PPV is tonight and with only five matches announced, you figure some of them will be getting a lot of time (though an impromptu match being thrown together at some point seems kind of likely). My picks:

John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio: I'm betting on some kind of shenanigans here, probably involving Miz and R-Truth. Either way, I think Cena retains since I can't really see Punk or Del Rio leaving with the belt.

Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton: To me, this one is really tough to call. On the one hand, it seems too early to pull the plug on Henry's title run (there's something I never thought I'd type). On the other hand, does Randy Orton really job out at two PPVs in a row? I know I'll regret it later, but I'm going to say that Henry somehow retains.

Sheamus vs. Christian: Could go either way, but I think Sheamus wins.

Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara: I don't think this feud is going to end here, so I'll pick the evil Sin Cara to win.

Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix: Beth pretty much has to win here or else this feud is just completely ruined.

I said it in the Hell in a Cell prediction game thread, and I'll say it here-- Will the Sin Caras match be under blue/gold or black/silver lights?

Other than that... I pretty much see Cena winning again, though they still have that tour of Mexico coming right up, so I could see them maybe giving the belt right back to Del Rio for a little while.

And I completely see them screwing Beth yet again.

Cena has to retain. They panicked to get the title back on him because of the slumping ratings, I can't see them taking it off him so soon. Punk vs Del Rio is supposed to be a feud coming out of this. Cena moves on to ??? Probably Truth/Miz to set up his big heel turn at MSG.

Henry vs Orton - Henry will retain or will lose because Big Show and/or Kane make their return to break their way into the Cell. Sets up a Monster's Match at Survivor Series - Henry vs Show vs Kane vs Khali

Sheamus vs Christian - Christian needs to go over if they want to continue this feud. Each could be part of rival teams at SS.

Sin Cara vs Sin Cara - most interesting thing will be how the two work together. They don't like each other, and Hunico could be released with a bad showing, so does Mistico sandbag? And if Mistico does sandbag, folks in the back will know. nobody will care about this match - this feud hasn't caught on, and has been booked like shit. In the very least this should have been a three-way dance with Bryan involved.

Kelly vs Beth - couldn't care less.

This is too soon for another PPV - I suspect it will do shit buys. I didn't even know it was tonight. Should have just combined HIAC with Survivor Series to make a Survivor Series War Games concept Main Event.

[Edited on 10-2-2011 by C.MontgomeryPunk]

quote:

---

Originally posted by C.MontgomeryPunk

Sin Cara vs Sin Cara - most interesting thing will be how the two work together. They don't like each other, and Hunico could be released with a bad showing, so does Mistico sandbag? And if Mistico does sandbag, folks in the back will know. nobody will care about this match - this feud hasn't caught on, and has been booked like shit. In the very least this should have been a three-way dance with Bryan involved.

[Edited on 10-2-2011 by C.MontgomeryPunk]

---

I'll agree the sin cara feud has caught on, I'll also agree it has been booked like shit. If they had a couple more weeks we could have had a scenario whereby evil SC (instead of cutting the shitty quasi-promo he cut on smackdown) could have come out with an evil manager. Someone who, you know spoke english, had good heat and could explain the whole mistico name steal gripe. The introduction of said manager (let's say vicki guerrero because who else in modern wwe?) would allow a screw finish in match 1 and a proper feud to be built. I don't really see any of that happening though - SC1 (the shitty, good one) will win and that will end it. which sucks.

I think we may see a title change in the main event, maybe on to punk. Henry will see off orton and beth will beat kelly. I'm assuming Cody will get some sort of match on the PPV too.

quote:

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Originally posted by nilesanderson

From http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/news.html

"WE has been hitting strong sales of the Sin Cara mask they sell due to the new Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara feud."
-Thursday Sept 22, 2011

The feud has caught on.

---

Just saw on Twitter that WWE magazine are pushing if ADR wins he'll have won Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, Hell in the Cell & 2 WWE titles.
With the Best Year Ever tag.
Why are they waiting until 3 hours before the event to push this kind of idea?

quote:

---

Originally posted by diablo_dor
Just saw on Twitter that WWE magazine are pushing if ADR wins he'll have won Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank, Hell in the Cell & 2 WWE titles.
With the Best Year Ever tag.
Why are they waiting until 3 hours before the event to push this kind of idea?

---

Yep.

I'd say he was nearly over huge on Smackdown & leaving him there to have Orton & Christian Chase would have been the sensible play, but instead he wasted the summer & now they wonder why no one takes him seriously?

Will it become the new version of the "beat Austin & Rock in one night" that foes nothing for the wrestler at all?

Wow, so we're back to the short-card PPV's again where they tell us they are giving us "bonus" matches instead of well thought out angles and feuds that should culminate at a PPV instead of just kinda being there.... I'm hoping this is a side effect of poorly planning a 2 week gap between shows instead of a return to that sub par format.

