9-30-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 30, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with CM Punk coming to the ring. Then they reshow the angle from last week. Then Punk says there’re a lot of people who say this thrives on unpredictability. He is as unpredictable as they come. But sometimes predictability works. Last week he was in his home town & it was predictable he would get beat up. It was also predictable that Heyman would brag about beating Punk. It was also predictable that he would go after Heyman. Then he mentions that last week he got jumped by Axel & Heyman. Punk’s ok with predictability. This story ends when he puts Axel to sleep, shows Ryback what happens to bullies & then finally gets to face Heyman 1 on 1. Then the fans chant Ryback sucks & Punk tells the fans not to be shy & to let the world know what they think. The story ends when he beats Heyman. It could end at Battleground, next Monday or right here tonight. Punk isn’t leaving the ring till he gets a fight. He doesn’t care if it’s Ryback, Axel or Heyman. The record books might say that Heyman beat Punk but everyone will know that Punk will put Heyman out of his misery. Then out comes Brad Maddox. Punk asks why Brad doesn’t have any entrance music (That was funny). Brad gets that Punk was embarrassed last week, but Punk’s looking for an ultimate showdown with Heyman & Ryback now & that’s not what’s best for business. Punk knows he gets to face Ryback at Battleground. Brad then says that as Raw GM he has the power to give Punk a match tonight if he wants 1. Punk says he’s looking for an outlet for his aggression. Cue Big E Langston’s music & out he comes (That was a nice surprise). He says if Punk wants aggression, he’s Punk’s guy. Then he attacks Punk. Punk gets out of the way when Big E goes for a charging shoulder block into the corner. Then Brad brings out a referee. Punk vs. Big E. will be next. This was a great way to start the show. Punk is always awesome on the mic & tonight was no different. I also liked that they had Big E Langston come out & be the guy that Punk faces next. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Big E. CM Punk vs. Big E Langston. Punk gets the pin. This was a solid match. They show a YouTube video on Kofi Kingston’s Trouble in Paradise finisher. Kofi Kingston vs. Fandango. Kofi gets the pin. This was a decent match. Then out go the lights, The Wyatt family Tron show up & they come out. Kofi has a chair as Bray sits in his rocking chair outside the ring. The keep the lights off. Then Bray says he has spent most of his life trying to understand why horrible things happen to him. He wondered if the nightmare would end but it never did. Now he knows what he must do. 1 by 1 they will all fall down. Follow the Buzzards. This was a decent promo. Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow will be on the Battleground kick off. These guys are on the preshow & they announce this match when the PPV only has 3 matches scheduled? Backstage we see The Bellas. They’re thrilled Brie is the number 1 contender for the Divas title. Then Orton comes in. He congratulates Brie on her engagement to Daniel. Orton asks when the big day is. He asks because it should be set sooner rather than later. Orton says that if it’s after Sunday there’s a good chance Daniel might not walk down the aisle because he won’t be able to walk. This was a decent backstage promo. Backstage Renee Young interviews Paul Heyman. She wants Heyman’s reactions from before. Heyman says it must be hard for everyone to watch a guy with such promise descend into madness. Punk’s obsessed with getting his hand on Heyman but that won’t happen. After Sunday Punk will no longer be bullying anybody. Punk’s a nobody that became a Heyman guy, then a Heyman guy who became WWE Champion & then forgot that “THEY” were the best in the world. Renee asks if there’s another Ryback-Axel trap set up. Heyman says him being alive is a trap. He has big night planned he tells Punk to get the manhood to make a move & try. This was the usual good promo we get from Heyman. Time for the video package on Los Matadores. They’re debuting next. Out come Los Matadores (Fernando & Diego) for their debut. They have a guy in a bull costume as their mascot. This gimmick isn’t lasting very long. Los Matadores vs. Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal. Los Matadores win when Slater gets pinned. This was a squash. HHH & Stephanie McMahon come to the ring. HHH wants to invite the Rhodes family to come to the ring. He guarantees their safety just like any other super star. Out come Dusty, Dustin (wearing Goldust face paint) & Cody. Stephanie welcomes them & says the fans are happy to have them there. Then Stephanie congratulates Cody on his wedding & also wants to make sure that Dusty gave Cody her present. Then HHH asks why they look angry. HHH gave Cody a chance to get his job back by beating Orton but he lost. Then they gave Dustin the same chance & he lost too. Then he mentions that Dusty makes this about Dusty. Is Dusty still bitter about not making it outside the Florida territory? Then he mentions that when Dusty was in WWE with the polka dots gear that didn’t work for him either. HHH mentions that Dusty told Stephanie to go to hell & he got knocked out for it. Stephanie says Dusty has the most important job in WWE. He trains talent at the performance center. Stephanie then says that they’d like to give Cody his job back & Dustin an opportunity to gain employment. That will happen if Dustin & Cody can beat Reigns & Rollins at Battleground. HHH says if they win they get their jobs back. But if they lose then Cody & Dustin will never work in WWE again. Not only that but Dusty will also join them on the unemployment line. Dusty says HHH is big on getting in people’s faces. Then Dusty gets in Hunter’s. Then Dusty says that he will be in his son’s corner & will be Hunter’s Huckleberry all night long (Whatever that meant). Stephanie then says it looks like Dusty’s looking for a fight. Be careful what he wishes for, he just might get it. Then out come The Shield & Reigns spears Dustin. Then they attack Dusty. Cody goes after them too but they end up giving him the triple power bomb. This was a solid segment & thankfully not that long. HHH & Stephanie were their usual selves on the mic here & Dusty cut a decent promo. The Shield attacking Dusty, Dustin & Cody was solid too. R-Truth vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. R-Truth gets the pin. CM Punk’s music plays during the match. That distracts Axel & then R-Truth hits him with his finisher for the pin. WINNER –R-TRUTH. This was a solid match but I’m tired of having someone’s music play & having that always distract someone in the match. Heyman’s reaction to Punk’s music was great though. Michael Cole mentions that Trish Stratus gave birth to a baby boy today. His name is Maximus. Congrats Trish! They show a video package on Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella. These are clips from Total Divas. They’re really making a big deal out of this marriage. Brie Bella vs. Alicia Fox. Brie gets the pin. This was alright. They showed AJ & Tamina watching backstage. Backstage we see Heyman & Axel. Axel is pacing. Heyman tells Axel that he is looking at this the wrong way. Then Heyman says Punk thinks he’s so cleaver but he’s out of their league. Then in comes Ryback. He says that no one has to be threatened by Punk’s presence. If Punk wants them why not give Punk what he wants. Heyman tells Ryback go find a snack. Then Heyman tells Axel that he has a whole new outlook on things since Ryback saved his life. Tonight Heyman will “propose” to Ryback. Backstage Renee Young interviews Big Show. He’s holding up as well as he can. Renee mentions the situations he’s been in & on Smackdown he looked like he was about to explode. Then they reshow the Big Show-HHH promo from Smackdown (which was terrible). Show says his financial situation is being held over his head. Everyone’s telling him to be a man & do the right thing. That’s easy to say when your neck’s not on the line. Show’s forced to choose the lesser of 2 evils. Big Show is that he wouldn’t choose evil & is a good man (even though he has been heel before). He is doing what is “right” for his family. He’s done everything he’s been asked to do. He knocked out a WWE Hall of Famer & a guy he idolized, Dusty Rhodes. He watched as The Shield attacked Dusty earlier but he couldn’t do anything about it. Now he can’t look Dusty in the eye. There’s only so much Show can take. Every sick weird thing they’ve made him do he’s done but he’s not going to take it anymore. He will find HHH & show him exactly how he feels. Renee asks what he’s saying. Show says he will knock HHH out. This was a really well done promo. Big Show was great here. Backstage R-Truth tells Brad he wants an IC Title match. Brad will take it under advisement. Then Big Show bursts in, roughs up Brad & asks where HHH is. Brad doesn’t know. Show tells Brad to find him because he will be waiting right there in the GM office. Zack Ryder vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a decent match but the everyone knew Del Rio was winning this. Then he kicks Ryder before leaving. Ryback & Paul Heyman come to the ring. Heyman says that not only was he man enough to pin Punk & prove he’s the best in the world but he’s an expert in political science. Since he “owns” Punk he knew it was his obligation to squash Punk’s attempted rebellion. Punk had to be put down by Heyman. Then Heyman gives us Exhibit A. They reshow Ryback & Axel-Punk brawl from last week. Then Heyman says Punk’s a man of commitment but his commitment has been to break Heyman’s face. The only reason Heyman’s face is on TV tonight is because of Ryback stopping Punk. Ryback says if there’s 1 thing he hates in this negative world it’s a bully. Punk took all the knowledge & friendship that Heyman gave him only to throw it back Heyman’s face. Ryback couldn’t let that stand. Heyman’s a genius & there’s nothing Ryback wouldn’t do for him. Heyman’s glad because 2013 is such a progressive year. It’s time people stop living in denial of their true feelings. Heyman doesn’t want them to be stigmatized in that super star-advocate stereo type. Heyman walks around like a man & feels free thanks to Ryback. Heyman wants to feel this way every day for the rest of his life. So in front of the entire world Heyman wants to…The fans chant something & Heyman yells at them for chiming in. Heyman says this needs to become an official commitment. Heyman wants to make an honest man out of Ryback. Then Heyman gets on 1 knee & holds his hand. Then he asks Ryback if he will….Become a Paul Heyman guy. Then Punk’s music plays & he jumps over the barricade but he fell over & hurt himself. Punk stands at ringside favoring his left leg. Then he tries to get in the ring but he can’t. Then a medic comes out to check on Punk. Then Heyman takes out a Kendo stick & canes Heyman. Then he gets in the ring to cane Ryback. Ryback blocks it but then Punk canes Axel him & then Ryback. Then Punk canes Axel some more. Punk chokes Axel with the cane & hits him with it again. Then he gives Axel the GTS. This was awesome! Heyman “proposing” to Ryback to become a Heyman guy was good. Punk faking the injury & then hitting Heyman, Ryback & Axel with the cane was really well done. I am curious if Axel will turn face since Heyman & Ryback left him to take the beating. Like all Heyman promos he said a lot & it was difficult to keep up with everything he said. My apologies if I missed anything. They show Big Show still waiting in the office for HHH. Dolph Ziggler & The Usos vs. The Shield. The Shield win when Reigns pins Dolph. This was a good match. Big Show’s still in Triple H’s office. He takes his jacket tie off & rolls up his sleeves. Break time. Back from break & Big Show’s still waiting. The cops come in. They ask “Mr. White” to come along. Then Stephanie comes in. She says that he’s been under a lot of stress. He’s had to knockout Daniel Bryan, The Miz & Dusty Rhodes. He’s trying to put food on the table for his family. Then she says that he also has a mortgage payment. Stephanie will vouch for him. Stephanie also spoke to Show’s wife & she said that he hasn’t been living up to her expectations. Stephanie & the cops leave as Big Show has a seat & worries. Then he looks at the Triple King of Kings poster & punches it off the wall. This was weak. Stephanie was awful here but Big Show was good selling his frustration. Backstage Renee Young interviews RVD. She says the world title match will be anything goes. RVD could talk about this but he’d rather show how he excels when it’s hardcore rules. They show some WWE & ECW clips of RVD’s spots. Then RVD says ADR is vicious & sadistic but he has no clue what hardcore rules means. When it’s hardcore there are no rules. This Sunday they’ll get hardcore for the world title. The perfect translation for hardcore is very simple, even ADR can understand it. It’s Rob Van Dam. Big Show will face The Shield on Smackdown in a 3 on 1 handicap match. Zeb Coulter, Jack Swagger & Antonio Cesaro are in the ring. Zeb says Mississippi is a third world country & a bit lower than Alabama on the ladder. Only real Americans can say what they say. We the People. I’m tired of this gimmick. Santino Marella vs. Antonio Cesaro. Santino gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. Jerry Lawler is in the ring. In case anyone missed this earlier (like anyone could’ve missed this. They talked about enough times) he congratulates Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella on their engagement. King says we’ll get the full story on that when Total Divas returns in November but till let’s bring out the guy who popped the question Daniel Bryan. Then King brings out the guy who will face Daniel for the vacant WWE Title Randy Orton. King says this is supposed to be a verbal confrontation. King mentions that HHH made a controversial decision taking the title off of Daniel. Orton was upset at first but he realized that he should be glad the title is held up because it inspired him. He’s no longer the viper that the fans got behind. He’s the viper who beat the crap out of Miz in Miz’s home town. Orton will beat Daniel for the title because he is superior to a weak, B + goat faced troll. Daniel says Orton talks a great game. He says that Orton is very monotone & it sounds like he practices in front of a mirror. Then he asks Orton why HHH felt the need to inspire him. Is it because he wants to make money off of Orton or is it because HHH knows that Orton can’t reach his full potential without Hunter’s support. Daniel has never needed anyone to reach his potential. This Sunday he achieves more when he beats Orton & becomes WWE Champion. Cue the Yes chant. Then Orton screams no tells the fans to shut up. He knows Daniel is on a role. After all he’s marrying a Bella, but what could be wrong with Brie for settling for Daniel. One day Brie will realize she’s sleeping with a barn yard animal. Then Daniel attacks Orton. They go to the floor & Orton gets the upper hand. He rams Daniel’s shoulder into the post a few times. Then he sets him up on the barrier. He punches Daniel & sets Daniel up on the ring for the elevated DDT. Then out comes Brie Bella & Orton gives Daniel the DDT. Then Orton takes apart the announce table. Brie pleads with Orton to stop. Then Orton sets Daniel up on the table & gives him an RKO through it. Brie screams at Orton to stop as referees check on Daniel. Then Brie checks on Daniel too & Orton has the evil viper look on his face to end the show. This was really well done. Orton did a good job in being the psycho heel & there was a good amount of sympathy for Daniel. Brie coming out & begging Orton to stop was also good. I thought this was a solid show for the most part. They did a good job building to the few matches that they have on the PPV. The Punk promo at the start of the show, leading to his match with Big E was well done & the match was solid too. The Daniel-Orton face off was also well done. The Big Show stuff was a mixed bag. He cut a great promo but the bit with him & Stephanie & the cops in Hunter’s office was a weak. The Rhodes family-HHH & Stephanie segment was solid too & not too long. The 6 man tag was good too, Brie-Fox was alright, Kofi-Fandango was decent, Truth-Axel was solid, Santino-Cesaro was ok & Ryder-Del Rio was decent. The Ryback-Heyman in ring segment was good too & then Punk coming out, faking an injury & then hitting the heels with the cane was really well done. Overall I thought this was a solid show & they did a good job building to the few matches that will happen Sunday.

