Here’s the results from this weeks Ring of Honor Episode featuring ROH vs. S.C.U.M.
We begin with a recap of last week’s S.C.U.M.’s challenge to ROH.
Kevin Steen comes out and is about to talk and is interrupted by Jay Briscoe who says that Steen is a bitch and he will beat him for the ROH World title. Steen is about to respond but is interrupted by Steve Corino who talks trash to Jay. Finally Steen is allowed to talk and when he does he says that he is proud to be ROH Champion and he will be even prouder when he beats both Briscoe Brothers for the title and tells Jay “we’ll see who the bitch is, Bitch” and the leaves the ring. Corino then trash talks Jay some more until Jay pulls out a weapon he has hidden in his sling and is about to attack Corino with it until S.C.U.M. and ROH members come out, start brawling which leads us to our first match of the night:
Match 1: Rhett Titus & Cliff Compton Def. Coleman & Alexander with help from S.C.U.M. members Jimmy Rave and Jimmy Jacobs.
Match 2: Jimmy Jacobs def Mikey Mondo- Jacobs used held onto the ropes to get the win.
This week we got no Inside ROH but Inside S.C.U.M. where Steve Corino briefly described all the new members of the group and explains how they were all screwed by ROH. We then got to Steen who is about to talk about his title match with Jay Briacoe but is cut off again by Corino who is yelling at production for playing the wrong interview ending the segment.
Match 3: Steve Corino, Matt Hardy & Rhino def. Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal and BJ Whitmer- Early on Corino offers Lethal a sopt in S.C.U.M. in which Lethal refuses and blows his nose on a S.C.U.M. shirt. The match ends here with the rest of S.C.U.M. coming out handcuffing Elgin & Lethal to the ropes allowing a 3 on 1 attack of Whitmer in which Matt Hardy pinning him after a Twist Of Fate.
Post match Jay Briscoe comes out and says S.C.U.M. dies at Supercard of Honor 7 as he, Elgin Lethal and Whitmer all stand in the ring.
Then we get a Supercard Of Honor rundown (it’s April 5 on ippv) and we fade to black.
RYBACK DEF. JACK SWAGGER – Swagger looks strong for about 30 seconds, but winds up just more meat on the plate. The turning point is Swagger landing ugly, face first.
LAYLA (DIVAS CHAMPION) DEF. NATTIE NIEDHART – Before the match gets going, Vicki comes out to demand this match wrap up quickly so she can make an announcement. She actually spends the whole match on the ring apron, looking bored and rolling her eyes, great way to sell a match. One high spot is Nattie and Layla doing the old Hardy spot where the face (Layla) tries a baseball slide kick, and the heel (Nattie) traps her in the ring apron. Layla ends this with a simple kick to the head. Vick dismisses Layla in a condescending manner and Layla just goes.
Vicki demands that the board of directors take action against the “mentally unstable” child and put Raw in the hands of an adult, like her. AJ Lee responds by skipping out to the ring, and cracking Vicki in the face. (And the Reason Layla couldn’t do that?) Vicki high-tails it out of there while AJ Lee smiles.
JOHN CENA DEF. THE MIZ (I-C CHAMPION) – Josh Mathews joins us at ringside. The match is slow, dull, and by the numbers. Miz focuses on striking John in the head/face with strikes and kicks, Cena makes his superman comebacks. The match ends when Cena hits four out of five moves of doom and gets the three.
SANTINO DEF. HEATH SLATER – Heath Slater gets the upper hand with a cheap shot after an “air guitar” duel, and then goes all out with punching, stomping, knees, and choking. Slater goes up on the ropes, Santino rolls away. Slater goes to the other corner, Santino rolls out again. Slater gets caught in a cradle for a two-count, and Santino takes over. Santino sets the Cobra, but the sax music hits and Aksana is out to distract the cobra. Not Santino, just the cobra. The cobra breaks his trance long enough to strike Slater and Santino gets a three-count, while the cobra stares at Aksana. Yes I did just write that.
BRODUS CLAY/SIN CARA DEF. DAMIAN SANDOW/CODY RHODES – Sin Cara comes out to NO reaction. Cody takes control by pulling Sin Cara down hard off the ropes. The heels take turns stomping on Sin Cara until he hits the head scissors and makes the tag to Brodus, who squashes Cody until Sandow makes the save. Sandow goes after Cara but goes over and out. Cara hits a flying body-press while Cody goes sternum first into Clay’s cranium. Clay hits the splash and gets a three-count. Match ends in a dance party with the kids at ringside.
R-TRUTH DEF. DANIEL BRYAN BY COUNT-OUT – The crowd starts in with the “goat-face” chants and Bryan responds with deep breathing. Highlight of the match is Bryan giving “little jimmy” a fist bump. Match ends when Truth tricks Bryan into a round of “dueling crazy” outside the ring. Truth gets the crowd going with the “yes” chant and Bryan gets counted out while going “no” up in some fans’ face.
SHEAMUS/RANDY ORTON DEF. DOLPH ZIGGLER/ALBERTO DEL RIO – Faces start out strong, but it’s soon Del Rio and Ziggler pounding on Orton. Orton finally tags Sheamus who goes all out on Ziggler. While the ref is distracted, Roberto Rodriguez – Del Rio’s personal announcer – tosses Ziggler his MiTB briefcase. Orton catches him with the chin-lock backbreaker and Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick for the win.
ZACK RYDER DEF. DAVID OTUNGA – The highlight here is Kane coming out to ringside and Josh Mathews running for his life. Cole gives Kane plenty of room as Kane takes a seat at the table. Otunga actually dominates this match with clubbing forearms and neck-locks, but it ends when Ryder ducks a clothesline and hits the Rough-Ryder for the three-count. Kane rushes the ring and grabs Ryder by the neck, then lets him go. He decides to choke-slam Otunga instead.
