DAVE'S BATTLE AXE: SOLE SURVIVOR - DOLPH ZIGGLER

Dolph Ziggler has been kicking around the WWE, between development and main roster, for about 10 years now. Once Kerwin White’s sidekick, then Nicky of the Spirit Squad, he has, basically been doing whatever the company asked of him and whatever he could to give the people who paid the money a show to remember.

Whether heel, face or partner, the Phoenician, born Nick Nemeth, has finally reached the top tier of the WWE Superstars roster. It’s not that the 34 year old hasn’t had a storied run so far in his career: World Tag Team Champion (with the Spirit Squad), a US Title, Money in the Bank winner, 3 time Intercontinental Champion, 2 time World Heavyweight Champion and the 22nd Triple Crown Champion. His 2 Heavyweight championships were short lived however due to a story line and an injury. But Dolph’s recent IC title run and heroic effort at this year’s Survivor Series highlighted what the fans have been clamoring for the past year - more Dolph Ziggler!

Ziggler has taken his cocky Showoff act and turned it into a style not-unlike John Cena’s Never Give Up attitude, only not so serious. Over the years, Ziggler's sells have become a thing of beauty and his arsenal of in-ring tricks is plentiful. He can do quick matches or long endurance marathons where he has to do all the heavy lifting with no problems AND make it look good.

One of the things Dolph has benefited from lately is the scarcity in the locker room at WWE. As a classic mid-carder throughout most of his career, Ziggler often got lost in the shuffle of whatever Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio were up to. With what feels like half the locker room that was there in 2012, 2014 has been a breakout year for the one some called The Natural.

The WWE Universe has loved being in Dolph’s corner all year, rooting him on to keep going, keep winning, keep showing us and the world what a real professional wrestler is supposed to look and act like - something he’s aspired to be since he was a kid himself. If it looks like he’s out there having fun doing just that every night, just remember, it’s all part of the Show.

State of Wrestlementary December 2014

Hello All!

There have been a lot of changes in the Pro Wrestling world lately hasn’t there? The number one changed is TNA’s demise from the Spike airwaves, even if it was expected.

TNA will be back on TV in January though, so no worries.

Wrestlementary has had a few changes as well. I’m sure everyone has noticed the absence of a couple of columns, and that I myself have been late with materials lately.

The holidays, increased workloads, and personal issues have wrecked have on this blog, along with my arm injury. It also hasn’t helped that the WWE has been in a massive downward spiral and barely worth writing about.

Because of the rush of the holidays and that we are down to only two broadcasts a week (RAW and SMACKDOWN) for December I am cutting down the blog to only my Week in Review, and Dave’s Parrish’s upcoming piece.

In January that will change as we will return to a full schedule of commentary, with a new logo as well.

For now, let’s all enjoy the holidays; look forward to the TV return of TNA, the Coming of New Japan to American TV and hope that the WWE can do anything right soon.

Ace Masters.

SURVIVOR SERIES COMMENTARY

Hello, All!

Well, the 28th annual Survivor Series has come and gone.

What do I have to say about it? It was far better than Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell. That much is easy.

It was on Par with Summer Slam, which is an okay thing. Good, but not great is what I am saying.

There were defiantly some noteworthy events. Two titles changes, and Dean Ambrose destroying Bray Wyatt.

The Miz and MizDow are the new World Tag Team Champions. I’m good with this. Sandow (MizDow) has put in a lot of good work and has earned a title run.

Nikki Bella won a squash over AJ Lee for the Divas title. A waste of time as I thought it would be, and played out exactly as I thought with Brie helping Nikki. I don’t mind the squash too much, but would have been better if Nikki has squashed AJ by herself.

Bray Wyatt won by DQ, but essentially lost. Dean Ambrose went berserk and destroyed Bray, leaving him lying under a pile of chairs.

What about that World Title Match? Huh? Huh?

Overall, the matches were okay, but nothing outside the main event shined. The Divas elimination match was horrendous. Why does the WWE even have women’s division anymore?

TEAM CENA versus TEAM AUTHORITY is what this show was all about. This match almost delivered on everything promised. That is good, considering the bar for this match was so high, reaching it was near impossible.

It was actually a good match, complete with a good story, drama and surprises!
 Big Show betrayed team CENA, KTFO John Cena! TEAM CENA decimated. Dolph Ziggler left by himself against Rusev, Harper and Rollins!

Dolph shined. This was his greatest moment in the WWE, eliminating Ruzev and Harper to make it one-on-one, or one-one-two. Dolph was closing in on the win, when HHH took over. After HHH was done, Dolph laid unconscious, Rollins on top for the pin and Scott Anderson running down in a ref’s shirt to make the count.

Cue Sting! Game not just OVER, GAME CHANGED.

Sting took out HHH, and set Dolph up for the Pin.

TEAM CENA WINS!

Sting has finally arrived. Does this mean there is a seismic shift in the universe itself?

FINAL THOUGHTS: Some good moments, but the main event saved the show.

RATING: 6

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: TEAM CENA versus TEAM AUTHORITY
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: DOLPH ZIGGLER
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: STING

Ace's Answer: RAW 11/24/2014

I am going to be brief here. For this Blog only, I hope, I am renaming this column to RAW SUCKED.

Why? RAW did just that. Two words for you: RAW SUCKED.

We opened the show with a thirty-minute promo segment? Thirty minutes? I tuned in to watch professional wrestling, not Crossfire.

Yes, Daniel Bryan on the show was a surprise. No, it wasn’t good for the show.

They did nothing, nothing, to build off Survivor Series. Not one-step was taken forward. Massive steps were taken backwards.

You have the biggest match in the history of Survivor Series. A match that changes the course of the future, and the next night you put out a show built around juvenile revenge crap set up by Bryan? The worst choices that could have been made, were made.

The show ended with the worst thing the WWE could have done. They brought back the worst idea in the history of the WWE: the Anonymous General Manger.

There was one bright spot, Harper versus Ambrose. Even with Bray Wyatt’s attack on Ambrose, this was the best part of the show. In fact, as much as I have piled on Bray Wyatt, with this attack, he finally did something.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was three hours not of filler, but of filth. This was the worst RAW of the year. The worst RAW I can remember in a long, long time.

RATING: RAW SUCKED. 2. And that is only for Harper versus Ambrose.

MATCH OF THE SHOW: Harper versus Ambrose
WRESTLER OF THE SHOW: RAW SUCKED.
IMPACT OF THE SHOW: RAW SUCKED

IMPACT STRESS TEST - FINAL IMPACT OF 2014

This will be my last Impact Commentary until 2015, as sadly this past Impact was the last first run Impact on Spike TV. I hope the move to Destination America will be positive. I will write about that soon.

This was another good broadcast of Impact, continuing their streak of good shows. However, I wanted more from this last broadcast. It should have been special. That is what happens when they tape weeks in advance.

It was a very eventful show, with two new champions, Kurt Angle taken out, MVP stepping up his game.

Taryn Terrell is the new TNA Knockouts champions, winning a three-way match with Havok and Gail Kim. The difference between the Knockouts and the Divas is that the Knockouts put on good matches; this was the best of the night.

I liked this match from start to finish, it was laid out smartly. Kim and Taryn doubled teamed Havok each chance they had, all three had periods of controlling the match. Tarn won with a surprise pin on Gail.

I am not a big Taryn fan. I honestly don’t think she is that good. TNA has built her up right though, and they have done it over the course of a year or more. She’s beaten Gail Kim in the past, but can she beat Havok in a one-on-one rematch?

Havok has been great since she came in. Used correctly she has greater potential.

Last week Joe vacated the X Division title. This week Low Ki won the X Division Title in a fatal four way. Low Ki is really good, and it is nice to see a title on him after his terrible WWE run. DJ Z was my pick to win; TNA has really screwed him up lately.

How good did Chris Melendez look in his match with Kenny King? Kenny King is great, and Melendez hung with him. That is hard for anyone to do, much less an amputee. Great Props to Sarge.

I hate the story line though, with MVP attacking him. I think it is a bad move.

It is perfectly fine for MVP to attack Kurt Angle though, and I have been waiting for it. MVP needed to step out and return to his bad self, and not just speak for others, as he said himself.

TNA needs that really strong, vicious Heel. MVP is it.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
A damn good show. Can’t wait for TNA to resume on Destination America. I am glad I have the channel.

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: TNA Knockout Title Match: Havok versus Gail Kim versus Taryn Terrell
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: Sarge Chris Melendez.
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: Taryn’s TNA Knockout Title win.

Survivor Series Preview

Monday Night and Smackdown had me looking forward to tonight’s Survivor Series, which was always my favorite PPV when it held only elimination matches.

Then I looked at the card and realized there are only Six matches currently scheduled? Including the return of Fandango? My heart sank.

Then I learned that Bad News Barrett is returning at Survivor Series! On the Kickoff Show.

For the second longest PPV in the WWE and the PPV they are using to push the WWE Network, these six matches better deliver big time. They need to all by close to five-star matches.

I do expect a couple of filler matches to be thrown. Bad move if they do that.

Since this is, as stated, the PPV used for the Network and it’s free month, they need to entice people as much as possible. That involves stating everything up front; give the people a reason to sign up, even for free.

So far, this is the announced card:

• Fandango versus TBA
• WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Gold/Stardust (c) versus The Usos versus Los Matadores versus The Miz and Mizdow
• Dean Ambrose versus Bray Wyatt
• Team Fox (Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi and Natty) versus Team Paige (Paige, Cameron, Layla and Summer Rae)
• Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee (c) versus Nikki Bella, with Brie Bella
• MAIN EVENT
• TEAM CENA (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Eric Rowan, Ryback) versus Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev, Luke Harper)

This could be a good card. I have high hopes for Ambrose versus Wyatt and Team Cena versus Team Authority. Team Fox versus Team Paige being removed from this lineup would improve the card drastically.

The Tag Title match could potentially steal the show.

My Predictions:
Fandango versus TBA – Who Cares?

WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Gold/Stardust (c) versus The Usos versus Los Matadores versus The Miz and Mizdow

• New Tag Team Champions: Los Matadores. The other teams will focus on each other, leaving Diego and the Bull getting a quick victory.

Dean Ambrose versus Bray Wyatt

• No Winner. This should be thrown out.

Team Fox (Alicia Fox, Emma, Naomi and Natty) versus Team Paige (Paige, Cameron, Layla and Summer Rae)

• I want to say, who cares, but I used that above. But I think Team fox will win, based on the Total Divas on the team.

Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee (c) versus Nikki Bella, with Brie Bella

• Nikki wins the title because Brie turns heel and helps her.

MAIN EVENT
TEAM CENA (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Eric Rowan, Ryback) versus Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Mark Henry, Rusev, Luke Harper)

• Team Authority will Reign supreme with Rollins and Rusev surviving.

We will see how it turns out, and if I am anywhere close to what will happen.

Ace.

Ace's Answer - Monday Night Raw 11/18/2014

SURVIVOR SERIES GO HOME SHOW

This past Monday Night Raw was the go home broadcast leading into this Sunday’s Survivor Series.

This was the best Go Home broadcast the WWE has done in MONTHS. It was also easily the best RAW since the night after Summer Slam.

This broadcast did what Raw should do leading into a PPV (aka Major Event), especially a go home show. It set up the event – specifically focusing on the two major matches, Ambrose versus Wyatt and Team Authority versus Team Cena. It also announced and set the framework for other matches, including the Divas Title (Yawn), and the Tag Titles.

There were three noteworthy events in the main event segment of Raw. The first involved Sheamus, and the announcement that he was out of Survivor Series completely. First, he loses the US Title, now he’s off the PPV. Is he off doing a project or is he injured?

The major noteworthy surprise involves the newest member of Team Cena, and that isn’t Ryback joining Team Cena. If that surprised you, pay more attention.

Eric Rowan joined Team Cena? Really? Awesome. I mean really Awesome. Is this a full face turn for Rowan? Are there issues between Harper and Rowan that will lead to a feud? Or is there a swerve in the works?

Monday was the first time that Harper and Rowan were referred to as ‘former’ members of the Wyatt Family.

The other noteworthy event? Am I the only one who noticed the contract was never signed? Could this lead to Team Authority pulling a fast one and screwing Team Cena?

THE LOW POINTS:
The Divas. Yeah, I liked that AJ laid out both sisters. However, that is probably going to be the impetus for a Brie heel turn and a reuniting of Nikki and Brie as a team. Sorry AJ, but I think you might lose this weekend.

GRUMPY CAT. Why the #$%^ was this cat on Raw?

Why the @#$% is Larry, The Cable Guy on Raw next week?

THE HIGH POINTS:
Almost everything to do with Team Authority versus Team Cena. Team Authority is showing the right amount of desperation. Team Cena is showing the right amount of determination. Everything that Team Authority did on Raw was excellent. Taking out every member they could of Team Cena was the right call. The way they did it was near perfect. No one left unscathed.

Luke Harper’s IC Title win. Did anyone see that coming? I didn’t. Being a member of Team Authority has already paid off for Harper. Authority gained a big advantage in the mind games department here. Dolph may still be in the game physically, but mentally?

Dean Ambrose. Boy, did Ambrose get one over Bray. He also revealed WWE’s long held secret to ‘mysterious entrances.’ Great job by Ambrose. Bray, okay.

This is the first time I have said this in a long time, but I even enjoyed most of the matches on Raw.

The other Major Match announced on Raw is a Fatal 4-Way for the Tag Titles with Gold/Stardust defending against the Usos, Los Matadores and The Miz and Mizdow.
Everything seemed to play a part on Raw and lead into the PPV.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Raw delivered on this Go Home show and made Survivor Series interesting. It set things up and forced certain questions to be asked:
Is Bray Wyatt going to save Ambrose?
Will Nikki win the Divas Title? Will Brie help here?
Can Team Cena Vanquish The Authority? What will the repercussions be if Team Cena loses?

The best way to find out those answers is to watch Survivor Series.

RATING: 6.5. It loses points for Grumpy Cat.

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Big Show versus Sheamus. Yes, there was no finish, but the match they did have stood out.
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: Luke Harper
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: TIE: Luke Harper winning the IC title. Eric Rowan joining Team Cena.

WRESTLEMENTARY NOTE No Week in Review for 11/9 to 11/15

There is a very good reason that there was no Week in Review this past Sunday. I was only able to watch and comment on Monday Night Raw this week. It is hard to write and comment on Impact and Smackdown when I was unable to watch either.

For some reason my DVR glitched this past week and failed to record TNA Impact or Smackdown. Since I was unable to watch either, I couldn’t very well do a Week in Review.

Unlike Smackdown, which is replayed on Hulu, Impact is not. Impact will be online on Spike TV.com this week (I hope), so I may review both last week’s and this week’s broadcasts of Impact for Friday.

My RAW commentary will be online tomorrow.

Ace Masters.

Ace's Answer RAW Commentary 11/10/2014

Okay, I actually watched all of RAW this week!

RAW has been a major chore to watch over the last two months. The last couple of weeks have been improvements. Not great, but better.

At least this week we had a reason for everything that happened and they actually built toward something. This broadcast was better than both recent go home editions of RAW for Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell.

Survivor Series is already looking to be better than both those shows. As the Thanksgiving show, and the second longest running PPV, it had better be.

The show started slow with another overlong promo segment to set up Cena versus Ryback and which team Ryback would be on. Ryback gave Cena a spine buster and appeared to make his choice.

THE HIGH POINTS
The best parts of RAW had to do with setting up Team Cena versus Team Authority.
Look at the matches we got from that, and they meant something and had an effect on both teams.

Jack Swagger’s match with Seth Rollins, which lead to Swagger being taken out.

Dolph Ziggler versus the new member of Team Authority Mark Henry. Henry was set to put Ziggler out when Big Show came down to make the save. He subsequently joined Team Cena.

The Authority caused Sheamus to be counted out and lose his rematch against Rusev. This lead to Rusev officially joining Team Authority and Sheamus joining Team Cena.
During the night, Kane, Rollins and Mark Henry all talked to Ryback. Kane and Rollins both told him to listen to them. Mark ‘jokingly’ reminded him how he crushed Ryback at WrestleMania. This didn’t bold well for later in the night.

During the main event, Kane became so enraged at Ryback for not being aggressive enough on Cena that he attacked Cena, leading to Ryback attacking Kane. This lead to a free-for-all that saw everybody left lying and Ryback walking off, no longer on Team Authority. Is he on Team Cena?

The only person that didn’t get involved in the main event was Dolph Ziggler. We found out why when Luke Harper dumped a beaten Ziggler at the feet of Stephanie and HHH, telling them he is a ‘Team Player.”

THE LOW POINTS
The Divas, as usual. The Brie/AJ match was bad, but this whole angle is.

The floating eyes promo that is plaguing Ziggler. I don’t care who it is, this is dumb.

The overboard shoving of the Network down our throats. I have the Network. I love the Network. But promote it better. Stop with this $9.99 crap and give people a real reason to buy in.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Above average edition of RAW. The build up to Survivor Series is going well, I think.

RATING: 6

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: SHEAMUS VERSUS RUSEV
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: RUSEV
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: LUKE HARPER AS A ‘TEAM PLAYER.’

LUCHA UNDERGROUND

LUCHA, LUCHA, LUCHA

LUCHA, NO! LUCHA, NO! LUCHA, NO!

What the Hell is Lucha Underground? This is a serious question because I am not actually sure. Is it a wrestling TV show or is it some weird grindhouse wannabe wrestling TV show?

Is it even a promotion? By that I mean will it do house shows and non-televised events?

I don’t think those behind Lucha Underground, Mark Burnett, Robert Rodriguez, the El Rey Network, are quite sure. It doesn’t seem like anyone involved has an idea what professional wrestling is. Wait, I mean Lucha Libre.

The way it is presented comes across like a poorly made, badly written and ugly acted grindhouse movie, with no redeeming qualities. Trying to make wrestling into grindhouse is stupid. Wrestling was underground, edgy and grindhouse, before grindhouse even existed. Furthermore, WCCW and ECW beat Lucha Underground to this type of presentation 20 to 30 years ago.

The first match they broadcast two weeks ago gave me great hopes, Blue Demon, Jr versus Chavo Guerrro, Jr. Then I saw the match. Or whatever it was they did. This match looked ill timed, fake and over-mapped out. Neither Demon nor Chavo looked comfortable and it seemed like Chavo taped out before Demon even finished putting on his submission hold.

Except for Prince Puma (aka Ricochet) and Johnny Mundo (aka John Morrison) there is nothing to rant about. Their main event match on the debut broadcast was good, the only good thing about Lucha Underground so far.

Chris Rose commented to me the other day that the show is ‘scripted,’ not ‘booked.’ It shows. Badly acted crap segments, including an opening credits segment that is dubbed into English!

The problem with the writing is that these first two broadcasts were played like they were further into the ‘season,’ with story points that made no sense. Such as the owner of Lucha Underground berating Chavo for not destroying Blue Demon, Jr. There is no set up for the owner’s vendetta against Blue Demon. Another point is the commentators talking about how and why the fans hate the owner, yet the first episode is the first time anyone saw him.

The commentators for Lucha Underground are Matt Striker and Vampiro. They are not very good. Striker oversells and acts like no one has ever seen Lucha Libre style wrestling before. Vampiro’s commenting seems to consist of scattered ‘Brother’ and ‘That’s dope,’ comments. They do not help to elevate an already shoddy product.

All that aside, there was something even worse that happened on the second episode, something sickening.

Blue Demon, Jr was defeated by Mil Muetras. Chavo, with a chair, came out to save Demon. He then turned on Demon, beating him down with the chair, and did the same to anyone who came out to help Demon.

SexyStar, the female Luchador, came out to talk to Chavo, to get him to stop. Chavo stopped for a second. Then hit SexyStar in the head with the chair.

Let me repeat, Chavo Geurrero hit the female Luchador SexyStar in the head with a chair. This was not an accident. It was deliberate. I don’t care if SexyStar’s gimmick is that she wrestles men, this was over the line.

To make matters worse, Chavo did his typical posing and gloating after this. When the medics came out, they carted Blue Demon, Jr off to the hospital, but left SexyStar lying on the mat.

Who the Hell thought this was a good idea? Accidental, maybe. A chair shot to a woman on purpose, Fuck No!

Look at the news. How bad is the domestic abuse issue involving pro athletes right now? How about the biggest NFL story heading into the season? Ray Rice anyone? What about War Machine almost killing Christy Mack?

With all this going on, someone thought this was a good idea? No. Don’t sell me that it is just pro wrestling, or that it is stage and ‘fake.’ Bullshit. People complained and thought it was tasteless when HHH lay with Katie Vick in the coffin.

