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[Arcademan]

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[Arcademan]

WWE RAW Results: 7-14-08

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

1 -- Women's champion MICKIE JAMES vs. KATIE LEA -- non-title match

Basic back-and-forth to start things off. They're really hot with the red lighting on the ringside fans. Mickie won with a top rope Thesz Press with the crowd hot for the finish. Post-match, Katie and Burchill double-teamed Mickie until Kofi Kingston made the save for Mickie. Heels left the ring, then Kofi laid down the IC Title belt and told Burchill to come get some right now. They cut to break with Burchill walking back to the ring. Lawler teased a title match after the break.

WINNER: Mickie in 4:00. Solid Women's match. Probably won't be remembered overall on the show, but it held its own for the spot on the line-up. (3/4*)

2 -- IC champion KOFI KINGSTON (w/Mickie James) vs. PAUL BURCHILL (w/Katie Lea) -- Intercontinental Title match

Divas were ringside cheering on their respective men with the match joined in progress out of the break. Kofi was in control to start off with, but Burchill went on the attack to work over Kofi's midsection. He made his comeback and hit the boom-boom leg drop before Mickie attacked Katie on the outside to cut off any potential interference. Kofi then finished off Burchill with the Jamaican Buzzsaw kick for the pin and the win. Mickie celebrated with Kofi as the crowd ate it up with a loud ovation.

WINNER: Kofi in 6:00 of TV time to retain the IC Title. Burchill certainly isn't going to be taken credibly if he can't win a significant match on TV. I'm not saying he should have won the IC Title here, but he needs a decent win over a quality babyface opponent before anyone cares about his non-pirate act. Kofi and Mickie certainly had the crowd hot post-match. Great tandem. (*)

3 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. BETH PHOENIX

Santino found himself flat on his back with Beth in prime position to land some hard right punches. Fans encouraged her to take it to Santino, then she obliged with rapid-fire blows. Santino tried to come back, but Beth rolled him up with a small package for the pin and the win. Santino complained to anyone who would listen while the crowd ate up Beth's victory. Beth smiled as Santino left the ring.

WINNER: Beth in 2:00. Babyface push for Beth? Interesting approach to pushing Beth, but it seems like a short-term deal unless WWE has something in the works. (n/a)

4 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. KANE -- non-title match

Kane lost his sense of purpose a few moments into the match and left the ring to breath heavily toward the announcers. Cole and Lawler debated whether Kane is struggling with the voices in his head. Back in the ring, Punk hit a cross-body block for a nearfall, then went for the G2S, but Kane blocked. Kane tried a chokeslam, but Punk kicked him in the face, only to be knocked off the apron to the floor. Kane followed to the outside, but Punk gave him a running bulldog on the floor. Ref's ten count reached nine as Punk re-entered the ring. Kane was counted out, giving Punk the win.

Post-match: Kane started tossing chairs into the ring. Punk didn't leave the ring, instead he tried to dodge the flying chairs. Kane then smashed Punk with right hand blows before stomping away on him. Kane tried to smash Punk's neck in a chair, but Batista's music interrupted. Batista stormed the ring and speared Kane before smashing him with a chair shot to the head. (Kane had enough time to protect his face.)

After clearing Kane out of the ring, Batista picked up Punk and helped him to his feet. Punk extended a hand for a shake, but Batista only glared at him and said it was only business to protect his investment. Batista refused to shake and talked some smack. He playfully slapped Punk on the cheek, which upset Punk. He shoved Batista in the chest, but Batista dropped him with a spinebuster. Punk was left holding his neck in the ring while Batista left. The announcers recapped what happened, then Punk was shown standing in the ring with his title belt with egg on his face.

WINNER: Punk via count-out in 7:00. Well, Punk looked like punk here. This wasn't the booking for a long-term champion, unless they play up the Taylor over Kong card at the PPV with Batista losing by a slip on the banana peel or a count-out on the floor. It's been a nice little run for Punk to excite the TV audience and breathe new life into the Raw show. His title reign will be looked at as a catalyst for a show that was stale for several weeks. (*)

5 -- CHRIS JERICHO (w/Lance Cade) vs. PAUL LONDON

Jericho quickly flung London to the ringside area, with London hitting the mat hard. Jericho smashed London into the guardrail before flinging him back into the ring. Jericho totally dominated this and finally put London in the Walls of Jericho to end the match with a submission.

WINNER: Jericho in 4:00. Just a squash for Jericho to get across his point about whooping on Michaels at the PPV. (1/2*)

6 -- JOHN CENA & CRYME TYME (J.T.G. & SHAD GASPAR) vs. JBL & World tag champions CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR.

Cryme Tyme worked over Cody early on, then Cody tried to channel Dusty with a flip-flop-fly, but JTG cut him off with a clothesline. JBL got involved to give the heels the advantage, leading to double-team work on JTG. Fans chanted for Cena as the champs continued to isolate JTG in their corner. JBL then tagged in and worked over JTG's back. Cole played it safe sending the show to commercial break without saying anything about it being the final break.

They returned with the heels now working over Shad, who took a hot tag during the break. Cena was itching for a tag, as were the fans. Heels continued to work on Shad until Shad shoved Cody across the ring to block a bulldog. Really nice tease of the sure-bet hot tag to Cena, with Cody suddenly coming to life and knocking Cena off the apron to block the tag. Crowd was at 9/10 ready for a tag.

DiBiase and Shad traded blows until DiBiase took Shad back into the heel corner. Crowd at 5/10 anticipating Shad breaking free. They slowly went to 6/10 chanting for Cena. Cody talked smack to Shad, then he tried a top rope moonsault, but Shad moved and the crowd went to 7/10 waiting for Cena. Shad milked it and the crowd went back to 9/10 until Cena took the hot tag for 10/10. Nice match layout. Cena cleaned house, then called for the Five Knuckle Shuffle on DiBiase. Cena delivered, then he went for the FU and connected. Cody tried to intervene, but Cody took a Blockbuster. Cena then went up top and nailed the guillotine smash on Cody. He then slapped on the STFU in center ring. Cody fought the hold, but JBL broke it up and the ref called for a DQ.

WINNERS: Cena & Cryme Tyme via DQ in 15:00. Fine tag match. Good build to the hot tag, but with an unsatisfying finish that led to a bizarre post-match to distract from selling the PPV. (**) ...

Post-match: JBL left the ring and stared into the ring waiting for Cena to meet him on the floor. Cena simply stared at him until bolting from the ring to chase JBL backstage. JBL led him through the backstage area past the Pepsi machine until arriving at the exit door where a security guard stood by. Cena kicked the door open and went into move thriller mode trying to avoid the obvious trap by JBL. He looked around and around and around, but he couldn't find JBL. This was some long TV as Cena auditioned for Marine the Sequel until JBL attacked him from behind.

JBL dragged Cena over to a parked car and propped him up against the car door. JBL then hopped into a car a few feet away and drove the car into the side of the car where Cena was. No camera shots of Cena leading up to impact, and since there wasn't any noise beyond one car hitting another car, the crowd didn't pop for the "unknown" of whether Cena was hit. JBL then hopped out of his car and kinda surveyed the scene. He looked slightly distraught with questions in his head. It could be interpreted as either JBL realizing he took things too far trying to kill Cena or them playing up the deal that Cena obviously escaped and JBL simply being upset that Cena escaped the plot. Lame attempt at shock TV, especially with a PPV on Sunday, but it appears to be part of the larger theme of the McMahons having enough of anarchy ruling Raw and doing something about it next week. Whether that makes for good long-term TV or not remains to be seen.

[Arcademan]

ECW on SciFi Results: 7-15-08

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

1 -- MIKE KNOX vs. SHANNON MOORE

Knox dominated early, but Shannon Moore had a nice nearfall with a top rope splash. Knox put an end to any potential upsets by nailing the Knox Out for the pin and the win. Yipee.

WINNER: Knox in 2:00. Basic squash. Same thing we've seen from Knox for months. (1/2*)

2 -- CHAVO GUERRERO (w/Bam Neeley) vs. EVAN BOURNE

Bourne started on the offensive with a shoulder twist on Chavo's left shoulder. Tazz plugged the Smackdown wedding with Chavo as best man. Bourne went high-risk, but Chavo knocked him hard to the floor. Bourne came back with an arm drag out of the corner before nailing the standing knee-tuck moonsault for a nearfall. Bourne followed with a smash to the gut in the corner, then he went up top and nailed the Shooting Star Press on Chavo for a clean pin and the win. Crowd was definitely hot for the finish.

WINNER: Bourne in 3:00. I'm surprised by the finish of Bourne winning clean, but WWE definitely appears to be strongly behind Bourne. It seems like a classic WWE test of a young talent to see how he/she responds to a little success and a strong push before committing to a long-term investment. Nice to see Bourne having a significant opportunity. (*)

3 -- WWE tag team champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. JEFF HARDY & U.S. champion MATT HARDY -- non-title match

After a solid six minutes of action, the match broke down in typical Hardy showcase match fashion. They appeared to be going for a typical finish of the Hardys winning clean as Jeff set up the Swanton Bomb on Miz, but Morrison yanked Miz to the outside. They cut to a break. Nice change of pace from the predictable babyface victory formula to show the heels not being completely incompetent in the booking.

After the break, the tag champs worked over Jeff in their corner. Jeff finally fought back and came off the top with a Whisper in the Wind on Miz. Matt started stomping his feet at 15:00 to encourage a hot tag, which occurred to pop the crowd. Hardy cleaned house until Morrison dropped him on the mat for a quick roll-up resulting in a two count. Matt then caught Morrison out of the corner with a sweet Razor's Edge into powerbomb for a nearfall. The action broke down and in the confusion, Jeff nailed Morrison with a Swanton Bomb to a huge reaction. Matt, the legal man, made the cover for the win.

WINNERS: Hardys in 17:00. Really nice, exciting tag match featuring two of WWE's top TV stars. It would still be nice to see Miz & Morrison pick up a win, even if that doesn't fit the feel-good-ending formula, but can't complain about a solid-to-good tag match. (**1/2)

[Arcademan]

TNA Impact! Results: 7-17-08

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

1 -- X Division champion PETEY WILLIAMS (w/Steiner's freak) vs. KAZ -- X Division Title match

Petey teased the Canadian Destroyer at 2:00, then Kaz blocked and tried the Wave of the Future, but Petey blocked. Petey tried a springboard move from the apron, but Kaz caught him in mid-air with an Ace Crusher for a nearfall. Kaz then spiked Petey's neck into the mat, but freak distracted the ref when Kaz had the pin. Kaz chased freak around the ring and back into the ring. Kaz still nailed the Wave of the Future on Petey for the apparent pin, but Petey kicked out just in time. Announcers talked about Kaz continuing to be frustrated by everything happening in his life heretofore. Suddenly, Petey rolled through on a bridge pin into a bridge pin of his own with a hook of the tights for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Petey in 5:00. Fine match, but the sudden cut-backstage-immediately-after-the -match left the finish flat with Kaz's plight suddenly an afterthought. (*1/4)

2 -- MATT MORGAN vs. JIMMY RAVE (w/Christy Hemme)

Christy took off running a few seconds into the match. Morgan with a swinging pancake slam for the win. Christy then led Lance Hoyt to the ringside area. Hoyt said he's the toughest SOB and if Morgan wants a gig, he has it.

