This Week in DVR: Common Barbarism

COMMON BARBARISM, TEDDY
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I watched what I couldn't watch live this week on my DVR or online. Here's what stood out:

Matches

The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Yuma and Johnny Goodtime) vs. Erik Watts and Joey Ryan on NWA Hollywood - Neat little tag match. It started to catch my eye early on, when Goodtime was doing the back leapfrog spot over Ryan. Ryan tried to catch him, but Goodtime used momentum to throw Ryan back into the turnbuckles with his legs. The follow up was pretty good too, using the corner as a weapon effectively. Watts got a "You can't wrestle!" chant, but it wasn't deserved. He was serviceable here. Good team synergy by both squads here.

Scorpio Sky vs. SoCal Crazy, NWA Be the Star Television Championship Tournament Finals, NWA Hollywood - Really good good guy vs. good guy main event. It was very much a formula match, with mat wrestling and simple submissions to start into a quickening into teasing bad blood going into the big finish. A lot of really cool moves here, even if some of the selling was a bit questionable. I liked the knee twist/seated ab stretch that Crazy busted out, and that snapmare driver that Sky broke out was slick. Good cap to a very notable tournament.

Wade Barrett vs. Trent Barretta, Superstars - Fun little pseudo squash match. Barrett came off his best match with another strong performance, playing the bully role, while Barretta did what he always does well, bumping, flying and bouncing around. That corkscrew senton thing he did off the guardrail was pretty epic. Good little opener.

Santino Marella vs. Primo Colon, Superstars - This match served as the palate cleanser from the two squash-type matches into the main part of the show, and it worked well in that regard. Again, Santino showed why it's not just all about workrate or MOVEZ. I loved the sequence of hip toss blocks. Primo snuck in some really, really good psych there by working the Cobra arm over after Santino showed his hand mid match. Solid stuff.

Zack Ryder vs. Drew McIntyre, Superstars - This one started out a bit slowly, but they started dropping bombs on each other, and the finishing flurry was pretty epic. Around where McIntyre used a spinebuster to acquaint Ryder's back with the ring apron is where it picked up for me. I also loved Drew Mac's counter of the Rough Ryder into a powerbomb. More than any other match on Superstars this week, this one felt like it could have been on PPV, or at least as a RAW main event.

Mark Haskins vs. Alex Shelley vs. Robbie E vs. Zema Ion vs. Jesse Sorensen vs. Tony Nese vs. Kid Kash vs. Austin Aries, X-Division Gauntlet, Impact - Pure junk food. A little bit of sloppiness, and no one was really able to get their oeuvre going except Sorensen and Aries, but it was a pretty good sampler platter. Aries coming in at the end after Kash took out Sorensen was a really good touch.

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson, Intercontinental Championship Match, Smackdown - Shortish match, but it had quite a few really good nuggets. I really liked Rhodes exiting the ring, and the incensed Zeke following him out, which lead to Rhodes dropkicking the ring steps into Zeke's leg. I might have liked it more if it went a couple more minutes, but it was decent. Don't sleep on Zeke as a wrestler.

Justin Gabriel vs. Tyson Kidd, Smackdown - Again, it could have used a few more minutes, but Kidd is becoming that sort of high level squash-but-not-squashed opponent for guys they've got high hopes for. He had a good match with Daniel Bryan two weeks ago, and this was a nice display too. Gabriel's going to be an exciting guy to watch in singles. Love his 450.

Daniel Bryan vs. Alberto del Rio, non-title match, Smackdown - Wow, the chemistry between these two is amazing. They told a really good story surrounding Bryan's arm and his determination to defeat the Champion. del Rio's arm work combined with Bryan's selling set a strong overtone for the match that didn't falter and went to the very end. Despite that, Bryan showed his moxie and his determination. I think the best part of that trope was Bryan countering the back superplex into a mega press. The finish worked, and despite the increasingly lazy announcing by Cole, with his almost magic switch from NERRRRRRRRRRRRRD to "o hai guise, bryan is bringin it lol", it was a mostly pleasing experience.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - Really good show this week. I wasn't crazy about the beginning, even if the brawling on the outside limited Buggy's greenness and provided as something INFINITELY better than the last time I saw them, which was in a never-a-good-idea blindfold match. I guess I didn't like it because it meant this feud was going to continue, but hey, as long as people keep bringing "BUGGY IS HOT" signs to the Showcase, she'll keep getting pushed. Because being hot is all that matters for women wrestlers, amirite guise? The matches after that were pretty decent, although it bums me out that I just watched perhaps the last Joey Ryan NWA Hollywood match ever. Place is going to suffer without him. Hell, they're losing Ryan, they lost Austin Aries and if the rumblings turn out to be correct, they'll be without Colt Cabana before long too. But hey, at least they have Scrap Iron and Scorpio Sky, and I'm not saying that with any twinge of sarcasm. I swear.

