2-28-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the February 28, 2013 episode of Impact

They start the show with Ray & Brooke walking into the Impact Zone. Camera guy asks for an update on Hulk. They say there’s not a lot to say. Hulk is badly messed up.

The actual show starts with Bully Ray coming out. He’s looking for Taz who isn’t on commentary. Then Ray gets in the ring. He says it’s cool to be back in the Impact Zone but he’s never been more pissed off in his life. For the past year Aces & 8s has been running rough shot over TNA. He mentions everyone they’ve attacked. He says they ruined his wedding to Brooke. Last week should’ve been a huge week for TNA. We were going to see Hulk’s return to the ring but that didn’t happen because of Aces & 8s. Ray says he will get his hand son Devon so bad, he will never ever want to get in a ring again. There’s 1 guy he also wants to speak to. The guy everyone’s been waiting to see for the past month. The guy he will face at Lockdown for the TNA World Title. Jeff Hardy. Out comes Jeff. Ray tells Jeff that he & Jeff would be getting ready to face each other for the title. Everyone knows about their history, but he doesn’t feel right about this. Ray doesn’t want a title match just because he’s Hulk’s son in law. Hulk set up those matches and would make his decision based on who impressed him the most. Ray says he’s not sure if he’s the right guy to face Jeff at Lockdown. Jeff says it’s great to be back on Impact and he loves the fact the Hulk chose him. Jeff & Ray have sung chairs, climbed ladders & broke tables. Now they take it to the cage. They’ve reinvented themselves & at Lockdown they’ll reinvent their history. Then Daniels & Kazarian come out. Kazarian says Ray shouldn’t feel good about this because he never earned the title match. Thunder Lips gave it to him just like he gave him Brooke. But somebody has to rub oil on her and post pics of her on Twitter. Daniels says last month he outwrestled Jeff and the only reason Jeff won was because Daniels had an allergic reaction to Jeff’s paint. Daniels says Jeff & Ray don’t want to face him & Kazarian. Then Ray drinks Daniels appletini and drinks it. Then spits it back into the glass Ray tells “baldy” real men don’t drink appletinis. They brawl for a bit and then Daniels & Kazarian bail. Then Ray says that tonight he & Jeff will face Daniels & Kazarian. This was a good segment to start the show. Daniels & Kazarian were really good as usual.

Sting is in the GM office with Magnus. Sting says there’re a lot of names on a list he’s looking at. Magnus says it should be him. He says that TNA took a chance with him and that Sting mentored him. That meant the world to him. He wants to be not just on Team TNA, but on Team Sting. Then he asks why and says why not.

Gail Kim is on commentary for the Knockouts Title match.

Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky vs. Tara for the Title. Velvet gets the pin. This was decent but short.

Austin Aries is on the phone with Roode. He mentions they have a photo shoot tonight. Then he talks about a 3 way tag title match they have at Lockdown against Chavo & Hernandez and Daniels & Kazarian. Then Chavo & Hernandez come in. Chavo says Aries should be worried about his match. Aries says he doesn’t have a match. Chavo mentioned that Aries said he will face anybody. Chavo tells Aries that he will face Hernandez. This was alright but I’m tired of the Chavo & Hernandez team.

Backstage camera guy asks Kenny King what he will be doing next since he lost to Rob Van Dam again. Kenny says he will talk to RVD. Kenny goes into Van Dam’s locker room and demands Van Dam give him another title match. RVD doesn’t want to because he has beaten Kenny so many times. Then he says that if Kenny beats him, Kenny can be the champion. If RVD beats him, Kenny is out of the X Division. This was ok but what will they do with Kenny if they have him lose and why are we getting this match again?

Taz is now on commentary.

Hernandez vs. TNA World Tag Team Champion Austin Aries. Aries gets the pin after hitting Hernandez with a chain. This was solid.

Sting & Joseph Park are backstage. Park his eating ribs. Now he knows what a rib is. Park then asks Sting to pick him to be on Team TNA. Sting will consider him. Then Sting goes out to the hallway and there’s Matt Morgan. Sting knows Matt’s looking for opportunities & Sting asks him to be on Team TNA. Morgan says Hulk put Sting up to this. Then he says that anyone who has anything to do with Hulk is guilty by association so Morgan says no. This was weak. I’m tired of them using the “inside” lingo in promos. Morgan was ok here though.

X Division Champion Rob Van Dam vs. Kenny King for the Title. Kenny gets the pin to win the Title. This was a good match. I’m glad they finally put the X Title on Kenny.

Sting is backstage and Kurt Angle asks if Sting has his list of guys of Lockdown. Sting shows it to Angle. Angle says you’re gonna pick him (I’m guessing Joseph Park). Sting says that desperate times call for desperate measures. Angle tells Sting to take care of business and he will too. Thankfully this was really short.

Aces & 8s come to the ring. Devon says Sting believes that he has a team that can take on Aces & 8s. Sting really thinks he has a team that can dominate this club. He doesn’t know what Sting’s thinking, but he thinks Sting has been drinking the Kool aid Hulk’s been giving everyone all these years. Devon says this is the club that will dominate TNA in 2013. Doc, Knox, Anderson & Garrett along with himself. All Sting’s doing is giving shattered dreams. Devon says Lockdown will be no different than BFG. Aces & 8s will reign supreme once again. Sting will lead his team to the slaughter. Testify to that. Out comes Sting. He says his first team mate is Samoa Joe. Joe comes out. Sting says he’s sorry about this. Devon asks sorry about what. Cue James Storm’s music and he comes out. Sting’s next team mate is making his victorious return to the Impact Zone, Magnus. He comes out too. The fifth guy is somebody who was put out by Aces & 8s. Anderson tells him to get to the point. Sting says it will be show time. Anderson asks who the fifth guy is. Sting says it’s show time and Eric Young comes in from the crowd. Then a brawl starts and Aces & 8s retreat. This was good. I wasn’t expecting Eric Young’s return so that was cool.

Time for a video package on 1 of tonight’s Gut Check contestants Ivelese Velez. She sacrificed here relationship with her mom to get into wrestling because her mom was against it. It took time to mend that fence because she was pretty much living on the streets at that point. Tonight she will take her spot light in the Gut Check. This was good too.

Outside the Arena Aces & 8s are all pissed and they Storm off. Kurt Angle shows up and follows them.

Time for a video package on tonight’s other Gut Check contestant. Lei’d Tapa. She is the Barbarian’s niece. She’s looking to win the competition and make her uncle proud. This was a good video also.

JB is in the ring. It is time to meet the Gut Check combatants. Ivelise comes out first. Then out comes Lei’d Tapa.

Ivelieze Velez vs. Lei’d Tapa. Velez wins by submission. This was a good match.

Jeff Hardy is backstage and Austin Aries comes in. Aries says he’s pulling for Jeff because because Ray is the golden child. Now Jeff knows how Aries felt when he fought Jeff. Aries hopes Jeff overcomes the odds like he couldn’t. Then he wishes him luck tonight in his tag match. This was a solid backstage bit. I liked Aries promo.

 Time for a video package on AJ Styles. We hear from his wife, a guy named Jay Oliver. He says AJ is a different guy. The wife says the same and she talks about the Claire Lynch crap. When you don’t see someone you’ve been married to for 12 years can he be trusted. The friend says he’s known him for years. The wife says she can’t talk about this anymore. Back to Jay Oliver and AJ Styles comes in. He has a beard now. He tells Jay that he doesn’t get and rides off on his motorbike. This was awful. I’m really hoping they don’t go overboard with AJ being this “different guy” when he returns.

Time for a recap at the splitting up of the Robbies.

Robbie E is in the ring. He says sometimes in life a bro has to admit when there’s a bigger and better bro. He’s come to that realization. He asks Rob Terry to come to the ring. Rob Terry comes out. E says this thing has gotten way out of hand. E slapping T in the face was him crossing the line. He risked their friendship “bro.” E says them being friends the past 2 years has meant the world to him. E says that T is the better bro and he will let him prove it with 1 more “bro off.” E says let’s have some fun like old times. Then the play E’s music and he dances or whatever. He says bigger Rob is the bro off champion and he deserves the spot light. E will leave the ring so bigger Rob can give the fans what they want (I don’t wanna see this). Then they play some other music and Terry does his “bro off”. Then E hits breaks a poster over Terry’s head. E poses and Terry gets up, flexes and E bails. This was stupid.

Backstage Aries goes over to Ray. Aries says he’s pulling for him. Ray doesn’t by it. He says that Aries is 1 of the best wrestlers in the world and a great tag wrestler. Ray knows something about the tag belts and he tells Aries to get used to being a tag champion because Ray is going to be world champion. He tells Aries to get out of his face. This was solid too. Aries is really good as a heel and I liked that Ray didn’t fall for Aries’ bit.

Back to Kurt Angle. He says that if Aces & 8s want a fight they’ve got 1. He’s followed them to their clubhouse and goes inside.

TNA World Champion Jeff Hardy & Bully Ray vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian. Jeff & Ray win when Jeff pins Kazarian. This was good too.

Back to Kurt Angle and he beats the crap out of Aces & 8s in the clubhouse. Then he brawls with the VP. Angle rips off his mask and Angle asks him “How could you?” Then Aces & 8s beat down Angle to end the show. They never showed the leader. This was kind of a weak ending to the show. I’m really hoping that they don’t take forever to reveal who the Aces & 8s leader is now that Angles has unmasked him.