C.M. PUNK DEF. JERRY LAWLER (CAGE MATCH: AS CHOSEN BY WWE UNIVERSE VIA TWITTER POLL) – The brilliance of this match is Punk revisiting Lawler’s feud with Andy Kaufman and playing BOTH roles. As Punk enters the cage, Cole reads his Twitter feed, which has Punk quoting Kaufman’s legendary “New King of Memphis,” promo almost verbatim. Then, in a nod to the king, Punk allows Lawler the first shot. Lawler plays nervous, but eventually lets it go on Punk’s kisser. Punk sells it BIG, even cowering in the corner. However Punk takes control with kicks to Lawler’s shins, backing him into the corner, then he scores a neck-breaker. From then on, the match is mostly Punk bullying Lawler; stomping on him and literally kicking him while he’s down. Punk goes up on the ropes, but Lawler knocks his feet out from under him, and Punk takes a crotch-shot to the turn-buckle. Punk stops Lawler from escaping but Lawler sends Punk face-first into the cage. Lawler takes over with the big right hands and hits his fist-drop for a two count. Punk is bleeding, but stops Lawler from escaping the cage. Punk finishes this with a ROCK-BOTTOM into the Anaconda vice. Lawler taps out.
After the match, Punk grabs a lock and chain from under the ring and locks himself in w/Lawler and a mike, demanding Lawler call him the best in the world. Lawler refuses, and Punk pummels him with elbow shots. Cena tries to make the save, but can’t get in the cage. He yells for someone to get the cage up. When they finally do, Cena dives for Punk, who heads for higher ground, while Cena checks on Jerry.
RAW ends with Punk walking out with his belt, and Cena hunched over a battered Lawler.
HIGHLIGHTS
The build-up for the main event started with Lawler calling out Punk and demanding an apology for last week. Punk responds by throwing Lawler’s whole career under a bus. From beating up no-names in Memphis, to a slap fight with a comedian, (Kaufman) to losing at Wrestlemania. Punk challenges Lawler to a fight later tonight. Lawler will think about it. A few segments later, Lawler agrees, saying he’s not the best in the world… and neither is Punk.
We had a series of skits with Bryan in Anger Management classes, building up to his match with R-Truth, that managed to be funnier than you would expect. In the first one, Bryan calmly states his objections to being in these classes, when a small boy in a goat mask walks in. Bryan goes off on the kid, reducing him to tears. The “doctor” running the class explains this was his son, in costume for a school play. The doc tells his son that Bryan is “a very sick man.” Some guy named “Harold” tries to console Bryan.
“Don’t touch me, Harold.” – Daniel Bryan
In the second, Bryan responds to Harold whining about his boss with a brief recap of his program with AJ and Kane – who just happens to be the late patient. (Saw THAT coming)
The last segment has Kane going over (almost) his entire back-story, briefly mentioning Katie Vick even. The shrink sends everyone home assigning them to work on an “anger collage.” Bryan chases him out, berating him the whole time. Harold thanks Kane for sharing, Kane responds by throttling him and snarling “You’re welcome.” Kane made this segment work better than it should have.
We took a look back at Triple H’s career, leading up to his big promo where he would let us know if he was going to retire or not. He managed to kill over ten minutes without confirming anything, but he was gracious to the fans…
“Thank you, for letting me, play the game.” – Triple H.
RYTMANS RANT
Is there a reason every other person is working a crazy gimmick? We got R-Truth with “little Jimmy,” Daniel Bryan with anger management issues, Kane…duh, and AJ going nuts anytime someone suggest she’s… going nuts. I’m sorry but this comes off as lazy. You can’t come up with anything else? Is Josh going to go nuts because he doesn’t want wrestlers to attack him? Is Cole going to explain the last year or so of douchey behavior was temporary insanity?
It seems “crazy” is the default whenever WWE can’t figure out what to do with someone. AJ was supposed to be a “manic pixie dream girl next door.” Apparently that didn’t fly, so she’s crazy. R-Truth was angry about WWE putting no faith in him and tried to imply that they didn’t want a black champion. That hit too close to home, so he went “crazy.” Daniel Bryan wants respect for what he can do in the ring? He must be crazy. Kane…
Well that worked out, still…
You know, mental illness is a serious, real problem. Some of the fans out there might have someone in their family who suffers from this. You could potentially alienate a huge percentage of the fan base, or maybe just make a whole lot of casual fans uncomfortable with your product.
KOFI INGSTON & R-TRUTH W/SIN CARA def. THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS W/CODY RHODES – Before the match, we get a recap of Truth celebrating his teams win at Summerslam by dumping Gatorade on little Jimmy, and a shot of the unflattering cartoon Cody Rhodes had made up of Sin Cara. Kofi and Truth started of the match with fast paced double-teaming on each of the PTP while Sin Cara ran off Rhodes. The heels took control on R-Truth, until he makes the hot tag to Sin Cara. Kofi and Truth take out the PTP’s while Cody and Cara wind up the match. Cody’s obsession with Cara’s mask gets him pinned for the three-count.
RYBACK def. MIKE SPINNER & ANDY TAVARES – Another Ryback squash with Jinder Mahal running in to get in a sneak attack. Ryback fights him off with his jawbreaker variation and proceeds to kill the jobbers while Mahal runs off.
RANDY ORTON def. ALBERTO DEL RIO – Del Rio leaves the car in the back and storms out angry. He shows us a picture from his match with Sheamus at Summerslam, proving his foot was clearly on the ropes and demands a rematch with Sheamus right now. AJ skips out and greets Alberto with “hello” in Spanish. (I don’t know how to spell it.) She can’t give him a shot at Sheamus because that’s Booker T’s call. She does give him a match and tells him to “say hello” to his “little friend.” Randy Orton comes out. After the break, Sheamus comes out to join commentary. The match is back and forth with a lot of striking, stomping, and highspots. Del Rio goes for the win but Sheamus gets the ref to see Orton’s foot on the rope. Del Rio gets hot with Sheamus and turns around into an RKO, for a three-count.
