Wrestling’s 4R’s 10.01.12: WWE Smackdown & TNA Impact Wrestling Reviewed

Championship Thursday Segments: I really liked these segments this week. There was one less, since two challengers were needed. I also like that Garett wasn’t the first one eliminated, even though he had no business being in the running.

Tara and Brooke Hogan backstage: Brooke Hogan did a good job here, and since she isn’t shoved down our throats, she hasn’t done a bad job overall.

Tara vs. ODB: I think the time is right to deactivate the Knockouts Tag Team Championships—and push ODB as a singles wrestler. She’s insanely over, and this match was more than acceptable for a women’s match.

Samoa Joe vs. Mr. Anderson for the TV Title: The match was good, and really put Joe over as a world beater. This match featured two former world champions—and both of them wanted to hold that TV title. That’s a great start to reestablishing the title.

Evan Markopoulos’ Gut Check decision: TNA got another one right, the kid isn’t ready. I think he might make it in wrestling. Won’t surprise me if ROH doesn’t go after him now! In all seriousness, he’s very young and has a great future ahead of him. TNA would be smart to quietly sign him to a developmental deal and send him to the 3D Academy (not OVW).

Bound For Glory Moment segments: While Mr. Anderson had a questionable suggestion (a match he lost), these segments are a great way to build the event as being the premier event in TNA.

Jeff Hardy & Austin Aries beat Bobby Roode & Bully Ray: Great main event match, and the right man went over.

Hulk Hogan & Sting in Aces & Eights Dungeon Clubhouse : Is Joseph Park a sex slave? I’d rather see that angle than see Eric Bischoff as the man behind Aces & Eights.

Wade Barrett defeated Zack Ryder: Wade Barrett defeated Zack Ryder on Smackdown this week, keeping the Barrett Barrage rolling along. This match as about what you would expect, three minutes, Barrett dominates, Ryder got his spots of hope in, and then ate the old elbow to the face for the finish. I think that they have handled the Barrett return well, as I had stated numerous times that his images needed rehabbed. Barrett, since coming back, has been treated as a bad ass, and is simply beating people. They are working to establish the new finish as well as the fact that he is a winner. While they do not have a feud for him right now, they certainly have enough TV time to get him out there and continue the momentum. If they have no plans for the HIAC PPV with Barrett, I hope they simply keep doing what they have been with him, and then after that PPV, give him a solid feud and direction. But as for now, I feel they are doing a solid job of rehabbing his image.

Ryback defeated Tensai: Regardless of your thoughts on the whole Tensai experiment, I think that this was a well done segment. Ryback is coming off of a victory over the IC Champion Miz on Raw, and was also given the big stand off with CM Punk to end Raw. We have heard numerous times Vince McMahon is high on Ryback, and they seem to be serious about him. So to follow that up on Smackdown, they had him take on another big guy in Tensai. Tensai got some shit in on Ryback, and then Ryback did his thing and got a dominant victory over Tensai. I will admit that Ryback is far from great in the ring, but at the same time I am asking for something new. They are getting behind him booking wise, the crowds are reacting to him well, and at the end of the day, it is better to try with him then to give up without ever giving him a chance. Feed him more.

Antonio Cesaro © defeated Santino: US Champion Antonio Cesaro defeated Santino in the opening match on the show. The match was to follow last week’s deal where Cesaro lost to Santino, and then Cesaro dropped Aksana (in five different languages) for costing him the match. That is all well and good, but at this point, it feels as if they are just running in place with Cesaro. Forget the fact that he could be and should be having better matches with a more quality opponent; they just need to advance him and do it soon. The Santino stuff was fine because of the crowd reactions, but now he needs a serious feud, something to show his ability and to hopefully make the US Title mean something.

The Rhodes Scholars defeated The Usos: They officially announced the tag team tournament on the show, in order to crown #1 contenders for the tag team titles. I am all for this, because it is an actual effort to spotlight the tag teams. In the first match, The Rhodes Scholars defeated The Usos, which was the right decision, although I thought it was too short. In my opinion, you’re basically starting from scratch with the tag teams. The Rhodes Scholars are just formed and the Usos are an established team, and while they got some run, I would have appreciated a longer match, showing them as a real challenge. Finally, and on more of a personal note, I do love the added emphasis on tag team wrestling, but am not totally buying it. Right now it is good, Bryan and Kane are the stars for now, but the true test will be AFTER they lose the titles. Everyone thought tag teams were back with the Hart Dynasty, and we all see how that went. Hopefully they are serious this time, because with three hour Raw shows and the addition of WWE Main Event, they have a lot of time to fill and a lot of guys that need to be used, and the tag team division is an answer to that.