9-27-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 27, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with HHH coming to the ring. He says that there has been a lot of disturbing being said about the last month. There’ve been words used like favoritism & abuse of power. It’s ridiculous to him that the WWE super stars can’t accept their own inadequacies, or their own failures. They would rather blame management for what is quite simply, their own failure. HHH & Stephanie are ok with that burden. It’s the burden they have everyday as the authority in this company. It’s a burden that they accept. They know that they can’t make everybody happy. So they do what’s “best for business” (Man I’m tired of hearing that) & even when they do what’s “best for business” like they did Monday night they still receive criticism from the fans & from the super stars. For example like when HHH gave the fans a match on Monday. An 11 on 3 handicap elimination match with their favorite super stars against The Shield. HHH supposed that’s bad on his part. Then they reshow the finish to that match. Then HHH says that if there were any problems in the locker room they were clearly settled there but somehow that wasn’t good enough. That “business” was not made to quell an uprising it was made because it is “best for business” (That match actually was really good). Quite simply HHH gave…Cue The Miz’s music & he comes out. He asks HHH if he really feels like he’s been fair & impartial. HHH says that Miz is question HHH fairness after all the opportunities he gave him. Miz is a classic example of what HHH was just talking about. Miz is a guy that’s given an opportunity that fails &he blames someone else. HHH gave Miz the opportunity he asked for. HHH put Miz in the ring with “the face of WWE.” HHH gave him the opportunity of a life time to get in the ring with Randy Orton & Miz choked. Then he asks the guys in the production truck “on such short notice” to reshow what happened when Miz faced Orton in his own hometown of Cleveland. The reshow Orton beating the crap out of Miz from that Raw. Then HHH says, “I suppose that’s management’s fault huh?” HHH gets that’s probably hard to swallow especially since it happened right in front of Miz’s parents, but HHH doesn’t how giving Miz that opportunity & Miz failing at it is on HHH himself. Then HHH says that this past Monday Miz wasn’t ready to compete & it’s Triple H’s job as COO to protect Miz even if it’s to protect Miz from himself. Miz would’ve gotten in the ring with Orton if HHH let him & God knows what Orton would have done to Miz. HHH did his job by protecting Miz. Miz couldn’t get in the ring so HHH gave him another opportunity. He gave Miz a plat form to say his piece & the freedom to speak his mind when he let him have his Miz TV segment. Now we get a look back at that opportunity that Miz squanders. They reshow Big Show knocking out Miz. Miz says that wasn’t opportunity. All HHH gave him was a set up. HHH “the good cop” told Miz to speak his mind only to have Stephanie “the bad cop” hijack his interview & have Big Show knock him out. He sarcastically thanks HHH for that “great opportunity.” The way HHH sees it is that Stephanie was justified in coming to the ring. HHH gave Miz the opportunity to speak his mind but what was it that Miz called Stephanie? He tells Miz to feel free to say it again. Miz says that he called her a castrating witch but he should’ve switched the W to a B. HHH says that Miz runs his mouth & can’t back up what he says. HHH again says that Stephanie was justified in what happened but HHH gets it. Tempers ran hot. Everybody was upset & HHH gets that. Especially after the beating that Miz took from Orton in front of his parents. HHH gets that maybe Miz said some things that he shouldn’t have & maybe Stephanie did some things that she shouldn’t have done. HHH can vouch for Stephanie & say that she regrets doing what she did to Miz. HHH then says that he wants to give Miz another opportunity tonight. If Miz wants to blame this on HHH & Stephanie, that’s ok. It’s all water under the bridge. Monday night Miz wasn’t healthy but it’s a whole week later (It’s a whole night later when they taped this & it’s a whole 4 days later when this airs. That’s not a whole week Hunter). Hunter’s sure that Miz is feeling ok tonight so HHH will give Miz the opportunity that he couldn’t have Monday. HHH is gonna give Miz Randy Orton tonight. HHH will give Miz his chance at retribution & his opportunity for revenge. That is if Miz wants it. Miz says he wants it. HHH is glad that he does. Then HHH just thought of something. He says that Cleveland isn’t too far from where they are. HHH asks if he should fly there & bring Miz’s parents over. He’s sure they’d love to see Miz redeem himself. Hunter will work on that in the back, but in the meantime why doesn’t Miz get into his ring gear because tonight his opportunity is knocking. Tonight it will be Orton 1 on 1 with Miz. “Go get him tiger.” This was the usual long 15 minute opening promo that we get on Smackdown. Miz was good here but I’m tired of HHH. R-Truth vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio gets the pin. This was mostly a squash. Then Del Rio locks the arm breaker on Truth. Then out come RVD & Ricardo. RVD gets in the ring & stomps on the champ. Then Ricardo gives RVD a chair. He rams Del Rio in the gut with it a couple times. Del Rio winds up in the corner & RVD chokes him with his foot. Then RVD hits the skateboard dropkick. This was ok. Backstage the show HHH & Vickie watching what just happened on a monitor. Vickie tells HHH that things are getting heated up between RVD & Del Rio (DUH) & that they should make their Battleground match a little more interesting. HHH likes the idea & he makes it a hardcore match. Anything goes. Right out of the old ECW hand book. HHH calls it the Battleground hardcore rules match. Vickie likes the idea & says that what’s “best for business.” Back to the ring & RVD poses with the World Title. Backstage we see The Primetime Players. They run into 2 production guys & to their millions of dollars dance. Titus says anybody can do it & the 2 production guys to that dance too. Darren & Titus aren’t impressed. Titus blows his whistle & gives those guys a penalty. Darren & Titus show them how it’s done. The production guys go for it again & this time PTP go for it. This was pointless. Why were the Primetime Players acting like heels if they’re the baby faces now? Who cares? They show a Real Americans video package. Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro& Zeb Coulter are in the ring. Zeb tells everyone to stand up & shout We the People. He cuts himself off & tells the fans there’s a new rule. No one can say We the People besides Real Americans. They’re tired of being mocked & they would appreciate it if the fans would mind their own business. Then Zeb says We the People. Then out come The Primetime Players. The Primetime Players vs. The Real Americans. The Real Americans win when Swagger makes Cesaro tap. This was a solid match. The Wyatt family makes their way to the ring. Then they show us the video package where Bray says there’s no such thing as a hero. I’m not sure why they showed that video again. Then out comes Zack Ryder. Harper &Rowan grab him & throw him in the ring. Zack Ryder vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. Ryder got in some good offense before getting pinned. Dolph Ziggler (With RVD & Kofi Kingston) vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose (With Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) for the Title. The match ends in a no finish when the 4 guys on the outside brawl. Rollins pulled Dolph’s foot RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REFEREE & then the referee turned his back. Then the brawl began & the referee called for the bell. That was odd. Then Dolph & Ambrose continue to goat it in the ring while RVD & Kofi battle Reigns & Rollins on the outside. Then all 6 guys are in the ring. The brawl continues & The Shield rolls out of the ring. Then out comes HHH & says we’re not gonna have this kind of anarchy (the kind that usually happens). If all 6 guys wanna fight great. This is now gonna be a 6 man tag (That has also become very predictable). Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam & Kofi Kingston vs. The Shield. The Shield wins when Ambrose pins Kofi. This was a good back & forth match. Backstage Renee Young interviews Big Show. Renee mentions that the past few weeks for Big Show have been difficult to say the least? How has he been holding up? Big Show says that every decision that he has made for the past 2 weeks has weighed on his conscious very heavily. He can’t sleep at night; people mock him on the streets. He is a wreck. But he needs to do what’s best for him & his family. He needs this job & having being held over his head… Then HHH comes by. He gets how difficult this is & Big Show doesn’t want this job & if it’s too difficult for him maybe they should just forget it (I wish they would). That’s not what Big Show’s saying HHH says that as a friend he will help Big Show find another job. Maybe as a doorman or a paper boy or maybe an airport baggage guy. HHH says it won’t be easy. A regular sized person can find a job just about anywhere (They’re going with this again) but Big Show is “special” & he needs this job. Big Show gets in Triple H’s face & HHH mimics Big Show’s crying, saying, “I didn’t upset you did I? (Man this is terrible). HHH continues this crap. Big Show rolls up his fist & HHH tells him to think about his family & tells Big Show that he’s gonna do absolutely nothing& like it. Big Show lowers his fist, gets in Hunter’s face & lets out a frustration shout. Then he leaves & HHH has a smirk on his face. This was more of the same “Big Show being blackmailed into doing what HHH & Stephanie tell him to do because he needs this job” crap! This has gotten way past old. In the Goldman Box AJ says that every Diva is against her. So what’s a champ to do? Find protection. She enlisted the help of the only other Diva who is as feared as she is. Tamina. Cameron (With Naomi) vs. Divas Champion AJ Lee (With Tamina Snuka). AJ gets the pin. At 1 point AJ got in Naomi’s face. Then Naomi got on the apron. Then Tamina yanked Naomi off & gave her a clothesline. This was a typical Divas match. It was short & there wasn’t much to this. Backstage we see Paul Heyman & Curtis Axel. Heyman is on his way to the ring next. Paul Heyman comes out on the stage. They reshow what happened at NOCV when he pinned Punk after Ryback laid him out. Then Heyman says the fans are really disappointing him. They react to that footage with shock & horror. Are they really surprised that Heyman pinned Punk? Heyman doesn’t wanna give away his secrets but he will throw 1 at the fans for free. Every single time the fans’ blood lust for his hide drives Punk to come up against him, Punk is going to fail & lose. Have the fans ever considered in this 1 particular circumstance, in this 1 given situation, this 1 unique period in time that they could possibly be wrong? Then Heyman talks about Monday when Punk when his hometown of Chicago & Punk said he knew Heyman was setting up a trap. That’s because it was a trap. When his scooter “failed” it was the fans that motivated Punk to pounce on him. Heyman doesn’t wanna find the fans guilty without sufficient evidence, so he presents exhibit B. They reshow the bit from Monday where Ryback press slammed Punk through a table. Heyman doesn’t wanna stand out there & take credit for that plan. Then he thanks Curtis Axel for helping him put the plan together. Then he thanks his hero Ryback for the damage that he did to Punk but most of all Heyman wants to thank the fans. It’s the fans’ worship of Punk that will drive him to come up against Heyman every…The fans boo. Heyman says they can boo that all they want, Heyman will prove it to them again. Punk has signed for a match against Ryback at Battleground. Do the fans really think that Punk stands a chance against Ryback? Do the fans think that Punk has any hope against Ryback? Do they think that Punk can beat Ryback at Battleground? Heyman says this is what it will come down to; Punk will face Ryback at Battleground & history will repeat itself. The only ones to blame will be the fans because at Battleground Punk will end up flat on his back looking up at the winner of the match; Ryback & Paul Heyman; The best in the world. This was the usual great promo that we get from Heyman! This storyline is easily the best 1 WWE has going right now. Santino Marella vs. Heath Slater. Santino gets the pin. Santino got his sock puppet cobra out & then Jinder takes out a snake charming flute & then Khali takes 1 out too. They both play their flutes & try to charm the sock puppet. Drew gets on the apron but Khali chops him to the floor. Then Jinder tried to make the cobra puppet attack Santino. Then Hornswoggle pulls Jinder off the apron & snaps Jinder’s flute. Then Slater drop kicks Santino to the mat. Then Khali gets back on the apron & plays his flute The cobra puppet “comes to life” & hits Slater & Santino got the pin. (I couldn’t make this up if I tried). WINNER – SANTINO MARELLA. This was totally pointless comedy & it wasn’t funny. Los Matadores are finally coming this Monday.Yay. They recap HHH & Stephanie screwing over the Rhodes family over the last month. Then they show Dustin & Cody attacking The Shield from this past Monday. Then