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Arcademan:
TNA Impact! Results: 11-12-09

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

(1) ABYSS vs. DR. STEVIE (w/DAFFNEY)

If Abyss pins Dr. Stevie, Dr. Stevie is gone from TNA. Abyss hits a Big Boot for a two count, then a quick roll-up for another two. He takes Dr. Stevie up for a Shock Treatment, but Dr. Stevie slips out and clips his legs. Dr. Stevie starts working Abyss's knee, hits a Leg Drop, then follows up with an Elbow Drop that barely gets two. A Superkick gets a more respectable two count. Dr. Stevie pounds on Abyss, but takes too long trash talking and gets goozled. He slips out and comes off the ropes, right into a Black Hole Slam for 1…2…lights out? The lights are out for a few seconds, and when they come back on Abyss is laying. Dr. Stevie rolls into the cover for the win.

WINNER: Dr. Stevie in 3 minutes.

(2) ALISSA FLASH vs. TRACI BROOKS

Traci shoves Flash to start, and they lock up. The crowd is behind Flash, who forces Traci into the corner and chokes her with her boot. Traci tries to create some distance, but Alissa hits her and connects with a couple of arm wrenches to what we're told is a handicapped right arm. A Shoulder Breaker to the right arm gets two. Flash hits a Flatliner, bangs the arm a bit, then locks in an arm bar that looks like a Crossface without the crossface, if that makes sense. Traci taps.

Winner: Alissa Flash in 2 minutes.

(3) JAY LETHAL vs. JIM "THE ANVIL" NEIDHART

Neidhart hits a big right hand, followed by a Back Body Drop. Lethal dodges a charge in the corner and comes back with a Double Sledge off the top rope. The crowd is going nuts for The Anvil. Neidhart gets up and Lethal works some jabs. When Lethal comes off the ropes he runs right into a clothesline. Somehow Lethal gets up first and leaps to the outside with for a Guillotine Choke. Lethal hits a running back elbow, but whiffs on a second and walks right into a Power Slam for the kill. That didn't take long.

WINNER: Jim Neidhart in 2 minutes. I'm not sure where they're going with this booking, but as long as it's anything other than an outright burying of Lethal, he could probably use some new material.

(4) THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE & AWESOME KONG vs. TAYLOR WILDE, SARITA, ODB, & TARA (w/POISON)

Tara and Rayne lock up to start. Tara shoves Rayne to the mat, hits a gut wrench, then cinches in a front face lock with a bridge. Wilde tags in and enters the ring with a Double Sledge off the top rope onto Rayne. She works some arm wrenches and then tags in Sarita. Wilde hits an Oklahoma Roll, then helps out Sarita with an Assisted Moonsault. Von Erich tags in. She hits a boot to Sarita's abdomen and then a big club to the back.

Sarita is still isolated in the ring. She creates some distance from Sky with a dropkick, and both Rayne and ODB tag in. ODB tosses Sky and Rayne into opposite corners, charges them both, hits the Bronco Buster on Sky and a Fall Away Slam on Rayne. Von Erich comes into the ring and clotheslines ODB, so Tara comes into the ring to take her out. Tara stupidly jumps over to Kong's corner, where she gets whacked. Kong tags in, as does Taylor Wilde on the other side of the ring. Wilde goes for a running shoulder block, but just bounces off. Kong attempts an Awesome Bomb, but Taylor slips out. Taylor tries to kick Kong's legs out, but gets caught with the Implant Buster for the loss. Taz says she doesn't qualify "in the implant category"—I don't know if that was intended as a compliment or an insult.

WINNER: The Beautiful People and Awesome Kong in 8 minutes. This might have been good—it's hard to tell with the gaping commercial in the middle. After the match, Rayne and Sky keep Von Erich from stupidly hugging Awesome Kong.

