Cubed Circle Newsletter Issue #36: WWE No Way Out, Finals of the BOSJ, Tanahashi Defeats Okada, NXT and more!

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Cubed Circle Newsletter

 

The exception seems to have become the rule in terms of large issues and this week is no different. We have the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors, RAW, Impact, the new NXT, No Way out and more this week! You can also subscribe to the newsletter via email and have the newsletter sent straight to you mailbox every week. Email subscriptions@cubedcirclewrestling.com for more details or head over to cubedcirclewrestling.com.

 

Tanahashi Defeats Okada For the IWGP Title

 

On June 16th at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium for the New Japan Dominion show, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This ended a four month long impressive run from Okada and has now brought Tanahashi into his sixth title run.

 

The outcome came as a disappointment to some people as Okada has been performing very well as of late. It is actually a pretty strange situation, since when Okada first won the championship in February many people were upset that he was chosen as the one to end Tanahashi’s long fifth reign. Yet here we are, a mere four months later and the tides have turned completely.

 

This is in part due to Okada’s brilliance and rapid improvement over the past few months. He made his return to New Japan in January at New Japan’s big Tokyo Dome show defeating YOSHI-HASHI and conducting a near catastrophic promo, challenging Tanahashi later that night. But, New Japan did a phenomenal job at hiding his flaws and accentuating his positives. For one he was given Gedo as his talking piece, who even for some one who is not fluent in Japanese is a very entertaining talker. And he was given the Rain Maker as a finishing move that means absolute death when hit.

 

Apparently the company planned this change months in advance, far preceding the purchase of New Japan by Bushiroad. This is a good sign, because not only was Okada given a long reign, but the CEO of Bushiroad is apparently very high on him.

 

This isn’t a situation where they put the championship on a man that is not over either. In fact Tanahashi is still the biggest star in the company by far, however I have a feeling that this was not done for fear of Okada not drawing and more for artistic purposes – meaning that they are going somewhere with the newer generation stars, Naito and Okada.

 

From what I have heard the match was very good which was what was expected and Tanahashi pinned Okada with the tombstone piledriver. The move that Okada used on Tanahashi following a six man tag at the ninth day of the BOSJ. Apparently Tanahashi reversed the Rain Maker, but did not kick out which is another good sign, because that may be one of the most valuable assets they have – not only for Okada, but also for the person that finally kicks out of it.

 

NewJapanis left in an interesting situation now. They have booked Togi Makabe as challenger for the All Japan and New Japan joint show, who will surely loose. But, as far as long term approach goes they will probably need to go with Naito or Okada again. You don’t want to beat either man, but you also don’t want to change the belts too quickly. Naito has some great chemistry with Tanahashi and a feud has been set up through some tag matches, however it seems to have been cooled off to some extent.

 

The most logical way forward that I can think of would be to build Tanahashi back up having him beat everyone expect Okada and Naito. And then maybe after an Okada Naito program make the change. But, I trust New Japan’s direction regardless, it seems that they are going in a definite direction and they have some of the best most logical booking in the business as of right now.

 

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals June 10th 2012

Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

 

1. Jado & Gedo vs. Daisuke Sasaki & Angel de Oro

There was some comedy at the start of the match with Jado and Sasaki. Jado did the Flair flop after a dropkick from Sasaki and tagged in Gedo. The fans were chanting for Oro, who is really over for the amount of time he has been with the company, he was tagged in. Landed an armdrag on Gedo and feigned a dive, but he and Sasaki were attacked from behind by Jado. The heel team of Jado and Gedo worked on Oro after the cheap shot. Oro landed a dropkick on both Gedo and Jado and made the hot tag to Sasaki, who ran wild. Sasaki got both Gedo and Jado on the outside and landed a topé suicida on Jado and Oro landed a tumbling moonsault to the outside on Gedo. Sasaki missed an elbow from the top and sold the arm. Jado landed a kick to the arm and a backbreaker Russian leg sweep combo into a crossface for the win in 05:39.

** ½

2. Rocky Romero, Brian Kendrick & Alex Koslov vs. KUSHIDA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi

Takashi and Koslov started off and Takashi landed a dropkick on Koslov forcing the tag to Romero, who went at it with BUSHI. Kendrick was tagged in with a slap to the back from Romero and there was some comedy with Brian Kendrick and his mirror. However Brian Kendrick got the leg of BUSHI, which led to the tag to Koslov who landed the Kazatzka kicks and double boots to the face for two. The faces were knocked off of the apron by Romero, who landed a million lariats in the corner, which aggravated and astonished his partners who could not find an opening for the double team. BUSHI made a comeback with a hurricanrana headlock take down combo on the heel team and he finally made the hot tag to KUSHIDA who ran wild. KUSHIDA landed a standing moonsault on Kendrick and Koslov, followed by a handspring back elbow. KUSHIDA went to the top rope, but he was pulled to the outside by Romero, who landed a topé on Takashi. However this lead to BUSHI landing a hurricanrana from in the ring onto Romero, Koslov responded with a splash from the top onto BUSHI and KUSHIDA finally landed the top rope Great Sasuke style Senton Bomb onto the heel team.  KUSHIDA landed some kicks and went for the highkick on Kendrick, but Romero interfered. Romero was taken out by Takahashi with a missile dropkick and the tag was made to him from BUSHI. He ran wild landing a big hurricanrana and two big fisherman’s suplexes on Koslov. Koslov landed an enzuigiri and went for the roaring elbow, but Takahashi got a small package for two. However both men got straight back to their feet and Koslov landed the roaring elbow for the win in 07:33.

***

3. Best of the Super Jr.  Semi Final

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. PAC

 

PAC came straight out of the gate with a running dropkick and tumbling moonsault to the outside. PAC followed this with an amazing shooting star press to the outside from the top rope. PAC covered Taguchi for the count of two, once he made his way back into the ring. This was followed by a big exchange of reversals, culminating in a dropkick and topé con giro from Taguchi. Once both men were back in the ring Taguchi began to work on the arm ofPAC.PAC attempted to make a comeback with elbows, but Taguchi countered into an armbar which had PAC screaming until he reached the ropes. PAC took Taguchi down with some running shoulder tackles and a huge kick in the corner, which made Taguchi crumble down. PAC landed a springboard 450 splash for the count of two. Taguchi got a crucifix backslide for the count of two and then locked in a modified kimura on the injured arm, but PAC made it to the ropes. PAC countered a suplex with a kick and Taguchi landed a running dropkick in the corner, but PAC responded with a huge running enzuigiri. Both men made it back to their feet and began to exchange elbows, with PAC getting the better of the exchange. PAC went for a big kick, it was countered by Taguchi who went for a suplex, PAC reversed, but Taguchi landed a huge kick. PAC landed an enzuigiri and went for the corkscrew shooting star press, but Taguchi moved. PAC got a rollup for two, but Taguchi landed two front suplexes and the chickenwing facebuster for the win in 10:38.

