2012 Royal Rumble results and recap

Photo courtesy WWE.com

Last night’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view was… a pay-per-view. It certainly didn’t have that big time atmosphere we expect from one of WWE’s marquee events. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan retained their titles, John Cena and Kane fought to a double countout, the Funkasaurus won another squash, Sheamus is going to WrestleMania, and some women wrestled.

The night wasn’t without its notable moments, however, as the Royal Rumble match gave us a lot of campy comedy but also some memorable entrants. On the campy comedy side, Mick Foley and Santino had a Cobra v. Socko battle and all three announcers – Booker T, Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole – entered the match. That must have been what WWE was going for by hammering us over the head that anyone on the roster could enter the contest.

The entry of Michael Cole did lead to the return of Kharma, who eliminated Cole and Hunico before being tossed by Dolph Ziggler. First ever Royal Rumble winner Hacksaw Jim Duggan and the Road Dogg were surprise legends entrants.

Below is a match-by-match breakdown of the 2012 Royal Rumble:

Triple Threat Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan (C) defeated Big Show and Mark Henry

Mark Henry was very limited in this match, which basically turned into a one-on-one Show v. Bryan contest. It was okay for what it was and the ending made sense, with Show grabbing Bryan as he tried to escape the cage, then finally losing his grip on the champion. One thing that distracted me during the match was Michael Cole’s wishy washy commentary, changing from praising Daniel Bryan for his heel antics but then remembering he is supposed to hate Daniel Bryan and bashing him again.

Beth Phoenix, Natalya and the Bella Twins defeated Kelly Kelly, Tamina, Eve and Alicia Fox

Typical divas fare, although we did see a top rope dive from Kelly Kelly onto all the divas on the floor. As you would guess, there was “twin magic,” an Eve booty pop, Kelly Kelly handspring elbow, and not enough Beth Phoenix and Tamina ring time. Hopefully with the return of Kharma, the women’s division will focus more on wrestling, but it doesn’t seem promising.

John Cena and Kane fought to a Double Countout

The match itself was pretty good, with Cena getting his typical shtick in but Kane always having an answer. The double countout was predictable since it protects both men. I really didn’t mind Kane wheeling Zack Ryder out to the arena and then demolishing the Long Island Broski and John Cena, logic of him not just taking care of business in the back aside. There was some continuation of Eve’s feeling that Cena is responsible for Ryder’s injuries and I’m assuming that will play out a little more on Raw.

Brodus Clay defeated Drew McIntyre

Basic Funkasaurus match… Dance, squash, dance. The demise of Drew McIntyre continues.

WWE Championship Match
CM Punk defeated Dolph Ziggler

There was just way too much John Laurinaitis in this match. The in-ring action was great, as you would expect from Ziggler and Punk. With Triple H coming back on Raw to rule on whether or not Johnny Ace keeps his job, the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim Raw General Manager couldn’t screw Punk as planned. Even though he teased it, you knew it wasn’t happening.

I have no problem with that, really. What was worse was how much all those shenanigans took away from Dolph Ziggler. He became a sidecar to the Punk-Laurinaitis motorcycle. Hopefully Ziggler stays in the title chase because the guy is one of the best in the business right now.

Sheamus wins the Royal Rumble match

The final four came down to Big Show, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Chris Jericho. Show and Orton quickly were eliminated, which took a little steam out of the crowd. While I’ll admit I thought Jericho was an obvious choice to win, Sheamus is deserving of a title run once again. It just doesn’t feel that special since he’s been buried in his beef with Jinder “please hate this man” Mahal. Sheamus was well down my list of potential Rumble winners heading in but we’ll see how WWE builds this heading into WrestleMania. I would guess that Sheamus challenges for the Big Gold Belt since CM Punk v. Chris Jericho at ‘Mania makes so much sense it would be hard to pass up.

