Monday 30 April 2012

WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Predictions


It’s time for the one night of the year where the WWE goes Extreme, which is taking at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. Only 6 games have been announced so far, so let’s look at the card.

The pre-show match on YouTube features Santino Marella defending his United States Championship against The Miz. I think that this could be a good match. However, I don’t think they would get a lot of time and I can’t The Most Must-See WWE Superstar in Miz-tory winning. Therefore, I think that Santino will retain.
Predicted Winner: Santino Marella

The Divas Championship as Beth Phoenix attempts to regain the title from Nikki Bella. The match they had on Monday was quite decent and, whilst I love Beth to get the title back, I don’t think that will happen. The fact that it’s a match between 2 heels doesn’t help things either. I think that Nikki will retain and there is a possibility that Kharma could return this night and destroy Nikki.
Predicted Winner: Nikki Bella

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line in a rematch from Wrestlemania as Cody Rhodes challenges The Big Show. The stipulations for this match will be decided by a roll of the wheel before the match. I don’t see the point of either guy being the Champion for some reason. Despite that, I think that Show will retain.
Predicted Winner: The Big Show

Randy Orton will take on Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match. This feud has gotten interesting over the last few weeks and I’m quite looking forward to this. I think that Orton will win and Kane will turn his hate onto someone else.
Predicted Winner: Randy Orton

The World Heavyweight Championship will be on line between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Sheamus has been decent as a champion and Bryan is more over than I thought possible. I would love for Bryan to continually scream “Yes!” as he regains the Championship. However, I think it’s more likely that Sheamus will retain in a match that had better last more than 18 seconds.
Predicted Winner: Sheamus

The WWE Championship will be defended in a Chicago Street Fight as Chris Jericho challenges home town boy CM Punk. Their match at Wrestlemania was really good and I hope that we get something similar here. I can’t see Punk losing in his home town so I think he’ll win and Jericho will win it at Over the Limit.
Predicted Winner: CM Punk

John Cena will take on Brock Lesnar in an Extreme Rules match. This will undoubtedly be a brutal match and entertaining. Whilst we will probably see glimpses of Super Cena, Brock has to win this match. Otherwise, what the fuck was the point?
Predicted Winner: Brock Lesnar

So there it is. I expect one or two bonus matches to be added, probably featuring Brodus Clay or Ryback. This could be a good event, so I hope you enjoy it and my review of the show will be up on Monday or Tuesday. 


Sunday 22 April 2012

TNA Lockdown 2012 Review (belatedly again!)


Even though it took place almost a week ago, I have now only managed to watch the event last night. Sorry about that, let’s start the review.

TNA Lockdown took place not from the Impact Wrestling Zone for once, but from the Nashville Municpal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. How will the event fare, and how many times will it become the Hulk Hogan Show? Let’s take a look.

The event starts with the Lethal Lockdown match (?) with Team Eric (Eric Bischoff, Bully Ray, Gunner, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) against Team Garrett (Garrett “Future of the Business” Bischoff, AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, Mr Anderson and Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now)). Apparently, the rules of a Lethal Lockdown match (if you give a fuck) are as follows: Two wrestlers start for the first 3 minutes, after that a wrestler enters in 2 minute intervals, and after the last wrestler enters, the top of the cage comes down with an assortment of weapons. Sounds simple enough; however, no one can gain a pin fall or submission until all the wrestlers are in the cage. I don’t get that but I don’t really care so let’s see how it goes.

The match starts with Garrett against Gunner with Garrett doing his usual array of basic wrestling moves. 
Gunner gets the advantage before Bully Ray enters the fray and they proceed to beat the crap out of Garrett 
then Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) comes in to even the odds. Kazarian (sporting a new 
haircut) comes in and does an impressive gutwrench suplex on Aries. Nothing much really happens over the 
next few minutes as AJ Styles, followed by Christopher Daniels, Mr Anderson, Eric Bischoff and
RVD enter the cage and the top containing the weapons is lowered. They all start beating the
crap out of each other, including a nice spot where RVD almost kicked a steel chair through
Bully’s head. Eric and Garrett are the last two standing (oh, God!) with Eric beating his son
with a kendo stick. Eventually, Garrett gets up, hits his dad with a guitar and gets the win.
The match was ok with some nice spots, however, this is the first time that I saw a Lethal
Lockdown match and I thought it would be better if it didn’t end with one just one fall. As for
the Bischoffs, they really let this match down. Eric cowered for most of the match and Garrett
spent at least half of the match in a heap. The thing that I found amusing was that Mike
Tenay said that Garrett earned the respect of his team mates. Well, if you think getting
respect is spending the half the match in a heap then, yeah, I guess he did. If Garrett wants to
become a wrestler, fine. He just needs to earn it and spend some time down in OVW or the
independent scene to learn his craft instead of taking time away from more talented wrestlers.
Winners: Team Garrett                                                                       Predictions: 1 for 1

