & Daniel were better here but I wasn’t thrilled that they had Mae Young in this segment. Other than that I was ok with this.

AJ has a few referees in her office. She says that in WWE they don’t have replays and that mistakes will happen. She tells the refs to have a great rest of the show. Then Del Rio, Ricardo & Otunga come in. AJ says that she knows they’ve been victims of the Brogue Kick and they were upset with Booker’s decision to reinstate it. Then Del Rio asks if this means he gets another title match. AJ says no. She then tells them that there will be a 6 man tag. Sheamus, Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga & Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio & Otunga complain but Ricardo is eager to get in the ring. This was odd too. I hated that they had her say that there aren’t instant replays in WWE. How often have we had replays when a bad call is made and the referee’s decision be over turned? It has happened before. I’m not sure what they’ll do with Del Rio. How often can we have Sheamus-Del Rio?

Tyson Kidd vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. This was a solid match.

Michael Cole is in the ring. He mentions that Lawler collapsed 2 weeks ago from a hearty attack. Cole says he spoke with Dr. Sampson and Sampson told him it’s a miracle how fast Lawler has recovered. Then they show King on the Tron from his home in Memphis. Cole says that Lawler looks fantastic. Lawler says his voice is raspy from having a ventilator down his throat. He says it’s great to be back with the fans and on Raw. Cole asks Lawler if he can tell him the last thing he remembers from that night. Lawler says that he remembers the Bret Hart-CM Punk promo. He remembers that he was in a tag match against Punk but didn’t remember anything else. Cole says King has gotten thousands of texts messages and tweets. He asks if King was expecting this. Lawler says he wasn’t but it’s unbelievable how many well wishes and Prayers there were for him. He says that it’s meant so much to him and he thanks everyone. Then Cole asks when King will return to commentary. King says that he defies anyone to sit next to Cole for 3 hours and not have a heart attack. He’s only kidding about that of course. He says he will return as soon as the doctors tell him he can. This was a good interview. Lawler looked good. Thank God he’s recovering well and I honestly can’t wait to see him return. GO KING!!

World Champion Sheamus, Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga & Ricardo Rodriguez. Sheamus, Rey & Sin Cara win when Cara pins Ricardo. This was a good match. They showed The Primetime Players watching backstage. Afterwards Sheamus gives Otunga a Brogue Kick.

Back to Kane, Daniel & Shelby at the diner. Shelby says they’ve made tremendous progress. Then he has waitress come in and gives them dinner. Daniels has pasta with meet balls and Kane has a salad. Shelby wants each guy to have some of the other guy’s dish. Kane eats the broccoli and Daniel has the meatball. Shelby asks Kane how he feels and they play a belching noise. Daniel says it wasn’t as bad as he thought. Then he has the “gonna hurl” expression. Shelby tells Daniel no but Daniel hurls. Then Kane says, “Check please.” This was ok. The check please line was comical.

Time for the fans to vote for the Kane-Daniel Bryan team name. The options are Team Teamwork, Team hell no and Team Friendship.

Daniel Bryan comes to the ring. Then Kane. Time to find out what team name the fans voted for. The fans picked Team hell no. Then Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes come in from behind and jump the champs. Then the head up the ramp. Cody gets the mic and says that he & Sandow are now known as team Rhodes Scholars. Sandow says now the miscreants Kane & Daniel truly have a reason to be angry. “You’re Welcome.” This was ok. Not much to it. It looks like Team Rhodes Scholars will be the next team that challenge Kane & Daniel for the titles.

Layla & Alicia Fox vs. Beth Phoenix & Divas Champion Eve Torres. Beth & Eve win when Eve pins Alicia. This wasn’t much. Afterwards Kaitlyn comes out on a crutch. She says that she got the security film from when she was attacked at Night of Champions. She couldn’t see her face but could see her hair. The diva that attacked her was a blond. Then Eve asks how Beth can do a thing like that. Beth tells Kaitlyn that Eve is a liar. Then Eve kicks Beth and then gives her a swinging neck breaker.

Brodus Clay vs. Tensai. Big Show comes out. He gets on the apron and punches out Tensai. Then he gets in the ring and he punches out Brodus. I guess technically Tensai wins by DQ since Show punched him first but that doesn’t matter.

They announce Randy Orton vs. Big Show for Smackdown.

John Cena comes to the ring. He says as always there’s mixed emotions about him being there. He says he wasn’t supposed to be there but with his future in question he wanted to personally thank the fans. He thanks the fans for their support of the Rise Above Cancer organization. He says not to doubt the fans because they’re a powerful group of people. Then he thanks the fans for him. He gets a mixed reaction. He says that it feels good to hear that. He apologizes to Chad Patton & Brad Maddox. He says it’s amazing that the referees’ decisions are now in question. Then he mentions that Punk misquoted him. Cena says that Punk has turned into another guy. Then he says something and says that did everything he could to keep it PG. Then he mentions how the fans react to Cena himself and every Monday night is crazy because of the fans. He says that having to sit on the bench sucks. He isn’t guarantying anything except that he will walk in to hell in a cell to fight. He says at hell in a cell CM Punk…Then Punk & Heyman come out. Punk says he’s heard quite a few speeches over the past few weeks and he says that it reminded him of the speeches presidential candidates give. Punk says he doesn’t by Cena’s crap. He says the fans might but he doesn’t Punk says there’s only 1 him. The same guy who beat Cena at MITB and walked out of Night of Champions WWE Champion. He says that his title reign won’t end anytime soon. Cena tells Punk to shut up, face him at hell in a cell and see what happens. Punk says Cena gets countless title shots and it isn’t fair. He says they’re other wrestlers who deserve a title shot. Then the fans boo Punk. He tells the fans he will put them in their place right after he puts Cena in his. Punk says that Cena won’t be medically cleared for the cell. Punk says that Cena coming out and talking trash about Punk with an injured arm is really stupid. Then he tells Cena to run. He gives him till the count of 5 and if Cena is still there he will hurt Cena so bad it will be worse than the 8 months Cena will take to recover. Punk says he is WWE Champion and he demands respect. Then Punk & Heyman turn their backs to Cena. Punk counts down. Cena has a lead pipe and when Punk turns around Cena hits him with it. Cena then says real men wear pink and he hopes to see Punk at hell in a cell. Then he says, “Now that’s what I call a pipe bomb.” Punk was on the stage and then headed to the back. Then Cena gave the lead pipe to a fan. He shook more fans’ hands afterwards. This was a good promo. I thought both Punk & Cena were good in the mic.

