ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts
2 CommentsSurprising releases, surprisingly still employed people, and surprising ch-ch-ch-changes, this week on ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts!
Surprising releases, surprisingly still employed people, and surprising ch-ch-ch-changes, this week on ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts!
Let’s see if the BWF site can show the Empress of “iMPACT” a bit more love than it did on Thursday night, and actually allow me to post the entirety of this. (more…)
I think we all know what’s happening tonight already when CM Punk defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy in a steel cage, so let’s get started!
Jim Ross and Todd Grisham welcome us to Phoenix, AZ and Friday Night Smackdown! Justin Roberts introduces the only Straight Edge World Champion in history, CM Punk!
The World Champion hobbles to the ring, showing the effects of his TLC match this past Sunday at SummerSlam. He told us so. In case we were too intoxicated to remember, he’ll show us how he did it. (Video package highlighting the TLC match from SummerSlam). He’s never felt more alive than he does right now, and he’s positive that nobody in attendance have ever felt this way. He feels every ache and pain of every table, ladder, and chair. It was the most brutal match of his career, but it’s the pain that makes him feel so alive, and naturally, he hasn’t taken a thing for it. Unlike all of you, who double up on extra strength medication for the slightest headache. If anybody in here felt like Punk feels right now, they’d be on a morphene drip. But that’s not the only pain he felt at SummerSlam. He felt the pain of having his moment in the spotlight robbed by The Undertaker. After everything he’s been through, tonight he’s being forced to wrestle in a steel cage match. It’s unfair and it borderlines on conspiracy, since the higher-ups are terrified of him, just like all the fans. They fear what they don’t understand, and they don’t understand what Straight Edge is all about. He doesn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs, including prescription medication like Jeff Hardy. It just means that he’s better than you, and tonight, he’ll prove it again.
So you see the writing on the wall…
Jeff Hardy isn’t in much better shape physically than CM Punk as he makes his way to the ring. Hardy says that he hopes Punk’s enjoyed his reign as the straight-edge World Champion, because it ends tonight. Punk’s preaching as if the most important words in the English language are “Just Say No,” when tonight there are three words that are far more important, “steel cage match.” Punk says he knows Hardy is probably intoxicated right now, but how intoxicated is he? What did he put in his body to have the strength to come out to the ring? Painkillers to dull the scary reality he lives in? The reality is, Punk is sick and tired of hearing the fans boo him. He’s tired of seeing impressionable children cheering a guy like Jeff Hardy. He’s fed up with the fans, and he’s fed up with Jeff Hardy. One of them doesn’t belong here anymore. Hardy likes taking risks? How about this – tonight, the loser is out of the WWE. Punk elaborates, since he knows Hardy is having a hard time understanding because of all the narcotics. If Punk loses, the fans don’t have to listen to him preach anymore, but if Hardy loses, it proves that straight edge means “I’m better than you.” (There you go, Drow – he said it!) The fans chant Hardy’s name, and he says he doesn’t know. It’s risky. It’s crazy. Punk’s on!
You know it’s the Mack Militant…
Teddy Long comes to the stage, and he says it’s official. Since both are in agreement, if that’s what they want, it’s what they’re going to get. The loser of tonight’s match will no longer be in the WWE. The person that wins will defend the World Heavyweight Championship in two weeks at Breaking Point, where every main event match is a submission match. That means the winner will be in a submission match at Breaking Point – against The Undertaker! Punk waves goodbye to Hardy.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
WrestleMania will be in Phoenix in seven months, but SmackDown is there tonight, and our opening contest is a tag team match. John Morrison, whose coat is apparently what Jim Ross wears to the grocery store when he goes shopping for his wife, is teaming with Matt Hardy, and they’re taking on The Hart Dynasty.
John Morrison & Matt Hardy def. The Hart Dynasty
I should watch what I say here, lest Matt go on MySpace and blast me, but I really think Matt needs to go back to the pants look instead of the tights – at least until he loses the weight he put on when he had a torn abdomen or whatever. If anything, he needs to stick with the black tights he wore during his RAW stint, because this blue thing is just not working for him. It’s looks so bad on him that it’s distracting me from what promises to be a very entertaining match. In the end, it’s John Morrison with the Starship Pain on David Hart Smith for the victory.
