Match 1: The Briscoes vs. The Guardians of Truth
The Guardians of Truth is Truth Martini’s big surprise as two guys with completely blackened masks come out and look to face off against The Briscoes. We have no apparent idea who these guys are and the commentators are left confused. The Guardians start off strong but in essence, this match comes off as a glorified squash match as The Briscoes quickly get the better of the team as Jay Briscoe rolls up one of them to get the pretty easy victory. Afterwards, Briscoes pick up Truth Martini and look to knock him out until The Guardians rescue him. The right match to open the show and nothing really notable here.
Winners: The Briscoes
Rating: *¼
Match 2: Eddie Edwards vs. Homicide
After Homicide attacked Edwards on television, a match between the two was officially signed for the iPPV. I’m a big fan of both guys so watching them go at it was very enjoyable as their wrestling styles gelled together nicely. Although Homicide is from New York and Edwards is from Boston, it was cool to see Edwards get the bigger pop from the crowd. The match didn’t last too long and in some sense, was the best call considering the large card for the rest of the show. What I did not like was seeing Homicide go over Edwards. I understand that they want to have Homicide challenge for the ROH World Championship but it shouldn’t be at the expense of Edwards.
Winner: Homicide
Rating: **¼
Match 3: Hybrid Fighting - Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly
The rules for this match are somewhat odd but it is very fitting and should make for an exciting match. Off the gate, the action was quick and O’Reilly looks to have the advantage with his extensive training. However, the two land nasty kicks to each other simultaneously during the middle of the match that left Cole bleeding ridiculously from his mouth. The amount of blood that dripped out was insane and added a whole new level to the match. O’Reilly seemingly has this one in the bag but Cole refuses to give up and allows the blood to become a means of inspiration. Cole is fired up and the crowd is eating every little minute of it. The commentators also did a great job of building the moment and noting how Cole’s refusal to wear a mouth guard ended up biting him in the rear end. Cole still doesn’t let up and the two exchange insane blows until the submission game becomes the weapon of choice. An awesome stretch of reversals results in Cole putting O’Reilly in the Figure Four to pick up the huge win. Cole offers his hand to O’Reilly which leads to O’Reilly slapping Cole in the face. The huge rivalry is over but not before creating a huge star in Adam Cole. An amazing performance from both men.
Winner: Adam Cole
Rating: ****
Match 4: Michael Elgin vs. Fit Finlay
Tensions between the guys in House of Truth grow as Roderick Strong continues to toy with Elgin and Elgin demands that no one accompany him ringside. In a lot of ways, this match was very similar to Roderick’s match a month back. Finlay has a very distinct style of wrestling and it shows in nearly all of his matches. There’s no reason to change your style when something has been working for decades. Just a very tough brawl with tons of technical moves, lots of fun to see but maybe not too much for the live New York crowd. Elgin tries to counter Finlay’s flawless wrestling technique with his powerful strength and it prevails for him. Elgin manages to kill off Finlay with a couple nasty bombs and like Roderick, gets the big win. Afterwards, Truth Martini runs out and celebrates as if he was the one that defeated Finlay. Elgin takes exception to this as he shoves Martini out of the way to shake Finlay’s hand. Good match with a really cool ending that sets up big things within House of Truth.
Winner: Michael Elgin
Rating: ***
Match 5: Mike Bennett vs. Mike Mondo
A quick impromptu match after Mondo interrupts Bennett’s Live PSA and basically calls Maria a whore. Not much to say here that hasn’t already been said. Typical action that we have come to expect from the two and the crowd really wasn’t much into the action. I don’t know why cussing in promos feels like a necessity for some wrestlers. To me, it just comes off as a desperate attempt to gain heat. Anyway, Mondo picks up the upset win against Bennett. Again, nothing to se here, just a way for these guys to get on the card and create a leeway for the main events.