Then they show Punk backstage. He walks by Mick Foley. Then Punk goes to Foley and kicks him. Then Punk has a terrified look on his face. The camera’s show that Punk is being starred down by Ryback. This ended the show. This was good. I wasn’t expecting Ryback to be at the end of this. They’re really giving him a push.

I thought this week’s show was decent overall. There wasn’t a lot of actual wrestling and there was a lot of talking but I thought most of the segments furthered the storylines well. The opening segment with Punk, Heyman, AJ & Brad Maddox was solid. Punk & Cena were good here. I liked the Punk-Cena promo at the end of the show. I thought they cut good promos here too. AJ telling Brad Maddox that he made her look like an idiot because he messed up was idiotic. How often have referees messed up over the years? I’ve never heard the authority figure say that before. The backstage bit with AJ & the referees was weak too. Having her say there are no instant replays was dumb. The part where Del Rio, Ricardo & Otunga came was ok. The Kane-Daniel Bryan at the diner segments were hit and miss. I hated the first one. The second was a bit better and the third was ok. I’m not into the new team name they have but it looks like they’ll be having Kane & Daniel face Cody & Sandow at some point. Ryback-Miz was solid. I’m not sure if they’ll put the IC Title on Ryback. I liked that they had him stare down Punk at the end of the show. The Foley-Punk segment was good too. There was a lot said there but they both cut good promos. Kofi-Dolph was a great match. Tyson-Barrett was solid. The Divas tag match wasn’t much. I’m not sure what they’re doing with Beth Phoenix. I know she’s going to be leaving the company soon. Having her as a suspect on the Kaitlyn attack was unexpected. The Jerry Lawler interview with Michael Cole was really good too. It’s good to see that Lawler is recovering well. Brodus-Tensai wasn’t much. This was about Big Show making his return. Ryder& Santino vs. The Primetime Players was short also. I thought the 6 man tag was good too. So on the whole I thought this was decent show.

9-21-12 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 21, 2012 episode of Smackdown

 The show starts with Edge coming out. He says that it was 18 months ago that he had to retire. He then says that wondered what he will do now since wrestling is all he’s ever done and is all that he’s ever wanted to do. He says that he’s been at home and has started watching WWE again as a fan rather than as a performer He then says that he has seen a lot of crazy things in his career but he’s never seen anything like this They reshow Kane & Daniel Bryan arguing over which 1 of them is the tag team champions/hug out from Raw. Then Edge says that he knows he’s been away for awhile but can someone explain to him how Kane & Daniel managed to become “BBFs”. More importantly how’d they become tag champions? Edge says that he himself is a 12 time tag team champion and that he knows what it takes Then Daniel Bryan comes out. He wanted to correct Edge on his usage of pronouns. That’s because “they” did not become tag team champions. Daniel then gets in Edge’s face and says that he is the tag team champions. He screams that a few times while holding the belt up. Edge tells Daniel this is what he’s talking about. Edge says that the whole is trying to get a rise out of Daniel and he’s off in his own little world and completely oblivious. He asks Daniel how he pulled this off. Daniel says easily. He says that he’s in control of himself. Then he says that he is an anchor, a rock and (after a deep breath) is one with his emotions. Then he tells Edge to go back to acting and back to retirement. Daniel says that there isn’t anything that Edge of the fans can do to make him snap. Edge says that his intention wasn’t to make Daniel snap but now that Daniel mentioned it, it does kind of sound like a challenge. Daniel says it doesn’t. Then Edge says it does. Then they go back and for a bit with Edge saying, “Yes it does” and Daniel saying, “No it doesn’t.” Then Edge keeps saying yes and Daniel keeps saying no. Then Edge says to the fans that this is fun. Then Kane comes out. He says Edge & Daniel are both wrong because he is the tag team champions. Then Kane & Daniel scream to each other, “I am the tag team champions.” Then Edge loses it and Kane says that Edge seems kind of angry. Daniel tells Edge to take it easy. Then Kane tells Edge that Dr. Shelby has some great relaxation exercises Edge flips out a bit. Then he mentions that Kane & Daniel have tortured each other for weeks. Edge mentions that they stole each other’s girlfriends (They both had the same one) and then beat on each other night after night. Edge says that he gets Daniel being at 1 with himself. Then he tells Kane that he isn’t Barney the big red Dinosaur (That was really funny). He tells Kane that he is the big red machine. Then Edge talks about his rivalries with Kane. He mentions that he stole Kane’s wife and then Kane broke up Edge’s wedding with his (Kane’s) ex wife by Tombstoning a Priest. Then Edge mentions that he tortured Kane’s dad (Paul Bearer) and that he threw pizza on Bearer’s face. Edge says that he & Kane have tortured each other (And the fans too for that matter). Edge asks Kane if he remembers any of that. Kane says he remembers all of it. Then Kane says that he thinks he needs to rectify that situation right now. Then Edge takes his jacket off and Kane puts arms out. Edge has this puzzled look and then Kane hugs Edge. Edge has great facial expression here. Then Daniel screams no and the fans chant yes. Then Edge & Kane invite Daniel over for a group hug. Daniel puts his arms out but before they can hug Damien Sandow comes out. He says that he is here to help everyone. He says that for the past fort night this very serial has been plagued by these sophomoric and tasteless operetta of these 2 miscreants. The shame and humiliation emanating between those ropes as these combatants attempt to hug it out is a complete abomination. Then he says that the half wit fans are all lapping this up the way that a parched street K-9 laps at a feces infested puddle. He says this proves how far this enterprise has fallen. Then he was going to say more but Edge tells him to shut up Edge says that he can watch Kane & Daniel hug it out for the whole show but after hearing Sandow speak for 30 seconds he has to swallow his own barf. Then Edge tells Sandow that if he wants to something about this then why not get in the ring and take on Kane or Daniel. Sandow then says that he is a thinking man and does not resort to measures of physical means. Edge asks the fans what they want to see. They of course cheer for Sandow to come to the ring and face Kane or Daniel. Sandow says their opinion doesn’t count. Edge then asks the fans if Sandow should Face Daniel or Kane. Kane gets the overwhelming response. Then Edge says Kane and the fans chant yes. Then he says Daniel Bryan and the fans chant no. He goes back and forth with that for a bit as Sandow screams for Edge to cut it out. (Then during the break Booker T shows up on the Tron. He says that Sandow will face Kane.) I’m not sure why they had Booker come on during the break but this segment was hilarious! I loved the interaction with Kane, Daniel & Edge. They were all really funny here and they played well off each other. The part with Sandow was funny too. These guys all did a really good job with this promo.

