8-15-11 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 15, 2011 episode of Raw

The show starts with Triple H coming to the ring talking about how a lot of people are upset with what happened at SummerSlam and he apologizes to the fans and John Cena. He puts over the Cena-Punk match and says he’s not sure who would’ve won if he hadn’t messed up, but he had no problem raising Punk’s hand. He also says that he had nothing to do with Kevin Nash coming out after the match. He mentions that Nash called him and H got him a ticket for the PPV and says Nash can explain why he came in power bombed Punk. He mentions Alberto Del Rio cashing in the MITB case and said that after SummerSlam there would be ONE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION, “and here he is.” Alberto Del Rio then comes out and mentions that it was his destiny to be WWE Champion and that it was not his intention to cash in at SummerSlam and says that destiny does whatever it wants and that he couldn’t resist after Kevin Nash power bombed Punk. He says that as Champion he will represent everyone with respect and honesty and that he will be in the lobby signing autographs for the fans and take pictures with their kids too. He says that he will be a champion for his people. He then mentions that he will defend the Title against Rey Mysterio. He puts over Rey saying that he is a Mexican icon. He says he loves beating Mysterio and mentions that that was how he started his career and that he will do the same tonight. He tells the fans there will be no more 619 after tonight and he will be their new hero. I thought this was a good promo from Alberto.

They show Triple H going into John Cena’s dressing room to talk to him.

They show Morrison from earlier saying that he will take R-Truth down on his terms

John Morrison vs. R-Truth in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Morrison gets the pin on the floor. They brawled around ringside mostly and went into the crowd for a bit, but I thought it was good.

They show CM Punk walking backstage.

The Miz comes to the ring for a promo. He says that he came to say hello to Jared the Subway guy because he known what a huge Miz fan he is, but Miz is not a fan of his and that he can be a better spokesperson for Subway than he ever could be. Miz then does his own Subway plug, which was really good. He says that he will be a Champion again because he is The Miz and he is “AWESOME!” This was another really entertaining Miz promo.

They show a Limo pulling in and Kevin Nash comes out.

Divas Champion Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. The Bella Twins. Kelly & Eve win when Eve gets the pin. This was a typical Divas match. It was ok for what it was. After the match Beth Phoenix & Natalya and sarcastically applaud Kelly & Eve and the 4 have a stare down.

Kevin Nash gets introduced as a former WWE Champion, 4 time WCW Champion and one of the most influential wrestlers in the industry. Kevin Nash and first thanks Triple H for letting him come out to explain his action last night. He mentions that before the main event he got a text message, which said to ask him to stick it to the winner. He mentions that it was just business. He talks about Triple H not knowing anything about it and that they should get on the same page. CM Punk then comes out and asks Nash if he expects him to believe that he & H aren’t on the same page. He then talks about how H resigned him because it was good for business and that he’s always thought H doesn’t know what’s good for business and Nash has no idea what is. Nash tells Punk to watch his mouth and Punk Nash needs to watch the show because he whatever he wants to whoever he wants and that Nash story shows that H is a liar, but maybe H was telling the truth and that Nash is the lair. Punk then mentions that Nash’s career is dead and that he’s pissed off at a lot of people in WWE but not Alberto. He mentions that H is bringing his friends back no that he is in charge. Nash then calls Punk in Indy guy and rags on his accomplishments. Punk then says that Nash called Eddie Guerrero a vanilla midget and that it’s 2011 not 1995. Nash then talks about 1996 and then says that if Punk who he says looks like a guy who works in a waffle house is a champion then he should hit the weights. Punk than mentions that he came in and left as CM Punk and says they can fight right now if Nash wants to. Punk goes to the ring but security block him. Punk says that he is not surprised that H made his buddy untouchable and that if they’re watching Nash’s back no one is watching Triple H’s so he will go and find out from H himself. This was a mixed bag segment I thought. I wasn’t too crazy about Nash’s promo and calling Punk an Indy guy. Punk’s promo was really great as always.

Nash walks into Triple H’s office and Johnny Ace comes in and says that H is talking to Punk and says that Punk was out of line. He says that it was good see Nash and they should go somewhere. This was pointless. Why is Johnny Ace an on air character?

Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero are on commentary and they bicker.

Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger. Vickie takes her head set off and takes JR’s hat and puts it on, then she puts it on the referee. Swagger gets the pin. Dolph then steps on JR’s hat and puts hit on JR’s head. This was stupid. The whole match was more of a background to the Dolph-Vickie commentary/bickering. They hardly focused on the match at all.

