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Arcademan:
WWE Smackdown Results: 9-11-09

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

1- FINLAY vs. MIKE KNOX- BELFAST BRAWL

Knox did another inset interview. This week: A lizard sheds its tail when escaping a foe. But Knox doesn’t want the tail; he wants it all. JR called the rules “an Irish version of a street-fight.” Finlay got the advantage to start, but walked into a powerslam from Knox. Knox dropped three elbows onto the sternum of Finlay, then wanted to go under the ring for a weapon. Finlay stopped him with a baseball slide, but then went head-first into the announce table. Knox got a chair, but he couldn’t use it before Finlay got it away from him. Back in the ring, Knox kicked the chair right into Finlay’s face. About 1:30 into the match, they went to break with Knox having the upper hand.

Knox, still in control upon return, dropped Finlay in a sidewalk slam across a steel chair. Finlay was thrown to ringside and Knox got a garbage can, actually three, and tossed them each one at a time at Finlay. Bicycle kick sent Finlay onto the other side of the barricade. But as Knox went to get Finlay, Finlay sent him back over. Then Finlay was caught by Knox and was slammed into the barricade himself. Trash can lid to the gourd of Finlay. More work with the trash can from Knox. Knox went under the ring again and this time retrieved a table, which received a huge pop and a “we want tables” chant. Knox went off the ropes and appeared to want to hit a cross-body, but Finlay bopped him with the shillaleigh. In any event, Knox still landed on Finlay. After Finlay recovered, he pinned Knox.

WINNER: Finlay, at 9:39. Every time it looks like they’re going to push Knox, they seem to just stop short. This would’ve been a good win for him to climb the ladder. Finlay didn’t really need this.

2- CHRIS JERICHO & THE BIG SHOW vs. CRYME TYME

JTG and Jericho started out the match as the legal men. Jericho looked ready for Sunday, very aggressive to begin things. Too aggressive though, as he missed a corner charge and was inside cradled for two. Dropkick by JTG, then he clotheslined Jericho over the top and to ringside. Jericho began to lose his cool, ripping the cover off the announce desk in anger. They went to break again shy of 2:00.

The standard “back from break” ensued, then JTG took over until he took his eye off Jericho, only to get socked in the face. That allowed Jericho to make the tag to Big Show. Show went for a back-drop, but JTG just jumped over him and tagged in Shad Gaspard. Shad went after Show, then knocked Jericho off the apron. He went off the top, but Show chopped him out of mid-air. Once the heels were back in control, Jericho came in and did some more of the dirty work. But Shad got a big boot and the fans were behind him to make the hot tag. Was he really worn down that much already that he had to try to crawl to his corner, and not even make it there? Anyway, Show made the tag instead and sat in a reverse chin-lock with Shad. Another quick tag in to Jericho, who tried to fight off Shad, but Gaspard landed a powerslam. JTG tagged in and quickened the pace. Show was taken out of the equation via a low bridge, then Shad knocked him down on the outside. JTG tried a corner move, but Jericho rolled him up, using the ropes for leverage for two. Walls of Jericho attempt, but JTG rolled him up for two. JTG skinned the cat back in the ring, but as he was on the upswing, Show walked by and hammered him with a right hand.

WINNERS: Jericho and Show, at 12:02. Good showing from CT here in the loss.

3- CHARLIE HAAS vs. JOHN MORRISON

Haas got no entrance. Morrison got Haas in a back-breaker, then a Russian leg-sweep. Haas came back to work the arm of Morrison. Some unique moves to do so, as well. He laid across Morrison’s back, stretching his arm the way it isn’t supposed to be stretched. He then went to the more widely-known move, the arm-bar (Jericho move #742). Dropsault from Morrison led his comeback against Haas. Standing Shooting-Star Press got two. Morrison was then sent shoulder-first into the ring-post, then a DDT with the arm barred for two. Haas tried a high-risk move, but Morrison kicked him off the top rope, which allowed Morrison to land Starship Pain.

WINNER: Morrison, at 3:22. Just an enhancement match for Morrison, and a chance for the announcers to talk about the great match he had last week with Rey Mysterio.

