Rather ironically, when I was approached about penning a column on wrestling house shows – I picked up the latest copy of the UK-based grap magazine “Fighting Spirit Magazine”, only to find that they themselves had written an article dedicated to the art and history of the non-televised event. This has happened to me quite a few times in the past when writing for various websites and it’s always freaked me out. I start thinking about an idea for an article, randomly flick through some old or current wrestling mag/book and see what I thought was my idea spread out across the page! This particular instance was no different to all the other ones and actually made me laugh a little bit, kinda like Michael Cole does when John Cena acts all immature. Thankfully, the piece was an awesome read and really helped get my creative juices flowing for putting together my own diatribe.
Still I find myself lacking the means to really write as many columns as I would like. We don’t have internet in our new flat yet and therefore I’m only managing to write this due to being home for the weekend to visit my family and spend some time chilling out. Quite honestly, I can think of no better ways to relax than watching, thinking and talking about professional wrestling. With that said, let’s take a look at the wonderful world of ‘wrestling on tour’..
Earlier this month, my good friend Richard Flynn (who is responsible for this weeks WWE Smackdown report – check it out!) and I attended a WWE live event featuring the superstars of the Friday Night Smackdown brand in action. This is a pretty regular occurrence nowadays; for us to attend these shows. On a few occasions in the past, other friends have joined us for a night of live and in colour wrasslin’ entertainment but most of the time it’s simply Flynn and myself geeking it up. To say I love spending time with the guy and watching wrestling with him would be an understatement. The amount of hours we’ve let go past by watching WWE and TNA shows is probably mind-boggling. Not to mention the oodles of time we’ve dedicated to chatting about the aforementioned companies and also our favourite moments from the past. Seriously, we have spent a lot of time thinking about wrestling together. We seem to feed off one another’s passion and it has made for some very cool and very pleasurable afternoons and evenings, to say the least.
Our continued excitement at attending these WWE and TNA shows is equal to that of pretty much any kid you know who likes wrestling. I’m glad I can say with all seriousness that I am just as thrilled by the thought of seeing this brand of entertainment live today as I would have been had I been fortunate enough to grab tickets for a show when I was 10 years old. Rather unfortunately, whenever the then WWF and then WWE visited these shores back then, I always found myself facing a ticket hotline with no more remaining tickets. As much as my parents tried (my mum phoned as early as she could every time and my dad even drove the 150 miles from our home in Campbeltown to Glasgow on the off chance the venue would still have some seats left), it just never seemed to happen. This is probably just aswell – 10 year old me would likely have passed out with excitement had he been privy to The Rock or Triple H up close!
As it pertains to the day-to-day running of any wrestling organisation, there can be no arguments that non-televised or “house” show events are the least important they have been for quite some time, maybe even in the entire history of the industry. There is far more stress placed on the signification of a Pay-Per-View event or the rating for an episode of Monday Night RAW than there is for how many fans are drawn to arenas for the next WWE nationwide tour. House shows used to be the place to see your chosen wrestling promotion but has in more recent times been usurped by TV tapings and major shows such as “Wrestlemania”. This shouldn’t take away from the overall necessity of a company touring the country or indeed the world however, far from it. The revenue boosts WWE alone will feel from visiting the UK must be worth the trip. In between ticket sales (and the fact these tickets are snapped up readily due to the scant nature of shows in any given town each year), merchandise and crossover TV appearances, it’s clearly worth the promotions while to head on over the Atlantic frequently. It’s also a valuable tool for TNA, who have played before their biggest crowds when not in the United States. Big, American pro wrestling companies are simply devoured quickly in foreign markets, such is the fascination with only having one or two chances per annum to see them.
Due to this shift in how a wrestling company, specifically WWE, views its un-televised product, it’s far more of a mixed bag when you attend one these shows. What I’m getting at here is that it’s a clear learning ground for younger members of the roster and a chance for established superstars to try out new things and further develop their characters, far away from the scathing perfection of television. It has been really rather interesting to view things at the handful of house shows Richard and I have bought tickets to which would NEVER feature on WWE TV or PPV. As mentioned before, this can bring both positives and negatives along with it. It’s engrossing to view someone such as Chavo Guerrero, a man scarcely used on the air, be allowed to partake in a 12-minute long match and fully show off his skills to the audience. On the other side of the coin, it can be disheartening to know that nothing of any great significance is likely to happen on the show in your town.