Superstars - I really do sound like a broken record when I do this little paragraph. "Wrestling is good. Hate replay of RAW's main event. Lather, rinse, repeat." But yeah, it was more of the same. Again, I'm not sure if the overlap between Superstars audience and RAW's is less than 100% (at least on Superstars' end), but it's still tiring to have to fast forward through wholesale replays, especially when they just released at least one guy that could have given me a pretty good match instead of rehashing what I saw Monday.

Impact - Slow episode, I don't know, the idea of Sting/Flair in 2011 doesn't appeal to me. The idea of Crimson/Angle would be a better-constructed heat source if not for two things. One, Crimson is too green for his push, I think. He's not as bad as the meme says he is, but at the same time, you can tell he can't even spar with serious Kurt Angle (who isn't nearly as good as goofy Angle was back in the day). Two, the shooty stuff here is badly executed. WWE has shown us that blurring the line isn't bad if it's done right, but the difference between Punk and Angle is the difference between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers right now. I'd have repurposed it to have Angle state that he was tired of the young guys being fed to him so that they'd eventually replace him, rather than being fed to him so he could make them look good. One has an element of reality but still works within a wrestling angle. The other is ham-handed way of trying to be edgy that sounds, at least to me, cringeworthy. I dunno.

Smackdown - When Cody Rhodes came out at the beginning of the show, I got a distinct Chris Jericho vibe, because he was clearly sent to save us from ol' Peanut Head Teddy Long and Randy Orton, whose promos are still a registered controlled substance as a depressant in several states. I loved his scathingly true appraisal of Orton's win over Christian at SummerSlam. "Common barbarism"... it's effective because it's true. I thought Smackdown was a winner this week for the most part. The wrestling was good as shown by the honor roll. The battle royale at the end wasn't the best one they've ever done, but I liked a lot of what Henry was doing during it. The apron jousting between Sheamus and Wade Barrett at the end was a really cool visual as well. del Rio's promo here was really good too, almost as good as Monday's. I love how happy he gets when talking about destroying Mysterio. It's great.

Future Endeavors 8/17 Power Poll: Quick Turnaround, This Time!

CHAMPION! ...baaaht, chu already knew that
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Khal Bro-go, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. Alberto Del Rio (Last week: NR)
2. CM Punk (1)
3. Randy Orton (5)
4. John Cena (2)
5. Christian (3)
6. Cody Rhodes (NR)
7. Wade Barrett (NR)
8. Daniel Bryan (6)
9. Kevin Nash (NR)
10. Kelly Kelly (NR)

And now, my ballot!

1. Alberto del Rio - Who knew it'd take cashing in Money in the Bank, opening RAW with one of the swarthiest displays of cockery ever and having a legit Match of the Year candidate with Rey Mysterio to knock CM Punk from the top spot?

2. CM Punk - Any other week, "omg Kevin Nash? wtf, I thought he was dead lol" would have landed him at #1.

3. John Cena - He had a tremendous match at SummerSlam, got his foot on the ropes and then when TrollFace asked him "u mad?" he was all like "YEAH I REAL MAD!" In fact, he was way madder at Alberto del Rio for cashing in than the guy who ended up as his victim did.

4. Mark Henry - He won HOSS FIGHT 2K11, so he gets this spot. I'm pretty sure that what he did to Sheamus at the end of that match constituted a wig splitting, don't you think?

5. Jay Lethal - He caused an inception moment between me and Cameron Riley. Oh yeah, and won the ROH TV Title. But yeah, INCEPTION *BRAAAAAAAAHM*

6. Wade Barrett - RED BELLY got some of his mojo back with a win over Daniel Bryan in what was probably the finest match of his career. Yep, the funniest thing I have to say about this is the year-old meme that I created and am the only one to really use. THEY CAN'T ALL BE GOLD.

7. Kelly Kelly - She not only got through her match with Beth Phoenix without embarrassing herself or mortally wounding either herself or her opponent, but she actually looked good. Maybe next, she'll wrestle a 60 minute Iron Woman classic with Akira Hokuto at Differ Ariake? Okay, baby steps.

8. Jack Swagger - Deal with a sandbagging rookie and then afterwards, mack on some cougar action back stage? Pffft, NBD for the All-American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American.

9. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bryan Ranking ®

10. Nigel McGuinness - He came back to ROH after being used up and spit out by Impact. If he had decapitated broadcast partner Kevin Kelly and put his head on a pike afterwards? He'd have gotten #3 easy.

