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lunedì 5 aprile 2010

Rilasciato Christopher Daniels!!

Nella giornata di Mercoledì scorso, la TNA ha rilasciato Christopher Daniels. Questi ha subito contattato la ROH e firmato un accordo per poter prendere parte dei loro shows.

domenica 28 marzo 2010

UFC 111 live match-by-match coverage

UFC 111 live match-by-match coverage
Dave@wrestlingobserver.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it



Welcome to our live coverage of UFC 111 from the Prudential Center in Newark,N.J. We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Greg Soto vs. Matthew Riddle

Crowd pretty hot already. Soto doing the RVD thumbs. Soto didn’t get a big pop even though he’s from Point Pleasant, NJ, and Riddle was booed a little.

Trading low kicks. "Soto" chant. Soto ripped a right to the face but Riddle didn’t seem fazed. Now they are tied up near the fence as Soto got the takedown but Riddle got right back up. Riddle throwing knees in a clinch. Soto with another momentary takedown and Riddle back up. Soto with upper cuts and Riddle with knees while in a clinch against the cage. Hard knees now by Riddle to the body. Knee to the head and some wild punches. Soto trying a takedown but Riddle blocked it, got Soto against the cage and throwing more knees and an overhand punch. Riddle got a double leg takedown with 20 seconds left. He threw a few body punches before the round ended. 10-9 Riddle.

Good body kick by Riddle. Soto trying a takedown but couldn’t get it. Riddle has him against the cage. Riddle with a takedown with 3:55 left in the round. Riddle throwing elbows from the top. Riddle with some punches from the top, but not doing much damage. Some booing althogh Riddle is doing enough that it shouldn’t get stood up. Soto tried a sweep, but it was blocked. Soto up and threw some nice punches but Riddle took him back down and now got his back. Riddle’s round 20-18.

Rachelle Leah looks different. She got a good reaction.

People cheered both as they came out for round three. Soto landed an uppercut. Riddle going for a takedown agianst the cage and didn’t get it. Traded punches and Riddle went low for a takedown and got up and is on top in the guard. With both on the ground, Soto kicked the hell out of Riddle with an up kick while Riddle was down which is an illegal blow. I don’t know if Riddle should continue because he was knocked silly. The doctor is in. Riddle is indicating he wants to go on. Riddle already swelling badly on the right side of his face. There’s no way that kick wasn’t deliberate. They took a point away from Soto. The doctor just stopped the match saying he didn’t think Riddle should continue. That was the right call even though the crowd won’t like it. Nothing has been announced but it should be Riddle winning via DQ.

Riddle has a golf ball growing on the right side of his face. Riddle won via DQ.

Jared Hamann vs. Rodney Wallace

Wallace connected with a right. Single leg takedown by Wallace when he saw Hamann raise his legs. Wallace doing body-and-head punches. Another takedown by Wallace. Back up and Wallace rushing him and connecting with a lot of big punches. Hamann threw a knee and got taken down. Crowd really hot for the first 2:00. Hamann back up. Knee by Hamann and Wallace got another takedown but is starting to tire from going all out so fast. Hamann cut above the left eye. Hamann with a whizzer takedown. Knees by Hamann. Wallace definitely tired. Great head kick by Harmann knocked Wallace down. He’s working for an armbar but Wallace escaped. Wallace on top now. Hamann up. Wallace rushed in and slammed Hamann hard. Hamann back with knees. They traded punches and Wallace went down and is getting pounded but Wallace wrestled his way to top position. Hamann back up and threw a knee and punches on the ground. Crowd went crazy for the round. Hamann 10-9.

Wallace with two punches and danced away. He ducked for a takedown but backed off. . Wallace powered his way to another takedown. Hamann back up. Hamnann with a hip toss takedown and on top throwing elbows. Hamann on his back trying to get an armbar. Wallace is out of trouble and on top. Hamann back up. Another slam by Wallace but he’s doing no damage. Another takedown by Wallace. Wallace had a triangle on Hamann but Hamann out and punched Wallace hard to the face. Hamann with body punches. Now Hamann up and kicking Wallace’s leg before jumping back on top. Hamannn with some hard elbows from the top. Hamann mostly pounding him for the rest of the round. Hamann 20-18.

Another takedown by Wallace but Hamann reversed right before they landed and ended up on top. Hamann is throwing elbows but not doing major damage. Wallace back and throwing hard punches but he now looks gassed . Wallace is throwing wildly and hurt Hamnn. Wallace then went low and slammed him hard. Hamann reversed and is back on top. Hamann throwing knees to the body. A stand-up was ordered although I don’t know why since Hamann was doing damage with the knees. Wallace with punches and knees but then fell down with Hamann back on top. Hamann with the body and head shots. They were scrambling on the ground and Wallace went for an armbar, but Hamann escaped and is back on top throwing hard knees to the body. Hamann trappped the arms and threw punches but Wallace back to his feet. Crowd cheered the fight a lot. A lot of people standing. I didn’t think it was a great fight, but there were points of great action. I had Hamann but this round was close, so I’ve got 30-27.

All three judges have it 29-28 for for Hamann. All three judges gave Wallace the first round. He had more advantage time but to me, Hamann should get the round with the knockdown that came close to finishing.

Tomasz Drwal vs. Rousimar Palhares

Palhares took him down and hurt him bad with a heel hook ending the match in 45 seconds. Drwal is in a lot of pain. What happened was Drwal slipped throwing a kick and Palhares did the heel hook immediately. Drwal tapped right away and Palhares kept twisting for another five seconds even after ref Kevin Mulhall was trying to pry him off. Palhares got really messed up by that.

Joe Rogan went right at Palhares asking about keeping cranking after the tap. He said he didn’t want to hurt him and was very sorry about what happened.

Matt Brown vs. Ricardo Almeida

Almeida got the big home town pop. Almeida’s first fight at 170. It’s funny that years back when he started, he was considered a big 185 pounder. Almeida closed the distance and has Brown against the cage. Almeida took Brown down. Brown back up. Almeida wants another takedown and not getting it. People are starting to boo. Ref Dan Miragliotta ordered a spearation. . Almeida pushed Brown back against the cage. Fans booing again. This is not the fight you wanted on TV. Almeida tried a takedown and couldn’t get it. . But Brown has done nothing on offense this round. Almeida pushed him against the fence, unloaded with a few punches and now is trying for a takedown. Almeida throwing punches, tried a hip toss, but blocked it. And that was it for the round. . Almeida threw a few more punches. Almeida 10-9.

GSP shown backstage sitting on the couch. Thunderous cheers but there were some boos as well.

Almeida got the takedown right away but Brown back up. Almeida with some short punches. Miragliotta separated them again. Brown threw a punch and Almeida countered and knocked him down, now has Brown’s back and working for a choke. Brown bleeding as well. Almeida getting more aggressive. Brown’s cut is right on top of the left eye. Almeida trapped him in a body triangle , got the choke and Brown tapped out. Brown did nothing on offense this fight.

Dan Hardy showed on the screen. He was booed a lot.

Nate Diaz vs. Rory Markham

Just for the record, Markham, who came in at 177, is officially banned from competing as a welterweight after tonight. Officially this is a middleweight fight so Diaz moved up two weight classes and now is an undersized middleweight.

Markham mostly booed. Diaz got a good reaction, not spectacular. Markham looks every bit of 20-25 pounds heavier and threw Diaz away with ease when he wetnt for the takedown. High kick by Markaham. The size difference looks bad here. Markham missed a high kick. Diaz closed for a takedown but again, size difference is too much. Diaz started connecting with punches. Diaz connecting with a ton of punches. Marksham is overwhelmed and hurt. Diaz put him down with a knee and is working for a choke. Diaz has the body triangle on, punching him from behind and again working for a choke. Diaz softening him up with punches while holding the body triangle. He’s got him flattened and throwing more punches. He’s trying to finish with punches instead of the choke and after a ton of punches, it was stopped. This was a hell of an impressive performance by Diaz.

Nate Diaz in his promo kept saying that Nick Diaz is No. 1 in the world. I’m sure Dana is thrilled about it. Now he’s putting over Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez. This is hilarious.

Jim Miller vs. Mark Bocek

Bocek landed a punch and shot in for a takedown. Miller defending well. Miller looked on a guillotine but Bocek’s head popped out and he’s on top. They are trading knees standing. Now trading body kicks. Miller threw a punch and Bocek ducked under and got the takedown. Miller thinking about a Kimura from the botto and used it to sweep. Bocek escaped the hold. Miller on top but not doing any damage. Very close round. I’d go Bocek 10-9 but really it’s a 10-10 type of round.

Lesnar came out. Good lord what a reaction. He came out with Paul Heyman. They instead shot Frankie Edgar and Renzo Gracie at ringside.

Another takedown by Bocek. He’s smothering Miller. Bocek has improved greatly. I don’t think most gave him a shot, figuring he was a guy with a few undercard wins so Miller can get a win to open the show and he’s taking the fight. Bocek is bleeding from the top of his head. He’s Trying an amr triangle. Miller snuck in a leglock but Bocek isn’t in any trouble and remains on top. Bocek got his back with a body triangle. Bocek punching the side f Miller’s head. He’s trying to sink in the choke but Miller defending. Bocek continues to punch the head. There is a blood stain where they are. Bocek trying for the choke as time runs out in the round. Crowd really into Miller fighting to escape. Miller stood up. Tried to slam Bocek backwards but Bocek held on. The round ended. I’d almost go 10-8 for Bocek but I’m expecting 10-9s from the judges. They are checking the cut. Miller is all fired up.

Miller landed a punch. Low kick by Miller. Miller looking at opening the cut with punches. Low kick by Miller. Bocek shot in and Miller sprawled away. Another low kick by Miller. USA chant since Bocek is wearing a Canadian flag on his trunks. Another low kick by Miller. Bocek jumped in for a takedown. Miller turned him around and now Miller going for a takedown. Now Bocek turned him and he’s going for a taekdown. Bocek got him down. They are in a scramble on the mat. Both now up. Bocek going low for a takedown. Crowd starting to boo, they want Yves Lavigne to separate the two. Lavigne told them to do something. Bocek got the takedown. Bocek tried a guillotine and then Miller got his back at the end. Another close round. Miller close. I’ve got it 29-28 for Bocek, but it could easily go 29-28 for Miller. Either way, Bocek overall won the fight even though you can justify giving Miller one and three, the only round that wasn’t even was two, and Bocek won that solidly.

Scores were 29-28 for Miller

Jon Fitch vs. Ben Saunders

For a guy ranked No. 2 in the world Fitch got zero reaction coming out. We’ll see if that kicks in.

They are in a clinch. Watch the knees fly. They didn’t, since Fitch took him down and has him jammed against the fence. This is like the Swick fight. Saunders is jammed against the fence and can’t get up. Fans want a stand-up. Dan Miragliotta seems to be ignoring it sicne Fitch is working and grinding hinm out. Saunders nailed him with a legal up kick. All Fitch 10-9. Crowd mildly booed the round. This isn’t looking pretty.