As I mentioned before there was too much campy comedy in this Rumble. Did we really need to see Michael Cole in the match? I didn’t mind Lawler and Booker T, in fact I mostly suspected it, but Cole? The Foley-Santino stuff was cute at first but got old fast, as mostly everything WWE thinks is funny does.

Ricardo Rodriguez appearing in full Alberto Del Rio mode was pretty good and was one of the minor hits in an otherwise underwhelming Rumble match. Kharma returning was a welcomed surprise but it would have made more sense for her to come out after Kelly Kelly hit all the divas with the dive off the top rope during the women’s match.

WWE SummerSlam Recap and Review

Image courtesy of WWE

The “biggest event of the summer” may not have felt like that tagline would suggest but it was a pretty good show that featured good wrestling and a surprise ending. I already gave you my thoughts on that, so this post will focus on the remainder of the show from last night.

In some ways the pay-per-view felt more like an extended episode of Raw, especially with the commercials from sponsors and backstage skits. It was all kept to a minimum, though, and they were necessary since SummerSlam only had five advertised matches. Furthering the Raw feeling was the opening match of the night, a hastily thrown together six man tag team match that began with mic time from The Miz and R-Truth.

The match itself – which featured Miz, Truth and Alberto Del Rio against John Morrison, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston – was very good and got the crowd going. Mysterio scoring the winning pinfall was necessary for him to have some build heading into his WWE Championship match on Raw.

The Sheamus v. Mark Henry matchup was better than I had expected and Henry is really thriving in his role as a monstrous big man. I thought they would go with a double countout ending, but Sheamus losing by countout still allows this feud to continue.

You know a PPV is good when even the Divas Championship match is passable. As much as I think Beth Phoenix should be the champ and the focus needs to be on women who can wrestle, I think Kelly Kelly retaining the title with a rollup pin was the smart call. It allows the program to continue and Phoenix looked very strong throughout the match. K2 showed she can have a decent match when put in the ring with a good worker.

The Wade Barrett v. Daniel Bryan match was my pick for Snoozer of the Night. I don’t mean that to seem as bad as it sounds, because the match was still good enough, it just lost the crowd. And I’ll probably catch hell for saying this on the internet, but Daniel Bryan just doesn’t seem as entertaining as I remember him in ROH and the other independents. His matches lately seem to be all kicks and a few moves and then a submission. Him losing doesn’t hurt too much and Barrett needed a good win to get some momentum back following what has been an awful year for him.

Randy Orton and Christian had the match of the night. Edge got a huge reaction when he was introduced before the match and WWE made the right call by not having him stay at ringside to support Christian. I thought it was a little too soon to take the belt off Christian and they instead should have had him score a decisive win, but the match was great. The crowd was hot for all of it and these two guys have great chemistry in the ring. Sadly, I think it’s the end of Christian’s time at the top of the card for the moment.

John Cena v. CM Punk wasn’t close to their Money in the Bank contest but that surely was not to be expected. I didn’t like the finish of CM Punk winning with Cena’s leg on the rope but the aftermath of Nash attacking and ADR cashing in made it make a little more sense. We’ll see how it all plays out on Raw.

Thoughts on the SummerSlam ending

I don’t love or hate the way WWE SummerSlam ended. I’m willing to let it play out a little further before I pass too much judgment.

On one hand, I’m not sure I want to see another retread of the same old “McMahon family drama” storyline, even though it seems we’re headed that way. Kevin Nash’s appearance at the end of the show, powerbombing newly crowned undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk, and then Alberto Del Rio cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase leaves open a lot of possibilities.

Was Kevin Nash instructed to take out the champ by Triple H, his longtime friend and former Kliq companion? Or did Stephanie McMahon, who appeared on the show several times, have a hand in the matter? Perhaps Alberto Del Rio paid off Big Sexy to do the hit?

The likely scenario is that Stephanie and the old regime do not want CM Punk to have the title and are behind the whole thing. If it’s done right, the story could be very interesting and continue to build CM Punk as a huge star in the eyes of the casual fans.