This Week in DVR: Superstars, the Recap Show (ugh)

Love seeing Sheamus beat the crap outta small guys, fella
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I watched what I couldn't watch live on my DVR or the Internet this week. Here's what stood out:

Matches

Ray Rosas vs. Ryan Taylor on NWA Hollywood - As Todd Kenely said, it was a game of counters, and the last one won. I really liked all the counter wrestling in this match, as both guys brought it. My favorite sequence was probably when Rosas went for the roll-up, but Taylor countered it not into another pin, but into a single-leg crab. The finish was nice too. It was a great play on the ref bump without the ref actually getting bumped, and it was a great sell on the low blow. The rolling clutch is one of my favorite pin attempts as well, so I was glad to see it get the duke for Taylor.

Santino Marella vs. Zack Ryder on Superstars - I felt this match was a bit too short, but it was still pretty entertaining. Then again, Ryder and Santino have really good chemistry together, and there'd have to be some heavy duty aggravating circumstances that would make a match between the two be not good. I liked Santino's schtick going to the top rope, but being unsure about it and then going to the second. I also liked that it led into the finish, with Ryder moving and going right into his Rough Ryder.

Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Roode vs. D'Angelo Dinero, Bound for Glory Series, on Impact - A well-done match with a good story. This was more a traditional three-way, with two guys going it at it with one guy being incapacitated at any given time, but they played it up well. I'm not sure if we've seen this finish done before to completion, or if it has been done that it's not been done in a while.

Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan on Smackdown - Solid Money in the Bank build-up match between the two. Then again, it's not surprising this match is here. Very well done, a lot of good spots on the ropes and in the corners. I liked the finish a lot, with the Beautiful Disaster kick with Bryan straddling the top rope was putting the cherry on the sundae.

Sheamus vs. Sin Cara on Smackdown - Honestly, anyone who says Sin Cara doesn't sell doesn't really watch his matches. He doesn't do long term selling, but then again, neither does Rey Mysterio. He spent a lot of this match bumping and selling for Sheamus, who had most of the offensive advantage in the match. I just love seeing the Celtic Warrior roughing up small guys. The upset finish worked to put some doubt into the Smackdown MITB match Sunday.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - I was a bit nonplussed when the show cut off before the finish of the main event happened. I assume Disco Machine tapped out, but it's still bad when you're left with an unintentional cliffhanger there. Oh well. Still a decent show. The wrestling was a bit sloppier than usual outside Rosas/Taylor and the main event, but it was still watchable. Adam Pearce's promo had volume issues, but it was still really fuckin' good. Looking forward to see what he can do on his farewell tour.

Superstars - Again, I hate it when the main event of the show is a replay of a promo segment from RAW. I don't care that it was a replay of an excellent segment. I want to see wrestling. Then again, I did get that with four matches compressed into about 30 minutes of run-time, but that's better than nothing. Even though only one match made my honor roll, it all wasn't bad. I mean, the Barretta/Barrett squash was fun for what it was. Whether you're a fan of the Tag Champs losing a non-title match or the fact the Champs are who they are, you can't deny that at least Otunga and McGillicutty are trying to be a cohesive tag team rather than just two guys slapped together out of convenience. Same for the Usos, although I feel that they're far improved as workers since they entered WWE. The Maryse/Phoenix match had some good antics in it too. Solid show that felt too short because of what was tacked onto the end.

Impact - Another decent show this week if you take out the Immortal stuff. I don't know, I just can't get into the "insane icon" or Sting fighting for Dixie Carter to come back. I rag on them for rebooting every couple of months, but I'm not sure I'd complain if next week, they did a hard reboot to the main angle (leaving the other stuff alone like the Shelley/Aries feud, the BFG series, Eric Young's TV title crusade etc.) and just stopped with the power struggle between Bischoff/Hogan and Dixie and her followers. That being said, the wrestling was cool this week. Sting winning the title doesn't faze me, nor does Anderson having yet another short reign.

Smackdown - A fine if unspectacular go-home show for Money in the Bank. The wrestling was good, which is all you can ask for. The main angle with Christian committing various felonies on camera was weak though. I mean, he blatantly stole $1000 off Orton on camera and the pit bosses let him gamble with it? C'mon, son. C'mon.

Wrestling Oddsmakers: Smackdown's Money in the Bank Match

Your next Smackdown briefcase holder?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

See the RAW odds here

Okay, so I'm a bit late on handicapping the Smackdown MitB match. The field was announced a couple of weeks ago and reinforced with an opening promo on this week's show. Here are the competitors:

• Cody Rhodes
• Daniel Bryan
• Heath Slater
• Justin Gabriel
• Kane
• Sheamus
• Sin Cara
• Wade Barrett

As with the RAW match, I'm going to handicap the odds for each guy to win this match. This one might be a little tougher to forecast, even though they're strongly, STRONGLY hinting at one among the field taking it.

Heath Slater
Odds: 300 to 1


Yeah, Slater's most likely there to make someone look good, like this:

That is to say, he won't be holding the briefcase.

