[Wrestling] WWE Vengeance 2011

WWE’s Vengeance just wrapped up a few hours back, figured I would give some of my thoughts on the event.

Before I get into the matches, I gotta say… if the WWE *NEVER* mentions twitter again, it’ll be too soon.  I could not care less what WWE buzz-phrase is currently “trending worldwide”.  Instead of worrying about attracting followers and ridiculous made up hash-tags (like #ridiculousmadeuphashtag) concentrate on putting out a regularly-delivering top-quality product.

The show opened with a tag-title bout with Air-Boom defending against… um, Zig-Swag?  Decent match, however, I don’t think I ever need to see Dolph and Kofi in the same ring again.  Air-Boom got the win.  I was hoping Ziggler and Swagger would take this one; they’ve been making everyone they’ve worked with look great.  I don’t see any ceiling for either of them, and I hope to see them both moving up closer to the top of the card.

The second match again featured Dolph Ziggler… this time he was defending the United States title against Zack Ryder.  I know we’re supposed to dig Ryder, I mean, he’s the guy who made himself when WWE couldn’t be bothered.  I just can’t get into the guy, I think his appeal was that he *was* being held back.  Was worried for a bit that he’d beat Dolph and take the title… was very pleased when he didn’t.

The Divas Title match was quite good.  Eve and Beth worked well together, and for a few seconds there I thought Eve was going to win.  I’m glad Beth retained, it took her so long to win it (featuring far too many clean losses to Kelly Kelly), if she dropped it now, it would be tough to rebuild her as a credible threat.

I was shocked to see the HHH/Punk v Miz/Truth match this low on the card.  Considering how the World Title match ended, it becomes a bit clearer.  This was a fun match that showcased all four competitors.  Would have liked to see Miz and Truth look a bit stronger here (especially if this is all building to a Survivor Series elimination match), but for whatever reason, outside of Mark Henry, the WWE seems incapable of booking strong heels.  Was happy to see Kevin Nash return, that jackknife however, looked a bit rough.

Sheamus and Christian was a great match, which allowed Christian far more offense than I feared he’d get.  Really fun match, both men came out of it looking great.  Sheamus hit a wicked looking Brogue Kick on a spearing Christian to win.  Again, a really fun match.

I became otherwise engaged during Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.  Had to pick a match to miss to handle some laundry… this was the one.  All I know is I heard Orton’s music twice, which was exactly what I expected.  Adding the Intercontinental title to this match would have made it more exciting.  Putting a secondary title on Orton could really improve the belt’s prestige in a time when it really needs it.

Mark Henry is probably my favorite thing in Pro-Wrestling… and he has been since his return to SmackDown!  Pitting him against the Big Show provided an awesome power-match.  This was a great match, featuring an incredible spot.  The ring implosion hasn’t been done in, what 8-9 years?  This was a lot of fun.  I hope this leads to another match in this feud.

Alberto Del Rio *barely* retained the WWE Title against John Cena in a Last Man Standing Match.  Over the past few years, I’d begrudgingly become a John Cena fan… this match, however… Cena was booked far too strong.  It took Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez, The Miz, R-Truth, the backstage interview set, the Vengeance “V”, and a belt shot to keep Cena down for a ten-count… and JUST a ten-count… if this was a “Stay Down for an 11 Count” match, it would probably still be going on.  The bout featured a lot of neat spots, and I’m glad Del Rio retained… just wish he could be booked a bit stronger.

Assuming The Miz and R-Truth running in on this match further builds the big Survivor Series Elimination Tag match (which will feature the in-ring return of The Rock), the attack should have left Cena laying until the show went off the air.  Instead, he got back up and had to take a belt-shot to end the match.  I’m sure Cena can cleanly lose a match, and not lose any fans… all this does is cause the heels to look incredibly ineffectual.  Alberto Del Rio, looked like he’d be the WWE’s next big heel going into 2011… now, he’s on his second dirty WWE title reign, and can only get clean wins over John Morrison… who I think *I* even have a clean win over.

