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Arcademan:
WWE Smackdown Results: 10-9-09

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

1- REY MYSTERIO vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Monkey flip by Rey sent Jericho to the outside. He dove onto Jericho with a flying body-press. But Jericho clotheslined him and took control back in the ring. Jericho picked Rey up and allowed him to land chest-first on the ring. Match was pretty slow, but still good. Jericho threw Mysterio under the bottom rope and he landed with a thud on the mats outside. They went to break about 3:05 into the match.

Jericho had Mysterio in a rear chin-lock out of break. Enziguiri by Jericho, but Rey was already on his way down when it hit so it looked not-so-good. Jericho hung Rey up chest-first on the top rope, then simply pushed him to the floor in a good heel move. Jericho set Rey up on the top rope and tried to un-mask him. Continuity! Rey pelted him with elbows that sent him to the mat in the ring. Springboard cross-body by Rey for two. JR noted that Rey gives hope to all the kids who played right field and batted ninth in Little League, and other such examples. Hey, I played RF and batted ninth in Varsity! Jericho caught Rey on a 619 attempt, which Grisham met with a Vince McMahon-like “he’s gonna hit the 619 and....noooooo!” (as in “one, two, he got him...nooooo!). Jericho caught Rey again trying a springboard and applied the Walls, this time, sitting down on the back nicely. Rey got out of it and Jericho tried to put it on again, but Rey kicked him in the head and into position for a 619, followed by the springboard splash for three.

WINNER: Mysterio, at 11:28. A notch or two below their past encounters. I think they lost their mojo. Still, better than most of the drek on Raw and Impact.

2- EVE TORRES vs. MICHELLE MCCOOL

This is non-title, for those wondering. No clean break in the corner from Michelle. She included a shove in there as well. Eve turned it around and pounded away with forearms. The two ladies brawled, rolling around on the ground as Grisham explained that Eve likes to practice karate and ju-jitsu. Perfect timing, Todd. Running knee to the face of Eve by McCool in the corner. Michelle continued using the knee, protected by a rather large knee-brace. McCool tied Eve’s arms around her throat and shook her around. Eve broke free and hit a few one-footed dropkicks. Forward somersault for two. She tried a handspring elbow in the corner, but McCoool got the foot up. Inside cradle by Eve for two. Big boot to the chest by McCool (though JR tried to sell it as a shot to the jaw), which carried a lot of sound, and got the win. Upon replay, her toe may have caught Eve in the jaw.

WINNER: McCool, at 3:18. Short match, so they couldn’t screw too much up. It was fine.

3- JOHN MORRISON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER- INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Bell rang as soon as they came back from break. Ziggler with a take-down as he kept things on the mat. Morrison matched him there though. Dropkick by Morrison took Ziggler down for a near-fall. The men struggled over a backslide, but Morrison hit an inverted back-breaker, then a Russian leg-sweep. Maria came down to cheer on Ziggler at ringside. She took a seat next to the commentators. I guess so she doesn’t look like an actual manager. The two went back-and-forth until Ziggler hit a belly-to-back suplex nicely for a two. Splash in the corner by Ziggler. Dolph slammed Morrison’s head into the mat several times, then hit a screaming standing elbow-drop for two. Ziggler kept the heat on Morrison and taunted him by proclaiming himself “new champ” to Morrison. Scoop slam got two for the former Spirit Squad member. Morrison tried to get the fans behind him as he was stuck in a submission hold. He ended up getting to a vertical base and flipping the switch on an electric chair (as JR said). Morrison got his second wind and clotheslined Dolph down, then landed a heel kick and a standing shooting-star press for two. Morrison hit a cross-body on Ziggler too close to the ropes and both men were propelled over the top. Ziggler thought about bringing a chair in, but stopped short. Drokick from Ziggler back in the ring. He went to get the chair he set by ringside, but Maria had taken it back to sit in. Ziggler turned around and into a Flying Chuck kick. Morrison got the win.

WINNER: Morrison, at 9:44. Ziggler is the Buffalo Bills of I.C. Title chasers. 0-4 at least now.

4- R-TRUTH & MATT HARDY vs. DREW MCINTYRE & KANE

Drew didn’t get much of an entrance, which was cut off during the break. Blind tag made by Kane, who kicked an unsuspecting Truth right in the mush. He went to work on Truth in the corner. Basement dropkick by the big man. The heels did some team-work until Truth did a drop-toe hold on Kane. He made the tag to Hardy, who cleaned house on the Scot. Second-rope elbow by Matt, then a Side Effect for two. Kane broke up a pin, but Truth dropkicked him to the apron. McIntyre saw his chance and attacked Truth. Matt was pushed into Kane, who landed an uppercut. Double-underhook DDT on Hardy by Mac for the win.

