Instant Feedback: Bearded Giraffes

I didn't expect anything major to happen tonight, being that holiday RAWs rarely ever do anything. I was somewhat wrong, at least towards the beginning of the show, although the end reinforced the notion that nothing ever happens except for standard "faces win out" on these kinds of shows. I guess that's why I could palate John Cena standing tall over both Jack SWAGGAH and Alberto del Rio here. There would be plenty of time next week when more people presumably are watching to give del Rio some shine. Plus, the context surrounding the Swagger counter and tap was pretty good. In the main event, they managed to further one of my favorite stories, Dolph Ziggler and SWAGGAH's rivalry for the affections of Vickie Guerrero. del Rio, who was the other star of the show through his Sean O'Haire-esque backstage segments trying to rally troops to do his bidding for him, played into that as well, planting seeds into Ziggler's head about what Swagger's true intentions for Vickie were. Lost in the trailers for shitty movies and the Triple H/Kevin Nash/CM Punk top storyline spinning wheels, there's a really good midcard angle going on here.

That being said, when one top storyline is glossed over and the other gets the standard SuperCena Über Alles ending, it might seem like a terrible RAW. Let's look at the former now. The show started off with a lacking start, even though Punk did his best to save it. I thought he was much better actually wrestling, which people seem to discount because of the whole PIPEBOMB shtick. We know he's great on the mic, but when he gets people to care about a match with R-Truth that doesn't have a whole lot of context around it other than "Hey, he wrestled his tag partner last week", then that's mastery. I do like Punk's paranoia here concerning Trips' intentions towards Nash, but I think a lot of the peripheral stuff has come off pretty badly. One, the narrative still has Punk coming off as, well, a punk to some of the audience. Two, Trips putting his COO position on the line so soon into the narrative? Maybe I can dig it, but it feels too soon for me, even if I feel like the match itself isn't too soon. Third, if Nash is really gone (and with him getting in Funkhauser's limo in the second segment means he's not, more than likely), then it's been spinning wheels since his reintroduction at SummerSlam. Four, there is no four, only Zuul. Finally, the payoff that Nash was the one who sent the text was lame. Like, beyond lame. It pretty much insisted that he's a main player when he's not, and really, no one watching the show for the last three months buys that Trips, if he's a fair arbiter (and to their credit, he has been portrayed as such), is going to choose a guy who showed up, waltzed in and gave an ultimatum over the guy who has sold out a shit-ton of t-shirts and gotten Trips a lot of positive press, if we can blur the lines between kayfabe and "real" for a moment.

Also, I couldn't help but smile at the video package for Zack Ryder, and letting him get the win to a deafening pop was proof enough for me that the guy has arrived and that the fans do have a voice. When Michael Cole is ripping on a guy, you know they've arrived. Ryder's exuberance with Cena afterwards was really cool too, almost like it was as real as it was supposed to be part of the narrative. I really like a good success story. That being said, the pretense behind the match, that Lawler doesn't like David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty because they have "no charisma", is starting to grate on me. I think I see what all these people who think that "personality" is a funny thing to kayfabe feud over.

Also, the sooner they get Eve out of an active wrestler role, the better. Beth Phoenix may have flubbed the Glama-Slam, but she at least looks like a pro wrestler in there. Eve does not. I do find it funny though that they're using that Katie Raymond article as a talking point on TV. Again, K. Sawyer Paul is a guru at this kind of thing. Speaking of people who shouldn't be on camera? Jinder Mahal and Great Khali suck out loud in the ring. Not even Evan Bourne's masterful bumping could make them look good. Also, when Heath Slater and Randy Orton is a RAW match? Well, let's backtrack on that. It was a decent match. And I get the reasoning for it. However, it's something that might have been better suited for Superstars. Then again, what match would replace it? A Mark Henry squash? No better. Eh, I guess I can't complain, especially since Orton, I feel, has started becoming more comfortable wrestling as a good guy. I really like that he's actually setting up spots, especially his stump DDT, rather than, oops, guy's on the apron, let's drag him in and DDT him. Forcing the setup just looks cool.

But if we're going back to the wrestling, the main event tag match was as good a wrestling match as you'll get on a RAW main event. Just excellent pacing and storytelling all around. I liked the interplay between Ziggler and Swagger, the fact that Swagger got to attain beast mode early on, Sheamus taking out centuries of Irish frustration on the proxy for English oppression, Wade Barrett, and especially the spot where Christian's slap enraged Sheamus so much that it got both of them counted out. Really solid action for a show that was actually better than the impression I gave off on Twitter tonight. It was very much a holiday RAW, but it was a somewhat well-executed holiday RAW. It had its flaws, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

Instant Feedback: Okay but Still Not Super

Smackdown was promised to be super tonight. It was live, it was co-branded, it had a loaded lineup. Other than two parts of the show, it was anything but super. That being said, at least the two parts that were really good were the two most important parts of the show. First, there was the contract signing between Triple H and CM Punk. IT was really, really good. Punk had his A-game back after being off the last two editions of RAW. Last night, he came off as a smarmy asshole who begged to get his comeuppance. Tonight, he acquitted himself better as the folk hero he needs to be to be a fan favorite. He was pitch perfect and with his speech about loving WWE and wanting drastic change, he totally rehabbed the damage on his cred when he went out and imitated Chris Jericho, circa 2000. Triple H was really good here too, a perfect counterbalance to Punk. He was sympathetic in his own right, and he had his own narrative. The more I think about it, the more I think the logical move here is going to an alliance between Punk and Trips, but since that is obvious, it's probably not happening.

The other really good part to tonight's show was the main event. It started off slowly, and it was looking like it wouldn't be the best work between Christian and Randy Orton. However, in the last segment of the match, things really picked up. Christian's avoidance of Orton's signature moves was amazing. The best play came when he hopped on the second turnbuckle to go for his diving European uppercut. It looked like Orton would hit him with the RKO, but Christian stopped short and dodged it. That was fucking cool. This was clearly the least best of the matches between the two I've seen, and the narrative from the announcers about it being a scintillating rivalry was just annoying because it was anything but in retrospect. However, it was still good enough to put a positive spin on the show. Well the match plus Mark Henry splitting wigs afterwards. Dude is rough 'n tumble. I really hope they strap him, let him run to WrestleMania and have the story be the smallest but most skilled man on the roster, Daniel Bryan, be Smackdown's last hope. That won't happen, but hey, it's nice to dream.

Speaking of which, while the Bryan/Sin Cara match was one of Bryan's weakest of the year, it bears noting that with the kick to Bryan in the post match? I really think we're going to see a dueling Sin Cara feud. Could be good.

