My WWE SmackDown, 14th September 2012 Recap

Alberto Del Rio, David Otunga and Ricardo Rodriguez once again kicked off the show. Del Rio congratulated Booker T on banning the Brogue Kick while it's under investigation. Otunga, also amusingly sporting a neck brace like Ricardo, then complained that Raw GM AJ Lee's booking of him against 'The Great White' last Monday were the actions of a mentally unstable person. 

Otunga next interviewed Christian via satellite and asked him about the effects of the Brogue Kick after being a victim of it last year. Strangely Christian admitted that he hadn't been the same since and that the move should be banned. He did also mock Del Rio and act as a face, which is why I find it strange that they chose 'Captain Charisma' to do this segment and not another active heel who's also felt Sheamus' finisher. Christian was using an injured elbow as the reason for his absence, although the truth is it's actually because WWE struck a deal with TNA so they could use Ric Flair at this years Hall of Fame ceremony and TNA could use Christian at theirs to induct Sting.    

Daniel Bryan also joined the trio and thanked them for bringing the issue to light and Booker T for allocating him a WrestleMania rematch against Sheamus that night, claiming that if the Brogue Kick had been illegal back then he would've won on April 1st. The World Heavyweight Champion himself Sheamus decided to come out and said Bryan was wrong, cracked a lame joke and warned both Bryan and Del Rio that those who forget history "are doomed to repeat it" regarding their upcoming bouts with him.  Before he left he also ripped off Otunga's neck brace with a big grin.

Sin Cara defeated The Miz in a fair match up. It wasn't anything that special but the action was solid enough and both men gave good efforts. In a poor ending Sin Cara messed up his roll up finish which looked too fake for the one-two-three.  

After some exchanged words between Miz, Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio and, well, okay Sin Cara didn't talk but he pointed (which Rhodes amusingly pointed out didn't get people anything) backstage afterwards Teddy Long on behalf of Booker T booked a Fatal Four Way between them all at Night of Champions for the Intercontinental title. I said a couple of weeks back that I hoped they'd put on that match, should be good I reckon. 

In another brilliant anger management segment between Kane, Daniel Bryan and Doctor Shelby the newest tag team in WWE discovered how soothing squeezing stress-relief balls was. After reflecting on what they were doing, they stopped and Kane remarked "Mine's bigger than yours." Their segments have been some of the if not the best currently in WWE. I'm really hoping they win the tag titles on Sunday, they're far more interesting than the current title holders.

Kane beat Kofi Kingston in an enjoyable contest that exceeded my expectations. I was predicting a bit of a dull, if passable match but it was livelier than expected and had decent displays from both men. A disappointed Doctor Shelby appeared on the ramp after the bell rung which forced Kane to hug his fallen opponent, Kofi's scared face was hilarious.   

Randy Orton defeated Tensai in a passable bout. Though the start was quite drab the rest of the match was decent enough, Orton was on his usual solid form in the ring. He really is one of the most consistent performers in the company today. Afterwards Vickie Guerrero attempted to distract 'The Viper' but he caught on and scared off Dolph Ziggler who was attempting to attack Orton from behind.  

Antonio Cesaro complained that the number one contender for his United States Championship would be determined in a Battle Royal on Sunday and that it wasn't worthy enough for his prestigious title. Tyson Kidd then joined him and warned the champ that he's going to loose the title come NOC. Cesaro took exception to this and threw Kidd out of the ring. Brodus Clay then joined Cesaro and with the help of Tyson took him out. Cesaro's mic work was okay here, good to see him getting more air time of the blue and red brands lately. 

Wade Barrett warned that after announcing that his services were open for business last week, next week someone will "get to sample the product." Rather ominous, eh? It's good to have him back on SmackDown, it certainly needs all the main event level talent it can get.

Kaitlyn defeated Beth Phoenix in a largely average match up. Although Kaitlyn was given a clean win over Phoenix, which is a step forward for her and also means someone in the back must be keen.

Sheamus beat Daniel Bryan in a highly entertaining back and fourth main event. As usual these two put on a very good match together and in turn received a healthy response from the fans. The action was sound and the pace kept you engaged from start to finish. Sheamus grabbed the win after forcing Bryan to tap to the Texas Cloverleaf. 

