Summerslam 2011
Date: August 14, 2011
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 17.404
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

This is a pretty big show with the blowoffs to two amazing feuds. The headlining act match is CM Punk vs. John Cena in a champion vs. champion match and the rematch to their masterpiece a month earlier. The match I was more excited about though was Christian vs. Randy Orton in one of the most underrated feuds in recent years. Let’s get to it.

The guitarist from Tool plays the national anthem.

The opening video talks about a domino effect, triggered by CM Punk winning the Raw World Title back in Chicago at Money in the Bank. As a result, Vince McMahon was stripped of power (for all of a few months) and John Cena became the other Raw World Champion. Tonight it’s champion vs. champion and nothing else is worth talking about.

Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio vs. Awesome Truth/Alberto Del Rio

Mysterio had beaten Miz to win the vacant Raw World Champion so Miz attacked him on Raw to help set this up. This is in during the full on Cole Love Miz period and the annoyance begins early. Before the match Miz complains about not being on the show but here’s R-Truth to complain about various letters. He doesn’t like spiders and Summerslam or Cee Lo Green performing so S and C are on his bad list. Cue Alberto (Mr. Raw Money in the Bank) to cut him off and we’re finally ready to go.

Morrison and Del Rio are both WAY over here but it’s Kofi vs. Miz to get things going. A double flapjack with Morrison helping out plants Miz and we get stereo nipups. Morrison gets all fired up to hammer on Truth because their partnership from a few years ago just means nothing to him. Everything breaks down for a bit with Morrison being knocked off the top rope to change control.

Miz grabs the chinlock but gets kicked in the head to knock him silly. It’s back to Kofi as things speed up and the SOS counters the Skull Crushing Finale for two. Everything breaks down for a bit and Miz hits a Diamond Cutter into a 1%er for two. I’m still not wild on that move but Kofi’s selling made it look better. The heels start taking turns on Kofi with Del Rio starting in on the arm and mocking Kofi’s clapping taunt.

Miz gets two off a clothesline as Cole sings his praises, even listing off Miz’s high school accolades. A double stomp allows the hot tag to Rey, who comes in to a roar. Mysterio starts cleaning house but Del Rio breaks up a double 619. Morrison dives onto Alberto and Truth takes the 619, followed by a top rope splash for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: B-. Take six guys and give them ten minutes to have a fun opener. I like a good six man tag and it can accomplish multiple goals in a short span. For some reason though WWE feels that the only kinds of matches you can have are singles, regular tags and triple threats so we don’t get enough of something like this. If nothing else it gave the fans a lot to cheer about in a short time, meaning they’re ready to go early on. Well done indeed.

Executive Vice President of Talent Relations Johnny Ace (you get tired just listing his job title) wants CM Punk to publicly apologize for embarrassing him on Monday. Punk says he’s sorry and offers a big grin but he turns around to see Stephanie. The champ insults the men in her life but she doesn’t seem phased. Stephanie: “But what would I know? I’m just Vince McMahon’s clueless daughter.” Punk: “Yeah pretty much.” Stephanie offers a handshake for luck but Punk says no because he knows where that hand has been. WHY CAN NO ONE BURN STEPHANIE LIKE THIS TODAY???

We recap Mark Henry vs. Sheamus. This was during Henry’s rampage over everyone in his path and his Hall of Pain period. No one was left for him to beat so Sheamus, a heel at the time, came out and simply said “I’ll fight him.” I still really like that line as it sums up everything and gives you a reason to like Sheamus in two seconds. Simple, yet effective.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Henry shoves him around to start but Sheamus comes back with knees to the ribs and forearms to the back. The Irish Curse attempt is easily shrugged away though and Sheamus is tossed outside. Back in and Henry does the running crotch attack to the back of Sheamus’ head, followed by a backbreaker for your run of the mill heel offense.

An over the shoulder backbreaker keeps Sheamus in trouble but Henry misses a Vader Bomb. That means it’s time for forearms to the chest but a double shoulder puts both guys down. Sheamus is up first and the Brogue Kick knocks Henry to the floor. Ever the not that bright good guy though, Sheamus goes out after him and gets driven though the barricade for the countout at 9:22.

Rating: C+. I like that finish a lot as they made Sheamus look like a real threat with the Brogue Kick and then didn’t have him get pinned. The important thing here though was Henry looking unstoppable as he was on the way to the World Title soon after this. Smart booking here and everyone comes out looking like they should.

Christian has an insurance policy for his match against Randy Orton. It’s going to be a summer blockbuster and he’ll be like Harry Potter. Orton on the other hand will be like Cowboys and Aliens: an overrated, overproduced and overhyped flop. Hey now that movie was underrated.

Cee Lo Green does his mini concert for reasons I don’t understand. Bright Lights, Bigger City is catchy though. Some Divas come out to dance during Forget You.

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Kelly is defending in your standard Barbie vs. monster feud and has Eve Torres in her corner. Beth on the other hand has Natalya. Kelly goes straight after her to start and fires off some forearms in the corner to send Beth outside, followed by a middle rope cross body to the floor. Back in and Beth knocks her out of the corner to take over before we hit a quick chinlock. An over the shoulder backrbeaker (good move for Beth) has Kelly in trouble and Beth ties her in the Tree of Woe to make it even worse. Kelly gets knocked around in the corner but counters the Glam Slam into a victory roll to retain at 6:33.

Rating: D+. Total squash for the most part here with a fluke ending, albeit the same fluke ending to almost every Kelly vs. Beth match ever. Kelly certainly got her push because of her looks but she was getting much better in the ring near the end of her career with matches like this one being far more watchable than some of the disasters that the division hard around this time.

Stephanie leaves John Cena’s locker room. For some reason we have to see the Cena logo twice for the announcers to catch on.

R-Truth is annoyed about getting ripped off so Jimmy Hart of all people offers his managerial services. Truth agrees but realizes that Jimmy is named….uh, Jimmy, and freaks out. Ron Artest and his daughter are shown watching for a worthless cameo.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett

Fallout from Money in the Bank where Bryan won by knocking Barrett off the ladder. Bryan doesn’t have his Flight of the Valkyries (yes Flight, which was the name of his WWE theme instead of Ride) theme song yet and it’s really weird to have it missing. Daniel starts in with the kicks and works on the arm as Booker talks about Daniel’s diet.

Bryan fights out of a wristlock and dropkicks Barrett down before bending Barrett’s shoulders around in a variety of painful looking ways. The running dropkick in the corner and a running kick to the chest, only to walk into the yet to be named (or at least not named here) Winds of Change. Barrett fires off his knees in the ropes and kicks Bryan out to the floor.

Back in and we hit the chinlock before Daniel escapes the Wasteland, setting up a running knee off the apron. Barrett’s pumphandle slam doesn’t work and it’s time for the yet to be named YES Kicks. Again, those chants really add a lot. The guillotine goes on and Barrett gets taken down into the LeBell Lock, only to reach over to the rope for the break. Bryan gets crotched on top though and Barrett hits a quick Wasteland for the pin at 11:47.

Rating: B. I still really like this match as it’s two guys beating on each other for the better part of twelve minutes until one of them can’t get up again. Barrett was the bigger star at this point as Bryan really was just a guy in trunks at this point, albeit one with a huge upside. Sometimes you just need a good wrestling match without a lot of meaning behind it and that’s what you got here.

The California National Guard is here.

We recap Christian vs. Randy Orton in a feud that has been going on for months. Christian lost the title less than a week after winning it and then wanted one more match. Orton eventually lost the title via DQ at Money in the Bank, setting up the rematch here with No Holds Barred. This is one of the best feuds in a long time and would have won Feud of the Year had it not been for Cena vs. Punk. It was perfectly put together and one great match after another. The two of them had chemistry together and that’s the most important thing you can do.

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Randy Orton

Christian is defending and this is no holds barred but first the champ has a big surprise for everyone as he brings out Edge. After an insane ovation, Edge thanks the fans but reminds them that he can never compete again due to his neck injuries. He was kind of glad that he left when he did though because it opened the door for Christian to become champion.

Christian lost the title five days after winning it and then complained about it for week after week. He just whined until he got his way and then won the title via disqualification. Edge might have done some dastardly things in his time but he did it with some style. Somewhere along the way, Christian became a disgrace to himself. Edge isn’t going to help him tonight and leaves Christian all alone.

Orton starts hammering away in the corner and backdrops Christian to set up the circle stomp and a knee drop for two. They head outside but Christian is smart enough to run away from an RKO through the announcers’ table. Christian grabs the title and runs into the crowd but Orton easily catches him (hint: it’s the guy in wrestling gear carrying a big gold belt) and sends it back inside.

The champ sends him shoulder first into the post (completely legal remember, even though you’ll almost never hear it called a DQ in the first place) to take over. It’s kendo stick time as we hit the standard street fight tropes. Christian misses a shot though and has to settle with an elbow to Orton’s jaw. There’s an interesting story here with Christian not being able to pull off the cheating but doing just fine with the wrestling. Orton grabs a rollup for two but gets caught in a spinebuster for the same.

It’s kendo stick time again but Christian dives into a dropkick to the ribs to keep up the subtle story. Orton can’t get in a stick shot either as the no holds barred rule hasn’t played a big role yet. The elevated DDT is countered into a Killswitch attempt which is countered into Orton’s backbreaker. He can’t hit the Punt but Christian can’t crotch him against the post as Orton uses his legs to pull Christian face first into the post instead.

Now it’s time for the real weapons as Orton pulls out some tables but Christian gets in a shot from behind and sets one up on the floor. Back in and Christian goes up top, only to get superplexed down onto an unset table for a unique spot. It also gets a near fall but that’s not as important. That table is set up in the corner but Christian has to counter the RKO by sending him to the floor. Orton sends him knees first into the steps, only to have Christian send him head first into the steps.

Next up it’s a monitor off Orton’s head to knock him onto the announcers’ table. Like any cocky heel would do though, Christian tries an RKO but gets caught in the real thing through the table for a double KO spot. Back in and Christian gets two off a Killswitch and you can hear the fans going nuts on the near fall. Well deserved too. With the table still looming in the table and another one at ringside, Christian opts for two chairs.

That’s enough for Orton as he takes one away and cracks Christian over the back, followed by a second one to send the champ off the apron and through the first table. Orton brings in the steps and some trashcans but Christian avoids a stomp onto the steps. He can’t avoid a powerslam through the table or a DDT onto the trashcan as this is getting brutal. Christian blocks the RKO with a kendo stick shot, only to have Orton hit another one a few seconds later to win the title back at 23:43.

Rating: A. I love this feud and the matches get better and better every time. There was a great story here of Christian being able to compete in the wrestling but being in WAY over his head against Orton, who has that evil streak in him. This started off as more of a wrestling match with Christian poking his toe into the violence but then embracing it full on, only to be destroyed by the more violent Orton. It’s a great story with a great match to go with it and that’s as good as it gets.

Video on WWE taking over Los Angeles for the week, including an Axxess.

We recap John Cena vs. CM Punk in a narrated video. Punk won the Raw World Title from Cena last month in a masterpiece, only to leave the company with the title immediately after. Cena won the title a few weeks later but Punk came out that night (good thing he just happened to be there), setting up a champion vs. champion match to see who really is the best man. Ignore the fact that they already established that fact at Money in the Bank when Punk beat him in the first place. Due to Punk leaving under Vince’s watch, the Board of Directors replaced Vince as boss with HHH, who Punk hates in general.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and HHH is guest referee. As expected, Punk is now a mega face and gets a big old pop, much to HHH’s annoyance. Cena on the other hand is booed out of the building as you kind of have to expect as well. Feeling out process to start with Punk grabbing a headlock for that horribly blatant spot calling. Punk was on a roll at this point but he was as bad as Shawn Michaels at hiding that stuff.

The dueling chants start up and sound even louder than usual, as they should at a major show. Now it’s Cena working a headlock into an armbar before Punk hits a leg lariat for two. Cena takes him down into a chinlock as this is firmly in first gear over five minutes in. The fans tell Cena that he can’t wrestle. True but at least he still is a wrestler and not someone who has been waiting two years for a UFC fight.

Punk finally escapes and puts Cena down for a breather, earning a loud CM PUNK chant. Off to a body vice as this match seems to be collapsing under the weight of the expectations from the previous match. Back up and Punk snaps his throat across the top rope to block a superplex attempt, followed by dropkicking Cena out to the floor. That goes nowhere so Punk grabs a seated abdominal stretch, only to have Cena power up into a spinning slam for a breather. Fans: “FRUITY PEBBLES!”

The finishing sequence is countered by Punk’s headlock takeover but he gets caught in the ProtoBomb. Punk comes right back with an enziguri and a Koji Clutch (I love that move) which is countered into an STF which is countered into the Anaconda Vice (Not a key lock Booker. Learn your details.). That actually gets some near falls until Cena reverses into a crossface to continue this pretty awesome sequence. Punk gets to the ropes and sends Cena outside for a suicide dive to put both guys down again.

HHH, who has been a total non-factor for the first fifteen minutes, gets to nine but can’t bring himself to finish the countout. Instead he throws both of them back inside and it’s time for the big strike off. Cena takes over with a dropkick and the Shuffle but the AA is countered into a sunset flip and kick to the head for two each. Cena’s sitout powerslam gets the same, as does Punk’s middle rope bulldog.

A very weary Punk’s springboard clothesline is countered into the STF but they haven’t traded enough finishers yet. Speaking of finishers, Cena gets two off the AA. The GTS gets the same result with Punk staring up at HHH in shock. Punk comes up holding his knee though but drops the top rope elbow for two anyway. Cena pounds Punk down but eats a running knee to the face, setting up the GTS for the pin at 24:08, despite Cena’s foot clearly being on the rope.

Rating: B+. This match would be remembered so much more fondly if it wasn’t for the fact that they had such a masterpiece just a month earlier. They had to try and follow that up and it just couldn’t be done. The screwy ending didn’t help things, just like having HHH out there for the sake of waiting on a screwy finish that doesn’t seem to mean much since this is a night when instant replay doesn’t exist.

HHH applauds Punk post match and raises his hand before leaving. Punk poses….but here’s Kevin Nash through the crowd to lay Punk out. That means Alberto time and here we go.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

Punk is defending and loses the title to an enziguri in eleven seconds.

A quick celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: A. This show is nothing short of excellent with only the Divas Title match being short of good (and seeing Kelly Kelly in shorts is never a bad thing). Orton vs. Christian is great stuff with a great story, the main event is awesome, Barrett vs. Bryan is a hidden gem, the crowd is white hot all night and the rest is all worth watching…..until you get to the ending.

That’s where the show falls apart as not only did the ending only make limited sense here but it would turn into one of the biggest messes anyone had seen in a few short weeks. Somehow Punk wouldn’t get his rematch next month because he was busy jobbing to HHH in the main event of Night of Champions.

Oh and Nash? Yeah he sent himself a text message telling him to come out there right then because he wanted one more crowd reaction. That’s how they followed up on the potentially hottest angle in years: Kevin Nash sent himself a text message and HHH pinned CM Punk, setting up HHH vs. Nash, who never fought Punk in this whole thing. Such is life in WWE, or out of WWE actually and you can’t blame Punk after all that.

Ratings Comparison

Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio vs. Awesome Truth/Alberto Del Rio

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B-

2016 Redo: B-

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

Original: C

2013 Redo: C+

2016 Redo: C+

Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

Original: C+

2013 Redo: D+

2016 Redo: D+

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B

Christian vs. Randy Orton

Original: B+

2013 Redo: A-

2016 Redo: A

CM Punk vs. John Cena

Original: A+

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B+

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2016 Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A

2016 Redo: A

I think we can call this my definitive thoughts on the show as the ratings were almost identical in the last two reviews. Definitely check this one out.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/14/summerslam-2011-that-was-i-need-a-cigarette/

And the 2013 redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/08/16/summerslam-count-up-2011-a-screwy-ending-isnt-a-bad-thing/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Summerslam 2010
Date: August 15, 2010
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 14,178
Commentators: Matt Striker, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

This is the Nexus show, as the main event is an elimination tag between Team WWE and the Nexus. The evil group has been ransacking the company all summer and it’s time for John Cena to stand up to them for good. Why the big elimination tag is at Summerslam instead of Survivor Series isn’t clear but not a lot about this story went well. Pretty much nothing else matters on this show so let’s get to it.

The opening video is all about change, which can come in a variety of forms. The show’s three main matches all get a look, with the big elimination tag getting the major focus, as it should.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston

Ziggler, with Vickie Guerrero, is defending. Guerrero says EXCUSE ME and has something to say, but Kingston cuts her off and we’re ready to go. They start fast with Kingston getting the better of things but Guerrero pulls Ziggler out of the way of a dive, sending Kingston crashing down hard. Back in and the chinlock doesn’t last long for Ziggler and he kicks Kingston back into the corner.

A Hennig necksnap gives Ziggler two and it’s off to a reverse chinlock. Kingston can’t fight out and we get to continue this thrilling hold. Back up and Ziggler misses a splash in the corner, allowing Kingston to start firing back for a bit. Kingston’s high crossbody is rolled through for two and Ziggler gets the same off a Fameasser. Trouble In Paradise misses though and Ziggler gets his sleeper…and the Nexus runs in to lay them both out for the no contest at 7:05.

Rating: C+. The match had some moments but there is only so much you can do in what was basically a Raw match. A good chunk of those seven minutes were spent in Ziggler’s chinlock and that didn’t make for the most thrilling star. The good thing is that these two fought so many times that they could have a nice match in their sleep, but they were in a tough spot here.

Post match Nexus lays Kingston out with ease. Wade Barrett calls that a preview for what is in store for Team WWE tonight. Team WWE is looking for a seventh member but anyone they pick won’t make a difference. The locker room is such a mess that they couldn’t get together to sign a birthday card, let alone form a cohesive unit. On the other hand, Nexus is united and ready to fight.

Chris Jericho tries to get Miz (Mr. Money In The Bank and the US Champion) to join Team WWE. Edge, already on the team, enjoys a Slim Jim and says tonight is about seizing the ultimate opportunity. Miz isn’t sure if he wants Nexus on his plate, but he’ll take that Slim Jim.

Divas Title: Alicia Fox vs. Melina

Fox is defending, it’s the Raw Women’s Title at this point and this is the Ariane Special. Melina pushes her into the corner to start but Fox is right back with a rather impressive headlock takeover. That’s broken up and Melina stomps her down, followed by some double knees in the corner.

Melina grabs a flapjack but her knee is banged up, though she’s fine enough to snap off a superkick. Fox sends her into the post and things slow down again, with Fox then kicking her in the arm. Not the leg, which is hurt and was hurt before, but the arm, because of course. Commentary tries to make sense of it but Melina is back up with a rollup for two to get them out of that mess. Melina shrugs that off, hits a dropkick and grabs what would become known as a BFT for the title at 5:23.

Rating: D+. Shockingly enough, this really didn’t work, as the title was in a rather terrible place at this time. Melina was talented, but there is only so much you can do when you have her bad knee right there and Fox goes after the arm. On top of that, the match was another one that belonged on Raw, which doesn’t make it that much better.

Post match Melina is asked about her win for the sole purpose of having Laycool (with their broken title) interrupt. They mock Melina’s looks and then go to REAL TALK because there are three champions in the ring at the moment. Layla says that Melina has cellulite (which McCool doesn’t understand) so they tease some photos, with Melina trying to fight both of them off. As usual it works for awhile but the numbers get the better of her. Fox gets back Sup to go after Melina and gets taken out by Laycool as well.