Next the Tag Team Championships are on the line as the Motor City Machine Guns
challenge Samoa Joe and Magnus. The match goes back and forth with Samoa and Magnus
eventually wearing Chris Sabin down. Sabin gets a rest bite after hitting Joe with a Tornado
DDT and gets the hot tag to Alex Shelley and the Machine Guns dominate for a bit. Joe hits a
sleeper on Sabin but Shelley hits the Sliced Bread on Magnus, forcing Joe to break up the
pin. Magnus hits a Scoop Slam Piledriver on Shelley followed by Joe dropping Sabin onto
Shelley. Then Joe and Magnus followed that with their snapmare/flying elbow finisher to get
the win. This was a good match which I enjoyed. However, the crowd was quite quiet for this
match.
Winners: Samoa Joe and Magnus                                                       Predictions: 2 for 2

Devon defended his Television Championship against Robbie E. The bodyguard Robbie T
 refused to leave the cage so Devon decided to get him out himself. After that, the match
wasn’t anything special and Devon got the win with a Spinebuster. Afterwards, Robbie T
beat the crap out of Devon.
Winner: Devon                                                                                    Predictions: 3 for 3

The Knockouts Championship was on the line as Velvet Sky finally gets her rematch against
Gail Kim. Gail gets to dominate early before trying to splash Velvet against the turnbuckle
and missing and going into the cage. Velvet gets back into it with a bulldog and Gail tries to
 escape the cage. However, Velvet stops that with a sunset flip into a powerbomb from the
 top turnbuckle which gets a 2 count. Velvet gets into an argument with Gail’s lackey
Madison Rayne. Gail tries to escape the cage and is stopped by Velvet with a roll up.
However, Gail reverses it into another roll up and gets a hold of Velvet’s tights to get the
victory. Like all Knockout matches, I enjoy them a lot more than what the WWE produce
 right now. It was an entertaining contest and I sense a rematch between Gail and Velvet.
Winner: Gail Kim                                                                                Predictions: 4 for 4

Next we have Ric Flair come out? Ok, don’t know why but let’s see where this goes.
After boasting about how awesome he is, he tells everyone that he’s not happy with Hulk
Hogan with the whole Bischoff affair. Hogan comes out (yay, I guess?) and Flair states that
Eric was put into an impossible position by getting involved in the Lethal Lockdown and it
should have been Flair instead. Flair must have a bad memory as, if I remember correctly,
 Eric volunteered to be in the match and I rather have Eric in the match than a 62-year old
legend who shouldn’t be wrestling. Flair gets decked by Hogan then goes on a massive hissy
fit while Hogan looks on. If this leads to a match between the two, I have three words for
that: FUCK. THAT. SHIT.


Right, let’s get back to the wrestling. The next match was between Crimson and Matt Morgan in what I think will be a very physical match. The best bit about this contest as this does actually need a steel cage to contain these two. Crimson tries to escape the cage at every opportunity but is stopped by Morgan who then sends Cimson flying into the cage. With Crimson down, Morgan was practically out of the cage but decides to beat the crap out of Crimson some more (in terms of my predictions, thank God!) Crimson seizes the second chance given to Morgan by dominating the match for a little while. Morgan hits Crimson with a massive clothesline and starts to make a comeback. Morgan misses with a big boot and this gives the opportunity for Crimson to climb up the cage. Morgan tries to stop him but is kicked off the cage onto the top rope, landing and trapping his leg between the middle and the bottom rope. Crimson gives Morgan a goodbye kiss and climbs over the cage to get the win and stay undefeated. This was a decent match and I hope that Crimson will use the fact that he has been undefeated for over a year to get a title opportunity.
Winner: Crimson                                                                                 Predictions: 5 for 5

The next match has the potential to be the match of the night as Kurt Angle takes on Jeff Hardy. Angle used the cage as a weapon as he kept on throwing Hardy into it, busting him open. The match goes back and forth and Hardy tries to climb up the cage. However, Angle stops him and does an Angle Slam from the top rope giving Angle a 2 count. Hardy tries again to climb the cage and Angle tries to stop him. Hardy pushes him off and then does a splash to get a 2 count. Hardy decides to go out of the cage door and Angle hits the Ankle Lock, which Hardy counters into his own Ankle Lock. Hardy then hits the Twist of Fate followed by two Swanton Bombs. However, Angle still kicks out (what is this, Wrestlemania?)  Angle hits an Angle Slam only Hardy to kick out at 2. Angle tries another Angle Slam but it’s reversed into an Angle Slam by Hardy. Hardy then hits a Swanton Bomb from the top of the cage to finally get the win. Even though there were some spots that I expected, like the Swanton from the top of the cage, I really enjoyed this match. I loved the reversals that Hardy did and this could potentially be a contender for LDW Match of the Year (no, I’m serious), especially since Angle is carrying a leg injury.
Winner: Jeff Hardy                                                                              Predictions: 6 for 6