This crossed a line. I doubt if I will bother watching again. After all, there is real Lucha Libre out there just check Youtube.

RATING: EPIC FAIL

Week in Review - 11/2 - 11/8

This week in review will be brief, and I want to address my lack of posts this week.

Sometime last Saturday afternoon I injured my right arm, causing a lot of swelling and crushing a nerve. This has been causing me a lot of pain and numbness in my hand. Because of this, I have had to limit my time writing, I haven’t even written much on the novel I started last weekend for National Novel Writing Month.

Okay, wrestling.

WWE

MONDAY NIGHT RAW

I didn’t cover the previous RAW, which I liked and felt was a marked improvement from the last two months’ worth of RAWs. This past RAW wasn’t quite as good, but was still better than anything else the WWE has produced lately.

The High Point was the fallout from Mr. McMahon’s announcement that if the Authority loses at Survivor Series, they are out of power. I love this stipulation, as it can lead to so many things. Could this also be the beginning of the long rumored Vince versus the Authority feud? We’ll see.

This directly led into the Randy Orton and Seth Rollins issue. Already this feud is better than Cena versus Rollins, or Ambrose versus Rollins. How? We have already had more physicality between the two and no stupid skits, just fighting.

Granted, Orton came out on the losing end and is ‘out.’ The question is, will he return for Survivor Series? If so, whose team and can he be trusted?

SMACKDOWN

Smackdown is still being put together as RAW recap, but this week wasn’t that bad. I actually liked the broadcast. There were two cage matches, one of them a title match and there were segments and matches that had implications leading into Survivor Series.

Adam Rose turned on the Bunny! I love Adam Rose and his gimmick, not huge on the Bunny, but he has gotten over. A heel turn, feud with Bunny, and a darker edge could be a big plus for Adam Rose.

The High Point has to go to the segment with Sergeant Rose.

Best match of the night was Kane versus Dolph Ziggler in the steel cage.

Could it still be better? Yes, if the recaps were cut down.

LUCHA UNDERGROUND

I am briefly going to mention Lucha Underground. I will try to write a full commentary in the next few days.

If you have missed Lucha Underground, don’t worry. I would continue to miss it.

TNA IMPACT

Once again, TNA ruled the week with an excellent show from top to bottom. Since July, they have turned a major corner. I do not know if this is desperation or what, but it’s good for the product. However long it will be on TV.

We had the finals of the Tag Tournament, Knockouts Title Match, Spud finally standing up for himself and a World Title Match.

WWE take note of how many World Title Matches TNA has had on TV lately. How many times has Brock even been on TV?

Final thoughts: WWE is trying, but coasting. Lucha Failed. TNA is schooling.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Knockouts Title Match: Havok versus Gail Kim
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: Gail Kim
IMPACT OF THE WEEK: Sergeant Rose

Why TNA is kicking WWE's ass lately (and how to fix it)

Big time promotions in professional wrestling having rivalries against each other is nothing new. The history of sport is littered with such things. Right now, the long-standing king of the hill in worldwide wrestling entertainment is so big, it doesn’t really consider TNA wrestling, with its multiple tapings at single venues for a relatively smaller cable outlet, to be any kind of competition, but it should.

Over the past year or so, WWE has let a lot of talent go both in front of and behind the camera in an effort to shore up corporate profits and to usher in new blood from its developmental program. Personnel-wise, TNA has done the same but instead of bringing in a lot of new talent, they’ve gone to the well by bringing back veterans like Devon and Low Ki to shore up their ranks and provide arguably a better product than what WWE is producing right now.

TNA’s biggest challenge is that their contract negotiations with Spike TV and other cable channels have been shaky for a while now. They want to give the fans what they want but aren’t sure they’ll have the outlet to do so for much longer. Despite this, week in week out, TNA’s talent puts their best show on.

The matches are better because the talent level is so high and the shift away from silly backstage story lines has served TNA well of late. Veterans Booby Roode, Eric Young, Samoa Joe and Bully Ray have been performing at a very high level lately and the fans are the benefactors. Relative newcomers Bram and EC3, who some fans doubted could hang with the legends around them, proved continually they could both dish AND take it with the best of them.

Compare that to WWE’s current Champion, Brock Lesnar who shows up when his paycheck does or Bo Dallas' diaper and thumb sucking routine. You start to see the key difference right now between the two promotions.

When WWE brings in old school talent nowadays (with the exception of future hall of famer Chris Jericho who can make a bowl of skim milk into something worth watching), they don’t give them anything to do! Poor Dave Bautista was shoehorned into the Authority. Lesnar was given a corner to sulk in and after his release from UFC. All Hulk Hogan has done at WWE since his re-signing is flub lines, mess up names and remind everyone how cool things used to be. Settling for the cheap pop of bringing a fan favorite back isn’t helping - having a battle plan to utilize veteran talents in a way that’s going to help the product shine will.

The other part of the problem is the WWE network. On paper the network seems like a can’t miss - hours and hours of archived classic matches, unique first-run programs, talent showcases to peruse and free PPVs. But ever since the numbers have plateaued for them, WWE has started do show signs of desperate flop sweat in the face of corporate quarterly meetings that are showing losses across the board. By banking solely on the network, WWE has forgotten to give the fans what they want, more cool free stuff, not to chant 9.99 every week.

The fix for WWE is a lot simpler than it seems - put more of the focus back on your flagships, Raw and Smackdown. This preoccupation with hyping the PPV-of-the-month is hurting the product, especially when the PPVs are of lesser significance. Move Night of Champions and Payback back to USA and SyFy and that will build the important events like Summer Slam and Survivor series up better.

With big events, big talent and memorable matches usually follow. THAT’S the surefire way to put things back on track for WWE, that is unless they want TNA to keep showing them up. Then by all means, they should keep doing what they’re doing.  

DAVE PARRISH

--
Ensuring a better future, for ALL
http://www.operationsavetheearth.com

State of Wrestlementary

11/1/2014

Hey Yo,

Welcome all wrestling fans. Back in July, I relaunched Wrestlementary and it has been good writing for this Blog. For me personally it was very therapeutic during my recovery.

If you are astute, you will have noticed that the blog has been a little quite lately. Wrestlementary is NOT going anywhere and is not going on Hiatus, as I recently announced the Burning Mind is (http://skullablaze.blogspot.com/2014/11/state-of-burning-mind.html).

Part of the reason for the quietness is scheduling issues with some of the writers, making time in their personal lives to write for the blog.

For me personally, I have been suffering from some exhaustion the past week or so. I have slacked off, much to my own disappointment.

Wrestlementary is poised to only improve as the future comes. By the first of this coming year, I plan to have an entirely new logo and I am hoping to expand coverage to more wrestling promotions in 2015. This past Monday we had ‘guest commentary,’ I am hoping for more of that in 2015.

As 2015 rolls on, I am looking into the possibility of doing podcasts and even videos for the Blog to make this more dynamic.

With the status of TNA seemingly in Flux, the WWE seemingly unsure of where it is heading creatively (Brock anyone?), the potential rise of Global Force Wrestling, we seem to be on the crux of some major changes in the wrestling landscape. Wrestlementary wants to be there to comment on it all.

Keep this is mind, the promise we have kept is that we wouldn’t rehash the same news repeatedly. Everything on Wrestlementary is unique and original. We don’t kiss ass. That won’t change.

Ace Masters.

HELL IN A CELL – GUEST COMMENTARY

Hell in a Cell was great, but it raised a few questions.

Is Cesaro hurt or in the doghouse? The matches between him and Ziggler have been epic, but to have Ziggler sweep (in IC title matches) was quite surprising.

When are they going to stop having Usos versus Gold/Stardust matches? It is time they bring up some of those NXT tag teams to compete. I am ready for the Usos to break into singles careers.

Is Brie Bella pregnant with a little Danielson on the way? Is her loss to Nikki a window to maternity leave?

Why didn’t they put Orton over to face Lesnar? That would have been a fresh and great way to get Orton over at a new level we haven’t seen in years.

The Ambrose, Rollins match had so much more potential, but I do not think they wanted to hurt either wrestler and it was a great way to bring back Bray. Better question is, when do we finally get to see Sister Abagail debut?

Lots of cool things finally happening due to the results of Hell in a Cell.

 - Ken Brown

Bio - Ken Brown is my great friend, a huge wrestling fan and the esteemed own of Arizona’s best comic book store, the multiple Eisner Award Nominated, Drawn to Comics – www.drawntocomics.com. Check out his store in person, or on the web.

HELL IN A CELL PREVIEW

I didn’t do a Raw review this week. To be honest, the reason is Raw wasn’t worth reviewing or rating. It was an absolute horrendous show. As a go home show, it was a piece of S#%t. One of the worst Raw’s I have ever seen.

No, Mick Foley’s promo meant nothing. It only took away from Ambrose and Rollins. The Cena, Orton and Heyman promo? Well, Brock was mentioned. That’s about it. Unless you like baseball, they discussed that more than anything.

Smackdown wasn’t worthwhile either.

The WWE right now is on a MASSIVE skid. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a very low buy right for Hell in A Cell. Certainly, nothing they have put out lately is going to inspire anyone to pay $9.99 for the network to watch Hell in a Cell. If I didn’t already have the network, I wouldn’t even consider it after the crap they have been putting out.

Match Line Up

Brie Bella vs Nikki Bella, loser is the winner bitch for one month.
My Pick: Brie Bella
Big Show vs Rusev
My Pick: Rusev
Divas Title: AJ Lee defends against Paige
My Pick: AJ Lee
Tag Team titles: Gold/Stardust defend against the Usos
My Pick: Gold/Stardust
US Title Match: Sheamus defends against The Miz
My Pick: Mizdow
IC Title Match, 2 out of three falls: Dolph Ziggler versus Cesaro
My Pick: Cesaro
Hell in a Cell: John Cena versus Randy Orton
My Pick: Randy Orton
Hell in a Cell: Dean Ambrose versus Seth Rollins
My Pick: Dean Ambrose

This is lazy of me, but so much of this card is a rehash of the last few weeks of RAW and SMACKDOWN that I don’t see the purpose of breaking down the matches. Case in point, Dolph just defended the IC Title against Cesaro on Smackdown, and they wrestled on RAW before that. Hell in a Cell will be their third match in the span of a week.

Big show versus Rusev, and both Hell in a Cell matches are what will carry this show. Will all the buildup and gross amount of time dedicated to it, Ambrose versus Rollins needs to deliver big time. If not, then the last two months will have been wasted.