Overall I felt in-ring content wise this weeks SmackDown was an improvement on last weeks. Although I'm still not that hyped for Sheamus versus Del Rio on Sunday, I'm hoping their feud is coming to an end soon. There's only so long you can keep pitting the same two men against each other on PPV. 

My Impact Wrestling, 13th September 2012 Recap

TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries started the show off by explaining just how important his World title was, and how it's significance is why he was targeted by Aces & Eights recently. He added that although they came after him he managed to take out one of their members at No Surrender. He then called out his opponent at Bound for Glory, Jeff Hardy. AA first congratulated his future opponent for getting through both Samoa Joe and Bully Ray in one night, and with a storyline shoulder injury.

Bully Ray shortly interrupted Aries and called both men lucky. AA because he won't have to face him at BFG and Hardy because he supposedly only won because Bully felt sorry for him. The World Champion decided to make Ray put his money where his mouth is and challenged him to face Hardy that night, but Bully backed out.

Zema Ion (c) defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain the X Division title in an enjoyable enough bout. Dutt was once again on solid form with his crisp and impressive maneuvers, unfortunately Ion looked quite average again. I was hoping Ion would grow into the role of the X strap holder and up his game when given the chance, but it just hasn't really happened. I hope I'm proven wrong and that he does improve in the future, he has shown glimpses of becoming more engrossing. Zema retained after grabbing the ropes for a cheeky pinfall win.     

Bobby Roode came out and explained that he smashed a beer bottle over Storm's head at No Surrender (thereby costing him the match in the BFG Series) because he felt that 'The Cowboy', who he accused of riding his coattails when they were a tag team, didn't deserve a chance at the World title that he'd once held. James Storm inevitably came out and the two once again began brawling, with Storm gaining the upper hand and dragging Roode outside.   

AJ Styles beat Kazarian in an decent, if a little disjointed at times match up. While the action came fast and for the most part well, there were a few little mistakes here and there. But like I said they were only little and it failed to really spoil the contest. The crowd were also really into and thoroughly behind the face Styles. As per the stipulation put in by Hulk Hogan, AJ and Kurt Angle will receive a shot at the TNA Tag Team titles sometime in the future as a result of Style's win.  

Joseph Parks informed Hulk Hogan in his office that he was very close to "one key piece of evidence" regarding the Aces & Eights case that will be revealed on next weeks Impact. I'm liking Parks in this role, he suits it.

Bully Ray challenged Hardy backstage to put his spot as number one contender at BFG on the line in their match later on, claiming that he didn't have the "balls" to do it. Hardy accepted, as all good guys should.

Hogan stated that the Impact Zone would always be in lockdown mode from here on out  to help capture Aces & Eights. Right on cue members of the gang itself appeared on the big screen and warned Hogan that he'd now locked in all the members with him and he has no way of knowing who they are backstage. 'The Hulkster' looked rather concerned at his plan backfiring.   

Chavo Guerrero defeated Christopher Daniels in a great contest. In Chavo's best match since joining TNA so far both men went back and fourth with perfectly executed moves and at a nice pace. For the finish Guerrero managed to avoid an attempt from Daniels to strike him with his title belt and applied his signature Three Amigos and Frog Splash to have his hand raised.

Tara wanted to officially congratulate her good friend Brooke Tessmacher on toppling her last Sunday and offered to present the Knockouts Championship to her to signify that she was now the top woman in TNA. The divvy Taz piped in with an inappropriate "What are we watching Oprah here?" Granted it maybe was a little too sweet for pro wrestling but he should've just kept quiet, like most of the time. After wrapping the belt on the champ, Tara predictably turned on her and took her out with a Widows Peak. The attack pleased the crowd. It was just a bit too obvious, I personally think the heel turn should've happened slowly in the build up to BFG and then occurred there.

Jeff Hardy beat Bully Ray in an intense main event to retain his place as number one contender. In a bout superior to their outing last Sunday, both men gave a solid effort to be proud of and had an electric crowd behind them. It was an enjoyable match from start to finish and a good way to end the show. Although I'm not sure where any of this leaves Bully as far as BFG goes?