This leads me rather nicely onto an argument which has been permeating wrestling writers and fans over and across the world; have WWE officials decreed that their wrestlers shouldn’t work quite so hard and take so many chances at a non-televised show as they would when the cameras are rolling, thus reducing the risk of injuring themselves or a peer?
If this is the case then it could be argued as short-changing the loyal fan who is excited to see the company and expects to see something pretty close to what he sees on TV each and every week. Surely, with the prices as they are for admission to the typical WWE or TNA house show (I.e not very cheap!), it’s not being cheeky to expect a level of performance matching that of what you are used to. To be completely fair to TNA, they encourage their performers to give their all, regardless of the platform or if the event is being filmed. Having witnessed this with my own 2 eyes, it does make for a thrilling spectacle.
Again, using the proverbial “other side”, I really don’t think the overall feel of the shows have suffered that much. Having been in attendance for a couple of RAW-brand house shows and a few Smackdown-brand ones, the match-quality has been pretty darn good. Sure, there are restholds and not nearly as many high-flying antics as we would see on TV but it’s not exactly a million miles away from your typical match on Monday Night RAW. Infact, I’d go as far to say that the promotion makes up for this with some well-placed and excellently executed (oh boy..) storyline goodness. This writer can recall just earlier this month some TV-inspired goings on with the “Nexus” stable and also some in-ring promo’s which draw you closer into the show. Therefore, I don’t think it’d be fair to say that either WWE nor TNA treat the fans with disdain in the house show market, certainly not on this side of the pond.
With all this said, what do YOU think? Have you attended a WWE or TNA house show event in which you’ve wished you’d saved your money? Did you wish instead that you’d spend some extra cash to go to a TV taping or Pay-Per-View? Or were you like me and felt both companies did their utmost to put on a good evenings entertainment and ensure the fans would come back in droves the next time around? Your thoughts are every bit as important as mine and opinions are definitely a huge part of what makes Bored Wrestling Fan and wrestling fans in general so great! Let me know what you reckon, either by leaving me a comment below or by sending me a quickfire email to jamiekennedy@live.com ! Until the next time, TAKE IT HOME! To your house. To your house uh…show..
MVP is totally going to show up in the iMPACT Zone tonight! He got future endeavored by the WWE today, so obviously with the no-compete clause, the last sentence you read is a lie. I miss the days before that clause… Let’s see what REALLY happened on this pretaped go-home episode… (more…)
Greetings, all! Your friendly neighborhood Drowgoddess will now be providing you with reviews of the only hour of professional wrestling on Monday nights, Ring of Honor on HDNet!
Tonight’s Smackdown will feature four King of the Ring qualifying matches for the upcoming tournament on Monday Night RAW. It’s nice to see this tournament coming back, but first I have to suffer through Smackdown to see how the story unfolds. It’s also the fallout SD episode after Survivor Series. The outcome of the PPV was all status quo with title defences outside of Natalya’s Diva win.
At least I can post this random animated gif for you:
Well hello there and welcome back to your weekly edition of things random in this world of wrestlingHope things are all well and as I get closer to death, I look out and see a lot on my plate before that happens so lets talk some wrestling shall we?: (more…)
For those residing in the U.S.A., Smackdown has officially moved to SyFy and broadcasts live tonight. Whether or not this move will improve ratings for the B show or not, obviously remains to be seen. WWE will likely pull out all the stops tonight and feature some RAW talent to bolster the viewing audience. Let’s see what in tarnation they’ve done… (more…)
Night of Champions fall out is the theme of the night… sort of. See, WWE has another PPV in two Sundays – Hell in a Cell. As a result, one could expect continuity of most storylines towards that event. Or so logic would lead one to believe… The suffrage commences now! (more…)
Welcome everybody to a (kinda) special edition of Random Randomness. Today’s edition will be in two parts with part 1 being a shorter than normal Random Randomness and part two be a shortened edition of the Night Of Champions Roundtable featuring myself and Gee. So without further ado, lets get this show on the road:
Hello ladies and gentlemen. Terribly sorry about missing last week, but I was out with my mom and grandmother, with a surprise visit from my aunt. We went and saw Cats, not like anyone cares… I’m going to shut up now.
