The Culture Cannon

WWE WrestleMania 21 2005 Review

2012-02-11T13:48:00.000Z

Rey Mysterio Vs Eddie Guerrero

A nice little exhibition-style match to start things off tonight between the WWE Tag Team champions. It's a shame they had no decent contenders to defend their titles against, but then again it's always a treat to watch these two go up against each other. As these are just the innocent beginnings to a much longer story it's not too dramatic yet, but the even structure and fast tempo make it exciting and engaging nevertheless. There are a couple of small botches from Rey, but all is forgiven after a beautiful corkscrew plancha, the kind of truly high risk move you rarely see from him in his older age. Guerrero strikes a good balance of frustration and sportsmanship, working as the heel not through cheating or aggression but by simply breaking the smooth flow of Rey's offence. Between Cole and Tazz consistently reminding us of Eddie's main-event history and the predominant stalemate until the sudden finish, Mysterio doesn't just walk out with the big win on the big stage but also further proof of his abilities at the top level.

Rating: 4 Stars

Money in the Bank – Ladder
Edge Vs Chris Benoit Vs Chris Jericho Vs Christian Vs Shelton Benjamin Vs Kane

Next up is the début of a concept that will dominate the WWE for many years to come, the Money in the Bank Ladder match. This was an elegant way to get the entire Raw upper mid-card on the show, one that not only has something important at stake but a classic stipulation to hold it all together. The assembly of names is really well balanced; Kane is a solid big guy, Benoit and Jericho are established champions, Edge and Christian are Ladder match veterans and Benjamin is a rising star of the mid-card. Between them they're able to work in numerous cool spots both in pairs and large groups with enough variety to never become dull within the fair time they have to work with. Benjamin is the stand out with both an awesome T-Bone suplex from the top of a ladder and arguably his greatest highlight – a running clothesline right up a make-shift ladder ramp. My only complaint is with the overall journey that takes place here, as the eventual winner Edge is actually absent for much of the action. He's the right choice for the prize without a doubt, but I wish we'd seen a little more from him to demonstrate why he's earned it. Another draw back is the lack of any real “jump out of your seat” moments, well, besides the finish which is both surprising and set up nicely by Benoit throughout the match. Just as he defends himself from Kane and ascends, his arm injury is exploited by an Edge chair shot that earns The Ultimate Opportunist his new nickname, some substantial heat and that all important briefcase. An enjoyable addition not only to this card, but to future WrestleManias as well.

Rating: 4 Stars

The Undertaker Vs Randy Orton

It's been a really odd year for Randy Orton. On paper it was fantastic – a five star classic against Mick Foley, winning the World Heavyweight Championship from Chris Benoit and now challenging The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak. However in the midst of all that he was forced into a face turn and a laborious feud with Triple H that he just wasn't ready for. As a result he's now had to regress, dumping a year's worth of character development to return to his original Legend Killer heel persona. One of the best things about this situation is that finally someone has assessed Undertaker's streak from a Legend Killer's point of view and declared it a target. The quest for the accolade that Orton pursues here will go on to be a major selling point of every WrestleMania until Taker retires and has given the Phenom's character a tangible mystique. This match was a solid entry into the streak and the start of one of the biggest ongoing feuds of 2005. Orton brings fantastic urgency into the first few minutes and both men work at an unusual tempo for most of the bout. Things do drag in the middle, but by Orton standards it's pretty trimmed down and where it does slow it tends to only highlight Taker's powerful offence. Orton somewhat botches his big Chokeslam/RKO counter spot which dulls it's impact, but the Cowboy Bob run in and reversed Tombstone finish makes up for it, even if that one has become a routine Undertaker spot ever since.

Rating: 4 Stars

Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels

When I started watching pro-wrestling in 2002, the two performers who really caught my attention were Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. Their work that year was the main reason I ever invested time into this industry, and the more I put in the more they showed me why it was all worth it. Both were mirrors of each other in many ways; the talent at the heart of their respective brands. Raw at this time was defined by Michaels' feuds with Triple H, Jericho and Flair while SmackDown had Angle up against Lesnar, Benoit and Guerrero. To see my two favourite athletes collide for the very first time was a personal dream come true, a contest in my opinion worthy of nothing less than the grandest of all stages. This, to me, is what WrestleMania is all about.

This was the match that really showed me what wrestling could be. This match has a story and that story has a structure. It has three acts that are clearly defined, a rhythm that changes and cycles around building towards one of the best submission finishes in history. If there was any doubting the greatness of Angle and Michaels before this, their work here eliminated all of it.

With that in mind, I will admit it's not perfect. Now, the flaws aren't in the wrestling whatsoever, oh my no, but the staging and small-time atmosphere of WrestleMania 21 does this contest an injustice. I can only imagine how much greater this could have been had it occurred in a proper stadium, in front of 70 or 80 thousand rather than the comparatively minuscule 20 thousand who attended the Staples Centre on this night. While it doesn't damage the performance, the presentation takes away from the aura and the pageantry work of this standard should be viewed amongst.

In all the years I've continued to research and learn and enjoy the history of wrestling I've seen less matches than I can count on one hand that I prefer to this one. It's a perfect mix of action and drama told through a shifting blend of high quality mat wrestling, aerial spots and brawling across a full thirty minutes. This is the match that converted me from someone who liked wrestling to someone who loves it.

Rating: 5 Stars

Sumo
Akebono Vs The Big Show

You knew that run of great matches couldn't go on forever. To be fair, this is the only “fluff” match on the entire card tonight, which is unusual for a WrestleMania, and while it might be short and not very entertaining it is at least novel. The problem here is, as was pointed out repeatedly, Big Show has never fought a Sumo match before and his opponent is a champion and a veteran. Legit or not, I wouldn't expect a total rookie, no matter how large, to pose a threat in this situation. Show is quickly thrown out of the ring and it's all over as it should be. Moving on...

Rating: 1.5 Stars

WWE Championship
John Cena Vs JBL

To conclude a sterile feud I didn't much care for we get a sterile match I don't much care for. Who'd have guessed it? More of a formality than a fight with JBL passing the WWE Championship to Cena with the same tension and drama as if he'd asked for the salt. After almost a year of JBL barely escaping every opponent and obstacle, he manages somehow to dominate Cena for ten minutes before loosing out of nowhere to the FU. Now, neither man is known for their genuine wrestling prowess, but I expected at least a decent back and forth brawl. It'd have been nice to see more than one finisher, or to have had any genuine near-falls at all. I'm not sure why this ended up how it did, but were it not for the historic significance of John Cena's first world title win this would be completely forgettable. I'll give it an extra half star for that alone.

Rating: 2 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship
Batista Vs Triple H

Sometime earlier I imagine this meeting took place:

V: “Hey Triple H, don't forget tonight we've booked Motorhead to perform your entrance live for WrestleMania!”

H: “Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. It's gonna be awesome.”

V: “But just remember Lemmy is an old man now, I hear he's been drinking all afternoon and in rehearsals I found out he's forgotten about half of the lyrics.”

H: “Oh. Okay. That's cool.” [LIES]

V: “And Batista! Well since you've just got an instrumental production theme you'll just get to do your normal entrance, but you still get to do your silly dance!”

B: “That's all I care about.”

V: “Unfortunately we used up the rest of our pyro budget on $1 million's worth of JBL bucks in the last match, so you'll just have to do your dance without and try to not look utterly ridiculous.”

B: “I can do that.” [LIES]

Well, once the combined awkwardness is over, things definitely improve on the last match. The situation here on Raw is almost identical to SmackDown, with the dominant, established heel champion defending against the under-talented but popular new face. Unlike SmackDown, this feud has been brewing for a very long time, leading to a very natural turn for Batista that was the complete contrast with Randy Orton's last year. He might still be a bit green, but unlike Cena he has the serious momentum and fan support he needs to mask his limitations. Moreover, this one manages to at least work in the standard features a match like this and the last one needs to have. You've got a decent brawl, a little outside interference, lots of blood, a ref bump, some weapons, several near-falls and a finish with some build leading to it. It's lacking in drama or any real wrestling to talk about, but it's entertaining enough and does the job it was asked to do. It isn't of the same standard of main-events that we've seen in the most recent years at WrestleMania, but it's an okay end to a good evening that suddenly fell of the rails.

Rating: 3 Stars

WWE WrestleMania 21 2005 Final Score: 3.5 Stars

An evening of two distinct halves. The first three matches are all great, leading up to one of the absolute best wrestling contests you will ever see. At this point the show was an easy 5 Star classic, but suddenly things just fell apart with a throwaway sumo segment and two world title matches that just weren't of the standard we've come to expect from the Showcase of the Immortals. At least they saved the better of the two for last, and both together with the Money in the Bank match arguably marked the start of a new era. I think they could have done with moving the WWE Championship match earlier just to lessen the direct comparison that would be made between the two main-events, especially when they're both so similar. Thankfully there's none of the usual garbage that can make it onto a WrestleMania card, as even the worst matches are interesting for some reason or another. The show has an unbelievable run of quality content while it lasts, with the first couple of hours some of the best you'll ever enjoy without interruption as a wrestling fan.

2007-2008 PPV Season

2012-02-08T21:59:00.000Z

2007-2008

WWE

(Triple H Vs Jeff Hardy Vs Shawn Michaels Vs Chris Jericho Vs Umaga Vs JBL, No Way Out 2008, Elimination Chamber)

Backlash 2007: ? Stars
Judgment Day 2007: ? Stars
SNME XXXIV 2007: ? Stars
One Night Stand 2007: ? Stars
Vengeance: Night of Champions 2007: ? Stars
The Great American Bash 2007: ? Stars
SNME XXXV 2007: ? Stars
SummerSlam 2007: ? Stars
Unforgiven 2007: ? Stars
No Mercy 2007: ? Stars
Cyber Sunday 2007: ? Stars
Survivor Series 2007: ? Stars
Armageddon 2007: ? Stars
Royal Rumble 2008: ? Stars
No Way Out 2008: 4 Stars
WrestleMania XXIV 2008: ? Stars

WWE No Way Out 2008 Review

2012-02-08T21:47:00.000Z

ECW Championship
Chavo Guerrero Vs CM Punk

It's not really his fault, but Chavo Guerrero has to be the worst ECW champion since the brand's rebirth in 2006. Things on the C-Show were really knocked for a loop after Chris Benoit's death and I think no one took the brunt of that worse than CM Punk. Where he was once going to be feuding with an undisputed legend he found himself instead jobbing to John Morrison for most of the year, and where I'm certain he would have turned heel he instead became a very stale face. When he finally won the belt he'd been chasing for so long nobody cared and soon he was here, jobbing to Chavo Guerrero in an effort to establish the less talented member of the Guerrero family as a semi-world champion. It doesn't help that Chavo is pulling double duty at this time as a toady to Edge and La Familia, so despite his fair in-ring abilities he just isn't a credible person to hold what should be a major championship. Tonight they put on a decent match, well performed and engaging, but it felt more like a match for a cruiserweight or mid-card title, a breezy seven minutes of athletic tumbling and trips to the outside. The finish was well booked and I'm glad Chavo didn't need to cheat in some way to win as I'd have expected. Still, this just isn't what we should be seeing for the ECW Championship.

Rating: 3 Stars

Main-Event of WrestleMania XXIV - Elimination Chamber
The Undertaker Vs Batista Vs Finlay Vs MVP Vs The Great Khali Vs Big Daddy V

For the first time in the stipulation's history, SmackDown stars enter the Elimination Chamber. Unfortunately main-event talent is a bit thin on the ground right now so there are really only two viable winners; Batista and The Undertaker. For the rest. this is the one and only time any of them will step into the chamber to date, and none of them manage to accomplish much during their brief stay. This one was really the ending to the epic feud between Batista and Taker that began at WrestleMania 23, with both men starting and finishing the match together. That means that the rest of the field is just fodder, there to be eliminated at regular intervals until we finally get down to a one-on-one situation.

Big Daddy V is looking quite good at first, and it seems like perhaps his feud with The Undertaker will escalate here, but it's not in the cards for him and he's eliminated with ease. Khali's contribution is his usual brand of slow clumsy strikes and lumbering between exchanges. His highlight was tapping out to Hell's Gate, a nice way to put over the new submission of Taker's as he prepares to challenge for the championship. Finlay and MVP get a bit more to work with, with Finlay especially holding his own against The Animal and The Phenom. MVP takes a big bump off the top of a pod, but it's set up is contrived and it doesn't really mean much. It all comes down to Batista and Taker as expected, leading into a really well performed sequence where the Dead Man counters being driven into the chain by flipping Batista over the top rope into a Tombstone for the win. There's fun to be had in this match, but there's way too much wasted space with people who were never going to win and not enough drama until literally the final moments. As a conclusion to one of the season's best feuds it's solid, but not as focused as an important match like this one ought to be.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Career Threatening
Ric Flair Vs Mr. Kennedy

When the rumours began of Ric Flair's impending retirement there were a lot of names suggested who could conceivably be The Nature Boy's final opponent. Some thought the honour should go to another legend, others insisted it ought to be a young upstart heel who could really be made from the rub. Last month Flair took on the first of the two most popular choices in that regard, MVP, and managed to walk out with the victory. Now he takes on the true favourite, Mr. Kennedy, but the placement of the match so close to WrestleMania pretty much gives the result away. That said, being chosen as one of Flair's final feuds is a huge honour and Kennedy more than deserves it. This match could have been really special had it been given more time, but unfortunately the end result feels like only the first third of something great. The story is tried and true; Flair's knee is injured and Kennedy wants to take him out with his own finisher; the Figure-Four Leg Lock. While it might not be inspired, the journey is well performed and manages to create one or two spots of genuine doubt to the finish. My only gripe is the short length, but also the victim of that which is Kennedy, who taps out quickly to Flair after taking almost no offence to his own legs. Had the hold been held in for an age, or had there been a fair return of precision offence, then this would have been okay, but as it is it just feels rushed and makes Kennedy look a bit weak.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship
Edge Vs Rey Mysterio

Well if you thought the last match was predictable you've seen nothing yet. I have a few rules in my life, and one of them is this: The man who walks into the fight with the bright red arm bandage is going to loose. It's not a suggestion, it really is the rule and it never fails. Rey sadly injured himself at a house show earlier in the weak and suffered a torn bicep, an injury that should have kept him off the card completely but he guts through the pain to deliver the match as advertised. While I appreciate the effort I think the damage he did by working for just five minutes here cost him further weeks down the line, and as a big Mysterio fan it's not a fair trade. Edge brings some really good aggression and I have respect for Rey who doesn't shy away from his trademark spots, but this just isn't capable of anything more than it delivers and should have been cancelled.

But if it was, who could have taken Rey's place in the main-event? Well my choice for that role walks right out just as Rey is being helped to the back, non other than The Big Show who makes a shocking return after just over a year away from the company. He cuts a great face promo and the crowd are glad to see him, but then out of nowhere he jumps out of the ring and grabs the vulnerable Rey Mysterio. Well it just so happens that a friend of Rey's is sitting ringside tonight, a fellow by the name of UNDEFEATED BOXING SUPERSTAR FLOYD 'MONEY' MAYWEATHER JR, a name that manages to be less of a mouthful than the one he gives Big Show with a flurry of punches to the face. He legitimately breaks Show's nose, causing a river of blood to flow down as he escapes with his posse. Since it involves no one in the match I wasn't going to figure this segment in the final rating, but it's arguably part of the whole experience and manages to set up a huge WrestleMania match that no-one predicted both quickly and effectively, so it's worth an extra star.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Championship
John Cena Vs Randy Orton

Whenever you get matches like this you're always looking for the swerve. I mean, they wouldn't just have the main-event of WrestleMania a month early right? As this starts off that's what the world is thinking and it's a potent atmosphere of anticipation. Orton and Cena have had many battles over the years and their quality has been extremely mixed. They've had some classics and they've have some stinkers, but this one falls somewhere in the middle. The good news is we get a proper, fifteen minute match rather than some quick cop out. The bad news is that match is very much Orton led, which translates as “methodical”, “tentative” and “reluctant”. We get lots of stalling, rest-holds and several near count-outs before the typical DQ finish.

That said, the crowd are completely hooked from the get go and their responsiveness gives every tiny movement some lifesaving drama. Their “ooh!”s and “ahh!”s, their “boo!”s and “yay!”s do a lot to save this match from pure mediocrity. There was some speculation that Cena would be winning to set up the intended main-event from WrestleMania 23, Cena Vs Triple H. I'm glad they didn't though, as despite his flaws Orton has done some great work this season and deserves to walk into WrestleMania with the championship. The King and J.R. sell the result as the end of Cena's WrestleMania dreams, but we all know he'll make his way into the main-event somehow before we get to Orlando.

Rating: 3 Stars

Main-Event of WrestleMania XXIV - Elimination Chamber
Triple H Vs Jeff Hardy Vs Shawn Michaels Vs Chris Jericho Vs Umaga Vs JBL

I'll admit that going in I was prejudiced against this match. I wasn't sure I'd be happy to sit through two Elimination Chambers on one card, and I assumed that after the buzz of the first one whichever one came second would fall flat. Thankfully I was completely wrong, as this is just a total contrast with the first and I think without the comparison that wouldn't be as obvious. We begin with Michaels and Jericho, always a good start, squaring off on PPV for the first time in five years. This is just a teaser for the amazing feud they'll be having throughout 2008 but for now it's the perfect package of pure wrestling and quick-fire action. Soon my favourite modern big man Umaga or; “Oo-Manga”, (Thank you William Regal!) joins in and adds a welcome change in style without removing an ounce of quality. He immediately hits a “JUMP-OUTTA-YER-SEAT-BECAUSE-GOOD-GAWD-ALMIGHTY!” Double Samoan Drop on both HBK and Y2J at the SAME TIME, which frankly just makes my soul happy. This is the kind of thing Umaga did that made him stand out amongst the Big Daddy V's and Great Khali's of World Wrestling Entertainment, and makes him sorely missed by this wrestling fan. He fails to capitalise however and soon is caught in a double submission from Michaels and Jericho, but refuses to tap as JBL joins the fray.

Things split off into pairs until Triple H arrives and beats down everybody in sight. Then there's a nice sequence where JBL prevents a Pedigree to Jericho only to get hit with a Codebreaker which earns the first elimination. JBL won't go quietly however, stepping out and introducing some steel chairs to Jericho, Michaels and Umaga who come to know them intimately. Jeff Hardy now enters at the most opportune moment and flies around the ring delivering his unique offence to anyone foolish enough to get up. He's put down fast by Umaga, who now takes control with his raw power, hurling Michaels up into a Flair Flip over Triple H as he's caught in the Tree of Woe. Just as it looks as if no one can stop him, all four remaining superstars team up and hit him with an ultimate finishing combo – Sweet Chin Music into a Codebreaker into a Pedigree before finally a Swanton Bomb off the top of a pod to take the Samoan Bulldozer out for good. He's quickly joined by Jericho who walks right into another rendition of Sweet Chin Music and is eliminated by Hardy. Before anyone can catch their breath, Michaels suffers a Twist of Fate followed by a Pedigree and suddenly we've gone from five to two.

The extended finish is fantastic, an urgent battle with a really strong near-fall that put Hardy over huge before he finally succumbs to a Pedigree on a chair. Triple H wins as expected, but not without some serious drama and doubt along the way. This was an awesome match, a real team effort and an easy contender for the very best there has ever been inside the Chamber. A redemption for what had been a mediocre show.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

WWE No Way Out 2008 Final Score: 4 Stars

Thanks to the stellar main-event, No Way Out makes good out of a promising card. Had the other matches lived up to their potential this show could have been legendary, but unfortunately everything manages to fall just too short of what might have been. There is however nothing bad to deal with, which is a refreshing rarity, and a main-event that was more than worth the price of admission. Most of our WrestleMania attractions are now in place with Edge Vs The Undertaker, Big Show Vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Randy Orton Vs Triple H all set up nicely. With the final match of Ric Flair's career as well as Money in the Bank also pencilled in, WrestleMania XXIV is shaping up to be one of the best shows in recent history.

2003-2004 PPV Season

2012-02-06T18:19:00.000Z

WWE

(Backlash 2003)

Backlash 2003: 2.5 Stars
Judgment Day 2003: ? Stars
Insurrextion 2003: ? Stars
Bad Blood 2003: ? Stars
Vengeance 2003: ? Stars
SummerSlam 2003: ? Stars
Unforgiven 2003: ? Stars
No Mercy 2003: ? Stars
Survivor Series 2003: ? Stars
Armageddon 2003: ? Stars
Royal Rumble 2004: ? Stars
No Way Out 2004: ? Stars
WrestleMania XX 2004: ? Stars

WWE Backlash 2003 Review

2012-02-06T18:10:00.000Z

WWE Tag Team Championship
Team Angle Vs Los Guerreros

Excellent choice for the opener tonight as Los Guerreros finally get their one-on-one rematch for the SmackDown tag team gold. Given some good time to work with, these four guys put on exactly the kind of match you expect them to and it's fantastic from start to finish. Team Angle are amazingly athletic and technically sound, but also suitably aggressive when the situation calls for it. The Guerreros are naturals at inspiring frustration as they work in plenty of old fashioned cheating whenever they get the chance. Team Angle meets them at every turn however, leading into a dramatic extended finish where after a series of convincing near-falls Benjamin helps hold down Chavo to steal a victory. This doesn't sit well with Eddie and Chavo however so they steal the belts and escape in their new lowrider, a welcome assurance that this feud will continue.

Rating: 4 Stars

Sean O'Haire Vs Rikishi

I feel sorry for Sean O'Haire. After re-debuting under a cool Devil's Advocate gimmick earlier in the year, he's now been paired with Roddy Piper and seen most of his potential thrown aside as he works instead as a lowly protégée. It's not that it's a bad role, it's just not as good or as likely to get O'Haire over in the main-event. Matches like this don't help that cause either. This one plods along and despite some decent moments, such as a nice Stink Face counter, it's more about Piper's antics from twenty years ago than it is about anyone in the ring. It's clear they're just treading water with O'Haire at this point, unwilling to give him the big clean win he needs to get established and relying on Piper to get him over however he can. Naturally he'll soon loose that as well, leaving him completely lost and stripped of anything that made him interesting. If they're going to waste everyone's time like this, they could at least not do it on PPV.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

World Tag Team Championship
Rob Van Dam and Kane Vs The Dudley Boyz
Special Guest Referee: Chief Morley

Things are surprisingly clumsy to start off between Bubba and Van Dam, which you'd expect a bit from the former but not the latter. RVD doesn't seem to have the usual spring in his step tonight, just barely managing to hit his athletic signature spots. The match doesn't really have a story to tell despite the decent running time, with the action just going on and on until Chief Morley accidentally hits Bubba when he was trying to hit Van Dam. The Dudleys turn on him and take him out, but then Kane clears house and a new ref comes in. One Frog Splash later and the latest odd couple to be tag champs on Raw continues their reign. This was really disappointing considering who was involved and as forgettable as if it had happened on free TV.

Rating: 2 Stars

Big Show Vs Rey Mysterio

The transition of Rey Mysterio away from the upper mid-card continues here as he's destroyed by Big Show in a matter of minutes. Show was aimless coming off a feud with The Undertaker and in theory this was an interesting rivalry to move on to. There's great marquee value in the most talented big man on your roster taking on the smallest, but not only is this less competitive than it needs to be, it's also the end of the feud! Had Rey returned to face Show once he recovered this would have been okay, but instead it's a Kevin Nash-esq squash for Mysterio who simply moves down into the Cruiserweight division for the rest of the season. They do their best to make things entertaining, and Rey does get in some great spots including a series of 619's that chop Show down and a desperate chair shot, but this needed to be leading somewhere. On it's own it doesn't make Big Show look any better and it only makes Rey look worse, so I just don't see the point of it. The post-match attack where Show swings a stretchered Mysterio into the ring post like a baseball bat was memorable, but obscenely dangerous as Rey's head smacks off the floor with force. Thankfully he wasn't badly hurt, but it was a poorly planned spot and built to nothing.

Rating: 3 Stars

WWE Championship
Brock Lesnar Vs John Cena

It's amazing to watch this match and hear how quiet the crowd is. If this were to happen today it would be one of the biggest fights in WWE history, yet here no one really cares about the rookie Cena. It's a fascinating match to watch in a modern context with the new face of the company taking on the man who would in fact define the upcoming era. Of course Cena is no Lesnar in terms of his in ring skills and is mostly carried by the fastest rising star in history. Lesnar starts his second season in the company with the weight of the SmackDown brand now firmly on his shoulders, and he has the talent and the build up to hold it high. This match was important to see if the WWE champion could take the lead after a year of working with the greatest veterans on the roster, and the good news is he can. Cena's limitations hold this back as expected, leading to more of a standard brawl than a wrestling match, but there's good drama and intensity throughout. I'm not sure why they built up Cena's new FU finisher if he wasn't going to use it at all, and in the end Lesnar gets the win with the first F5 of the night. I think there was some potential chemistry here but Cena needs to develop as a grappler before it can really be unlocked. If they wanted to have a bloody brawl then this needed more dynamic spots and more urgency, and it's hard to shake the feeling that this is simply a filler feud to give Lesnar something simple to do. For now it's the win we all expected but Cena has taken his first step towards a bright future.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Triple H, Ric Flair and Chris Jericho Vs Shawn Michaels, Booker T and Kevin Nash

Obviously with the real main-event between Rock and Goldberg, Raw couldn't be bothered putting anything major together for the rest of the upper mid-card, so just went for a TV style six man tag. I'd have much preferred almost any singles option out of this mix, especially HBK Vs Y2J II, but instead they get a few sequences here and there to entertain before Kevin Nash steps in and puts a dampener on things. Poor Booker T has been completely forgotten in all the Klique business and while the world enjoys HHH Vs Nash for the next few months, he can go busy himself with not winning the Intercontinental Championship. Besides Booker, the rest of this match is about setting up the feuds for the next Raw PPV and while Nash may bore me to tears, the interactions between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair are fantastic. This is the first time they've had a match on PPV outside of the 1992 Royal Rumble, and of course Shawn Michaels has since evolved into one of the greatest of all-time. I loved the Figure Four/Lionsault combo Flair and Jericho pulled on HBK, makes me wish we'd seen those two as a proper tag team at some point. For now however it's all just set-up for the future with HHH using a sledgehammer when the ref is down to get the pin on Nash. These feud switching tag matches should really be left off PPV, even when they are enjoyable in bursts as this one is.

Rating: 3 Stars

Goldberg Vs The Rock

This is undeniably one of the biggest dream matches of the late 90's, and while it obviously is still a huge draw in 2003, it would have been so much better to have seen it two years sooner. This is the kind of feud that should have headlined shows during the InVasion back in 2001, with two of the biggest names ever going one-on-one for the first time. As such the atmosphere and anticipation is off the charts however, as with Rock/Hogan last year, the limitations of Goldberg as a performer hold it down. Goldberg is the kind of character who works best when he's just quickly destroying everyone. He doesn't evoke much sympathy when he's on the defensive and he isn't a very good salesman. This makes matches like this awkward as Goldberg has to win, yet you can't just job The Rock out completely. Therefore we get a lot of stalling and times where Rock is in control which just feels wrong. Also an issue is the crowd who are really split and flip flop over and over as the fight goes on. Unlike Hogan or Austin, Goldberg doesn't have any reserves of WWE fan loyalty to fall back on against a charisma machine such as Rock, so despite both men's best efforts The Brahma Bull ends up with a lot of people on his side. Despite all of these factors the end result is still as entertaining as the best Goldberg matches before it and The Rock gets taken out in a decisive fashion. For now the WCW icon is a fresh addition to the Raw roster, but it's easy to see how he will quickly wear out his welcome.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Backlash 2003 Final Score: 2.5 Stars

After WrestleMania XIX was one of the best PPVs of all time, this show is a major let down. It's got it's share of memorable moments, but there are too many matches that are booked and performed as if they were on television, especially on the Raw side. They leaned hard on the main-event being enough to sell the show, but they should have known Goldberg wasn't capable of a match good enough to save a mediocre night. This was less a fallout from WrestleMania than it was treading water and putting pieces in place for the next few events. Those upcoming feuds look to be a mixed bag with potential classics like Michaels Vs Flair and the next Team Angle Vs Los Guerreros mixed in with guaranteed duds like HHH Vs Nash.

WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Review

2012-01-30T14:53:00.001Z

World Heavyweight Championship – Cage
Daniel Bryan Vs Big Show Vs Mark Henry

Last month I was disappointed by Daniel Bryan's cheap cash-in of Money in the Bank and subsequent world title win. After building him up as an honest face, this seemed like a heel turn but without the turn. That's because what the SmackDown team had in mind wasn't a quick turn, but a slow one akin to CM Punk's in 2009. Bryan has become increasingly dishonest and arrogant over recent weeks, yet never completely turning to the dark side. What's nice about his character is he isn't a coward. He's smart; he'd rather escape than fight every time, but he's not afraid to fight when he has to. In this match he stands right up to both big men and dishes it out just as much as he takes it. The stiffness with which Bryan works puts over his offence despite his size and allows him to look like a worthy world champion even if he isn't a dominant one. This is the kind of heel The Miz ought to have been this time last year, but sadly the Raw writers only know how to write one kind of antagonist, and that's a chicken-shit one. The idea of the heel actually looking strong as Bryan does here just doesn't cross their minds.

