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Arcademan:
ECW on SciFi Results: 3-3-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report).

1 -- KANE vs. THE BOOGEYMAN

Bell sounded and Boogey slowly approached Kane with some worms in hand. A small token of gratitude, but Kane met him with a sudden uppercut. Boogey recovered and went up top, but Kane caught him in mid-air for a one-hand chokeslam in center ring. Kane with the cover for the decisive win.

WINNER: Kane in 2:00. Well, there went Boogeyman. So, back to page one of rebuilding Boogey via five straight weeks of squash matches? Perhaps it's time to acknowledge the need to repackage Boogey. Kane was impressive, however. (1/2*)

2 -- SANTINO MARELLA (w/Rosa Mendes and Beth Phoenix) vs. MARK HENRY (w/Tony Atlas)

Bell sounded and Henry stonewalled Santino with a chest bump. Santino rolled to the outside to recover, then Henry and Beth exchanged a few firm glances. Santino tried to attack Henry in the ring with a burst of steam, but Henry no-sold. He was not amused. Henry finally had enough and scooped up Santino for the World's Strongest Slam. Santino was hilarious going completely stiff in center ring. Henry with the cover on Santino for the win. He then pointed to the briefcase hanging above the ring.

WINNER: Henry in 2:00. Punk, Henry, and Kane have qualified for MITB now. WWE needs to add some speed in this one. It could be fun to watch Henry climb a ladder and/or ragdoll some folks around, though. Santino was fine playing the comedy fool. (1/2*)

3 -- NATALYA (w/Tyson Kidd) vs. ALICIA FOX (w/D.J. Gabriel)

Grisham said Fox is very green, with it being only her second singles match in WWE. Natalya worked over Fox center ring, then Fox came back with a standing dropkick. Nice execution. Natalya backed off, then kicked Fox in the gut and landed a powerslam out of the corner. Natalya put Fox in an abdominal stretch, then Gabriel tried to fire up the crowd. Fox escaped, then made a comeback with a clothesline and roll up with a bridge for a two count. Fox tried a huracanrana, but Natalya blocked and slapped on the Sharpshooter. Natalya leaned deep into that hold and Fox was forced to tap out.

Post-match: Gabriel was checking on Fox, then Kidd tried to jump Gabriel from behind. Gabriel fought him off, though, and uppercutted Kidd to the floor. Both sides recovered to apparently set up a mixed tag in the next week or two.

WINNER: Natalya in 4:00. Really nice match. Alicia is solid in only her second TV match. Natalya is already the "steady hand" in the women's division, taking the ball from Victoria. Natalya has a lot of upside. (*1/4)

4 -- FINLAY (w/Hornswoggle) & CHRISTIAN & TOMMY DREAMER vs. ECW champion JACK SWAGGER & World tag team champions MIZ & MORRISON

A minute into the match, Hornswoggle jumped through the ropes with a splash onto the tag champs. Chaos ruled, and off to a commercial.

Back from break, IHOP was working over Miz in the ring. Grisham made the astute observation on the other side of the break that Miz has no reason to wear batting gloves to a wrestling match. Dreamer then tagged in for IHOP and dropped an elbow on Miz. Striker with an excellent enhancement point that Christian went through intense physical therapy after last week's shoulder work from Swagger in order to compete in the ring tonight. All we needed was a video package on Christian training. Dreamer lost control for IHOP when he turned his attention to Miz allowing Morrison to nail a step-up enziguiri kick.

At 10:00, anti-IHOP continued its attack on Dreamer. Swagger nailed a belly-to-belly suplex, but Dreamer kicked out in time. Swagger wanted a second rope dive, but Dreamer got his knees up. He finally escaped and hot-tagged Christian, who came in hot on Morrison. Christian accidentally bumped into Finlay, but he ducked attacks from Mo and Miz before nailing a float-over sunset flip on Mo for a close two count. Christian then kicked Mo in the face before going to the second rope for a sweet-looking tornado DDT.

Action broke down, then Christian nailed Morrison with a diving headbutt. He made the cover, but Miz broke up the pin. Finlay got involved and took Miz to the floor. Mo and Christian battled in center ring, but Swagger took a blind tag in the process. Christian nailed Mo with the Killswitch, but Swagger snuck in behind Christian to hit the gutwrench powerbomb for the pin and the win. Afterward, Swagger gloated, Miz celebrated, and Morrison tried to figure out what state he was in. Swagger gloating like only the ECW champ can was our final shot to close the show.