Justin Gabriel
Odds: 250 to 1

I'd venture to guess that he has similar odds to his tag partner, but I think his might be better. Let's not kid ourselves. He's got a flair in the ring that can make crowds love him and cheer for him. All it'd take is one big spot off a ladder and he'd go from lukewarm heel to budding good guy in a matter of minutes. Now, that isn't to say that I think he's going to win, just that he has a slightly better shot than his partner.

Sin Cara
Odds: 75 to 1

There's a lot riding on Cara right now, as he's Trips' first big signing and the heir apparent to Rey Mysterio as the key to the Mexican audience. That being said, with the visible problems he's having adapting to the WWE style, I doubt they'll give him the ball this early. Like Gabriel, he'll provide some fireworks. He'll probably get a good tease to win too, but I doubt he gets the briefcase this early in his WWE career.

Daniel Bryan
Odds: 60 to 1

Don't get me wrong, I'll be rooting hard for the American Dragon to get the briefcase. Him being in a World Championship match anywhere, any time would be just surreal as it would be markout-inducing. I also think he'll get to World Title level one day. I think they have some faith in him, or else he wouldn't be on the show each week in a meaningful program. That being said, I think we have to be real here. His time, whether as a built up contender or as a flash title grabber, isn't now.

Kane
Odds: 15 to 1

Kane won last year in a match where I'd probably have given him similar odds. His cash-in was a cool moment too. I think he's in the same spot now, although maybe I'd give him worse odds since he doesn't have Undertaker coming back soon to necessitate that he has a title (even though Taker has been above titles for a long time, but hey, whatever). I'd like to say they won't briefcase him two years in a row, but then again, there are so very few reliable hands on the Smackdown side and if they go Alberto del Rio on RAW, they may want to counter that newness with a guy who's been there before.

Cody Rhodes
Odds: 10 to 1

In about a year, Cody Rhodes has gone from Dashing to dynamite. Extending that to two years, he went from job absorber to having his own job absorber. Amazing journey for the younger son of Big Dust. While Wrestling Theory may argue he doesn't need and shouldn't get the shot, there's no doubt that he's on the cusp. The dark horse candidate of the eight.

Sheamus
Odds: 2 to 1

I'd put him in the favorite's spot, but they're telegraphing him to win. That usually means that he's being set up for the fall. The Celtic Warrior, who has been on fire in the last couple of weeks, has been to the top of the mountain before and would be a safe enough pick to win. Plus, he's got heat with both guys in the Smackdown main event. However, with Orton almost proclaiming him to win as a foregone conclusion, something tells me they might go in a different direction...

Wade Barrett
Odds: Even money

...and give RED BELLY the briefcase. They got really close to putting him through to the upper echelon last year by having him work with both Orton and John Cena. They're high on him, but this high? Well, if you look at the trends of who have won briefcases, things bode well for the former leader of Nexus. CM Punk's second briefcase came off him losing the Intercontinental Championship to JBL. Jack Swagger won his out of nowhere, being in a throwaway program around Royal Rumble with Santino before fading into the Superstar Zone between that time and WrestleMania. The Miz and Kane were both in the middle of big pushes, so they provide some sort of counterbalance to the trend. Either way, Barrett, coming off losing everything, now has a fresh start. Sheamus has heat with Christian and Orton and doesn't need the briefcase. Barrett? Right now, he needs an angle to cling to. That's why I feel like he's the favorite to win.

This Week in DVR: So Much Stroke *Gag*

Christian, Master of All He Surveys
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I watched what I couldn't watch live on my DVR and on the Internet this week. Here's what stood out:

Matches:

Cutler Bros. (Dustin and Brandon) vs. the RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma), best 2 out of 3 falls, on NWA Hollywood - I thought that the match ending in a no-contest was a bit weak. That being said, I still thought it was entertaining, especially the brawl post match that went out onto LaBrea Boulevard. Good tag work, and the second fall was a really good display of face in peril by Goodtime.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Tyson Kidd on Superstars - Really cool match. I like that Superstars has become the exposition area for Kidd, because he's a promising worker and gets better each week. This week, we had a clinic in working over the leg, and Tatsu again got the win with an out-of-nowhere kick. I like the flash finishes, although call me crazy, but they're running this Kidd-needs-a-manager angle and they don't even have the managers trying to interfere in the matches? Eh, either way, this was a really good match.

Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara vs. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes on Smackdown - As groan-inducing as the genesis of this match was, the action itself was really good. Sin Cara's offensive maneuvering was kept to a minimum, with what he did do looking impressive. Bryan, obviously, carried the match for his team from an offensive standpoint. I continue to be impressed with how well Cara is picking up the selling side of the WWE game. Both heels were pretty good in their roles. The finish was really nice. I love how they're putting over the LeBell lock as a move that could be hit anywhere. I thought they were going to have Bryan get the win with the guillotine choke, but I liked the segue into the LeBell Lock anyway.

