The Official Wrestling Thread (now with more news and stuff)

[Arcademan]

WWE Smackdown Results: 9-11-09

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

1- FINLAY vs. MIKE KNOX- BELFAST BRAWL

Knox did another inset interview. This week: A lizard sheds its tail when escaping a foe. But Knox doesn’t want the tail; he wants it all. JR called the rules “an Irish version of a street-fight.” Finlay got the advantage to start, but walked into a powerslam from Knox. Knox dropped three elbows onto the sternum of Finlay, then wanted to go under the ring for a weapon. Finlay stopped him with a baseball slide, but then went head-first into the announce table. Knox got a chair, but he couldn’t use it before Finlay got it away from him. Back in the ring, Knox kicked the chair right into Finlay’s face. About 1:30 into the match, they went to break with Knox having the upper hand.

Knox, still in control upon return, dropped Finlay in a sidewalk slam across a steel chair. Finlay was thrown to ringside and Knox got a garbage can, actually three, and tossed them each one at a time at Finlay. Bicycle kick sent Finlay onto the other side of the barricade. But as Knox went to get Finlay, Finlay sent him back over. Then Finlay was caught by Knox and was slammed into the barricade himself. Trash can lid to the gourd of Finlay. More work with the trash can from Knox. Knox went under the ring again and this time retrieved a table, which received a huge pop and a “we want tables” chant. Knox went off the ropes and appeared to want to hit a cross-body, but Finlay bopped him with the shillaleigh. In any event, Knox still landed on Finlay. After Finlay recovered, he pinned Knox.

WINNER: Finlay, at 9:39. Every time it looks like they’re going to push Knox, they seem to just stop short. This would’ve been a good win for him to climb the ladder. Finlay didn’t really need this.

2- CHRIS JERICHO & THE BIG SHOW vs. CRYME TYME

JTG and Jericho started out the match as the legal men. Jericho looked ready for Sunday, very aggressive to begin things. Too aggressive though, as he missed a corner charge and was inside cradled for two. Dropkick by JTG, then he clotheslined Jericho over the top and to ringside. Jericho began to lose his cool, ripping the cover off the announce desk in anger. They went to break again shy of 2:00.

The standard “back from break” ensued, then JTG took over until he took his eye off Jericho, only to get socked in the face. That allowed Jericho to make the tag to Big Show. Show went for a back-drop, but JTG just jumped over him and tagged in Shad Gaspard. Shad went after Show, then knocked Jericho off the apron. He went off the top, but Show chopped him out of mid-air. Once the heels were back in control, Jericho came in and did some more of the dirty work. But Shad got a big boot and the fans were behind him to make the hot tag. Was he really worn down that much already that he had to try to crawl to his corner, and not even make it there? Anyway, Show made the tag instead and sat in a reverse chin-lock with Shad. Another quick tag in to Jericho, who tried to fight off Shad, but Gaspard landed a powerslam. JTG tagged in and quickened the pace. Show was taken out of the equation via a low bridge, then Shad knocked him down on the outside. JTG tried a corner move, but Jericho rolled him up, using the ropes for leverage for two. Walls of Jericho attempt, but JTG rolled him up for two. JTG skinned the cat back in the ring, but as he was on the upswing, Show walked by and hammered him with a right hand.

WINNERS: Jericho and Show, at 12:02. Good showing from CT here in the loss.

3- CHARLIE HAAS vs. JOHN MORRISON

Haas got no entrance. Morrison got Haas in a back-breaker, then a Russian leg-sweep. Haas came back to work the arm of Morrison. Some unique moves to do so, as well. He laid across Morrison’s back, stretching his arm the way it isn’t supposed to be stretched. He then went to the more widely-known move, the arm-bar (Jericho move #742). Dropsault from Morrison led his comeback against Haas. Standing Shooting-Star Press got two. Morrison was then sent shoulder-first into the ring-post, then a DDT with the arm barred for two. Haas tried a high-risk move, but Morrison kicked him off the top rope, which allowed Morrison to land Starship Pain.

WINNER: Morrison, at 3:22. Just an enhancement match for Morrison, and a chance for the announcers to talk about the great match he had last week with Rey Mysterio.

4- MELINA vs. LAYLA

Shoulderblcok by Layla, then a face-plant that looked like it was going to be a back-drop. Melina tried to do the ten-punches in the corner, but Layla pushed her off and to the mat. McCool was at ringside with Layla, for what its worth. Layla with a modified surfboard, then Layla got a cover for two. Small package for two by Melina. Melina with some rights, then a corner attack. Double-knees to the gut in the corner by Melina, then another face-plant. That was for two. Melina with a drop-toe hold on Layla into the middle rope, but Layla moved on a Melina dive, sending Melina to ringside. McCool hit Melina with one of her crutches and Layla pinned her.

WINNER: Layla, at 3:03.

5- C.M. PUNK vs. MATT HARDY- SUBMISSION MATCH

Match began after Hardy made his entrance. The two men fought for control and Hardy appeared to get it, taking Punk off his feet with a right hand. Neck-breaker followed that up. And another. One more, for good measure. Hardy locked in a double underhook, then wrapped his legs around Punk’s waist in the first submission attempt of the match. Punk walked over to the corner and rammed Hardy into the turnbuckle. Kick to the stomach by Punk, then he went to springboard off the top, but Hardy knocked his feet out from under him. Hardy began to then work on the left leg of Punk. Hardy attempted a Twist of Fate, but Punk instead threw Hardy shoulder-first into the ring post, then again. They went to break 3:30 into the main event.

Punk continued his abuse of Hardy, putting his knee in the back of Hardy’s neck, the driving him to the mat from the middle rope. Some guys were actually chanting for Punk. Punk pummeled the back of Hardy’s head with right hands. Suplex by Punk, followed up by two legdrops. Head-scissors by Punk was next to wear down Matt. Hardy attempted a comeback, but was put down with an enziguiri. Punk hobbled over to give Hardy a high knee, but then was brought out of the corner with a knee-buster. Hardy then applied a figure-four, much to the delight of the crowd. Punk looked like he was coming close to tapping out, but instead, he turned over the move. He grabbed the rope, which caused a break. Clothesline in the corner by Hardy, then a bulldog out of it. Side Effect found the mark. No Twist of Fate though- Hardy blocked a GTS and Matt cinched in a half-crab. He really torqued the left leg. Punk got the rope and Hardy seemed to be in no hurry to break. Punk came back with a roundhouse kick. He then locked in the Anaconda Vice for the tap-out victory.

WINNER: Punk, at 13:41. About what you’d expect from these two. Couldn’t go all-out because of the stipulation and the match this Sunday.

Taker’s bell tolled after the match. The lights went out and when they came on, the belt that Punk was holding was no longer in his hands. On the ramp, Taker had said belt and was raising it over his head as Punk’s ire was being raised in the ring.

[Arcademan]

WWE Breaking Point PPV Results: 9-13-09

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

1 -- Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW vs. MVP & MARK HENRY -- Unified tag title match
WINNERS: Show & Jericho at 12:15. Okay tag match. Slow at times, some good spots sprinkled throughout, but not a memorable match. Crowd was interested throughout, which helped. (*1/2)

2 -- U.S. champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. THE MIZ -- U.S. Title match
WINNER: Kofi at 11:58 to retain the U.S. Title. Good finish after a slow start to warm up the crowd. Credit both wrestlers for pushing through the slow parts early on to slowly build to a nice finish. Emphasis was on Miz scoring nearfall after nearfall to retain credibility before being booked to lose the match. Kofi continues to look good as U.S. champion. (**1/2)

3 -- DX (SHAWN MICHAELS & TRIPLE H) vs. LEGACY (TED DIBIASE, JR. & CODY RHODES) -- Submissions Count Anywhere in Montreal
WINNERS: Cody & Ted at 21:40. Excellent brawl that WWE doesn't do very often, which made this match stand out. (Whereas TNA does this every month, so it feels like a repeat of the same formula match.) Legacy sold a ton early on, but weathered the storm like at Summerslam, but picked up the big victory here. Nice piece of business to elevate Legacy with a meaningful, "clean" major PPV victory over DX. What's interesting will be the follow-up on how they continue to make Legacy stars and where Michaels/Hunter go from here in the storylines. Well done. (****)

4 -- KANE vs. GREAT KHALI -- Singapore cane match
WINNER: Kane at 5:55. Six long minutes ending with Kane going over Khali, who apparently isn't being looked at to be a strong attraction act right now. Doubt this is the end of the feud, unfortunately. (1/2*)

5 -- ECW champion CHRISTIAN vs. WILLIAM REGAL -- ECW Title match
WINNER: Christian at 10:15 to retain the ECW Title. Very good PPV undercard match. Nice pace, good action (other than the dangerous Regalplex spot), and Christian picked up a clean victory. Good to see that. Would be time for a new challenger, but I get the feeling this is continuing. (***1/4)

6 -- WWE champion RANDY ORTON vs. JOHN CENA -- WWE Title match -- I Quit match
WINNER: Cena at 19:45 to win the WWE Title. Crazy match. Hard to rate this, but it had all of classic Cena-Orton elements with Orton being one the best crazy stalker heel characters in recent memory, Cena showing the grit and determination, and a memorable finish. Orton was so good as the crazy heel that he didn't lose much despite dropping the title. Looks like Cena-Orton re-match in Hell in a Cell to hopefully end this feud, although they continue to deliver very good PPV battles. Frustrating to see the same storylines on TV, but they continue to deliver on PPV. (****)

7 -- WWE World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. THE UNDERTAKER -- World Hvt. Title match -- Submissions match
WINNER: Taker at 8:20 to capture the World Hvt. Title.

Post-match: Suddenly, Teddy Long's music hit. Long came out on stage and said he regrets to inform everyone that Taker's Hell's Gate submission hold was banned from Smackdown a long time ago by Vickie Guerrero. Unfortunately, that provision still stands. Long said the match must continue. Okay...