Overall it was a solid show with matches that were at the worst decent, which is always a good sign. The advancements in the storylines also made sense (still feel Tara's heel turn was a little early but still) and didn't feel rushed or over the top. TNA is on form right now, I recommend checking it out if you don't normally.

My WWE Raw, 10th September 2012 Recap

Bret Hart kicked off the show with a heroes welcome in Montreal Canada. Once he finally got a chance to talk he thanked all the Canadian fans for their support over the years and for helping him through his darker days. WWE Champion CM Punk then joined 'The Hitman' and explained that if he would be "egotistical" enough to write an autobiography then he'd call it "What if?" As in what if he'd faced Bret Hart back at the '97 Survivor Series, where he claims he would've beaten Bret without Vince McMahon's help. Therefore killing the attitude era (and WWE) and jumping ship to WCW.

After going over what happened last week when Punk attacked Cena and left with Paul Heyman, the champ claimed that when he beats Cena at Night of Champions he will solidify himself as the greatest WWE Champion ever. He also claimed that as champion he should receive an ovation like Bret's the World over and that like his future opponent on Sunday, Hart is overhyped and overrated. It was a solid enough start to the show, with nice mic work by Punk.

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth defeated Antonio Cesaro and The Miz in a fair tag team match. It wasn't anything outstanding or memorable to be honest, but passable for most of WWE's current tag division. I was really hoping that I'd eventually take to Kingston and Truth as a team but I just can't, I'd much rather see them loose the titles and go back into singles action. Or better yet have Truth turn on Kofi, he was a lot more effective as a deranged heel.

We then witnessed the recorded court deposition between Sheamus and Ricardo Rodriguez and his lawyer David Otunga. Rodriguez was attempting to take legal action and ban the Brogue Kick after the World Champion had struck him with it on last weeks Raw. After a series of questions from Otunga, Sheamus had enough and decided to show off the power of his Brogue Kick and smash the camera. It was a decent enough segment, with a few amusing parts from 'The Great White'. 

Eve, Layla and Kaitlyn beat Alicia Fox, Natalya and Beth Phoenix in a largely lacklustre tag bout. I wouldn't blame you if you skipped this to be honest, you won't miss much. Eve grabbed the one-two-three after tagging herself in and stealing the win from Layla. It achieved its goals in building up Eve as an obviously fake face, but did nothing at all to hype the actual Divas title match between Layla and Kaitlyn on Sunday.

Randy Orton won via disqualification versus CM Punk in a solid enough contest. Both men put in a good display as they battled back and fourth, the fans in attendance were also certainly into it as their loud support was split. The DQ came when Dolph Ziggler ran in to attack Orton, so as both he and Punk began taking 'The Viper' out Jerry Lawler ran in to his aid which led to an impromptu tag team match. 

Orton was voted in to face Punk as part of the regular Tweet polling online, and we're lucky he was considering it was between 'The Viper', Jerry Lawler and Brodus Clay. Hopefully Clay's low vote count (he came last with 12 per cent) and the lack of reaction from crowds will convince the writers to do something new with his persona, he really needs it.  

Randy Orton and Jerry Lawler defeated Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk in a pedestrian tag match. There really wasn't anything that special about the actual wrestling itself, but it at least got a bit interesting when Paul Heyman walked out and began talking to Punk and they both walked away as the match finished up. Afterwards the goofy Matt Striker asked what the working relationship between the two was, so the WWE Champion simply answered "I'm a Paul Heyman guy." The possibilities of these two working together is tremendous. I can't wait.

Backstage AJ informed Daniel Bryan and Kane that she'd asked their former anger management teacher Doctor Shelby to come in to help them finally make amends. I'm still loving these segments with Kane and Bryan, they have great chemistry.

Ryback beat Heath Slater in an average bout. While Slater managed to get in a little bit of offense, he was no match for Ryback who dominated most of the short match up. 

Daniel Bryan and Kane defeated the Prime Time Players to become number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team titles at Night of Champions. The match itself was passable, although for the most part it was just playing on the uneasy alliance between Kane and Bryan understandably. For the finish an aggravated Kane Choke Slammed Bryan onto Darren Young, which led to an inadvertent pinfall victory.