DAMIEN SANDOW def. BRODUS CLAY – We start off with a brief recap of the feud and how Sandow hurt Clay’s leg. As Sandow walks to the ring, we get picture-in-picture comments from Sandow vowing to get rid of Clay once and for all. We’re welcome. The match is basically Brodus tossing and squashing Sandow, and Sandow going after the bad knee. Sandow dodges a charge and rolls up Clay for a three-count with a hand full of tights, despite Clay NOT having both shoulders down, but I guess I’m the only one who cares. After the match, Clay got his revenge with a t-bone suplex and the big splash on Sandow. And we get a celebratory hug from the Funkadactyls and a dance party with kids.
BIG SHOW def DAVID OTUNGA – Earlier tonight, Otunga offered his legal services to AJ, but made the mistake of using the “c” word. (NOT THAT C-WORD! THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW! “CRAZY!” HE SAID “CRAZY!”) AJ ordered him to wrestle an opponent of her choice. This was a straight-up squash, with an angry Show just overwhelming Otunga with a brutal beat-down.
KANE & ZACK RYDER vs. BRYAN AND THE MIZ: NO CONTEST – AJ ordered this match as a way of making Kane and Bryan deal with “anger issues.” The match ends with the heels bailing (in Bryan’s case, through the crowd,) and Kane brutalizing the timekeeper and Tomb-stoning Ryder.
KAITLIN WINS DIVA ROYAL – Sloppy filler, dragged out to long. Kaitlin wins by eliminating Eve, and becomes new #1 contender to the Divas title, held by Layla, who was at ringside.
DOLPH ZIGGLER def. CHRIS JERICHO: CONTRACT VS. CONTRACT – Earlier in the night, AJ skipped in on an argument between Jericho and Ziggler and made this match with the stipulation that if Jericho wins, he gets Ziggler’s MiTB briefcase, and if Ziggler wins, Jericho’s contract is cancelled. The match is a face paced exchange of back and forth high-spots, including a scary flip off the top rope that I’m not sure went according to plan. Jericho hooked Ziggler under the arms with his legs, and flipped backwards, tossing Ziggler up and over. Ziggler landed on his head and it looked scary. Match ends with Jericho’s Lionsault hitting Ziggler’s knees and a Zig-Zag for the three-count. After the match, Jericho beats Ziggler down with his own briefcase.
HIGHLIGHTS
•Paul Heyman opening the show with Lesnar – Heyman coins the term “Brocktagon,” and refers to Brock as the new “King of Kings,” and “Lord and Master of the WWE.” Lesnar calls out the ref from Sunday night’s Summerslam match to tell him two words – “good job.”
•AJ coming out to book Orton/Del Rio – She came off slightly racist with the Spanish hello and Scarface quote.
•Summerslam Recap – Antonio Cesaro winning the US title and “touting” from the ring, followed by Summerslam week highlights in L.A. (Santino working in a restaurant, Be a Star anniversary, Divas on the red carpet.)
•Shawn Michaels Live Satellite interview – Shawn sells the schmaltz big with his confession that he should’ve told hunter he couldn’t beat Brock. He tells Hunter “I love you,” “We all love you,” “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
•C.M. Punk offering Cena a title shot IF he admits Punk is the “best in the world.” Cena refuses and dares Punk to pick someone else.
•Punk demanding an apology from Lawler – Lawler apologizes, but when he refuses to call Punk “the best in the world,” he gets a kick to the back of the head.
TWITTER AND TOUTS
•Punk on Tout, announcing he would pick his own #1 contender that night.
•The entire WWE universe – Commenting on Hunter/Lesnar; via Twitter
•Summerslam recap interviews: Punk demands respect, Cena is disappointed, Big Show is angry.
RYTMANS’ RANT
No one thing to rant about this week. I have to admit that for the most part, his show was pretty solid and kept moving nicely. Of course, they STILL went overtime but…
I do want to comment on how badly Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus are being booked. Sheamus is losing credibility as a champion, as he can’t seem to finish off this feud convincingly. And the whole “taking the title shot away from Del Rio just to give it back” routine ran out of gas a week ago. IF Del Rio were a face, winning back his title shots from a heel GM, this might work, however it’s a heel, who we’re supposed to root against, constantly given legitimate complaints. It’s time for Sheamus to move on to someone else.
SIDE NOTE: Is there a reason Randy Orton is beating all the top heels? It would make sense if he was being built as Punk’s next challenger, but that doesn’t seem to be the plan.
How is AJ supposed to be better than Johnny Ace? Isn’t she doing the exact same things he did? AJ has to do something else besides torment her ex-boyfriends. You’re just wasting what was at first a fresh; interesting character on the same BS you’ve been doing all damn year.
Also, if Cena had just come out and said to Punk, “Take your title shot and shove it,” or words to that effect, he would’ve gotten the effect he wanted, maybe won over a few fans, and FINISHED THE SHOW ON TIME!
That’s it for this week peep-holes. I’ll see you next time, on RYT-TIME.
He spells FLUKE and gives its definition. He makes a joke about erasing the “e” in fluke and telling all the doubters to go fluk themselves. He directs his next comment to Aces and 8’s and tells them that he is walking out of Bound for Glory the World Champion.
Jeff Hardy’s music hits. Hardy says he is going to win the BFG Series and they will “tear it up” at the PPV. Aries agrees. Hardy calls out Aces & 8’s because they cost him 20 points. Bully Ray’s music hits and comes to the ring and calls Hardy stupid. He says James Storm is behind Aces & 8’s. He makes his case and reasons through what transpired at Hardcore Justice. Aries calls attention back to himself and accuses Bully of maybe being behind it.
Aces & 8’s appear on the big screen. They main guy says sometimes when you roll the dice, you get the dead man’s hand. He says tonight they will make their presence felt in a big way.
