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The Official Wrestling Thread (now with more news and stuff)
Arcademan:
WWE Smackdown Results: 8-15-08
Results courtesy of ProWrestling.net (direct link to Powell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results.
1. Jeff Hardy beat Shelton Benjamin fought Jeff Hardy by DQ in a U.S. Title match in 15:30. The always well prepared Jim Ross ran through more U.S. Title history before the bell. He's also hard on himself, as he mentioned that he confuses the Whisper in the Wind and the Twist of Fate sometimes. The show cut to commercial a few minutes into the match.
Shelton controlled the offense after the commercial break and become frustrated when Hardy kicked out of his pinfall attempts. Later, Benjamin jumped over the top rope and tried to turn a sunset flip into a powerbomb off the ring apron, but Hardy blocked the move and turned it into a huracanrana. In the end, Hardy went up top for a Swanton, but MVP ran out and pushed him him down to end the match.
Afterward, MVP lined up Hardy for a kick, but Hardy moved and the kick caught Shelton in the chops. Hardy hit the Twist of Fate and a Swanton on MVP and then on Benjamin...
Powell's POV: The finish was predictable to anyone who has been watching the show lately, but the match was entertaining while it lasted. Benjamin was aggressive and got plenty of offense against Hardy. I hope they do more with MVP and Hardy tonight because he got the better of MVP here, so there's no need to pay to see him get revenge at SummerSlam.
2. Natalya and Maryse beat Maria and Michelle McCool in 3:10. Maryse spiced up her ring entrance it's a big improvement over that uninterested look she had previously. After some forgettable action, Natalya took down McCool by the legs and cradled her for the pin. Ross called it a great illustration of leverage...
Powell's POV: That was an even better illustration of Diva filler.
3. The Brian Kendrick (w/Ezekiel Jackson) pinned Scotty Goldman in 2:45. Goldman is better known to everyone as Colt Cabana. He did a pre-tape in which he acted like he was tripped out by seeing himself "in a box" (a/k/a the television monitor). There were some boring chants, but there was a nice pop when Goldman hit his version of Iceman Parsons' Butt-Butt.
Kendrick came back a short time later with The Kendrick and scored the pin. After the match, Jackson hit Goldman with a shoulder block.
Powell's POV: The live crowd wasn't very impressed with this match. They pretty much sat on their hands and only reacted for the big spots. Kendrick is highly entertaining, and it was good to see Colt make his WWE debut. I met him a few times when he worked the local indy shows and he was a great guy.
4. Triple H vs. Kenny Dykstra in a non-title match. Dykstra was aggressive with punches and shoulder blocks at the start of the match. Hunter sold for him for about 30 seconds and then took control with a clothesline. The rest of the match was all Hunter. He looked at Khali and then hit the Pedigree for the win.
After the match, Hunter turned his full attention to Khali. He placed the WWE Title belt on the mat in front of him and challenged Khali to enter the ring. Hunter headed to ringside toward Khali, but Ranjin cut him off. He asked if Hunter was out of his mind after last week.
Hunter grabbed Ranjin by the throat and brought him inside the ring. Hunter teased that he would punch the interpreter until Khali climbed onto the ring apron. Hunter and Khali went at it inside the ring. Hunter went for the Pedigree, but Khali blocked it. Moments later, Hunter clotheslined Khali over the top rope and to the floor at ringside...
Powell's POV: Hunter just proved he can knock the giant off his feet and pretty much have his way with him, so there's no reason to order the pay-per-view. Strange booking tonight with two babyfaces getting the better of their pay-per-view opponents.
5. Big Show squashed Ryan Braddock in 1:25. Braddock was given generic entrance music and a generic graphic on the big screen. Show dominated the match and knocked him out with a punch before scoring the pin...
Powell's POV: I think Braddock also worked on my local indy scene as Brad Bradley, but I don't remember much about him.
6. Vladimir Kozlov pinned Festus (w/Jesse) in 3:00. Festus dominated the offense, but Kozlov caught him with a head butt to the chest and scored the clean pin...
Backstage, Edge pushed Vickie in the wheelchair as Vickie screamed in terror. Edge told her the last part of the ride would be him taking her to the ring. "Buckle up," he said...
Edge wheeled the crying Vickie to ringside and then tilted the wheelchair forward, which made her tumble onto the floor. He grabbed a mic and dramatically fell down right beside her. He said they've been going through a rough patch. "But every marriage does, right?" Edge asked.
