X Division Rankings match - ***1/4
Good opener. Glad to see them give Tanahashi some time to shine. I'm suprised at who won this, but I guess he has been getting pushed seriously as of late.
Wilde/Roxxi vs. Kong/Saeed - **1/4
Solid stuff here. Nothing to write home about, though.
Rhyno vs. Bashir - *
Pretty bad. I'm sure ICP and "Hey Yo" *drunked slur* coming out didn't help matters, as both guys seemed distracted. Felt like an iMPACT match that told no real story.
Beer Money vs. MCMG (TNA Tag Titles) - ****
This on the other hand rocked my world. I'm a sucker for a great tag formula and this was definately that. Even Hall and ICP were marking out, but that may been because Hall spotted the beer guy on the other side of the arena. I could almost go 1/4* higher but I felt they went off the path from the story they were telling earlier in the match and I thought towards the end it went into slight overkill. Still the best mainstream tag match of the year for me. MCMG own and are probably the best team in the country if not the world. MOTN, btw.
Booker T vs. Christian (TNA Legends Title) - **1/4
Also felt like an iMPACT match. Not a lot stuck out but it wasn't horrible or anything. Obviously could have been better but these 2 have never had great chemistry dating all the way back to their 2003 matches over the IC title in the WWE.
Angle vs. Abyss (Falls Count Anywhere) - ****
If I take away one thing from this PPV, it's this...Kurt Angle...is out of his mind...like, legitimatly... Best Abyss match I've seen since the AJ Styles matches in 05, but that's no suprise considering Kurt has been God this year.
Joe vs. Nash - ***1/2
Now this suprised me immensely. I've heard a lot of people say that Joe looked weak in this but I really have no clue what they're talking about. He got rammed into the exposed turnbuckle multiple times, got hit with a chair in the face, bled, and kicked out of 2 powerbombs before losing to a low blow and Nash with his feet on the ropes. Some people were mad that Nash went over, but let's face it, Nash needed to go over. All of the MEM did. That's face faction/heel faction booking 101. The heels need to establish that they are a force to be reckond with, possibly have some of the faces turn on the others to align themselves with the heels down the road, and in the end the faces go over (Lethal Lockdown probably). The match itself was great, btw. Probably the best Nash match in a decade off the top of my head.
Sting vs. Styles (TNA Title) - ***
While this was good, I felt it could have been better. I never really believed that AJ had a chance. It felt like a filler title match, which it was, but it was still good for what they were going for.
Overall a great show. At least the 2nd best TNA PPV this year behind BFG. All the haters need to open their eyes, TNA is on a roll and there's no end in sight.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
ROH Supercard of Honor III Review
Delirious vs. Go Shiozaki - **3/4
YRR vs. Luke/DINGO/Payne - **
Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens (FIP Title) - [****]
The Briscoes vs. Black/Jacobs (Relaxed Rules) - ***3/4
Steen/Generico vs. BXB Hulk/Shingo - ****
Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries (ROH World Title) - ****1/2
Typhoon vs. Muscle Outlawz - ****1/4
YRR vs. Luke/DINGO/Payne - **
Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens (FIP Title) - [****]
The Briscoes vs. Black/Jacobs (Relaxed Rules) - ***3/4
Steen/Generico vs. BXB Hulk/Shingo - ****
Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries (ROH World Title) - ****1/2
Typhoon vs. Muscle Outlawz - ****1/4
WWE Cyber Sunday 2008 Review
Rey vs. Kane - **1/2
Did what it needed to do. Never would have guessed Rey goes over.
Hardy vs. Bourne - ***1/4
Suprised they clicked so well in their first meeting.
Miz/Morrison vs. Cryme Tyme - **3/4
Another match I rate a lot higher than most, but I'm a sucker for a tag formula that works well.
Santino vs. HTM - DUD
At least it was....short...I guess?
Taker vs. Big Show - ***1/4
Maybe higher. I REALLY need to rewatch their NM match as I gave it like **1/4 as opposed to everyone else giving it ***+.
