Wrestling’s 4R’s 10.19.12: WWE Raw, TNA Bound For Glory & ROH on Sinclair

Barrister RD Evans – No one should be surprised at this, but RD Evans sold it well. He came out to the ring with Tomasso Ciampa and explained to the audience how Ciampa tore his ACL at the start of his match with Jay Lethal at the last iPPV, but continued to fight for 20 more minutes on the bad knee. He then said that Ciampa was a warrior, a gladiator and a thoroughbred, but like all thoroughbreds with a broken leg, he would put Ciampa down. He then said what I suspected last week when he said his “client” would wrestle in the tournament, and he brought out his new client. It was QT Marshall, and Evans turned on Ciampa and beat him down the same way he did Prince Nana. On a side note, when Prince Nana came out during the match and DESTROYED Evans, it was a great TV. That shows how well built Evans is now as an evil manager.

Steve Corino and Nigel McGuinness – These two guys are probably the best pairing on commentary I have heard in years. They are just perfect together. It’s too bad Kevin Kelly brings the quality down.

Foreshadowing the Fall of the House of Truth – During Inside Ring of Honor, they didn’t so much as foreshadow the fall of the House of Truth, but they instead rewrote the book on how to write “promos for dummies.” By now, we all know that the House of Truth died at last weekend’s PPV. Roddy Strong quit, Michael Elgin pushed Truth away and Rhino press slammed him out of the ring after his loss. However, this week (before the iPPV aired), they showed a promo of clipped quotes with Rhino saying he won’t back down from any man, Elgin saying he was going to tear down the house if it was built around Strong, and Strong saying he was going to teach Elgin a lesson. All the while, Truth was preaching that all would turn out ok. The format of the broken interview clips was poorly done and this promo just pretty much sucked.

By: Tony Acero

WWE RAW 10.15.12:
QUICK RESULTS
– The Big Show Defeated Daniel Bryan [**]
– Alberto Del Rio Defeated Brodus Clay [*]
– The Prime Time Players Defeated Team CoBro [*]
– Ryback Defeated Dolph Ziggler and David Otunga [1/2*]
– Antonio Cesaro Defeated Justin Gabriel [*1/2]
– Kane Defeated Matt Striker [NR]
– Sheamus Defeated Wade Barrett Via DQ [***]
– Eve Defeated Layla [**]
– The Rhodes Scholars Defeated Primo and Epico [**]
– Kofi Defeated The Miz [**1/2]

PUNK TEASE: I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one that saw the swerve here, as it was only obvious. However, it did just add a bit more to the heelness of Punk. They’re trying so hard to get people to hate him, and it’s actually working. Punk’s promo had a few small jabs at the incident from last week, essentially say he’ll slap a fan if they disrespect him, without being blatant about it. Vince coming out to kill the moment was also effective, as it comes from last week and continues a story that caused people to continue watching, something I hear they’re struggling with.

MIZ TV: This little new segment with Miz hasn’t really taken off like I assumed it would, considering I like The Miz in and out of the ring. The past few “episodes” have been pretty crappy, and The Miz has yet to get the upper hand. Tonight was a little different, and I like to think a lot had to do with The Miz and Kofi hitting the small gray area that is wrestling. We have all seen, numerous times throughout the years, critics hit Kofi with the “just on the cusp” comments, and they didn’t shy away from pointing that very thing out during this segment. The Miz called him out, and Kofi accepted it and refuted it with a call out to a match. I thought The Miz would object, but they went for it, and what a nice little match that was. OK, the match was average, but that kick was vicious!! I hope Kofi doesn’t get reprimanded for that, because it may very well be the injection that he needed.

I also have to applaud them for hyping up what is probably deemed by all as A D-Show in Main Event. Sure, this won’t last too long, but for now they are really pumping it up, as this felt like a PPV build. I don’t know how long this possible Kofi push will last, but I hope it’s a worthy one.

SHEAMUS CAN WRESTLE: Yet again, Sheamus proves himself when he doesn’t have to. Sheamus and Wade had themselves another balls to the wall match that saw Barrett get a whole lot of brutality across. If they’re lining Wade up for a possible title shot, they’re doing a great job, as Wade has a built in excuse with his match being interrupted twice week in a row. They played off of their match from last week well, without making it look too much of the same, and made me interested in a possible match between them in the future.

DIVAS CON HUEVOS: While the match between Eve and Layla didn’t set the world on fire, I was pretty impressed by Eve. Layla actually didn’t look as crisp as usual, and it was Eve that looked like the general in the ring. True, the ending was a bit sloppy, and this was still average wrestling in comparison to what we’ve seen from girls outside of the WWE, but there’s focus, there’s a story, and there’s ample time. Keep it up, WWE.

MYSTERIO BE HURTIN: So a stomach virus has caused the tag team competition to be pushed a week forward and due to that, we get another opportunity to see Rhodes and Sandow team up and show how much “smarter” they are than others. Nothing too intense, and kind of a run-of-the-mill match, but good enough for me, as it showed the brains of the superior team are simply that; superior.

KOFI – 1 THE MIZ’S HEAD – 0: While the match itself was something we’ve seen many times over, there was something different here, and it wasn’t just that damned kick. The aggression and fire was there within Kofi, and the shit talking during the match, coupled with the intensity of the crowd, really added to everything else – especially….THAT KICK!!