This match was a good start to what will hopefully be a decent run of PPV matches now for The American Dragon. Alongside Bryan, Big Show has done some great character development this month and delivers what he needs to in this one. Sadly Mark Henry was injured last week, so his offence is limited to mostly punches and cage rakes, but the triple-threat situation does a good job of hiding his condition. This does limit things however, with hardly any spots utilising all three men at once and a mediocre pace. I'm keen on the story, and I think this did all it could with what it had to work with.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

John Cena Vs Kane

This time of year, John Cena almost always gets involved with a sort of mini-feud that's really just a holding pattern before he moves on for WrestleMania. Last year it was CM Punk, and this year it's Kane's turn. You can't argue that this is a fresh match-up for both men, who despite working around each other for almost a decade have never had a match on PPV. Everyone was excited for masked Kane's return, even if he does look awful, and they managed to weave a good story that for once challenges Cena's squeaky clean character. However with all the violence of the build up and the styles of both performers, I knew this needed a stipulation. Being forced to wrestle between the ropes, Cena and Kane expectedly meandered through a series of power moves and clunky grappling until inevitably being counted out. I wasn't expecting much, but I had hoped it at least wouldn't be boring. All of the interesting qualities to this happened afterwards, as the brawl went backstage and into Zack Ryder's room where Kane proceeded to drag him out the the ring for a tombstone. Unfortunately this whole segment felt like another episode of Raw and lacked anything special to make it worthy of PPV.

Rating: 2 Stars

Brodus Clay Vs Drew McIntyre

When I saw Drew McIntyre coming out for a match I foolishly got excited. After being absent all year on PPV and suffering a huge loosing streak on SmackDown, I figured he'd be motivated and ready to impress on a big stage. As soon as I realised who his opponent was however, my excitement dropped. Now don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed Brodus Clay's turn as The Funkasaurus, but cheap squash matches like this do NOT belong on PPV. I suppose they just wanted to show off Clay to the casual audience who might not watch TV, but this was just the same as every segment he's been in so far, so for the rest of us this was a waste of time.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

WWE Championship
CM Punk Vs Dolph Ziggler
Special Guest Referee: John Laurinaitis

I'm so happy to live in a world where these two men can headline a PPV, even if it isn't the main-event. It wouldn't be wrong to expect a MOTY candidate from this pair, but I figured it would be stunted by the stipulation and that's exactly what we got. There isn't any real focus on Dolph as he's been lost behind the story of Punk Vs Laurinaitis, although he does his best to stand out with some fantastic moves and one of the most amazing counters I've ever seen – the GTS into a Leg Drop. As for the Laurinaitis angle, it gains an interesting twist as rather than screw Punk, the GM of Raw does everything he can to make it a fair fight and even counts the pin himself. I can't say I'm happy with the WCW-style booking of using a PPV to build towards an episode of television tomorrow, but unlike Kane/Cena at least we get some progression. Much like last year against Edge, Ziggler steps up and makes it clear why he should be a regular feature in the main-event scene. I'm glad they're not rushing him to the top like they have so many others, and hopefully he can continue to grow and become a natural superstar. For now Punk rolls on and hopefully we'll soon have an idea of what awaits him at WrestleMania.

Rating: 4 Stars

Main-Event of WrestleMania XXVIII - Royal Rumble
Winner: Sheamus

After being tremendously disappointed at last years Royal Rumble match, I approached this one with trepidation. Thankfully this year's event wasn't the mess that one was, with a better focus overall and more stand out moments for all the key players. This was a star-making event for a number of young names with The Miz and Cody Rhodes out early and lasting almost the whole time. Between the two of them they took the records for longest time in the match (Miz) and most eliminations (Rhodes, with 5). Mick Foley had a great run, complete with the ultimate showdown between Mr. Socko and Santino's Cobra! Later on, Kofi Kingston got to top John Morrison's stunt from last year, escaping elimination by doing a handstand and walking back in upside down! All three commentators got to jump in, which I suppose was nice but it pains me to watch Cole get the spotlight again. I wish Booker could just go back to wrestling and declare his attempts at being a commentator a failure. Cole's presence was at least put to good use by having him eliminated by the third woman ever to enter the Rumble, the returning Kharma.

The best section was of course the finish, which saw an extended match between Chris Jericho and surprise winner Sheamus. Although I'm sad one of my absolute favourites lost out on a historic win AGAIN, this is fantastic for Sheamus who has been one of the best faces in the company lately on SmackDown after falling down the card as a heel a year ago on Raw. There was some really good drama in the final minutes from both men, with things really looking like they could go either way. I expected the final two to include Randy Orton in his home town, but I think this ending was what Sheamus needed to really break out as a huge star. Lately he's lacked direction, so this is just what he needs to move to the next level. I assume it'll be Bryan Vs Sheamus at WrestleMania, the match that was nixed at last year's event no less. Whatever happens, WrestleMania XXVIII is shaping up to be a historic night for the new generation. I'm a bit annoyed with the Jericho storyline however, with all this build up and promising “the end of the world”, only to go out and wrestle the Rumble as usual without even winning it, or doing anything else. I just can't help the feeling this wasn't the original long-term plan, even if it works for the time being. Still, an entertaining ending to the night.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Final Score: 3 Stars

As has been routine for the past few years now, the Royal Rumble did not live up to it's historic greatness. From distracting guest referees and post-match attacks to random divas and a McIntyre squash match, this event included too much filler and content more suited to an episode of Raw than the WWE's second biggest show of the year. However, the main-event showed refreshing focus on the rising stars and the winner was both unexpected and deserved it. Sheamus has all the tools to be a huge star and now it looks like he'll finally have an opportunity to shine. We're still unclear on much of the WrestleMania XXVIII card right now, but with the Elimination Chamber in just three weeks there's plenty to get excited about from the WWE.

WWE Extreme Rules 2011 Review

2012-01-28T21:54:00.000Z

Last Man Standing
Randy Orton Vs CM Punk

We start off tonight with the first of two WrestleMania rematches, and certainly the one with the most room for improvement. Their first contest wasn't bad, but not as good as a match between talents of this standard should have been. Now the main aspect that was holding them back (Orton's knee injury) is gone, so right away we get a much more intense and physical contest. Things slow down once Punk introduces some Kendo sticks, which transitions into a series of encounters with different weapons and an exposed turn-buckle. While the commentary is blessed by the absence of Michael Cole at this point, he is substituted by Booker T who continues to fail as an ambassador for the English language. In under two minutes he manages to mistake what the floor his made out of (Booker T's pick? Steel.) and where a temple is on the human skull (Booker T's pick? Behind the ear.).

The action moves in and out of the ring, but as usual the Last Man Standing stipulation hurts the pace by stopping to count for eight seconds at every turn. What also doesn't help is the absence of blood or any major bumps, leaving the commentators to try and sell how bad everything is when it really isn't. The finish sounds good on paper as Orton hits Punk with an RKO from the turn-buckle, but it's not well performed or really built-up to in any way. I expected a solid improvement on their last match, but despite being very different in content the overall quality was about the same. What lets this one down is a dull pace and the absence of the WrestleMania atmosphere which really did a lot to hold their previous effort up. For some reason Punk and Orton just don't have good chemistry together, so it's not going to bother me that this feud is finally over.

Rating: 3 Stars

United States Championship - Tables
Kofi Kingston Vs Sheamus

A great addition to the card here, especially after we were denied a match for the US title at WrestleMania. Both Sheamus and Kofi are obviously motivated to put on a show, clearly demonstrating why the mid-card championships should be a regular feature on PPV. They keep up a solid back-and-forth pace throughout, utilising both the ring and a set of tables to create some memorable and dramatic moments. Kofi's athleticism and Sheamus' power are a perfect mix with this stipulation, allowing for many last second counters and exciting escapes. The finish was a nice visual, well set-up without being obvious and highlighting both of Kofi's signature moves. The result may have been predictable due to the draft, but this is still a big win for Kofi over the former world champion.

Rating: 4 Stars

Country Whipping
Michael Cole and Jack Swagger Vs Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross

“I just... ARRRAGGH!” - Josh Mathews

My first reaction to the feud continuing was complete and utter disgust. If it had to happen at all, it should have ended at WrestleMania. If it had to continue by including Jack Swagger on Cole's side, then the obvious partner for Lawler would have been the other commentator with an actual wrestling background, namely Booker T. To bring JR in as a performer while Booker continues to make my ears bleed at the booth is just too much. I've enjoyed Cole's heel turn for sure, but he should be taken off of full-time commentary and used as a manager for someone with main-event potential but lacking in mic skills. Former world heavyweight champion Jack Swagger fits this description to a tee, and I foolishly assumed that was where this partnership was going. Unfortunately this was just another awful match, albeit much shorter than last time, no Stone Cold and with no good intentions for anyone – especially the audience.

Poor Jack Swagger gets to enjoy a whipping from JR before having to sell a JR Ankle Lock, then cowering like a proverbial scolded dog. The problem here is that JR is a middle aged, overweight non-wrestler while Jack Swagger is a young, talented 6ft5 athlete. That Swagger should even sell for JR at all does so much damage to his credibility I can't even describe it. Then we get the joyful pairing of JR and Cole in the ring, which Cole finally wins with a roll up via shenanigans. That this feud STILL isn't over makes me sad, but what's worse is how the future career of Jack Swagger is clearly nobody's concern. This should have been all about Swagger beating the hell out of JR and Lawler while Cole taunts them, setting up for a final contest down the road. Instead it came down to JR beating the hell out of Swagger until Cole went over instead. Simply awful.

Rating: 0.5 Stars

Falls Count Anywhere
Rey Mysterio Vs Cody Rhodes

Now for the other rematch from WrestleMania, this one with a lot more to live up to after their show-stealer last month. Sadly this isn't on that level, but it's still an enjoyable match all the same. This time they can go anywhere in the arena and they soon make use of the stipulation by taking things up the ramp to the entrance. Unfortunately, after an impressive leap by Rey off the stage, the match slows down as they brawl through the crowd into the nose-bleeds, forced to take care as they move in close among the fans. Once they get backstage things improve, with Cody hitting an awesome Beautiful Disaster kick off a mirror and the fans eat it up. From there they rush to ringside at a much better speed than they left it, with Rey being helped back via a great hip-toss over the barricade from Rhodes.

Inside the ring it's just not as crisp or thought out as at WrestleMania, but the ending was a nice surprise with Mysterio using a Green Mist to get the win. Many years ago on Day of Reckoning, I turned Rey heel and gave him the Mist as a finisher to get him over bigger superstars. I never, ever thought I'd see him really use it as it's traditionally Japanese (Muta, Tajiri etc.), but I stand by it as an effective and colourful way for him to sneak out a win. Despite a slightly evil glare on his way out, this did not lead to a Mysterio heel run on Raw as I hoped, and ends this feud unresolved at one a piece. Maybe one day we'll get the rudder match, but for now Cody Rhodes is firmly on the map as a rising star of SmackDown and rightly so.

Rating: 4 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship – Ladder
Christian Vs Alberto Del Rio

Originally booked to be a rematch from WrestleMania, plans had to change due to the sudden and tragic retirement of Edge. Rightfully, Edge's best friend and original tag team partner takes his spot here and now we are guaranteed a new world heavyweight champion. I'm certain had Edge remained active he and Christian would have eventually squared off over the title in a classic feud, but alas it will never be. Instead, Christian enjoys a substitute face run, similar to that of Rey Mysterio after the passing of Eddie Guerrero in 2005. This makes him a huge sentimental favourite and the Tampa crowd are 100% behind him from the start. Fortunately, there is a backstory between Christian and Del Rio outside of the circumstances surrounding Edge, as it was Del Rio who injured Christian the year before and cost him six months of his career.

Del Rio looks much more comfortable than he did at WrestleMania and seems to gel with Captain Charisma better than Edge. He shows off much more of his in-ring ability in this match, most of all his aggressive mean streak that really amps up the drama throughout. Christian is in his element here, utilising his excellent salesmanship and undervalued aerial abilities while Del Rio also shines, displaying both his athleticism and willingness to take some big bumps. What really elevates this one above the usual good ladder match we get from Christian is the wrestling that happens between spots. Christian has never really been fully recognised until now for his pure grappling skills, which have always been superior to Edge in my opinion. When paired alongside someone with the talent of Del Rio, his abilities shine through and demonstrate why he really does deserve to be the world champion on his own merits. They use the ladders to enhance their moves, jumping off them or working into them, punctuating everything they do.

After a fantastic match, Edge appears to distract Del Rio as his best friend climbs up and ultimately claims the World Heavyweight Championship. Christian's victory is over a decade in the making, and together with Edge his celebration is one of the most genuinely emotional moments in recent WWE history, and very well deserved. Match of the Night!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

WWE Tag Team Championship - Lumberjack
Big Show and Kane Vs The Corre

Half of a rematch from WrestleMania next, this time for the WWE Tag Team Championship. Just like last month this is really just filler to get everyone on the card, hence the stipulation. Lumberjack matches are definitely one of the least extreme of the extreme rules the WWE features, and rarely used in interesting ways. This one does at least include a nice twist, with Big Show not only able to fend off the lumberjacks but also throwing them into the ring to be attacked by Kane. Things don't last long before Barrett buggers it up, stopping Jackson when he's on a roll and trying to end the match himself. Jackson protests while Barrett is pinned after a chokeslam, planting the seeds for the impending Corre break up. Corre were only ever a B-Nexus, and while even the A-Nexus is fading fast there is little reason for Barrett's group to continue. Moving on...

Rating: 2 Stars

WWE Championship – Cage
John Cena Vs The Miz Vs John Morrison

I'd really like to have seen Miz and Morrison feud over the world title one-on-one instead of including Cena, but I suppose there was nowhere else logical for him to go after being screwed by The Rock at WrestleMania. The main-event last month was truly awful, but thankfully the addition of John Morrison and a cage really does make things better. The pace is faster right from the start, due to both the in-ring style of Morrison and the added possibility of victory via escape. The triple-threat cage match is just a really good outline to work with, open to lots of different exchanges between the performers. Whenever two of the participants are involved with one another, they always have to be conscious that the third isn't trying to escape on the other side or dive at them from above. It creates a fun, dynamic atmosphere where anyone could win at almost any moment.

There are lots of great spots, especially from Morrison in his first PPV main-event. His parkor-style is always impressive, but with the help of a cage to climb on it becomes truly spectacular. Why Vince McMahon believes The Miz is a credible world champion yet Morrison is not is beyond me. As a physical performer he is so much better, even if he isn't as strong on the mic. The highlight here has to be his Starship Pain off the top of the cage, reminiscent of the kinds of stunts pulled by Jeff Hardy a few years ago. From there he's got it won, but soon after R-Truth enters the cage and attacks him for stealing his 1# Contenders spot. I should point out how grateful I am that it was Morrison and not Truth involved in this, Morrison is just what was needed for Cena and Miz to improve on their last match whereas Truth would have likely made things even worse.

From there Morrison is gone and it's down to Miz and Cena. They have a decent exchange at the top of the cage that ends with Cena countering the Skull-Crushing Finale into an AA from the top that gets him the three count. It wasn't a perfect ending by any means, but well performed which is more than can be said for their last match. Normally I'd complain about another Cena title win, but at least the belt is finally off Miz...

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Extreme Rules 2011 Final Score: 3 Stars

Another mix of quality just like WrestleMania XXXVII, but one that is at least a bit more stable and without the same ridiculous highs and lows. The Cole/Lawler stuff continues to drag the rest down, only this time Cena and Miz aren't down there helping them. Instead, with the inclusion of John Morrison, they put on a decent main-event to cap off an evening of quality action. Christian's world title win is a historic moment long deserved, and while the big rematches weren't as good as the originals, they were still entertaining and assisted nicely by the US title match to round off a solid mid-card. A lot is going to change in the wake of the draft before Over the Limit next month, including Randy Orton moving to SmackDown while Del Rio and Mysterio head over to Raw. It leaves their feuds a little unfinished, but at least we should be guaranteed a fresh line up as the year rolls on.

2010-2011 PPV Season

2012-01-26T22:17:00.000Z

WWE

The Undertaker Vs Triple H (WrestleMania XXVII 2011, No Holds Barred)

Extreme Rules 2010: ? Stars
Over the Limit 2010: ? Stars
Fatal 4-Way 2010: ? Stars
Money in the Bank 2010: ? Stars
SummerSlam 2010: ? Stars
Night of Champions 2010: ? Stars
Hell in a Cell 2010: ? Stars
Bragging Rights 2010: ? Stars
Survivor Series 2010: ? Stars
Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2010: ? Stars
Royal Rumble 2011: ? Stars
Elimination Chamber 2011: ? Stars
WrestleMania XXVII 2011: 2 Stars

WWE WrestleMania XXVII 2011 Review

2012-01-26T22:03:00.001Z

World Heavyweight Championship
Edge Vs Alberto Del Rio

We start off with a, let's say unique booking decision by having one of our main events right away. While I can understand the upsides, to me the downsides pretty much negate them completely and all you're left with is a really odd atmosphere. It's hard to trust that the main event would be first without some kind of swerve or angle to be played out later in the night. This uncomfortable feeling looms over the entire match, an expectation of the unexpected that manages to be all the more surprising by never turning up. The contest itself is a decent effort from two of SmackDown!'s best performers, even if it never transcends the burden of it's own unorthodox booking. There's obviously some nervousness in both men early on, as well as some awkward spots that don't quite flow suggesting neither Edge nor Del Rio are that familiar with one another. The final sequence just doesn't have the drama it ought to, despite the best intentions of Del Rio building towards the Cross Arm Breaker. The presence of Christian and Brodus Clay on the outside never really factors, again distracting from rather than adding to the work going on in the ring. Of course soon after this show Edge would be forced to retire due to his many injuries, making this the last match of his career. That certainly gives this some historical significance, but it's a real shame they didn't add Christian into the match to build more intrigue and perhaps improve the work rate. As it stands, it's at least a decent opening to the night, if a somewhat disappointing end to an amazing career.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Cody Rhodes Vs Rey Mysterio

This was probably the match I was most anticipating going into this show, the climax to one of my favourite modern angles and a huge opportunity for Cody Rhodes to make an impact on the grand stage. From being Dashing to Disfigured, Rhodes has quickly grown into one of my favourite performers both on the microphone and in the ring. As a contrast to the last match, this one has both character and urgency from the start, with Rhodes displaying unprecedented aggression going after the man who cost him his looks. His offence is crisp and sharp, much like his former mentor Randy Orton, while his smaller size allows him to believably sell for Mysterio. The story of the mask Vs the knee brace is well staged with a strong conclusion that seems uncertain right to the poetic end. Rey is in much the same role as he was against CM Punk one year before, only this time he does the right thing and puts the young heel over in spectacular fashion. This one was everything it needed to be.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston Vs The Corre

First off, I hate these short filler matches that always end up at WrestleMania, just to shove a bunch of unused people on the card. The beauty of the Money in the Bank concept was eliminating the need for matches like this as the mid-card could all work on something important. Now that's it's own show we're back to doing these again, only here they can only spare just 92 seconds for it. Now if that wasn't bad enough, the majority of the match is between Heath Slater and Santino, arguably the least talented members of their respective teams! At least Kingston Vs Gabriel would have been good for a few seconds, but this? This is nothing. This is a massive waste of time. Why this got on the card while Bryan Vs Sheamus was taken off is just ridiculous.

Rating: 1 Star

Randy Orton Vs CM Punk

When CM Punk took over the Nexus, it seemed to be leading towards a big match with John Cena here at WrestleMania. At the Royal Rumble plans suddenly changed, and Punk turned his focus to Randy Orton instead. It was nicely explained by employing some rare continuity and recalling the Orton attack that cost Punk his first world title in 2008. However as the feud got more personal, the need for the New Nexus itself just disappeared and despite the shirt Punk is wearing they have nothing to do with this. Instead, the story here is the bad condition of Orton's knee and his ability to use the punt kick. Both men bring their usual intensity as they brawl in the early goings, falling to the outside and into a nice counter spot involving the ring steps. From there things get “methodical” as Orton sells the knee while Punk mocks him. This keeps the pace slow but the exchanges where they happen are all up to standard. As the usual strength and crispness is taken from Orton's offence in order to sell, we don't get the fully rounded match this pair is capable of performing. Punk is his usual charismatic self, yet isn't able to fully carry the down time caused by the story of the knee, never really relaying the urgency of his opponent's injury. The finish is telegraphed a mile away, yet still fails to work in any dramatic build or impact as it was completely orphaned from the main narrative of the rest of the match. It was a solid outing, but not up to the high standards both men should hold themselves to.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Michael Cole Vs Jerry Lawler
Special Guest Referee: Steve Austin

“Okay, just so I'm clear – there's only two minutes to spare for the eight man tag and not enough time for Daniel Bryan Vs Sheamus at all, yet this whole segment between announcers is going to get over twenty minutes? Well I suppose this has been a well built angle; Cole has become one of the biggest heels in the business while The King has been a sentimental favourite for years. I think there are enough people who would happily pay to see Jerry Lawler beat up Michael Cole for that long, fair enough. Sorry, what? You're saying Michael Cole, the non-wrestler in the match, is not only going to get in the majority of the offence, but ACTUALLY WIN IT?! Oh but wait, it's okay, I see you've got Steve Austin involved here, a man whose sole purpose in life is to hand out Stunners to anyone within touching distance. He's obviously here to deliver some Stone Cold justice to the most hated man in the WWE! Oh, he's there to stun Booker T and Jack Swagger and Josh Mathews. Okay, cool. But then... Cole too right? No? Wait, NO?! So Michael Cole, after being the biggest douche of recent years, not only wins his match but also escapes a stunner? Are we sure this is what we're booking to go down? Are we certain this isn't some elaborate, fake, 'Anti-Plan' of some kind, designed to be leaked and throw off the internet fans? Because when I read it, it sounds like the exact opposite of what this whole thing should be. This should be a brief but enjoyable segment where Jerry Lawler gets to beat up Cole in front of thousands before it all gets punctuated with a glorious Stone Cold Stunner. Not a long, arduous segment where Michael Cole gets to beat up Lawler in front of thousands before slipping away with a technical win! I mean, that is seriously one of the last things anyone wants to see happen. In the whole world. Like, people want to see a nuclear holocaust only SLIGHTLY LESS than this. You're sure this is how you want it to be? You can't be serious here. Well, what are we going to follow up with? Two more PPV matches?! That involve... feet kissing and JR wrestling?! … Hahahaha! Oh, thank God! Aw man, you had me going there. I mean, I should have known you were joking but... No c'mon stop pulling my leg. No seriously, because the thought of THIS plan happening in reality offends me to the centre of my very being. Hey, where are you going? You're going to tell everyone we're not doing this? Wait, was that a “Yo!” or a “No!”? Because I can only assume it was a Yo, but if so that means you're completely out of touch with human beings and how they live in this day and age which means you would be likely to... oh no! OH NO!”

Rating: 1 Star

No Holds Barred
The Undertaker Vs Triple H

After a pair of legendary encounters with Shawn Michaels the last two years running, the question on everyone's mind this year was how on earth The Undertaker could expect to follow them? HBK at least had the luxury of retirement after their final battle. Even working only part-time, The Undertaker is under extreme pressure to continue the WrestleMania streak, not just of winning matches but of selling the event around them, of delivering a match that ranks atop the best of the year on a routine basis. After so much time off it seemed like a bad idea to choose Triple H, a man who had even less in-ring time over the previous twelve months, as his opponent. While The Game is an unquestionable legend in his own right, his abilities aren't quite on par with The Showstopper and certainly not in the field of taking the big bumps needed to really put over a character like The Dead Man. In a way that made this match all the more intriguing – when two of the strongest and most unbreakable characters in the WWE collide in a situation where one must definitely lose, which one will come out on top?

For this match more than any other, the amazing set and production values enhance the whole thing to another level. Triple H's Metallica-themed entrance easily ranks amongst the very best of all-time, as both character and song are a good fit for the Colosseum-like, stadium atmosphere inside the Georgia Dome. Once things start they don't let up, with all doubts about bumps tossed aside as quickly and as easily as The Game is thrown right over the top and out of the ring. From there the match is all about escalation and devastation. You hear wrestlers say they're going to put everything on the line to defeat their opponents, but here you absolutely believe it. Triple H especially goes all the way to make this as epic and impactful as it could possibly be, taking part in huge spots and hard falls.

It's been interesting how for the last few years there has always managed to be genuine doubt over the result of Taker's matches despite his historic winning record. Uncertainty is at the heart of all good drama, and once again it is kindled and tended here into a mighty blaze. From being hit with his own finisher, to going right through a table to taking stiff chair shots to the head again and again, The Undertaker is pummelled so much you loose all faith that he can survive. One of the best things about the previous match was loosing Michael Cole and the rest from commentary and leaving us with the classic team of J.R. And The King. As you'd expect, J.R. highlights and saturates the action with his trademark emotion, drawing us even closer to every near-fall.

When the end finally does come it is right on the line, Triple H just inches from hitting Taker with his patented sledgehammer but trapped for an eternity within Hell's Gate. The Game's hand loosing it's grip on the hammer and dropping into the submission is one of the best images in WrestleMania history. The Undertaker wins, but for the first time he leaves on a stretcher after being pushed to his absolute limit. Match of the Year.

Rating: 5 Stars

John Morrison, Trish Stratus and Snooki Vs Dolph Ziggler and LayCool

Another lightning quick tag match made just to get some names out there, this time a celebrity and a returning veteran. As with the other one, here we don't even get more than half of the competitors legally involved, with Morrison and Ziggler out just to do one Starship Pain spot. That said, I think everyone was surprised by Snooki's unexpected athleticism, her cartwheels more impressive than almost anything a celebrity has ever done at WrestleMania. From that point of view it served it's purpose in breaking up the main events and was enjoyable for the fluff it was.

Rating: 2 Stars

WWE Championship
The Miz Vs John Cena

Rather than one pre-match promo we get two, the first so good it manages to make The Miz seem like an important, main-event level character for the first time in his reign as champion. Sadly that promo is the best thing about this match, and it all goes downhill fast after an odd and extremely religious introduction for John Cena. Now, I don't know Cena's religious views, but he's never ever made a big deal about them before. They've certainly had nothing to do with this feud, so why are they so prominent in his entrance? It's the most overtly religious thing I've ever seen in the WWE and completely out of tone with this whole match up. It gives things an awkward atmosphere and leaves the kids uncertain how to react.

The adults already know how to react to Cena – boos and lots of them. The combined hate and apathy going on in Atlanta manages to be deafening and the awkwardness has only just begun. First we get two bell rings to start off, then some elbow-collar tie-up action with occasional move in between, all at a pace that's just coma-inducing. Every move that connects is followed by a break in action, as is every counter. Miz's work-rate is awful, he tends to just sit on the mat after a broken cover or just stand and pace rather than do anything. Even when he hits a move he sort of shuffles his feet before walking over to the follow up. Soon enough though it looks like John Cena has suffered a concussion as he can barely stand and even collapses while running the ropes. Surprisingly, it turned out afterwards that it was actually Miz who was concussed during this one, so I guess Cena is merely selling those devastating kicks or something.

Whatever the reason, the psychology is just thrown out of the window now, as while Cena sells a head injury and receives many more, he continues to kick out of any pin attempt. Meanwhile, whenever he gets a pin on Miz the ref is down or distracted, but every time he is able to get way more than 3 while Miz just lays there. Finally we get to see something impressive from Miz when he kicks out of an Attitude Adjustment, but after he rolls to the outside Cena knocks them both over the barrier and they're counted out. Now most main events shouldn't end in a count out, but for WrestleMania there should be an outright ban. NO ONE wants the show to end on a count out, and the crowd are just livid when it's announced and they even play Miz's music to sell that this is really happening.

Thankfully The Rock makes his inevitable appearance wherein he faffs around for five minutes before restarting the match as No DQ, which sounds good, only he then hits Cena with a Rock Bottom to give Miz the win after no extra match at all. Miz doesn't even get a moment to celebrate as Rock lays him out too and stands tall as a guy who hasn't wrestled in seven years but can beat down the entire main-event of WrestleMania with ease. Way to put over nothing but yourself Rock. So glad you're back.

“One thing's for sure – tonight we all smell exactly what The Rock is cooking. ”

- Final words of WrestleMania XXVII

We sure do J.R., and it's called Brahma Bullshit.

Rating: 1 Star

WWE WrestleMania XXVII 2011 Final Score: 2 Stars

An incredibly uneven show from top to bottom, featuring some of the best and worst matches of the year. The Undertaker managed to continue his streak, not only of WrestleMania wins but also of classic performances and together with Triple H gave us an easy choice for Match of the Year. Close behind them were Rhodes and Mysterio who worked a brilliant mid-card attraction, but sadly that's where the greatness ends. Punk Vs Orton wasn't quite up to it's potential while Edge Vs Del Rio was thrown by some really strange booking decisions. Both tag matches were given less time than their entrances, resulting in little more than meaningless fluff to get some names on the show. However it was the Lawler Vs Cole and Miz Vs Cena contests that were genuinely insulting, the latter being the worst WrestleMania main-event since Lawrence Taylor went up against Bam Bam Bigelow back in 1995. The Rock's involvement gave the event a big-time feeling, but sadly his presence came at the expense of the entire main-event's credibility. Despite the five star production values in Atlanta this was a poor show overall and a real drop in quality from the year before.

WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2011 Review

2011-12-19T17:46:00.001Z

United States Championship
Zack Ryder Vs Dolph Ziggler

We start things off with the guaranteed crowd pleaser of Zack Ryder becoming United States Champion. It's a great ending to his story in 2011, where he began in obscurity on Superstars and finished a star on Raw, entirely through his own efforts using social media. The only problem is – he's not a very good wrestler. He's competent for sure, but also clumsy and charmless with a poor work-rate. By comparison Dolph Ziggler is a bonafide superstar in waiting. Unlike Ryder, Ziggler oozes in-ring charisma, is incredibly clean and crisp and has a tremendous work-rate. His salesmanship of the Rough Ryder for the finish was just beautiful. Every time he performs now he is just getting better and tonight he carries Ryder to his best match to date. It'll be interesting to see how well Ryder performs against a lesser opponent...

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Tag Team Championship
Air Boom Vs Primo and Epico

Air Boom continue their run of good matches with the Tag Team Championships, tonight up against a pair I didn't even know was teaming! It's the first PPV outing for Primo since 2009 and he makes a great case for why he should be used more often. What this matched lacked in heat or back story was made up for in agility and pace. Air Boom once again work in plenty of exciting double-team manoeuvres and both teams worked to create an elegant, well timed finish. My only complaint would be Rosa Mendes, who accompanied Primo and Epico ringside. Not only is she your stereotypically shrill Latina, she also forces Lawler to talk around his massive, inappropriate erection for a woman who's more than half his age. Thankfully both teams are able to negate bad commentary, a skill I think all WWE performers need to succeed in this era, and I would be very happy to watch both in action again soon.

Rating: 3 Stars

[PHOTO PENDING WWE.COM ACTUALLY WORKING]

Tables
Randy Orton Vs Wade Barrett

I've said for the past two TLC events that I have no problem with the Tables stipulation, but I'm against it being used for the WWE Championship match. For the first time that isn't happening and we finally get this match where it belongs – the mid-card. Not only that, we've also got the pleasure of watching Wade Barrett in this environment where it turns out he thrives. The tables are actually used in interesting ways and the “near falls” are genuinely dramatic, leading into some stand-out sequences of counters. The finish, where Orton counters Barrett into a mid-air RKO through the table, might have been obvious, but it was well performed and very satisfying. Barrett may have lost, but he also stood out as a star in a way he hasn't done since loosing to John Cena last year. Orton is simply on a roll on SmackDown with star-making performances. He's made Christian, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes and now Wade Barrett look like they're on his level even in defeat, and that's so awesome to see from someone who could get away with holding all of these men down.

Rating: 4 Stars

Sledgehammer/Ladder
Triple H Vs Kevin Nash

Ever since Kevin Nash walked back onto our screens at SummerSlam, I've been dreading his in-ring return. As a man who wasn't even entertaining in his prime, I had no desire to see him wrestle in 2011. Fortunately, thanks to not one but two gimmicks, Nash's return was fairly decent and hopefully now over. This was a slow, lumbering brawl as you'd expect but with enough impact and action to get by. The absence of a Jackknife Powerbomb from Nash was a bit disappointing, as it's the one thing he can do which still has some effect. Instead we just got a botched Pedigree and plenty of PG, soft-core sledgehammer action. I think “not awful” is just about the best praise this one could have hoped for.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Sheamus Vs Jack Swagger

When you're looking to throw a random match onto a card, you could do much worse than this pair. These two have had a very similar time in WWE thus far, both given world titles far too soon and suffering afterwards. Right now Sheamus is finally back on the rise again and as usual puts in a strong performance here. Unfortunately they do nothing to make this feel any more than a meaningless bit of padding for the show, failing to create any real urgency or drama. It's not an easy ask, granted, but we have seen a couple of matches thrown onto PPV this year that have managed it. This is what really holds them back, but I'm sure given more time in advance they could do much better.

Rating: 3 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship – Chairs
Big Show Vs Mark Henry

It's finally time to end this ongoing feud. It's had it's ups and downs (mostly downs), but few would argue it's been on of the best in the career of Mark Henry. We get the usual stalling to start but with an unusual twist; Big Show throwing chairs into the ring while he encircles it. It's a great visual and much better than what we so often have to endure. This leads into some good brawling with more strong visuals as they both use chairs to attack each other's weak spots before clashing in the middle of the ring. Henry attacks Show's hand, but despite the pain he hits the KO punch and this one's over surprisingly soon, just when it got going! Big Show seems genuinely emotional about the win, but gets attacked by Henry for his trouble. Oh now wait, what's this?

Daniel Bryan is out to cash in Money in the Bank. Is this a heel turn? No? I don't get how I'm supposed to feel as one of my favourites becomes world champion, but in the cheapest way possible. They wasted an opportunity to have something original happen with the contract, not to mention the anticipated build-up for WrestleMania and a rare emotional victory for a deserving star. Now we've just had yet another weak cash in without even a bit of a match beforehand, yet another first-time championship win that doesn't really seem like it. I don't think the Money in the Bank concept is bad by definition, but in the last 4 years it has been booked so poorly on every single occasion I wish they'd just be done with it. It is ruining careers that ought to be legendary. Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, John Cena – these men did not win their first world title like this. They won at WrestleMania, they won after a hard fought match. They could have done the same for Daniel Bryan but instead he gets the same treatment as Jack Swagger, as CM Punk, as The Miz and as Alberto Del Rio. Not to mention it makes no sense as if Bryan was just going to do this he'd have been even more likely to win during the aftermath of the ring explosion at Vengeance. The whole segment was enjoyable, but this finish leaves a nasty after-taste.

Rating: 3 Stars

Intercontinental Championship
Cody Rhodes Vs Booker T

You had to assume this one was off after not one but two assaults on Booker T by Cody Rhodes this evening. Thankfully that was just part of the build up and works to give this match so much urgency and intensity before it even begins. Once it does some will be surprised by the stiff style and fast pace that is established and kept pretty much throughout. As with Kevin Nash, Booker T is not a man in his prime, but unlike Nash he was once great and shows why here. Rhodes is his usual excellent self and together they work in exciting sequences that always keep you guessing. The finish is well executed and Rhodes rightly takes it in dominant fashion. It might be brief and brisk, but a very welcome addition to the card. I would so much rather have Booker working in the ring than behind the booth that's for certain.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Championship – TLC
CM Punk Vs Alberto Del Rio Vs The Miz

One of the greatest strengths of the WWE is that whatever the show, they often save the best for last. Finishing a PPV with the Match of the Night is always a benefit and one again they do it here. This one was very similar to Hell in a Cell from October in set-up, with an awkward triple-threat dynamic rather than a more focused one-on-one affair. As with that show my expectations were low, so this Match of the Year candidate was a really welcome surprise. The best aspect of the match was how it took an obvious result and made you genuinely believe it wasn't going to happen. The tension around Punk's certain victory and the wild card of two challengers made this the biggest nail biter since Money in the Bank.

Alberto Del Rio's aggression was thrilling to watch tonight as he dominated much of the proceedings and looked set to win it with ease. His weapon-enhanced Cross Arm Breakers to both Miz and Punk were fantastic, as was the corner spot they were all involved in. I felt for sure everyone involved was done for at one point, only to watch them all come back and make me sure all of them would win it. The heart and soul of this was the use of handcuffs on Punk, perfectly spun into a dramatic story that changed and evolved as the match went on. His reactions sold all of this and you really felt his despair once he was locked into the turn-buckle with no obvious way out. Even The Miz was at his best, working in some crisp counters and taking some extremely stiff looking chair shots throughout. All in all, one hell of a way to close the show.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2011 Final Score: 3.5 Stars

Despite the score this was a significant improvement on Survivor Series with three great matches and no truly bad ones. The Nash Vs Triple H contest was predictably the worst, but so much better than it could have been. The main-event was Punk's first great match since Money in the Bank, a masterpiece of booking that made the certain uncertain and allowed everyone involved to shine. The amount of matches was also a welcome surprise, technically ten in total including the women's match and Daniel Bryan's cash in. Nothing had much time, but nor did anything feel too brief besides the World Heavyweight Championship match, and there were justified reasons for it. I am disappointed in Daniel Bryan's big win being so meaningless, but hopefully now we'll get to see him wrestle on PPV more often.

WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2009 Review

2011-12-17T01:40:00.001Z

ECW Championship - Ladder
Christian Vs Shelton Benjamin

The dream match of the feud that never was. This pairing ought to have been highlighted in numerous PPV contests for Christian's ECW Championship in 2009 but, aside from a couple of non-title outings on TV, this was all we'd get. It's what we wanted and as expected it delivers a memorable encounter filled with ingenious spots, but you can't help but imagine what this same match would have been like had it come at the climax of a full-on feud. Shelton Benjamin deserved to be pushed hard on the C-Show and this match exemplifies why. He's a genuine salesman, willing to go all out to get the other guy over. He takes some great bumps in this and never drops the pace, even when up against the stupid new “no blood” rule trying to stop things completely. Working regularly on PPV with a veteran like Christian could have been great for him, and a title change tonight would have refreshed the dying ECW brand. Alas, Christian retains again and the title continues to stagnate. Never mind. I suppose Christian sells more T-Shirts anyway. At least they achieved their intention, and set the bar high for the rest of the night that follows. Great match.

Rating: 4 Stars

Intercontinental Championship
Drew McIntyre Vs John Morrison

I feel sorry for Drew McIntyre. The man is talented for sure, he just doesn't have any charisma. With a gimmick like “The Chosen One” it's unfortunately a necessity, which is ultimately why he'll continue to fade further and further away from the spotlight during 2010. This is yet another example of the WWE throwing a newcomer one of the mid-card championships without anyone investing in their character beforehand. As a result – DUHN! DUHN! DUHN! - nobody cares! After being really into the last match, it feels like half of the arena are away buying Christian T-Shirts or something. I'm not kidding - you can actually hear echoes in the first five minutes of this. With McIntyre on offence, this was a good chance to show some character but instead we just get rest holds. Lots of rest holds. Like, “Vintage Randy Orton” rest holds. Sure there are one or two really nice moves, Morrison is too good not to fit something exciting into a match this long, but nothing happens at the pace or with a rhythm you can invest in. The finish involves Morrison deciding he doesn't want his belt on or something, distracting the ref while McIntyre gets in the ol' thumb-in-the-eye and his patented DDT for the win. After so many classic Intercontinental Championship matches we've seen in 2009, this was such a disappointment.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

WWE Championship – Tables
Sheamus Vs John Cena

Oh, look! It's Sheamus Vs John Cena! That's so strange, I swear we were just talking about a match where a rookie was handed a major championship without proper build-up leaving fans confused and/or disinterested and the rookie in question damaged for the foreseeable future soon after. That couldn't happen twice in one night right? It did? Damn. Okay then. Well, approve of the booking or not, there's no question this is far more significant than the last match in many ways. Not only is this a world title, it's the WWE Championship. Not only is this the WWE Championship, it's John Cena's WWE Championship. This is not something that changes hands often. Also, unlike Drew McIntyre, Sheamus actually has a lot of charisma and knows how to work a crowd. More so, Texas hates Cena and openly cheer anything Sheamus does. He might not earn it all, but he sure does use the heat and as a result the contest enjoys good atmosphere throughout. It's a shame then that this is a tables match, not a bad concept for a quick mid-card attraction but for a world title it just feels cheap. Not only that, but to pad the match to the expected length it means lots of slow action and drawn out “near falls” where both men just sway in place before lots of nothing happens. I honestly thought the ending was a botch when I first saw it. Sheamus is one hell of an actor when it comes to slipping off the top. If there's a treatment floating around Hollywood for a film where a man does nothing but accidentally fall off things for two hours, they really need to give the Celtic Warrior a call. He might even win an Oscar. For now though, he'll have to make do with becoming the first Irish WWE Champion. I'm sure he's fine with that.

Rating: 3 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship – Chairs
The Undertaker Vs Batista

“The Undertaker has been in Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber, Inferno Matches – perhaps none more dangerous than a Chair Match” - Matt Striker

Does that quote convince you? Not even a little, huh? That's because it's obviously absurd. A chairs match. It's such a contrived gimmick to begin with, but when it doesn't even fit this feud or play into the story, why should anyone care? Batista is still feeling out his new heel character, so he's not quite at the standard he'll get to early in 2010. Meanwhile Undertaker is just Undertaker; floating from feud to feud with no motivation, riding on the back of the World Heavyweight Championship. This match is just stale filler for both men tonight and it shows. The audience, likely confused by the gimmick, never really gets involved aside from the usual taunts and finishers, creating a very dull atmosphere for everything else. The false win for Batista, which was no different from many a genuine title change in the past (including Drew McIntyre's all of two matches ago), is lame as ever. It's made worse when the match restarts, lasts 30 seconds and Undertaker wins instead. Couldn't they have wrestled another five minutes? The crowd popped for the finish just moments before, this just confuses them and wastes their energy. A poor effort on all fronts. Ill conceived, badly paced and with a stupid finish. The highlight is Batista mumbling like a drunk hobo on his way to the back...

Rating: 2 Stars

Randy Orton Vs Kofi Kingston

I really love the work done to Kofi Kingston's character leading into this one. They let him show some guts, and it's amazing how far that'll get a guy over. He also has a lot of chemistry with Randy Orton as well as a strong work rate which is something he's not given enough credit for. Sadly the story told in this match just isn't very interesting. In a way this is too late after Kofi made his mark on the MSG episode of Raw we see in the pre-match promo. Had it been made officially the 1# contenders match or something there might have been more tension, but really it was just a drawn out beat down on Kofi with the occasional athletic come-back. I wasn't crazy about the ending either. First Kofi counters the RKOP which is cool in theory but really unclear in practice. I don't think anyone really saw him put the arm up, so they either thought he'd been kicked in the head or that Randy botched it somehow. After that there's a nice tease for a Kingston upset that's turned into an RKO, winning it for Orton after a whole match of working the ribs. I think Orton should have countered Kofi's counter and punted him in the chest instead. That would have fit the story and been a fresh twist on the move. Regardless this was a decent match that was entertaining but not the star-making classic it needed to be to get Kofi over long term. Had this feud continued they might have managed that, but this would mark the end of the Kofi Kingston experiment for now.

Rating: 3 Stars

Unified Tag Team Championship - TLC
D-Generation X Vs JeriShow

Our final contest is another climax to a feud that never really existed. Ever since JeriShow began their year of dominance in the division, a collision with D-Generation X seemed inevitable. Not since 2006 were there two tag teams at once who were worthy of being in the main-event. JeriShow worked hard not only to get to that level from scratch, but also to bring prestige back to their titles much as Jericho had done earlier in the year with the Intercontinental Championship. Coupled with the fact that DX had never actually been tag team champions and this was being anticipated months prior. The problem? Well they didn't really lay any foundations to build on, and after this match JeriShow was finished. A contest with this kind of star power could have been a great under-card addition to WrestleMania, and had it been built from months rather than weeks the whole thing might have been even bigger.

As you might expect all four men have great chemistry and the tornado tag format means the action is pretty much non-stop from bell to bell. Jericho and Michaels are no strangers, yet little was made of this either beforehand nor during the match itself. They do work most of the actual wrestling, a very good decision that leaves Triple H and Show to do the power spots and brawling on the outside. However the teams don't just split up for twenty minutes, they manage to weave around nicely while keeping the focus on the goal. There were lots of memorable visuals, from Jericho and Michaels having a chair duel on the stage to Big Show tearing a ladder apart with his hands and of course the final image, HBK grabbing the belts while held up on half a ladder by Hunter. It's a shame Jericho's final spot botched completely, falling from Show's shoulders not through a table but into it's hard corner. He lands twisted up, but like a pro he just hangs there until the attention has moved on. It's on par with the opener in many respects, not as well performed but with more star power and purpose behind the action. It's not as good as it could be, but worthy of the main-event and a classic moment for DX on their final PPV outing.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2009 Final Score: 3 Stars

Another average show for the books. A rare off night for the SmackDown brand, a final glimpse of potential from ECW and more of the usual from Raw. The opener and the main-event were both great but only serve to hold together a sagging middle marred by poor booking. Two new rookie champions is exciting, but also sudden and meaningless. There's clear intent to push some fresh faces, but without proper character development or motivation the results are hollow. You can't argue with the shows historic value however; this was the end for DX, JeriShow and nearly ECW on PPV, but only the beginning for Sheamus and the TLC show format itself.

2004 in Games

2011-11-29T20:07:00.001Z

Games Ranked
1. Half-Life 2 (PC/XBX)
2. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)
3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GCN)
4. Pikmin 2 (GCN)
5. Tony Hawks Underground 2 (PS2/PC/XBX/GCN)
6. Spider-man 2 (PS2/PC/XBX/GCN)

Games Played
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2/XBX/PC)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
Tales of Symphonia (GCN)
Viewtiful Joe 2 (GCN/PS2)
Fable (XBX)RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 (PC)
Alien Hominid (GCN/PS2)

Games Not Played
Halo 2 (XBX/PC)
Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2/XBX)
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (XBX/PS2/PC/GCN)
Ninja Gaiden (XBX)
Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal (PS2)
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (XBX/PC)
Far Cry (PC)
Sly 2: Band of Thieves (PS2)
Doom 3 (PC/XBX)
Astro Boy: Omega Factor (GBA)
Katamari Damacy (PS2)
Onimusha 3: Demon Siege (PS2)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Rebublic II: The Sith Lords (XBX)
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GCN)
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (PS2/XBX)
Outrun 2 (XBX)
Red Dead Revolver (PS2/XBX)

2003 in Games

2011-11-29T19:52:00.000Z

Games Ranked
1. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (NGC)
2. Soul Calibur II (NGC/PS2/XBX)
3. Tony Hawk's Underground (PS2/NGC/XBX/PC)
4. 1080 Avalanche (NGC)
5. Sonic Advance 2 (GBA)
6. The Simpsons: Hit and Run (NGC/PS2/XBX/PC)

Games Played
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (NGC/PS2/XBX/PC)
F-Zero GX (NGC)
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (NGC)
Viewtiful Joe (NGC/PS2)
Ikaruga (NGC)
WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (PS2)
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PS2/XBX/PC)
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA)
SSX 3 (NGC/PS2/XBX)
Fire Emblem (GBA)
Wario Ware, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (GBA)
Beyond Good and Evil (PS2/NGC/PC/XBX)

Games Not Played
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBX/PC)
Project Gotham Racing 2 (XBX)
Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)
Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando (PS2)
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA)
Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBX)
SimCity 4 (PC)
Deus Ex: Invisible War (XBX/PC)
Homeworld 2 (PC)
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2/XBX)
Boktai: The Sun in Your Hand (GBA)
Magic Pengel (PS2)

WWE Survivor Series 2011 Review

2011-11-21T15:37:00.000Z

United States Championship
Dolph Ziggler Vs John Morrison

I find it funny that Zack Ryder is always so popular with the crowd when he's not wrestling, but then when he actually performs the response is lukewarm. The smarky Madison Square Garden audience boo John Morrison from the get go, upset that Ryder did not get his rematch against the champion. Their reaction overwhelms the match completely, especially when Morrison is on the offensive. They love Dolph Ziggler though, so I'm sure they're happy that for the second PPV in a row he'll be working two matches tonight. The company is starting to get behind the champion, and he's responding by showing more charisma than ever before. His cocky jog around the ring to kick Morrison in the face was hilarious and he uses the atmosphere of the unhappy crowd to his advantage throughout. I'm impressed that these guys eventually managed to grab the attention away from Ryder for the finish, an exciting series of near-falls. The post-match promo segment was welcome, but only really demonstrated why it ought to have been Ryder's night. Forgettable in the long run.

Rating: 3 Stars

Survivor Series Match
Team Barrett Vs Team Orton

The traditional elimination match has always been a bit awkward. In recent years they're usually thrown together without stakes or any friction between the teams, then performed in the mid-card where there isn't enough time to tell much of a story. Being a mid-card attraction also creates time limits, causing fast eliminations that don't feel earned and make the participants look bad. This match has all of that, and despite some quality young names taking part it never quite clicks. Ziggler is eliminated in moments, making me question why they'd even bother to promote him being involved when the rub could have gone to somebody else. Soon after, Sin Cara embarrasses himself, injuring his ankle on his first spot of the match. This forces a break in the action and really hurts the flow in the early goings. After building up Mason Ryan he gets taken out after a short combo by Rhodes, then Kingston puts on a nice sequence before being pinned by Barrett. Sheamus then gets himself disqualified for no reason I could discern, leaving Orton who pins Swagger with no drama whatsoever. The 3-on-1 scenario brings back some intrigue, but this is fleeting. Hunico takes the predictable RKO counter spot, then Barrett hits Orton with Wasteland for a surprisingly easy win. The match just plods along for the most part, it has well performed moments but they don't add up to anything. The eliminations lack tension or build-up and although it's a good win for Barrett and Rhodes, with nothing on the line it's hard to say this was a memorable contest.

Rating: 3 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship
Mark Henry Vs Big Show

I was pleasantly surprised last month when Show and Henry managed to put on a memorable match for the World Heavyweight Championship. Their first PPV match this year at Money in the Bank was nothing special, and I feared their rematch would be much the same. Thanks to a recycled spot from 2003 however, the match was a success and has even been called a MOTY candidate by some critics. As such, people have been anticipating this third instalment and I can only imagine their disappointment. This is the sloppy type of match Mark Henry has built a career out of and is everything I feared last month's encounter would be. It might just be the first flicker, but it looks like the fire that's been raging within Henry this year is starting to go out. The crowd chant for anyone but the men in the ring – Daniel Bryan, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage – just whoever it entertains them to think about I suppose. Finally the match picks up when Show goes up top (!) and hits a flying elbow, but all the good faith and energy it creates is flushed down the toilet when Henry hits a low blow for the DQ. Madison Square Garden is rightly PISSED. Henry goes to break Show's ankle again with a chair, but Show turns it around and attacks Henry's instead. It's all just obvious set up for a Chairs Match at TLC, and once again anyone who thinks Daniel Bryan is on his way is in fantasy land.

Rating: 2 Stars

WWE Championship
CM Punk Vs Alberto Del Rio

Unbelievably, after his big win at Money in the Bank, CM Punk has actually lost at every PPV this year. He even took the fall in matches where there were others to do so, including last month's tag encounter with Awesome Truth. Despite his popularity and even though he's been featured in the main-event all year, WWE have failed to really make him a mega star. The issue has always been that Punk's sudden rise was unexpected and not part of the year's plan – which was clearly to push Alberto Del Rio instead. This has had the unfortunate impact of making Raw a mess, with the WWE Championship moving between more people than it has in a very long time. It's never a good sign when a world title is like a hot potato, the final days of WCW stand as testament to that, and once again we see it change hands here.

This was always going to be an interesting match, the two fresh faces of the WWE competing not so much for the world title but for the endorsement of WWE management as THE star going forwards. Neither man could really afford a loss, which I figured was fair warning for some shenanigans and yet another dusty finish. With the belt moving around so often right now, I assumed Del Rio would be given the nod to bring some stability back and enjoy a fairly long reign as The Miz did this time last year. Instead I was wrong, and it looks like that nod has been given to Punk which could be a good sign as long as now they turn that loosing streak around and keep him as the champion for at least the next few months. There is still time to turn Punk into the star he ought to be before WrestleMania, where he must surely be involved with the WWE Championship or, ideally, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The match itself was a show stealer, the best either man has had since July. From the awesome return of Howard Finkel as the “personal ring announcer” for CM Punk, the crowd were rabid and into every moment. Unlike previous matches tonight they were focused and really gave it the proper atmosphere. Both men are skilled technicians, and crafted a contest with great pace and plenty of solid near-falls. As bland as Del Rio is on the mic, in the ring he is crisp, confident and surprisingly full of character. Paired with the right opponent as he is here, I think he has real potential to be a legend in this business. What he needs is more work on his total persona, the kind that happens when new stars spend time in the mid-card as we're seeing now with talent like Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes. Being rushed into the main-event, as with Sheamus, Jack Swagger and The Miz last year, is hurting Del Rio's standing with fans and I'm sure this title change is “punishment” for the bad ratings Raw has been getting this autumn. The state of Raw is down to bad booking, not bad talent. I hope we get a good feud now between these two, although ultimately Punk must come out on top to salvage his credibility. If they can top this, they'll have a MOTY candidate for certain. Oh and am I reading too much into the cut from Punk holding the belt to an ad for the new Stone Cold DVD? I hope not!

Rating: 4 Stars

The Rock and John Cena Vs The Awesome Truth

When it was announced that The Rock would return to the ring at Survivor Series in a traditional elimination match, like anyone I was excited. At first I worried it would take the shine off of WrestleMania XXVIII, but after a while I accepted that it would be good for him to shake any ring rust after 7 years away. I thought he'd be sheltered by being on a 5 man team, part of some broader focus maybe as the climax of the feud between the stars of Raw and John Laurenitis. Instead plans changed and now he takes a more prominent role in just a straight up tag bout teaming with John Cena. Their opponents are just a pair of broomsticks – they play their part but offer nothing of value to the equation. As much as I was looking forward to his return, I wish it had been against more worthy opponents. I have no interest in watching The Rock face The Miz or R-Truth in particular and clearly Madison Square Garden agrees with me. From the moment he walked down the ramp this was The Rock Show, and gosh darn it that's enough. Sure, this could have been an all-time classic moment, but as it stands it still sends chills up your spine.

Rock electrifies early with some great arm drags to Miz and Truth before laying some smacketh down on both of them. Miz demands he tag in Cena and what follows is - to quote Michael Cole; “textbook” tag team wrestling, which is to say generic. Cena was obviously going to be the 'face-in-peril' and is beaten back and forth for ages, being booed out of the building every time he attempts a comeback. They hold back The Rock to build up the crowd until finally he makes the tag, hits all of his signature moves and finishes The Miz with the People's Elbow. Was I entertained? Yes. It's The Rock, it's the Garden, it was always going to be enjoyable TV. However, was this good? Not really. Everything about the match was run-of-the-mill aside from Rock's charisma, which as always if off the charts. The crowd loved it and that adds a lot, but Miz and Truth just don't have the talent to hang with Cena, let alone The Rock. It's hard to settle on a score, so I'll be generous. Any time the WWE can stir real excitement from their audience is a job well done, and it might have been the laziest way possible but they achieved that here.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Survivor Series 2011 Final Score: 3 Stars

Back in July the WWE were building some huge momentum in the quality of their product. Since August they've dropped the ball and continue to fumble it creatively at the main-event level. It's embarrassing to watch, and if it wasn't for their world class production team and wealth of athletic talent they'd be much worse off than they are. This was a chance to make the Survivor Series brand relevant again and recapture some of the magic that's been lost this year. Instead we get another average show, entertaining but held up by the historic arena and a group of stars that attract a response despite the best efforts of WWE Creative. Sights need to be on WrestleMania XXVIII now, and the WWE is on the right path in that regard with Cena and Rock already at breaking point and CM Punk as the WWE Champion. The outcomes of TLC and the Royal Rumble will be crucial to the success of their biggest event, and at this point things really could go either way.

Game Review - 'Comix Zone' (Released January 1 1995, GEN/PC)

2011-11-13T19:55:00.000Z

It's remarkably rare that any game is completed exactly how it was imagined. The limitations of budget, time and technology usually take their toll and a title will ship while it's designers regret all the things they couldn't achieve. Then again, it's equally rare that a game is as clearly and elegantly conceived as Peter Moraweic's 1995 classic 'Comix Zone'. The original pitch animation could almost be a clip from the finished product, only it was made three years prior. It goes beyond just showing off the striking and dynamic art style, demonstrating many of the ways that gameplay could also be directly derived from it.

You play as Sketch Turner, an illustrator who finds himself sucked into his own comic book. Soon he realises that the story is not quite as he remembers and is now being written by the evil Mortus, a villain who has switched places with Turner and escaped from the book into the real world. Now trapped within his own artwork, Turner works through each panel, fighting the monsters drawn by Mortus, solving puzzles with his pet rat Roadkill and shredding up all obstacles in his way. It's the sort of premise that's so obvious yet so good, it's astounding that it wasn't done before.

The game about as visually striking and ground-breaking as any side-scrolling beat-em-up has ever been. The art design is sharp and colourful, offering original characters and locals but with all the classic pulp of their inspirations. Dialogue bubbles and sound effects are dropped in seamlessly and complete the aesthetic in an elegant and stylish fashion. The way Turner and his foes interact with their environment is simply awesome. Sometimes you'll hop over a border, then kick a mutant through the next one before tearing back the paper to reveal a hidden power-up. The progression is linear, but occasionally branches, offering alternative routes to the same goal. This gives the game moderate replay value if you want to see every corner of the levels, but sadly you can't turn back and explore the page freely for yourself.

