Smark Out Moment

What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.

Watch each part of EPISODE 1 below:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

• Maryse was released. Sad, sad day.
• The theme for this week's Raw must have been "if it's the ending to something, it needs to be botched". Nash's attack on HHH ended bad (lame shot to the head and people saying that once they put him on the gurney, they needed to put him on the gurney), the Brogue Kick was botched, the GTS was botched, Waste Land was botched, and then Cena hocks up a wad of spit with the announcement of the Rock at the end of the show - an announcement that they've been making for weeks, at that.
• Speaking of flubs, how many technical difficulties did they have on Raw? "Reset! Reset!", the cameras going haywire...yeesh. Sounds like a case of the Mondays. Oh well, we all have our bad days at the office.
• Alicia Fox has a new theme. It sucks.
• The Headbangers, Mosh and Thrasher, have been calling out tag teams from other promotions the past few days, trying to set up angles. I can't see it working, sorry.
• Former women's champion Alundra Blayze spoke ill of Eve Torres, saying she should stick to modeling. Eve fired back saying she's going nowhere. For what it's worth, I've grown to like Eve, and I was never a fan of the women's wrestling back during the Blayze era as it seemed to be on par with when they brought the midgets in like Max Mini - a sideshow. That's not to say that the women's division NOW is anything really to be proud of, but I think it's a step up from those days.
• Supposedly Vince McMahon flipped out about the "spike" part in Zack Ryder's catch phrase "take care, spike your hair" because he felt it would associate fans with Spike TV and thus, TNA. Wow.

This week I have a special treat for everyone: the first edition of the SMACK TALK audio version. I'm hoping this will be a weekly thing, so make sure to check out the videos on the YouTube channel!

World Wrestling Entertainment has future endeavor'ed MARYSE today.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Pourquoi? I have no idea. No details seem to be coming out as of yet, but of course, I'll update this once I learn more. The only thing that makes sense to me is if they found out that her recent injury was worse than previously thought. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it were some sort of move to separate her and The Miz, whom she's dating, as WWE loves to break couples up (Melina/Morrison for example), but with everything just being speculation, there's no firm ground to stand on with that.

My reaction to this release? I'm not a fan of it, for multiple reasons. First off...well, the most obvious is because she's super hot. Second, I thought that she was one of the most - if not THE most - over divas that they had. She struggled on the mic and wasn't the best of the best in the ring, but she did her job better than half the divas they still have and was extremely popular in the process. When Maryse gets fired but they still have a job for Tamina, I don't know what to think.

Goodbye Maryse. I will miss those....I mean that...I mean, you.

One of my favorite pay-per-views and usually one of the most important of the year, SURVIVOR SERIES, is coming up. Who will survive and who will...well, simply be beaten in a match and still be alive afterward?



John Cena & The Rock vs. The Miz & R-Truth
I'm disappointed that they didn't have a 5-on-5 match that involved these 4 people instead, and I'm really hoping that this doesn't just turn into a squash match. I can only see two outcomes of this match happening. In the first, Miz and Truth win because Rock and Cena get into an argument with each other and that leads to their downfall. In the second, Rock and Cena just destroy Miz and Truth (outside of a small window in the match where they're beaten down and then randomly forget about it like Cena does), and the match ends with Rock and Cena beating them, but then fighting each other - or maybe just one of them gets their finisher on the other guy (probably Rock doing it to Cena).

PREDICTION: Cena and Rock win.


WWE Championship: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. CM Punk
The big question here is whether Punk wins now and retains at TLC or Del Rio cheats and retains here, then drops it to Punk at TLC. I do expect Del Rio to not have the WWE title going into the Royal Rumble, and I'm really thinking that if Miz doesn't win the Royal Rumble, Punk (if he's not champ of course) is a possibility instead. This match could be good, but I have the sneaking suspicion that if I have high hopes for it, I'll be let down. I can't put my finger on it, but it just feels as though these two guys won't have as good chemistry working together as they potentially should. Hopefully I'm wrong.

PREDICTION: CM Punk wins the title, maybe with the Anaconda Vice.


World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry (c) vs. Big Show
This is a tough call. In a way, I can see Big Show winning here and then retaining against Henry at TLC in a chairs/tables match. At the same time, I can't picture Big Show holding the title at all when Henry's doing such a good job and we're so close to the Royal Rumble. I don't expect Big Show to hold the title going into WrestleMania, nor do I really expect Mark Henry to either, so I'm inclined to believe that Mark Henry will retain here, then drop it at TLC to Randy Orton.

PREDICTION: Mark Henry retains.


Elimination Match: Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Mason Ryan, Kofi Kingston, & Sin Cara) vs. Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, & Hunico)
I'm surprised at the grouping here. I never expected Sin Cara and Hunico to be considered on the list over some other people (such as Daniel Bryan), nor did I expect them to break up Ziggler and Swagger, nor did I expect them to call this "Team Barrett"...nor did I expect Evan Bourne's suspension, but clearly I was wrong about those aspects. I wholeheartedly expect Team Orton to win here, with only Orton and Sheamus remaining. My guess is the eliminations go with Hunico being eliminated first, and the finals being Orton pinning Barrett. I could see Orton being the sole-survivor with Barrett pinning Sheamus and then starting a feud between those two, and I hope that they don't just have Orton and Sheamus steamrolling through the other team after Ryan, Kingston, and Sin Cara are eliminated. This elimination match shouldn't be about how Orton and Sheamus are so much better than everyone else. EDIT: With Christian leaving the match from injury and Dolph Ziggler being added instead of whom I thought would be the replacement (Brodus Clay), I'm now expecting Hunico or Ziggler to be the first eliminated on Team Barrett.

PREDICTION: Team Orton wins.


United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. John Morrison
Don't get me wrong...I'm a big fan of Ziggler and Morrison. I'm really hoping Morrison ends up staying (even though I don't think he will) and I think this match could be great. However, what the hell is WWE thinking?! Zack Ryder's not on the card at all and it's Madison Square Garden!!

PREDICTION: Dolph retains.


Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Eve Torres
They've really been dropping the ball with Beth being dominant, so I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Eve win the title here and throw that all away. I'd like to see Natalya against Beth, but I don't really think that's going to happen.

PREDICTION: Beth Phoenix retains if Punk wins. If Punk doesn't win the title, Eve wins.

Unless they add the Ryder match and have Ziggler do triple duty, I don't think anything else is happening.

