Wrestling’s 4R’s 01.03.11: Superstars, Impact & SmackDown Reviewed!

In HD where available…

ROH on HDNet 01.03.11:

QUICK RESULTS:
ROH Television Title Match: Eddie Edwards def. Mark Briscoe [***1/4]
Mike Mondo def. Grizzly Redwood [*]
Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas def. The Bravado Brothers [*1/2]
Homicide def. Claudio Castagnoli [***]

BRISCOE vs. EDWARDS: The first televised match for ROH in 2011 was, appropriately enough, a Television Championship Match as champion Eddie Edwards (at the time of the taping) put his belt on the line against Mark Briscoe. Given how many times The Briscoes have battled The American Wolves, it’s no surprise these guys had good chemistry. Edwards is far and away the superior singles wrestler, and it showed as he was in reasonable control of the match for entire run, but not in a way that buried Mark Briscoe. I enjoyed this a lot.

HOMICIDE vs. CASTAGNOLI: A solid but unspectacular match for our main event. Which is pretty much what you can say about all Homicide matches. Homicide is a guy that I’ve never really gotten into as a singles competitor, so I never really enjoy his matches as much as some other people. I liked the match but felt the opener was better.

WGTT DEBUTS ON HDNET: This really made my day. I have always been a huge fan of both Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, whether as a tag team or individually. Watching them obliterate the Bravados in short order was just good for the wrestling fan’s soul. I can’t wait to see what these guys are going to produce with ROH’s top teams.

MONDO DEBUTS ON HDNET?: Mike Mondo? Seriously? I mean sure, he was one of the more capable members of the Spirit Squad, behind Nic Nameth and Ken Doane, but….Mike Mondo? This guy doesn’t fit the ROH style at all. Can’t say I’m overly excited about this. His match with Grizzly was supposed to get him over, but to me, it just showed that ROH’s premier jabroni is more interesting and more talented.

NOTHING OF NOTE.

NOTHING OF NOTE.

By: Jeremy Thomas

iMpact! 01.07.11:

QUICK RESULTS:
The Motor City Machine Guns def. AJ Styles & Kazarian [** ¼]
Madison Rayne & Sarita def. Velvet Sky & Mickie James [* ¾]
Douglas Williams def. Rob Terry by DQ [½ *]
Jay Lethal def. Abyss by DQ [*]
Jeff Jarrett def. Rob Van Dam [* ¾]

BISCHOFF SETS THE STAGE: Impact started off with Immortal heading into the ring, sans the TNA World Hardyface Champion. Bischoff cut a decent promo about how Genesis was going to be the beginning of everything, how the bounty on the titles was just about his competitive nature and how there would be no chicanery. Riiiight. Bischoff has always been great at these kinds of promos and he got them off to a solid start before calling out Lethal, the Guns and Williams and promising them that they’d be okay. I liked the way that Bischoff took his time to build these guys up; it’s exactly what this whole thing should be doing. That of course didn’t mean that he wasn’t stacking the deck, and he booked a few matches that set the rest of the show up nicely before the Immortal beatdown occurred and Bisch made his assholish token effort to stop them before RVD made the save. This was a good, solid way to start off the show and it did exactly what a strong opening needs to begin the show, especially for a go-home show for a PPV.

AJ STYLES & KAZARIAN vs. THE MOTOR CITY MACHINEGUNS: It goes without saying that this was a match with a ton of potential. Of course, they only gave it about five minutes, so that potential was a bit blunted, but they still had a good, solid spotfest that kept the crowd hot. The point here was to let the champions look strong heading into Genesis and they did that very well, pitting the Guns against a couple very credible opponents and letting the in-ring speak for itself. The end sequenbce was really hot and it put the Guns over nicely. Beer Money softening them up is a decent way to advance the feud, and the Bischoff-Styles staredown was a way to set that up without going over the top. Works for me.

SAMOA JOE: POPE STALKER: Early in the show, Pope was pissed about how someone’s been following him around with hidden cameras and so on, so he was going to find out who was doing it tonight. He then came to the ring and cut a decent promo about all the footage that’s been going on, how the congregation stands behind him and trusts him and so on. That brought out Joe, and left Pope with a shocked look on his face. Really, Pope, are you THAT shocked that the guy who’s been sniping at you has been the guy trying to expose you? Joe proceeded to cut a promo on Pope that painted him out as a false evangelist. Pope’s response and excuses were pretty funny, and personally, I’m just glad they’re going somewhere with this. I’m curious to see where it goes from here and follow-up is key, but for now I’m cool with what they’re doing.