*** ½

4. Best of the Super Jr. Semi Final

Low Ki vs. Prince Devitt

 

Both men went straight at it with elbows and some super fast paced exchanges. Devitt landed a dropkick and went for the topé con giro, but Low Ki cut him off with a big forearm. Ki proceeded to land some forearms in the corner and some big kicks to a downed Devitt. Ki went to the top, but he was caught with a big flying dropkick from Devitt knocking him to the outside, setting up a beautiful topé con giro. Devitt stacked up a pile of chairs on the outside and went for something on the chairs, but Ki countered and dropped him right on top of the pile. Devitt made it back into the ring, but he was immediately caught with a flying dropkick. Ki went for a kick of some sort, but he was caught with a pelé which led to a chop exchange. Ki was caught with a lariat and a flying dropkick into the corner, followed by a double foot stomp to the back of the neck. Devitt went for Bloody Sunday, but Ki caught him with a kick. Devitt landed Bloody Sunday for two and a double stomp to the gut. Low Ki landed a double foot stomp to the leg of Devitt on the ground and locked in a sharpshooter. He pulled Devitt to the centre, but he made it to the ropes. Ki went back to the leg and locked in the sharpshooter again for the submission in 08:50.

*** ¼

5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs.

Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI

 

The faces interrupted the heels’ entrance which resulted in brawling on the outside, even Captain New Japan was in on the ambush. Kojima strangled Yano on the outside and Iizuka was stomped by Tenzan. Everyone was back in the ring. Tenzan landed a brainbuster on Iizuka, but it was broken up by Yano, which resulted in Kojima and Yano brawling on the outside. Tenzan landed a big headbutt, but the next few spots weren’t filmed and were missed due to Kojima’s chair shots on Yano on the outside. The match broke out to the outside with Tenzan landing some chair shots on Iizuka, who sold it by convulsing. While this was happing New Japan took out HASHI and Kojima ripped off a turnbuckle pad. Kojima and Tenzan double teamed Iizuka and looked like absolute monsters. Kojima landed a brainbuster for the count of two on Iizuka and landed some shots to the head for good measure before tagging in Tenzan. Tenzan knocked Iizuka down in the corner with a big lariat and landed the top rope bulldog for two. Iizuka landed an atomic drop and finally made the tag to Yano, who landed Mongolian chops on Tenzan. Kojima was tagged in and landed Kobashi style machine gun chops on Yano. He went to the top, but Iizuka bit the leg, however he was taken out by Tenzan and Kojima landed an elbow for two. Yano and Kojima exchanged strikes and elbows, but Yano got the better of the exchange. Yano went for a big lariat, but Kojima landed a shot to the arm. Kojima landed an ace crusher and tagged Captain New Japan in, which was the beginning of the end. He came off of the ropes, but his leg was helf by Iizuka. Yano came off the ropes, but his leg was held by Kojima and him and Tenzan landed the 3D. NewJapanwent for the big punch, but Yano got a low blow and roll up for the win in 09:50.

** ½

 

After the match the heels beat down the face team with chairs and Iizuka grabbed the glove landing a slap on Kojima and Tenzan. Kojima and Tenzan were taped to the ropes, which allowed the heels to land a chair shot on New Japan and they began to cut his suit. They ripped off his pants, which seems to be a disturbing trend in wrestling in 2012. Yano cut a promo and the heels walked off, leaving the faces defeated.

6. TAKA Michinoku, Minoru Suzuki & Taichi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask

Suzuki and Makabe, the eternal rivals started the match off, just like they do in just about all of the six mans. Suzuki landed a big headbutt that had Makabe dazed, but he came off with a knee. Taichi was tagged in and he came at Makabe like a small child, which Makabe completely blew off. Makabe landed a powerslam and tagged in Liger. Taichi taunted Liger in and outside the ring, but Liger got the better of Taichi with a baseball slide, which resulted in Taichi retreating with a tag to Michinoku. Tiger Mask prepared to go at it with Michinoku, but he was caught from behind by Taichi who attempted to damask him. Tiger Mask went for a topé, but he was pulled to the outside by Taichi and Makabe was pulled off of the apron by Suzuki. Brawling ensued. Back in the ring Michinoku, Suzuki and Taichi worked on Tiger Mask in their corner, but Tiger Mask began to fight back with strikes and pulled at the hair of Suzuki. However he was halted with knees in the corner. Suzuki landed a big knee to the back, Tiger Mask shot back up and landed a slap, but he was pushed back into the heel corner. Tiger Mask and Michinoku exchanged kicks which resulted in both men going down, but Makabe and Suzuki were tagged in. Makabe ran wild landing a powerslam and some big lariats in the corner. He then proceeded to unload on Suzuki in the corner and land a northern lights suplex for two. Suzuki landed some kicks to a grounded Makabe’s chest for two, but both men worked back to their feet and Suzuki landed a dropkick. In came Liger and Taichi. Taichi pushed Liger into the referee which allowed the heels to take complete control. A steel chair was brought in and shots were landed on Liger. Taichi pulled pieces of Liger’s mask off and threw them all over the place. He pulled his trunks off, but Liger made it to his feet and Suzuki was neutralized by Makabe. Liger went for a powerbomb, but he was superkicked and Suzuki landed the Gotch style piledriver in 12:53. Half of Liger’s mask was removed by Taichi, who pinned him with the modified Gedo clutch.

** ¾

7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii

 