4- MELINA vs. LAYLA

Shoulderblcok by Layla, then a face-plant that looked like it was going to be a back-drop. Melina tried to do the ten-punches in the corner, but Layla pushed her off and to the mat. McCool was at ringside with Layla, for what its worth. Layla with a modified surfboard, then Layla got a cover for two. Small package for two by Melina. Melina with some rights, then a corner attack. Double-knees to the gut in the corner by Melina, then another face-plant. That was for two. Melina with a drop-toe hold on Layla into the middle rope, but Layla moved on a Melina dive, sending Melina to ringside. McCool hit Melina with one of her crutches and Layla pinned her.

WINNER: Layla, at 3:03.

5- C.M. PUNK vs. MATT HARDY- SUBMISSION MATCH

Match began after Hardy made his entrance. The two men fought for control and Hardy appeared to get it, taking Punk off his feet with a right hand. Neck-breaker followed that up. And another. One more, for good measure. Hardy locked in a double underhook, then wrapped his legs around Punk’s waist in the first submission attempt of the match. Punk walked over to the corner and rammed Hardy into the turnbuckle. Kick to the stomach by Punk, then he went to springboard off the top, but Hardy knocked his feet out from under him. Hardy began to then work on the left leg of Punk. Hardy attempted a Twist of Fate, but Punk instead threw Hardy shoulder-first into the ring post, then again. They went to break 3:30 into the main event.

Punk continued his abuse of Hardy, putting his knee in the back of Hardy’s neck, the driving him to the mat from the middle rope. Some guys were actually chanting for Punk. Punk pummeled the back of Hardy’s head with right hands. Suplex by Punk, followed up by two legdrops. Head-scissors by Punk was next to wear down Matt. Hardy attempted a comeback, but was put down with an enziguiri. Punk hobbled over to give Hardy a high knee, but then was brought out of the corner with a knee-buster. Hardy then applied a figure-four, much to the delight of the crowd. Punk looked like he was coming close to tapping out, but instead, he turned over the move. He grabbed the rope, which caused a break. Clothesline in the corner by Hardy, then a bulldog out of it. Side Effect found the mark. No Twist of Fate though- Hardy blocked a GTS and Matt cinched in a half-crab. He really torqued the left leg. Punk got the rope and Hardy seemed to be in no hurry to break. Punk came back with a roundhouse kick. He then locked in the Anaconda Vice for the tap-out victory.

WINNER: Punk, at 13:41. About what you’d expect from these two. Couldn’t go all-out because of the stipulation and the match this Sunday.

Taker’s bell tolled after the match. The lights went out and when they came on, the belt that Punk was holding was no longer in his hands. On the ramp, Taker had said belt and was raising it over his head as Punk’s ire was being raised in the ring.

Arcademan:
WWE Breaking Point PPV Results: 9-13-09

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

1 -- Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW vs. MVP & MARK HENRY -- Unified tag title match
WINNERS: Show & Jericho at 12:15. Okay tag match. Slow at times, some good spots sprinkled throughout, but not a memorable match. Crowd was interested throughout, which helped. (*1/2)

2 -- U.S. champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. THE MIZ -- U.S. Title match
WINNER: Kofi at 11:58 to retain the U.S. Title. Good finish after a slow start to warm up the crowd. Credit both wrestlers for pushing through the slow parts early on to slowly build to a nice finish. Emphasis was on Miz scoring nearfall after nearfall to retain credibility before being booked to lose the match. Kofi continues to look good as U.S. champion. (**1/2)

3 -- DX (SHAWN MICHAELS & TRIPLE H) vs. LEGACY (TED DIBIASE, JR. & CODY RHODES) -- Submissions Count Anywhere in Montreal
WINNERS: Cody & Ted at 21:40. Excellent brawl that WWE doesn't do very often, which made this match stand out. (Whereas TNA does this every month, so it feels like a repeat of the same formula match.) Legacy sold a ton early on, but weathered the storm like at Summerslam, but picked up the big victory here. Nice piece of business to elevate Legacy with a meaningful, "clean" major PPV victory over DX. What's interesting will be the follow-up on how they continue to make Legacy stars and where Michaels/Hunter go from here in the storylines. Well done. (****)

