This week on BWF Radio, it’s the 2012 BWF Awards! Joe, Jorge, JT, and Jee (Screw you and your one letter, G!) discuss the week in pro wrestling, and then give out a number of awards for this year in professional wrestling! Awards include PPV of the Year, Entrance of the Year, Surprise of the Year, Match of the Year, and Wrestler of the Year, and much, much more. Who ran away with the awards this year? Were there any big surprises in this year’s awards? Only one way to find out!
Well it’s back, well for this week anyway. Since I was’t able to partake in this weeks BWF podcast due to the Easter holiday, which I hop you all had a nice day, I figured I’d chime in on a few things :
It’s been a long three weeks without cable at the ThinkSoJoE household. That’s three RAWs, the first SmackDown on SyFy, and after this Thursday, three iMPACTs that I missed – as they air, anyway. What really bugs me is the fact that for the first time in years (if ever), I’m going to miss the first three games of the Buffalo Sabres season. Well, on television. That’s what a radio’s for. I’ll finally have cable again next Thursday.
That’s not to say I haven’t been watching wrestling. In fact, I happened to see Hell In A Cell this past Sunday and RAW the next night. The problem with not having cable is, there’s only a limited amount of television you can watch via an antenna, at least in this area with the antenna I have, so your DVD collection gets old quick. So on Monday, between watching HIAC and RAW, I did something completely out of character – I watched a WWE Film.
Yes folks, I hit up my local RedBox (which, at Walmart, is actually blue) and picked up Legendary, which, of course, stars John Cena. And much to my surprise, it was actually good. I’m not saying we should give John Cena an Oscar nod for this, but he definitely played the role better than I ever expected him to. I certainly recommend checking this one out if you’ve got a couple hours to kill.
Now, after being surprised by Cena’s acting in Legendary, something happened. On Monday night, John Cena played his role as the reluctant ally to Nexus perfectly. I’m a cynic when it comes to professional wrestling sometimes, and because I know the business so well, sometimes it’s hard to suspend my disbelief and watch as a fan, but for the last few days, that’s exactly what I’ve tried to do. And as a wrestling fan, I was intrigued by the way Cena played his part following his loss to Wade Barrett at HIAC and the following night on RAW. I’m very interested to see how far the storyline with Cena in Nexus will go, and what the next step for the Barrett/Cena dynamic is. The smark in me wants to kick the fan in me’s ass for praising Cena right now, but oh well.
I’m glad to see that Goldust is finally getting a push and returning to his old “bizarre” persona, as opposed to his “La Resistance made me get electrocuted so I have tourette’s” persona. As AlyKat said in her excellent RAW review, only Goldust would send love letters to a belt.
Holy shit. Where did this John Morrison come from? The guy’s been into Parkour training for ages, and they’re just now making it a huge part of his in-ring style? Climbing that light board at HIAC and diving out onto everybody else from that high up? Where’s Joey Styles to scream “OH MY GOD!” when we need him, huh?
MacGruber came out on DVD and BluRay today. I hit the blue RedBox again and picked up the BluRay, for the sheer fact that a few WWE Superstars were in the movie. Chris Jericho, Mark Henry, MVP, Kane, and The Great Khali make up MacGruber’s team (he rejects The Big Show after seeing him kiss another man), at least until he inadvertently blows them up. The movie has it’s moments, but I wouldn’t waste my time on it. I’m sure the 10 minutes that the WWE guys are in the film will pop up on YouTube any time now.
As I like to do from time to time, I want to take a second and thank the staff here at BoredWrestlingFan.com – this is the best writing team on the internet, hands down! Also, thanks to all of our readers, we appreciate all of you!
RAW kicks off, and it’s host is a World Champion from Pittsburgh – but it’s not Kurt Angle. Ben Roelithsberger comes out to some boos, saying he knows they’ve got Eagles fans in the house, but that they’ve also got Steelers fans, but tonight we’re all WWE fans. He says he’s got a surprise. It’s the Diva Bowl. A team of face Divas show up in Steelers jerseys, followed by a team of heel divas in white shirts, followed by Gail Kim in a referee outfit. Great. The one who can actually wrestle is the referee.
Diva Bowl
What the hell is this crap? At least we’re getting it out of the way early. The faces won when Mickie James pinned Alicia Fox.
