8-15-13 Impact results and thoughts

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

8-12-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 12, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with Daniel Bryan coming to the ring. Wade Barrett is already in the ring. Then Justin Roberts introduces the guest referee, the Raw GM Brad Maddox. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett. Barrett gets the pin when Brad makes a fast count. Afterwards Daniel stares down Brad. Then he goes after him but Brad escapes. Then Daniel leads the fans in a no chant. The match was solid but I knew there would be a screwy finish with Brad being the referee. Cody Rhodes is on commentary. Damien Sandow has his new MITB case. He also has a set of handcuffs & he cuffs the case to the ring post. Randy Orton vs. Damien Sandow. Orton gets the pin. Cody pulled on Sandow’s MITB case. That distracted Sandow & then Orton hit the RKO for the win. This was a good match. Backstage we see RVD balancing his legs on 2 chairs & stretching. Then they mention that RVD will be in a 20 man battle royal tonight. The winner of that will face Dean Ambrose for the U.S. Title at the SummerSlam kickoff. I’m thinking RVD will win this battle royal since they showed him warming up. Backstage we see The Shield. Dean Ambrose asks how could you be lazy & unproductive but still be brought back. Seth Rollins say the old guard/the icons that are living off their reputations have gotta go. Rollins says it’s time for a new generation to rise & they’re it. They’re hungrier & better. Roman Reigns says that the challenge has been made but will anybody accept it? They’ve delivered justice & no 1 can compete on their level. He challenges any team to take the tag titles off of him & Rollins at SummerSlam. Ambrose mentions that no one in tonight’s battle royal can beat him. Punk has a catchphrase but Ambrose is the best in the world. Cena has a trophy but Ambrose is the real WWE Champion. If Andre the Giant’s ghost was in the battle royal he still wouldn’t lose the U.S. Title at SummerSlam. This was a decent backstage promo. They reshow the Brock Lesnar promo/video package from Smackdown. Backstage Josh Mathews interviews Punk. He asks Punk why take a match with Heyman this close to SummerSlam. Punk says there isn’t a man alive who would be scared of Heyman in a 1 on fight. Then Punk mentions that Brock told Heyman to say something stupid & Heyman challenged Punk to a fight that Heyman knows he can’t win. Heyman’s not stupid. He does everything cold & calculating. This is a chess game for Punk & he mentions that Heyman’s got his pawns in place. Then he says that when you come for the king you best not miss. Punk has a good feeling that he will see Brock tonight. Brock likes to say the beast is the best but at the end the best is the best. Good promo from Punk. In the Goldman box Big E says that Dolph needed him but he never needed Dolph. At SummerSlam it won’t be show off. It will be show over. Great Khali & Natalya vs. Big E Langston & Divas Champion AJ Lee. Khali & Natalya win when Natalya makes AJ tap. This wasn’t much. Then Big E knocks Khali to the mat. Then he goes after Hornswoggle, but Hornswoggle gets out of the ring. Then Khali chops Big E to the mat. They mention that Shawn Michaels, Booker T & Natalya will host the 1 hour SummerSlam kick off. Vince McMahon comes to the ring. He says there’s some controversy over the Daniel-Barrett match. They reshow the finish to that match. Vince says we are due for an explanation & he tells Brad to come to the ring. Out comes Brad. Vince asks Brad why he made himself referee. Brad says Daniel’s matches tend to get out of hand. He thought the fans would appreciate an authority figure with the guts to make the right decision no matter how unpopular it would be. Vince says Brad made a fast count. Brad says that this was the first time he’s had a referee shirt on in awhile, he might have been rusty, but he did the best he could. Vince says everybody make mistakes. Brad wants a second chance. Vince asks at what. Brad wants to referee the Cena-Daniel match at SummerSlam (NO)! Vince asks the fans what they think & they of course boo. Vince says if Brad was referee would he be impartial no matter what personal issues he has with either guy. Brad says absolutely. Vince asks if Brad would no longer rag on Daniel. Brad says he wouldn’t rag on Daniel. Brad says he’s confident. He will be impartial. Vince says that at SummerSlam Brad will step forward…Then Triple H’s music plays & out he comes. Vince says Triple H hasn’t been the same since he cut his hair. The fans chant Triple H & Vince tells them not to feed his ego. HHH says he couldn’t hear Vince because 15,000 people were chanting his name. HHH knows that he & Vince haven’t agreed on a lot of things lately, but since there’s a lot more on the line than the WWE Title at SummerSlam, HHH does think there needs to be a referee who will be impartial. A referee who will not be intimated by anyone or anything. HHH doesn’t think Vince is referring to Brad. It seems like Vince is referring to HHH. Then HHH gives Brad the Pedigree. This was terrible! I’m way beyond tired of this McMahon family saga. They show a video package recapping the Kane- Wyatt family story. Kane vs. Titus O’Neil. Kane gets the pin. This was a squash. Then out go the lights & the Wyatt family comes out. Bray sits in the rocking chair. Then the lights come back on, Rowan & Harper are in the ring but Kane is on the stage. Then he sets his pyro off. Kane stares at Bray from the stage & Bray laughs. This was good. I liked that they managed to do this & not have anyone talk. Backstage Josh Mathews interviews the Bellas. Josh says things are heating up on Total Divas & Raw. Then they reshow the crappy bit with Natalya & the Bellas from last week. Josh asks if tensions are rising. They say they’re in control of the divas division. Then Natalya comes in & challenges Brie to a singles match for SummerSlam. Then in comes Eva Marie. Natalya says something to her & apparently Eva Marie is a heel. Then Natalya says that she is bringing friends of her own. In come Naomi & Cameron. Then after some more meaningless bickering Brie slaps Natalya. Who cares this Divas stuff is beyond terrible! Kofi Kingston vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a solid match. Backstage we see Mark Henry stretching & warming up for the battle royal. I thought RVD was gonna be the definite winner but since they showed Henry warming up backstage too maybe he will win the battle royal & face Ambrose in a singles match. Time for a Christian video package. He says every time he looks in the mirror he asks what if this is it. Then they show some clips from his matches over the years. Backstage Renee Young says we just saw a quick look at Christian’s memorable career but he’s probably focused on Sunday. Christian says that seeing that video reminded him of all the hard work that he has done over the years. Then he says that this Sunday he will beat Del Rio, become a 3 time world champion & prove all he needed is 1 more match. Then Del Rio comes in & talks mostly in Spanish, pretty much saying that after SummerSlam there won’t be anymore matches. Zeb Coulter, Antonio Cesaro & Jack Swagger come to the ring. Zeb says the Golden State of California is not so golden these days. It looks more like a piece of rusty scrap iron. What they’ve all done is allow illegal immigrants to come across the boarder. Zeb says a big earthquake should hit California & it should float into the ocean, this way there will be 2.5 million fewer problems or some idiotic crap like that. Who cares? I’m way past tired of this gimmick. The Usos vs. The Real Americans. The Usos win when Jay pins Swagger. This was a decent match. Time for Miz TV. Miz welcomes everyone. Tonight he will be joined by the 2 guys who will face each other at SummerSlam for the WWE Title. Then Miz brings out Daniel Bryan. Then Miz brings out Cena. Miz thanks them both for being there. The big news is that HHH will be the referee for their match. Daniel think it’s great someone stood up to Vince & now he & Cena can have the match that everyone deserves to see. Cena says this is the most exciting Miz TV ever. HHH knows what it’s like to defend the WWE Title at SummerSlam. Cena can’t think of a better guy to call it right down the middle. Miz says last week a friendly rivalry got personal. Miz asks Cena what his issue with Daniel is. Cena says the issue is the WWE Title. Daniel wants to be champion & Cena is champion. Cena respects Daniel’s in ring ability & says Daniel will give him a hell of a fight. Miz says that’s code for saying Daniel will lose. Miz says Cena picked Daniel for the easy win. Daniel says if Miz doesn’t shut his mouth he will punch him in the face. Daniel doesn’t get why Cena thinks all he can do is put up a hell of a fight. Last week Cena came out & did what he does best. Make explosive remarks & got the fans on their feet. Whether they cheered or booed him is a different subject. Cena saw the red light was on & he grabbed the spot light. Daniel says that Cena is in it for the fame & not the wrestling. Daniel says that his shirt is a parody of Cena because Daniel thinks Cena is a parody of wrestling. Daniel doesn’t wanna be a parody. He wants to be WWE Champion. Not for the fame & glory but so that when he gets in the ring everyone will know there’s no one better than Daniel Bryan. Cena takes his shirt off. Then Cena says Daniel almost had him. Cena says he’s not a parody. Cena’s out here for the same reason as Daniel. He thought Daniel would be smart enough to realize that. All the fans chanting yes or no are doing that because they believe in Daniel. When Daniel hears that it gives him emotion & Daniel wants to put his body on the line & says that he believes in the fans as much as they believe in him. Cena says they do what they do for the fans. Cena says the shirts represent loyalty. Cena’s had his share of critics but he’s got his fans & he is loyal to them. Daniel has the Gaul to call Cena a parody because of how Cena looks or acts. Cena says Daniel’s not the first & won’t be the last. Cena’s showed up everyday for 2 years & busted his ass for the fans. He mentions a Make A Wish kid that he met. He says that the kid & his dad that him for the hope & inspiration. Daniel’s red hot now but will always have critics. Daniel should proud of what he’s accomplished. Cena is proud of what he himself has accomplished. He’s wrestled around the world in 12 years. Sometimes the fans cheer & sometimes they boo but he’s been in the there with the best this business has to offer. He tells Daniel to think he will walk into LA a shell of a man because that’s what Daniel’s peers thought about him, but Cena beat them all. Michaels, HHH, Punk, Batista, Orton, Rock. Daniel says he’s talking about those guys like they’re better than he is. Cena says he can’t put Daniel in that class because he doesn’t belong in it. He says if Daniel is good enough to hold the WWE Title someday only then will he earn Cena’s respect. Daniel says Cena doesn’t respect him. He says Cena’s not treating this match like his match with Rock. He asks Cena how he could understand the desire Daniel has to hold the WWE Title. Daniel says for Cena this is just another SummerSlam but this is the biggest match of Daniel’s life. Daniel says there’s a custom that he learned in Japan. They take their hand & slap their opponent in the face. Daniel wishes he could do that to Cena right now but he can’t because Cena’s not a wrestler & doesn’t deserve it. Cena then slaps Daniel. Then he dares Daniel to slap him. Then out comes HHH. Before he can say or do anything out comes Randy Orton. Orton stands on the stage & holds up his MITB case as Cena, Daniel & HHH stand in the ring. This was a really good segment. I thought both Cena & Daniel were