If not done right, and we know how WWE can drop the ball with a good story, it could lead us right back to the same old status quo.

But I’m willing to see how it plays out and I’m certainly interested to see what happens on tonight’s Raw. Building a continued investment in the storyline and the product, after all, is the point.

WWE Fatal 4 Way review

WWE’s Fatal 4 Way was a decent show that had a few surprises, some title changes, and an appearance by the NXT7. Rey Mysterio is the new World Heavyweight Champion, Sheamus captured the WWE Title and Alicia Fox became the new Divas Champion. The Miz and Kofi Kingston retained their respective titles.

The show, which cost $45 to order on PPV, ended about 30 minutes before 11pm ET. Even after adding in two late matches, the show ended way too soon. There really is no excuse for that to happen, and it certainly hurts WWE down the line. If you bought this pay-per-view and got somewhat cheated out of your money, why would you spend it again on the next show?

- The show ended after NXT attacked the four competitors in the WWE Title fourway match. In the process, Sheamus got a pin on Cena and became the new champion. He was then chased away by the NXT rookies as he raised the title on the entrance ramp. Aside from the continuing NXT invasion, the story will likely focus on how Sheamus violated the agreement Cena mentioned in his earlier promo that all four men would stick together if the NXT guys showed up.

I don’t mind Sheamus winning, as I think WWE has done a great job of building him up since his last run with the belt. The only thing that scares me is this likely means Sheamus holds the belt until Triple H is ready to wrestle again, at which time he’ll triumphantly ride back into town and win another title from the Celtic Warrior.

- Rey Mysterio pinning Jack Swagger to win the World Heavyweight Championship, after Kane had come to ringside and chased CM Punk away, had Twitter in a frenzy last night. I certainly don’t think giving Mysterio the title is the right call, but I think a lot of the hatred of it was misdirected.

My guess is WWE gave Rey the strap because he’s been working hurt for about six months now and was supposed to take time off before he accidentally injured Undertaker. WWE needed someone and probably rewarded Rey for sticking around by giving him the belt again. I also would assume that Rey loses the title quickly, but I might be wrong there. As far as him not being a heavyweight, this isn’t boxing.

The match itself was good in spots. One that a lot of people liked was when Jack Swagger did a belly-to-back suplex on CM Punk who suplexed Mysterio at the same time. While that was pretty cool, I liked it better when Kurt Angle did it to Randy Orton and Mysterio at WrestleMania 22.

- The match of the night was Chris Jericho v. Evan Bourne. The only problem with it is that the WWE didn’t advertise it before the show. With Evan Bourne being so over right now, why not at least toss is up on WWE.com and see if a few more people buy it? The way this pay-per-view was built up in the past few weeks made it feel like such a throwaway show that it seems very likely the buy rates will be bad.

Bourne won after hitting the shooting star press on a face-down Jericho, after a long match that saw a lot of counters and nearfalls. This match proved why Chris Jericho really is “the best in the world at what he does.” He went out and put on a great match because he wants to help elevate new stars.

The storyline with Jericho continually losing and getting more frustrated is going somewhere and, even though I hate to see Y2J lose on a weekly basis, I’m interested to see where it’s heading. For Bourne, this was meant to give him some momentum. I doubt he’s headed to the main event picture, but I also wouldn’t be completely shocked if he won the Money in the Bank match at the next pay-per-view.

- Kofi Kingston defeated Drew McIntyre in a very good opening match to retain the IC Title. I didn’t mind the overbooking at the end with Teddy Long not counting Drew’s pin, Hardy’s run-in, and Kingston picking up the win. It continues all the feuds that are going and I’ll be interested to see what happens next on Smackdown.

- The Miz defeated R-Truth to retain the US Title in an okay match. The crowd was absolutely dead for this one, which made it seem worse than it was.

- The Divas match was better than I thought it would be. It still wasn’t anything special, of course. After Eve hit a moonsault on Maryse, Alicia Fox tossed her out of the ring and pinned Maryse to become the new champion. I would have liked to see Gail Kim win the belt, but that really wouldn’t have made sense.

