8-30-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 30, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with Miz TV. Miz is hosting this edition in his wrestling gear. There’s a lot to talk about so let’s get right to it. He brings out his guests. First Big Show. Then Dolph Ziggler. Then Miz says that they all have something in common. Monday on Raw they all stood on the stage with 40 other WWE super stars when this happened. They reshow Daniel Bryan getting flattened by The Shield & Randy Orton. Then Miz mentions they were told that they had to watch the destruction of the number 1 contender Daniel Bryan. He says that if they got involved in the match at all they would no longer be WWE super stars. But this is a free country & the fans should hear Miz’, Dolph’s & Big Show’s opinions on how the management is running WWE. Miz asks Big Show what he thinks. Big Show says that was 1 of the toughest things that he’s ever had to do in his career. Then he tells Miz to talk to Dolph (This makes no sense! Big Show has an IRON CLAD contract so why the F should be afraid of getting fired!? This is so idiotic!). Dolph says to let Big Show finish his thought. Then Miz says that he has always been out spoken & has been called a big mouth. Then King of Kings plays & HHH comes out (This is gonna be beyond painful)! He asks Miz if he wanted to say something. Then he asks Miz why he isn’t wearing a suit. Miz says that you never know when a fight might break out (Yeah you do. You ALWAYS know that a fight will start in these promos)! Miz asks HHH if he can ask him a question. HHH tells him that he can’t. Then HHH asks why everyone wants to make this personal. He’s explained that this “just business” but they all wanna go down the Daniel Bryan road of making this personal. The fans chant you soled out at HHH. Then he says it’s hard to the fans to get & that’s understandable but he would Show, Dolph & Miz would get it. Then HHH says that Randy Orton is the future of WWE. (Even though he’s been there for 11 years) & Orton is what’s best for business (I’m WAY PAST TIRED of the “Good for business” crap)! Orton’s not a guy who runs his mouth & can’t back up what he says. Orton’s not just a guy who happens to be big. Then HHH looks at Dolph & says that Orton is at least big enough. That is what makes Orton the best choice. Orton’s the face of WWE. It’s what’s “best for business.” What’s “best for business” sell out arenas & does better ratings (even though the viewer ship this past Monday dropped) & it makes more money for Miz, Dolph & Big Show (This is beyond terrible). HHH doesn’t get why they would stand on that stage on Raw looking so angry. Maybe Miz is angry because he sees the WWE Champion & he thinks to himself that he once had the title & hasn’t gotten anywhere near it since. He gets why that would be frustrating for Miz. Then HHH says that since he is such a good guy he will let Miz face Orton tonight. Then HHH says that Dolph stood on the stage & looked miserable (I would be too if I had to be part of this crappy angle)! HHH says that looked miserable because he’s looking at The Shield & the last time he was in the ring with those guys he got the crap beat out of him. HHH says that Dolph probably wants revenge. He will give Dolph the chance to get that revenge because tonight Dolph face The Shield in a handicap match (They had that match already last Monday! Why are they redoing stuff that was just done A WEEK EARLIER!?) Then HHH taunts Big Show for a bit. He says that Big Show was so mad he could see the smoke coming out of his ears. Then he tells Big Show that he is giving him night off. He tells Big Show to sit by the announce table & to watch everything that happens in the ring. Then HHH tells him not to do anything about it & continues to get in Big Show’s face. Then Big Show reluctantly leaves the ring & takes a seat. Then HHH tells Dolph to run along to the back & get ready. Then he tells Miz how fortunate it is that Miz wore his gear to the ring because his match is right now. Then HHH brings out “The face of the WWE” Out comes Randy Orton. This was one of the worst openings to Smackdown I’ve seen in God knows how long. This whole bit with HHH being the puppet master & screwing around with everybody is just painfully terrible! I have a line from a movie that sums up my thoughts on this whole new McMahon-Helmsley era & I’ll save for the end of this blog. The Miz vs. WWE Champion Randy Orton. Orton gets the pin. Miz back dropped Orton out of the ring. Then The Shield came out. Then later in the match Orton gave Miz an RKO for the clean pin. WINNER – RANDY ORTON. The match was solid but it was surrounded by such horrific booking! Then Orton tells The Shield to come in the ring. They stomp on Miz as Big Show looks on but can’t do anything. Then out comes Daniel Bryan. He has a chair. He hits Orton with it in the gut. Then he sings at 2 of The Shield guys & hits Rollins in the back & sends him out of the ring. Then Orton bails as Daniel swings the chair around at The Shield. Big Show checks on Miz, Orton & The Shield stand at the bottom of the ramp & Daniel dares them to get back in the ring. The fans also loudly chant yes. Daniel running off Orton & The Shield was solid but at the same time it makes The Shield look weak. Then again having The Shield be the henchmen for Orton & the McMahon family has already made their gimmick meaningless. I’m really hoping that this storyline ends with Daniel winning back the title & not getting cleanly pinned by HHH after a pedigree! The show the vignette for Los Matadores. This gimmick isn’t gonna do any favors for Primo & Epico. Backstage we see Vickie Guerrero & Daniel Bryan in the GM office. She says that she isn’t gonna have this on “her” show. HHH doesn’t want Daniel to be the face of WWE & Vickie doesn’t even wanna see Daniel’s face. Then she says that Daniel was being a bully earlier & that he bullied The Shield & Orton. (That makes no sense). In her world bullies get bullied back. Then the camera pans to Ryback (Who just happened to be standing RIGHT beside Daniel & Daniel never noticed?)! Ryback calls Daniel “little Fella” & says that if there’s 1 thing that the big guy (that’s what he calls himself now) can’t stand it’s a bully. Then he tells Daniel that he will him out there “Shrimp.” Can they pleas stop telling us that Daniel Bryan is a “small” guy & isn’t WWE Title material. I’m really sick of this! They show a video package recapping the awesome Punk-Heyman/Axel angle from Raw. So far this is the best thing on Smackdown & it’s a video package recap! Out comes Ricardo Rodriguez & he introduces RVD. Then out comes Damien Sandow. He demands silence & says that tonight what happens in Las Vegas will not stay in Las Vegas. The fans might be content with staying there & squandering away their degenerate lives but everything that Sandow does will spread world wide as he amasses victory over victory (When we all know that he amass clean loss after clean loss since that’s how WWE likes to book the heel MITB case holder) till finally the World Title is at last his. He is the uncrowned world champion & the day of his coronation will soon be at hand when he cashes in HIS MITB contract. You’re welcome. Rob Van Dam vs. Damien Sandow. RVD gets the pin. This match was way too short & Damien loses cleanly once again! Then Alberto Del Rio comes out. He says that RVD got the world title match because of Ricardo. Then he says that Ricardo betrayed Del Rio & “his” people, the Latinos. Then Del Rio says that when you get sleep with dogs you get fleas. The Del Rio says that Van Dam that just because of his stupid RVD chant doesn’t mean that the fans will cheer for him. Then the fans chant RVD . Then Del Rio says that RVD might have Rolling Thunder but Del Rio will make it rain all over his parade. At Night of Champions RVD will see who the real champion is. This was solid Del Rio promo. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Shield. The Shield wins when Reigns gets the pin. Then The Shield taunts Big Show & then they triple power bombs Dolph. Of course Big Show doesn’t do anything. He just watches in frustration. This was awful. The match was mostly The Shield pounding on Dolph & having Big Show watch on & not being able to anything is idiotic! Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman come to the ring. Axel says that this past Monday WWE & the fans witnessed his mentor & hero Paul Heyman perform 1 of the greatest acts a man can ever muster up the courage to perform. They reshow the awesome angle from Monday. Then Heyman asks the fans what they want from him. Do they really expect him to feel guilty about the beating that he delivered Monday to his prodigal son CM Punk? Heyman’s not seeking forgiveness. Heyman doesn’t regret his actions. The fans voted him into a situation where he had to face a beating at the hands of Punk. What in the world did the fans expect Heyman to do? Did they think for 1 second that he would “take his beating like a man”? For 434 consecutive days He & Punk were the reigning & defending WWE Champion (even though Heyman didn’t manage Punk all 434 days) & every single 1 of their opponents/enemies, every single challenger to the title was put down like a rabid dog. It was Heyman’s strategy & Punk’s implementation. Sp if every single 1 of those challengers were put down why is Heyman still breathing & standing when Punk is coming after him? Here’s why. Because every single time Punk has come up against Heyman it’s been Punk on his back looking up at his father figure/mentor/the man he should still be worshipping as the god that Heyman is. If the fans wanna boo he will give them a reason to boo. At Night of Champions here we go again. A handicap elimination match. This time Heyman can’t escape. This time Heyman has to face his beating like a man. This time WWE virtually guarantees that if you get Night of Champions you will see Heyman suffer a beating at the hands of Punk. Then Heyman admits to Axel that he is afraid. Heyman is man enough to admit it. He is scared out of his mind because if Punk gets his hands on him we’ll never see Heyman again. But Heyman’s fear can be Punk’s worst enemy. If he has done all this to Punk just out of fatherly love & to put Punk in his place just because he can then imagine what Heyman is capable of when he is face to face with a guaranteed beating. At Night of Champions he & Axel will own Punk. This was the usual tremendous Heyman promo that he always delivers & easily the best part of the show! Tons of Funk vs. Luke Harper & Erik Rowan. Harper & Rowan win when Rowan pins Tensai (That seems to be the finish every time they have this match). This was a squash. Afterwards Bray gives Tensai Sister Abigail. The show the vignette for Los Matadores again. Daniel Bryan vs. Ryback. Daniel wins by DQ. Orton came to ringside during the match. Daniel had Ryback in the yes lock & then Orton came & caused the DQ. Then Daniel gets Orton in the yes lock & out comes The Shield. The pound on Daniel & Big Show paces at ringside. Then he finally gets in the ring & stands over Daniel. Then HHH comes out. He screams at Big Show to get out of the ring. Big Show does & the fans boo that. Then HHH gets in Big Show’s face & then tells him to head to the back. Big Show reluctantly & slowly does with a great look of frustration on his face. He was almost in tears. Then he watches from the stage & HHH tells him to backstage. Then HHH gives The Shield the nod. The Shield kicks Daniel for a bit. Then Orton tells them to pick Daniel up. Ambrose & Rollins hold Daniel & Orton punches him. The he tells The Shield to pick Daniel up again. Reigns locks Daniel in a full nelson & the Orton bounces off the ropes & kicks Daniel in the gut. Then Orton pounds Daniel’s head on the mat & asks Daniel if he still wants it. Orton has The Shield pick up Daniel AGAIN. Ambrose & Rollins hold Daniel & Orton punches him in the head again. Then Orton tells them up pick him up a FOURTH time! They hold Daniel as Orton pulls his hair & shows the fans their fallen hero. More of Orton punching Daniel in the head while Ambrose & Rollins hold Daniel. Then Orton gives Then The Shield the signal to finish Daniel. Then they give him the triple power bomb. Then Rollins gives Orton a spray paint can & sprays NO on Daniel’s chest. Great so now we got some old nWo stuff too. Then Orton stands over Daniel & holds the title over his head to end the show. This was terrible! This whole storyline is horrific! I don’t get why they turned HHH heel, why they aligned him with Orton or why the “hounds of justice” are now Triple H’s & Orton’s henchmen! Having them constantly beat down Daniel & HHH telling us that Daniel is not an A guy or WWE Title material is idiotic!! This was easily the worst & most painful Smackdown I’ve seen in a while! The opening Miz TV segment was crap, the closing angle was terrible & none of this makes any sense!! Why would the McMahon family pick Orton to be “their guy” when Orton was the guy who punted Vince in the head & then put his hands on Stephanie while HHH was cuffed to the ring rope!? The McMahon family & Orton have been feuding for years & now we’re supposed to forget that crap all happened! I detest when WWE does that! We’re also supposed to forget that Big Show has an IRON CLAD contract too!! This whole angle makes no sense AT ALL!! The best part of this show was the Paul Heyman promo! IO have no idea why the good storyline is the subplot & only gets 1 TV segment while the HHH crap gloms the TV time with 3 or 4 segments! It feels like HHH is the same guy that he was back in the early to mid 2000s. You know, the guy who always buried everybody all the time!! Tons of Funk vs. Rowan & Harper was a pointless squash & RVD cleanly pinned Sandow in a very short match. WWE also doesn’t get that having the heel MITB holder lose EVERY TIME makes him look really weak! The rest of the show felt like it was just there. I said at the start of this blog that I had a line from a movie that fits how I feel about this HHH angle. That line is from the third Star Trek movie. In the end Kirk fights the Klingon & before defeating him says this line. “I…have had…enough of YOU!” That’s how I feel about seeing HHH & the McMahon family on my TV! This week’s show was painfully terrible!