With that...

Cena vs ADR vs Punk - HITC - WWE Title
I think Punk is the odd one out in this scenario, and with his various ongoing problems with both Nash and Laurenaitis I think you have an easy out in terms of them somehow gaining access to the cage (Nash under the ring?) and costing a moments from victory Punk. I think for simplicities sake you can throw Cena into that mix as well, as he might as well eat a big boot so that ADR can get the cheap cover. Alternatively, and my preference would be to have Truth and Miz make the run in (how do you run in on a structure who's whole point is no run ins....?)

I'm sure to be in the minority, but outside of a few misteps I've largely enjoyed the HHH vs Punk stuff as its kept a lot of questions still up in the air. I think HHH going over Punk made the most sense at NOC, but at the same time I do think its time for HHH to move slightly to the background for a couple of weeks in order to help let his possible heel involvement at some level (or alternatively him staying a fresh face) maintain the storyline until a WM culmination, where at THAT point Punk should go over clean. In the interim you have him finish his business with Nash.

So I'm thinking ADR gets the cheap win, goes on to tag with Truth and Miz (and maybe Nash) at Survivor series leaving Cena and Punk to team up with special guest star the Rock. That gives us a brief interlude where Cena and ADR can feud over the belt before Rock comes back for more of a full time schedule.

If Cena does go heel at any point, I wouldn't have it happen until the Rock was back full time, and not full blown heel until the WM match, that way Cena can go over as the unbeatable heel that you build someone against instead of just another heel... although honestly, I don't think you ever really need to turn Cena as he's already both the biggest face and the biggest heel in the biz.

My Vote: ADR via 3rd party run in.

RKO vs Henry - HITC - World title
I don't think Orton really needs the title, and quite frankly I think if he takes it you're doing a big diservice on many levels... ie, the excellent work of Mark Henry of late becomes a fluke win as opposed to him proving years of critics wrong. A face champ also hinders the rise of the face Sheamus. Rhodes has got some legit reasons to want to screw with Orton and could use that top level feud to push him to the next level... so Maybe Rhodes interferes to help Orton save some face (although i don't think he needs it) and sets up a bigger feud between them. Mark Henry can then go on to face Sheamus who could end the monsters career, do a quick feud against Christian (so I'd think about Christian winning tonight...) to solidify him, and then move on to whatever your Wrestlemania co-main event is going to be with either Sheamus or Orton as champ. (personally I'd go with a Sheamus vs Barrett match with Daniel Bryan inserted into the mix as a triple threat)

My Vote; Mark Henry

Sheamus vs Christian
As mentioned above for long term plans I like the idea of Christian going over so that he has something to really gripe about when Sheamus eventually wins the title, which would also help keep him as a credible contender. So let Christian cheat to win tonight, then have Sheamus win some kind of Battle Royale or something for the #1 contendership between now and survivor series.

My Vote: Christian

Beth vs Kelly - Women's title
The WWE seems bent on trying to make KK a legit wrestling champ, and for that I applaude them for it, but the problem is that they are doing it at the expense of any and all that would be worth building her up against... I thin mission accomplished on KK as I think she's had some entertaining matches the last while, but nows the time for Beth to go over and then dominate until WM. With how Kong left, when she ultimately returns I'm thinking she's a face, so Beth would make for the best heel, but even if she only did the bare minimum 9 months from May/June, that's a long way off, so I don't see that one falling into any plans.

My Vote: Beth Phoenix

Sin Cara vs Sin Cara - Will the real Sin Cara please stand up?
So the cheap answer here would be to secure my vote by saying Sin Cara will win and leave it at that... I think the WWE has a real problem with Sin Cara in that he's not really clicking with anyone in the ring, and probably only tearing up the merch sales because of the whole masked wrestler thing. They also don't really have anyone else they could throw him up against outside of perhaps Wade Barrett for a one and done type feud after throwing him into a survivor series match....

So here's my guess; I've got too many heels going over so I've got to be wrong on one of the other matches, but I think this is the one feel good one where you give to the kids watching - so Good Sin Cara wins. In saying that, I doubt these two are completely done as sticking them on opposite survivor series teams is an easy way to keep things going in a harmless water treading fashion. I like the idea of a heel who wears a mask, but I think sometime in the near future you do a mask vs mask match where upon Hunico goes bye-bye sans mask.

My Vote: The good Sin Cara

Other stuff
I think they probably throw Ziggler and Swagger together in a tag match against Air Boom. Both pairs have been getting a lot of TV time and story time to be completely left off a PPV so this seems like an easy way to give Air Boom another notch on the belts, and to further the tension between Vickie's talent.

