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Wrestling’s 4R’s 6.04.12: WWE Smackdown, TNA IMPACT & CHIKARA’s iPPV Reviewed
How the 4R’s 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.
Let’s rock…
By: Greg DeMarco
Impact Wrestling 5.31.12 (LIVE):
QUICK RESULTS:
* Sting forced World Champion Bobby Roode to submit in 13:40 in a non-title match [3/6]
* X-Division Champion Austin Aries pinned Chris Sabin to retain in 3:30 [3/6]
* TV Champion Devon and Jeff Hardy fought to a no-contest in 4:21 [3/6]
* AJ Styles pinned Christopher Daniels in 11:10 [4/6]
[If you’re not familiar with these ratings, it’s my own Personal Entertainment Factor. I use a scale of 1-6 (6, in honor of the number of sides TNA’s ring should have), so there’s no middle rating.]
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels: I was glad to see these two men get the main event treatment on the first live Impact Wrestling of the summer. TNA didn’t quite build it as well as they built Joe-Angle a few weeks ago, but I still loved the match. I wasn’t a big fan of the finish, but I did like the Dixie follow-up. Yes, I did like it.
Bully Ray and Joseph Park Segment: I get the feeling his segment ran long based on the time of the X-Division championship match and Mickie James saying she had a match that got cut. But it was a great segment, and both men did a great job. It almost makes me think that Chris Park is more talented than the Abyss character allows him to be. I’m more excited about Bully Ray vs. Joseph Park for Slammiversary than I would be for Bully Ray vs. Abyss for Slammiversary.
Austin Aries vs. Chris Sabin: This is a mild “Right” for me. The match was crisp and well worked, but when Aries beats Sabin faster than he beats the guy who can’t win Gut Check, somethin’ ain’t right.
Austin Aries sprays Samoa Joe with his spray bottle: What a way to start a feud, eh? The funny part if, it’s totally believable for that to piss Joe off. Unfortunately, the match has reportedly been scrapped.
Gut Check Backstage Segment: Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed the backstage segment for Gut Check. It was another great look inside, and it was believable (if not real).
Devon vs. Jeff Hardy: Too short and the non-finish meant nothing. Plus, Devon is teaming with Garett on the PPV, not Hardy.
Gut Check In Ring Segment: Joey Ryan stepping up and challenging Taz was great. The rest? Eh.
TNA Establishes a Hall of Fame: The WWE (then Capitol Wrestling Corporation was created in 1952. It took 41 years for the creation of the WWE Hall of Fame, in 1993. I took less than 10 years for TNA. I’ll reserve judgment.
Sting vs. Bobby Roode: I’m actually okay with Roode vs. Sting for Slammiversary, provided Roode wins clean. And I was okay with this match. I’d rather Roode cheat to get out of the match, and Hogan create the PPV match that way. But having Roode tap to a weak Scorpion Death Lock was a big step backwards in his development as a world champion—where he had become dominant since Lockdown.
Brooke Hogan debuts with TNA: Ouch. This was terrible. Dixie is getting more comfortable out here, but Brooke was bad, and I don’t look at her and see any ounce of credibility. I was praying for a Christopher Daniels interruption, and that prayer wasn’t answered. Plus, Brooke didn’t announce a thing—not even a Knockouts Championship Match for Slammiversary. She gave us nothing.