We recap Big Show unmasking the bald CM Punk (who sold it like he was being dropped into a vat of boiling butter). This sent Punk and his Straightedge Society after Show, with the team crushing Show’s hand. I think you know where this is going.

Straightedge Society vs. Big Show

Serena is here with the Society (and Punk’s I BROKE BIG SHOW’S HAND is a great touch). Show has a big surprise of his own though: the hand is totally fine. Mercury charges at Show to start and is knocked down just as quickly. Gallows gets one heck of a loud chop and Punk wants a meeting before facing Show himself.

This results in Mercury and Gallows getting thrown outside and now Punk realizes he’s in trouble. Serena’s distraction works for a bit but Punk can’t stomp the hand on the steps again. Instead Show chops the steps by mistake (that’s on him for being dumb), allowing the rest of the Society to jump him at once. The group beatdown is on but Show shrugs them off without much trouble and clears out Gallows and Mercury.

Punk kicks his way out of a chokeslam and avoids a charge in the corner. The running knees in the corner stagger Show and a double DDT gets two, with the kickout sending Mercury all the way back to the floor. Punk hammers away but gets caught in a fireman’s carry. The other two try to go after Show, earning Punk a dump over the top. That’s enough for Punk, who leaves with Serena, as Show chokeslams Mercury onto Gallows for the double pin at 6:49.

Rating: C+. This was a nice way to keep the feud going, as the whole point is to see Show get his hands on Punk. We got a taste of that here and it worked out well enough, though it would be nice to see something important actually happen on this show. That is kind of the point of Summerslam yes?

Smackdown World Champion Kane is ready to end Rey Mysterio and slams a casket shut. Raw World Champion Sheamus comes up to say the casket is too big for someone like Mysterio. It’s perfect for Randy Orton though so maybe Sheamus can use it after his match. Kane: “No.” Sheamus says he’s being called the real Big Red Machine around here so Kane threatens to disembowel him. That’s enough for Sheamus to leave after a rather intense comeback from Kane.

Here is Miz for an unscheduled chat. Striker thinks it might be to cash in his Money In The Bank and Cole thinks that’s a great point. Lawler points out that there’s no champion out here and that’s shut down rather quickly. Anyway Miz asks if he should join Team WWE because a lot of people in the back think he should. The team has been begging him to join for weeks because they understand that he is the future.

Bret Hart has called him the excellence of execution, R-Truth wrote him a bad rap and he’s shown that he was the Shawn Michaels to John Morrison’s Marty Jannetty. So is he joining Team WWE? Yes. Miz loads up his catchphrase but gets annoyed at the fans wanting to do it with him. Now the catchphrase can be completed. Cole freaking out over Miz being the big savior is great.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Sheamus for the latter’s World Title. Orton is on a roll and wants his World Title back from Sheamus, who won it earlier this year thanks to some Nexus interference. He has his shot, but if Orton loses, he never gets another shot at Sheamus.

Raw World Title: Sheamus vs. Randy Orton

Orton is challenging and if anyone interferes, they’re suspended. Feeling out process to start with Sheamus posing at him, earning quite the stomping down into the corner. Orton’s running clothesline out of the corner lets him stomp away for two and another clothesline drops Sheamus again. They fight outside with Orton knocking him over the barricade but noticing the count and getting back inside in time.

The stomping gets two more and they go outside again, with Orton whipping him into various things. Sheamus reverses a hard whip into the steps though, which is finally enough for a breather. Back in and Sheamus hammers away, setting up the reverse chinlock. A suplex gets Orton out of trouble but the hanging DDT is broken up with a rather nasty backdrop. Sheamus ax handles him down for two and goes after the arm. Granted not the arm that went into the steps but it’s better than Alicia Fox.

Sheamus goes for the armbar but misses a charge into the post, allowing Orton to knock him down for two, with the bad arm making it a weak cover. Orton fights back and hits the powerslam before Sheamus misses a charge into the post. The arm is fine enough to catch Orton in the Irish Curse but the Brogue Kick misses and Sheamus crashes out to the floor.

Back in and the hanging DDT connects and the fans go nuts as Orton goes into flopping like a fish mode. The RKO is shoved away to give Sheamus two though and the Brogue Kick connects…for two more. With the frustration setting in, Sheamus goes to get a chair and shoves the referee for the DQ at 18:56.

Rating: B-. Yeah it was ok, with the result not being the greatest as Orton wins, meaning he can get another title shot. At the same time it was only a pretty good match, with the fans going nuts for Orton but not much going on until the last few minutes. Again, it feels like something setting up another match down the road and that’s not what I want from Summerslam.

Post match Sheamus takes too long loading up the chair and gets kicked low, allowing Orton to use said chair. They go outside with Orton clearing off the announcers’ table for the RKO onto (not through) the table. Orton leaves and Sheamus can barely move so the fans want Miz and get….nothing.

We recap Kane defending the Smackdown World Title against Rey Mysterio. Someone has attacked the Undertaker and Kane has sworn to find out who did it. Kane attacked various people before naming Mysterio as the attacker. Mysterio denied it but is fine with getting the title shot anyway. Then Mysterio said Kane was the attacker, which Kane angrily denied. This doesn’t sound like it is going to end well.

Smackdown World Title: Kane vs. Rey Mysterio

Kane is defending and wheels out a casket, with promises to put Mysterio in it after the match. Mysterio picks up the pace to start and misses an early 619. Instead Kane sends him rolling to the floor but Mysterio is back up with a dive off the apron. Back in and Kane’s arm gets snapped over the top rope, only for Kane to knock him off the top.

Mysterio gets sent ribs first into the post for a nasty crash and Kane drives him back first into the post a few times to make it worse. A whip into the corner gives Kane two (with an odd hook of the inside leg) and he slaps on the bearhug. Mysterio fights out and is promptly clotheslined right back down. Back up and Mysterio manages a top rope headbutt from the top (nice) but gets backbreakered for two more.

Kane gets caught going up and something like a Destino, followed by a tornado DDT give Mysterio two each. Mysterio Drops The Dime for two and kicks Kane in the head for two more, leaving they’re both down. Back up and Kane opens the casket, which is empty, allowing Mysterio to fail at the 619. Kane kicks him into the casket so Mysterio fights out and closes the casket, followed by a springboard dropkick. Now the 619 can connect but Kane boots him in the face. The chokeslam retains the title at 13:32.

Rating: C+. This got going better near the end but they were all but saying that Mysterio was just a warm body to give Kane something to do before Undertaker came back to fight Kane. Mysterio knows how to fight a monster and the match wasn’t bad, but much like a lot of other things on this show, it didn’t feel important and that’s not a good thing. At least they didn’t go too long though.

Post match Kane promises Mysterio eternal punishment and opens the casket, revealing…nothing. You can hear the fans sounding disappointed but Mysterio fights back and Kane closes the casket again (there it is). A chokeslam and Tombstone plant Mysterio so Kane opens the casket again…and NOW Undertaker is inside to give the show a big moment.

Undertaker looks very shaky (remember that he’s recovering from a major attack) and Kane looks terrified. Undertaker gets in Mysterio’s face and asks if he has ever heard of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. He asks Mysterio why he did it but Mysterio swears it wasn’t him.

With a grab of the neck, Undertaker says he believes Mysterio and then does the throat slit, only to turn to face Kane. Well yeah, of course it was Kane. Undertaker grabs Kane by the throat but he’s still weak, allowing Kane to fight back and beat him down. This would result in Kane actually beating Undertaker twice in a row, including in the Cell (which was the last time the World Heavyweight Title headlined a PPV for over three years).

We look at WWE’s charity stuff, plus a Summerslam Axxess.

We recap the main event. Nexus arrived in June and has turned into an unstoppable force. John Cena has led the charge for WWE (shocking isn’t it) and joined forces with a bunch of people to fight back in the form of an elimination tag (which is odd as Bragging Rights and Survivor Series were coming up in a few months).

Anyway, Team WWE had problems, with some of the quitting along the way. Great Khali has been taken out and didn’t have a seventh member until tonight. Chris Jericho and Edge quit and rejoined the team as well and Miz joined earlier so things are even. Well as even as it can be with David Otunga and Michael Tarver on a team.

Team WWE vs. Team Nexus

WWE: John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart, R-Truth, John Morrison, The Miz
Nexus: Wade Barrett, Skip Sheffield, Darren Young, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Michael Tarver

Elimination rules and dang We Are One is a catchy song. Miz comes out last but hold on as Cena says wait a minute. Cena declares that Miz is too late because he already has a seventh man. The team has agreed to this because it is someone who hates Nexus as much as them…and it’s the returning Daniel Bryan (Cole LOSES IT, almost as much as anyone on WWE.com earlier in the day lost it when they spoiled Bryan’s return by mistake). The brawl is on before the bell and Nexus is cleared out with ease as Barrett has to calm everyone else down. Bryan kicks Young down to start and the LeBell Lock gets the tap at 43 seconds.

As commentary points out, that’s the first time Nexus doesn’t have the numbers advantage and it’s off to Gabriel, who gets elbowed in the face by Jericho. R-Truth comes in for something like a Stunner for two but Gabriel kicks him down. It’s off to Tarver to hammer R-Truth into the corner but Morrison gets the tag, along with a Flying Chuck. Starship Pain gets rid of Tarver at 3:35 and it’s already 7-5.

Nexus has a meeting on the floor and it’s Sheffield (Ryback) coming in to shove Morrison down. Back up and Morrison slaps him in the face, earning himself a hard powerslam. Morrison is whipped hard into the corner and suplexed down even harder for another near fall. A kick to the back of the head from the apron cuts off Morrison’s comeback and Sheffield lariats him for the pin at 7:32. R-Truth comes in and gets lariated down as well for the pin to tie it up at 8:00.

Jericho comes in for a quick shot but is knocked into the corner with Otunga getting to come in for a slam. Jericho fights out of the corner though and hands it off to Hart, who gets quite the reaction as he beats on Slater in the corner. An atomic drop and clothesline set up the Sharpshooter but Nexus sends in a chair. Sheffield comes after Hart, who grabs the chair and blasts Sheffield, which is a DQ (I wonder if Hart was unable to take a bump, which if true is perfectly fine) at 12:08.

Hart yells a lot before leaving, with Jericho’s Codebreaker and Edge’s spear finishing Sheffield at 13:13, leaving us at four each. Gabriel is in next and gets booted by Edge but kicks Edge right back down. It’s back to Slater to stomp away before Barrett sends Edge into the buckle. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Edge is back up to knock Barrett down. Otunga is dropped as well and it’s back to Jericho to pick up the pace. The Walls make Otunga tap at 19:13 and Jericho beats up Slater on the floor.

Back in and the elbow drops Slater but Jericho runs into Cena by mistake. That’s enough for Slater to hit Sweetness (basically a Zig Zag) for the pin on Jericho at 20:05. Edge is so livid that he argues with Cena, who walks away, but Slater rolls Edge up for the pin at 20:38. That has Edge even angrier and he takes Cena out, with Jericho getting in a shot of his own. The banged up Cena is sent back inside as Cole goes on a rant about how much better it would be with Miz instead of Bryan.

Cena is too hurt to make a comeback and gets knocked down by Gabriel, allowing Barrett to come back in. A suplex gets Cena out of trouble but Slater cuts off the tag attempt. Cena and Slater clothesline each other though and it’s back to Bryan to clean house. The suicide dive hits Slater and even Cole has to admit Bryan is showing heart. Back in and Slater taps to the LeBell Lock at 29:03, leaving us with Cena/Bryan vs. Barrett/Gabriel.

Cue Miz with the Money In The Bank briefcase to Bryan though and Barrett gets the pin at 29:32, leaving Cena all alone. Cena gets back in and fires off the shoulders, followed by the ProtoBomb. Barrett makes the save and comes in to stomp away, with Gabriel getting to do some of the same. With nothing else working, Nexus takes Cena outside and peel back the floor mats. Barrett DDTs him onto the concrete and takes him back inside, where Cena avoids Gabriel’s 450 for the pin at 34:50. Barrett comes in and gets STF’d for the tap at 35:15.

Rating: C. I remember being ok with this at the time and now I remember wondering how in the world this was ever approved. The key to Nexus was that they could survive as a big group and here they are losing as a big group. Therefore, why should anyone worry about them after this? No one could ever find an answer and while the team would be around for a few months, with Barrett focusing on the World Title, this was pretty much the fatal blow.

Cena has since said that this was a bad idea (because it was his idea) but the team was finished here and pretty much everyone knew it. The match wasn’t even that great as it was just a Survivor Series match, making me wonder WHY THEY DIDN’T DO THIS AT SURVIVOR SERIES! Bryan coming back was a nice surprise (if you stayed offline during the show) but it’s not like there was anything must see in here. Really big miss here and unfortunately it finished a pretty weak show.

Overall Rating: D+. And that’s probably being generous. There is nothing on here worth seeing with most of the matches feeling like they were just previews for something else. That might be fine for like, Night Of Champions, but this is one of the biggest shows of the year. The main event, while fine for the most part, is a huge letdown as Nexus just dies right in front of our eyes. This show wasn’t awful, but it was rather dull and in this case, that’s a lot worse.

Results
Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler went to a no contest when Nexus interfered
Melina b. Alicia Fox – Faceplant
Big Show b. Straightedge Society – Double pin
Randy Orton b. Sheamus via DQ when Sheamus shoved the referee
Kane b. Rey Mysterio – Chokeslam
Team WWE b. Nexus last eliminating Wade Barrett

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Survivor Series 2012
Date: November 18, 2012
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 8,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

So this is another redo as for some reason I thought doing most of the shows that ended in a 2 was a good idea. This show had quite a few problems up and down the card but there is quite the special moment at the end that might be worth another look. Other than that, we have Team Punk vs. Team Foley, the latter of which has no Foley. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: 3MB vs. Team Co-Bro

That would be Heath Slater/Jinder Mahal (with the very skinny Drew McIntyre) vs. Santino Marella/Zack Ryder and this is quite the time capsule match. Ryder and Mahal start things off with Ryder snapping off an armdrag to take over. Marella comes in for an armdrag into an armbar to Slater and it’s right back to Ryder. McIntyre grabs Slater from the floor so he can avoid a dropkick but Ryder gets over to Santino for the hot tag.

Slater cuts that out rather quickly and the villains take over in the corner. A neckbreaker gives Mahal two and Slater grabs the chinlock. With that broken up, Santino backdrops his way out of trouble and hands it back to Ryder to clean house. The Broski Boot hits Mahal but Slater makes the save as everything breaks down. McIntyre gets in a cheap shot from the steps though and it’s a full nelson to give Mahal the pin at 6:12.

Rating: C. Not much to this one and that’s about how it should have been. These matches are designed to get the fans into the show and they kept it short and to the point. It’s not like Co-Bro was likely going anywhere and 3MB….well they were bigger than Co-Bro at least. Not exactly a good match, but it did its job well enough.

The opening video looks at the history of Survivor Series before shifting into a look at this year’s big stories.

Team Clay vs. Team Tensai

Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd
Tensai, Primo, Epico, Prime Time Players

This is a bonus match and there is nothing wrong with that. Kidd and Epico get things going with Epico fighting out of a headlock. Kidd’s jackknife rollup gets two as commentary ignores the match to talk about Jerry Lawler facing the Rock in his first match. Epico’s armdrag doesn’t get very far so Gabriel comes in for two off a moonsault. Rey comes in for a basement dropkick for two of his own but it’s off to Young as commentary remembers to talk about the match.

It’s off to Cara to take Primo down before running up the corner for a spinning high crossbody. A sunset bomb gets two on Primo but he’s back with a shot to the face, allowing the tag off to Tensai. It’s off to Titus, who awkwardly picks Cara up and holds him for a shot from Primo. An enziguri to Tensai finally gets Cara out of trouble and it’s Clay coming in to clean house. Primo and Epico are sent outside and we hit a parade of dives until we’re left with Clay vs. Tensai. Clay tries an exploder suplex but drops Tensai on his face instead. Back up and Tensai runs him over, setting up a running backsplash for the elimination at 8:25.

Gabriel comes back in and gets dropped, allowing Titus to come in for a weird looking abdominal stretch. Tensai comes back in and misses a backsplash, allowing Gabriel to roll him up for the pin at 10:20. Gabriel can’t follow up though and gets choked by Titus as the beating continues. Commentary talks about various famous debuts at Survivor Series and Epico grabs a chinlock. Gabriel gets up and hands it off to Kidd, who gets sent into the barricade as the crowd is almost eerily silent. Titus misses a running big boot though and Kidd rolls him up for the pin at 13:49.

Despite still winning, the good guys keep getting beaten up as Young jumps Kidd this time around. Kidd slips out of a belly to back suplex though and grabs the Sharpshooter to get rid of Epico at 14:58. Cole: “One of Bret Hart’s relatives using his move to eliminate someone at the Survivor Series!” JBL: “I’m sure Bret will be mad about that too.”

Primo goes up but gets dropkicked out of the air, allowing the tag back to Mysterio. A kick to the head gets two on Primo and Rey knocks him off the top, setting up the missed 619. Primo’s Backstabber is blocked and Rey cradles him for the pin at 17:29. That leaves Young alone, meaning it’s a 619 to set up a parade of finishers, capped off by Rey’s top rope splash for the pin at 18:25.

Rating: C-. I like the idea of throwing a bunch of people on the show to get them some extra time, but could you make it a little more interesting? Things picked up a bit once Rey got in there and showed some fire, but the fifteen minutes leading up to that were mostly dull. While it’s not a bad match, it’s a good bit longer than it needed to be and mostly boring, which isn’t a good way to start a show.

Survivors: Rey Mysterio, Justin Gabriel, Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd

Kaitlyn is on her way to the ring for her Divas Title match when (I believe) Aksana, in a blonde wig, jumps her. Champion Eve Torres comes in to say she hopes Kaitlyn is ok, so Kaitlyn shoves her down and says the same thing.

Divas Title: Kaitlyn vs. Eve Torres

Eve is defending and commentary actually DOES ITS JOB by explaining that Kaitlyn was attacked in the same way at Night Of Champions, resulting in Eve taking her place and winning the title. And now that a rather odd moment is cleared up, Kaitlyn throws the wig at Eve and we start fast. Kaitlyn pounds away on the mat and kicks her to the floor as commentary goes into the Raw vs. Smackdown (non) issues, with Cole having no idea what JBL is talking about.

Eve isn’t allowed to run through the crowd so she kicks away back inside. Choking in the corner has Kaitlyn in more trouble and Eve manages to add a regal style wave. A figure four necklock goes on as commentary compares Eve to Kate Middleton. Kaitlyn makes the rope and knocks her outside again, followed by a hard shoulder back inside. A gutbuster gives Kaitlyn two but Eve grabs the ring skirt and they crash out to the floor. Back in and Eve’s suplex neckbreaker retains at 6:59.

Rating: C. This was a weird period for the women’s division as they weren’t exactly good yet but they were so much better than they were at their worst that things are at least decent. Eve was one of the better stars of her era and Kaitlyn had enough fire to get people to want her to win the title. Not an awful match, and at least better than the previous one.

We look at the pre-show, where Alberto Del Rio called Dolph Ziggler his team captain, even though Ziggler will be eliminated fast. A team wide argument ensued.

