2/20/2012 RAW-Buck Zumhoff night!

It was a pretty entertaining Raw tonight with an “epic” segment with Triple H and Taker, plus Buck Zumhoff was referenced. That alone makes the show great. Also, we got an edgier Cena, so here goes everything.

The show starts with Eve and The Bellas talking and Eve admits she was just using Ryder. Now, she has Cena wrapped around her finger and she is going to use him to get to the top. Only problem is Cena heard everything as he was standing right behind her. He laughs and walks away. Eve officially turns heel and is ousted by Cena in a mere minute and a half! Cena comes to the ring but Eve follows him and says she wants to explain. Lots of heat for her here. Cena interrupts and says she was sipping on the skank juice. He says he lost a good friend because of her, in Ryder. He says Eve and The Rock would be great together because they are both scandalous bitches. Now, Eve tries to put her moves onto Cena but he has none of it and says he wants to remain disease free. Eve begins to cry as Cena leaves and the refs aid Eve. I guess they don't mind being used by Eve.

Sheamus v. Mark Henry-Mark put over Sheamus in this one in a basic match. The finish was Henry going for the World's Strongest Slam but Sheamus countered by landing behind him and hitting the Brogue Kick.

Johnny Ace and Otunga are talking about how everyone else is talking about Ace. Teddy Long joins them but Ace said he had no idea about the support from Elimination Chamber last night. Long is pissed and wants to poll the fans on who should be GM of Raw and Smackdown. He also says anyone on SD can beat Otunga so Ace tells him to pick an SD wrestler and they will fight Otunga later. That sure sounds like fun.

Truth/Kofi v. Primo/Epico-This thing had good heat and Kofi had a great hot tag comeback. The finish was Trouble in Paradise on Primo. Really quick stuff but decent enough.

They showed a good Hall of Fame video for Ron Simmons, including football clips and WCW stuff. Then, Josh Matthews interviews Jericho about last night. Jericho says the EC match was unfair as he was not pinned or eliminated by anyone and he questioned Punk's reign as champion. Jericho said he was the best in the world and not Punk and that he will win the 10 man battle royal for the shot at Punk at WM 28 that is scheduled for the main event tonight.

David Otunga v. Ezekial Jackson-Yea, that is right, Teddy Long picked Jackson to fight Otunga. Out of all the SD wrestlers, he picks Zeke and it totally blew up in his face. Otunga won after Jackson went for a splash in the corner and missed, hitting the post with his head. Then, Otunga hit a choke spinebuster for the win. Otunga looks so green most of the time but there are times, like at EC, where he really shows potential. At least, in that pic from EC he did! Also, Zeke was in a chin lock and had some wacky facials going on!

They showed a recap of HBK/HHH from last week and Taker came out. I wrote a ton for this, so here goes. Taker said he has had to live with the beating he took from WM 27 for the last year and it has been pure hell for him. He has faced much uncertainty and HHH's choice from last week was not his to make. He says that this whole thing has to end and that we are in the midst of an apocalypse of a generation of wrestling. Taker and HHH are the last of their kind and his suits, etc. just cover up how he really is inside. HHH won't lie to him and he will look him in the eye and answer him. HHH comes out and talks but Taker tells him to shut up. Taker says his excuses are pitiful. HHH says that it is his fate to make sure the WWE exists for future generations and Taker's fate is to carry and pass on the torch to others and lead the way. HHH says he won't extinguish the flame. Taker asked if it is bad for business if Taker is gone or if HHH is gone. HHH counters by saying that the last year has been filled with a lot of certainty for him. He is not looking for redemption and he knows how to finish Taker and Taker wants that but he won't do it. Taker calls him a coward just like HBK from last week. HHH gets upset for a second but he stops and says no and leaves. Taker then says that HHH knows he couldn't do what HBK couldn't do in beating Taker. He says HHH knows HBK is better. This infuriates HHH to return to the ring and accept the match but only if it is a Hell in the Cell match. Taker pats him on the shoulder and leaves. Very, very good segment here and very memorable. I was a little worried on how they would be able to trump last year's match but now I am starting to see things clearer. This will probably be very good as they are already telling a great story and they haven't even fought yet.

Daniel Bryan is out and says he is considered a role model by many and that he beat five other guys last night to retain his World title.

DB v. Santino-This was real quick and Santino didn't even hit the cobra. Santino went for a roll-up, DB kicked out, and countered with the LaBelle Lock for the tap.

Kelly Kelly/Aksana v. The Bellas-I don't even think Kelly got in during this match. The Bellas did the switcheroo spot where the hurt twin rolled out and the fresh twin got in while the ref wasn't looking. Then, the one twin hit a face buster for the pin.

Cena is back out to talk about The Rock. He says The Rock is no longer the people's champ and that he has a staff of people who make him look good (writers, etc.). Cena does not respect him because Cena never left despite doing movies. The Rock left as soon as he could get out (and who really blames him?). Cena fights for the people in the back who are proud to be pro wrestlers. Cena had a definite edge on this whole episode and it would be nice to see an edgier Cena until WM.

