This Week in Wrestling 20/6/2010

[Todd1928]

TNA puts on great PPV’s and Slammiversary is one of the most important PPV’s that they have to offer and I have got to say this one was spectacular even if the King of the Mountain match wasn’t on the card. Kurt vs. Kazarian was exactly what I expected although the fan reaction to Kurt was huge and the atmosphere for the whole match was great. Kendrick vs. Williams was better than I hoped and it and it showed the great skills of both Williams and Kendrick while providing a nice angle with Williams winning with a high risk manoeuvre (something he is meant to despise). The knockouts match was good and really put over Madison Rayne as the hell but the firing of Roxxi was totally unexpected but you could see in her eyes that she had already lost (Roxxi had no clue she would be fired until she arrived at the show). I was really confused where the Brother Ray vs. Jessie Neal angle was going to end up and I must say I left the match with more questions than answers i.e. what is happening to 3D? What role does Tommy Dreamer play? Was this all just a lead up to an ECW faction?

Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez was a match of two big athletic bulls showing what they have got and proving that they are main event prospects with a load of upside the final result never really mattered (although the whole Hernandez putting the ref in the corner was funny as hell and the doctors note was a nice touch). Holy shit Abyss took out a fan with a discus like trash can lid! And now there’s a teddy bear covered in barbed wire and Abyss gave it to Chelsea!! Over all the Monsters Ball was brilliant (did anyone else notice that Chelsea was shocked at the violence WTF) and shows exactly why I hate the PG things the WWE has got going, the whole beauty falling for the beast thing is really cliché though. AJ Styles vs. Jay Lethal was a great mix of technical wrestling, high flying and simply brilliant wrestling (I love heel AJ it gives room for young faces). The tag match of Jeff Hardy& Mr Anderson vs. Beer Money was a great match and all four were very impressive but I don’t care how well Hardy and Anderson get over Beer Money should have won this. A PPV Main Event has to be top notch and you have to remember it and personally I won’t forget this match anytime soon, Jeff Jarrett’s interference should lead to a very interesting feud and some more great matches.

Monday night RAW had to follow up one of the most shocking storylines in recent memory and the question is did it do it? The answer is yes it did a solid job. The opening segment with the NXT rookies was good because it prevented the Drew Barrett Championship shot (which was a bad joke anyway) and promises more hell raising and almost certainly interference during the WWE Championship match. The United States Championship match was great and the title is back where it belongs around the waist of The Miz although the whole R-Truth losing in his home town was completely unexpected usually WWE plays to home crowds. The whole guest show thing is pissing me off don’t get me wrong I like Mark Feuerstein and I actually watch the show he stars in Royal Pains, but this shit should have been dropped when Bret Hart was made the GM because at the moment Bret runs the brand but not the show?! The other matches were nothing special the only things that interested me is what happened in-between matches and when Virgil got seemingly fired (It was never going to last). The final match was highly entertaining and was a good teaser for the WWE Championship match but we were all waiting for the season 1 NXT rookies to interfere but what they are destroying backstage, wait when did Bret Hart leave the stage? The NXT rookies beat down Bret Hart and run and did anyone notice that no WWE stars ran to help?

Season 2 of NXT is still in the introductory phase and it is still trying to give us a basic knowledge of the rookies before they break into storylines and I can respect that but there was only 20 minutes max of wrestling and in a one hour show that just isn’t enough. The whole reason behind the pros jumping the rookies last week (initiation, deterrent) was good but I don’t believe for a second the rookies will forget it. Thankfully the matches were good although I was really surprised how much I didn’t like Lucky Cannon, he just wasn’t that good. The other three rookies; Kaval, Alex Riley and Michael McGillicutty were very entertaining and will have great careers whether it’s in the WWE or not. At first I hated Laycool mentoring Kaval and I am still very apprehensive about it although now I find myself curious about how this will end will it be a bad joke or will Kaval be taken seriously (I’d love to see Kaval vs. Rey Mysterio).

