7-12-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 12, 2013 episode of Smackdown The show starts with Daniel Bryan vs. Christian. Daniel wins by submission. This was a really awesome back & forth match & a great way to start Smackdown. Teddy Long is in the GM office on his cell phone (like he is every time we see him). He’s getting ready for Money in the Bank “Playa.” Smackdown will be off the hook too. Then Dolph comes in. Long has some good news for him. He is giving Dolph the night off. Dolph doesn’t want the night off (naturally). He wants to be out there competing. Long tells Dolph that Del Rio will be competing later tonight against Sin Cara (In a rematch from Raw) & Long wants to make sure Dolph doesn’t interfere. Dolph tries to speak but Long mentions that this past Monday Vickie was canned & he doesn’t wanna to be the next 1 that gets the axe. So Long will not let anybody interfere in any of his (Long’s) matches tonight. Long tells Dolph Adios. Dolph knows what that means. It means this Sunday he becomes World Champion. And that’s in English. This was a decent backstage segment. Jay Uso vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins. Rollins gets the pin. This was solid. Then Rollins & Reigns stand on the announce table & hold up the titles. Time for a look at the Stephanie telling Vickie she’s fired & then Vince naming Brad Maddox the new Raw GM. Chris Jericho vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Jericho wins by count out. This was a good back & forth match but I don’t get why they had Axel lose to Jericho twice in the same week. Then Axel flips, throws a chair & takes apart the announce table. Then Heyman attempts to calm Axel. The Miz vs. Ryback. Ryback gets the pin. This was a solid match. Ryback faked a knee injury & then gave Miz the marching muscle buster for the pin. Renee Young interviews Sheamus. Renee mentions that this Sunday Sheamus will be in the “all star” Money in the Bank contract ladder match & tonight Sheamus will be facing 1 of the other guys in the match Randy Orton. Renee asks for Sheamus’ thoughts. Sheamus says that Orton is known as the viper & as Irish folk lore goes St. Patty drove the snakes out of Ireland. Tonight Sheamus plans on following in his footsteps & doing the same. As far as Sunday goes, he’s not afraid of heights. He’s also not known for being a guy who carries a briefcase to work but since he is Irish he might put a couple of pints in there or maybe he will fill the briefcase with corn beef & cabbage (Why do they always have him make these idiotic Irish themed jokes?). Renee says that maybe he can find something else to put in there. When Sheamus wins At MITB he will cash in that contract whenever he wants & become a 3 time WWE Champion (I’m not sure if he held that belt twice. I know he held the WWE Title & the World Title) & when he does the pints are on him. Then he tells Renee that he thinks she is pretty cute. This was the typical Sheamus promo we’ve been getting lately. I don’t know why they feel the need to have him be an Irish version of Cena. In the ring we have Teddy Long & a few random Divas. There’s also a table in there & you know that means. A contract signing. Yes they’re having a contract signing for the Divas Title match. Kaitlyn & AJ are already sitting in the chairs. Oh & of course Big E is in there too. Long has asks the fans as we’ll as the Divas to join him. This Sunday at MITB AJ Lee will defend her Divas title against the former champion Kaitlyn. Tonight we make that match official. Long says that Kaitlyn & AJ have already read the contract. Now for the signatures. Before AJ signs she picks up her mic & mentions that the other Divas are in the ring. Are they there to protect Kaitlyn? Wait a minute, half of them don’t like Kaitlyn & the rest of them sure don’t like AJ but they should because no one cared about the Divas division (There barely is 1) till AJ won the title. Then AJ says that everyone can line up & thank her whenever they want but if everyone can wait till Sunday they can thank her & congratulate her too. Long tells AJ they haven’t got time for all that. Then AJ looks at the contract. She says that she doesn’t have a lawyer to look it over but she trusts Long. Then AJ signs the contract. Then she says Kaitlyn might not wanna sign it because once she does AJ is fully prepared to embarrass her worse than she ever has before. Kaitlyn asks if AJ has a photo shop picture. Then Layla gives Kaitlyn a pen & she signs the contract too. Then Long says that it is official. This Sunday at MITB AJ Lee will defend the Divas Title against Kaitlyn. Then AJ tells “Katie” that she tried. She tried to help Kaitlyn. Everyone saw it but Kaitlyn left her with no choice. Then AJ takes out her phone & mentions all the text messages that she sent to her “secret admirer”. Kaitlyn bared her soul to someone that she didn’t even know. Kaitlyn goes to yank the phone out of AJ’s hands but AJ slips away. Then AJ reads a Kaitlyn text from May 30. It says Natty is her best friend but all she ever does is talk about Khali. You know what they say, “Never trust a Neidhart.” Natalya looks heart broken that. Then AJ reads a text from June 2. That says that Naomi & Cameron say they’re looking out for Kaitlyn but all they really care about is that reality show. Then Kaitlyn yanks the phone out of AJ’s hands & throws it down on the mat. Kaitlyn wants a piece of AJ, but Layla calms her. AJ says that she has insurance & a family plan. Big E is also great with technology. Then she has Big E point to the Tron. Then they show a Kaitlyn text from June 4. That says that she was lying in her hotel room thinking of the mystery admirer. Her whole life people forced into a world just for body building but the “admirer” let her step out of that mold & sees her for everything. Then AJ asks if anyone has a tissue. Then AJ tells Kaitlyn let’s do everybody a favor. AJ tells Kaitlyn to tear up this contract, tuck her tail between her legs, turn around, walk away & never show her sad fat face or her trashy hair around here ever again. Then Kaitlyn says you know what, no. Kaitlyn says that this is not gonna work again. AJ manipulated her. Kaitlyn lost her friends, her title & lost herself. But Kaitlyn will never ever let a needy, clingy, man crazed psychopath destroy her again. Kaitlyn will be champion again while AJ will be rocking back & forth in a padded cell drooling like the crazy…Then AJ slaps Kaitlyn. Then Kaitlyn shoves AJ & pushes the table & AJ into the corner. Then Kaitlyn pounds away AJ. Then Big E pulls Kaitlyn off AJ but Kaitlyn gets lose & slaps Langston. Then she spears AJ. This was really long unnecessary & idiotic segment. Why have a contract signing for a Divas Title match? Zeb Coulter is on commentary & Swagger & Cesaro (Who are now called The Real Americans) are at ringside. Wade Barrett vs. Fandango. During the match Rhodes Scholars come out & they yell at The Real Americans & Zeb. Then Fandango rolls up Barrett for the pin. WINNER – FANDANGO. This wasn’t much of a match. The bickering with Rhodes Scholars & The Real Americans & Zeb continues. Barrett chimes in a bit too. Then Barrett yells at Fandango as Fandango backs up the ramp celebrating his win. Michael Cole mentions that earlier in the day WWE Drs would not give Kane clearance to be in the MITB match because of the attack from the Wyatt family. Time for a look back at the Wyatt family debut. Sin Cara vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Before the bell even rings Sin Cara goes right after Del Rio. Del Rio slides out of the ring but Sin Cara throws him back in. Then Sin Cara gives Del Rio a Zig Zag & then he does the Dolph dance. Then Sin Cara’s music plays. They never had him unmask but JBL mentions that was Dolph in the Sin Cara get up. Then out of nowhere we hear an excuse me from Vickie Guerrero. Ever since she got canned on Raw no one has shown her respect. Then she says that to be at Smackdown Teddy Long made her get a ticket. She rips the ticket up & tells Long there’s your ticket. Vickie demand that Long be canned. He is a liar & a spineless puppet. Vickie is telling us the truth. She demands respect. Then out comes Long. He says that this past Monday Stephanie had 2 words for Vickie (and we all know what those words were). Tonight Long has 1 word for Vickie, security. Out come some security guys. Long tells them to get Vickie out of there. Vickie screams that she has a ticket. Then security escorts Vickie out of the arena through the crowed. I wasn’t into this. Vickie screamed so loudly I could barely hear what she was saying. This whole bit didn’t work for me. They show a Rob Van Dam video package to hype up his return this Sunday. Backstage we see “Sin Cara” walking. Long is following him & calling him Dolph. Long asks what’s the meaning of this? He gave Dolph the night off. Then Dolph shows up (No surprise there). Dolph tells Long that he left his stuff in the locker room & he came back for it. Then Dolph tells Sin Cara that he did a heck of a job out there. This was kinda corny & predictable. I knew Dolph was gonna show up as Long was talking to Sin Cara. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus. Both guys are on the top rope & they fall to the outside. Then as the referee is counting both guys Daniel Bryan comes out & gets a ladder from under the ring. He brings the ladder in the ring & for no reason the referee stops the count. Then Orton & Sheamus get back in the ring & Daniel hits them both with the ladder. Then the referee called for the bell So the match ends in a double DQ. Then Daniel sets up the ladder & climbs it but Sheamus grabs his foot. Daniel tries to kick Sheamus off but Sheamus pulls Daniel off the ladder. Then Sheamus pounds on Daniel. Then he goes to clothesline Daniel over the top rope but Daniel doesn’t go over & he slides out under the bottom rope. (That looked like a botched spot). Then Sheamus climbs the ladder but then Christian comes in, climbs the ladder & pulls Sheamus off. Then he rams Sheamus face first into the rungs. Then Christian climbs the ladder but Sheamus pulls him down. Then Sheamus goes up again & Christian climbs the other side. They go at it on top of the ladder & Christian knocks Sheamus off. Then as Christian is about to grab the briefcase Daniel comes back in & shoves the ladder over, knocking Christian over. Then Christian rolls out of the ring. Then Daniel sets up the ladder again & starts to climb it but then Orton gives him an RKO. Then Orton climbs the ladder & grabs the briefcase. Then Orton’s music plays as he stands on top of the ladder holding the MITB briefcase. Daniel, Christian & Sheamus are all lying on the floor as Orton stands atop the ladder & hold up the briefcase to end the show. I thought this was well done & they did a good job with the final hype for the MITB PPV. I thought this was a solid show for the most part. I liked that they had Daniel Bryan vs. Christian start the show & that was a great match! The Orton-Sheamus was good & I was ok with the other MITB guys coming out during this. Jericho-Axel was also good but why have Jericho beat Axel twice in the same week? Miz-Ryback was decent, Fandango-Barrett wasn’t much. That was more about the other guys in that MITB match. Sin Cara pounding Del Rio was decent too & when Teddy Long found him backstage I knew that Dolph was gonna show up. The Divas contract signing was the worst part of the show. Vickie Guerrero screaming about what happened on Monday didn’t work for me. Jay Uso vs. Seth Rollins was also solid. So overall this week’s show had its ups & downs but I thought they did a solid job with the final hype for the Money in the Bank PPV.