4 -- KANE vs. GREAT KHALI -- Singapore cane match
WINNER: Kane at 5:55. Six long minutes ending with Kane going over Khali, who apparently isn't being looked at to be a strong attraction act right now. Doubt this is the end of the feud, unfortunately. (1/2*)

5 -- ECW champion CHRISTIAN vs. WILLIAM REGAL -- ECW Title match
WINNER: Christian at 10:15 to retain the ECW Title. Very good PPV undercard match. Nice pace, good action (other than the dangerous Regalplex spot), and Christian picked up a clean victory. Good to see that. Would be time for a new challenger, but I get the feeling this is continuing. (***1/4)

6 -- WWE champion RANDY ORTON vs. JOHN CENA -- WWE Title match -- I Quit match
WINNER: Cena at 19:45 to win the WWE Title. Crazy match. Hard to rate this, but it had all of classic Cena-Orton elements with Orton being one the best crazy stalker heel characters in recent memory, Cena showing the grit and determination, and a memorable finish. Orton was so good as the crazy heel that he didn't lose much despite dropping the title. Looks like Cena-Orton re-match in Hell in a Cell to hopefully end this feud, although they continue to deliver very good PPV battles. Frustrating to see the same storylines on TV, but they continue to deliver on PPV. (****)

7 -- WWE World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. THE UNDERTAKER -- World Hvt. Title match -- Submissions match
WINNER: Taker at 8:20 to capture the World Hvt. Title.

Post-match: Suddenly, Teddy Long's music hit. Long came out on stage and said he regrets to inform everyone that Taker's Hell's Gate submission hold was banned from Smackdown a long time ago by Vickie Guerrero. Unfortunately, that provision still stands. Long said the match must continue. Okay...

7b -- WWE World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. THE UNDERTAKER -- World Hvt. Title match -- Submissions match
They re-stared the match and C.M. Punk snuck up behind Taker to attack him. Punk then slapped on the Anaconda Vice and the referee Scott Armstrong immediately called for the bell. There was no tap out. Ref Hebner called for the bell, Shawn Michaels then took the World Title, and Bret Hart was left in the ring asking "What the f--- is going on?" Long just stood on stage with no reaction as Punk held the World Title in the air. Perhaps the storyline is that Long decided to screw Taker because he was strong-armed into giving Taker a title shot without any merit. Punk jumped up and down with the belt as Taker stood in the ring in disbelief. Ross emphasized that Taker did not tap out after they replayed the finish. PPV closed with Taker staring up at Long in disbelief.
WINNER: C.M. Punk at 0:25 (8:55 overall) in the re-start to retain the World Hvt. Title. Well, that was a pretty silly finish. It was obvious they had no way of booking a clean finish to this match going into the PPV, so the question was how they would screw Taker and keep the belt on Taker. A knock-off version of the Survivor Series '97 was pretty weak. We'll see how they follow-up after the numerous weeks of Vince McMahon getting in Long's ear to do something big with the Smackdown brand. Match was too short for a PPV main event. (*1/2)

Arcademan:
WWE RAW Results: 9-14-09

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

1 -- U.S. champion KOFI KINGSTON & PRIMO COLON vs. THE MIZ & JACK SWAGGER
WINNERS: Miz & Swagger at 2:58. Too short of a match to really give these four enough focus. Hopefully there's more on the show, as it's merited based on the lack of TV time and Miz stealing the belt. (*)

2 -- GAIL KIM vs. ALICIA FOX -- #1 contender match to Divas Title
WINNER: Alicia at 3:10 to become #1 contender. WWE obviously has faith in Alicia to be in the mix of top female wrestlers on the Raw brand. Or, they just want to incorporate someone new into the mix to challenge Mickie for the title in a short-term feud. Gail continues to just be a bit player in the division. (*)

3 -- TED DIBIASE, JR. (w/Cody Rhodes) vs. SHAWN MICHAELS (w/Triple H)
WINNER: Shawn Michaels via DQ at 9:03. Very good TV match-up leading to a hot post-match angle to keep the feud going. Announcers really emphasized Legacy's victory at the PPV and Michael Cole deserves some props for the history reference with Michaels's eye. Good feud going right now. (**1/2)