Team Foley is arguing as well but believe it or not, Foley gives them a pep talk to calm them down. Eventually everyone but Randy Orton gets together for a BANG BANG. Orton to Foley: “I hate you.” Foley: “That means he’s ready.”

US Title: R-Truth vs. Antonio Cesaro

Cesaro is defending and before the match, mocks America for having anything to be thankful for this year. Well except for having him as the US Champion of course. We hear about various foreign US Champions, which has JBL annoyed that he wasn’t included. Cole: “Do you even listen to me?” Truth rolls him up for two to start and then punches at the wrist Cesaro holds up to avoid some right hands.

Cesaro knocks him into the corner and hits a kick to the head, followed by the armbar. With that broken up, Cesaro stomps him in the chest for two and we hit the waistlock. Commentary gets in a big argument about rugby as Truth fights up, gets waistlocked again, fights up and gets waistlocked again. Truth gets out (again) and hits a side kick, only to miss the ax kick. Cesaro uppercuts him and hits the Neutralizer to retain at 6:57.

Rating: C-. This didn’t exactly lift the show up off the ground as a good chunk of it was Cesaro holding him in a waistlock. Cesaro felt like a monster around this point and you could see what a lot of fans saw in him. At the same time, there was no reason to believe that Truth was going to take the title here and it showed pretty badly.

We recap Vickie Guerrero playing voicemails from AJ Lee where she was conflicted about her relationship with John Cena. Lee says they were edited together and Dolph Ziggler and Cena got involved as well. This Lee soap opera/melodrama felt like it went on forever.

Here is Lee, who has promised to reveal something about Vickie for a change. She has seen Vickie accusing her of having an inappropriate relationship with John Cena but thinks AJ is hiding something. Cue Vickie to yell about Lee, who produces a photo of Vickie and Ricardo Rodriguez sharing burritos. Then it’s Vickie and JR sharing barbecue sauce.

Vickie is livid and Lee thinks it’s because of her guilt. Next up: Vickie (in a leopard print swimsuit) dancing with Brodus Clay. They threaten each other but understand that they can’t hurt each other. Cue Tamina (looking almost unrecognizable compared to most of her career) to lay Lee out.

Paul Heyman isn’t worried about tonight’s main event and doesn’t like accusations that CM Punk has to cheat to win. While John Cena is chasing AJ Lee, Punk is the first man to beat Ryback. Punk is the best of the three and the best in the world.

We recap Sheamus challenging Big Show for the Smackdown World Title. Show beat him for the title last month and now Sheamus is back, with the battle over the Brogue Kick vs. the KO Punch. Show has also attacked Sheamus’ friend William Regal to make this even more personal.

SmackDown World Title: Big Show vs. Sheamus

Show is defending. Sheamus slugs away to start and tries to get Show to chase him in a smart move. That only works for so long though as Show hits a clothesline and chops away in the corner. A shot to the leg puts Show down though and Sheamus hammers away in the ropes. There are the forearms to the chest but Show bails outside before the Brogue Kick can connect.

Back in and Sheamus goes up, only to be speared out of the air in a nasty looking crash. Show slowly hammers away as commentary AGAIN talks about great moments in Survivor Series’ history. Sheamus gets sent hard into the buckle but manages to snap Show’s throat across the top. A single big boot cuts that off though and a big elbow gives Show two. We hit the quickly broken nerve hold before Show knocks him down for two more.

Sheamus comes back with a sleeper for a bit before slugging away, only to miss a charge into the post. Show loads up the Vader Bomb but Sheamus is up with an electric chair for two as the fans are WAY into this stuff. The KO Punch misses and Sheamus drops him with a running ax handle. White Noise gives Sheamus two but Show pulls the referee in the way of the Brogue Kick. Sheamus checks on the referee but Show is up with the KO Punch for the pin from another referee at 14:45.

Rating: B. This a was a fight and that is what it needed to be. It was in the Sting vs. Vader formula, with Sheamus slugging away at the giant and getting knocked back down again and again. The fans got behind Sheamus and wanted to see him take out the dragon and that is exactly the point of the match. Heck of a match here and by far the best thing on the show.

Post match the referee switches the result to a DQ. Sheamus is back up with a chair and UNLOADS on Show with about twenty shots. As Show begs off, Sheamus hits him with the Brogue Kick to leave him laying.

Team Ziggler vs. Team Foley

Ziggler: Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow
Foley: Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Miz

This match had so many lineup changes (injuries, other matches being changed) that it barely resembles what they were going for in the first place (Team Punk vs. Team Foley). Kingston rolls Otunga up for two at the bell and sends him outside as commentary keeps making legal jokes. Back in and Kofi starts in on the arm before handing it off to Danielson for more of the same. Otunga slams his way out of trouble and brings in Sandow (hopefully allowing Otunga to fix his trunks, which are out of place), who hits the Elbow of Disdain.

Danielson fights out of a chinlock and hits a running dropkick in the corner. The YES Kicks rock Sandow again as commentary talks about Mike Tyson (they are all over the place tonight and even Lawler calls JBL out on it here). Sandow tries to walk out but gets pulled back in by Kane, who hits a chokeslam to get rid of Sandow at 3:06. We pause for Kane and Bryan to argue though, allowing Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag on Kane for the elimination at 3:45.

Orton wins an argument with Miz over who gets to punch Ziggler, followed by a slingshot suplex for two. Kofi comes in for a heck of a monkey flip for two and it’s off to Barrett to miss a charge at Bryan in the corner. Del Rio gets in a cheap shot so Barrett can kick Bryan to the floor. Back in and Otunga gets to work on the arm but he stops to pose. That’s enough for the YES Lock to make Otunga tap at 7:09.

Del Rio comes in to kick away before Bryan sends him crashing out to the floor. Back in and Kofi strikes away at Del Rio, setting up the Boom Drop. Del Rio fights his way out of trouble though and hands it off to Barrett for a tilt-a-whirl slam. The Bull Hammer gets rid of Kofi at 9:41 and it’s 3-3.

Orton comes in to send Barrett into the corner but charges into a boot to the face. A suplex puts Barrett down and Bryan comes back in to kick away in the corner. The YES Kicks don’t work so well this time as Barrett clotheslines him out to the floor. Del Rio comes back in and fights out of the YES Lock, setting up the cross armbreaker for the tap at 12:36.

Miz comes in for the first time and actually takes over, allowing Orton to stomp on Del Rio for a change. That’s broken up as well and it’s back to Ziggler for the chinlock. Of course Orton knows just how to fight out of one of those and knocks Ziggler down for a breather. The hot(ish) tag brings Miz back in to unload on Barrett in the corner, setting up the running clothesline. The top rope ax handle staggers Barrett and, after escaping a pumphandle slam, Miz hits the Skull Crushing finale for the elimination at 16:03.

So that leaves us with Miz/Orton vs. Ziggler/Del Rio and Miz’s DDT gets two on Del Rio. Del Rio’s German suplex gets the same but Miz pulls him off the middle rope for a crash. Del Rio sends him right back into the corner though and hits a running enziguri to get rid of Miz at 17:13.

Orton comes in and gets distracted by Ziggler, allowing Del Rio to kick him down for two. That doesn’t last long as Orton is back up for the clothesline comeback, plus the powerslam. A Ricardo Rodriguez distraction lets Del Rio drop Orton for two more, leaving Foley to beat up Rodriguez. Ziggler has to break up an RKO attempt but dropkicks Del Rio by mistake, leaving Orton to send Ziggler into the post. The RKO drops Del Rio for the pin at 20:57 and we’re down to Orton vs. Ziggler.

Another RKO is blocked and Ziggler hits the Zig Zag for two. The Fameasser misses and Orton plants him with the hanging DDT. There’s no cover though, as instead Orton loads up the Punt. As usual though it takes WAY too long, allowing Ziggler to hit a superkick for the final pin at 23:40.

Rating: B-. I don’t remember liking this one very much at first but that might have been due to all of the twists and turns to get to the match. Watching it back years later and….yeah it’s just kind of good. There is a bunch of star power and the wrestling is more than acceptable, but other than beating up Rodriguez, Foley added nothing here.

This is a match that feels like it could have been a lot better if they went with the original plan, but things got so twisted around and messed up that everything was lost in the switch. Not a bad match at all, but I felt like I needed a ten minute recap and a flow chart to figure out how we got here.

Fans want to see Rock vs. various people at the Royal Rumble. My goodness the nightmare days of Tout.

We recap CM Punk defending the Raw World Title against John Cena and Ryback. Cena was supposed to get the title shot inside the Cell last month but was injured and gave Ryback the shot instead. Ryback got cheated by rogue referee Brad Maddox (who wanted to make a name for himself in a story that bombed rather badly) so tonight, Punk defends against both of them at once.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Ryback vs. CM Punk

Punk, with Paul Heyman, is defending and oddly enough, comes out second. Cena chases Punk around on the floor to start until Ryback takes Cena’s place. Back in and Cena and Ryback get in an argument over who gets to beat up Punk in the corner. Ryback gets the better of things by driving Punk’s head into the mat over and over until Cena gives Punk a running bulldog. With Punk down on the floor, Cena and Ryback are left to escape finishers.

Punk is back in with a suplex on Ryback but Cena clears him out and suplexes Ryback as well for two. We hit the chinlock on Ryback until Punk is back in for the save to send Cena outside. Ryback goes back to the power and drives Punk into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Cena is back in and gets DDTed to give Punk two so we can get a breather. Ryback hits a running powerslam on Punk but gets ProtoBombed….and pops right up.

Cena drops Ryback again, only to have Punk pull him outside for a hard whip into the steps. Back in and Ryback beats on Punk for a change until Cena breaks up Shell Shock. The STF has Ryback in trouble but Punk makes the save with a top rope elbow. It’s Ryback up first and he tosses both of them to the floor for some big crashes. The not-Rybacks fight out of a double suplex and instead double suplex Ryback through the announcers’ table.

Back in and Cena initiates the finishing sequence but Punk breaks it up with the GTS for a rather close two. The AA gives Cena the same so Punk kicks away as we can hear the Spanish commentary in the background. Cena pulls him back into the STF but Ryback is back in for another save. There’s the Meat Hook to Punk, with Cole declaring that there is nothing stopping Ryback now.

Shell Shock connects but Cena breaks up the pin. That earns Cena his own Shell Shock…but three guys in black run in to jump Ryback. Cole recognizes them as Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins from NXT (ignore that Ambrose never wrestled on NXT TV) as theyput Ryback through a table. Punk pins the still out Cena to retain at 17:58.

Rating: B. This was the usual main event style triple threat match and that means it worked rather well. What matters here is having a way to keep the title on Punk and it certainly was a surprise way to do so. The interference came out of nowhere and that is the kind of finish that leaves a lot more going on for the future. Ryback losing again isn’t going to do much for his future, but Punk retaining is the bigger story as he gets a step closer to the showdown with Rock in January. Good main event here though, with all three working hard.

Replays take us out.

Overall Rating: B-. This starts out rather slow but the last three matches are more than enough to carry things over the line. The ending here is what matters more than anything else though as WWE gets a brand new main event crop of talent, which is not something you see every day. Punk seems like he is going to be losing when he faces Rock at the Rumble, but at least we are getting something fresh to keep things going. Good show here, though it could have used something better in the first hour or so.

Ratings Comparison

3MB vs. Team Co-Bro

Original: C-
2013 Redo: D+
2023 Redo: C

Team Clay vs. Team Tensai

Original: B-
2013 Redo: C
Redo: C-

Kaitlyn vs. Eve Torres

Original: D-
2013 Redo: D
Redo: C

R-Truth vs. Antonio Cesaro

Original: D
2013 Redo: D
Redo: C-

Sheamus vs. Big Show

Original: C-
2013 Redo: C
Redo: B

Team Ziggler vs. Team Foley

Original: C-
2013 Redo: C-
Redo: B-

Ryback vs. John Cena vs. CM Punk

Original: B-
2013 Redo: C+
Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: D+
2013 Redo: D
Redo: B-

I’m not usually stunned by my old ratings but WOW. This show might not have been great but it wasn’t that bad. Dang how miserable was I back then?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Survivor Series 2011
Date: November 20, 2011
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 16,749
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

This show is all about the Rock. Seriously, that’s it. The main event is Rock/Cena vs. Awesome Truth in Rock’s first match in seven years. They totally gave away the announcement of the match before the announcement on Raw but they were trying at leat. This show didn’t sell that well for reasons we’ll get to later. Let’s get to it.

The whole history thing starts us off again, as always. Take a guess as to what the opening video is about.

John Laurinitis welcomes us to the show. That’s all he says so this was a minute wasted, brought to you by one of the Dynamic Dudes.

US Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison

Morrison lost FOREVER, then won a match on Raw after Mason Ryan helped, and gets a title match as a result. This was during a bad period where Ziggler had a rock cover of his song which didn’t work at all. Feeling out process to start and the fans want RYDER. This was when Ryder was white hot but WWE decided that crushing him for the sake of Kane and Jack Swagger. Ziggler gets taken down by the arm as the announcers talk about Ryder.

The fans now think this is boring so Dolph jumps over John in the corner and hits a dropkick to take over. Off to a headlock by the champion as the fans still want Ryder. Dolph gets thrown to the floor and Morrison hits a big corkscrew dive to take the champ out. Vickie offers an annoying distraction and Ziggler takes over back inside. Ziggler takes Morrison down and nips up in a good athletic display before hooking a near Crossface.

As the fans chant the same thing I’d expect to hear for the entire show, Ziggler stands around a lot. Morrison misses a charge in the corner and Dolph hits a reverse powerslam for two. The sleeper doesn’t go on and Morrison starts speeding things up with clotheslines and a leg lariat. That gets two and so does a rollup with tights for Ziggler. Morrison kicks Dolph in the head for two and a half and they trade sleepers.

The fans seem to be more behind Ziggler but it’s New York so that’s not shocking. John hits a spinning DDT for two as Vickie puts Dolph’s foot on the rope, which earns her an ejection. Morrison misses a running knee and they rapidly trade near falls. The Flying Chuck misses for Morrison and it’s a Fameasser…..for two. Wow I thought that was it. The running knee hits Ziggler in the face but Starship Pain hits Ziggler’s knees. Zig Zag retains the title.

Rating: B-. I dug this match a lot, annoying crowd aside. Sometimes there’s nothing better you can do than throw two talented guys out there for ten minutes and let them have fun. Ziggler is more or less in the same spot he’s in a year later which is annoying but it’s the way of life in the WWE. Morrison would be gone in eight days which almost knew was coming.

Post match Vickie gets our attention as only she can and hands the mic to Ziggler who says he’d hate to have to follow what you just saw. He says it’s not showing off it you can back it up every night. As Ziggler celebrates, here’s Ryder…who is immediately beaten down. Ryder comes back and hits the Rough Ryder to send Ziggler running. They probably should have changed the title here, but I’m not sure they were sure they wanted to go with Ryder yet or not.

Divas Title: Eve Torres vs. Beth Phoenix

Beth is defending and this is a lumberjill match. Beth catches a cross body and just drops Eve like she doesn’t care. Eve kicks her down and does her STUPID dancing moonsault but Beth rolls to the floor and calls it stupid. Good for her! Back in and the moonsault hits anyway for two. Eve gets sent to the apron and has to kick away Natalya, allowing the champion to take over.

Off to a reverse chinlock for a bit before Eve counters a wheelbarrow suplex to send Beth into the middle turnbuckle. Eve hits a kick to the face but a rolling flip hits knees. The Glam Slam is countered and Eve hooks a freaky kind of Octopus Hold before shifting to a modified triangle choke. Eve has to chase off some evil chicks but manages to kick Beth in the head. The moonsault gets broken up though and the Glam Slam off the middle rope retains Beth’s title.

Rating: C. Not terrible here and the ending looked awesome. I loved Beth and Natalya’s heel run together as they HATED the stupid Barbie stuff that chicks like Kelly and Eve were doing because it’s almost embarrassing at times. This particular match started slow but once it picked up it got a lot better.

Otunga comes in to annoy Punk and says Cole deserves an apology from some attack by Punk. Punk says let me go become world champion first.

Rock is in the back and he’s got a mic. He talks about MSG (no FINALLY for some reason) and being here in the 70s, watching his grandfather fighting for the world title. Then in the 80s he hung out with Andre the Giant in the locker room. Then in 1996 he debuted in the WWF, and despite having a hideous outfit and the worst haircut known to man (his words), the fans chanted his name. That’s correct actually and they didn’t even tell him to die. Rock runs us through his history of catchphrases and title wins, with the most important being him becoming the People’s Champion.

There’s FINALLY and he has to stop for a chant. He does his stupid boots catchphrase before moving on to his partner: John Cena. The fans think Cena sucks but Rock talks about the things that have happened in MSG like Ali vs. Frazier. Then he sings some Frank Sinatra and asks the fans to sing with him. It’s on tonight and that’s about it. This is what the fans wanted and he could have had them say anything he wanted here. That’s what Rock is great at and it worked.

Team Barrett vs. Team Orton

Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Hunico, Dolph Ziggler

Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, Mason Ryan, Sin Cara

Ziggler is subbing for an injured Christian. There’s no real reason for most of these guys other than needing four midcard faces and heels to fill out the teams. Cody is IC Champion. Kofi and Bourne are tag champions here but Bourne is on a Wellness violation. Kofi and Ziggler start things off with Ziggler hitting a quick elbow to take Kofi down. The reverse powerslam is countered and Dolph gets one off a dropkick.

Kofi’s SOS is countered so it’s a forearm to take Dolph down instead. There’s the tag to Orton and an RKO eliminates Ziggler quickly. To be fair he had a match earlier so this isn’t a bad thing for him. Barrett has a huddle on the floor with his team but Orton wants to fight some more. Back in and it’s most of Team Orton to clear the ring before Kofi and Cara try stereo flip dives. Cara, being the klutz that he is at this point, trips on the top rope and rips his knee apart, putting him in the shelf for the next seven months.

The match stops for a few moments as we’re told Cara is eliminated. We get back to normal and it’s Cody vs. Randy now. Orton grabs the arm and it’s off to Ryan. Prepare for a trainwreck. Ryan hits some very basic stuff including a knee to the chest before Cody bails to the floor. Hunico gets the tag but Ryan has to literally pull him in. Off to Kofi whose tights look like they have the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on them if you don’t look too long.

Kofi misses a charge in the corner and it’s off to Barrett for a chinlock. Back up and it’s a double clothesline to put them both right back down. Double tag brings in Hunico vs. Ryan with the latter hitting a series of backbreakers and a fallaway slam. Hunico gets gorilla press dropped into the corner for a tag to Cody. There’s the Disaster Kick and the Cross Rhodes (POP) for the pin and elimination.

Off to Sheamus vs. Cody now with the Pale One quickly getting annoyed. He pounds Rhodes down in the corner and hits the ten forearms in the ropes, which they tried to name some Irish word. It lasted about two weeks before they realized it speaks for itself pretty well. Cody tries to low bridge Sheamus but Sheamus lands on the apron. Barrett decks the Irishman and Hunico comes in with a springboard dropkick to the knee.

