Tag Archives: Brodus Clay

Feb 17 2013
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Wrestling Clips

WWE Pay-Per-View Roundtable: Elimation Chamber (2013)

by Daniel Johnson, Kyle Childers and Bad Booking

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Brodus Clay and Tensai (with Cameron and Naomi) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars

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Daniel Johnson: Team Rhodes Scholars should get the win here after Tensai does something to goof up. It is a shame that Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow are stuck in this bout. Both should be in the main event scene within a year, but if they start getting booked regularly on the pre-show then their potentially may be wasted for a long time to come.

Kyle Childers: Pass.

Bad Booking: Despite the goofy lingerie and hip hop, the newly-formed tag team of monsters could very well be a threat. As much as I’m rooting for Rhodes and Sandow, I would love to see what WWE has in store for two giant monsters who are easily convincing crushing machines. I say Brodus/Tensai for the win just because of WWE’s tendency to push monsters.

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The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro (c) for the WWE United States Heavyweight Championship

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Daniel Johnson:  Antonio Cesaro should retain in what will be a pointless rematch. Hopefully, from here Cesaro will feud with more worthwhile opponents. Since he has moved down the card anyway and Team Hell No can’t last forever I would love Daniel Bryan to feud with the Swiss technician.

Kyle Childers: Cesaro’s been on a major roll since winning the United States title in 2012 beating such big name contenders as, um, R-Truth, Tyson Kidd and the Funkasaurus but this is his first chance to shine on pay-per-view against a former WWE champion and lucky for Antonio, his opponent is The Miz. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a knock on The Miz by any means, unlike most other writers in this field I think he’s a solid, entertaining worker but now isn’t his time. Cesaro keeps his momentum going with a win over the Cleveland Screamer.

Bad Booking: Waste of time, as both men can easily be put into bigger and better things. I’ll take Cesaro for the win.

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Tamina Snuka vs. Kaitlyn (c) for the WWE Divas Championship

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Daniel Johnson:  Here is bathroom break number one. Still, at least Kaitlyn is an improvement over the previous face of the women’s division, Kelly Kelly. I find it hard to believe that WWE would do anything to slow down Kaitlyn’s momentum since they seem so high on her. Tamina should go down unless she is given a brief run with the title and loses it back to Kaitlyn.

Kyle Childers: Finally the Diva’s title is getting a little bit of television time and some real angles to work with, if they’re committed to the idea of rebuilding the diva division then the smart idea would be to keep the title on Kaitlyn.

Bad Booking: The yo-yo push of Tamina part 624. She is pushed strong for three weeks, then the momentum is halted suddenly. Kaitlyn will win, and Snuka won’t have the chance to squash her adversary from the top of a Chamber pod.

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The Shield vs. John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus

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Daniel Johnson:  I can’t see this match topping the one that The Shield had in December. I’d love to be proven wrong though. Just like The Shied proved me wrong by so far not becoming a more serious version of The Spirit Squad. With that said I think The Shield will score a massive upset.

Kyle Childers: The chances of the Shield winning this match are lower than the tops of Hornswoggle’s socks but that’s okay. With Cena likely facing The Rock at Wrestlemania, the Ryback win streak continuing and Sheamus being Irish John Cena it makes perfect sense for the odds to overcome the Shield especially with the booking possibility of rehabbing their loss at Wrestlemania. The only real prediction to make here is how foolish the Three CenAmigos make Heyman’s hitmen look in the process.

Bad Booking: It is 100 percent imperative that The Shield wins. Three promising up and comers need the rub and subsequent push more than the three guys whose solid foundation can afford a loss or two. I can see The Shield continuing their thing with Ryback all the way to Wrestlemania in an even more epic tag match. However, it needs to be said: This son of a bitch needs the Chamber, WARGAMES STYLE! It would put over The Shield as a bad-ass team who can make a super-strong babyface say I quit.

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Jack Swagger vs. Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber match

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Daniel Johnson:  This is perhaps the toughest match on the card to predict. I would love Daniel Bryan to win, but I just don’t see that happening. Since Alberto Del Rio will most likely beat The Big Show a heel needs to win. I’ll pick Mark Henry. Unless Jericho wins and Dolph Ziggler cashes in on Del Rio. Yeah, on second though that makes way more sense than a Henry win.

Kyle Childers: With so many possible victors it’s hard to pick just one…okay maybe not, I don’t think many would argue in favor of Team Hell No in this one and his recent time in the midcard makes it a smart bet that Randy Orton won’t be going to Wrestlemania for a title shot but with the Hall of Pain open for business again, the seemingly obvious potential match-up of Swagger vs. Del Rio, or even the incredible outlier of Ziggler winning the title and continuing the 2012 mini-feud he had with Jericho on the grandest stage of them all. If Del Rio retains then Jack Swagger will win, if my bold prediction of Ziggler as champion comes true then Y2J will be victorious.

Bad Booking: It depends where it falls on the card. Although I think the dissension between Kane and Daniel Bryan will continue.

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The Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio (c) (with Ricardo Rodriguez) for the World Heavyweight Championship

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Daniel Johnson: Alberto Del Rio cannot lose this one. However, The Big Show won’t be the only one disappointed. This was by far the least interesting match at last month’s pay-per-view and it will drag down the card yet again. Let’s just hope Del Rio/Show ends here and doesn’t drag on like Del Rio/Sheamus from last year.

Kyle Childers: This is a match that I’m way more excited about than I feel I have any right to be. So far, Berto and the Big Show have had great chemistry in their matches with Del Rio playing a more engaging face than he ever even approached as a heel. The obvious pick is Alberto Del Rio but maybe not for obvious reasons; one direction we could see from here has plucky babyface Del Rio against survivalist Swagger (comes with beard and kung-fu ankle lock. Zeb Colter sold separately), but with the looming possibility of Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and this being the last big event before Wrestlemania, it’s entirely possible that Dolph Ziggler will leave New Orleans with the title.

Bad Booking: I’m not telling who is going to win as much as that where this match is placed will be 100 percent crucial for the rest of the card. If this is placed early, that means Ziggler is cashing in and Jericho wins the Elimination Chamber. If it is placed later in the card, then expect ADR to win and have a heel like Mark Henry win the Chamber.

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CM Punk (with Paul Heyman) vs. The Rock (c) for the WWE Championship

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Daniel Johnson:  The stipulation that if The Rock gets disqualified or counted out he loses the title makes things a bit interesting. I can’t see The Rock losing going into Wrestlemania. I think that The Rock will win after doing something that he should have been disqualified for. This will make room for Cena/Rock II to be turned into a three way with Punk.

