The SmarK Rant for WWE Survivor Series 2012
Live from Indianapolis, IN
Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL
Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd, Sin Cara & Rey Mysterio v. Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Primo, Epico & Tensai
It’s Team Leftovers! What a concept – sticking 10 guys with nothing better going on into an elimination tag match so they can have a fun opener. Epico and Kidd trade wristlocks and do a cool little sequence before Epico bails. Epico comes back in with a slingshot senton, but misses, and Gabriel comes in with a sunset flip for two. Standing moonsault gets two. Kidd & Gabriel double-team Epico for two as JBL talks about Gabriel’s father in South Africa, apparently a former promoter. He got lobbed the softball of a tag team wrestler from SOUTH AFRICA and he didn’t talk about the damn Simpson brothers? What’s wrong with him tonight? Rey & Cara double-team Young with a bulldog for two, so he tags out to Primo and Cara hits him with a rana. Sweet cross body gets two. You can tell his confidence is growing with every match now. Cara with a sunset bomb for two, but Primo puts him down with a clothesline and it’s over to Tensai. Tensai and Titus trade off on Cara and Primo drops a leg for two. The heels cut off the ring as Cara is no-face-in-peril, but he comes back with an enzuigiri and it’s hot tag Brodus. See, this is his strong point: Cleaning house as the guy who gets the hot tag. Everyone gets dumped for a crazy series of dives, leaving Tensai and Clay in the ring. Brodus badly messes up a suplex attempt, then misses a blind charge, allowing Tensai to eliminate him with a senton at 8:22. Gabriel attacks next and gets beat down, allowing Titus to get the abdominal stretch. Nice overhead fallaway slam sets up another senton from Tensai, for two. Another one misses and Gabriel pins him at 10:22. The Playaz haul Gabriel back to the corner and pound him, and Epico gets a butterfly suplex for two. Kidd comes back in and quickly gets taken to the floor by Primo, and back in for two. Kidd keeps getting cut off by the heels before coming back with a rollup on Titus at 13:50 to get rid of him. Young drags Kidd back to the heel corner to continue the very long heat segment, but Kidd wraps up Epico in the Sharpshooter. And he taps at 15:00. Well, he’s no Shawn Michaels. Primo goes up and Tyson dropkicks him coming down, and it’s finally hot tag Rey. Low kick on Primo gets two. Rey goes up and gets the flying senton to set up the 619, but Primo ducks it. Backstabber misses and Rey rolls him up at 17:30. So the cheese stands alone and Young goes quickly via everyone’s finishers at 18:23. Survivors: Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd, Justin Gabriel. Fun opener, although it dragged a lot and the crowd didn’t really care. I’m glad to see that they continue to book Kidd & Gabriel like equals to the stars. **1/2
Meanwhile, someone in a blonde wig attacks Kaitlyn backstage, and it turns out to be Aksana. Can she even sneak up on someone without saxophone music playing?
Divas title: Eve v. Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn attacks and Eve runs away. After a couple of minutes of that thrilling open, Eve gets a cheapshot and gets two. Eve chokes her out in the corner and drops an elbow for two. She figure-fours the head in a kind of triangle choke, but Kaitlyn makes the ropes. Eve goes up and gets knocked to the floor, and now she’s running away again. Kaitlyn stands there making menacing faces before finally attacking with a shoulderblock and gutbuster for two. Eve runs away yet again and yanks Kaitlyn to the floor, and back in to finish with the neckbreaker at 7:00. Kaitlyn looked like an amateur out there, with no timing whatsoever. And the match was ridiculously long. DUD I’m tempted to bump it up to ½* because the replay shows Eve feeling up Kaityln while making the pin, but that would compromise the integrity of the system.
US title: Antonio Cesaro v. R-Truth
I don’t see this one waking up the crowd. Truth quickly gets a rollup for one, and then another one for two. Cesaro comes back with a headbutt and pounds away in the corner, then goes to a neckvice while JBL and Cole have a bizarre discussion about how JBL was tweeting in Russian with Cesaro. Cesaro with the double-stomp for two. And we go to the waistlock on the mat and now JBL and Cole are bickering about Cesaro’s fake rugby history. Gutwrench gets two. Uppercut gets two. And back to the waistlock, but Truth makes the comeback with a spinkick for two. Stunner gets two. Truth misses the axe kick and the NEUTRALIZER finishes at 6:55 to retain. Basic house show match. *
AJ joins us to continue this stupid fucking storyline on a show I’m paying $55 for. So now she’s got her own evidence, and of course it’s a series of wacky Photoshopped pictures, a Vince McMahon favorite. And just as they’re about to fight or something, a repackaged Tamina Snuka (who is the daughter of Hall of Famer Jimmy Snuka, you know) attacks AJ and lays her out with the splash. What a waste of time.
Meanwhile, Paul Heyman lets us know that Punk is now at #8 all time and will continue to be so after tonight. So let’s see, we’ve got Bruno, Backlund, Hogan, Morales and Bruno again as untouchables, but other than that he’s got a good shot at #6. He passes Hogan’s 1990 reign tonight, and he’ll pass 1998 Savage and 2006 John Cena by TLC, and then that’s as far as he’s going with it.