Cole starts talking about Shawn Michaels for no apparent reason as Sheamus takes out Hunico’s knee as well. Off to Kofi who chops Barrett down a lot but gets kicked in the face after having to deal with Swagger. Upon further review, that IS the Stay Puft Man on Kofi’s trunks. With Barrett mostly dead from the kick, the Wasteland eliminates Kofi. It’s Orton and Sheamus vs. Swagger, Barrett, Hunico and Rhodes.

Orton comes in and tries the Elevated DDT, but Wade drops him to the floor where Hunico hits a suicide dive to take Orton out. Swagger comes in to pound on Orton a bit before Cody comes in for a release gordbuster. That gets two and it’s off to a chinlock for a bit. A bulldog by Cody is easily countered and it’s hot tag to Sheamus. The Pale One pounds on Swagger and hits the top rope shoulder and the Irish Curse. Swagger escapes the High Cross so Sheamus drops knees on his head, drawing a DQ when the referee gets to five. They were really trying to keep Sheamus strong here and that mostly worked.

Before Sheamus leaves, he takes Swagger’s head off with a Brogue Kick. Orton gets the easy pin and it’s 3-1. Rhodes comes in and stomps a spent Orton down in the corner but Orton comes back with some clotheslines. There’s the powerslam to Rhodes followed by the Elevated DDT. Randy has to chase off Barrett so Hunico gets a blind tag. He springboards right into the RKO for the elimination to make it 2-1, but Rhodes distracts Orton into the Wasteland to give Barrett the final pin.

Rating: B. This is your usual good formula based Survivor Series match with Orton and Barrett getting to advance their feud and not having Orton lose any face at all. The rest of the teams didn’t mean much but Kofi is perfect for matches like this: he’s got the resume to make him look like a threat but he never steals anyone’s thunder. Good match.

The Bellas hit on Alberto when Ace comes up. Del Rio isn’t worried about Punk tonight. Ace texts someone.

Don’t be a bully!

The ring is reenforced for the next match after Big Show and Henry broke the ring at Vengeance. That’s why the rematch is happening here tonight.

Smackdown World Title: Mark Henry vs. Big Show

Henry is defending. They trade the big dramatic shoves to start and Henry gets shoved to the floor. Back in and Show takes it to the mat which goes a lot better than you would expect it to. If that’s not shocking enough, Show armdrags Henry to the floor. Henry stalls in the corner before going after Show’s knee. Mark lays on the leg a bit and drops some elbows. I think the fans are chanting boring, likely due to New York fans being ridiculous.

A clothesline puts Show down but Show comes back with a DDT for two. Now the fans want Daniel Bryan, who has an MITB case at this point. Show shoulders Henry down and calls for the chokeslam, but Henry kicks him in the knee and hits the World’s Strongest Slam for two. A splash gets the same and Henry is getting frustrated. Booker sums up what Henry should do: give him another World’s Strongest Slam. I’ve never gotten why wrestlers don’t do that. Just because a finisher doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean a second or third won’t work.

The fans want Undertaker as the guys go to the floor. Show gets posted and then tackled through part of the barricade. That finally gets the fans’ attention on the match instead of on guys who aren’t here. Show barely makes it back into the ring in time but he manages to break up another superplex attempt. He busts out a superkick of all things to knock down Henry and draw an HBK chant.

Big Show goes up top (uh oh) and even though he takes forever, he hits a top rope elbow on Henry…..for two. Why do a huge spot like that if it doesn’t end the match? Now it’s a Randy Savage chant. Show loads up the WMD, but Henry kicks him low for the FREAKING LAME DQ to retain the title.

Rating: C+. There’s something awesome about two huge guys beating the tar out of each other and that’s what we got here. Henry was AWESOME in 2011 and made for a great world champion, which is the last thing most people expected. That elbow was great, but to have the match end the way it did sucked. Show would beat Henry the next month, only to have Bryan cash in and win the title 45 seconds later.

Post match Henry tries to Pillmanize Show’s ankle again but Show gets out of the way and knocks Henry out cold. The fans chant for Bryan but no such Goatface appears. Show wraps the chair around Henry’s ankle instead and drops a leg on the chair to break Henry’s ankle.

Barrett says that the world title is next for him but Awesome Truth comes in and demands respect. Truth talks about an argument he had with some pigeons. The pigeons said nothing though, because pigeons don’t talk. Crazy Truth was great.

The New York National Guard is here.

We recap Punk vs. Del Rio. Del Rio cashed in MITB at Summerslam after Punk won, Cena beat Del Rio at Vengeance, Del Rio won a threeway with Punk and Cena in the Cell, tonight is the rematch from Summerslam, if you call that a match.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

Alberto is defending. Del Rio has Ricardo Rodriguez introduce him, so CM Punk brings out his own ring announcer: HOWARD FREAKING FINKEL! Round one goes to Punk. Howard waddles out and seems genuinely choked up by the reaction he gets. The fans want ice cream which is a thing he said he wanted in his own image. Feeling out process to start as Punk does his headlock so he can call spots to Del Rio.

Now the fans chant for Colt Cabana. Man these guys just won’t stop. Punk cranks on the arm a bit and Alberto hides on the floor. Back in and Punk knees him down in the corner and hits a dropkick to send the champ back to the floor. There’s the suicide dive from Punk and it’s back in to work on the arm. Alberto sends him into the ropes where Ricardo gets in a shot, allowing Del Rio to take over.

Alberto comes in off the top with an elbow to the head for two and it’s off to the arm for the champion. Both guys have arm finishers which isn’t something you often see. Punk fights out of the hold but can’t hook the GTS as Del Rio hooks a DDT on the arm. The champ drops knees on the arm and we hit about the 8^th armbar of the match. Punk breaks that one as well but charges into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two.

CM ducks a charge to send Alberto to the floor and things slow down again. Back in and Punk makes a comeback with a lot of strikes to the head and a neckbreaker for two. The knee in the corner and bulldog get the same but Alberto counters the GTS into a Backstabber for two. A running enziguri in the corner gets a VERY close two on Punk and now it’s Alberto that’s frustrated.

Del Rio loads up a superplex in the corner but Punk knocks him off and loads up the Macho Elbow but gets crotched. Alberto gets in a hard kick to the arm but misses a charge into the post while Punk is still on top. Now the Macho Elbow hits to a big pop but it only gets two. The crowd is really getting into these kickouts now. Punk shouts for the GTS but Alberto counters it for the third time. The armbreaker is escaped but Punk’s high kick misses as well and there’s the armbreaker on full.

After getting as close to tapping as a face is going to, Punk gets his feet in the ropes. Del Rio escapes the GTS for the fourth time because the arm isn’t there. Punk kicks Ricardo in the face and gets rolled up with trunks for two. The high kick gets two for CM so he immediately puts on the Vice and wins Del Rio is in big trouble. He grabs at Punk’s face (realistic, nice) but has to tap and Punk wins the title.

Rating: A. I don’t remember liking this as well the first time but this was a really good match. Del Rio seemed like a real threat to keep the title here as Punk’s arm just wasn’t going to be able to do hit the GTS. The Vice is a little more realistic and I can live with him being able to do that so even the ending is ok. This was a very solid match, but the problem with the story overall is the title changes happening so rapidly.

In short, Del Rio getting two title reigns and Cena getting one out of all this didn’t need to happen. Punk could have won at Summerslam, beaten Del Rio cashing in here, and things would have been much stronger. But hey, that would mean MITB would be interesting instead of there for a shock value and we can’t have that.

Finkel does the “and NEEEEEEEEEEEEEW” WWE Champion call. Punk is the new WWE Champion having won it in the middle of Madison Square Garden and The Fink got to tell the people about it. Is there a cooler moment in wrestling? No, there isn’t.

Punk celebrates for a long time post match. As I’m writing this (November 7, 2012), he’s STILL champion.

Austin has yet another DVD.

We recap Awesome Truth vs. Rock/Cena. Cena had beaten up both guys before a tag match was made for this show. He was told he could pick ANYONE he wanted as a partner so he picked The Great One. Pay no attention to the PPV ad that played at the end of HIAC and advertised the match before Cena officially picked his partner. Basically the only way Awesome Truth (Miz/R-Truth) can win is to have Rock and Cena implode. Other than that we’re looking at a squash.

Awesome Truth vs. The Rock/John Cena

Rock is going to start as Cena is off to kiss the widow of Arnold Skaaland. Miz gets to face Rock to start and the Great One grabs a quick headlock. Rock snaps off some GREAT armdrags and gets two off La Magistral (it’s an armtrap cradle) on Miz. Awesome Truth huddles on the floor and Cena looks impressed. Truth wants to fight Rock now and Rock says Just Bring It. The fans do the Cena dueling chants before Rock hits a fisherman’s suplex on Truth, but Cena is going after Miz, meaning no count.

Now Miz wants to get back in and he wants it to be with Cena. Given how Rock looked, that’s a wise choice. Cena quickly takes over with snapmares, a monkey flip (!!) and a dropkick. The fans boo him out of the building and tell him he still sucks. Off to Truth who walks into Cena’s finishing sequence but Cena tells Rock that he can’t see Cena. They stare each other down, allowing Truth to nail Cena (Rock saw it coming and didn’t do anything) to give the guys with no chance the advantage.

Truth and Miz take a few turns on Cena before Truth hooks a chinlock. Cena gets thrown to the floor by Truth which gets two back in the ring. Back to a leg choke by Truth as the fans want Rocky. Off to Miz who counters an AA into a short DDT for two. The fans seem to be into Miz as he hits his running clothesline in the corner. Truth hooks a front facelock to kill a few moments and it’s back to Miz who gets two off a clothesline.

The spinning legdrop gets two for Truth as the crowd is waiting to explode for Rock’s hot tag. Truth goes up for a cross body but Cena rolls through. His AA attempt is countered into a sitout gordbuster for two and it’s back to Miz. Miz hits a pair of boots to the face of Cena but the third is countered into the STF. Truth makes a quick save and Rock is content to stand on the apron. Cena grabs a quick AA on Truth but Miz knocks Rock off the apron to tease the crowd even further.

Truth drops Rock on the barricade to keep him down as Cena gets put in another chinlock. A double flapjack gets two on Cena and it’s back to the front facelock by Truth. Truth’s second legdrop misses There’s the real hot tag to Rock and house is cleaned in a hurry. Miz gets put in the Survivor Series Sharpshooter but Truth saves as everything breaks down. With Cena and Truth on the floor, Miz goes off on Rock but charges into a spinebuster. The People’s Elbow returns and Rock gets the pin on Miz.

Rating: B. What else were you expecting here? This is one that has indeed changed over time as we knew Rock would have a great match with Cena at Wrestlemania. The match itself was formula stuff which is perfectly fine and all that it should have been. Rock making the save was the right call and there’s almost no complaints at all here. Good match but it didn’t need to happen, which we’ll get to in a bit.

Cena leaves so Rock can have him moment, but Rock calls him back in. Cena’s posing gets booed, Rock’s gets cheered. Rock lays out Cena with a Rock Bottom to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. This is an AWESOME show with a great world title match and a solid main event. The problem was it didn’t sell that well and it’s really clear why: the main event was a bad idea. The whole idea of Rock vs. Cena at Mania was that it was Rock’s first match in 8 years. Well now it’s Rock’s first match in about five months and for what? Rock and Cena had beaten up both guys one on two leading up to the match. There was no doubt as to who was going to win and nothing was on the line, so why watch the match? There was no reason and not a lot of people did. Still though, great show and worth seeing.

That’s the end of the Survivor Series Redo Count-Up and it really was fun to do this. A lot of the shows were about the same the second time around, but one thing is very clear: I was freaking WORDY back in the day. All of these reviews were shorter this time around and that’s probably better. Anyway, I’ll be back for the Rumble, Wrestlemania and Summerslam versions of these. Thanks for reading and supporting me all these years to the point where I can do another set of these. I really appreciate you all.

Ratings Comparison

Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres

Original: C

Redo: C

Team Barrett vs. Team Orton

Original: B-

Redo: B

Big Show vs. Mark Henry

Original: B-

Redo: C+

CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

Original: C+

Redo: A

The Rock/John Cena vs. Awesome Truth

Original: B

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: A

The World Title really changed things for me here. Still a great show though.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/20/survivor-series-2011-rock-still-has-it/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Survivor Series 2010
Date: November 21, 2010
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker

So what we have here is a show with Survivor Series matches a few months after a huge Survivor Series style match headlined Summerslam. Therefore, the solution is to have a big focus on John Cena, who is guest refereeing the main event. If Cena helps his Nexus teammate Wade Barrett (yes it was a thing) win, he’s free but if he doesn’t, he’s fired. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is of course about Cena, who talks about how he is being asked if he will compromise his integrity one time…but at what cost? No other match is even mentioned.

United States Title: Ted DiBiase vs. Daniel Bryan

DiBiase, with a bored looking Maryse, is challenging. They fight over wrist control to start until Bryan hits a dropkick…and the lights dim a bit. A boot to the chest cuts off DiBiase’s leapfrog attempt but he’s fine enough to suplex Bryan out to the floor. Back in and Bryan’s kicks to the ribs are cut off and DiBiase hammers away as Maryse looks….well she exists. A nice standing dropkick gives DiBiase two and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and Bryan hits a running dropkick into the corner, allowing him to moonsault over DiBiase. The running dropkick connects and Bryan sends him to the floor for the suicide dive. As usual, Bryan bangs up his shoulder, but he’s able to hit a missile dropkick to cut DiBiase down again.

The LeBell Lock is blocked though and DiBiase hits a running clothesline for two more. Dream Street (cobra clutch slam) is broken up as well though and Bryan knocks him down. DiBiase takes him up top but gets crotched, setting up a top rope belly to back superplex for two. The LeBell Lock retains the title at 9:56.

Rating: B-. Bryan was starting to become a much bigger deal around this time and he managed to do some nice stuff with a pretty generic heel. DiBiase had the look and some ability on the microphone, but he just never got to a higher level. If Bryan can only get you to pretty good, it’s not a great sign, which was about everything in DiBiase’s career after his debut.

Post match Bryan goes to leave but Miz jumps him with his Money In The Bank briefcase (and Alex Riley). Miz mocks Miami and says that LeBron James will never win a title here. As for the wrestling side though, he’s tired of carrying the briefcase and is cashing in soon. Tomorrow in fact. The lights going out two more times here didn’t help but Miz rolled with the whole thing.

We recap Sheamus vs. John Morrison. Sheamus has been bullying Santino Marella so Morrison came out for the save (as he has done a few times) so the match is set.

Sheamus is ready to beat Morrison up and show him what a bully is like.

Sheamus vs. John Morrison

Morrison starts fast with a headscissors to the floor, followed by a slingshot dive. Back in and Sheamus hammers away, which works a bit better for him. The chinlock is on early before Sheamus slowly forearms away at the back. A backbreaker gives Sheamus two and we hit another quickly broken chinlock. Sheamus hits some seated forearms to the chest (it was a work in progress) and they go up top with Morrison knocking him back down. Morrison’s high crossbody is rolled through though and Sheamus plants him for two more.

The Brogue Kick is loaded up but Morrison scores with an enziguri instead. Sheamus’ High Cross attempt is countered with a catapult into the corner and a Russian legsweep gives Morrison two. Morrison is sent into the corner and gets his leg knocked out for two, leaving Sheamus SCREAMING about it being three. Sheamus gets sent into the corner again but Starship Pain is broken up. The Brogue Kick misses though and a running knee gives Morrison the quick pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. I’ve always liked these two together and it seemed like Morrison was on the way to a higher level. If he could have been more of this serious version, it certainly could have worked out. Sheamus was his usual solid self as well, knowing how to do a power match rather well throughout.

R-Truth comes up to John Cena and brings up the fact that Nexus is banned from ringside for the main event. The thing is, R-Truth isn’t banned and since you can only win by pinfall or submission, what if R-Truth came out and something happened to Randy Orton? An accident happened and Cena gets to keep his job! Cena gets really serious and says he can’t do it because he’d be seen as a joke. He’s calling this down the middle, but R-Truth says he’ll believe it when he sees it. They’re trying with this, but it’s really hard to buy that Cena is actually leaving no matter what. You know, because it’s Cena.

Intercontinental Title: Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kaval is challenging after beating Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) on Smackdown and this is his guaranteed title shot for winning the second season of NXT. A running shoulder drops Ziggler to start so he knocks Kaval into the corner. The Hennig necksnap gives Ziggler two but Kaval fights back, only to get distracted by Guerrero. Ziggler drops him onto the turnbuckle and we hit the chinlock to slow Kaval down.

That stays on for a good while until Kaval gets up and kicks him in the back of the head. Kaval’s handspring kick to the face (OUCH) gets two but he misses a phoenix splash, only to land on his feet. A quick Fameasser gives Ziggler two and he launches Kaval up to the top, where he bounces back with a spinning kick to the head. They trade some rollups for two each until Ziggler rolls him up and grabs the tights to retain at 9:33.

Rating: B-. Kaval did some good stuff here and those kicks were looking great, but if you can’t win the midcard title after winning NXT, there is only so much of a future. That’s probably why Kaval was gone from the company in about a month and a half with this as his big moment. Ziggler felt like he was doing the same thing for years and this was right in the middle of that run.

Jack Swagger is not happy with being on Team Alberto Del Rio because he’s the only former World Champion on the team. Cody Rhodes comes up to mock Swagger for not being able to get into a club last night. Del Rio, Drew McIntyre and Tyler Reks (the rest of the team) come in with Del Rio giving them a pep talk. He wants to see little kids crying tonight and if they win, he’ll buy the beers! Rhodes hates to admit it, but Del Rio is good.

Team Del Rio vs. Team Mysterio

Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger
Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Chris Masters, Kofi Kingston, MVP

Mysterio (in blue, like the rest of his team in a nice touch) start things off with Del Rio, who hands it off to Rhodes before doing anything. This lets Striker and Cole debate if Rickey Henderson is the greatest baseball player ever, with Lawler having to get them back on track. They run the ropes a bit and Rhodes gets an early two. It’s off to MVP vs. Del Rio with MVP kicking him into the corner.

Kingston comes in for a front facelock but Del Rio kicks away at Masters’ leg to take over. The villains take turns stomping on Masters in the corner and McIntyre goes up, only to dive into a raised boot (thankfully looking like he was trying a splash rather than just jumping for the sake of jumping). It’s back to MVP to take over but Del Rio trios him up on a suplex, allowing McIntyre to fall on top of him for the pin at 5:35. Masters comes in and hammers away on Del Rio, who cross armbreakers him for the elimination at 6:41.

Show comes in and tells Del Rio to try it on him. It’s off to Swagger, who is quickly beaten up, so Del Rio comes in, only to chop McIntyre for a tag. The WMD hits Del Rio (despite McIntyre being legal) and Show has to fight out of the Futureshock attempt. Show slams Kingston onto McIntyre as Del Rio is helped out. Rhodes gets hit in the face and insists that his mirror jacket is held up to reaffirm his dashingness. Back in and Kingston hits him in the face again, followed by the WMD for the pin at 10:58.

Apparently Del Rio is out so we’re down to three on three. Reks clotheslines Show down for two and Swagger comes in to start on the leg. The chokeslam attempt is countered into Swagger’s ankle lock, which is broken up so Mysterio can come in. The springboard spinning crossbody hits Swagger, who is able to block the 619.

That means the ankle lock goes on, with Mysterio escaping rather quickly. Another 619 is cut off by Reks and it’s off to Kingston, who dropkicks Reks down. Various kicks and a high crossbody give Kingston two but he gets hung in the Tree Of Woe. That’s reversed with an upside down dropkick to pin Reks at 15:11.

