The Wrestling Thread

[MrMichael]

Impact was, barring the Orlando Jordan weirdness (and it really was very creepy), pretty good. Show had a good flow, aided by a total lack of Abyss until the last 30 seconds. Quite a good amount of actual wrestling too, although the Main Event was a bit squeezed for time.

Women's First Blood match was nowhere near as bad as expected, essentially it was just a no-dq match and the blood stip was fulfilled with just a little cut to Daffney's head. Glad they didn't go for buckets of the stuff. Meanwhile The Pope was pimping all show, some great promos and a nice little match with Wolfe, and Jay Lethal was back too, his segments were well funny. Aj - Jarrett was a good match, the x-div did their shizzle, and Anderson delivered a superb promo to Angle, almost made their feud seem interesting again.

Their build for lockdown has been much better than of late with ppv's, and they've continued promoting bouts next week too. Angle - Anderson in a ladder match sounds a bit strange, but its for the "key to their cage" at Lockdown - its about time a fed actually incorporated the concept of someone having a key in a cage match imo.

Hardy/RVD/Young v Wolfpac in the cage was a good way to build lockdown too, apparently it took them half an hour to build the cage at the tapings but their new design looked ace, very sturdy and the top rail look quite thick, setup for big spots. Nice finish to the ME, simultaneous swanton & 5 star with Young then dropping the elbow from the cage top. Buried The Band a bit but that's all good.

Overall a pretty well flowing and decent Impact.

Oh, and apparently the Nasties are gone.

[Imy]

Impact was, barring the Orlando Jordan weirdness (and it really was very creepy), pretty good. Show had a good flow, aided by a total lack of Abyss until the last 30 seconds. Quite a good amount of actual wrestling too, although the Main Event was a bit squeezed for time.

Women's First Blood match was nowhere near as bad as expected, essentially it was just a no-dq match and the blood stip was fulfilled with just a little cut to Daffney's head. Glad they didn't go for buckets of the stuff. Meanwhile The Pope was pimping all show, some great promos and a nice little match with Wolfe, and Jay Lethal was back too, his segments were well funny. Aj - Jarrett was a good match, the x-div did their shizzle, and Anderson delivered a superb promo to Angle, almost made their feud seem interesting again.

Their build for lockdown has been much better than of late with ppv's, and they've continued promoting bouts next week too. Angle - Anderson in a ladder match sounds a bit strange, but its for the "key to their cage" at Lockdown - its about time a fed actually incorporated the concept of someone having a key in a cage match imo.

Hardy/RVD/Young v Wolfpac in the cage was a good way to build lockdown too, apparently it took them half an hour to build the cage at the tapings but their new design looked ace, very sturdy and the top rail look quite thick, setup for big spots. Nice finish to the ME, simultaneous swanton & 5 star with Young then dropping the elbow from the cage top. Buried The Band a bit but that's all good.

Overall a pretty well flowing and decent Impact.

Oh, and apparently the Nasties are gone.

[johnly]

How good was that HBK farewell promo. Just amazing. What a talent. Even my dad enjoyed watching Shawn wrestle.

Good effort from TNA getting rid of the Nasties. Hopefully TNA will improve, Impact wasn't too shabby

[MrShawnMichaels]

Raw 3.7

Batista started the show and got some real good heat. 'You tapped out' chants which make Batista look a bit weak which I don't agree with. Batista said he had a rematch which lead to Cena coming out and bragging about making Batista tap out. Cena was met with 'Cena suck' chants. Cena said let's do the rematch tonight like always but Batista refused. Swagger came out and battered Cena with the briefcase from behind and wanted a ref asap as he was cashing in. Ref ran out, Cena did the STF but Swagger pulled out and had second thoughts about this. My problem here is that Swagger was made to look weak against Cena, who he beat up with a briefcase from behind. Stupid booking (watch Smackdown to find out what happens with him)

Christian beat Ted DiBiase Jnr in a Legends Lumberjack match which contained Ted DiBiase Sr., IRS, Nick Bockwinkel, Pat Patterson, Arn Anderson, Roddy Piper, Sgt. Slaughter, Tony Garea, Ricky Steamboat and Jerry Lawler. Good match which lead to a big brawl between the heel and face legends and after Jnr shoved Snr. Good segment.

There was some really **** comedy segment regarding the guest hosts and the Divas. The less said the better.

Hunter cut a promo on how he was sad to see Shawn Michaels leave. He marked it an end of an era and started to choke up and wanted to say three words. Sheamus came from behind and pummelled him with a pole. This is very TNA like booking. Hunter won clean at Wrestlemania and kicked out of Sheamus' finisher twice. Why should I care?

