Hey everybody! Tharvey1 here with the WWE Superstars Review for the Thursday April 16, 2009. Since this is the debut of the new Superstars, lets get this thing started off right.
Match number 1 of the night was Matt Hardy vs. The Undertaker.
The match started off with Taker dominating inside and outside the ring. As soon as the action got back into the ring, Taker went “Old School,” then sent Matt back outside the ring with a clothesline over the ropes. After the commercial break, Matt reversed a chokeslam into a neckbreaker, and then got his offense in. Taker then hit a bigboot as Matt tried to jump off the top rope, thus putting Taker back in control. The end of the match saw Matt scramble out of the ring and walk back up the ramp for an intentional count-out. Jeff Hardy does a run out and forces Matt back into the ring and into a chokeslam.
This was a pretty good match. Not too many spots to screw up, although I’m sure Shelton Benjamin could have found a way to if he were involved. I give this match a 7 out 10.
Match number 2 of the night was Christian vs. Finlay in the Finals of the Elimination Chase for the ECW Championship
I was in attendance for this match and the main event. During the ECW taping, Tiffany made this match for Superstars. The start of the match was slow and saw a lot of restholds. This is understandable, as both men had participated in the triple threat match with Tommy Dreamer not 45 minutes before hand during ECW.
The middle of the match saw a descent mix of power and tope rope spots. The finale of the match had Christian hitting the Unprettier (yes I will still call it that, even though WWE wants to call it the Killswitch). This was a good, short match, especially for both men’s second match of the evening. Christian is one of the best talents in the WWE, and hopefully he gets his shot eventually. There’s my cheap plug of the evening for Captain Charisma.
I give this match a 6.5 out of 10
Match number 3 and “Main Event” of the evening was Shane McMahon vs Cody Rhodes
Before the match, Shane cut a promo with Eve backstage about Randy Orton. Blah, Blah, Blah. Whatever…who cares?…time to wrap that angle up soon.
The beginning of the match had Shan’O Mac taking control, and treating Cody like the girl he has been made to be over the last few months. Cody got a little offense during the middle of the match. He got outside the ring and went for a chair, reentered the ring, and had the chair confiscated by the referee. Shane got tossed outside the ring by Cody, grabbed the chair, and promptly struck Cody with the chair. Cody wins by DQ.
After the match, Shane hits Cody a few times with the chair and sets him up for the Coast to Coast with a trash can from under the ring. Terrible effort with the Coast to Coast. Shane’s getting to old for that spot.
I give this match a 5 out 10.
Pretty good debut for the show. I can only hope this doesn’t turn into another Velocity or Heat. I will leave you with a random fact of life as I know it: RDLee loves Bacon! Had to give him a return shoutout from his realtime review.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week for another review of WWE Superstars.
Happy Easter everyone! Hope everyone has a good day today. Welcome to a Super-Sized edition of Random Randomness, complete with a surprise at the end (well sort of): (more…)
It just wouldn’t be Wrestlemania Week without every keyboard-bashing monkey who knows the difference between a wrist lock and a wristwatch weighing in on match predictions and offering generally self-important commentary on the biggest wrestling – er – sports entertainment show of the year. Know what I have to say to that? My turn!
WWE Champion Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Trips wins. As if there’s any doubt. This was a storyline that really could have gone places. It did, but all the wrong places. Randy Orton was hotter than he had ever been, and people were absolutely into him. This whole story just got dragged out too long, and should have been left alone earlier. I’ll probably get slammed majorly for this, but the last thing that I wanted to see was the McMahon family stepping up to the Legacy at the end of RAW. This could have been THE moment for Orton and the Legacy. It won’t.
World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show (Triple Threat Match)
John Cena wins. Again, it’s not necessarily the best idea, but no way is this guy losing at Mania. I like a comedy love triangle story as much as anyone, but this one really hasn’t clicked well. Wrestlemania should be about the titles and major feuds, and throwing the “Who will Win Vickie Guerrero?” aspect into the match really cheapens it. A World Heavyweight Championship Title match does not need that type of extra flavor.