WINNERS: Team Swagger in 13:00. Excellent finish. Christian looks so revitalized compared to when he was going through the motions at the end of his TNA run. He made himself stand out since he was booked to lose the match, which is what a good wrestler should do to make the pre-pinfall action more important than the result. Swagger has momentum back with the straight-up win last week and sneaky victory this week. Swagger vs. Christian at WrestleMania could be a really great undercard match. (***)

Arcademan:
TNA Impact! Results: 3-6-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Keller's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results since there was a whole lot of jawing going on.

1 -- ALEX SHELLEY (w/Chris Sabin) vs. KIYOSHI -- X Division Title match

With all of these tournaments and special matches TNA holds where wrestlers earn X Division Title matches, what exactly did Kiyoshi do to deserve this "out of the blue" title match? As Tenay talked about the Sting-Angle situation, West said he wishes Tenay could look at it objectively. It was the first sign of tension between them since their first exchange earlier. Rapid fire back and forth action early. Shelley won clean with a frog splash.

WINNER: Shelley in 4:00 to retain the X Title.

STAR RATING: *1/4 -- What was the point of that being an X Title match? Why not do something to build it up ahead of time so it seemed to mean something? And to have the announcers spend most of the match talking about the MEM, it really diminished any chance the X Title had of feeling even the slightest bit important. I mean, when you're trying to sell the Ultimate X match so hard, why not treat an X Title match as something of value and worth focusing on instead of throwing it out there as a backdrop to discussing something else?

2 -- THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (Angelina Love & Velvet Sky w/Kip James) vs. RYESHA SAEED & AWESOME KONG vs. ROXXI & TAYLOR WILDE (w/The Gov)

Tenay took another dig at West, tying in what Madison Rain did to Taylor Wilde, saying he wouldn't expect him to understand someone with experience take someone green under their wing only to get stabbed in the back. West said opinions are like You Know What, but he suggested they rise about it all and call the match. Madison walked toward ringside and they cut to a break at 1:00.

Chaos broke out shortly after the break. Tenay took another dig at West, saying "Nobody likes being humiliated in national television," a reference to the BPs being caught buying into The Gov's Sarah Palin impersonation. The Gov got involved in the ring, after which so did Madison, followed by Love pinning Roxxi.

WINNERS: The BPs in 6:00.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Just nondescript chaos throughout. Too much at once and everything felt rushed and frenetic.

3 -- MATT MORGAN vs. SHANE SEWELL

Tenay said we're about to find out if Sewell has the physical ability to compete with Morgan. Tenay then shifted to criticizing West for walking off the show again because he can't take criticism. Tenay said West has disrespected the fans by walking out on the show. Morgan toyed with Sewell early until Sewell surprised hom with a dropkick off the second rope after Sewell argued with a referee. Sewell went for a monkey flip, but Morgan countered with a powerbomb. Tenay said Cornette has "taken back" the Legends Championship belt, which has Booker PO'd. Tenay said Cornette wants to get control of the situation. Wait, Booker just made up that belt himself, so how is it something Cornette could "take back" control of. It was never legit or sanctioned to begin with. Morgan gave Sewell a fallaway slam, posturing and waving to the camera first. When he went for the pin, Morgan lifted Sewell's shoulder before the three count. Sewell made a ridiculous Tommy Dreamer comeback with his corny facial expressions. Morgan brushed him off, though, and set up a chokeslam. Sewell gave Morgan a low blow, then climbed to the top rope. Morgan side-stepped him and shoved him face-first to the mat. He followed with his Hellivator finisher. It looked more like Sewell DDT'd him; it's one of those moves where you can't really tell who's supposed to be hurt on the move.

WINNER: Morgan in 3:00.

STAR RATING: 3/4*

4 -- BEER MONEY INC. (Robert Roode & James Storm w/Jacqueline) vs. LAX (Homicide & Hernandez)

Homicide took control of Storm at the start. Homicide slidekicked Storm and Roode at ringside at 1:00. Hernandez then Border Tossed his own partner Homicide onto Beer Money on the floor, and then they cut to a break.

The heels controlled for a while after the break, but at 8:00 LAX came back and Hernandez hit his big dive over the top rope. When Homicide chased Jackie, that gave Roode an opening. Hernandez spit beer out of Storm's beer bottle in his face. He set up his Border Toss, but Roode entered with a hair and bashed Hernandez over the head (unprotected) and the ref called for the DQ. As Beer Money beat down LAX, Team 3D made the save.