good with their promos. The whole idea of having the “Sports entertainer vs. the Wrestler” theme is actually pretty decent. My only hope is that with HHH as the referee that doesn’t mean there will be God knows how many run ins & decision reversals. Before the R-Truth-Fandango match Truth comes to the ring & does his bit. Then Fandango & Summer Rae dance. Then Truth does & Fandango attacks him. The bell never rang & Truth kicks Fandango around. Then Fandango rolls to the floor. He lies there, Summer gives him the mic & he says his name. Then Fandango’s music plays. This was entirely pointless! Backstage we see Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman. Axel asks Heyman if he is nervous. Heyman’s having second thoughts about facing Punk. Time for the 20 man battle royal to see who will challenge Dean Ambrose for the U.S. Title at the SummerSlam kickoff. RVD wins. In the battle royal are – RVD, Tons of Funk, 3MB, Ryback, The Usos, Great Khali, The Primetime Players, Justin Gabriel, Fandango, R-Truth, Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett, Kofi Kingston & Mark Henry. * Ryback eliminates Gabriel * Ryback eliminates Darren Young * Ryback eliminates Sweet T * 3MB eliminate Jimmy Uso * R-Truth eliminates Fandango * Fandango gets back in the ring & eliminates R-Truth (That shouldn’t count) & then RVD throws Fandango over the top rope * During the break Brodus was eliminated, Khali eliminated 3MB & Ryback eliminated Khali. * Cesaro & Swagger eliminates Jay Uso * RVD eliminates Titus * Swagger eliminates Kofi * Henry eliminates Cesaro & Swagger * Henry eliminates Barrett * Henry eliminates Ryback * RVD eliminates Henry WINNER – Rob Van Dam Then Henry gets back in the ring. He & RVD fist pump. Then out comes The Shield. RVD & Henry are in the ring & The Shield surrounds them. Then Big Show’s music hits & he makes his return. He gets in the ring & stands along side RVD & Henry. Then The Shield of course retreats. I like battle royals, so I enjoyed this. There were some good spots here. I knew it would come down to RVD & Henry at the end. I thought they’re face off was good too. I also liked The Shield coming out & then Big Show returning to stand aside Henry & RVD. Paul Heyman comes to the ring. He takes the mic & says CM Punk a few times. He says the fans are calling for their hero. Heyman doesn’t blame Punk for everything that’s happened. He blames all the fans. Punk used to live for Heyman’s respect, love, and acceptance. Now Punk lives for the fans’ acceptance. Heyman takes it personally that the fans took Punk from him. So tonight he takes their hero from them. All he’s heard for the past week from everyone is that he is setting a trap for Punk. Heyman says Guilty as Charged. Do the fans wanna know what the trap is? He didn’t think of it by himself, this is a conspiracy. He wants everyone to meet the co-conspirator, the beast Brock Lesnar. Out comes Brock. Heyman doesn’t need to sell the fans on the best vs. the beast. Actions speak louder than words. Before they say what their plan is Heyman has a Brock video package. They show clips of the Punk-Brock brawl from last Monday. Then Heyman says now it’s time to clue everyone in on what the trap is. Heyman says that there was no way that Punk would’ve fallen for this, but Punk’s need to be hero to the fans is gonna be Punk’s down fall. Heyman says the trap is that he is willing to fight Punk tonight. All Punk has to do is play the hero, get in the ring & face both Heyman & Brock in a handicap match. Heyman says that all heroes are stupid. People don’t wanna be heroes, they have no choice. Punk does. Punk doesn’t have to play hero. All he has to do is disappoint the fans, walk out the back door & live to fight another day. That day being this Sunday. Heyman asks Punk what it will be. Will Punk be the smart coward or the stupid hero? Punk’s music plays. Heyman & Brock look at the stage but Punk comes in from behind & hits Brock with a video camera. Then Punk does a suicide dive outside the ring onto Brock. Then Punk hits Brock with a chair. Heyman looks on in the ring terrified. Punk looks to Heyman & Heyman panics. Punk gets in the ring buy Heyman exits. Punk goes after him & Heyman backs up the stage. Then out comes Curtis Axel. Punk makes quick work of him & gives him the GTS on the stage. Punk then shouts that he is the best in the world. Punk looks at Brock while Brock is on the floor to end the show. This was really good. I liked Heyman’s promo & having Punk come in the ring the crowed was also a good spot. Punk hitting Brock with the camera & the chair, followed by Heyman getting all frantic was all really well done! I wasn’t surprised that Axel came out & that Punk gave him a GTS but I thought that was good. Punk shouting he is the best in the world as Lesnar was lying on the floor at ringside was also a nice touch. They did a great job building to their match for SummerSlam. I thought this was a solid show overall & they did a good job with the final build to SummerSlam. Daniel-Barrett was solid but with Brad as the referee I knew the finish wouldn’t be a clean 1. I liked the Orton-Sandow match too. Sandow cuffing the case to the post was kinda cool & I knew Cody was gonna get involved somehow. I also like the Cena-Bryan segment. Both guys were great on the mic here. The only part I didn’t get is why Miz was playing a heel when he’s a supposed to be a baby face. Besides that I thought this was good. I liked the battle royal too & I knew RVD would eliminate Mark Henry at the end. The Shield coming out & then having Big Show make his return here was good too. The Usos-Real Americans match was decent but I’m way past tired of the Zeb Coulter character. The R-Truth-Fandango bit was pointless, but they got to eliminate each other later in the battle royal. Kofi-Del Rio was solid too, the backstage bit with the Divas was terrible, the mixed tag wasn’t much & the Christian-Del Rio backstage bit was decent. Kane-Titus was a squash but I liked having the Wyatt family come out only for Kane to be on the stage when the lights came back on. The Brad Maddox-Vince-HHH segment was terrible & I’m not too thrilled with HHH being the referee for the Cena-Bryan title match. I’m really hoping they don’t go overboard with run ins & controversy. I hope to God they let Cena & Daniel have a good match. So for the most part I thought this was a solid show & they did a good job hyping the Cena-Bryan & Punk-Brock SummerSlam matches.

8-9-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 9, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton. Orton gets the pin. This was a great match & a really good way to kick of Smackdown. Time for Miz TV. His first guest tonight has as many talents as she does mood swings. He asks everyone to welcome everyone’s favorite pigtail wearing, ramp skipping & back stabbing Divas Champion AJ Lee & her big buddy Big E Langston. Out come Big E & AJ. Miz says there is 1 common denominator in all the clips that were just shown. That being AJ (Duh). Then Miz asks what the relationship between Big E & AJ is. AJ says that she has been answering that question for weeks now. Big E is there for her. He’s a nice friend & is a good guy. We get a really from Miz & then AJ says that Big E is her best friend. Then Miz says really a few times & asks if they’re really friends. Then Miz says, “Cool Big E. Cool” & gives him thumbs up. Then Miz says that AJ has had a lot of friends in WWE. “Friends” whose lives she tried to ruin like John Cena. AJ says that she pushed him off 1 ladder. Then Miz mentions Daniel Bryan. AJ asks who would marry that beard. Then Miz mentions CM Punk. AJ says that Daniel broke Punk’s fall through that table. Then Miz mentions Kane. AJ says that he wore a mask during everything (I guess we’re supposed to forget that he wrestled without a mask for years). Miz then mentions that latest “friend” she gave the business too was Dolph Ziggler. Is Miz missing any? (Nope, I think he mentioned everyone). AJ then says that Miz doesn’t get it. He doesn’t understand how many times she’s had her heart broken. Miz sarcastically says that AJ is always the victim. Then he asks if she ever thought that she might be the problem. AJ says no. They all deserved what they got. She asks Miz if he thinks those are good guys & heroes. They’re not. They tricked her into falling in love with them & then they left her. She should have had her best friend Kaitlyn to turn to but she left her too. Then AJ says what will never leave & stick by her side till she is old & gray is the Divas Title. This title is going to be with her forever. It will never abandon her like that selfish bleach blond disrespectful cold hearted small little man Dolph Ziggler. Then Dolph comes out. He tells AJ that it has been the same story his whole life. Women just can’t get over him & AJ can’t either. Then the fans chant Ziggler. He says that’s happen right now & does AJ hear that? AJ says Dolph is out there because he isn’t over AJ. Men don’t get over her. She says they had something special & Dolph is just so sad that he will never be able to touch her again. Then out comes Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn says that Dolph can’t touch AJ but she can. Kaitlyn doesn’t get it. AJ cost Kaitlyn her title, AJ also cost Dolph his title. What else does AJ want? Why is AJ so obsessed with Dolph & Kaitlyn? Then Dolph asks AJ what her problem is & that no one even cares about her anymore. Dolph tells Big E that he is sick of him too. He’s sick of everything Big E does & never wants to see him again. Then the all start arguing & Miz shouts that this is his show. Miz sees what’s going on here & since he is the host of SummerSlam he feels like he can do anything. He feels like he can create a match for SummerSlam right now. Then Miz says that at SummerSlam it will be Dolph & Kaitlyn vs. Big E & AJ. Kaitlyn can’t wait to slap the crazy right off of AJ’s face. Then AJ tackles Kaitlyn & Big E goes after Dolph. Kaitlyn pounds away on AJ but Big E pulls Kaitlyn off. Then Dolph gives Big E the Zig Zag. Then Kaitlyn spears AJ. This was a mixed bag segment. I’m really tired of Miz TV & I wish they’d do away with it! That said. This rivalry with these 4 has been hit & miss. The Kaitlyn-AJ feud started out good but I fell like this has gone on a bit too long now. Plus Miz booking a match for SummerSlam since he is the host was kinda weird. Time for a look back at the Punk-Axel match that was followed by the Punk-Brock brawl from Monday. Backstage we see Alberto Del Rio in the GM office. He says that Vickie has to explain to him why he has to face Christian tonight when he already has a match with him at SummerSlam. Vickie says that she doesn’t answer to Del Rio. Del Rio then says that he is the World Champion & that he & Vickie should be working together. Vickie gave Del Rio an opportunity to choose his opponent for SummerSlam but he disrespected Vickie & chose Ricardo. Del Rio says to forget about Ricardo. Everyone saw what happened to Ricardo Monday. Vickie then says that what Del Rio did to Ricardo is just as despicable as what he did to Christian last week on Smackdown. That is why she made the match for tonight. Del Rio mentions that if he gets hurt then he might not be able to compete at SummerSlam. That is a risk that Vickie is willing to take. Then Del Rio storms out. This was a decent bit. Kofi Kingston vs. Fandango. Fandango gets the pin. This was a decent match. Kofi was gonna dive onto Fandango off the apron on the floor. Summer Rae got in between them & then Kofi dove onto Fandango. Summer got out of the way & faked an ankle injury. Then Fandango got Kofi back in the ring & hit the top rope leg drop for the 3 count. Backstage we see Daniel Bryan. Then Renee Young comes by & asks him for his reaction about the “corporate makeover” & his thoughts about Vince’s less than flattering words. Daniel says that he likes the way he looks. When they asked him to cut the beard that was the breaking point. So he gave Wade Barrett a makeover. Despite what Cena says Daniel has never changed who he is to get to WWE. But 1 thing that he will change is history when he beats Cena for the WWE Title at SummerSlam. With all apologies to Vince the beard is still here. This was a solid Daniel Bryan promo. Time for a look back at the end of this past Monday’s Raw. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett. Daniel wins by submission. Barrett brought out a razor. He was going to shave Daniel’s beard but Daniel grabbed his hand & kicked Barrett off. Then he hit a running knee off the apron on Barrett & threw him back in the ring. Then Daniel gave him a diving head butt off the top & then locked on the yes lock for the submission win. WINNER – DANIEL BRYAN. This was a solid match. Then Daniel stomped on the razor, smashing it. Backstage Renee Young interviews Damien Sandow. Renee mentions that 2 weeks ago “this happened.” They reshow Cody throwing the case in the water. Then Renee says that had to be embarrassing. Sandow demands SIELENCE! Then he asks what have we learned from this footage? Cody is a thief, he destroyed Sandow’s MITB case & they will settle their differences at SummerSlam. But being the intellectual savior of the masses he is always steps ahead of his competition & he has a solution to this briefcase dilemma. Behold the new & the improved & Sandowized MITB case. Now he has a brown MITB briefcase. (Why didn’t he do that right away!?) Sandow then says that this will serve as a warning to Del Rio. Inside the case is a brand new legally binding contract that Del Rio will see in the future at the time of Sandow’s choosing. At that time Sandow will become World Champion of the unwashed masses. You’re welcome. This was decent but why didn’t Sandow think of this before? They show a video package of the Wyatt family taking out Kane. Then they reshow the segment from Monday where Kane challenged Bray to a “ring of fire” match. Kane vs. 3MB. Kane wins when he pins Jinder. This was a complete squash. Kane threw 3MB around ringside here before choke slamming Jinder for the pin. Then The Wyatt Family shows up on the Tron. We see the rocking chair as Bray keeps saying the ring of fire off camera. Then Bray pops up & sits in the rocking chair. The other 2 show up also. Bray says that the ring of fire sounds like the type of fight that meant to cater to a man who fancies himself as a demon. Bray likes that. He likes Kane’s style but he thinks there’s been some type of interruption. They’re a little bit disconnected. He doesn’t think that Kane has quite grasped his mind around the concept of what it truly going on. He says that a simple fire can’t control the souls of his brothers. They’re everywhere. Sooner or later that fire that Kane calls his own will raise up around him & the tables will be turned. It will be Kane who is locked inside with a monster. Kane’s fire fears Bray because it’s smart enough to understand that it itself can never ever hurt Bray. Then Bray says that he is already dead. This was a really good & creepy promo from Bray. Time for a Brock Lesnar promo/video package. Brock says that a lot of people the match him & Punk as a personal issue between Punk & Heyman with Brock just being there as Heyman’s muscle. Brock wants to make it clear that it is personal between himself & Punk. Brock never liked Punk. Punk walks around & calls himself the best in the world. Brock says to look at Punk & then to look at him. Brock looks at Punk & he sees a joke. The only reason that he let Punk exist all this time is out of respect for Heyman. The corporate idiots are calling their SummerSlam match the best vs. the beast. Brock then says that that the beast is the best & you’re looking at him. Punk thinks that just because he tapes his hands & has a lot of tattoos & takes MMA classes for beginners at his local gym then that means he is a tough guy but he’s not. People have asked Brock if there is any professional jealousy between him & Punk. What does Brock have to be jealous of? Was Punk an NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight Champion? No. Was Punk a UFC Heavyweight Champion? Nope. There is no jealousy in Brock. As far as Punk being WWE Champion goes, Brock was the Undisputed WWE Champion back when Punk was wrestling for 100 people in high school gyms. Brock will give Punk credit where it is do though. Holding the WWE Title for 434 days nonstop is impressive. Especially for a guy like Punk. But Punk has never faced anybody in his entire life like Brock because there is no one like Brock. Size does matter. At SummerSlam Punk is going to learn what it means to truly be victimized by Brock. This was a really good promo from Brock & I liked that they combined it with a video package. Christian vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Christian gets the pin. This was a really good back & forth match. Then Del Rio complains to the referee & then rolls out of the ring all out of sorts. Then Del Rio complains to the commentators & then gets back in the ring. Del Rio was probably going for the cross arm breaker but Christian wound up giving Del Rio the kill switch. Then Christian goes to the back & Del Rio lies in the ring. Then out comes Damien Sandow with the case & a referee. He was about to cash it in but then Cody Rhodes shows up & dives off the top rope onto Sandow. Then Cody gives Sandow Cross Rhodes. Cody backs up the ramp as Sandow sits in the ring holding the case to end the show. This was good. I thought this was a good episode for the most part. Both RVD-Orton & Christian-Del Rio were great matches! I liked Sandow coming out at the end to cash in only for Cody to stop him also. The only thing that I don’t get is why didn’t Sandow have a new contract drawn out right after Cody threw the first 1 into the water? Why wait 2 weeks? The Miz TV segment was a mixed bag. Dolph was solid here but the Kaitlyn-AJ feud has run its course. Plus Miz booking the mixed tag for SummerSlam was kinda strange too. I liked the Brock Lesnar promo/video package. Brock was really good here & the video was cool too. Kane-3MB was a squash but I liked Bray Wyatt’s promo on the Tron. The Wyatt family is very creepy cool. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett was solid too & I liked Daniel’s pre match backstage promo. Kofi vs. Fandango was decent too but I’m not entirely sure why they had this match twice in the same week .In wasn’t a fan of Summer Rae faking an ankle injury again. That bit is old. The Del Rio-Vickie backstage bit was decent too. Overall I thought this was a good show.

8-8-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 8, 2013 episode of Impact Before the show starts Taz & Aces & 8s have a hold of Mike Tenay backstage. Taz says this is his show & will be doing commentary with JB tonight. I’m not sure why they had this before the show began. The actual show starts with Bully Ray, Taz & Ken Anderson coming to the ring. Anderson & Taz join JB on commentary. Taz tells JB this is his show. Ray tells Taz to abuse JB. Taz says JB is in his chair. This is his desk. Ray says he’s not in a very good mood. Last week we all saw the August 1 warning. The big surprise, Tito Ortiz. No one does surprises like Ray. He’s not impressed. He tells Ortiz to stay out of his way or Ray will smack him in his face. Ray says that he & Devon found out they’re in a tag match tonight against Sabin & a mystery guy from MEM. Ray & Devon are the greatest team ever. How dare Sabin not tell them who they’re facing? It doesn’t matter because next week Sabin will be locked in a cage with Ray & Ray will be a 2 time world champion. Ray tells Sabin to come on out with his belt or whatever contract their supposed to sign & get this over with. Out comes Sabin. Ray says his belt looks horrible on Sabin & by looking at Sabin he can tell that he’s scared of him. Sabin says looks can be deceiving. A few months ago Ray was pretending to be Mr. Good guy. Ray’s so full of crap his eyes are brown. A month ago no one would’ve said Sabin could beat Ray except for Sabin himself & he did beat him. Aces & 8s brought the hammer into the ring & Sabin gave Ray a taste of his own medicine. At Hardcore Justice there will be no weapons & he will beat Ray again. Ray tells Sabin to stop running his mouth & tells Hulk to bring the contract out. Out comes Brooke Hogan. Ray asks what she’s doing out there. She tells “Mark” that she’s there because Hulk’s out of town. Hulk’s been reviewing Ray’s contract. Brooke has an e-mail from Hulk. It says that because of Ray’s threatening to take legal actions Hulk will now be following all contracts involving Ray to the letter of the law & if Ray loses next week he will never get a world title match again. Ray says this is crap. He won’t be bullied by Brooke or Hulk. It will be a cold day in hell before Bully Ray gets bullied by a messily Hogan. Brooke asks if “Mark” is really going to let the whole world find out what she found in their marriage. That Ray’s all talk & very little action. Ray signs the contract & then Sabin does too. This was a terrible way to start the show. I’m so tired of Hulk (even though he wasn’t this segment) & Brooke. This whole Aces & 8s storyline is lame & saying that Ray will never get a world title match if he loses next week is THE EXACT SAME storyline they used when Ray defended the title against Sting!? Ray is definitely winning back the title next Thursday. Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe in a Bound for Glory series match. Jeff gets the pin for 7 more points. Anderson distracted Joe & that allowed Jeff to get the win. This was a really good match. They show a Christopher Daniels promo from earlier in the day. Daniels doesn’t get why Frankie has to be so selfish right now. No matter how close any team is there’s always a leader & there’s always a follower. Daniels says he has always been more experienced than Kazarian is. He is undefeated in the BFG Series & Kazarian is 0-3. Now isn’t Kazarian’s time, this is Daniel’s time & he will make sure Kazarian realizes that tonight. This was a good promo. Magnus vs. Ken Anderson in a Bound for Glory series match. Anderson wins by DQ when Bobby Roode comes in & hits Anderson with a chair. This was a solid match. I’m not sure how many points Anderson gets for winning by DQ but Magnus has now lost 10. I’m not into the losing points if you’re DQ’d stip. Backstage Roode says what happened was a continuation of last week. The games are changing because of him. He is selfish & will be world champion again. He just took 10 points from the leader of the series. Roode’s a genius & that’s just the beginning. Then camera guy asks Brian Hebner about the match that just happened. Then Magnus comes in & says Hebner made the call that he had to make. Magnus says he will get his 10 points back. Backstage we see Robbie E & Jessie. They say they got rid of Tara to focus on their “Bromance.” Then Mickie James comes in. She tells them to take care of Gunner & Storm & she will take care of ODB. They can thank her later when she shares her spotlight with both guys. This was lame. Backstage Sting & Angle wanna talk with Sabin. Sabin says he wouldn’t be champion if it weren’t for them. Sabin says tonight he will face Ray & Devon, but he needs a partner. Sabin has a plan & asks if they trust him. They of course do. This was ok. JB is in the ring & introduces Tito Ortiz. JB asks Tito what he’s doing at Impact Wrestling. Tito knows everyone has a lot of questions, but he doesn’t have any answers. Cue Kurt Angle’s music & he comes out. Angle & Ortiz have a stare down. Angle knows who he is & respects his accomplishments but Tito’s entering Angle’s world. Angle’s an Olympic gold medalist. He will respect Tito’s space but Tito had