Other than that, there really was nothing to write home about. John Cena reared his ugly head tonight, not only trying to crack wise, but coming off as utterly unlikable. He suckerpunched Ricardo Rodriguez, and then when Wade Barrett called him on it, he claimed he still owed him payback. Really John? You don't call dropping a million chairs on the man payback enough? The writers and/or Cena really must not think all that highly of the fans for us to forget what happened at the end of the TLC PPV in December. Ugh. The match was a turd too. Too short and too one-sided. I'm not saying this as a pedantic smark who thinks that Wade Barrett should be booked to look STRONG ZOMG. I'm saying this from a standpoint that when I see a match billed as a "MAIN EVENT", I want to see more than just token resistance and squash-like results. Compare to the real main event. No one thought Christian was going over. No one except maybe the most deluded Christian fanboys. Okay, but I think they did a really good job of selling the fact that Christian might just win. Barrett and Cena? It was like the people who laid the match out knew that the crowd knew who was going to win and told them to phone it in because they had to get more plugs, recaps and trailers in.

Yep, when you have a co-branded show, you definitely need more trailers and plugs, right? I mean, it's not like there were guys like Cody Rhodes, the Awesome Truth, Justin Gabriel, Ezekiel Jackson and Vickie Guerrero's traveling dysfunctional circus who could have been there instead of the trailer for Trips' next shitty movie or a recap for the most one-sided main event feud in WWE history... oh wait, there was.

Smackdown was better than RAW was last night, but it still felt very warmed over, not befitting the Super Smackdown label. I felt like I was bored for half the show, but thankfully, the other half of it that was worth watching was at least good. All I have to say though is that the magic WWE had over the summer is disappearing rapidly. Hopefully, this is just a hiccup and when RAW rolls around Monday, we get back to the awesomeness that we've been treated to in July and most of August.

Instant Feedback: Super Dud

It appears brand extension has ended with a whimper rather than a bang, or at least it's been put on hold. Funny, but it makes almost total sense for it to end this way, because it seems some old habits are hard to break. Tonight's show seemed like a placeholder in every sense of the word, but instead of those places being held being current, they felt like they were out of a RAW from last year rather than this year. I understand that it's not really feasible to expect them to launch it out of the park every week, but tonight more than any other show between Money in the Bank and now felt like regression.

For one the sense of dread that I had when CM Punk and Kevin Nash were officially announced to have a match at Night of Champions actually materialized. I thought I'd be alright with it, but really, Kevin Nash wrestling in 2011 is just a losing proposition anymore. So you'd think I'd be alright with them switching out to Punk/Triple H, right? Well, only slightly. From a match quality standpoint, it works, but I don't know. I'm starting to get flashbacks to late 2010 with them rushing the story again. Punk/Trips feels like something that could be stretched out a bit, but then again, I get the feeling that after Night of Champions, the two are going to be aligned. Call me crazy...

Also, no Alberto del Rio on the show? C'mon now. I want to know how you're going to have a supershow and not have the WWE Champion. I don't know. I really don't know about most of this show. IT was just so confusingly and befuddlingly boring and uneventful. Like, how am I going to comment on something that felt so warmed over? Then again, at least the wrestling was good. It's a big saving grace, and I'm glad that they are really focusing on providing a decent in-ring product. That being said, if you make me feel like I'm wasting my time out of the ring, then it's just so draining as a fan. Ugh.

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.

Instant Feedback: Triple H Is Solar Powered

Any momentum that was lost last week from the main angle was regained. Why did we have any doubt? Did we think the soul-sucking WWE machine could take CM Punk and rob him of his ability to entrance crowds? Turns out the answer to that is now. Punk, who got loud reactions from an iffy crowd all night, a crowd that faded in and out all night long, showed that he can curry interest for a wrestling match by opening his mouth, not by holding a belt up to new theme music.

And let's not take credit away from Cena. He went meta at one point, mentioning workrate in his nerdy voice, and that was great from a different standpoint, but the rest of his delivery showed him at his best. He needs to be the strong, moral, lawful good voice that counterbalances the Punk who's chaotic good persona draws in the male fans who like people who like to watch the world burn. The WWE could really be onto something if they cultivate a split fanbase and start exploring the fact that different wrestlers appeal to different demographics.

They'd also be wise to have Triple H play as much of a background role as possible. Of course, his forced star turn tonight couldn't come at a worse time in terms of selfish reasons, as I'm planning a bunch of entries that look to reconcile my past as a wrestling fan re: Trips, and if I end up coming to a conclusion that forgives him and he ends up fucking up SummerSlam? Yeah, I don't even want to imagine that. Triple H as a forefront character for this angle is bad. As someone in the background, he works, especially if he lets Funkhauser, err, I mean Super Dave Osbourne, err, I mean John Laryngitis... err, Laurinitis become the real lightning rod proxy. It also helps that Mr. Ace has a puro education, because I doubt that flash kick from Punk was the last bump he'll be taking.

Of course, the perfect contract signing wasn't the only thing going on here. A lot of stuff happened on RAW tonight, including two potential SummerSlam matches being taken off the card. The first saw Miz continue Rey Mysterio's injury angle with a STELLAR beatdown. Again, he shows why he's the best at the Pearl Harbor, bar none. Obviously, since Rey will be back next week for his rematch, it lends credence to the report that his injury is just a "tweak". The other match taken off the books potentially has been R-Truth/John Morrison. Some have been speculating that it's a warning shot to go along with Melina's firing. It makes sense to me, but again, no primary source, no reporting as fact. That being said, with those two matches being moved off the card ostensibly, is it too much to ask to see Miz and Truf win the Tag Pennies and become JeriShow 2K11 at SummerSlam? Please?

This was a banner night for promos. Alberto del Rio's spot before his match with Punk was pretty good. Truf was hilarious as always. Punk's line of "Triple H needing the spotlight so much that he's solar powered" was GOLD, JERRY, GOLD. Of course, the wrestling was good for the most part too. Cena/Swagger was good. Kofi/Truth was deceptively excellent. After a week where they may have taken off, RAW bounced back with a strong show, one that gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, they won't fuck up SummerSlam.

This Week in DVR: I'm a Good Guy Now, Fella

It's a fellabration!
Photo Credit: WWE.com

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

Matches

Colt Cabana vs. Joey Ryan on NWA Hollywood - Solid main event with a lot of good storytelling vis a vis Adam Pearce as the guest ref. I thought some of the TV editing cut off a good bit of this, going to commercial when Cabana was shoving Pearce. There was one flubbed spot on Cabana doing the Asai moonsault (which I can't criticize too badly because it was COLT CABANA DOING AN ASAI MOONSAULT), but the action was really good throughout. Some great brawling, and nice showboating tactics from Ryan. The DQ finish left me a little flat, but it was still a decent match.