World heavyweight title: Big Show v. Sheamus
Slugfest to start, which Show wins easily. Sheamus clips the knee and ties him up in the ropes for some abuse. Sheamus goes up for the shoulderblock, but Show spears him on the way down and Sheamus ends up on the floor. Back in, Show pounds on the arm and slowly works him over, then cuts off a comeback and drops an elbow for two. Into the armbar, and a sideslam gets two. Sheamus fights back with a sleeper, but misses a charge and hits the post, allowing Show to hit the neckbreaker for two. Show goes up and Sheamus brings him down with an electric chair, and they slug it out as Sheamus makes the superginger comeback. Show catches the Brogue kick, so Sheamus hits him with White Noise for two. Show pulls the ref into the path of the Brogue Kick, and the medical crew immediately runs in to check on him. Geez, it’s just a referee, who cares? Sheamus goes to check on the ref, and Show knocks out Sheamus to retain at 14:51. However, another referee reverses the decision and Sheamus wins by DQ instead. Wow, that’s so much better. HHH would never let himself look like a dumbass that way. So now we get a THIRD match at TLC. ** Sheamus, sore winner, attacks Show with a chair and then lays him out with the Brogue kick while he’s on his knees begging for mercy. I stand corrected: Now THAT’S how HHH would book himself.
Team Edward (Randy Orton, Kane, Daniel Bryan, The Miz & Kofi Kingston) v. Team Katniss (Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga, Damien Sandow & Wade Barrett)
There’s an old saying in the wrestling business: If David Otunga can’t save this shitty PPV, it’s not worth saving. They still haven’t bothered to explain what the issue behind this match is, or why Miz is a babyface now. Kofi quickly rolls up Otunga for two and chases him out of the ring, then follows with a dive off the apron. Back in, that gets two. Bryan comes in as the crowd goes BATSHIT, but Otunga powerslams him and brings in Sandow. The ELBOW OF DISDAIN gets two. Bryan comes back with the corner dropkick and fires away with kicks, but Sandow bails. He tries to take a walk, but Kane sends him back in and finishes him with a chokeslam at 3:02. Bryan throws a tantrum, allowing Ziggler to hit Kane with the Zag Zag and pin him at 3:44. Orton comes in with the slingshot suplex on Ziggler for two, and Kofi gets a monkey flip for two. Bryan comes in and gets worked over by Barrett, missing the corner dropkick and ending up on the floor. Back in, that gets two. Otunga with a shoulderblock for two. Bryan quickly turns him into the No-Lock for the submission at 7:13. Del Rio comes in and hits the chinlock on Bryan, but gets dumped to the floor. Kofi comes in and runs wild on ADR with the Boomdrop and a crossbody for two. Barrett comes in with the Bossman slam and finishes with the elbow at 9:45. Over to Orton, who dropkicks Barrett for two. Suplex and kneedrop get two. Miz doesn’t want the tag, so Bryan comes in and wakes up the crowd again with a missile dropkick for two. Barrett dumps him, but Bryan comes back with a No-Lock on ADR, which is easily escaped. Del Rio with the enzuigiri and armbar at 12:35. So Mizzy Sue comes in for the first time and goes after Del Rio, and Orton stomps him down for two. Del Rio takes him down with an armbreaker and it’s over to Dolph with a chinlock, but Miz gets the hot tag and runs wild on Barrett. Barrett escapes the Finale, but a second try hits at 16:02. DDT on Del Rio gets two. ADR with a german suplex for two. He goes up and gets brought down by Miz, but recovers with the enzuigiri to finish at 17:15. So it’s Orton alone against Ziggler and Del Rio, and ADR quickly gets the enzuigiri for two. Ziggler with a neckbreaker for two. Del Rio goes up and Orton dropkicks him coming down and makes the comeback before getting distracted by Ricardo. Del Rio gets two off that while Foley beats up Ricardo, and heel miscommunication results in an RKO for Del Rio at 20:56. Ziggler blocks another RKO and gets the Zig Zag for two. Fameasser misses and Orton gets the draping DDT, but goes for the punt and walks into a superkick at 23:45 to give Ziggler the win. Holy crap, Ziggler won an important match cleanly! Once it got down to the final four it was pretty good, but it took a long-ass time to get there. **3/4
WWE title: CM Punk v. John Cena v. Ryback
Punk runs away from both guys to start, but the babyfaces argue over who gets to beat him up. Ryback gets the honors and clotheslines him to the floor, giving us Ryback v. Cena. Cena quickly goes for the FU, but Ryback escapes and stomps him down in the corner. Punk comes back in with a suplex on Ryback, but it’s no-sold and Ryback gives him a fallaway slam to put him on the floor again. Cena grabs a headlock on Ryback as the fans alternate chants for Punk and Cena and totally ignore Ryback. Now Punk puts Cena on the floor and goes up with the flying axehandle on Ryback and a leg lariat to put him on the floor. Cena comes in with a rollup for two, but Punk gets a DDT for two. Punk with a Last Chancery, which has to be a wink at Aries, but Ryback breaks it up and then no-sells Cena’s backdrop suplex. Punk pulls Cena out and runs him into the stairs, then comes back in with a flying clothesline on Ryback for two before going to a chinlock. Ryback comes back with a spinebuster and the lariat, but Cena breaks up the Shellshock with the STF. Punk breaks that up with the flying elbow in a great visual, as you see him rising up the top rope from behind the move. Punk and Cena slug it out, but Ryback puts them both down and draws BOOS. This crowd is not drinking the Ryback Kool-Aid. Ryback tries to do something to both guys at once on the floor, but they beat him down and wisely team up to put him through a table and get rid of him. Back in, Cena makes the comeback with the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, but Punk gets the GTS for two. Cena with the FU for two. Notice they get rid of Ryback and immediately the match is 1000% better. Punk throws the kicks, and fights off an STF attempt, but Cena blocks the bulldog and this time he hooks it. Ryback saves this time and dumps Cena, then hits Punk with the lariat and Shellshock gets two as Cena saves. Shellshock for Cena, and three guys run in from the crowd and destroy Ryback. It’s Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and someone else, all dressed in black. Punk pins the dead Cena to retain at 18:00. Kind of a crap finish, to say the least. Match was decent with Punk and Cena at the end, but the Ryback stuff was SO clunky that it dragged the rest down a lot. *** And it’s about time they did something with Rollins and Ambrose, although I don’t know if Nexus v2 is what’s going to get them over.
