Raw Thoughts - February 8, 2010

Really, Carl Edwards has the same entrance as Kyle Busch and Joey Logano?  Did WWE think we'd forget?  Well, I wish I had forgotten that Raw, so close enough, I suppose.  Oh wait, it's Hornswoggle!  And Kelly Kelly is announcing Carl Edwards?  Why?  And there are The Bella Twins, doing the only thing they ever get to do.  We're less than a minute into this show and I have no idea why all this is happening.  Edwards does his signature backflip into the ring and... my cable goes out.  FFS.

And we're back, and Christian is in the ring with Carl Edwards and Sheamus?!  What the hell is happening?  Christian finally clears up what's happening to ECW, all the Superstars become free agents, but that doesn't exactly address the ECW Title.  Maybe a unification match somewhere down the road?  Well, we're getting a non-title match right now!

Christian vs. Sheamus is our opening contest and this is a match we probably should've gotten when Sheamus was still on ECW.  Great match here, good length (and not just a good length for Raw), Christian looked like a million bucks, but the right man went over.  I know people are going to be pissed that Christian lost, but Sheamus is the WWE Champion, the same WWE Champion who's been desperate for a high-profile win since getting the title.  Personally, I'm hoping Christian stays as far away from Raw as possible and signs with Smackdown now that he's about to be a free agent.

So now that we know the future of the ECW roster, I'm a bit concerned about some of the guys.  I don't know if Kozlov, Vance Archer, Tyler Reks, Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft are going to be able to find a place on Raw or Smackdown.

John Cena has more guts than brains to take that powerbomb on the steel stairs, especially with a surgically repaired neck.

More issues within Legacy.  Ted DiBiase has a match with John Cena tonight and Cody Rhodes will be going one-on-one with... Randy Orton.  Woopity doo.

Unified Tag Team Titles on the line next!  And it's elimination rules?  That's awesome.  Straight Edge Society out first to do a little preaching for the Lafayette crowd, and it looks like they're going to forcefully convert Jared the Subway Guy to the sXe lifestyle!  Yeah, Punk and Gallows better win, we need these guys on Raw and Smackdown every week.  Unfortunately, that damn DX just had to interrupt, thus making the save for Jared, I would've much rather seen him get his head shaved and his sandwich stolen by Santino.

Oh yeah, there is a match happening, Straight Edge Society vs. D-Generation X vs. ShowMizness and we're not wasting any time!  It's absolute pandemonium in the ring (or "pandermonium" if Taz is reading), but DX cleans house and takes us to commercial.  And we're back from commercial... and two minutes later, another commercial?  WTF?!

We're back (again), and that better be the last break in this match.  No one's been eliminated yet and we've got ourselves a pretty fun match so far. Well, it was fun until CM Punk got hit with Sweet Chin Music and got eliminated.  Why the hell would the Straight Edge Society go out first?  Why the hell wouldn't the Straight Edge Society win this match?  DX don't really need the tag belts, especially with WrestleMania around the corner and do we need another Big Show Tag Title reign?  I love The Miz, but ShowMizness is nowhere near JeriShow in terms of awesomeness.  But apparently WWE disagrees because Show & Miz just won the gold!  All this says to me is WWE has absolutely nothing for Big Show to do.

The Miz & Big Show are backstage, and as much as I'd rather have the Straight Edge Society on Raw and Smackdown every week, this partnership could be a lot of fun.  And it looks like I have to retire "ShowMizness," the official name of the tag team? ShowMiz!

Shawn Michaels is pleading with Teddy Long like a drug addict looking for a fix.  He wants to go to Smackdown, go into the Elimination Chamber, beat The Undertaker and give him a rematch at WrestleMania.  Unfortunately for HBK, T-Lo says no, because he obviously can't remove R-Truth from a match in favor of Shawn Michaels.  Triple H tries to talk some sense into Shawn for the sake of his career, but HBK says his career is "over" and Superkicks T-Lo!

So I was glancing at my laptop and apparently there was a Gail Kim vs. Jillian match?  Blink and you missed it, but if you blinked, I don't think you missed much.  The crowd agreed with me as well, you could hear a pin drop in the arena during this one.

First 2010 Hall of Fame inductee announced and it's "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase!  It's about damn time!  Money, money, money, money, money, MONEEEEEEY!

Santino Marella is backstage with Carl Edwards & Jared The Subway Guy, sorry Jerry "Stupid" Lawler, no sandwich for you!  Santino has a match this Thursday against Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston proposes all six Elimination Chamber participants in individual singles matches.  But those matches will be put together by next week's guest host, Jerry Springer!  

Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes up next and we've got ourselves a good ol' fashioned SLAP FIGHT!  Easy now, very unladylike of you two!  Match barely gets underway before Sheamus provides a distraction and Cody hits Cross Rhodes for the win?!  Are you kidding me?!  Sheamus hits the bicycle kick for good measure, but Cody scares off the WWE Champion with a chair.  What the hell just happened?

Speaking of what the hell just happened, John Cena vs. Ted DiBiase never really gets started, Cena just beats the hell out of DiBiase and calls out Batista, which takes us to yet another commercial.  Apparently Batista isn't here tonight, but if Cena can't fight Batista, he wants to talk to Vince McMahon.  Vinny Mac is here, along with ten security guards and perhaps his most ridiculous Vince walk ever.  Cena is electric here tonight, "money or the moment" might be a defining promo for Cena and this generation of professional wrestling.  Great, great stuff.  And It looks like we're getting Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 26... and Bret Hart is here!  Bret goes nutzo on Vince and his security, and then when Vince runs, Bret tears up the Raw set, Montreal style!

Okay, so Raw kinda fell apart from a wrestling standpoint after the Tag Title match, but in terms of storyline advancement, this was a flat-out awesome show.  WrestleMania is really coming together, but there's still a bit of intrigue to keep us wondering.  Will Bret Hart really wrestle again?  Is Shawn Michaels going to get his match with The Undertaker or will DX explode on the grandest stage of them all?  What's the deal with Legacy?  Who's going to be WWE Champion come WrestleMania?  And of course, what the hell is going to happen with all the ECW guys?  Lots of big questions to be answered, but if WWE keeps it up with stuff like this, I'm happy to be along for the ride.