- The six-person tag match between the Hart Dynasty and the Usos was good, but was missing something. The crowd had a lot to do with it. I thought it would have made more sense to have the Usos go over, but having Natalya pin Tamina wasn’t terrible. It continues the heat between the two tag teams, since they’re still 0-0 against each other.

- This definitely wasn’t one of WWE’s best efforts, but the matches were given the proper amount of time and the action was good. The main complaint is the length of the show and how poorly it was hyped coming in.

WWE Over The Limit review

WWE tried to go Over The Limit with Sunday’s pay-per-view but came up short. On paper the card looked like it had great potential but instead we got a flat effort from WWE. One title changed hands, as Kofi Kingston dominated Drew McIntyre to win the Intercontinental Championship, and Randy Orton suffered a separated shoulder while pounding the mat in preparation for an RKO.

John Cena defeated Batista to retain the WWE Championship
We pretty much knew coming in that Cena was going to retain but the match was better than expected. I’ve never been a fan of I Quit matches because having to ask the wrestler if he wants to give up takes some of the drama out of the bout. This was more of a brawl than a wrestling contest, which is fine, but it dragged at points.

I liked how Batista grabbed the mic before the match began and told Cena this was his chance to quit. I didn’t like Cena acting like he was thinking about it and then hitting Batista with the microphone. It was more cheesy, “Nickelodeon” comedy from Cena and was pretty lame.

The spot where Batista powerslammed John Cena through the Spanish announce table was nice. After that both men fought through the crowd and Cena knocking Batista off the railing was well done. The security guys who caught Batista got the worst of that one, though.

Batista getting in the car and trying to run over Cena was just plain silly. For one, why would the keys be in the car on the ramp? Secondly, the bit dragged and the announcers tried to play it up like Cena was dead, when you could clearly see referee Mike Chioda to the left of the car talking to Cena. Another problem I have with this is that it sort of breaks the characterization of what wrestling is. Why not just bring out a knife and stab Cena at the start of the match if you’re okay with running him over? Drew McIntyre got “fired” for beating up Matt Hardy but there was nothing wrong with attempted vehicular manslaughter?

The ending, with Cena tossing Batista through the ramp, gives us a reason why Batista won’t be on television for a while, as many internet sources have reported. Sheamus came out at the end and delivered a nice kick to Cena’s melon, so that will be the next program.

TNA Sacrifice review

TNA delivered a pretty strong pay-per-view with last night’s Sacrifice. The show had its bad moments, of course, but overall it was good and featured some great wrestling. Below is a match-by-match breakdown of the PPV.

- The opening triple threat tag team match to determine a number one contender to the Tag Team Titles was really good. There were a lot of nice spots and the Motor City Machineguns came out of it next-in-line to challenge for the belts. The ending was a bit much, but the contest got 13 minutes and got the crowd going.

- The next match shut the crowd up quickly, as Rob Terry defeated Orlando Jordan to retain the Global Championship. Jordan is definitely trying with this new character but the people just aren’t feeling it. The same can be said for Rob Terry, who even less people care about.

Cena and Swagger both retain at lackluster Extreme Rules

WWE’s Extreme Rules was a very average pay-per-view effort from the ‘E. It certainly wasn’t “extreme” in the bloody, weapons, ECW sense, but it had its moments. Cena and Batista had the match of the night, save for the finish and CM Punk and Rey Mysterio put on a great show.

A match-by-match breakdown of the show is below.

- Let me get this out of the way early: The announcing team of Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Matt Striker was horrible. Beyond horrible, actually. And the real reason was Striker. Granted, Cole and Lawler are also terrible, but Striker has reached a new level of annoyance.

Aside from yelling, “Ooooohhhhhhh,” “Whooooaaaaaaa” and “Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh” at least three times per match, Striker’s wishy-washy bias was awful. One match he’s a heel commentator and the next he’s calling it down the middle. Bobby Heenan, he is not.