The main was that 10 man battle royal for the shot at WWE champ CM Punk at WM. The 10 guys were Miz, Truth, Khali, Dolph, Cody, Show, Jericho, Santino, Kofi, and Wade. Kofi was a trooper in selling his EC wounds the whole night in both his matches. Punk was out for commentary and battled with Cole a lot. Khali was out first as the other nine guys knocked him out. Cody and Wade tried to eliminate Show but that failed. Miz was next by Kofi and Truth and Lawler said “oh how the mighty have fallen.” The Miz is in a bad spot right now and so is Evan Bourne as it seems Truth is slotted to replace him with Kofi. Next, was a finisher/signature parade by a few guys until Santino threw out Wade and then Truth to great heat. Ziggler was pressed out by Show onto Wade and Truth. Wade looked like he got injured as they had a stretcher out for him for a while. Punk said one of the EMTs looked like Buck Zumhoff, which probably flew over millions of heads! Santino was almost thrown out but he skinned the cat and hit the cobra on Jericho but Cody sent him out after. Cody was out soon by Show. Jericho and Show were left, as Jericho locked in a choke and they did a Royal Rumble 04 finish except Cody helped pull Show out as Jericho hung on. Punk gets into the ring and stares down Jericho and offered his hand. However, Jericho walked off like a douche.

If you are watching Raw for the workrates and matches, this show isn't for you but it was still a pretty good, entertaining night. Lots of set-up for WM especially the incredible Taker/HHH segment.

Steve Viglio

stevesgraps@yahoo.com

Impact spoilers for 2/16

TNA Impact Wrestling - Airing February 16, 2012

*Bobby Roode opens the show with a promo. Roode gloats about his victory and how he beat the three top contenders at Against All Odds. Roode gets interrupted by Sting. Sting announces tonight Roode will defend his TNA World Championship against Jeff Hardy in a no DQ match. Sting told Roode he best be ready because that match is taking place up next.

*Bobby Roode def. Jeff Hardy in a No DQ match to retain the TNA World Title after Kurt Angle interfered and attacked Hardy. They first taped a finish of Hardy going for the Swanton but Angle attacking leading to the finish then re-taped it to where Angle attacked Hardy outside and Roode used the spear to win.

*James Storm def. Bully Ray after the Last Call Superkick to become the #1 Contender to the TNA World Title. After the match, Bully jumped Storm until Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants ran out and had a face-off with Bully. The two were separated by agents before things got physical.

*Austin Aries & Zema Ion def. Alex Shelley & Shannon Moore when Zema pinned Shelley with a rollup after he tagged himself in when Aries went for the finish. After the match, Aries, Zema, and Shelley got into it and had to be separated.

*Madison Rayne won a 10 Knockout Battle Royal to become #1 contender. The match came down to Velvet Sky and Sarita. Velvet eliminated Sarita and thought she won but Madison, who was sitting ringside with Gail, got into the ring and eliminated Velvet to win the match. Order of elimination was Winter, Tessmacher, Rosita, Mickie, ODB, Tara, Angelina, Sarita, and Velvet. Gail was unhappy with Madison for getting the win.

*Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair came to the ring for a promo. A woman was with them believed to be Chelsea (former valet of Desmond Wolfe). Bischoff implied Garett's career was over and warned him not to come back.

*Sting comes out and calls out Bobby Roode. Sting announces Roode defending the championship against James Storm at Lockdown inside the Steel Cage. Roode attacks Sting and lays him out with his title belt.

Not sure on the source but I saw them posted on DVDVR.

WWE RAW 2/13/2011

This show starts with a recap package of the Cena/Kane program and it succeeds in highlighting Eve's incredible acting abilities. I already have such high hopes for tonight's Raw episode! Kane appears on the tron saying that Cena will embrace the hate. He also promised someone would leave Raw in an ambulance.

We cut to the Raw intro video and they've added Brodus Clay to the package yet he hasn't had tv time in over a week and wasn't on tonight's Raw either. I don't even think he was mentioned as an afterthought. They shift to The King in the ring with all six members of the Elimination Chamber behind podiums. No it's not the return of the King's Court or a WWE themed game show but it is actually a debate about this coming Sunday's Chamber match! YAY! This had a bunch of heat for just about everyone involved though as each guy got close to a minute or so to talk about his chances, etc. etc. Punk promised this debate would not end in violence and he was surprisingly wrong. The Miz kinda messed up on his delivery of his lines here. Furthermore, all the lines came across very scripted and unnatural except for Punk and Jericho. They teased a fight between both until Kofi nailed Jericho with Trouble in Paradise. Also, Lawler mentioned that all six guys would fight each in individual matches starting with Jericho v. Kofi.

Chris Jericho v. Kofi Kingston-Nothing spectacular here, just solid work from both. Kofi went for a missile dropkick and Jericho reversed it into the Walls of Jericho and surprisingly Kofi got to the ropes for a false finish. Later, Jericho hit Kofi with a thumb to the eye and nailed the codebreaker for the finish.