Winner: Mike Mondo
Rating: *¼
Match 6: ROH World Television Championship - Roderick Strong © vs. Jay Lethal vs. Tommaso Ciampa
The Border Wars match between Lethal and Ciampa was one to remember, I’m hoping these guys could repeat that May magic. Tensions between all parties are intense, especially between Lethal and Ciampa who have a shoving contest before the bell. Strong looks to be the forgotten third wheel. Off the bat, the action is fierce and this is the perfect way for the match to be going along considering how the other matches on the card have been. It feels like something refreshing to see these guys wrestle at such a fast pace. Everyone played their roles nicely and it led to a few memorable spots including a huge chopping contest and Lethal locking both his opponents in submissions. However, controversy ended up becoming the main dish here with Strong pinning Ciampa after Prince Nana rolled in the ring that allowed Strong to sit and pin Ciampa. Afterwards, Strong destroyed Lethal with his nasty finisher to get the win. Fun roller coaster of a match that lacked time to fully develop into something special like the Border Wards match. Like the Elgin match earlier, many stories coming out of this one.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Rating: ***¼
Match 7: ROH World Tag Team Championships - Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team © vs. The All Night Express
The big match feel is once again back and the crowd is all over WGTT as they look to fend off The All Night Express. I can’t get over how awesome WGTT is as heels, they toy with the audience so much to the point where it just becomes so amusing to witness. From the start, WGTT look to have a huge advantage as their size and strength look to be too much for The All Nights to overcome. Even with Kenny King yelling in his corner, Rhett Titus looks to be the whipping boy of the match and seemingly takes the worst beating out of anyone. There was a point during the match where Haas got on the microphone and declared that if the referee didn’t prematurely end the match, WGTT would have to kill Titus. However, The All Nights don’t give up and do everything necessary in order to pick up the win including trying to get the fluke victory by tossing a chair into the hands of Shelton, a callback to Eddie Guerrero. When that doesn’t work, just have Titus drop a nasty DDT on it with the referee’s back turned. The match is becoming hectic and tons of fun. However, WGTT look to turn the tides and have Titus on the ropes until King saves the day and knocks out Benjamin. Titus, who took the biggest beating in the match, takes advantage of this and rolls up Haas for the win! The All Night Express are finally crowned! King & Titus celebrate afterwards before WGTT beat the living hell out of them. I think I liked this match more than most, seeing The All Nights prevail after a nasty beating by tow nasty heels was so cool. Finally, they’re on top.
Winners: The All Night Express
Rating: ***¾
Match 8: ROH World Championship - Anything Goes - Kevin Steen © vs. Davey Richards
While I was not a fan of their match at Border Wards, I have tons of interest in this match for whatever reason. I feel like their chemistry will gel in a much better form under these rules. The crowd has been great all night and they are at an insanely high level right now. Richards has vocally and publicly stated in numerous interviews that he does not like working these types of matches. However, considering the stakes involved here, this type of match was certainly a necessary ingredient to this big feud. The storytelling here was fantastic. To start the match, Kyle O’Reilly comes out and basically berates Richards and the New York crowd as he stated that he will not be in the corner of Davey Richards. Soon after, Richards got the match going with a bang by shoving Steen off the ring apron and through a table. We were able to look at the match and see how badly each man wanted to win. They turned the fight up a few notches and Richards looked like a rabid heel in the process. It’s almost as if he fights in a different manner with this type of character and it worked so well here in New York where the crowd is easily leaning towards Steen. The awesome table spots were innovative and came at crucial moments of the match, the use of the chain was awesome, and the two toying around with each other with Richards’ mouth guard made for such entertaining moments. Normally, I get generally annoyed when a match turns into a wreck in which things get hectic and out of control. However, this idea worked so perfectly because it simply defined the ambience the match was trying to convey. Both guys knocking out the referees made for unpredictable spots, Jim Cornette getting beaten down by Steve Corino was a fitting way for the match to wind down to its end, and Jacobs jumping on Richards in effort to help Steen showed how relentless this group was in its pursuit of taking over the company. Steen hits Richards in his stomach with the spike before finally putting him away to get another huge win. Steen gets on the microphone and puts over Richards as the best in the world while he labels Cornette, the New York City audience, and himself as hypocrites. Very cool to see him put over Richards like that after this huge rivalry. Richards won’t get the credit he simply deserves for this match and for this whole roller coaster of a feud. I liked this match over their previous one a million times over. One of the best ROH matches of the year and one of the best no disqualification matches that I have ever seen. While many believe that I underrated their Border Wars match, I’m sure they will also think that I am overrating this one. I loved the action, I loved the storytelling, I loved the atmosphere, and I loved the madness that ensued. If I had any gripes, it would probably be over how the big spots did not seem to necessarily take a toll of their bodies throughout the match but that can be easily forgiven due to the severities of the match. An awesome match, one that I hope doesn’t go forgotten.