WWE Vengeance 2011 PPV. Who will win?


Tag Team Championship: Air Boom (c) vs. Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler
It looks like Ziggler is wearing a variation of a singlet maybe to match up with Swagger. If that's the case, it will help their chances of winning the titles tonight. Good sign in the crowd that says Bros R Us, styled as Toys R Us. They're landing a lot of great moves in this match...perfect dropkicks and such. Bourne goes for Air Bourne but Swagger puts his feet up. Kofi hits his splash from the top rope and Ziggler kicks out, but this match has the audience captivated (and with good reason). He hits an SOS but Swagger breaks it up. Swagger goes to put the ankle lock on Kofi, but Bourne stops him. He then hits the Trouble in Paradise and then Bourne hits the Air Bourne, pinning Ziggler to win the match.

WINNERS: Air Boom via pinfall.
Great opening match.

Pretty much right after that bell rings, Zack Ryder comes out, ready for his match.

United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Zack Ryder
Big "let's go Ryder" chant going on while Ryder is pretty much in control. Ziggler tries to get a count out but Kofi and Evan toss him back in. The ref throws them out of the ringside area (but allows Swagger and Vickie to stay). Ryder misses the Broski Boot. A minute later, he's able to hit it. Swagger tries to interfere but Ryder kicks him off. Ziggler goes for the Zig Zag, but Ryder holds the ropes. Dolph then hits him with a superkick and retains the title.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler via pinfall.
It's a shame that Ryder didn't win, and I hope they keep his push going, but at least the match was good and even. I still enjoyed it.

Backstage, CM Punk is talking to Ted DiBiase about tattoos. Triple H comes up to talk to Punk and clear the air. They agree that everything is cool and they want to give it to Miz and Truth.

Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Eve Torres
They show that backstage, Natalya and Beth attack Kelly Kelly. It gets broken up by the Usos and the Bellas. Eve's got a remix of her theme which seems like something you'd hear in Footloose. Botched sunset flip at the beginning of the match. Eve ties Beth to the ropes with her own ring attire. How is this legal? Black Ref is trying to untie her. Gotta love Black Ref. Beth on the outside presses Eve onto the security barricade. There we go with another "come on!" yell. Ugh. I hate that so much. Lawler asks "can you imagine being married to Beth Phoenix?" and Booker just simply answers "Yes." Beth goes for the Glam Slam, but Eve reverses and sends Beth into the ropes, then rolls her up. Two-count. Eve misses her moonsault. Beth capitalizes with a Glam Slam and retains the title.

WINNER: Beth Phoenix via pinfall.
Not too bad for a divas match.

Backstage, Matt Striker interviews Big Show. Standard kind of "you beat me up, but I'm back" promo.

Christian vs. Sheamus
Power moves from Sheamus, lots of little attacks from Christian. Not a ton to talk about here. Christian misses a headbutt from the top rope. Attempt at a Killswitch, reversed into an attempt at the cross-bomb, reversed, followed by the kick Christian does when he flips himself on the ropes (is there an actual name for that?). Sheamus goes for a Brogue Kick and Christian hits a spear instead, but only gets a two-count. Christian goes for another spear, but gets a Brogue Kick for his efforts.

WINNER: Sheamus via pinfall.
Not a huge fan of the match. It wasn't awful, but it could have been better.

Backstage, Otunga (vest, bowtie, and coffee) is talking to Laurinaitis. Miz and Truth approach, Otunga leaves, and they put over Johnny Ace, saying he's doing a much better job. They ask why he reinstated them. He says they have charisma, are great athletes, and could be the greatest tag team of all time - but not really, he just likes how they suck up...they're good at it. "He said we suck up good" / "No, he said we suck up well." / "Well I do it better than you." / "No you most certainly don't." They say Triple H and CM Punk suck. They continue the banter. It's obvious they're having a shit ton of fun together.

The Miz & R-Truth vs. CM Punk & Triple H
Quite a bit of Truth dancing in this match. HHH puts a Figure Four on Miz and the crowd goes nuts with "woo"s. Punk helps HHH out by pulling on his arms (heel tactics while the ref is distracted, by the faces, haha). Basically this match is Trips and Punk dominating Truth and Miz. HHH gives Truth an electric chair which was a little dangerous. HHH and Truth fight on the outside while Punk hits his Macho Man elbow drop. Kevin Nash comes out and attacks Triple H. Truth and Miz double-team Punk and pick up the victory.

WINNERS: Miz and Truth via pinfall.
Too simple. I was hoping for better.

Post-match, Nash brings Triple H into the ring and continues the beat down. He gives him a Jackknife.

Backstage, Del Rio is complaining to Laurinaitis.

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
The first particularly noteworthy thing to talk about is Cody missing a huge moonsault. Some generic moves back and forth, nothing you haven't seen in their other matches before. Cody hits the moonsault a little later. Cody starts doing the Orton pound, but Orton hits him with a dropkick and follows it with his off-the-ropes DDT. The bagger interferes, but gets taken out. Orton hits an RKO and wins.

WINNER: Randy Orton via pinfall.
Ok, but nothing special.

World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry (c) vs. Big Show
Mark Henry makes it look easy body slammin Big Show. Wow. Big Show struggles doing it to Mark Henry. Kind of a slow match. A lot of shoulder bumps and stuff, as expected. Big Show later on is able to body slam Mark Henry. He even follows it with a choke slam but Henry kicks out. Show goes for the WMD, but Henry kicks him and gives him the World's Strongest Slam. Big Show kicks out. Henry goes to climb the ropes and Show choke slams him off that. Henry kicks out, though! Damn, I'll admit, I figured that was the end of the match. Mark Henry gives Big Show a superplex and the ring breaks again, like with Brock Lesnar! 2 for 2 when it comes to superplexes on Big Show ruining the ring. And here come the stretchers, which definitely can't hold these two men. They bring out the flatbed. Out comes Teddy Long and Johnny Ace. Big Show just flat out said "ah SHIT". Henry falls off the apron and continues to push people off him and fall down. Johnny Ace gets on the mic and announces that regardless of the injuries and what has happened to the ring, he'll give everyone what he wants - what they want - what the fans want - a WWE title match.

WINNER: Draw.
Interesting finish of the match, which is really the only thing people will be talking about. The rest was acceptable. I did like the ending, though.