I'm personally quite pleased with the result. The combination of Kane and Bryan is a lot more interesting and entertaining than Titus O'Neil and Young. I can see them winning on Sunday too.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Tyson Kidd in an enjoyable enough contest. As usual both men looked solid in the ring and Kidd was even made to look fairly competitive as he locked on the popular Sharpshooter for a short while until Del Rio reached the ropes. Del Rio won via his signature arm breaker and bragged after the match that Sheamus has already lost the Brogue Kick and will loose the World title to him at NOC.   

A distraught Michael Cole informed us that Jerry Lawler had collapsed and had to be stretchered out back. He went on to confirm that it was not a part of the nights entertainment and was unfortunately very real. 

Sheamus beat David Otunga in a rather brief squash match. Afterwards 'The Great White' decided to apply the Brogue Kick for good measure. SmackDown GM Booker T then came out and warned the World Champion that if he uses the kick again then he'll be stripped of his title. 

Backstage Doctor Shelby congratulated Kane and Daniel Bryan on their win and on working together. Of course a nice moment once again turned into an argument between the two tag partners.

Cody Rhodes defeated Rey Mysterio in a decent bout. As usual the consistent Mysterio managed to bring the best out of his opponent and both guys put in a worthy effort. Rhodes picked up the win after The Miz distracted Mysterio at ringside and he applied the Cross Rhodes. As Miz went to further attack Rey, Cody also latched on his finisher to the Intercontinental Champion to presumably set up a Triple Threat or Fatal Four Way (with Sin Cara) for the title at NOC.

Bret Hart began interviewing John Cena and compared his rivalry with Punk to his and Shawn Michaels many years ago. The unpopular Cena was honoured to even be mentioned in the same category, but honestly said that he had much work to do before he reaches their level. CM Punk also joined them, stating that he'd come out to stop the besmirching of his name. He went on to claim that he was superior to Hart, HBK, The Rock and Steve Austin.

Cena had soon had enough and called Punk a fraud after claiming last year in his classic June 27th promo that he wanted change, but all he really wanted was for himself to be the star. He carried on to also put CM Punk down in French (which went down very well) and rather out of character called him an "ignorant son of a bitch!" It was a strong promo from both men, and even got a lot of the Canadian fans on Cena's side it was so effective. It has also certainly gotten me more interested in their title bout on Sunday. A stunned WWE Champion attempted to punch Bret Hart but was halted by Cena and then punched and scared out of the ring by 'The Hitman' himself. It was a solid end to the show.  

Michael Cole then informed us that Lawler was stable and that they'd have updates on the site. It has since been revealed that Lawler suffered a heart attack, although I'm too sure of his condition right now. Now I know I've bashed Lawler's commentary a fair bit, but it's obviously never been personal and I hope he recovers fully soon.

My TNA No Surrender 2012 Recap

Jeff Hardy defeated Samoa Joe to advance in the Bound For Glory Series Final in a solid opener to the show. The pace of the match varied as Samoa Joe would control Hardy slowly in the first half and quicken as there were nice near falls and submission attempts towards the end, and it worked with these two contrasting wrestlers. The quality of the bout was hardly surprising considering the two talents involved, smart choice to start the show and get the crowd going too.  

Bully Ray beat James Storm to advance to the BFG Series Final in a fair match up that was unfortunately tarnished a bit by unnecessary 90s-esque referee bumps. The contest started off fairly uneventful, with Bully building heat by leaving the ring and complaining to the ref constantly. It then hit it's stride as both men went back and fourth and became enjoyable.

Unfortunately we then witnesses three referee bumps in the space of five minutes, which was just overkill and unneeded as Bobby Roode then made his return and cracked a beer bottle over Storm's head and covered him with Bully for the finish. I can obviously understand one referee KO was needed but not three, it just ruined the match a bit for me.   

Brooke Tessmacher (c) defeated Tara to retain the TNA Knockouts title in a largely pedestrian outing. The action wasn't bad, but it did often feel like it was dragging a bit and I don't believe it should have been allocated so much time. It probably would've benefitted more from keeping the decent bits of wrestling condensed. Tara was angered after Brooke caught her with a roll up pin for the victory and abruptly left without congratulating her former student. I'm guessing we'll be seeing a rematch of some kind at Bound for Glory. 