Kyle Childers: I almost don’t want to write about this match but journalistic integrity prevents me from abstaining. Last month, I went out on a limb and picked CM Punk to retain over The Rock and technically, I was right but to be entirely honest, I wish I had been wrong. It’s hard to question that, even with the extra stipulations added, this is just WWE’s way of making The Rock look even stronger than a milk ad before the twice in a lifetime rematch with Cena in New York. Even with Punk’s historic title reign, the business potential of a second Cena/Rock showdown is too alluring to stray away from so, unfortunately, I expect the Rock to leave Elimination Chamber still the WWE champion.

Bad Booking: The Rock will retain the championship. No way he is heading into Wrestlemania without the belt, plus the publicity he could give the title would be huge as many movies are opening up soon. Did I mention the pay-per-view is sponsored by the new GI Joe movie that got pushed back from prime-time summertime so Rock can benefit from the PR? Anyhow, I think a swerve could happen in something NO ONE could expect: Brock Lesnar screws CM Punk, and establishes Paul Heyman as a guy whose primary mission is to only serve himself. Wise words from Hall of Famer (cheap pop) MICK FOLEY! Brock/Punk would be a great curve ball to Wrestlemania. Let HHH and Undertaker sit on the sidelines, because they have bigger things to accomplish.

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Photo Credits:

Photos 1-7: en.wikipedia.org

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Dec 11 2012
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Smooth Runs

Burning the Bandwagon: How WWE Booking Kills Midcard Stars

by Kyle Childers

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In the real world, success and ability are, more often than not, directly related; if you’re good at your job then you can expect to see a reward for it while if you’re bad at it then you could be awoken from your early afternoon nap to the unpleasant sight of your boss telling you that the marshmallow you attempted to eat in your dream was company property.

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…and that’s the story of why I no longer work in an office.

The WWE has the uncanny distinction of being one of the few professional arenas where this correlation doesn’t apply. In the WWE Universe, successes and failures are often determined by one’s ability to connect with the crowd.

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Usually.

Therein lays a distinct advantage the WWE holds over most other workplaces in that their entire business model is designed for them to decide who gets to the top of the card and who gets sacrificed to the Great Funkasaurus. Over the years, there have been plenty of examples of the WWE taking a talent from a no-name to a guaranteed box office draw just through sheer force of will and crowd manipulation.

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You’ll cheer him sooner or later damn it!

The Rock, John Cena and Randy Orton all started out as homegrown blue-chippers with negative crowd reactions (not meaning boos, meaning the crowd somehow made less than no noise) to three of the highest pay-per-view draws of the last 15 years. But for every sustained push that makes a star, there are at least three pushes that failed simply because the WWE gave up on them. WWE’s track record of aborted pushes went from few but logical to abundant in just over the last five years with a few notable examples.

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Really dodged a bullet on that one.

We could look at MVP who came in with a ton of momentum and a solid push as “the most valuable free agent in sports entertainment” and went on to become one of the longest reigning WWE United States Champions in history and held the distinction of having the longest televised loss streak in 2008. Of course, that losing streak did build to him defeating The Big Show in a last man standing match and then…nothing. Things turned out well for Mr. Porter in the end.

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Gaijin ballin’.

Or we could look at Jack Swagger who came in strong with a title push on the ECW brand before he got switched to Raw where his push turned cold. This isn’t the end of Swagger’s tale though as WWE still saw potential in the guy they booked to hold the ECW World Heavyweight Championship for 104 days as they made him Mr. Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania XXVI and World Heavyweight Champion two days later. His reign saw him defeat the likes of Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Edge and drag Rey Mysterio around an arena by the ankle. It also saw Jack look like a total goof against guys like Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and The Big Show before losing the title three months later to Rey Mysterio. Since then, he’s had a forgettable run as the WWE United States Champion and was last seen on TV letting everyone know he was going home because he kept losing.

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At least we’ll always have the memories.

Of course, no discussion of abandoned pushes is ever complete without Kofi Kingston. Kofi is another talent that came in with a fair amount of momentum only to see it squandered by WWE creative. I previously talked about his feud with Randy Orton where he pinned two former WWE Champions cleanly only to come out of the feud hot for a return to the WWE Intercontinental Championship, a territory where he’s mostly stayed since early 2010. Kofi is probably the best example of WWE yo-yo booking at work because he’s a person that fans desperately want to see move up the card but instead they’re treated to countless lesser title runs and a seemingly reserved spot in the yearly Money in the Bank matches.

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This all sounds so familiar…

But what about the third option? We’ve had some examples of guys that WWE got behind and pushed to the moon, we’ve had examples of pushes being dropped either before the worker could gain momentum, dropped because that was the easy booking path, and dropped because the top of the card was full but what about times WWE seemed intent to push someone against the wishes of the fans? 2011 and 2012 were both big years for this as 2011 saw the start of Alberto Del Rio’s rise to the top of the card to great apathy all around and 2012 saw the debut of Prince Tensai Albert, The Hip Hop Hippo of Japan or something. WWE seemed okay with quietly de-pushing the initially unstoppable Tensai but Alberto Del Rio is still going “strong.”

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His face tattoos translate to “Goodyear.”

Then there’s the very unique case of Zack Ryder, one of the only instances where WWE seemed to push someone specifically to fail. While Alberto Del Rio was arm-humping his way to the WWE Title, Ryder was using YouTube to build on the fanbase he had started to accumulate during his ECW run from a few dozen people nationally (rough estimate) to nearly a million followers on Twitter. Knowing better than to miss out on striking while the iron is hot, WWE decided to push Zack Ryder from Internet denizen to United States Champion in one of the top feel good moments of 2011 then it all went off a cliff…or off the stage.

All it took was a best friend, a trifling hussy and a masked maniac to move Ryder from future superstar main eventer to current WWE Superstars main eventer as Ryder was beaten, battered and betrayed for months in an angle where his role almost seemed designed to kill any good feelings the audience had for him.

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“You were supposed to be mah friend!”

I’m sure you’re sitting there wondering why WWE would do this, why start to create to stars only to bust them back even farther down the card than when they started? I really don’t have an answer. That seems like the biggest copout conclusion this could possibly reach but it’s true. What would motivate a multimillion dollar company whose existence is based on their ability to make new superstars that will keep the cycle of ticket sales, pay-per-views sold and t-shirts printed moving into the next decade? I’ll leave that up to you in the comments section below because there’s not a single explanation that makes sense to me.

