7-29-11 Smackdown results and thoughts

 Coverage and thoughts on the July 28, 2011 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Triple H in the ring talking about the issue with the WWE Title. He mentions that late Monday night he resigned CM Punk. Christian comes out and welcomes Triple H (back) to Smackdown. Triple tells him that it’s a slap in the face to cut him off and tells him that he will defend the World Title against Randy Orton at SummerSlam against Randy Orton in a Noh Holds Barred Match. R-Truth then comes out and says that he followed Triple H to Smackdown and talks more about the conspiracy against him. Triple H then books Randy Orton vs. R-Truth for tonight. Then he tells Christian that he a booked a match for him with John Morrison. This was a good opening segment. I thought that all 3 guys cut good promos.

Backstage they show Teddy Long with Triple H and Zack Ryder comes in. H says that he has to take a call and makes Ryder assistant GM for tonight. Good back and forth promo with Triple H and Ryder. I hope this is the continuation of the Zack Ryder push.

John Morrison vs. Christian. Christian gets the pin. This was a real good back and forth match and I also liked how Morrison was selling the neck and the announcers mentioning that he might not be 100% from his neck injury.

The show Jinder Mahal and Great Khali watching from a sky box.

Wade Barrett is in the ring talking about how he should have won the Money in the bank match and gotten a WrestleMania paycheck and not Daniel Bryan. Daniel then comes and tells Barrett that he will main event WrestleMania. Barrett then attacks him, but Bryan gets the LaBell Lock on Barrett and he taps. This was a good segment. Both guys were good on the mic. Hopefully they’ll actually have Daniel cash it in a WrestleMania. I also wish they’d have Cole stop ragging on Daniel. I’m really getting tired of that.

Mark Henry walks into Teddy Long’s office and says that he wants a match. Long tells him that no one to get in the ring with him after he took out Kane and Big Show. Ryder says that he will find Henry an opponent.

They show a video package on Justin Gabriel using clips from the South Africa tour. This was really well done. They did a good job in getting Gabriel over.

Kaitlyn, AJ & Natalya vs. Rosa Mendez, Alicia Fox & Tamina. Rosa, Alicia & Tamina win when Alicia pins AJ. This was a typical short Divas match.

Bobby Howard (a local guy) vs. Mark Henry. The local is afraid to get in the ring and was about to head for the back when Zack Ryder came out and cheered him on, telling him he’s got this. Henry gets the pin. After the match he goes to attack the guy with a chair but Long comes out and tells him that there is already a lawsuit happening and that he will find him suitable competition. Sheamus then comes out and tells Henry that if he wants competition he will fight him and he slaps Henry. Henry then goes after Sheamus but Sheamus yanks down the top rope. Sheamus goes to hit Henry with a chair but Henry bails. This was a really fun segment and they did a good job with the Sheamus face turn.

The Usos vs. WWE Tag Team Champions David Otunga & Michael McGuillicutty. Otunga & McGuillicutty win to retain the Titles when McGuillcutty gets the pin after Otunga pushes the Uso off the top rope. This was a decent but short match.

Backstage Ryder tells Long that he booked Ezekiel Jackson vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, Jr. for tonight.

Matt Striker interviews R-Truth and Truth says that he is ready for his match with Orton and says that he will go after like a crew of eagles attacking a snake. Another good promo from Truth.

Intercontinental Champion Ezekiel Jackson vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, Jr. Cody & Ted win when Cody gets the pin. This match was short but ok.

Jinder Mahal & Khali then decide speak Indian to the fans from the sky box and the fans booed. I’m not sure what that was about.

Randy Orton vs. R-Truth. Truth wins by DQ after hitting him with a chair. Christian came out to ringside and distracted the ref for a bit. This was a good match too. After the match Orton attacked Truth more and bashed him with a monitor then gives him an RKO on the announcer’s table. Orton then had a stare down with Christian and was going to go after him, but decided to give R-Truth a second RKO on the table. Christian looked on all worried. They did a really good job of continuing to have Orton be the pissed off crazy guy who wants revenge.