I thought this was a solid show overall. The promo that started the show was good and the main event tag match was good too. The end was a bit weak and I hope they say who they Aces & 8s leader is next week. RVD-Kenny King was also good and I’m glad they put the X Division Title on Kenny. Velez-Tapa was also good. Velvet-Tara was decent but short. The Team Sting-Aces & 8s segment was really good also and I liked the surprise return of Eric Young. Aries was good too in his backstage bits with Jeff & Ray. Ray was good too in that bit. Hernandez-Aries was a solid match also. I wasn’t into most of the backstage segments. The Rob Terry-Robbie E segment was stupid, but they’ve officially split up that team & Rob Terry is a face. The video with AJ Styles’ wife and friend was stupid and AJ looked weird with a beard. I’m really hoping that they don’t go overboard with AJ being a different guy or whatever this is gonna be. The camera guy asking guys bit was something I really didn’t miss when they did the UK shows. The Sting-Magnus bit was decent and the Sting-Angle bit backstage was thankfully short, so that made it better. On the whole I thought this week’s show was solid.

2-25-13 Raw results and thoughts

   Coverage and thoughts on the February 25, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with Vince McMahon coming to the ring on crutches. He says everyone knows he likes to do things in a big way and what better way to start Raw then with a “fight.” He says he can do this with 1 crutch, 1 leg or no legs. Then he brings out Paul Heyman. Heyman says tonight we will see a 1 legged man in an ass kicking contest. Heyman was waited his whole life for this. Vince has made Heyman look like the biggest wuss but he all man. If Vince thinks Heyman will take it easy on him, Vince is out of his mind. Heyman has watched Vince run a lot of promoters out of business, including him. He’s seen him fight the U.S. Government. Heyman says before they fight, he wants to say right to Vince’s face that…then he tackles Vince down and then hits him in the back with a crutch. Heyman goes for another shot but Vince gets the crutch and hits Heyman. Then out comes Brock Lesnar. He gets in the ring and makes like he’s gonna go after Vince. Then Triple H’s music plays and he comes out. Lesnar slides out of the ring and he & Triple H go at it. Lesnar gets the upper hand and then Triple H throws Lesnar head first into the ring post and Lesnar bleeds. Then he goes for a crutch but Brock gets the upper hand and gives Triple H an F5 on the announce table. Then he throws HHH in the ring and then gets a chair out from underneath the ring. Brock gets in the ring but HHH gives him a spine buster. Then he hits Lesnar with the chair. This was a good way to start the show and I knew this would be the start of the build to the HHH-Lesnar match for WrestleMania. Heyman was good on the mic as usual and the HHH-Lesnar brawl was good too. Lesnar really bled after being slammed into the turnbuckle.

Ryback vs. Dolph Ziggler. Ryback gets the pin. This was mostly Ryback pounding on Dolph. Who’d Dolph piss off to be in Jobber Ville? AJ distracted the referee. Then Langston got on the apron but Ryback clotheslined him off. Then Dolph went for a sleeper but Ryback threw him off and then hits shell shock for the win.

CM Punk comes to the ring. He says tonight on live TV the world will witness history. This will be a night that fans will tell their grandchildren about. Tonight is the end as well as the beginning. People believe tonight is about the epic Cena-Punk match. Tonight is epic but tonight is not about a match, Cena or The Rock. He can point at the Mania sign because the winner of the match later goes to headline WrestleMania, but tonight isn’t about WrestleMania and certainly not about the people. It’s also not about the WWE Title. Tonight is about the future, tonight is about him. Tonight is about the most important guy of this era. It’s about him taking his place at the showcase of immortals in the main event. He held the Title more than anyone has in decades. He’s beaten Cena. He’s beaten Rock twice in 4 weeks. He is the best in the world and has earned the right to go to the main event of WrestleMania. He is immortal. He is the greatest of all time. He is a legend and an icon. He is God. This was a really good promo from Punk as usual.

Time to find out who the next WWE 2013 Hall of Fame inductee is. Donald Trump (Why him)?

Great Khali vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. This was a fast squash.

The Miz comes to the ring for Miz TV. His guests are Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez, Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter. God help me! Back from break and everyone is in the ring and the Miz TV set is too. Normally Miz would start this show off with a lot of hype but tonight they’re cutting right to it. Tonight Miz’s guests are Zeb, Swagger, Ricardo & Del Rio. Miz will start with Jack & Zeb. Miz mentions their youtube vids and he will give them the chance to talk directly to Alberto. Zeb says he was hoping to talk to Glen Beck but he will gladly speak to Del Rio. Zeb says there’re undocumented workers in this country (Illegals). They want to reform the system by putting them on the path of citizen ship. Americans have a hard time finding work as it is. The immigrants drain the Americans. Del Rio protests. Zeb talks more. Miz then says he wants to hear what Del Rio has to say. Zeb keeps talking. Del Rio says to let him talk. Zeb says it takes 10 years to become a Mexican citizen. A foreigner can’t own property in Mexico. Zeb says this isn’t personal. It’s what Del Rio represents. That’s success, the American dream. He encourages illegals to sneak into the states. There’s only 1 Del Rio success story and the other illegals forget to leave this country. People who are in this country illegally are called criminals. Del Rio tells Zeb to shut up. America is the greatest country because it belongs to everybody. Del Rio is no different then the fans, Swagger or Zeb. Del Rio says everyone wants provide their families with a better life. If you work hard in America anything is possible and Del Rio is living proof of that. Zeb & Swagger think they can disrespect everybody and hide behind the constitution. 2 weeks ago Del Rio never knew anything about Zeb. He’d heard about people like him but never met one before. Del Rio doesn’t like bullies and says that Zeb & Jack should do something to make him & Ricardo leave America right now. Swagger says, “We will see you at WrestleMania. We the people.” I’m really not into this angle. Del Rio & Zeb both cut good promos but I don’t get why they’re making World Title match about a face Mexican vs. an American heel. This should be about the title. I have no idea why they’re going with this anti foreigner angle.

They show what happened during the break. Miz was on the stage. Then Zeb came back out and said that he doesn’t like Miz’s biased journalism. Then Swagger came back out and clotheslined Miz.

Randy Orton vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro. Orton gets the pin. Cesaro jumped off the top rope & Orton gave him a mid air RKO for the pin. This was decent but why have Cesaro lose cleanly to Orton again?  

Kane & Daniel Bryan are backstage. Daniel says Randy’s impressive. Then he tells Kane that they should get along. Kane says they need to focus on the Primetime Players tonight. Daniel says he can beat both guys by himself blind folded. Kane says that he can beat them both with 1 arm tied behind his back. Then Vickie & Maddox come in. Maddox says that team “brickie” wants to see Kane & Daniel face the Primetime Players. Maddox says that Kane will have 1 arm tied behind his back & Vickie says that Daniel will blind folded. Daniel complains that he won’t be able to see. This was stupid. The Kane-Daniel Bryan bit is old and the Vickie-Maddox “team” is awful.

Time for Sheamus’ Oscar snubs next. What are they thinking here? This is going to be painful and meaningless.

Miz will face Jack Swagger later tonight.

Sheamus comes to the ring. He says everyone knows him as a friendly arse kicking WWE super star, but he’s also a movie guy. He missed the Academy Awards last night because he was on his way to Dallas. He says that he saw it when he got to his hotel and he didn’t like what he saw. They overlooked 1 of the greatest actors of the 21^st century Wade Barrett. Time to show the Dead Man Down trailer that Barrett has a cameo in. Then Sheamus has a scene that Barrett’s in frozen on the Tron. He says Wade is so inspiring, so out of focus. He waited for Barrett to say something but he stood there saying nothing. Then Wade Barrett comes out. He says Sheamus is envious of him. Sheamus can make his jokes and the idiot fans will laugh it up, but Sheamus is jealous of the fact that he is about to become a movie star. He will be walking down a real red carpet when he’s at the Dead Man Down premier, while Sheamus will be returning his suit and hanging out in some pub. Sheamus says that’s exactly what he will be doing. Then he tells Barrett to make sure the photographers get his good side, but after taking a look at Barrett’s nose, Sheamus doesn’t think he has a good side. This was terrible and meaningless! I’m fine with a Sheamus-Wade Barrett program but why is it happening because Sheamus mocks Barrett’s cameo in some movie!?

Damien Sandow is on commentary for Cody’s match.

R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes. Truth gets the pin. Then Sandow gets in the ring and goes after Truth but Truth gets the upper hand and Sandow bails. This match was solid.

Time for a look at a Jack Swagger-Zeb Coulter youtube video. They both cut the same kind of promo. Zeb says the immigrants are stealing American’s jobs. Zeb & Jack know that is wrong and it’s time to correct that wrong. Swagger again says, “We the people.” Why are they cramming this crap down our throats?

WWE Tag Team Champions Kane (with 1 arm tied behind his back) & Daniel Bryan (who is blind folded) vs. The Primetime Players. Kane & Daniel win when Kane pins Darren Young. This was a comedy match.

The Shield comes out through the crowd like they always do. Ambrose says it will get a lot worse. There will be no peace in WWE till there is justice and honor. They’re the most effective unit in WWE and that makes a lot of guys uncomfortable. WWE can send out an army of guys but that won’t stop them. Reigns says the same. Then he says that if you don’t believe in The Shield they will grind everyone’s bones to dust. Rollins mentions that they beat Kane, Daniel & Ryback at TLC. Then at Elimination Chamber they solved the John Cena problem. The beat the super hero team. Then Jericho stuck his neck out last week, but he stuck it out to far and they dropped him. Just like they’ve dropped everyone. Rollins asks if there’s anyone who wants to stand up. Sheamus comes out and tells them to fight him. He tells them to come to the stage. Ambrose & Reigns head up the ramp and Orton sneaks in the ring and gives Rollins an RKO. Orton stands in the crowd and Sheamus stands on the stage while The somewhat fallen Shield is in the ring. This was a solid segment. The Shield guys cut good promos. Ambrose was really good. Sheamus was good here too and I liked that Orton came out through the crowd and gave Rollins an RKO. It looks like Orton will be the next guy to team with Ryback & Sheamus and face The Shield at WrestleMania.

The Miz vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins by submission. This was a decent match.

Time for a TOUT from Triple H. He tells Brock he’s back. Will Brock just stand there and bleed or will he do something about it?

