My WWE SmackDown, 15th February 2013 Recap

Big Show started things off by reminding us that Del Rio has never pinned him ahead of their title clash at Elimination Chamber, and that all his rage from the World Champion's actions as of late have been bottled up just for that occasion. Chris Jericho then joined Show and warned him that if they both win their respective matches on Sunday then he's going to go on to WrestleMania to topple him. Seeing where this was all going, GM Booker T then booked the two in a bout that night. Amusingly Show mouthed the words "I hate you" to Booker afterwards. It was a fair start to the show.

Mark Henry won via DQ versus Randy Orton in a largely solid encounter. As usual these two worked well together and gave worthy displays. The disqualification came after Orton had enough and decided to clobber his future opponent in the Elimination Chamber with a steel chair, but Henry soon made a recovery and swatted away the weapon before applying a World's Strongest Slam on 'The Viper'.

Afterwards Henry told Stryker backstage that no one was going to stop his road to WrestleMania, reminding him of all the people he's taken down in the short time since returning. I'm still going with Orton to win the Chamber.

Tamina Snuka pinned Layla in a passable Divas outing. It was certainly above average compared to the standard of most female wrestling in WWE today, with both women putting in decent enough efforts.

The Rock came out and warned CM Punk that he was simply holding onto his championship belt after taking it on Raw until Sunday when he beats him and earns it back. CM Punk then appeared on the big screen and informed Rocky that he wants him to get wound up and beat on him at Elimination Chamber because then he'll be stripped of the WWE Championship. Rock responded by calling Punk's words "worthless" after he failed to beat him at the Royal Rumble and after he fails to beat him again at EC. It was one of the better promos from 'The People's Champ' as of late.

Brodus Clay & Tensai beat 3MB (Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal) in an average tag bout. There were some sloppy moments and the action was pretty pedestrian to be honest, but I wasn't expecting much here anyway. I've yet to really get behind the team of Tensai and Clay, they just haven't really impressed, but I'm hoping that'll change at some point. 

Afterwards The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) took out the two victors. Ambrose then warned Cena, Ryback and Sheamus, their opponents at Elimination Chamber, that their actions have consequences and that after their match nothing will change. 

The Miz defeated Cody Rhodes in a fair match up. Not the most exciting bout you'll see but there was solid wrestling from both men, and it was paced nicely as Cody aimed for Miz's injured shoulder which was attacked by Cesaro on this week's Raw, so I appreciated the consistency with the bandages on him.

Jack Swagger beat Zack Ryder in a pretty forgettable contest. Much like on Monday night, Swagger dominated Ryder for the most part and eventually forced him to tap to the Patriot Act. Afterwards Swagger introduced his good friend Zeb Colter, who bashed Ryder for caring more about his appearance than his country and accused many Americans of doing the same, claiming the country was "broken." I'm really interested in this storyline with Swagger and Colter and where it could lead.

Big Show pinned Chris Jericho in a great main event. I thought it'd be a decent enough match, but it definitely succeeded that. Both men gave terrific displays and worked hard to provide the top match of the night. Big Show grabbed the one-two-three after quickly applying a KO punch out of nowhere. Afterwards Del Rio appeared on the stage and they stared off intensely. 

Overall I found it a pretty enjoyable show, with some above average matches and a great main event. My highlights were Orton versus Henry, The Rock and CM Punk's segment and Jericho versus Big Show. Ambrose's promo was also decent. For a SmackDown I'll take three memorable parts. Unfortunately the other matches were quite average, and you wouldn't miss much by skipping them. 

My Impact Wrestling, 14th February 2013 Recap

Samoa Joe about to elbow Angle in a solid encounter. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com

Hulk Hogan kicked things off by announcing four matches that night that would determine his choice to face Jeff Hardy at Lockdown next month for the world title. He then went on to also announce a Lethal Lockdown match at the same event (obviously) pitting Aces & 8s against TNA team captain Sting and a unit of his choosing. 'The Stinger' himself then came out warned Aces that he will have retribution.

Magnus defeated Christopher Daniels in a fair outing. Both men looked decent enough, but the match seemed to lack that bit of excitement for me to really get into it. Magnus gave a worthy effort, although he's still nothing exceptional he's continuing to improve which is positive.