I don't like my thoughts about run-ins in both the main events, so I'm thinking we need another reason for Rhodes to be on the show, so maybe a final quick squash of Dibiase, who I still believe could be a bigger star, but who could use bit of time off and a character reset.

Otherwise you've got Riley, Barrett, Bryan, Morrison, and a few other stragglers without anything to do at all, so maybe you do some kind of cross brand Lumber Jack match to get a bunch of people onto the show in a cheap and easy way?

John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio: Cena, pinning ADR but only after Punk does all the work, only for another Nash/Awesome Truth type intereference to cost him the win. I don't get why this being the first ever triple threat HIAC is meant to get me excited when over ten years ago, they had a 6 Man version, in the era where they actually went outside the cage and up top and threw each other off of it. No matter how good it is as a match, it's not going to have anywhere near the spectacle HIAC matches used to have.

Orton vs. Henry: Against my better judgment, Henry.

Sheamus vs. Christian: Christian.

Sin Cara vs. Twin Cara: Sin Cara, but Twin Cara will continue the feud.

Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix: Beth, but probably only with cheating, rendering it totally meaningless.

[Edited on 2-10-11 by Stu]

dark match: D Bryan over JTG via Lebelle lock. lots of empty seats on hard camera side.

Looks pretty full now. Would post a link for it, but not sure if it'd get Rick in trouble or not?

So far:

* Miz and Truth bought ringside tickets, but got kicked out by Johnny Funkhauser
* Sheamus pinned Christian after a very good 15 minute match


And if you want to post links to streams, I think I can escape prosecution. Just don't embed them here. Better yet, post a link to the site that postes links to the streams. I've grown fond of my2p2forum.eu for my obscure (A-10) college hoops needs, but they had sections for pretty much all sports...


Rick

Rick, don't know how lomg its been since you checked it but myp2p has pretty much vanished now - now it's www.freefootball.eu - slect live streams - all sports at the top, then 'all other sports' again to the right of the tennis ball. WWE Hell in a Cell is second in the list.

Two more results:

* Sin Cara #1/Blue pinned Sin Cara #2/Black (some "boring" chants, but definitely the fault of the booking, not the in-ring effort)
* Air Boom beat Swagger/Ziggler in a very good (and well-received) match; Swagger took the pinfall and got yelled at afterwards by Vickie


And I didn't know myp2p was gone. That sucks; should I assume it got shut down around the same time as channelsurfing and ATDHE? I last used it in March, since "off-brand" college hoops is really the only thing that gets televised, but not always on channels that I can get on my cable. I'll make a note of the replacement.

Up next is Henry/Orton. In other words: I have a sudden urge to urinate and fix a snack.


Rick

Henry counters the punt with a power slam and wins.

Lamest HitC match ever, honestly. Really punchy-kicky, not many spots. Glad Henry retained though

After math, Henry tried to use the chair to break Randy's ankle, Randy rolls out of the way and beats Henry with it while Henry escapes up the ramp. Better than actual match.

Cody is forced to fight Morrison in a suit...because HHH is a dick, I guess. Cody also presented the classic IC title belt as a replacement. Neato.

Cody retains via roll up.

Awesome Truth fucks up the locker room and beats up a few guys, Air Boom included.

[Edited on 10-3-2011 by TonyTH]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TonyTH
Henry counters the punt with a power slam and wins.
[Edited on 10-3-2011 by TonyTH]

---

Latest two segments:

* Cody Rhodes came out to implement Phase 2 of his IC Title Relegitimatization: he put the current belt in a paper bag, and then introduced the old classic IC Title (except mounted on white, Warrior-style) as the replacement, of which I approve... as part of his boasting, he issued an "anytime, anywhere" title defense policy...
* Cody Rhodes (in street clothes) pinned Johnny Morrison in a match ordered by some combination of Johnny Ace/HHH; decent action, but the crowd was dead, as tends to be the case for anything involving Cody

Next: diva action~! Why can't my bladder be full again?


Rick

BOUT FUCKING TIME!

*Beth is the new WWE Diva's champion.

RE: Watch for free ...

I'm watching the PPV right now on a site that offers streams from other sites, so I think I'm okay saying that you can watch for free on firstrowsports.tv

Also, when you use the internet to get stuff for free, it will sometimes switch to the Spanish language feed without warning.

So the HITC match still hasn't ended the Orton/Henry feud? Awesome.

Why not give Beth the win 2 months ago? Are they trying to legitimize Kelly?