The penultimate match is for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship as the newly married ODB and Eric Young (?) defend their titles against Sarita and Rosita. We get the usual shit here with it basically becoming ODB vs Sarita and Rosita in a handicap match. ODB dominates to begin with then Rosita and Sarita starts to dominate and flirt with Young, prompting Young to look away. Rosita and Sarita focus too much on flirting with Young, giving ODB the chance to make a comeback and hit Rosita with the Bam to get the win.
Winners: ODB and Eric Young                                                          Predictions: 7 for 7
                                                                                                            (fucking hell!)

The main event is for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship as home town boy James Storm challenges his former friend and Beer Money partner Bobby Roode. Right, I’ve got all my predictions right so far. All I need is for Storm to win and I will be a very happy man. Roode decides to take his time getting into the cage so Storm goes “Fuck that!” and attacks him outside the cage. Storm is completely dominant and spits beer into Roode’s eyes. Roode starts to get the upper hand and busts Storm open after getting his head rammed into the cage. Roode rolls Storm into the cage, the match officially starts five minutes after it actually did, and Roode continues to beat the crap out of Storm. Storm does a comeback and busts Roode open after getting sent into the cage. Storm hits the Eye of the Storm to get a 2 count and Roode hits the Double A Spinebuster to get a 2 count. Storm then hits a Codebreaker followed by a Backstabber to only get a 2 count. The match goes back and forth and Roode hits a Crossface. Later on, Roode climbs up the cage and almost gets over before Storm stops him and drags Roode back in. They then alternate bashing each other’s head into the cgae while on the top rope. Roode falls off, giving Storm the opportunity to climb out. However, he then decides to hit Roode to do a top rope Codebreaker instead followed by a Last Call, in which Roode pulls referee Brian Hebner in the way to take the hit. Roode starts to go out of the cage door then gets Senior Referee Earl Hebner to grab him a beer bottle (er...why would the referee do that?)  Roode smashes the beer bottle over Storm, wasting good beer in the process, and makes the pin with Earl counting. However, Storm kicks out, shocking Roode who then gets a Last Call from Storm. Storm hits the Last Call again. However, Roode was by the cage door at the time and he gets kicked out of the cage, onto the floor and gets the win. Storm, you dumb fuck! Thanks to you, I don’t get what every person who predicts wrestling PPVs wants, a prefect prediction. I was so close. Argh!! Ah well, never mind. Obviously, Storm is gutted over what happened and gets consoled by his family,
Winner: Bobby Roode                                                                         Predictions: 7 for 8

I quite enjoyed Lockdown. Some of the wrestling was really good and I thought the match between Hardy and Angle was one of the best matches of the year so far. There were a couple of matches that I didn’t really care for and I thought the Bischoffs undeservedly took the spotlight for the Lethal Lockdown match.

As for the end of the Roode/Storm match, I’m torn about that. I’m getting pissed off with every TNA PPV ending in a dusty finish as I think that it is making Roode look like a weak Champion. However, I’m slightly ok with the finish as it shows that you need luck to stay the Champion and Storm let his emotion get the best of him, otherwise he would have won the match ages ago. Overall, a good PPV from TNA.

Monday 16 April 2012

TNA Lockdown 2012 Predictions


It’s time for another TNA PPV live from the Impact Wrestling Zone...wait. Sorry, I’ve been so used to all of TNA taking place in Orlando, that it’s become a force of habit to write that. Lockdown is actually taking place at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. There are 7 matches taking place on the card, all of them in a steel cage.

Robbie E will get his rematch for the Television Champion against champion Devon. It could be an entertaining contest but then again, it could not. I think that Devon will win and retain.
Predicted Winner: Devon

The Undefeated Crimson will take on Matt Morgan in what will be a brutal encounter. If this match wasn’t in a steel cage, I would have predicted that this match would have ended in a double count out o disqualification. If TNA play this right, this feud could go into the summer, so I’m going for Crimson to win this one and Morgan getting his revenge some time in the near future.
Predicted Winner: Crimson

Eric Young and ODB will defend their Knockout Tag Team Championship against Rosita and Sarita. Yeah...I can’t get up for this match as I don’t care for the Eric Young/ODB angle and I hate the way that Eric Young always grapples the referee. Anyway, expect Young and ODB to win this one.
Predicted Winners: Eric Young and ODB