Backstage Swagger thanks Vickie and says that she managed both Dolph and Edge and they were both World Champion. He then talks about all the great managers from the old days and tells Vickie that she should manage him.

CM punk walks into the office and Stephanie is there and says that she is sorry that he lost the Title, but that he might not have actually won it either since Cena’s foot was on the rope. She then says that in the end people always get what they deserve. I’m not sure what was up with that.

Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Michel McGullicutty & David Otunga. Kofi & Bourne win when Bourne pins Otunga. This was a decent match. Kofi & Bourne are really good. The other 2 guys, not so much. I’m guessing they’ll have a rematch at Night of Champions.

They show Rey Mysterio getting ready for his Title match next.

Rey Mysterio vs. WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio for the Title. Del Rio gets the pin to retain the Title. This was a really enjoyable back and forth match. After the match Alberto continues to attack Rey and slams his arm the announce table, throws him back in the ring and locks on the arm breaker. Cena then comes out and tries to STF Alberto, but he bails. Cena says that he could be pissed off at Triple H, but he’s not. He’s pissed off at Alberto because he went into business for himself and cashed in the MITB case after Cena & Punk had a great match and that Del Rio is not a Champion but a target. He mentions that Punk earned the right to defend the Title and Del Rio was lucky, but won’t be lucky if his next Title defense is against him. This was a good intense promo from Cena.

I thought that this was a decent show on the whole. I enjoyed the Title match and the post match segment and promo from Cena. The Punk-Nash segment had its ups & downs. I did not care for Nash’s promo that much, but I liked Punk’s. He was great as always and I think he is definitely a face now. I think this storyline could be good if they don’t focus most/all of it on the McMahons and the old click. Punk deserves to be the top guy.

8-12-11 Smackdown results & thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 12, 2011 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Triple H coming to the ring and announces Ezekiel Jackson vs. Cody for the IC Title, Randy Orton vs. Great Khali and the battle of the Money in the Bank winners Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio for tonight. Christian then comes out and says that he is threatening to sue WWE because of Orton’s anger issues and that having the no holds barred match at SummerSlam is an unsafe working environment for Christian and that he wants Triple H to take stip out of the match. Triple H says the match will take place and that it will be no holds barred and if Christian decides not to face Orton, he will fire him for being in breach of contract. Triple H says that he doesn’t like Orton but he does respect him, and he doesn’t respect Christian and neither do the fans because of how he won the World Title. He tells Christian to face Orton and earn the respect. Triple H walks out but Christian stops him and says that he will face Orton Sunday and that he wants to know who he’s facing tonight. Sheamus’ music plays and he comes out setting up the first match for the show.

Sheamus vs. World Champion Christian. Sheamus wins by count out when Christian purposely gets himself counted out. This was a good match.

Kaitlyn & AJ vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya. Beth & Natalya win when Beth pins AJ. After the match Natalya puts Kaitlyn in the Sharpshooter.

Teddy Long & Zack Ryder are backstage and Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, Jr. come in and they thank Ryder for giving Cody an IC Title match (even thought Triple H made it). Long says it wasn’t Ryder who made the match and then Aksana comes in, Long stumbles over a few words and walks out.

Johnny Curtis is backstage and Mark Henry shows up and tells him that it’s a shame that his first match will also be his only match because he is facing Henry. Henry says that he liked the vignettes that Curtis was doing with the corny expressions and that he had a saying for him. “Break a leg.”

Sin Cara 2 vs. Tyson Kid. Cara 2 gets the pin. This was good back and forth match too. The announcers mentioned that Cara looked more muscular.

Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto Del Rio. Alberto wins by submission. This was a real good back and forth match. After the match Wade Barrett comes in and gives Daniel the Waste land.

Intercontinental Champion Ezekiel Jackson vs. Cody Rhodes for the Title. Cody gets the pin to become the new champion. This match was also good. After the match Ted puts a bag over Zeke’s head, then Zeke comes to and clobbers Ted.

Matt Striker interviews Randy Orton backstage and Orton says that he is ready for Christian and that he will keep everything simple for Khali and that Khali won’t need a Rosetta stone or Jinder Mahal to translate the meaning of RKO.