WINNERS: Kane and Hardy, at 3:56. Hardy taking the pin here was kinda surprising.

5- BATISTA vs. C.M. PUNK

Punk threw his t-shirt at Batista, then left the ring before the match began. Hard whip into the corner by Batista and a follow-up clothesline once the match began. Punk scurries to ringside when he got the next opportunity. Punk went to the apron and choked Batista over the top rope. Springboard clothesline was stopped by a Batista boot, and Punk ran away again after Batista attempted a powerbomb. They went to break about 2:30 into the main event.

Batista was in control as the show returned. He got a two-count off of a suplex. The ankle-lock was applied by Batista, but Punk got to the ropes. He scampered around ringside, then caught Batista coming back into the ring. Elbow to the back of the head of Big Dave. Punk got Batista to the ground and put him in a head-scissors. Batista broke free and slammed Punk to the mat. The Animal used his strength to keep Punk at bay, slamming him in the corner and then to then down with a spinebuster. Punk came back with a running knee in the corner. Batista went for a spear, but Punk kicked him in the head. Batista dodged another knee in the corner and he spinebusted Punk again. He began his Warrior routine, and Punk smartly went to the outside again. He tried to go under the ring but Batista grabbed his legs. He went to powerbomb Punk on the outside, but Punk grabbed the top rope. He struggled a while, then kicked Batista away to the floor at a nine-count, made it back in the ring and won the match.

WINNER: Punk, at 11:22. OK match, but it didn’t do much for Punk.

Speaking of not doing much for Punk, he got Batista Bombed after the match. They went out soon after, with Batista staring at the ref and Punk prone in the ring.

Arcademan:
WWE RAW Results: 10-12-09

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

1 -- Unified tag champion CHRIS JERICHO vs. Unified tag champion BIG SHOW
WINNER: Show at 4:35. Unique match. It worked to get Show and Jericho on opposite sides of the Bragging Rights deal. There seemed to be the tease of a Show babyface turn included. (*1/2)

2 -- Divas champion MICKIE JAMES vs. JILLIAN
WINNER: Jillian at 1:27 to capture the Divas Title.

3 -- Divas champion JILLIAN vs. MELINA
WINNER: Melina at 0:27 to capture the Divas Title. Well, that's about as close to the definition of a transitional champion as you can get. Interesting to see what the story is with Mickie, whose title reign was cut short very quickly. (n/a)

4 -- JOHN CENA vs. TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. CODY RHODES -- Bragging Rights qualifying match
WINNER: Cody Rhodes at 13:20 to earn a slot at Bragging Rights. Good made-for-TV match to see how the combustible elements would play out in the ring. Seeds are definitely being planted for Cody to come out of this Legacy grouping as a strong heel with DiBiase a sympathetic babyface just in time to promote his movie at the end of the year. (**1/2)

5 -- JACK SWAGGER vs. MVP -- Bragging Rights qualifying match
WINNER: Swagger at 2:32. What a shock, another short mid-card Raw match. Match was just there. (1/2*)

6 -- EVAN BOURNE vs. KOFI KINGSTON -- Bragging Rights qualifying match
WINNER: Kofi at 2:48 of what aired. Okay match. Crowd is being conditioned to sit there and wait for the finish with these mid-card Raw matches since WWE doesn't give them focus or attention or nurturing week after week after week. Bourne is Mr. Teflon right now taking regular losses, but not in a way where he's getting enough offense to at least give the audience a tease that he's on the verge of being pushed like a major star. (*1/4)

7 -- KELLY KELLY & GAIL KIM & MARIA MENOUNOS (w/Nancy O'Dell) vs. BETH PHOENIX & ROSA MENDES & ALICIA FOX
WINNERS: Team Maria at 2:30. Match outcome didn't really matter, as WWE got their clip for Access Hollywood and other entertainment outlets. WWE protected Maria in the six-diva format so she didn't have to do much to help her team "win." (n/a)

8 -- WWE champion RANDY ORTON & JOHN CENA vs. TED DIBIASE, JR. & CODY RHODES
WINNERS: DiBiase & Rhodes at 6:10. Trouble is a-brewing in Legacy. Good use of the combustible elements throughout the show to plant seeds for future storyline developments. Match premise was weak and Orton looked weak, as usual, but the focus is at least on developing DiBiase and Rhodes right now. (*1/4)
Post-match: Cole announced that Cena's opponent next week has been made ... it's Triple H. It's only fitting this show would close with "the biggest match ever" in Cena's career featuring Triple H. The graphic showed on the video screen and Cena went from confident to his "concerned, thinking about what to do, should I even life live even more?" facial expression to close the show.