7-11-13 Impact results and toughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 11, 2013 episode of Impact The show starts with Bully Ray backstage. He tells the camera guy that since he is always looking for reaction, Ray will give him 1. Ray talks about his “wife” Brooke saying how dare she get engaged. He gets that people feel the need to move on but you move on when Ray says you move on. Good backstage promo from Ray. Aces & 8s come to the ring. Ray says it’s time to take care of some business. The first order of business is Chris Sabin. Sabin is the X Champion & has the chance to cash in that title & face Ray for the world title at Destination X. Hulk will come out later & ask Sabin to hand the X Title over. Ray tells junior to do himself a favor & not trade in that title. Ray’s a bad man who does bad things to guys like Sabin. Number 2 tonight Aces & 8s vote in a new VP. That doesn’t mean the fans get to vote. Aces & 8s is a family & this is family business. Speaking of so called families that brings him to MEM. MEM challenged Aces & 8s to a fight. Ray says Aces & 8s say no. They fight on their terms. Cue the MEM music & out come Sting, Angle, Joe & Magnus. Angle tells Ray to take that challenge as a warning. Next week MEM will eliminate every member of Ray’s gang 1 by on. Then at the end of the night when Ray’s in that ring defending his title Ray will look around & for the first time since he won that title Ray will be all alone. Sting says the newest member of their new family is a heavy hitter & everyone will find out who it is by the end of the night. This was a good & short promo. Backstage we see Chris Sabin walking. JB & Christie are on the stage. JB says they’ll reveal the teams 1 by 1. The winners go onto the gauntlet for 25 points in the BFG Series. The first guy’s name picked is Jeff Hardy. His partner will be Joseph Park. They will face AJ Styles & Samoa Joe. Jeff Hardy & Joseph Park vs. AJ Styles & Samoa Joe. AJ & Joe win when Joe makes Park tap. This was a solid match. Backstage we see Taryn Terrell warming up for her match with Gail Kim later. Back to JB & Christie. The next name picked is Jay Bradley. His partner will be Hernandez. They will face Ken Anderson & Magnus. Jay Bradley & Hernandez vs. Ken Anderson & Magnus. Anderson & Magnus win when Magnus pins Hernandez. Anderson doesn’t tag in, so Magnus fought both guys by himself. Jay Bradley tripped Hernandez by mistake & then Magnus rolled up Hernandez for the pin. This was a decent match. Backstage we see Aries & Roode. Aries talks about losing the X Title & asks where Roode was. Roode says he is 0-3 in the BFG series. In come Kaz & Daniels. They say it is down to the 4 of them. It doesn’t matter who wins because Daniels & Kazarian will win & 1 more time bad influence will face the dirty heels. Kaz & Daniels leave. Then Aries & Roode agree that they both hate Daniels & Kazarian. Good backstage segment. Backstage we see Gail Kim warming up for the ladder match with Taryn. Back to JB & Christie. The first name picked is Christopher Daniels. His partner will be Austin Aries. They will face Frankie Kazarian & Bobby Roode. Frankie Kazarian & Bobby Roode vs. Christopher Daniels & Austin Aries. Kazarian & Roode win when Kazarian pins Daniels. After the match Daniels & Kazarian hinted at splitting up but then Daniels raises Kazarian’s hand. This was a solid match too. Backstage we see Aces & 8s. Ray says that tonight they will vote for Aces & 8s new VP. Backstage we see Hulk & Brooke. Hulk asks Brooke what’s going on with Ray. Brooke says nothing because she did what Hulk told her to do & didn’t return to the building. Then she says that her personal life can start after the show. She mentions the ladder match is coming up & they’ve worked real hard to set that up. Hulk tells Brooke to make sure that she takes care of all of her business. Whatever. This was a typical Hogan segment. Back to Aces & 8. Ray says last year was a good year for Aces & 8s. He became world champion. Now there’re some problems. They got rid of their first problem D’Lo. Then Ray says that he isn’t voting for a VP. Ray asks the rest of the group if they vote for Anderson or Doc. It’s 3-3 & Knox has the deciding vote. He picks Anderson. Ray says Anderson is the Aces & 8s new VP. The other guys applaud. Then Doc gets in Knox’s face. Knox tells Doc that it wasn’t about him. This was about the club. Doc tells him to keep walking. This was weak. It looks like Doc will be turning face though. Mickie James comes to ringside for the next match. Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim in a number one contender ladder match. Gail wins to become the number 1 contender for the Knockouts Title. This was great! Backstage Sting & Angle say that they picked the right guys to be in the new MEM. Angle says Joe & Magnus are doing great in the BFG Series. He says that Magnus is in the lead & Joe is second. Then Angle asks about the 5th guy. Sting is expecting to hear from him. Then Sting gets a call & it’s member number 5. Thankfully this was short. Break time. Back from break & we go back to Angle & Sting. Sting tells Angle number 5 will be there in a few minutes. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Magnus vs. Ken Anderson vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Bobby Roode in a BFG Series Gauntlet match. Magnus wins to get 25 more points. This was good. The Magnus vs. Roode part of the match at the end was the best part. There was a lot of good back & forth action there. Entrance Sequence: 1. AJ Styles 2. Magnus 3. Frankie Kazarian 4. Samoa Joe 5. Ken Anderson 6. Bobby Roode. Elimination Sequence: 1. AJ eliminates Kazarian before # 5 comes out 2. Anderson eliminates AJ 3 & 4. Joe eliminates Anderson & himself 5. Magnus pins Roode. Hulk Hogan comes to the ring. He says there’re some Hulkamaniacs in Las Vegas brother. Live next week from Louisville we’ll have Destination X. The guy that has a chance to go on to greatness & become the next world champion if he wants to is his guest, Chris Sabin. Hulk’s been around some great ones but Sabin is the greatest. Sabin says there was a time not to long ago after tearing both ACLs he thought he would never be in the ring again. This is a dream he’s had ever since he was a kid. That dream is why he’s here right now. To become world champion. The only thing left to do is give up the X Title & hand it over to Hulk. Out come Aces & 8s. Ray gets in the ring & tells Hulk to tell Brooke they have unfinished business. Then he says that Sabin must be living in a fantasy land. Ray tells Sabin not to hand the X Title over. Then he tells Hulk not to reassure Sabin because every time Hogan reassures anybody they run into trouble with Ray. Including Brooke. Ray’s a bad person & he does bad things. There’s no way a little guy like Sabin could ever beat a man like him. Sabin tells Ray to shut up. Sabin says Ray has forgotten that Sabin pinned him in Team 3D’s retirement match. He’s also the only to kick out of the 3D finish. Sabin’s been the underdog his whole life. 9 times out of 10 a guy like Ray would beat a guy like Sabin. All Sabin needs is 1 chance & he knows that he can & will beat Ray. Next week Sabin will ask Ray if he knows who he is. He is Chris Sabin the TNA World Champion. Ray tells Sabin not to hand over the X Title but Sabin does. Ray tells Sabin he just signed his death warrant. Ray’s taken everybody down in this company. Sabin isn’t just fighting Ray next week, Sabin is fighting his whole family. Out come MEM. Sting says Sabin vs. Ray will be 1 on 1. No Aces & 8s because MEM will make sure they don’t get involved. Then Sting introduces the newest MEM guy Rampage Jackson. MEM raise each other’s arms on the stage to end the show. This was a good closing segment. I’m not into Rampage Jackson being in the MEM but I thought that both Ray & Sabin were awesome on the mic. I thought this was a good show for the most part. Ray’s backstage promo at the start was well done & I liked the MEM-Aces & 8s segment too. I was ok with the Jokers Wild format for the BFG Series. AJ & Joe vs. Jeff & Park was solid, Magnus & Anderson vs. Jay Bradley & Hernandez was decent and Kazarian & Roode vs. Daniels & Aries was solid too. The gauntlet match was also good & it picked up with Magnus vs. Roode at the end. They’re really pushing Magnus. The ladder match was great too. Both Taryn & Gail are really amazing in the ring. They both gave it their all. I am curious if Gail will be turning face since Mickie just turned heel & having 2 heels face each other would be a bit odd. The Hulk-Brooke backstage segment was the only part of the show I could’ve done without, but thankfully that was short. I wasn’t into the backstage segments with Aces & 8s either. Who cares about their VP slot? It looks like Doc will be turning face though. The Daniels-Kazarian-Aries-Roode backstage segment was solid. Those 4 are always entertaining to watch. I liked the closing segment too. Both Sabin & Ray were great on the mic & they did a great job building to their world title match next week. I’m not into Rampage being part of the MEM but other than that I thought this was great closing segment. Overall I thought this was a good show this week. Coverage and thoughts on the July 11, 2013 episode of Impact The show starts with Bully Ray backstage. He tells the camera guy that since he is always looking for reaction, Ray will give him 1. Ray talks about his “wife” Brooke saying how dare she get engaged. He gets that people feel the need to move on but you move on when Ray says you move on. Good backstage promo from Ray. Aces & 8s come to the ring. Ray says it’s time to take care of some business. The first order of business is Chris Sabin. Sabin is the X Champion & has the chance to cash in that title & face Ray for the world title at Destination X. Hulk will come out later & ask Sabin to hand the X Title over. Ray tells junior to do himself a favor & not trade in that title. Ray’s a bad man who does bad things to guys like Sabin. Number 2 tonight Aces & 8s vote in a new VP. That doesn’t mean the fans get to vote. Aces & 8s is a family & this is family business. Speaking of so called families that brings him to MEM. MEM challenged Aces & 8s to a fight. Ray says Aces & 8s say no. They fight on their terms. Cue the MEM music & out come Sting, Angle, Joe & Magnus. Angle tells Ray to take that challenge as a warning. Next week MEM will eliminate every member of Ray’s gang 1 by on. Then at the end of the night when Ray’s in that ring defending his title Ray will look around & for the first time since he won that title Ray will be all alone. Sting says the newest member of their new family is a heavy hitter & everyone will find out who it is by the end of the night. This was a good & short promo. Backstage we see Chris Sabin walking. JB & Christie are on the stage. JB says they’ll reveal the teams 1 by 1. The winners go onto the gauntlet for 25 points in the BFG Series. The first guy’s name picked is Jeff Hardy. His partner will be Joseph Park. They will face AJ Styles & Samoa Joe. Jeff Hardy & Joseph Park vs. AJ Styles & Samoa Joe. AJ & Joe win when Joe makes Park tap. This was a solid match. Backstage we see Taryn Terrell warming up for her match with Gail Kim later. Back to JB & Christie. The next name picked is Jay Bradley. His partner will be Hernandez. They will face Ken Anderson & Magnus. Jay Bradley & Hernandez vs. Ken Anderson & Magnus. Anderson & Magnus win when Magnus pins Hernandez. Anderson doesn’t tag in, so Magnus fought both guys by himself. Jay Bradley tripped Hernandez by mistake & then Magnus rolled up Hernandez for the pin. This was a decent match. Backstage we see Aries & Roode. Aries talks about losing the X Title & asks where Roode was. Roode says he is 0-3 in the BFG series. In come Kaz & Daniels. They say it is down to the 4 of them. It doesn’t matter who wins because Daniels & Kazarian will win & 1 more time bad influence will face the dirty heels. Kaz & Daniels leave. Then Aries & Roode agree that they both hate Daniels & Kazarian. Good backstage segment. Backstage we see Gail Kim warming up for the ladder match with Taryn. Back to JB & Christie. The first name picked is Christopher Daniels. His partner will be Austin Aries. They will face Frankie Kazarian & Bobby Roode. Frankie Kazarian & Bobby Roode vs. Christopher Daniels & Austin Aries. Kazarian & Roode win when Kazarian pins Daniels. After the match Daniels & Kazarian hinted at splitting up but then Daniels raises Kazarian’s hand. This was a solid match too. Backstage we see Aces & 8s. Ray says that tonight they will vote for Aces & 8s new VP. Backstage we see Hulk & Brooke. Hulk asks Brooke what’s going on with Ray. Brooke says nothing because she did what Hulk told her to do & didn’t return to the building. Then she says that her personal life can start after the show. She mentions the ladder match is coming up & they’ve worked real hard to set that up. Hulk tells Brooke to make sure that she takes care of all of her business. Whatever. This was a typical Hogan segment. Back to Aces & 8. Ray says last year was a good year for Aces & 8s. He became world champion. Now there’re some problems. They got rid of their first problem D’Lo. Then Ray says that he isn’t voting for a VP. Ray asks the rest of the group if they vote for Anderson or Doc. It’s 3-3 & Knox has the deciding vote. He picks Anderson. Ray says Anderson is the Aces & 8s new VP. The other guys applaud. Then Doc gets in Knox’s face. Knox tells Doc that it wasn’t about him. This was about the club. Doc tells him to keep walking. This was weak. It looks like Doc will be turning face though. Mickie James comes to ringside for the next match. Taryn Terrell vs. Gail Kim in a number one contender ladder match. Gail wins to become the number 1 contender for the Knockouts Title. This was great! Backstage Sting & Angle say that they picked the right guys to be in the new MEM. Angle says Joe & Magnus are doing great in the BFG Series. He says that Magnus is in the lead & Joe is second. Then Angle asks about the 5th guy. Sting is expecting to hear from him. Then Sting gets a call & it’s member number 5. Thankfully this was short. Break time. Back from break & we go back to Angle & Sting. Sting tells Angle number 5 will be there in a few minutes. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Magnus vs. Ken Anderson vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Bobby Roode in a BFG Series Gauntlet match. Magnus wins to get 25 more points. This was good. The Magnus vs. Roode part of the match at the end was the best part. There was a lot of good back & forth action there. Entrance Sequence: 1. AJ Styles 2. Magnus 3. Frankie Kazarian 4. Samoa Joe 5. Ken Anderson 6. Bobby Roode. Elimination Sequence: 1. AJ eliminates Kazarian before # 5 comes out 2. Anderson eliminates AJ 3 & 4. Joe eliminates Anderson & himself 5. Magnus pins Roode. Hulk Hogan comes to the ring. He says there’re some Hulkamaniacs in Las Vegas brother. Live next week from Louisville we’ll have Destination X. The guy that has a chance to go on to greatness & become the next world champion if he wants to is his guest, Chris Sabin. Hulk’s been around some great ones but Sabin is the greatest. Sabin says there was a time not to long ago after tearing both ACLs he thought he would never be in the ring again. This is a dream he’s had ever since he was a kid. That dream is why he’s here right now. To become world champion. The only thing left to do is give up the X Title & hand it over to Hulk. Out come Aces & 8s. Ray gets in the ring & tells Hulk to tell Brooke they have unfinished business. Then he says that Sabin must be living in a fantasy land. Ray tells Sabin not to hand the X Title over. Then he tells Hulk not to reassure Sabin because every time Hogan reassures anybody they run into trouble with Ray. Including Brooke. Ray’s a bad person & he does bad things. There’s no way a little guy like Sabin could ever beat a man like him. Sabin tells Ray to shut up. Sabin says Ray has forgotten that Sabin pinned him in Team 3D’s retirement match. He’s also the only to kick out of the 3D finish. Sabin’s been the underdog his whole life. 9 times out of 10 a guy like Ray would beat a guy like Sabin. All Sabin needs is 1 chance & he knows that he can & will beat Ray. Next week Sabin will ask Ray if he knows who he is. He is Chris Sabin the TNA World Champion. Ray tells Sabin not to hand over the X Title but Sabin does. Ray tells Sabin he just signed his death warrant. Ray’s taken everybody down in this company. Sabin isn’t just fighting Ray next week, Sabin is fighting his whole family. Out come MEM. Sting says Sabin vs. Ray will be 1 on 1. No Aces & 8s because MEM will make sure they don’t get involved. Then Sting introduces the newest MEM guy Rampage Jackson. MEM raise each other’s arms on the stage to end the show. This was a good closing segment. I’m not into Rampage Jackson being in the MEM but I thought that both Ray & Sabin were awesome on the mic. I thought this was a good show for the most part. Ray’s backstage promo at the start was well done & I liked the MEM-Aces & 8s segment too. I was ok with the Jokers Wild format for the BFG Series. AJ & Joe vs. Jeff & Park was solid, Magnus & Anderson vs. Jay Bradley & Hernandez was decent and Kazarian & Roode vs. Daniels & Aries was solid too. The gauntlet match was also good & it picked up with Magnus vs. Roode at the end. They’re really pushing Magnus. The ladder match was great too. Both Taryn & Gail are really amazing in the ring. They both gave it their all. I am curious if Gail will be turning face since Mickie just turned heel & having 2 heels face each other would be a bit odd. The Hulk-Brooke backstage segment was the only part of the show I could’ve done without, but thankfully that was short. I wasn’t into the backstage segments with Aces & 8s either. Who cares about their VP slot? It looks like Doc will be turning face though. The Daniels-Kazarian-Aries-Roode backstage segment was solid. Those 4 are always entertaining to watch. I liked the closing segment too. Both Sabin & Ray were great on the mic & they did a great job building to their world title match next week. I’m not into Rampage being part of the MEM but other than that I thought this was great closing segment. Overall I thought this was a good show this week.