Intercontinental Champion JBL vs. Rey Mysterio
This match screams “Oh crap! We forgot to put the guy who single-handedly draws the Hispanic demographic on the show!” The IC title should be a major reward, not a consolation prize, which is what it looks like by having JBL win it and Rey challenging for it. With all of JBL’s promises to do something legendary at Mania, look for him to retain the IC title, retire it, and take his rightful place at the announce table.
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy (Extreme Rules Match)
This looks to be really good. Matt versus Jeff couldn’t really have happened before this year and actually worked, and I’m hoping to see an absolutely unbridled vicious side of Matt Hardy in this match. Matt has pushed and pushed Jeff, but this story isn’t ready to end at Mania. It really hasn’t played out long enough. There’s still more to come, and with that thought in mind, Matt wins after using his more grounded technical skills and savage brutality to take out the more daredevil Jeff. Jeff really shouldn’t win until the feud is ready to end, and it shouldn’t yet. I’m all for things beginning and ending at Mania, but this story just doesn’t feel complete.
WWE Tag Team Champions [Carlito and Primo Colon] vs. World Tag Team Champions [The Miz and John Morrison] (Unified Tag Team Championship Lumberjack Match)
The Miz and John Morrison win, and unify the tag team belts. Please don’t let this match come down to the interference of the feuding and still interchangeable Bella twins! Please? The fact that there’s as much focus on these two twits as there is on the actual tag teams and belts causes concern. No title unification match at Wrestlemania should hang on the interference of irrelevant valets. Period.
Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker
Undertaker wins, and the Streak (insert Ray Stevens song here) remains intact. This match will be great. Probably the match of the night. And well should it be, considering the two guys involved. The fact that Mania is in Texas, and both Michaels and Taker are from Texas, will kick this match off the chart. However, the very idea that Shawn Michaels should be the one to end Undertaker’s Mania win streak is incomprehensible. The Streak is almost as legendary as the man who holds it. The person who ends it, if anyone ever does (and it might not ought to be ended at all), would be catapulted to the highest level and be forever remembered in the annals of pro wrestling as the guy who ended a legendary winning streak. Michaels doesn’t need that. He’s already a legend in his own right, and, in a sense, ending Taker’s streak would be wasted on him. It’s not as if he suddenly needs to get over after a lengthy absence. If someone is going to finally defeat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, it should not be Shawn Michaels.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Mark Henry, Finley, CM Punk, Kane, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, MVP [US Champion], Christian)
I would love to see CM Punk win this because CM Punk rules. He’s my favorite guy in the match, and I’m totally biased in his favor. The fact that he has already won it once, though, makes it unlikely. As much as I love Punk, he really shouldn’t even be in this match. Previous winners shouldn’t be in it again, and if they must, it should be quite a while. Several years, possibly. Punk should be in a one-on-one Mania match, which is described below. Christian winning the MITB would be amazing, because he would then be in a position to insert himself in angles involving Edge or the Hardys afterwards. He’s certainly the most experienced “ladder match” guy of the lot. However, Vince doesn’t see him as a star, and the MITB isn’t just a ladder match. It’s a guaranteed title shot, and I don’t see Christian being allowed that at this point. Therefore, with my first choice (CM Punk) and my second choice (Christian) being highly unlikely, I’m calling MVP to win it. He has the US title, which means that he’ll probably have to lose it to someone before cashing in his title shot. This could be the start of a major angle for MVP if he wins.