Fitch has him up against the cage. He did a high slam. Now throwing body punches. Crowd is booing heavily as Fitch has him in a ball against the cage throwing body punches. Now he’s on top throwing punches to the head. You can’t stand it up with Fitch continually scoring even with a "Stand them up" chant, which didn’t really pick up. Dan stood them up while I was getting texts from movie theaters nationwide. Do not text in the theater. DAMN IS THIS BORING. Saunders looks like he’s bleeding from the mouth. Fitch with a knee. Remember Stevie Richards and Tomko? Fans didn’t boo that much at the end of the round, probably because most are sleeping. Fitch 20-18.

They showed Chuck at ringside and there was a big pop. Rachelle got a big smile, not knowing, thinking it was for her.

Fitch threw a low kick, punches and knees. He’s going for a takedown. Didn’t get it. No points for Fitch. Crowd booing. Saunders bleeding from the mouth. Dan Miragliotta separated them. Fitch unloaded with punches and knees and now has him against the cage going for a takedown. 23 text messages in the last round. A couple of uppercuts by Fitch. Nice body kick by Saunders. Nailed a second one and Fitch took him down with 1:56 left. Boring chants. Fitch is punching and elbowing Saunders in the face. Saunders looks cut over the right eye. Fitch is hammering himn with punches and elbows. Well, it’s finally over 30-27 Fitch easy.

All three 30-27 for Fitch.

No interview for you Jon Fitch.

We just received word that Brock is going to leave the arena before GSPs fight.

Anyway, for those of you who have kids, get a tape of this match and whenever they use dirty words or talk back, tell them they have to go to their room and watch Fitch fight.

Fabricio Comoes vs. Kurt Pellgrino

Comoes has Pellegrino’s back. He’s in the piggy back position looking for a choke. He’s got the choke in. Pellegrino’s in real trouble. Pellgrino dropped him right on the top of his head and is now on top. Comoes was trying a triangle. That spiking someone should have been called a foul. Pellegrino on top in side control. Now he’s got Comoes back. Comoes rolled over and has Pellegrino in full guard. Pellegrino was on top most of the round. Honestly a hard one to call again. I’d go Pellegrino close but can go either way and Comoes did have a great choke in. 10-9 Pellegrino.

Comoes tried a single leg but Pellegrino got the takedown. Pellegrino got a second takedown and threw some elbows from the top. Let’s go Kurt chant. He’s throwing some elbows. Comoes up and Pellegrino threw some knees froma clinch and took him down again. He’s got Comoes’ back and looking for a choke. Comoes tapped.

Francisco Mir III vs. Shane Carwin for the Interim heavyweight title

Carwin out to "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor." Brock’s now next to Dana. Mir took forever to get to the cage. Mir got a standing ovation. No boos at all. Brock was totally booed when they showed him. Mir is taller than Carwin and they list Carwin at 6-5. That makes Lesnar 6-8 at the least.

Place really buzzing. Totally different Carwin than I’ve seen. He bulled Mir into the cage and is throwing body and hea d punches. Mir’s takedown defense has improved. Carwin punching Mir in the face and kneeing his thigh. More body punches and knees. Crowd booing. Dan Miragliotta spearated them. Longest Carwin fight in history. Mir in with punches. Carwin turned him against the cage and kneeing the thigh and holding him there. Carwin continues to knee the thigh. Carwin just unloaded on him with 6 upppercut and Mir went down and he just destroyed him with punches on the ground. It was like the switch went off and this guy became an unstoppable monster. Carwin at 3:48

Carwin said this was the culmination of a lifetime of work. Carwin was speechless. Lesnar walked to the cage. Lesnar looks huge next to Carwin. Lesnar said he’s wearing a make believe belt and that his belt is the real championshp belt. Carwin agreed. That’s thinking fast on your feet. They shook hands and it’s on for July 3rd.

GSP vs. Dan Hardy

GSP vs. Dan Hardy for the welterweight title

They are booing Hardy. St. Pierre got the biggest reaction. Loud GSP chants from the start. He does look bigger to me than before. GSP took him right down. Hardy using a rubber guard for a moment. Hardy looks trapped. He’s passed to side control. Hardy made his move to escape and GSP got his back. Hardy reversed, GSP got right up and took him right back down. The takedowns are just too easy. Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole singing. GSP got full mount with 1:24 left. He went to unload, Hardy turned his back and now GSP is high on the back looking for a choke. Hardy’s game plan is not working. Set up an armbar. It’s just about over. Hardy escaped. Good for him. Crowd went crazy. Hardy totally earned the crowd’s respect escaping that ambar. GSP 10-8

Crowd going nuts at the start of round two. Low kick by GSP. Hardy threw a right that missed. GSP exploded for the takedown. GSP passed to side control right away. GSP with knees and punches to the body. Now he got his back. He’s working for an armbar again. Hardy escaped and is on top. GSP right back up. Front kick by GSP. High kick by Hardy. Right and left by GSP. Superman punch in by GSP. GSP with a high takedown with 34 seconds left. GSP working the body. Hardy lasted two rounds. GSP 20-17.

Another takedown by St. Pierre to start round three. Hardy is punching from the bottom. GSP dropped an elbow. GSP dropped another elbow. Now working the body. Good punch from the top by GSP. Hard lefts from the top by GSP. Hardy went for an armbar from the bottom and GSP was out right away. GSP wanted to set up an armbar but Hardy defending well. GSP throwing elbows to the body. Hardy got up but was taken right back down. Hardy turned his back. 27 seconds left. Hardy’s out but GSP tripped him back down. GSP 30-26.

Hardy’s done a good job surviving and he hasn’t taken super damage either. GSP took him right down to start round four. Now he’s got full mount. Hardy turned his back again. Some fans are getting tired of the wrestling match. Hardy almost got a takedown. Okay, maybe he wasn’t close but GSP ended up on top again. GSP with body and head punches. Hardy sucks chant. GSP working a Kimura. Hardy thinking about tapping but didn’t and got out. GSP was thinking kneebar at the end of round four but time ran out. That’s a 10-8, 40-34.

GSP with a low kick and a takedown. Fans are booing GSP now for doing the takedown. GSP threw a knee to the side. Now he’s punching the body and head. He went for a straight armbar. Hardy escaped. GSP grinding it out. He went for another straight armbar. GSP with knees to the side again. Another slam by GSP with 21 seconds left. He went for a heel hook again at the horn. I’ve got it 50-43.

50-43, 50-44, 50-45 for GSP.

GSP:

"I just asked him, I thought he was made of rubber. It’s a win but I’m not very happy with myself. I did a lot of stupid technical mistakes. I’m going to talk to my Jiu Jitsu instructor to see what I did wrong."

"I wanted to avoid where my opponent was the strongest and fight him where he’s the weakest, on the ground, but he was better than I thought."

"I just want to apologize to my fans. I’m sorry. I want to come back better next time and finish next time."

Dan Hardy: "All I can say is I can see now why he’s the champion. He’s a very strong athlete. Great technical skill. But it won’t be the last time time. I’ll be back.

"You know, the one thing that I do above everyone, I may lack in technicality, I may lack in strength, but I don’t give up. I don’t know the meaning of tap."

lunedì 15 marzo 2010

TNA Destination X card

*TNA champion AJ Styles vs. Abyss.

*TNA X-Division champion Doug Williams vs. Shannon Moore.

*Ultimate X for TNA Tag Team championship shot: Generation Me vs. The Motor City Machineguns.

*TNA Tag Team champions Hernandez & Matt Morgan vs. Beer Money Inc.

*Sean Waltman & Scott Hall vs. Kevin Nash & Eric Young - The Band wins or leaves TNA.

*Ken Anderson vs. Kurt Angle.

*Brian Kendrick vs. Amazing Red vs. Kaz vs. Daniels - Ladder Match

lunedì 8 marzo 2010

giovedì 4 marzo 2010

Rivelata la causa della morte di Umaga

L'attacco cardiaco che ha portato alla morte di Edward “Umaga” Fatu, è stato causato da un mix letale di: Vicodin, Valium e Somas.

Prima della sua morte fu contattato dalla TNA per un suo possibile approdo, ma infine raggiunse un accordo verbale per ritornare in WWE.

Una Knockout rilasciata, un'altra in forse

Tracy Brooks è stata rilasciata oggi dalla TNA. Dopo essere stata fuori per tanto tempo dalle scene tornò mesi fa dopo il book fotografico girato per il sito di Playboy.

Lo stato di Awesome Kong non è ancora chiarissimo; nonostante il suo post su twitter in cui asseriva di aver chiuso con la TNA, il managment ha negato l'ufficialità della cosa.

giovedì 25 febbraio 2010

Awesome Kong denuncia Bubba!

Courthouse News Service riporta che Awesome Kong ha accusato Bubba The Love Sponge di averla chiamata alle 5 a.m. il 10 Febbraio, attraverso un numero anonimo e di averla minacciata. Aggiunge che Bubba, durante la telefonata, le ha lanciato una serie di insulti razzisti. Durante la chiamata Bubba avrebbe dichiarato la propria identità aggiungendo che la cosa era trasmessa in radio.

Awesome Kong ha richiesto alla compagnia AT&T di poter ottenere l'identità di quel numero, ma le è stato rifiutato. Perciò la Kong ha sporto denuncia nei confronti della AT&T e di Bubba.

martedì 23 febbraio 2010

Very newsworthy Raw report by Todd Martin~!

WWE Raw Report
By: Todd Martin


The Big News: Three of the top four WrestleMania matches were officially announced on Raw.

Show Analysis:

Raw began with the return of new world champion Chris Jericho following his extended departure from Raw. He said basically nothing but just repeatedly gloated about winning the Elimination Chamber match, which was very amusing. Eventually Edge speared him from behind and announced he would take on Jericho for the title at WrestleMania. This was a good angle and it led immediately into another good angle.

John Cena came out next. He said that Vince McMahon screwed him by forcing him to wrestle again in a singles match after the Elimination Chamber. I don’t see how that’s any more unfair than Sheamus being forced to defend his singles title in a six person match in a Chamber and come in as the first man to boot. In fact, I’d argue Sheamus was screwed significantly worse than Cena.

Cena said he wanted his rematch on Raw, which brought out Vince McMahon to tell him he wouldn’t be getting it. It’s not a big deal, but they should table this routine for a little bit. It’s a good concept in theory because you tease a match and then pull it back for later, but they’ve done it so many times it almost feels like the face is disingenuous in temporarily teasing the fans with a match everyone knows won’t be delivered.