better respect his too. (What was the point of that)? Then out comes Bully Ray. He says Tito & Angle respect each other but he doesn’t respect either of them. He can double leg Tito & make him tap & he’s been beating Angle’s ass for 10 years. Then Ray tells Tito who he is. Then he tells Tito that he will smack him in his face if Tito gets in his way. This was pointless. Tito & Angle were both terrible here. I don’t get the whole “I respect you & I’ll give you you’re space but you better do the same” bit. Ray was the only good part of this promo. TNA World Tag Team Champions Gunner & James Storm and ODB vs. Robbie E, Jessie Godderz & Knockouts Champion Mickie James. Gunner, Storm & ODB win when Gunner pins Robbie E. This match was solid. Then Gail Kim comes in & goes after ODB. Gail is held back by referees, ODB is distracted with Gail 7 Mickie trips ODB from behind. Backstage Kazarian says Daniels called him “Poor Frankie.” Daniels has forgotten that Kazarian has beaten him before. Tonight is about Kazarian winning the series & then the world title. “Poor Chris” & everybody will find out why they fell in love with Kazarian in the first place. This was a solid promo. Backstage Ray tells Devon that he doesn’t believe the nerve of Sabin, making them wait to find out who his partner will be. Then they bicker for a bit over whether they’ve been tag champions 23 or 24 times. Ray says that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he’s getting his title back next week. Devon will rally up the troops or something like that. Ray says testify. Devon says that’s his line. This was a decent backstage bit. Frankie Kazarian vs. Christopher Daniels in a Bound for Glory series match. The match ends in a double count out when they both leave the ring. They were going at it & then left the ring, stood on the apron & let Earl Hebner count them both out. Then they raise each other’s arms. The match was solid but the finish was predictable. Then out comes Bobby Roode. He’s got the chair but he throws it down on the ramp. Then Roode gets in the ring & he Daniels & Kazarian do too. Roode says for months everyone has been paying attention to Aces & 8s and the reforming of MEM. They’ve been talking about Rampage & the surprise Tito Ortiz. Then he says that everyone has forgotten about himself, Daniels & Kazarian. They’re the 3 guys who comprise 25% of the BFG Series landscape. Roode says they’re a new force. One of them will walk into BFG the winner of the series. He said the game would change & it has. They own the BFG Series & 1 of them will be the next world champion. This was a good promo from Roode. Backstage Tito Ortiz knows there’re a lot of questions that he hasn’t got the answers to. Then he says that next week at Hardcore Justice these hands might be all over it. So his fists will do the talking. Whatever. This was pointless. Time for an MEM-Aces & 8s video package hyping the multi man tag match for next week. Bully Ray & Devon come to the ring. Then out comes Chris Sabin. Then out comes Sting. Ray & Devon are distracted by Sting & Sabin & then Angle attacks Ray & Devon from behind. This was kinda pointless too. TNA World Champion Chris Sabin & Kurt Angle vs. Bully Ray & Devon. Sabin & Angle win when Sabin pins Ray. Devon brings a table in the ring & he & Ray set it up in the corner. Of course Ray wound up going through it. Then Sabin goes up top & hits a high cross body for the pin. This was a good match. Sabin & Angle celebrate in the ring to end the show. This week’s show was just like last week’s. There were solid to good matches but there was also a lot of idiotic booking. That pretty much says it all. The opening segment was terrible. I’m sick of Brooke Hogan & having the same stip that they used 2 months ago is repetitive. The main event tag match was good but I wasn’t into Sting coming out & making like he would team with Sabin only to have Angle attack Ray & Devon from behind. The Daniels-Kazarian match was decent but the finish was predictable. I did like Bobby Roode’s promo afterwards though. Jeff Hardy & Samoa Joe had a really good match too. The 6 person tag was solid also. The Kurt Angle-Tito Ortiz face off made no sense! Why is Angle getting in his face? Ray was the only good part of this segment. Magnus-Anderson was solid but I wasn’t into the DQ finish when I saw it happen. I liked Roode’s backstage promo about why he got Magnus DQ’d however. I was also ok with Magnus telling Brian Hebner that he wasn’t upset with him for calling for the DQ & having him say that he will find a way to get the 10 points back was a decent line. Overall I though I wasn’t really into this week’s show. The booking can be idiotic & that really hurts the product!

8-5-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 5, 2013 episode of Raw The show starts with Stephanie McMahon in the ring. She welcomes everyone to Raw. It’s no secret that her dad doesn’t believe that Daniel Bryan is championship material. She knows a lot of the fans disagree & so does HHH. She came up with a compromise. She asked Daniel to take part in a so called make over. They show a video of Daniel working out & then eating a steak. Then they show him getting a new suit. The fans chant no. Then Stephanie brings out Daniel Bryan. He comes out with a ponytail & in his new suit. Stephanie says Daniel looks sharp & the floor is his. The fans chant yes & Daniel says the fans like his get up. The fans boo. He thanks Stephanie for everything that she put into all of this. But he doesn’t think this is what the company wants. What the company wants is a jacked up guy, who wears cargo shorts & a bright yellow t-shirt. Somebody who can sell the fans stuff they don’t need. Who can that be? It seems to Daniel like they want someone like Cena. Daniel respects Cena because Cena picked him to be his opponent for SummerSlam. He says that Cena picked Daniel because he thought he was the best contender. Than Daniel says that Cena doesn’t think Daniel can beat him. Cena’s a super star. He’s in movies & on cereal boxes, while Daniel is 5’8, has a scraggy beard & from the middle of nowhere. How can a guy like him beat Cena? He can because Cena is an entertainer & Daniel is a wrestler. While Cena’s been on top for the past 10 years he hasn’t seen the mud holes Daniel’s dragged himself out of. If Cena gets fired tomorrow he goes back to his mansion & will never wrestle again. If Daniel gets fired tomorrow & he just might, you will see him in every dirt box filled with 30 people & a ring because he loves wrestling. It sounds to him like the fans love wrestling too. Daniel will dress up in this suit & comb his hair back & do what they want for now because at SummerSlam Daniel will do what everyone wants him to do & he will make Cena tap out. YES! YES! Cue Vince’s music & out come the chairman. Vince appreciated Stephanie’s efforts & Daniel has given it the old college try. Then Vince rags on the way Daniel looks. Vince has said before that he doesn’t want Cena to be WWE Champion but he wants Daniel to be champion even less, but now Daniel’s kinda warming up to him. WWE has never had a dwarf for a champion. They’ve never had anyone who has the muscularity of the tooth pick. He says that Daniel looks like a mini Mick Foley. Vince says that if Daniel listens to him he will have considerable influence on him becoming WWE Champion. Daniel’s make over need 1 other thing. He looks at Daniel’s beard & asks if there’s a birds nest in there. If Daniel wants to be champion there’s only 1 thing they should do & that’s shave that beard off. Then he has some guys bring out a barber chair. Daniel & the fans chant NO! Vince says the fans have no idea what they want but Vince knows. The fans want Daniel to go all the way. If they want him to be champion than Daniel will do as Vince says. Vince mentions that Daniel talked about being fired; he should be careful what he wishes for. He tells Daniel to take the next step if he wants to be WWE Champion. The fans boo & Vince says they don’t want him to be champion. If he wants to be champion he should get in the chair. Daniel looks at the chair as the fans chant no. Then Daniel leaves the ring. Vince says now the only thing missing is a barber. That barber being Wade Barrett (What is this)? Out comes Wade. Daniel sits in the chair. Vince says Daniel wants to be champion more than anything. Wade’s grandfather was a barber. Then Daniel tells Barrett to leave a bit of it and then head butts him. Then he gets Wade in the chair & shaves some of his beard. Then Wade goes after him & he throws Wade over the barrier. Daniel says Vince wants him to change. He will be who he’s always been & he will be WWE Champion. Then he rips off his shirt & has on a t-shirt that says the beard is here. Daniel says that Cena says the champ is here & now the beard is here. This was a solid opening segment. Daniel was great here like usual & I knew that they weren’t gonna have him go along with the “makeover”. Vince’s promo was hit & miss for me. Having him being against the idea of Daniel being champion doesn’t do it for me. Plus he gave the old, “I know what you fans want better than you do” crap! I’m not sure why they had Wade Barrett in this segment but Daniel shaving his beard off & throwing him over the barrier was good. I’m really hoping the put they put the WWE Title on Daniel! Miz is on commentary. RVD comes to the ring. Then Ricardo makes his return to introduce Del Rio. Rob Van Dam vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. RVD gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. Ricardo set up the bucket in the corner. It fell & Ricardo set it up again. Then Del Rio was gonna through RVD into it but RVD threw him into the bucket. Then he got the pin. Afterwards Del Rio super kicks Ricardo & then hits him a few times with the bucket. Then he tosses Ricardo out of the ring, sets Ricardo’s head between the steel steps & the apron & then Del Rio dropkicks the steps onto Ricardo’s head. Del Rio poses on the stage holding the belt as medics check on Ricardo. This was decent. Ricardo’s character seems more like a baby face & I’m glad they decided to turn him. Cody Rhodes is in the ring. He says that Oscar Wilde once said that a true friend stabs you in the front so that means that Damien was never a true friend. That’s water under the bridge. He has a gift for Damien but first we get a look back at Cody taking Sandow’s case & throwing it in the water. Then we get a look at Sandow beating down Cody in the interview area from Smackdown. Cody knows how much seeing the case sink has affected Damien so he spared no expense. He takes the damp case out of the box & tells Damien that if he wants it to come & get it. Out comes Sandow. Sandow tells Cody to put the case down & leave. He isn’t falling for this. Cody puts the case down & leaves the ring. Then Sandow gets in the ring & then Cody comes back in & goes after Sandow. Sandow slides out of the ring & Cody dumps the damp contract out of the case. Then he throws the case up the ramp. This was a solid segment. Cody was good with his promo here & Sandow was good too. It looks like we’ll be getting Cody vs. Sandow at SummerSlam. That should be good. Mark Henry vs. Ryback. Henry wins by count out when Ryback decides he’s had enough & walks out. This wasn’t much & the finish was lame. This is all they have for Mark Henry tonight? No follow up with The Shield? I thought The Shield would’ve come out again & then The Usos too but nope. Nothing this time. LAME! Backstage we see the Bella twins. The talk about Total Divas. Who cares? Then Eva Marie comes in. She talks about how Brie beat Natalya last week. Then Natalya comes in & slaps Brie in the face. This was terrible! Who watches that stupid show if they don’t have to!? John Cena comes to the ring. He says it’s that time again. All this is a very familiar position. He’s used to being a