Heath Slater vs. Trent Baretta on Superstars - Wow, who knew Heath Slater could work? Maybe he didn't get as much of a stage to shine as well as he did in this match, or maybe he did some overtime in FCW, learning from guys like William Regal and Big Dust. Either way, wow, what a match. Slater brought it on offense, which is good, because it's the first time I've been impressed with him when he was bringing the heat, and the first time I've been impressed with him overall since WrestleMania:

That will never get old. Ever. I think where I started to feel this match most was when Baretta ran to the corner and anticipated Slater coming in behind him. He did a leapfrog, but Slater just sidestepped him and kicked him in the gut. Really clever spot. I like his spinebuster too. Baretta was a great opponent for him too, because the former Dudebuster bumps well and has such reckless abandon. He's a great nouveau-style jobber. Solid finish with a good sequence in the corner going to Baretta whiffing on a corkscrew and Slater dropping him with an inverted DDT. Really good stuff.

Chris Masters and Santino Marella vs. Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga, non-title, on Superstars - No, it's not a typo. Otunga has made the honor roll. I think that's a credit to WWE that they've found a role where they can hide his deficiencies well and put him with a guy who can carry the load, even if McGillicutty is a little green himself. Of course, playing off two of the best workers in the company will do a lot to help that along as well. Masters didn't spend a lot of time in the match, but that's okay, because how about Santino? The more I see him, the more impressed I get with him as a total package guy in the ring. He just plays the crowd so well, and his expressions and bantering in the ring is second to none. He even has some cool moves, like that spinning fireman's carry takeover he did earlier in the match. I thought it was good tag fare.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - Okay show this week. The undercard stuff was underwhelming but alright, excepting the blindfold match. I really don't think it's possible to do a good blindfold match, to be honest. The main event stuff was well done, and this Erik Watts guy has a real good look. Very imposing. The injury angle with Cabana getting spike piledriven was okay, and I'm guessing they'll push him and Pearce as two guys with neck injuries going forward.

Superstars - Another really good show this week... baaaaaht, chu already knew that. It looked like they went with all extended length matches, which is good, because it lends itself to some good action. I thought that the first two matches were really good, and the main event between Jack Swagger and Alex Riley was just okay though. Riley is still really green, although he has some promise. When he learns how to work some basic psych into his matches, he'll be a lot better, but I pray to God that he ditches that awful "grenade" spot. Let's just forget for a second that Chuck Taylor's introduction of imaginary grenades into wrestling matches is so sublime that it renders anything else, imitation or not, just the very definition of moot. The gesticulations involved with Riley's grenade are just too drawn out and bad. And this is coming from someone who grins and bears it every time Cena goes into a Five Knuckle Shuffle. That grenade makes the FKS look like the People's Elbow and the People's Elbow look like a tombstone piledriver.

Impact - The show was mostly based on "Joker" Sting, Immortal and Kurt Angle as characters, centered around obtaining "stroke" and using the Network to engage in a power struggle. So therefore, I didn't much care for this week's Impact. About the only thing that was really enjoyable to me was the promo segment with Alex Shelley, Brian Kendrick and Austin Aries, but you probably already knew that.

Smackdown - Decent show with underwhelming wrestling. Triple H's segment to start was okay, not as good as Monday's. I liked seeing more Zack Ryder, but I hope this doesn't mean he's not wrestling anymore. The out-of-ring segments were stronger than the matches on the whole, especially the ones involving Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett and the confrontation between Mark Henry and Sheamus. I like that Sheamus is going face too. People have been sporadically cheering him for a year or so, and I really look forward to a series of slugfests between those two big hosses.

Instant Feedback: Like Mussolini, and Kennedy

I'm getting the feeling that I got back in 1998, like RAW was going to be an event. Only I'm not. You see, would we have gotten three PPV quality matches on the show in 1998? Miz/Rey, Dolph/Bourne and Rey/Cena were all fucking amazing matches. del Rio/Kofi wasn't bad, although Kofi was a bit sloppy. Still, regardless of the execution, the intent was there to have a show jam packed with great wrestling. In that regard, there were no qualms, and it was way better than what we'd get in the Attitude Era.

That being said, there's a buzz around the show like there was back in that era. They seem to be hitting on all cylinders again with the strong character work and hooks that leave people astounded. I mean, there have been great shows in the last couple of years, but only one moment before 6/27 has left me with the feeling I've been having regularly in the last month. That was the Nexus' debut. Since then, you have CM Punk, John Cena, Vince McMahon, Triple H, Jim Ross, Michael Cole, R-Truth and now Zack Ryder giving me these moments. It's great.

The Triple H state of the WWE address was as well-done as anything he's done in the last three years. I know some people can't palate his comedy, but that's when I really get him best. He's naturally funny to me, and his interplay with Truth was outstanding. I think it helped that Truth is just the funniest guy out there right now. And hey, how about the Ryder cameo? It's almost like everything about this show was geared towards sending some section of the fans home happy.

That includes the end. Is the WWE running a bit too fast with Punk's return? Maybe they are, but conversely, Punk's iron is hot right now. I can understand wanting to capitalize on having the hottest property in pro wrestling on my program, whether he's been away for too long or not long enough. And to me, it doesn't matter when or where he comes back, it matters the execution. Tonight, it was executed perfectly. Cena winning the paper title, "Cult of Personality" blaring over the speakers, Punk coming out with a new Titantron, wearing his eBay hot property tee? Christ, I got goosebumps.

So yeah, if this is a taste of how things are going to run with Trips in charge, then I'm all aboard. IF we can get to a return of buzzworthy wrestling without the impetus of another company pushing them, then fuck, I love it. Tonight was a special show, another in a line of three or four in the last month.

Instant Feedback: Dixie Carter Is Calling Vince McMahon's Cell AS WE SPEAK

So, when everyone was wondering where CM Punk would be tonight, he took in his hometown Cubs beating my Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. In the mean time, WWE put out a deliciously understated, nuanced show full of wrestling with a surreal ending. Coming off the most emotionally charged, action-packed PPV event in the company's history perhaps, well, it caught me a little off-guard. That being said, I dug RAW tonight.

For one, there was some good wrestling. Ziggler/Mysterio was a really, really good match, but is anyone surprised? They're two of the best workers in the world. Hell, I love tournaments on the whole, so even with some of the matches being duds, I liked the stories involved. Miz being portrayed as an underdog to me was the ballsiest one of those stories, and they're treading a fine line, but hey, it could be something interesting.

