wrestling / Columns
Wrestling’s 4R’s 1.27.12: WWE Raw & ROH on Sinclair Reviewed
How the 4R’s of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R’s. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~! Of course, that may not happen much any more due to him not having as much power as he used to. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a “mark” column, nor a “smark” column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.
Let’s rock…
By: Shawn S. Lealos
ROH Television 01.21.12:
QUICK RESULTS:
– Eddie Edwards def. Mike Mondo [***]
– Roderick Strong def. Ricky Reyes [**½]
– Matt Jackson def. Kenny King [**½]
Production Values – I have complained since the beginning about the production values of ROH TV. In the beginning, everything was bad, from the look to the sound. Little by little, they fixed things. First the video got better. Then they improved the sound of people talking on mics, where originally it sounded like they were recording from the house speaker, they now sound good as if recording through the soundboard. Next, they improved the video but there were still problems with how it looked. Now, on the first episode back from their long break, the video looks great, the direction is greatly improved and they are missing fewer key moves, the sound is perfect and finally – finally – the entrance theme music is loud enough to hear on TV. They have come a long way since the first show and have improved the production values enough to make this look like a legitimate product.
Eddie Edwards vs. Mike Mondo – I’ve never really liked Mike Mondo but this was a great opening match. It was a solid three-star affair with Mondo working on Edwards’ surgically repaired arm and Eddie having to fight through the pain to win. I have no idea where Eddie Edwards is supposed to go from here, after his loss to Davey at Final Battle, but he got a nice win here to make sure people don’t forget about him. It was a solid match to kickstart the year for ROH after being off TV for over a month.
Briscoe Brothers / WGTT Feud – This double turn worked to perfection. The crowd now legitimately hates Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. I also love the new attitudes of the teams. Haas and Benjamin are playing the perfect bad guys, as they say the fans turned on them because they were simply doing to the Briscoe Brothers the same thing that was done to them before. The WGTT are right in this case, which makes their heal turn perfect since they are completely in the right in this situation. On the other hand, the Briscoe Brothers are doing all the right things as well, saying the fans love them because they keep it real and that the fans can cheer for whoever they want. I have to say, this is one of the best-worked angles I have seen in a long time when it comes to a double turn. It reminds me of Steve Austin/Bret Hart from years ago. Great work by both teams.
Kevin Steen – I am sold. Kevin Steen is the best talker in Ring of Honor right now. The guy is just solid gold, makes great points and makes you want to see what he does next. This is the guy who should be carrying the World title and not Davey Richards. I understand that Richards is a great wrestler but Steen is the total package.
Roddy Strong – I like how they had Roddy Strong come out and win his first match since he lost to Chris Hero at Final Battle. The problem is that they have no direction right now for his character to go. At Final Battle, the House of Truth came out and attacked Richards’ students but Truth Martini said nothing about it while helping commentate the match. What direction is Strong going in 2012? No clue. I like how Truth said they will adhere to the Code of Honor and I am interested in seeing where that goes but when you have been off for a month and bring back big names on the first card, you need to kick off some new storyline. Strong hasn’t had a major storyline in a few months.
Kyle O’Reilly – O’Reilly and Davey Richards had a interview segment. I am going to talk about Davey later but I am interested to see where this stuff with O’Reilly goes. From the start of the Eddie and Davey problems, Edwards has said that it was O’Reilly who was telling Davey all the bad stuff about Edwards. Now, this week, O’Reilly mentioned being part of a new American Wolves tag team. I see this coming off as manipulation where O’Reilly is trying to steal Eddie’s spot. If that is what is going on here, this becomes a big time right.
RD Evans – RD Evans introduces himself to the world and said that a new corporation has invested money into the Embassy. What I don’t like about the angle is that he shut up Prince Nana to explain that all attention should be paid solely to Tommaso Ciampa. I don’t mind that but I feel that Prince Nana is one of the best talkers in Ring of Honor and this RD Evans guy is really generic. I have read he will be the new spokesman but I would rather listen to Nana any day of the week.
Davey Richards – The more that Davey Richards talks about how Eddie Edwards has issues since he was looking for a new trainer to help him against Richards, the more Davey sounds like a little bitch. I am beginning to think Davey needs a heal turn because he sucks as a good guy.
The Young Bucks – I’m not buying this. For one thing, the Young Bucks are horrible actors. They don’t look like assholes, they look like people pretending to be assholes. They have some good moves but I just don’t buy them as legitimate number one contenders to the Briscoe Brothers. I like the difference in styles but I hope the Briscoes destroy them and then move on to a team more worth their time.
