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

March 2, 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 Daniel Clark
Smackdown 2.26.15

QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Dean Ambrose def. The Miz at 2.34 by pinfall
* Natalya def. Naomi at 2.47 by pinfall
* Daniel Bryan def. Bad News Barrett at 11.50 by pinfall
* Fandango def. Curtis Axel at 1.02 by pinfall
* Goldust def. Adam Rose at 1.13 by pinfall
* Ryback, Dolph Ziggler and Erick Rowan def. Kane, the Big Show, and Seth Rollins at 12.35 by pinfall

THE RIGHT:
Natalya vs. Naomi: This was pretty short and simple and continue the rivalry between the Usos and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro and solidifies the heel turn that Natalya has had to join her man. The match was okay but secondary to the story as Natalya pretended to be injured to sucker Naomi in, before cheap-shotting her and getting the victory. This change in her character is something that she needed as she had gotten very stale and is the freshener that she needed. The rivalry continues between the two teams ahead of what hopefully should be a classic at Wrestlemania.

Rusev promo: Rusev is looking like a serious threat so far in this feud with John Cena having not just beaten him at Fast Lane, he is continuing to get the upper hand after that match as well. He shows a picture of Cena with his ‘never give up’ gear and then mentions that he gave up. He then delivers a great line saying that he won’t face Cena again as he has already beaten, broken and crushed him. Jack Swagger then interrupts and challenges him to a fight and although he gets the upperhand initially, Rusev fights back and locks in the accolade. Rusev continues to look very strong and as dominant as he should be as a champion, and the fact he is not just giving Cena a rematch because he wants one is going to mean Cena will have to work to get what he wants, and as champion anyway, why should he give Cena a match? The build that Rusev is getting is great.

The Miz/Damien Mizdow commercial: This was so over-the-top but that is exactly what made this work so well. Mizdow is doing a commercial but the Miz was glorious in his ridiculous manner to convince the director that he should be doing the commercial instead and Mizdow is once again relegated to the sidelines. Mizdow is getting more and more fed up with the antics of the Miz and he is getting closer and closer to snapping, and when he does, it is going to be great, and the work that these two have done with what initially appeared to be a throwaway gimmick has been tremendous and they could just about get a one on one match at Wrestlemania.

Roman Reigns interview: Slowly but surely Roman Reigns is being positioned nicely ahead of his Wrestlemania match with Brock Lesnar and this interview did a great job of putting over why he thinks he will win. He says that he hates being told he ‘can’t’ do things and will do whatever he can to beat Brock. He says he will train harder, get stronger, watch old tapes of Lesnar matches, get advice and won’t leave any stone unturned, and as cocky as he has been in the past, this new and more vulnerable side of Reigns is someone you can get behind. He is a guy who knows he is good but also knows that just relying on that might not be enough and so there is an obstacle for him to overcome. He says he is just trying to provide a better life for his family – again making him more relatable to the fans – and finishes by saying that he knows he will win and doesn’t care who believes it. Reigns came across as a human being here and someone that you can get behind and understand their motivations, but kept the arrogance that he has that make him good. I’m still not sure he is ready for a Wrestlemania main event but these segments are doing their job in making you think that he is.

puRgatoRy:
The Intercontinental Title situation: The announcement that Bad News Barrett will be defending the title in a ladder match has sort of come out of nowhere, although with a number of people after his belt and the stealing of the title again, it does make some sense. That said, with a ladder match involving a number of people, it would really appear that the Andre Battle Royal is going to be full of even more jobbers than usual. And given that BNB is still stuck with the curse of the IC title as he picks up yet another non-title loss, why would anyone actually want the belt? The running angle throughout the show worked quite well and although we have ended up with the status quo of Ambrose having the belt, it still worked quite well. It began with BNB interrupting Daniel Bryan at the start of the show and telling him that he won’t be getting a Mania moment this year and led to them having a pretty decent little match with BNB actually looked pretty decent in as he could hold his own against Bryan and managed to escape from the Yes Lock as well, and the ending, with BNB going for the bull hammer but Bryan getting the knee up first was a good finish, albeit with another loss for BNB. R Truth was pretty awful on commentary and him stealing the belt and then hiding it under his jumper though was a nice touch and added some humor to the situation. Of course, Truth then made the whole thing seem meaningless when he just gave the belt back to Dean Ambrose later on, making the title seem worthless. Ambrose got another over the Miz and does seem to want the title and that does make it seem important, as does BNB’s desire to keep the title within his grasp. Given how things have gone this week it does look as if Bryan is going to be shoehorned into a multi-man ladder match for a midcard belt – and that most definitely is not going to go over well with the fans. It seems a step down for Bryan to be in a throwaway match if it is not a one on one contest. Bryan taking the belt off BNB in a one on one match is not ideal, but would be a lot better than putting him in a multi-man ladder match.