Then again, not everything worked. The Divas being cattle-chuted out just to stand around while Beth Phoenix did moves to Rosa Mendes was lame. And the tournament final being switched to next week felt like somewhat of a bait and switch to me. Then again, they have another week to build, and hey, the segment that followed was what made the show so damn intriguing. Yeah, we didn't get Punk. We got John Cena dodge firing, but it was through Triple H firing Vince McMahon. Yes, Vince McMahon got fired.

I can see where the show would have taken some off guard, but I thought it was decent. I'm intrigued to see where all this goes, but we got wrestling and story advancement tonight. That's a pretty good recipe for RAW, right?

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.

Instant Feedback: PUNK HARDER AGAIN

If tonight was any indication, the WWE is going to miss CM Punk if he's really leaving. While all this pomp and build makes me believe that they're not going to be letting him walk, well, tonight he proved that when he's on, he can take wrestling to another level. Even though it was a little crass, he was right when he said the only times wrestling gets front page pub is when he talks or a wrestler dies. That's publicity you can't buy. And really, this is only half of what Punk can do. He wrestles just as well as he talks, and he'll prove that at Money in the Bank, because Cena can too.

Speaking of Cena, outside of the beginning of his spiel after interrupting the contract negotiations, where Bad Goofy Cena reared his ugly head again, he was on point when he was serious. Hell, both bookend segments were outstanding. Vince McMahon acquitted himself well too, but he almost always does. He even broke out the "LET'S HEAR IT FOR VINCE MCMAHON" schtick again. Love that. Although one last note, is it a sad commentary on the city of Boston that it was Punk calling Cena the Yankees that made him snap? I'm from Philly, and we take sports very seriously, but even I think that's an almost sad breaking point.

Anyway, the rest of the show was just there, but it didn't really have to be anything but just there. The Money in the Bank prep was hit or miss. I will say that R-Truth talking about being afraid of spiders and the grits hitting the fan was again surreally entertaining. Christ, he should just do stand-up. He'd be like Tracy Morgan, only less controversial. Other than that, it felt warmed over. Miz was okay in his promo. Swagger was good. Bourne was actually decent on the mic, and then Kofi comes out and cuts the most generic promo I've ever heard. I mean, he's got good delivery... but who's writing this bullshit for him? Then after Truth's manic awesomeness, we get Alex Riley clearing the ring in the most nonsensical fashion ever... like, wouldn't he want to come out before SWAGGAH BOMBU? I don't know. The match was okay though.

Also, the Bella Twins should probably stay away from weight-based insults altogether. Calling Kharma fat is the wrong message. Calling Kelly Kelly overly skinny? Uh, have these twins looked in the mirror lately? Nattie, Beth Phoenix, Eve and Melina all have great body types. The Bellas are just as bad as K2. Maybe they should eat something more than bean sprouts and their fingers. And if you want to get a good reaction over the number of handicap matches on the show, just ask Razor. He'll give you the what for.

But then again, the sandwich portion of RAW could have been 90 minutes of monkeys on tricycles trying to fling poop at Santino and Hornswoggle and it wouldn't have mattered. Punk, McMahon and to a lesser extent Cena made this show. Is wrestling back? I'm not qualified to make that statement, because I'll probably continue to watch even if it turtles into further cultural obscurity. That, and if Punk leaves after Sunday, it's all for naught. However, RAW for the last three weeks has felt special, a certain kind of specialness it's lacked for a long time. Vince, Cena and ESPECIALLY Punk are the reasons why.

This Week in DVR: Scrap Iron, Conquering Hero

Ireland getting revenge on England for years of dickery?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

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

Matches

Scorpio Sky vs. "Pretty" Peter Avalon, First Round Match in the "Be the Star" Television Championship Tournament on NWA Hollywood - A lot of really good counters here, both by Avalon and Sky. That was the story for this match, which may have run a bit too long but was more than serviceable. I liked Avalon's stall tactics to begin the match, and Sky's high-energy face offense is very crisp. I love his finish. Sky executes the TKO with such flair and exuberance. Good stuff.

Drew McIntyre vs. Zack Ryder on Superstars - These guys are two of my favorites to watch lately for different reasons. Ryder is so emotive, so spry and game, McIntyre so methodical, deliberate, vicious. It made for a really hot opener to Superstars. A lot of high spots here, first with Ryder going to the outside on a plancha. Then was the sequence of the match for me. McIntyre retreated to the outside with the ref restraining Ryder, and then Ryder went to the apron, only to get tripped up. McIntyre then wrangled the Woo Woo Woo Kid and nailed him with a sideslam onto the apron. HOLY SHIT. A huge bump can make a good match great, and that was about as big a bump as you could get without any extra trappings. The rest of the match flowed well from there. I really liked how Ryder looked like he was making a comeback and then McIntyre just put two boots to his face like it was no big deal. The finish worked for me too. Love countering moves into flash pins. Hopefully we get an extended series out of this.

Alicia Fox vs. Nattie Neidhart on Superstars - Yeah, you read that right, Alicia Fox made the honor roll this week. Seriously, Nattie did a lot of heavy lifting this week, but even with her training wheels on, Fox did some serious work. I'll admit, a big reason why I enjoyed this match was because of the banter between the two about Fox's weave. Great shit-talking during the match can enhance it so much. A big reason why I love Ryder, going back to the previous match, is because he'll pop up, look in either his opponent's eyes or right at the ref and go "You serious, bro?" It's that kind of thing that adds to the story. That isn't to say the actual nuts-and-bolts work was bad. Fox definitely was working the old "feeble woman" archetype from before SHIMMER and other serious forms of women's wrestling made headway in America, but the way she was working it, putting oomph behind her slaps and hairpulls, made it work. This was an actively good match. I'm as shocked as you.

Crimson vs. Bobby Roode, BFG Series Match, on Impact - Fun little match here. Crimson is still limited, but good thing for him, he's in there with one of the four best workers in Impact. I thought they sold the shoulder well during the match, both on attacking and on the pretense of injury. I also liked that Roode went for submissions during the match, playing up the increased point total for tap out victories.

Jesse Sorenson vs. Jack Evans vs. Tony Nese, Destination X Qualifier, on Impact - The last time I saw Jack Evans, it was on PWG Sells Out. He was in there against Christopher Daniels. His psychology sucked. His timing and pacing sucked. His character sucked. Everything about him sucked. Seeing him on Impact this time, and it was like he was a whole different character, a whole different worker. It was like his experience working abroad served to hone his high spots into something more than just acrobatics. Nese served as a great counterpoint with his stiffness and his bullying during the match (not surprisingly since his pedigree is from the NYWC). I liked in the beginning when he was trying to take both Evans and Sorenson on. I know that all the matches for the contract qualifying have been three ways, but I think this might have been way better if it were just Nese and Evans. Sorenson looked really green and I thought his finisher, the Cross-Rhodes type move, looked a bit on the wrong side of stiff into reckless. However, Evans and Nese were both the real deal. Love the 630 Senton. I'll readily admit I was wrong about Jack Evans, well, at least about him not being able to change.