The Pulse
A horribly bland and dull show with a bunch of mediocre matches and predictable finishes means this is not worth your $55 by a long shot. Wait for the recap on RAW and move on with your life. Thumbs down.
You had Tamina Snuka finish off a prime segment of Wrestlecrap, and all you had to offer was a parenthetical comment? What's wrong with you tonight?
ReplyDeleteI knew the night was done for when Sandow hit an elbow drop in a Survivor Series match, and it didn't get the pin
ReplyDeleteThis show was more Bored Scott than Angry Scott, as you guys would say.
ReplyDeleteWell, alright then. Glad you got your $55 worth.
ReplyDeleteI don't care if the show was meh. I'm so damned excited about Ambrose and Rollins.
ReplyDeleteI'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm guessing that Punk would need to survive Summerslam with the title to pass Morales on the list?
ReplyDeleteand here, with my milestone 1200th coment
ReplyDeleteI concur with Scott, Dull show
Michael Cole even said "Tamina, the daughter of Jimmy Snuka".
ReplyDeleteGreat booking (Sole Survivor Ziggler and Newer New Nexus) but average matches.
ReplyDeleteKaitlyn makes me feel special inside when I look at her, but the girl is awful in the ring and is the furthest thing from over that you can get. Unlike David Bowtunga, who I adore no matter how much he sucks, my love for Kaitlyn is conditional and she needs to go.
AJ's shorts. That is all.
I loved the main event, and i thought it was interesting that the final interference was stopping Ryback pinning Cena rather than Punk. I think Punk's still being booked pretty strong, may even have a chance at the Rumble ;)
ReplyDeleteJust realized: if Ambrose is aiding Punk, and Foley is annoyed with Punk, guess we'll finally get the Ambrose/Foley payoff as a sidebar.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping we get a Punk led stable with Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins, that could be fun as long as they're booked like legit guys (ala, say, Legacy) and not a pack of jobbers led by Punk (ala, say, Nexus 2.0 or even the Straight Edge Society). I assume they wouldn't be since these are essentially legitimate "top prospects"...or Rollins and Ambrose are, I don't really know Reigns.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to see "all the rookies join a stable together" again. The problem is they have to "pay their dues" and blah blah blah and it just ends up with them looking like losers until it breaks up. Like what ended up happening with Nexus.
also I was very happy about Ziggler using the superkick to finish clean, i was only thinking last night that ideally HBK's one-more-match should be to put over Ziggler as the new S.Michaels, something along the lines of making him realise he doesnt need Vickie etc for the face turn.
ReplyDeleteanother Punk fun fact, he, in his second reign as WWE champion will tie combined number of days as champ with Shawn's three reigns, and in 25 days will tie the # of days it took took Randy Orton 6 reins too achieve
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling Reigns is the designated Job guy
ReplyDeleteI think one problem with Kaitlyn is she actually has a fairly unique personality for a WWE Diva, but they don't let her show it and instead she's just bland random Diva.
ReplyDeleteHer lack of in ring ability is another problem, yeah, and that one is less easily solved, but I feel like they could get her over a little more if she didn't act like every other Diva in the company minus AJ, pretty much the only Diva to have a unique personality beyond "giggling nice girl" (for the faces) or "stuck up bitch" (for the heels).
I don't recall Randy Orton ever using a rein as a foreign object, let alone six of them!
ReplyDeleteGlad that the AJ/Vickie/Cena story has gone from strength to strength given all the airtime it's had invested, promos and recaps included. Also, the storyline was completely, utterly and comprehensively ignored by Cena tonight, further adding fuel to that quality fire that is the storytelling in the WWE. Well done, creative. Purposeful, eloquent execution as always. D.O.A
ReplyDeleteLot longer than that. He'd have to survive until the 2014 Survivor Series and then a little bit more.
ReplyDeleteWhipped Santa right good with the reins on his sleigh, stole Christmas from children everywhere-that orange bastard
ReplyDeleteAh...I was thinking late 71 to early 73, not early 71 to late 73.
ReplyDeletePredicting this Nexus 2.0 stable to be buried within two months, forgotten by the Rumble completely... just what this roster needed, more bloated undercard nobodies to job to Orton, etc. Whatever gets Ziggler off the menu is fine with me, but this angle is going nowhere. You're kidding yourself if you think it is.
ReplyDeleteSo in other words he'd have too break the laws of Space-Time, cause that is NEVER gonna happen
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize Reigns is Joe Anoa'i.
ReplyDeleteMy memory is hazy on Legacy, but from what I can remember, Rhodes and Dibiase were booked like shit including a tag loss to Dx that sent them basically packing.
ReplyDeleteForgotten by the Rumble? Are you crazy!? They need every warm body they can find to fill that Rumble!
ReplyDeleteI remember Legacy getting a clean win over DX and being credible first before that happened
ReplyDeleteProblem is there is just TOO MUCH wrastlin' these days to be able to have really long, meaningful title reigns. With Raw and Smackdown dragging on for hours each week, I'm surprised Punk has had it as long as he has... in todays ADD riddled society, long reigns of the 80s/90s are a thing of fantasy.