Kurt Angle versus Samoa Joe ended in a no contest after Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco ran in and attacked both men, unfortunately for them Joe and Angle fought back and chased them off. The match itself had been a solid one, with both men as usual working well together and providing stellar displays as they fought back and fourth.

Gail Kim, Tara and Jesse bested the Blossom Twins and Party Marty in a largely average mixed-tag bout. The former TNA British Boot Camp contestants the Blossom Twins and Marty had decent moments but still looked a bit too inexperienced in the ring, which obviously brought down the quality of the match up. Kim was the only real standout performer for me, giving a fine display as standard for her.

Afterwards Kim warned Tara that she had what she wanted in the form of the Knockouts Title, and demanded a match for the strap. So Brooke Hogan came out and booked a four-way for Tara's belt next week, including Gail Kim, Velvet Sky and Brooke Tessmacher.

James Storm pinned Rob Van Dam in an enjoyable outing. It started off a little slow but once they hit their stride it became a fun watch, with counter after counter. Storm managed to capture the win after applying a Superkick. 

Before their match up, Bobby Roode and Austin Aries revealed that they intended to win every title in the company to bring back "prestige and honour" to them.

Austin Aries versus Bobby Roode ended in a double count out. After the bell rung the two argued over who should lay down to be pinned. Aries eventually agreed to be the bigger man and laid down, of course this was a ruse as he then went to pin his tag partner which instigated the actual wrestling. The bout itself was an entertaining one, with nice action and amusing bickering between the two, including an Eddie Guerrero-esque moment of pretending the other man had struck him with a chair. 

The count out came after Chavo Guerreo and Hernandez, each wearing a T-Shirt representing the Tag Champions, came out and distracted Aries and Roode, causing them to leave the ring and try (and fail) to beat their opponent to make the count.

As Hulk Hogan was about to announce the number one contender to the World Title, Aces & 8s members made their way out and surrounded the ring. Just then Bully Ray and Sting also joined Hulk to back him up and scare away the gang. It was a poor end to the show, and running away from two elderly men and Bully only made Aces look weak.

Overall it was a fair Impact, with a few solid matches. Unfortunately the show lacked any half decent promos, and the Aces & 8s and TNA feud is loosing serious steam now, I'm struggling to find any interest in a gang that are just looking weaker and weaker. As I said fortunately the Aries versus Roode, Joe versus Angle and Storm versus RVD bouts made up for the weaker rest of the broadcast. 

My WWE Raw, 11th February 2013 Recap

CM Punk stands proud with his mentor Heyman. Photo credit: WWE.com

Paul Heyman started things off by announcing that this was the last anyone would see of him in WWE, claiming that the McMahons would take out their revenge for him on CM Punk instead and he would rather leave before that happened. Unfortunately the majority of the largely clueless crowd continued to boo Heyman even when he spoke about making ECW the product it would be best remembered as.

CM Punk soon joined his mentor and said that he didn't have to leave, but Heyman told him to let him go. After some more convincing though, Heyman eventually agreed that he should be in Punk's corner on Sunday at Elimination Chamber and the two hugged. It was a decent start to the show, you know that Heyman is always going to be solid on the mic.

Mark Henry beat The Great Khali in a mediocre and forgettable contest. As expected both men slowly clobbered each other until Henry World's Strongest Slammed his opponent for the one-two-three. He then continued to smash Hornswaggle into the mat with the same finishing maneuver. 

Backstage Chris Jericho asked GM Booker T for a spot in the Elimination Chamber, so Booker agreed to put him in a match up with Daniel Bryan to earn a spot.

In Vickie Guerrero's office, Paul Heyman convinced Vince McMahon to add a stipulation to The Rock versus CM Punk where if 'The People's Champ' was counted out or disqualified he would be stripped of the WWE Championship.

Chris Jericho pinned Daniel Bryan in an exciting back and fourth bout. Both men worked tremendously together as they each put in great efforts to be proud of. With similar styles it was hardly surprise how well this turned out, with constant counters and effective near fall and submission attempts. Jericho managed to score the winning pin after a Codebreaker out of nowhere.

John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus bested 3MB ( Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal) in a six-man squash match. Each man on the winning side took their turn to make their opponents look worthless (much like the match itself) and then all applied their finishers for the finale. You can go ahead and fast forward this one. Afterwards all three men on the winning side each spoke about how they'll get their revenge on The Shield this Sunday. 