Winner: Kevin Steen
Rating: ****¾
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
A strong showing from Ring of Honor that will ultimately be remembered for its main event. While a couple matches felt out of place, everything seemingly fell into the correct order and the show just had a great flow of things. Definitely the best New York outing that has been put out in quite some time. Steen vs. Richards II should be a match that needs to be watched by the wrestling world. Best in the world.
Rating: 9/10
Monday, July 22, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Review
Match 1: Falls Count Anywhere - Randy Orton vs. Kane
Kicking off the big show is a rematch from WrestleMania between these two in a feud that has led to their families getting involved. I’m normally not a fan of this type of match but these two have a very good chemistry and they managed to make this match more than enjoyable. Fighting through the crowd can become so repetitive but in this case, the first match of the night with two big stars going at it, lots of fun to watch. More than anything, this match was simply two guys beating the living hell out of each other in a fight that led in the crowd and backstage. Zack Ryder even tried to take out Kane but he had no effect at all as Kane continued his focus on the slithering Randy Orton. Great back and fourth action before Kane looks to slam Orton atop a folded chair until Orton escaped Kane’s grip and landed a nasty RKO to avenge his loss a month ago.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***¼
Match 2: Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler
Not liking how we get more Brodus Clay matches on PPV and this should be example A. Ziggler is going to be a future big name for the company so putting him against Clay on PPV in a glorified squash match is so odd to me. Clay gets the win and does the normal routine dances. Nothing to say here, same thing we have seen for months on end.
Winner: Brodus Clay
Rating: ½*
Match 3: Intercontinental Championship - Tables - The Big Show © vs. Cody Rhodes
Another WrestleMania rematch as before the match started, Teddy Long spun a wheel that declared that the two would go at it in this type of match. The match ran for about five minutes with The Big Show basically tossing Rhodes around with ease and looked to have a major advantage in the match due to his size and strength. However, Rhodes managed to land a kick as Show was heading back into the ring which led to Show unintentionally breaking a table with his foot! The referee calls for the bell and Rhodes picks up the fluke win along with the Intercontinental Championship. Show absolutely destroys Rhodes by a Chokeslam through one table followed by tossing him outside of the ring onto another. Interesting way for Rhodes to get the win, something fun and different which may not be liked by most, but I liked it. Show dismantling Rhodes after was also really cool.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Rating: *½
Match 4: World Heavyweight Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls - Sheamus © vs. Daniel Bryan
Yes, it is another rematch from WrestleMania and this time, we will not be getting a squash match for the World Heavyweight Championship! The action kicking off the match is just brilliant, Bryan is truly a master craftsman in the ring and his abilities to counter move after move and use submission after submission shows that. The crowd is hot for this one and Bryan is easily the favorite as they are serenading him in all sorts of chants. Bryan puts his focus into the shoulder of Sheamus and gets disqualified after landing an array of nasty kicks to his shoulder. Bryan doesn’t look the slightest bit concerned as he smiles knowing that he has Sheamus on the ropes. He locks in the Yes Lock and the referee has no choice but to give a fall to Bryan to even up the score. Such a thrilling rematch that looks to have no line of stopping in sight. The doctors are checking up on Sheamus as we get set to begin the final chapter of the match. Sheamus lands a quick Brogue Kick upon Bryan but Bryan kicks out and the crowd goes crazy. Bryan and Sheamus go back and fourth once more until Sheamus lands another Brogue Kick for the big win. That was probably the best match that we have seen from the two in the WWE so far, an amazing wrestling match in front of an amazing crowd. Bryan needed a match like this to legitimize himself once again following his ridiculous match at WrestleMania. However, let’s not discount Sheamus of anything here. He held his own against the red hot Daniel Bryan and looked so confident and worthy of being called champion. Fantastic match that I believe that may end up being the sleeper hit of the night.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ****¼
Match 5: Ryback vs. Aaron Relic & Jay Hatton
I am not a fan of squash matches on PPV. This looks to be a complete mess with Ryback, a guy who is to premature to be on this PPV stage in front of Chicago. He faces these two jobbers and destroys them in under a minute. I understand the exposure reasons but the crowd didn’t like it and I am sure as hell that the people at home watching didn’t care for it.