ReplyDeleteLegacy got a clean submission win over DX!
ReplyDeleteBut then he'll be repackaged as Chocolate Reigns, and that will get him over like D-Bry.
ReplyDeleteQuestion. Why are we all immediately assuming this is just a Nexus angle? Just because Michael Cole said NXT, which is vastly different from what it used to be? If instead this had happened in June and he said "FCW", would anyone be immediately assuming this is another "rookies all join up together by themselves to make an impact" angle? It might be, but I'm not immediately assuming that. They could align themselves with Punk, or they might have something else going on.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's my fault, I meant Evolution, not Legacy. Legacy popped into my head for some weird reason. I wasn't even watching when Legacy was a thing.
ReplyDelete...Pfft, Lawler, Foley and a couple of other surprise oldies. Throw in Santino, Ryder and a few other jobbers from tonight and there's your Rumble. No need to add a bunch of n00bs the crowd doesn't care about. These guys are DOA unless creative remembers how to actually book wrestling overnight.
ReplyDeleteI would have, yes, they treat anyone who isn't on the main roster coming in as a "rookie" see; Bryan, Daniel
ReplyDelete@2465081c31336368e25d5620c3be7c04:disqus it's just a bunch of nobodies to "feed" to The Ryback while he treads water on-air learning to wrestle. They've already burned a good chunk of the roster on Ryback... putting these guys in a feud with him hurts nobody. But you're kidding yourself if it's anything more than a one-month plan.
ReplyDeleteWell that changes things Evolution was booked so strong that the lower guys got to win and Triple H not only got the title they made up for him but verbal blow jobs from Ric Flair too make sure we all got the picture as well
ReplyDeleteCome on now, Scott. You can't just drop bombshells on us like that. I can't recall you ever mentioning that Tamina was Jimmy Snuka's daughter, and for us to be given such a shocking fact out of the blue like that....come on, Scott.
ReplyDeleteYes but that wasn't my point. Did everyone call Damien Sandow or Antoio Cesaro debuting a "Nexus angle"? I assume when people call this a Nexus angle, they're stating that a bunch of rookies who suck (which, save for Barrett, is how they were originally selling the NXT guys, even Bryan lost like 10 matches in a row and then got a parade because he won one match) joined together to attack a top guy, and that's what I'm questioning. That MAY be the angle, or it may be Punk and Heyman aligning themselves with up and coming guys, which is a vastly different angle. I have no doubt they'll be treated like rookies (which I disagree with WWE doing, since everyone they bring in and call a rookie immediately has a stigma of "oh, he won't go anywhere for awhile so whatever" attached to them) but that doesn't make it a "Nexus angle".
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for Colt Cabana, Adam Pierce, and Brent Albright to run in and reform the NWA.
ReplyDeleteRaisin Reigns?
ReplyDeleteToo me Nexus angle just means group of Rookies who want main roster contracts
ReplyDelete@kylelitke:disqus @zanadude:disqus
ReplyDeleteAlright, alright, I said my memory was hazy. Why do I think Legacy (sans Orton) were booked as geeks? It wasn't until Rhodes went into his "mask" faze that I recall him finally getting quality wins...gettin' old.
The second Scott Keith catchphrase to get over, after "Five Moves of Doom"
ReplyDeleteprobably because at the end they were booked as a pair off geeks that got fed to Orton and undid everything
ReplyDeleteI don't see how anyone likes anything about Kaitlyn. She sucks at everything. Maffew, if you're reading this, please make a Kaitlynmania.
ReplyDeleteSeeing as how Cabana and Peirce just shit all over their title, not bloody likely
ReplyDeleteShe can't even dye her hair properly!
ReplyDeleteDid Scott start "vanilla midgets"?
ReplyDeleteSo is the NWA.
ReplyDeleteeh, branch out a little further, Divamania
ReplyDeleteIt's 3 guys, debuting, killing a main eventer/main event match. It's Nexus. If it meows, purs and walks like one, call it a cat. Whether they have anything to do with Punk, is irrelevant. More likely they're just new faces to feed to Ryback, as I mentioned above.
ReplyDeleteLMAO
ReplyDeleteBased on what? These aren't random jobbers. Rollins is the champion down in FCW. I'm not saying that means they're going to be come in and booked as monsters, but no, I don't really think they decided to bring up 2 of their top young guys (not sure how they view Reigns, although he's a legacy wrestler) to completely ruin them by having Ryback crush them. I know they did that with Maddox but I wasn't really aware that Maddox was a big top prospect (and they could do more with him anyway). Who have they burned on Ryback that honestly had any real potential except Miz which is already forgotten, and I guess Maddox who obviously wasn't going to be a threat solo to Ryback? Other than them Ryback beat up a parade of literal jobbers, some guys who haven't had angles in years (JTG for example), and other guys who have no real upside beyond lower midcard comedy act.
ReplyDeleteNo, that was Nash I believe
ReplyDeleteDid you ever see the NWA invasion angle in the WWF?
ReplyDeleteYeah let's throw Lawler back in the ring.
ReplyDeleteIMO, had they had Cabana in that group of three it would've been vastly more interesting/impactful, especially in terms of assisting Punk... but that would've required the WWE to think outside of the box.
ReplyDeleteAnything Prior to 95 I start getting a little spotty on my history, so I'm going to say no
ReplyDeleteThey could slow things down a bit. Punk doesn't have to defend the title at every ppv and he surely should never defend it on Raw except for very random and special occassions. A good tag main event, properly built is totally acceptable on ppv. Make his title defenses more special and you can totally keep the belt on someone for a couple of years if they're doing good business.