After mocking him backstage for having paint spilt on him from Del Rio on last Friday's SmackDown, Big Show KO'd Alex Riley and Yoshi Tatsu, then also KO'd Matt Stryker (unfortunately not for real) as he was about to interview him in the ring. After pacing around furiously, Show then left without saying a word.

Jack Swagger pinned Zack Ryder in a fair encounter. While unremarkable, it wasn't bad, and each man gave a worthy enough display with the time allocated.

Afterwards Zeb Colter (who'd accompanied Swagger, and no I'd never heard of him before this either)  then accused America of changing too much due to people immigrating from other countries. I certainly wasn't expecting that, but I have to say that I think this could be the start of something very interesting with Swagger. I just hope that WWE don't restrain him and Colter too much, if left to become quite controversial with these promos Swagger could become a terrific heel. And how perfectly suited would this be in a feud with Del Rio?

Dolph Ziggler demanded that Booker put him into the Elimination Chamber match to stop Jericho from winning it and going on to 'Mania. Booker decided to give 'The Show Off' a chance by competing against Kane for the last spot.

The Miz won via DQ versus Cody Rhodes in a passable outing. The match was never exceptional or particularly engaging but both men were competent enough. The disqualification came when Antonio Cesaro (who'd provided guest commentary) attacked Miz and then impressively swung him numerous times into the barricade. Expect a rematch at Elimination Chamber over the US Title.

Tensai and Brodus Clay beat Primo and Epico in an average tag bout. Tensai and Clay incorporated some of their usual bad dance moves and celebrated afterwards by (you guessed it!) dancing. 

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) came out and demanded Cena, Sheamus and Ryback to "come and get us!" after their words for them earlier. They then called Cena a failure, claiming that the standard he set has brought about people like Sheamus and Ryback, that he doesn't have to ever answer to his actions. The mic work of Rollins and Ambrose here completely eclipsed that of their three opponents on Sunday from earlier, you could actually believe in their hate and aggression towards their foes.

The lights then went out and once they came back up Cena, Ryback and Sheamus began brawling with The Shield, eventually going out into the crowd and chasing them off. Should be a decent enough match at Elimination Chamber between them, although not a touch on the superb TLC match from December I imagine. Unfortunately with Cena dded to the equation I worry for the treatment of the trio too, Cena only tends to bury up and coming talent like them, never enhance.

Damien Sandow berated the typical country music found in Tennessee,  the current destination. As usual he was quite amusing.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Damien Sandow in a brief but enjoyable outing that deserved more time in my opinion. Del Rio was on good form in the ring as usual, and Sandow also put in a fair display. Afterwards the World Champion stated that Big Show's earlier promo of saying nothing at all was the best of his career, agreeing that the time for talking was over and that he was heading to WrestleMania XXVIIII with his strap.

Before his following match up, Wade Barrett was attacked backstage by rival Bo Dallas, who the Englishman had beaten from behind on SmackDown a few weeks ago. Nevertheless the Intercontinental Champion went on to pin Kofi Kingston after the break in a worthy effort by both men.

Unfortunately like most matches that night though it never really grabbed your attention, but I can't complain about the action they provided. Considering Barrett's attack beforehand this also made Kofi look particularly weak, I guess his push towards the end of last year was another half hearted attempt by the bookers to enhance him. I can't see it ever happening for Kofi unfortunately.

Kane pinned Dolph Ziggler in a bout that ranged from decent to passable. Unfortunately a few sloppy moments hindered the match a bit, which is out of character for the two talents.

WWE Champion The Rock came out and told the story of how he and his family moved to Nasville in 1987, and at the age of fifteen bought a car from a crackhead in a bar, only to realise it was stolen so he dumped it in a car park. The moral of the story was that you have to take control of your life, which is what he did at age twenty-four when he had his first match in the WWF. It was a decent enough promo from the champ.

CM Punk and Paul Heyman then joined Rocky, with the champ warning them that he's going to "beat your punk ass this Sunday." Punk then ran into the ring and the two began going back and fourth. As Rock was about to then hit the People's Elbow, Heyman pulled his leg which led to Punk applying the GTS and walking away with the strap he felt he'd never lost.  