Adam Rose vs. Goldust: The continued bizarre treatment of Adam Rose continues as he keeps getting featured on Smackdown and he keeps losing matches within a couple of minutes. But this segment was saved really by Stardust attacking Goldust after the match having blended in and dressed as one of the Rosebuds, which was a nice surprise really, yet something that should have been obvious. The Rhodes brothers feud still hasn’t really caught on in the way that they would hope, but they are trying different things, which was to be applauded.

Bray Wyatt promo: Bray’s promos are fine and by telling the Undertaker that he can only outrun him for so long and to come and find him, he is at least putting out a challenge for the Undertaker to think about. There is though still no real clear reason as to why the Undertaker would want to return after a year away to face Bray Wyatt, and that is something that is going to hold back this feud a bit. Bray is trying hard but this does still feel a bit forced.

The Six Man Tag: Another week and another match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins. The Fast Lane rematch was perfectly fine but given we have seen these six guys face off so many times recently without any real meaning to any of their recent matches, they all seen to have blended into one. The match did pick up once the hot tag to Ryback was made and the closing minutes were pretty good, but the constant trading of losses doesn’t seem to be helping anyone. Rollins is presumably heading for a match with Randy Orton at Wrestlemania so needs to look strong, so being pinned clean by Ryback, who is just heading for the battle royal, doesn’t help him. While Ziggler seems to have lost some of the heat he had at the start of the year and doesn’t have a clear direction for Wrestlemania, which is amazing really considering how he ended 2014. The match was okay, but hopefully these guys can move away from each other as there isn’t really anywhere else they can take this.

THE wRong:
Fandango vs. Curtis Axel: I don’t really know what the point of this was. Curtis Axel comes out and keeps the #axelmania gimmick going and then says that no-one will eliminate him from the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. And then he gets pinned after a minute by Fandango, who is about the aimless and directionless man on the roster at the moment as they seem to have no plans for him other than these short matches. Axel continues to look like a fool and this did nothing to help promote the battle royal. Just a waste of time really.

THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING

The 411:

This show was all about setting the wheels in motion with Wrestlemania with a bit more clarity as to how we are going to get the PPV, and in that extent, the show did a fairly decent job.

The Intercontinental Title will be defended in a ladder match, Rusev continues to refuse John Cena a rematch, Bray Wyatt continues to call out the Undertaker, Roman Reigns had a good sit-down interview explaining why he will win at Wrestlemania and even the lesser feuds involving the Miz and Damien Mizdow, Stardust and Goldust and the Usos and Cesaro/Tyson Kidd had some progression. And yet, although the show was fine throughout, it all felt a little bit underwhelming.

Reigns’ promo was pretty good and although he is perhaps still not really ready for the Mania main event and there were other and arguably better stories that could have been told, he has had a good strong week. This promo he cut set out his reasons and to why he is convinced that he will beat Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania and also made him much more relatable and likeable to the fans, with his admissions that although he is very good, he knows that he has a lot more than he needs to do if he is to beat Lesnar, but will do everything that he can.

Rusev also cut a great promo explaining why he doesn’t need to give John Cena a rematch. He said that Cena was a failure and that he gave up, and given that he has already beaten and crushed him, why should he get another shot at him? We all know that Cena is going to get another match with Rusev but what they have done is added some intrigue as to how he are going to get to the match and what will Cena do to actually get that match, given how badly his first match with him went.