Divas rematch from last night which literally last three seconds. I didn't see the point of this.

Bret Hart came out to tie things up with his business on Raw for now. He wanted to thank everyone and he felt Owen and Davey Boy were high fiving him from above. Big 'Owen' chants and Bret was wearing a t-shirt of the two of them together, which also got a huge pop. He said he had a great time and then ShowMiz interrupted. The Miz called Bret overrated and he felt Bret robbed him of air time. The best line of the night was he won at Mania and now he is 17 wins away from tying the Undertaker. Bret chuckled. He told Bret to leave and Bret said make me which brought out the Hart Dynasty at which they challenged them to a tag match. It's good to see a proper tag team now challenging another tag team.

Hart Dynasty beat Show Miz via count out in a non title match. Hart Dynasty showed what they can do, pulling off the Hart Attack, David Hart showing his immense strength and Tyson's finisher is now apparently the Sharpshooter.

John Cena and Randy Orton beat Jack Swagger and Batista. I hated how this match was booked and how Swagger looked like a mediocre buffoon. Both Batista and Swagger lost some serious heat and Orton for some reason is now going to be pushed into the title frame (again)

Shawn Michaels gave his farewell speech which was incredible television. I'm not sure whether anyone had seen Ric Flair's farewell when Triple H, The Four Horseman, Ricky Steamboat, Batista, Harley Race, Greg Valentine, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels personally came out to wish him the best followed by the whole locker room emptying out on the ramp and seeing the Big Show literally sobbing in the front. That seemed genuine. Michaels for the large part seemed to be convincing himself that he won't return and he did address the typical wrestling retirement situation to the crowd when the crowd chanted 'One more match'. Taker came out before Michaels said a word and doth his hat to Michaels in respect which I really liked and got a huge ovation. He put over loads of guys like Jim Ross, Triple H, Vince McMahon, apologised to Bret Hart (which shows some maturity given the **** he gave him). What I didn't like was he didn't thank Jannetty, Nash or Flair who helped him on the way. The speech was very touching but I'm still not convinced he will retire. I'm sure he will be back when his kids grow up. Personally, if he didn't want to retire, he could manage a few guys as a heel manager. He would be awesome. Anyway, as Shawn headed to the ramp, Triple H hugged him and they laid down the glowsticks in an X, symbolising something, I guess.

This was a really good show, memorable for Shawn's 20m speech. Raw will be really crap without him for some time unless they start elevating some people.

[Jayesh87]

This was a really good show, memorable for Shawn's 20m speech. Raw will be really crap without him for some time unless they start elevating some people.

Imagine how crap raw would be if Cena took a break

[MrShawnMichaels]

Impact 0.6

Whilst Raw started with a package with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania, Impact started with Mick Foley v Jeff Jarrett from last week.

Jarrett and Hogan were chummy in his office. Hogan put Jarrett in a match with AJ Styles and should JJ beat AJ, he would get a title shot. That's what TNA needs, a 16th number one contender. Hogan said he had to go to a meeting in New York then and he had to leave. Now, TNA only has one TV show a week and Hogan had to leave at that time?! WHAT?! Theory is that TNA could say if they got a **** rating, Hogan wasn't there. Black Machismo came from some sort of cave and made a Mega Powers reference soon as he walked in and Hogan gave him power to book the show.

The Wolfpac and their new recruit Bubba the Love Sponge came out to nWo Wolfpac music. 'Don't turn your back on the Wolfpac!' Bubba works well as a heel in this role. Nash was apologetic towards Eric Young and called him out and asked if he wanted to join the Band. Young stupidly came out and got jumped. RVD and Hardy came to his rescue. Hardy decided that the match tonight is a cage match. Why have a cage match now before Lockdown? Dry run?

Shannon Moore and Kazarian beat Doug Williams and Brian Kendrick. Average match in which we seen the strengths of Williams over the high flyers. Typical Russo booking where the opponents argue amongst each other.

Bischoff was in his office where he introduced the porn star looking actress Miss Tessmocker (sp?). He wanted her to not let a wrestler within 50 yards of him and out popped out Black Machismo. He wanted a bunch of 80s wrestlers in matches tonight. I hope this was a joke and not what TNA plan on doing next week. Machismo left and Bischoff told Tessmocker to find Beer Money

Pope D'Angelo Dinero cut an excellent promo, plugging his match at Lockdown. WWE missed the boat big time. If he was in wrestling in the early 90s, he would have been multi-time champion. Chelsea came out and tried to seduce Pope. Wolfe tried to jump him but Pope read it, kicked him out. He proceeded to kiss Chelsea and put some money in her dress. Chelsea seriously can't talk which could have potentially damaged this segment.