WWE Tag Team Champion Kane vs. Damien Sandow. Sandow gets the pin after Daniel distracts Kane. Daniel held up both tag titles and shouted that he is the tag team champions. Then Daniel gets up on the apron and he & Kane argue again. Then Kane goes to snatch the belts out of Daniel’s hands. Sandow capitalized on that and hit the neck breaker for the win. Then Daniel backs up the ramp holding both belts saying that he is the tag team champions. Kane is in the ring all outraged. The match wasn’t much. This was mostly about the friction Kane & Daniel have with each other but I thought this and the opening promo were really entertaining.

Backstage Kane is looking for Daniel Bryan. Then he runs into Dr. Shelby. Kane asks him where Daniel is. Shelby says that he knows Kane is upset, “But let’s calm down.” Kane then says that Daniel cost him his match with Sandow and he took Kane’s tag title. Then Kane tells Shelby that if Daniel doesn’t give it back then he will tear that beard off of his goat face strand by strand. Then Daniel pops out of a box and says that he doesn’t have a goat face. Then he gets out of the box and gets in Kane’s face. Kane says, “Do too and Daniel says, “Do not”. Then Daniels calls Kane a big red freak. Then they go back and forth between that and goat face. Then Shelby flips out and tells them to quit it. Shelby says they’ve made a lot of progress and he thinks they can solve this with a trust exercise. Then Shelby asks Kane if he promises not to rip Daniel’s beard off if Daniel gives him back his tag team title. Kane says yes. Then Shelby asks Daniel if he would like it if Kane did not rip his beard off his face. Daniel says yes. Then Daniel gets the tag titles and hands Kane his. Kane snatches it. Then Kane says that there is still an issue of Daniel purposely causing him to lose. Then Shelby asks Kane would it make him feel better if he talked to Booker T and Daniel also competes in a match tonight. Kane says it might. Then Kane hold up the tag title, gets in Daniel’s face and says that he is the tag team champions. Then Kane walks off. Daniel was pissed but Shelby prevented him from going after Kane. This was a bit hokier than the in ring segment but it was still comical. Having Kane & Daniel argue like 2 school boys is idiotic but they both play the roles really well.

They show still shots of the Sheamus-Alberto Del Rio match from Night of Champions and mention that the Brogue Kick was reinstated.

Del Rio is in the GM office holding a copy of Booker T’s autobiography. Then Booker comes in and asks Del Rio what he’s doing there. Del Rio says that he was waiting for Booker so that Booker doesn’t go anywhere like he did last Sunday. He calls Booker a coward. Then he asks Booker what he was thinking when he reinstated the Brogue Kick. Del Rio says that Booker made him lose. Booker says that he was thinking his investigation was complete. Booker admits that the Brogue Kick is devastating but legal. Then he says that if Del Rio doesn’t want to get hurt then maybe he should keep his nose out of Sheamus’ business. Del Rio complains that Booker made the kick legal right before his match. Del Rio says that’s not fair. Booker says he can understand that maybe it wasn’t fair. Booker says he feels bad about that. Then Del Rio asks if that means Booker will give him another title match. Booker says no. Then Booker tells Del Rio that if wants another title match then he needs to earn it. Then Booker says that tonight is Del Rio’s lucky night because he will have a chance to do that when he teams up with Dolph as they will face Sheamus & Randy Orton. Del Rio tells Booker this is not over. Booker says it is “dawg.”  Before Del Rio walks out he waves Booker’s book in his face and then throws it. This segment was decent. I’m not sure why Booker told Del Rio about the tag match when it was announced at the start of the show but I was ok with this bit.

Eve is on commentary for the next match.

Divas Champion Layla vs. Natalya. Layla gets the pin. This was a squash. Poor Natalya. She deserves better just like Beth Phoenix does.

World Champion Sheamus & Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler. Sheamus & Orton win when Sheamus pins Dolph. This was a good match. All 4 guys were in the ring. Del Rio was going for the cross arm breaker on Sheamus. Sheamus pushed Del Rio into & Orton gave Del Rio an RKO. Then Vickie slid Dolph the Money in the Bank case but Sheamus hit Dolph with the Brogue Kick for the win.

WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes. Cody gets the pin. Daniel was about get the No lock on Cody but then Kane’s pyro went off and he came out. Daniel gets distracted by this and then Cody hit cross Rhodes for the win. Kane laughs it up on the stage while is in the ring aggravated.

Daniel Bryan is backstage looking for Kane. Kane comes by and is still laughing. Daniel asks him, “What was that?” Kane says he has no idea what Daniel is talking about. Then Daniels says that Kane didn’t do anything wrong and is completely innocent, except for the part where he royally screwed Daniel over by setting off his pyro at the most important part of the whole match. Then Kane says that after what Daniel did to him in his match with Sandow now they’re even. Then Daniel says that Kane is bitter because Daniel is the better singles competitor. Then Daniel tells Kane that he couldn’t compete his way out of an arena basement. Daniel says that is where Kane belongs. Kane then tells Daniel that he belongs in a petting zoo. Then they argue again and Daniel says that Kane belongs in a basement petting zoo (That was a weird line). Then Kane & Daniel turn to whoever’s standing there watching. Daniel asks what the 2 of them are looking at. The camera shows Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow. Cody says that this spectacle proves that Kane & Daniel being tag team champions is a joke. Then Sandow says that it looks like this trivial experiment is about to come to a combustible conclusion. Daniel asks if they think he & Kane are a joke. Then Kane asks if they want to see something combust. Then Kane & Daniel suggest that they face Cody & Sandow tonight. Then Cody & Sandow walk off. Then Daniel tells Kane that they’re scared of him. Kane says they’re scared of him. Then they argue about who Cody & Sandow are scared of. This was a bit weaker than the other Kane-Daniel segments. Having them argue over everything is a bit much.

They reshow the finish of the Cena-Punk match from Night of Champions. They follow that up with the Punk-Heyman-Cena-referee segment from Raw. They also show clips of the Sheamus-Cena vs. Del Rio-Punk match.

Then Josh Mathews mentions that John Cena had surgery done to remove bone chips from his right elbow. He mentions that Dr. James Andrews said that everything went well and they wish Cena a speedy recovery. 

Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater. Brodus wins by DQ when Jinder Mahal & Drew McIntyre come in. Drew, Jinder & Heath triple stomp Brodus. Then Drew & Jinder give Brodus a double suplex. Then Heath clotheslines him. Then Drew gives Brodus the Future Shock DDT. Jinder follows up by locking Brodus in a Camel Clutch. Then Slater taunts Brodus, telling him that he’s not so big now. Then they pose. This was decent. It was nice they remembered that Drew & Jinder are still with the company. Maybe this will be that start of some kind of push for these guys.

They show a graphic mentioning that Jerry Lawler will be in an exclusive interview from his home.

Santino Marella vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro. Santino gets the pin. Santino pulls out the “cobra”. Then Aksana gets on the ring apron and the “cobra” gets distracted. Cesaro capitalizes and rips the cobra sock off Santino’s hand. Then Aksana was trying to pick it up but she fell into the ring and was supposedly hurt. Cesaro lifted Santino up and gave him a mid air uppercut. Then he pinned Santino but the referee was checking on Aksana. Then Cesaro tells Aksana to get out of the ring. Then Santino rolled up Cesaro for the win. Afterwards Aksana sells the knee injury. Then Cesaro walks out of the ring with the belt and a mic. He tells Aksana the word he is thinking of in 5 languages. Cesaro says they’re finished. Then Cesaro walks up the ramp and Aksana is upset about it.

WWE Tag Team Champions Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes in a Lumberjack match. (The lumberjacks are The Usos, The Primetime Players and Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd). Kane & Daniel win by DQ when Cody hits Kane with a chair. Then Cody was going to hit Kane with the chair again but Daniel Bryan snatched it out of Cody’s hands. Then Kane gave Cody a throat thruster. Then Daniel got in the ring with the chair. He was going to hit Cody with it but he decided to let Kane use it. Then Kane hit Cody with the chair and Cody rolled out of the ring. Then Daniel got back in the ring with a chair too. Then Kane & Daniel smile at each other and they each take a turn at hitting Sandow in the back with the chairs. Then Kane turns to the other tag teams. They go to bail but Kane pulls The Usos by the hair and throws them in the ring. Then Daniel hits them both with the chair. Then the other teams jump Kane and a brawl starts outside the ring. Then Kane throws Titus O’Neil in the ring and Darren Young rolls in too. Then Kane throws Justin & Tyson in the ring also. They both hit them all with the chairs. Then Kane picks up the tag titles and lets Daniel take 1. Then they raise each others arms while holding a chair and a title belt in each hand. Then Kane’s pyro goes off as they stand over the fallen teams. Then Kane & Daniel argue again to end the show. The match wasn’t really much. This was all about furthering the Kane-Daniel Bryan storyline, which I thought they did a good job with. It’s too bad the other guys all got buried here though.

This week’s show was mostly about the Kane-Daniel Bryan story line but I thought this was a decent to solid show overall. Most of the Kane-Daniel Bryan segments were entertaining for the most part. The opening segment with Edge and the 2 of them was really funny. Edge’s line about Kane not being Barney the big red Dinosaur cracked me up! I liked that they had Sandow in there too. He was good as usual with his character. The main event tag match wasn’t much of a match. This was more about Kane & Daniel Bryan working together. I thought the end was good but it kind of was a shame to see 8 other guys get buried. Layla-Natalya wasn’t much. Santino-Cesaro was ok for what it was. I was ok with Cesaro ditching Aksana. Sheamus & Orton vs. Del Rio & Dolph was good too. Brodus-Slater wasn’t much of match either. This was about Slater, McIntyre & Mahal beating down Brodus. I’m hoping that McIntyre & Mahal get some TV time out of this and I hope they don’t have Brodus just flatten them all. Some of the backstage bits with Kane & Daniel Bryan were kind of hokey but they play the roles really well. So on the whole I thought this week’s show was decent.