they show a wwe.com interview that Michael Cole conducted with HHH. Hunter admits that he was angry. He’s had a couple days to think about it. He is gonna Cody, Dustin & Dusty be on Raw & they can stand in the ring & say whatever the want. HHH does have a very lucrative proposition for them that he thinks they will be interested in hearing about. What will that offer be? We’ll find out Monday. Then the show a Dustin & Cody video. Cody says their going to be at Raw this week & Dusty will be there too. Dustin says to HHH that if this business proposition is anything like the last 1 there will be hell to pay. Cody says they’ll see them Monday. The Miz vs. Randy Orton. Miz wins by DQ. Miz supposedly hurt himself at 1 point & was outside the ring. Then a medic came out to check on him. Orton pulled Miz back into the ring & continues beating on him. The referee tried to pull off but Orton shoved him. Then the referee called for the bell WINNER BY DQ – THE MIZ. Then Orton continues to pummel Miz & gets in the referee’s face. Then HHH comes out. He sees what Orton is trying to do, purposely getting himself disqualified so he can get out of this match. HHH won’t let Orton take Miz’s opportunity like that. HHH is restarting the match right now. No DQ & the match must be won by pin fall or submission. The Miz vs. Randy Orton in a No DQ match. Orton gets the pin. This was solid. As soon as the referee called for the bell to restart the match Orton attacked Miz on the floor. He threw Miz over the announce table & then over the time keeper wall. Then Miz got a chair & hit Orton a few times with that. Then Orton got the upper hand & gave Miz the elevated DDT off the barricade. Then Orton rolled Miz back into the ring. He stood over Miz, picked him up slowly & then gave him an RKO & got the pin. WINNER – RANDY ORTON. Then medics & referees come in to check on Miz as Orton poses on the turnbuckle to end the show. I thought this was a mixed bag show overall. The opening in ring promo with Miz &HHH was the usual long winded promo that we get at the start of almost every Smackdown. Miz-Orton was solid & they’re doing a decent job continuing to get Orton over as this psychotic heel. Dolph-Ambrose was decent too & I liked Dolph, RVD & Kofi vs. The Shield match. Paul Heyman cut his usual great promo! That was easily the highlight of the show for me. Cameron-AJ wasn’t really much; Santino-Slater was the not funny comedy that WWE likes to do. The whole bit with the flutes was beyond stupid. The Primetime Players-Real Americans match was solid too but I’m tired of the Zeb Coulter character. R-Truth-Del Rio was mostly a squash. Ryder-Wyatt was decent. Ryder got in some good offense before getting pinned. I’m way past tired of the whole “Big Show has to do what HHH & Stephanie tell him to do because he needs this job” angle. I thought they did a good job in hyping up the Rhodes family being on Raw. It should be interesting to see what they have to say Monday. Overall I thought this week’s show had its ups & downs for sure.

9-26-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 26, 2013 episode of Impact The show starts with Dixie coming into the building. Sting comes by & says since she has her phone she must have gotten his text. He asks why she turned heel on AJ. She tells Sting not to worry about the situation with her & AJ. She’s got this under control. Bully Ray & Brooke Tessmacher come to the ring. Ray says that he is rarely at a loss for words but Dixie shocked him last week. Ray had been wondering how he was gonna beat AJ Styles but now he no longer has to worry about that because Dixie’s inside AJ’s head. Ray doesn’t always see eye to eye with Dixie but she is right when she says that she made AJ. Then he asks the fans if they know who he is. Then Aces & 8s music plays & out come Knox, Wes Briscoe & Garrett Bischoff. Knox says they know who Ray’s supposed to be. Ray’s supposed to be president of Aces & 8s but all Ray’s been doing is taking care of Bully Ray business & not club business. Ray’s more worried about his ho than his bros. Ray tells Knox not to call Brooke a ho. Then the fans chant ho at Tessmacher & Ray tells them not to call her that. Then Knox says that he, Wes & Garrett will take care of club business. Ray tells them to stay in line. His patch says president & theirs should all say lackey. Everyone saw what Ray did to D’Lo, Anderson & Devon & he says Knox, Wes & Garrett need to ask why he wouldn’t do the same to them. If they wanna start making decisions without him, that’s fine because if they lose tonight 1 of them will be out of the club. This was a decent opening segment. Ray cut a good promo like usual & I’m hoping that Aces & 8s end is near. Backstage Joseph Park is about to shave. Then EY & ODB come in. They tell him that he might cut himself & Park bleeding is what makes him go nuts (DUH). EY tells Park not to shave before a match. Then ODB tells EY not to think about shaving because she loves his beard. Joseph Park, Eric Young & Knockouts Champion ODB vs. Robbie E, Jessie Godderz & Gail Kim. Park, EY & ODB win when ODB pins Jessie. This was mostly a comedy match. Backstage camera guy asks Aries what’s next for him now that the BFG Series is over. Aries asks if he means how he will stir the pot. He will head to the ring & tell everyone what he’s gonna do next. Backstage Jason Hervey asks Hulk Hogan about Dixie. Hulk says that he had to read the transcript a number of time to believe it (What he couldn’t watch a recording of the show). Everything’s out of control & he’s here to fix this crap. Austin Aries comes to the ring. The fans cheer him & that’s the kind of welcome he likes. A lot of people have been asking what’s next for him since he came up short in the BFG Series. It was last year at BFG when he & Jeff Hardy had their world title match. Aries says he is always the main event no matter where he is on the card. Aries’ future is looking just fine. Then Kenny King comes out. He says the mic allows him to say what’s on his mind. Aries is getting on his nerves. Aries tells him to say what he has to say. Kenny says that Aries talks about making headlines but Kenny was making the headlines last year. He talks about how the headlines read that he became X Division Champion. Then the title was stolen by Sabin. Then somebody decided to steel the title from him buy wearing the Manik costume. Aries says that was him. Kenny owes him 1. Kenny tells Aries that maybe he was generation next 10 years ago but Kenny himself is the future of pro wrestling. Aries says he sees a guy who’s the pits & full of bull. Aries has his gear on so if Kenny shuts his trap they can go at it. Kenny tells Aries what Hillary Clinton says in bed. Aries doesn’t want any of this. He’s not fighting Aries tonight. Then he punches Aries & bails. Aries says Kenny isn’t gonna sucker punch him & run because Aries is no sucker. Aries tells a referee to come out. Then he dives onto Kenny on the ramp. Austin Aries vs. Kenny King. Aries gets the pin. This was a good match. Kenny was busted open here. They show a Lei’d Tapa video. She’s coming soon. Backstage Sabin & Velvet bump into Aries. Sabin says it’s great to see Aries back in the X Division. The division that Sabin built on his own. Sabin says that his world title win was more memorable than Aries’. Aries says that Sabin got his ass kicked for 15 minutes before pulling out a hammer. Then Sabin says he will become X Division champion for the 8th time & be greater than the “greatest man that ever lived.” This was a decent backstage bit. Backstage we see Sting, Joe & Magnus. Magnus complains about EGO costing him the BFG Series. Joe says those guys will get theirs. Tonight they need to get something done. Magnus will get something done. Sting tells Magnus the formed MEM to get rid of Aces & 8s & they’re really close getting that done. Sting tells Magnus not to let EGO get to him because Magnus is better than that. Whatever. These factions are pointless. They show a video package recapping the AJ-Dixie bit from last Thursday. Hulk Hogan comes to the ring. He says he can tell he’s in Little Rock, AK brother. Hearing the roar of the crowed makes him feel powerful. We have a situation in TNA. He’s been there for close to 4 years. He’s always had his opinions about Dixie but she gave him the GM job, which means he’s in charge of how the shows run. Hulk’s seen bloodshed in the locker room & meeting have broken down but to air dirty laundry in public is something that should never happen (Even though it ALWAYS does). Then Hulk asks how many of the fans wanna see AJ stay with TNA. They cheer. Hulk wants AJ to hear the love & respect the fans have for him. The fans cheer again. Hulk will bring AJ & Dixie out there later & fix everything. This was a typical Hulk Hogan promo. He couldn’t get his words out toward the end of this. They show a video package hyping Kurt Angle’s return for his TNA Hall of Fame induction. That of course happens at BFG. “Ethan is coming.” Whoever this might be. Backstage camera guy asks AJ for his thoughts on Hulk’s comments. AJ heard what Hulk had to say. He will see Hulk in the ring later. X Division Champion “Manik” TJ Perkins vs. Chris Sabin for the Title. “Manik” TJ gets the pin. This was a decent match too. Afterwards Sabin stomps on TJ & Velvet doesn’t like what Sabin’s doing. Then Aries comes to the ring & Sabin puts Velvet in front of him & bails. Backstage Wes says the club is crumbling. Garrett says they got work to do tonight. Knox will fight for these colors. They can’t afford to lose another member. Garrett says they can’t afford to lose another brother. They’ll do this for the club. This was ok but Aces & 8s is way past stale now. Plus why would these guys wanna even keep their “cuts”? This makes no sense. Time for the Kurt Angle video package again. Backstage EGO can’t believe Angle will be in the TNA Hall of Fame. They’ve done more for TNA than he has. Daniels is sick of hearing about MEM. They’re losers but Magnus is a really good loser. Kazarian says it would really damage Magnus’ ego if he lost again. Daniels & Kazarian laugh like cliché TV/movie villains but Roode walks off. Sting, Magnus & Samoa Joe vs. Knox, Wes Briscoe & Garrett Bischoff. Sting, Joe & Magnus win when Joe makes Wes tap. So Wes Briscoe is out of Aces & 8s. Daniels, Kazarian & Roode came out during this & attacked Magnus. Trainers came & took Magnus to the back, so it became 3 on 2. The finish came when Joe locked the Kokina Clutch on Wes & Wes tapped. WINNERS – STING, JOE & MAGNUS. Then Ray & Tessmacher come to the ring. Ray says he told Wes if any of them lost it would be lights out. Wes lost, he tapped out. Wes is a disgrace to his colors. Ray tells Wes to hand over his “cut” right now. Wes hesitates & Ray tells him to hand it over again. Wes says no. Ray says after all he’s done for Wes, he’s gonna tell Ray no. Then tells Knox & Garrett to get that “cut” off of him right now. They hesitate. Ray doesn’t pay them to think. He tells them to take Wes’ “cut” right now. Then Ray knocks Wes down & asks the other 2 what happened to them. Then he pile drives Wes. Then he tells Knox & Garrett to take Wes’ vest off or he will pile drive him again. They take his vest off & Ray tells Knox to hand it over. Ray asks if Knox is gonna listen to the fans or to him. Knox shoves Ray away & he & Garrett pick up Wes. This was stupid. They gotta do away with Aces & 8s. Why would Knox & Garrett listen to Ray? This makes no sense to me. Hulk Hogan & AJ Styles are in the ring. Hulk wants to get down to business & bring out the BFG Series winner AJ Styles. Out comes AJ. Hulk loves that AJ will be challenging Ray for the TNA World Title. Hulk already signed the contract now it’s AJ’s turn. Hulk knows AJ’s focused & they’re all betting on AJ to bring the belt home. AJ says “I’m yours.” Then out comes Dixie. She tells Hulk that she’s been very clear about why she brought him to TNA. Hulk has taught her so much about the business & she’s grateful but Hulk’s just an employee. Hulk’s capable of doing more. Then she turns to AJ & says she will be begging on her knees in AJ’s dreams. Hulk might see some value but she doesn’t Then she rips up the contract. AJ says Dixie made the biggest mistake of her love. Dixie doesn’t mean to be rude but she wants AJ to get out of her ring. Dixie knows the fans aren’t happy with him. 99 % of the people have never had to live in Dixie’s world with all the tough decision she’s had to make. Then she rags on the fans that criticized her & says that they need her. This isn’t a popularity contest, this is business. Dixie says that what Hulk did wasn’t a mistake but he should’ve run it by her. She & Hulk know what it will take to make this company go to another level. There’re more tough decisions to be made. Will Hulk get in line & be on Team Dixie or be like AJ & watch from the sidelines? She gives him a week to think about it. She knows that he will make the right decision. Dixie walks to the back as Hulk stands in the ring looking unsure of what to do. That ends the show. This segment sucked!! Dixie as a heel is terrible & having her not wanting AJ to be part of the company is the SAME STORYLINE that WWE is doing!! I thought this week’s show was dragged. The Dixie heel turn & being like Stephanie is idiotic & the Aces & 8s is old too. Manik-Sabin was decent but I’m not into the Sabin heel turn either. I haven’t really got much to say about this week’s show. I just thought it was weak & painful at times.