Johnny Curtis vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. After the match Henry gets a chair and was about to break Curtis’ ankle with the second rope splash but Sheamus comes out and Henry bails. Sheamus gets the mic and says that all he hears from Mark Henry is how tough he is, but every time Sheamus out he runs. Sheamus calls him “Shamu” and tells him to get back in the ocean. Henry makes like he’s going to face Sheamus but he hit Curtis and walks out. The match was a squash but the post match promo from Sheamus was good.

Randy Orton vs. Great Khali. Orton gets the pin. After the match Christian come out and says that Sunday everything is about to change and mentions that anything goes and that he now the best thing going.

I thought this was a good show overall and they did a decent job in the final hype for the SummerSlam build. The best matches were Cara 2-Kidd and Bryan-Del Rio.

8-11-11 Impact results and thoughts

      Coverage and thoughts on the August 11, 2011 episode of Impact

The show starts with Bully Ray, Ken Anderson, Scott Steiner, Gunner & Abyss in the ring. Ray rags on Abyss about how he has “gotten soft” and all he does lately is lose. He then mentions that there will be a 4 Way Bound For Glory Series Match tonight with him, Gunner, Scott Steiner & Crimson and Ray says that he will win the match because he is on the road to becoming World Champion. Ray then turns to Anderson and he commends him for one of the more brutal beatings he had given in awhile at Hardcore Justice and said that he belongs in Immortal and wants to shake his hand, and Anderson was laughing and Ray attacks him before he can say anything. Ray, Gunner, Steiner & Abyss then beat down Anderson and he had to be stretchered to the back. This was a typical opening TNA segment. Ray cut a great promo as always, but I have no idea why they had Anderson be in Immortal just to get a short while later.

Immortal are on Bischoff’s office and Bischoff says that Ray was right about Anderson. He mentions that Hogan is on his way to the arena and so is Kurt Angle and doesn’t know where Angle’s head is at. Bischoff then rags on Abyss. This was another stupid Bischoff segment. Not much else to say about this.

Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne in a Number One Contender Match for the Knockouts Title. Mickie gets the pin. This wasn’t much of a match. It was ok for what it was. I’m not sure why the former Champion had to win a number one contender match, when the former champion usually gets the automatic rematch. Minor comment.

X Division Champion Brian Kendrick vs. Robbie E. Kendrick gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. Austin Aries was on commentary.

Devon & The Pope talk backstage about the tag match and Devon mentions that Pope beat him clean Sunday and that he has to team with him tonight to get the points for the BFG Series. Not a bad promo, but this whole rivalry hasn’t made sense from the start.

Robbie & Cookie backstage and they argue and he says she’s done. I hope that this is the end of the Robbie E gimmick.

Bound For Glory Series 3 Way Tag Team Match – TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money vs. Rob Van Dam & AJ Styles vs. The Pope & Devon. Beer Money win when Roode pins Pope for 7 more points. Christopher Daniels was on commentary for a bit saying that he wanted one more match with AJ and walked out. This was a good match.

TNA World Champion Kurt Angle comes to the ring to talk about beating Sting for the Title at Hardcore Justice. Angle apologizes to Sting for hitting him with a chair to win the Title after the talk that they had last week. He says that he meant everything that he said to Sting before Hardcore Justice and says that he used the chair because Dixie Carter lied to him in the past about Jeff and Karen and that he is not going to let Dixie have her company back. Angle walks up the ramp and Sting comes out on the stage and knocked the chair out of Angle’s hands with the bat. Hulk Hogan attacks Sting from behind with a chair. Angle says that Hogan has invested in him. Hogan attacks Sting on the ramp to the ring with the chair. Hogan then raises Angle’s hand. Angle cut a good promo, but I don’t get him being part of Immortal, especially if Jeff Jarrett is part of the same faction. They feuded for months and I hope they don’t do the old forget that happened idiocy.

Knockouts Tag Team Champions Tara & Brooke Tessmacher vs. ODB & Jackie Moore. Tara & Tessmacher win Brooke pins Jackie. This was a decent match. ODB & Jackie shook Tara’s & Brooke’s hands after the match.

They show a number of X Division wrestlers in Bischoff’s office and Bischoff blames Abyss for them being there. He also mentions that the X Division has a weight limit and that there will be a Gauntlet next week to see who will challenge Brian Kendrick for the X Division Title. Austin Aries says that he will make the X Division something Bischoff will be proud of.