Final result:

* Alberto del Rio wins the WWE Title. Very time-compressed (an 18-minute match that they tried to present as 30+), but very, very cleverly booked so that the various powder-outs (to turn the 3-way into 1-on-1) seemed like cool bits of cherry-pickery, rather than obvious narrative crutches... end booking was equally clever, as Alberto and Ricardo managed to open the Cell, lure Cena out of the Cell, and then lock the Cell so that Cena had to stand by and watch del Rio cheat to score the pin over Punk (thanks to a steel pipe).
* After the match, Miz and Truth (in hoodies) snuck into the ring the second the Cell started to rise, and then laid waste to all three men for several minutes; the lockerroom (and HHH) tried to make a save, but the Cell mysterious re-lowered... as soon as bolt cutters were produced, cops got in the ring, and Miz/Truth immediately got on their knees and let themselves get arrested, rather than face the mob justice outside... HHH (in super angry mode), attacked Miz/Truth while they were being led away in cuffs, and got arrested himself....

Not a bad show at all. The women's match got kind of botchy at the end, and Henry/Orton was blandtastic (but had the best possible finish, with Orton pitching a hissyfit after Henry kicked out of the HangmanDDT/RKO combo, wasting the time needed for him to get pasted by Henry countering the bootie-kick into a slam), but otherwise, you can't complain about the effort...

Unless you want to complain about the fact that (even with 2 impromptu matches and a post-main event angle) the show was 20+ minutes light....


Rick

Why did Cena get the belt two weeks ago only to lose it now? Because somebody loved the idea to this finish of the champ getting locked outside of the ring?

Cena will beat Flair's title reign record by this time next year the way the wwe passes around the title these days.

I'm not upset that I didn't invest 2 and a half hours to this show, but I am really intrigued by the Miz/Truth story and with Monday Night Football putting a pretty shitty (on paper) game on tomorrow, I may actually make watching Raw a priority

quote:

---

Originally posted by C.MontgomeryPunk
Why did Cena get the belt two weeks ago only to lose it now? Because somebody loved the idea to this finish of the champ getting locked outside of the ring?

---

Show ended a bit early, didn't it?

So...as far as the ME went. I liked Cena getting locked out and Miz and Truth coming out and all. But I am sooo sick of Del Rio in this angle. I dont HATE the guy, but he's boring as fuck. And I know it will lead to more Cena yelling mode after the fact.

Didn't like HHH beating up Miz and Truth. Come on, he still can't let anyone else go over? The hell was the point of that at all?

It was okay, but Del Rio just adds so much "I don't give a fuck" to the angle. '

Liked the other matches for the most part. Henry retaining was nice, but that match didnt even NEED the cell. Beth winning was great. I think HHH making Cody fighting in a suit was pretty lame. There's being mean to heels, then there is just not being fair.

Thank God Beth won though.

[Edited on 10-3-2011 by TonyTH]

Beth winning in Buffalo a few weeks ago would have been a big pop and made the Diva's title look like it's worth something. Instead she jobs a couple of times and goes over now and nobody gives a shit.

This show reminded me of the TNA ppvs from a couple years ago, where they delivered on ppv but not on the shows leading up to it.

Christian/Sheamus was a good opener. Sheamus has progressed a lot the past couple of years, and he's been on a nice run as a face. I think he's going to fight Henry at the next ppv in a couple weeks.

Sin Cara v. Evil Sin Cara wasn't that bad. Evil Sin Cara kind of whiffed on a couple of spots. There was the one dude near the camera who kept yelling boring when there weren't any boring parts happening. That was annoying. They should have gone with the black outfit Sin Cara sooner. It felt rushed.

The tag title match was fun. Air Boom have some nice double team moves.

Henry kicking out of the RKO and beating Orton clean again was a huge surprise. They can't let them fight again after Orton lost his rematch clean. Like I said earlier, I think you go Sheamus next. Then a tag at Survivor Series, and Orton gets his revenge at TLC.

The IC title match was good. Cody bringing back the old IC title was fucking awesome. Nice to see Morrison not get squashed. He's like a name jobber now though.

The HiaC match was pretty good. Like many of you, I don't know why Del Rio didn't retain a couple weeks ago. He could have outsmarted Cena and won with a fluke roll up. That way, when he outsmarted him again by locking him out of the cage, he would be up 2-0 and you would (hypothetically) want to see Cena get him 1-1 in a match with no bullshit. Instead, they are 1-1 and Del Rio looks like a bitch.

The stuff with the Miz and Truth was cool. I guess Johnny Ace is getting fired tomorrow, since HHH said if they attacked again, he was gone. It should be interesting at least.

Austin and Rock have just been beaten in a HIAC match by Chavo Guerrero and apparently it's "okay" and "nothing to get angsty about".

I'm not angsty about any WWE product any more because I don't watch it at all. I do keep checking here in the hope that they will somehow realise their fuckup and build a proper Punk/Cena feud but apparently not.

Honest question, do any of you actually WANT to watch this show any more? Are you, as a whole, entertained and enjoying the product?
As far as I can see, people tend to watch it out of habit or routine rather than enjoyment and excitement.