The borders of its pages may not contain 'Comix Zone', but sadly it can only go so far before it hits the technical borders of the ageing Genesis. This is a short game, even by the standards of the era, and it's been made overly difficult to compensate. There are no saves, checkpoints, or lives and continues are delivered only twice. If that isn't daunting enough, there's the small matter of a health bar tied directly not only to the player but to the environment itself. Every door you tear down or block you bust open costs you precious life, meaning you can survive a fight only to be killed by removing an obstacle in your way instead. It's certainly an interesting mechanic and creates a genuine fear of moving forward, but it completely clashes with the bombastic tone of the game it's a part of. 'Comix Zone' is so bursting with visual flair and hidden secrets you'll want to explore it all, but this feature actively discourages such behaviour instead. If the game was more forgiving with health or a lives system then this wouldn't be an issue, but the overall effect of both coupled together can be a bitter pill. That short length also means there isn't much variety to be found once you scratch the surface, both visually and mechanically.

While everything that's here is excellent, I found myself just wishing there was more as the possibilities of this setting are almost endless. One of the best, but underused elements of the visual presentation is the ever present hand of Mortus who reaches across to draw in new enemies. I wish he did more as the idea of an omnipresent antagonist with the power to alter reality to it's whim could lead to inspiring sections of challenging level design. Alas it never does and as with all of the mechanics and concept at play, it never evolves beyond it's basic function.

To the developers credit, the game is squeezing the most it can out of its hardware. The finished product was twice the physical size of 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' for instance, with numerous graphical elements that had to be compressed and generated mid-play. There are an abundance of dynamic animations and environmental effects that bring the pages to life as well as some light voice over work to boot. The technical ambition on display is admirable, I only wish someone at Sega could have recognised the potential for this game on their new 32-bit Saturn platform. It could have easily benefited from more power supporting it's bold vision, or at least could have been followed by a superior sequel.

As it stands though, 'Comix Zone' is one of the most memorable experiences on the Genesis and one of the key games the platform is remembered for. It may not have offered much beyond it's central ideas, but these are all crafted with exceptional skill. A rare example of a game with astonishing synchronicity between it's art and mechanics.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Game Review - 'Rayman Origins' (Released November 15 2011, PS3/360/WII/3DS/PSV)

2011-11-09T20:36:00.001Z

When you look back at gaming history, it's always interesting to see some of the big, well known franchises that just slipped away. Whether it be by a steady dip in quality & sales (Crash Bandicoot) or just a stubborn developer who refuses to capitalise on demand (Pikmin), some names can suddenly go from being big deals to mere relics of nostalgia. Rayman has been on that path for a while now. Although the Raving Rabbids series has been popular, it's since shed any association with the Rayman brand, and we've not had a proper, home console release for the Ubisoft icon since way back in 2003.

Rayman has always suffered from a bit of an identity crisis. Designed by Michel Ancel when he was a teenager, the limbless toon's first outing in 1995 was a typical platformer for it's era, bold and imaginative but with some awkward controls and messy level deign. The follow up, Rayman 2, took the series into 3D and delivered one of the best AAA platformers on consoles that didn't have the word Nintendo stamped on them. After just two instalments, Ancel left the series and would go on to direct great titles such as Beyond Good & Evil and King Kong. Rayman 3 suffered under a new development team, a forgettable game that focused more on action than pure platforming. Clearly the series had lost it's short lived lustre, and although Ancel began working on a fourth instalment, that project soon transformed into the first Raving Rabbids party game and was completed without him. The real Rayman, as designed and directed by his creator, has remained dormant – until now.

The 'Rayman Origins' project was originally intended to be an episodic downloadable title, until it became obvious that it was destined for a bigger platform. It was developed using the new UbiArts Framework engine, developed by Ancel, enabling artists to have greater control over the visuals without going through the same technical hoops to achieve their vision. The tool made the game easy enough to create that it's development was spearheaded by just five artists, in keeping with the small, garage-game spirit found in indie developers such as Team Meat. This focused, personal approach has resulted in one of the most beautiful games ever made and an instant classic of the platforming genre.

'Rayman Origins' fits in comfortably alongside it's ancestors. It's easy to see the shared traits with many classic 16-Bit platformers; not only the original Rayman but better games like Yoshi's Island, Earthworm Jim and Castle of Illusion. As with those titles, Origins is lengthy, varied and strives to be an interactive cartoon. However Origins is more than a throwback, it uses both modern technology and developments to achieve greater things. Unlike the regressive Mega Man IX or Sonic the Hedgehog 4 it doesn't rely on pure nostalgia, nor is it used as a visual or mechanical crutch. The game has more in common with the progressive new guard of the genre, titles such as Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat and Super Meat Boy.

It's art style is vivid, fresh and has the attitude of Nickelodeon cartoons such as 'Ren & Stimpy' and 'Rocko's Modern Life'. Every sprite is smoothly animated and bursting with character while the backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous. The settings never stray too far from the fundamental elements of most platformers (Water, Desert, Fire, Ice etc.), however the designs and details within are very abstract and lifted straight from the original 'Rayman'. The quality of the visuals are always impressive, their effect enhanced by the variety both between worlds and within levels. The worlds of 'Origins' manage to embrace the original aesthetic of the series while expanding on it in familiar ways; the musical instrument world Band Land from 'Rayman' is now relocated for The Desert of Didgeridoos for instance. Many designs from the first game return, brought to life by animation that is second to none within the genre and presented in rich, crisp HD. The music is almost as good, a solid collection of vibrant, catchy tunes that you'll gladly hum for ages. They're the melodic bow on this beautiful package.

'Origins''s co-op is heavily influenced by New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where up to four players can drop in and out and enjoy slight variations in control. As with that game however, more than two players can be too frantic, even if you eventually endure thanks to the greater odds of survival. On the other end of the spectrum, single player can be very unforgiving as there are one hit deaths as in Super Meat Boy, but stages are much longer and filled with moving enemies. The game really seems to have been designed just for two, a configuration that can take advantage of the excellent inflation/revival mechanic while still keeping the action focused. It's a rarity to see a game that only features local multi-player, a nice throwback and a faithful recapturing of the experiences to be found in classics such as Streets of Rage.

The gameplay is smooth, responsive and satisfying. As with the original, you gain new abilities as you progress and these new mechanics are all well introduced and soon become a natural extension of the fun. The levels are all divided into room based challenges such as those in Super Meat Boy, and like that game there are always optional goodies to tempt you down a more dangerous and skilful path. While there is no strict combo system, the collectable Lums are often enhanced by the special King Lum to be worth double for a brief window of time. As in Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, you'll find yourself dashing around manically trying to snatch them all, a high score the only way to unlock new levels and discover the game's optional final world.

The enemies you encounter react to damage the same way you do – they expand into a rising inflated bubble. Jumping onto them brings new platform opportunities and can be chained in later levels to achieve amazing speed runs. There are also a good variety of tasks to be done, besides the standard platforming there are some Gradius-style shooting levels as well as the fantastic, auto-scrolling Tricky Treasures. These prove not only the greatest challenge, but the highlights of the game. They are fast paced obstacle courses that can take many attempts, but as with all the best games in the genre, the thrill of success is a feeling that you'll remember for weeks to come.

Until now I've never been a big fan of Rayman, but after 'Origins' I hope he never disappears again. This is not only the best Rayman title, but a better experience than any other 2D platformer of the last decade. From the breathtaking art design to the engaging co-op gameplay, this is a game that ought to appeal to newcomers to the genre and seasoned veterans. It's a fantastic first outing for the UbiArts engine, and I can not wait to see what is done with it next.

Rating: 5 Stars

Game Review - 'Batman: Arkham City' (Released October 18 2011, PS3/360/PC)

2011-11-09T16:44:00.001Z

In 2009, a relatively unknown developer called Rocksteady caught the worlds attention when they released 'Batman: Arkham Asylum'. For the first time, a game had been made where you could really play the role of one of the most endearing and appealing pop culture icons. There had been attempts before it yes, but all had failed to encompass enough of what defined the character within the public consciousness. 'Arkham Asylum' contained the right blend of exploration, action and stealth, presented with polish and a love for the source material. This year's follow up has been hugely anticipated and should Rocksteady fail to meet their great expectations they stand to loose much of the good faith they earned just two years ago.

My biggest problem with 'Arkham Asylum' was it's story and gameplay focus. While the mechanics were all excellent, the plot was concerned primarily with Batman fighting bigger and bigger thugs. As much as I enjoyed aspects of the tale, I found this main drive to be boring and worse – miss the key elements of Batman role-play. The enclosed setting didn't help, with your time spent either inside corridors or outside in small, enclosed sections of the asylum grounds. Had the story been more of a psychological exploration of this enclosure, as the novel of the same name or games like 'Resident Evil' have done before, it could have worked. Instead, they only offered fighting. That fighting was good, but like most fans, I yearned to play as Batman in Gotham City, leaping across rooftops and gliding through the sky towards the next piece of an interesting mystery – not jogging and waiting for doors to open between meaningless brawls.

So when the sequel was announced just one year later, I had mixed feelings. I was so glad that the game would now be set in an urban area, but couldn't see the logic in keeping the 'Arkham' title. Did Rocksteady not understand? Their first game didn't win them the rights to develop the 'Batman: Arkham' game franchise, it won them the 'Batman' franchise as a whole! Besides, where do they go next? 'Arkham County'? 'Arkham World'? That question hasn't been answered, but I was relieved to find by playing the game that my fears were misplaced and that Rocksteady are well aware of what they're doing. When a thug on the streets made that exact same comment, it was confirmation that the developer knew this was an issue and clearly have a plan in mind.

In 'Arkham Asylym', Rocksteady failed to use the classic setting to tell a classic story. Thankfully with 'Arkham City', they at least use an original-if-contrived setting to tell an original-if-contrived one. There are two major plots going on behind the security walls. The first is the mysterious work of Hugo Strange, the man in charge of Arkham City and the only person to figure out Batman's secret identity. The other is the plight of The Joker, now fatally ill after the events on Arkham Island. These two stories never really work together, however while one of them has a damp ending, the other builds into a genuinely memorable climax. The whole thing has a pace and urgency that keeps things entertaining, and I'm glad to report that this time the story is actually one of the game's better aspects.

While the plot may have failed, what made Arkham Asylum both engaging and memorable were the mechanics of freeflow combat and stealth predation. Both are back for 'Arkham City' as you'd expect, only now even richer and better implemented. The attacks and counters are all context sensitive, meaning a fight by a wall will be completely different to a fight by a ledge. New to this game are group counters and takedowns, which are also context sensitive, making fights against huge gangs even more dramatic and dynamic. Batman will grab one thug, throw him into another, leap off a wall and kick two more at once before slamming the lasts head into a railing. The sense of empowerment is palpable – it's raw, exhausting and completely badass in a way few other games have ever matched.

The best move is a welcome surprise – interrogation. Rather than the maps from Asylum, City gives Batman a new, more appropriate way to seek out the locations of those pesky Riddler trophies. While stalking the streets you'll spot Riddler informants; some you can pick off in an alley, others you'll have to carefully avoid as you fight off a whole gang while keeping them conscious until the end. Once you've got them alone, you shake them down for info. This move is also context sensitive, and easily the most Batman-y thing you'll ever do in a game. Holding a man by his ankle off a rooftop as you bark threats to receive information leading you to a trapped hostage is exactly what a Batman game should be about! I've wanted to do this since I was a child, and it delights me every single time. It gives you a reason to take on big fights long after you've unlocked all the upgrades, and once winning a fight becomes the norm it adds a greater sense of accomplishment.

Those hostages you're after are just one of a wide array of side missions scattered across your map. From hunting serial killers to solving elaborate puzzles for trophies (which unlock concept art, character models and more), these tasks are much better than similar parts of other games (such as the flags of Assassin's Creed) and are enriched by a fidelity to the wider Batman mythos. Beyond the main game and it's harder Game Plus mode, there are also loads of challenge maps to play through, now with a harder linked campaign mode. The combat and predator mechanics are so well made they really do deserve a place to shine and can offer hours of fun in their own right. These take place in various locations from the game, with the predator maps really showing a quality of design as you'll find all sorts of ways to move through them and stalk your prey. If that's not enough, now you can even design your own challenges, setting the rules to test your skills.

Free from the Asylum, these locations are much more varied than before. Now you hunt through smoke stacks, sneak through alleyways and wage one-man wars on rooftops. One of the best parts of the first game was Batman's gliding ability, but there was never anywhere you could really use it. Thanks to the loading doors between even outside areas, you were left to do more mundane walking and sprinting instead. Here the glide is your default movement, used with your grapple to quickly travel around the sizeable cityscape. Once you unlock the Grapple Boost move you can increase speed and launch right off another ledge, and then the dive bomb lets you gain speed and altitude as well as making a great impact on anyone unlucky enough to be below you. As with the combat, these mechanics are fluid while always feeling powerful. It's a natural expansion to the gameplay and one of it's best selling points. Simply moving around the city is entertaining, and while the visuals do still lean towards dark and murky, they're suitably Gothic and punctuated by select uses of bright neon details. The open world takes the game away from the Metroid-room structure used last time, making for better contrast between indoors and out. Now the interiors are more like classic Zelda dungeons, where you move through, seek upgrades, solve puzzles and fight the occasional boss. Every setting feels Batman appropriate and are fun to return to and explore once the story is over.

The politics of Arkham City make it a much more interesting social setting than Arkham Asylum. A super-villain gang war is a natural progression of the concept of an unsupervised city-prison, and the execution is satisfying. The freedom of the location allows each rogue to create their own environment rather than vaguely adopt one; Penguin has his Iceberg Lounge, Two-Face his courthouse, Joker his funfair/steel mill. Thugs are made-up in line with their gang leader, speculating on characters and story events on the rare occasions they're not trying to kill you. Their conversations are a large part of the atmosphere of 'Arkham City', a reminder that the conditions of the prison are cruel and hostile. Prisoners assault one and other for food, live in dilapidated shanty towns and suffer the cold of a winter's night. The snow that falls through the dark sky is reminiscent of that in Max Payne, another game where a grim and violent urban setting is given the same gentle visual contrast. It may not feel entirely unique, but it's undoubtedly effective and sets just the right tone for a story concerned with disease, death and injustice.

Unfortunately this is not the only feature of the game's overall design you'll feel like you've seen before. From the appearance of the characters to the composition of the score, everything in 'Arkham City' feels like it's been assembled from the bits of other Batman media – and not in a good way. I understand the reasoning, it's an artistic approach that will curb fan-boy backlash and deliver a Batman that can be recognised by the widest possible audience. However the finished product is sloppy - a Frankenstein's Monster without a genuine vision for who they really are aesthetically as an individual piece of work. When you look at the best Batman books, films and television shows you'll see a huge variety of styles that are all recognised as Batman, yet completely their own. From Burton to Dini to Nolan, from Miller to McKean to Lee even, you find bold and unique visions of The Dark Knight and Gotham itself. All Rocksteady and their artists have done is collect the bits they liked and put them into a blender. For example; their Joker has Nicholson’s eyes, Hamill's voice and Lee's slender frame. These are all great, what what does this Joker have that's all his own? What do any of the characters in Arkham City have that fans can look to and say “that was a great idea”? Their approach is safe, sterile and worst of all – incoherent! They say Two-Face was scarred by acid – so why does he have the fire burns from 'The Dark Knight'? If he was burned, how does he have the perfectly separated two-tone suit from 'The Animated Series'? For all the work done to realise Arkham City as a populated world, most of the final product just doesn't fit together.

I will admit the one area where this blended approach works is the music. While it's clear where the Elfman brass ends and the Zimmer strings begin, it almost doesn't matter because this is one cut-and-paste job with some thought behind it – a collage that creates something bigger out of its parts. Composer Nick Arundel's fusion of big bravado choirs with lighter, steady percussion rhythms and scratchy strings is something I can't say I've heard before applied to Batman and it works magnificently. The way the music builds during predator encounters is amazing and by the time the last man is standing you'll be completely absorbed in the character and the action. The sound design is also rock solid, especially the Batman specific sounds such as the grapple or smoke bombs that are exactly as you'd imagine, even if they've never been done quite this way before.

While still not perfect, 'Batman: Arkham City' has taken the gameplay that worked in 'Arkham Asylum' and applied it to a much more open and suitable location. It has a better story to tell, more to do and is always thrilling to play. It's exciting to think of where this franchise could go next, although at least now we finally have a Batman game worthy of the series. It could use a strong artistic vision to match the outstanding gameplay, but for now this is merely one of the best third-person action games of this generation, and a strong contender for the best superhero game of all-time.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

WWE Vengeance 2011 Review

2011-10-25T09:12:00.001Z

WWE Tag Team Championship
Air Boom Vs Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler

It turns out last month's match between these two teams mattered more than I thought. That's not to say there's a huge amount of heat in this feud, but it's been kept going and even announced in advance for tonight, as with many of this evenings matches. The athletic and talented Raw mid-card is a great choice to open the show. Air Boom are really starting to create good continuity as a team, while Ziggler and Swagger continue to be two of the best in-ring performers on the roster. It's really clear from this match - what makes Ziggler stand out from his peers is his salesmanship. While all the men in this are great athletes, Ziggler is the only one who truly understands the theatrics of pro-wrestling and this is wisdom that ought to earn him a main-event spot. The match had a great pace and built to a dramatic finish with lots of near-falls.

Rating: 4 Stars

United States Championship
Dolph Ziggler Vs Zack Ryder

I'm a pretty big fan of Zack Ryder's YouTube show, Z! True Long Island Story, but I've never seen him do anything in a WWE ring that entertaining. On his show he's quite charismatic and sincere, but in the ring he's pretty dull and I just can't see him as a future star. I wish they'd let him bring his Internet Championship out for matches, or give him some backstage skits to help him build his confidence. It's very different performing to a camera in your room and performing live in front of thousands of people. It doesn't help that Ziggler has just wrestled a match, making this whole thing seem really unfair ala a Money in the Bank cash-in. I couldn't bring myself to root for Ryder as a win here would be big for him, but also cheap. I'm glad he lost and hope he's given some time to properly develop on television and maybe put on a Survivor Series team next month. By then it might be a good time for a rematch with Ziggler at TLC, but for now he's not ready.

Rating: 2 Stars

Sheamus Vs Christian

Christian has been the Wrestler of the Year so far without a doubt. He's transitioned from an amazing in-ring feud with Randy Orton into a very good one with the 'Great White' Sheamus. This match is much like the one at Hell in a Cell, only with better counters and near-falls. Again, just put two good wrestlers in a match, give them enough time and you've got another good portion of your show. It's what made Hell in a Cell 2011 so good and it's working again here. I wish there was some stipulation on this though, it's almost too much like their last match and even has the same clean result. Sheamus is in a great place right now, and could have been elevated further by a memorable gimmick match here. Great match though.

Rating: 4 Stars

The Awesome Truth Vs Triple H and CM Punk

On paper, this match epitomises the state of Raw recently. It's predictable nonsense, and I've little interest in seeing it. The walkout storyline was completely fumbled as was the character of CM Punk, leading to his first match outside the main-event since Capitol Punishment - and to top it off he's completely overshadowed by Triple H. Thankfully the last few week has seen a nice relationship form between Punk and HHH, and in this match we see some great character which sort of makes me want to see them as a team more. Together they're sort of a neo-DX, with Punk managing to bring the edge to the tandem that in his later years HBK refused to. I'm not sure if I just missed it at Night of Champions, but Triple H looks a bit out of shape here which is unusual. It doesn't hurt his performance though, I suppose he's just getting old. Miz and Truth just don't captivate me at all, I find their offence boring and their attempts at getting heat tired and buffoonish. Sadly they're on top for most of this, until Kevin Nash turns up on cue to take Triple H down which distracts Punk and gets Miz the win. For a fourth straight PPV Punk takes a pin-fall, which is just bull and now we get to enjoy Kevin Nash again. Joy to the world.

Rating: 3 Stars

Randy Orton Vs Cody Rhodes

It's no secret how much I love Cody Rhodes since his transformation in January. I was worried that after his feud with Rey Mysterio he had dropped off the map, but just lately he's been getting lots of time on Raw and on PPV, so it seems someone backstage sees something in him at last. I was really hoping this would be an amazing match to push Rhodes' star even higher, but it wasn't even as good as their recent TV encounters. Their SmackDown match where Rhodes bled all over the ring was extremely memorable and would have been better here on PPV. For all it's build up, this match somehow lacked that drama. There were no stand-out visuals, I never was convinced anyone but Orton was going to win it, there was never a near-fall I jumped out of my seat for - I just didn't feel the urgency. In his series with Christian this year, Orton really made it look like he could be defeated on numerous occasions, but just didn't seem to push it in this one. I hope this feud continues so they can meet again with something more at stake. I'm a big fan of both guys but this is not the match they're capable of.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship
Mark Henry Vs Big Show

When it comes to a match between big guys, the last thing you want to see is stalling. Big Show and Henry walk slow enough as it is, we don't need to see the tempo hurt any more with non-fighting shenanigans. Furthermore, Henry has been portrayed as a classic monster this year – he's not afraid of anyone. The way he ducks Show early on is what the WWE seems to do EVERY TIME a heel character starts to look genuinely strong and it enrages me. Why can they only write for one heel character? ARGH! Anyway, we finally get some action and things are looking up, but then Henry starts to work on Show with a rest-hold that lasts for ages. I ought to commend the production crew in this one – some good direction and editing takes a pause in the action where Show and Henry catch their breath on either side of the ring and turns it into a really dramatic moment of tension. Later they've got the perfect shot of Big Show clenching his fist before he turns into a World's Strongest Slam. You don't always notice the film making part of the WWE, but it's what separates them from promotions like TNA.

The finish is taken straight out of a classic Brock Lesnar Vs Big Show match on SmackDown in 2003, where Henry hits Show with a superplex and the ring explodes. I'm not sure how I feel about it – it's awesome, but I've seen it done exactly the same way, even with one of the same guys. The crowd go freakin' bananas though, so the atmosphere gets a huge bump. This only lasts until a stretcher is rolled out for Show, and the whole arena boos as they understand it's all over. There's so much energy in the audience now, but it's wasted on a long section of getting Show onto a trolley. The crowd chant for Daniel Bryan, but they shouldn't be so silly. Henry earns some more praise as he's taken away, throwing the EMTs off and playing his role like a true champ. Very hard to rate, a truly mixed bag. I'll remember it though, so I suppose that should count.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Championship
Alberto Del Rio Vs John Cena

I'd like to mention how awful the commentary has been tonight. No JR again, lots of Booker T and now a complete disregard for continuity as Booker comments that the ring has never imploded before. Thankfully he's corrected somewhat – King recalls something to do with Brock Lesnar and a 50 man battle royal but can't elaborate. Cole is correct however in stating that this is the first match to begin in an imploded ring. It says something about this feud that it needs a totally unrelated change in ring geography to make it at all interesting. Of course while it looks cool, it's not functional and leaves Del Rio and Cena with fewer options to start things off at a good tempo. Things don't really kick off until Del Rio uses the collapsed ring post as a weapon in a nice spot in the corner. They have a decent PG brawl that leads them backstage, then back out through numerous near-fall spots. They return to ringside where Cena wins it, but the ref doesn't count due to a run-in by Awesome Truth. Through their attack Del Rio gets up, hits Cena with the belt and walks out champion. Del Rio looks better than he did the last time he faced Cena, but still can't beat him clean. I'd have liked the run-in to have made more sense, but at least it wasn't the huge cluster of people as usual. The state of the ring made for a unique setting and some interesting offence after a bit of a false start and pulls the whole thing up a peg. Del Rio can certainly hang with Cena and took the biggest bump, but his character is still bland and there are no feuds on the horizon for him that excite me. At least we can move on from this feud.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Vengeance 2011 Final Score: 3.5 Stars

A dull evening where nothing was too bad but nor did anything reach it's potential. The production values and in-ring talent save the show from awful commentary and some mediocre booking. The main-events either had dusty or non-finishes, and fail to show evidence of any long-term plan for the Raw power struggle. Much like The Nexus last year, this storyline is being booked on the fly and really holding back what the talented performers can do. Next month we'll see the return of The Rock in Madison Square Garden, so we should be guaranteed at least one classic moment. We're nearly on The Road to WrestleMania now, so Raw better get it's storytelling and long-term goals in shape or things could get much worse between now and then.

TNA Bound for Glory 2011 Review

2011-10-17T17:04:00.000Z

X-Division Championship
Austin Aries Vs Brian Kendrick

Great choice for the opener; a rematch of an outstanding bout at No Surrender. Austin Aries is fast becoming one of my favourite wrestlers in North America. He has an intensity and a swagger that should make him a star despite his size. He's excellent at interacting with the crowd, accepting that they'll cheer for him despite being the heel and just toying with them. Kendrick is Kendrick, a good mid-card worker who can keep up physically even though he can't match Aries in character. The match doesn't get going as fast as last month but soon there are some great counters and dives to the outside. Aries never seems to phone anything in – every movement he makes has intention. Even when he grabs the rope to break up a pin attempt he wraps both arms around it, really making it clear what he's doing for the live audience while on TV it just comes across as great emotion and desperation. He retains as he should so I can't complain about the result, but the ending is a bit sudden and the match doesn't quite pop like last month. Still a good start to the night.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Full Metal Mayhem
Rob Van Dam Vs Jerry Lynn

“You can use ladders, chairs, anything metal and that's... full. I guess.” - Tazz

Not the last match tonight to cash in on some nostalgia, this one is at least between two athletes who can still perform, even if they're not as good as they used to be. Without something up for grabs this isn't really a ladder match but rather just a hardcore one. As you'd expect the action is engaging for the most part. These two are so familiar both with each other and the hardcore environment that they can't fail to entertain. As you'd also expect however their age holds back the level of athleticism and there are a number of dangerous botches. The sunset flip, intended to land RVD on the propped up ladder but instead cracking his head into the guard rail, looked particularly nasty. The finish and the way RVD pins Lynn with the ladder is a nice touch, but as with the last match it's also anti-climactic. Worse is Lynn's instant forgiveness of Van Dam as they hug and pose together even though they hadn't really been through a war, nor had RVD done anything to earn Lynn's respect that he hadn't done years ago already.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Crimson Vs Samoa Joe Vs Matt Morgan

Last month I was disappointed by Morgan Vs Joe as they only managed a mediocre match despite being two of the best stars in TNA. I'm surprised then that the addition of the very green Crimson has actually made the match better, injecting some urgency and uncertainty into the proceedings. Joe holds everything together as Crimson and Morgan trade sections with him, Morgan getting to shine and display his impressive speed and leaping ability. As is becoming a pattern tonight the finish comes out of nowhere when Crimson spears Joe for a three count, despite barely working on the man or his mid-section for the whole match. The crowd aren't happy and clearly don't enjoy how Crimson is being shoved down their throats. I see why they went with the result, but it was certainly a damp ending to a decent triple-threat.

Rating: 3 Stars

Falls Count Anywhere
Mr. Anderson Vs Bully Ray

Bully Ray cuts a promo on his way out and does a decent job of getting the smarky Philly audience to turn on him before he even steps past the curtain. Anderson has no time for talk, sprinting to the ring and kicking things off with a heavy brawl. Anderson hits Ray with a metal road sign from a fan and sends him running to the outside. They brawl up to the stage where Ray summons Anderson's mic down in a really nice section where he cuts a mini-promo before it's taken away and used against him. They brawl backstage, then out into the crowd before finally going back to the ring. Anderson brings in a part of the guard rail, but the section that uses it is really contrived and makes Ray look stupid. Anderson manages to look twice as stupid when he dives on it, and Ray no sells everything to get up and get back on the assault. Ray gets a convincing near-fall out of a Bubba Bomb through the table to Anderson, then Anderson gets the same from a Mic-Check into the rail. Ray then runs around to a table he set up earlier because it must be time for the finish. He flops onto it as he should and Anderson tries some Jeff Hardy tactics and hits a Swanton from the top to the outside. Sadly the table doesn't brake so Ray just flops off again for another Mic-Check that gets the job done. Tazz immediately goes off on one about “calling an audible”, which is what happened - but not in the context of kayfabe! Dumbass. This might just be the best match in Ray's singles career, it was far from perfect but still memorable and the most exciting match of the night so far.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I Quit
AJ Styles Vs Christopher Daniels

I'm always excited to watch Styles and Daniels face off and I had been looking forward to this as the obvious match of the night. I wasn't really sure the 'I Quit' stipulation suited them, but I was willing to have faith in the two men who are arguably the soul of TNA itself. Unfortunately this one turned out as I feared. The interruptions in the action to ask each other really hurt the tempo, and the majority of the “near-falls” (so to speak) aren't even earned and are just there to fill time. A problem for both men as performers has always been their mic skills, so even though this is a feud with history the stipulation plays to the pair's weaknesses rather than their many strengths. The way Daniels acts, it's as if he literally want to murder AJ. He even says this to the camera, but based on how he says it I'm just not convinced. Then, like almost everything on this card, the match suddenly ends without build up or drama. I'm disappointed, the crowd are disappointed - even Tazz seems disappointed! Ill conceived and poorly executed, despite everything it had going for it.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Battle for Control of the Company
Sting Vs Hulk Hogan

In what has been teased as his final match ever, Hulk Hogan enters wearing the cheapest, most generic Impact Wrestling shirt he could find. Sting by contrast is wearing a classic Hulk Hogan shirt under his custom trench coat. Needless to say – both men look awful. This is not a good start. Hogan huffs and puffs as he jogs around before the bell, then welcomes the surprise addition of Ric Flair at ringside. Sting takes most of the bumps, Flair gets involved on the outside, Hogan uses a weapon – it's everything you imagine it will be. Flair is actually welcome here in my opinion, he divides the action up allowing Hogan to rest without hurting the pace. Given all three men are well over 50 years old I suppose their work is commendable, but really this shouldn't be happening in the first place. I'm sick of saying “the finish comes out of nowhere” tonight, so just to shake it up I'll say: “I wasn't expecting the match to be over at the point at which it was over.” There, that's more variety than you'll get in TNA booking at least. Sting manages to get Hogan into the Scorpion after, oh God, like, a really tense few seconds and Hogan taps right away.