9-23-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 23, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with the guys who helped out Daniel Bryan on the stage. There’s also a microphone on the stage. Then out come HHH & Stephanie. Of course The Shield is also at ringside. HHH says there’s been speculation as to what will happen to the 10 guys on the stage. He asked them all to be there for 1 reason. Stephanie thanks them all for taking matters into their own hands & stepping up like men. HHH thanks them too & says he’s sure it had nothing to do with Daniel Bryan. Then RVD says that they were fighting for Daniel. Then he says that HHH would’ve done the same to any of them. HHH finds it hard to believe that they fought for Daniel. He thought that guys fight to be champions & not fight with champions. Then HHH asks Dolph if he was fighting for a guy who squandered a number of title shots or for himself. Then Stephanie asks R-Truth when the last time he had title match was (Never as far as I can remember). Or Zack Ryder. Stephanie says he should be the face of WWE (Like that’s gonna happen). She says that they should all be the face of WWE. Then she says that they never got title opportunities. HHH says that’s because of The Shield. He says that The Shield have been running rough shot ever since they came to WWE. They’ve beaten all 10 guys that are the stage. HHH can sense the frustration they’re feeling. The show of unity had nothing to with Daniel. It was because of their frustration with The Shield. So tonight HHH & Stephanie will let the 10 of them take their frustrations out on The Shield. They’ll face The Shield in a handicap elimination match. HHH then says that they will have a partner who hopefully will be a guy who cares as much about them as they do about him. There partner will be Daniel Bryan. Then Stephanie thanks the fans & says that they will get to pick who faces Randy Orton tonight. R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler or RVD. HHH then says that is what’s best for business. This was a typical HHH-Stephanie in ring segment. It felt predictable. Kofi Kingston vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a really good back & forth match. Backstage Renee Young interviews Miz. But first they reshow Randy Orton laying out Miz from last week. Then Renee Young asks for his reaction. Then HHH comes in & says he won’t let Miz face Orton, but he will let him host Miz TV. And his guest will be the guy who knocked out Dusty Rhodes, Big Show. The Primetime Players vs. Luke Harper & Eric Rowan. Harper & Rowan win when Harper pins Titus. This was a decent match. Then Bray gets in the ring, kicks Darren a couple times & then gives him Sister Abigail. Miz TV time. Miz says he’s banged up & pissed off. Last week Orton humiliated him in front of his friends, family & mom. It’s a lot easier to knock Miz down then to keep him down. This isn’t over, payback will come & it will be awesome. Then Miz mentions that he wasn’t the only guy to get medical attention. He mentions that Dusty was knocked out by his guest Big Show. Miz says he’s known show for almost 10 years. He respects Show as a man & as a man Miz asks Show how he could’ve knocked out Dusty. Show doesn’t speak. Miz gets that if Show hadn’t have knocked Dusty out HHH & Stephanie would’ve had The Shield attack him. Miz says they’re trying to break Show because he’s the biggest guy in the locker room. If they can break him they can break anyone. The other super stars have stepped up & it’s time for Show to do the same. Out comes Stephanie. She says there’s no need to berate Show & what he’s saying about HHH & herself is borderline slander. Miz tells her what to do with the legal crap. Stephanie then says Miz is living on his own cul-de-sac of disappointment. He took a beating from Orton in his home town last week. Then she says that he’s not a major player. He’s a utility player. When they need someone to do local plugging Miz is the guy. Last week in Miz’s hometown Stephanie saw the look in Miz’s mom’s eye go from hope to disappointment. Miz failed his friends, family & himself. Orton dismembered Miz & he couldn’t measure up, but Miz never learns. Then Stephanie tells Big Show to knock him out. The crowed cheers & Show knocks Miz out right away. This was pretty much the same “Stephanie tells Big Show to knock out someone” segment. Miz cut a good promo when he talked about Orton but the stuff with Big Show was average at best. Randy Orton comes to the ring. Time to find out who the fans voted for to be his opponent. King gets the mic to tell us. It will be RVD (Not surprising). Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton. The match goes to a double count out. Then Orton backdrops RVD into the barricade. Then Orton throws him into the steel steps. Then he punches RVD for a bit. That’s followed up with another throw into the steel steps. Then Orton throws him over the announce table. Then Orton rolls RVD in the ring, picks him up, sets him on the top rope & then gives RVD the elevated DDT from there. Orton has the insane sadistic look on his face as a medic checks on RVD. The match was decent & I thought they did a solid job getting Orton over as the sadistic heel that he used to be. Too bad RVD was the guy he beat down though. Los Matadores will be coming next Monday. They show RVD getting helped up by referees & the Dr. during the break & then Del Rio comes in & knocks RVD back down. Then he locks him in the arm breaker. Time to plug WWE’s new video game 2K14. Backstage we see The Bellas & Orton comes by. Orton asks if they saw what he just did. Brie says Orton tells Brie that what he did out there is only a fraction of what he will do her boyfriend to Daniel & she can always upgrade to a real man. Brie says that she is dating a real man. Orton says he’s a real man & the face of WWE. That’s something that Daniel will never be. This was ok. They show a clip of Triple H & Stephanie’s video that’s on the HHH DVD. MAN THEY’RE REALLY OVERDOING IT WITH THE HHH STUFF HERE! Then we see Stephanie in the GM office & then AJ comes in. Stephanie thought AJ might like to see what a real wedding looks like since her love life hasn’t been the greatest. Then AJ says that she’s not thrilled about tonight’s 10 Divas tag match. The Total Divas should disappear & her own partners might turn on her. Stephanie says AJ will be in the match or she might not be Divas champion. This was a bit weak but thankfully it was short. Santino Marella vs. Fandango. Fandango gets the pin. This was ok too. Summer Rae got on the apron & distracted Santino. Fandango took advantage & went up top but Santino came after him. Fandango knocked him back down to the mat. Then he hit the top rope leg drop for the pin WINNER – FANDANGO They announce that CM Punk will face Ryback at Battleground. CM Punk comes to the ring to a massive home town pop. The fans chant his name & he soaks in all the cheers. Then he says the fans ruined a perfectly good bad mood. He hasn’t smiled in 8 days but now he can’t help himself. He hasn’t smiled because he feels like he let everybody down at NOC. The fans chant his name & he says that’s a chant for another time. The record books will show that he lost to Heyman. Punk’s lost a lot of matches but this 1 bummed him out. He doesn’t know if he can do this anymore. Maybe he doesn’t deserve to perform in front of the greatest wrestling crowed in the world. But then he comes out to 1 hell of an ovation. Then he talks about the Chicago Blackhawks being behind against the Detroit Redwings. The Blackhawks didn’t feel like they let everyone down, the tied the series & took it to a game 7 overtime. That is the Chicago way. Maybe they lose sometimes but they pick themselves up. Punk’s proud of Chicago. If he let the fans down he’s sorry, but he will tie it up, go into overtime & win. Punk wants to fight. He doesn’t care if it’s Axel or Ryback. Then Heyman comes out singing his version of New York, New York. Heyman says who he is. Then Punk says this is the wrong time for that. Tonight they’re in Chicago & there’re 18,000 fans that will bail Punk out of jail when he gets his hands on Heyman. Heyman doesn’t need Punk to remind him about the beating he took in Detroit. Heyman’s been in physical therapy since NOC. Now he suffered a relapse. But he takes solace in the fact that he can say that he beat CM Punk. He doesn’t want Punk to feel sorry for himself about it. It’s not Punk’s fault that he’s from the second rate town of Chicago. Then he calls Punk the second best in the world. To prove his point Heyman presents exhibit A. They show a pic of Heyman pinning Punk from NOC. Heyman might be a walrus but he pinned Chicago’s biggest shark. Punk says Heyman needs to ask himself a question. When Punk jumps out of the ring & makes a move to get Heyman can Heyman’s 2 goons get to him faster than he can get to Heyman? Punk says when he gets Heyman he will rip his face off. Heyman says not only can he beat Punk, but he beat Punk with both hands behind his back. He bids the fans adieu. Then he tries to back up the ramp but the wheelchair’s busted. Punk goes after Heyman but Ryback & Axel come out & double team Punk. Punk fights back but Axel gets the upper hand. Axel then goes to Irish whip Punk into the Tron but Punk reverses it. Then Punk dives onto Ryback & punches him. Then Axel gets Punk from behind but Punk gets him. Then Ryback gets Punk, throws him into a piece of the stage, then he throws him on a box & press slams Punk through a table. Then Heyman gets up out of the wheel chair & jumps off the ramp. Then Heyman walks over to where Ryback is & gives him the mic. Ryback says this is what happens to bullies. This was great. The Punk-Heyman story is the best 1 WWE has going right now. Punk & Heyman were both great on the mic like they always & the Punk-Ryback & Axel brawl was really well done also. Back to the show & referees check on Punk & he eventually gets up & walks to the back. For some reason the Divas were coming out during this. Naomi, Cameron, The Bellas & Natalya vs. Divas Champion AJ Lee, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Layla & Tamina Snuka. The Total Divas win when Brie pins AJ. This was a typical Divas match. Not much to it. It looks like Brie will be challenging AJ. It should be Natalya who challenges AJ for the Divas title. This match was pointless. Backstage we see The Shield. Ambrose asks if they were thrown to the wolves in this 11 on 3 handicap elimination match or are they the hounds who hunt the wolves. This match is what is best for business. They have their backs against the wall. Rollins says whenever that happens they change the game & make locker room take notice. Ambrose says they win because they’re winners & studs & tonight they’ll do their jobs. Reigns tells us to believe. This was a solid promo. Daniel Bryan comes to the ring. The fans chant his name. Then he says the fans are awesome. He has something to talk about. He was stripped of the WWE Title last week because he was accused of conspiring with Scott Armstrong. He’s not the most intelligent human but you don’t need to fast count a man when he’s already knocked out. He says that it seems strange that HHH gave Armstrong a lot of money after he canned him. Daniel doesn’t know or care what happened at NOC. It doesn’t matter what version of Orton he faces, he will take back the WWE Title. No fast counts, no crooked referees & no excuses. He’s tired of Orton hiding behind his boss’s skirts but after Battleground there will be no more hiding. When all is said in done Orton will hear a word that will haunt him for the rest of his life. That word of course being YES! Then The Shield comes out. Then Goldust & Cody come out of the crowed & go after The Shield. Referees & security come in to pull Dustin & Cody off The Shield & take them to the back. That was great! Daniel cut a great promo & Dustin & Cody attacking The Shield was a great shocker. Daniel Bryan, RVD, The Usos, Kofi Kingston, The Primetime Players, R-Truth, Justin Gabriel, Zack Ryder & Dolph Ziggler vs. The Shield in an 11 on 3 handicap elimination match. * Ambrose pins RVD * Ambrose pins Kofi. * Reigns pins Titus * Reigns pins Gabriel * Reigns pins Ryder * Jay pins Reigns * Rollins pins Darren * Dolph pins Ambrose * Rollins pins Truth * Daniel pins Rollins WINNERS- DANIEL BRYAN, DOLPH ZIGGLER & THE USOS. This was a lot of fun to watch. Daniel, Dolph & The Usos surrounded Rollins & then get in the ring & beat him down. Ambrose comes out but Dolph clotheslines Ambrose & himself over the top rope. Rollins comes back out too but The Usos double super kick him. Then the Usos dive onto Ambrose & Reigns. Then Daniel gives Rollins a tope rope head butt followed by the running knee for the pin. Daniel celebrates & does the yes chant along with the fans to end the show. I thought this was a solid to good show for the most part. The opening segment with HHH & Stephanie and the other guys on the stage was the typical HHH-Stephanie-baby face talent opening bit, but thankfully HHH & Stephanie weren’t all over the show this week. I enjoyed Daniel Bryan’s promo and Dustin & Cody sneak attacking The Shield was really well done. I also liked the Punk-Heyman promo/the Punk-Ryback & Axel brawl too. Punk & Heyman were awesome on the mic like always & the 2 on 1 brawl was good too. The Stephanie, AJ bit backstage was ok & thankfully short. The10 Diva tag was pointless & I’d much rather see AJ & Natalya in a singles match than AJ & Brie. The Miz TV segment with Big Show & Stephanie was average. Miz cut a good promo when he talked about Orton attacking him but the whole “Big Show knocking out whoever Stephanie tells him to” bit is beyond stale. Kofi & Del Rio had a really good match. RVD-Orton was decent & Orton laying out RVD continued to get Orton over as the sadistic crazy guy. I just wish it wasn’t RVD that took the beating. The Primetime Players vs. Harper & Rowan was decent too. & The Shield promo was solid also. Overall I thought this was a solid to good show.