ReplyDeleteRight, and I'm not saying they'd be booked THAT strong cause Punk ain't HHH, but a stable of Punk and those three guys where they help Punk retain the title (or win it back post Wrestlemania if he drops it to Rock) and perhaps get some titles for themselves, and actually look like legitimate guys who are being mentored as opposed to loser rookies or retreads who shaved their heads, I'd really enjoy that.
ReplyDeleteIt's happening sooner than later... You know it's being discussed.
ReplyDeleteI agree on your assesment of how strong they should be booked, but if by "Punk ain't HHH" you mean he isn't as talented you may need your head examined
ReplyDeleteI think it was late 97 or early 98 actually.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_%28wrestling_stable%29
ReplyDeletezanadude flair4dagold
ReplyDeleteWell what do you know, I've gone to out of my way to educate myself on as much of wrestling history as I can, and I have heard literally NOTHING about this prior to right now, add it to my list of knowledge-just when you think you know all the major events going back at least to '95...
Debuting 3 guys and immediately putting them against Ryback is risky. Ryback can look like a killer against Cena and Punk because those guys are bulletproof. But doing that same routine against 3 new guys(especially guys they have high hopes for) could kill them right out of the gate.
ReplyDeleteAnd my prediction is that Punk/Heyman have nothing to do with these guys and Brad Maddox is the leader/behind the attack.
Another year, another shitty Survivor Series. Oh well. It's amusing that the match of the night pulled in the same stars as a random Impact match now.
ReplyDeleteJeff jarrett dressed like an aztec warrior...that was about it
ReplyDeleteWell, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a major event.
ReplyDeleteMost likely by Lawler himself knowing the King
ReplyDeleteactually...that's correct
ReplyDeleteYou're spot on. They're just guys to give Ryback a program that doesn't damage any of their midcard or tag guys as he's buried the usual jobber suspects already.
ReplyDeleteShe's hot, charismatic, and tries hard.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't make her a great wrestler by any means, but she does have SOME positives.
I could see him returning soon. Actually, there are talks about having Lawler recreate the magic of Bam Bam/LT by having a Lawler/Ben Roethlisberger at Mania. Winner gets to nail an underage girl.
ReplyDeleteAnd if it strips to show us her puppies, call it a Kat.
ReplyDeleteWhat will be the next Scott Keith catchphrase to get over? TUNE INTO NITRO TO FIND OUT!
ReplyDeleteyou just described NJPW's main event philosophy these days and they're on the upswing popularity wise
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just me, but I definitely never thought of the Cody-TJ team as having any credibility - they were low-card guys that got beat-up every week by whomever was feuding with Orton at the time. Yeah, they got a win or two over a big name at times, but that was between fifty-loss streaks.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm still on the high of Ambrose and Rollins finally debuting but I think Scott severely underrated the second half of the show.
ReplyDeleteI mean catchphrase to actually be used in WWE.
ReplyDeleteIf I had any faith in this creative team, I'd be excited about 3 new guys debuts in such a high profile manner. But I don't, so I'm fully expecting them to put the 3 of them in a match with Ryback at TLC and be stupid enough to put Ryback over,
ReplyDeleteAnyone else get a random Google ad in the middle of the text?
ReplyDeleteWell they don't have Michael Tarver, so that's a point for them.
ReplyDeleteExtremely off topic: I was watching Kenta/Joe earlier today on youtube and randomly stumbled onto CZW vs ROH in a Cage of Death. Thought it was awesome. Can any ROH fans tell me if they ever did any more WarGames style matches?
ReplyDeleteIf he ever gets to be on TV again, I hope Michael McGillicutty tries to get "Now that's just... spiffy!" over.
ReplyDeleteMe too. You guys using Chrome, too?
ReplyDeleteLord no. I meant Punk ain't HHH in terms of pull where they're going to book him, and his group, incredibly strong.
ReplyDeleteI loved his entrance music though.
ReplyDeleteCorrect.
ReplyDeleteY'know. If they're planning on making it a lengthy stable, then there might be more people joining.
ReplyDeleteColt just quit the NWA, and I've heard that he's trying to clear up his bookings. Plus he recently appeared at a WWE sponsored event.
Okay, what's the consensus on these FEED ME MORE chants. Are they legit?
ReplyDeleteI'm using Firefox, but I get them too. Glad I'm not the only one, I thought it might have been a virus on my end.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit, a Smark Rant for an event that was dead in the water for weeks?
ReplyDeleteThat's because even at the time it was a fucking joke.
ReplyDeleteThat has to be the most botched face turn of all time.
ReplyDeleteScott,
ReplyDeleteRant on TNA's Turning Point PPV! That was actually a good one...
I know they had one between the Embassy and Generation Next. Not sure about any others.
ReplyDeleteOnly watched the main, thought it was OK, *** seems about right. Glad to see they're trying with a new angle with Ambrose/Rollins, but I doubt WWE does anything to get them over, especially with the AJ/Vickie thing getting so much attention. Was really happy that the Survivor Series match wasn't just a big attempt to get Miz over, even happier that Orton jobbed clean, though he should have jobbed to Ziggler at NOC.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather see Colt show up as CM Punk's new sidekick and maybe do him vs Cena and Zach Ryder
ReplyDeleteOr Ambrose, Rollins, and Kassius Ohno! Yeeeah! Seriously tho....Kings of Wrestling please WWE?
ReplyDeleteI said before and I'll say it again, Dean Ambrose should have debuted at Raw 100 and crashed the wedding as AJ's crazy ex-boyfriend.