Arcademan:
ECW on SyFy Results: 10-13-09

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

1 -- EZEKIEL JACKSON (w/Kozlov) vs. GOLDUST

Goldust held the early advantage, which only upset Jackson. Jackson smiled a heelish smile and charged Goldust. After an exchange, Jackson landed a giant clothesline that put Goldy on the mat. Jackson went to work on Goldust with mat holds and the crowd rallied behind Goldust, but Jackson cut off a comeback. Back to mat holds for Zeke. Goldust then blocked a charge with a big boot. He made a comeback with his uppercut before landing a bulldog for a two count. Goldust then went up top, but Kozlov distracted the ref and Jackson kicked Goldust in the head. Jackson followed with his uranage finisher for the pin and the win. Post-match: Kozlov looked at Jackson approvingly, but decided he needed to send a follow-up message with his Iron Curtain uranage to put an exclamation mark on the match.

WINNER: Jackson in 5:00. Fine match. Just continuing to build up the Ruthless Roundtable. WWE is investing plenty of time into the group with 1.3-1.5 million viewers watching them in the ring. Goldust had enough offense to look credible, no one will remember him losing next week, and he was put on TV for a solid five minutes. (*)

2 -- THE HURRICANE vs. PAUL BURCHILL (w/Katie Lea)

Mathews gave us a reason for the match: Burchill can't move on with his career until he gets to the bottom of the Hurricane/Helms mystery. Hurricane had some early offense, but Burchill predictably cut him off and methodically went to work on Cane. Burch kept working the left arm/elbow, then Hurricane made a one-arm comeback including a Thesz Press. He then went to the second rope and nailed a huracanrana for a two count.

Burchill went back to work on the shoulder with a single arm DDT. The action moved to the corner turnbuckles as the crowd came to life. Hurricane was positioned in a precarious position, but he fought Burchill off and planted him on the mat. Cane then came off the top with a crossbody splash for a close two coun. Katie Lea breathed a deep sigh of relief. Crowd was fully into the match with an increasing clap as they set up the finish. Burchill blocked a top rope huracanrana by dumping Hurricane on the back of his neck on the mat. That set up the Goldberg jackhammer suplex on the neck for the pin and the win. Striker congratulated Burchill on picking up a measure of revenge on Hurricane, who gritted his teeth and sold injuries in the ring after taking the loss.

WINNER: Burchill in 8:00. Solid, solid singles TV match. Crowd really got into the final two minutes of the match after good build-up, which was a good sign for the "warm-up" show at an ECW/SD TV taping. Hurricane has delivered some very solid matches since returning to in-ring action. Credit Burchill as well. (**)

3 -- WILLIAM REGAL & ZACK RYDER vs. ECW champion CHRISTIAN & YOSHI TATSU

Plenty of time for our TV main event tonight. Yoshi and Ryder started things off in a battle of future stars. Striker and Mathews debated who should be the next contender to Christian's ECW Title. They talked about the other three men in the match having their reasons for deserving a future title shot against Christian. The match action broke down on the floor two minutes in with Christian taking out both Regal and Ryder on the floor with a plancha. Meanwhile, Yoshi stuck the rules and held onto his tag rope in the corner awaiting a tag as they cut to break.

Back from break, Regal and Christian were battling center ring. Christian broke free of Regal and made a tag to Yoshi, who cleaned house on Ryder, who also took a tag. Yoshi landed some offense on Ryder for a two count, then Ryder landed an elbow strike to the gut. Yoshi absorbed the blow, then rolled through a snapmare into a kick strike. Sweet move.

At the top of the hour, the action broke down momentarily, which allowed Ryder to take down Yoshi and tag in Regal for a legal attack on Yoshi. Regal landed signature knee strikes to the gut in the corner. He followed with an elbow strike off the ropes for a one count. Ryder then tagged back in and worked over Yoshi. He landed a Samoa Joe face wash kick in the corner. (Striker even called it the face wash.) Action slowed down, the crowd became involved, and Yoshi fired off a roaring elbow to tag in Christian.