Tanahashi and Okada started off and exchange uppercuts. Okada knocked Tanahashi down with a shoulder block, but Tanahashi landed a second rope crossbody. Ishii was tagged in together with Goto and they went right back to the lariat exchange from their encounter on the ninth night of the Best of the Super Juniors. Neither man budged, but Ishii finally caught Goto with a huge lariat knocking him down and he tagged in Nakamura. Nakamura landed kicks and Goto started to hulk up, but his comeback was quickly halted with a knee to the gut. Goto landed a leg lariat in the corner and went to the top rope, but he was kicked due to interference. This allowed Nakamura to land a knee to the gut of Goto while he was held by Ishii. Nakamura proceeded to land a back suplex, he went for a big knee, but Naito cut him off with a dropkick. Nakamura, Ishii and Okada landed an arm over shoulder triple heel boot shot to the face of Goto. Okada landed a dropkick to the back of the head of a grounded Goto and made the cover for the count of two. Ishii was back in and landed some kicks and a slap on Goto, this lead to an elbow exchange where Ishii got the better of Goto knocking him down. Ishii and Goto battled for a suplex, but Ishii got the better of Goto for a third time with a suplex for two. Goto landed a fireman’s carry neckbreaker over the knee on Nakamura and crawled to his partners, but they were knocked off of the apron. Ishii landed an accidental lariat on Okada, which allowed Goto to land a lariat of his own on Ishii and make the tag to Naito. Naito ran wild landing an enzuigiri on Nakamura and a missile dropkick followed by two bridging German suplexes for two. Nakamura caught Naito with an enzuigiri and a huge axe kick. Okada was tagged in and he landed a dropkick for the count of two. Naito responded with a lariat and after a long amount of thought and reflection Naito made the tag to Tanahashi who was begging for it. Tanahashi knocked the heels off of the apron and landed a dragon screw leg whip on Okada for two. Tanahashi went to the top rope, but he caught by Okada who landed the belly to back over the shoulder and over the knee neckbreaker. Tanahashi went for the tombstone, but it was reversed into a straight jacket neckbreaker from Okada for two. Okada landed an elbow from the top and went for the rainmaker, but Tanahashi ducked it. Okada landed a flapjack and tagged in Ishii who landed a lariat in the corner. Ishii followed this with a delayed brainbuster from the top rope. Goto caught Ishii with a lariat, but he was caught by Nakamura. Naito halted Nakamura, he was in turn caught by Okada, but Tanahashi finally caught Okada with a switchblade. Ishii came at Tanahashi, but he was switchbladed for his trouble, Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow, but Ishii moved. Ishii landed a powerbomb on Tanahashi, but the pin was broken up by Goto. Ishii landed a huge lariat for two and Tanahashi responded with the straightjacket suplex for two. Tanahashi then landed the High Fly Flow for the win in 15:47. After the match Okada landed the tombstone piledriver and rainmaker on Tanahashi.

 

This match was a good follow up to the match on night nine of the BOSJ. It seemed that they blew off some of the heat between Tanahashi and Naito, but I think that was more to make room for Tanahashi Okada and less like dropping the idea completely. After all their were still one or two intense moments in the match and it played out logically with Naito seeing what he did to the team last time around and rethinking his actions

*** ½

8. Best of the Super Jr. XIX Finals

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Low Ki

 

Low Ki again came out straight out of the gate with a hard shot. Taguchi landed some shots, but Ki hit Taguchi with a stiff shot and he fell to the mat. Ki locked in a modified crossface and landed a suplex for two. Ki lifted the padding on the outside and went for a suplex, but it was blocked by Taguchi who landed a suplex of his own on the mat. Taguchi landed some slaps to the chest which led to an elbow exchange. Low Ki got the better of the exchange with a back fist that was way to stiff and injured Taguchi’s eye. As Taguchi stood up he was caught with a kick, but he responded with a big lariat knocking Ki to the mat. Taguchi fought Ki off with chops and rammed Ki’s head into the second turnbuckle. Ki responded with big chops and went for a kick, but he hit his head on the second turnbuckle again. Ki was knocked to the outside and Taguchi went for a dive, but Ki was out of place. However Taguchi landed a defiant springboard plancha. Ki threw a chair at Taguchi on the outside, it was caught, but it only served as a distraction for Ki to land a dropkick. Ki grabbed a table from under the ring and placed Taguchi on the table. Low Ki went to the top rope, but he was caught by Taguchi who landed the chicken wing facebuster on the table, which never broke and looked like it really hurt for Low Ki. Ki made it in at the count of nineteen and he was covered for two. Taguchi landed two of the three amigos, the third was blocked, but Taguchi landed a front suplex anyway. Taguchi went for the chicken wing facebuster, but Ki landed a stomp and a huge kick to the gut followed by a double foot stomp to the back for two. Taguchi got a small package for another nearfall. He got another one for the same result and was caught with the rolling Liger kick. Ki landed the Ki Crush for two. He then went up to the top and landed the double foot stomp, but Taguchi still kicked out! Ki went for the phoenix splash, but Taguchi moved and landed a tiger suplex for two.  Taguchi landed the chicken wing facebuster, but Low Ki showed his resilience and kicked out. Taguchi finally landed the chicken wing double knee gut buster for the win in 17:01

 

This was a very good final and although it wasn’t anywhere close to last year’s it was still really good. Taguchi’s eye was really swollen after the match from the back fist and it looked like Low Ki roughed him up.

****

 

WWE No Way Out June 17th 2012

East Rutherford, New Jersey

 

Overall Show Thoughts

 

This was the worst WWE show of the year so far. The Word Title matches were good, but nothing to write home about and there was a lot of bad on the show. This doesn’t seem to be the rule at this point, but more of an exception. The show seemed to drag and for only two fun matches out of nine to deliver a decent performance, that is a pretty miserable performance.

 

1. World Heavyweight Championship Match

Sheamus vs. Dolf Ziggler

 

Ziggler asked Vicky for a kiss when Sheamus came straight at him with a brogue kick mimicking the Mania spot, but he missed. Sheamus kept taking Ziggler down to the mat after the lock up. Ziggler locked in a sleeper, but Ziggler was perched on the top rope by Sheamus. Ziggler slapped Sheamus, but Sheamus responded with a slap of his own knocking Ziggler to the outside. As Ziggler got offense in the crowd chanted yes, suffice to say he was popular. Sheamus landed a big elbow for two. Ziggler pulled Sheamus’s arm into the post and he landed a DDT for two. Ziggler locked in an abdominal stretch on the mat and did the obscenely stupid handstand, which Lawler made a point of mentioning. Ziggler countered the fireman’s carry into a spike DDT for two. Ziggler landed a dropkick for two and locked in a head scissors on the mat. Sheamus powered out and landed some headbutts, Ziggler got a rollup with his hands on the rope, but the referee saw and ordered a break. Sheamus got a package of his own for two and powered out of a body scissors from Ziggler. Sheamus began to land axe fists, he went for a big knee, but Ziggler locked in a sleeper hold which made the crowd happy. Ziggler was throw over the ropes and went for a very sloppy crossbody, but he was caught. He went for the sleeper again, Sheamus reversed it into a fireman’s carry, but Ziggler landed a fameasser for two. The crowd began to chant for Ziggler when Lawler said “Listen to this crowd lets go Sheamus!” which was both insulting and obscenely humorous. Sheamus went to the top rope, Ziggler followed, but he slipped. Ziggler landed the top rope X factor for two. He went for the Zig Zag, but Sheamus landed a back breaker and landed the blows to the chest. Ziggler locked the sleeper hold in again, but it was countered into the over the shoulder belly to back piledriver and the brogue kick for the win in 15:08.