(5) THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS & AMAZING RED (w/DON WEST) vs. WORLD ELITE (KIYOSHI, BASHIR, & HERNANDEZ)

Homicide brings something wrapped in a flag to the commentary table, which he claims is a bouquet for his girlfriend. The heels jump the bell to start. Shelley forces back Homicide with a kick, but eats a spinning back elbow. Bashir tags in and chokes Shelley in the corner. A Neck Breaker gets two. Kiyoshi tags in and trades open-handed chops with Shelley. Shelley gains the advantage, so Kiyoshi takes him down with a throat thrust. Kiyoshi gets Shelley with a sitting dropkick, but Sabin quickly breaks up the cover. Shelley goes to the wrong corner, but is able to pop Bashir and Homicide. Homicide takes the opportunity to retrieve his object from the commentary booth, which turns out to be the barbed wire wrapped baseball bat he apparently stole from Foley's office earlier. Security guards stop him on his way back to the ring. Bashir tags into the match. He shoots Kiyoshi off towards Shelley in the corner, but Shelley Back Body Drops him out to the apron, kicks him off, then Flatliners Bashir into the middle turnbuckle. Kiyoshi tries to cut off the tag, but Shelley kicks him off and connects with Red. Red comes into the ring with a Double Dropkick off the top rope onto both opponents. He takes both men down with Spinning Wheel Kicks, rolls over the back of Kiyoshi with a kick onto Bashir, then floors Kiyoshi with some type of crazy Tilt-a-Whirl Tornado DDT. Sabin tags himself in, so Red goes to the outside to take out Bashir with a Corkscrew Tope. In the ring, Sabin and Shelley squish Bashir, then Shelley tags in for a double team Neck Breaker/Top Rope Splash for three.

WINNERS: Amazing Red & The Motor City Machine Guns. He is, in fact, amazing.

(6) THE BRITISH INVASION vs. BEER MONEY, INC.

Roode takes Williams down with a shoulder block to start, then a Flying Clothesline. He knocks Williams out of the ring, and Storm comes in to take out an interfering Magnus. Williams starts to walk away, but Magnus points out that they actually have to win this match. Rob Terry comes down with a chair, but Magnus points out that a DQ doesn't do them any more good. He goes to the ring and trips Roode from ringside. Williams takes advantage with a back elbow, then tags in Magnus. He stomps Roode and chokes him a bit. Williams tags in, and they hit their double team Union Jack and patented handshake. A cover barely gets two. Williams drives his knee into Roode's back. Roode powers to his feet, but Williams yanks him down by the hair. Magnus tags in, but when he shoots Williams off into Roode Roode gets his boots up. He stalls Magnus with an elbow, then comes off the top rope with a double float-over Neck Breaker. He makes the leaping tag to Storm, who comes in with right hands. He gets a Triple H-like Facebuster on Magnus, then gets an interfering Williams with a Bulldog. He lifts Magnus out to the apron and catches him on his way back with a Lifting DDT. Williams tries to break up the ensuing cover with a Knee Drop, but Storm dodges. Roode comes in to help with a Beer Money Suplex on Williams. Magnus gets up into an Inverted Atomic Drop from Roode and a double team clothesline/Back Stabber for a long two count. Roode gets a chair and puts it in the ring. Magnus grabs it and is about to swing, when Doug Williams talks him down. While they argue, Beer Money shove them together. They crack heads, and Beer Money polish off Magnus with the DWI.

WINNERS: Beer Money Inc. in five minutes.