25-Diva Battle Royal for title of “Miss WrestleMania”
Ugh. This is a complete waste, but not for the reasons one might assume. Lance Storm was completely right when he said that this match was a good idea because it gave more of the women a piece of the big Mania payday, which they would not otherwise get. That much is absolutely fair. Unfortunately for them, a 25-person over-the-top-rope elimination battle royal is going to be a giant mess no matter who is in it. That’s just too many people in one ring at a time, and all of them can’t even wrestle to begin with. Candice Michelle and Ashley Massaro won’t be involved, so the chances of serious injury for everyone else in the match just went down. Some of the truly important former Divas aren’t going to be involved, and it really doesn’t feel significant. Sunny will be there, as will Victoria, Torrie Wilson, Jackie Gayda-Haas, and Molly Holly, but let’s look at the list of those who will not. Wendy Richter turned them down, supposedly. Sable and Dawn Marie are both pregnant, and won’t be there. Lita won’t be there, and after how she was treated at the end of her tenure, one can’t blame her at all. The Fabulous Moolah is no longer with us, not that she should have won such a thing, but come on, it’s Moolah. Mae Young won’t be involved in the match itself, but, to be fair, she IS almost 90 years old now. Amy Weber and Joy Giovanni don’t count as major contributors, but they won’t be there. Christy Hemme and Jacqueline (the original Jackie) obviously weren’t asked, as they currently work for TNA. Gail Kim is there. Terri Runnels isn’t. Debra won’t be there. I don’t personally know about Chyna (unlikely) or Jazz. There may not even be 25 women to put in the match by the time it’s all done. With some of the truly legendary Divas not being involved in this match, the original point seems to have been lost. Even so, I call Trish Stratus to win, as she deserves the title of “Miss Wrestlemania” (such as it is) more than anyone, past or present.
Chris Jericho vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat & Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka (w/ Ric Flair)
This is terrible. Chris Jericho wrestling three old guys who can barely move, bona fide legends though they may be, is a very bad decision. Sure, this could all be a swerve and Stone Cold comes out at the actual show to defend the honor of legends everywhere, and it’s really a one-on-one match. The entire angle also could have and should have served the purpose of elevating someone who stepped up to fight on behalf of the legends who inspired him to get into wrestling in the first place. Someone like CM Punk would have been perfect for this, despite the fact that Punk has already been World Champion once. Imagine the absolute GOLD that a promo war between Jericho and Punk would have been! Jericho takes out legend after legend, then Punk steps up and announces that he’s had enough of the disrespect, and that if Jericho wants to bully someone, he can try to bully him. Part of Punk’s appeal to the masses is that he’s one of us, a regular guy who was a fan, and who just happened to have the talent and drive to realize his wrestling dream. Inspiration from legends such as these three is almost built in to the story. This would have been a great Mania match. At least the match of Jericho/Punk wouldn’t have given away the winner. It could have gone either way. No such luck here. Jericho loses at Mania, no matter who and how many he faces in the ring. Aside from the fact that he has already succeeded in beating up the legends, no way is the feel-good vibe of Mania being sullied by evil Jericho winning. Jericho will not only lose, he’ll do so in utterly humiliating fashion. Jericho and the fans deserve better than this.
It seems that the folks at BoredWrestlingFan.com, liked my first column, and have allowed me back for a second week, and with this being Wrestlemania 25 week, I’m here to talk about the WWE’s biggest PPV of the year! Or not.
For you see, in a little over two weeks from now, Total Nonstop Action have a PPV entitled ‘Lockdown’, in which every match takes place, inside of the ‘Six Sides of Steel’. The main event of this event pits the TNA World Champion ‘the Icon’ Sting, against the man of many personas, ‘the Hardcore Legend’ Mick Foley. Two of the oldest, rundown names in TNA go one-on-one for the gold, in a company that is apparently pushing the ‘younger’ talent up the ranks.
Also announced for this PPV, is the New Japan Tag Team Champions, Team 3D, against the TNA Tag Team Champions, Beer Money Inc., in which both sets of titles will be on the line. The event is in Philadelphia, Team3D’s second home you could say, since ECW was based in Philly, so the likeliness of having new TNA Tag Champs, is very likely. However, like I said last week, if your pushing the young guys, have Beer Money win. Even in their little ‘Roughcuts’ interview segment with Brother Ray, he said that he’s there to help the young guys, and put them over. I’m the biggest Beer Money fan I know. I wear my James Storm ‘Sorry About Your Damn Luck’ T-Shirt with pride. If Team 3D win, then TNA inches another step closer to becoming WCW.