Vince McMahon said that he made a deal with Batista where Batista would attack Bret Hart and Batista would then get a title shot. Vince said Batista won’t defend the title until WrestleMania, and that both Sheamus and Cena are in line for title rematches. Thus, he announced Cena vs. Batista for later on Raw. If Cena won he would get the shot and if Batista won Sheamus would get the shot. Cena looked scurred of the prospect of wrestling Batista.

Maryse beat Gail Kim in the long awaited finals of the women’s title tournament. It’s only the women’s title, but they really shouldn’t have advertised a PPV title match only to yank it during the show and provide it on free TV the next day instead. On the plus side, they gave them a little more time than the average women’s match, which you ought to for a title tournament final. The match itself was okay by WWE women’s match standards.

Gail hit a clothesline and punches early but Maryse grabbed the ropes when Gail went for eat defeat. Maryse went for her implant DDT but Gail reversed into a cradle for two. Gail went for a springboard crossbody but missed. Gail went for a victory roll but Maryse threw her off into the ropes and hit the implant DDT for the pin.

There was a weird moment during the match when Gail was bleeding from her mouth and Lawler brought attention to her mouth but didn’t say she was bleeding. So WWE may actually have a bizarre policy where they won’t even acknowledge someone is bleeding even if it is an accident. I can’t recall if they explicitly mentioned bleeding when it happened on Sunday or the other week on ECW.

Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes met backstage. Rhodes said that he knew DiBiase would betray Orton but that he was still on Orton’s side. Orton said that if anyone was at fault it was himself for teaching Rhodes and DiBiase too well. Orton said he hasn’t been the leader he should be and said that he asked for a six man tag to show Legacy is still on the same page.

Orton left and DiBiase came in (pretty much immediately to the point of implausibility) to ask how the conversation went. Rhodes said almost too well. DiBiase then asked Rhodes if they were sticking to the plan. Rhodes said yes, so the audience was basically clued in that Rhodes and DiBiase were planning to stab Orton in the back.

Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston and Yoshi Tatsu beat Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. They announced Tatsu signed with Raw as a free agent. I’m still wondering where Abraham Washington ends up. Tatsu had some success with kicks early but Legacy took over on Bourne. Rhodes hit the Alabama slam and DiBiase used a head over heels clothesline.

Bourne eventually got the tag to Kingston. Kingston hit a springboard clothesline on DiBiase but Orton cut him off when he went for the boom drop. Orton began working over Kingston as DiBiase and Rhodes whispered to each other. Rhodes tagged in but Orton then hit Rhodes with a DDT. DiBiase got in Orton’s face outside the ring and Orton gave him an RKO on the floor. In the ring Kingston tagged Tatsu. Tatsu hit a kick on Rhodes and tagged in Bourne for the shooting star and the pin.

I assume this is the official breakup for Orton and Rhodes/DiBiase. I have mixed feelings on it. It’s good that they were conscious about not making Orton look like a fool. It’s been obvious that Rhodes and DiBiase can’t be trusted and if Orton got suckered by them there is the risk that it would make him look like a chump. With that said, Rhodes and DiBiase need all the help they can get in this feud and opening the breakup with Orton outsmarting and laying out both of them was the sort of young talent burial at a critical juncture that has led to such a stale main event picture.

Shawn Michaels came out for a promo. He said that his explanation for what he did at the Elimination Chamber isn’t complicated. He did what he had to. Michaels said he knew that wouldn’t be popular but that he can live with that. He added that he knows his action spur a reaction from Undertaker. In fact, he was counting on it.

Undertaker joined Michaels. He had weird yellow marks on his face, maybe from the accident yesterday, and looked positively ancient. He said that Michaels had his attention. Michaels told Undertaker that he wrestled a nearly perfect match last year, but he can’t live with that. Michaels said Undertaker ignored him so he had to get Taker’s attention.

In the middle of this serious and crucial promo for one of the biggest matches of the year, the crowd decided to start chanting “what” at Michaels. “What” seriously may be the most irritating fan development in wrestling history. Shut the fuck up, you obnoxious, narcissistic, ADD-suffering dimwits.

Michaels told the Undertaker to wrestle him at WrestleMania and get his revenge. Undertaker responded that he would on one condition, that Michaels put up his career. Michaels said that if he can’t beat Undertaker he has no career. This was an excellent angle with Michaels as usual doing a great job.

As for the career vs. title stipulation, I have mixed feelings. I think it’s a nice hook to build interest in the match. But ultimately WWE is boxing itself into a corner. Either Undertaker’s streak ends for no good reason or more likely they do yet another stipulation match knowing full well that they’re going to renege on the stipulation. It’s even worse here because people are going to remember and care more when they go back on their word. I don’t see why they couldn’t achieve the exact same goal by having Michaels simply imply he’ll leave forever if he loses.

Christian beat Carlito in the first money in the bank qualifier. Now that they are doing money in the bank again, Miz is such an obvious pick to win this year. He fits the gimmick perfectly in just about every way. They also introduced a couple of the NXT rookies here. Heath Slater cut an obnoxious promo and Michael Tarver cut a very good little one.

They announced Christian has signed with Raw. I’m surprised they didn’t do a storyline bidding war between Raw and Smackdown for one or two of the top ECW guys to make their debuts on a new show seem important. That’s the whole reason I like “free agency” better than “drafts.” You can make it feel like the wrestlers have agency and goals they’re moving towards. Instead, this just felt like another draft with the guys randomly distributed by the promotion. It’s not a big deal though, and moving over the ECW guys should bolster the depth on Raw and Smackdown.

Christian missed a crossbody off the top early in the match. Carlito hit a knee lift but Christian countered with an inverted DDT. Christian climbed the ropes but Carlito caught him and hit the roll of the dice for two. Christian went for the kill switch. Carlito reversed into a springboard elbow attempt but that was countered into another kill switch attempt. Carlito reversed again but Christian sent him into the post and finally hit the kill switch for the pin. This was a very fun little match.

Jewel and bull rider Ty Murray did two segments on the show. Earlier Jewel and Jillian Hall got into a singing confrontation and Jewel slapped Jillian. Here, they did a dreadful segment which involved riding a mechanical bull. The WWE women came out and rode it. It wasn’t much of a competition because it went slow and nobody was close to being thrown off.

Miz and Big Show came out to point out what a waste of time this was which led to Murray challenging Show to ride the bull. He of course failed and they played it for comedy but it was one of those segments where nobody is laughing except the guffawing announcers. Three hours later Murray and Jewel made a match with Miz and Show against MVP and Mark Henry.

Miz Show beat Mark Henry and MVP. They showed Bryan Danielson watching backstage, and again the commentary focused on Danielson. They talked about how the internet is angry that Miz is Danielson’s coach given how long Danielson has been wrestling for and how Miz claims Danielson has no personality. It’s at least to me a very intriguing angle and I’m quite curious how the whole thing will turn out. Hopefully they don’t bury Danielson to spite the internet.

Show hit a spear on MVP and followed with chops and a leg drop. Henry got the tag in. He used head butts on Show and a corner avalanche. Miz came off the ropes but was caught with the world’s strongest slam. As Henry turned around Show nailed him with the knockout punch for the pin.

They announced the next entrant into the WWE Hall of Fame is Wendi Richter. It’s a joke pick, but whatever, it’s only the WWE Hall of Fame. She’s probably marginally more deserving than Koko B. Ware given her six month peak was fairly notable. They also announced Cheech and Chong as guest hosts next week as well as Orton vs. DiBiase.

They replayed the Bret Hart angle from last week. Vince said that he was considering facing Bret at Mania, but that now he just wanted to say he had nothing to do with Bret’s accident. Vince invited Bret back next week on Raw to say farewell. After a commercial break they already announced that Bret had accepted. This setup seems to suggest they are going to do the story that Bret faked the car accident. I guess we’ll see how it comes across.

John Cena beat Batista via DQ. Batista kept ducking out between the ropes and then he kicked Cena low for the DQ. He then beat the hell out of Cena. He kicked Cena in the head, threw him into the post, smashed him into the barricade and rammed him into the post on the outside. He then gave him four very hard and spaced out chair shots to the back. This was a great demonstration that a chair shot to the back can be just as effective and dramatic as a shot to the head. I’m very glad that WWE changed their policy on that. This was a very strong angle to close a strong show. I’m really digging heel Batista.

Final Thoughts:

Last week’s bad Raw proved to be a blip rather than a trend. This week’s Raw was an excellent show full of interesting and fun angles from top to bottom. I’m greatly enjoying the WrestleMania build this year and now that they have the major angles announced we’re heading into the home stretch.

Altro nome per la Hall of Fame

Wendi Richter, presentato da Roddy Piper.

Infortuni dopo l'Elimination Chamber

Ci sono stati diversi infortuni occorsi a vari wrestlers dopo L'Elimination Chamber. Sheamus è stato tenuto fuori dagli schermi a causa di un infortunio: concussione o problemi al collo.

Ci sono state anche voci sul possibile infortunio alla schiena per CM Punk, ma ciò nonostante non è previsto alcun stop per lui.

Oltre a questo, altri wrestlers hanno subito leggeri infortuni ed ematomi a causa della brutalità della stipulazione citata, ma certamente dopo ciò che è successo a The Undertaker nessuno si può lamentare.

lunedì 22 febbraio 2010

Suicide Update

Il character di Suicide non verrà ritirato ma interpretato da un altro wrestler.

Arrestata la moglie di Ric Flair per averlo picchiato!

La quarta moglie di Ric Flair, Jacqueline Beems, è stata arrestata con l'accusa di "simple assault" ai danni di Ric Flair, varrebbe a dire che sono state usate solo parti anatomiche: piedi, mani, denti etc.

Flair ha rifiutato l'assistenza medica.

Jacqueline Beems è stata rilasciata.

Foto e video dell'incidente che ha coinvolto The Undertaker

Durante il suo ingresso, la giacca ed il cappello dell'Undertaker hanno preso fuoco dopo un incidente causati dai pyro.




Link del video:

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhKMy8e6JGdZN753tC

giovedì 18 febbraio 2010

TNA Update

Jeff Hardy è stato contattato da una promotion internazionale di recente, a cui ha risposto che al momento gli è impedito di lasciare gli USA fino alla fine del processo. Ha detto che non lotterà fino a che non avrà risolto i suoi problemi giudiziari e quando ciò avverrà è intenzionato a lottare full-time per la TNA.
Coloro che hanno parlato con Jeff dicono che questa sua scelta sia stata motivata dal carico di lavoro meno pesante e dall'angle della WWE che lo vedeva preso in giro da CM Punk quando fu arrestato.


The addition of the new crew have made more of a difference in ratings in the U.K. The last show before Hogan came, which aired on Bravo on 1/3, did 57,000 viewers. The Hogan, Flair, etc. debut aired on 1/10 and did 68,000 viewers. Since then, 1/17 did 103,000 viewers (most watched single episode of a wrestling show in the country that week, as Smackdown did 76,000); 1/24 did 83,000 (beating Raw, but not Smackdown) and 1/31 did 103,000 (beating Smackdown, but not Raw).

