Edge retirement - thank you Edge!

Edge has been involved in some of my favourite matchs of all time. I'm not going to give a description, just watch and remember why Edge is one of the greatest...















And for some other memorable moments:

Edge - A tribute

Monday, April 11th 2011 was a very sad day for the WWE - Adam "Edge" Copeland has announced his retirement at the tender age of 37 due to a serious bone disease which basically means that his spine is growing narrower.

After an brief and unremarkable tenure in WCW, Edge made his WWE debut in 1998 as a singles star before becoming one half of one of the finest tag teams along with his friend Christian, they held the tag titles on numerous occasions and were pioneers in the now legendary TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) matches where they won the titles twice.



As a singles competitor he won the singles titles on numerous occasions and is one of few grand slam winners. He also won the TLC match on his own several times.

One of the best matches I saw was versus Mick Foley in a hardcore match - brutal!


His wrestling accomplishments are vast, too many to list here so take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Copeland#Championships_and_accomplishments

Great rivalries include legends like Ric Flair, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle.

I hope he continues with the WWE as the guy is a legend on the mic.

I have left out significant details of his career so that anyone who reads this might want to add their own memories of the Rated R Superstar.

Edge, I salute you.

WWE Elimination Chamber predictions revisited

The Elimination Chamber is one of my favourite gimmick matches, and this PPV did not disappooint. Let's see how I did, I've got a pretty good feeling about this one:

"-- WWE champion The Miz vs. Jerry Lawler for the WWE Title.

Miz. This match will be decent enough, but very old school. I can see Cole helping the Miz get the win (again), thus leading to some kind of Cole/Lawler match at Wrestlemania to rival Mr McMahon vs. Bret Hart at WM 26 for stinker of the decade."

Miz won, but with a clean victory. The match was very good, old school, but very good. Before the match Lawler did an awesome promo which actually made the title seem like it actually meant something for the first time in God knows how long. I'm glad they are giving Miz some clean victories over credible opponents, they've booked Miz pretty badly over the last year, and I think they are only just starting to book him as a champion.

Match rating: ****

"-- Smackdown Elimination Chamber match - World Hvt. Title match: World champion Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kane vs. Wade Barrett vs. Drew McIntyre. One slot vacated.

So Ziggler's going to come back in and Edge will retain. Simple."

Okay, so Ziggler didn't make a comeback tonight, but Edge did win. I really enjoyed this Elimination Chamber match, I actually think that this was slightly better than the Raw one, the last ten minutes were particularly good.

Match rating: ****1/2


"-- Raw Elimination Chamber match - #1 contender match to WWE Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. C.M. Punk vs. John Morrison vs. Sheamus vs. R-Truth.

It's going to be Cena, though I'd like to see Punk headline WM, that ain't gonna happen any time soon."

This was another great EC match. There were some pretty cool spots in this one, and all the guys (except maybe Orton) worked their asses off and used the cage to do some pretty cool spots, and some stupid ones it must be said. There was one spot where Morrison scaled the cage, right up to the middle of the roof, and then he just kind of dropped down on Sheamus, who had been waiting to catch him for almost a minute. I though that Morrison would have done something a bit more interesting here, and maybe he was meant to. A lot of the stuff was highlight reel material, and when you saw the nasty bruises developing on Punk and Sheamus, you knew that they were putting their bodies on the line in this one.

Match rating: ****

"-- #1 contender Alberto Del Rio vs. IC champion Kofi Kingston.

Is this for the IC belt? Kofi loses pretty much every match he's in, and Del Rio needs to look strong on the run-up to WM, be stupid if Del Rio loses."

Del Rio won, and this was a great opener: fast-paced, quite a few near-falls. Del Rio won with his Cross Arm-breaker, so no suprises there, and the IC title wasn't mentioned once. It would have been cool for Del Rio to have the IC belt on the run-up to WM, but the title means less than the main ones, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

Match rating: ***

"-- WWE Unified tag champions Santino & Kozlov vs. Corre (Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater) for the WWE Tag Titles

PLEASE BE THE CORRE. I hate the Corre, I hate their name, I hate Heath Slater, I hate their gimmick (I think they are meant to be a communist Nexus)... but, if it means Santino and Koslov aren't champs, then I'm all for it... probably won't even watch this one."

The Corre won, and the match was sloppy. I really don't like watch Santino or Koslov in the ring, and I'm not convinced by Heath Slater. Michael Cole's started calling him 'the one-man rock band' - does this mean that he plays guitar, sings, and has a number of percussion instruments attached by strings to different parts of his body when he plays? I think it does.

Match rating: **

Overall, I really enjoyed this PPV. The matches (apart from the tag match) were great, the PPV was let down by stupid segments which should have been on Raw. When Trish Stratus came out and started doing Rock catchphrases only a week after the real Rock had come out and tore the house down with his promo on Raw, it seemed kind of lame... but Christian came back, so at least that's a plus. Booker T on commentary is also awful.

Review: WWE Hell in a Cell

Hell in a Cell matches are up there with I Quit matches and ladder matches as my favourite type of matches. Unlike the traditional cage match, the Hell in a Cell has become synonymous with brutality and career-shortening matches. In the spirit of every other PPV put out by WWE these days, the PPV was named after the gimmick – Hell in a Cell. I was hoping that all of the matches would be cell matches (even the submissions count anywhere match), but there were only two.

Match one: USA Championship, submissions count anywhere.
The Miz versus Bryan Danilson (c) versus John Morrison.

