Saturday 31 March 2012

Top 10 Wrestlemania Moments


With Wrestlemania coming up, a lot of people will be compiling their top Wrestlemania matches. I thought I would do something different by doing a list of the top 10 Wrestlemania moments. There have been many amazing moments but here, in my opinion, are the best.

10. The Two Champions
Chris Benoit vs Shawn Michaels vs Triple H, Wrestlemania XX
The circumstances of Chris Benoit’s death may have ruined this moment and it may have   been higher up the list, but it’s still a great moment. Having two friends, who WCW never really thought of as being main eventers, being WWE world champions in the ring, was a very emotional moment if you were fans of both Guerrero and Benoit and it was a great way to end the show.

9.  “Tyson! Tyson! Tyson!”
Shawn Michaels vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Wrestlemania XIV
This match has been deemed as the birth of the Attitude Era and it was Shawn Michaels’ last match for over 4 years. The ending had a surprising twist. Mike Tyson, who was the special enforcer, had aligned himself with D-Generation X and Michaels must have thought that the match was in the bag. However, Tyson turned on Michaels and Stone Cold won the title. Understandably Michaels didn’t take it too well and got knocked out by Tyson prompting Jim Ross to scream: “Tyson! Tyson! Tyson!”

8. “What About Me?!”
Ric Flair vs Macho Man Randy Savage, Wrestlemania VIII
This was the end of possibly my favourite Wrestlemania match. Savage had just defeated Flair to become the WWF Champion in dubious circumstances. While Elizabeth is congratulating Savage, Flair grabs her and starts screaming “What about me?!” before kissing her. Elizabeth does not take that well and starts hitting Flair, then Savage joins in resulting in chaos for a few minutes.

7. “You Are Not Real!!”
Kane vs Undertaker, Wrestlemania XX
Kane had previously buried the Undertaker, under his Dead Man biker gimmick, a few months later. Despite Kane’s assurance that Undertaker was dead, there were blatantly obvious signs that that weren’t to be the case. At Wrestlemania XX, we saw the return of the original Undertaker, prompting Kane to scream that what he saw wasn’t real.

6. Best. Cameo. Ever.
Ric Flair vs Undertaker, Wrestlemania XVIII
For a person who has been wrestling for over 40 years, this was only Ric Flair’s second Wrestlemania match and his first for 10 years. Before this match, Undertaker had been attacking Flair’s friends and family. One of those was Arn Anderson, who got his revenge by helping out Flair with a Double-A Spinebuster on the Undertaker. It was a brilliant cameo with Anderson running in, hitting the move and running out again.

5. Macho King and Miss Elizabeth Reunited
Macho King Randy Savage vs the Ultimate Warrior, Wrestlemania VII
Macho King had just been forced into retirement by the Ultimate Warrior and Sensational Queen Sherri, understandably kinda out of a job, starts to beat on him. Elizabeth, who was watching the match in the crowd, comes into the ring and gets Sherri. After a few tense moments, Savage and Elizabeth embrace to the cheers of the Los Angeles crowd.

4. Triple H’s Tombstone Piledriver
Triple H vs the Undertaker, Wrestlemania XXVII
This match was a contender for the LDW Match of the Year and this moment was one of reasons why. The match had been going back and forth and Triple H was starting to dominate. When he did the Tombstone Piledriver and then imitated the way that the Undertaker would normally pin someone was a great and shocking moment and made me believe for a second that Triple H was actually going to win the match.

3. Fire at Wrestlemania?!
Edge vs Mick Foley, Wrestlemania XXII
Edge and Mick Foley probably had one of the best hardcore matches ever at Wrestlemania with possibly one of the most shocking endings that I have ever seen. The end of the match had Edge spearing Foley from the edge of the ring through a table that was on the floor. What made that ending go from “Cool!” to “Oh My God!!” was the fact that the table was, thanks to Lita, on FIRE!! Fair play to WWE for letting them use fire in a dangerous segment in their flagship event.

2. The Bodyslam
Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant, Wrestlemania III
This had a great story going into it with Andre, who had been undefeated for 15 years but had never been champion, turning heel against his best friend in Hogan and getting the chance to become WWE Champion. The match might not have been a technical masterpiece but it had possibly the most iconic moment in wrestling by Hogan, at the second attempt, bodyslamming Andre, ending the undefeated streak. A bodyslam is a simple move but the fact that it was done to a man who was over 550lbs makes it impressive and a great sight to behold.

