From November 23, 2009.
Just like No Way Out 2008, No Way Out 2009 featured two Elimination
Chamber matches and just like last year, this show was amazing!
Match 1: Elimination Chamber - WWE Championship - Edge (c) vs. Jeff
Hardy vs. Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Undertaker vs. The Big Show vs. Triple
H
This is how you book an Elimination Chamber match. When I
heard The Undertaker's music start off the show, I was totally shocked. I
thought that this would be the main event match but once Edge was the
first man eliminated, the pieces of the puzzle finally went together.
After Jeff Hardy eliminated the WWE Champion, things got intense, and
may I remind you that this was in the first 5 minutes of the match. Once
Edge was eliminated, the two big heels entered the match where they
battled it out until Triple H entered. Finally, The Undertaker entered
as he and Triple H were the two last remaining men in the Chamber. The
two then wrestled in around 5 minutes and they filled up those 5 minutes
with back and forth action that left me on the edge of my seat. Triple H
finally hit a second Pedigree on The Undertaker to win the WWE
Championship once again.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ****1/2
Match 2: No Holds Barred - Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton
Going into this match, my expectations were very high but at the same
time, I was worried how this match would turn out considering the show
is now PG. However, I can say with my head up high that this match was a
bloody brawl that kids should not watch! In regular Shane McMahon
fashion, things got out of hand. From the leap off the top rope onto an
announcer's table, a superplex through a table, a Coast to Coast, and
other vicious moves, Orton picked up the victory after landing a
surprise RKO on Shane McMahon. Although this is the PG era of the WWE,
this match was bloody and violent. It was good to see Shane back in the
ring and it was even better to see him put over Orton like this.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/2
Match 3: ECW Championship - Jack Swagger (c) vs. Finlay
After two amazing and brutal matches, this one had absolutely no
chance of winning over the crowd. I think this match would have been a
lot better if it were to be placed as the opener. As for the match
itself, it was just slow and a huge crowd killer with nothing special
really happening. Swagger hit his Gutwrench Powerbomb finisher to put
away Finlay and retain his ECW Championship.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Rating *1/4
Match 4: Shawn Michaels vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Shawn Michaels has a perk of making old wrestlers look amazing and he
did that in his match with JBL. At this point, JBL is pretty much
finished but you wouldn't know that by watching his match with Michaels
here. With a lot at stake in this match, the two told a great story of
Michaels fighting for his freedom and JBL fighting for Michaels. A good
match and a good send off for the main event.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
Rating: **
Match 5: Elimination Chamber - World Heavyweight Championship - John Cena (c) vs. Edge vs. Mike Knox vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho
Before the match took place, Edge attacked Kofi Kingston and took his spot in the Chamber. Jericho
and Mysterio then started the match as they battled all over the
Chamber until Kane and Knox were unleahed from their pods to slow the
action down a bit. Mysterio then hit a Seated Senton off the top of one
of the pods to eliminate Kane and Jericho hit a Codebreaker to eliminate
Knox. After, Edge entered and the three men all fought until the World
Heavyweight Champion entered the match. Cena looked dominant but was
stopped after a 619, a Codebreaker, and a Spear which then eliminated
him from the match. The match then goes into top gear and it just takes
off as we are now bound to crown another World Champion! Mysterio and
Jericho went after another but Mysterio was too much for Jericho as
Mysterio pinned Jericho with a roll-up and now it's a one on one match
between Edge and Mysterio, a repeat of their No Way Out 2008 match. Edge
and Mysterio then went after another in back and fourth action where
every near fall was closer than the last one. Mysterio then hit a
reverse 619 on Edge but Edge threw Mysterio into a pod and Speared him
to win the World Heavyweight Championship in an incredible way! I didn't
think it was possible to top the first Elimination Chamber match but
this one did just that. The part of the match where Knox and Kane were
in it were very slow but it's hard to complain about that when they were
in there for a short period of time. When Edge and Cena entered, the
match didn't look back as the four remaining men in the match brought
their game.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ****3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
I didn't think this year's No Way Out would top last years but it did
as the two Elimination Chambers were heart pounding beauties. The rest
of the card was decent to good but it's hard to say they were time
wasters as those matches gave credibility to Swagger, put over Orton as a
monster heel, and ended the great Michaels/JBL feud. If you are
interested in checking this PPV out, then do it. No Way Out 2009 is a
great PPV and should be checked out by everyone.
Rating: 9/10
Saturday, July 12, 2014
WWE The Bash 2009 Review
From November 23, 2009.
With Randy Orton taking out Batista and Ric Flair, Triple H was determined to do the same to Orton himself in a 3 Stages of Hell match. Also, Jeff Hardy challenges CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship after Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Hardy at Extreme Rules.
Match 1: Championship Scramble - ECW Championship - Tommy Dreamer (c) vs. Mark Henry w/ Tony Atlas vs. Jack Swagger vs. Christian vs. Finlay
Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Scramble match and I was tremendously happy when I heard the news that the ECW Championship would be defended in one. The match itself was very sloppy and eventually turned into a cluster with so much going on at once. There were some nice spots like Dreamer and Christian leaping out of the ring onto the other competitors but that was pretty much it. Dreamer won after landing his famous DDT and getting the last pin fall before the time clock expired.
Winner: Tommy Dreamer
Rating: *3/4
Match 2: Mask vs. Title - Intercontinental Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
After these two had phenomenal matches at both Judgment Day and Extreme Rules, it would only be fitting for them to have one more match. The match itself was nonstop and was full of action as these two were given the green light and they exploded with amazing move after amazing move. Watching this match felt like watching the young and faster Mysterio taking on a young and faster Chris Jericho because they landed some extremely high risk moves like a seated senton out of the ring, a powerbomb off the top rope, and other breathtaking moves. The finish came when Jericho ripped off Mysterio's mask to only find out that Mysterio had a secondary mask under that one. After, Mysterio pinned Jericho to once again win the Intercontinental Championship. This was definitely the show stealer and definitely a contender for match of the year.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ****1/2
Match 3: No Disqualification - The Great Khali w/ Ranjin Singh vs. Dolph Ziggler
After an incredible Intercontinental Championship match, things came to a stop when these two stepped in the ring. This was your typical Khali match with a different ending where Kane came out and distracted Khali to which Ziggler then pinned Khali to get the win.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: 1/2*
Match 4: Unified WWE Tag Team Championships - The Colons (c) vs. Legacy vs. Edge & Chris Jericho
Before the match begun, Teddy Long came out and made the bombshell announcement that Edge & Chris Jericho have been added to the mix. This was the real spark for this match as it was the only real thing that the crowd cared about. The match was involed mostly The Colons and Legacy and it really killed the crowd. The finish finally came when Edge hit a Spear to get the win for him and Jericho.
