WWE Extreme Rules 2013 Preview

Extreme Rules takes place this evening at the Scotrrade Center in St Louis. After an entertaining Wrestlemania (which I'll publish the review for next week), how will Extreme Rules go? Let's look at the card.

The Pre-Show match will be between The Miz and Cody Rhodes. This could be a good match and it's a tough one to call. I'm going for The Miz to win here.
Predicted Winner: The Miz

Randy Orton will face The Big Show in an Extreme Rules match. I can see this being quite brutal yet probably not very entertaining. I'm going for Randy Orton to win here.
Predicted Winner: Randy Orton

Chris Jericho will take on Fandango in a match that I would normally look forward to if it wasn't for that stupid fucking dance off they had last Monday. Anyway, Fandango won their last match so I think that Jericho will win here and possibly continue the feud.
Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho

Sheamus will face Mark Henry in a strap match, in which the rules are that you have to touch each turnbuckle in succession to win the match. This has the ability to be an entertaining match and it's a tough one to call. I'm going to take a slight punt and go for Mark Henry to win.
Predicted Winner: Mark Henry

The Tag Team Championships are on the line in a Tornado Tag Match as Team Hell No are challenged by Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns from The Shield. I strongly feel that Hell No title reign is going to end here. The Shield have been looking very strong, only losing their matches by disqualification. I'll think you will be looking at new Tag Team Champions after this match. If you don't, I will be very surprised.
Predicted Winners: The Shield

"So, what's happened to Dean Ambrose?" I hear you say. Well, he is challenging Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship. I was a bit pissed off when Kofi won the Championship from Antonio Cesaro. However, the general feeling is he is a transitional Champion and Ambrose will get the win here. While I think that it's great for Ambrose, I'm worried that this might lead to the break up of The Shield, which would be crazy as they have so much momentum right now. Anyway, Dean Ambrose for the win here.
Predicted Winner: Dean Ambrose

Brock Lesnar will take on Triple H in a steel cage match. I feel that Lesnar has to win this match here. I know that I said that when he faced Cena last year but it would look worse if he loses to a part-time wrestler such as Triple H. Therefore, Lesnar to win here.
Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

Due to Jack Swagger practically kicking Dolph Ziggler's head on Smackdown a couple of weeks ago giving Ziggler a concussion, the World Heavyweight Championship will not be defended tonight. Therefore, it will be an "I Quit" match between Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio for the right to be the Number 1 contender. This could be a good match and with Zeb Coulter and Ricardo "Virgil" Rodriguez in the mix, my shenanigans sense is tingling. I'm going for Del Rio to win here and lose to Dolph when he recovers from his concussion.
Predicted Winner: Dolph Ziggler

The main event is for the WWE Championship as Ryback challenges John Cena. This should be an interesting match. With Cena's injury and him being stupid enough to continue to wrestle on it, there is the possibility of him losing under questionable circumstances. I feel that it is more likely that it's a situation where you have Cena overcoming the odds for the billionth time, which will probably in Ryback having a failed push. Even though I'm interested in seeing Ryback as WWE Champion, I can't see it happening. Therefore, Cena to win here.
Predicted Winner: John Cena

I'm yet to publish my Wrestlemania review. When I do, I'll write up the review for this as well and it should all be done within the next fortnight. Until then, hope you enjoy the show.

TNA Lockdown 2013 Review

TNA Lockdown took place on Sunday 10th March at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Genesis wasn't a bad event, so how Lockdown do? Let's take a look.

The first match was between Zema Ion, Christian York and Kenny King in a triple threat match for the X-Division Championship. The match begins with King hitting York with a cheap shot then Ion doing the same to King. As seems to be the norm with X-Division  matches, there was a lot of high-flying offense. Highlights include Ion doing a corkscrew splash to his opponents on the outside; York doing a top rope legdrop to King who was hanging off the middle rope; Ion doing a Tornado DDT on York; King doing a springboard legdrop to Ion on the ramp; and a move where York powerbombing King, who did a fallaway slam to Ion at the same time. The end comes when King reverses an attempt at a DDT by York into the Royal Flush to get the win and retain the Championship. I really enjoyed this match as there was a few times when they all did moves to each other at the same time. This match is undoubtedly the best X-Division match that I seen since Austin Aries left the division and I hope they can continue in that vein.
Winner: Kenny King

The next match is between Joseph Park (brother of Chris? You know, Abyss?) and Joey Ryan. Ryan goes on the mic to slag off Park before the bell rings. Park responds by saying how great San Antonio is and Ryan hits him with a cheap shot to start the match. Ryan uses his experience to get the advantage he attempts to crossbody Parks. Unfortunately, he just bounces off him. Ryan asserts his dominance for most of the match before Parks makes a comeback when he gives Ryan a wedgie. The end comes when Ryan attempts a sunset flip. Unfortunately, it backfires wildly when Parks is too heavy to flip over and Parks just sits on him, similar to a Banzai Drop, to get the win. If you were looking forward to a technical classic, don't watch this match. It was an enjoyable. fun match with a funny ending. If you want to have a little chuckle, watch this match.
Winner: Joseph Park

The Knockouts Championship is on the line as Velvet Sky is challenged by Gail Kim. The match starts with a few pin attempts by both ladies. Sky attempts a In Yo' Face on the outside but Kim pushes her into the ring post to get the advantage in the match. Kim during the match is arguing with the referee Taryn Terrell, due to their recent disagreements. Sky has a brief comeback and she grabs Kim's leg. Kim grabs Terrell to keep her balance and hit the Eat Defeat to get a 2 count. Kim doesn't take that well and starts arguing with Terrell and pushing her and then she slaps her. Kim dares Terrell to disqualify her but instead Terrell completely loses her shit and fucks Kim up. Sky takes advantage and hits the In Yo' Face to get the win. It was an ok match with dramatic consequences for Terrell. She gets attacked by Kim later on in the night; and Knockouts Executive Brooke Hogan fires her as a referee and reinstates her as an active wrestler, continuing the feud with Kim. This could be an interesting storyline but I feel that it needs to have the Knockouts Championship in the storyline as well.
Winner: Velvet Sky

Next is the match between Robbie T and Robbie E (oh, God!)  Robbie E attempts to hug it out and Robbie T doesn't take well and throws him off. Robbie E tries to do some wrestling moves but Robbie T very easily deals with them and hits Robbie E with big power moves. Robbie E takes advantage of Robbie T's missed moves to use his speed against him. However, it doesn't last long as Robbie T gets the win after hitting a fireman's carry into a spinebuster. The match wasn't anything special as it just seemed to show how strong Robbie T is.
Winner: Robbie T