Now time for a few TOUTS from some fans.

Josh Matthews is backstage with John Cena. Cena says tonight 2 guys enter, 1 will leave with a chance at immortality. Cena mentions Punk saying that Cena can’t win the big 1. Cena took this match to show that Punk is wrong. Punk talks about being champion for 434 days. Cena says that he was champion for 380 days and has been to the mountain top 10 times. Tonight the better man goes to WrestleMania. Tonight either step up or step aside. He asked for this match to show John Cena is back. He doesn’t care what The Rock is cooking. Tonight he is serving humble pie. If you still believe in hustle, loyalty and respect Cena’s and the believer’s time is now. This was a decent promo. Cena’s been better lately.

They show the TOUT of The Undertaker returning at a house show in Waco, TX. That was a great surprise.

John Cena vs. CM Punk to see who will face The Rock for the WWE Title at WrestleMania. Cena gets the pin. This was a great back and forth match. There were a lot near falls and counters here. At the end Cena hit a rana & followed up with the AA for the win. This was awesome. Cena poses on the stage to end the show. Great match and a really awesome way to end the show!

I thought this was a good show overall. The Vince-Heyman stuff was good. Heyman’s promo was good as usual. The Triple H-Brock Lesnar brawl was also good and Lesnar bled like crazy. The Cena-Punk match was really great! Easily the best part of the show! Punk’s promo earlier in the show was good too. I also thought Cena’s promo was solid. I wasn’t into the Miz TV segment. Del Rio & Coulter cut good promos but this storyline doesn’t do it for me. The Sheamus-Wade Barrett segment was meaningless. The Shield cut good promos too and I liked that they had Sheamus come out and challenge them and also Orton coming out through the crowd and giving Rollins an RKO was good too. It looks like Orton will team with Ryback & Sheamus to face The Shield at WrestleMania. Kane & Daniel Bryan vs. The Primetime Players was total comedy. Khali-Henry was a squash. Ryback-Dolph was mostly Ryback pounding Dolph. Too bad they’re booking Dolph this way. I liked that they showed the video of The Undertaker’s return at the house show this weekend. Miz-Swagger was also decent and Truth-Cody was solid too. I’m guessing we’ll be seeing Kofi & Truth vs. Rhodes Scholars. Orton-Cesaro was decent too but I’m not sure why they keep having Cesaro lose cleanly to Orton. I liked the mid air RKO at the finish however. So on the whole I thought this was a good show and the main event really made it better!

2-22-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

     Coverage and thoughts on the February 22, 2013 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Alberto Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez coming to the ring. He says last Sunday at the chamber he retained his world title. That means I, we are going to WrestleMania. He also found out that he will defend the title against Jack Swagger. Swagger has a new mission, a new friend & a new attitude. In this new attitude Jack believes he is everything that is right with America & that Del Rio is everything that is wrong with America. Del Rio saw Swagger’s “State of the Union” address and his youtube videos and Swagger says the problem with this country is immigrants. According to Swagger the immigrants are taking jobs and opportunities from people like him. Del Rio says that this country was built by immigrants. Hard working people chasing the American dream (Not Dusty Rhodes). Real people, hard working people trying to provide their families with a better life. That is why America is so great. Then Del Rio says the world title is the result of his hard work and the result of the American dream. Swagger claims to be a real American but as far as Del Rio’s concerned, Swagger’s nothing but a big jackass (So is whoever came up with idiotic angle). Then he says that if the immigrants want handouts, why doesn’t Swagger come on out so that Del Rio can lay his hand out all across Swagger’s face. Then Randy Orton comes out. Orton tells Del Rio that he will do his absolute best to stay calm, cool and collected, but something was taken from him. At the chamber he was very close to having the chance to regain the world title against Del Rio in the main event of WrestleMania (Even though everyone knows the world title match won’t headline the show). That chance was taken from him by Jack Swagger. Part of him respects Swagger for what he did because he would have done the same. Then he says that a bigger part of him wants to take out his aggression on Swagger tonight. Orton knows that it will be Del Rio vs. Swagger at WrestleMania. For tonight however, Orton asks Del Rio to step aside because Swagger’s his and if they have to fight over it then so be it. Then out comes Booker T. He says that this isn’t the way he sees Smackdown happening tonight (Why not, this is how the show starts ever week). Booker has some plans and his plans are to have a champion vs. champion match tonight. The world champion Alberto Del Rio will face IC Champion Wade Barrett. As far as Jack Swagger goes, he will face Randy Orton. Orton’s got his wish tonight. “Now can you dig that sucka!?” This was the same way they start the show every week. This whole “Start the show with a promo and then have Booker T come out and announce a match (Or in this case 2 matches)” is really old. I really wish they’d start the show off with a match.

Damien Sandow comes out for his match with Sheamus. He asks for his music to be silenced. He is about to speak. Tonight the fans will all bare witness to a monumental occasion. The destruction of their false idol Sheamus. He says that Sheamus is a man whose only purpose has been dragging the fans further into the bowels of their own ignorance. Tonight Sheamus’ reign of terror comes to an end. “You’re welcome.”

Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow. Sheamus gets the pin. This was solid.

Time for a video package from the press conference announcing that WrestleMania 30 will be in New Orleans.  

Now it’s time for a video package showing highlights of the Cena, Ryback Sheamus-Shield match from the chamber & the Jericho, Ryback, Sheamus-Shield match from Raw.

They show a video from their APP. Kaitlyn & Layla says they’re ready for their tag match. Layla walks off. Then Kaitlyn bumps into Cody Rhodes. Kaitlyn likes Cody’s mustache. Cody thanks Kaitlyn. Then he says that some women are calling his mustache a “love stache”. Then they walk off in opposite directions. This was pointless.

Divas Champion Kaitlyn & Layla vs. Tamina Snuka & Aksana. Kaitlyn & Layla win when Kaitlyn pins Tamina. This was a typical Divas match. Then Layla holds the Divas title for a bit before the referee gives it to Kaitlyn. As they celebrate Layla still looks at the belt. It looks like they’ll have Layla turn heel and then will get a Kaitlyn-Layla feud.

Time for a look back at the end of Raw.

Backstage Zeb Coulter gives Jack Swagger a pep talk. He says that Swagger beat Orton in the chamber rand he can beat him again. Then they run into Wade Barrett. Barrett’s not one to give out compliments but it’s about time somebody spoke the truth about what’s going on in this country. Barrett’s relishing the prospect of dishing put punishment to one of the main perpetrators tonight. Then Zeb tells Barrett that there’s a misunderstanding. Barrett doesn’t talk like Zeb & isn’t from America. Zeb asks Barrett where he is from. Barrett says he is from England. Then Zeb says that Barrett is the same as Del Rio. Barrett is also part of the problem because he is also stealing a job from an American. Then Zeb says that Del Rio & Barrett should beat each other up tonight & they can send them both back to where they came from. Barrett was going to tell Zeb off but then Swagger says, “We the People.” This was WAY BEYOND STUPID! This southern bigoted American bit so f***ing idiotic! Zeb doesn’t like anyone who isn’t from America and he doesn’t like people who don’t talk like him! Does that mean he really doesn’t like Swagger either since Swagger’s not southern!? This gimmick is just so tasteless!!

Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger gets the pin with his foot on the rope and a bit of assistance from Zeb.  This was a good back and forth match.

They show Brock Lesnar giving Vince an F5. That was followed up with Vince saying that he & Heyman will “fight” this Monday.

Time for the Goldman box. Cody says that he is tired of the criticism over him growing a mustache. What does that say about them and their lack of a life? Obsessing over what’s on his face. Then he says this isn’t just a mustache. It’s what the ladies call a “love stache.”

The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes. Miz wins by submission. This was decent but I don’t get why they had Miz beat Cody cleanly with the figure 4 again! Also the Miz-Cesaro match on Raw was apparently not for the U.S. Title.

World Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a good match too. Swagger & Zeb watched from the entrance ramp. After the match Del Rio & Swagger have a stare down to end the show.

I thought this was mixed bag show overall. The start of the show was the same like it is every week. Del Rio-Barrett was good though. The Z-b-Swagger-Barrett segment backstage was just stupid, but the Orton-Swagger match was good. Miz-Cody was decent but I’m not sure why they had Miz cleanly beat Cody with the figure 4 for again. Sheamus-Sandow was solid and the Divas match was your typical Divas match. I also thought there were too many video packages/recaps of Raw and that dragged the show down a bit for me. So on the whole I thought there were good matches on this show but some the booking was weak.

2-21-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the February 21, 2013 episode of Impact

The show starts with Hulk Hogan coming to the ring. He says that when he had decided who the number 1 contender was Aces & 8s stuck their nose in his business. Since then he’s had a week to think about who should challenge for the belt. This guy stood out above everybody and made it clear he is the only guy for the job. He brings out. Bully Ray (Why have the 4 match series last week if Hogan was going to give Ray the title shot)? Ray says he doesn’t know what to say. He’s in shock. He mentions that he partially tore his quad muscle in the tables match 2 weeks ago. Hulk says Ray is the toughest SOB in the company. Ray thanks Hulk and says there were other guys who deserved the title shot more than he does. He thanks Hulk; he’s always wanted Hulk’s respect and says the best day of his life was marrying Brooke. He wants to become world champion, but they have business to take care of. Then Ray suggests a 6 man tag tonight Ray, Sting & Hulk vs. Aces & 8s. Ray says dad lets kick some Aces & 8s ass brother. Hulk says you got it brother. This was a solid way to start the show. Hulk was ok here and Ray was good as usual but they best day of his life being marrying Brooke Hogan was weird.  

Aries & Roode are backstage. They mention Chavo & Hernandez screwing them up last week. Then Daniels & Kazarian come by. They congratulate Aries & Roode on beating Hernandez Chavo before they did. Daniels talks about the 8 man tag they have tonight. Daniels says to follow his lead. Daniels & Kazarian walk off. Then Aries & Roode bicker over who will follow whose lead. Good backstage segment.