I thought that this was fun show on the whole. The opening segment with Triple H, R-Truth and Christian was good, I liked the Morrison-Christian match, Ryder as the assistant GM was pretty funny and the Orton-Truth match and post match attack by Orton were real good too.

7-28-11 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 28, 2011 episode of Impact

The show starts with Kurt Angle coming out for a promo. He asks Hogan to come out so that they end this situation for good. Hogan then comes out and Angle says that Hogan has been calling his phone and leaving messages. Angle then says that there is nothing about Immortal that he finds appealing and that it is being lead by Hogan and Bischoff, 2 of the biggest sleaze balls in wrestling. He says that he will beat Sting at Hardcore Justice and become the TNA World Champion. He also mentions that he never beat Sting before, but he actually has. I’m not sure why they’re trying to make the fans forget that that happened. He wants to show everyone that he is the best in the world and asks if Hogan knows what it’s like to be the best in the world. Hogan says that he knows what it’s like, where there was no Sting, Matt Morgan, or Rob Van Dam. Hogan says that when there weren’t any “young guns” that he carried the wrestling business on his back and that he turned it from a territorial business into the international phenomenon that it is today. He says that when Angle was a kid, he was selling out arenas everywhere. Hogan then says that he has been calling Angle because he thinks that Angle has had a vision of a higher level and that he wants to help Angle make more money. He then asks why Angle has been disrespecting him. Angle says that he’s not kicking Hogan’s ass right now because he does respect him. He also says that unlike Ken Anderson, he can’t be bought. Angle then says that he paid to see him just like many others. Angle then asks Hogan if he can still go and Hogan says that he will never set foot in the ring again because of his 8 back surgeries. Hogan then says that if Angle is going to continue insulting his kids then Angle will have to prove something. He says that everything that Angle has done including win the Olympic gold metal was a fluke and that if Angle wants to fight him over pride, they are real close to that right now. Angle says that he doesn’t doubt that Hogan still go and Hogan asks him what he is trying to say. Angle says that Hogan is trying to pay him off to take Sting out and asks Hogan why he doesn’t take out Sting himself. This was a typical TNA opening promo. I thought it went a little too long.

Eric Bischoff is on his cell phone backstage and some chick gives him a letter from the Network.

Bound For Glory Series – Rob Van Dam vs. Gunner.  RVD gets the pin. This was a real good back and forth match.

They show Sting backstage in a red suit.

They have a backstage segment with Eric Bischoff, Abyss, Bully Ray, Ken Anderson and the Jarretts and they talk about how the Network sent Bischoff a letter that because of the success of the Destination X PPV that they have to bring in more X Division Wrestlers. Hogan then comes in and says that he wants to eliminate Angle and Ray volunteers Anderson to face Angle. Ray then says that if Anderson is afraid then they have Karen fight him. Bischoff reads more of the letter and Sting shows up in a red suit, carrying a black cage that he has covered up. Sting mentions that everyone in Immortal knows that he has a good relationship with the Network and that he is now the Network executive and that his first decision is to make the Kurt Angle-Ken Anderson match a steel cage match. He also says that Fortune will be at ringside to prevent Immortal from getting involved. Hogan then tells Sting that he has no power and Sting tells him that he just made the match. This was a typical Immortal segment. Joker Sting is actually starting to grow on me though.