1.      “I’m Sorry, I Love You”
Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair, Wrestlemania XXIV
This is quite possibly the most emotional moment that I ever had as a wrestling fan. I didn’t see Wrestlemania XXIV live but I watched it the week after and it was a great match. This would have been the main event but Ric didn’t want it that way as he wanted the champions to be on last. The ending was absolutely brilliant. Shawn Michaels being hesitant in hitting the Sweet Chin Music; Ric, although knowing that it was over, still putting up a fight, and Shawn just looking at him saddened saying those 5 words: “I’m sorry, I love you” just before he Sweet Chin Music-ed him into “retirement”. Watch the end of that match and I dare you not to have at least a tear in your eye, like I did.

The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012


As is now the tradition of Wrestlemania, the night before, WWE honours those people who have made a lasting impact on the wrestling world by inducting them into the Hall of Fame. Here is the class of 2012:

Mil Mascaras
 I have to be honest, I’m not much of a wrestling historian so I had to look Mascaras up on Wikipedia. Mascaras is one of the most famous luchadore wrestlers of all time who appeared in the WWE in the early 80’s and made a guest appearance at the 1997 Royal Rumble. He will be inducted by his nephew Alberto Del Rio.

The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and JJ Dillon)
The Four Horsemen were iconic images from the 1970s to late 1990s. There were many incarnations of the group but this is the one that is probably the most famous. They were all talented wrestlers, managed by one of the greatest managers of all time in JJ Dillon. From my personal viewpoint, I only saw little bits of Windham’s career and I saw Anderson and Blanchard as the Brainbusters from old WWF tapes that I used to have. As for Flair, what more can I say about him? The man is, along with Sting, the personification of WCW; and some of his matches that he had in his last WWE run when he was in his 50s were some of my favourite matches of all time. Flair is one of the best guys on the mic as well and my enduring memory of that was when he did an interview after he lost the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania VIII. Flair will make history when he becomes the first double inductee into the Hall of Fame and they will be inducted by Dusty Rhodes.

Ron Simmons
My memory was when he was with the Acolytes with John Bradshaw Layfield and I loved it when they formed the Acolyte Protection Agency with the door frame and beer and poker table. However, Simmons enduring legacy was when, in 1992, he defeated Vader to become the first African-American to become WCW World Heavyweight Champion. The WWF didn’t have their 1st black WWF Champion for another 6 years when The Rock (who is half black and half Samoan) won it at the 1998 Survivor Series. Simmons will be inducted by JBL.

Mike Tyson
Tyson may be a controversial person but you can’t deny the impact that he had in the WWF. Tyson made a brief appearance a few years ago but he is more famous for being the Special Enforcer at Wrestlemania XIV when Shawn Michaels defended the WWF Championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Tyson will be inducted by Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

Yokozuna
This is a tough one. My memories until recently were a man who lost control of his weight problems that died in a hotel room in my current hometown of Liverpool. A twitter buddy of mine Nick (@nacgator) has wanted to see Yokozuna in the Hall of Fame for years. However, I couldn’t see the reasons why. I decided to look at some of his old Wrestlemania matches and oh my God, I can see it now. Yokozuna came into the WWF with Mr Fiji as his manager and just destroyed everyone, resulting in him defeating Bret Hart at Wrestlemania IX to become WWF Champion (we’ll ignore what happened after that).  Yokozuna left the WWF in 1998 after winning 2 WWF Championships and 2 Tag Team Championships (with Owen Hart) but what I remember now is the tremendous athleticism that he had for a man of his size. He is most definitely worthy of a place in the Hall of Fame and I hope that Nick is very happy and, more importantly, can forgive me for not seeing the reasons why sooner. Nick will be at the ceremony himself along with his buddies from the Future Endeavors Show and I hope he enjoys the moment.

Yokozuna will be inducted by his cousin Rikishi and Rikishi’s sons, the Usos.

Edge
I know some people have argued about how soon this is but there’s no waiting period like other Hall of Fames so, shut up. Edge is one of my favourite wrestlers of all time. From the Brood to Edge and Christian to the Ultimate Opportunist to Rated-RKO to the Rated R Superstar to La Familia, Edge has had a stellar career that was tragically cut short due to injury. Edge has been in some of the greatest tag team matches of all time (the TLC matches along with the Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz) and at Wrestlemania 22, probably the best hardcore match of all time with Mick Foley. For me, I especially loved it when Edge and Christian would do their 5 second poses for “the benefit of those with flash photography” and I always mention Edge’s manual “How to be the Ultimate Opportunist” when someone seizes an opportunity in my PPV reviews.