Oh, heads up: My laptop screen is… busted, maybe, I don’t know. Something happened, I have no idea what. So, my laptop may be going in for repair soon. What that means is that the RAW review may be up later, because I’d have to take notes while watching it in my room, and then take the notes into the office and type it up on my desktop… Anyway, I’m still working out the kinks and trying to make everything easier. Keep an eye out on Twitter, and I’ll let you know.
Tonight, The Miz takes on John Cena. And what about Nexus? After expelling Darren Young, are they stronger, or are they beginning to crack around the edges?
<VIDEO PACKAGE: Last week, whoever loses, leaves Nexus.>
So, Darren’s out of Nexus…? Maybe. We’ll see.
It’s a shameful thing… lobster head… TOO MANY LIMES! TOO MANY LIMES!
Lots of love to the RAW Tweeters for that one. I love you all.
Anyway, Sheamus makes his way out, and we get a rewind to the Justin Gabriel vs Randy Orton match where Sheamus came out to the ring and cost Randy the match via count out. And Randy demolished him last week outside the ring. Nexus? Not a threat. Sheamus pisses Randy off though. Ha.
Sheamus says that he’s noticed one thing about Americans: their children are spoiled brats, annoying, selfish, and will cry until they get what they want. Look at all the spoiled runts. He calls some random kid a disgrace and I JUST SAW FRANK! Anyway, he bashes a few more kids. He says there’s an even bigger spoiled child in the WWE, and that’s Randy Orton. Orton couldn’t beat Sheamus for the title at SummerSlam, so he attacks Sheamus after the match and on RAW. Everyone in the WWE Universe cheered Orton, chanting RKO RKO! Which they do now, much to Sheamus’ disgust. He says he’s going to burst their bubble, and says that Orton is not the WWE Champion, Sheamus is. Sheamus and the GM haven’t been on the same page, but in four weeks times, Night of Champions is coming up. Orton should be punished for what he did instead of rewarded. He should never get another opportunity at the WWE Championship.
<YOU’VE GOT MAIL>
“Sheamus, believe it or not, I have no problem with you. You have found a way to retain your WWE Championship, and I feel you should be rewarded. Therefore tonight I’m going to do something unprecedented. Gentlemen, will you please bring out the throne.”
Like we need this. Make someone’s ego even bigger… Anyway, there’s a throne now.
“Sheamus, I’m not going to decide your next challenger, you are. Tonight, there will be a series of matches. You will watch them, observe them, and see who impresses you the most. At the end of the evening, you will come to the ring and announce to the world your opponent for Night of Champions.”
Sheamus says there is finally justice in the WWE for him, and thanks the General Manager.
“Sheamus, there’s one other thing. The first of these matches begins right now.”
You think you know me…
Edge makes his way to the ring as we cut to commercial.
<COMMERCIAL>
@Niki_Sushi It’s official. Whoever Sheamus picks is either going to have a mega push, or a mega burial. #BWF #RAW
@TKeep123 Until I hear Sheamus say “Fella!” my night won’t be complete. #RAW #WWE #BWF
Next week is RAW’s 900th episode!! Awesome.
Edge vs. R-Truth
So, whose taking bets that someone’s going to try to beat Sheamus with his own throne? I would. Anyway, Truth did decently, but a Spear ended that.
Edge wins via pinfall!
Edge says Sheamus can sit on his stupid little throne, brag about all the people he’s beat, but until he’s beaten a nine-time champion, until he beats the man who led Team WWE to victory at SummerSlam, until he beats the Rated-R Superstar, he hasn’t beaten anybody.
Tonight, The Miz takes on John Cena! And Cody Rhodes is going to be on Warehouse 13 on SyFy tomorrow night at 9 Central!
<COMMERCIAL>
@kickoutblog R-Truth just broke his hip like a 90 year old that just slipped in the tub. #WWE #RAW
@Niki_Sushi OMFG. Truth did the scissor kick, and all I saw was him in Alicia’s outfit. MY BRAIN NEEDS BLEACHING!!! #BWF #RAW
WWE went to China for the first time. AWESOME.