Then of course, there’s Lethal Lockdown, where teams of 4 or 5, depending on the year, battle each other to determine which is the better team. The team captains for the match, Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe, which were decided in a 20-man Gauntlet inside the steel, will pick their partners to face the other team. Now Kurt has already gone on record, in picking his team, fellow Main Event Mafia members Booker T, Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash. Samoa Jow on the other hand, doesnt want to be Captain. He just wants to match Jeff Hardy for ridiculous face paint, and carry a blade around with him, to make him look tough. Expect Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles and Eric Young to be Joe’s partners.
Onto a topic, of a non-wrestling related manner, Jenson Button, driving for Brawn GP, led a 1-2 for his team in the first race of the Formula One season, after Sebastien Vettel, driving for RedBull Racing, and Robert Kubica, driving for BMW-Sauber, collided with each other with three laps to go, whilst sitting second and third respectively. After the 1-2 finish in Melbourne, Australia, Brawn GP decided to sack 270 of its workers. What a way to celebrate,you helped win us the race, now we dont need you. Also, the Brawn GP cars are sponsored by Richard Branson run, Virgin. Does that now mean, that because one of the cars sponsored by Virgin, won the race, will be false advertising for the rest of the year, because it won its first race? I thought you weren’t a Virgin after your first?
Awesome Kong is NOT a match with Al Bundy.
Did You Know? Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is Kurt Angle’s second cousin.
Enjoy the rest of Wrestlemania week! (This coming from the one person, who didnt talk about Wrestlemania in his column.)
Welcome to WrestleMania week here on BoredWrestlingFan.com! We’re working overtime this week to bring you WrestleMania related articles throughout the week, and this one is just the first. I want to take the opportunity to talk about the way that I would have booked WrestleMania, starting from the Royal Rumble. Some things would have still played out the way that they have, but other things would have been much different.
Wow. This is it, the end of this long series on WWE Pay Per View. How fitting is it that it ends with Armageddon. The last WWE Pay Per View of the year and the only one between Survivor Series and Royal Rumble.
I present my arguments against WWE Armageddon, after the jump! (more…)
Well, here’s something I haven’t really done before. I promised you guys a SmackDown review this weekend, and since I haven’t had the time to fire up the DVR and watch the show, I’m firing up YouTube in my laptop browser at work and reviewing it this way. The YouTube videos of SmackDown generally cut out a lot of unnecessary crap, such as RAW Rebounds and 12 Rounds promotion, so this is pretty much pure, unadulterated SmackDown right here folks.
Hey guys, I just added a new skin to the list of choices. This one is a WrestleMania 25 inspired minimalist blue and silver themed skin called “BlueMania 25.”
Speaking of Blue, I haven’t watched SmackDown from this past Friday yet, but here are the results for your reading pleasure:
Triple H says he’s the cure for the disease that is Randy Orton. Then he beat Vladimir Kozlov.
MVP recaptured the United States Championship, defeating Shelton Benjamin.
Shawn Michaels defeated Kane
Jeff Hardy beat The Brian Kendrick in an extreme rules match. We find out that Jeff’s match with brother Matt at WrestleMania will also be extreme rules.
The Von Erich family is being inducted into the hall of fame by Michael P.S. Hayes
The Undertaker defeated JBL
Vickie Guerrero announced that the winner of the triple threat at WrestleMania will win her heart. This led to an altercation between Edge, The Big Show, and John Cena that left Vickie victimized by an accidental spear from Edge. Big Show carried Vickie off.
Welcome once again to the latest edition of JT’s Random Randomness. This week is kinda special (I think) because it’s an all wrestling edition. So withoug further ado here we go: (more…)