Amazon.com - WWE: The Best of RAW 2009

Raw Thoughts - February 8, 2010

Smackdown Thoughts - February 5, 2010

Sorry for the delay, but I figured no one would care about a Smackdown review yesterday due to the Super Bowl.  

Starting the show with Chris Jericho?  Oh WWE, you're too kind.  Jericho was not happy with Edge returning, even claimed he didn't deserve to win the Royal Rumble!  Jericho was downright pissed actually, and didn't think he should have to qualify for the World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber match.  Jericho went backstage to find Teddy Long, but instead found Edge... these guys have to be fighting at WrestleMania, right?

Much like Raw, this episode of Smackdown was jam packed with Elimination Chamber qualifying matches, the first of those was a triple threat match: John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane.  Adding Kane to the mix was an odd choice, but it worked and provided an enjoyable match.  Man, I've been way too nice to Kane lately, but he's been rather impressive in the ring; now if only WWE could make him an interesting character, we might be in business.  With that said, the real star of this match was John Morrison, his unique offense throughout the contest was a real treat and to see him advance to the Chamber gets a big thumbs up from me.  I'm surprised Kane isn't in the Chamber match, but hopefully this means Morrison is on his way toward the main event scene.

R-Truth vs. Mike Knox was our next qualifying match, and I'm surprised they made R-Truth's qualifier so obvious.  Usually every Elimination Chamber has a "surprising" entrant (Raw has Ted DiBiase), and R-Truth was my pick for the Smackdown side, but putting him in there with Mike Knox pretty much made it a guarantee.  But hey, R-Truth has been on fire lately, he doesn't need to be a gimmicky entrant in the Chamber, he's earned his spot.

I loved them showing the footage from after Raw went off the air with John Cena making the save for Bret Hart, only to get powerbombed onto the steel stairs by Batista.  Sure, they could've aired it on Raw, but little things like that are nice touches. 

Our next Elimination Chamber qualifying match was Batista vs. CM Punk... okay?  An odd match-up, Punk can't even shave Big Dave's head!  But the story unfolded before the match could even begin, Batista didn't care and simply walked out, giving Punk the count-out victory and a reason for a hilarious celebration.  Cool for Punk, but I'm not sure I dig it for Batista, his entire character is about winning the World Championship, and he just handed a spot in a World Title match over to CM Punk?  Vince better be paying him the big bucks.  Oh well, Punk is in the Chamber, I'm not going to complain.

Matt Hardy vs. Chris Jericho was our next qualifying match, poor Matt Hardy, the guy just can't catch a break.  Even if you missed the show, I'm sure you could deduce that Chris Jericho won, but at least it was a fairly enjoyable match with an exciting finish.  Now that I think about it, have Matt Hardy and Chris Jericho ever really worked that closely with one another?  I'm sure they've had plenty of matches, but if Hardy could ever get some momentum back, it could be a pretty fun feud. 

Nice promo from Mickie James, mic time is rare for Divas, and usually it's painfully awkward to watch, but Mickie's always been a great talker.  However, it didn't take long for Beth Phoenix to interrupt, fresh off her Royal Rumble appearance, which was one of the highlights of the PPV.  Mickie and The Glamazon have one of those rivalries that can pick up at any time and work, and they always deliver in the ring.  Unfortunately, it didn't happen here, Vickie Guerrero got involved and set up a tag match, Beth Phoenix & Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool & Layla.  I was hoping we wouldn't see McCool for awhile after she got destroyed at the Rumble, but at least there was no more Piggie James nonsense.  However, we did see The Glamazon unleashed, attacking both her partner and Michelle McCool, but Mickie was still well enough to roll up Layla for the surprise win.  Ha-hah!

Our final qualifying match for the Smackdown Chamber match was Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler, which was a bit anticlimactic, since it's another forgone conclusion.  Bummer, the only one of these matches that wasn't completely predictable was the Triple Threat match.  On the plus side, Rey and Dolphy Z have fantastic chemistry and always provide an entertaining match, this one was no exception.  Though he didn't make it into the Elimination Chamber, this match might get Ziggler back on track, and it would be pretty fitting if Rey Mysterio was the guy to help him out with that.

Our "main event" of the evening was the return of The Cutting Edge, obviously hosted by the Royal Rumble winner, Edge.  Edge's guest tonight?  The World Heavyweight Champion, The Undertaker!  Well, it was supposed to be The Undertaker, but before The Phenom could arrive, Edge was interrupted by Chris Jericho!  I really can't see any other outcome besides Chris Jericho winning the World Title at Elimination Chamber and facing Edge at WrestleMania.  These two will tear the f'n house down in the ring, and if this segment is any indication, they'll tear it down on the mic during the lead up to WrestleMania as well.

But things got more interesting when CM Punk interrupted both Jericho and Edge.  Punk was on fire here, his psychotic savior gimmick just keeps getting better every single week.  While I definitely want to see Jericho vs. Edge at WrestleMania, Punk needs to become a four-time champion sooner than later.  Now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind seeing The Undertaker vs. CM Punk at WrestleMania, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.  Speaking of The Undertaker, The Cutting Edge ended with the Dead Man appearing and helping Edge eliminate Punk and Jericho from the ring.  Edge teased a Spear, but Taker saw it coming and we left Smackdown with a stare-down. 

Good show.  Crowd was hot most of the night, they were especially digging Edge at the end of the show, and I'm extremely pleased with the WHT Elimination Chamber match.  Compared to Raw, Smackdown has a vastly superior Chamber match, though Raw's qualifying matches were way better, which I found a bit surprising.  But yeah, Smackdown's main event is pretty stacked, should be worth $40 alone... hopefully.  Let me know your thoughts on this show, and don't forget to come back to Kick-Out!! Wrestling later this evening for coverage of Monday Night Raw!

Smackdown Thoughts - February 5, 2010

WWE Superstars Thoughts - February 4, 2010

WWE Superstars tagline is "expect everything," which is catchier than "expect to see Raw Divas in a tag match," the show starts off with Kelly Kelly & Eve vs. Alicia Fox & Katie Lea.  Alicia Fox even looked better than usual, but that's not exactly a compliment either; Kelly, Katie Lea and Eve are all capable of being entertaining, so perhaps I've been a bit too cynical about Raw's Diva division over the last few months.  Alicia and Katie Lea pick up a surprising victory here and honestly, this was one of the better Raw Divas matches that I've seen lately.