Photo Credits:

Photo 1: usdailyreview.com

Photo 2: dropkickradio.com

Photo 3: tribalwrestling.com

Photos 4-5: bleacherreport.com

Photo 6: .jasonrivera.com

Photos 7-8: en.wikipedia.org

Photo 9: blogspot.com

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Nov 26 2012
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Wrestling Reviews

WWE Survivor Series (2012) Review

by Daniel Johnson


This year’s Survivor Series had a decent main event and two above average traditional Survivor Series matches. The opener placed a bright spotlight on WWE’s growing tag team division. Sure, it didn’t come close to the awesomeness that the tag team Survivor Series’ matches in 1987 and 1988 had behind them, but it was great for what it was. The other elimination match had its moments and gave a nice little rub to Dolph Ziggler. The Big Show/Sheamus bout was an improvement over their last pay-per-view encounter though the lame disqualification ending took away from it. The night ended with an intriguing twist that left fans asking, “what happens next?” Yet, for now let us take a look back at what was.

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Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio (with Cameron and Naomi) defeated Tensai, Primo, Epico, Darren Young and Titus O’Neil (with Rosa Mendes) in a traditional Survivor Series match

There are no quick eliminations in this contest as the bout has a decent amount of back and forth before anyone has to leave up the entrance ramp. The highlight of this early portion of the match has to be the double Asai moonsault that Sin Cara and Mysterio deliver to the outside. The fun has to stop at some point and the first one out is fun loving Brodus Clay after a running senton splash from Tensai. The big man looks dominant, but Gabriel quickly upsets him by sending him to the back with a crucifix pin. Titus O’Neil, everyone’s favorite muscular walrus, soon enters but he is likewise upset by Gabriel’s tag team partner as Kidd flips inside the ring to roll O’Neil up. Gabriel and Kidd are on fire and Epico is sure as heck isn’t going to stop them. He submits after Kidd locks on the sharpshooter and Michael Cole even makes a reference to the 1997 Survivor Series Montreal Screwjob during this. Only Primo and Darren Young are left on the heel team, but in a flash it is down to just Darren Young after Rey comes in and pins Primo with la magistral. Young is all alone and before he gets eliminated he takes a 619 followed by a Sin Cara swanton followed by a top rope lionsault from Gabriel, an elbow drop off the ropes from Kidd and a top rope splash from Rey. Stick a fork in him already!

Rating: 4 stars

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Eve (c) defeated Kaitlyn to retain the WWE Divas Championship

Before the match someone in a blonde wig attacks Kaitlyn backstage. This time Kaitlyn catches her and reveals the attacker as…Aksana! Eve approaches Kaitlyn backstage and tries to appear sympathetic only to be pushed on her arse by Kaitlyn. The match is above average especially considering the current WWE diva division. One section of the bout that stands out is Eve wrapping her legs around Kaitlyn’s neck in a submission and actually flipping her over with it. This work on the neck is later revisited in the finish when Eve puts Kaitlyn away with a neckbreaker.

Rating: 3.25 stars

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Antonio Cesaro (c) defeated R-Truth to retain the WWE United States Championship

Cesaro cuts a killer heel promo on his way to the ring and references America’s poor economy and soaring obesity rates. It is a shame WWE hasn’t given this guy enough time to work on pay-per-view lately. R-Truth gets a near fall after some clotheslines, but hurts his leg following a kick. Cesaro sees this weakness and goes after it. In less than seven minutes Cesaro pins R-Truth after hitting the neutralizer.

Rating: 3 stars

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Sheamus defeated The Big Show (c), but did not win the World Heavyweight Championship

Prior to this match there is an overly long segment featuring AJ Lee and Vickie Guerrero. AJ shows some photoshopped images of Vickie Guerrero in compromising positions with Ricardo Rodriguez, Jim Ross and Brodus Clay. Guerrero then screams at her before AJ points out that neither one of them can attack the other without facing consequences. Tamina Snuka then comes out of nowhere to attack AJ much to the delight of Vickie. Anyway, this championship match showed off the raw power of Sheamus. He hit Show with an electric chair that was followed almost immediately after with white noise. Imagine what Sheamus must lift in the gym? Sheamus is just about to take Show’s head off with a brogue kick when the mammoth pulls a ref in front of him. In the commotion Sheamus gets distracted and Show wallops him with a WMD. Show pins him, but soon after the ref changes the decision and Show is disqualified. Sheamus comes back to his senses for a short time before becoming livid and making Show beg for mercy after a vicious assault involving a chair.

Rating: 3.25 stars

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Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, David Otunga, Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Kane, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton (with Mick Foley) in a traditional Survivor Series match

Unlike the previous elimination match this one is a tad faster with it’s first eliminations. The commentators play up the injury of Damien Sandow’s partner Cody Rhodes and before long Sandow joins Rhodes in no longer being a part of this match. Kane doesn’t send Sandow to Hell, but comes close to it after executing a mighty chokeslam. The dissension among the teams gets highlighted next when Kane is eliminated in short order by Ziggler after Kane gets distracted by arguing with partner Daniel Bryan. Ziggler stays alive in this one, but the same cannot be said for Otunga who soon finds himself tapping to a crossface from Bryan. Bryan tags out and soon Kofi is in. Nearly as quickly Kofi is out after Barrett knocks him down to the mat with a bull hammer. Bryan goes one for one with the next elimination. First he made Otunga tap, but now he finds himself submitting to Del Rio’s cross armbreaker. It is between The Miz and Barrett for who will be sent to the back next. After a decent back and forth fight, Miz reverses Barrett’s wasteland to score the skull crushing finale and the pin. Miz stays in, but not for long as he is sent packing after a dropkick to the back of the head from Del Rio. Orton is all alone, but still manages to take out his foe Del Rio with an RKO. Orton almost wins the whole thing, but gets a surprise when he is about to punt Ziggler. Ziggler turned out to to be playing possum and instead of taking a kick to the face, Ziggler gives one to get the win. Oddly enough there wasn’t much involvement from Foley though he did go after Rodriguez at one point.