Christian went to work on Ryder with palm thrusts before landing a spin kick and a running elbow strike on a seated Ryder. Christian knocked Regal off the apron, then hit a springboard sunset flip on Ryder for a two count. Ryder then blocked the Killswitch and hit his semi-finisher leg sweep drop for a two count. The action broke down at this point with bodies flying everywhere. Regal then smashed Yoshi into the ring steps on the floor. Christian went up top back in the ring, but Regal ran interference. Regal then tagged in for Ryder, who didn't appreciate the tag. Ryder said he had it won. Ryder then turned on Regal out of frustration and Regal stumbled into the Killswitch from Christian for the pin and the win.

Post-match: Ryder slowly walked away from the ring with a self-satisfied look on his face as Christian celebrated with Yoshi in the ring. Christian and Yoshi stood tall over Regal to close out the show.

WINNERS: Christian & Yoshi in 14:00. I smell a six-man tag with Christian & Yoshi & Ryder vs. Regal & the Roundtable. This was a good, solid, competitive tag match main event that continued to put emphasis on Ryder and Yoshi as two future stars for WWE. Good use of everyone in the match to conclude a solid episode of the show. (**1/2)

Arcademan:
WWE Superstars Results: 10-15-09

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

1 -- CHRIS MASTERS vs. MARK HENRY

Masters quickly bailed out of the ring to get a breather as Henry started his attack. Masters regrouped, then took a beating from Henry back in the ring. Masters tried a sunset flip attempt, but Henry sat down on his chest to the delight of the audience. Masters then slid to the outside for another attempt to regroup. Henry tried to follow-up on the outside, but Masters rammed him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Cut to break.

Back from break, Masters was in Henry's grasp via the bear hug. Masters broke free, then cut the big man down to the mat and began working the leg. Lawler and Cole tried to flesh out the Raw vs. Smackdown "feud" a little more on commentary while Masters slowed the pace to work on Henry's taped up knee. Masters let Henry to his feet and Henry pulled out the World's Strongest Slam out of nowhere for the pin and the win. Masters celebrated his inclusion on Team Raw, but hobbled out of the ring after the victory.

WINNER: Henry in 10:00 to qualify for Team Raw. Decent TV match. There was the bonus of there being something on the line in a Superstars match, even if the entire concept of why there is a Raw vs. Smackdown PPV match leaves a lot to be desired. (*1/4)

2 -- TOMMY DREAMER vs. KOZLOV (w/Ezekiel Jackson)

Basic start with Kozlov becoming frustrated when he couldn't put away Dreamer. Kozlov charged Dreamer against the ropes, but Dreamer pulled down the ropes to dump Koz to the floor. Dreamer tried to follow-up on the outside, but Jackson intimidated him and Kozlov ran Dreamer into the ringpost. Back in the ring, Kozlov went to work on the previously injured elbow with a series of holds before landing a single arm DDT. Back to the holds working the elbow. Dreamer tried to mount a comeback at 5:00 with a high knee lift, then he came off the second rope with a flying clothesline for a two count. Kozlov in jeopardy. Dreamer in pain. Dreamer slingshot Kozlov across the top rope, but Jackson ran interference behind the ref's back allowing Kozlov to seize an opportunity to smash the elbow across the top rope. Koz followed with the Iron Curtain uranage in the ring for the pin and the win. Afterward, Jackson finished off Dreamer with his uranage for good measure.

WINNER: Kozlov in 6:00. Better than the opening match. Dreamer should good fire to keep things interesting before the inevitable finish. Kozlov is best kept in short doses where he doesn't wear himself or the audience out. (*1/2)

3 -- IC champion JOHN MORRISON vs. C.M. PUNK -- non-title match

Miz said Morrison has learned soooo much from him traveling the road together as a tag team. So great as a heel. Miz hyped their singles match-up and said if he's a betting man, he'd bet on The Miz. As for the match, Morrison started with an early advantage. Miz gave the best hype from anyone thus far for the Bragging Rights seven-on-seven that there's always been talk in the locker room of which brand has the better show. Morrison missed with a high-flying move to give Punk the advantage and Miz fabricated a good heel story from when they were a tag team that he would tell Morrison "'no high-flying today!' And he still would, which is why I ended the team." Punk in control going to break.

Punk had Morrison in a body-scissors on the mat out of the break. We saw why Punk was working the abdominal region with a clip from the commercial break when Punk smashed J-Mo abs-first across the ring steps on the floor. Back to real-time action where Punk scored two nearfalls and went back to work methodically taking apart Morrison. As Punk continued to work on the IC champ, they cut to Miz ringside, who kissed his U.S. Title belt after mocking his critics and plugged the Dirt Sheet returning on Friday Night Smackdown. "You want a ratings spike? You got one," he declared.