9-19-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 19, 2013 No Surrender part 2 episode of Impact They start the show with Magnus backstage. He says he left it all out there last week. He came up short. Then in comes Bobby Roode. He tells Magnus not to blame him, Kazarian & Daniels. He should blame himself. Then Daniels & Kazarian jump Magnus, they have a triple team & then referees & security jump in to break it up. The actual show starts with Magnus coming to the ring. He says that his ribs, knees & shoulder hurt all because of coming so close in the BFG series finals. He believes AJ is the best in the business & wishes him the best at BFG. Magnus has another issue to address. 3 guys decided to get involved in that match last week & now they just jumped him in the back. Magnus doesn’t have his family with him but he dares any 1 member of the Ego trio with the stones to come out & face him. Out comes Kazarian. Magnus beats him down in the corner & then Daniels comes in & hits Magnus from behind. Kaz & Daniels have a miscommunication & Magnus gets the upper hand but then Roode comes in & they stomp on Magnus. Then outcome Samoa Joe & Sting & the heel trio bails. Sting says if they wanna fight there will be a 6 man tag right here tonight. This was a good & short opening in ring segment. Backstage Sabin tells Manik that asking for a match with Jeff Hardy takes guts. Sabin’s proud of Manik. Sabin mentions that he cashed in the X Title to win the world title & that if Manik was X Champion at the time he could’ve done the same. Manik says he has to get ready for his match. Sabin & Velvet will watch from ringside (I think). This was lame. It looks like they’re turning Sabin heel & I’m not sure why. I’m also tired of TJ Perkins in that costume. Why bother with that if he’s always walking around backstage without the mask? Chris Sabin & Velvet Sky come out to watch the Jeff Hardy-Manik match. Jeff Hardy vs. X Division Champion Manik. Jeff gets the pin. This was a decent back & forth match. Then Jeff shakes Manik’s hand & raises his arm before heading to the back. Then Sabin gets in the ring & also raises Manik’s hand. Then he attacks him. Jeff comes back out & runs Sabin off. Velvet looks shocked at what Sabin did. The match was decent but the X Title doesn’t have any meaning. I still don’t get Sabin’s heel turn either. They show Dixie Carter arriving earlier in the day. All she says is, “There’s a lot going on.” More Sabin & Velvet backstage. He tells her to get her stuff together because they’re headed out. Then Camera guy asks Sabin why he attacked Manik. Sabin says no one respects him. He’s been a tag team, X Division & world Champion & the fans don’t respect him for it. He also says that Manik is the guy who is the most disrespectful after all Sabin has done for him. He will earn their respect. Sabin cut a decent promo but the heel turn came out of nowhere. ODB vs. Knockouts Champion Mickie James for the Title. ODB gets the pin to win the Title. This was a decent match too. Then EY comes in & hugs ODB. Joseph Park comes out too & has a drink. Then Robbie E & Jessie come out. Robbie asks what’s going on around this place “bro.” They hate to break up this weird celebration. It’s 1 thing for EY to be in the ring because he’s married to “that” but Park is a third wheel hamster loser. Park says how dare they & asks who they think they are trying to diminish the new Knockouts Champion. How dare they besmirch marriage & how dare they wear those outfits in St. Louis. If Park wasn’t wearing his suit he’d teach them as lesson. Robbie says it sound like he’s challenging them. Park never said that. EY tells them Park has a suit on but unfortunately EY does not. Then Robbie E gets in the ring Eric Young vs. Robbie E. EY gets the quick pin with a roll up. Then Robbie says he wasn’t challenging EY. He wanted Park. Robbie asks if Park’s scared of him. Park takes his glasses & jacket off. Break time. This whole bit was idiotic. Back from break & Park is in the ring. Back to break. I hate that they do this “Back to the show & right back to break” bit. Back from break & Joseph Park & it’s time for Robbie E’s second match. Joseph Park vs. Robbie E. Park also gets the quick pin. Then Robbie & Jessie attack Park. Then they give EY some tag team finisher. Then they go after Park & ram him into the steel steps. Then they get back in the ring & beat on EY. Then Park gets back in the ring & he’s bleeding. Then he goes bonkers & lays out Robbie & Jessie. Then Park “snaps out of it” & EY hugs him. This was pointless. I’m tired of this bit where Park flips after he bleeds & then “going back to normal”. Time for a video package recapping last week’s Anderson-Ray angle/match. Backstage Hulk asks Dixie what’s going on with AJ. Hulk says Dixie doesn’t have to do this alone. Dixie says she’s got this. Aces & 8s come to the ring. Ray says it sounds like everyone’s happy to see him. Of course the fans boo. He gets that the fans are proud of their world champion. They boo again. Then Ray asks where Anderson is & then says Anderson couldn’t make it. Then he asks the fans if they know who he is. He is Bully Ray, the world champion, president of Aces & 8s & there’s nothing anybody can do about it. Ray does need to thank somebody though. He couldn’t have defended his title if weren’t for someone special, someone he can trust & someone who has always stood by him. He says this to his guys & they’re all smiles. Then he says that the reason he continues to be world champion is because of Tessmacher. Without her he’d be nothing. She’s the wind beneath his wings. The way she came in the ring & drilled Anderson in the nuts for him, that’s the reason why he’s world champion. The other guys don’t look too thrilled. Ray asks what the problem is. Wes says they’ve done everything he’s asked & how can be blow them off for her. Ray tells them not to refer to Brooke as “her” again. That’s Ray’s Brooke & he tells Wes not to look at her. Garrett says Ray’s forgotten who’s been with him since day 1 & had his back night after night. Ever since Brooke came in Ray’s priorities have been out of whack. Ray appreciates Garret’s spirit. Then he pushes Garrett in the corner & tells him not to talk to him like that. He made Wes & Garrett. If they get out of line again he will smack them both in the face. Knox asks if Ray will slap him too. Then Knox says he’s been in this club for 1 year & a half. They’ve always helped him out to make sure he holds on to the title. Knox then says that the club is falling apart & for the last year it’s been Bully Ray business & not club business. Ray forgot the club rule, “Bros before hos.” Ray tells Knox if he calls Brooke a ho again he will knock his head off. Ray & Tessmacher leave the ring as Knox, Wes & Garrett stand in the ring. This segment was decent. Ray was good on the mic as always & had a feeling the other guys would lean towards a baby face turn. Backstage Sting says Kurt’s gone & Rampage is training. That’s ok because they’re MEM. Sting tells Magnus & Joe not to forget who they are. Joe says they’re MEM & they’ll get revenge. Hernandez & Chavo Guerrero come to the ring. Then out come Gunner & Storm. Before the match starts Chavo gets a mic & says as much as he wants to wipe their faces all over the mat, he’s injured & the doc hasn’t cleared him for this fight. So he & Hernandez won’t be beating the champs tonight. Gunner says it sounds like they’re scared. He tells Chavo to shut his mouth. He came looking for a fight & he challenges Hernandez. Storm tells them to fight while he has some beers at ringside. TNA World Tag Team Champion Gunner vs. Hernandez. Gunner gets the pin. This was ok. Backstage we see AJ Styles on his cell phone. Sting, Samoa Joe & Magnus vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Bobby Roode. Daniels, Kazarian & Roode win when Roode pins Magnus after hitting him with Sting’s baseball bat. This was a good match. Sting had Daniels in the scorpion death lock. Roode came in the ring with Sting’s baseball bat. He was gonna hit Sting but Magnus jumped in the way & Roode hit him. Then Roode covered Magnus for the pin. WINNERS – DANIELS, KAZARIAN & ROODE AJ Styles comes to the ring. He’s been in TNA since day 1 busting his butt trying to make this an alternative for the fans. Then Dixie’s dad bought her a wrasslin company. No blood, sweat or experience in wrestling. Dixie broke up the chemistry that made TNA what it was. What happened to Jerry Lynn & Low KI? Dixie trade them in for big names to get a big pay day & not to anything. And for what? So Alex Shelly, Jay Lethal & Petey Williams couldn’t be there. That pisses AJ off. He’s not the only 1 as the fans cheer. AJ says Dixie’s biggest mistake is staring her right in the face. She gave him a chance to win the world title but hasn’t got a contract. But no contracted wrestler respects her anyway. AJ will win the world title for him, his band of brothers & the fans. He will make Dixie get on her knees & beg & then he will make her pay. Out comes Dixie. He tells her to say something. He expected a tweet. Dixie’s known AJ a long time & she knows for him to come out here & say everything he’s saying takes guts. Dixie’s accountable to the staff, the performers & the fans. She’s also accountable to AJ & she apologizes to him. She’s sorry for letting him think that he meant anything in the company. The phenomenal one stuff is an illusion that she created for all those 5 star matches he used to have. AJ’s nothing like he used be. The fans boo. Dixie says she’s thankful for them. She thanks them for letting her come to her ring & respond to all the crap she’s been getting. Without her dad’s paycheck AJ would still be in the trailer. Dixie built the house that AJ is in & she owns it. He’s lucky she let him be there. AJ tells Dixie to shove that mic where it belongs. Dixie has the lights in the arena turned off & this ends the show. This was awesome! Both AJ & Dixie were great on the mic here. I loved everything that AJ had to say about the X Division guys no longer being there to make room for “the big names.” Dixie’s heel promo was well done too. I’m not sure how this Dixie heel turn will be but her first heel promo was good. Great way to end this week’s show. I thought this was a decent to solid show overall. The opening MEM-EGO segment was good. Magnus cut a good promo & I liked the brawl. The 6 man tag they had later was great & I liked the finish. The AJ-Dixie promo was really well done. Both AJ & Dixie were great on the mic. Gunner-Hernandez was ok. Chavo’s promo was annoying though. ODB-Mickie was also decent but I wasn’t a fan of the Eric Young & Joseph Park-Robbie E & Jessie part. I have no idea why they turned Chris Sabin heel. That came out of the blue. Then bit with Him & TJ Perkins backstage was lame & Sabin’s promo later saying that TJ disrespected him made no sense. I did like the Jeff Hardy-Manik match though. The Aces & 8s in ring bit was decent. Ray was great on the mic as always & it looks like (I hope) we’re seeing the end of Aces & 8s. Overall I thought this was a decent to solid show with a great 6 man tag & a really awesome promo at the end.