8-29-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 29, 2013 episode of Impact Before the show starts Brooke Tessmacher tells Ray he has her. How bad can it be? Ray & Brooke head to the ring. I’m not a fan of these backstage bits before the show starts. The actual show starts with Aces & 8s coming to the ring. Ray says he is in a really bad mood. Somebody is missing from this ring. Devon is no longer here. Ray’s concerned & he wants some answers right now. He’d like to hear from his fellow Aces & 8s members. First he asks Garrett what happened. Garrett doesn’t know, he’s just as mad about this as Ray. Then Ray asks Knox what happened. Knox says he was on the floor & did his job. Then Ray asks Wes. He doesn’t know either. Then he asks Anderson what happened to Devon. He doesn’t know either but Devon knew the consequences & any of them could’ve been gone. It is what it is. Ray agrees. It’s a disappointment. The reality is that Devon has always been a disappointment & a loser. Devon’s always been Ray’s co star & side kick. Ray never needed Devon & he never will again. Tito Ortiz is the only guy Ray needs. Out with Devon in with Tito. Ray wants to gives Tito his own “cut.” Anderson asks if Ray’s out of his mind. Ray’s just patching Tito in without a vote. Ray says he’s the president. He will do what he wants when he wants. He tells Anderson to get in line before he puts him in line. Right now Ray wants his hot Brooke out there right now. Out comes Brooke Tessmacher. Ray has an Aces & 8s vest for Tito. Anderson gets in Ray’s face & Ray forces him into the corner. Ray puts the vest on Tito. Then Ray tears off Devon’s old patch. Then Ray says if any of these guys have a problem with his decision they can get out. Ray’s the champion & will decide what happens. He’s gonna sit back & watch the BFG Series because he doesn’t have wrestle till the BFG PPV.. Then he says he heard that his “father in law” is back. He says that he can’t wait to see Hulk. Ray wants to introduce “dad” to the only Brooke that has ever mattered in his life. This was a decent opening promo. Ray was good on the mic like usual but this Aces & 8s angle is old & needs to go. Backstage Jeff Hardy says last year he had to beat Samoa Joe to get into the final 4 of the BFG Series. Now he is in the same spot this year too but this time he faces Kazarian. Kazarian beat him in a ladder match. Jeff’s out for revenge, the points & glory. Creatures mount up. This was a decent & short promo. They show Hulk Hogan coming into the arena from earlier in the day. Jeff Hardy vs. Frankie Kazarian in a Bound for Glory series match. Jeff gets the pin for 7 more points. This was a good match. Jeff is now in third place in the BFG Series. Backstage we see Aces & 8s minus Ray & Tito. Garrett asks what Ray’s problem is. Ray & Devon were together for 15 years & that’s how Ray treats him? They complain about Ray bringing Tito in with no vote. Anderson says there will be a vote tonight & Ray won’t be too thrilled with that. No 1 guy is bigger than this club. I’m tired of Aces & 8s & wasn’t into this backstage bit. ODB vs. Gail Kim in a 2 out of 3 falls match to determine the number 1 contender to the Knockouts Title. ODB wins. * Gail makes ODB tap * ODB pins Gail * ODB makes Gail tap. WINNER – ODB. This was a good match too. Backstage camera guy asks Velvet about ODB being the number 1 contender for the Knockouts Title. Velvet says ODB could take the title from Mickie & is pulling for her. Then camera guy asks about the Knockouts PPV. She says that the fans will love that show & there will be some surprises on there. Then camera guy mentions that she was supposed to be at Hardcore Justice but wasn’t. He asks why. She wasn’t because she had issues to take care of. Camera guy asks if she means Chris Sabin. She & Sabin have been together for awhile. They keep their relationship & business separate. Backstage Daniels tells Roode that Hulk is already screwing them over in his first night back. Roode says he will take care of everybody’s hero AJ Styles & Daniels will take care of Aries. Daniels says who does Aries think he is turning down their offer. He will take care of Aries next. Backstage Aries tells JB the fortune offer was a no go for him. If you want something done right do it yourself. He turned down the MEM offer too. He plans on winning the BFG Series on his own. JB mentions that AJ took the MEM offer. Aries hopes AJ makes it to the final 4. Then Daniels comes in & says how dare Aries turn down their offer. Aries says how dare Daniels comes in during his interview time. Then he says will slap Daniels so hard that his bald head will start growing hair again. This was a good interview segment. Backstage camera guy asks Hulk’s thoughts on regaining the title & Ray’s relationship with Brooke Tessmacher. Hulk says he’s got a big announcement to make. MEM minus Magnus comes to the ring. Rampage wants to get something off his chest. Tito hit him 2 weeks ago with a hammer. He’s not waiting for 11-2. Tito isn’t getting off that easily. Over here the rules are different & Tito better watch out. Joe says as he looks around he can tell that the mafia runs this town. Last week things weren’t going there way. They were outnumbered, out manned & out maneuvered. But then 1 guy stepped up & did the right thing. AJ Styles. Sting says AJ put his career on the line to go into battle for MEM. Anyone willing to do that is worthy of being part of the family. Sting thanks AJ & gets the fans to chant his name. Cue AJ’s “Evil Ways” song & he comes out. Then “Get ready to fly” plays. Is this gonna be a recurring bit with AJ? AJ appreciates MEM being out there. Then the fans loudly chant AJ. AJ then says he needs to do this himself. MEM leaves. Then AJ says that he knows that the fans wanna know if he part of MEM. He respects what they’re doing & he hopes they kick Aces & 8s butts. Then he says that he’s worn the suit & tie before & it’s not him. He’s developed trust issues over the past year. He mentions Daniels & Kazarian stabbing him in the back & then airing his dirty laundry & never even asked if any of it was true or not. Then AJ says the only person that AJ Styles can trust is Alan Jones. He says that he is with no one. Maybe the fans’ perception of him has changed but his perception of the business has changed too. He’s better than the best in the world, he’s the phenomenal AJ Styles. He loves what he does in the ring but it’s just a job. AJ says the fans can relate to what he’s talking about. They’ve had that crappy job before. AJ says that he deserves better. He’s been Dixie’s go to guy for 11 years & for what? So he can see 1 wrestler after another come in & watch him flop? To put the company back on his shoulders after every direction they take doesn’t work? There’ve been so many times in this past year he Prayed to God Dixie would can him. But he’s still here because he has a family he needs to take care of. He came to this ring & started tapping people out. Then over the next couple months something clicked in his head. He likes being the go to guy, the guy that can steel the show & send the fans home happy after giving them their money’s worth. He can still be that go to guy & carry the weight of TNA on his shoulders. The main question that needs to be answered is if he can win the BFG Series & become world champion. Then out comes Bobby Roode. Break time. This was a really good promo. AJ Styles vs. Bobby Roode in a Bound for Glory series match. AJ gets the pin for 7 more points. This was also a good match. AJ is now in 5th place in the BFG Series. Backstage Daniels says that will beat Aries next. Backstage JB is standing outside Hulk’s dressing room. He basically says that Hulk will cut his in ring promo after the next match. Austin Aries vs. Christopher Daniels in a Bound for Glory series match. Aries gets the pin for 7 more points. This match was also good. Aries is now in 2nd place. The final 4 are Magnus, Aries, Roode & Jeff Hardy. Backstage Ray tells Tito that he feels bad for Hulk after all he has done to the Hogan family, but then he snapped out of it. Then he says he has Hulk right where he wants him. He tells Tito to make sure Hulk doesn’t step out of line. Ray & Brooke then make their way to the ring. Hulk Hogan comes to the ring. The fans chant Hogan. Hulk says it sounds like they missed him “brothers.” He’s been busy the last couple weeks. While he’s been taking care of business everyone tore it up with Hardcore Justice. Then he says it’s great to be back on Impact right here in Cleveland “brother.” The fans chant Hogan again. Hulk asks for someone in the truck to get the BFG Series board on the Tron. On 9-12 everyone’s going to St. Louis for No Surrender. Hulk changed the landscape. He met with the Spike executives & they all agreed that the series deserves 1 more match next week. Next week there will be a gauntlet match for 20 points with all 12 BFG Series guys. Before Hulk can get to his next topic Bully Ray & Brooke Tessmacher come out. Ray missed “dad” a lot. It hasn’t been the same without him. A lot has happened since Hulk’s been away. Ray has the world title again. Ray has been waiting to introduce Hulk to Tessmacher. Hulk says Ray can stop. Hulk’s been taking care of both wrestling & personal business. Hulk got a set of divorce papers. Hulk’s beautiful Brooke is moving on whether Ray likes it or not “dude.” Ray asks if Hulk thinks that he cares about that. Ray never cared about Brooke Hogan. He’s done something no other guy has done. He used Brooke. He also used Hulk, Sting & the Hulkaminiacs. He’s got Tito & Aces & 8s. He doesn’t have to do crap till BFG. Hulk asks Ray if he knows who he is. Hulk runs the show, not Ray. He will give Ray something that he will care about. Hulk will start tearing Ray apart just like Ray did to him. In 2 weeks Ray will defend the world title against a fellow Aces & 8s guy. Ray says Hulk can’t do that. Hulk says in 2 weeks Ray will defend that belt against an Aces & 8s guy. Hulk then says that Ray will also be defending the title against Sting WHAT!? Sting gets in the ring & he & Ray go at it. Ray rolls out of the ring. He & Brooke bail & Sting stands in the ring to end the show. This was a typical Hogan segment. Ray was good with his promo but I’m not sure why they’re having another BFG Series gauntlet match. Is Ray defending the title twice in 2 weeks? First Hulk says Ray will defend the title against an Aces & 8s guy & then tells him that he will defend the title against Sting. Why’d they even bother having the stipulation back in June that if Sting lost to Ray he would never get another world title match if they were gonna wave that like they do EVERY stip!? I thought this week’s show had its ups & downs for sure. There were only 4 matches (Jeff-Kazarian, AJ-Roode, Aries-Daniels & ODB-Gail) but they were all great. I also loved AJ Styles’ promo! That was 1 of his greatest promos ever! The opening segment with Aces & 8s was decent. Ray was good with his promo like usual. I wasn’t really into the closing segment. Why is Hulk Hogan having Ray defend the title twice? Will 1 title defense be on next week’s taped show & the other on the live 1 in 2 weeks? I’m also not sure what the point of another BFG Series gauntlet is. They had 1 already! I liked the Aries-Daniels interview segment backstage too. Velvet’s promo made no sense to me? Why have her talk about her relationship with Chris Sabin? Having her say that she was pulling for ODB was decent & I get the Knockouts PPV plug but the Sabin part made no sense. The MEM segment that lead to AJ coming out was decent & Jeff Hardy cut a good & short backstage promo. I wasn’t a fan of the Aces & 8s backstage bit. This group is stale. I liked the Daniels-Roode bit backstage too. Both guys were good in that. So overall I thought this was a decent to solid show. There were 4 good matches, a great AJ Styles promo but there was also Aces & 8s & Hulk Hogan.