BFG series Storm is 1st with 66, followed by RVD with 55, and Samoa Joe with 54
Backstage: Magnus talks about his match with Samoa Joe. He puts Joe over and says he knows everything about him.
Samoa Joe vs. Magnus
They trade some nice moves and counters. Magnus goes out to regroup. Joe knocks him down with a big forearm. Magnus answers back with a big boot to the head which drops Joe. Magnus sends him in but Joe kicks him in the chest. Magnus connects with a powerful clothesline and he gets 2. He drops Joe again and Joe kicks out. Joe sends him in the corner and follows in with a reverse elbow and an Enzuigiri.
Joe puts him up top, Magnus fights him off, Magnus comes off with an elbow, Joe moves out of the way. Joe applies a rear naked choke but Magnus kicks off the ropes to get free. Joe rolls through and pins him with a cradle.
Samoa Joe gains 7 points to 61 points to 2nd place. Joe offers his hand to a seated Magnus but he just stares ahead. Joe pats him on the back and leaves up the ramp. Magnus grabs a chair and clocks Joe on his arm when he puts his arms up to protect his face.
Madison Rayne says her win on Sunday righted an injustice. She is told by a producer that Brooke Hogan wants to see her in the ring. (And by injustice she means the injustice she is going to rain down on us with her subpar matches and complete stagnation of an already stagnant division.)
Madison comes to the ring. She thinks Brooke is going to throw her a party. He says behind every strong woman stands a great referee. She calls Earl Hebner to the ring. We get a small “You screwed Brooke” chant.
Brooke Hogan comes out and says Earl will not be the referee in any more Knockouts matches. She tells Madison that Tessmacher gets her rematch tonight and she has a special referee that she will announce later. Madison cuts a promo on her and challenges her to get in the ring. Brooke charges the ring and Madison and Earl bail. Brooke gets in the ring and tells Madison to come back. She says, “I’m a Hogan, I don’t go anywhere.”
If the real Glamazon (because damn she is tall) can actually wrestle that would be nice to see. Since her brother is a never was.
Two members of Aces & 8’s get in the ring behind Brooke and she turns around and they back her into the corner. Bully, Aries, Hardy, and Angle run out to her rescue and the masked men retreat. James Storm comes out.
Sting is in the ring and he says Aces & 8’s crossed the line but showed their true colors. Borden says TNA has its own pack standing tall in the ring. He challenges them to Open Fight Night next week.
Daniels & Kazarian talk backstage about being on the back-cover of the new Spiderman comic. They make fun of AJ’s “baby” and Claire’s looks. AJ comes out and says he was drugged and he’s tired of it. He tells Daniels that in their match tonight, if Daniels wins, AJ will accept he’s the father (Huh?) and if AJ wins, he gets the points and is taking a paternity test.
AJ Styles vs. Daniels w/ Kazarian
The ref bars Kazarian from ringside. AJ hits a quick knockdown and he chases Daniels around the ring. They go back and forth. AJ hits a bodyslam and drops a flying knee. AJ puts the boots to Daniels in the corner. Daniels goes out to get a breath but AJ gives chase. AJ hits a high back body-drop in the ring and Daniels begs-off. AJ hits a nice clothesline and covers him but Daniels kicks out.Daniels controls a side headlock. AJ connects with a dropkick and gets 2. AJ applies a Deathlock with a bridge, then a single-leg Boston Crab, then back to a Deathlock. Daniels bites his fingers to escape. Daniels drops his throat across the ropes and gets 2. Daniels kicks AJ out under the ropes. AJ gets in before the count.
Daniels sends AJ in the corner and slowly picks him apart. Daniels hits a suplex but AJ kicks out at 1. Daniels tosses him out again and tries to get AJ counted out. AJ gets on the apron but is again kicked off to the floor. AJ sunset flips in and goes for his finisher but Daniels counters with a crucifix chokehold. AJ drops to the mat. AJ bites his way out. Daniels hits a textbook suplex and gets 2. Daniels hits punches in the corner but AJ hits a running powerbomb. AJ hits a springboard forearm and a flurry of clotheslines for 2. AJ hits a suplex into a neckbreaker for 2.
Daniels pulls the ropes down and AJ crashes to the floor. AJ goes back in the ring and hits a front flip dive onto Daniels on the outside. Kazarian sneaks down to the ring and holds AJ’s foot allowing Daniels to fall on top of him and get the pin. The ref sees Kazarian and doesn’t call the fall. AJ hits the Pele for the win.
AJ hits a Styles Clash on Daniels.
-Sting is in his office talking to Hogan on speakerphone. Hogan says he is going to be there next week. They are going “old-school.”
-Hardy approaches Storm in the locker room. He says he’s got his eye on him. Storm sounds hurt by it and denies it. Storm says he will be out there during Hardy’s match tonight to watch his back.
Title controversy video from Sunday
Roode comes to the ring. The fans chant, “You suck.” Roode says he had the opportunity to prove Aries was a fluke and he did. Roode says he defeated Aries in the middle of the ring. He says he should be champ and now he gets no rematch. He says we don’t understand what that championship meant to him. He says Bobby Roode is synonymous with champion. He says Aries, Sting, the referees, and the fans are the only ones to blame. They chant, “You’re a loser.” He starts to say what he’s going to do but he stutters, pauses, ponders, and drops the mic and leaves.
Miss Tessmacher vs. Madison Rayne
Brooke comes out after the women make their entrances and says she has a phenomenal ref: Taryn Terrell. Madison and Tessmacher lock-up and Taryn has to separate them. Madison drives her head in the corner. She chokes Tessmacher with her boot and takes advantage of Taryn’s full count. Madison hits a suplex into a bridge for 2. Tessmacher gets two near-falls. Madison grabs the tights but Taryn sees it. Tessmacher hits a spear and they struggle to get up.
Tessmacher hits a combination of clotheslines and gets 2. Madison avoids a crossbody out of the corner and pins Tessmacher with her feet on the ropes. Taryn has to physically remove them as Madison gives her a look of death. Madison argues with Taryn and Tessmacher comes up from behind with a faceplant for the win.