HHH vs. Hardy - ****1/4
Really loved this match. Totally about to overrate it here. In fact, I liked it MORE than their No Mercy match earlier in the month (****). Story in my eyes is all about the fact that Hardy is just a guy who gets by on ability and HHH gets by through his intelligence.
Jeff came into the match with the same formula he always has (ie: jump off shit). When they mat wrestle in the beginning, HHH just bides his time until Hardy goes to said formula and HHH pushes him off the turnbuckle. You see, HHH, who was taken to the limit 3 weeks prior, didn’t take Hardy for granted this time. He knew Hardy was going to get the vote (as pointed out by the announcers), so he watched a ton of tape to counter every….little…thing that Hardy had in his arsenal. Examples include:
Whisper in the Wind --> pushed off the top rope
Corner Dropkick --> Spinebuster
Crossbody off the middle rope --> Crippler Crossface
Twist of Fate --> pushed into turnbuckle which then leads to Pedigree attempt
Hardy then started to ever so slightly deviate his formula as he starts to hit the offense that HHH countered beforehand. When he finally hit the Whisper in the Wind, he then attempted and hit it a second time. This is paid off later. Hardy gets on a roll, so HHH tries the sleeper to slow him down, but Jeff can’t be stopped. The payoff of the double Whisper in the Wind goes down when Jeff hits the Swanton, then gets greedy and goes for it again only for HHH to adapt to the change in “style” and get the knees up. Hardy still won’t go down and starts playing to the crowd that voted him in as he goes up for another Swanton, but HHH has seen more than enough of that and Hardy gets pulled off the top and eats Pedigree. I really enjoyed the ending and I’m really glad Kozloff didn’t interfere as everyone one on the net predicted.
There weren’t many things I didn’t like about the match, but there were some. Hardy was a bit sloppy with some of his offense. Also when Hardy was in the Crossface, he looked not so much in pain as he did “mildly annoyed.” Another is when HHH put the steps back up after getting rammed into them so Hardy could do his awesome Poetry-in-Motion-on-the-outside spot. Clean a few of these things up and the rating would have been a little higher.
Incredible match all in all. I can’t really stand HHH as a face and I have not been a fan of his title run so far but his feud with Jeff has breathed new life into it for me. These two have so much chemistry it’s crazy. For the first time I truly buy Hardy as a threat to the title (even though HHH kind of schooled him here). I’m not a fan of Hardy either but I was actually marking for the guy towards the end. I thought there was a slight chance he’d get that day in the sun but it was not to be yet. The rating I’m giving it is the highest I’ve seen for it, but I really don’t care about the consensus anyway.
Batista vs. Y2J - **1/2
The first half kind of bored me. Batista matches tend to either be really awesome or really bleh to me. Picked up nicely towards the end. Probably the most I've ever liked ref bumps with Shawn and Orton taking control. Never would have guessed big Dave would go over here since Jericho has been booked like he was going to win if you follow the standard formula of heel gets ass kicked for weeks leading up to the match, where he retains in a slimey fashion.
Another good WWE PPV. All things considered I'd say they're my easy promotion of the year. First time I can say that about WWE in many years. Feels great to type as I will always be a WWE mark first.
Did what it needed to do. Never would have guessed Rey goes over.
Hardy vs. Bourne - ***1/4
Suprised they clicked so well in their first meeting.
Miz/Morrison vs. Cryme Tyme - **3/4
Another match I rate a lot higher than most, but I'm a sucker for a tag formula that works well.
Santino vs. HTM - DUD
At least it was....short...I guess?
Taker vs. Big Show - ***1/4
Maybe higher. I REALLY need to rewatch their NM match as I gave it like **1/4 as opposed to everyone else giving it ***+.
HHH vs. Hardy - ****1/4
Really loved this match. Totally about to overrate it here. In fact, I liked it MORE than their No Mercy match earlier in the month (****). Story in my eyes is all about the fact that Hardy is just a guy who gets by on ability and HHH gets by through his intelligence.