9-16-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 16, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with Daniel Bryan coming to the ring. He poses with the title & then HHH comes out. He says that Daniel’s win last night was tainted because the referee Scott made a fast count. Then HHH has Armstrong come out. HHH wants to show some footage that shows how Scot Armstrong normally counts. They show him counting at 1 point during last night’s title match. Then HHH has the “final call” shown. HHH wants to see it again so they show it a second time. HHH now wants to see both counts side by side. Then HHH says Armstrong made a fast count. Scott says he made a mistake. HHH says Armstrong is a senior referee in WWE. That kind of mistake just doesn’t happen. Armstrong again says he made a mistake. HHH has never seen him make this kind of mistake before & thinks Armstrong isn’t telling him everything. Then Armstrong says something to Daniel & HHH says it sounded like Armstrong said, “They got us.” HHH sends Armstrong to the back. Then he chews out Daniel Bryan for conspiring with a referee. Then of course HHH strips Daniel of the title but doesn’t return it to Orton. HHH will investigate this but as of right now there is no WWE Champion. HHH needs Daniel to do the right thing & hand the WWE Title over to him. HHH says that Daniels has embarrassed & disgraced himself & the WWE Title. He thought Shawn would’ve taught him better. HHH tells Daniel to hand over the title or he will take it. Cue Orton’s music & out he comes. HHH tells both guys to calm down. HHH has got this. There will be no fight right now. HHH tells Daniel to be reasonable. The title is held up & there is no champion. HHH will get to the bottom of this but Daniel needs to hand the belt over or HHH will take it. Daniel holds the belt for a bit & then says no. Then Orton gives Daniel an RKO. HHH takes the belt & heads to the back & in the ring Orton stands over the fallen Daniel. This was a decent opening segment. I thought that either HHH was gonna hand the title back to Orton or he was going to have the title held up. If he had handed the title back to Orton it would’ve been like back in 2000 when Jericho beat HHH for the title after a fast count & then the title was given back to HHH. Backstage we see HHH & Stephanie. Orton comes in asking HHH who he thinks he is. Stephanie asks Orton what happened to the sadistic Orton who cuffed HHH to the rope & gave her a DDT? Till Orton finds that version of himself maybe WWE needs a new face. This wasn’t bad either. Dolph Ziggler vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose in an NOC rematch but this one is nontitle. Dolph gets the pin. This was a solid back & forth match but I’m not sure why the same match the night right after it was on PPV. So it looks like Dolph will face Ambrose for the U.S. Title again. Dolph celebrates with the fans & for some reason Justin Roberts announces that Ambrose is still U.S. Champion. That was weird. Backstage we see Big Show in the GM office. Brad tells him HHH & Stephanie (Or Ms. McMahon as Brad called her) will be there in a moment. Break time. Back from break. HHH & Stephanie are in the office. Brad wants to make sure that he has Hunter’s orders right. HHH wants Daniel Bryan to face Roman Reigns tonight. Then Brad says that he likes Hunter’s decision to hold up the title. Then Brad tells Stephanie that Dusty is in the building. Then Stephanie reminds Big Show that he was suspended on Smackdown. So tonight Big Show will watch the show in the office & if Stephanie needs him she will let him know. This was weak. I’m tired of Big Show being in this position. I’m really hoping they don’t have him be the reluctant heel. Fandango & Summer Rae come out. He will be in a match next. Break time. Back from break & out comes R-Truth. They reshow the cheesy dance off bit from Smackdown. R-Truth vs. Fandango. Fandango gets the pin. This was ok. Backstage Dusty Rhodes is with some of the roster. Break time. Back from break & Dusty Rhodes comes to the ring. He says he isn’t here as the American Dream. He’s here as Virgil Runnels. He has something that he wants the McMahon family to hear. He talks about being down the hard road, wondering where the next dollar will come from. But you reach down because of the love of your sons & find a way to do it. This is about Cody’s job. In 1 night we saw a suffering young guy lose his job. Then Dusty mentions that apparently firing Cody after losing is what’s “best for business.” Goldust stepped up & took a mighty swing. Having 2 sons that you love with all your heart is what’s best for business. We exist to be the best. Before Cody was 22 he was Intercontinental Champion twice. Dusty didn’t call for this meeting or to beg for Cody’s job. He wants Cody to have a chance to earn his job back. Then he tells Stephanie to come to the ring & tell him what business proposal she has in mind. Out comes Stephanie. Stephanie says from 1 parent to another “Virgil’s” promo was remarkable. Stephanie is sorry if Cody getting fired put a damper on Cody’s wedding so Stephanie has a gift for Cody & his bride. Dusty tells Stephanie to get on with the proposition. Stephanie says Dusty is the son of a plumber & she’s the daughter of the genius. The “Genius” behind this sports entertainment phenomenon. Stephanie then says that she will either give Cody back his job or she can give it to Goldust. The choice is Dusty’s. Dusty won’t make that choice. Stephanie says that she can either give this job back to Cody, the glorious baby boy who does everything right or to Dustin, the son Dusty has neglected all these years. She says Dusty blames himself for Dustin’s problems & he can be a hero to his sons. Dusty asks Stephanie if she looks at her daughters & prefers 1 to the others. Stephanie says this Dusty is making this all about himself. What about his sons? She hopes they can forgive him. Dusty says Stephanie can go straight to hell. Stephanie is sorry he feels that way. Then out comes The Shield. Stephanie says she’s got someone to “even things out.” She asks Big Show to come out. She says that since Dusty couldn’t decide which son would get their job back does Dusty want to get beaten down by The Shield or knocked out by the Big Show. Then she tells Big Show to knock out Dusty. Big Show doesn’t want to. Then Stephanie tells The Shield to get Dusty. They bring chairs in the ring. Big show cries & hugs Dusty. Then Big Show says that he has no choice. Then he knocks out Dusty. Then Stephanie & The Shield leave & Big Show stays in the ring with Dusty. Also a medic comes in & checks on Dusty. Dusty was great here. His promo was just awesome & Stephanie was good here too. I knew that Big Show would reluctantly knockout Dusty after doing more of his crying when he came out. Dusty & Stephanie both said a lot & it was impossible to write word for word what they said. My apologies if I missed some of this. Backstage we see Dusty on a stretcher & being wheeled into an ambulance. Big Show is there & he gets in the back of the ambulance. AJ Lee & Natalya are on commentary. Natalya’s headset wasn’t working so Lawler gave her his. Naomi, Cameron & Brie Bella vs. Aksana, Alicia Fox & Layla. Naomi, Cameron & Brie win when Brie gets the pin. This wasn’t much. Then Natalya gets in AJ’s face & AJ holds up the Divas Title. Damien Sandow is in the ring. They show Sandow winning the MITB match back in July. Then Justin Roberts introduces Ricardo & he introduces RVD. Rob Van Dam vs. Damien Sandow. RVD gets the pin. This was a decent match but once again Sandow loses cleanly. Also after RVD got the pin they played Sandow’s music by mistake. Then Sandow says that he is still the MITB contract holder & the guaranteed next world champion. You’re welcome. Backstage HHH tells Scott Armstrong that he’s in a jam. This whole fast count bit has gotten out of control. HHH had to hold up the title & there’s a problem. Referees have to have integrity. Armstrong’s been there for 20 years but HHH says he has to let him go. HHH will take care of him. This was the same HHH promo we’ve been getting. The Miz vs. Randy Orton. Miz goes over to his parents who are in the front row. Then Orton attacks Miz. The match never started. Break time. Back from break & Orton is in the ring while referees are with Miz by the entrance. Then Miz gets in the ring. The Miz vs. Randy Orton. The match goes to a double count out. Then Orton throws Miz over the announce table. Orton continues to beat down Miz. He sends Miz over the barrier. Miz fights back & Orton goes over the barrier. Then Miz clotheslines Orton back over the barrier. Orton gets the upper hand & beats down Miz some more. Then he gives Miz the IE DDT off the barrier to the floor. Then Miz drags Orton back in the ring. Then he gets a chair & looks at Miz’s parents. Then Orton gets in the ring & places Miz’s head inside the chair. Then Orton drops a knee on Miz’s head. This was a solid bit. Orton was good being the pissed off crazy guy but WWE had Miz get the crap beat out of him in his home town. I don’t know why WWE always does that. Ryback, Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman (Who is in a wheel chair) come out on the stage. Heyman says he himself is the best in the world. The fans can boo that all they want. It must be hard for the fans to compare their meaningless lives to Heyman’s. Heyman says the fans can’t say they pinned Punk but Heyman can say it over & over. Every time he does that it will be the truth. The best part of this is that the record books will forever give testimony to the fact that the first time in history Heyman & Punk came face to face in the ring Heyman won. Even more significantly the loser was the fans’ hero, CM Punk. Heyman would love to take credit for having a master plan but there wasn’t one. Punk had him & delivered a beating to him that was so bad Heyman is in the wheel chair. Punk gave him the most vicious beating in WWE history. It’s a miracle Heyman’s not rotting away in a nursing home. He is here tonight because 1 man stood up when all other Heyman guy sat down. Everyone thought Heyman would finally get the beating he deserves. Heyman will continue to torment Punk & the fans because of Ryback. Heyman wants the fans to know from the bottom of his heart that he owes his life to Ryback. Ryback says he can’t stand bullies & Punk bullied Heyman last night. Did Heyman deserve that? The fans cheer of course. Then Ryback says that Heyman is a human being. Ryback doesn’t like anything about Punk. Punk’s a bully & he’s here to stop him. Ryback tells Heyman not to worry because as long as he’s around Punk will never get his hands on Heyman. This was good. Heyman was great on the mic like always & Ryback’s promo good too. I like that they have Heyman managing Ryback & it looks like Ryback will be the next Heyman guy Punk will have to get through. Los Matadores are coming soon. Tons of Funk vs. The Usos vs. The Real Americans in a 3 way tag team elimination match to determine the number 1 contenders for the tag titles. The Usos win. * Cesaro pins Sweet T * Jay pins Swagger. This was a solid match. WINNERS – THE USOS Michael Cole mentions that Miz doesn’t have a broken neck but he does have a damaged thorax. Then Lawler says that Dusty is ok but is being kept in the hospital overnight for observation. Time for a Wyatt family video. Bray says that patience is a virtue but to him it is a lost art. Then he says how people want more of everything. They don’t realize there’s another world full of animals. In Bray’s world when an animal is sick they put him down. He tells Abigail not to worry. They’ll put them all down. This was a typical Weird, creepy Wyatt video. Backstage we see Daniel Bryan. R-Truth & others cheer him on & Brie hugs him. Before the main event match starts Randy Orton comes out. He will be at ringside along with Rollins & Ambrose. Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Roman Reigns. Daniel wins by DQ when Orton comes in. Then Daniel gets Orton in the yes lock but The Shield attacks Daniel. Then Orton stomps on Daniel for a bit. Then Orton gets a chair & gets in the ring. Orton sets Daniel’s head in the chair. Before he can do anything Kofi Kingston, The Usos, The Primetime Players, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler & RVD (I think Zack Ryder & Justin Gabriel too) come out & we get a brawl. Reigns spears Kofi. Then Dolph gives Ambrose a Famasser & then RVD gives Ambrose a super kick. Then the Usos give Reigns a double super kick. Then Daniel gives Rollins a flying knee. Daniel & the other guys chant yes & the Primetime Players hoist him up on their shoulders. They along with the fans do the yes chant to end the show. This was good. I liked the match & I also liked that they finally had the talent come & help out Daniel Bryan. I thought this was a solid show overall. The opening segment was decent & I was ok with HHH vacating the title. The Daniel-Reigns match was good & I liked that they finally had the other wrestlers come & help Daniel Bryan out. I also liked Dusty’s promo & Stephanie was decent here too. I wasn’t a fan of Big Show doing the same old bit. Having him crying & reluctantly doing what HHH & Stephanie tell him to is old. HHH “letting Scott Armstrong go” was a typical HHH bit. R-Truth vs. Fandango was ok, RVD-Sandow was decent but Sandow lost cleanly once again. The 3 way tag match solid & I liked that it was an elimination match. The 6 divas tag wasn’t much & felt like background to Natalya & AJ being on commentary. It does look like they’re building to Natalya vs. AJ though & that should be good. Paul Heyman cut a great promo like usual & Ryback’s promo was good & short. I like that they have Ryback with Heyman but what will happen to Curtis Axel? He wasn’t even on the stage during the whole promo. The Wyatt family video was the typical creepy & weird stuff we get from that group. The Miz-Randy Orton match was more about Orton being pissed that he lost the title than a match. I did like the Miz-Orton post match brawl & Orton was good at being the sadistic heel but I don’t get why they had to have Miz get laid out in his home town. That’s a bit WWE always does for some reason & it’s stupid. Dolph-Ambrose was solid too but I wasn’t sure why they had this the night after it was on a PPV. Overall though I thought this was a decent to solid show.