It was a largely average Raw for me this week, with a lot of forgettable matches and unremarkable promos. To be fair the Jericho versus Bryan encounter, Heyman's work on the mic, Punk and The Rock tussling and the possible interesting direction Swagger and Coulter may be taking gave the show something to remember, so at least there were a few exceptional parts. Bit disappointing though after the last couple of weeks efforts. 

My WWE SmackDown, 8th February 2013 Recap

Big Show started things off by complaining about his treatment in the company, claiming that it was unjust that he had to put his World Title on the line last month against Del Rio unprepared. But on a happier note for Show he reminded us that he'd signed a contract and would have another shot at the strap at Elimination Chamber next Sunday.

He also went on to blame General Manager Booker T for the unfortunate series of events he's endured recently, stating that he was jealous that he was still active in the ring and he wasn't. So the GM himself confronted the giant and told him that he treated all wrestlers on the roster equally. But this didn't ease Show who demanded to know how Del Rio found his hotel room on this Monday's Raw, and called him "incompetent" for informing him about a match he had that night against Kane with such short notice. I can see all this leading to a bout between Show and Booker at 'Mania, maybe even with Booker's job on the line?

Cody Rhodes pinned Kofi Kingston in a decent enough contest. Both men gave fine displays, and although it wasn't the most exciting bout it was certainly watchable and worth a look. Rhodes winning was the right choice too, he has far more chance of moving up than Kofi, although I'm not holding my breath after his treatment form Cena last week on Raw.

Khali beat Titus O'Neil in a worthless and short match up. As usual Khali just swung his arms about and made the winning pin. Mark Henry then made his way down and swatted away O'Neil before engaging in an awkward looking scrap with Khali, eventually applying an impressive looking World's Strongest Slam on him.

Henry then announced that the "Hall of pain was now open," and went on to claim that his attacks since returning have been a result of Booker T not asking him to be in the Elimination Chamber match, and demanded that the GM come out and explain why. Boy, everyone's after Booker at the moment!

So the GM came out and warned Henry that his actions have been unacceptable, but the 'World's Strongest Man' didn't back down and threatened to take out every other man in the EC to make room for himself. To reason with Henry, Booker granted him a match against Orton which if won would earn him a spot in the Chamber match. I'm not a big fan of Henry's but this was a nice segment and promo from him, his threats were delivered very well and were believable. 

After ordering his coach driver around, an angry Big Show made his way to the ring for his bout, not realising that the suspended Alberto Del Rio was keeping a close eye on him in the parking lot.

Big Show bested Kane in a short and forgettable bout. To be fair I wasn't expecting much here anyway, and least it wasn't dragged on. Afterwards Del Rio appeared on the big screen and revealed that he'd been having a chat with Show's mistreated coach driver. After rushing outside an upset Big Show discovered that Del Rio had his wheels removed from the coach and then poured orange paint all over him. 

Jack Swagger defeated Justin Gabriel in a fair encounter. While unremarkable the match was solid enough, with decent displays from both men. Rather than just a squash match Gabriel was at least given some offense to add a little something. I'm really hoping this push for Swagger isn't dropped anytime soon, as I said last week he has the ability to make it into the main event scene, and they could definitely use more fresh faces there. 

Tensai won via DQ versus Drew McIntyre in a mediocre match up. it really was just a few minutes filler and an excuse for him and Clay's partnership to develop. The disqualification came after the rest of 3MB (Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal) ran in and began attacking Tensai as he was going for a pin. Brodus Clay then ran down and helped chase off the trio before encouraging Tensai to once again dance.

Antonio Cesaro pinned Sin Cara in an exciting outing. Sin Cara and Cesaro worked well together here, and when Sin Cara finds someone he's actually compatible with then it's worth watching. It was fairly short I'll admit but they made the most of their time.

During a backstage interview Cesaro interrupted The Miz and told him to stop whining about his attack from Lesnar on Raw, so Miz responded by brawling with the US Champion.

Mark Henry beat Randy Orton in a decent main event. Both men as usual worked well together and gave good enough efforts, each sharing periods of dominance. But it was Henry who would eventually gain the one-two-three after applying a World's Strongest Slam.

Overall it was a fair show, not one of the strongest as of late but watchable. The main event, Henry's promo and Sin Cara versus Cesaro were the highlights for me, Kofi versus Rhodes was also a fun watch. Unfortunately the rest of the show wasn't anything that special, Del Rio getting his own back at least advanced their feud.