target. A lot of times whoever chases after the WWE Title is a bad person, but his next challenger, Daniel Bryan is a fan favorite. Cena mentions that the fans have been cheering Daniel. Even though the “brass” doesn’t like it, he picked him anyway. He heard what Daniel had to say before. Daniel judging Cena makes him no different than Rock or Punk. Cena won’t change for him or for anyone. Cena has & always will be himself. Daniel wants to talk about hard times? Cena came back 24 hours after breaking his neck. Daniel wants to talk about wrestling in a gym because that’s where Daniel would rather be (That was a heel line). Cena says he loves WWE & would never tarnish wearing the title. Cena says WWE is the NFL of wrestling & NFL stands for Not For Long. Then he says that Daniel saying Cena can’t wrestle isn’t original because the fans are always chanting it. Cena has been champion 11 times & in some of the biggest matches in WWE history. You don’t get lucky 11 times. He tells Daniel to underestimate him just like everyone. All the guys who have…Then the fans chant boring. Cena says it sound like the fans are ready to see him & Daniel fight right now. The fans chant yes. Cena says they’re as excited for SummerSlam as he is. If Daniel wins the title he’s the new champion. If he loses he will have to accept that he wasn’t good enough. Daniel might be on a hot streak but he has been mowing people down since January. Then Cena says to remember what he’s been saying. Our time is now & the champ is here. Then out comes Randy Orton. Orton says that Cena is always aware of the target on his back but on not of the target in his face. It doesn’t matter who the champion will be because Orton has the MITB case, which almost guarantees he will become WWE Champion. Orton says it could happen at anytime & says the champ is here. Then out comes The Shield. Cena & Orton are ready for them. The Shield surrounds the ring & but then Daniel Bryan hits the ring to even the odds. Then out comes Brad. He has an idea. Since they can’t get along how’s about a 6 man tag main event for tonight? Cena, Daniel & Orton vs. The Shield. This was a solid segment too. Cena’s promo was decent but him saying that Daniel is more comfortable wrestling in a gym was a definite heel line. Orton was good here too mentioning that he could cash in at anytime. I wasn’t expecting The Shield to come out during this however. Daniel coming to the ring was good too. Then when Brad came out I knew that he was gonna announce the 6 man. Tons of Funk vs. Luke Harper & Eric Rowan. Harper & Rowan win when Rowan pins Tensai. This was mostly a squash. Then Bray Wyatt gets in the ring. Harper & Rowan hold Brodus. Then Bray gives him Sister Abigail. Then Bray says Kane is no monster. He is an illusion, a fairy tail. The demon is a lie. Bray’s much different. He’s the guy of 1000 truths. He’s Bray Wyatt the eater of words. Follow the buzzards. Then out go the lights & Kane’s pyro goes off. Then Kane shows up on the Tron & he says when you pull the wings off of buzzards for some they’re impossible to follow. Kane sees through Bray’s cryptic words. Kane says they’re here to mutilate everyone who crosses their path. Kane does that too but not to send a message. He does it for his own amusement. At SummerSlam they will find out why their family won’t be able to save them. No 1 can save the Wyatt family from inside a ring of fire. Then Kane’s pyro goes off again. This was a solid bit too. It looks like we’ll be getting Kane vs. Bray Wyatt for SummerSlam. Backstage Josh Mathews interviews CM Punk. He wants Punk’s thoughts on Curtis Axel. Punk says he admired Axel’s dad, Mr. Perfect. Then he says that when Mr. Perfect & Bobby the Brain were on camera Perfect had a mind of his own. Axel on the other hand is so blindly loyal to Heyman & that is going to get him a beating at Punk’s hands. Punk will take care of Axel tonight & then he will do what he said he would. When Punk says he’s coming for you, he will be coming for you. Then Josh mentions Punk’s match with Brock. Punk says SummerSlam will the night that the beast got neutered & Heyman loses everything. This was the usual good promo that we get from Punk. In the Goldman box Layla says her turning heel on Kaitlyn wasn’t personal. She tells all the other Divas to look out for her. From now on all eyes are on Layla & she’s flawless. Kaitlyn vs. Layla. Layla gets the pin. During the match AJ’s music hits & she skips around the ring. Then AJ gets on the apron, Kaitlyn with a swing & a miss & then Layla gives Kaitlyn a round house kick to the head for the 3 count. Then Layla & AJ skip around the ring & up the ramp to AJ’s music. This was awful. The match wasn’t much & this Kaitlyn-AJ rivalry is getting old & now having Layla being part of this doesn’t do it for me. They announce Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow for SummerSlam. Christian vs. Heath Slater. Christian gets the pin. This was a decent match but I knew Christian was winning. CM Punk comes to the ring for his match. Then out come Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman. Punk goes up the ramp after Axel & they go at it on the stage. The brawl goes to ringside before Punk throws Axel into the ring. CM Punk vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Curtis Axel wins by DQ when Punk goes after Heyman & the referee calls for the bell. Then out comes Brock Lesnar. As Brock was getting in the ring Axel yanked Punk out, but Punk gives him the GTS. Then Punk gets a chair but & Brock pulls it out of Punk’s hands. Then Punk sends Brock into the steel steps. Then he stands on the announce table & dives onto Brock. Then Brock gives Punk an overhead belly to belly suplex. Brock throws Punk in the ring & then sets him up for the F5 but Punk gets out of it & hits Brock in the back with a chair. Then Punk looked at Heyman & was gonna use the chair on him but then Brock gives Punk an F5. Then he hits Punk in the back with the chair. The match was really good but the DQ finish was odd. The brawl with Punk & Brock was also great & their match should be entertaining. Backstage Renee Young interviews Brock, Axel & Heyman. Brock says that’s the best of the best this world has to offer? He is the beast & the best in the world. Then he tells Heyman to say something stupid. Heyman tells Renee to take that microphone & deliver a message to Punk. Tell Punk that he might not make it to SummerSlam. Next week on Raw Heyman will stand in the ring & look for a man vs. man fight. If Punk’s man enough to accept it, next week will be CM Punk vs. Paul Heyman. This was a good backstage bit. Brock cut a decent promo & Heyman was good as always. Fandango & Summer Rae come to the ring & do their bit. Then Kofi Kingston makes his return. Kofi Kingston vs. Fandango. Kofi gets the pin. This was a decent match. Backstage we see HHH in the GM office on his cell phone (Can they quit having the authority figures on their cell phones at the start of these). Stephanie comes in crying because Vince “bit her head off”. She says the makeover was a disaster. She’s trying to focus on business. HHH says Vince has lost it. No 1 wants to admit it but the once creative genius has finally lost it. Vince is having a hissy fit because Daniel embarrassed him. Will Vince throw away SummerSlam? HHH is tired of it & isn’t gonna watch this ship go down because of Vince. He doesn’t know what Vince will do at SummerSlam but HHH will stop him. This was awful. I’m way beyond tired of this McMahon family saga. Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro & Zeb Coulter are in the ring. Zeb says that they walked around the town today & couldn’t find the beat of the heart in America. All the cheese people from Green Bay eat clogs their brains. The fans should do like that over rated football team & pack their bags. This place belongs to real Americans. Whatever. This gimmick is way beyond old too. Then out come The Usos. The Usos vs. The Real Americans. The Real Americans win when Cesaro pins Jay. This was a solid match. Dolph Ziggler vs. Big E Langston. Big E gets the pin. AJ was at ringside. Kaitlyn came out & she & AJ went at it for a bit. They fought in the ring. Dolph broke it up & then Big E clotheslined him. Then Big E gives Dolph the big ending for the win. This was a decent match. It looks we’ll be getting Dolph & Kaitlyn vs. Big E & AJ at SummerSlam. We see Josh Mathews in the front row interviewing 2 chicks that are on Summer Camp. They talk about that show. This was meaningless. WWE Champion John Cena, Randy Orton & Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield. Cena, Orton & Daniel win by DQ when The Shield attacks Daniel. Good match, flat finish. Then Orton gives Daniel an RKO. Then Cena & Orton take out The Shield. Then Orton gives Cena an RKO. Then Orton gets his MITB case & thinks about cashing in but The Shields comes back out. Reigns spears Cena & Ambrose kicks away on Daniel. Then The Shield stare down Orton but Orton walks up the ramp. Then The Shield gives Daniel the triple power bomb. The Shield stands over the fallen Daniel as Orton watches from the stage to end the show. The match was good but the DQ ending was flat. I knew there wouldn’t be a clean finish to this but I thought the DQ ending was kind of a weak way to end it. The post match stuff was good too for the most part. I wasn’t really into Cena & Orton teaming up to take out The Shield but having Orton RKO both Cena & Daniel was good. I thought this was a solid show for the most part. The opening segment was solid. Daniel was great with his promo. I wasn’t into Vince giving us they, “I know what you want better than you do” crap & I have no idea why Wade Barrett was part of this segment. But Daniel saying that he is a wrestler & not going along with the make over was decent. The 6 man tag main event was good too but I wasn’t into the DQ because of a triple team finish. The post match stuff there was good too. I wasn’t a fan of Orton & Cena taking out The Shield but I liked that they had Orton RKO both Daniel & Cena. The Shield triple power bombing Daniel was alright too. Punk vs. Axel was good but the DQ finish there was lame. Punk gets DQ’d because he went after Heyman? I did like the Punk-Brock brawl though & they did a good job continuing the build for their match at SummerSlam. Brock cut a decent promo backstage too & Heyman was great with his promo like usual. I’m sure Brock & Axel will get involved in the Punk-Heyman match next week. Kaitlyn-Layla was ok but not really much too it. I’m not sure why they have Layla involved in the Kaitlyn-AJ feud. Dolph-Big E was decent & I knew Kaitlyn was gonna come out & go after AJ. It looks like we’ll be getting a mixed tag for SummerSlam. The Cody-Sandow segment was solid too & their match for SummerSlam should be good. Christian-Heath Slater was decent but I & everybody knew that Christian would win. Cena’s promo decent & him saying that Daniel feels more comfortable wrestling in a gym was a heel like line. Orton was good here too mentioning that he could cash in at anytime no matter who has the title. The Shield coming out was good too & I liked Daniel hitting the ring to even the odds. When Brad came out I knew that he was gonna announce the 6 man though. The HHH-Stephanie bit was awful. I’m really tired of this McMahon family dreck. The backstage bit with the Bellas, Eva Marie & Natalya was entirely pointless. The Usos-Real Americans match was solid also but I’m tired of Zeb’s bit too. Mark Henry-Ryback wasn’t much & having Ryback walk out & getting counted out was lame. Kofi-Fandango was also decent. Tons of Funk vs. Harper & Rowan was a squash but I liked Kane’s promo on the Tron after that. It looks like they’ll be doing Kane vs. Bray in an inferno match for SummerSlam. Punk’s promo before his match with Axel was good too. Overall I thought this was a solid episode of Raw.