*** ¼

 

Vince was backstage. He was healthy and unlikeDel Riowho was off the show due to a concussion, Vince is obviously impervious to illness so that wasn’t sold. He was approached by Laurinaitis who said that he was sorry. He said that Vince shouldn’t have gone out, but a man of his stature may not need to deal with those issues. He said that their business relationship would be better after Big Show defeated Cena. Vince responded by putting his hand up and shutting his door. Matthews appeared out of the void and Laurinaitis destroyed him, saying that he was a wannabe wrestler who couldn’t announce and wasn’t even fit to ask a question. Laurinaitis said that he had a job to run then and into the future.

 

2. Tuxedo Match

Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez

 

This match was terrible, but it was just about what I expected. It wasn’t as bad as some of the other tuxedo matches in recent memory like Hemme and Big Fat Oily guy, but it was still at the “worst match of the year” level.

 

They compared suits and they bragged and bantered back and forth. Ricardo tore a piece of Marella’s tuxedo; Marella responded by tearing a piece of Ricardo’s tuxedo which lead to an entire arm of Ricardo’s tuxedo being torn off. Ricardo tore the back of Marella’s suit, which led to Marella slapping Ricardo and shouting that it was his favourite tuxedo. This led me to asking the following simple question “why did you come to the match in your favourite tuxedo?” There was a matador spot with Ricardo being the bull. Ricardo tumbled to the outside and Marella tore off Ricardo’s shoes which the crowd responded to by chanting “boring”. Ricardo’s shirt was pulled off, but he landed a chinbreaker on Santino. Santino went for the cobra, but Ricardo raked the eyes and threw the cobra away. He proceeded to pull Marella’s shoes and pants off. He then went to the socks, but Marella had a cobra on the foot. He landed a push with the foot, kipped up and landed a front kick which Booker called “beautiful” like it was a kick delivered straight from the feet of Anderson Silva. This finally led to the main spot of the match where Marella pulled off the pants and Ricardo’s underwear hadDel Rio’s face on it.

-* ½

 

CM Punk was interviewed by Matt Striker. He wanted to know what the deal was with Punk’s relationship with AJ. Punk wanted to know what relationship Striker was talking about and he said that he digs crazy chicks, but he digs the WWE title more. He said that he was wrestling against a technician and bar fight monster, but he said that he has always been beating the odds. AJ came by and wished Punk luck and kissed him on the cheek. Punk said that luck is for losers, Striker gave AJ the microphone, but she just glared at him.

 

3. Intercontinental Championship Match

Christian vs. Cody Rhodes

 

They went back and forth. Christian landed some shoulder blocks andRhodessold the arm. Christian landed a slap and droppedRhodesto the outside. Christian landed a baseball slide andRhodespulled the leg of Christian which led to him landing on the apron face first.Rhodesworked on the arm of Christian. Christian went for the low blow spot in the post, but he was pulled into the post shoulder and head first.Rhodeslanded a front suplex and pushed Christian to the outside from the top rope.Rhodeswas thrown into the steps and landed a tornado DDT on the outside. Christian made a comeback landing shoulder blocks and a missile dropkick for two. Christian got the drop toe-hold into the ropes and went for the big punch on the outside, butRhodesmoved. Christian landed a crossbody, butRhodesrolled through for the count of two.Rhodeswaited for a really long time for Christian to get into position and he landed a frankensteiner for two. Rhodes went back to the shoulder, Christian went for the unprettier, but Rhodes landed the Hardcore Holly style kick to the gut andAlabamaslam which seemed like a very random imitation. Christian landed the reverse DDT and went for the spear, butRhodesrolled out before Christian could hit it. Christian landed a sunset flip, butRhodesrolled him up for two. Christian landed the unprettier for two which was a great near fall. Christian went for the frogsplash, butRhodesgot the feet up. He went for the disaster kick; it was reversed into the unprettier, which was in turn countered into another disaster kick attempt, which was finally countered into the spear. This allowed Christian to retain the Intercontinental championship in 11:31, in a fun match.

***

 

4. Primo & Epico vs. Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd vs. Darren Young & Titus ‘O Neil vs. The Usos

 

Gabriel and the Usos went at it in a big athletic exchange. He was thrown into the air and caught in a big Samoan drop. The Usos dominated, Neil got the blind tag and went after Gabriel. Gabriel landed some spin kicks on Young, but Epico was tagged in and they double teamed Gabriel. Epico landed a back suplex variant of the three amigos. Kidd was tagged in and landed a great kick combo on Primo and a guillotine legdrop followed by a neckbreaker. Primo landed the backstabber on ‘O Neil, but things broke down and culminated in a double topé onto everyone on the outside. Promo capitalized with a cover in the ring for two. Young got the tag and everyone else landed back on the outside. Kidd landed a frankensteiner on Primo off of the top rope onto everyone on the outside! The finish came whenWashingtonthrew Primo back into the ring which allowed Young to land the double knee gutbuster for the win 09:29.

 

This resulted inWashingtonturning on Primo and Epico after the match, a beat down ensued. I presume that Primo and Epico turned face through all of this, but it wasn’t made all that clear. The match itself was really fun, the Usos were great and so were a lot of the other men.

***

 

The new Money in the Bank promo was shown. It was pretty fun involvingDel Riobathing in campaign among other things. They finally showed a Lesnar video package and Triple H came out. He said that he had spent half of his life in the ring and it was all that he had wanted to do. He said that he now had a real job, even though he never wanted one and it was a corporate job on top of it he said. He said that he had to deal with legal mumbo-jumbo, because of Paul Heyman and he isn’t a corporate kind of guy he is an ass kicker. He said he had an idea. He said that Lesnar was a fighter and ass kicker, but the last time he had seen Triple H he jumped him from behind and broke his arm. He said that he would be 100% and in fighting shape in a few weeks just in time for summer (that is one futuristic cast). He said that they should put all the “crap” behind them, because it was about Lesnar and him – two fighters. He said he wanted to fight Lesnar and fight him bad. The match would take place at Summer Slam and it wouldn’t be about anything else, it would just be a fight he said. He closed by saying “Brock Lesnar lets fight” or he would be a quitter and Triple H would be waiting.

 

AJ was backstage withBryan. He said that it wasn’t the time. She said that she just wanted to tell him that one part of her still hadn’t gotten over him and she wanted to wish him luck.

 

5. Diva’s Championship Match

Layla vs. Beth Phoenix

 

Layla put on a tiara and mimickedPhoenixand danced around. This led to bothPhoenixand Layla running around the ring.Phoenixcowered and Layla landed a dropkick for two. Layla was thrown to the outside and slammed into the barricade, she was covered in the ring for two. Layla got a rollup onPhoenixfor two.Phoenixlanded a backbreaker and stretched Layla out.Phoenixwent for the Glam Slam, but Layla fell backwards for a count of two.Phoenixgot a nearfall and Layla landed a springboard crossbody for the count of two. There was a mess-up with someone letting go to early following an Emerald Flowsion.Phoenixwent for a gorilla press, but it was countered into a spike DDT for the count of two. Layla then won with a neckbreaker in 06:55.