He reminded her that they took "for better or worse" vows. He pulled her in and reminded her that he's a good cuddler. He said he wanted to take a trip down memory lane. He aired footage of everything that has happened in their storyline since Triple H played their wedding video, which includes the segment with Mick Foley and Edge attack on La Familia.
Back in the building, with Edge and Vickie still lying on the floor at ringside, Edge made her apologize for what she did to Undertaker. He told her that she's pathetic and blamed her for everything. He challenged Undertaker to come out and vowed to show him "the purest form of hell that you've ever been in."
Edge turned his attention back to Vickie. He hovered over her and brought up "for better or worse" vows and said they could apply to the Hell in a Cell match. "Edge vs. Undertaker, till death do us part," he concluded. Edge stared toward the sky while squatting over the sobbing Vickie to close the show...
Powell's POV: Very good performances Vickie and especially Edge. WWE actually held off and waited until SummerSlam to bring back Undertaker. I thought they might lose their patience and bring him back sooner or at least do the hocus pokus stuff with the lights, but they put the entire spotlight on Edge and Vickie. Well done.
Arcademan:
WWE SummerSlam PPV Results: 8-17-08
Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's ongoing report). To avoid pop-ups and view match results only, go to Neo-Geo Forum: Official WWE Thread Post #8160 and posts thereafter.
1 -- JEFF HARDY vs. MVP
WINNER: MVP in 10:00. Nice win for MVP, who needed a credible PPV match victory that he can use to promote his case for a main event push in TV storylines. Finish was relatively clean, as Jeff simply could have ignored Shelton's presence ringside. (**)
2 -- Women's champion MICKIE JAMES & IC champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. BETH PHOENIX & SANTINO MARELLA -- Winning team wins both belts
WINNERS: Santino & Beth in 5:00 to capture the IC and Women's Titles. Short match that may have been cut short after that nasty head-to-head collision between Santino and Kofi. Santino was great, as usual. If WWE has original material for the Glammarella tandem, then we should be store in for several weeks of great TV. (*)
3 -- ECW champion MARK HENRY (w/Tony Atlas) vs. MATT HARDY -- ECW Title match
WINNER: Hardy via DQ in 1:00; Henry retains ECW Title. Well, another classic ECW PPV match ends before it really even begins. ECW gets a little momentum, then they pull the rug out from under whatever percentage of the audience was looking forward to this match as one of the reasons they bought the PPV. WWE tried to "send 'em home happy" with the post-match, but it was an empty answer. (n/a)
4 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. JBL -- World Title match
WINNER: Punk in 12:00 to retain the World Title. Just about at expectations for what kind of match would take place here. JBL had plenty of offense to continue the theme of Punk as an underdog champion who shows grit to pull out the win to keep the belt. (**1/4)
5 -- WWE champion TRIPLE H vs. GREAT KHALI (w/Runjan Singh) -- WWE Title match
WINNER: Hunter in 10:00 to retain the WWE Title. This was definitely above expectations. They put together a basic, simple-to-understand 10-minute story that eventually led to Hunter escaping the vice and finally hitting the Pedigree. Nothing complicated and the fans were into the action, so all was fine here. (**1/4)
6 -- JOHN CENA vs. BATISTA -- No Hype Needed -- First-time Ever
WINNER: Batista in 14:00. Just an awesome match. Perfectly fine on several levels to deliver a great first match between the two and generate the demand from the audience for a re-match, considering they only went about 14-15 minutes. Batista had a superstar-reminding effort while Cena had a really good showing, especially with that sick counter into the FU. Crowd involvement pushed this to a four-star level. (****)
7 -- THE UNDERTAKER vs. EDGE -- Hell in a Cell match
WINNER: Taker in 27:00. Just what you expected here - a very good battle built around a great TV storyline. They stretched out the spot sequences to fit the time, so it wasn't as action-packed and intense as the Cena-Batista match, where it seemed like the finish could come at any time. This was more of a methodical Undertaker match where the outcome was a little ways down the road. Solid story, but Edge didn't quite get to that level where his TV character was at. He was just classic heel Edge. (***1/2)
In-ring: Shawn Michaels came to the ring with his wife, Rebecca, who tried to stand strong in the ring as Michaels began his speech. Michaels said he's going to get right to it. He said he recently had an appointment with his doctor for a re-evaluation on his eye. Michaels said that the eye injury combined with the assorted injuries he's suffered in his career led to the doctor telling him he should walk away. Boos. Michaels said the doctor left it up to him for his final decision and he's going to heed the advice and walk away. Boos.