When this match started, I was disappointed that a) there was no cell, and b) that this was the first match. I was hoping that it would be higher up on the card and climax on top the cage, but no such luck. The booking for this match was odd; I don’t think that anyone has had Miz or Morrison down as a submission wrestler before this. Indeed, over the past few weeks on Raw they have been showcasing Morrison’s free-running skills. Saying this though, Morrison used a pretty cool looking Reverse Tarantula on the Miz pretty early on, this transitioned into Bryan applying the Cattle Mutilation. The Cattle Mutilation was correctly identified by Stryker, which led to Cole taking the piss out of the move name. This was then broken up by a Twisting Moonsault from the top by Morrison, a move which looks as awesome as it is pointless.
The match moved into the audience with Morrison getting in an Arm Breaker. He then put Danielson on a kind of box thing and pushed it into the ramp. There was a bit of back and forth between Danielson and the Miz whilst Morrison climbed up to the lighting truss and did a Cross Body from about 20ft in the air. The drop looked cool, but because Morrison was caught so nicely by Miz and Danielson, it was probably one of the safest spots of the match. Morrison applied a Texas Cloverleaf onto Danielson on the entrance ramp. It was at this point that Alex Riley got involved tossing Morrison away, this allowed Danielson to hook in the LeBelle Lock onto Miz, with the Miz doing a great selling job before tapping out. Cole even admitted that Danielson was the real deal.
On the whole this was a very good match, but it would have been much better had it been the Miz versus Danielson in and atop of the cell.
Match rating ***½


Match two: WWE Championship, Hell in a Cell match
Randy Orton (c) versus Sheamus

At over 25 minutes, this match was far too long. The crowd were flat, there were large chunks of the match which were boring, and a number of spots which seemed pointless. The match started with a collar and elbow tie up which went on for far too long. They went outside of the ring, Orton hit Sheamus with the steel steps and went back into the ring for the two-count. Throughout the match Orton teased the RKO (remember, if he hits the RKO, it’s all over) a few times and knocked Sheamus for a couple of near-falls. Sheamus brought the steps into the centre of the ring and many of the moves for the rest of the match utilised the steps in some way. There was a nasty looking spot where Orton Scoop Slammed Sheamus onto the steps for a two-count.
One of the dumbest part of this match occurred when Sheamus gave a Backbreaker on to his knee whilst standing on the steps. Using wrestling logic, I would assume that having the steel beneath his feet made the Backbreaker more powerful, erm, or something.
This match really dipped for about 10 minutes, with a lot of back-and-forth kicks and punches going on. The matched climaxed with Sheamus trying to give the High Cross/Razor’s Edge from the steps. Luckily, and thank goodness, Randy Orton countered and hit the Arrrrr Kaaaaayyy Ohhhhhh!!! With the magical move being hit, Orton got the pin and retained the title.
Match Rating: **½


After the match we had a small promo advertising the next PPV, Bragging Rights. Here we had a great WCW moment. With the possibility that the Nexus would be forced to dissolve later that evening, the graphic for the next PPV had the Smackdown versus Raw logo, with the Nexus ‘N’ quite prominent in the graphic. Essentially, WWE gave the results of Wade/Cena match later that night. FFS WWE.


Match Three: Edge versus Jack Swagger

This match seemed to come from nowhere. It began with a promo between Alberto Del Rio, Edge and Jack Swagger. The promo was interrupted by the Raw GM noise (what jurisdiction the Raw GM has over Smackdown guys on a PPV seems a little inconsistent to say the least), with the GM stating that it would be a match between Swagger and Edge, Del Rio skulked off at this point.
The match wasn’t bad, but the crowd really didn’t get into it at all. The crowd reaction was so flat that even the announcers tried to make excuses for them with King noting that the crowd are enjoying watching these guys beat each other up because they are both bad guys, with Stryker adding that crowd was recovering from the last match... yeah right.
Every time I see Jack Swagger wrestle, he seems to have added another of Kurt Angle’s moves to his repertoire. In this match we saw him do the Angle spot where he runs and throws his opponent from the top rope.
The match climaxed with Swagger getting Edge with the Gut-Wrench Powerbomb, and Edge getting the Spear for the win. The in-ring stuff in this match was pretty decent, Edge and Swagger work well together, but without any build-up the crowd really didn’t give a shit, which made the match feel dull and lifeless.
Match rating: **


Match four: John Cena versus Wade Barrett

Much of the drama of this match was diminished from the outside by the aforementioned WCW moment, FFS WWE. On the whole, this was a solid match, Cena and Barrett put on an excellent performance. Early on this match, Cena had Barrett upon his shoulders for the Attitude Adjustment, when Nexus came down the ramp to ring-side. It seems that ‘interference’ must be defined as physically attacking John Cena, this did not happen and Barrett confronted the Nexus. I was hoping at this point that the rest of the Nexus would attack Barrett, therefore disqualifying Cena, but WWE didn’t think to do this, because the match carried on with the Nexi at ringside. The WWE baby-faces then came down to the ring to beat down on Nexus and everyone left.
The crowd were pretty hot for this match, especially when Barrett kicked out of a top-rope Leg Drop and the AA, and Cena kicked out of Wasteland. The climax of the match came when Cena had the STFU locked in and Michael McGillicuddy ran in only to be tackled by the ref. Husky Harris then ran out of the crowd and hit Cena with a weapon whilst the ref’s attention was still on McGillicuddy, Cena was then pinned for the win. During the climax of the match, King and Cole were making out that the guys who came to ring were ‘fans’, though it was really obvious who they were.
I think that the highlight of this match was after the match had finished and the camera cut to some members of the crowd in complete shock. Children and adults alike were in absolute disbelief; I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this since Hogan lost at Wrestlemania VI. Love him or hate him (or as I do, not really give a crap either way), this was a pivotal moment in Cena’s career and probably the WWE for at least the next few months. The repercussions of this match are more important than the match itself, let’s see how WWE play this one.
Match rating: ****


Match five: Divas


Match six: World Heavyweight Championship, Hell in a Cell
Undertaker versus Kane (c)

Hmm, you may as well read my review of the same match for Night of Champions. Watching two old guys relive a feud from over a decade ago using the same move set as each other doesn’t make for interesting TV, especially as Undertaker is clearly hurting these days.
The match had one of the most contrived moments I’ve seen on WWE in years, Taker signalled that it was time to finish and there was a crash of lightning and the lights went out for a moment. Paul Bearer came in with the urn, and just as I was making a joke about green smoke and the urn shenanigans of years past, the urn suddenly flashed and blinded taker allowing Kane to get the win.
I hope to God that this feud is now dead and buried (geddit?).
Match rating *½.