WINNER: Morgan in 1:00. Squash. (n/a)

2b -- MATT MORGAN vs. LANCE HOYT (w/Christy Hemme)

Apparently Hoyt is now Lance Rock. Ridiculous. Morgan with an overhead slam on Rock before hoisting him up on his shoulders. Hemme distracted the ref, though, allowing Rock to take control. Morgan quickly came back and nailed the swinging pancake slam for the win.

WINNER: Morgan in 2:00. Squash II. Nothing much here. (n/a)

3 -- KNOCKOUTS GAUNTLET MATCH -- #1 Contender's match

This started off with Gail and Jacqueline, then Angelina Love joined the fracas. One-minute intervals for more knockouts joining the action. Salinas was out fourth. They alternated babyfaces and heels, with Velvet coming out fifth and Roxxi sixth. Apparently it's a War Games-style gauntlet match. Salinas kinda stumbled over the top rope for the first exit. Steiner's Freak came out seventh and circled the ring before starting to grab some folks. Traci (no Brooks) was out eighth. Awkward TV ensued between SF and Traci. Christy Hemme then came out ninth, and ODB rounded out the field. Cut to a break.

Freak, Christy, and Traci were eliminated during the break. So much for Traci's deal with Cornette. ODB was out next. Suddenly, Roxxi was out. Roxxi then yanked Jacqueline to the floor despite already being eliminated. Reverse battle royale anyone? So it's Gail, Angelina, and Velvet. Shocking stuff here. Gail and Angelina struggled against the ropes, then Gail eliminated Angelina. With it now one-on-one, Velvet shocked Gail with a roll-up to win the match and earn the title shot. Gail and Angelina were equally shocked at Velvet's win.

WINNER: Velvet Sky in 18:00. Not a good battle royale, but the finish was interesting to give someone new a chance at the title. It also sets up tension between Angelina and Velvet, while Gail continues to play the Kaz role of coming up just short lately. (1/2*)

4 -- JOHNNY DEVINE vs. ERIC YOUNG vs. SONJAY DUTT

Don West totally ripped on women by ripping on Val for saying Dutt has feelings. A little bitter? West said he's been married for 17 years. Tenay said it sounds like personal problems. Well, it's obvious what the new acronym for this company should be. WHW - women-hating wrestling. Match started with Devine and Young having an awkward exchange before Dutt tried to get involved. Dutt was knocked out to the floor, but then he snuck into the ring and landed a chopblock on Young for the win.

WINNER: Dutt in 2:00. Nothing to see here. (1/2*)

5 -- BOOKER T (w/Sharmell) vs. CONSEQUENCES CREED -- Stretcher match

Booker toyed with Creed early, then Creed knocked Booker to the floor. Booker was not pleased with this embarrassment as they cut to break.

Creed was slightly in control out of the break, but Booker knocked his head off with a spin kick. Tenay was handed a memo that for next week, Sabin & Shelley have challenged Beer Money for a strap match. Also, Karen's Angle debuts, the six-man elimination match, and Taylor vs. Velvet for the Knockouts Title. Booker knocked out Creed and put him on the outside. EMTs then strapped Creed to the stretcher and they took him across the yellow line for the decisive win.

Post-match: They were about to put Creed into the ambulance, but Joe emerged from the ambulance and KO'ed Booker. Joe put Booker inside the ambulance and told the vehicle to speed off. Sharmell tried to smash Joe with a baseball bat, but Joe ripped it away from her and asked where she got it. Announcers speculated Sting was involved. Joe tossed the belt down to end the show.

WINNER: Booker in 8:00. Not a memorable match. Creed hadn't been on TV for seemingly months, so tossing him into the sudden underdog role just fell flat without weeks of build-up to the moment. Fine ending to the show with Joe having the one-up, but they really overplayed the Sting mystery card on this episode. (*)

[Arcademan]

WWE Smackdown Results: 7-18-08

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

1- FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. RYDER & HAWKINS
Edge scolded Finlay before the match for constantly cheating and said Hawkins and Ryder were too smart for that. Edge introduced himself as special guest referee. Edge threw the shillaleigh up the aisle before the match. Edge ref’d in his tux (white pants, grey tie, white shirt, grey and black vest).

Edge was very aggressive in scolding Finlay early on. Ryder and Hawkins were dressed similarly as Edge, only with black pants and plain grey vests. Foley got in his first “me so Horny!”line. Finlay hit the Celtic Cross, but was speared by Edge, then pinned by one of the heels.

WINNERS: Ryder & Hawkins, at 2:14.

2- BIG SHOW vs. MVP & SHELTON BENJAMIN & VLADIMIR KOZLOV & GREAT KHALI

Tough night for Show. That heel side would be a cool Survivor Series team. In any event, Show threw Benjamin into his own corner after a lock-up. He tagged MVP in. Before touching Show, he tagged Kozlov. Kozlov was unsuccessful on a throw, so Khali tagged himself in. They shoved each other, and Khali got some punches in, then clotheslined Khali down. Show took on all the heels, but Benjamin was getting the best of him when the referee called for the bell, presumably disqualifying the heel squad for all running into the ring.

WINNER: Show, via DQ, at 1:54.

3- CHERRY vs. NATALYA

Natalya attacked and punched Cherry in the face. Then she locked in the Sharpshooter and Cherry tapped.

WINNER: Natalya, at :32.

Vickie demanded the ref start her match immediately. “It’s my turn!” she screamed.

4- CHERRY vs. VICKIE GUERRERO

Vickie simply pinned the already injured Cherry.

WINNER: Vickie, at :03. “I win! The bride wins!” Vickie crowed. What a heel.

5- JIMMY WANG YANG vs. BRIAN KENDRICK

“Jimmy looks quite rested, doesn’t he JR?” said Foley. Kendrick had a new outfit, new music and bodyguard, named Ezekiel. Kendrick worked Yang’s arm, and Yang did the same to Kendrick. Hurricanrana by Yang, then a clothesline that sent Kendrick over the top. Yang went face-to-face with Ezekiel, allowing Kendrick to take Yang down. Straight kick to the jaw by Kendrick. He went back to the arm. Hammerlock slam by Kendrick, but cover only got one. He then applied a key-lock on Yang. Yang came back with a missile dropkick off the second rope, then a modified enziguiri for two. Yang went for a moonsault, but Ezekiel climbed the steps to distract him. Kendrick pulled Yang off the top, then hit Sliced Bread #2 for the win.

WINNER: Kendrick, at 4:49. Good match, and the Ezekiel-Kendrick pairing is intriguing.

6- MR. KENNEDY vs. UMAGA

Kennedy tried the hit-and-run tactic, and that worked....for a few seconds. Hard shoulderblock by Umaga was the first high-impact move of the match. Umaga missed a diving headbutt and Kennedy came back after getting his feet up on a splash attempt. Kennedy, though, couldn’t connect on his running kick, as Umaga elbowed him down. Nerve hold by Umaga. Knee-lift by Umaga, then back to the nerve-hold. Samoan drop, then a break.

Umaga had the advantage throughout break, according to JR. Kennedy tried to slam Umaga but couldn’t, thanks in part to the nerve hold from earlier in the match. Headbutt off the second rope by Umaga missed, as did a splash in the corner. Kennedy’s roundhouse kick put Umaga down for two. Mic Check was blocked, and Umaga hit the Samoan Spike for the win.

WINNER: Umaga, at 13:12. Slow match, with most of the first half being Umaga using the nerve hold.

7- JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. JESSE & FESTUS

Jesse whipped Morrison into Festus, who nailed John with an uppercut. Monkey-flip out of the corner by Jesse. High cross-body got two. JR said Morrison reminds him of “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Miz worked over Jesse for a while, until Festus made the tag. He took out both tag champs himself. Rocket Launcher got two, with Morrison interfering to break it up. Festus hit his finisher on Morrison outside the ring and Miz finished Jesse with the Reality Check inside.

WINNER: 3:57. OK preview match for the Bash.

8- MATT HARDY vs. JEFF HARDY

This is a non-title match. Foley noted that former U.S. champ Magnum T.A. was backstage visiting during the night. Hip-toss by Matt, in which Jeff almost landed on his head. Jeff with a split-legged pinning combination for two. Matt came back and clotheslined Jeff over the top rope after Jeff skinned the cat to get back in. Matt cinched in a front face-lock type sleeper, but Jeff backed him into the corner. Jeff missed a Swanton and Matt hit a moonsault for two. The entire wedding party (well, Edge’s side....we never saw Vickie’s bridesmaids) interfered and attacked both men.

WINNER: Double DQ, at 4:36. Good while it lasted, but I was looking forward to a 10-minute match.

The Aftermath of the matches...

-The Wedding reception continued in the ring, with the wedding party and Edge on the mic. Edge and Vickie were seated on stools in the ring. Edge continued to sweet-talk Vickie, then introduced a video package put together by the Smackdown production team (“they haven’t even slept!” proclaimed Edge). It was similar to the one that has previously aired on Smackdown. Finally, The Game interrupted.

He only came out to the top of the ramp, and said that he promised that he wasn’t out there to say he was secretly married to Vickie Guerrero. The live crowd didn’t seem to get it. HHH said they’re love warms his heart, and he has some nice gifts for them. One of them is a video of his own for them. The stationary camera video showed Edge sitting on a couch (dated 7/17/08). The door knocked and Alicia Fox walked in. They discussed some wedding planning things, until it became evident that Edge was leaning in toward Edge. Triple H stopped the video and said Edge clearly isn’t happy with the video, so he promised to fast-forward through to the good part. Somehow, this presumably secret, hidden camera started close-up, then panned out. Edge complimented Alicia on her perfume then began to caress her shoulder. Edge then complained of a problem in his trapezoid and conned Alicia into massaging it for him.

HHH stopped the video again as Edge complained about his previous neck injuries and how he’s always in pain like that. Edge ordered the wedding party to go after Triple H. He said that led him to gift number two....his trusty sledgehammer. That stopped the guys in their tracks as HHH continued with the video. They picked up with Edge massaging Alicia’s back. In the video, Edge made some not-so-kind comments about Vickie’s undergarments. Again, Trips stopped the tape. “This is awkward,” he said. He said he didn’t watch it before he made it, and this part kills gift #3, a pair of granny panties (mentioned by Edge in the video). He finally cut to the chase and cued the video back up. Edge made his move on the video, by taking her glasses off. They kissed, but Alicia pulled back (all the while smiling). Then they made out hardcore. Alicia was almost in tears in the arena as Vickie physically attacked Edge. Edge left the ring as Vickie continued to scream. This would’ve meant so much more if they didn’t already have a show-long fight last week.

[Arcademan]

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

Real-time results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's ongoing report) or to avoid pop-up and view in-ring results, go to Neo-Geo Forum: Official WWE Thread Post #8078 and posts thereafter.

1 -- WWE tag champions THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. HAWKINS & RYDER vs. JESSE & FESTUS -- WWE Tag Title match

WINNERS: Hawkins & Ryder in 10:00 to capture the WWE Tag Titles. Fine match. Curious finish. They are determined to push these interchangeable "brothers" at all costs. ECW now has one less reason to tune into the show with Miz & Morrison now just a second-tier tag team without the belts.