7b -- WWE World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. THE UNDERTAKER -- World Hvt. Title match -- Submissions match
They re-stared the match and C.M. Punk snuck up behind Taker to attack him. Punk then slapped on the Anaconda Vice and the referee Scott Armstrong immediately called for the bell. There was no tap out. Ref Hebner called for the bell, Shawn Michaels then took the World Title, and Bret Hart was left in the ring asking "What the f--- is going on?" Long just stood on stage with no reaction as Punk held the World Title in the air. Perhaps the storyline is that Long decided to screw Taker because he was strong-armed into giving Taker a title shot without any merit. Punk jumped up and down with the belt as Taker stood in the ring in disbelief. Ross emphasized that Taker did not tap out after they replayed the finish. PPV closed with Taker staring up at Long in disbelief.
WINNER: C.M. Punk at 0:25 (8:55 overall) in the re-start to retain the World Hvt. Title. Well, that was a pretty silly finish. It was obvious they had no way of booking a clean finish to this match going into the PPV, so the question was how they would screw Taker and keep the belt on Taker. A knock-off version of the Survivor Series '97 was pretty weak. We'll see how they follow-up after the numerous weeks of Vince McMahon getting in Long's ear to do something big with the Smackdown brand. Match was too short for a PPV main event. (*1/2)

[Arcademan]

WWE RAW Results: 9-14-09

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

1 -- U.S. champion KOFI KINGSTON & PRIMO COLON vs. THE MIZ & JACK SWAGGER
WINNERS: Miz & Swagger at 2:58. Too short of a match to really give these four enough focus. Hopefully there's more on the show, as it's merited based on the lack of TV time and Miz stealing the belt. (*)

2 -- GAIL KIM vs. ALICIA FOX -- #1 contender match to Divas Title
WINNER: Alicia at 3:10 to become #1 contender. WWE obviously has faith in Alicia to be in the mix of top female wrestlers on the Raw brand. Or, they just want to incorporate someone new into the mix to challenge Mickie for the title in a short-term feud. Gail continues to just be a bit player in the division. (*)

3 -- TED DIBIASE, JR. (w/Cody Rhodes) vs. SHAWN MICHAELS (w/Triple H)
WINNER: Shawn Michaels via DQ at 9:03. Very good TV match-up leading to a hot post-match angle to keep the feud going. Announcers really emphasized Legacy's victory at the PPV and Michael Cole deserves some props for the history reference with Michaels's eye. Good feud going right now. (**1/2)

4 -- CHAVO GUERRERO & CARLITO (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. EVAN BOURNE & HORNSWOGGLE
WINNERS: Bourne & Hornswoggle at 3:58. Lawler said it best. Let's move on from the coyote chasing the roadrunner. The coyote never wins. (1/2*)

5 -- MVP & TRISH STRATUS vs. Unified tag champion CHRIS JERICHO & BETH PHOENIX
WINNERS: Trish & MVP at 1:30. To the follow-up... (n/a)
Post-match: Trish took the mic and said this is her town and her show. It ain't ending like this. She booked a six-person tag match for right now. That was a much better promo than the three minutes earlier in the show when she seemed to be a little off.

5b -- MVP & MARK HENRY & TRISH STRATUS vs. Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW & BETH PHOENIX
WINNERS: Trish & MVP & Henry at 5:03. Good, high-energy six-person TV tag match. Crowd was into the non-stop action which continued the Jericho & Show vs. Henry & MVP feud. They'll probably put it on PPV again to follow the pattern of Orton vs. Cena and DX vs. Legacy re-matches. (**)

6 -- BATISTA vs. RANDY ORTON -- No Holds Barred
WINNER: Batista at 5:01. Formula gimmick match between Batista and Orton. This week, Orton was back to that familiar position of not having much credibility being duped by Batista at the beginning and taking the loss in the main event. It's been a PPV-to-PPV see-saw with his character lately. When he gets too hot, WWE cools him down just a little bit to even things out. Now the question is where Batista fits in on the Smackdown brand. (*1/4)

[Arcademan]

Ring of Honor TV Results: 9-14-09

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

1 – THE DARK CITY FIGHT CLUB (KORY CHAVIS & JON DAVIS) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (MATT JACKSON & NICK JACKSON)

The announcers described this match-up as a battle of the DCFC's size and power versus the Young Bucks's speed and high-flying. The Bucks offered to shake hands but the DCFC refused, establishing the Bucks as the babyfaces.

Davis started the match against Nick Jackson and took control of the match with his power. At 2:00, with Chavis now in the ring for the DCFC, the Bucks gained the advantage when Nick tagged out to Matt and Matt landed a moonsault off the top rope. Chavis quickly regained control with a double clothesline that flattened both Young Bucks. The DCFC beat down Matt Jackson heel-style for a while, drawing a loud "Young Bucks" chant from the crowd.

At 5:30, Matt made a babyface comeback, dropped Davis with a great-looking chin breaker and then made the hot tag to Nick. At 6:00, the Bucks hit Davis with a devastating-looking springboard splash-moonsault combo for a near fall that Davis only kicked out of because Chavis broke up the pin. The action picked-up, with all four men involved, leading to the finish when Nick caught Chavis with a sunset flip off the top rope into a bridge pin.

WINNERS: The Young Bucks clean in 7:30. Solid tag match. The DCFC got the vast majority of the offence to keep the strong despite losing, which unfortunately limited the opportunity to showcase the Young Bucks's dazzling array of offensive maneuvers. The announcers played up the result as a big upset.

2 – BISON SMITH (w/Prince Nana & Dirty Ernie Osiris) vs. SAL RINAURO

Prazak said that Smith has torn up Puerto Rico and Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. Smith tossed Rinaruo around with some power moves and could have easily pinned him at 0:30, but pulled him up after a two count to deliver more punishment. Smith threw Rinauro out of the ring and beat him up on the outside for a while, including a dive over the ringside barrier while Rinauro was in the front row of seats. Smith then tossed Rinauro back in the ring and pinned him easily.

WINNER: Smith clean in 2:00. Good squash to make Smith look like a monster.

3 - COLT "BOOM BOOM" CABANA vs. JOEY RYAN (w/Prince Nana & Dirty Ernie Osiris)

Cabana hit the ring on fire and sent Ryan to the floor. Ryan conferred with Nana, then got back into the ring only to have Cabana deploy his trademark European-influenced chain wrestling to wrestle circles around Ryan. At 2:30, Nana distracted Cabana, allowing Ryan to land a drop kick to take control of the make. Ryan spent the next couple of minutes working over Cabana's arm. While Cabana was selling Ryan's offense, Hogwood did a nice job talking up Cabana for the way he fought back from a three-to-one disadvantage to win the eight-man elimination match against The Embassy a couple of weeks ago. Ryan set up Cabana for his moustache ride finisher, only for Cabana to slip out of the move and quickly lock in his Billy Goat's curse submission hold, forcing Ryan to tap out.

WINNER: Cabana clean in 6:30. Solid match to continue Cabana's strong push lately. Unfortunately, Cabana's Billy Goat's curse submission looks like it would be easy to escape, which is not ideal for a finisher. Having Ryan lose clean on his debut does not suggest ROH has big plans for him. This may be for the best until either he or Austin Aries change their gimmick, because I do not think there is room in ROH for two sleazy, pink-wearing, moustached heels.

4 – THE BRISCOE BROTHERS (JAY & MARK) vs. KEVIN STEEN & EL GENERICO
 
Both teams got excellent crowd reactions. The crowd seemed more into this match than any ROH match I have seen on HDNet. This may be because the HDNet production crew has significantly improved the lighting and sound.

The match started with a couple of minutes of fast-paced back-and-forth action with lots of tags. The Briscoes took the first advantage at 2:30, but quickly lost the advantage when Mark could not get Steen up for a suplex and Steen reversed the move into a suplex of his own at 3:00. This set the tone for the match, as the two teams began trading the advantage back-and-forth. Each team got lots of double teams and trademark offence, while the pace stayed quick and the action stayed hard-hitting.

At 7:00, the match entered a new phase when Generico and Mark simultaneously dove to the outside onto Jay and Steen respectively. This took Jay and Steen out of the action for a little while. Meanwhile, Generico and Mark got back in the ring and started beating each other senseless. Both ended up flat on their backs being counted down by the referee, but both managed to beat the count and tag out to their partners at 8:30. Now it was Jay and Steen's turn to beat each other up.

Generico and Mark eventually recovered and got back involved. The Briscoes took the advantage at 10:30 when Jay hit Steen with a devastating Death Valley driver on the ring apron. This took Steen out of the action for a while, allowing the Briscoes to double team Generico. At 11:30, Steen recovered and interrupted a springboard doomsday device attempt by the Briscoes and neutralized Mark outside the ring, giving Steen and Generico a chance to double team Jay. Just as Steen and Generico were setting Jay up for their finisher, the American Wolves hit the ring and attacked Steen and Generico, causing the referee to throw the match out.

RESULT: No contest at 12:00. The action in this match was excellent from start to finish, and the fast pace was reminiscent of Dragon Gate-style wrestling. If it had not been for the lack of a finish, this match was on track to be at the same level as the excellent tag matches featured on last week's Dragon Gate pay-per-view.

[Arcademan]

ECW on SyFy Results: 9-15-09

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

1 -- THE HURRICANE vs. WILLIAM REGAL (in a suit)

Action was joined in progress with Hurricane taking it to Regal in his suit sans dinner jacket. Regal then tossed Hurricane to the outside, but Hurricane ran back into the ring and chased Regal to the outside. Regal begged for help from the ECW announcers, but Hurricane smashed him into the announce table. Back in the ring, Regal came back with left hand strikes before Hurricane landed a high cross body block for a two count. Hurricane landed a neckbreaker, then went up top for a cross body for a two count. Regal then bailed to the outside to take an Orton powder, but Hurricane chased him down on the outside. Back in the ring, Regal surprised Hurricane with his big knee smash and made the cover for the win.

WINNER: Regal in 4:00. WWE definitely needed to get sympathy back on Hurricane in the post-match. Not very admirable for the babyface to fight the heel while the heel isn't dressed to compete, especially after the heel got his comeuppance at the PPV. Match was good and the crowd was into it. Hurricane has looked good in-ring since his return from injury. (*1/2)

2 -- YOSHI TATSU vs. ZACK RYDER

Nice start with some chain wrestling to build a methodical pace. Yoshi then took Ryder to the mat and rolled him around into a pin position for a two count. Ryder avoided a corner splash attempt, then stomped on Yoshi's back to begin working him over. Typical Zack Ryder match working the babyface over with mat holds and chinlocks four minutes in.

Yoshi got a knee up in the corner and nailed a roaring elbow smash. Striker loosely referenced the green trunks connection to Misawa after the roaring elbow, but didn't name Misawa by name. Yoshi made his full comeback and took Ryder to the corner for a top rope huracanrana. Crowd wanted a three, but Ryder kicked out. Moments later, Ryder hit a flying leg lariat that appeared to be the finish, but Yoshi kicked out. Yoshi then slipped out of a back drop and nailed a kick strike to the back of the head for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Yoshi in 7:00. Nice finish to a competitive match. You knew Ryder wasn't winning, though, when it looked like every other Ryder match where mid-way through he was settling into the trademark chinlocks and mat holds with the facial expressions. Yoshi looks pretty good right as an up-and-coming babyface. He should get some focus in the main event battle royal to reinforce the win. (**)

3 -- ECW Title #1 contender Battle Royal

Striker liked Sheamus as his darkhorse to win the match. That means he's not winning. Striker then changed his mind and went Zeke or Kozlov. Or, maybe Yoshi. Ryder is confident. "You just picked everyone," Mathews retorted. Basic battle royal opening with some one-on-one action in each of the four corners. Shelton then dumped Burchill out at 1:25 to make the first elimination. Action slowed to a crawl as men tried to dump other men out of the ring. Crowd broke the monotony with a brief "Goldust, Goldust" chant. Yoshi, Dreamer, and Shelton tried to dump Zeke out of the ring, but Zeke fought them off and went to work. Yoshi started screaming and grunting trying to make an elimination. No dice.

At 5:00, Shelton skinned the cat following an Ezekiel toss and safely returned to the ring. Reks randomly wound up on the apron, then Kozlov and Jackson had a mid-ring stare down taking us to break. Rough, turn-the-channel start to this one. But, it's building to a better finish.

