wrestling / Columns

Wrestling’s 4Rs: The Right, Wrong and Ridiculous of Impact & Smackdown

February 16, 2015 | Posted by Daniel Clark

How the 4Rs of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and needs discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.



By the Returning Daniel Clark
Smackdown 2.12.15

QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Bray Wyatt def. R Truth at 4.32 by pinfall
* Paige def. Summer Rae at 2.58 by submission
* Fandango def. Adam Rose at 2.39 by pinfall
* Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns def. The Miz and Damien Mizdow at 2.15 by pinfall
* Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns def. The Usos at 24.02 by submission
* Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns def. Los Matedores at 2.28 by submission
* Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns def. Heath Slater and Titus O’Neill at 1.00 by pinfall
* Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns def. The Ascension at 2.31 by disqualification
* Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns def. Kane and the Big Show at 9.20 by pinfall

THE RIGHT:
Tag Team Turmoil: If a segment is going to last for longer than an hour then it really has to deliver – and this tag team turmoil match did exactly that as from start to the finish the booking of this was near-on perfect with the real highlight being just how fantastic the interactions between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns were.

The first team they took on were the Miz and Damien Mizdow who continue to extract absolutely everything that they can out of the screen time that they got and even though the match was only a couple of minutes long, it told a story. Bryan and Reigns were not on the same page and try to one-up each other. The Miz realized that he couldn’t beat them on his own so tagged in Mizdow, who having got some offence in, caused the Miz to tag himself in, as he simply cannot stand Mizdow upstaging him in anyway. Of course, this was his downfall as Reigns and Bryan work together to eliminate him and move on. This was short (and perhaps could have been longer), but everyone played their part in making this a good match.

The second team are the Usos and with their arrival the match totally changed with Reigns showing a human side throughout with him not wanting to hurt his family, and Bryan taking advantage of this slight weakness that he spotted by heeling it up slightly and being a bit more aggressive, such as attacking one of the Usos outside of the ring, causing Reigns to tell him this is not the way to do things. The fact that the Usos were on top for a large part of the match really does help them as it puts them over as the top tag team in the division at the moment as Bryan and Reigns could not put them away for an awful long time and it wasn’t until they realized that they had to work completely together that they did indeed beat the Usos. It was a 24 minute long match that had a totally different feel to a lot of other matches of a similar length. The pacing was fairly slow with a lot of stop-start action, but it really worked with the story that was being told, and it was almost a PPV style and quality of match buried in the middle of this tag team turmoil, with everyone looking really good.

Having finally got past the Usos, the next team out were Los Matedores, and this is where the match changes again to Bryan and Reigns trying to show-up each other in what they can do. Bryan quickly runs through this match, forcing one of them to tap out quickly and just not allowing them into the match at all. Los Matedores may have lost quickly, but it wasn’t really a tag team match as Bryan just dominated it, as did Reigns in the next match against Slater/Gater. In fact, he was even more dominant and just ran straight through Slater and stared straight at Bryan when getting the pin. Both teams may have lost quickly, but as they are jobber teams anyway, it doesn’t hurt them too much.

Next out were the Ascension and straight away they are given some credibility by Reigns and Bryan getting together and having a chat with each other as they realize that they will have to work together because if they don’t they will struggle, which is exactly what needs to happen to make the Ascension look good. I was slightly unsure as to how this part of the match would pan out as this was not the time for the Ascension to suffer their first loss and the DQ was the right ending for this. The Ascension just came out, kicked ass, and just were more interested in causing pain than winning. They come out of this looking a lot better than they beforehand.

Which brings out Kane and the Big Show to take their time in slowly and systematically beating down Bryan and not allowing him to make the tag to Reigns. But Bryan continues to show his fighting spirit and hangs on, before turning the match around and locking in the Yes lock on first Kane, and then the Big Show. Kane and Show start to argue which proves to their downfall – ironically as they set the match up in the hope that Reigns and Bryan could not co-exist – leading to Reigns and Bryan teaming to pin the Big Show and survive.

The whole tag team turmoil was booked well and told a great story and got you more interested in seeing Reigns and Bryan face off at Fast Lane.

puRgatoRy:
Bray Wyatt vs. R Truth: Although the match perhaps went on a little bit longer than it needed to do, as Bray could have easily got the win in a shorter timeframe, this was fairly effective in continuing to showcase Bray as a dominant individual. R Truth put up just enough of a fight to make it a match but he never stood a chance of actually winning it. The issue is that at the moment, Bray is seemingly heading for a WrestleMania match against the Undertaker, although by just watching the show on TV, you wouldn’t know that, as although his promos have hinted towards a clash with the deadman, he hasn’t been mentioned by name or given any indication as to why the Undertaker would face him given that he hasn’t been seen since he lost to Brock Lesnar last year.