2 -- U.S. champion MATT HARDY vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN -- U.S. Title match

WINNER: Shelton in 10:00 to capture the U.S. Title. I like the title change here, as Shelton is capable of so much. Of course, ECW loses yet another title. Every month, they chip, chip, chip away at the ECW brand. As for the bout, a very good mid-card title match. Potentially a stand-out match on the show. (**1/2)

3 -- ECW champion MARK HENRY (w/Tony Atlas) vs. TOMMY DREAMER (w/Colin Delaney) -- ECW Title match

WINNER: Henry in 5:00 to retain the ECW Title. Colin turning heel was so great. Clearly the top moment of the show thus far. Match wasn't anything to write home about, especially with a lack of post-production available for Adamle, but a fine conclusion to set up storylines on TV. (3/4*)

4 -- SHAWN MICHAELS vs. CHRIS JERICHO

WINNER: Jericho via ref stoppage in 19:00. This one will be heavily-debated, as some people won't like the match conclusion because it wasn't a four-star classic that some people expected. But, this was a darn-good storyline-oriented match on the middle of a PPV card. Two pros telling a real, authentic, believable story. It went a bit long at the end, but they played into the fact that WWE doesn't have a standard rule for when a ref can stop a match due to a wrestler unable to continue. Overall, though, this was the realism we want to see in wrestling and there are only a select few wrestlers who can carry that out in the ring. Michaels and Jericho are at the top of that list. (***)

5 -- MICHELLE McCOOL vs. NATALYA -- Smackdown Women's Title match

WINNER: Michelle McCool in 5:00. Good match. Not particularly memorable given the short amount of time, but a solid effort from both ladies sticking to a basic formula. (*)

6 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. BATISTA -- World Heavyweight Title match

WINNER: No Contest in 12:00. Well, let's find some positives. Punk had a good showing to hang with Batista and win over the live crowd as the match progressed. Action progressed nicely and they had a good balance of offense throughout. Otherwise, it's tough to take two non-finishes to two of the marquee matches on the PPV. (**1/4)

7 -- JOHN CENA vs. JBL -- New York City parking lot brawl

WINNER: JBL in 17:00. Well, this was pretty terrible backstage in the "video game" portion of the "match." Things were slightly better once they came to ringside and told a simpler story. Memorable for all the wrong reasons here. Just so much wrong with the elements of this storyline, with the obvious questions of why cops weren't there with the men attempting vehicular homicide and just plain old murder. Over-done to seemingly promote WWE's films division. (n/a)

8 -- WWE champion TRIPLE H vs. EDGE -- WWE Title match

WINNER: Hunter in 17:00 to retain the WWE Title. Well, the finish sent the fans home happy, but three non-clean or non-traditional finishes to three of the marquee matches on the show was disappointing when WWE had a good streak of relatively clean finishes on their recent PPVs. Match was pretty much in first gear for most of the time, with flashes of excitement to keep the crowd interested. Fine, but not memorable main event to cap off a bridge PPV to Summerslam. (***)

[Arcademan]

WWE RAW Results: 7-21-08

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only (since they did a lot of jawwing during the first half of the show)

1 -- LANCE CADE vs. PAUL LONDON

Cade won this on pretty quickly with a hard shoulder tackle to work over the shoulder before landing a sit-down Rock Bottom for the easy pin.

WINNER: Cade in 3:00. Not much here. Crowd was into it early, but the outcome was inevitable. Hopefully it leads to something for London after losing a series of squashes. (3/4*)

Post-match: Cade took the mic and said that if that wasn't enough to bring out Michaels, then maybe this will. He brought out Chris Jericho to take a bow for ending Michaels's career last night.

2 -- KELLY KELLY vs. BETH PHOENIX

Bell sounded and Beth bullied Kelly into the corner with a shove to the chest. Kelly tried to use her quickness with a leg sweep and short dropkick before attempting a roll-up in the corner. Beth blocked, however, and took Kelly in the air for a running slam across the way. Beth slapped on a mat hold as the fans tried to rally behind Kelly. Kelly made a nice comeback and countered the double chicken wing stretch into a roll-up, but Beth rolled through into a wheel barrow implant buster for the decisive pin.

WINNER: Beth in 3:00. Actually, this was a good divas match. Kelly showed good offense and Beth was able to show off her power offense in a decisive win after Kelly put up a competitive fight. Nicely done. (*)

3 -- JBL & World tag champions CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. JOHN CENA & CRYME TYME (J.T.G & SHAD GASPAR)

Cena started off with Cody and maintained eye contact with JBL throughout his work on Cody. Ted and Shad then took tags, and Ted took the wrong end of a t-bone suplex that knocked him silly for a few seconds, almost to the point of not being able to kick out of a pin attempt in time. Ted slingshot JTG across the top rope to regain control for his team, then the heels worked over JTG for some time. JTG tried to come back with a roll-up, but Cody kicked out and made another tag to Ted to continue working over JTG. Fans chanted for Cena as Cody eventually lost control for the heels. JTG crawled over to his corner and finally made the tag to Cena. DiBiase also took a tag as Cena went off on DiBiase with trademark moves. The action broke down into a melee as JBL took off running through the crowd. Cena piled up the tag champs in the corner, then took them up on his shoulders. He flung Cody off with an FU, then dropped DiBiase with a traditional FU for the pin and the win. Impressive. Cena then hugged his dad ringside before celebrating the victory with Cryme Tyme.

WINNERS: Cena & Cryme Tyme in 10:00. Formula six-man tag match, but they laid out a nice, smart match to eventually showcase Cena's strength 24 hours removed from the beating at the PPV. I would have liked to have seen WWE get some more mileage out of the JBL-Cena brawl, but the announcers did a fine job mentioning the injuries from last night throughout the show. Tag champs aren't at that Spirit Squad level of jobbing-to-the-stars, as they have a credible program to work with, but it's worth keeping in the back of the mind. (**)

4 -- Women's champion MICKIE JAMES & IC champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. PAUL BURCHILL & KATIE LEA

Action broke down early with Burchill tackling Kofi from behind with a chopblock to start an attack on Kofi's lower body. At 2:00, Mickie and Katie started brawling on the floor. Burchill and Kofi got involved, then Burchill smashed his ankle into the ringpost. Burchill then hit a neckbreaker in center ring and made the cover for the win.

WINNERS: Burchill & Katie in 3:00. Good win for the heels to establish some credibility for their respective title chases. The villains have to get the upper hand at some point on the show, so this was a good spot. (*)

5 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. D-LO BROWN

Good response for Brown here despite being off TV for seemingly forever. Brown with the signature set-up moves leading to a top rope Lo-down for the easy pin and the win.

Afterward, Beth hopped into the ring to stare down Santino. She just stood there glaring at Santino, who finally pulled himself to his feet and begged off. Beth then smacked Santino in the face. They had a mini-brawl that consisted of exchanging standing waist locks until pausing to stare down each other. Breathing heavily, they stopped and stared at each other. Santino then put his hand on Beth's shoulder in a forward manner. Beth did the same. Oh dear. This led to a brief, awkward liplock that popped the crowd. Santino was so confused by what just happened. He quickly left the ring with a Mr. Bean-like random series of facial expressions. Beth was merely mad. Or just confused. Oh, this was great.

WINNER: D-Lo Brown in 2:00. Good return for Brown, but the obvious story was the liplock between Santino and Beth. That was classic. (1/2*)

6 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. BATISTA -- World Heavyweight Title match

They returned from break and Lillian Garcia handled the formal ring intros after the ref gave Batista the commercial break to regain his bearings. Punk quickly focused his attack on Batista's head to work on the body part affected by Kane's pre-match chokeslam. He continued to work over the body part until Batista started his comeback at the top of the hour.

Batista made his comeback, then Punk went for a turnaround splash off the top, but Batista ducked and nailed a big spear. Batista wanted the finish, but JBL suddenly ran to the ringside area and Batista ran to the outside. The ref called for the bell when JBL attacked Batista. Groan. The action spilled into the ring where JBL KO'ed Punk with a clothesline from hell. Cena then sprinted into the ring and brawled with JBL until JBL ducked a punch and Cena accidentally hit Batista. Cena and Batista had a stare down, then they teased finishers on each other. Referees spilled into the ring to break up a potential fight as the show closed.

WINNER: No decision in 9:00. Well, that's another disappointing ending to a major title match. WWE is playing with fire with the non-finishes, even if it did lead to the inevitable Cena vs. Batista confrontation. Punk's "journey" to a credible title defense is an interesting story that seemingly will be followed for weeks and possibly months at this pace. Plenty of potential match-ups going forward with SNME and Summerslam on deck. Probably a tag match on SNME, but I don't see WWE giving away Cena vs. Batista at Summerslam. (*1/2)

[Arcademan]

ECW on SciFi Results: 7-22-08

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

1 -- TOMMY DREAMER vs. COLIN DELANEY (w/ECW champion Mark Henry and Tony Atlas)

Dreamer quickly went on the attack in this one. Colin tried to make a comeback with fists of fury, but Dreamer cut him off in the corner and landed the basement dropkick. Dreamer then set up Colin for the DDT to win, but he paused for a second before smashing Colin into the mat. Dreamer with the pin for a decisive win.

WINNER: Dreamer in 3:00. Well, they didn't get a whole lot of mileage out of Colin's heel turn, except reinforce his character as a total loser. It was funny hearing Adamle and Tazz pile on, as if they had been waiting months to rip on Colin. (*)

2 -- EVAN BOURNE vs. JAMES CURTIS

Hey, good to see Curtis back on the show with the facial hair of doom gimmick. Chavo tried to get his heat back for losing to Bourne last week because his mind was on other things, such as the Edge-Vickie wedding. Chavo said he can't wait to get his hands on Bourne. Match started with Curtis working over Bourne in the corner before Bourne ducked a clothesline. He tried a monkey flip, but Curtis held onto the ropes to block. Interesting.

Curtis went back on the offensive and tried to wrench Bourne's neck, but Bourne came back with a nice high-angle huracanrana in center ring. Bourne then laid out Curtis in the corner before hopping up top. He nailed the gorgeous Shooting Star Press to a strong crowd reaction for the pin and the win. Afterward, Chavo and Neely tried to corner him in the ring, but Bourne escaped for higher ground to leave the heels wanting to get their hands on him.

WINNER: Bourne in 4:00. That finisher is so sweet. Nice action here, although a bit slow at times with Curtis not a seasoned technician at this point in his infrequent ECW run. Fine for a Bourne showcase. (*)

3 -- THE MIZ vs. FINLAY (w/Hornswoggle) vs. MATT HARDY vs. JOHN MORRISON -- #1 Contender match to ECW Title

Miz and Morrison quickly found themselves on the floor to start the match. Finlay and Hardy had a brief stare down, which led to a lock-up and test of wills. Miz and Morrison took advantage to attack them from behind to set up a mini-tag match. Real nice exchange leading to a four-man stand-off as they cut to a break.