Back from break, we were shown Reks getting eliminated by Kozlov. So, we're down to eight. And Yoshi was eliminated either during the break or right out of it. So much for Yoshi getting focus. WWE must have figured a singles match victory was enough for tonight. They teased a Goldust elimination at 11:30, but Goldust held on until Dreamer could make a fiery save. Crowd again with the "Goldust" chant. Striker referenced Jimmy Hart when talking about Ryder laying back trying to avoid everyone. Suddenly, Shelton exploded on Sheamus with a clothesline to eliminate him. Shelton and Dreamer then eliminated Jackson. Sheamus then yanked Shelton down to the ground and a brawl broke out on the floor. Not clear on whether Shelton was eliminated. Shelton didn't care and chased Sheamus to the back. Announcers confirmed Shelton is done.

At 13:45, they were down to four with Ryder, Dreamer, Goldust, and Kozlov. Crowd wanted Goldust, of course. Kozlov didn't like that and headbutted him in the gut. Goldust then came back on Ryder with an exploder clothesline. He tried to eliminate the Woo Woo Woo man, but Ryder held onto the top rope, only to pull the top rope down to send Goldust over the top rope to the floor. Crowd was hot for Goldust being eliminated. Goldy is over big time. Down to Kozlov, Ryder, and Dreamer. Dreamer then pulled the same trick Ryder used on Goldust by pulling down the top rope on Kozlov. Kozlov out. In the chaos, Ryder then snuck up behind Dreamer and immediately eliminated him to win the match and become new #1 contender. Mathews said they know Ryder is next. He celebrated post-match and did the title-around-the-waist motion to close the show.

WINNER: Ryder at 16:05 to become new #1 contender. Nice scramble finish and they got some new blood in the ECW Title picture. Christian vs. Ryder should be really good with WWE giving Ryder another run at Christian after their good TV singles match a few months ago. Battle royal was pretty weak early on, then picked up steam as Goldust remained in the picture. Goldust was the star, as he is really connecting with crowds lately. They need to continue finding a way to feature him weekly on TV. (*3/4)

[Arcademan]

WWE Superstars Results: 9-17-09

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

1 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. CHRIS MASTERS

Canadian crowd hot for Santino, who continued to do the "aw shucks" routine on the huge cheers. Santino grabbed a headlock, but Masters shoved him to the mat. Masters hopped up trying to look tough to answer Masters. Santino comically tried to pick up Masters for a slam, but Masters blocked and dropped Santino on his back to begin an attack. Masters landed a long vertical suplex, then dropped a leg for a two count. Only works for Hogan. Santino tried to come back with a cross-body off the ropes, but Masters caught him in mid-air for a bear hug. Santino sold, but then Hulked himself up inside the bear hug. Looked very inappropriate with Santino's hands close to Masters's crotch trying to escape. Masters then cut him off, but Santino went into his full "You ah make me ah so mad" routine and fired off with left hands. Masters tried a clothesline, but Santino did an R-Truth and dropped down to one knee to duck and nail a clothesline. He called for the Masterlock, but Masters knew the combination to break his own hold. Masters then slapped on the Masterlock himself and Santino tried his best John Cena face to escape, but Masters tightened it and he faded out to give Masters the win.

WINNER: Masters in 5:00. Great entertainment-centric match. Masters was in fine form as the heel dashing the dreams of the crowd hoping to see the entertaining Santino score a win. Santino was so great creating entertaining TV while not taking too much away from Masters. Then again, Triple H did more damage in five seconds on Raw two weeks ago than anything Santino could have done being too comedic and not taking Masters serious. (*1/2)

2 -- ECW champion CHRISTIAN vs. PAUL BURCHILL -- non-title match

Basic start between Christian and Burchill as Ryder gave a shout-out to his girlfriend back home in Long Island. Burchill slowly worked Christian over, then Christian made a comeback and went up top. Burchill had it scouted and started to run away, but Christian chased him down near the ropes and clotheslined him to the floor. Christian in control going to break.

Back from break, Burchill was in control as Ryder talked more trash about Christian. Burchill then took Christian up top and nailed a superplex. Christian came back with a Tornado DDT out of the corner, then stood on Burchill's neck Burchill was throat-first across the middle rope. Ryder said it was cheating. Would be appropriate for a Bryan Danielson "he has until five!" point from Striker. Christian then nailed a Reverse DDT at 12:00, but Burchill kicked out. Christian then went up top for a diving head butt, but Burchill rolled out of the way. Burchill tried to follow with a corner splash, but Christian blocked and nailed a D.J. Gabriel European Uppercut from the second rope. He followed right up with the Killswitch for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Christian in 12:00. Good, basic match to plant seeds for Christian vs. Ryder down the road. Burchill continues to be put in position to look better than he was a few months ago, even if he lost. (**)

3 -- DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. FINLAY

Nice start early on with a mat exchange that led to Finlay corkscrewing Ziggler into the mat. Ziggler then ran away to the ropes to hold off Finlay. Suddenly, he spotted that Finlay's shoelaces were untied. He demanded Finlay tie his boots, then Finlay bent down to tie, but Ziggler kicked him right in the head. Great heel move. Finlay, pissed, then chased Ziggler out of the ring. Ziggler ran over the guardrail to the front row and told Finlay to get back or he'd walk. They cut to break with Ziggler running away from Finlay. Ziggler is slowly perfecting his heel characteristics. Fun to watch his development.

Ziggler was back in the ring and in control back from break. Jim Ross and Todd Grisham picked up a discussion on the "conspiracy" ending to The Undertaker vs. Punk at Breaking Point. They plugged tomorrow night's show to find out some answers to the proceedings. Ziggler was in control working over Finlay with some more mat holds, which Ross said John Morrison is probably watching to scout their upcoming Intercontinental Title match. Ziggler's facial expressions and heel mannerisms are terrific. At this point in the match, he settled into a pattern of delivering a move, then slowly lowering his head and eyes to measure Finlay for another move. Very subtle, but it adds up over the course of a match.

At 10:00, Ziggler talked trash to Finlay and asked him what he's going to do about his attack. Finlay responded with a forearm, but Ziggler cut him off with a hard whip to the corner. Ziggler pounded him down in the corner with forearms, but Finlay came back with a kick strike and a hard clothesline. Suddenly, they bumped heads in the corner and collapsed to the mat. Looked worse the first time and two replays softened the blow. They came to their feet and ended up in the corner where Finlay keeps his shillelagh. Ref bent down to move the shillelagh (showing smarts for the first time in five years), which allowed Ziggler to rake the eyes behind the ref's back. Ziggler then nailed his Zig-Zag reverse bulldog drop for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler in 15:00. Really nice match. Nothing fancy or Morrison-Rey in the highspots department, but they told a good story and Ziggler walked away enhanced as a top heel act on the Smackdown brand. He's really sharpening all of the little "Randy Orton heel mannerisms" in his toolbox to make himself stand out. It's fun to watch a young star progress and really "get it" when it comes to character presentation and what the purpose of the match is. Well done. (**1/2)

[Arcademan]

TNA Impact! Results: 9-17-09

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

1) THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE vs. TARA & CHRISTY HEMME
Knockout Tag Team Champion Tournament
WINNERS: The Beautiful People in five minutes. That was a decent opener, though I'm a bit (pleasantly?) confused—I thought this tournament was designed to get Tara and Kong on opposite sides of a ring without giving away their "dream" match.

(2) "THE POPE" D'ANGELO DINERO vs. SUICIDE
WINNER: D'Angelo Dinero in five minutes. I still have no idea what this feud is about, but I'm not going to complain about it.

(3) BASHIR & KIYOSHI vs. HERNANDEZ
WINNER: Hernandez in two minutes. That was one of the best squashes I've seen in ages.
After the match Homicide runs down to the ring. Hernandez goes to cut him off, but EY comes behind him and whacks him with a chair. Well, they didn't really drag out the suspense regarding how EY would interact with Hernadnez. Homicide holds the Feast or Fired briefcase over Hernandez's throat, and EY pounds it with a chair.

(4) ALISSA FLASH vs. CODY DEANER
Lumber Jack Match
WINNER: Alissa Flash in a minute and a half.

(5) KEVIN NASH vs. MICK FOLEY
Legends' Championship Match
WINNER: Kevin Nash by DQ in five minutes. I was a bit suspicious when they said they were giving this match away.

(6) SCOTT STEINER & BRUTUS MAGNUS (w/DOUG WILLIAMS & BOOKER T) vs. BROTHER RAY & ROBERT ROODE (w/JAMES STORM & BROTHER RAY)
WINNERS: Magnus & Steiner in five minutes. That was a pretty good use of time.

(7) AWESOME KONG & RAESHA SAEED vs. SARITA & TAYLOR WILDE
WINNERS: Taylor Wilde & Sarita in, you guessed it, five minutes. I really don't know why they didn't make this match the final and give it 15 minutes.

( SAMOA JOE vs. MATT MORGAN
WINNER: A no-contest maybe in 3 minutes? Joe might have been disqualified.
After the match, Angle works over Morgan. Joe walks over, seemingly about to help, when Daniels runs down and jumps on him. Daniels and Joe fight to the back as referees separate Angle and Morgan.

[Arcademan]

WWE Smackdown Results: 9-18-09

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

1- JOHN MORRISON vs. MIKE KNOX

Knox informed fans of “restless leg syndrome” this week. I think he made some sort of veiled threat to Morrison in there, but it was over my head. Knox was in control until a flip kick to the face by Morrison. Then another, similar kick followed. He low-bridged Knox, sending the big man to ringside. Morrison hit a springboard moonsault on Knox, landing on his feet in the end in a very smooth-looking move. They went to break about 1:30 into the match.

Knox had Morrison in a chin-lock out of break. Apparently, Knox had his way with Morrison during the break. Bicycle kick to the back of Morrison’s head for two. Knox settled into a back-breaker. Morrison turned an attempted back-breaker into a DDT. Morrison took out Knox’s knee with a low dropkick, then went upstairs with a kick to the face. A running knee to the chin followed. Standing shooting-star for two. Knox came back with a cross-body for a near-fall. It appeared he was going for the Knox-Out, when Morrison dodged it and hit Knox with a Flying Chuck Kick. Starship Pain for the win by Morrison.

WINNER: Morrison, at 7:55. I’m glad it was this competitive; I thought it’d be another Morrison vs. Haas match here.

2- MELINA vs. MICHELLE MCCOOL

McCool limped to the ring with a big brace on her knee. McCool got into the ropes before Melina could get her hands on the Women’s Champion. Reverse kick to McCool, who took a rest on the outside. Melina came out after her, but McCool snuck in and caught Melina coming in. She slammed Melina’s head into the mat and used the hair judiciously. Kick to the short-rib area by McCool. JR noted that Michelle wasn’t favoring the knee nearly as much as she had earlier. Dragon sleeper applied by McCool. Knee to the face by McCool. A few fans started to audibly chant, “We Want Trish.” Melina avoided contact with McCool, which sent the heel to the outside where she grabbed her knee. McCool was worked over, then thrown back into the ring. Double-knee to the back by Melina with McCool’s throat hung over the middle rope. Michelle got the elbow up on a charge, but Melina Matrix’d her way out of a big boot- then took one right in the mush anyway. Michelle got Melina up for what appeared to be a Widow’s Peak, but Melina did her flip powerbomb from that angle for the win.

WINNER: Melina, at 4:18. No real complaints about this one.