Immortal then get involved AFTER they've lost the company and attack Sting. Bischoff hits the ref, his own son as it happens, with a steel chair and Tenay sounds like he's going to cry because it's so tragic. Then, when all hope seems lost, Hogan decides to turn on his own faction, which doesn't seem to surprise any of them at all, Hulking up and cleaning house! Together with Sting, two 50-somethings who have just fought to the point of bleeding everywhere now dominate a whole mob of young athletes as well as Flair and Bischoff! Hogan says “I'm back!”, but since he was the mastermind of Immortal to begin with I'm not sure how that works. Apparently, after beating up Sting for months, it took being beat up by Sting to realise beating up Sting was wrong and when he saw Sting being beat up he decided he would help Sting not get beat up so he beat up the guys who were beating up Sting. To say this angle plays out like a child wrote it would be an understatement – it would be more accurate to say it plays out like a three year old child wrote it on a napkin with crayons in 1996. Using their feet. Wearing shoes.

Rating: 2 Stars

TNA Championship
Kurt Angle Vs Robert Roode

The lack of money spent on the presentation of this event really starts to bring it down here. This is supposed to be the most important match on the most important night of the TNA calender, but if I was just tuning in I might mistake it for an episode of Impact. No pyro, no special ring attires, no lengthy build up. Both men just march to the ring and get straight to business. Tazz says that Kurt is injured because he has been “over-training” for this contest. I guess that's the intelligence Kurt used to go on about back in the day. Robert Roode has done some decent work lately but his character is still not developed enough to merit headlining a show such as this. The crowd seems to agree as soon they're sitting on their hands as both men work to their average standard. Finally they begin a nice sequence of submissions, suplexes and counters - but the use of the Crossface as Roode's finisher makes this section feel lifted out of one of Kurt's classics with Chris Benoit, rather than it's own thing. The good wrestling does ignite the crowd however, and now they start duelling chants which really elevate the atmosphere.

This is wasted on an ending that is total nonsense though. Kurt jumps into a Crossface, gets out of it, counters into an Angle Slam and pins Roode while both Roode is under the ropes AND Kurt is holding the ropes. Worse, the ref counts two, hesitates, then counts three after a noticeable pause. That pause is enough to pop the crowd for the break they assumed was coming, meaning only confusion sets in when Angle's music hits. Then the ref throws up the 'X' for a legit injury, but Angle gets up and poses while Roode acts disappointed. Angle is assisted out of the arena so I assume he really is hurt somehow and Kurt called an audible on the pin. I'm actually surprised Tazz didn't mention this one! I'm sort of glad Kurt won but I wish it had been in a clear, dramatic fashion rather than what we got.

Rating: 3 Stars

TNA Bound for Glory 2011 Final Score: 3 Stars

One of the most average PPV's I've ever seen. The night started well enough and the main events could have swung it either way. Sadly these were actually the weakest parts of the show and all fell short of their potential. If you told me before tonight that Mr. Anderson Vs Bully Ray would be the best match of Bound for Glory - I'd have slapped you in the face and called you a liar. The presentation of this event simply wasn't there – this is supposed to be the TNA equivalent of WrestleMania but if you didn't know that you would never guess it. The card was good on paper but the execution was no better than any average TNA event. Nothing is awful, nothing is great – it's all just varying shades of meh.

1992-1993 PPV/Supercard Season

2011-10-15T15:46:00.001Z

1992-1993

WCW

(Beach Blast 1992)

WrestleWar 1992: ? Stars
Beach Blast 1992: 4 Stars
Clash of the Champions XIX 1992: ? Stars
The Great American Bash 1992: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions XX: 20th Anniversary 1992: ? Stars
Halloween Havoc 1992: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions XXI 1992: ? Stars
Starrcade 1992: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions XXII 1993: ? Stars
SuperBrawl III 1993: ? Stars
WCW/New Japan Supershow III 1993: ? Stars

WCW Beach Blast 1992 Review

2011-10-15T15:33:00.000Z

Light Heavyweight Championship
Scotty Flamingo Vs Brian Pillman

“There is no such thing as a cheap victory. There is victory - any way you can get it.” - Jesse Ventura

An amazing start to the night! Two fantastic workers are given the best part of twenty minutes and certainly make the most of them. Flyin' Brian continues to please crowds with his athletic offence, although he is hampered by Bill Watts' moronic top rope DQ rule brought in at this time which makes much of his arsenal illegal. His opponent is the future Raven, working his rookie year in WCW. Before the numerous years of ECW and drugs, Flamingo is a well rounded, surprisingly seasoned performer and actually deserves his upset victory here. The match builds steadily from a really crisp sequence of grapples and counters leading into a fast and exciting exchange that takes the action to the outside.

Another of Watts' bad decisions was to remove the safety mats from ringside, which Ross describes as a WCW “trademark”. Why would you want your company to be synonymous with dangerously unsafe working conditions? No one should have to wrestle on concrete EVERY NIGHT for their job, end of story. I hate when promoters decide they want to make wrestling a more legitimate “sport”. It both disrespects the history of the performance art and overlooks the higher frequency of such performances. Besides, the best action in this match doesn't happen on the floor but on the mat. Once they're back inside we get a really sharp sequence where Flamingo uses the ropes for leverage on his rest hold, the ref knows he's doing it - but can't catch him because he's so quick! This leads into a thrilling section where Pillman escapes and hits one of his awesome dropkicks, before Flamingo shows off impressive strength utilising a beautiful scoop-slam.

Both men are salesmen and make each other look formidable. At one point Pillman can hardly stand and seems to legitimately collapse under his own weight. Flamingo takes this opportunity to flourish and show off his already-veteran heel mannerisms, slapping and stomping Pillman in the face before walking off and taunting the audience. Pillman takes a sick bump on the ramp, diving over the top and literally bouncing off his own face. The no top rope rule leads Flamingo to hit his flying finisher from the second rope instead. The move looks really weak, but thankfully this is only moments after the big bump so you still believe it gets him the win. A classic opener that draws you in all the way with an incredibly talented pair of performances.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Ron Simmons Vs Terry Taylor

I like the “Taylor Made” gimmick Terry Taylor ended up in after the York Foundation folded. Had he been given more opportunity he might have made something of it, but instead he spent his career bouncing between WCW and the WWF and never getting very far in either. Tonight Taylor can't quite keep up with the stronger, faster Simmons leading to some sloppy bumps and messy sequences. Simmons gets a great military press in from the ramp but takes Taylor over the other side with a clothesline which inadvertently smacks his head into a chair. Given the absence of mats, perhaps this is the least of the poor man's problems. The match is all Ron Simmons who is getting pushed towards the world title soon, leaving Taylor to take the bumps and do the job. Decent enough.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Greg Valentine Vs Marcus Bagwell

At this point in his career, Valentine is just a poor man's Ric Flair. He's got the robe, the hair, the chops, the figure-four - all he's missing is some charisma. Bagwell is enthusiastic but still very green. He flickers between selling and no-selling constantly, suddenly remembering at times and starting to sell out of nowhere. You know, I'm not sure why this match is happening. It's the classic rookie Vs veteran tale, only the veteran gets a clean and fairly dominant win. How does this push Bagwell? Oh, you don't want to push him? Then why is he on PPV? He can get his mediocre experience time on TV, get him off the super-card!

Rating: 2 Stars

Falls Count Anywhere
Sting Vs Cactus Jack

I can't figure out why this isn't the main event, it's not for the world title but Sting is still the champion after all. It starts with an epic stare-down on the ramp befitting this long-term feud. Before they can even get in the ring they're fighting on the walkway so the ref just saves us all some time and rings the bell. The cameras capture this part vividly; both men look like titans as they brawl towards the ring. Foley winds up in a backslide but kicks out and they end up on the floor. I know I said I hate the lack of padding but I'll admit the exposed concrete adds to the impact of every move performed on it and the action here makes me wince repeatedly. They go to the ring briefly, but soon they're back on the floor and Foley has a new best friend – the steel chair. Sting takes a beating but eventually wrestles it away from him and lets loose, herding Cactus Jack back towards the entrance. Foley kicks out of a Scorpion Death Lock on the ramp and hits a DDT, but his comeback is short lived. Sting sprints and knocks Jack down, hits a flying clothesline from the top rope back onto the ramp and gets the win. I'd have liked the ending to have been built up a bit more and the whole match could have done with another act, maybe in the crowd. Still this is one of the best hardcore matches of this style, it's well wrestled and hard-hitting throughout. One to go back to.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

30 Minute Iron Man
Ricky Steamboat Vs Rick Rude

Next we have another classic showdown and again – it's non-title! I'm all for grudge matches but this time it's kind of a waste. There's logic in keeping the world title away from the Falls Count Anywhere match - given the legitimate sports atmosphere Watts aspired to as a booker - but this is one of the most sporting wrestling encounters I've ever seen! Why not for the title? I'm a big fan of the Iron Man gimmick, especially as it's applied here to two great athletes. The guaranteed length allows for some unique storytelling, an increased tactical psychology and nail-biting drama. Steamboat starts out dominant and aggressive, as usual defending his family's honour. He controls for almost the full first third, but out of nowhere it's Rude who pulls a decision. From there, Rude takes control and racks up the points both from pin-falls and an intentional DQ, giving Steamboat his first and only fall of the first half.

Steamboat was always surprisingly strong for a man his size and shows amazing will when he lifts Rude onto his shoulders out of a camel clutch and into an electric chair drop. The Dragon's comeback is shut down quickly with some great counters by Rude, but it's a reversed tombstone pile-driver by Steamboat that finally earns him his first solid decision. Not long after, Steamboat gets another and ties it up at three a piece. This ends the second third and the final act begins with a renewed sense of urgency from both men and a flurry of near-falls. They stay tied going into the final minute after Rude snaps on a sleeper and locks his legs around the waist. Steamboat collapses in the corner, but with one last gasp he runs up the turn-buckle and pushes Rude down into a cover. With only moments remaining Rude goes berserk and covers The Dragon over and over, but it's too late. This is the match that sold the idea of the Iron Man stipulation in North America. Both men are fantastic as usual, kicking off the concept in a well performed and dramatic fashion.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham and Nikita Koloff Vs The Dangerous Alliance
Special Guest Referee: Ole Anderson

A bit of filler to push the Austin/Windham feud and get the Dangerous Alliance on the card. The twist is Ole Anderson as the guest referee, who actually calls it straight - much to the fury of Arn and the Alliance. The match also has another function; the establishment of the new top rope DQ rule. I understand the need for it, but did it have to be the second to last match? Surely such a thing should be the opener? Regardless this is still a fun, hard-hitting, southern-style six-man tag with good talent on both sides. The DQ finish could have been set up better and it's all just moving us along to other angles. This sort of match doesn't belong on PPV.

Rating: 3 Stars

World Tag Team Championship
The Steiner Brothers Vs The Miracle Violence Connection

In wrestling as in life; it's all fun and games until someone hits a belly-to-belly. In this case that would be Rick Steiner. While I can't see the logic in putting this match in the main-event, anywhere else in the mid-card this would be a welcome addition. With the big tournament coming up at the next Clash you'd expect this match to merely be set up. It is, but as set up bouts go this one is pretty good, giving us a full 30 minutes of quality big-man wrestling. Strong slams, smooth grappling – what you'd expect from these four. I've got to mention here how much I love the pair of JR and Ventura at the booth. Two of the best ever working together, the brash character of The Body contrasting nicely with reserved red-neck. The Connection dominate for most of the match, but they aren't quite able to get the job done within the time limit. The Steiners make a good come back at the finish and might have done it too, but we'll have to wait til next time to find out who's the best. As a match in isolation this was very good and I don't mind the ending, however as the main-event of a PPV the finish is just a bummer and, considering the alternatives were there, this oughtn't have been the last match.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WCW Beach Blast 1992 Final Score: 4 Stars

If you just shuffled this card around I think Beach Blast '92 would be remembered as one of the great PPVs. There are three classic matches and nothing really bad around them, but the best matches are in the middle of the show instead of the end. What's even stranger is these matches featured the two biggest singles champions in the company and were the promoted attractions prior to the event. I'm not a fan of the new DQ rules, nor do I endorse the ringside area being made intentionally more dangerous and these Watts-lead changes manage to affect nearly every match. The only one I'd say benefited was the Cactus Jack/Sting bout, and only because it made simple moves on the outside hardcore by themselves. These changes won't last forever though, so I suppose they're an interesting novelty in retrospect. The WCW roster is fantastic at this time so, mats or no mats, you can usually depend on them to deliver a good show.

WWF WrestleMania V 1989 Review

2011-10-08T19:22:00.002Z

Hercules Vs King Haku

“This hasn't been a particularly good start...” - Jesse Ventura

We kick off a very long night with a match in the classic WWF big man mould. Both Hercules and Haku are decent enough, but I question having this open the card when there is a Rockers match coming up next. I certainly prefer Hercules as a face and the addition of Bobby Heenan at ringside is always welcome. The action is plodding and sloppy as you'd expect, but at least it doesn't last long.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

The Twin Towers Vs The Rockers

It's the WrestleMania début for The Rockers up next against a classic monster heel team in Akeem and the Big Boss Man. The Rockers are such a contrast with most of the WWF at this time – faster, smaller and more athletic than pretty much everyone else. I know I just called Hercules and Haku sloppy, but Akeem is the DEFINITION of the word. He makes walking look bad! The man is just in terrible shape, but he's carried by great selling from his opponents. The double-team moves by The Rockers are really exciting and Boss Man hits a fantastic powerbomb reversal, catching Michaels in mid-air with a rotation then tagging in Akeem for the win. It had it's moments, but still not anything special.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Ted DiBiase Vs Brutus Beefcake

I love the Million Dollar Championship that makes its début here, but it's no substitute for DiBiase never having a run with the real world title. He was one of the best performers of this era - he deserves a better place on this card, and a better match to be in as well! Beefcake isn't bad and this one would have been boosted tremendously by something at stake and a proper finish. Monsoon and Ventura go on at length about how nothing is on the line, which just takes away from the match and even kills any value to be gained by the double count out. A waste of DiBiase's talent and time.

Rating: 2 Stars

The Bushwhackers Vs The Fabulous Rougeaus

A proper under-card match that has no place at a WrestleMania. The Rougeaus were an underused team but the Bushwhackers were pretty awful and this match just has nothing to carry them. It's played for laughs to start with, they tease some wrestling and then it ends out of nowhere. When you've got a card this long, you can't afford to waste time on dull matches with no one important involved, which is exactly what this is here.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Mr. Perfect Vs The Blue Blazer

Finally something worth revisiting! Two of the best athletes of their era put on a great show in a very brief amount of time. Hennig does a good job of putting the young Owen Hart over with some legitimate near-falls, even though this is just both men's first year with the company. Owen won't really make an impact for a while as he goes in and out of the WWF, but Perfect is just getting better and better. The match needed to go a bit longer to move into a higher grading, but for what it was it's entertaining and the first match to fit that description tonight.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWF Tag Team Championship
Demolition Vs The Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji

I'm not usually supportive of adding non-wrestlers into a match, or at least former wrestlers like Mr. Fuji. However it actually works well here as Fuji stays on the apron for the most part, a target for the champions but also a distraction. His presence gives the match greater focus which is a boost considering it's another slow, WWF big man encounter. The ending is a bit botched but crowd pleasing non-the-less. Forgettable if you're not a big Demolition fan.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Dino Bravo Vs Ronnie Garvin

Here's ANOTHER big man match that means little. Garvin can't sell for love nor money, but he can execute some crisp moves when he's on the offensive. It's an odd encounter because Bravo wins with ease in such a way as you'd call it a squash, but Garvin actually starts to build some momentum so the finish is a surprise and, dare I say it, a bit of a shame. I'd rather seen this one get the extra time of the opener, but as it stands it was nothing.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

The Brain Busters Vs Strike Force

Not surprisingly the match of the night thus far, the first featuring nothing but great workers and given plenty of time. Fantastic grappling for the most part, very active and crisp. Tito is slowly isolated and when he tries to make a come back he hits Martel by mistake and knocks him down on the outside. Arn and Tully beat down Tito and he sells their offence really well. I love how Ventura refuses to call Tito anything but “Chico Santana”, even when he's praising him. Martel gets back on the apron but refuses the tag, turns heel and abandons the match, leading into an extended squash for the Busters. Normally that would hurt the match, and it does, but it's just so entertaining to watch the Brain Busters wrestle that it's easy to overlook. Their Spike Piledriver double-team finisher is devastating and rightly puts Tito down for the three.

Rating: 4 Stars

Jake Roberts Vs Andre the Giant
Special Guest Referee: Big John Studd

Both of these men are legends, but unfortunately this match isn't very good. The story going on around the match is Andre's phobia of snakes, including Damien who is in a bag at ringside. Andre is pretty much immobile at this time and Jake isn't making the athletic effort needed to quicken the tepid pace. Andre just ambles around, occasionally choking Roberts until finally The Snake makes a comeback. It doesn't last long and soon Andre throws Roberts to the outside and keeps him there with a headbutt. Jake goes for Damien, but as he does Ted DiBiase runs down and steals him. Andre attacks Studd for some reason and gets disqualified. Jake retrieves Damien and throws him in the ring, causing Andre to run as fast as he can to the back. Slow, pedestrian and nonsensical match, saved by a hot crowd and the star power involved.

Rating: 2 Stars

The Hart Foundation Vs The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine

A solid tag team outing, one of the better ones on a card full of them. The Hart Foundation are looking great and manage to carry two average workers to an above average match. It doesn't last too long, but it has fast action throughout and a well performed finish where Jim stops HTM grabbing Jimmy Hart's megaphone and throws it to Bret instead who clocks Honky for the win. Not much, but one of the better attractions for the evening.

Rating: 3 Stars

Intercontinental Championship
Rick Rude Vs The Ultimate Warrior

Speaking of attractions: Rick Rude. Simply Ravishing. Still the best man to ever use the narcissistic heel gimmick, and tonight he's wearing trunks with the title on his crotch and his opponent on his ass. Classic. This was the feud that really made the Ultimate Warrior and set up his huge win next year at WrestleMania VI. Warrior was never the most rounded performer, but he does what he does with huge charisma and energy. Rude meanwhile sells perfectly, keeping up the work-rate during the Warrior's bear hugs and staying on the attack in between them. Love the spot where he goes for his signature taunt, but his mid section is too beat up to move his hips around. Good finish too where Heenan on the outside trips Warrior mid suplex, causing Rude to land on top and get the three while Warrior is held down. As much as I love Rude, I might have had Warrior retain here just to send the crowd home happy – and if I did have Rude win I'd have at least let him celebrate rather than slink off into the night. But that's nitpicking, this is still one of the best matches of the evening.

Rating: 4 Stars

Jim Duggan Vs Bad News Brown

This match should have been on TV, and should have set up a No DQ match instead of this on the PPV. Of course this is an era before such a thing would happen, so instead we get a boring brawl for a few minutes then an admittedly cool double DQ when both men arm themselves and clash their weapons in the middle of the ring. Today this would be the beginning of a decent match, but in 1989 it's the ending of a bad one. You barely have time to come down from the IC title match before this one is over.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

The Red Rooster Vs Bobby Heenan

A complete waste of time in every way imaginable. I'm not opposed to the match in principle as it's always fun watching a great heel like Heenan get his ass kicked, but all they do is run the ropes, go into the corner and boom, Rooster gets the pin. If I'm Rooster, why would I want this match then just win it as soon as I can? Doesn't he want to have some fun at Heenan's expense? Doesn't he want to beat him up? I just don't get it. This match has almost no value whatsoever.

Rating: 0.5 Stars

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan Vs Randy Savage

“This is truly what the word 'Main-Event' was meant for. This is the main-event. It don't get no bigger.” - Jesse Ventura

There's no doubt that on paper this is the biggest main-event of the Rock 'n Wrestling era. Sure, Hogan/Andre was massive, but Andre was already a fading star of the past by 1987. Randy Savage is clearly the 2# guy behind Hogan as far as star power, not to mention clearly the 1# performer in the ring. The potential electricity for this contest is off the charts as you have two of the most charismatic athletes in history about to collide. It's a shame then that the match itself can't live up to the ridiculous hype. I'm not sure if they're just tired after such a long event, or if Trump Plaza is not quite full of the target audience of children, but the crowd is much more tepid than they really ought to be. It's not that they're quiet, but they never quite give it the atmosphere it deserves. To be fair, the match has a reasonably slow pace and even Hogan in his prime has a poor work-rate. He doesn't have the athletic abilities to really sell Savage's offence, even when the champion is doing all the hard work and flying around the ring. Once Elizabeth is removed from ring side the whole thing dissolves into the same old Hogan formula. Hogan gets beat down a little, no-sells the Savage elbow, Hulks up and gets the win without any drama at all. It's hard to review because the overall package is very misshapen. As a performance it is average at best, but the spectacle of watching “the Mega Powers explode” will last forever. This match is the reason anyone really remembers WrestleMania V after all, so despite it's flaws it still comes out as the match of the night.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWF WrestleMania V 1989 Final Score: 2 Stars

Well, I'm exhausted let me tell you. Fourteen matches is just too many for one night, especially when most of them are actively bad. The pageantry of WrestleMania keeps the show afloat, but it could have lost half of the matches without hurting the final product at all. The whole event is huge, but hollow - just as with Hulk Hogan himself. Too much filler drags out the card and really kills the energy by the time it's over. It's interesting to note that on this same night the other half of Savage's WrestleMania III classic; Ricky Steamboat, was fighting the other top champion in 80's wrestling; Ric Flair in the WCW main event. It's awesome to see how that Intercontinental Championship match effected the main-event scene across North America. WrestleMania V has all the spectacle and star power you'd expect, but for match quality WCW has the WWF soundly beat.

2009-2010 PPV Season

2011-10-08T11:44:00.001Z

2009-2010

WWE

(Rey Mysterio Vs Chris Jericho, Judgment Day 2009, Intercontinental Championship)

Backlash 2009: ? Stars
Judgment Day 2009: 3.5 Stars
Extreme Rules 2009: ? Stars
The Bash 2009: ? Stars
Night of Champions 2009: ? Stars
SummerSlam 2009: ? Stars
Breaking Point 2009: ? Stars
Hell in a Cell 2009: ? Stars
Bragging Rights 2009: ? Stars
Survivor Series 2009: ? Stars
Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2009: 3 Stars
Royal Rumble 2010: ? Stars
Elimination Chamber 2010: ? Stars
WrestleMania XXVI 2010: ? Stars

WWE Judgment Day 2009 Review

2011-10-08T11:38:00.001Z

Umaga Vs CM Punk

Punk is over-as-expected in his home town of Chicago and it's a good decision to pop the crowd to open the show. This feud is total filler to hold back Punk from cashing in his MITB. Literally – that is the basis for this match, that Umaga randomly attacked him and stopped a cash-in. I'd have seen some logic had Punk defended the case against Umaga, but as he doesn't I don't understand Umaga's motive. I'm always happy to see a card full of singles matches, and even happier when they all get 10-15 minutes to work within. Sadly, this match fails to make the most of that and actually needed to be shorter. The pace dips noticeably during the middle section where Umaga is on the offensive and the hot crowd soon goes cold. A match like this shouldn't be hard to book – the home town hero against the exotic monster heel is a classic – and the secret is the urgency of the contest. Punk ought to have been much more aggressive as we'd naturally expect Umaga to overpower him. He is the kind of scrappy underdog who needs to work harder but can still make a believable stand against almost any opponent. Instead of this Chicago gets the pleasure of watching their hero on his back much of the time, only really coming to life to make a predictable, brief and ill-fated comeback. Solid enough I suppose, you can't really go wrong with two good workers like this, but I was never grabbed by the pedestrian story that was told. I'm also not sure what a clean loss does for Punk at this time.

Rating: 3 Stars

ECW Championship
Christian Vs Jack Swagger

I've always liked Matt Striker on commentary. He isn't perfect but he adds something that the other WWE commentators don't – COLOUR! He doesn't just say the names of moves or provide history, he also brings in psychology, highlights details from the match itself to increase their effect or help blend a botch into the narrative. He compliments a talented-but-green grappler like Jack Swagger perfectly, making the best of the rookie's talents while hiding his flaws. Combine this with the veteran Christian as an opponent and Swagger could hardly ask for a better start to his career. He's been a good ECW Champion but lacked a solid in-ring feud to show off his moves until now. This said, the match here tonight isn't anything extraordinary from either man and ends a few sequences short of it's potential. They keep a nice pace and bust out some more unusual manoeuvres, but the crowd is fairly dead and you never feel this is anything more than Swagger's obligatory rematch. Still, an enjoyable watch.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

John Morrison Vs Shelton Benjamin

A great under-card feud up next with a simple but attractive premise – who is the better athlete? When the answer is so genuinely unclear and with ten minutes on the clock you've got everything these men need for a good match. Benjamin starts off strong with an exploder suplex which sets the tone for a pacey, athletic encounter involving numerous wrestling styles. Benjamin is such a gifted and rounded athlete and, although he suffers a loss here, in my mind he was the winner of the prize at stake. He does a good job of blending his collegiate grappling between Morrison's high-risk spots, keeping the pace from jolting around too much. The top-rope 450 splash by Morrison is especially memorable, but like many of the big moves it is a little bit botched. Nothing so bad it distracts from the contest but just enough to leave you disappointed.

Rating: 4 Stars

Intercontinental Championship
Rey Mysterio Vs Chris Jericho

The smarky Chicago crowd are firmly behind Jericho to begin with, despite what JR would have you believe. The simple truth about Chicago is that it appreciates great wrestlers and wrestling – period. While they've been a bit quiet this evening they come alive for this match here and rightly so. This is an athletic, crisp contest with a thunderous pace between two of the very best performers to ever work in a WWE ring. You might say both men are demoted to work with the Intercontinental Championship, but this match and the rest of the trilogy that begins here actually elevates the title considerably. This is match of the night by a fair margin, no matter where it is on the card. I love the story of Jericho avoiding the 619 at all costs – it adds character to the match AND builds anticipation from the audience with every failed attempt. So many great near-falls, Mysterio of course a rare main-event performer who Jericho can look physically dominant against for a change. The numerous counters to Rey's offence are marvellous without ever making Rey look weak. The ending is a bit abrupt, but it puts the 619 over well and leads right into their next match.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

WWE Championship
Batista Vs Randy Orton

They've really made a mess of this feud so far, and this match does nothing to change that. How they managed to drop the ball with Orton since the start of the year is bewildering – he was the greatest heel of all-time when he punted Vince McMahon but once HHH was done with him he became just another cookie-cutter baddie in the WWE bakery. As a match this represents the worst tendencies of both men, which is a shame as I'd once pencilled this in as a future WrestleMania main-event. It just sort of “happens” - plodding, messy Batista slams scattered between the Orton stomps and rest holds – and the crowd just boo throughout, never quite sure who “sucks” more. For some reason WWE decided that Orton should be a coward at all times, so naturally he runs and cheats and blah blah blah. Seriously, didn't they see how Orton got over in January was the complete opposite of this? He was violent, scary and unpredictable. He was immoral and remorseless. He was not Jericho or Edge or JBL. He wasn't afraid of a fight. Now he is, because WWE creative don't know how to write any other kind of villain. This match isn't anywhere near as bad as the upcoming match with Cena at SummerSlam 2009 will be, but it's doing similar things. Ric Flair returns as a nice surprise, but it doesn't go anywhere good and in the meantime results in an old, retired man chasing off three fresh young men which just looks stupid.

Rating: 2 Stars

John Cena Vs Big Show

I'm not sure if anyone actually enjoyed this feud, but here at the start it actually did have potential. The best aspect of this match is the unique vulnerability shown by Cena - unfortunately this vulnerability comes at the expense of a good work-rate from both men. Neither Cena nor Show do much moving, with long stretches involving Show just walking across the ring. It's boring, lazy and just plain drags. When Cena does wake up he no sells everything, leaping to his feet and running around as if he isn't injured one bit. In the end, “broken” ribs and all, he lifts 500lbs and hits the AA for the clean win after putting almost no offence in on Show. All that Cena weakness is undone in an instant and Show look pathetic and incompetent. Not much to even say about this one, it was simply the worst match of the night.