FEED HIM SMORES!: And now we come to Ryback and the push that coincided with a Cena injury. I’ll be the first to say that I had to shut my mouth once Ryback’s numerous squashes started getting him some major supporters. I will stand by my stance that this push is still more of a miss than a hit for any new superstar coming up, but Bah Gawd, Ryback is over and he’s got the crowd firmly behind him. I may be in the minority, but I’m not sure I liked Cena basically handing the shot over, as it just totally feels like he’s doing Ryback a favor and minimizes something that they’ve built up for weeks on weeks on weeks; the importance of the title to Cena and how he is “unstoppable” and going to be there. I know he’s injured, and I definitely don’t want him in the match, but what this means is that if/when Punk wins, we’re going to get Cena continue with the same ol tired story that we’ve been hearing for months that Punk STILL hasn’t beat him. It’s just tiring, and I feel that Ryback is simply a placeholder for the time being as Cena heels, which totally negates the match AND makes me wonder what Ryback will be doing afterwards.

PRIME TIME?: Although I love the focus on tag teams, and I appreciate that they are not just dropping the fact that there are teams out there, simply because they’re not in the title contest, this match was pretty short and pointless, similar to the one above. Again, the right person won but it seemed more like a filler than anything important. It also lead to something that just….well, just doesn’t work. Who?
3MB. I will applaud them for getting somewhat matching attire, but it’s just not working for me. I have a long history of hating Heath, McIntyre has lost all interest, and Mahal was actually growing into his own recently. Now, we have Heath being Heath, we have Drew looking retarded, and Jinder looking all kinds of uncomfortable.

SUE ME MORE: And then we get to the third match in a row that has no reason to be there. We already know Ryback is a beast, we already know that David Otunga is worthless, and we already know that Dolph is supposed to be a chickenshit. This didn’t help or hurt, but kind of just wasted time – which is alright considering we want to get these guys TV time, but it seemed to be there just to be there, with no actual movement forward, aside from Dolph’s promo, which was more of the same. But HELLLLOOOO AJ!

VOTE CESARO FOR A BETTER TOMORROW: Three matches with a short bell-to-bell time wasn’t good enough for you?! How bout one more! Again, this was a match that didn’t really hurt anything, but at the end of the night meant very little. I love Cesaro’s push, think he’s completely deserving, and feel that he’s got a moveset that is different enough to set himself apart, but where’s the emotional pull and investment, why should we care, and where will he go from here?

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS, HUG A TEACHER: And here we go with Match number five IN A ROW that was short, meant little, and had pretty much minimal wrestling involved. Sure, it’s fun to see Bryan and Kane, but by this time, I was just done with the squash matches and was ready for something else.

YEAR IN REVIEW (PPV) by Csonka:
TOP PPVs:
* New Japan Pro Wrestling’s King of Pro Wrestling iPPV – 9.5

* ROH Glory By Honor iPPV – 8.5

* 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
* TNA Bound for Glory – 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 NJPW King of Pro Wrestling iPPV – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki [*****]

* From The ROH Showdown in the Sun: Night Two iPPV –ROH Title Match: Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin [****¾]
* From The ROH Glory By Honor iPPV – ROH Title Match:
Kevin Steen 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 The ROH Glory By Honor iPPV – Jay Lethal vs. Davey Richards [****¼]
* 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 Bound for Glory – Street Fight – Bobby Roode vs. James Storm [****]
* From TNA Bound for Glory – World Title Match – Austin Aries vs. Jeff Hardy [****]
* From NJPW King of Pro Wrestling iPPV – Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi [****]
* From NJPW King of Pro Wrestling iPPV – Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson [****]
* 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 TNA Bound for Glory – Tag Team Title Match – Daniels & Kaz vs. Angle & Styles vs. Chavo & Hernandez [***¾]
* From The ROH Glory By Honor iPPV – Adam Cole vs. Eddie Edwards [***¾]
* 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]
* From NJPW King of Pro Wrestling iPPV – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto [***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]

NEW PODCASTS:
411’s Long Road to Ruin: The Rocky Franchise (Part 1): 411’s Mark Radulich and Sean Cormer launch the newest podcast for 411, 411’s Long Road to Ruin. On the show, the guys will breakdown some of the biggest and best movie franchises around. Today, the guys start with the Rocky franchise. Enjoy the show, leave feedback and even make suggestions of future franchise breakdowns. You can listen the show at this link.

Thoughts From The Man Cave: Friday Night Lights (Season One): 411’s Steve Cook joins the Man Cave to look back at season one of Friday Night Lights. We’ll look at all the major plots of the season including the Dillon Panthers march to the state title, the awesomeness of The Smash, the love stories of just about everyone in the school, and everything in between. If you enjoyed the show then this is a great way to look back on things. You can listen to the show at this link.

UFC’s Jon Jones-Chael Sonnen Conference Call: Complete audio from Wednesday’s UFC Conference call with Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen. During the call, Dana White tries to explain the decision to give Sonnen the coaching gig and title fight, Jones slams Sonnen for TRT usage, Sonnen talks his usual pro wrestling themed smack and much more. You can listen to the call at this link.

Thoughts From The Man Cave: UFC 153 Fallout: Samer Kadi joins the Man Cave to review UFC 153 in a podcast that lasts way too long, but the ending is totally worth it. We’ll look back on this past weekend’s main card, spending 50 minutes on Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar, which lasted less than five minutes. Then we spend another 50 minutes on the rest of the main card, which was pretty fantastic start to finish before quickly talking about the prelim fights. Finally, we end with me doing karaoke. So feel free to skip right to that. You can listen to the show at this link.

Bad Movie Review Club: Nude Nuns With Big Guns: 411’s Sean Comer joins the Man Cave and 411’s Jeremy Lambert for the October edition of the Bad Movie Review Club. This month we tackle Nude Nuns With Big Guns, which is as awesome as the title sounds. We’ll review the movie scene-by-scene, spot the Robert Rodriguez rip-offs, and even pitch Nude Nuns With Big Guns 2. This has been my favorite movie to review thus far and I encourage everyone to check out the movie. Plus we’ll unveil our November pick for the Bad Movie Review Club. You can check out the show at this link.