7-8-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 8, 2013 episode of Raw

 The show starts with a Wyatt family vignette. They’re coming. TONIGHT!

Vickie Guerrero, Brad Maddox & a ladder are in the ring. Vickie welcomes the fans to Raw. She has been working on this Sunday’s PPV. Great names have been associated in WWE with the ladder. Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon & HHH. This ladder is special to Vickie because it represents how she has climbed year after year. If she falls she will hold the fans responsible. Vickie climbs the ladder. There’s no book showing how a female can dominate a company. No one ever held her hand & told her how run Raw. She’s done everything on her own to bring the best matches & entertainment. She & the fans haven’t seen eye to eye but every decision she made was for the fans. Then Lawler gets the mic & says excuse me. King says he heard that the McMahon family will be considering any & all factors & that includes the opinions of the fans. Starting right now there’s a poll on the app where the fans can rate how Vickie is as supervisor. Vickie has considered the fans like her family. Just like any other family there’re good & bad days but at the end of the day everyone has each other’s backs. Tonight Cena will stand face to face with Mark Henry. Also tonight there will be matches featuring the participants in the “All Star” MITB match. Kane vs. Christian, Orton vs. Punk & Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan. Sheamus-Daniel is right now. Out comes Daniel Bryan. This was a typical opening promo. Vickie was ok here but I’m tired of there always being a heel GM/Supervisor or whatever title they feel like calling it & then they eventually wind up getting an evaluation. That bit is beyond stale! I’m also tired of the constant plugging of the APP!

They show RVD winning the MITB match at WrestleMania 22 on 4-2-06.

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan. Daniel gets the pin. This was a really good match! Then Sheamus & Daniel have a stare down, look at the briefcase & then they shake hands.

They show somewhere in the wilderness as a camera guy goes up to some people. They tell him the Wyatt house is a few miles away & will know.

Backstage AJ is all frantic & tells Big E that she barely escaped Kaitlyn on Smackdown. She tells him to listen for Kaitlyn Big E finds this amusing. He says that she’s beaten Kaitlyn before. Then Dolph shows up. She hugs him. They tell Big E to give them a moment. Dolph mentions that AJ hasn’t been at ringside for his matches but he still won. They’re not the power couple of champions. AJ has been focusing on Kaitlyn. AJ says that at MITB they will both be champions. She asks Dolph if he wants to go all the way. Dolph wants to go all the way to his 3^rd world title. This was a decent backstage segment but I would think that Dolph & AJ will split up since she’s a heel & he is a face.

Time for a Mark Henry video package.

The Shield shows up in the crowed. Rollins & Reigns are in action next.

The show clips of RVD vs. Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match for the IC Title on 5-27-02

Tons of Funk vs. WWE Tag Team Champions Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins. Reigns & Rollins win when Reigns pins Brodus. This was a solid match but I’m not sure why they had this be a competitive match since Reigns & Rollins will be defending the titles this Sunday & Tons of Funk are pretty much jobbers.

