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Wrestling’s 4R’s 2.17.12: WWE Raw, NXT & 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. 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.
As of today, since Vince Russo is currently not a writer for a pro wrestling company, I am retiring the rare 6th R, “the Russo-FN-Riffic~!”. Fare thee well Vinny Ru, leave the memories alone…
Let’s rock…
By: Shawn S. Lealos
ROH Television 02.11.12:
QUICK RESULTS:
– Eddie Edwards def. Kyle O’Reilly
– Mike Mondo no contest with Matt Taven
– Briscoe Brothers def. House of Truth
Eddie Edwards vs. Kyle O’Reilly – This was a really good match, which is not a surprise seeing who was involved. Both men fought their butts off and had some really impressive reversals and some solid inventive moves. These are the kinds of matches that Ring of Honor needs to promote to show where they are different from WWE and TNA. I also like how Davey Richards came out for O’Reilly’s support and then. I also like how Adam Cole came out for Eddie and the wounded puppy dog look that O’Reilly had when Cole agreed to be Eddie’s tag team partner.
Kevin Steen – This is how Kevin Steen should have been introduced last week. Mike Mondo and a new guy named Matt Taven were supposed to fight. The match started and the two fought a little before Kevin Steen came out. He said he knew who Mondo was but he never heard of Taven, so the fact that Taven gets a TV match before him is an insult. Then Steen, who had his piledriver banned last week, broke out his new finishing move, the F5, on both men.
10th Anniversary TV Title Match – Jay Lethal defends his TV title at the 10th Anniversary show against Tomasso Ciampa. This is great because I love Ciampa, and secondly, because this means Mike Bennett’s feud with lethal is over with.
Briscoe Brothers vs. House of Truth – This was a fantastic tag team match. The Briscoes are just gold in the ring and both Elgin and Strong are always fun to watch. The match went for quite a while The House won meaning we might get a nice feud between the teams once the Young Bucks go away. Forget about the match between Mondo and Taven and this show had two main event caliber matches. I also love Jay Lethal bringing in the baseball bat at the end to clear house.
WGGT Suspended – WGTT said they refused to pay the $5,000 fines for the chair shots last week so Jim Cornette suspended them. WGTT said they will get revenge on the Briscoe brothers but then the Briscoe brothers came up next and said that WGGT could go to the back of the line. I just don’t like the way this was set up, especially since Shelton and Haas finally had characters I could get into. Either way, the chair shots and piledriver rules are too similar for two separate angles for my taste. For someone who used to hit people over the head with a loaded tennis racquet, Cornette is really a major hypocrite in Ring of Honor.
Kyle O’Reilly is not a star – While it is an angle built on a solid idea, the entire Eddie Edwards vs. Kyle O’Reilly feud lacks a serious sense of realism. First of all, since Ring of Honor came to national TV, Edwards is now 6-1 in competition. His only loss came at the hands of Davey Richards at the last iPPV. Kyle O’Reilly is 2-5, and both of his wins were in tag team matches. Eddie is a former World Champion and O’Reilly probably won’t ever be one. Now, that does build the entire angle because O’Reilly is extremely jealous of Edwards and his man-crush on Davey is what makes him so dangerous. Of course, the problem is they are making Eddie more sneering while Davey is the baby-face champion (although a lousy baby face). They need to pull the switch and make Davey and Kyle bad but they can’t because of Kevin Steen. See, this is called writing yourself into a corner and Ring of Honor is in trouble with this feud because of that.
Nothing
| The 411 This was a fantastic Ring of Honor show. There were two great main event caliber matches and Kevin Steen finally made his presence known and broke out his new finisher. This is the kind of show I want to see every week. SHOW RATING: 8.0 |
By: LARRY CSONKA
Raw 2.13.12:
QUICK RESULTS:
– Chris Jericho defeated Kofi Kingston @ 5:20 via pin [**¼]
– Randy Orton defeated The Big Show via DQ @ 7:45 [**]
– R-Truth defeated Dolph Ziggler @ 2:28 via pin [NR]
– Tamina Snuka defeated Brie Bella @ 1:27 via pin [NR]
– Non-Title Match: CM Punk defeated The Miz @ 5:00 via submission [**]
REMINDER: I do not rate matches under three minutes long
“I know that when a man challenges you and you walk away, that makes you a coward.”: The single greatest thing they did on Monday Night Raw was the Shawn Michael-Triple H promo, which led into the Undertaker’s video package. I was a fan of what they did this week, I was intrigued when I heard that they were bringing in Shawn, and in my opinion they knocked it out of the park. From Shawn’s excitement in thinking that Triple H was going to accept the match to the explanation from Triple H as to why he couldn’t. From there we had Shawn’s disappointment (calling him a sell out and a coward), and complete disgust when Triple H said he didn’t need to do it, this was a spectacular segment. Sure I kind of didn’t like the “we’re the last of a breed” thing, as I felt it buried the roster a bit, but it also plays into the story well and it is believable. Shawn’s involvement paid off huge here, and while I was already cool with the match, the last two weeks of promo work have made me even more excited for the match. The video with the Undertaker from his Batcave again was a great piece of business, and WWE’s production team steps up once again, delivering the good. Some people have asked about the hair cutting, more making jokes about Taker’s wig than anything. But this was a great explanation as to why he will have little to know hair, and thee is some great symbolism behind it. Talking with some folks, some cultures believe that shaving one’s head can be interpreted as having lost face, which then leaves the shaved person to slowly regain status as his hair returns. In some other cultures, it’s a symbol of rejuvenation and rebirth. I think that both could be applicable here, and I loved the symbolism. Overall this was the best thing they did on the show, and they are definitely heading in the right direction with the angle. More of this please!