WINNERS: LAX via DQ in 9:00.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- Basic stuff with a copout finish, but one that fit the storyline since neither LAX member are leaving TNA, but Beer Money aren't losing the tag belts yet.

FINAL THOUGHTS (4.0): I've seen better, I've seen worse. The flippant treatment of the X Title match, the odd follow-up with the West-Tenay situation (with Tenay not addressing West's point of criticism that he backstabbed him at a meeting), and Super-Jeff-O-Mac mixed with a bunch of decent but rushed other segments and matches. There were some decent performances by Sting, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, and even Jarrett (who was good in his role, albeit he remains overpushed and somewhat delusional in the Stone Cold TNA Founder Sage Role - and what was with that speed-talking in the opening segment?), but the booking foundation remains largely a mess. Nash probably gets my MVP vote for doing a better job trying to make sense of and fill in the gaping logic holes in the MEM Sting-Angle situation.

Arcademan:
WWE Smackdown Results: 3-6-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Park's complete report)/. Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1- MATT HARDY vs. MVP - MONEY-IN-THE-BANK QUALIFYING MATCH

MVP applied a waist-lock early on and had the crowd behind him quickly and, ironically, like Matt used to. Corner clothesline by Matt, but MVP shrugged off a bulldog attempt. He went for the Playmaker less than two minutes in, but he couldn’t hit it. They ended up having a stand-off as the show continues.

Matt had MVP in a reverse chinlock on the mat. They showed how Matt got control during the break. Shades of Big Bossman as Hady sat down on MVP’s back with Montel Vontavious Porter’s throat draped over the middle rope. He took MVP down to the ground again. Overhead throw by MVP. MVP took Matt’s face and jammed it into his knee in a move that really hit. Roll-up by MVP for two. Side Effect by Hardy to regain control. He set up for the Twist of Fate, but MVP countered into a jacknife cover and got the pin.

WINNER: MVP, at 7:57. Ah, takes me back to the days of the great Matt vs. MVP feud.

2- MARYSE vs. EVE TORRES

Maryse tried to do the test of strength and God bless Eve, she fell for it. Maryse pulled her hand away, then went into the ropes for a break, then gyrated for a bit. In slow motion, Even leap-frogged Maryse then hit an enziguiri on her. Maryse went to the outside, and suckered Eve back into the ring. Michelle did some dissing of both ladies on commentary. When Maryse is the veteran hand in the ring, you’re in trouble. Not that she isn’t good, but I don’t think she’s good enough to carry someone as green as Eve. Dropkick by Eve that caught Maryse’s.....well, hand I guess. To the middle rope, but Eve missed a cross-body. Nice DDT by Maryse to finish it.

WINNER: Maryse, at 3:26. A step back for Eve this week. Not a good match.

3- JEFF HARDY vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN- MONEY-IN-THE-BANK QUALIFYING MATCH

Northern Lights Suplex about 30 seconds in for Benjamin, which got two. Hardy went off the ropes and Shelton ducked a cross-body attempt, which sent Hardy to the floor. Hardy turned the tables on the outside and flung himself off the stairs and into Shelton. Both men were down as the show went to break.

Shelton had Jeff by the hair out of break and had Hardy in a chin-lock, with his knee stuck right in Jeff’s back. Pin attempt for Shelton got two. Hardy came back to hit the double legdrop right in the lower abdomen of Benjamin. Low dropkick for two. As Jeff continued his onslaught, Matt Hardy wandered down to ringside. He climbed up the steps as Jeff hit Whisper in the Wind. Matt caught his eye but Jeff didn’t go for him. A terrible Twist of Fate was hit by Jeff, then Matt entered the ring. The brothers went face-to-face, then Matt punched Shelton, causing referee Chad Patton to throw out the match.

WINNER: Benjamin, at 9:28. I know I’ve said this before, but things like that should be left to the referee’s discretion; it shouldn’t be an automatic DQ when it’s obvious someone like Matt is trying to get the other guy disqualified. I know it’s not REAL but WWE should set things up so it would make a little more sense.

4- TRIPLE H vs. UMAGA

HHH started out hot, socking Umaga in the head with a bevy of right hands. Umaga returned the shots with headbutts. Whip into the corner, but HHH came out with a vengeance, clotheslining the Samoan Bulldozer. Umaga nailed The Game with a superkick. JR questioned whether or not Trips could recover from the kick. Legdrop by Umaga for two. HHH came back with a knee to Umaga’s face. Thrust to the throat of The Game allowed Umaga time to recover. Trips low-bridged him and Umaga dove over the top rope and to the outside of the ring. Out of nowhere, The Legacy ran threw the crowd and surrounded the ring. HHH held off Cody Rhodes, but Dibiase and Orton came in to attack and the numbers game got the best of him for a while. The ref is nowhere to be seen, so let’s call it....