Backstage we had a nice brawl between an arrested Roode and Storm until Hulk Hogan split them up along with more members of security. More pull apart fights should be like this in pro wrestling, where you can really believe in the hatred and heat between the two foes. 

Before his following match Austin Aries explained that there would be no referee and no rules, just a straight up fight between him and the Aces & Eights member who broke his arm. The member eventually arrived and the two began exchanging blows. After a bit of a tedious period in which the Aces & Eights member controlled Aries, the World Champion managed to make a comeback by pouring white powder into the goon's face and upped the pace and managed the gain back the crowd's interest.   

As AA was about to unmask his adversary other gang members made their way out which led to another brawl between both them and members of the TNA roster, who eventually chased off Aces & Eights. Hogan joined everyone and ordered the building to be locked down so they couldn't get away. Bully Ray also informed him that Hardy had been attacked and was badly hurt.

Zema Ion (c) defeated Sonjay Dutt to retain the X Division Championship in a very enjoyable contest once it got going. The action started to really flow in the final third with nice near falls and exciting moves, unfortunately the crowd weren't particularly responsive. I guess they were going to struggle to be after the gang fight and BFG Series matches they've just witnessed.

The only downfall of the match for me was that it really highlighted the champ's shortcomings compared to a superior talent in Dutt. Not that Ion's bad but as X Division Champion (especially following Aries) he needs to just up his game that bit more.  

Out in the parking lot we witnessed Hogan ridiculously ordering around the cops that had arrived at the arena. Even demanding that they bring more. Sorry, are we honestly expected to believe that the police force would have this situation on such high priority that they'd send out this many cops because a retired pro wrestler told them to? Who exactly does Hogan think he is? Even for a storyline it just came off as moronic.  

Rob Van Dam beat Magnus in a passable, if quite pedestrian bout. It was watchable, I just never felt myself getting engaged much at any point. RVD did his usual TNA routine while Magnus looked decent enough, not terrible but quite uneventful overall. 

Before their title defense Daniels and Kazarian gave an enjoyable promo about the hardships that Hogan as GM has thrown their way and how they deserve better treatment. At least TNA have these two keeping the tag team division relevant. Obviously nothing against the superb talents that are Angle and Styles but they're not exactly a regular solidified team. 

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian (c) defeated AJ Styles and Kurt Angle to retain the TNA Tag Team titles in a terrific match up. For the majority it was a thoroughly enjoyable match with blistering action and effective near falls. All four men gave a display to be very proud of. If I had one little niggle (and it's only a minor one) it's that the bout didn't maybe have to be quite so long. There were a few periods where the fans were loosing a bit of interest while the pace slowed down which was a shame, but otherwise it's well worth checking out if you weren't going planning to watch the PPV.  

Before the BFG Series Final Bully Ray gave a nice speech on the events of the evening and his rise in the singles division over the last year and a half. He went on to claim that while others were "Bound for Glory. I am destined for greatness." And stated that while you may not like him, you have to respect the transition he's made in his career. Which I very much agree with. I'll admit that I never thought his singles career would amount to very much, maybe mid card at the most. But he's become one of my favourite acts in pro wrestling today and a superb singles heel.   

As Bully awaited the injured Jeff Hardy, Hogan instead joined him and asked that if Bully Ray really feels as strongly as he states then he should wait until the next Impact when Hardy's in better condition. This idea understandable irked the fans in attendance who wanted a BFG Series Final match as advertised. Hardy's music then hit once again and he made his way out, clearly still feeling the effects of his attack. 

Jeff Hardy beat Bully Ray in a fair match to win the BFG Series Final. Unfortunately the main event was unable to live up to some of the previous bouts of the night but it was still decent enough and had a surprise win that I imagined pleased a lot of fans. Although I was personally rooting for Bully, thought it'd make a lot more sense. Hardy fought back through his shoulder injury like a true heroic face and managed to get through Bully's offense and hit the Swanton Bomb for the one-two-three. The crowd in attendance were very happy with the result.