9-20-12 Impact results and thoughts

     Coverage and thoughts on the September 20, 2012 episode of Impact

The show starts with Hulk Hogan & Shaquelle O’Neil backstage. They talk about Aces & 8s going after Brooke. Shac says he has Hulks back.

AJ Styles & Kurt Angle come to the ring. Angle says a few months ago he & AJ were tag champions but got screwed by Daniels & Kazarian. He then says that at No Surrender they got screwed by Daniels & Kazarian again. But last week AJ beat Kazarian so they can get a rematch. He mentions that Chavo beat Daniels for him and Hernandez to also get a tag title match. Angle says this is open fight night and everyone deserves to know who the real number one contenders are. Angle calls out Hernandez & Chavo.

AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs. Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero, Jr. The match goes to a no finish when Daniels & Kazarian run in and attack AJ & Chavo (I called that). Then Hernandez comes in and Daniels & Kazarian bail out of the ring and pose on the ramp. Then Hulk Hogan comes out with a baseball bat. He says that every single picture tells a story. He says that he’s dealing with Aces & 8s and now he’s gotta deal with this. Then Hulk says that at Bound for Glory it will be a triple threat for the tag titles (I knew that was coming too). The match was good but I knew Daniels & Kazarian were going to run in and cause a no finish. Hulk booking the 3 way at BFG was also predictable.

AL Snow is backstage and the cameraman asks Al how long it had been since he got a haircut. Al says it had been about 12 years and his wife wasn’t thrilled with that. Then the camera guy asks Al about Gut Check. Al talks about the next contestant being only 18. The camera guy asks about Joey Ryan. Al mentions everything that’s happened with Joey. Al says he doesn’t think he crossed a line because he gave Ryan a chance and he backed down. Al then mentions that he’s headed to the office right now. This segment was a bit odd. I’m not sure what the point of the haircut comment was. I was ok with Al mentioning the next Gut Check guy and talking about Joey Ryan though.

Hulk Hogan is on his phone with Joseph Park. He finds out that Park has the key piece of evidence. Hulk says that he is sending security to escort Joseph into the arena when he gets there. Hulk then tells Joseph to come right to him.

The show a video package on Evan Markopoulos.

Dixie Carter & Bruce Pritchard are in the GM office talking about Aces & 8s. Then Al Snow comes in. She says Hulk wanted Bruce & Al to meet. This was a waste. Dixie & Bruce just talked about how Aces & 8s are winning the “battle.” Not much to this.

Time for Evan Markopoulos to have his gut check match. Out comes Doug Williams (Nice to see Doug Williams on TV).

Evan Markopoulos vs. Doug Williams. Doug wins by submission. This was decent. Williams dominated most of this. They had the gut check contestant lose again. Will they ever have a contestant win a match?

James Storm comes to the ring. He says that he gets to come out and talk on the mic. He says he’s good at talking trash but he backs it up. He says that last week he said he was going to call out 1 coward. Storm says that he wants Roode’s blood on his hands. Then Storm says that this isn’t going to be a wrestling match. This will be a guy kicking a coward’s ass match. The guy’s in the ring. He just needs the coward to come on out. Bobby Roode comes in his suit. Roode asks Storm if he want him to get in the ring and fight him. Roode says he’s not prepared to fight. Then he says that Storm will never ever be as good as he is no matter how hard Storm tries. He will never duplicate Roode’s success. As long as the “It factor” is around Storm will never be World Champion. Roode then says that he’s not fighting Storm and walks to the back.

Then Roode is backstage and Hulk tells Roode that he was called out and has to fight. Hulk then says that Roode has 3 minutes to decide if he wants to take the match or have not just the night off, but the week, month and year with no more money coming in.

Back to the show and Storm says he doesn’t have all night. He tells Roode to get his ass out there so he can kick it. Roode comes back out, still in his suit. He takes his jacket and tie off and his shirt as he slowly walks to the ring. Storm then comes out and attacks Roode. They go at it on the stage. The brawl continues below the stage and to ringside. Roode then throws Storm in the ring and the referee calls for the bell.

James Storm vs. Bobby Roode. (Why is this match happening before Bound for Glory?) Storm pushes the ref and he calls for the bell. The brawl continues. They go into the crowed. Storm gets the upper hand. The brawl continues and for some reason Brian Hebner is till trying to break it up but Roode & Storm shove him again. Then they brawl to the back. Storm rams Roode face first into the door. This was a good brawl. They fought mostly outside the ring. I thought this was entertaining.

Hulk Hogan is talking with some guy. Hulk says he needs someone to find Joseph Park. Then his phone rings and it’s the Aces & 8s guys. It turns out they kidnapped Park. Hulk says he will give this some quick thought and get back to him. Then he says they’ll play and play hard. Then Hulk shouts to the other guy saying he knows where Joseph is. This was week. How’d Aces & 8s get Hulks cell number? They better have some kind of pay off to this at Bound for Glory because now it’s starting to get stale.  

Austin Aries asks Jeff if they can talk. Aries says that he’s feeling slighted because everyone is talking about Jeff. Aries says that Jeff has accomplished more than he has. Aries says that this is more about what he wants that Jeff has. He says that he will show Jeff that anything Jeff can do he can do also. This was a decent segment.