Velvet Sky will finally get her rematch against Gail Kim for the Knockouts Championship. With Madison “Screamer” Rayne, Gail does have a strong advantage but Velvet can do it. This is a tough one to call and I think that Gail will retain and Velvet will win the Championship another time.
Predicted Winner: Gail Kim

Kurt Angle will once again take on Jeff Hardy in what could be the match of the night. The fact that it’s in a steel cage does open up a lot more possibilities for them. I think that Hardy will do some amazing spot from the top of the steel cage to help him get the victory.
Predicted Winner: Jeff Hardy

The Tag Team Championships are on the line as the Motor City Machine Guns make their return to challenge Samoa Joe and Magnus. I have liked Joe and Magnus as Champions and this could be a great contest. I think that they will retain.
Predicted Winners: Samoa Joe and Magnus

Now to a match that I’m torn on: Team Eric (Eric Bischoff, Gunner, Bully Ray, Kazarian and Christopher Daniels) versus Team Garrett (Garrett “Future of the Business” Bischoff, AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, Mr Anderson and Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now)) in a Lethal Lockdown match (?) Most of the talent are great, especially Aries and Bully Ray, although I’m not happy that Aries is now a good guy. However, I don’t give a fuck about the outcome of this match as either Eric or Garrett will leave TNA if they lose. I don’t like Eric because of his huge ego; and I don’t like Garrett because I hate the fact that he is getting a big push at the expense of more talented wrestlers. With the amount of talent involved, there is no way that this cannot be a fun match. I think that Team Garrett will win and Eric will be “wished well on his future endeavours”
Predicted Winners: Team Garrett

Now to the main event, James Storm in his home state will challenge his former Beer Money partner Bobby Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Storm will get a lot of support from the audience and will be overwhelming favourite. With the steel cage, Roode will find it hard to find some way to weasel out of it and he may have to win clean (big thing to say, I know). However, the potential of a great story has been ruined by the Hulk Hogan Show over the last month and if he doesn’t get involved in this match, I will be very surprised. My Shenanigans Sense is tingling wildly in this match and I hope that we have a good and entertaining contest that ends cleanly and have James Storm become the World Heavyweight Champion.
Predicted Winner: James Storm

As always, I won’t get to see the event until Wednesday evening so I will post up a review on Thursday. I hope you enjoy the show.


Monday 9 April 2012

When did TNA Become the Hulk Hogan Show?

It's Impact Wrestling starring just Hulk Hogan


With work and Wrestlemania, I have only now managed to catch up with what’s happening with Impact since Victory Road and it seems to have all its focus on one man.

The Thursday after Victory Road, Sting decides to leave his position as General Manager and become a full time wrestler. He recommends to Dixie Carter that his replacement be Hulk Hogan. Yes, the same Hulk Hogan who had a similar position of power a couple of years ago who then went on to ally with Eric Bischoff to form Immortal. Hulk Hogan was offered the position and decided to make his decision next week. At the end of the following week’s Impact, Hogan finally accepted the position. This week, Hogan became General Manager and made a couple of matches for Lockdown, which prompted Ric Flair to think that Hogan was out of control. All throughout Impact, he is either featured on the show or mentioned six times. I mean, what the fuck?!

I understand that a change of General Manager, especially when it’s Hulk Hogan, is a big deal. It doesn’t need it to be the main story on the show. If you compare this to what is happening in the WWE, it’s not a big deal. John Laurinaitis (did you know he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the General Manager of both RAW and Smackdown?) has just become the most powerful man in WWE after Vince McMahon. I agree that it is a big deal but is it the main focus of the show? No, it isn’t. TNA could have made this storyline go for just one episode. You could have Sting announce that he’s resigning as General Manager and he has already offered the position to a friend. Hogan comes out and convinces Dixie Carter to let him take the job. There you go, instead of spending 2 weeks about Hogan, it could be done in 5 minutes and you could spend the rest of the time on, I don’t know, developing other storylines.

TNA are going into one of their flagship PPVs this Sunday with the potential of a tremendous story going into it. James Storm is finally getting his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship against his former Beer Money Inc partner Bobby Roode. This is a story about a person who was betrayed by his former partner not once but twice, who now has the chance to gain revenge in his home state of Tennessee. However, that’s not the main story. It’s Hulk Hogan once again feeding his ego at the expense of others. TNA has a talented group of wrestlers and it would be nice if they take a little bit of the focus that they have on Hogan and use it on their roster.

Saturday 7 April 2012

Fav Five: March 2012


It’s time for the Fav Five for March. I would like to point out that this is based on what happened before Wrestlemania.