Winner: Edge & Chris Jericho
Rating: *1/2
Match 5: Women's Championship - Melina (c) vs. Michelle McCool w/ Alicia Fox
Following the tag team match was the Divas match between Melina and Michelle McCool. Things got heated in the opening where McCool dropkicked Melina out of the ring during her entrance. A lot was at stake for both Divas as McCool had the chance to become the first ever Diva to ever hold the Divas Championship and the Women's Championship and Melina had both her pride and championship on the line. McCool eventually got the pin to become the new Women's Champion.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Rating: *3/4
Match 6: World Heavyweight Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
After CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract against Hardy, Hardy challenged Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match went back and fourth a lot with Hardy hitting nice moves on Punk and eventually, he hit the Swantom Bomb to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. However, Punk's leg was under the bottom rope when the referee made the count so the match was restarted. Punk then accidentally kicked the referee to get himself disqualified to end the match. This was a great match but you can tell that they obviously didn't want to pull out all the stops for this one.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: ***
Match 7: John Cena vs. The Miz
This match could either make or break The Miz as his match with Cena is huge! Unfortunately, the match lasted about 5 minutes and Cena won after locking in the STF to kill all of The Miz's momentum that he had built for the past few months. I didn't expect The Miz to win but my God! I was hoping that this match would have been given at least 10 minutes to make The Miz look credible but instead, we got a glorified squash match.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: *
Match 8: 3 Stages of Hell - WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Triple H
The last match of the night was Randy Orton and Triple H going at it once again for the WWE Championship in a 3 Stages of Hell match. The fall of the match was a regular wrestling match which saw Triple H getting himself disqualified after hitting Orton with a steel chair. The second fall of the match was a Falls Count Anywhere match which Triple H won this one with little effort as he continuously hit Orton with the chair and eventually, he pinned him to even the score. The final fall was a Stretcher match that Orton won to retain his title after Ted Dibiase & Cody Rhodes came out to help Orton push Triple H on the stretcher. The match was good but after seeing them wrestle one another so many times, it's just being so stale and uninteresting.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: **3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The Bash 2009 was filled with boring to good matches with the only real good thing coming out of this was the Jericho/Mysterio match which was amazing. I highly suggest you watch their match but other than that, there is no real reason to watch this PPV at all.
Rating: 6/10
With Randy Orton taking out Batista and Ric Flair, Triple H was determined to do the same to Orton himself in a 3 Stages of Hell match. Also, Jeff Hardy challenges CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship after Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Hardy at Extreme Rules.
Match 1: Championship Scramble - ECW Championship - Tommy Dreamer (c) vs. Mark Henry w/ Tony Atlas vs. Jack Swagger vs. Christian vs. Finlay
Personally, I'm a huge fan of the Scramble match and I was tremendously happy when I heard the news that the ECW Championship would be defended in one. The match itself was very sloppy and eventually turned into a cluster with so much going on at once. There were some nice spots like Dreamer and Christian leaping out of the ring onto the other competitors but that was pretty much it. Dreamer won after landing his famous DDT and getting the last pin fall before the time clock expired.
Winner: Tommy Dreamer
Rating: *3/4
Match 2: Mask vs. Title - Intercontinental Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
After these two had phenomenal matches at both Judgment Day and Extreme Rules, it would only be fitting for them to have one more match. The match itself was nonstop and was full of action as these two were given the green light and they exploded with amazing move after amazing move. Watching this match felt like watching the young and faster Mysterio taking on a young and faster Chris Jericho because they landed some extremely high risk moves like a seated senton out of the ring, a powerbomb off the top rope, and other breathtaking moves. The finish came when Jericho ripped off Mysterio's mask to only find out that Mysterio had a secondary mask under that one. After, Mysterio pinned Jericho to once again win the Intercontinental Championship. This was definitely the show stealer and definitely a contender for match of the year.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: ****1/2
Match 3: No Disqualification - The Great Khali w/ Ranjin Singh vs. Dolph Ziggler
After an incredible Intercontinental Championship match, things came to a stop when these two stepped in the ring. This was your typical Khali match with a different ending where Kane came out and distracted Khali to which Ziggler then pinned Khali to get the win.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Rating: 1/2*
Match 4: Unified WWE Tag Team Championships - The Colons (c) vs. Legacy vs. Edge & Chris Jericho
Before the match begun, Teddy Long came out and made the bombshell announcement that Edge & Chris Jericho have been added to the mix. This was the real spark for this match as it was the only real thing that the crowd cared about. The match was involed mostly The Colons and Legacy and it really killed the crowd. The finish finally came when Edge hit a Spear to get the win for him and Jericho.
Winner: Edge & Chris Jericho
Rating: *1/2
Match 5: Women's Championship - Melina (c) vs. Michelle McCool w/ Alicia Fox
Following the tag team match was the Divas match between Melina and Michelle McCool. Things got heated in the opening where McCool dropkicked Melina out of the ring during her entrance. A lot was at stake for both Divas as McCool had the chance to become the first ever Diva to ever hold the Divas Championship and the Women's Championship and Melina had both her pride and championship on the line. McCool eventually got the pin to become the new Women's Champion.
Winner: Michelle McCool
Rating: *3/4
Match 6: World Heavyweight Championship - CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
After CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract against Hardy, Hardy challenged Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match went back and fourth a lot with Hardy hitting nice moves on Punk and eventually, he hit the Swantom Bomb to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. However, Punk's leg was under the bottom rope when the referee made the count so the match was restarted. Punk then accidentally kicked the referee to get himself disqualified to end the match. This was a great match but you can tell that they obviously didn't want to pull out all the stops for this one.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: ***
Match 7: John Cena vs. The Miz
This match could either make or break The Miz as his match with Cena is huge! Unfortunately, the match lasted about 5 minutes and Cena won after locking in the STF to kill all of The Miz's momentum that he had built for the past few months. I didn't expect The Miz to win but my God! I was hoping that this match would have been given at least 10 minutes to make The Miz look credible but instead, we got a glorified squash match.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: *
Match 8: 3 Stages of Hell - WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Triple H
The last match of the night was Randy Orton and Triple H going at it once again for the WWE Championship in a 3 Stages of Hell match. The fall of the match was a regular wrestling match which saw Triple H getting himself disqualified after hitting Orton with a steel chair. The second fall of the match was a Falls Count Anywhere match which Triple H won this one with little effort as he continuously hit Orton with the chair and eventually, he pinned him to even the score. The final fall was a Stretcher match that Orton won to retain his title after Ted Dibiase & Cody Rhodes came out to help Orton push Triple H on the stretcher. The match was good but after seeing them wrestle one another so many times, it's just being so stale and uninteresting.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: **3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The Bash 2009 was filled with boring to good matches with the only real good thing coming out of this was the Jericho/Mysterio match which was amazing. I highly suggest you watch their match but other than that, there is no real reason to watch this PPV at all.
Rating: 6/10
WWE Cyber Sunday 2008 Review
From November 23, 2009.
With the egotistic Chris Jericho as the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista rises up and challenges him for the belt. Will Batista be able to dethrone Jericho? Or will Jericho leave Cyber Sunday with his World Heavyweight Championship around his waist?