TNA’s President Dixie Carter has been promising big changes in the world of wrestling and I was quite disappointed when we weren’t even given a teaser as to what it could be but TNA has a history of not giving answers after all we still don’t know who kidnapped Samoa Joe or what Sting is on about. For those who don’t know Scott Hall was fired for getting arrested for being intoxicated in public and resisting arrest (basically for doing the same stupid crap as always which is why no one wants him) which means the Band forfeits their title which means TNA does exactly what WWE would do a tag team tournament. The first match is The Band vs. Ink Inc and this was a simple heel vs. face tag match nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary and since the Band was stripped of their titles it was obvious Ink Inc. would win. Here comes Rick Flair and his own personal Horsemen to announce he is reforming the Horsemen? Anyway the new name is Fortune and Desmond Wolfe is out? All this leads to Jay Lethal interfering (again) and doing his Rick Flair impersonation (again) and Rick Flair get pissed (again) and tells one of his followers to beat down Lethal (again) and it’s Desmond Wolfe (that’s a new one) who will get a spot in Fortune if he wins. Hernandez vs. Samoa Joe was interesting purely for how the crowd would react and they went nuts for Joe who won the match with a little interference from Matt Morgan (Samoa Joe has issues with Matt Morgan will this end up as a three way rivalry?). The next tag match is up and it’s Beer Money vs. Team 3D will we have a 3D vs. Ink Inc for the title, no instead we have the breaking up of team 3D as Ray rushes the announce table and Devon gets beat down (3D cannot get broken up it makes no sense). Desmond Wolfe vs. Lethal was pretty easy to predict; Wolfe wanted to cheat, told Chelsea to hand him a weapon, Chelsea refuses and quits as Wolfe’s valet, Lethal makes miraculous recovery for the win, Wolfe beats down Lethal with the help of Flair. Really the only surprise was Hogan coming out and announcing Flair vs. Lethal at Victory Road. It’s time for someone to call out Sting again this time it’s Jeff Jarrett who rants about how he trusted Sting how Sting betrayed him and how he is fighting for everyone in the back and all the TNA fans (nothing original here). The final match is the three way for the number 1 contender ship and Hardy and Anderson double team Abyss and it is pissing Abyss off. Match ends with triple count out and Abyss goes Psycho and destroys the others. Hogan comes down the ramp for an explanation and all he gets is the finger point and the “YOU” to end the show.

Smackdown started off with CM Punk ranting about how terrible the Undertaker is and how he made the Dead man tap out and lo and behold out comes Kane to deliver vengeance only for him to get jumped from behind by Jack Swagger in an orchestrated beat down. Here come the faces to save the day wait Big Show and Rey Mysterio join the beat down (nice touch) now what will Kane do at the PPV? The first match is a tag match Christian & MVP vs. Curt Hawkins & Vance Archer (WWE is ruining Christian) and the heels win which almost assures they will remain in the company for the next couple of months (not that anyone cares). Wait Chavo and Vickie are doing the La Familia thing again? My god can someone please get rid of Chavo he is spitting on his families legacy. Here comes one of the most hated men in the WWE Drew McIntyre and he humiliates and beats down Teddy Long who is openly weeping until Kofi and Matt come for the rescue. The divas match was nothing special and not really notable in any way, Kelly won by the way. Masters vs. Ziggler was pathetic (does anyone else remember when Masters was one of the most promising new wrestlers?). The main event was (surprise, surprise) Big Show & Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk & Jack Swagger which was short and very predictable and just when it finished Kane wrecked havoc (same as last week and the week before) and issued another threat (this angle is starting to piss me off let’s hope something happens at the PPV).