(7) AJ STYLES vs. SAMOA JOE

We're starting at 10:56. Joe gives AJ the run-around, weaving in and out of the ring. He tries to catch AJ on his way in, but AJ leap frogs him and connects with the high dropkick. Joe grabs his tights and yanks him into the bottom turnbuckle. He stomps AJ a bit then goes for the Face Wash—I'm not sure he's done that for years. Joe connects with a Power Bomb, and when AJ tries to kick out Joe transitions into an STF. He then transitions into a Cross Face, but AJ makes it to the ropes. Joe waits for AJ to get up, then works some punches. AJ suddenly ducks one and comes back with punches and chops of his own. He looks for his leap-over Inverted DDT, but Joe dodges and connects with a Decapitator Clothesline for two. Joe goes for another Power Bomb, but AJ slips out and hits a Spinning Heel Kick. He wants the Styles Clash, but Joe tosses him off. Joe goes for another clothesline, but AJ ducks and connects with a Pele. AJ goes to the top rope, when Daniels runs down and jumps up onto the apron. AJ slips off the top rope and asks Daniels what he's doing. Daniels says he's here to watch AJ's back, but AJ tells him to leave. They argue, as Joe smirks in the background. AJ slugs Daniels off the apron, but by now Joe is behind him and locks in the Kokido Clutch. AJ passes out, and the ref calls for the bell. Daniels has a slight grin as he walks out.

WINNER: Samoa Joe in five minutes.

Arcademan:
WWE Superstars Results: 11-12-09

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

1 -- MATT HARDY vs. D.H. SMITH (w/Tyson Kidd and Natalya)

Hardy and Smith started with a few basic mat exchanges. Smith then shot Hardy off to the ropes and Hardy stopped short to stare down at Natalya, who provided a brief distraction to give Smith the advantage. Announcers plugged Jericho vs. The Undertaker on Smackdown tomorrow night as Smith sat down on a chinlock. The match then moved up top and Hardy landed a superplex going to the break.

Back from break, Smith was working over Hardy, who took a beating for a while. Hardy then made his comeback, teased the Twist of Fate, but hit the side effect for a close nearfall. With the match in peril for Smith, Kidd hopped on the ring apron. Hardy ran Kidd off the apron, but the ref ran off Kidd and Natalya after Smith regained the advantage by smashing Hardy with a big boot to the face. Striker complained that Tyson Kidd has "procured" a manager's license, so he has every right to be ringside. Suddenly from behind, Hardy rolled up Smith with a small package to score the pin and the win. Post-match: Kidd and Natalya ran back into the ring and ran off Hardy, who celebrated on the outside. Grisham talked about Smith dominating most of the match for Smith to save face.

WINNER: Hardy in 13:00. Good finish to a solid match. With ROH and Davey Richards's new Evolve promotion focusing on standings and win/loss records, respectively, it would be nice if this match had an added "sports feel" where wins and losses count for future U.S. or World Title shots down the line. Just something to give this match a little extra juice that the announcers could play up. I beleive that's what's missing if WWE is going to advance the product into the next decade if they're going to continue presenting TV with the same look and feel from the Attitude era. (**)

2 -- ZACK RYDER (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN

Ryder started off aggressively, but Shelton matched his intensity with a take-down into mounted right hand blows. Ryder came back with an aggressive attack, which drew Rosa's approval. More shots of Rosa ringside than the men in the ring, thus far. Announcers broke it down to the common denominator for the kids at home that Ryder is like the "rough kid" in school who draws the interest of women. Didn't Dolph Ziggler just have that "James Dean" storyline with Maria? Shelton made a comeback at 4:00 and cleaned house, which drew Rosa's concern. At least she's decent with facial expressions telling a story. Both men then flipped over the top rope together and landed hard on the floor. Rosa got up to take a look at her man, who ate the guardrail. Rosa checked on Ryder, who smiled, but lost track of the ten count being applied by the ref. Ryder apparently went into fantasy land and was counted out. He suddenly snapped to attention and slipped back into the ring, only to take the Pay Dirt from Shelton. Rosa could only put her hands over her mouth in shock that Ryder had another rough night at the office.