Overall No Surrender was yet another largely enjoyable and solid pay-per-view from TNA. With engaging matches and relevant story line advancements. And next up is the biggest event for the company of the year, Bound for Glory. If the last few PPV's are anything to go by then it should be a fantastic event.

My WWE SmackDown, 7th September 2012 Recap

Alberto Del Rio, accompanied by the injured Ricardo Rodriguez and his attorney David Otunga started off the show by claiming that Sheamus' Brogue Kick is far too dangerous ('The Great White' accidentally injured Rodriguez with it) and should be illegal. An angered General Manager Booker T soon joined them and warned that their meeting about the Brogue Kick before the show was meant to be kept confidential. But since they decided to bring it to the people, Booker asked the fans what they thought and decided to not ban the Brogue Kick maneuver. 

Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeated The Miz and Cody Rhodes in a decent tag match. The action remained solid throughout and I can't fault the efforts of any of the wrestlers involved, although it wasn't the greatest tag team bout you're ever going to see. It felt like it was lacking that little something. I actually wouldn't mind seeing a Fatal Four Way between these men for the Intercontinental title at Night of Champions, would be a good match I reckon.

Zack Ryder won versus Daniel Bryan after the decision was reversed by the referee when Bryan refused to let go of his No Lock after forcing Ryder to tap. The actual bout itself had been fair, nothing special. Once again Bryan was thrown into a rage and started kicking off. Not too sure where they're headed with his anger issues now, I can't see what else they could do with it that'll enhance the brilliant Bryan character.

Before his following match Damien Sandow complained that he had been given insufficient time to prepare. He also went on to have a go at social media sites and the abuse he receives on them, stating that their users should do some more reading rather then going online. Which I actually agree with. Randy Orton then joined Sandow, informing him that through Booker T he'd decided to swap his original opponent for the night with Sandow.   

Randy Orton won via count out versus Damien Sandow in a mostly enjoyable contest. Both men put in fair efforts, although the charismatic Sandow still has to advance and become a little more interesting between the ropes. For the second week in row Sandow decided he'd had enough and legged it to the back. As Ziggler mocked Orton at ringside (as he had been on guest commentary also) Orton threw him into the ring and prepared for the RKO until Sandow made a return so he RKO'd him instead, allowing Ziggler to make a getaway. 

Titus O'Neil and Darren Young defeated The Usos and Epico and Primo in a Triple Threat tag match to become number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team titles. I was expecting a decent enough match here, but it turned out a lot better than I predicted. The pace was nice and quick and there was exciting action for the majority. The Usos especially looked good here I thought, it's about time they took that next step up. Solid tag contest.

Wade Barrett beat Yoshi Tatsu in a fairly short squash match. He appears to have adopted more of the 'Fight Club' style from the vignettes that promoted his return with his fighting style in the ring. After the bout he stated that he was tired of meaningless matches like this and declared himself "open for business." Not sure why he worded it like that but I definitely welcome his return, his new look and theme music also suit his slight change in persona.

Sheamus defeated David Otunga in an average main event. To be fair it was passable for a match involving Otunga, the action was satisfactory at least. As the World Champion set up the Brogue Kick Booker T informed him that he's decided to not risk having a lawsuit on his hands and banned the finisher. Why would he have told him during the match and not before? Pro wrestling logic I guess. So instead 'The Great White' forced Otunga to tap to the Texas Cloverleaf as Del Rio watched on from ringside.  

My Impact Wrestling, 6th September 2012 Recap

Jeff Hardy defeated Samoa Joe in a solid Bound for Glory Series match up. While it wasn't either man's top performance it was a very enjoyable contest with the crowd understandable electrified throughout. Both men gave a display to be proud of. Hardy surprisingly won by forcing Joe to tap out to a headlock/armlock submission hold.

As Joe was being interviewed about the loss after, his former tag partner Magnus interrupted and forgave Joe for his ego and selfishness during their time as a team. He then also attacked Joe's damaged arm from behind after he'd went to walk away. I'm guessing these two could very well battle at Bound for Glory then.