They had a series of nearfalls out of the break, with Adamle having one of those moments where he got lost without a map trying to keep up with the rapid-fire action. Morrison then knocked Finlay to the outside and went after Hornswoggle, but Finlay smashed him across the back and clotheslined Morrison over the guardrail to the front row. Finlay followed to the front row, but Morrison chucked a brew into Finlay's face. Miz then came to Morrison's aid and they set up a big catapult-into-clothesline-into-elbow-smash on the floor to presumably KO Finlay.

At the top of the hour, Miz and Morrison re-entered the ring to double-team Hardy in center ring. Morrison told Miz to check out Finlay, then he suddenly rolled up Hardy for a nearfall. Miz, stunned, turned back around to find Morrison trying to sneak one in. Hardy tried to take advantage of the disagreement with a roll-up on Morrison, but Morrison kicked out and Miz clotheslined Hardy. Miz and Morrison decided to work together, but Hardy fought them both off when Morrison accidentally kicked Miz in the face. Hardy smashed Morrison with the side effect, but Morrison kicked out. Finlay suddenly re-entered the picture and nearly pinned Hardy, but Morrison broke it up. Finlay cleaned house with a major burst of energy, then he came off the second rope with a missile dropkick on Morrison for a nearfall. Whew.

They took it home with Hardy nailing a double bulldog on the tag champs. Finlay then nearly scored a pin on Hardy with a big clothesline, but Hardy kicked out. Finlay wanted the Celtic Cross on Miz, but Miz hot-shot him across the top rope. At 17:00, Hornswoggle got involved, which temporarily gave Finlay control until Morrison smashed him in the face with a kick. Morrison wanted a big springboard kick on Hardy, but Hardy kicked him in the gut in mid-air and hit the Twist of Fate on Morrison. Hardy with the pin for the win.

Post-match: Hardy pumped his fist in jubilation. Henry and Atlas then came out on stage. Henry held his ECW Title for Hardy to get a good look, then Hardy stared him down to close the show.

WINNER: Hardy in 18:00 to become #1 Contender. That, my friends, was a heck of a TV match. Probably the best ECW TV match we've seen this year. Good energy, nice counters, crowd involved, good finish, and desperation/sense of urgency from all four men trying to get their hands on an ECW Title that was presented strongly on TV tonight. Excellent conclusion to the show. (***1/2)

[Arcademan]

TNA Impact! Results: 7-24-08

Results courtesy of Pro Wrestling.net (direct link to Powell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1. Consequences Creed defeated Eric Young and Johnny Devine and Jimmy Rave (w/Lance Rock) in a four-way in 4:00. There was a series late in the match with everyone scoring nearfalls. Creed fought off Divine Intervention and turned around a rollup attempt to pin Devine. After the match, the heels roughed up Creed until Abyss came out for the save.

Powell's POV: The announcers sold the storyline that Abyss keeps coming out to rescue people when they're in trouble. The other end of the storyline is that he is trying to fight off his violent tendencies. In this case, he picked up a chair and dropped it. Of course, the fans want him to use it.

2. Matt Morgan pinned Cory Chavis in 2:20. Tenay acknowledged Morgan's debut on "American Gladiators" as "Beast." Morgan has joined Batista in doing the "Goldberg jump." In the end, Morgan finished off Chavis with the Hellevator finisher...

Powell's POV: Really nice energy from Morgan this week. The live crowd picked up on the energy and stayed with his reaction.

3. Robert Roode and James Storm (w/Jacqueline) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in a strap match in 7:45. In this version of the strap match, both teams are attached to each other by the strap. It's not a country whipping strap match or a fans revenge strap match, but the creative team member with the fetish for watching men whip each other still gets his rocks off. I'm just kidding, but not really.

In the unintentionally hilarious moment of the night, Tenay watched the Guns crotch Storm and Roode with the straps and said, "You've gotta be loving this more than anyone, Don West." He followed up by pointing out that West was strapped by the heels, but it was really awkward before the followup.

Late in the match, Jacqueline passed handcuffs to Storm. Sabin rolled up Roode, but Storm hit him with the handcuffs. Roode rolled up Sabin and scored the pin. Afterward, the heels used the straps to whip Shelley until LAX ran out for the save...

Powell's POV: Leather straps and handcuffs. What the hell? This is getting weirder every week. Maybe they should put Jackie in "The Gimp" outfit from Pulp Fiction

4. Taylor Wilde pinned Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) for the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:05. The bell that you can barely hear on television rang while Sky was talking to Love in the corner. Widle ran over and rolled her up for the win. The ring announcer stated that it was a new TNA record for shortest match. Afterward, Sky said she wasn't ready and dared her to give her another match.

5. Taylor Wilde defeated Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:20. This time the ring announcer noted that she set a new record for winning two falls in 25 seconds. Afterward, Love asked who Wilde was dating to get the special treatment in TNA. I've wondered that myself. Love offered Taylor $5,000 if she could win a third straight fall.

Powell's POV: Why pay her five grand when you could have just double dared her?

6. Taylor Wilde beat Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) by DQ to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 6:15. Apparently, the gimmick was that Wilde had to pin Sky because Love ran in and broke up the pin attempt for the DQ. The heels beat up Wilde and gave her the brown bag treatment. The crowd chanted for ODB. They got ODB and Gail Kim. For some reason, ODB came out chewing on a turkey leg. No shit. Really...

7. Kurt Angle and Team 3D defeated A.J. Styles and Christian Cage and Rhino in a tables elimination match in 14:00. All six men were legal so they brawled in and out of the ring. Team 3D was about to put Styles through a table, but Rhino and Christian broke it up and put Devon through the table to eliminate him from the match. Rhino gored Brother Ray, but Angle snuck into the ring behind the heels and hit his three opponents with a chair.

During the break, Rhino tried to gore Angle, but Brother Ray pulled Kurt out of the way and Rhino charged through a table set up in the corner of the ring to eliminate himself. Dummy. Devon returned to the match and helped Ray hit 3D on Christian through a cage while Angle held the referee and prevented him from seeing the interference. The ref turned around, saw Christian lying on a broken table, and ruled that he was out of the match.

Johnny Devine ran out to help Brother Ray. He threw powder at Styles, but A.J. ducked and the powder blinded Ray. Brother Ray put Devine through a table because he was blinded and through he was putting Styles through a table. Moments later, Styles shot Angle into Ray, who fell off the ring apron and through a table at ringside for the elimination.

The match came down to Styles and Angle. A.J. placed Kurt on a table and then climbed to the top rope. Frank Trigg ran out and hit Styles with a kendo stick. Angle hit the Olympic Slam through a table to win the match...

Powell's POV: All that just for a repeat finish from the pay-per-view? Disappointing finish, but an entertaining garbage match. Not nearly as good as the pay-per-view match. Still a solid television match, though. Um, wasn't Sting supposed to be with the heels? Did I miss something or was that heel claim completely ignored once the match started?

[Arcademan]

WWE Smackdown Results: 7-25-08

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

1- Shelton Benjamin vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

Shelton got on the microphone before the match to plug his title win this past Sunday. Shelton got a big boot for two once the match started. It was all Benjamin until Yang nailed him with an enziguiri. The two traded missed kicks but Shelton hit Paydirt for three.

WINNER: Benjamin, at 2:12. Good, convincing win for the new U.S. Champ.

2- CURT HAWKINS vs. FESTUS

Festus came out firing on all cylinders, as per his usual. Hawkins had some success going after Festus’ legs, but Festus shoulderblocked him out of the ring. Jesse cut off Ryder from attempting to get at the ring bell outside. Back inside, Festus hit his finisher for the win.

WINNER: Festus, at 1:49.

After the match, the champs took care of Jesse, then gave a double Implant-DDT to Festus. I’m wondering if this attacking after the bell thing is going anywhere.

3- STEVIE RICHARDS vs. VLADIMIR KOZLOV

JR noted that Stevie made a challenge for this match, a re-match from a few weeks ago. Stevie hit a modified bulldog, but couldn’t even get a one count. Kozlov grabbed Stevie for an overhead suplex. Arm-bar by Kozlov, but Richards dodged a charge and Kozlov dove out of the ring. He was right back in, only to be dropkicked by Stevie for one. After a missed kick, Kozlov hit his headbutt to the chest out of nowhere to get the win.

WINNER: Kozlov, at 3:00. Another good showing for Stevie.

Kozlov went to the announce table and yelled at the announcers. JR said Kozlov wanted better competition.

4- THE BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER OF THE SUMMER BATTLE ROYAL

Again, winner will face Triple H for the WWE Title at SummerSlam. Mr. Kennedy came out first, followed by Great Khali (with the returning Ranjin Singh), MVP, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, and Big Show.

Mr. Kennedy played the role of Matt, letting Jeff jump off his back and into Khali in the corner. Khali and Show met in the middle of the ring and exchanged headbutts. Umaga put them both down with a savate kick as the show went to break.

All six were still in as the show came back from break. Jeff eliminated MVP at just under the seven-minute mark. About 1:30 later, Show tossed Umaga. Show fought off Hardy and Kennedy, then grabbed KK by the throat and threw him out. Umaga came back in and hit Show with a Samoan Spike, then Jeff jumped off the top and into Show’s arms. He used Show’s leverage against him to eliminate the big man. It was down to Khali and Jeff Hardy. Jeff hit the Swanton on Khali, but all it took was a chop to the head from Khali and Jeff was dead weight enough to be eliminated.

WINNER: Khali, at 10:25. Below-average battle royal.

As Khali celebrated, Triple H came out. He entered the ring and stood toe-to-toe with the giant. Singh convinced Khali to back off and they left HHH to pose in the ring.

5- MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. MARYSE

Maryse got a take-down, then made the mistake of dancing. Dropkick to Maryse, who went to the apron. She pulled Michelle out of the ring and did some damage using the apron. Michelle landed on her feet on a second-rope moonsault, then locked in the heel hook for the submission.

WINNER: McCool, at 2:03.

6- BRIAN KENDRICK vs. SHANNON MOORE

JR said Kendrick reminded him of Brian Pillman. Yeah, but 75% less crazy. Kendrick got the mic(!) and told the fans they should feel privileged for witnessing the fastest, most intelligent (doesn’t HHH have that trademarked?) wrestler in WWE. He said if anyone was delusional enough to try to touch greatness (i.e. him), they’d have to deal with Ezekiel. Not a bad job for a guy who never got mic time.

Kendrick worked over Moore’s ribs with kicks and knees. Once Moore got the advantage, he got distracted by Ezekiel. Kendrick hit his finisher, re-named The Kendrick, for the win.

WINNER: Kendrick, at 1:45. I like this new Kendrick.

At the end of the show...

-Edge came out. He was not his usual cocky self. He said he wanted to apologize to his wife, in public and face-to-face. He asked Vickie to come out. She was wheeled out by Chavo, with Bam Neely at their side. Once in the ring, Vickie told Chavo and Bam that she could handle things herself, so they left.

Edge knelt down in front of Vickie, drawing lots of boos. He looked at the crowd with contempt. Awesome. Edge asked Vickie to hear him out. He said the video HHH showed didn’t show how many times he told Alicia now. He said she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Edge said he stayed to hammer out the details of their wedding, because he knew it meant so much to Vickie. He said he can’t live without her love.