Tamina gets a last name, a title shot and kills a bitch…: For the time being, Tamina is the flavor of the month to challenge Beth Phoenix, and while the Divas division hasn’t done much to excite me, I did like what they did here on Raw. First of all they look to be fully behind her heritage, giving her the Snuka name to wrestle under. Secondly, they officially announced the title match for the PPV, which was nice instead of a last minute addition. Finally, she basically killed Brie Bella with ease, setting her up as a dominant challenger, and that is the way it should be done. While I still feel the WM match is Kharma vs. Beth, having Beth go through a strong challenger, in what could be a good match, is a good way to get there.
Randy Orton vs. The Big Show? Not if Daniel Bryan has anything to say about it!: Following the event s of last week’s Smackdown, which we got to see in video package form, we had the match made for Raw, Randy Orton vs. Big Show. Outside of the botch near the end, I felt that they had a good TV match going and on top of that, having Daniel Bryan at ringside, with Cole afraid of him and kissing his ass was a nice dimension. Orton did eventually hit the RKO (after the botch) and that led to Daniel Bryan hitting the ring and laying out both Orton and Show with the title belt. Unfortunately the botch didn’t help the match, nor the fact that Orton got injured. Quite honestly when you take into account the BAD botch by Show, followed by the fact that Orton got injured and is out of the Elimination Chamber PPV, this didn’t work out the well. I know it is easy to look back and that hindsight is 20/20, but honestly, this all cannot be looked at as good. And don’t cry about me spoiling you, WWE.com posted it, so it isn’t a spoiler. Almost nothing went right on this show…
Chris Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston: So after the whole debate bullshit, the opening match was Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho. The match was a bit over 5-minutes long, and they did what they could to give us an entertaining bout. Chris Jericho got the victory, which he did need, but again, this is the problem with booking these matches. They book these matches when neither guy should lose. But they do, and just moments after Kofi was buried and called an after thought, he did nothing to prove that statement wrong and lost, again. But hey, Kofi did a cool handstand, and THAT is why he deserves to be in the chamber match (or so the comment section tells me). Forget strong booking heading into the PPV, logic be damned.
R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler: Following the great promo between HBK and Triple H, we headed back into a Elimination Chamber themed match between R Truth and Dolph Ziggler. I was actually looking forward to this, but unfortunately, I was once again let down. They got a bit over two-minutes, and sure what they did was fine, but the fact that Dolph got rolled up and lost, again. Seriously, they aren’t even trying. Instead of booking these guys in different matches against geeks that aren’t being used in any important way, they have to face each other and hope that they will not be the biggest loser heading into the PPV. But Dolph lost again, and looks like a complete dumb ass. But HEY, Dolph got a title shot at the Rumble PPV, and THAT is why he deserves to be in the chamber match (or so the comment section tells me). Forget strong booking heading into the PPV, logic be damned. Again.
Remember when Miz was WWE Champion?: Hey kids, remember last year when Miz was the WWE Champion? Guess what? He’s a complete bitch right now. Add the Miz into the batch of guys that have been booked like shit heading into the Elimination Chamber PPV. They had an acceptable, but again short match, which saw the Champion win, and the challenger tap like a little bitch. Again, Punk winning is great, but the match being booked is lazy and hurts the overall build of the Chamber, because we always have people losing! But HEY, Miz lasted the longest in the Royal Rumble, and THAT is why he deserves to be in the chamber match (or so the comment section tells me). Forget strong booking heading into the PPV, logic be damned. Again and again.
I Told You So: Me, a few weeks ago…
“But here is my fear, and that is the booking of matches like this, which we have seen way too many times. We are building to the Chamber match, and again I have issues with HOW these men have been booked prior to the announcement, but I fear that it will only get worse. Get ready for a few weeks of the Elimination Chamber guys trading wins and vying for he title of biggest loser before heading into the big match. Tag team matches, singles matches, triple threats and more, mark my words, these guys will beat each other over and over again, and none of them will be any better off for it, they will just try to be the guy that loses the least.”
Yup.
If they want me to lose all interest in the Elimination Chamber, this debate is working great!: You know, I thought that booking matches that constantly saw members of the Elimination Chamber match lose was a horrible idea, well I found something worse. Just days before the PPV, we opened up WWE Monday Night Raw with A DEBATE. Yes, a debate, the same company that put together the awesome segment with HBK, HHH and Taker put THIS shit on and thought that it was a good idea. Someone tried to tell me that it was “intentionally bad” so that the other stuff looked good. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. The skit did NOTHNG to sell the PPV, it only served to make most of the guys look stupid or like they didn’t belong in the title match. Miz is a Jericho rip off, Kofi is an after thought, Jericho has been nothing since he returned, Truth is crazy, Dolph is the guy that looks good but never wins any thing important. If that is what I was supposed to get out of this segment, then mission accomplished…
NO BUYS~!