On the whole this was a pretty mediocre PPV which was saved by two matches. The US Championship and the Barrett versus Cena match were the highlights. With WWE advertising Bragging Rights with the Nexus logo on the graphics ruining the impact of Cena losing, the reaction of the crowd meant that it was still a decent match.
PPV rating: ***

Review: WWE Night of Champions

It’s WWE Night of Champions where all 7 titles are up for grabs. I’ve not been following Smackdown, but for the Raw titles, I wanted Danielson to make the Miz tap like a baby and I wanted Wade Barrett to take home the gold.

Let’s do this.

Match one: Intercontinental Championship. Dolph Ziggler versus Kofi Kingstone

As you’d expect this was a solid match, they went through each other’s move set. There was no shenanigans, it was pretty much a clean win with Ziggler getting the Zig Zag. Every time I see Ziggler, he looks more and more like Jeff Jarrett, I keep expecting him to come down to the ring with guitar in hand.
Match rating: ***

Match two: Big Show versus CM Punk

I’m a big fan of CM Punk; the guy is awesome on the mic and amazing in the ring. It has to be said that I’m not a big enough fan to watch Smackdown though. Bring him over to Raw so he can feud with Cena or something. Anyway, this was the second match of Night of Champions, but for some reason it wasn’t a title match. Very bizarre. Before the match Punk came down to the ring and got a real hometown pop from the crowd. Punk did an “I love Chicago” bit then started laying into its residents – this was brilliant.
Luckily this was a pretty short match, it was also pretty dull. Big Show did his usual ‘giant’ thing and tackled Punk to give him his ‘Big Right Hand’. I always thought that a closed fist was grounds for a DQ in wrestling, but I suppose if it has a name then that’s okay... hmm...
Match rating: **

Match three: US title. Bryan Danielson versus the Miz

This match was great. Perfect length, fast-paced, some great submissions, great drama. Miz lost by tapping out and cried like a bitch at the end. I can’t emphasise how much I enjoyed this match and was genuinely happy to see Danielson get the title after all the bullshit of Chokegate (it’s a controversy, you have to put gate at the end, so shut the fuck up). I’m sure this will make it into my top ten matches of the year.
Match rating: ****½

Between the matches there was a great promo by Cena where he seemed to be taking the piss out of all the percentage talk you get on these kind of matches. Just watch it on YouTube if you’ve not seen it.

Match four: Divas... Lumberjills?

Match five: World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker versus Kane.

This match went on for nearly 20 minutes and bored the hell out of me. Two big, slow guys (one who can barely walk these days); trying to recapture something that had gotten old over a decade ago. Pointless match, which was really painful to watch. I felt really sorry for Taker watching this; he’s just past it now and he’s clearly hurting. They both worked really hard, but it just didn’t feel good.
Kane retained the title, woo.
Match rating: *½

Match six: Tag titles: tag team turmoil.

This was basically a gauntlet match between pretty much all of the tag teams, including, erm, Mark Henry and Evan Bourne. This match was a waste of time, it was dull as hell.
Match rating: *

Match seven: Six pack challenge.

This was a mixed bag. Going into this match I thought that Wade Barrett would be next champion. Even though Randy Orton had been given a massive babyface push over the past few months, I thought him winning would be far too obvious... it was. This being said, there were some surprises: Jericho got eliminated with about a minute, Barrett eliminated Cena, Cena went mental on the Nexus guys with a steel chair. But, unsurprisingly, Orton got the win with the, you guessed it, the RKO. Eugh, I really can’t stand the “if he hits that move, it’s all over” approach, and I really don’t get what people see in Orton.
So with Orton the new champ, I was waiting for the Miz to cash in the Money in the Bank case... didn’t happen. I’m sure it will happen at Hell in a Cell when Orton/Sheamus will no doubt have a rematch... but Miz will lose.
Match rating: ***

Overall this was a solid PPV, there were a few surprises, but nothing major. The Miz and Danielson match was by far the highlight.

PPV rating: ***½

Randy Orton - I don't like you.

I'm absolutely sick of the predictability of WWE and by association, Randy Orton. Everything about him just infuriates me, the guy is dreadful, not a good champion at all. However, the WWE in all of it's wisdom have decided to make him champion and figurehead of the company

He's dull in the ring and dreadful on the mic, he really doesn't deserve yet another push. And yet, they still continue to book him into some decent matches against the likes of Sheamus, John Cena and Edge where he will take everything they throw at him, kick out of all finishers and start punching the floor like a fucking retard.

He'll then suddenly miss with his shitty signature move (the RKO) and then just as suddenly somehow reverse something by turning it into his fuckwitted attempt at a Stone Cold Stunner (an equally shit move) where he can stop the mightiest of foes no matter how fresh they are. It seems to happen on every occasion he graces the screen with his presence (or lack thereof).

As for his theme music, it sounds like the inane ramblings of a 14 year old emo brat whose birthday pony wasn't quite the right shade of chestnut.

Rant over, for now...

Greatest matches ever!: WWE Kurt Angle and Chris Benoi versus Edge and Rey Mysterio

No Mercy, 2002, had some pretty impressive matches. There was Brock Lesnar versus Undertaker in Hell in a Cell, and the match I want to share with you today for the, then new, WWE Tag Team Championship.

If this match proves anything, it is not only that all of these guys are tremendous talents, but also that Benoit's wrestling career is something that should be celebrated rather than brushed under the carpet because of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his death.

Anyways, enjoy!





It's weird to hear Taz not talking about "yam bags" at every opportunity.