Hernandez, Chavo Guerrero, Joseph Park & James Storm vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and TNA World Tag Team Champion Austin Aries & Bobby Roode. Hernandez, Chavo, Park & Storm win when Chavo pins Kazarian. This was a solid match. The heels couldn’t get along and Aries & Roode walked out.

Time for a Rock Star Spud video package. They show his confrontation with Robbie E.

Rock Star Spud vs. Robbie E. Spud gets the pin. This was a decent match. E was looking to use the VIP clipboard but T stopped him. That allowed Spud to get the roll up for the win. Afterwards E yells at T and slaps him. Then T takes his shirt off & E heads for the hills.

Brooke Tessmacher vs. Velvet Sky vs. Gail Kim vs. Knockouts Champion Tara in a 4 way elimination match for the Title. Velvet wins to become the champion. This was a good match. * Gail pins Tara * Velvet pins Brooke * Velvet pins Gail.

Hulk Hogan & Sting are backstage. Hulk tells Sting to watch his back. Sting says he’s ready. Hulk says he will watch Sting’s back too. Then Sting walks out and Ray asks Sting if he talked to Hulk. Sting says Ray will be teaming with Hulk and himself. Ray is thrilled to teaming with Hulk & Sting. Sting will make sure that Lockdown doesn’t even happen.

Mike Tenay mentions that cameras are going to be in AJ Styles’ house. There will be an update on him next week. 

Samoa Joe vs. Garrett Bischoff. Joe wins by DQ when Wes Briscoe comes in. They beat down Joe for a bit and then Kurt Angle comes out to make the save. Wes & Garrett bail. Then Angle says that he was the guy that got Wes Briscoe the TNA contract. He’s glad he did because the pain he will inflict on him will be 100 % legal. It will be Kurt Angle vs. Wes Briscoe in a cage match at Lockdown. The match was decent but the finish wasn’t surprising. Kurt Angle’s promo was good though.

X Division Champion Rob Van Dam vs. Kenny King for the Title. RVD gets the pin. This was a good match too.

Hulk & Brooke are backstage. Hulk says there’s no turning back. Brooke asks if he needs to do this. Hulk says that he’s been pushed around and humiliated. He needs to do this for himself and the family. Brooke was all worried and then I think she told her dad to have fun. That was odd.  

They have a video package and Jeff Hardy talks about facing Bully Ray at Lockdown.

Bully Ray & Sting vs. Devon, Doc & Ken Anderson. Devon, Doc & Anderson win when Doc pins Sting. Hulk was supposed to be in the match, but when his music played he didn’t come out. They played it a second time, no Hulkster. So it was Sting & Ray vs. the Aces & 8s. Ray was going for the “wazaap” head butt on Anderson but then Mike Knox and other Aces & 8s guys came out with Hulk injured and Brooke kidnapped. Ray stormed off to save Brooke. Sting had a Scorpion Death Lock on Devon but then Doc gave him a big boot and covered him for the win pinned Sting. Afterwards Aces & 8s beat down Sting as Ray, Brooke & Hulk watch from the entrance ramp. To end the show. The match was good. Having Aces & 8s come out holding Brooke captive and Hulk being injured wasn’t surprising though.

I thought this was a good show overall. The opening segment with Hulk & Ray was good. I’m not sure why they had the 4 match series last week if Hulk was going to name Ray the number 1 contender however. Also Ray saying that marrying Brooke was the greatest day of his life was kind of odd to hear, but he was still good on the mic. The 3 on 2 match at the end was good too but the finish wasn’t shocking. I enjoyed the rest of this show. The 8 man tag was solid. Daniels, Kazarian, Aries & Roode were really good here bickering with each other. The 4 way Knockouts Title match was also good. They all worked really hard. RVD-Kenny King was good too. Thankfully there weren’t too many backstage segments this week. The backstage segment with Roode, Aries, Daniels & Kazarian was entertaining. The Hulk-Sting/Sting-Ray segment was ok and the Hulk-Brooke one was thankfully very short. Joe-Garrett was decent but Wes Briscoe coming in was predictable. Kurt Angle’s promo saying that he was going to give it to Wes Briscoe at Lockdown was good. Rock Star Spud-Robbie E was decent and I was ok with the Rob Terry face turn. On the whole I liked this week’s show.

2-19-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the February 18, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with John Cena coming to the ring. He says the road to WrestleMania is here. It was a year ago they announced that Mania would be in Met Life Stadium. After last night we now know the 2 title matches. Del Rio vs. Swagger and Rock vs. Cena. Then CM Punk’s music plays and he & Paul Heyman come out. Punk asks Cena if he’s positive if he wants to face Rock. Punk says that’s the easy way and he expects Cena to take the easy way out. Punk then says Rock beat him, after Punk had him pinned for a bit and Rock also hit the referee. Punk then says that Cena never beat him. Cena says he won the rumble. Punk didn’t get the job done. It’s not about Punk. Punk says it is because this is about the WrestleMania main event. He was champion for over a year. Cena earned his shot by winning the rumble and got lucky. Rock vs. Cena is a repeat. Rock beats Cena because Cena can’t win the big one. Cena says this is typical Punk. Punk wants Cena to walk away. Cena has something that doesn’t belong to him. Punk tells Cena to get out of the ring & out of his life. Cena says no. Cena admires Punk’s honesty. HE says Punk’s smart enough to know Cena won’t give up his title match at WrestleMania. Cena then says he hasn’t beaten Punk or Rock. Cena says he would like to shut up the critics. SO Cena has a solution. He will let Punk earn a golden ticket. Cena vs. Punk. If Cena wins Punk shuts up & goes away. If Punk wins then Cena doesn’t deserve to main event Mania. Cena says Punk talks business, but he handles business. He wants to face Punk right now to see will get the WWE Title match at WrestleMania. Punk tells Cena he just made the stupidest decision of is life. He will take Cena up on his word but he will do it on his terms. Punk then says that since he was screwed he shouldn’t even be in this position. Punk says they’ll have the match next week. Cena says it’s official. He tells Punk to take the week to rest up and next week Cena will beat him. Then he will go to WrestleMania and beat The Rock & everyone will know that the champ is here. This was a good opening segment. I kind of had a feeling they’d do Cena-Punk for the number 1 contender spot. The problem with this is that they mentioned Cena has never beaten Punk or Rock, so that predictably means that he will beat Punk next week and then beat Rock at WrestleMania for the title.

Matt Striker is with Sheamus. Sheamus says they were supposed to get revenge on The Shield, but he feels like he let everybody down. Ryback paces back and forth. Sheamus tells Ryback they need to adapt & overcome. Is Ryback a machine or a mindless Neanderthal? Ryback grabs Sheamus and then Jericho comes in and tells them they shouldn’t be mad at each other. They have to do whatever it takes to save WWE. The Shield has to be stopped. Jericho says that he’s seen take over attempts happen before, with the nWo & Nexus. Jericho loves WWE & will not wrestle in any other promotion. Then he says there’s no way Vickie can deny the appeal of The Shield facing Ryback, Sheamus & Jericho. He will talk to Vickie to make sure that match happens tonight. Sheamus & Ryback are ok with that. Jericho walks off and then Ryback says, “Feed me Shield.” This was decent. I knew there would be some tension between Sheamus & Ryback. This 6 man match should happen at WrestleMania though.

Sin Cara vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. This was a squash. Then Henry picks up Cara & was going for a second world’s strongest slam but Khali’s music hits and out comes the Punjabi giant. Henry drops Cara as Khali gets in the ring. Then Henry slides out of the ring. Then he mimics Khali’s dance shtick. Henry says dancing is that Khali is good for. This was ok but I really hope they don’t have Henry face Khali at WrestleMania. Henry deserves way better!

 The Miz vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro in a No DQ match for the Title. Miz wins by submission to win the Title. This was a decent, short plunder match. I’m not sure why they had this match at the PPV if they were going to have it tonight also.

Time for a Jack Swager-Zeb Coulter heel American anti foreigners video. Zeb says there are delinquents who illegally come into the country. That’s drained this country of its resources & productivity. Zeb & Jack will give them a hand out, a 1 way ticket back to wherever they came. If the government won’t do anything about it, they know who will. Swagger says, “We the People.” This gimmick is so fricking stupid!!

Daniel Bryan is walking backstage. He bumps into Kane. Daniel says that last night Kane gave him an uppercut rather than hugging him. He doesn’t feel comfortable teaming with Kane. He went to Vickie and asked for a singles match with Jack Swagger. Kane says that he will go to Vickie and ask for a singles match too and he doesn’t want Daniel out there. Daniel says fine. Kane says he hates snakes. Orton comes by & asks if they were talking about him. Kane says that he doesn’t like snakes and if they get too close he will stomp on them with his boot. Then Orton says that Kane would have him worried at 1 point but after the sessions with Dr. Shelby Kane is more like Barney the dinosaur than the big red monster. Daniel found that amusing. This was typical Kane-Daniel Bryan. Orton being there was to set up a match with him & Kane later.

Vickie is on her phone & Heyman is there. She wants to congratulate him (sarcastically) on putting in those stipulations for the Rock-Punk match last night. Rock still managed to win. Vickie has some dramatic news that will affect Heyman’s career. She will tell him in the ring. Heyman says that he doesn’t like surprises. Vickie knows. This was ok.

World Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a good match but Dolph lost cleanly again! Why have Dolph face the champion that he can cash in on in a non title match again? Why not cash in MITB if this match is happening? Afterwards Langston clotheslines Del Rio and then gives him his finisher. He tells Del Rio it’s over for him. Then Dolph gets the MITB case and was going to cash in but Ricardo took the case and ran up the ramp. Langston went after him and Ricardo dropped it. AJ gets the case & gives it to Dolph but Del Rio gave Dolph an enziguri.