The Tag Team Championships are on the line as Bobby Roode and Austin Aries defend their titles against Bad Influence and Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez. Chavo and Hernandez are dominant to start with. Chavo tries to do the Three Amigos on each of his opponents before Roode stops it and Bad Influence wear down Chavo. Roode tags himself and continues the assault on Chavo. Chavo and Roode hit each other with a clothesline. Aries get tagged in and throws Chavo out of the ring. Aries and Roode and Bad Influence get into it, and this gives Chavo the chance to tag in Hernandez. The match goes back and forth and the end comes when Chavo hits a frogsplash on Daniels. However, Roode tags himself in when Chavo jumps off the turnbuckle. The referee tells Chavo that he is not the legal man; Aries throws him out of the ring and Roode pins Daniels to win the match. I really enjoyed this match and it gives hope for the tag team division.
Winners: Bobby Roode and Austin Aries

After we get a pep talk from Aces and Eights Vice-President D'Lo Brown, we get Wes Brisco facing Kurt Angle in a steel cage match (the rest of the matches will be in a steel cage). Brisco is the first to try to leave the cage but Angle stops with a back suplex. Brisco starts to get the momentum after Angle misses a shoulder charge and hits the ring post. Brisco wears Angle down with a head lock but Angle gets out of it and hits a missile dropkick, giving him the opportunity to recover. Angle gets back some momentum with some clotheslines, a belly to belly suplex then 5 continuous German suplexes. Angle hits an Angle slam but Brisco hits a low blow and tries to leave the cage. Angle stops him with the ankle lock but Brisco powers out of it. The end comes when Brisco accidentally clotheslines the referee Brian Hebner; Angle applies the ankle lock and Brisco taps out but there's no referee. Angle hits the Angle slam and leaves the cage. However, D-Lo Brown runs in and attacks Angle. He throws Angle back in the cage and drags Brisco out. The referee recovers, sees Brisco outside the cage and gives him the victory. It was a decent match and I quite liked the ending, although it was a bit weird because there are normally two referees (one inside and one at the cage door) and there wasn't in this case.
Winner: Wes Brisco

The penultimate match is a Lethal Lockdown match with Aces and Eights (Devon, Mike Knox, DOC, Mr Anderson and Garrett "Future of the Business" Bischoff) taking on Team TNA (Sting, Magnus, Samoa Joe, James Storm and Eric Young (?!)) The match starts with Mr Anderson and Magnus. The match goes back and forth then Mike Knox is the next to enter. Samoa Joe enters next and starts beating on Knox and Anderson. Joe and Magnus keep the momentum going until Garrett "Future of the Business" Bischoff arrives. The rest of the competitors arrive in the following order: Eric Young, Devon, James Storm, DOC and finally, Sting. Sting brings some weapons with him and Team TNA use them to destroy Aces and Eights. After a while, Aces and Eights start to make a comeback. The match goes back and forth but Team TNA get the victory after Knox gets hit with a scorpion death drop from Sting followed by a elbow drop from the top of the cage by Young. The match was pretty good but I don't really like Lethal Lockdown matches as I find the concept of it quite dumb.
Winners: Team TNA

The main event is for the TNA World Championship as Bully Ray challenges Jeff Hardy. Hardy is the first one to climb out of the cage. However, he is stopped by Ray slamming Hardy's right leg into the cage. This gives Bully the chance to get the advantage. Hardy starts to make a small comeback and Bully tries for the Bully Bomb but it's countered into the Twist of Fate. As Hardy goes for the Swanton, Wes Brisco and Garrett "Future of the Business" Bischoff climb into the cage and interfere in the match. Hardy and Bully join forces against them and throw them out of the cage door. They get back into fighting each other and Bully gets a 2 count with a top rope splash. Bully then hits a sit-down powerbomb from the top rope. Hulk Hogan and Brooke Hogan come down to the ring to watch the match and encourage Bully (great neutrality by Hogan there). The rest of Aces and Eights arrive and climb the cage. Bully hands Hardy a chain and confronts Devon. Devon pulls out a hammer and after a staredown, hands it to Bully. Bully uses the hammer to hit Hardy in the back of the head and pins him to get the win and become the new TNA World Champion, shocking Hogan and Brooke. Bully then reveals that he is the President of Aces and Eights and the show ends with the crowd throwing bottles and glasses into the ring and Aces and Eights standing tall. It was a good match and I loved the reveal of Bully being the leader. A lot of people were expecting someone like Eric Bischoff or Jeff Jarrett being the leader and that would have pissed them off. I like the whole story of Bully deceiving Hogan and manipulating him and TNA into becoming World Champion. Plus, I like Bully a lot better as a heel anyway and he throughly deserves to be World Champion.
Winner: Bully Ray

Even though it took me over two months to get my finger out and watch the show, I enjoyed it. The first few matches (except for the X-Division match) weren't anything special and I don't really like Lethal Lockdown matches. Despite that, there were some good matches in there and as we head towards Slammiversary in Boston, I'm looking forward to see where TNA go from there.

WWE Wrestlemania 29 Preview

The 29th Wrestlemania will be taking place this evening at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. I found the last two Wrestlemanias to be slightly disappointing. However, with the way WWE have been with their PPVs so far this year, I am cautiously optimistic. Let's look at the card.

The Pre-Show match will be for The Intercontinental Championship as The Miz challenges Wade Barrett. This should be a good match if they get enough time and don't turn it into a clusterfuck. I would like Miz to win it but I think they will stay with Barrett for now.

Predicted Winner: Wade Barrett

We will see a inter-gender tag match as the team of Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls take on Team Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins. This has the ability to be a decent match and I can see Tons of Funk winning. However, I really don't want that to happen so I'm going to for Rhodes Scholars/Bella Twins to win.

Predicted Winners: Rhodes Scholars and the Bella Twins

The Tag Team Championships will be defended as Team Hell No are challenged by the team of Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston. I'm quite looking forward to this match as I quite excited to see Langston's WWE debut. I have a feeling that Team Rhodes Scholars will be the next Tag Team Champions so I think that Team Hell No will win.

Predicted Winners: Team Hell No

Ryback takes on Mark Henry in a modern version of a pissing contest. This could be a very interesting contest. It would be nice if Henry wins the match but Ryback seems to be Super Cena protection at the minute so I think he'll win.

Predicted Winner: Ryback

Chris Jericho  will take on Fandango  in what could be a good match. As long as Justin Roberts remembers to pronounce his name correctly, I think we will see Fandango be victorious in his Wrestlemania debut.

Predicted Winner: Fandango

The Shield will take on the WWE version of the Avengers: Randy Orton, Sheamus and The Big Show. While I have enjoying the Shield's success since they debuted, I can't see them winning. So, I'm going for Sheamus, Orton and Show to win.

Predicted Winners: Sheamus, Randy Orton and The Big Show

Brock Lesnar will face Triple H in a No Holds Barred match with the added stipulation that if Triple H loses, he must retire. This will be an extremely brutal contest but Triple H has to win this. He has to.