¼ *

 

AJ approached Kane backstage. He was sitting under a red light which seems to hover over him like a black cloud of some sort. She said that she couldn’t really explain, but she just wanted to wish him good luck and she kissed him on the cheek. They then passionately kissed, which made me wonder if any of these people watch their own matches or segments.

 

6. Sin Cara vs. Hunico

 

Hunico grabbed the arm of Cara, who proceeded to land an arm drag. He went for a topé, but he caught his knee. Hunico landed a giro on Cara for two, followed by duel feet to the face for a nearfall. Hunico locked a headlock in on Sin Cara and he went for the Gory Special, but it was countered into an armdrag. Hunico landed a backbreaker for two and then went back to the headlock. Hunico followed this with a powerslam for two. The crowd really wasn’t into it and chanted for Ryder. Hunico landed a sit out powerbomb for two and Cara landed a super lax hurricanrana. Sin Cara landed a kick, a hurricanrana and dropkick, followed by the faceplant variant of La Mistica for the win in 05:47. This is the type of match that you get when you force a good luchador into working the WWE style.

**

 

7. World Heavyweight Championship Match

CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

 

Punk and Bryan sandwiched Kane with kicks while the crowd exchanged yes and no chants. This led to a strike exchange between Punk and Bryan. Bryan and Kane were on the outside and Punk landed a bodypress onto both of them. A cover was made onBryanby Punk for two and Punk was thrown into a barricade on the outside.Bryanwent for a flying kick, but Kane landed an uppercut. Punk was rammed back first into a ringpost and he was stretched and bent around the post. Kane landed a dropkick to Punk who was on the ground for the count of two. Kane locked in a body scissors andBryanlanded a running dropkick on Punk in the corner. He was caught by Kane who landed a sidewalk slam for two.Bryanlanded a clothesline on Kane, but he never went down.Bryanknocked Kane down with some kicks followed by one to the face. Punk landed chops onBryan, butBryanlanded knees to the gut and a suplex.Bryanwent to the top rope, but he was caught by at the top by Punk. Kane landed an uppercut on Punk and they bickered for the suplex, which resulted in a strike exchange andBryanlanding a missile dropkick onto both of them and covering Kane for two.Bryanlanded the yes kicks on both Punk and Kane, which the crowd really liked.Bryanlanded the buzzsaw kick on Kane and went for one on Punk, but he was rolled up and Punk landed the high knee on Kane and Bryan. Punk landed a neckbreaker on Kane, butBryanbroke up the pin and Punk landed a powerslam onBryanfor two. Kane gotBryanin the electric chair position and Punk landed a clothesline off of the shoulders of Kane. Kane coveredBryanfor the count of two and Punk landed the Savage elbow for another nearfall. Punk went for the GTS, but he was kicked by Kane, who covered Punk for the count of two. Punk landed the knee on Kane followed by a high kick. Punk then landed the elbow andBryanwent to the top rope and landed the diving headbutt on Punk for two. Kane was bridged to the outside. Punk rolledBryanup for two andBryanlanded the buzzsaw kick and locked in the Yes Lock, but Punk countered it into a pinning predicament. Punk landed the GTS onBryan, but Kane pulledBryanout and Kane landed the diving uppercut from the top rope. Kane went for the chokeslam, but it was countered into a DDT for the count of two. Punk landed another flying elbow for two and went for the GTS on Kane, but he wasn’t able to get him up. Kane landed a big boot and chokeslam in another nearfall. Kane shouted at the referee and went for the tombstone, but Punk countered. AJ was on the apron, but Kane was pushed into her by Punk and he landed the GTS for the win 18:15. After the match Kane carried AJ out, but as they made their way to the top AJ looked back to the ring with a deceitful look in her eye, which means that this “feud” must continue.

 

This was a good match, but Kane brought it down a lot. The angle really reminds me of theJerichoand Punk angle, an angle that looked so great on paper, but was brought down by creative.

*** ¼

 

8. Ryback vs. Dan Delaney & Rob Grymes

 

Grymes and Delaney sang the WrestleMania theme like geeks and said that they would headline Mania next year. Ryback came out and killed them in the same manner as every other jobber he has destroyed. He landed a backdrop, clothesline, gorilla press slam and a splash which was new. He then shouted “feed me three”, which does not bout well for the jobbers of the world and he landed the double Samoan drop for the win in 01:38.

* ¾

 

9. Steel Cage Match

John Cena vs. Big Show

 

Cena was thrown into the cage and Big Show went for a punch, but Cena moved and Show’s hand collided with the cage. Cena tried to escape, but he was pulled down and headbutted. Cena attempted to escape through the door, but he was thrown back in. Cena was thrown into the cage again and he was punched in the gut. Show shouted “they don’t care, quit!” and Cena tried to crawl out, but Show stood on the back of his head. Cena landed a bulldog for the count of one and he tried to scale the cage, but Show sprinted across the ring and dragged Cena back in. Big Show was hung up on the rope, Cena tried to escape again, but he was powerbombed into the cage and Show followed it with an inverted powerbomb. Cena landed a second rope splash for two and Big Show pulled Cena up to the top rope for a chokeslam with one arm! Cena fought back, but he was shoved into the cage and then off of the top rope. Show walked across the top rope and went for an elbow drop, but Cena moved. Show attempted to escape the cage, but he was pulled back in by Cena who attempted to go for the door. Big Show went for a chokeslam, but Cena took him down with a shoulder tackle for two. Cena went for the door again, but Laurinaitis threw the referee on the outside into the door and slammed it on Cena’s head. Show landed a chokeslam for two, he went for the punch, but he landed it on the referee instead. He landed one on Cena knocking him down, but both referees were down. Brodus Clay came running out with a steel chair and he called Big Show out and he blocked Show at every turn. Marella, Riley, and Zack Ryder came out, but they were all punched through the cage! This made them all look like complete geeks.Kingstoncame out and sprang into the cage. He was grabbed by the throat, but he kicked Show back down to the mat. Cena used the ropes to pull himself towards the door, but he was grabbed by the Big Show. This allowed him to land the AA, but there was no referee present. Big Show began to crawl out and Cena climbed. Laurinaitis jumped up and attempted to use his crutch, but he was scared off by Clay and he was held back. Both men were attempting to escape, but Cena made it out first in 19:23. Cena told Clay to let Laurinaitis go, Laurinaitis went for a shot with the crutch, but he was grabbed in the fireman’s carry. Vince McMahon who was at ringside and halted Laurinaitis earlier in the match then fired Laurinaitis and Cena delivered an AA through the announce table.

 

Hopefully after RAW this week this just ends, because then we can at least have a show were the WWE championship is the mainevent of the show. Because not one show this year has been mainevented by a championship match, which is quite disturbing.