Anche se le Knockouts hanno quasi sempre ottenuto il quarto d'ora con più telespettatori, il nuovo regime ha deciso di mandare meno wrestling femminile in tv, con le knockouts utilizzante principalmente in vignette, in modo particolare le Beautiful People.


RVD era ospite al Fight Network radio, dove ha dichiarato di aver avuto altre due conversazioni con la TNA in settimana: una con Hogan e una presumibilmente con Dixie Carter. Ha detto di essere ottimista su un suo possibile arrivo in TNA, per via della schedule degli impegni non eccessiva e per la continua volontà da parte della compagnia di volerlo nel roster.

Lo stop all'utilizzo di Scott Stiner è paragonabile all'addio di Cornette dopo l'arrivo di Ed Ferrara. Con l'arrivo di Ric Flair il managment ha deciso di interrompere i rapporti con Steiner per via del ben noto odio che questi nutre nei confronti del Nature Boy.

David Taylor ha ufficialmente preso il posto di Scott D'Amore come agent della divisione Knockouts, ed alla sua prima giornata di lavoro ha subito ottenuto pareri ottimistici sul suo operato.

Karen Angle e 2 Cold Scorpio erano presenti nel backstage agli ultimi tapings.

Buyrates dei ppv WWE del 2009 paragonati al 2008

09Worldwide 09Domestic 08Worldwide 08Domestic:

Royal Rumble 450 288 575 403

No Way out 272 174 365 256

WrestleMania 960 582 1041 697

Backlash 182 116 210 141

Judgment Day 228 146 252 169

Extreme Rules/One Night Stand 213 136 200 134

Bash/Night of Champions 178 114 286 191

Night of Champions/Bash 267 166 196 135

SummerSlam 369 229 477 329

Breaking Point/Unforgiven 169 105 211 146

Hell in Cell/No Mercy 283 164 261 157

Bragging Rights/Cyber Sunday 181 105 153 92

Survivor Series 235 136 319 191

TLC/Armageddon 228 132 193 116

TOTALS 4215 2593 4739 3157

I DVD targati WWE più venduti nel 2009

The best selling DVDs of 2009 ended up, based on units shipped, WrestleMania at 248,000, Rise and Fall of WCW at 172,000, Best of Saturday Night’s Main Event at 133,000 and Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 90s at 118,000.

ECW final rating

1.14.

Raw rating

3.4.

Primo sguardo alle action figure TNA della Jakks Pacific alla Toy Fair in NYC
















mercoledì 17 febbraio 2010

Annunciati i membri dello show NXT

Chris Jericho as the mentor for Wade Barrett

Matt Hardy as the mentor for Justin Gabriel (who was Justin Angel in FCW, the current FCW champion)

MVP as the mentor for Skip Sheffield

Carlito as the mentor for Michael Tarver

Miz as the mentor for Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) and there is humor in that

Christian as the mentor for Heath Slater

C.M. Punk as the mentor for Darren Young (longtime Northeast indie wrestler Fred Sampson)

R-Truth as the mentor for David Otungs (Jennifer Hudson's fiance)

TNA-Jeff Hardy Update

Fonti TNA dichiarano che per Jeff Hardy c'è un contratto pronto per lui una volta che avrà risolto le sue note vicende giudiziarie.

TNA Destination X Update

Non si sa se i piani siano stati cambiati o se non ci siano mai state le intenzioni di svolgere un intero ppv per la X Division, ma ad oggi ciò non avverrà. A Destination X vi sarà il ritorno dell'Ultimate X match ed in teoria un paio di match della categoria X Division.

TNA Impact spoilers per lo show del 25/2 e 4/3

TNA Wrestling taped the remainder of the 2/25 edition of Impact and the 3/4 edition (the final episode in the Thursday night timeslot) tonight from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Below are full taping results:

* Xplosion match, Okada vs. Alex Shelley. Okada is, of course, Kazuchika Okada from NJPW. Winner via Sliced Bread #2, Alex Shelley

* Xplosion match, Kiyoshi vs. Homicide vs. Amazing Red. Winner via standing shooting star press, Amazing Red

* Xplosion match, Hamada vs Traci Brooks. Winner via Hamada Driver, Hamada

* Impact match, Desmond Wolfe w/Chelsea vs. Abyss. Winner via black hole slam, Abyss. AJ Styles and Ric Flair attack after the match. Wolfe used a chair and attacked Abyss too. They're all beating Abyss up until Hulk Hogan comes out to stop it. Hogan takes out AJ, Flair and Wolfe and then Flair takes out his leg and they all whoop him. Flair and AJ deliver chops to him and Abyss has been handcuffed to the ring. AJ, Flair and Wolfe continue their assault on Hogan and AJ hits Hogan with the world title. Hogan is bleeding. Abyss hulks up and rips the handcuffs and everybody makes a run for it. Hogan gets on the mic after a couple minutes and says since Flair wants to stick his nose in his business, he's going to wrestle in a match March 8th. AJ Styles & Flair vs. Abyss & Hulk Hogan.

* For the TNA Global Championship, Rob Terry vs. Mr. Anderson. Before the match, Anderson asks if he's supposed to feel sorry for spitting on some medals given to Kurt Angle from the widow of a fallen soldier? Angle comes up behind Anderson and nails him with a chair shot. Angle calls Terry over. Terry grabs Anderson and brings him to the ring. The match has officially started. Winner via Running Power Slam, Rob Terry. Match ended as soon as it started.

* ODB vs. Daffney. Daffney got DQed for going nuts and using the ring steps to smash ODB's leg while it was around a ring post. She then used a mop on ODB's leg. Dr. Stevie had to pull her off.

* Eric Bischoff promo. He's man enough to admit his mistakes. You have to look back at the things you've done wrong and not feel bad but learn from them. He says Jeff Jarrett is different and he'd like him to come out. Jarrett is out with music and pyro. Bischoff knows the situation is tough but he can put it all behind him. Eric has something for him, the barbwire bat. He knows asking him to use it is disgusting and unfair. He feels Jarrett did the right thing not using it, but he didn't do the right thing by him. He's giving him one more shot to do the right thing. He wants Jarrett to go to catering and flip some burgers. He also wants to follow health codes and puts a hairnet on Jarrett. He asks him if he has a problem and Jarrett says nothing. Eric says happy flipping and leaves.

Non title match, Motor City Machine Guns vs. Generation Me vs. Beer Money Inc. vs. TNA Tag Team Champions Matt Morgan & Hernandez. Beer Money, Inc won after Storm superkicked Morgan and Roode schoolboyed him. Morgan was showboating too much and was being a jerk to Hernandez. Neither was happy with the other after the match.

* Doug Williams vs. Rob Terry. Winner via short chokeslam, Rob Terry. Brutus Magnus attacks Terry afterwards. He and Williams gang up on Terry and leave him laid out.

* Impact opening (likely the start of the 3/4 edition)

* AJ Styles and Ric Flair come out first. There are a lot of ladies with them again. Flair says he's overwhelmed at all this talent. They've had time to think about last week with Hulk Hogan. They want Hogan out so they can give him a present and give back to TNA. Hogan and Abyss come out. Flair asks if he can assume that this will be peaceful. Hogan says he's got nothing to worry about because this is not the time for it. Flair wants to apologize for their bad judgment and actions. Flair offers Hogan all his ladies but says Abyss gets nothing. Hogan says he doesn't want anything from Flair, not a beer or one of his hits of Viagra. Hogan said he promised everybody not to step in the ring and help TNA get to the top. But after what they did, he and Abyss are getting in the ring to take Flair and the wannabe Flair to school. Flair says if that's what he wants then he'll do it. He said the one thing he never did was beat Hogan on national TV. AJ says Hogan had it all when he wrestled. Now AJ is the champ. AJ says it's time to get out of here and train. Bischoff comes out and says AJ has business to take care of tonight. AJ vs. Desmond Wolfe vs. The Pope vs. Abyss is happening tonight.

* Angelina Love is out. She calls Velvet Sky a bitch and says she's not leaving until she gets out here. Velvet comes out wielding a pink belt. Angelina goes after her and beats her all over the place. Angelina brings her in the ring and delivers a scissor kick. She takes the belt and is going to use it until the rest of the Beautiful People run out. They hold Angelina down so Velvet can whip her with the belt. They beat on her and then pose to their music and leave.

* Mr. Anderson is out dressed as Angle with a bald cap, mouth guard, fake tan and a tag that says loser. He says he's the best wrestler as well as the most injury prone wrestler in the world today. He said he broke his neck tying his shoe and from walking his dog. He said he did it while taking a dump and drinking a Yoohoo and however else. He said he had serious business to discuss. Mr. Anderson cut his head but in reality he just wants sympathy. Angle comes out and attacks Anderson. Anderson bails to the outside and throws a beer in Angle's face. He then Angle Slams him in the ring, takes the bald cap off and snaps it on Angle. Anderson takes Angle's tags and leaves.

* Tomko vs. Jeff Jarrett with no music or pyro. Winner via sunset flip out out of the corner, Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett got busted open hardway at some point during the match.

* Four Corners Match for the TNA Championship, Desmond Wolfe w/Chelsea vs. "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero vs. Abyss vs. AJ Styles w/Ric Flair. Pope's ankle is still injured. Flair uses a chair on it while the referee is distracted during the match. Winner via Figure Four leg lock on The Pope, AJ Styles. After the match, AJ, Flair and Wolfe take turns working over Pope's ankle. Abyss makes the save until Flair uses the barbwire bat on Abyss. They then take turns beating him up. Hogan comes out for the save and uses the bat on Flair and busts him open. Security and agents Dave Taylor and Pat Kenney come out to stop Hogan but he's beating up everybody. They finally get control. Hogan gets a mic and says in four days it's on. Pope, Hogan and Abyss are in the ring being held back. Pope breaks free and goes after AJ but gets stopped. He breaks free again but gets stopped. Now AJ and Wolfe break free and try to attack but get stopped. Hogan has the belt and is posing with it but AJ rushes in and attacks. Free for all again. Pope gets the bat and swings it wildly and that clears the ring to end Impact.

martedì 16 febbraio 2010

Ecco chi ci sarà su WWE NXT!

FCW Champion: Justin Angel
Daniel Bryan
Kaval
Skip Sheffield
Joe Hennig
Brett Dibiase
Darren Young
Heath Slater
Michael Tarver

Raw is Springer TV report

WWE Raw Report
By: Todd Martin

Email: ToddMartin4L@aol.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Blog: toddwmartin.blogspot.com

Date: 02/15/10 from Des Moines, IA.

The Big News: Well, so much for the streak of excellent Raws. Hell, so much for the streak of non-dreadful Raws, too.