Back to the camera guy in the middle of nowhere looking for the Wyatt family. He finds the house & sees the guy with goat mask (Erik Rowan). Then Luke Harper tells the camera guy to follow him.

John Cena comes to the ring. He says we got riled up crowed tonight. If he didn’t know better he’d think MITB was tonight. Earlier today Henry told him to get out there because he had to talk with him. Cena’s there but we’re missing the World’s strongest man. Out comes Mark Henry. Henry says Cena has the same look on his face as last week. The look of fear. Cena’s not afraid. Henry says Cena should be. For 17 years Henry has starved & there’s only 1 thing that can satisfy his hunger. Henry then says that Cena thinks he knows who the World’s strongest man is but he doesn’t. Mark’s a new man. He’s known Cena for over 10 year. He knew who Cena was before Cena knew who he was himself. Cena’s a puppet just like the fans. That title will validate Henry’s career. If he takes the title off Cena he will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Cena says that Henry better win Sunday. Cena has won & lost the title but has done so with respect. He sees Mark & he sees a desperate man. If he doesn’t walk out of MITB WWE Champion he will lose everyone’s respect & 17 years will be gone. Henry doesn’t care what anybody thinks. Henry says there’re lines that Cena won’t cross because of his goodness. Cena asks how Henry can not care about the title. Henry says that if Cena cuts him off again MITB will start tonight. Cena says he will cross a line. He slaps Henry & tells him to cross the line. Henry won’t cross the line for free. He isn’t losing money. Cena will get him on Sunday. Then Cena & Henry make like they’re gonna go at it but Henry grins & backs off. Then he shoulder tackles Cena. Then Cena lifts Henry up but Henry’s to big & Cena falls down. Then Henry gives him the World’s strongest slam. Then Henry holds up the belt. This was a good “face off.” Mark Henry was great on the mic as usual. Cena was decent here too. Henry laying out Cena & standing tall was good also. I’m really hoping that Henry get the title.

Backstage we see Randy Orton. Then Josh Mathews comes. He mentions that Orton will face Punk tonight. Orton says Punk’s always called himself the best in the world. Orton’s never believed that. Orton then says that if Cena retains the title & is in a vulnerable position he will not hesitate to cash in MITB & win the title.

The Miz is on commentary.

Chris Jericho comes to the ring. Then out come Paul Heyman & Curtis Axel. Heyman says for those who missed Smackdown he isn’t here to market himself as a martyr once again for CM Punk. He is here tonight to bask in the glory of perfection. Perfection in the form of the IC Champion Curtis Axel. Axel says Jericho calls himself the best in the world at what he does & wears a jacket with Christmas lights. All Axel needs is the IC Title to let the fans know that Curtis Axel has arrived. He spent a life time to get to where he is & he won’t let Miz or Jericho stand in the way of Perfection.

Chris Jericho vs. Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. Jericho gets the pin. During the match Jericho knocks Miz off the apron & Axel hits the announce table. Then Miz takes his headset off & then takes off his jacket & tie. Axel goes after Miz but Heyman gets in between them & tells Axel to get back in the ring. Then Axel does & Jericho gives him a code breaker for the pin. WINNER – CHRIS JERICHO. This was a solid match but I’m not sure why they had Axel lose relatively cleanly.

They show a clip of the RVD vs. Christian IC Title ladder match from 9-28-03. That was really good match.

Backstage Josh Mathews interviews Rhodes Scholars. He asks if their friendship will be affected by the MITB match. Sandow says that if he doesn’t win then he’d be more than happy if Cody does & Cody would feel the same way. Before Cody can speak Sandow says that he just said how Cody feels. Then in come Zeb, Cesaro & Swagger. Zeb says that our money will be worthless if things continue & Cody knows that. Then in comes Wade Barrett. He says he will win MITB. Zeb asks what language Wade is speaking because he couldn’t understand what he says. Then in comes Fandango. He starts to say his name a few times & Zeb tells him not to. Fandango begins to say his name & then Barrett punches him to the floor. I thought this was a bit overbooked. Having 6 of the 7 guys in a 2-3 minute backstage bit felt really felt like too much.   

Back to the Wyatt family. Harper & the camera guy go in the house. We see someone chanting obey. Harper told the camera guy not to stray. Then we see Bray. He tells the cameraman that he’s been waiting for him.

Sin Cara vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Dolph’s music hits & he comes out. This distracts Del Rio & Sin Cara rolls Del Rio up for a near fall. Dolph feels kinda bad about what he did to Ricardo so he will introduce Del Rio the way he’s used to. Then Dolph says Del Rio flaunts his wealth. The match is still going on. Dolph says that Del Rio is a coward who tried to end his career & will have no chance at MITB. Then Del Rio goes after Dolph. They go at it & Del Rio gets the upper hand. Then Sin Cara dives onto Del Rio. Then Dolph heads up the ramp as his music plays. The match is apparently done. This was terrible! Having Dolph talk during a match was idiotic! Also having the match just end because he showed up & taunted Del Rio & then he & Del Rio go at it was just as dumb! RESULT – NO FINISH.

Vickie & Brad are in the ring. Time for their evaluation. Vince’s music hits. He, HHH & Stephanie come out. This is gonna be really painful!! Stephanie says before they begin she wants to thank the fans for voting on the app. That will be factored into the evaluation. Vickie thanks the McMahon family. She has always loved the McMahon family & she has a special love for the fans. She wants to humbly state that she took pride in producing high quality entertainment. She mentions that replaced AJ Lee. There have been great super stars that she brought back to WWE like RVD & The Rock. She says she even inspired Taker’s return at Mania. Stephanie says that Vickie hasn’t mentioned that Vickie signed the guy who took out Vince & HHH. Brock Lesnar. Stephanie asks Vickie if she thinks bringing back Lesnar was a good idea. Vickie had no idea Lesnar would attack HHH & Vince. Vickie apologizes for that. Then Vince says that Vickie has no reason to apologize. Bring Lesnar back was genius. He believes that Vickie is highly entertaining. She has made bone headed decisions but who hasn’t? Then HHH says that Vickie can occasionally & unintentionally be entertaining but she’s terrible at her job. A couple weeks ago Vickie was supposed to promote the new video game. No one could hear what she said because the fans were booing here & not in a good way. This happens every week & isn’t good for business. HHH tells Vince to put aside what he thinks is entertaining. The fans want & deserve better than Vickie. HHH then says that Vickie does have the most annoying voice in TV history. Vince says that Vickie has a unique voice & qualifications that no one else does. Vickie has broken through the glass ceiling. Vince believes that Vickie should be the Raw GM. HHH says at the end of the day he’s the COO & Vince is the chairman & Vince will do whatever he wants anyway. HHH says that Vince will put a suck up in charge of Raw. HHH doesn’t wanna believe this. Since Stephanie called this meaning HHH says that she should decide Vickie’s fate. Vince has no problem with Stephanie making the right entertaining decision. HHH doesn’t have a problem with his wife & the woman of his children making what she knows would be the right decision for business. Stephanie says this has escalated more than she expected. Therefore the app vote will decide if Vickie becomes GM or not. The fans naturally voted fail. Stephanie says the fans have spoken. Vickie says you can’t trust the fans to make decisions. Vickie’s not a spineless puppet. She’s not gonna have a popularity contest with Booker & Long. Stephanie has 2 words for Vince. In the immortal words of her father, “You’re fired.” Then Vickie drops to her knees & then has a breakdown. Then Vickie yells at the McMahon family. HHH & Stephanie leave. Vince asks if the fans are happy. They’ve broken Vickie’s heart. Vickie didn’t fail, the fans did. They through away the most entertaining GM ever. They have no idea what the right decision would be. He will make it for them. We need a new Raw GM & the fans deserve this. Vince says the new Raw GM is Brad Maddox. Vince comforts Vickie as they walk up the ramp & Brad follows. This was just as painful & idiotic as a predicted it would be! Just terrible! I’m WAY BEYOND TIRED of this McMahon family saga!! That is all I have to say about this!!

They show clips of RVD & Kane in a TLC match from 10-7-02   

Backstage Vickie cries & says she loves her job. Vince will make it right. Brad comes in. He’s sorry for what happened. He thanks Vince for making him the GM. This is a decision Vince won’t regret. Vickie will be missed but Brad will pick up where Vickie left off. Vince says he gave the fans what they deserve. Brad rambles & then Vickie flips & goes after Brad, screaming hysterically! Vince leaves & Vickie continues her crying. I might be doing some crying myself after seeing this dreck! Vickie has been GM before so why have her act like she’s lost the greatest job ever? This whole GM bit is way past out dated!

Kane vs. Christian. Kane gets the pin. This was a solid but kinda short match.

Then a Wyatt video shows up on the Tron. Bray says he has brothers & sisters in the name of cause. People need to be lead. Bray tells everyone to wake up. The world is falling apart & no one does anything about it. He’s seen what’s gonna happen in his dreams. They’re here.   

Then the lights go out, their music hits & they make their debut. Then when the lights come back on Harper & Rowan double team Kane. Kane fights back but they get the upper hand. Bray watches as he sits in his rocking chair. They throw him into the steel steps. Then Rowan takes the top steel step & he & Harper hit Kane in the head with it. Then Bray goes to where they are & gets on his knees. This was pretty good.         

Backstage Vickie has a box filled with her office belongings. Then she comes across Ryback. He takes the box & hugs Vickie. Then he says she deserves better & that everything will be ok. Ryback hands her back the box as Vickie has tears coming down her eyes.

The Bella Twins are on commentary.

Kaitlyn & Layla vs. Alicia Fox & Divas Champion AJ Lee. Kaitlyn goes after AJ. They go at it on the outside & then Kaitlyn spears AJ. This match also ended out of no where. They ended the match because Kaitlyn went after AJ, Layla & Alicia just stood in the ring looking idiotic & The Bellas were terrible on commentary too.  

Backstage Josh asks Punk about the MITB ladder match & his match with Orton tonight. Punk says he heard Orton’s comments. He says that Orton doesn’t lack confidence & is entitled to his opinion. Then Punk says that facts can’t be made up. Is Punk best in the world because he was WWE champion for 434 days or the other way around. Beating Orton will make him the best in the world. When he grabs the briefcase & becomes world champion for a third time that will make him the best in the world too. This was a good Punk promo.