Looking at it this way, Cena on his own is damn-near a Terminator-level beast.  It took four men and several gimmicks to (barely) end this match.  How are we supposed to fear for John Cena and his team of 3-4 partners (including The Rock) against a group of guys that have been booked like geeks over the past several weeks when Cena can just about withstand them all on his own?

Vengeance 2011 was definitely a miss-able show, not terrible… but not necessary.  I’m probably coming off sounding pretty bitter over the whole thing, and I apologize if that’s the case… maybe I need a bit of a break from the product.  It’s been a pretty grating few months of WWE programming; I may just require a small respite.  The good news is the “three pay-per-views in a six-week span” is over.  The upcoming build to Survivor Series should be interesting and I’m looking forward to it.

[Wrestling] WWE Night of Champions 2009

Another week, another Wrestling pay-per-view. This time it's WWE's Night of Champions. The event where every WWE Title is on the line. A very fun concept, and a nice way to add something special to the show. I mentioned in my last WWE PPV article that Cyber Sunday was going to be changed to Annihilation. The title has been changed again... this time to the even lamer "WWE Bragging Rights"... and how I was looking forward to seeing the Superstars bust out "Fatalities" at the end of their matches.

This show had the great advantage of being placed several weeks after the last PPV event, giving feuds time to percolate a bit more than usual. In a nice touch, the WWE stopped having ANY title matches over the past few weeks to ensure who the champions would be going in and to make this show feel a bit more special.

Onto the matches:

WWE Title Match:

Randy orton (c) v Triple H v John Cena

Okay, before I go into this one, I'd like to say that I hope the Triple H/John Cena comedy tour doesn't come to my town any time soon. This past Monday on Raw, we were treated to about five minutes of shtick between HHH and Cena... all the while poor (WWE Champion) Randy Orton had to stand outside the ring and seethe. This match was put together thru a mini tournament that came down to John Cena and Triple H. Their match went to a No-Contest, so the natural result is a triple threat match. I'd like to see Orton pull this one out, however, his character and effectiveness has been neutered, seemingly at every turn. I can't remember the last time he was made to look credible. I guess an argument can be made that he's playing the classic chickens*** heel, but that kind of clashes with his current heartless, remorseless "viper" gimmick. I have a sneaking suspicion that Triple H will take the title here, and we'll be seeing this same match again at SummerSlam (possibly with a stipulation).

World Heavyweight Title Match:

CM Punk (c) v Jeff Hardy

CM Punk's heel turn doesn't seem complete just yet. He's still playing a (little) bit in the middle here. This match has been built very well, and has featured great work by both men. We're currently in July, which is when Jeff Hardy's contract was rumored to expire. There hasn't been any news on his contractual status as of yet, so with that niggling thought in the back of my mind, I almost have to give the win to Punk. Unless this is a rare occasion where the news hasn't been leaked yet, I can't see Hardy going over when he could just take off on the next week or two. I expect a great match regardless.

ECW Title Match:

Tommy Dreamer (c) v Christian

This match is kind of dependent on the Unified Tag Title Match. I've picked Christian as Jericho's mystery partner. I think it could be telegraphed here if Dreamer gets the win, and is immediately swooped into a Vladimir Koslov confrontation/feud. It would be interesting if Christian were to win here, and also be the mystery partner. I'm not sure how big the WWE is at the moment on having a double champion. Either way, Christian and Dreamer have worked together surprisingly well over the past several weeks/months. This should be a decent match. If I had to pick a winner... I'll go with Dreamer, if only to further push my outlandish hope that Christian is Jericho's pick.

Intercontinental Title Match:

Rey Mysterio (c) v Dolph Ziggler

One of the most improved superstars on the roster versus one of the most consistently awesome superstars on the roster. This match has no downside. Ziggler, goofy name aside, has really stepped up his game since moving to the blue show. Mysterio has been great for as long as I can remember, at this point. Since there are no strange stipulations attached to this one, I'm going to pick Dolph here.