Paige vs. Summer Rae: This match was just there purely to give Paige another win ahead of her clash with Nikki Bella for the title at Fast Lane, which is exactly what happened. Had they given them a real chance and given then ten minutes then they could have put on a really good match, but it doesn’t seem like there is any desire for that to happen on the main roster like there is in NXT. The Bellas on commentary were not totally insufferable here and at least there is a bit of a reason for this feud to be happening with Paige not fitting their idea as to what a diva should be.

THE wRong:
Adam Rose vs. Fandango: The match was pretty uneventful and wasn’t helped by the fact that very little, if any, of the commentary was actually about the match in question, and it is hard to work on as a fan who, if either, of these guys we should be cheering for. Fandango has done nothing to really endear himself to the audience, while Rose by beating up the rosebuds and being a bit of an asshole is definitely turning heel. You do have to question why the rosebuds keep hanging out with Rose when he is treating them so badly. It doesn’t seem like they have a real plan for either of these two at the moment.

THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING

The 411:

When you devote more than half of the show to a single match then that match has to deliver, particularly when the other half of the show is devoted to three matches that in all truth were complete filler and didn’t really add anything to the show or any story moving forward. Fortunately the tag team turmoil was an excellent match from start to finish and turned this into one of the more unique and interesting Smackdown’s of recent months.

The match was lengthy – but really good – and told a story throughout from Reigns and Bryan trying to prove that they are better than each other and then as the match goes on they realize they need to work together. Their interactions between each other were brilliant as they seemed to work so well together which suggests that they could well put something really good on at Fast Lane. Did this bury the tag division? Not in my opinion as to start with it wasn’t all of the tag division. Of the six teams they beat – Miz and Mizdow are imploding and lost because the Miz was selfish. It took them 24 minutes to beat the Usos. Los Matedores and Slater/Gater are jobbers anyway and effectively lost one on one matches. The Ascension beat Reigns and Bryan up and got DQed. And Kane and the Big Show started fighting each other to cost them the match when they found that they couldn’t put Bryan away – selling his underdog fighting spirit perfectly – and surely no-one will be complaining about the Big Show and Kane being made to look a little bit weak?

The interactions throughout the match between Bryan and Reigns were great with them simultaneously trying to one-up each other, get under each other’s skin, and showing their respect for each other, and even though the matches went on for well over 40 minutes (of in ring time), it never got boring because of it. Everyone involved in the match, but particularly Bryan and Reigns, did a great job.

The rest of the show was total filler though and it felt like the least eventful hour of TV that they have put on – in fact – almost felt like an episode of Superstars. Paige beats Summer Rae in a short match just to remind you that she is set to face off against Nikki Bella for the title at Fast Lane, but nothing new was added to their feud. Adam Rose beats up the rosebuds again after he loses to Fandango, but quite what the end outcome for this is and what it will accomplish, I’m not sure.

Bray Wyatt did beat R Truth as well but if you just watched TV and didn’t pay attention to online gossip and rumours he would look incredibly directionless. The assumption is that he will be facing the Undertaker at WrestleMania and that he is the man he has been referring to in his recent promos, but in all honesty, the feud is never going to make any sense no matter how hard they try and force it in the run up to WrestleMania. The Undertaker hasn’t been seen since he lost to Brock Lesnar. He hasn’t come for revenge. He hasn’t come to prove that it was a fluke. He hasn’t said a word about his loss. He has never had any interaction with Bray Wyatt. And now, because of a few cryptic words that Bray says, he is going to come back out of his self-imposed retirement to face him? I’m not really buying it as happening and I’m not sure what the result of a match could be that works going forward. If Bray loses, then where does he go given he has just lost to a man who has spent a year away from the ring in a banged-up state? And if he wins, then so what, because he’s just beaten a broken-down old man? And if the Undertaker doesn’t make WrestleMania then Bray is in a terrible position because I can’t see where he fits on the card at this point.

Turning the whole of the show over essentially to one match was an interesting idea and it did work here. Coming away from the tag team turmoil I’m more interested in Bryan vs. Reigns, so it’s done its job.

Show Rating: 8.2

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale…

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9:Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

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By Jericho Ricardi
Impact 2.13.15

QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Bobby Roode def. Austin Aries at 9:00 via submission (Crossface)
* Bram def. Crazzy Steve at 2:00 via pin (Impaler DDT)
* Ethan Carter III and Tyrus def. Rockstar Spud, Mandrews, and Jeremy Borash at 7:00 via pin (One Percenter to Spud)
* Awesome Kong def. Madison Rayne at 1:00 via pin (Implant Buster)
* MVP and Samoa Joe def. Lashley and Kurt Angle at 12:00 via pin (MVP rolls up Lashley)

THE RIGHT:
Playing off the history of Roode and Aries: It’s good to see this get acknowledged. Rather than just throwing the match out there, they gave the guys a backstage confrontation where they discussed their history and the fact that tonight’s match will directly affect the title contender rankings. Good all-around segment here. Also enjoyed the later backstage segment with Austin Aries belittling the interviewer for asking stupid questions. More on this in a bit.