There was a recap from the Royal Rumble showing Zach Ryder being beaten by Kane. They even showed Kane's horrible looking face submission thingy that looks goofy as hell and that put out Ryder in a few seconds only. Poor Zach can't catch a break I guess. Ryder then said he wanted to see Eve but Cena said he had his back tonight on the show. We switch to Johnny Ace and David Otunga in an office, I guess. Otunga said he has a plan on how to make John the GM for Smackdown.

Big Show v. Randy Orton-Daniel Bryan comes out to watch the match set-up from the last Smackdown where Orton thought Show cost him the match with DB. Michael Cole got over the idea that DB is manipulating the Big Show, which is a good thing to get across. Bryan sat next to Cole for the match so Cole would not bash DB and only had nice things to say about him. Average match here with a highlight being Show palming Orton's head to get him back in the ring. Orton even hit his DDT with Show draped over the top rope. Next came a botched RKO that seemed to irk Orton a little and they went straight into another RKO sequence. Bryan came in with the belt and blasted both guys with his evil smile on his face. DB looked good and came across as a total manipulator. They really need to keep his title reign going until at least Wrestlemania. He seems to be getting over better than any other newer heel in the WWE.

Shawn Michaels is out next saying that he was itching to come to Raw and see HHH accept the Wrestlemania match against the Undertaker. He calls out HHH and HHH says he does not accept. He alludes to the idea that he could end Taker's streak but he does not want to be that guy anymore who just runs through people. He said killing the streak would be bad for business and he will not accept the match. HBK called him a sell-out and a coward and tells him to look him in the eye and tell him he does not want to end the streak. HHH said HBK was living vicariously through him, in terms of wanting him to end the streak. HHH says no again and HBK leaves. Taker's bell tolls and a video is shown highlighting last year's match at Wrestlemania. HHH gives off the impression that he might be rethinking things. This was a pretty good segment and had some good heated portions to it. HBK was great, as usual, along with HHH. It was not as good as HBK's appearance last year on Raw to build up that match but it was still pretty good nonetheless.

Dolph Ziggler v. R-Truth-Pretty short and quick but very tight work by the two. I would like to see a longer match between these guys, has this happened before? Ziggler is really coming along in his timing and Truth is so damn solid too, they worked great together tonight. Ziggler had Truth in a chinlock and he did his handstand thing while it was locked in. The finish was Ziggler doing a couple sit-ups by Truth who hit a small package for the quick win. Next, is Ryder in the back with Santino who checked Ryder's breath and tried to give him dating advice. Santino gave him garlic breath strips that he said he invented that Ryder hated. I assume after he went back and watched this segment that Ryder hated that too.

Tamina Snuka v. Brie Bella-Nothing special but at least Brie could run the ropes a little. Her and her sister looked fantastic in their outfits, by the way! The finish was the Superfly splash off the top, and was followed by a stare-down between Tamina and Beth Phoenix for their match at the EC PPV. They also showed a package about The Rock and his Journey 2 movie. Afterwards, Cole tried to do a pec pop and looked stupid. Also, Lawler said Journey 2 was #1 in several countries but none of them were the US. Josh Matthews tries to get a reaction from Cena but he hears a scream and runs off. Kane is shown getting Eve into the Ambulance and trying to drive away but Eve jumped out and was caught by Cena. Eve then proceeded to make out Cena like it was the end of the damn world. Of course, Ryder just happened to be off to the side watching the whole thing with his goofy facial expressions. After a commercial, Ryder is trying to leave but Eve tries to explain but ends up saying she just wants to be friends. Great going Eve and great explaining yourself. Of course, would you want to date a goof like Ryder who gets his ass handed to him all the time and is in a wheelchair with a huge neck collar?

CM Punk v. The Miz-The Miz got a jobber intro, which is not a surprise after last week's botch on Truth. He looked sluggish and seemed to have no enthusiasm during this whole thing. I guess that's understandable though but he can't let that continue for too long. Cole was explaining the EC match and talking about pods and it made me think that the whole match was going to be based around Invasion of the Bodysnatchers or something! That would amuse me! Anyway, the finish was the Anaconda Vice and Miz tapped.

The ambulance is back apparently and Cena is out to explain himself and embracing the hate. He says he won't compromise who he is and will continue to overcome. He can't let the past few weeks put him over the edge but Ryder comes out. He was using crutches to get to the ring and looked like he was trying to impersonate a slow motion replay with his walking. He still had his goofy facials and looked like a dweeb the entire night. He slapped Cena and later, Cena went to hit him but backed off and Ryder left. He didn't need the crutches in the ring but used them again to walk back up the ramp to his wheelchair. Tremendous stuff here. Cena tried to talk to Ryder but Kane appeared and threw Ryder off the ramp in his chair and Cena called for help. He was even throwing up the X and Eve came out and got some heat. Poor Zach is going to end up in a full body cast by the end of this feud and he'll be only able to talk by blinking.

Signs of the week:

“Fire Cole, We Want Tony Schiavone”

“Where is La Parka”

Thanks guys, Steve Viglio

stevesgraps@yahoo.com

Test

My name is Steve Viglio and  I'll be covering all things wrestling for this blog.  I expect to do write-ups of RAW, Impact, and Smackdown each week and maybe some news or something.  I'm notoriusvig on DVDVR and steveovig on The Board at f4wonline.com.