Vickie said she understood, and they hugged. But Vickie turned away before they could make out. She said Edge needs to understand that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. She said when she was mad, she did something Edge may not like. She said she re-instated Undertaker. Edge tried to control his shock, fear and anger. The crowd chanted for Taker. Edge finally said it was good business to bring him back and that while he and Vickie go on their honeymoon, HHH and Taker could destroy each other. Vickie said she’d already scheduled a SummerSlam opponent for Taker. Of course, it was Edge. Vickie cackled as she told him it would be Hell in a Cell. Edge sat in the ring looking up at Vickie in amazement as the show ended. Great segment that took the crowd on a roller-coaster ride. Edge was superb in his role, especially with his body language and facial expressions.

[Arcademan]

WWE RAW Results: 7-28-08

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

1 -- KELLY KELLY & D-LO BROWN vs. BETH PHOENIX & SANTINO MARELLA

Santino scored a sudden roll-up on Kelly and celebrated as if he won the Super Bowl, World Series, Olympic gold, etc., etc. Beth was ecstatic for a second, but she got tired of the ultra-celebration. Beth wanted to keep it professional while Santino pondered a little extra post-game celebration. They shared an awkward moment standing apart, then Santino puckered up behind Beth's back. Santino tried to leave, but Beth grabbed him by the hair and yanked him back in for a big ole kiss on the lips. Beth smiled, then left the ring, leaving Santino quite pleased with himself.

WINNERS: Beth & Santino & great TV in 2:00. Well, I have no idea where this is leading to, but it's certainly entertaining. And, most importantly, it's TV PG. (1/2*)

2 -- World tag champions CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. JERRY LAWLER & MICHAEL COLE -- World Tag Title match

Referee was heavily mic'ed to create some noise with no announcers. Lawler took a beating for the first few minutes while Cole looked on with concern. Lawler wanted the piledriver on Cody, but DiBiase broke it up. Lawler stumbled into his corner and Cole helped him up, which the ref deemed a tag. Cole, the legal man, was dragged into the ring where he took a few awkward punches at Cody. This had decent heat, amazingly. Cody then clotheslined Cole awkwardly to the mat before making the pin for the win. Afterward, Lawler and the ref checked on Cole while the tag champs gloated. Cole sold it as if he were knocked out.

WINNERS: Cody & DiBiase in 4:00. Considering the circumstances, that wasn't too bad. At this point, WWE is just using the undercard matches to create entertaining TV without much focus on the actual in-ring wrestling product. (1/2*)

3 -- IC champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. JAMIE NOBLE (w/Leyla) -- Intercontinental Title match

Kofi came out like a house of fire working over Noble in the ring. He landed the boom-boom leg drop, then flew off the top rope with a cross body block that Noble nearly rolled through into a three count. Noble tried a fireman's carry move, but Kofi slipped out and nailed the Jamaican buzzsaw kick for the pin and the win. Leyla was impressed with Kofi post-match and certainly not with Noble.

WINNER: Kofi in 2:00 to retain the IC Title. Another short match heavy on stories aimed for kids with short-attention spans. TV PG. (3/4*)

4 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. WILLIAM REGAL -- non-title match

Regal, who sported a tank top to apparently cover his gut, worked over Punk early on. Punk accepted a hard elbow smash and came up bleeding profusely from his nose. That can't be TV PG. Regal continued to smash Punk with a very physical attack as Lawler made the comment that Punk hasn't looked this bad before as champion. Punk fired back at 4:00 with hard right hand blows followed by a roundhouse kick for a two count. Regal suddenly came back with an overhead German suplex. Regal wanted a submission, but Punk suddenly lifted up Regal on his shoulders and nailed the Go 2 Sleep in center ring for the pin and the win.

Post-match: Punk snorted blood out of his nose, the smiled with the title belt in his hands. JBL then entered the ring to confront Punk, but Kane's music interrupted. Kane walked out with bag in hand and suddenly smashed JBL. Punk then hit Kane, but JBL kicked Punk. Kane and JBL then had a face-to-face confrontation while Punk recovered on the mat. Kane seemed to enjoy the confrontation while JBL backed away.

WINNER: Punk in 5:00. That was a heck of physical wake-me-up-from-the-slumber match with Punk showing good fire at the end after Regal pounded away on him. Of course, post-match was Punk being punk'ed to establish two more potential contenders to the title. (*1/2)

5 -- Women's champion MICKIE JAMES vs. JILLIAN HALL -- non-title match

Jillian worked over Mickie to start things off while Ross and Lawler took turns throwing jabs at Adamle, who asked Ross if he was trying to take over the broadcast. Mickie then finished off Jillian with the elevated DDT for the win.

Post-match: Mickie hugged it out with her dad, then Katie Lea suddenly attacked her from behind and smashed her into the ringpost. Katie smiled at her work, then left while Mickie was KO'ed on the floor. Paul Burchill suddenly showed up and handed Katie the mic. Katie said that was for the new GM, whomever it is. She promised to be the next WWE Women's champion and said Burchill is the future IC champion.

WINNER: Mickie in 2:00. Good, quick win to set up Katie's attack on Mickie. Burchill was perfectly fine here not saying a word. He's better with fewer words. Katie's smirk is perfect for her character. (1/2*)

6 -- JOHN CENA & BATISTA vs. JBL & KANE

Cena and Batista cleaned house in the first two minutes, then they had a staredown before cutting to break.

They returned with Kane working over Cena in the default heel corner while Batista looked on. Cena fired back at 7:00, then caught Kane with an elbow in the corner. He tried to charge Kane, but Kane caught him with a sidewalk slam for a nearfall. Batista then took a monster hot tag at 8:00 and cleaned house on JBL until JBL clotheslined him clean over the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, Kane and JBL took turns working over Batista. Batista teased a comeback at 9:00 with ground-and-pound, but Kane smashed him back to the mat. JBL wanted the Clothesline from Hell, but Batista smashed him with a spear. JBL then accidentally nailed Kane with a punch when Batista ducked. That set off Kane, who entered the ring to chokeslam JBL, but Batista speared Kane. Cena then tagged in and nailed the FU on Kane for the pin and the win. Big pop for the victory after some initial boos.

WINNERS: Cena & Batista in 12:00. Nice, high-energy tag match. Wasn't the story by the end of the night, but a nice round of wrestling to cap the in-ring portion of the show. (**)

Post-match: Batista slowly entered the ring as Ross recapped Cena making a timely blind tag to win the match for their team. Shane McMahon then came out and said this is how they started this tonight. He announced the new GM...Mike Adamle. Oh no. Big boos for that. During the Shane entrance, Adamle snuck into the ring to stand between Cena and Batista. Adamle announced that for Summerslam, it's Cena vs. Batista. His announcement really killed the mood, as there was zero emotion behind that. They closed to dead air with Cena and Batista exchanging puzzled looks. So, we looking at Cole on ECW or Cole back to SD and Ross to...gulp...ECW?

[Arcademan]

ECW on SciFi Results: 7-29-08

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

1 -- CHAVO GUERRERO (w/Bam Neely) vs. RICKY "ATLAS DABONE" ORTIZ

Tazz called ole Ricky an odd bird for calling himself undefeated with only one match victory under his belt. Ortiz showed off his strength early on with a big press slam on Chavo. He followed with a hard elbow smash, then a torpedo shoulder smash from the second turnbuckle for a one count. Ortiz was too-aggressive in the corner, leading to Chavo nailing a drop toe hold in the corner. Chavo then tried to roll up Ortiz with Bam helping him with additional leverage, but the ref spotted the outside assistance and called for a DQ.

Post-match: Bam gave Ortiz a big full nelson slam before Chavo went up top and nailed a frog splash on a KO'ed Ortiz. Chavo wasn't done, though. He told Bam to retrieve an object, but suddenly Evan Bourne hit the ring and cleared Chavo, then Bam with successive dropkicks. Bourne then took off running, leaving Chavo and Bam frustrated in the ring.

WINNER: Ortiz via DQ in 4:00. Fine. Good use of Bourne. (*)

2 -- THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE

Finlay and Hornswoggle played some games early on with the former tag champs, then landed dual sit-down splashes to clear them to the outside. M&M tried to hide their embarrassment as they cut to break.

Back from break, Miz and Morrison worked over Finlay for an extended length of time while Hornswoggle kinda wanted a hot tag. OK, Miz and Morrison are definitely a more-credible tag team than six months ago, but Finlay taking the isolated beating from the heels just wasn't believable here. Finlay then opted not to make the tag to Hornswoggle, instead firing up with offense on the heels. He delivered the Celtic Cross on Morrison, but Morrison kicked out. Hornswoggle then made a blind tag for himself and went for a head scissors, but Morrison wheel barrow slammed him hard into the mat. Morrison rolled him over, then made a cover for the win.

Post-match: The Mountain Man Mike Knox jumped into the ring and smashed Finlay in the face. He knocked out Finlay with a second boot to the face, then quickly left the ring. Awkward.

WINNERS: Miz & Morrison in 12:00. Good win for the former tag champs, even if it came at the expense of the non-wrestling Hornswoggle. They just need a TV victory at this point. (*)

3 -- MATT HARDY vs. COLIN DELANEY (w/ECW champion Mark Henry and Tony Atlas)

Colin came out with his help, but they didn't come to ringside as promised. Colin wasn't too concerned about them waiting on top of the ramp, then he locked up with Hardy to start things off. Hardy dominated and kept checking the ramp to see if Henry and Atlas would be making any move to the ringside area. Colin suddenly landed a missile dropkick that drew an applause from Henry.

Hardy came back with a back suplex while Henry's expression turned to agitation. Hardy rapped Colin in the mouth with a right hand, then came off the middle rope with an elbow to the neck. Hardy landed the side effect, then called for the end. He then nailed the Twist of Fate in center ring for the easy win.

WINNER: Hardy in 4:00. Got the point across in an entertaining fashion. Poor Colin is getting ripped physically in the ring and verbally on commentary. He's in no-man's land of being a non-sympathetic heel with no credibility in the ring. (*)

[Arcademan]

TNA Impact! Results: 7-31-08

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

1 -- BEER MONEY (ROBERT ROODE & JAMES STORM w/Jacqueline Moore) vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE & RHINO -- #1 Contender's match

Basic exchange to start things off and set the table. Heels took advantage for a second, then an even exchange to lead into commercial.

Christian took a hot tag at 8:00 and wanted a frog splash on Storm, but Brother Ray came to ringside to run interference. Christian took him out with a splash, then Rhino smashed Johnny Devine. Rhino smashed Storm with a Gore for the pin, but the ref was yanked out of the ring. Brother Devon became involved, but Miss Jackie got involved. More stupidity ensued with interference and ridiculousness until Rhino took a 3D in the ring. Storm then rolled over and draped an arm over Rhino for the win.

WINNERS: Beer Money in 10:00. Just a ridiculous, classically over-done TNA TV match. (n/a)

2 -- JOHNNY DEVINE & LANCE HOYT & JIMMY RAVE (w/Christy Hemme) vs. CURRY MAN & SHARK BOY & BLACK MACHISMO JAY LETHAL (w/So Cal Val)

They're doing video game ring entrances for some of the wrestlers and it's becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between the video game and the actual wrestlers. Not because the video game graphics are so tight, but because this show is just a cartoon/comic book/video game. Christy became involved and Curry played air guitar on her stomach. After Shark Boy took out Hoyt and Rave on the floor, Lethal won it with the Lethal Combination on Devine.