My Impact Wrestling, 7th February 2013 Recap

Yeah, I'd be scared too. Photo credit: impactwrestling.com 

Devon once again announced that Aces & 8s plan to make 2013 their year where they take over TNA, and then introduced the newly revealed members of the gang Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff. Garett gave no explanation as to why he joined, just claiming that the fans gave him no respect, and Brisco berated Hogan for ignoring his phone calls for "two years" and making him work his way up in the company after what his family had done for him in the past.

Neither were particularly good promos, and I'm starting to get a horrible feeling of deja vu with Aces now, thinking back to Immortal's time with the drab and drawn out segments in the ring giving speeches.

Rob Van Dam (c) bested Zema Ion and Kenny King in a Triple Threat to retain the X Division Title. The bout started off scrappy, with rushed sequences that looked fairly messy and clumsy. Fortunately the quality improved towards the end and the pace was kept consistently fast throughout.

Jesse complained about being banned by Brooke Hogan from his girlfriend Tara's match up later on, and then gave what he felt the British fans wanted and began to pose for pictures. But he was shortly interrupted by James Storm, who predictably challenged Jesse to a match right there and then to shut him up and give the fans what they really wanted.

James Storm pinned Jesse in a passable encounter. The action was never spectacular but it was solid enough for the most part, with Jesse looking competent enough and Storm decent as usual. It was wisely kept short and sweet.

Bobby Roode and Austin Aries defeated Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez (c) to obtain the TNA Tag Team Championship in a highly enjoyable contest. The wrestling stayed to a consistently good standard throughout and all four men gave worthy efforts, providing a fun watch with pretty amusing moments of Aries and Roode's egos clashing. Towards the end Roode and AA accidentally clashed, leading to the 'It Factor' storming off, but this all turned out to be a clever (and believable) ruse as he would return a few moments later as the champs looked to retain their straps and help turn things around for the one-two-three.

Hulk Hogan informed Bully Ray that the main event versus Aces & 8s was his chance to prove that he was a "good guy" (he hasn't done that already?). Bully explained that after all they'd done to him and his wife, he was going to be anything but good that night.

Brooke Tessmacher beat Tara in a largely mediocre outing. Tara looked okay but far from one of her top displays I've seen, and Tessmacher unfortunately looked like she's taken a step back and gave an under average effort.

Rockstar Spud made his debut on Impact Wrestling after winning the TNA British Boot Camp contest, receiving a healthy response from the fellow British crowd. But briefly into his promo where he spoke about achieving a huge goal by getting into TNA, Robbie E, accompanied by Robbie T, joined him and claimed it was a travesty that he'd earned a contract. After finally having enough of the obnoxious E, Robbie T dropped down and allowed Spud to clock Robbie E in the face and send him packing. Afterwards T began dancing with Spud. I'm very hopeful for Rockstar in TNA from what I've seen so far.

Bully Ray and Sting defeated Devon and Doc in a Tables match. For the most part it was decent enough, nothing outstanding but fun, and the fans were certainly into it. I just failed to ever really get into it, and feel that if Sting had been replaced with a younger and more able wrestler (such as Samoa Joe) there would've been that bit more excitement it required. For the finish Bully 'Hulked Up' and put his ex-tag partner Devon through a table. Brooke Hogan and Hogan himself then joined them for the celebration.

Overall it was a fair to drab Impact, with the tag team title match and triple threat (once it got going) being the highlights. Unfortunately I never really got into the main event, although it wasn't terrible. The lack of Christopher Daniels and Kazarian, the two most entertaining things about TNA nowadays, was also disappointing, without them there were no decent promos. 

My WWE Raw, 4th February 2013 Recap

CM Punk and Chris Jericho look up at the lights in their superb contest. Photo credit: WWE.com

For the second week in a row CM Punk stormed out to the ring, dragging with him announcer Justin Roberts, who he demanded announce himself as the "People's champion." Punk then went on to once again claim that he was "screwed" out of the WWE Title and that The Rock doesn't deserve to hold it, that he hadn't "paid the price." 

He also added that he wasn't even in the footage shown last week revealing that Heyman had been working with Brad Maddox and The Shield, and that it was most likely a doctored video from Vince McMahon so him and Heyman were therefore innocent. He also stated that Brock Lesnar's attack on McMahon last week was "kharma" for what he'd done to him.