The Jarretts come to the ring for a promo and Jeff has the AAA Title and is in Mexican gear, Sombrero and all. Jeff then rags on Mexico and then brings out 2 janitors who were played by Florida Independent Tag Team Los Ban Dejos. He asks them who the king of Mexico. They didn’t speak English and kept saying “Que” to everything Jarrett was saying. They eventually say “Guerrero” and Jarrett attacked them. Hector Guerrero comes to the ring and helps the “janitors” out and the Jarretts bail when he comes in. This was beyond idiotic!

More Eric Young stupidity. Can they please end this?

Ken Anderson comes out of a trailer all bloody and goes into Ray’s trailer and Gunner attacks him from behind.

Bound For Glory Series 4 Way Match – Crimson vs. Gunner vs. Scott Steiner vs. Bully Ray. Matt Morgan does commentary. Crimson wins when he pins Gunner. The match was mostly a handicap match. After the match Kurt Angle comes out and attacks Crimson to end the show.

I thought this show was a mixed bag. The opening promo was the usual stuff TNA has. The Kurt Angle heal promo was good I thought, but I’m not sure why they might have him be part of Immortal. I think he would be better as heal on his own. The 3 Way Tag and the 4 Way BFG Series matches were the highlights of this week’s show.

8-7-11 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 8, 2011 episode of Raw

The show starts with Triple H in the ring mentioning how historic SummerSlam will be when Cena faces Punk for the Undisputed Title. He mentions that in the last month they’ve gone from no WWE Champion and Vince being in charge to H being in charge and there are to WWE Champions. He says that the undisputed part is where he comes in as COO and says that he found someone who will have absolute authority and that is himself. He mentions he’s the only guy he can trust and that he will be the referee for the WWE Title match. He mentions the Cena-Punk contract signing tonight and that they will both be in singles matches tonight and Cena’s match is right now. Cena comes out and he and Triple argue for a bit with Cena saying that H made himself the ref because of his ego and H tells Cena to not tell how to ref the match and that the match will turn the way he wants it to. They actually managed to drown out the commentary. I thought this promo was kind of weak. I hope if Triple H is turning heal, which it sounded like when he said that he only trusts himself, that we won’t see “Mr. Helmsley.”

WWE Champion John Cena vs. Jack Swagger. Cena gets the pin. The match was pretty good, but there was never any doubt Cena was going over.

Time for the SummerSlam recall and they show clips of the really great Bret Hart-Mr. Perfect match from SummerSlam 91, which in my view is the best SummerSlam ever! That was a really fun match!!

Scott Stanford is cut off by Ricardo Rodriguez who introduces Alberto Del Rio, who calls Punk the voce of the gutless because he ran when Alberto was ready to cash in the MITB and tonight we will see what would have happen that night. Good promo from Del Rio.

Josh Mathews interview R-Truth and Truth talks nonsense here and talks about how he hates spiders again. He talks more nonsense about “spider stew”. Then he says he’s going to step on a spider tonight and that spider is John Morrison. This was a weird promo. I have no idea why they’re booking Truth to be this crazy out there guy.

Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz. Miz comes out and attacks Rey during his entrance and rams him face first into the WWE logo stand. The refs helped Mysterio up and to the back. Miz says that there’s so much emphasis put on the WWE Title match when he should be the focus because he is all over TV and that he wants a referee to come out and say that Miz wins the match by forfeit. A ref comes out and tells Justin Roberts that Triple said that Miz will be in a match right now and Kofi Kingston comes out.

Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz. Miz get the pin. This was a good back and forth match.

Josh Mathews interviews CM Punk backstage about his reaction to H making himself the ref at SummerSlam. Punk says that he’s not surprised because he has a bigger ego than Vince and that he Title match was history making by itself, but Triple H had to put himself in the mix. He then mentions his upcoming match with Del Rio. This was another good promo from CM Punk.

WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio. Punk gets the pin. This was a real good match.

Eve Torres vs. Beth Phoenix. Beth gets the pin. This was a typical Divas match. Good but short. Beth then says that she is tired of Divas like her and Kelly making a mockery of the Divas division. She was about to ask Eve something when Kelly attacked her from behind.

Alex Riley vs. U.S. Champion Dolph Ziggler. Before the match Alex gets the mic and says it smells like death just took a dump in her mouth. That was stupid. Vickie gets in the ring and screams at Riley and then slaps him causing a DQ. Dolph and Vickie then bicker a bit and Alex punches Dolph into Vickie. Dolph and Vickie argue a bit more and Vickie walks out. There really wasn’t much to this and was kind of on the dull side. Alex Riley won by DQ.

They showed a video package recapping the WWE Title situation and the Title match on Sunday. This was put together really well.