Swagger is back in with an ankle lock, which is broken up, followed by another ankle lock to make Kingston tap at 15:56. Swagger comes in to break up Mysterio’s assisted splash, only to get caught with the 619. Now the assisted splash gives Mysterio the pin at 17:36, leaving us with McIntyre vs. Show/Mysterio. McIntyre is cut off with 619 and the chokeslam for the final pin at 18:21.

Rating: C+. Not bad here, and they did a nice job of keeping things moving so it wasn’t clear who was going to survive. That’s one of the perks of a match like this, as you can mix and match so much stuff and get something interesting as a result. Mysterio and Show worked well together in the end, though Del Rio leaving so early didn’t exactly help much. Also of note: DANG 2010 had some awesome theme songs, like Smoke And Mirrors and Broken Dreams, plus Del Rio’s rather snazzy music.

Randy Orton doesn’t care about John Cena, the Miz or Wade Barrett. All that matters is his title so tonight, it’s an RKO for Barrett.

Divas Title: Laycool vs. Natalya

Laycool is defending in a handicap match. Natalya headlocks McCool to start and then wrestles her down without much trouble. Back up and McCool takes her into the corner, where Layla gets to send Natalya outside. That’s shrugged off and Natalya throws both of them over the barricade, with Layla being in trouble. Back in and Natalya plants McCool and grabs the Sharpshooter for the title at 3:39.

Rating: D+. This was nothing but a cool down match and they didn’t hide that fact. Natalya ran through the team like they were nothing and took the title, which didn’t make for the most thrilling stuff. You can only get so much out of this kind of a match and it’s a fine example of how little chance the women had in this period. What are you supposed to do with three and a half minutes in this structure?

Post matcy Laycool jumps Natalya but Beth Phoenix runs in for the save.

We recap Kane vs. Edge for the Smackdown World Title. Kane is full on evil with Paul Bearer behind him but Edge was back from his latest injury and became #1 contender. Edge then kidnapped Bearer, which had Kane freaking out, partially because Edge kept attacking Bearer…with food.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Kane

Kane is defending and gets his throat snapped across the top to start. Edge fights out of a chokeslam attempt and hits a spinwheel kick. The big boot misses for Kane and Edge goes after the leg to put him down. Back up and Kane puts him on the apron so the big boot can connect. We slow down a bit and the neck crank goes on, with Kane asking where Bearer is.

A basement dropkick gives Kane two and the cravate goes on. That’s broken up and Edge hits a high crossbody before dropkicking Kane out of the air. The uppercut connects for Kane and the side slam plants Edge for two. The chokeslam is countered into the Impaler but the spear is cut off with a big boot. Now the chokeslam can connect for two but Edge scores with the spear for the pin at 12:50….and all four shoulders are down so it’s a draw.

Rating: D+. Bleh, with the ending taking away what little good the match had in the first place. This didn’t feel like an important story and was a great example of how having two World Titles wasn’t always a good thing. It came off like little more than a glorified midcard title, with Bearer’s kidnapping apparently being a “well get to this later” major plot point.

Post match the fight is still on, with Edge sending him into the steps. Edge puts him into a wheelchair for a crash through the barricade.

Wade Barrett comes in to see John Cena and talks about how this is the same building where the Nexus attacked everyone on June 7. Now Cena is here as part of the team, but all he has to do is do the right thing and he’s free. Cena does remember June 7, just like he remembers every single thing Nexus has done to him. Tonight, when the time is right, he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Tag Team Titles: Nexus vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov

Rating: Nexus, with the Nexus, is defending. Marella throws Slater down to start and it’s off to Gabriel, who misses some spinning kicks. Kozlov comes in to kick Gabriel in the chest but he takes out Kozlov’s leg. A neckbreaker puts Kozlov down and Slater drops a knee for two as the double stomping is on.

Gabriel comes in for a cravate so Kozlov drives him into the corner. That earns a cheap shot from Slater, allowing Nexus to bring Kozlov back into the corner again. Back up and Kozlov clotheslines his way to freedom, allowing Marella to come in for the house cleaning. The flying headbutt hits Gabriel but a quick distraction slows Marella down. Slater’s running Zig Zag (or something close to it) retains at 5:10.

Rating: C-. This was yet another period where the Tag Team Titles were about as important as the Women’s Title and it showed again here. This match could not have felt less important and it’s not like either team was particularly good in the first place. Marella and Kozlov were a nice oddball pairing, but that’s not enough to carry interest here.

Post match we get an email from the Anonymous Raw GM, who reminds us that Nexus is banned from ringside in the main event.

We recap Randy Orton defending against Wade Barrett. John Cena has been forced to join Nexus and hates everything about it. Barrett has a title shot with Cena as guest referee. If Cena helps Barrett win, Cena is free, but if Barrett doesn’t win, Cena is fired. Cena is of course conflicted, because he’s Cena and therefore can never do anything wrong.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett

Barrett is challenging and John Cena is guest referee. They start rather slowly until Cena accidentally distracts Orton, allowing Barrett to knock him down. Barrett slowly stomps away and they go outside, with Orton being sent into the steps. Back in and Barrett gets two before punching Orton down for the same (with the count possibly being a bit slow). The chinlock goes on for a bit until Orton fights up and starts the comeback.

The backbreaker gives Orton two (pretty much the same cadence as Cena gave for Barrett) but Barrett knocks down and hits a middle rope elbow for two of his own. A pumphandle slam and the Winds Of Change get two and Barrett is getting frustrated at the (so far fair) count. Wasteland gets two, with Orton having to grab the rope to escape.

Barrett is so frustrated that he shoves Cena, who knocks him into the RKO for the pin (with the three being a bit slow) at 15:15. Striker: “CENA’S FREE!” Cole: “Cena’s fired.” Striker: “Oh. Sorry.” So yes, Striker managed to screw up the point of the ONLY MATCH ON THE SHOW that WWE hyped up at all.

Rating: C. It was a slow, plodding match where you kept waiting for Cena to do his big thing and when he finally did, it was about as tiny as imaginable. As was the case though, Nexus comes up short in the big moment again, which was one of the main reasons the stable was doomed. Without winning something important (and no, the Tag Team Titles were not important), they were little more than a nuisance than a threat and that was on display again here.

Post match Nexus comes in to go after Cena but he and Orton clear the ring. Cena hands Orton the title and hugs him, with Orton seemingly appreciative that Cena called the match fairly (and helped him win). Orton leaves and Cena is all upset in the ring. Cena takes his armband off and goes to say goodbye to commentary before going to the stage and looking out at the crowd. The copyright logo comes up and Cena goes into the crowd to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. While there is some ok action to start, it becomes VERY clear that this is a show built around one match and one match only. That was all they hyped up at the beginning and pretty much throughout the show, which didn’t leave much else on the card. Throw in that Cena, who had been immediately fired as a result of the main event, was on Raw the next night and beat Barrett at TLC and the whole show felt even less important. The action was ok, but it was a show that bet everything on one match and that match didn’t deliver very well, basically dooming the whole night.

Results
Daniel Bryan b. Ted DiBiase – LeBell Lock
John Morrison b. Sheamus – Running knee
Dolph Ziggler b. Kaval – Rollup with tights
Team Mysterio b. Team Del Rio last eliminating McIntyre
Natalya b. Laycool – Sharpshooter to McCool
Edge vs. Kane went to a draw
Nexus b. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov – Running jumping Russian legsweep to Marella
Randy Orton b. Wade Barrett – RKO

Ratings Comparison

Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase

Original: B
2012 Redo: C+
2025 Redo: B-

John Morrison vs. Sheamus

Original: B
2012 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: B-

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval

Original: B-
2012 Redo: C-
2025 Redo: B-

Team Mysterio vs. Team Del Rio

Original: B-
2012 Redo: B-
2025 Redo: C+

Natalya vs. Laycool

Original: D+
2012 Redo: D
2025 Redo: D+

Kane vs. Edge

Original: D
2012 Redo: F+
2025 Redo: D+

Nexus vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov

Original: D
2012 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C-

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett

Original: D+
2012 Redo: D
2025 Redo: C

Overall Rating

Original: B
2012 Redo: D+
2025 Redo: C

It always interests me when I’m expecting to be way to harsh on a show and it turns out it’s WAY nicer than I was the previous time. This show still isn’t very good though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Wrestlemania Dark Matches
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Tazz, Todd Grisham, Matt Striker, Joey Styles, Josh Matthews

So this is pretty much as simple as you can get, with the WWE Vault releasing a collection of matches from before the full Wrestlemania cards begin. These matches are tasked with getting the show going and that can make for some interesting options. Some of these are going to be a lot better than others but they can be a lot of fun. Let’s get to it.

From Wrestlemania XVIII.

Mr. Perfect/Lance Storm/Test vs. Rikishi/Albert/Scotty 2 Hotty

Albert and Storm start things off and Jacqueline is the referee. A sitout press slam gives Albert two and it’s off to Scotty, who gets taken down with a leg lariat. Test comes in for a hard corner clothesline but Storm misses a middle rope elbow. Rikishi comes in for a Samoan drop on Perfect (who bounces off like a backdrop for a weird look) and Scotty Worms Storm to send him outside. The Albert Bomb (chokebomb) hits Test and it’s a Stinkface to Perfect, who is smart enough to pull up his towel just in time. Said towel gets stuck on Rikishi, who hits the Banzai Drop for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: C. Fast paced match but they didn’t have time to do much. You’re only going to get so much out of six people in just over three minutes but they managed to make it work well enough. If nothing else, points for not having one of the Canadians take the fall, which would have been such a WWF thing to do in Toronto.

Post match the winners and Jacqueline dance.

From Wrestlemania XXIII.

Ric Flair/Carlito vs. Gregory Helms/Chavo Guerrero

This is a lumberjack match and Guerrero is the “Cruiserweight of the World” because Lilian Garcia makes a lot of mistakes. To make things even weirder, there is a big curtain over the entrance as the set hasn’t been revealed yet. Helms backs Flair into the corner to start but gets hiptossed for his efforts. Carlito comes in and gets poked in the eye, allowing Chavo to come in and get dropped in a hurry. A dropkick sends Chavo outside so Snitsky throws him back inside without much trouble. Back in and Helms takes over with a chinlock on Carlito and it’s back to Chavo as Cole puts over the awesomeness of Detroit.

The slow beating continues as there is very little heat to the whole thing as it’s already running long. Carlito gets in a shot of his own and brings in Flair to chop away. Helms breaks up the Figure Four so Carlito comes in as everything breaks down. Chavo misses the frog splash though and it’s back to Carlito to clean house. Helms gets backdropped onto the lumberjacks and Carlito hits a quick Backstabber to pin Chavo (because OF COURSE the champion had to take the fall) at 6:38.

Rating: C-. The point here was to get Flair in the ring and to have a bunch of people get on the DVD as a lumerback. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling match though as they went a lot longer than they should have. It wasn’t an interesting match in the first place and then it went long, which is never a good combination.

From Wrestlemania XXII.

Battle Royal

Eugene, Viscera, Snitsky, Goldust, Lance Cade, Rob Conway, Tyson Tomko, Trevor Murdoch, Matt Striker, Super Crazy, Funaki, Steven Richards, Simon Dean, Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro, Psicosis, Animal, William Regal

Officially this is Raw vs. Smackdown, but it’s also every man for themselves so the logic is kind of contradictory. Cole: “I guess we have to be impartial here.” Tazz: “Why?” Simon Dean tries to tell us to get in shape and is promptly eliminated first. Brawling on the ropes ensues and Conway is out, followed by Funaki. Cade (Cole: “Who’s that?”) is out and Richards takes too much time posing, meaning he’s eliminated as well.

There goes Striker (thankfully) and Regal gets hit with Shattered Dreams. Murdoch dumps Eugene as the ring is thankfully clearing out a bit. Psicosis gets rid of Goldust in an upset and Eugene stops for a reunion with Regal. Snitsky isn’t having the risk of that being his fault so he tosses Regal without much effort. MNM hits a Snapshot on Eugene to get rid of him as well and we settle down to the final four from each show getting into a staredown. Psicosis gets rid of Murdoch and then gets knocked out by Tomko to get us down to six.

Tomko and Snitsky beat up Animal and Viscera crushes MNM in various corners. MNM fight back (the Melina screams might be powering them on) and avoid a Viscera charge, only to make the mistake of trying a Snapshot. The double Visagra (if you don’t know, don’t ask) has Melina cringing before MNM is out. Snitsky accidentally knocks Tomko out and it’s Animal left with Viscera and Snitsky, as I’ll let you guess who the Chicago fans are behind. For some reason Animal is eliminated and Snitsky misses a charge so Viscera wins at 9:03 without touching him.

Rating: D+. Why would you put Animal this close to getting the win in a meaningless battle royal on the pre-show and then have him lose for the sake of Snitsky and Viscera? This was the second time I’ve seen this match in about a month and it still doesn’t make a ton of sense. Maybe Viscera couldn’t take a bump over the top, but egads this seemed like it could have been a fun moment and it wound up just being forgettable.

From Wrestlemania XXV.

Tag Team Titles: John Morrison/The Miz vs. Colons

This is a lumberjack match to unify both sets of Tag Team Titles, with commentary saying this kind of match has NEVER happened before, about ten minutes after we saw it in the same collection. Primo and Morrison start things off with Primo getting in a headstand in the corner, setting up a hurricanrana to send Morrison outside. The beating lets Primo get two and it’s Carlito coming in for a double slingshot drop. Carlito misses a shot of his own though and it’s off to Miz for his Wrestlemania in-ring debut.

This goes as badly as you would expect, with Carlito knocking him down and hitting a double springboard flip dive. Morrison grabs Carlito by the hair though and throws him outside, nearly triggering a brawl with the lumberjacks. Back in and Carlito gets caught in a double hot shot for two and Miz grabs a chinlock. Carlito fights up for a double knockdown and does it again with Morrison, which is enough to bring Primo back in to clean house.

Some flips set up a dropkick (as Miz might not have been in position in time) but Morrison is right back in with the Flying Chuck for two. Everything breaks down and Carlito spears Miz through the ropes, leaving Morrison to roll through Primo’s high crossbody for two more. Morrison tries a reverse suplex but Primo flips over into a Backstabber in a sweet counter for the pin and the titles at 8:22.

Rating: B-. This was a more traditional match as the lumberjacks were barely a factor. The Colons winning was a nice way to go as it’s a bit of a surprise and a fun surprise to start the night. If nothing else, the finish was more than good enough to make for a big ending. Good stuff here, and one of the better pre-show matches to date.

From Wrestlemania XXIV.

Battle Royal

Elijah Burke, The Miz, Chuck Palumbo, Snitsky, Deuce, Tommy Dreamer, Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble, Kofi Kingston, Festus, Cody Rhodes, Lance Cade, Hardcore Holly, Jesse, Stevie Richards, Trevor Murdoch, The Brian Kendrick, The Great Khali, Jimmy Wang Yang, Domino, Mark Henry, Val Venis, Kane, Jim Duggan

For an ECW Title shot on the main card. It’s a brawl to start and Deuce and Domino are both out in a hurry. Khali chops away at some people as Tazz recommends hiding in the corner. There goes Duggan and Burke knocks out Richards, only to get tossed by Kane. It’s time for the required Kane vs. Khali fight before Miz is eliminated. Henry dumps out Yang and Moore and Jesse follows them both. There goes Murdoch and Festus is out, followed by Kendrick in a big crash.

Henry easily throws Kingston out and Palumbo tosses Noble…who lands on Kingston and climbs back inside (so THAT’S where Kingston learned it). Then he’s tossed out again. A bunch of people get together to toss Khali and Snitsky gets rid of Holly. We’re down to Kane, Snitsky and Henry, with the fans getting WAY into this. Snitsky spends too much time glaring and gets knocked out by Henry, leaving us with two. Henry’s gorilla press is broken up and Kane kicks him out for the win and the title shot (he would win the title in about ten seconds) at 6:22.

Rating: C. The important thing here is they kept it moving rather than waiting around for a long time. These things are only going to have a small handful of realistic winners so clearing them out that fast is a good way to go. ECW needed some bigger stars and Kane certainly fits the bill so this was a nice cross between smart and efficient.

From Wrestlemania XXIX.

Intercontinental Title: The Miz vs. Wade Barrett

Miz is challenging and kicks away in the corner, only to get hit in the face to cut that off. Barrett hammers away, shouts about Miz’s lack of awesomeness, but can’t hit the Wasteland. Miz can’t get the Skull Crushing Finale either though and Barrett is back with a swinging Boss Man Slam for two. The Bull Hammer misses though and Miz gets the Figure Four, giving us a reminder that Ric Flair gave the hold to the Miz. In case you hadn’t praised Flair enough recently you see. Barrett makes the rope and hits the Wasteland for two, only to get caught in the Figure Four for the tap and the title at 4:08.

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here, but at least we got a nice tribute to Ric Flair, who has absolutely nothing to do with this match. The match was just there for the sake of a moment to fire the fans up to start, as Miz would lose the title back to Barrett the next night. I like the idea of a Miz face run, but it wasn’t exactly working here, with the Figure Four not helping things.

From Wrestlemania XXVI.

Battle Royal

Mark Henry, Shad Gaspard, JTG, Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Santino Marella, Primo, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J., Jimmy Wang Yang, Chris Masters, Vladimir Kozlov, Great Khali, Finlay, William Regal, Luke Gallows, Carlito, Tyler Reks, Zack Ryder, Lance Archer, Mike Knox, Caylen Croft, Trent Beretta, Tyson Kidd, David Hart-Smith, Chavo Guerrero

The NXT rookies come out to watch from the stage and more than a few of them would go on to be bigger than a lot of the people int his match. Primo and J are both out in a hurry as there are too many people in there to be able to focus. Henry tosses Beretta and Croft, followed by Chavo. Khali chops Henry out and then a bunch of people get together to toss him out. Cryme Tyme gets rid of Gallows and then Shad tosses JTG in a funny moment. We slow way down until Masters, Kidd, Smith and Kozlov are thrown out in a row.

Funaki, Goldust, Regal, Gaspard and Regal all go out in a hurry and Santino Hulks Up, meaning it’s a sting of Cobras. Finlay cuts that off and tosses him out, followed by Yang and Archer going out as well. Hornswoggle comes in and helps Finlay hit various people with the shillelagh before Carlito is tossed. We’re down to Finlay, Knox, Ryder and Tatsu, with Ryder eliminating Knox and Finlay at once. Tatsu clotheslines Ryder to the apron and then kicks him out for the win at 8:31.

Rating: C. Nothing to the match, as you probably expected, but Tatsu is the kind of fun guy that you want winning something like this. If you don’t have someone local to win the match, let someone young and energetic like Tatsu take it instead. It didn’t exactly lead anywhere for him, but it also didn’t hurt anyone so go with something entertaining.

Sidenote: Tatsu’s music was so freaking catchy!

From Wrestlemania XIX.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Chief Morley/Lance Storm vs. Kane/Rob Van Dam

Morley/Storm are defending and have the Dudley Boyz in their corner, albeit the Dudleys are not here voluntarily. It’s a brawl to start with Kane and Van Dam clearing the ring without much trouble. Van Dam hits a big running flip dive to take the champs out and we take a break.