Maybe I'm wrong and some really like this version of the product and more power to you. However, as a very long term WWE fan and one who regularly buys PPVs rather than streaming them, I reached the end of my tether when they fucked up the Punk story. Now, I'm not an indie guy, I didn't know Punk from Adam when he came in and I still don't particularly care about him. My big concern is that the WWE somehow stumbled upon lightning in a bottle with Cena and Punk and instead of giving us a well built, long term feud, they blew it as soon as possible because they wanted to "strike whilst the iron was hot".

This answer is the very reason why I stopped watching. A corporate culture that decides to "strike when the iron is hot" in a wrestling storyline has forgotten what wrestling is. The entire point is to build anticipation for events as grand as possible. Instead of having the next generation of the Austin/Rock feud that would have elevated two guys into the mainstream, they impatiently blew their load, like a virgin on a first date.

Will they do Cena/Punk in the future? Probably. But this is the difference between seeing Britney in Playboy at 19 and Britney in Playboy at 45. They missed their chance and now only a very small amount of people will care.

I don't watch wrestling because I like workrate. I couldn't (even after 15+ years of watching WWE) tell you why Savage/Steamboat was a "good match" and I preferred Hogan/Andre. I'm in this for the characters and the storylines rather than the pretend violence and athletic excellence.
My problem, is that I have lost all faith in the WWE to create characters that I care about and much more seriously, I've lost faith that they can provide a payoff to an angle that is somewhat final and decisive.

As there is no arcs, there is no reason for me to watch. And also, the rumours of the Rick financially benefiting from giving the WWE positive reviews and not ripping in to them has made me look at his posts in a different manner.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Devineman
And also, the rumours of the Rick financially benefiting from giving the WWE positive reviews and not ripping in to them has made me look at his posts in a different manner.

---

I didn't have a huge problem with HHH getting involved at the end
Hey, unlike other "authority figures", he's a "former" wrestler who wants to demand the respect. He's being frustrated and responds the only way he knows how. Violently.

Didn't get to watch very intently last night, so its more of general sense of the action that I can really talk about. Just from the sense of the matches, it seemed like most of them were good, but I don't feel comfortable commenting on their quality without seeing it again, so I'll just comment on results and stuff.

Sheamus going over Christian was the right move and definitely has to put him in line to be the next contender against Henry. Only problem is what would go on later in the night, which I think through off the next two feuds we all had in our heads.

Cara v. Cara...unsure of what really the right move for this was. I have to assume the Black Cara (can...can I say that?) is sticking around for a while, so they'll have time to build a better story around these two. I'm assuming that's why people said the crowd was dead for them (had the PPV on mute). I'm really hoping for some more Caras...maybe get Trent Barreta under a mask as the Green Cara. Then when his contract is up, maybe Samoa Joe as the Red Cara...the possibilities are endless....ok...its possible I'm just hoping for this...



You know you want A.J. as the Pink Cara......ok, I'm done.


Think beating Ziggler and Swagger did well for Air Boom. This and the main event were the only matches I really got to pay attention to and I really liked it. Probably for being stuck in the midcard forever and having like 34208093 singles matches against each other prepared them well. I guess we're moving towards a face Swagger (which we don't need with Ryder and Mason Ryan sitting around waiting to feud with Ziggler). Ziggler/Swagger could be very good if they give them time to talk...which I think they will considering how much tv time they have been giving Ziggler lately.

Thought Orton/Henry was about as good as they can do. I loved the spot where Henry just took Orton and slammed him twice against the cage and then against the post. Setting up spots like that really make Henry look good. What do they always say about Heyman? He knew how to take people with flaws and highlight their strengths? WWE has done that really well throughout this Henry push. The ending helped make Smackdown work better. Many were annoyed they gave away the RKO on the show, but I'm assuming, as I did, most didn't think Henry would get hit with one AND kick out of it in the match. Countering the punt with the WSS was a fun ending.

After that, eh. I'm not happy if they're continuing this feud. They need to take chances, especially with the B Brand, with new guys getting the top spot on PPVs. They're set up really well for Orton to have a very believeable feud with Cody Rhodes that would do wonders for both Rhodes and Sheamus...allowing him to main event against Henry. Now, I'm not so sure and think we're just gonna wind up with a 3-way and Rhodes left out.

More making that seem obvious was Rhodes' promo declaring to defend the IC belt and make it special again. I can't imagine part of that plan is to have him feud with Orton (ugh, I'm so disappointed just typing it that we're not getting that next). If they're not moving the belt off of him at this point, I'd expect another feud with DiBiase or a losing effort for Daniel Bryan coming up next. As for Morrison...he's basically a jobber at this point with a few flashy moves. Amazing he's fallen so far. Hopefully one step closer to my McIntyre/Morrison whipped tag team idea.