Shows:

NWA Hollywood - The wrestling on the show was a bit disappointing outside of the main event. That being said, it was still a fun show, especially the antics of Disco Machine. I loved his spot where he went for the test of strength with Todd Chandler and ended up turning it into a disco-dancing spot. Where has he been all my life? Not a whole lot in the way of angle advancement here either, but that's okay, since next week we'll be starting the Be the Star Tournament.

Superstars - I thought it was funny that they turned the Mark Henry rib into an angle with Johnny Curtis refusing to come out. Might as well make lemonade out of lemons, especially since it was a dick move to fuck with Henry and that crowd with the original rib anyway. Other than that and the main event, I thought Superstars was off this week. Not even Chris Masters could make JTG look good, and really, any multi-Divas match that DOESN'T include Nattie, AJ or Beth Phoenix takes a miracle to be good.

Impact - Why does everything have to be so shooty? Why do there have to be legal storylines? Why is nearly every tag team broken up within minutes of forming? Why is the main heat mechanism for the Knockouts involve them calling each other bitches and sluts and whores? I don't know why I bother anymore. Seriously, when the World Champion is talking about keeping his belt, not to be the best in his company, but to keep his "stroke" against the two NPC authority figures, you know the "wrestling matters" tagline is a lie.

Smackdown - The show was a bit flat this week, which is especially surprising because it was wrestling heavy. Whenever any WWE show has a lot of long matches, it's usually good. I thought the only real standout match was the tag match. The main event was good but it went on too long and really didn't grab me until the very end when Christian got involved. Then there's this Jinder Mahal business... eh, he's okay, but right now, the character side of him is definitely stronger. I really am not feeling the Corre breakup either.

That being said, the main event angle with Christian and Randy Orton is really strong. This is the best feud in WWE right now, and the best main event feud they've had since before John Cena got "fired" after Survivor Series. It's so simple, but it works. Christian really does bring out the best in everyone, because even Orton was cutting some lively promos for the first time in awhile. The only thing I'm not feeling is that I don't want to boo Christian. I don't want to boo Orton either, well, I don't want to boo him for anything that I didn't already want to boo him for. The real heel here is Teddy Long. Christian is absolutely right. But hey, I'm not the guy they want to boo Captain Charisma, so as long as the story's good, and it has been so far, I'm alright.

Oh, and in case you're wondering where NXT went, I'm done with that shit. It's not worth watching at all to me. Follow folks on Twitter like @ThingsColeSays for your NXT fix, as they have WAY more patience with that show than I do. They do God's work here, people.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wrestling Six Packs: Best Entrances Currently/From the Last Year

Triple H with his Viking retainers behind him
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Entrances are standard for every wrestler, but some are more memorable than others. Here are six for current wrestlers or one-off entrances from the last year that are pretty impactful. Note, The Undertaker is not listed here because there's only so many times I can see him hobble to the ring with the lights out. It was impressive in 1996. It was nostalgic in 2005. Now? It's tired to me.

1. Triple H from WrestleMania XXVII

My issues with Triple H are well-documented, but even I can't hate on his big entrance at WrestleMania this past year. Just the visual of all the Viking soldiers coming out, huddling their shields in defensive formation, and then Trips in his destroyer get up... yeah it was pretty awesome to look at.

2. Eddie Kingston

As ostentatious and gaudy as Trips' entrance was is how stark and simple Kingston's is. But it fits him to a tee. Every time I hear the opening flourish going into the gunshot, I get goosebumps. Then you get the War King coming out with his bandana over his face to the hip-hop tinged version of Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold", and it just works.

3. Cody Rhodes

As great and fitting as his "Dashing" entrance was, coming out to the bold but cheesy '80s arena rock and looking into the digital mirror, I think his "GROTESQUE" entrance is better. It's just his character drawn out and put on display, from the hood-up jacket, the newspaper headline Titantron and the guys following him with paper bags to the sour demeanor on his face. Just perfection for his embittered, almost Phantom of the Opera-like character.

4. Alberto del Rio

They captured the opulence of del Rio's character in his approach to the ring. The fine cars, the bombastic pyro, the regal-sounding mariachi music. Plus, it's his mannerisms that make the entrance pop. He's got the scarf around his neck and he's celebrating himself, like, "Hey, look at me! Look at how suave I am!", delicately treading the line, staying on the side opposite of self-parody.

5. Archibald Peck

If you haven't seen Archie's entrance yet, well, you will. Basically, he comes out to a marching band rendition of a Journey song (I forget which one at the moment) and marches to the ring with his valet, Vanessa, in full geeked-out splendor. He gets so into it that you can't help but cheer the guy for it, no matter how dickish he acts after his entrance. It's so gaudy, it's so corny, but it's so awesome.