Back with Morley grabbing a chinlock on Van Dam before missing a middle rope elbow. Kane comes in to clean house, including the side slam and top rope clothesline to Storm. Van Dam kicks Morley down and the chokeslam plants Storm. The Five Star is broken up but the Dudleys give Storm a 3D…and deck Van Dam to give Storm the pin at 5:41.

Rating: C+. This could have been on any given episode of Raw and, believe it or not, Kane and Van Dam won the titles the next night in a three way match. Kane and Van Dam worked well together and it makes sense to see them getting in a spot like this. Nice match, albeit with an ending that could have been a lot happier given what was happening the next day.

Overall Rating: C. This is a weird thing to see as the matches aren’t supposed to be show stealers or anything close. They’re designed to be there for the sake of getting the crowd warm without spending a lot of time or burning through a big match. The battle royals were fun enough and that’s all this was supposed to be. It’s nothing mind blowing and nothing that hasn’t been seen before, but I’ve seen far worse historic flashbacks.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Survivor Series 2010
Date: November 21, 2010
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker

This is all about the Nexus with the main event of Orton vs. Barrett for the world title with Cena as the referee. If Barrett wins, Cena is free from Nexus. If Orton wins, Cena is fired. Other than that we’ve only got one Survivor Series match which is kind of a letdown but it could be worse. This is one of those shows that doesn’t mean much because of what happens the next night anyway so it’s hard to get into this in a way. This is one of the two Survivor Series I reviewed live so the grades should be interesting. Let’s get to it.

The usual opening video is the video that opens us. The idea tonight is Cena not wanting to compromise his integrity and give the title to Barrett when he doesn’t deserve it, but he doesn’t want to quit. A song about being what you believe plays over this.

US Title: Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase

DiBiase is challenging here because he wants to win his first title. Simple but effective I guess. Bryan has Rise of the Valkyries here which makes things all the more awesome but the lack of beard hurts. Maryse is with Ted here too and is rocking a beige dress. Bryan speeds things up to start and there go the lights. Daniel dropkicks DiBiase to the apron but as he goes to get Ted, Bryan gets suplexed out to the floor in a cool bump.

Back in and Bryan fires off the kicks. It’s so weird to not hear YES or NO whenever he hits…well anything actually. DiBiase hooks a chinlock to slow the champ down followed by a backbreaker and dropkick for two. Back to the chinlock as the fans are way into Bryan here. This one doesn’t last as long as Bryan fights up and speeds up the pace. There’s the moonsault out of the corner and a dropkick to send DiBiase to the floor. Bryan hits the suicide dive to the floor but he comes up favoring his shoulder. Why is that called favoring? It’s in worse shape than anything else so how is that favoring it?

They head back in and Bryan hits a missile dropkick for two and it’s time for more kicks. The LeBell (NO) Lock can’t go on because of the bad shoulder though and DiBiase clotheslines him down. Dream Street (Cobra Clutch) from DiBiase is countered twice so Ted hits a sitout spinebuster for two. Dibiase’s superplex is countered a belly to back superplex by Bryan but he still can’t get the LeBell Lock. A rollup gets two for Ted and Bryan grabs the arm for the LeBell Lock to retain.

Rating: C+. This felt like an extended Smackdown match but that’s not a bad thing. Bryan was still a pretty big underdog in a lot of his matches at this point but wins like this were exactly what he needed. DiBiase never got over in this role or really in any other either. He’s a guy who needs to change his name as he’s never going to get out from under his dad’s shadow and it’s crippling his career. Well that and WWE never putting him on TV.

As Bryan poses on the stage, Miz and Alex Riley (speaking of guys who need to be on TV more) jump him with the MITB case. Miz and Riley get in the ring but the lights go out again. Miz talks about how he’s from Cleveland and doesn’t like the Miami Heat that much. He compares Barrett to LeBron James because neither will ever be a world champion. The fans chant for the Heat and Miz says he’ll cash in soon. That’s true.

We recap Sheamus vs. Morrison. Sheamus is a bully, Morrison is sick of him. That’s it.

Sheamus says Morrison is jealous of him for being a former and future world champion because Morrison never will be.

Sheamus vs. John Morrison

Jerry tells a story of a guy in high school that kept taking everyone’s lunch money and picking on everyone he could but no one ever stood up to him. Striker: “Was his name Judas? (HUH?)” Jerry: “Actually it was Jerry Lawler.” Your lesson for the day kids: beat up other kids and treat them like trash and you could be a multiple time world champion and get a job on national TV every week and get into the WWE Hall of Fame. But you’d rather be a STAR right?

Cole says Morrison described this match as a tank against a fighter jet. Cole: “Of course Morrison the jet and Sheamus the tank.” What would we ever do without Cole? I’m not sure, but I’m going to go look into it. Anyway Morrison starts fast and dropkicks Sheamus to the floor followed by a corkscrew dive to take the pale one out. Sheamus sends him into the barricade and runs Morrison over with an ax handle.

Back in and we hit the chinlock as the fans aren’t all that into Sheamus at all. A backbreaker gets two for Sheamus and it’s back to a chinlock again, although this one has an armbar added in. Sheamus hits the ten forearms to the chest from a seated position instead of in the ropes. It’s always cool to see the evolution of a move like that. Sheamus puts him on the top and pounds away again but Morrison slugs Sheamus down to the mat. A cross body gets rolled through for two for Sheamus and John is in trouble.

The Brogue Kick misses and Morrison enziguris him down. Morrison is all fired up and hits some clotheslines for two but it’s hard to keep Sheamus down. Irish Curse stops the momentum but it only gets two again. The High Cross is countered into a Russian legsweep for two for Johnny. Sheamus goes after the knee to stop Morrison again. This match really is as back and forth as it sounds. No one has had an extended advantage for the most part.

Sheamus puts the leg over his shoulder and pulls Morrison forward to the mat in a cool looking move that I haven’t seen before. Half crab does more damage for Sheamus but he slaps Morrison in the face a few times to tick him off. John kicks him down but Starship Pain is broken up with ease. The High Cross is countered again and the Brogue Kick misses, allowing Morrison to hit the Flying Chuck and a running knee to the face for the surprise pin.

Rating: B-. These two always have this freakish chemistry that really doesn’t make a ton of sense but is always there. Morrison’s flying style was a great counter to the power stuff from Sheamus, and as usual the idea of power vs. speed works as well as anything else. Morrison would never hit a level that they were hoping for him to, while Sheamus would go on to win the world title at Wrestlemania in a few years. You never know what’s going to happen in wrestling, which is why it’s funny.

Watch Big Show’s movie! No one else has.

R-Truth continues to meddle in Cena’s business and offers to interfere in the main event tonight because you can only win by pin or submission. He offers to attack Orton and Cena will be guilt free. Cena yells at him for suggesting it.

Intercontinental Title: Kaval vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kaval is more famous as Low Ki and won NXT Season 2 to get any title shot he wanted. In his first win, he beat Dolph on Smackdown and picked to challenge for this title tonight. A quick elbow gets two so Dolph takes over with a forearm in the corner. There’s the Hennig necksnap and a mini AA for two for Dolph. A handspring elbow takes Dolph down and Kaval pounds away in the corner until a Vickie distraction lets Dolph take him down.

Kaval comes back with a handspring into a kick to the face in the corner which looked pretty awesome. Kaval goes up with his back to the ring, allowing Dolph to put on a sleeper on the top rope for some reason. Dolph gets knocked back and Kaval misses a big flip dive, allowing Dolph to hit the Fameasser for two. The sleeper goes on (on the mat this time) but Kaval escapes and is launched to the top rope where he springs off and hits a spin kick to the face in ANOTHER awesome looking move. Ziggler misses a charge in the corner and gets rolled up for two before Ziggler gets a rollup of his own with tights to retain.

Rating: C-. Kaval tried here but this crippled whatever he had as far as momentum was going. He would be gone before the end of the year and I can’t say I blame him. The match here was ok enough but the chemistry didn’t click at all. Also, why would you pick a match for the IC Title when you can pick whatever you want?

Jack Swagger doesn’t like the idea about being on Team Del Rio, because it should be Team Swagger. Jack says some stuff about the Spanish being spoken here because he doesn’t habla Espanol. Rhodes, who is still Dashing at this point, comes up and makes fun of Swagger’s shoes. Del Rio, who only mostly sucks at this point, says that he won a bet about Swagger getting interrupted. This goes nowhere.

Team Del Rio vs. Team Mysterio

Alberto Del Rio, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes

Rey Mysterio, Chris Masters, Big Show, MVP, Kofi Kingston

Team Mysterio is all in blue in a nice touch. The fans chant for MVP as he’s the hometown boy. The captains start things off but there’s no contact as Del Rio tags in Rhodes. We start talking about baseball (Striker: “Rickey Henderson may be the greatest baseball player of all time.” Cole and Lawler: “WHAT???”) as Rey hooks an O’Connor Roll for two on Cody. Cody comes back with a Disaster Kick and stomps away in the corner.

Here’s Del Rio again who gets caught in the corner and hit by a hard running dropkick. Off to MVP who hits a dropkick and ducks an enziguri in the corner. This was right around the time when he was getting good, but he would be gone in less than three weeks. Here’s Kofi with some bouncing offense but it’s quickly off to Masters. Lawler does his usual talk about the Clowns vs. Kings back in 94 as Reks and McIntyre take turns beating on Masters.

Drew’s middle rope jumps lands on a boot and Masters can tag in MVP. MVP suplexes McIntyre down and hits the Ballin Elbow, only to fall victim to the Ultimate Warrior/Rick Rude ending from Mania 5 (MVP suplexes Drew but Alberto hooks MVP’s foot and Drew falls on top for a pin). Masters comes back in again and hits a kind of Jackhammer for two. Del Rio avoids the Masterlock and puts on the Armbreaker for the submission to make it 5-3.

Here’s Big Show as the stopper for his team and Del Rio bails, bringing in Swagger. Swagger tries to wrestle him down and is immediately chopped in the chest. A kind of chop block takes Show down and it’s back to Del Rio. Show glares at him again and Alberto tags out to Drew, but before Alberto gets out Show knocks him out cold. With McIntyre down, Show slams Kofi down onto Drew for a two count. Apparently Alberto can’t continue and is eliminated. Cody comes in to face Kingston and Rhodes snaps when he gets hit in the face. He goes on a rant and heads to the floor to check the mirror on the back of his jacket.

Rhodes heads back in and gets hit in the face again. Off to Show who slaps Cody on the back and the KO punch makes it 3-3. It’s Kofi/Rey/Show vs. Reks/Swagger/McIntyre and Reks immediately clotheslines Show down in an impressive move. Swagger comes in to work on the leg and hooks the ankle lock. After nearly tapping, Show crawls over to Rey for the saving tag. Rey speeds things up but Jack kicks his head off for two.

Swagger drills Kofi on the apron before catching Rey’s 619 into the ankle lock. Mysterio rolls through the hold and makes the hot tag to Kofi who cleans house and hits the top rope cross body on Reks for two. Kofi misses a charge in the corner and gets caught in the Tree of Woe. After Kofi gets down, Reks charges into a double boot in the corner for the fast elimination. Swagger comes in almost immediately and catches Trouble in Paradise into the ankle lock to tie things back up. Kofi tapping is a weird sight.

Back to Big Show who uses that large body of his to run Swagger over a few times before Swagger has to lay down so Rey and Show can do the on the shoulders splash. McIntyre breaks up the big splash though and Rey is down. Rey gets placed on the top rope but headbutts Jack down to the mat. The 619 sets up that splash off Show’s shoulders to make it 2-1. Future Shock is countered and it’s a chokeslam from Show for the elimination.

Rating: B-. This was a fine Survivor Series match with both teams working well together. I don’t get the point in having Del Rio eliminated that early, but I guess it allows for Rey vs. Del Rio to happen later on. The match wasn’t a classic but it worked well enough for what it was supposed to be. Decent stuff here and the fans were happy with the ending.

Randy Orton talks about how he’s tired of hearing all of the talk about Cena and Barrett, because tonight it’s either the RKO or the Punt to stop Barrett.

Divas Title: Laycool vs. Natalya

I miss Laycool’s entrance, if nothing else for how they look in the shorts. Laycool are the co champions here as both have belts in a story that wasn’t that interesting in the first place. The champs have to tag here and it’s Michelle to start. Natalya takes it to the mat early on and Michelle actually takes over with the amateur stuff. Off to the hometown heel in Layla who distracts the referee so Michelle can pull Nattie onto the floor.

Back in and Natalya supelxes both chicks at once but her back is hurt in the process. Michelle blasts her in said back on the floor, but Natalya shoves Michelle over the barricade. They all brawl at ringside for a bit before Natalya and Michelle head into the ring. McCool gets rammed into Layla and the Sharpshooter gives Natalya the title.

Rating: D. Here’s this whole feud in a nutshell: Natalya beat up Layla, then Natalya beat up Michelle, then Natalya beat up both of them at once. This wasn’t much of a match but it’s the kind of breather that you have to give the fans before you get to the big stuff later on. Laycool would be around for a few more months, but once they split they fell off the face of the planet all of a sudde.

Beth Phoenix returns to save Nattie from a double beatdown. This would set up a Divas tables match next month.

We recap Kane vs. Edge. Kane beat Taker in the Cell (Today is November 6, 2012 and that match is the last time Smackdown main evented a PPV to date) when Paul Bearer shocked no one and turned on Taker. Edge got this shot by uh……tall. I think he just got the shot because he was on a hot streak. Edge also kidnapped Bearer and tortured him and I don’t think has returned him yet.

Smackdown World Title: Edge vs. Kane

Kane is defending here. Edge wheels out with an empty wheelchair to mess with Kane a bit more. Kane tries a quick chokeslam but Edge punches out of it. Kane sends him to the floor and Edge wheels the chair around a bit more to make Kane mad. A baseball slide sends Kane into the barricade before we head back inside where the Canadian takes out the Spaniard’s leg. He wraps the leg around the post and lays on it for a bit to make sure we don’t get excited.

Kane gets in an uppercut to take over and slugs away slowly. The Big Bald chokes away and yells about Bearer a bit as the fans aren’t really thrilled by this stuff. Granted I question how many fans know Smackdown exists still so it’s a fair problem to have. To really mix things up, Kane puts on a cravate and yells even more. A low dropkick gets two for the champion and it’s back to the trusty cravate. Edge finally gets up and hits a cross body off the top for two.

Kane slugs him down but Edge dropkicks him out of the air on the top rope clothesline attempt. A side slam gets two for Kane and he goes up again. Edge makes the stop but gets crotched and clotheslined down for two. Something resembling a DDT puts Kane down but Edge’s spear hits boot. There’s the chokeslam for two so Kane tries the Tombstone. Edge slips down the back and spears Kane down for the pin and no title, because all four shoulders were down and it’s a draw. Yep, that’s really what they did.

Rating: F+. The ending until the cover wasn’t bad, but other than that this was dull, slow and horrible. These two just did not work well together at all, so of course they had another title match on PPV. Horrible match here as Kane just stood around and held Edge by the neck for LONG stretches of time. Kane would accidentally kill Paul Bearer soon after this. Don’t ask.

Kane beats up Edge post match. Edge comes back and puts Kane in the wheelchair and sends him through part of the barricade.

Barrett tells Cena if he doesn’t help him tonight, Cena is gone. Apparently Nexus started in this building. Cena says he knows what he’s going to do.

Tag Titles: Nexus vs. Vladimir Kozlov/Santino Marella

Slater and Gabriel are the champions here and have Harris/McGillicutty/Otunga with them. Santino and Slater start things off and Marella gets to use some of the martial arts that Kozlov has been teaching him. Off to Gabriel and Kozlov who tags himself in. Remember that two years ago, Kozlov was in the world title match against HHH and now he’s here. That’s quite the fall. Gabriel dives at Kozlov and gets caught in a kind of spinebuster to give the challengers control.

Gabriel gets in a kick to take Koz down and Slater drops a knee for two. Back to Justin for a cravate and then a front facelock. Kozlov is about to get to Santino when Slater draws Cobra Man in. That’s some good old school tag stuff there and it’s awesome. Slater hooks a front facelock of his own but it’s a hot tag to Santino. He hits all of his usual stuff and loads up the Cobra, but the other members of Nexus distract him (not that hard really) and Slater hits the sleeper drop for the pin to retain.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here that wouldn’t be on Raw on any given week. The tag titles were absolutely nothing at this point but then again that could go for any show for a good six year stretch or so. It makes the current tag team resurgence look more impressive as they took it from nowhere to something decent, which is a big deal. The match here was fine but it was another breather for the fans.

Post match the challengers get beaten down again and the Anonymous Raw GM says if Nexus interferes in the world title match, they’re suspended indefinitely.

We recap Orton vs. Barrett. Barrett got the title shot I believe through winning NXT and got Cena to join Nexus through winning at HIAC. Cena hates it and somehow he gets to be the guest referee tonight. If he screws Orton over, he won’t be able to live with himself, but if he doesn’t screw Orton over, Barrett will fire him. This gets the music video treatment of course.

Raw World Title: Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton

Oh and you can only win by pin or submission. Feeling out process to start with Orton grabbing a headlock. A shoulder puts Barrett down and Orton fires away elbows and uppercuts in the corner. Cena finally does something and it’s correct procedure, but the fans boo because it’s against Orton. He goes the same thing to Barrett and Orton hits a dropkick to take over.

We head to the floor where Barrett hits a kick to the ribs to take over. Orton gets sent into the steps and punched down back in the ring. Barrett covers and gets a fair one count. We hit the chinlock for a good while until Orton fights back with his usual comeback stuff. The backbreaker gets two and Orton glares at Cena. Barrett gets in an uppercut and hits a top rope elbow for two.

Barrett hits his pumphandle slam for two and now Barrett glares at Cena too. This is pretty dull stuff so far. Wasteland is countered and there’s a Boss Man Slam (called a Black Hole Slam by Striker) for another close two. The fans do the usual pro/anti Cena chants as Orton hits the Elevated DDT. Barrett gets in a knee to the head and Wasteland hits, but Orton grabs the rope at two. I do love how the idea that Barrett could just win the title on his own is a completely non-factor. Barrett shoves Cena so Cena shoves him back, right into the RKO and the clean pin to fire Cena. Striker: “Cena’s free!” Cole: “Cena’s fired.” Striker: “Oh.”

Rating: D. This barely worked as the focus was entirely on Cena and the match was really dull for the most part. It was someone hitting a move that would be lucky to get two and then glaring at Cena when they didn’t get a pin off of it. Cena was “fired” as a result, but would of course be back on PPV the next month. I don’t think he ever missed a Raw. I like the moment with him counting the pin because that’s him being himself which is the essence of Cena’s character, but the match sucked.

Cena has no idea what to do post match. Nexus runs in and gets beaten down by the Super Best Friends. Cena hands Orton the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The main events sucked but the first half or so of this was fine. The problem with the main event here is the same problem that brought down the whole Nexus angle: Barrett never won the title. Without that, Nexus and Barrett in particular weren’t really big threats but rather guys that annoyed Cena for a few months until he beat them all. Besides, the next night Miz cashed in and won the title after Cena cost Barrett another title shot. This show isn’t really worth seeing but it’s not horrible.