WWE Championship [Last Man Standing]: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. John Cena
John Cena stands right next to a guy in the crowd with a "We Hate Cena" shirt on. Immediately with the "let's go Cena / Cena sucks". You know how these matches go...small moves for a while, then they basically do one big move and wait for a while when the ref counts. Del Rio jumps and stomps on the ring post which is on top of Cena - that's something different I don't ever remember seeing before. And of course, Cena follows it with an Attitude Adjustment. Cena tosses Del Rio off the ring into the security barricade (because of course, there aren't any ropes to block that). Cena picks up Rodriguez and crotches him on the ring post. They fight to the backstage area. Cena goes to knock over something (I don't know what it is, exactly, but it looks like a giant cabinet) onto Del Rio but Del Rio gets out of the way. Del Rio body slams Cena on top of it afterward. Del Rio starts tipping these lighting fixtures on top of Cena. Cena gets out at 7. Del Rio throws Cena through the posterboard V set up on the stage. Del Rio puts Cena halfway on a table and starts climbing the set. Cena gets up and throws Del Rio down, making him fall through the table. Del Rio gets up at 8. They fight back to the ringside area and around the tables. Goodbye SAT, soon. Del Rio misses an enziguri, wherein he kicks the ring post instead of Cena's head. Cena picks Del Rio up for an AA and climbs the steps, then throws Del Rio into the Spanish Announcer's table. Out come Miz and Truth to attack Cena. They hit their finishers on Cena and the ref stops paying attention to Del Rio (who was obviously out past the 10-count). Cena gets up. Del Rio hits Cena with the belt and then falls out of the ring. Del Rio gets back up at 9, but Cena gets up at 11, and thus, loses the match.

WINNER: Alberto Del Rio via...Cena not getting up in time, naturally.
Admittedly better than I was expecting, though I wish it was a TAD less "Super-Cena" than what we got.

What's gone on this past week in wrestling?

• Gail Kim has said that she's never going back to WWE. Judging by the way they booked her during her last run, I'm pretty sure they'd never want her back. She does make a good point in saying that WWE seems to act like they don't follow TNA, but they clearly do.
• Mil Mascaras in the WWE Hall of Fame? Makes sense, but I hope for his sake they don't show his performance in the 1997 Royal Rumble, haha.
• Heath Slater has been suspended for a violation of the Wellness Policy. Strike one...for this. Strike two if you count the allegations that he had attacked that one woman (which as far as I know, weren't confirmed or denied, but it's still a tarnish). Supposedly it's for the fake marijuana. Why is it SO important for people to smoke weed all the time?
• So Roode didn't win the title at Bound for Glory because Hogan said he isn't ready. I don't know why they didn't pull the trigger anyway, considering how ridiculous the match was and how it was the big ppv of the year for them. Instead, they give it to James Storm. I'm assuming with Angle taking time off, they want to do Storm vs Roode and think that that will sell itself. Not surprised.
• There's an inside joke going around that Randy Orton will win the Royal Rumble, but at the last minute, when Vince finds out its in his hometown (St. Louis), he'll change his mind. Haha.
• More talk of Vince thinking the divas are a waste of time. I agree.
• WWE released Hugo Savinovich. Can't say it affects me, but I wonder why they did that.
• Jerry Brisco suffered a 'mild' stroke the other day. Here's hoping he recovers soon.
• Tomko is now going to be spending some time in rehab on WWE's bill.

TNA's biggest pay-per-view of the year actually has a pretty decent card, all things considered. Will the ppv live up to it's namesake or will it need to be renamed Bound to Fail?

PREDICTIONS: Mexican America over Ink Inc in the pre-show, Crimson over Joe and Morgan, AJ Styles over Christopher Daniels, Austin Aries over Brian Kendrick, Bully Ray over Mr Anderson, Rob Van Dam over Jerry Lynn (at least that's what should happen), I'd like to see Velvet Sky win the title but I don't think she will, Sting will beat Hulk Hogan, and Bobby Roode should beat Kurt Angle.

I'm only about 15 minutes away from Philadelphia, but I just couldn't find it in me to pay to see Bound for Glory. I thought about it, but I ended up deciding against it. Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually hoping that it's a good enough ppv that I will look back in retrospect and wish that I would have purchased tickets. A friend of mine is going to the event, though, so I'll update this review later on with her thoughts from the audience's perspective. Until then...

X-Division Championship: Austin Aries (c) vs. Brian Kendrick
They've got a shit load of space around the ring for some reason. I guess they're expecting a lot of action to take place outside the ropes - not necessarily this match, though, particularly since it's starting with some center-ring arm bars and hip tosses and such. Never mind that, as Kendrick just flipped to the outside (and received boos from the crowd...I love Philly crowds). Aries shushes the crowd and they listen. Pro-heel tonight it seems, or at least pro-Aries. Cheers for the setup for the pendulum elbow, which doesn't happen as Kendrick goes on the offense. Kendrick hits a really nice tornado DDT. The fans respond by chanting "Aries! Aries!"Aries goes for a brainbuster but Kendrick knees him in the head and sunset flips him into a two-count. Aries blocks a Sliced Bread, but Kendrick fights him off and hits it afterward. Kendrick goes for a pin and Aries gets his foot on the ropes at the last second. He goes for another sliced bread on the ring apron but misses. Aries hits a dropkick on the corner, then hits a brainbuster to retain the title.

WINNER: Austin Aries via pinfall.
Not too shabby. It leaves room to get better but doesn't start off bad. I found it funny how the entire crowd was behind Aries instead of it being split.

Backstage, Traci Brooks is playing around with Karen's kids. Karen gets pissed and sends them away. She then starts talking about clothing and how the Knockouts and Traci dress like whores.

Full Metal Mayhem: Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
E-C-Dub chant starts off the match immediately. Taz struggles to get the point across that this current feud is personal whereas the old matches were just competitive. Seems more of a competition than a bitter fight, though, with lots of reversals and such. RVD jumps onto the security rail and tries to moonsault Lynn, but misses (and narrowly misses the steps). Lynn pulls out a cheap looking ladder that could probably break with a stiff breeze. He uses it in a baseball slide to kick it into RVD's face, then pulls out a chair. RVD tries to toss the chair into his hand and drops it. Taz reassures us that he'll make up for it, but RVD just drops it again instead. RVD then does his dropkick with the chair in the turnbuckle. Unfortunately, I missed a minute here, but it doesn't seem like anything of importance really happened. My apologies. RVD puts the ladder up probably for a future rolling thunder. Lynn pulls another ladder out and props it up against the guard rail. Lynn sunset flips over the top rope and over RVD, then power bombs RVD into the ladder. RVD puts a ladder in front of Lynn and brings up a chair for Coast to Coast, which he nails. "Holy shit" chant breaks out and RVD pins Lynn to win.