Brian Kendrick and Alex Shelly come out for a promo and Kendrick says a lot of nonsense and Shelly says that what Kendrick said means that Austin Aries is a jackass and he calls Aries out. Aries comes to the ring and Shelly mentions the talent that help make the X Division like AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Samoa Joe, Kendrick and himself. Shelly applauds Aries for winning the TNA contract and also says that the X Division was defined on “hybrid” wrestling and he calls out Aries on his cheating tactics. Aries then says that he played by their rules when he beat 2 guys to qualify for the Destination X PPV and that he followed the rules when he beat 3 guys at Destination X to win the contract, but now he is playing by his rules and that his one rule is win at all costs. He then says that Kendrick and Shelly like to please the fans, but he is out to do what is best for himself. He mentions that he has had many 5 star matches but he is about having a 5 star bank account and that with him the ends justify the means and that the end will be him winning the X Division Title. Kendrick then takes the mic and talks more nonsense and Aries asks Shelly if it can be translated. Shelly says that at Hardcore Justice he will get his rematch against both Kendrick and Aries and sets a 3 way for the PPV. Abyss then comes out and says that they don’t make the decisions and he says that he gets a rematch against Kendrick for the X Division Title tonight and that he will finish the X Division for good. Sting then shows up on the tron out and says that he has more stroke than Hogan and Bischoff combined. Then he says that we will find out if monsters are afraid of heights because Abyss will face Kendrick in an Ultimate X match. This was a decent segment. Kendrick doesn’t make any sense, but Shelly and Aries are good on the mic. Abyss and Sting being in this was so-so I thought.

Matt Morgan promo talking about his torn peck and that the World Title is his livelihood.

Bully Ray promo saying he’s not worried about Crimson. Then he talks about his match with AJ Styles this Saturday in the Bound For Glory Series.

Bound For Glory Series – Crimson vs. Bully Ray. Crimson gets the pin. This match was alright.

Bischoff is on the phone in his office saying that he wants to talk to the Network and tells whoever to get the Network on the phone or that person will be unemployed.

Madison Rayne promo saying that she is going to ringside to get revenge on Tara for putting the tarantula on her last week. Sting then shows and Madison flips and runs out.

Tara vs. Winter. Winter gets the pin. Miss Tessmacher and Angelina Love both came out with their partners, but Earl Hebner sent both of them to the back. Hebner also got blinded for a short bit during the match allowing Winter to go low on Tara for the win. This match was decent.

X Division Champion Brian Kendrick vs. Abyss in an Ultimate X match for the Title. Kendrick wins to retain the Title. Throughout the match Abyss hesitated to climb the top rope and tried to rattle the Ultimate X structure so that the belt would come down. Kendrick climbs the cables and Abyss stops him. Then Abyss goes for a choke slam but Kendrick was lifted high enough to get the belt. This was a decent match.

Velvet Sky and Traci on their way to the ring and Velvet is worried about ODB and Jackie. Traci says to trust her. I don’t get this.

Eric Young craziness where he sees some guy and the guy tells him to take acting classes if he wants to be a TV star.

Velvet Sky and Traci Brooks come out for a promo. There sure are a lot of promos tonight on a show where “wrestling matters.” Traci says that she is issuing ODB and Jackie a personal invite to come out. They come out on the ramp and Traci says that she was the original knockout and that TNA asked her to step aside to make room for new knockouts. She then says that she never tried to jump over people like Velvet and that this ends tonight. ODB then says that she and Jackie didn’t lose their jobs till Velvet came along and that she left no room for the women who can wrestle. Velvet then talks about how she was bullied when she was younger and as she got older she told herself that she wasn’t going to be a victim and that the day she came to TNA was the greatest day of her life and that she earned her spot there and that she doesn’t owe ODB or Jackie an apology. She says that she gets the way that they both feel and that if they wanted their jobs back all they had to was ask. Velvet then says that they can do whatever they want here, but she is no longer going to be anyone’s punching bag and she then walks out. This was a pretty good segment. I thought Velvet and ODB cut good promos.

Fortune are backstage and the mention that they have a 6 man tag team match at Hardcore Justice. Daniels then pulls AJ aside and asks him if he remembers what they talked about last week, whatever that was. Sting then comes in and asks if they’re ready to keep Immortal away from ringside tonight. AJ then asks Sting what is in the cage that he is carrying and Sting says that it is a present for Bischoff and that he is going to give it to him right now. This segment was ok.

Eric Bischoff on the phone with Spike TV complaining, then they tell him that they haven’t talked to Sting in weeks. Sting then comes in and says that he is not the Network executive. He does his the whole crazy bit. Sting then lets a bird out of the cage and talks the movie “The Birds” and he takes the key to the cage door with him. This was idiotic! Why did they have this AFTER the entrances for the main event!? 