Tara comes to the ring. She says that everyone has been asking why she turned on Tessmacher. She says that the fans disgust him and that they use her to get on TV. She says it took someone really special, her boy friend from Hollywood. He opened her eyes and reminded her that she is the best female wrestler there is. She then says that Brooke used her to get the Knockouts title. Then she says that tonight she is calling out her victim. Christie Hemme. She tells Christie to get in the ring now. The fans chant Christie and Tara says the fans are waiting for her. Christie gets in the ring. Tara wants her to say who her favorite knockout is. Christie says Tessmacher. Then Tara roughs her up for a bit. Then Tessmacher comes to the ring and Tara bails. This was good too. I thought Tara cut a really good heel promo.

Brooke Hogan & Tara are backstage. Tara says she doesn’t need friends. She’s here to be champion. Brooke says there will be consequences for her actions. Thankfully this was short. I thought Hulk didn’t want Brooke to be in the Impact Zone!!

Hulk Hogan comes to the ring. He has a quick update on Aces & 8s. He mentions that they grabbed Joseph Park. Hulk mentions that Aces & 8s want to play hard ball. Hulk’s the right guy. Then Hulk says that he will be in their club house next week. Then he says that Joseph was a guy doing a job for him. Then he says that the deal is the return Joseph and they get Hulk in their club house. Aces & 8s are on the Tron. He says that when Hulk comes in to their house it’s club house rules. Then he says that Joseph’s job is getting close to Aces & 8s business. Then another Aces & 8s guy sledgehammers a lap top. They show Joseph and he says they might have destroyed his computer but he still has all the weeks of work in his head. Then another Aces & 8s guy hits him. This was the usual Aces & 8s segment. This is really starting to become same old every week.

They show a Jeff Hardy video package. He talks about winning the BFG Series and hopes that all the matches he went through will be worth it. He says that when he shows up at BFG the fans can expect to see their guy. And he will be the new World Champion. This was a solid video.

Austin Aries comes to the ring. He says that was a nice little Jeff Hardy video package. He mentions that they showed that right before he came out. He then says that he isn’t the hunted but the hunter and Jeff is the target. Then he mentions that Jeff has beaten Bully Ray twice in the last month. He mentions that when he beat Ray, Ray said it was luck. He says that when Jeff beat Ray he said that was a fluke too. He says it isn’t luck. It’s skill. Then he calls Ray out. They show Ray backstage saying in disbelief. Then he comes to the ring saying he can’t believe what he just heard. Then he gets the mic and says it sounded like Aries called him out. Aries says that’s true. Ray says he’s beaten the crap out of him once and he will again. Aries says that he might do that but he will have to. Ray says that people don’t call him out. He calls people out. Then he tells a fan not to touch him or he will punch him in his face. Aries says that the fan isn’t his kind of guy. Then Aries says that if the fan attacks Ray again he will punch him in the face too. Ray says it’s obvious…Then Aries does a spinning dive on Ray to the outside. Aries punches Ray in front of the guard rail. Then rams Ray face first into the steel steps. Then they get in the ring. Ray asks for a time out but the bell rings.

TNA World Champion Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray. Ray gets the pin. This was a good match. Earl Hebner got bumped into. Then Aires locked Ray in the Last Chancery and Ray tapped but the ref was out. Then Ray got his chain and hit Aries with it. Then he kicked it out of the ring and covered Aries. Hebner of course came to and counted 3. Afterwards Ray has someone hand him the world title. He gets in the ring and was going hit Aries. Then Jeff Hardy comes out and runs Ray off. Then Jeff picks up the belt and Aries snatches it. Jeff & Aries have words and that ends the show.

I thought this was a solid show overall. I liked the opening tag match but I knew Daniels & Kazarian were going to run in. I also called the 3 way for Bound for Glory. The main event match was good too. Aries was also good on the mic. I liked how he mentioned that even though he is the champion he is still the hunter. Ray was great as usual on the mic too. His reaction to Aries calling him out was awesome. The Storm-Roode brawl was entertaining too. I’m not sure why Brian Hebner let them fight most of the match outside the ring but called for the bell when they shoved him, or why he was trying to break it up after the bell, but I thought the brawl was good. I’m not sure why they did this before Bound for Glory however. The Tara-Christie-Tessmacher segment was good too. Tara was really good with her heel promo. She did a great job. The Jeff Hardy BFG video package was well done also. The Hulk Hogan-Aces & 8s bit is starting to get old and I’m hoping they further this storyline going into Bound for Glory. The Aces & 8s guy having Hulk’s cell number doesn’t make sense and having them show up on the Tron all the time is getting old too. It’s really hard to hear what that guy says. The Dixie-Pritchard segment was meaningless. Brooke Hogan telling Tara that she was disappointed in her heel turn was week too. Aries was good in the backstage bit with Jeff too. I’m not sure why they’re having him say that he’s looking for the cheers from the fans when the fans have been cheering for him for months, but I thought he was good with his promo. Evan Markopoulos-Doug Williams was ok too. Having Shac at the start of the show saying that he’s got Hulk’s back and then not being on the rest of the show was kind of odd. Tenay also mentioned that the TV Title will be on the line next week, but he never said anything about the title being vacant. On the whole though I thought they had a solid show this week.