They show clips of RVD vs. Cena from One Night Stand 2 on 6-11-06.

Randy Orton vs. CM Punk. Punk gets the pin. This was a good match.

Then Daniel Bryan comes in & goes after Punk. He rams Punk shoulder first into the turnbuckle & Punk goes to the floor & then Daniel gets a ladder out from under the ring. He brings it in & hits Orton with it. Then Daniel sets up the ladder, climbs it & grabs the briefcase. Daniel does his yes chant on top of the ladder while holding the briefcase. This ends the show. This was a good ending.

I thought this was a very mixed bag show for the most part. They did a solid job in the final hype for Money in the Bank but there was stuff on this show that was also really painful to watch. The opening segment with Vickie & Brad was ok for what it was, the evaluation segment was beyond painful, the whole bit with the McMahon family saga is terrible & the whole GM concept is out dated! The Sheamus-Daniel & Orton-Punk matches were both really good & I liked Daniel coming out at the end & standing on the ladder with the briefcase. I think they should have him win it Sunday. Orton & Punk both cut good backstage promos too. The Cena-Henry face off was solid. I liked Henry’s promo. The guy is good on the mic. Cena was decent here too & I liked that they had Mark Henry standing tall at the end of this segment. I hope to God that doesn’t mean Cena wins Sunday though. Kane-Christian was a solid match too. I liked the Wyatt family bits too, Bray’s promo on the Tron was good & then having Harper & Rowan take out Kane was well done. Tons of Funk vs. The Shield was solid too but I wasn’t sure why this was a competitive match. Sin Cara-Del Rio wasn’t much of a match. Having Dolph come out & talk & then just having the match end out of no where was lame. The same with the Divas tag match. I can’t believe they gave us 2 matches with both just ending out of the blue in the same night. I liked that they showed all the clips of ladder matches that RVD was in. The backstage segment with the guys in the world title MITB match felt like they crammed too much into a 2-3 minute segment. Jericho-Axel was solid too but I wasn’t into the finish. The backstage bit with AJ, Big E & Dolph was decent but I would think that they’re going to split up Dolph & AJ since she is the heel & he is the face now. Overall I thought this was mixed bag of show. They didn’t need to have the Vickie evaluation on the go home show of a PPV. The build to Money in the Bank was solid but it could’ve been better.  

7-5-13 Smackdown results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 5, 2013 episode of Smackdown

The show starts with CM Punk coming to the ring. The fans chant his name. Then Punk says that if he were Cena he would come out here & give a very heartfelt speech about the 4^th of July & what it means to him & how America was founded on hustle, loyalty & respect. Fortunately for the fans he’s not Cena. His name is CM Punk. He tends to have a drastically different point of view on a lot of things then Cena. What the 4^th of July means to Punk is very simple. Independence. It’s about a time when a group of like minded individuals who were smart & brave guys got together & decided they were no longer to conform to somebody else’s rules. They decided that they would make up their own rules & blaze their own trail & they were willing to die to see that happen. That is a concept that Punk can get behind because independence is very important to him. Punk is fiercely independent almost to a fault. If someone tells him that he has to follow a set of rules his first instinct to break every single 1 of those rules. If someone tells him that he has to do something, even if it’s a smart idea, every bone in his body wants to run in the opposite direction. When Punk that he would be the hottest thing after WrestleMania he walked away. When he was told that his greatest asset at ringside was Paul Heyman he told him to stay in the back. And recently when he heard people whisper that regardless of how good Punk is or what his track record at MITB matches is, the chances of him winning the “All Star” MITB ladder match were against him he decided to tell all those people off & prove them wrong. Punk is a really simple guy with simple needs & he has 2 simple goals right now. The first is to get his hands on Brock Lesnar. He will get his hands on Lesnar & hold him accountable for the F5 that he gave Punk 2 weeks ago on Raw. His second goal (then he looks at the briefcase hanging above the ring) is to win the MITB “All Star” ladder match & become the WWE Champion again. These are his 2 basic goals & he doesn’t have a problem coming out here & telling the fans about them in a public form. Then Del Rio’s music plays. Punk says he wasn’t done. Then out comes Del Rio. He tells Punk that he was expecting more from him. Punk says he was expecting a cool car but it’s just Del Rio in a cheep suit. He asks Del Rio what he wants. Del Rio says that it’s not about what he wants, it’s what he is. Del Rio is the World Champion & this is his show (The brand extension is no more dude). Punk says that title or no title this has never been Del Rio’s show. They even air on some Spanish station & it’s not even Del Rio’s show. He again asks Del Rio what he wants. Del Rio says that Punk is always making jokes. Del Rio asks Punk if he knows how “Punk’s” people celebrate the holiday. Del Rio says they celebrate it by sitting in their back yards, stuffing their faces with hot dogs, burgers & fries. Del Rio says they celebrate their freedom, but what they have done with that freedom is to sit & watch TV all day (Yeah that’s for me), play with the internet (I don’t know if I’d call it playing, but that’s for me too) & they get fatter & fatter everyday. Then they come to Smackdown & they cheer for a little pig named Dolph Ziggler. A pig that disrespected the Mexican culture (I thought that was Zeb Coulter) by ruining his Fiesta. Then the fans go & chant USA. Then the fans start to chant USA & Del Rio says here we go. Del Rio says that they chant USA because they’re nothing but a bunch of sheep. Punk asks if this is the same Del Rio that would come out a couple of weeks ago & champion how awesome America was. Punk then says that Del Rio himself would start the USA chants & talk about how America is this fantastic land of opportunity. Now he is criticizing the fans just because they saw through his born in Mexico, made in America garbage. The fans saw through Del Rio. The chant USA & they boo Del Rio, not because Del Rio is from Mexico. It’s because Del Rio tries to put on this façade & he tries to be this big phony American & the fans saw through him. They see Del Rio standing here right now & they see him for the phony that he is. Del Rio then says that the good old Punk is always barking, but Punk is just a little chiwawa & somebody needs to teach Punk some manners. Del Rio is not funny. He is the World…Heavy…Weight…Champion. Punk says that Del Rio is the World Champion but that just that Del Rio is the number 1 contender to Punk’s title, best in the world. Punk doesn’t chase Del Rio, Del Rio chases him. Del Rio is the guy who came out there & interrupted Punk. Del Rio tells Punk not to be stupid. This is not Punk’s world. It’s Del Rio’s. And this is his show & this is his ring & he orders Punk to leave this place right now. Punk says that sounds painfully like Del Rio is telling him to do something. Maybe it’s something smart but Punk’s gut feeling, every bone in his body right now is telling him to go ahead & stay in the ring till Del Rio makes him get out of it. Then out comes Teddy Long. Long says that we had fireworks for the 4^th of July but thanks to Del Rio & Punk there will be fireworks in tonight’s main event when Del Rio face Punk tonight. Del Rio & Punk both cut good promos here but this was the usual, “Start Smackdown off with a promo & then have Teddy Long come out & say the even number of guys in the ring will face each other at the end of the show” segment. This is way too predictable. This is also the same that Vickie booked the same match on Raw a few weeks ago. Nothing original happening here. WWE is just copying themselves again!

Backstage we see CM Punk & Paul Heyman comes in. Heyman knows that Punk has asked him to stay out of his business & Heyman has honored that request tonight. But Heyman wants to say something to Punk since he is his best friend. Punk says Heyman can what’s on his mind as a friend, not a client. Heyman says that this match with Del Rio makes no sense to him. Punk is 9 days away from the MITB ladder match. Punk has nothing to gain & everything to lose against Del Rio. Heyman wants to get Punk out of this match. Punk says that Heyman is right, but Punk will fight him anyway. Heyman respects that because that is what has made Punk the best in the world. Heyman has 1 more thing to say though. The other 6 guys in the MITB match will be looking at that briefcase. They know that if they can pull it down that they can pick their own spot & go after the WWE Title. You’re practically guaranteed to become the WWE Champion. Then Heyman tells Punk that he has to have eyes in the back of his head. Heyman’s not saying that Punk need him but he offers to be at ringside just 1 more time. 1 more night they walk down that aisle together & they walk away with the briefcase. Punk appreciates the concern as a friend. Then Punk tells Heyman to stay out of this. Heyman says ok & wishes Punk good luck in his match tonight.

The Usos are in the ring & then out come Rhodes Scholars. Sandow says the fans are about to witness a new era in the WWE. In a little over 1 week Team Rhodes Scholars will find themselves in an MITB ladder match for a World Title contract. For all of the fans that are wagging their oversized tongues in anticipation of the decimation of Team Rhodes Scholars you could not be more mistaken. Cody says they’re reminded of a simple adage, may the best man win. Sandow couldn’t agree more. They shake hands & Sandow says you’re welcome.

The Usos vs. Rhode Scholars. The Usos win when Sandow gets pinned after a double top rope splash. This was a decent but really short match.

Then The Shield shows up on the Tron. Rollins says that they Usos have finally managed to combine unlimited potential & talent with a string of luck. Last week The Usos & Christian got lucky & managed to slip 1 by on The Shield. Rollins then says that the Usos probably think that is a set back for The Shield because losing isn’t what they’re used to. The Usos think that probably mean that The Shield is not invisible but The Shield is more focused & they’re stronger than they have ever been. Then Rollins says that The Usos are the number 1 contenders to the tag titles but maybe they aren’t so lucky after all. Then Reigns asks if The Usos think they will the titles with luck. That won’t happen. The Usos better bring a lot more than luck at MITB otherwise The Shield will put them back in their place. Ambrose then says that he put Christian back in his place. He told Christian 1 out of 100 times Christian might catch 1 on him. Monday night was just the first of the next 99 times in a row that Ambrose will beat him. Then Ambrose says that this is what dominance looks like in 2013. Then he tells the fans to prepare to live in a world where Dean Ambrose is lurking in the shadows holding the MITB briefcase because he is going to win that ladder match on 7-14in Philadelphia whether anybody likes it or not. Ambrose is going to be Mr. MITB & the U.S. Champion & he is going to own the world. Believe that & believe in The Shield. This was a great Shield promo. Too bad the tag title match will be on the pre show.