Nexus Angle Dominating RAW(Is A Good Thing)

Hey guys Chris Wilson here...Back again for RAW 7-26. Now I'm going to say when I heard about the TV-PG thing I said I was going to stop watching the WWE. Well a friend of mine turned me on to the Nexus thing and I started watching again. The WWE has addressed a few things that made it unwatchable for me. Number one I felt that they weren't pushing the young guys. Number two same old people in the main event scene. Number 3 a stable of more than three people(Nexus 7)....just to name a few... I've been into RAW for the last few weeks lets see if that continues......

RAW opens up with a video package showing the actions of the Nexus over the last few weeks. And capping off by showing John Cena forming his dream team. I liked the effects of this video it was in Black and Gold through the Nexus beatdowns. Until Cena walks away and says he has help. The screen turns full color as each member of what Micheal Cole calls the "WWE 7"(so i will just refer to them as that), come out one by one followed by Bret Hart to top it off. The Nexus runs into the stands and the video package ends.. I liked the video package the black and gold effect was cool. They are pushing this Nexus thing to the infinity..... 5 out of 5

So we begin the actual show with John Cena coming out to the ring. He talks about the previous attacks carried out by the Nexus, he names off superstars, Mr. McMahon, Bret Hart, ring announcers, camera men....all the like. He talks about how the RAW superstars stood together and that their biggest goal is making sure the Nexus doesn't gain anymore power, because with power comes influence. Cena continues on about how HIS team will come together to stop the Nexus. (One minor note that the fans in San Antonio didn't seem too fond of Cena during this promo) Jericho comes out and ripped Cena and tried to claim leadership of the RAW team that will compete at SummerSlam against The Nexus. After some back-and-forth bickering, Jericho threatened Cena, to which he replied "take your best shot." The general manager ends up scheduling a tag team match between Jericho and Cena against two wrestlers of his choosing the GM also let Cena/Jericho know that their match against Nexus at SummerSlam would be an elimination match ........Overall decent promo by Cena(not!!!), It actually became entertaining when Jericho came out. I'm feeling another Cena/Jericho feud, I'm going to give this segment a 4 out of 5

So our first match is between Jey Uso(w/Jimmy Uso and Tamina) vs. Randy Orton(#1 Contender for WWE Title). So Sheamus's music hits and he walks down to the announce table and joins Micheal Cole and Jerry Lawler. Weird booking in the ring but a good idea to have Sheamus watching from the annnounce table. Not a very interesting match, but Orton wins via pin fall after hitting an RKO. Not that good of a match in the ring but Sheamus being at ringside added a bit of intrigue..So the booking of this match will get a 3 out of 5.....

Now for the post match segment, Orton turns his attention to Sheamus and gets hit from behind by Jimmy Uso. Orton fights back and Sheamus enters the ring and tries to hit Orton with the Brogue Kick, Orton ducks and Sheamus hits Jimmy Uso with the Brogue Kick and Orton hits Sheamus with an RKO and leaves the ring. The Miz's music hits and he runs to the ring with a referee. He appears to be cashing in the MITB....that is until Randy Orton hits HIM with the RKO(lol) Bell never rang so no match happened. Really good post match segment I actually enjoyed this more than the match, I found it funny that The Miz tried to cash in and got an RKO in return. I give this post-match segment a 5 out of 5

Edge is now back stage talking to Ted DiBiase & Maryse about the SummerSlam match against Nexus. Edge believes that DiBiase should be in the match, and not The Great Khali because he’s big and awkward. DiBiase agrees and says that maybe him winning his match against John Morrison will make Cena believe that he is better than The Great Khali and Morrison. Edge says he may have to force things and take out Khali himself. Ranjin Singh hears this as Edge walks away, and goes to warn Khali. Uh-oh more problems within the "WWE 7"....interesting... This backstage segment gets a 3 out of 5

We come back from commercial Back in the ring, Sheamus & The Miz are arguing nose to nose. An Email comes from the anonymous GM, He makes them the tag team to face Cena & Jericho in the main event. The plot thickens..... two tag-teams who don't want to be partners...not to mention a team of champions...Another match making segment pretty average....so I give it a 3 out of 5...

Next up(note I do not review non-current show video packages) Edge is backstage again on the phone and The Great Khali comes in the room. He's not happy about hearing what Edge said about him, Khali challenges him to a match RIGHT NOW, and Edges denies what he said but makes it that if Khali loses he's out of the "WWE 7". Funny segment especially when the Great Khali comes in (Maryse was right no one can understand what he's saying) I give this backstage segment a 3 out of 5

After the commercial our next match is Edge vs The Great Khali(w/Ranjin Singh) this is good booking. Edge sells moves well and the Great Khali has never been too convincing in the ring to me. In the middle of the match Nexus comes out and Edge heads for the hills(lolz) leaving Khali by himself, The Nexus surrounds Khali. But they let him leave the ring. Match ends in a no contest...The booking of this match gets a 4 out 5, and only because Nexus came out and I thought they were going to attack Khali boy were we all wrong.

Elimination Match Nexus vs. Team Raw(Yoshi Tatsu, Jerry Lawler, DH Smith, Tyson Kidd, Goldust, Mark Henry and Evan Bourne )In an 7 on 7 Elimination Match. Believe it or not intially I was exicited about this match, mainly because I had never seen all of the members of Nexus in an actual match.(except for Wade Barrett) When I saw who they were going up against I was going to say "bad booking" for the first time in this blog. Then when I saw the dominating fashion of the victory and the UNITY shown by the Nexus I changed my mind... and even more with the problems the "WWE 7" have been having so far....GOOD BOOKING!!! A total spot fest in the clean sweep by the Nexus....I give this match a 4 out of 5.

Post match, Nexus destroys Bourne capped off by the Justin Gabriel 450 Splash.
Barrett then takes a mic(as usual) and he says that Cena's team are showing cracks because of their massive egos.Sheffield adds that Cena’s team is working as individuals, while are working for the betterment of the group.Tarver adds that he hopes that at SummerSlam it turns out just like tonight, but Cena’s the last one remaining so that they can destroy him. I liked this segment because Wade Barrett wasn't the only one who spoke for once.....Uhhh Sheffield should stay away from the mic...Tarver I was pretty impressed with... This post match promo gets a 5 out of 5.