When Edge retired, he had won the inaugural Money in the Bank, the 2010 Royal Rumble, the 2001 King of the Ring, 14 Tag Team Championships, the United States Championship, the Intercontinental Championship 5 times, the WWE Championship 4 times and the World Heavyweight Championship 7 times. Edge had won a total of thirty-one Championships in ten years, more any other wrestler, and is well deserving of the Hall of Fame. Another twitter buddy of mine @Rhiannamator will be at the ceremony and, like Nick, I hope she enjoys the moment. Edge will be inducted by his best friend Christian.


Friday 30 March 2012

The Original Mr Wrestlemania


Shawn Michaels’ career is absolutely stellar that made him tagged “Mr Wrestlemania”. While I have no argument over that, I believe there was another wrestler before Michaels who could have the same moniker. That wrestler is the “Macho Man” Randy Savage.

Savage took part in Wrestlemanias II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and X. In most of those events, Savage had the best match of the night. A lot of people may have come to watch the Hulk Hogan match but I believe they would have left thinking what a great match Savage had. For example:
·         Wrestlemania III: Hulk Hogan was taking on Andre the Giant. However, Savage had the best match when he took on Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat for the Intercontinental Championship.
·         Wrestlemania IV: Everyone watched the show to see Hulk Hogan win the tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. However, they saw Savage defeat the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase to win the title.
·         Wrestlemania VII: Hulk Hogan was taking Sgt Slaughter for the WWF Championship. However, Savage had the best match when he faced the Ultimate Warrior in a retirement match.
·         Wrestlemania VIII: Hulk Hogan took on Sid Justice in the main event. However, Savage had the best match of the night when he defeated Ric Flair for the WWF Championship in my favourite Wrestlemania match.

Randy Savage is a tremendous wrestler who is one of the most iconic in the late 80’s and early 90’s. His Wrestlemania matches are among the best of all time and I hope that, one day, he will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.


Team Johnny vs Team Teddy




After Wrestlemania on Sunday, the fate of both RAW and Smackdown will be decided by only one man. Either Teddy Long or John Laurinaitis (did you know that he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the interim GM of RAW?) will be running both shows and it will be decided by a 12-man tag team match. Let’s look at the wrestlers involved in each team.

Team Johnny

David Otunga (captain)
Ironically, the captain of Team Johnny could be considered the weak link as he is the only one who had not won a singles title. The two-time Tag Team Champion could be the dark horse in this match.
Mark Henry
Mark Henry has been languishing around the mid card for years before deciding to put people into the Hall of Pain like a boss and becoming World Heavyweight Champion. His momentum may have stalled over the last few weeks since his return from injury. However, his match with The Great Khali proved how dangerous he can be.
Christian
Christian won the  Oh right, I forgot, Christian is injured for the match. Who’s his replacement again? Oh, yeah.
Drew McIntyre
A last minute replacement for the injured Christian has a lot to prove. The former Intercontinental Champion is very grateful to Laurinaitis for keeping him in a job so expect him to start to repay that in this match.
Jack Swagger
The former United States and World Heavyweight Champion is a tremendous talent and has been performing well since getting the services of Vickie Guerrero.
Dolph Ziggler
The Show Off has been amazing this year and will show everyone how awesome he is. Also, expect him to sell some moves like he’s been thrown out of a car at 80mph.
The Miz
The most must-see WWE Superstar in Miz-tory is finally on the Wrestlemania card after saving Laurinaitis from a cobra last Monday. This is the chance to show that his Wrestlemania main event last year was not a flash in the pan.

Team Teddy

Santino Marella (captain)
Santino is the only person taking place who is a current Champion. Santino has been impressive over the last few weeks and expect an entertaining performance.
Zack Ryder
I feel sorry for Zack. He was the breakout star of  2011 and he needs to evolve from that but I don’t think the WWE will let him. He could be the surprise package.
The Great Khali
Khali is only in this match as part of the deal to get Zack on the team and I don’t know what Teddy (or WWE) see in him. He’s a former World Heavyweight Champion but he is so immobile. The Big Show is one inch taller and almost 100 lbs heavier, yet he can move more than Khali can. Plus he only has like two moves. Expect Khali to slap his way through the match.
R-Truth
R-Truth is a talented wrestler and, although he is slightly insane, could be really useful in this match.
Kofi Kingston
Without a doubt, the most talented wrestler on the team. If Teddy has a chance of winning, he could be on the shoulders of Kofi.
Booker T
This was a surprise when Booker announced himself on the team. Booker is a 6 time World Champion and, although he doesn’t wrestle much, could be the dark horse in this match

Verdict
If we look at this as if this was a real life match, Teddy’s team has no chance. It seems like a bunch of misfits including a guy who (seriously) can’t wrestle. Johnny’s team has 4 former World Champions and the ability to destroy people. They have to win this. However, don’t write Teddy off. They only need one pinfall to win and they have the ability to pull that out of the bag.