Rating: 2 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship
Edge Vs Jeff Hardy

The main-event is a decent back-and-forth contest, well performed but lacking the electricity this pairing ought to generate. I've never understood why JR had such trouble calling Jeff Hardy matches. More than any other big star, JR would constantly mix up the names of Jeff's move-set, even when he just heard his broadcast partner call it correctly. I'm a fan of both JR and Grisham in the booth, but here they manage to work in as many clichés as they can and although Edge and Hardy make some good near-falls they're miscalled which dampens their effect. The match has plenty of time to work with and the pace is solid for all of it. Edge hits a fantastic mid-air spear off the announce table, which is always a good spot. This leads to a well timed near-count out for Jeff who sneaks back in at nine and a half. The pace builds up nicely into a run-in by Matt Hardy which Jeff survives, but Edge counters a Swanton attempt into a top-rope Edgecution, or as JR calls it, “ the nastiest super-plex I think I've ever seen!”, and picks up the win. Good ending, but JR really needs to do some research on the SmackDown! superstars move-sets!

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Judgment Day 2009 Final Score: 3.5 Stars

A pretty standard WWE show with the usual mixture of match quality. The Mysterio/Jericho match is just the beginning of a classic series, their first proper work together since their amazing matches in WCW. This match and the entertaining under-card manages to make up for the disappointing main-events, and it's easy to see the huge divide in quality between SmackDown!/ECW and Raw right now. When the flagship is holding back the fleet, something is badly wrong and Raw aren't about to get it together any time soon. It's going to take thievery of some SmackDown! talent and the return of a few legends before they actually start being great again, proving how the foundations of the brand at this time is dangerously weak. SmackDown! always flourishes but right now they've got a fantastic mix of established stars, young athletes and dependable workers up and down the card.

WWE Hell in a Cell 2011 Review

2011-10-03T23:43:00.000Z

Sheamus Vs Christian

“Oh wait a minute, Christian going up top and got caught in mid-way through!” - Booker T

An odd choice for the opener, considering both the tag and Lucha Libre matches on the card, but this contest is just as solid as it reads on paper. This feud has been given weeks to build which means even though we're only 2 weeks removed from the last PPV, this match is both established and fresh. With the King out of action we get the welcome addition of JR to the PPV booth, which means rather than plain old bad commentary, the commentary is an eclectic mess instead. JR is starting to get back on form and I have no idea why he's been kept off PPV this long already. He's only really been employed in actual matches this year on PPV, and let's face it - that was always his true talent, right? Meanwhile, Booker T continues to find the stupidest things he can possibly say and just blurts them out. At one point he even claims Christian can actually weigh more just by jumping off the top rope! His commentary is a vivid mixture of factual, logical and grammatical non-sense and it actually brings the quality of the presentation down significantly. Thankfully Christian and Sheamus are two of the best performers in the company today and, while they deserve better commentary than they get, they still entertain despite it. Can't complain about anything in the match really – it keeps a steady pace, highlights both men and in the end the up-and-coming face defeats the veteran heel after a lengthy, even contest that could have believably gone the other way.

Rating: 4 Stars

Sin Cara (Mistico) Vs Sin Cara (Hunico)

I know this feud has gathered a mixed opinion amongst fans, but I like it. It's a classic, cheesy scenario that leads to the pure spectacle of one character fighting his own clone. It's the kind of fight you can only see in video games and pro-wrestling - and wrestling is the only place you see it live. Beyond this it's also a chance for the real Sin Cara (Mistico) to compete with a fellow Luchador (Hunico) in a WWE ring, not to mention work with another athlete who speaks Spanish. Given the style there were always going to be some botches, but in return we get an athletic contest with a lightning pace. Since Mistico was replaced by Hunico I was skeptical, yet was soon won over. In this match I continue to be more impressed by Hunico and I think his larger size and English language skills will give him an advantage over the original as time goes by. For now, the original wins as expected and gets some revenge for being impersonated (to be fair, since when do impostors go over in these things?), but don't be surprised if it isn't Hunico who is the real winner in the long term.

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Tag Team Championship
Air Boom Vs Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler

Despite not being announced, this one's been in the works for a while so I'm glad it found it's way onto PPV. Air Boom are getting better and better, but thankfully the WWE has recognised that they need good opponents for their reign to mean anything as champions. Swagger and Ziggler take a detour from their storyline to provide us with a solid match that exemplifies how good the Raw mid card is right now. It might not mean much after tonight, but you can't go wrong with these talents when they're put together.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship – Hell in a Cell
Mark Henry Vs Randy Orton

Two weeks ago when Henry won the World Heavyweight Championship I had mixed emotions. I appreciate that Henry is a veteran and that he has improved all-round this past year in a way I'd never have expected. However his performances were still average by WWE standards, even if they were the best of his 15 year career. Inside Hell in a Cell though, even without the blood and violence the match is synonymous with, Henry has put on the best match of his career by a fair margin. While still not a classic, this match did everything it needed to, wasted little time and left room for future encounters. Once again Henry looked great and kudos to Orton for doing a clean job twice in a row for the World's Strongest Man. Unlike at Night of Champions, this match had an atmosphere which was furthered by JR and his long history calling HIAC match-ups. Even Booker T not understanding the rules could knock this down much, I hope the fire that being the champion has lit in Henry is not extinguished soon.

Rating: 4 Stars

Intercontinental Championship
Cody Rhodes Vs John Morrison

A great example of how to do an impromptu match-up right. Cody Rhodes came out in a suit to show off his new, CLASSIC Intercontinental Championship (which is very swank!) only to be interrupted and forced to compete right then and there against John Morrison. As much as I'm a fan of Morrison I'm not too keen on his placement here. There is neither heat nor history between he and Rhodes, not to mention Morrison is from Raw and Rhodes SmackDown!. Despite this they actually put on a really good little match, helped by the sense of urgency created by not only the nature of the booking but the reveal of the new belt. For Rhodes to loose THAT belt right after revealing it would be awful for him, yet you could believe it would happen to further his anger with Triple H. Thankfully he survived and even picked up the clean win, now let's just hope he can get a match actually booked in advance for Vengeance!

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Championship – Hell in a Cell
Alberto Del Rio Vs John Cena Vs CM Punk

On paper this feels like a house show main event, not a PPV. There is star power for sure but almost no real heat, resulting in a total less than the sum of it's parts. Cena's dominant victory at Night of Champions really hurts matters by making Del Rio look like a weak third wheel to start things off, and this is continued as he is stomped hard into the corner. Meanwhile Punk's character has changed considerably since Money in the Bank, so much so that the tense feud between he and Cena has turned into a reasonably friendly rivalry instead.

Considering all this, it's amazing how good this match is then! The triple threat twist is a great way to make this match distinct from both the World title contest and previous events in the series. The pace is frantic, a desperate scramble leading into some great three-way spots throughout. The ending takes advantage of the unique variation by having the champion locked outside the cell by Del Rio who lays into Punk with a pipe and wins his second world championship. While I can't approve of that booking, Del Rio has gained some heat back after his embarrassment two weeks ago, while neither Punk nor Cena look any weaker due to the circumstances.

The now standard post-match run-in is also better than usual, with Miz and R-Truth sneaking into the cell and taking everybody out as the locker room tries to stop them but can't get in from the locked outside. The resulting brawl once police break in and arrest the invaders is also good and the whole ending was much neater and logical than the last two events. A welcome surprise and shockingly the match of the night!

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE Hell in a Cell 2011 Final Score: 4.5 Stars

The PPV of the year so far? Really? Really? AWESOME! Every single match was good, had time, told a logical story and ended well. There was nothing classic on this show, but I'll be damned if you can find a more consistently good PPV from the last ten years from either of the major promotions. I was really down on this event going in, and it may have had mostly predictable results, but I can't denounce it for that because all it means is IT MADE SENSE. The only improvements I'd make would be better build up, a match for Daniel Bryan (Should have had Morrison's spot), more matches actually ANNOUNCED and no Booker T. It just goes to show what a PPV without anything crap can actually achieve. Let's fire Booker and keep this ball rolling. We're just 2 PPV's away from the in-ring return of THE ROCK and after this event I think I can dare to be excited!

The Language of Scripted Conflict 1#: The Burial of The Cybermen

2011-09-25T19:58:00.001Z

Ever since I became interested in the production side of the pro-wrestling industry, I've been fascinated by its private language. As an industry whose primary concern is staged conflict, it's easy to see how their world would come to understand many of the complex and ancient analytical underpinnings behind dramatic confrontations. Their lexicon is a remarkably elegant tool and can be employed to engage with any conflict-centred narrative more critically. These are words and concepts that ought to be used more often by a much wider group of people. I would like to try to introduce the language of wrestling into other kinds of dramatic analysis, hopefully enabling people unfamiliar with the terms to discuss conflict in fiction in a more succinct and clear way.

Last night on Doctor Who, I believe The Cybermen were buried – not in the sense that they were trapped underground which... well actually they also were - but rather in the pro-wrestling sense of the word. So today I'd like to start this series by talking about the episode 'Closing Time' while I introduce a few ideas related to the concept of...

THE BURIAL

A “burial” in the wrestling-sense refers to the intentional actions by a promoter (or writer/director) to lower the standing of a character in the eyes of their audience. This can be done in a number of ways, but is usually related to having a character perform worse than the audience are expecting in order to lower their expectations for future performances or loose interest in that character all together. Often in the wrestling world this is some sort of punishment or a reaction to a failed character that is damaging the overall product. While audiences may sometimes loose interest in a character of their own accord, the term “burial” is used when the author of a text means this to happen on purpose.

With the instant feedback of a live audience, the authors of wrestling can be subject to a heightened creative impatience. The decision to purposefully lower a character's standing can sometimes be the reaction when the current direction of a story has gone suddenly awry, is turning certain customers away or one character's success is damaging another's. However even in this situation a burial is almost never the correct course of action. After all, any character at a level where their standing can be lowered clearly has something to give and it is usually in the best interests of everyone involved to salvage this in some way. The decision to bury anybody is more often the result of the massive egos that exist both in front of and behind the scenes. There is most likely some intent to embarrass or disgrace a performer before any consideration of the impact on their character.

The term “burial” has been the subject of a lot of discussion within the wrestling community this week in relation to WWE Night of Champions 2011 [← My review, yonder!], where it has been argued that both the performers Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk were soundly buried as a result of their matches. I'm not going to get further into those discussions here, but it's important to demonstrate how this concept is relevant in it's native context today.

What I do want to discuss here is last night's episode of Doctor Who and how I feel the term “burial” is applicable to it's treatment of The Cybermen. 'Closing Time' was notable for a couple of reasons – it was both the first Cybermen-centric episode since 2009 and also the first since Steven Moffat took over from Russell T. Davis as the shows executive producer. In this story, a crashed Cyberman ship buried beneath the surface of the earth for centuries is brought back to life when the council lays down new electricity cables. Weakened, the Cybermen on board look to repopulate themselves by abducting and converting people they find in the shopping mall directly above them. They dig up into the mall and send out a Cybermat, which is mistaken by the employees of the shops for a toy, to scout the surface. There they set up teleports to bring people down to the ship for conversion. When they finally come into conflict with The Doctor, the Cybermen barely threaten anyone and despite killing a few people off-screen, they never pose any major trouble for the time-lord or his companion Craig. The resolution to the story actually sees the monsters killed with the power of love, and in a rushed and contrived way to boot.

Now you could excuse their ineptitude by arguing that these were weak Cybermen by usual standards, but the last time we saw a “weak” Cyberman this was not the case. In the Season 5 episode 'The Pandorica Opens', The Doctor and Amy are confronted by an old and broken Cyberman underneath Stonehenge. Even when half-dead, this single Cyberman incapacitated The Doctor and would have killed Amy without help from a third party. I thought this scene was great and actually established the Cybermen as an enemy to be feared even in a weakened state. It is interesting that this is the second time Steven Moffat has chosen to portray the Cybermen as broken down relics during his time on the show, yet here in Season 6 a whole group of them aren't as menacing as just one without an arm.

We shouldn't forget that the Cybermen have appeared once before in Season 6, part of the opening to 'A Good Man Goes to War'. In this scene, The Doctor and his companion Rory destroy an entire fleet of Cybermen ships just to intimidate the survivors to give them information. Many fans complained that this was disrespectful of the monster's pedigree and their easy dispatch made them look weaker than they ever have. This is something I agreed with, however I didn't think it was a true “burial” as it was actually using the Cybermen's standing with the audience to put over how serious and aggressive The Doctor was at this time. Arguably the Cybermen were not made to look weak, rather The Doctor was simply made to look strong. However when taken together it would appear that the Cybermen in Season 6 are just weak all over, whether they're in a full fleet or just buried under a mall.

When I defined a “burial” earlier, I said that “any character at a level where their standing can be lowered clearly has something to give”, and that is surely true of The Cybermen. In 'Closing Time' it seems as if the shows authors are weakening this classic monster on purpose, and I can only speculate as to why. It's worth noting that this is the same year Steven Moffat has announced he is putting that other iconic enemy of The Doctor, the Daleks, away to rest for the foreseeable future. Of this he said:

"There's a problem with the Daleks. They are the most famous of the Doctor's adversaries and the most frequent, which means they are the most reliably defeatable enemies in the universe."

- Steven Moffat

It's a fair point, and at the time I was in full support of the move. However, when we consider the treatment of The Cybermen it looks as if Moffat has something against the classic 'Who' enemies in favour of his own creations, the strong and scary Weeping Angels and The Silence. Both are great additions in their own right, but it's almost as if Moffat is making the old foes both impotent and absent on purpose to elevate these new monsters in contrast. His attitude towards the Daleks sounds healthy, he claims he wants to keep them strong by having them defeated less often – but where is this attitude for The Cybermen? Not only have they been defeated twice this season alone, they've been defeated with ease! If a hero is only as strong or as interesting as his foes, then The Doctor is also hurt by this treatment of his enemies and as the focal point of the series this is not a good thing.

It will be hard for the audience to accept The Cybermen as a serious threat now they have been so thoroughly shown up in their latest two appearances. I think they're going to have to do a lot of work to re-establish them now, so it might be better that this monster join the Daleks on the shelf before their reputation is tarnished forever. It is very rare to see a burial in film or television because it is so often an emotional, egocentric, irrational response to an immediate issue. Yet here on Doctor Who I'd say we've just seen one, and as usual it is doing no one any good.

WWE Night of Champions 2011 Review

2011-09-19T14:52:00.002Z

WWE Tag Team Championship
Air Boom Vs The Awesome Truth

A decent showcase for both teams and the best tag team title match on PPV in a long time. Both teams are criticised for being merely two singles stars put together, but I've always thought that was the best way to inject life into a tag team division. The best tag teams of the last decade have almost all been such combinations – Angle and Benoit, JeriShow, Rated RKO, Edge and Rey – I could go on. Air Boom could easily join that list as long as they get good opponents and plenty of time to work with as they do here. Unfortunately this match was really about putting Miz and Truth over, leaving the champions looking a bit too weak despite the win and entirely absent at the end. Still, this was an enjoyable way to start the night.

Rating: 3 Stars

Intercontinental Championship
Cody Rhodes Vs Ted DiBiase

It's about damn time we saw Cody Rhodes back on PPV. After a fantastic feud with Rey Mysterio at the start of the season he's been completely absent, despite good TV feuds and even an Intercontinental Championship win. Ted has floundered ever since the Legacy split, held down in Raw's mid-card until he was drafted to SmackDown earlier in the year. This match has lots of back story both current and as long ago as 2008 and I'm glad all of it is alluded to rather than ignored as is sometimes the case with these kinds of feuds. The match moves at a decent pace, but Ted never really sells Rhodes' mask-based offence, creating an ending that comes a bit out of the blue. Considering he was looking fine, the sudden roll up on DiBiase should be embarrassing and sort of buries him in my eyes for the foreseeable future.

Rating: 3 Stars

United States Championship
Dolph Ziggler Vs John Morrison Vs Jack Swagger Vs Alex Riley

I wasn't sure what to expect of this, but boy did it deliver. Fatal 4-Ways can be a difficult situation for performers to keep a steady pace, give everyone equal spotlight and tell a good story. This match is a great example of a Fatal 4-Way that accomplishes all of this. I didn't think they'd be able to move the Swagger/Ziggler/Vickie storyline on without this turning into a mess, but instead they held Vickie back for the most part and just worked a good match with a clear narrative of competition. Morrison and Riley are both up to working in some cool spots involving all four men, and everyone had a moment to look like the potential winner without ever looking truly weak. The pace was great and built to a hot finish that makes sense and heightens the current drama. Exactly what matches like this should be like.

Rating: 4 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship
Mark Henry Vs Randy Orton

The Mark Henry push continues, right through Randy Orton and now the World Heavyweight Championship. I'm not sure how I feel about this win. Yes Henry is a veteran performer, yes he's done the best work of his career this year, yes he has earned a world title match – but a world championship? World championships shouldn't be just given to everyone, and while Henry has worked hard this year he is still a limited performer who does not wrestle at the standard I'd expect of a champion. This match was never going to be amazing, and it turned out as you'd expect – decent enough. It stands as one of Mark Henry's best matches in his career, but that isn't a good thing. The story of Orton not being able to hit his signature moves was well told and Henry was suitably aggressive, but the match was also slow and lacked the ringside destruction that has made Henry's work memorable over the summer. Perhaps this is being saved for a more hardcore re-match, but being left to wrestle entirely within the ropes does not do the World's Strongest Man any favours. Orton puts him over big with a dominant and clean victory, hopefully building up a rub for a young, fresh face such as Sheamus or Daniel Bryan in the future. Or maybe just Orton again in two weeks. Who knows?

Rating: 2.5 Stars

WWE Championship
John Cena Vs Alberto Del Rio

The two world title matches tonight have so much in common. For the past month the challenger has dominated the champion in the ring and on the microphone. Not once did the champion appear strong, and in this case, the WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio even looked weak walking into the arena. Classical Wrestling Logic predicts that these champions will overcome their strong challengers by some means, setting up a rematch in two weeks. It's boring, sure, but it makes sense and has happened on countless occasions. Except tonight. Tonight both challengers continued to look strong, so much so they are both now the world champions. For Henry and Orton this isn't too bad. Orton is beyond being truly buried and Henry is a relatively fresh main-event name that needed the rub from someone of Orton's calibre. However for Cena and Del Rio things are quite the opposite, and despite a good match that was well performed - this result is unforgivable.

I think Alberto Del Rio has been completely buried now, and it will take a huge effort to build him up again in the eyes of the fans. This is very similar to what happened to the last Raw MITB winner, The Miz, only he managed to hold onto his belt and even get a win at WrestleMania. For Del Rio, who only won the belt after a MITB cash-in, it was important tonight to establish that he could hang with the then 11 time champion Cena. No – actually it was important to establish that he could be a physical threat to Cena, even if he couldn't quite beat him this time. The way Cena no-sold the Cross Arm Breaker that has so far been built as a devastating and legitimate finisher is truly appalling. For all that Del Rio has accomplished this year – Royal Rumble Winner, WrestleMania head-liner, Money in the Bank Winner, WWE Champion – it is all tainted. He has not once proved to the WWE Universe that he can compete with anyone in the main-event not named Rey Mysterio and win decisively. This same issue plagued The Miz and Sheamus too, causing both young champions to fall down the card like a brick following their title losses. More than either of those men, Del Rio has the tools to be a long-term main-event talent for years to come but he needs to be handled right today or else history will look on him as a flash in the pan.

For Cena this win does nothing, and with The Rock looming ever closer as the weeks go by the need for Cena to even be in the title picture moves further and further away. Perhaps he'll put over Del Rio hard at Hell in a Cell, but at this point that may weaken Cena more than it helps Del Rio. Cena needs to be kept strong for WrestleMania without the title, but now he has it there is the problem of getting it off him without compromising that goal. The last title loss to Punk was fine because he put up a huge fight and only lost because of his good character. They wont get that same lightning to strike twice, and if they try to force it they might hurt not only Cena, but Del Rio and anyone else at the top of Raw as well.

Rating: 3 Stars

No Disqualification
Triple H Vs CM Punk

I felt this was happening too early, but I was prepared to forgive and forget if the match was amazing. Unfortunately it was not, and even if there is a rematch inside Hell in a Cell, the potential classic of a first-time Punk/HHH match is lost. This isn't to say the match was bad, it wasn't the best performed of the night, but Triple H always brings a mystique to the ring in recent years, an aura that gives this match a special feeling and atmosphere that other matches can't top. The blind-side attack by Punk during The Game's entrance injected some urgency into this charged contest, and I enjoyed their brawl around the arena that was punctuated by an awesome flying elbow drop from Punk through the announce table. One of the best things about the match was actually an accident – Michael Cole lost his voice! In the absence of Cole we got more King, and while not “good”, the commentary was a notch better than it would have been. Just as I was thinking the match could build into something classic however, it took a turn straight down. What happened after the high-spot was a very disappointing series of run-ins, ref-bumps and finishers that ended with Triple H pinning Punk in the middle of the ring. Now, I don't think this is the worst thing that could happen – it did take 4 finishers and 3 outside attacks to put Punk down after all, but I wish it had been the other way around. Triple H didn't need the win as much as Punk in the wake of loosing the WWE Championship. Not to mention the run-ins seemed to be aimed at screwing Triple H, even though this was hardly clear with R-Truth breaking up Punk pin attempts as well. While I'm sure the score isn't settled and we'll be seeing more in two weeks, this was a confusing misfire considering all the potential it had to work with.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

WWE Night of Champions 2011 Final Score: 3 Stars

In fact, that pretty much sums up this show: a confusing misfire. There was nothing bad, but nothing truly great either, making for a show that averages out well but probably won't be looked back on too often. The main-events failed to deliver on their potential thanks to the booking, the Del Rio/Cena match especially has put the WWE in an awkward situation where they could wind up doing long-term damage to a future icon. The same could be said for the Punk/HHH match, but I'll wait to see what happens next before I can read the writing on that wall. Thankfully the WWE mid-card is really strong at the moment, and I'm glad the creative team was forced to feature the likes of Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler whom they so often ignore on PPV. Will we see the Intercontinental Championship defended again on PPV this year? I hope so, but the WWE's track record with giving mid-card stars time to work with on the big stage is not very promising. This show was also held back by the ridiculous booking of the next event, Hell in a Cell, just two weeks from now. The knowledge of that means the results of this event feel only temporary – we could very well see rematches with the opposite result by the end of this month – so much of the intended impact is lost. We'll have to look back on this show once Hell in a Cell takes place before we can really tell how important Night of Champions 2011 will have been in the long run.

TNA No Surrender 2011 Review

2011-09-13T00:54:00.001Z

Jesse Sorensen Vs Kid Kash

So we kick things off tonight with the PPV début of Jesse Sorensen, and already he's fighting to become 1# Contender for the X-Division Championship. Considering he's lost all but one match in his short professional career so far, I'd say this chance is a little pre-mature. Meanwhile Kid Kash is back in the TNA fold after a long stint away in the WWE amongst other companies – so in short we've got two guys wrestling who most of the audience doesn't know and doesn't care about. The pace is frantic at the start – too frantic actually. They rush through their routine so fast it looses any impact and never quite gels. Kash gets in some strong offence, such as when he drops Sorensen straight down from a vertical suplex position, but the pace dips dramatically when he's on top, and the match never really builds towards it's finish. Sorensen's finisher is pretty sloppy in practice, even if it is an impressive show of strength. As long as he's in the X-Division he'll be okay, but if they ever want to push him further he'll need something more consistent. It's enough to pick up a pretty big win for the kid, we'll have to see if his title match gets on the card for Bound for Glory.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Bully Ray Vs James Storm

Why can't TNA just make clear, reasonable decisions once in a while, you know, just to shake things up? This entire BFG tournament has been an affront to common sense from the start, so I'm not sure why I expected anything to change now we're down to the final four. Still, I think everyone was surprised to hear that Storm has to make Ray submit if he wants to win the series, because this match is for points just like all the others. Forget how it was explained months ago - how the final four would compete in a knock-out tournament with the final at Bound for Glory. Oh no. It's not like that now. It's like TNA punishes you for actually paying any attention at all. I get that they wanted some added drama, but I'm to busy trying to remember all the BS rules for this tournament to give the plight of James Storm much thought.

I have to admit that Bully Ray has done some of the best work of his career in recent months. This certainly is the best push he's had as a singles star away from Devon, something I'd have thought impossible in 2011. His stalling tactics don't please anybody to start things off, inspiring a “Pussy Ray” chant from the crowd. He continues to stall at every opportunity, which does nothing for the tempo of this contest and starts to loose audience interest. Finally something happens – Ray takes a swig of Storm's beer, brings a chair into the ring and while the ref removes it he spits the beer in Storm's face. Tazz has to take time out to explain how the quiver he feels when he fights Bully Ray isn't the same as the quiver he feels when he sees a pretty girl. Good to know.

Storm works on Ray's arm and he sells it nicely, just barely making it out of every hold Storm puts him in. Finally Storm decides to get Ray with his own tactics and takes a swig of beer, but Ray ducks the spit and it goes right into the referee's face instead. Storm gets on another arm-breaker and Ray taps, but Storm is disqualified for the beer. Not a bad match, but way too much time wasting to be considered good. I guess they wanted to avoid friction between Beer Money, so I suppose this makes sense.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

TNA Tag Team Championship
Mexican America Vs Brother Devon and D'Angelo Dinero

This match is the definition of plodding. It never picks up and just exists until it doesn't. Miscommunication between The Pope and Devon on an early double team means they have to go for it again, which is played off by Tazz as a sign of the team's inexperience working together. Pope goes over and sexually assaults Rosita on the apron (I wish I was making up more of that than I am), but gets interrupted by Anarquia. He fights back, tags in Devon and, as they set up for the Wassup Headbut, I can't help but think TNA is a bit confused and Bully Ray has somehow swapped places on the card with The Pope. I remember not too long ago when Dinero was on the verge of being a big time player in TNA, and now he's just Devon's latest partner. Even Tenay and Tazz seem bored by all of this, as both teams move from one miscommunication to another. Devon manages to mess up a tandem of corner punches, even with the crowd keeping rhythm for him while Dinero gets his hands on Rosita again for, as Tenay puts it, some “good old double-team spanking!”, which Tazz admits to being involved in before. Then, finally, it ends. Boy that was tiresome.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Matt Morgan Vs Samoa Joe

A match like this ought to be a big deal, the first time these guys have ever locked up on PPV, but the lack of atmosphere inside the Impact Zone holds it back. Morgan is a talented big-man and Joe is one of the best in the world, yet something about this encounter doesn't click and the match never achieves the intensity you'd hope for. Joe's been misused for ages in TNA, so it was refreshing to see him get a bit of a push off this attack angle. I assumed they were building him up again, but no. Of course not. The ending comes from nowhere as Morgan hits the Carbon Footprint and pins Joe right after being in his submission hold. Well that's disappointing. I can't see how an easy, quick win for Morgan does anyone any favours, but here's hoping Joe makes his way to the WWE soon where at least he'll be paid more to do stupid jobs. Still the best match so far tonight.

Rating: 3 Stars

Robert Roode Vs Gunner

So, as with our last BFG series match, this one is for points. As far as I can tell, the winner, even if ranked 2#, won't face Bully Ray for the title shot unless they have the same points as him, which for both Gunner and Roode means nothing less than a submission victory here. It's still stupid, but they turn a pretty decent match out of this new goal which is better than Storm and Ray did. Neither man has much in the way of unique character either in their appearance or offence, so it's hard for me to see them as anything more than upper mid-carders. Roode is certainly the better of the two, and deservedly gets the win. The match is nothing mind-blowing, but it tells a story, gets someone over and is performed well. You can't ask for much more than that.

Rating: 3 Stars

X-Division Championship
Austin Aries Vs Brian Kendrick

Kendrick is supposed to be the face here, but I just want to slap 'The Wizard of Odd' as hard as I can. Thankfully Austin Aries is there to do that for me and starts out aggressive with a series of crisp arm drags. Good, back-and-forth brawling takes them to the outside for a while before Aries grounds Kendrick firmly in the ring. Aries is intense and motivated, keeping the champion down with a wave of athletic offence. Kendrick makes a come back, but it's Aries excellent salesmanship that shines through and builds good pace. This is almost a squash for Aries at times, and if it were anyone else fighting anyone else I might have a problem with that, but somehow in this case I don't. A series of convincing near-falls adds to the drama before Aries hits the Brainbuster for the win and the title. Glad to see the belt on one of TNA's best talents. Can't take anything away from Kendrick though, he kept up all the way. This was a great match!

Rating: 4 Stars

Robert Roode Vs Bully Ray

Even without the stupid, fluid rules of this tournament, there's something else about it I just don't get. See, I understand the appeal of using this series to put over someone new, to bring some fresh blood to the main-event and maybe reward a TNA original for years of loyalty and hard work. Bobby Roode fits this bill perfectly and I'm happy to see him go on to fight for a world title. What I don't understand is how he has become more credible than he already was or what he has achieved that really earns him a shot above all others. In order to build someone's credibility, they have to go over opponents who are themselves credible. If you want someone to look like they can challenge for the world championship, they need to go over former contenders, former champions – people whom the audience respect and consider to be at a higher level than the name you're trying to build. They don't even have to beat these people, just being competitive can be enough to get someone new over. The issue with this tournament and with this final especially is that no one involved is credible. Why weren't AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, RVD or Mr. Anderson a part of these final matches? Were Roode to go over one of these names, he'd be instantly established as someone who could legitimately hang with Kurt Angle. Bully Ray, for all the work he has done to improve and stand out this year, is not credible and beating him doesn't elevate Roode in my eyes.