In our next backstage segment, The Miz is sitting around stewing over what happened earlier. Sheamus busts into the locker room and says that Miz is dreaming if he thinks that he can win the WWE Title, Sheamus tells him to name the time and place, and he’ll leave The Miz black & blue.The Miz says “How about tonight, immediately after we face Cena/Jericho… I cash it in, hit the Skull Crushing Finale, and become WWE Champion…” Sheamus replies, “You keep pushing me, I’m going to make you regret it!” Knocks the MITB case out of Miz’s hands. Another entertaining backstage segment despite my fears The Miz is a great Mr Money In The Bank..At least he's trying right?? 4 out of 5

Our next match is Alicia Fox vs Brie Bella (w/Nikki Bella) lol I won't say bad booking because it seems the WWE is still trying to legitimize Alicia Fox, hell the match was so short I went to go get a drink and I missed Jillian Hall stop the Bella's from making a switch. In fact when I came back Alicia was already hitting the Scissors Kick(Darn Divas matches).... 2 minute match = 2 out of 5



Post match, Jillian goes to celebrate Alicia’s win with a song, and gets hit with a Scissors Kick for her trouble. LOL that post match segment was just as long as the match but funnier....a 3 out of 5

We return from commercial and R-Truth is out rapping his theme, and he heads to the announce table. Our next match is John Morrison vs. Ted DiBiase(w/Maryse) Mid match, Morrison sets up for Star Ship Pain when Maryse jumps on apron as distraction. DiBiase rolls up Morrison with his feet on the ropes, but R-Truth pushes his feet off. DiBiase argues with Truth, and avoids getting hit from behind by catching John Morrison with a drop toe hold. Morrison’s momentum has him collide head-to-head with Truth. DiBiase gets the win. Nicely booked match I thought Morrison's feud with DiBiase would be forgotten after him joining the "WWE 7" but I guess I wrong...The booking of this match gets a 4 out of 5.

Our next Post-Match segment features Morrison and R-Truth arguing about what happened.John Cena is shown backstage looking disappointed that his team’s falling apart....I have to say these post-match segments are getting good. As well I'm impressed that the Nexus/WWE 7 angle are tying into these matches.... 4 out of 5

The next backstage segment features Josh Matthews and Randy Orton. Josh Matthews is with Randy Orton and asks about how he RKO’d the Miz earlier, and if that means he’d rather face Sheamus for the WWE Title. Orton says that he RKO’d both men tonight, which means that he doesn’t care who he faces at SummerSlam....Pretty late to ask Orton about his actions, but when you think about it Sheamus and the Miz are in action next....3 out 5 Pretty average backstage segment...

OKAY the main event The Miz(WWE US Champion) and Sheamus(WWE Champion) vs. John Cena and Chris Jericho. I have got to say I like the names in this match and the two angles involved. You've got The Miz who is Mr. Money In The Bank, who seems to be living up to his word of being Sheamus's "Celebrity Stalker". Then you have John Cena and Chris Jericho, two members of the obviously disfuctional "WWE 7" to me you have two feuds booked in one match, with the people feuding with each other on the same team....GREAT BOOKING Anonymous GM.... As the match started Cena and Jericho didn't seem to be very cohesive as the match went on they began to start working as a team....You could even hear Cena cheering on Jericho when Sheamus had him in a submission hold. Alas The Miz pinned Cena(yea thats right The Miz pinned Cena) after Jericho turned on Cena and hit him with the CodeBreaker(lol). I liked the booking off this match alot...didn't expect Jericho to turn on Cena(well maybe I did). I give the booking of this match a 4 out of 5.

In our last post-match segment.... Jericho puts Cena in the Walls of Jericho but Cena reverses it into the STFU. The Great Khali comes out to stop Cena, and Edge spears him. The rest of the "WWE 7"(excluding Bret Hart) all come out to the ring to argue. Khali gets pissed and chops John Morrison & Edge in the head(so many lolz in this show) A good way to the show they were playing on the trouble within the WWE 7 so it was good that the Nexus didn't intervene.... 4 out of 5....I think we have trouble in paradise guys....

Well another good RAW I'm really impressed with this Nexus storyline...We may be on the heels of something big...But in the past I don't get my hopes up on the WWE culminating their storylines....time will tell...see you guys for my booking review for TNA Impact and hopefully just hopefully I can catch SmackDown and cover all three major shows.

RAW's Booking picking up steam

Hey everyone Chris Wilson here, but for now you can just call me TiTan. I just got back into watching the WWE just recently and there's no better way to start off my week than with RAW. Now remember guys i'm not rating the matches i'm rating the booking and the segments/promos involved in the show.



I'm rating from 1 to 5, 1 being boring , 2 being lackluster, 3 being average, 4 entertaining, and 5 being must watch.





Let's start off with Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho, Coming out of the MITB PPV this a good match to start off with. These three are obviously top contenders for the WWE Title(mainly because Cena is tied up with the Nexus angle). Good to determine a new #1 contender at the beggining of the show while playing into Edge and Jericho's feud, while giving the crowd endless reasons to mark for Orton early in the show. I was surprised to see this first being that the Nexus angle seems to be dominating RAW right now. But all in all good way to start the show. So I give the booking of Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho a 4 out of 5.



When we return from commercial, Edge is in the ring demanding that Jericho come back out to the ring. The two jaw at each other for a minute, and i'm thinking they are going to go at it at SummerSlam.....Then Jericho mentions Nexus and then it got interesting, Jericho? Leader of the Nexus??? Enter the Nexus and with the snap of a finger my interest returns. Wade Barrett speaks and of course they quickly jump on Edge, lolz at Jericho cheering them on. Wade Barrett speaks again berating Jericho for claiming their own and they quickly jump on him as well. Nice way of tying the Nexus angle into the Jericho/Edge feud, And an even better way of separating Barrett from his pro. Its a breath of fresh air from the "usual" random Nexus attacks. I say i'll give that segment a 4 out of 5 and later on I'll tell you why.