Match 1: No Holds Barred - Kane vs. Rey Mysterio
The opening bout of the night was between Kane and Rey Mysterio in what was a boring and uninspiring match. Mysterio really deserves better than this and being in an 11 minute opening match with Kane doesn't help him at all. Mysterio got the win after hitting the 619.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: *
Match 2: ECW Championship - Matt Hardy (c) vs. Evan Bourne
After beating out Finlay and Mark Henry in the voting polls, Evan Bourne gets his first shot at the ECW Championship against Matt Hardy in a match that some may call the sleeper hit of the night. Altough these two weren't given much time, they really put on a show of agility and quickness. Matt Hardy retains his title after hitting the Twist of Fate.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Rating: ***
Match 3: John Morrison & The Miz vs. Cryme Tyme
The third match of the night was a tag team match between these two tag teams. This was an okay match but nothing that should really be on PPV. I'd normally expect this kind of match on Raw or ECW but I guess it wouldn't hurt to give these guys some PPV time.
Winners: John Morrison & The Miz
Rating: *3/4
Match 4: Intercontinental Championship - Santino Marella (c) vs. The Honky Tonk Man
Santino Marella has really established himself as a hilarious jobber and this really was no diferent. This match was really just a comedy match with nothing really special. Santino loses via disqualification to The Honky Tonk Man and retains his title.
Winner: The Honky Tonk Man
Rating: n/a
Match 5: Last Man Standing - The Big Show vs. The Undertaker
This is where the PPV really gets out of first gear with the Last Man Standing match between these two giants. In my opinion, these two have phenomenal chemistry as The Undertaker does such a great job making The Big Show look very good. The match was probably one of the best big man fights that I have seen in a long time as they brawled in and out of the ring. They then took it into outside the ringside barricades where The Big Show drove The Undertaker through the announcer's table in a nice spot. After, The Undertaker put The Big Show in the Hell's Gate submission leaving The Big Show unconscious and unable to answer the count of 10.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ***3/4
Match 6: WWE Championship - Triple H (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
Even though these two had a tremendous match at No Mercy, I think adding Vladimir Kozlov to the mix would have been better but this is Cyber Sunday and the fans had the ability to choose the matches and I guess this is what they wanted. The match itself was very similar to that of their match at No Mercy but that's really a good thing. It was also interesting to see Triple H play the role of a heel here as Hardy was definitely the crowd favorite. After a lot of back and fourth action, Triple H hung Hardy on the ropes and nailed him with the Pedigree to defeat Hardy.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ***3/4
Match 7: Special Guest Referee - World Heavyweight Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. Batista
Before the match begun, Stone Cold Steve Austin was announced as the special guest referee to Chris Jericho's displeasure. With the odds stacked against him, Jericho decided to get himself counted out to leave the show with the belt around his waist. This didn't please Austin so he said that if Jericho gets counted out, Batista would be the new World Heavyweight Champion. Jericho then went back in the ring and dominated Batista to much of the crowd's surprise. Batista didn't give up and fought back against Jericho until Jericho hit a Codebreaker on Austin. This then made Shawn Michaels come down to the ring and he tried to give the fast 3 count to Batista but it failed as JBL pulled him out of the ring and took him out with a devastating clothesline. After, Orton then came down to the ring to be the new referee but Austin gave him a Stone Cold Stunner. Batista then took out Jericho with the Batista Bomb to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Winner: Batista
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The show started off pretty slowly but the final three matches of the night made this show worth talking about. The Last Man Standing match was outstanding, the WWE Championship match was a great back and fourth match, and the World Heavyweight Championship match was fun and hectic. If you're interested in checking this PPV out, then you will not be disappointed.
Rating: 8/10
With the egotistic Chris Jericho as the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista rises up and challenges him for the belt. Will Batista be able to dethrone Jericho? Or will Jericho leave Cyber Sunday with his World Heavyweight Championship around his waist?
Match 1: No Holds Barred - Kane vs. Rey Mysterio
The opening bout of the night was between Kane and Rey Mysterio in what was a boring and uninspiring match. Mysterio really deserves better than this and being in an 11 minute opening match with Kane doesn't help him at all. Mysterio got the win after hitting the 619.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating: *
Match 2: ECW Championship - Matt Hardy (c) vs. Evan Bourne
After beating out Finlay and Mark Henry in the voting polls, Evan Bourne gets his first shot at the ECW Championship against Matt Hardy in a match that some may call the sleeper hit of the night. Altough these two weren't given much time, they really put on a show of agility and quickness. Matt Hardy retains his title after hitting the Twist of Fate.
Winner: Matt Hardy
Rating: ***
Match 3: John Morrison & The Miz vs. Cryme Tyme
The third match of the night was a tag team match between these two tag teams. This was an okay match but nothing that should really be on PPV. I'd normally expect this kind of match on Raw or ECW but I guess it wouldn't hurt to give these guys some PPV time.
Winners: John Morrison & The Miz
Rating: *3/4
Match 4: Intercontinental Championship - Santino Marella (c) vs. The Honky Tonk Man
Santino Marella has really established himself as a hilarious jobber and this really was no diferent. This match was really just a comedy match with nothing really special. Santino loses via disqualification to The Honky Tonk Man and retains his title.
Winner: The Honky Tonk Man
Rating: n/a
Match 5: Last Man Standing - The Big Show vs. The Undertaker
This is where the PPV really gets out of first gear with the Last Man Standing match between these two giants. In my opinion, these two have phenomenal chemistry as The Undertaker does such a great job making The Big Show look very good. The match was probably one of the best big man fights that I have seen in a long time as they brawled in and out of the ring. They then took it into outside the ringside barricades where The Big Show drove The Undertaker through the announcer's table in a nice spot. After, The Undertaker put The Big Show in the Hell's Gate submission leaving The Big Show unconscious and unable to answer the count of 10.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ***3/4
Match 6: WWE Championship - Triple H (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
Even though these two had a tremendous match at No Mercy, I think adding Vladimir Kozlov to the mix would have been better but this is Cyber Sunday and the fans had the ability to choose the matches and I guess this is what they wanted. The match itself was very similar to that of their match at No Mercy but that's really a good thing. It was also interesting to see Triple H play the role of a heel here as Hardy was definitely the crowd favorite. After a lot of back and fourth action, Triple H hung Hardy on the ropes and nailed him with the Pedigree to defeat Hardy.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ***3/4
Match 7: Special Guest Referee - World Heavyweight Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. Batista
Before the match begun, Stone Cold Steve Austin was announced as the special guest referee to Chris Jericho's displeasure. With the odds stacked against him, Jericho decided to get himself counted out to leave the show with the belt around his waist. This didn't please Austin so he said that if Jericho gets counted out, Batista would be the new World Heavyweight Champion. Jericho then went back in the ring and dominated Batista to much of the crowd's surprise. Batista didn't give up and fought back against Jericho until Jericho hit a Codebreaker on Austin. This then made Shawn Michaels come down to the ring and he tried to give the fast 3 count to Batista but it failed as JBL pulled him out of the ring and took him out with a devastating clothesline. After, Orton then came down to the ring to be the new referee but Austin gave him a Stone Cold Stunner. Batista then took out Jericho with the Batista Bomb to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Winner: Batista
Rating: ***3/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The show started off pretty slowly but the final three matches of the night made this show worth talking about. The Last Man Standing match was outstanding, the WWE Championship match was a great back and fourth match, and the World Heavyweight Championship match was fun and hectic. If you're interested in checking this PPV out, then you will not be disappointed.