Post-match: Lethal took the mic and welcomed Val into the ring. He went down on one knee to pop the question again, but Val didn't have the engagement ring on. She said she must have lost it or something. Lethal snapped and said she must not have even wanted to marry him in the first place. He left the ring in a huff as usual.

WINNERS: Team Lethal in 4:00. Post-match took precedence as usual. Not much here, just building to Lethal vs. Dutt at the PPV. (1/2*)

3 -- CONSEQUENCES CREED vs. X Division champion PETEY WILLIAMS (w/Rhaka Khan) -- non-title match

Hermie Sadler was at the broadcast position to comment on the match and stretch some NASCAR analogies into a wrestling context. It's never a good sign when the referee appears to be larger than the wrestlers in the ring. Creed laid out Petey in center ring, but Creed missed with a top rope leg drop. Petey tried to follow with the Destroyer, but Creed blocked and rolled him up with a sunset pin for the win.

WINNER: Creed in 4:00.

4 -- MATT MORGAN vs. SAL RINAURO

Sal was sporting an outfit that consisted of one pant leg and one cut-off leg. Memorable, but ridiculous fashion choice. Morgan squashed Rinauro with vertical suplex into a swinging slam - the Hellevator - for the easy win. Don West said Rinauro just joined the mile high club. That's just wrong.

WINNER: Morgan in 1:00. Squash. (n/a)

5 -- ANGELINA LOVE & VELVET SKY vs. GAIL KIM & Knockouts champion TAYLOR WILDE

Heels were in control as they prepared to take a break. Prior to going to break, they showed Samoa Joe climbing a flight of stairs leading to the rafters to hopefully get a word with Sting.

Action broke down after the break with all four women becoming involved in the action. Heels tried to double-team Taylor in the ring, but she rolled up Velvet with a sunset flip with the help of a dropkick from Gail. Taylor scored the pin on Velvet for the win.

Post-match: Angelina and Velvet jumped the champ for another beat down attempt, but Gail made the save. Suddenly, Awesome Kong stormed the ring as the "surprise" third person. She knocked around Gail, then Taylor and landed a double clothesline. Gail took an Awesome Bomb, then Taylor was lined up and given the Bomb. ODB, dressed as a hobo, then stormed the ring and stared down Kong. Roxxi even tried to join the action with steel chair in hand. Kong then backed away from the bum and bald girl. Suddenly, Traci Brooks showed up on the entrance ramp to survey the scene.

WINNERS: Gail & Taylor in 7:00. Post-match took precedence over the match, which was OK, but it didn't feel like anything special to warrant a main event slot. Just a run-of-the-mill knockouts segment.

[Arcademan]

WWE Smackdown Results: 8-1-08

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

1- MVP vs. JIMMY WANG YANG

MVP chastised Hardy once again on the mic before the match. He said he’d show Hardy how a champion operates. MVP dominated the match, save for a few spurts by Yang. MVP took a soft whip into the corner and Yang hit him with a spinning heel kick. He made a mistake coming off the top, and Montel Vontavious Porter turned it into a gut-buster. Straight kick to the head by MVP ended it.

WINNER: MVP, at 2:30. Good showcase match for MVP.

2- MR. KENNEDY vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN

After Kennedy got some offense in, Shelton took a break on the outside. Both JR and Foley noted Kennedy’s lack of wins lately. Lots of basic back-and-forth action. Kennedy stayed on the left arm of Shelton. Kennedy hit his roundhouse kick, but Shelton tripped him up on a running kick attempt. Shelton pulled his arm right into the post, injuring the shoulder.

Benjamin had Kennedy in Chris Jericho move #973 (arm-bar) upon return from break. Cross arm-breaker by Benjamin. Kennedy found a body part to work on, himself- the leg of Shelton. Crowd doesn’t seem to be enthralled with the pace of the match. Cross-body out of nowhere by Shelton for a near-fall. Mic Check by Kennedy put things away.

WINNER: Kennedy, at 14:07. There goes Shelton’s momentum. This match shouldn’t have even been made. Kennedy needed a win, yes, but Shelton also needed to keep winning, so people won’t think it’s another start-stop-start push with him. Just a bad match-up all-around.

3- THE BRIAN KENDRICK vs. STEVIE RICHARDS

Kendrick did some mic work before the match, saying he hasn’t changed his personality at all. He talked about teaming with Paul London, putting on a fake smile to get his foot in the door. He then tore down the fans. Kendrick used his feet to his advantage and put Richards in a type of Dragon Sleeper. Boston Crab applied by Kendrick. No offense in the first two minutes from Stevie. The Kendrick missed a splash and Stevie was a fireball of offense. Lo-Down from Stevie for two. Richards kicked Kendrick in the head, right off the apron and into the arms of Ezekiel. Kendrick draped Richards throat-first over the top rope, then hit The Kendrick for the win.

WINNER: The Brian Kendrick, at 3:46.

4- THE GREAT KHALI vs. JEFF HARDY

Hardy tried attacking Khali up high for some reason, and ended up running into a clothesline. Khali worked over Hardy in the corner, with elbows and boots. Another elbow from Khali. One-armed bodyslam by Khali. Hard slap to Hardy’s chest in the corner. Hardy fought back, but got sent over the top rope by Khali, where he lay on the mat on the floor as they went to break.

Khali brought Hardy back in, as JR noted he didn’t want to win by count-out. Nerve hold applied by Khali. Hardy fought back again, and hit Whisper in the Wind, then the Swanton. MVP came down to ringside and Hardy dropkicked him through the ropes, then hit a plancha onto him. Hardy fought it out with MVP as Charles Robinson used his discretion to let things go. Khali pulled Hardy back in....by the head. Vice grip applied, and that’s all she wrote.

WINNER: Khali, at 11:34. Fine for what it was, but Khali makes an 11-minute match feeling like 21 minutes.

5- MARIA vs. VICTORIA

This is Maria’s Smackdown debut. Waist-lock take-down by Victoria to start things off. Victoria got a one-count on a pin attempt. She really laid in the trash talking. Maria caught Victoria coming back into the ring, but she couldn’t fully take over offense. Scoop slam by Victoria for two. Full-nelson from Victoria and Maria began to fade. Maria backed Victoria into the corner to break the hold. Sunset flip by Maria for two. Maria got the pin on a clothesline off the top that.....let’s say “gently grazed” Victoria.

WINNER: Maria, at 3:19. Not an impressive return to the ring for Maria.

6- THE BIG SHOW vs. DOMINO

Show deposited Domino to the outside immediately. Show face-planted Domino, who then got mad and threw his shirt in Show’s face. Just makes it easier for Show to slap Domino in the chest. Chokeslam, goodbye Domino.

WINNER: Show, at 1:17.

Umaga came out after the match. He and Big Show circled each other, but didn’t do any damage.

-Edge came out for The Cutting Edge. With the lights down low, Edge took a seat in the ring and said all week, he’s been looking for inner peace. He seemed barely able to control his emotions as the crowd cheered for Undertaker. He said every time he closes his eyes, all he sees is the Undertaker. He said tonight, he has surrounded himself with HIS instruments of destruction- tables, ladders and chairs. Edge said he found the person that will survive and thrive in Hell in a Cell...a person who knows Undertaker better than anyone in history. That person is the guest tonight on the Cutting Edge. That person is....Mick Foley. I had a feeling he was going there. Foley had no idea he was the guest. I refer you to my latest blog posted on the Torch website as to my feelings about this.

Foley obliged Edge and entered the ring. Edge told Foley to look past their history because there’s something eating away at Foley. Edge had a video package ready to show Mick what he was talking about. The video package talked about the year 1998, and WWE’s Attitude Era. The video then talked about, and showed, the Hell in a Cell with Foley vs. Taker. The narrator of the video asked if that night would be the legacy of the Hardcore Legend.

Edge told Foley his body feels that match every day still. Edge said Foley doesn’t walk the same as he did before the match happened. Edge said he still sees that fire burn inside Mick. Edge implored Mick to help him, and thus exorcise the demons Foley is still feeling. Foley said there’s a part of him that would like to help Edge, but the last few weeks, Edge hurt Foley’s credibility. Foley said he’s built up his bond with fans, and he has often said Edge is the greatest superstar in WWE. He said the problem is, the fans think he sucks. Foley said Edge has cheated to win and hurt Foley’s credibility. He said he can’t help, but one other person can....Edge himself. Foley said he needs to find the Edge that made Foley call him the greatest superstar in WWE. Foley told him to find the Edge that took Foley himself to the limits in a hardcore match. Foley made fun of Edge and what he has done to woo Vickie. Foley said if he brings that Edge to SummerSlam, and Undertaker would tear him apart. Edge said he understood, then sucker-punched Foley. Foley fought back on the outside and went under the ring for a chair. Edge kicked it into Foley’s face though. He then speared Foley, and Mick’s head bounced off the steel steps, though not with the force I’m sure he would’ve liked. Foley climbed back into the ring and applied the mandible claw. Edge low-blowed him, then placed him on the table. Edge came off the ladder, steel chair in hand, and onto Foley. They showed replays of what just happened as Edge stood over the prone body of Mick Foley.

[Arcademan]

WWE SNME Results: 8-2-08

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

1 -- JOHN CENA & BATISTA & CRYME TYME (SHAD GASPAR & J.T.G.) vs. JBL & KANE & World tag champions CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR.

Back and forth to start things off with no one in clear control.

They returned from break with the heel team working over Shad Gaspar. They worked him over for a good, long time. An eight-man tag with editing should not have four or five minutes of extended babyface isolation. Nevertheless, Cena and JBL took tags and Cena cleaned house to a chorus of boos. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle on JBL, then wanted the FU, but Kane kicked Cena square in the head. Batista then entered and cleaned house on everyone. Cena then tagged out to JTG, who Cena launched onto DiBiase. Unfortunately, DiBiase wasn't legal to be pinned, so JBL re-entered the picture and smashed JTG with a Clothesline from Hell for the pin and the win. Announcers made the point that JBL seems deserving of a World Title shot.

WINNERS: Team JBL in 12:00. Fine showcase match of several stars at once. Punk held his own on commentary and they got across the larger point of the men competing for a potential title shot against Punk at Summerslam. (*1/2)

2 -- GREAT KHALI (w/Singh) vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

Ross commented on Khali being a national sports hero in India like Yao Ming in China. Yang tried to attack Khali from the ropes, but Khali quickly knocked him down to the mat. He landed the chokebomb and put a boot on the chest for the pin and the win. Ross said it could be a long night at Summerslam for Triple H.

WINNER: Khali in 2:00. Squash. No sign of Triple H to hammer home the point, though. (n/a)

3 -- JEFF HARDY vs. EDGE

Nice back-and-forth start, then Hardy and Edge took it to the floor where Hardy was rammed into the guardrail. They cut to break with Hardy in peril.