Aces & 8’s appear in a video and say they accept Sting’s invitation for 8pm next week. One guy asks the main guy if they have unfinished business tonight; he says yes.
Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy
Storm comes to the ring and Bully asks where his boys are. Bully takes control of Hardy and goes out to shove Storm. Hardy hits a dropkick to Bully through the ropes, then comes flying off the apron.Bully gets 2 in the ring. Storm looks around his back for Aces & 8’s. Bully drops an elbow and gets 2. Bully applies a calf lock but Hardy reaches the ropes. Bully hits a suplex for another 2. Hardy fights back but gets caught with an elbow. Bully lands hard after Hardy avoids a splash. They trade shots. Hardy hits a flurry. He hits a front dropkick after an inverted atomic drop for 2. Bully hits a Rock Bottom for 2. Hardy counters a Full Nelson and hits a Swanton for 2.
Bully rolls outside in front of Storm. Hardy slingshots over the top but Bully pulls Storm in the way and Hardy lands on him. Back in the ring, Bully sends Hardy in but gets caught with a boot. Hardy hits a corkscrew out of the corner. Two members of Aces & 8’s get in the ring with and grab Bully’s chain. AJ, Aries, Sting, and Angle come down to chase them off. Hardy hits a Twist of Fate for the pin. Hardy gains 7.
Bully Ray immediately hits a clothesline to take Hardy out. He seems conflicted and grabs the chain. Storm gets in the ring and they argue. Bully shoves Storm. Storm accidentally hits the Last Call on Hardy. Bully leaves and Storm checks on Hardy. Aces & 8’s get in the ring behind Storm and begin clapping. Taz and Tenay are convinced. Storm turns around and they pounce on him and give him a beating.
The Ace’s and 8’s story is heating up and there is no telling where TNA is going next. I can’t wait. Got to love stream of consciousness typing while watching on the interwebs
We begin with a video recap of the Claire & AJ and Aces & 8’s storylines.
Bully Ray heads down to the ring and pulls out his ‘Twittah machine.’ He bullie’s for a mic and asks if we know who he is. He announces that he’s the leader of the Bully Nation. He says Joseph Park taught him that if there’s enough evidence against someone, then they’re guilty. He says Storm is guilty of being involved with Aces & 8’s and tonight he will beat Storm and get his 7 points in the BFG Series. (Whatever did happen to the Joseph Parks, Bully Ray confrontation?)
Storm’s comes out.
Storm says had nothing to do with the attacks because he is more concerned with winning his title back. He draws an imaginary line in the ring and says he will give Bully to the count of 3 to do something. Bully backs out onto the apron.
They are interrupted by the masked men on the big screen and their voices have been distorted. They say they are impressed with The Insane Icon issuing them an open invitation but they are going to do it on their time.
Bully gets in the ring and accuses Storm again. They cut him off to a sudden commercial.
They re-play the Aces & 8’s video from moments ago.
Backstage, The Pope talks about his BFG Series match at Hardcore Justice 2012 this Sunday. The Pope hasn’t actually been pimping anything but the mat since his return to iMPACT and I watched The Dark Knight Rises and didn’t remember seeing him during the prison break scene.
Mr. Anderson comes out to do commentary
.
RVD vs. Magnus
Magnus clotheslines RVD over the top. Magnus follows and puts the boots to him. Magnus throws him back in and gets 2. Magnus catches RVD and slams him for another 2. RVD hits a kick to the head and springs off the ropes for another kick to the head. RVD hits a Superkick but is caught with a clothesline in the corner.
RVD hits a 5 Star Frogsplash for the win. There goes Magnus’s claim to the series and whatever came of his Xplosion championship stipulation where he can challenge the champion of any division for a title. Somebody please remember this.
7 points RVD
Bobby Roode talks backstage with Jason Hervey, and his lawyers aren’t happy with the contract so there may not be a main event at Hardcore Justice. So wouldn’t this make A Double happy seeing as how he is the Champion?
Sore Loser! and I win!!!
-Claire’s baby shower from last week
TNA Tag Team Championship: Garett Bischoff & Devon vs. Kazarian & Daniels (c)
Devon starts off with Kaz and quickly tags Garett. Kaz tags Daniels in and Garett gets 2. Devon tags back in and drops a big leg for 2. Garett tags back in and they double team Daniels. Kazarian distracts Garett from the apron and Daniels capitalizes. Kazarian tags in and gets 2. More quick tags from the champs.
Garett manages a tag to Devon who cleans house. Devon hits a Rock Bottom on Kazarian and tosses Daniels out. Devon hits a spear on Kaz and a spinebuster on Daniels. Kaz uses the belt behind the ref’s back and Daniels gets the pin.
*This is one of those matches where my dad (who looks strikingly like Devon) was watching as Daniels was struggling with Garett and looked at me and said why are we watching this its so fake. And I responded its not Devon, Daniels or Kaz’s fault blame Garett. He was still not impressed.
Winners by pin and STILL TNA Tag Team Champions: Daniels & Kazarian
-video of Sting and Brooke’s meeting from last week
Sting calls out Aces & 8’s and says he has given Brooke the night off.
Robbie E. and Robbie T. are in the ring, there is a table set-up. Robbie E. says he knows nobody thinks he’s going to win the BFG Series but he has 5 points, bro. He says he will win another 20 this Sunday, bro. He says he will do it by putting Jeff Hardy through a table. He shows footage from 3 weeks ago where he beat Hardy. Hardy’s music erupts.
Hardy gets in the ring and drops Robbie T. Robbie E. tries to back-off but Hardy slaps him and tries to put him through the table but Robbie T. attacks him from behind and powerbombs him through the table.
Backstage, AJ says he doesn’t remember anything with Claire. He says he doesn’t drink and how bad at sex does someone have to be to not remember being with them?