SIT-DOWN DEBATE: We had a pre-taped sit-down debate between Morgan and Anderson, moderated by Mike Tenay. This allowed them to really drive down the point of each side’s argument, and the emotion between these guys was very solid without seeming overacted or histrionic. Morgan was trying to get Anderson to show his clearance, and Anderson refused. They made this very much a shades of grey debate, with Anderson leaning a little closer to the dark side while Morgan was on the other spectrum by just enough. It gives them a wee bit of a heel-face dynamic, and that’s all you need to make this match work. Solid stuff by both parties here.

THE LAST STEP OF CHALLENGE: After last week’s escalation of the Double J, Double M-A challenge, we had one more week to get this over and Jeff came out to cut a solid promo about how he had to make some tweaks, “for legal’s sake.” This was basically what Jarrett had talked to Bischoff about last week after the Challenge, but the repetition wasn’t a bad move in this case and it drove home the point as a reminder. There was a brief recognition of Boo Boo Stewart from the Twilight films, who plays Seth Clearwater in case anyone was curious. Yeah, I didn’t think you were. I had a bad feeling about this right here, but luckily just an opportunity for Jeff to do some more comedy and that was mercifully short. Instead we got a random shlub who got his ass beat. This seemed like a regression of the segment just to have an excuse for Jarrett to get on TV until they finally had Angle return, to the crowd’s delight. Angle cut a quick promo and said that he was signing a contract for the exhibition at Genesis. Smart way for them to get him back in, since Jarrett just fell into his own trap and it set up the match well. I was irritated with most of the opening but it finished fine.

MADISON RAYNE & SARITA vs. MICKIE JAMES & VELVET SKY: Our Knockout fix for the night had Velvet and Mickie taking on Sarita and Madison. The whole thing started off on an okay note; a bit Diva-esque but not at all bad. The booking of the match was good enough, with Madison and Sarita isolating Velvet. The quote of the night came when Taz had a slip of the tongue and compared Velvet Sky to Marilyn Chambers instead of Marilyn Monroe, causing Mike Tenay to make fun of him on it. I laughed, I’ll admit. As well as this was booked, I just wasn’t that into this as it dragged a bit long all things considered and the finish was a bit wonky. This wasn’t bad by any stretch, just featured too much Velvet and not enough Mickie for my tastes and the match quality suffered as a result.

DOUGLAS WILLIAMS vs. ROB TERRY: The second of our “warm-up matches” of the night had Douglas Williams taking on his former compadre in Rob Terry. This looked like much bigger of a mismatch than the Guns vs. AJ and Williams on a physical standpoint, and that played well into the little amount of wrestling we got before AJ came down and caused the DQ by brutalizing Douglas’ arm and hand. This was obviously more angle than it was wrestling, and it gave AJ some good heat so good for that. Otherwise, this was just there and it didn’t do a hell of a lot for me.

ROB VAN DAM vs. JEFF JARRETT: Earlier in the show, RVD was continuing his quest to figure out who his mystery opponent was, but got waylaid by a sudden match-booking by Bischoff against another mystery opponent. The mystery opponent ended up being Jeff Jarrett, which turned it into a No DQ match. We had about seven minutes by the time the bell rung, and they decided to spend the first couple minutes jockeying around before the actual wrestling began. As a wrestling match this was simply okay, not as good as I would expect a match from these two, but this wasn’t about the in-ring work but the selling of the angle. Rob looked like a champ fighting off all the odds until Jeff came in and screwed him. Nice to see the World Champion show up. Of course, the end of the match saw Anderson accidentally hit Morgan with a chair when they made the save for RVD. It ended the show how it needed to be, although what led up to the final images was a bit lackluister.

PARKING LOT NON-BRAWL: We had a brief backstage segment with Ray ranting at Devon and saying how he wanted a piece of him but hadn’t yet been able to. I’ve said before that Ray’s promos have been doing a great job of selling this feud, and this was another example of it. I’m still not sold on the idea that they’ll have a good match at Genesis, but they’ve surprised me by booking this feud strongly. He called Devon to the parking lot and Devon said he was going to do so. That led to a segment where they faced off but no brawl happened because of security, until Ray taunted Devon into coming at him and giving him a cheap shot. This was a lot of set-up for something that didn’t have a lot of payoff, and while I’ve enjoyed the feud so far, this was a weak way to hard-sell it.