The face Divas are still standing in the ring when the NEW WWE Champion, Randy Orton makes his way to the ring.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Orton says that last night he defeated John Cena and became a 6 time WWE Champion. The people say he uses shortcuts, needs backup, and flat out cheats. When last night did any of that happen? He and John Cena walked in to Hell in a Cell, and Orton beat him. End of story. He’s willing to bet that Cena will interrupt him and ask for a rematch. Orton tells Cena to do what he thinks he needs to do. Orton says he knows exactly what he’ll say to Cena. The fans chant Cena’s name and…
SHABADOO! Your time is up my time is now…
The former champ is here, and he runs down to the ring. Orton says that Cena looks awful excited, and he thinks he knows why. Orton says he won’t get a rematch tonight. Cena’s look turns to that of disappointment. Cena says Orton just told the WWE Universe that he doesn’t give a damn about them. He’s a WWE Superstar who strives to be the best, so what Cena’s here to do is congratulate Orton on his win last night. Cena says he can tell us how brutal Hell In A Cell was, but the interesting thing is that there was something special. Something Cena noticed before, during, and after the match. He noticed over 16,000 members of the WWE Universe standing the whole time. There were people cheering for Cena. There were people cheering for Orton. John Cena and Randy Orton has become the rivalry. Whether a singles match, triple threat, I quit, or Hell In A Cell, it’s simply amazing. Cena would like to do it one more time, and the people seem to agree. He cares about the WWE Universe and wants to give them a match. Not just any match, the match. The match of matches – an Iron Man match. Right, like Cena can go for 60 minutes and keep a crowd into it. Anyways, Cena says that after the iron man match, there will be no more rematches. Orton says he sees what Cena’s doing. If Cena wins, he don’t get a rematch. He says he agrees that we need to end this, but we’ll do it Orton’s way. If Cena wins he gets the title, if Orton wins, Cena is gone from RAW. He can go to SmackDown, he can go to ECW, Orton doesn’t care. He just wants him off of RAW. Cena confirms that’s what Orton wants and says he’ll do it. Orton says that’s not all he wants. No DQ, no count out, and on his terms. Cena asks that if that means they can use whatever they want and turn this into the biggest brawl of all time. Orton says that’s exactly what he’s saying. Take it or leave it. Cena says 60 minutes, anything goes, and if he loses he leaves RAW. Cena says he’s on. The two shake hands, and we’re set to finally end this rivalry.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Somebody has a sign in the crowd with a picture of a slobbering Daffy Duck that says “JACK THWAGGER” on it. Somebody’s been reading Bored Wrestling Fan. Anyways, Swagger’s here. He says he looks and smells like a winner, because he is a winner. FYI, he didn’t get pinned last night, and going forth, he will not lose. For the rest of the year, he promises that he will go undefeated. He’s the All American American, Jack Swagger, and he approves this message. Primo’s shitty music starts, and so does the Aldo Montoya pyro, and we confirm that the Cena/Orton match won’t be tonight, it will be at the Bragging Rights PPV. Please, for the love of insert supreme being here, let Cena lose so I don’t have to see him the next night in Buffalo.
Jack Swagger vs. Primo
Swagger’s prophecy starts off on the right foot as he easily defeats Primo following a gutwrench powerbomb.
Chris Jericho and The Big Show are here. We’ll hear from the Tag Team Champions later on tonight.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Backstage, the Divas are arguing when referee Santino blows the whistle. He calls encroachment on #23 on the defense. Mickie asks what the hell he’s talking about. He says he’s trying to get into the football spirit, and asks Mickie and Alicia to kiss and make up. Alicia slaps Santino and the Divas start brawling again.
The Miz interrupts Ben Roethlisberger and complains about Swagger insinuating that The Miz lost last night. Big Ben asks what happened. Miz admits to getting pin. The Miz says that being awesome isn’t a catch phrase. He asks for a shot at Kofi Kingston tonight. After all, it’s his birthday week. Ben says he can do this. He makes the match, but says there’s a stipulation. If Miz loses, he gets in the middle of the ring, takes the microphone, and tells everybody that “I’m The Miz, and I’m Awful.”
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Last week, Chavo punched Chris Masters in the face for hurting Hornswoggle for some reason. Chavito is here, teaming with The Masterpiece again. Their opponents are the team of MVP and Mark Henry. Shouldn’t MVP be WWE Champion by now?
MVP & Mark Henry vs. Chavo Guerrero & Chris Masters
Henry and MVP pick up the win, but Henry appears to have injured his leg.
After the match, Masters asks Chavo what happened. He gets in Guerrero’s face, and Guerrero shoves him. Masters gets Guerrero in the Master Lock, but Hornswoggle comes to Chavo’s rescue. Chavo drops Masters with a DDT, and then Hornswoggle gives Chavo a DX style crotch chop.
Ben Roethlisberger is on his way to the ring.
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Roethlisberger makes his way out to the ring – and he barely gets a sentence out when…
WELL… WELL IT’S THE BIG SHOW – BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!
Show wants to know whey they call him Big Ben. How big can his big offensive line be compared to The Big Show. Jericho says they’re probably not as big as he is. Roethlisberger invites them out. The Steelers O-line make their way to the ring. Jericho asks if they’re supposed to be intimidated. He says this isn’t a football field, it’s the WWE ring. JeriShow don’t wear helmets or pads, or take time off for turf toe. He suggests the Steelers get a huddle going and figure out a strategy, because Jericho and The Big Show are the best team in sports. The Steelers huddle and line up at the line of scrimmage. The Big Show prepares to go at them, but thinks better of it…
BREAK IT DOWN!
DX are here for some reason. Jericho says he should’ve expected a potential Sportscenter moment ruined by two miscreants who hare just here to shill their merchandise (which Jericho shills in the meantime). Triple H says he just wanted to tell Jericho how nice his hair looks. Jericho says “really?” Triple H says hell no, his hair looks ridiculous. HBK says he’s tired of Jericho running his mouth about how many great tag teams they’ve faced. There’s one they haven’t faced. Show asks if that’s some kind of challenge. HBK says he’s in pain, but yeah, it’s a challenge. Show suggests he goes home and nurses his wounds, because DX doesn’t want a part of JeriShow. Jericho says HBK isn’t worthy. DX don’t deserve to face The Big Show and Chris Jericho. Roethlisberger says that tonight, JeriShow will face DX. He says if they’re not down with that, we’ve got two words for you… The Steelers and DX do the crotch chops and set off the pyro.
Up next, it’s The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston for the WWE United States Championship
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Kofi Kingston is here, and he’s got his United States Championship with him. His opponent is from Cleveland Ohio, and if he loses, he has to announce that he’s The Miz, and He’s Awful.
The Miz def. Kofi Kingston to become the new United States Champion
After a hell of a match, The Miz finally hits the Skull Crushing Finale and becomes the NEW United States Heavyweight Champion!
After the match, he takes the microphone and he says that we’re looking at the NEW United States Champion, because he’s The Miz, and he’s AWESOME!
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Earlier Tonight: John Cena and Randy Orton set the stipulations for their No Disqualification Iron Man Match at Bragging Rights.
Backstage, Hornswoggle is talking to Ben Roethlisberger when Santino comes in and complains about being slapped and mauled by the Divas. He calls him Ben Surfandturfer. Santino tries to pronounce Roethlisberger’s name, even calling him “Ben Bralesswonder.” Hornswoggle slaps Santino, who then manages to say Roethlisberger.
The Big Show and Chris Jericho are walking backstage. That means, they’re next!
You can help out the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation by going to bigben7.com/foundation.aspx
<COMMERCIAL BREAK>
Nancy O’Dell and Maria Menounos from Access Hollywood are the guest hostesses next week. One of them is featured in WWE Magazine this month (the one with DX on the cover) as the Sexy Celebrity Super Fan of the month, and the article asks her about her experience guest hosting RAW.
The Unified Tag Team Champions make their way out, and then…
Are You Ready?
DX head to the ring. They don’t bother to do their little spiel, it’s all business for the HeartBreak Kid and The Game tonight.
DX def. JeriShow
NOTE:As you guys know by now, I leave for work before the end of RAW. This week we had some technical difficulties with the site, so I didn’t bother to get somebody to finish the review for me. I have not seen this match, so the following is my knowledge of the main event based on other reviews I’ve read. This won’t be a weekly thing, just this week due to the technical problems.
JeriShow focused on DX’s injuries from last night’s Hell In A Cell match, but DX held their own. Jericho attempted to leave, but was stopped at the top of the ramp by the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line. Jericho was forced back into the ring and ate Sweet Chin Music, leading to the DX victory.