Evan Bourne vs. Carlito was up next, and definitely an odd match-up since one of these guys actually had to win, which is something we haven't seen in awhile.  Also something we haven't seen in awhile, these guys getting a chance to go all out and wrestle, rather than be squashed, and these guys went all out here.  A match like this is why Superstars is a valuable show, because it's the kind of action that can take lower card guys and help them not look like total jobbers.  If Evan Bourne gets to have an impressive showing on Superstars every other week, then it's not completely outside the realm of possibility that he could be a threat to someone like The Miz.  Good win for Bourne, I hope it's a sign of things to come.  An absolutely fantastic television match, and that's the other value of Superstars - entertaining wrestling - so if you missed the show this week, make sure you  find some way to at least see this match. 

So I guess NXT is the reason why ECW hasn't been getting matches on Superstars?

Main Event time!  Matt Hardy, The Great Khali & John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith & Drew McIntyre in six-man tag action.  I love me a good six-man tag match, although it's sometimes difficult to use the words "good match" and "The Great Khali" in the same sentence.  Luckily, Khali was kept to a minimum here and was used to his strengths, like chopping people in the corner and hitting the Punjabi Plunge, which got the win for his team.  Another good match, and I really have to give props to The Hart Dynasty (all three members) for being the glue that held this bout together, if they don't win the Tag Titles by the end of 2010, something is wrong.

Great episode of Superstars this week, highlighted by Evan Bourne vs. Carlito, which reminded me of Evan Bourne vs. John Morrison from ECW last year.  Just a simple match that you know will be good, but somewhat surprised at just how great it really was.  If you didn't see this show, Hulu is your friend.

WWE Superstars Thoughts - February 4, 2010

ECW Thoughts - February 2, 2010

Lots of talk heading into this show, you may have heard that ECW is being "canceled" and replaced with a show centered around the next generation of Superstars.  We've all heard the rumors for the last month or so that this would happen, but WWE hyped this show by saying Vince McMahon himself will be stopping by to address the future of Tuesday nights.

But before we could get to something interesting, it's The Abraham Washington Show!  If ECW's gone, can Abe go with it?  Luckily Christian was the guest and to made this show somewhat entertaining; it worked because Abe didn't do a lot of talking and Christian got to control the conversation.  It wasn't long before Zack Ryder made his way out, and surprisingly, he brought up Hurricane Helms' arrest, saying it made everyone on ECW look bad.  Christian said everyone makes mistakes, like Zack Ryder walking out of the house dressed like that, the two brawled a little and set up tonight's main event.

Speaking of Zack Ryder, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed my latest cause, and that's raising awareness over the Zack Ryder/Wikipedia debacle.  For whatever reason, the Wikipedia dorks (who are way more nitpicky and dorkier than even the smarkiest of smarks), refuse to give Zack Ryder his own Wikipedia page, he's still combined with Curt Hawkins.  Yes, the same Curt Hawkins who hasn't been on WWE television in nearly a year, while Zack Ryder went to ECW to become a bigger star than he ever was as a tag wrestler.  They always say he "hasn't done enough" to warrant his own page, which isn't true, but operating under that line of thought, please explain to me how Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft have their own individual pages.  Your move, Wikidorks.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Vance Archer was our opening contest and I struggled to care.  Poor Shelton Benjamin, could've been the next big thing on Smackdown, was sent back to ECW, presumably to be a big fish in a small pond, but has since become a replacement for Tommy Dreamer.  And while I rarely like to just flat-out rag on a guy, Vance Archer sucks.  It's a bummer because I enjoyed his work in TNA, but under the bright lights of WWE, the guy bores the hell out of me.  I've seen a lot of people suggest that Kofi Kingston's push is stopped because he's "sloppy" for messing up a couple high-risk moves, but Archer couldn't even properly hold the ropes for a cheap win in this match, that's bad.  Rest of the match wasn't much better.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Trent Baretta was way better than our opening contest, and if this is the kind of action we're going to get on Tuesday nights, I don't care what you call the show.  Yoshi has quickly proven himself to be a valuable asset, I hope around the time of the Draft, they move him to Smackdown and let him work in the IC Title scene.  Baretta was fairly impressive here too, though his primary job was to get his head kicked off by Yoshi Tatsu, and he did that incredibly well.  That kick was NASTY!

FINALLY!  Vince McMahon was out next to address the future of ECW and... didn't?  Here's a summary of Vince's speech:  "ECW has been a great success, in three weeks ECW won't exist anymore, a new show will be in its place in the same timeslot, kthnxbi!"  Uh, okay?  Why is ECW going away if it's the success you claim it has been?  What about the ECW Title?  What is this new show?  People have done some digging and found out WWE has registered a trademark for WWE NXT, which seems likely to be the name for the new show.  If it's starting in three weeks, it would've helped to hear that, or anything regarding the new show.  Vince's announcement was lame, anticlimactic, and honestly, ECW deserves better.  Not even the old Paul Heyman ECW, WWE's ECW deserves better; it's been the most consistent wrestling program in the industry, give us a reason why it has to go away.

I want to address the situation with Ezekiel Jackson and William Regal beating up Gregory Helms and WWE acknowledging Hurricane's "bad week."  If this is a situation to write out The Hurricane for even a brief period of time, then this is exactly what I'm talking about when I attack bad wrestling websites.  If Hurricane loses work, or worse, loses his job, just because TMZ and a slew of copy and paste sites latched onto a complete non-story, then you're seeing a prime example of how these sites hurt the industry.  Tabloid journalism can kill a career, and when you make a living off tearing someone else down, you are pure scum, plain and simple.  Helms was out having fun and things got a little out of hand, who cares?!  Why is this story getting non-stop attention from TMZ?  The people they usually cover probably have a small pharmacy on them wherever they go, but we're worried about one pro wrestler who was drunk in a taxicab?  Really?!  TMZ obviously has no shame, but for all the wrestling sites out there who thrive on these kind of non-stories, grow up.