When we return once again The Nexus are heading into their locker room and Barrett is approached by Josh Matthews. Matthews questions if any individual in Nexus can beat Mark Henry, Barrett quickly says Henry is quaking in his boots and that he will write a new chapter in WWE history. As Barrett tries to enter the locker room again he is approached by Sheamus and Sheamus offers a proposal, Barrett offers for him to step into his office, Sheamus quickly decides to wait outside. I have to say didn't like the placement of this segment I thought a match should have been in this spot so I give the Nexus/Sheamus/Matthews segment a 3 out of 5



When we come back again we are joined by John Cena on the Titantron.....hey WWE where are the matches at? anyway Cena ends his interview through titantron by saying if you can' beat em.... and we are off to another commercial. I understand pushing the Nexus angle but a Titantron interview.....2 out of 5



Finally another match.. Eve Torres vs Maryse with the winner becoming #1 contender to the Divas Title....Although the match was short, booking these two is an awesome idea and it had some intrigue going into it if you pay attention to the Divas. So I give the booking of this match a 4 out of 5

Post match Ted DiBiase storms into the ring and yells at the referee for not noticing Maryse's foot on the ropes. John Morrison runs out in street clothes(good to see him) and delivers imo a nearly botched StarShip Pain. Good way to remind us of this mid-card feud by giving Morrison camera time after a very short Diva match. But I give that segment a 3 out of 5

Next up is our current WWE Champion Sheamus coming out and bragging of his dominance over John Cena. Again another Nexus mention comes about when he mentions that him and Wade Barrett agreed to stay out of his way. Miz interrupts and the entertainment value of this promo/segment goes up as The Miz is Mr Money In The Bank, all the while Sheamus says The Miz is nothing and he is the WWE Champion and promptly leaves the ring. As he is leaving the GM sends an email saying Sheamus will be in action. Good segment, intrigue added by Mr. Money in the Bank making an appearance making us think he would cash in...... 4 out of 5

Sheamus is immediately put into action against Evan Bourne. It's always good to see Evan Bourne's high flying antics in action so I wasn't complaining. Obviously a filler match was saved by good booking as the WWE Champion kicked Bourne in the ribs out of the refs view and the hits him with the Brouge Kick to finish the match. 4 out of 5.

A nicely booked match was followed by an even more entertaining post-match segment. The Miz is sarcastically clapping for Sheamus as he gets into the ring. The Miz whacks Sheamus with the MITB breifcase while he wasn't looking. As he was waiting for Sheamus to get up(and i'm thinking he's gonna cash in) R-Truth returns and chases The Miz off. Only a 5 out of 5 because of The Miz's possible cash in and the return of a superstar that I thought would be out longer??

The Miz is now back stage flipping out over R-Truth costing him a shot at cashing in his MITB oppurtunity. 3 out of 5

Next Sheamus is walking backstage with ice on his head and he runs into "The Viper" Randy Orton. Orton tells him that its too bad what happened and that Sheamus is a target now, and that he won't hit with an arrow but with an R.....K......O......... 4 out of 5

Next is Santino and Koslov vs William Regal and Zack Ryder, I can see that the WWE is trying to put over the tag team of Santino and Koslove right now. Although they could be battling any other team, I like the fact that Zack Ryder was booked in this match because you don't see him too much on RAW these days. The booking of this match gets a 3 out of 5.

Next is Wade Barrett vs Mark Henry now this is not main event material so excellent booking to put it at the point of the show where there could be room for a final segment heavily involving the Nexus angle. Henry gets distracted by Nexus who is standing on the stage before the entrance ramp(good play on Henry being distracted because of a possible attack) and Barrett(barely) hits The Wasteland and pins Henry for the victory....I like the placement of this match being that it wouldn't have been possible for Cena's summit with Nexus to occur before it..... 4 out of 5

Barrett continues to attack Henry as the rest of Nexus makes their way to the ring. Barrett calls out Cena. Tarver gets on the mic and say they have made one truce already and Nexus gives their word that they will listen to what Cena has to say. Cena comes out and thanks them for meeting with him and offers a truce as Sheamus did earlier. Barrett answers no and proposes something bigger....and that is that Cena joins Nexus. Cena declines and Barrett tells him he can either leave a coward or get into the ring and take the most vicious beating he can imagine. Cena leaves the ring and states that he has help now as Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali, and Chris Jericho make their way out and Cena say's there's one more to go and it's BRET HART and they all make their way to the ring as Nexus bails out. Nexus gets high up into the stands as Cena and his team yell at Nexus from the ring. Excellent segment to end a nicely booked show as no matter what most of the faces and Edge and Jericho were through out the show heavily pusing the Nexus angle....hell I thought Cena would join Nexus....5 out of 5

See you guys in a few days for my review of the booking and segments for TNA Impact......

Review: WWE Raw, 10th May

This week's Raw was a lot more entertaining than it has been of late, but the in-ring stuff, on the whole, still falls into the bracket of what I've been calling 'wrestling-lite'.

Raw opened with ol' snake eyes Randy Orton calling Edge out for a mic wrestle... But wait, that's not Edge's music, that's a Meatloaf song. So Meatloaf came out out to plug his new album, which no one under the age of 45 is likely to buy (it has a song written by Bon Jovi on it, hell yeah!). It's weird, when Meatloaf's not singing, the guy can be pretty entertaining. He was in the ring dancing round Orton trying to get Orton to have one of his songs as his theme song. Orton just stood there. Meatloaf then started singing in Orton's face. Orton just stood there. Meatloaf continues to piss Orton off. Orton's so wooden he makes Mokujin from Tekken seem like a viable alternative for spooning at bed time. The wooden man starts to move; it's a bit like that uncanny moment in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy realises that the scarecrow is alive. Orton then goes for his trademark RKO. With Orton's relationship with guest hosts, RKOing them at every opportunity, you can't help but think that Orton is a poor man's Stone Cold and the RKO is a cheap facsimile of the Stunner.