They returned with Edge playing the classic cocky heel working over Hardy in the ring. Edge worked over the left knee for a while, with Hardy unable to pull off his classic moves until catching Edge with a swinging slam in mid-ring. Hardy wanted the Twist of Fate at 10:00, but Edge blocked and nailed an impaler DDT for a close nearfall. Edge's eyes bugged out of his head, then he set up for the spear, but Hardy side-stepped him on one good leg, then flew off the top with a Whisper in the Wind out of nowhere. Hardy made a cover, but it was only good for a nearfall. His leg gave out again, then he ducked a spear amazingly. Both men were laid out, then MVP snuck over to the ringside area from the crowd and smashed Hardy with a Chono boot to the head. Edge then came to and speared Hardy for the pin and the win. Hardy was KO'ed post-match while Edge hobbled out of the ring to close the show.

WINNER: Edge in 14:00. Nice match. Two top performers having a solid showcase battle on broadcast TV. MVP's interference was subtle-enough to be heat-inducing, not eye-rolling inducing. (**1/4)

[Arcademan]

Ring of Honor Results: 8-2-08

Results courtesy of Jeff Capo and ROHWrestling.com:

Death Before Dishonor VI
August 2nd, 2008- 7:30 pm belltime
Manhattan Center (Hammerstein Ballroom)
311 West 34th St.
New York, NY 10001

RESULTS

1) Jay & Mark Briscoe defeat Jigsaw & Ruckus with a springboard Doomsday Device in a fun opener.

~SNS Inc. is out. Larry Sweeney asks the Briscoes to join SNS Inc. They blow him off. Hero cuts a promo calling himself the Knockout Kid.

2) Chris Hero defeats Delirious with a roaring elbow. Hero didn't look great for the second night in a row, and the match kind of stunk. People from the back came to help Delirious out post-match.

3) Eddie Edwards defeats Roderick Strong with help from Chris Hero. Edwards hit a KO'd Strong with a moonsault. Pretty good match.

4) NWA World Championship: Brent Albright defeats Adam Pearce via submission to win the NWA World Championship in an amazing old school contest. Pearce busted Albright open with headbutts and bites. SNS Inc. attempted to interfere, but Roderick Strong returned and ran them off with a chair, including kicking it right in Larry Sweeney's face. Pearce tries everything from the Figure 4 to the STFU! Albright locks in the Crowbar but Pearce gets to the ropes. Albright goes up top but Pearce shoves him off the top through a table. Albright comes back, and gets Pearce in the Crowbar one more time. Pearce can't get to the ropes and taps. Crowd went nuts for the finish.

5) Austin Aries defeats Jimmy Jacobs & Necro Butcher in a 3 way dance. Jimmy and Necro came out hugging and shaking hands but it didn't last. Jimmy broke up a Necro pin and got in his face telling Necro to do what Jimmy tells him to do. Necro hit Jimmy with a chair and left the match. Aries hits a 450 for the pin.

~Delirious came to the ring and called out Daizee Haze. He asks her out on a date. Rhett Titus comes out and calls her used goods, then removes his pants, revealing her on the back of his trunks like Rick Rude used to do to Cheryl Roberts. Delirious runs off Titus, but Haze nicely turns down Delirious. Crowd turned on Haze for saying no.

6) Naomichi Marufuji defeats Go Shiozaki with the Pole Shift. Match started off slowly, but really picked up late.

7) Kevin Steen & El Generico defeat Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin via submission when Sabin goes down to the Sharpshooter. Generico took out Shelley with a top rope brainbuster. Great stuff. Lots of high flying.

8 ) ROH World Championship: Nigel McGuinness defeats Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, and Tyler Black to once again retain the ROH World Championship.

~Dragon eliminated Claudio first. They shook hands, but Claudio snapped. He attacked Dragon with a chair and stomped it in to his head.

~Nigel eliminated Dragon next easily with a lariat.

~Nigel eliminated Tyler Black after Tyler kicked out of EVERYTHING Nigel could throw at him. It took everything in Nigel's arsenal, but after two huge lariats Black finally had nothing left.

NOTES:
Ring of Honor returns to Manhattan on December 27 for Final Battle 2008.

[Arcademan]

Ric Flair Done With WWE?
Posted by Larry Csonka on 08.03.2008

It looks that way...

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, representatives of Ric Flair have told several Independent promoters that Flair will be available for Independent bookings, due to the fact that he has now parted ways with the WWE. It is being explained as an friendly parting of the ways, and it is related to the WWE not allowing Flair to take Independent offers that he wanted to accept.

Credit: Wrestlingobserver.com/F4wonline.com

[Arcademan]

WWE RAW Results: 8-4-08

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

1 -- IC champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. PAUL BURCHILL (w/Katie Lea) -- Intercontinental Title match

Burchill worked over Kingston early, but Kingston came back with the boom-boom leg drop and the fluid buzzsaw kick to the head for the clean win. It seemed quite unusual for Kingston to simply hit his combo without much resistance from Burchill, as if the viewer was expecting a counter. Instead, Kingston with the clean combo win. Afterward, Katie tried to get in Kingston's face to run distraction, but Kingston avoided Burchill, who flew to the outside. Kingston then chased Burchill to the back, leaving Katie in the ring. Mickie James's music hit, and Mickie charged the ring to defend her title against Katie in the next match.

WINNER: Kingston in 4:00. Short, clean win for Kingston. Burchill doesn't have much credibility at this point, but it was a good win for Kingston. (*)

2 -- Women's champion MICKIE JAMES vs. KATIE LEA -- Women's Title match

They returned with the action in progress. Announcers talked about Katie attacking Mickie in front of her father last week to set up Mickie's quest for revenge tonight. Mickie dominated out of the break, but Katie caught her with a slingshot smash across the middle rope for a nearfall. Katie then slapped on a bow and arrow, but Mickie slipped out into a pin attempt for a nearfall of her own. Mickie landed a head scissors out of the corner, then built some momentum with forearm smashes before landing a neckbreaker for a two count. Katie tried to come back with a stalker kick, but Mickie blocked and landed her spike DDT for the pin and the win.

Afterward, Beth Phoenix jumped Mickie from behind and tossed her through the ropes to the outside. Beth then rammed Mickie hard into the ring apron before rolling her back into the ring. Dude ringside shouted, "Give her a kiss!" Beth took Mickie back into the ring to inflict more punishment, where she landed an implant-buster wheelbarrow slam. Santino then walked out on stage giving Beth a round of applause for her dominating work. Beth then walked up the stage and smiled at Santino before grabbing a handful of butt cheek. Beth turned away to celebrate, then Santino grabbed a little cheek in return. Beth smiled and slowly walked away.

WINNER: Mickie in 5:00. Great, great segment. Very good women's match that the audience really bought into. Good to see WWE paying attention to what TNA has been doing with the knockouts to give their divas a credible TV push. And now we get the best of both worlds with Beth, as she's back to being an ***-kicker to go with the entertainment with Santino. (*1/2)

3 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. JBL & CHRIS JERICHO -- handicap match

Before the match started, Adamle threw out one more stipulation: it's a 10-minute time limit. If there is no winner, then it's a triple threat at Summerslam. Nice. JBL and Jericho spent the first 15 seconds arguing over the new rules until Punk tried to attack them. The heels quickly regrouped, though, and started beating on Punk. Jericho went to the second rope and kissed his fist Lawler-style before delivering a punch to the skull. "That looked familiar," Lawler interjected with a whisper. Jericho has certainly been more of a mat technician in this match with the new trunks and new attitude.

At 5:00, Punk hip-tossed out of an ab stretch, but JBL was quick to jump Punk from behind. JBL and Jericho started arguing about who was going to pin Punk, leading to them brawling in the ring. Punk took a breather in the corner, but Jericho hit the Lionsault on Punk and had a pin that JBL broke up. More brawling between Jericho and JBL led to Punk smashing the heels into the corner. Crowd rallied behind Punk, who smashed Jericho with a flying smash. He dropped JBL with a bulldog, then Jericho and JBL collided. Punk went for the G2S on JBL and he nailed it. Punk made the cover, but Jericho broke it up just in time. Whew.

Jericho tried to fire off on Punk, but Punk nailed a powerslam for a nearfall with two minutes left. Punk then catapulted Jericho into JBL and had a roll-up on Jericho, but Jericho kicked out just in time. He wanted the G2S on Jericho, but Jericho slipped out and put the Walls of Jericho on. Punk fought the hold with 50 seconds remaining. He shook his head at 45. He reached out at 40. Jericho dragged him back in at 35. JBL re-entered at 30 and kicked Jericho in the head. JBL shoved Jericho to the floor, and with 10 seconds left, JBL came to. Jericho then slingshot JBL across the top rope and JBL fell backward on top of Punk. He scored the pin with just one second left to earn the World Title shot against Punk.

WINNER: JBL at 9:59 to become #1 Contender. That was a heck of a TV match. Excellent final five minutes with the crowd hanging on every second of the action. Punk had a very strong showing working within the stack-the-deck formula. (***)

4 -- KANE vs. MATT STRIKER

Kane quickly clotheslined Striker hard to the mat before landing a hard uppercut and a big boot to the mush. Kane picked up Striker and landed a clothesline/sidewalk slam combo before going up top. Kane landed a leaping clothesline before calling for the end. Striker then slipped into a chokeslam and Kane made the quick pin for the win to end the school-related clichés from Cole and Lawler.

WINNER: Kane in 2:00. Quick and relatively painless. (n/a)

5 -- World tag team champions CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. JOHN CENA & BATISTA -- World Tag Title match

Crowd was buzzing for this early on. Batista dominated Cody, even threw in a leap frog, and smashed Cody with a clothesline. Cena just smiled from the ring apron as Batista was turning this into a two-on-one match. Batista then missed with a shoulder tackle in the corner and sold a shoulder injury. Batista in jeopardy as they cut to break.

They returned with the champs working over Batista while Cena tried to reach out for a tag. Batista finally broke free and tagged in Cena, who exploded out of the corner as the crowd came to life. Cena dropped Cody in center ring and nailed the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He wanted the FU, but DiBiase made a blind tag from behind. Cody then DDT'ed Cena before rolling out of the ring to let DiBiase work over Cena. Fans chanted, "Let's go Cena" as the champs took turns working over Cena with nearfalls-a-plenty. Cody acted tough and slapped Cena, then blocked a punch, and nailed a Russian legsweep. The improvement from Cody is unmistakable.

Cena finally had an opportunity to make the hot tag to Batista, but Batista quietly walked around the ringpost to the other side of the ring apron, allowing DiBiase to regain his attack on Cena. The heels cornered him again, then Cena finally escaped with a sidewalk slam. He walked over to his corner to tag Batista, but Cena slapped Batista in the face instead. Cena and Batista had a confrontation, then Batista exploded out of the corner with an attack on DiBiase and Cody. Batista caught DiBiase with a spinebuster, then he turned to stare down Cena. Batista then dropped DiBiase with a spear and called for the Batistabomb while looking at Cena. Cena did his part by taking out Rhodes while Batista finished off DiBiase with a Batistabomb to win the match and the tag titles.