John Morrison vs. R-Truth. Truth gets the pin. This was a good match, but I’m surprised they had a clean finish.

They show Triple H and Johnny Ace reading over the contract for the Cena-Punk match.

Christian cuts a promo on the Tron mentioning that he has an announcement to make on Smackdown and that Triple H should be there to hear it in person.

Time for the Contract signing. Punk says that they’re out there for show and that someone could flip the table over. He then shows a clip of Dwayne ripping on Cena. I saw this online, Rock was as funny as usual. Punk mentions that Cena and Rock are both phonies. Cena says Punk caught him off guard with the clip and that he loves to see the fans get psyched and mentions that Rock is a future Hall of Famer. Cena then says that Punk is to PG and a modern day Hulk Hogan. That was a comical line. He then says that Rock is a star and that he has his millions and Cena says that he himself couldn’t win over the fans. Cena mentions when Punk called him the Yankees and he says that he was right about that because he like the Yankees get a mixed reaction from fans. He says that he will not give up on the fans that have been loyal to him and that there is nothing phony about that. He then says that Punk is an underground voice of the voiceless and to look in the mirror if he wants to see phony and Triple H agrees saying that Punk ran away and made a new deal over the phone. Punk then asks Johnny Ace if he personally fired Vladimir Kozlov, Chris Masters and Harry Smith. That was great stuff! The fans chant CM Punk! Punk says that this is about him, Cena and the WWE Title and that Cena looks down on him and mentions how Cena said Punk did a good job when he won the ECW Title and he almost gave up on him. Punk says that he held up WWE for some perks and says that he has to fight for the opportunities that Cena has been handed. He mentions Cena winning his first WWE Title back in 05 in Los Angeles and that on Sunday he will walk out with nothing. He says that after SummerSlam he will be the WWE Champion and he then signs the contract. Cena says that Punk beat him at MITB and has every right to be called WWE Champion, but has he thought about what happens if he loses. He then mentions that he will face Rock at WrestleMania no matter what and that Punk needs this match more than he does and that if he doesn’t back up what he says on Sunday, he will be a one hit wonder and wishes him luck. Punks says that he would rather be a one hit wonder than a phony. They then stand up and knock over the table and have a stare down but Johnny Ace gets between them and Punk decks him, then Cena goes after Punk, but Punk gets out of the ring and Cena winds up hitting Triple H by mistake. Triple H and Cena stand in the ring and Punk asks if that’s how it will be at SummerSlam. This was a well done final hype segment for Sunday.

I thought that this week’s show was good overall. There were a few weak spots, like Triple H’s opening promo, R-Truth’s promo and the Alex Riley-Dolph Ziggler match/segment, but there was some good stuff too like Miz attacking Mysterio, the Kofi-Miz match, the Pun-Del Rio match and the contract signing segment at the end was good too. Punk as always cut a really great promo. 

8-5-11 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 5, 2011 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with recap video of Mark Henry taking out Kane and Big Show, and Sheamus challenging him. They announce Sheamus vs. Mark Henry for SummerSlam.

Sheamus vs. Great Khali. Sheamus gets the pin.

AJ vs. Natalya. Natalya wins by submission. After the match Natalya turns heal and attacks AJ. She then gets the mic and says that Beth Phoenix is right that the days of the cutie Divas are done. The match was short, but Natalya cut a good promo afterwards.

Hopefully this will be the start of a push for both Natalya and Beth. It would be cool if they teamed up to “take out” the other Divas.

They mention that Zack Ryder will debut his new “talk show” tonight.

Matt Striker interviews Randy Orton backstage about his match with Christian at SummerSlam. Orton talks about how he has anger management issues and that Christian will help him get through them. Orton says that Christian is only guy to win the World Title by DQ, but at SummerSlam, Christian will have to pin Orton or make him submit and Orton says Christian can’t do it.

They show another video package of Justin Gabriel from the Cape Town tour. This was really well done too.

Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd. Wade Barrett does commentary. Bryan wins by submission. This was a really great back and forth match! These guys are real talented and Tyson Kidd should be getting a push.