3- CRYME TYME vs. THE HART DYNASTY

So is this feud going to go anywhere or what? David Hart Smith and Shad Gaspard squared off at the outset. Grisham compared Smith’s dancing skills to Elaine from Seinfeld. Gaspard with a flapjack after getting Smith up for a suplex. Some double-teaming led to JTG getting the advantage. Shad press slammed Kidd down to the mat. Crowd seemed a bit quieter than I would’ve expected for this match. They took a break 2:00 into the match.

The Harts were in control out of break, with David smashing some elbows into the Trapezius muscle of Shad. Kidd tagged in and was like a pitbull in there, aggressively attacking Shad. A Curt Hennig-like flip neck-breaker on the seated Shad by Smith, who tagged in and again grounded the bigger member of Cryme Tyme. Big boot allowed Shad to come back, but Smith grabbed on to the ankle of Gaspard, preventing him from crawling to his corner. Headlock applied by Kidd. Gaspard caught Kidd with a clothesline as Kidd came off the ropes, a clothesline Ross compared to Stan Hansen. JTG tagged in to some boos. He worked over Kidd. Roll-up with the tights by Kidd, but JTG reversed it for two. The ref tried to keep Natlya out of the ring, as did Eve Torres. Kidd came in with a blockbuster on JTG for the win, as the ref was too distracted by the ladies to notice Smith helping Kidd illegally.

WINNERS: Harts, at 11:54. Not a big fan of these one; I feel like I’ve seen it too many times.

4- THE GREAT KHALI vs. KANE

Khali took Kane into the corner with some forearms, then some boots. Big boot right to the face of Kane. Kane escaped the ring to avoid further damage. Khali chased him down (and I’m being generous saying that). He bounced Kane’s head off the announce table, but Kane got a chair and hit Khali with it for the DQ.

WINNER: Khali, by DQ, at :47.

Kane dragged the unconscious Khali over toward the ring steps. He put a leg on one of the steps, then smashed it several times with the top of the stairs. The fans were so silent you could hear Ranjin Singh yelling at Kane from the other side of the ring. The ref and Singh tended to Khali as Kane walked up the ramp, staring at his handiwork on the Titantron.

5- CHRIS JERICHO vs. BATISTA

Jericho slapped Batista in the face, which only angered the Animal. Batista caught a cross-body attempt and slammed Jericho down for a quick two-count. Jericho with a basement dropkick on the knees of Batista. Crowd was quiet here too, apparently not into Batista’s in-ring return to Smackdown. Jericho took Batista to the outside as Big Show looked on backstage on a monitor. Jericho slammed Batista into the announce table, then punched away at the skull of the big man. He wrapped Batista up in a submission hold on the mat. Batista got him up and on his back, and got him off by running backward into the turnbuckles. Jericho took over once again though with some hard (and loud) kicks. Not even much of a response for Jericho. Batista caught Jericho and slammed him down as he continued to hold his knee. More shoulders to the mid-section by Dave. Jericho put up a foot though on a charge, then landed a face-buster. He walked into a spinebuster to end his momentum. He got Jericho ready for a Batista Bomb, but Jericho got down and hit an enziguiri for a near-fall. Jericho went to the top rope, but jumped right into a clothesline. Batista continued to limp around the ring, trying to walk off an injury. Jericho dodged a spear and Jericho rolled him up for two, even using the ropes as leverage. Crowd started to wake up, chanting “Y2J.” Batista again set up for a Batista Bomb, but instead, Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho. Batista was able to turn though and kick Jericho off. Codebreaker, but Batista caught him and Batista Bombed him. The pin was academic.

WINNER: Batista, at 6:26. Surprising lack of heat aside, this felt like a house show match.

As Batista celebrated, Josh Mathews went up to Big Show backstage and asked about what just happened. Show said if Batista wants to rumble with him next week, Batista’s luck will run out. They went back to Batista celebrating as the show faded out.

[Arcademan]

TNA No Surrender PPV Results: 9-20-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's ongoing report). To view in-ring results, go to Neo-Geo Forum: Official WWE Thread Post #9338 and posts thereafter or TOKYOPOP: Arcademan Blog (direct link to latest blog).

1 -- TAYLOR WILDE & SARITA vs. BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (VELVET SKY & MADISON RAYNE) -- TNA Knockouts Tag Title match -- Tournament finals
WINNERS: Taylor & Sarita in 5:00 to capture the TNA Knockout Tag Titles. The right team won. BP aren't the same without Angelina. Taylor & Sarita feel like a more natural tag team for the Knockouts division. Felt like a necessary re-start taking it back to when Gail Kim was the top babyface in the division carrying the banner. (*1/2)

2 -- HERNANDEZ vs. ERIC YOUNG
WINNER: Hernandez in 0:45. Exactly what it was supposed to be. Hernandez dominant. (n/a)

3 -- TNA X Division champion SAMOA JOE vs. DANIELS -- X Division Title match
WINNER: Samoa Joe via submission in 15:00. Good TNA PPV match in 2009, but this would have been just an okay match in 2005 when the X Division was at its peak. That's not fair to Joe and Daniels, who have four more years of bumps and bruises on their bodies and have reached a smart point of being content with good matches to stretch their bodies as long as possible to provide for their families several more years. It wasn't worth trying to have a five-star match on the undercard of an "off-brand" TNA PPV. Of note, weird vibe to this crowd tonight. Very subdued and not the typical ra-ra crowd atmosphere. (***1/2)

4 -- SUICIDE vs. POPE D'ANGELO DINERO -- Falls Count Anywhere
WINNER: Dinero in 13:00. A silly gimmick match. Just didn't have the same vibe as WWE's Falls Count Anywhere presentation last Sunday. Crowd wasn't reacting to anything and the wrestlers had some awkward moments with some comedy mixed in. The Suicide gimmick just needs to go. It's old and played out. TNA got the most out of it with their marketing award, but it's time to move on. (*1/2)

5 -- ODB vs. CODY DEANER -- Knockouts Title match
WINNER: ODB in 7:00 to win the Knockouts Title. Took TNA a month, but they finally put the belt on ODB. Above-average match with some good wrestling mixed with the expected gimmicks and attempts at comedy. (*3/4)

6 -- Legends champion KEVIN NASH vs. ABYSS -- Legends Title vs. $50,000 bounty
WINNER: Nash in 8:00. Just not a PPV-worthy segment on any level. Should have been kept in a throwaway segment on free TV. Actually, shouldn't have been on anyone's TV. Announcers were in business for themselves just doing a Mystery Science critique on the match and talking about whatever they wanted to do. There's a difference between "freedom" to call wrestling however you want to and just bringing absolutely nothing to the table. Don West is sorely missed. (n/a)

7 -- BEER MONEY vs. BRITISH INVASION vs. TEAM 3D vs. TNA tag team champions SCOTT STEINER & BOOKER T -- LETHAL LOCKDOWN Match
WINNERS: Beer Money in 21:00. I can't review this match. I've seen this match 25 times too many and I'm just numb to the same tired, formula gimmick match TNA presents every single month. Plus, the direct chair shot to the head on Rob Terry just completely took me out of this. (n/a)

8 -- RHINO vs. BOBBY LASHLEY
WINNER: Lashley in 7:00. Basic mid-card PPV match. Lashley looked fine, but this wasn't memorable and came across like just another match despite being Lashley's first TNA PPV match. Would have had more juice if Lashley hadn't wrestled on free TV before this. (*1/4)

9 -- TNA World Hvt. champion KURT ANGLE vs. A.J. STYLES vs. STING vs. MATT MORGAN vs. HERNANDEZ -- TNA World Title match
WINNER: A.J. Styles in 15:00 to capture the TNA World Title. The only reason to order the replay of this PPV is for a historic moment of Styles winning the title belt. Match was good in spots, but there are only so many three-way or four-way sequences you can set up in a match like this without it becoming repetitive. Second biggest story was Hernandez finally losing that briefcase and being written off TNA storylines, apparently. Not sure what to make of that right now. (**1/2)

[Arcademan]

WWE RAW Results: 9-21-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed to results because this place has a 10k limit on space DUMB RULE!!!

1 -- CODY RHODES (w/Ted DiBiase) vs. TRIPLE H (w/Shawn Michaels)
WINNER: Hunter via DQ at 9:10. Let's get it out of the way first. Chair shots near the head don't prove anyone's toughness in 2009; it proves stupidity. Anyways, this was very intense and a great segment to build to Legacy vs. DX. WWE is planting seeds to see those punk kids Legacy get theirs in the Cell in two weeks. Well done. (**1/2)

2 -- THE MIZ vs. EVAN BOURNE
WINNER: The Miz at 5:25. Really nice TV match. Miz's aggressive approach in the ring is serving him very well. His in-ring work built up a lot of sympathy for babyface Bourne and the crowd was very much into the action as a result. Miz, DiBiase, and Rhodes are on top of their games right now as mid-card heels on the verge of a breakthrough. (**1/4)

3 -- Divas champion MICKIE JAMES vs. BETH PHOENIX -- non-title match
WINNER: Beth Phoenix at 1:01. Well, there's your probable Place Your Bets shortest match winner. Very curious booking of Mickie, but they're short on time tonight with three more matches to go and cut out the majority of this match-up. Alicia looked good as a viable threat to the belt. (n/a)

4 -- U.S. champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. JACK SWAGGER -- U.S. Title match
WINNER: No Announcement around 1:45 when the segment ended. So, Swagger has the belt at the end of this week. Looks like build-up is for a three-way at the PPV. (n/a)

5 -- CHAVO GUERRERO vs. CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER -- Santino Marella special referee
WINNER: Cedric the Entertainer at 4:11. A waste of time. Sure, it'll get them on The Soup or whatever other entertainment show WWE wants to be on, but it continues to reinforce the idea to the general public that (a) Jay Leno can work an armbar on Hulk Hogan because it's just silly wrestling that doesn't require any athletic ability or training and (b) that WWE is low-brow, low-IQ entertainment. The fact that they gave this four minutes, but didn't have time to even announce a result for the U.S. Title match shows where their priorities are. (n/a)

6 -- RANDY ORTON & Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW vs. WWE champion JOHN CENA & MARK HENRY & MVP
WINNERS: Team Orton at 8:15. Predictable (not wrong!), good finish to the match to put Cena in jeopardy going into next week. Continued the back-and-forth booking of Orton looking like an idiot and looking like a credible heel. This week, he looked pretty smart at the end of the day. Cena selling fear and acting like he's faced with a 10,000 foot jump with just a backpack just does not work at all on the same show he mocked all of those elements and mocked his feud against Randy Orton earlier in the show. WWE can't have it both ways with Cena trying to be Mr. Comedian at one point, then over-selling fear later in the show. Good outweighed the bad of bridging to the lead-in show next week, though, with the crowd super-hot for the match to convey to the home audience they were really into in the storyline. (**1/2)

[Arcademan]

ECW on SyFy Results: 9-22-09

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

1. Yoshi Tatsu defeated Paul Burchill (with Katie Lea) in 6:28. Burchill bumped a lot early and Yoshi a couple of nearfalls. Burchill hit a Fisherman’s suplex from the top rope. Burchill hit a sick Samoan drop for a long two count. Striker made a comment about Yoshi’s popularity that seemed to have been taped after the original broadcast.