Michaels recapped his history going back to Summerslams in the past where he was the headliner and showstopper. He said he's also known as the guy who screwed Bret Hart, formed DX, innovated the ladder match, lost his smile, and retired Ric Flair. He said he can now by a full-time husband and father. Michaels said this ultimately won't be a popular decision, but he knows it's the right one. Before he could finish, Chris Jericho's music interrupted. It was only a matter of time.
Jericho slowly walked out on stage sporting his villain suit and tie. He has the costuming mastered. Jericho locked eyes with Michaels while Rebecca played her part of the concerned wife fighting back tears. Jericho slowly circled around the ring to face Michaels, who returned his stare. Jericho: "No." He said he's not going to allow Michaels to go out this way on his own terms. Jericho said Michaels is walking away from the business because of him and he wants Michaels to admit to that right now. Michaels said that if Jericho has even the slightest bit of human decency, he will get out of this ring right now. Jericho said he's not going anywhere until Michaels admits he put him out of the business. He said Michaels needs to admit to his wife and children why he won't be able to work in the ring anymore. Jericho said he deserves to hear Michaels admit he put Michaels out for good.
Jericho continued on that the headline will show Michaels left the wrestling business because of Chris Jericho. Michaels nodded and said he'll admit that he will go home and tell his family that the reason he can't wrestle anymore is because of the actions of a vile, selfish, worthless human being. He wanted Jericho to do him a favor, though. Michaels told Jericho to sit down with his family and tell them that daddy will never, ever be Shawn Michaels. Oh my. What a line. Fans cheered and chanted, "H-B-K" as both men continued to lock eyes. Rebecca pulled at Michaels's arm to get him to leave and Michaels slowly started to walk away, but Jericho pulled him back. He went for a punch to the face, but Michaels ducked out of instinct and Rebecca took it square in the face.
After the initial giant gasp in the arena, Michaels dropped down to the mat to check on his wife, who slumped down to the mat. Jericho had a slight look of concern mixed with villainous confidence. Michaels had his best performance possibly ever showing the intense character battle within himself on whether to attack Jericho or check on his wife. He fought back his old persona to attack Jericho and opted to keep checking on his wife, who slowly brought her left arm over to Michaels's shoulder for protection. Jericho slowly walked out of the ring maintaining that mix of grief, concern, and no remorse. He locked eyes with Michaels, who kept kneeling over Rebecca's body while medical staff checked on Rebecca. After Jericho disappeared backstage, Rebecca slowly made her way to her feet to a strong ovation. Michaels helped her out of the ring and they embraced with the camera focusing on Rebecca's busted lip. They embraced as the announcers quietly recapped video footage of the punch to the face. Just an amazingly poignant segment. One of the best performances ever in a wrestling angle from all three. It's a challenge for family members to become involved in wrestling angles, but Rebecca played her part perfectly.
Arcademan:
WWE RAW Results: 8-18-08
Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results.
Jericho came out and told everyone it was Shawn's fault that his wife got hurt.
1 -- BATISTA vs. PAUL BURCHILL
Lawler said Katie Lea is not present because she's in the next match. Burchill went right after the injured knee and tried to wear down Batista, but Batista nailed a spear and spinebuster combo. Batista then measured Burchill and scored the Batistabomb for the easy pin and the win. Batista then smiled all the way up the entance ramp to celebrate the easy win.
WINNER: Batista in 2:00. Easy win over the former pirate. Based on this, Burchill might be on the short list for the next round of pink slips. (1/2*)
2 -- KATIE LEA & JILLIAN HALL vs. KELLY KELLY & MICKIE JAMES
Match started off with Kelly landing some acrobatic moves before the heels went to work on her. Kelly then blocked a handspring elbow drop from Jillian and made the hot tag to Mickie, who cleaned house. Some awkward TV ensued as everyone tried to get on the same page, then Kelly and Mickie double-dropkicked Jillian to the outside. From behind, Mickie avoided a roll-up with a hook of the tights from Katie before nailing the leaping DDT on Katie for the pin and the win.
WINNERS: Kelly & Mickie in 5:00. Fine match. Mickie gets a win back after losing the Women's Title last night. (*)
3 -- JBL vs. JAMIE NOBLE
JBL quickly shoved Noble into the corner and started his assault. Repeated elbow drops left Noble struggling for breath on the mat. JBL then slowly helped him up before landing the Clothesline from Hell. JBL paused while the ref checked on Noble for signs of life, then JBL landed two short-arm clotheslines to emphasize the point. JBL started to make a cover, but ref Marty called for the bell and declared JBL the winner with Noble knocked out.