Rating: 8/10
WWE Extreme Rules 2009 Review
From November 23, 2009.
It's nearly summer time and that can only mean one thing, an Extreme Rules PPV. At Extreme Rules 2009, superstars such as Batista, Randy Orton, Edge, and Jeff Hardy looked to leave the PPV with belts around their waists.
Match 1: United States Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) vs. MVP vs. William Regal vs. Matt Hardy
Opening up the show was the United States Championship match between these four men. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this and unfortunately, I was correct. From the start to the finish, this match was a huge cluster and it just seemed so lost.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: *1/4
Match 2: No Holds Barred - Intercontinental Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Chris Jericho
After their amazing match at Judgment Day, expectations were high for this one and they definitely did not disappoint. From Mysterio leaping through the second rope to hit Jericho to Jericho banging a steel chari into the steep steps, this match was packed with high octane action. What really boosted this match was it's finish which saw Jericho pull off Mysterio's mask and then pin Mysterio to win another Intercontinental Championship. After a boring opening match, the following match had to be a good one and this match was more than just good.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Rating: ****
Match 3: Samoan Strap - Umaga vs. CM Punk
In another Judgment Day rematch, CM Punk takes on Umaga in a Samoan Strap match. While the match itself wasn't as good as their Judgment Day bout, it was still a pretty damn good one. This match also needed a CM Punk win and that's exactly what we saw when he nailed Umaga with the GTS to which he then touched all the turnbuckles to win the match.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: *3/4
Match 4: Hardcore - ECW Championship - Christian (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Swagger
The fourth match of the night was the ECW Championship match which had the stipulation that if Dreamer lost this match, we would leave the WWE. The match quickly turned into a fight when weapons were brought into the ring and chaos happened. After a bunch of nasty weapon shots and some sluggish moments, Dreamer hit th DDT on Swagger to win the ECW Championship. While this wasn't a very good match, it was still pretty good and it was really cool to see Dreamer win the ECW Championship.
Winner: Tommy Dreamer
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: Handicap Hog Pen - Miss WrestleMania - Vickie Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Santino Marella
Once we were done watching an emotional moment, we got to this garbage that saw Vickie Guerrero defend her ridiculous Miss WrestleMania title against Santino Marella. Tihs was just your typical Santino match with a hog pen added to the mix. The crowd didn't like it, I didn't like it, and I doubt you'll like it. Santino eventually won to win back the Miss WrestleMania title.
Winner: Santino Marella
Rating: n/a
Match 6: Steel Cage - WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista
Before the event began, news broke out on the internet that Batista was once again injured and would be missing in action for a few months. However, this match went on and lasted about only 7 minutes and to much of everyone's shock, Batista defeated Orton to capture the WWE Championship. While many may not agree with me, I thought this match was very well done. Batista is supposed to be an angry beast who wants to kill Orton and it wouldn't make much sense if this match lasted over 20 minutes.
Winner: Batista
Rating: **3/4
Match 7: Submission - John Cena vs. The Big Show
The Big Show and John Cena have never really had a great match and this one was overwhelmingly awful. The match went on for over 20 minutes and it saw Cena lock Show in boring submissions and The Big Show locking Cena in boring submissions. The match and the crowd were dead and it didn't make much sense to give these two over 20 minutes of PPV time. The only real good thing to come out of this match was the decent ending where Cena locked in the STF using leverage from the bottom rope.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: *
Match 8: Ladder - World Heavyweight Championship - Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
After the boring Submission match, it was time for the Ladder match where expectations were through the roof. Their feud goes back to the early days in which they competed in other Ladder matches with their brothers. Forward 10 years and we are watching the same two guys compete against one another for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match started off a bit slow but then it picked up the pace about 5 minutes in as they destroyed each other with the ladder. The two continued to brawl and finally, they brought out a 20 foot ladder in which they both climbed and eventually, they both fell onto another ladder wich was placed between the ring and the barricade. They finally took it back into the ring where they both climbed the ladder to try to retreive the World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy then dropped Edge's legs between the ladder and grabbed the title right in front of his face. The finish was very memorable of the WrestleMania 24 Money in the Bank match which saw CM Punk hang up Jericho in the ladder. The match definitely lived up to it's hype as the two landed some incredible spots. However, the Ladder match at No Mercy 2008 was definitely the better one. Still, this was an amazing match that I highly suggest you check out.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: ****1/4
Match 9: World Heavyweight Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk
Immediately following the Ladder match, CM Punk's music hit as he then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract which he received at the WrestleMania 25 Money in the Bank Ladder match! Punk hit the GTS on Hardy but Hardy kicked out at the count of 2! Hardy then went for the roll-up on Punk but that failed as Punk kicked out of it. After, Punk hit Hardy with a second GTS to capture his second World Heavyweight Championship.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: n/a
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was a great show if you look on the SmackDown & ECW side of things. The Raw side of things was absolutely horrible with everything being boring, bad, or just plain decent. However, the show was saved by an amazing Ladder match, an awesome Intercontinental Championship match, an emotional ECW Championship match, and a jaw dropping finish to the PPV.
Rating: 7/10
It's nearly summer time and that can only mean one thing, an Extreme Rules PPV. At Extreme Rules 2009, superstars such as Batista, Randy Orton, Edge, and Jeff Hardy looked to leave the PPV with belts around their waists.
Match 1: United States Championship - Kofi Kingston (c) vs. MVP vs. William Regal vs. Matt Hardy
Opening up the show was the United States Championship match between these four men. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this and unfortunately, I was correct. From the start to the finish, this match was a huge cluster and it just seemed so lost.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Rating: *1/4
Match 2: No Holds Barred - Intercontinental Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Chris Jericho
After their amazing match at Judgment Day, expectations were high for this one and they definitely did not disappoint. From Mysterio leaping through the second rope to hit Jericho to Jericho banging a steel chari into the steep steps, this match was packed with high octane action. What really boosted this match was it's finish which saw Jericho pull off Mysterio's mask and then pin Mysterio to win another Intercontinental Championship. After a boring opening match, the following match had to be a good one and this match was more than just good.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Rating: ****
Match 3: Samoan Strap - Umaga vs. CM Punk
In another Judgment Day rematch, CM Punk takes on Umaga in a Samoan Strap match. While the match itself wasn't as good as their Judgment Day bout, it was still a pretty damn good one. This match also needed a CM Punk win and that's exactly what we saw when he nailed Umaga with the GTS to which he then touched all the turnbuckles to win the match.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: *3/4
Match 4: Hardcore - ECW Championship - Christian (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Swagger
The fourth match of the night was the ECW Championship match which had the stipulation that if Dreamer lost this match, we would leave the WWE. The match quickly turned into a fight when weapons were brought into the ring and chaos happened. After a bunch of nasty weapon shots and some sluggish moments, Dreamer hit th DDT on Swagger to win the ECW Championship. While this wasn't a very good match, it was still pretty good and it was really cool to see Dreamer win the ECW Championship.