Thursday 29 March 2012

The Undertaker's Streak


This Sunday, the Undertaker will face Triple H in a Hell in a Cell to try to continue his Wrestlemania streak to 20-0. The Undertaker’s matches at Wrestlemania have varied from awesome to decent to fucking terrible. The Undertaker over the years has developed into a fine wine. Let’s take a look at his matches

1-0              Wrestlemania VII                              Opponent: Superfly Jimmy Snuka
The Undertaker made his Wrestlemania debut by defeating Hall of Famer Jimmy Snuka in a short 4 minute match.
2-0              Wrestlemania VIII                            Opponent: Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Undertaker, who had recently turned face, took on his former ally in a decent match. Despite Jake hitting him with 2 DDTs, the Undertaker hit Jake with a Tombstone Pilderiver outside the ring to get the victory.
3-0              Wrestlemania IX                               Opponent: Giant Gonzalez
Er...yeah. Not much to say about this one. Gonzalez, in a bizarre hairy body suit, gets disqualified by knocking out the Undertaker with chloroform. Bit of a weird ending but hey, that’s the Undertaker on 3-0
4-0              Wrestlemania XI                               Opponent: King Kong Bundy
The story going into this match was that King Kong Bundy stolen the Undertaker’s urn, believed to be the source of his power, during a match with Irwin R Schyster. During the match, the urn was briefly returned to Paul Bearer before being stolen again by Kama about a minute later. Despite a strong effort by Bundy, the Undertaker was victorious
5-0              Wrestlemania XII                              Opponent: Diesel
This feud started when Diesel started interfering in the Undertaker’s matches from the Royal Rumble onwards. The Undertaker won the match with a Tombstone Piledriver.
6-0              Wrestlemania XIII                            Opponent: Sycho Sid
Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid in a clusterfuck of a match, which had Bret Hart get involved 3 times, to become WWF champion for only the second time
7-0              Wrestlemania XIV                            Opponent: Kane
This is probably one of the best Wrestlemania feuds that the Undertaker has ever been in. Paul Bearer, in May 1997, revealed that Undertaker’s brother, Kane, was coming for revenge. Kane finally made his debut in the first ever Hell in a Cell match when Undertaker was facing Shawn Michaels. Despite a very brief alliance, Kane put Undertaker in a casket then set it on fire at the Royal Rumble. The Undertaker returned a few weeks later to vow revenge. He was victorious after hitting Kane with three Tombstone Piledrivers.
8-0              Wrestlemania XV                              Opponent: Big Boss Man
This match stemmed from the feud between Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness and Mr McMahon’s Corporation. The match is generally deemed to be the worst Hell in a Cell of all time. After Undertaker wins with a Tombstone, he then proceeds to hang Boss Man.
9-0              Wrestlemania XVII                           Opponent: Triple H
This is the first Wrestlemania with the Undertaker’s biker persona. The story was really simple. Triple H comes out and says that he has beaten everyone. Undertaker comes out and states that Triple H has never beaten him. During the match, the referee gets knocked out and they have a long part where they go all over the arena. The match ends with Triple H receiving the Last Ride. This match is really good and is surprisingly underrated.
10-0          Wrestlemania XVIII                         Opponent: Ric Flair
The story of this match was that Flair, who was co-owner at the time, was unhappy with Undertaker’s  actions. Undertaker starts to target Flair’s family and friends, forcing Flair into a match. Despite a tremendous cameo by Arn Anderson, Flair could not do enough to defeat Undertaker when he lost to a Tombstone.
11-0          Wrestlemania XXIX                         Opponents: A-Train and The Big Show
This is Undertaker’s first tag team match at Wrestlemania and it will most probably be the last match. Undertaker was supposed to team up with Nathan Jones but it ended up being a handicap match. Jones does come in later on in the match to help out , and this gives Undertaker the chance to get the win by hitting A-Train with a Tombstone.
12-0          Wrestlemania XX                              Opponent: Kane (again)
Kane buried Undertaker alive at the 2003 Survivor Series. Despite Kane’s insistence that Undertaker was dead, there were signs that he was alive with some paranormal activities. Kane, therefore, requested the match at Wrestlemania. The Undertaker returned under his original gimmick and, despite receiving a Chokeslam from Kane, got the victory with a Tombstone.