Yoshi hit a series of kicks, a rolling snapmare, and a top rope spinning heel kick for a two count. Both men fought each other back up to the top. Burchill pushed Yoshi off and hit a flying knee drop for a two count. Yoshi scored the win after his weak finisher kick...

Twill’s Two Cents: Nice follow up win for Yoshi, but there was not one mention of Yoshi beating Zack Ryder last week, so that was a dropping of the ball. Good match here with conflicting styles working well together.

2. Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov (with William Regal) defeated two jobbers in Zeke won the squash match with his version of the Rock Bottom. Kozlov hit his finisher after the match...
Twill’s Two Cents: This was an obvious way to get Zeke and Kozlov ready for an ECW Tag Team shot. Oh wait. They can be impressive, but are they really getting over when it counts?

3. Christian defeated Zack Ryder to retain the ECW Championship. Christian was having his way with Ryder on the floor, but Ryder rammed Christian into the post. In the ring, Christian was standing on the top, but Ryder ankle swept him heading into commercial...

Back from commercial, Ryder hit a huge backdrop for a two count. Christian finished a long Irish whip sequence with a standing dropkick. Ryder was able to lure Christian to the apron. He pushed him from the apron into the ring steps. Ryder locked in a leg scissors around the ribs of Christian in the center of the ring.

Ryder worked on the lower back and ribs of Christian. He locked in the leg scissors again. Ryder went to the top rope and mistimed his jump, allowing Christian to surprise Ryder with a flapjack. Christian scored a nearfall with a reverse DDT.

Christian tried a springboard sunset flip, but Ryder sat forward and nearly pinned him. Striker did a nice job saying “Shades of Wembley Stadium,” referring of course to Bret Hart vs. Davey Boy Smith. Ryder hit the leg lariat for a two and there were several good nearfalls late in the match. Christian hit the Killswitch to win the match...

William Regal’s music hit and he came out to the ring. Christian had a sick cut on his right ribcage. Regal called the previous match a farce and said the slate was wiped clean. He said he would be the next ECW Champion. Christian attacked him. Regal retreated to the back as Christian celebrated with the belt...

Twill’s Two Cents: I really enjoyed the match between Christian and Ryder and they really turned it up in the last few minutes. Although I am a William Regal fan, I was not happy with how they quickly threw Ryder aside after the loss to go right back to Christian vs. Regal. I hope Ryder has more to say about this next week and he is not done at the top of the ECW card.

[Arcademan]

WWE Superstars Results: 9-24-09

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

1 -- CHRIS MASTERS vs. PRIMO COLON

Back-and-forth early on, then Masters blasted Carlito with a left-arm lariat. Nice piece of sound sweetening on the contact ala the Dallas Mavericks's American Airlines Center on free throws to enhance Masters's move. Masters then went to work on Primo with a methodical attack before airballing on a leg drop. Primo made his comeback, but Masters reversed a whip to the ropes and sent Primo crashing into the turnbuckles. Masters called for the Masterlock, but Carlito kicked him in the gut and landed a kneelift before landing a series of left arm lariats that led to a spinning elbow smash taking Masters off his feet. Primo followed with a missile dropkick for a two count only. They went to the finishing sequence where Masters attempted the Masterlock after blocking a cross body splash, but Carlito slipped into a victory roll for the quick pin and the win. Carlito was shocked he won the match post-match while Masters had his usual look of frustration losing yet another match.

WINNER: Primo in 6:00. Very nice finishing sequence. Fluid and told a good story of Masters being just a step slow compared to his faster opponents on WWE TV. Neither man seems to be going anywhere overall, but this was good. (**)

2 -- WILLIAM REGAL (w/Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson) vs. GOLDUST

Goldust started with the early advantage working Regal's left arm, then Regal went to work on Goldy's arm. Goldust made a comeback a minute later, then out of nowhere, Jackson interfered against Goldust and the ref caught it for a DQ.

Afterward, Regal sneered at Goldust and his henchmen laid him out. Regal then put Goldust in the Regal Stretch. Suddenly, ECW babyfaces stormed the ring including ECW champ Christian, Yoshi Tatsu, and Tommy Dreamer. After a brief battle, Goldust finally cleared the Roundtable out of the ring. Christian, Yoshi, Dreamer, and Goldust stood tall in the ring as Regal's group retreated on the floor.

WINNER: Goldust via DQ in 4:00. I liked this on all fronts. Regal vs. Goldust didn't need a finish here, as there's a program to be had on ECW TV that could be similar to Goldust vs. Sheamus. Also, it was good to see Yoshi included with the big kids to give him a little rub being in the same camera shot as the brand's champion. This was good. (*1/4)

3 -- Women's champion MICHELLE McCOOL & LAYLA vs. MELINA & MARIA

McCool and Melina picked up their feud to start, then Maria tagged in and was cheap-shotted from behind, leading to McCool and Layla working over Dolph's gal pal. Maria teased a hot tag, but then walked into a big boot to the jaw from McCool behind the ref's back. Layla then made the easy cover on Maria for the pin and the win. Afterward, McCool and Layla celebrated while Maria motioned she didn't want any of Melina's sympathy.

WINNERS: McCool & Layla in 3:00. Standard divas match. Storyline reinforcement was good, though. (*)

4 -- MATT HARDY vs. KANE

Kane was quickly in control as Grisham talked about Hardy's World Title/main event aspirations. No mentions of Jeff Hardy, who kind of has that "Jeff who?" label on WWE TV now. Plausible explanation is they don't want to draw attention to Jeff and take away from the remaining Hardy on the roster. Matt was in control going to the break.

Back from break, Kane was on the attack going to work on Matt with hard stomps and kicks. Hardy made a comeback at 10:00 and hit a top rope bulldog for a two count. Crowd interest escalating to its peak as the wrestlers are picking up the pace. Nice match developing here as Kane elbowed out of the side effect and tried a powerslam, but Hardy hit a DDT instead. The action moved to the corner where Hardy landed successive right hands, but Kane put up his fists to block. Kane then crotched Hardy across the top rope. Ref warned him. Kane then yanked him up in the air and back down across the top rope crotch-first a second time and the ref called for a DQ. That might be a first.

WINNER: Hardy via DQ in 12:00. Okay singles match. Kane is limited on what he can do in the ring, but he's still making a good living with his recognizable character and memorable traits that WWE has reinforced over the years. Hardy was fine, but he's still getting his bearings back in the ring. Unsatisfying end to the show after the acceptable DQ in the other top singles match of the show between Regal and Goldust. The DQ in the ECW match seemed to have a purpose, whereas this seemed like WWE trying to protect two wrestlers on the mid-card. (*3/4)

[Arcademan]

TNA Impact! Results: 9-24-09

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

1. Suicide defeated D'Angelo Dinero in a street fight. Suicide made his entrance on the stage only to be attacked from behind by Dinero. D'Angelo sold the pay-per-view match by coming out with his ribs taped. Suicide went right after the ribs by striking them with a kendo stick.

They fought inside the ring where weapons were scattered. Dinero picked up a cane and struck Suicide with it, then strutted while using the cane. Nice. They traded offense and used a variety of weapons, including a hockey stick, crutch, and trash cans. At 4:45, Suicide went for a springboard move, but Dinero ran, leapt off the chair, and speared Suicide in mid-air. Great move that scored a big pop. In the end, Suicide hit his finisher on a trash can and scored the clean pin...

Powell's POV: A good brawl. These two are working so hard, but the creative team never bothered to establish a purpose. They've hinted that there's a history between the two wrestlers, but they never bothered to tell the story. As such, the fans just sit back and cheer the moves more than one wrestler or another. Again, though, the wrestlers worked their asses off.

2. Rhino fought Brother Devon to a double countout in 1:15. Rhino was introduced first and ran to the ring, only to be attacked by Devon. Wait, didn't something similar happen before the last match? The two wrestlers rolled inside the ring briefly and then fought at ringside until the referee counted them out. Devon was busted open.

Security ran out to pull them apart. Brother Ray joined them. After security cleared out, Ray stood between both bloody wrestlers and asked why they were fighting given their history together. He continued to talk without a mic while the camera mics picked up his comments. Rhino and Devon shook hands. Ray said the feud was over. Suddenly, Rhino gored Ray and left him lying. "That SOB," Taz said. "You gotta be kidding me"...

Powell's POV: It's good to see Taz pick sides. It's a heated feud between some of his longtime colleagues, so he can help get Rhino over by expressing his frustration and anger over Rhino's actions.

3. Sarita and Taylor Wilde defeated Tara and ODB to retain the TNA Knockouts Tag Title in 3:45. Tenay and Taz reminded viewers to double check their onscreen guides to insure it was properly set to record the show. Two minutes into the match, Awesome Kong came to ringside. Tara went right after Kong and they fought their way to the back.

ODB fought off the champs for a bit, but they hit her with the springboard dropkick into the suplex move they used at the pay-per-view to beat her. Tara returned to the ring afterward. ODB shoved Tara and they bickered briefly until the show went to commercial...

Powell's POV: ODB had her title stolen by her boyfriend and she lost on the first show since she officially won the TNA Knockouts Title. Even Rey Mysterio is sitting at home saying, "Damn, that's a bad title reign." By the way, bonus points to Tenay for calling out Taz for making dated references. First, he mentioned Phil Espisito when hockey came up, and he referred to ODB's panties as bloomers in this match. Tenay asked if Civil War references were coming up next.

4. Samoa Joe defeated Homicide and Daniels in 6:10. Joe debuted a new look. It's like boxing shorts with a touch of gladiator. All three wrestlers went to ringside and Homicide asked a fan (Vince Russo) for a chair. The referee stopped Homicide from using it. Late in the match, Homicide hit a neckbreaker on Joe and then gloated. Joe stood up, suplexed Homicide, and applied the Kokina Clutch for the win...

Powell's POV: Wow, a Russo cameo. That's as much as I want to see of him on camera going forward. The presentation of this match was lousy. If you're going to give away title matches on television then you should at least hype them and make them seem meaningful. There's no reason this match couldn't have been a main event one week. Instead, it just came out of nowhere and they didn't even bother to give replays of the finish.

5. Hernandez and Matt Morgan defeated Kurt Angle and Eric Young in 2:25. Sheik Abdul Bashir sat in on commentary while Kiyoshi stood behind him. Bashir mentioned something about the Mexican who mows his lawn on commentary. Hernandez showed off his strength early by picking up Kurt and tossing him. In the end, Morgan hit the Carbon Footprint on Young and scored the pin while angle watched from ringside.

Daivari wasn't happy with Angle. The British Invasion came out and stood on the entrance ramp to block Angle's path. Booker T and Scott Steiner came out and stood on the stage. The Invasion split to allow Angle to walk by. He did the Mafia hand sign in their faces as he walked by...

Powell's POV: Fun, short match. The babyfaces were both over. The only question I have is if Angle is wrestling Morgan at the pay-per-view, then why was all the focus placed on the bickering between the Mafia and World Elite?

6. Bobby Lahsley beat Jethro Holliday in 1:25. Lashley dominated the match and finished off Holliday with a submission hold...