Samoa Joe grabs a headset and says nobody is going to stop him from winning the BFG series
Claire is at ringside again and cheers AJ as he makes his way to the ring.
BFG Series: Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles
Angle gets drilled with a dropkick and goes outside. AJ slingshots over the top with a crossbody.
Kurt powers AJ into the corner and hits a belly-to-belly as Claire looks-on. Angle applies a headlock. AJ fights out but Angle hits a Tilt-A-Whirl backbreaker and back to the headlock. Both men connect with simultaneous clotheslines. AJ gets the offense on the way up off the mat. Angle rebounds and hits a trifecta of Germans.
AJ counters the Angle Slam and connects with the Pele but Angle gets his shoulder up at the last second. Angle counters the Styles Clash and hits the Angle Slam for 2. AJ gets out of the Angle Lock and hits a German but Angle counters out and applies the Lock again but AJ rolls through. AJ springs off the apron and hits a flying forearm and the Styles Clash but somehow Angle kicks out.
AJ goes up top but Angle brings him down with a belly-to-belly but AJ kicks out. Angle misses with a moonsault off the ropes in the corner. AJ goes up top for a 450 but Angle gets his knees up and hits the Angle Slam.
7 points Kurt Angle
Claire congratulates AJ on his way up the ramp but he keeps walking and we get a close-up of her confused face.
Aces & 8’s are playing cards. They rundown who all has received the dead man’s hand from them. They say the next target is close and we will all find out who the next victim is.
Storm and Anderson accuse each other backstage of being behind it all.
Aries is on the phone backstage talking about Roode threatening not to sign the contract.
Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher
They go right at it before the bell rings. Kim drops Tessmacher’s throat across the top rope. Gail drops her across her knee and gets 2. Gail steps on Tessmacher’s stomach. Tessmacher mounts a comeback but is shutdown.
Tessmacher hits a flurry and a clothesline off the corner. She does a Stinkface. Tessmacher brings Gail off the top and hits a facebuster for the win.
Winner by pin: Miss Tessmacher
Earl Hebner raises Tessmacher’s arm and they talk. Madison Rayne comes out and she kisses Hebner and he falls out.
Joseph Park talks.
Aries and Roode make their way to the Impact Zone.
They show Kenny King’s win over Zema Ion from last week
Kenny King video package
Sting makes his way to the ring. A table is set-up. Sting invites Aces & 8’s to the ring. He moves on and invites Roode and Aries to the ring.
Aries displays his title and takes a seat. Roode refuses to sit down and Sting asks him what is up with his attitude. Roode asks if Sting’s stupid. He says the contract is his problem. He says the contract states that if he loses to Aries then he doesn’t get a rematch as long as Aries is champ. Roode says Sting has it out for him. Roode says if the language doesn’t change, there will be no main event this Sunday.
Aries tells him to stop whining. He says he’s worried about a rematch clause because he knows Aries has his number. Aries says they don’t need a contract, they can make a verbal agreement. He proposes that if Roode beats him then he will also forfeit his rematch clause. Sting tells them to shake on it. Each man shakes hands with Sting.
Roode takes off his coat and starts throwing things and Aries comically mocks his temper and shadows him. Roode offers his hand and Aries shakes it. Aries raises the belt and Roode throws water in his face and runs away. Aries turns the table over but Sting holds him back.
Storm and Bully make their way to the Impact Zone.
-Backstage in an interview package, Chavo says he’s here to beat the best. Kid Kash says Chavo’s a cheater.
-Kash & Gunner will face Chavo & Hernandez this Sunday at Hardcore Justice.
-Kenny King will face Zema Ion for the TNA X-Division Title.
-Miss Tessmacher will face Madison Rayne for the Knockouts Title
–BFGFalls Count Anywhere Match for 20 points: RVD, Anderson, Pope, Magnus
–BFGTables Match for 20 points: Hardy, Storm, Bully, Robbie E.
–BFG Ladder Match for 20 points: Styles, Angle, Daniels, Samoa Joe
BFG Series: Bully Ray vs. James Storm
Both men look behind them for Aces & 8’s. Storm hits clotheslines but is unable to take Bully off his feet. Bully hits a big boot and knocks Storm down then tosses him out.
Storm avoids an elbowdrop on the mat. Bully Ray catches him with a boot to the gut and applies a leg lock. Storm reverses it and Bully reaches the ropes. Bully hits a clothesline for 2. Bully hits punches to the head. Storm mounts a comeback with a series of rights and a neckbreaker. Back bodydrop by Storm. Bully launches Storm onto the apron but gets a kick to the back of the head. Bully hits a Rock Bottom for 2.
Storm fights out of a full nelson and goes up top for a cross body and gets 2. Storm comes off the top and misses with an elbowdrop. Bully hits the Bubba Bomb and gets 2. Bully misses with a back-splash off the top. Storm hits a Codebreaker but Bully avoids the Last Call. Bully hits the Bully 3D Cutter for the win.
7 points Bully Ray
Bully grabs his chain in anticipation of Aces & 8’s. He asks Storm where they are. He says send for them.
Aces & 8’s appear on the screen and they tell Bully he will see more of them at the PPV.
This was my first time to attend a Texoma Pride Wrestling show. It was an hour and a half drive so I took my mother. To begin with, this crowd was rabid. If you like old-school “rasslin’, ” this is the crowd for it. There was merchandise out the wazoo, which is my favorite part. The ring announcing intros weren’t real professional, but it gave it a kind of home-country charm. Sign Guy is a great host though. He works really well at the facilitation of it all. I liked the Pledge of Allegiance. They introduced all 8 competitors ECWA Super 8 style.