9-13-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 13, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with Big Show coming to the ring. Then they reshow the end of Raw where big Show wouldn’t KO Daniel. Big Show gets the mic & has a sheet of paper in his hand. He reads what’s on there, which of course is an “apology” for what happened on Monday. He “apologizes” to HHH for not doing the “simple” job that he was “asked” to do Monday. Then he “apologizes” to the other superstars for setting a ‘poor” example as a locker room leader. Most of all he “apologizes” to the fans for “letting them down.” Cue King of Kings & out comes HHH (This has really gotten beyond stale). After welcoming everyone to Smackdown he thanks Big Show for his “apology”. HHH does say that he doesn’t think it was very sincere but it was still an “apology” & he again thanks Big Show. HHH isn’t trying to pick on Big Show, he’s just asking him to be a “business man”. Big Show is a leader of this entire roster & like Booker T said, HHH needs Big Show to be “professional.” In any business if the company’s COO asks you to do something & you refuse it is “grounds for dismissal.” So HHH has no choice… Then Big Show chimes in & pleads with HHH not to do “this.” HHH then says that he will not fire Big Show but he is suspending him for the night without pay. That might not seem like a big deal to a lot of the fans but to Big Show a night without pay really stinks because as we all know Big Show is “broke. (When was that supposed to have happened)? HHH heads for the back. As Big Show was about to leave the ring we hear the theme music for The Shield. They get in the ring & triple team Big Show. Big Show throws them off & he fights back. He throws them around for a bit but then Ambrose kicks Big Show in the knee & he falls out of the ring. Then Big Show gets on the announce table. The Shield goes after him. Reigns hits him in the leg with a chair, he goes to hit him a second time but Big Show punches the chair & continues to fight off The Shield. Ambrose gets on the announce table & Big Show throws him off. Then he jumps off the table & tackles Reigns to the floor. Then Show rolls Reigns in the ring. He grabs his throat & then he grabs Ambrose’s too. Then Rollins comes off the top rope but Show chops him on the way down. Then Show set up his fist but then Reigns hits him in the back with a chair a few times & Big Show falls to the mat. Ambrose then says they didn’t want to have to do that but this was Big Show’s fault. Then they give him the triple power bomb. This was a decent opening segment. Big Show’s “apology” & Triple H’s promo were weak but I liked the Big Show-Shield brawl. AJ Lee comes out for commentary. Natalya, Naomi & Brie Bella vs. Layla, Alicia Fox & Aksana in a Raw rematch. Natalya, Naomi & Brie win when AJ gets in the ring & hits Natalya. Then Natalya, Naomi & Brie surround AJ. Natalya tells AJ that AJ is not a champion. Then Natalya slaps AJ & then Brie gives AJ a face plant. Then Naomi gives AJ a spinning heel kick. Then Natalya sets up AJ for the sharpshooter but then heel Divas pull AJ out of the ring. Michael Cole announces that Dolph Ziggler will face Dean Ambrose tonight. If Dolph wins he gets a U.S. Title match at Night of Champions. (That match has already been announced for the PPV). Vickie Guerrero is in the ring. She says it’s time for a super star dance off. The contestants are R-Truth & Fandango. Before this crap can get started The Miz comes out wearing a dumb looking Afro wig. Then he says there can’t be a super star dance off unless you have the “most must see super star of all time.” Normally he is The Mix but tonight he is “Mizco Inferno. (Man this is hokey). Then he gets a pink glittery jacket some fan. Vickie says how dare Miz interrupts her segment, but since he’s out there he can be in the contest too. Miz puts on the dumb looking jacket & then out comes the Great Khali. He wants to be in the contest too. Vickie says the more the merrier. Truth goes first. Then Fandango & Summer Rae. Next is The Miz. Khali goes fourth. Then Vickie says that the winner will be determined by who gets the most applause from the fans (naturally). Miz wins. Then Fandango says the others are a disgrace to the art of dance. Then he takes a swing at Miz but Miz & Truth double team him & Miz throws him out of the ring. Then Miz & Truth dance & Khali leaves the ring. This was really cheesy. Los Matadores will be coming soon. Backstage Ryback is getting his own interview segment. He says that a lot people don’t know that he is multitalented. He plays the piano & has good linguistic skills. Then he thanks Vickie for this opportunity because he happens to be a great interviewer. In comes Ryback’s guest. RD Evens from ROH. Ryback asks what his name is. It’s Robert Evans & he’s from right here in Ottawa. Ryback says he is the hometown hero. Ryback says Evans looks like he’s dressed to compete & asks Evans how tall he is. Evans says that he is 6’4”. Ryback asks how much he weighs. He weighs 185. Ryback asks what Evans sees when he looks in the mirror. Ryback bets that Evans has dreams of being a WWE super star 1 day, being in the main event & being at WrestleMania. Evans says yeah. Then Ryback says that Evans is hoping to get in the ring with a guy the caliber of Ryback. Evans reluctantly says yeah. This makes Ryback happy that Evans has dreams. Everybody has dreams. Ryback has dreams & then he slaps Evans to the floor. Ryback says that is dreams are beating on people like Evans. Then Ryback kicks him. Then he asks Evans if he has anything to say to the fans. Evans groans & Ryback sends it back to ringside. This was pointless. The Ryback character is terrible. Then we see Vickie in the GM office & Ricardo comes in. She tells him that he will not be in RVD’s corner at NOC. Things are out of control & she “fears for his safety.” Ricardo protests & they go back & forth in Spanish. Then Vickie says that if Ricardo wants to be in RVD’s corner at NOC then tonight RVD can be in Ricardo’s corner tonight when he faces Del Rio. This was kinda weak. Damien Sandow comes to the ring. Break time. Back from break & it looks like Sandow was in mid promo. He tells his mouth breathing neighbors to the north that as their intellectual savior & uncrowned world champion he will beat Santino & save the fans from their own ignorance (the usual Sandow promo). You’re welcome. Santino Marella vs. Damien Sandow. Santino gets the pin. This wasn’t much. Damien loses cleanly once again. Michael Cole is in the ring. He says that this Sunday at NOC Punk will be in 2 on 1 handicap elimination match against Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman. Heyman & Axel come t0 the ring for their interview. Cole says that before they start the interview he would like to take a look back at the relationship between Heyman & Punk. They show Punk-Heyman video package. Then Cole says that for 434 days Punk held the WWE Title & Heyman was at his side every step of the way. But as soon as Punk lost the title their relationship began to fracture & it eventually blew apart. This Sunday Punk has guaranteed that he will get his hands on Heyman. Then Cole asks Heyman how he & Axel plan as a team to make sure that Punk doesn’t get his hands on Heyman Sunday. Axel asks Cole what’s wrong with him. Heyman is stressed out & is under a lot of pressure. All this speculation is ridiculous. Punk won’t get to Heyman this Sunday because Punk can’t beat Curtis Axel (Even though we’ve seen Punk beat Axel before). Heyman asks Cole if he thinks he doesn’t get what Cole’s doing. Just because Heyman has a persecution complex doesn’t mean that he is not being persecuted. Heyman’s not a fighter or a man of war. Heyman is an advocate of peace. Which is why he comes to the fans tonight with great humility & he calls for a public boycott of the NOC PPV. The fans are booing Heyman but do they really need to spend their money to see Heyman’s destruction? Haven’t the fans got something better to spend their money on? Isn’t there a college fund for their kids that they can invest in? Maybe someone’s wife needs new shoes. Heyman then says that if you get NOC you will see Punk get his hands on him. With all due respect to Axel Heyman taught Punk how to turn the system against itself, which means Punk will figure out a way to get past Axel. Not because Punk is a better fighter or wrestler than Axel but because Punk was Heyman’s prodigal son. That means that if you don’t boycott NOC Punk will hand Heyman such a beating…the fans cheer that. Heyman then says that Punk doesn’t want to wrestle him. Punk is going to fight Heyman & slaughter him to the point where this will be the final we will get to see Heyman. Heyman wants to state publicly that if this is the final time they will have together Heyman will always love Punk but he will never forgive the fans. Then the fans sing the hey hey good bye to Heyman. This was the usual good promo that we get from Heyman. Ricardo Rodriguez (With RVD) vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio gets the pi. This was actually pretty decent. Ricardo got in some good offense before being pinned. Then Del Rio locks Ricardo in the arm breaker. Then RVD comes in & round house kicks Del Rio. Then RVD mounts & punches him & then give him the 5 star frog splash. Then RVD holds up the world title. They show a video package on the HHH being the COO heel storyline. HHH says he’s the COO Daniel isn’t the face of WWE. He is the wrong image for WWE. He talks about all the decisions that he has to make for the good of the company. Then he talks about Big Show “not doing his job.” If everyone did that there would be anarchy. HHH did what he did because he cares about Big Show. Then he brings up Cody Rhodes. He feels bad about that. You have to look at people’s attitudes & see how that affects the locker room & if Cody had to be the egg that got cracked to make WWE a better place Triple H is willing to make that sacrifice. HHH isn’t the enemy. If Daniel proves him wrong he will be the first guy to shake his hand & says that Daniel proved him wrong. I wasn’t really into this. Dolph Ziggler vs. U.S. Champion Dean Ambrose. Dolph wins by DQ when Rollins & Reigns come in. This match was good & I was ok with the DQ finish. Then The Usos come out to even the odds. Then out comes Vickie. She says that since Dolph won the match by DQ he got his U.S. Title match for NOC. Then she says that since The Usos want to stick their noses into this she is now making this a 6 man. This was good. I liked that this lead right into the next match. Dolph Ziggler & The Usos vs. The Shield. The Shield wins when Rollins pins Jimmy. This was a great match. Edge comes to the ring for the cutting edge. He says that HHH has decided to allow him to host the cutting edge on Smackdown because that’s what’s good for business. The only reason Edge is there is because of the fans. That doesn’t that he will forget about what happened between HHH & himself Monday. He has no respect for HHH & says that he married into his job & that HHH lost his genitals somewhere along the way. Edge is also not going to forget about what The Shield did to Christian. He knows that Christian is watching. When Christian comes back it won’t be for 1 more match. He tells Christian to come back & tear The Shield apart. The cutting edge is the show where they cut through the crap. So with that, let’s get right to it. He brings out the 2 guys who will face each other for the WWE Title at NOC. First