13-0          Wrestlemania XXI                            Opponent: Randy Orton
While the streak had been mentioned by wrestlers and commentators alike, this is the first time that a match was formed with the streak as the basis for the storyline. Randy Orton was going through his “Legend Killer” gimmick and wanted to end the streak. The match was really good but Orton lost after he attempted to do a Tombstone Piledriver, which Undertaker reversed into his own.
14-0          Wrestlemania XXII                           Opponent: Mark Henry
This feud stated when Mark Henry interfered in a World Heavyweight Championship between Undertaker and Kurt Angle. As an act of revenge, Undertaker challenged Henry to a casket match.  During the match, Undertaker hits Henry with the Last Ride, followed by a Tombstone outside the ring. Henry was then pushed into the casket to give Undertaker the victory.
15-0          Wrestlemania XXIII                         Opponent: Batista
The Undertaker won the Royal Rumble that year and chose to challenge World Heavyweight Champion Batista. Batista put Undertaker through an announce table with a Spinebuster followed by 2 Batista Bombs. However, it was not enough as Undertaker became Champion when he hit Batista with a Tombstone. Undertaker made history when he became the first person to win both the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania.
16-0          Wrestlemania XXIV                         Opponent: Edge
The Undertaker became No. 1 contender to Edge’s World Heavyweight Championship after winning an Elimination Chamber match. Edge’s lackeys, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, tried to interfere and Edge hit Undertaker with a Spear. However, when Edge attempted to hit another Spear, Undertaker caught him with the Hell’s Gate to get the win and become World Heavyweight Champion.
17-0          Wrestlemania XXV                           Opponent: Shawn Michaels
This match had a unique story going into it as you had Shawn Michaels, John Bradshaw Layfield and Vladimir Kozlov all wanting to challenge the Undertaker. Michaels defeated them both and became Undertaker’s opponent. The match was absolutely brilliant with Michaels and Undertaker throwing everything they had at each other. Michaels attempted a Moonsault. However, Undertake caught him in mid air and reversed into a Tombstone piledriver to get the win.
18-0          Wrestlemania XXVI                         Opponent: Shawn Michaels (again!)
The story stemmed from last year’s match. It won the Slammy for best match and when Shawn Michaels accepted it, he challenged Undertaker for a rematch. He said no, so Shawn tried to win the Royal Rumble (Undertaker was World Heavyweight Champion at the time) but was eliminated by Batista. Michaels then forced the issue by Sweet Chin Music-ing Undertaker at Elimination Chamber, making him lose the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho. Undertaker finally accepted Michael’s challenge, as long as if Michaels lost, he would retire. The match was the highlight of the PPV and Undertaker won after hitting Michaels with a Tombstone.
19-0          Wrestlemania XXVII                        Opponent: Triple H (again!)
This story was also really simple. The Undertaker makes his return and Triple H makes his return at the same time and challenges him to a match, saying that he has done everything and the only left to do is to end the streak. This match was really enjoyable, including the shocking moment when Triple H hits Undertaker with a Tombstone. Despite destroying the Undertaker, Triple H gets caught in the Hell’s Gate and is eventually forced to submit. At the end, Undertaker had to taken out on a stretcher.


Monday 26 March 2012

Wrestlemania Week

 

It's Wrestlemania time baby, which will be taking place at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida. I'm looking forward to it not just because of the card, but because it's the first one that I'm covering as a blogger. In the lead up to Sunday, I'll be publishing the following articles:
  • A look at the wrestlers that are taking place in the Team Johnny versus Team Teddy match which will determine who will gain control of both RAW and Smackdown.
  • My top 10 Wrestlemania moments
  • A look at my favourite Wrestlemania match in My Favourite Matches Series
  • A look at the 2012 Hall of Fame
  • An article about a person who I believe could claim to be, along with Shawn Michaels, "Mr Wrestlemania"
  • A brief look at the Undertaker's streak.
  • The Wrestlemania XXVIII preview
I hope that you enjoy the following articles as we head into the biggest event of the year.


TNA Victory Road 2012 Review (belatedly!)