5. John Cena
In the feud between Cena and The Rock, I feel that Cena has outperformed him at almost every turn. It seems a little bit that Rock is trying too hard while Cena is just doing it naturally.
4. Dolph Ziggler
Over the last few months, I have grown to really like Dolph Ziggler. I love his Show Off gimmick with the theme music; and, although I like Z! True Long Island Story, I look forward to Ziggler’s “Ask the Heel” segment. Ziggler is a joy to watch in the ring and is, at the minute, the best seller in the WWE.
3. John Laurinaitis
John Laurinaitis (did you know that he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the interim GM of RAW?), while down from the number 2 position, is still fun to watch. I know that some people don’t like how he says things and the mistakes he makes, but that’s what I love about him.
2. Cody Rhodes
Cody, while a great wrestler, is in the Fav Five for his brilliant videos showing Big Show’s Wrestlemania Lowlights over the last few weeks. I wasn’t really into his feud with Show but the videos have made me interested.
1. Daniel Bryan
The man can do no wrong. He is the best thing to watch on Smackdown right now and his relationship with AJ can be compared to the relationship between Macho Man Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. I know I’m basing my Fav Five on what happened before Wrestlemania, but the interview that he did in the Pre Show was hilarious.

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Wrestlemania XXVIII Review


It’s Wrestlemania baby! Wrestlemania XXVIII is taking place at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, home of the Miami Dolphins in the first outdoor Wrestlemania since Wrestlemania XXIV. How good will this Wrestlemania be? Let’s take a look.

Before the show, I watched the dark match that was on wwe.com, which was Epico and Primo defending their Tag Team Championships against the Usos and the team of Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd. This was a really fun match with the highlights including Jey Uso throwing Epico up in the air for Jimmy Uso to catch him and do a Samoan Drop; and Tyson Kidd’s tremendous athleticism. The end of the match was when one of the Usos bodysplashed Gabriel, and Epico pulled him off and hit the Backstabber to get the win. I really enjoyed the match and it would be nice if the WWE put a bit more effort into their Tag Team Division.
Winners: Epico and Primo                                                      Predictions: N/A

After we get Lillian Garcia signing America the Beautiful, we open with the World Heavyweight Championship match?? I know they did this last year but the WWE are doing that again? I know it’s normally a great way to open a PPV with a title match but you could have used the Tag Team Championship match for that. Anyway, back to the event. Daniel Bryan defends his title against the Royal Rumble winner Sheamus and I’ve been looking forward to this match as this could be a dark horse for match of the night. I loved the beginning when Bryan made his entrance and the crowd were chanting “yes” at him. The bell rings and Bryan gets a good luck kiss from AJ, turns round and Sheamus practically brogue kicks Bryan’s head off and gets the win?! Wait, what?! That lasted what 15,20 seconds?! Ok, just give me a minute to digest this...

Ok, WHAT THE FUCK WWE?!?!?! ARE YOU TRYING TO PISS ME OFF?! REALLY?! REALLY?! Was WWE inspired by the beginning of TNA Victory Road this year and decided that it would be a good idea to apply that logic to the opening of their biggest event of the year?! What the FUCK?!  This just makes everyone look incredibly stupid. It makes Sheamus not look like he deserved to win it, and Bryan look like a weak Champion. This is complete and utter bullshit and not a good way to start not just any PPV but the biggest one of the year. I need to reluctantly read the dirtsheets but one of these motherfuckers had better be too injured to compete and that was why the WWE had to shit all over this match. Right rant over, the rest of the PPV had better be fucking amazing otherwise I will be not a happy chappy.
Winner: Sheamus                                                                    Predictions: 1 for 1

After an entertaining segment with Team Johnny, which cheered me up slightly, we get Randy Orton against Kane. Great, after getting pissed off with the first match, I now get one that I not really looking forward to. Kane goes for the Chokeslam early on but Orton gets out of it before Kane gets back the momentum. After a while, Orton does his patented DDT and tries to go for the RKO but Kane counters with a big boot. Kane hits a Chokeslam but Orton kicks out at 2. Kane then hits a Chokeslam from the second rope and gets the win. This match was actually pretty decent and after the clusterfuck of a beginning, it has now made me look forward to whatever match is next.
Winner: Kane                                                                          Predictions: 1 for 2

After a backstage segement involving Santino Marella, Mick Foley, Ron Simmons and some guy that I don’t know; the next match is for the Intercontinental Championship as Cody Rhodes is challenged by the Big Show. Rhodes immediately leaves and Show goes after him and throws Rhodes back into the ring. Rhodes takes advantage of a missed avalanche splash to go on the attack. Rhodes hits the disaster kick but it doesn’t knock Show down so he tries again and gets hit with a spear instead. Show then hits the WMD to get the win and become Intercontinental Champion. This was a decent match with strong performances from both Show and Cody.
Winner: Big Show                                                                   Predictions: 2 for 3

Hey, it’s time for a bathroom break as it’s the Divas match. I’m kidding, I’m staying for this one as Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres take on Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos(?)Still don’t know who Maria is but at the minute, I don’t really care. I have to admit, this match was slightly better than I thought it would be. The end comes when Beth had Maria up in the air, Kelly pulls Maris down and Maria does a roll up on Beth for the victory. It was a decent match with a decent amount of time. However, ironically enough I was not happy about it but I’ll get onto that at the end.
Winners: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos                            Predictions: 3 for 4

After an interview with Shawn Michaels, we get good old Jim Ross down to ringside to commentate. Yay!  And Cole is not acting like a dick towards him for once. It’s always nice to see JR commentate once again.