First match: Erica Torres vs. Kyra Myra
All but one of these competitors, this was my first match. Kyra was the hometown girl and is over like Nolan Ryan in Arlington. I liked Erica. I would like to nickname her “The Latina Portia Perez.” She reminded me a lot of Portia Perez, which is not a name I use lightly. Erica knew her role pretty well. I coulda told you during the introductions that Kyra was going to win. I’m pretty sure that this crowd would have rioted had anybody else won. Erica knew it was her role to make Kyra look important and she did. Erica was a good engaging heel. What I wrote down is that she never forgot she was in front of the crowd. Each wrestler played up each others’ strengths really well. I wrote down that it was a good “big man-little man” match, but with women. One of the things that stood out to me is that there were a few moments in the match where I thought Erica would win. So even though there was no possible way Erica would have won, I still found myself getting lost. Very good match.
Winner: Kyra
Second match: Jen Alise w/Bree Ann vs. La Reina Pink
Here Pink was announced simply as “Pink.” And of course, the irony was that “Pink” was wearing no pink. Jen was over nice as a heel. Jen is the only one I had seen before tonight. This was a very nice short match. Jen won with her feet on the rope. What I loved about this crowd is that they were near-riot over the feet on the ropes. I loved it.
Winner: Alise
Third match: Barbi Hayden vs. Angel Blue w/Niki Night
Newsflash: Barbi Hayden is hot. You know when you watch the teen romantic comedy and Freddie Prinze, Jr. is with the really hot blond with the cheerleader, beach bunny body that is somehow the villain to the Rachel Leigh Cook character? Yeah, that’s Barbi. And Angel Blue is VERY striking as well. I’ve heard her name for a long time and I was struck by how short she is. Angel was very good with the crowd. I was very struck by Barbi’s style. I think both of these would fit in just fine in a WSU or SHIMMER. They really can go. Needless to say, this match put me in my happy place. Barbi won.
Winner: Barbi
Fourth match: Starr Venus vs. Bree Ann w/Jen Alise
Bree Ann is the local talent. Seeing her actual wrestling outfit, I hope she does not lay down otherwise people might picnic on top of her. Starr is so enthusiastic. I know I say that a lot, but she has a very infectious enthusiasm that flows into her matches. The chemistry didn’t quite happen in this match. However Bree did the loudest b****-slap I’ve ever seen in my life. After that happened, the work flowed a lot more smoothly. Especially since Bree Ann was the home girl, I was expecting her to win. But she did not. So it was a nice surprise booking-wise.
Winner: Starr
Fifth match: Cody Jones & Ken Carson vs. Michael Faith & Double D
I was very pleasantly surprised by this match. The first team should probably be called “The Boyfriends.” Both teams kept the fans engaged. Carson had a lot of fun with the crowd and the referee. They were kind of the cool heels that you boo with a smile. The match also had a nice crescendo with action. I had not seen or heard of Double D before, but he has a nice chiseled look and some great athleticism. I definitely knew his name after that match. While being in its role to give the fans a place to take a break from the women wrestlers, it was very entertaining. I want to see Faith some more. I think he has the potential to be the next Samoa Joe. These were two experienced wrestlers to help Faith & D get over as a tag team.
Winner: Double Faith (If that’s not their name, it needs to be)
During the intermission, the faces came out, signed autographs and mingled with the crowd. Starr was a total class act. She was so enthusiastic and really loves what she’s doing. She has such a genuineness that comes out through her work. Also, Tim Storm was such a class act as well. There wasn’t a single person he didn’t get his picture with. If anybody wants to know how to be a babyface, watch Tim Storm in how he wrestles AND how he treats the crowd.
Sixth match: Kyra Myra vs. Jen Alise
Well, I was a little surprised that THIS was not the main event, but I liked the booking. Bree Ann stayed at ringside in Jen’s corner and kept the crowd into it. This wasn’t much of a match, but I did see a gore for the first time in a woman’s match. Jen was choking her and so the referee disqualified her.
Winner by dq: Kyra
Bree was threatening with some handcuffs, and Kyra took the handcuffs from her and cuffed Jen to the ropes. A little too Super Cena for me. But Jen can say she never was pinned. I would have liked more of a beatdown that Kyra could overcome to win the tournament.
Seventh match: Starr Venus vs. Barbi Hayden
I’ve already gushed about how great Starr was. And Barbi was wearing a new outfit, including one of her t-shirts (which she didn’t have in XL or larger, hint, hint). It’s an interesting thing about Barbi. She is really good in the ring and can really go. But she doesn’t necessarily do a lot of moves. She does a lot of stalling and comedy before she gets into the work. Her ring style is geared towards a wide range of crowds. This match had my favorite finish of the night. Barbi had Starr in the sharpshooter, and Starr was really struggling. Great drama and great finish.
Winner: Hayden
Eighth match: Tim Storm (c) vs. Mike Foxx vs. Byron Wilcott
At first this started out as Storm vs. Foxx. I put my pen down and enjoyed. There were two legends in the history of Texas just doing their thing. I remember in his book Terry Funk referred to it as “the dance.” It was a total thing of beauty. Then Byron Wilcott got on the mic and that guy has such a good voice. He is so well-spoken on the mic. He’s also a great heel and knows how to make the crowd hate him. There was one really scary moment in the match, but Byron got up and was moving. It was a really good match.
Winner: Storm
Main event: Kyra Myra vs. Barbi Hayden
By this time, both wrestlers had worked their tails off. It was announced it was a No Holds Barred/Falls Count Anywhere match. So they did a totally wild brawl. It didn’t go out into the crowd quite like I thought it would. But somehow Barbi found a “fun-noodle” and they started whacking each other with it. Added to bucket list: Getting whacked by Barbi Hayden with a fun noodle. It was just kind of a formality until Kyra won.
Winner: Kyra
All in all… What a GREAT crowd. They soaked up every minute and were wild. I like the decision for Kyra to start off with the championship. She’s the hometown girl. But I think if she loses it rather quickly, to somebody like Barbi or Jen Alise, I can see them drawing some money in the pursuit of Kyra trying to get that belt back. I totally love the country atmosphere of it all. It was a really good experience.