Kurt Angle vs. Ken Anderson in a Steel Cage. Angle gets the pin. During the match Immortal came out to the ring and brawled with Fortune and Mexican America also came out and brawled with Beer Money. Bully Ray then came out after everyone had left ringside and grabbed Angle through one of the camera cuts on the cage and Anderson took advantage. Ray then opens the cage door to give Anderson a chair and as Anderson was about to take it, Ray held on to it and Angle then hit Angle Slam and got the pin. This was a really good match. After the match Ray walked to the back. Then the lights go out and when they come back on Sting is in the ring and raises Kurt Angle’s arm.

This week’s show had too many promos/segments and only 3-4 matches. The matches that were on the show were from ok to good, but the booking was typical TNA weirdness. The highlights of the show were the RVD-Gunner and Angle-Anderson matches. I thought.

7-25-11 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 25, 2011 episode of Raw

The show starts with the WWE Title Match and they show the belt on a display case.

Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz for the vacant WWE Title. They show the whole roster watching backstage. Rey get the pin to become the new Champion. This was the usual baby face plays the underdog and makes the big come back kind of match, but it was real fun to watch. Miz attacks Rey from behind after the match. Then Alberto Del Rio came out with the MITB Case and was about to cash it in when Rey dove onto Del Rio. Alberto then left with the case and Mysterio celebrated with the Title.

The rest of talent congratulates Rey and pour champagne on him. Cena then comes in and also congratulates him. Josh Mathews then interviews Mysterio and Rey tells his wife and kids that he’s coming home with the gold. More champagne gets shot at him.

Evan Bourne vs. U.S. Champion Dolph Ziggler. Dolph wins with the sleeper. This was a good match. Dolph then got the mic and said, “Follow that.”

They show The Bella Twins and Eve arguing and Keith Stone walks by and Eve complains that the Bellas always pull “twin magic”. Stone then draws on one of the Bella’s arms. This was dumb.

Divas Champion Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. Melina & Maryse. Kelly & Eve win when Kelly pins Melina. This was the usual Divas match.

Triple H comes out to mention the state of the WWE. First he says that WWE is the global success that it is today because of Vince. He mentions Mysterio becoming Champion then says that tonight there will be a second WWE Title match tonight. The match will be Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena. Why is Cena in a Title match again!? He then mentions that there’s someone who should be back on Raw and he welcomes back…Jim Ross! Lawler applauds and is all thrilled and Cole looks disgusted. JR then walks to the announce table, Cole takes his head set off, stands on the table and gets the mic and says that JR’s “The walking Dead.” He then sucks up to Triple H and mentions that he will do just about anything for WWE but he won’t do commentary with JR. Cole then Rags on JR more and says that he couldn’t allow his ego to stay home. Cole says again that he won’t work with JR. Triple H then says that he was going to can Cole, but he looked into Cole’s contract and that it would coast WWE more if he wasn’t there. He then tells Cole that if he leaves he will be in breach of contract. Then he says that he’s giving Cole the night off and that he has till Smackdown to decide. Cole says he isn’t leaving and says he will do more commentary. Triple H says that he gave him the night off from commentary because he’s booked Cole in a match next. Cole then walks out and then R-Truth comes out and mentions that the man who was part of the conspiracy from the start is now “the man”. He mentions that he likes what he sees in the new regime and he wants to know what H will do for him and that “Little Jimmy” and heights and spiders coast him a shot at the WWE Title and asks what Triple H will do about it. Triple H then talks to invisible people for some reason. Truth says that Triple H maybe the game, but he’s not playing. Triple H then tells him that he resigned another guy and that other person wanted a piece of Truth. John Morrison comes out and goes after Truth. They go at it for a bit and Morrison gets the upper hand, hitting the Star Ship Pain. This was a mixed bag segment. I’m not sure what Triple H talking to the invisible people was about, but Morrison’s return was well done. I’m also glad that they brought Jim Ross back to be the head announcer. 