Roode Vs. Aries: This match was quite good, continuing the momentum of the backstage face-off. I would have had this match open the show instead of the promo we got; that would have gotten things going with a bang. Also, showing the backstage confrontation to the live crowd before the match would have helped convey the importance of the match for the people in attendance. Strictly as a TV product, this match was all well and good. I’m a bit disappointed to see that the arena is still dark at The Hydro, but at least it isn’t pitch-black anymore.

Backstage Segments: This show was sprinkled with backstage segments that were short, to the point, and did a good job advancing storylines. The live crowd misses out on these, which continues to be an issue with TNA. But as far as the TV product goes, these short backstage story segments are vastly preferable to 25-minute in-ring talkfests. They move storylines forward in one-tenth of the time.

EC3 and Spud GO TO WAR: This tag match was pretty cool, with JEREMY BORASH of all people doing a top-rope dive to the outside. Just awesome stuff all around. Good to see Ken Anderson actually doing something, as well. I’m still really enjoying this EC3/Spud feud, even if it is going on quite a while now. Both guys continue to be very entertaining; while their allies are less so, having them involved as well extends the longevity of the feud as we can do something besides EC3 Vs. Spud on a weekly basis. Curious to see if they’ll blow this off by finally having a one-on-one match at the London shows.

Awesome Squash: While it was a somewhat nothing match, I enjoyed seeing Awesome Kong destroy Madison Rayne. The musical cues before the match were well-done, almost like giant approaching footsteps.

Heroes Never Win: Good promo with James Storm and Matt Hardy; I’m glad they’re making heavy use of Jeff Hardy’s awful fall last week as a storytelling device rather than simply forgetting it. They should get everything they can out of it, much like WWF did with Mick Foley’s various falls. I’ve heard people poo-pooing the company for repeatedly showing Jeff’s fall (aka “exploiting” it), but in my book it’d be an insult to Jeff himself NOT to use that footage so effectively. These people probably hate everything TNA does, though.

Main Event: Big-time feel here with Kurt Angle and Lashley doing an ultra-rare team-up to fight the BDC. It looks like they’re building towards a future Angle/Lashley match, and that one could be pretty damn good if they give it a proper buildup. I do wonder why they had a garden-variety tag match a week after Lethal Lockdown with the same players involved; the match was good, though, so it’s fine.

puRgatoRy:
Grado and Al Snow: On one hand, this segment was pretty awesome, with the crowd as hyped as possible for Grado. It was cool to finally see Grado, given that he has been critically acclaimed as more or less the coolest trainee on British Bootcamp. On the other hand… “finally see”. TNA’s answer to Tough Enough is a show that airs only in the UK, which means American viewers who aren’t superfans enough to stream the show online will be watching this and scratching their heads. Grado who? TNA really should have played clips from the show on various Impact episodes just to keep the audience aware of British Bootcamp’s existence and the general goings-on. As it is, they’re giving us the season winner, Mandrews, and most of us have no idea who he is. The should-have-been-winner, Grado, by all accounts an extremely charismatic and fun wrestler… not familiar with him either. This segment was good, but it suffers because TNA hasn’t made British Bootcamp into a thing of importance on their shows. Cursory mentions aren’t good enough; they should have been giving us weekly British Bootcamp recaps if they were planning to make it a major part of Impact once the season ended.

THE wRong:
Split-Screen is an issue: We don’t need to see Taz and Matthews as much as we do. Going to split-screen during the entirety of Spud’s face-to-face staredown with EC3 was a terrible move. It may not be Hogan/Andre, but the Spud/EC3 faceoff shouldn’t be reduced to a screen-in-screen.

Bram Vs. Crazzy Steve: I continue to wonder what anyone gains from these “big man squashing little man” matches. They somehow make everyone involved look worse. Bram just beat a tiny guy, so what? Steve just lost to a bigger guy, so he can’t pull off upsets. I guess since the roster is as small as it is, they pretty much have to use guys like Steve and Tigre Uno as jobbers when needed. Still, kinda dumb. I enjoy Bram’s insane work, but I’d like to see him in more competitive showings.

THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING

The 411:

Good show tonight. I’d say it wasn’t as good as last week’s Lockdown, nor should it be since it’s back to being a normal show. Not a whole lot really happened in this one, which lowers the score a bit. We did get a good match with Roode and Aries, and some promos to set up the (hopefully more eventful) other UK tour shows. Not a whole lot else to say this week, unfortunately.

Cheap plug time, support this site and this column by sharing it with your homies. Also, support my site Coronajumper.com by reading my musings on video games, including TNA Impact for the PS2/PS3. Featuring gratuitous Rebel.

Show Rating: 6.8

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale…

0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9:Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

The 964th edition is over…

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