Kaitlyn vs. Alicia Fox. Alicia gets the pin. During the match AJ’s music plays & she skips to ringside. The match continues as AJ’s music continues to play & she skips around the ring. This of course distracts Kaitlyn & then Alicia gives Kaitlyn a roundhouse kick. Kaitlyn makes a comeback. Then AJ gets on the apron & Kaitlyn drop kicks her off. Then Alicia rolls up Kaitlyn for the pin. Then Kaitlyn chases AJ up the ramp. This wasn’t much. I’m getting tired of the whole, “Having 1 of them is in a match & then the other one coming causing a distraction” bit. This is getting old. 

Backstage we AJ looking around all terrified & hoping Kaitlyn doesn’t find her. Then she runs into The Bellas. They wanna let AJ that it’s not here that they care about. They care about the Divas Title. AJ doesn’t have time for this. They tell AJ to watch her back because the title will be theirs soon. AJ walks off & then runs into Big E. She’s frantically telling him that they need to get out of there. She says that Kaitlyn is slow because of her giant man arms but she will catch up to AJ. Big E asks what about Dolph? She forgot that Ziggy has a match tonight. They won’t have enough time to wait for him. She will text Dolph on the ride out. Big E laughs as AJ has a slight breakdown. Then they head out of the building but Big E isn’t going fast enough for AJ. This was a mixed bag bit. The part with The Bellas was lousy but the part with Big E was a bit better.

Time for a look back at the finish to the Kane-Orton match with Daniel as the referee.

Backstage Renee Young interviews Christian & Randy Orton. Renee says that they already have a storied rivalry & that will only continue tonight when they face each other next. Christian says he has already beaten Orton in the past for the world title & tonight Christian puts everybody on notice when he beats Orton again. Then he mentions that he will go on to the MITB “All Stars” ladder match & that he will win a WWE Title contract. Orton says that Christian is about to find out first hand why Orton is the man that everybody should be worried about at MITB. Christian will find out tonight when Orton beats him in 1 more match. This was short & solid backstage interview.

Time for a Wyatt family vignette. They’re coming Monday.

Randy Orton vs. Christian. Orton gets the pin. This was a great back & forth match.

Backstage Teddy Long is in the GM office on his cell phone again (This is getting old too). Someone pounds on the door & in comes Paul Heyman. Heyman says that he heard Long was looking for him. Long wants Heyman to be on commentary for the Punk-Del Rio match. Heyman says no because Punk is his best friend in the world & Punk insist that Heyman doesn’t get involved in his matches anymore. Long isn’t asking him to get involved in the match. Then Long says that Heyman knows CM Punk better than anyone. Long feels that Heyman can provide some provocative insight as guest commentator for the match. Long then mentions that earlier tonight Punk said that if someone tells him something to do he does the opposite or runs the other way. Long then says that since he is in charge, Punk says that Heyman doesn’t go out there, Long says that Heyman does. Heyman looks confused, then he grins, pats Long on the shoulder & leaves. This was decent because Heyman is good but why would Long want to have Heyman at ringside during Punk’s match?

They reshow the RVD video package hyping his return.

Then they show a backstage bit on the App from Raw with Dolph & AJ. Dolph mentions that they can be a power couple when he regains the World Title.     

Dolph Ziggler comes to the ring. He says to say that these past few months have been a blur would be an understatement. But there is 1 memory that he will never forget. The night that he beat Del Rio & became world champion. Unfortunately after that things got a little fuzzy. He had just come back from a concussion & he had a giant target on his head. Del Rio took full advantage & it costs Dolph the world title. Dolph doesn’t remember too much after that & he’s not complaining. What he does remember is Del Rio coming out here with a big cheesy grin plastered on his face, his arms flailing around & all of a sudden Del Rio loved America & the fans. But Del Rio couldn’t do the impossible. He couldn’t convince the fans that he was somehow likable. The thing with Del Rio is that he is full of crap. Dolph may be a lot of things but he’s never claimed to be something that he’s not. Dolph might a chip on his shoulder, he might be cocky or arrogant. Every single night Dolph’s out there he delivers. He does things in this ring that no one else can. At MITB Dolph is taking back what is rightfully his, the world title. Show (pause) Off. Good promo from Dolph.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre. Dolph gets the pin. This was mostly a squash. Then Heath & Jinder get in the ring & go after Dolph but Dolph slides out of the ring & heads up the ramp grinning. Then 3MB dare him to come back in. Dolph does but then he slides out again. I’m not sure what the point of this was. He ran away from a trio of jobbers that gets flattened by everyone. Not only that he ran from them TWICE! Is WWE still trying to tell us that Dolph doesn’t matter or that he’s only getting a push because he got a legit concussion & they had no choice but to push him?

They show a great Mark Henry video package. They gotta put the belt on him!

Justin Gabriel vs. Fandango. Fandango gets the pin. This was a decent but short match & no surprise that Fandango won. Then Fandango gets the mic, says how his name is pronounced & then looks up at the MITB briefcase.

CM Punk vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. The match ends in a double count out. Del Rio throws Punk onto the announce table & Punk falls off. Then Del Rio takes the announce table apart. Then Heyman pleads with Del Rio to not injure Punk. Then Del Rio punches Heyman to the floor. Punk then dives off the announce table onto Del Rio & then Punk pounds away on him. Then Del Rio & Punk both got counted out. Then Punk throws Del Rio in the ring & gives him a GTS. Then Punk helps Heyman up. Heyman apologizes & says that Teddy Long wanted him out there. This ends the show. This was a good match & I was ok with the double count out finish. Having the world champion get flattened afterwards was a bit dumb but I thought they did a good job here with Punk coming to Heyman’s rescue.

I thought this was a decent show overall. The start of the show was your typical, “2 guys going back & forth on the mic & then Long makes the match for the main event” bit but I thought that Del Rio & Punk were good on the mic. The Punk-Del Rio match was good too & I was ok with the double count out finish. I also liked that Punk came to Heyman’s rescue after Del Rio punched him but having the world champion get flattened was odd. Dolph cut a really good promo & his match with Drew was mostly a squash. I don’t get why they had him run from 3MB though. Gabriel-Fandango was decent but short, the Long-Heyman backstage bit was ok only because Heyman was in it & Orton-Christian was great. Kaitlyn-Alicia wasn’t much & I’m tired of 1 of these 2 being in a match & then the other coming out & causing the other to get distracted. That bit is too predictable. I wasn’t into the backstage segment where The Bellas told AJ they want the Divas title followed by AJ telling Big E they needed to split segment. The Usos vs. Sandow & Cody match was decent but a bit short & I liked The Shield promo on the Tron. I have no idea why the tag title match will be on the PPV pre show. So for the most part I found this week’s show to be decent.

7-4-13 Impact results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 4, 2013 episode of Impact

The show starts with Austin Aries coming to the ring. He says some people love him, others love to boo him. But now everyone has to respect him. He came out last week & did was he does, outsmart people & creates controversy. Last year he was the guy who came up with cashing in the X Title for a shot at the World Title. Last year he cashed in & won the World Title. After his clever plan last week, you bet he’s gonna cash the X Title in for a World Title shot on 7-18. He will become champion again. He tells Hulk to come out because he wants to make this official & hand the title over right now. Out comes Hogan. Aries says he’s ready to hand the belt over. Hulk says Aries is now X Division Champion & what a champion he is. Aries is the guy who created option C, but Hulk gets to decide where & when Option C happens. In tonight’s main event Aries will defend the X Title in a 3 way. First Hulk brings out TJ Perkins (Now known as Manic, but in the Suicide costume). The third guy in the match is the guy who never got pinned. SabinMania. Out comes Sabin. Hulk says in tonight’s main event Sabin has a chance to right the wrong & Manic gets his shot at revenge on A double. Sabin says that he never thought he would be in the ring again but he’s back. He earned the X Title while Aries cheated to get it. There’s nothing stopping Sabin from regaining the X Title tonight. This was a good opening segment. I’m not sure why they have TJ Perkins in the same costume though. They could just have him be TJ Perkins without the costume.

Backstage Daniels peaks his head out of the dressing room door. Daniels asks what camera guy wants. Camera guy wants to ask Kaz about his match with AJ tonight. Kaz says he doesn’t which version of AJ shows up, he will beat him tonight. Daniels tells the cameraman to beat it. Good backstage bit.

Out come Daniels & Kazarian. Kazarian says this is through back Thursday & they’re dressed as Siegfried & Roy. He says to watch as Daniels makes women’s undergarments disappear & as Kazarian gets gold around his waist.

AJ Styles vs. Frankie Kazarian in a BFG Series match. AJ wins by submission for 10 more points. This was kind of short but it was good. AJ is now in 3^rd place in the BFG Series.

Mickie James is backstage. She tells some guy to get a ladder set up in the ring.

Backstage Chavo tells Hernandez the BFG Series is a marathon. Chavo says this is Hernandez’ tournament.

Mickie James is in the ring & so is a ladder. She says to get to the top of the Knockouts division you have to crawl, scratch & even climb your way to the top. She’s the one that’s the country music artist & a spokesperson for commercials nationwide. She is also the Knockouts Champion. Even though she beat Velvet with her eyes closed last week all she keeps hearing about is next week’ number 1 contender ladder match. She wants Taryn & Gail to tare the house down & break a leg as well as everything else too. At the end of the day it won’t matter because they won’t be as great as Mickie. Whoever wins she will tear apart & Mickie will stand atop the Knockouts Division as the greatest Knockouts Champion of all time. This was a good heel promo from Mickie.

Time for a look at Bruce, Al & Danny Davis deciding who to pick for the gut check judging. They have their usual back & forth bit over who gets the nod.

Then we see the 2 contestants backstage with the judges. Bruce says he hopes they’re proud of their performance last week. Ryan will face the judges & he tells Big to get out of their O zone. Big mistake picking Ryan Howe! 

Outside we see Sting, Angle & Joe. Angle says the numbers keep growing but tonight the 4^th MEM guy will be revealed.

Hernandez vs. Jay Bradley in a BFG Series match. Hernandez gets the pin for 7 points. Chavo tripped Jay. That distracted Jay & then Hernandez gave him a shoulder block for the pin. This was ok.