Rating: 3.75 stars

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CM Punk (c) (with Paul Heyman) defeated John Cena and Ryback to retain the WWE Championship

Earlier in the nigh Heyman gave an interview to hype up Punk and the longevity of his reign. If he retains the title tonight he will officially have a yearlong title reign. Punk looks to be in good shape and it helps him out that the faces are not afraid to tangle with one another. Punk is even the first one to hit his finisher by surprising Cena with a go to sleep. Of course, Cena kicks out and delivers an attitude adjustment to Punk…who also kicks out! It is fitting that Ryback is a former Nexus member because up next the Nexus run-in gets revisited. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns come into the ring and start manhandling Ryback right after Ryback had planted Cena with his shell shocked finisher. Instead of emerging victorious Ryback gets planted right through an announce table. Meanwhile Cena is still out and Punk takes advantage of the opportunity to retain his title.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org

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Nov 24 2012
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Wrestling Lists

5 WWE Feuds That Accomplished Nothing

by Kyle Childers

Sports entertainment is a product based on feuds. The conflict between performers is what drives the angles at the core of almost every wrestling program produced post 1985. The innovator of the story driven overhaul of the sport of professional wrestling is undoubtedly WWE owner Vince McMahon. If not for McMahon making his product the only game in town in the 1980s while focusing on higher production values and more angle driven direction it’s entirely likely that the wrestling landscape in 2012 would be vastly different from what it is.

Probably not the worst idea I’ve ever heard…

But being the creator of something doesn’t automatically make you the best at it and sometimes even the WWE has a feud or angle that accomplishes far less than intended. This list is five feuds from the last ten years that either did nothing to help the workers involved or didn’t have the intended effects.

5. Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (2012)

Brock Lesnar’s return in the Spring of 2012 is easily one of the top stories of the year, sending shockwaves through the wrestling industry and that one guy in the front row into convulsions. Not only was it the first time Lesnar had been in the WWE in eight years, his intial assault of John Cena promised a follow up to an angle that occured in 2003 when young up-and-comer John Cena challenged WWE Champion Brock Lesnar for his title at Backlash 2003. However, this time, Cena was a ten time world champion and Lesnar was returning following his time in the UFC, which included Lesnar having a run with the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Where could they possibly go wrong?

Where They Went Wrong

Spoiler: Cena wins. Some may disagree that having Cena win was a mistake, after all he is the undisputed top draw the WWE has to offer.

Best in the world…at selling t-shirts.

Factor his drawing power against the fact that he just lost what he and the commentators put over as the most important match of his career against The Rock at Wrestlemania XXVIII and it’s easy to see how the creative team and Mr. McMahon would want to have Cena look strong in a high profile match. The only problem is that John Cena didn’t really need the win because he’s John freaking Cena. If watching the WWE over the years has taught me one thing it’s that nothing bothers John Cena. Well, except Wade Barrett, Cena tried to murder him.

Then again, nothing bothers Brock Lesnar either, a man one step below The Terminator in determination after he’s decided to destroy something. The weeks leading up to Extreme Rules saw Lesnar F5 Cena and negotiate his contract to include such clauses as changing the name of Monday Night Raw to reflect his starring role. When the pay-per-view rolled around, Lesnar spent most of the match treating Cena like a meat-filled punching bag, bludgeoning and blooding the former Doctor of Thuganomics for the better part of fifteen minutes (and shaking off a potential knee injury along the way) before a chain assisted right hand and attitude adjustment secured the win for Cena. After the match, Cena cut a promo that alluded to taking time off and then he totally didn’t. No, John showed up on Raw the next night, and most Mondays since, before feuding with John Laurinitis while Lesnar kayfabed time off until SummerSlam. A Lesnar victory would’ve perfectly set up Cena to take the time he probably needs while establishing Lesnar as a big deal to the young audience that has no knowledge of his previous run.

4. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton (2009)

Remember 2009? That magical, unforgetable time when Jeff Hardy and CM Punk were getting their first shots at being “top guys” and Raw had guest hosts? Okay, I’ll admit that second wasn’t all that magical but it is hard to forget, mostly because the doctor told me that I had to choose between forgetting guest hosts or total liver failure.

Liver failure’s suddenly not sounding too bad…

The guest host thing wasn’t all bad though right? I mean, it did give us the return of Bret Hart, William Shatner “singing” superstar entrance themes, and R-Truth exploding. Unfortunately, of those three bright spots, only The Hitman coming back had long term implications. Another angle that failed to live up to it’s potential in a big way (even bigger than R-Truth not staying blown up somehow), started when Raw was hosted by Kyle Busch and Joey Logano who gave Randy Orton a custom stock car for some reason. Later in the evening, Kofi Kingston took it upon himself to give Orton’s new ride a fresh yellow paint job along with fancy key scratches down the side and a swanky dent from a production trunk. Kofi capped (or is it “kapped?”) it all off with a crowbar beating to the car all while screaming, “I got you Randy” approximately 43,000 times. Despite my aloof description, the segment was actually pretty good and for the first time Kofi Kingston was showing real main event potential.

Where They Went Wrong

Kofi Kingston is Intercontinental Champion in 2012. Some may say that’s a good thing but three years ago at the Survivor Series, Kofi pinned Orton cleanly to be the sole survivor on a team he captained while this year he was the fourth person eliminated from a Survivor Series match while Orton went on to again be the last eliminated.

Not only did Kofi pin Orton at Survivor Series, he also defeated him on a Raw following the event. Not bad for a guy that had been pretending to be Jamaician and representing the midcard most of his WWE career. It all came toppling down for Kofi a few blown spots and Orton victories later as he was vanquished back to the midcard in 2010 while Randy went on to win the WWE Championship for the sixth time in August. Let us take a few minutes to remember those few minutes that Kofi Kingston was a badass.

October 26, 2009—Never Forget.

3. Edge vs Dolph Ziggler (2011)

Dolph Ziggler is, perhaps, the most naturally gifted performer in WWE today. I’m not saying it’s fact, it’s really just my opinion, but watching Ziggler in the ring it’s hard to deny that with the proper push Dolph would easily fit into the WWE main event scene. Unfortunately, January 2011 was not the time for Mr. Ziggler. It’s hard to imagine that a feud between a WWE Hall of Famer/one of the best workers to come out of the WWE in the last fifteen years and a hungry, young, and naturally determined to make the most of his first main event push star would fail, but if I’ve learned two things from watching WWE over the years it’s nothing bothers John Cena and never underestimate the ability of the creative team to disappoint.

Where They Went Wrong

This feud was once again a case of the problem being the face winning. Okay, it’s not so much that the face won as much as it is how the face won, how many times he won and how little effort he put into winning.

Edge actually pinned Dolph twice between the flash and the shutter.