I used to like Striker. He clearly has a vast knowledge of professional wrestling and, at times, adds to the commentary by pointing out why wrestlers are doing certain things. Lately, though, he’s been unbearable to listen to.

WrestleMania XXVI match-by-match recap

WWE delivered a solid show with WrestleMania XXVI. Chris Jericho retained his title while John Cena became the new WWE Champion. Jack Swagger surprisingly pulled down the briefcase to become Mr. Money in the Bank and The Undertaker retired Shawn Michaels. Below is a match-by-match look at the card.

The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels in a No-DQ, No-Countout Streak v. Career Match
It isn’t often when a match as hyped as this lives up to the talk. But the rematch between HBK and ‘Taker certainly did. I don’t know if it was as good as their original encounter at WrestleMania XXV but it was definitely the match of the night.

The Undertaker suffered a kayfabe leg injury early in the match, which allowed even more for the possibility of Shawn Michaels ending the streak. Michaels was tombstoned on the outside of the ring and then kicked out of another tombstone in the ring. After Undertaker yelled at Michaels to stay down, HBK gave him his own trademark throat slash gesture, which incensed the Undertaker, who then delivered a jumping tombstone for the victory after about 23 minutes.

After the match, Undertaker and Michaels embraced, and the crowd chanted for HBK as he saluted them, walking up the ramp with tears in his eyes. I doubt this is really goodbye for Michaels, but he will almost certainly not wrestle until at least SummerSlam. Even then, he’ll be on more of a limited, big time appearance schedule.

WWE Elimination Chamber thoughts

WWE delivered a pretty good show with Sunday’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, with a few surprises and proper booking. I say proper, of course, as an opinion but I think the situations are right as we head down the stretch towards WrestleMania XXVI.

Below are some thoughts on the event, match-by-match.

World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber Match: The Undertaker (C) v. Chris Jericho v. John Morrison v. Rey Mysterio v. CM Punk v. R-Truth
Chris Jericho pins The Undertaker to become the new champion after interference from Shawn Michaels

There was a lot to like about this match and how it was booked. CM Punk continued his mid-match mic time and was on point, as usual. We saw another tease of the much-rumored Rey v. Punk program as those two put on some great ring work while alone inside the chamber. Morrison looked great and was elevated a bit in defeat.

The best booking revolved around the ending, though. After a series of counters of each other’s finishing maneuvers, The Undertaker had just delivered a powerbomb to Jericho and was setting up for the Tombstone when Shawn Michaels appeared from underneath the grating in the floor of the chamber, entered the ring and superkicked the Dead Man. A stunned Chris Jericho then made the cover as HBK stood over both men, staring down on ‘Taker.

This likely sets up the HBK-Taker rematch at WM26 and also, hopefully, Jericho defending his title against Edge.

WWE Title Elimination Chamber Match: Sheamus (C) v. John Cena v. Randy Orton v. Triple H v. Ted DiBiase v. Kofi Kingston
John Cena makes Triple H submit via STF to become the new champion

All six men were in the chamber together before there were any eliminations in this matchup that opened the event. Everyone looked strong and, surprisingly, Randy Orton was the first to be eliminated. What wasn’t surprising was the way it was booked.

Cody Rhodes came down to ringside and slipped a pipe through the cage for one of his Legacy brethren to use. DiBiase grabbed the pipe and, while Orton was on Cena’s shoulders for an Attitude Adjustment, hit Orton then Cena. The way it was done made it seem like striking Orton could have been accidental but as Orton lay on the mat, DiBiase covered him and eliminated the Viper.

This hopefully sets up another rumored WM match, Orton v. DiBiase. Although it could also be a three-way dance with Rhodes involved. We then got some rapid-fire pinfalls, with Cena and Triple H as the last two men. Cena locked in the STFU and, after some struggle, Trips tapped out.