SmackDown GM Booker T then joined Punk and after a bit of a stutter informed him that he'd let the fans decide his fate, allowing them to vote for a former WrestleMania opponent of his to face him that night. As usual  it was solid mic work from the former WWE Champion, but it just seems a bit daft to me that Punk would still try to claim the video was a fake, he claims he's a 'bad man' why not just admit what he'd done now?

Ryback pinned Antonio Cesaro in a contest that ranged from average to fair. Fortunately Cesaro gave a worthy effort and made the bout worth watching, rightfully being made to look competitive against Ryback, who gave an unremarkable performance. 

Jack Swagger beat Santino Marella in a brief squash match. I'm just relieved they've yet to drop the ball with Swagger's return, he's show in the past that he has the ability to be in the main event picture so I'm really hoping that they keep up with this push. 

Alberto Del Rio bested Cody Rhodes in a decent enough encounter. It was a fun watch with good displays from both men, but it was just missing that little extra to really engage me. Afterwards Del Rio admitted that he was wrong to look down on people in the past, adding that he appreciated all the support from the fans during his fights against Big Show, who he berated for being a "bully."

The man himself then appeared on the big screen, live from a nearby hotel, and asked for a World Title match against Del Rio at Elimination Chamber. A furious champ called Show a coward for not turning up in person.

Daniel Bryan defeated Rey Mysterio in a thoroughly enjoyable and blistering outing. Both men as usual gave stellar efforts and worked very well together, complimenting each other's styles and not disappointing. For the finish Mysterio was about to come in with a flying headbutt but Bryan moved out of the way and applied the No Lock for the submission victory. 

But the celebration was short lived as Mark Henry then made his return. Bryan and Mysterio tried to each take him on but Henry barged through them both and Sin Cara when he raced out to Rey's aid. Am I one of the only fans who wasn't bothered if Henry came back or not? I'd personally rather see a younger and more interesting talent get that spot.

Backstage Bryan asked Kane why he didn't just back him up, so his tag partner reminded him that he'd previously asked him to stay in the back during his match up, no matter what. Bryan then also asked for an apology, but Kane refused. This all seems to point towards a match between the tag team champions at 'Mania, as further proved by what happened next too...

Sheamus pinned Kane in a passable, if a fairly drab at places bout. Both men looked okay, but the action was never particularly exciting. Sheamus applied the Brogue Kick to Kane for the one-two-three after Daniel Bryan had run down and distracted his tag partner. In a brilliant touch Bryan then had a very slight smirk on his face as he walked away, claiming that he was sorry.

Paul Heyman interrupted The Miz shortly into the latest 'Miz TV' segment and claimed that he wished the best on Vince McMahon's recovery after his hip surgery that day. Heyman went on to announce that he had absolutely no idea about Lesnar's return last week. After some heated words between the two men Vickie Guerrero came out and admitted that Heyman was "telling the truth" that she was the one that negotiated a new deal with Lesnar in an attempt to impress McMahon. 

Miz then accused them both of lying, claiming that they'd orchestrated the Lesnar attack as part of revenge for crushing ECW and for not promoting Vickie to GM. This cued the entrance of Brock Lesnar, who made his way to ring and faced an unflinching Miz, and tossed him out of the ring. But as the beast then threw out all of the 'Miz TV' set the host returned and managed to get in a few punches before Brock took him out with an F5, screaming that the ring was his house.

Randy Orton beat Wade Barrett in a pretty forgettable affair. There was no aspect of the match that was bad as such, and both men were certainly competent in the ring, but these two have seemed to have faced off so many times now that it all starts to blur together a bit.

CM Punk bested Chris Jericho in a tremendous contest. Both men battled back and fourth with some red hot action, providing exciting near falls and submission attempts. Amusingly Punk also answered some of the critics of their title match at last years WrestleMania (of which I was a big fan of) when told the "marks" to sit down that were chanting "This is awesome!" during the bout. Top match of the night.

Bruno Sammartino was announced as the next inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. After years of wondering if it would ever happen, it finally is. Some would argue that Sammartino is the most deserving ever of the accolade, now I can't claim to know the full history of the former WWWF Champion, but I think that's hard to argue against. 