WINNER: JBL via KO in 3:00. Effective for JBL sending the message that he's the biggest bully on the block. (1/2*)
4 -- JOHN CENA vs. World tag team champions TED DIBIASE, JR. & CODY RHODES
They returned with the action in progress. DiBiase was the aggressor here, using a little cat-and-mouse from Cody to bait Cena into an attack. DiBiase smashed Cena with successive right hands before the tag champs started a methodical in-and-out attack on Cena.
Cena fired back at the champs out of his corner, but DiBiase held onto Cena's arm briefly to allow Cody to smash him in the back to continue the attack. High-pitched chant of "Cena, Cena" led to Cena rallying with right hand blows, but Cody out-quicked Cena into a trip to the floor. Cody then whipped Cena hard into the ring steps before bringing him back into the ring to continue the beating. DiBiase was too casual on a suplex, allowing Cena to counter with a suplex of his own. Cody tagged in and slowly set up Cena for a right hand, but Cena emphatically blocked to start his full-fledged comeback. Cena dropped Cody in center ring, then gave DiBiase the you-can't-see-me followed by a Five Knuckle Shuffle drop on Cody. DiBiase tried to block the FU on Cody, but Cena clotheslined him and slapped on the STFU on Cody. Cody fought for a few seconds before tapping out.
WINNER: Cena in 12:00. Good match. Tag champs had another good showing with their work in the ring while on the offensive. DiBiase is a chip off the Randy Orton block, and he could be a valuable main eventer player down the road if he continues to develop. Cena could give plenty of offense and still come out strong here based on the crowd support. (**)
5 -- IC champion SANTINO MARELLA (w/Beth Phoenix) vs. D-LO BROWN -- non-title match
D-Lo went for a top rope move early on, but he apparently got his foot caught on the tag rope and crashed hard to the mat. Kofi said he's looking forward to getting his title back, then D-Lo made his comeback and went back up top. Suddenly, Beth casually walked into the ring and stood over Santino to block D-Lo. He told her to get to stepping, but Beth slapped him in the face to cause a DQ. Santino stepped in and told Beth he had things under control, but D-Lo smacked him in the face. Santino wound up on the outside where Kofi rammed him head-first into the announce table. Beth then picked up Santino and helped him stumble around ringside. There may have been a nipple slip from Beth as the picture went dark with Santino inadvertently yanking Beth's top down.
WINNER: D-Lo via DQ in 2:00. Going from about 15 minutes of Santino to about 3 minutes of Santino on TV is just not right. Disappointing use of Santino and Beth tonight. (1/2*)
6 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. CHRIS JERICHO (w/Lance Cade) -- non-title match
The bell sounded and there was a loud "C-M-Punk" chant to start things off. Punk started things off with rapid-fire kicks to the body before Jericho landed a thumb to the eye to take control. Jericho went for a shoulder tackle in the corner, but Punk moved and Jericho spilled to the floor. Punk smiled for the hard camera as they cut to break with Punk having the upper hand.
They returned with Jericho in control after knocking Punk off the ropes during the commercial break when Punk wanted a springboard smash. Jericho worked over the back with a variety of holds before slapping on abdominal stretch at 8:00. Jericho then sent Punk into the corner, but Punk came flying out with a knee strike to the face, followed by a high leg whip. Punk started his comeback and nailed a butterfly back breaker across his knee for a nearfall. Punk tried the knee strike and bulldog combo, but Jericho blocked and hit the Lionsault for a nearfall. Jericho tried to follow with the Walls of Jericho, but Punk fought out and suddenly whipped out a huracanrana for a nearfall at 10:00.
Punk came up favoring his head and Lawler said Punk had some staples put in the back of his head after knocking heads with JBL last night. Punk teased the G2S in the corner, but Jericho blocked and slapped on the Walls of Jericho. Punk fought the hold as Cole talked about Punk's training coming into play right here. Punk inched closer to the bottom rope and eventually reached out for a break. Jericho tried to follow with a top rope move, but Punk met him with a high knee square in the jaw. Punk then flew off the top with a bulldog on Jericho before calling for the end. Cade hopped on the apron, though, and distracted Punk. Jericho then caught Punk from behind with the codebreaker for the pin and the win. They closed with one more plug for Raw on Sci-Fi next week.