Now we get to the End of an Era as The Undertaker is going for 20-0 against Triple H with Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest Referee. Undertaker reveals his new haircut which doesn’t really bother Triple H. The cell is lowered and the match begins. Early on, both guys keep on sending each other into the cell. Michaels tries to look at HHH’s eye to see if he is bleeding but Undertaker pushes him away and continue his assault on HHH. HHH eventually hits a DDT to slow Undertaker’s momentum. HHH tries to do a Pedigree on the steel steps but Undertaker reversed it into a back body drop.  However, HHH gets some momentum after doing an Double A Spinebuster (one of my favourite moves) landing Undertaker onto the steel steps. Undertaker then puts on the Hell’s Gate but HHH reversed it into a powerbomb. HHH attacks Undertaker with a chair and  keeps on attacking him despite Michaels pleas for HHH to stop. HHH starts saying to Michaels that either Michaels should end the match or he will.

HHH brings out the sledgehammer and hits Taker in the head but it only gets a 2 count. HHH tries to hit Taker in the head with the sledgehammer but Michaels pulls it off him. Michaels starts to think about ending the match but Taker puts him in the Hell’s Gate and is stopped by HHH; then HHH is put in the Hell’s Gate and passes out. However, due to Michaels being temporarily incapacitated, the match doesn’t end. Referee Charles Robinson runs in and Taker hits a Tombstone but that only gets 2. Taker doesn’t take that too well and Chokeslams Robinson. Taker goes for another Tombstone, HHH gets out of it and pushes Taker into a Sweet Chin Music followed by a Pedigree, and yet that only gets 2. Michaels starts to get a bit emotional. HHH grabs the sledgehammer and throws Michaels out of the ring. Taker suddenly sits up and beats the crap out of HHH, ending with another Tombstone. However, that only gets a 2 count.

Both guys start punching each other and HHH hits another Pedigree to get a 2 count. Taker grabs a chair and stops HHH from grabbing the sledgehammer Taker destroys HHH with the chair and gets a 2 count out of it. Michaels is pleading with them to end the match, but to no avail. After a defiant gesture by HHH, Taker hits him in the head with the sledgehammer followed by a third Tombstone to get the win and go 20-0. This was an awesome match with a tremendous story. I especially thought Michaels’ role in this match was superb. Michaels probably only wanted to be in the match to feed his own ego. However, he realised very quickly he was out of his depth HHH and Taker were willing to go to finish each other off. Michaels played his role to perfection and the Sweet Chin Music/Pedigree combo made me think for a second that HHH was going to win. It was a match that thoroughly deserved to be the End of an Era and it was a great sight to see them all together at the entrance.
Winner: Undertaker                                                                            Predictions: 4 for 5

Next we see the Hall of Fame Class of 2012 and a little segment in which the One Man Contraband Rock Band Heath Slater gets owned by singer Flo Rida.

The next match is Team Johnny (The Miz, Mark Henry, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Captain David Otunga) taking on Team Teddy (Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, The Great Khali, Booker T, Zack Ryder and Captain Santino Marella) for control of WWE. Some of the highlights include the beginning with Kofi and Dolph, Henry dominating Booker, and R-Truth and Kofi doing suicide somersaults to most of Team Johnny. Booker gets the hot tag to Santino, who dominates the Miz. Santino then tags in Zack, who hits the Rough Ryder on Ziggler (Ziggler once again selling it like he was thrown out of a car). Zack then tries to kick Miz in the head and Eve Torres joins in. The ref gets Eve out of the ring, and when Zack protests, the Miz takes advantage and hits the Skull Crushing Finale to get the win for Team Johnny. Afterwards, Eve kicks Zack in the crotch. I would feel sorry for Zack but I did warn the fucker. This was a fun match and I now have to write “John Laurinaitis (did you know that he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the General Manager of both RAW and Smackdown?)”
Winners: Team Johnny                                                                       Predictions: 5 for 6