Show Analysis:

Sheamus beat Randy Orton via DQ. There were RKO chants early. Sheamus hit a power slam but missed the big boot. Orton went for the RKO but Sheamus escaped. Orton gained control with the Garvin stomp but was distracted when Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes came to ringside. Sheamus took over with punches, kicks and knees. Orton responded with punches, kicks and stomps. Orton went for the RKO and Sheamus kind of escaped.

On the outside, DiBiase tried to attack Sheamus behind the referee’s back. Sheamus fought him off immediately so Rhodes attacked Sheamus from behind. The referee saw that and disqualified Orton. Afterwards, Orton gave Rhodes the RKO. Sheamus then dove in with a big boot on DiBiase and Orton gave Sheamus the RKO. This match was quite boring with a redundant crap finish.

Bret Hart came to the ring. He said it was no shock that Vince McMahon wasn’t there, because Bret would be waiting for him. Bret said the words were echoing in his head that he deserved to be screwed. Bret said he thought Vince deserves to have the crap beaten out of him. Bret added that he would have loved to take out Vince at WrestleMania but it wasn’t meant to be. He thanked the wrestlers, fans, and John Cena. He said goodbye and left. He said goodbye to the wrestlers backstage, shook hands with Cena, and went to leave. I didn’t understand Bret’s motivation here at all, but that’s a minor quibble compared to what would come.

Next up was the big angle. Off camera a woman backed her car into Bret’s limousine as Bret was getting in. When they panned to Bret, his leg was hanging out of the car. They showed another camera angle later that made it seem Bret’s leg should have been severed or at the very least crushed, but there wasn’t even any blood. Bret was put on a stretcher and left in an ambulance. They played this up as a huge deal throughout the rest of the show. It looked completely fake.

I won’t go so far as to say this was a complete disaster or that they ruined the Bret/Vince angle in one week, but this was such an idiotic, ill-conceived directional turn. Has there ever been a vehicular assault angle in pro wrestling that has worked? It always looks like bullshit. Nobody ever buys it. It just makes the whole angle look fake. And of all the angles to not interject this idiocy into, it was Bret and Vince because the whole reason the angle was working was the realism of it all. People buy that Bret is angry at Vince for Montreal and the years of tumult that followed. Nobody buys that Bret is angry at Vince because Vince paid some woman to try to cripple him with an automobile on Raw.

This is exactly the sort of scenario we all feared WWE would do with Bret and Vince: substitute the real life issue between the two for some contrived, WWE scripted bullshit. After weeks of quality build I had completely let down my guard and assumed WWE was going to follow through this angle well, and then they pull this shit.

Mark Henry and MVP beat Miz and Big Show. MVP hit a yakuza kick on Miz and Henry hit the world’s strongest slam but Show broke up the pin. Big Show tagged in and hit a DDT but missed a Vader bomb. MVP then got the tag. He hit a face buster and yakuza kick on Show but ran into a kick from Show. Miz tagged in and covered, but MVP reversed into a pinfall of his own for the win. This match felt really rushed, as they had to make time for the 45 minute segment that would follow.

Next up was the Jerry Springer Show on Raw. Because, you know, WWE doesn’t want to be viewed as low brow, white trash entertainment. The announcers put Springer over huge and billed him as a television legend, which is sort of like Mel Gibson seeking to salvage his reputation by doing a buddy comedy with Michael Richards. The theme of the show was WWE’s most intimate relationships revealed.

Springer brought out Kelly Kelly, whose acting throughout this segment was Tiffany level atrocious. She said she was pregnant but wasn’t sure of the father because she has been in a lot of relationships. Santino came out and said he was the father. Kelly said that when Santino was sleeping she needed someone to finish the job. Michael Cole then got up and said, “That was our little secret, you loose lipped hussy!” Jerry Lawler then said Kelly was talking about him. Springer of course responded that Kelly was too old for Lawler.

The Bella Twins were out next. Nikki said that Brie was a man and they got into a fight as Santino tried to get people to chant “Jerry.” Springer wanted to know who was in the room with Kelly. Chris Masters came out, which brought out an angry Eve Torres. She got into a fight with Kelly over Kelly taking her man. The wrestlers again tried to get people to chant “Jerry.”

Masters said Torres wasn’t getting the job done. So Torres said she was also cheating with Great Khali. Khali came out and made out with Torres. Springer then said he had the results of the paternity test, and of course it was Hornswoggle. Springer left. Lawler then told Springer this was all a charade. No, really? Ranjin Singh said the Great Khali felt like the audience that this was a waste of time. No, really? Mae Young then came out and made out with Springer as the wrestlers yet again tried to get the crowd to chant “Jerry.” There were more wrestlers chanting “Jerry” than people in the crowd doing so.

This seriously may have been the low point in the history of Raw. Just the most moronic, interminable, negative stereotype-affirming nonsense. “Entertainment” by idiots and for idiots. And no, I don’t consider “it’s supposed to be awful” to be a particularly compelling defense for awful television programming.

Ted DiBiase beat Kofi Kingston in a brief match. Since DiBiase was going over, Kingston got the whole match. He hit a dropkick, clothesline off the top and boom drop. He set up for trouble in paradise but ran into the corner and DiBiase hit Dream Street for the pin.

They announced Antonio Inoki for the WWE Hall of Fame. This was kind of surreal in that they were acknowledging all this history that they have basically pretended never happened for decades. They talked about the formation of New Japan, the match with Muhammad Ali and the shows in North Korea. Props to WWE for bringing this history to the fans’ attention. They also announced Jewel and bull rider Ty Murray as the guest hosts next week. NASCAR, Jerry Springer, bull riding, it just gets better and better.

John Cena was in the ring and had an argument with Batista on the video screen. Cena was sarcastic and smarmy discussing how Batista attacked him from behind. Batista laughed and said Cena keeps running his mouth when Batista isn’t there. Batista said he will be on Raw next week and Cena can run his mouth then. He finally wished Cena luck on Sunday. Maybe it’s just me, but I find Batista’s character so much more likeable than Cena’s.

HHH beat John Cena via DQ. Cena hit a fisherman buster and threw HHH over the top, but accidentally dove into the barricade. HHH got heat during a commercial break but Cena quickly came back with shoulder blocks and the five knuckle. He went for the FU but HHH got out and hit a clothesline. HHH went for a superplex but Cena blocked and hit a top rope rocker dropper. Cena went for the STF but HHH reversed into a half crab. HHH hit a high knee, face buster and spine buster. He went for the pedigree but Sheamus ran in with a big boot for the DQ. He gave Cena the big boot too and hit a razor’s edge on HHH.

I just don’t buy that in 2010 crap finishes help build PPV matches. They’ve been done way too frequently for way too long and they just make matches feel pointless. I’d much rather they book TV matches where guys go over and then match up the guys who go over at the PPV to settle who the best is. Instead, they have a bunch of matches with crap finishes and then the same guys wrestle on the PPV. The hook for watching the PPV seems to be that this time we may actually give you a real finish.

WWE is essentially like a really stupid con man running a shell game. He offers you a free try, only he rigs it so you lose. Then he tries to get you to play again, only this time for $45, and says this time he’s going to play fair. This is not a very profitable con job. There are better strategies to be had, both in terms of engendering goodwill with your audience and in profiting more on PPV.

Final Thoughts:

This was so much worse than other recent editions of Raw. It had bad matches, bad finishes, bad angles and a dreadful Jerry Springer skit. It wasn’t just a letdown, but rather a gigantic step in the wrong direction.

If you want to hear a much more positive take on WWE’s WrestleMania direction, you can check out a podcast I did with Alex Reimer here at www.thesportsstuff.com. It was recorded prior to this edition of Raw and is as a result much more upbeat. Also, I forgot to mention this last week, but I was on the Fight Show podcast with Mauro Ranallo talking wrestling and MMA on February 3, so you can check that out too through iTunes via hardcoresportsradio.com/podcast.

Impact spoilers from Orlando

Awesome Kong and TNA settled their issues, at least enough that she was wrestling on tonight's show in an Xpolsion match as Kong & Hamada beat The Beautiful People to keep the tag titles

For Thursday's show:

Show opens with a Pope promo, talking about his match with A.J. Styles at Lockdown. Ric Flair and Styles came out with several women. Pope called him Dick Flair, which comes from the mid-90s and Shane Douglas. As Flair corrected him on the name, Pope said your name may be Ric, but you're still a Dick. He called Flair a well dresseed piece of crap. As Pope and Flair went back-and-forth, Styles started insulting Pope and Pope went after both of them. They beat down Pope and Pillmanized his ankle with a chair. Styles then put on the figure four and security had to pull Styles off him.

Tara b Daffney via DQ in a non-title match for using a tool box as a foreign object. She ended up putting a bicycle railing on Tara and started smashing the railing with a chair until Dr. Stevie came out and took her to the back.

Orlando Jordan b Samoa Joe clean with the back stabber

Kaz (no more Suicide) & Amazing Red & Generation Me b Doug Williams & Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin & Brian Kendirck when Kaz pinned Doug

Eric Bischoff announced Jeff Jarrett vs. Abyss and if Jarrett doesn't hit Abyss with a barbed wire bat, then Jarrett has to leave TNA.

Abyss vs. Jarrett saw Jarrett think about using the bat but refusing to. Eric Bischoff stopped the match and ordered his new team of henchman, which are Homicide, Raven, Desmond Wolfe, Tomko and Rhino) to attack both men. They held Abyss and called for Hogan to unmask him, but Hogan refused to unmask him and called him to the back.

Beer Money b Brutus Magnus & Rob Terry by pinning Magnus. Rob Terry is now the Global champion. Magnus said Terry was a screw up and that he and not Terry should be Global champion. So Terry teases giving Magnus the belt, but then attacked him and laid him out so it looked like a face turn for Terry.

Hogan, Bischoff and Abyss are in the office. Hogan told Bischoff to leave. Hogan said that Abyss is a real life monster, and took off his WWE Hall of Fame ring and gave it to Abyss telling him it was a ring that would give him magical powers.

Kurt Angle b Daniels with the ankle lock

Angle did a promo saying the chain that he wore was given to him from soldiers he met at an army base in Texas and that Ken Anderson disrespected them by using it as an object. He vowed revenge on Anderson. Anderson was all sarcastic saying how touched he was and amazed at Angle's ability to kiss people's ass for attention. They ended up brawling with Anderson using a low blow and laying Angle out with a mic. Anderson claimed TNA stands for Total Nonstop Anderson.

There was a brawl with Eric Young & Kevin Nash vs. Scott Hall & Syxx-Pac. Hogan showed up. This may be the end of the show

They taped some stuff ahead for the 2/25 show

It opened with Flair and Styles doing an interview. Styles says, "To be the man, you've got to beat the man." Flair cut a promo on Hogan and Abyss. Abyss came out to Hogan's "American Made" music and wearing Hogan's ring. Flair said Abyss may be superhuman when it comes to strength but he's not a Hall of Fame wrestler and calls him a clown. Flair said Abyss couldn't even shine his shoes. Abyss said that's true because he's not a shoe shine boy. Styles called Abyss a joke and he and Flair demand Abyss take the Hall of Fame ring off and give it to Styles, a real Hall of Fame wrestler. Then Hogan came out and a four-way argument beings.