Kevin Kelly – If you are going to have the Ring of Honor logo with a pink light on it, don’t put so much makeup on Kevin Kelly before filming the Inside Ring of Honor bits. He looked really, really bad – like cupie doll bad.
| The 411
This was a nice first show back from a break that lasted too long. I’m sure any casual fans who started watching have already forgotten about it but they did a good job during the break. The production values are great now, miles better than they were. The matches were all pretty good and all the stars, except the TV title guys, were showcased this week. Nice work by ROH. SHOW RATING: 6.0 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale.. 0 – 0.9: Torture |
By: LARRY CSONKA
Raw 1.23.12:
QUICK RESULTS:
– Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger defeated CM Punk and John Cena @ 11:00 via pin [***]
– Kane destroyed Zack Ryder @ 13:35 [NOT GOOD]
– Sheamus defeated Jinder Mahal via pin @ 3:00 [NR]
– Brodus Clay defeated Heath Slater via pin @ 1:00 [NR]
– R Truth defeated The Miz via pin @ 8:00 [**]
Opening Promo/Opening Tag Match: I though overall that the beginning on Monday’s Raw was a good one as we started off with WWE Champion CM Punk coming to the ring. Punk continued his feud with Laurinaitis by calling him out as a failure. he demanded that Laurinaitis be a man and come to the ring. Instead he got John Cena. Cena was pissed about Ryder being screwed and wanted retribution as well as Laurinaitis’ resignation. I had a good laugh at Punk’s unimpressed look as Cena talked here. Laurinaitis finally came to the ramp, and denied their requests. Instead he booked Ryder vs. Kane and Punk and Cena vs. Swagger and Ziggler. From there, we had a fun opening tag match with all four men working well together and overall there were no complaints with the action. The end saw Laurinaitis distract Punk, allowing Ziggler to get another pin on Punk heading into the Rumble. This worked very well and I think they got what they were going for and got the show off to a strong start.
The Highlight Reel Returns: Chris Jericho finally brought back the Highlight Reel to Monday Night Raw, but the question was, would he actually speak, or would he continue to play games with all of us. And at first I thought Jericho would get us again. He came out and played to the crowd, he ran to the back, he came back with the T-Short gun and played to the crowd again. Finally, he grabbed the mic, pointed to the Obscenely Expensive Jeri-Tron 12,000 and we got a short, but very sweet video package highlighting the entire WWE career of Chris Jericho. He then FINALLY spoke on the mic, and said, “This Sunday at the Royal Rumble… It’s going to be the end of the world as you know it.” I have enjoyed the Jericho return, I have enjoyed it being different, I have enjoyed how it made people pissed because he wasn’t talking and I think it worked well. Jericho is my odds on favorite to win the Rumble Sunday, and his goal? To end the “best in the world as we know it, CM Punk.
THE FUCKIN FUNKASAURUS~!: Due to being out of action due to health reasons, I have not had the chance to discuss the re-debut of Brodus Clay, or THE FUNKSAURUS! I absolutely love this, and I will explain why. First of all, sure badass Brodus could have been fine, but they already have monsters. They have Kane, Henry and Show, and you only need so many of that kind of performer. This allows him to be different, it allows him to connect with the crowd, to show personality and it is just flat out fun. Hell, people make fun of it now, But when Rikishi would put on the glasses and dance with Too Cool, he was an OVER motherfucker. The crowd is having fun with this, the guy seems to be having fun with it, he is killing jobbers still and the crowds seem to love it. I do not see an issue with this. He can still have a “monster run” in the Rumble ala Rikishi, and again, there is nothing wrong with that. Also, if they eventually want to turn him into a monster down the line, the heel turn would work great as the crowd loves him right now. If and when he turns, the crowds will be pissed because they liked him and were having fun. I do not see a bad thing here. The FUNKSAURUS kicks ass.
Sheamus vs. Jinder Mahal w/Cameo by Wade Barrett: The good news about this segment is that it was again a direct build to the Ruble, and a continued one as that. That is all well and good, but it also felt like a replay of a match I have seen numerous times already. I have heard Wade Barrett talk shit on Sheamus, I have seen Sheamus kill Jinder Mahal, and I have been continually been bored and unimpressed with Mahal. And that is exactly what I got here. Again, this was not bad, but I have just watched it too many times. I will say that I appreciate them using the segment building to the Rumble, but it also comes across as a bit lazy.