Powell's POV: Poor hype throughout the show for this match. I honestly forgot about it. It's just a shame that they can't find anything for Holliday in TNA. He's a talented guy who they just won't get behind. His only offense in this match was a boot to the face.

7. Scott Steiner and Booker T (w/Sharmell) defeated Mick Foley and Abyss to retain the TNA Tag Titles in 2:45. Foley brought the video tape to ringside and left it with the announcers. Tenay announced Nash vs. Stevie, and an X Division ladder match with the winner becoming No. 1 contender for next week.

The fans were behind Foley and Abyss. Foley tagged in and DDT'd Abyss, which received no reaction from the fans. The heels finished off Abyss for the win. After the match, Foley blamed Abyss for ruining the caricature. Foley slammed the videotape over his head. He continued to beat him down and talk to him over the mic at the same time.

Jeremy Borash came out and asked what Foley was doing. Foley clamed down and started to leave with Borash, but stopped and grabbed his barbwire baseball bat off the table. Foley returned to the ring and struck the already blood-soaked Abyss with the bat several times. Foley left the ring and said, "Now he's learned his lesson." Blood was pouring from Abyss's head as he cried out, "Why?" to close the show...

Powell's POV: I get that Foley is deranged and his character is big on the light comedy, but the whole caricature thing was just ridiculous. The fans didn't even know how to respond because they clearly like Foley more than Abyss at this point. I wish the roles were reversed and Foley was the babyface and Abyss was back in monster mode.

[Arcademan]

WWE Smackdown Results: 9-25-09

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

1- JOHN MORRISON & FINLAY vs. MIKE KNOX & DOLPH ZIGGLER

Big shoulder tackle from Finlay, as he was pretty much hitting anything that moved (save for his partner and referee John Cone- so I guess only two guys). Then Knox capitalized on the over-aggressiveness of the Irishman. Ziggler tagged in and applied a unique rear chin-lock. He settled in that move as they went to break 1:30 into the match.

This time, it was Knox with Finlay in the chin-lock. Those poor fans there live. Jaw-buster allowed Finlay to get out of it, but Knox clotheslined him back down. Good teamwork thus far from the heels. Like every tag match over five minutes in WWE in the last two years (at least), the heels worked to stop Finlay’s many attempts at a tag. Another chin-lock from Knox. JR once again talked about “buying stock” in Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler kept Finlay grounded, but took a risk in a splash in the corner that did not pay off. Ziggler and Finlay both made tags. Morrison flew around the ring and hit a hurricanrana on Knox. Leg lariat followed, then a standing shooting-star press for two. Bicycle kick by Knox out of the corner on the I.C. Champ. He knocked Finlay off the apron, but that allowed Morrison to recover and land the Flying Chuck kick, and the pin was broken up by Ziggler. Cross-body by Knox, but Morrison ducked and Knox landed on his partner. Finlay with the shillelagh shot, then Morrison hit his finisher on Knox for the win.

WINNERS: Morrison and Finlay, at 9:20. Way too formula. I still don’t get the booking of Finlay, a face, to constantly use a foreign object.

2- SLAM MASTER J vs. KANE

Saw this one coming a mile away. J started off with some dropkicks, then Kane followed with a corner clothesline and side slam. For those that didn’t hear on Superstars last night, Kane has yet to be pinned or submitted since coming over to Smackdown. And as I typed that, Kane finished off the former Jesse with a chokeslam.

WINNER: Kane, at :45.

3- THE BIG SHOW vs. BATISTA

Jericho walked to the ring with Show. Crowd chanted for Batista as soon as the bell rang. Show displayed his power by shrugging Batista off on a collar-and-elbow tie-up. He shoved him off harder this time, and Batista fell to the mat. Batista left his feet for a shoulderblock, but Batista himself ended up on the mat with little effect on Show. Hard slap to the chest by Show in the corner. He followed it up with one more in another corner. Jericho shouted some play-by-play at the fans from ringside. Batista’s right hands had little effect, but Show’s clothesline did. Shot to the ribs by Show. Batista again fired back with rights, and then dodged a big boot try by Show. Show ended up crotched on the top rope, and Batista shoved him to the floor. They went to break about 3:30 into the contest.

You could tell Jericho was worried out of break, because he had his jacket off. Apparently, he got involved during the break. Batista with a weak jaw-breaker to get out of a chin-lock, but then he jumped right into a bear-hug. It eventually got down to a rear waist-lock by Show. Leg-drop from an inverted DDT position by Show for a two-count. Another waist-lock. Batsita elbowed out of it and got his boots up on a corner charge. Show was able to slam him down though. To the middle rope for Show, but he missed the splash. Show also missed a running (and I use that term loosely) splash in the corner that Batista followed up with a spear. He tried a Batista Bomb, but really, who is he kidding? Show went for a chokeslam but couldn’t get it. Batista with a single-leg take-down, then an ankle-lock(!). Before Show could tap, Jericho interfered for the DQ.

WINNER: Batista, via DQ, at 11:02. Way too long for these two. But it was watchable. Batista ended up hooking the ankle-lock on Jericho, who tapped to the move.

4- JTG vs. DAVID HART SMITH

JTG came out firing, getting to Smith before he knew what hit him. Smith quickly re-grouped and was on offense. He really put the boots to his opponent in the ropes, then began to work the back. Smith lowered his shoulder into the gut of JTG. JTG fought his way out of the corner though and made his comeback. He got the crowd into it and hit a flying legdrop off the top, but Natalya put Smith’s leg on the bottom rope on the pin attempt. That brought Eve over for a brawl. Natalya found solace inside the ring while Tyson Kidd cheapshotted JTG. Back suplex variation from Smith for the win.

WINNER: Smith, at 2:49. This feud went from entertaining and interesting to very dull quite quickly. Seeing them in the ring together every week has watered things down.

5- C.M. PUNK vs. THE UNDERTAKER

They’ve really drawn this segment out. Punk’s entrance, videos, a commercial, Taker’s long entrance, and the match will likely start nearly 15 minutes after the match set-up began. Taker cornered Punk, and Punk could not escape the Dead Man’s grasp. Punk with some body shots in the corner, and numerous kicks to the legs of Taker. Taker just grabbed the champ by the throat and threw him out of the ring. 1:10 into the match, they went to the final break of the show.

Punk was in control out of break, with a side-headlock on Taker. Shoulder knock-down by Taker though, and he once again easily tossed Punk over the top and to the outside Punk ran away from Taker outside the ring, so JR could get his “nowhere to run in Hell in a Cell” comment in. Taker out-smarted Punk as the champ tried to catch Taker coming back into the ring. Couple elbow smashes by Taker, then he dropped his leg over the throat of Punk with C.M. draped over the apron. The fight continued on the outside until Taker finally (mercifully?) threw Punk back in. Taker worked over Punk’s left arm and decided to go Old School. But Punk had other ideas and he stopped Taker on the top rope. Punk tried a suplex off the top, to no avail, as Taker kept up with the punches and knocked the champ off. Punk tried again and this time the suplex was successful. Pin, after Punk recovered, got two. Punk locked in a head-scissors on Taker as Taker tried to push away the hands of Undertaker, trying to get himself out of the hold. He eventually did and got Punk in a choke for a possible chokeslam. But Punk struck the legs of Taker to break it. Taker laid in the punches and clotheslined Punk in the corner. Snake Eyes followed up by the big boot. Only a two count there. Another chokeslam attempt, but Punk kicked Taker right in the temple. But Taker surprised him with Hell’s Gate. Punk got his feet on the ropes and fled to ringside to grab his title belt. Taker sensed his opponent was intending to flee, so he went out to stop him. He threw the championship in the ring and went to powerbomb Taker on the announce table. Punk got down off of Taker’s shoulders and scurried into the ring to win by count-out.

WINNER: Punk, at 11:58. I’m not sure the purpose of this match. They couldn’t further build the feud without giving away a one-on-one match?

[Arcademan]

Ring of Honor Results: 9-28-09

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

1. Jerry Lynn and Tyler Black defeated Rhett Titus and Kenny King in 13:20. Nothing happened for a couple minutes. Black and King locked up resulting in some sort of a botch. Black finally hit an offensive move five minutes in with a nearfall off a quebrada.

King went on the offensive and proceeded to not do anything exciting. Lynn hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall, but was distracted by Titus. Titus tagged in and pelvic thrusted in Lynn's face. Mike Hogewood was disgusted on commentary. Lynn hit a sort of second rope springboard powerbomb and tagged in Black. Black dominated King with all four of his jumping moves.

Titus tagged in and was hit with an atomic drop, top rope elbow drop from Black, and then a doomsday-style leg drop. Black went for the buckle bomb on King, but he fought out. King and Titus tried their powerbomb/blockbuster combo, but Lynn kicked King in the head. The faces hit stereo dives.

Titus lowbridged Black to ringside while Lynn was on the top rope, allowing King to kick him in the head, and then Titus to get an awesome nearfall with a top rope codebreaker. Black returned, wiping out King with a springboard lariat, and Lynn hit the Cradle Piledriver on Titus for the pin.

Joe's Judgment: The early part of the match sucked. Flat out sucked. It picked up towards the end and became okay, but when a match doesn't get off to a good start, it's hard to really get into it. The crowd was firmly behind King and Titus the whole match, and considering that Philly is Black's "second hometown", that says a lot about how bland the two babyfaces are.

2. Sara Del Rey defeated Nikki Roxx in 3:30. Roxx is Roxxi from TNA. Del Rey hit a nice Capo kick early. Roxx went on offense and hit a nice looking overhead suplex. However, her offense was short lived, as Del Rey picked her up in the Royal Butterfly and dumped her on her head for the pin.

Joe's Judgment: Too short. Both of them can work and while this was fairly impressive in the three and a half minutes they were given, a seven minute match would have impressed more.

3. Sonjay Dutt defeated Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne. Flippy armdrag offense early with lots of dropdowns. Major X-Pac heat for Sugarfoot as he dropkicked Sonjay several times. Sonjay kicked him in the mouth and applied an STF, but Payne got to the ropes. Sonjay hit a stiff-looking springboard dropkick (seriously!) and applied a Camel Clutch for the tapout win.

Joe's Judgment: I never thought I'd say this, but Sonjay is awesome. He's making 2009 Delirious entertaining on his own. He may be a bland face, but he's an awesome dick heel. This match wasn't great, but Sonjay's mannerisms were brilliant. His promo was annoying in a heelish way, not in an annoying way.

4. Brent Albright defeated Claudio Castagnoli (w/Prince Nana, "Dirty" Ernie Osiris) in a Steel Cage match. Claudio tried to escape the cage about thirty seconds in... and then again fifteen seconds later. Strikes and lots of them carried the early portions. Albright tried to get out, but either Nana or Ernie Osiris slammed the door on his face.

Castagnoli slammed Albright's head into the steel cage several times. Albright bled from the forehead. Claudio tried the Alphamari Waterslide, but Albright reversed it into a small package for a nearfall. Albright made his big comeback, sending Claudio into the cage. Claudio bled as well. Albright tried slingshotting him into the cage, but Claudio landed on the second rope and tried a crossbody or something, but was caught in position for an Air Raid Crash.