John Cena is the worst friend ever! Oh yeah, this whole Cena vs. Kane thing sucks…: I have not been a fan of their feud and angle, and I continue not to be a fan of the feud an angle. Again, I fully understand what they are trying to do here, but instead of making Cena sympathetic or making it seem like he may snap, Eve looks like an insensitive ho bag and Ryder continues to look stupider by the week. And then we have the completely over the top angle, made worse by the horrible acting made even worse by people missing cues and making scenes look like amateur hour and I am very much over this whole feud. While it may not be Shakespeare, I’d rather hear Rock discuss Cena’s lady parts and Fruity Pebbles than this shit.
And Cena, you forgot the first rule my dude, Broskis before hoskis…
| The 411 As a go home show for the Elimination Chamber, Monday’s edition of Raw was a complete failure. Almost no one looks strong going into the PPV, most of the guys come off as losers, and it seems as if they have taken no care in working towards this PPV effectively. And then, then there was the good. Triple H and Shawn were simply awesome in their segment, the video package for Taker was awesome, and after watching that, I cannot believe that the same company wrote this show. They did great with the build for the Mania match, but couldn’t seem to be bothered in making the Elimination Chamber seem important. SHOW RATING: 4.5 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale.. 0 – 0.9: Torture |
By: Tony Acero
WWE NXT 2.15.12:
QUICK RESULTS
– Tyson Kidd Defeated Curt Hawkins [***1/2]
– Titus O’Neil Defeated Yoshi Tatsu [**]
– Percy Watson Defeated Michael McGillicutty [**]
– Justin Gabriel and Derrick Bateman Defeated Heath Slater and Johnny Curtis [**]
KIDD VS HAWKINS: I swear, Kidd can do no wrong. I think you and I can agree that Curt Hawkins has talent and he’s doing a great job honing it on the C-show and below. Tonight was pretty stellar in looking at him in the ring as he’s got a moveset and keeps things interesting. There was a bit of psychology as well. I only wish he would stop relying on restholds, or at the very least, make them interesting. That is really my only complaint as you can’t ask for much more in this match. There were near falls and there was enough time to do some great stuff in the ring. A few innovative moves and the right attitude and the second Edgehead is doing quite well…at the very least, better than Ryder #amirite?
CHOCO-KAITLYN: I’ve disliked this storyline from the beginning, but it appears that they are going for the more simplistic route of Johnny Curtis trying to sabotage the relationship of Derrick and Maxine while Derrick’s buddy is accepting but at the same time skeptical of it all. I won’t say that this is the best thing going on, but it’s a bit more intriguing than the Cena/Kane/Eve/Ryder shit that’s going down over on RAW, and that’s saying something. I put this in the right due mostly to the ending of NXT where Maxine just creamed Kaitlyn with chocolate, spreading it all over her face. There was something about this segment that made me very, very intrigued.
STRIKER GETS A SUB: I know it’s minor, but having Regal make the matches, then explaining why each of them were made as well as adding importance to them just seemed to add something to the show. It wasn’t just a run of the mill NXT and that helped the show move along quite a bit.
WATSON VS McGILLICUTTY: As I said in the report, there’s something here but it’s so vague and transparent that this just can’t be right. Regal called McGillicutty a “true WWE Superstar” but I just don’t see it. It was an average match that showed no matter how “ferocious” McG gets, it just doesn’t work for him when he’s a stale in ring competitor. Percy’s got IT, he just needs to know how to use it.
TITUS VS. YOSHI: Titus is another wrestler that seems to be missing something in the ring. He’s like that lumbering friend who can knock a man out, but can’t play Jenga. (Yeah, they exist!). It’s a shame, too, but since he’s a large man, he’ll have a spot. He’s very green and not even the agile and mobile Yoshi Tatsu could help him. This would typically be excusable, but he’s been this way since the first time I’ve seen him in the ring. We need some growth, Titus!
TAG TEAM ACTION: I really thought they were going to feed Derrick to both Heath and Curtis, but they didn’t and that’s great. I suppose this was cool in that it tied everything together with Gabriel and Heath’s disdain for each other coupled with Johnny And Derrick, but that didn’t make the match any good. Heath is still craptastic and Johnny has speed, but little talent in terms of cohesiveness. He seems to just go through the motions in there and it doesn’t work for me. Derrick brought back some spark of why he was my favorite when he was teamed with Daniel Bryan, but for whatever reason, I don’t see him ever fully returning to that.
NOTHING
NO END IN SIGHT: Can we just end this already?
| The 411 A surprisingly good episode of NXT. The Tyson and Hawkins match was a lot of fun to watch, and nothing was really bad. It was heavily wrestling based, and any time Regal gets more screen/mic time, I’m all for it. SHOW RATING: 7.5 |
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