Wade Barrett is in the ring. He says he is a top WWE super star. He’s also about to become a movie star too. He recently starred in some movie that’s coming out in March. He wants everyone to see the trailer to see why the Barrett Barrage is coming to Hollywood. They show a trailer for the movie. Back to Barrett. Then Sheamus shows up on the Tron. He says Barrett isn’t the star of the film. Then Sheamus says if Barrett has anything to say he can feel free to respond. They’re “Out of time.” This was a completely pointless segment. Why have Barrett in the ring to promote a movie and then have Sheamus come on the Tron?

Brodus Clay, Tensai & Naomi vs. Primo, Epico & Rosa Mendez. Brodus, Tensai & Naomi win when Brodus pins Primo. This was a meaningless squash.

Time to show highlights of a Press Conference from earlier today, announcing that WrestleMania 30 will be in New Orleans.

Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter are in the ring for a “State of the Union speech” God help me! Swagger says last night he not only conquered the chamber but he put the weight of the country on his shoulders. Tonight is about the state of the union and who better to give a speech about that then Zeb. Zeb says the Bill of Rights give him & Jack the right to voice their opinions. We might not like it but that’s what Americans do or whatever. He blames the millions of people illegally living in this country for the crappy shape it’s it. It’s time they put a stop to it. There’s a big problem in this country and it needs to be fixed. People need to say no more. Last night Swagger won the right to challenge for the World Title but this is more than a World Title match. It’s a battle for the safety of the country. Zeb says Del Rio came to this country to reap the rewards of the mother land. Swagger will win the World Title and reclaim America. Jack Swagger being World Champion will make America a proud country to live in or something like that. Swagger than says we the people. This was painful! This whole gimmick is completely idiotic! People need to say no more? I say no more stupid crappy ass storylines!! This is just beyond idiotic!!

WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins by submission. This was a solid match.

Paul Heyman & Vickie Guerrero are in the ring. Vickie has a huge announcement that could drastically change Heyman’s career and his whole life. Tonight she will name a new assistant for herself. Brad Maddox. Maddox comes out and thanks Vickie. This is a reward for his loyalty and his services to this company and to Raw for exposing the relationship between Heyman & The Shield. Vince is so happy with Maddox that he gave him the opportunity if the life time naming him assistant manager. Vickie says he is the assistant to the managing super visor. Heyman says he doesn’t care what either one of them have to say. Then Vince shows up on the Tron. He tells Heyman that’s not his surprise. Heyman is pleasantly surprised to see Vince. Vince says when Heyman opens his mouth he lies. Vince then mentions what Heyman requested last week. Heyman says that out of the goodness of Vince’s heart he granted it. Vince says everyone knows he doesn’t have a heart. If he did it would be black and cold. Then they show last week when Heyman said he would do anything. Vince says he had that put in writing. Anything means anything. He can fire Heyman right now, but that’d be too good for him. He’s 2 weeks removed from hip surgery and next week he will get in the ring. Heyman will be there too. Vince & Heyman will have a fight. Heyman has the “Oh crap what am I gonna do” look. This was a bit weak. Maddox is Vickie’s assistant? LAME! Vince was typical Vince here. Heyman was good as usual but this segment didn’t work for me.

Chris Jericho, Ryback & Sheamus vs. The Shield. The Shield win Ambrose pins Jericho. This was a good match.

Damien Sandow comes out He tells the uninformed half wits that today is President’s day. A day that he holds near and dear to his heart. He talks about how the “Sandow family” were part of different President administrations. Sandow says he will save the fans from their self imposed ignorance. “You’re Welcome.”

Then Sandow attacks Kofi Kingston, they go at it for a bit and then Sandow gets the upper hand. Cue R-Truth’s music and he returns and goes after Sandow. He throws Sandow in the ring and kicks him twice before giving him the Axe kick. Then he clotheslines Sandow out of the ring. This was a decent segment.

Josh Mathews is with 2 people who are in the G.I. Joe movie with The Rock. Then they show the trailer. What’s with WWE showing trailers for movies tonight? First Wade Barrett and now The Rock.

Randy Orton vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Kane. Orton gets the pin. This was a solid match. Daniel Bryan came out. That distracted Kane and Orton hit the RKO for the pin. It looks like they’ll be splitting up the Kane & Daniel Bryan team.

The local marching band is on the entrance ramp. What is this?

Then The Rock comes out. He says last night Punk did everything he could to beat Rock and showed what a human piece of garbage he is. Rock says he beat the best in the world twice. That allowed Rock to wake up in New Orleans so he walk down that aisle and in the ring, proudly hold the title. They’re live; the whole world knows “Finally The Rock has come back to Lafayette.” 48 days till WrestleMania. Rock’s going to Mania as champion but isn’t going with the spinner belt. He’s been around a long time and was born in this business. He has respect for the WWE Title. When the spinner belt came out 8 years ago it worked. There were some fans who thought the belt was cool. To him the WWE Title should never look like a toy and should never ever spin. He gives it to some guy and says to make sure it goes in the Hall of Fame. When you see the WWE Title, as a super star or a fan the title should be inspiring. He puts over Bruno, Hogan, Bret & Austin as being some of the greatest champions. He unveils the new WWE Title. It looks pretty good. It has the Brahma Bull logo on the sides. Rock figures the fans love the title. They cheer. Rock wanted to make something prestigious and also flat out bad ass. Rock asks who he will face at WrestleMania. Punk or Cena? There is 1 man he wants to face. A guy who brings out the very best in The Rock. For professional & personal reasons that man is…Then Cena’s music hits and he comes out. Then Punk comes out and hits Cena in the back of the head with the spinner belt. Then Punk looks at Rock and throws the belt down. Then he points to Rock’s new belt and says he wants it. Punk walks to the back as Cena lays on the ramp and Rock stands in the ring to end the show. This was good. Rock was his usual charismatic self here. I liked that Cena came out and never spoke. Punk hitting Cena with the spinner belt was good too. I’m glad they finally got rid of that belt. Rock was so right when he said that the WWE Title shouldn’t look like a toy. I’m really hoping the Cena-Punk match goes to a no finish and we Rock-Cena-Punk for the title at WrestleMania.

I thought this was a mixed bag show this week. The opening segment was good but it felt predictable. Cena saying he never beat Punk or Rock most likely means that he will beat them both but maybe they’ll surprise us and have Punk in the title match too. The end was good. I liked Rock’s promo. Cena coming out and not speaking was good and Punk hitting Cena with the spinner belt and then saying he wants the new title was really good also. Jericho, Ryback, Sheamus vs. The Shield was good. Sandow attacking Kofi followed by R-Truth making his return was solid. The “State of the Union” bit was down right terrible! Daniel-Swagger was a solid match though. Orton-Kane was solid too and I was ok with Daniel coming out and costing Kane the match. Looks like they’re gonna split up that team. The Sheamus-Wade Barrett segment was a total waste. The Vickie-Heyman-Maddox segment with Vince showing up on the Tron was kind of weak. Maddox as Vickie’s assistant really doesn’t work for me but we’ll see where they go with that. I’m not sure how the Vince-Heyman “fight” will be or what will happen. Cara-Henry was a squash and so was the 6 person tag. Del Rio-Ziggler was solid but why have Dolph lose cleanly in a non title match to the champion that he can cash in on AGAIN? The post match bit with Ricardo taking the case and then dropping it on his way to the back, followed by AJ giving Dolph the case and then Del Rio giving Dolph an enziguri buried Dolph even further. Whenever he does cash that in I’m not sure anyone will take him seriously as World Champion. Miz-Cesaro was a decent and short plunder brawl but I’m not sure why they put the U.S. Title on Miz here rather than having him win it last night at the PPV. Overall I thought this week’s show was hit and miss.

2-15-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the February 15, 2013 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Big Show coming to the ring. He supposes the fans think what happened to him last week was funny (I thought it was cheesy). He hopes the fans & Del Rio are happy. Then he says that because of what Del Rio did last Friday 3 innocent people suffered his wrath Monday. Big Show then mentions that Del Rio has never pinned him. The fans keep saying what and he asks if they’re listening to him. He says that Del Rio doesn’t have what it takes to pin him. Del Rio will never pin him. The rage that he has inside of him right now he will unload on Del Rio at the chamber PPV. He will ball that rage up in a nice tight ball (He makes a fist as he says this). When he lets it fly Del Rio’s fiesta will turn into a siesta. Then Chris Jericho comes out. Jericho says that he’s known Show for 16 years and he can read him like a book. Jericho knows what Big Show’s feeling right now. Big Show says that if Jericho knows him like he says he does than Jericho should be as far away from him as possible right now. Big Show is not in the mood for anybody’s crap right now. He asks Jericho what he’s even doing out there and why he’s bothering him. He says Jericho should be on tour somewhere with Fozzy, writing another book or hosting some giant robot fighting show. Big Show tells Jericho that they’ve been through a lot but right now Jericho needs to stay away from him. Jericho says that right now he is standing face to face looking at Big Show. Jericho is back in WWE. He’s pumped to be here and is feeling better than ever and every Jericholic knows that it’s true. He knows that Big Show is angry and might even be feeling some doubt about Del Rio, but Jericho’s been partners with him. They were tag team champions. Jericho knows how dangerous Big Show is. He knows that he is the world’s largest athlete, a giant, a destroyer. Big Show is the biggest force in this company. Then Jericho reminds Big Show that he is a 6 time world champion. He has headlined WrestleManias. He has been in more chamber matches than any other human being on this planet. This Sunday he will be in another one and if he wins this chamber and if/when Show beats Del Rio it will be Jericho vs. Big Show at WrestleMania. Jericho points to the WrestleMania sign. Then he says when they face at Mania he is going to beat him and become the next world champion, and that is a fact that Big Show can never EEEEEVER forget again. Then Big Show says that he & Jericho have been through a lot together. If Jericho wins the chamber & goes to WrestleMania & Big Show is world champion it will be the last WrestleMania appearance of Jericho’s career. He tells Jericho to get out of his face before he hurts him so bad that he won’t make it to the elimination chamber PPV. He’s trying to do Jericho a favor & tells Jericho not to make him hurt him. Then Booker T comes out. Booker sees where this is going and he likes it. We don’t know if Jericho-Big Show will happen at WrestleMania so it will happen tonight. Jericho will face Big Show. This was the usual “Start Smackdown with a promo and have Booker T book match” opening segment, but I thought Jericho & Big Show were both good on the mic.