8-2-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 2, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with Alberto Del Rio coming to the ring. He wants to start by saying thank you to the fans. He thanks them for nothing. When he was champion before the fans didn’t care for him. They never supported him & never wanted him to be their champion. Now he is the World Champion & there is nothing the fans can do about it. He does thank Vickie Guerrero though. Cena was allowed to pick his SummerSlam opponent & Vickie is letting Del Rio do the same. He says let’s hear it for Vickie & starts chanting her name but of course the fans don’t chant along. Then Del; Rio says that Cena wasted his pick by choosing that little troll Daniel Bryan. Then the fans chant yes. Del Rio then says we all know that Cena did that because he is afraid of Del Rio. That’s when he started thinking why doesn’t he pick the beast Brock Lesnar? Brock has plans for SummerSlam so that’s out. Then he thought he would be a little crazy & give an opportunity to Huston’s own…Booker T? Then he remembered that just like everything that comes out of Huston, Booker is a big disappointment. The guy that Del Rio is picking deserves this chance more anybody. This guy is a great performer. He is 1 of the greatest athletes of all time. This guy is big, fast, strong & vicious. He is the perfect opponent for Del Rio. This is why he will give this guy his first chance to become World Champion. The guy who he will face at SummerSlam is none other than (then we get a drum roll) Ricardo Rodriguez. They show Ricardo’s pic on the Tron. Then out comes Vickie. She feels like Del Rio is trying to disrespect her. When Cena picked his opponent he picked Daniel, a guy who is a worthy competitor, while Del Rio chose Ricardo. Vickie then says that Ricardo is like some jiggly little man child. Vickie expected so much more from Del Rio. Del Rio tells Vickie not to be mad at him; he wasn’t trying to disrespect her. If she doesn’t like Ricardo to be his opponent than he can pick another guy. He says what about…then the fans chant RVD. Then Del Rio says what about the Brooklyn Brawler? Vickie shoots that down & says that the guy who made her GM & the guy who is the chairman of the board, Vince wouldn’t have liked Del Rio’s decision either. Vickie anticipated that Del Rio would make a very immature decision. So Vickie says that at SummerSlam Del Rio will defend the World Title against the winner of tonight’s triple threat match. The 3 guys that she has picked are RVD. His music plays & he comes out. The second guy Vickie picked is Christian. Cue his music & he comes out on the stage too. The third guy is Randy Orton (I don’t know why since he has the MITB case for a WWE Title match). Cue his music & he also comes out. This was a decent opening segment but it was the usual “start the show off with a promo & announce the show’s main event match” that Smackdown usually starts out with. Time for a video package recapping the Cody Rhodes-Damien Sandow saga from last week. Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter are in the ring. Then out comes Cody Rhodes. Zeb then gets the mic (does he have to speak every time?). He says the Texan fans call themselves Americans Shame on the fans at what he saw outside the building today. There are hundreds of people out there. Then Cody thankfully snatches the mic & hits Swagger with it. Finally someone stopped Zeb from going on 1 of his rants. Cody Rhodes vs. Jack Swagger. Cody gets the pin. This was a decent but short match. Backstage Josh Mathews interviews Cody Rhodes. Josh congratulates Cody on his win. Then Josh says that he wants to talk about what happened last week. Cody through Sandow’s MITB case into the water. Josh asks Cody why? Cody says let’s go back to MITB. There were 6 guys in that match & like Damien said it was everyman for himself. Cody doesn’t blame Damien from preventing him from getting the case. Cody would’ve done that too. That doesn’t mean that was fed up with Damien. Cody doesn’t like someone thinks they’re better than he is. He doesn’t like people who talk down to him or to anybody. Cody had heard & seen enough of Sandow’s arrogance & calling himself an intellectual aristocrat. Cody then says that apologies are in order. Cody throwing Sandow’s case into the water is the equivalent of the deep water horizon oil spill. That’s a joke. Then Cody says that he was part of Team Rhodes Scholars but contrary to what Damien thinks the best part about that was Rhodes. Josh then says that it is now inevitable that in the future…Then Sandow comes in & attacks Cody from behind. He pounds on Cody as referees & agents (1 of them was Mike Rotunda) come in to pull Sandow off Cody. This was a solid backstage segment. It looks we’ll be getting Cody vs. Sandow at SummerSlam. Sin Cara vs. Big E Langston. Big E gets the pin. This was mostly a squash. Cara got in a bit of offense but Big E was in control for most of this. They also showed Dolph watching backstage. I really wish to God that they would do away with the Sin Cara lighting during his matches. That’s gotten old. Time for a Wyatt family video. Backstage Renee Young interviews Kaitlyn. Layla is there too. She has to support her friend. Renee then mentions that after Kaitlyn lost to AJ twice what is Kaitlyn’s strategy for tonight’s title match? Kaitlyn says that she let AJ mess with her head & mentions the old fool me once, fool me twice saying. But she says fool her twice & you’re gonna get speared. This time Kaitlyn is ready. Everyone knows that she was born & raised right here in Huston, TX. The arena that there is actually very close to her heart. This is where she won the Divas title for the very first time. Tonight history repeats itself. Then Layla says that she has been the division a very long time. She has seen Divas come & go & she has never seen anyone with the determination that Kaitlyn has. Kaitlyn’s the real deal. Kaitlyn thanks Layla, they hug & Layla wishes Kaitlyn good luck. This was kinda weak. Kaitlyn’s promo was a bit off & Layla “supporting” Kaitlyn & saying how determined she is will lead to a very predictable Layla turn. In the GM office we see Del Rio & Vickie. Vickie has been GM for 2 weeks, she wasn’t born yesterday. Del Rio asks what kind of GM Vickie is. Vickie went back on her word. She said that he could choose anybody to be his opponent. Vickie then says that picking Ricardo & Brooklyn Brawler was immature. Then Vickie asks Del Rio if he is afraid of a little competition. Del Rio is not afraid of any guy who walks the face of the Earth. He is the greatest world champion of all time. This is not the way Vickie is supposed to treat the champion. Then in comes Brad Maddox. Vickie tells him that he is interrupting her & Del Rio. Brad says that he thought Vickie made the right decision tonight. Del Rio asks Brad who he thinks he is. Brad is the Raw GM & Del Rio will be under his authority this Monday. Del Rio glares at both of them & then leaves. This was weird. CM Punk vs. Fandango. Punk wins by submission. This was a good back & forth match. Backstage Renee Young interviews Rob Van Dam. Renee says that Rob has been gone from WWE for several years but he is back now & he has the chance to become the number 1 contender for the world title. How does he feel? RVD feels fantastic. Staying on top of his game has had him ready for anything & that includes Christian or Randy Orton. Neither guy is a push over but they’re not Rob Van…Then Christian comes in & tells RVD that it’s good to see him. It’s been awhile. Christian then says that since RVD has been gone things have changed & some things haven’t. Everybody knows that Captain Charisma deserves 1 more…than Randy Orton comes in & finishes Christian’s saying with the word loss. Orton then says that just because he has the briefcase right now doesn’t mean that he will be complacent. Maybe Orton will end up being both WWE & World Champion at the same time. He has a little surprise for RVD. A welcome back gift. That will happen tonight & it will come in the form of an RKO. RVD then says that this is his interview. He didn’t just come back to WWE for a stroll down memory lane. Just like everyone else RVD wants the gold. There will be 1 winner tonight& you’re looking at him. RVD. Renee leaves as the 3 guys bicker. This was a good backstage promo. Kaitlyn vs. Divas Champion AJ Lee for the Title. AJ wins by submission. This was solid match but kinda short. Kaitlyn & AJ were outside the ring, Kaitlyn was going after AJ but Layla stopped Kaitlyn. Then they got back in the ring & AJ locked on the octopus submission for the win. Afterwards Layla & AJ both skip the ramp. They pose on the ramp & hug while Kaitlyn watches in disbelief. Time for a look back at the Cena-Daniel storyline & the Cena-Ryback tables match. Christian, RVD & Randy Orton come to the ring for their match. Then out comes Del Rio. He says we have the 3 stooges in the ring. He wants to let them know that he will be backstage watching & enjoying how the 3 of them will beat the guacamole out of each other. Del Rios knows that Vickie rejected the opponent that he had in mind for SummerSlam but even Ricardo can beat any of them. He tells them to be careful what they wish for because at SummerSlam 1 of them will tap out to the World Champion, Alberto Del Rio. Christian vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Randy Orton to determine the number 1 contender to the World Title. Christian wins when he pins RVD. Orton gave RVD an RKO. Then he was going to give 1 to Christian but Christian countered in into backslide & got the win. This was a really good back & forth match. Afterwards Orton & Christian look at each other & then they shake hands. Then RVD gets up & he shakes Christian’s hand too. Then Josh Mathews gets in the ring & congratulates Christian on winning & becoming the number 1 contender for the World Title. How does Christian feel? Christian says that he is kinda hurting right now. Then Del Rio gets in the ring & hits Christian from behind. Then while Christian is on his knees Del Rio kicks him in the head. Then Del Rio poses over Christian to end the show. I thought this was a good show for the most part. The opening segment with Del Rio & Vickie was solid & the 3 way main event was really good. Del Rio’s promo just before the match was decent too. The Kaitlyn-Layla interview was weak. Kaitlyn seemed way off & you can tell that Layla was gonna turn on Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn & AJ had a solid match but it was a bit short. I also had a feeling that Layla would turn heel. The RVD-Christian-Randy Orton backstage interview was also good. All 3 guys cut good promos. CM Punk & Fandango had a good back & forth match also. The Del Rio-Vickie-Brad segment was kinda weird I thought. I’m not sure what the point of Brad telling Del Rio that he will be under Brad’s authority Monday since most guys are on both shows anyway. Cody-Swagger was solid to. Cody’s backstage interview that turned into Sandow beating him down was also well done. Sin Cara-Big E was mostly a squash. Cara got in some offense towards the end but Big E dominated most of this. Overall I thought this was a good show.