Team 3-D b Nasty Boys in a tables match. Jesse Neal is back as a babyface as he got the helmet from Jimmy Hart and threw it to Devon to set up the win, which was a 3-D on Sags through a table

Beer Money challenged for a tag title match. Hernandez agreed to give them a match.

Kaz b Brian Kendrick

lunedì 15 febbraio 2010

La TNA torna a collaborare con la ROH

Con l'annuncio della partecipazione dei MCMG allo show della ROH in Maggio, la TNA ha deciso di approvare la partecipazione dei loro wrestlers agli show della ROH purchè non vengano mandati in onda su HDNet, in PPV o su DVD.

Ecco le date per i prossimi tapings di Impact

Monday February 15
Tuesday February 16
Monday March 8 (Live)
Tuesday March 9
Monday March 22 (Live)
Tuesday March 23
Monday April 5 (Live)
Tuesday April 6
Monday April 19(Live)
Tuesday April 20

Ora è ufficiale: la TNA sbarca al Lunedì sera contro Raw!

Nella conferenza stampa di oggi, come previsto, è stato dato l'annuncio del passaggio di Impact al Lunedì sera, dalle 9 pm alle 11 pm, in diretta concorrenza con Raw, anche se USA Network vorrebbe un Raw di 3 ore ogni Lunedì.

Questo il recap della conferenza:

TNA President Dixie Carter officially announced that TNA would be moving Impact to Mondays on 3/8 during a press conference that was broadcast online.

After being introduced by Mike Tenay and making the announcement, Carter commented that she and Hulk Hogan said in October 2009 that they were going to "turn wrestling upside down" and they have done that. Carter also commented that Hogan indeed brought the "rocket fuel" that TNA needed to go to the next level.

Carter introduced Hogan at this point. Hogan said that when he came to the company, he had no idea how quick "such amazing things would happen." Hogan said it was game time and it's game on. Hogan commented that he's never been around a company before with such positive people and work ethic. Hogan said that if he was told three or four years ago, that he'd be around such positive people "during the twilight of his career", he's have thought you were crazy.

Hogan said they were making history "and things are going to change like they have never changed before." He promised they were going somewhere that no "sports-entertainment company has gone before." Hogan said that he feels a spring in his step and is proud to be part of TNA.

Hogan said that the move wasn't a "Hulk Hogan thing" but more about the hard work and foundation of the last several years. Hogan said, "This place is real, there's no agendas here." Hogan said Dixie and Bob Carter gave him a chance to "have life after life."

At this point, they opened it up to questions from the media:

*They were asked about the length of the Monday move. Dixie Carter said they foresee it as "happening forever." She noted some episodes will be live and some will be taped but they are in it for the long haul.

*Dixie was asked about the 9 PM timeslot. Carter said they could have done 8-10 PM but the 9PM timeslot was the best decision to start with. Hogan said that from a wrestler's point of view, if you want to prove you are the best in the fight, you want the fans to choose who is the best by going head to head. Hogan said that for him, that was the only option. Hogan said their might be other reasons to switch the timeslot around from a network point of view, but the wrestlers like a good fight.

*Hogan was asked about the Monday Night Wars in the past. Hogan said that they started "across the street" at Disney in WCW and they took over in six months. Hogan said that today, it isn't a competition because TNA has a better product and better talent. He said that from being around for a few months, he knows that they have a better production. He said they aren't here to relive history, but to make new history. Dixie said that wars are waged over long periods of time and they are in it for the long run and want to increase their ratings over time.

*When asked about Impact expanding into a three hour show, Dixie said there were no plans or talks for that, but there were talks of additional programming on Spike.

*They were asked if they expected any response from Vince McMahon. Hogan laughed and said he'll give them the inside scoop. He said that Vince won't acknowledge it because he doesn't see anyone as competition, but the talent he's spoken to in WWE are hoping TNA does well. He said the talent want there to be leverage and they want there to be something more than a monopoly. Hogan said the office isn't happy TNA is doing this.

*Dixie was asked about the company's expectations over time. Carter said that if they can hold the ratings they had on Thursday and move them to Mondays, they will be happy and can grow from there. She said the fans are the real winners and that they are having fun at their jobs. She's hoping to give back some of the passion that wrestling fans have lost or to make new fans and to make everyone proud to be a wrestling fan. She said people aren't proud to be fans and she wants to give them a reason to make them proud to be fans again. Hogan said that he used to go wrestle in "another place" and it was the longest day of his life. Here, everyone loves being here and he wouldn't even set benchmarks because he's "afraid to predict anything" because TNA's talent are raising the bar so hard and fast. Hogan said he wouldn't even know where to begin in regard to expectations because things are happening so fast.

venerdì 12 febbraio 2010

Idee per il PPV WWE che andrà a sostituire Survivor Series

Alla recente conferenza con gli investitori WWE, Vince McMahon ha annunciato la cancellazione del ppv "Survivor Series", ponendo così fine al secondo ppv più vecchio made in WWE dopo Wrestlemania.

Con la cancellazione di Survivor Series il creative team e Vince McMahon stanno vagliando diverse ipotesi su quale sarà il formato del nuovo ppv che lo andrà a sostituire:

-un one night tournament stile king of the Ring.

-un evento stile Battle Bowl.

-Money in the Bank ppv.

-Night of Legends composto dal ritorno di vecchie glorie.

-un ppv con la gimmick spin the wheel.

-i draft come evento ppv.

-uno street fight ppv.

-War Games, anche se Vince è stato sempre contrario a proporre questa gimmick usata ai tempi della NWA/WCW.

Cambio di nome per Bryan Danielson?

Agli ultimi tapings in Tampa, l'annunciatrice Savannah ha introddo Bryan Danielson chiamandolo "Daniel Bryan".

Ad ora non si sa se sia stato un errore dell'annunciatrice o se questo sarà il nuovo nome in WWE di Bryan Danielson.

January and February deaths and births:

01/01/1943 - Born - Jimmy Hart
01/02/1897 - Born - Jim Londos
01/03/1952 - Born - Jim Ross
01/04/1970 - Born - Kanyon
01/04/2001 - Died - Villano I, Jose de Jesus Diaz Mendoza, of a heart attack at age 54
01/06/1964 - Born - Jacqueline
01/07/1951 - Born - Chavo Guerrero, Sr.
01/07/1991 - Died - Bronko Nagurski at 81
01/07/2000 - Died - Gary Albright of a heart attack at 38
01/07/2002 - Died - Mighty Igor of heart failure in his 60's
01/08/1937 - Died - Farmer Burns at 75
01/08/1947 - Born - Bushwacker Luke
01/09/1931 - Died - Wayne Munn of kidney problems at 35
01/10/1951 - Born - Pez Whatley
01/10/1958 - Born - Jerry Estrada
01/10/1970 - Born - Marcus Buff Bagwell
01/10/1972 - Born - Brian Christopher AKA Grandmaster Sexay
01/12/1966 - Born - Luna Vachon
01/14/1953 - Born - Hacksaw Jim Duggan
01/15/1970 - Born - Shane McMahon
01/16/1941 - Born - Abdullah the Butcher
01/16/1965 - Died - Yukon Eric of a suicide shooting at 41
01/18/1954 - Born - Ted BiBiase
01/18/2003 - Died - "The Original Sheik" Ed Farahat of natural causes
01/20/1998 - Died - Bobo Brazil from a stroke at 74
01/21/1941 - Born - Ivan Putski
01/21/1985 - Died - Eddie Graham of a suicide shooting at 55
01/22/1967 - Born - Manabu Nakanishi
01/22/1995 - Died - Crusher Jerry Blackwell of pneumonia at 45
01/22/2000 - Died - Kangaroo Al Costello of pneumonia at 80
01/23/1938 - Born - Shohei Baba
01/24/1950 - Died - Bull Montana, Luigi Montagna
01/24/1959 - Born - Akira Maeda
01/24/1997 - Died - Dr. Jerry Graham of a stroke at 58
01/24/2000 - Died - Bobby Duncum Jr.of a drug overdose at 34
01/25/1953 - Born - Honky Tonk Man aka Wayne Ferris
01/27/1993 - Died - Andre the Giant of a heart attack at 46
01/28/1975 - Born - Shark Boy
01/29/1929 - Died - The Terrible Turk Hassen Nuhammed at 38 in an ocean-liner sinking.
01/29/1963 - Born - Samu
01/29/1963 - Born - Bob Hardcore Holly
01/29/1964 - Born - Sabu
01/31/1999 - Died - Shohei "Giant" Baba of cancer at 61
02/02/1942 - Born - Seiji Sakaguchi
02/02/1950 - Born - Osamu Kido
02/02/1950 - Born - Genichiro Tenryu
02/03/1959 - Born - Meng aka Haku, King Haku
02/03/1960 - Born - Kerry Von Erich
02/03/1962 - Born - Marty Jannetty
02/04/1986 - Died - Gino Hernandez of a drug overdose at 29
02/04/1990 - Died - Whipper Billy Watson at 74
02/05/1984 - Died - El Santo of a heart attack at 67
02/06/1997 - Died - Bulldog Bob Brown of a heart attack at 58
02/07/1992 - Died - Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer at 32 of a drug overdose
02/08/1956 - Born - Jim the Anvil Neidhart
02/08/1958 - Born - Sensational Sherri Martel aka Queen Sherri
02/09/1964 - Born - Medusa/Alundra Blaze
02/10/1955 - Born - Gentleman Chris Adams
02/10/1971 - Born - Victoria
02/10/1984 - Died - David Von Erich of acute enteritis at 25
02/10/2003 - Died - Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig of a drug overdose at 44
02/12/1960 - Born - One Man Gang AKA Akeem
02/12/1973 - Born - Ron Killings
02/14/1948 - Born - Big John Studd
02/14/1965 - Born - Ken Shamrock
02/14/1968 - Born - Tommy Dreamer
02/15/1977 - Born - Gran Naniwa
02/15/1998 - Died - Louie Spicolli of a drug overdose at 27
02/16/1924 - Born - Ray Gunkel
02/16/1987 - Died - Promoter Ann Gunkel of cancer at 50
02/18/1989 - Died - Mildred Burke of a stroke at 73
02/18/1993 - Died - Kerry Von Erich of a suicide shooting at 33
02/18/1995 - Died - Eddie Gilbert of a heart attack at 33
02/19/1941 - Born - Dory Funk, Jr.
02/19/1968 - Died - George Hackenschmidt at 90
02/19/1992 - Died - Tojo Yamamoto by suicide shooting at 65
02/20/1943 - Born - Antonio Inoki
02/20/1975 - Died - Bobby Shane in an airplane crash at 29
02/20/1969 - Born - Gedo
02/20/2002 - Died - Swede Hanson of Alzheimer's disease at 68
02/20/2003 - Died - Tony Altomare of a heart attack at 74
02/23/1999 - Died - The Renegade, Richard Wilson of a suicide shooting at 33
02/25/1934 - Died - The California Red Devil, Jack Lewis of a heart attack
02/25/1949 - Born - Ric Flair
02/28/1953 - Born - Ricky Steamboat
02/28/1978 - Born - Masato Tanaka

Line up finale di TNA Against All Odds 2010

*TNA champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe with Eric Bischoff as the special referee.