ROH this week saw the return of Christopher Daniels in a match against Bobby Shields and it wasn’t very long but it was a solid return and was a good stepping stone for him to get to the title. El Generico and Kevin Steen is a very good rivalry and Steen gave a surprisingly good heel promo. The tag match was another solid short squash match in my opinion and the Briscoe Brothers are one of the great tag teams of the modern era. Colt Cabana is one of the most entertaining wrestlers to watch and Steve Corino is one of the most solid wrestlers in ROH making this a great match and a worthy main event (Cabana going nuts was a good touch). The contract signing was a way to introduce Daniels to the title picture (Tyler Black will undoubtedly win)

OVERALL:
SLAMMIVERSARY PPV: 9.5/10
PROS: Near every match really great to watch, Tommy Dreamers appearance saved the only match that wasn’t enjoyable.
CONS: Firing a loyal wrestler for no good reason without any previous warning is disgusting in this modern era.

RAW: 6/10
PROS: The only matches of note were the first and last, NXT rookies deliver the Ultimatum, Virgil getting fired (it was getting old fast New DiBiase needs New Virgil).
CONS: The pros just staring at the monitor like stunned deer instead of helping the GM, Some bad matches in the middle, Guest Host stuff is getting old, Bryan Danielson used as a scapegoat.

NXT: 6/10
PROS: Solid Matches, interesting angles.
CONS: Maximum 20 minutes wrestling is not enough, rookies forgiving and forgetting, and Lucky Cannon sucks.

TNA: 7/10
PROS: Lethal vs. Flair announced, Hernandez vs. Morgan vs. Joe? Abyss snaps and threatens Hogan.
CONS: 3D breaking up? Another why sting why promo and Flair announcing the new Horsemen (did he think we didn’t know?), Another Knockout promising to remove the Beautiful people.

SMACKDOWN: 4/10
PROS: Kane gets jumped by the championship contenders, massive heat on McIntyre.
CONS: They expect the lead up to championship match to carry the show and it just doesn’t. Shocking Divas match. Destroying Christian and MVP. Reuniting La Familia when it should have died 5 years ago.

ROH: 8/10
PROS: Solid matches, Good lead up to the PPV, Return of Christopher Daniels
CONS: Parts in the opening match were sloppy, two squash matches in a row.

[Spartacus]

With each read of this, I can't help but think its a cheap rip-off of mine, and Pringles week-recap (ie. using pros, and cons, and the name, along with similar rundown). It's obvious you take some considerable time to write this up. It'd help greatly though, if you put alot more of your own opinion into. There are some glaring grammar issues, that makes it hard to read at times, just means you need to proofread it a couple more times. I'd really like to see you write about one of the topics in full length. See what you bring to the table, with a different topic, and/or format. You have good sense, dude, so keep writing, and take all this criticism to hand, and apply it. Read you next time.

[priest]

Yeah I'd agree with Spartacus. I don't want to criticise too much because if you have read either of my columns so far you will see I need to work on my writing style also, but I did think it was hard to read at times. I think simple things like spacing it out more and proofreading it will really help your column alot. But I wouldn't say it was a bad column or you're a bad writer or anything, as i enjoyed reading it, just a few small tweaks could've really improved this column. Like I said though, I'm not an expert or anything so you don't have to take what I have said, just trying to help and offer my opinion.

[Super Chrisss]

Here's a few things I want to make clear:

1. This didn't "rip-off" anybody's column. Spartacus writes on several different topics a week, so he has no "set" style. Pringle writes about the "pros and Cons in a week in the WWE." You wrote about TNA and ROH, not just WWE.

2. You made some strong statements (i.e. calling Archer and Hawkins nobodies, Lucky Cannon " not good", and Drew McIntyre "a man everyone hates") without backing them up. Alot of people could argue and shoot down your points.

3. Use headings to separate your topics/show reviews. It makes it alot easier on the reader to keep track. The way you presented it, it felt like a rant.

Other than that, this was solid. Work on the above factors, and you should do well here, especially since you seem to have a strong grasp of the overall product. Just don't forgot to feedback other people's columns!

Read you next time, bro.