WINNER: Triple H via DQ, at about 3:30 (no bell).

Arcademan:
WWE RAW Results: 3-9-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only so click the linky to read all about the Stone Cold/Brian Pullman...er...a...Triple H/Randy Orton 'home invasion'.

1 -- IC champion C.M. PUNK vs. JBL -- Intercontinental Title match

Punk was in control going into the break after nailing a suicide dive on the floor. They returned with JBL in control. Awkward pin attempt at 7:00 when JBL made a cover and Punk kinda rolled up a shoulder to escape a pin. Punk came back with a swinging DDT off the top rope, then kick strikes and a leg whip. Punk nailed a top rope clothesline and a high knee/running bulldog combo for a two count at 9:00. Punk tried the Go 2 Sleep, but JBL raked the eyes and nailed the Clothesline from Hell for the pin and the win. JBL accepted the IC Title belt with glee and celebrated his victory. Punk, meanwhile, checked his eyes for vision.

WINNER: JBL at 9:35 to capture the IC Title. You could see that finish coming, but it would have been nice for actual build-up to a title match. Interesting to see where this will be going with JBL looking to do something shocking at WrestleMania concerning the IC Title. (*1/2)

2 -- Divas champion Maryse vs. Women's champion Melina -- non-title match

Lumberjills were surrounding the ring for this one. Maryse dominated Melina early and often. She put Melina in the bow and arrow, then cut off a comeback and kicked Melina in the head. She then rolled her up for the pin and the win. Afterward, Smackdown and Raw divas squared off against each other. A brawl broke out and the Raw divas stood tall with Melina.

WINNER: Maryse at 2:15. Fine. Just getting divas on the TV for a few moments, but not enough time given to develop a compelling match between Melina and Maryse. "Super fast food" match. (3/4*)

3 -- CHRIS JERICHO vs. KOFI KINGSTON -- Money in the Bank qualifying match

Announcers referenced Mickey Rourke and "The Wrestler" early on, so there's still a working agreement of some sort for WrestleMania. Kofi jumped around the ring early on, then took control going into break. Jericho was in control out of the break working on Kofi's back. Kofi then came back with a leaping clothesline and palm thrust to the chest. Kofi with a turnaround splash from the second rope for a two count. Kofi nailed a Russian legsweep, then marched around the ring before attempting the boom-boom leg drop. Jericho countered, though, and wanted the Walls of Jericho, but Kofi blocked. Jericho came right back with an enziguiri kick for a two count. Jericho missed with a Lionsault and Kofi nailed the boom-boom leg drop for a two count. Kofi started gyrating around before attempting the Buzzsaw kick, but Jericho slapped on the Walls of Jericho. Kofi teased an escape, then Ric Flair's music suddenly came on. Flair walked out on stage and Jericho released the Walls of Jericho. Jericho then walked back across the ring and Kofi nailed the Jamaican Buzzsaw kick for the pin and the win. Afterward, Kofi walked on stage and celebrated with Ric Flair, who pointed to the WrestleMania banner and told Jericho he's not going.

WINNER: Kofi at 7:55 to qualify for MITB. Nice finish and a nice surprise from Ric Flair. Jericho losing sets him up to destroy a Legend on next week's show and finally get a WrestleMania match of some sort against a Legend of some sort. (**)

4 -- CHRISTIAN & FINLAY (w/Hornswoggle) & REY MYSTERIO vs. FINLAY & World tag team champions THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON

Christian and Miz started things off here. Finlay took a semi-hot tag and cleaned house, then Rey took a hot tag and smashed Morrison in the corner. He then went up top and nailed a huracanrana for a cover and two count when Miz broke up the pin. Rey wanted the 619 on Morrison, but Kane broke it up. Christian and Finlay then dumped Kane to the floor. Rey set up Mo with the 619 once again and he delivered it this time. Rey then snapped off a signature springboard huracanrana. Not quite the classic ECW Arena huracanrana against Psychosis, but it looked pretty good. Rey with the pin before an excited arena for the win.

WINNERS: Team Rey at 3:30. Really exciting finish after a brief match. ECW wrestlers (are Miz & Morrison on ECW?) put on a good showing with the limited time to hype ECW TV tomorrow night. (*1/2)

So...4 matches and a whole lot of talking going on as they try and build up storylines for the WM25 hype.