9-17-12 Raw results and thoughts

    Coverage and thoughts on the September 17, 2012 episode of Raw

The show starts with CM Punk’s music playing and Paul Heyman comes out. He says that last night he felt like all the fans because he got to witness history. That‘s because CM retained the WWE Title against John Cena. He says the ending of the match was controversial so in the interest of clarity he’s asked the referee for the match last night Chad Patton to come to the ring and defend his decision. Chad Patton comes to the ring. Heyman says that the ref is in the middle of this controversy. Then Heyman had a still shot shown of the finish and Heyman mentions that Cena’s shoulders were down also. Heyman says that the ref made the right decision. Heyman then says last night a fan posted a film on youtube that was taken down today and that Cena had something to do with that. Then they show the finish of the Cena-Punk match from last night. Heyman says the match was a draw and that means the champion keeps the title. That means for the 303 day the WWE Champion is CM Punk. Heyman says that Punk deserves the fans respect and they don’t give it to him. Then Cena comes out. Heyman goes to speak and Cena tells him to shut up. Cena says Chad Patton made the right call. Then the fans chant Cena sucks. Cena says that Chad is a respected ref and wouldn’t have any bias towards Cena. Cena then mentions that he and Chad had a talk about the match afterwards. Cena says that the match was like a WrestleMania match. Then Cena mentions that he told Chad that having the match end in a draw is like having the Super Bowl end in a tie. Cena then says that Punk has always been looking for respect. Then Cena mentions that retaining the title in a tie isn’t how Punk earned respect. Heyman says that Punk has. Cena says respect isn’t earned by hitting someone with the title. Respect is earned by beating anyone on any night so you can stand in the ring and say best in the world. Respect is being able to hold your head high after making the right call. Cena then says that he wants a rematch with Punk for the Title tonight. Heyman says Punk will happy to tell Cena to his face what he thinks of his challenge and Punk will when he shows up later. Then Heyman says that he is the voice of the voice of the voiceless. Cena says he was trying to be patient with him. Then out come Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo. Del Rio says Cena’s complaining about last night. Then Del Rio mentions the Brogue Kick being reinstated right before his title match. Del Rio says he wasn’t ready for his match and says that if anyone deserves a title rematch it’s him. The AJ skips to the ring. She says that both Cena & Del Rio deserve second chances. So tonight Punk & Del Rio will face Sheamus & Cena. (That was predictable). Then she says that the winner of this could determine who will get a title rematch. This went on a bit too long for me. Heyman & Cena were good on the mic here. Then when Del Rio & AJ came in it went a bit down hill.

They show a TOUT from Jerry Lawler. He says that he is doing better! Then Cole says that Cole is back home in Memphis. Then Cole says that they will show footage of Lawler being back home and there will also be an interview with Jerry Lawler next week.

JBL & Jim Ross come out for commentary.

Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara vs. Primo & Epico. Rey & Cara win when Cara pins Primo. This was a solid match. Afterwards The Primetime Players come out and attack Rey & Cara. Then they each get a mic. Titus says they were the number one contenders for the tag titles and it was taken from them. But now they’ll be doing the taking. Then Darren says they’re the takers and that no one will take anything from them again. Decent promos from Darren & Titus.

Layla is on commentary for the next match.

Beth Phoenix vs. Divas Champion Eve Torres. Eve gets the pin. This was short. Afterwards Eve & Layla have a stare down. Eve holds up the title and walks off.

Antonio Cesaro is on commentary for the match and Aksana is with him.

Brodus Clay, Naomi & the returning Cameron come to the ring and do their bit. I was hoping Cameron wouldn’t be back!

Brodus Clay vs. Heath Slater. Brodus gets the pin. This was a squash. Cesaro got on the apron during the match.

The Miz is backstage. The debut of Miz TV is next. Another wrestler with a talk show? Really? I have a feeling this will not be awesome.

The Miz comes out for the Miz TV debut. He asks what do you give to the Intercontinental Champion who has everything. He mentions that last night he had the worst odds last night but managed to beat the odds. He says that because of that he gets his own talk show. Then he welcomes everyone to the most must see talk show in WWE history. Then he brings up Piper’s Pit, The Cutting Edge & The Highlight Reel. He says Piper, Jericho & Edge were never as controversial, charismatic or as awesome as he is. Then he says that he proved his greatness last night when he retained the IC Title against 3 guys. Then he brings out Booker T. Booker T comes to the ring. Miz asks Booker how it feels to be the first guest on Miz TV. Miz says it’s probably an honor and better than him being a 5 time WCW Champion. Better than his first WrestleMania match and almost better than Miz retaining his title blindfolded last night. Then he asks Booker why he’s against him. Miz asks why Booker put him against 3 guys. He also asks why he banned the Brogue Kick only to reinstate it. Miz says that Booker misses the spot light. He says that it eats at Booker that his time is over. The fans chant boring. Booker says that it’s time for Miz to get a new guest for his show. Someone who is used to beating multiple challengers at once. Out comes Ryback. Booker walks off. Ryback gets in the ring and destroys the Miz TV set. Miz runs up the ramp and Ryback does his feed me more bit. This was boring! I have no idea what the point of this was. It looks like they might have Ryback vs. Miz.

They re show the TOUT from Jerry Lawler.

Cole mentions again that Lawler is back in Memphis. JR & JBL wish him well too. Cole again mentions that there will be an interview with King next week. Thank God Lawler pulled through!

Punk & Heyman are backstage. Josh Mathews comes by and asks Punk if he’s looking forward to teaming with Del Rio. Punk says he isn’t. He mentions that he walked out of Night of Champions as WWE Champion. Then he asks what does he have to do to get respect. Decent Punk promo.

Santino Marella vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph gets the pin. This was ok. During the match Dolph took Santino’s “cobra” and got rid of it. Then later on Santino was going for it but noticed that Vickie was holding it. Dolph capitalized on the distraction and a Zig Zag. Then he hit a second one for the pin. Afterwards Vickie stuffs the “cobra” in Santino’s mouth.

Justin Gabriel vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. Barrett dominated most of the match.

R-Truth is backstage with a birthday hat. Then Kofi comes in and mentions they have a match. Then Jared from Subway comes in and says it’s Subway’s birthday. Truth tells Jared that “Little Jimmy” has some ideas for new Subways. Then Damien Sandow comes in. He recommends the Damien Sandow with Cornish game hen. Then Ryder comes in and mentions the “Woo Woo Woo You Know It Subway.” Then Ryback comes in and says feed me more. Jared gives him a Subway and then Ryback takes a second. This was idiotic!