*The Nasty Boys vs. Team 3D.

Tournament for Lockdown PPV TNA championship title shot:

Round One

*Abyss vs. Mick Foley

*TNA Tag Team champ Matt Morgan vs. TNA Tag Team champ Hernandez.

*Kurt Angle vs. Ken Kennedy

*Desmond Wolfe vs. D'Angelo Dinero

lunedì 8 febbraio 2010

Cosa vedremo al debutto di NXT + futuro dell'ECW Title!

Lo show NXT sarà impostato sulla formula del "reality", tipo lo show Ultimate Fighter della UFC. I telespettatori avranno l'occasione di seguire nuovi talenti dentro e fuori dal ring. L'idea è di far seguire l'evoluzione dei wrestlers dal primo giorno, scoprendo il loro background, le loro motivazioni e i loro scopi.

Nulla è ancora deciso sulle sorti dell'ECW Title in possesso di Christian. In molti vorrebbero tenerlo in vita per poterlo usare nell'undercard come attrazione per i ppv.

domenica 7 febbraio 2010

Bret Hart:" Non lavorerò mai per Bischoff e Hogan!"

Dopo la pubblicazione di Jeremy Borash di una foto che lo ritrae con Bret Hart fuori da un ristorante in Nashville, seguito poi da un commento inutile di Bischoff, Bret Hart ha dichiarato che è stato un piacere rivedere il suo vecchio amico Borash, che con lui lavorò in Australia per Andrew McManus, ma che dopo la pessima esperienza in WCW, non ha alcuna intenzione per lavorare per il duo Bischoff/Hogan.

"It was nice seeing Jeremy Borash, a longtime friend of mine, from TNA while I was in Nashville. He hung out with me and we never once talked wrestling. Some feeble minded idiot who saw us in plain view tried to start the rumour that I might be heading to TNA next; although why anyone would ever think I'd let Hogan and Bischoff anywhere near my Hitman persona again is truly beyond me."

sabato 6 febbraio 2010

TNA Impact rating

1.18. 1.5 milioni di telespettatori.

Le reazioni interne alla TNA all'uscita di questi numeri sono state naturalmente di disappunto.

Altra star ha finito con la TNA

Dalla pagina del roster è stato rimosso Scott Steiner, il quale è stato escluso dai piani sin dall'avvento del regime Hogan/Bischoff.

Steiner presenziò di sua volontà allo show del 4 Gennaio.

WWE Superstars rating

1.0.

giovedì 4 febbraio 2010

Scott D'Amore lascia la TNA

L'agent della divisione Knockout TNA Scott D'Amore, ha lasciato la TNA per dedicarsi alla sua Border City Wrestling promotion in Canada. La BCW si è da poco fusa con la BSE Pro Wrestling, creando la Maximum Pro Wrestling.

Annunciata la location di TNA Lockdown

Dixie Carter, tramite il suo account Twitter, ha comunicato che Lockdown avrà luogo in quel di St.Louis.

ECW rating

1,05.

mercoledì 3 febbraio 2010

TNA Hermie's Hotseat con Samoa Joe!

Per l'occasione, Samoa Joe parla del suo primo periodo in TNA, di esssere padre e del discorso che fece in ppv contro Scott Hall.

ECW out; NXT in

Le trasmissioni di WWE ECW, iniziate nel Giugno 2006, cesseranno dal 23/2.

WWE NXT inizerà il 2 Marzo.

Questo il discorso di Vince McMahon:

"I would like to proudly announce in three weeks' time that ECW will be going off the air. I would like to thank all the technicians, cameramen, directors, producers, everyone, and certainly all the Superstars who made ECW the success that it truly was. But, I'd also like to thank in advance all of you who will be responsible for the success in bringing a new, innovative, never before seen program broadcast at the very same time here on SyFy. This will be the next, next evolution of the WWE. This will be the next evolution of television history. Thank you very much."

Raw rating

3.6.

martedì 2 febbraio 2010

Deceduto Jack Brisco. Biografia.

Jack Brisco, ex NWA World champion e NCAA champion, da molti considerato come uno dei migliori workers nella storia di questo sport, è deceduto nella giornata di ieri all'età di 68 anni.

"Lui era il mio migliore amico ed il mio eroe", ha detto Brian Blair, facendo suoi già i molti commenti di vari wrestlers e persone del pro wrestling nei loro 50, che sono cresciuti quando Jack Brisco. Era una personalità "più grande della vita", promosso come il miglior wrestler tecnico che non poteva essere sconfitto da nessuno in un match regolare.

Brisco ha dovuto far fronte a vari problemi di salute nel corso di questi ultimi anni, inclusi problemi circolatori e respiratori. Si è sottoposto ad un intervento a cuore aperto qualche settimana fa, e poco più di una settimana fa è collassato durante la riabilitazione, arrivando ad un certo punto all'arresto cardiaco. Il fratello Gerald, molto vicino a Jack, sta cercando di recuperare da una serie di ictus da cui è stato colpito.

Fuori dal ring, Brisco era noto per essere un burlone, ma nel ring, per i suoi tempi, era il migliore nel business.

Lottatori come Dory e Terry Funk, che hanno lottato praticamente in ogni importante Stato in quell'era, hanno dichiarato che Jack Brisco e Johnny Valentine furono i due migliori workers con cui loro si confrontarono.

Brisco, cresciuto in Blackwell, OK, era un grande fans di wrestling da bambino, raccontando storie di quando andava nelle edicole e scorreva le varie riviste di wrestling per leggere qualcosa su i suoi due eroi: Lou Thesz e Danny Hodge.

Brisco è entrato nell'amateur wrestling grazie al suo amore per il pro wrestling, ed è stato un all-state football player ed un state high school wrestling champion.

Per via del lavoro e per mantenere una giovane famiglia, lottò solo due anni all'Oklahoma State, parte di un importante team che includeva una leggenda del wrestling come Yojiro Uetake. Nel corso di quegli anni, perse solo un match, nelle finali del torneo NCAA del 1964 contro Harry Houska. Rimase imbattuto nel 1965, conquistando l'NCAA title sui 191 pounds, ed immediatamente iniziò a lottare per Leroy McGuirk, conquistando il national title.

Lo status di Brisco a livello di superstardom arrivò col booking di Eddie Graham in Florida. Il suo primo compenso consistente arrivò in Australia, dove Jim Barnett vide qualcosa in lui per via del suo aspetto e delle sue abbilità atletiche.
Graham e Sam Muchnick, a soli pochi anni dall'inizio della sua carriera, spinsero per fargli conquistare l'NWA world heavyweight title. In molti si meravigliavano di come Jack potesse fumarsi un intero pacchetto di sigarette e poi salire sul ring per 60 minuti duri senza alcun problema.

Durante il quarto regno di campione di Dory Funk jr., Jack Brisco era considerato il contendente numero uno. Il feud fra Brisco e Dory agli inizi degli anni '70 è visto come uno dei leggendari feuds di tutti i tempi ed i loro match come i miglior match tecnici dell'era, facendo dei sold out in molte parti del paese.

Questo feud portò naturalmente al tag team feud fra i Brisco Brothers e i fratelli Funk (in un occasione il team dei Funk fu composto da Dory sr. e jr..

Jack avrebbe dovuto vincere il titolo da Dory jr. all'inizio del 1973, ma un infortunio a Funk jr. portò ad uno spostamento dei piani nei mesi seguenti, con Funk jr. che perse il titolo contro Harley Race e quest'ultimo lo perse contro Brisco il 20 Luglio 1973 in Houston. Eccetto il passaggio del titolo durato una settimana in Giappone per Giant Baba, Brisco rimase campione sino al 10 Dicembre 1975, quando perse contro Terry Funk in Miami Beach.

Jack fu considerato un top contender per il titolo sino all'arrivo dell'era Ric Flair, ma grazie ai suoi buoni rapporti col fratello Gerarld, diventò un tag team wrestler di successo.

I Briscos furono un top babyface tag team in Florida negli anni '70 ed '80, quando alla Mid Atlantic promotion vinsero varie volte i titoli di coppia e lasciarono il segno come heels nel feud contro Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood.

Jack Brisco fu l'artefice della vendita della Georgia Championship Wrestling a Vince McMahon nel 1984, che portò la WWF sulla TBS per un anno.

I fratelli Brisco erano coinvolti in un feud con i tag team champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch, quando Jack comunicò a Gerarld che sarebbe tornato a casa.

A differenza di molti altri wrestlers nella storia, Jack non tornò più a lottare.

Raw is Bret vs. Vince II

WWE Raw Report

By: Todd Martin

Email: ToddMartin4L@aol.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Blog: toddwmartin.blogspot.com

Date: 02/01/10 from Nashville, TN.

The Big News: WrestleMania is approaching and WWE delivered one of its strongest and most memorable Raw efforts in a while.

Show Analysis:

The show started with a graphic for Jack Brisco. Edge then came out. He noted that he is not only back but in the WrestleMania main event. He said he was expected to be out longer but he watched the Slammy Awards and heard Chris Jericho thank him for getting injured so Jericho could team with Big Show. At that moment, Edge said the room went silent, not just because Dennis Miller bombed with another brutal joke but because Edge made a vow he wouldn’t miss Mania for a third time with an injury.

Edge said that he’s the ultimate opportunist and the Rumble was his opportunity to make it back to a Mania main event. Edge said that Jericho has a Slammy and his mug shot on TMZ while Edge has his ticket to Mania. I like little jabs like the TMZ one because it makes the feud feel more real. Edge asked rhetorically whether it would be smarter to go after the champion who is 17-0 or the champion who has never competed at Mania. He said he would do the smart thing and wait until after the Elimination Chamber to make a decision.

This was a good promo by Edge. I’m glad he’s back as I think he’s one of the best performers they have and he feels fresher than most of the main event mix. Interestingly, his promo was kind of heelish in that the opportunism stuff made him come across kind of like a coward. I’m not sure if the idea is to gradually shift his character or what.