Arcademan:
ECW on SciFi Results: 3-10-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report).

1 -- World tag team champion THE MIZ (w/John Morrison) vs. WWE tag team champion PRIMO (w/Carlito and Bella Twins)

Primo was hot early on, but he could only score a one count following a round of kicks. Primo with a dropkick to the back, but Miz nailed a forearm smash as Primo was on the apron. Miz in control as Grisham sent us to break.

They returned from break with Miz still in control. Primo then fired off a top rope cross-body block for a two count. Primo airballed on an attempted dive and he crashed hard to the mat. One of the Bellas showed concern for Primo, then Miz walked over to Primo and punched Primo right in front of his lady. Miz sent Primo back into the ring to pick up another mid-ring attack. Battle went up top and Primo flipped over Miz into an electric chair slam.

Both men recovered, then Primo made another comeback. Morrison went the illegal immigrant route on commentary against Carlito, then Miz nailed a front-face slam on Carlito for another two count. They had an exciting roll-up exchange, then another close nearfall for Miz. Miz wanted a run-through-the-turnbuckle corner smash, but Primo moved and nailed the backstabber off the second ropes for the pin and the win. Afterward, Carlito and Primo got the girls while Morrison tried to check on Miz and get an explanation on how he lost.

WINNER: Primo in 11:00. Excellent singles match. Nice to see Primo in a featured match, as he clearly has tremendous upside. Nice use of the outside wrestlers to enhance the match on commentary and allow the two men in the ring to settle an issue. Just all-around good action. (**)

2 -- TYSON KIDD (w/Natalya) vs. D.J. GABRIEL (w/Alicia Fox)

Gabriel just looks too jacked up. He landed a flying elbow smash early on, then whipped Kidd hard across the ring only to accept a drop toehold into the middle turnbuckle. Action moved to the floor where Kidd nailed a kick to the face. Kidd is heel, but Gabriel has no babyface qualities for the crowd to get behind. Gabriel countered a wheelbarrow into an overhead release German Suplex for a two count. Gabriel then scooped up Kidd by his trunks, but Kidd yanked Gabriel back-first across the top rope and nailed the springboard elbow smash for the pin and the win. Striker: Where does Gabriel go from here? Same place as Ricky Ortiz: turn heel or go back to Florida.

WINNER: Kidd in 3:00. Nice win for Kidd, who deserves the push ahead of Gabriel. It was like the turning point for Jack Swagger's career when he was given the victory over Ricky Ortiz when they were arguably at the same level. Kidd and Gabriel were arguably on the same level here, and WWE made the right choice in Kidd over Gabe. (*)

3 -- MITB QUALIFYING MATCH BATTLE ROYALE

Ricky Ortiz was chucked over the top rope by Khali about seven seconds in. So sad. Funaki was out via Kozlov. Khali then dumped out Kozlov. Suddenly, gang-tackle on Khali and everyone eliminated him. Hey, Goldust is in the match. Charlie Haas as Charlie Haas. Other random jobbers. Yang out via Haas and Dolph. Ha, Striker with a WCW reference on Yang. Haas out. Goldust out. Burchill out via Cryme Tyme. Suddenly, JTG eliminated Shad. Oh snap! Break.

Regal, Christian, Dreamer, R-Truth, and Chavo were left in the ring back from break. Regal then nailed a four-way Tower of Doom spot in the corner. They showed us a clip during the break of JTG eliminating Shad, then R-Truth eliminating JTG. Dreamer picked up Regal's dead weight and tried to eliminate him, but Regal held on and Dreamer was yanked to the floor by Regal.

R-Truth vs. Christian once they were down to the final four. TNA! Chavo then dumped out Truth, bringing it to Chavo, Christian, and Regal. Christian held on for dear life as Chavo tried to shove him out, then Regal smashed Christian. Regal screamed, then charged Christian and Christian dumped him out. Down to Christian and Chavo. Christian slid into the ring from the apron, then Chavo did an Eddie chest-shake that drew cheap heat. He executed the Three Amigos suplexes, but Chavo blocked a top rope frog splash. They battled on the apron and Christian teased an elimination to draw screams from the crowd, then he nailed the rebound kick to the face on Chavo to eliminate him and win the battle royale.

WINNER: Christian in 11:00. Fine battle royale. Quick pace and they trimmed the fat (Ricky O.) early on while mixing in some traditional early '90s Raw battle royale spots featuring the big man, Great Khali, playing the role of Mabel. Good victory for Christian to keep him strong. (**)

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