Zack Ryder comes out for his new segment and starts his promo when Ezekiel Jackson came out and tells him that he didn’t go for being in a handicap match last week. Ryder tries to say why he made the match when Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, Jr. come out. Rhodes got on the mic and he rags on Zeke saying that he doesn’t deserve to be a champion. He says that after he beats Zeke for the IC Title he will resurrect its image just as he has with Ted. I’m not so sure if the IC Title can have the meaning that it used to, since it hasn’t in years. Zeke says that Cody hasn’t resurrected anything and that he is just using Ted. Zeke says that he knows what being used is like and talked how his time in the Corre and says that nothing is better than freedom and he holds up the IC Title. Cody says that Ted has free will and suggests that Ted face Zeke right now if that’s ok with Ryder. Ryder says it’s cool with him and was about to make the match when Teddy Long then came out and told Ryder that he is not the GM and that Long is the guy who makes the matches on Smackdown and he sets up Jackson vs. Ryder next and tells Cody & Ted that they’re banned from ringside.

Intercontinental Champion Ezekiel Jackson vs. Zack Ryder. Zeke wins by submission. This was a squash.

This wasn’t on the show, but during the taping while Ryder is still in the ring Triple H’s music plays and he comes out and says that he is still kind of new at being COO and has only had the job a couple of weeks and mentions how stressful it is. He tells Ryder that when he made him Teddy Long’s assistant last week, he meant for Ryder to get coffee and sharpen pencils. Hunter then he’s going to do something just for fans in the building. They turned out the lights and the Tron and they had on a spot light. Triple H then takes his Jacket off and undoes his collar. He then gives Ryder a Pedigree. Why bury Ryder? He’s been getting over pretty well with fans. First they have him job to David Otunga in the Tag match Monday and then they Have TRIPLE H, the guy who is “in charge” giving him a pedigree! I don’t get this. They should be pushing Ryder not burying him!

Teddy Long was in his office and Aksana came in dressed in black. She wants to talk with Teddy and he gives her his office card to set up an appointment. She asks if she can have his cell number and he writes it on the back of the card. She came on to him the whole segment. This was weak.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. After the match Henry gets a chair and puts Kozlov’s leg in it and gives him the second rope splash. Sheamus then came out with a chair and Henry bails.

Sheamus cuts a promo backstage saying that he has the luck of the Irish and mentions that Mark Henry has taken other people’s dreams and careers, but that it won’t happen to him.

The Usos & Trent Baretta vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Michael McGuillicutty & David Otunga & JTG. McGuillicutty, Otunga & JTG win.

They mention that Johnny Curtis will make his Smackdown in ring debut next week.

Christian cuts a promo about how he overcame Teddy Long, Triple H, the refs and the fans to become World Champion again. R-Truth then came in says that Christian is saying that it’s a conspiracy. Christian says the didn’t wanna come right out and say it and Truth says that he sounds just like Miz and he says that he will put a hurt on Randy Orton for attacking him last week.

Randy Orton & John Morrison vs. World Champion Christian & R-Truth. Christian & Truth when Christian pins Orton. After the match Christian & Truth run up the ramp celebrating their win.  

I thought this was a good show overall. The Daniel Bryan-Tyson Kidd match was the best part of the show. The main event tag match was good too.

8-4-11 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 4, 2011 episode of Impact

The show starts with Bully Ray, Gunner, Scott Steiner, the Jarretts, Abyss and Ken Anderson. Ray and Anderson have words about Anderson losing to Kurt Angle last week and Anderson challenges Ray to a match at Hardcore Justice. Anderson and Ray then go at it for a bit and then Fortune comes out, Kazarian talks a bit and a brawl starts. Not a bad segment. Ray was great on the mic as usual and the brawl was ok.

Miss Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne. Earl Hebner sends Tara to the back. Tessmacher gets the pin. Mickie James does commentary. After the match Mickie James heads to the ring to help out Tessmacher but Winter and Angelina come out and attack Mickie. The match was ok for what it was. So was the post match attack.

Bound For Glory Series – AJ Styles vs. Devon. Devon gets the pin. Pope comes out and sits with Devon’s kids during the match. Daniels also came out and sat at the front of the ramp, which distracted AJ. Devon and AJ shake hands and hug after the match, then Devon has words with Pope while AJ & Daniels also argue.

They show a video package recapping the history with Kurt Angle and Sting. I thought it was well done.

Pope cuts a promo talking about his match Samoa Joe and that he has a match with Devon at Hardcore Justice.  

Bound For Glory Series – Samoa Joe vs. The Pope. Devon comes out to watch. Pope wins by reverse decision DQ. Joe won by submission but he wouldn’t release the hold and the decision was reversed.

Joe cuts a promo saying that the people in TNA don’t want him anywhere near the Title because they know that he is a threat. Good intense promo.