Backstage we see Aces & 8s. Bully Ray says Aries always find a way into the title picture. Brooke’s real life engagement is mentioned. Ray says that’s his own business, this is about club business. Ray says that he thought the MEM was behind the Suicide bit. Then Wes mentions Brooke got engaged. Ray again says that’s his personal business. He talks about tonight’s X Division 3 way with the winner facing him for the title. Doc asks who Ray would prefer to face. Anderson says it doesn’t matter because Ray can beat any of them. Then Ray says what if no one wins? This was a typical Aces & 8s segment. I’m also not surprised that Brooke Hogan’s real life engagement was brought up.

TNA World Tag Team Champions Gunner & James Storm vs. Robbie E & Jessie Godderz. Gunner & Storm win when Gunner pins Robbie. This was decent.

Backstage Jeff Hardy says from watching Joseph Park’s matches Park seems to be getting better. He’s got some of Abyss in him & Jeff has a long history with Abyss. But tonight Jeff is gonna get in there & earn his points.

Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe & Sting come to the ring. Angle says the MEM is back. They’re back to destroy Aces & 8s and to make sure Ray loses the world title. Sting says the previous MEM was all former world champions & that doesn’t always give you the greatest unity. This time they decided to take a no nonsense approach & that was why they picked this guy. Sting brings out Samoa Joe. Wait a minute Joe’s a former world champion. What was this intro for? Joe says once again the Mafia runs this town tonight. For the past year Joe’s been a man of his own devices but he’s noticed there’s strength in numbers. Mainly Aces & 8s. Joe says he can’t beat up that many cowards by himself. In this year’s BFG Series with Angle & Sting at his back he will run through everybody till he earns his world title match against Ray & chokes him out for the world title. Angle picked Joe to be the 3^rd MEM guy. He talks about how they respect each other after the matches they had. Angle then says that Joe came up with who the 4^th MEM guy should be. Angle says the 4^th MEM guy is the here & now. Angle introduces Magnus. Magnus says when he was asked to be part of this group he thought about it for a split second. When opportunity knocks, you answer the door. He mentions that he is in the lead in the BFG Series. Then he puts over Sting, Angle & Joe. Magnus says in 2012 he was put on the map by his association & rivalry with Samoa Joe. Magnus thanks Joe for that. This isn’t just about Magnus & MEM. This is about Aces & 8s, which is why Magnus signed up & to help end Aces & 8s for good. Sting then challenges Aces & 8s to a fight. Then he says that tonight Ray has asked what if there is no winner in tonight’s main event. MEM will be at ringside to prevent Aces & 8s from getting involved & there will be a winner. This was a decent segment. Magnus’ promo was good.

Jeff Hardy vs. Joseph Park in a BFG Series match. Jeff wins by DQ for 2 more points. Park bled from the mouth. Then he flipped & gave the referee a black hole slam. Jeff checks on the referee & then Brian Hebner comes in & calls for the bell. Since Park lost by DQ he loses 10 points in the BFG Series. This was a solid match.

JB & the gut check judges are in the ring. After introducing the judges, JB brings out Ryan Howe. JB congratulates Ryan. Did we see his best effort last week. Ryan says absolutely. JB says Al will vote first. Al’s watched Ryan develop & improve over time. Ryan has a great musical talent. He doesn’t know why Ryan wants o wrestle. Then Al says his answer is no. Then JB tells Ryan that since he got a no he has to cut a promo. Ryan says it takes a lot of guys a lot of years to get to this level. He knows he’s doing something right. He showed heart in his match last week. Danny votes next. His mind was made up but the fans have changed it. He thinks Ryan has potential, it will take time. Davis says yes. Time for Bruce to break the tie. Bruce says Ryan got a reaction from the fans. He’s not doubting the heart & desire Ryan has to be in  the ring. If this was some other contest he might go to the next round. This is gut check & Bruce’s answer is no. JB wishes Ryan the best of luck. This was weak. The fans booed Ryan & I wasn’t a fan of his myself. I still don’t get why they have the guy cut a promo after only 1 no vote. Originally the guy had to cut a promo if there was a yes & a no after 2 votes.

Back to Aces & 8s. Ray says it’s main event time. Doc says he heard about the MEM challenge for 7-18. He’s willing to step up. Anderson says there’ll be a vote to see who the next VP will be. Ray says if they focused on taking out MEM as much they have bickering on who becomes new VP, maybe there would be a new VP already. Ray says they’re gonna go to the ring & watch no one win the 3 way. This was what it was. I am getting tired of this Aces & 8s stable.

They show a video package hyping next week’s Taryn-Gail ladder match. This was good. 

Out come Aces & 8s.

Chris Sabin vs. Manic vs. X Division Champion Austin Aries for the Title. Sabin wins to regain the title when he pins Aries. During the match Knox tripped Manic. Then Manic went for a dive but Doc caught him & gave him a power bomb on the floor. Then out come Joe, Magnus, Angle & Sting. Then they went to break. They came back from the break & medics carried Manic to the back. So the match became Sabin vs. Aries. This match was entertaining & the Sabin vs. Aries singles part of the match was awesome. WINNER & X DIVISION CHAMPION – CHRIS SABIN. Then Sabin gets the mic & tells Ray that he might be looking at the new world champion. Ray tells Sabin that he can’t beat him as Sabin holds up the X Title to end the show. The match was great & I liked the post match Sabin-Ray face off.

This week’s show felt kind of lackluster to me for the most part. The opening segment was good & I enjoyed the X Title match. The 3 way part of the match was enjoyable & the Sabin vs. Aries part of the match was great. I liked the Sabin-Ray face off too. I was ok with Magnus being the new MEM guy. I thought he cut a good promo in that segment. AJ-Kazarian was short but good, Jeff-Joseph was solid but the whole bit with Park turning into Abyss after bleeding, going nuts & then not remembering what happened when he goes back to “normal” is getting really old. The tag match was decent & Hernandez-Bradley was ok. The backstage Aces & 8s segments were typical Aces & 8s bits. I’m tired of this stable. I’m also not a fan of MEM vs. Aces & 8s. The gut check segment was weak. I’m tired of these gut check bits. I find the whole bit with the judges going back & forth with each other to be a bit idiotic & then the judges cutting the usual, “You’re good but” bit too be predictable. Mickie cut a good heel promo. She’s been really good at being the full of herself kind of heel. Overall though I thought this week’s show was hit & miss.

7-1-13 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 1, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with Vickie Guerrero saying that tonight they will honor the pinnacle of sports entertainment, both the WWE Title & the World Title. Both titles have so much prestige. She thanks the McMahon family for letting her have WWE Champion John Cena vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Having these champion vs. champion matches all the time

Daniel Bryan comes to the ring. There’s a ladder in the ring. Daniel says last week the question on everyone’s mind was finally answered. Is Daniel Bryan the weak link? The fans chant no. After making Orton tap out the answer is no. But can he ride this wave momentum into the MITB match & win the contract? If only there was some sort of 3 letter word to give a definitive answer. Then he shouts yes. Daniel wants to be WWE Champion. He wants to follow in the foot steps of Bruno, Hogan, Austin, & Rock. 2 years ago he won MITB & successfully cashed in to win the world title & it’s been far too long. Just because this MITB is filled with all stars doesn’t mean history won’t repeat itself. Daniel will be WWE Champion. Out comes Sheamus. He was about to mention how the MITB Daniel story ends. Daniel says no one wants to hear it.. Sheamus mentions winning the title in 18 seconds anyway. It’s been far too long since Sheamus has had a world title around his waist & he won’t let Daniel stand in his way. Daniel asks if he dials 1-800-Fella will Sheamus Brogue Kick himself? Sheamus says he thought that trolls were grumpy & didn’t have a sense of humor. Out comes Orton. He says it’s been close to 2 years since he’s been champion. Orton’s starving & a starving man takes what he needs. He needs the WWE Title. After he wins MITB he won’t hesitate to cash in on the first unsuspecting champion he sees. Daniel says that everyone knows what Orton is capable of, but Daniel also knows that last week he made Orton tap out. Orton’s letting that slide, but if Daniel disrespects him again he will drop him where he stands. Orton is desperate & that means at MITB no one is safe. Out comes Kane. He agrees that no one is safe, especially Orton. No one in WWE history has been more ruthless than Kane. Especially when it involves the WWE Title. He has no problem committing unspeakable acts against his opponents. Even his so called friends. Daniel says that it isn’t his fault that Kane couldn’t beat Orton. Kane says he can’t wait for MITB because it’s every man for himself. No friends or partners, only victims. Then Kane & Daniel argue over which 1 of them will win MITB. Then Christian comes out. When it comes to the ladder match there’s 1 guy that’s had more success than anybody & that’s him. He’s been gone for awhile & has been looking for 1 more match & it will be for the WWE Title. He might not be the biggest or strongest guy in this match or the scariest, or even the hairiest. But he is without a doubt the best. Then Punk comes out. He made a promise to himself that wasn’t gonna come out & do what they’re all doing but then he heard the word “best.” Punk respects what Christian has done. Punk then says that he has won MITB twice & will soon be the guy to say he’s won it 3 times. The fact is no one can touch Punk in this ring. He’d like to think RVD is watching. He mentions that RVD is fearless & will whatever it takes to climb the ladder & grab the case. Sheamus is 1 of the toughest guys Punk has ever faced. Than Daniel cuts Punk off & says he will make Punk tap out faster than he made Orton tap last week. Than Kane & Orton go face to face. Daniel says he doesn’t need anyone to fight for him. Then Orton gives Kane an RKO. Then the other guys all stare at each other waiting to see who will strike next. Then everyone except for Kane & Daniel leaves the ring. This was the predictable, “Everyone in a multi man match comes out & speaks” segment but I thought they all cut good promos.

Then they show video packages on Buddy Rodgers & Lou Thez.

Time for a Wyatt family vignette. They’re coming but they’ve been here all along.

The Shield comes out through the crowed for a 6 man tag. They’ll be facing Christian & The Usos in a rematch from Smackdown. Christian was just in the ring. Why’d they have him go backstage & then have him come back out right away? They could have had him stay in the ring.

Christian & The Usos vs. The Shield. The Shield wins when Ambrose pins Christian. This was a good match. It made sense to have The Shield win here since they lost they lost the first 1 on Smackdown.