Daniel Bryan and Ezekiel Jackson vs. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes on Smackdown - Fun little tag match. Bryan and Zeke make a surprisingly good tag team, as we all know how good the former Legacy are together. Zeke on the apron, trying to get the hot tag? Holy shit, he got into that. He's a more natural babyface worker than I gave him credit for. I loved the spot in the corner too, where Rhodes countered the knee by Bryan into the Alabama Slam. Good stuff, but considering the four guys involved, it's not surprising.

Tamina vs. AJ on Smackdown - This was a nice little bit of Diva exposition. I'm still not a fan of the way WWE does feuds outside of the main event, but hey, if the matches are good, then I'm cool with it. AJ's athleticism sets her apart from the pack, and it was on display here. I'm kinda over the shining wizard being used by half the WWE roster, but AJ's looks good.

The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) vs. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater on Smackdown - Speaking of feuds that the WWE advanced solely by having match overload each week, these two teams have developed a really good chemistry. This week was another fun match. I especially liked their new take on the double knockdown. Rather than clotheslining each other, Gabriel and one of the Usos (still can't tell them apart) did a double yakuza kick spot. It was really slick. I like the Usos finisher too, the superplex/Superfly Splash combo.

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton on Smackdown - Schmozz DQ finish aside, it was a pretty decent match. Orton's been working well as a babyface this year, but then again, look at his opponents - Punk, Christian and now Sheamus. Sheamus actually broke out some cool stuff in this match. The top rope shoulder block was okay, although you can tell he's not used to going that high, as there was some apprehension. These two have had some chemistry problems in the past, but I think they're developing more and more of a rapport. DQ finish worked in this situation.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - Decent show. The bizarro feud between the Tribe and Natural Selection is entertaining in a perverse way. It's almost like a competition as to which team can use tried and true heel tactics the best. I love it, even if I'm not enamored with the Tribe as actual workers. The main event, as noted above, was really good too. Still not buying Buggy as someone I really want to watch wrestle, but hey, nothing's perfect. However, the best part of the show was the middle segment, where Joey Ryan joined the Family Stone, only to be chased out of the ring by Adam Pearce, who to that point was doing a really bang-up job on commentary. Ryan/James Morgan vs. Pearce/Colt Cabana should be a really good top feud for the show.

Superstars - Ugh, I absolutely hate when they "main event" Superstars with warmed over repeats of the RAW final segment, especially when it's an interview one. I mean c'mon now, I can almost guarantee that if there was a Venn diagram showing viewership between RAW and Superstars, the circle for Superstars would be almost entirely engulfed by RAW's. Either way, the three matches before the end were all decent to good. The squash of the local talent by Wade Barrett was fun for what it was. Solid show.

Impact - The wrestling action, save the main event, was good enough. It was really awesome to start, but it started to peter out until your garden variety, let's screw the babyfaces main event. Yeah, no. I'm also really not feeling Joker Sting. It's almost like a bad caricature of a terrible Joker impersonation. It's like he realizes he's not really being serious about anything. It's bad. I will say that there were a few non-wrestling-match-related things that I enjoyed, which is rare for Impact anymore. One was Brian Kendrick cutting a promo that was in a character and not a pseudo-shoot. Two, was that finally, Kurt Angle's doing something other than feuding with Jeff Jarrett. Thank fucking Christ. But yeah, it was an alright episode for once.

Smackdown - Up until the end, this show was all about Sheamus. That's not a bad thing, fella. Him clearing out the ring to start was a great open to the show, although I was pretty enthralled by what Bryan, Rhodes and Wade Barrett all had to say. His promo backstage where he said "It's an Irish t'ing, you wouldn't understand" was so awesomely delivered. Him getting laid out at the end felt anti-climactic, but yeah, it's just another week, plus he is technically still a heel. I continue to enjoy how they're building up Mark Henry, although Teddy Long putting his stink all over him isn't promising.

Instant Feedback: John Cena, a Real American Hero

Usually, whenever they tape two RAWs at the same time, the second show is flat, the crowd sucks and nothing really ever happens. Reading some of the spoilers for this show, my hopes weren't high. But that's the thing about spoilers; usually, they only tell part of the story. Verily, tonight's RAW was awesome from top to bottom. How fitting that in this year of upside-down and inside-out that the show that was taped after one two-hour show was among the best of the year, eh?

A lot of that comes from John Cena. He is counted on as WWE's workhorse and their top star, but sometimes, he can come off as trite or insincere. When he does, it makes for bad television. Tonight, he sounded sincere. His promo to kick the show off was about as good as I remember him being. When he's out there, standing up for Hustle, Loyalty and Respect, he is a tremendous, must-see character. Him standing up for his rival, for free speech and for the integrity of the match was riveting and the perfect way to kick off RAW. Even more stunning was his faceoff with Vince McMahon at the end of the show. Let's not get it twisted. McMahon was good in that segment, but Cena carried it. So much forceful emotion... when he feels genuine, I see why he's the top guy in WWE. IT didn't matter to me that they teased another firing, even if they teased and followed through with it to rushed results (even if I thought the story they told with him and Nexus/Wade Barrett was good in theory). The tension of the segment would have sold me on the PPV if I wasn't already sold on it before any match was announced.

And the bookends weren't the only things that sold this show on me. The wrestling was good, even if it wasn't spectacular. The segment with Evan Bourne, Sgt. Slaughter and Jack SWAGGAH~! was epic, especially with Swagger bringing up Sarge's early '90s defection to Iraq. R-Truth on the phone with Flo and plugging the wrong insurance company was epic. Alex Riley winning with a backslide and then Miz doing everything but teabagging him was fitting. Hell, even the Divas got time and had a decent match, which for them was akin to Savage/Steamboat from WM III.

And hey... ZACK RYDER SIGHTING! Here's hoping he and Curt Hawkins, or Chris Masters, or even his father get a shot at the Tag Pennies and more exposure on my RAW program.

For whatever reason, RAW clicked tonight, all 125 minutes of it. Looks like summer is heating up for WWE.

Instant Feedback: No Pillow Fights

I'll give them credit. They could have made the Divas match between Kelly Kelly and Nikki Bella a fluff match, like a pillow fight or a song and dance. They didn't. IT was a submission match. Could it be that maybe they're serious about treating the Divas like women and not silicone and smiles? Well, most of them would have to learn how to work, but it's a start.