My Thoughts: “Please let Orton win, please let Orton win, please let Orton win.” Those are my thoughts. Bragging Rights is Sunday, October 25th. On October 26th, I’ll be in attendance at RAW. If Orton wins, Cena’s gone from RAW. I don’t know why I’m so hell bent on not seeing John Cena at RAW. I think I’m just frustrated with the direction of his character from the time he won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. I was a huge Cena mark when I saw him at WrestleMania XIX in Seattle and the night he turned face on SmackDown in Buffalo. I’m just bored with him now. WWE pushes him like crazy despite the fact that it’s obvious a lot of fans hate him. I understand why though – he sells a lot of merchandise and is probably the closest thing they have to a mainstream star right now, the Hulk Hogan of this generation. For what it’s worth, the dark main event that has been advertised for RAW the day after Bragging Rights is DX and Cena against Orton and Legacy.
Now, the future. The Miz and John Morrison called themselves the greatest tag team of the 21st Century (that’s a hint for those of you doing the “guess the match” thing in the back of this month’s WWE Magazine, BTW), and both hold the secondary titles on their respective brands now, with JoMo the Intercontinental Champion and The Miz as the United States Champion. These two guys are going to be HUGE in the future. Of course, I probably would’ve said that two years ago about MVP, but we see where he is. Teaming with Mark Henry to face Chavo Guerrero and Chris Masters.
DX has been the focal point of RAW and the last three PPVs. Nevermind that Randy Orton and John Cena have traded the WWE Championship back and forth in what could be considered epic battles through those last three events. For these guys to get top billing over the guys wrestling for the championship leads me to believe that one of them maybe knows somebody in power in the WWE. Oh look, I can make subtle jokes about who Triple H is married to too!
That’s it for RAW this week, folks. I just want to let you guys know of a couple of things we’ve got going on around here in the near future. First, I’m working on a new BWF Skin that should be available sometime in the next couple of days. I’m also planning on dropping the “Grungy” and “BlueMania 25” themes. I’m not happy with them, and in the case of “Grungy,” it’s hard to expand upon when we add new things. I’m also planning on doing an Eddie Guerrero tribute column next month on the four year anniversary of his death. I’d like to include the thoughts of our readers, so get those to us in one of three ways – send them in a PM to ThinkSoJoE on the BWF Network Forums, tweet them to @BrdWrstlngFn, or e-mail them to GuerreroTribute@boredwrestlingfan.com.
After being involved in the coverage of WWE Extreme Rules this past week. II’m back to bring you my weekly Wednesday column. Now, all links will lead to my favourite racing moments or races or crashes, or just funny moments.
WWE
My opinions of Extreme Rules has already been expressed. So I’m going to comment on other things.
Umaga was released. A case of a guy who was pushed, then nothing. Pushed, then nothing. He had just recently come back and into the feud with CM Punk. The release comes as a bit of a shock but it isnt a surprise. He was getting pushed and pushed, and yet he wasnt getting the crowd reaction of a main event guy. Maybe he could do better in TNA. Speaking of which, guess where Mr. Kennedy’s going in September?
Vickie Guerrero quits as General Manager of RAW. Rumour has it, that she is leaving for good, to spend more time with her kids. Good for Vickie for wanting to spend time with your kids. No offence, but it seems, for the most part, you tarnished your late husband somewhat.
Triple H returns. Yes, the Game, the King of Kings returned on RAW to attack Legacy. Now, as we talked about during our Extreme Rules coverage, Hunter wasnt out for that long at all after the Scott Norwood kick. Shawn Michaels was out months, it ended the WWE career of RVD, and yet both Vince McMahon and Triple H were both out for about a month and a half. Those McMahons must have super powers or something.
TNA
To be honest, I missed iMPACT this week. due to my cable being down. Let’s see what I missed.
It doesnt look like much at all. The MMG and Lethal Consequences were named as Suicide’s opponents for the first ever X-Division King Of The Mountain. That isnt a shock at all. i’m sure I’ll have more next week.
I’m gonna finish this column with a reminder to Ricardo Rosset and Taki Inoue. Poor Taki needs to watch for cars, as for Ricardo. Well, thanks for making my night a whole lot better.
Peace out, or whatever, tune in next week, and read all the columns. Oh, and avoid the beer bottles, we just turned one, so we’re breaking it in. Well I am anyways, by drinking the place dry.
Real life has gotten in the way of proper reviews lately, so this week, here are some thoughts to accompany the above reviews. Consider it a slight rip-off of our good buddy JT’s “Random Randomness,” except that all points apply to a single “Impact” episode, making it not actually random at all. Did I mention that JT rules? He does.