WINNER: Rob van Dam via pinfall.
Even though I'm not the biggest fan of either Lynn or RVD, this match was fine.

Post-match, Lynn and RVD make up.

Crimson vs. Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan
After what felt like a really long and pointless preview, this match is finally going to start. Crimson and Morgan start off double-teaming Joe. Basically just a series of punches. Joe hits a suicide dive on primarily Crimson. Morgan jumps from the top rope to the outside onto Crimson. Now we've gotten to the point of the match where neither guy wants the other one to pin Joe and they start pushing each other. Double team has broken down. Flurry of slaps by Joe on Crimson followed by a kick to the head and a failed attempted at a Muscle Buster. Crimson hits a spear on Joe and wins the match.

WINNER: Crimson via pinfall.
Lackluster. Just when the match started to have a little bit of substance, it ended randomly.

Backstage, Bully Ray cuts a promo about Mr. Anderson. Ray says he's been exploiting Philadelphia for years, raping them of their money, abusing "the white trash of this city" to pay for his 7 cars and such.

Street Fight: Mr. Anderson vs. Bully Ray
Anderson runs right to the ring instead of grabbing the mic. It appears that TNA is using a falls count anywhere rule for this. Ray chops Anderson and the smack is extremely loud. That must sting like a bitch. Anderson grabs a planted sign from the crowd that says "welcome to Philly asshole" on it and smacks Bully Ray in the head, revealing that it isn't a paper sign, it's actually a Dead End road sign. He then hits him with a drink. Ray pulls out a table (which sparks another E-C-Dub chant) and sets it up outside the ring. They start fighting up the entrance ramp. Ray gives Anderson a vertical suplex on the stage. Ray then grabs Anderson's dangling mic (and no, that's not innuendo). Anderson grabs it back, says "welcome to Philly, bitch" and hits him with it. They start brawling backstage. Ray hits a piledriver on him. Then he throws a little table and completely misses. They fight back to the ring. Anderson back body drops Ray onto a section of the security barricade which was brought into the ring. He then misses a Kenton bomb, landing on that rail. Ray follows that up with a Bubba Bomb through the table but only gets a 2-count. Ray lays Anderson on the barricade and misses a jump of his own. Anderson hits a Mic Check on the rail, but gets a two-count of his own. Anderson hits Ray with a trash can. Ray falls on top of the outside table. Anderson climbs the ropes and hits his Kenton, but it doesn't break the table at all as he only partially hit it. They stall for a little bit, and decide that he'll give him a Mic Check through the table. Finally, that does the job, and Anderson gets the pinfall and the victory.

WINNER: Mr. Anderson via pinfall.
This was alright...nothing special, but not bad.

Backstage, Bischoff is talking to his son, telling him Hulk is going to win and Sting needs to be put on a shelf permanently. Taz and Tenay are acting all surprised. I guess it wasn't kayfabe known that the ref was Bischoff's son? My God they're doing a bad job trying to sell this.

Knockouts Championship: Winter (c) vs. Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky vs. Madison Rayne
Karen has no fucking clue what she's doing, as Winter has Mickie in an arm bar and instead of asking if she's submitting, she decides to start counting instead. Snooze. Karen's ignoring any pinfalls from Velvet and Mickie (which is in her character, as opposed to the other mistakes which are just shoot mistakes). Mickie just did something that always pisses me off...when the divas/knockouts yell "come ooooooonn!!!" My GOD I fucking hate that. It always falls on silence because nobody gives a shit, and it just sounds annoying. This match is garbage. Winter accidentally spits that stuff in Karen's eyes instead of Mickie's. Mickie hits her DDT and counts herself 3x. Traci Brooks comes to the ring and stand around like a confused little kid. Velvet somehow pins Madison. I guess they were legal?

WINNER (and new Knockouts champion): Velvet Sky via pinfall.
Crap match, but I'm up for Velvet as champ.

Backstage, Kazarian struggles to cut a promo about Fortune and hoping for the best and such.

I Quit Match: Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles
Seems like any time TNA has a big ppv they just put these two together, sometimes with Joe in a triple threat (and if not, then apparently in the case of tonight, Joe is just thrown into another triple threat match). AJ puts the mic up to Daniels who says "Why don't you suck-" and AJ interrupts him by hitting him in the head with the mic, saying "suck this". Nothing really interesting after that for a while. Daniels picks up some tools from under the ring and throws one at Styles (but misses). He then tries to stab AJ with a screwdriver. Instead of being in Styles, it ends up in the turnbuckle. Daniels hits a moonsault and gloats, then puts AJ in a single-leg Boston Crab. Daniels puts a chair on AJ's neck and starts talking a lot on the mic, saying he'll tell AJ's wife that his last words were "I love you" and that he's going to murder Styles. He then misses a chair shot. AJ starts fighting back. He eventually hits the Styles Clash. AJ gets the screwdriver and before he can do anything, Daniels quits and runs.

WINNER: AJ Styles via...well...Daniels quitting.
Honestly, I wasn't impressed.

After the match, Daniels comes back out and jumps AJ.

Next segment. Out comes Jeff Jarrett. He starts talking about how nobody wants Jeff Hardy in the company. Hardy enters to respond. Instead, he starts fighting Jarrett. Security breaks it up. "D-Lo" chant breaks out. He's gotten fat. There's a sign in the crowd that says "Drinking Matters", haha.

Sting vs. Hulk Hogan
Dixie in the crowd got smacked in the head by a fan's sign, provoking her to say "come on!" LMAO. That was probably the highlight of this segment and the match hasn't even started yet. Two old men wearing shirts while in the ring, like fat kids at a pool. This is sad. Flair comes out. When does he screw Hogan, you think? Hogan crotch chops...I must have missed when he joined DX. Never mind about Flair turning as he's chopping Sting on the outside. Maybe he's there to take the bumps that Hogan won't take instead. I'll save myself the trouble here and say "Hogan punches Sting" as that's what this match is going to primarily consist of. Two Stinger Splashes on Hogan. Sting puts Hogan in the Scorpion Death Lock and he taps, but the ref hesitates to do anything. He then calls the match and Sting wins.