Seriously, Matt, if you’re reading this, go back to the pants. I can’t take you seriously in those ridiculous tights.
Still to come, Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk in a cage – winner is the WWE Champion, loser is unemployed!
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Melina tells Maria that she saw Dolph Ziggler out with another woman after SummerSlam, but Maria doesn’t want to believe her. She asks Melina if she has a boyfriend who really cares about her. Melina says she should ask herself that question. Dolph shows up, and Maria asks him about the girl. Dolph says it’s true – it was his sister, Kristen, who was in town for the show.
Drew McIntyre is in the ring. Good to see him back on TV, even though he’s clearly doing the j.o.b. tonight – and as I type that, McIntyre assaults R-Truth as he’s getting in the ring. He takes Truth’s mic, and he says that if the people like to be entertained by somebody dancing and rapping to the ring. Well, his name is Drew McIntyre, and the party is over. He throws the mic down and walks out. Welcome back to SmackDown, Drew!
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Before the break, Drew McIntyre beat the crap out of R-Truth.
Josh Matthews welcomes the WWE Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool, who is outside of the ring on crutches. We paid to see her wrestle tonight, but she was injured by Melina last week for no good reason. She’s got an injured knee and isn’t medically cleared to compete. Michelle says it’s ok, we can trust her. She’s going to introduce Melina’s opponent – Layla. Layla makes her way to the ring, followed by Melina, and we’re set for… no, it couldn’t be… is it? Holy crap, it is! It’s a one on one Divas match!
Melina def. Layla
Layla is vastly improving in the ring week in and week out, all credit where it’s due. The problem is, you can usually expect her to do the job. Melina tweaks her ankle early onin the match, and Layla capitalizes, but it only postpones the inevitable as Melina hits her finisher for the victory.
After the match, Melina exits the ring and dumps Michelle McCool out of her chair.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK> – “The Rise and Fall of WCW” is highly recommended by both myself and JT.
Video: Celebrities I’ve never heard of and WWE Superstars talk about SummerSlam
Booyakah, booyakah! (Don’t get too used to that – after next week it’s gonna be a month before I have to type that again.)
The WWE Intercontinental Champion is on drugs his way to the ring for a steroid injection competition. He’s scheduled to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler – guess that’s not happening, huh?
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Kane makes his way to the ring to take on the Intercontinental Champion in this non-title match.
Rey Mysterio def. Kane
Meh. I’m still not ready for this match after their infinitely long feud on RAW last year. Kane gets himself disqualified because he won’t stop ramming Mysterio into the steel post.
After the match, The Great Khali comes after Kane. He goes for the Punjabi Plunge, but Kane escapes. Ranjin (in his new “The Great Khali Says…” Bobby Heenan style jacket) hits him with a Singapore cane (he hit Kane with a cane – get it?), which draws Kane’s attention long enough for Khali to hit him with it. Khali drives Kane to the back with cane shots, and Dolph Ziggler attacks Rey Mysterio.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
One half of the Unified Tag Team Champions, Chris Jericho, is set for action and accompanied by The Big Show. They’ll be facing MVP and Mark Henry at Breaking Point. But for now, Jericho has something to say.
JeriShow is the most powerful team in sports today – and while great teams don’t always win, they win when they have to. Just because Floyd Mayweather helped them cheat to win on RAW doesn’t mean that MVP and Mark Henry will win at Breaking Point. JeriShow will win at Breaking Point, just like they did at SummerSlam. JeriShow don’t cut corners, they’re men of principal, men of honesty, but most importantly, they’re champions. Unified Tag Team Champions.
Yo yo yo yo yo – Shad Gaspard and JTG, it’s Cryme Time
Great.
Shad will be representing his team in this singles matchup.