NOTHING
The first live edition of Impact Wrestling was a mixed bag for TNA. The good outweighed the bad. I do maintain that if TNA had taped this show, the reaction would be worse—as we’d have four days’ worth of spoilers to marinate on. That said, TNA still has a few items to fix to really get some momentum rolling. SHOW RATING: 6.0 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale… 0 – 0.9: Torture |
By: Tony Acero
Smackdown! 06.01.12:
QUICK RESULTS
– Sin Cara Defeated Heath Slater [*1/2]
– Damien Sandow Defeated Ezekiel Jackson [NR]
– Ryback Defeated Ryan Shelton and Chris Lyons [NR]
– Sheamus Defeated Sheamus [***]
– Zack Ryder and Santino Marella Defeated Titus O’Neil and Darren Young [*1/2]
– Cody Rhodes Defeated Tyson Kidd [*]
– CM Punk Defeated Kane via DQ [***]
HELLO, DAVE: Similar to last week, we had an attempt to get an apology out of Sheamus that didn’t go quite as planned. Last week, Eve had her try and this week Otunga came out with his mug. Both representing Johnny who, I thought, was not in the building. They didn’t say that, but it appeared that way. Anyways, Sheamus seemed to stammer a bit in the beginning but it picked up quite nicely once Alberto came out and compared him to a peasant. I see they’re trying to get the word “Hooligan” over a bit too much, but if it helps sell shirts, then whatever. Anyways, this wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it sets the tone of what may come in the future. I can see Johnny Ace himself trying to come out and get his apology next week. We didn’t do anything new here, but sometimes we don’t have to. Also, seeing Otunga take a kick to the mug (pun intended) is always fun.
DAMIEN CONTINUES TO ENLIGHTEN: While I can complain about the obvious misuse of Big Zeke, he really hasn’t stood out at all during his time with the company. I will say that he shouldn’t be getting squashed in ANY match, though, and I found that a bit distasteful. Not so much that it dissuades me from pointing out that Damien Sandow has the IT factor that is needed to become a big time player and I cannot wait till he blows up in all of our faces. The man is golden on the mic and I see big things. This wasn’t the best way to continue his rise, I think, but it still works, I suppose.
ZIGGLER IS HERE…ALMOST: Since walking out on Monday night, you can almost feel the force behind Ziggler, as it is apparent they are gunning for big things for the guy and it’s about damned time. I often say that people like Ziggler don’t have to be rushed to the top, and he certainly hasn’t. But like Sandow, Dolph has shown time and time again that he has talent. I feel that when he is hindered with a script – such as the time he insulted Pat Patterson and his sorbet colored shirt that one PPV – he is pretty bad, but when let to develop his own persona and just be a prick, he glows. His in-ring work is great, and not just the excessive selling. (Let’s face it, at least he isn’t shaking seizure-like ala D-Von). There seems to be something festering here; his dislike of the loss on Monday, he cutting off Vickie during the intro, and Swagger’s interruption not working are all little plot developments that will add to him branching off on his own. I can feel the rise, and I like it.
A RHODES IS A RHODES IS A RHODES: Another superstar that is apparently tasting the very edge of the plateau of success is the young Cody Rhodes. If rumors are correct, he’s going up soon, and with Orton gone for a bit, it may just work out. Until then, however, he and Christian are focusing solely on the Intercontinental title. At the end of the day, this feud is only about one thing; the belt, and isn’t that what we IWC fans been clamoring for a while now? A feud that focuses on the prestige of a belt and two men who feel they can bring more to it than the other is exactly what we want, and who better than to have Christian and Cody be those men. It’s truly a perfect union of characters, wrestlers, and title that should shove Cody into the spotlight of the main event in no time.
AJ: She’s soooooo adorably psycho, I love it.
MAIN EVENT: Admittedly, this match started a bit slow, but what is one to expect with Kane in the ring. With that being said, it was still a strong outing that only got better with time. Punk focused on the arm of Kane and played the underdog story well, with his constant attempts of running uphill only to get pushed back down by Kane’s superior strength. They really did a lot to make Kane seem a viable threat here, even if he will be eating the pin come the pay-per-view. Still, they gave him the opportunity to not only look as if he was picking up a win against the WWE Champion, but also allowed him to chokeslam both Bryan and Punk, making it seem like he may just cause some trouble.
SIN CARA RETURNS: Last week, I said this guy coming back would be great to see but may ultimately lead to nothing. This week, we see him take on Heath Slater. While I love knowing that Heath will not be picking up another win, this is the same guy that had such a bad match with Cara that they had to re-record it, twice. Sin Cara is still pretty spry in the ring, showing off his spiffiness as only he can do, but he may very well become one-note if he has no competition. I’m not sure what they have planned for him, but they need to be careful. I also noticed they changed his intro just a tad, as it appears they no longer want him trampolining over the top rope, and instead have opted for a springboard crossbody to nothingness. Not that it’s a bad thing, just something I noticed, and I’m sure you did too. All in all, a nice welcome back to Sin Cara, but none too worthy of a Right.