WINNER: Sting via submission.
No surprises here.

Right after the bell rings, Flair attacks Sting. The rest of Immortal comes out to attack Sting as well. The camera cuts back to show Abyss, who isn't out there with Ray, Gunner, Steiner, and Bischoff. The ref takes the chair out of Bischoff's hands. Bischoff then uses it to smack his son. Sting starts pleading for Hogan to help. The crowd cheers that idea on. Hogan rips his shirt off, hulks up, and starts fighting Immortal. Bischoff cowers in the corner while everyone else gets thrown out of the ring. Hogan punches him. Hogan and Sting shake hands.

TNA Championship: Kurt Angle (c) vs. Bobby Roode
No pyro in your main event of your biggest ppv of the year? Lame. Angle escapes an early attempt at the crossface. Later, he hits his 3 German suplexes. Roode turns an Angle Slam attempt into a spinebuster of his own for a 2-count. Roode locks his crossface in. Angle reverses into the ankle lock. Roode reverses into the crossface again. Angle breaks out, but Roode locks it back in again. Kurt hits the Angle Slam and gets 2. Another ankle lock. I'm going to stop repeating this after a while. Roode rolls through but to no avail. Angle then low blows Roode when the ref doesn't look and hits another...you guessed it...Angle Slam. Ok, I need short hand here. AS is Angle Slam, CF is crossface, AL is ankle lock. Roode does CF, Angle puts his hand under the ropes. Angle spears Roode. Roode with CF. Goddamn this is repetitive. AS attempt, reversed into suplex attempt, reversed into AS. Kurt gets the pin while using the ropes for leverage and Roode's hand is under the ropes.

WINNER: Kurt Angle via pinfall.
Bad main event.

What's gone on this past week in wrestling?

• Cody Rhodes said that the inspiration for the grooming tips of his character came from how Randy Orton is. The Apex Pretty Boy? Haha.
• Brock Lesnar is going to be in WWE '12 as a "legend".
• Mickie James spoke in an interview about Vince McMahon yelling at her for having touched Trish Stratus's crotch during their WrestleMania match, calling it "crass". Why was that so offensive that it needed to be edited out but Katie Vick was fine and all the stuff Vince would do with Trish and company was never a problem? What about that incest storyline that he supposedly keeps trying to pitch? Yet a lesbian thing when a character is a psycho is too much?
• There's "strong talk" that John Morrison won't be re-signed with WWE once his contract expires. Come on, WWE. Why would you deny yourself a talented, young, popular superstar like John Morrison over stupid things like his girlfriend whom you've already released? Sure, he isn't as popular as Steve Austin, but he does get pops, and he IS someone that the fans like - and on top of that, a reliable talent that you can always expect to put on a good match. If they release them, it's got to be from some sort of personal issue that they can't see past for the better of the business. Maria Kanellis and Lilian Garcia have said that they think Morrison (and McIntyre because of Tiffany/Taryn) aren't getting the pushes they deserve and that they feel it's probably because of stupid outside factors. While I think McIntyre doesn't have as much to offer as Morrison, I do think McIntyre is being wasted for what his potential is. Why not put him in a tag team and help that division out along with whomever he's teamed up with? That doesn't require any more effort than you're already doing and it gives you a better result. THINK, WWE. Or hire me and I can think of these things for you.
• On a related note, John Morrison just donated $10,000 of his own money to a charity. Maybe this can save his job.
• Tomko has been arrested for robbery. I can assure you that he wasn't stealing the show. Naturally, it was drug related...again. For more information, check the full story here.
• Anyone else see the "Occupy WWE" sign at Raw? Awesome. 
• Mike Knox apparently has been battling depression since he was released from WWE and wants nothing to do with the wrestling industry. That's a shame. I always thought Knox had a lot more potential than what they used him for and I thought he could have been a good upper midcard brawler, particularly for the Smackdown brand.

What's gone on this past week in wrestling?

• CM Punk has dethroned John Cena as the top merchandise seller. Recently, there was talk that Zack Ryder was among the top names as well. Rey Mysterio always is. I'm very curious to find out who the other 6 names are. (My guess would be Miz, Orton, Sheamus, HHH, Undertaker, and Sin Cara). Still, the story here is that Cena drops down a notch. I'd like to see them get comfortable enough with Punk and Orton being their top faces so that they can turn Cena heel against the Rock. He can beat Rock at Mania, then next year, face and lose to the Undertaker.
• Rumor mill says Survivor Series might be a team of The Rock, John Cena, Triple H, and two others that they're hoping are CM Punk and Steve Austin, or Undertaker and someone else, facing The Miz, R-Truth, Kevin Nash, and two others. Curious, not sure if I'm 100% behind that yet. 
• Vince McMahon decided that they should announce the real weights of the wrestlers. Why wasn't this just done in the first place? Does adding 20 fake pounds to someone make them a better entertainer? 
• Darren Young was suspended for a Wellness Policy violation. Seriously, just end NXT already. It's gone on way too long and now they're down to 2 people left. 
• Maria Kanellis has said that she would only return to WWE if she were fighting for the Divas title. Frankly, I hope she doesn't return at all. We've seen her naked and that was her best aspect in my opinion.
• Sin Cara is the cover wrestler for WWE '12 in Mexico. Why not Rey Mysterio?

WWE decided to get rid of their Bragging Rights pay-per-view and replace it with Vengeance, a rehashed old name that took them about 10 attempts to decide on, after they tried to call it a bunch of others. Personally, the Vengeance name isn't my favorite for a pay-per-view, as it sounds a little bland. Sure, they could do worse, but they could also do better. Breaking Point was a good name, for instance. Anyway, this seems to be your run of the mill average ppv similar to Over the Limit, where there's no real gimmicks attached, which is a good thing, as we need a breather between the gimmicky Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series, so while it might be bland, it also doesn't sour us on the other two.



WWE Championship [Last Man Standing]: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. John Cena
Honestly, I'm not too into this match. I don't think they work well together, I think Cena in another title match has been tiresome for an extremely long time, I think Del Rio's star has fallen vastly in comparison to what it used to be, and this feud is such an afterthought that it doesn't even have a good story behind it to make it interesting. I'll be happier when it's over...unless they go to something worse. With the Last Man Standing concept and the fact that they always book Cena as never tapping out or dropping from a fight, I'm expecting one of two outcomes - Cena pointlessly wins, or someone comes out to screw Cena and start a new feud with him (maybe the whole Laurinaitis faction).