Sheamus is still sitting on his throne watching everything, and Lawler says that he looks regal. Huh, go figure.
The Great Khali vs. Chris Jericho
Khali manhandles Chris for a bit, but Chris fights back, attacking Khali’s injured knee. Advantage bounces back and forth, and Chris goes for the Codebreaker, but Khali just drops him. Jericho locks Khali in the Walls of Jericho, and Khali taps out.
Chris Jericho wins via submission.
Chris takes a mic and says that he hopes Sheamus wasn’t taking what Edge said to heart because he wasn’t the first Undisputed Champion, Chris is. Edge isn’t the man who just made a giant tap out, and most importantly, Edge isn’t the best in the world at what he does, Chris is. So Sheamus should pick Chris, and asks if Sheamus understands what Chris is saying right now. Khali gets back up and slaps Chris’ chest, knocking him out of the ring.
<VIDEO PACKAGE: Last week, Alex Riley and The Miz distract Daniel Bryan so that Tarver could get the win. The Miz, Tarver, and Riley team up to attack Daniel Bryan.>
Backstage, Josh Matthews interviews John Cena. Matthews asks him to mention what happened last week. Cena says it’s petty and classless, and he doesn’t regret choosing Bryan over Miz. Miz almost cost them the match, and showed his true colors last week by attacking Bryan. Ever since he won the Money in the Bank match, he’s gotten a bigger mouth. Tonight, Cena’ shuts it with an Attitude Adjustment.
<COMMERCIAL>
@KeepItFiveStar I will pay for Khali’s ticket to get him back to India
@ThingsColeSays Michael McGuillicutty has the “McGuillibuddies.” Michael Cole has “The Cole Miners.” John Cena has the “Purple People Eaters.”
@HitTheRopes I don’t hate Cena and all (and I have yet to look at spoilers) but I hope Miz looks better here than in their last feud. #wwe
@StrikerSays Jericho truly IS the best in the world at what he does, and here’s why: he just made a 5-minute match with Khali NOT entirely virulent.
We come back to Jillian Hall in the ring saying she has been Diva’s Champion before and she’s done it again. She starts singing Afraid by Eminem, and I think Cole was singing too. Thankfully, Melina interrupts.
Jillian Hall vs Diva’s Champion Melina for the Diva’s Championship
Jillian dominates most of this match, and they guess each other’s moves a lot, but no surprise, Melina wins with Last Call.
Diva’s Champion Melina wins via pinfall.
LayCool comes over the TitanTron to try to get Melina’s attention. They say they don’t feel bad at all for attacking her at SummerSlam. They’re going to be at the 900th episode of RAW next week, and they have a flawless offer that she can’t refuse.
Matthews is backstage with Miz, asking if he wants to respond to Cena’s accusations. Miz says that he nailed Bryan in the back of the head, but what about Cena? Cena put Team WWE at risk the minute he chose Bryan of Miz. After the WWE Championship match, Sheamus was beaten down, and had to be carried out. But did Miz cash in Money in the Bank? No. He was thinking about Team WWE. The very least Cena could have done was talk to Miz backstage. Instead, he tried to embarrass Miz in front of the entire world. Being embarrassed doesn’t sit right with Miz. So tonight, Miz is going to beat Cena, and he will show Cena that there will be consequences for his actions. As for Sheamus, Miz doesn’t expect to be chosen. But, that doesn’t really matter does it? Because Miz can pick Sheamus anytime, anywhere he wants. He might even pick Sheamus tonight.
<COMMERCIAL>
@legendkiller515 Why do they continue to have jillian sing? #wwe #bwf
@Niki_Sushi NO. STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM RAW, YOU DIRTY BLONDE HO! WE JUST GOT RID OF Kx2! DON’T RUIN THIS FOR ME! #RAW #BWF
@JCenadotcom Why do they insist on making Michelle talk? :-
Nexus comes out to the ring, Wade with a microphone. Remember, it’s the Nexus Six now, which doesn’t have the same ring, does it? Sheamus asks what he owes the honor too, but before they can answer…
<YOU’VE GOT MAIL>
“I requested Nexus come out here to let them know I was highly impressed with their performance last week. As for the ban that says Nexus can no longer compete for titles, that ban has been lifted.”
Sheamus looks upset, and Barrett walks over. Sheamus and Barrett have a staring match before Barrett says their truce is over. With that, they walk backstage again.
Next up is The Miz vs John Cena.
<COMMERCIAL>
@legendkiller515 sheamus looks like he just seen a ghost…physically and literary #wwe #bwf
@Niki_Sushi God DAMN Sheamus looks pissed! Just how many Superstars pissed in his Wheaties during commercial!? #BWF #RAW
AWESOME!
The United States Champion The Miz vs John Cena
I’m calling it now, as Cena comes out (BRRRRRR SOGGY SHOES!) that Daniel Bryan is going to interfere. Just my theory. Anyway, Miz gets an early advantage, but Cena takes it from him. He goes for a cover, but Miz kicks out, and dodges a move from Cena, sending Cena shoulder-first into the steel pole. Miz goes for a cover, but Cena kicks out. Miz gets the advantage back, and then Cena takes it back, Irish whipping him across the ring before suplexing him and going for a cover, but Miz kicks out at two. Miz gets advantage back with a knee to the face, and then a kick to the stomach. Meanwhile, Cole admits he has no friends. Anyway, Miz hits a leg drop across Cena’s face, and then goes for a cover, but Cena shoves him off. Cena gets the advantage back, and then goes to the top rope, and Miz knocks him off and out of the ring.
<COMMERCIAL>
We come back to Miz hooked all around Cena in a sleeper, his legs around his waist from behind. Cena backs him into the turnbuckle, and goes for the bulldog, but Miz shoves him off, followed by a boot to the face. He goes for a cover, but Cena kicks out at two. Miz goes outside the ring and hangs Cena’s head over the edge, then knees him in the face. He gets Cena under the bottom rope, and then drops him, flinging him into the rope. He goes for a cover, but Cena kicks out at two. Miz is watching Cena as he gets up in the corner, and then hits the swinging corner clothesline. Cena gets in another corner, and Miz tries again, but Cena rolls out of the way. Cena hits a shoulder tackle and then gets the momentum back. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Miz, who gets up and is picked up for the Attitude Adjustment. However, Miz hits him with a backbreaker, then a neckbreaker, then goes for the cover, but Cena kicks out at two. Cena gets up and Miz attempts the Skull Crushing Finale, but Miz blocks and gets Miz into the STF. Miz reaches for the ropes and grabs the bottom rope to get free.
To give you a break from the block paragraphs, I’ll continue here. Cena goes for Miz, but Miz kicks him in the face. Goes for a cover, but Cena kicks out. Miz Whips Cena into the turnbuckle and then attempts another Skull Crushing Finale. Cena tries the attitude Adjustment again, but Miz gets out of the ring and away from him. Daniel Bryan attacks from behind, the ref calls for the bell, and Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment.
The United States Champion The Miz wins via disqualification.
Cena walks away, and Daniel Bryan gets in and puts Miz in a submission. Miz taps out, and four refs have to pull Bryan off of Miz.
Later tonight, Randy Orton will face John Morrison and Ted DiBiase in a Triple Threat match.
<COMMERCIAL>
@FrankWWEClown “Get that idiot off him!” -Michael Cole No Cole, you’re the idiot, you’re the idiot.
@Niki_Sushi I now name Daniel Bryan’s submission move. It’s now the ‘Twisted Dick’. #BWF #RAW
@HitTheRopes These two are putting on a good match. Good job @mikethemiz and @johncena. #wwe
<VIDEO PACKAGE: Two weeks ago, Tamina hits on Santino.>
Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs Jimmy and Jey Uso with Tamina
No idea. I was hoping Tamina would hit on Santino again. Anyway, Vladimir picks up the win.
Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov win via pinfall.
Afterward, Jimmy (I think) went to attack Santino again, but Tamina protected him and helped him up. Tamina then blows Santino a kiss, and he hysterically ‘gets hit’ by it. I love that guy. Vladimir looks at him like he’s retarded and tries to move his hand, but Santino won’t. Santino says he thinks Tamina likes him.
Sheamus is deliberating on all the matches, even the one he hasn’t seen yet, and JoMo, Randy, and Ted have a match next.