Claudio avoided the Air Raid Crash and tried to climb out, but Albright caught him and German suplexed him into the ring. Both men made climbs for the exit. Albright gave Claudio an exploder from the top of the cage. Claudio gave him a low blow and called for a chair. He tried to stomp Albright's head in, but Albright moved and gave him a low blow in return, and then stomped his head in with the chair for the pinfall.

Joe's Judgment: Well that got better as it went on. A couple nice spots, but overall the match was just okay. A couple of nice spots, but no real story or anything of that sort. It was basically "hey, let's throw each other into the cage a few times, then suplexes, and finally chair stomps!" Overall the show felt like filler, what with all the filler in the two longest matches.

[Arcademan]

WWE RAW Results: 9-28-09

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

1 -- Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW vs. MVP & MARK HENRY -- Unified tag title match
WINNERS: Big Show & Jericho at 18:18 to retain the Unified tag titles. Really sloppy first-half of the match before the commercial break. Very sluggish Henry-Show exchange during the second-half of the match before bringing in the faster-moving MVP and Jericho to set up a very nice finish after the long build-up to the finish. Jericho was off his game tonight until really selling those nearfalls by MVP. He's one of the best in the business at selling the all-important nearfall, like Kurt Angle in TNA. (**1/4)

2 -- Divas champion MICKIE JAMES vs. ROSA MENDES (w/Alicia Fox)
WINNER: Mickie at 3:40. Fine build for Mickie vs. Alicia at the PPV. Got the point across with a decent match for Mickie to get a needed win back after being squashed by Beth last week. (*)

3 -- JACK SWAGGER vs. EVAN BOURNE
WINNER: Swagger at 3:01. Good set-up match for Swagger to look strong going into the PPV. Bourne had enough offense to look credible, but the problem remains the big picture where the audience continues to be told the mid-card isn't important in the grand scheme of things. (*3/4)

4 -- CHRIS MASTERS & CHAVO GUERRERO vs. SANTINO MARELLA & HORNSWOGGLE
WINNERS: Masters & Chavo at 2:19. Apparently Chavo was only in it for the chase. He didn't really want to go after Hornswoggle; he just wanted to chase him down and be able to say he had him in his grasp. That's all I have to explain this. (* for Santino comedy.)

5 -- WWE champion JOHN CENA vs. RANDY ORTON & Unified tag champions CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW -- gauntlet non-title match
5b -- WWE champion JOHN CENA vs. BIG SHOW (w/Chris Jericho)
WINNER: No official announcement. Well, the work from Jericho and Show was pretty pointless since SuperCena just shook it all off. Orton didn't have much credibility as a heel here. Jericho and Show did all the work, then he wasted it all away in the match storyline. Cena stood tall to close the show to give viewers a happy note. WWE took the "we'll make them feel good about life and want to pay money to see Orton get even more of a beating on Sunday" route to sell the PPV main event along with a little involvement from the Cell as a selling point. We'll see if it works. (**)

[Arcademan]

ECW on SyFy Results: 9-29-09

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

1 -- SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. PAUL BURCHILL (w/Katie Lea)

Bell sounded and Burchill immediately charged Shelton with knees to the stomach. He landed a rolling belly-to-back side suplex for a two count and couldn't put Shelton away leading to a commercial.

Burchill stretched Benjamin's abs with a submission hold, then landed another rolling belly-to-back suplex for another two count. Burchill tried another suplex, but Shelton flipped onto his feet and landed a neckbreaker center ring. Both men slowly recovered on the mat as the announcers talked about the possibility of a draw if neither men could reach their feet. Not often "draw" is mentioned on WWE TV. Seems a little too 'rasslin for WWE's marketing. With both en on their feet, Burchill took Shelton to the top turnbuckle, but Shelton elbowed him to the mat. Shelton recovered on the top rope and slowly made his way to his feet only to miss with a flip dive attempt. Burchill then dropped a knee and made a cover, but Shelton kicked out. Burchill then went back on the attack working Shelton's shoulder that Sheamus rammed into the ringpost. Burchill then yelled and screamed bouncing off the ropes to build momentum, but Shelton caught him with the Paydirt finisher. Shelton with the pin and the win.

WINNER: Shelton Benjamin in 11:00. Classic babyface storytelling to show Shelton overcoming tremendous odds and showing fighting spirit, grit, and all that to pull out an improbable victory. Only problem is the audience has been given eight different looks at Shelton turning heel, face, heel, face, and back again that the audience didn't quite buy into it. Hopefully it's the start of a decent babyface push. As for Burchill, well, at least he didn't run away from Shelton when he was down and out unlike Randy Orton, who was booked to look like an idiot last night on Raw. (*1/2)

2 -- ECW champion CHRISTIAN & GOLDUST & TOMMY DREAMER & YOSHI TATSU vs. WILLIAM REGAL & EZEKIEL JACKSON & KOZLOV & ZACK RYDER

Dreamer and Ryder started things off. Dreamer landed a series of arm drags to over Ryder before Goldust came in. Goldust is a consistent fan favorite now after that program with Sheamus. Yoshi then tagged in and worked over Kozlov's shoulder. Jackson then tagged in and pounded Yoshi, but missed with an elbow drop and corner clothesline. Goldust back in to work on Jackson, who came back with a loud clothesline. Jackson doing a lot of yelling and screaming now. William Regal then tagged in and yelled. Kozlov was even heard yelling from the ring apron. Ryder tagged in, then Christian tagged in to pick up their title program last week.

Christian ran over Ryder with elbows then hit a rolling elbow from the second rope. Heels tried to get involved, but Christian ran them off, ran down Ryder, and hit a running clothesline for a two count. Dreamer tagged in and hit a double-team move on Ryder to keep the action going. Dreamer went to the second rope for a move, but Regal ran down the apron and distracted him, allowing Ryder to smash him off the turnbuckle to the mat. Regal then tagged in and worked on Dreamer as they cut to break. Lots of fast-paced action with quick in and out tags. Crowd is sitting on their hands a bit waiting for the finish, though.

Back from break, Dreamer was still being worked on by the heels. Christian eventually took a tag and was quickly met by offense from the heels. Regal cut him off, though, then Ryder worked over Christian. [Q5 -- over-run] More heel work on Christian, who avoided a corner splash by Kozlov and hit a dropkick from the second rope. Christian then hot-tagged in Yoshi, who landed kick strikes on Ryder. Yoshi and Ryder were a little off on a roaring elbow, but Ryder removed any thoughts with a big kick strike to the chest followed by a spinning heel kick from the top rope for a two count.

On cue, the action broke down with bodies flying everywhere. Babyfaces cleaned house on the floor while Regal made a legal tag for Ryder. Regal tried to sneak up behind Yoshi, but Yoshi blasted him with a big kick strike to the head and made the pin on Regal for the win. Yoshi and Friends celebrated the big victory while the Ruthless Roundtable comically dragged Regal away from ringside to close the show.

WINNERS: Team Yoshi in 14:00. Lots of emphasis behind Yoshi right now. I like it. Match was just okay for an eight-man tag. Crowd didn't really get into it until the chaos happened at the end. Until WWE convinces the audience that a pin could happen at any time during a match, that's going to be the case. It would take years to re-write that crowd mentality city by city, though. And ECW closes without a title match or any match for Sunday's PPV. (**)

[Arcademan]

WWE Superstars Results: 10-1-09

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

1 -- TYSON KIDD (w/D.H. Smith and Natalya) vs. SHAD GASPARD (w/JTG and Eve)

Tyson Kidd played a Brian Kendrick heel early on by backing away and demanding the ref create an even start to the match against the larger Shad. Ross: "an interesting array of individuals" ringside. Kidd tried to work Shad's leg early on in the match, but Shad sidestepped an attack and sent Kidd through the ropes to the outside. Shad then lost control on the floor and Kidd wrapped his leg around the ringpost to begin that leg attack he was looking for. Kidd even whipped out a Sharpshooter around the ringpost, which drew the attention of the interesting array ringside. They had a stand-off going to break.

Back from break, Kidd was working over the leg and knee after cutting down the Shadtree to the mat. "Ask him, ref!" Kidd demanded. "Ask him!!" he requested again. Kidd tried another leglock, but Shad flung him away through the ropes to the outside. Kidd re-entered and Shad clotheslined him on one good leg. JTG shouted encouragement to Shad as the fans chanted "USA." Shad made his full comeback encouraged by the patriotism and made a cover, but Kidd put his foot on the bottom rope for a break. Kidd then slingshot Shad throat-first across the top rope. He tried to follow with a springboard attack, but Shad blocked in mid-air with a throw-down STO for the pin and the win. Ross said Shad showed "a lot of character" fighting through the injury from Kidd.

WINNER: Shad in 11:00. Good, quality TV match to continue the regularly featured Smackdown tag feud. Announcers were able to get in plenty of plugs for the Smackdown 10-year show tomorrow night. (*3/4)

2 -- SHEAMUS vs. TYLER REKS

Sheamus sold frustration early on when he couldn't get in any offense on Reks. Sheamus took a breather on the outside, then re-entered and blocked a corner move with a big kick to the sternum. Pale Sheamus began working over Reks's well-tanned abdomen. Striker interjected: "Sheamus is a most-unusual-looking athlete." He then gave us a Dr. Mike Knox explanation of Sheamus's body work on Reks as he worked him over on the mat. He's not a doctor, but he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Sheamus continued to contort Reks's body, but missed with an elbow drop. Reks made his comeback and did a gyration leading to an elbow drop. I believe it's his Riding the Wave move. Crowd wasn't sure whether to react or not. Reks only scored a two count, though, and shortly walked into a big boot to the face from Sheamus for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Sheamus in 6:00. Okay singles match. Crowds just aren't connecting with Reks because WWE hasn't given them anything about the character to sink their teeth into. Reks has an okay look, but there has to be more WWE can market to the audience. (3/4*)

3 -- U.S. champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. THE MIZ -- non-title match
 
Slow start as they felt each other out before Miz took an early advantage, only to lose control with an errant top rope double axehandle attempt. Kofi then went back on the attack and Miz bailed to the outside to take a breather with Kofi "rolling" as Cole said.

Back from break, Miz was on the offensive taking cheapshots as the ref admonished him for unacceptable behavior. Miz then rolled Kofi around the ring landing successive elbow drops to the knee. Like the Orton Stomp, but with elbows. Miz continued to work the knee. "Miz, off the ropes!" the ref shouted. They have him mic'ed pretty strongly like ref Paul Turner on ROH TV. Miz continued to work Kofi over as the crowd tried to rally him up.

Kofi tried to make a comeback at 11:00, but he was hobbled and Miz slapped on a Boston Crab. Kofi escaped to the ropes for a rope break, then Miz was admonished for not breaking. Kofi suddenly hopped up and smashed Miz with the Trouble in Paradise kick strike. "Whoo hoo!" Lawler said. Kofi then made the cover for the win.

Post-match: Jack Swagger interrupted Kofi's celebration by blasting him with strikes. Swagger then dropped Miz with his gutwrench powerbomb. Swagger picked up the U.S. Title belt and held it up for the audience to close the build-up for their three-way title match at the PPV.