The feud followed the tried and true wrestling formula of a heel authority figure (Vickie Guerrero in this case) favoring a heel who is pursuing a title. When Ziggler dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Kofi Kingston, ending a five month reign, before winning the number one contendership for the World Heavyweight Championship over Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre and The Big Show, it seemed that the 2011 Royal Rumble would be the scene of Dolph’s first World Championship victory. As it turned out, that wouldn’t be the case. Nor would it be the case a few weeks later when Ziggler got a rematch on SmackDown. Ziggler would actually only get to lay hands on the title belt after a violation of a ban on the spear allowed Vickie to hand him the title.

I was going to link to a picture of Ziggler with the belt but this lasted longer.

11 minutes and 43 seconds later, Edge was World Heavyweight Champion again and Ziggler went tumbling back down to the midcard, a position he is only just now starting to claw his way out of. This whole thing is even more tragic when you realize that Dolph once again failed to win the big one with assistance a year later when he faced CM Punk at the Royal Rumble.

2. Booker T. vs. HHH (2003)

What can I say about this feud that hasn’t been said? I could spend this whole entry talking about the racist overtones of the angle or how Booker T. had all of the momentum in the world leading up to their Wrestlemania match and he still somehow lost to the bigoted heel but that’s not where WWE’s blowing of this feud stopped. Somehow a feud between the top heel for the better part of three years and a five time former heavyweight champion seems like a sure thing but…

Where They Went Wrong

At no point in the feud was Booker really treated like a main eventer. Sure, to earn the title shot he went over some of the bigger names in the WWE at the time but once the actual program with HHH started, Booker only had a few moments of strength before Hunter ultimately won. Wrestlemania XIX could’ve been a chance to have a face beat the dominant heel and complete his underdog tale of triumph and redemption. Instead, HHH retained his title and moved on to feud with his old pals Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash while Booker fell down the card and into Intercontinental and Tag reigns.

Then there’s this.

It took Booker T. a complete gimmick overhaul and nearly three and a half years to regain the footing he had in early 2003 while HHH had added another title reign to his list before the end of 2003.

1. Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero (2005)

Let me start this entry by saying that this feud only earned a spot not because of what it didn’t do but because of what it undid. Eddie and Rey had a long and storied history spanning multiple companies and two decades that produced some of the finest matches ever seen anywhere. Whether it was WCW Halloween Havoc 1997 or Wrestlemania 21, Guerrero and Mysterio always had amazing chemestry. It makes sense too, they were best friends in real life and had worked together repeatedly. When their feud turned from friendly competition to bitter and heated because Eddie couldn’t seem to score a victory, it provided a new slant to a proven formula.

Where They Went Wrong

They had a ladder match for the custody of a child. Let me just get that out of the way right now because that’s what happened and that’s where this is all building. The angle was going just fine until the build to Great American Bash 2005 when Eddie got all creepy and cryptic by promising to reveal a Mysterio family secret while offering to read Rey’s son Dominic a bedtime story. They went with a ladder match because Chris Hansen refused to referee a To Catch a Predator match.

Predictably, Rey won and even more predictably, Eddie reneged on his promise to keep the secret, which Eddie promised to keep if Rey beat him. Eddie revealed that Rey’s son was actually Eddie’s and Rey and his wife had only adopted him as an infant. Eventually, Eddie brought a social worker to back his claim of parental rights and that gave us the ladder match. This angle could’ve possibly been saved if they had to climb the ladder to actually retrieve Dominic but instead they had to grab a briefcase full of custody papers. Granted, it was a pretty good match and it did have Eddie freaking out over Vickie missing her cue but that’s not enough to save this.

Too little, too late, Vickie.

This wasn’t even the end of the angle. Despite Rey winning the right to keep his child in what really should become legal precedent in all custody suits, they still had one more cage match on SmackDown that Eddie won before feuding with Batista just prior to his untimely death. Really though, when it was all said and done, despite the incredible matches, despite Eddie moving into a title program that he potentially could’ve come out on top of, despite Rey eventually winning the World Heavyweight Championship the next year, no one came out of this feud any better than when it started and that can mostly be blamed on the fact that they fought over the possession of a child.

Photo Credits:

Photos 1-2, 5-7, 9-10: en.wikipedia.org

Photo 3-4, 8, 11: onlineworldofwrestling.com

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Sep 24 2012
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Wrestling Reviews

WWE No Way Out (2012) Review

WWE No Way Out (2012) had a lot going against it before the show even started. John Cena taking on The Big Show for the umpteenth time was booked as the main event. Despite some possibly good matches the rest of the card was booked pretty thin. Alberto Del Rio was yanked out of the World Heavyweight Championship picture and Dolph Ziggler was put in his place. Regardless of what you think of Del Rio or Ziggler there is no denying that in the months leading up to this card Del Rio was built up much better. Ziggler on the other hand had received a push that was underwhelming to say the least. The match for the WWE Championship was much more promising and delivered. So let us take a look at WWE’s big day in June.

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Sheamus (c) defeated Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

The early going of this match revisits Sheamus’ Wrestlemania 28 encounter with Ziggler getting a kiss from Vickie only to turn around for a brogue kick. Ziggler sees Sheamus preparing for it and ducks out of the ring. Sheamus roughs him up for a while, but Ziggler hits a sweet looking DDT. Now in control, Ziggler goes for a pin, but only manages a one count. Sheamus gets Ziggler in a fireman’s carry position, but Ziggler gets out of it for another DDT. Ziggler is putting on rest holds left and right making for a weary crowd. The match drudges on until Ziggler hits a zig zag. The crowd chants, “lets go Ziggler,” but Jerry Lawler swears the audience is chanting, “lets go Sheamus.” Ziggler hits a face buster from the ropes, but Sheamus continues to kick out. Sheamus gets in an Irish curse then it is just a matter of time before the brogue kick and the three count.

Rating: 2.5 stars

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Santino Marella defeated Ricardo Rodriguez in a tuxedo match

Santino actually held the WWE United States Championship during this bout which has to make it among the low points for places that this title appeared at. The two try to appeal to the audience to start off and Santino wins. Ricardo rips off some of Santino’s powder blue tux first. Santino responds in kind and manages to get off Ricardo’s jacket. Santino then holds up the jacket like a matador and Rodriguez attempts to strike. The fight drags on and “boring” chants break out. Santino reveals he is wearing a cobra sock while Rodriguez is stripping him. Santino hits Ricardo with it and wins revealing that Ricardo has on underpants featuring Alberto Del Rio’s face.