Predicted Winner: Triple H

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line as Alberto Del Rio is challenged by Jack Swagger. I have been impressed with Swagger and Zeb Colter over the last few weeks but I can't see him being Champion although I think it could be done very well. I expect Del Rio to win but don't be surprised if you hear "I'm Here to Show the World" after the match.

Predicted Winner: Alberto Del Rio

CM Punk will be the 18th person to end The Streak with The Undertaker goes for 21-0. Even though I didn't like the match was set up, I think this has the possibility to be the match of the night and a contender of match of the year. CM Punk has come on so much since Money in the Bank 2011 and it would be great to see him end the streak. However, even though there will be times where you think Punk is going to win, he won't. Therefore, I'm going for The Undertaker to extend his streak.

Predicted Winner: The Undertaker

The main event will be Once Twice in a Lifetime as  John Cena challenges The Rock for the WWE Championship. This should be a good match as The Rock has improved over the last few months. I would love to see The Rock. However, it looks like that the WWE want to make 2013 The Year of Cena (yay) so I'm picking Cena to win.

Predicted Winner: John Cena

Due to work, I won't get to see the event for at least a week. I hope to publish an article on The Hall of Fame during the week along with my Lockdown review. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the show.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2013 Review (2 down, 1 to go)

WWE Elimination Chamber took place on Sunday 17th February in New Orleans. Will the last PPV before Wrestlemania set the direction that it will be going? Let's take a (very belated) look.

The Pre-Show match is between Team Rhodes Scholars and Brodus Clay and Tensai. Rhodes Scholars work together to take down Tensai. However, a couple of minutes later Tensai manages to tag in Brodus. After a double headbutt then a double splash on Sandow, Brodus and Tensai win the match. The match was no more then four minutes long and it seemed fine.
Winners: Brodus Clay and Tensai
Predictions: 1for 1

The event starts with the World Heavyweight Championship match with Big Show challenging Alberto Del Rio. Show at the start of the match is very aggressive before Del Rio focuses his attack on Show's left knee. Other highlights of the match include Show hitting a Vader Bomb; Del Rio applying the Cross Armbreaker; 
and Show hitting a chokeslam for a 2 count. The end comes when Del Rio attempted to kick a bucket that Show had grabbed from Rodriguez into the side of his head with a running enziguiri. However, Del Rio slipped on the ropes and missed. So, they tried it again and it worked. Del Rio then applied the Cross Armbreaker and Show taps out. Except for the botched ending, it was an enjoyable match and I'm ok with Del Rio heading into Wrestlemania as Champion.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Predictions: 2 for 2

The next match is The Miz challenging Antonio Cesaro for the United States Championship. Cesaro focuses on the taped up shoulder of the Miz during the match and he gets to apply a submission on the arm. Miz fights out of it and hits a back body drop. Miz focuses his attack on Cesaro's knee and tries to apply the Figure Four when Cesaro kicks him in the leg. This results in Miz kneeing Cesaro in the groin and Cesaro acts like he's been shot and points to his groin. The referee then disqualifies The Miz. Wait, what? That's your ending? Really? Anyway, Miz decides to purposely kicks Cesaro in the groin. I'm a big fan of both Miz and Cesaro so I was looking forward to this match. I thought it was ok although I didn't like the ending and I've seen better matches between the two
Winner: Antonio Cesaro
Predictions: 3 for 3

The next match is the only Elimination Chamber match which is between Jack Swagger, Kane, Mark Henry, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho. Bryan and Jericho start the match and they exchange submission holds. Jack Swagger is the first one out of the pods and goes after Jericho. Kane is the next man to come out and he and Bryan work together. However, that doesn't last long when Bryan rolls up Kane for a 2 count. Bryan attempts to hug it out but Kane isn't interested so they get into it. A few minutes later, Orton comes out and then Mark Henry. Henry hits a World's Strongest Slam to Bryan to eliminate him then eliminates Kane when he attempted a top rope clothesline. Henry caught him and hit him with the World's Strongest Slam.

Jericho and Swagger work together on Henry and hit him with a double suplex onto the steel grating outside the ring. Henry is eventually eliminated after a codebreaker from Jericho followed by a RKO by Orton. Understandably, Henry doesn't take that well and hit the remaining wrestlers with World's Strongest Slams. Booker T, Theodore Long and a bunch of referees manage to get him out of there. After 30 minutes, Orton countered a Lionsault by Jericho then hit him with a RKO to eliminate him. Immediately afterwards, Swagger rolls up Orton to win the match.

I thought this was a good match and I was surprised that Swagger won the match. It looks like he could be a good opponent for Del Rio heading into Wrestlemania.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Predictions: 3 for 4

Next is The Shield taking on the team of John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus. During the match, Cena applies the STF on Reigns, but it was broke up by Ambrose. The Shield focuses on Cena with a lot of quick tags. Cena eventually gets the hot tag to Ryback who hit a backdrop on Reigns and Ambrose and a powerbomb on Rollins. Some of the action goes to the outside and Reigns hits Sheamus with a spear which sent him through the security barrier. The Shield start to focus their attack on Ryback but Cena arrives to prevent it and hits Ambrose with an Attitude Adjustment. Ryback is about to hit Rollins with the Shellshocked when he gets hit by a spear. Rollins lands on top of Ryback to pin him and get the victory. This was another good match with an amazing ending. I was surprised that The Shield won but I'm glad they did.
Winners: The Shield
Predictions: 3 for 5

Dolph Ziggler comes out with AJ Lee and Big E Langston and complains that he is not on the show. Booker T comes out and decides that because Ziggler is wasting time, he will have a match after all as he is facing Kofi Kingston.

Dolph Ziggler takes on Kofi Kingston for what seems like the billionth time in the last year is next. Some of the highlights of the match were Kingston hitting the Trouble in Paradise; and Kingston doing a dive to the outside taking out Langston. Ziggler eventually gets the win with a Zig Zag. Even though it was short, it was a good match. Ziggler and Kingston always seem to work well but it would be nice to not see them wrestle each other for a few months.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Predictions: N/A

The penultimate match is for the Divas Championship as Kaitlyn is challenged by Tamina. Kaitlyn gets a couple of pin attempts with a roll up and a backslide. The action goes to the outside when Tamina throws Kaitlyn into the ring post. The end comes when Tamina takes decades going for the Superfly Splash and Kaitlyn moved out of the way. Kaitlyn then spears Tamina to get the win. The match was ok but they are never to get anymore than five minutes, which is a shame because, with a bit more time it could have been a good match.
Winner: Kaitlyn
Predictions: 4 for 6