Sheamus talks about how great it was to beat Del Rio with the Brogue Kick. Then he tells Cena that he should have also won last night. Cena says neither of them won (Sheamus did). Cena says that he needs to win so that he can make a statement for a rematch with Punk. Sheamus says they’ll win with their backs up against the wall and then celebrate their victory. This was weird. Cena’s part was decent but Sheamus talked like the cartoon Cena. I don’t know why they’re making Sheamus cut these kinds of promos.

Daniel Bryan is walking backstage saying he is the tag team champion. Then they show Kane doing the same.

They show Jerry Lawler arriving in Memphis along with the Dr. who saved his life.

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Kane & Daniel Bryan for the Titles. Kane & Daniel win when Daniel makes Truth tap. This was a decent match. Kane & Daniel argued throughout the match of course. Afterwards Daniel holds up both titles screaming he is the tag champions. Then Kane snatches the belts and says he is the tag champions. Then the fans chant for them to have a hug out. UGH! Daniel wants to. Kane puts the titles over his shoulders. Then they hug. Then Daniel takes 1 of the belts and they each scream they’re the tag champions. Having these 2 guys bicker over who the tag champions are is dumb. This storyline is idiotic.

They show some kids from the B.A. STAR program in the crowd.

Randy Orton is backstage. He will face Tensai again next. Their Smackdown match was boring. I don’t see this one being any better.

Randy Orton vs. Tensai. Orton gets the pin. This was actually a bit better then their Smackdown match. It wasn’t as slow.

Punk & Heyman are backstage again. Then Del Rio & Otunga come in. He says that Del Rio expects Punk to follow his lead. Heyman says Punk follows no ones lead. Otunga points out that doesn’t mean anything because Punk looks like he sleeps in a cardboard box. Heyman says Del Rio should get a time machine and go back to Survivor Series when Punk beat Del Rio for the Title. Punk says he’s looking forward to teaming with Del Rio tonight. Del Rio says it would be an honor. This was hokey but at least they mentioned that Punk beat Del Rio for the Title.

Damien Sandow comes out. He says that summer vacation has ended. That means we now stand at the dawn of his favorite season, back to school. He feels obligated to prepare the fans for this season since no one else is. He tells JR that slobber knocker isn’t a word. He has a list of words. Temerity, ignoramus and miscreant. The fans chant what and he tells them to remain silent while he is speaking. He says he is trying to help these half wits. Then Zack Ryder comes out. He says he has a few words of his own. Shut, up and now. Then Ryder says that AJ made a match for Ryder and Sandow next. This was ok. Sandow was good as usual with his promo. Ryder’s promo was good and short.

Zack Ryder vs. Damien Sandow (The match started during the break). Sandow gets the pin. This was a solid match.

They show Jerry Lawler back in Memphis with the Dr. Then Michael Cole again mentions that there will be an interview with Lawler next week.

World Champion Sheamus & John Cena vs. WWE Champion CM Punk & Alberto Del Rio. Cena & Sheamus win when Cena pins Punk. This was a good match. Cena pinned Punk but Punk’s foot was on the rope. The referee missed it and Heyman & Punk protested. Punk & Heyman tell the ref that Punk’s foot was on the rope. The ref says he missed it. Then he walks out of the ring and up the ramp. Punk & Heyman follow him up the ramp to the back with Punk saying that his foot was on the rope. This ended the show.

I thought this week’s show was ok overall. The opening segment was a bit long. Cena & Punk were both good but the segment lost its momentum when Del Rio & AJ came out. AJ making the tag match was predictable too. The main event tag match was good however. I wasn’t really into the finish. I get why they booked it that way but I’m not a fan of the “guy has his foot on the rope and ref misses it” bit. The rest of the show had its up and downs. I’m tired of the Kane-Daniel Bryan storyline too. I’m not into having them argue which one of them is the tag team champions! The Kofi & Truth vs. Kane & Daniel was decent though. Thank God Jerry Lawler is well and back home in Memphis. I liked that they showed him arriving home and that there will be an interview with him next week. Rey & Cara vs. Primo & Epico and Ruder vs. Sandow were both solid matches. I liked Sandow’s vocabulary promo. He does a great job in the role. Ryder was good here too. The Cena-Sheamus segment backstage was weird. Sheamus talking like cartoon Cena is dumb. Cena was good here though. I also wasn’t really into the Punk & Heyman-Del Rio-Otunga backstage bit either but I liked that the mentioned that Punk beat Del Rio for the Title. This whole storyline with Punk wanting respect is solid. Punk does a great job but the fans chant his name so it kind of sounds odd to hear him saying he doesn’t get respect when the fans chant his name almost all the time. The Miz TV segment was meaningless. Miz was mediocre. Booker didn’t really say much and I have no idea why they had Ryback come in and destroy the set. I hope that’s all we see of Miz TV. Orton-Tensai was better than their match from Smackdown. Gabriel-Barrett was solid too. I like that the announcers mentioned that they used to be stable mates. The subway segment was idiotic. Santino-Dolph was ok but I don’t know why they have Dolph job clean to Orton on PPV and then have him face a comedy jobber the next night. Santino’s bit with the “cobra” is also idiotic. Beth-Eve was ok but short. Poor Beth. She deserves better. I also don’t get why they didn’t have Eve win the battle royal a few weeks ago if they were going to put the title on her anyway. Brodus-Slater was a squash. Punk’s promo earlier on when he asked Josh how does get respect was solid too. So on the whole I thought this week’s show was alright.