Zack Ryder is a Pussy, Kane Kills Him, Eve is Angry and Cena Gets Constipated: This whole deal generally pissed me off. Yes I get that the end game is to make Cena question himself and to make he fans question Cena, but overall I felt that it came off poorly and that they missed a big opportunity when it was completed. All right, to start, I know that Zack Ryder isn’t exactly a badass dude, but did he have to be completely afraid of having to face Kane? I mean, come on, he got chokeslammed off the loading dock, I’d be a little pissed and looking for revenge. Now John Cena was banned from ringside, and we KNEW that Ryder was going to lose, and that there was the possibility of the injury angle, and again, this is fine. But Kane slowly destroys him for 13-minutes, Ryder got next to nothing in, and during the match, the crowd started not to care and began amusing themselves. That is never a good sign kids. So Kane kills Ryder, we have the big dramatic stretcher job and Eve places all of the blame on Cena. Again, this could have been fine, but instead of Cena cutting a passionate promo about Kane taking out Ryder and looking for revenge, all we got was Cena standing there, looking constipated. Unfortunately, I continue to not enjoy the Cena/Kane saga as it continues.
Little Jimmy Says, The Miz is #1!: The saga between Truth and Miz continued, and again, I will say that the positive is that this was a continued feud and that is was designed to help sell the Rumble. These are good things. Also, I felt that the match was also pretty good, so it also had that going for it. But I did have some things I didn’t like all that much. First of all, I felt that the comedy interview before the match was not needed. Come on, these guys are supposed to hate each other, and yes I know Truth is crazy and all, but we didn’t need it. Truth has been beating Miz like he owes him money, and when Truth pops up in front of him being a goofy ass and Miz doesn’t do anything? I did like Big Johnny getting pissed and adding the stipulation for the Rumble match in there, as it was a nice addition. Plus it adds into his character, where at times he looks like he is doing his job, but also making decisions for the wrong reasons. Finally, Miz loses again, and looks like the BIGGEST jobber in the fucking world. He shouldn’t have reminded us about main eventing WrestleMania last year, because it just reminds us how far he has fallen. Yeah, I talked myself into this being a wrong. Sorry Miz.
CM Punk’s Dynamic Message to John Laurinaitis: Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Crowd: The climax of Monday Night Raw was the confrontation between CM Punk and John Laurinaitis. And it has been no secret that not only have I enjoyed the feud, but that also I have very much enjoyed the work of John Laurinaitis. But I feel that WWE once again rushed things instead of letting them play out in order to deliver a “shock ending.” I know some loved this, but I am not one of them. I strongly feel that they could have played this up much better, and teased the physical confrontation without actually having to deliver it. This is an angle that they could have continued to book and let play out for a few more months. But instead, Punk got the GTS, the crowd liked it but didn’t explode like they should have, and that is that. I simply feel that this was short sighted, and blew off an angle that could have led to a match later down the line which could have had a ton of interest. I also hate the whole “job evaluation” horseshit that is set for next week. So NOW WWE thinks Johnny is doing a shitty job, and we have the return of Triple H, COO. Remember, the COO that had SO LITTLE POWER that he got ousted from Raw, and apparently had no control of Smackdown, while being the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Yeah, that whole clusterfuck really pissed me off. To me it seems as of they had a plan, and then as they are famous for, changed their minds just because. Again, some may have really enjoyed this, but I feel that they could have done ALMOST the exact same thing, but had Ziggler save John Laurinaitis, lay out Punk, and they then could have left you with more of a mystery as to whether or not Punk could retain at the PPV. But this is where I hear about being too old school and how PPV is a dying model. PPV is a dying model when you run TV angles like modern pro wrestling companies do.
NONE
| The 411 At the end of the day this was a solid episode of Raw. We got a lot of build to the Rumble PPV on Sunday, and the show seemed focused. But I also had some issues with the show’s booking, which is a continued theme. Either it is lazy, been there done that, lacks logic or is simply frustrating. I know a lot of people loved Monday’s show, but at the end of the day, this was an average at best Raw, with some solid PPV build. SHOW RATING: 6.0 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale.. 0 – 0.9: Torture |
By: Tony Acero
NXT 1.25.12:
The NXT Rs will return next week.
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The 411 on Wrestling returns tonight, and it starts LIVE at 10PM ET with your host Larry Csonka and co-host Steve Cook!
What’s on tap for tonight? Cook and Csonka will discuss the latest news from the world of wrestling, discuss some things from the recent episodes of TNA Impact and Smackdown and then break down Sunday’s big Royal Rumble PPV.
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