Victory Road took place last Sunday from the Impact Wrestling Zone (for a change). The last 2 have been pretty good so, will that continue? Let’s take a look.

We start with Bully “Calfzilla” Ray coming in and saying that he is holding the PPV hostage until his match against James Storm becomes a No. 1 contender’s match. Storm comes out and agrees to do so but he makes the match right now. Ray gets the upper hand and drinks some of Storm’s beer in order to spit it in Storm’s face. Unfortunately, that plan fails as Ray walks into a Last Call and loses the match. Well, that was quick! I was looking forward to this and instead we get a 2 minute joke of a match. I’m very disappointed with this and not a good way to start the PPV.
Winner: James Storm                                                              Predictions: 1 for 1

Next was the X-Division Championship as Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) took on Zema Ion. Early on in the match, Aries sends a tweet while Ion is on the outside. Ion hits a moonsault on Aries outside the ring, but he only gets a 2 count. Later on, Ion sprays Aries in the eyes and does a roll up but he only gets a 2 count. Ion tries to take advantage of Aries’ temporary blindness but Ion gets hit with a powerbomb from the top turnbuckle. Aries then, while still blinded, hits the Last Chancery to make Ion submit and retain the title. I really enjoyed this match and once again it showed why Aries is the best thing in TNA right now. Hopefully over the next few months, he will start to challenge for the World Championship.
Winner: Austin Aries                                                               Predictions: 2 for 2

Next was the Tag Team Championship match with Samoa Joe and Magnus being challenged by Crimson and Matt Morgan. This effectively becomes a handicap match with Crimson, despite Morgan’s pleas for a tag, dealing with Joe and Magnus by himself. For the most part, he handles them pretty well before eventually getting worn down. Morgan decides to take matters into his own hands, tags himself in and destroys Joe and Magnus. Crimson then tags himself in and after a few arguments, Crimson spears Morgan, giving Joe and Magnus the opportunity to get the victory. I felt that this match told a good story with Crimson and Morgan falling apart in front of our very eyes. I suspected that Crimson was going to turn heel eventually but hopefully his undefeated streak will actually lead to fucking something.
Winners: Crimson and Matt Morgan                                      Predictions: 3 for 3

Robbie E comes out for his open challenge and decides to extend it to the audience. After checking out some of them, he decides to cancel the challenge and do some posing instead. While posing, Robbie T notices Devon going through the crowd to accept the challenge. Despite Robbie E’s protests, the referee starts the match. It was pretty decent with a slightly bizarre cameo by Hulk Hogan’s daughter, Brooke. The end had Robbie E trying to take advantage of  Robbie T’s distraction to do a roll up and failing then Devon hitting a Spinebuster to become the new TV Champion. I thought the match was ok and I loved the bit beforehand. I find Robbie E slightly annoying sometimes but I liked his part in the whole thing here. I could be a cheeky bastard and use the “Divas Royal Rumble” rule to void the prediction (especially since I’m 3 for 3 at the moment) but I’m not going to. Congratulations to Devon on becoming the new TV Champion.
Winner: Devon                                                                        Predictions: 3 for 4

The Knockouts Championship was on the line as Gail Kim defended her title against Madison Rayne in could be an interesting match. During the match, Gail injuries Rayne’s right knee then starts to dominate resulting in a missile dropkick. Gail tries to hit Eat Defeat a couple of times but was unsuccessful. Eventually, she made third time lucky and gets the victory. This was a decent match, which is better than anything that you get in the WWE at the minute. As for Kim, I guess her friendship with Rayne is over.
Winner: Gail Kim                                                                    Predictions: 4 for 5

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian take on the team of Mr Anderson and AJ Styles. Anderson and Styles work well to begin with Styles doing a huge vertical suplex on Daniels. Eventually, Daniels and Kazarian start to wear Styles down. Eventually, Anderson gets the hot tag and tries to hit the Mic Check on Daniels. Styles blind tags himself in and Kazarian tries to hit the Fade to Black. However, Styles countered it into the Styles Clash to get him and Anderson the victory. I enjoyed the wrestling in this match as it has some entertaining high spots.
Winners: Mr Anderson and AJ Styles                                      Predictions: 4 for 6

The penultimate match was between Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle. This was a really good match with so many highlights, including Hardy hitting a Twist of Fate getting a near fall. The end had Hardy hitting the Swanton Bomb and attempting to pin Angle. However, Angle countered into a roll up and used leverage on the ropes to get the victory. Slightly miffed that Angle had to cheat to get the win but it doesn’t take away from what is, at the minute, the match of the night.
Winner: Kurt Angle                                                                 Predictions: 5 for 7