Beer Money in the back with Storm saying that he hurt his back during the brawl. Roode offers to take Storm’s place and Storm okayed it.

Bully Ray talking to Hogan on his cell phone saying that Anderson wasn’t Immortal material. Hogan wants Ray to apologize for starting the tension, Ray refuses, then he will out of respect for Hogan. This made no sense.

Bobby Roode vs. Hernandez in a Street Fight. Roode tells the ref that he is taking Storm’s place. Hernandez tapped to the arm bar but the ref missed it and Mexican America got involved and Hernandez gets the pin. This was a decent brawl.

Ray goes into Anderson’s dressing room saying he respect for the business and the guys who there before him and says that neither would be there if it weren’t for Hogan. He then apologizes for provoking Anderson and Anderson reluctantly shakes his hand, then Ray hits him. Good heal tactics from Ray, who is easily the best heal in TNA.

Alex Shelly vs. Austin Aries. Aries gets the pin. This was really fun match. Aries then gets the mic and says that he beat Shelly clean with a wrestling maneuver. Kendrick then comes out, Aries bails and says he will see them at the PPV. This was really great stuff, Aries cut a great promo. This was easily the highlight of the show!

More Eric Young, this time saying he’s taking acting lessons. More stupidity.

JB interviews Kurt Angle in the production truck about the empty arena match Angle and Sting had back in 09. Angle says that he got a few injuries from the match and they show the match and talk about the history of that feud. Angle then says that he is looking to beat Sting clean. They talk about the match Sunday and show the empty arena match and do commentary on that. This was odd. I have no idea why they had this segment.

Bound For Glory Series – RVD & Crimson vs. Gunner & Scott Steiner. RVD & Crimson win when RVD pins Steiner to get more points and is now in second place. This was a good back and forth tag match. Christie interviews RVD & Crimson and they announce RVD vs. Crimson in a Bound For Glory Series Finals Match for Hardcore Justice.

Kurt Angle and Sting have a contract signing for their World Title match Sunday. There’s a lot of back and forth talking and they say that they respect each other. Sting also says that he is going to make sure that Dixie Carter regains control of TNA.

I thought that this show was mediocre. The Roode- Hernandez Street Fight and the BFG series tag matches were good and the Alex Shelly-Austin Aries match was easily the highlight of the show. Bully Ray did some good heal stuff too and is the best heal in TNA. The Sting-Angle segment was decent too.

8-1-11 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 1, 2011 episode of Raw

The show starts with CM punk coming out and posing on the stage with the Title. Great stuff! Punk gets the mic and says, “The champ is here!” and holds up the belt. He then sits in the middle of the ring and says he spoke his mind and that caused a little bit of change when Vince was “relieved” of his duties. He tells the fans that for far too long they haven’t been getting what they want, but now he will make it fun for everybody. He says that he made the phone call to return and his timing couldn’t be better because once John Cena is parading around as WWE Champion. He says that what Cena has is a belt, but what he has is a championship title! He says that it doesn’t matter who WWE crowned as Champion because he is the real champion and the best in the world. Triple H’s music plays and he comes out. Punk says it’s time to play the game. Punk is really awesome!! Triple H then mentions that he resigned Punk because it was good for business and that the fans wanted him back. He says that the fans asked for Punk and he put his personal feelings aside and gave the fans what they wanted. Punk wants to know what H’s personal feeling toward him are. H says that he thinks he is a guy who is overrated, smug and puts too much stock in his own hype. Punk says that’s like looking in the mirror for H. He then rags on Vince and his “yes men” for screwing up and letting major talent go/walk out like Jericho, Lesnar and Batista. Punk then says that H couldn’t afford for Punk to be else ware. H then says that Punk resigned for himself and that he needed WWE because without it he’d be nothing. Punk says that he is the WWE Champion and H tells that him that Cena is also. H’s music plays and Punk has it cut and says that his pipe bomb is about to go off. He says that resigning doesn’t mean he’s going to shut up and then mentions H hogging the spotlight many times over people who deserved it more. He cuts a great promo here saying that H is a bully who likes to push people around and that if he pushes Punk, Punk likes to push back. H admits that he has a massive ego and that ego is telling him to slap his tattoos off him, but he won’t because he took the job as COO for the fans. He says he might not like the rules that go with the job, but he respects them and won’t break them and tells Punk not to break them either. Punk then asks if H is going to fight, or does he have to get his wife’s permission first. Punk then walks out holding up the Title. This was a really outstanding opening segment!!