Ziggler versus Cesaro has the potential to steal the show. With the 2 out of 3 falls stipulation, we will essentially be getting at least two matches.

There is a big piece of the WWE puzzle missing though: The World Title. This is inexcusable.

All that said, I am a huge pro wrestling fan. A huge WWE fan and I will be watching Hell in a Cell today. I just don’t know if I am expecting anything worthwhile, or just a sleeping pill like last Monday Night.

IMPACT STRESS TEST 10/22/2014

Stress Test Result

N/A

First, I want to mention that I haven’t been feeling that good this week, mostly exhaustion, so this review will be fairly short.

I really have mixed feelings on this broadcast of Impact Wrestling. It was a bla sort of edition, not good, not bad, and not quite average. If anything this seemed like an episode made up of deleted scenes.

I like putting the emphasis on titles and earning title shots, but another tournament to crown a #1 contender, this time for the tag titles. This is worn, tired and redundant now. Make the titles mean something yes, but we also need some personal rivalries and feuds that have nothing to do with titles.

The tag title tournament seemed oddly put together. What the hell were they thinking? Most guys came out and announced who their partners would be, as if it would be a surprised. Matt Hardy announced Jeff as his partner.

This would have been good if the teams were random, but they weren’t. The tournament matches themselves were very lackluster. None of them seemed that good to me.

The highlight of the show was easily Bram versus Devon. However, I did feel as if both guys held back in this match, perhaps because of Devon’s injury. It was hard-hitting, but it didn’t get as hardcore as I would have thought.

We will get the Roode versus Lashley rematch! This I am hyped for. Kurt Angle as the special ref I am okay with, but I don’t think that will stop interference, it almost never does.

Overall a bland edition of Impact.

RATING: 5

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Bram versus Devon
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: None.
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: None.

AWF PRESENTS THE ELIMINATION, WRESTLEMENTARY REVIEW

A storm touched down in Peoria, AZ last Saturday Night, as bodies rained down from all over, spilling out of the ring, all over the floor, into the crowd and out of hand. Lighting struck and was caught in a bottle, the AWF delivered again.

It was a wonder there wasn’t an Earthquake, especially in the main event.

Once again, myself and fellow Wrestlementary writers Dave Parrish and Chris Rose, where front and center at the latest AWF event. Chris Rose even kicked off the show by buying an AWF Shirt! And, once again, we all bought our tickets to the next AWF Show, CHRISTMAS CHAOS (12/6).

This event was mostly about payback. R3 was seeking revenge against Michael Kruger. Hudson Envy sought payback with a rematch against Kahmora. In the main event, every man seemed to have an issue with someone on the opposite team.

THE MATCHES

CHRIS EVANS versus EXCITING EVAN DANIELS
Once again, former Champ Chris Evans opened the show. Once again, he almost stole the show, this time with Exciting Evan Daniels. This was a hot opening match, with great moves and wrestling that Chris Evans eventually won, redeeming himself from last month’s loss to Alex Sinister.

MICHAEL KRUGER VERSUS R3
Kruger, a dark mash up of Michael Myers and Freddy Kruger, is the man who attacked R3 during his debut last month. He’s a big guy, with a nice look and one of the coolest masks I have ever seen a wrestler wear.

However, R3 is an even bigger man, who can move and was out for vengeance. He is smart too, not falling for Kruger’s attempt at using the mist to open the match. R3 blocked the mist with his jacket and proceed to beat down Kruger.

This wasn’t a wrestling match. This was a fight. R3 wanted revenge. Kruger seemed to just want to hurt someone. In the end, Kruger won after succeeding with a second mist attempt. I don’t think this is the last we see of them; this could be a good feud.

RYAN DEAN VERSUS SHADOW FOX
Ryan Dean, of the Deans of Chaos, was up next against Shadow Fox of Los Fox Stars. I have to say, I thought it was funny that Los Fox Stars are supposed to be Luchadores, yet Shadow Fox was announced as from ‘The Land of the Rising Sun.’

Dean looked great. Shadow Fox delivered some high-octane moments in the match. It was back and forth for most of the match, until Super Chaos (Dean’s partner) clotheslined Shadow Fox on the outside. Dean eventually won after a power bomb from the top rope.

Post match, Lucha Star challenged Super Chaos to a match. Not impressed Super Chaos accepted quickly and it was on!

SUPER CHAOS VERSUS LUCHA STAR
Super Chaos is one of my favorite guys on the AWF roster. For a guy his size he moves great and did some amazing athletic stuff. Since I first saw him back in June, he has lost weight, trimmed down and looks great.

This was a highly athletic match that had the bigger Super Chaos matching the Luchador Lucha Star move for move. The problem is, Super Chaos was showing off a little too much. Lucha Star eventually caught him in a head scissors roll up and pinned him.

Post Match, the Deans of Chaos teased putting their XWF Tag Titles on the line against Los Fox Stars, but that never happened.

XXX LAWRENCE TYLER VERSUS GRAVES
Before the match started, Graves went out to ring side and asked his girlfriend to marry him, she said yes and everyone was happy. Except for Tyler, who complained, “How can I hate him now?”

I hate to say this, but this match was a misstep for the night and never really got going. It is the first time at an AWF show that I have been disappointed. It just seemed to fall flat and seemed like an afterthought after the engagement.

Graves lost the match, but gained the girl. So, in the end, I’d say he won.

HUDSON ENVY VERSUS KAHMORA
AWESOME. Awesome. Awesome. Did I say Awesome? This was one of the best women’s matches I have seen in a long time. It topped even their match from the last AWF show. Someone please send tape of these two to TNA and WWE . . . or at least book these two for more AWF shows.

Up to this point in the show, this was the hardest hitting match of the night. Envy and Kahmora went at each with violence that included fists, hair pulling, submissions and the ring post! They hit harder then most men’s matches. Kahmora wanted to prove her victory last month was no fluke. Envy wanted to destroy Kahmora.

In the end, Kahmora won clean with a driver, this time it didn’t look like she pulled the tights like I thought she did last match.

Envy had the line of the night when she was being counted out and screamed at the ref, “Shut up! I’m in pain!” This line was not so funny later when the Ref put up the X directly after the pin and Envy was helped to the back.

I hope Hudson Envy is okay.

THE ELIMATION MATCH
TEAM HAWKINS: ADRIAN HAWKINS, PALI PRINCE, MAGOD ALI, JAY GARLAND AND CLUTCH
VERSUS
TEAM PROPHET: THE PROPHET, ALEX HAMMERSTONE, AWESOME ANDY, DANNY GEE, HAWAIIAN LION

This was the hardest hitting and most exciting match of the night. Which made sense since it involved 10 men. And it wasn’t a WWE or TNA debacle where most of the guys stand, sit or lay down doing nothing why two guys go one on one, someone was always doing something.

Hell, even Jay Garland pinned someone! He eliminated Awesome Andy first!

At one point, everyone in the match dived over the top rope and we had a ten men pile on the floor.
In the end, The Prophet and Hammerstone were able to endure and survivor for their team, thus winning the match.

Does this lead to a future title match for The Prophet? Will it add fuel to Hammerstone’s claims on the title?

FINAL THOUGHTS: Hey WWE this 10 man elimination main event match showed how a survivor Series match should be done. If you ever actually did a survivor series match any more.

This was easily the best wrestling event I saw last week. Much better then WWE’s RAW and SMACKDOWN. And just beating out TNA’s IMPACT.

The AWF has great talent. Management seems to have a handle on how to use the talent and the thought that it is BOOKING and ACTION that make wrestling events, not stupid skits.

RATING: 7

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: For me, the match of the night was Kahmora versus Hudson Envy
Chris Rose and Dave Parrish called the main event Elimination Match the Match of the night.
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: This was a hard choice, but I am going with Alex Hammerstone.
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: Graves’ engagement. I have to give it to Graves. It takes guts to ask a woman to marry you. It takes more guts to do it in front of a wrestling crowd.

CJ’s Sight NXT Review 10/16/2014

Baron Corbin squashed a jobber in about 13 seconds
That was a typical squash. They are definitely going full boar with Corbin. I am not complaining about that at all.

Sami Zayn made his way out to the ring and started to cut a promo about how he keeps losing the “Big One.” Tyson Kidd interrupted wearing a Zayn t-shirt mocking how Zayn never wins the big match. They traded verbal jabs at each other before concluding that they will have a match later on in the show.

This was an excellent promo by both men. They got to the point with intrigue and avoiding cute remarks. The verbal jabs served a point as they reflected the characters. Well done, Sami and Tyson!

Lucha Dragons defeated Blake and Buddy Murphy by pinfall in about 3:22
Sin Cara won from what I believe was a twisting victory roll. A very beautiful move. This match was better than the time stamp would say. This was a fast paced and high-energy match. It was done in a way that keeps the Tag Division looking competitive.

Charlotte defeated Becky Lynch in about 4:19
Charlotte won with the Natural Selection. This was another good outing by the NXT Women’s Division. Both the ladies worked hard and made the match believable. My only gripe is that they need to make more of a build to Charlotte’s finisher. It sometimes feels rushed, and that could get tiresome.

Les Legionnaires vs. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassidy ended in a No Contest.
Louis attacked Lefort to end the match. It was a very vicious looking attack on Lefort. Let’s see where this goes.

Carmella submits Blue Pants (Leva Bates) in about 30 seconds.
Carmella won with a head scissors crossface. I don’t mind the surprise debut win, but consensus says that Leva Bates is a good talent, and I hope to see her used in a better capacity than this.

A good backstage segment with Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch was shown. Sasha put Becky down and told her that being nice will never get anywhere. Sasha said that Becky should look in the mirror and ask herself if she has what it takes to be at the top.

A very well done segment. I am pleased with what they are doing with Sasha Banks.

Sami Zayn defeated Tyson Kidd by pinfall in about 10 minutes.
Zayn won after hitting the Helluva kick. This was a damn good match. I don’t think that these two are capable of having anything less together. I loved everything about this match, and it is far and away WWE’s match of the week. Nothing even came close to this mark. This match and this show is a must watch.

Overall, this was a good episode of NXT. Everything progressed in either storyline, character, or both. Everything made sense, and, to me, there was not a bad segment on this show.

Final Grade: B

Yes, I am changing the way I am grading shows.

WEEK IN REVIEW 10/12 to 10/18

Hello All!