Rating: 0 stars

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Christian defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Well, they picked the right match to get things back on track. Cody starts by getting Christian in a headlock. After some punishment Christian gets in the power position with some shoulder blocks. The fight spills outside and Cody takes charge by throwing Christian back in the ring and working on his left elbow. Christian puts Cody’s legs around a ring post, but before he can do anything Cody pulls Christian into the post. Rhodes keeps working Christian’s arm, but when the action goes outside again Christian jumps on the ringside steps and DDTs Rhodes. Back inside Christian gets a top rope crossbody, but Rhodes rolls it over for two. Christian hits a top rope hurricanrana, but only gets two. Cody gets an Albama slam on Christian, but can’t manage to win. Christian hits the killswitch, but only gets two. Christian attempts the frog splash, but Cody puts his knees up. The match erupts into a series of misses and reversals until Christian hits a spear to pull out the victory.

Rating: 4 stars

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The Prime Time Players defeated Primo and Epico (with A.W. and Rosa Mendes), The Usos and Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel to become the number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Titus O’Neil and Jay Uso start off and they soon tag in their partners leading to Darren Young getting some chops in The Usos’ corner. Things are pretty quiet until Justin Gabriel gets tagged in and The Prime Time Players mess him up. Young gets Gabriel in a chinlock and the match quiets down again. Gabriel rebounds slightly and The Prime Time Players exit to allow Primo and Epico in to double team Gabriel. Tyson Kidd finally gets tagged in and he hits an array of moves on Primo culminating in a blockbuster from the top rope. Primo gets things going for him after avoiding some Kidd offense. This doesn’t last long because Kidd hits a hurricanrana to the outside that takes out everyone as they brawl on the floor. Primo and Darren Young come back in and Young lifts Primo up a drives him into his knees. Young gets a three count while A.W. holds onto Epico’s leg as he tries to make the save. A.W. has betrayed his team and gone onto manage The Prime Time Players.

Rating: 3.25 stars

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Layla (c) defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the WWE Divas Championship

Before this match HHH laid out a challenge for Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Getting back to the wrestling, Beth gets an early advantage by laying in some power moves and trash talking her opponent. Layla hits a dropkick and starts mocking Phoenix. Beth starts beating down Layla after hitting her off of the ring apron. Phoenix makes a mistake by putting Layla in a gorilla press slam position that Layla reverses into a DDT. Shortly after Layla hits a neckbreaker for the win.

Rating: 3 stars

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Sin Cara defeated Hunico (with Camacho)

The WWE continues to use the stupid lighting gimmick for Sin Cara’s singles matches. Hunico is dominant early on after scoring a dropkick. Hunico keeps Sin Cara grounded and puts him in three separate chinlocks. Hunico hits Sin Cara with a sitout powerbomb, but then Sin Cara starts building up momentum and hits a hurricanrana on Hunico after bouncing off of the ropes. Out of nowhere Sin Cara gets the three count.

Rating: 3 stars

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CM Punk defeated Kane and Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship in a three way match

Throughout the night AJ Lee had backstage segments with all three competitors including making out with Kane. At one point Punk and Bryan slug it out with Bryan saying, “yes” and Punk saying, “no.” Punk wins the slugfest and Bryan exits the ring. Punk attempts a suicide dive, but Kane stops it. Soon, Kane and Bryan are outside the ring allowing Punk to hit a plancha on them. Kane attacks Punk after taking out Bryan with a right hand. After a while Kane is really taking apart Punk’s midsection, but makes a mistake when inside the ring Punk hits him with a big boot. Bryan comes out of nowhere with a flying dropkick on Punk. Bryan takes center stage and even hits a double dropkick from the top on both opponents simultaneously. Following this up, Bryan delivers a slew of kicks that the crowd chants along with. Eventually, Punk hits the “Macho Man” Randy Savage elbow on Bryan for two. Punk tries one on Kane, but misses. Bryan gets a diving headbutt on Punk. After a kick, Bryan then clamps on the yes lock, but Punk reverses it into a pin. Punk hits the go to sleep on Bryan, but Kane saves him. Kane goes for the chokeslam on Punk, but Punk reverses it into a DDT and hits a top rope elbow. Punk attempts the go to sleep on Kane, but it is too much weight and instead he gets a big boot and chokeslam. A little later AJ tries to run in, but Kane accidentally bumps her off of the ring apron. While Kane is distracted Punk wallops him with a kick to the head followed by a go to sleep for the win. Kane carries AJ out afterward as she looks fondly at Punk.

Rating: 4.25 stars

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Ryback defeated Dan Delaney and Rob Grymes

The jobber duo sing the classic Wrestlemania theme before Ryback comes in. It is a decent squash match. Ryback even goes to the ropes and falls down like a big tree on one opponent. Ryback says, “feed me three” before obliterating his victims. Matches like this work to cement Ryback’s status as the current squash machine of squash machines.

Rating: 3 stars

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John Cena defeated The Big Show in a steel cage match

If John Cena wins this one then Vince McMahon will fire John Laurinaitis, but if The Big Show wins then Johnny Ace will fire Cena. Show throws Cena into the cage to start. He tries to hit the WMD early on, but Cena ducks and Show smacks his fist against the cage. Show stays dominant, but The Big Show makes a big mistake when he tries to climb the cage and Cena crotches him on the ropes. Show comes back and delivers a Vader bomb. Big Van would be proud. The big guy is not done with his aerial moves and he walks to the middle of the top rope for an elbow…that misses! Show attempts to crawl out, but Cena catches him. Cena almost gets out after a shoulder block. Ace shuts the cage door, but McMahon opens it. Ace shoves McMahon and slams the door again. Cena turns around for a chokeslam. Show hits two WMDs, the first one on the ref then one on Cena. Show attempts an escape, but Brodus Clay is outside the cage door with a steel chair. Santino, Alex Riley, Zack Ryder and Kofi Kingston join Brodus. Show climbs (after somehow knocking Ryder out through the cage wall), but gets knocked off the top by Kofi. Cena then gives Show the attitude adjustment. Cena wins and Ace is out! Cena emphasizes it with an attitude adjustment through an announce table on Ace as McMahon delives his classic line, “you’re fired!”