Triple H’s King of Kings song plays and Michael Cole comes out in Triple H’s ring gear, water bottle and all and does Triple H’s entrance. Zack Ryder then comes out.

Zack Ryder vs. Michael Cole. Ryder gets the quick pin. The fans chanted lets go Ryder. Really nice to see Zack on the show tonight. Hopefully they’ll have him on more.

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio. Alberto wins by submission. This was a good back and forth match.

Josh Mathews is about to interview Miz and Miz blames Cena for the Title situation being the way it is because he lost the Title to Punk AKA “He who is not to be mentioned”. Then he mentions that H overturned Vince’s decision to fire Cena. Then he mentions that Rey being Champion won’t be as good as Miz being on George Lopez and that HHH’s version of WWE is a huge mistake. This was another really great promo from Miz.

WWE Champion Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena for the Title. Cena gets the pin to win the Title AGAIN! Cena and Mysterio then hug. This was really good back and forth match, but Cena does not need the Title! Music then plays and after awhile CM Punk comes out with the WWE Title. Punk gets in the ring and he and Cena have a stare down with each guy holding up their Title.

I thought this was a really good show. I enjoyed the Mysterio-Miz match at the start. It was good to have JR back on Commentary too. I also liked the Kofi-Alberto match and the Cena-Mysterio match was really good too, but I think they should’ve kept the Title on Mysterio as I feel he could use the Title. Cena doesn’t need to be Champion. Punk coming out at the end was AWESOME!! He and Cena had a fun face to face with the Titles. Looks like CM Punk is back! YES! Who is the WWE Champion? Great ending to the show!

7-22-11 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 22, 2011 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with Randy Orton in the ring talking about Triple H running WWE and about the World Title match at the MITB PPV and he calls out Christian. Christian comes out and remains on the stage and says that when spit at Orton during the match it was by mistake. Orton demands to get his rematch but Teddy Long comes out and tells Orton that he is booked in a Street Fight against Kane. Orton loses it and goes after Christian. After they broke the brawl, Long tells Christian he will be facing Ezekiel Jackson. This was a good segment to start the show.

Intercontinental Champion Ezekiel Jackson vs. World Champion Christian. Christian gets the pin. This was a good match.

Michael Cole interviews the Smackdown MITB winner Daniel Bryan. Cole rags on Daniel and says that he will cash in the MITB contract when the Champ is vulnerable. Daniel then says that he will cash it in at WrestleMania 28. Health Slater come out and says that only would cash it in the greatest stage of them only to come up short. He calls Daniel a loser and says that was why he was kicked out of Nexus and that he will lose to him tonight. We’ll see if that happens. I think it would be neat if they do have him cash it in then. Hopefully they won’t have him lose the contract or get injured.

Daniel Bryan vs. Health Slater. Bryan wins by submission. This was a good back and forth match.

Mark Henry cuts a promo saying how happy he is that put Big Show out of action. Really good intense promo.

Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett. The match goes to a double count out when they brawled outside the ring. Sheamus gets the upper hand and lays out Barrett with the Brogue Kick. This was a decent match and the brawl afterwards with Sheamus kicking Barrett helped get Sheamus over.

Kane promo saying that for 14 years he has unleashed his brand of pain in WWE. He says that men who knew no fear trembled at the sound of his name and that he has haunted the nightmares of everyone who ever faced him. He then says that lately he’s been the guy who feels haunted by his own humanity and that feels more like a human then a monster. He says that his match with Randy Orton will bring monster in him back out. This was a typical Kane promo.

Kane vs. Randy Orton in a Street Fight. Orton gets the pin. Each guy kicked out of the other’s finisher. After the match Kane shook Orton’s hand. Then Mark Henry came out and went after Kane, placing Kane’s leg inside a chair and hit a second rope splash, the same as he did with Big Show. This was a really fun match and the post match beat down by Mark Henry was good too. Henry is really doing a great job as this monster heal.