WINNER: Jericho in 14:00. Good match. I don't have a problem with Punk losing relatively clean here, as he had a good showing in the ring and the superstar pop will probably carry over more to next week than the outcome of this match. Plus, no one ever wins in their hometown, so the finish was inevitable. On another note, Jericho needed a credible TV victory if they're going to sell Vengeance (or the PPV following Vengeance) on Michaels vs. Jericho as a headline match, so this was a good momentum-builder for Jericho. Very interesting to see the last two Raws end at the end of the second hour without a run-over. (**1/2)
Arcademan:
ECW on SciFi Results: 8-19-08
Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.
1 -- THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON & CHAVO GUERRERO (w/Bam Neely) vs. EVAN BOURNE & SUPER CRAZY & TOMMY DREAMER
Evan Bourne is awesome. That was the story from the opening minute, then Bam tripped up Evan setting up the heel attack on Bourne. Striker with a nice transition that Bourne's fortitude will now be tested after we know everything about his high-flying ability. Dreamer then tagged in a-house-of-fire and the action broke down. Dreamer cleared Miz to the floor, then Chavo found himself on the floor. Dreamer then dumped Morrison over the top rope onto the other two setting up Super Crazy for a crazy dive onto the heels. Bourne then majestically flew through the air with a moonsault onto a group of heels. Suddenly, after all that excitement, Miz caught Dreamer in the ring with a neckbreaker for the pin and the win. Grisham with the nice line that it doesn't matter how good you look, but whether you win or not. Nice. Nice. Nice.
WINNERS: Team Miz in 5:00. Lesson here is that highspots don't equal victories. That was a heck of spot sequence from Crazy and Bourne that brought the house down, but a good win for the heel trio. Nice match for several different reasons. (*1/2)
2 -- GAVIN SPEARS vs. RICKY ORTIZ
Grisham and Striker said Ricky has to destroy what he once was. A jobber? Ricky's been around like a month and they're acting like he's a veteran near the main event picture. Ricky started to rally it up with the rally towel merchandise in full-effect, then he finished off Gavin with a big splash for the pin and the win. Striker said Ricky is growing on him. They went to a crowd shot of a pack of (planted) fans swinging around the rally towels.
WINNER: Ricky in 4:00. Forgettable, but fine. It'll take time for Ricky to catch on and actually look credible in the ring and not just a guy they're pushing because they have no one else in the pipeline. (3/4*)
3 -- ECW champion MARK HENRY (w/Tony Atlas) vs. MATT HARDY -- ECW Title match
Hardy was instantly the aggressor here, landing a right hand punch right after the bell sounded. Hardy then started taking apart Henry's knees much to Atlas's chagrin. Henry bounced back with power offense before knocking Hardy to the floor as they cut to break.
Back from break, Atlas became involved on the outside to keep Henry on the offensive. Henry with a bear hug on Hardy and Striker provided a nice visual of Henry's strength saying he could dead lift Big Show, Tommy Dreamer, and Todd Grisham all at once. Henry then showed off the strength with a straight gorilla press in center ring. Atlas wanted him to cover Hardy, but Henry opted for laughter before missing with a big splash. Hardy then fired up and started his hot comeback. He landed forearm smashes that could only rock Henry, but Henry remained on his feet until Hardy nailed a bulldog for a close nearfall. Crowd is hot for this.
Hardy then went up top and connected with a flying splash for a two count again. Hardy wanted to finish it, but Henry blocked the Twist of Fate. Hardy then connected with a second attempt and had the pin, but Atlas pulled Hardy to the floor out of the ref's eyes. Hardy tried to re-focus with a top rope moonsault, but Henry blocked with knees to the gut. Henry then scooped up Hardy and landed the World's Strongest Slam for the pin and the win.
WINNER: Henry in 15:00 to retain the ECW Title. Very nice TV match. This is what we should have had two nights ago on Summerslam, but this was a good cap to a very strong episode of ECW TV. Henry vs. Hardy in a steel cage seems inevitable to keep Atlas out of the ring. Well done from Henry and Hardy to tell a good story in the ring. (**1/2)
Arcademan:
Killer Kowalski removed from life support
The great Killer Kowalski was removed from life support on Monday in Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett, Mass. Though he has not been declared dead, his family holds out little hope.
His wife, Theresa, continues to stay by his side at the hospital, informing Kowalski's brother, Stan, and his family, as best she can in Ottawa, Ont.
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