Love the change to the new IC belt by the way. Here's a pic if no one's seen it yet:



Very much like the early 90's Warrior one, except with the new WWE logo everywhere and a bit smaller. Definitely a positive move. While the IC belt hasn't really changed in a bunch of years, I never really liked the move away from the old belt.

Beth winning the belt? Eh. Someone was upset because if she won it in Buffalo it would have meant more. The belt and division mean nothing. Buffalo would have popped, but the next day, who cares, you're in the same spot now. Until there's actually a division where it doesn't go wrestler to diva to wrestler to diva and back and so on with the belt, it'll never matter if its on Beth or Kelly or anyone else (though Layla returning soon may make it a bit more interesting at least).

Triple Threat? Really liked it. Not sure why there was a need to give Cena the belt last month if they were going to do this (of course, that assumes they had a plan before yesterday) Match wasn't so much a HitC match as just a match where the 3 of them work well together and had good spots planned. I'm fine with ADR winning and the way he won left Punk looking strong enough...so that's good.

And obviously, the most important part is the end with Miz and Truth. Have to say, as much as I loved it...I was expecting that the wrestlers would clear them out at the end, leading to us finding out a new member of their "conspiracy" and that person laying out Punk/Cena/ADR more. Of course, the PPV ended ridiculously ending 25 minutes early...so maybe that's why I thought more was coming. It does leave things in an interesting manner to see what happens tonight. Another question to ask: if HHH was actually getting arrested (didn't seem so, but Cole said so), would that affect him as COO? Him getting suspended for a week or two may allow a program where "anything could happen" without law. That could be quite interesting...but I guess we'll see.

Overall, not a great PPV, but one that was pretty good with nothing appalling. Can't end at 10:30-10:35 though...that's embarassing.

Pretty good show last night! Best match I thought was Air Boom vs. Swagger and Ziggler. Honourable mention goes to Cena vs. Del Rio v Ziggler and Sheamus vs. Christian. It was a very good night in terms of in-ring!

Nice to see the old-school Intercontinental title back! It's nice to see them give a nod to history...it's cool to see a current wrestler wear the exact same belt that great wrestlers of the past like Steamboat, Savage, Hart, Austin and Mr. Perfect wore. Two thumbs up for that!!

I thought it was odd that Ross didn't mention Davey Boy Smith when Mark Henry hit the Running Power Slam on Orton...the Bulldog popularized the move!! Very strange...

The end was a a very good visual with the Miz and R-Truth creating quite the scene at the end. Should be interesting to see what happens next! I won't be watching, but still...it should be interesting!!

Didn't watch but is there any good reason why the tag match wasn't announced as a match prior to the show?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Devineman
Austin and Rock have just been beaten in a HIAC match by Chavo Guerrero and apparently it's "okay" and "nothing to get angsty about".

And also, the rumours of the Rick financially benefiting from giving the WWE positive reviews and not ripping in to them has made me look at his posts in a different manner.

---

Whether you like him or not, the build up of Mark Henry over these last few months as this unstoppable force, has been well executed. Winning clean against Orton twice, goes far in establishing that fact.

Everything Devineman said was spot-on and EXACTLY why I refuse to watch this shit anymore.

ADR winning tonight and Christian once again losing is just more proof that WEE is stuck in heads-up-their-ass mode and this time, there's no WCW-style impetus to change that.

Yes, Christian should win EVERY match EVER.

Seriously?

No, but he should be a relevant main event player instead of portrayed as a coward, whipping boy, and perennial loser who sucks lets point and laugh at the loser who can't win I'M VINCE MCMAHON DAMMIT.

quote:

---

Originally posted by williamssl
Didn't watch but is there any good reason why the tag match wasn't announced as a match prior to the show?

---

Chavo Guerrero won the Royal Rumble, headlined Wrestlemania, won MITB, captured the World Championship twice and won a HIAC?

I like Rhodes bringing back the white IC belt and paying homage to the former title holders, but he needs some fresh competition for the title. Ted Dibiase is not over and hurts both when they fight/feud - Rhodes has moved on from his Legacy days, grown leaps and bounds and bringing up his lackey days doesn't help anyone. If I was booking, with Otunga going lawyer mode and potentially bringing together a faction, it leaves McGillacuddy out of the picture. Reveal him as Joe Hennig and have him team with Dibiase or the next year plus - move them to Raw to get them away from Orton and Rhodes.