Winner: Tommy Dreamer
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: Handicap Hog Pen - Miss WrestleMania - Vickie Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Santino Marella
Once we were done watching an emotional moment, we got to this garbage that saw Vickie Guerrero defend her ridiculous Miss WrestleMania title against Santino Marella. Tihs was just your typical Santino match with a hog pen added to the mix. The crowd didn't like it, I didn't like it, and I doubt you'll like it. Santino eventually won to win back the Miss WrestleMania title.
Winner: Santino Marella
Rating: n/a
Match 6: Steel Cage - WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista
Before the event began, news broke out on the internet that Batista was once again injured and would be missing in action for a few months. However, this match went on and lasted about only 7 minutes and to much of everyone's shock, Batista defeated Orton to capture the WWE Championship. While many may not agree with me, I thought this match was very well done. Batista is supposed to be an angry beast who wants to kill Orton and it wouldn't make much sense if this match lasted over 20 minutes.
Winner: Batista
Rating: **3/4
Match 7: Submission - John Cena vs. The Big Show
The Big Show and John Cena have never really had a great match and this one was overwhelmingly awful. The match went on for over 20 minutes and it saw Cena lock Show in boring submissions and The Big Show locking Cena in boring submissions. The match and the crowd were dead and it didn't make much sense to give these two over 20 minutes of PPV time. The only real good thing to come out of this match was the decent ending where Cena locked in the STF using leverage from the bottom rope.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: *
Match 8: Ladder - World Heavyweight Championship - Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy
After the boring Submission match, it was time for the Ladder match where expectations were through the roof. Their feud goes back to the early days in which they competed in other Ladder matches with their brothers. Forward 10 years and we are watching the same two guys compete against one another for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match started off a bit slow but then it picked up the pace about 5 minutes in as they destroyed each other with the ladder. The two continued to brawl and finally, they brought out a 20 foot ladder in which they both climbed and eventually, they both fell onto another ladder wich was placed between the ring and the barricade. They finally took it back into the ring where they both climbed the ladder to try to retreive the World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy then dropped Edge's legs between the ladder and grabbed the title right in front of his face. The finish was very memorable of the WrestleMania 24 Money in the Bank match which saw CM Punk hang up Jericho in the ladder. The match definitely lived up to it's hype as the two landed some incredible spots. However, the Ladder match at No Mercy 2008 was definitely the better one. Still, this was an amazing match that I highly suggest you check out.
Winner: Jeff Hardy
Rating: ****1/4
Match 9: World Heavyweight Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk
Immediately following the Ladder match, CM Punk's music hit as he then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract which he received at the WrestleMania 25 Money in the Bank Ladder match! Punk hit the GTS on Hardy but Hardy kicked out at the count of 2! Hardy then went for the roll-up on Punk but that failed as Punk kicked out of it. After, Punk hit Hardy with a second GTS to capture his second World Heavyweight Championship.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: n/a
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
This was a great show if you look on the SmackDown & ECW side of things. The Raw side of things was absolutely horrible with everything being boring, bad, or just plain decent. However, the show was saved by an amazing Ladder match, an awesome Intercontinental Championship match, an emotional ECW Championship match, and a jaw dropping finish to the PPV.
Rating: 7/10
WWE Survivor Series 2008 Review
From November 23, 2009.
After being absent from the WWE for over three months, John Cena makes his grand return in his hometown of Boston to take on Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Survivor Series 2008.
Match 1: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team HBK (Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Cryme Tyme, & The Great Khali w/ Ranjin Singh) vs. Team JBL (John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Kane, MVP, John Morrison, & The Miz)
The opening match of the night was the first of three Traditional Survivor Series Elimination matches with Team HBK taking on Team JBL. I loved the fact that this opened the show and I love the fact that Michaels and Mysterio are on the same team. The match itself never really slowed down but it never really got out of first gear. The ending came when Michaels hit the Sweet Chin Music on John Morrison after JBL got counted out.
Winners: Team HBK
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Raw (Beth Phoenix w/ Santino Marella, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, & Jillian Hall) vs. Team SmackDown (Michelle McCool, Victoria, Maria, Maryse, & Natalya)
The second Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match was the Divas match and it really killed the momentum the opening match started. Team Raw eventually won after Beth Phoenix hit her finisher on Maryse.
Winners: Team Raw
Rating: *1/4
Match 3: Casket - The Big Show vs. The Undertaker
After having a phenomenal Last Man Standing match at Cyber Sunday, the two follow up with a Casket match here at Survivor Series. The Big Show and The Undertaker usually have great chemistry but you wouldn't know it by watching this match. The match itself was very slow and like the opening match, never really got out of first gear. The finish came when a second casket was brought out and The Undertaker threw The Big Show into it.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **
Match 4: Team Batista (Batista, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy, & R-Truth) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal w/ Layla, Cody Rhodes w/ Manu, & Mark Henry w/ Tony Atlas)
In Randy Orton's return to wrestling on PPV, he brought his team to take on the team of Batista. There really isn't much to say about this match other than it was interesting to see the crowd cheer for Orton and boo Batista. Team Orton eventually won after Orton hit the RKO on Batista.
Winners: Team Orton
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: WWE Championship - Triple H (c) vs. Vladimir Kozlov vs. Edge
In a match supposed to be featured with Jeff Hardy, Hardy was apparently unable to compete after being found uncounscious in a staircase. Because of this, the match was changed into a singles match between Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov and this match sucked the life out of the arena. Anything the two did was slow and boring, to make matters worse, the two wrestled for over 12 minutes. Finally, Vickie came out to announce that Edge is back and there, the real match began! After Edge appeared, Hardy shows up to try and take out Edge but fails after getting taken down by Edge. Edge then scored a pin fall to win the WWE Championship in dramatic fashion. That was simply a terrible match which later transpired into an amazing finish.
Winner: Edge
Rating: 3/4*
Match 6: World Heavyweight Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. John Cena
The final match of the night was John Cena returning to take on Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship. After a nicely done video package and an always awesome Jericho entrance, Cena returns to a huge reaction from the Boston crowd. Michael Cole said that Cena had the problems of "ring rust" and he was indeed correct. Cena's move seemed very out of place and you can tell he didn't want to take any risks as he and Jericho held the match on the mat with lots and lots of submission moves. The match then began to pick up the pace in the last 5 minutes where Cena finally hit the FU on Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship in front of his hometown. It was a decent match that started off extremely slow but then the two turned on the switch and they put on a nice performance to leave the fans happy.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The 22nd Survior Series was a huge letdown and easily could have been a much better show. The WWE Championship match, the Divas match, and the Casket match were all given way too much time and really killed the crowd. There is no reason to let Kozlov wrestle in a one on one match on PPV when he is just so inexperienced. The highlights of the show were Edge returning and Cena/Jericho. However, these two things aren't enough to give you a reason to watch this show. You might have a little bit of fun with this show but overall, it was a huge letdown.