<COMMERCIAL>
@kickoutblog In King’s defense, I think Tiger Woods might be the only person sleazier than Jerry Lawler.
Sheamus seems to have decided. He’s looking pretty smug in that throne.
Ted DiBiase with Maryse vs John Morrison vs Randy Orton
Orton comes out and Sheamus stands at attention! Aaaand no match yet.
<COMMERCIAL>
@dasharpshooters Yay its Maryse and her bitch! #wwe #Raw #bwf
Sheamus leaves the ring/stage area as Morrison disappeared somewhere and Randy and DiBiase go at it in the ring. There’s Morrison, beating DiBiase to a pulp. Randy and Morrison are in the ring, and Maryse is comforting DiBiase ringside. DiBiase finally comes back to interrupt Morrison’s cover on Orton, and flings Morrison out of the ring. He goes for the cover on Orton, and Orton kicks out. DiBiase gets an advantage on Orton and holds onto it for a bit, gaining momentum over Morrison too. But Orton comes back to get some momentum on both of them, hitting a scoop slam on Morrison, then DiBiase in succession. He then gets DiBiase between the top and middle rope, ducks a kick from Morrison, and DDTs DiBiase. Orton prepares to RKO DiBiase, but DiBiase shoves him into Morrison, who kicks him in the face, and then is sent out of the ring by DiBiase. DiBiase tries to hit Dream Street, but Orton counters. Orton then RKOs Morrison in midair and wins the match.
Randy Orton wins via pinfall.
DiBiase attacks Randy afterward only to also receive an RKO from Randy. Randy cackles and then Matthews is backstage with Sheamus. Sheamus says he doesn’t need to see anymore of Orton, because he’s already made his decision, and in just a few minutes, Sheamus is going to tell the entire world in that ring.
<COMMERCIAL>
@TKeep123 If Michael Cole would use “Classic” instead of “Vintage,” it wouldn’t be half as obnoxious. #WWE #RAW #BWF
@legendkiller515 randy does it again…rko in mid air. he is a beast #wwe #bwf
@KeepItFiveStar Oh no!!!!! Morrison got the beard RKO’d off him!!
Sheamus is standing in the ring, and I think something glared off his face and into my eyes, because I went temporarily blind. Sheamus says that he is still a warrior, the Celtic Warrior despite last week. He says that he’s going to defend his title right now, and not wait until Night of Champions. A ref climbs into the ring, and Sheamus says that he’s seen a lot of great competitors tonight. But the only reason he became WWE Champion was because of opportunity. You can’t succeed without opportunity. Despite what he’s seen tonight, he went left field. He decided to make it a Superstar who’s never had a WWE Championship before, a man who could be the next biggest WWE Superstar. His next opponent is Zack Ryder.
OOOH RADIO, TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW!
Ryder comes out and says that everyone all over the world is looking at the next WWE Champion, woo woo woo, you know it.
Zack Ryder vs WWE Champion Sheamus for the WWE Championship
Someone apparently loves Ryder, because he’s finally getting his chance! … Not like it’ll last. Anyway, there’s only like ten minutes left anyway. So, yeah. Sheamus destroys Ryder with the kick thing to the head.
WWE Champion Sheamus wins via pinfall.
Cole makes a lame joke, and everyone hates him more. Sheamus takes the mic and says that there we have it: another successful retention for the Celtic Warrior. Now, he wants to reference some WWE Rules and Regulations. Now, he doesn’t have to defend his title for another 30 days. That means at Night of Champions, he’s taking the night off. He says he may even take the whole month off, go back to Ireland. However, Nexus thinks that’s a bad idea.
We are one, we are one, we are one, we will stand together… until Darren Young loses!
Barrett makes his way down to the ring and says that Sheamus is right, legally. He doesn’t need to defend his title for another thirty days, but Barrett won Season One of NXT. Sheamus asks so what, and Barrett says that he gets a title opportunity at a pay-per-view of his choice. Barrett chooses to take it against Sheamus at Night of Champions.
<YOU’VE GOT MAIL>
“The GM would like everyone to know that he has upheld Barrett’s request: Sheamus will defend against Barrett at Night of Champions, but that’s not all. Earlier tonight, Sheamus, you spoke of opportunity. Well, I’m giving an opportunity to not only Wade Barrett, but to four other deserving Superstars. That means at Night of Champions, Sheamus will defend the WWE Championship in a Six Pack Challenge. Sheamus will not only face Wade Barrett, he will face Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Edge, and John Cena.”