WINNER: Shelton via count-out in 5:00. Seems like the basic, male-driven, chauvinistic storyline in wrestling that women are distractions from success and cloud the judgment of Average Joe wrestler. The storyline also seems like a message to the locker room, especially based on Jim Ross's takes on his blog about many of the male wrestlers being "in lust" rather than "in love" with many of their female counterparts. Match was fine, but not memorable. (*)

3 -- MVP (w/Mark Henry) vs. TED DiBiase, JR. (w/Cody Rhodes)

Jerry Lawler gave us a plug for Survivor Series that his favorite match was him vs. Doink and the mini-clowns. That would be Survivor Series '94 with Lawler, Cheesy, Queasy, and Sleazy against Doink, Dink, Pink, and Wink. Cole started busting up with laughter at the mere thought of this. Of note, there were only five matches on that PPV card. Watch this segue. "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase led the "Million Dollar Team" in the semi-main event of the PPV. ... MDM's son and MVP had an even start to this match tonight on Superstars. MVP then knocked DiBiase to the floor going to break.

Back from break, Lawler said he passed Legacy in the hallway earlier today and they couldn't stop from laughing at MVP not faring too well on "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" DiBiase surmised MVP is stupid, according to Lawler. ... Action moved to the floor where DiBiase rammed MVP shoulder-first into the ringpost, then dragged him back into the ring for a pin and a two count. Match went into the basic formula machine with MVP teasing a comeback, only to have DiBiase cut him off and go back to working the shoulder. Cody then rammed the shoulder into the post behind the ref's back. Another pin attempt by DiBiase, but only a two count. MVP then shrugged off DiBiase and made another comeback. MVP sold pain in the shoulder with each right hand blow before landing a running chinbreaker using his knee.

MVP then set up the Ballin' elbow drop and connected. He wanted the Playmaker, but DiBiase spun out and kicked MVP in the gut. MVP shook it off, though, and nailed his running boot to the face for a two count. Cody then hopped on the apron, but Henry did his job by dropping Cody on the floor. Back in the ring, DiBiase tried his Dream Street finisher, but MVP countered with a small package to score the pin and the win. Afterward, MVP and Henry celebrated in the ring while DiBiase and Cody angrily walked around ringside. Superstars closed with MVP and Henry standing tall in the ring to send 'em home happy.

WINNER: MVP in 14:00. Solid, formula singles main event. Nothing spectacular or flashy, but the announcers were able to get across the key points for the Survivor Series match-up between Team Kofi and Team Orton. (**)

Arcademan:
WWE Smackdown Results: 11-13-09

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

1- C.M PUNK vs. R-TRUTH

Prior to the match, Truth filed a complaint (an informal one, likely) before the match about Punk not being a real man. He said the fans came for action, not to see Punk preach. Once the bell rang, Truth went on offense. Punk got him up early for a Go To Sleep, but Truth got down and hit a kick to the face. Truth back-dropped Punk over the top rope and to the floor a little over a minute in. They took a break at this point.

Truth went to the top rope, but Punk kicked him at the ankle, sending Truth spilling to the mat inside the ring. Punk controlled the match for the next few minutes after that. Truth began to make his comeback- weird to watch this match with very little crowd reaction. Scissors kick missed for Truth, and Punk signaled that it was time to go to sleep. He got Truth up, but Truth attempted a roll-up counter. Punk instead sat down and grabbed the middle rope for leverage, the ref not seeing it, and counting to three.

WINNER: Punk, at 9:15. Just a few months ago, Punk was World Champion. Now, he’s beating R-Truth by cheating. I’m assuming this demotion down the card won’t last for long.

2- MICKIE JAMES vs. NATALYA

Natalya got no entrance. Natalya with a double-leg take-down and a “yeah, baby!” Striker evened mentioned Jim Neidhart, one night after he appeared on TNA Impact (even though the commentary is taped). Natalya lured Mickie to the outside, and shoved her into the ring steps. Surfboard applied by the daughter of the Anvil. She kicked away at Mickie in the corner, but Mickie fought back. Hurricanrana out of the corner by James, then a clothesline. Natalya threw Mickie out of the ring to stop her momentum, but not for long. Top rope Thesz Press for two as Michelle and Layla came to the ring, showing off some of Mickie’s clothing that they presumably stole from her locker room. The ladies took scissors to Mickie’s garments to distract her. Natalya snuck up behind Mickie and clotheslined her from behind. Sharpshooter finished Mickie off.