That being said, I was rooting so hard for a pillow fight to show up during one of the men's matches. I mean, pro wrestling is a bit homoerotic as it is. It would have been fucking hilarious if Kane and CM Punk hit each other with pillows, although I wouldn't have put it past Punk to load up a pillowcase with doorknobs. IT would have been awesome.

Either way, though, this was a pretty dull show with some good moments. Again, Mark Henry wrecking shit was a big high point in the show. Seriously, give this man a title match and a couple of weeks tossing Randy Orton through tables and into guard rails. I'd buy that PPV in a heartbeat, even if it was one of the lesser PPVs like Bragging Rights, Wrestling Match or Contract Signing. Is it that much to ask? I also marked a bit at WCW-o-Rama going on, with Booker T, Rey Mysterio and DDP all in the same segment, being joined with the only major player not to work for WCW during those days, Shawn Michaels. Speaking of HBK, I thought he and Punk had a GREAT back and forth to start the show.

But it wasn't all good this week. Ziggler and Kofi are running out of story to tell without help from creative. The Sin Cara/Evan Bourne match was okay, but it felt a bit stunted and somewhat sloppy. Again, Jerry Lawler gets to make fat jokes at Vickie Guerrero.

But then again, it all comes back to Punk, doesn't it? It does. The pseudo-shoot promo to end the show was brilliant. Holy fuck, was it brilliant. The only thing that would have made it better is if he had a Troll Face mask on. Brilliant. Youtube this shit if you can. If you missed RAW... holy shit.

This is 2011's Nexus moment.

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!

Instant Feedback: Three Hours Two Consecutive Weeks Too Much

A three-hour RAW can be hard to sit through. For two weeks in a row, it gets taxing. Tonight's RAW was just as hard to get through as one might have imagined. Some long recaps/production segments, coupled with an absolutely awful dance-off, helped make it feel so long. I thought they could have distilled this down into two hours fine, because there was some good stuff going on here.

For one, the actual wrestling was on point. Evan Bourne did his best to carry Mason Ryan in the lulz-inducing vote result during the first men's match of the evening. It wasn't pretty, as Ryan is still super-green, but it was a noble attempt. Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler had another good match, even if it has a wonky finish. Seriously, wouldn't you think that in a two-of-three falls match, it wouldn't matter if Ziggler got DQed in the third fall? Eh, I don't know. We'll keep seeing the match until our eyes bleed, I think. Still, it could be a lot worse.

The gem of the evening though was the three-way contenders match with CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Alberto del Rio. For a WWE triple threat match, this was exceedingly well done. All three guys really brought their working shoes, and it was seamless in transitions. There were no extended stretches where one guy was out of commission. Rey bumped his ass off, and del Rio took his signature huge bump when he took a sick apron powerbomb from Punk. That wasn't the only powerbomb spot, as they combined for some impossible looking super powerbomb/superplex spot. It was incredible. Punk winning after picking Rey's bones was outstanding too.

Hell, Punk was on fire all night. The opening promo, the performance in the match, and then his promo after the match which he acknowledged his contract situation... he was the MVP of this show. I wonder if since he mentioned it on the air whether he's signed a contract and is just playing this up? I hope that's the case, because WWE without Punk is a WWE I don't want to imagine. One scenario that could work is a Summer of Punk rehash. If you don't know, Punk won the ROH World Championship in 2005 and after winning, signed his WWE contract on it. It was called the Summer of Punk. Maybe he'll sign his extension after beating Cena? One can only dream.

But with the good comes the bad. One, the voting being rigged? Again, it's intelligence insulting. No way Mason Ryan wins that voting over Sin Cara. Two, tonight would have been a GREAT opportunity for Cena and Orton to show some ass in the main event. Nope, can't have that. SuperCena and BatOrton reign supreme again. Three... the danceoff... UGH, I've seen better dancing by drunk white people at weddings than I did from Cole. And also, enough with the fat jokes about Vickie, okay? I get that it doesn't bother her, or at least she claims, but it bothers me. Fuck.

But yeah, if they have another three hour RAW, it'll be too soon. They'll have a gimmick RAW next week, but you know what? I can take that if it's two hours.

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: Woo Woo Woo, You Know It

WOO WOO WOO YOU KNOW IT
Screen Grab Credit: WWE.com

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

Matches

Los Luchas (Zokre and Phoenix Star) vs. Ricky Mandell and Hector Canales on NWA Hollywood - This was an extremely fun tag match, featuring some really choice heel antics by Mandell and Canales as well as some really unique lucha offense by the face team. Early on in the match, Zokre busted out this really unique submission hold, basically bending Canales' knees, spreading his legs apart and sitting on them. You kinda have to see it to really appreciate what I'm describing here. Canales was really on point mocking Los Luchas as well. My only real gripe with this match was that the crowd didn't react to Zokre's hot tag to Phoenix Star, but that's more disappointment with the crowd rather than anything to do with the match. Highly recommended to seek this one out.

Joey Ryan vs. Brandon Parker, Qualifying Match for the "Be the Star" Television Championship Tournament, on NWA Hollywood - This was a classic David/Goliath match up, although Ryan as Goliath might seem hilarious to most. Then again, have you seen how small Parker is? Ryan played the bully well, and they really told the story of them having a former student/teacher relationship throughout the match with the counters and such. Parker had great fire. About the only thing that was mildly disappointing to me was that they teased the Moustache Ride. I love that move. I wanted to see it, dammit!

Natural Selection (Brien Cage and Shawn Ricker) (c) vs. The Tribe (Hawaiian Lion and Navajo Warrior), NWA Heritage Tag Team Championship Match, on NWA Hollywood - A very rare heel vs. heel match here. I kinda dug it. It was funny to see a tag match without any of the babyface tag team tropes in play. My favorite spot here was when Rickers was working over Navajo's arm, and then he went for a hammerlock body slam. He hit it, obviously, but then he pulled up with his back lame, playing up the size disadvantage. I liked the DQ finish, with both teams trying to cheat, but the Tribe being the ones caught. Very good fish out of water affair.

Zack Ryder vs. Primo on Superstars - This was an almost pitch-perfect match. It had a hot crowd. It had a pre-match promo. It had Primo heeling it up during the match and Ryder hitting some big babyface spots. Hell, it even had a story behind it, well, as much of a story as a Superstars curtain-jerker could have. Ryder played a surprisingly good babyface during this match. Maybe that's where his future lies, especially since he has fan support? Anyway, really cool, WWE-main event style match (weird because again, it jerked the curtain of the C-show) with a really good finish, going from the Backstabber attempt into the Ruff Ryder for the pin. Man, Zack Ryder really is over, isn't he? Shame he's wasting away off RAW because McMahon reputedly hates the Internet...