Randy Orton is backstage and Matt Striker mentions that given the path of destruction that Mark Henry’s been on the past 2 weeks including on Orton, plus the face that the chamber is only 2 days away how does Orton feel about facing Mark Henry again tonight? Orton doesn’t say anything. Then Striker runs off and the camera pans to Mark Henry & he & Orton intently stare at each other. This was a decent bit.

Time for a video package on Mark Henry & the hall of pain.

Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry. Henry wins by DQ when Orton hits him with a chair. This was a solid match. Afterwards Orton hit Henry with the chair in the back. He was going to hit him again but Henry grabs the chair out of Orton’s hands, sends him off the ropes and then gives Orton the world’s strongest slam.

Mark Henry is backstage. He comes across Matt Striker and some other guy. He tells the other to split and then he grabs Striker’s mic and tells Striker he’s not interviewing him. Then he tells Striker that he’s been home for 9 months frustrated about his return. The hall of pain is officially open for business and it’s been getting filled up lately. He mentions what he did to Orton. Then he says they’ll lock 5 guys in a steel enclosure with him. He suggests that the have law enforcement handy. They should have the National Guard, the Army; Marines & Navy because they’re gonna need it. No one and he means no one is stopping his road to WrestleMania. This was a really good promo. Mark Henry is great as the unstoppable monster.

Time for a Shield video package. They show the brawl from Monday.

Layla vs. Tamina Snuka. Tamina gets the pin. This was decent.

They reshow the Rock-Punk segment from the end of Raw.

The Rock comes to the ring. He wants to make something perfectly clear to Punk. This past Monday Punk ran off with Rock’s title. Running off with the title doesn’t make him a champion. All Punk did was make a trade. That trade was holding on to Rock’s belt for 6 days in exchange for an ass kicking that will haunt Punk for the rest of his life. This Sunday Rock will make Punk suffer & treat him like the small little boy that he is because that is exactly how Punk acts. Punk loses his toy, comes out and runs his mouth. He tries to steel it back, keeps someone like Heyman around to hug him when things go wrong and to tell Punk how great he is. Rock is no spoiled little boy. He is a man. It took Rock 10 years to win back the WWE Title and it will take him 1 night to make sure that Punk never touches it again. Then Punk & Heyman show up on the Tron with the belt. Punk asks Rock, “Are you talking about me and my championship?” Punk tells Rock this isn’t a belt, this is a championship title and it belongs to the best in the world. He mentions the travesty that happened at the rumble when Rock committed grand larceny. Rock took what belonged to Punk. Punk beat Rock at the rumble and now Rock is throwing a fit and complaining. He calls Rock a hypocrite and says Rock’s blood is boiling. That fits exactly into Punk & Heyman’s plan because Rock will give him this beating that will haunt him for the rest of his life and that’s what Punk wants Rock to do. He wants Rock to snap and get disqualified because when he does Sunday at the chamber that means Punk wins just like he won at the rumble. Punk says that beat Rock at the rumble 1-2-3 and to change things up a bit at the chamber Punk will let Rock beat himself. Punk then mentions that if Rock gets counted out or disqualified then Punk wins. Then Punk says that this nightmare they’ve been living for the past couple of weeks, the “people’s era” will be a blip on the radar. It doesn’t matter to Punk if he beats Rock or if Rock beats himself. Either way Punk will still be the reigning defending champion of WWE. Then Rock says that Punk talks a big game about what he will do but the fact of the matter is that Punk’s words are worthless. Rock mentions that Punk said he would stop Rock at the rumble and that didn’t happen. Rock gave his word that he would beat Punk and become champion and that happened. Even after Punk & Heyman paid The Shield to put Rock through a table, at the end of the night at the rumble Punk got beat. Rock tells Punk not to think about this Sunday. He should think about what will happen Monday because this Monday morning Punk will wake up and it will hit him like a ton of bricks that he failed. He couldn’t beat Rock and couldn’t get the job done. Punk should go home tonight and think about what any little spoiled brat punk should do. The bottom line is that this Sunday at the chamber, Punk is a spoiled little boy standing in the way of The Rock who is a steam roller of a man. Rock will beat Punk this Sunday and will go on to WrestleMania WWE Champion. Heyman knows it, the fans know it and Punk knows it. “If you smell what The Rock is cookin’.” This was great! Both guys were awesome here. I’m looking forward to their match at the chamber just as much as I was looking forward to their rumble match. I’d love to see Punk win the title back and then they have Rock-Cena-Punk at WrestleMania for the Title. Punk really deserves to headline Mania!

Brodus Clay & Tensai vs. Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal. Brodus & Tensai win when Brodus pins Jinder. This was a squash.

Afterwards The Shield comes out and they beat down Brodus & Tensai. Then they give Brodus the triple power bomb. Then Ambrose gets the mic and says, “Don’t you dare think for one moment that this Sunday it’s gonna look any different.” Cena, Sheamus & Ryback will learn the hard way that their actions have consequences. This Sunday they will be put on trail and sentenced and they will believe in The Shield. This was good. Ambrose cut a really good short promo here.

The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes. Miz wins by submission. This was a solid match. Miz was taped up from being swung into the ring barrier by Cesaro Monday.

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins by submission. This was just like the squash they had Monday. I have no idea why they had Swagger go over Ryder in the same kind of squash match twice in the same week. Then Swagger once again introduces his great friend Zeb (Dutch Mantel). Zeb says that in the Declaration of Independence it says that all men created equal but it is the choices you make that define you. Dou you end up to be a great patriot like Jack Swagger and himself or do the choices you make resemble this man right here from Long Island who cares more for his hair then he does the country that he lives in. He then says that the fans are not blind but they refuse to see. This country is broken and Jack & Zeb know how to fix it. Jack Swagger is a great man, a great patriot and a real American & he knows how to fix the problem. It starts right here. “Remember, we the people.” This bit with Dutch Mantel playing the heel American and being pretty much a bigoted old man is down right stupid! If they wanted to have Mantel manage Swagger and be his mouth piece I’m ok with that, but why sick them with this terrible gimmick?

Backstage Matt Striker mentions that earlier tonight Big Show reminded everyone that in their previous 2 matches Del Rio has never pinned him. How does Del Rio respond? Del Rio says that he & Ricardo will answer this. Then Del Rio asks Ricardo if he is world champion? Ricardo says si. Is Del Rio the guy who beat Big Show twice? Si. Did Big Show look like a gigantic pumpkin last week? Si, he looked like a huge round pumpkin. Then Del Rio that Big Show right. Del Rio has never pinned him, but he loves to do what seems impossible (What’s so impossible about pinning Big Show? It’s been done many times before?) Then Del Rio asks Ricardo if he will beat Big Show Sunday to go to WrestleMania as World Champion. Ricardo chants si. This was hokey. 

Chris Jericho vs. Big Show. Big Show gets the pin. This was a good match. Afterwards Alberto & Ricardo were on the stage. Del Rio & Big Show had a stare down to end the show.

I thought this was solid show overall. The start of the show was the typical ‘start the show with a promo and Booker T comes out and books the main event” segment but the Jericho-Big Show match was good. Del Rio’s promo was a bit cheesy. I’m hoping the Del Rio-Big Show match will be as good as their last 2. Brodus & Tensai vs. Heath & Jinder was a squash. I liked The Shield coming out afterwards though. Hopefully that 6 man tag will be good too. Ryder-Swagger was the same squash that they had Monday and the Zeb character is lame. Orton-Henry was solid too. Layla-Tamina was decent. But by far the highlight of the show was the Rock’s in ring promo and then Punk & Heyman showing up on the Tron. Both guys were really good here and I’m looking forward to their match Sunday. So on the whole I thought they did a good job with Smackdown this week and a good job building to the main matches at the Elimination Chamber.

2-14-13 Impact results and thoughts

      Coverage and thoughts on the February 14, 2013 episode of Impact

The show starts with Hulk Hogan coming to the ring. He says we got some TNA Maniacs in London brother. He heard noise when he was slamming giants and winning titles but the noise of the London crowd sounds pretty sweet. Then he says that the fate of the TNA Title hangs in the balance. Tonight there will be 4 matches to decide the number 1 contender for the TNA World Title. The matches are Rob Van Dam vs. James Storm, Magnus vs. Christopher Daniels, Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe & Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode. At the end of the night Hulk will pick who challenges for the title at Lockdown based on who wins each match (What is the point of having 4 matches and then having the winners have to get Hulk’s nod to challenge for the title? Why not just have a regular 8 man tournament)?  The other business at hand is Aces & 8s. They called out the TNA roster and they want to have a war at Lockdown. He brings out the team captain for Team TNA; Sting. Sting comes out and he says it’s show time in London. Sting says the London fans are some of the best in the world. Aces & 8s made their challenge and Sting accepts. Sting will look down the roster and find himself 3 killers to be on his team at Lockdown. He promises to tear heads off at Lockdown. Aces & 8s, what’s ya gonna do when the Stinger run wild on you? This was a decent promo to kick off the show.

Magnus vs. Christopher Daniels. Magnus gets the pin. Kazarian was out there as Daniels’ manager but he got sent to the back. This was a good match.