I don't think there is one character the wwe is currently booking properly (outside of Henry, but he has years of jobber stank on him) or one angle I'm really invested in. They completely blew the white hot Punk storyline, dare I say worse than the Invasion Angle, because Punk was wwe home grown. Dan Bryan is getting jobbed out and wrestling PPV dark matches. Wade Barrett was a top guy not a year ago and is an afterthought without an angle or reason to care about him. Kofi Kingston needed a heel turn character reboot not thrown into a nothing tag team - he was near the cusp of being a top guy, now he's a nothing. Alex Riley gets a push for some reason only God knows why - he bombs like anybody could have predicted and that push is dead and the time burned to build him is wasted. Drew McIntyre can't even get on television. The whole Mahal/Khali storyline appealed only to the person writing it and buried all involved. The Sisters of Destruction align and declare their dominance only to be jobbed out to Kelly Kelly over and over and over again.

HHH and John Laryngitis are the two characters getting the biggest pushes. Nash was right up there as well. Punk vs Cena could have been a huge feud minting both wrestlers and it was thrown away from some convoluted soap opera storyline with mysteries and conspiracy theories that is all leading to Vince McMahon coming back AGAIN.

quote:

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Originally posted by Qonas
No, but he should be a relevant main event player instead of portrayed as a coward, whipping boy, and perennial loser who sucks lets point and laugh at the loser who can't win I'M VINCE MCMAHON DAMMIT.

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WHUT DA HALE?

[Edited on 10-3-2011 by JB KING]

[Edited on 10-3-2011 by JB KING]

Cute ending to the main event, though I'm still shocked how Punk went from must-see to third wheel over the course of the summer. Granted, he still brings it on the mic, but I can't bring myself to care about the guy anymore. And it's weird how Awesome Truth ended up stealing his gimmick...and might end up doing it better. How long has it been since a cameraman was attacked? Reminds me of nWo '96 just a little...and that's a good thing.

I, too, predict HHH's loss of control will lead to his loss of COO status. I'm not so pessimistic to see Vince take the helm back yet.

Henry retaining over Orton? I never liked Orton, so I approve.

I'll have to catch replays for the rest, but for the most part I just didn't really care about this PPV.

How long has it been since a cameraman was attacked?


HBK attacked a cameraman in the 1st HITC vs Taker. Perhaps a homage?

quote:

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Originally posted by Frank Lloyd Wright
Whether you like him or not, the build up of Mark Henry over these last few months as this unstoppable force, has been well executed. Winning clean against Orton twice, goes far in establishing that fact.

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I feel like playing Street Fighter 2 for some reason...mirror match!


Cant bust the door but i can bust a nut?


Photoshop here I come...

quote:

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Originally posted by DevinemanAnd also, the rumours of the Rick financially benefiting from giving the WWE positive reviews and not ripping in to them has made me look at his posts in a different manner.

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quote:

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Originally posted by OORick

quote:

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Originally posted by DevinemanAnd also, the rumours of the Rick financially benefiting from giving the WWE positive reviews and not ripping in to them has made me look at his posts in a different manner.

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I assume by "different manner," you mean to say "ignoring the words I actually write, and imagining entirely different ones." Some people seem to really enjoy doing that.

And this can't be a real thing, can it? These "rumors," I mean? If so, I'd honestly have a hard time deciding who is more heroically stupid: the idiots who created the rumors, or the idiots who actually believe they might be true.

Then again, Fox News not only exists, but has viewers. So perhaps there is precedent for this particular brand of stupidity-being-consumed-by-the-stupid....


Rick

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Not sure if it's been mentioned but I thought Beth should have dumped the Divas title on K2's carcass then come out tonight with the women's title.

Also was expecting Cody to mention big bro in his IC promo.

All in all a decent show though Cena losing just means he's winning again in the next few months as the Dwayne feud gathers pace.

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Is Good517

quote:

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Originally posted by OORick

quote:

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Originally posted by DevinemanAnd also, the rumours of the Rick financially benefiting from giving the WWE positive reviews and not ripping in to them has made me look at his posts in a different manner.

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I assume by "different manner," you mean to say "ignoring the words I actually write, and imagining entirely different ones." Some people seem to really enjoy doing that.

And this can't be a real thing, can it? These "rumors," I mean? If so, I'd honestly have a hard time deciding who is more heroically stupid: the idiots who created the rumors, or the idiots who actually believe they might be true.

Then again, Fox News not only exists, but has viewers. So perhaps there is precedent for this particular brand of stupidity-being-consumed-by-the-stupid....


Rick

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Yeah? AND HOW MUCH DID VINCE PAY YOU TO SAY THAT, Scaia?

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You can accuse me of being Vince McMahon's secret internet propagandist, JBKing, but you WILL NOT accuse me of enjoying low-quality knock-off Mexican hot pockets or anything that originates in vile St. Louis, MO.

Take it back. Take it back, now.


Rick

Few live notes:

Crowd filled in most of lower bowl, still some empty seats around the hard camera but not nearly as many as when I posted that earlier note. Upper level was completely tarped off on hard camera side, and was maybe half full on the opposite side.