I enjoyed this show on the whole. They had a lot of good matches on here. The opening segment with Orton and Christian and the Kane-Orton Street Fight were really good. Daniel Bryan and Heath Slater also had a good match. This was a really fun show.

7-21-11 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 21, 2011 episode of Impact

The show starts with a Sting promo in the ring mentioning how crazy he is. He then calls out Hogan and Bischoff. Kurt Angle comes out in his clown gear and tells Sting that he means no disrespect and that it was he who saved Sting from Immortal last week because it was the right thing to do. He says that their paths will cross again at Hardcore Justice. Sting says that respects Angle and Angle mentions that he wants to beat Sting (which he has done already, but I guess we’re supposed to forget that happened). Angle says he has to be the guy to beat Sting because he has no other choice. Sting tells him that they have a problem. Cue Immortal’s music and Ken Anderson and Bully Ray come out and Ray makes Sting and Angle vs. Ray and Anderson for tonight. Ray and Anderson then rag on Angle and Sting some more. This was the usual kind of Impact opening promo.

Bound For Glory Series – Rob Van Dam vs. Scott Steiner. RVD get the pin. This was a good match

Mickie James comes out for a promo and wants Velvet Sky to come out. Mickie says that she has watched Velvet get blamed for other wrestler’s problems and that she knows how it gets and that it isn’t good. Mickie says that she wants to defend the Knockouts Title against Velvet because she feels that Velvet has earned it and that they will tear the roof of Impact Zone off. Winter and Angelina Love come out and Angelina says that she and Winter are competitors and that Mickie and Velvet should go get a hotel room. Angelina mentions that no matter who wins tonight in the Mickie-Velvet Title Match that it won’t be long before she has the Knockouts Title once again. Winter then rags on Mickie and Velvet for a bit and says that when she wins the Knockouts Title at Hardcore Justice it will belong to her & Angelina. They then head to the back. This was a decent segment. Mickie and Velvet were good, but I’m not a fan of the Winter-Angelina combo.

Backstage Rosita and Sarita brawl with Tara and Miss Tessmacher. Madison Rayne comes in and also brawls with Tara and the referees break it up.

Promos from Matt Morgan, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles & Gunner talking about the 4 Way Bound For Glory Series Ladder Match. During AJ’s promo Daniels comes in and wants to talk to AJ. Good promos from all 4 guys.

They show a parking lot brawl from earlier in the week of a brawl with the same 4 knockouts and during the brawl Sarita broke her jaw and is wearing a protective mask.

Tara & Miss Tessmacher vs. Knockouts Tag Team Champions Rosita & Sarita. Tara & Miss Tessmacher win the Titles with a double pin. Madison came out and went after Tara during the match. This was a decent match. I’m guessing that Sarita will be taking time off because of her injury.

Bound For Glory Series Ladder Match for 20 points – AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Gunner vs. Matt Morgan. Morgan wins. This was a real good match. I’m not sure why Gunner was in the match since he is in second place and Samoa Joe hasn’t gotten any points yet and I think they should have had him win.

They show an Eric Young video package where he is at a gas station looking for someone to defend his TV Title against. He finds D’Lo Brown and D’Lo tells Eric that this a road that he doesn’t wanna go down. Young rolls up D’Lo and makes the 3 count himself then runs from D’Lo. Young escapes and D’Lo mentions that Young never recognized him. This whole bit with Eric Young is really getting old.

X-Division Champion Brian Kendrick vs. Alex Shelly for the Title. Kendrick gets the pin when Austin Aries comes in and hits Shelly with the belt. This was a real good match. It looks like they’ll be doing Kendrick-Shelly-Aries at Hardcore Justice.

Kendrick cuts a promo in the back all upset that Aries helped him win.