PREDICTION: I'm about 50/50 on this and can't decide. The way they've been doing things the past 2 months, I wouldn't be surprised if Cena won it, then dropped it to Del Rio again on Raw.


World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry (c) vs. Big Show
I'm surprised they didn't just do another Orton/Henry match. Since Big Show isn't someone on the rise, it would shock me if he won the title here. They're doing really well with this Mark Henry push...a lot better than I thought they'd be handling it. I figured he would be built up just for Orton to topple, and they surprised me with him winning the title. Then they surprised me with him holding it this long. Now, I'm expecting him to drop it at Survivor Series at the earliest, maybe not even until the Royal Rumble.

PREDICTION: Mark Henry retains.


Triple H & CM Punk vs. The Miz & R-Truth
Frankly, I hate the idea behind this match. I'm 100% against it. I think they're not only putting a damper on my hopeful WWE title match for WrestleMania (CM Punk vs Miz) but they're ruining what could be half of the Survivor Series elimination teams. Considering how Vengeance is a pointless pay-per-view in the first place, I don't see why they're doing this.

PREDICTION: The Miz and R-Truth win with some help from Kevin Nash.


Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes
Since it's just a spoiler announcement right now, the details aren't clear. I'm hoping it's for the Intercontinental title and Cody wins.

PREDICTION: If it's non-title, Orton wins.


Tag Team Championship: Air Boom vs. Zwaggler
Zwaggler's the best amalgamation of a name I can think of for Ziggler/Swagger. If you can think of something better, by all means, suggest it. I'd like to see them dethrone the tag champs.

PREDICTION: Ziggler and Swagger win.


Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres
This should be a match where they just feed Eve to Beth to make her look strong, as this whole domination angle they've been doing with her and Natalya has basically consisted of them getting their asses kicked for some reason.

PREDICTION: Beth Phoenix wins.


United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Zack Ryder
I'm very surprised they're having Ziggler compete twice on the card. This means one of two things is going to happen, in my mind. If this match goes on first, Ziggler will retain the title here and lose the tag title match. However, if the tag title match comes first and Ziggler and Swagger win the tag titles, then I can easily see Air Boom causing some sort of a distraction and it ending with Zack Ryder picking up the United States title.

PREDICTION: Zack Ryder wins the title and defends it against someone in a singles match at Survivor Series, allowing Mason Ryan to be a part of the team instead.


Sheamus vs. Christian
Lots of heels seem to be the victors in this ppv prediction post, so I'm going to assume that Sheamus picks up a win here and that this might be the opening match of the night.

PREDICTION: Sheamus wins.

No more matches will be added to the card.

Everyone ready to go to hell? It's time for the WWE Hell in a Cell 2011 PPV.


Miz and R-Truth are sitting ringside. John Laurinaitis comes out to evict them from the building.

Christian vs. Sheamus
Sheamus is the power, Christian is the speed, naturally. Sheamus hits his head on the security barricade after he's pushed off the ropes by Christian. Booker's enthusiastically pointing out the obvious a lot in this match (ugh). So far, this is quite generic. Sheamus keeps pummeling Christian with those forearm beat downs. Jim Ross pulls out the "Sheamus is tougher than a two dollar steak" remark and Booker lets us know that he had that steak earlier, at Denny's (haha, you get some brownie points, Booker). Christian flips over the ropes to kick Sheamus and follows it up with a tornado DDT, then sets Sheamus up for the Kill Switch. Sheamus gets out and gives Christian a knee to the face for his efforts. Sheamus hits his shoulder block off the top rope, but misses the Brogue Kick. Christian spears Sheamus outside the ring and leaves him to be counted out. Sheamus comes back into the ring but receives a second spear. Sheamus goes for his power bomb, but Christian slips out. Sheamus then hits the Brogue Kick and pins Christian for the win.

WINNER: Sheamus via pinfall.
Smackdown main event worthy, so its ok for the opening of a ppv. Not bad...nothing special.

Backstage, Matt Striker talks to Mark Henry. Henry says it doesn't matter that he hasn't been in a Hell in a Cell match before - it doesn't matter where he faces Orton, he'll end up in the Hall of Pain no matter what.

Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara
Blue comes out first to no reaction from the crowd (at least, none that I can hear). Either the fans don't realize he's the babyface or they don't care. Black comes out to a slightly altered theme song with a Tron video that is slightly different as well - and to equally no reaction. They circle each other and keep pointing to themselves. Black puts Blue into a submission, which isn't really sold as hurting all too much. Dead crowd. Blue starts clapping to get them to, and they're ok with it for a few seconds, but go back to silence afterward. Lots of reversals, but not in the exciting way. The crowd still isn't remotely pumped. Blue launches himself over the ropes onto Black outside of the ring. He follows it up with a baseball slide. Blue tries to moonsault onto Black, but Black dodges it, letting Blue fall to the outside. The match slows down (which doesn't help motivate the crowd). Even Cole, JR, and Booker sound bored. It's not a necessarily boring match but the crowd is just destroying its potential. Now they've officially started chanting "boring" and booing. Blue jumps onto Black on the outside again (waking up a couple fans around the area). Blue goes for the C4 off the top rope maneuver, but doesn't come close to hitting it and it just turns into a half-assed arm drag of sorts. Black picks him up for a power bomb, but Blue reverses it into a sunset flip and wins the match.

WINNER: Sin Cara (blue) via pinfall.
Not exactly the exciting match I was hoping for. The fans didn't give it a chance, though. Right off the bat, they weren't cheering or booing for either guy.

Backstage, David Otunga (in a vest and bow tie) approaches CM Punk and touts his legal credentials. He offers his counsel if Punk wants it. Punk rejects it, saying he hates lawyers and has his own voice.