WINNER: Natalya, at 3:52. A different women’s match than you’ll see on Raw, and a good win for Natalya.

3- DREW MCINTYRE vs. FINLAY

Elbow to the nose right off the bat by Finlay. Clubbering European uppercuts followed that. McIntyre came back with a kick to the chest that sent Finlay to the outside. Striker made up the story that Vince McMahon met McIntyre at a golf tournament in Ayr, Scotland, and was impressed enough to sign him and bring him to Smackdown. I can’t imagine Vince ever golfing. The two continued to brawl inside and out of the ring. They didn’t adhere to the referee’s orders, and he rang the bell, throwing the match out. It was about 10-15 seconds after the bell rang that the announcers actually spoke and referenced the bell ringing, which was kind of weird.

WINNER: Double disqualification, at 2:16. A straight brawl to further this feud.

After the match, McIntyre came back for more, hitting Finlay in the chest with the Shillelagh a second time (first time was in the head, right after the match was thrown out).

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

Ziggler played the cowardly heel early on. Striker noted that the I.C. Title has changed hands there times in the United Kingdom. Flapjack followed by a legdrop from Morrison for two. The champ went to the top, but Ziggler tripped him up. He rolled up Morrison for two, then went for a gut-buster, which got two. They went to break about 2:00 in.

Ziggler had what appeared to be a waist-lock with a bridge applied on Morrison. He tripped Morrison up charging into the corner, causing Morrison to nearly land on his head. He continued working on the mid-section of Morrison, dropping numerous elbows for a near-fall. They did the yeah-boo punches in the middle of the ring, and Morrison cracked Ziggler in the head with a flying forearm. Leg lariat for two. Face-buster by Ziggler, as he dodged the Moonlight Drive. Morrison lined Ziggler up for Starship Pain, but Ziggler tried to go for a roll-up with his feet on the ropes. Ref saw it and as Ziggler complained to the ref, Morrison landed the Flying Chuck kick for two. From the top, both men went spiraling down outside the ring, Morrison seeming to take the brunt of it against the railing. It must’ve knocked both men a bit wonky, as neither man even moved by the time the referee’s count made it to ten.

WINNER: Double count-out, at 11:37. Solid match, but I’m going to start calling Ziggler “Lex Luger.” Not sure what stopped them from booking the title change here. And how ‘bout a DDQ and a DCO in the same show?

5- BETH PHOENIX vs. LISA TAYLOR

Forearm shots to the face by Phoenix, followed by a shoulder-breaker. She put Taylor in the Tree of Woe in the corner. Neck-breaker out of it in a nice-looking spot. Glam Slam was next, and last.

WINNER: Phoenix, at 1:25. Effective squash.

6- CHRIS JERICHO vs. THE UNDERTAKER

Jericho suckered Taker into the corner and worked him over. But then Taker did the same, except he put Jericho in the corner a tad more physically. Taker then clotheslined Jericho over the top rope and to the arena floor. Striker quoted Hall-of-Famer Buddy Rogers talking about the World Heavyweight Championship. Legdrop with Jericho draped over the apron, vintage Undertaker there. Back in the ring, the (alleged) Dead Man worked the left arm of Jericho as Chris hollered at the ref to make Taker give him some room. Old School time, but Jericho climbed up and pulled Taker down with the arm. They went to break 2:40 into the contest.