Chris Jericho vs. Shad Gaspard
Shad is angry and assaults Jericho early on. It’s all Shad for the first couple minutes of the match, using his power to virtually destroy Jericho. Shad goes for a pin, but only gets a two when Big Show pulls Jericho out of the ring. All hell breaks loose as both teams fight on the outside…
You know it’s the Mack Militant…
SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long comes out and orders the referee to restart this as a tag team match.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Chris Jericho & The Big Show def. Cryme Tyme
The match has already started when we come back from the break. Jericho is faring much better now than he was in his one on one matchup with Shad earlier on. In fact, it’s all JeriShow in the early going. In the end, it’s The Big Show knocking Shad out for the win.
Jeff Hardy is drawing on himself backstage when he’s joined by Matt Hardy, who tells him to beat CM Punk so that the Hardys can take over SmackDown. Jeff says he lives for the moment, and the moment is now.
The steel cage is lowering, and it might as well be the curtain on the career of one of the two men who will be entering it when we come back! (Hey! when did I get all metaphory and stuff?)
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
This is a steel cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship. This match can be won by pinfall, submission, or by escaping the cage with both feet touching the floor.
Jeff Hardy makes his way to the ring, and he gets attacked from behind by the World Heavyweight Champion. Punk slingshots Hardy face first into the cage, then hiptosses him to the floor. Punk suplexes Hardy on the outside, then finally tosses him back into the ring. Punk follows Hardy in, and the bell rings, starting this match.
CM Punk def. Jeff Hardy
Punk tries to escape early, but Hardy stops him. In fact, that seems to be Punk’s M.O. – escape early. Personally, I don’t see why he didn’t just go for the door as soon as the bell rang instead of climbing out. This is definitely going to be one of those “must watch” matches. It’s all Punk, but Hardy, like his older brother, will not die. Punk ducks a high cross body, slowing Hardy’s comeback attempt, but not for long. Hardy hits a Whisper in the Wind and scores a two count.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Hardy tries to escape as we come back from the break, but Punk stops him – and eats a cross body from the top rope for his troubles – and a two count. Hardy tries another escape, but Punk stops him again. Hardy crotches Punk on the top rope and hits the Swanton Bomb after the champion crumbles to the canvas. Hardy goes for the cover, but Punk kicks out at two! Punk goes to climb out, and Hardy goes for the door. Punk realizes this, and prevents Hardy’s escape. Both men are down, and we head to another…
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
It’s Punk trying to escape through the door when we come back this time. Hardy drags him back in and the door is closed once again. Punk goes for the Go To Sleep, but Hardy reverses it into a backslide for a two count. Punk nails a double underhook backbreaker and only scores a two. Punk goes for the Go To Sleep again, but Hardy again counters, this time into a Twist of Fate. Hardy crawls over to the corner and uses the ropes to pull himself up. He begins to climb. He gets on top of the cage, but Punk sees this and the adrenaline starts to flow, causing Punk to rush to try and stop him. Hardy gets over the top of the cage, but Punk manages to pull him back in and superplex him to the canvas. Punk pulls himself to the ropes and uses them to get to his feet. He starts to climb the cage. He gets to the top, but Hardy’s adrenaline rushes and he leaps to his feet to try to pull Punk back in. Punk thumbs Hardy in the eye and bounces his head off of the top of the cage, sending Hardy crashing to the mat and allowing Punk to drop to the floor to retain his title and bring Jeff Hardy’s career to a screeching halt.
The champion makes his exit, the cage raises from the ring, and the copyright graphic appears on the screen – at 9:55PM. Odd. The fans chant “Thank You Jeff,” and the Charismatic Enigma rises to his feet. He ties his hair back and applauds the fans. He grabs a microphone and apologizes if he’s let anybody down. He’s sorry we’ll be seeing CM Punk instead of him on SmackDown, but it’s been a hell of a ride, hasn’t it? He wants to thank all of the fans and wants to let us know it’s not goodbye forever, it’s only goodbye for now. If the time is right, he’s sure he’ll see us in the future. He says “Thank you all.” He says at least Matt’s back on his side, there’s still a Hardy on this show. “Yours truly, Jeff Hardy, ours truly, this life.” The saddened fans in the arena chant “Thank You Jeff” once again as the now former WWE Superstar leaves for perhaps the last time. Hardy stands at the top of the ramp to salute the fans one last time, when Punk smacks him in the back of the head with the World Title. Punk stands tall over the fallen Hardy as we fade to black.