Tag Team Championship: Air Boom (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger
The commentators and crowd are still dozing off, so it's going to take some time and a lot of effort to wake them up. Everyone seems to forget that Dolph Ziggler is a former world champion. They made it seem like the US title is the peak he's reached so far. Jim Ross is setting up the seemingly inevitable "Ziggler and Swagger lose because they argue" ending. Bourne's playing the sacrificial lamb (no surprises there) with Ziggler and Swagger having no problems tagging back and forth, keeping Evan on their side. Naturally as I type that, Bourne gets a tag. Zig and Swag (Szwiggler? What's a good nickname for these two?) render it meaningless as they just turn the tides immediately and stay in charge. This match is definitely showcasing Zig/Swag. Meanwhile, Kofi and Bourne are just getting their asses handed to them. This is basically a squash match...which is making it quite boring...not the best idea to follow that Sin Cara crowd with a slow paced match like this where half the moves are just kicks and tags. Once Bourne gets tagged, the pace picks up (and the crowd starts making some noise). All four are in the ring, confusing the ref and commentators about who the legal men are (Bourne and Dolph). Bourne rolls Dolph up, but the ref is distracted, so Ziggler gets enough time to kick out. Ziggler helps put Bourne on the top rope - setting him up so Swagger can power bomb him from the top. Bourne reverses into a hurricanrana. Ziggler is held back by Kofi, unable to break the count, and Bourne pins Swagger for the win.

WINNERS: Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne via pinfall.
This would have been much better (and had the potential to be) if they didn't make half the match so slow and boring. Seems like this is a thread happening at this event....generic, slow, and boring.

Here we go with a trailer for Inside Out. Commercial #1.

World Heavyweight Championship [Hell in a Cell]: Mark Henry (c) vs. Randy Orton
Jim Ross lets us know that if Orton wins tonight, he'll be the only guy to win both world titles in a Hell in a Cell match. Orton repeatedly slams Henry into the cage. Later on, Henry grabs Orton and slams him about 5 times into the cage as payback. Henry hits a big power slam on Orton. He hits another, this one on the outside of the ring. Henry takes the top off the steps and drags Orton over to them. Booker incorrectly says Henry can just retain the title with a count out. Thankfully, Cole points out that that's not an option (to which Booker replies "....my bad"). Henry puts Orton up against the cage and then tosses the steps at him - but Orton dodges them. Henry picks Orton up and rams him head first into the cage. Henry splashes Orton, but Orton kicks out. Jim Ross reminds us for the sixth or seventh time that Henry did that original power slam (which he's hell bent on saying that Orton can't recover from it). Henry puts Orton in a bear hug. That's another theme of the matches tonight...one person dominates pretty much the entire match 100%, instead of switching between the two every so often. Henry goes to give Orton a World's Strongest Slam onto the bottom steps. Orton grabs onto the cage and escapes it. He then is able to DDT Henry onto the steps, then force him into the ring post twice and take control of the match.Orton keeps the offense going with a flurry of punches, a dropkick, and he's able to give Henry the off-the-ropes DDT. Orton psyches himself up and hits an RKO. Mark Henry kicks out (and Cole calls it a buzzkill lol). Since that didn't work, Orton goes to the corner and lines up for a punt. He lunges, but Henry picks him up, gives him a World's Strongest Slam, and retains the title.

WINNER: Mark Henry via pinfall.
Uneventful Hell in a Cell match basically. That's the main reason I don't like how they have 2 of them per year. If you overlook that disappointment, it wasn't too bad.

Post-match, Henry pulls a chair out, intending to screw Orton's leg up like he's done before to others. Orton slips out of the way, so Henry misses. Orton gives Henry a whack in the back with the steel chair. Henry starts to leave, so Orton runs him down with the chair and gives him a few more shots. Henry kicks Orton in the gut and retreats.

Backstage, Josh Mathews talks to Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio says he doesn't deserve to be in this match. Still, he's warning Punk and Cena, cause they'll see a side of him they didn't think exists.

Here we go with commercial #2 - this time for Light Strike - you know, the product you've seen advertised for a long time?

Out comes Cody Rhodes. He says if you refuse a paper bag, you should be euthanized, and comments that these people are ugly and it isn't Halloween yet. He then says that the Intercontinental title needs to be retired, puts it in a bag, and asks for a velvet bag. Inside is...THE OLD INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE!! The white version, by the way. It gets a bigger pop than anything that happened in the Sin Cara match. He says in honor of the old legends that wore it, he'll wear that belt, and do it with more pride and dignity than any of them. Unlike those, he'll defend the title "feverishly". Out comes John Laurinaitis. He says Triple H demanded that Laurinaitis tell Cody that he'll defend the title tonight against John Morrison!

Intercontinental Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Morrison
Morrison starts off taking the fight to Cody, especially by hitting a baseball slide right into Cody's face. Morrison tosses Cody's shirt to the crowd. Cody tries to leave, but Morrison brings him back. Cody tries to get counted out, but Morrison breaks that up. Cody goes for the Alabama Slam but JoMo sunset flips for a two count. Cody then tries for a Figure Four (resulting in some WOOs from the crowd). Morrison fires up and hits Cody with a bunch of punches and jabs and kicks, then hits his standing C4 flip. John misses the knee, but hits a kick to Cody's head. He misses the Flying Chuck and Cody rolls Morrison up to get a pinfall victory.

WINNER: Cody Rhodes via pinfall.
Decent match. I'm disappointed Morrison didn't win there, but the old IC title being brought back more than makes up for it when you look at the overall picture.

Remember everyone, nobody likes a bully, and there's no place for bullying...unless you're in WWE where bullies like Sheamus and Orton get cheered.

Backstage, HHH is talking on his cell phone and saying that he's "had enough with him". Laurinaitis runs in to get HHH. Hunter tells him to stop making matches. They see that R-Truth and the Miz have attacked Bourne and Kofi. Zeke and Riley are there to check up on them. HHH says he told Laurinaitis to get police.

Divas Championship: Kelly Kelly (c) vs. Beth Phoenix
Beth has Natalya, Kelly has Eve, of course. You've seen this mach about 8 times in the past 2 months, so you know how things go. How long will Beth dominate? How long will Kelly spin and go "aaaaaaah" for the hurricanrana? Etc etc etc. Kelly starts off in charge, and here we go with the spinning. Beth starts dropping elbows onto Kelly's gut. We're now on the "Beth dominates" portion of the match. Estimated arrival time of reversal is a minute and a half. Kelly goes for an inside cradle but only gets a 2-count. Beth's just too big for a small package (that was not meant to be innuendo but it sure as hell sounds like it). Beth misses an attack on the ropes, leading to Kelly getting back in the swing of things. Kelly climbs Beth and tries a pin, but Beth reverses. Kelly kicks out, tries another to no avail. Beth goes for the Glam Slam but Kelly reverses. Beth just slams her into the turnbuckles instead. Jesus, why do they have to scream so much all the time? That's so damn annoying. Kelly does her backflip elbow move, but that doesn't take care of Beth. Eve goes to interact with Natalya, but Natalya just slams her into the security rail. That was quite pointless. Beth puts Kelly in that submission move that they put her in on Smackdown. Natalya gets a mic and taunts Kelly. Kelly reaches the ropes. While the ref has his back turned, Natalya hits Kelly with the mic. Beth takes advantage, hits a Glam Slam, and wins.