8-1-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the August 1, 2013 episode of Impact Before the show starts they show Taz backstage & security tells him Hulk told them not to let him in. Then the show starts. Taz complains about being barred from the building. He says he’s known Ronnie a long time but Ronnie won’t let him in. Taz tells Atlas security that they’re gonna be done. Mike Tenay & JB are on commentary. They talk about the mystery man video. Time for a look at the latest video. Why does TNA do these mystery videos? They always underwhelming. Austin Aries comes to the ring. The fans chant his name. He says there’re a lot of things going on but they’re all focused on the world title. He congratulates Sabin on beating Ray & becoming champion but that congratulation comes with a warning. Sabin is now the hunted. Aries says he is the guy who will win the BFG Series & become world champion. Tonight the fans will get the dream match of AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries. That’s a match everyone’s been dreaming about. Not just the fans but everybody who is in TNA & we get it tonight. 2 of the most gifted athletes to ever step foot in a wrestling ring will face each other. Tonight it will be AJ Styles, the gut who put TNA on his back for the past decade vs. Austin Aries the guy who will put TNA on his back for the next decade. Then out comes Bobby Roode. Roode says Aries wants to brag, gloat & talk about dream matches. Roode says lets talk about the nightmare Roode’s been living with since Destination X last year when Aries beat him for the world title. Roode’s had a crappy year & everyone including Roode himself has forgotten what Roode is capable of. Roode was the longest reigning TNA World Champion. He is the “it factor” of pro wrestling. Starting tonight the game will change. Roode will do the things that made him world champion the first time around. He only cares about getting back the world title & tonight he will show that is pays to be Roode. Aries says he hopes Roode makes in to the finals of the BFG Series so that he can beat him again. Aries wishes Roode luck & leaves the ring. This was a good opening segment. Both Aries & Roode were great on the mic. Then out comes Hernandez. Roode attacks him on the ramp & throws him off & Hernandez lands at ringside. Hernandez vs. Bobby Roode in a Bound for Glory Series match. Roode gets the pin for 7 points. This was a decent match. During this Roode throws some chairs in the ring & the referee takes them out. Then Roode grabs a beer bottle that just happens to be under the ring, hit Hernandez with it & then the referee counted 3. Backstage we see MEM. Camera guy asks Sting something (couldn’t make out what) & Sting says we’ll find out or something like that. Then he asks Angle what the plan for Aces & 8s is tonight. Angle says they’ll make them an offer they can’t refuse. Whatever. This storyline is pointless. Backstage we see Frankie Kazarian Tweeting. Backstage we see Eric Young & ODB. ODB says she’s looking to beat Gail tonight. She leaves & then Joseph Park comes in. EY tells Park that every time he loses control he loses matches (he doesn’t lose every time. I seem to recall his “losing control” resulting in him winning!), but EY has a way to get Park back to the top of the mountain. He gives Park a bag & tells him to wear whatever’s inside it. The ODB part of this segment was decent but this whole bit where EY is gonna find out why Park loses control is lame. Backstage Chris Sabin congratulates Manik in winning the X Title. Manik says he was TJ Perkins for 15 years & accomplished nothing. The mask have has given him new identity. Sabin says they’re not the strongest but they have the strongest hearts. He tells Manik to bring his best because Sabin will bring is. This was a mixed bag promo. Sabin was good here but TJ Perkins saying that the suicide/Manik mask has given him an identity or a purpose is just idiotic & so is that new X Title. Then they show a Hummer Limo outside the arena. Backstage Jay Bradley says there’re a lot of guys overlooking him in the BFG Series but “these & these” start adding up real quick. Whatever that meant. Jay Bradley is in the ring. Then EY & Joseph Park come out. EY gives park a head gear piece. Jay Bradley vs. Joseph Park in a Bound for Glory Series match. Park gets the pin for 7 points. This match didn’t work for me. Now Park is at -3 in the BFG Series. Backstage we see MEM. Angle says that he & Sting wanna know if Joe, Magnus or Rampage have any knowledge of who the mystery guy is. They don’t. Then Sting says that Ray is no longer world champion. Then he says there might be some sacrifices that will have to be made. Are they willing to take the risk? Of course they are. Then Angle says it’s time to make Aces & 8s the offer they can’t refuse. Rampage says that he wants to fight. This was idiotic. TNA World Champion Chris Sabin vs. X Division Champion Manik. Sabin gets the pin. This was a great back & forth match. Afterwards Bully Ray comes in & beats down Sabin in the corner. Then Ray says Sabin should’ve handed him the belt. He kicks Sabin, then Manik goes after Ray but Ray takes him out. Then Sabin goes after Ray & Ray retreats. Back to a shot of the hummer limo. Then Taz comes in. He says since Hulk won’t let him in the building & be with his “brothers” Aces & 8s he will spoil the August 1 surprise. Taz opens the door & says, “This is what everyone’s talking about?” Then the camera shows a lap top with the mystery man video. This was lame. Taz was decent here but this whole August 1 surprise is stupid! Backstage we see James Storm Tweeting & having a beer. Backstage we see Daniels & Kazarian. Camera guy talks about their match next week. They says that letting the fans pick the match is “bad sense.” Daniels says TNA has been trying to plant seeds of dissention between them. Kazarian says no one wants to see them face each other. Daniels is undefeated in the BFG Series & has 21 points but Frankie is 0-3. Then things get a bit tense. Daniels then says that he isn’t giving Frankie these points. Kazarian says he will take them & tells Daniels that he’d better be at his best. Then pours the apple tini drink onto the floor. This was a decent backstage promo. These guys are entertaining. ODB vs. Gail Kim. The match goes to a double count out. ODB & Gail continue to go at it as referees try to break it up. This was a solid match & the finish was ok. It looks like this feud will continue. AJ Styles says that the dream with Aries is BS. When he wrestled Jeff that was BS too. He says the BFG Series is about the world title & the money that comes with it. There’re no places for dreams or heroes. Tonight he becomes Aries’ nightmare. Good promo from AJ. Time for the mystery video. Backstage Ray says MEM have seen the Godfather 1 too many times & won’t obsess over whatever their offer is. What he is obsessing over is getting Sabin in a cage, destroying his knees & getting his title back. He tells Anderson to handle MEM. Then Brook comes in. Ray asks if she wants to go under the bleachers or is she thinking about the divorce that she will never get. She tells “Mark” that she’s heard things about the title rematch contract that won’t do Ray any favors. She might become a happy ex-wife or some crap like that. Who cares? This was terrible! I’m tired of Aces & 8s & Brooke Hogan’s lack of talent makes me ill! AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries in a Bound for Glory Series match. Aries gets the pin for 7 more points. This match was great but the finish was kinda weird. Aries had his arm draped across AJ’s chest & the referee made a slow 3 count. Great match but the finish was flat. MEM come to the ring. Sting says they put MEM back together in June to dethrone Ray as world champion & to get rid of Aces & 8s. They got 1 done but they haven’t gotten the fight they wanted but they will because they have an offer Aces & 8s can’t refuse. Out come Aces & 8s (Without Ray). Anderson says MEM didn’t the fight they wanted because Angle wound up in the back of pick up truck. MEM cheats & that is why Sabin is world champion. If MEM likes to fight dirty Aces & 8s can fight that way. They won’t back down. Angle wants a 10 man tag on August 15. MEM vs. 5 guys from Aces & 8s. It will be hardcore justice for Ray but it will also be the end of someone’s career in Aces & 8s. That’s because whoever gets pinned in the tag match will have to leave TNA. Joe says this isn’t a negotiation & then the brawl starts. MEM cleans house. Then Anderson accepts the challenge. Then the lights go out & out comes the mystery guy. Tito Ortiz! WHY!? They’ve already got King Mo & Rampage Jackson! Why’d they bring in ANOTHER non wrestler? Anyway he stands on the ramp & stares at MEM & that ends the show. This week’s show was hard to get through. There were way too many backstage bits! The first bit with Taz before & at the start of the show was decent. The bit with Taz outside with the limo was dumb too. Taz was decent here but the segment was stupid. The EY-ODB/EY-Joseph Park segment was a mixed bag. The part with ODB was ok but I’m past tired of the Joseph Park character! The MEM bits were terrible & the backstage bit with Ray & Brooke was crap too! The only backstage promo that was decent was the Daniels-Kazarian 1. I think that covers all the backstage bits. The Aries-Roode promo in the ring was good. Both guys were good on the mic as usual. AJ & Aries had a great match but I thought the finish was outta nowhere. ODB-Gail was solid too & I was ok with the double count out if they’re keeping this feud going. The MEM-Aces & 8s segment at the end was awful! This storyline is entirely pointless & having Tito Ortiz be the “mystery guy” was ridiculous! They already have King Mo & Rampage Jackson in their roster! Why bring in a THIRD non wrestler? TNA has been letting the actual wrestlers go, but hey keep King Mo & Rampage Jackson & now they bring Tito Ortiz back!? This company is messed up!! The Hernandez-Roode match was decent but nothing great & the Joseph Park-Jay Bradley match didn’t work for me. AJ cut a good backstage promo, the Sabin-Manik/TJ Perkins backstage bit was a mixed bag. Sabin was good here but TJ saying that being Manik gave him a new identity is idiotic! So for the most part I thought this week’s episode was kinda painful to watch! Coverage and thoughts on the August 1, 2013 episode of Impact Before the show starts they show Taz backstage & security tells him Hulk told them not to let him in. Then the show starts. Taz complains about being barred from the building. He says he’s known Ronnie a long time but Ronnie won’t let him in. Taz tells Atlas security that they’re gonna be done. Mike Tenay & JB are on commentary. They talk about the mystery man video. Time for a look at the latest video. Why does TNA do these mystery videos? They always underwhelming. Austin Aries comes to the ring. The fans chant his name. He says there’re a lot of things going on but they’re all focused on the world title. He congratulates Sabin on beating Ray & becoming champion but that congratulation comes with a warning. Sabin is now the hunted. Aries says he is the guy who will win the BFG Series & become world champion. Tonight the fans will get the dream match of AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries. That’s a match everyone’s been dreaming about. Not just the fans but everybody who is in TNA & we get it tonight. 