RYBACK VS JOBBERS: This was, pretty much, a carbon copy of last week, nearly move for move. The promo that the two jobbers cut before the match was all kinds of bad. Are these two seriously trying to be wrestlers? It was pretty bad. Anyways, we get – yet again – another squash from Ryder, and similar to Brodus when he was continually squashing people that didn’t matter (and some people that did for that matter), I’ve lost interest. I want something more from the guy. I do like seeing little men get the shit squished out of them, but it can only go on for so long before the interest wanes and we begin to question why we should care.
RYDERTINO VS. O’NEIL AND YOUNG: So the guys that some of you want me to take notice of and give some sort of props lose to Santino and Ryder in about a minute? Sorry, I can’t get behind that. In reality, it’s not their fault that the match was cut short to lead to yet another Big Show, but even so, how can any fan get behind these guys if even the WWE is treating them as afterthoughts to the bigger storylines that are happening. There’s so much wrong with this all that I couldn’t get behind this part of Smackdown, even if I accepted the beat down that Show gave on RAW. On RAW, he had a thorough reason and went on a rampage that all made sense. This week, it just seems like they did this to remind us that Big Show = Mean. It didn’t make much sense to me, and I didn’t enjoy it. Of course, I can point out that Santino is a Champion, but we all know that doesn’t matter in his case, and likely won’t for as long as he’s holding the belt. Again, what was once a hot commodity in Zack Ryder is simply an afterthought for a larger story that really wasn’t needed. I think what bugged me the most is that up until now, Show has had pretty sound reasoning behind his turn, even if we didn’t want the turn. This – even if he claims that he’s tired of comedic characters – seemed forced, and I don’t like forced.
WE WANT KIDD: Poor Tyson. This isn’t in the wRong because he lost to Rhodes. Simply put, he’s lower on the food chain than Rhodes, so it makes sense. What I don’t like is how good Kidd is and how little he is used. The man is sound in the ring and deserves a storyline on the main show. They had something going with him on NXT where third-generation superstar Michael McGillicutty was ridiculing him for his attempts to be third-gen that had good, seamless storytelling, but it was on a show no one saw and McGillicutty isn’t all that great in the ring or on the mic. I just wish Kidd had more opportunities.
NOTHING
Often times, all Smackdown must do to please me is have two to three good to great matches and some sound storytelling. I don’t really ask for much. Tonight’s episode had its flaws, as they always will, but it had two great matches and some strong progression forward. With matches already set in stone for the PPV, it’s going to be all the more fun to watch the stories play out. SHOW RATING: 8.0 |
Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV Thoughts
by Larry Csonka
Match Results:
* Ultramantis Black defeated Ophidian @ 11:03 via pin [***]
* Dasher Hatfield & Mr. Touchdown defeated Mixed Martial Archie & Colt Cabana @ 16:15 via pin [**½]
* Ladder Match: Gran Akuma defeated Icarus @16:07 [****¼]
* Sara Del Rey & Saturyne defeated The Batiri @ 9:00 via DQ [*½]
* Lucha de Apuesta: Mask vs. Hair Match: Hallowicked defeated Tim Donst @ 14:13 via pin [***¾]
* Eddie Kingston, Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Soldier Ant & Green Ant defeated 17, The Shard, assailANT, combatANT, deviANT @ 9:30 via pin [***¾]
* Campeonatos de Parejas Match: The Young Bucks defeated Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano © @ 23:00 via pin to become the NEW CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas [***½]
OVERALL THOUGHTS: CHIKARA has once again put on another very good iPPV event. We had some quality wrestling, with a good opener, the great ladder match, the hair vs. mask match, a hot 10-man tag and the tag team main event. The show was paced well, coming in at just under three hours (with intermission) and it just felt fun.
