My WWE Battleground 2013 Recap

Now this was a feel good moment. Photo credit: WWE.com

Dolph Ziggler pinned Damien Sandow in a decent pre-show bout. I was expecting a passable kick off match here but it exceeded that for me, with worthy efforts from both wrestlers, especially the always reliable Ziggler. It was by no means the best pre-show bout I've seen but it was enjoyable enough.

Alberto Del Rio (c) forced Rob Van Dam to submit in a Battleground Hardcore Match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. In their finest singles contest to date both men delivered stellar performances, utilising steel chairs, a trashcan and a ladder (although unfortunately no table which the fans, and myself, seemed keen for). Ricardo Rodriguez also played his part as he attacked the champ with a bucket to halt an armbreaker attempt, only to soon fall victim to a vicious kick to the head by his former boss on the outside, thereby taking him out of the match. Del Rio's submission win came after he latched on his armbreaker while RVD's arm was wrapped in a steel chair. 

While it was a fun watch, I still couldn't help but feel a bit deflated at the result. I just feel Del Rio as champion has worn thin by this point and RVD would be the ideal wrestler to bring interest back to the title again.

The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger) defeated The Great Khali and Santino Marella in an uninspiring tag bout up until the finish when Cesaro applied an impressive giant swing on Khali for the winning pinfall. Most of the match was pretty drab to be honest, with most men bar Antonio giving average showings.

Curtis Axel (c) pinned R-Truth to retain the Intercontinental Championship in a fair outing. Both wrestlers were competent and delivered worthy efforts but I simply struggled to get engaged, much like the fans in attendance who soon lost interest. Not a bad match by any means but not one I'd recommend. 

AJ Lee (c) bested Brie Bella to retain the WWE Divas Title in a passable affair. For some reason they had AJ target Brie's arm early on, which had no effect later as Brie seemed to use said arm with no problem as she made a comeback. The match could've been allocated a little less time too, it began to drag as the charismatic champion dominated. That all being said the bout was better than I'd predicted, but still nothing that special.  

Cody Rhodes and Goldust bested The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) in a dramatic tag contest to gain back their jobs in WWE. As expected it was an exciting ride, with effective near falls and solid wrestling to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout, and an electric crowd too.

Of course the legendary Dusty Rhodes also played his part as he blasted Dean Ambrose with a bionic elbow and distracted Reigns so son Dustin could take him out, leaving Cody to hit the Cross Rhodes on Rollins for the vital one-two-three. As a nice touch various members of the locker room came out to celebrate (including 'Fit' Finlay and Arn Anderson).

Bray Wyatt pinned Kofi Kingston in a decent enough match up. Much like the earlier IC Title contest we received admirable displays from each wrestler but it felt like it was lacking a bit. 

CM Punk beat Ryback in a match with a drab first half but satisfying second. While Ryback dominated the bout became rather tedious, but Punk (who delivered a worthy performance) as any good face does made a comeback and brought some much needed excitement back.

For the finish Punk managed to low blow Ryback with a swift back kick for the winning pinfall as the referee was distracted by Paul Heyman at ringside, who was about to strike his former protege with a kendo stick. 

Randy Orton versus Daniel Bryan for the vacant WWE Championship ended in a no contest after Big Show came down and KO'd two referees (the first one when Bryan locked on a Yes Lock and the second being the returning Scott Armstrong who ran down after the first ref was taken out), Bryan and finally Orton. It was a strange and anti climatic end to the event, and one that made the already fairly weak build up to the title clash seem worthless.

The actual match itself had been solid for the most part, with stellar wrestling on both men's behalf and exciting near falls and submission attempt. The fans in New York also provided a terrific atmosphere for the top contest of the night, being thoroughly behind Bryan.

Overall it was a rather forgettable pay-per-view for the most part, with most bouts ranging from fair to average. That being said my highlights were RVD versus Del Rio, Cody and Goldust versus The Shield (at least we got a feel good moment from that) the second half to Punk versus Ryback and the majority of the main event.  

My WWE Battleground Predictions

Photo credit: WWE.com

WWE Championship Match - Randy Orton versus Daniel Bryan:

Much like their previous PPV clash I'm not expecting anything but a solid outing, although I feel the build up has been fairly weak compared. Bryan winning the vacant strap seems like the more interesting choice, but I just can't help but see 'The Viper' win via suspicious circumstances, although I admittedly thought the same thing last month so I could be way off.   

Winner: Randy Orton

World Heavyweight Championship Battleground Hardcore Match - Alberto Del Rio (c) versus Rob Van Dam:

I'm relieved that they added the Hardcore stipulation here, this match needed that extra intriguing factor for me. I enjoy both men in the ring and they shouldn't have any excuses not to deliver an exciting bout here, not the least with my predictive victor RVD obtaining the title. But if he does then I wouldn't be shocked to see Mr. Sandow cashing in his MITB contract, it'd be the perfect way to gain him some heat.   