With Meatloaf out cold, Edge makes his appearence with Vicky Guerrero in tow, standing there like some greedy girl who's eaten the last block of butter. It seems that Edge has convinced WWE management to bring her in as General Manager. It's not great, but it's better than the guest host bullshit. There's a bit of a microphone exchange. Vicky puts Orton in a handicap match, which is quite appropriate as he looks a bit simple.

Next we have a pretty mediocre match between Mini-Bulldog and Jericho for a chance for Jiz to have a title shot at Over the Limit. He wins, the match is pretty uneventful.

Now for the guest host, who enters with R Truth: the one and only Flava Flav (who's on plugging some reality show or something). For those not familiar with Flava Flav, he was basically the talentless one from Public Enemy who would wear the big clock and stupid hats and whose ability on the mic went as far as him saying 'yeah, boiiiieee'. He didn't disappoint. Flava Flav entered looking like he'd just stepped off of the set for the Don't Believe the Hype' video shoot. Stupid hat, big clock and 'yeah, boiiiieee'. Like the Bez of hip-hop, Flava Flav had exhausted all of his gimmicks. With the match between Regal and Truth it was only a matter of time before something heel happened. And boom! Not one, but two Virgils come in the ring end the match in the form of Carlito and Primo. Dibiase comes out onto the ramp and pays them for their Virgilious services.

Next there was Divas promo spot. Now, I think that the Divas thing is a joke. Just a bit of wank fodder for teenage boys. WWE don't make any effort to take women's wrestling seriously, so I don't take the Divas seriously. Sorry ladies. In a promo spot, Maryse is showing that she does have some genuine athletic ability by showing her training with a martial arts coach. Just check out the bitch slap she gives this guy, it must have smarted like crazy.



With a pointless match with Jack Rider out of the way, we move onto Tyson Kid versus the Miz, if the Miz lost he would have to defend his American Championship title against a member of the Hart Family of his choosing. The match was over in a few seconds with Tyson Kid getting a quick pin. Tyson Kid has the most stupid hair in the WW; I imagine that this is how Tin Tin would do his hair if he got a job as a rent boy. So Miz chose to defend his title against Bret Hart, presumably so Bret can leave the WWE with some dignity this time.

Next up was a match with the NXT 'rookies' facing a team of John Morrison, Goldust and a couple of jobbers whose names escape me. The match was pretty poor except for the fact the Brian Danielson got the pin meaning his first WWE victory was on Raw. It's about time he started getting some heat, he should be on Raw already, not on some bullshit let-down of a reality show.

We then cut to one of the most entertaining promos of the night, featuring none other than, Cannock's finest, William Regal. As a mic wrestler, Regal's still got it, it's just a shame that WWE see fit to put him in the role of jobber on Raw, teaming him up with the token Russian heel guy, Boris whatever. In the promo Regal essentially lets Flava Flav know what time it is (geddit? Flava Flav wears a clock, geddit?), by letting him know that he is a talentless fuck who rides on the coatails of the infinitely more talented Chuck D. Okay, maybe he didn't quite go that far, but it's still funny... and topical!



Next we see Mark Henry getting choked out by Batista in a match that didn't happen. I was glad to see Mark Henry being done over in such a way. Yeah, he might be the world's strongest man, but he can't wrestle for shit and he looks like a fat bastard.

Then we have the spaz match with Randolf, Edge and Dibiase. Again, the match is pretty dull and Orton wins. By the end of the match he attacks Vicky G with the RKO after she pleads and offers her resignation. What a bastard.



Thank fuck that screeching bint has been let go.

In summary: another episode of wrestling lite with some pretty funny promos. Still, it's better than Smackdown.

Bring on Sacrifice!

Review: WWE Raw, 3rd May

I'll admit it, I'm niave. I thought for some strange reason that the draft would shake up Raw and make into a great product. Instead, it was predictable and boring.

The night opened with number one contender Batista coming out to talk to the crowd about being number one contender (again), he talked some more, and some more. Sheamus came out and they talked... and talked some more.

It was announced that Batista would fight the Miz and Cena would fight Jericho in a time limit match. The one who pinned their opponent in the fastest time got to pick the stipulation of the championship match at the next PPV.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Miz came out to have his match with Batista, but instead of the Miz he decided to put in "rookie" Brian Danielson. Then Batista talked about more. Batista's boring enough as it is, without having to put up with 15 minutes of him talking shit (no kidding, and this is without adverts). I think Danielson is a great wrestler and although he jobbed for Batista he put on a decent match which was ruined to some extent by bad announcing, talking about him as he'd only been wrestling a few months. Batista then did a whole bunch of Batista Bombs on Danielson for some reason. 25 minutes in, 5 minutes of match time.

 

There was a backstage slot with Edge talking about how the WWE won't show any of his old promos or matches because he's Rated R and Raw is rated PG. He returned later in the night with the Cutting Edge which he promised would be controversial and rated R... it was neither.

Next we had a match between John Morrison and Ted Diabose coming in off the back of Diabose offering R Truth a job as the new Virgil. The match was a predictable set-up for Morrison as a face. The match ended within about a minute with Dibiose being counted out. Morrison took the mic and invited Dibiose back to the ring explaining that he didn't want his Raw debut to end like that and said that if he lost he would be the new Virgil. I think Dibiase should have walked back to the locker room at this point, making Morrison look like a prick. But as Morrison is blatently being pushed as the next Shawn Michaels, Dibiase gets back in the ring. The match was fantastic, easily on the level of a Kurt Angle main event; a match full of drama with both athletes pushing their bodies to the limit. The match ended with Morrison tapping out to a Million Dollar Dream and Morrison conceded defeat and agreed to become the new Virgil... oh wait, that didn't happen. Morrison predictably won in a mediocre 4 minute match. 40 minutes in, total 10 minutes of match time.