[Spartacus]

Eh, guess I didn't really mean ripped off us. Just meant it was a mesh of Pringles week review, and my This Week In Professional Wrestling series. Like Chrisss said, seperate you stuff, and continue to work all that shit out, and your gold. Especially apply more of your own opinion, because it still seemed like a huge combining of the main page show reviews. Which isn't something you should aim for as a writer. I still say I want to see you work one topic, and put your own say on it.

[Shane]

Here's a few things I want to make clear:

1. This didn't "rip-off" anybody's column. Spartacus writes on several different topics a week, so he has no "set" style. Pringle writes about the "pros and Cons in a week in the WWE." You wrote about TNA and ROH, not just WWE.

Way to step up, set the record straight, and give us a nice preview of LoPNXT.

I think I finally understand where the "lack of quality feedback" crowd was coming from a couple of months back. I'd hate for some of this to be the response to my debut.

First off, welcome to the CF. You have strong opinions and a broad viewing range, so that will benefit you well in the future. Definitely work on your intros. I felt like you started the column already running and I needed to get grounded. Do start off building what it is you are going to talk about and maybe refrain from covering so many various issues. [B]If you choose to cover various promotions/shows[B] be sure to separate them with headlines as Chrisss has pointed out. If you work on fine tuning, covering a smaller range of topics and really delve into them I think you will do well.

I haven't been viewing TNA, but I'm glad to see Matt Morgan is still [slowly] pushing forward. Hope you will keep writing.

Ps. no "k" in Ric Flair.

[Pringle]

Hey man, as you'll have already realised, I am Pringle. I do do a weekly review with the Pros and Cons gimmick, but I didn't see this as a rip off. Sure, you had the pros and cons feature at the end, but it wasn't your main area. As far as I'm concerned the more weekly reviews the better. There's no rule limiting weekly reviews, it's nice to read what other people think of what has gone down during a week (we should maybe collab one day if you're up for it, I think we'd work well together?). And as long as you ain't copying someone word for word, there's no problem with your column, man. As it goes, this was a nice review and I enjoyed your writing. As the guys have said already, a couple of proofreads go a long way.

And most importantly; welcome to the CF, man. Hope you enjoy your stay.

[Spartacus]

UGH!!

I wasn't trying to say your a ripoff Todd. All I was saying is it was more a mesh between us. I more or less encouraging you to 1) give each a headline 2) instead of the pro/cons area give us a top 5 adn bottom 5 3)proofread 4) keep writing here 5) don't be discouraged by any negative feedback 6) don't be discouraged by the lack of feedback, and views your debut column did last week 7) keep writing here 8) remember that I'm not a dick head despite what I say and last but not least 10) love this place, feedback to others, interact with us, were really a lovely bunch.

Like I said 6 posts ago, I liked what you brought to the table writing style that is. I DID read your first column, despite not giving feedback. I hope to hear from you before next column comes out, brother. Read you next time!

[Savior4Hire]

I enjoyed this, and other than being a review/week re-cap, it wasn't at all a rip-off. There are only so many column types, the trick is to do one or more of them well and with a different spin than anyone else. You do that here by covering all the promotions (tv wise at least) and your pro-con section serves as a nice quick bullet point to recap your column.

Suggestion wise, I agree that the various promotions/sections could use banners or maybe even a few pics just to separate them. Also, to end the column, I'd like to see you throw in wtf? with your pros-cons. Lord knows each show gives us at least one. Maybe call it the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[Todd1928]

I know what you meant it's hard to write a review coloumn without crossing some lines and in my opinion as long as it's not a blatant ripoff it can be ignored (to an extent). I'll work on some of the things you and the other told me to so thanks for the tips. P.S you may not be a dickhead but still can't count to ten (you skipped tip 9). HA HA

[ChrisBear]

Its Ok Todd, Spaty has been banned now so it seems you can run with this! THIS was much much better than his anyway IMO, more articulate, less child like and your opinion seemed less 'forced'. keep it up man.