United States Title Match:

Kofi Kingston (c) v The Miz v Jack Swagger v MVP v The Big Show v Carlito Colon

The omission of Primo Colon here is mind boggling. Primo had an awesome showing this past Raw in a six-man-tag, where he pinned his brother Carlito for the win. Putting the, not so awesome Carlito in this match in his stead seems kind of strange. No Evan Bourne here either, which is also odd. Anyhoo, I'd like to see Jack Swagger walk out with the US strap, and move on to a singles feud with MVP. It's only fitting for the "All-American American" to be the United States Champion. The Big Show inclusion is a bit annoying here as well, he should really be in WWE Title contention (which is a terribly stale program at the moment). It seems as though his pushes are sporadic enough to where he looks like a contender, but too sporadic in that he doesn't look like a credible champion.

Unified Tag Team Title Match:

Chris Jericho & ??? (C) v Priceless/Legacy (Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes)

Chris Jericho and Edge won the Unified Tag Team Titles last month at The Bash, when SmackDown! General Manager, Teddy Long added them to the Colons v DiBiase/Rhodes match in the interest of "shaking things up" and appeasing Mr. McMahon (who had just put Teddy on "probation"). In the weeks that followed, Edge had suffered a torn Achilles tendon which may keep him out of action for up to a year. Rather than strip Jericho/Edge of the titles, they've gone another route. Chris Jericho claims to have written special stipulations into his Championship agreement. Knowing that Edge is "injury prone", he had these stips written in to protect his investment in the team... now, Jericho is sole owner of the Unified Tag Team titles and reserves the right to choose his next tag team partner.

Got all that?

Good.

DiBiase and Rhodes are still in the same position they've been in since forming Legacy. They're Randy Orton's back-up, and are the guys that generally take the beatings that are meant for Orton. Last month, I picked Priceless to take the titles, so that all members of the Legacy would have gold. This time, I'm going the other direction. Jericho and his new partner will win, and the loss will further sow dissension into the Legacy stable, which is already incredibly weak as it currently stands. I'm still convinced that Ted DiBiase Jr. is being groomed for a babyface run, especially with his movie coming out sometime soon. As far as the mystery partner is concerned... Jericho has claimed that this new partner and he shared a lot of like traits. Right now, the (possible red-herring?) best guess would be Dolph Ziggler, who is currently feuding with Jericho-foe and Intercontinental champion Rey Mysterio. Another rumor is Matt Hardy, who's not doing anything besides healing from injury himself at this point. I, however, would really like for it to be Christian. It would allow Christian to remain on the ECW roster, and be able to float as 1/2 of the Unified Tag Champs. Christian's face run so far has been fun, however, I think he's always worked better as a heel, and has history with Jericho to boot. Ought to be a good match.

WWE Divas Title Match:

Maryse (c) v Mickie James

Mickie James and Maryse have been feuding since the draft. Mickie's always been fun, while Maryse... is kind of a poor-man's Angelina Love from TNA. She's okay to watch, and as long as she's holding the Diva's title, she'll be relevant... but, I really don't know how the WWE will make us care about her once she loses the title. There's really not a whole lot more to her than the belt. Her character only has an upside as a winner. If she's made to lose, her character changes. I think for this reason (or not, I may be in the minority here), that Maryse will retain here, and possibly move into a program with Gail Kim... while they waste Mickie in multi-diva tags for the next several months until it's her turn for a title program again.