ABYSS vs. JAY LETHAL: This was the last of the “warmup” matches set up at the beginning of the show, and of course the point here was the size mismatch. The opening booking was something I always hate, where the little guy tries to do some grappling moves and ends up looking stupid. It doesn’t do him any good and there are better ways to let the monsters dominate early on. This basically equated to Lethal throwing everything he had at Abyss and nothing sticking so that Abyss could beat the hell out of him, and that just seemed a bit flat as if Abyss and Lethal didn’t have their hearts in it. The point was gotten across, but it could have been done in much more effective ways and I just didn’t dig this. Kaz’s promo at the end was a little stilted to boot, and it left a bad finishing stamp on the overall segment.

Nada

By: Tony Acero

Superstars 01.06.11:

QUICK RESULTS:
Tyler Reks Defeated JTG [*1/2]
Chris Masters Defeated Curt Hawkins [**]
Yoshi Tatsu Defeated Zack Ryder [***]
Ted DiBiase & Tyson Kidd Defeated Daniel Bryan & Mark Henry [***1/2]

CHRIS MASTERS vs. CURT HAWKINS: Well this was a nice little four minute match. I am continually surprised with Masters newfound wrestling talent. He’s got a nice mix of power moves and technical moves that makes him much more interesting than the pre-moob bouncing Masters of 05. Hawkins is the less famous Edgehead but proved that he could still wrestle. The match itself was great with two suplexes straight out of Wrestling 101 from Hawkins (and that’s a good thing) and Masters pulling out a one handed Samoan Drop and a nice looking Spinebuster. He also pulled out a nice looking shoulder block that had me hoping Cena was watching so he can see how to make one look impactful. Like I said, it was 4 minutes or so and was a good enough match to land itself in the Right.

ZACK RYDER vs. YOSHI TATSU: This was everything I expected it to be! These two have truly become their characters and it makes for nearly every match their in to be a step above entertaining. The fact that they can go in the ring only accentuates that entertainment aspect. The interaction between the two just after the bell was perfect characterization of each and the match itself was fun to watch, Yoshi gave some vicious chops and Ryder was no slouch either. An intense near fall was thrown in for good measure. More please.

DANIEL BRYAN AND MARK HENRY vs. TYSON KIDD AND TED DiBIASE: I don’t know why they did what they did to Kidd on Raw because if this is a preview of what Daniel and Kidd can do in the ring, sign me up for a full serving. It’s nearly unbelievable how useful Henry still is after all these years. DiBiase was the only weak link here but even he did a good job in the match. And I wouldn’t be part of the IWC if I didn’t give Maryse her just dues. She is just always on in terms of character. Say what you will about her in ring prowess (or lack thereof), she’s got her character down. Also of note, Tyson did not come out with his bodyguard…could this be the end of that short lived duo?

COMMENTARY TEAM: It’s the commentators job to sell the story that’s being told in the ring and to give us background information to care about these guys, particularly on Superstars where there’s no time for promos or backstage skits. In the era of Michael Cole based commentary where it’s apparently ok to talk shit about the men in the ring plying their trade and put down the very product you’re supposed to be selling, it’s difficult sometimes to enjoy any type of commentary while watching WWE. This week and the past few weeks on Superstars, I’ve heard nothing but proper selling and nice nuggets of information that does nothing but add to the men in the ring. In my eyes, a Cole Free Show is a show worth watching.

TYLER REKS vs. JTG: It’s not that the match was bad, as it had some bright spots. I especially like JTG’s little mini German Suplex into the mid turnbuckle. I just can’t seem to get behind Reks as anything but boring and if JTG isn’t with the right opponent, he’s as clunky as his Timberlands. For about 80% of this match, that’s what it felt like…clunky. JTG’s got his “I ain’t losin my job” swagger on and that puts him up a notch but not enough. It appears they have SOME sort of plan with Reks as he beat Masters last week and now JTG. I noticed some of Reks “clubbing blows” to the back that looked more like he was massaging JTG. Maybe the readers can pinpoint what it is about Reks that makes me simply not care because until that changes, he will most likely be stuck in puRgatory.