Ratings Comparison

Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase

Original: B

Redo: C+

John Morrison vs. Sheamus

Original: B

Redo: B-

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval

Original: B-

Redo: C-

Team Mysterio vs. Team Del Rio

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Natalya vs. Laycool

Original: D+

Redo: D

Kane vs. Edge

Original: D

Redo: F+

Nexus vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov

Original: D

Redo: D+

Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett

Original: D+

Redo: D

Overall Rating

Original: B

Redo: D+

I liked this one WAY better on first viewing. Then again I didn’t know what was coming for Nexus back then.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/19/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-2010-when-did-orton-and-barrett-get-good/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 9, 2023
Location: Chi Health Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Fastlane and that means things are moving on towards Crown Jewel and Survivor Series next month. That should make for some big matches being set up in the coming weeks, though it might take some time for those to come together. For now though, Seth Rollins is still the World Heavyweight Champion. Let’s get to it.

Here is Fastlane if you need a recap.

We open with a Fastlane recap.

Here is Seth Rollins to get things going by bragging about his victory in the Last Man Standing match over Shinsuke Nakamura. He didn’t know if he was going to get back up, but he did. He didn’t know if he was going to keep Nakamura down, but he did. Then he went to the back and the adrenaline wore off, which is when he realized his back was still broken.

Being the World Heavyweight Champion has been one of the best honors of his career…and then he pauses for a good bit. He wants us to know that he is JUST GETTING STARTED. He’ll fight anyone anytime anywhere but maybe he can go one week without having to fight for his life out here. Maybe we could sing and drink a bit, but here is Drew McIntyre to interrupt. Rollins: “You want a World Heavyweight Title shot don’t you?”

McIntyre nods so Rollins says he’s ready to go get his gear on but McIntyre says he’s willing to wait for Rollins to be 100%. Maybe at Crown Jewel? Rollins: “So you’re not out here to jump me?” McIntyre: “Nope.” Rollins: “And you want me at 100%?” McIntyre: “Bingo.” That works for Rollins, so they’re on at Crown Jewel.

McIntyre is fine with that and says if you see him out tonight, buy him a pint and a shot, and then he’s out. Cue Damian Priest from behind to jump Rollins, with McIntyre watching from the aisle. Priest waves out Dominik Mysterio with the briefcase but McIntyre cuts him off. The briefcase is tossed at the Titantron and Rollins is back up to clear the ring.

Kofi Kingston vs. Ivar

Viking Rules match, meaning there are viking shields around the apron. Ivar starts fast and knocks him to the floor, where Kofi hits a big dive (and almost lands on his head). The table is loaded up but Ivar knocks him onto the apron for quite the splash. Kofi kicks him away though and hits a splash onto Ivar’s back for two on the floor. We take a break and come back with Ivar missing a flag shot and being sent through one of the shields. The SOS gives Kofi two but it’s too early for the Boom Drop.

Instead Ivar grabs a Jeff Cobb Tour of the Islands for two, followed by a tiger driver for the same. Ivar kicks him in the face and goes up, only to be thrown down (by the beard) through a table at ringside. Cue Valhalla to dive onto Kofi so here is Xavier Woods to…be scared by Valhalla. Ivar crushes Woods against the barricade but Kofi kicks him in the face. Back in and Ivar counters Trouble In Paradise into a drive through the table, setting up the moonsault to finish Kingston at 11:05.

Rating: B-. Good brawl here with both of them beating the other up well enough. Ivar FINALLY wins a singles match as he’s in the middle of his singles run, which is pretty long overdue. Other than that, this wasn’t as good as their surprisingly awesome match from a few weeks ago, but the right person won.

Shinsuke Nakamura has no comment on the Last Man Standing match but here is Ricochet to jump him for the brawl.

Damian Priest yells at JD McDonagh and the rest of Judgment Day for not having his back out there. Rhea Ripley calms him down because she has gotten Priest and Finn Balor a rematch for the Tag Team Titles next week. And Priest still has the briefcase! Priest backs off, but McDonagh needs to deal with Drew McIntyre.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nia Jax

Nia runs her over to start and slams Rodriguez’s head into the mat a few times. Rodriguez fights up and unloads in the corner but can’t manage a slam. Jax throws her outside and into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Rodriguez fighting out of a chinlock and knocking Jax down. A Samoan drop doesn’t work for Rodriguez either but it works just fine for Jax. The Annihilator takes too long though and Rodriguez hits a rather impressive powerbomb. Cue Rhea Ripley to throw Rodriguez outside for the DQ at 7:09 so she can go after Jax.

Rating: C+. The powerbomb looked great but this was a means to set up the ending of the match and that’s perfectly fine. We’re either setting up Ripley vs. Jax (probably the long term goal) or a triple threat match for the title. Either way, Ripley continues to feel like a star and having her slay the giant would work great for her. Rodriguez handled herself well enough here and that’s all you can ask in a situation like this one.

Post match Ripley kicks Jax down but gets jumped by Rodriguez. Shayna Baszler runs in to go after Jax but Ripley breaks that up and yells. Baszler drops Ripley with a German suplex and running knee as Jax bails. This is already more interesting than a lot of what we’ve seen around the women’s division in recent months.

Seth Rollins tells Drew McIntyre that they’re officially on for Crown Jewel, but what’s up with him cutting off the cash in? McIntyre says he hasn’t told a single lie because last week he said if it’s not his business, he doesn’t get along. He has a title shot at Crown Jewel and doesn’t want someone messing with it. Rollins says McIntyre isn’t taking the title from him and leaves.

Shayna Baszler says no one jumps her from behind in her ring and gets away with it.

Michael Cole brings out new Tag Team Champions Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes for a chat. Cole puts over their win but asks Rhodes what this means for his original goal of finishing the story. Will defending the Tag Team Titles deter him from winning the WWE Title, or is he scared of trying again after failing in his first attempt? Rhodes says Cole is right that he did bring Uso back to Raw and he’s happy with being a Tag Team Champion. Cole doesn’t let his question go but cue Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens (to different music) to interrupt.

Sami says everyone is talking about finishing the story. One story is the Usos holding the Tag Team Titles longer than anyone in history, but then he and Owens took the titles in the main event of Wrestlemania. The story now though is Cody and Uso winning the titles and Sami is happy for them.

Sami has mixed emotions though as he thinks they should be holding the titles. Owens is a little more to the point, saying he’s not happy that Rhodes and Uso are holding the titles. Owens wants them back so he wants to challenge them for tonight, but he doesn’t think Uso can handle losing to them twice. Cody says they’re on and Uso is in too.

Otis chops Chad Gable to ire him up for his #1 contenders match tonight. Bronson Reed (also in the match tonight) comes in to say Gable isn’t getting near the Intercontinental Title, because Reed is getting the shot tonight. Maybe Gable shouldn’t let his daughter watch tonight because it’s going to be another heartbreaking loss.

Ricochet vs. Bronson Reed vs. Chad Gable

For an Intercontinental Title shot next week. Ricochet comes out first but Shinsuke Nakamura jumps him from behind and bets him down, including a GTS. Maxxine Dupri is here with Gable. Reed starts fast and knocks Ricochet into the corner but Ricochet is fine enough to cut off a suplex attempt. They go outside with Ricochet kneeing Reed out of the air but Gable suplexes Ricochet and we take a break.

Back with Reed breaking up Gable’s sleeper and splashing both of them in the corner. A Samoan drop crushes both Ricochet and Gable but Ricochet manages a kick to Reed’s head. Ricochet’s missile dropkick sends Reed to the floor but Gable is right back up. A springboard spinning crossbody puts Gable down and a running shooting star press gets two.

Gable manages a German suplex to send Reed right back to the floor, where Ricochet hits a running flip dive. Back in and the ankle lock has Ricochet in trouble but he escapes rather quickly. Gable loads up a German superplex but Ricochet flips out, only to hurt his knee again. Gable’s Rolling Chaos Theory hits Ricochet but Reed crushes both of them. The Tsunami crushes Ricochet to give Reed the pin and the title shot at 11:02.

Rating: B-. They kept things moving here and it was an entertaining match throughout. Reed vs. Gunther is certainly a fresh match and has some serious hoss fight potential. If nothing else, it’s not to see Reed getting a move up the ladder, which has been teased for a long time now. Gable not getting pinned gives him an out for later as his obsession can continue. Finally there is Ricochet, who seems primed for a match with Shinsuke Nakamura down the line.

Becky Lynch has 11 stitches in her arm but she’ll be ready to fight tonight because that’s what a fighting champion does. Xia Li of all people comes up to say she wants a shot, with Lynch saying she’s not a hard person to find.

Drew McIntyre vs. JD McDonagh

Dominik Mysterio is here with McDonagh. McIntyre starts fast with one of the highest backdrops I’ve ever seen. Dominik offers a distraction though and McDonagh starts in on the leg. Back up and McIntyre avoids a charge, setting up the Future Shock. The Claymore finishes McDonagh at 3:59.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but what matters is getting McIntyre a win and giving McDonagh another failure. McIntyre is still in a weird place and I’m not sure where it is going to wind up. That makes things more interesting on the way to Crown Jewel and things could get all the more fun on the way there.

Post match Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley are not pleased.

We get a sitdown interview from earlier today with Wade Barrett talking to Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. This reunion was seven years in the making and now they’re looking to the future. Gargano says he has been ready to return for a long time and saw what happened last week. He wasn’t about to let that happen but here is Imperium to jump them. A big beatdown ensues.

Video on Tegan Nox, looking at her history of terrible knee injuries.

Nox is ready for the biggest match of her career. Natalya pops in to wish her luck.

Ricochet is given a match with Shinsuke Nakamura next week, falls count anywhere. Of note, Drew McIntyre and Rhea Ripley appeared to be talking in the background.

NXT Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Tegan Nox

Lynch is defending. Nox takes her down to start but misses an early kick to the face. They trade some rollups with neither getting very far, though Lynch does seem to lose some extensions. Some armdrags have Nox down and they’re back up for a stalemate. Nox kicks her out of the corner and Lynch gets sent into some buckles.

They head outside with Lynch’s arm getting banged up again, allowing Nox to get two back inside. We take a break and come back with Lynch snapping off a suplex for two. Nox’s high crossbody gets the same but Lynch throws her down into a failed cross armbreaker attempt. Nox sends her into the corner for the reverse cannonball, followed b a kick to the head.

Lynch gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a regular Cannonball and another near fall. A cross armbreaker doesn’t work for Nox either and Lynch is up with a missile dropkick for two of her own. The Manhandle Slam and Disarm-Her are blocked and Nox gets a rollup for two. The Disarm-Her goes on this time though and Nox has to tap at 14:29.

Rating: B. They’re doing something interesting here with Lynch being the fighting champion who helps give a bunch of people their best match to date. That’s similar to the John Cena US Open Challenges from back in the date and it’s working well. Lynch is going to drop the title in a big deal but she gave Nox and Tiffany Stratton a nice platform on the way there. Good match here, with Nox getting in a lot.

Post match, respect is shown.

Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae are in Adam Pearce’s office when Rhea Ripley comes in to throw them out. She needs to make an example of Shayna Baszler next week so Pearce needs to make it happen.

Natalya, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance console Tegan Nox after their loss when Piper Niven and Chelsea Green come in to mock her. Green and Natalya go face to face, with Niven doing the threatening. Natalya vs. Niven is made for next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Drew McIntyre gets in Jey Uso’s face and Uso is ready to go. Sami Zayn plays peacemaker again. With McIntyre gone, Uso says he appreciates Zayn having his back but it’s go time tonight. Zayn doesn’t have to be told twice.

Video on Ludwig Kaiser of all people.

Tag Team Titles: Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

Zayn/Owens are challenging. Sami and Cody start things off but we get an early four way staredown to take us to a quick break. Back with Sami getting frustrated as Uso comes in, meaning it’s off to Owens. Everything breaks down and the four way brawl is on outside. They break it up before the double DQ/countout but the fight goes outside again and we take another break.

Back again with Owens and Uso trading superkicks until they both make tags. Sami Blue Thunder Bombs Cody for two and they both need a breather. Cross Rhodes gives Cody two with Owens making the save. Owens and Uso come back in to trade superkicks again with Uso getting the better of things. The Superfly Splash misses though and Owens hits the Stunner, with Cody having to make the save this time. Owens drops Uso and goes up but the Swanton hits raised knees. The elevated Cody Cutter drops Owens and the champs retain at 21:09.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time, though a good chunk of that was taken away due to the commercials. What matters here though is having a heck of a showdown and Cody and Uso getting a big win to make it clear that they’re legitimate champions, at least for the time being. Good main event here, and we’re likely going to be in for another big match next week against Judgment Day.

We get another preview of next week’s show.

Sami shakes the champs’ hands and Owens shakes Cody’s hand. He gives Uso an aggressive handshake to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty nice show overall here, with good wrestling up and down and stuff being set up for both next week as well as Crown Jewel. I’m curious to see where some of these things go and that is a good sign at the end of a show. It can be hard to come off of a not so important pay per view but at least they’re off to a strong start on the way to Crown Jewel and then Survivor Series. Nice work this week.

Results
Ivar b. Kofi Kingston – Moonsault
Raquel Rodriguez b. Nia Jax via DQ when Rhea Ripley interfered
Bronson Reed b. Ricochet and Chad Gable – Tsunami to Ricochet
Drew McIntyre b. JD McDonagh – Claymore
Becky Lynch b. Tegan Nox – Disarm-Her
Cody Rhodes/Jey Uso b. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens – Cody 1D to Owens

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 16, 2010
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

This was a request for reasons not quite clear. It’s night after Summerslam and the big story is John Cena and company vanquished the Nexus, in a match that saw Cena overcome some rather insane odds. Other than that, Sheamus is still Raw World Champion, having retained the title over Randy Orton. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here is the Nexus to get things going, with commentary saying that the team showed they belong despite losing last night. Wade Barrett (the team’s leader) says they beat SIX of the best that Raw had to offer last night (keep in mind that it was a 7 on 7 tag match) and they are still ready to dominate WWE. They were defeated and that means there will be consequences for Raw.

Cue John Cena, to say that Barrett has the resolve of Winston Churchill and the toughness of Snooki from the Jersey Shore. Cena brings up how Barrett tapped out to cause the team to lose. The reality is that Nexus is expendable and Barrett must be kicking himself in the fish and chips over letting Daniel Bryan go. Then last night Bryan eliminated over half of the Nexus by himself as they proved that Nexus can be defeated.

You have the various members of the team, such as Otunga (an above average male escort), Tarver (looks like a stripper), Heath Slater (the chick from Wendy’s…..so Wendy), Darren Young (a cross between Cena and Buckwheat), Justin Gabriel (he has an “alternative” way of thinking) and Skip Sheffield (who thinks the Meow Mix theme).

All that matters is they are a bunch of humans, with Young tapping out in less than a minute. We get an email from the anonymous Raw General Manager (egads the flashbacks), saying tonight it’s Team WWE vs. Nexus in a bunch of singles matches, with threats made against Nexus interference.

Barrett doesn’t like hearing that he tapped out, but promises that after tonight, Nexus will be stronger than ever. If any of them lose though, their spots might not be safe. Otunga says that’s fine, but if Barrett loses, someone else can step up and take the leadership. We get another email, saying Nexus can pick their matchups tonight. Except for Barrett that is, because he gets to face Chris Jericho. So there’s your show tonight, and they did it in about fifteen minutes. That’s fairly fast for some Raw opening segments.

Chris Jericho vs. Wade Barrett

Jericho kicks him down to start as the rest of Nexus is shown watching in the back. There’s the triangle dropkick to send Barrett outside but he’s able to knock Jericho off the apron for a breather. There’s a big boot to drop Jericho again and we hit the double arm crank. Jericho fights up and hits a middle rope dropkick, followed by the bulldog. A quick Wasteland attempt is countered into the Walls, sending Barrett straight to the rope. Back up and Jericho boots him in the face again, only to get caught with an enziguri. The Codebreaker is loaded up but Barrett reverses into the Wasteland for the clean pin.

Rating: C+. Jericho can be criticized for a lot of things, but he has a reputation as someone who will put just about anyone over. That is a big win for Barrett, especially after last night’s big loss. Barrett being able to hang with someone at Jericho’s level helps him a lot and they had a good match to show what Barrett can do.

This week’s guest hosts are Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day and Justin Long. They have a new moving coming out and seemingly have no idea what to talk about here so they just make weird noises. We hear some NBA insults before the team introduces the Hart Dynasty (Tag Team Champions).

Hold on though as we get another email. As of tonight, the Unified Tag Team Titles will now be known as the WWE Tag Team Titles, so here is Bret Hart with the new (bronze, because of course) titles. Thankfully that means dropping the dumb four belts for two people idea but here is Nexus on the screen. They have picked Hart’s opponent for tonight: Justin Gable, who promises a 450 to Bret. At least those morons were off quick.

We hear about Daniel Bryan replacing the injured Great Khali on Team WWE. No clip for that?

Michael Tarver vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan goes after the arm to start as Cole goes off about Bryan having no skill or change of becoming a star because he doesn’t eat meat. The rapid fire kicks to the chest in the corner have Tarver in more trouble and a missile dropkick makes it worse. Cue Miz and Alex Riley for a distraction though, allowing Tarver to get the fast rollup pin.

Post match Bryan goes after the Miz but Riley and Tarver take him down. The Skull Crushing Finale onto Miz’s Money In The Bank briefcase leaves Bryan laying.

Post break Miz and Riley talk about how they don’t like Bryan’s popularity, with Miz promising that Riley will be the next breakout star.

Darren Young tells Nexus that he’ll be facing John Cena. Pep talking ensues.

Justin Gabriel vs. Bret Hart

Actually hold on as we get an email saying there is a replacement.

Justin Gabriel vs. Randy Orton

Orton (in his weird bare arms phase) powers him into the corner to start but Gabriel flips over him and starts kicking away. As Lawler tries to figure out what kind of animal Gabriel is poking here (before finally remembering the whole VIPER thing), Orton snaps off the powerslam and the hanging DDT. The RKO is loaded up but cue Sheamus for….not a DQ as Orton brawls with him into the crowd for the countout instead. Well that was a dumb way out of the stipulation.

Post match Orton goes back inside to RKO Gabriel. With that not being enough, Orton grabs a chair and unloads on Sheamus to blow off some steam. That’s not enough so Orton drops Sheamus with the RKO on the floor for a bonus.

Skip Sheffield/David Otunga vs. R-Truth/John Morrison

Morrison works on Otunga’s arm to start before grabbing a Russian legsweep. It’s off to Sheffield to powerslam Truth but Otunga comes back in and gets Downward Spiraled. Cole asks what a Truth/Morrison win would mean for the locker room’s psyche. I’m thinking….not much? Anyway Morrison comes back in to pick up the pace but Sheffield runs him over. One heck of a running clothesline finishes Morrison to keep Nexus undefeated.

Melina/Eve Torres/Gail Kim vs. Jillian/Maryse/Alicia Fox

Gail easily takes Maryse down to start and calls her a gold digger. A crossbody gives Gail two and it’s off to Melina, who is taken into the wrong corner. Fox hits her always nice looking northern lights suplex and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up and Eve comes in with a bunch of dropkicks. Everything breaks down and Eve hits an enziguri out of the corner to drop Jillian. The moonsault is loaded up but Jillian rolls her up out of the corner for the big upset pin.