6. The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII

Was the inflatable AWESOME cheesy? Sure, but who said that wrestling and cheesy didn't go together? That, coupled with the video package set to "Hate Me Now" before and Miz rushing out with the WWE Championship, steely in gaze, with Alex Riley giving him the pep talk of a lifetime on his way out to closing his first of what will most likely be many WrestleManias, was sadly one of the best parts of a disappointing main event.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

This Week in DVR: Cobra Legs? Cobra Legs.

CROSSFACE CHICKEN WING!
Photo Credit: WWE.com

I watched what I couldn't live on my DVR and on the Internet. Here's what stood out:

Matches

SoCal Crazy vs. Freddy Bravo, Be a Star Television Tournament Qualifier, on NWA Hollywood - Fast-paced opener with a lot of really crisp moves. I really liked Crazy's running roll-up towards the beginning of the match. Bravo throwing a temper tantrum only getting a 2 count off his signature swinging cutter. Nice finish with La Mistica by Crazy.

Lucky Cannon and Tyson Kidd vs. Byron Saxton and Yoshi Tatsu on NXT - I thought this was a great morality play-cum-unintentional handicap match. Tatsu played the face in peril so well, and I liked the limb work from both heels. The chaos at the end was good from a storyline perspective. Entertaining faire.

Santino Marella vs. Zack Ryder on Superstars - This is what professional wrestling is all about. Okay, it's part of what wrestling should be all about, but man, what a fucking awesome match. The oneupsmanship at the beginning was more than amusing. Both guys worked the crowd like pros. I also loved the whole Cobra-to-the-legs spot, which was MADE by Ryder selling it like he pulled up lame. I kinda wished they had gotten a few more minutes, as the Cobra to end the match seemed a bit abrupt, but yeah, fantastic stuff.

Tyson Kidd vs. Trent Barretta on Superstars - Nice installment in their series of matches. I liked Armando Estrada's involvement too. Classic managerial interference. Anyway, a solid overall match, well-worth the Superstars main event slot.

Mickie James vs. Winter on Impact - A shining nugget in the sea of poop that was this week's Impact. I really don't like the whole Winter/Angelina zombie lesbian hypnosis angle, but hey, this match was good, a little stiff but well laid-out.

Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan on Smackdown - You knew this match was going to be here. Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Be that as it may, as unsurprising as it was that this was a standout match, it still should be expounded upon. This was a mostly strike-and-struggle based match, the kind of affair that Bryan excels at. I liked the surfboard attempt that Rhodes kept blocking. Rhodes landing his Beautiful Disaster kick right out of Bryan's Matrix-corner flip was really slick too. People might rag that Rhodes started tapping to the LeBell Lock way too soon, but I think it shows smart strategy by Rhodes. It allowed him to escape too much punishment so he could attack Bryan afterwards. Really good match.

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Heath Slater on Smackdown - A surprisingly solid match between two guys who are hit or miss for me. Slater bumped well, and what can I say, I like Zeke's bodyslam-palooza.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry vs. Christian, Number One Contenders Match, on Smackdown - I thought this was a well-laid-out triple threat match by WWE standards. All three guys brought their working shoes, and the story developed nicely. I wonder if the finish of the match is going to play more into Christian's (unwanted) heel turn though, seeing as Orton RKOing Henry caused Lil' Naitch to hesitate just enough to allow Sheamus to kick out. Good stuff though.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - Solid week of television. Again, their recap of the Kaos/Willie Mack feud was top notch. Buggy wasn't even that offensive this week. Good stuff.

NXT - I'm this close from giving up on NXT again. Just dreadful, outside of seeing how the Maryse/Yoshi/Lucky/Saxton angle plays out. The only other thing that was worth watching, the Novak/Regal feud, died when Novak got eliminated. Maybe Season 6 will be better, but this right now feels reheated boring. Also, why was Chavo worried about waiting until the ref turned his back in the main event before he hit Titus O'Neil? It was a no-DQ match! Ugh.

Superstars - Three strong matches, and apparently, Tyson Kidd's managerial search will be an angle on this show for a few weeks. I guess we could do worse. The only way that might have improved the show is if Ryder and Santino got the main event slot with main event time. That being said, it's a minor quibble.

Impact - Impact opened with a match, an albeit boring one but a match, but on the surface it was different. Yeah, the next three segments undermined that. Wrestling matters, guys! I mean, I can't hate on the Disco Inferno/Ken Anderson segment enough. Seriously, let's have a segment with a guy who wasn't involved with Sting at all other than place of employment, use business exposing terms and have fake tension, ending with Disco blading... yep. The EY/Gunner and then ODB and Sky "let's call each other promiscuous bitches" segments afterwards were just as bad. But no, wrestling matters. Just a dreadful show.