Backstage we see Kane. Daniel’s sorry about what happened to Kane in the ring, but he talked to Vickie & he has something to make up for that. Daniel never expected Orton to give Kane an RKO so fast. Kane says Daniel cost him the match with Orton & tells Daniel to stay out of his way. Daniel then tells Kane that he got he got Kane a rematch with Orton tonight. Kane likes that. Then Daniel says that he will be the referee for that match. This was a decent backstage bit.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Jinder Mahal. Dolph gets the pin. This was a decent match but it was no surprise Dolph won. Then Heath & Drew get in the ring. They go after Dolph but Dolph slides out of the ring. Then they go after him on the outside & then Dolph lays them out. Then he poses on the announce table.

They show a video package on Bruno Sammartino & Harley Race.

They’re really making a big deal out of this non title champion vs. champion match. If this was a world title unification match I’d be fine with these video clips on the former champions, but neither belt is being defended!

Backstage Vickie & Brad are backstage. Vickie complains about all the McMahons telling her what to do. In comes HHH. He tells Vickie to continue berating his family. He thinks she’s doing a great job. She’s giving the fans what they want. The champion vs. champion match & the Kane-Orton match. Vickie says she’s stressed out because she’s been getting different advice from every McMahon. HHH tells her to listen to what they all have to say & then to do what he tells her to. This was the predictable, lame, “McMahon family member telling Vickie what to do” bit.

Time for a Mark Henry video package. This was great! I really hope to God they put the title on him!

 Kane vs. Randy Orton with guest referee Daniel Bryan. Kane wins by DQ when Orton shoves Daniel. Kane doesn’t want to win that way though. Daniel restarts the match.

Kane vs. Randy Orton with guest referee Daniel Bryan take 2. Kane gets the pin when Daniel makes a fast count. Kane complains to Daniel about that too. Then Kane & Daniel bicker again. Then Kane grabs Daniel’s throat but after a bit he lets go & walks up the ramp. Then Orton gives Daniel an RKO. This was a solid match & I knew there would be shenanigans here since Daniel was the referee.

Backstage we see Punk, Axel & Heyman. Punk says he will beat both Primetime Players by himself. Heyman doesn’t get the hostility. Punk trusts Heyman but not Axel. Heyman tells Punk to trust Heyman’s best judgment. Good backstage bit.

They show a video package on Bob Backlund & Dusty Rhodes.

Fandango’s music hits. Out comes Summer Ray. Then Fandango makes his return. He will be facing Sheamus.  

Sheamus vs. Fandango. Sheamus wins by count out when Fandango walks out. This was a decent match. I had a feeling there wasn’t gonna be a clean finish here, but having the heel just walk out & getting himself counted out is weak.

Chris Jericho is on commentary.

The Miz vs. Ryback. Miz wins when Ryback tells the referee to stop the match. Yes that’s what happened! Miz worked over Ryback’s “injured” leg & Ryback told the referee to end the match. Then Jericho gets in the ring & gives Ryback a code breaker. This was ok but the finish was stupid.

Time for a video package on Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair.

Mark Henry comes out on the stage. He says he is known as the strongest man in the world. He didn’t get that name out of a cracker jack box. He earned it. When he was in Texas breaking world records, he represented the US in the Olympics in 92 & 96. He has been the World’s strongest man since he came in to WWE 17 years ago. He’s earned the respect of every WWE guy he’s worked with, but in this business there’s a lot of jealousy, politicking, backstabbing & “accidental” injuries. All these years Henry has earned it but they never gave him a legit chance to be WWE Champion. All the nights that Henry traveled & spent away from his family, all those pretending he liked the boys, all the years of doing the right thing for business, it got him nowhere. He deserves to be WWE Champion. After all the years he has given to this organization & the fans he has earned the right to be WWE Champion. The fans hang on every word that he says & they’re just puppets. At MITB now that he finally has his chance no one will keep him down anymore. He will do the right thing for himself. After he beats Cena no one will be able to deny him. Everyone will say that Henry earned the WWE Title. He tells Cena that at MITB he will beat his ass. That’s what he do!

Back to Vickie & Brad. Brad wouldn’t wanna be Cena. In comes Vince. He’s enjoying the show. Then he asks Vickie what he told her about him last week. She says that he’s small & has issues. Vince says Vickie & Brad aren’t listening to him, but he likes the champion vs. champion match. Then he says HHH & Stephanie don’t get that money is being thrown away & that like his family, Vickie & Brad don’t understand business. This match should be on PPV. There’s a list of people who were literally thrown out of the building by him because they wouldn’t listen to him. This was terrible! I don’t get why Vince is admitting on his own program that the champion vs. champion match is being “wasted” on free TV.

CM Punk & Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel vs. The Primetime Players. Punk & Axel win when Axel pins Young. This was a solid match. Punk gave Young the GTS. Then Titus came in but Punk threw him over the top rope. Then Axel tagged himself in & covered Young. Punk’s not thrilled with this & leaves the ring.

Time for a video package on Steve Austin & Sting.

Kaitlyn vs. Alicia Fox. Kaitlyn gets the pin. This was a short match. Then AJ & Big E come out. AJ says on Smackdown Kaitlyn tried to assassinate her character. She says Kaitlyn’s trash. Then AJ mentions some unsavory modeling pictures she took before she came to WWE. They show a pic on the Tron of Kaitlyn looking fat. AJ wanted to remind Kaitlyn of where she came from. After she loses her rematch at MITB that’s where Kaitlyn will be again.

Back to Vickie & Brad again! In comes Stephanie. Stephanie says Vickie wasn’t watching her own show. If she had she would have taken care of AJ like Stephanie told her too. Then Stephanie complains about having to announce the guys in the MITB match herself. Vickie says she’s stressed out because she, HHH & Vince have been giving her different advice. Stephanie understands. Vickie says it’s hared working In a male dominating environment. Stephanie doesn’t appreciate Vickie mocking Vince or HHH. Next week on Raw there will be a job evaluation publicly in the ring. Vickie could either be Raw GM or she can lose her job. That’s what makes Raw so unpredictable. You never know what will happen next. This was just as terrible as the other 2 segments. I’m WAY PAST TIRED of this crap & I’m really dreading the “Public Evaluation” next week! Why do they always feel the need to have these!?

They show a Rob Van Dam video package. This was well put together. The fans in the arena began chanting RVD.

Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes come to the ring. Sandow says that in 2 weeks they will both be in the MITB ladder match for a world title contract. They will remain best friends despite this, much to the fans’ chagrin. Cody says no matter how grand the prize is, if they let this become a friend issue they would be lowering themselves to the fan’s level. Damien demands silence & then says you’re welcome.

Then out come Antonio Cesaro & Zeb Coulter. Zeb says while the fans were asleep parts of the country was taken & they didn’t even know it. The institution of marriage as we know it is under attack and so is freedom of speech. Zeb says it’s time somebody stood up & makes a stand. They’re not alone because Jack Swagger is back. Out comes Swagger. Zeb says they’ve come to draw first blood in this revolution. He tells everyone to pick their side wisely. You’re either with him or against him. We the people.

Cody Rhodes vs. Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro gets the pin. This was a decent but short match.

Time for a video package on Triple H & Booker T.

I can’t believe they left Macho Man, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, The Rock, Mankind, Vader, Ricky Steamboat & Terry Funk out of these former champions’ videos!

Backstage we see The Bella Twins. Then 2 random chicks show up. They talk about the upcoming Total Divas show. The Bellas say they’re the stars. Then Natalya, Naomi & Cameron come in. The Bellas are carrying all the weight & their not used to that, making reference to Natalya. Natalya says this self promotion from The Bellas is rude. They say everyone needs to be reminded who is in charge of the Divas. It’s not Kaitlyn, AJ & certainly not any of them. This was idiotic!

Time for another Wyatt family vignette. They’re coming next week! That should be good.

WWE Champion John Cena vs. World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Mark Henry came out during the match. The Dolph came out. He jumped to the top rope. That distracted Del Rio & Cena hit the AA for the clean pin. This was a good match but I was surprised they had a clean finish. To me having the WWE Champion cleanly pin the World Champion clearly show which title WWE feels is the superior belt. Then Mark grabs the WWE Title & gets in the ring. He dares Cena to come take it. Then he drops it on the mat & calls Cena weak. Henry smirks at Cena & walks up the ramp. Cena holds up the title in the ring. I’m not sure what happened to Del Rio & Ziggler. They just got pushed aside here. Yep the WWE Title means more than the World Title does.

Then Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler & JBL mention that the Wyatt family is coming next week.

They show a Wyatt family vignette to end the show. That was a pleasantly surprising way to end the show.  

I thought this week’s show was a step backwards from the last 2 weeks. The opening segment was the predictable, “All the guys in the multi man match come out & speak” bit but I thought they all cut good promos about wanting to be WWE Champion. Cena-Del Rio was a good match but having the World Champion cleanly lose a non title match to the WWE Champion shows that World Title is the modern day version of the Intercontinental Title. Henry taunting Cena afterwards was good too but Del Rio & Ziggler just disappeared here. They could’ve done something here with those guys too. I liked the Wyatt family vignettes & liked that they ended the show with 1. I’m hoping WWE gives these guys a good push. I’m beyond tired of Vince, HHH & Stephanie telling Vickie what to do & I’m really dreading the public evaluation next week. I’m guessing the McMahons will disagree on what to do with Vickie & Brad & the whole segment will be completely useless just like this whole angle has been! I wasn’t into Zeb Coulter’s promo either. I’m sick of his character. The Cesaro-Cody match was decent but short. The 6 man tag was good, Punk & Axel vs. The Primetime Players was solid too & they did a good job continuing the tension between Punk & Heyman. I liked that they showed video clips on former champions but it would have made more sense if this was done for a unification title match at WrestleMania. Plus I couldn’t believe that they left out Macho Man & Bret Hart! Kane-Orton was solid & with Daniel as the referee I knew there was going to be controversy. Miz-Ryback was decent but the finish was lame. Kaitlyn-Alicia Fox was short & AJ was decent with her post match promo. The other backstage Divas segment was complete crap! No one is going to watch this new Divas show so why even bother having it? Sheamus-Fandango was decent too but I’m tired of Fandango just walking out on his matches & getting himself counted out. The 6 man tag was good & I also like Mark Henry’s promo. I really hope they give him a run with the title! He has more than earned it! Overall I thought this week’s show was decent but not as good as good as the past 2 weeks.