Main Event: In execution I suppose that you can call the main event segment of Smackdown a win, unfortunately this also did nothing for me. The Del Rio attack on Orton made sense, and led to Orton playing resilient babyface against Show in the man event. Orton eventually lost to Show, who is now the new #1 contender. For what they booked it was a fine match, but if you ask me if I am excited about Big Show challenging for the title, the answer is no. Some will say that they have little to no choice but to do that at this time, but I again say that if you would have actually booked some mid-card guys effectively, you would have had more choices instead of going back to Big Show. But again, that’s just my opinion.

YEAR IN REVIEW (PPV) by Csonka:
TOP PPVs:
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV 8.4
* TNA Destination X – 8.3
* DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 iPPV – 8.2
* DGUSA Mercury Rising 2012 iPPV – 8.1
* WWE Extreme Rules – 8.0
* EVOLVE 13 iPPV – 8.0
* ROH Border Wars iPPV – 8.0

* WWE WrestleMania 28 – 7.9
* DGUSA Enter the Dragon Gate 2012 iPPV – 7.8
* TNA Hardcore Justice – 7.7
* DGUSA Untouchable 2012 iPPV – 7.6
* ROH Best in the World iPPV – 7.5
* ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – 7.4
* TNA Slammiversary – 7.4
* ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – 7.4
* EVOLVE 12 iPPV – 7.3
* TNA Sacrifice – 7.2
* EVOLVE 16 iPPV – 7.1
* WWE Money in the Bank – 7.0
* EVOLVE 17 iPPV – 7.0
* EVOLVE 14 iPPV – 7.0
* EVOLVE 11 iPPV – 7.0
* ROH Boiling Point iPPV – 7.0

* WWE Summerslam – 6.9
* EVOLVE 15 iPPV – 6.8
* TNA No Surrender – 6.7
* WWE Night of Champions – 6.6
* TNA Victory Road – 6.5
* TNA Against All Odds – 6.5
* WWE Over the Limit – 6.5

* CZW Down with the Sickness iPPV 5.0
* TNA Genesis – 5.0
* WWE Royal Rumble – 5.0

* WWE No Way Out – 4.9
* WWE Elimination Chamber – 4.0

* TNA Lockdown – 3.0

TOP PPV MATCHES:
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night Two iPPV –ROH Title Match: Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin [****¾]

* From WWE Over the Limit – WWE Title Match: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan [****½]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker vs. Triple H [****½]
* From DGUSA’s Untouchable 2012 – CIMA and AR Fox vs. El Generico and Samuray Del Sol [****½]

* From WWE Night of Champions – WWE Title Match – John Cena vs. CM Punk [****¼]
* From DGUSA’s Enter the Dragon Gate 2012 iPPV – I QUIT Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Chuck Taylor [****¼]
* From TNA Slammiversary – Tag Team Title Match: Kaz and Daniels vs. Kurt Angle and AJ Styles [****¼]
* From WWE Extreme Rules – World Title Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus [****¼]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – Low Ki, BxB Hulk and Akira Tozawa vs. Ricochet, PAC and Mazaaki Mochizuki [****¼]
* From EVOLVE 11 iPPV – Fit Finlay vs. Sami Calihan [****¼]
* From TNA Destination X – TNA Title Match – Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode [****¼]