This is the Week in Review of my coverage of WWE and TNA; it will also have some coverage of the local AWF event from Saturday Night (10/18).

Last week I ripped into the WWE for poor shows that I refused to even rate. TNA put out the superior product, and it easily showed. Was this week different?

WWE

RAW

Finally, the WWE put out a good RAW broadcast, rather than the crap they have dropped on us the last month. It even added a new spin to the tired Ambrose/Cena/Rollins feud, even if the show fell flat at the end with the typical authority attack.

In my full review, I listed almost everything on the show as a high point. The problem they have is still a big one, the Divas. Until they can right the Divas’ ship that is way off course, we will never get a truly good show, as they just anchor it down.

SMACKDOWN

What did Smackdown do this week? It started out Hot with Rollins’ promo and a match with Dolph Ziggler. Then . . . well, from that point on Smackdown descended into mediocrity and we got another Kane v Ambrose main event where Kane is made to look like a floundering fool.

So, in review WWE was Hot and Cold this week. RAW was Hot and during Smackdown someone turned the faucet.

TNA

TNA once again put out a decent show. An average one at best, not quite up to last week, but still delivering on the good run they have had these last two months. The only real problem is the crowds they are getting.

At times, I am not even sure the crowd knows they are at a wrestling show. I think they just show up for free drinks and a wrestling event breaks out.

AWF
What I will say is this AWF delivered again, on the fifth event I have attended. They also did something the WWE has failed to do in many a year, put on a great Survivor Series style 10-man elimination match. The card was solid throughout and this was on par with this week’s IMPACT for show of the week.
My full review will be up on Wednesday.

FINAL THOUGHTS: A good week for wrestling fans. We are finally having a card set for Hell in a Cell, hopefully it will be good.

RAW got on track this week, Smackdown went off. IMPACT has stayed on course and needs to put on the autopilot and stay there.

AWF was a great time.

WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: Dolph Ziggler. Two great matches this week gets him the spot.
MATCH OF THE WEEK: Seth Rollins versus Dolph Ziggler. See Ziggler again.
IMAPCT OF THE WEEK: Dean Ambrose contract win. Let’s hope this stands up and means something.

Ace’s Answer Smackdown 10-17-2014

Well, Smackdown was predictably a letdown. After the best RAW we have had since perhaps the RAW after Summerslam, Smackdown dropped the ball. It kept its trend over the last few months and really should be renamed, Replay Letdown.

There was a time when Smackdown was the best of the WWE Prime Time broadcasts. RAW was where they aired all the skits and stupidity; Smackdown was the actual Wrestling Show. Not anymore.

Was Smackdown all bad? No. Was it good? No. It was another rehash, repeat of what we have seen night after night, week after week for the last month plus. How many times are we going to see Kane versus Ambrose in a misguided (and failed) attempt to destroy Ambrose on Rollins’ behalf? It is the same exact match every time.

Okay, the High Point of the show.

SETH ROLLIN’S PROMO AND MATCH WITH DOLPH ZIGGLER
Seth Rollins gave an extremely passionate promo (yes, heels can do that) espousing his greatness. This lead to a match with Dolph Ziggler. This match needed to happen after Monday Night, I’m surprised they did it so quickly and didn’t just forget about it.

More please! Can we get these two into a feud? It would be far better then what Rollins is doing now; we might actually have matches instead of him constantly running away.

THE LOW POINTS

EVERYTHING AFTER SETH ROLLIN’S PROMO AND MATCH WITH DOLPH ZIGGLER
Yes, everything after the bell sounded on the Rollin/Ziggler match was the Low Point. I hate writing this, as Kane is one of my all-time favorites, but Ambrose versus Kane was the lowest point of the night, for the reasons I mentioned above.

FINAL THOUGHTS: If you haven’t watched Smackdown, just watch the first 30 minutes and your good.

RATING: 4.5

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: SETH ROLLINS VERSUS DOLPH ZIGGLER
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: DOLPH ZIGGLER
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: N/A

IMPACT STRESS TEST 10/15/2014

IMPACT STRESS TEST RESULTS

PASSED

This week’s Impact did pass my stress test, but even so it was just an average show. The matches delivered for the most part and the promos, except for the opening one, were okay. The show just seemed to lack a little spark. Something was definitely missing.

Personally, I think performing in front of pathetic crowds recently, who don’t even seem to know who the performers are, has a negative effect. A couple of times in the Main Event, Aries seemed disinterested.

The one thing I love that TNA is doing, and continued on Wednesday’s show, is putting an empathize on the TNA Titles and making them mean something. Not just by having the titles defended, but by having more matches with title repercussions.

The only drawback is how often can we have matches to determine a new contender, especially with the same guys. This is the third #1 contenders match in the last month or so I believe. While it’s nice, it can become tired very soon.

THE LOW POINTS

THE CROWD.
At this point, I have to question if TNA has any real fans that attend these tapings, or if they just hand out tickets on the street corner. This show’s crowd was much better then the last few crowds, they at least made some noise and weren’t pathetic. They were apathetic though.
It must be hard to perform in front of a crowd that seems to have no idea what they are there for.

OPENING SEGMENT
Angle is good on the mic, Lashley not so much. Let him loose in the ring and he is a beast. Let him loose on the mic and he is a mouse. That is not a knock on Lashley, he just doesn’t look comfortable in the role.

The real bad part of this segment was Tenay and Taz pushing that Angle was dropping this Main Event contender’s match on Lashley without prior notice. Taz said a few times that it was unfair. Really? Does Lashley not watch the show or actually show up to work? Tenay and Taz acted like the matched was dropped out of nowhere.

Stupid. They promoted the match on last week’s IMPACT and opened the show hyping the match. We are supposed to believe Lashley didn’t know?

INTRODUCING TYRES
I have stated a number of times I have become a fan of EC3 and named him the Impact of show numerous times, but not tonight. His segment was a low point of the show. It is nice to see that Brodus . . . Tyres landed work in TNA after getting released from WWE. If you didn’t know Brodus Clay is now in TNA as Tyres.

This segment was just confusing, again. And stupid, again. EC3, Tenay and Taz all called Tryes EC3’s new ‘bodyguard’ in the wake of Spud’s firing. Does that mean Spud was his bodyguard before? I never knew EC3 had a bodyguard. Rhino was never mentioned as a bodyguard.

EC3 set up Tyres’s first match in TNA against . . . Sharkboy, in a pitiful waste of time. Of course, Sharkboy lost.

There was one thing I liked, when Devon came out to defend Bully Ray, he was attacked by Bram. I want to see that feud.

I didn’t get it to later, Tryes = T-Rex.

HIGH POINTS

TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH
Not a great match, but a good one. Havok is good, but Madison Rayne is better. This was easily the best match Havok has had yet. Madison did a good job of putting over Havok and making her look vulnerable, and strong at the same time.

If anyone beats Havok for the title it should be Gail Kim or Madison Rayne. I still consider it too soon for Havok to be champion.

THE MATCHES

Matt Hardy versus Magnus
Early in the night, Matt and Magnus has a backstage confrontation that lead to Matt and Magnus making this impromptu match. I thought Kurt Angle said that talent can’t make matches, okay, so later they said Angle approved the match.

Decent match, but felt rushed. Didn’t feel like they gelled that well.

Matt Hardy won with a Twist of Fate on Magnus ala Randy Orton as Magnus jumped off the second rope.

JESSE, DJ Z AND LOVE VERSUS THE MANAGERIE
This match was filler at best. A comedy match. Knux is far better than this. The only reason this didn’t make the Low Points is that the Menagerie won, and they needed that.

THE MAIN EVENT – FOUR MAN ELINATION MATCH
Austin Aries versus Jeff Hardy versus Bobby Roode versus Eric Young, four former World Champs fighting for the match against the current Champ Lashley. This match got a lot of time, pulled off some nice things, but there felt like to many ‘pre-planned’ spots. I hated the double pin when Aries and Roode eliminated Hardy and Young at the same time.

Aries versus Roode delivered though, but Roode won out. He will now get his sought after second title match with Lashley.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Not a whole lot to say, an average show at best. But that is not a bad thing.

RATING: 6

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: TNA KNOCKOUTS TITLE MATCH
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: BOBBY ROODE
IMACT OF THE NIGHT: Bram’s attack on Devon.

ACE's ANSWER Monday Night Raw 10/13

Wow, TNA put on a good show Monday Night. Wait a minute . . . Cena . . . Ambrose . . . AJ Lee . . . Monday?!?!

That was a WWE show. THAT WAS RAW!

Please forgive my confusion. These last few weeks RAW has been terrible, especially last Monday. TNA has been good though, hence my confusion that I felt like I watched a wrestling show Monday Night.

What made RAW a good show? Especially since the Cena/Ambrose/Rollins feud was front and center, and I have been bemoaning that it is overdone. Simple answer, the focus was on wrestling. Imagine that.

Monday night, the entire show, with some exceptions, clicked. I was even invested in what they did with the Cena/Ambrose/Rollins feud and how they furthered that.

Okay, let’s get to the low points first:

LOW POINTS

THE DIVAS
Anything to do with the Divas was an utter low point on this show, including Paige and AJ. The two matches we had from them were pathetic. Why the hell was NeNe Leaks on the show? What did she actually bring? I had no idea who she was until they mentioned her as a housewife (I’m guessing Housewives of Atlanta?).

At least Emma wasn’t on the show.

Lame.

Please, stops tying match takes places NOW into Total Divas that was shot MONTHS ago!

ONLY TWO MATCHES FOR HELL IN A CELL
On Monday Night, we were two weeks away from Hell in a Cell, and only two matches are announced. Why not the whole card? This doesn’t help sell PPV’s or the Network.

NO BROCK LESNAR
I am one that said the Champ doesn’t have to be on every show, make his appearances mean something. That said, where is Lesnar? Where is a title match for Hell in a Cell? Not happening. Reports claim that Lesnar isn’t scheduled to return until January and not defend until the Rumble.

30 day rule anyone? 3 months with no champion; 3 months with no title defense; 3 PPVs with no title matches. Utter Fail. Way to devalue the World Title.

HIGH POINTS

AMBROSE/CENA/ROLLINS FEUD
The biggest high point of the show was the Ambrose/Cena/Rollins feud because they actually put a new spin on it and did something that furthered the angle, rather than just retread.

We started out with Ambrose and Cena jaw jacking again – where Cena went complete jackass. This ended when the Authority made their appearance. Stephanie put Cena and Ambrose as a tag team match against the Usos and Gold/Stardust.