The main event is for the WWE Championship as CM Punk gets his rematch against The Rock with the added stipulation that Punk will win the title if Rock is counted out or disqualified. Punk tries to get Rock disqualified early on by doing things like spitting in Rock's face. Punk starts to wear down Rock after he raked his eyes. After about ten minutes, the action goes to the outside and Punk bangs Rock's head into the English announce table. The action goes back into the ring and Punk countered a Rock Bottom into a roundhouse kick and then later on, Punk hit a Rock Bottom to Rock landing him on top of the Spanish announce table. Rock manages to get back in before the ten count. After a ref bump, Punk hit the GTS but there is no one to make the pin count. The doctor checks on Mike Choida and referee John Cone takes over. Rock hits a spinebuster then the People's Elbow but Punk kicks out at 2. Cone then twists his ankle and rolls out to the floor. Heyman holds Rock against the ropes and Punk attempts to hit him with the belt. Unfortunately, Rock moves and Punk hits Heyman. Rock then hits the Rock Bottom to get the win. I enjoyed this match but both of their matches had ended with way too many factors involved. It would have been nice to see a nice clean ending. Anyway, it looks like we are going to get Once Twice in a Lifetime with Cena and The Rock at Wrestlemania.
Winner: The Rock
Predictions: 5 for 7

I enjoyed the event. There were a lot of good matches such as the Chamber match. WWE have started 2013 with 2 good PPVs. The question is, can they continue that trend at Wrestlemania, especially as I found the last two Wrestlemanias quite disappointing.

WWE Royal Rumble 2013 Review (1 down, 2 to go)

The Road to Wrestlemania began with the Royal Rumble which took place on Sunday 27th January in Phoenix, Arizona. Sorry that I have taking an age to do my reviews. I started a full time job which can involve me being away for aorund 16 hours a day. So here we go with the first of three reviews that I have to do before Wrestlemania XXXIX (no pressure then)

The Pre-Show match was between Antonio Cesaro and The Miz for the United States Championship.

Cesaro hit a nice tilt-a-whirl backbreaker after catching Miz in the air and then Cesaro hit a sit out slam for a two count. Cesaro hit more power moves like a gutwrench suplex and backbreaker for two counts. Miz made his comeback with the neckbreaker/backbreaker combo and Miz jumped off the top rope with a double axehandle, but he caught his knee on the mat. He was favoring his knee. Miz was able to keep the match going and he hit Cesaro in the face with a kick. Cesaro goes to the floor, Miz went after him and Cesaro threw him head first into the side of the ring where there was steel which the referee didn't see. Cesaro then rolled Miz into the ring and got the win. I thought it was a decent match to get people into buying the PPV.

Winner: Antonio Cesaro

Predictions: 1 for 1

The first match in the event is for the World Heavyweight Championship as The Big Show challenges Alberto Del Rio in a Last Man Standing match. Highlights of the match include Del Rio countering a powerbomb into a hurricanrana; Del Rio getting thrown through a table which resulted in a 9 count; Show crashing through the security wall; and Del Rio hitting Show repeatedly with a chair. The end came Del Rio doused Show with a fire extinguisher and then applied the cross armbreaker to him. While that was happening, Ricardo "Virgil" Rodriguez used duct tape (I'm fucking serious!) to tape up Show's legs to the bottom rope. The referee counted to ten and Del Rio wins the match. I enjoyed the match but I really didn't like the ending. Whilst it means another match between the two, I feel that it makes Del Rio look weak.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Predictions: 2 for 2

Next we get Matt Striker interview Dolph Ziggler in which he announces that he will be going in as number 1 in the Royal Rumble and then cash in his briefcase to win the World Heavyweight Championship as part of a plan to unify the World Championships at Wrestlemania. Yeah, good luck with that although I would seriously mark out if he does pull it off.

Next was the Tag Team Championships match with Team Rhodes Scholars challenging Team Hell No. The match begins with Bryan and Sandow with Bryan applying a surfboard submission in the corner. After a while, Rhodes Scholars started to isolate Bryan with Rhodes applying a half Boston crab and Sandow hit the Elbow of Disdain. Bryan eventually hit the hot tag to Kane after hitting a spike DDT to Rhodes. The end comes when Kane is hit with a double suplex. Bryan got in a blind tag and Kane hit a Chokeslam and afterwards Bryan applied the LeBell "Yes" "No" Lock to Sandow to get the win and retain the belts. I enjoyed the match and I was surprised that Team Hell No won as I thought they would go with the break up of the team. It looks like they are going in a different direction for now.
Winners: Team Hell No
Predictions: 2 for 3

Due to the fact that we're ending with the WWE Championship match, the Royal Rumble match is next. The number 1 entrant is Dolph Ziggler and number 2 is, shockingly, Chris Jericho. Cody Rhodes comes in at number 4, Kofi Kingston number 4 and Santino Marella is number 5. Santino doesn't last too long as Rhodes makes him the first to be eliminated. We get another surprise entrant as Goldust comes in at number 8 and goes after his brother and Sheamus, last year's winner, comes in at number 11. 

We now go to number 15 and Darren Young comes in. Kofi Kingston uses a head scissors to send Tensai out of the ring. Ziggler kicks Kofi and he lands on Tensai's back. Tensai throws Kofi onto the Spanish announcer's table, stranding him. Kofi saves himself from elimination by using JBL's chair to hop himself from the announcer's table to the the ring apron. Kofi eliminates Young however, Rhodes rewards Kofi's efforts by hitting him with the Disaster Kick to send Kofi to the floor, eliminating him.

We fast forward briefly to number 19 when my prediction John Cena comes out and quickly eliminates Slater and Rhodes and then Kane comes in at number 24, who is making a record 14th Rumble appearance and 
he eliminates Khali. Bryan (who came in at number 21) then eliminates Kane. Cesaro sends Bryan over the top rope and he is caught by Kane. Bryan pleads with him to put him back in the ring but Kane doesn't do that and Bryan is therefore, eliminated. 

The final two to come in are Sin Cara and Ryback and after Ziggler eliminates Jericho with a superkick, we are left with the final five of Ziggler, Cena, Orton, Sheamus and Ryback. Ryback eliminates Orton with a clothesline and Sheamus eliminates Ziggler after he had been in for over 50 minutes. Later on, Sheamus hit the White Noise on Ryback however, Sheamus went for the Brogue kick and Ryback ducked and eliminated Sheamus. We now are down to Cena and Ryback. Cena knocks out Ryback with a STF and tries to put him over the top rope. Ryback, however, fights back with a Thesz press and he then tries to powerslam Cena out of the ring. Cena manages to avoid elimination and he dumps Ryback out to win the Royal Rumble for the first time since 2008. 

I enjoyed this Rumble and, even though a lot of people are angry that Cena won and I'm a Cena hater, I'm actually ok with it. It would be nice to see the WWE Championship defended at the main event of Wrestlemania and with Cena, we will get to see that.
Winner: John Cena
Predictions: 3 for 4

The main event is for the WWE Championship as CM Punk defends it against The Rock. The match starts with them brawling right away and after a little bit when they were outside the ring, Punk starts to wear down The Rock by focusing on his ribs. Rock sees an opportunity after Punk injures his knee after a springboard dropkick.