4 -- CHAVO GUERRERO & CARLITO (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. EVAN BOURNE & HORNSWOGGLE
WINNERS: Bourne & Hornswoggle at 3:58. Lawler said it best. Let's move on from the coyote chasing the roadrunner. The coyote never wins. (1/2*)

5 -- MVP & TRISH STRATUS vs. Unified tag champion CHRIS JERICHO & BETH PHOENIX
WINNERS: Trish & MVP at 1:30. To the follow-up... (n/a)
Post-match: Trish took the mic and said this is her town and her show. It ain't ending like this. She booked a six-person tag match for right now. That was a much better promo than the three minutes earlier in the show when she seemed to be a little off.

5b -- MVP & MARK HENRY & TRISH STRATUS vs. Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW & BETH PHOENIX
WINNERS: Trish & MVP & Henry at 5:03. Good, high-energy six-person TV tag match. Crowd was into the non-stop action which continued the Jericho & Show vs. Henry & MVP feud. They'll probably put it on PPV again to follow the pattern of Orton vs. Cena and DX vs. Legacy re-matches. (**)

6 -- BATISTA vs. RANDY ORTON -- No Holds Barred
WINNER: Batista at 5:01. Formula gimmick match between Batista and Orton. This week, Orton was back to that familiar position of not having much credibility being duped by Batista at the beginning and taking the loss in the main event. It's been a PPV-to-PPV see-saw with his character lately. When he gets too hot, WWE cools him down just a little bit to even things out. Now the question is where Batista fits in on the Smackdown brand. (*1/4)

Arcademan:
Ring of Honor TV Results: 9-14-09

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

1 – THE DARK CITY FIGHT CLUB (KORY CHAVIS & JON DAVIS) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (MATT JACKSON & NICK JACKSON)

The announcers described this match-up as a battle of the DCFC's size and power versus the Young Bucks's speed and high-flying. The Bucks offered to shake hands but the DCFC refused, establishing the Bucks as the babyfaces.

Davis started the match against Nick Jackson and took control of the match with his power. At 2:00, with Chavis now in the ring for the DCFC, the Bucks gained the advantage when Nick tagged out to Matt and Matt landed a moonsault off the top rope. Chavis quickly regained control with a double clothesline that flattened both Young Bucks. The DCFC beat down Matt Jackson heel-style for a while, drawing a loud "Young Bucks" chant from the crowd.

At 5:30, Matt made a babyface comeback, dropped Davis with a great-looking chin breaker and then made the hot tag to Nick. At 6:00, the Bucks hit Davis with a devastating-looking springboard splash-moonsault combo for a near fall that Davis only kicked out of because Chavis broke up the pin. The action picked-up, with all four men involved, leading to the finish when Nick caught Chavis with a sunset flip off the top rope into a bridge pin.

WINNERS: The Young Bucks clean in 7:30. Solid tag match. The DCFC got the vast majority of the offence to keep the strong despite losing, which unfortunately limited the opportunity to showcase the Young Bucks's dazzling array of offensive maneuvers. The announcers played up the result as a big upset.

2 – BISON SMITH (w/Prince Nana & Dirty Ernie Osiris) vs. SAL RINAURO

Prazak said that Smith has torn up Puerto Rico and Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. Smith tossed Rinaruo around with some power moves and could have easily pinned him at 0:30, but pulled him up after a two count to deliver more punishment. Smith threw Rinauro out of the ring and beat him up on the outside for a while, including a dive over the ringside barrier while Rinauro was in the front row of seats. Smith then tossed Rinauro back in the ring and pinned him easily.

WINNER: Smith clean in 2:00. Good squash to make Smith look like a monster.