2 of the most gifted athletes to ever step foot in a wrestling ring will face each other. Tonight it will be AJ Styles, the gut who put TNA on his back for the past decade vs. Austin Aries the guy who will put TNA on his back for the next decade. Then out comes Bobby Roode. Roode says Aries wants to brag, gloat & talk about dream matches. Roode says lets talk about the nightmare Roode’s been living with since Destination X last year when Aries beat him for the world title. Roode’s had a crappy year & everyone including Roode himself has forgotten what Roode is capable of. Roode was the longest reigning TNA World Champion. He is the “it factor” of pro wrestling. Starting tonight the game will change. Roode will do the things that made him world champion the first time around. He only cares about getting back the world title & tonight he will show that is pays to be Roode. Aries says he hopes Roode makes in to the finals of the BFG Series so that he can beat him again. Aries wishes Roode luck & leaves the ring. This was a good opening segment. Both Aries & Roode were great on the mic. Then out comes Hernandez. Roode attacks him on the ramp & throws him off & Hernandez lands at ringside. Hernandez vs. Bobby Roode in a Bound for Glory Series match. Roode gets the pin for 7 points. This was a decent match. During this Roode throws some chairs in the ring & the referee takes them out. Then Roode grabs a beer bottle that just happens to be under the ring, hit Hernandez with it & then the referee counted 3. Backstage we see MEM. Camera guy asks Sting something (couldn’t make out what) & Sting says we’ll find out or something like that. Then he asks Angle what the plan for Aces & 8s is tonight. Angle says they’ll make them an offer they can’t refuse. Whatever. This storyline is pointless. Backstage we see Frankie Kazarian Tweeting. Backstage we see Eric Young & ODB. ODB says she’s looking to beat Gail tonight. She leaves & then Joseph Park comes in. EY tells Park that every time he loses control he loses matches (he doesn’t lose every time. I seem to recall his “losing control” resulting in him winning!), but EY has a way to get Park back to the top of the mountain. He gives Park a bag & tells him to wear whatever’s inside it. The ODB part of this segment was decent but this whole bit where EY is gonna find out why Park loses control is lame. Backstage Chris Sabin congratulates Manik in winning the X Title. Manik says he was TJ Perkins for 15 years & accomplished nothing. The mask have has given him new identity. Sabin says they’re not the strongest but they have the strongest hearts. He tells Manik to bring his best because Sabin will bring is. This was a mixed bag promo. Sabin was good here but TJ Perkins saying that the suicide/Manik mask has given him an identity or a purpose is just idiotic & so is that new X Title. Then they show a Hummer Limo outside the arena. Backstage Jay Bradley says there’re a lot of guys overlooking him in the BFG Series but “these & these” start adding up real quick. Whatever that meant. Jay Bradley is in the ring. Then EY & Joseph Park come out. EY gives park a head gear piece. Jay Bradley vs. Joseph Park in a Bound for Glory Series match. Park gets the pin for 7 points. This match didn’t work for me. Now Park is at -3 in the BFG Series. Backstage we see MEM. Angle says that he & Sting wanna know if Joe, Magnus or Rampage have any knowledge of who the mystery guy is. They don’t. Then Sting says that Ray is no longer world champion. Then he says there might be some sacrifices that will have to be made. Are they willing to take the risk? Of course they are. Then Angle says it’s time to make Aces & 8s the offer they can’t refuse. Rampage says that he wants to fight. This was idiotic. TNA World Champion Chris Sabin vs. X Division Champion Manik. Sabin gets the pin. This was a great back & forth match. Afterwards Bully Ray comes in & beats down Sabin in the corner. Then Ray says Sabin should’ve handed him the belt. He kicks Sabin, then Manik goes after Ray but Ray takes him out. Then Sabin goes after Ray & Ray retreats. Back to a shot of the hummer limo. Then Taz comes in. He says since Hulk won’t let him in the building & be with his “brothers” Aces & 8s he will spoil the August 1 surprise. Taz opens the door & says, “This is what everyone’s talking about?” Then the camera shows a lap top with the mystery man video. This was lame. Taz was decent here but this whole August 1 surprise is stupid! Backstage we see James Storm Tweeting & having a beer. Backstage we see Daniels & Kazarian. Camera guy talks about their match next week. They says that letting the fans pick the match is “bad sense.” Daniels says TNA has been trying to plant seeds of dissention between them. Kazarian says no one wants to see them face each other. Daniels is undefeated in the BFG Series & has 21 points but Frankie is 0-3. Then things get a bit tense. Daniels then says that he isn’t giving Frankie these points. Kazarian says he will take them & tells Daniels that he’d better be at his best. Then pours the apple tini drink onto the floor. This was a decent backstage promo. These guys are entertaining. ODB vs. Gail Kim. The match goes to a double count out. ODB & Gail continue to go at it as referees try to break it up. This was a solid match & the finish was ok. It looks like this feud will continue. AJ Styles says that the dream with Aries is BS. When he wrestled Jeff that was BS too. He says the BFG Series is about the world title & the money that comes with it. There’re no places for dreams or heroes. Tonight he becomes Aries’ nightmare. Good promo from AJ. Time for the mystery video. Backstage Ray says MEM have seen the Godfather 1 too many times & won’t obsess over whatever their offer is. What he is obsessing over is getting Sabin in a cage, destroying his knees & getting his title back. He tells Anderson to handle MEM. Then Brook comes in. Ray asks if she wants to go under the bleachers or is she thinking about the divorce that she will never get. She tells “Mark” that she’s heard things about the title rematch contract that won’t do Ray any favors. She might become a happy ex-wife or some crap like that. Who cares? This was terrible! I’m tired of Aces & 8s & Brooke Hogan’s lack of talent makes me ill! AJ Styles vs. Austin Aries in a Bound for Glory Series match. Aries gets the pin for 7 more points. This match was great but the finish was kinda weird. Aries had his arm draped across AJ’s chest & the referee made a slow 3 count. Great match but the finish was flat. MEM come to the ring. Sting says they put MEM back together in June to dethrone Ray as world champion & to get rid of Aces & 8s. They got 1 done but they haven’t gotten the fight they wanted but they will because they have an offer Aces & 8s can’t refuse. Out come Aces & 8s (Without Ray). Anderson says MEM didn’t the fight they wanted because Angle wound up in the back of pick up truck. MEM cheats & that is why Sabin is world champion. If MEM likes to fight dirty Aces & 8s can fight that way. They won’t back down. Angle wants a 10 man tag on August 15. MEM vs. 5 guys from Aces & 8s. It will be hardcore justice for Ray but it will also be the end of someone’s career in Aces & 8s. That’s because whoever gets pinned in the tag match will have to leave TNA. Joe says this isn’t a negotiation & then the brawl starts. MEM cleans house. Then Anderson accepts the challenge. Then the lights go out & out comes the mystery guy. Tito Ortiz! WHY!? They’ve already got King Mo & Rampage Jackson! Why’d they bring in ANOTHER non wrestler? Anyway he stands on the ramp & stares at MEM & that ends the show. This week’s show was hard to get through. There were way too many backstage bits! The first bit with Taz before & at the start of the show was decent. The bit with Taz outside with the limo was dumb too. Taz was decent here but the segment was stupid. The EY-ODB/EY-Joseph Park segment was a mixed bag. The part with ODB was ok but I’m past tired of the Joseph Park character! The MEM bits were terrible & the backstage bit with Ray & Brooke was crap too! The only backstage promo that was decent was the Daniels-Kazarian 1. I think that covers all the backstage bits. The Aries-Roode promo in the ring was good. Both guys were good on the mic as usual. AJ & Aries had a great match but I thought the finish was outta nowhere. ODB-Gail was solid too & I was ok with the double count out if they’re keeping this feud going. The MEM-Aces & 8s segment at the end was awful! This storyline is entirely pointless & having Tito Ortiz be the “mystery guy” was ridiculous! They already have King Mo & Rampage Jackson in their roster! Why bring in a THIRD non wrestler? TNA has been letting the actual wrestlers go, but hey keep King Mo & Rampage Jackson & now they bring Tito Ortiz back!? This company is messed up!! The Hernandez-Roode match was decent but nothing great & the Joseph Park-Jay Bradley match didn’t work for me. AJ cut a good backstage promo, the Sabin-Manik/TJ Perkins backstage bit was a mixed bag. Sabin was good here but TJ saying that being Manik gave him a new identity is idiotic! So for the most part I thought this week’s episode was kinda painful to watch!