Tara beat Gail Kim in a fair Knockouts bout. Both women provided decent action, especially the almost always on form Kim. It was also more engaging then the lacklustre matches we normally receive from the Divas in WWE right now, and to think these were both former talents there. 

Al Snow called out former Gut Check contender Joey Ryan to the ring and offered him one last shot at getting a TNA contract after months of interrupting the shows as a member of the crowd (with a megaphone, throwing water and punching the Gut Check judges). Snow explained to Ryan that he would have to beat him in a match to earn the contract and slapped him, a shocked Ryan abruptly left the ring and threatened to sue. 

Bully Ray defeated Rob Van Dam in a BFG Series match to qualify for the final four at No Surrender. It was a enjoyable enough outing once it got going. The start was a little drab but both men pulled it out for the final third where the pace and action went up a notch  Bully applied his signature Bubba Cutter as RVD came down for the Five Star Frog Splash to gain the one-two-three. 

As Austin Aries was interrogating an Aces & Eights member backstage, Hulk Hogan (who'd given him permission to do so) received a call from the gang's leader and settled a deal where they would return the member in exchange for a match at No Surrender between Aries and the man who broke his hand. The gang leader agreed to the terms. 

James Storm came to the ring and spoke about his return to TNA after a brief hiatus a few months ago and his quest to reclaim the TNA World title in the BFG Series. He went on to also call out his three possible opponents for the final of the series at No Surrender (as the wrestler who finished first he has the pick of opponent). He chose Bully Ray to face on Sunday (leaving Samoa Joe versus Hardy in the other semi final) after his accusations of 'The Cowboy' being a member of Aces & Eights and after he beat him in last years BFG Series. No Surrender should be a decent event I reckon.

After a series of backstage eliminations, Hogan chose the team of Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez to fight for the TNA Tag Team titles on the show. It's not a good sign for the once flourishing tag team division of TNA when all three of the teams up for contention have barely ever teamed together. 

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian (c) defeated Hernandez and Chavo Guerrero to retain the TNA Tag Team Championship. While the first half was quite mediocre, the second managed to pick up the excitement and quality and provide a decent enough ending to the title bout. Unfortunately a big let down were the number of sloppy or just strange moments throughout. There were times when Hernandez and Chavo didn't even look like they knew what they were doing next, not exactly the team to be challenging for the titles eh?  

Hogan announced afterwards that at No Surrender Daniels and Kaz would be defending the titles against AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. I know we've already had this bout before but I'm certainly not complaining, should be very good.

Aries dragged his Aces & Eights captive to the ring and called out the gang to come and collect him. After they no showed he began threatening the member again and as he was about to talk Arie's proposed opponent came out and they began brawling as the show went off the air. 

Overall it was an okay Impact, not as entertaining as the last two weeks for me but not a bad show. Quite looking forward to No Surrender on Sunday, if the card and the last two PPV's they've put on are anything to go by then it should be worth watching.

My WWE Raw, 3rd September 2012 Recap

Before the show had even got going we were shown footage from moments before with CM Punk and Jerry Lawler battling backstage, with Punk eventually gaining the upper hand. I would've thought they could have saved Lawler's return one more week to sell his attack from last week a bit more.

World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus began talking about how much he enjoyed Chicago before he was shortly interrupted by the hometown hero himself CM Punk, who received a terrific reception. Punk went over what happened last week and the accusations from Cena and Lawler of the WWE Champion turning his back on the fans. So he asked the fans in attendance if that was the case and they disagreed.

Sheamus decided he'd had enough and challenged Punk to join him in the ring after interrupting him. The WWE Champion claimed that in the pecking order as World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus was behind him and should therefore not interrupt him again. General Manager AJ then joined them and announced that the two World title holders will face each other later on, along with Del Rio versus Cena.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Randy Orton in a solid enough contest. While the action was decent as usual with these two working together, I'm just struggling to find the interest after seeing this match up what feels like a ton of times over the last year. It doesn't help that this feud hasn't really got any meat behind it. One big plus is Ziggler gaining the one-two-three (even with a sneaky roll up while holding onto the trunks) he needs it a lot more than Orton right now as the Money in the Bank holder. 

Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio beat Lord Tensai and Cody Rhodes in a largely average tag match. The excitement and interest didn't really pick up until Mysterio entered the fray and gave an entertaining display. I still think Sin Cara is better suited to a team scenario, with little bursts of action.

In another couple of brilliant and genuinely funny segments we once again witnessed Daniel Bryan and Kane as they sat through another anger managent session. On the rare occasion that WWE actually do something funny that works, it really does work well. As it looked like the two were about to make up they began arguing over who was better instead.

Before their scheduled match, CM Punk explained to Sheamus that because the people of his hometown Chicago "Get me" then they'll understand that he deserves to be higher up on the card and that a match between them two was too good for a Raw so he decided to take a personal day and left the arena. A panicked AJ had to quickly find an opponent for 'The Great White' backstage.

Sheamus defeated Jack Swagger in a lackluster match up. It just never really got going. Afterwards Alberto Del Rio (who'd been at ringside) went to pounce on the Irishman, but it backfired as Sheamus turned it around and accidentally hit Ricardo Rodriguez with a Brogue Kick. Swagger also informed AJ backstage after that he would be taking some time off to get his act together after yet another loss. Swagger desperately needs an overhaul of some kind.

Eve beat Kaitlyn in a pedestrian outing. Nothing special to report here really, both women looked capable but didn't seem to want to impress anyone that much. It felt like the same thing we see almost every week from the Divas. The supposedly reformed Eve also shook hands with Divas Champion Layla  (who'd provided guest commentary) after, it's only a matter of time before she turns again.

Ryback defeated Jinder Mahal in a passable, if fairly drab contest. Ryback dominated for the most part with his usual routine. The crowd were indifferent for the majority, until the final few minutes where they were firmly behind Ryback. I wouldn't mind seeing him go up against The Miz next for the Intercontinental title possibly. 

After an online vote via Twitter revealed that Kane and Daniel Bryan must hug and make up we had a few awkward, albeit humorous minutes of the two attempting to hug, with the crowd even chanting "Hug it out!" When have you ever heard that from pro wrestling fans? Only from the typically awesome audience in Chicago. Eventually the two men hugged, but things turned ugly as they escalated into a brawl in and around the ring. As Kane attempted to attack Bryan with a chair Daniel turned it around and hurtled it at him instead before legging it. 

Antonio Cesaro (c) beat Santino Marella to retain the United States Championship in another average bout for the night. Cesaro looked solid enough as usual, meanwhile Marella was performing a 'comedy' routine of desperately trying to reach for his cobra sock puppet. I'm confused as to why they had this match on television when Night of Champions is next week where every title is on the line? Bit strange that.

Zack Ryder defeated Heath Slater in a surprisingly decent contest. I really wasn't expecting much here, and maybe that's why I actually found it a lot of fun. Ryder as usual had the fans firmly behind him.

Vickie Guerrero reminded everyone about the attack from GM AJ last week and mickey took Clint Eastwood by pretending to have a conversation with  an invisible AJ on an empty chair. The GM then joined Guerrero and revealed that she is now no longer allowed to put her hands on any talent ever again and was forced to apologise to Vickie via orders from the WWE Board of Directors. Since AJ couldn't touch her Vickie took advantage of this and slapped AJ twice in the face. I'm sorry but that's aggravated assault, AJ could've retaliated there.

Alberto Del Rio beat John Cena in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. It was an enjoyable main event, with both men taking full advantage of the stipulation and ending up backstage. The action started off fairly drab but soon picked up when Cena and Del Rio began travelling outside the ring, making use of the barricade, announcers desk, etc. Del Rio grabbed the win after CM Punk made his surprise return and clocked Cena with a kick to the head and dragged Alberto onto him. He also GTS'd his future opponent onto the bonnet of his car nearby. But the best was yet to come as Paul Heyman then popped his head out of said vehicle that Punk left in. I don't think I have to tell you how mind blowingly incredible a partnership between CM Punk and Heyman could be. Cannot wait to see where this now leads.

The main event, anger management segments, ending and opening helped salvage an otherwise lacklustre show, with pretty average matches filling up the broadcast. I didn't think I'd be saying this but Impact Wrestling is currently trumping any WWE televised show for substance in-between the ropes.