To make matters worse, the agenda of this match seems to be to illegitimise Bully Ray as much as possible. First he carries on his stalling routine from his match with Storm, then he runs around the outside before being physically intimidated by a fan. Remember – this is supposed to be a valid contender to the heavyweight wrestling championship of the world. Also bear in mind that the intention of this match is to place Robert Roode in the fan's mind as a legitimate star worthy of being in the main-event of the biggest TNA... no, the biggest WRESTLING show of the year. The stronger Bully Ray appears in this one match, the bigger the impact when Roode defeats him. Weakening Ray at this point just doesn't do anyone any favours. Ray's stock has risen by doing so well in this tournament, but make him look bad here and he'll be back down the card in no time.

I can't even write about this match – almost nothing happens but the result. Ray looses almost as soon as they start wrestling proper. Remember this match wasn't even supposed to happen tonight, it was unannounced so it wasn't even really anticipated. Doing it this way cost TNA both audience interest and maybe some PPV buys, and it gains them nothing. Sure, there's the “anything can happen so you better always tune in”, AKA Vince Russo school of marketing, but that doesn't actually make money in 90% of cases. I'm glad Roode won it, but this whole thing was a joke and if they're not careful now he won't even last as a main-event star and the whole summer of 2011 will have been for naught.

Rating: 2 Stars

TNA Championship
Kurt Angle Vs Sting Vs Mr. Anderson

With almost no build up it's not surprising that no one in the audience really cares about this match. It's obvious Angle will retain, so the entire thing is just there to fill out the card, the exact opposite of what a main-event should be. The lack of atmosphere is not helped by the match itself, which may as well be a tag match the way they routinely swap participants between the ring and the outside. The first time all three men get together they pull off a nice Double-German Suplex, showing a hint of what the match could be like if they'd thought it out a bit more. Things get more contrived later on, especially the moment where Anderson just stands there and watches Sting in the Ankle Lock for ages rather than break it up, just because he's waiting to catch Kurt off the counter he knows is coming. In the end Hogan makes his contractual appearance, blinding Sting with some fluid or something that lets Angle get the win. Show over, carry on.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

TNA No Surrender 2011 Final Score: 2 Stars

I gave TNA another chance to impress me tonight, and yet again they came up short. While the Aries Vs Kendrick match was great, the rest of the card was either passable or disappointing. Nothing really awful, but TNA has a serious deficit of logic in their booking that permeates through almost everything they put on. The headache known as the BFG tournament is at least over now, meaning we can move on to actually building up Robert Roode in time to face Kurt Angle and Immortal next month in Pittsburgh. I'm shocked at the absence of many TNA stars, not just from the card but from backstage segments or commentary as well. There was no mention of Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Abyss, Eric Young, Ric Flair or Jeff Jarrett – which is odd considering this is the last show before the biggest TNA show of the year and it needs selling. I'd be looking forward to Bound for Glory much more if I thought AJ Styles would be on it, that's for sure.

2004-2005 PPV Season

2011-09-12T14:47:00.008Z

2004-2005

WWE

(Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 21 2005)

Backlash 2004: ? Stars

Judgement Day 2004: ? Stars

Bad Blood 2004: ? Stars

The Great American Bash 2004: ? Stars

Vengeance 2004: ? Stars

SummerSlam 2004: ? Stars

Unforgiven 2004: ? Stars

No Mercy 2004: ? Stars

Taboo Tuesday 2004: ? Stars

Survivor Series 2004: ? Stars

Armageddon 2004: ? Stars

New Year's Revolution 2005: ? Stars

Royal Rumble 2005: ? Stars

No Way Out 2005: ? Stars

WrestleMania 21 2005: 3.5 Stars

TNA

(Victory Road 2004)

Victory Road 2004: 1.5 Stars
Turning Point 2004: ? Stars
Final Resolution 2005: ? Stars
Against All Odds 2005: ? Stars
Destination X 2005: ? Stars

TNA Victory Road 2004 Review

2011-09-12T14:42:00.033Z

World X Cup
Hector Garza wins an X Gauntlet Match

“It's impossible [...] I think you missed that elimination!” - Mike Tenay
“...It just gets so confusing...” - Don West

Here we go, TNA's first match on their first ever PPV. Good decision to highlight the X-Division for almost half an hour to kick things off, it's one of the few aspects of this company that stands out from the WWE at this time. Naturally this being a mid-card battle royal-type affair, it's full of guys you've never heard of, but that's to be expected when you're presenting a new promotion. With new participants joining every sixty seconds the pace is frantic and to their credit these guys are certainly athletic – the 630 Splash from Jerrelle Clark being one of the early highlights – but sadly there's no psychology as everyone just hits their high-flying offence one by one without any concern for actually eliminating their opponents. Once those eliminations begin good luck keeping track though, West and Tenay are simply awful at their jobs on commentary. They miss or miss-call huge amounts of important action, repeat themselves ad nauseam and openly admit confusion about what they're seeing over and over again. I could write thousands of words on how bad they both are on commentary in general, but I suppose I've got to just put up with it if I'm going to watch TNA. As far as the X-Division, you have to enjoy it for what it is – a novelty act. It may be full of contrivances, botches, and non-existent psychology – but spots such as the 7-man “Tower of Doom” superplex are just too enjoyable to criticise deeply. The insane Release German Suplex from Sabin to Kazarian from the top rope was also a highlight, even though I wince when I see something like that performed so recklessly. The way Kaz lands on his head made me think he'd broken his neck, and that's not something that entertains me. It all comes down to AAA star Hector Garza and Kazarian who square off in a brief match that Garza wins with a roll up. Can't understand this decision, perhaps an attempt at placating the Hispanic audience? He receives a short-lived push on TV against Jeff Jarrett for the TNA Championship, but would be gone from the company in just a few months. A wasted victory in hindsight, but the match was decent enough and a good opener. An enjoyable mess.

Rating: 3 Stars

Ron Killings, Erik Watts, Johnny B. Badd and Pat Kenney Vs Kid Kash, Dallas and The Naturals

An interesting mix of washed up refugees from the wreckage of WCW and ECW alongside young, future stars. The match is just a mess really, not badly performed but utterly meaningless. The former Marc Mero, Johnny B. Badd, gets a few minutes to actually look okay, but it doesn't last long and soon the match dissolves into a big brawl. Before you know it everyone leaves the ring, The Truth picks up a sudden victory and it's over. Doesn't even get five minutes, pretty much disposable.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Mascarita Sagrada Vs Piratita Morgan

So it looks like I got an answer to the question I posed during the X Gauntlet – definitely placating the Hispanic audience because up next: Mexican Midgets. West and Tenay try to put these guys over as best as they can, but given how they're supposed to be mini-versions of Mexican heavyweight stars that aren't in TNA, I think the novelty is somewhat lost. That said, I was pleasantly surprised by Mascarita Sagrada who turns out to be a more competent Luchador than a lot of the stars of the X-Division. Unfortunately his crisp, athletic offence is muted somewhat by Morgan, who moves at a snails pace and can barely sell anything Sagrada is doing. It doesn't take long of course before the midgets are reduced to a comedy routine with the referee, just in case you started to take the idea of a mini-division seriously or something. Not much of a match here, but darn it - this was more entertaining than the last one.

Rating: 2 Stars

TNA Tag Team Championship
3Live Kru Vs Team Canada

So 3Live Kru... you know I'd like to mock them or something, but I'd just feel guilty. B.G. James is so completely out of place in this stable and his attempts at being cool come across as just plain sad. As for Team Canada - did we not see this exact heel tag team gimmick on Raw two years prior? Or further back with the Hart Foundation? Actually thinking about it, this whole match is like reheated leftovers from around 1997. It's odd to me that James is wrestling in a baggy black T-shirt, self-conscious about his ageing physique – yet in the same moment he's taunting his opponent with a tepid dance number. Let's just say the man's embarrassed about the wrong things in life. Thankfully there is genuine aspiring talent in this match. Roode, Young and Konnan are obviously big prospects for TNA going forward, so it's nice that they're all highlighted here. Sadly the booking is bog standard, with the heels isolating James while the referee gets distracted by the lights or a cat or anything other than his own job. It doesn't matter in the end though, as the 3Live Kru pick up the win and the belts despite the odds. Never mind rewarding the young talented heels, or building their heat for the future, or letting them get their heat back in any way.

Rating: 2 Stars

Monster's Ball
Monty Brown Vs Abyss Vs Raven

Before this match the three men have been kept in solitary confinement to stew and build their hatred. Raven even cuts a promo during this ordeal where he rhymes “bomb” with “Vietnam”, just to completely sell his total insanity. A pretty standard brawl between Raven and Abyss on the outside to start with, but soon Brown is dominating both inside the ring. A missed Pounce to Raven takes out the referee instead and inexplicably inspires a “Ho-ly Shit!” chant from the crowd. Abyss just pouring thumb tacks on the mat gets another. C'mon guys, you haven't even SEEN ANYTHING yet! Reserve that chant for when it's deserved or it'll loose all meaning later. Raven weakly punches Abyss and gets a “This. Is. Awesome!” chant for it, proving that TNA fans have just come to chant whatever the hell they feel like, no matter how little it has to do with the show they're attending. They might as well be saying “Bears. Love. Ice. Cream!” for as much sense as it makes in this context... Oh yeah, Monty Brown wins. Everyone else gets to go to Table-Land. This however, does not inspire a reaction from the fans. Duh.

Rating: 2 Stars

X-Division Championship
Petey Williams Vs AJ Styles

I'm not sure why now, but I'm finally starting to feel ill due to the crappy camera work in every promo and backstage segment. Every shot has to be moving in and out, canting around and around, even to the point of being almost upside down. Is TNA filmed on a boat? A boat in the middle of a freaking storm? If not, there's no excuse, and now I've got a headache. Oh wait, here comes more as AJ Styles makes his way to the ring – sideways.

The action is fast and agile from the start, a showcase for both men but especially The Phenomenal One. Styles is obviously TNA's best talent and TNA would seem to think so too. Even though he's not in the main-event, Tenay tells us he's been there before but now he actively want to be in the X-Division because it's so great. He certainly deserves to be at the top of the card, but I can see the logic in building up the X-Division. Between this match and the opener, I would certainly walk away from this show talking about it as TNA's biggest selling point.

AJ Styles works in a lot of athletic and unique offence. The dive to the outside, the power-bomb counter he did to Williams while hanging in the Tree of Woe, then the sequence where both men counter each other's finishing moves – it's all awesome. However even when the best of TNA is on display, something stupid is bound to occur. I've never seen a referee stop in the middle of a pin-fall to shout at a manager for being on the apron. He doesn't just miss the fall, he actively abandons it after a two count while the shoulders are still down. This is how you sabotage even your best workers. Thankfully nothing can sabotage Petey Williams and a Canadian Destroyer which he hits fluidly off a jump from the second rope. It's an athletic, believable finisher that earns an honest pop every time you see it. Match of the Night!

Rating: 4 Stars

Last Man Standing
America's Most Wanted Vs Triple X

Everyone here is talented so the pace is good and we see some decent moves, but the stipulation smothers any attempt at storytelling or psychology. Trust TNA to take something exciting and original, like a tag team Last Man Standing match, and interpret the rules until they make no sense. Unlike a traditional Last Man Standing match here you need to pin your opponent for 3, then they have until 10 to stand up. If they don't make it they are eliminated and it's two-on-one. Of course this means you're forced to go through a contrived section where one man has to fight off two, and somehow make one lie on his back for 13 seconds without being helped up by the other. In fact despite the most interesting twist on this stipulation – that someone can help a fallen partner up – we never actually see that happen in this match. At first it looks like weapons are banned as Storm is eliminated by Daniels after a chair shot behind the ref's back, but later the ref tries to stop Skipper using the chair on Harris until he just gives in and watches. So I suppose weapons are just frowned upon then? Skipper then gets a Catatonic from Harris onto the chair, kicks out of the pin attempt but just gets counted down anyway to loose the match. Whatever.

Rating 2.5 Stars

TNA Championship - Ladder
Jeff Jarrett Vs Jeff Hardy

The opening video package might as well flash KEVIN NASH HEEL TURN up on the screen in huge letters all the way through. He tells Jeff he's got his back, then does an evil laugh. Well, his best go at an evil laugh at least. Back in the Impact Zone we're treated to the worst song ever written AKA Jeff Hardy's entrance theme. TNA has some awful music, both nothing as dismal, off-key and turgid as this track. This being one of the first low points of Hardy's career, he is of course dripping with glo-paint.

There's a nice spot early on with Jarrett caught inside an upside-down ladder, but he can't sell very well at all and just about hops back up after all of Hardy's offence. The match continues as you'd expect, meanwhile Tenay tells us Skipper got a concussion at the end of the last match and is being rushed to the hospital, then hypes it as exemplary of how great TNA is. West then postulates that when he kicked out of the last pin he was actually convulsing. Seriously – go fuck yourselves. You both should be ashamed for trying to spin a dangerous accident into something good for TNA.

The crowd is certifiably insane at this point – who on earth starts a “Let's Go Jarrett!” chant? And what must be wrong with you to JOIN IN? Tenay then actually name checks WrestleMania X after skirting around it all night in relation to Scott Hall. Did anyone actually buy this concept that Scott Hall is some kind of wise veteran of the ladder match? I know he won the first televised one in North America, but anyone with a brain understands that it was all HBK's work making it good. The camera cants some more as Jarrett gets close to the belt before Hardy makes the save. Hardy hasn't learnt the art of pacing his big spots yet, so he jumps up the turn-buckle and straight down with the Swanton without a moments pause to build it up, making his big finisher look like a transition move. He goes for the belt now, but here plods Scott Hall, the master of the ladder himself, to attack Hardy before being escorted away by security. That lasts almost a second until he gets a steel chair and promises to sit and watch at ring-side which inexplicably he is allowed to do.

Jarrett is covered in green paint at this point as Hardy sets up an incredibly contrived see-saw spot. It makes no sense but looks great, however Jarrett no-sells it completely and is right back on the attack. Hall attacks Hardy again on the outside, but Jeff sort of ignores him and gets back in the ring. Soon they're back on the outside where Hardy fights off both men and brings out the “Super Ladder”! I have to admit, I loved the close up of the DANGER sticker on the top of the ladder. That's the one good thing about sourcing your ladders from Home Depot – warning signs are cool. For some reason they go up this ladder while on the outside then come crashing down on Scott Hall. They abandon the big ladder and they're back where they were with the ladders in the ring. It's like that whole sequence never happened.

Jarrett messes up selling a power-bomb and Tenay weakly tries to cover it up by saying how smart and strong he is not to let go of the ladder. Hall attacks Hardy AGAIN, only to get a Twist of Fate that he can't sell at all and ends up just stumbling around the ring before falling down like The Great Khali. Another Swanton out of nothing puts him down for good. Jarrett attacks again, sends Hardy down but then just poses on the ladder rather than win. Then Kevin Nash finally shows up and again Jarrett just stands there when he could have won three times over. The security from before must be on their coffee break because Nash has music and everything, but he just walks right into the ring with two guitars unopposed. Hall springs back up and greets him, not teasing anything other than Nash being on their side. Nash hands him a guitar without even thinking about it and Tenay and West are SHOCKED! All three now hit Hardy with a guitar and Jarrett wins while Kevin Nash's theme is still going.

Nash gets a microphone and starts talking about toilets. Well, AJ Styles hates this (who can blame him?) and makes his way down to attack all three of them. The numbers prove too much, but then the 3Live Kru join in to even it up. Finally, RANDY SAVAGE, of all people, turns up! This ending is a hot mess as it is, but now we're going off the air after less than 30 seconds of Savage. What a croc! Seriously, if I was on drugs/if I was Jeff Hardy, I'd just assume I'd hallucinated that part given how random and brief it was.

Rating: 1 Star

TNA Victory Road 2004 Final Score: 1.5 Stars

What an awful show for your first PPV. How they expect to gain any new fans with this mess of a wrestling card is beyond me. I love Randy Savage, so his return could have been a plus, but they cut him off after just 30 seconds! The main-event failed utterly and the rest of the card was bad, boring and filled to the brim with nonsense. Styles Vs Williams was the only good thing about this show, at a stretch you could say the entire X-Division. However one decent aspect is not enough to recommend it. One to avoid!

NWA/WCW Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knock Out 1989 Review

2011-09-10T20:12:00.001Z

The Fabulous Freebirds Vs The Road Warriors

We start off tonight with the World Tag Team Champions going up against one of the all-time greatest teams, The Road Warriors. Why is this not for the titles? Why don't the Freebirds actually have the titles with them? Oh, they're facing The Steiner Brothers on TV this week? For the titles? And you've already tapped that match? I wonder what happens... The Warriors seem to know what happens, they look like they're really just phoning it in tonight. Barely anything to speak of, then we get a sudden DQ. I hate watching something that could have been a classic just end like that without warning or purpose. A shameful waste of time and talent.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Doom Vs Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Rich

At least this match doesn't disappoint - it's just as average as you'd expect it to be. Doom defeated The Steiner Brothers last month, and now get to squash Gilbert and Rich to keep their push going. Nothing remarkable again here, besides Woman who was another addition to the excellent roster of managers in WCW at this time. She and Doom have a great entrance too – in fact the stage for this show is just awesome all over. Doom power through as you'd expect. Not as bad as the last match, but not good either.

Rating: 2 Stars

The Midnight Express Vs The Dynamic Dudes

*facepalm* Oh great, now The Dynamic Dudes have skateboards. The NY crowd boos the hell of of them, and rightly so. I've never seen a team try so hard to suck up to the fans and only manage to just plain suck. The hook for this is admittedly pretty good – the Dudes recently helped out Jim Cornette who in return has started working as their 'tutor'. Cornette's actual managed team, The Express, take exception to this and start to make decisions without him, including signing the contract for this match tonight. Cornette is not in either corner to start with, torn at ring-side between the two teams. The pace is good, but boy does Johnny Ace fail at almost everything. His drop-kicks are so limp and messy he looks like he might hurt himself. Shane Douglas sort of redeems this with a nice running dive over the top rope and a good cross-body later on, but the crowd are dead set against the Dudes no matter what they do. Stan Lane gets some stiff, aggressive kicks into Johnny Ace that are just a pleasure to watch, but soon Douglas is back in with a hot tag. Eaton pulls out a chain, but Cornette rushes in and throws it away from him. He motions to Douglas to get Eaton, but when he does Cornette wallops him with the tennis racket giving The Express the win and affirming his loyalty. Good ending to an average match. Thankfully this is pretty much the end of the line for the Dynamic Dudes after stinking up the place all year.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Steve Williams Vs The Super Destroyer

Dr. Death is really over in NY going up against The Super Destroyer, yet another masked jobber character for Jack Victory. Williams was a pretty awesome strong man, getting in an impressive delayed military press on the Destroyer, then a power-slam and that's it. At least you don't have to spare mental energy remembering this match even happened. Oh and then Dr. Death gets a teddy bear from Santa Claus for his trouble. I wish I were kidding. Looks like I'll remember this one after all.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

The Steiner Brothers Vs The Skyscrapers

Another match that looks great on paper, but doesn't meet its potential due to lousy booking. Thankfully they get some time to work with at least, but like the opener it just feels like thrown together filler. Scott has developed a new move he calls 'The Frankensteiner', which is really exciting to see performed on the massive Skyscrapers. Sadly Sid Vicious broke a rib and punctured his lung in this match, and when he returned The Skyscrapers were finished. Spivey and Long would go on with a new member for a while, but this is the end for the original team. A decent enough match here, but it's thrown out when Doom attack the Steiners, followed by complete chaos and a “Pier Six Brawl” between the Steiners, The Skyscrapers, The Road Warriors, Doom and Woman with her new bodyguard. Just messy booking all round, but still the second best match of the night so far.

Rating: 2 Stars

United States Championship
Lex Luger Vs Brian Pillman

Luger is doing his best work ever this year, and all credit to him for it. Yes he's been working with some great talent, but he knows how to work the crowd, and Pillman is the perfect foil for him at this time. Flyin' Brian has the plucky, athletic face role down, keeping up the aggressive offence between some good selling. I tell you, he needs to show Johnny Ace how to do a drop-kick STAT. I liked the sequence where Pillman attacked Luger's arm, first removing the padding around the ring post for more damage, then leading him around the outside and methodically working it across the barriers. Luger really is the 'Total Package' at this time – he's got great strength, speed, psychology & just oozes charisma. He never impressed me in the 90's, but here in the NWA, at this point in his career, he is unquestionably a star. The finish comes after a believable sequence of near falls. The ref is bumped and Pillman gets good covers on Luger twice but there's no one to count it. Luger is desperate and crawls to the outside and gets a chair. Brian tries to pull him back in the hard way, only to get clocked by the chair. Luger covers, the ref is up and the champion retains. Solid, classic finish. I'm not too keen on the post match events though. Luger tries to beat Pillman down some more until he's stopped by Sting. Sting just eclipses Pillman completely here as he brawls with Luger on the ramp. They could have at least let Pillman stand up for himself side by side with the Stinger. I realise Sting is more important than Pillman at this point, and they're just building to Starrcade - but Pillman and the great match he fought are completely forgotten in Sting's wake...

Rating: 4 Stars

I Quit - Retirement
Ric Flair Vs Terry Funk

“Five letters. Two words. I. Quit.” - Gordon Solie

This feud was so hot, it ought to have finished at Starrcade over the World Heavyweight Championship. Instead it is the saving grace of an otherwise bad show, a recognised classic and one of the first main-event 'I Quit' matches in mainstream wrestling. Funk's heel character was so good he even got over The Nature Boy as a face, when only a year ago he was perhaps the most hated heel in the industry. Flair meanwhile has had an amazing year and only adds to it at this event.

This match is more brawl than it is wrestling, a real contrast to the Flair/Steamboat saga earlier in the year. As a brawl though, it's as good as you'll see, especially for the era in which it occurred. It turns out tonight they were wrestling on an hockey rink all along, so that's ICE under the mat, not concrete. I'm not sure that makes much of a difference, but the way Jim Ross puts it, I'll believe it's devastating. This match doesn't start with the same level of violence as their last encounter at the Bash, but the stipulation makes for greater drama and suspense. I only wish the belt was on the line, I just can't see why you'd book Flair to retire as champion, so for me it spoils the outcome. Still, you've got to love how Funk taunts Flair on the mic, especially the sequence where he attacks his neck and sets him up for the pile-driver.

I wish the match had gone about five more minutes. I think Funk ought to have got the spinning toe hold in just once, given how they'd built it up on commentary as his signature submission maneuver. Also I'd have liked a moment where I thought Flair might loose it near the finish, only to win it back. Instead the ending becomes sort of a squash, and while Funk sells the figure four like a true champion (“My leg! My leg – it's breaking!”), I just didn't want to see it end there.

We all know Terry Funk doesn't retire – and I mean ever – but at the time this was fairly legit. After this match he was done in WCW for years, working only in Japan and then in a little known federation called ECW. When you take that into account, it's a bit rubbish that this final moment for Funk's career is brushed aside to remind the audience about Starrcade. Muta and Luger run down and attack both men until Sting makes the save. Just like Pillman, Funk just rolls away while the big stars take centre stage, and everyone just forgets he was there. Funk has had an awesome year in WCW, and while I'm glad he didn't outstay his welcome I think he deserved a more focused, potent send-off. The match itself is fantastic, but I can't give it five stars for such a messy finish post-bell and the lack of a Funk come-back near the end.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

NWA/WCW Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knock Out 1989
Final Score: 2 Stars

Yet another NWA/WCW show that is salvaged by an all-time classic main-event. The work going on at the top was phenomenal in 1989, but the rest of the show is pretty much awful. A number of DQ finishes, run-ins and squashes make this an especially tough one to sit through. The brawl after the 'I Quit' match is also evidence that this style of booking could be making it's way to the main-event very soon, where giving Terry Funk a proper send off was made second priority to selling the next show. Back when the year started, they could sell you the next show on the ongoing strength of their main-event angles, now it looks like they'd rather throw everything at the wall at once to see what sticks. If they're not careful, Starrcade '89 could be quite a mess...

1988-1989 PPV/Supercard Season

2011-09-10T12:55:00.011Z

1988-1989

WWF

(Hulk Hogan Vs Randy Savage, WrestleMania V 1989, WWF Championship)

Saturday Night's Main Event XVI 1988: ? Stars
SummerSlam 1988: ? Stars
Saturday Night's Main Event XVII 1988: ? Stars
Survivor Series 1988: ? Stars
Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII 1988: ? Stars
Saturday Night's Main Event XIX 1989: ? Stars
Royal Rumble 1989: ? Stars
The Main Event II 1989: ? Stars
Saturday Night's Main Event XX 1989: ? Stars
WrestleMania V 1989: 2 Stars

NWA/WCW

(Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun 1989)

Clash of the Champions II 1988: ? Stars
The Great American Bash 1988: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions III 1988: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions IV 1988: ? Stars
Starrcade 1988: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions V 1989: ? Stars
Chi-Town Rumble 1989: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun 1989: 2.5 Stars

NWA/WCW Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun 1989 Review

2011-09-10T12:46:00.003Z

The Samoan Swat Team Vs The Midnight Express

We kick off the evening with a surprisingly lengthy tag outing, continuing the growing feud between Jim Cornette and Paul E. Dangerously. Usual decent match for both teams - the time goes past quickly albeit without much of real interest taking place. The most unique moment comes when Fatu plays the “heel in peril”, while Eaton and Lane swap in and out between headlocks. They even swap without a tag behind the ref's back, a classically heel manoeuvre, but it works to put over the Swat Team as a really strong duo you need to pull out all the stops to beat. It's not long before the Samoans are back in more comfortable territory, dominating and double-teaming their opponents. The pace is mixed, periods of quick, classic action between more drawn out sections with Lane trapped in the Samoan Nerve Hold. Entertaining enough, but it never builds much momentum and the finish is a complete anti-climax.

Rating: 3 Stars

The Great Muta Vs Steven Casey

Next up is the US Super-Card début for the Japanese legend Keiji Mutoh, who starts a decent run as The Great Muta in the NWA for the next couple of years. This match is simply a showcase for Muta against the jobber Casey, who actually makes a great start when he walks right into a demonstration of Muta Mist. Blinded from the get go, Casey is dominated by the unique, aggressive and high-flying offence of Muta and what follows is a really entertaining extended squash. Muta pulls out all sorts of stand-out offence you never saw back in 1989. Ross and Hayes don't even know what to call a lot of this stuff, Hayes takes a stab at it with “flying body press” (Plancha) and “a backflip off the top” (Moonsault), and their shock and awe really puts Muta over as exotic and exciting.

Rating: 4 Stars

The Junkyard Dog Vs Butch Reed

“Scientific wrestling is not 'JYD's... forte.” - Jim Ross

'JYD' gets himself a big-time, Nawlins entrance complete with a huge marching band. I'm not sure why exactly, as he's not even from Louisiana, but it gets him a pop anyway. The match is pretty slow, a mix of stalling and plodding big guy action. I have no idea why WCW brought 'JYD' in at this point – he's the epitome of the cartoon-ish WWF characters that they were actively leaning away from, towards talented in-ring stars such as Muta and Steamboat. Decent enough I suppose, the crowd seem to enjoy it, but it does nothing for me.

Rating: 2 Stars

Bob Orton Vs Dick Murdoch

Sticking with the old-school tone of the last match, now we have a proper grappling contest between two veterans. While they grope around on the mat, Hayes and Ross enjoy some classic back-and-forth at the booth, MH: “There's a couple of girls who were over at my place last night!” JR: “Why didn't you fix me up with one of those? You said... ah, never mind. Armbar.” MH: “Beggars can't be choosers.” JR: “Aha – Wrong.”. The match is solid enough, but like it's predecessor it just doesn't belong on an NWA card at this time. The announcers constantly drift off, as do the cameramen who are more focused on the legends in attendance and the women in the crowd than the action in the ring. Ross even exclaims: “I can tell you one thing; when Flair and Steamboat come out to wrestle, all eyes will be on the ring”, which I'm not sure was intentional but pretty much dismissed the fight in progress completely. It looks like the match is going to build to a hot finish, but then Gary Hart trips Murdoch into an Orton pin and deflates whatever it had going for it completely. I'm awarding half a star for the commentary alone.

“Armbar.”

Rating: 2.5 Stars

World Tag Team Championship
The Varsity Club Vs The Road Warriors

A nicely paced, powerful match up with a good story to tell from bell to bell. Animal does some of the best, full-extension power-slams you'll ever see to both Williams and Rotunda to start things off, leading the Varsity Club to escape and regroup on the outside. The Warriors were famous for their impressive strength and skilled grappling, and both are on full display in this one. Steve Williams was also a great powerful guy and he's well matched here as the Club members work to isolate Animal. As the match builds to the finish, referee Teddy Long is knocked down by Hawk. The Warriors hit the Doomsday Device, but Long just stands there and refuses to count. Williams sneaks in, cradles Hawk and gets the fastest three count in the history of ever to win the titles. The Warriors are pissed, but this is just the beginning for Teddy Long who has a big future ahead of him as a manager. This match is just two entertaining teams doing what they do for a solid ten minutes with a good finish that builds for the future.