Smackdown - Another solid episode. The opening segment followed a tired formula, but the participants, especially Sheamus here, made it work on an alright level. Although, if I were Christian, I'd be pretty pissed off at Teddy Long. He does the crowd applause thing to outright give Orton a title shot at him, but when he gets the same crowd response in the same test for a shot at Orton? Oops, #1 contenders match instead of outright title shot. Seriously, if anyone boos Christian for attacking Teddy Long if it finally happens, they should be kicked in the shins. Regardless of that nitpicky detail, I thought it was a good show. The wrestling was on point, and they got me interested in a full angle surrounding The Great Khali. That should deserve a Nobel Prize in some field... what would it be, literature? Peace? I say go with physics, since I thought it'd be physically impossible for me to care about a tall cripple with chest herpes.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Future Endeavors 5/27 Power Poll: Punk Rulz Guys

1-2 in the polls, but where would they be on my ballot?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Bro-Magnon Man, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. Randy Orton (Last week: 3)
2. Christian (4)
3. Alex Riley (NR)
4. R-Truth (5)
5. Rey Mysterio (NR)
6. John Cena (2)
7. CM Punk (9)
8. Sheamus (NR)
9. Sin Cara (6)
10. Ezekiel Jackson (NR)

And now, my ballot:

1. CM Punk - If just for his RAW performance, paying tribute to Randy Savage and trolling the shit out of Bret Hart in the main event tag match, Punk deserves to get all ten votes on my poll. Alas, I don't think Don would appreciate it that much. Anyway, a true money performer who showed what he could do when given a big stage.

2. Alex Riley - HE's a star, at least for this week he is.

3. John Cena - Never give up, never surrender and all that happy horseshit. Maybe it's because I didn't see him as SuperCena at Over the Limit, but I also don't have the same bias against voting for Cena that I do against Orton.

4. Daniel Bryan - For once, no "Stock Daniel Bryan Ranking" explanation here. He had a great match against Chavo on Smackdown, and yeah, if I can have any excuse to vote for Bryan, I'll take it!

5. Cody Rhodes - Just make him emperor of Smackdown and have put paper bags over Orton's head each week. That would be the best feud ever.

6. Eddie Edwards - A successful title defense and a final "shit or get off the pot" moment of him actually taking the initiative and laying down the challenge to his tag partner Davey Richards gets him on my ballot. The more I observe, the more of a fan I'm becoming of Edwards' title reign.

7. Hallowicked - He arguably got the biggest win of the Chikara weekend by snagging a one-on-one pinfall victory over Lighting Mike Quackenbush in the 12 Large Summit tournament. Getting a pin over Quack is kinda like pinning Hogan in 1988. Y'know, if Hogan were a cool, laid-back awesome wrestler instead of a politicking jerk. So maybe it's NOT at all like getting a win over Hogan. Damn, I failed again :(

8. Vin Gerard - The other winner in last weekend's 12 Large opening matches, he scored somewhat of an upset win over Brodie Lee. Sure, he can't tag with STIGMA anymore, but that may be a plus for both men.

9. Christian - F the haters, Christian is awesome and gets this vote sheerly because of the lengths he goes to to make Smackdown work, even if he doesn't get the kayfabe plaudits to go along with it.

10. Rey Mysterio - He did some serious work in that main event tag match. Punk brought the theatrics and trolling, but Rey's face comeback work was a big reason why it was an enjoyable main event.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Legacy: The Feud

Yes, please.
Photo Credit: WWE.com

When Legacy broke up, I was convinced that Cody Rhodes would be a bit player in the WWE until he left for acting or something like that and that Ted DiBiase would be the next big thing. I was initially wrong about both. Rhodes has shocked and amazed me, and he's turned into one of the brightest prospects in WWE. DiBiase, conversely, has disappointed since his split from Rhodes and Randy Orton. You could argue that he didn't get much help from Creative, but at the same time, more than a few people have noticed a lack of spark from El Hijo del Hombre del Millones de Dólares.

While some have completely soured on Ted Jr., I certainly have not. I still see something in him that projects as a good hand in the future. I mean, he never really was a bad worker. Even in his doldrums, he was having good matches with guys such as Goldust and Daniel Bryan. Yeah, yeah, I know, a sack full of wet dog shit could have good matches with those two, but again, it didn't seem to me like DiBiase was being carried. It was in his character and promo delivery that didn't connect with people. After seeing him put in some good work on the stick between his debut and the Legacy stable's demise, I was disappointed and a bit surprised at the malaise shown by DiBiase. A change of scenery could do him well, I thought.

Well, he got the nominal change in scenery by moving to the Blue Brand, and right out of the gate, they paired him with his former tag partner Rhodes. The way things have been going the last few weeks, it looks as if DiBiase may get a face turn out of it as well. Talk about a makeover.