ReplyDeleteHe would've been pretty confused at RAW 100.
ReplyDeleteCompletely disagree about it being shitty. Contrary to popular belief, the women's match was good, opener was solid, Show/Sheamus continues, and we got Punk still as champion (less said about AJ/Vickie the better). It advanced everything to a good point and Orton is in that period where he could go heel at any moment and that's when he's actually entertaining.
ReplyDeleteWhoops. Forgot an extra 0.
ReplyDeleteBecause he comes to play!
ReplyDeletei don't know what the hell you were thinking, scott. i had nothing going on tonight and wasn't even interested in watching the stream. boring card and too many jobbers in heatless nothing matches on ppvs these days.
ReplyDeleteNah just shitty coding, I'd assume
ReplyDeleteThey totally should debut a male wrestler as a stalker, I mean, DDP got a pretty good pop before it all went to shit.
ReplyDeleteJust watched it. It was pretty good. The WarGames formula is extremely hard to fuck up.
ReplyDeleteIT'S TIME...TO PLAY THE GAME!!!
ReplyDeleteZanadude's 1st Annual TLC Gimmick Match Prediction Match
Earn one point each for correctly predicting each tables, ladders, and chairs match
Earn two points for correctly predicting the TLC match.
Deadline is the start of Monday Night RAW.
Winner receives...the respect and adulation of their BoD peers!
My entry:
Tables match: Ryback vs The New New Nexus (yes, all three of them!)
Ladders match: Daniel Bryan vs Kane (for sole possession of tag team titles!)
Chairs match: Big Show vs Sheamus (for the WHC)
TLC Match: Eve vs Kaitlyn CM Punk vs John Cena (why the hell not...)
Tables match: Ryback vs Nexus v2
ReplyDeleteLadder match: John Cena vs CM Punk
Chairs match: Big Show vs Sheamus
TLC match: Tag Team Turmoil
I've no doubt that's exactly what they've got planned. ...90% of the jobbers on the Roster have already been put through the Ryback program, they now have to bring new guys in as the mid to top tier guys would slow his push (or derail it) as they would most likely need to trade wins to retain their "spot" which, given Ryback is essentially now on a losing streak, would undermine everything he's done.
ReplyDeleteI'm going in a completely different direction...
ReplyDeleteThey'll have a clusterfuck TLC match (all tables, ladders and chairs) with a bunch of jobbers for the unannounced opener. You'll get a non-gimmick Ryback vs. the Nexus Trio (TM) ...Ziggler vs. someone for his briefcase in a ladders match because he's done nothing with it.so shove it on a rope and make him go get it again, prolly Miz or Orton? Who cares. Chairs will obviously be Big vs. Sheamus as they foreshadowed that already... Cena vs. Punk, where you'll get a Rock run-in. I doubt they'll gimmick it, but if they do then prolly tables.
....if you think the Cena/AJ thing is going anywhere after last night, you'd be mistaken. They're dropping it like Ryback drops you on your head.
ReplyDelete...count how many people on-screen are chanting it that you can see on television in the first 4 or 5 rows. If you get to 5 you've done better than me. I think your answer is in there.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point, the constant defending of titles is killing the WWE and the major PPV's which used to feature these title defenses. Now these things change on C-Level shows, occasionally house shows and more often than not, on RAW. In theory, you could have a champion for a while (which is arguably, what they should have done with Cena rather than his inflated title win count that he's about to surpass Flair!) ...but then you'd miss on the great title win "moments" of recent memory by Ziggler and Jack Swagger.
ReplyDeleteI remember Scott claiming that it was an angle deliberately set up to fail. Maybe Russo planned it to bomb so that he could embarass Jim Cornette? I certainly can't IMAGINE them booking shit like that and hoping it would succeed, but there's been dumber failures (InVasion).
ReplyDeletethe problem really was that the WWE didn't seem to understand that one or two wins over DX don't instantly "establish" their guys if they lose the big last blowoff match (which they of course did).
ReplyDeletejust bring back Luther Reigns and let them form a tag team.
ReplyDeletethe biggest problem for several years now: the lack of "valets" (Vickie might really be the only one). women who are okay to good in terms of personality etc. but don't necessarily have in-ring qualities.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flbXCCrdpos&feature=player_embedded
ReplyDeleteI'm watching Survivor Series now and just watched Team Foley vs Team Ziggler. At the end of the match, Jerry Lawler says, and I quote, "He was cocked and loaded and he let go right into the mouth of Randy Orton!"
ReplyDeleteThere was one more, between a Brent Albright team - I think Roderick Strong was on it - and Sweet N Sour, Inc.
ReplyDeleteFigureatively speaking, that's pretty accurate.
ReplyDeleteBut TNA will give it the old college try with Aces at this year's Lockdown!
ReplyDeleteSurvivor Series Trivia: While the Curt Hennig/Terry Taylor story of how their gimmicks were almost swapped is legendary, few people realize just how close we were to seeing "Undertaker" Hector Guerrero and Mark "Gobbledygooker" Calloway.
ReplyDeletethat's a shame. not surprising in the least, but a shame nonetheless
ReplyDeletenooooo...
ReplyDeletehe shouldnt have defended the title here.
ReplyDeletethis was a perfect time to do all traditional ss matches.
divas- the new rats.
ReplyDeletelegacy was a big deal until after the dx fued.
ReplyDeletethen they were cannon fodder for ortons face turn
There is no way this is actually true.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on not being a thief!
ReplyDeleteMeltzer said it.
ReplyDeleteHyperbole much?
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of other guys that could have been in that role, a Mexican midget is the last person that comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteYou've neve been known for your revolutionary vision.
ReplyDeleteCan you name one that was botched as much as this?
ReplyDeleteBodacious Bob and Bombastic Bart.
ReplyDeleteOr vice versa, i dont know.
theres no maybes. Russo booked it as a rib on Crony cuz he was old school.
ReplyDeleteTalks about in the KFC Corny youshoot.
yes 2.
ReplyDeleteher boobs
It's been a week!
ReplyDeleteits OK.
ReplyDeleteMainly because I knew like 3 people in the match and the majority of them looked like jobbers and regular guys.
The Homocide intro was awesome though. I popped on that.
04 orton?
ReplyDeleteIT MUST BE TRUE!
ReplyDeleteI'm not talking about entire runs as a face, just talking about the initial turn angle.
ReplyDeleteThat's up there.
ReplyDeleteI only knew like 3 people also and had no idea what the storyline was but it didn't hurt how much I dug it. Homicide throwing tacks on the ground when Necro was charging him was sick and funny at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI even enjoy TNA's shitty version of it.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably TNA's biggest flaw at the moment. Though long-term planning is a good thing, you need to be flexible within it. We can assume that they've planned the Aces & Eights thing to climax at Lockdown in a Lethal Lockdown match. That plan was fine but now that the angle is relatively heatless and they have five months to go, they need to be able to change tact and I don't think they will. They did it with Aries and that helped him and gave the fans a great moment but subsequently fucked up their previous plan with Roode and Storm, so it's kinda understandable that they'd be gunshy about screwing with their newest long plan. That being said, another five months of Aces & Eights sounds like DEATH and it's nearly crippling an otherwise fantastic show/promotion.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny - many of us bitch out WWE for having no long-term planning and booking on the fly but then TNA over-corrects. There's a healthy medium that both companies are missing.
Lex Luger
ReplyDeleteAre you talking 1994? His run sucked but the actual turn wasn't all that bad. It was kinda corny but slamming Yoko on the ship was also a cool visual.
ReplyDeleteTables: Ryback vs 2 new stable members
ReplyDeleteLadder: Kofi Kingston vs ... shit, with miz a face now and dolph still holding the case what heels do they have as viable contenders for the IC title? ADR? Cesaro in a title unification match? i danno
Chairs: Big Show vs Sheamus
TLC: I'll also say CM Punk vs John Cena if only because it buys them time at the last minute to decide their definite Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania plans. I really hope they go with the fresh match for the big one.
you couldn't pay me to steal this show.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? During the build-up, Cena will probably have sex with Zach's mom or something in an effort to put him over.
ReplyDeleteI hope Dolph uses the superkick as his finisher now.
ReplyDeleteTerrible to no analysis offered in your "rebuttal".
ReplyDeleteThe divas match was your usual Raw fare with a touch more time and it was not good. They didn't connect their moves well, Kaitlin is still very green in the ring.
"Show/Sheamus continues" - hard hitting analysis there. It continues everybody!! Whew, glad you could chime in on this. It was very average and well below last month's affair.
"Punk is still champion" - but what about the match? I thought it was slightly above average, liked the run-in and glad Punk is still champ; but again, for a ppv main event, not up to what I guarantee you are Punk's and Cena's personal standards.
Anyways, in your zealous attempt to defend all things WWE (or just play a contrarian troll), you once again argue with no real type of points. It's a ppv dude, you're supposed to be watching wrestling and it supposed to be a step up what you get on free TV.
All of the face turns but the first one.
ReplyDeleteI think it's piped
ReplyDeleteSounds exactly like a Raw episode, not a $55 ppv. And therein lies the problem
ReplyDeleteI remember on one of the Legends of Wrestling roundtables, think it was the worst characters episode, that Mick Foley did say that around that time he had heard that The Undertaker was supposed to debut as The Eggman or something like that.
ReplyDeleteWho the hell knows if it's true since you hear lots of stuff IN THIS BUSINESS so it's best to take with a grain of salt.
Not a big Cena fan, but I can't argue with the obvious:
ReplyDeleteLast month: Ryback + Punk + outside interference = DUD
This month: Ryback + Punk + outside interference + Cena = ***
I mean, even the standard "two guys wrestle while one guy disappears" formula of the triple threat match didn't bother me as much as it usually does because this time, it made sense in the storyline. Punk would take a powder to let Cena and Ryback soften each other up, then he'd jump in to try to capitalize on one of them while the other tried to recover. Plus, there were enough 3-man spots (Punk flying elbow on Cena & Ryback, Cena & Punk suplexing Ryback through the table) interspersed throughout to keep things interesting.
I would actually be curious to see Ryback vs. Cena, one on one. The thing is, Cena wouldn't have to sell for Ryback nearly as much as Punk because of his obvious size difference.
ReplyDeleteCena always seems to have good matches with big, power guys like Ryback. He usually always makes it feel epic.
ReplyDeleteI said this before. DDP is trying pitch the reality show to a network. TNA and Spike would be FOOLS not to pick this up and have it end with Jake getting a shot on Gut Check.
ReplyDeleteYou know you can edit posts, right?
ReplyDeleteJust watched footage of the NXT guys debuting.
ReplyDeleteIt must have had more impact if you saw it as it happened.
Also, every time I've seen Rollins on NXT, he just smacks of old school CM PUNK, from the look to the moves, etc. Don't see what the big deal is about him.
To be honest, I don't see what the big deal is with ANY of the NXT guys*, from what I've seen. I'll keep an open mind, but they're just... there.