Hunter bet Stephanie that Cena and Ambrose couldn’t survive together. He lost the one-dollar bet when Cena and Ambrose won the match. Upset at losing, he made their Hell in the Cell match the main event for the night. Instead of at Hell in a Cell, Ambrose versus Cena in a pole match would happen this night. The winner gets Rollins in Hell in a Cell.

Backstage Orton would inject himself into the angle. He claimed that Ambrose and Cena could beat Rollins any day, but neither could beat him. He asked for the loser of the match to face him in the Main Event Hell in a Cell. This promo had repercussions during the night – read on.

DOLPH ZIGGLER VERSUS RANDY ORTON, WITH CESARO ON COMMENTARY
This match was the match of the night and easily the best match WWE has aired in two months. Dolph showed offed. Randy showcased his vicious side. The match went back and forth, any it was anyone’s game. The finish was awesome. Orton countered a famasser attempt, threw Dolph in the air and hit him with the RKO on the way down.

Great match.

Cesaro added to it, as he was good on commentary. He put Dolph over big time, but put himself over even more. According to Cesaro, Dolph is great, but anything Dolph can do, Cesaro can do better.

Seth Rollins came out during the match, in response to what Orton said about him earlier. Rollins never interfered in the match, but curbstompped Dolph after the match to try and one up Orton.

SETH ROLLINS VERSUS JACK SWAGGER
Two matches back to back in the High Points. Rollins versus Swagger was a good match, and a good follow to Ziggler versus Orton, in more way than one.

Following Rollins example, Orton came down to ringside. After a roll up victory by Rollins, Orton wasted no time in giving a RKO to Swagger, upstaging Rollins.

Are we seeing not just cracks in the Authority but a feud brewing between Rollins and Orton?

RUSEV VERSUS BIG SHOW!
This was a good match; one of the best Rusev has had yet. Big Show sure didn’t look like he was sensitive (after going through sensitivity training) as he dominated Rusev and tore him to pieces. Rusev seemed destined to lose until he leveled Big Show with a beautiful drop kick!

From that point on Rusev tore up the Big Show. Show looked on the verge of passing out or tapping out to the Accolade when Mark Henry interfered to help his friend and broke the hold. Rusev won by DQ.

After the match, Show and Henry cornered Rusev outside the ring. To his credit, Rusev didn’t back down and attacked Henry, only to be knocked out by Big Show.

THE MIAN EVENT
This is the moment they have been setting up all night, Ambrose versus Cena in a NO DQ Contract on a Pole Match, which saw the entire Authority come down to ringside to ‘watch.’

The match was fairly good but we all knew that things would break down and they did. Rollins, Kane and Orton interfered, trying to stop the match I guess. While Cena focused on Kane, Ambrose smirked, climbed the pole and Won the contract.

Cena was pissed. Ambrose outsmarted him and won!

Now we have two Hell in a Cell matches at Hell in a Cell.

Ambrose versus Rollins. This was the right call. Ambrose and Rollins have more upside, and Ambrose has more behind his desire for revenge.

Cena versus Orton, Hell in a Cell. I’m fine with this, an old feud reignited. These two usually have good matches.

I consider this a win-win.

OTHER MATCHES

Sheamus lost to The Miz by count out in what was a throwaway match. The only thing this match could really do is lead to a full-bore Miz v Sheamus feud for the US Title.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Wow, I listed most of this broadcast as the High Points. Unfortunately, though, the DIVAS really bogged the show down and drove down my rating.

Good job WWE! What happen, normal creative missed the day at work?

RATING: 6.5

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: RANDY ORTON VERSUS DOLPH ZIGGLER
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: RANDY ORTON
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: DEAN AMBROSE CONTRACT WIN

AWF THE ELIMINATION PREVIEW

There is something brewing in the desert this Saturday, October 18. This is something that no one can afford to miss and that anyone in the Metro Phoenix Area, or the state of Arizona should attend.

What is it?

Arizona Wrestling Federation Presents:
The Elimination

That’s right. The AWF puts on its next show this Saturday.

The Elimination is a massive 10-man tag team match, with the teams being lead into combat by AWF Champion Adrian Hawkins and his biggest threat The Prophet.

Team Hawkins will consist of Adrian Hawkins, Aydan Colt, Jay Garland, Pali Prince, Magod Ali.

Team Prophet: The Prophet, Alexander Hammerstone, Awesome Andy, Danny Gee, Hawaiian Lion.

Both teams consist of AWF stalwarts, but I know little about the Hawaiian Lion, as I have not seen him in action. That said, with the level of talent on both teams, this match should blow the roof off the house.

Personally, I am going with Team Hawkins. I think Adrian Hawkins and Pali Prince might be villainous enough to pull this out. The most dangerous man in the match could be Hammerstone though.

The show will also seem some fallout from last month’s Retribution event, starting with R-three taking on the man who attacked him last month, the recently identified Michael Kruger.

Per the AWF website, the show will also feature: Los Fox Stars, Kahmora, Hudson Envy and The Deans of Chaos and I am sure more great talent.

FINAL THOUGHTS: GET TICKETS NOW! They are only $7 (online), $10 (at the door). I have been to four AWF events and haven’t been disappointed yet. There has yet to be one bad moment, or a bad match.

AWF website: http://www.arizonawrestlingfederation.com

AWF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arizonawrestlingfederation?_rdr

AWF Youtube: http://youtube.com/channel/UCvKFpdrGnTCTyniqu4uPqHw

They may not be the big boys, but they sure deliver like they are playing on that stage. The AWF men and woman have great talent, lots of heart and go all out.

If you live in Arizona, need your wrestling fix and are tired of TNA and WWE then you owe it to yourself to check out the AWF.

To quote James Storm, if you miss out of the AWF, ‘Sorry about your damn luck.”

AWF RETRIBUTION REVIEW

The Arizona Wrestling Federation does it again!

Deep in the heart of Peoria, AZ, a storm is brewing, a beautiful, multicolored storm of headlocks, takedowns, submissions and chair shots. The only thing raining down in this storm, are wrestlers as they go SPLAT into the seats.

This past September (Saturday, 9/20) the AWF (www.arizonawrestlingfederation.com) put on AWF RETRIBUTION, and if you live in the Valley of the Sun, are a professional wrestling fan and didn’t attend, feel shame. You should be embarrassed. The action the AWF put on for surpassed what the WWE has done lately, and yes RETRIBUTION was better than that following Sunday’s WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS. Far Better.

Before I get into the actual review, I want to tell you what I did the second I got into the venue. I purchased my ticket to their next event: THE ELIMINATION, which takes place on Saturday, October 18.

RETRIBUTION, was, without a doubt, a great show. Not only did we get the AWF stalwarts, we also saw some new talent, R-Three, Evan Daniels, Joey Law, Clutch and Hudson Envy. At least they are talent not at the past few events I have attended.

The AWF once again did what any wrestling promotion should do (hey WWE), put on a WRESTLING show with action, spills, thrills and limited promos. If you want Pro Wrestling action, the AWF has it. Get your fix at their events.

RETRIBUTION MATCHES

The Deans of Chaos d. R-Three & “Exciting” Evan Daniels
This was a good tag team opener with the Deans of Chaos against the debuting R-Three and Evan Daniels. It was a good back and forth match that saw The Deans of Chaos win after R-Three was attacked and misted by an unknown wrestler. The attacker was not identified at the show, but he had a great look, awesome mask and a Freddy Krueger tattoo on his left shoulder.

R-Three is a big guy, and for his size, he moved great.

Super Chaos of The Deans of Chaos looked great. He looked like he has slimmed down over the last few shows and lost some weight, and it shows. He looked great and pulled off some really nice athletic moves. He is one of my favorites.


The Pali Prince d. Joey Law
The Pali Prince, The Eliminator of Entertainment, is my favorite AWF guy. He really took it to Joey Law, and knocked him out to win the match. Magod Ali was in Pali Prince’s corner, and the little heel dissed me even though I was cheering for Pali!


Alex Sinister d. Chris Evans
This match . . . This match was phenomenal. Dave Parrish and Chris Rose were in attendance with me and we all agreed this was the match of the night. Hell it is a contender for Match of the Year from ANY promotion or event I have seen or attended this year. Chris agreed with that.

I cannot praise this match enough.


Magod Ali d. Danny Gee
Magod Ali is the little #$%^ that dissed me earlier in the show, so I was pulling for the Gee. However, Ali can actually go and eked out a victory over Danny Gee in a good mid card match.


Alexander Hammerstone d. Jay Garland
Wow, this match was a hard-hitting affair that saw the He-man like Hammerstone come out on top. Literally, if you see Hammerstone, he looks like He-man.

The most notable part of this match was Hammerstone diving over the top rope and almost landing head first on the floor! The AWF have no padding or guard rail! This is proof of how these guys go all out.


Los Fox Stars d. Gregory  “Go” Sharpe & Clutch
What a crazy and entertaining match this was. Los Fox Stars got in all there lucha moves, but the real story was Sharpe and Clutch. “Go” and the debuting (to me) Clutch just couldn’t get along. The face (“Go”) and Heel (Clutch) duo were never on the same page. This was never more evident then when Clutch introduced a chair into the ring and demanded “Go” use it, he refused. Lox Fox stars won the match.

I loved Clutch.


Awesome Andy d. Aydan Colt
Last Month Awesome Andy challenged Adrian Hawkins in an Awesome match. This match wasn’t quite as Awesome but was still a good match. Awesome Andy is good and almost lives up to the Awesome moniker.


Kahmora d. Hudson Envy
As far as I know, this was Hudson Envy’s AWF debut. It obviously wasn’t her wrestling debut though as she went toe-to-toe, hold-for-hold, move-for-move and actually out matched Kahmora at times. This was an actual wrestling match between two female grapplers. This was not a couple of models that won some stupid contest. That said, this two can easily match any WWE Diva in the looks department.

Kahmora won the match with a roll up and may have pulled Envy’s tights. She didn’t have long to celebrate as Envy chased her to the back.

MAIN EVENT TIME!

AWF CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Adrian Hawkins (C) d. The Prophet

Last month’s Wrestler of the Night Adrian Hawkins defended his title for the second time against the undefeated #1 contender The Prophet. The match was a back and forth affair that for a while saw neither guy gain control. Hawkins seemed like he could never quite get a handle on the Prophet and resorted to cheating. It didn’t work, and we crowned a new AWF Champion when the Prophet pinned Hawkins!