WWE Women's Title Match:

Michelle McCool (c) v Melina

Hadn't seen this one advertised anywhere besides Jim Ross's Blog (haven't watched the go-home episode of SmackDown! yet) and almost thought they decided to leave this one off the show. Last month at the Bash, Michelle McCool became the first lady wrestler to have won both the Women's and Diva's Titles, respectively. Since then, there was a little roster shake-up explained away as (former Raw-owner) Donald Trump having arranged a 15-Superstar inter brand trade. In that trade, McCool lost her sidekick, Alisha Fox to Raw (I try not to read the rumor-mill... okokok, I try to take everything I read in the rumor mill with a grain of salt), because they feared that Fox was taking away some of McCool's heat. Also, in that trade... Gail Kim headed to the Red Show. While both lady's divisions are pretty shallow (no pun intended), SmackDown!'s is, in my own uneducated opinion, especially so. Beside the women involved in this match, I can only think of Natalya Neidhart (a heel) as a credible threat to the title. Eve and Layla, may, in time become contenders (Eve especially has shown much passion of late). All that said, I think McCool will retain, and Melina will chase the title until SD! can build another credible contender to McCool.

There you have it. Notable Superstars NOT involved in this show: Mark Henry, John Morrison & Evan Bourne (and to a lesser extent, Primo Colon). I would assume that Kane and Khali are being held off until SummerSlam (and by the fact that neither of them currently hold any gold. Seems like a fun card that may just be worth a purchase. Personally, I'm waiting for SummerSlam, where I'll probably hit up R.T. O'Sullivans with the guys... but, if I had money to blow, I wouldn't feel all that bad about blowing it on this show. Enjoy.

[Wrestling] WWE The Bash 2009 Thoughts

Well, this weekend will WWE will hold it's Not-So Great, No-Longer American BASH! Pay-per-view. This is just one of the three or four PPVs that are getting name changes this year. It was recently announced that "No Mercy" will now go by the name "Hell in the Cell" and "Cyber Sunday" will be "WWE Annihilation"... a week or so ago, "Unforgiven" (I think it was Unforgiven) was changed to "Breaking Point". I'm not a big fan of name-changes for the sake of it... and I really hope these name changes aren't indicative that the WWE will hold an ENTIRE show full of stipulation matches... I figure Breaking Point will be all submission... Hell in the Cell will feature (at least a few) Cell matches... Annihilation, um... perhaps the matches will end with "fatalities"?

Enough of all that, this time, we've got THE (great american) BASH! Let's get started.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP

THREE STAGES OF HELL MATCH

Randy Orton (c) v Triple H

Randy Orton just can't seem to catch a break. He's clearly head and shoulders above any heel as a performer and character than anybody on the roster now (and probably for some time), however, he just can't seem to shake Triple H. Every time Orton does something to further establish his heel character, it doesn't take all that long for HHH to put him back in his place. For instance, this week's episode of "Trump" Raw ended with a homoerotic HHH promo on Orton... while he was literally ON (a beaten down) Orton.

Anyhoo, this is a "Three Stages of Hell" match. A stip that hasn't been used in several years. It's best out of three falls. First fall being straight wrestling match, second being a Falls-count-anywhere affair, and the third (if necessary... which we know it will) is a stretcher match. I'd have rather they end it with a cage, but with a "Hell in the Cell" PPV forthcoming, I can see why they didn't.

Despite being paired in matches for quite a while now, I've never liked the in-ring chemistry between these two. I think Randy will win this one, in the third fall. Full predictions, HHH wins 1st fall. Orton cheats to win 2nd fall. The Legacy assists Randy in winning the 3rd fall. This way it'll make it seem that the feud isn't fully "blown off", and can continue into the next 73 weeks of Raw.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

CM Punk (c) v Jeff Hardy

This will be a fun match. They've been slow-burning a CM Punk heel turn over the past month or so, that's been a blast to watch. It isn't so often in the WWE where they use subtle nuances to move a story forward.

CM Punk "cashed in" the Money-in-the-Bank contract at the end of the last PPV on newly crowned champ, Jeff Hardy. This was met with a decidedly mixed reaction. From there Punk and Hardy have had several subtle interactions. I think they'll pull the trigger on a full blown Punk heel-turn at this show, and he will retain his title.