*Except Bray Wyatt. His character is awesome.
I like the Alexandra from Josie and the Pussycats look.
ReplyDeleteI'm using Internet Expl....
ReplyDeleteBwahaha, just kidding. Firefox.
People keep talking about $55...none of you are *actually* paying for this shit right? It's 2012...media's free.
ReplyDeleteI go to one of those blast areas with a few friends. The only downside is being there with mouth breathers who take the shit way too seriously, as in, almost watching two fat women get into a fight after Punk won last night because the other was a Cena fan.
ReplyDeleteOh my god, fat girls fighting could actually make me give a shit about wrestling again. Seeing it in a theater or bar or something is one thing, I can't imagine people are actually sitting at home spending $55 a month on this stuff when a completely free option is available 100% of the time.
ReplyDeleteDoes Jake have a gut? Check.
ReplyDeleteExactly, you see a few people chanting it, yet it sounds louder than the "LET GO CENA CENA SUCKS" chants.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could find a bar that shows PPVs, UFC and boxing too. They don't do it because they have to pay the PPV price for every seat in the bar. That is a lot of cash.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered how that worked. I've been some places that want to charge $20 covers to watch it but I've been other places that charge as little as $5. I've never in my life seen a bar that shows wrestling, even in the late 90's early 00's that's just never been a thing in the northwest as far as I can tell. Boxing and UFC are everywhere here.
ReplyDeleteI would love to do it though, even wrestling I think would actually be watchable if you're surrounded by people that are into it.
I think the big chains can afford it, but I avoid those places like the plague. I wanted to watch Mayweather's last fight and asked my local bartender about it and he hipped me to why they don't do it.
ReplyDeleteAnd covers don't always work because the people that don't want to watch the PPV won't pay it. And you could be stuck with like 10 people in a bar that seats 200.
Why do people do that "See: last name, first name" thing. It's really annoying.
ReplyDeleteWow, it costs that much? No wonder bars don't want to show PPVs.
ReplyDeleteThen good riddance.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this is still going on, but the Sam's Town casino in Vegas -- Vegas proper, not the Strip -- used to do showings inside a ballroom. You'd pay something like $10, I think, and they'd have food there. Michael Modest's indie group showed up as hosts, too, and they watched the PPV (sorry, can't recall which, but it was last year) along with us.
ReplyDeleteWe all know Rollins and Ambrose, but who is Damon Reigns? Please tell me they're kayfabing him as the son of former WCW talent Horshue/WWE talent/future hall of famer Luther Reigns, and he's going to get the Tamina Snuka treatment every time he appears.
ReplyDeletei thought the one cage set up and the general shittyness of the CZW wrestlers drug the contest down.
ReplyDeleteits the boss, man is he big?
ReplyDelete??? are you serious???
ReplyDeletethats terrible!
ive only been to bars that show boxing/mma/wrestling ppvs.
ReplyDeletein central fl, free but they only show wwe as far as wrestling goes... esp when tna is literally 45 away.
boxing/mma free.
in greater cleveland this one bar plays wwe ppvs and charges 5. boxing/mma free
But those types of matches don't need great wrestlers though, and Hero and Claudio are awesome. The one cage took some getting used to but I liked how it covered ringside too. Almost looked a UFC octagon on steroids. Having no pads cover the floor was fucking stupid though. God bless those idiots for taking bumps on it.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hit up a blast area to watch the show, but, according to WWE's own site, there's like nothing in New York City (unless I'm missing something). Anyone know if this is accurate? Doesn't matter for the next one, since I plan on being at the Barclay Center for TLC, but it would be nice for the Rumble.
ReplyDeletehe is aonoa'i or however u spell it
ReplyDeletetrue indeed but those czw guys were just sloppy as fuck and check this out, one of them was SUPER DUPER PROMO GUY EDDIE KINGSTON.
ReplyDeletethe BoD CHIKARA squad was talkin about him the other day
Her shitty entrance music needs to go too (get rid of AJ's shitty music too while you're at it). Even the fucking Dupp Brothers had better entrance music than those two.
ReplyDeleteI think that was my first time seeing him for an extended time in the ring. He seemed decent enough. And that guy who took Homicide's finish on the barbed wire was the most white trash dude ever.
ReplyDeleteThat is actually a great idea.
ReplyDeletei wasnt impressed in a garbage brawl.
ReplyDeletesaw a couple of regular matches... didnt change
On the plus side, long title reigns are still the norm in the UFC where there's a six year title reign and a five year title reign going on at the same time, although those two are about to fight soon so one of those reigns is likely going to end.
ReplyDelete"They're telling stories...they're just not supposed to make sense."
ReplyDeleteSorry you lost 55 bucks on this mediocre show, Scott. I've been boycotting WWE PPV's since July and have not regretted it. I will continue to support TNA as long as they continue to bring the goods on PPV. Not only are the lineups better, but they're 10 bucks cheaper and their HD resolution is miles above WWE's.
ReplyDeleteTheir On-Demand Roku service is also miles above WWE's laughable website (2 or 3 bucks for a 1994 episode of RAW that I can find for free on YouTube? No thanks).
I guess that means Shawn Michaels is officially never wrestling again. I mean, isn't that how it works? After a wrestler retires, his finisher becomes fair game after an appropriate waiting period?
ReplyDeleteHe's already got Aces and Eights, so they can tie the two story lines together.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling he is going to end up being the Manu to this Legacy. Of course by the end, everyone in Legacy not named Orton got jobbed out.
ReplyDelete