A video showed about Samoa Joe being kidnapped. Literally no reaction from Mike Tenay who simply went 'back to action'

ORLANDO JORDAN CAME DOWN TO THE RING SUSPENDED FROM THE ROOF. Wearing just caution tape and trunks. He's playing a bi-sexual, which he is in real life. He went to this set and where there was a man and woman, scantily clad and mouthed 'I'm straight' which we cut straight to JB who was interviewing Tara. If you are trying to push a character, at least finish the segment.

Tara talked about Daphney stealing Poison and the same old crap. Daphney beat Tara for some time, Tara reversed and the match ended when Tara hit Daphney with a toolbox in the head to draw First Blood. I wasn't impressed.

AJ Styles beat Jeff Jarrett in a long ok-ish match. Ric Flair was wheeled out by Chelsea who wasn't shaken by Pope at all. AJ Styles seemed to have calmed down the splashes and typical face moves which is a good sign. Ending was Bischoff ran in with a guitar and teased hitting Jarrett, but Jarrett turned his back just in time. Jarrett took the guitar and was about to hit Bischoff, but Styles gave Jarrett a low blow. Styles then gave Jarrett the Styles Clash, and Bischoff woke up Hebner to count the pin. I have no idea why Bischoff helped Styles after being against him and Flair for weeks. Bischoff even pounded fists with Flair afterwards.

Young did an interview saying he was in the business for the right reasons, and he couldn’t understand why Nash attached himself with a sinking ship like the band. Hardy said it was people like Nash and Hall who tried to keep him down for so long.



Machismo wanted to book “The Model” against Brutus Beefcake, but Bischoff told him there was only one man who deserved to main event tonight. Machismo thought he was talking about Jimmy Snuka. Bischoff said it was Machismo, and told him to go to the ring, but wouldn’t say who his opponent would be.

Black Machismo defeated Beer Money in a handicap match. CRAP.

Mike Tenay did an update on Hernandez. He suffered more damage to his neck. Matt Morgan will give an interview next week on the live show. Didn't Taz speculate it could have been 'brain trauma'?

Wolfe beat Pope in a short match. Why make the number one contender job weeks before his match? The idea I guess was to push Chelsea and the catchphrase 'What Chelsea wants, Chelsea gets'.

Kurt Angle came out for an interview about Mr. Ken Anderson with the cage around him. They're fighting at Lockdown. Anderson came out and said it was time for this feud to end. I fully agreed. Anderson announced that Bischoff has sanctioned ladder match next week between the two, and at the top of the ladder will be a key that will open the door of the cage at Lockdown. So I guess it’s a match where the first man out of the cage wins, although that was never clear. Anderson called himself an asshole. Meh.

As Angle was walking to the back, the Band’s music started playing. Angle and Nash pounded fists, clearly setting something up for the future. Well, you'd think.

Eric Young, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam defeated Six-Pac, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in a cage match. Nothing much but a very good spot from Young at the end who dropped an elbow from the top of the cage.

Abyss did a promo where he announced his first teammate for the Lethal Lockdown Wargames match. It was Jeff Jarrett.

Not a great show but not a bad show. Less Bischoff and more wrestling gets a thumbs up from me although it did have its moments in booking. Anderson v Angle has to end, it's getting tedious now.

[MrShawnMichaels]

Imagine how crap raw would be if Cena took a break

He should take a break, maybe Sheamus would get a real run at the title. They'd probably give it to Triple H, I guess.

[MrShawnMichaels]

NXT

Matt Striker billed tonight as the “most important night in the history of NXT.” He was **** at Wrestlemania, he should stay on NXT with his crap. He then introduced the rookies and went over the criteria for how the pros poll is calculated (W/L record, strength of opponent, “it factor” and work ethic). He then put up the “Pro’s Poll” on the Titantron, and despite what they kind of led you to believe, no one is getting eliminated:
1) Daniel Bryan
2) Wade Barrett
3) Justin Gabriel
4) Heath Slater
5) David Otunga
6) Skip Sheffield
7) Michael Tarver
8) Darren Young

Bryan knocked Michael Cole and said there are people married to famous people who can't wrestle. Otunga said Bryan's personality was like mashed potatoes.

Despite all this heavy pouting from Otunga for being lowly ranked, Striker still managed to explain how this show works. Clear as mud.