8-26-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 26, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with The Shield at ringside, facing the entrance. Then out comes Triple H (This is gonna be really painful! Also The Shield originally were about standing against what they thought was injustice! Why are they now hired henchmen for the McMahon family!? That makes no sense!)! Anyway HHH takes us back to a moment in time that if you saw in person it was a moment you’ll never forget. He takes us back to SummerSlam. They reshow the end of the PPV. HHH says that was what was best for business. There was nothing personal. Then they reshow the end of last week’s Raw (And man was that segment terrible)! HHH admits that was personal. He says he humiliated Daniel because of Daniel’s actions. Daniel made it personal by walking into the ring last week & insulting the McMahon family. HHH is willing to move on like none of this happened. He’s willing to be a businessman. The choice is Daniel’s. Then HHH mentions that the rating last week were through the roof. Business is booming & that’s all due to the guy who is the (not so) new face to WWE. HHH brings out “What we deserve” Randy Orton. (This makes no sense! Orton punted Vince in the head a few years ago, then slapped Stephanie around while he had HHH cuffed to the ring rope! Now we’re supposed to forget that crap all happened? Come on WWE)! HHH congratulates Orton on breathing new life into WWE & the WWE title. As COO he’d like to reward those who aren’t afraid to grab the brass ring & run with it. He got Orton a gift & wants to make it clear that…Then the fans chant no. HHH wants Orton to know what this personally means to him. He got Orton a new Cadillac. That gets brought out to Triple H’s time to play the game song (Man this is idiotic). Orton thanks HHH for the generous gift. Then he thanks HHH for having the vision of realizing that the only guy who is worthy of being called WWE Champion & the face of WWE is Orton himself. Then out comes Daniel Bryan. Daniel makes sarcastic comment about Orton’s new ride. Then he says Orton really worked hard for the title. Then he says that while Orton is thanking everybody, Daniel himself would like to thank a few people. The fans chant his name. Daniel thanks all the fans. He’s not the biggest, strongest or prettiest but despite that the fans have supported him & that means a lot to him. The fans chant yes. Then Daniel thanks Cena (that got a mixed reaction) for giving him the chance to wrestle in the main event for the WWE Title because HHH wouldn’t have. Most importantly Daniel thanks HHH for finally showing his true collars. He thanks HHH for thinking what the WWE Champion should look like being as narrow minded as Vince. Daniel calls HHH the rebel in the leather jacket but he’s now he’s in a COO suit that looks down on the fans. Orton says Daniel needs to show them both the respect they deserve. Orton says he’s the face of WWE. Daniel says when he gets his rematch at Night of Champions Orton’s face will be rearranged & so will Triple H’s vision of the future, because Daniel will become WWE Champion. HHH says what a sweet fantasy that is. He tells Daniel it makes all the difference in the world who you are. Daniel’s nothing more than a B at best. HHH will give Daniel his chance to live his dream tonight when he goes 1 on 1 with Seth Rollins. Also since Daniel’s so big on his great work ethic that if be beats Rollins he will face Ambrose. If he beats Ambrose then he will face Reigns. HHH will give Daniel the fate of Justice in a gauntlet match. HHH says that he believes in Daniel & believes that this is what is best for business. This was terrible!? Why are they continuing to tell us that Daniel is not A material? I hate that! Also why doesn’t Daniel just beat the crap out of the guys who screwed him rather than standing there & let HHH rag on him!? This is terrible story telling! The commentators mention that the fans can pick a stip for the Punk-Axel match. Heyman banned from ringside, Heyman guest referee or if Punk beats Axel he gets to face Heyman. These stips are kinda dumb in my opinion. Damien Sandow is on commentary. Cody Rhodes vs. Fandango. Cody gets the pin. During the match Fandango’s music plays & out come The Miz & the returning Rosa Mendes (So now she’s a face). He mimics Fandango’s gimmick. That distracts Fandango & Cody rolls him up for the pin. WINNER – CODY RHODES. Then Fandango goes after Cody. Then Sandow gets in the ring. They double team Cody for a bit. Then Miz gets in the ring to even the odds. Then Brad Maddox comes out & books Cody & Miz vs. Sandow & Fandango. That match is next. This was stupid. Cody Rhodes & The Miz vs. Damien Sandow & Fandango. Cody & Miz win was Miz pins Sandow. This wasn’t much. Fandango walked out on the match like usual. Then Fandango gets the mic & says his name (UGH)! This was idiotic too. They once again had Sandow lose cleanly! What is with the booking in this company!? They show us the Los Matadores video package. This gimmick looks so craptacular. Backstage Josh interviews Christian. Josh mentions Daniel being put in a gauntlet match by HHH. What are Christian’s thoughts? Christian says that it is hard to say anything negative about the current McMahon regime because you wind dealing with dire consequences. He mentions that he lived through the Attitude & McMahon-Helmsley Era &. Then he mentions that history has a habit of repeating itself/ Then Orton comes in. He says that at SummerSlam he won & Christian lost & tonight Christian will lose after Orton hits him with an RKO. Christian then says that he knows HHH likes to play with sledge hammers but it looks like he’s found a new tool. Orton says he will see Christian out there. This was ok. On the App Punk says if the fans wanna see Heyman in a referee shirt more power to them. Punk wants to get his hands on Heyman. He got some of him last Sunday but he wants more of Heyman. This was a solid Punk promo. Then we see Axel & Heyman backstage. Heyman’s flipping out about having the fans decide what happens to him. Axel says Punk will have to outwrestle him, which he can’t do. This situation is perfect. Axel asks if Heyman believes in him. Heyman with doubt says like his life depended on it. This was a decent backstage bit. Heyman was good as usual & I thought Axel was good too. Jerry Lawler gets the mic. Time to find what the stip for the Punk-Axel match will be. The fans voted for Heyman to face Punk if Punk beats Axel. Heyman looks terrified & shocked. CM Punk vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Punk gets the pin. This was a solid match. During the match Punk ran up the ramp after Heyman but Axel caught up to Punk before Punk could get to Heyman. Afterwards Heyman heads for the back but referees come out & stop him. Then Punk head up the ramp & Heyman runs to the back. Then security drags Heyman back out to ringside. Then Heyman pleads with Punk & Punk throws Heyman in the ring. Punk has Heyman in the corner & then Axel hits Punk in the groin. Then Heyman takes out handcuffs & gives them to Axel. Axel cuffs Punk as Punk lies on the mat. Heyman slaps Punk around as Axel holds Punk’s head up. Heyman says he did this to Punk & there’s nothing Punk can do about it. He dares Punk to fight hi. Then Punk gets up & kicks down Axel. Then Punk goes kicks down Heyman but then Axel hits Punk with a chair. Then Axel gets a Singapore cane from under the ring. He says Punk’s nothing. Then he gives Heyman the cane. Axel tells Heyman to teach Punk. Punk calls Heyman an SOB. Then Heyman caned Punk. Then Axel picks up Punk & Heyman canes him some more. As he was caning Punk he was also saying that he fathered Punk & meant everything to him. Then Axel rams Punk face first into the announce table. Then Heyman canes Punk in the back a few times. Then Heyman says he gave Punk his heart & Punk broke it. Heyman & Axel head up the ramp as Punk lies at ringside cuffed & beaten. This was great! This Punk-Heyman storyline continues to be the best story telling WWE has going!! Heyman saying that he loved Punk & Punk broke his heart was awesome! They did a great job here & made you wanna see Punk get his hand on Heyman even more. That’s classic old school booking! (For all the bad I can’t say enough about with the Daniel Bryan-McMahon family storyline, I also can’t say enough good things about the Punk-Heyman 1). They show Punk walking up the ramp, that happened during the break. Jo-Jo is the ring announcer for the next match. Natalya (With Naomi & Cameron) vs. Brie Bella (With Nikki Bella & Eva Marie). Brie gets the pin. This was short. Natalya had Brie in the sharpshooter, but Eva distracted the referee as Nikki yanked Brie out of the ring. There was a bit of a scuffle on the outside. Then Brie gave Natalya a face plant for the pin. Then out comes AJ. She just watched last night’s Total Divas & it was “insane”. The Bellas are dealing with “dad issues”. Naomi & Cameron “broke up” but are back together. Natalya’s fiancé isn’t much of man. As for the other 2, they were just there. It was “great” & airs on the E! network. Then the fans chant AJ. When AJ looks in that ring she sees a bunch of cheap, interchangeable, expendable useless women who’ve turned to reality TV because they weren’t good enough to be actresses or talented enough to be champion. AJ’s done more in 1 year than they have in their entire careers. She saved the Divas division & shattered the glass ceiling. Then she says that the others can’t even shake her hand backstage for what she had to endure. She gave her life to this business & they were handed 15 minutes of fame. AJ didn’t get there by being cute, by being part of a famous wrestling a family, or by being a suck up to the right people. She got there because she earned it. The others can never lace up Chuck Taylors. They’re all worthless excuses for women & will never be able to touch AJ. That is reality. This was a good promo from AJ. She pretty much said the truth here. The other chicks (except for Natalya) are useless & just a waste of space. Out comes Ricardo Rodriguez (in an RVD t-shirt) to introduce Rob Van Dam. This pairing is kinda odd. Rob Van Dam vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. RVD gets the pin. This was a decent match. Ricardo got on the announce table & kept saying “Rob Van Dam” & did the RVD thumb pose. That distracted Del Rio & RVD got the roll up for the pin. AO now RVD will challenge Del Rio for the World Title at Night of Champion. They reshow John Cena’s promo from last week. Then they show a few still shots of Cena’s elbow. Then they show a pic of Cena with his arm in a cast. Michael Cole says Cena’s surgery went well but he will be out 4 to 6 months. Backstage Josh interviews Ryback. Josh brings up Ryback’s recent actions & asks Ryback if he thinks he’s been bullying everyone. Ryback says, “Me? Bullying?” Then he grabs Josh’s face & forces him to the floor. Then Ryback says he finally found a way to shut Josh up. Thankfully this was short. I’m tired of this Ryback being a bully story. Backstage we see Heyman & Axel. Renee comes up & says Heyman looked shocked when Punk beat Axel. Axel says what happened tonight is something Punk will never forget. Heyman says Punk’s like a child who needs to keep on getting punished. Heyman feels like a man who put his prodigal son in his place. Punk was humiliated & beaten by his own father figure. Now Punk will learn that Heyman is the last person that Punk should ever come up against. Then they get in a car & ride out of the arena. This was another good promo from Heyman. Christian vs. WWE Champion Randy Orton. Orton gets the pin. This was a great back & forth match. Then Daniel Bryan shows up on the Tron. Daniel says, “Take it from a B + competitor that was an A + effort.” He sarcastically says that Orton is the face of WWE & that was such a pretty car for such a “pretty” guy. But what if Daniel beats him at Night of Champions & becomes WWE Champion? Would that make him the face of WWE? Then they show Orton’s new car & Daniel has yes sprayed all over it & he does the yes chant. This was solid. I thought Daniel was good with his promo. Backstage we see HHH, Orton & Brad looking at Orton’s spray painted car. Brad says the fans love it & people backstage like that HHH was made a fool out of. HHH says that the car is his personal property. He gave it to Orton. Then HHH says that the title belt is also his personal property & Orton is holding it. Then HHH tells Brad to find everybody on that roster, have them stand out on the stage & they’ll find out what happens to Daniel tonight. Anyone who thinks about getting involved in the match will get personally get fired by him & he will laugh as he does it. Brad leaves & Orton says that Daniel will pay. This was terrible! Why are they doing the, “Have the whole roster stand on the stage & watch Daniel get beaten” bit again? They did that last week & it was idiotic then! Why have this 2 weeks in a row!? Also why is HHH saying that the WWE Title is his personal property & that Orton is holding it for him!? To me it sounded like he kinda buried Orton here with that line. The Primetime Players come to the ring. Then out come Zeb Coulter, Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro. Zeb says the Real Americans have had some wins stolen from them by the Primetime Players. What is a Primetime Player? Zeb says that Darren & Titus are buffoons who make fools of themselves. It’s primetime they draw a line in the sand. If anyone’s standing in a welfare line, farewell to them. Titus & Darren are what’s wrong with this company. We the people. I’ve had it with this crappy gimmick. Titus O’Neil vs. Jack Swagger. Titus gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. We see a Wyatt family video. Bray mentions the “good old days”. “She taught him from a young age. The world is an evil place. He was there when “she” took her final breath. They chose him before even came into existence. “Her” touch could save the world. He loves Sister Abigail. This was a typical Wyatt family promo. I’m not sure what Bray was saying but this gimmick is creepy in a good way. Backstage Brad’s talking to the Dr. Punk comes in. Brad tells him he needs medical attention. Punk wants a match with Heyman where Heyman can’t get away. Brad says that Punk will face Axel & Heyman at Night of Champions in a handicap elimination match. If Heyman tries to back out Punk will never see Heyman again. Punk then says that if Heyman backs out of this match we might never see Brad again either. The whole locker room comes out on the stage. They show the video for Los Matadores again. Time for Daniel Bryan to face The Shield in a gauntlet match. Renee Young is on the stage & asks Big Show for his thoughts about being put into a handicap match with The Shield. Big Show doesn’t speak. Then she asks Dolph the same. He doesn’t say anything either. Then she asks Miz if he has any comment. Miz starts to speak but then stops himself. This was dumb. A few years ago everyone on the roster walked out because they thought HHH was doing a crappy job. They spoke up then & weren’t afraid. Why be afraid to say something now!? Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins. Daniel gets the pin. This was great. Daniel Bryan vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose. Daniel wins by DQ when Reigns comes in. Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Roman Reigns. Daniel wins by DQ. Ambrose & Rollins come in & beat down Daniel. Then they hold him & Reigns spears him. Then Triple H’s music plays & he comes out. He looks at everyone on the stage. HHH gives The Shield the ok & they give Daniel the triple power bomb. Then out comes Randy Orton. He heads to the ring. Rollins & Ambrose hold Daniel & then Orton gives him an RKO. Then Orton heads up the ramp & hold the title over his head. HHH asks if anyone wants to laugh. HHH & Orton then head to the back. The Shield stands over a fallen Daniel in the ring to end the show. This was crap! This whole storyline is just so idiotic!! The whole roster stands on the stage & they’re intimidated by HHH!? That’s beyond terrible! This was a crappy show overall! This whole Daniel Bryan vs. The McMahon family storyline is beyond idiotic! The opening with HHH & Orton sucked, having the Cadillac brought out was stupid, Daniel cut a good promo but why waste time jaw jacking with the guys who screwed him out of the WWE Title? The gauntlet match/segment was idiotic too. The Daniel-Rollins part of this was great but the rest of it was painful! I can’t stand that they’re having the whole roster be so frightened of HHH! I liked the Punk-Axel match & the post match angle was great! Having Punk cuffed & getting caned by Heyman as Heyman told Punk that he fathered him but Punk broke his heart was Heyman genius. Titus-Swagger was decent but short. I’m tired of the Zeb Coulter character but it looks like The Primetime Players will be in a program with the Real Americans. I’m sure Cesaro & Swagger will be jobbed out every time. The Cody-Fandango/Cody & Miz vs. Fandango & Sandow wasn’t much. The Miz-Fandango program is lame & having Sandow lose cleanly every time he is in a match makes him look really weak! WWE doesn’t that having the heel MITB case holder always lose makes him look like a jabrone! The Wyatt family video was decent. Bray’s promo was alright. Christian-Orton was great! I liked Daniel’s promo on the Tron too but I have mixed feelings about the Cadillac having yes sprayed all over it since it was a stupid idea to have that car in the first place. The follow up segment with HHH, Orton & Brad was also dumb. Heyman cut a good promo backstage too when he said that he put the prodigal son in his place. Punk was good in his bit with Brad. I’m not really into the idea of having Punk face both Axel & Heyman at Night of Champions though. The Josh Mathews-Ryback segment was bad but thankfully it was short. Ryback’s bullying gimmick is idiotic. RVD-Del Rio was decent. Having RVD be with Ricardo doesn’t make sense though. Natalya-Brie Bella wasn’t much. This was all about the “Total Divas” I liked AJ’s promo about how she earned what she got & the rest of Divas being useless. That was pretty much all true. Natalya is the only other 1 who has any talent out of that crop. I enjoyed the Punk-Heyman/Axel segment the most on this show. Besides that, while there might have been some good bits here & there I thought that for the most part this week’s show was painful.

8-23-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 23, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with Vickie Guerrero in the ring. She says that she has cleared the air with HHH since she has “left” Raw she introduces “with great excitement” the new WWE Champion Randy Orton. Vickie stands at the bottom of the ramp & shakes Orton’s hand. Then Orton gets in the ring & says that as the new WWE Champion he promises to give the fans what they want & what they deserve as champion. He promises that the fans will aspire to be him. He also promises to be a roll model. What does a roll model do? A roll model tells the truth & that is exactly what he did. He told everyone & especially Daniel Bryan that when he successfully cashed in hit MITB contract no one would see it coming (I had a bad feeling it would happen & it did). So no one including Daniel Bryan should be surprised at what happened. Then Orton says that he himself should be surprised because at SummerSlam he didn’t know that HHH was going to pedigree Daniel Bryan. What would anybody have done in that situation? Orton’s certainly not 1 to pass up an opportunity that is literally lying right in front of him. He makes it clear that he did not need Triple H’s help just like he didn’t need The Shield’s help on Raw. Although he greatly appreciates the support from the entire McMahon family (He should since in the storylines a few years ago he was at war with them) he would like to ask the fans for their support too. Naturally the fans boo. After all Orton’s not only WWE Champion but his face is also the face of the WWE. Then out comes Daniel Bryan. Before he addresses “the face of the WWE” he would like to say what he was going to say Monday night before Stephanie cut him off. Just a short message to John Cena. He thanks Cena for giving him the opportunity to wrestle him at SummerSlam. He thanks Cena for being bold & courageous enough to wrestle with a torn triceps because even if Daniel was only better than Cena for just 1 day that opportunity allowed him to feel what it feels like to be WWE Champion. As far as “the face of WWE” goes it’s time for that face to change. Then the fans chant yes. Then Daniel says that everyone has to understand that he doesn’t look like Orton. Orton is chiseled, tall, 6’5” & is “pretty”. Daniel can see why HHH likes Orton so much, because Orton’s so “pretty” (That was funny) & not to mention arrogant. Daniel then says why wouldn’t Orton be arrogant? Orton’s been handed every opportunity in the WWE. Orton’s created his own success but Orton’s opportunities have come because his dad was there, his grandfather was there & Randy has been given the genetic golden ticket to be in WWE. Daniel can’t get over how “pretty” Randy is. Then Daniels sarcastically tells the fans to give it up for how “pretty” Randy is. Then Daniel says that Randy is so “pretty” that it makes him want to kick Randy in the face. Then Daniel says that he had to scratch & claw for every opportunity. Daniel had to wrestle in every dirty high school gym all across the country & all across the world in staff infested mats, all over the place sleeping in his car just to get an ounce of respect. Just so he can climb the ladder of success step by step. Then Daniel says that he isn’t tall & he certainly isn’t “pretty” but he can wrestle & he can beat Orton & can beat him for the title. Then Daniel tells the fans that he is entitled to a rematch for the WWE Title & he wants that rematch to happen tonight. Orton tells “short stuff” that he will have to wait till Night of Champions. Then Orton gets in Daniel’s face & holds up the title. Then Orton goes for an RKO but Daniel pushes him away & then drop kicks Orton over the top to the outside. This was a solid opening in ring promo. Orton was back to his old boring heel promo I thought but Daniel was great on the mic. Backstage we see Vickie in the GM office on her cell phone (Why are the authority figures always on their cell phones when these bits begin?). She says that Daniel shouldn’t have been out there, this was Orton’s moment. Somebody needs to teach “that little troll” a lesson. Then in comes Wade Barrett. He says it would seem that Vickie, the McMahon family & he himself all have something in common. A mutual dislike of Daniel Bryan (Wasn’t Barrett feuding with Orton for 1 of the world titles a few years ago? We’re supposed to forget that too?) Wade says that since Daniel is a former champion he gets a rematch against Orton for the WWE Title. Barrett would like to make sure that never happens. He asks for Vickie to put him in a match with Daniel tonight & he guarantees that will be the last we ever see of Daniel. Vickie likes the idea & she has a better 1. She says how about a no holds barred match. Then she says an extreme rules match (They’re both the same). Then Vickie says Daniel will face Wade in a steel cage. This was ok. Barrett actually wasn’t bad here. If they wanted to have this Daniel Bryan story they actually could’ve had Wade Barrett be Vince’s hand picked guy to be WWE Champion since he is younger & both guys might’ve ended up looking strong. Cody Rhodes vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Axel gets the pin. This was a decent match. Cody was on the tope rope but Heyman distracted him. Then Axel crotched Cody & gave him his finisher for the pin. Then Heyman gets in the ring with a mic. He stands before the fans tonight a man who is not just in pain, he is in agony. That agony is a direct result of Punk’s actions. Then the fans chant CM Punk. Then Heyman says that the fans are about to choke on those cheers because Heyman’s not out there complaining about the obvious physical pain that he is in. Heyman is in emotional distress because a man that once considered to be his best friend & an athlete that he guided to being the best in the world has been reduced to being a sad pathetic loser. Then Heyman tells Axel that at SummerSlam Punk was pinned 1-2-3 by Brock Lesnar. Then Heyman says that Punk rather than accept defeat like a man & acknowledging his loss as Heyman would have fathered him to do, Punk went off the rails. Punk is on a downward spiral. Punk’s actions on Raw were befitting of a mad man. Without Paul Heyman Punk never stood a chance against Brock. Without Heyman Punk is lost. While on the other hand being with Heyman, Curtis Axel has found himself. His client is filled with confidence & has notched win after win, which is why no one can defeat Curtis Axel for the IC Title. Then Axel says that the problem is that Punk doesn’t deserve an IC Title match (Why would Punk want to be IC Champion after being WWE Champion for over a year?) Then Axel says that Punk is so jealous that Heyman’s been paying more attention to Axel that Punk wound up assaulting Axel with a chair Monday night. Axel tells Punk that he will finish the job that Brock gave him (I think he meant to say the job that Brock started) at SummerSlam. Axel challenges Punk to match this Monday on Raw. Then Axel says that his future is better than Punk’s. He is more athletic than Punk & he has someone in his corner named Paul Heyman. This was a good in ring promo. Both guys were good on the mic. AJ Lee skips to the ring. Then out comes Big E. Then out comes Dolph. Dolph will face Big E next. Big E goes after Dolph before the bell rings. The referee holds Big E back. Big E looks to get his hands on Dolph some more but the referee tells Big E to stand in the opposite corner. Then Dolph gets up & the referee calls for the bell to start the match. Dolph Ziggler vs. Big E Langston. Dolph gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. AJ punched Dolph, Big E then went for the big ending but Dolph escaped & hit the Zig Zag for the pin. Christian vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a very good back & forth match. Then Del Rio gets the mic & says he knows that the Latino fans look up to him & that they want to be the next Alberto Del Rio. But there’s only 1 Del Rio. The fans can’t be like him because they’re peasants. That doesn’t mean that just because you’re the son or daughter of a peasant that you have to be 1 too. You can be something better if they follow Del Rio. Then out comes Ricardo. He has a little bit of a problem. Following Del Rio to greatness is not for him or the fans & especially not this guy who exemplifies greatness every single night. Monday nights, Friday nights, Sunday nights, every single opportunity that he gets. This guy doesn’t look down on people. He stands up for them. That guy being, “ROB VAN DAM!” Out comes RVD. As he & Ricardo head to the ring Christian gives Del Rio a top rope drop kick. Then RVD gets in the ring, does the thumb pose & then gives Del Rio rolling thunder. Then Ricardo picks up the World Title as RVD poses & then RVD & Ricardo taunt Del Rio. Mark Henry & Big Show vs. 3MB. Henry & Show win when Big Show pins Drew. This was a squash. Then Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins show up on the Tron. Reigns says they told Henry & Big Show to step up & they beat 3MB. Rollins says that Big Show clearly didn’t get the message Monday. After they dropped him from the sky Rollins is shocked that Big Show got back up to his feet but he’s glad that he did. Rollins then says they’re gonna have a lot of fun knocking him back down & the clock is ticking on Big Show’s & Henry’s time here. Then Reigns tells Henry to wake up. Henry’s been floating around for a decade & a half & he expects The Shield to respect him? They’ll never respect him. Then Rollins says that 2 former champions have come together to form what might be the most imposing team in the history of WWE & they want a shot at the tag team titles. There’s only 1 little problem with that. Rollins & Reigns are just better than Big Show & Henry. A new era has dawned & Henry & Big Show have got to go. Believe that. Then reigns shouts BELIEVE in The Shield. This was a good promo from Reigns & Rollins. Zeb Coulter, Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro are in the ring. Zeb asks the fans to rise & say we the people. Thank God that was all he had to say! Then out come the Primetime Players. Darren Young vs. Antonio Cesaro. Darren gets the pin. This match was decent but a bit too short. Backstage we see Ryback & some guy asks him to sign something for his son Billy. Ryback says that Billy is a stupid name, says he’s just kidding & of course he will sign it. As he’s signing the pic he says he is probably the guy’s son’s favorite. Ryback even puts the son’s name on it. Then the guy looks at it & asks which guy on the pic is he. Ryback asks if he’s asking him that. The guy asks Ryback what his name is & says that it’s been awhile since he watched “you guys” but his son never misses it. Ryback can’t believe that the guy doesn’t even know his name. The guy comes & bothers him asking for an autograph. The guy says he meant no disrespect towards Ryback & his son will be thrilled. Ryback then snatches the poster & tells the guy to tell his son that he is scrawny, pencil neck fool. Of course he rips up the poster too. This was lame. These Ryback bits are idiotic. Michael Cole mentions that CM Punk has accepted Curtis Axel’s challenge for Monday. The cage is being lowered. Time for the main event. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett in a steel cage match. Daniel gets the pin. This was a really good match. They fought on top of the cage, Barrett got 1 leg over but Daniel head butted him, kicked him down to the ropes & then gave him a power bomb. Then Daniel gave Barrett a running knee for the pin. WINNER – DANIEL BRYAN Afterwards Daniel leaves the cage but Orton comes out from under the ring & gives Daniel an RKO. Then Orton stands over Daniel & holds the title above his head to end the show. I thought this was a solid show overall. The opening in ring promo with Orton & Daniel was solid. Orton was boring but Daniel was entertaining. I liked the cage match too. Christian-Del Rio was good also. I also liked Ricardo & RVD coming out afterwards. Cody-Axel was decent & I enjoyed Heyman’s promo afterwards. Axel cut a good promo too. The Ryback bit was weak. That gimmick is stupid. Darren-Antonio was decent but too short. I’m just glad they spared us Zeb’s usual promo. Big Show & Mark Henry vs. 3MB was a squash & I liked Reigns’ & Rollins’ promos on the Tron. Dolph-Big E was also decent but short but for the most part I thought this was a solid show.