Winner: Rob Van Dam

CM Punk versus Ryback:

Unfortunately even against a superior talent I don't envisage this outing topping the great ones Ryback had with Cena over the WWE Title. This could be fun and should be enjoyable but nothing outstanding, hopefully I'm proven wrong. Will this be the end of Punk's feud with Heyman? I'm starting to hope things wind down now between them so they can move on to fresh foes. Punk to win and finally get some retribution on Heyman but not enough to end the rivalry just yet. 

Winner: CM Punk

WWE Divas Title Match - AJ Lee (c) versus Brie Bella:

Like any Bella-involved bout I don't hold high expectations, and certainly don't expect anything close to AJ's matches with Kaitlyn over the belt. That being said sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised (with Taryn Terrell's entertaining contests with Gail Kim being a prime example), but I doubt it tonight with this one. And I reckon AJ to retain, I don't see any reason for her to drop the strap just yet, recently bringing in Tamina as her new body guard would make it a strange choice too.

Winner: AJ Lee

Cody Rhodes and Goldust versus The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns):

For me this bout has had the best build up out of any on the card tonight, and I'm very interested in the outcome so job well done there. Should be a dramatic one. I'm going with The Shield to somehow come out with a dubious win here, adding another twist to the Rhodes storyline.

Winners: The Shield

Intercontinental Title Match - Curtis Axel (c) versus R-Truth:

Could be a decent match up, and both men should make the most from being on the main card of a PPV tonight. Can't see beyond Axel winning here after Truth's definitive loss to Ryback on SmackDown.

Winner: Curtis Axel

Bray Wyatt versus Kofi Kingston:

Bit of a strange one I thought when this was put together, considering the more interesting possibilities for Wyatt to face off with. Nothing against Kofi but after all his failed pushes I just struggle to invest in them anymore. Should be a fair match up. Wyatt to win considering his current momentum.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Santino Marella versus The Real Americans (Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger):

How this found it's way onto a PPV card ahead of Ziggler and the Money in the Bank holder I'm still trying to understand, oh well. I'm just hoping for Cesaro to swing around Khali to deliver something memorable, it's up to the stellar Antonio to make this match worth watching at all I reckon. The Real Americans in the long run seem like the more sensible choice to put over here, but I can see Santino and Khali walking away the winners.

Winners: Santino Marella and The Great Khali.

Battleground Kickoff Match - Dolph Ziggler versus Damien Sandow:

At first I wasn't too sure about this thrown together bout, but Ziggler is such a consistent performer that I'm expecting an enjoyable contest against the MITB Contract holder. But despite Sandow holding the briefcase I see Dolph gaining the one-two-three.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

My WWE Raw, 30th September 2013 Recap

It was a priceless moment. Photo credit: WWE.com

CM Punk kicked off the show (to a very healthy response) by stating that he contributes to the unpredictability of the show when he comes out but claimed that Heyman was predictable last week when he orchestrated the beat down of Punk in his hometown of Chicago. He want on to add that he will end the story when he takes out Ryback, whether it be on a Raw leading up to Battleground or at the event itself, and while Heyman may have pinned him on the mat at Payback he will get his revenge and put him out of his misery. 

Raw GM Brad Maddox then joined Punk and cautioned him about taking on Ryback before their PPV clash, saying that it would simply be "bad for business," of course. But Maddox did agree to grant Punk a match that night to let out some aggression, this cued Big E Langston to come out and kick start their impromptu match by clobbering Punk.

CM Punk pinned Big E Langston after hitting a GTS in a fair encounter. Much like Ziggler in his series with Big E, Punk deserves credit here for what he was able to accomplish against the limited Langston.

Kofi Kingston beat Fandango in a passable, if fairly forgettable match up. Kofi did a decent job here and managed to add a few parts worth a watch, and eventually applied a Trouble in Paradise kick for the one-two-three. Bray Wyatt then delivered one of his mysterious promos on the ramp where he described his hard life and finally claimed that "one by one, they must all fall down."

Backstage Randy Orton warned Brie Bella to schedule her wedding to Daniel Bryan before their title match on Sunday, as he might not be fit for it afterwards, 

Los Matadores (Fernando and Diego, formerly Epico and Primo) bested 3MB (Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater) in an enjoyable tag bout. Both members of the winning duo looked solid here, and had a fun entrance which included their own little bull called El Torito. Admittedly the crowd reaction wasn't anything outstanding for the team's debut but hopefully that will come, I personally enjoyed them and look forward to more. 

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon invited out Cody, Dustin and Dusty Rhodes and asked why they were so mad at them considering the apparent 'chances' they'd given them to get their jobs back. The COO then revealed the reason he'd held the family summit and offered the chance for Cody and Dustin to face the tag champions Rollins and Reigns at Battleground and if they win they get their jobs backs in WWE, but if they fail then none of the three will ever work for the company again. The Rhodes accepted the challenge. 

Dusty then got in Triple H's face in the most intense part of the summit and claimed that he would be there in his sons corner. Shortly after Stephanie and 'The Game' left the ring The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) battered Cody, Dustin and Dusty, finally Triple Powerbombing Cody to end the entertaining segment.

R-Truth pinned Curtis Axel in a brief and average contest after CM Punk's theme music hit and distracted the IC Champion, allowing Truth to strike with a Lie Detector for the victory. The wrestling was kept at a decent enough standard, but I just failed to find the interest. 

Brie Bella defeated Alicia Fox in a passable Divas match up. While it was never anything special, it was certainly above average for a bout involving a Bella. Unfortunately for the competitors the crowd in attendance were pretty indifferent to the whole thing, you could actually hear a pin drop. 

During an interview an enraged Big Show admitted that he couldn't take any more of the sick and twisted orders he's been receiving from Triple H and Stephanie and stormed towards the COO's office to knock him out.

Alberto Del Rio forced Zack Ryder to submit via arm breaker in a satisfying outing. Surprisingly Ryder was made to look competitive against the World Champion here as he controlled the start of their match up and briefly came back towards the end. Del Rio as standard was on solid form in the ring.

Paul Heyman, accompanied by Ryback, came to the ring and declared that he had to have CM Punk beaten up by his two associates in his home town last week. Ryback then took the mic and called Punk ungrateful for all that Heyman had done for him, claiming that Paul was a genius and that "there's nothing I wouldn't do for" him. 

Heyman went on to say that since Ryback had saved him he had a spring in his step and the World seemed like a better place. Paul continued to brilliantly lead us down the path of believing that he was about to propose marriage to Ryback, it was superb work on his part and I'll admit I was hoping he would for the sheer shock and impact, but of course his proposal was for Ryback to be his latest client instead.

CM Punk then attempted a sneak attack from behind but tripped over the barricade and feigned an obviously fake knee injury, only to suddenly chase off Heyman and Ryback with a few kendo stick strikes and attack Axel, who he GTS'd to finish off.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) beat Dolph Ziggler and The Usos in a six-man tag bout. It was a stellar affair for the majority, with fine displays from ever man involved.

The police arrived to confront the pacing Big Show who was still awaiting Triple H's arrival, and as they were about to arrest him for threatening the COO Stephanie stepped in and once again aired Show's dirty laundry to help explain his stress and claimed that she would vouch for him, so they let him off.

Santino Marella pinned Antonio Cesaro in a fun outing for the most part. As usual Marella performed his usual comedy routing, while Cesaro delivered a worthy effort. Marella caught Cesaro with a quick pinfall for the win.

Jerry Lawler brought out Battleground competitors Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for their 'Face Off' in the ring. After being asked on his thoughts on Bryan being stripped of the WWE Title Orton explained that not directly receiving the strap back motivated him to become the real 'Apex Predator' once again. He also added that he was genetically superior to the smaller Bryan.

Bryan retorted by complimenting Orton talking a good game, albeit being a little monotone. He also claimed that he believed that Triple H had to motivate Orton in order for him to reach his full potential, but he didn't need any motivation. Finally Bryan lost his patience and began striking Orton when 'The Viper' asked why his fiancee Brie Bella would settle for him. 

Orton eventually gained control and performed his signature DDT off the apron onto the mat in front of a begging Brie Bella, and then RKO'd his rival through the announce table. It was a strong end to the show, and an ideal way to head into their title clash on Sunday.

Overall it was a fair Raw, unfortunately most contests were pretty uninspiring but there were more than a few segments that made it worth watching. My highlights were The Shield versus The Usos and Ziggler, Los Matadores entertaining debut, Heyman and Ryback's segment, the Rhodes family summit and the finale. 

My WWE Raw, 29th July 2013 Recap

Bryan proving his popularity with the fans. Photo credit: WWE.com

Vince McMahon, accompanied by Raw GM Brad Maddox, kicked off the show by admitting that Maddox might've been onto something last week when he referred to Bryan as a "troll." Daniel Bryan himself then came out and accused Maddox of simply following orders from McMahon and repeating his own words. The COO retorted by claiming that Cena only chose to face Bryan at SummerSlam because he saw him as an easy challenger to the WWE Title, and that he'd manipulated him and all the fans.

McMahon went on to state that there was no way he could dethrone Cena and that it would be an embarrassment to the company if he did, but he'd also had enough of the champ who he felt walked around like he owned the place. Bryan responded by using McMahon's own words and telling him that it didn't matter what he thought but instead what the fans thought, who he received a resounding "Yes!" chant from when he asked if they wanted to see a new WWE Champion. It was an entertaining segment to open Raw.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated The Usos and Mark Henry in an enjoyable enough six-man tag contest. Like the majority of Shield matches it was worth a watch (although far from their best) with fair displays from all involved. Afterwards Henry continued to assault his new foes and threw the trio out of the ring.

We witnessed footage from earlier in the day where Ryback began picking on an unknown member of staff as they were grabbing some food, claiming that they looked like they were about to say something and slapping some food into their face. Ryback eventually put them through a table, hyping up his Tables Match with Cena later on. 

Rob Van Dam won via count out versus Fandango in a fun outing. RVD was on good form once again, and Fandango hit a few nicely executed moves himself too. The count out occurred after Fandango had enough and decided the match wasn't worth it and walked off with Summer Rae. 

Kaitlyn pinned AJ Lee in a pretty average bout that went on a bit longer than necessary. Most of the match was fine, if unremarkable, but unfortunately the final third of it began to drag, with the fans pretty indifferent to the whole thing. Kaitlyn gained the one-two-three after applying an uncharacteristically clumsy spear. Dolph Ziggler then joined them, congratulating AJ on her loss and challenging Big E Langston to a match right there and then.

Dolph Ziggler won via disqualification versus Big E Langston in a rather forgettable affair. Both men looked all right, nothing special to be fair. Unfortunately the match up just never engaged me. The DQ happened when AJ ran into the ring and began viciously clawing at her ex Ziggler. 

Christian bested Alberto Del Rio in a stellar contest for the most part. There were a few slight hiccups that let it down a bit but not enough to really spoil it for me. These two talents as usual delivered worthy displays in-between the ropes, with Christian finally catching the World Champion out with a quick roll up for the winning pinfall. 

Cody Rhodes beat Wade Barrett in a largely lacklustre outing. Neither wrestler gave a bad performance, but the match up never gave us much excitement until the final few minutes when Cody struck with a moonsault and nicely reversed a pumphandle slam attempt into a Cross Rhodes for the victory. 

Damien Sandow then stormed out and berated Rhodes for chucking his Money in the Bank briefcase into the Gulf of Mexico on last week's SmackDown, and went on to call his former tag partner's family a bunch of clowns, saying that "carnie folk are beneath my constitution."

Daniel Bryan defeated Kane in a decent back and fourth effort. It's worth a watch, just don't expect anything too incredible here. Bryan managed to reverse a Chokeslam to catch Kane in the winning small package. A furious Kane Chokeslammed Bryan after, and was shortly joined by Bray Wyatt and his 'family' Luke Harper and Erick Rowan who once again took him out.

Brie Bella pinned Natalya in a mediocre and unmemorable bout. Natalya did quite well considering what she had to work with. During the match Nikki Bella came out and distracted Natalya by making duck noises (backstage earlier they'd referred to her as an "ugly duckling") which of course cost her the match as Brie managed to grab the win with a roll up.

Curtis Axel versus R-Truth ended in a no contest after CM Punk came racing down and began attacking the IC Champion. Punk then turned his attention to his real target Paul Heyman, who managed to make a getaway after his client held off Punk long enough. The match itself was short, but was enjoyable enough while it lasted.

John Cena beat Ryback in a Tables Match. It was an entertaining main event. As standard when these two meet it was fun, just don't expect anything technically amazing. Cena managed to AA Ryback through a table propped up in the corner for the win. Bryan then came down and was about to hand over the WWE Title belt but instead teased him with it until an angry Cena snatched it back. There was a nice intense moment between the two, and I'm still just as excited about their title match next month. 

Overall it was a pretty average Raw, with most matches failing to be anything more than fair. The opening segment, RVD versus Fandango, Christian versus Del Rio, Bryan versus Kane and the main event were my highlights. Unfortunately there were also no more matches announced for SummerSlam, I can only presume that McMahon and Triple will have some kind of match (or representatives) with their positions on the line or something like that. 

My WWE SmackDown, 12th July 2013 Recap

Daniel Bryan forced Christian to submit with the Yes Lock in a terrific back and fourth opener and match of the night. Both men as usual provided stellar showings here, with great sequences and smooth wrestling.

Seth Rollins pinned Jay Uso in a decent enough contest. Like I normally do with both Usos I found Jay competent enough in the ring, but I still feel like there's something lacking there that fails to grab me and get me really engaged in the match up. Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso also attacked each other outside the ring as the bout took place. These four should put on a fun tag match at Money in the Bank I reckon, with Shield most likely retaining. 

Chris Jericho won via count out versus Curtis Axel in a solid affair. Like Monday night these two worked well together, with Axel starting to look very impressive in the ring and certainly not out of place against someone of Jericho's experience and talent. The count out occurred after Jericho Codebreakered Axel as he was about to reenter the ring. Afterwards an upset Axel began to throw a tantrum and chuck around various ringside items until manager Paul Heyman calmed him down.

Ryback beat The Miz in a fair, if unremarkable encounter. Miz gave a decent enough effort here, and Ryback looked all right but the match lacked in excitement and was pretty forgettable. Ryback clobbered Miz with a meat hook clothesline and hit him with the Shell Shock for the one-two-three after exaggerating a knee injury and almost having the ref end the bout.

Before they each signed the contract for the Divas Title match on Sunday, AJ Lee boated to Kaitlyn how since she won the strap from her people cared about the Divas division again (not really) and how she was going to beat her once again at MITB. Fortunately Teddy Long did us a favour and told AJ to hurry things along and just sign the contract.

After Kaitlyn also signed it, AJ revealed some private texts of Kaitlyn's from the time she believed to have a secret admirer. Eventually a fuming Kaitlyn claimed that she'd had enough and would regain her title on Sunday and then pushed AJ (and the table and chair from the set that the champ was still on) into the corner and began beating on her until Big E Langston grabbed her, so she responded by slapping him and then applying an awesome spear on AJ that sent her spinning. The segment ended strongly, although I'm still not expecting much from their title clash. 

Fandango bested Wade Barrett in an average bout that only existed to remind us of the World Title Money in the Bank Ladder match. The match had too many outside distractions and not enough time to really make any kind of impression. Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes) came out to confront Zeb Colter (who'd unfortunately provided guest commentary), Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger after their argument on Raw this week. 

As Alberto Del Rio was preparing to face Sin Cara, the masked wrestler was instead replaced by Dolph Ziggler wearing his attire who aggressively beat on the World Champion and struck him with a Zig Zag before leaving. Vickie Guerrero then appeared from the crowd and screamed that she'd been unfairly treated since being fired on Monday night and demanded that Teddy Long be fired for being a liar, lying about what exactly? So Long came out and had security escort Vickie out of the building. 

Randy Orton versus Sheamus ended in a no contest after Daniel Bryan ran down and rammed both men with a ladder from under the ring. As he attempted to climb the ladder and grab the MITB briefcase above the ring, Christian and Sheamus also each battled to grab it, with Orton finally unhooking it after RKO'ing Bryan. The actual main event had been fairly forgettable. Don't get me wrong, both wrestlers gave good performances but I just felt like I'd seen the same match a ton of times before and struggled to find the interest.

Overall it was a passable show, with Bryan versus Christian and Axel versus Jericho being my highlights. Outside of those there was nothing that memorable or special to speak of, although the ending of the Divas Title contract signing was nicely executed. While I'm still looking forward to Money in the Bank, which tends to be one of the better pay-per-views of the year, this SmackDown heading into it didn't really promote the event as strongly as it maybe could have. An appearance (even briefly at the end) from Punk once again on the blue brand might've been a nice touch, or another attack from the Wyatt family would have been interesting.

My WWE Payback Recap

That it was. Photo credit: WWE.com

Sheamus pinned Damien Sandow in a fair pre-show contest. It was pretty unremarkable for the majority, but there were a few nice moments from each of the two talents. I can't see why Sandow (who received most of the support from the fans in Chicago) wasn't afforded even a cheap win here, he could've really used it.

Curtis Axel bested Wade Barrett (c) and The Miz to obtain the Intercontinental Championship in a decent Triple Threat once it got going. The first half of the bout had its moments, although it felt a little slow for me. But once the pace picked up so did my interest and the three men put together some nice sequences with effective near falls. Axel managed to finally gain the one-two-three on Barrett as he was stuck in a Figure Four Leglock from Miz. The choice of victor went down very well with the terrific crowd in attendance.

Backstage Triple H  blocked off the new IC Champion's path, until Vince McMahon walked in and enthusiastically congratulated both Axel and Paul Heyman on the win. Vince went on to ask his son-in-law if he fancied facing Curtis, but Trips still refused.

AJ Lee beat Kaitlyn (c) to obtain the WWE Divas Title in a suprisingly enjoyable outing. Maybe I'm being generous since I wasn't expecting anything substantial here, but I was actually impressed with both wrestlers efforts here, they seemed to want to deliver a memorable match with a lay out that made sense, which is rare from the female performers on the main WWE roster nowadays. Granted there were a few slightly sloppy moments but considering both ladies abilities I think they should be proud of their displays. 

Afterwards an upset Kaitlyn was supported by fellow divas Alicia Fox, Layla and Natalya backstage. 

Dean Ambrose (c) won via count versus Kane, thereby retaining the United States Championship. While this wasn't the most exciting match, the wrestling itself was stellar enough so I can't complain. Ambrose managed to DDT Kane on the outside, earning himself the count out win.

We then witnessed a VT fo the return of Rob Van Dam at next month's Money in the Bank event. I was never overly impressed by most of his TNA run but he looked decent towards the end, could be interesting. Hopefully another WWE run will reinvigorate him a bit. 

Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler (c) to obtain the World Heavyweight Championship in a strange title clash. During the bout Ziggler was knocked on the head, which Del Rio continuously (and logically) targeted. Ziggler already had the support of the fans but his battling back (which reminded me a bit of HBK actually) really brought him across as a face and Del Rio beating on him when the referee was checking on the champ was extremely heelish. It was a smart move if the roles were meant to be reversed here, which I'm sure they were.

The wrestling itself had been largely solid, with only a few sloppy moments here and there. The crowd occasionally lost interest and began chanting for RVD and CM Punk, but soon got back into it. Del Rio shockingly won with a swift kick to the struggling Ziggler's head.

I think a comeback win for Dolph would've made much more sense here and given him some much needed credibility. His reign had only just begun after a long, long wait holding the MITB briefcase, and Del Rio has been stale for a long time as a face and heel. The new opponents Ziggler could've competed against over the title was a much more interesting prospect. This must've been a massive blow for 'The Show Off' too, he deserved better. Afterwards Del Rio came back out and asked the (booing) fans for their support and bigged himself up as the new World Champion.

CM Punk pinned Chris Jericho in a solid affair. Punk understandably received a tremendous reaction from the crowd throughout. The back and fourth action was decent, with exciting near falls (which maybe went a little overkill at points) and a nice ending (Punk applied two GTS's on Y2J) but this was by no means a classic. Both men gave worthy efforts, and the atmosphere was great but I just felt like there was something lacking a bit.

Much like Punk's famous title match with Cena at Money in the Bank 2011, it was a memorable contest but not either man's best by a fair distance. Maybe I'm being a little harsh and may change my mind after watching it again at some point, but I won't be in a rush to do so just yet.

The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) (c) bested Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton to retain the WWE Tag Team Title in an engaging bout. I'm struggling to think of new ways to type this about The Shield and Bryan's recent outings but to sum it up this was exciting and contained satisfying wrestling from the opening bell, so do yourself a favour and check it out. For the finish Orton moved out of the way of an oncoming spear which struck Bryan, then RKO'd Reigns but was chucked out of the ring by Rollins who applied a Blackout on Bryan for the winning pinfall.

John Cena (c) won the Three Stage of Hell match versus Ryback two to one, thereby retaining the WWE Championship. Ryback won the first stage Lumberjack match after Shell Shocking Cena after the champ had been tussling with the wrestlers on the outside. Cena managed to win the second stage Tables match after quickly reversing a Shell Shock attempt into an AA through a table in the ring. And finally Cena won the third stage Ambulance match by again Attitude Adjusting Ryback through the vehicle itself.

Overall it was an entertaining main event that didn't disappoint, although I was personally hoping for a Ryback win to make things a bit more interesting. Much like Extreme Rules last month these two were smartly booked to utilise various weapons and outside elements to hide their limitations and keep things engaging.

Admittedly there was nothing particularly new to be found here, Cena's top rope body splash onto the lumberjacks and AA on Ryback through the Ambulance were exciting moments but nothing original. Still I came away from another Ryback versus Cena encounter having fun, and that's more than I was expecting when their feud started.

On the whole Payback was a passable pay-per-view, with no bad contests to speak of and some satisfying match ups to take away from it. My highlights were the IC Title Triple Threat, the Tag Team Championship bout, CM Punk's return and the main event. Despite a few fair matches that I'll probably forget about this time next month, it had its fair share of memorable moments which is fine with me for a lower level event. 

My WWE Payback predictions

Photo credit: WWE.com

Three Stages Of Hell WWE Championship Match:

Stage 1 - Lumberjack Match; Stage 2 - Tables Match; Stage 3 - Ambulance Match: John Cena (c) versus Ryback:

I'm quite optimistic about this one, especially after their entertaining outing at Extreme Rules last month. Considering the limitations of these two talents the bookers made a smart move by having them compete in stipulation bouts, with plenty of distractions and weapons to keep things interesting for the viewers. I've been going back and fourth but I can actually see an upset here and Ryback taking the title, to shake things up a bit and get people checking out Raw Monday night. If not then at least it's a suitable way to finalise their feud.

Winner: Ryback

World Heavyweight Championship Match -  Dolph Ziggler (c) versus Alberto Del Rio:

I can't see this being anything but stellar in the ring, but to be honest I've grown tired of their feud and Del Rio in general as of late so I can't say I'm too hyped for this one. But at least this should mean that Ziggler moves on to a more engaging and exciting rivalry over the World Title next. 

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Best In The World Match - Chris Jericho versus CM Punk:

The match me and I presume the majority fans are mostly anticipating tonight, not only is it the return of one of the companies top overall talents but it should be a terrific contest. I personally very much enjoyed their previous two pay-per-view encounters, so I'll be shocked if I fail to enjoy this one. I know some fans have predicted that Punk will fail to turn up, but I just can't see it. This is one of the big attractions of the event (well the biggest attraction of it) and I can't imagine that WWE would be foolish enough to short change all the many fans who are paying for the main reason of seeing the return of CM Punk. 

Oh, and the returning Punk to win, always bet on the returning wrestler, always.

Winner: CM Punk

Tag Team Championships Match - The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) (c) versus Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton:

Well when you consider the fantastic form that these four men have been in as of late in match ups together, it's hard to imagine this match being anything but entertaining. Despite The Shield's first six-man loss on SmackDown last Friday, I can't see them dropping the tag straps just yet. Plus I see the slow burning Bryan and Orton feud developing with a big argument after their loss.

Winners: Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns

Triple Threat Intercontinental Championship Match - Wade Barrett (c) versus The Miz versus Curtis Axel:

Should be a decent enough match here, but nothing that special I reckon. With his recent run it's hardly a shock that I'm picking Axel to pick up his first singles strap, hopefully he'll add some much needed relevance to it.

Winner: Curtis Axel

United States Championship Match - Dean Ambrose (c) versus Kane:

My prediction to open the event. Quality-wise I expect this to be an enjoyable affair, not either man's finest but something worth checking out. As I typed earlier I can't see The Shield dropping any titles yet, and I think it'd be a daft move if they did. They still have quite a few significant feuds in them for a while to come and their strong booking needs to keep up.

Winner: Dean Ambrose

Divas Championship Match - Kaitlyn (c) versus AJ Lee:

I'm not expecting a great match here at all to be honest, but I am grateful for the thought that has actually gone into this rivalry, it's a lot more than any other Divas feud has received in a long time. I also see AJ picking up the belt, based on her current string of wins and Kaitlyn loosing her mind a bit. 

Winner: AJ Lee

Pre-Show - Sheamus versus Damien Sandow:

Should be okay to get the crowd going, but I don't foresee a technical marvel by any stretch of the imagination between these two. It would seem like a waste of their feud for me if Sheamus won, I have nothing against him but imagine the faith lost in any future Sandow push if he were to loose cleanly here in their first PPV outing. Plus Sheamus could quickly recover from a loss here. So considering all that I can see Sandow grabbing a cheeky win in a heel-like fashion somehow.

Winner: Damien Sandow 

My WWE Raw, 10th June 2013 Recap

I wonder how many other wrestlers on the roster could do that? Photo credit: WWE.com

Curtis Axel won via disqualification versus Triple H after Vince McMahon strolled down and called for the bell to be rung. But 'The Game' wasn't having that as he then restarted the bout, much to the disappointment of Axel and Paul Heyman. But once again Triple H's Father-in-law came back out and this time had Axel announced as the winner via forfeit.

So Trips stormed out of the ring and had Justin Roberts announce that the two would compete in a sixty-minute Iron Man match, but Vince wouldn't be having it and took the bell and told Axel to leave the ring. Backstage Stephanie McMahon begged her husband not to get physical with her much elder Father, so Triple H agreed if she went to talk to him.

Kane won via DQ versus Dean Ambrose in a fair encounter. I have no major issues with the match, both men gave worthy displays as they went back and fourth but it felt like there was that bit of excitement missing from it to really gain my interest.

The DQ occurred after Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ran in and attacked Kane. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton then evened the odds and helped chase off The Shield. After Bryan and Orton argued backstage over their altercation on last week's SmackDown (Orton RKO'd Bryan after he'd accidentally dropkicked him) with Kane trying to calm them down, Vickie Guerrero informed them that at Payback Orton and Bryan will compete for the tag titles while Kane will challenge for the US Title. After Orton and Bryan went off in a huff, an appreciative Kane gave Vickie a hug. It was a decent segment, and I'm personally enjoying this slow burning feud between Orton and Bryan.

The Miz defeated Cody Rhodes in a passable contest. Both men worked well together and provided nice sequences here. Admittedly it wasn't a particularly memorable match up but it was better than I was expecting.

As the Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett (who'd provided guest commentary) was about to capitalise on Miz's leg injury afterwards, Paul Heyman came out and announced that this Sunday his client Curtis Axel will join them in making it a Triple Threat for the IC strap,  replacing Fandango after he suffered a concussion at last week's SmackDown taping. I think it's safe to say we'll be seeing Axel with the title this time next week. 

Chris Jericho claimed that out of all the great pro wrestlers he's faced in WWE, his opponent at Payback CM Punk was the one that brought out the best in him. While I'm a fan of both their previous pay-per-view outings, I would've said that Jericho has definitely had superior matches against the likes of Rey Mysterio, The Rock, Shawn Michaels (my personal favourite feud Y2J's ever had) and more.  

World Champion Dolph Ziggler then made his Raw return after suffering a concussion last month, and spoke about how close he was to having his strap taken away from him. In response Jericho challenged him to a match to shake off the ring rust, so Ziggler accepted, but with Big E Langston in his place.

Chris Jericho pinned Big E Langston in a largely average affair. Unfortunately more than a few sloppy moments hindered the match for me, although it picked up a bit towards the end. Alberto Del Rio decided to get some payback (no pun intended) by pushing his future opponent Ziggler into the ringside form behind (which seemed a bit cowardly and heel-like I thought). This caused Big E to become distracted and finally Codebreakered by Jericho for the one-two-three.

Antonio Cesaro bested Sin Cara in an enjoyable bout. Sin Cara and Cesaro managed to compliment each others styles and made it work well, and when Sin Cara comes across an opponent like that then we usually get something worth checking out, but unfortunately that's a rare occasion. 

Randy Orton versus Roman Reigns ended in a no contest after both Bryan and Rollins interfered. The match itself had been a fair one, there was nothing remarkable about it but Orton gave a solid enough performance. How many DQ's and no contests are WWE throwing out at the moment?

Daniel Bryan pinned Seth Rollins in a tremendous back and fourth encounter. I've already gone on and on about Bryan's great form as of late so I won't again, but he and Rollins really worked hard here and provided a thoroughly engaging match, with stellar wrestling and an electric crowd behind Bryan. For the finish Orton managed to swipe Reigns from ringside as he was about to attack Bryan, allowing the victor to catch Rollins in a small package for the win. Afterwards Bryan and Orton seemed to put their differences aside, for now...

Big E Langston came out and revealed to Kaitlyn that he was her secret admirer, but as he then went to kiss her it was all revealed to be a ruse as he dropped the Divas Champion and AJ Lee skipped out and stated that she was behind it all.

AJ claimed that she wanted Kaitlyn to feel low and worthless like she did when she'd "abandoned" her after failed relationships with Punk, Bryan and Cena, and that she was finally going to take away her title belt at Payback. After having enough (I'm surprised it took her so long) Kaitlyn lashed out on her former best friend. It was some nice mic work from AJ here, and at least we're getting a Divas feud with some substance behind it.  

Damien Sandow beat R-Truth in a pedestrian contest. I was struggling with the urge not to fast forward here to be honest, it was just pretty drab for me, with uninspiring action. Afterwards Sheamus came out and after congratulating Sandow, warned him that in the Payback Kickoff match they'll have he felt it perfect to kick off his head. See what he did there?

In an office backstage Stephanie managed to get Vince and Triple H together to figure things out. After some heated exchanges they then began to see each other's point of view, with Vince liking the idea of Axel versus his son-in-law and Triple H agreeing with Vince that he was probably bigger than a match with Heyman's client and didn't need to prove anything in the ring. So after a bit more arguing Stephanie returned and convinced everyone to have a group hug. I'm not sure even they know where they're heading with this storyline right now.

Rather than enter the ring for the booked 'Face to Face' with lumberjacks surrounding them, Ryback decided to stand on the stage away from John Cena, claiming it was for the champ's own safety. Ryback then went on to say that Cena never helped him against Shield attacks because he saw him as a threat to his position in the company.

Cena of course denied this and decided that enough was enough and attempted to chase his rival but was pushed back into the ring each time by the lumberjacks. This allowed Ryback to race into the ring and the two began brawling until the other wrestlers managed to seperate them. It was a decent and exciting end to the show, with nice work from Ryback on the mic I thought.

Overall it was an enjoyable show for the most part, with only a few quite forgettable or sloppy match ups letting it down a bit. My highlights were the opening and ending segments, Cesaro versus Sin Cara and the tremendous Rollins versus Bryan contest. And most importantly it had a strong finish heading into a PPV, something we haven't always seen from WWE this year on Raw.  

My WWE SmackDown, 7th June 2013 Recap

Bryan takes it to Reigns and Rollins. Photo credit: WWE.com

The Miz brought out Randy Orton and Team Hell No for his latest edition of 'Miz TV', where he started with Daniel Bryan who apologised to Kane and Orton for his argumentative attitude during this week's Raw.

But things soon turned ugly when Miz stirred the pot and Bryan once again expressed his insecurities about being seen as the "weak link" and him and Kane began a heated argument, ending with the 'Big Red Monster' having enough and storming off. The always unwanted Teddy Long (for me anyway) then popped out to book Orton and Bryan against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins for later on. It was a decent segment to start the show, with Bryan on possibly his strongest form since joining WWE.

Curtis Axel pinned Chris Jericho in a decent outing. Both men looked good, with nice flowing action throughout. Axel managed to roll up Y2J for the one-two-three after Heyman had Jericho's Payback opponent CM Punk's theme music play and distract him. A furious Jericho then raced back into the ring afterwards and began beating and eventually applying a Codebreaker on Axel.

Before their following match could get started, 3MB (Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) attacked Alberto Del Rio, but their beat down was short lived as Del Rio managed to make a fairly quick comeback and send them on their way, but not before his ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez helped out by launching himself to the outside of the ring from the top rope. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse for 3MB. Dolph Ziggler then appeared on the tron and informed the number one contender to his World Title that he'll be making his return next monday on Raw. 

Kane won via disqualification versus Ryback after he was sent through a table. The match itself had been quite decent actually, I wasn't expecting much here but it was a pretty fun watch. The wrestling was never great but it was fine, and I'll take that. I also have to admit that the quality of Ryback's match ups have certainly improved lately, his clash with Cena at Extreme Rules and his recent outings with the outstanding Bryan as prime examples. Let's hope it continues.

Damien Sandow bragged about outwitting Sheamus over the last couple of weeks and after also boasting about how much smarter he was than all the fans in attendance, moved his attention to the super computer Deep Blue. As Sandow began a chess game against the computer, Sheamus came out and claimed that he could defeat DB in one move, which was of course a Brogue Kick.

An enraged Sandow lept on the 'Celtic Warrior' and after clubbing him with punches then smacked his head repeatedly on a table. Hopefully this will be a turning point for the 'Intelectual Saviour' and he'll become more competitive in the ring against wrestlers with higher status. 

Fandango pinned Zack Ryder in a worthy effort by both men. Much like the earlier Kane versus Ryback affair I wasn't expecting much here, but largely thanks to Ryder's display it was actually quite entertaining at parts.

Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton won via DQ versus The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) after Dean Ambrose ran in and attacked Bryan. The match itself had been an engaging one, with stellar back and fourth wrestling throughout. But once again the top performer was Bryan, I feel like that's my catchphrase now.

Towards the end Bryan accidentally struck Orton with a dropkick in the corner as Reigns moved out of the way, so this prompted 'The Viper' to RKO his teammate after Bryan had gotten rid of The Shield. Could this be the start of Orton's heel turn? 

Overall it was a decent enough show with no bad matches or promos to speak of but none that were particularly memorable, with the exception of the solid main event and quite amusing Sandow and Sheamus segment. It's worth a watch but don't expect anything to rave about.