Post-match: Batista grabbed both title belts before shoving one belt into Cena's chest. They stared each other down before Cena raised his tag belt high in the air. Batista then held his title belt high in the air, each man measuring the crowd response. Pretty even. They backed away slightly, then Cena held his belt up real high for the audience to get a good look. Batista then walked across the ring for the other side to get a good look. Cena to the other side. Batista to the corner turnbuckle. Cena to the other corner for a huge kids-and-women pop. Batista had enough and walked over to Cena in center ring. They stared down each other as Cena's music hit to close the show.

WINNERS: Batista & Cena in 14:00 to capture the World Tag Titles. Very good main event match. I don't agree with Rhodes & DiBiase losing the belts on the principle that they were really starting to click as a tag team unit that could have a lengthy title run, but it's obvious why WWE pulled the trigger on the switch. Rhodes & DiBiase really rose to the occasion in this match with their tag team work on the established stars. Good story, good action, hot crowd, nice conclusion to the show. (***1/4)

[Arcademan]

ECW on SciFi Results: 8-5-08

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

1 -- CHAVO GUERRERO & BAM NEELY vs. RICKY ORTIZ & EVAN BOURNE

Striker quickly won some points in Minnesota by referencing Bam's background from Robbinsdale, Minn., where the likes of Rick Rude and Curt Hennig came from. Match started with some back-and-forth action while the announcers talked about Bourne scoring an upset victory over Chavo a few weeks ago. Bourne took a hot tag at 5:00 and nailed Bam with a sweet double-knee smash from the top rope. Ortiz and Guerrero spilled to the outside, leaving Boruen and Bam in the ring. Bourne snuck underneath Bam and rolled him up with a unique bridge pin for the win. Striker was willing to admit that was quite impressive from Bourne.

WINNERS: Bourne & Ortiz in 5:00. Very nice finish by Bourne, who is officially a star on ECW. Nicely done. (*)

2 -- ARMANDO ESTRADA vs. TOMMY DREAMER

Colin Delaney showed up two minutes into the match wielding a chair. He wanted to take out Dreamer, but Dreamer scared him away into Striker's lap. Dreamer nearly walked into a boot to the face back in the ring, but he avoided the move. Delaney then hopped onto the apron to distract Dreamer, allowing Armando to roll up Dreamer from behind for the win to apparently earn an ECW contract.

WINNER: Armando in 3:00. Random deal here, as the match came out of nowhere when Dreamer was off last week's show and Armando has been a forgotten man for some time. Oh well. (1/2*)

3 -- BRADEN WALKER vs. JAMES CURTIS

Announcers played up Walker as if he's never wrestled before entering the WWE Universe. Considering no other wrestling organization exists in WWE's world, it's par for the course. Some basic wrestling ensued, then Walker landed a running left-arm clothesline. Grisham proclaimed Walker is a big fan of the clothesline. Apparently Walker has been watching some Nigel matches. Walker then finished off Curtis with a fisherman suplex for the win.

WINNER: Walker in 4:00. This was your ECW main event. Not exactly the four-way deal from two weeks ago. (1/2*)

Dirt Sheet: Howard Finkel introduced the Dirt Sheet segment, then they cut to the ring where Morrison and Miz were seated on their Hollywood director chairs. They kept the lights down for Morrison and Miz to introduce themselves. Morrison said he turned down $15 million from People Magazine for pictures of himself as a baby. Nice line. They brought out their first guest, ECW champion Mark Henry. They cut to a graphic of Henry's face on the Titantron to do a Conan-like segment where someone's mouth moves on the still-picture. This died rather quickly. Was that Ole Anderson doing the voice-over for the Shockmaster?

Mark Henry had enough of this act, and it was time for somebody to get his or her *** kicked, as Henry's music hit. Henry stormed the ring with Tony Atlas following close behind. Atlas spoke for Henry that there must be some sort of misunderstanding because they were not led to believe there would be disrespect for Henry. Miz and Morrison said if they were going to disrespect anyone, it would be Matt Hardy. Cue up Henry's mug on the Titantron with the voice saying something stupid.

Henry spoke to the Hardy lips on the Titantron, then Matt Hardy came to the ring sarcastically applauding this rough bit. Hardy waited out the applause, then Hardy drew the conclusion that Miz & Morrison must be huge Conan O'Brien fans to come up with such great, original content. Hardy said he just wanted to join the party, then he threw out the Brokeback Mountain line about Miz and Morrison. Hardy said he earned the ECW Title shot at Summerslam because in life and in high-priofile matches, there are winners and there are losers. He mocked them with their line to be jealous.

Miz and Morrison had enough of Hardy disrespecting them on their show, which led to a mini-skirmish. Morrison then accidentally punched Henry in the face, which upset the angry ECW champion. Henry squashed Morrison in the corner, then Hardy dropped Miz with a Twist of Fate. Henry and Hardy were left in the ring sharing a little bit of respect for each other to close the show. Tag match next week anyone?

[Arcademan]

TNA Impact! Results: 8-7-08

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

1 -- JACQUELINE vs. ROXXI -- Bimbo brawl -- Traci Brooks referee

I wonder how much Roxxi is paying her stylist to keep the head shaved for TV. She almost looks normal without hair, but not quite. Traci was solid on the mat counting nearfalls here. Good form, clear call to the timekeeper, and she held firm in discussions with the participants. In other words, she's better than the male referees due to TNA depending on the referee incompetence formula in the majority of matches. Roxxi ended this in four minutes with the voodoo drop after taking a few trashcan lid shots to the head.

WINNER: Roxxi in 4:00. Totally fine. Traci > TNA refs. (1/2*)

2 -- SONJAY DUTT vs. CURRY MAN

Bell never sounded, so this match isn't official. Not that it matters. Val came to ringside a minute into the action looking for her ring. Dutt told her to hit the bricks, giving Curry an opening to take control of the match. Dutt then used his feet on the ropes to score a pin with the roll-up.

Post-match: Dutt gave Curry a low blow, then Val slipped into the ring to demand answers on where her ring is. Dutt backed out of the ring, only to find Shark Boy attack him from behind. Super Eric then provided back-up to give Dutt a press slam in the ring. He reached into Dutt's trunks to find the wedding ring. Why in the world Dutt would wrestle with a ring in his tights is beyond me. Val then screamed at Dutt after defending him for so long. Dutt gave an excuse that when Val visited him in the hospital, the ring dropped into his lap for safe-keeping. He said maybe it was a message that she was ready to leave Jay Lethal for him. Dutt said he cares about Val, and he's thrilled she got her ring back. They shared a nice hug with Dutt breathing a sigh of relief that he lied his way back into Val's good graces. West had a random voice-over about this guy.

WINNER: Um, oh yeah, there was a match. Dutt in 3:00. Just more of the same with this program. (1/2*)

2 -- MOTOR CITY MACHINEGUNS (CHRIS SABIN & ALEX SHELLEY) vs. JAY LETHAL & CONSEQUENCES CREED

Tenay provided some notes from Cornette that Daivari will be at Hard Justice this Sunday, and some information is available on him at TNA's website. Also from Cornette, the main event eight-man gauntlet match tonight will start with A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle. This turned into a video game-style match with a lot of spots in sequence without a whole lot of selling. Creed nearly finished off Shelley with the TKO, but Guns came back with a Swanton Bomb combo on Creed for a nearfall. Shelley tried to finish off Creed with Sliced Bread #2, but Creed rolled up Shelley in the corner for the win. Afterward, Creed wanted to shake hands, but Shelley piefaced him and walked away. We need follow-up on that, instead, they cut to Karen's Angle.

WINNERS: Creed & Lethal in 8:00. A team teaming together for the first time beat one of TNA's only good tag teams. Just a video-game style match that was fun, but had zero psychology and was there for what it was worth. (*1/2)

3 -- TEAM 3D (BROTHER RAY & BROTHER DEVON) and BEER MONEY (ROBERT ROODE & JAMES STORM) vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE & RHINO and LAX (HERNANDEZ & HOMICIDE w/Hector Guerrero) -- No DQ tables match

Rhino delivered a Gore to all of the heels to start things off. Heels rolled to the floor to recover, but Homicide nailed a suicide dive. Christian splashed Ray, then Hernandez flew over the top rope with a splash on Rhino and Roode.

A lot of spots ensued after the commercial break, as men flew all over the ring and floor. 3D tried the what's up diving headbutt on Hernandez, but Hernandez escaped. Christian then spit beer into Storm's face, leading to Homicide nailing the Gringo killer on Storm for the pin and the win.

Post-match: Johnny Devine came to ringside and gave Ray a kendo stick to use to blast the winners. Hernandez took a 3D, then Christian took a hangmen's neck breaker from Beer Money. Devine and Devon then brought the glass table into the ring. Instead of going for Christian, they grabbed Homicide and put him through the glass table with a combo powerbomb. Tenay and West with canned voice-overs that they hope it's not too bad with Homicide's obvious injuries.

WINNERS: LAX & Christian & Rhino in 6:00. Just another example of the actual wrestling match not even mattering, as the post-match usually takes precedence over anything from bell-to-bell. Post-match gave reason for the heels to get their comeuppance at the PPV, though.

4 -- AWESOME KONG (w/Beautiful People and Raisha Saeed) vs. SALINAS

Salinas was dressed for a fiesta or a night at an L.A. club rather than a wrestling match. Tenay said Homicide was taken to a hospital. Kong nearly knocked Salinas out of her booty shorts right away with the Awesome Bomb in center ring. Quick pin for the win.

WINNER: Kong in 1:00. I'm still not sure why wrestling matches occur on this show. I liked the set-up to the six-woman tag match until Abyss randomly became involved. I'm fine with Abyss on the show, but we have no context for his random appearances. (n/a)

5 -- GAUNTLET

A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle started things off with a fight in the ring. Matt Morgan and Tomko then came out as the third and fourth participants. They had a sword fight with Morgan scaring Tomko out of the ring. Morgan then got all giddy and chased Tomko out of the ringside area to the outside. B.G. James and Kip James came out as the fifth and sixth participants. Where has Kip been? They picked up their feud with a brawl on the outside. This is a battle royale last I checked. B.G. then carefully placed a chair into Kip's throat for both men to take a breather. Back in the ring, Angle started bleeding like a leaky faucet when he took a ladder shot to the head. The editing showed that he immediately started bleeding. Scary scary stuff. Booker and Joe were the final two participants in the deal.

During the break, Kip was eliminated. Styles then eliminated Angle and Booker eliminated Styles. On the floor, Angle put Styles in the anklelock with Angle still bleeding profusely. Final four were Morgan, Tomko, Joe, and Booker. Morgan is just so not-fluid in the ring. Tomko and Booker then mercifully eliminated Morgan. The heels then double-teamed Joe in the ring. Booker started talking trash, but Joe eliminated him. So, now it's Joe vs. Tomko in a one-on-one deal. Joe hit the musclebuster, then made the cover on Tomko for the win.

Post-match: Joe took the mic afterward and screamed Booker's name. He said he's taking back his belt at the PPV, then Sting is next. Sting's music hit, the lights went down, then Sting appeared at the top of the rafters looking down at Joe.

WINNER: Joe in 13:00. Just your good 'ole fashioned TNA gauntlet match with a lot of extracurricular activity before Joe finally looked good with a solid victory. Rushed, but fine for putting a cap on the Hard Justice PPV hype. (*1/4)