The Intercontinental Title situation was also ramped up this weekend with more contenders for Bad News Barrett’s belt coming forward. Dean Ambrose still wants the belt and ends the night with it, just as he started, and his and BNBs desire to have the belt does make it seem important. But the addition of Daniel Bryan into the program just seems a bit random and surely there must be a better use for him at Wrestlemania that in a throwaway midcard multi-man match? It just seems a bit of a step down given what he did at Wrestlemania last year and he would just feel slightly out of place being in the match as he has no previous desire to win the belt, or had any issues with any of the men involved in it.

There was some more development with the Miz and Mizdow when the Miz stole the commercial from Mizdow and when the turn does eventually happen, it is going to get a huge pop from the crowd who are itching to get behind him and the two of them have done some great work and possibly deserve a Mania match against each other.

The six man main event was also a fairly solid match, although these guys have faced each other so many times that the matches are beginning to blend into one and aren’t really heading anywhere. It also seems a shame that Seth Rollins keeps taking the fall in these matches when he surely needs the protection far more than Kane and the Big Show, who’s standing are not going to change if they lose a few matches.

Show Rating: 7.0

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 2.27.15

QUICK MATCH RESULTS:
* Spud and Mr. Anderson def. ECIII and Tyrus at 7:00 via pin (Spud pins Tyrus off a Mic Check from Anderson)
* Robbie E and Angelina Love def. Brooke Tessmacher and Chris Melendez at 4:00 via pin (Robbie steals one on Tess)
* Austin Aries def. Samoa Joe at 8:00 via pin (450 Splash)
* Rampage Brown Vs. Noam Dar went to a no-contest at 1:00 (Bram murder spree)
* Lashley def. MVP at 16:00 via pin (Spear)

THE RIGHT:
Tessmacher and Robbie are money: I love that their real-world breakup a few months ago is now being turned into a storyline. Robbie E being a huge jerk, yet still funny and likeable, is money. Tessmacher being Tessmacher is money. Robbie pinning her and acting like he won the World Series is HILARIOUS. This whole battle of the sexes has the potential to be compulsively watchable; I can’t wait to see her somehow find a way to whoop his ass. Speaking of Tess, she’s hot as hell, a really good heel (or face, it seems) and is, again, total money. They should really be working towards making her and EC3 the faces of the company by the end of the year. She has been drastically underused for way too long. This is the kind of storyline that’ll really get people into her so USE IT. Emphasize this story of Brooke dealing with her dickish ex-boyfriend and you’ll draw in that elusive female demographic, guaranteed.

Lashley and the BDC: This is another good storyline. We have a guy who ran with a vile pack of dogs for the better part of a year, and as a result no one backstage really trusts him. He tries to make a break from this gang and they come after him, because you don’t just leave. No one else has his back, because he was a part of that gang before. It’s a catch 22 that puts Lashley in a tough position. But then, several guys who ALSO have a beef with the gang end up reluctantly helping Lashley out just because MVP being champion would be worse for everyone. Plus Drew Galloway! TNA Impact, Fridays on Destination America! In any case, the main event was a perfectly acceptable match, and it was good to finally see MVP and Lashley have their blowoff match just to get it over with. Now we can move on to a new top feud, likely Lashley/Angle.

BDC notice the cameraman: TNA gets flack for having “low rent” backstage segments filmed with a hand-camera, and I’ll never understand why. It makes a lot more sense to have your backstage segments be filmed in this style. It’s like the cameramen are sneaking around, getting shots of wrestlers wherever they can without being too obvious, like they’re stalking wildlife or something. They aren’t always welcome, as in this segment. Compare this to WWE where the cameraman is always right up in the wrestler’s faces, giving us a slick, Hollywood-like HIGH DEF! production where no one knows the cameraman is two feet away from them. Having people make Secret Plans on-camera in that kind of setting while not noticing the camera… doesn’t make any sense. But it looks purdy, I guess. I’ll take hand-camera guys sneaking around and giving the proceedings some kind of realism.