Morrison made his comeback at 12:00 while selling the ab work, then he ducked a kick strike and nailed a roundhouse kick. "Note to self: watch the stupid spinny kick," Miz said dryly. Punk then went back to the abs with knee strikes and nailed his running knee strike in the corner. Morrison blocked the bulldog, then hit a kick strike for a two count. Morrison tried to finish Punk with Starship Pin, but Punk got up and crotched Morrison on the top turnbuckle. Punk tried to follow with a suplex, but Morrison elbowed him down to the mat. Miz suddenly ran into the ring and pulled Punk out of harm's way, causing a DQ. Apparently Morrison was DQ'ed because Miz interfered against Punk.

Anyways, Miz grabbed his U.S. Title belt and cockily walked away from ringside while Morrison frowned at him. Punk had his hand raised, so Morrison busted out a springboard Flying Chuck kick on Punk to KO the former champ. Morrison got his music on the way out as Grisham plugged Miz and Morrison on the Dirt Sheet tomorrow night on Smackdown.

WINNER: Punk via DQ in 15:00. Very good singles match for an edition of Superstars. Had the feel of a Smackdown top-of-the-second-hour main event. Miz was awesome on commentary being a good heel, promoting storylines, and promoting Smackdown tomorrow night. One of the better wrestlers-on-commentary appearances in some time. (***)

Arcademan:
TNA Impact! Results: 10-15-09

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

(1) THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE vs. TARA, ODB, & AWESOME KONG
WINNERS: The Beautiful People in four minutes. This was effective, but nothing more.

(2) AMAZING RED vs. SUICIDE
X Division Championship Match
WINNER: No contest in 4 minutes. You know what would be tragic? The beloved X Division Champion winning a match cleanly. The action was great till the finish—I had to watch the whole match twice just to type up most of it.

3) HERNANDEZ vs. THE BRITISH INVASION
Gauntlet Match
3a) HERNANDEZ vs. DOUG WILLIAMS
3b) HERNANDEZ vs. BRUTUS MAGNUS
3c) HERNANDEZ vs. ROB TERRY
WINNER: Hernandez in five minutes. Hernandez is one of the most fun people to watch squash some folk, though this doesn't help TNA's attempt to build up World Elite as a rival to the MEM.
After the match Eric Young runs into the ring as Hernandez celebrates. He's gotten a kendo stick from somewhere, and he uses it to beat the hell out of Hernandez. Williams hits his Spinning European Uppercut as Magnus holds Hernandez up, and the World Elite celebrate.

(4) D'ANGELO DINERO vs. DANIELS
WINNER: Daniels in six—it's nice to know that sometimes matches just end.
After the match, Suicide's music hits. He comes down to the ring, then suddenly attacks Daniels. Hah—it's Homicide! Okay, this time they got me. Sure enough, he nails Daniels with a Gringo Killer, then takes off his mask. Security guards chase him away.

(5) HAMADA vs. ALISSA FLASH
Falls Count Anywhere
WINNER: Hamada in five minutes. It might seem weird to have two people who aren't on the upcoming PPV compete, but I think it's a nice way of emphasizing the depth in the division. I would have given Flash the win, but didn't expect TNA to.

(6) RHINO vs. LASHLEY
Stretcher Match
WINNER: Lashley in five minutes. Poor Rhino.

(7) AJ STYLES vs. KURT ANGLE
WINNER: Draw in 20 minutes. That was a worse ending than I'd hoped for, but far better than I expected. The action was pretty damn good all the way through. I think I have an idea where they might be going with this though (see below)—if I'm correct, then they're actually doing something right. ***1/2

Star of the Night: AJ Styles. It's clearly either him or Angle, and AJ gets a slight nod for his selling of frustration at the end.

Overall: I really don't think it would be fair to criticize tonight's performers for the fact that 43 of the last 45 minutes of the show were giant holes of suckitude, as they presumably had no control over that. Maybe all that hyping will lead to higher buy rates than more programming would have, but I would certainly be surprised if that is the case. It also made the claim of "3 hours of wrestling" an even bigger lie than I'd imagined it would be. For my purposes, then, I'll treat the show as having ended at about 11:15 (with the Angle and Styles interviews tacked on). That show was pretty damned good. There was nothing really game changing, but there was a lot of rock-solid action. The main event alone was worth the price of admission. Counting only that, I think tonight's episode merits an A-. The rest of the "show" I've decided to simply repress from memory.

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