Ray & Brooke are backstage. Ray says he’s disappointed in himself. He never thought an injury would stop him, but it has. All he wanted to do was marry Brooke and become world champion. He prides himself on being a warrior of the ring just like Hulk. Brooke doesn’t know what to say. Ray says it’s Valentine’s Day, they’re in London and he isn’t going to let this ruin their time together. They’ll get Brooke some shoes and have dinner and go dancing. Then Brooke says that she found Ray’s wedding ring by the bathroom sink and then they hug. This was hokey.

Magnus says he might only be 26 but since he was 19 this has been his life. That was taken from him for 3 months by Aces & 8s but he showed that he has what it takes to be TNA World Champion. This was good promo.

They play a recorded promo from Kurt Angle talking about the Olympic Committee taking wrestling out of the Olympics, pretty much saying that’s a stupid idea. I totally agree. What is the IOC or whatever they are thinking?

Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe. The match goes to a double DQ when Wes Briscoe & Garrett Bischoff come in & attack both guys. Then Joe & Angle run them both off. The match was good but the finish was mediocre.  

They show Dixie Carter backstage with the British boot camp contestants that didn’t win. She says this is the first time they will be seen in a TNA ring. She tells them to show the world what the country saw in them. This was ok.

The Blossom Twins & Party Marty vs. Gail Kim, Knockouts Champion Tara & Jessie. Gail, Tara & Jessie win when Gail gets the pin. This was decent. Marty dove onto Jessie outside the ring and Marty wound hitting mostly guardrail. That was scary. 

After the match Gail says that she once again proved why she is the most dominant TNA Knockout. Then she thanks “T double” for not messing up this time. Then she says that Tara has what she wants. Gail wants her Knockouts Title back. Gail then says that she heard that Brooke Hogan made a Knockouts Title match for next week. Gail tells Brooke to come out. Out comes Brooke Hogan. She says Gail can face Tara for the title, but she will also face Brooke Tessmacher. Cue Tessmacher’s music & she comes out. Then Brooke Hogan says that Gail will also face Velvet Sky. Cue Velvet’s music & she comes out. Brooke says this will a 4 way elimination match and she will be at ringside.

They show Dixie on Bellator mentioning that TNA will be on the road starting March 14. She also mentions that Jeff Hardy signed a new long term deal with TNA & will be back in 2 weeks.

Aries & Roode are backstage. They say that Hulk is trying to divide them but they won’t let that happened. They’ll take all the titles. They’ll do what’s right for business. This was good.

Rob Van Dam vs. James Storm. Storm gets the pin. This was a good back and forth match. The finish came when RVD missed a Van Terminator and then Storm hit the super kick for the pin.

Backstage we see Joseph Park. He knocks on Hulk’s office door. Park says he knows Hulk is looking for challenger to face Jeff Hardy. He was told to politic. Hulk tells him he doesn’t need to do that. Joseph says that he got campaign posters. Hulk tells him it’s not that kind of politics. Then Hulk tells him to find out what a rib means. Park asks if he’s got Hulk’s vote. Hulk says he does & Park walks out. Then Hulk tells Brooke that she pushes way too much. This was hokey too. I’m not into the “inside vocabulary” being used on the shows.

Back to the show and Brooke tells her dad that Ray has the “it factor.” Hulk says he has to keep an open mind. Brooke has found out so much about her “husband” and he wants to be just like Hulk. She knows her dad is trying to be GM. Hulk says he’d love to have a “son in law” as champion but he has to remain objective. This was terrible. Every time the Hogans are in a segment it usually is brutal.

Before the main event Roode gets the mic. He says it’s only taken Hulk a week to try and screw around with their plans. They intend on winning all the titles and bringing honor back to each and every one of them. Then Aries tells Hogan to admit he’s scared. The fans chant Austin Aries. He says he knows his name. Then he says Hulk’s plan isn’t going to work. They’re going to do what’s right for business.

TNA World Tag Team Champion Bobby Roode vs. TNA World Tag Team Champion Austin Aries. The match goes to a double count out when Hernandez & Chavo come out and distract them both. During the match they did the finger poke of doom spot to each other but they each no sold. They argued over which 1 of them will lay down. Aries got the mic and says he will lay down for Roode. He lays down and Roode covers him but Aries reverses it and gets a 2. Later on in the match the referee took a bump. Roode brought a chair into the ring & they did the Eddie Guerrero use the chair and slam it on the mat bit. Then Hernandez & Chavo came out & Aries & Roode leave the ring & that led to the double count out. The match was good & Aries & Roode are really good with the comedy too.

Hulk & Sting are backstage. Hulk brings up Starcade. He mentions that he just talked with Brooke. The talk about how crazy things are in TNA. Sting says it’s all on Hulk’s shoulders. Hulk says he’s gonna make the decision. Sting tells Hulk that he was going the wrong way. Then Sting wishes him a happy decision making.  

Hulk Hogan comes to the ring. He says it’s been crazy in the back. The fans chant his name but Hulk says it’s about the guys who were in action before. This decision won’t be easy. Then Aces & 8s come out and they surround Hulk. Then out comes Bully Ray & then Sting’s music hits and he comes out with base ball and cricket bats. Aces & 8s retreat as Hulk, Sting & Ray stand in the ring with the bats to end the show. This was a solid ending.

I thought this was a solid show overall. The opening Hulk promo was decent. The end of the show was solid too. I enjoyed the Aries-Roode and RVD-James Storm matches. Joe-Angle was good too but the finish was mediocre. The backstage segments with Ray & Brooke was weak. I wasn’t into the Joseph Park-Hulk segment either. The whole “using in the inside words” bit is dumb. The Hulk-Brooke segment was terrible and the Hulk-Sting bit was weak too. The 6 person tag was decent but Marty’s dive outside the ring made me cringe. Magnus-Daniels was also good. So on the whole I thought this was a decent to solid show this week.

2-11-13 Raw results and thoughts

     Coverage and thoughts on the February 11, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with Paul Heyman in the ring. He says this isn’t how he saw things going down, but this something he is compelled to do. Tonight is the last night we will see Heyman. That might make a lot of fans happy. He might be a lot of things but he will not play the victim. Everything he has done he has done with passion and that usually winds up betraying him. For 7 & ½ years he sacrificed everything to give the most entertaining form of wrestling, that being ECW. He came to WWE & he saw the most physically gifted rookie in the industry and he turned him into the next big thin, a man the fans know as Brock Lesnar. Then he met a guy he figured was the epitome of everything that the WWE fans would support. He saw a guy that he knew could eclipse even Bruno Samatino’s title reign. He saw a guy that would carry WWE into the long term future. That man should still be WWE Champion, CM Punk. You don’t have to be Nostrodomus to see into the future. Heyman can see into the future and he says that something bad is going to happen. It won’t just come down on him but on everyone who is around him, which means it will come down on Punk. He says Punk will be champion again. Heyman says that he has become a distraction. He says that the sins of the mentor will fall upon his protégé and he won’t let that happen. Tonight he is resigning. As he stands there and pours his heart out all he sees is cold hearted callousness and he has as much compassion for the fans’ lives as they do for him. He won’t miss the fans. He asks the fans if they’re proud of themselves. Punk needs to be focused on becoming champion and he won’t stand in his way. He regrets that he can’t stand out there tonight with Punk to celebrate day 455 as champion when he beats The Rock. Heyman says goodbye. Cue Punk’s music and out he comes. Punk asks Heyman what he’s doing. Heyman says he’s in Punk’s way. Vince thinks Heyman arranged for The Shield & Brad Maddox to get paid off. He didn’t but that’s Vince’s perception. Vince also thinks that Heyman had something to do with Brock Lesnar. Heyman didn’t but that is also Vince’s perception. Punk says Heyman is way too important to him and the company as a whole. He says the fans admire and look up to Heyman just like Punk does. There’re a lot of Heyman guys out there. Heyman says in the land of the McMahons, perception is reality. If Punk thought what Vince did to him at the rumble was screwing him, wait to see what he will do next. Punk says this Sunday, this bad dream they’re living in goes back to normal. It will be day 455 of his historic title reign. Punk will beat Rock and when he does Heyman will be in his corner. Heyman says Punk’s right and he will be there Sunday to witness greatness happen. This Sunday Punk will be the reigning, defending WWE Champion. Then he hugs Punk and tells him he is the best in the world. This was a really awesome promo from Heyman and Punk was good here too. Great way to start the show.

Great Khali vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. Thankfully this was short. Henry leaves the ring but then goes back in. He grabs Hornswoggle and gives him the world’s strongest slam.

Backstage Teddy Long & Booker T are talking about Orton & Mark Henry being in the chamber. Then Jericho comes by and says he’s a 6 time world champion. He says that he has been in more chambers than anyone and he should be in the chamber. Long is all for it. Booker tells Jericho that he has to impress him. Long has an idea. Booker tells him that idea sucks. Booker then tells Jericho that if he can beat Daniel Bryan than he will be in the chamber. Jericho says he will beat Daniel “Bearden”, win the chamber and become the 7 time, 7 time, 7 time world champion. “Now can you dig that sucka?” Jericho was good here but Booker & Long weren’t. I don’t get why all these former world champions have to impress Booker to be in the chamber.

Heyman comes into Vickie’s office. He wants her to ad a stipulation to the WWE Title match this Sunday. She won’t without Vince’s ok. Heyman says Vickie is the boss while Vince is out. Vickie’s phone ring and it is Vince. She puts her cell on speaker. Heyman says he’s sorry for what happened and Vince tells him to shut up. Heyman says Rock will lose by DQ or count out to hold on to the title. Heyman wants Vince to make it that if Rock loses by DQ or count out Punk regains the title. Vince grants it. Heyman says he’s always thought of Vince as a father figure and then Vince hangs up. This was alright.

WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho. Jericho gets the pin. This was a really good back and forth match.