Ophidian debuted a new look, but lost so there is the question if that will remain his look, or if his change will continue. Mixed Martial Archie is gone from CHIKARA, due to losing under shady circumstances. The match was exactly what it was supposed to be, Mr. Touchdown continued to be a cheating individual while Dasher Hatfield tries to play the good guy. Sugar Dunkerton returned on commentary and noticed this, so with the NEW Throwbacks having three points, you have to wonder if Hatfield will listen to Sugar, or if he likes winning matches and getting title shots.
The ladder match between Gran Akuma and Icarus was built up so well, and they delivered big time. Everything they did meant something, played into their history and they then backed it up with the match of the night.
While I am not a fan of DQ on PPV, CHIKARA hasn’t done this before, so they will get a “wait and see” approach. Delirious came out to destroy Sara Del Rey & Saturyne, and then seemed to bless the Batiri and take them under his wing in what appears to be a new faction. This also plays into the blogs and promos that Delirious has been doing, so I am interested.
The Lucha de Apuesta match was a good showing from both Donst and Hallowicked, as they worked very hard and told a good story, which played into the build of the feud. They did the big tease, where people thought Hallowicked would be unmasked, but good prevailed and the shaggy mane of Donst is no more. What is more telling is that Donst threw down his Young Lion’s Cup, which has been such a big part of his character for so long. Change is coming for Donst, and that is likely a good thing.
The ten-man tag was an outstanding match/brawl between the evil GEKIDO and the faces of CHIKARA. Before the PPV, the story was that Fire Ant was attacked by GEKIDO and sent to the hospital. The faces hit the ring and were ready to go with only four-men, but founder Mike Quackenbush returned from injury (at the hands of GEKIDO) and became the fifth man. While not at the same level, it was similar to the type of all out brawl you’d have between the Von Erich’s and Freebirds, where it was all action, big heat from the crowd and the faces got the win to make everyone happy. The usual good work from the usual suspects, Eddie Kingston throwing bitches around, the big balcony dive by Green Ant and Soldier Ant getting the big win was great. It wasn’t quite what I expected, as I thought that we may have some form of heel turn or a big reveal (namely 17) but they didn’t do that, and the story must continue. The after match was also a good touch as the faces were celebrating, minus Quackenbush, who instead tried to break 17’s fingers in retaliation for his injury. The overall package of the 10-man was very well done.
The main event tag match was a good tag match, but not my favorite of the evening. Gargano and Taylor are generally hated as the big heels, but the Bucks were presented as outsiders trying to take the titles from CHIKARA. The crowd was split for a lot of the match, and while the eventually got behind the champions, I feel that it took some of the heat out of the match. The first two falls were solid, but the action picked up very well in fall three, and we got new Campeonatos de Parejas. I am not a fan of the Campeonatos de Parejas being bounced around so much, but I hope that they have a plan with the “outsiders style angle” here with the Bucks.
The end of the PPV had two good videos, the first being Archibald Peck, wandering through Philadelphia like a sad panda, due to his loss. The almost knock off of the lonely man (Incredible Hulk theme) and him walking past the Rocky statue was a nice follow up to his disappointment of loss (both the match and Veronica).
They also had a video with Tommy Dreamer announcing that King of Trios would get extreme, because he was coming to participate. He announced Jerry Lynn and 2 Cold Scorpio as his partners. I like Dreamer more than most, Lynn is on a retirement tour and to see him in CHIKARA is cool, and Scorpio can still go pretty well. They will be a solid addition to the tournament, and Lynn and Scorpio could have some really fun matches on night three with the right opponents.
Overall a really good show, with a stream that was flawless on my end. The only complaint is that it was announced roughly 15-minutes before the event that the Internet speed at the venue is limited. That meant that they would not be broadcasting to Mobile and Roku Devices, just through computer for the night. That really annoyed me because I prefer to watch through my Roku, and learning the news 15-minutes before the show is simply infuriating. This is something that they should have tested before the day of the show. I understand why it was done, to keep the quality of the PC stream high, but you have to give me some more notice as a customer.