The main event was a non-title match between Sting and World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode. This was another good match with Sting really pushing Roode to the limit in a relatively brutal match. The end had Roode throwing a chair into the ring and setting it up. Roode tries to suplex Sting onto the chair. Sting counters it and hits Roode with a Scorpion Death Drop. However, in the process, he bangs his head onto the chair and knocks himself out..??  Wait, what? Then Roode pins Sting and gets the win?? Right, I’m seriously confused as to what the fuck just happened and it’s now boiling into anger. I’ll get to that in a minute as the event hasn’t ended yet.  Roode continues to assault Sting and ties him up to the ropes with duct tape (guessing TNA don’t have handcuffs readily available like the WWE do). TNA President Dixie Carter goes into the ring and Roode rounds on her, giving her a torrent of verbal abuse.

Up until the end, I was enjoying this match then the end ruined it for me. Sting knocking himself out is possibly the dumbest thing that I have ever seen in a wrestling ring, and I’ve seen some dumb stuff. I would understand if someone like Garrett “the future of the business” Bischoff did something like that as it is a rookie mistake. Am I seriously meant to believe that Sting, who has been wrestling for about 30 years and is an icon of wrestling in the 80’s and 90’s, would do a dumb move like that?! I expected Roode to employ some sort of shenanigans to win this because it’s TNA for God’s sake. However, this ending makes everyone look really fucking stupid and reinforces my belief that Roode is not a strong champion.
Winner: Bobby Roode (bizarrely!)                                         Predictions: 6 for 8

I enjoyed some aspects of this PPV as it had some good wrestling matches. As always, I enjoyed the Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) match and I thought the match between Jeff Hardy and Kurt Angle was the best one of the night. However, the beginning and the end ruined it for me. I heard rumours that Storm was carrying an injury going into the event but that doesn’t excuse a 70 second match. As for the ending, what the fuck TNA?! Storm is the number 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship and he, along with the Champion Roode, need to look strong going into Lockdown, one of TNA’s flagship PPV events. Unfortunately, they have done the complete opposite and that does not bode well.

Sunday 18 March 2012

TNA Victory Road 2012 Predictions

File:Victory Road (2012).jpg

Hey, look at that. It’s time for another TNA Pay Per View, which is taking place at the Impact Wrestling Zone (again!) I have been so busy with work recently that I’ve only now started to catch up on Impact. I’ve haven’t seen their go home show so I’ve looked at the card and made my predictions. So, let’s take a look.

TNA Television Champion Robbie E will defend his title in an open challenge. Last month, Shannon Moore took up the challenge. It might be him, it might not. I don’t really care about it. I expect that Robbie E will be victorious. However, if he does lose, I might be a cheeky bastard and employ the “Divas Royal Rumble Rule”, voiding the prediction.
Predicted Winner: Robbie E

Samoa Joe and Magnus will once defend their Tag Team Championships against Matt Morgan and Crimson. Based on their 6 man tag match a couple of weeks ago, Joe and Magnus are being treated as faces but there’s no explanation why. I assume that TNA was inspired by WWE’s thinking of “Let’s do some stuff but not explain why”, i.e. Kane having a mask. Anyway, as for Crimson and Morgan, it looks like that a feud will develop between the two. Expect Crimson to “inadvertently” cause them to lose, then beating the crap out of Morgan, turning heel.
Predicted Winners: Samoa Joe and Magnus 

Gail Kim will defend her Knockouts Championship against her tag team partner and lackey Madison Rayne. I thought it was really clever how Madison became the No.1 contender and this could be a decent match. The problem is that this is one of two heel vs heel matches so maybe the crowd won’t really be into this and I can’t see either of them turning face. I expect Gail to win and put her lackey in her place.
Predicted Winner: Gail Kim

Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) will be challenged by Zema Ion for the X-Divison Championship. Like the Knockouts match, this is another heel vs heel. However, due to the crowd recognising Aries’ tremendous talent, he might be cheered during the match. Also, based on his match against Kid Kash at Final Resolution, Aries can make heel vs heel matches work. I think that Aries will win this and keep the title (hopefully for ever)
Predicted Winner: Austin Aries

Kurt Angle will take on Jeff Hardy in what could be a good match. These guys could be challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship after Lockdown so it’s a tough one. I’m going for Angle on this one.
Predicted Winner: Kurt Angle