3 - COLT "BOOM BOOM" CABANA vs. JOEY RYAN (w/Prince Nana & Dirty Ernie Osiris)

Cabana hit the ring on fire and sent Ryan to the floor. Ryan conferred with Nana, then got back into the ring only to have Cabana deploy his trademark European-influenced chain wrestling to wrestle circles around Ryan. At 2:30, Nana distracted Cabana, allowing Ryan to land a drop kick to take control of the make. Ryan spent the next couple of minutes working over Cabana's arm. While Cabana was selling Ryan's offense, Hogwood did a nice job talking up Cabana for the way he fought back from a three-to-one disadvantage to win the eight-man elimination match against The Embassy a couple of weeks ago. Ryan set up Cabana for his moustache ride finisher, only for Cabana to slip out of the move and quickly lock in his Billy Goat's curse submission hold, forcing Ryan to tap out.

WINNER: Cabana clean in 6:30. Solid match to continue Cabana's strong push lately. Unfortunately, Cabana's Billy Goat's curse submission looks like it would be easy to escape, which is not ideal for a finisher. Having Ryan lose clean on his debut does not suggest ROH has big plans for him. This may be for the best until either he or Austin Aries change their gimmick, because I do not think there is room in ROH for two sleazy, pink-wearing, moustached heels.

4 – THE BRISCOE BROTHERS (JAY & MARK) vs. KEVIN STEEN & EL GENERICO
 
Both teams got excellent crowd reactions. The crowd seemed more into this match than any ROH match I have seen on HDNet. This may be because the HDNet production crew has significantly improved the lighting and sound.

The match started with a couple of minutes of fast-paced back-and-forth action with lots of tags. The Briscoes took the first advantage at 2:30, but quickly lost the advantage when Mark could not get Steen up for a suplex and Steen reversed the move into a suplex of his own at 3:00. This set the tone for the match, as the two teams began trading the advantage back-and-forth. Each team got lots of double teams and trademark offence, while the pace stayed quick and the action stayed hard-hitting.

At 7:00, the match entered a new phase when Generico and Mark simultaneously dove to the outside onto Jay and Steen respectively. This took Jay and Steen out of the action for a little while. Meanwhile, Generico and Mark got back in the ring and started beating each other senseless. Both ended up flat on their backs being counted down by the referee, but both managed to beat the count and tag out to their partners at 8:30. Now it was Jay and Steen's turn to beat each other up.

Generico and Mark eventually recovered and got back involved. The Briscoes took the advantage at 10:30 when Jay hit Steen with a devastating Death Valley driver on the ring apron. This took Steen out of the action for a while, allowing the Briscoes to double team Generico. At 11:30, Steen recovered and interrupted a springboard doomsday device attempt by the Briscoes and neutralized Mark outside the ring, giving Steen and Generico a chance to double team Jay. Just as Steen and Generico were setting Jay up for their finisher, the American Wolves hit the ring and attacked Steen and Generico, causing the referee to throw the match out.

RESULT: No contest at 12:00. The action in this match was excellent from start to finish, and the fast pace was reminiscent of Dragon Gate-style wrestling. If it had not been for the lack of a finish, this match was on track to be at the same level as the excellent tag matches featured on last week's Dragon Gate pay-per-view.

Arcademan:
ECW on SyFy Results: 9-15-09

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

1 -- THE HURRICANE vs. WILLIAM REGAL (in a suit)

Action was joined in progress with Hurricane taking it to Regal in his suit sans dinner jacket. Regal then tossed Hurricane to the outside, but Hurricane ran back into the ring and chased Regal to the outside. Regal begged for help from the ECW announcers, but Hurricane smashed him into the announce table. Back in the ring, Regal came back with left hand strikes before Hurricane landed a high cross body block for a two count. Hurricane landed a neckbreaker, then went up top for a cross body for a two count. Regal then bailed to the outside to take an Orton powder, but Hurricane chased him down on the outside. Back in the ring, Regal surprised Hurricane with his big knee smash and made the cover for the win.

WINNER: Regal in 4:00. WWE definitely needed to get sympathy back on Hurricane in the post-match. Not very admirable for the babyface to fight the heel while the heel isn't dressed to compete, especially after the heel got his comeuppance at the PPV. Match was good and the crowd was into it. Hurricane has looked good in-ring since his return from injury. (*1/2)

2 -- YOSHI TATSU vs. ZACK RYDER

Nice start with some chain wrestling to build a methodical pace. Yoshi then took Ryder to the mat and rolled him around into a pin position for a two count. Ryder avoided a corner splash attempt, then stomped on Yoshi's back to begin working him over. Typical Zack Ryder match working the babyface over with mat holds and chinlocks four minutes in.