At this point I thought it was a horrible decision, but it all would make sense soon.

WWE Title Match: Batista v. John Cena (C)
Batista defeats John Cena to become the new champion

Vince McMahon ordered this impromptu match, obviously as payment to Batista for roughing up Bret Hart, and likely furthering the Cena-McMahon-Hart storyline. The Animal made quick work of Cena, hitting a nasty looking spear and Batista Bomb after Cena landed one punch.

My guess is that we’ll see Batista defend the title against Cena at WrestleMania with McMahon and Hart in their corners. Cena is much better in the “face chasing the title” role and Batista has been awesome in his heel role.

Intercontinental Title Match: Kane v. Drew McIntyre (C)
Drew McIntyre defeats Kane to retain the IC Title

This match was very, very flat. The ring work was decent but the crowd just didn’t care. Coming off the WWE Title elimination chamber match and the surprise of Batista winning the title, there wasn’t a lot of energy left for a guy few care about in McIntyre and Kane, who no one really sees as a potential title holder.

The result was obvious and was certainly the right booking decision, but the match felt more like filler than anything else.

United States Title Match: MVP v. The Miz (C)
The Miz defeats MVP to retain the US Title

This match was pretty good but, again, the crowd wasn’t really into it. My main problem was that for the second pay-per-view in a row, these two squared off with absolutely no hype coming into the event. This was another surprise announcement and it makes very little sense. The Miz is one of WWE’s rising stars and some people were probably turned away from ordering the PPV with only four advertised matches.

Divas Title Match: Gail Kim v. Maryse (Vacant title)
Bait and switch: Michelle McCool and Layla defeat Gail Kim and Maryse when McCool pins Kim

Normally I would be angry with a switcheroo like this but who really cared about this match coming into the show? We got to see Maryse and Kim anyway, and had the added treat of McCool and Layla looking great. I don’t understand the delay in declaring a Divas champ, unless WWE is waiting for someone. Maybe they have a woman signed or are about to sign someone and want to put the strap on them?

FINAL THOUGHTS

* A pretty good show as a whole. Starting with a chamber match was good to get the crowd going, but they lost all of that steam until the final chamber match.

* I thought having Batista come out of the show as champ was the right move. It gets the belt off Sheamus heading into ‘Mania and sets up Tista-Cena (or maybe someone else but I don’t know who makes sense) for the title. Putting the strap on Jericho was also smart because we’ll hopefully get the Jericho-Edge match at ‘Mania that everyone wants to see, unless WWE tries a swerve to fool the internet smarks.

Quick thoughts on Survivor Series

While many probably considered Survivor Series to be boring and to lack punch, I think it was a card filled with smart booking. After the rapid pace of title changes, it was actually nice to see both of the top belts defended successfully.

*Clearly WWE is trying to push Sheamus to the moon and they showed that again when he pinned John Morrison during the Team Miz v. Team Morrison elimination match. I expected Morrison to pin The Miz to avenge his loss at Bragging Rights but the shining stars of that match were Miz, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. It seems WWE is actually ready to pull the trigger on their youth movement.

*The triple threat match for the WWE Title was very good, even though many were disappointed that John Cena was victorious. My money says Cena holds the title until WrestleMania.

*Kofi Kingston got elevated to star status last night when he pinned CM Punk and Randy Orton in the span of less than a minute to win the Team Kingston v. Team Orton match. Kofi has all the tools to be a top star, especially since WWE has let him drop his fake Jamaican accent.

*I think it was the right move for The Undertaker to hold onto the strap. It’s likely that he’ll match up with Batista in his next program. It makes sense since it’s been a few years since the two have squared off and Batista is a heel now, which should make it seem even more fresh.

*Speaking of Batista, the crowd was solidly behind him during his match with Rey Mysterio. The announcers tried to play it off that it was Batista’s home town of DC but it’s also a great gimmick for him. It reminded me a little of the “Attitude Era” when heels were cheered.