Edge isn’t surprised that he led Team WWE to victory last night but here is Heath Slater to interrupt. They’re facing each other tonight and Heath tries to get him to back out. That’s not going to work for Edge, who isn’t losing to a Wendy looking Edge wannabe. Heath decks him and leaves.

Edge vs. Heath Slater

Edge knocks him into the corner without too much trouble to start but Heath gets in a cheap shot. They head outside with Edge being sent into the barricade, followed by the armbar back inside. That’s broken up and Edge makes the clothesline comeback for two. Heath gets in his own clothesline for two, with a fan shouting “I HATE YOU HEATH SLATER! I HATE YOU!” Back up and Edge sends him (Heath, not the fan) outside but misses the baseball slide dropkick. The spear against the steps misses….and Heath beats the count back inside for the pin.

Rating: C-. Well that was nothing, but it’s getting more than a little tough to accept that after eliminating all seven members last night, Team WWE can’t beat a single member of the Nexus here. That doesn’t makes the most sense and it’s leading to some rather screwy finishes. This didn’t feel like something Edge would ever fall for and it’s not something I would buy him doing, which doesn’t exactly make for a strong finish.

Post match Edge hits a spear to blow off some steam.

The hosts are in the back with Great Khali and talk about long distances relationships (which is why Khali hasn’t been doing the Kiss Cam). Justin Long sees a picture of Khali’s girlfriend and the other hosts aren’t impressed. They then find out that Khali understands English, but he admits the girlfriend is ugly. Then he leaves with the Bellas. Cole: “WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?”

Video on Summerslam week, including a bunch of charity stuff.

John Cena vs. Darren Young

No entrance for Young and that can’t be a good sign. Hold on though as cue Nexus to watch from the stage and Young gets two off a fast rollup to start. Young grabs a headlock and my goodness you can hear the spots being called despite a fairly rowdy crowd. Cena reverses into a headlock of his own but gets suplexed down, setting up a legdrop for two more. Cole: “Remember Young has to win this match.” Lawler: “I think Cena has to win this match.” Cole: “I agree with you.”

A clothesline and neckbreaker give Young two each and we hit the chinlock with a knee in the back. Back up and Cena….charges into an elbow in the corner as this has been one sided so far. Young drops a leg, Cena says “one more leg”, Young drops another leg. A northern lights suplex gets two more and Young is getting frustrated. With nothing else working, Young tosses him outside and then into the steps for a nine count. Back in and Cena quickly starts the comeback, setting up the Shuffle into the STFU for the tap.

Rating: C+. For someone who almost never got used on his own, Young can wrestle a decent match when he is given the chance. Granted having Cena call spots REALLY LOUDLY might have helped, but it was the best Young ever looked in WWE. At some point someone from Nexus had to lose and Young was the only one left by the end.

Post match the Nexus comes to the ring but let Cena go, instead circling Young. The big beatdown is on, with the Wasteland into the 450 splash destroying Young to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Normally I like the idea of focusing on one thing throughout the show but this was extreme even by WWE standards. Other than the women’s match and some dumb stuff with the hosts, this was all about one storyline. Throw in Nexus dominating most of the show and this wasn’t exactly interesting, with Nexus dominating most of the show despite losing last night. Not a good show, as the Nexus story was instantly a lot lamer after the Summerslam loss. Focusing on a big story is fine, but you have to mix it up a bit.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Summerslam 2011
Date: August 14, 2011
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 17.404
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Booker T

This is a pretty big show with the blowoffs to two amazing feuds. The headlining act match is CM Punk vs. John Cena in a champion vs. champion match and the rematch to their masterpiece a month earlier. The match I was more excited about though was Christian vs. Randy Orton in one of the most underrated feuds in recent years. Let’s get to it.

The guitarist from Tool plays the national anthem.

The opening video talks about a domino effect, triggered by CM Punk winning the Raw World Title back in Chicago at Money in the Bank. As a result, Vince McMahon was stripped of power (for all of a few months) and John Cena became the other Raw World Champion. Tonight it’s champion vs. champion and nothing else is worth talking about.

Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio vs. Awesome Truth/Alberto Del Rio

Mysterio had beaten Miz to win the vacant Raw World Champion so Miz attacked him on Raw to help set this up. This is in during the full on Cole Love Miz period and the annoyance begins early. Before the match Miz complains about not being on the show but here’s R-Truth to complain about various letters. He doesn’t like spiders and Summerslam or Cee Lo Green performing so S and C are on his bad list. Cue Alberto (Mr. Raw Money in the Bank) to cut him off and we’re finally ready to go.

Morrison and Del Rio are both WAY over here but it’s Kofi vs. Miz to get things going. A double flapjack with Morrison helping out plants Miz and we get stereo nipups. Morrison gets all fired up to hammer on Truth because their partnership from a few years ago just means nothing to him. Everything breaks down for a bit with Morrison being knocked off the top rope to change control.

Miz grabs the chinlock but gets kicked in the head to knock him silly. It’s back to Kofi as things speed up and the SOS counters the Skull Crushing Finale for two. Everything breaks down for a bit and Miz hits a Diamond Cutter into a 1%er for two. I’m still not wild on that move but Kofi’s selling made it look better. The heels start taking turns on Kofi with Del Rio starting in on the arm and mocking Kofi’s clapping taunt.

Miz gets two off a clothesline as Cole sings his praises, even listing off Miz’s high school accolades. A double stomp allows the hot tag to Rey, who comes in to a roar. Mysterio starts cleaning house but Del Rio breaks up a double 619. Morrison dives onto Alberto and Truth takes the 619, followed by a top rope splash for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: B-. Take six guys and give them ten minutes to have a fun opener. I like a good six man tag and it can accomplish multiple goals in a short span. For some reason though WWE feels that the only kinds of matches you can have are singles, regular tags and triple threats so we don’t get enough of something like this. If nothing else it gave the fans a lot to cheer about in a short time, meaning they’re ready to go early on. Well done indeed.

Executive Vice President of Talent Relations Johnny Ace (you get tired just listing his job title) wants CM Punk to publicly apologize for embarrassing him on Monday. Punk says he’s sorry and offers a big grin but he turns around to see Stephanie. The champ insults the men in her life but she doesn’t seem phased. Stephanie: “But what would I know? I’m just Vince McMahon’s clueless daughter.” Punk: “Yeah pretty much.” Stephanie offers a handshake for luck but Punk says no because he knows where that hand has been. WHY CAN NO ONE BURN STEPHANIE LIKE THIS TODAY???

We recap Mark Henry vs. Sheamus. This was during Henry’s rampage over everyone in his path and his Hall of Pain period. No one was left for him to beat so Sheamus, a heel at the time, came out and simply said “I’ll fight him.” I still really like that line as it sums up everything and gives you a reason to like Sheamus in two seconds. Simple, yet effective.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

Henry shoves him around to start but Sheamus comes back with knees to the ribs and forearms to the back. The Irish Curse attempt is easily shrugged away though and Sheamus is tossed outside. Back in and Henry does the running crotch attack to the back of Sheamus’ head, followed by a backbreaker for your run of the mill heel offense.

An over the shoulder backbreaker keeps Sheamus in trouble but Henry misses a Vader Bomb. That means it’s time for forearms to the chest but a double shoulder puts both guys down. Sheamus is up first and the Brogue Kick knocks Henry to the floor. Ever the not that bright good guy though, Sheamus goes out after him and gets driven though the barricade for the countout at 9:22.

Rating: C+. I like that finish a lot as they made Sheamus look like a real threat with the Brogue Kick and then didn’t have him get pinned. The important thing here though was Henry looking unstoppable as he was on the way to the World Title soon after this. Smart booking here and everyone comes out looking like they should.

Christian has an insurance policy for his match against Randy Orton. It’s going to be a summer blockbuster and he’ll be like Harry Potter. Orton on the other hand will be like Cowboys and Aliens: an overrated, overproduced and overhyped flop. Hey now that movie was underrated.

Cee Lo Green does his mini concert for reasons I don’t understand. Bright Lights, Bigger City is catchy though. Some Divas come out to dance during Forget You.

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Kelly is defending in your standard Barbie vs. monster feud and has Eve Torres in her corner. Beth on the other hand has Natalya. Kelly goes straight after her to start and fires off some forearms in the corner to send Beth outside, followed by a middle rope cross body to the floor. Back in and Beth knocks her out of the corner to take over before we hit a quick chinlock. An over the shoulder backrbeaker (good move for Beth) has Kelly in trouble and Beth ties her in the Tree of Woe to make it even worse. Kelly gets knocked around in the corner but counters the Glam Slam into a victory roll to retain at 6:33.

Rating: D+. Total squash for the most part here with a fluke ending, albeit the same fluke ending to almost every Kelly vs. Beth match ever. Kelly certainly got her push because of her looks but she was getting much better in the ring near the end of her career with matches like this one being far more watchable than some of the disasters that the division hard around this time.

Stephanie leaves John Cena’s locker room. For some reason we have to see the Cena logo twice for the announcers to catch on.

R-Truth is annoyed about getting ripped off so Jimmy Hart of all people offers his managerial services. Truth agrees but realizes that Jimmy is named….uh, Jimmy, and freaks out. Ron Artest and his daughter are shown watching for a worthless cameo.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett

Fallout from Money in the Bank where Bryan won by knocking Barrett off the ladder. Bryan doesn’t have his Flight of the Valkyries (yes Flight, which was the name of his WWE theme instead of Ride) theme song yet and it’s really weird to have it missing. Daniel starts in with the kicks and works on the arm as Booker talks about Daniel’s diet.

Bryan fights out of a wristlock and dropkicks Barrett down before bending Barrett’s shoulders around in a variety of painful looking ways. The running dropkick in the corner and a running kick to the chest, only to walk into the yet to be named (or at least not named here) Winds of Change. Barrett fires off his knees in the ropes and kicks Bryan out to the floor.

Back in and we hit the chinlock before Daniel escapes the Wasteland, setting up a running knee off the apron. Barrett’s pumphandle slam doesn’t work and it’s time for the yet to be named YES Kicks. Again, those chants really add a lot. The guillotine goes on and Barrett gets taken down into the LeBell Lock, only to reach over to the rope for the break. Bryan gets crotched on top though and Barrett hits a quick Wasteland for the pin at 11:47.

Rating: B. I still really like this match as it’s two guys beating on each other for the better part of twelve minutes until one of them can’t get up again. Barrett was the bigger star at this point as Bryan really was just a guy in trunks at this point, albeit one with a huge upside. Sometimes you just need a good wrestling match without a lot of meaning behind it and that’s what you got here.

The California National Guard is here.

We recap Christian vs. Randy Orton in a feud that has been going on for months. Christian lost the title less than a week after winning it and then wanted one more match. Orton eventually lost the title via DQ at Money in the Bank, setting up the rematch here with No Holds Barred. This is one of the best feuds in a long time and would have won Feud of the Year had it not been for Cena vs. Punk. It was perfectly put together and one great match after another. The two of them had chemistry together and that’s the most important thing you can do.

Smackdown World Title: Christian vs. Randy Orton

Christian is defending and this is no holds barred but first the champ has a big surprise for everyone as he brings out Edge. After an insane ovation, Edge thanks the fans but reminds them that he can never compete again due to his neck injuries. He was kind of glad that he left when he did though because it opened the door for Christian to become champion.

Christian lost the title five days after winning it and then complained about it for week after week. He just whined until he got his way and then won the title via disqualification. Edge might have done some dastardly things in his time but he did it with some style. Somewhere along the way, Christian became a disgrace to himself. Edge isn’t going to help him tonight and leaves Christian all alone.

Orton starts hammering away in the corner and backdrops Christian to set up the circle stomp and a knee drop for two. They head outside but Christian is smart enough to run away from an RKO through the announcers’ table. Christian grabs the title and runs into the crowd but Orton easily catches him (hint: it’s the guy in wrestling gear carrying a big gold belt) and sends it back inside.

The champ sends him shoulder first into the post (completely legal remember, even though you’ll almost never hear it called a DQ in the first place) to take over. It’s kendo stick time as we hit the standard street fight tropes. Christian misses a shot though and has to settle with an elbow to Orton’s jaw. There’s an interesting story here with Christian not being able to pull off the cheating but doing just fine with the wrestling. Orton grabs a rollup for two but gets caught in a spinebuster for the same.

It’s kendo stick time again but Christian dives into a dropkick to the ribs to keep up the subtle story. Orton can’t get in a stick shot either as the no holds barred rule hasn’t played a big role yet. The elevated DDT is countered into a Killswitch attempt which is countered into Orton’s backbreaker. He can’t hit the Punt but Christian can’t crotch him against the post as Orton uses his legs to pull Christian face first into the post instead.

Now it’s time for the real weapons as Orton pulls out some tables but Christian gets in a shot from behind and sets one up on the floor. Back in and Christian goes up top, only to get superplexed down onto an unset table for a unique spot. It also gets a near fall but that’s not as important. That table is set up in the corner but Christian has to counter the RKO by sending him to the floor. Orton sends him knees first into the steps, only to have Christian send him head first into the steps.

Next up it’s a monitor off Orton’s head to knock him onto the announcers’ table. Like any cocky heel would do though, Christian tries an RKO but gets caught in the real thing through the table for a double KO spot. Back in and Christian gets two off a Killswitch and you can hear the fans going nuts on the near fall. Well deserved too. With the table still looming in the table and another one at ringside, Christian opts for two chairs.

That’s enough for Orton as he takes one away and cracks Christian over the back, followed by a second one to send the champ off the apron and through the first table. Orton brings in the steps and some trashcans but Christian avoids a stomp onto the steps. He can’t avoid a powerslam through the table or a DDT onto the trashcan as this is getting brutal. Christian blocks the RKO with a kendo stick shot, only to have Orton hit another one a few seconds later to win the title back at 23:43.

Rating: A. I love this feud and the matches get better and better every time. There was a great story here of Christian being able to compete in the wrestling but being in WAY over his head against Orton, who has that evil streak in him. This started off as more of a wrestling match with Christian poking his toe into the violence but then embracing it full on, only to be destroyed by the more violent Orton. It’s a great story with a great match to go with it and that’s as good as it gets.

Video on WWE taking over Los Angeles for the week, including an Axxess.

We recap John Cena vs. CM Punk in a narrated video. Punk won the Raw World Title from Cena last month in a masterpiece, only to leave the company with the title immediately after. Cena won the title a few weeks later but Punk came out that night (good thing he just happened to be there), setting up a champion vs. champion match to see who really is the best man. Ignore the fact that they already established that fact at Money in the Bank when Punk beat him in the first place. Due to Punk leaving under Vince’s watch, the Board of Directors replaced Vince as boss with HHH, who Punk hates in general.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and HHH is guest referee. As expected, Punk is now a mega face and gets a big old pop, much to HHH’s annoyance. Cena on the other hand is booed out of the building as you kind of have to expect as well. Feeling out process to start with Punk grabbing a headlock for that horribly blatant spot calling. Punk was on a roll at this point but he was as bad as Shawn Michaels at hiding that stuff.

The dueling chants start up and sound even louder than usual, as they should at a major show. Now it’s Cena working a headlock into an armbar before Punk hits a leg lariat for two. Cena takes him down into a chinlock as this is firmly in first gear over five minutes in. The fans tell Cena that he can’t wrestle. True but at least he still is a wrestler and not someone who has been waiting two years for a UFC fight.

Punk finally escapes and puts Cena down for a breather, earning a loud CM PUNK chant. Off to a body vice as this match seems to be collapsing under the weight of the expectations from the previous match. Back up and Punk snaps his throat across the top rope to block a superplex attempt, followed by dropkicking Cena out to the floor. That goes nowhere so Punk grabs a seated abdominal stretch, only to have Cena power up into a spinning slam for a breather. Fans: “FRUITY PEBBLES!”

The finishing sequence is countered by Punk’s headlock takeover but he gets caught in the ProtoBomb. Punk comes right back with an enziguri and a Koji Clutch (I love that move) which is countered into an STF which is countered into the Anaconda Vice (Not a key lock Booker. Learn your details.). That actually gets some near falls until Cena reverses into a crossface to continue this pretty awesome sequence. Punk gets to the ropes and sends Cena outside for a suicide dive to put both guys down again.

HHH, who has been a total non-factor for the first fifteen minutes, gets to nine but can’t bring himself to finish the countout. Instead he throws both of them back inside and it’s time for the big strike off. Cena takes over with a dropkick and the Shuffle but the AA is countered into a sunset flip and kick to the head for two each. Cena’s sitout powerslam gets the same, as does Punk’s middle rope bulldog.

A very weary Punk’s springboard clothesline is countered into the STF but they haven’t traded enough finishers yet. Speaking of finishers, Cena gets two off the AA. The GTS gets the same result with Punk staring up at HHH in shock. Punk comes up holding his knee though but drops the top rope elbow for two anyway. Cena pounds Punk down but eats a running knee to the face, setting up the GTS for the pin at 24:08, despite Cena’s foot clearly being on the rope.

Rating: B+. This match would be remembered so much more fondly if it wasn’t for the fact that they had such a masterpiece just a month earlier. They had to try and follow that up and it just couldn’t be done. The screwy ending didn’t help things, just like having HHH out there for the sake of waiting on a screwy finish that doesn’t seem to mean much since this is a night when instant replay doesn’t exist.

HHH applauds Punk post match and raises his hand before leaving. Punk poses….but here’s Kevin Nash through the crowd to lay Punk out. That means Alberto time and here we go.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio

Punk is defending and loses the title to an enziguri in eleven seconds.

A quick celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: A. This show is nothing short of excellent with only the Divas Title match being short of good (and seeing Kelly Kelly in shorts is never a bad thing). Orton vs. Christian is great stuff with a great story, the main event is awesome, Barrett vs. Bryan is a hidden gem, the crowd is white hot all night and the rest is all worth watching…..until you get to the ending.

That’s where the show falls apart as not only did the ending only make limited sense here but it would turn into one of the biggest messes anyone had seen in a few short weeks. Somehow Punk wouldn’t get his rematch next month because he was busy jobbing to HHH in the main event of Night of Champions.

Oh and Nash? Yeah he sent himself a text message telling him to come out there right then because he wanted one more crowd reaction. That’s how they followed up on the potentially hottest angle in years: Kevin Nash sent himself a text message and HHH pinned CM Punk, setting up HHH vs. Nash, who never fought Punk in this whole thing. Such is life in WWE, or out of WWE actually and you can’t blame Punk after all that.

Ratings Comparison

Kofi Kingston/John Morrison/Rey Mysterio vs. Awesome Truth/Alberto Del Rio

Original: B-

2013 Redo: B-

2016 Redo: B-

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

Original: C

2013 Redo: C+

2016 Redo: C+

Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

Original: C+

2013 Redo: D+

2016 Redo: D+

Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B

Christian vs. Randy Orton

Original: B+

2013 Redo: A-

2016 Redo: A

CM Punk vs. John Cena

Original: A+

2013 Redo: B+

2016 Redo: B+

Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

Original: N/A

2013 Redo: N/A

2016 Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: A+

2013 Redo: A

2016 Redo: A

I think we can call this my definitive thoughts on the show as the ratings were almost identical in the last two reviews. Definitely check this one out.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/08/14/summerslam-2011-that-was-i-need-a-cigarette/

And the 2013 redo:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2013/08/16/summerslam-count-up-2011-a-screwy-ending-isnt-a-bad-thing/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.