Winner: Ryback
Rating: n/a
Match 6: WWE Championship - Chicago Street Fight - CM Punk © vs. Chris Jericho
This is the fourth and final rematch from WrestleMania. This one certainly has the chance to blow them all away. In front of Punk’s hometown of Chicago and in front of his family, Jericho has quite the load to deal with. Due to the heavier circumstances of the situation, this match was much more different than their last match. In wrestling terms, this is called psychology and it was nicely in full effect here. Lots of brawling to start off the match with Punk bringing in the always fun kendo stick into the thick of things. However, Jericho looked strong in his role and even toyed with Punk’s sister in the audience before Punk ambushed Jericho and landed nasty blows. Seeing them bring Punk’s sister into the action was great and really makes the audience at home watching see what a jerk Jericho is. He is been amazing in his role as a heel and he is displaying it here. Cool spots in the match included a huge elbow dive off the top turnbuckle from Punk onto the commentators table, Punk escaping a Walls of Jericho with a fire hydrant, and Jericho escaping an Anaconda Vice with nasty kendo stick shots onto Punk’s head. The action was fast, the action was brutal, and the crowd ate up every second of it. It’s almost as if the two were thriving off the energy the crowd was pouring onto them and when Punk reversed Jericho’s attempt of a GTS to his own GTS, the crowd exploded even more. A fitting end to a really special match, I personally don’t think that it topped the World Heavyweight Championship bout earlier but it was close. A big win for Punk as his reign as top dog continues.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ****
Match 7: Divas Championship - Nikki Bella © vs. Layla
Because Beth Phoenix was unable to compete, Eve set a surprise opponent for Bella which ended up being the returning Layla. Crowd is definitely not into this match at all as the anticipation for the main event overshadows everything about this match. Even still, the two had a fun little Divas match which saw Layla win in her return.
Winner: Layla
Rating: *¼
Match 8: Extreme Rules - Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
This is it. One of the biggest matches in modern day professional wrestling history is about to take place as the returning Brock Lesnar looks to tackle down the face of the WWE, John Cena. The crowd is absolutely hyped for this match and the commentators are nicely building this match as a groundbreaking match in the WWE. Lesnar quickly destroys Cena in the opening seconds of the match with nasty elbows that cuts Cena open up big time. Blood pours out of Cena’s head as this match looks to a complete polar opposite of the PG style wrestling that we have come accustomed to seeing in the WWE. Lesnar looks like an absolute animal in this match as Cena looks to be struggling to even stand correctly. While we have seen many Cena matches that have the same type of story, nothing can simply compare to how real this feels. Lesnar is a beast, him manhandling Cena around in and out of the ring makes perfect sense and allows the viewers at home to gain sympathy for Cena in a different shade of light. To add more fuel to the flame, the referee bumps in this match actually made sense and made Lesnar look stronger than he already was. Lesnar looks to have easy control of the match until Cena uses the chain he brought out to the ring to nail Lesnar straight into his head. Lesnar is cut open! Cena takes a dazed Lesnar and lands an Attitude Adjustment onto the steel steps in the middle of the ring to capture the big win! The Chicago crowd erupts as Cena has tackled the beast in a respectful and incredible effort. It’s tough to see where Lesnar goes after this but that was one fantastic match. I don’t remember a time when Cena pulled out a match like this and the same goes for Lesnar. This match was worthy of headlining a WrestleMania and hopefully, we will be able to see the rematch in the future.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****½
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Three fantastic matches easily ranks this PPV among the best in a long time. Sheamus had his best match in his career against Daniel Bryan in a match that legitimizes Bryan after his tough loss, Punk put on a show in front of his hometown against Chris Jericho, and John Cena closed out the night in a memorable main event against the beast incarnate. Ignore the fillers and focus on these matches so you can go out of your way to see this show because this show may be the one that defines the year when all is said and done.