Dammit, I wanted Hawkins to win. Oh, wait, he did win!

Seconds after the pin fall, the ref discovered a foreign object on The Prophet, a pair of knucks. He reversed the decision and gave the win to Hawkins!

SECRET TIME: Keep this quiet, but the ref was down and never saw Hawkins plant the knucks on Prophet. Prophet did win the match fair and square.

This was a good match and I loved the screw job finished. This was an old school, Jerry Lawler type finish. It was great in that it can create more heat on the heel and get more people emotionally invested in the feud then any stupid promo or backstage segment.

FINAL THOUGHT: Awesome Wrestling Federation did it again. Another Great show. All I can really do is repeat what I wrote in the intro, 10 fold.

RATING: 8.5

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Alex Sinister versus Chris Evans
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: Alex sinister and Chris Evans (tie)
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: Adrian Hawkins screwing Prophet out of his victory.

WEEK IN REVIEW - 10/5 to 10/11

What a week of wrestling we have had! What can I say, what words can I use to describe this past week in Wrestling? These are a few words that come to mind: disappointing, horrendous, lame, good, and pathetic.

WWE

Using the words above, this is how I would describe this past week of WWE: disappointing, horrendous, lame, and pathetic.

Notice I didn’t use the word Good. That comes later.

RAW this week was horrendous, lame and pathetic. It didn’t even earning a rating, or much in the way of a full review. It was basically a repeat of the last two weeks’ Raw and Smackdown, right down to the main event.

It was even downright insulting at times. El Torito versus Min-Gator? Really? Kathie and Hoda twerking and smashing bottles on each other’s asses? I thought they were there to talk breast cancer and Susan G. Komen.

If your eagled eye, you’ll notice there was no Smackdown review this week. It is not that I didn’t watch the show until late, it’s because it didn’t deserve to be reviewed.

I can sum up the 15th Anniversary Broadcast of Smackdown in one word: LAME.

WWE you need to step up big time. Hell in A Cell is two weeks away and we only have one match announced. This is not the way to sell a PPV or the Network . . . not even at $9.99.

TNA

GOOD. This is where that word comes in. TNA was good and far and away the best wrestling broadcast this week. Except for the crowd, it was a rebound from last week’s disappointing show.

TNA has been putting out good shows lately, and seems to be getting back to basics, which is wrestling!

However, I do have to call out TNA. Bound for Glory is/was TODAY (10/12), so why in the hell did they only announced the card this past Wednesday? That is not a good move if they are courting a new TV deal and possibly new Network.

FINAL THOUGHTS: TNA ruled the roost, WWE laid an egg.

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Full Metal Mayhem, The Dudley’s versus the Hardy’s versus the Wolves
WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: The Wolves
IMPACT OF THE WEEK: ROCKSTAR SPUD slapping EC3.

TNA IMPACT STRESS TEST 10-8-2014

IMPACT STRESS TEST RESULT

PASSED

Last week Impact was not a very good show, it barely passed my stress test and I had many issues with the show. This week is different.

This show, while not on par with the Manhattan Center shows, was superior to last week’s show in every way.

There were far better matches, good promo segments, but a horrendous crowd.

THE LOW POINT

The crowd. Dave Parrish texted me that the crowd was so quite he thought he was in church while watching the show. It’s amazing that a professional wrestling crowd can be so quiet, and honestly, lame. This is not making TNA look good to potential network suitors if they can’t get a crowd going.

Only twice did they crowd react to anything. The first was in support of Spud. It was nice to see Spud getting some love.

The only other time was for Full Metal Mayhem; they came alive and even had a couple of chants going. Too little too late though.

That is my only real low point for the show.

THE HIGH POINT

Spud slapping EC3. EC3 turned a corner a couple of months back and has become one of the best things about TNA. Spud could be on the verge of turning his corner. He did not allow EC3 to push him around and even mocked EC3. When EC3 called Spud a loser, Spud responded with ‘I am Rockstar Spud.’ When EC3 slapped Spud, Spud slapped back. Yes, Spud was fired, but Spud also showed his fire.

The important thing here is that he called himself ROCKSTAR SPUD. He hasn’t done that in a long time. He said it with confidence. Is this his face turn? Could we see him return to the leather-wearing, obnoxious, anti-authority ROCKSTAR gimmick? That would be nice.

PROMOS

Bobby Roode called out Bobby Lashley, wanting Lashley’s answer to his challenge. Last week Bobby received MVP’s answers, but he wants to hear directly from Lashley. Of course, Lashley doesn’t come out; MVP does and repeats his answer from before, No.

King picked up on Bobby’s claim that he will do anything to be World Champion again, which leads to a match, MVP and King versus Bobby Roode. If Roode wins, he gets his title match. If Roode loses, he never gets a shot at the World Title for his entire career.

I’ve always wondered this, how can talent make matches and stipulations without ‘management’ approval or contacts?

Later in the back, Lashley shows up while MVP and King are talking. MVP tells him what is going on. King tells him to have a ‘Thank you’ ready.

Bobby doesn’t look to be on the same page as MVP and King.

There was a backstage confrontation between Gunner and Shaw. Tension rises between the two as Gunner tell Shaw to be himself and Shaw tells Gunner to be more supportive.

MATCHES

Three-way Knockouts match to determine the next challenger to Havok after her title defense against Velvet Sky at Bound for Glory. Havok versus Velvet Sky at Bound for Glory? They just announced this? Bound for Glory takes places this weekend and we are only now hearing the matches?

The match pits Angelina Love versus Taryn Terrell versus Madison Rayne. A standard knockout match, and that means a good match. Madison Rayne won the match and title shot. Taryn won a beat down from Havok as Madison left for the back.

Damn good tag team match between Storm and Sanada versus Low Ki and Tigre Uno. This match was exciting, fast paced and hard hitting. The time that Low Ki and Storm had in the ring was awesome. I want to see a singles match between those two.

No DQ match between Bram and Shaw. Not a great match, but a serviceable one and a hard-hitting match that actually used the No DQ stip, with chairs and Bram’s signature turnbuckle spike. Shaw stepped up big time and put on his best match to date, but fell short as Bram won the match.

Handicap Match for a World Title Shot, MVP and Kenny King versus Bobby Roode. I have to admit, this match was a bit of a letdown. With these three guys involved, it should have been better. The end was also confusing, after Roode pinned MVP, Lashley attacked Roode to prevent the pin fall on King. Roode wins the match, but not the Title Shot? Tenay claimed on commentary that the stipulation was that Roode had to submit or pin MVP and King. That was never mentioned before the match. Cheap screw job.

I asked about how can talent make matches, that was answered backstage after this match. According to Kurt Angle, they can’t. MVP can’t make matches, the match doesn’t count and Bobby Roode will be able to compete for the World Title again.

Full Metal Mayhem between the Hardy’s, Team 3D and The Wolves. This is the match that finally, almost, lived up to the billing. It was a really good match and all six guys went all out. My only drawback was there were too many planned out spots where it seems like the guys were waiting for things to happen.

The Wolves won, leaving Team 3D and the Hardy’s laying. I’m a little surprised by that. I thought, like many others, that TEAM 3D would win, and go into the Hall of Fame as tag champions. I think this was the right call though, The Wolves are the team that should have won, they are the future of TNA Tag Teams.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I needed my wrestling fix this week, especially after a terrible Monday Night Raw. TNA IMPACT delivered. This was a really good show, I may have been disappointed with the MVP/King versus Bobby Roode match, but there wasn’t a bad match on the card and the promos were good too.

RATING: 6.5

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Full Metal Mayhem
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: The Wolves
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: Rockstar Spud.

Ace's Answer Raw Report 10/8/2014

I had something snappy I wanted to write here, but I decided against it. This commentary is going to be short and straight to the point.

This entire week’s MONDAY NIGHT RAW was the low point. Once again, it was a complete rehash of the last two weeks of Raw and even last Friday’s Smackdown.
There was one good moment on RAW . . . and no, that was not the surprise return of the Rock. Even if I were a Rock fan, I would have to be unbiased and admit that segment was worthless. What? A feel good moment with Rock sending Rusev backtracking?

This means nothing unless Rock does a program with Rusev. I don’t think that will happen. All this did was devalue the WWE locker room, again. The Rock said that Rusev was undefeated because he was bigger and stronger than most of the locker room, but the Rock – not even a part-timer – can come in and push Rusev around.
No. The Lone good moment on RAW was Joan Londen. She came out for the right reason, for something important and had poignant words to say. The fight against breast cancer is something important, and Joan Londen treated this the right way.
Unlike Kathie Lee and Hoda who just embarrassed themselves and made a joke of the reason they were on the show.

What else happened on this show? A bunch of rehash matches we have seen every RAW and Smackdown for the last month. El Torito versus Mini-Gator, Emma, Kathie Lee and Hoda smacking each other on the ass with bottles, Kane and Orton in another match with Cena and Ambrose, Ambrose doing his best Stone Cold?

Were there even any matches worth mentioning? No, really.

The only thing that was furthered was Cena v Ambrose, not either one v Rollins. We finally have a match for Hell in a Cell: Cena versus Ambrose, the winner faces Rollins in the Hell in a Cell. (Are we honestly supposed to believe that the loser of the Ambrose/Cena match won’t be involved in the Hell in the Cell match some way?)
That’s nice, but what about the rest of the card?

What a waste.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I feel asleep during RAW.

RATING: Not giving this show a rating, it doesn’t deserve it.

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Hell no.
WRESTLER OF THE NIGHT: Did anyone wrestle?
IMPACT OF THE NIGHT: Joan Lunden.

Dave's Battle Axe #3 - The Incredible Cody Rhodes

When I started getting back into wrestling in 2011 after a long hiatus, the landscape was the same, just the names were different. Well, some of the names at least. There was still an Orton, still a DiBiase, a Neidhart and so forth. Legacy wrestlers who have rich family histories can either cash in on the reputations that precede them or get lost in their own shadows.

Cody Rhodes always seemed to do neither. In a family full of characters already, Cody was doing something different from them and different from everyone else in the WWE back then. I could tell right away that this guy loved comic books. When “Dashing” Cody Rhodes morphed into a vengeful Dr. Doom-like persona forced to wear a protective mask, he took the gimmick and ran with it straight to his first Intercontinental title - a belt he transformed back into a more classic 80’s style that the fans have loved ever since.