Later on, Rock goes for the Rock Bottom but Punk elbows out of it and goes for the GTS and then he applies the Anaconda Vice, which is countered into a pin for 2. Rock applies his really bad version of the Sharpshooter and Punk gets out of it by getting to the ropes. The action goes to the outside and Rock tries for the Rock Bottom on to of the Spanish announcer's table but it collapses before he could do so so he did it to the floor instead. The action goes back to the ring and Punk hits Rock with a roundhouse kick to the head. Rock hits a leaping clothesline then a spinebuster and is about to go for the People's Elbow when the lights suddenly go out. When the lights go back on, the referee is down and The Rock is on top of a collasped announce table. Punk looks shocked about what has happened and he rolls Rock back into the ring and pins him to retain the WWE Championship...

...Or so Punk thinks because Vince McMahon comes out and declares that because The Shield attacked The Rock (which you didn't see so I'm guessing Vince saw something that we didn't) the title would be stripped away from Punk. However, Rock goes on the mic and says that he doesn't want it to end that way and convinces Vince to restart the match. Rock goes back into the ring where Punk hits the bulldog in the corner followed by a clothesline then a Macho Man elbow drop for a 2 count. Punk goes for the GTS but Rock gets out of it and hits the spinebuster followed by the People's Elbow to get the win and become WWE Champion for the first time in over ten and a half years. 

I really thought this was an good, exciting match and the chemistry between the two was very good. It was good the way they used the disqualification stipulation as you didn't see The Shield attack The Rock. I thought that The Rock was really good and it looked at times like he had never been away. As for Punk, I'm sad that his reign had ended but it was the first time that a Championship reign lasted over a year since the 380-day reign of John Cena in 2006-2007. Punk is a bigger star now and although I would love to see him with the WWE Championship again, he doesn't really need it.
Winner: The Rock
Predictions: 4 for 5

I thought this was a really good show. All the matches seem to work well, although I didn't like the way the World Heavyweight Championship ended. The Road to Wrestlemania is up and running and it should be a good ride.

TNA Genesis 2013 Review (Hey, Better Late Than Never Right?)

TNA Genesis took place on Sunday 13th January at the Impact Zone in Orlando. Will TNA 2013 get off to a good start? Let's take a look.

The first match is Joey Ryan and Matt Morgan challenging Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez for the Tag Team Championship. Chavo and Hernandez start working on Ryan before Ryan before Ryan slingshots Chavo into an elbow from Morgan to get the advantage. Ryan and Morgan wear down Hernandez but he manages to tag in Chavo after hitting Ryan with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The end comes when Ryan gets hit with a powerbomb and a frogsplash to get Chavo and Hernandez the win. The match was ok as it didn't have anything special for it to stand out. Despite that, I thought it was a decent way to start the show.
Winners: Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez
Predictions: 0 for 1

The next match is between Samoa Joe and Mr Anderson and this should be quite a good match. Joe is completely dominant to begin with the match going to the outside. Anderson sends Joe into the steel steps and focuses his attack on the knees. The match goes back and forth before Mike Knox from Aces and Eights pays a visit and distracts Joe long enough for Anderson to hit the Mic Check to get the win. As I expected, it was a good match with some fun spots.
Winner: Mr Anderson
Predictions: 1 for 2

The next match is between Christian York and Kenny King to determine the No 1 contender for the X-Division Championship. Highlights of the match include York doing a head scissors takedown to King on the outside; and York doing a double stomp on King's back from the top turnbuckle. The end comes when King attempts a cradle pin but York reverses it into a pin of its own to get the win. King doesn't take well and hits York with a reverse Attitude Adjustment. I was surprised that York won but I suppose that TNA want to give him a push.
Winner: Christian York
Predictions: 1 for 3

Christian York doesn't have any time to recover as he has to face Rob Van Dam for the X-Division Championship. RVD tries to convince York to postpone the match and York responds by slapping him. RVD then proceeds to beat the crap out of York and he keeps on applying submissions to wear down York. York knees RVD in the head to slow him down and during the match, York has a few opportunities to win the match. However, it was not enough as RVD hits the 5-star frog splash to get the win. It was a good match and it made York look strong in the company.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Predictions: N/A

The next match is between Devon and Joseph Parks (brother of Chris? You know, Abyss?) The match starts Devon mocking Parks about his lack of experience and outwrestling him. Parks eventually manages to take down Devon, infuriating him. The match goes back and forth and Parks almost gets the win with a splash from the middle rope. Devon slams Parks into an exposed turnbuckle and Parks goes into "Abyss Mode" and destroy Devon with a Black Hole Slam. Parks was about to hit a chokeslam when he snaps out of "Abyss Mode" and Devon takes advantage of the confusion to roll Parks up and get the win. I wasn't expecting much wrestling in this match but it was still fun to watch.
Winner: Devon
Predictions: 1 for 4

Next was a Knockouts gauntlet match involving Gail Kim, Miss Tessmacher, ODB, Mikie James and Velvet Sky to determine the No 1 contender to the Knockouts Championship. Kim and Tessmacher are the first two and, despite Tessmacher's best efforts, she is eliminated by an Eat Defeat by Kim. ODB is out next and is completely dominant to begin with. However, Kim eliminates ODB when she pulls her off the middle turnbuckle and grabs the tights while pinning her. Mickie James is out next. The match goes back and forth and Kim eliminates James when she reverses a roll up into another roll up.Velvet Sky is out next and Kim proceeds to fuck her up and sends Sky flying into the steel steps. Sky manages to get into the ring and the match goes back and forth for a bit. Kim attempts to use the ropes to gain leverage in a pin attempts but the referee notices it. Kim gets into an argument, which turns out to be a bad idea as Sky takes advantage and hits the In Your Face to get the final pin and the win. The match wasn't bad and I was impressed with Kim. However, I thought that Sky would have entered the match a bit earlier to make her look stronger.
Winner: Velvet Sky
Predictions: 2 for 5

The next match is between Christopher Daniels and James Storm to determine the No 1 contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Storm is dominant before Daniels, with some help from Kazarian, attacks Storm's left arm. Storm tries to fightback but Daniels pokes him in the eye and continues his attack. Later on, Daniels applies a variation of the crossface but Storm gets to the ropes. Storm manages to start a comeback after a side Russian legsweep and was unlucky not to get the win after an Eye of the Storm. Storm goes for the Last Call but manages to hit the Angel's Wings for a 2 count. The end comes when Kazarian tries to interfere and gets hit with a Last Call by Storm. Daniels then slams down Storm and pins him using the ropes for leverage to get the win. I enjoyed the match and Daniels deserves the win as he has been one of the best things to see on Impact over the last few weeks.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Predictions: 3 for 6