Drew McIntyre vs. Vladimir Kozlov on Superstars - A fun brawl. McIntyre spent a good portion of the match working over Kozlov's arm and then another portion just bumping his ass off for Kozlov's cyborg-style offense. Drew Mac did his best to make Kozlov look really good here.

Austin Aries vs. Kid Kash vs. Jimmy Rave, Destination X Tournament, on Impact - All three guys were good here, but the biggest star of this match was Aries. His test of strength antics at the start put the match on a good tone. His execution on his moves was crisp. He took the biggest bump, the STO on the apron from Rave. Basically, if this was a tryout to show his worth for something more than peanuts from Impact or a real live contract from WWE, then I'd say he passed with flying colors. Him getting a further tryout at the PPV is the right call.

Samoa Joe vs. Rob Van Dam, Bound for Glory Series, on Impact - Samoa Joe is a miracle worker. Seriously, there's only one guy in the whole world who consistently gets good matches out of RVD, and that person is Joe. I don't know whether Joe has a calming influence over him, but he's not sloppy. And even his contrived spots, like his step-through kick, look better when Joe takes them. This was a very fitting opener for the BfG Series, which is a cool idea. It's a tone-setter, and hopefully, it's not a tone that they'll screw up.

Christian vs. Sheamus, Spot in the Capitol Punishment Main Event on the Line, on Smackdown - Was it me, or did they just run a feeler for Sheamus as a babyface worker in this match? Well, up until the end, that is when they went into the finishing sequence. Anyway, this was a worthy main event, but you knew that was going to happen when it was announced. Two of the best workers alive right now going at it with a bunch of TV time to ply their trade. A well-worked size mismatch with a really cool finish. The sequence was great right from the start when Sheamus knocked Christian off his perch and then went to work with knee scrapes. That wasn't even the best part, with them jostling position into Christian giving Sheamus a modified stun gun by leaping from the top to the outside into the pin. Great improvised finish that really put a punctuation mark on the match.

Shows

NWA Hollywood - Very solid show this week. All four matches were enjoyable on their own level, and there was some good promo work. The sit-down with Adam Pearce was well done for the most part, although they should have maybe had more volume on Pearce's mic. The end of the show being similar to last week's (although not as crazy) was probably intentional. It seems like the start of an interesting story, where every tag team really hates each other and we start getting something like Tag Team Thunderdome going on. I can dig that. I also dug that Excalibur made mention at the start of the show that criminal charges would not be pressed against either the Cutlers or the RockNES Monsters. It's the little things like that that can turn a good show into a great one.

Superstars - Decent show with four okay-to-great matches on it. However, I did have a couple of issues with it. One, Ryder/Primo should have been the main event. I don't care if Kane was in one of the matches, Ryder's match had the hotter crowd and arguably the most over wrestler of the whole show on it. Two, I'm really over this whole manager-search angle for Tyson Kidd. I mean, what good is a manager when that manager is not going to get involved in any of his matches? It shows a fundamental lack of understanding as to what the role of a heel manager should be while the action's taking place in the ring. But then again, I guess that would require the failed TV writers to actually know something about wrestling, wouldn't it? Three, Matt Striker has become really bad lately. I know I've defended him on here, but there really is no defending him lately. Between his "dead air" problem seemingly getting worse and then this week, him saying "Revenge belongs to Kane" after he beat Kidd. Really, Matt? What revenge did Kane owe Kidd? Nothing. And if beating the top heel on the C-show is revenge for Alberto del Rio taking out Big Show, then man, I want to live in Striker's world, because I'd have so much easier times doling out retribution for my wrongs.

That being said, it still was an enjoyable show. Like I said at the top, the matches were mostly good. I liked that they gave promo time not only to Ryder but to McIntyre. This was his first WWE promo that I heard where he showed flashes of the charisma he had in that infamous ICW promo that I've linked on here a couple of times. I can dig him as "The Great American Nightmare". He finally has some character to catch up with his excellent ring work. The star of the show unquestionably was Zack Ryder though. Seriously, he owned the first part of the show, and he's showing everyone that it's not just a Youtube show and pedantic smark bitching that's part of his allure. He's actually an awesome performer.

Impact - Hit or miss show this week. A lot of people online have been raving about the Sting/Hogan segment, but again, it speaks to my problem of them bringing too much outside bullshit into it. Also, Sting was so fucking over the top, I couldn't tell if he was really pissed at Hogan or just trolling the shit out of him. I don't know. What I do know is that there were a few really good nuggets on this show, moreso than maybe the last month of Impacts combined. The two matches that were on the honor roll deserve to be there and then some. Then you had the Eric Young/Jason Hervey "match" segment. It was definitely funny, just how serious EY was treating it. To me though, Aries made the segment, just through his bewildered reactions to everything and his reluctant counting of the sham pinfall.

The Angle/Jarrett stuff though... I don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, ending on a pseudo-cliffhanger where Jarrett's intentions of leaving the country if he lost the brawl feels so fucking cheap to me. On the other, my guess is that he is gone, and I'm just happy to see Angle get closure to this feud finally and move on. This really hasn't been a feud that I felt should have continued for as long as it has, despite the fact that it's gone 8 months (8 months? That's insane, especially for Impact). I don't know, I'm ready for it to end and for Angle to get on with his title shot.

Speaking of which, I'm a huge fan of the Bound for Glory Series. While I really fucking hate that they play it up like nobody else thought of doing it when Chikara is doing a 12-man round robin tournament, I like the idea of them making this the lead-in to their biggest PPV's main event. It's part of building an identity. And if they can make this a vehicle to have good matches, like RVD/Joe or start stories like they're potentially doing with Scott Steiner and Bully Ray? Sign me up.

Smackdown - This was a really flat show. Nearly everything about it annoyed me, from Alberto del Rio pressing charges (my least favored of the storyline tropes) to making a big deal out of concussions (although in this case, them treating it more like a bad kayfabed injury rather than making it JUST LIKE the out-of-character debate over them made it more palatable to me) to Teddy Long being all over the show to the super-botched finish to the six-man tag match to bullshit parity booking with the Divas to Orton punting the shit out Sheamus (because I'm over the punt more than anything else).

I say nearly though because the main event match saved this show from being a total dud to me. Just a phenomenal match. Too bad there was really nothing else going for it. However, I will say this. The fact that that they pretty much destroyed Mark Henry and Sheamus during this show speaks volumes as to their faith in Christian to carry Smackdown as the top heel. That is encouraging to me.

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!