he brings out the supposed face of WWE Randy Orton. Then Edge introduces Daniel Bryan. Edge says there’s an awkward amount of testosterone right now so let’s cut right to it. Edge asks Orton how it feels to be a sellout. Orton asks if these are the tough questions. Then he says that sounds like a cheap shot from a guy who is jealous that Orton has been champion 10 times & that Edge is a washed up talk show host who can’t wrestle anymore. Then Daniel tells Orton to show Edge some respect. Edge says that Orton forgets that Edge is an 11 time world champion but this is about the fact that Daniel will beat Orton at NOC. Edge tells Orton that he can say what he wants. Orton tells Edge & Daniel that he is not a sellout. Orton did what anybody would have done. He took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself to him. HHH, Stephanie & Vince have all looked to Orton to be the “future” face of WWE (How can he be the future when he’s been there for 11 years & has been world/WWE Champion 10 times)? After 10 years of Cena they needed a change (So they have the guy who came in the same time as Cena in the spotlight). Daniel wasn’t meant to be a part of that change. Daniel’s a great wrestler & he has a nice little following. Daniel is good for business but Orton’s “best for business.” Then Edge says that he thinks he knows what it best for business & the fans know too. Then Edge asks Daniel if he thinks he is what is best for business. Daniel says that he knows everyone wants him to point his fingers in the air & say yes, but to be honest he doesn’t care what is best for business. Then Orton says Daniel is naïve. Daniel will never be champion or the face of WWE. Daniel will always just be…Daniel tells Orton to shut up. Daniel’s been listening for weeks as Orton, HHH, Stephanie & Vince come out every night & talk about Orton being the face of WWE & what’s “best for business” as if all of this is about adding numbers to some giant cooperation. The most important things in Daniel’s life have nothing to do with what is “best for business”. Daniel is talking about love, satisfaction, passion & dreams. The WWE Title is Daniel’s dream & it isn’t on anybody’s balance sheet. Daniel has never once in his entire life dreamed of being the face of cooperation. Ever since Daniel was a little kid all he’s ever dreamed of is holding this title. At NOC Daniel will achieve his dream when he beats Orton & wins the WWE Title. Orton says that he will do Daniel 1 better. He will help Daniel achieve his dream right here tonight. Then Orton tackles Daniel to the mat & pounds on him for a bit. Then he gets in Edge’s face. Then he goes to beat on Daniel some more but Daniel gets him in the yes lock & Orton taps. Then referees come in to get Daniel off of Orton. They eventually do & Orton rolls out of the ring. Then Daniel’s music plays & he does his yes bit. Orton heads up the ramp with the title as Daniel & the fans chant yes to end the show. This was good. Edge & Daniel were both great on the mic & I liked that they had Daniel get the better of Orton again. I thought this was a decent show for the most part. The Big Show-HHH opening promo was weak but having Big Show brawl with The Shield was good. The cutting edge segment at the end was well done. The dance off was idiotic & so was Ryback “interviewing” RD Evans. Ricardo-Del Rio was decent & Ricardo got some offense in. I wasn’t into the video package with HHH giving comments. The Dolph-Ambrose/Dolph & Usos vs. The Shield was great. I also liked the Paul Heyman-Curtis Axel interview. Heyman was great with his promo like usual & Axel was solid here too. I thought Michael Cole also did a good job. The 6 Diva tag wasn’t much but I was ok with the 3 challengers going after AJ. Santino-Sandow wasn’t much either. Other than that I thought this was a decent show overall.

9-12-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the September 12, 2013 No Surrender Part 1 episode of Impact They show AJ Styles, Austin Aries, Bobby Roode & Magnus arriving in the building from earlier in the day. Then they show a video package on the BFG Series final 4. That’s followed up with a Ken Anderson-Bully Ray/Aces & 8s video recap. The actual show starts with Bully Ray & Brooke Tessmacher coming to the ring. He says he’s in a very bad mood so it’s in everyone’s best interest to let him say what he has to say. Things in the family haven’t been going right. He & Anderson aren’t on the same page but he’s willing to forgive Anderson because the main problem is Hulk Hogan. Out comes The Hulkster. He welcomes everyone to No Surrender & it’s live on Spike & happening in St. Louis. By the end of the night we’ll know the BFG main event. Before we get there Ray should be worrying about defending his title against 1 of his brothers “brother.” Ray says he knows Anderson will do what’s right. If Anderson’s there he wants him come out right now & talk face to face. Out comes Anderson. Ray mentions that Anderson turned his back on Hulk. The Aces & 8s colors are stronger than Hulk will ever be. All Anderson has to do is apologize to Ray & it will all be over. Anderson says he was out of line & can’t wait to get out of line tonight. Then he decks Ray & says there will be a new world champion. MR. ANDERSON. Wait for it. ANDERSON. Hulk wishes Ray luck & says the title match will be a last man standing match “brother.” This was a good opening segment. AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries in a BFG Series semifinal match. AJ gets the pin. This was great! AJ gave Aries a Styles Clash off the ropes for the pin. Backstage Sting reminds Magnus MEM started with all former world champions but they made an exception for him. They know that he is only 2 wins away from a chance at becoming world champion. Magnus thanks MEM for all they’ve done for him, but he’s tired of being called the future. Tonight the future is now. Sting & Joe agree. This was a decent backstage bit. Bobby Roode is at ringside & he wants Magnus out there now. Well he won’t to wait. Out comes Magnus. I’m not sure why they had this bit. Magnus vs. Bobby Roode in a BFG Series semifinal match. Magnus gets the pin. This was a good back & forth match. I was surprised they had Magnus win but he & AJ should have a great match. So the BFG Series finals is AJ Styles vs. Magnus. Backstage Bobby Roode is all upset & throws stuff around. Daniels & Kazarian come by to calm him. Then Roode says Hulk screwed him & he’s gonna screw him back. If none of them can be in the BFG finals then no one will be. Then we see Hulk with TJ Perkins AKA Manik. Hulk says how great TJ is since he’s dawned the mask. TJ says that he wants to face Jeff Hardy. Hulk tells him that Jeff is no walk in the park but he’s got it. Then Dixie comes in & TJ leaves. Then Dixie tells Hulk that Bellator has Rampage & Tito has from Impact. This was idiotic. I have no idea why they have TJ Perkins in this costume & talking to Hulk without the mask. The Dixie part was pointless too. Who cares what Rampage & Tito will be doing? Then we see Bully Ray. He can’t believe what’s happened to this club. When he looks at the others he thinks they’re happy Anderson turned on him. He thinks they might want Anderson to be their president. Ray put this club together for them while Anderson has done nothing. Then he asks Knox, Wes & Garrett if they want Anderson as champion. Then he says he knows they don’t. Ray’s proud of them & he hopes they feel the same way about him. They show a Ken Anderson-Bully Ray video package. Ken Anderson vs. TNA World Champion Bully Ray in a last man standing match for the Title. Bully Ray wins. During the match Ray gets in Earl Hebner’s face, Hebner pushes him & then Ray shoves Hebner into the turnbuckle, knocking him out. Knox, Wes & Garrett come out. They pick Anderson up & then Tessmacher comes in & hits Anderson from behind in the groin. Then they give Anderson the Shield triple power bomb. Then Ray revives Hebner & Hebner counts but Anderson gets up at 9. A bit later Ray hits Anderson with a chain but Anderson gets up at 9 a second time. Then Ray spears Anderson through the table that was set up in the corner. That keeps Anderson down for a 10 count. WINNER & STILL TNA WORLD CHAMPION – BULLY RAY. This was a really good plunder match. Then Medics come in & place Anderson on stretcher. Before they can wheel him to the back Ray heads towards the stretcher & the medics flee. Then tells the unconscious Anderson & that he is the last person he will see. Then he pushes the stretcher over. Then Ray yanks Anderson’s Aces & 8s vest off. Then Ray pile drives him on the ramp. Then Ray kneels over Anderson & says he is the guy who just took him out. This was good. Break time. Back from break & Gunner & James Storm come to the ring. Back to break (I hate when they do that) Back from break & backstage ODB says she hasn’t been “knocked up” champion in over 3 years. She’s been training hard for this & she almost gave up drinking. She’ll see Mickie next week. Back to Gunner & Storm. Storm puts over St. Louis & says there must a lot of beer drinkers in the place. Storm says to Gunner they were watching the BFG Series. As much as Storm wants to kick back & drink beer all night, Gunner wants to fight so why not do both in 1 night. It doesn’t matter if they face Robbie & Jessie, Daniels, Kazarian & Roode or the Aces and idiots. Storm says there has to be someone to man up. Hernandez & Chavo come out. Chavo says last year’s BFG is when he & Hernandez first won the tag titles. Storm’s a great wrestler & 1 half of the greatest tag team of all time. The greatest team of all time is any team Chavo’s in. Then Chavo says how jacked Gunner is but Hernandez is stronger than Gunner. Chavo says Gunner & Storm have been on a losing streak. Then Chavo says that if he & Hernandez challenge them for the tag titles the losing streak will continue. Gunner says he likes to fight & challenges them to a match for next week. Then he says if they stick their noses in Gunner’s & Storm’s business 1 more time he will drill them with the tag title. This was ok but not great. Storm cut his usual “fight & get drunk” promo & Chavo was really annoying. Gunner was ok but his promo wasn’t really too memorable. AJ Styles vs. Magnus in the Bound for Glory series finals. AJ gets the pin to win the series. Early in the match Daniels, Kazarian & Roode come in & go after both AJ & Magnus & lay out both guys. Then more referees come out & the heel trio continues the beating before heading to the back. The match continues & eventually AJ hits the Spiral Tap for the win. BOUND FOR GLORY SERIES WINNER – AJ STYLES. This was also a great match. Then AJ says he said he was gonna do it & he did in St. Louis. He couldn’t have done it without the fans. He got a lot of response from what he said 2 weeks ago but never got 1 from Dixie. He pointed out a lot of mistakes over the last 11 years. He tells Dixie to remind her secretary to show up next week because he’s gonna mention the biggest mistake. This is Dixie’s wake up call for next week. AJ poses in the ring to end the show. I really enjoyed this week’s show overall. I loved the BFG Series matches & AJ’s promo at the end was also good. The opening segment with Anderson & Ray was also decent & the title match was a great brawl. The Storm & Gunner-Hernandez & Chavo promo was ok but not too memorable. It looks like Hernandez & Chavo will beat the champs & challenge for the titles at Bound for Glory. On the whole though I thought this was a really good show.