Mexican America come out for a promo and Anarquia says that what Tara & Miss Tessmacher did to Rosita & Sarita before was garbage. He says that they’re pissed and when they’re pissed they kick ass. They then call out Beer Money. Beer Money come out and they go face to face with Mexican America. James Storm then tells them to leave the ring and TNA and go cut grass. Storm then says that he will kick Anarquia’s teeth down his throat. Storm mentions that since they have been in the Bound For Glory Series they came out to reintroduce themselves to everyone. Storm mentions that they’re the best tag team being 4 time tag champions and that they aren’t going to just beat Mexican America but they are going to kick their asses for the fans in the Impact Zone, the people watching and for all the Mexicans that came before Mexican America that they’re disgracing and that at Hardcore Justice Beer Money will beat Mexican America and retain the Tag team Tiles and he advises them to mark the day on their calendar because afterwards they will wake up with green cards stuck up their rear ends. Roode then says Storm’s catch phrase to Mexican America. This was a mixed bag segment. Mexican America is crap, but Storm’s promo was good.

Knockouts Champion Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky for the Title. The match never started because Winter & Angelina attacked Mickie during her entrance. Velvet comes out to even the odds and they brawl for a bit then ODB & Jackie come out and they attack Velvet as Winter & Angelina bail. Traci Brooks then comes out to make the save. Then referees and security broke up the brawl, separating Mickie, Velvet & Traci from ODB & Jackie. Then the cops come out and they cuff ODB & Jackie and they take them out of the Impact Zone. This was a real good brawl I thought.

TNA World Champion Sting & Kurt Angle vs. Ken Anderson & Bully Ray. Sting & Angle win when Angle pins Anderson. After the match Sting and Angle shook hands then Angle pulled Sting in close before he left the ring. This was a good match too.

I thought that this was one of the better Impact episodes. The Kendrick-Shelly match was real good, and the Mickie & Velvet & Traci-ODB-Jackie brawl was really fun to watch. Storm cut a good promo too, but I’m not a fan of Mexican America. The 4 Way ladder match was good too. The opening promo was decent and the main event tag match was good. I have mixed feelings on the whole Joker Sting gimmick. Overall I thought this was a good episode of Impact.

Follow up thoughts to the end of Raw

 

Hey all, I'm here with an extra blog this week about my feelings on the segment that ended Raw this week. When I watched it Monday I thought it was a somewhat underwhelming follow up to Sundays Money in the Bank PPV and also I was looking forward to seeing the Rey Mysterio-Miz match in the WWE Title Tournament Finals. With that said, looking at it now, I actually thought that they did a good job with the segment. I mentioned in the Raw thoughts that I liked Cena's promo and he did do a really great job. I wasn't expecting Triple H to come out, so I was surprised when they played his music. The interaction between him and Vince and how emotional they both got during the segment was actually real good. I think there certainly is potential for a good follow up next week and the weeks to come. I at first found the whole Vince being relieved bit to be lame with Triple H taking over the day to day operations of WWE because we all know that this only in the storyline, but looking at it from the storyline perspective, I think this has the potential to be really compelling, something that WWE hasn't been too often in a while!

7-18-11 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 18, 2011 episode of Raw

The show starts with Vince and Johnny Ace coming to the ring. Vince says that the fans are chanting for the biggest in great in WWE history and that Punk walked out on everyone and Vince called him an egotistical selfish turd. He mentions that no one will be bigger than WWE (Hulk, Bret, Michaels). He then mentions that there will be an 8 man Tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. The matches are Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger vs. R-Truth, Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio and Alex Riley vs. The Miz. He then mentions that Cena let him down last night and that there will be severe consequences. Vince then says he hopes the fans enjoy the show.

Michael Cole then mentions John Cena’s tweet form earlier today where Cena wrote that he believes he has been future endeavored.

WWE Title Tournament First Round – Alex Riley vs. The Miz. Miz gets the pin. This was a good match.

They show a John Morrison video package to hype up his return to the ring.

WWE Title Tournament First Round – Jack Swagger vs. R-Truth. Truth gets the pin. This was a good match too.

Alberto Del Rio comes out for his match and gets the mic and mentions that he is Mr. MITB and that he can cash it in whenever he wants. He says he was going to last night, but Punk ran and he pins the blame on Cena and he hopes Cena gets canned and there is a new leader and that it is his destiny to be WWE Champion. Ricardo Rodriguez then makes his return and does the Spanish introduction for Del Rio, announcing him as the Money in the Bank winner and calling him the new WWE Champion.