8-22-13 Hardcore Justice part 2 Impact resuts and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 22, 2013 Hardcore Justice Part 2 episode of Impact The show starts with Bully Ray & Tito Ortiz backstage. Ray’s on the phone with “Brooke”. He says last week was about him & tonight is about them. Everyone will find out the truth about him & “Brooke.” Then they run into Ken Anderson & Ray introduces him to Tito. Anderson says he knew nothing about Tito being an Aces & 8s guy. Ray says this is club business. Maybe Anderson should be more concerned about earning his stripes & taking care of his own business. This was lame. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Bobby Roode come to the ring. Roode congratulates Ray on becoming a 2 time world champion. Ray has found away once again to screw the system & found a new friend too. Now Ray’s the guy who has a target on his chest because he’s the world champion & we’re looking at the 3 guys who will do anything they can to win the title. One of them will walk into BFG & become world champion whether we like it or not. Last week Roode got 20 points by winning the tables match & is now in 2nd place & they’re only getting started. Kazarian then mentions that he won the 4 ladder match last week. Daniels says they’re 2 for 2. Kazarian & Roode each have 20 points. Tonight Daniels gets his points & he is the best street fighter. Roode says they’re 25% of the series but why be just 25% when you can be a third. Roode says they need to add 1 more guy to this group. Austin Aries. Roode mentions that he & Aries have teamed. Aries can trust them. If a wants a shot at becoming world champion take them up on their offer. James Storm & Gunner come out. Storm says he teamed with Roode for 4 years & trusted him. It’s not a matter of if Roode turns on you but when he will. Roode says Storm’s jealous of him. Storm tells Roode he will take his hat off, set down the mic, take his shirt off, drink some beer & then punch Roode right in the mouth. Storm’s never had to get dressed up to be in a fight. He leaves the ring & Roode tells him to think about this. Roode says that Storm doesn’t have the guts. Then Gunner & Storm go after the trio & we get a tag match. Daniels is escorted backstage Kazarian & Roode will be in the match. This was a solid opening segment & it lead to a match right away. TNA World Tag Team Champions Gunner & James Storm vs. Frankie Kazarian & Bobby Roode. Kazarian & Roode win when Roode pins Storm. This was a solid match. Backstage Austin Aries mentions that Sting offered him a spot in MEM last week & this week the fortune trio is offering him a spot. There is something to be said about strength in numbers but there also is something to be said by trusting those who are around you. By the end of the night he will give his answer. This was a decent backstage promo. X Division Champion Manik vs. Sonjay Dutt. Manik gets the pin. This was a solid back & forth match. I’m glad the did away with the X Division matches being all 3 ways. Backstage Anderson tells Devon that Ray said they gotta get the job done tonight. Anderson then says that they’re going into this 5 on 4. Devon’s ready & they have a few cold ones. Break time. They come back from break to show Hernandez making his way to the ring & then they go back to break. Why do they always do that? Back from break & we see MEM backstage. Joseph Park vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Hernandez vs. Jay Bradley in a Bound for Glory Series street fight. Park wins for 20 points when he pins Bradley. Kazarian & Roode came out during the match. The went after Park, EY helped Park out but he got taken out. A short while later Kazarian & Roode took out Bradley too. Then Aries got in the ring & was face to face with Hernandez. Daniels capitalized. Aries makes like he will be part of the old fortune group & then he gives Daniels a brain buster. Kazarian & Roode then chased Aries to the back. Then Bradley hit Park with brass knuckles & that made Park bleed from the mouth. Then he went nuts & gave Jay Bradley a black hole slam for the win. WINNER – JOSEPH PARK. This was a solid match & Park is now on the board in the BFG Series. Backstage we see MEM. Sting mentions what a lousy night they had last week Then he says they’re 1 man short. Rampage will break the face of his so called friend. Sting says no 1 stood up. Magnus says their MEM. The elite of pro wrestling. They step up. Joe says no 1 else is good enough to stand up because they can do this on their own. This was lame. Time for a video package recapping the Bully Ray- Hogan family saga. Bully Ray & Tito Ortiz come to the ring. Ray tells Taz & Tito that it sounds like the fans are happy to see him. They boo. Ray asks how it feels to have the wool pulled over your eyes again & how it feels to be suckered by him a second time. He has 1 question for everybody. Do we know who he is? He asks again & the fans boo. He’s Bully Ray. President of Aces & 8s the TNA World Champion. He didn’t say 2 time champion because Sabin’s title win was a fluke. Everything is now right in TNA again. That brings him to his new best friend. Do we know who this is? This is the Huntington Beach bad boy Tito Ortiz. Tito says Rampage should’ve known when he signed to fight him on 11-2 it wouldn’t change anything. He knocked Rampage out once & he will again. Ray says that no 1 does surprises like he does & we’ll be shocked by his next 1. It’s time for the whole world to know about “us.” He tells the love of his life “Brooke” to come to the ring. Brooke Hogan’s music plays but out comes the returning Brooke TESSMACHER. They make out in the ring as the fans boo. Ray says now that he has the hot Brooke, Tito & Taz with him does anybody doubt that Bully Ray can ever be stopped? There’s only 1 thing left to do. Tessmacher takes Ray’s ring off with her mouth her mouth. Then Ray says that he & Brooke Hogan are done. This was a solid in ring segment. Ray was great with his promo as usual & I liked that Brooke Tessmacher returned. ODB vs. Gail Kim. Gail gets the pin. This was a good match. They show a Jeff Hardy video package. He talks about winning the BFG Series last year & going on to win the TNA World Title. He mentions the series takes a huge toll on the body & brings out the best in everybody. Last year was a struggle for Jeff but this year it will be different. This year he’s fighting for his daughter. This year the biggest challenge is staying healthy. Backstage Aries says Daniels, Kazarian & Roode asked him a question & they got his answer. Aries says that he got where he is in this business by being smart & he just outsmarted them. Roode picked to guys who haven’t been world champion. Aries has by beating Roode. He doesn’t need Hulk’s or Dixie’s seal of approval. All that he needs is his God gifted talent. Mike Tenay says that Hulk Hogan will be live on Impact next week. They show a video package on Chris Sabin. He says he was making his escape from the cage but Anderson showed up. Aces & 8s are a cancer. MEM had Sabin’s back. He can’t believe he fell for the hammer again. He wants a rematch with Ray so that he can get his title back. Aces & 8s (Devon, Knox, Wes Briscoe, Garrett Bischoff & Ken Anderson) come to the ring for the main event. Then out come the 4 MEM guys. Break time. Back from break Anderson has the mic. Anderson calls out they’re fearless leader. Their President will watch them make history because there’re 5 of them & only 4 MEM guys. Then Anderson introduces Ray. Ray, Tito & Tessmacher then come out. Anderson then says that there are only 4 MEM guys & 5 of them. That isn’t fair. He says MEM can pick 1 of their guys to lay down for them. Sting says they won’t & if they go down it will be right here in Norfolk, VA. Then AJ Styles music plays & he comes out. Then “get ready to fly” plays, AJ takes his leather jacket off & the phenomenal 1 is back. Sting, Samoa Joe, Magnus, Rampage Jackson & AJ Styles vs. Devon, Ken Anderson, Wes Briscoe, Garrett Bischoff & Knox. MEM wins when AJ pins Devon. Since Devon was pinned he is out of TNA. This was a good match/brawl. Aces & 8s are beside themselves & MEM celebrates in the ring to end the show. I thought this week’s Impact was better than what we’ve seen the past 3 weeks. The opening segment with Roode trying to get Aries to join up with him, Daniels & Kazarian was good. Gunner & James Storm coming out was good too. Storm was good on the mic & I liked that we got the tag match right away. Gunner & Storm vs. Kazarian & Roode was solid too. The 4 way BFG Series street fight was solid too. I liked that Aries came in & gave Roode the brain buster. Park getting the win after bleeding & flipping out was the same old shtick, but the match was alright. I also liked Aries’ backstage promo saying that he outsmarted Roode. Having him say that all he needs is his God given talent was a good line too. I liked Ray’s in ring promo too & I was ok with Tessmacher being his “main squeeze”. AJ Styles coming out & revealing himself to once again be the phenomenal 1 was well done & I enjoyed the 10 man tag. ODB-Gail was also good. I liked the Jeff Hardy & Chris Sabin video packages too. Manik & Sonjay also had a solid match & I like that the X Division matches will be 1 on 1 going forward. Overall I thought this was a solid show this week.