* From TNA No Surrender – AJ Styles and Kurt Angle vs. Christopher Daniels and Kazarian [****]
* From TNA Hardcore Justice – Bound for Glory Series Ladder Match – AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe [****]
* From TNA Hardcore Justice – TNA Title Match – Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode [****]
* From DGUSA’s Enter the Dragon Gate 2012 iPPV – Open the United Gate Tag Team Title Match: AR Fox and CIMA vs. Rich Swann and Ricochet [****]
* From WWE Extreme Rules – John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar [****]
* From WWE Money in the Bank- WWE Title Match: Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk [****]
* From WWE Extreme Rules – WWE Title Match: Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk [****]
* From EVOLVE 11 iPPV – Low Ki vs. El Generico [****]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – El Generico vs. Sami Calihan [****]
* From DGUSA’s Untouchable 2012 – Open the Freedom Gate Title Match – Johnny Gargano vs. Akira Tozowa [****]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – Open the Freedom Gate Title Match – Johnny Gargano vs. Masato Yoshino [****]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – Open the United Gate Tag Title Match: Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Ricochet and Masato Yoshino [****]
* From DGUSA’s Open the Ultimate Gate 2012 – Akira Tozowa vs. Masaaki Mochizuki [****]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – WWE Title Match: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho [****]
* From The ROH Best in the World iPPV – Hybrid Fighting Rules: Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly [****]
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – Last Man Standing Match – Kevin Steen vs. El Generico [****]
* From TNA Sacrifice – AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle [****]
* From TNA Destination X – Last Man Standing Match – AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels [****]
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV – Ladder Match: Gran Akuma vs. Icarus [****]
* From EVOLVE 17 iPPV – Samuray Del Sol vs. El Generico [****]
* From EVOLVE 15 iPPV – Samuray Del Sol vs. El Generico [****]
* From EVOLVE 14 iPPV – Samuray Del Sol vs. El Generico [****]
* From DGUSA’s Enter the Dragon Gate 2012 iPPV – I QUIT MATCH: Johnny Gargano vs. Chuck Taylor [****]
* From DGUSA’s Enter the Dragon Gate 2012 iPPV – Open the United Gate Tag Team Title Match: AR Fox and CIMA vs. Rich Swann and Ricochet [****]

* From EVOLVE 17 iPPV – Ricochet vs. AR Fox [***¾]
* From WWE Night of Champions – Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler [***¾]
* From WWE No Way Out – WWE Title Match – CM Punk vs. Kane vs. Daniel Bryan [***¾]
* From TNA Destination X – Bound For Glory Series Match: Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe [***¾]
* From TNA Slammiversary – X-Division Title Match: Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe [***¾]
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV – Campeonatos de Parejas Match: Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano © vs. The Young Bucks [***¾]
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV – Lucha de Apuesta: Mask vs. Hair Match: Hallowicked vs. Tim Donst [***¾]
* Chikarasaurus Rex: How to Hatch a Dinosaur iPPV – Eddie Kingston, Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Soldier Ant & Green Ant defeated 17, The Shard, assailANT, combatANT, deviANT [***¾]
* From TNA Sacrifice – Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray [***¾]
* From TNA Lockdown – Bobby Roode vs. James Storm [***¾]
* From WWE Over the Limit – World Title Match – Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio [***¾]
* From WWE WrestleMania 28 – The Rock vs. John Cena [***¾]
* From The ROH Best in the World iPPV – ROH World Title Match: Davey Richards © vs. Kevin Steen [***¾]
* From The ROH Border Wars iPPV – ROH World Title Match: Davey Richards © vs. Kevin Steen [***¾]
* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night One iPPV – ROH World Title Match: Davey Richards © vs. Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards [***¾]
* From TNA Victory Road – Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Hardy [***¾]
* From TNA Against All Odds – TNA X-Division Title Match: Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley [***¾]
* From The ROH 10th Anniversary iPPV – Eddie Edwards & Adam Cole vs. Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly [***¾]
* From DGUSA’s Mercury Rising 2012 – El Generico vs. Lince Dorado vs. Rich Swann vs. Cima vs. Chuck Taylor vs. Samurai Del Sol [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – Fit Finlay vs. Jon Davis [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 12 iPPV – AR Fox vs. Sami Calihan [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – Low Ki vs. Jon Davis [***¾]
* From EVOLVE 13 iPPV – DGUSA Open the Dream Gate Title Match: Johnny Gargano vs. AR Fox [***¾]
* CZW Down with the Sickness iPPV – Title Unification Ladder Match: AR Fox (CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion) vs. Dave Crist (CZW Wired Television Champion) [***¾]

Thoughts From The Man Cave: The Current State of Rap: Deshaun Sheppard joins the Man Cave to talk about the current state of rap music. We’ll review some of the big albums from this past year including Cruel Summer, Welcome To: Our House, and Life is Good. We’ll also talk about the current state of hip hop and how artists like Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj suck while young artists are getting too caught up in beef, which is leading to killings. You can check out the show at this link.