WWE Title Tournament First Round – Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio. Kofi gets the pin. This was a good back and forth match also.

Josh Mathews interviews Kofi Kingston and Kofi talks about how he was in the MITB match last night and came up short, but tonight is a new opportunity and this was the first step to him becoming WWE Champion. Good promo from Kofi.

WWE Title Tournament First Round – Rey Mysterio vs. U.S. Champion Dolph Ziggler. Rey gets the pin. This was also a good match.

They show Vince and Johnny Ace in Vince’s office.

Kelly Kelly, AJ, Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Natalya, Beth Phoenix & Kaitlyn vs. The Bellas, Melina, Maryse, Alicia Fox, Tamina & Rosa Mendes. The faces win when Beth pins Rosa. This was predictable ultra short divas match. Why do they have multi diva matches?

WWE Title Tournament Semi Finals – Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz. Miz gets the pin to advance to the Finals. This was another real good match.

Scott Stanford interviews R-Truth. Truth mentions that he deserves to be WWE Champion and that conspiracy kept him from winning MITB, but it won’t keep him from winning the WWE Title. Good promo from Truth. He really does a great job as a paranoid heal.

They show another video package on Tough Enough winner Andy Levine where he visited the town that he grew up in. This was really well done.

WWE Title Tournament Semi Finals – Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth. Rey gets the pin to advance to the finals. This was also a real good match.

Mysterio is still in the ring getting set for the finals and Vince comes out. He tells Rey that the finals will take place next week because he has something big to say. He again mentions how know one wrestler is bigger than WWE and that he can make a new John Cena. He thanks Cena for everything he’s done, but he also has to make a business decision and that he does what’s right for the fans for business. The fans chant CM Punk. He then says that he wants to get this over with. John Cena then comes out and takes the Mic and says that he knows what Vince is about to do and doesn’t want to go through what Shawn Michaels. He mentions that no matter how many great matches and Titles he held, he was mentioned as the guy who screwed Bret and Cena said that he doesn’t want to be known as the guy who screwed CM Punk. He puts over Punk for having a great match last night. He mentions that he won’t play along with Vince’s crap because that would make the Title meaningless. He then says that he can find another opponent for The Rock at WrestleMania 28. He then mentions that he gets to walk out of the arena with his pride and dignity. He says that he loves WWE and feels that he belongs there. He mentions that if Vince makes him walk tonight he will continue doing what he loves else where “brother.” He mentions that he does a lot for WWE but he won’t kiss Vince’s ass. Vince was about to can Cena when Triple H came out. HHH says that there was a board of directors meeting today and that he got a call and flew to the office and the board asked him to talk to Vince because they are concerned about this situation and about Vince. He puts over how Vince made a global empire. He says that the board is concerned about Vince’s questionable direction lately and that the board asked H to tell Vince that have filed an injunction against him and the family agrees. He also says the board has picked someone to take over the day to day operations for WWE and he says that the board picked him. He tells Vince that he won’t can Cena and says that he taught Triple H from day one that no one is bigger than the business. He then reluctantly tells Vince that he is relieved of his duties. He then says that he loves Vince, calls him pop and says that he is sorry. Triple H then walks out crying. Vince stands in the ring and gets around of applause from the fans. The fans then chanted thank you Vince to end the show. This was a really dumb segment I thought. Cena’s promo was good, but the whole thing just seemed anti-climactic after last nights great PPV.

I thought this was a good show right up till the Vince-Cena-Triple H segment at the end. That felt like a major let down. They should have had the Mysterio-Miz match I think. The whole tonight we’ll crown a new Champion and then to make the Finals next week was kind of disappointing to me. Also why were the fans chanting thank you Vince at the end? Everyone knows (I hope) that he is not really stepping down as chairman and that this is all a storyline. The tournament matches were fun to watch, but the end felt really underwhelming.