Yoshi got a knee up in the corner and nailed a roaring elbow smash. Striker loosely referenced the green trunks connection to Misawa after the roaring elbow, but didn't name Misawa by name. Yoshi made his full comeback and took Ryder to the corner for a top rope huracanrana. Crowd wanted a three, but Ryder kicked out. Moments later, Ryder hit a flying leg lariat that appeared to be the finish, but Yoshi kicked out. Yoshi then slipped out of a back drop and nailed a kick strike to the back of the head for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Yoshi in 7:00. Nice finish to a competitive match. You knew Ryder wasn't winning, though, when it looked like every other Ryder match where mid-way through he was settling into the trademark chinlocks and mat holds with the facial expressions. Yoshi looks pretty good right as an up-and-coming babyface. He should get some focus in the main event battle royal to reinforce the win. (**)

3 -- ECW Title #1 contender Battle Royal

Striker liked Sheamus as his darkhorse to win the match. That means he's not winning. Striker then changed his mind and went Zeke or Kozlov. Or, maybe Yoshi. Ryder is confident. "You just picked everyone," Mathews retorted. Basic battle royal opening with some one-on-one action in each of the four corners. Shelton then dumped Burchill out at 1:25 to make the first elimination. Action slowed to a crawl as men tried to dump other men out of the ring. Crowd broke the monotony with a brief "Goldust, Goldust" chant. Yoshi, Dreamer, and Shelton tried to dump Zeke out of the ring, but Zeke fought them off and went to work. Yoshi started screaming and grunting trying to make an elimination. No dice.

At 5:00, Shelton skinned the cat following an Ezekiel toss and safely returned to the ring. Reks randomly wound up on the apron, then Kozlov and Jackson had a mid-ring stare down taking us to break. Rough, turn-the-channel start to this one. But, it's building to a better finish.

Back from break, we were shown Reks getting eliminated by Kozlov. So, we're down to eight. And Yoshi was eliminated either during the break or right out of it. So much for Yoshi getting focus. WWE must have figured a singles match victory was enough for tonight. They teased a Goldust elimination at 11:30, but Goldust held on until Dreamer could make a fiery save. Crowd again with the "Goldust" chant. Striker referenced Jimmy Hart when talking about Ryder laying back trying to avoid everyone. Suddenly, Shelton exploded on Sheamus with a clothesline to eliminate him. Shelton and Dreamer then eliminated Jackson. Sheamus then yanked Shelton down to the ground and a brawl broke out on the floor. Not clear on whether Shelton was eliminated. Shelton didn't care and chased Sheamus to the back. Announcers confirmed Shelton is done.

At 13:45, they were down to four with Ryder, Dreamer, Goldust, and Kozlov. Crowd wanted Goldust, of course. Kozlov didn't like that and headbutted him in the gut. Goldust then came back on Ryder with an exploder clothesline. He tried to eliminate the Woo Woo Woo man, but Ryder held onto the top rope, only to pull the top rope down to send Goldust over the top rope to the floor. Crowd was hot for Goldust being eliminated. Goldy is over big time. Down to Kozlov, Ryder, and Dreamer. Dreamer then pulled the same trick Ryder used on Goldust by pulling down the top rope on Kozlov. Kozlov out. In the chaos, Ryder then snuck up behind Dreamer and immediately eliminated him to win the match and become new #1 contender. Mathews said they know Ryder is next. He celebrated post-match and did the title-around-the-waist motion to close the show.

WINNER: Ryder at 16:05 to become new #1 contender. Nice scramble finish and they got some new blood in the ECW Title picture. Christian vs. Ryder should be really good with WWE giving Ryder another run at Christian after their good TV singles match a few months ago. Battle royal was pretty weak early on, then picked up steam as Goldust remained in the picture. Goldust was the star, as he is really connecting with crowds lately. They need to continue finding a way to feature him weekly on TV. (*3/4)

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