Big thumbs up and recommendation as CHIKARA continues to have one of the best booked products (especially continuity wise) in all of wrestling, and this show was proof of that. Well worth the $15.
SCORE: 8.4
YEAR IN REVIEW (PPV) by Csonka:
TOP PPVs:
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV 8.4
* DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 iPPV – 8.2
* DGUSA Mercury Rising 2012 iPPV – 8.1
* WWE Extreme Rules – 8.0
* EVOLVE 13 iPPV – 8.0
* WWE WrestleMania 28 – 7.9
* ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – 7.5
* ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – 7.4
* EVOLVE 12 iPPV – 7.3
* TNA Sacrifice – 7.2
* EVOLVE 11 iPPV – 7.0
* TNA Victory Road – 6.5
* TNA Against All Odds – 6.5
* WWE Over the Limit – 6.5
* TNA Genesis – 5.0
* WWE Royal Rumble – 5.0
* WWE Eliminating Chamber – 4.0
* TNA Lockdown – 3.0
TOP PPV MATCHES:
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night Two iPPV –ROH Title Match: Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin [****¾]
* From WWE Over the Limit – WWE Title Match: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan [****½]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker vs. Triple H [****½]
* From WWE Extreme Rules – World Title Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus [****¼]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – Low Ki, BxB Hulk and Akira Tozawa vs. Ricochet, PAC and Mazaaki Mochizuki [****¼]
* From EVOLVE 11 iPPV – Fit Finlay vs. Sami Calihan [****¼]
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV – Ladder Match: Gran Akuma vs. Icarus [****¼]
* From WWE Extreme Rules – John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar [****]
* From WWE Extreme Rules – WWE Title Match: Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk [****]
* From EVOLVE 11 iPPV – Low Ki vs. El Generico [****]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – El Generico vs. Sami Calihan [****]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – Open the Freedom Gate Title Match – Johnny Gargano vs. Masato Yoshino [****]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – Open the United Gate Tag Title Match: Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet and Masato Yoshino [****]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – Akira Tozowa vs. Masaaki Mochizuki [****]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – WWE Title Match: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho [****]
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – Last Man Standing Match – Kevin Steen vs. El Generico [****]
* From TNA Sacrifice – AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle [****]
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV – Lucha de Apuesta: Mask vs. Hair Match: Hallowicked vs. Tim Donst [***¾]
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV – Eddie Kingston, Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Soldier Ant & Green Ant defeated 17, The Shard, assailANT, combatANT, deviANT [***¾]
* From TNA Sacrifice – Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray [***¾]
* From TNA Lockdown – Bobby Roode vs. James Storm [***¾]
* From WWE Over the Limit – World Title Match – Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio [***¾]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – The Rock vs. John Cena [***¾]
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – ROH World Title Match: Davey Richards © vs. Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards [***¾]
* From TNA Victory Road – Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy [***¾]
* From TNA Against All Odds – TNA X-Division Title Match: Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley [***¾]
* From The ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – Eddie Edwards & Adam Cole vs. Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly [***¾]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – El Generico vs. Lince Dorado vs. Rich Swann vs. Cima vs. Chuck Taylor vs. Samurai Del Sol [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – Fit Finlay vs. Jon Davis [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – AR Fox vs. Sami Calihan [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – Low Ki vs. Jon Davis [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – DGUSA Open the Dream Gate Title Match: Johnny Gargano vs. AR Fox [***¾]
NOTE: Due to the list filling up, the matches rated “***½” have been dropped from the year-end list.
The 411 on Wrestling returned on Friday, and discussed Smackdown, Randy Orton’s suspension, TNA looking to do less PPV, WWE looking to merge titles and so much more! You can check out that show here.
Offtheteam.com’s OCHO sport show also returned on Saturday, Trent Howell and Steve Cook discussed the NBA Conference Finals, the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, the latest news from the land of baseball and the NFL, discussion of Terrell Owens, soccer and even…Kim Kardashian? You can check out that show here.
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