Rating: 9.25/10
Kicking off the big show is a rematch from WrestleMania between these two in a feud that has led to their families getting involved. I’m normally not a fan of this type of match but these two have a very good chemistry and they managed to make this match more than enjoyable. Fighting through the crowd can become so repetitive but in this case, the first match of the night with two big stars going at it, lots of fun to watch. More than anything, this match was simply two guys beating the living hell out of each other in a fight that led in the crowd and backstage. Zack Ryder even tried to take out Kane but he had no effect at all as Kane continued his focus on the slithering Randy Orton. Great back and fourth action before Kane looks to slam Orton atop a folded chair until Orton escaped Kane’s grip and landed a nasty RKO to avenge his loss a month ago.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***¼
Match 2: Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler
Not liking how we get more Brodus Clay matches on PPV and this should be example A. Ziggler is going to be a future big name for the company so putting him against Clay on PPV in a glorified squash match is so odd to me. Clay gets the win and does the normal routine dances. Nothing to say here, same thing we have seen for months on end.
Winner: Brodus Clay
Rating: ½*
Match 3: Intercontinental Championship - Tables - The Big Show © vs. Cody Rhodes
Another WrestleMania rematch as before the match started, Teddy Long spun a wheel that declared that the two would go at it in this type of match. The match ran for about five minutes with The Big Show basically tossing Rhodes around with ease and looked to have a major advantage in the match due to his size and strength. However, Rhodes managed to land a kick as Show was heading back into the ring which led to Show unintentionally breaking a table with his foot! The referee calls for the bell and Rhodes picks up the fluke win along with the Intercontinental Championship. Show absolutely destroys Rhodes by a Chokeslam through one table followed by tossing him outside of the ring onto another. Interesting way for Rhodes to get the win, something fun and different which may not be liked by most, but I liked it. Show dismantling Rhodes after was also really cool.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Rating: *½
Match 4: World Heavyweight Championship - 2 out of 3 Falls - Sheamus © vs. Daniel Bryan
Yes, it is another rematch from WrestleMania and this time, we will not be getting a squash match for the World Heavyweight Championship! The action kicking off the match is just brilliant, Bryan is truly a master craftsman in the ring and his abilities to counter move after move and use submission after submission shows that. The crowd is hot for this one and Bryan is easily the favorite as they are serenading him in all sorts of chants. Bryan puts his focus into the shoulder of Sheamus and gets disqualified after landing an array of nasty kicks to his shoulder. Bryan doesn’t look the slightest bit concerned as he smiles knowing that he has Sheamus on the ropes. He locks in the Yes Lock and the referee has no choice but to give a fall to Bryan to even up the score. Such a thrilling rematch that looks to have no line of stopping in sight. The doctors are checking up on Sheamus as we get set to begin the final chapter of the match. Sheamus lands a quick Brogue Kick upon Bryan but Bryan kicks out and the crowd goes crazy. Bryan and Sheamus go back and fourth once more until Sheamus lands another Brogue Kick for the big win. That was probably the best match that we have seen from the two in the WWE so far, an amazing wrestling match in front of an amazing crowd. Bryan needed a match like this to legitimize himself once again following his ridiculous match at WrestleMania. However, let’s not discount Sheamus of anything here. He held his own against the red hot Daniel Bryan and looked so confident and worthy of being called champion. Fantastic match that I believe that may end up being the sleeper hit of the night.
Winner: Sheamus
Rating: ****¼
Match 5: Ryback vs. Aaron Relic & Jay Hatton
I am not a fan of squash matches on PPV. This looks to be a complete mess with Ryback, a guy who is to premature to be on this PPV stage in front of Chicago. He faces these two jobbers and destroys them in under a minute. I understand the exposure reasons but the crowd didn’t like it and I am sure as hell that the people at home watching didn’t care for it.