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Chris Jericho (c) v Rey Misterio

Another fun match from the SmackDown! side. Jericho and Rey have had several great matches since they were both drafted over to the blue show. This time, after teasing it for so long, the mask is finally added as a match stip. There are rumors of Misterio putting in his notice, which seems to be a trend of late... I'm not sure if it's to "work" the Internet, or if it holds any validity. Either way, I'd like to see Rey win here. If he ever WAS to lose his mask, I'd rather it be at a MAJOR show (SummerSlam, WrestleMania) than just a one-off PPV.

ECW CHAMPIONSHIP

CHAMPIONSHIP SCRAMBLE MATCH

Tommy Dreamer (c) v Fit Finlay v Jack Swagger v Christian v Mark Henry

Last month Tommy Dreamer was finally able to pull out an ECW title victory (besides the 15 or so minute reign he had in the original ECW). This time it's being put up in a "Scramble Match". This type of match is fun and unpredictable, for the fact that for 15 minutes these five will wrestle. If a Superstar gains a victory in that 15 minutes they become an "Interim Champion", and the match continues. Whoever is the "Interim Champion" when the time limit expires becomes the ECW Champion. This is a truly stacked match up, and I can actually see any of the five walking out with the strap. If I *had* to pick, I'd go with Swagger.

WWE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Melina (c) v Michelle McCool

The deal here is, if McCool wins this match, she'll be the first lady wrestler to have won both the Women's Title, and the... urm, Diva's title. I'd like to see Melina hold on to the title, as I'd rather see Mickie James or Beth Phoenix be the first woman to get the "Both Championships" nod.

GRUDGE MATCH

Dolph Ziggler v The Great Khali

Ziggler has been making great strides since making the move to SmackDown! I had written him off (literally and figuratively... if you'd read my Supplemental Draft Thoughts) and I'm glad to be wrong. I think Ziggler will somehow pull this one out. The loss won't hurt Khali, as I'm sure it won't be a decisive one.

UNIFIED TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

The Colons (c/c) v Priceless/Legacy/Cody and Ted

The Colons had unified the WWE and World tag team titles at WrestleMania 25... err, well... *before* WM25. Since then, they've had a few defences here and there, but, overall... haven't really done anything special. Priceless, on the other hand, spends most episodes of Raw taking beatings by people trying to get at their boss, Randy Orton. So, we've got a really un-special match here, folks. Ted and Cody will take it, just so we can get the image of all three members of [The] Legacy holding championship gold.

SPECIAL GRUDGE MATCH

John Cena v The Miz

The Miz has been "calling out" John Cena for nearly 2 months now. It's actually been the one angle on Monday Night Raw that I've enjoyed since the draft. The Miz has been claiming "victories" over Cena for just about anything. I've never been a Mizanin fan... but, this angle is a winner. Miz is oddly reminiscent of a 2003 era John Cena himself, when he spent some time calling out Brock Lesnar. The Miz could really use a victory here to further push him into the main event full-time.

Worth buying? I lean towards a No here. I'm sure the HHH/Orton affair will take up 45 mins at least... and that's not something I'd pay to see. I'll definitely be keeping up with the results tho.

[Wrestling] WWE Backlash 2009

Even though it feels like WrestleMania just happened, it's time for another WWE PPV.  This time it's BACKLASH.  One of the more redundant events of the WWE calendar year... primarily used for WrestleMania rematches and rehashes.  This is a show I'd like to see fall off the schedule to be honest.  Over the past couple of weeks since WrestleMania, we've been treated to not a whole lot besides fallout.  WrestleMania, from how I understood it... was supposed to be the "blow-off" event.  Where long building feuds reach their climax and give the fans the pay-off they'd been waiting so long to receive.  Instead, we're given a paid-show full of rematches and rehashes three-weeks later.

Before moving to the current "monthly pay-per-view" format, over a decade ago... there was something the WWF/E ran after WrestleMania called the "WrestleMania Revenge Tour", a (untelevised) house show circuit featuring the rematches, and TV would move forward into the "new" WWF/E year.  Since adopting the monthly PPV format, it's near impossible to book (and advertise) BACKLASH as anything but rematches, or else they'd run the risk of giving away the results of their biggest show of the year.