John Cena, Ryback & Sheamus vs. 3MB. Cena, Ryback & Sheamus win when Cena pins Jinder. This was a squash. Cena gave Jinder the AA as Ryback gave Slater the Shellshock & Sheamus gave McIntyre White Noise. Then Ryback says this Sunday is the day he will feast on The Shield. Sheamus says for the past couple months he’s been hearing believe in the shield. He believes there is no reason why they don’t get their own justice tonight. Then Cena says The Shield will be here tonight. Why would they come out to the ring and leave themselves vulnerable. He says it’s a bolt choice but it’s also a bad one. Tonight The Shield meats the sword. If they want some, come get some. This was good. All 3 guys cut good short promos.

They reshow Del Rio dumping orange paint on Big Show from Smackdown.

Backstage Yoshi Tatsu & Alex Riley are talking about what happened to Big Show. Then Big Show comes in and punches them both. I’m not sure what the point of this was. They had Big Show KO 2 guys that haven’t been on TV months.

Big Show comes to the ring. Matt Striker asks him if he feels…then Big Show knocks him out with the KO. Then he stands in the ring looking really pissed off as the fans boo him. Then he drops the mic and walks up the ramp. This was decent. Matt Striker was apparently there just so Big Show can knock him out too. I thought Big Show was good here and he didn’t have to say a word. His enraged look was really good.

They reshow the Bruno Sammartino Hall of Fame video package.

Zack Ryder vs. Jack Swagger (With some guy named Zeb Coulter). Swagger wins by submission. This was a squash. Ryder took a beating here. Then Swagger introduces his friend. A great American named Zeb Coulter. Coulter asks what is wrong with America? He & Swagger’s dad were real patriots and now he sees people and thinks where’d they all come from and do we get rid of them. He & Swagger know the truth. This is the land of the free and home of the brave. Not the land of the free and the home of whoever crosses the boarder. This is our country to defend. Remember, We the People. I have no idea who this old guy is. Now we have heel Americans? What is this? I thought they were trying to make Swagger look like a legit wrestler! Why do they have him with this crazy guy I never heard of? I wasn’t into that guy’s promo either.

Backstage Booker says Swagger has been unstoppable. Long agrees. Booker says Swagger’s in the chamber. Then Dolph comes by and complains about that. Booker says Dolph pulled out. AJ mentions Dolph has a future title match. Dolph says he always steals the show and Jericho doesn’t deserve to be in the chamber. If Jericho’s in, he wants back in. Langston then that for 2 world title matches & a chance to stop Jericho, Dolph wants in. Booker says there’s another guy looking to get a spot in the chamber and if Dolph wins, he’s in. Dolph will be facing Kane. I wasn’t into this.   

The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes. Miz wins by DQ when Cesaro attacks him. Cesaro was on commentary and was going to attack Miz but Miz kicked him. Then Cesaro shoved Miz into the turnbuckle, leading to the DQ. Then Cesaro swings Miz around into the ring barrier. The match wasn’t much but Cesaro swinging Miz into the ring barrier was solid. I have no idea why the split up Rhodes Scholars. They’ve made Cody a singles jobber. I don’t get it.

Brodus Clay & Tensai vs. Primo & Epico. Brodus & Tensai win when Tensai pins Epico. This was a squash too and really idiotic. Then Rosa comes in the ring but she gets tossed her over the top and then Cameron kicks baseball slide kicks Rosa. This was terrible! I have no idea why they made Brodus & Tensai a make shift comedy team.    

The Shield comes out through the crowd. Ambrose says who they are. He says they stand united for justice. He mentions that Cena threatened them. Rollins says the heroes think they’ll accomplish something by threatening The Shield. When The Shield wants to deliver a message they do it with action. Reigns says, “If you want us, come and get us!” Ambrose says that Cena, Ryback & Sheamus are typical empty threats for 3 morally empty individuals. Reigns says they couldn’t get the job done with the whole roster. The whole world can come out and still be here. Rollins says Cena fails everyday when he gets up and exists. This Sunday at the chamber will be no different. Cena will fail again at the hands of The Shield. Ambrose calls Cena a failure. Ambrose says there are no consequences in Cena’s world and that’s what they call the John Cena problem. Reigns says Cena’s been the problem for the past decade and they’re the solution. Rollins says Cena laid the groundwork for a generation of fans to believe in the system. This Sunday they have a chance to rectify a decade of injustice in 1 fell swoop. Ambrose says The Shield will drown them this Sunday. Ambrose says they’re not going anywhere. They wait for Cena, Ryback & Sheamus. Then the lights go out. When they come back on, Cena, Sheamus & Ryback are there and they clean house. The Shield retreats but they go after them and the brawl continues in the crowd. The Shield eventually retreats. This was really good. The Shield cut a good promo and I liked the brawl in the crowd. The match this Sunday should be really good too & I’m hoping they make it a war games chamber match.

Damien Sandow comes out. He says with the shame of last night’s Grammy awards behind us; WWE sadly finds itself in Nashville. This city prides itself in glorifying songs about dead dogs, broken down pick up trucks and overly sensitive ignoramus who get their hearts broken. The fans choose to listen to that rather than Mozart & Beethoven. He says his usual, “fans are unwashed masses” bit. Then he says, “You’re Welcome.”

World Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Damien Sandow. Del Rio wins by submission. This was mostly a squash also.

Then Del Rio says he saw Big Show earlier and he says Big Show gave the best promo of his life by not speaking. Del Rio then says the time for talking, tour buses, parking lots & hotel rooms is over. Big Show can take his tour bus to Mexico. There’s only 1 place Del Rio’s going. Then he points to the WrestleMania sign and says, “WrestleMania!” This was short & good.

Wade Barrett is backstage, headed for the ring and then Bo Dallas attacks him from behind. This was good too.

Kofi Kingston comes to the ring. He was supposed to face Wade Barrett, but it doesn’t look like that will happen. Barrett’s music hits and he actually comes out. So the match will happen.

Kofi Kingston vs. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin. This was a solid but relatively short match.

Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler for a spot in the elimination chamber. Kane gets the pin. This was a solid match. Kane got on the top rope and then AJ got on the apron. Dolph ducked Kane’s top rope clothesline but as he bounced off the ropes he sent AJ off the apron and Langston caught her. Then Kane hit the choke slam and got the pin.

Time for a video package on the elimination chamber.

The Rock comes to the ring. He says this is a very special night. Not only are they sold out but The Rock has been waiting a very long time to say this. “Finally The Rock has come back to Nashville.” Nashville is a special city to The Rock. Rock asks the fans if they want to know why. This is story time with The Rock. In 1987 1 15 year old Rock and his family moved to Nashville. Rock signed up for high school. He wasn’t your typical 15 year old. He kicked puberty’s candy ass. AT the time girls thought he was an undercover cop. He wound at a bar listening to country music and in walked someone magical. Not Jeff Jarrett or Willie Nelson. In walked a crack head and he asked if anyone wanted to by some beat up car. Everyone ignored the guy except for the 15 year old Rock. Rock thought, bar, car, crack head, what could go wrong. Rock talks about how he bought the car form the guy. Then he says he was driving around and heard some noise. It was another crack head asleep in the back seat. Rock then thought that the car might be stolen. Rock didn’t the most responsible thing he could at 15, which was wait till 2 am, ditch it in a Burger King parking lot and walked backed to some lounge. There are 2 take always from this story. First if you buy a car, never buy 1 from a crack head and second be more like Rock at 25. When he was 25 he had his first match and dreamed of becoming WWE Champion. After this Sunday he will still be champion. Out come CM Punk & Paul Heyman. Rock says how Punk & Heyman reenacted a scene from Twilight. Rock talks about the deck being stacked against him. Rock tells Punk he will be his punk ass this Sunday and if he walks down that ramp rock will kick his punk ass all over Nashville. Punk & Heyman walk down the ramp and stop at the bottom. Then Punk gets in the ring & he & Rock go at it. Punk got the upper hand for a bit but then Rock hit a spine buster. Then he was going for a People’s Elbow but Heyman pulled his leg. Then Punk gives Rock a GTS. Then Punk takes the belt and he & Heyman walk up the ramp. Heyman says Punk is the defending champion and the title belongs to him. Punk tells Rock story time is over. Every time Rock wants to bring it, because it belongs to Punk, he will take it. This ends the show. This was good too. Rock’s promo was kind of odd at times but he was his charismatic self. The back and forth with him & Punk was good too and I liked that Punk took the title and said that it’s still his.

I thought this was a solid show overall. The Punk-Heyman promo at the start was really good and I liked Rock’s promo at the end. The content of his promo was weird but it was done in true Rock form. Having Rock & Punk going at it was good also and I liked that they had Punk give Rock the GTS and take the title. I also liked The Shield promo & the brawl they had with Cena, Ryback & Sheamus. Bo Dallas attacking Wade Barrett backstage was good too. The Kofi-Barrett match was short but solid. Khali-Henry was a squash. Del Rio-Sandow was mostly a squash too. Sandow got a bit of offense in but it was mostly Del Rio dominating. Miz-Cody was ok but this was more about continuing the Miz-Cesaro feud. Cody was the background player here. Ryder-Swagger was a squash too. Ryder took a beating though. I wasn’t really into this Zeb guy. I never heard of him before and have no idea how putting him with Swagger will do Swagger any good. Brodus & Tensai vs. Primo & Epico was also a squash. I’m not into the Brodus-Tensai team. Kane-Dolph was solid too but I’m sure what they’re going to do with Dolph since he lost cleanly. Daniel-Jericho was a really good back and forth match up. The backstage bit with Booker, Teddy Long & Dolph was kind of weak. The Vickie-Heyman bit with Vince on the cell was ok. Big Show was good too I thought. Having him not speak and just having this enraged look on his face was well done. SO overall I thought this was a solid show this week and the did a solid job in the final hype for the elimination chamber.