Rating: 2.25 stars

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Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org

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May 21 2012
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Wrestling Reviews

Over the Limit (2012) Review


2012 looks to be a great year for WWE pay-per-views if the second half lives up to what the first half produced. Over the Limit presented surprises, two legitimately great matches and even a little bit of comedy. The opening battle royal was surprising as was the return of Christian that it brought with it. Christian then took part in the first of two great matches of the night against Cody Rhodes. As good as this match was the match was one-upped by Punk/Bryan who delivered arguably the match of year so far. John Laurinaitis and John Cena topped the night off with a little comedy that was a nice change of pace from how lame Cena usually is. While not the best show of the year, Over the Limit kept the string of quality pay-per-views going and avoided being a stinker.

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Christian won a battle royal also featuring The Miz, David Otunga, Tyson Kidd, Alex Riley, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, William Regal, The Great Khali, Heath Slater, Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Ezekiel Jackson, Jinder Mahal, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Curt Hawkins, Michael McGillicutty, JTG and Yoshi Tatsu

The big news for this match is that it marks the return of Christian, which is a nice surprise. Oh yeah, also the winner got a shot at either the WWE Intercontinental Championship or the WWE United States Championship depending on the winner’s preference. Heath Slater is the first to get chucked out. The Usos perform a nice double super kick and eliminate JTG. William Regal has the fighting spirit in him as he goes after both Darren Young and Titus O’Neil. O’Neil gets knocked out relatively early, but Young stays in longer and at one point almost eliminates himself along with an Uso. It almost looks like WWE have faith in him until he is eliminated by Alex Riley. Speaking of Riley, surprised he is actually getting some good face time as he hits a devastating spinebuster on The Miz before being eliminated. The final four are Tyson Kidd, David Otunga, The Miz and Christian. Kidd is out first after he skins the cat once, but is dumped out before he can try it again. Three heels? Nope, looks like they are bringing Christian back as a face. Otunga and Miz double team Christian, but then Christian eliminates Otunga after a running powerslam attempt. Miz and Christian battle for a while until Miz almost tackles Christian out of the ring. Christian gets back in the ring and Miz is quickly thrown out. Christian apparently challenges Santino for the WWE United States Championship. Shame since Christian/Cody would have been better.

Rating: 3.25 stars

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Kofi Kingston & R-Truth (c) defeated Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger (with Vickie Guerrero) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship

Swagger and Kingston start off and after a few holds Swagger has Kingston down with a shoulder block. Kingston gets back in control of the match and tags R-Truth. Swagger muscles R-Truth over to the corner and Ziggler tags himself in. Kofi gets tagged in and hits Ziggler with a flying punch. The match goes on like a typical Monday Night Raw tag affair until R-Truth gets caught in the heels’ corner. Kingston gets the hot tag after Truth hits a tornado DDT off the top on Swagger. Kingston explodes on the heels and almost gets the three count on Ziggler. Ziggler comes back, but quickly gets smacked in the face with the Trouble in Paradise for the loss.

Rating: 3 stars

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Layla (c) defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the WWE Divas Championship

The two lock up and Layla gets Phoenix in a headlock. This doesn’t last long as Phoenix is soon laying her boots to her. Phoenix soon goes after Layla’s injured knee and slams it against the ring post. It almost looks like Beth wants to wrap the figure-four around the ring post on Layla, but never does. Maybe Layla isn’t familiar with that spot. Phoenix gets Layla back in the ring for two and continues to target the knee. Layla hits a low dropkick on Beth and rolls her up for two. Layla starts mounting her comeback and gets some time to rest. She doesn’t have long though as Phoenix gets her in a gorilla press position. Layla awkwardly reverses it with a DDT. The two fight a bit longer until Layla hits a neck breaker on Beth and scores the pin.

Rating: 2.5 stars

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Sheamus (c) defeated Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez), Randy Orton and Chris Jericho to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a fatal four-way match

The competitors pair off with Sheamus quickly stomping the tar out of Del Rio and Orton running off Jericho. Sheamus and Orton face each other, but Del Rio and Jericho jump the two from behind. The faces run off the heels again and now Sheamus and Orton are squaring off. The heels sneak their way back into the match and soon find themselves double teaming Orton.  Del Rio goes outside and attacks Sheamus who is just lying around like a big lummox. Jericho rejoins Del Rio and the heels are ruling the ring until Orton explodes with a comeback. Del Rio and Jericho get back in control, but then turn on each other. Jericho and Orton take center stage. Sheamus finally gets back in the ring and hits a clothesline from off the top on Del Rio. Sheamus gets distracted by Ricardo and now Del Rio is back in charge of the match. Apparently Jericho and Orton are doing nothing. The competitors are doing a really bad job of staying busy while they are not in the spotlight and all four guys are rarely in the ring at once. Jericho gets back in the ring and hits a dropkick on Sheamus before being tossed back out by Orton. Orton hits his DDT through the ropes on Sheamus and prepares for his finisher. Alas, Del Rio sneaks up from behind and puts the armbreaker on Orton. Orton is out of the submission and bedlam starts to erupt with all four guys in the ring. Orton clears the ring before getting a double DDT through the ropes on Del Rio and Ricardo. Jericho gets back in and hits a Codebreaker, but is then met with Del Rio clutching on the armbreaker. Jericho reverses for the Walls of Jericho, but Jericho has to let it go when Sheamus re-enters. Jericho eventually gets Sheamus in the Walls of Jericho and Orton hits the RKO on Jericho and then Del Rio. Orton turns around to get a Brogue Kick from Sheamus. Sheamus hits his new finisher, the White Noise on Jericho and gets the pin.

Rating: 3.75 stars

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Brodus Clay (with Cameron and Naomi) defeated The Miz

The idea of this match is kind of annoying since Miz already wrestled in the opening battle royal. If Miz won, would he have wrestled three times that night? Anyway Miz cuts a scathing promo before the match and claims to be the best dancer in the WWE and proceeds to do some Michael Jackson moves. Brodus interrupts with his usual lame entrance. Miz locks up with Brodus and gets pushed down. Brodus follows up with a shoulder block and Miz responds by smacking the Funkasaurus. Yuck, just typing that word makes me feel dirty. Brodus continues to dominate, but runs into the ring post outside after trying to slam Miz into it. Back in the ring The Miz hits a double axe handle from the top on Brodus. Miz hits a few more offensive moves and gets Brodus in a sleeper hold. Brodus powers out and finishes The Miz off after a fallaway slam from up top and a big splash. This one felt like a chore to watch.