CM Punk, R-Truth, Matt Hardy & Wade Barrett beat The Miz, Christian, William Regal & Carlito. This was billed as Raw vs Smackdown and I couldn't tell who's who. Barrett took Jericho's place who was selling the injury sustained against Edge and joined commentary at which he was excellent. He owned Matthews and Cole who kept and goofing around. Jericho made a joke about how Josh Matthews “might shoot on me and attack me.” which I thought was funny. Match itself was good and the heels didn't face the heels for much of the match. One things for sure, Regal is a legend. He begged Punk to swap rookies as Punk laughed at him and didn't want to face Wade Barrett and tagged himself out. Finish was Barrett tagged himself in from Punk, he got hit by Christian with a neckbreaker, Jericho distracted Christian and got a punch for his troubles which led to Barrett hitting Christian with a firemans carry type slam. Punk acknowledged Barrett for the victory and Jericho celebrated with him. Barrett looked good when he did come into the match.

Main event was a Rookies Battle Royal with the winner becoming the Guest Host of Raw. The rookies straight away got rid of Barrett. Sheffield and Young were eliminated during the break. Tarver got a headscissors over the top by Bryan who was crossbodied by Slater and they both went out. Otunga and Gabriel left. Gabriel hit some really agile and neat spots. Gabriel went for the 450 splash and hesitated. He tried to get the dead weight of Otunga over the top and then by some sheer superman powers, Otunga managed to throw Gabriel and Otunga will guest host Raw this week. Matt Striker interviewed Otunga after the match. He said he proved he should be ranked number one. He then said everything would be A-list on Monday. He came across as a real heel in this interview.

[Gingawaria]

Swagger cashed in Money in the Bank on Smackdown and is now World Heavyweight champion.

Cryme Tyme split up as well.

It was actually a pretty good episode of Smackdown!

[Imy]

Way to early for Swagger to be champ, they've been booking him like a chump up to Wrestlemania, he wins MITB with what was the longest time ever to get the briefcase down in any ladder match. He's booked chumpish fashion on raw and then goes to Smackdown and wtf he's champ?

If they wanted the title to go to him it should have been after Jericho got speared through the barrier at Mania.

Now mania has come and gone i expect WWE to revert to type and produce crap all the way till to Royal Rumble next year

[Imy]

Milkman/Jayesh will be devestated with the Cryme Tyme split

[johnly]

Milkman/Jayesh will be devestated with the Cryme Tyme split

Who's he gonna support?! Is he a Shad or a JTG kinda guy!?

Smackdown wasn't bad. The rumoured Punks hair vs Rey's mask match looks like it'll happen at Extreme Rules. Rumours are that Vinny Mac wants the mask off Rey. It makes bucketloads of cash in merch though.

Not sure about the hotshotting of the title onto Swagger though. Does the Edge/Jericho feud go on or do they have Edge go for the title? If they're going to have Swagger as a credible champ, he has to hold it for more than a month.

[Jayesh87]

Milkman/Jayesh will be devestated with the Cryme Tyme split

Is this some kinda sick late aprils fools joke

[MrShawnMichaels]

I can only think that the match at Extreme Rules will be a Triple Threat. No way can they sell a PPV with just Jack Swagger, without much build, in a one on one match against either Edge or Jericho. I like Jack Swagger, he's got the build and the skill although his mic skills can improve and he's changed his demeanour which helps if he is to be a credible and respected top carder. Without Shawn Michaels and Undertaker, WWE need to start pushing guys and they've started with Swagger. I'm hearing that Jericho or Edge will move to Raw in the draft in a couple of weeks.

[MrMichael]

Not a great show but not a bad show. Less Bischoff and more wrestling gets a thumbs up from me although it did have its moments in booking. Anderson v Angle has to end, it's getting tedious now.

Is about right. Last week Impact had more wrestling than raw and smackdown combined Shame most of it was only average,

Wolfe - Dinero again this week, I guess they could be putting over a long-term feud between the two. If AJ drops to him. i hate the Flair gimick so I hope he does.

Angle - Anderson was overdone early with all the troops/patriotism sht so yeah, now it is dull. Anderson's promos are gold through. Lockdown's looking decent.

Daniels appeared in ROH the other night.

As for the "E", yeah, Jack Swagger? Really? He's decent in the ring, but does anyone really care? Ok so he doesn't get Drew McIntyre reactions... ie none, but still. After their odd booking with Seumas I'm not sure how likely they are go get this puch right, but we'll see.

Otunga guest hosting Raw? Seriously, did I read that right?