Sheamus shoves Barrett at the others, and they all glare at him, surrounding him. Cena attacks, and then so does everyone else. Sheamus throws Barrett out of the ring, then Jericho delivers the Codebreaker to Sheamus, Edge Spears Jericho, Cena Attitude Adjustment’s Edge, and Randy RKO’s John.
Overall, RAW could have been a little more impressive, but it wasn’t terrible. Hope you all enjoyed it, and I hope to see you next week. Keep an eye on my Twitter (@TheMizMagnet) for more details.
Hello, fellow Bored Wrestling Fans! It’s been a couple of months since I’ve done anything here on the site aside from the weekly Power Polls put on by Jason Mann of WrestlePerspective, so I thought with JT away, I’d jump in this week and ramble on with a rare “ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts” column! And what better week to return than the weekend following TNA’s HardCORE Justice PPV and “Whole F’N Show” free-per-view on Spike?
I actually planned on ordering HardCORE Justice last Sunday, but I woke up around 8:07 and figured it was pointless by then to spend the 30 bucks on the show. I promised myself I wouldn’t read any spoilers before I actually got to watch it, and damn, that would’ve been $30 well spent. Nearly every match had a purpose, settling feuds from back in the original ECW, and the last minute Main Event change to RVD/Sabu was a great move IMO. The only other person on the show that could’ve filled the void left by Jerry Lynn’s absence would have been Rhino, in a storyline sense anyway, but there was so much history between RVD and Sabu that it really was the best choice.
The only BWF stuff I did for RAW was a quick tweet asking folks to use our #BWF hashtag to help AlyKat notice them for her review. I watched the show as a fan, but I knew damn well that it was going to suck in comparison to the PPV I watched the night before. I was right. It’s not that RAW sucked in comparison to other recent RAWs, it’s that it happened to be on during a week where it would have had to outshine some of the best RAWs of all time to even compete with what TNA was putting on. Look, I’m not one of those guys that floods the comment boards on other sites with anti-WWE stuff or pro-TNA stuff. Typically, I’m a WWE supporter no matter what, but TNA just had the better wrestling this week.
I haven’t watched any of NXT Season 2 aside from the one where The Nexus were on. I just don’t care. JT can vote for Kaval all he wants, I’m just bored with the whole NXT deal.
And then there was Thursday. TNA promised us a PPV style show on free TV, and that’s what they delivered. Every match was amazing, and Shannon Moore proved that he can hang with a main eventer in his match with Jeff Hardy, but from a wrestling standpoint you have to give it up for Beer Money and The Motor City Machine Guns, and from a hardcore standpoint, RVD and Abyss. Initially I missed the Fortune beatdown on EV2.0, but after being told about it Friday night and reading Drow’s statement that it made the initial Nexus attack look like “a junior high play,” I had to go back and watch it. It was absolutely brutal – James Storm was just maiming people left and right with pieces of broken glass! I can’t wait for the aftermath of this, when the EV2.0 guys try for revenge. Extreme Violence? It’s just beginning!
I still haven’t watched SmackDown. I’m not even interested in watching. Initially I considered ordering SummerSlam tonight, but that’s probably out of the question too. There’s nothing that’s captured my attention booked for tonight. The only thing that would possibly make this worth the money is if The Miz cashes in and wins the WWE Championship tonight, and I highly doubt that’s going to happen.
If any of our readers live in Western New York, come on out Friday, August 20th to Chuggers in West Seneca as DTD Entertainment presents the Honoring The Idol 2010 Pre Party featuring my band thinksobrain, whom G so graciously puts over in his SmackDown review every week. Also, don’t forget that Empire State Wrestling returns to the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda on Saturday, September 11th. The main event is set to be ESW Tag Team Champions Famous defending against Kevin Grace and Pepper Parks. Also announced for the show is Jonny Puma vs. Ryot, and Ceasar’s Legion members Tommy Mandrake and Superbeast taking on our friends Barry and Brian Hardy. Hope to see you guys around!