They show Rey Mysterio and John Morrison getting set for their tag team match with R-Truth and Miz.

Divas Battle Royal for a Divas Title match at SummerSlam. Beth Phoenix wins. Kelly then gets in the ring to congratulate Beth and Beth attacks her. She then gets the mic and says that her days as the perky cute little blond bimbo are officially over. Hopefully this is the start of a push for Beth.

Miz and R-Truth are backstage they talk about what huge mistake triple H being in charge is and Truth says it’s a conspiracy. Truth says if H was bringing Punk back all along then why were they in a Championship tournament. This was a good back and forth promo.

Josh Matthews interviews John Cena. Cena says that H has a major decision to make, and that is to decide to the WWE Champion is.

John Morrison & Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth & The Miz. Truth & Miz win when Truth pins Morrison. This was a good match, but I don’t know why they had Morrison lose again. After the match Miz gives Morrison the Skull Crushing Finale. Mix then picks him up and Truth hits him with a water bottle.

Josh Mathews interviews Triple H. H mentions how Punk ragging on Stephanie doesn’t bother him because it’s been done before. He then says that both Cena and Punk can come out. He says that if he were Cena he would keep it strictly business. Not a bad promo.

Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero come out. Vickie gets the mic and says that while everyone talks about the controversy of having 2 WWE Champions, Dolph has shown that he is better than Cena and Punk. Dolph says that after his match last week he said, “follow that” meaning that no one will have his skills or charisma and is more of a man than anyone in the back. Alex Riley comes out and asks why he hides behind Vickie. Vickie says that thanks to her Dolph is a former World and Intercontinental Champion and is the current U.S. Champion. Alex says that Dolph has had a good run, then asks when the last time was that he accomplished something on his own. He says that Miz hid behind him and Dolph is hiding behind Vickie. Riley then asks if Dolph is afraid to drop Vickie because the fans will realize that he is a bleach blond fraud. Dolph then takes his jacket off and un does his tie then he and Vickie walk out.

Santino Marella & Zack Ryder vs. WWE Tag Team Champions David Otunga & Michael McGuillicutty. The champs win when Otunga pins Ryder. This was a decent short match.

They reshow the Triple H-CM Punk promo from the start of the show.

Josh Mathews interviews CM Punk. Punk says that he’s waiting to see what Triple H’s decision will be and that he was testing H before. Then he mentions how he beat Cena at MITB to win the Title and that the champ is here and now the champ’s walking out. Good promo from Punk.

Evan Bourne vs. Alberto Del Rio. Alberto wins by submission. This was a good match. Del Rio locks the arm bar on Bourne after the match and Kofi Kingston comes out to make the save.

Triple H comes out to decide what to about the WWE Title(s). He is about to say what he will do when Johnny Ace comes out. He mentions that he is executive VP of talent relations and that replaced JR. H asks what he wants. Ace says that Hunter should strip John Cena of the Title because that is what Vince would want him to do. Cena then comes out and says that Ace has been Vince’s right hand man for 10 years because he is one of Vince’s yes men. He then mentions that he punched Ace at MITB. He says that he won’t have the Title taken from because some goon in a suit who used to carry a surf board doesn’t like him. Ace says he made his decision because Punk beat him. Cena then says that was a great show and that his favorite moment when he punched Ace and that he should do it again. H says he doesn’t have a problem with that and then Ace walks out. Cena then asks what H is going to do and H says he is a legitimate WWE Champion. He mentioned that he hadn’t spoken to Punk till the Comic Con and that Punk came in with a signed contract and that he is a legitimate WWE Champion also. CM Punk then comes out and says that now that he’s back full time if he’s going to strip him of the Title and that everything will go back to the same old. Hunter says that neither guy will be stripped of the Title and at SummerSlam it will be Cena vs. Punk to determine the undisputed WWE Champion. Cena and Punk then have a stare down and Punk holds up his Title, then Cena holds up his. Punk gets on the turnbuckle and holds up his Title again, then Cena does the same. They go back and forth with both guy’s theme music during this. They each hold up their Title on the turnbuckles to end the show. This was a good segment too and the playing both guy’s theme music when they held up their belts was well done.

I thought this was a good show overall. There wasn’t as much wrestling as other weeks but the Cena-Punk-WWE Title bit was really good. The opening promo, the Morrison & Mysterio-Truth Miz match and the closing promo were the highlights of this week’s show in my opinion.