Christian vs. Zack Ryder was our main event, and I always like when these two lock-up, makes Ryder look like a guy that deserves his own Wikipedia page.  Unfortunately, a good match was cut short by William Regal & Ezekiel Jackson, who didn't take kindly to losing on Sunday or Christian helping out Gregory Helms.  Like I mentioned in my Royal Rumble predictions, don't be surprised if Christian eventually drops the ECW Title to Big Zeke, and don't be surprised if that leads us directly into the first episode of NXT.

Overall, a decent ECW, overshadowed by the news that there will soon no longer be an ECW.  I'm not entirely opposed to the name ECW going away, especially if it means no longer shying away from the original ECW in terms of putting out DVDs or acknowledging its history.  What I don't want to see happen is a dramatic shift from the current incarnation of ECW, which has done wonders for so many Superstars: John Morrison, The Miz, CM Punk, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, etc., they all made a name for themselves on SyFy.  You can't deny ECW's ability to refresh a stale character, and I'd hate to see that door closed before guys like Dolph Ziggler, Carlito, Charlie Haas, or MVP could benefit from it.  Call it ECW, NXT, or FFS for all I care, just don't change up a formula that works.

ECW Thoughts - February 2, 2010

Raw Thoughts - February 1, 2010

Really no better way to start Raw than with The Rated-R Superstar, Edge is here!  Edge takes us through the history of his injury and how Chris Jericho's trash talk inspired him to get back in the ring sooner than his original prognosis.  Edge obviously has a choice to make, and right now that choice is between The Undertaker and Sheamus, but it looks like Edge is going to do the smart thing and wait until after Elimination Chamber to make his decision.  Sheamus has something on his mind and interrupts the Royal Rumble winner, and we've got ourselves a war of words.  Despite being treated as background noise last night, Sheamus cuts what is definitely his best promo to date, and if there were any doubts about Edge's face turn, I think those were erased with the ensuing brawl!  Sheamus gets the upper hand at first, but the Ultimate Opportunist dodges the bicycle kick of doom and nails a spear, much to the delight of the crowd!  Yeah, let's definitely drag out Edge's decision, I'm all for seeing him on both Raw and Smackdown for the next few weeks.

Elimination Chamber qualifying match to kick off the in-ring action tonight and it's John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes.  I was worried when Cena came out first, I thought someone I'd want to see in the Chamber would miss out on an opportunity.  Nashville crowd is nutzo for Cena, has to be one of his most positive crowd reactions in quite some time.  Your typical Raw match, guys hit their signature moves and then it's over before you know it.  Cena picks up a quick and easy win, Cody's going to have to face the agony of defeat... and the agony of those purple trunks.

Vince McMahon thinks Bret Hart won't even bother showing up tonight.  We'll see.  Someone's in Vince's office, some rude Canadian with no manners, but not the Hitman, it's the Shatman!  Maybe not the best nickname ever, but William Shatner is here!

Another Elimination Chamber qualifying match, at least we'll get some wrestling tonight, now if only we could do something about match length.  Jack Swagger vs. Triple H was the match, and unlike Cody Rhodes, I genuinely felt bad for the All-American American.  Looks like the qualifying matches are just a formality this evening, bummer.  Much like Cena, crowd was electric for The Game tonight, here's hoping the hot crowd helps out the rest of the show.  Shockingly, this match was better and longer than I expected, Swagger actually looked great in there, Triple H made him look better than he has in months.  Of course Swagger lost decisively, but at least he's not getting humiliated by Santino Marella anymore.  Well played, WWE.

Okay, William Shatner singing entrance themes Shatner style was flat-out hilarious.  If you didn't laugh at him singing "Sexy Boy," check your pulse.

Oh hey, it's a match without a forgone conclusion! Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton in our next Elimination Chamber qualifying match.  I am worried about Shawn's chances though since he's likely distracted with losing the Rumble last night and not getting to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania.  I liked Triple H's pep talk before the match though, telling HBK that one of them should win the Chamber and then defend the title against the other at WrestleMania.  I actually really like that idea, but I'm excited about that potential match with or without the WWE Title on the line. So let's go HBK, win this one just to spare me from Orton!  You may have noticed over the last few months, I'm not the world's biggest Randy Orton fan (shocking, I know), but I do usually enjoy it when he locks up with HBK, they always work well together.

So far so good here, definitely have to applaud Shawn Michaels for being one of the few people to slip out of Orton's rope-assisted DDT.  Changing up usual spots, it's stuff like that I enjoy, especially on a brand that has been going through the motions in just about every way.  What I don't enjoy though?  Randy Orton winning and qualifying for the Elimination Chamber.  What the hell is HBK going to do at the PPV now?  I guess he could always work his way into the Smackdown Chamber match, win the title, then force Undertaker to use his rematch at WrestleMania?  Maybe I shouldn't give them any ideas...

Really, Ted DiBiase tries to mend fences with Randy Orton again?  How many times are we going to tease a break-up and reunion for Legacy?  End it already!

Our second to last Elimination Chamber qualifying match is not one I'm particularly thrilled about, Ted DiBiase vs. Mark Henry.  I already see where this is going, DiBiase wins, they pull the Batista/Triple H/Evolution bit with DiBiase/Orton/Legacy and I suppose set up a match at WrestleMania?  Oh well, at least Cody didn't win... maybe when it's all said and done, DiBiase will actually have a personality.

CM Punk is on Monday Night Raw!!!  And he wants his tag title match against DX, but ShowMizness want a shot too.  Whatever will we do?  Call in the Raw Match Negotiator!  Hilarious.  Shatner makes a triple threat match next week, CM Punk & Luke Gallows vs. Big Show & Miz vs. Shawn Michaels & Triple H.  I dig it, and Shatner might be our best celebrity host since Bob Barker.