Jericho was slugging Taker in the head out of break, seemingly keeping the big man grounded. Middle-rope dropkick by Jericho for a two-count. After a quick chin-lock, Jericho kicked Taker out of the ring, then celebrated with a simple raise of the arm in the ring to draw some heel heat. Into the barriers went Taker courtesy of the former Y2J. Back in the ring, Jericho choked Taker on the middle rope. Jericho tried to trade soup-bones toe-to-toe with Taker, a battle he wasn’t going to win. Taker is, after all, the best pure striker in the game today. Snake Eyes for Jericho, but he dropkicked Taker as he was going for the big boot. A minute later, Undertaker successfully connected on the boot. But he missed one in the corner and crotched himself on the top rope. Taker picked Jericho up out of the corner for the Last Ride, but Jericho got out and hit the Codebreaker on Taker. He was slow to react though and only got two on a pin attempt. It appeared that Jericho was going for a Tombstone on Undertaker, who reversed it into one of his own. Jericho got out and landed a Lionsault. As Jericho sat up, Taker did too and grabbed Jericho by the throat. Counter by Jericho into a Walls of Jericho attempt. He did lock it in. After some struggling, Taker countered by grabbing Jericho and putting him in the Hell’s Gate. Jericho tried once to get to the rope but when he couldn’t, he tapped out.

WINNER: Taker, at 14:00. Not sure what this accomplished- were they looking to pop a rating for a show that ratings generally don’t matter as much as Raw? Why else would they give away a match between Taker and Jericho, first-time ever, with nothing at stake and on free TV?

Arcademan:
TNA Turning Point PPV Results: 11-15-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to complete ongoing results).

1 -- X Division champion AMAZING RED (w/Don West) vs. HOMICIDE -- X Division Title match
WINNER: Amazing Red in 10:00. Very nice opener, but there were too many distractions - Don West talking, Don West's wardrobe, the Impact Zone trying to get themselves over. Just need to let the guys do their thing in the ring. (**1/2)
 
2 -- Knockout champion ODB & Knockout tag champions TAYLOR WILDE & SARITA vs. BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (VELVET SKY & MADISON RAYNE & LACEY VON ERICH) -- TNA Knockouts & TNA Knockout Tag Titles match
WINNERS: ODB & Sarita & Wilde in 7:00. Fine showing at times, but overall not a memorable outing from a wrestling perspective. Too much T&A for this match to be taken seriously and Lacey for Angelina Love is a poor trade for the top heel group in the division. (*)
 
3 -- TNA tag champions BRITISH INVASION (DOUG WILLIAMS & BRUTUS MAGNUS) vs. BEER MONEY (ROBERT ROODE & JAMES STORM) vs. MOTOR CITY MACHINEGUNS (ALEX SHELLEY & CHRIS SABIN) -- TNA tag title match
WINNERS: British Invasion in 12:00. And Beer Money being shut out of the tag titles continues. Nash's re-appearance, KO on Storm, and title belt theft became the story of the match. As for the match, there were plenty of spots and guys did a lot of stuff, but it amounted to filler, as the finish was the result of outside interference and not the product of any of the in-ring work leading to the finish. (*1/2)
 
4 -- TARA vs. AWESOME KONG -- Steel cage match
WINNER: Tara in 8:00. Solid, very good Knockouts match featuring two of the top women in the company. Right finish with a big spot actually leading to the finish. Well done. (**1/4)
 
5 -- RHINO & IWGP tag champions TEAM 3D (BROTHER RAY & BROTHER DEVON) vs. D'ANGELO DINERO & HERNANDEZ & MATT MORGAN
WINNERS: Rhino & Team 3D in 14:00. Good tag match. Lots of action, heels played their part well, and Rhino was given a considerable boost taking the win. Hernandez had enough offense to not lose much because no one will remember he took the fall in this match. The heels winning via cheat-to-win tactics was expected in this match and TNA hasn't featured too many tricks and gadgets thus far to where the finish didn't take away from the match. (**3/4)
 
6 -- BOBBY LASHLEY vs. SCOTT STEINER -- No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere match
WINNER: Steiner in 12:00. A shortcut gimmick match to cover for them not being able to have an interesting 12-minute straight singles match. At first, the ending seemed like a storyline write-off for Lashley, but he popped right up after a few minutes. (*1/4)
 