Jeff came into the match with the same formula he always has (ie: jump off shit). When they mat wrestle in the beginning, HHH just bides his time until Hardy goes to said formula and HHH pushes him off the turnbuckle. You see, HHH, who was taken to the limit 3 weeks prior, didn’t take Hardy for granted this time. He knew Hardy was going to get the vote (as pointed out by the announcers), so he watched a ton of tape to counter every….little…thing that Hardy had in his arsenal. Examples include:
Whisper in the Wind --> pushed off the top rope
Corner Dropkick --> Spinebuster
Crossbody off the middle rope --> Crippler Crossface
Twist of Fate --> pushed into turnbuckle which then leads to Pedigree attempt
Hardy then started to ever so slightly deviate his formula as he starts to hit the offense that HHH countered beforehand. When he finally hit the Whisper in the Wind, he then attempted and hit it a second time. This is paid off later. Hardy gets on a roll, so HHH tries the sleeper to slow him down, but Jeff can’t be stopped. The payoff of the double Whisper in the Wind goes down when Jeff hits the Swanton, then gets greedy and goes for it again only for HHH to adapt to the change in “style” and get the knees up. Hardy still won’t go down and starts playing to the crowd that voted him in as he goes up for another Swanton, but HHH has seen more than enough of that and Hardy gets pulled off the top and eats Pedigree. I really enjoyed the ending and I’m really glad Kozloff didn’t interfere as everyone one on the net predicted.
There weren’t many things I didn’t like about the match, but there were some. Hardy was a bit sloppy with some of his offense. Also when Hardy was in the Crossface, he looked not so much in pain as he did “mildly annoyed.” Another is when HHH put the steps back up after getting rammed into them so Hardy could do his awesome Poetry-in-Motion-on-the-outside spot. Clean a few of these things up and the rating would have been a little higher.
Incredible match all in all. I can’t really stand HHH as a face and I have not been a fan of his title run so far but his feud with Jeff has breathed new life into it for me. These two have so much chemistry it’s crazy. For the first time I truly buy Hardy as a threat to the title (even though HHH kind of schooled him here). I’m not a fan of Hardy either but I was actually marking for the guy towards the end. I thought there was a slight chance he’d get that day in the sun but it was not to be yet. The rating I’m giving it is the highest I’ve seen for it, but I really don’t care about the consensus anyway.
Batista vs. Y2J - **1/2
The first half kind of bored me. Batista matches tend to either be really awesome or really bleh to me. Picked up nicely towards the end. Probably the most I've ever liked ref bumps with Shawn and Orton taking control. Never would have guessed big Dave would go over here since Jericho has been booked like he was going to win if you follow the standard formula of heel gets ass kicked for weeks leading up to the match, where he retains in a slimey fashion.
Another good WWE PPV. All things considered I'd say they're my easy promotion of the year. First time I can say that about WWE in many years. Feels great to type as I will always be a WWE mark first.
TNA Bound for Glory IV Review
Lethal vs. Dutt vs. Sabin vs. Shelley vs. Curry Man vs. Super Eric vs. Shark Boy vs. Williams vs. Rave vs. Devine (Steel Asylum) - ***1/4
Rhyno/Khan/ODB vs. Kip/Love/Sky (Bimbo Brawl) - *
Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Consequences Creed (X Division Title) - **
Taylor Wilde vs. Roxxi vs. Awesome Kong (Knockouts Title) - **1/4
Beer Money vs. LAX vs. Abyss/Morgan vs. Team 3D (Monster’s Ball match for the Tag Titles) - ***1/2
AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage vs. Booker T - ***1/4
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett - ****1/4
Samoa Joe vs. Sting (TNA World Title) - ***1/2
Rhyno/Khan/ODB vs. Kip/Love/Sky (Bimbo Brawl) - *
Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Consequences Creed (X Division Title) - **
Taylor Wilde vs. Roxxi vs. Awesome Kong (Knockouts Title) - **1/4
Beer Money vs. LAX vs. Abyss/Morgan vs. Team 3D (Monster’s Ball match for the Tag Titles) - ***1/2
AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage vs. Booker T - ***1/4
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett - ****1/4
Samoa Joe vs. Sting (TNA World Title) - ***1/2
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