Next was the WWE Championship match between Chris Jericho and CM Punk. Before the match, John Laurinaitis (did you know that he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the General Manager of both RAW and Smackdown?) added the stipulation that if Punk gets disqualified, he would lose the WWE title. Ok, I didn’t think that was necessary but I’ll go with it. The match starts with Jericho trying to get Punk disqualified. After Jericho taunts Punk about his family, Punk grabs a chair but refrains from using it and that is when Jericho starts to take control. Punk tries to get back into the match but Jericho pulls him off the turnbuckle. A little later on, Punk hits the running knee and tries to do the bulldog. However, Jericho slams Punk to the floor and goes for the Lionsault, which Punk puts his knees up to. However, Jericho takes advantage and tries to go for the Walls of Jericho but Punk powers out of it. Jericho counters a Macho Man elbow drop by Punk and hits the Codebreaker, which sends Punk rolling out of the ring. Punk recovers and hits the GTS but Jericho gets his foot on the rope. Jericho then hits the Lionsault but Punk kicks out at 2. Punk tries to hit a top rope hurracarana but Jericho manages to turn it into the Walls of Jericho but Punk gets to the bottom rope. Jericho hits another Codebreaker but Punk kicks out at 2. Punk tries a couple of times to hit the GTs but each time Jericho had managed to counter it. Punk then tries the GTS again. However, Jericho countered it into the Liontamer version of the Walls of Jericho. Punk manages to get out of it and apply the Anaconda Vice yet Jericho gets out of it by kneeing Punk in the back of the head. Jericho goes once again for the Walls of Jericho but Punk applies the Anaconda Vice again and this time, Punk changes position so that Jericho can’t knee him in the back of the head. Eventually, Jericho taps out, giving Punk the victory. This was a really good match and I really enjoyed Jericho trying to goad Punk early on and the numerous counters that took place.
Winner: CM Punk                                                                   Predictions: 5 for 7

Next we get a fun segment with the Funkasaurus Brodus Clay, involving the Funkettes Cameron and Naomi, along with Mama Clay and her bridge club. It was a nice short little segment to keep everyone’s spirits up.

Now it’s the match billed as “Once in a Lifetime” as The Rock takes on John Cena. The artist MGK sings his song “Invincible” and pisses off the crowd when he announces that Cena will win this match. Cena comes out with a new green T-Shirt (Christ, again?). Next we had Flo Rida perform his songs “Good Feeling” and “Wild Ones” to help introduce The Rock. I appreciate what the WWE are trying to do, but I don’t think we need a mini concert to introduce the wrestlers.

Anyway, after the musical interlude, the match finally gets underway. It starts with a lock up and Cena pushes Rock off. We get another lock up and Rock pushes Cena off. The crowd was really up for this match and Rock does a inside cradle for 2, surprising Cena. Rock tries to go for the Sharpshooter but Cena scoots out of the ring to regroup. Cena starts to attack Rock’s ribs, bouncing him off the announce table. This is where Cena starts to dominate the match for a while. Cena uses a bearhug (haven’t seen that move in a few years) which Rock powers out of before hitting a DDT. Rock hits a Spinebuster then goes for the People’s Elbow. However, Cena tries to go for the STF but was unsuccessful. Rock starts punching Cena, but Cena hits the AA for a 2 count. Rock hits the Rock Bottom but Cena kicks out at 2. Cena hits a top rope fameasser for 2. Rock slaps on the Sharpshooter twice but Rock didn’t realise that Cena doesn’t submit. Ever. Cena gets to the bottom rope and Cena hits the STF again and Rock looks like he passes out so the referee does the much missed 3 arm count. Rock keeps his arm on the 3rd count. After a late flurry, Rock hits the Spinebuster followed by the People’s Elbow but Cena kicks out at 2. Cena tries to do a superplex but Rock pushes him off. Rock does a crossbody  but Cena manages to keep hold of the Rock, lift him onto his shoulders and do the AA. Rock, to Cena’s shock, kicks out at 2. Cena then decides to mock the Rock by doing a People’s Elbow. However, Rock jumps up and hits the Rock Bottom to get the victory. Holy fucking shit!!! I know it’s Rock’s home town but I didn’t think that he would actually win. This match had a lot of hype going into it and I think it delivered. However, I didn’t really like the ending as I felt that Cena mocking the People’s Elbow didn’t fit in with Cena’s character. It felt like something the Rock would do, mocking something like the 5 knuckle shuffle. Despite that, I really enjoyed the match and a good way to end the PPV
Winner: The Rock                                                                               Predictions: 5 for 8

 I have mixed feelings about this Wrestlemania. As I mentioned last year in my Summerslam review, this event is not being compared to the last PPV but the last Wrestlemania as well. I don’t really think that this year’s Wrestlemania was better than either Wrestlemania XXVIIor Elimination Chamber. That’s not because of the matches as most of them were enjoyable to watch and I think the Undertaker/HHH is an early contender for LDW Match of the Year. I just wish that they would cut down on some of the segments, some of which wasn’t necessary.