* ½

 

WWE RAW June 19th 2012

Long Island, New York

 

Overall Show Thoughts

 

I would like to say that this was an above average RAW and it was for RAW standards over the past few months, but it really wasn’t anything special. They built to Summer Slam, but the crowd wasn’t all that into it and they don’t seem to be going in a direction that will lead to anything really hot. The crowd really wanted Ryder, but he didn’t even get a tag match on the main card. That was irritating, but then we had the Lauper segment which was far more of an indictment of WWE’s view on history than anything else. The show didn’t drag all that much which was really nice to see, unfortunately even if they make next week’s show the most streamlined in years it won’t make any difference in the long term, because all the shows will drag on for ages after the expansion late next month.

 

Mick Foley was welcomed, which I had no problem with, although I thought it was a bit strange that they were bringing him out now when they are going to have him on in a few weeks. Still Foley isn’t a guy that will get stale so it was fine. He said that he got a call that former GMs were needed until they find a permanent one. He proceeded to announce Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus and CM Punk. This didn’t make much sense in hindsight given the fact that Laurinaitis apparently had the power to make matches before he was fired. Laurinaitis was brought out for his farewell address.

 

He limped to the ring and Foley gave him a hug. Laurinaitis began to introduce himself, but he was getting booed so he stopped. Foley told the crowd to calmdown, but he antagonized Laurinaitis by implying that he was insultingLong Island. Laurinaitis said that because he was being booed by the fans he would give his farewell address later on. However he said that before he was fired he made a handicap match and it would be the mainevent. This made no sense given the fact that Laurinaitis should not be on the roster and the matches should have been negated. He screamed “have a nice day” at Foley and Sheamus came out proceeded by Punk who taunted Laurinaitis.

 

1. CM Punk & Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane

 

Bryanwas super over during his entrance, but it seemed to die down during the match, especially towards the end. Kane was in control, but Punk landed a topé suicida onBryanand went for a springboard clothesline into the ring, but he was caught with an uppercut. When they came back from the break Kane went for the chokeslam, but Punk hit a highkick and made the tag to Sheamus landed a top rope shoulder block and ran wild. He began to land clubbing blows on Bryan who was not the legal man. Kane who was the legal man at the time ran at Sheamus, but landed up knockingBryanoff of the apron. Kane threw Sheamus to the outside andBryanlanded a dropkick on the outside. The heels were back in control and they worked on Sheamus. Kane landed the big diving uppercut for two andBryanmissed the dropkick in the corner. Sheamus crawled towards Punk and made the hot tag. Punk ran wild and Bryan and he had a great little counter exchange. Punk landed a powerslam followed by the high knee and bulldog out of the corner. Punk went to the top, but he was caught with a superplex fromBryan. Then out of nowhere in the middle of a pretty fun match AJ’s music hit and she came out dressed like Kane! Kane was completely mesmerized and he walked up the entrance ramp, which allowed Punk to land the GTS and Sheamus to land the brogue kick for the win.

 

The whole direction of the angle astounds me at every turn. To squander a program with such potential with the involvement of Kane and AJ is just completely counter productive. The matches have been worse and frankly so has the entire program. AJ could have been featured in the angle in someway, because a love triangle can be done like we saw in 2004 with Christian, Chris Jericho and Trish Stratus. But, whatever polygon this is, isn’t working.

 

Jack Swagger and Dolf Ziggler argued backstage – both insulting each other. Ziggler said that Vicky knows who the real star is and Vicky said she was tired of them arguing. Vicky said that they would settle it in the ring and see who deserved her respect and affection and Ziggler stormed off. Then we had honestly one of the most irksome segments on the show. Laurinaitis and Otunga were backstage laughing like everything was great and Laurinaitis had just been promoted and not fired. They made fun of Foley all in a very joyous manner, until Big Show walked by. Big Show said that Cena couldn’t beat him never less the three of them. Laurinaitis said that the WWE Universe wouldn’t forget his name and the people didn’t deserve him, but he would leave an ever lasting impression. This was absolutely nonsensical in every way possible.

 

2. Dolf Ziggler vs. Sheamus

 

TheLong Islandfans were obviously really behind Ziggler and they did the right thing and worked the match accordingly. Swagger worked on the leg and locked in the ankle lock. Ziggler’s selling was really good and he would not submit. He was screaming in pain, but he finally managed to counter the hold and land the Zig Zag in a fun match, although it really could have gone longer. After the match him and Vicky kissed which I assume means that the tag team is done.

 

A limo arrived after a recap of the Triple H segment from No Way Out. Lawler was interviewed on his favourite moment in RAW history. It was the hospital segment from RAW in 1998. Where Mankind came to visit andAustinhit Vince over the head with the bed pan.

 

Paul Heyman came out to a light ECW chant. He said that Lesnar does not cater to Triple H’s whims unlike the people in the tower. He said that Triple H is not used to the word no and that was exactly what the answer was to the lawsuits being dropped and the Lesnar match. He thanked everyone for their attention and Triple H for his time, but Triple H came out.

 

Triple H said that they were not in a bingo hall and he was not one of his cronies. He said that he wasn’t drinking Heyman’s cool aid and called him a habitual liar. He said that Lesnar would fight him, but he wanted to hear the answer from Lesnar. He said he could give Lesnar what he wanted and he showed a Summer Slam poster with Lesnar on it. Heyman said that Triple H couldn’t appease Lesnar’s ego with a poster, because he has no ego, which was supremely funny. Triple H found this notion equally preposterous and said that Heyman normally lies better than that. He said that it was the same man that wanted the show to become RAW starring Brock Lesnar. Triple H said that Lesnar would accept the fight or otherwise he would go down in the history books as scared of Triple H. Heyman said that Triple H was damn good and almost had him going, but asked him to stop. Stop, pretending to be a wrestler or an ass kicker he said. He wanted Triple H to go back to his ivory tower and his princess. He said that Triple H wasn’t a king of anything in his world as Triple H began to get mad. Heyman asked if Triple H was going to hit him. Heyman said that Triple H was getting more and more like Vince every day and he knew how to push Vince’s button. He asked Triple H to hit him, because if he did he said that he and Lesnar would own the WWE. And he said that in his WWE they would have nothing for Triple H, but they would have a position for Stephanie. This through Triple H over the edge and he grabbed Heyman by the neck. Heyman said that he could out think HHH and he had met his match. He knew everything that Triple H would do before he did it he said. Triple H responded by punching Heyman and asked if Heyman saw that coming. He said that they will see Lesnar at Summer Slam and walked off.

 

This segment was fine at hyping the match and Heyman was really good in his role. However I don’t really know where they are going to go with the lawsuit angle, because I am not a big fan of Lesnar and Heyman as heel power figures, because we have seen more than enough of that over the past few years.