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We start the show with a replay of the pay per view where we watch Bobby Roode retain the World Title after infuriating Sting by spitting on him. This causes a hoopla the results in Sting swinging and missing Roode and yet hitting Jeff Hardy with the title belt. And being forced to count the three. Welcome to iMPACT wrestling.
The Leader of the Selfish Generation comes to the ring to brag about still wearing the strap. He even has the lovely Christe Hemme announce him twice and delusionally hears the crowds jeers and boos and thinks their cheering his name. Roode sounds so much like Boo who could blame him. This is of course followed by Steve with mic in hand. He announces that Roode will have a rematch against Hardy tonight! In a No Time Limit, No Disqualification match. And it starts after the break.
Roode (c) vs Hardy: Hardy comes out strong taking out his frustrations out on the selfish one. Hardy basically owns Roode for the majority of the match. That is until Hardy goes for a whisper in the wind, which Roode counters with a ref bump into the ropes. Before unceremoniously baseball slides Hardy to the outside. After a momentary breather Roode heads outside to piledrive Hardy on the ramp which is reversed into a back toss. Hardy is getting fired up throws Roode into the ring, takes off his shirt…only to be jumped from behind by Angle. He throws Jeff into the steps before throwing him back into the ring where Roode is waiting with a spear for the three. Still your champion Bobby Roode.
We next have a somber moment about Jesse Sorenson who was injured at AAO when Zema Ion land knee first on the top of his head. Compacted C1 vertabrae which left him numb from the waist down but four days later he seems to be recovering nicely and hopefully he will soon return to wrestling.
Speaking of Zema Ion he has a X Division tag team match where the hairsprayed one teams with A Double to take on Alex Shelley and Shannon Moore? The question mark is for Moore who just seems randomly thrown in but more than likely it was supposed to be Sorenson who is injured. This as usual is a exciting match with the similar but conflicting personas of Ion and Aries attempting to co-exist with there massive egos in the ring. Spots where Shannon grabs the hairspray and using it causing Ion to baseball slide kick him in the back from inside the ring was a good show of his heel nature. Eventually Aries gets ready to put away Shelley but is unknowingly tagged from behind by Ion who sneaks in and rolls up Shelley for the win.
Yeah Gail Kim and Madison Rayne are coming to the ring next for what should be entertainment. (sigh) But what we get is them sitting ringside as a Knockouts Over the top Battle Royal takes place. We have TNT, The sitas, Mickie, Winter Love, ODB and Favorite Velvet Sky. I have to state right now that I stopped reading spoilers on Impact a couple of months ago so here I was hoping for Sarita against all hope. Well after an exhausting nail biter we have Sarita standing against..Velvet?! No words for this. Velvet tricks Sarita like Wyle E. Coyote by allowing her to charge at her before dropping down causing her to fly out of the ring. (huh) Velvet does a quick celebration before Madison charges in and dumps her over. Come to find out that Madison announced before the match while standing in the ring that everyone in this ring is wrestling for the #1 contendership. Even with Vince Russo officially gone from TNA we still get a swerve. Gail who is in shock screams at Madison who points at her signifying her crown. Thank you TNA for giving me hope before dashing it.
When overated is beaten by
Magnus and Joe comment on being Champions before the rematch is announced for next week. A Garett adn Gunner segment is played meaning the return of Eric B. triumphant. I’ll pass. But for some reason we see Chelsea, former vale for Desmond Wolfe accompany them.
Oh and a promo interview with soem dude sporting his 60 minutes (his words) style MMA show. Which by the way should have us all excited.
Eric Young is ready to redeem himself for not calling or acknowledging ODB on Valentines Day. Yeah, more filler to pad the show.But don’t worry they eventually make up after he sings her an Ode to ODB, I really wish we could have some purpose other than comedy for ODB and EY.
mediocrity
Main Event: James Storm vs Bully Ray- #1 contenders match.
We have two wonderful contenders in a predictable match. We all know the endgame for Roode, which is his partner James Storm. But this is a nice distraction. Ray really goes all old school heel getting the heat he needs to push the crowd in Storm’s favor. Stripping The Cowbow down to his bare leg goes to work on the leg. Storm who is taking a beating is finally allowed some offense when Ray brags to much take a shot in the mouth. Before you know it Storm hits the Last Call for the three and his chance at Roode. At ringside sits Brandon Jacobs of the NY Giants, Storm calls him out to celebrate. before you know it Ray comes in and belts Storm from behind. Bullying Jacobs before spitting beer in his face. This sets off Jacobs who shoves Ray leading the to the always slow D’lo, Simon D, and Al snow who dart to pull Jacobs off Ray.
Backstage Captain Obvious (Wonder Years) interviews Storm and jacobs basically detailing the entire scenario over again after just seeing the events. Jacobs who’s first lines are incoherent seems to play along. Next Steve comes out to announce when Roode will face Storm.
Calling out Roode he tells him he has no where to run because Storm will face him in Nashville, TN at Lockdown. Roode quietly and suddenly kicks STing in the balls. Then knees him in them for good measure before blasting him with the belt
Well first off, before we get down to the wrestling… unless you’ve missed it… there are five wrestlers who you will not see on Smackdown tonight (or any other WWE broadcasting) as they’ve been future endeavored. These would be Melina Perez, Gail Kim, Vladimir Kozlov, Chris Masters, and Harry “DH” Smith. Of the lot, I wouldn’t be shocked to see at least on of these people show up in TNA at some point.
Let’s get onto Smackdown then, shall we? Looks like we’ve got seven matches on the slate, which is fine by me.
Time for the Power Poll folks! The ratings seem fairly close to the shows rated for last week’s Smackdown and iMPACT (not the episodes that fell on May 13 and 12). Let’s check out our rankings: (more…)
As we end the week long Celebration of Professional Wrestling at both Bored Wrestling Fan and Wonderpod-Online, we need to take a moment to look at our standings for wrestlers going into the biggest event of the year! (more…)