Rating: 5/10
After being absent from the WWE for over three months, John Cena makes his grand return in his hometown of Boston to take on Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Survivor Series 2008.
Match 1: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team HBK (Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Cryme Tyme, & The Great Khali w/ Ranjin Singh) vs. Team JBL (John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Kane, MVP, John Morrison, & The Miz)
The opening match of the night was the first of three Traditional Survivor Series Elimination matches with Team HBK taking on Team JBL. I loved the fact that this opened the show and I love the fact that Michaels and Mysterio are on the same team. The match itself never really slowed down but it never really got out of first gear. The ending came when Michaels hit the Sweet Chin Music on John Morrison after JBL got counted out.
Winners: Team HBK
Rating: **3/4
Match 2: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Raw (Beth Phoenix w/ Santino Marella, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Candice Michelle, & Jillian Hall) vs. Team SmackDown (Michelle McCool, Victoria, Maria, Maryse, & Natalya)
The second Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match was the Divas match and it really killed the momentum the opening match started. Team Raw eventually won after Beth Phoenix hit her finisher on Maryse.
Winners: Team Raw
Rating: *1/4
Match 3: Casket - The Big Show vs. The Undertaker
After having a phenomenal Last Man Standing match at Cyber Sunday, the two follow up with a Casket match here at Survivor Series. The Big Show and The Undertaker usually have great chemistry but you wouldn't know it by watching this match. The match itself was very slow and like the opening match, never really got out of first gear. The finish came when a second casket was brought out and The Undertaker threw The Big Show into it.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: **
Match 4: Team Batista (Batista, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy, & R-Truth) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal w/ Layla, Cody Rhodes w/ Manu, & Mark Henry w/ Tony Atlas)
In Randy Orton's return to wrestling on PPV, he brought his team to take on the team of Batista. There really isn't much to say about this match other than it was interesting to see the crowd cheer for Orton and boo Batista. Team Orton eventually won after Orton hit the RKO on Batista.
Winners: Team Orton
Rating: **1/4
Match 5: WWE Championship - Triple H (c) vs. Vladimir Kozlov vs. Edge
In a match supposed to be featured with Jeff Hardy, Hardy was apparently unable to compete after being found uncounscious in a staircase. Because of this, the match was changed into a singles match between Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov and this match sucked the life out of the arena. Anything the two did was slow and boring, to make matters worse, the two wrestled for over 12 minutes. Finally, Vickie came out to announce that Edge is back and there, the real match began! After Edge appeared, Hardy shows up to try and take out Edge but fails after getting taken down by Edge. Edge then scored a pin fall to win the WWE Championship in dramatic fashion. That was simply a terrible match which later transpired into an amazing finish.
Winner: Edge
Rating: 3/4*
Match 6: World Heavyweight Championship - Chris Jericho (c) vs. John Cena
The final match of the night was John Cena returning to take on Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship. After a nicely done video package and an always awesome Jericho entrance, Cena returns to a huge reaction from the Boston crowd. Michael Cole said that Cena had the problems of "ring rust" and he was indeed correct. Cena's move seemed very out of place and you can tell he didn't want to take any risks as he and Jericho held the match on the mat with lots and lots of submission moves. The match then began to pick up the pace in the last 5 minutes where Cena finally hit the FU on Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship in front of his hometown. It was a decent match that started off extremely slow but then the two turned on the switch and they put on a nice performance to leave the fans happy.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The 22nd Survior Series was a huge letdown and easily could have been a much better show. The WWE Championship match, the Divas match, and the Casket match were all given way too much time and really killed the crowd. There is no reason to let Kozlov wrestle in a one on one match on PPV when he is just so inexperienced. The highlights of the show were Edge returning and Cena/Jericho. However, these two things aren't enough to give you a reason to watch this show. You might have a little bit of fun with this show but overall, it was a huge letdown.
Rating: 5/10
TNA Bound for Glory 2009 Review
From November 23, 2009.
The NFL has the SuperBowl, the WWE has WrestleMania, the NBA has the Finals, and TNA has Bound for Glory. At Bound for Glory, Sting and AJ Styles clashed against each other for the TNA Championship and Matt Morgan wins Kurt Angle's respect.
Match 1: Ultimate X - X Division Championship - Amazing Red w/ Don West (c) vs. Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelly
The opening match for Bound for Glory was absolutely incredible. Bound for Glory really needed to start off with a bang and this was the perfect match to do it. From Daniels' nasty fall at the end to the "please don't die" chants, this was an awesome opening bout.
Winner: Amazing Red
Rating: ****
Match 2: TNA Knockout Tag Team Championships - Taylor Wilde & Sarita (c) vs. The Beautiful People
After a great opening match, we really needed a match to cool down and this one was the perfect one. Though this match lasted around 3 minutes, it was still a pretty damn good one. Not much to say about this one other than a nice job to the four women in this match for using their time productively.
Winners: Taylor Wilde & Sarita
Rating: 3/4*
Match 3: Legends Championship - Kevin Nash (c) vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez
The third match of the night was for the pointless Legends Championship which was defended by Kevin Nash in a three way match. I really don't know why this match was booked to be on this card when this feud wasn't really anything special. It was just an ordinary match that really should have been on Impact.
Winner: Eric Young
Rating: *1/2
Match 4: IWGP Tag Team Championships & TNA World Tag Team Championships - Full Metal Mayhem - The British Invasion (c) vs. The Main Event Mafia (c) vs. Beer Money, Inc. vs. Team 3D
Following a crowd killing three way match, we head into the Full Metal Mayhem match for the two tag team championships. This was a pretty nice match with some really nice table spots and nice chair shots. A good 15 minute match that I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun watching.
Winners: The British Invasion & Team 3D
Rating: ***
Match 5: Women's Knockout Championship - ODB (c) vs. Awesome Kong vs. Tara
This was the better Knockout's match with Tara and Awesome Kong carrying the load here. TNA has a phenomenal women's division and this proves it as these three Knockouts landed some nice moves you normally wouldn't expect a Knockout to perform. Good match but I was really hoping for Tara to win.
Winner: ODB
Rating: **
Match 6: Submission - Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe
After the three way Knockout's match was the Submission match between Bobby Lashley and Samoa Joe. To no one's surprise, the two didn't do much as they filled out 10 minutes with their normal stuff while mostly keeping the action on the mat as Lashley made Joe pass out to win the match.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Rating: **
Match 7: Monster's Ball - Mick Foley vs. Abyss
This match had awesome written all over it but sadly, it didn't quite meet up with my expectations. The match had some nasty spots including thumbtacks, tables, and barbed wire. However, the botched spots really killed this one and failed to meet my expectations as the two didn't click so well.