NOTHING.

NOTHING.

By: Steve Cook

WWE SmackDown 01.07.11

QUICK RESULTS:
Last Man Standing World Title Match: Edge d. Kane (***½)
Intercontinental Title Match: Kofi Kingston d. Dolph Ziggler (**½)
Intercontinental Title Match: Kofi Kingston d. Dolph Ziggler (NR)
#1 Contender For World Title Match: Dolph Ziggler d. Dashing Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre & Big Show (**½)
Michelle McCool d. Kelly Kelly (½*)
2 out of 3 Falls: Alberto Del Rio (2) d. Rey Mysterio (1) (***)

EDGE vs. KANE: Similar to how Raw started off 2011 with a WWE Title match, Smackdown started off 2011 with a World Title match. The Edge/Kane feud hasn’t been well-received in previous editions of this column, but I really enjoyed the climax, this Last Man Standing match that brought back memories of previous matches of that nature. The crowd brawling segments were fun, we don’t get to see that much on WWE television anymore and it seemed special here. There were several close calls with the counts that worked really well. I also liked the ending, where Edge realized that the spear might not do the trick because Kane is pretty indestructible most of the time, and gave Kane’s knee a Conchairto to make sure that he couldn’t get up. Good stuff to hopefully put an end to this feud.

KOFI KINGSTON WINS INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: Speaking of things coming to an end, Kofi Kingston’s long chase of the Intercontinental title here finally came to an end here with a victory over Dolph Ziggler. This wasn’t one of Ziggler’s usual 15-minute efforts (the reason for that became obvious later in the show), but it was still a pretty solid piece of business and Kofi looked like a million bucks. Also, I think I figured out why Ricky Steamboat thinks so highly of Kofi. It’s gotta be that cross-body block.

DOLPH ZIGGLER BECOMES #1 CONTENDER: After being threatened with the ending of their relationship, Vickie Guerrero decided to put Dolph in a #1 contender match that was already scheduled to feature Big Show, Dashing Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre. I don’t think anybody wanted to see Edge vs. Big Show. Drew & Cody are both interesting selections, but I would have to say that they’re not quite ready for a World title feud yet. I think they both will be in due time, but for now I think the best choice not named “Alberto Del Rio” is Dolph Ziggler. He had a good run with the Intercontinental title and has had a number of fantastic matches with various opponents over the past several months. I remember a match that Edge & Dolph had that was pretty good, so hopefully they can re-create that chemistry for the Rumble.

ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. REY MYSTERIO: This was built up as the conclusion of the Del Rio/Mysterio feud, and it only made sense for them to settle it in a two out of three falls match. That is the standard singles match in most Lucha Libre promotions, and the stipulation usually makes sure that there is a decisive winner instead of somebody getting one quick three count on a fluke. The match was the usual good stuff you’d expect out of these two. I’m not really convinced that this ended their feud, as ADR got the win thanks to his trusty ring announcer holding Rey’s legs and keeping him from getting into the ring. We’ll have to wait and see if Alberto’s destiny is to win the Royal Rumble and win the World Title at WrestleMania, or if his destiny involves more Rey Mysterio.

MICHELLE McCOOL vs. KELLY KELLY: The match itself was less than nothing. You can’t throw these two out there for two minutes and expect them to have a good wrestling match with each other. Maybe with somebody else, but not with each other. The issue here was Drew McIntyre coming to the aid of one Kelly Kelly after she was double teamed by McCool & Layla. It’s too bad this is a family column.

Nothing of note.

WADE BARRET COSTS BIG SHOW THE MATCH…SORT OF: Poor Wade got kicked out of his faction on Raw, so he decided to make an appearance on Smackdown and attack Big Show. I’m sure we’ll get an explanation next week, so that part doesn’t bother me too much. The part that amused me in a weird way was how Show managed to kick out of DCR’s Beautiful Disaster after Wade’s attack, and then after that he kicked out of Dolph’s Zig Zag, and then he kicked out of Drew’s Future Shock DDT. Really? I know Big Show’s really huge and stuff, but he can’t even get pinned after an attack from an outsider that he‘s wrestling next week, a secondary finisher and two finishing moves? Not only that, he powered up, tossed Drew out of the ring and wasn’t even involved in the pinfall. Way to make that new guy look like a threat!

Until Friday, keep on kickin’ it!

…and remember to stay grounded!