Rating: 4 Stars

Ranger Ross Vs The Iron Sheik

“That boy ain't got a lick o' sense!” - Michael P.S. Hayes

Ross rappels down from the ceiling with an American flag for a big pop, but such an entrance is wasted on what follows. Sheik goes for the cheap heat with the Iranian National Anthem which he cuts short to attack Ross from behind to get even more. Sheik sure knew how to work the crowd, gesturing for them to be quiet as they chant “U.S.A.!” in the middle of holding an abdominal stretch on Ross. Some fairly intense action ends almost immediately when Rip Morgan attacks Ross for the DQ, followed close after by The Junkyard Dog to make the save. What a waste of time. Half a star for Sheik being awesome at his job.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

United States Tag Team Championship
Eddie Gilbert and Rick Steiner Vs Dan Spivey and Kevin Sullivan

I'm not sure if they were running behind schedule or what, but this match only gets a few minutes which is a shame. Seems like they could have economised with the Orton/Murdoch and JYD/Reed matches to give this one more room to breathe, but whatever, it's for the United States Tag Team Championship, a pointless championship if there ever was one, especially when the WORLD tag titles were defended earlier in the night. Why we got this and Luger's U.S. singles defence was bumped from TV I have no idea. Good action while it lasts, but fairly disposable.

Rating: 2 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship - 2 of 3 Falls
Ricky Steamboat Vs Ric Flair

It's notoriously hard to review the second part of a trilogy. The second instalment always has to bear a number of creative burdens – no true beginning, no real ending and heaviest of all; an expectation to out do the first effort while saving the best for last. Almost all drama reserves its greatest moments for beginnings and endings. These are the parts of a text with the most energy – the initial spark of the inciting incident, a flash that lights the fuse for an almighty, climactic bang.

In most cases the 'fuse' of a story is fairly straight forward, drawing tension from the inevitability of the finale. This is the biggest weakness of the middle instalment, but it can also be it's greatest strength. This is the part where a narrative is pretty much open to go where it wants, it's the ending that is responsible for getting the narrative back to the final destination. It's in part two where an author can explore characters, build interest and play with the toy box of ideas assembled in part one. Done right, part two can sometimes make the surrounding flash and bang merely bookends to a captivating and dynamic fizz.

Many critics would say this of the Steamboat Vs Flair trilogy of 1989. It is the general consensus that this 2 of 3 Falls Match was the high-point in a 5 Star trilogy of matches, a series referred to often as the best performed on American soil, at least in the era of PPV and Cable television. I wont go into much detail about the content of the match itself, anyone with an interest in this review who hasn't seen it should just go watch it already. That said, reviewing this match has been tough, and I've agonised between a rating of 4.5 and 5 Stars. I don't like this match as much as I do the other two in the trilogy – while it may be wildly entertaining and well performed, it doesn't make me leap out of my seat or pull me in beyond all distractions the way a 5 Star match ought to. I always feel unsatisfied with an inconclusive finish because it means the match itself is merely set up for something else. Then again I recognise that this was always intended as part two of three, that this match was never about the ending – it was about the journey itself.

From that perspective it achieves everything it intends to. With about twice as long to work with as either of their other encounters, this is the deepest match of the series and also the most impressive from an athletic standpoint. The best performers in the world of pro-wrestling, arguably of all-time, go out and wrestle for almost an hour without once letting the pace drop or audience interest wan. Every movement, from the high-spots to the rest holds, has a purpose. As performers, Flair and Steamboat seem to be constantly engaged in their craft. They work in numerous references to their last match, they even tease moments from their next one.

The addition of Terry Funk on commentary is also a master-stroke, and shows how far ahead WCW were in long-term booking. While I was enjoying Michael Hayes a lot, giving Funk almost an hour to talk about Ric Flair and the World Heavyweight Championship a month before he even turns heel is just brilliant. You wouldn't even really expect what happens down to road, at the time of this match Funk is just a legend who adds to the special atmosphere they created for this contest.

The context of this match works for it and against it. It is part of something almost perfect, yet by itself it is missing so much. How you respond to it will come down to individual taste – I am a sucker for clean finishes and title changes, this match has neither. I feel to give this match the same score as it's contemporaries would do those matches an injustice. This is must-see wrestling for sure, it is only a mark of how great Steamboat and Flair are that I feel so guilty to give them anything less than a 5. If you haven't seen the Flair/Steamboat trilogy, find a couple of free hours and just watch the whole thing!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

NWA/WCW Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun 1989
Final Score: 2.5 Stars

A very, very mixed show indeed. The main event is a must-see classic, but the rest of the card is largely disappointing. The Great Muta made a strong debut and the World Tag Team Championship match was really good, but half of the matches on the card were from below average to downright bad. The JYD/Reed & Ross/Sheik matches just had no business being on the card at all, leaving both Lex Luger and Sting to wrestle after the broadcast was over.

Hard to endorse the whole event, even if an hour of it is taken up by Flair/Steamboat. You can find that match on the 3 disc Ricky Steamboat: The Life Story of the Dragon DVD set, which I highly recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in The Dragon. For now though, we're set up for the third and final part of this historic trilogy at WrestleWar 1989...

NWA/WCW 1989-1990 PPV/Supercard Season

2011-09-07T19:00:00.003Z

1989-1990

(The Great American Bash 1989)

WrestleWar 1989: ? Stars
Clash of the Champions VII 1989: ? Stars

The Great American Bash 1989: 4 Stars

Clash of the Champions VIII: Fall Brawl 1989: ? Stars

Halloween Havoc 1989: ? Stars

Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knock Out 1989: 2 Stars

Starrcade 1989: ? Stars

Clash of the Champions X 1990: ? Stars

WrestleWar 1990: ? Stars

NWA/WCW The Great American Bash 1989 Review

2011-09-07T18:47:00.004Z

“King of the Hill” Two Ring Battle Royal Winners: The Skyscrapers

We start things off with the finals of a $5,000 “King of the Hill” Battle Royal tournament, culminating here with 14 finalists across two rings! All the men start in Ring A and can only be eliminated into Ring B, where they continue to fight until they fall over the top and onto the floor where they are eliminated all together. The last man standing in Ring A waits to fight the winner of Ring B in a pin-fall contest for the money. As you'd expect with all 14 men in the ring, this is a bit hectic and confusing at the start, but as the competitors move into the second ring the match begins to tell a fun story. By moving only a few men into either ring, a lot of guys get to enjoy the spotlight who'd normally have been lost in the shuffle. Ring A comes down to Sid Vicious and Brian Pillman, Pillman making a great effort in his PPV début but ultimately unsuccessful against the better half of the Skyscrapers. In Ring B it boils down to Dan Spivey, and it looks like we're going to get a match between the two Skyscrapers. Teddy Long suddenly pipes in and announces that the Skyscrapers are about unity, and rather than fight they'll be splitting the money while Long gets the crown. The ending was actually well set up by Ross and Caudle, who hypothesised throughout the match what would happen if the winners were tag team partners. This was a good opener for the evening, showcasing a lot of talent and getting lots of heat on the Skyscrapers for forgoing the planned final match.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Brian Pillman Vs Bill Irwin

Flyin' Brian Pillman has been pushed well on his first PPV - the subject of a pre-show promo, one of the last men in the battle royal and now the winner here in an energetic singles bout. Bill Irwin might not look like much (He would later play The Goon in the WWF), but he brings a lot to this contest, really making Pillman look strong. I love the classic heel mannerisms of Irwin, and I especially love how vocal he is throughout the match. There's a 'Jericho-esqe' vibe to his constant berating of Flyin' Brian, his frustrated yells and taunts, that really work the crowd up too. Pillman bumps around as you'd expect, building to the climax where he is tossed into the second ring. The ref stops Irwin from pursuing across, only for Pillman to make a long high-cross body from the second ring to the middle of the first for the pin. Great effort from both guys.

Rating: 4 Stars

The Skyscrapers Vs The Dynamic Dudes

“Momentum, pacing and timing are so important...” - Jim Ross

You said it J.R., but sadly I don't think the Dynamic Dudes heard you. The team of Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas was never going to set the world on fire, but they're kind of embarrassing here. From their squeaky-clean, suck-up face gimmick to their plodding, sloppy in-ring style, it's little surprise that they'd loose most of their matches with the NWA and be gone by the following year. On their way to the ring they bring a little fat kid out of the crowd and seem to unintentionally mock him with their Frisbees, which makes me think they'd have been a great heel duo around 1999. But back in 1989 one thing's for sure – they're just not in the same league as the Skyscrapers. Once the big men take control the match becomes alright. Sid is really over with the smarky crowd, who keep up great energy whenever he's involved. There are flashes of classic double-team brilliance from the 'Scrapers, who are just impressive to behold and have a great manager in Teddy Long at ringside. The ending is one of the most pathetic power-bombs I've ever seen, can't tell who's fault it is but I'd bet money on Johnny Ace. Still, I've got to deduct something for that!

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Tuxedo
Jim Cornette Vs Paul E. Dangerously

I wasn't looking forward to this at all, but it's much better than it reads on paper. Both men deliver strong promos before the match, and Cornette and Heyman really work hard to make this an intense and hate-filled brawl befitting this hot feud. Spitting, choking, illegal powder, attacks with foreign objects... For such a short match this is packed with action and doesn't outstay it's welcome. There is some good continuity in the ending, the heel gets stripped and embarrassed, and the crowd are satisfied. It's really not that hard to make non-wrestler matches entertaining when you just make some effort. This is pretty much the exact opposite of Cole Vs Lawler at this year's WrestleMania.

Rating: 4 Stars

Texas Tornado
The Steiner Brothers Vs Mike Rotunda and Kevin Sullivan

I mistook Rotunda for Scott Steiner at first here, as for some reason both he and Rick Steiner are wearing singlets while Sullivan and Scott are in short trunks, and nothing colour coordinates. Considering this is a fast paced Tornado tag match involving all four men at once, I think the teams should have been more unified in their attire. When you add the fact that this is the PPV début for the Steiner Brothers, it just increases the need to communicate who's who to the audience. Regardless, this is a fun, no DQ match with a solid finish involving all four guys, which is nice to see. It doesn't last long enough for my tastes, making it a bit forgettable when all's said and done. Nothing really to complain about, good intensity and athleticism that never lets up throughout from everyone involved.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

TV Championship
Sting Vs The Great Muta

Now we're getting to the big matches! Sting is completely over at this point, and Muta is just a fantastic opponent for him. Sting in this era had a Hogan quality to him, but with much more youth on his side. Both men put in an athletic, high-flying performance here that goes all over the ring and to the outside. Believable near-fall after some Muta mist to the ref and a great moonsault to the Stinger. Sting makes a comeback into a controversial finish where a pin was counted when both men got shoulders up. This would leave the TV title vacated, but in my opinion Sting did have more of it. Great mix with Muta's speed and Sting's power, leaving plenty of room for more in the future.

Rating: 4 Stars

United States Championship
Lex Luger Vs Ricky Steamboat

Fantastic reception for both men, creating an epic atmosphere to start things off. Steamboat and the audience want this to be No DQ, as The Dragon is out for revenge after Luger turned on him. The stipulation is announced, but Luger grabs a mic and tells Steamboat it's either a normal match or he walks. Steamboat begrudgingly accepts much to the displeasure of the crowd, but they really needed something to turn the fans on Luger as he was getting big pops from the smarky audience (Something Ross calls out as “somewhat hypocritical” on their part). Luger is doing the best work in his career at this time, and getting great opponents like Steamboat to work with just solidifies his heel run. Steamboat himself brings an uncharacteristic viciousness into this match, throwing some powerful chops that send Luger running to the outside, only to be met with even more ferocious chops once he gets there.

Some great agility from both men and near-falls right from the get go, setting an electric pace that stays consistent throughout. The finish is awesome – Luger brings in a chair to get intentionally DQed, only to be slingshot into the corner and take it right in the face. However Steamboat is so mad he grabs the chair and starts wailing on Luger himself for the DQ. Ricky throws the ref from the ring and keeps attacking Luger who begs him to stop, but The Dragon just keeps pummelling him, first to the outside then back up the ramp to the stage. Luger just manages to escape, while Steamboat celebrates his retribution with the chair. Just brilliant. Unfortunately, Steamboat and the NWA had a contract dispute, leading to his departure from American wrestling for a couple of years soon after this awesome, awesome contest, the Match of the Night on a very good card.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

WarGames
Team Road Warriors Vs Team Fabulous Freebirds

“There is no strategy to this...” - Jim Ross

The WarGames is a hard match type to review. The first five minutes are quite needless as no-one can get a solid advantage on the other, then a partner joins for the inevitable 2-on-1 assault until the next guy evens it up and we get something that resembles a fight. As J.R. reminds us, the purpose of this section is to weaken your opponents to get an easier submission once the match truly begins, but it's a bit boring and just feels like going through the motions to me. At one point Ross even starts chatting about other matches, an unusual deviation from the normally focused play-by-play he's known for. Thankfully we've got Paul E. and Michael Hayes on the outside being awesome as usual, Paul E. telling the camera between every entry that Hayes will be next in for the Freebirds, only to reserve him to the very end. When he finally does get in the match really picks up, with DDTs for everyone followed by a classic Freebird strut. Once Hawk enters last for the Warriors it's just pandemonium. Paul E. tries to squeeze his big phone through the cage but it won't quite fit. Finally Hawk gets Jimmy Garvin into his Hangman submission, which is pretty cool actually, and picks up the win. The Warriors leave the cage, only for the Freebirds to keep Animal inside and hold the door while they beat him up. The Warriors eventually break through the door and chase them off, but the Freebirds managed to get some heat back from the loss.

Rating: 3 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship
Ric Flair Vs Terry Funk

It's time for the huge main event between the returning legend Terry Funk and the now-beloved Ric Flair. After Flair regained the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleWar, Funk requested a match for the title which Flair declined. Funk's response was to brutally attack Flair, pile-driving him into a table and putting him out of action for weeks. Funk enters to the 'Man with a Harmonica' theme from Once Upon a Time in the West, which although shamelessly stolen is simply epic and really works with his character at this time. Flair comes out with an entourage of lovely ladies, but no sooner does he step into the ring than he's on the outside brawling with Funk. They brawl in and out until Flair goes for a suplex from the apron to the outside, but Funk counters sending both tumbling to the floor.

Back on their feet, Flair throws some huge chops, then both men trade eye-rakes. Flair is out for revenge though, and starts to ruthlessly target Funk's neck, even to the point of hitting him with his own pair of pile-drivers! Flair continues to dominate until he slaps on the figure four, but Funk hits him in the face with a branding iron to bust him open and take control. Funk hits Flair with a pile-driver to his injured neck, but he's too close to the ropes to get the 3. Funk responds by choking the champion, before removing the padding around the ring, exposing the concrete and setting up Flair for another pile-driver, this time one that would frankly kill him on the outside. Flair counters at the last second, but soon Funk is back on top inside the ring after a pair of neck-breakers. Funk goes to attack Flair with the branding iron again, but Flair gets it and wallops Funk out of the ring. A bloody Funk returns and oddly changes his tactics and goes for a spinning-toe hold, only to be countered into a roll-up pin for Flair.

After the match, The Great Muta comes out and helps Funk assault Flair, setting him up for a pile-driver to a steel chair before he is rescued by Sting. Funk and Muta make tracks, but Flair's not done and pursues Funk down the aisle. Flair finds the branding iron and chases after both men into the crowd. Every time it looks like it's over, Flair goes after them again until finally he stops to talk to Ross and Caudle. Dripping with blood, he delivers one of his best ever promos and promises Funk “We just started pal!” - and boy was he not kidding. This was a bloody, back-and-forth brawl between two legends, only held back by the strange change in psychology at the end. The post-match brawl was great and sets up numerous angles for the rest of the year, including the famous 'I Quit' match at COTC IX, but especially the ultimate confrontation between Flair and Sting. Awesome main event.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

NWA/WCW The Great American Bash 1989 Final Score: 4 Stars

It's considered one of, if not THE best wrestling PPV of all time. I wouldn't go that far, as I don't think there is a true 5 Star match on the card. The Steamboat/Luger match is this close to that, but the DQ ending holds it back, as satisfying as it is to see Luger get what's coming. Had they had a final, blow-off match with a proper ending I've no doubt they'd have delivered, but alas it was not to be. Funk and Flair would meet again at Clash IX in a truly epic 'I Quit' match, but their encounter here is held back by an ending that just makes me scratch my head.

The rest of the card is solid and entertaining, aside from the Skyscrapers/Dynamic Dudes match, but as poor as that was it doesn't effect the overall score much at all. The Cornette/Dangerously match impressed me as much as the WarGames match disappointed me, I know others would swap the scores I gave them around, but I felt the quick managers match was as good as it could be while with the WarGames match I went through periods of real boredom.

Overall though, this is a fantastic show and a great example of the late 80's NWA/WCW, which to my mind was pro-wrestling at it's peak. Don't make do with the edited version though, the uncut original is where it's at and worth seeking out.

2002 in Film

2011-08-30T19:09:00.000Z

Films Ranked
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2. Adaptation.
3. City of God
4. Insomnia
5. Infernal Affairs
6. Catch Me If You Can
7. Hero
8. Minority Report
9. Road to Perdition
10. The Pianist
11. Spider-Man
12. About Schmidt
13. Bowling for Columbine
14. Punch-Drunk Love
15. Phone Booth
16. The Bourne Identity
17. 28 Days Later

Films Seen
Chicago
25th Hour
Talk to Her

Films Unseen
Far From Heaven
About a Boy
The Hours
Spider
Igby Goes Down

2004 in Film

2011-08-30T18:51:00.000Z

Films Ranked
1. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Sideways
4. The Incredibles
5. Spider-Man 2
6. Collateral
7. Shaun of the Dead
8. Howl’s Moving Castle
9. The Motorcycle Diaries
10. Napoleon Dynamite
11. Million Dollar Baby
12. Super Size Me
13. House of Flying Daggers
14. The Machinist
15. Crash
16. Starsky and Hutch
17. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
18. Hellboy
19. I Heart Huckabees
20. The Bourne Supremacy
21. I, Robot

Films Seen
Kung Fu Hustle
Garden State
Team America: World Police

Films Unseen
Before Sunset

The Spark

2011-08-30T17:29:00.002Z

Welcome to 'The Culture Cannon', the all-new name for 'The Big Picture'! For now this is just a name change, but it represents a new philosophy for this blog going forwards. For the last year I've been unhappy with the name 'The Big Picture', as it was chosen back when this was intended to be exclusively a film blog. I wanted not just to review films, but to post film news, share trailers & posters with commentary, discuss wider issues in cinema and look back at film history. However I found this task difficult to maintain, I'm just one person and films are not the only cultural hobby I enjoy. Not to mention there are many sites that already offer this, and on a much more consistent and regular basis.

My problem is I'm interested and excited by all sorts of art and culture, not just films, and I want my blog to be a platform for expressing that. Films are still a major part of my life, but this year you've seen me write much more on Video Games and Pro Wrestling, other parts of pop-culture that I love. In the future I'd like to write about music, television, dance, theatre... whatever happens to inspire me to write at the time. In short – this has not been a film blog in a long time, it's concerned with all sorts of culture and I think it's name should communicate that.

The inspirations for 'The Big Picture' were primarily '/Film' and 'The End of Cinema'. '/Film' is just about the best film blog in the world, balancing news & opinion very well. 'The End of Cinema' meanwhile taps into my love of lists, not to mention well organised and structured discourse about the history of cinema. I've leaned more and more towards an 'End of Cinema' style from my initial attempt to borrow from '/Film', as can be seen by my 'Years in' lists on the sidebar. However this past year I've watched a fraction of the films I used to, and now have no local cinema to keep up to date with the new releases. As such, more of my time is spent enjoying video games and wrestling and naturally I find myself writing about these instead.

I am going to continue what I've started with my lists, only expanded to include other interests besides film. These lists - and the reviews they link to – are in a way my personal canon. These are the pieces of culture that have mattered in my life and form my understanding of various art forms. While they will always be incomplete, they will surely grow and change as I do. That said, I also want my blog to be able to adapt to accommodate whatever I'm keen to write about in the moment. Hence I'm looking to write more philosophically or politically than I have before, discuss topics in-depth and just expand the content of my writing online.

I'm also in the early stages of working on various video content, and I think 'The Culture Cannon' is a good name by which to establish that. It has the right tone I'm looking for – it's loud, animated and direct, yet also flexible and bold. I'll have to see how it all goes, but for now I'm quite confident about the name.

But I want to know what you think – Do you like 'The Culture Cannon' as the name not only for this blog, but for a web video series? Also; what kinds of content are you most interested in seeing from me in the future?

2009 in Games

2011-08-30T12:30:00.001Z

Games Ranked
1. Assassin's Creed 2 (PS3/360/PC)
2. Forza Motorsport 3 (360)
3. Shadow Complex (XLA)
4. Resident Evil 5 (360/PS3/PC)
5. Plants Vs Zombies (XLA/NDS/PC)
6. WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 (PS3/360/WII)
7. Street Fighter IV (PS3/360/PC)
8. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3/360/PC)
9. Brutal Legend (PS3/360)

Games Played
Fight Night Round 4 (360/PS3)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/360/PC)
Skate 2 (PS3/360)
Left 4 Dead 2 (360/PC)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (WII)
Dragon Age: Origins (360/PS3/PC)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (360/PS3/WII/PS2/PC)

Games Not Played
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (NDS/PSP)
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (NDS)
Wipeout HD Fury (PS3)
Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)
The Sims 3 (PC/PS3/360/WII)
Flower (PSN)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (NDS)
LocoRoco 2 (PSP)
Infamous (PS3)
LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias (WIW)
MadWorld (WII)
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (WII)
Tekken 6 (360/PS3)

2008 in Film

2011-08-29T18:08:00.001Z

Films Ranked
1. The Dark Knight
2. Burn After Reading
3. Let the Right One In
4. Wall-E
5. The Wrestler
6. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
7. Iron Man
8. Quantum of Solace
9. Frost/Nixon
10. Slumdog Millionaire
11. Cloverfield

Films Seen
Revolutionary Road
The Good, The Bad, The Weird
Be Kind Rewind
Waltz with Bashir
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hunger
Gran Torino
Man on Wire
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Films Unseen
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
In Bruges
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Doubt

2007 in Film

2011-08-29T17:39:00.001Z

Films Ranked
1. Hot Fuzz
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Ratatouille
4. The Darjeeling Limited
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
6. Planet Terror
7. The Bourne Ultimatum
8. No Country for Old Men
9. 28 Weeks Later
10. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
11. [Rec]
12. Persepolis
13. Sunshine
14. Die Hard 4.0
15. Juno
16. Transformers

Films Seen
The Orphanage
Atonement
Once
I’m Not There
American Gangster
3:10 to Yuma
Michael Clayton
Eastern Promises
Superbad

WWE SummerSlam 2011 Review

2011-08-16T17:06:00.003Z

Rey Mysterio, John Morrison and Kofi Kingston Vs The Miz, R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio

When you can't distinguish between a PPV and an episode of Raw; you have a problem. When that PPV is supposed to be the second biggest of the year; you have a serious problem. Unannounced, six-man tag team matches built from 3 separate singles feuds should only ever be featured on television, as a way to promote those singles feuds, which should presumably climax at a PPV. There are big names in this match, names who do indeed deserve to be on the card, but these are names that deserved to be ANNOUNCED on the card beforehand! The match itself was a fast paced & athletic contest, as you'd expect from the talent involved, but with nothing at stake and no prior anticipation it can only do so much. A singles match taken from any of the 3 pairs would have been just as good, so why everyone needed to be crammed together to even appear on the show is beyond me. Not to mention the meaningless promos by The Miz and R-Truth before the match and the SummerSlam set itself which looked like the usual WWE TV Tron with some bits stuck on it! All of this together made the match feel like an opening to a Raw, the superstars did their jobs well but as usual they are let down by a creative team that fails to do theirs.

Rating: 3 Stars

Mark Henry Vs Sheamus

When I say the creative team has failed, I should say the RAW creative team, because SmackDown, as usual, are doing just fine. Mark Henry has been booked strong recently, and has started to gain the best momentum of his career. Meanwhile Sheamus has been floating around for months now without purpose, so his surprising face-turn is more than welcome. This is a classic example of how to build stars without either paying for the expense. Standing up to Henry has done wonders for Sheamus' creditability, and this match continues that work without hurting either man's push in the short term. Henry won with some devastating strength, but only just - and he didn't dare attack Sheamus afterwards. Not any kind of classic, but solid booking that highlights and enhances both men.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Wade Barrett Vs Daniel Bryan

This match represents what, at minimum, all PPVs should be about. Take two of your best talents, announce they're going to wrestle and then let them wrestle. It sounds simple yet it's still a rarity in the WWE today. What's not so rare in the WWE today is awful commentary, and this match is no exception. I'm not sure why JR was given the night off, nor why after all this time Booker T hasn't firmed his grasp on the English language, but I suppose I shouldn't expect an answer to every mystery. When a three man booth has a conversation about how none of them know the names of the holds Bryan is performing, perhaps it's time to find new people for the job? It's so bad it's distracting from an otherwise terrific match, the kind Bryan was having all the time on PPV late last year as the US Champion. The finish was abrupt and Bryan inexplicably takes a clean loss here, but it won't hurt him too much in the long run. I've enjoyed this feud thus far and hope the finish will ensure it continues – perhaps with the MITB briefcase on the line.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

World Heavyweight Championship - No Holds Barred
Randy Orton Vs Christian

I want to say upfront that this was the second best match in a classic series, as well as Match of the Night. Crisp counters, great psychology, memorable spots and an announce desk that actually breaks! However, taken as a whole this match and the feud has effectively buried Christian as a credible main-event star in kayfabe terms. The appearance by Edge at the start was fun, although perhaps better served by being promoted for the last SmackDown before SummerSlam, as ultimately it was just a promo. Edge lays out exactly how Christian has become a “whining, crying, moaning little bitch”, and highlights how undeserving Christian is of being World Heavyweight Champion. I figured this was leading to a clean win for Captain Charisma to silence his critics, or a swerve reappearance by Edge to help his friend, but no. Instead Edge and those who agree with him were vindicated when Christian was unable to beat Orton yet again. Furthermore, not enough was made of this being the final match in this series and they failed to capitalise on what could have been a terrific atmosphere. Maybe they'll continue, but after 4 PPV matches and 2 clean Orton wins I can't imagine good justification for it. A shame really, as this pair has such amazing in-ring chemistry and I doubt either will move on to anything better for a while.

Rating: 4 Stars

Undisputed WWE Championship
CM Punk Vs John Cena
Special Guest Referee: Triple H

“Hello everyone! Welcome to cooking with the WWE! Today we will prepare a SummerSlam main event. First, you're going to want to take last month's Five Star classic match out of the fridge. It's a few weeks old now, but don't worry! Now we're going to add a fake championship for no good reason, throw in a guest referee to distract from the action and you can go ahead and loose the Chicago atmosphere – just put it in a Staples Center for now. Leave it to simmer for a bit less this time, about 26 minutes instead of 34. You can't really get this next part wrong, the ingredients... they are just too good, so don't worry if the commentary is awful. Just leave the CM Punk and John Cena to work and it'll be fine. Now for the finish, let's just chuck out all this uncertainty, controversy and promise of change – they're so July! We'll put in an obvious-yet-anti-climactic foot-on-the-ropes instead, it's just as good. Oh and don't forget! We need to be vogue, on the cutting edge! So of course - let's add some Kevin Nash - why not? If you're looking for a more Mexican flavour you can add some Alberto Del Rio, perfect for any upcoming Mexico tour you might have planned. And voila! There you have it – one SummerSlam main event! Bon appetite!”

Rating: 4 Stars

WWE SummerSlam 2011 Final Score: 3.5 Stars

To sum up SummerSlam is a difficult task. I need to distinguish between the dancers and the song they're all dancing to. From the point of view of the performance, the work between the ropes by the likes of CM Punk, Christian and Daniel Bryan, the show was fantastic, one of the best of the year so far and better than last year's event. There were no bad matches on the card, and even a couple of very good ones. However the booking, or in some cases the lack of it, is starting to really hold these guys back. It's not as bad as TNA yet, but the drop in quality over a matter of weeks is frankly scary.

People will praise the main event for a swerve they didn't see coming – but good storytelling is about much more than mere surprises. It surprised me last month when CM Punk won the title, but it was also a logical, real possibility and a fitting climax to the story so far. It was all done so well it created a buzz about wrestling both within the community and myself personally that I've not experienced in a very long time. To think how much of that potential has been lost in just under a month is heartbreaking! If this is building towards some kind of reformed Kliq - If this is leading to jobs in the WWE in 2011 for Scott Hall and/or Sean Waltman - I even might just stop watching Raw entirely. I'm not kidding. I hate Kevin Nash, but at least he can perform. Hall and Waltman were awful in their primes. Bringing them back is the kind of (Read: EXACTLY THE SAME) move TNA would make, something I thought the WWE was far above. Perhaps I need to let this story play out, and I'll eat my words by the end of the year. I hope so. I really hope so.