The Undertaker returns to SmackDown, NEXT WEEK!
My Thoughts: Man. I knew this was coming, but I still feel weird sitting here knowing that Jeff Hardy has wrestled his last match for a while. Love him or hate him, Jeff Hardy was probably the most exciting superstar on any of the WWE brands. Hopefully it’ll be sooner, rather than later, that we see the Charasmatic Enigma back in the ring.
Speaking of Hardys, those blue tights look terrible on you, Matt. Not as bad as The Big Show’s Mr. Perfect singlet looks on him, but still pretty bad.
If Michelle is injured as bad as she seems to be, shouldn’t the WWE higher-ups make her relinquish the title? I know, I know. I’m talking about logic in the same sentence of the WWE.
That’s it for tonight guys. Not sure if I’m doing a ThinkSoJoE’s Thoughts tomorrow since I’m working on another project at the moment, but I guarantee you that JT will be here for Random Randomness on Sunday!
“On the Road to Victory.” At least you are if you’re part of the Main Event Mafia.
Well, well, well. Here we are at another Wednesday, which normally means you’d read about my views about the week that was in professional wrestling. But this week, I’d thought I’d try something different. I dont know how this will turn out, but here goes.
The View of the Non-Wrestling Fan
James Guttman said it best in his book, World Wrestling Insanity: the Fall and Decline of a Family Empire, when he quoted the adage “For those who enjoy it, no explanation is needed. For those who don’t, no explanation will do”. I can sit here for hours, trying to explain to you why exactly I an a fan of the business this website is based on, but to be honest, I cant. What I can tell you, is that there were three things that got me going, my second eldest brother, some WWF Steel Cage wrestling game for the SEGA Mega Drive, and Shawn Michaels. Infact, Michaels and Bret Hart were my Tag Team Champions on that game. This was 1993. Little did I know of the future these two would have. But moving on, the reason this column is being written as you see it, is because of work, and my lunch breaks.
In the past couple of days, I have been taking in some PPVs to watch during my 30-minute break. Which normally means I get a full match in. However, what I have found, is that there people in my workplace, who cannot stand the sight of wrestling. They are the type who say ‘it’s fake’ or ‘they know what’s gonna happen, don’t they’? This is where the old adage I mentioned earlier comes in. No matter what I say, I cannot and will not change their minds about what they think.
The following is from the point-of-view of the non-wrestling fan. The PPV in question, is Judgment Day 2000. The match was the first on the card. A six-man tag between Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle versus Too Cool and Rikishi.
There was a time in this match where, I think it was Rikishi was in the ring, and he was beating up all three of his opponents. Now, rather than ganging up for a 3-on-1 assault, they attacked him individually. Infact, one waited for the other to be knocked down, before making his move. Now, common sense will tell you that, if you have three guys, against one, then the three should attack all at once, thus increasing their chances of beating down the one. I decided not to argue, and infact listen to their opinions of the action. Here’s some questions that arose, other than the one I just mentioned:
What is the point of that (Scotty 2 Hotty’s worm) when all that happens is a chop to the throat that misses by three inches?
They wouldnt be able to do this as much as they do if they actually connected?
and one that I came up with …
What was everyone’s fascination with Too Cool? They sucked!
Let’s analyze as the wrestling fan. Scotty’s worm is purely for show. Much like Rock’s ‘People’s Elbow’, or Hogan’s ‘Leg Drop’. They’re basic moves done in a way to make it look like it would have more effect on their opponent, when really, it wouldnt do much to them at all.
If they actually connected, you would only see a guy wrestle every few months. You don’t see the same guy fight at a UFC PPV 3,4,5 months running, because it would be almost physically impossible to not only compete, but to be able to recover enough from the beating they received in their last bout. Also, they are entertainers. I was told something which struck a cord with me. “That’s why wrestlers become good actors, because they need to act in order to do this (wrestle)”. I agree with this statement. Would the Rock, or Steve Austin, or John Cena be as good as what they in the movies, without performing in a wrestling ring? We cannot answer that, with a definite answer, but being involved with ‘Sports Entertainment’ has helped, and thats all the wrestling business is now. It’s ‘Sports Entertainment’, not ‘professional wrestling’.