Winner: Abyss
Rating: **1/4
Match 8: Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan
The feud going into this one was spectacular and thankfully, this match was just as good as the feud. Kurt Angle is magic when he is given the green light and obviously, he was given the green light and he excelled. Morgan is a pretty decent athlete but Angle really pushed him to the limit here. This match would definitely have to tie with the opening match as the match of the night. Good to see these two step up their game for such a huge night.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Rating: ****
Match 9: TNA World Heavyweight Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Sting
The main event of the night featured the champ against the Icon. Although these two have met in the past, the story was much different here with much more on the line including the TNA World Title and more importantly, honor. Sadly, the two were given only 14 minutes to show off their craft but thankfully, they made good use of their time. A good wrestling match with a less than dramatic ending but a good main event to end a great show.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ***
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
TNA really stepped it up for their biggest show of the year here. Although I was disappointed with a few matches, the Angle/Morgan and Ultimate X matches really raised my spirits. They are two matches I highly suggest you check out as you will be absolutely amazed by the aweomeness of their skills.
Rating: 8/10
The NFL has the SuperBowl, the WWE has WrestleMania, the NBA has the Finals, and TNA has Bound for Glory. At Bound for Glory, Sting and AJ Styles clashed against each other for the TNA Championship and Matt Morgan wins Kurt Angle's respect.
Match 1: Ultimate X - X Division Championship - Amazing Red w/ Don West (c) vs. Suicide vs. Daniels vs. Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelly
The opening match for Bound for Glory was absolutely incredible. Bound for Glory really needed to start off with a bang and this was the perfect match to do it. From Daniels' nasty fall at the end to the "please don't die" chants, this was an awesome opening bout.
Winner: Amazing Red
Rating: ****
Match 2: TNA Knockout Tag Team Championships - Taylor Wilde & Sarita (c) vs. The Beautiful People
After a great opening match, we really needed a match to cool down and this one was the perfect one. Though this match lasted around 3 minutes, it was still a pretty damn good one. Not much to say about this one other than a nice job to the four women in this match for using their time productively.
Winners: Taylor Wilde & Sarita
Rating: 3/4*
Match 3: Legends Championship - Kevin Nash (c) vs. Eric Young vs. Hernandez
The third match of the night was for the pointless Legends Championship which was defended by Kevin Nash in a three way match. I really don't know why this match was booked to be on this card when this feud wasn't really anything special. It was just an ordinary match that really should have been on Impact.
Winner: Eric Young
Rating: *1/2
Match 4: IWGP Tag Team Championships & TNA World Tag Team Championships - Full Metal Mayhem - The British Invasion (c) vs. The Main Event Mafia (c) vs. Beer Money, Inc. vs. Team 3D
Following a crowd killing three way match, we head into the Full Metal Mayhem match for the two tag team championships. This was a pretty nice match with some really nice table spots and nice chair shots. A good 15 minute match that I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun watching.
Winners: The British Invasion & Team 3D
Rating: ***
Match 5: Women's Knockout Championship - ODB (c) vs. Awesome Kong vs. Tara
This was the better Knockout's match with Tara and Awesome Kong carrying the load here. TNA has a phenomenal women's division and this proves it as these three Knockouts landed some nice moves you normally wouldn't expect a Knockout to perform. Good match but I was really hoping for Tara to win.
Winner: ODB
Rating: **
Match 6: Submission - Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe
After the three way Knockout's match was the Submission match between Bobby Lashley and Samoa Joe. To no one's surprise, the two didn't do much as they filled out 10 minutes with their normal stuff while mostly keeping the action on the mat as Lashley made Joe pass out to win the match.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Rating: **
Match 7: Monster's Ball - Mick Foley vs. Abyss
This match had awesome written all over it but sadly, it didn't quite meet up with my expectations. The match had some nasty spots including thumbtacks, tables, and barbed wire. However, the botched spots really killed this one and failed to meet my expectations as the two didn't click so well.
Winner: Abyss
Rating: **1/4
Match 8: Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan
The feud going into this one was spectacular and thankfully, this match was just as good as the feud. Kurt Angle is magic when he is given the green light and obviously, he was given the green light and he excelled. Morgan is a pretty decent athlete but Angle really pushed him to the limit here. This match would definitely have to tie with the opening match as the match of the night. Good to see these two step up their game for such a huge night.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Rating: ****
Match 9: TNA World Heavyweight Championship - AJ Styles (c) vs. Sting
The main event of the night featured the champ against the Icon. Although these two have met in the past, the story was much different here with much more on the line including the TNA World Title and more importantly, honor. Sadly, the two were given only 14 minutes to show off their craft but thankfully, they made good use of their time. A good wrestling match with a less than dramatic ending but a good main event to end a great show.
Winner: AJ Styles
Rating: ***
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
TNA really stepped it up for their biggest show of the year here. Although I was disappointed with a few matches, the Angle/Morgan and Ultimate X matches really raised my spirits. They are two matches I highly suggest you check out as you will be absolutely amazed by the aweomeness of their skills.
Rating: 8/10
WWE Summerslam 2009 Review
From November 19, 2009.
In the summer of 2009, the WWE was dominated by superstars such as CM Punk, Randy Orton, and Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes of Legacy. However, at Summerslam 2009, these men were all challenged by Jeff Hardy, John Cena, and Shawn Michaels and Triple H of the legendary D-Generation X.
Match 1: Intercontinental Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
The first match of the night was Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. In my book, Mysterio is having one of his best years as he has had some incredible PPV matches and this one wasn't any exception. After having a less than stellar match at Night of Champions, the two rebound here by landing some excellent moves including a dropkick by Ziggler after a springboard by Mysterio. Mysterio got the win after hitting him with a a top rope hurricanrana to retain his title.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating ***
Match 2: MVP vs. Jack Swagger
We now get to the first filler match of the night. This was the basic match that you would normally see on Raw with nothing special. It was nice to see these two get a spot on the card but sadly, they weren't even give at least 10 minutes.
Winner: MVP
Rating *1/4
Match 3: Unified WWE Tag Team Championships - Chris Jericho & The Big Show (c) vs. Cryme Tyme
The third match of the night featured "Jeri-Show" take on Cryme Tyme in a tag team match for the Unified Tag Team Championships. Just like the previous bout, this match was a basic tag team match that you would normally see on something like Raw. The real reason this match is even on the card is because of the Big Show/Shaq face off a few weeks before Summerslam.
Winners: Chris Jericho & The Big Show
Rating: **
Match 4: Kane vs. Great Khali w/ Ranjin Singh
The fourth match of Summerslam was easily the biggest waste of time of the entire show. Let's face facts, no one cares about The Great Khali, nobody is interested in this feud, and no one gives a flying burrito about anything associated with either Khali or the feud. If you purchase this DVD, skip this part without any hesitation.