8-19-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 19, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with John Cena coming to the ring. He’s disgusted at what happened last night. When he was WWE Champion he always said the next guy to be champion would earn it & Daniel Bryan earned it last night. He thanks Daniel for bringing out the best in him & for reminding him that a WWE super star shouldn’t be judged by race or appearance, but by what they do in the ring. He & Daniel don’t see eye to eye but they share the same passion. That is why he picked Daniel as his opponent. Then he says the fluid on his own elbow was from a torn triceps. They wanted to cancel the match last night but Cena refused. Cena’s not using that as an excuse, he was beaten by the better man in a clean fight. Then some guy told him that HHH handed the title to Orton. Cena was offended & disgraced. Cena can’t put off the surgery any longer; tonight he leaves WWE (That got a yes chant). He will be out for 4 to 6 months but before he goes he wants to introduce a guy who has earned his respect & a guy that we can all agree that has earned the right to be called champion, Daniel Bryan. Out comes Daniel. Cena leaves the ring. The fans chant yes & chant his name. Before he can speak Stephanie McMahon comes out. She tells Daniel she is sorry. Last night Daniel won the WWE Title clean in the middle of the ring & did not deserve to have his dream snatched away. Then she says that HHH is the COO & was doing what was best for business. The fans chant no. Daniel says the fans have a disagreement as to what is best for business. Daniel expects that from Stephanie & Vince, but HHH was a rebel. He was the leader of DX, but now he wears a suit, has a corporate hair cut & it must be true that when you lie down with thrash you start to stink. Stephanie gets why Daniel’s upset so she’ll let that slide. Daniel asks if she’s gonna fire him. He’s not afraid of that. Before he leaves he will get his money’s worth. He doesn’t care if it’s HHH or Orton. He will really give Stephanie a reason to fire him. Stephanie says his anger issues are messing with his mind. They think he’s talented & the ultimate underdog. The fans don’t get business, not everyone can be WWE Title material. Daniel’s 5’8’, maybe 200 pounds. We can’t all be super models but the fans love him. He might not be an A but he is a solid B +. Daniel says she’s reminding him of a word that starts with B right now. He knows she’s out here to rationalize Hunter’s behavior but he doesn’t have to accept it. He doesn’t have to accept being a mid carder. He can be WWE Champion & doesn’t care what she thinks. Then he snatches the mic out of her hand & throws it out of the ring. She gets another mic & tells Daniel that she refuses to be intimidated by him. He’s being unprofessional & she won’t stand for it. Then she brings out security. She says she doesn’t wanna do this but Daniel is forcing her hand. She tells security to escort him from the building. Daniel has no one to blame but himself. The fans loudly chant Daniel Bryan. Then Daniel walks up the ramp with security. Then he & the fans shout no. Then Daniel heads to the back. This was a mixed bag segment for me. Cena & Daniel were both great on the mic here. Stephanie however was really irritating. I can’t stand that they’re ramming in our heads that Daniel will never be above a solid mid carder!! I get that they want to have him be the underdog who eventually overcomes the odds (at least that’s what I hope they do) but having the McMahon family constantly say that Daniel is a dwarf, troll & not WWE Title material is just idiotic!! Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow. Cody gets the pin. This was a solid match but I’m not sure why they had this the night after SummerSlam. Also having a heel MITB case holder always lose makes that person look much less credible! How can we take the MITB holder seriously as a credible World Champion if he always loses!? They did that with Dolph last year & they’re doing the same to Damien now!! Backstage we see Brad Maddox. He says after what happened last night a lot of people expressed their opinions on Triple H’s actions. Brad reads a tweet from Dolph that says that Dolph never trusted HHH. Brad then says that Dolph will have a chance to show off tonight when he faces The Shield in a 3 on 1 handicap match. This was terrible. I have a bad feeling that we’re gonna get another McMahon-Helmsley era storyline. It might’ve worked back in 2000 but it isn’t gonna work now!! Paul Heyman is in the ring with his left arm in a sling. He says last night Punk was defeated by Brock. Tonight he will give us a lesson in life. Like all rebellious children Punk had to fly away from the nest to prove his self worth. Heyman says that Punk gave Brock all he could handle. Where do we go from here? It’s time to end this family feud. Heyman’s been more of a father figure to Punk than his real dad. Last night when “big brother” Brock threw Punk around & knocked some sense into him it made Heyman realize this isn’t a time for revenge but a time for forgiveness & he forgives Punk. When Punk apologizes to him he will take him back. Punk is better off with Heyman than without him. Then they will achieve greater goals than ever before. He still loves Punk & will guide Punk back to the WWE Title, take him to the main event at Mania & together he & Punk will be the best in the world. Backstage we see Naomi & Cameron stretching. Then the Bellas come in. They tell Naomi & Cameron that they’re representing “They’re show “(Total Divas). They leave, Naomi gets pissed & Cameron tells her they have to focus on their match tonight. Whatever. This Total Divas material is so terrible. I know the show is a hit & because of that they’re gonna cram this crap down our throats but it still makes for lousy TV! Naomi & Cameron vs. Layla & Divas Champion AJ Lee. Naomi & Cameron win when Naomi pins Layla. This was a decent & short match. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Shield. The Shield wins when Reigns gets the pin. This was a solid match. Dolph got some good hope spots in before Reigns pinned him. Afterwards They triple power bomb Dolph. Sin Cara vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio wins by referee stoppage. The referee calls for the bell after Sin Cara gives Del Rio a suicide dive & Cara got injured. Then Del Rio says last night he proved why he is the best world champion in history. More importantly he proved to the whole Latino community that they finally have someone to cheer for. The Latinos have no heroes but he will do everything in his power to represent them. Especially all the peasants. Then out comes Ricardo. He says Del Rio’s not a hero to him, the fans & especially not to the Latino community. Ricardo says he is happy that he no longer represents Del Rio. He is proud to be representing somebody new. Somebody who will stand for the people. Rob Van Dam. Out come RVD. He gets in the ring & Del Rio goes after him. Then RVD gives him a roundhouse kick. Then he goes up top for the 5 star frog splash but Del Rio rolls out of the ring. Then RVD & Ricardo do the thumb pose. This was solid. I thought both Del Rio & Ricardo cut good promos & I like that they’re gonna have RVD be Del Rio’s next challenger. Zeb, Cesaro & Swagger are in the ring. Zeb says WWE have been in a lot of headlines. Cesaro & Swagger being Real American should be a headline. They represent everything that’s good for this country unlike the fans in the town they’re in. Zeb’s ashamed to be in this country. He says the usual illegal immigrants are sneaking across the boarder & taking jobs from Americans shtick. Then he rambles more & tells the fans to say we the people. I’m tired of this character. It’s stale & it hasn’t done anything for Cesaro or Swagger. Then out come the Prime Players. They’ll be facing Cesaro & Swagger. The Primetime Players vs. The Real Americans. The Primetime Players win when Darren pins Cesaro. This match was decent. It looks like The Primetime Players are baby faces now. Backstage Renee interviews Big Show. She welcomes him back to Raw & asks if the rumors of him & Mark Henry going after the tag titles are true. Big Show says that they are. He & Henry will team up & challenge Rollins & Reigns. Then Brad comes in & takes the mic from Renee & she leaves. Brad mentions that Big Show had less than flattering comments about HHH. Big Show says that he has freedom of speech. Brad says that he wants Big Show to express himself in a handicap match with The Shield & all 3 Shield guys will be in the ring at the same time. Big Show asks Brad if he’s sure he wants to do this to The Shield. This was weak. Brad Maddox is awful & are they gonna have everybody who disagreed with Triple H’s actions face The Shield in 3 on 1 handicap matches tonight? Backstage we see Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder & a footlocker guy. The guy has new shoes for Ryder. Then in come Fandango & Summer Rae. The Footlocker continues plugging footlocker. Fandango asks if he can dance in these sneakers. Then he & Summer dance. Whatever. This was idiotic & pointless. Backstage Ryback kicks out some guys. Then he tells 1 to stay. He tells the guy to pick up his bag. Ryback throws & he tells the guy to get it. Then Ryback tells him to stand up & pick up the bag. Ryback throws it down again. This time into the shower. Ryback tells the guy to get the bag & open it. Then he tells the guy to turn on the water & smacks him. He makes the guy turn on the water & have it fill his bag. Then Ryback tells him to get out of his locker room. This whole bit with Ryback bullying random guys is really terrible! The guy goes from being a super over monster baby face to a bullying cowardly heel. I have no idea why they turned Ryback heel to begin with! This makes no sense. Big Show vs. The Shield. The Shield wins when they all pin after the triple power bomb. This was a decent match. Just like the handicap match with Dolph, Big Show got a good amount of offense in. CM Punk comes to the ring. He doesn’t know what to say. He knows Heyman was out there before & had a lot of personal things to say. A fan boos Punk & Punk dares him to get in the ring. Then Punk says he wants to fight & dares the guy to be a man, get in the ring & fight him. He will render this guy to tears. He tells him to be a man or be a b**ch & shut his mouth. Punk says that Heyman mentioned that he can get him the WWE Title & a WrestleMania main event. If an apology will get him those then Heyman can come on out & he might just get 1. Out come Heyman & Curtis Axel. Punk says the Dr. told he can’t compete right now but he’s in his gear. He lost a fight last night & he’s still standing. Punk is sorry that he took his eyes off of Brock to attack Heyman. He’s sorry he didn’t take Heyman’s arm off. The next time he sees him he will choke him out, spit in his face & take Heyman’s arm home with him. Punk says that he will get his revenge & tells Heyman to get in the ring. Heyman says there’s an apology due & it should come from him. Heyman’s sorry for what is about to happen to Punk. Then Heyman tells Axel to go to the back & tape up his hands & get ready for a fight. Heyman says he can be the worst nightmare Punk’s ever encountered in his life. If Punk’s still in that ring when they come back from break Curtis Axel will finish the job that Brock started on him last night. This was really well done. Both Punk & Heyman were great on the mic like usual. Back to the show & Punk is sitting & waiting for Axel. Axel & Heyman come back out. There’s no referee so this isn’t a match. They go at it & Punk rams Axel face first into the chair & then hits him with it in the back. Then he tosses Axel outside the ring, where Axel gets the upper hand. Punk fights back & goes to Irish whip Axel into the barrier but Axel reverses it. Axel beats on Punk some more but then Punk throws Axel over the time keeper wall. Then Punk looks at Heyman. Then he tackles Axel through the barricade. Then Punk gets the bell & hits Axel with it in the gut. Punk throws Axel back into the ring. Heyman watches on the stage. Punk goes to give Axel the GTS but Axel escapes & clips Punk’s leg. Axel goes to work on Punk’s ankle & hits it with the chair. Axel hits Punk with the chair a second time. Then he picks up Punk & gives him a neck breaker. Axel places Punk’s ankle in the chair, goes to the ropes for a stomp but Punk gets put of the way & hits Axel with the chair. Then he throws Axel into the steel steps. Then Punk has Axel on his shoulders & gives him a GTS on the steps. Punk looks at Heyman intently as Heyman backs up the ramp worried. This was great. R-Truth vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray gets the pin. This was mostly a squash. They show a video package/vignette on a tag team called Los Matadores that will be coming soon. The Usos vs. Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal. The Usos win when Jimmy pins Jinder. This was a solid match. The Miz vs. Wade Barrett. Miz wins by DQ when Fandango comes in. Miz had Barrett in the figure 4. Then Fandango cam in & gave Miz a top rope leg drop. Then Fandango’s music plays as he & Summer Rae dance. This was a decent match & I wasn’t surprised to see Fandango come in. Backstage Brad tells Stephanie that the head of security told him that Daniel Bryan is back in the building. Stephanie is ok with this & thanks Brad for the update. I’m dreading this coronation. Maybe it won’t be as bad as I’m fearing if they make Daniel look strong. Vince & Stephanie are in the ring. Triple H’s music is playing & he gets in the ring. The Shield is standing guard as the rest of roster stands on the stage. Vince says give it up for the game. Vince says we’ll have a momentous occasion & they have a champion we can all be proud of. Vince is proud of HHH. He has his doubts but in the end HHH saw the light. HHH says this is where he’s supposed to explain himself as to why he would screw Daniel. He says the fans are short sighted. He did what he did for all the fans & to ensure the future of WWE. He did it for Vince, his grandfather Jess, Vince Sr. & Vince the “genius” that created this global empire. He did this for his wife & kids & all the fans so that this WWE will continue to exist in our futures. HHH likes Daniel & is a big fan of his. Daniel is a good little technician & gave Cena 1 hell of a match & deserved to win. But let’s be honest, WWE Champion? Face of the WWE The fans chant yes. HHH says no & tells the fans they deserve better than that. Everyone watching deserves the compete package, somebody that has it all. The fans deserve A + & that’s what HHH gave us last night. Daniel comes out here & says he has a personal problem with that? That’s a sacrifice HHH is willing to make. What about HHH personal issues. He didn’t wanna throw away Daniel’s 15 years of blood, sweat & tears. It personally hurt him to do that to Daniel. HHH says he didn’t like doing this with Orton. There’s a lot of bad blood between HHH & Orton but HHH buried his feelings for what was right for the fans. HHH doesn’t care about Daniel’s personal problems & says that Daniel is being selfish having a personal issue with this. He tells Daniel to check his ego at the door & do what’s right for business. Right now HHH will put aside his feelings 1 more time & will bring out the future of the WWE. The Cole that has now become the diamond. HHH gives us the new WWE Champion, Randy Orton. (Orton’s the future? He’s been in the company for over 11 years & has been a top guy)! Anyway out comes Orton. Orton & Stephanie hug. Then Orton says he told us so. He said that when he cashed in we wouldn’t see it coming. Now he stands before us for the 10th time the apex predator of WWE. Orton’s not usually 1 for thank yous but he will make an exception. After what HHH did for him last night he is not ashamed to say that he owes all of this to him. Everyone should stand & show HHH the respect that he deserves. HHH says now since they own the place they have eyes & ears everywhere. He knows Daniel is in the building & he offers Daniel to come in the ring & get his issues off his chest. Then HHH tells The Shield they’re intimidating & Daniel’s probably afraid of them. He asks them to move aside. Then he tells everyone on the stage not to touch Daniel. HHH asks if the fans wanna see Daniel. Then he does the yes chant, calls for Daniel’s music & tells him to come out. Daniel Bryan’s music plays & he comes out. As Daniel is getting in the ring The Shield attacks him. Daniel fights them off. Then Daniel & Ambrose go at it for a bit & Daniel arm drags Ambrose on the ramp. HHH says Daniel can come in the ring. Then Reigns spears Daniel. Then The Shield triple teams him. They were going for the triple power bomb but HHH tells them not to. HHH tells Daniel to come in the ring & get whatever’s on his mind off his chest. Daniel struggles up as HHH tells him he’s got that fighting spirit. Daniel starts to get in the ring, HHH taunts him. Then Daniel gets in the ring & then Orton gives Daniel an RKO. The McMahon family & Orton stand over a fallen Daniel to end the show. This was a mixed bag segment. I wasn’t a fan of Triple H’s promo & having Orton be referred to as the “future” when he’s been in WWE for over 11 years was dumb. I did like that Daniel got to go at it with The Shield though. Daniel struggling to get up after they attacked him was good but HHH taunting him got on my nerves. Orton giving Daniel an RKO as he got in the ring made sense since Daniel had just been beaten down by The Shield. I thought this was a mixed bag show for the most part. The opening segment was hit & miss. Cena & Daniel were good with their promos but I wasn’t into Stephanie’s The closing segment was also a mixed bag. Daniel fighting off The Shield was good but HHH was really annoying to me. Heyman cut a good promo earlier on & then Punk’s promo later was well done. He & Heyman were great going back & forth on the mic & I liked the Punk-Axel brawl. That was well done too. The 2 handicap matches with The Shield were solid. Both Dolph & Big Show got some good offense & hope spots in before The Shield got the win. The divas tag was decent & short. I’m not a fan of them cramming Total Divas down our throats though. R-Truth-Bray Wyatt was mostly a squash & The Usos vs. Heath & Jinder was solid. The Primetime Players vs. The Real Americans was decent too. I’m way beyond tired of the Zeb Coulter character though. It also looks like the Primetime Players are the good guys. The Footlocker plug with Zack Ryder & Justin Gabriel, followed by Fandango coming in was entirely pointless, the Ryback segment was awful, I have no idea why they turned him heel. Cody-Sandow was solid but I’m not sure why they had this match tonight since it was on PPV last night though. They’re not really making Sandow a believable threat to the World Champion. They seem to do that with heels who win MITB. I’m not sure why. Miz-Barrett was decent too but I wasn’t surprised that Fandango got involved. The vignette on Los Matadores was decent too & I read that they’re Primo & Epico. Sin Cara-Del Rio was short. I actually read that when Cara went for the dive he got a legit injury, which was why the match ended. I liked Ricardo coming out & telling Del Rio that he’s representing RVD now. It looks like RVD will challenge Del Rio for the world title. So I thought this week’s show definitely had its up & downs for sure. It wasn’t as good as the last few weeks but not all of it was as bad as I expected it to be. My biggest hope is that they actually have Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Title & they put the title back on Bryan! The guy has more than earned it!

8-16-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 16, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with the Wyatt family coming to the ring. Then the show a video package recapping the Kane-Bray Wyatt story. The Wyatt family is in the ring & Bray says who they are. They’ve come to the conclusion recently that their actions have been misinterpreted. Bray wants to clarify a few things. He’s got a special story to tell. Once there was a special little boy. This little boy went to school like all the rest of the children, but kids can be so cruel. Even though this boy was bigger than the other ones he would cower to their harsh words. They’d call him a freak, they’d beat on him & they would send him running home everyday with tears down his face all for just being himself. But 1 day the boy decided that he was going to change the world. He was gonna go to school & everything would be different, but instead of him changing everything he ran away & found another little crutch to hide behind. This crutch gave him a new sense of power & allowed him to be whatever he wanted to be. This crutch was a mask. Behind this mask he gave himself a new name, Kane. Behind this mask Kane allowed himself to live his life& the fans eat it all up everyday for no reason. Bray says no more lies. Bray knows who & what he himself is. He walks on water just to prove that he can. He bites the head off of a snake just to taste its poison & he promises the monster that this Sunday in the city of Angels, Bray will prove that 1 man’s hell is another man’s Paradise. Follow the buzzards. Then Kane’s pyro goes & Bray waits eagerly for him. Kane comes out from the crowed, yanks Rowan out of the ring & throws him into the post. Then Harper goes outside the ring but Kane lets him have it too, throwing him into the steel steps. Bray invites Kane into the ring & Kane comes in. After a bit Bray charges Kane but Kane sends him into the turnbuckle & pounds away on him. Then Rowan & Harper come back in but Kane fights them off. Then Kane sets up Bray for the choke slam but rowan tries to break it up, but Kane lets him have it. Then Kane throws Harper over the top to the floor. Then Bray gives Kane a running elbow. Then Rowan & Harper come back in & pound on Kane. Then Bray gives Kane Sister Abigail. This was a good opening promo. Bray Wyatt’s character is awesome & they’ve been doing a great job building up to his SummerSlam match with Kane. That should be good. Christian vs. Damien Sandow. Christian gets the pin. This was a solid back & forth match. Then Sandow goes to clothesline Christian but Christian ducks & spears Sandow. Then out come Del Rio & he hits Christian from behind. He kicks on Christian for a bit. Then he gets the mic & tells Christian that he will never get the gold. Is Christian going loco? This is the end of the road for Christian. He will never be World Champion again. Then he his Christian in the head with the mic. Then Del Rio sets him up for the cross arm breaker but Christian escapes & gives Del Rio the kill switch. This was good too. They’ve done a good job building to this match also. Backstage Renee Young interviews RVD. Renee congratulates RVD on winning the battle royal Monday. RVD thanks her. Then Renee asks for his thoughts going into his U.S. Title match at the SummerSlam kickoff against Dean Ambrose. RVD says it’s been a little while since we’ve seen some gold around his waist. That’s what his focus is. He is gonna win the U.S. Title. Then Renee asks him if there’s any level of concern for the other Shield guys getting involved in his match. Then Mark Henry & Big Show come in & RVD says he’s not worried. Then Renee says that Big Show had a very dramatic return Monday. She asks what brought him back. He realized that he was sitting at home & had some unfinished business with The Shield. The Shield is running around the place like they can do whatever they want. The Shield calls themselves the hounds of justice. A hound is a hunter. Rollins & Reigns are the tag champions & are about to be the hunted. Mark Henry then says that they call themselves The Shield & a shield is what they will need because they got a giant & at SummerSlam RVD has nothing to worry about. RVD then says that The Shield, especially Dean Ambrose will need to be worried because The Shield will get a taste of justice courtesy of Big Show, Mark Henry & RVD. This was a good backstage interview. Kaitlyn & Natalya vs. Layla & Divas Champion AJ Lee. Layla & AJ win when AJ pins Kaitlyn. This was a decent match. Backstage Renee Young interviews Ryback. She asks Ryback if he’s not on the SummerSlam PPV because of the brutality he’s shown against his opponents. Ryback mimics Renee & then says that he lives for brutality. Everyday he wakes up he lives for brutality. Of course he’s not on SummerSlam because people are scared of him (Says the guy who had his own match stopped & then walked out on another 1 of his matches). You have no idea. Then he sees somebody & asks what they’re looking at. Then he walks over to some production guy & asks him if there’s something funny. The guy looks down & Ryback asks him again what he is looking at. He tells the guy to look at him when he is talking to him. He says the guy looks scared & asks him again what he is looking at. The guy doesn’t say anything & that’s good enough for Ryback. Then Ryback punches the guy in the mid section. Then he sarcastically asks the guy if he’s ok & then he slaps him. Then he shoves him over a table. Then Ryback goes back to Renee. He says that people are scared of him. This was pointless. Having Ryback being this bully guy who walks out on his matches is idiotic. They show a CM Punk video package. There’re comments from both Punk & Heyman. Punk says that Heyman saw something in him. Heyman says Punk was willing to fight & that’s what it takes to be a WWE Champion. They show clips of Punk’s long title reign. Heyman says that respected Punk. Punk says that he owes his career to Heyman. Heyman views himself as a better person because of Punk’s acceptance. Then they show Heyman double crossing Punk at MITB. Then they show Brock throwing Punk around & Heyman telling Punk that he can’t beat Brock. Then they reshow Punk issuing “the best vs. the beast” challenge. Then they show the past 2 weeks of Brock & Punk laying each other out. This was a really well done video package. This should be a great match. I’m really looking forward to this! Big Show, Mark Henry & RVD vs. The Shield. Show, Henry & RVD win when RVD pins Ambrose. This was a good match. The Miz is in the ring & set for his match with Jack Swagger. Then out come Zeb Coulter, Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro. Zeb says that he spent a few hours in San Jose today & asks if the people know the way out. Then he tells Miz that no one likes him because just like Miz’s adopted town of Hollywood, Miz himself is a phony. He walks around with his Hollywood friends, both of them with his head in the clouds & not realizing anything that is going on with Real Americans. Miz is oblivious to the fact of what is going on in this country. Miz ought to be ashamed & so should all the fans in the building that they’ve allowed this state to be overrun by illegal immigrants, criminals, freaks & bad actors. If Hollywood had any sense the names they would put in lights would be Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro. Zeb can see it now, “The Real American Story.” That would do some good because it is real. Then he does the “Everyone stand up & say we the People” bit. I’m way beyond tired of this character! The Miz vs. Jack Swagger. Miz gets the pin. This was short & ok. Zack Ryder vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Axel gets the pin. This match was all Axel. Not much to it. Then Paul Heyman gets in the ring & asks for a mic. Break time. Back from break & Heyman says that on Monday he got outsmarted by Punk. Punk pulled off the impossible. Brock & Heyman conspired against the fans’ hero & what did Punk do? He picked up a camera & he smashed Brock right in the face with it. Heyman says that all Punk proved was how right Heyman’s been all along all these years when he hyped punk as the best. SummerSlam has a very successful marketing plan this year. This is Punk’s thirst for revenge on Heyman & more importantly Brock. Now that dynamic has shifted because this Sunday Punk is now the target of revenge & that vengeance will come in the form of Heyman’s beast Brock Lesnar. This was a great Heyman promo. This match should be good. Time for a video package recapping the Cena-Bryan storyline. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett in a No DQ match. Daniel gets the pin. During this Vince’s music played & he came out mocking Daniel’s beard & height (That was idiotic). Break time. Back from break & the match continues. Daniel gets Barrett in the yes lock but Vince yanks the referee out of the ring. Daniel yells at Vince & then Barrett gives Daniel the bull hammer. Then Vince brings out Brad Maddox to make the count but Daniel kicks out. Then Daniel escapes Barrett’s waste land by kicking him in the head. Daniel goes for the cover but Brad doesn’t make the count. Then as Daniel is chewing out Brad Vince hands Barrett a Singapore Cane. Barrett winds up hitting Brad by mistake & then he drop kicks Barrett into Brad. Then Barrett was gonna running power slam Daniel through a table that was set up in the corner but Daniel escapes that too & sends Barrett through it. Then Vince pulls 1 of the referee’s shirts off & says that he is the referee. Then Triple H’s music hits & he comes out in a referee shirt. Daniel gives Barrett a flying head butt & HHH counts to 3. Then HHH & Daniel do the yes chant as Vince walks up the ramp all disgusted. In the ring HHH raises Daniel’s hand & then Orton’s music hits & he comes out. He stands on the stage & holds up his Money in the bank case. This ends the show. WINNER – DANIEL BRYAN. The match started out good but then went into overbooked mode when Vince, Brad & HHH came out. I’m really hoping that they let Cena & Daniel have a good match Sunday, with VERY minimal interference from Vince but I have this bad feeling that HHH will get knocked out, Vince will have Brad come out & then Stephanie will come out too & try to be the peacemaker. I’m also hoping that this whole McMahon family saga doesn’t turn out to be all a set up & that HHH & Stephanie don’t turn heel too. That would really be dropping the ball on a really entertaining story. I thought this was a good show for the most part. Bray Wyatt’s promo at the start was really well done. He does a great job at playing this creepy character. They’ve done a good job building to the Kane-Bray match for SummerSlam. The Punk-Brock-Heyman video package was really well done too. I’m really looking forward to that match. Christian-Sandow was solid too & I liked Del Rio coming out afterwards. Del Rio saying that Christian will never be World Champion again & then setting him up for the cross breaker only to have Christian counter it into the kill switch was good. They’ve done a good job building to this match too. The Divas tag match was decent. I wasn’t into the backstage bit with Ryback. Talk about a guy who’s really been deemphasized. Miz vs. Swagger was ok & short. I am way beyond tired of the Zeb Coulter character! Time to get rid of that gimmick! Ryder-Axel was all Axel the whole time. The RVD-Mark Henry-Big Show interview segment backstage was also good. Paul Heyman’s in ring promo was great too as he continues to hype the Punk-Brock match. This has the potential to be the best match at the PPV. The 6 man tag was also a very good match. I think they should give RVD the U.S. Title since he said it’s been awhile since he’s had gold around his waist (Not counting the TNA World Title naturally). The Daniel Bryan-Wade Barrett match started out good but then went into overbooking mode once Vince, Brad & HHH got involved. This whole thing with Vince mocking Daniel for being short & having a scraggly beard is typical Vince stupidity. I guess we’re also supposed to forget that Vince was leery of Brad almost a year ago because he thought that he was working with Heyman. I’m really hoping that the Cena-Daniel match Sunday will be a good 1 & that they don’t over due the McMahon stuff. I also hope to God that they don’t have HHH turn on Bryan or have Bryan win the title & then have Orton cash in & beat him for it. So overall I thought this was a solid show but the end was overbooked & has got me worried about what they’ll do with the WWE Title match.

8-15-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 15, 2013 Hardcore Justice episode of Impact The show starts with Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries vs. Frankie Kazarian in a 4 way BFG Series ladder match. Kazarian wins for 20 more points with assistance from Daniels & Bobby Roode. This was a great match & a good way start the show. Jeff Hardy was climbing the ladder & then Daniels got the referee’s attention (I’m not sure why since there are no DQs in ladder matches). While the ref was tied up with Daniels Roode came in & went to pull Jeff off the ladder but Jeff kicked him away. Then Kazarian climbed the ladder & threw Daniels’ appletinni into Jeff’s face. Then Kazarian grabbed the clipboard for the win. WINNER – FRANKIE KAZARIAN. Backstage camera guy asks Sabin how he prepares for a cage match. Sabin says he used to watch Ray & Devon put guys threw flaming tables. He isn’t taking Ray lightly, but Ray shouldn’t take him lightly either. He beat him a month ago & he will beat him again tonight. Dixie Carter & MEM come to the ring. Dixie says that 2 weeks ago Kurt Angle went into a rehab center & is still there. They aren’t sure when he when he will be back but he has the support of Dixie & MEM. Cue the Aces & 8s music & out they come. Anderson says since Angle’s not there that means MEM has a week to find a replacement. Anderson says next week they’ll be able to say they ended Rampage Jackson’s wrestling career before it started. They’ll also have ended the career of Samoa Joe. Then he gets to Sting. The fans cheer him & Anderson says Sting will never wrestle again. Anderson then says that Magnus was gonna be the future of Impact Wrestling. Magnus says the only future Anderson needs to worry about is his immediate future because Magnus is gonna let him have it. Magnus says it might be hard to find a replacement for Angle, but Norfolk is MEM country so maybe they recruit someone in the crowed. One way or the other Aces & 8s can be sure that 1 of them is going home with the pink slip. Anderson says tonight starts a new chapter in the Aces & 8s book. Ray regains the world title tonight & next week they get rid of MEM. Then the brawl starts. This was awful. I’m way past tired of this MEM-Aces & 8s story. The show Tito Ortiz earlier in the day showing up at the arena. ODB vs. Gail Kim vs. Knockouts Champion Mickie James. ODB wins when she pins Gail. This was a solid match (Note: This match was supposed to be Velvet & ODB vs. Gail & Mickie. How come they switched the match & had no explanation as to where Velvet was?) WINNER - ODB Backstage we see MEM. Sting says MEM is vulnerable & they need a replacement. Joe tells Sting to be careful. Sting is gonna talk to Austin Aries because they need him right now. Backstage Sting talks with Aries. Sting says he knows that Aries hates Ray & Aces & 8s as much as MEM does. He also mentions that Aries is a former world champion. Then Sting asks Aries to be part of the MEM team. Aries says that’s a lot to think about. Sting asks him to be part of the family. Aries says no. Cut to Bobby Roode backstage. He changed the landscape of the BFG Series. He helped Kazarian win the ladder match. Now if Roode wins his match he gets 20 points & will be in 2nd place. More backstage stuff as we go back to MEM. Sting says that Aries told him no. Rampage then says that he has the answer but of course he has to say what that is in the ring. Sting tells Joe to go with him. Then they come back after a break. Joe & Rampage come out of the MEM dressing room. Rampage says he’s got the answer & you don’t wanna miss it or something like that. Then they go back to break. What was the point of having this bit in between commercials? Time for a video package recapping the Chris Sabin-Bully Ray saga We then get ANOTHER backstage bit. This time we see Bully Ray on his cell phone. He agrees with his “honey” that this relationship has been anything but normal. Tonight is about him, next week is about “us.” He will take care of Sabin tonight. Then next week they will tell the world the truth about themselves. Then he says, “I love you too Brooke.” Rampage Jackson & Samoa Joe come to the ring. Rampage says he needs the fans’ support. When he first came to Impact Wrestling MMA fans called him a “sell out”. It makes him sad that his own MMA fans don’t know him. He wrestled in high school & loves TNA. Now that he’s part of MEM he feels like he belongs to a family, but he didn’t come here to get his ass kicked by punks. He knows he has to fight this guy in November but he asks Tito Ortiz to be the 5th guy on team MEM. Out comes Tito. Rampage says everybody knows he & Tito will fight on 11-2. Each guy knows what the other can do & he rambles on about that for a bit. Then he says they need Tito’s help. Tito wants to make sure he’s hearing this right. Rampage says they can takeover this sport like they did MMA. Tito says he made headlines. He’s the longest reigning lightweight champion in MMA history & kicked everybody’s butts. Now Rampage wants him to be in the tag match. Then out comes Bully Ray. Ray says if he didn’t have to win back his world title later he would beat the piss outta both Tito & Rampage. Then there would be no Bellator PPV. Ray already has Rampage’s number. Then Ray says that he warned Tito (Or Blondie as Ray called him) that if he crosses Ray, Ray will make Tito his Huntington Beach b**ch. Tito wants some of Ray but Joe & Rampage hold him back. Ray says Tito’s got nothing on him. This was terrible. Rampage’s promo was idiotic, Tito was lousy on the mic here too & I really wish they wouldn’t have plugged their Bellator fight! That was idiotic. Then out comes Ken Anderson. He will be in a BFG Series match next. Magnus vs. Samoa Joe vs. Ken Anderson vs. Bobby Roode in a BFG Series tables match. Roode wins for 20 more points after power bombing Magnus threw a table. This was a good match. Kazarian & Daniels came out. Magnus & Roode were on the 2nd turnbuckle & Daniels threw his appletini into Magnus’ face. The Roode power bombed Magnus off the ropes & through the table for the win. WINNER – BOBBY ROODE They show the cage being set up. The world title match is next. Backstage Sting is asked if Tito will be on team MEM. Sting says Tito’s an asset wherever he goes. Sting’s gut says this will work out. Tito will be a great asset to MEM. But he just doesn’t know. Backstage we see Ray & Anderson. Anderson asks if Ray can do better than he did. Ray asks if he means by beating Sabin. Then they argue about the hammer. All Ray’s been hearing is if he can beat Sabin. Anderson asks if he can. Ray asks if he has help from his club. Anderson says they’re not his enemy. Ray says that they sure don’t seem like his ally. TNA World Champion Chris Sabin vs. Bully Ray in a steel cage match for the title. Ray gets the pin to retain the Title. There was a ref bump & then Ray threw the ref into the cage. Then Sabin covered Ray but the ref was out. Then as Sabin was looking to go out the cage door Ken Anderson comes out & locks the cage door. Then out come Rampage & Tito. They lay out Anderson. Then Tito hits Rampage with a hammer. So Tito’s a heel. Then Ray power bombed Sabin for the pin. WINNER & TNA World Champion – BULLY RAY. Then Tito gets in the cage & raises Ray’s hand to end the show. This was a good match & I knew Ray would regain the title. I wasn’t too crazy about the Tito Ortiz heel turn though. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Rampage vs. Tito before November 2. I hope I’m wrong, but I got a feeling. This was the typical kinda show we’ve been getting from TNA the past 3 weeks. Good wrestling & questionable (to say the least) booking. There were only 4 matches on this show. I liked the ladder match at the start & the cage match at the end was good too but they didn’t need the ref bump. I knew Aces & 8s would get involved in the match but I still wasn’t into that. The 3 way knockouts match was solid but I’m not sure why it wasn’t Velvet & ODB vs. Gail & Mickie like they announced. The tables match was also good. Roode continues to gain momentum in the BFG Series. The Dixie promo supporting Kurt Angle was down right terrible, the Rampage promo later on was awful too. Having them talk more about his Bellator fight with Tito Ortiz was idiotic & the rest of the promo was lame too. There were also too many backstage segments this week. They really need to cut down on those. So overall I thought this was a mixed bag show.