Back in his hotel room, Big Show answered the door to a courier and signed his contract for the Elimination Chamber World Title match. But Del Rio also turned up and after receiving a fair beating from Show for a while, used a fire extinguisher to KO the giant. I'm still quite enjoying this feud to be honest.

Brad Maddox tried to convince everyone that Heyman had used him at Hell in a Cell last year due to his honesty and up and coming career, calling himself an "innocent victim." He then went on to call out The Shield himself to dish out his own form of justice. Sure enough the trio of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns made their way down and claimed that Maddox couldn't compare himself to them after they'd all worked for Heyman.

Soon enough Brad was taken out by The Shield and triple-powerbombed right before John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus made their way out through the crowd. Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns tried to get away but were cut off by a load more wrestlers from the locker room. Retreating to the ring the trio were subject to a beating until they managed an escape. A pretty weak ending I felt, predictable and unremarkable.

Overall it was a decent Raw I thought. There were memorable moments, much like last week, and a few above average match ups. The highlights were the 'Miz TV' segment, Mysterio versus Bryan and especially the great Punk versus Jericho encounter. We also had some nice set ups for future bouts, including one between Kane and Bryan at 'Mania, DB's smirk after Kane lost was brilliant. 

My WWE SmackDown, 1st February 2013 Recap

We first witnessed an angry Alberto Del Rio pacing outside, anticipating the arrival of Big Show who attacked Ricardo Rodriguez on this week's Raw.

In the ring GM Booker T announced that five men would have the chance to participate in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Title after Cena announced his intentions to challenge for the WWE Championship at 'Mania. Jack Swagger then made his return after a five-month absence and expressed his disappointment at where WWE was heading (along with many fans) and asked to be put in the EC match. 

But Dolph Ziggler wasn't feeling the same way, and announced that he had no intention of being a part of the Chamber bout since he already had a guaranteed World Title shot with his MITB contract. Just before 'The Show Off' left, Booker informed him that he'll face Del Rio later on. The GM also announced that all the men in the ring would have a match that night to try and prove that they deserved a spot in the EC. 

Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan & Kane) in a largely exciting and fun tag bout. It was a smart choice to start the show with too, something to get the fans going. Every man was on decent form, especially Mysterio and Bryan who provided the strongest period of the match together.

The Great Khali pinned Jinder Mahal in a drab and forgettable encounter. As usual it was a rather painful experience watching Khali slowly stumble around the ring. Mahal had a brief moment of attack but was soon taken out by the giant.

Backstage Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow informed Booker that they'd decided to disband Team Rhodes Scholars to concentrate on their singles career. In light of this the General Manager decided to book Sandow against Sheamus next. 

Sheamus versus Damien Sandow ended in a No Contest after The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) entered the ring and took out the 'Great White'. The bout itself had been fair, if fairly unremarkable. I'm starting to grow a bit tired of the same old routine from The Shield now, I'd like to see the talents have some actual matches now and then. I imagine the trio will face Cena, Sheamus and Ryback at Elimination Chamber. 

Randy Orton bested Wade Barrett in an average outing. Neither man looked bad, but it just felt all too familiar and I struggled to find the interest. Orton gained the one-two-three after applying an RKO. Backstage afterwards, during an interview Barrett spotted Bo Dallas (who'd beaten him this past Monday) and attacked the NXT regular from behind.

Jack Swagger beat Kofi Kingston in a worthy enough effort by both men. While it wasn't the most engaging match it was still watchable, and a decent return for Swagger to the ring, he desperately needed a rejuvenation of some kind after a worthless 2012. The All American American grabbed the submission win via the ankle lock after Kofi had accidentally kicked the announce desk. 

Alberto Del Rio and Big Show played an awkward game of cat and mouse in the parking lot as the World Champion chased Show around with a pipe in hand. Unfortunately for him the giant managed to get away in someone else's car.

Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler in a solid main event. Both men gave fine displays and as usual clearly took pride in their ring work as they battled back and fourth. The top match of the night, and far superior to any other singles contest.

Afterwards Big Show appeared on the big screen and revealed that he was holding Ricardo Rodriguez hostage, then applied a KO punch to the ring announcer.

Overall it was a pretty forgettable show for the most part. With the exception of the tag bout, main event and Swagger versus Kofi I'd say it's pretty safe to skip it, you wouldn't miss much.