Anyhoo, that all being said... I'll get it out of the way, and say I won't be watching this one.  It's not even worth the $10 they charge to watch it at O'Sullivans.  I'll probably read the results as it's ongoing, but that's about it.  Let's get on to the matches...

WWE Title Match:

Triple H (c) & Batista & Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase

(WrestleMania Match - HHH v Orton)

This one's a bit of an oddity.  It's as though the WWE took a page out of the TNA playbook.  The rules of this match are - If ANY member of Orton's team pins ANY member of HHH's team, Randy will then become the WWE Champion.  With this in place, I can only see Triple H losing the belt without dropping the fall.  This bout has discension written all over it, as a member of Legacy could gain the pinfall, but not be awarded the title.  With Ted DiBiase's movie (The Marine 2) due to come out in the near future, I see him picking up the pin on either Shane or Batista... which will mean he "won" the WWE title FOR Orton.

World Heavyweight Title:

Last Man Standing Match

John Cena (C) vs. Edge

(WrestleMania Match - Edge v Cena v Big Show)

I really don't see how Edge could lose this match... being as though the recent draft made it so SmackDown! was left without a World title (which is getting really old... for the past 3 drafts one of the shows has been left w/o their title).  Cena and Edge generally have great chemistry together, and with the Last Man Standing stipulation added, it should be great fun.

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

(WrestleMania Match - Jericho v Steamboat/Piper/Snuka)

Ricky Steamboat showed the world that he's still better than 75% of the active wrestling world at WrestleMania 25.  The next night on Raw, Steamer was part of an incredibly fun 10-Man tag, where again, he stole the show.  If I *were* to buy this show, THIS would be the match I'd buy it for.  I couldn't hazard a guess for this one, as both endings could work.  I'd like to see Steamboat win, just because.

"I Quit" Match

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

(WrestleMania Match - Hardy v Hardy)

This match may play out a bit oddly.  Recent Internet rumors are claiming that Jeff Hardy has given his notice that he will not be re-upping with the WWE when his contract expires this July.  If that IS the case, I figure Matt will win thi match, and pretty much put Jeff out of the picture.  Of course, this bit of news could have been released with this timing to swerve the Internet community.  I'm really not sure.  They've pulled several work-shoot angles with the Hardy's of late... so it wouldn't terribly surprise me if this were another case of that.  Rumors aside, I still pick Matt for the win, as it appears as though he's being groomed to be a top heel on Raw.

CM Punk vs. Kane

(WrestleMania Match - Both were in Money in the Bank, though it's not terribly relevant...)

Not even too sure why this match is happening on PPV.  Both CM Punk and Kane were recently drafted to SmackDown! from Raw.  They had a match on Raw a week later... and somehow that brings us here.  CM Punk is currently holding the Money in the Bank briefcase, though I don't think that it's on the line in this match.  I expect Punk to win, as he works his way back up the card to be in position to cash in the briefcase at Judgment Day (which I believe is in his hometown of Chicago).

ECW Title Match:

Jack Swagger (c) v Christian

(WrestleMania Match - Whoa!  This one's NEW!)

Both of these men have had some excellent offerings in losing efforts of late, Christian in the Money-in-the-Bank Match at WrestleMania, and Swagger in a match against John Cena on Draft Night.  The ECW title, as a result has been somewhat elevated to a place of at least modest prestige.  I think Christian will win this one in a very hard-fought matchup.  This match will be great for both men, as well as the title.

Well, that's all they've announced for this show as of this writing.  With SmackDown! still to air tonight, there may be more.  There's also a "Khali Kiss-cam" bit set to happen between the Great Khali and Santina Marella.  This bit is one I'd usually deride, though with Khali and Santino being on top of their comedic game, it could be rather humorous.

All in all, a skippable show, in my opinion.  Nothing we won't be able to see elsewhere, save Jericho/Steamboat.  I guess we'll see how it pans out.