Final Elimination Chamber qualifying match up next, Kofi Kingston vs. Big Show.  C'mon Kofi, this is your chance to get back on track after an inexplicable loss of momentum.  Of course, we can't forget that Kofi was supposed to be in Raw's Elimination Chamber last year too and was taken out by Edge.  Mike Knox still got to be in the match, but Kofi was the one that had to go, on second thought, maybe we should forget that.  Match gets underway and... another commercial.  Is it just me or are there more breaks than usual tonight?  Not really a great match here, a total mess on the outside with The Miz on commentary and then getting run off by MVP, but then Big Show accidentally punches the ref and then that damn Scott Armstrong comes down to disqualify him?  WTF, when has anyone ever been DQed by a second ref over the initial ref bump?  And to make matters worse, we can't even give Kofi Kingston a legitimate win over Big Show?  It was bad enough when the WWE Champion can't get a single pinfall victory, now we get something almost as stupid?  Oh well, at least Big Show screaming "IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" was amusing.

Seriously, when I'm 78, if I even make it that far, I hope I'm 1% as awesome as William Shatner.  I don't know if Shatner falling in the ring was intentional or not, but he gets right back up and makes it work.  I am nowhere near that cool.

Our "main event" this evening was the second confrontation between Bret "The Hitman" Hart and Vince McMahon.  Before we get started on the actual segment, I want to address the fact that Bret said the word "ass" repeatedly, and Twitter instantly exploded with "OMG 'ASS' ON TV-PG!!!!"  Once again proving that some people really don't get what TV-PG means and they blow it way out of proportion.  Watch Burn Notice on USA this Thursday, it's TV-PG, and you'll likely hear "goddamn" or "bitch" being said, TV-PG doesn't mean you have to be Spongebob Squarepants.  People really need to get over it.  And oh yeah, the FCC doesn't govern cable television, Bret could go out there and call Vince the c-word and the only thing that could happen to WWE is sponsors drop out.

Alright, now with that rant out of the way, let's talk about the awesome war of words between Bret and Vince.  This was way better than their confrontation on January 4th, which really fell a little flat since we didn't know where it was going until Vince kicked Bret in the lil Harts.  Tonight, we knew exactly what was up, Bret was pissed and Vince had to answer for his actions.  Heated words were exchanged, Vince went for the jugular and finished it off by saying Stu Hart doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame!  Oh no you didn't, Vinny Mac!  Bret pulls Vince's jacket over his head and starts throwing punches (that's how they teach you to fight in Canada), but of all freaking people, Batista saves Vince.  Ugh.  Batista roughs up Bret and holds him up so Vince can spit in The Hitman's face.  Despite Snoozetista being involved, the crowd ate it up and were begging for Cena to come make the save.  Didn't happen tonight, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be John Cena w/ Bret Hart vs. Batista w/ Vince McMahon at WrestleMania.  If they do go with the Battle of the Billionaires set-up, it will definitely make that match more interesting than had it been Cena vs. Batista one-on-one.  Who knows, might even make Batista interesting again!

And while Batista and Cena getting involved may make a few people raise some eyebrows, after I thought about it for a second, it makes perfect sense. Batista's whole bit as of late has been the spotlight-hogging, "it's all about me," whereas Cena is the living embodiment of everything that's good about WWE; he's the poster boy and doesn't shy away from paying respect to those who paved the way for him. So we've got Vince doing his "I chew up guys like Bret and spit them out once they lose their flavor" teaming up with the selfish, arrogant and disrespectful Batista to go against the legendary Bret Hart and the spirit of the WWE Universe, John Cena.  Classic storytelling.

Okay, I loved tonight's Raw.  I'm not overly thrilled with the WWE Title Elimination Chamber match, but the qualifying matches were mostly enjoyable and despite a couple wonky moments, made the show a lot of fun.  Hey, a Raw centered entirely around in-ring action was entertaining!  Shocking, right?  Keep it up WWE, we're on the Road to WrestleMania now, give me shows like this on a weekly basis and Raw will actually be must-see TV again.

Raw Thoughts - February 1, 2010

Poll - Edge's Title Shot

Now that Edge has returned to WWE and won the Royal Rumble, he's got himself a guaranteed title match at WrestleMania 26 in Phoenix.  I presented my plan last night in my Royal Rumble review, but I want to know what you think.  Do you want to see Edge stay on Smackdown and challenge for the World Heavyweight Title, currently held by The Undertaker or do you want to see him return to Raw and go after the WWE Title, currently held by Sheamus?  

When you make your choice, feel free to let me know who you want his opponent to be and what steps WWE should take to set up the match by leaving a comment.  Poll closes on Friday, so get those votes in quickly!

Poll - Edge's Title Shot

Royal Rumble 2010 Review!

I need a herooooooooooooo!!!!!

Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson for the ECW Title was a good choice for an opener, really the only choice, and it definitely delivered. I'd like to say that it delivered as I expected, but I honestly wasn't sure how Big Zeke would fare on a major stage. Luckily, my optimism for the Guyanese Goliath was warranted, and the challenger not only met expectations, but exceeded them. Didn't hurt that he was in there with the most consistent performer in pro wrestling today, the man who hasn't had a bad match since his return last February, the ECW Champion, Christian. These guys had great chemistry and weren't afraid to get physical, some of those punches Christian threw were downright painful to watch and Zeke's clotheslines? Holy hell. I especially loved the ending with Christian slipping out of the Oklahoma Stampede to hit a picture perfect Killswitch for the win. Off to a good start!
Predictions: 1 for 1

Backstage, The Miz had a run-in with Teddy Long, who was apparently in charge tonight. T-Lo makes the match that's been in the works for weeks, The Miz vs. MVP for the US Title, bonus match!

The Miz vs. MVP was honestly a bit disappointing. I think I'm just going to have to come right out and say it, I think I'm giving up on MVP. Maybe it's the fact that he's a better heel, but he's really been boring me as of late, and this match really showcased it. I hate to sound like a cynic, but I think MVP is this year's Mr. Kennedy, loads of untapped potential that will remain just that, untapped. Miz was great as always, and I have to agree with Striker and King, MVP was in the wrong to attack someone who just beat him fair and square. Why was Miz the bad guy in this situation? Trash talk? Wasn't MVP just cracking jokes about Miz being a prison bitch last week?
Predictions: n/a

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton was a bit of a mess. Good match, actually a surprisingly good match, I was expecting a dead crowd and a slow, plodding, snoozefest, but I was impressed with both men here and the crowd was into it. But of course, Sheamus, the WWE Champion, was treated as background noise to a Legacy breakup storyline. Legacy breaking up has been teased pretty much since the group was formed, we have to do this right now? When Sheamus still hasn't had a single legitimate win over a top star since he won the WWE Title? If they wanted to keep the belt on Sheamus, he should've kicked Orton's ass and then you could've done something with Legacy after the match. Instead, Sheamus is an afterthought to freakin' Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, two guys who quite frankly, do not have the potential of the Celtic Warrior.