After we see the newly engaged Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan, we get Sting versus D.O.C. D.O.C. tries to attack Sting during his entrance but Sting stops that and they fight into the crowd. Some members of Aces and Eights then attack Sting, giving D.O.C. the chance to dominate the match. Sting eventually makes a comeback and gets the win after a Stinger splash and a Scorpion Death Drop. Afterwards, Aces and Eights arrive to attack Sting but change their mind and flee when Bully Ray runs in to make the save. The match wasn't too bad but I feel that they are both capable of something better.
Winner: Sting
Predictions: 3 for 7

The main event is an elimination triple threat match between Austin Aries, Bobby Roode and Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Aries and Roode decide to team up against Hardy. Hardy manages to fight back and attempts a Twist of Fate on Roode. However, Roode gets out of it and hits a AA Spinebuster to get the advantage. Hardy manages to take down Roode but Aries comes in and continues his assault on Hardy. Roode recovers and helps Aries out. Aries attempts a suicide dive on Hardy with Roode holding him. However, Hardy moves out of the way and Aries crashes into Roode. Later on, Hardy almost eliminates Roode with a splash and Roode and Aries continue to work together. Aries thinks he's eliminated Hardy with a Brainbuster but he kicks out at 2.

Roode convinces Aries to do a 450 splash on Hardy. However, he betrays Aries by moving Hardy out of the way, making Aries hit the mat and Roode hits him with the Pay Off to get a 2 count. Aries and Roode fight each other and when Aries does a backslide pin on Roode, Hardy runs in and pins down Roode's legs to eliminate him. A couple of minutes later, Hardy hits the Twist of Fate followed by a Swanton Bomb to get the win. I enjoyed the match and it was a good way to end the show.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Predictions: 4 for 8

I thought that Genesis was a good event when I eventually watched it. The problem is, with TNA now only doing 4 PPVs a year, you expect them to really put a big effort into them. That doesn't really seem to be the case. However, Rome wasn't built in a day and I can see TNA improve the standard of their PPVs in the future.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2013 Preview

Elimination Chamber is taking place in New Orleans. How will the Road to Wrestlemania fare after the event? Let's take a look at the card.

Rhodes Scholars have a reunion for one night only as they take on the team if Brodus Clay and Lord Tensai. Due to the fact that Clay and Tensai have just teamed up, I can't see them losing.
Predicted Winners: Brodus Clay and Tensai

The Divas Championship is on the line as Tamina challenges Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn has looked pretty strong since becaoming Champion and I can see that reign continuing.
Predicted Winner: Kaitlyn

The Miz once challenges Antonio Cesaro for the United States Championship. Cesaro has been brilliant as Champion and, while I love the Miz, I don't want him to win here. Therefore, I'm going for Cesaro to win here.
Predicted Winner: Antonio Cesaro

There is only one Elimination Chamber match and that is being used ot determine the No 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania. The participants are Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry and Randy Orton.  This is a toug one to call as I can see two or three people winning it. In the end, I'm taking a punt and going for Chris Jericho to win this one.
Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho

The Shield take on the WWE's version of the Avengers, John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus. I would love for the Shield to win this but I feel that the WWE would want Cena to look strong looking to Wrestlemania. Therefore, I'm going for his team to win.
Predicted Winners: John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus

The World Heavyweight Championship match will be Alberto Del Rio vs The Big Show III. I personally find it weird that after 2 last man standing matches, they are now having a normal match. Anyway, I think there is a good chance, barring a cash-in by Dolph Ziggler, will be Champion at Wrestlemania.
Predicted Winner: Alberto Del Rio

The WWE Championship match will be The Rock vs CM Punk Part II with the added stipulation that if the Rock gets disqualified, he will lose the WWE Title. I don't think that will happen and we will be getting Once Twice in a Lifetime at Wrestlemania. Therefore, I think the Rock will be victorious.
Predicted Winner: The Rock

Due to work and various other things, I've not watched Genesis and Royal Rumble yet. I'm planning to watch them and Elimination Chamber abd publish their reviews by the end of the month. Until then, I hope you enjoy the show.

WWE Royal Rumble 2013 Preview

The 2013 Royal Rumble will take place this evening at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Who will win the Royal Rumble match and get to headline Wrestlemania; or more likely, open the show? Let's take a look.

The Pre-Show match is for the United States Championship as The Miz challenges Antonio Cesaro. The Miz has been ok in his face turn so far. However, I can see him winning. Therefore, I'm going for Cesaro to retain.
Predicted Winner: Antonio Cesaro

The Tag Team Championships are on the line as Rhodes Scholars challenge Team Hell No. I've enjoyed Hell No's title reign, but all good things must come to an end. Therefore, I'm going for Rhodes Scholars to get the win and we'll see the beginning of the end for Team Hell No.
Predicted Winners: Rhodes Scholars

The World Heavyweight Championship will be defended in a last man standing match between The Big Show and Alberto Del Rio. I normally enjoy last man standing matches so I'm quite looking forward to it. I think that Del Rio will win and possibly have to deal with Dolph Ziggler in the near future.
Predicted Winner: Alberto Del Rio

The WWE Championship will be defended as The Rock challenges CM Punk. This should be an entertaining contest. I would love CM Punk to win this but I don't see it happening. I think that The Rock will win and become WWE Champion for the first time in over 10 years.
Predicted Winner: The Rock

We now get to the Royal Rumble match and as usual, there are 4 or 5 people that could win it and the last few Rumble have had surprise winners. Ziggler will be entering at either No 1 or No 2 and I would love for him to win it. However, I feel that the WWE are building towards Rock/Cena II at Wrestlemania, which I REALLY don't want to see. Therefore, even though I don't like the guy, I'm going for John Cena to win the Rumble. Hopefully, I will be proved wrong.
Predicted Winner: John Cena

I'll get to see the event during the week and review it then. Three of my twitter buddies DXDONMEGA, nickgator and coreysantiago will be there so I hope that they, and you, enjoy the show.

Lo-Down Wrestling Awards 2012

Happy new year, everyone (belatedly!) It's time for the 2nd annual Lo-Down Wrestling Awards. Sorry I haven't been updating the blog as much as I would like. I'm still into wrestling as I still listen to podcasts as well as read about it; but I rarely get to watch RAW, Smackdown and Impact and I've been in no major hurry to watch and review the Pay-Per-Views over the last few months. Hopefully, I will get to watch more wrestling in 2013 and get round to watching the PPVs a lot sooner after they take place.

Anyway, back to the awards. I decided not to publish an article with the nominations this year, so I decided to just publish the winners with a few honorable mentions for people that I thought came close to winning that  particular award. This year, there are 14 awards including 2 new ones.

Male Wrestler of the Year
CM Punk

2012 was been the year of Punk. He has been involved in feuds with Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan then, after attacking The Rock and turning heel, feuds with John Cena and Ryback. Punk has been a joy to watch over 2012, especially since Paul Heyman became an associate of his, and he will be facing the Rock at the Royal Rumble. I feel that 2013 will be better than ever for Punk as he has proven that he can be one of the faces of the WWE.