WINNER: Kofi in 12:00. Good, solid, fundamentally-sound singles match to build up an undercard title match on the PPV. Not really much else to say about it. (**1/4)

[Arcademan]

TNA Impact! Results: 10-1-09

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

1. Amazing Red defeated Kiyoshi, Bashir, Black Machismo, and Consequences Creed in a ladder match for a future X Division Title shot in 3:57. Red worked alone against two tag teams and he was the first to climb the ladder. Backstage, Abyss beat the crap out of some extras looking for Foley.

Bashir and Machismo looked impressive. Machismo moved up the ladder but Red tipped it over. Red hit four amazing moves, one per opponent. He then finished off Creed by hitting a hurricarana on him, causing him to vomit. Seriously. Thankfully, they showed a replay of it. Red grabbed the contract for the win...

After the match, Red proved he wasn’t a good promo when JB interviewed him in the aisle. Machismo interrupted and said he was robbed. Chunks Creed got in between them and walked Lethal to the back...

Twill’s Two Cents: That was the Amazing Red show. He dominated the match and hit every impressive spot. Nice job by him and nice to see him looking impressive in the ring again. Hopefully he is not simply fed to Joe next week.

2. Kevin Nash defeated Dr. Stevie (with Daffney) in a non-title match in 2:52. Remember the Blue World Order? Stevie was Nash. It’s like they are looking in a mirror. Richards had the advantage early because of a Daffney distraction. Once Nash gained the advantage, he hit the Jackknife for the win. He covered Stevie with his foot...

Twill’s Two Cents: Nothing special about it really, but it was solid filler.

3. Christy Hemme defeated Traci Brooks in 1:54. So, they had to say “Models” and not “Playmates” because Traci was not a cover girl? Christy won the match with a rollup. Traci attacked her afterward...

4. ODB defeated Awesome Kong (with Raisha Saeed) to retain the TNA Knockout Championship in 2:50. Personally, it is ridiculous to me that this match was not advertised ahead of time. This is a big match between two huge female names in TNA history. Tara was very solid on the stick.

Kong rubbed ODB’s face in her armpit. She hit a bodyslam and legdrop for a two count. Raisha Saeed approached Tara and shoved her. Tara left the table and Kong grabbed her from the ring. Tara closelined Kong across the top rope. She fell backward and ODB school-girled her for the win...

After the match, Tara and ODB shoved each other. They started to fight a little bit but Kong came back into the ring. She hit Implant Busters on both Tara and Jason’s drinking buddy...

Twill’s Two Cents: I like the idea of a triple threat at BFG, since Tara vs. Kong doesn’t have the appeal it did a few months ago.

5. Kurt Angle vs. Hernandez ended in a double countout in 4:24. Hernandez hit a vertical suplex in which he held Angle up for literally about thirty seconds. Angle immediately fought back with a released German suplex. He followed up with a series of offensive maneuvers to the legs of Hernandez. Angle tried a high cross body, but Hernandez caught him, and hit a sit down powerbomb for a two count.

Hernandez scored a very convincing nearfall when it looked like he was trying a border toss, but he hit a dominator instead for a long two count. They fought to the floor and the referee counted to ten. The World Elite came out and beat up both guys. They took them backstage and the Mafia came to Angle’s aid. The security had to break up the brawl...

Twill’s Two Cents: Give credit to TNA for making the World Elite look strong as a unit (minus that ladder match). They should use this match to prove Hernandez can hang with Angle.

6. Matt Morgan defeated Eric Young by disqualification in 2:50. I love how Eric Young is billed as being “from Canada.” That would be like saying Rich Twilling is “from the United States.” Young was dominated until he raked Morgan’s eyes. On the floor, a “fan” dressed as Abyss hit Morgan with a chair. It was revealed to be Angle and the referee called for the bell...

Both factions ran out and brawled with each other...

Twill’s Two Cents: I hope the security staff is being paid overtime tonight. Shoot, they have been involved in more segments than Eric Young, and that is saying something. By the way, Angle foreshadowed this earlier in the show by staring down this fan on his way to the ring for his own match. By the way, that match didn’t do Young any favors.

7. Bobby Lashley and Team 3D defeated Rhino and The British Invasion (with Big Rob) in 6:06. Lashley dominated early, but then the heels focused their attack on Brother Devon. Taz was drinking beers with Storm, but he acted like he had already had an entire twelve pack.

Lashley received the hot tag and beat up all three opponents. His partners joined him with the “Wazzup” head butt. Team 3D cleared the ring as Lashley was left with one of the members of the British Invasion. He locked in a dragon sleeper type submission for the win. After the match, Lashley slapped hands with the ringside fans as everyone else drank.

As Lashley was walking back up the ramp, Samoa Joe attacked him from behind and locked in the rear naked choke. He did his best “Undertaker” eyes as the show went off the air...

Twill’s Two Cents: Not a big fan of the main event, but I love that Joe looked dominant going off the air. Very interested to see Joe next week and how they follow up with this.

[Arcademan]

WWE Smackdown Results: 10-2-09

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

1- BATISTA vs. KANE

Smackdown moment #64 from the newly-released Smackdown DVD aired during Batista’s entrance. It was from November 2005, Rey and Batista vs. MNM. Ugh, Kane? This isn’t much of a step up from Batista vs. Big Show last week. Big uppercut from Kane out of the corner. Back elbow put Batista on the mat again, but Kane missed an elbowdrop. Kane suplexed his way out of a side headlock. Kane seemed to be centering in on the surgically-repaired left arm of Batista. On an overhead wrist-lock, Batista simply shoved Kane over the top rope and to the outside. Kane seemed surprised at the strength displayed by Batista.

Kane was in control with an arm-bar out of break. Stereo big boots and both men went down. Batista was the one to get the advantage, with a flying shoulder tackle and a couple corner clotheslines. Kane came back and went to the top, coming down with a clothesline. He signaled that the chokeslam was next, but instead, Batista hit him with a spinebuster for two. He set up for the Batista Bomb, but Kane rammed him into the corner. Batista came down off the top and into a choke, but Batista countered. Kane went up to do the ten punches in the corner, but Batista powerbombed him out of the corner for the win.

WINNER: Batista, at 9:48. Unless I missed it, they didn’t really seem to hype this was Kane’s first pinfall loss on Smackdown, after talking it up the past two weeks. This was probably as good as it could be.

2- JOHN MORRISON & KOFI KINGSTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER & THE MIZ

Kingston seemed pissed at Kofi’s entrance and slammed the headset down. I guess that’s it for his commentary. And for what it’s worth, Justin Roberts was handling ring announcing for Smackdown this week as well. Morrison took out Miz to start with a dropsault and clothesline over the top. Ziggler tried to come in illegally and was chased out by Kingston. Match went to break less than one minute in.

Kingston was having his way with Ziggler as Miz was getting frustrated at ringside. Swagger distracted Kofi, and Ziggler brought him down throat-first over the top rope. The southpaw Miz went to work on Kofi in th heel corner. He went to the top and came down with a double-axe handle (not seen much these days). Miz tried to do his catapult double-team move that he did with Morrison with Ziggler, but when Kofi came up, he punched Ziggler instead of the other way around. Ziggler ended up tagging Miz in and telling him to finish Kofi off. But instead, he missed a shoulder charge in the corner. Kingston and Miz both made tags, but Morrison got the best of the exchange. Standing shooting star press for two. Kofi went for the Flying Chuck, but he shoved Morrison, crotching him on the top, then hit the Zig Zag for the win.

WINNERS: Ziggler and Miz, at 8:44. Good match, thought the Zig Zag didn’t look good, and they didn’t really talk much (if at all) about Morrison and Miz being on opposite sides, but they had bigger things (the title matches) to get over in this match.

3- MELINA vs. MICHELLE MCCOOL- LUMBERJACK MATCH FOR THE WOMEN’S TITLE

Eve Torres, Maria, Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, Katie Lea, Jillian Hall, Layla, Natalya, Savannah (but no Courtney Taylor?), The Bellas and Kelly Kelly were the Lumberjacks. Probably stupid to ask this on a show where they celebrate the 10th anniversary, but would it kill them to have hyped this up, even during the show? McCool started with the advantage, but it didn’t last for long. Melina did a split on the apron to avoid a punch, but then Michelle kicked her out. Before she let the ladies get a hold of her, McCool went out and brought Melina back in. Melina came back and hit a flap-jack on Michelle that got a two-count. Rough-looking clothesline by Melina. Apparently Jillian got involved as Melina jumped on the outside onto Jillian and another girl. Everyone on the outside started brawling and while the ref tried to restore order, Beth Phoenix nailed Melina while she was on the top, allowing Michelle to hit he Faith Breaker for the win.

WINNER: McCool, at 2:30. Disappointing hype and match. Just felt unimportant in the grand scheme of things; why wouldn’t you save this for a show that had little content, and could therefore seem like a bigger deal?

4- SHAWN MICHAELS & TRIPLE H & JOHN CENA & THE UNDERTAKER vs. RANDY ORTON & TED DIBIASE & CODY RHODES & C.M. PUNK

Cena and Rhodes led things off, a match-up that we’ve seen on numerous Raw multi-man main event tags. Triple H punched Rhodes in the face, and Rhodes crawled to the corner to tag in his partner this Sunday. Hunter pummeled DiBiase in the corner, then brought HBK in to do some damage. It was all face team here in the first few minutes. Michaels extended a hand to tag Taker, but Taker paused to stare at Michaels, allowing DiBiase to take back over. Taker did tag in soon after, and the former Wrestlemania foes stared at each other in the ring as they went to break.

Taker was in there with Rhodes out of break. He then tagged out to Hunter. Long standing vertical suplex, but not as long as Matt Morgan’s last night on Impact. DX continued to pwn Legacy in this match and as I type that, a flurry of rights from Rhodes put Michaels on the mat. Randy Orton and C.M. Punk made their first appearances of the match, one right after the other. Michaels and Orton both ended up on the mat- Cody tagged in and an enziguiri by Michaels gave him some time to tag, and he did, to Cena. Cena had to fight off both Legacy members, and put both of them on his back for an Attitude Adjustment. But Rhodes got down and the two heels gave him the Sweet ‘n’ Sour, which is at the point they took the final break.

Back with Punk and Cena engaged in battle. Orton came in and seemed to have his way with Cena, ‘til Cena got him in the Atttiude Adjustment out of nowhere, but couldn’t connect, as Orton DDT’d him. DiBiase made his presence known as the legal man with a kick to a seated Cena’s head. But Cena got the better of him and both men made tags, to Punk and Hunter. Patented spinebuster by The Game. Taker tagged in, but Punk dove to tag Orton. Snake Eyes, ironically, to the Viper Orton. Back-breaker by Orton, but he got caught in Hell’s Gate, only briefly, as DiBiase broke it up. Everybody started brawling at that point, as Michaels superkicked DiBiase and Hunter Pedigreed him. Cena got Punk up for the Attitude Adjustment and tossed him onto Legacy at ringside. All four faces were in the ring with the lone heel, Orton. Taker, the legal man, Tombstoned Orton. Mike Chioda didn’t seem worried that all four of the men were still in the ring while he made his count.

WINNERS: Taker, Hunter, HBK and Cena, at 21:39. Roberts pulled a Lilian and announced Undertaker as the winner, as if it was a one-on-one match.

Confetti fell from the ceiling as all the faces celebrated with their music playing for about 30-45 second spurts, before it went to another face’s music. Naturally, it ended with Undertaker.