I also really didn't like the announcers rewriting the history of the match two seconds after it ended, "Randy Orton had the WWE Title in his grasp..." uh, no he didn't. Sheamus had just roughed him up outside the ring, rolled him back in, then Cody Rhodes attacks. Yeah, Orton hit the RKO after the interference, but the match was already over. It totally delegitimizes Sheamus and couple that with the fact that the match wasn't even about him, it delegitimizes the WWE Title. This is the same crap they pulled when CM Punk won the World Title the first time, sure he had the belt around his waist, but they were too afraid to let him be a champion. You can't have it both ways, if you want new top-tier players, they have to be built up at the expense of others. A loss tonight wouldn't have hurt Randy Orton, he's Randy Orton, but the kind of win they gave Sheamus didn't help anyone. I hate armchair quarterbacks and backseat bookers, but when you have a situation where the end result is wishy-washy, playing it safe, but not really because no one benefits, then yeah, it's just flat-out bad booking.
Predictions: 2 for 2

Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool was a very emotionally satisfying payoff to a wretched storyline. Mickie winning in seconds and McCool & Layla getting cake in the face was probably the best way to end this nonsense, but it better end here. No more cracks about Mickie's non-existent weight problem, no more fat suits, and while we're at it, send Michelle McCool on a vacation. There are plenty of women for Mickie to work with on Smackdown: Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and the intriguing newcomer Serena Deeb, so let's keep her away from any reminders of this stupidity.
Predictions: 3 for 3

The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio - hot damn I loved this match. Mysterio getting tossed around like a ragdoll, but somehow wound up looking like a badass? Great stuff. Not many guys can lay claim to busting Taker open, but the 5'5" Rey Mysterio did it? Even coming out on the losing end, Rey looked tough and his style meshed well with The Phenom, which was a bit surprising. No surprise Rey lost, and in this instance, he should have, but after proving he can literally work with anyone, can we please consider another title run for the guy?
Predictions: 4 for 4

The Royal Rumble Match is a tough one to review. Certainly better than last year's overcrowded mess, but they over-corrected here and gave us the least crowded Rumble in history with guys being tossed out left and right. I loved stuff like CM Punk being this year's dominator, throwing guys out in rapid-fire succession, and he also got mic time between entrants (hilarious), definitely making him the star of the match, but he was the seventh guy tossed out?! WTF?! That seemed to be the pattern of the match - give a guy a little burst of something cool, then throw him out thirty seconds later. Or give a girl a little burst of something cool, Beth Phoenix throwing out The Great Khali? That's freaking awesome, why eliminate her so early? Why eliminate Yoshi Tatsu, Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, Miz, and Kofi Kingston so quickly?! All of those guys could've benefited from an impressive Rumble appearance, but instead they got in one or two cool spots and were tossed out like chumps.

The only time the early elimination worked was with my pick for the winner, Triple H. Nothing against Triple H, but to have him be eliminated so early and so suddenly? THAT is what the Rumble should be, an anything can happen atmosphere where surprises can be more than just bringing back Jim Duggan or Tatanka. After seeing Triple H get eliminated by HBK like it was 1996 and he's Diesel, I'm 99.99% convinced that DX will collide at WrestleMania 26. Mega Powers Explode Pt. 2: Suckit Boogaloo!

Speaking of surprises, there was the major shocker of the night, of course I'm talking about the length of time Carlito lasted. Someone please explain how he held on in there as long as he did?

Kidding, obviously the big shocker was the return of Edge, who came in at #29 and won the Rumble! It wasn't a completely unexpected return like Cena in 2008, but I honestly didn't think he'd be healthy in time to make it. Very cool moment, and while it doesn't shake up the WWE landscape like if Kofi Kingston would've won, it does mean Edge has pretty much done it all in WWE - WWE Title, World Title, IC Title, US Title, WWE Tag Titles, World Tag Titles, Unified Tag Titles, King of the Ring, Money in the Bank, WrestleMania Main Event, and now the Royal Rumble, The Rated-R Superstar may just be the most successful Superstar in WWE history.

So Edge is headlining WrestleMania, who's his opponent going to be? I really can't see any other option besides Chris Jericho. The story pretty much wrote itself when Edge got injured and Jericho had to find a new tag partner, now all that needs to be done is get the World Title on Jericho. With Elimination Chamber just three weeks away, it shouldn't be too hard, and there you go, one hell of a WrestleMania main event. Edge vs. Jericho is a match we've never really seen, at least not with the guys at this level. Both have always been good, but Edge really matured during Jericho's hiatus and Jericho just keeps getting better and better, so I can't wait to see what the result is if that is the match they go with.

Got off on a bit of a tangent there, but as for the actual Rumble match, I didn't really dig it. The whole thing felt rushed, the guys who aren't multi-time World Champions were underutilized and they really blew it with genuinely interesting stuff like CM Punk's ranting, Beth Phoenix being in the match, and even Legacy, who just had major character advancement, but were pretty much ignored less than an hour later. HBK's story took an intriguing turn, Triple H's elimination was a jaw-dropping shock, Edge's return and win were awesome, but the overall match fell short.
Predictions: 4 for 5

As for the overall PPV though, I really enjoyed it. Aside from the stupidity in the WWE Title match and the issues with the Royal Rumble, the majority of the show was a good time. All the major title matches featured great wrestling, the crowd was really into the show, and WrestleMania is starting to take shape. Some flaws dragged the show down a bit, but way better than last year, no doubt about that.

Royal Rumble 2010 Review!