Rating: 1.25 stars

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Christian defeated Cody Rhodes (c) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

In a backstage segment Christian caught Cody Rhodes talking smack and changed the title he was challenging for. Christian signals for a test of strength to start off, but Rhodes takes the short cut and starts pounding on Christian. Christian comes back by sending Rhodes out of the ring and going after him. Cody gets back some momentum by launching Christian into the stairs. Back inside Rhodes gets a two count after a Russian legsweep and then puts a resthold on Christian. Rhodes releases it and hits a dropkick on Christian for another two count then starts pounding on Christian again. Rhodes hits a beautiful looking superplex on Christian and the ref starts a 10 count. The two get back up and after some shots Christian clotheslines Cody out of the ring. Quickly back inside and back to Cody being on offense until Rhodes gets a shot in the breadbasket after a top rope attempt. Christian is back in control, but misses a crossbody leading to Cody making a comeback. Christian attempts a tornado DDT from the top, but is tossed off. Cody hits a Kurt Angle-esque moonsault for a close two. Rhodes then starts badmouthing the crowd and throwing a tantrum. Christian sneaks in with the Killswitch for the win. Great match! Shame Cody didn’t retain as he is a great heel champ, but Christian with a title is never a bad thing.

Rating: 4.25 stars

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CM Punk (c) defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship

Punk starts the match off by throwing a couple of kicks. Bryan responds by delivering a kick of his own and then the two lock up. Bryan wastes no time getting Punk in a headlock, but Punk pushes him off and leapfrogs Bryan who attempts to bounce back. Punk gets in control of the match by nailing Bryan with an armdrag. The pace of the match slows down as Punk begins to work on Bryan’s leg. Bryan gets back up and hits three nasty European uppercuts on Punk. All this action is tough to keep track of, but ends with Bryan in the Indian deathlock.  Bryan gets back up, but is just as soon driven back down. Punk tosses Bryan out of the ring and slides himself out. Bad move as Bryan tackles Punk into the guardrail. Back in the ring Bryan hits a nice looking dropkick from off the top. Bryan locks on a seated abdominal stretch. Is it just me or is Punk’s face redder than usual? Punk gets out of it and attempts a submission move, but is snapped up in a small package. After the kick out Punk finds himself in a surfboard that Bryan slowly clamps on while chanting, “Yes!” Bryan transitions the move into a variation of the Dragon Sleeper. Punk elbows out and hits some forearm shots for good measure. Punk is on the mat while Bryan hits some jumping knee drops on Punk, but misses the last one. As the two start to exchange blows a dueling chant starts. Bryan comes out on top and then hits a flying headbutt on Punk. After Bryan makes a brief return to a submission hold the two hit each other with crossbodies simultaneously and the ref starts a 10 count. The two get up and Punk starts wailing on Bryan. Bryan runs at Punk, but is caught and slammed back down. The two take a breather and Bryan again charges at Punk, but is thrown out of the ring this time. Punk follows up with a suicide dive through the ropes. As Bryan gets back in and regains his composure Punk attempts a clotheslines by launching himself off the ropes, but is met with a dropkick. Bryan’s time on top is short lived as Punk locks on a figure-four and the two smack each other while it is locked on. The two get a series of two counts on each other and a “this is awesome” chant breaks out. Bryan attempts a Frankensteiner on Punk from off the top, but is tossed off and hit with the clothesline Punk missed earlier. Punk gets a two count and the two are back to slugging it out until Punk gets Bryan in his Go To Sleep setup. Bryan wiggles out and then almost gets Punk in the Yes Lock. Punk hits a kick to the head on Bryan and Bryan goes down like a tree, but Punk merely gets two. Punk slowly climbs the ropes and hits the Randy Savage elbow drop. Punk is too hurt to make the cover immediately and when he does manage to roll over Bryan kicks out. Bryan is reinvigorated as he savagely knees Punk in the ribs and then starts shouting, “Yes!” Bryan attempts to hit a dropkick in the corner, but misses. Punk hits his trademark high knee in the corner. Bryan clamps on the Yes Lock, but Punk rolls him over. The lock is still on, but Bryan’s shoulders are down and Punk gets the win. Bryan is fuming, but the two have presented a brilliant match. If this feud continues they should deliver that elusive 5 star classic.

Rating: 4.75 stars

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Ryback defeated Camacho (with Hunico)

This is a typical Ryback squash match. Camacho gets in a little offense and at one point even gets Ryback off his feet. Ryback hits a powerbomb on Camacho then drags him up for another one before getting Camacho in the torture rack position and slamming him down. Ryback gets the win (shocking) and chantsm “feed me more!”

Rating: 2 stars

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John Laurinaitis defeated John Cena in a no disqualification match

Laurinaitis quickly tries to exit the ring and Cena just as quickly catches him. Cena pulls Ace’s shirt over his head and smacks his chest. Cena puts Johnny in a fireman’s carry, but instead of hitting the Attitude Adjustment he just does an airplane spin. Cena gets the ring bell and hammers it next to Johnny’s head a few times. Cena laughs a bit and then smacks Ace against  both announce tables. A few times on the English table and then on the Spanish table. Cena then puts Ace in one of the Spanish commentator’s chairs and pretends to do commentary with him. The fun does not last long as he throws Ace back in the ring and Johnny begs for a handshake. Cena refuses it and instead smacks Johnny before slamming him down. Cena grabs the mic and announces that he is about to put Johnny in the STF and will let go after 10 seconds. The fans count to 10 and Ace doesn’t submit. Cena gets on the mic and then announces he is going to do it again. Ace doesn’t submit and Cena is back on the mic. Cena says that he feels like a drink and then says he is sure Johnny could use some too. Cena grabs some water bottles and starts pouring them on Ace. After dousing Ace’s face and genitals, Cena then grabs a fire extinguisher and sprays Laurinaitis. As Johnny exits the ring Cena grabs a trash can and runs over to Ace pouring the trash all over him. Ace attempts to leave, but Cena catches him. This time Laurinaitis goes after the arm and actually gains control of the match. Ace clobbers Cena with a few chair shots and gets a two count. Cena blocks Ace after Johnny goes for a head shot and then grabs the chair to deliver some shots of his own. Laurinaitis hits low blow and stumbles out of the ring and into the audience. Cena stands in the ring puzzled until The Big Show drags Ace back into the ring. Ace is caught between Cena and Show and attempts to crawl out of the ring when Show steps on his hand. Johnny gets to his feet and pleads with Show. Cena puts Ace in the Attitude Adjustment, but is predictably clocked by Big Show and Ace scores the pinfall. It might have been just as predictable, but I would have preferred a Brock Lesnar run-in.

Rating: 3 stars

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Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org

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