 

3. Santino Marella vs. AlbertoDel Rio

 

The match started off exactly how it should have withDel Riolaying into Marella. However Santino began to get some offense in going for the cobra, but before he could pull it out he was nailed with an enzuigiri. De Rio proceeded to lock in the cross armbreaker and submit Santino. I was fine with the segment, but if they keep destroying Santino and have him appear purely in comedy they should either have him drop the belt, or just abolish the title all together. After the match Ricardo attacked the arm of Marella.

 

Wendi Richter and Cyndi Lauper were welcomed. They began to make a speech, but they were interrupted by Heath Slater. He buried the segment with Cole laughing on commentary. He said that he was a one man band, but Lauper said that at least she can afford a band. Throughout the segment the crowd chanted for Ryder, but he never appeared on the whole show. Roddy Piper came out which was a surprise, he said that he was back to apologize for his heelish ways and when girls want to have fun they call Hot Rod he said. He said in a very genuine manner that he loved Lauper, while Cole was picking the segment to peaces on commentary. He presented her with a plaque, a similar one to the one that he broke over Lou Albano’s head more than twenty five years ago. Heath Slater wanted them to get out of his ring, but Piper poked him right in the eyes and Lauper broke the plaque over his head. This would have been a good segment, but because of the commentary and the Slater junk the segment was really brought down a lot. I know that for some reason whoever booked the segment wanted it to be bad, which just further accentuates a major problem we have in wrestling and that is a complete disregard for history and the people that helped build the company and the business.

 

4. Darren Young & Titus ‘O Neil vs. Primo & Epico

 

They started off fast paced. Primo landed a backstabber on ‘O Neil, but he rolled to the outside due to Primo not being able to capitalize. Primo and Epico landed double baseball slides and were going to go for stereo topé suicidas, but AW pulled his clients out of the way and they were counted out. While they were on the ramp O’Neil called someone at ringside a “fat boy” which I am sure will go down well with GLAD and B.A. Star.

 

Laurinaitis still in a good mood said that Cena had cheated through the interference of five other men. He said that neither he nor Big Show were the losers, because the real losers were the people because they don’t have People Power anymore. He said that the next time that you see him will be at his Hall of Fame induction. He said that “today” would go down as one of the darkest days in the history of the WWE. But, he said that night would be the biggest beat down of John Cena ever. Big Show said that it took six men to defeat him and he was no longer beholden to anyone not even Laurinaitis. He thanked Laurinaitis, but said that he had no reason to compete and Laurinaitis was on his own.

 

5. John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis & David Otunga

 

Cena was in control until he ran into the post and he was thrown into the steps. Laurinaitis was tagged in and he stripped off the cast and other gimmicks, he delivered a few stomps and made the cover but Cena kicked out emphatically. He wanted to tag in Otunga, but he was left for dead. Cena proceeded to land not one, not two, but three AAs and then submitted Laurinaitis. I thought that three was a bit much given the fact that it is Cena’s big finisher and Laurinaitis is a retired former wrestler.

 

TNA Impact June 22nd 2012

Orlando Florida

 

This wasn’t a good show entirely, but it wasn’t bad. It was the worst of the live Impacts with too much stuff on the show. The time limit that has now been added to all Bound for Glory series matches is really strange and is going to hamper a lot of them, considering that so many members of the TNA roster are in the tournament. I thought that the opening segment was good, but I would have liked it to have been further removed from theAndersonmatch. The show had a terrible ending, but it really wasn’t the end of the world, although it was actually comical, because of just how bad it was. All in all I wouldn’t say this ruined TNA’s run of good shows, but if they don’t come back with some better content over the next few weeks then it may.

 

Hulk Hogan opened the show and said that he would not give the people that attacked Sting any publicity and they would be dealt with when the time is right. This was just as well since there was a ton of other stuff on the show. I just hope they know where they are going. He brought out Aries who said that he had two options. Aries said that he could either keep the X title or take the shot, but he said taking the shot would devalue the X division title, so he would go with option C. Hogan seemed sceptical, but Aries said he would face Roode, but only if the holder of the X Division title would have the same oppetunity as him every year at Destination X. Bobby Roode came out and he was freaking out. He basically said that Aries wasn’t a champion and the World title was the only championship that mattered. He said that Aries had made the biggest mistake of his life, because he would face god’s gift to wrestling at Destination X. Aries said that it was open fight night and he wanted his shot so he attacked Roode and they brawled But, they were pulled apart, because apparently you can’t have a match between two championship competitors on the show.Andersoncame out and said that he would face whoever the champion was.

 

I think that the X title being somewhat of a Money in the Bank type deal is a good thing, although I think that the champion should need to hold it for a set period of time before becoming eligible. After the breakAndersoncalled Daniels out, because he destroyed Style’s family. At this point if was revealed that all the matches in the Bound for Glory series would have a ten minute time limit! This is complete stupidity. During the match Park was in the crowd, butAndersonjust pinned Daniels clean in less than ten minutes with a Mic check.

 

Styles andDixiewere backstage. They said they would reveal their secret that night and Styles seemed hesitant. Brooke Hogan was backstage talking with the Knockouts, who had the most engaging conversation ever. With ODB saying things like she had never been Knockout’s champion and James saying that she has held every major women’s championships in the world!

 

Robbie E was in the ring. He said that he was not scared of anyone and he said that anyone could come out, because it was Open Fight Night. This led to Angle coming out and tapping E out in a squash match earning himself ten points. There was an interview with this week’s Gut Check contestant Taeler Henrix. She said that she was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 21, which was sad. She said that she wanted to be Knockout’s Champion and Tag Team champion.

 

Magnus came out and said that he wanted to challenge a man that’s head wasn’t in the game, a man that cheated with woman that writes the checks – a home wrecker, AJ Styles. They had a short back and forth match until Daniels and Kazarian came out, allowing for Magnus to win with the MDD.

 

Tarafaced Taeler Hendrix in the Gut Check match. It was an okay match for knockouts standards andTarawon with the Widow’s Peak. Joe Park was backstage with a crew member when Ray came by and said he could smell Park’s fear. He said that it was the same fear that he smelled when he tipped the table last week. Park interjected and said that he wasn’t as scared as Ray was when he saw Abyss. Ray said that if he wasn’t part of the Bound for Glory series he would do something to Park. Ray said that Park better get his brother or something bad will happen to both of them.

 

Samoa Joe came out and said that no one had the guts to call him out, so he called out James Storm. Joe was in control and they had a strike exchange, Joe went for the rear naked choke, but Storm got out with strikes. Joe went back to the clutch, but he was thrown head first into the turnbuckle and was superkicked by Storm for the win. Joe kicked out just at three, which was a nice touch.