Sheamus came out to join Edge in the ring. He said that a lot has changed since Edge left. He conceded that he hasn’t wrestled at Mania but added that he did something Edge couldn’t do at Mania, beat John Cena. Edge said he has made a career of beating Cena for the title. Sheamus said he will walk out of the Elimination Chamber as champion. He then told Edge to leave before he put him back on the shelf. Edge didn’t leave so Sheamus attacked him. Edge fought off Sheamus with punches of his own.

I absolutely hate the idea of putting up a title in an Elimination Chamber in February. The Elimination Chamber ought to be the way the other brand creates a challenger for WrestleMania, like they have done previously. That way both major Mania title shots are treated as huge deals that you have to go through a lot to earn. It builds up both the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber as really important and ties the Chamber PPV to the Rumble PPV. Here, the Elimination Chamber undermines the significance of the Rumble, because five different guys are getting a title shot and the chance to headline Mania just one month after the supposedly all important Rumble.

John Cena beat Cody Rhodes to qualify for the Elimination Chamber. Rhodes gained the advantage very early but Cena hit the Cena slam and five knuckle. He went for the FU but Rhodes fought out and hit a clothesline and moonsault. Cena responded with the FU out of nowhere for the pin. Backstage, William Shatner told Vince McMahon he couldn’t wait for Bret Hart to embarrass him.

Triple H beat Jack Swagger to qualify for the Elimination Chamber. Swagger hit a DDT, leg drops, and applied an abdominal stretch. He went for a Vader bomb but HHH got up his knees. HHH went for the pedigree but Swagger reversed and hit the Vader bomb for two. HHH then quickly hit the pedigree for the pin.

They did a skit with William Shatner doing spoken word versions of Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Triple H’s themes. This didn’t really do it for me comically but I thought it was a clever idea that just didn’t click for whatever reason.

Backstage, Triple H met with Shawn Michaels. HHH was joking around with Michaels and trying to cheer him up but Michaels was just too depressed. HHH told Michaels to get into the Chamber and take the title.

Randy Orton beat Shawn Michaels. Michaels hit a swinging neck breaker but missed sweet chin music. Orton retaliated with a back breaker and dropkick. Michaels then came back with a top rope elbow but his sweet chin music attempt was countered into an RKO attempt. Michaels avoided that and hit an atomic drop and flying forearm. Michaels went for his usual nip up but Orton quickly rolled him up for the pin. I loved that finish given Michaels has been telegraphing that nip up spot for over a decade now.

After the match, Michaels was really down. His facials were phenomenal. He sold extreme frustration but at the same time was able to avoid coming across like he was throwing an unsympathetic hissy fit. That’s a tricky balance and Michaels pulled it off so perfectly. This really was great.

Backstage, Ted DiBiase told Randy Orton he was sorry about what happened at the Rumble. A seething Orton just left and DiBiase stood there looking rather angry in his own right. This segment made it pretty clear that these men now no longer trust or like each other and that the breakup is coming, probably at Elimination Chamber.

The Legacy breakup is going to be tricky. It has been booked of late so fans sympathize more with Orton, but I don’t see how they can elevate Rhodes or DiBiase out of the feud if Orton goes face. His face turn will be the central focus and they’ll put him strong over the other two. It will be so hard to book it in a way that Rhodes and DiBiase come out stronger than they went in. I know Orton is going to be a hot face sooner rather than later, but I really think they should find a way to go with the seeming original idea of a heel Rhodes and Orton against a face DiBiase. It’s just so much more conducive to creating a new star. Turn Orton later on.

Ted DiBiase beat Mark Henry in an Elimination Chamber qualifier. Henry clotheslined DiBiase to the floor but DiBiase took over there. DiBiase sent Henry’s arm into the post and the steps. Henry gained control with a clothesline and head butt but DiBiase went after the arm when Henry tried the world’s strongest slam. Henry avoided dream street but missed a corner avalanche and DiBiase hit a DDT with the arm for the pin.

WWE ran a video package on Jack Brisco. I thought it was well intentioned but really poor in giving credit to how successful his career was. It portrayed him primarily as a tag team star and spent more time on the Brisco Brothers Body Shop than his NWA World Title runs. There wasn’t a single mention of Dory Funk, Jr. It felt more like they were honoring the brother of a long time front office employee than one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.

Backstage, Maryse said she was looking forward to wrestling Gail Kim. Didn’t WWE just announce they were going to wrestle on this show? Maryse said she was embarrassed watching Mickie James and Michelle McCool on Smackdown and said they shouldn’t be acting that way. She said they are grown women and should act that way. Gail reluctantly said okay. Maryse then said something (I assume something bad) in French to Gail.

Miz and Big Show were backstage when they were confronted by the Straight Edge Society. CM Punk said they were there to get a title shot with DX. Miz and Show said they wanted the title shot. William Shatner came in and made a triple threat title match for next week on Raw. He then froze in a smiling position and kept saying “freeze the frame” to the wrestlers. They all looked at him like he was a complete idiot. This was amusing.

HHH backstage told Michaels that he was spiraling down. He told Shawn that this wasn’t the end of the world and that there are plenty of other guys to wrestle at Mania. “Not for me,” Shawn replied. They announced Carl Edwards from NASCAR will be the guest host next week. Yay, more NASCAR hosts! What, was Larry the Cable Guy unavailable? Oh shit, pretend I never said that.

Kofi Kingston beat Big Show via DQ to qualify for the Chamber. Kingston crotched Show and dropkicked him to the floor. Show came back with a spear. Miz was taunting Kingston at ringside but MVP came out and chased Miz to the back. Kingston kind of hit a top rope dropkick and used the boom drop but Show powered out of a pin attempt.

Show went for a choke slam but Kingston accidentally thumbed him in the eye. Show went for the KO punch but couldn’t see and hit the referee. Another referee came out and called for a DQ. This was such a crappy finish that you could hear boos even with the face winning.

I hate crap finishes in general. I think you can pretty much always book in a way to avoid them. For example here just book Kingston to beat someone else clean to qualify. It would give him more momentum going into the match and you wouldn’t have this sour tasting crap finish teaching you that you can’t trust a match to end with a halfway decent ending.

But even in the spectrum of crap finishes, this was particularly bad. It made no damn sense. Kingston uses an illegal tactic accidentally and as a direct result Show accidentally hits the referee. How is Show responsible for this turn of events if someone must be blamed? It was Kingston’s damn fault if we must apply a strict liability standard that’s contrary to how matches are usually done.

And why must someone be blamed if there was no malicious intent? I’ve seen 8,000 accidental ref bumps over the years with no DQ called. DQs are sometimes called when the referee thinks the wrestler did it intentionally, but here there’s no way the second referee could possibly have thought this was intentional. Thus the DQ felt absurd.

This is just elementary human logic and ethics. A six year old would understand why this was unjust to the heel and yet this referee is booked to be so monumentally idiotic. You don’t see guys in the NFL getting 15 yard misconducts for accidentally running into the official. You should at least be able to avoid crap finishes that don’t even make sense within the context of what you do every single week. Ugh.

The final segment of the show started with Jerry Lawler introducing William Shatner. Shatner “accidentally” fell on Lawler for comedy. Shatner then introduced Bret Hart. I don’t know what it was, but facially he looked more like the younger Bret Hart I remember. He then cut an awesome promo.

Bret said that he came back for the right reasons and to make peace. He noted that was naive. Bret said this time he wasn’t there for peace but to talk to Bret face to face. Vince McMahon then came out. He said that he regrets nothing he ever said or did to Bret. Bret said that was the first honest thing Vince has ever said. He called Vince the world’s greatest liar. He noted some of the lies Vince told including saying that he was like a father to Bret.

Bret said Vince couldn’t lace his father’s jock. Bret talked about when he was in a wheelchair following his stroke. Bret said he got out of the wheelchair and vowed he would never feel pathetic again. Then he came to WWE to make amends and got kicked in the guts and felt pathetic. Bret talked about working so hard for Vince and how Vince never appreciated it. He said that if he was chewing gum like Vince said, this gum had enough flavor left to kick Vince’s ass.

This promo by Bret Hart was exactly what was needed. It was passionate, well scripted and well delivered. It was thoroughly believable and touched on so many real issues between Bret and Vince. It was pretty much the ideal promo you would want Bret to cut on Vince. Bret really delivered here.

Vince responded by saying Bret is pathetic. He has no personality, and without personalities like Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret would have been a footnote. He added that Bret has no charisma and no command of the English language. He said that Bret was dressed like a hobo and deserved to be screwed. He then said that he wouldn’t induct Stu Hart into the Hall of Fame because Stu doesn’t deserve it.

The scripting of Vince’s promo was fantastic. I loved the knocks of Bret and the final jab at Stu was a great way to spur Bret into physical action. With that said, I didn’t care for Vince’s delivery at all. He seemed way too pleased with himself as a performer and delivered it in a hammy and goofy manner that undermined the material in my mind. He came across like a character rather than the real Vince from Montreal. People wanted to see Stone Cold kick the ass of the character Mr. McMahon. But people want to see Bret kick the ass of the real Vince McMahon and Vince making ridiculous faces undermined the reality Bret had interjected into his promo.

Bret pulled Vince’s coat over his head and attacked Vince with punches. He went for the sharpshooter but Batista came in and took Bret down with punches. He held Bret and Vince spit in Bret’s face. I wish it weren’t true, but there’s no getting around the fact that the physicality between Bret and Vince and Batista looked awful. But WWE now has basically everything they need for a huge Bret vs. Vince confrontation at Mania. They’ve got the great Bret promo and the image of Vince spitting in Bret’s face is a tremendous visual they can air a million times between now and then. Overall this segment was a big success.

Final Thoughts:

The main section of this report is particularly heavy with analysis of this show, but I wanted to close with one final point on what was generally a very strong build for WrestleMania.

There was a lot of good stuff on Raw, but I think the best stuff was Michaels’ performance in building a match with Undertaker. I criticize Raw a lot, because I think frequently it’s a very poorly written show. But this Michaels-Taker feud is being masterfully put together.

Thinking about a Michaels-Taker rematch, the logical thing to do to build the match would be to push Michaels really strong. Michaels wins a whole bunch of matches and is booked really strong so you think he just might be able to beat Taker. What WWE has done is pretty much the opposite. I never would have thought to do it that way, but it is working so much better than if they had just pushed Michaels strong.

By booking Michaels to fail repeatedly and sink into a state of depression and despair, it makes him such a sympathetic character. You see just how much he wants to beat Undertaker. He isn’t just saying it but showing it through his actions. It seems to mean more to him than Taker’s streak has ever meant to Taker. And the effect of that emotion is that by the time Mania comes, so many people are going to want to see Michaels accomplish this goal.

Watching this show, I found it hard to imagine Michaels failing at his goal to defeat Undertaker. It felt like Michaels would just leave forever and never show his face again if he couldn’t do it. That emotion has injected so much energy in this match and I think the Michaels vs. Taker Mania rematch is shaping up to be the best built WWE program since Batista vs. HHH.