However, the event was mainly ruined for me by the clusterfuck of a first match. I feel really sorry for Sheamus and Daniel Bryan as they seemed to get fucked over at Wrestlemania. Last year, their United States Championship match was relegated to the dark match, which developed into a clusterfuck of a battle royal. This year was even worse with an 18 second opening match. I was looking forward to that match and the WWE really fucked over not just me, but a lot of fans in attendance and on TV. What WWE did really put me in a foul mood (as evidenced by my rant earlier) and I found it really hard to get up for it until the Undertaker match. I might look at this event a lot more fondly in a few years. Unfortunately, one of the most abiding memories will be the first match and how it managed to ruin a great atmosphere.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Wrestlemania XXVIIII Predictions


It’s Wrestlemania baby! The Showcase of the Immortals! The Grand Daddy of Them All etc etc. The card for this looks stacked so let’s take a look.

Randy Orton will take on Kane in a feud that doesn’t really make sense to me. The reason that Kane is after Orton is because after a match between the two last July, Kane offered his hand to Orton. If that was the case, why did Kane attack Cena first when he returned? You know what, I don’t really care. Anyway, I expect Randy Orton to win this one.
Predicted Winner: Randy Orton

Cody Rhodes will be defending his Intercontinental Championship against the Big Show. This is the first time that the Intercontinental Championship has been defended at Wrestlemania in 4 years. I have loved Cody’s videos showing Show’s Wrestlemania lowlights. I would love to see Cody retain his title; however, I think that Big Show will become the Intercontinental Champion for the first time.
Predicted Winner: Big Show

Team Teddy will take on Team Johnny for control of both RAW and Smackdown. It’s a shame it’s not a Survivor Series type match as that could be an entertaining contest. I think that Team Johnny as I can’t see any value of Team Teddy winning. If he does, it looks like we will be having a lot of tag team matches, playa.
Predicted Winners: Team Johnny

Divas Champion Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres will take on Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos. Ok, I have a few questions about this match:
·         Who is Maria Menounos?
·         When the fuck did Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres join forces?
·         When did Natalya and Beth end the Legion Divas of Doom?
·         Why should I care about this match? Seriously, why should I?
Thanks to the WWE fucking the Divas around, I expect this match to last less than 5 minutes. Due to the fact that a celebrity is involved, Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos will win this one.
Predicted Winners: Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos

Sheamus will challenge Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship. I think that Bryan has been an excellent Champion over the last few months and Sheamus has been looking strong since he won the Royal Rumble. This is a tough one to call but I think that Sheamus will be the first Royal Rumble winner since the Undertaker in 2007 to become World Heavyweight Champion.
Predicted Winner: Sheamus

It’s the End of an Era as the Undertaker will go for 20-0 against Triple H in Hell in a Cell. Even though I’m a big Triple H fan, I wasn’t looking forward to Undertaker vs Triple H III. However, the story going into it and the fact that it’s in Hell in a Cell has made this a very intriguing contest. Plus there is the Shawn Michaels factor as he is the special guest referee and it’s all down to him. Whilst Michaels has beef with both of them, I hope he does what Triple H did when he refereed the Cena/Punk match at Summerslam and stay neutral throughout. I think that this will be a great match and, although they may be times when you think Triple H will win the match, I fully expect Undertaker to win and to go 20-0.
Predicted Winner: Undertaker

The WWE Championship is on the line as “Best in the World” CM Punk defends the title against “Best in the World in Everything he does” Chris Jericho. I know a lot of people are going to Wrestlemania to see Rock vs Cena; however, this has the ability to be the match of the night. The feud for this has been ok with Jericho playing the personal card to get under Punk’s skin, which I don’t mind. However, I just don’t think it’s necessary. This is a really tough one to call. I would be happy with both these guys winning. I’m going for Jericho to win this and become the new WWE Champion.
Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho

The main event (obviously) will be The Rock taking on John Cena in the match billed as “Once in a Lifetime”. The feud has been slowly simmering for over a year and, whilst it may have dropped the ball sometimes, I, along with millions of people, am really looking forward to it. This will be an exciting match and John Cena has to win this, he just has to.
Predicted Winner: John Cena

Whilst I’m looking forward to this, I won’t get to see all of it til Monday night. I hope you enjoy the show and I’ll post my review late Monday night.

My Favourite Matches Series: Wrestlemania VIII

It's time for another match in My Favourite Matches Series and it's my favourite match. The match between Ric Flair and Macho Man Randy Savage for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania VIII is an underrated classic that should be high up on eveyone's list.

Wrestlemania VIII: Ric Flair vs Macho Man Randy Savage