7 -- KURT ANGLE vs. DESMOND WOLFE
WINNER: Angle via submission in 17:00. There's your value-added for the additional $5 on the price tag. Star-making match for Wolfe, who had plenty of credible offense and positive talk by the announcers to not lose anything from taking the loss. Angle was on-fire, as usual, and really answered the call working with a wrestling talent at his level. The drawback to this was watching Angle in this style of a match considering his real health concerns. (****1/2)
 
8 -- TNA World Hvt. champion A.J. STYLES vs. SAMOA JOE vs. DANIELS -- TNA World Title match
WINNER: Styles in 22:00 to retain the TNA World Title. Excellent, awesome main event match. Not quite the 2005 level, but darn close and the peak of what these three can do together four years later. Styles was an absolute star with his display of offense, while Joe was a monster taking it back to the old-school with the trademark offense that made him stand out in 2005 as the TNA Rookie of the Year/Wrestler of the Year overall. Daniels was very good in his role and stood out as a legit main-eventer. All the pieces came together to match Angle-Wolfe for a great one-two punch on this PPV. (****1/2)

Arcademan:
WWE RAW Results: 11-16-09

Note: there was an awful lot of jawing going on in this episode of RAW. The best moment was when Kofi Kingston went on the attack on Orton after he initially attacked Piper, who wanted to fight Vince McMahon, DX knocks out Hornswaggle, Sheamus going berzerk, etc. etc.

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

1 -- U.S. champion THE MIZ vs. MVP -- United States Title match

Miz took it to MVP early on, but MVP made a comeback. Cole suggested the lowly Knicks could use MVP as he set up the ballin' elbow drop for a two count. MVP wanted the Playmaker, but Miz escaped and shot MVP off to the corner to land a kick to the gut. Miz then dropped MVP on his face with the Skullcrushing Finale for the pin and the win. Ringside, Sherri wasn't pleased with her sitcom...er...man losing the match.

WINNER: Miz at 3:46 to retain the U.S. Title. Hot crowd tonight gave this match a boost. There's definitely a different vibe in the arena to create energy this show desperately needs. MVP got in his signature spots to retain some credibility despite the loss. Good showing for MVP at the top of the show. (*1/4)

2 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. CHAVO GUERRERO

Bell sounded and Santino told Chavo to hold on. He pulled out a #10 Eli Manning jersey for the Giants. This was followed by a #34 Patrick Ewing jersey. Wait, next was a Mark Sanchez Jets jersey. Cole played the heel pointing out how poorly the New York teams have been. Santino then pulled out a Johan Santana jersey from the Mets. Suddenly, Santino was in a Phillies jersey. Loud boos. Santino pretended to be shocked. He then took off the Phils jersey to finally be wearing a Yankees jersey. Didn't see the number on the back. Chavo had enough and gave Santino a suplex. We got a look that it was Derek Jeter's #2 jersey. I hope this isn't what Jim Ross meant by Yankees in the house tonight. Suddenly, Hornswoggle showed up in DX gear. He distracted Chavo, then Santino rolled up Chavo from behind for a three count. The coyote loses to the roadrunner again.

WINNER: Chavo at 2:50. A parade of jerseys the NFL and MLB will be grateful for. Crowd was hot for the locally-driven match. Thankfully, we got the obligatory Chavo joke match out of the way. (n/a)

3 -- Divas champion MELINA vs. ALICIA FOX -- Divas Title match

On cue, Alicia found herself on the outside trying to intimidate the babyface lumberjacks, then she returned to the ring and Melina worked her over before landing her Canadian Destroyer-esque finisher for the quick pin and the win. Post-match: a fight broke out among all the divas present to set up the Five-on-Five match at Survivor Series. Babyface divas stood tall and then danced to close out the segment, much to Judah's delight.