Royal Rumble 2010 Preview

It's that time of year, my favorite annual PPV, the Royal Rumble! Last year's Royal Rumble was a crushing disappointment (and no, not just because Orton won), so I'm crossing my fingers that this year will get the event back on track. On top of the traditional 30-man Royal Rumble match, there are four other matches, all for a title, scheduled to take place tonight. Earlier in the week, I asked you which one you were most excited about in our latest Kick-Out!! poll:

WHICH RUMBLE UNDERCARD MATCH ARE YOU MOST EXCITED FOR?
Sheamus vs. Randy Orton - 23%
Rey Mysterio vs. The Undertaker - 34%
Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson - 31%
Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool - 10%

It was neck and neck all week between the World and ECW Title matches, but Mysterio/Undertaker won thanks to one vote! Sheamus/Orton was a fairly close third, and the Women's Title match rounds things out at the bottom. My vote went to the ECW Title match, but I wouldn't be surprised if Mysterio vs. Undertaker winds up being a damn good match.

I made my predictions on this week's Kick-Out!! Radio, let's see if my mind has changed on any of the matches:

Women's Championship
Michelle McCool © vs. Mickie James
As I said in this week's podcast, if Mickie James doesn't win this match, doesn't beat the living hell out of McCool, and then kicks Layla in the face for good measure, then this whole storyline is one of the dumbest and most insulting that WWE's ever run... and that's saying something. Mickie James is my prediction, not just because I think she'll win, but because she has to win.

ECW Championship
Christian © vs. Ezekiel Jackson
Tough call here, could definitely see this one going either way. I'm sticking to my prediction though, I think Christian will retain tonight, but wouldn't be shocked if he winds up losing to Zeke in the future.

WWE Championship
Sheamus © vs. Randy Orton
Aside from the Rumble itself, this is the hardest match to predict. Sheamus, let's be honest, has done nothing as WWE Champ. I like the guy, but his title reign has been completely forgettable, and that's entirely WWE's fault for barely using him since he won the belt. I could easily see them moving the title to Orton to start building his WrestleMania feud, but at the same time, I don't know if they'll pull the plug on Sheamus already. I could see him making it to Elimination Chamber, but I highly doubt he'll be WWE Champ at Mania, so I'm not sure who to pick. As much as I'd like to see it, I don't think this match will end with Orton falling victim to the Celtic Cross, so expect some sort of shenanigans, regardless of the finish. My guess is Sheamus retains, but whether or not he wins, I'm not so sure about.

World Heavyweight Championship
The Undertaker © vs. Rey Mysterio
Sorry Rey, Undertaker isn't losing tonight. Just the way it is.

Royal Rumble Match
On Kick-Out!! Radio, I predicted Triple H to win, but it's really a shot in the dark. I don't see any concrete WrestleMania plans (aside from something with Vince McMahon and Bret Hart), so really, the Rumble is anybody's ballgame. For month's I've been hyping Kofi Kingston as the king of the multi-man match, and it looked like he was on track to win the Rumble, but all that seemed to unravel around the time of Randy Orton's in-ring hissy fit. So as much as I still think WWE should take a risk and have Kofi win, I think this year could be something anticlimactic. At the same time, they've almost made it a little too obvious that a DX member could win, so what about someone like Chris Jericho? Or what about a shock return like John Cena in 2008? It's really wide open, WWE could go with a lot of guys, but I'm worried they'll play it safe, and that's why my gut is telling me to stick with Triple H.

Still three hours before the show, so let me know your predictions in the comments section, and make sure you check back at Kick-Out!! later tonight for my full review of the 2010 Royal Rumble!

Royal Rumble 2010 Preview

Smackdown Thoughts - January 29, 2010

I knew something was up when the show opened with D-Generation X, but it was definitely the easiest way to get the crowd on their feet. Cincinnati's kinda stuck in the past anyway, so for us, seeing DX in 2010 is just as cool as it was in 1998. I figured they wouldn't get through their whole shtick (much like at Cyber Sunday 2006 when the crowd wouldn't stop cheering to let them do it), but I didn't expect Rey Mysterio to be the one to interrupt. Great stuff here, I have to give big props to Rey Rey for holding his own on the mic and standing up to the easy joke Triple H made, comparing him to Hornswoggle. I especially loved HBK's "maybe you won't make it to the Rumble," followed by Rey's "maybe YOU won't make it to the Rumble!"

Of course, the whole point of DX on Smackdown was so they could defend the tag titles against the Straight Edge Society, who weren't pleased with Rey getting involved, which lead to even more awesome mic work from all parties involved. Teddy Long however, was intrigued and decided to change things up; instead of CM Punk & Luke Gallows vs. Triple H & Shawn Michaels, it would now be Rey Mysterio vs. Shawn Michaels and Triple H vs. CM Punk! Okay, so the bait and switch was lame, especially for a match that was so heavily advertised, but I think WWE was concerned for the Rumble hype (or lack thereof) on Raw and decided to hold off on the tag title match. Still not an excuse, and I hope SES gets their shot sooner than later, but considering the matches we got instead, I can't really complain.

Triple H vs. CM Punk was one hell of an opening contest. I was worried for Punk, sure, I like Triple H, but he's not exactly known for losing in singles competition. Surprisingly, Punk looked like a beast in there, pretty much dominating the entire match until Triple H finally made a comeback near the end. Yeah, it looked like Triple H may have had it won, but the interference from Serena caused the DQ and honestly, gave us the best ending possible. Speaking of Serena, can we talk about how freaking awesome she is? Admittedly, this is the first I've seen of her in action, but holy hell, she's a natural. Those facial expressions when Punk used her as a human shield? Priceless, almost Regal-esque in terms of believability; she also pulls off the shaved head look well, almost looks like Demi Moore in GI Jane. I know it's pretty soon, but I'll make another of my patented way-too-early predictions and say Serena is going to be a major player in the Divas division in the coming years.

Chris Jericho vs. R-Truth was up next and another rock solid match, with really the only possible gripe about this one being that it was a little too short. And allow me to clarify, that's Smackdown-short, not Raw-short. I'm sure some fanboys were pissed that Jericho lost, but as a huge Jericho fan, what harm does it do to him? R-Truth is on the cusp of greatness and a clean win over Chris Jericho is big. Jericho will be fine, he's one of the biggest names in the industry today (who cares what Eric Bischoff thinks?) and he should be applauded for making others look so good.