Winner: Kane
Rating: 1/4*
Match 5: D-Generation X vs. Legacy
Going into this match, I was extremely worried that DX would kill Legacy in a pointless squash match that would do nothing but hold back both Ted and Cody. Thankfully, this match was given over 20 minutes and Legacy got a lot of offense in here to look extremely credible. The final 5 minutes of the match is where things started to get hectic and Triple H and Dibiase brawled around the announcer's tables as Shawn Michaels then hit the Sweet Chin Music on Rhodes to finish off the match.
Winners: D-Generation X
Rating: ****
Match 6: ECW Championship - Christian (c) vs. William Regal
Here's what happened, Christian hits the Killswitch and pins Regal to win the match. It took me longer to write that damn sentence than to actually watch the match. I don't know what was accomplished out of this. Was it that Christian's finisher is extremely painful? That Regal needed to get owned at Summerslam? Or was it because the WWE wanted to take a flaming s*** all over the ECW Championship? Yup, that has to be it. Aside from the Kane/Khali match, this was the biggest waste of time on this PPV.
Winner: Christian
Rating n/a
Match 7: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
The WWE Championship match at Summerslam 2009 is between Randy Orton and John Cena. The match was headed it's way to be the typical Cena/Orton match we've seen many times in the past until all hell broke out. First, Orton gets disqualified which leads to the match restarting. Then, Orton gets counted out which leads to the match being restarted once again. THEN, Cena puts Orton in the STF to which a "fan" runs into the ring and breaks "attacks" the ref. After this, Orton hits the RKO on Cena to finish him off. In my personal opinion, I liked it, it got me on the edge of my seat and it got the wrestling community something to talk about. It was a good match but it doesn't even compare to their classic at Summerslam 2007.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***
Match 8: TLC - World Heavyweight Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk
The main event bout of the night was between Jeff Hardy and CM Punk where they competed against each other in a TLC match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Jeff Hardy is not one to disappoint in Ladder matches and he proves that here in this main event match. When you mix an awesome feud, incredible spots, and Jeff Hardy in a Ladder match, you get awesomeness. Hardy and Punk battled each other in a good 20 minutes with chaos breaking out as we saw Jeff jump off a 20 foot ladder where he missed his signature Swantom Bomb on CM Punk to which he crashed through an announcer's table. Punk wins the match after knocking Hardy off the ladder and retreiving the title belt. An incredible performance by both men.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Summerslam 2009 was definitely a great event and something I highly suggest you check out. The only major flaws here would have to be the Kane/Khali match and the ECW Championship match. Both matches were huge wastes of time and the time the two got could have been given to up and coming guys like MVP, Swagger, Morrison, Miz, and Ziggler.
Rating: 8/10
In the summer of 2009, the WWE was dominated by superstars such as CM Punk, Randy Orton, and Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes of Legacy. However, at Summerslam 2009, these men were all challenged by Jeff Hardy, John Cena, and Shawn Michaels and Triple H of the legendary D-Generation X.
Match 1: Intercontinental Championship - Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler
The first match of the night was Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship. In my book, Mysterio is having one of his best years as he has had some incredible PPV matches and this one wasn't any exception. After having a less than stellar match at Night of Champions, the two rebound here by landing some excellent moves including a dropkick by Ziggler after a springboard by Mysterio. Mysterio got the win after hitting him with a a top rope hurricanrana to retain his title.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Rating ***
Match 2: MVP vs. Jack Swagger
We now get to the first filler match of the night. This was the basic match that you would normally see on Raw with nothing special. It was nice to see these two get a spot on the card but sadly, they weren't even give at least 10 minutes.
Winner: MVP
Rating *1/4
Match 3: Unified WWE Tag Team Championships - Chris Jericho & The Big Show (c) vs. Cryme Tyme
The third match of the night featured "Jeri-Show" take on Cryme Tyme in a tag team match for the Unified Tag Team Championships. Just like the previous bout, this match was a basic tag team match that you would normally see on something like Raw. The real reason this match is even on the card is because of the Big Show/Shaq face off a few weeks before Summerslam.
Winners: Chris Jericho & The Big Show
Rating: **
Match 4: Kane vs. Great Khali w/ Ranjin Singh
The fourth match of Summerslam was easily the biggest waste of time of the entire show. Let's face facts, no one cares about The Great Khali, nobody is interested in this feud, and no one gives a flying burrito about anything associated with either Khali or the feud. If you purchase this DVD, skip this part without any hesitation.
Winner: Kane
Rating: 1/4*
Match 5: D-Generation X vs. Legacy
Going into this match, I was extremely worried that DX would kill Legacy in a pointless squash match that would do nothing but hold back both Ted and Cody. Thankfully, this match was given over 20 minutes and Legacy got a lot of offense in here to look extremely credible. The final 5 minutes of the match is where things started to get hectic and Triple H and Dibiase brawled around the announcer's tables as Shawn Michaels then hit the Sweet Chin Music on Rhodes to finish off the match.
Winners: D-Generation X
Rating: ****
Match 6: ECW Championship - Christian (c) vs. William Regal
Here's what happened, Christian hits the Killswitch and pins Regal to win the match. It took me longer to write that damn sentence than to actually watch the match. I don't know what was accomplished out of this. Was it that Christian's finisher is extremely painful? That Regal needed to get owned at Summerslam? Or was it because the WWE wanted to take a flaming s*** all over the ECW Championship? Yup, that has to be it. Aside from the Kane/Khali match, this was the biggest waste of time on this PPV.
Winner: Christian
Rating n/a
Match 7: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
The WWE Championship match at Summerslam 2009 is between Randy Orton and John Cena. The match was headed it's way to be the typical Cena/Orton match we've seen many times in the past until all hell broke out. First, Orton gets disqualified which leads to the match restarting. Then, Orton gets counted out which leads to the match being restarted once again. THEN, Cena puts Orton in the STF to which a "fan" runs into the ring and breaks "attacks" the ref. After this, Orton hits the RKO on Cena to finish him off. In my personal opinion, I liked it, it got me on the edge of my seat and it got the wrestling community something to talk about. It was a good match but it doesn't even compare to their classic at Summerslam 2007.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***
Match 8: TLC - World Heavyweight Championship - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk
The main event bout of the night was between Jeff Hardy and CM Punk where they competed against each other in a TLC match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Jeff Hardy is not one to disappoint in Ladder matches and he proves that here in this main event match. When you mix an awesome feud, incredible spots, and Jeff Hardy in a Ladder match, you get awesomeness. Hardy and Punk battled each other in a good 20 minutes with chaos breaking out as we saw Jeff jump off a 20 foot ladder where he missed his signature Swantom Bomb on CM Punk to which he crashed through an announcer's table. Punk wins the match after knocking Hardy off the ladder and retreiving the title belt. An incredible performance by both men.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ****1/4
Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Summerslam 2009 was definitely a great event and something I highly suggest you check out. The only major flaws here would have to be the Kane/Khali match and the ECW Championship match. Both matches were huge wastes of time and the time the two got could have been given to up and coming guys like MVP, Swagger, Morrison, Miz, and Ziggler.
Rating: 8/10
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