WINNER (and new Divas champion): Beth Phoenix via pinfall.
Some flubs, but it wasn't that bad. It had more substance to it than your normal divas match, so that's a plus.

They run an add where Mark Henry channels his inner Jules Winfield and speaks a variation of the Ezekiel 25:17 quote from Pulp Fiction. Now now, WWE, don't start quoting movies. That's stealing. Not from the movies....from TNA. That's their gimmick. #JokerStingIsRetarded

WWE Championship [Hell in a Cell]: John Cena (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk
Del Rio keeps staying away from both men, who seem to be willing and ready to double team him. Crowd is pro-Punk tonight, anti-Cena, indifferent to Del Rio it seems. Cena and Punk keep attempting their finishers but failing. Del Rio's pretty much an afterthought in this match, there just to be a fall guy and to have some heel in it, more than being an equal party. CM Punk pulls out a table (much to the pleasure of the crowd). He hits his running knee to Cena's face, but Cena then tosses him into the cage (which Booker calls a chamber...wrong gimmick). Del Rio picks up the scraps and focuses on Cena. This awakens another "let's go Cena / Cena sucks" chant, as nobody can just agree to cheer Punk at the moment and call a truce. Chioda's counting 3 repeatedly and calling them kickouts. Those steroids made him count faster. (Note: the kickouts are Del Rio's fault, but I just wanted to get a joke in there about Chioda coming back from his Wellness Policy suspension, which wasn't even confirmed to be steroids. We now return you to your regularly scheduled ppv coverage.) Cena miraculously pops back into the match fully rested and taking the reigns of top dog in the match. Ricardo, outside the cell, is trying to use a towel (or is that Del Rio's scarf?) to fan him. Del Rio interrupts an attempted Attitude Adjustment by attacking both of them with a steel chair. Alberto puts Punk on top of Cena, then jumps on both of them from the top rope. Two-count on both men. Del Rio goes for the armbreaker on Punk, but Punk drops him to the outside where he hits the steps along the way. Cena hits the AA on Punk but Del Rio breaks the count. Cena blocks an armbreaker attempt, allowing Punk to jump on them, then hit the GTS on Cena. Del Rio pulls Punk off Cena to break the count. Cena goes for an inside cradle on Del Rio, but it fails. Punk hits an elbow from the top rope on Del Rio for a 2-count. Cena's back in, does his shoulder bumps, receives a kick in the head from Punk. Punk climbs the ropes but is knocked down and falls onto and through the table by Del Rio. Cena puts Del Rio in the STF. Ricardo has the key to the cell and gets inside, trying to hit Cena with a pipe. Cena gives him an AA out through the cell. Del Rio then puts Cena outside of the cell and locks the cell behind him with Cena outside. Del Rio German suplexes Punk for a two-count. Del Rio hits an enziguri but gets another 2. Punk's kicks put him back in play and Cena is finally checking the locked cage. Del Rio kicks out of Punk's sprinboard clothesline. Cena's trying to pull the cage door open. Del Rio hits Punk with the pipe and wins the title.

WINNER (and new WWE champion): Alberto Del Rio via pinfall.
Match of the night, but still kind of disappointing in my mind.

They raise the cell and Cena runs under it to attack Del Rio. Miz and Truth sneak in, dressed in hoodies and street clothes. They proceed to attack everyone, refs included. HHH and Laurinaitis run to the ring, but by the time they get to it, the cell's lowered. Security comes down, along with other WWE superstars, who surround the cell. They get in with some bolt cutters. Truth and Miz surrender. HHH attacks them. HHH pushes down Laurinaitis. He's then dragged away by security as well.

What's gone on this past week in wrestling?

• Ted DiBiase has a new YouTube idea wherein he'll tailgate with fans before shows and the biggest party will win 4 tickets to WrestleMania. You can check him out on YouTube at TheDiBiasePosse. At first, I laughed at that name, but it instantly grew on me and now I love it, and I think this idea is pretty neat. Good for Ted. I hope it's a success. 
• This week was said to be a "Happy Vince" week, compared to the last week where he was super pissed that Del Rio mentioned his name on Raw. 
• Jimmy Uso was arrested for DUI in Tampa with a blood alcohol level of .18, supposedly. I hope we don't start hearing from John Fatu (Uso's real name) that he was framed by the police, haha.
• WWE has released Nunzio, again. Why bother releasing him when he's just a referee, especially when Armstrong is hurt and Chioda is suspended?
• They also released Wes Brisco, son of Gerald Brisco, from FCW. I haven't really seen any of his work, so I can't say whether or not I'd be surprised from a talent perspective, but I am surprised when it comes to backstage clout, seeing as how high up his father was in the company. Without him and Brett DiBiase, it seems like that season of NXT with the fathers/sons isn't going to be working out.
• Hulk Hogan has dropped the asking price for his mansion. They say its worth around 5 million, but he was originally asking for 25 million. I've got like a thousand bucks if you want it, Hulk - and with the current state of TNA, you might need it. I've always wanted a 17,000 square foot mansion.
• Dolph Ziggler talked about how people compare him to Mr. Perfect, and thankfully, he pointed out why - because of his hair and his entrance music. I'm a big fan of both Hennig and Ziggler, but it annoys me when people say "Ziggler is the next Mr. Perfect". Their gimmicks aren't exactly the same and if he went back to the short, black hair, and his old generic music, nobody would be drawing comparisons. If anything, I'd think that Ziggler is more like Jeff Jarrett (post-country singer gimmick), but that's a stretch as well. Ziggler's doing his own thing, and it's working.
• Supposedly, the real reason that Matt Hardy is going to rehab is because it was a choice between that and a much higher financial cost. Great. That just means it isn't genuine and he'll go back to his normal ways right afterward, most likely. Oh well, there's only so much you can do before the ball is in someone else's court - sometimes literally.