Female Wrestler of the Year
Eve Torres

It's been a good year for Eve. She was involved in the feud with Kane, John Cena and Zack Ryder at the beginning of the year. Ignoring the way that her role ended (which was probably the worst moment of the year for WWE), she still had TV time throughout the year, being part of the staff for first John Lauriniatis (did you know he used to be the General Manager of both RAW and Smackdown?) then Booker T. Eve, through allegedly nefarious means, defeated Layla to become Divas Champion and has improved her wrestling ability to look like someone who deserves to be Champion. I'm gutted that Eve has now left the WWE just as her character was getting so much more interesting.
Honorable Mention - AJ Lee
AJ Lee has been fun to watch over the year, being Daniel Bryan's long suffering girlfriend and being a thorn in the side of CM Punk and Kane. I like crazy AJ and I'm happy that she has returned to that at the end of the year, aligning herself with Dolph Ziggler and I will be forever grateful to stopping John Cena winning the MITB briefcase at TLC. However, I just found her reign as RAW General Manager as a missed opportunity ; instead it was just...generic.

Fav 5 Wrestler of the Year
This award goes to the person who was the most consistent in the Fav 5 table over the last year and the winner is...
Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan came very close to winning the Male Wrestler of the Year. Bryan had a brilliantly subtle heel turn as World Heavyweight Champion and had a great feud with Big Show, Mark Henry then Sheamus. He then had amazing matches with CM Punk in the summer. Bryan then had a feud with Kane and then reluctantly joined forces with him to become the Tag Team Champions. Bryan has had amazing character development over the year and I hope it continues into 2013.

Most Improved Wrestler of the Year
Joseph Parks

While Joseph Parks (brother of Chris? You know, Abyss?) is a new character, it is done by the same guy who does Abyss (Chris Parks). I found it weird to begin with but I slowly got into it and I started to love his character more and more to the point that along with Austin Aries and Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, probably one of the best things going on in TNA right now, and certainly one of the funniest. It is a testament to Chris Parks to go from a man who is a psoychpathic loner to someone who is the complete polar opposite.

Feud of the Year
Chris Jericho vs CM Punk February - May

This was a great feud over who was the best in the world. Jericho used Punk's family history of alcoholism and drug abuse against him and the matches that they had at Wrestlemania and Extreme Rules were some of the best matches of the year.

Moment of the Year
Punk attacking the Rock at RAW 1000

This moment was the culmination of months of frustration for CM Punk. Punk was WWE Champion for almost 9 months, yet he was only in 1 PPV main event and that was at TLC 2011. Since then, John Cena was been involved in every main event bar the Royal Rumble. The Rock comes in at RAW 1000 and says that he will be getting a WWE title shot at the next Royal Rumble based on what? Old times sake? When the Big Show then Rock interfere in the match between Cena and Punk, he snapped. All the focus was on the Rock when it should be (deservedly) on the WWE Champion, and that made Punk turn heel and attack the Rock.

Surprising Moment of the Year
Devon being revealed as a member of Aces and Eights

This wins the award thanks to the way that TNA did it. In the age of social media, it is hard to do something like this without it being revealed as kayfabe. TNA actually announced that Devon had left the company and subsequently, was stripped of the Television Championship. It was a quite ingenious way to doing it and TNA should be applauded for the way they did it.

Best Newcomer
Antonio Cesaro

Antonio Cesaro has been such a joy to watch since he debuted after Wrestlemania. First, he was revealed as Askana's boyfriend. He soon dumped her and became United States Champion. His matches have been fun to watch and I'm impressed with his wrestling ability and his mic skills.

Best Returnee
Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman returned as an associate to Brock Lesnar, which was exactly what Brock needed as he is not the best person on the mic. When Paul was revealed to be allied with CM Punk, I didn't think it was necessary for Punk's character, although I loved the way that it was revealed. However, it seemed to make Punk's character so much better and that is a testament to Paul Heyman. Plus, I love it when he holds up the WWE Championship when Punk is doing a promo.

This year, I will be awarding two douchebags of the year; one for kayfabe and one for real-life.

Douchebag of the Year (kayfabe)
John Cena

2012 is the year that I became a Cena hater. Cena kisses Eve, the object of Zack Ryder's affection, then degrades her and calls her "a hoeski" the next week; is featured in every fucking main event on PPV that year, sometimes undeserving so; gets to wrestle for Ziggler for the MITB briefcase for no justifiable reason; then "cockblocks" Ziggler from cashing it in the next night. What a fucking douchebag!

Douchebag of the Year (Real-Life)
Kenneth Cameron

For those of you who are unfamiliar with FCW and NXT, Kenneth Cameron was part of the tag team Ascension, along with Conor O'Brien. The rumours going round is that they were ready to sent to the main roster during 2013. Unfortunately, Cameron got arrested for driving under the influence and battery against a police officer. WWE didn't take kindly to that and wished him well in his future endeavours. These actions not only affected his chances but O'Brien's as well. Now we won't get to see their cool entrance on the big stage.

Match of the Year
Undertaker vs Triple H, Wrestlemania XXVIII

When this match was first announced, I wasn't really into it; although I liked the way that you had the Undertaker forcing Triple H to accept the challenge instead of the other way round. It wasn't until it became a hell in a cell match and Shawn Michaels was the special guest referee that I got interested in the match. The match itself was awesome. The majority of us knew that Undertaker was going to win but there were moments that made you think otherwise, especially when Undertaker got hit with the Sweet Chin Music followed by the Pedigree. I also loved Shawn's role as referee. I think that he just wanted to be there because it is a big match. However, he didn't expect the brutality of the match and the lengths that Undertaker and Triple H were willing to go to win. When Undertaker has a match at Wrestlemania, you have the problem of making people believe that there is a chance that Undertaker could lose. The match really delivered on that and it should be applauded.

Worst Match of the Year
Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan, Wrestlemania XXVIII

While there have been some really bad matches this year, none had made me as angry as this match did. I was really looking forward to this match, especially as they got screwed out of the main card last year and that match degenerated into  a clusterfuck battle royal. Although I was surprised that the match was on first, I didn't expect to see what happened next. The bell rang, AJ kissed Bryan luck, Bryan turns round and gets his head brogue kicked off by Sheamus, and he gets the win. It lasted EIGHTEEEN FUCKING SECONDS(!!!) Even though, both guys have developed since then (especially Daniel Bryan), it still makes me angry that the WWE almost ruined the whole event with that match to open their biggest event of the year.

PPV of the Year
WWE Extreme Rules, April 2012

Extreme Rules was a fun PPV that had a lot of good matches. Even though the main event had Cena beating Brock, it felt ok and it kinda made sense.
Honorable Mention- TNA Slammiversary X, June 2012
Even though I have only watched TNA for just over a year, I think this is the best PPV that I have ever seen by TNA. The matches were good and I thought that the first match between Samoa Joe and Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) was probably the best match TNA had in 2012. TNA set a high standard with that event and even though the following PPVs have not been as good, you know what TNA are capable of doing.