WINNER: Melina at 1:38 to retain the Divas Title. A short match happened. And they danced. Not a memorable display of women's wrestling tonight. (n/a)

4 -- JACK SWAGGER vs. EVAN BOURNE

Action was joined in progress with Swagger already dominating Bourne with mat holds. Bourne elbowed Swagger in the head, but Swagger shook it off and smashed Bourne with a lariat to the back of the head. Bourne then came back with a double knee smash off the top rope for a two count. Swagger shook off Bourne's offense, then took Bourne across the ring with multiple running powerslams into the turnbuckles before finishing him off with the gut wrench powerbomb for the win. Announcers built up Swagger as a dominant figure for the Survivor Series match for Team Miz.

WINNER: Swagger at 2:02 of what aired. Just two minutes of Swagger having offense, a quick tease from Bourne, then Swagger with the dominating offense to stand tall. Not enough aired for this to be memorable. (n/a)

5 -- World Hvt. champion THE UNDERTAKER & WWE champion JOHN CENA vs. DX (SHAWN MICHAELS & TRIPLE H) vs. Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW

Cena, Michaels, and Jericho started things off with the bell sounding seven minutes after the top of the hour. Big Show then tagged in for Jericho, followed by Hunter. Cena then walked over to Taker, who tagged in to bring in the three bigger men. Hunter and Taker formed an agreement to work over Show, who took right hand strikes. Taker and Hunter then dumped Show to the floor and went after each other. Hunter landed a spinebuster, then Hunter tagged in Michaels. Taker sat up, though, and we were back to WrestleMania 25. Cole noted it was their first encounter since then. Michaels ducked a punch, then landed a round of slaps. Taker then walked into a big spear from Big Show, who clobbered Michaels and brought in Chris Jericho. Jericho smirked and saluted himself before landing a bulldog on Michaels. Jericho then slapped on the Walls of Jericho, but Taker broke it up and Cena blind-tagged in for Taker. Cena dropped Jericho with a bulldog, but Michales hit Cena with a chop and brought in Hunter. Suddenly, Cena and Hunter had a staredown. He gave Hunter the "You Can't See Me" and Hunter responded with a crotch chop. Show had enough and double-chokeslammed both men until Taker entered to battle Show. Cole noted Taker's MSG moments with a reference to "Mankind." The action moved to the floor where Show whipped Taker into the guardrail. Cole said he needs a scorecard to keep up with who's legal. Michaels took a tag from Hunter, then Michaels did his routine and went up top to drop the "vintage" elbow to the heart. Michaels started tuning up the band, but Cena interrupted and put Michaels center ring for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena then wanted the FU on HBK, but Hunter blind-tagged in mid-air and dropped Cena with a high knee. Hunter cleaned house before dropping Cena with a spinebuster center ring. Hunter wanted the Pedigree, but Big Show entered and headbutted Hunter. Suddenly, Michaels dropped Show with the superkick. Jericho with the Codebreaker on Michaels. Taker then re-entered and chokeslammed Jericho. Hunter then clotheslined Taker to the floor. Suddenly, Cena with the FU on Hunter to score a pin on Hunter for the win.

Post-match: Out of nowhere, Undertaker entered the ring and dropped Cena with a Tombstone Piledriver center ring. Striker asked if Taker was trying to send a message of domination. It's the Alpha Male world. Taker then grabbed his World Title belt and knelt over Cena's fallen body. Taker stared into the hard camera as his music played to close the show 15 minutes past the top of the hour.

WINNERS: Taker & Cena at 7:10. Well, there's your first official tease for Cena vs. Taker at WrestleMania 26. Very good tag match with a constant flow of action, moves, teases, counters, finishers, star power, and intriguing match-ups. Electric atmosphere in the arena helped tremendously. This show started with tons of energy, DX sucked the life out of the building, then McMahon, Piper, Kofi, and Orton rebuilt the energy to culminate with an excellent TV main event. Only problem was we still don't have an issue for the top two matches at Survivor Series and WWE is teasing a WrestleMania match. WWE is obviously not concerned about PPV buys at this point. (***)

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