I think the point I’m trying to make is, we all know we know it. Some of us can explain why we like this guy, or boo that guy, but some of us don’t understand why others don’t like it as much. My advice is, chances are your not going to change someones mind about it, but listen to their thoughts. Look at things from another perspective, a non-wrestling fan’s perspective. You might just learn a thing or two, but most of all, realize, that Too Cool really did suck.
Finally – ThinkSoJoE… HAS COME BACK! to reviewing shows. I’ve been trying to get motivated to write about the programming lately, but I’ve been sleeping through most of it. RAW’s been boring, ECW’s been entertaining but I haven’t really been paying a lot of attention to it, and SmackDown hasn’t been bad – but I’m usually sleeping when it’s on. That’s the problem with working overnights, I guess. Anyway, Kofi Kingston will be taking on MVP for the United States Championship tonight, so without further adieu, let’s get started…
Note: I was planning on writing about all of the Pay Per View events on the WWE Calendar outside of the “Big Four,” but it would have been way too long. As such, I’m splitting it up in parts, which will be published every Sunday at noon (except for part three, which will be up next Wednesday) here on BoredWrestlingFan.com!
I’ve been a wrestling fan for as long as I can remember. The first promo I ever remember seeing was “Mean Gene” Okerlund interviewing Hulk Hogan about his upcoming steel cage match with King Kong Bundy a few weeks before WrestleMania 2. The period where I started watching the shows religiously was sometime after WrestleMania IV. I know this, because I remember all the hype about SummerSlam ’88 on Pay Per View. Back in 1988, the WWF, as it was known at the time, only held three Pay Per View events – WrestleMania IV, SummerSlam ’88, and the second annual Survivor Series. The following year, they added the Royal Rumble as a Pay Per View event (the first Royal Rumble event, featuring 20 competitors instead of 30, aired on the USA Network in January of 1998.), and we had “The Big Four” WWF Pay Per Views. Save for the “Tuesday in Texas” event in 1991, these remained the only PPV events the WWF held until the addition of “King of the Ring” in 1993.
In 1995, when the competition from WCW started to heat up following the advent of WCW Monday Nitro, both companies started to air several more Pay Per View events. Unlike WCW, who had full blown – and individually named – Pay Per Views every month, the WWF put on two hour events at a discounted price in the months outside of the five main PPVs, called “In Your House.” The “In Your House” PPVs eventually grew into three hour, full priced shows before finally evolving into the monthly events we know today.
With WWE’s purchase of WCW and ECW in 2001, they’ve experimented with holding up to two Pay Per View events per month, which didn’t work out too well, as we’re down now to 14 such events each year, the only two-PPV months being June with the newly re-branded Extreme Rules (Formerly One Night Stand) and Night of Champions, and November with Cyber Sunday and Survivor Series. Still, I feel as though I’m already paying too much for cable without adding an extra $40 every month for Pay Per View events.
In this series, I intend to convey my reasons why WWE – and by proxy, TNA – needs to cut back on the number of Pay Per Views a year, and do so on a per-event basis. Safe from cuts will be the “Big Four” events – Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.
I present my arguments against No Way Out, after the jump! (more…)
WWE RAW Results – November 3rd, 2008
Source: Wrestling-Radio.com
(by the way, they have a poll on their post, click here to go to the original article! As always, full results after the jump!) (more…)
From our friends at Wrestling-Radio.com
– In memory of Conrad Efraim is shown before RAW goes live.
– Highlight video from Cyber Sunday is shown.
RAW Opener:
Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole announce that Batista teams with Shawn Michaels to take on JBL and Chris Jericho in the main event..
(full results after the jump!) (more…)
Former World Champion CM Punk tries to get his title back in a steel cage against Chris Jericho. Plus, Kane takes on Rey Mysterio. All this and more as RAW is LIVE from Memphis, TN!
Detailed results after the jump! (more…)