Okay, I can't be the only one who thinks Batista looked like a huge dork this week, right? And while I'm commenting on Batista's fashion sense, Dave... pick a look! I swear, every time DAVETISTA~! is in street clothes, it's something different. Sometimes it's a suit, sometimes it's business casual, sometimes it's a polo and jeans, sometimes it's a wifebeater and timberland boots, now he's dressing like Turtle from Entourage? Dave, you're either the badass bouncer type or a d-bag from the Jersey Shore, you can't be both!

Intercontinental Title on the line with Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison in a no-disqualification match! Morrison was over big in Cincy, but unfortunately that was not enough to stop the chosen one. McIntyre picks up the win in a match I honestly thought could've gone either way, and I was hopeful Morrison would regain his championship, but it was not to be. Great match though, any time guys are willing to tear their flesh apart with Singapore canes, I have to applaud the dedication. This is why these guys deserve our respect, they're willing to out there and put their bodies on the line in insane situations - and this match had quite a few - all for our entertainment. Kudos to both men, and this match may just be what McIntyre needed to sell himself to the WWE Universe.

Yeah yeah, Michelle McCool interview, offensive nonsense, calling Mickie James fat even though she's clearly not, who cares? Wait a sec, what's that Michelle's looking at?


Ah yes, something much more interesting. As for the segment, the crowd chanted "THIS IS BORING!" and that about sums up my feelings on it as well. I would have also accepted "THIS IS STUPID!" or "THIS IS INSULTING MY INTELLIGENCE AND IT'S WHY PEOPLE DON'T TAKE WRESTLING SERIOUSLY!" but that probably wouldn't have fit with the "clap, clap, clap-clap-clap" chant.

Main Event time! Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio, and yes, that was one hell of a main event. Not the first time HBK and Rey Rey have squared off, but I do believe it was only their second one-on-one encounter, please correct me if I'm wrong though. Obviously they don't get to meet up often since HBK's has only been on the Raw brand since his 2002 return and Rey Mysterio has always been a part of Smackdown, with the exception of that brief run in 2008 that we've all forgotten about already. Anyway, awesome match, not that you would expect anything less from these two, who despite a laundry list of injuries between them, still perform at a level that most wrestlers wish they could. And that's not a knock on other wrestlers, that's just how good Mysterio and HBK are. Oh, and even though we've seen the "guy does a springboard, only to get Sweet Chin Music" spot quite a few times over the years, it's still awesome and looks brutal every single time. Another non-finish with Batista causing a double-DQ, then Triple H coming to make the save, but all hell breaks loose when the lights go out and it's THE UNDERTAKER! Taker chokeslams Rey and HBK at the same time and Smackdown ends with its franchise player standing tall. And just in case you were wondering, The Undertaker's crowd reaction was far and away the biggest of the night, even eclipsing DX, who the crowd went nuts for too.

Absolutely fantastic episode of Smackdown, and I'm not just saying that because I was there. Aside from the stupid McCool segment, this Smackdown was awesome from top-to-bottom. Pretty much non-stop action, and the opening promos with DX, Rey and Punk were awesome. Great matches, fun talking, good hype for the Rumble, definitely the best Smackdown of January, may even go down as one of the best of 2010.

Smackdown Thoughts - January 29, 2010

WWE Superstars Thoughts - January 28, 2010

The Bella Twins vs. Katie Lea & Jillian Hall kicked things off on WGN America, and be honest with me, did anyone watching care about this match at all? I know it seems like I'm always ragging on Raw's Diva division, but this is why. Outside of Maryse and maybe Eve, there isn't a reason to care about any of the Divas on Raw. Katie Lea has loads of potential, Jillian is a fine wrestler, but even getting a match like this is more exposure than they usually get. And the Bellas? They're usually only used to hang out with the guest host, so that should tell you what WWE thinks their talents are. I get it, it's Superstars, we don't exactly need high-caliber stars out there, but I really can't think of a less interesting match that could've opened this show.

Raw gets two matches this week (yet ECW gets none?), the second being a triple threat match featuring Chris Masters, Chavo Guerrero & Primo. Okay, this match was a dramatic improvement over the opener and not only that, it was a damn good match. The story was a spot in the Royal Rumble was on the line, but they way these guys were working, you'd think their jobs were on the line instead. Hands down, the best thing any of these guys have done in the last few months, and I know it's weird to think about these guys putting on a must-see match on Superstars, but if you missed this one, watch it. Catch the replay, go on Hulu, it might even be on WWE.com, just make sure you see this match, because these guys deserve it. Masters gets the win, but after this kind of performance, they all should get a spot in the Rumble.

Oddly enough, the R-Truth/Chris Jericho segment was taped at Raw rather than Smackdown. I assume the logic behind that was so the audience would only see both guys once and keep the reaction strong. Regardless of the reason, a fun little segment, and R-Truth continues to show why he deserves to hang with the top guys. He's got everything you need in a main eventer: good in the ring, solid on the mic, unique look, and something fun for the crowd to get involved with. Not asking for the guy to win the Rumble and headline WrestleMania or anything, but there's no reason that Truth couldn't challenge the World Champion at a PPV like The Bash.

Main Event time! Matt Hardy w/ The Great Khali & Ranjin Singh vs. David Hart Smith w/ Tyson Kidd & Natalya! This match was taped on Tuesday at the event I was at and I haven't heard this mentioned yet, but Matt Hardy was insanely over in Cincinnati. I remember mentioning back in May that Jeff Hardy had one of the loudest sustained reactions I've ever been a part of, and while Matt didn't quite get that kind of reaction, he was probably in the top five fan favorites of the night. Either it's just a Cincinnati/Hardy love or WWE is really missing out on him, and I'm inclined to believe the latter. Good match here, even though I probably would've preferred Hardy vs. Tyson Kidd, but I'd also prefer Tyson Kidd as IC Champion and I wouldn't mind a pony for my birthday, but I don't expect any of those things to happen. Hardy picks up the win, only to be tossed out of the ring by The Great Khali! Hey, it's every man for himself at the Royal Rumble, even if you have the most random tag team partner in WWE history. I hear Matt was pretty upset about the betrayal though and went for a run after the show to clear his thoughts...

WWE Superstars Thoughts - January 28, 2010