WWE TLC 2012 Review

The final WWE PPV of the year took place last Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Will the WWE end the year on a high? Let's take a look

The Pre-Show match was a Santa's Little Helper Divas Battle royal between Natalya, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, Tamina Snuka, Cameron, Naomi, Askana, Layla and Rosa Mendes. Rosa was the first to be eliminated thanks to Natalya, Tamina eliminates Cameron, Askana eliminates Alicia, Layla eliminates Askana, Layla is eliminated by Tamina, Natalya is eliminated by Kaitlyn. Naomi helps Kaitlyn eliminate Tamina and then Eve, who was on commentary, slaps Kaitlyn giving Naomi the chance to eliminate her and win the match. The match was decent enough and, whilst Naomi winning is one of those "What the Fuck?!" moments, it does seem to progress the rivalry between Eve and Kaitlyn.
Winner: Naomi                                                                                                          
Predictions: 0 for 1

The PPV officially starts with a Tables match between Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara and Team Rhodes Scholars to determine the No 1 contenders for the Tag Team Championships. Rey and Cara get out a table and start to hit his opponents with it. Cody and Damien focus their attack on Cara and try to reverse suplex him through it. However, he was unsuccessful. Cody hits the Disaster kick on Cara and Damien fucks up Rey by slamming him against the crowd barriers. Rhodes Scholars put their opponents on tables outside the ring and are about to splash them through when Rey recovers and stops that from happening. Rey tries to make a comeback and almost puts Cody through the table. The end comes when Cara attempts a springboard crossbody but Cody pushes him off the ropes and sends him flying through the tables outside the ring to give his team the victory. It was a good match and I loved the ending, although it looked like Cara got injured. Sin Cara needs to stop wearing his White Power Ranger costume at Pay-Per-Views has he seems to get injured wearing it.
Winners: Team Rhodes Scholars
Predictions: 1 for 2

The next match was for the United States Championship as Antonio Cesario was challenged by R-Truth. Some of the highlights include Truth getting his head bounced the turnbuckles and him no-selling it; and Truth hitting an impressive scissor kick. The end comes when Cesario almost sends Truth  into the referee and takes advantage by hitting an European uppercut followed by the Neutraliser to get the win. It was a nice, short match and I'm loving Cesario's reign as United States Champion.
Winner: Antonio Cesario
Predictions: 2 for 3

After we see Dolph Ziggler get interviewed by Josh "Bad Timing" Mathews, we get Miz TV. The Miz interviews 3MB, well it was more of a slagging match than an interview. 3MB decide to start slagging off the Spanish announcers. Ricardo "Virgil" Rodriguez comes down to help out the announcers so 3MB start to attack him. Alberto Del Rio comes down to help Ricardo and it gets into a brawl involving everyone. Heath Slater then issues a challenge: 3MB against The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and a partner of their choice. I can see this being a good match, although I hope this doesn't lead to Alberto Del Rio turning face.

The next match is for the Intercontinental Championship as Wade Barrett challenges Kofi Kingston. Barrett had the early momentum, doing an impressive springboard into a backbreaker. Barrett hits two Boss Man slams, each time leading into a 2 count. Barrett went for the Bullhammer but it was countered into a Trouble in Paradise by Kofi to get him the win. I enjoyed the match and hopefully we might get a rematch in the near future.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Predictions: 3 for 4

After we get an injury update by WWE Champion CM Punk with Paul Heyman, the next match is a TLC match between The Shield and the team of Ryback and Team Hell No. The match is basically chaos. We get Ryback and Ambrose in the ring and Reigns and Rollins help out when they take out Kane and Bryan. Some of the other highlights include Ambrose DDT-ing Kane onto a chair; Ryback suplexing Ambrose and Rollins onto a ladder; Ryback getting powerbombed through the Spanish Announce table; Kane chokeslamming Ambrose through the table; Reigns spearing Kane through the barricade; Ryback hitting Ambrose with the Shell Shock; and Rollins getting pulled from the ladder through a table. The end comes when Reigns powerbombed Bryan from the top turnbuckle through a table to get the pinfall and the victory. This was an absolutely amazing match and I was really impressed with all the competitors.
Winners: The Shield
Predictions: 4 for 5

The Divas Championship is on the line as Naomi challenges Eve. Eve starts mocking Naomi and is dominated by Naomi to begin with, displaying her acrobatic skills. Eve gets to use her experience against Naomi and takes advantage of a missed splash to hit a neckbreaker to get the win. It was a very short match, which you can expect for a Divas match unfortunately. It would have been nice if they had a little bit more time for their match to tell a better story.
Winner: Eve Torres
Predictions: N/A

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line in a chairs match as Sheamus gets his rematch against Big Show. The match was a very physical contest and Sheamus was the first one to bring out a chair but Show didn't give him much chance to use it. Sheamus manages to use it before Show returned the favour later on. Other highlights include Show hitting a chokeslam for a 2 count; Show hitting a Vader bomb; and Sheamus reversing a chokeslam into a white noise sending Show through 2 chairs. Show thought he won it when he avoided a Brogue kick and hit the WMD but it only got him 2. Show then decides to bring a massive chair and hits Sheamus with it to get the pinfall and retain the World Heavyweight Championship. I thought the match was ok for most of it until near the end where they was some really good spots. Hopefully, Show will go on to someone else.
Winner: Big Show
Predictions: 5 for 6

The penultimate match is a tag team match between 3MB and the team of Alberto Del Rio, The Miz and The Brooklyn Brawler(?) The match is quite short and the end comes when Miz hits Jinder Mahal  with the skull crushing finale and Brawler tags in. Brawler applies a really bad looking Boston crab on Mahal to get the win. The match was ok and that's it really.
Winners: The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and the Brooklyn Brawler.
Predictions: N/A

The main event was John Cena taking on Dolph Ziggler in a ladder match for the MITB briefcase. After Cena sends Ziggler to the outside, he gets hit with a chair to the gut. A ladder gets brought out for the first time and they start using against each other. Other highlights of the match include Ziggler applying a sleeper hold, yet Cena still having the strength to climb the ladder while this is happening before he passed out and them both going through a table; Cena applying the STF; and Ziggler getting out the AA to hit the Zig Zag. The end comes when it looks like Cena has the match won when AJ pushes the ladder, sending Cena flying. This gives Ziggler the oppportunity to climb the ladder and rightfully reclaim the briefcase that he shouldn't have to put up in the fucking first place. It was a good match and all I can say is thank God for AJ.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Predictions: 6 for 7

Even though it took me almost a month to get through it, I thought TLC was pretty good. The crowd, as always in New York, were brilliant, and most of the matches were really fun to watch. WWE has some emerging talent coming through and I hope they continue with that in 2013.