Instant Feedback: WE WANT RYDER

In the grand tradition of fucking with a guy in his hometown, there were three hours on RAW, and Zack Ryder appeared on none of them. None. This pissed off a certain contingent of my fellow Internet fans, but it doesn't bother me. Why? He probably got a much better exposition on Superstars. Yep, Superstars, you know, that show that moved to online-exclusivity, the one that usually has the great wrestling? Yeah, I don't care where I see him, as long as I get to see him. Novel concept, I know.

Don't tell that to the crowd, as they popped off SEVERAL "WE WANT RYDER" chants. The crowd was hot all night, popping for Ryder, continuing the momentum for Alex Riley, creating dueling chants not only for John Cena but for Christian as well (CHRISTIAN IS RIGHT PEOPLE! FUCK THE POWER! FUCK TEDDY LONG!). For as weird and mediocre as RAW was tonight, it didn't seem as bad because the crowd was so damn hot.

But yeah, RAW was hit or miss tonight. Everything Steve Austin did, ESPECIALLY his interactions with CM Punk, was really good, I thought. Christian and Randy Orton had another strong segment against each other. The wrestling, for the most part, especially the main event, was great. Cena and Punk have such amazing chemistry together that it's not even funny. Christian and Rey Mysterio had potential, but they went castigo excesivo on it, which would have been great if they didn't do the exact same finish in the first match of the evening between Alberto del Rio and Kane.

But that boner wasn't the only one of the evening. For one, what the hell was the GM's role in the Christian/Orton segment all about? I mean really, do we need to insert concussions into the storyline here? It made no sense, even without considering the aforementioned concussion. Then we had Divas-a-go-go just for them to do the unsexiest kickline in the history of kicklines?

Still, there was a lot of good on RAW tonight. And hey, CM Punk got a cleanish win over John Cena. SO yeah, there's that. I think a lot of what made RAW palatable tonight though was the crowd. Hopefully, next week's crowd is game because it's yet ANOTHER three hour RAW.

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: 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!

Instant Feedback: R-Truth, You Probably Shouldn't Wear That

Full disclosure: I thought the opening segment to RAW, which was really the closing segment to Tough Enough bleeding into RAW in something surreal, was entertaining as hell. I thought Truf's rambling was hilarious. I liked what I saw from Miz and Alex Riley. Cena was... Cena. It was clusterfucky, and reminiscent of 1999-2000 in a weird but good way. I dug it.

That being said, whose fucking idea was it to have R-Truth wear a Confederate soldier's uniform? There's edgy, and there's stupid. While I didn't have a problem with it, it's stupid to tempt outcry like that. Then again, it did lead to a really good main event with some really good moments, like Miz jaw-jacking with Austin, Riley getting a really loud chant followed by the most nuclear hot tag for Cena that I've ever heard in my life. The finish was... well yeah, it was fanservice. At the same time, they did it a couple of weeks ago with Bret Hart. A bit more creativity needed from WWE Creative... haha, yeah right.

I was pretty baffled though... why the fuck would the RAW GM give Austin his job right after undermining his decision? Christ, these writers were in rare form tonight. Ugh.

Anyway, outside of the main angle, this was an all-over-the-place RAW. There were good spots, like the wrestling, Punk's pre-match promo and Booker T (!) wrestling in a singles match for the first time in like five years in WWE. It was pretty nice too. Plus, they continue to build the Jack Swagger/Evan Bourne feud nicely. It's also always good to see Zack Ryder on RAW, even when he's jobbing, and Dolph Ziggler on commentary was really, really pointed and fit well. Seriously, talking about the US Championship like it's important? Tommy likey.

However, the bullshit parity booking reared its ugly head again, with a mini-program between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio wrapping up neatly in two weeks. We got two great matches out of it yeah. I'm not complaining about that. But would it kill them to use two of their strongest characters in something more than trading wins with no other storyline advancement? Weak. Then you have Alberto del Rio, who's usually on point. I got excited when I saw him, but then he rolled out Ricardo Rodriguez as a dimestore Big Show. No. People say feuds with Big Show are momentum killers. However, is it the act of feuding with Show, or is it that Creative doesn't give a shit with Show, since they know he's probably just going be in a tag filler match or wrestle in a celebrity match at WrestleMania, and thus his endgame is really, really unimportant. I don't know.

Mixed bag tonight, the very definition. Next week's a three hour RAW though, so you know it'll be heavy on the wrestling. At least we have that going for us.

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!

Instant Feedback: Memorable Memorial Day

If you excuse the technical difficulties and the uncharacteristic clunkiness of the Ziggler/Kofi match, this might have been a pitch-perfect RAW. Just amazing how much of what they did right. I mean, I'm buying more and more of R-Truth as a clinically insane guy one felony away from Arkham Asylum each week, and John Cena this week was a perfect canvas to play off of. Seriously, the main event and overrun were amazing television. Imagine that, Cena gets outsmarted and bothered, and it's great TV. Hmm....

The thing with RAW is that whenever the wrestling is good, the show tends to be better. Let's ignore the US non-title match to start; again, everyone has an off-night, even Dolph Ziggler. The Divas are a non-starter anymore, so I won't even bitch about them here (Although I will later in the week). They gave us a good bit of good wrestling this week. Punk vs. Rey? Awesome. Bourne vs. Swagger? Awesome x 2. Cena vs. Truf? Okay although with a VERY clever finish.

But it wasn't just the wrestling that was good this week. They continued building Alex Riley to the point where I think they may have a burgeoning star on their hands with him. I mean, they are playing the right strings with him, very reminiscent of the Flair/Perfect/Heenan turn saga in 1992. They're actually building an honest-to-God wrestling feud sub-the main event with Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger. They had a match with a clean finish last week, extracurriculars afterwards and then a clean, traded upset win this week? And then the finish to the main event, with Truf doing perhaps the best thing he's ever done and ever will do in WWE, throwing the soda into the face of the fan he was taunting at the top of the show? Holy shit, so good.

But the capper was Kharma's segment. First off, warmest congratulations to Kia Stevens, the person, for her pregnancy. As an expecting father, it's the best feeling in the world to be bringing life into the world. Second, it was amazing they let Kharma, the character, go out there and cut a heartfelt promo. Did it ruin Kharma's mystique? Yeah, it might have. Would it have been better to have her cold-cock Michael Cole or do something else that would have elicited a suspension? Maybe. Were the obviously baiting bully comments by the Bellas over the top? Given that they were the heels in the situation, no. Was it stupid for Lawler to come to Kharma's defense when he was doing the same thing to Vickie Guerrero even earlier in the show? Definitely.

That being said, I thought the segment worked and it was way better than I had expected it to be. It also gives them an earnest babyface that connected with the crowd to bring back in the future. Just the cap on a RAW that was unusually awesome tonight.

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!