Next up we have Cena versus Jericho. Jericho wouldn't do the same thing as the Miz and bring his rookie Wade Bennett out for the match instead would he? Oh, he would... for fuck's sake. Again, after some dull mic work, Wade jobs for Cena with a tap-out in 4 minutes. 50 minutes in, total 14 minutes of match time. The Sheamus comes in a hits Cena; God this guys really starting to piss me off fella.

Then there was a match between Jack Rider and Mark Henry, does anyone really care about this one. Bad match with two awful wrestlers. 3 minutes wasted. 1 hours 3 minutes in, 17 minutes of match time.

Cut to a promo with the Miz and Jericho becoming a tag team and sitting on a tag match between the Hart Dynasty and that Russian jobber and William Regal. In an upset... there was no upset, Hart Dynasty won in under 4 minutes. With the Miz and Jericho on the announce table for the this, I was suprised at the end of the match when they confirmed their intention to form a tag team, and the beat on the Hart Dynasty. 1 hour 13 minutes in, 21 minutes of match time.



I figured that with the Miz and Jericho teaming up they should pick a name which is a combination of both of their names. I think Jiz is the only name that works.

So the finale of the night, the rated R, controversial talk show with Edge. It was a tame cheap pop mic spot with the guest host (can't remember his name, don't care) and then a bit with Randy Orton. Edge suggested reforming Rated RKO. Orton just stood there. Edge started calling Orton naughty names (but not that naughty). Orton just stood there, Edge went for a spear and Orton did an RKO. Randy Orton? Randy Boreton, more like. This was another dull 15 minute segment which didn't really go anywhere.

WWE Raw: 21 minutes of match time. This is wrestling?

Review: WWE Smackdown, 30th April, 2010.

With the Draft on Monday pulling most of Smackdown's talent towards Raw, I knew that this episode would be a precursor to what can only be the demise of Smackdown. Smackdown's always played second fiddle to Raw, but has always maintained a stable of decent stars. With the Draft sending Edge and Jericho to Raw and replacing them with the likes of Christian and Kofi Kingston (you know the one who is from West Africa and seems to be proud of his Jamaican heritage whilst speaking with an obviously American accent).

Apparently, Smackdown is to move from it usual channel in the US to SyFy, which is where WWE's bastardised version of ECW was until this year and where the biggest example of a missed opportunity resides in the NXT borefest. It's quite obvious that WWE are moving their biggest pulls over to Raw before Smackdown gets demoted further in October.

I thought that this week's show had a lot of potential, on paper anyway. After all, the stars who had been drafted to Raw are still on Smackdown until Monday, but the stars from Raw had already moved across. In this unique crossover event we saw great moments that will stand like lighthouses in the stomy waters of wrestling history... well, not quite.

Does anybody else remember when Jericho used to be good? I'm pretty sure he's been in the business a few years, won a few matches, earned a few belts... so why the fuck was he a jobber for Kofi Kingston? It seems he can hold his ground with someone like Edge in a steel cage, but can't beat a mediocre 'superstar' like Kingston?

The rest of the episode was equally dull, with Punk being interupted by MVP who wants to bring the party back to Smackdown. Big Show was throwing a few punches, knocking a few people out, as you do, and for some reason became number one contender for no real reason. Throughout the night we got to see little vignettes of Jack Swagger talking about how great he is - he went to university and was really good in scouts. I'm getting tired of this lispy, arrogant prick; I don't dislike him because he's a heel, I dislike him because he's a complete ball bag. I loved to see him get punched by Big Show, it made such a great noise, I hope it really hurt him.

 


The highlight of the night was seeing Edge and Christian back in the ring together. Unfortunately, there was no death defying leaps from ladders, just a nice old fashioned mic spot. Edge was saying how much he loves Smackdown and how much he loves the fans and how he doesn't want to go. All really emotional stuff, Edge is such a great guy. Then Christian comes out and accuses Edge of being a liar. Edge can't be a liar, he such a great guy (see above). In perhaps the least shocking turn in wrestling history, Edge admits to being a liar and hating everything that he just said he liked, "you didn't see that coming, did you?", he said pulling his best heel face... well actually, Edge, if that is your real name, we did see that coming and most fans have wanted you to go heel since your return. And the award for the least convinced heel turn 2010 goes to...





So, with Smackdown pretty much redundant and Raw looking in better shape, I'm hoping over the coming months that CM Punk, Undertaker and Brian Danielson go over and all of the rest of Smackdown roster drift into obscurity (that includes you Rey Mysterio).

- Socko

WWE Draft 2010

On the heels of Extreme Rules we have the annual WWE Draft, where everything hets shaken up and the WWE landscape changes... well, kind of...
The night began with Bret Hart coming out and declaring that Show Miz are the greatest tag team of all time, he then declare that the Mountie was the greatest IC champion and the David Arquette was the greatest world champion, so you can see, he wasn't exactly serious. The match between Hart Dynasty and Show Miz saw the Dynasty beat Show Miz to earn the titles and saw the Big Show and Miz turn on each other... but with Big Show getting drafted, the inevitable feud has been overted.

Apart from the draft, the only other major thing to happen was a number one contenders match for the WWE title was won by Batista because of interference by Edge. So the boring storyline, which should have ended at Extreme Rules, is now being rehashed. FFS.
Anyway, the draft results:

Kelly kelly > Smackdown
Big Show > Smackdown
John Morrison Raw
R Truth > Raw
Edge > Raw
Kofi Kingston > Smackdown
Christian > Smackdown
Jericho > Raw

Predictions: Edge will turn heel and dominate Raw. Jericho will team up with the Miz, probably have a match with Big Show at next PPV. Punk will run out of people to have feuds with. Big Show will turn face and become a bad comedy character again. Undertaker will only appear at PPVs. John Morrison will get a big push. Orton will stand there and not say anything. Matt Striker will continue to suck as an announcer.

In summary, WWE really missed a great opportunity to shake things up. Moving Punk over to Raw and Orton over to Smackdown would have been a good move, also switching Edge and Christian was short sighted, would have been great to see them tag/feud.