1. Angle putting up his leadership position of the Main Event Mafia at “Sacrifice?” Ok. So the MEM will suddenly snap to and follow the lead of someone not named Kurt Angle just because of a match? Who would even want that spot, knowing perfectly well that the MEM would just take them out? Even in wrestling, people aren’t that stupid.
2. Amazing Red! He was never one of my favorites because he always seemed very sloppy in the ring to me, but I enjoyed watching him back in the early days of TNA, and having him back could be grand. The new look really helps. If you saw his old look, you know of what I speak. Honestly, though, Red’s last work in TNA was long enough ago that lots of current fans have no idea who he is. Having wild surprises is great, but in the case of Red, a few weeks of video packages, or even a “Rough Cuts” segment, would have been more effective. His big return was far from bad, don’t get me wrong. It’s just not a surprise when half your audience is thinking, “Who?”
3. Amazing Red and Suicide beat the MCMG. So there are other plans for the MCMG besides TNA tag team championship matches. As long as they’re on tv, I can’t complain. However, this is the third match in this tournament (more on that later) in which an established, legitimate tag team was beaten by two guys who were teaming together for the first time. Why? What does that do to make the tag team division look good? If there were a reason for it (injury, team dissension, and so on), then fine, but now No Limit, Lethal Consequences, MCMG, and LAX are all out of the tag team title tournament. Three of those matches were clean losses (not counting the LAX beatdown by the British Invasion). It’s Beer Money and three teams of random guys. This does not count as shaking up the tag team division with new blood! It just looks like any two guys can team up and legitimately beat guys who have been teaming for several years.
4. The Beautiful People seem to be hanging Madison Rayne out to dry. Funny. The group interaction is always fun to watch.
5. Cody Deaner and Abyss. Again? This seems to be a feud, but I’m not liking it. Deaner makes me want to change the channel. Was he really worth getting rid of Petey and Sonjay? ODB’s peacock hairdo hurts my soul.
6. Mick Foley searches for back-up against Kurt Angle’s invasion of his office. This is actually fun. Mick goes to the MCMG and Samoa Joe and gets nowhere, but watching him try was great. Particularly after his history with Alex Shelley. Suicide is Al Snow?
7. The British Invasion bit was very well-done. If there had to be a match in the tag team tournament where an established team was beaten by a new one, this was it. Not crazy about the name “British Invasion,” but it could be worse. At least Brutus Magnus is out of the gladiator gimmick. He can only get better working with Doug Williams, and then, everybody wins. Magnus has a good look and isn’t a bad talker, but his ring work was painful to watch up until now. He seems much more comfortable as part of a team. Good. Taking out Hernandez and triple-teaming Homicide made absolute sense. A solid introduction for the faction, and I’m actually looking forward to what they do next. Yes, I’m eating my words from a previously-posted thread. It happens.
8. Kong squashing Madison Rayne was great, as the fans kept chanting “One more time! One more time!” Don West was appalled and had some great lines about the sick fans.
9. If you didn’t laugh during the MCMG/Daniels segment, you have no soul. Go to the TNA site and watch the video clip of this segment. It’s actually up. Or just try this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDacEZvsCOQ It includes such gems as –
Alex Shelley: You have a wife and two kids at home who play with our action figures!
Chris Sabin: Why is it that you and Suicide have the exact same build? I mean, let’s face it, that ass is unmistakable!
Sabin shoves his mic into Daniels’s chest with great force. Daniels is still holding his own mic from entering the ring. Shelley leans over and says, “He already has a mic.” Sabin responds, “I just wanted to hit him.”
10. I hate the fact that Jenna Morasca has almost the same first name as me. Whatever she’s getting paid should be spent on acting lessons. Immediately.
11. Daffney and Lauren competing for the affections of Abyss??? Hmm. This could get interesting. I hope Daffney doesn’t get wasted on a non-wrestler, though.
12. Matt Morgan? Offering his services to the MEM? Uh, ok. It may fit character-wise, but he doesn’t meet the requirements. Lashley does. Morgan/Lashley?
13. AJ loses because Joe doesn’t show up. Sure, I’m curious, but isn’t this pretty much admitting that there is no Main Event Mafia versus Front Line?
14. Sting returns. Ok. A bit soon, methinks.
15. Foley losing his mind and being all over the place is more intriguing than nice-guy Legend Foley. No, I don’t want him at the top of the food chain for a year, but I’m interested in seeing where this goes.