If he does go face, what better opponent could he have in a feud than his former partner? Rhodes has evolved so much in the last year that now he's a Charizard and knows Flamethrower he's become one of the best, if not the best, promo in the WWE. Of all potential feuds that sit in front of me right now as a viewer of Smackdown, that's the most tantalizing. Not only would it be a chance for Teddy Jr. to be reinvigorated as a character, but I think there's a good story there. You've got the dynamic between a tag team that split up to differing results. You've got daddy issues going on (Cody's complicit acceptance of his father's dastardly deeds as opposed to Ted's refusal to accept help from his father). Orton could get woven into the fray, especially if there are plans to inject Ted as a cog in a future Orton/Rhodes WHC feud.

Given that Smackdown also seems to have a better (slightly better albeit) track record of developing sub-main event feuds, I have high hopes for this. They have big plans for Cody Rhodes it seems, and I do think that they want to salvage DiBiase. It's not really all that out of the ordinary to think this feud could deliver if it happens.

But man, I hope it does happen.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

This Week in DVR, Part 1: A Rare RAW Appearance

A Legacy Reunion!
Photo Credit: WWE.com

NOTE Due to time constraints and such, I'm splitting this in half. RAW, Smackdown and Impact will come in this report, and the Internet shows of NWA Hollywood, NXT and Superstars will come tomorrow.

I watched what I missed while on vacation on DVR. Here's what stood out:

Matches

CM Punk vs. Kofi Kingston on RAW - I can't be the only one who thinks that Kingston is improving each week, right? Then again, he was in there with one of the three best workers in the WWE, so yeah. Nice little match. I disagree with the booking, but hey, maybe I should resign myself to the fact that the WWE doesn't care about its secondary titles.

Alberto del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio on RAW - This shouldn't be surprising. Mysterio and ADR could probably turn out a watchable match in their sleep at this point. The finish was a bit disappointing, but it had to set up a PPV match between R-Truth and Rey Mysterio without hurting the Golden One, so yeah, it worked.

John Cena vs. Jack Swagger on RAW - Say what you want about SuperCena, and many of you already do ad nauseam, but the guy still knows how to work a great main event match. This was a good example of that fact. Yeah, it might not have fit with Swagger quitting on Cole earlier in the night, but yeah, at least the action was good.

Christian vs. Sheamus on Smackdown - Christian doesn't wrestle bad matches. Ever. So when he's in there with a good worker, one against whom he's worked before? Yeah, it's the kind of mojo that makes a Smackdown curtain jerking match feel like a real, main event battle. I think what stood out for me here were the near falls and kick outs, which came right at the last possible second and gave the match a real big time feel. I also liked Sheamus tossing Christian into the ring while Captain Charisma was on the apron towards the beginning of the match. Good stuff.

Daniel Bryan vs. Chavo Guerrero on Smackdown - Great little designed sprint that put over Chavo's jealousy and bravado. I liked both Bryan's resolve and Chavo's arrogance, especially at the end with the deliberate execution of the Tres Amigos and the frogsplash, coupled with the shock at Bryan kicking out. It did its job.

Shows

Monday Night RAW - Eh, this was an above-average go-home effort for Over the Edge. Nothing really offensive, but at the same time, it didn't wow me either. I'm not a huge fan of contract signings, but the wrestling was decent at least.

Impact - I'm so sick of the worked shoot angles. Seriously, Ric Flair coming out and calling out Bobby Roode because he injured him at Lockdown? Really guys, we're pulling out vague references to real life injuries for shit that happened in a worked match in a worked environment in a heated feud? Oh yeah, and wrestling really matters when Matt Hardy is able to beat the Young Bucks (not using their slave names here out of protest) by himself as a vehicle to get a feud between the X-Division and Eric Bischoff over, a feud that I'll be SHOCKED if it has a meaningful payoff? Yeah guys, wrestling really matters. I'm so over this show. I will say this, the Anderson-as-Sting ruse to close the show was pretty nice.

Smackdown - This was a really good show, a much better build towards the PPV than RAW was. I really liked the interplay between Christian and Randy Orton, even if Orton was a big jerk. /kayfabe The whole main angle, with Mark Henry and Sheamus involved, was very well-done. I have to say, I was a HUGE fan of the PiP promo by Sheamus before his match with Christian. Holy shit, it was random, but it was welcome, and I hope they do more of that on the show.

I also really, really dug the interplay with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. I'm hoping that there's a good story embedded there, because I really think that there's a complete package with Ted Jr. A proper feud between the two former Legacy minions could be really hot, and I think on Smackdown, with the more old-school approach, it could be done well. Hell, I even dug the Khali stuff. I mean, it's not even Khali who makes any segment he's in work, it's that he's such a great blank canvas. They made him interesting as a cog in the Cena/Nexus feud, and I really like how Jinder Mahal is playing off him to make the segment work. Now, of course I don't want to see him wrestle, but hey, if all he does is chop guys in the dome and do the Punjabi Plunge while Mahal does the heavy lifting, I can deal with it.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!