Flash ahead to 2014 and another transformation. With the triumphant return of his brother Dustin to the WWE in the form of Goldust at Royal Rumble 2013 it was only a matter of time before the Rhodes brothers would tag up and start making some noise. The tag division had been languishing with a lot of odd pairings that with the exception of Team Hell No in 2012, mostly didn’t work. Cody + Goldust laid the groundwork for the great run that the Uso’s just had but when Cody became the ethereal Stardust character recently, everything clicked into place.

Stardust is both the perfect complement to Goldust in the weirdness department and the perfect super villain, capable of owning a seat at the Legion of Doom (Super Friends). By taking a cue from Frank Gorshin’s Riddler on the old Batman TV show, Cody created an instant fan favorite. What everyone failed to notice at first was the red contacts he put in (how does he wrestles with those in?) that should have tipped everyone off that a heel turn was coming eventually.

Cody has always been a good soldier in wrestling. Great in-ring moves, very little injury time off and always willing to help put someone else over for a storyline, he has to be a dream for WWE management. What people don’t realize with this latest persona though is that he’s changed up his wrestling style completely. When Jeff Hardy tried pulling a similar trick off recently with his Willow persona over on TNA Impact, it fell flat in comparison, mostly because his style didn’t change much.

You see, Cody Rhodes has had the cosmic key to success all along. By embracing the family legacy, creating a memorable character and integrating his own sensibilities into the mix he has locked in a winning combo for his career. Will Stardust be around forever? It’s too soon to say but I can’t wait to see where Cody Rhodes will take us next.

- Dave Parrish

CJ’s Sight NXT 10/02/2014

Charlotte pins Bayley in about 10:43 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
Charlotte wins with the Natural Selection. Damn, this was an excellent match between the two. I would rate this the same as their NXT Takeover II match. The match was different from the first, but accomplished the same thing. They both impressed us, fantastic work from the wrestlers.

A taped segment occurred with Enzo, Cassidy, and Carmella. Enzo told Carmella that he would teach her everything he knows. Enzo hits on Carmella but she drop kicks him out of the ring. Funny stuff. I actually enjoyed the segment from these two.

Baron Corbin destroys Troy McClain in a minute
Typical squash. Awesome finisher. Moving on.

The VaudeVillians defeated Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger in about 3:58
English pinned Dillinger after a Swanton. NXT is definitely enhancing their Tag Team Division. This match definitely proves that they are on the right path.

Backstage, Devin Tayler was talking to Bayley about another loss for the Championship. Sasha attacked Bayley. Sasha says she will show why she is the BOSS of NXT.

Adrian Neville pins Tyson Kidd in about 12:48 to retain the NXT Championship.
Neville picked up the pinfall after the Red Arrow. Damn this was another excellent match tonight. These two have so much chemistry together. Titus O’Neil was at ringside and tried to interfere until Sami Zayn ran down and hit O’Neil with a Helluva Kick. It was a nasty looking kick, too. Excellent work from everyone.

Overall, this was an awesome edition of NXT. There was not a bad spot on the entire show. The two title matches left us wanted all those competitors to meet again. The other two matches accomplished something. The backstage and taped segments were entertaining. As I said earlier, there was not a bad spot on this show. Well done from everyone involved with this show. Crew included.

Final grade 7.5/10.

Week in Review 9/28 - 10/4

Unfortunately do to some commitments I was unable to watch Smackdown until late Saturday night. There is no full review of Smackdown, but it is covered here.

WWE

I love Professional Wrestling. I love good Professional wrestling even more. You know, action packed events that actually have life and death matches taking places inside a squared circle. Matches, not episodes of the View with half-naked guys bitching and moaning, well, like bitches.

Unfortunately, it seems like the WWE has more in common with The View at time than it does Professional Wrestling. I understand the whole ‘Soap Opera for men’ theory, but when it becomes a Soap Opera . . .

If we want make an analogy, Pro Wrestling should be a full throttle, pedal to the metal action film, a live action Die Hard, with thrills, spills, intensity and some good drama.

Instead, we get General Hospital. Not even that good, what we are getting right now is more like Corporal Hospital.

This past Monday Night Raw was a pathetic rehash of the previous week. In fact, Smackdown was a repeat of Raw, from the opening of the show to the main event. The only difference being that Cena bailed on Ambrose. (Am I the only one who noticed how Cena has constantly screwed tag team partners?)

With Smackdown, I feel like I spend more time fast forwarding through Raw recaps, then actually watching Smackdown. Yes, there were matches, but mostly retreads.
Were there some good moments this week? Of course. The Low Points greatly outweighed the High Points though. The Ambrose v Cena v Rollins feud is wasting away with no new movement. With Seth Rollin’s wussing out to Paul Heyman, what does it mean now if either Cena or Ambrose gain revenge?

At this moment, I’d rather see Ambrose versus Cena.

The WWE needs to do something and do it now. They haven’t even set one match for Hell in a Cell yet.

TNA

TNA was better than WWE this week, but that is not saying much. The last few weeks of TNA have been superior to WWE. They have also been superior to this week’s TNA broadcast.

This week saw poor payoffs to almost perfectly built up stories – Havok’s Battle royal win and Aries’ Tournament win.

There was also a sloppy match between Aries and Joe.

Then there was the crowd. Were they there for TNA or some other event they were waiting for?

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was not a good week for the big boys. They can do better. Much better and we all know it. We as fans demand better, not just because we pay for tickets, merchandise and the Network, but because we know they can do better.

TNA, WWE do not take mine, or any other fans, criticism as not liking TNA, WWE or Pro Wrestling. We speak our honest feelings because we have faith. Faith that you can do better.

This is the point where I would normally name a Match, Wrestler and Impact of the week, but I honestly don’t think anything this week deserved or earned it.

IMPACT STRESS TEST 10/1/2014

Impact Stress Test Result

Stalled

We kicked off October off with a spectacular edition of Impact . . . Is what I would start out with if that had happened. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

What TNA delivered this week was average. Nowhere near what the quality has been over the last month. It really seemed like it was thrown together at the last moment, or at least that a lot of stuff was reshuffled or rethought during the show.

It had the basis for a good show, but it didn’t quite gel. The problems were two fold, poor payoffs of angels, and a seeming lack of interest.

The Low Points:

Austin Aries and Samoa Joe
Anyone who reads Wrestlementary has to know that I am a huge Aries fans, and that last week I proclaimed they need to put the world title around his waist now. The World Title. What did they do this week? How did they follow up last week’s spectacular show where Aries won the right to face any champion?

The answer, have Joe bully Aries into a match. Yes, Joe bullied Aries into a match, telling Aries that if he was going to face anyone, it would be him (Joe.) They then went on to have an extremely sloppy match.

This whole thing made no sense to me, why dedicate an entire show to a tournament, only to pay it off in an OPENING MATCH, and have the champion bully the tournament winner into a match.

Even if the match was Joe versus Aries, it should have been a marque, main event match.

Havok versus Gail Kim
My same reason as Aries versus Joe, this was a poor pay off. Plus, it’s another case of TNA putting a World Title on a newcomer and pissing on the established stars. Have Havok win the battle royal, have her injury Gail, just don’t put the title on her right away.

It’s an old angle, challenger attacks champion, injuries them, then courageous champion still goes on to defend the title.

The bigger problem than the poor payoff is that putting the title on her right away devalues the entire locker room. Are they any credible challengers to Havok? How can there be when she has already destroyed the knockout’s locker room and ran through the entire roster in the battle royal?

The Crowd
I wrote a number of times of how great the crowd was at the Manhattan Center. I also wrote how I had concerns about the crowd for Bethlehem, PA. Those concerns turned out to be prophetic. This crowd was the most pathetic crowd I have ever seen at any wrestling event, much less a broadcast show.

Aries tried to rally the crowd, asking them whom he should face. He received zero response. Joe received no response when he came out.

Bobby Roode tried to get a ‘one more match’ chant going when challenging Lashley. The crowd was dead. Literally.

If one takes a good look, most of the area was blacked out. Many of the lights were turned off. When the action, and the camera(s), came close to the guardrail, it was plainly seen that most of the seats were empty.

I think the entire crowd in this arena may have filled one section of the Manhattan Center.

TNA should never have aired this, but they have little options with their current status. A turnout like this, to a televised taping, cannot help their cause in trying to find a new TV deal.

The High Points

MVP, Kenny King, Mister Anderson and Sarge
This is how you pay off an angle, and continue it. Anderson comes to the aid of Sarge and confronted King and MVP. Anderson challenged King to a match, but MVP stepped up and took the fight. MVP and Anderson went on to have an extremely good match, which MVP won after some distractions.

This accomplished three things: It put Anderson front and center as a face and has him back in the spotlight. TNA needs his star power. It also showed friendship between King and MVP with King thanking MVP for stepping up and taking the match.

But it really solidifies that the half man-half amazing Playa is back.

EC3 and Eric Young
Both of these guys have been on fire for months. EC3 really ripped into Spud, blaming him for Auntie D. EY came out to Spud’s defense and cut a passionate promo about knowing Spud’s predicament, having been a lackey once himself.

This lead to a good match been EC3 and EY and both guys delivered.

The Dudley’s, The Hardy’s, The Wolves
Their promo segment helped saved this broadcast. Great mic skills, both the Dudley’s and Hardy’s propping each other and trying to spank the new team on the block. This lead to a brawl with the Wolves protecting their territory. That territory being their budding legacy and the TNA World Tag Team titles.

Finally, we got the announcement that the next match in this series will be Full Metal Mayhem.

FINAL THOUGHTS: TNA had set things up greatly and they were cruising while at the Manhattan Center. Once they left, it seems that things might return to where they were. I hope not.

This crowd was a big reason for the lack luster of this show. Don’t expect it to get better; they taped a number of Impact shows in a week or so. From what I understand, at times they taped multiple broadcasts worth of shows in one day/evening, which means we can have the same pathetic crowd for two or three shows.

From the Knockouts Battle Royal to last week’s tournament, TNA was poised to grab the wrestling world by the balls and crush it. The problem is, it seems like TNA choked.

RATING: 5 – The lowest rating I have given TNA since July.

Match of the Night: MVP versus Mister Anderson
Wrestler of the Night: Gail Kim – Yes, I thought the angle was a poor pay off. That said, Gail Kim was excellent and sold everything and really put Havok over. Havok is good, Gail made her look better.
Impact of the Night: The piss poor crowd. I have written before that an impact can be negative. I will point it out when this is the case. This was the case. This crowd was horrible.