AJ Styles and Mr Anderson will take on Kazarian and Christopher Daniels. It’s nice to see Anderson as I quite enjoy his gimmick but I think his return might not be enough for a victory.
Predicted Winners: Kazarian and Christopher Daniels

Bully Ray will take on James Storm in what could be a great match. I like Bully at the minute but I think that Storm will be the next World Heavyweight Champion so I believe that he will win.
Predicted Winner: James Storm

In the main event, Sting will take on Bobby Roode. I find it weird that the World Heavyweight Championship is not being defended at the event and this is a tough one to call. I expect shenanigans to be taking place (because it’s TNA) and for Roode to find some way to win.
Predicted Winner: Bobby Roode

Just to remind you that, due to the UK TV deal with TNA, I won’t get to see it until Wednesday night. Enjoy the show and I’ll post my review up on Thursday morning. 

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Just How Dumb Are You, Zack?!


Ever since it was revealed that Eve was using Zack Ryder two weeks ago, she has been alienating her friends in the Divas Division, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox. On RAW this week, Eve defeated Alicia in your standard 30-45 second Divas match and then Zack Ryder returned and announced how unhappy that he was being used. Eve started crying and being upset (er...ok) and then a couple of minutes later backstage, she kisses Zack and Zack looks happy about it.

Up until Zack finished speaking, it was fine. Then I started asking a lot of questions. For one, why is Eve being upset about what Zack said? She basically admitted that last week and Zack didn’t say anything that I believe was derogatory to her, or at least nowhere near the level that Cena did two weeks ago. Then, after Eve kisses Zack, why was he so happy about it?

I’m sorry, Zack, I think you’re a great guy and I enjoy your show but you must be the DUMBEST fuck in the WWE right now. It’s so obvious that Eve is planning on using you again and that happened two minutes after you said that you were unhappy with her. Seriously, just how fucking dumb are you (bro)?! I now wonder if Zack, when he was being ass-whooped by Kane over the last few weeks, suffered some sort of brain damage and he now has the memory of a fucking goldfish.

Look, WWE, I like your show but I’m starting to get a bit pissed off when you write inexplicable shit like this. This was a perfect opportunity to create a Wrestlemania feud for Zack. You could have Eve start to use someone else (like The Miz), have Zack be the voice of reason by trying to convince him that he’s being used and you could have a match that way. Normally, if I’m unhappy with a storyline, I wait to see where it goes. However, with this one, I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be shit no matter what.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

LDW Fav Five: February 2012



It’s time, once again, for the Fav Five, inspired by Booker T. It has been a decent wrestling month with 2 decent PPVs and some good (and bad) television.

5. Santino Marella(?!)
Even though this is only the second ever Fav Five, I never in my wildest dreams thought that Santino Marella would be in it. However, you can’t deny what he has done over the last month. When he won the battle royal to become the final entrant in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber, I was like “What the fuck?!” However, Santino’s performance in the Chamber match was really good and it made me realise how good a wrestler he can be. I would like the WWE to do one of two things: either cut down on the comedy aspect and evolve him slightly so that he can be a guy at the upper mid-card level; or have him more main event type matches and have him slowly get more serious as it starts to get to his head.

4. Sheamus
Sheamus has been on a roll since winning the Royal Rumble last month. Sheamus has been built well over the last month and I’m really looking forward to his match against Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania.

3. Bully Ray
I know that I always say that Austin Aries is the best thing in TNA right now. However, I have been really impressed with Bully Ray over the last few weeks. He is tremendous on the mic and he has been an excellent performer in the ring. Ray has come a long way from when I first saw him as a stuttering Bubba Ray with the Dudley Boyz at Survivor Series 1999.

2. John Laurinaitis
I love, love John Laurinaitis (did you know that he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, the interim RAW GM and candidate to be the GM of Smackdown?) Along with his legal advisor, David Otunga, Laurinaitis has been such a joy to watch on TV and I really hope he becomes the GM of Smackdown.

1.  Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan is the best thing to watch on Smackdown right now. I love his entrance when he is shouting “yes!” as he goes down the aisle and there was a great bit in his interview last week. Smackdown came from Seattle and Bryan told the crowd that he’s from there (about 110 miles away in Aberdeen) and then says that he went to Las Vegas as soon as possible. I thought it was a great move to get the crowd on his side and then get them to boo him in the next sentence. I’m really looking forward to see how the feud between him and Sheamus over the next few weeks.