Welcome back, So Cal Val: And hotter than ever. I liked the way she sorta hid from MVP, the one person not happy to see her. Little moments like that say a lot. And on that note…

Attention to detail = Character development: MVP telling Eric Young that Lashley put him in the hospital, getting EY fired up to interfere a little later in the match. MVP orchestrating a beatdown of Aries with the sole purpose of hijacking the briefcase, ensuring no cash-in. MVP covered all of his bases, as did the writing staff. Well played.

puRgatoRy:
Joe Vs. Aries: These two had an incredible match at Slammiversary 2012 (which was, pound-for-pound, one of the best shows the company has put on since 2009). Both of them are top-tier wrestlers, without a doubt. This match, however, was surprisingly tame. Maybe it’s the lack of time it got, maybe it’s the schmozz ending. It didn’t do much for me. Glad they’re keeping Aries strong, at least, despite holding a briefcase. That usually results in a guy losing a lot en route to a cash in, so I’m glad to see him still being treated as a threat even without it.

Taryn, Gail, and Kong: These three continue to just sorta kill time. This feud feels way too similar to the three-way feud a few months ago with Taryn and Gail taking on Havok. Also not keen on Awesome Kong being treated as a heel by the script while the fans treat her like a face. If the fans say she’s a face, then she’s a face, so book her that way. She can still be a monster regardless. The Knockouts Division continues to be interesting, but I’d like to see more focus on Gail and Taryn feuding. Add Kong in as the Samoa Joe to their Styles/Daniels and go from there, with Havok going after whoever emerges victorious. Instead we’re just sorta having Gail stepping aside while Kong beats down Taryn every week. It feels like a step back for Taryn AND Gail. And what happened to Havok?

EC3 and his robot arm: Good stuff with the tag match, though EC3 is also kinda killing time at the moment while his arm heals. I was happy to see Spud out there without the heat sponge that is Mandrews this week. Not too keen on him pinning Tyrus off of Anderson’s move though. While the feud between EC3 and Spud is going on too long at this point, it continues to be somewhat entertaining. EC3 really shined in the backstage segment with his ultra-nefarious “Hello, Spud!” before holding up hair-clippers like some sort of serial killer.

THE wRong:
The main event being no-DQ: What was the point of this? Everyone waited until the ref was down to interfere anyway, so might as well have had it be a normal match. The rules as to who could face who were also very confusing during the intergender match earlier in the show, and in that case even the announcers didn’t seem to know what the deal was. Get your rules straight and make sure they’re logical. We shouldn’t be wondering why the hell people are doing the things we’re doing within the context of the rules. If this main event had to be no-DQ, then the BDC should have been going all DixieLand Beatdown the entire time. If we wanted a standard match with the gang warfare coming into play at the end, then go normal match with a ref bump. Come on, this is easy.

Noam Dar Vs. Rampage Brown: Who versus who? These guys seemed like pretty good wrestlers, but who the hell are they? We should be getting video packages introducing them rather than just throwing them out there for a match and having Bram squash them. This was weird and felt like a WCW Nitro ’99 jobber match. If they have no plans at all for these two guys, then this is fine. But since it appears that this was their “debut”, it sucked. The stuff afterwards with Bram and Grado was pretty weird too. Just a misstep segment in an otherwise sound two hours. Whole thing felt like it should have been a dark match for the Grado-loving live crowd.

The Lighting: Speaking of the live crowd, I know they’re there. Sometimes the lights sweep over them. You can clearly see them taking pictures well into the depths of the Hydro Arena during EC3’s pan-out entrance. But I can’t see them. Not being able to see the audience continues to be a problem with this show, making it seem a lot more lifeless than it actually is. The crowd does their part, being noisy and responsive to everybody (they were especially vicious to Joe), so let’s put the lights back on them and give them a face to go with the voice. This isn’t 1989.

THE Ridiculous:
NOTHING

The 411:

Everything I said last week about the company seeming like it’s in a holding pattern? That all still applies. This was a fun show, though, and there wasn’t really any major issue with it aside from my subjective problems with the lighting. The issues right now are with the company and production as a whole rather than the individual shows. It feels like a Saturday morning cartoon right now with the same cast of characters going around in circles week after week, the good guys battling the bad guys and everyone coming back for more the next week. I’d like to see the company really plan things out well in advance, giving us an overarching storyline that clearly builds towards something. The last time we got that was debatably 2013 with Aces and Eights slowly taking over. Also, the main event scene is starting to become a bit stale and in need of an infusion of excitement… an infusion of Ethan Carter III. What percentage is his arm at?

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: 7.8

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 968th edition is over…

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