 

They showed a recap of the Styles and Carter segments over the past few weeks. Styles was backstage and said that he got dropped on his head because his head wasn’t in the right place. Ray came out. He called Pope out because he had been taking the easy way out. Ray beat on Pope, but after the break Pope began to make a comeback. Pope was knocked down and Ray landed a splash in the corner and unloaded on Pope. Abyss came out through the crowd and Ray was knocked to the outside by Pope. Ray was distracted, which allowed Pope to get the win. After the match Ray was chased to the back by Abyss.

 

Hogan was talking to Rob Van Dam and Hardy backstage. He said that the reason they hadn’t been chosen had to be because they were the favourites in the tournament so they would be in the mainevent. This was some extremely warped logic. Brooke Hogan made her decision it would be Mickie James vs. Brooke Tessmacher. This match went so long compared to the other matches on the show and it really didn’t need to go all that long. It wasn’t the best match in the world, but Tessmacher won with a rollup.

 

Rob Van Dam faced Jeff Hardy. The fans exchanged chants. Van Dam missed a 450 splash of all things and Hardy landed a DDT for the count of two. The match ended when Hardy landed the Twist of Fate spiking Van Dam on his head for the win

 

Dixieand AJ came out.Dixiewas trying to act upset, but she just came across as really fake and emotionless. AJ said that they had to leave, but a sobbing woman walked down to the ring. She said that she was Clare Lynch and her andDixie’s families where very close (which landed up being a plot hole). She needed help and AJ had the highest moral character that she knew. Basically she was an addict and she needed help from Carter and Styles. She was such a shocking actor, who tried to talk through her teeth to make it more dramatic. Daniels and Kazarian were freaking out backstage and came down to the ring, but Styles cleared house to close off the show.

 

This was a huge anticlimax, and if that wasn’t bad enough the whole thing just made no sense what so ever. It honestly felt like I was watching a very bad soap opera. One of the things that was really noticeable to me was the fact that if the Carter and Lynch families were so close and Styles is married then why couldn’t they have informed everyone of this whole thing in the first place? It wasn’t the worst segment of the year, but it was just such a weird and bad climax to such a convoluted angle.

 

WWE NXT June 19th 2012 (Taped May 17th 2012)

Orlando, Florida 

 

Overall Show Thoughts

 

This was a very fun show and from the first episode it seems that they have sorted out a lot of the problems from past seasons. By having its own building and tapings being exclusive to it, it feels much more important and much less like an after thought. The fans knew that they had come to see NXT and they were really into the show. JR and William Regal were really good especially in the mainevent and I would suspect that they will get better as an announce team (not that they need any improving), similar to how Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness grew as a team during ROH’s first set of tapings. The matches were fine, although the only real match that got any time was the mainevent which was really good. I think that they could cut some of the recaps from other shows out, but we know that they probably won’t do that. However this was still a very fun show and I would definitely recommend the new season.

 

The show opened up with JR coming out and welcoming the general manger of NXT, Dusty Rhodes.Rhodessaid that the mainevent between Michael Mcgillicutty and Tyson Kidd would be unbelievable. He followed this by saying that if you thought that the last two years of NXT had been crazy you hadn’t seen anything yet, which was a line that I found pretty funny. They aired a video package for Bo Dallas the son of Mike Rotunda (I.R.S.) and grandson of Blackjack Mulligan. He was fine in the segment, but when he started to say things like “I have a fist that breaks bricks” and “A smile that shines for miles” he came across as very awkward.

 

1. Bo Dallas vs. Rick Victor

 

Dallaswon pretty quickly over Victor with a spear in what was basically a squash match. The finish felt like it came out of nowhere though. After the match he was interviewed on the entrance ramp. He said that he executed his game plan and it was just the beginning. He finished by saying that they will all “know Bo”.

 

A Seth Rollins interview/video package was shown followed by an Antonio Cesaro vignette.

 

Damien Sandow was set to face Jason Jordan from FCW, but he said that he was there to help all of the people as their intellectual saviours. He said that it was bad form to put him against such an unworthy opponent and he wouldn’t compete, for everyone’s welfare and benefit and he walked back up the ramp.

 

There was a wacky vignette for a tag team called the Ascension. Their gimmick is that they are a pack of vampires I guess. They talked supposedly from the top of a half constructed building, saying that they were the gateways to the future and they snickered vampire teeth and all. The RAW Rebound was next.

 

2. The Ascension (Kenneth Cameron & Conor O’Brian) vs. Mike Dalton & CJ Parker

 

The Ascension who glowed in the dark and had glowing eyes made their way to the ring. They stompedDaltonto death in their corner and landed some elbow drops.Daltonwas then pinned with a chinbreaker followed by a flapjack.

 

A Husky Harris vignette was next, however he has now been repackaged as Bray Wyatt and bears a slight resemblance to Roy Nelson now that his look has changed slightly. Derrick Bateman and Johnny Curtis had a backstage altercation setting up their match next week. Their history or identity wasn’t explained all too well, but Regal did say the following “If I was Derrick Bateman I would tear his [Curtis] bloody throat out.” which was great.

 

3. Michael Mcgillicutty vs. Tyson Kidd

 

The commentary made such a world of difference to this. This was where they really had a chance to shine. Getting around fifteen minutes also helped to a very large degree.

 

They started off exchanging holds. Kidd brought Mcgillicutty into an arm submission and they worked back to their feet. Kidd landed a superkick and clothesline knocking Mcgillicutty to the outside. He followed this with a topé suicida. After the break Kidd landed a dropkick for two and Mcgillicutty responded with a hangman’s neckbreaker for a nearfall of his own. Mcgillicutty was in control landing stomps and a press for two and then going back to the headlock. Mcgillicutty landed a clothesline to the back of Kidd’s head for two. This was followed by a sunset flip from Kidd, but he was placed in the tree of woe by Mcgillicutty. Mcgillicutty went for a dropkick on Kidd who was still in the tree of woe, but Kidd sat up, resulting in Mcgillicutty crotching himself on the post. Kidd landed some kicks to the leg and head, followed by a dropkick. Kidd hit a big enzuigiri, but Mcgillicutty landed a dropkick on Kidd who was in midair for two. Kidd landed a beautiful moonsault onto a standing Mcgillicutty for two in a great nearfall, which the crowd was super into. Kidd went for a submission, but Mcgillicutty pulled on the ring skirt and landed a Saito suplex for two. Mcgillicutty locked in a sharpshooter on Kidd, but Kidd made it to the ropes. Kidd got a small package which transitioned into the Dungeon Lock (Crossed leg-trap triangle choke) for the win. This was a great TV match and it really was a great way to finish the show

 

Next Week’s Issue

 

Next week we cover ROH’s Best in the World 2012, RAW, Impact, NXT, all the news and hopefully some things that I have lined up.

 

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