Winner: Ryback
Rating: n/a
Match 6: WWE Championship - Chicago Street Fight - CM Punk © vs. Chris Jericho
This is the fourth and final rematch from WrestleMania. This one certainly has the chance to blow them all away. In front of Punk’s hometown of Chicago and in front of his family, Jericho has quite the load to deal with. Due to the heavier circumstances of the situation, this match was much more different than their last match. In wrestling terms, this is called psychology and it was nicely in full effect here. Lots of brawling to start off the match with Punk bringing in the always fun kendo stick into the thick of things. However, Jericho looked strong in his role and even toyed with Punk’s sister in the audience before Punk ambushed Jericho and landed nasty blows. Seeing them bring Punk’s sister into the action was great and really makes the audience at home watching see what a jerk Jericho is. He is been amazing in his role as a heel and he is displaying it here. Cool spots in the match included a huge elbow dive off the top turnbuckle from Punk onto the commentators table, Punk escaping a Walls of Jericho with a fire hydrant, and Jericho escaping an Anaconda Vice with nasty kendo stick shots onto Punk’s head. The action was fast, the action was brutal, and the crowd ate up every second of it. It’s almost as if the two were thriving off the energy the crowd was pouring onto them and when Punk reversed Jericho’s attempt of a GTS to his own GTS, the crowd exploded even more. A fitting end to a really special match, I personally don’t think that it topped the World Heavyweight Championship bout earlier but it was close. A big win for Punk as his reign as top dog continues.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ****
Match 7: Divas Championship - Nikki Bella © vs. Layla
Because Beth Phoenix was unable to compete, Eve set a surprise opponent for Bella which ended up being the returning Layla. Crowd is definitely not into this match at all as the anticipation for the main event overshadows everything about this match. Even still, the two had a fun little Divas match which saw Layla win in her return.
Winner: Layla
Rating: *¼
Match 8: Extreme Rules - Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena
This is it. One of the biggest matches in modern day professional wrestling history is about to take place as the returning Brock Lesnar looks to tackle down the face of the WWE, John Cena. The crowd is absolutely hyped for this match and the commentators are nicely building this match as a groundbreaking match in the WWE. Lesnar quickly destroys Cena in the opening seconds of the match with nasty elbows that cuts Cena open up big time. Blood pours out of Cena’s head as this match looks to a complete polar opposite of the PG style wrestling that we have come accustomed to seeing in the WWE. Lesnar looks like an absolute animal in this match as Cena looks to be struggling to even stand correctly. While we have seen many Cena matches that have the same type of story, nothing can simply compare to how real this feels. Lesnar is a beast, him manhandling Cena around in and out of the ring makes perfect sense and allows the viewers at home to gain sympathy for Cena in a different shade of light. To add more fuel to the flame, the referee bumps in this match actually made sense and made Lesnar look stronger than he already was. Lesnar looks to have easy control of the match until Cena uses the chain he brought out to the ring to nail Lesnar straight into his head. Lesnar is cut open! Cena takes a dazed Lesnar and lands an Attitude Adjustment onto the steel steps in the middle of the ring to capture the big win! The Chicago crowd erupts as Cena has tackled the beast in a respectful and incredible effort. It’s tough to see where Lesnar goes after this but that was one fantastic match. I don’t remember a time when Cena pulled out a match like this and the same goes for Lesnar. This match was worthy of headlining a WrestleMania and hopefully, we will be able to see the rematch in the future.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****½
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Three fantastic matches easily ranks this PPV among the best in a long time. Sheamus had his best match in his career against Daniel Bryan in a match that legitimizes Bryan after his tough loss, Punk put on a show in front of his hometown against Chris Jericho, and John Cena closed out the night in a memorable main event against the beast incarnate. Ignore the fillers and focus on these matches so you can go out of your way to see this show because this show may be the one that defines the year when all is said and done.
Rating: 9.25/10
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