Many of the people around me (including myself) thought Ryder would be the surprise IC Title challenger, but still a nice pop for Morrison nonetheless.

Cult of Personality as Punk's theme is awesome on its own, but hearing it blaring through the arena live is ten times more awesome.

The main event finish kinda felt like it came prematurely. When Cena got locked out, and it was only like 9:25 or so, we were certain he would get back in somehow. And we noticed the holes (climbing holes?) on the section of the Cell right next to the door, and figured when Cena couldn't break the door open, he'd climb up and come in through the roof. Then just 2 min or whatever later, a pipe shot and a pin.

The closing angle was awesome. Really felt chaotic, and the sight of all 20 or however many wrestlers were out there all shaking the cage trying to rip the walls open was kinda cool.

And most importantly: After waiting in line behind what felt like a dozen parents who all seemed to buy the Cena shirt, hat AND wristbands for their kid, I got my headband!


It even came with an autographed photo of ZR.

quote:

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Originally posted by OORick
You can accuse me of being Vince McMahon's secret internet propagandist, JBKing, but you WILL NOT accuse me of enjoying low-quality knock-off Mexican hot pockets or anything that originates in vile St. Louis, MO.

Take it back. Take it back, now.


Rick

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How does anyone think Miz/Truth were made to look bad by getting beaten while they were handcuffed?

And Miz took a nasty shot because he bounced into a "cop" with his hands behind his back.

As Rick so often says, the Main Event is often the ultimate arbiter of how good a pay-per-view is. That said, I'm loving it the "24"-style booking with complete and total chaos and not knowing where things are going or where the next thing is coming.

Here's what I think WWE has finally realized. They've acknowledged, at least internally (thanks mostly to CM Punk's recent tirade), that they've lost a lot of fans the last few years and in order to get them back they're trying something completely different. Yes, they're using their Free TV Shows to set up their Pay-Per-Views, but now they're using the PPV's to set up the freebies, too, and it's worked out fantastically. They've hit two straight triples with tonight's chaos and the Nash/Punk/HHH/Ace insanity from Night of Champions. You've left a couple big supercards wondering what the hell is going to happen next. What this does is get those fans who have stuck it out through the miasma of crap the last few years talking about it and maybe discussing it with some of their old buddies who don't watch any more. It's not something they're going to be able to rectify overnight, since they did such a spectacular job burning the house down, but they're slowly building it back up.

Alberto winning the title the way he won it was very befitting of his El Patron (The Master) Evil Genius character. The Awesome Truth shenanigans were Truly Awesome and HHH, if you'll pardon the pun, is still having a hard time figuring out when to use a flyswatter and when to use a sledgehammer. It's an interesting parallel how ADR's figuring out how to be a champion faster than HHH is learning to be a COO. But still, the main event and the post-match chaos will be all the talk heading into RAW.

Miz & R-Truth have inserted themselves back into the Main Event picture and set themselves up for inclusion (I know it's a ways off still) in the Elimination Chamber. The Divas match was eminently watchable as storytelling helped make up for the occasional technical glitches. Seeing Beth bust out the same Crossbow Natalya did last week was kinda cool, too. Cody Rhodes got a huge pop for busting out the old I-C strap. The tag title retention and Sheamus victories were well-received. Henry/Orton wasn't a classic, but the right man won (read as, NOT ORTON) and a reasonable story was told. Cara/Cara could've been better, but that was more booking's fault than wrestler's fault... just not enough buildup to care. But you figure a few singles, one or two flyouts, and a triple to close the night... that's a solid PPV.

Now, if by next Wrestlemania they can get the rest of the card as hot as the main event picture is, then this is going to be seriously awesome. It wasn't 5-star-worthy, but definitely thumbs-up-able. And I can't wait to watch RAW. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?

P.S. Oh, 100 posts... and I am awesome. Cool.

[Edited on 10-4-2011 by Dominator]

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Is Good517
Yes, Christian should win EVERY match EVER.

Seriously?

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quote:

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Originally posted by S Kid J E T S 48

Beth winning the belt? Eh. Someone was upset because if she won it in Buffalo it would have meant more. The belt and division mean nothing. Buffalo would have popped, but the next day, who cares, you're in the same spot now. Until there's actually a division where it doesn't go wrestler to diva to wrestler to diva and back and so on with the belt, it'll never matter if its on Beth or Kelly or anyone else (though Layla returning soon may make it a bit more interesting at least).

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I can't believe Beth still needed to cheat to win. Kelly Kelly is like the Orton/Cena of the diva division.

Nicer boobs though.



EDIT: Meaning KK having the nicer boobs...

[Edited on 10-6-2011 by williamssl]

I wish I'd had this gif a week ago: