My WWE SmackDown, 2nd August 2013 Recap

RVD wallops Christian with a nice kick. Photo credit: WWE.com

World Champion Alberto Del Rio started things off by thanking the fans, for nothing that is, reminding them that they turned on him when he was trying to be their champion. Which was true, but a lack of character will have that effect. He also sincerely thanked SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero for allowing him to choose his own opponent for SummerSlam, just like John Cena. So after mentioning a few possible options, Del Rio revealed his personal announcer Ricardo Rodriguez as his hand picked challenger.

An upset Vickie Guerrero then stormed out and expressed her disappointment in Del Rio's choice so instead booked a Triple Threat between Christian, Rob Van Dam and Randy Orton to determine his opponent for the big event. I was most happy with that match line up, and they duly delivered, but I'll get to that later...

Cody Rhodes pinned Jack Swagger in a fair, if unmemorable bout. Both men looked okay in the ring, nothing that significant or remarkable to take away from it though. During an interview afterwards Damien Sandow attacked Rhodes from behind, eventually taking him out by slamming his head into a nearby container. 

Big E Langston beat Sin Cara in a pedestrian outing. Big E understandably dominated for the most part, with Sin Cara managing a few offensive moments in there. Unfortunately the whole thing lacked in excitement or interest.

CM Punk forced Fandango to submit in a decent contest. Both men gave stellar showings and delivered a match that exceeded my expectations. In a nice finish Punk rolled over after applying a superplex on his opponent and latched on an Anaconda Vice for the win. It's always a treat to see his signature submission move make a return.

AJ Lee (c) defeated Kaitlyn to retain the Divas Title in passable encounter. It wasn't a great bout by any means, but it was wisely kept short and at least had a twist (which you could admittedly see coming a bit) when Layla betrayed Kaitlyn by preventing a spear on the outside and revealing how friendly she was with the Divas Champion afterwards.  

Christian bested Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam in a Triple Threat to become number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. And what a tremendous main event this was, with engaging action and superb displays from the opening. Every man put in a great effort here, which is hardly a surprise considering the talent involved. For the finish Orton attempted to hit Christian with an RKO after taking out RVD with one, but failed when 'Captain Charisma' reversed it into a backslide pin for the one-two-three. As a sentimental favourite of mine I was very happy with Christian winning.

The victor shook hands with both of his competitors after, only to then be attacked by Del Rio and finally kicked in the head by the World Champion. 

Overall it was a mixed bag of a show, with a few fairly average match ups that felt more like filler and a couple of enjoyable ones, including the terrific main event. My highlights were CM Punk versus Fandango and (take a wild guess) the Triple Threat.   

My WWE SmackDown, 26th July 2013 Recap

Apparently he can't swim. Photo credit: WWE.com

Randy Orton pinned Damien Sandow in a fair outing. Both Money in the Bank holders gave worthy enough efforts, but I failed to engage in the match and find any excitement. Orton applied the RKO for the one-two-three after Cody Rhodes walked down and walked off with Sandow's MITB briefcase, distracting the 'Intellectual Saviour'. 

CM Punk came out and confirmed for us again that he will indeed face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam in a few weeks. He went on to also claim that Lesnar's biggest weakness was once his own, his trust in Paul Heyman, and Heyman's was and always has been his ego.

He also added that he will take everything away from Heyman when he stands up from Lesnar's attack and continuously kicks him in the head until he's unrecognisable. I'm a big Punk fan but I just struggle to believe it when he states he'll do this kind of thing to someone much larger and muscular in Lesnar. Amusingly Fandango then interrupted Punk and came out for some unknown reason, which prompted him to crack the dancer with his microphone and some punches before hitting him with the GTS. The segment was entertaining and Punk is always a welcome return on the blue brand for me. 

Mark Henry and The Usos bested the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) and Wade Barrett in a passable six-man tag bout. It had decent moments, but was pretty forgettable to be honest. The winning teams upcoming match with The Shield should be far better.

Alberto Del Rio beat Rob Van Dam in a match that was far, far too brief. The World Champion managed to quickly pin RVD after a swift superkick after distracting the referee in the corner. I can only imagine (and sincerely hope) that they're planning to have these two face off for the strap at SummerSlam. That could be a terrific title match.

AJ Lee, accompanied by Big E Langston, explained that despite being dumped by Ziggler and loosing her best friend Kaitlyn she would be fine due to still being the Divas Champion and "saviour" of the division. She then revealed Dolph's keys to his house that he'd given her and claimed that she was ready to move on and get rid of them.

Dolph Ziggler then joined them and told his ex that he'd passed around plenty of sets of keys to girls and changed the locks just to be safe anyway, and also told Lee and Langston that they were both replaceable too, much like all his belongings in his suitcase which AJ began to destroy in the ring. As a furious Divas Champion left the ring Kailyn hit her with a spear, and Dolph took out Langston with a fameasser. Looks like we'll be having a mixed tag match with this lot at SummerSlam. It was an enjoyable segment, mainly due to Ziggler's great work on the mic which was possibly his strongest to date. His face turn has been very successful so far.

Luke Harper and Erick Rowan defeated Tons of Funk (Tensai and Brodus Clay) in a short squash tag contest. After watching the 'Wyatt family' for a while now on NXT their performance was pretty standard for them, they're never the most exciting but they do their job well enough. Afterwards Bray Wyatt said that he was welcoming Kane's return next Monday, seemingly having no fear over the possible ramifications of their beat down on him a few weeks ago.

Christian pinned Jack Swagger in a solid encounter and best one of the night. In one of Swagger's finest match ups since his return earlier in the year we received good displays from both men, with Christian especially on stellar form as usually expected from him. 

Damien Sandow stormed out after the main event and demanded that Rhodes return his MITB briefcase and that Vickie Guerrero fire him immediately. Cody then appeared on the big screen and revealed that he was right by the Gulf of Mexico with the briefcase in hand, telling Damien that all he had to do was come and get it.

So a frantic Sandow raced across the street, begging Cody not to chuck it into the river and complimenting him in almost every department. But that wasn't enough for Rhodes who tossed it in anyway. Sandow attempted to retrieve it but failed as he admitted that he couldn't actually swim. It was a fun end to the show. 

Overall it was a mixed bag of a SmackDown, with most of it being pretty unmemorable but a few entertaining offerings still to be had. My highlights were Punk's promo, the Ziggler and AJ segment, Christian versus Swagger and Sandow and Rhodes visit to the Gulf of Mexico. Outside of those parts it was unremarkable or fairly drab for myself.  

My WWE SmackDown, 21st June 2013 recap

Bryan goes flying towards Orton in a great pic. Photo credit: WWE.com

Daniel Bryan kicked things off by accusing the officials and medical staff (who stopped his match on Raw due to an injury on his behalf) of only ending his bout with Orton because they saw him as the "weak link." He also claimed that Orton's pat on his back was patronising. So Randy came out and explained that it was out of respect, but Bryan wasn't having any of it and called him a liar. A frustrated Orton retorted by saying that Bryan was loosing it and had enough of him before storming away. 

Sheamus beat Cody Rhodes in a passable, if forgettable outing. Both men were competent in the ring, but it lacked any real excitement or interest for me. Boy, hasn't Cody become a real punching bag over the last year? Afterwards Damien Sandow ran in and savagely clobbered his rival Sheamus.

Curtis Axel (c) pinned Wade Barrett to retain the Intercontinental Championship in a decent back and fourth encounter. Once again Axel looked solid here, and Barrett also gave a respectable display. Afterwards The Miz (who'd provided guest commentary) had a brief face off with the champ until his manager Paul Heyman convinced him to back off.

AJ Lee bested Natalya in a fair Divas bout, largely thanks to the effort of Natalya. AJ looked okay here, but pretty unremarkable as usual.  Backstage Aksana called Kaitlyn "trash" so the former Divas Champion launched herself at Aksana. It was atrocious acting all round as they were eventually split up.

Alberto Del Rio won via disqualification versus Chris Jericho in a solid contest. As expected both wrestlers were on stellar form, with nicely executed action from the opening bell. The DQ occurred when an enraged Dolph Ziggler ran in to attack Del Rio.

After the World Champion managed to escape the ring, an upset Jericho Codebreakered Ziggler for costing him the match. Del Rio then snuck back into the ring to swiftly kick Ziggler in the head, as he had done to finish him off at last Sunday's Payback event to win the title.

Christian defeated Drew McIntyre in a brief match up. The wrestling was fine, but unfortunately they didn't have enough time to make a real impact. That being said I'm still just grateful we have Christian back, he's one of the most consistent performers in the company. As 'Captain Charisma' was talking about how glad he was to be back in the ring, The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) came down the ramp (rather than through the crowd, which looked odd) and attacked Christian, finally finishing him off with a triple powerbomb.  

Daniel Bryan won via count out versus Randy Orton in an engaging main event. The count out occurred after Bryan struck Orton with a suicide dive to the outside, however an irate Bryan refused to let the match end that way and demanded that the bout be restarted so he could beat Orton definitively, but the referee refused. The match of the night had been very entertaining, with top wrestling from both men and plenty of excitement. 

Overall it was a decent show, with most matches being enjoyable enough. However after a great Raw you couldn't help but feel a bit deflated after the momentum had dropped, but that's often the case with the blue brand this year. My highlights were Axel versus Barrett, Del Rio versus Jericho and the great main event. 

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 SmackDown, 18th December 2012 Recap

CM Punk addresses the fans in the highlight of the night. Photo credit: WWE.com

The Miz introduced his guests for 'Miz TV' Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee, who were accompanied by Big E Langston. When asked why she screwed over Cena, AJ claimed that it was due to him toying with her emotions and stringing her along. Ziggler also added that it didn't matter that Cena won 'Superstar of the year' the previous night, because he'd stolen the show and his girlfriend anyway.

As Miz mocked the couple some more, Big E Langston decided enough was enough and clobbered the host. I really like the look of this new trio of Ziggler, AJ and Langston. Hopefully this is the start of Dolph moving to that next level and earning the World Title.

Teddy Long convinced Booker T backstage to give Brad Maddox a chance at earning a WWE contract against an unknown opponent.

Damien Sandow defeated Sin Cara in a fair bout. It wasn't anything exceptional but it was a worthy enough display from both men. During the match The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) made their way down and threw the absent Rey Mysterio's mask into the ring, distracting a concerned Sin Cara and allowing Sandow to apply his signature Terminus for the one-two-three.

Kofi Kingston and Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) bested The Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) and Wade Barrett in a solid six-man tag contest. From the opening bell it was an enjoyable match up, with good displays (and acceptable ones from Young and O'Neil) from most men involved as everyone got a chance to have a go at the action in the ring.

WWE Champion CM Punk, accompanied by Paul Heyman, came to the ring and once again complained that the fans couldn't put their biased feelings aside and rightfully vote for him as 'Superstar of the year' at the Slammys. He also went on to state that he is the rightful WWE Champion and far superior to Cena, and had a go at him for giving  away what he felt was his award to Ric Flair the previous night on Raw, also truthfully (in a lot of cases) criticising the older wrestlers that make appearance to hog the spotlight for themselves and away from the younger wrestlers.

The champ also added that this time next year Heyman will still be holding his title belt high above his head because no one is able to beat him for it. Ryback then joined them both and warned that he had his sights set on Punk's championship on the first Raw of the new year when he'll be medically cleared.

Ryback beat Antonio Cesaro in a passable outing. It wasn't a bad bout by any means, Cesaro worked well here and Ryback looked okay, there was just nothing special about it. Pretty run of the mill for the most part. 

Kaitlyn won via DQ versus Eve (c) with the Divas Title on the line, therefore Eve retained. Like most Divas match ups it was a largely pedestrian encounter, with nothing that engaging about it at all. The disqualification came after Eve refused to let go of the referees leg.

Brodus Clay bested Brad Maddox in a drab affair. For the most part Clay dominated the attention-seeking Maddox, but at least this time in his try out match Maddox was allowed some offense. Afterwards The Shield came out and took out Clay, much like they did to Orton after he faced Maddox.

John Cena and Sheamus won via disqualification versus Dolph Ziggler and Big Show after Big E Langston once again ran in and attacked Cena. It was a very average main event, with nothing exceptional or original about it at all. Dolph was decent but that was about it. Even after everything he's been through over the last week Cena was still all smiles, he really cannot sell for his life.

Overall it was a largely mediocre show, with the highlights being the CM Punk promo and six-man tag match, but that was about it. One other positive to take away is the new trio of Langston, Ziggler and AJ, I personally really like the partnership and hope it helps boost Dolph. 

My WWE TLC 2012 Recap

My insane spot of the night, Rollins crashing into the tables behind. Photo credit: WWE.com

Team Rhodes Scholars (Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes) defeated Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in a Tables Match to become number one contenders to the Tag Team Title. Good choice to start the show with here, a solid match with a decent amount of weapon use but not too much to make it overkill and wear off the effect of it.

While it maybe wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be, the action was consistent throughout and I can't fault the efforts of any of the four wrestlers. They managed to keep things interesting with just use of the tables too. For the finish Rhodes ran in and pushed Sin Cara from the top rope as he was about to spring off at Sandow, causing him to fall back into one of the two tables left behind at ringside.

Antonio Cesaro (c) bested R-Truth to retain the United States Championship in an enjoyable enough contest, if a bit pedestrian. In their best match to date both men worked well together, although it wasn't anything that out of this world. Afterwards Cesaro turned the tables on the fans in Brooklyn by claiming that by booing him as US Champion, they're booing their own country. He has really brought that title back to relevance. 

The Miz brought out 3MB (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre) as his guests on 'Miz TV'. After Miz mocked the fairly amusing trio, 3MB announced that they would finally be performing their debut song live at the Slammy Awards on Monday night. They then made their way to the Spanish announce desk, taking offense at them for not speaking English.

Ricardo Rodriguez then came out to the commentators aid, but unfortunately for him began getting beaten up by the band. This cued Alberto Del Rio to race out to protect his personal ring announcer, which again led to him getting beaten on by the trio, until Miz decided to lend a hand when Slater pushed him aside. After chucking them out of the ring, 3MB challenged Del Rio and Miz to find a third man to face them in a six-man tag match that night. Miz and Del Rio accepted. The fans also chanted for Ryder to be that third man later on. The reception for the possible face turn for Del Rio was positive, and he certainly needs a big shake up with his stale persona. It's good to see 3MB getting some time on PPV too, they've been fading a bit as of late. 

Kofi Kingston (c) defeated Wade Barrett to retain the Intercontinental Title in a largely stellar bout. Both men worked hard here and provided an engaging match up once it got going in the second half, with Barrett particularly impressing with an above average performance for him. The bout also contained impressive maneuvers and nice near falls. 

WWE Champion CM Punk addressed all the fans from his own personal sky box in the arena, where he spoke of his disgust for Brooklyn and its inhabitants. He went on to also claim that TLC was his environment and that had he been competing he would have easily defeated Ryback.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) beat Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) and Ryback in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. And what an awesome match this was. From the opening bell the action came thick and fast, with every weapon utilised well and the excitement coming at you with terrific spot after terrific spot. Every man delivered here, even Reigns who I wasn't too convinced with from what I've seen of him so far. But the most insane moment went to Rollins who was thrown from the tope of a huge ladder by Ryback onto some stacked tables behind. The winning pin came after Ambrose and Reigns powerbombed Bryan through a table in the ring. Very satisfying match, great stuff.

Eve (c) bested Naomi to retain the Divas Championship in a forgettable and pretty worthless match up. Naomi showed off some of her athletic skills but there was no substance behind it and she looked quite uncomfortable and nervous when actually wrestling. So the Divas division is poorer than it's ever been and what do they do to improve it? Nothing. They just make it worse by throwing in an opponent for Eve to easily defeat for no good reason. At least if they'd had Natalya or Tamina face Eve it would've been a half decent outing.

Big Show (c) defeated Sheamus to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a Chairs Match. And yet again these two delivered on PPV with a solid back and fourth battle. Although maybe not as exciting as their last match up it was still solid throughout, and a high note to end their feud on if it is now over.

For the finish Show brought out a huge steel chair and walloped 'The Great White' on the back with it for the one-two-three. I'm glad to also see a clean win here for the giant, just gives the champion and the title itself more worth. My only issue was the fact that this wasn't the main event. It's the only World Title match on the card, it should without a doubt be the main event of the show, and you can't argue that it didn't deserve that slot. I was also personally hoping for Ziggler to cash in here and then have to (and successfully) defend the World Championship in the main event against Cena, that would've made sense.

The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and The Brooklyn Brawler beat 3MB (Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre) in a mostly drab six-man tag bout. Just before the match Miz announced Brooklyn Brawler as their third man, which received a fair response from the crowd, although I'm certain Ryder would've been a more popular (and smarter) choice. It was just all very average really, nothing that engaging or exceptional to take away from it. 

Dolph Ziggler defeated John Cena to retain his MITB contract in a Ladder Match, and a disappointing main event. Now don't get me wrong it wasn't a bad match, I was just personally expecting a lot more from this one. I thought this was going to be the match of the night, but I just didn't find myself getting as excited or engaged by it as the great TLC match from earlier. Both men put in worthy efforts so I feel a bit guilty for slating it a bit, it was enjoyable and is worth a watch, just don't expect a classic ladder match. 

For the finish Vickie Guerrero came down to the ring to halt Cena from getting up onto a ladder, this cued nemesis AJ Lee to then take out Vickie by imitating Cena's usual routine, awfully, I mean it was cringe-worthingly bad, and send her on her way. But as Cena then went to grab the briefcase AJ pushed the ladder over which allowed Dolph to superkick Cena and grab his MITB briefcase back. If I'm honest, I'm not even that interested in AJ's reason she'll come up with tomorrow night for doing this, I would've rather seen another wrestler that could gain something here screw Cena over myself.

Overall TLC was a pretty enjoyable event for the most part. With all the weapons-related match ups providing good entertainment, especially the terrific TLC match itself. The Divas contest just felt like a waste of time and did absolutely no favours for the division. The US and IC Title clashes were decent enough, with the Kofi versus Barrett encounter edging it. 

My WWE Raw, 26th November 2012 Recap

The (newly-named) Shield take out one of their latest victims. Photo credit: WWE.com 

Ryback defeated Titus O'Neil in an average match up, although that was more than I was expecting. Surprisingly to me O'Neil was made to look fairly competitive here, which should minimise the damage done to him a bit.

Afterwards Ryback refused to leave the ring until CM Punk or his three attackers last week and at Survivor Series come out. But of course they didn't, instead Vickie Guerrero sent out a security team to subdue him, which failed. After pleading with him Ryback told Vickie to "Shut up!" (which went down well) and demanded a TLC match with Punk at the same-titled PPV next month. She agreed to his terms. I'm glad we're having Ryback talking more, it's finally advancing his character a bit.

Alberto Del Rio beat The Great Khali in a mediocre bout. Del Rio gave a fair effort here, considering the limitations of his opponent. Once again in a Khali match there was a Hornswaggle related distraction at ringside, which this time led to Del Rio locking on an armbreaker for the submission victory.

We were shown a pre-taped interview conducted by Michael Cole with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, where it was revealed that they were not working with CM Punk and that they'd attacked Ryback because they felt it was wrong that it was the most popular wrestlers getting title opportunities, wrestlers like Cena and Ryback who'd already had a shot at Punk's strap and lost previously.

Ambrose also went on to claim that they weren't like NWO or Nexus, that they stood for principals and honour where it no longer exists, and announced themselves as 'The Shield'. It was an intriguing segment, that actually felt a bit different from most we've received from factions in the past, with Ambrose's work being the highlight. If booked right this trio could really be something special I reckon, and something refreshingly different in todays pro wrestling.     

Tamina bested Alicia Fox in a rather forgettable and pedestrian contest. Looks like Tamina is the latest female performer to get a push in the divas division, wonder how long it will actually last though.

As John Cena began describing his kiss with AJ last week, Vickie Guerrero interrupted him and claimed that his relationship will eventually implode with AJ, just like it has with every other man she's been with in WWE. Of course AJ Lee herself had enough of this and thanked Vickie for getting her fired as Raw GM, because now she was free to date whomever she pleased without scrutiny. Dolph Ziggler also showed up and theorised that when AJ kissed Cena last week, she was thinking of him instead "the entire time." To settle things Vickie then booked a match between Cena and 'The Show Off' for that night. As usual with this storyline it was a pretty weak segment, thankfully Ziggler's charisma and mic skills helped salvage it a bit.

Kofi Kingston defeated Tensai in a fair match up. While it wasn't anything that inspiring both men put in good displays, with Tensai actually having one of his finest singles match since returning to the company.

After loosing out to Kane in an online poll to determine who will face CM Punk later on, the always entertaining Daniel Bryan was informed that he would still be in action but against Rey Mysterio instead. 

Rey Mysterio defeated Daniel Bryan in an exciting contest, and match of the night. Now this is a bout I've wanted to see for a long while, and it didn't disappoint. Both men were technically solid in the ring and kept the action fast and smooth throughout. I presume this was also another step in setting up a tag team title match between Team Hell No and the combo of Mysterio and Sin Cara for TLC.

John Cena beat Dolph Ziggler in a decent bout. Not either man's finest but it was still a fun outing to watch. For the finish Cena had to leave the ring due to his knee injury playing up, this cued AJ to run down and stop Ziggler from undoing a turnbuckle pad, which led to Cena applying an Attitude Adjustment for the one-two-three. Afterwards AJ and Cena once again shared a snog.

I really feel that a Ziggler win here, no matter how cheap, would've made far more sense and not just because I prefer him. Considering his recent successful run they could've kept that going, and a heel-like victory would've given them an excuse to have a rematch (perhaps a table match) at TLC. A loss here really wouldn't have damaged Cena much would it? I'm hoping that they still have another match at TLC and that Ziggler is somehow victorious. 

Sheamus defeated Antonio Cesaro via count out after applying a Brogue Kick and sending the Swiss out of the ring. The match itself had a solid enough second half, but fairly drab first. Once it going and the quality and excitement picked up the two had some nice exchanges in the close fought battle. The fact that Sheamus didn't pin Cesaro was also a very good sign for the US Champion, he must have some important names in the back predicting big things for him.  

Afterwards Big Show came out with a steel chair in hand, but as he went to then walk off 'The Great White' called him back and warned him that he will truly see the barbaric side of him come TLC in their chairs match. The World Champion retorted by breaking apart the chair in hand. This wasn't one of their strongest promos with each other.

Damien Sandow bested Zack Ryder in a passable outing. The action was fairly average for the most part (which was expected really) but it wasn't a bad display by either man. Ryder was also sporting new trunks and knee pads with his own take on the Ghostbusters logo, as a huge fan as a kid I can appreciate the design. 

CM Punk defeated Kane in a worthy enough effort by both wrestlers. The match wasn't anything special, but there was also no aspect of it that I can call bad to be honest. It was just quite uninspiring for the most part until the end for me. For the finish The Shield made their way down to the ring, distracting Kane and allowing Punk to apply a GTS for the win. The trio then took out Kane, along with Daniel Bryan who came to his aid. Finally Ryback also appeared and almost had the upper hand until the WWE Champion began brawling on him, allowing The Shield to powerbomb the number one contender in the ring. Not a bad end to the show, if maybe too familiar to the last couple of weeks with Survivor Series and Raw.

Overall it was a decent enough Raw, with a good second half managing to salvage it from a woeful start. Mysterio versus Bryan and The Shield interview were the highlights for myself, with most other match ups (bar the divas contest, Del Rio Khali match and Ryback versus O'Neil bout) were also all passable outings. The low point was once again the tedious AJ Lee/Cena/Vickie/Ziggler storyline, Dolph did what he could but even he couldn't save the drab segment.  

My WWE Raw, 5th November 2012 Recap

Photo credit: WWE.com

The Miz informed Paul Heyman that he was quitting CM Punk's Survivor Series team after the WWE Champion had abandoned his team mates on last weeks Raw when Ryback chased him off.

R-Truth, Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio defeated Antonio Cesaro and the Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) in a decent enough tag contest. Most of the action was okay but nothing that exceptional. Fortunately Mysterio and Cesaro's nice exchanges brought up the quality of the bout, a singles match between them could be superb.

Vickie Guerrero gave the same speech she's already given reviewing all of the evidence in the Cena AJ Lee scandal. John Cena then came out and things didn't improve. He openly admitted to never learning another wrestling move (way to do your profession proud John) and listed off all the dubious things Vickie has done in her career.

Guerrero then presented new footage of AJ leaving a hotel room and entering another in a dressing gown, then another video of Cena putting a do not disturb sign on his door in a towel. Cena explained that the footage was form two clearly different angles and meant nothing. As Cena and Vickie then urged AJ Lee herself to come out, she appeared on the big screen and said that she wouldn't because she would have to put her hands on Vickie which would result in her loosing her job. Dolph Ziggler then also appeared next to AJ and put his arm around her. This forced Cena to go running after her. It really wasn't a great segment at all, and this storyline is just getting tiring now. The only thing that saved it were the crowd in Birmingham (get in my fellow English fans!), they were enthusiastic throughout.

Paul Heyman urged Wade Barrett to join Punk's SS team, but Barrett refused due to his distrust of Heyman. Wade then had a change of heart and agreed to join, but only on the condition that Heyman owes him one. I'm personally quite glad at the switch between Miz and Barrett, he needs some decent PPV time.

Cody Rhodes bested Daniel Bryan in a far too brief match up. Considering the talent involved I was hoping for them to be allocated more time, but unfortunately not. The action itself was okay, if a little sloppy at moments. Rhodes grabbed the win after Bryan had attacked his tag partner Sandow at ringside with his signature diving attack as retribution for Sandow striking Kane. Rhodes afterwards boasted that his Rhodes Scholars partner could just as easily defeated Kane, so the match was instantly booked for there and then.

Kane beat Damien Sandow in a largely average and unmemorable bout. Again there wasn't so much time for actual wrestling here, as during the match Daniel Bryan and Rhodes began fighting again and were both told to leave by the official. Kane finished off Sandow shortly after with a Choke Slam. Considering it's a three hour show you'd think they wouldn't rush the wrestling so much.

Michael Cole brought out former referee Brad Maddox and asked him why he attacked Ryback at Hell in a Cell and aided CM Punk's title defense. Maddox revealed that he wanted to make a name for himself after years of rejection from trying to make it as a pro wrestler in WWE. So he took out his frustration on Ryback, the typical big guy who he felt had prevented smaller guys like him from making it. It wasn't a bad promo actually, and made sense.

Vince McMahon then also came out and claimed that he felt Maddox was lying and that he was involved with Punk or Heyman somehow. But he agreed to give him a chance at a WWE contract in a match against Ryback on next weeks show. McMahon then also called out Vickie Guerrero and convinced her to change the match already set for Survivor Series and book a Triple Threat between CM Punk, Ryback and Cena for the WWE Title instead. The fans weren't pleased to hear Cena's involvement in the bout, and neither was I. 

I've just grown tired of the stale Cena persona, and he very rarely brings real interest to anything nowadays. And what's happened to his feud with Ziggler now? Although that's actually one plus to take from this, a programme with Cena would've only damaged Ziggler's reputation even more.  

Sheamus beat The Miz in a decent, if slightly pedestrian at times match up. The action was fine, but there was just that level of interest lacking from the contest. Fair efforts from both men.

Backstage Vickie revealed to Ziggler that he would now be heading Punk's former team at Survivor Series. An angered CM Punk overheard the news, and complained that this was just McMahon getting his own back on him. To try and calm him down Guerrero revealed that she'd also booked him and Ziggler against Ryback and Cena that night. This didn't go down well.

Kaitlyn and Layla defeated Eve and Aksana in a mediocre tag match. The whole contest just felt sub par and pretty drab really, with no outstanding efforts from any of the wrestlers. This was also the first time in the night that the crowd was mostly quiet, and that's with the English Layla involved. Aksana and Kaitlyn also looked quite inexperienced out there, especially Aksana. I know I've asked it before but how is she still under contract?  

Kofi Kingston bested Alberto Del Rio in an enjoyable enough outing. Both men went back and fourth and gave worthy displays here. Kofi grabbed a quick roll up pin for the victory after Orton's music had hit which distracted Del Rio. Randy Orton then actually appeared to apply a quick RKO to Alberto. With Kingston's current run and latest push he had to win somehow, it would've been a foolish choice to have him loose.

Santino Marella and Zack Ryder beat Primo and Epico in a fun tag bout. From start to finish I enjoyed this match, especially the solid displays from the underrated Primo and Epico. Nice easy watch.

Wade Barrett defeated Brodus Clay in a passable, if drab at times match up. The action was nothing special to be honest, but I wasn't expecting much here. The fans were happy enough to see one of their own get the win anyway so they weren't too fussed. 

Heath Slater beat Jimmy Uso in an average contest. Their efforts weren't bad by any means, but it wasn't a match that'll really draw you in or get you excited. Amusingly there were chants for 3MB during it. I see there are others out there liking this new trio too.

Before the main event CM Punk complained about the Triple Threat Title defense he'll have to enter at Survivor Series, and bragged about being better than everybody else. He also added that he will defende his championship successfully anyway and prove once again that he is indeed "the best in the World!" It was the best promo of the night, although that isn't saying much.

Ryback and John Cena defeated Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk in a solid and entertaining main event, and match of the night. Once again the fans were booing Cena and cheering on his opponents. This was until Ryback entered the match for the final few minutes where he ran through Ziggler and Punk, eventually applying a Shell Shock to pin the WWE Title holder. While there were a few hiccups on Cena's part it was a fun watch and mostly good work from all four men. Afterwards Ryback and Cena stared off for the first time, with the former beginning chants of "Feed me more" to end the show. 

Overall it was a pretty average show for me. Most matches were standars but nothing special bar the main event which I liked. The Kingston Del Rio encounter and first match of the night were also enjoyable enough. The only decent promo of the night came from Punk before the main event. The Vince McMahon segment with Vickie (and subsequently the whole AJ Lee/Cena scandal) didn't add anything to the show for me, except frustration that they're not putting together a half decent storyline here instead. At least there was an excited crowd in Birmingham to liven the show. 

My WWE Raw, 22nd October 2012 Recap

Photo credit: WWE.com

Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara to earn a tag team title shot at Hell in a Cell. The match was enjoyable for the most part, with a few sloppy moments here and there but not enough to spoil it. The finish was very nicely executed too, with Mysterio almost grabbing the winning pin after a top rope body splash onto Rhodes. Throughout the crowd seemed split with their loyalty for both teams. 

Afterwards Daniel Bryan and Kane congratulated Sandow and Rhodes, but also warned them that they had no chance in beating them this Sunday. As far as their usual promos go, this was sub par for the charismatic duo.

Kofi Kingston beat Michael McGillicutty in a fair bout. It's a nice change seeing McGillicutty on Raw, I really think he has more to offer if given the chance. The action throughout was hard to fault to be honest, unfortunately you could only see one outcome so the excitement was drained a bit.

John Cena came out and once again promoted the number one contender to the WWE Championship Ryback in a attempt to help win him over with the fans. As he went on to claim that at HIAC the face of the WWE will change, CM Punk joined Cena. The champ claimed that Cena's speech was predictable, and named him the personal cheerleader for Ryback. Cena responded by announcing that he was now medically cleared and challenged Punk to a fight, so he came to the ring, but as any typical heel does he soon turned around and left. Cena's dancing around the ring and fake shadow boxing looked embarrassing. It wasn't the best segment considering the roll CM Punk's been on recently.

Justin Gabriel bested Antonio Cesaro in a worthy enough effort from both men. The action was passable as it played before an indifferent crowd, where some of the minority chanted "Boring" and "We want Ryder" which I felt was unfair treatment for these two and the bout. The ending was the only big downfall as they had to sloppily recover the ending sequence from the top rope. Michael Cole rightfully rammed down out ears how important a win this was for Gabriel, which it was.

Vince McMahon accompanied Raw GM AJ Lee out to the ring, where she announced that due to allegations of her fraternising with a certain talent she was forced to resign as General Manager. The fans in New York weren't happy with the decision. She went on to give an emotional speech on how she grew up with hard beginnings, and managed to become the boss of Raw, and thanked the fans for accepting her.

Paul Heyman then joined her and Vince, and suggested to the Chairman of the Board that he be the new General Manager. The fans liked the offer, and so did I, but unfortunately McMahon turned him down and named Vickie Guerrero the new  managing supervisor of Raw, not the permanent GM. Heyman attempted to persuade Vickie to reverse the decision McMahon made last week when he chose CM Punk's opponent for HIAC, but she wasn't having any of it and waved him off. She then went on to book Sheamus versus CM Punk in the main event. Heyman threw a hissy fit and left. 

Guerrero then turned her attention to AJ, and explained why she is superior to her. She also then claimed that AJ had an affair with an unnamed talent according to the allegation from the Board of Directors. In response AJ attacked Vickie in an awful looking brawl that went on for too long. It wasn't a bad segment, Heyman was the clear highlight on the mic, which is hardly a surprise.

Ryback defeated The Miz in an average contest. It was just pretty unmemorable and sub par as Ryback dominated Miz for the most part, who certainly didn't look like a former WrestleMania main eventer here. 

Backstage Kaitlyn confronted Eve regarding a mysterious email she had on her iPad that's linked to her attack from behind at Night of Champions. Eve retorted with a slap to Kaitlyn's face and the two began brawling until Layla forced Kaitlyn away, only to be pushed by Eve so she began also attack the Divas Champion. I'm just hoping they get this storyline over soon, it's dragging now.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Daniel Bryan in the brilliant match of the night. Both men put in terrific displays as they battled back and fourth, with exciting and crisp action. I was expecting an enjoyable bout here, but it was better than I'd predicted. During the contest Kane came down to support his tag partner by getting some "Yes!" chants going, but this annoyed Bryan who as then caught out with a Zig Zag by Ziggler from the second rope for the winning pinfall. On his way out Bryan also received the biggest ovation of the show.

Afterwards the Tag Team Champions argued, until Matt Stryker joined them and announced on behalf of Vickie Guerrero that both men will compete in a therapeutic game show against Team Rhodes Scholars. Unfortunately Rhodes and Sandow refused to compete in something so beneath them, and left. Amusingly Daniel Bryan happily celebrated a win via forfeit. A smug Stryker then left the ring, and once within a safe distance claimed that he hopes Team Hell No loose on Sunday. But Big Show didn't care, and tossed Stryker across the stage with ease on the way to his match with Kane. Bryan and Kane were once again on good form here during the segment. 

Big Show beat Kane in a rather pedestrian bout. It was just fairly drab and unmemorable really. During the match Sandow and Rhodes came out, distracting Kane and costing him the match as Big Show WMD'd him, they then took out Bryan and stood tall in the ring. While the match was quit slow paced and run of the mill as far the wrestling went, it at least elevated Show and the Team Hell No and Rhodes Scholars feud, so it was a success as far as that goes I guess.    

As Cena said goodbye to AJ Lee, she admitted to him that he was the man she was accused of having an affair with. She also accused Guerrero of being the one to fabricate the story. 

Alberto Del Rio bested Zack Ryder in a standard outing. Del Rio made fairly quick work of Ryder as he forced him to tap to the arm breaker. It wasn't anything special, and like the previous match you could skip it and not miss much. 

As Cena stormed into Vickie Guerreo's office to confront her she reminded him that he publicly asked AJ out on Raw and claimed that they'd been on a date, therefore costing her the role of GM.

CM Punk defeated Sheamus in a solid main event Lumberjack match. The intense contest kept me engaged from start to finish, with a nice pace and worthy displays from both men. In the superior bout to their one on Main Event a few weeks ago (which was a decent watch) 'The Great White' was thrown into the heels at ringside on a few occasions, and as any good face he fought back to take on the WWE Champion. But in the end it wasn't to be for the Irishman as he was Chokeslammed at ringside by Big Show and pinned by Punk.

As the WWE Champion celebrated Ryback made his way out and attacked him each time he was thrown back into his clutches by the lumberjacks. This included a very impressive and effective looking powerbomb, and a throw onto all the heel lumberjacks. 

Overall it was a mixed bag of a show. The main event, Team Hell No game show segment and especially Ziggler versus Bryan were the highlights. I'm hoping Ziggler and Guerreros separation is permanent, Dolph will go further without her in my opinion. CM Punk and Ryback's feud progressed well enough, although it still seems a little daft to me having Cena promoting the number one contender rather than the man himself. But I guess Ryback needs the extra support. Other than that there wasn't an awful lot that was memorable to take away from Raw.